Henri Nouwen of the Day

Hi all, I've been doing quite well, had alot of work done for our campus ministries and the Newman Club this year. I've just been accepted at McMaster University in Hamilton, for an MA in History. My focus will be British Catholic history ie. Recusants! And to think it all started with this blog.

I remember my first Lent and how my mother bought me a devotion book from the only Catholic author she knew 'was a Christian', the late Father Henri Nouwen (who is highly popular amongst Evangelicals). Since that first Lent I have tried to incorporate Nouwen each year in some way to my Lenten devotions. I read in his book this morning:

"Be sure that God will truly fulfill all your needs... It will help you not to expect that fulfillment from people who you already know are incapable of giving it."

(He always had those awesome Vatican II-era hippy vestments, righteous!)

St. Ignatius and Our Lady of Monserrat

There's an interesting moment in the life of St. Ignatius Loyola, where he almost violently kills someone in defense of the perpetual virginity of Mary (St. Jerome would be proud), and then within days hangs up all of his sword and army equipment infront of an image of Our Lady of Monserrat, in what I perceive as a sort of spiritual surrender to God. It reminds me of the Newman quote where he writes that we are not merely civilians in need of a captain (Christ) but rebels who must lay down our arms.

I found an English translation of the hymn to Our Lady of Monserrat that is sung daily in the monastery:

"Rose of April, woman of the mountain,
star of Montserrat,
light up the catalan land
guide us to the sky
guide us to the sky

With a golden saw, the little angels sawed,
with a golden saw, those peaks,
to make your palace,
to make your palace.
Queen of the Sky, that the Séraphins took down
Queen of the Sky Give us a shelter in your blue coat,
in your blue coat.

Rose of April, woman of the mountain,
star of Montserrat,
light up the catalan land
guide us to the sky
guide us to the sky"

At the monastery, Ignatius confessed his sins before going off into a period of even greater conversion. I burst out laughing when I read in Catholic Encyclopedia the snide remark of the historian: "evidence tends to show that his own subsequent humble confessions of having been a great sinner should not be treated as pious exaggerations" (I want that on my gravestone).

The funny thing is the way I see -from albeit a very cursory glance at his life- him switch from one passion to the next. It's like Thomism in reverse. While that school teaches a man must subvert his passions to his reason, Ignatius seems to fall like Kierkegaard into the camp of Faith being the stongest passion. He was a very passionate man (and yet it was a passion for Christ). I think it's funny how he read about the saints and wanted to outdo them. I don't think that's pride necessarily as Holy Writ orders us to "provoke one another to love and good deeds" (Heb. 10:24).

I see in him a successful version of what I want to be. I told a friend the other day that I want to be a priest/Jesuit because I want to love the poor and completely follow Christ, not because I am doing that already. It's more a means to an end. Apparently that's not the 'right' answer to becoming a priest nowadays. Fr. McNabb's response that he took Holy Orders to 'save his soul' is now uncommon, but it really is how I feel.

May the example of Christ, Our Lady, and the saints provoke me to love.

Blessed Divine Mercy Sunday to all!

The Reality of Satan

Today my beloved parish priest who is fairly orthodox excepting occasional slips into Liberalism. As someone who hasn't given anything remotely resembling the dedication and service he has given to our Church, I want to clarify that I'm not attacking him or his ministry, just the idea he deseminated from the pulpit.

The reading for today was Matthew 4, the Temptation of Christ by Satan. He called this episode folklore that probably resulted from Jesus hallucinating in the desert conditions but that it might have been an inward spiritual experience.

I think this line of argument is dangerous as Satan is a key player in the story of Humanity. Lest we forget, I'll just repeat some of his big moments in the annals of time:
-Primary rebel to God's reign
-author of Sin/innovater of finite good (evil) over infinite good
-chief tempter of humanity which led to our entire fall as a race
-destroyer of Job's life
-ruiner of souls
-tempter of Christ
-accuser of the saints (all Christians)
-prince of this world/this present darkness

C.S. Lewis reminds us that there is an immense danger in acting as if he and his angels (demons) aren't real. And "The Usual Suspects" (good film) reminds us that "the best lie the devil ever told was that he didn't exist".

If we fail to understand the spiritual battle around us, we will be at a loss. Christ died to destroy the works of the devil, and ransom our souls. If that whole story was folklore, someone could've saved Jesus alot of pain and told him to grow up and read Voltaire.

As Catholics we used to have a prayer at the end of our Mass, a prayer that reminded us of all these 'medieval' (*read: biblical) things we believed. I pray that Papa Benny will bring it back.



"Saint Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle;
be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray:
and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host,
by the power of God,
thrust into hell Satan and all the evil spirits
who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen."

Even if the prayer isn't re-instated liturgically, I'm glad when he was still Cardinal Ratzinger, that Pope Benedict XVI has reminded us of the reality of the Devil and evil in the Ratzinger Report, and pointed out that Vatican II frequently mentions the Evil one.

On a lighter note, the new movie Richard Gere and Ethan Hawke movie preview features the St. Michael's prayer prominently, so as the Boondock Saints taught a generation the Signum Crucis, hopefully this will teach others the St. Michael Prayer