Music Monday--Requiem for All Hallows' Eve

The Gift of Doubt

I've been reading a couple of blogs about the Pope's speech in Assisi.  Begun by Pope John-Paul II, the Holy  Father invited members of the world's religions to gather at Assisi.  This year, though, there was a difference. Pope Benedict also invited non-believers to this gathering, and spoke eloquently about religion's part in driving them away.  He acknowledged the place both religion and anti-religion have played in violence throughout the ages.

What intrigued me was the Holy Father's almost *praise* of doubting.  He says, basically, that agnosticism serves to keep both atheists and believers from holding onto the extremes of their positions to the detriment of others.

He calls those who doubt "'pilgrims of truth, pilgrims of peace'. They ask questions of both sides," the Pope said. "They take away from militant atheists the false certainty by which these claim to know that there is no God and they invite them to leave polemics aside and to become seekers who do not give up hope in the existence of truth and in the possibility and necessity of living by it."

How inspiring for those of us who have had our periods of doubt and uncertainty! We must remember that even such modern-day saints as Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta have struggled with "dark nights of the soul".

Doubters, the Holy Father says, are seekers of the truth and challenge unbelievers to join the journey.

Pope Benedict then goes on to address a very important help doubters provide to people with strong religious faith:

But they also challenge the followers of religions not to consider God as their own property, as if he belonged to them, in such a way that they feel vindicated in using force against others. These people are seeking the truth, they are seeking the true God, whose image is frequently concealed in the religions because of the ways in which they are often practised. Their inability to find God is partly the responsibility of believers with a limited or even falsified image of God.

Just as the extremism of anti-belief should not practiced, neither should those of us who are believers let our religion make us too proud to be able to share God with others.  We do not have God wrapped up in a fancy box, tied with a ribbon, only to be open by those who meet our strict criterion.

Doubting is not the worst thing that could happen to someone.  It challenges both believers and non-believers to re-think the extremism in their positions, and let someone else in.

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

Sunday Snippets is brought to you each week by RAnn at This, That and the Other Thing.

This week's theme at The Well was motherhood.  We featured an Irish Lullaby and art by Mary Cassatt.  Our poetry this week was Psalm 131.

I also wrote a post about the new Vatican Document on the world economy as well as a sort of counterpoint on the subject as well.

Poetry Wednesday--Psalm 131

My heart is not proud, LORD,
my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters
things too wonderful for me.
But I have calmed and quieted myself,
I am like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child I am content.
Israel, put your hope in the LORD
both now and forevermore.

Art and Beauty Tuesday--Mary Cassatt

Mary Cassatt was an American painter famous for her paintings of mothers and children.  I was drawn to the painterly style in this one entitled Mother Holding Her Baby 1917. It really shows that mothers and babies are the same throughout time.

On the Other Hand

Upon further reflection, I have a few concerns about the Vatican's document on the economy.  (See yesterday's post for info and links.)

The document is vague enough for people to read into it what they want, politically. That's not a good thing with our current economy as seriously stalled as it is.

 It is also a bit Utopian. I have concerns that this wouldn't be able to work in the "real" world--especially with rich nations such as the United States.  At the moment, we can't straighten out our own political system and I don't currently have much confidence that we could be a part of an international financial authority without looking after our own interests to the detriment of poorer nations.  I think the document's authors were thinking of a way to get Europe to focus on its financial difficulties but over-reached a bit. The Utopian nature of a document like this is to be expected (it is from the Church after all) but their attempt to propose specific, political solutions is problematic. It is a common problem with Western theology.  (How many angels can fit on the head of a pin...)

It is ironic that the document calls for a world banking authority and also for subsidiarity--doing things at the most local level possible!  Knowing how large organizations often end up, a far-reaching body like this would likely prevent things from happening at the local level.

I'm wondering if some of the problems in  this document aren't a symptom of some more systemic issues--a top-heavy hierarchy that is by definition a bit separated from the everyday goings-on of local people.  The average person-in-the-pew right now is virtually begging the bishops to become humble followers of Christ--admit their mistakes, learn from their mistakes and become true servant-leaders in the style of Jesus.

Our Church needs that.  Our world needs that.  

Vatican Document on World Finances Released

The Vatican did indeed release a document on the world economy today.

In it, they suggest an impartial "world Authority" that would serve the common good.  This world Authority would be developed gradually, making sure not to serve the interests of "private lobbies or national governments... A person is not made to serve authority unconditionally" the document says. "Rather it is the task of authority to be at the service of the person, consistent with the pre-eminent value of human dignity."

The Vatican, in keeping with Christian teaching, sees this world Authority being "in service of various member countries according to the principle of subsidiarity".  Subsidiarity is the idea that nothing should be done by larger governing bodies that could be done at the more local level.  In short, "Think globally, act locally."

