St Irenaeus Writes

"In the very beginning the Word existed with God, and 'through him all things were made'. Also, he was always present with the human race, but in these last days, according to the time appointed by the Father, he has been united with what was his own handiwork and 'he was made man', capable of suffering...He was incarnate and made man; and then he recapitulated in himself the long line of the human race, winning for us a comprehensive salvation, which meant we recovered in Christ Jesus what we had lost in Adam, namely, the state of being 'in the image and likeness of God'."

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The Ochlophobist writes a very good piece which I think rightly expresses the parameters of the Church when dealing with "controversial issues" and the idea of morality.

We know that truth brings power in this world. The thought of having the truth and speaking it gives us a subtle thrill of confidence. We fantasize about upbraiding our enemies –intellectual and otherwise – with “the truth”. But we, as Christians, confess that the truth is the person of Jesus. We confess that Jesus gave himself up on the cross. So we confess that the truth is weak, and a thing unto death. We confess that truth is vindicated as truth only after it has been killed. In this way the truth is, in our human condition, a sorrow and a burden because the truth, as Christ, is not wanted. To bear the truth then, especially when calling it “Christian truth”, is to bear a great frailty. If we are pummeling someone with something, we can be sure it is not the truth. It may be a “fact”, but it is not the truth, for we cannot use Christ as a weapon. When we think we are using Christ as a weapon we are being deceived. For in doing this, it is we who are being used as weapons, and by a much darker army indeed. For the truth bears all things in great meekness, only revealing its glory and its power in patience, death, and then resurrection. We speak the truth in love for God so loved the world that he spoke forth his Son. We rejoice in the truth but we only do so in the hidden strength of the cross, a strength that tears the strength from strong men and causes the weak to rise.

the heart is a crypt full of dead men's bones

It is not a hard thing for God to raise the dead because the dead can't fight back. Rather, it is a hard thing for God to change a heart because a heart can claw, curse, and hold a mean grip on every object at its disposal in order to avoid repentance. One can look to the resurrection to find the truth about the goodness of God's creation. But one should look to the miracle of the repentant saint to find the truth about God's strenuous love - the true measure of his power.

Pardon my gross lack of updates. Our 4,900 mile journey was followed by one good night of sleep, and then, chaos. We spent last week preparing to move, last weekend moving, and this week (so far) trying to clean up after the move. My free time has all been re-directed and my normal day-to-day work is seasoned with a great fatigue. More later, I hope.

The greatest thing is a conversion of heart. The greatest thing is a Passover from hardness to tenderness, from cruelty to mercy. And one cannot do this by one's own power. Rather one can only fail, and pray, and wait on the Lord. We should, I think, obey in the little things that we can, and hold fast to these small obediences, praising God for them. We must learn to have faith in the Lord whose grace and mercy may not appear to us until we wholeheartedly believe that we need them.

some thoughts along the way

Fr. Louth’s Discerning the Mystery is immensely helpful.

Wendell Berry’s poetry just about does me in.

Read Theodore Dalrymple for a good bit of sobering up. Pray for his soul too.

America is a truly beautiful land. God’s handiwork is wrought in many unique ways along the way. It is just a joy.

Glacier National Park is rightly known for bears.

Friendships mature when each friend has a proper chance to be ugly in front of the other.

My grandmother is an ornery and delightful woman: she warms my heart.