Posts from — September 2009

Private Prayer [A Morning Prayer]

I awoke to the morning made glorious; Holy is the LORD creator of the universe, maker of galaxies, shaper of worlds, caster of weather, and He who protects and redeems people. I pray through the intercession of the most blessed Virgin of Nazareth, sublime is the Persanctissima in graces. I beg to remain under the protection of St. Michael, repeller of evil, Prince of Army Angelic. I pray through St. Joseph, saintly Church protector and guardian, helper of people. I invoke all the hierarchies of Archangels, Angels and Saints. I beg all the Saints, Blessed Ones and Venerables whose feast day it is, to protect me today, and every day. May all my Angel Guardians and Patron Saints show me their favour. Amen. - written by Wieslaw S. W. Nowak

Bowling Prayer

Lord, as we head out this night, we call upon you to bless us and guide us.

In bowling, as in life, some of our attempts to follow the straight path are destined to go astray. Let us not look upon these incidents as failures, but rather as opportunities for us to see our errors and improve upon ourselves.

Help us to remember, too, Your will. Each of us has a path which you desire us to lead. Though a life-long devotion to bowling may not be that will, help us to remain eternally devoted to You that we may see Your plan and be granted the perseverence necessary to follow Your will.

As we must remain focused on the pins, help us to remain even more diligently focused on You that we may inherit the Kingdom of Heaven.

We ask this through Christ, Our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever, Amen.

I wrote the second one

My father, Wieslaw S. W. Nowak, was born in Poland in 1936. The German invasion in 1939 forced his family to uproot and cross the border into Russia. There they wandered through the steppes, often sustaining themselves for days on boiled grass. Eventually they were able to relocate to then-Palestine were his father was serving as an officer in the Polish-English allied forces. Following the war, Wieslaw and his family moved to London. In England he nurtured a love of poetry, many of his Polish writings being published. A gifted student, he studied geography and obtained a doctorate from the University of London. Briefly lecturing at the University of Portsmouth and the City of London Polytechnic, he soon accepted a position at Memorial University of Newfoundland. He served on faculty for over 30 years, directing his research towards marine geography and fisheries-related subjects. As his health faded, he returned his attention to poetry, now writing most frequently in English. He passed at on June 2, 2003 in St. John’s, Newfoundland.

Over the course of the next year I intend to reproduce some of my father’s writings. Many of his writings reflect the sorrow and struggles of his early war-ravaged life. Others are blissful and filled with the joys of later-found freedom. All reflect his deep-rooted faith. I hope his work is able to touch your heart, brighten your day or simply inspire thought.

Lonely headstone

Why a lily, perfume blossom shining?
Why a flower rosy, sky pink so calm?
Entwine not silk-green ivy, sad blossom,
in summer sky were dipped the blooms of morn.
I cared for you, whispered she. Petal fell.
I did protect you, said he. A twig dipped.
Oh, how I liked your talk! Warbler silenced.
I so much loved you – dripped out the dew drops.
LORD! said they sadly, are the words denied?
Earthwards kneel the buttercups on this soil,
dandelion carpets cover silence;
Many flowers wilted, said their conscience,
it has been years, since for that one we prayed.

- Wieslaw S. W. Nowak (1936 – 2003), Paradise, October 3, 1992

Not to be reproduced without permission

Growing up, my mother always insisted that tattoos were hideous. I was told that I could never get one. Of course, there’s a temporal limit to authority. If a man can wed another woman following the death o fhis former spouse, surely a son can get a tattoo once his formerly-unapproving mother has passed. All too aware of my stubbornness while on earth, from her current vantage she can only observe the full breadth of my resolve.

In the book of Jeremiah, the author laments the Israelites’ rejection of the Lord: “Of old time thou hast broken my yoke, thou hast burst my bands, and thou saidst: I will not serve.” (Jeremiah 2: 20 DRB) These last words, “non serviam“, have traditionally been ascribed to Satan in the story of the fall of the angels from heaven.

