Abbey-Roads2

I was offline all day yesterday.

I had 134 spam comments I had to delete last night.  Can you imagine?

I had about 75 emails to go through as well.

I’m not keeping up - I haven’t responded to the emails.  My apologies.

What I’m doing these days.

I’m taking care of my friend’s garden and cats while he is in Washington caring for his mother Marian.  Incidentally, she had a relapse, and was quite close to death again.  When she stabilized, she was told of the priests who celebrated Mass for her, and about the rest of you who prayed for her.  They said her face radiated joy and she wanted to thank everyone for their prayers.  Her son told me; “It was like a miracle!”

I’m also taking care of my own yard and cats.  So I have been really busy.  I can’t believe the blog is very important.  It is simply words blowing in the wind.  Everything has been said before - by someone, in a different time perhaps, but it has all been said before. 

And we are all dying.

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 ”In me is all grace of the way and the truth.”

Today is the Carmelite feast of Our Lady, Mother of Divine Grace, which concludes the old octave of the Solemnity of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.

This feast is full of joy for me, honoring Our Lady as the Mother of Divine Grace; since she is the Mother of the Son of God, the Author of Grace - as Mother of God, she is rightly venerated as Mother of Divine Grace.

Evidence of Protestant influences.

In the West, we continue to suffer the effects of the Protestant Reformation as regards Marian devotion, this despite all that Vatican II said about Our Lady, as well as subsequent Papal encyclicals and various Bishop’s pastoral statements.  Since the Council, theologians and academics are careful to emphasize the Christological character of Marian devotion, which should be a given for any devout Catholic, yet seems to be more directed towards appeasing Protestants and those critical of the veneration given by Catholics to Our Lady.

The Protestant influence is so embedded in the contemporary consciousness, that it seems Marian devotion continues to be de-emphasized to a some degree - especially in the United States.  This despite the example of the profound devotion of Pope John Paull II, various Marian movements in the Church, and even reports of numerous apparitions throughout the world.

Making Mary like ourselves.

In fact, oftentimes when we hear a homily on Our Lady it is usually only in connection with a major solemnity, and it  can sometimes sound more like an apology or “putting Mary in her place” rather than inspiring devotion to Our Lady.  On the other hand, the homily may focus upon feminist issues and how Mary exemplifies the ideal woman, etc..  Perhaps this type of homily is not bad in itself, since it is necessary to inculcate authentic Catholic teaching amongst the faithful.  Although, while previous eras spoke glowingly of the Blessed Virgin’s prerogatives and glories, today we reduce her to mirror ourselves.

If one looks at contemporary representations of Our Lady, one example being the statue above the entrance to the new Los Angeles Cathedral, one can see what I mean.  Our Lady is depicted with shorn hair, more a type of the modern, liberated woman.  A similarly pedestrian, bronze figure stands outside the parish Church I attend.  Neither of these inspire devotion, much less convey the awesome dignity of the Mother of God.  Though an ordinary woman, Our Lady is always elevated somewhat from ourselves, since she is the Immaculate Conception - perfectly preserved from all stain of sin and it’s consequences.  We are not.

The necessity of devotion to Our Lady.

When we contrast these post-Conciliar ”trends” with what the Fathers, the Doctors, and mystics of the Church have written regarding Our Lady, our ‘protestantized’ sensibilities may react as if we are reading doctrines verging on heresy or paganism.  Consequently, devout Catholics often find themselves defending long standing devotions such as the Scapular of Mt. Carmel, the Miraculous Medal, and the Rosary, from fellow Catholics, even priests, who suggest such things are superstitious. 

Such misunderstanding is tragic, since Our Mother of Divine Grace, is indeed the Mediatrix of all Grace - no apologies necessary, no need to explain that Christ, the Author of Grace, is the one Mediator who willed that Divine Grace come through a simple Virgin.  St. Bernard writes, “Let us not imagine that we obscure the glory of the Son by the great praise we lavish on the Mother; for the more she is honored the greater is the glory of her Son.” - ”Salve Regina” - St. Alphonsus Liguori 

St. Alphonsus on Our Lady.

