Wednesday, April 28, 2010

What Catholics Can Learn from Kierkegaard

Of all the philosophers I read while I was studying for my MA degree, the one that I comprehended the most ( HA, the one I comprehended at all) was Soren Kierkegaard.

This article gives great insight into my understanding of how Kierkegaard viewed faith.


my favorite nugget of wisdom from the article is :

All in all, although Kierkegaard was not a Catholic, he reminds us that the monastic life is a shining example of how Catholics ought to approach their faith. Not by calling for all Catholics to take official vows or wear robes, but calling us to remember that at the heart of it all is a personal Divine Being who is worthy of and desires our simple, personal, and passionate commitment.

Pax

Sunday, April 25, 2010

This is . . . well . . . Awesome! The Only Four Chords You'll Ever Need

These guys are The Axis of Awesome, a comedy group from Australia. Warning they drop a few F-bombs, but the experience so much fun. Wish they would come to the USA.



Friday, April 23, 2010

You've Got Dragons-- Feast of St. George




Today our Calendar celebrates the feast of St. George. Patron Saint of England, and fighter of a dragon, or so the story goes.



Fr. had a really good homily about that today at the children's mass. You see, the story says that the dragon lived outside the town and the only way the townsfolk could get to their water supply was to "feed the dragon"; first sheep, but then when the sheep supply ran out they began to feed it their children. They cast lots to decide which children would be fed to the dragon.


Fr. said that the dragon was a metaphor for all the evil things that take away the good in our lives. We have to "feed the evil" and it continues to thrives so long as we feed it. It becomes more destructive and more greedy, asking more and more of us.



St. George didn't kill the dragon though. He tamed it. He told the people that there was only one way that the dragon would flee from their homeland, never to return. They had to accept Christ as their savior and be baptized, for Christ has promised that nothing that is His will ever be lost. (John 18:9). The story goes on to say that thousands were converted on that day and "the dragon" was never a problem for them ever again.




A while back one of our instructors read a children's book that made this exact point. It was called You've Got Dragons, by Katherine Cave and Nick Marland.








What are "the dragons" in your life that you must feed? If you simply turn this over to Jesus, and trust that He will protect you, can you have faith that your dragons will be tamed, and then sent away?


Something to ponder.


Pax

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Prayers for Pope Benedict XVI

The Knights of Columbus have called for a Novena (nine days ) of prayers for support of Pope Benedict XVI beginning today and ending on April 19th. Each day, join us in saying the prayer below:




PRAYER FOR POPE BENEDICT XVI
Lord, source of eternal life and truth,
give to your shepherd, Benedict, a spirit
of courage and right judgment, a spirit
of knowledge and love. By governing
with fidelity those entrusted to his care,
may he, as successor to the Apostle
Peter and Vicar of Christ, build your
Church into a sacrament of unity, love
and peace for all the world. Amen.

V/ Let us pray for Benedict, the pope.
R/ May the Lord preserve him,
give him a long life,
make him blessed upon the earth,
and not hand him over
to the power of his enemies.

V/ May your hand
be upon your holy servant.
R/ And upon your son,
whom you have anointed.


Our Father… Hail Mary… Glory Be…
KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS
In Solidarity With Our Holy Father
Adapted from Manual of Prayers
16000 4-10