Happy Feast of St. John Cassian

Years ago, I read that Saint John Cassian could be said to be the patron saint of transcribers because he is shown in this icon transcribing scripture.  Since this is what I do for a living, I purchased the icon and it has been hanging in my icon corner ever since.

Today I have discovered that Saint John Cassian is a Leap Day Saint in the Orthodox Church.

You can read The Conferences of Saint John Cassian in their entirety online.  In it, he gives us a window into early Christian monasticism--even earlier than St. Benedict, who took St. John Cassian's work as an inspiration for his rule.

You can also read The 12 Books of St. John Cassian at osb.org.

Poetry Wednesday--St. Francis of Assisi

Poetry Chaikanna featured this translation yesterday, of a poem based on the Our Father by St. Francis of Assisi.  The Gospel from yesterday was Jesus teaching the Our Father to the disciples.

*************************************
O our most holy Father
Our Creator, Redeemer, Consoler and Savior,

Who are in Heaven,
In the angels and in the saints,
Enlightening them to Love because You, Lord, are Light,
Inflaming them to Love because You, Lord, are Love,
Dwelling in them and filling them with happiness,
    because You, Lord, are the Supreme Good,
         the Eternal Good,
    from Whom comes all good,
    without Whom there is no good.

Hallowed be Your Name:
May our knowledge of You become ever clearer,
That we may know the breadth of Your blessings,
    the length of your promises,
    the height of your majesty,
    the depths of your judgments,

Your Kingdom Come:
So that You may rule in us through Your Grace,
and enable us to come to Your kingdom,
where there is an unclouded vision of You,
an eternal enjoyment of You.

Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven:
That we may love you with our whole heart by always thinking of You,
     with our whole soul by always desiring You,
     with our whole mind by directing all our
          intentions to You and seeking Your
          glory in everything
And with our whole strength by spending all our
     energies and affections
     of soul and body
     in the service of Your Love
     and of nothing else
and may we love our neighbors as ourselves
     by drawing them all with our whole strength to Your Love,
     by rejoicing in the good fortunes of others as well as our own,
     and by sympathizing with the misfortunes of others
     and by giving offence to no one.

Give us this day:
in memory and understanding and reverence
    of the Love which our Lord Jesus Christ had for us,
    and of those things which He said and did and suffered for us

Our daily bread:
Your own beloved Son our Lord Jesus Christ

And forgive us our trespasses:
Through Your ineffable Mercy,
through the power of the passion of Your Beloved Son,
     together with the merits and intercession of the Blessed Virgin
          Mary and all Your chosen ones.

As we forgive those who trespass against us:
And whatever we do not forgive perfectly,
do You, Lord, enable us to forgive to the full
so that we may truly love your enemies
and fervently intercede for them before You
returning no one evil for evil
and striving to help everyone in You.

And lead us not into temptation:
hidden or obvious,
sudden or persistent,

But deliver us from evil:
Past, present or to come.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
As it was in the beginning, is now and will be forever.  Amen.

Myths about the Catholic Church

There are quite a few myths and misconceptions going around about the Catholic Church in light of the HHS mandate forcing church organizations to pay for abortifacient drugs, against their beliefs and consciences.

Some may be deliberate hyperbole born of either virulent anti-Catholicism or anti-religionist views in general. Some of these myths may be disseminated by people who actually believe them, but all of them, or a good majority of them are so egregiousness that they immediately peg the person as anti-Catholic or highly misinformed.

The first myth is that the Church wants to make all birth control illegal.  The Church has no interest in banning all forms of birth control.  America is not a theocracy and there are many Americans who are not Catholic.

The second myth is that the Church will "one day" forbid other drugs such as Viagra, merely because they have something to do with sex.  Wrong again.  There is no theological reason to forbid a drug that has nothing to do with directly preventing conception, or killing a child already conceived.

