Nothing Between My Soul and the Savior! Really? Help us, Lord!

Archdiocese of Washington ^ | 9/11/2014 | Msgr. Charles Pope

[Mrs. Don-o]

It's really long, and I read it twice but it took an age. You start living it. An advantage is that any one of the three parts could be a stand-alone book. However you do want to get to the end, where the total loss becomes apparent. And grace, if you read it with an eye to grace. Amazon has the trilogy for $0.01, $0.01, and $0.72, used, in good condition, plus postage of course.

I'm getting her biography of Catherine of Siena.

[Tax-chick]

I'm sure it's at The Book Lady. When I finish the biography of Walt Whitman, I'm planning to check out The Bridge of the Assassins in Spanish again and read it this time.

[Mrs. Don-o]

When people are near the end of their rope, I don't give them cheer. I give 'em good ol' Norwegian pessimism.

I'm looking for a good bio of Undset.

[CynicalBear]

Catholics have a difficult time distinguishing between spiritual and carnal. Most times I don’t think they have a clue or inkling.

[Tax-chick]

I want mead.

And how long has it been since you had a nice, old-fashioned human sacrifice? Too long, you say?

[Mrs. Don-o]

On the other hand, one could say that "Protestants have a difficult time discerning the universal significance of the Inmcarnation.. Most times I don’t think they have a clue or inkling."

Not that I'm saying that. But one could say.

[Mrs. Don-o]

Human sacrifice, OK...

The opening prayer (is that what we used to call he "Introit"?) today made a (to me) unexpected reference to Christ being sacrificed"on the altar of the cross." Succinct.

On the Holy Name of Mary: I don't get that. I mean, Jesus means Josue, which means Bavior. Quite a holy name. Mary means Miriam, which means Bitterness.

I would rather think of the name God gave her, which the angel announced: Kecharitomene. Lady fully and totally favored with grace.

[Mrs. Don-o]

Savior. Of course.

[Tax-chick]

Got it!

[Mercat]

Read Scott Hahn’s book Hail Holy Queen.

[Mrs. Don-o]

I’ll look it up in the amazon used book section. I haven’t read as much Scott Hahn as I ought.

[cloudmountain]

So I would say "detachment" in the sense of a cold, hands-off attitude toward all things, is bad; but "detachment" in the sense of putting Christ, always, radically first, is good.
Does that make sense?
How much we want to smooth the edges off of this one! It is indeed a hard saying. One of the hardest!

============================================

Wikipedia:
1. Emotional detachment, in psychology, refers to "inability to connect" or "mental assertiveness"
2. Detachment (philosophy), a philosophical state

=======================================

SOME, OCCASIONAL detachment is needed in this world or we would go crazy.
Also detachment from unsavory friends or people who lead us to do bad is NECESSARY. Sometimes the latter detachment is from some family and/or friends and may have NOTHING to do with the Lord.

Putting Christ first is always good but Christ would be the FIRST to say "help each other" and that might mean having to deal with those from whom we would detach ourselves with all due speed.
It's MOST unpleasant to have to deal with the down and out, drunks, addicts, over-eaters, manipulators, jerks, fools and aholes, but they may be the ones who need us the most. THEY may be our God-chosen path to the Lord.

In other words, detachment isn't one or the other. We need our good Lord to help us discern how we can follow the straight and narrow and how we can help our fellow human beings. Detachment from THEM may not be what the good Lord wants us to do.

.

You ALWAYS make sense, Mrs. Don-o.
Of course, maybe I wouldn't want to cross you before you had your first cup of coffee in the morning. :o)

[Mrs. Don-o]

Yeah. COFFEEcoffeecoffee....

:o)

[cloudmountain]

I didn't/don't see detachment that way. I think of detachment as getting rid of this world for Christ, but it's a state I can not be constantly in as I have human responsibilities.
In other words I think I need to work on my interior life with Jesus, if that makes sense.
Our good Lord will be the judge of that.

Despair I think comes from not working on your interior life. That inner dialog, yes dialog with Christ. As a priest told me, when you are so busy talking to him, he does not have time to answer.
There IS a middle ground. There HAS to be.
*Doing good for others FOR THE GLORY OF GOD has to count for something.
*Listening to a BORING neighbor who daily spouts his troubles has to count for something.
*NOT scolding your neighbor for letting her dog POOP on your lawn has to count for something.
*Picking up after the yuppies next door when they SWEAR that they don't drop their trash in front of my house has to count for something.
*Calling a friend whose has HORRIBLE arthritis and listening to her has to count for something.
*Meeting and having coffee with folks that USED to be my friends, listening to all their bodily aches and pains and NOT telling them: "Well, what did you expect with your MEGA-lazy-ass lifestyle?" has to count for something.

LOTS of ways to work on your "inner life" without saying a single prayer.

[defconw]

OK, :)

[boatbums]

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. (Romans 8:1,2)

Jesus HAS made us free from the law of sin and death, not one day He will. He has right now given us that freedom through His grace. Whatever road blocks are in our path that keep us from full fellowship with Jesus Christ our Savior are there because we haven't yet realized that. It is not something we make happen but it IS something we must come to comprehend in order that we might walk after the Spirit in victory.

[avenir]

Faith says it IS SO! Thanks, boatbums.

[Joe 6-pack]

"I’ve often thought that there’s a very fine line between perfect detachment and despair. When you surrender everything, Jesus is there, they promise ... but what if he isn’t? What if there’s just living death until there’s dead death?"

I was once told, "It's ok to occasionally doubt your beliefs. Trouble begins when you start to believe your doubts."

In the intervening years, I've found ever increasing wisdom in those words. When one doubts or questions one's beliefs (of either profound theological or more temporal, mundane matters), one is prompted to dig deeper for answers, and the process tends to reaffirm and bolster those beliefs that are true and correct, and leads us closer to the truth for those beliefs which can not hold up to more intense scrutiny. Similarly, our doubts are often founded in fear, insecurity or self-deception. When we begin to trust in those, it is very disruptive to the soul.

[Tax-chick]

Similarly, our doubts are often founded in fear, insecurity or self-deception.

Very good point.

[Elsie]

Nothing between my soul and the Savior...

Yeah...
Sure...