In Catechism on Pride, St. John Vianney elaborates: “Pride is that accursed sin which drove the angels out of paradise, and hurled them into Hell. This sin began with the world.”

If the sin of pride began with the world, it is in overcoming pride that we obtain God’s forgiveness and advance toward sanctity. The final sentence of Psalm 142, the last words of the seventh and final penitential psalm, proclaims: “Et perdes omnes qui tribulant animam meam, Quoniam ego servus tuus sum.” – “And Thou wilt cut off all that afflict my soul: for I am Thy servant.”

It is these words which I am planning on ascribing on the upper portion of arm, between my bicep and tricep and just below my shoulder. I’d like the words to be just below a circle of thorns circumscribing a monogram: perhaps the IHS, the “mirror of justice”, a Tau cross or a Pelican. The tattoo would be done just with black ink. I’d love to read your feedback.

This is my life at the moment

[I wrote this article in 2007. I believe the words still hold true. I certainly hope they do, as I've yet to find that special person that God has chosen for me!]

The themes of love and romance have always appealed to the appetites of mankind. Fictional works such as Electra, Romeo and Juliet, Wuthering Height , and Doctor Zhivago, portray relationships of tremendous intensity and passion. The emotions invoked in the audience are so great that many consider the relationships depicted to be idyllic. Even St. Augustine confessed that “in the theaters I rejoiced together with lovers when they took … delight in each other, though it was only pretended in the play.”

However, in spiritual maturity St. Augustine “pit[ied] whoever rejoice[d] in his own wickedness.” Far from presenting the idyllic relationship, writers often present a fraud which appeals to our desire for intensity and intimacy. The compacting of the life of a relationship into a couple of hours of viewing or reading makes this deception possible. True love must last forever and it demands the virtues and emotions which are able to sustain the struggles of each day.

In 2005 a documentary which many regarded to authentically represent a story of true love won an Academy Award. Contrary to many films which receive such accolades, the couples presented were neither particularly attractive nor fashionable. However, they did provide an inspiring example of the qualities needed for a relationship of profound beauty. March of the Penguins depicts the mating and breeding of emperor penguins. Once each year thousands of penguins undertake a hundred kilometer pilgrimage from open water to their traditional breeding grounds. When they arrive they will court a partner with whom they will attempt to bring new life into the world. The female only lays a single egg.

“After the female lays the egg, she transfers it to the feet of the waiting male with a minimal exposure to the elements, as the intense cold will kill the developing embryo. The male tends to the egg when the female returns to the sea, now even further away, both in order to feed herself and to obtain extra food for feeding her chick when she returns. She has not eaten in two months and by the time she leaves the hatching area, she will have lost a third of her body weight.

For an additional two months, the males huddle together for warmth, and incubate their eggs. They endure temperatures approaching -62 °C (-80 °F), and their only source of water is snow that falls on the breeding ground. When the chicks hatch, the males have only a small meal to feed them … By the time they return, they have lost half their weight and have not eaten for four months.” - (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_of_the_Penguins)

March of the Penguins presents a number of elements that must be present and respected for a couple to find true love. These are the considerations and virtues that should be kept in my mind and worked on to be better prepared to receive true love:

(1) Patience

A hundred kilometer trek is not too an incredible distance – unless you’re a penguin! Male emperor penguins have to patiently wait for two months while their female partners walk to the water and then return to them! I often grow impatient just waiting for a ride to pick me up!

As difficult a virtue as patience is to foster, it is essential if you are to have a successful relationship. St. Paul tells us that “charity is patient, is kind.” (1 Corinthians 13) True love cannot exist without patience. The two are inseparable. Love is not for oneself, but must be directed towards another, reciprocated, and then shared. When one is impatient they wish to satisfy their own desires immediately. The selfish placing of one’s interests ahead of the interests of the one they claim to love will lead not to unity, but to division. However, “he that is patient, is governed with much wisdom” (Proverbs 14:29). A patient person is able to overcome the evil inclinations and carnal desires inherent within them (Genesis 8:21). A person’s heart is strengthened (James 5:8) by this victory - the heart with which they love. This leads to a greater victory: “A patient man shall bear for a time, and afterwards joy shall be restored to him.” (Ecclesiasticus 1:29)

Ask God that your heart, which is both His and yours, may be strengthened in this virtue so as to be able to love more purely and completely.

