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St. Mary's put together a Lenten reflection booklet which we handed out on Ash Wed. in order to have a daily reflection on the Mass readings for the day. Most of the reflections were written by students (a few by staff). Here is today's reflection:
February 24, 2013
THE SECOND SUNDAY OF LENT
Genesis 15: 5-12, 17-18 * Philippians 3: 17- 4: 1 * Luke 9: 28b-36
The Gospel of today's liturgy, the Transfiguration, describes an experience of contemplation. The apostles are brought, by the Lord, to Mount Taber to see the glory of God. Contemplation is a gift; we do not achieve it on our own. I believe keeping holy the day of the Lord (Sunday) and living it as a day of holy leisure truly opens us up for contemplation. The philosopher Joseph Pieper wrote a short book titled, Leisure: The Basis of Culture. He argued that a healthy culture and environment, in which the human person lives and is formed, requires the understanding of leisure.
What is proper leisure? The highest form is contemplation: first entering into silence, then meditation and "in there" being in the conscious presence of God.
The heart of leisure is celebration. We say the liturgy is the source and summit of all our activities. As Catholics we have Sundays, feast days and holy days. Each of these are to be regarded as days of rest, not to be idle, slothful or lazy, but to allow us to worship and celebrate and be re-created. "On the seventh day God completed the work he had been doing; he rested on the seventh day from all the work he had undertaken. God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work he had done in creation." (Gen 2:2-3)
Leisure is essential to a person's wholeness. It makes us better and improves communities. As a byproduct, it will make us better students and workers.
Some ideas for your leisure: Contemplation, prayer, worship, time spent with friends talking about great things, centered around a meal with good food and drink. Contemplating nature, listening to music, working the land or in a garden.
How do I live Sundays? Are they a day of leisure and rest? What am I doing on Sundays that I can avoid?
Suggested References: read John Paul II Dies Domini (On Keeping the Lord's Day Holy).
SR. ELENA MORCELLI
Apostles of the Interior Life Campus Minister at St. Mary's Catholic Center
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We live in a wholly "worldly" public sphere; and what the modern world shows is that worldliness does not, apparently "cannot", defend the world.
A focus on 'this world' by those who believe only in this world, is leading to the utter loss of this world.
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Throughout the decades of atheist adult life, I used to worry that belief in other-worldly religions (especially among political leaders) would lead to neglect of this world.
That 'crazy Christians' would lead us into terminal wars over imagined spiritual conflicts, would lead to mass poverty in pursuit of delusional spiritual goals, would destroy this actual planet and most of the people on it because their attention was focused on an imaginary afterlife.
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I feared that a concentration on the salvation of souls would lead to a neglect of bodies and minds.
I feared that seeking happiness in heaven would lead to the neglect of preventible misery on earth.
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However, it turns out that the worldly neglect by the worldly is far, far worse than the unworldly religious have ever attained: blinder, more perverse, more lacking in worldly wisdom.
And for this there is neither reason nor excuse.
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The reckless, futile squandering of this-life by people who supposedly believe there is "only" this-life.
The utter lack of common sense by those whose religion is common sense.
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It seems that to believe there is only this world and only this life is in practice to render "everything futile"; to encourage recklessness by the absence of any conceivable strategic good.
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What a paradox! That the irreligious for whom the world is everything yet accept and actively assist in the destruction of this world; and that the religious - who are trying to focus on the next world - are among few who perceive that this world is on the verge of destruction.
The paradox is not new - the Old Testament has examples of prophets who fortell the destruction of cities of corruption; who simultaneously "approve" this destruction as merited by sin, yet also try to "prevent" it.
The worldly cannot see this approaching collapse - it is only the "spiritual" prophets who realize the incipient reality of "physical" destruction and its "physical" terribleness.
So holy and spiritual prophets seek to terrify worldly sinners with prophecies of wordly consequences - how could it be otherwise?
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The paradox is thus apparent, not real; the prophets seek not to save the world for more worldliness; but to bring the wicked to "repentance" using the only language which the wicked understand.
And if there "is" repentance then destruction is delayed.
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Origin: http://way-of-witch.blogspot.com
A tiny little wizard came all of a sudden in my pink room last night! He invited me to his magic maple tree where all his family was celebrating the arrival of the magick season...
- Hurry up! he said to me,
.I accepted his invitation and together on my broomstick we flied to the beautiful tree...
Into the thick red leaves of this magical tree there was a mirror! A magic gold mirror!
