More thanks for linking: The Goliard Blog:Your…

More thanks for linking:

The Goliard Blog:Your destination for deep thoughts and alleged insights Kevin James gives us a glimpse of Catholicism in Atlanta. GA

Thanks for the link… It’s a Mystery: Faith Fa…

Thanks for the link…

It’s a Mystery: Faith Fantasy and Fact James Wood, describes his blog as the latest news from a loud-mouthed schnook, still Catholic after all these years.

Lethargic IITian, the musings of a 20-something lethargic IITian on India, secularism, chess, Catholicism and (occassionally) technology and life.

Welcome, to my international blog! I often thin…

Welcome, to my international blog!

I often think of this blog as something that people in the United States and a few in Canada read, but alas this is an international blog. This morning I had a letter from Dr. (Father) Emmanuel Gonzalez, who teaches at Strathmore College in Nairobi, Kenya. He has heard one audio tape of Bishop Sheen and would like to know where he can find more. The answer is here—>Keep the Faith Inc.

In the past week, people from Australia, the United Kingdom, Argentina, Spain, Japan, Portugal, Italy, New Zealand, Mexico, Vatican, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Iceland and Kenya have all visited this site.

My cousin Robin, from Vermont wrote me a nice lett…

My cousin Robin, from Vermont wrote me a nice letter today, telling me that she reads this blog. Among other things, she wonders how I have so much time to write all this stuff. The secret, Robin is this–I have a book that was due to the publisher five and half months ago–everytime I think about it, I write more here.

It is sad to see that only 8% of you visited Nancy…

It is sad to see that only 8% of you visited Nancy Nall’s site yesterday. She has her take on my post here, plus the whole blogging business in general. I think next to my wife’s site, hers is one of the most entertaining. Pay her a visit.

My wife, Amy has uncovered the Anti-Christ in her …

My wife, Amy has uncovered the Anti-Christ in her blog today. God knows how she came across this, but evidently one of the brand names that Coca Cola (I’m a lifetime fan) has branded in Jesus. Now we know that Coke invented the comercialized version of St. Nicholas that we all are presented with each Christmas. What do they have in mind for the Son of God? Will we see posters of Jesus riding an ass into Jerusalem slurping a Coke as his adoring fans let go of their palm branches?

This is a continuation of the 73 Steps to Spiritua…

This is a continuation of the 73 Steps to Spiritual Communion with God. The previous are posted below among the other posts and last week’s archives. Here is the twentieth step:

(20) To hold one’s self aloof from worldly ways.

If you are like me, you can readily come up with a list of what “worldly ways” means, but too often this list have very little to do with what most spiritual masters mean when they use the term.

St. Benedict, again is writing these counsels for monks. Monks take a vow of obedience to an abbot. The abbot, a term that could be translated “father”, watches over the monks and assigns them various tasks for the good of the monastery.

About a year ago, I visited a monastery where the abbot invited me to join the monks for dinner. During the meal taken in silence, while a monk read from one of the Fathers of the Church, several monks had to kneel in front of the abbot’s table. They were being punished for some infraction of the rule that they had committed during the day (one monk told me that he had forgotten to put his napkin back in its holder).

As I sat there, in my forties, and witnessed the grown men who were around sixty years old, I momentarily thought of the ways of the world and how foolish this all seemed. But then, I remembered the counsel of Our Lord, “Unless you become like a child, you can not enter the Kingdom of God.”

All of us must be like children in God’s kingdom. Worldly ways might best be defined as acting in a way of a “self made man.”

There is a story of a man’s employer coming to the man’s home for dinner one night. The employer was brash, rude and made inappropriate comments throughout the meal. All the while the young son of the employee stared at the man. Finally, the boy spoke, “my dad says that you are a self-made man.”

The employer beaming, said, “Well, yes son I am.”

“Why did you make yourself so bad?” The young boy asked.

Keeping aloof of worldly ways, means leaving behind any notion that we are ultimately in charge of our lives. It requires total surrender to God.

Jesus lays out the best commentary for this counsel in Matthew’s Gospel, “do not worry about your life, what you will eat [or drink], or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food and body more than clothing?…So I do not worry and say, ‘What are we to eat?’ or ‘What are we to drink?’ or ‘What are we to wear?’ All these things the pagans seek. Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil, (Matthew 6:25, 31-34).”

I like to carry the image of those monks, all dressed in black, sitting and silently eating and drinking while they listen to someone proclaim the Kingdom of God to them, as I go about my dealings everyday–never allowing myself to be drawn away from our true purpose here.