MOTHER JESUS

Luke 13:34

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!

 
Anselm of Canterbury

Jesus, as a mother you gather your people to you:
You are gentle with us as a mother with her children;
Often you weep over our sins and our pride:
tenderly you draw us from hatred and judgment.
You comfort us in sorrow and bind up our wounds:
in sickness you nurse us,
and with pure milk you feed us.
Jesus, by your dying we are born to new life:
by your anguish and labor we come forth in joy.
Despair turns to hope through your sweet goodness:
through your gentleness we find comfort in fear.
Your warmth gives life to the dead:
your touch makes sinners righteous.
Lord Jesus, in your mercy heal us:
in your love and tenderness remake us.
In your compassion bring grace and forgiveness:
for the beauty of heaven may your love prepare us.

Julian of Norwich   

God is our Mother

It is a characteristic of God to overcome evil with good.

Jesus Christ therefore, who himself overcame evil with good, is our true Mother. We received our ‘Being’ from Him ­ and this is where His Maternity starts ­ And with it comes the gentle Protection and Guard of Love which will never cease to surround us.

Just as God is our Father, so God is also our Mother. 

And He showed me this truth in all things, but especially in those sweet words when He says: “It is I”.

As if to say,  I am the power and the Goodness of the Father, I am the Wisdom of the Mother, I am the Light and the Grace which is blessed love, I am the Trinity, I am the Unity, I am the supreme Goodness of all kind of things, I am the One who makes you love, I am the One who makes you desire, I am the never-ending fulfilment of all true desires. (...)

Our highest Father, God Almighty, who is ‘Being’, has always known us and loved us: because of this knowledge, through his marvellous and deep charity and with the unanimous consent of the Blessed Trinity, He wanted the Second Person to become our Mother, our Brother, our Saviour.

It is thus logical that God, being our Father, be also our Mother. Our Father desires, our Mother operates and our good Lord the Holy Ghost confirms; we are thus well advised to love our God through whom we have our being, to thank him reverently and to praise him for having created us and to pray fervently to our Mother, so as to obtain mercy and compassion, and to pray to our Lord, the Holy Ghost, to obtain help and grace.

I then saw with complete certainty that God, before creating us, loved us, and His love never lessened and never will. In this love he accomplished all his works, and in this love he oriented all things to our good and in this love our life is eternal.

With creation we started but the love with which he created us was in Him from the very beginning and in this love is our beginning.

And all this we shall see it in God eternally.

(Revelations of Divine Love)

'SPEAK TO ME!'

Oh dear!

From nakedpastor.  David is running a special offer now.  If you order anything from his gallery, he will send you the cartoon above as a freebie.  Check it out.

REMEMBERING GAYLE - SIX YEARS

The picture of my sister Gayle was taken on the grounds of the Tower of London during our trip to England in the 1990s. We were headed to visit the Norman chapel inside the White Tower. I stopped to take a picture, and Gayle walked on. Today is the sixth anniversary of my sister's death. With courage, she fought off lymphoma 17 years before she died from pancreatic cancer. I still miss her. For me, the picture is a stunning metaphor for Gayle's walking away from all of us who love her.

Please pray for her husband, Frank and her three children, two grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. Please pray for me and for her many friends who still miss her. She was a wonderful person. She loved to joke and laugh, and she loved a good party. She was a good wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. She was a good sister and a good friend to me.

For the past ten days or so, I've been unusually doleful, and I've wondered why. There's a good bit going on in my family that could make me sad, but I'm fairly resilient, with my melancholy times lasting only a day or so. Yesterday, it dawned on me that in the days before the anniversary of Gayle's death, I grieve each year, even though I'm not constantly thinking about the approaching anniversary. Still, the body clock says it's a time to grieve.

WHY COULDN'T YOU STAY?

You walked away; you left us
Bereft, bereaved.
How could you go?
It wasn't your doing,
I know, I know.
Yet, how could you go?

Two years passed and gone,
Slipped away.
After you left, I'd think
I'll call her; I'll email.
Oh no! None of that!
You won't answer.

Now I know you're gone.
No thoughts of visits to come,
Seeing your face, hearing your voice,
The sound of your laughter.
Sadness lingers, emptiness remains.
Why couldn't you stay?

June Butler - 04-27-08

SOPHIA 'CANOE' - BY NAKEDPASTOR

SOPHIA 'Canoe'

Yesterday my print of the lovely drawing, pictured above, by David Hayward (aka nakedpastor) arrived in the mail. I've admired David's cartoons and his serious drawings for a while and purchased a print of the stunning 'Canoe' from his Sophia drawings.  Here's the link to the gallery of nakedpastor's Sophia series.

David blogs at (Surprise!) nakedpastor. 