The document, entitled Towards Reforming the International Financial and Monetary Systems in the Context of Global Public Authority, says "the global social justice" policy "seems most urgent" and calls for "financial and monetary policies that will not damage the weakest countries; and policies aimed at achieving free and stable markets and a fair distribution of world wealth."

As much as many of us in the richer countries bristle at the idea of any sort of distributism (also known as "distributivism and "distributionism") it is the fair and Christian thing to do. We are our brothers' keepers and half the worlds children live in poverty. Catholicism is a global religion and the Church is rightly concerned with justice and basic rights of all her children.

To read the entire document visit Whispers in the Loggia.  For more info on distributism, visit The Distributist Review and this page on Distributivism and Catholic Social Teaching.

Music Monday - Nicolette Larson

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

Sunday Snippets is brought to you each week by RAnn at This, That and the Other Thing.

This week was cat week at the Well.  I posted art, music and poetry all related to cats.

I also wrote a post about a document on the economy rumored to be in the works at the Vatican.

The Pope and the Economy

I read something intriguing the other day.  The rumor is going around that tomorrow the Vatican will publish a document on the world economy.

The article on Our Daily Thread predicts the document will follow the path laid out by Pope Benedict in his Caritas in Veritate.  In it he says that corporate profit should be for the common good.  The Holy Father has said that said people should be able to make a living that supports their family in such a way that children are able to be educated and not have to go out and work themselves.  Workers have the right to organize and to have their voices heard.  Countries that lower worker protection and abandon "wealth redistribution in order to increase the country's international competitiveness," the Pope says, "hinder the achievement of lasting development."

He comes down on the side of government involvement in the economy when he says “Grave imbalances are produced when economic action, conceived merely as an engine for wealth creation, is detached from political action, conceived as a means for pursuing justice through redistribution.”  Benedict seems to be saying here that both economic action and political action are needed to get an economy going. Wealth creation alone, it seems, is no guarantee of enough good jobs at high enough wages to support a population.

This wealth-creation-as-sole-solution seems disturbingly close to what the Republican Party in the United States is doing.  We are living now with those "grave imbalances" and with the social unrest that they cause. The 2 parties refusal to work with each other and the unhealthy concentration on raising money to get elected has left the majority of Americans struggling.

Poetry Wednesday--The Farm Cats

This is one of my poems--The Farm Cats. When I drive home from work at night, I often see one or two farm cats sitting perilously close to the road.  I often wonder about their lives.

Where do the farm cats go when it rains?
In the absence of moonlight, do they get lost in the maze?
Do they hunker down among the aging corn,
with their fur puffed up and their eyes squeezed shut
or do they stick out their tongues
to catch the raindrops and splash in the puddles
while the farmer is sits inside
and eats
his soup?.

Art and Beauty Tuesday--Oksana Sulimova

This hopeful picture is Love in Rain by Oksana Sulimova. I love the 2 cats cuddling in the corner , mindless of the rain that falls around them and shines on the stone floor they sit on.

Music Monday--Al Stewart - Year of the cat

One of my favorite songs from back in the day, The Year of the Cat kicks off Cat week here at the Well.

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

Sunday Snippets is brought to you each week by RAnn at This, That and the Other Thing.

Since my last Sunday Snippets, I've posted art, music, scripture and poetry about rain and/or soup, and more art, music and poetry about the sea.

I also blogged about The Way, a Martin Sheen movie that looks like it is worth going to see, and On Voting, Government and Catholic Church Teaching.

Poetry Wednesday--Muso Soseki

The sky and the water

are a single

deepening blue

~ Muso Soseki (Japan, 14th cent)

I knew I had to use this poem for Poetry Wednesday when I read it on Poetry Chaikhana. The sparse but full imagery immediately brings to mind a gorgeous blue that stretches out to infinity.

Art and Beauty Tuesday--Crow

I found this painting on Flicker.  I like the way the sky and water blend together, with only the sail boats marking the place where they meet.  I love the painterly style and the way the sky darkens as you go higher in the picture.  It reminds me of good times with my husband when we were younger.  Very peaceful.

On Voting, the Government and Catholic Church Teaching

This blog is, admittedly, not one where you will read long intellectual treatises, but from time to time, I will put my thoughts "on paper" so to speak.  With the 2012 political race heating up, I've been doing a bit of research on voting and Catholicism and I've come to one conclusion above all other:  Neither the Democratic nor the Republican party embody Church teaching on social justice issues.  Hanging desperately onto either party does no good for the future of our country and does NOT in any way guarantee that one's vote will be in line with the teachings of the Church.