The third myth is that the American bishops' stand against the HHS mandate has to do with primarily with birth control.  It does not.  It has to do with religious freedom.  As in myth #1, the Church is not objecting to citizens having legal access to birth control.  The Church wants the freedom to be exempt from the law, which, by the way, was not passed by the Congress, but mandated by Health and Human Services.

The 4th myth is that because many Catholics ignore the Church's teaching on birth control at some time in their lives, society, including many who are not Catholic, or who are anti-Catholic, should dictate to the Church what its teachings should be!  I'm sure that nearly 100% of Catholics have violated the Church's teaching against lying, envy and coveting at some time in their lives.  Should the Church, then, decide that lying, coveting and envy are A-ok?

This HHS controversy has brought many people who happen to be full of hatred for the Church out of the closet.  This will do nothing to attract Catholics to their points of view.  I think, as citizens of the U.S. and of the world, we should try to find common ground and work together for the rights of all people to follow their consciences.

Lenten Music Monday--Michael John Poirier

Beautifully meditative song about Jesus calling us to be with Him during Lent.

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

It's Lent at The Well!

This week I talked about Psalm 40, we listened to John Michael Talbot, and watched a YouTube video about the journey of Lent.

I also started a Lenten resource page and highlighted some new stuff on my sidebar, including a new Divine Office widget.

New Sidebar Stuff

I've made some changes to the sidebar that I wanted to highlight for my readers.

HHS Mandate Petition
Besides my Lenten Resources, which I discussed in the previous post, I've got a link to the National Petition to stop the HHS mandate at the top of the sidebar.  Check it out, click, and help fight religious bigotry in the U.S.!

Divine Office Widget
The next new feature on the sidebar is a Breviary widget which I got from Coffee and Canticles: The Divine Office in Your Life.  I'm really loving this way of praying the Liturgy of the Hours.  For someone who is online more than I probably should be, this is a very handy way to have the prayers for the various hours, the Office of Readings and the Mass in one place. (You can also use this widget on iPhone, iPad, and Android Mobile.)

If you look across the top, you've got the Liturgy of the Hours (under "Breviary) the Mass readings (under "Daily Lecture") and a seemingly endless variety of Prayers available (under "Prayers", of course!) . If you click "More" you can even choose your language and make sure the day is set correctly.

Elizabeth Scalia, aka, The Anchoress, has a very inspiring post about praying the Divine Office during Lent on her blog.  She tells her readers that it has changed her personally and spiritually.

Free Online Books and Films
Also, scrolling down the sidebar to the second to the last list, I've got some free online films, talks and tv, including free audio books, Christian classics, Catholic classics, and documentaries.

Lenten Resource Page

Check out my new Lenten Resource Page.  Click on the Lenten Resources button to the right (on the sidebar) to go to a separate Lenten Resource page on Dymphna's Well.

Right now, I've got some fasting resources and Lenten family resources.  I will add to them as I find new and inspiring things on the web.

Edited to add:  I've added some Catholic and Orthodox Lenten Homilies.

Ash Wednesday--Lenten Meditation--Beginning the Journey

Music Monday--John Michael Talbot

Lent begins on Wednesday of this week.  Lent can be a very difficult time for many of us who struggle with feelings of shame and guilt over our shortcomings and sins.

In Eastern Christianity, sin is "falling short of the mark".  It is an opportunity to be healed by God, not to be shamed.

This week's Music Monday is Healer of my Soul by John Michael Talbot.  Take a moment and let the words become a prayer and a balm to your soul.

Heal My Soul

I love this verse from today's Psalm (Psalm 40).

As for me, I said: ‘Lord, have mercy on me,

  heal my soul for I have sinned against you.’

It really shows the Eastern Christian idea that when we have sinned, we don't need punishment as much as healing, from God. That is why Jesus came to earth--to heal us.  To those who have suffered at the hands people who would have us sink into permanent shame over our sins, Jesus came as the Divine Physician, and as the "mother hen" who wants to gather us under her wing and care for us until we are healed.