“In the office appointed for feasts of Our Lady, the Church, applying the words of Ecclesiasticus to The Blessed Virgin, gives us to understand that in her we find all hope.  “In me is all hope of life and of virtue”  In Mary is every grace.  “In me is all grace of the way and the truth.”  In Mary, finally, we shall find life and eternal salvation:  “Who finds me finds life, and draws salvation from the Lord.”  Surely, expressions such as these sufficiently prove that we require the intercession of Mary.” - “Salve Regina” - St. Alphonsus

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St. Mary Magdalen, by Donatello.

Today is her feast day.  The 15th century sculpture for the Baptistry of the Duomo in Florence looks to be rather contemporary in style, don’t you think?

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 Boy friends.

GN: You said they (men leaving homosexuality) need close male relationships. How can men struggling with homosexual feelings have a close male relationship without those feelings becoming sexual?

Joseph Nicolosi:  Well, he’s going to have those feelings. No doubt about it. And he shouldn’t be afraid of those feelings but he has to learn how to translate those feelings into authentic friendship.

One of the questions I often ask a man just beginning therapy, I will say to him, “Have you had the experience of being sexually attracted to a guy but when you got to know him as a person and a friend, the sexual attraction disappeared?” And they almost always say, “Yes.” And I ask, “Why do you think that was so?”

They have no answer for it. Because they have translated the mystique and there is no more sexual energy there. It is now a friendship and when you develop that kind of brotherly feeling, the idea of having sex is absurd. That’s exactly the process they have to go through time and time again until all men seem like just other guys and there is nothing sexual about them. - Source

My response.

Over the years I have observed that the same sex couples I’ve known, really became more friends or brothers than lovers.  If sexual relations continued in their relationship, it had to be supplemented by pornography, drugs, promiscuous behavior, or sharing sex partners.  More often than not, the relationship appeared to turn into what could only be termed a co-dependent attachment, rather than an union or marriage in the typical understanding of those terms.

On the other hand, I once met a couple of men who had decided to live together chastely in order to be able to receive the sacraments.  Accepting Catholic teaching regarding same-sex activities,  their partnership turned into a very deep friendship and they lived together as brothers, devoting themselves to prayer and good works.  They have been together now for over 30 years, while they have maintained loyalty to Christ and one another as chaste celibates for over 28 years.  Fr. Benedict Groeschl once referred to their situation as “their own little Courage group”.  

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I thought homosexual inclination is not a sin?

It isn’t.  The Church recognizes homosexual sex as disordered and sinful, yet the inclination itself is not sinful… however disordered.  The Church does not ask the homosexual to change his orientation, simply to refrain from acting out - to remain chaste and avoid sin.  In fact, the organization “Courage” was formed to help men and women to live chaste and celibate lives in accord with Church teaching.

Gay and Catholic bloggers.

There are several Catholic websites operated by Catholic persons with homosexual inclination - some in accord with Church teaching, others not so much - if at all.  One faithful website is “Eve Tushnet”, I don’t read her or another popular site, “Dreadnought” mainly because I find them hard to read - much of the time I don’t know what they are talking about.  However, once while reading Tushnet I happened upon a comment she made explaining that she doesn’t waste time trying to figure out why she is same sex attracted.  I was surprised by that.  Especially since self-knowledge is so fundamental to the developmental and maturation process of persons, not to mention that it (humility) is the foundation of an authentic spiritual life.

Perhaps I misunderstand the gay Catholics.

That said, I have always held the opinion that if a person seeking to leave the homosexual lifestyle continues to identify as “gay” this in fact keeps the person attached to the lifestyle.  A great push is on for homosexuality to be considered natural, claiming a person is born gay - that it is a sort of “third way” or natural variant, and so on.  Obviously taking that approach leaves the door open for approving same sex behaviors, ss dating, ss civil unions and marriage.  In secular culture at least.  However, when Catholics cling to a homosexual identity within the Church, it seems to me they may be unconsciously contributing to the same line of thought and thereby affecting Church teaching to some extent.  (IMHO)

NARTH

Fr. Harvey, one of the founders of Courage has always said that for some people (maybe most) a complete change of orientation is not possible - this might especially apply to older men and women who have lived a gay life for most of their lives, as well as some others.  Yet chastity and celibacy, even in a same sex friendship is indeed possible.  Truth be told, some highly motivated persons can and do change their sexual orientation, even though the Church does not require them to do so.

