The Holy Moment

I have been reading a lot of St Augustine lately for my medieval philosophy group which I put on on Tuesday nights.

I read the entire book on Time again, and then re-read it, and then looked at secondary sources. It's very beautiful and full of unanswered questions. I really believe his questions are a great means to meditation.

Anyways, there is one thing that really struck me about what he says in his piece on time.

The only true time, the only time that is truly real, is the present moment. The future time such as tomorrow, two minutes from now, and so on, does not exist, it can only be anticipated. The past also doesn't exist, what has happened has happened, and it will never happen again in that moment ever again. So, St Augustine concludes, and rightly so, that the only true time is that moment which we live.

Why is this important? I have come to realize that we spend such a great deal of time worrying about the future (I am someone who falls into that trap all too often). However, the future matters in that it can be anticipated, but it can't be known. We ought not to worry about our holiness in the future. We need to worry about our holiness in the present moment. This has been sometimes described as the sacrament of the present moment, giving God glory and living out holiness to the greatest of your ability and thanks to God's grace in the present moment you are living.

Now, I'm not saying "don't think about the future". We can anticipate it, and therefore, in order to attain holiness, sometimes we need to see that which is to be anticipated, that which is already present to God in all eternity. We must discern God's will in that present moment we are living and it will lead us to that anticipated future. The same can be said for the past. It can be reflected upon, look upon the lessons learned in life and apply them to the moment you are living. The point is that the only way to attain holiness is by living that present moment to its fullest, to not waste time. The past has happened and cannot be changed, the future is only anticipatory and that which we anticipate may not even happen, the only certainty we have is the now.

So, we must follow this example if we are to attain holiness. We must live that present moment for God alone, and do so for each moment, being constantly aware of God's presence in our life.

-Harrison

Relativism In Action

Madeleine Albright, former Secretary of State, said the falling in reference to George W. Bush...

"The absolute truth is what makes Bush so worrying to some of us"

Apparently absolute truth is a bad thing and that absolute truth and a moral character are bad things for any person to have.

Now, I don't agree with everything that GWB says, but I do give him props because he is firm in his faith and has no problem of having a Christian informed conscious, whether it's properly formed is another question due to some of his actions, but it is much more formed then most politicians. But I couldn't believe that line I quoted, that absolute truth is a worrying thing. It's freeing, and for someone who comes from the land of the free, it ought to be embraced and loved.

-Harrison

The World is Falling Fast

Here we go again...

Madonna started her new tour last night. As one of her acts, she hung herself on a mirrored cross with a crown of thorns...

The article is HERE

Who woulda thought that someone named Madonna would do this? (please note the sarcasm). First the Da Vinci Code, now this. It seems that it's ok to poke fun at Christians, the Da Vinci Code started it, and now the ball is rolling.

-Harrison

Time: A Teaser

Coming next week, theology of time (I hope). I've been working on this a bit here and there but will be looking extensively at St Augustine this weekend. Here's the teaser.

Christianity is a "faith of contradictions". For example, if one were to use negative and positive theology, one could say that God is both being (positive) and not-being(negative). Both make claims about God. The positive makes a claim about God's essence (positive theology) and the other speaks of God's existence (negative theology). Both are valid ways. Well, time is a contradiction too. Eternity in the sense of God is infinite with no beginning and no end, but God just is, God exists outside of time, yet, in the very same token, because of the Incarnation, God redeems time, God redeems that which changes. Thus eternity is not simply a state of being, but it is also one of change. This does not refer to God of course, God does not change. It refers to our experience of Heaven. Heaven will be a constant yearning, yet a joy for the Divine Presence.

The reason I have been thinking about this subject as of late is because of the statement of our faith that "God created in time". But if time has no effect on God, then God cannot create within time, time comes into existence because of God's creation. Furthermore, God cannot have specific actions within time, God is pure actuality, pure act. God is one singular eternal act of love. So, God either creates eternally or we have a problem...or do we? I suggest that the Incarnation is what solves this theological question in ways that bring a furthe depth and understanding of God's plan, of salvation history, yet at the same time create even a greater mystery for us to contemplate.

This has been taking a while because I want to make sure I've got this right and it is within the realm of the Church's teachings. So keep your eyes peeled next week! If you don't see anything, just remind me, I have a tendency to forget things once in a while :).

-Harrison

Maximus the Confessor on Love

I am currently reading "Cosmic Litury: The Universe According to Maximus the Confessor" by Hans Urs Von Balthasar. It's very good and have been seeing a great many links between Maximus, Balthasar, and B16.