Sunday Snippets, A Catholic Carnival

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

This week I brought back Guerrilla Crochet because we have gotten a comment from the artist! Definitely check that out!

I posted a beautiful poem called Snowdrops for St Bridie's Day by Jacqui Thewless and a gorgeous Sacred Heart holy card for St. Valentine's Day.

I did a book review after reading a free online book, The Selfless Way of Christ: Downward Mobility and the Spiritual Life by Henri Nouwen.

I also posted a very interesting quote from Albert Einstein where he praises the Church's consistent stand against Hitler.

I've got three posts which are, in one way or the other, related to the HHS birth control mandate and the controversy and persecution it has caused. One is from the book of James, one is about people's confusion over the Church's stand on Viagra, and the third is a post that touches more directly on the subject of the mandate.

Book Review: "The Selfless Way of Christ: Downward Mobility and the Spiritual Life" by Henri Nouwen

The Selfless Way of Christ: Downward Mobility and the Spiritual Life by Henri J.M. Nouwen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


"The Selfless Way of Christ: Downward Mobility and the Spiritual Life" by Henri Nouwen was recommended by a caller to The Catholic Channel on Sirius Satellite Radio and I was thrilled to find it for free on http://www.archive.org. They even had a read-aloud feature where a (in this case, female) slightly computerized voice would read the book aloud, following along with the passages being highlighted in blue.

The book itself is short, only 93 pages, and the Internet Archives actually shows the original book, complete with illustrations and turn-able pages. When you choose the computer to read the text aloud, the pages turn automatically.

Nouwen says that the way of Christ is one of downward mobility, in direct opposition to society's quest for power, relevancy and spectacular sensationalism. Our God, Nouwen says, is one who literally "came down" as a servant; a member of a tiny tribe being oppressed by a huge super power.

He speaks of three disciplines that are necessary in our spiritual formation: the disciplines of the Church, the Book and the Heart.

This book is a little shot in the arm to one's spiritual life and a great read for Lent.

View all my reviews

Happy St. Valentine's Day

Catholics Need Not Apply

I was heartened to see the Fighting Irish, aka, Notre Dame, come down on the side of religious freedom in the wake of the HHS birth control/abortion mandate and the President's "accommodation".

After giving Mr. Obama an honorary degree and a platform on which to speak to its graduating class, even after much protest from other, arguably more "right-wing" Catholics, doubtless, Notre Dame feels, as do many on the Catholic left, that it has been lied to--courted and then walked away from.

Such bald anti-religionist and anti-tolerant views do not bode well for a country suffering from the worst economy since its Great Depression.  I can not see why anyone would think it politically expedient to alienate a good portion of the voting populous, especially during an election year, especially with the economy still in shambles.

I think most thinking people would rather err on the side of the religious tolerance that our country was founded upon than take us back to the years when people of a particular group (whether Muslims, African Americans, Jews or Irish) "need not apply".

As usual, Elizabeth Scalia of The Anchoress, has an insightful post on this subject.  Her opening sentence tells is all:

The elites (are) getting comfortable with the notion of telling us what we can and cannot do, what business we may or may not conduct, what materials we can or cannot own…because we’re Catholics.

I never thought I'd see the day.

Viagra vs. The Pill? Apples and Oranges

I heard a caller ask a host on the Catholic Channel on Sirius Radio today why the Church is against birth control but allows Viagra. I then saw an article on NPR saying that they had gotten many emails asking the same question.

 I was shocked, frankly, at the ignorance that lay behind these queries.

Viagra is not an abortifacient, plain and simple. Using Viagra does not in any way risk the early abortion of an unborn child.  Further, Viagra does not artificially prevent conception.

I couldn't help but wonder if these questioners knew what Viagra was for.

Very Timely Scripture From Today's First Reading

Today's first reading was from the beginning of the Letter of James, which reads, in part:

Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters,
when you encounter various trials,
for you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.

