Sex, Love, and God from Bishop-Elect Robert Barron

Video was first published on January 7, 2013 from Word on Fire website.

Quotes from the short video...

"Love is an act of will for another, not a feeling"

What is Marriage in light of the Catholic Church?  "That our relationship might become an iconic sign of God's love for the world"

Theology of the Body and mental illness

We tend to hide under the covers when it turns to mental illness and we act so different  when we are dealing with a physical illness of the body versus someone dealing with a mental illness. We are mind and soul together, and we can not discard one without effecting the other. I found a great article by Richard Beck on Incarnational Theology and Mental Illness which I will link below. This all ties in well with Theology of the Body. Mr Beck states that "our theological reflection must attend to embodiment, and this includes mental illness." He continues to state that "my hope is that not only will we become more accepting of the bodies of others, but that we'll expand our understanding of spiritual formation, coming to see how attending to and caring for the body in mental illness; is as spiritual as bible study and prayer."

http://experimentaltheology.blogspot.com/2014/08/incarnational-theology-and-mental.html

In some circles some have speculated that we may all be a little "crazy."

In Eckhart Tolle's book, A New Earth, he states "The normal state of the mind of most human beings contains a strong element of what we might call dysfunction or even madness." Christians would call this original sin.  He goes on to say "our very intelligence is tainted with madness"

So we may need to look deep into ourselves about our own "madness."

Here’s a reply from TCA columnist Father Ray Ryland, Ph.D., J.D:
In one passage Scripture seems to distinguish “spirit” and “soul”: “May the God of peace himself make you perfectly holy and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body, be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thes 5:23). But we must make no sharp distinction between the two.
The human soul is “the innermost aspect of man, that which is of greatest value in him, that by which he is most especially in God’s image: ‘soul’ signifies the spiritual principal in man” (Catechism, No. 263). The word “spirit” points to the fact that we are created for “a supernatural end” (No. 367). The two terms are complementary.
- See more at: https://www.osv.com/TheChurch/EternalLife/Article/TabId/738/ArtMID/13694/ArticleID/13910/Difference-Between-Soul-and-Spirit.aspx#sthash.Rsl3Jvwp.dpuf

Here’s a reply from TCA columnist Father Ray Ryland, Ph.D., J.D:
In one passage Scripture seems to distinguish “spirit” and “soul”: “May the God of peace himself make you perfectly holy and may you entirely, spirit, soul, and body, be preserved blameless for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thes 5:23). But we must make no sharp distinction between the two.
The human soul is “the innermost aspect of man, that which is of greatest value in him, that by which he is most especially in God’s image: ‘soul’ signifies the spiritual principal in man” (Catechism, No. 263). The word “spirit” points to the fact that we are created for “a supernatural end” (No. 367). The two terms are complementary.
- See more at: https://www.osv.com/TheChurch/EternalLife/Article/TabId/738/ArtMID/13694/ArticleID/13910/Difference-Between-Soul-and-Spirit.aspx#sthash.Rsl3Jvwp.dpuf

It is hard to be charitable when...

Last night in a parking lot, I mistakenly had bought 2 parking tickets for the same space. Instead of just pocketing the extra ticket I gave the ticket to the next car which came into the lot. "There, I've done my good deed for the day, right? Apparently the two men had just bought their own ticket, so I mentioned to them to give it to the next car which came into the lot. They in turn sold the ticket for $5 to the next gentleman. This was the same ticket which I had given it to them for free. Arrrgh!!! I went on with my evening not in a giving and charitable mood, but one of anger and frustration. Is this how I expected to be transformed during these days of lent? Apparently, I still have a lot of work to do. How dare my good deed go down the drain as other thoughtless human beings made decisions that trumped my own? Bottom line: I am a better person than them. I tried to be charitable and doing a good deed, and where does it get me? Where does this come from? One word, ego. I let my ego, self centered look on others take control of who I am. Words Of I and me, dot my own conversion with myself. Would Jesus have let this episode cloud his mind with hostility? I think not. He would always be self giving and not concerned how it would affect himself. I am reading a book called "A new Earth" by Eckhart Tolle. He talks about needing to transform our own minds to a higher level. Much of this revolves are letting go of the ego, a very hard thing to do. He says; "you do not become good by trying to be good, but by finding the goodness that is already within you...and allowing that goodness to emerge." Eckhart Tolle, A new Earth.

Lenten reflections

There are two that I am following this Lent. Matthew Kelley and Robert Barron. Here are the links that you can sign up and get daily messages.  Great stuff!