The big link I saw was a passage on love that I just though "Deus Caritas Est"...

God is the one who scatters the seeds of agape (charity) and
eros (yearning), for He has brought these things that were within Him
outside Himself in the act of creation. that is why we read, "God is
love", and in the Song of Songs He is called agape, and also "sweetneess" and
"desire", which are what eros means. For He is the One who is truly
loveable and desirable. Because this loving desire has flowed out of Him,
He-its creator-is said to be Himself in love; but insofar as He is Himself the
One who is truly loveable and desirable, He moves everything that looks toward
Him and that possesses, in its own way, the power of yearning.

Pretty cool and heavy stuff, definitely worth contemplating in prayer. Definitely B16 worthy.

-Harrison

Oh Sweet Irony

Flicking through the channels yesterday, I came across something rather funny on the News.

Apparently Albinos are angry about the way they are depicted in the Da Vinci Code. Yes folks, albinos are angry and offended how they are depicted by the albino Opus Dei "monk" (because, as we know, there are no monks in Opus Dei).

I can understand where they're coming from, everyone is looking for a Da Vinci code headline right now with the release on Friday. But this is where I get a bit confused...

They have no problem showing the offended nature or anger a minority group of people (very minority), but when it comes to the point of Christians being offended, Heaven forbid that they would mention it. In fact, I've heard nothing about Christians in the "othercott"...that is, the promotion of going to see Over the Hedge that weekend instead of the Da Vinci Code. If we see anything about offended Christians, it'll be those who are boycotting with signs outside the movie theaters in anger. You won't hear about how Christians all over were trying to boycott it in a different way.

It's just another way the world we live in is going down the tubes, but we can sanctify it with the grace of God through prayer, penance, and action.

If you want to find out more about the othercott, please go to

http://www.othercott.com/othercott.asp

-Harrison

Time is ALMOST settling down...

I'm sorry for the lack of posting...I really want to get some really neat stuff up that I've been pondering...but time has prevented it! I've been busy with my now full time job, and have meeting galore this week (College and Career Group on Mondays, has the Parish Council Meeting tonight, RCIA Sponsor Session tomorrow and Clergy Appreciation Dinner on Friday, and training of Will as Sacristan on Saturday). So yes...I'm busy and was barely home at all on the weekend, and when I was, I was sleeping.

So come next week things will be slowing down. As I've said, I've got some Theology of Time I'm really wanting to post about here and some other stuff. My Medieval Philosophy group begins next week which excites me to no end. I just pray that God will grant me the grace to guide it according to His will.

Work is going REALLY well! I'm really enjoying it, though there is a LOT to learn, but it is nice to be at work and actually have stuff to do all day, it makes the day pass by rather quickly I find. It's odd not coming home to do homework though, still trying to get used to that....

I'll be back hopefully on Saturday or Sunday to begin some posting that doesn't have to do with my life (I'm sure you're all just bored of that ;))...Oh, and Theology of the Body at our College and Careers group has been going really well! It's brought about a lot of great discussion, which is my goal :)...I just need to learn to shut up at times.

Harrison

I got a job!

All of life's stresses are now temporarily over. School is over, my marks were decent, though I was hoping for a bit better, but the hardest classes were the ones I did the best in so that makes me happy.

I got a job today too! I am now the secretary at St Andrew's Cathedral Office. I start tomorrow. I am very excited at this new opportunity to learn the inner workings of a parish office, plus this is the sort of stuff I'm good at. It is kind of awkward, though, when one of your friends also applies for the job and they don't get it. But I must praise God for this! And thanks to St Joseph the Worker for the intercession (I don't think it's a coincidence I found out I got the job last night on the feast of St Joseph the Worker).

So, now I have a steady income and a steady work schedule. I have been asked to step down from my Sacristan position as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named (I like giving him a hard time) says he doesn't want me working at the Cathedral 7 days a week. So I do get my weekends off after all. What will I do with all this free time? I don't know. But I have a job, I have everything that is needed, and God's time is definitely not my time, because I was getting all worried and it all worked out perfectly.

It is also rare I have come to find from talking to other people for a University student to have a job immediately out of university. One of my friends took 6 months to get a job! The job market is that sucky. So I am very blessed with a steady job, one that I like to boot, and it's at the Church, which makes getting to morning Mass that much easier before work.

I'll be able now to focus on God more without the distraction of an unbalanced school schedule, and will be able to starting posting on my blog more.

We started our Theology of the Body night last night at College and Career and it went really well!

God is so good, praise be given to His Name!!

-Harrison