Dr. Joseph Nicolosi. 

I came across this information in my reserch on the subject, and more recently while researching “defensive detachment”.  Dr. Nicolosi has pioneered the studies in this field, and although I’ve not read his work before, I came across a very enlightening interview, especially as it considers the origins of homosexuality in some persons.  I’ll post excerpts here:

Interview:

The Good News: What is homosexuality and how do you define it?

Joseph Nicolosi:Homosexuality is a developmental disorder. It has nothing to do with sex. It’s really the person’s search for belonging, what we call the three “As” attention, affection and approval. These are the normal, emotional affectional needs, which have been sexualized.

GN: In your book Reparative Therapy of Male Homosexuality, you use the expression “non-gay homosexual.” What exactly is meant by that?

JN: Well, we make a distinction between homosexual and gay. Unfortunately, too many people think they’re synonymous and that’s due to the success of the gay activists who have sold people on the idea that to be homosexual means they’re automatically gay.

But there is a population we’re concerned with, in particular, whom we call the non-gay homosexual, which is to say they have same-sex attractions, they have same-sex feelings, and they even engage in same-sex behavior, but they do not identify with the gay sociopolitical identity. They see themselves as having heterosexual values and want to live a heterosexual life.

GN: Is it possible to change from homosexual to heterosexual?

JN: Yes. There are many studies that show many men and women do come out of homosexuality. We see more and more of the evidence, more and more of those studies; and if the person is highly motivated there is a very good chance that he or she can come out of homosexuality.

GN: How do you help someone who wants to change?

JN:They have to begin to understand the origins of their homosexuality. It’s not about sex. These are emotional needs, and in therapy you direct the client to address these emotional needs. These needs usually go back to the father - not having enough of the father’s love, enough of the father’s affirmation, and they begin to get these needs met in more authentic ways, ways that really transform a person rather than the sexual, which is a kind of repetitive and nonproductive attempt at meeting those emotional needs. - Hope For Homosexuals

Makes sense to me.  I also find it interesting that Nicolosi states that homosexuality has nothing to do with sex (obviously it does superficially); his statement reminds me of what experts say about rape - that it has nothing to do with sex, but rather power and the humiliation of the victim.

Art: The Rape of Ganymede

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It’s gay.

LOL!  Well, kinda, sorta.  It (DD) is a therapeutic term used for persons who consider their homosexuality more as a developmental disorder.  I believe it is a relatively new term originating in the research of therpists dealing with homosexuality as a treatable, and sometimes curable condition.  A leader in this reparative therapy is Dr. Joseph Nicolosi, I will let him explain what DD really is:

Defensive detachment is really the psychological armor, barrier or defense of the personality which keeps homosexuality alive. You might see defensive detachment as a sort of cell that protects the person and also protects the homosexuality inside. It’s an anticipation of being hurt and rejected by other men. And this comes from the earlier rejection by the father.

The predicament of the male homosexual is that he is sexually attracted to men but, because of his defensive detachment, keeps an emotional distance from them. It prevents him from getting what he really wants, which is to have those emotional needs met. So the focus of therapy is to get him to drop that defensive detachment so he can allow himself to experience the healing benefits of non-sexual, intimate male relationships. - Source 

My non-gay use of the term.

Call me presumptuous, but I believe the term ‘defensive detachment’ works for other disorders as well, indeed, I think it can be given an entirely different meaning for ascetical purposes, wherein detachment is a key ingredient for spiritual growth.  That said, I also think the term may be applied to other conditions or disorders.

Take the alcoholic for instance, his withdrawal and isolation from friends, family, and social situations, might be termed ‘defensive detachment’ - in so far as he uses it to facilitate his drinking.  I’m not a psychologist of course, but I like the term so well that I use it in relationship to the life of the pilgrim or fool for Christ, in the sense of a purely ascetical practice.

“The watchmen came upon me as they made the city rounds, and they struck me and wounded me.”  - Song of Songs 5:7

Humility and detachment play a vital part in the lives of such ascetics.  In order to protect their spiritual way of life, they necessarily employ a form of DD.  They leave home, property, family, and in the case of St. Alexius - a wife, to pursue a life of prayer and penance.  If for some reason, their hidden life of devotion and good works is discovered by others along the way, and the pilgrim is soon accorded accolades or respect, or honors, for his talents, virtue, or holiness, the ascetic resumes his pilgrimage, fleeing the company and legitimate friendship of men. 