With the help of the little wizard i passed through it...
and...
the
next minute
i
was found
in a really
mAgiCal PlaCE...
where i have never been before...
not even in my deams...
not even in my imagination...
it was a real
WitCHes' gATHeriNG!
in the dark of night they were casting real spells!
the older and wiser witch welcome us! she was the little wizard's grandma!
she asked us to be quiet in order to cast her spell and prepare the magic potion in the pumpkin!
in the middle there were lots of apothecary jars and bottles with magic supplies in...
i read their
the magic potion was ready and the tree sent its leaves as a thank you gift!
i asked the witches what was all about...
it is time for a givaway, an autumn givaway! they replied!
and one by one all the gifts started to falling from the magic tree!
so, i understood! that was the spell and the magic potion about...just to make some gifts!
1st, 2nd and 3rd gift
1, 2 3 (small mixed media paintings on acquarelle paper)
4th gift
4o
a pendant with a pink dreamer's banner
5th gift
5o
a necklace with purple beads and ribbon
6th gift6o, art journaling, scrapbookingpaper supplies for collage, art journaling, scrapbooking
7th gift
7o
!
my lucky mermaid bookmark!
the witches say: if you want to join the magic givaway, please
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Every year, the fourteenth day of the month of February has millions across the world presenting their loved ones with candy, flowers, chocolates and other lovely gifts. In many countries, restaurants and eateries are seen to be filled with couples who are eager to celebrate their relationship and the joy of their togetherness through delicious cuisines. There hardly seems to be a young man or woman who is not keen to make the most of the day
The reason behind all of this is a kindly cleric named Valentine who died more than a thousand years ago.
It is not exactly known why the 14th of February is known as Valentine's Day or if the noble Valentine really had any relation to this day. The history of Valentine's Day is impossible to be obtained from any archive and the veil of centuries gone by has made the origin behind this day more difficult to trace. It is only some legends that are our source for the history of Valentine's Day.
The modern St. Valentine's Day celebrations are said to have been derived from both ancient Christian and Roman tradition. As per one legend, the holiday has originated from the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalis/Lupercalia, a fertility celebration that used to observed annually on February 15.
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But the rise of Christianity in Europe saw many pagan holidays being renamed for and dedicated to the early Christian martyrs. Lupercalia was no exception. In 496 AD, Pope Gelasius turned Lupercalia into a Christian feast day and set its observance a day earlier, on February 14. He proclaimed February 14 to be the feast day in honor of Saint Valentine, a Roman martyr who lived in the 3rd century. It is this St. Valentine whom the modern Valentine's Day honors.
According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, there were at least three early Christian saints by the name of Valentine. While one was a priest in Rome, another was a bishop in Terni. Nothing is known about the third St. Valentine except that he met his end in Africa. Surprisingly, all three of them were said to have been martyred on 14th February.
It is clear that Pope Gelasius intended to honor the first of these three aforementioned men. Most scholars believe that this St. Valentine was a priest who lived around 270 AD in Rome and attracted the disfavor of Roman emperor Claudius II who ruled during this time.
The story of St. Valentine has two different versions - the Protestant and the Catholic one. Both versions agree upon Saint Valentine being a bishop who held secret marriage ceremonies of soldiers in opposition to Claudius II who had prohibited marriage for young men and was executed by the latter.
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"DURING THE LIFETIME OF VALENTINE, THE GOLDEN ERA OF ROMAN EMPIRE HAD ALMOST COME TO AN END. LACK OF QUALITY ADMINISTRATORS LED TO FREQUENT CIVIL STRIFE. EDUCATION DECLINED, TAXATION INCREASED AND TRADE WITNESSED A VERY BAD TIME. THE ROMAN EMPIRE FACED CRISIS FROM ALL SIDES, FROM THE GAULS, SLAVS, HUNS, TURKS AND MONGOLIANS FROM NORTHERN EUROPE AND ASIA. "
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The empire had grown too large to be shielded from external aggression and internal chaos with existing forces. Naturally, more and more capable men were required to to be recruited as soldiers and officers to protect the nation from takeover. When Claudius became the emperor, he felt that married men were more emotionally attached to their families, and thus, will not make good soldiers. He believed that marriage made the men weak. So he issued an edict forbidding marriage to assure quality soldiers.
The ban on marriage was a great shock for the Romans. But they dared not voice their protest against the mighty emperor. The kindly bishop Valentine also realized the injustice of the decree. He saw the trauma of young lovers who gave up all hopes of being united in marriage.
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He planned to counter the monarch's orders in secrecy. Whenever lovers thought of marrying, they went to Valentine who met them afterwards in a secret place, and joined them in the sacrament of matrimony. And thus he secretly performed many marriages for young lovers. But such things cannot remain hidden for long. It was only a matter of time before Claudius came to know of this "friend of lovers," and had him arrested.
