CowPi Journal

The Way, the Truth, the Life

Mark — Tue, 01 May 2012 20:22:57 +0000

Jesus said: I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Without the Way, there is no going.
Without the Truth, there is no knowing.
Without the Life, there is no living.

I am the Way which you ought to follow,
The Truth which you ought to believe,
The Life which you to hope for.

I am the Way that is the straightest,
The Truth that is the highest,
The Life that is the truest.

If you remain in my way,
You shall know the Truth,
And the Truth shall set you free,
And you shall have eternal life.

— Thomas a Kempis

Beggars…

Mark — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 00:48:37 +0000

Christianity is one beggar telling another beggar where he found the bread.

— D.T. Niles

Where Is God When I Sin?

Mark — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 15:24:13 +0000

“Where is God when I sin?” I asked a spiritual director. “Suffering with you on the Cross,” he said. And I began to understand Christianity.

— Fr. Charles Stanley, OFM Cap., source

Birds Singing

Mark — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 16:45:31 +0000

I wonder if Mary Magdalen heard the birds singing on her way to the tomb early Easter Sunday morning?

Did she hear them singing afterwards on her way back?

My Name is Barabbas

Mark — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 18:13:50 +0000

The name Barabbas means “son of the father” (bar-abba). Before Pilate and the crowd, there were two sons of the father, one innocent, one guilty. They chose one to free, one to condemn.

Which son of the father was Adam, and the rest of us, suppose to be like?

Two sons of the father, that makes them brothers, family. The Father did not condemn either son. We did. And the elder Son came to save the younger son.

Religion…

Mark — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 15:41:09 +0000

Let your religion be less of a theory and more of a love affair.

— G.K. Chesterton

Moral Relativism

Mark — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 16:32:05 +0000

In the end, we are self-perceiving, self-inventing, locked-in mirages that are little miracles of self-reference.

— Douglas Hofstadter, I Am a Strange Loop, p.363

Is this the logical conclusion or the starting point for moral relativism? Answer: yes.

Once freedom of conscience goes…

Mark — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 14:07:37 +0000

If the state can command you to do an act your church or your philosophy teaches is deeply immoral act on the grounds that the common good demands, by the same logic, on what grounds can you object should the state command you to speak or print or think as the common good demands?

— John C. Wright, (ref)

Furthermore, who gets to decide what the”common good” is? Everybody, or just those in power?

Why Give Up Something for Lent

Mark — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 15:10:24 +0000

A recent status update of mine on FaceBook:

Gave up Dr. Pepper for Lent. Minimum amount of Mt Dew is staving off the caffeine withdrawal headaches, but it’s not the same as good ole DP. Giving up Facebook would have been easier. Offer it up.

If you can’t read between the lines, I’m addicted to DP. At least three a day, morning, midday, evening. Caffeine is part of the problem. Mountain Dew, or any soft drinks for that matter with caffeine or not, don’t satisfy the craving for DP.

A non-Catholic friend indirectly asked about the practice of giving something up for Lent. My short reply:

Craziness?? Giving something up, or sacrificing, during Lent is about re-ordering our disordered desires. It is a form of fasting, and fasting is one of the antidotes to our threefold concupiscence, “the lust of the flesh [pleasure] and the lust of the eyes [possessions] and the pride of life [power]” (1 John 2:13-17, cf Genesis 3:6). It’s only crazy if you are not seeking a change of heart, metanoia.

If there is was more space, I would add:

Jesus’ three temptations in the desert correspond to the threefold concupiscence. Jesus, as man, as the new Adam, succeeded where the old Adam, the first man, had failed.
You only sacrifice things that are good, that have value to you.
Detachment, or emptying yourself, creates a space within you. This allows something else to move in. Are you going to chose other things, or God?
In the Old Testament, you were suppose to unite yourself with your sacrifice to God. It is a symbol or metaphor for you. God doesn’t need a burnt offering or my Dr. Pepper. God wants me, my heart. He wants my will joined with His. He wants me to freely choose to do good, to want the good for others, like He does. My desires need to be in order. And at the risk of mixing metaphors, God wants me to learn to dance with Him. And I can’t do that if I have disordered worldly attachments. I can’t dance with a Dr. Pepper in my hand.

Either you are moving closer to God or moving away from God. Moses called this the choice of life or death (Deut. 30:15-20). If taken seriously, the practice of Lent illuminates this choice. The choice is yours.

Once More Around the Sun

Mark — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 17:00:42 +0000

I’m seven squared today.

Thank you, God.

It’s a beautiful day.

I have things to do, people to meet, and smiles to smile.