Therefore, this ‘flight’ may be understood as a form of ‘defensive detachment’ - to avoid all forms of pride and vainglory or preferential treatment.  He seeks to avoid all honors or position, even the notion of leading or directing others, lest he fall into the trap of trying to control rather than living abandoned to Divine Providence.  Thus to protect his spiritual life - that is, to remain faithful to his call - he is unable to oblige the company of men, particular intimacies and friendships, as well as social obligations; and often-times legitimate employment itself does not work out. 

“I hardly left them when I found him whom my heart loves.” - Song of Songs 3:4

For the pilgrim, it is much the same as a person fleeing an occasion of sin, or avoiding a person, place or thing which may pose a near occasion of sin.   It is practically a required penance or discipline, a ‘defensive detachment”.  For if a pilgrim would consent to normal intercourse with others, he would soon lose the grace of God, who in order to share his humility and abasement with him, calls him apart from following the crowd. 

“And then we will go on

To the high caverns in the rock

Which are so well concealed;

There we shall enter

and taste the fresh juice of the

pomegranates.”  - Spiritual Canticle; 36 

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St. Francis.

Many of us forget that St. Francis and his first followers were so fervent and on fire with the love of God, they at times appeared to be insane to their worldly minded contemporaries.  Francis’ father was among the first to insist his son lost his mind, giving away his clothing and money.  Bernardone imprisoned his son for a time, beat him severely, and finally brought him before the diocesan court, in the hope of dissuading him from throwing his life away. 

It was there, in front of the bishop and all the townsfolk, that St. Francis divested himself completely of his father’s goods, removing all of his clothing and laying them at his father’s feet.  After that, St. Francis lived in the utmost radical poverty; barefoot, clothed in ragged pilgrim’s clothing, in season and out of season.  He dedicated himself to prayer, living on alms and assisting the lepers, rebuilding dilapidated churches, and speaking of the Gospel to anyone who would listen.  

He never said, “Preach the Gospel, and if necessary use words.”

People like to make things up about St. Francis when in effect there is absolutely no need to romanticise his life, or embellish it with tall tales.  That particular quote regarding preaching may have been said by someone describing the manner of life of the early Franciscans.  Their way of life and example conveyed the essence of the Gospel, although the friars would never have neglected actual preaching with words - since that was their mission.

The Fioretti.

The little book called “The Little Flowers of St. Francis” is a collection of anecdotes and sayings concerning the lives of St. Francis and his first followers.  The book contains treasures much like the sayings of the desert fathers, with whom the earliest Franciscans are sometimes compared.  Both groups were extremely simple, and each group appeared to be “foolish” in the eyes of the world.

Countercultural = foolishness. 

I’ll be posting more on the subject as time goes on.  Especially since in many of his talks in Australia for WYD, our Holy Father’s core message seemed to be for the Christian to reject the materialism of the age, saying:

“In so many of our societies, side by side with material prosperity, a spiritual desert is spreading: an interior emptiness, an unnamed fear, a quiet sense of despair.”  The 81-year-old pope said it was up to a new generation of Christians to build a world in “which God’s gift of life is welcomed, respected and cherished — not rejected, feared as a threat and destroyed.”  The aim was “a new age in which hope liberates us from the shallowness, apathy and self-absorption which deadens our souls and poisons our relationships,” he said. - Source  

Animated by the Holy Spirit. 

The saints who were known as “fools for Christ” became an example, not necessarily to imitate, but rather to inspire and direct the Christian’s attention to what is above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of the Father.  The holy fool, inebriated with the love of God, embraces humility and poverty to such a degree as to atone for the pride of the age and to arouse humble compassion, meekness, and charity in the souls of others.  As OrthodoxWiki states:

One form of the ascetic Christian life is called foolishness for the sake of Christ. The fool-for-Christ set for himself the task of battling within himself the root of all sin, pride. In order to accomplish this he took on an unusual style of life, appearing as someone bereft of his mental faculties, thus bringing upon himself the ridicule of others. In addition he exposed the evil in the world through metaphorical and symbolic words and actions. He took this ascetic endeavor upon himself in order to humble himself and to also more effectively influence others, since most people respond to the usual ordinary sermon with indifference. The spiritual feat of foolishness for Christ was especially widespread in Russia. –(Excerpted from The Law of God, Holy Trinity Monastery, Jordanville, NY: 1993) - Source

(To be continued.)

