[Maximilian]

Bases of a philosophy of life: animal, rational, divine

He left one out: the sub-animal. An african tribal chieftan with dozens of wives and hundreds of children is living on a purely natural level, but at least he is fulfilling the purposes of nature. But what happens when effeminate weakness replaces strength as an ideal, and "men exchange natural relations for unnatural, in order to lie with other men, receiving in their bodies the punishment for their sins"? This is a level that sinks even below the natural. Everything about it is unnatural, from the acts themselves to the fashions, drugs and music which accompany it.

This is the level to which our society has sunk, not just in the percentage who actually practice these deviant acts, but in the general population who carry out their lives within the media dominated by them, and in the larger percentage who practice equivalently unnatural acts such as contraception for older couples and oral sodomy which is becoming a common practice among teenagers.

[LibertyGirl77]

Whoa - I'm sorry. I tried to get through that, I really did. But it's way too long and flowery.

[ksen]

What's a "Vrigin?"

Does that violate the no obscenity rule?

[St.Chuck]

bumpp fer later. The Flowery description made it a must read.

[irishtenor]

***that never in all the course of her life did Mary commit any actual sin, either venial or mortal***

Mary was a sinner. Just like everyone else.

[xzins]

You gotta fix the spelling on that.

I saw it outa the corner of my eye, and my first thought was some Norse Goddess.

[mdmathis6]

So did Mary have need of a Savior, in her supposed sinless state?

[Salvation]

BTTT of January 1, 2005, Solemnity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God!

[murphE]

Ping

good read

[Salvation]

American Cathlic's Saint of the Day

January 1, 2005

Mary, Mother of God

Mary’s divine motherhood broadens the Christmas spotlight. Mary has an important role to play in the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity. She consents to God’s invitation conveyed by the angel (Luke 1:26-38). Elizabeth proclaims: “Most blessed are you among women and blessed is the fruit of your womb. And how does this happen to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?” (Luke 1:42-43, emphasis added). Mary’s role as mother of God places her in a unique position in God’s redemptive plan.

Without naming Mary, Paul asserts that “God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law” (Galatians 4:4). Paul’s further statement that “God sent the spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying out ‘Abba, Father!’“ helps us realize that Mary is mother to all the brothers and sisters of Jesus.

Some theologians also insist that Mary’s motherhood of Jesus is an important element in God’s creative plan. God’s “first” thought in creating was Jesus. Jesus, the incarnate Word, is the one who could give God perfect love and worship on behalf of all creation. As Jesus was “first” in God’s mind, Mary was “second” insofar as she was chosen from all eternity to be his mother.

The precise title “Mother of God” goes back at least to the third or fourth century. In the Greek form Theotokos (God-bearer), it became the touchstone of the Church’s teaching about the Incarnation. The Council of Ephesus in 431 insisted that the holy Fathers were right in calling the holy virgin Theotokos. At the end of this particular session, crowds of people marched through the street shouting: “Praised be the Theotokos!” The tradition reaches to our own day. In its chapter on Mary’s role in the Church, Vatican II’s Dogmatic Constitution on the Church calls Mary “Mother of God” 12 times.

Comment:

Other themes come together at today’s celebration. It is the Octave of Christmas: Our remembrance of Mary’s divine motherhood injects a further note of Christmas joy. It is a day of prayer for world peace: Mary is the mother of the Prince of Peace. It is the first day of a new year: Mary continues to bring new life to her children—who are also God’s children.

Quote:

“The Blessed Virgin was eternally predestined, in conjunction with the incarnation of the divine Word, to be the Mother of God. By decree of divine Providence, she served on earth as the loving mother of the divine Redeemer, an associate of unique nobility, and the Lord’s humble handmaid. She conceived, brought forth, and nourished Christ” (Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, 61).

[Salvation]

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