(2) Awareness of a Specific Time and a Specific Place

Penguins do not breed continuously, but once each year at roughly the same time. “All things have their season, and in their times all things pass under heaven” (Ecclesiastes 3:1). True love requires understanding the season in which the Lord has placed you and preparing for the season to come. If the penguins did not eat properly before their march, surely they would not be able to withstand the rigours imposed on them in bringing new life into the world. People often desire to be with a particular person as soon as they feel an attraction. It can be a struggle to understand why Our Lord does not will for two people to be together at a particular moment. However, use this is a time to prepare to receive His great gift, the gift of a spouse that can help you attain sanctity. Pray that you may prepare yourself well so that you can withstand the trials of the future to keep, hold, and provide for that person - temporally and spiritually.

The penguins also understand that God’s plan entails both a time and a place. Penguins have a particular breeding ground, and return to that spot yearly. When it came to pass that days of Jesus’ “assumption were accomplishing, … he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51). If God that has brought two people together, it is He that will show them where we must go. When He shows them, they must then go wherever He desires. Set your face like flint and go; regardless of the uncertainty, regardless of the cost. As the penguins set out across the snow and ice, they did not know what awaited them at the end of the journey. As Noah set out in the Ark, to what end did he think he was sailing? When you set out to be near the person the Lord desires for you, you will face many uncertainties. However, know that Christ will be with you, and that in Him, through your spouses support and love, you will become a saint. You will both become saints! Why worry when we know we rest in His love!?

(3) Sacrifice

For the love of their children, for the love of their partners, the Penguins are prepared to lay down their own lives. Christ tells us that “[g]reater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Marriage is a calling to this greatest of love: “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ also loved the church, and delivered himself up for it” (Ephesians 5:25). You must pray and long to be able to give your life more completely. With every word you speak and pray together, your hearts must grow closer to God. In time, you must learn to love so completely that there is nothing that you would not do for your spouse with Gods grace. Your career, your thoughts, your prayers, your life, though it is all Gods, you must desire to give it to that person so that they might present it to Him on your behalf, that the grace received may be shared.

Give praise to His holy name with two mouths but one heart joined in sacrificing love!

(4) Perseverance

It is the yearly perseverance of love that allows the Emperor Penguin to survive. “[H]e that shall persevere to the end, he shall be saved” (Matthew 24:13). You must will “[p]ersevere under discipline” (Hebrews 12:7). If God has brought you together, God will never abandon you! You will persevere in love, because in each other you will see the manifestation of God who is Love!

If you are called to marriage, finding the person Jesus desires for you is the search for the person in whom you find Jesus. May you find the soul that magnifies His presence in your life!

“Know you not that they that run in the race, all run indeed, but one receiveth the prize? So run that you may obtain.” (1 Corinthians 9:24)

[It's late and I'm tired, but I wanted to get this out. I will proof read it tomorrow. I may improve upon it in the future, as I'm passionate about this topic. I hope you find it fruitful nonetheless.]

On opening night of the “Passion of the Christ” I stood in line outside the theater with ticket in hand and trepidation in my heart. Amidst those that had pre-screened the movie and declared its emotive brilliance were many others who criticized the imagery as being too graphic and intense. I was worried that I might also be overwhelmed with the movies portrayals. I expressed these concerns to my friend (read his blog here) who urged me not to focus upon the great suffering which Jesus endured during His passion, but the infinite love which impelled Him to take up the cross. The story which he then recounted to me remains one of my favourite declarations of God’s love for humanity. Julian of Norwich was a medieval English mystic. Among the many ecstasies she experienced were a series of visions in which she witnessed Christ’s final agony on the cross. The face of Jesus was bloody, torn and ravaged, distended and disfigured to such a degree that He was scarcely recognizable. As she gazed upon our suffering Saviour and contemplated His agony, He suddenly opened his eyes and looked upon her:

The Lord: Are you well satisfied that I suffered for you?