STEPHEN COLBERT'S TIME 100 SPEECH

From Mark Helperin's 'The Page':

STEPHEN COLBERT:  Thank you, very much.  Lovely.
Good evening, and congratulations my fellow influencers.  How is everyone feeling this evening?

Oh, come on, you could do better than that?  Look at this room.  Look at this people.  Look at the view.  You are the TIME 100, and we are better than other people.  I'll say it, it's just us chickens.  No one is live blogging this, right?  You're on your honor.  And I don't know about you, but it is such a relief to be away from the kind of riffraff who aren't influential enough to make the list.  People like the Pope and Oprah.  The Poprah.

You know, it's actually a bit dangerous to have this many influential people in the room.  What if something should happen?  It would wipe out the world's supply of influence.  That's why some members of the TIME 100 are not here tonight, we have sequestered Warren Buffett and Viola Davis and in an undisclosed location in case we need to repopulate the world with influentialness.

Please read the entire speech, which is on a par with his address at the White House Correspondents Dinner during the George W Bush presidency, in which he skewered attendees left and right, including the president himself. If you recall, he lost the audience of media folk present during his talk but bravely carried on, while holding the viewers at home enthralled with laughter mixed with shock that he actually spoke the words we were hearing.

Stephen does it again with audacious, pointed comemntary on people right there in the room with him.

Also, Georgetown law student Sandra Fluke is here tonight.  Also an instant, instant feminist icon.  Famously tested, testified before Congress, that Georgetown, a Catholic institution,should be required to provide insurance coverage for her birth control.

Now, TIME 100 honoree, his eminence Timothy Cardinal Dolan disagrees -- sir, lovely to see you again.

Of course, now some, some critics have said in response to this that if the Catholic church's insurance does not cover Sandra Fluke's birth control, it shouldn't cover Cardinal Dolan's Viagra.

Oh, no, no, no.  Oh, no, no, no, that's called celibacy plus.  That's how the pros do it.  Because chastity is one thing, but it shows true commitment to uphold your vows when you are sporting a crook you could hang a miter on.  Oh, wow, see you at mass on Sunday, sir?

I hope he doesn't become Pope.

I'm a Catholic, it's okay.  I go to confession, it will be fine.  Thank you.

Ouch!  That smarted.  I looked without success for a video of the speech, but I expect one will be available soon.

DO YOU LIKE MINCEMEAT?

From The Huffington Post:

Joining a chorus of Catholic bishops, theologians, priests, and social justice leaders, nearly 90 Georgetown University faculty and administrators have called Representative Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) to task for his misuse of Catholic social teaching in defending his budget, which hurts the poor. The group sent a letter to Rep. Ryan in advance of his appearance on the Catholic campus on Thursday morning to give the Whittington Lecture.

In their letter to Ryan, the scholars make clear they are not objecting to his speaking on campus, but rather his recent comments defending his budget on Christian grounds.

“Our problem with Representative Ryan is that he claims his budget is based on Catholic social teaching,” said Jesuit Father Thomas J. Reese, one of the organizers of the letter. “This is nonsense. As scholars, we want to join the Catholic bishops in pointing out that his budget has a devastating impact on programs for the poor.” Reese is a senior fellow at the Woodstock Theological Center at Georgetown University.
....

The scholars also gave the Representative a reading assignment: “The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church,” which was commissioned by John Paul II and published by the Vatican.

Signing the letter were over a dozen Georgetown Jesuit priests, numerous members of the Theology and other departments including History, Government, Philosophy, School of Foreign Service and School of Nursing & Health Studies.

Rep. Paul Ryan's spokesman, Kevin Seifert, sent this email in response to an inquiry about the Georgetown Faculty Letter from The Huffingtonpost:

"Chairman Ryan remains grateful for Georgetown's invitation to advance a thoughtful dialogue this week on his efforts to avert a looming debt crisis that would hurt the poor the first and the worst. Ryan looks forward to affirming our shared commitment to a preferential option for the poor, which of course does not mean a preferential option for bigger government."

My guess as to what Paul Ryan will look like once the Jesuits and other scholars at Georgetown are finished with him. 

What I know about logic and reasoning, I learned mainly from the Jesuits many years ago, and they taught me well.  The gaps in my knowledge are due to my own lack of seriousness and inattention in the days of my youth.  Still, compared to the some logic and reasoning skills on display today, I see that I owe the Jesuits a great deal.     

Picture from Wikipedia.

H/T to Charles Pierce at The Politics Blog.

UPDATE: I am eating my words. No one made mincemeat of the Granny Starver.  Yes, there was a Q&A from written questions from the audience, which only served to give Ryan a longer forum to unload his bullshit. You can watch at C-SPAN, if you have the stomach for it.  Very disappointing. Give back the American dream?  The American dream is dead and gone. Bush put the nails in the coffin. Back to Charles Pierce's mantra: "Fck the deficit. People got no jobs. People got no money."