For example, there are those who bristle at the mention of voting with an eye towards social justice issues, seeing them as tied to abortion advocacy. Just because a majority of social justice advocates may be pro-abortion, doesn't automatically make social justice anti-Catholic as some try to claim.  In fact, the Church wants us to have a complete ethic of life, which includes being against abortion, capital punishment and euthanasia and for such things as fair and livable wages and the right to basic health care.

It is the Democratic and Republican parties in the United States who are putting these issues in separate boxes and forcing apart what could be one of the biggest voting blocks in the country. If we as Catholics had candidates who would truly be for the common good, imagine what could be done!

The common good is the very purpose of the existence of government.  I have become convinced that government, as it stands today, has gone far beyond the common good and into the good of those in power.

This income chart from Vox Nova shows, as their accompanied article implies, "the problem" with today's economy.  The top 1% of  earners in the country have seen a 261% increase in income from 1980-2007 compared to a paltry 15-55% increase for the rest.  (Notice that the 55% increase is for the top 20% and the 15% is seen in the bottom 20%.)   Think things were always this bad?  The graph on the left shows that income increases were stable across all groups from the end of World War II until 1979.

That does not bode well for our future, or for the future of the so-called "free world."  Those in power still give lip-service to ideals such as "freedom" and "democracy" while concentrating decreasing financial resources in the hands of fewer and fewer people.

This is the stuff of which revolutions are made, something which is beginning to be seen in the various OccupyWallStreet protests, which have now begun to spread around the country.  You will read and hear, by the way, that these protesters are disaffected youth, immoral, and perhaps violent.  Perhaps that is true of some.  But that still does not in any way prove that the protest themselves or the impetus behind them are not philosophically sound.

Music Monday Whispering Sea

This relaxing guitar music accompanies the Hawaiian sea and sunset. Worth taking a few minutes to listen to and watch.

The Way--A Movie

Martin Sheen stars in this film directed by his son, Emilio Estevez. Sheen plays a doctor whose son dies while on a pilgrimage in Spain. Sheen's character decides to finish the pilgrimage for his son.

Of the movie, Sheen told reporters, “It is hard for Hollywood to get their head wrapped around a film like this… Hollywood now makes movies targeted at 16-year-old boys. They have stopped making films for adults.”

That in itself is reason enough to see it.

"The Way" is only going to be in a few theaters. Check out their website to see where it will be playing.

Poetry Wednesday--Maya Angelou

Although I realize it is not winter, this is by far the best soup poem (and only good one, really) that I could find on the web, with its preponderance of children's poems about soup.

Hat tip goes out to Rosemary of Rosemary's blog for a fantastic post featuring this poem and a recipe for coconut red lentil soup.

The weather lately has been unseasonably cold and constantly rainy.  DH calls it "English weather".  It is also soup weather.

This Winter Day
by Maya Angelou


The kitchen is its readiness
white green and orange things
leak their blood selves in the soup.
Ritual sacrifice that snaps
an odor at my nose and starts
my tongue to march
slipping in the liquid of its drip.
The day, silver striped
in rain, is balked against
my window and the soup.

Art and Beauty Tuesday--Luciano Couselo

I traveled far and wide on the web to find this intriguing piece by Luciano Couselo called "Hot Soup." I like how there is just a suggestion of people and the white hot bowl of soup takes center stage as it certainly would when you are cold and hungry as is much of the world.

The painterly style almost suggests a turban of some sort on the figure on the right, saying perhaps that hunger, like soup, is universal. The color of most of the painting is a mixture of browns with white, yellows and reds, like humanity itself.

Click here to read more and/or purchase this painting.

Autumn Rains

As they go through the Bitter Valley, they make it a place of springs, the autumn rain covers it with blessings. ~Psalm 84, from today's morning prayer

Music Monday--Sara Bareilles

Today's Music Monday is Let the Rain by Sara Bareilles. She reminds me a lot of KT Tunstall both in musical style and even her album cover.

I chose this song after looking in vain for a decent song about soup. Failing that, I decided to find one about rain, which inspired this week's Poetry Wednesday post about soup.

I think this song speaks to the insecure person in all of us.

Sunday Snippets is brought to you each week by RAnn at This, That and the Other Thing.

This week's theme at The Well was the porch.  Our Music Monday featured Paul Whiteman's Orchestra playing Late Night on the Back Porch, accompanied by vintage pictures of people on porches.

Art and Beauty Tuesday featured Karen Margulis' Siamese Cat on the Porch and on Poetry Wednesday we read Wendell Berry's They Sit Together on the Porch, a poignant poem about growing old together.

I also had a short post on Sts. Cosmos and Damien, the twin patrons of free healthcare.