Julian: Yes, good Lord, all my thanks to you; yes, good Lord, blessed may you be.

The Lord: If you are satisfied, I am satisfied. It is a joy, a bliss, an endless delight to me that ever I suffered my Passion for you; and if I could suffer more, I should suffer more.

(Revelations of Divine Love, Ch 22, http://www.ccel.org/ccel/julian/revelations.x.i.html)

God’s suffering for our sins, the laying down of His life, constitutes the greatest sacrifice of time memorial and eternal. One can not but be satisfied, comforted, by so loving a God. Yet Jesus’ love for us is divinely without limit. Though He suffered to the full extent permitted by His human nature, He was desirous to that He could manifest His love further: “if I could suffer more, I should suffer more.”

St. Bernard of Clairvaux similarly relates God’s superabundant passion for the good of man: “How great was this love! If Christ the Son of the living God had as many parts of His body as there are stars in the firmament of heaven, and if each of these parts had its own body, Christ would have exposed all of them to the Passion, rather that leave a single soul unredeemed from the clutches of the devil. O what mercy, and how great is the mercy of God!”

“Now the grace of our Lord hath abounded exceedingly with faith and love, which is in Christ Jesus”, writes St. Paul. (1 Timothy 1:15 – DRB) God is not satisfied with mere satisfaction, but desires to do all good in excess. In explaining the writings of Peter Lombard, Richard Viladesau wrote in “The Beauty of the Cross”, “[b]y His passion and death, Christ merited something more than He had merited previously for Himself: namely, our salvation. He could not gain any higher degree of merit than He had simply by His virtuous life; but in the passion Christ obtained more merit – namely, for us. He did so by making himself, in death, a sacrificial offering for our liberation.”

In merit, grace and love – in all virtue – God desires more and He desires us to desire more. In reflection of the love shown on the cross, our service must be passionate. Passion for holiness is virtuous and pleasing to God. Writing on passion in the Summa, Aquinas addresses the question of whether moral virtue can exist without passion:

“If we take the passions as being inordinate emotions, as the Stoics did, it is evident that in this sense perfect virtue is without the passions. But if by passions we understand any movement of the sensitive appetite, it is plain that moral virtues, which are about the passions as about their proper matter, cannot be without passions. The reason for this is that otherwise it would follow that moral virtue makes the sensitive appetite altogether idle: whereas it is not the function of virtue to deprive the powers subordinate to reason of their proper activities, but to make them execute the commands of reason, by exercising their proper acts. Wherefore just as virtue directs the bodily limbs to their due external acts, so does it direct the sensitive appetite to its proper regulated movements.

Those moral virtues, however, which are not about the passions, but about operations, can be without passions. Such a virtue is justice: because it applies the will to its proper act, which is not a passion. Nevertheless, joy results from the act of justice; at least in the will, in which case it is not a passion. And if this joy be increased through the perfection of justice, it will overflow into the sensitive appetite; in so far as the lower powers follow the movement of the higher, as stated above (17, 7; 24, 3). Wherefore by reason of this kind of overflow, the more perfect a virtue is, the more does it cause passion.”

Jesus came that me have life and have it abundantly (cf. John 10:10). Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. Then love more. Pursue the greater glory of God with this passion and your cup will overflow.

I’ve found myself in an ongoing dialogue with Dr. Jeff Mirus (see Opinions, Authority and the Truth - I). I’m more than impressed with his patience! In fairness, I feel it fair to make you privy to our continued correspondence. If he responds again I will post that as well, giving him the last word. I will not post any subsequent correspondence after that, as I which not to dedicate my blog solely to this issue! It’s interesting, though.