While awaiting his sentence in prison, Valentine was approached by his jailor, Asterius. It was said that Valentine had some saintly abilities and one of them granted him the power to heal people.
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Asterius had a blind daughter and knowing of the miraculous powers of Valentine he requested the latter to restore the sight of his blind daughter. The Catholic legend has it that Valentine did this through the vehicle of his strong faith, a phenomenon refuted by the Protestant version which agrees otherwise with the Catholic one. Whatever the fact, it appears that Valentine in some way did succeed to help Asterius' blind daughter.
When Claudius II met Valentine, he was said to have been impressed by the dignity and conviction of the latter. However, Valentine refused to agree with the emperor regarding the ban on marriage.
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It is also said that the emperor tried to convert Valentine to the Roman gods but was unsuccesful in his efforts. Valentine refused to recognize Roman Gods and even attempted to convert the emperor, knowing the consequences fully. This angered Claudius II who gave the order of execution of Valentine.
Meanwhile, a deep friendship had been formed between Valentine and Asterius' daughter. It caused great grief to the young girl to hear of his friend's imminent death. It is said that just before his execution, Valentine asked for a pen and paper from his jailor, and signed a farewell message to her "From Your Valentine," a phrase that lived ever after.
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As per another legend, Valentine fell in love with the daughter of his jailer during his imprisonment. However, this legend is not given much importance by historians. The most plausible story surrounding St. Valentine is one not centered on Eros (passionate love) but on agape (Christian love): he was martyred for refusing to renounce his religion. Valentine is believed to have been executed on February 14, 270 AD.
Thus 14th February became a day for all lovers and Valentine became its Patron Saint. It began to be annually observed by young Romans who offered handwritten greetings of affection, known as Valentines, on this day to the women they admired. With the coming of Christianity, the day came to be known as St. Valentine's Day.
But it was only during the 14th century that St. Valentine's Day became definitively associated with love. UCLA medieval scholar Henry Ansgar Kelly, author of "Chaucer and the Cult of Saint Valentine", credits Chaucer as the one who first linked St. Valentine's Day with romance.
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In medieval France and England it was believed that birds mated on February 14. Hence, Chaucer used the image of birds as the symbol of lovers in poems dedicated to the day. In Chaucer's "The Parliament of Fowls," the royal engagement, the mating season of birds, and St. Valentine's Day are
"HAND-MADE VALENTINE CARDS MADE OF LACE, RIBBONS, AND FEATURING CUPIDS AND HEARTS BEGAN TO BE CREATED ON THIS DAY AND HANDED OVER TO THE MAN OR WOMAN ONE LOVED. THIS TRADITION EVENTUALLY SPREAD TO THE AMERICAN COLONIES. "
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"IT WAS NOT UNTIL THE 1840S THAT VALENTINE'S DAY GREETING CARDS BEGAN TO BE COMMERCIALLY PRODUCED IN THE U.S. THE FIRST AMERICAN VALENTINE'S DAY GREETING CARDS WERE CREATED BY ESTHER A. HOWLANDA MOUNT HOLYOKE, A GRADUATE AND NATIVE OF WORCESTER. MASS. HOWLAND, KNOWN AS THE MOTHER OF THE VALENTINE, MADE ELABORATE CREATIONS WITH REAL LACE, RIBBONS AND COLORFUL PICTURES KNOWN AS "SCRAP"."
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It was when Howland began Valentine's cards in a large scale that the tradition really caught on in the United States.
Today, Valentine's Day is one of the major holidays in the U.S. and has become a booming commercial success. According to the Greeting Card Association, 25% of all cards sent each year are "valentine"s. The "valentines", as Valentine's Day cards are better known as, are often designed with hearts to symbolize love.
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The Valentine's Day card spread with Christianity, and is now celebrated all over the world. One of the earliest valentines was sent in 1415 AD by Charles, Duke of Orleans, to his wife during his imprisonment in the Tower of London. The card is now preserved in the British Museum.
There may be doubts regarding the actual identity of Valentine, but we know that he really existed because archaeologists have recently unearthed a Roman catacomb and an ancient church dedicated to a Saint Valentine.
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Reverend Terry Jones, pastor of the Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida is planning to burn the Quran (also spelled Koran) in order to honor those people who lost their lives on September 11, 2001. According to Jones, he is also using this occasion to proclaim that Islam is an evil religion.
Jones' lawyer has advised him that his First Amendment right allows him to express his belief about Islam and to proclaim his belief by burning the holy book of Islam. Although Jones has the constitutional right to burn the Quran to express his view about Islam, I believe that his action is wrong and expresses a negative view of Christianity.
