CowPi Journal

Do you still get homesick?
Do you dare let yourself feel that ache,
That deep emptiness of longing, a hole of nothingness?
Or do you cover it up,
With half promises, with misdirected hopes, with distractions?
Do you still long for wholeness,
Completeness, oneness, with another?
Do you still hunger?
Do you still long for God, for heaven, for home?

“Live as a contingent being” — caught this phrase from a post by Fr. Stephen. Interesting.

con•tin•gent |kən’tinjənt|
adjective
1 subject to chance : the contingent nature of the job. See note at accidental.
• (of losses, liabilities, etc.) that can be anticipated to arise if a particular event occurs : businesses need to be aware of their liabilities, both actual and contingent.
• PHILOSOPHY true by virtue of the way things in fact are and not by logical necessity : that men are living creatures is a contingent fact.
2 (contingent on/upon) occurring or existing only if (certain other circumstances) are the case; dependent on : resolution of the conflict was contingent on the signing of a cease-fire agreement.

noun
a group of people united by some common feature, forming part of a larger group : a contingent of Japanese businessmen attending a conference.
• a body of troops or police sent to join a larger force in an operation : a contingent of 2,000 marines.

DERIVATIVES
con•ting•ent•ly adverb

ORIGIN late Middle English (in the sense [of uncertain occurrence] ): from Latin contingere ‘befall,’ from con- ‘together with’ + tangere ‘to touch.’ The noun sense was originally [something happening by chance,] then [a person’s share resulting from a division, a quota] ; the current sense dates from the early 18th cent.

Is “image and likeness” a redundant phrase, or does it mark a distinction? Arguably the latter. To be created in God’s image is to be granted the potentiality for sharing in the divine life, a potentiality that may or may not be actualized and is shared in equally by all human beings without their consent. Likeness, however, results from man’s free actualization of that potentiality. Whereas the image of God is imposed on man, likeness to God is not, but requires the free cooperation of the creature.

— Bill Vallicella (via)

Accidentally and pleasantly discovered this song by William Fitzsimmons called “Passion Play.” (listen)

I should not have hid
Where my heart can’t follow
Cause this grace gets so far
And too hard to swallow
I’ve been running from Saul,
He’s been giving chase
When I look in his eyes
All I see is his face

Are you still on my back
After all these years?
Chasing my out of hell
And my nice veneers
I don’t know how you stand
When you’ve got no floor
Or how you can breathe
With your hands on boards

I just want to be not what I am today
I just want to be better than my friends might say
I just want a small part in your passion play

Do you hear when I call
    In the midst of wrong?
Do you hear these here words
    While I sing this song?

Are you caught up in me
Like I heard you say?
Or just some big cashier
That I’ll have to pay

I just want to be not what I am today
I just want to be better than my friends might say
I just want a small part in your passion play

— William Fitzsimmons