Theodoric –

Note that I did not say that the Church has “taught” this. I said the Church “knows” – in the sense that the Church “understands” the full truth about man and is capable of articulating those truths against all ideologies or distortions. I refer you again to the writings of the Pontifical Council for Culture. The primary purpose of art is a philosophical issue relating to the nature of things; it is not part of Revelation. See also, for example, the works of Gilson or Maritain on art and beauty.

If someone were to incorrectly cite a Magisterial text, asserting that it means (for example) that the right of private property is absolute, one might well write in response: “This is not what the text says; the author has misused it, as you can see by reading the full text itself. The Church understands that the goods of creation are to be enjoyed by all, and so private property rights are clearly conditional” – then, speaking generally in this way, it should not be necessary to array citations in support of what the Church knows. The main point of the statement is that the text in question has been misinterpreted, as is clear from a careful reading of the text itself. So too in this case.

Of course you are free to argue about the purposes of art. But that the author’s assertion of what the text said did not match the meaning of the actual text was the primary point, and that was enough for my purposes in a brief blog entry. That interpretation would reduce the nature of art to social utility or functionality, which is a grave distortion. It was enough, for my purposes, to point to the problem, as I felt most readers would see the point at once.

However, I confess that I am surprised you do not see the point, so perhaps I was wrong after all in handling the matter so quickly.

– Jeff

My reply:

I didn’t miss your point. I believe you’ve missed mine. I don’t personally care much about what the purpose of ecclesiastical art may or may not be. I do have my opinions on what would constitute “good” ecclesiastical art and what reduces the mystery of the liturgy. I’m certainly not arguing that the other author got it right; I haven’t even read his article. You are probably fully justified in correcting his statements. If that was your point, you should have left it there. You could have said: “This is not what the text says; the author has misused it, as you can see by reading the full text itself.” You chose to continue, asserting that the Church knows full well that art has a specific “primary” purpose and then stated what that purpose is without any supporting references.

You may know which issues fall into categories capable of magisterial authority and those that do not. Many of your readers do not. Further, in matter removed from magisterial authority the Church still has many expressed opinions. They may be subject to revision, removed from the deposit of faith, but they carry extraordinary authority. To purport that the Church knows something, anything when it is merely your view being ascribed to the Church, is irresponsible. This is doubly so when your assertions are placed juxtapose other views which rely on weighty documents.

So perhaps you were wrong after all in handling the matter so quickly, but not for the reasons that you derived from our previous correspondence.

In either case, although my tone is pointed, it’s more a reflection of my style than my disposition. I appreciated your article and your response. I’m sure you’re a busy gentleman with more important things to do than to reply to my musings. You’re more than welcome to write back, but should feel no obligation. I just wanted to draw your attention to what I thought was a statement susceptible to misinterpretation by your audience.

In Christ through Mary,
Theodoric

A major irk of mine is when people accept the word of another as gospel truth, particularly in matters relating to the Church. I am guilty of this myself, but always try to catch myself when this happens. It’s important not just to have an opinion, but to ground that opinion, as much as possible, in fact. The more grounded an opinion is in fact, the more your opinion begins to resemble a statement of truth. The pursuit of truth is essential to pursuing Christ, who is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

Randomly roaming around the web today I randomly found an article written by Dr. Jeff Mirus and hosted on catholicculture.org. It serves to illustrate how Catholics ought not to think - or rather, how Catholics ought who ought to think can be fed unsubstantiated conclusions if they don’t think:

Recently we added to our library a fine little article from The Adoremus Bulletin by Matthew Peszek on Sacred Art as a Pedagogical Tool . The author uses Caravaggio’s painting of the call of St. Matthew as his case in point.