General David Petraeus, the general commander of the American forces in Afghanistan, has expressed his concern about what could happen to Americans in Afghanistan and in the Muslim world if Jones carries out his threat. Petraeus has warned that Jones' plan to burn the Quran could provoke violence against American troops in Pakistan, Afghanistan, and other countries.
The events of September 11, 2001 will remain in the minds and hearts of Americans for many years. The pain, the suffering, and the loss of those people whose friends and family members lost their lives in those barbaric events in New York, Virginia, and Pennsylvania is still fresh in their minds. But what Jones plans to do this Saturday will not bring back those who lost their lives, will not honor their death, and will not bring honor to Christianity.
There are two accounts of book burning in the Bible. The first case was the burning of Jeremiah's scroll by Jehoiakim, king of Judah. In the case of Jehoiakim, he burned Jeremiah's book because he was unhappy with Jeremiah's message:
"Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it from the chamber of Elishama the secretary; and Jehudi read it to the king and all the officials who stood beside the king. As Jehudi read three or four columns, the king would cut them off with a penknife and throw them into the fire in the brazier, until the entire scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the brazier"
(Jeremiah 36:21, 23).
By his action, Jehoiakim showed that he did not believe the words of Jeremiah. He also did not believe that the words of judgment Jeremiah had preached were true. It is also possible that by burning the book, Jehoiakim believed that God's word in the mouth of the prophet would not come to pass. Jehoiakim burned the book but he could not burn God's word. God told Jeremiah to write another book as a sign that he, God, would bring the disasters he had pronounced against Judah.
The second example of book burning in the Bible was in Ephesus. In Ephesus, God performed extraordinary miracles through Paul's ministry there. As a result, the fear of God fell upon many people and scores believed in Christ. As the writer of the book of Acts reported: "Many who became believers confessed their sinful practices. A number of them who had been practicing sorcery brought their incantation As Jones' lawyer said, the First Amendment gives him the right to express his belief about Islam by burning the Quran. However, in this case Jones should not listen to his lawyer, but to the Apostle Paul. Paul wrote to the Corinthians:
"We are free to do all things, but there are things which it is not wise to do. We are free to do all things, but not all things are for the common good" (1 Corinthians 10:23).
Paul also wrote:
"Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no cause of trouble to Jews, or to Greeks, or to the church of God" (1 Corinthians 10:31-32).
If Jones loves the Lord and loves the church of God, he should listen to Paul's words. He should also refrain from carrying out his plan to burn the Quran.
Claude Mariottini
Professor of Old Testament
Northern Baptist Seminary
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Back in the day, Dungeons and Dragons was no stranger to controversy. Besides attracting criticism for it's portrayal of gods, demons and devils, and attendant accusations of encouraging devil worship, there was ongoing concern about the depiction of naked bodies, predominantly those of women.
Those expressions of concern finally precipitated editorial changes at Dragon Magazine, in reaction to angry letters over what was perhaps the best cover of Dragon Magazine ever, that of Issue 114, published in October 1986.
The contents of Issue 114 were in themselves controversial, as Dragon Magazine once again published a revised Witch class.
However, it was David Martin's depiction of a naked Witch on the front cover of Dragon that resulted in a new artwork policy. That new policy was announced in Issue 117, following several months of argument and counter-argument between those who supported the depiction of nakedness in Dungeons and Dragons art and those who opposed it.
The early versions of Dungeons and Dragons were billed as a game for adults. As the game grew in popularity, it garnered more teenage and pre-teen players. It is little surprise, then, that there was heightened sensitivity amongst the staffers of TSR and Dragon Magazine to the issues of nakedness.
The Dragon Editorial staff concluded that the above depiction of a naked Witch crossed the line.
While it is easy for us to disagree with their assessment, we were not in the pressure cooker with the 1980's morality police, they were.
Credit: http://asatru-religion.blogspot.com
Como qualquer outra Religi~ao, a Wicca tamb'em tem Ritos de Passagem quecelebram as diferentes fases na vida de uma pessoa.Cada Rito de Passagem pode ser considerado uma diferente "Iniciac~ao", poisdesempenha um papel de extrema import^ancia na vida do homem religioso, vistoque tais rituais sempre envolvem uma mudanca ontol'ogica e apresentam umconjunto de Mist'erios ao indiv'iduo que passa por eles.
