....I will be back on Monday.
Personal Reflections: March 2006 Archives
Ok, I was half asleep this morning, but was jolted awake hearing the commentator say they were ending with the "Salve Regina." What I was hearing was the "Alma Redemptoris Mater." Even EWTN can't be trusted with the facts all the time.
Beside what is going on here at Rifugio, it also has:
1. has five posts reflecting on scripture, literature and the spiritual life
2. has three posts on interacting with the world in our daily lives in ordinary and dramatic ways
3. has three posts on internal church matters
4. has two posts on natural family planning, and
5. Herb's own reflection on the Abraham and Isaac story
Today is my sister's birthday. Special prayers for you today. Everyone is invited to leave birthday greetings in the comment section.
Reading, meditation, prayer, contemplation ... is what normally occurs when we give it time to happen.
The story of Esther in the Old Testament from today's first reading is a remarkable prelude to the witness of Mary who also saved her people by her be it done unto me.
The apostle will exclaim, Glory be to God whose power working in us can do infinitely more than we ask or imagine. The key is to ask, to imagine.
As Gaspar would say, It is impossible for God to abandon any one who trusts in him.
This will be a place for prayer and study.
Missionaries of the Most Precious Blood seek to dedicate themselves to the service of the Church through the apostolic and missionary activity of the ministry of the word.
We are called to a faithful celebration of the Most Holy Mysteries in the Eucharist, the Sacraments and in the Daily Prayer of the Church.
We seek to be faithful to the charism of St. Gaspar del Bufalo, the teachings of the Fathers, and all that is handed down in Tradition, which the Church either by a solemn judgment or by the ordinary and universal Magisterium sets forth to be believed as divinely revealed.
To live above with the Saints we love,
Ah, that is the unknown story.
To live below with the Saints we know,
Ah, that is the purest glory!
There are good ships,
and there are wood ships,
The ships that sail the sea.
But the best ships, are friendships,
And may they always be.
May the lilt of Irish laughter
lighten every load.
May the mist of Irish magic
shorten every road...
And may all your friends remember
all the favours you are owed!
'Sláinte chuig na fir, agus go mairfidh na mná go deo.'
Think of it as part of the Lenten reform and renewal.
What this community needs is refounding. This is something that our General has stated many times over, but there is little discussion or energy behind it, at least within earshot of this writer.
So refounding must start at home and so I shall start with me, and this little blog will be part of it. Refounding energy is difficult in later years. My associate here is in his 70th year. He is a great help to me, yet he has no energy for this. He wants to just be as close to Jesus as he can be, and I will bless him for that. Actually it was a joy to hear that coming from him.
But for me, there has to be something more. In many ways it feels as if the foundations have been ripped out from underneath me. Moral failures, heterodox teachings and diregard for the liturgy have led to diminishing community. Last July, the Province to which I belong disappeared. Nothing is left but the shadows and the memories. So now I belong to the Cincinnati Province. I have been to Ohio several times, but to Cincinnati once. There is little in the name I can identify with. The name does not inspire mission, rather it localizes us in one place. Even seen as a home base from which we mission, it has little resonance with me.
The three pillars of this community are Spirituality, Mission and Community. These are the things I shall focus on and work toward. It does not happen by itself.
All of this is rooted in a primary and essential relationship with the Lord. For Gaspar, everything is decided through prayer.
So prayer it will be.
Watch for some of the external changes soon. The Blog will have new name, new focus, new look. The only thing to remain the same will be the address.
Reform, refocus, renew, refound.