But when looking at it for the second time, I noticed a problem in the following text:

“The Council of Trent had briefly addressed the role of art during the Twenty-Fifth Session, in December 1563. In the Decree on the Invocation, Veneration, and Relics of the Saints, and on Sacred Images, the Council stated: “Moreover, let the bishops teach that by means of the stories of the mysteries of our redemption portrayed in paintings and other representations the people are instructed and confirmed in the articles of the faith, which ought to be borne in mind and constantly reflected upon.” This statement gave a basic direction and key goal for what sacred art should achieve. The decree stated that the primary goal of sacred art was to educate the viewer and teach Catholic doctrine.”

The problem is that the author erroneously leads the reader to believe that the Council of Trent defined that the primary purpose of sacred art is to teach. I’m sure there are many little things in our library documents—and, indeed, in my own writings—which are slightly misstated, and I’m also sure that I haven’t yet begun to catch them all. But because I had just completed a brief study of the Catholic understanding of art, and had just written a column on Beauty, I did catch this one.

It seemed a shame to drop the article, yet I really hate it when any of our materials mislead anyone about what the Church has officially taught. The best solution seemed to me to insert the following editorial note:

Actually, the Decree does not say that the primary goal of sacred art is to educate and teach. This is erroneously inferred by the author. The decree states that sacred art does, in fact, have this effect of educating and teaching, as opposed to those (particularly Protestants) who wanted to strip churches of art for fear that these images would somehow stand in the way of God. The Church knows well that the primary purpose of all art is to express beauty, and so touch the heart of man, opening him to the absolute; and that sacred art is to do this with subjects and themes which relate to God’s saving love for man. This note is necessary in an otherwise fine article to avoid leading the reader to conclude that the Church has somehow defined that sacred art must be primarily pedagogical and didactic, or that the value of sacred art is to be judged in the first place not by its beauty but by the clarity of its “message”, a criterion which ultimately undermines all art.

Sometimes I wonder if I’m being too picky, but in fact the pedagogical argument leads directly to banners with slogans. It is possible, of course, that Caravaggio bloomed where he was planted, but his painting is much more than a slogan, a maxim, or even a lesson. It invites wonder and contemplation, opening the heart to God. And why? Because, before the teacher even begins to roll out his lecture notes, it was already art.

I sent the following email to the editor:

I’m rather indifferent to the subject matter, having happened upon this article by chance. I thought it interesting that you took issue with the Adoremus Bulletin author’s (in your opinion, erroneous) implication that the Church views teaching as the primary purpose of art and then stated - it seems as authoritative teaching - that “the Church knows well that the primary purpose of all art is to express beauty.” You may well be correct. Perhaps the Church does hold this view. Maybe you’re wrong. All I know is that you have told me that this is the Church’s view and then provided nothing to substantiate your statement. In the future, please provide a supporting quote.

If the good Dr. writes me back I’ll update this post. I’m sure you’re all anxious to know the truth!

UPDATE

“Theodoric –

Thanks for your note.

You don’t need an authoritative teaching to discern that the purpose of art is beauty; that’s simply the nature of art. For an enlightening discussion, see the Via Pulchritudinis document by the Pontifical Council of Culture. More to the point, the text of the citation the author used to establish his point does not say what he said it says. But apart from this over-simplification, it was an excellent article on the teaching power of sacred art.

– Jeff

The purposes of art are many - to create beauty, provoke thought, make a political statement, teach, evoke prayer and many of these through the others. I need an authoritative teaching to discern that the primary purpose of art - as stated in the editorial note - is beauty. You can’t simply personally discern something and then ascribe this view to the Church, sorry.

I thank the good Professor for his reply.

Hi everyone,

Each of us should to do a charitable act each day. It doesn’t have to be something big, it’s just meant to get us thinking about doing small things for others each day, things that we can concretely identify as being done out of love for God and others.

We thought that writing down what you have done would have two purposes - it would encourage us to do things that we can distinctly identify as being outside of our daily duties to God and others, and secondly, it would help provide others examples of small things that can be done with great love for God (as were Saint Therese’s words). These can be posted anonymously.

Thanks everyone, hope you’re all having a great day
Anna-Claire