Ritos de Passagem s~ao muito mais que rituais sagrados que marcam a vida de umBruxo. Para a Wicca eles s~ao vistos como um processo m'agico e social quepreparar~ao as pessoas para viverem em comunidade e para a vida em todas assuas manifestac~oes.Existem in'umeros Ritos de Passagem e eles geralmente est~ao associados `as tr^esfases da vida humana:oNascimentooVidaoMorteOs Ritos de Passagem mais conhecidos e praticados s~aoRITO DE UNC~AO:Ocorre nos primeiros dias de nascimento de uma crianca.
Neste ritual os Bruxos ungem a crianca atrav'es de 'oleos sagrados e lhe conferemdons m'agicos como forma de presente.WICCANING'E o ritual que ocorre logo ap'os o Rito de Unc~ao, geralmente na Lua Cheiaseguinte. Nele a crianca 'e apresentada `a Deusa e ao Deus. Este ritual visaapenas pedir a protec~ao dos Deuses `a crianca e jamais compromet^e-la com a religi~ao Wiccaniana em si.
Qualquer compromisso desse tipo s'o pode ocorrer quando a crianca chegar `a uma idade em que tenha capacidade de decidir qual 'eo melhor caminho espiritual para ela mesma. No Wiccaning a crianca ganha doispadrinhos, que a auxiliar~ao nos momentos de necessidade em sua vida.RITOS DE PUBERDADEMuitas culturas primitivas, incluindo a celta e a nativa americana, tiveram rituaispara marcar a passagem de uma pessoa para a fase adulta.
Para as meninas isso ocorre em sua primeira menstruac~ao no Rito de Menarca,que 'e celebrada atrav'es de ritual exclusivo para mulheres.Para os meninos, a cerim^onia que marca sua introduc~ao na fase adulta 'e o Rito deTransic~ao, que ocorre por volta dos 13/14 anos e que 'e celebrado somente por homens.
HANDFASTING'E o Casamento Pag~ao, que ocorre quando duas pessoas decidem se unir paraviverem juntos como casal. O Handfasting, ou a Uni~ao das M~aos, 'e oficiado por um Sacerdote Wiccaniano e nele os noivos fazem votos de fidelidade e amor umao outro. No final suas m~aos s~ao unidas com um laco. A cerim^onia pode acontecer em qualquer data, menos entre Samhain e Imbolc, cujas energias de morte etransformac~ao n~ao se harmonizam com os prop'ositos do Handfasting.
AlgumasTradic~oes afirmam que Beltane tamb'em n~ao 'e um bom per'iodo para casamentos,enquanto outras afirmam ser a melhor data.HANDPARTING A Wicca 'e uma religi~ao que encoraja a responsabilidade social em todos os seusaspectos e manifestac~oes. Por isso, quando duas pessoas que se uniram atrav'esdo Handfasting decidem se separar 'e orientado que estas desfacam sua uni~aoperante os Deuses, atrav'es de um rito chamado de Handparting, ou a Separac~aodas M~aos.
Este 'e um ritual espec'ifico da Wicca e n~ao encontramos pr'atica similar em nenhuma cultura religiosa.CRONINGNas culturas ancestrais as mulheres mais velhas eram respeitadas por seuconhecimento e sabedoria. Elas eram reverenciadas como a mem'oria viva domundo e eram as Guardi~as da sabedoria ancestral de sua cultura.
O Croningmarca a entrada da mulher na menopausa e no caminho da Deusa Anci~a, para setornar uma S'abia. SAGINGNa Wicca o ritual que honra a sabedoria de um homem adquirida atrav'es da Idadese chama Saging e ocorre tradicionalmente por volta dos 65 anos de idade. Comoqualquer parte da vida de uma pessoa, a terceira idade deve ser respeitada eobservada, uma vez que nossos anci~oes t^em muita sabedoria e experi^encia paracompartilhar conosco se permitirmos.
R'EQUIEMO R'equiem 'e a cerim^onia Pag~a que ocorre quando um Bruxo morre. Nestacerim^onia 'e pedido que os Portais do Pa'is de Ver~ao sejam abertos para que aalma da pessoa possa passar. Tr^es cerim^onias distintas marcam o R'equiem. Umaocorre no dia do enterro da pessoa, a outra uma lunac~ao ap'os a morte e aterceira, um ano e um dia ap'os a data do falecimento.
Atrav'es dos Ritos de Passagem poderemos nos manter no curso da verdade denossa ess^encia e encontrar a resposta para a maior indagac~ao da alma humana,de forma que nosso esp'irito brilhe nos mostrando o caminho correto. Assim,poderemos nutrir o esp'irito da verdade em cada um de n'os, para que ele florescae d^e bons frutos.
Desta forma, a Wicca forma os indiv'iduos e os prepara para a vida.
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