“Hail [Mary] full of grace!” (Luke 1:28). The later words “The Lord is with you! Blessed are you among women” refer to the same thing. The mystery of this choice, in which God remains free and at the same sense–a very real sense–he waits to be chosen himself . Because freedom is an essential prerequisite for loving God and giving oneself to God, the Virgin replies fully in harmony with her inner truth. Mary’s inner truth was this: she had already made an unconditional choice and bestowed herself completely on the one and only divine spouse. That is why she was able to say: “How can this come about, since I know no man?” (Luke 1:34), and she said it immediately when she heard the angel announce that she would conceive and give birth to the Son. For motherhood entails “knowing a man,” and this is in direct contrast with her choice. When Mary asks her question, she is not contesting the divine plan: she is simply remarking that motherhood “according to the flesh” is difficult to reconcile with the choice she had made “according to the spirit.”
A couple weeks ago, the president of Iran visited Italy. One of his trips, of course, lead him to the capitol which is also an art museum. This museum is full of Roman sculpture. Roman sculptures often featured naked people, so, presumably out of respect for the Iranian’s sensibilities, the sculptures were all hidden by large wooden boxes. This created an uproar in certain circles, but I’m not interested in that. I’m more interested in what this says about our views of the human body.
The Dying Gaul, sculptor unknown. This is the kind of statue that was covered.
Though many are reluctant to admit it, Western culture is deeply indebted to the Judeo-Christian concept of the sacredness of the human body. In the Book of Genesis, Adam and Eve, whose personhood is embodied in their flesh, are so holy as to be images of God. It is only after the Fall that this inherent holiness and beauty is overshadowed by lust…
When art is true to itself, when it is true art, it may give us a glimpse of that glorious innocence in which we were created: the joyful pride of having beautiful bodies, with which and through which we are called to love. We recognise our friends by their features, our family by their hugs, their steps, even by their sneezing; we can give life through our bodies, and thus partake in God’s creative activity.
Our bodies are neither burdens to our soul, nor necessary evils which we should ignore or hide as much as possible – something that [the Iranian’s President] Rouhani’s culture seems not to understand.
Purity has little to do with prudery; those who really love our bodily reality are also those who are most inclined to respect it. The human body is glorified by those who revere it as a shrine, while it is degraded by those who objectify it, as in pornography.
I would add that the Italian president as well as many other Christians who see such works also fail to understand the beauty of the body as well. We see this lack of understanding in the censoring of such art with our children. We see this in the popularity of pornography. We see this in the censoring of pictures of women breastfeeding and other instances in which the body is not being used for sexual gratification. Our society is saturated with sex, but sorely lacking in beauty.
If your weather doesn’t look like this, take your kid to a museum today.
This question has little to do with my usual topics, but I couldn’t resist the opportunity to explore it.
Effective earlier this week, when temperatures fall below freezing, homeless people in New York must go to a homeless shelter. Authorities can use force if necessary. Shelters are required to extend hours and provisions are made so that the state will help financially if a particular municipality simply doesn’t have enough beds.
The governor calls this “basic humanity.” Other politicians call it grandstanding with no actual legal weight. I wonder, in the great Catholic tradition of social justice, is this executive order Christian?
Yes, maybe?
Out of the kindness of our hearts, there should be enough beds for anyone who needs one. The fact that the order includes aid for cities that don’t have enough beds is great. At face value, nothing seems particularly wrong morally with this order.
We don’t want people to die out on the streets because they might be too mentally ill or addicted to know what is good for them. Caring for others isn’t always fun and games. You need the stern father as well as the caring mother.
No one wants anyone else to die out in the cold, but is this really the best way to solve this problem?
No, maybe not?
One often neglected aspect of Catholic social justice teaching that seems to be at odd with this good is the idea of subsidiarity. Subsidiarity is the idea that the people closest to the problem are the people best suited to solve the problem. That people should show kindness out of the goodness of their hearts, not because the government said so.
Subsidiarity would see this order and ask, “Why don’t shelters have enough beds? Are they already open for longer hours in inclement weather and if not, why not?” It would look at the smaller picture rather than supporting a blanket executive order.
Homeless people who reject shelters often have good reasons. A man interviewed for the video accompanying this article says that the shelters are filthy and are dens of vice. Other homeless people are afraid that someone will steal what few belongings they have. Perhaps instead of forcing more people into the shelters, these issues should be addressed. To me, they sound like issues of manpower. Not enough volunteers to protect the homeless in the shelters and keep the place clean. How do we address that?
My discomfort comes with the idea of people being forced. It’s one thing to leave the doors open for anyone who wants our kindness, but is it really kindness if it’s forced upon someone? Our God doesn’t force Himself upon anyone. He woos us and He’s there when we call.