Matthew Kelly's Best Lent Ever!

http://dynamiccatholic.com/bestlentever/blog-overview/


Robert Barron's Lenten Reflections

http://www.lentreflections.com/

Full Circle to the Truth

Full circle to the truth was a phrase uttered in one of the early X-FILES television episodes in finding truth through faith. This phrase has led me on a journey as I discover my own faith and how certain attractions within the Catholic Church have led me back along the circle. The circle of my faith started with the "That Man is You" a Catholic Men's program which led me to the wonderful teachings of Pope John Paul 2's Theology of the Body. This in turn drove my curiosity and fascination with several saints, especially St Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross.  Now after a spell of silence for a variety of reasons I have to go back at least and address the blogs from late this summer of "Whose thoughts are they"? 

Could it be a coincidence that almost at that same time, uninvited thoughts were entering the mind of a loved one close to me?

5 months later my outlook on what we may call "intrusive thoughts", mental health and suicide have completely turned around my opinions and views on these topics.  I have been humbled to my knees by taking such a narrow, tunnel visioned view on mental health.

5 months ago I would have convicted and found guilty James Holmes for the murders in the Aurora movie theater.  He claimed insanity, but he knew and planned the whole thing out in advance. How could he be insane with such a detailed plan?  

5 months ago in an earlier blog, I talked about smelling cigarette smoke when there was in fact no smoke around. These are called olfactory hallucinations (phantosmia). Compulsive hair pulling is something I have also done since a child. Who knew this had a name as well; Trichotillomania.  

2 months ago, three suicides from members of the local high school rocked our community.

I had referenced Robin Williams suicide and wondered how could he have done such a thing to himself and the family that loved him? Certainly an eye opening past 5 months in trying to come up to speed with knowledge and insight into mental health disorders. I have been reading everything I can find on the topic and have come across some fascinating pieces which I will address in blogs to come.

The main reason for this initial blog was centered around the themes of Theology of the Body. In the central context the main themes stemmed around our sexuality,  as God created us male and female. To take the whole body in context, body and spirit together and not as separate entities.  From the Catechism of the Catholic Church; " The unity of soul and body is so profound that one has to consider the soul to the form of the body:...spirit and matter, in man, are not two natures united, but rather their union forms a single nature." (CCC, 365)

In a recent blog last summer by Richard Beck quotes "mental illness requires incarnational theology and reflection. "Theological reflection must attend to embodiment, and this includes mental illness." Despression is about our bodies. But the Gnostic impulses within Christianity often obscure that fact. The brain is an organ of the body as much as our stomachs and livers."

During 2015 I plan to steer this blog and concentrate on mental health and how it relates to Theology of the Body.  Within our culture there is still much scorn and silence on this topic and I feel compelled to further the truth on mental health.

The future of humanity through marriage and the family!

6 wonderful short videos have been made from the just finished Humanum conference. They are all  on the Theology of the Body Institute web site or you can go just go to Humanum.it


These are wonderfully, well made videos from cultures all over the world. Enjoy and contemplate the meaning of humanity!


http://www.tobinstitute.org/2014/11/17/humanum-conference

The Darkness of the Soul

In Teresa of Avila's Interior Castle, she describes the darkness of the soul.  She writes, "the intention of a person who commits a mortal sin is not to please Him but to give pleasure to the devil; and, as the devil is darkness itself, the poor soul becomes darkness itself likewise"

Further, she describes the soul in sin as "rooted in a pool of pitch-black, evil smelling water, it produces nothing but misery and filth."

All this imagery that Teresa describes reminded me of an episode of Star Trek Next Generation, entitled "Skin of Evil." The creature called Armus, is pictured here. The black creature was left behind by an alien race which had perfected a means of bringing to the surface all that was evil and negative within, erupting, spreading, connecting. In time, it formed a second skin, dank and vile.

In a dialogue between Captain Picard and Armus; Picard quotes Percy Bysshe Shelly from "Prometheus Unbound"...

"All spirits are enslaved that serve things evil."

Armus: "You do not understand. I do not serve things evil; I am evil."
Captain Picard: "Oh, no. You're not."
Armus: I am a skin of evil, left here by a race of Titans, who believed if they rid themselves of me, they would free the bonds of destructiveness.

Back to the Interior Castle, St. Teresa goes onto say; "I know of a person to whom Our Lord wished to show what a soul was like when it committed mortal sin.That person says that, if people could understand this, she thinks they would find it impossible to sin at all..." That person she is referring to is Teresa, herself.

In our fallen world we are all subject to sin and this vile, blackness that can coat our soul. To me that imagery is revolting that are souls can look like Armus. In our world, we have a savior that can free ourselves from the bonds of evil. That savior is Jesus Christ. We need the cleansing, pure water of grace that can clear off the muck and slime from our souls. Pray, Brothers and Sisters that in St. Teresa's words that "surely if you understand your own natures, it is impossible that you will not strive to remove the pitch which darkens the the crystal of your soul."

I am scrubbing as we speak...