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I had not forgotten…

(I’ve just been offline a lot.)  Last week was the 90th anniversary of the murder of the Holy Royal Protomartyrs of the Russian Revolution, Czar Nicholas and his family.  They were shot by the Bolshevists and their bodies burned, in the diabolical effort to erradicate the monarchy and Christianity. 

Links:

Murder of the last Czar - New Liturgical Movement 

Andrew Cusack

[Photo credit:  NLM]

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What a fool believes.

The title of this post sounds like a Batman expletive, but it’s not.  However, a ‘holy intoxication’ may be the inspiration, motivation, or grace which initiates the way of life for the “fool for Christ” or pilgrim ascetic.  [St. Teresa touches on an aspect of  holy intoxication, calling it a ‘foolishness for God’.  She uses the term as it refers to the stages of prayer, specifically the ‘third water’, in her Autobiography, Chapter 16.  Although she returns to it in her other writings; Meditations, Interior Castle, and so on, as well.]

That said, I think the beginning or “novitiate” for the way of a pilgrim is very much like the experiences of the bride and the lover in the Song of Songs.  The pilgrim embraces the Christian life wholeheartedly, even vehemently.  Having fallen in love with Christ, he begins to understand those things he once considered gain, as so much loss in the light of Christ.  With St Paul, he exclaims:  “I have come to rate all as loss in the light of the surpassing knowledge of my Lord Jesus Christ.  For his sake I have forfeited everything; I have accounted all else rubbish so that Christ may be my wealth and I may be in him, not having any justice of my own…” - Philippians 3:7-9

“For here we have no lasting city…” - Hebrews 13:14

Like Esther, the pilgrim, “consumed with mortal anguish” and subsequently moved by holy fear, takes prayer as his only recourse, and cries out to God, ”My Lord, our King, you alone are God.  Help me, who am alone and have no one but you, for I am taking my life in my hand…”  Esther 4c:14

Frequently, the pilgrim, similar to the bride in Songs searching for her beloved, (and like all men discerning a state in life) makes inquiries as to the best way of seeking God, testing his vocation here and there, all the while struggling to overcome sin and temptation, which were part of his former way of life.  As the “Song” states; “Do not stare at me because I am swarthy, because the sun has burned me.  My brothers have been angry with me; they charged me with the care of the vineyards, though my own vineyard I have not cared for.”  Songs 1:6

Having found the grace of repentance through an encounter with the Divine Mercy, the pilgrim determines to find a way to give himself entirely to God.  He inquires, “‘Tell me, you whom my heart loves, where you pasture your flock’- though I know it be the Holy Roman Catholic Church, ‘where do you give them rest at midday, lest I be found wondering after the flocks of your companions.’” Songs 1:7B  He makes this prayer after many inquiries into religious life and various apostolates within the Church, thinking perhaps he may find someplace to lay his head (Luke: 9:58), as if there were any lasting city in this life in the first place. (Hebrews 13:14)

Defensive detachment. 

Despite his search, the pilgrim’s only consolation is drawing near to his beloved in prayer, even in desolation, since he says, “I would rather lie abject upon the threshold of God’s house than dwell in the tents of the wicked.” (Psalm 84:11)  And although his “homeless poverty is wormwood and gall” (Lamentations 3:19), he can say to the Blessed Virgin, who is his refuge, “I delight to rest in his shadow, and his fruit is sweet to my mouth.” - Song of Songs 2:3B

In this night, fired by loves urgent longings, the pilgrim, finally overcome with love and desperation, as if intoxicated, can no longer hold himself back, for it seems to him he hears his beloved speak to his soul;  “Arise my beloved, my beautiful one and come!  For see, the winter is over… the time of pruning the vine has come.”  Song of Songs 2:10-12  Thus the pilgrim resolves, “I will rise then and go about the city; in the streets and crossings I will seek Him whom my heart loves…”  Song of Songs  3:2

So, this is how I think the pilgrim (the fool) begins his way - although, without understanding how.   

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