The beginning of a new year often prompts the making of resolutions regarding lifestyle. Some will decide to exercise more or to eat better, quit smoking, eat less sugar etc.
Nowadays healthier lifestyle choices are encouraged: a diet rich in whole foods, fresh fruits and vegetables, low in saturated fat. Unhealthy habits are discouraged: poor diet, inactivity, smoking, excessive drinking.
An important part of a healthy lifestyle also includes making good choices regarding birth regulation.
Moral considerations aside, Natural Family Planning, or NFP, is very healthy. It is a highly effective method of birth regulation, and it also poses no physical side effects. In my experience, NFP fosters a greater understanding and appreciation of the couple’s natural combined gift of fertility. There are no pills or chemicals to harm a woman’s delicate system. There are no devices or operations for either man or woman.
I love the liturgical seasons! Right now we are celebrating Advent, the days leading up to Christmas. Beginning Christmas Day, we celebrate the Christmas season for almost two weeks (this year it is eleven days, leading up to the Feast of the Epiphany). For now, daily Mass readings and liturgical observances allow us to slow down, enjoy each day, not live tomorrow before it comes, while also building anticipation and thus a more joyous celebration when Christmas begins.
I have appreciated the daily Advent reflections by Fr. Robert Barron (if you haven’t heard about or receive them, you can check them out here). Reflecting on the idea of waiting, I have been thinking about the concept of abstinence, and how it is misunderstood today. (I feel compelled to clarify that Fr. Barron does not mention sexual abstinence in his Advent reflections.) It seems that some people see…
One of my favorite shows is “Mayday,” a documentary which recounts stories of plane crashes or near crashes. My favorite episodes are the ones where everyone (or most) survives. Survival often depends on the skill and precision of the pilots and flight engineers. I find it fascinating just what can bring a plane down and what can also save a plane.
It dawned on me when I was flying back from Chicago last summer that it takes tremendous trust to get on a plane: trust that the pilots are trained to fly the plane with precision, trust that the builders created a solid, well-performing plane, trust that the mechanics have serviced the plane properly. After all, which one of us wants to be 20,000 feet in the air when a mechanical problem happens or when a pilot encounters a situation he’s not trained to handle?
In my previous post I talked about the incredible BEAUTY, POWER, and AWESOMENESS of sex and I focused on the marriage of Tobias and Sarah found in the Book of Tobit; but in today’s world this concept of sex seems so strange that I feel that just one blog won’t do. If sex is this truly beautiful and amazing thing than we need to fight for it! We need to fight to bring back the beauty and an understanding of the true meaning of sex.
What does the world tell us about sex? Let’s strip it down to the most basic message that we hear from TV shows, movies, music, the government, etc. Society tells us that sex is all about pleasure. It doesn’t matter who, what, when, or how you get it; it just matters that you get it. Here are some startling sexual statistics:
Yesterday I did my first installment of Theology of the Body Thursday. I don’t consider myself any kind of expert in Theology of the Body, but I think it is a very important thing to promote. It looks at Scripture and human experience and explains why the Church says what it does about sex. If you have any thoughts about marriage, sex, or the freaking awesomeness of the human body, please participate.
I will likely write about pop culture and current events, but there are many other ways at looking at these things. We’re talking human experience. There are as many ways of approaching it as there are people on the planet. Please join me next week.
About 20 years ago, an awesome book was published titled Pro-Life Feminism: Yesterday and Today. It featured a collection of writings from the earliest feminists to the feminists of 1995 making the case that feminism should not be synonymous with pro-abortion. Friends of mine are currently putting together an updated version titled Pro-Life Feminism: Today and Tomorrow. Submissions are due November 1st. As you can see above, for more information, please e-mail PLFtodaytomorrow@gmail.com. I’m working on mine as we speak.
Next Monday is going to be our next Ladies Night Out: Food and Faith. Anne Costa, author of Embracing Edith Stein, will be visiting us again to share with us ways to stay strong in temptation and trial. If you missed her last time, she gave us an awesome, inspiring talk about the awesomeness of Edith Stein.
[You know, my son has been saying “awesome” a lot lately. I wonder who he got it from.]
Anyway, if you’re anywhere near Syracuse, NY, come hear her. You won’t regret it. Details here.
In other JPII Center news: We’re starting our study of Humanae Vitae on Tuesday. I have been looking forward to this for so long! Humanae Vitae is the papal document to turn to if you want some answers on why the church is so down on artificial birth control. Not to mention one part of it is chock-full of really creepy predictions about society.
These folks have more great contraception memes. Must take all the memes.
If you’re in the area, sign on up here. If you’re not, find out how to host one here.
I’ve been looking at Halloween costumes and once again, I’m struck by the enormous difference between men’s and women’s. Women and girls are expected to be sexy. What is up with that? Here’s a funny take on it by Buzzfeed.
The True Dignity of Women 