UPDATE 2:  Where was the Republican concern about the deficit when Bush launched not one, but two off-budget wars?  How crazy is that for a fiscal policy?

WAXING CRESCENT MOON AND PLANET VENUS

Last night the sky was a clear midnight blue, and the waxing crescent moon and the planet Venus put on a splendid display.  My photo, taken with my inexpensive camera, does not do the scene justice, nor does the picture give the true color of the sky.

Waxing crescent moon
With Sister Venus shines in 
Midnight blue splendor

(June Butler 4-25-2012)

Here's a link to a truer photo of the gorgeous scene.

CALLED BY GOD

Bro John

9:48am Apr 24

Being called by God is no easy thing. But knowing that you have been called, and knowing what God is calling you to, is even more difficult.

-Br. James Koester
Society of Saint John the Evangelist

St Cuthbert's Cottage on Facebook

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY - ABP NICHOLAS OKOH

Archbishop Nicholas Okoh, the leader of 23 million Anglicans in Nigeria, said that while the historic position of the Archbishop of Canterbury would always be respected he should be seen as “one of” many primates.

My goodness!  I agree with  Abp Okoh!

From the Telegraph.

BISHOP ANDREW DOYLE (DIOCESE OF TEXAS) PRESS RELEASE ON SAME-SEX BLESSINGS

Texas Bishop Announces Plan to Navigate Proposed Rite

 

The Bishop of Texas, C. Andrew Doyle, announced his response to the likely approval at this summer’s General Convention of the blessing of same-gender covenants today at a special meeting of diocesan clergy. Bishop Doyle outlined his plan to help unify the Diocese of Texas, addressing both liberal and traditional congregations’ positions at the gathering at Camp Allen April 24.

Bishop Doyle began working with former Secretary of State James Baker in 2010 to develop the outline of his plan. He has since received support for his leadership from people in the diocese who represent the broad diversity of opinion on the blessing of same-gender covenants.

“My plan does not ask for further debate or require approval,” Bishop Doyle told the clergy gathered at Camp Allen. “I have not asked people to change their positions or even to like the plan that I am setting before us,” he explained. “It is my deepest desire to offer a generous breadth of pastoral care for our members throughout the diocese. “

The plan contains several options:

1. Congregations may choose to take no action, one way or the other.
2. Traditional congregations/rectors may state that they will not conduct or participate in rites for blessing persons of the same gender, sponsor for ordination anyone or employ any clergy who are in a non-celebrate relationship out side holy matrimony.
3. Following General Convention, one congregation in Houston and one congregation in Austin will be granted permission to bless same-gender covenants. Both the rector and the congregation must support such a liturgy and must complete the congregational education portion of the process. Additional congregations may request permission in the future. A provision for clergy who wish to do blessings of same-gender covenants outside the church is also included.

 Current Texas law does not recognize unions of same-gender couples therefore no representation may be made that the blessing liturgy either creates or solemnizes any marriage, civil union or other legal relationship.

Noting the predominant traditional stance in the Diocese of Texas, the Bishop said that he will vote against the resolution to approve rites for blessing a same-gender partnership and that he will abstain from voting on the election of bishops living in a same-gender partnership. Additionally he stated that he personally will not bless any same-gender covenant.

In a 120-page document, Unity in Mission, with a foreword by Secretary Baker, the Bishop provides his in-depth perspective on the unity of the church, his leadership, foundations in traditional marriage and a discussion of opposing views as well as what he believes is a proper response. A detailed description of his plan to provide different responses while maintaining the unity of the Church provides several options. Also included in the paper is a letter of support from a broad and diverse group of clergy and lay leaders. They note that the real cost of the conflict over the last several decades has been “the mission of the gospel” and state their support of the bishop and acknowledge his plan as a way forward. Supporters say the plan is “an earnest offering to live into our Lord’s Prayer that ‘we all may be one’” while they acknowledge that not everyone will be happy with it.

Bishop Doyle has made provision for clergy and congregations to change their position at any time. Guidelines will be available in the fall of 2012 to help clergy and congregations respond pastorally.

“I hold our work for the Lord Jesus Christ to be paramount in who we are and in everything we do. Our mission and ministry have been dogged by our disagreements and conflict over the blessing of same-gender couples for too long at the expense of the mission of the gospel. I pray that this plan will help to guide us beyond conflict and give us the ability to refocus our attention on the hurting world around us. I am hopeful that we will learn from one another and deepen our respect and love for one another throughout this process,” Bishop Doyle said.

A copy of the full plan may be found at: www.epicenter.org/unity