It never ceases to amaze me how timely the cycle of readings often is, especially given the fact that the readings are chosen ahead of time and current events are not!

Keep the faith, everyone!

Einstein Praises the Church's Consistent Stand Against Hitler

Thanks to a reader and comment-er on Mark Shea's blog, I have come across a moving quote from Albert Einstein on the Catholic Church during World War II.

Being a lover of freedom, when the revolution came in Germany, I looked to the universities to defend it, knowing that they had always boasted of their devotion to the cause of truth; but, no, the universities immediately were silenced. Then I looked to the great editors of the newspapers whose flaming editorials in days gone by had proclaimed their love of freedom; but they, like the universities, were silenced in a few short weeks. . . .”Only the Church stood squarely across the path of Hitler’s campaign for suppressing truth. I never had any special interest in the Church before, but now I feel a great affection and admiration because the Church alone has had the courage and persistence to stand for intellectual truth and moral freedom. I am forced thus to confess that what I once despised I now praise unreservedly. ~Albert Einstein, TIME magazine, Monday, Dec. 23, 1940

The writer then goes on to say that, lest you doubt the authenticity of the sentiment quoted, there is a letter, written in Einstein's own hand, to an American preacher who had written Einstein asking whether he had indeed praised the Church in that way. Here is his response:

“Yes, I did say this about the Christian Church. It is the only social institution that could stand up to the Nazi regime.” –Albert Einstein

When the chips are down, only the Church stands up consistently for the innate worth of human life.  Only the Church consistently asks humanity to act with integrity.  Just because the majority of us fail to live up to her standards (including many in leadership positions in the Church) doesn't mean she is wrong in her values.

The Church got us through the Dark Ages once.  She is doing so again today.

(Poetry Thursday?) Snowdrops for St Bridie's Day by Jacqui Thewless

They might be flowers

of mercy

or small emblems of

the sun's

inevitable rise:

clusters of grey-green spears
miraculously piercing last year's

fallen foliage
without disturbing
a thing.

Earth's first
birth
is whiteness -
a simple dependence
from these little stalks -
where no hope was
without modesty,
surprise...
springs!

I was inspired by this poem by Jacqui Thewless as the snow that fell last night around my home.  We have had an unusually warm winter here so far and spring definitely is on the way.

Art and Beauty Tuesday--Guerrilla Crochet

Note:  I'm re-posting this guerrilla crochet to highlight the new comment by the artist! Enjoy!

I was amazed by this picture.  I love the idea of street art enhancing beauty and sending a message.  This one speaks to me of optimism and of sharing happiness.

Sunday Snippets--A Catholic Carnival

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

We've had a couple of themes here at The Well since I last posted a Sunday Snippets, including Sarcasm/Irony and the Kingdom of God. We looked at street art by Bansky, Sarcasm Senryu by A. Thomas Hawkins, music by John Michael Talbot, a 14th century icon by Manuel Panselinos and a poem by St. Teresa of Avila.

I also wrote a post about The True Kingdom of God, and one about The Days of Candles and Light as well as one about the 130th Anniversary of FDR's birth.

The Days of Candles and Light

This week, we have 2 feast days that have to do with candles. Today is Candlemas. Many churches will bless any candles that you bring to Mass today.

Tomorrow is the Feast of St. Blaise when Catholics get their throats blessed using 2 crossed candles.

Thankfully the days are getting longer this time of year and Light seems to be on the horizon. The Church uses the seasons and physical symbols to remind us of greater truths.

Poetry Wednesday--St. Teresa of Avila

St. Teresa of Avila understood that the Kingdom of God was not something to wait for passively, but something to be brought about by people's cooperation with God.  She expresses this beautifully in her poem,

Christ Has No Body

Christ has no body now on earth
but yours, 
no hands but yours, 
no feet, but yours, 

Yours are the eyes through which
is to look out 
compassion to the world; 

Yours is the feet with which He is to go about
doing good; 

Yours are the hands with which He is to bless men
now.