Once again, it has been quite some time since my last post!
I have been very busy reading the books of the prophets in the Old Testament, poring over the Greek text of Paul's letters to the Philippians and to Philemon, digesting another century of Church Fathers, grasping the 300 years of Biblical history preceding the writing of the Gospels, and deepening my knowledge of how the Church has further clarified her teachings regarding Divine Revelation, the Scriptures, and the Tradition and Magisterium. And I took midterm exams in all of these (save the Pauline literature). If all of that does not excuse me from writing here, at least you know I wasn't hibernating!
It really is a joy to be able to come into contact with these great works. It is refreshing to see that the problems we have today are not new, that the world has endured similar trials for millennia. It is also, to some degree, alarming that after millennia of facing these same issues, we have not resolved them. Then again, need this world and our society in it approach the perfection of heaven? Each of us is called to endure the persecutions we suffer, to bear all things patiently with hope and to give of ourselves to one another to our dying breath, all the while giving thanks to our Creator, who from the beginning of time planned for our Redemption. How else could "the hills be alive with the sound of music" or "the heavens proclaim the glory of God", had he not known already that we would need such evidence around us to lead us to Himself?
Beginning this week, we embark in Patristics upon a great Augustinian adventure. We have divided his Confessions into three parts, and have formed teams to read and analyze the work according to seven dimensions, including Scripture, Love & Friendship, Philosophy, and Evil/Sin. I chose the topic of Law/Justice/Society. We will write a short paper pointing out how Augustine treats of our theme for each of the three divisions of his work, and each class meeting will consist of a discussion of what each of us found. Unfortunately, I will most likely miss the last discussion day as I fulfill my civic duty at the Superior Court House!
Things have been cooling off in Boston; the cold weather is a familiar and welcome reality in the Northeast, at least in my experience. I just need to push myself to work out and strengthen my back so I am ready when it comes time to shovel snow! Good thing there are more than a few "workout nuts" in this house! (By the way, when the workout video series are titled "Insanity" and "Asylum," the colloquialism "crazy" does not stray far from the mark!)
I plan to make some remarks here about Obama's acceptance speech and our outlook here in the USA, including some prudent Catholic viewpoints; other priorities precede such an effort, but I hope to put it online soon.
Until then, persevere in prayer and every good work! Celebrate Friday, the dedication of the Lateran Basilica, the Cathedral of the Diocese of Rome. And recall that we look forward to our heavenly homeland, as we work to consecrate to God this world in which we live, in all that we do.
Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca
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