Original Sin

I continued to struggled with being still in silence for the full duration of 60 minutes.  Today I was able to extend my time to 40 minutes.  That’s a big jump for me.  Since I had closed my eyes for the time, it took me several minutes to adjust to the light in the room.  I started seeing dots when I opened my eyes, and I feared this wasn’t good.  Did I try too hard to see God?  Perhaps, but more likely than not, I was “actively” using my eyes, even though they were closed.  Maybe some optician out there can explain this phenomena.

As for the meditation itself, I dwelled on the concept of death, or dying.  The topic for today was Original Sin, Genesis 3.  As I understand it, death did not exist before Eve & Adam ate from the tree of Knowledge.  So, how can God expect to convey the idea of death to creatures that cannot comprehend it?  It’s like teaching concepts of quantum physic to a 2 year old.  The kid may hear what you’re saying but it’s a slim chance that he’ll be able to apply the theories to his world of Legos.   So, can we really blame our ancestors for being seduced into eating the fruit of Knowledge?  I’d have to say yes, even though I myself, knows that I’ll probably do the same thing. The scary part is that it’s so easy to deny God.  If you will remember, Sin is ultimately an act of disobedient.  It’s goes to the heart of denying the existence of God.  Am I being overly dramatic?  I hope so.

First Sin

I’ve always thought the first sin was committed by man, you know, the Original Sin. Today’s meditation topic, taken from Revelation 12, hinted at the consequence of that first sin, not committed by a human, by the way. Incidentally, today is also the feast day of the Archangels, Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael. And so, today’s reading is also from Revelation 12. Coincident? I think not.
Sin, by its nature, is denying God’s love, and thus resulting in disobedience. So, who was it that could do such a thing in Heaven? Yes, that shining star, the light bearer, Lucifer. Why did Lucifer disobey God? Who knows. I do know this much, he didn’t want to have any part of serving God. Anyway, my point is not about how Lucifer fell, but I want to dwell on how he indirectly fought back at God, using us human.

Holy Hour

This is Week One of our Ten Weeks Saint Ignatius Spiritual Exercise program. Personally, it’s been a challenge for me to be still for one hour everyday and meditate on the assigned scripture passage. I don’t have a problem with contemplation, though, since it allows me to roam about inside the story and pretty much “dream”. I do admit that I found myself drifting off at times during contemplation, but then again, I drift off during meditation as well.
I was told that meditation uses the logical part of your mind, your head, and that contemplation uses the imaginative part, or your heart. If that’s true, then I must not have much logic and plenty of imagination.

Exercising the Spirit

Yesterday, members of our community packed in Tina’s Honda and trekked to Saint Peter Chanel Catholic Church in Hawaiian Gardens.  It was to be our inaugural Sunday Mass at SPC, and then afterward learning the ways of Saint Ignatius of Loyola’s famed Spiritual Exercise.  We made it safely to SPC, thanks be to God, but not in time for opening prayers.  The Lector was working on the first reading when we were finally settled down in our pews.  Apparently Father Ed Broom, the celebrant, took notice of us straddling in late, and make it point of contention in his otherwise spirited homily.  “Life’s too short,” Fr. Ed exclaimed with both hands flung apart upward to heaven, “for you to be lazy to pray!”  One by one, he systematically pin-pointed the vices that cause spiritual laziness.  I would relate to you what those vices are, but unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately for me, if ignorance is bliss, I could not hear well enough to comprehend Fr. Ed’s gentle admonitions.

Icon Last Tuesday

Last Tuesday, September 2, our community–minus Theresa–listened to an informative talk on Catholic arts in general and Icons in particular.  [Don't ask me why it took me a whole week to write about this]  Dr. Eric Hansen, resident fellow of the Magis Institute, presented a compelling look at aspects of Icons from creation to veneration.  We all were, of course, awed by the luxurious setting of the Pacific Club in Newport Beach.  Let me just say there’s mouth wash rinse for your personal use in the rest room.

Icon of the Crucifixion of Christ

Dr. Hansen’s talk was even more engaging than we had anticipated.  His knowledge and love of Icons shines through with dashes of humorous anecdotes kept us wanting for more.  Perhaps the most memorable nugget that I got from his talk is that Icons are much more that just art pieces.  They are a kind of  window, if only for a tiny frozen moment, a glimpse into the heavenly realm.  Right off the bat, this concept appealed to my sense of timelessness and eternity without even going further into deeper theological basis.  So with that in mind, Dr. Hansen stressed, an Icon outside a Church is like a fish out of water… or something to that effect.  Icons can only be truly appreciated as a worship guide, a reminder for us to look toward Holiness, as the Holy Ones are peering back to us in our sad, corrupted reality.  I don’t know if that is the reason why most Icons we saw are with serious, sad, or even pitied expressions.

One minor irritation for me, and it’s a very tiny one, is that Dr. Hansen kept blocking my view of his beautiful slides.  Now, these are real slides, mind you.  Complete with wired slide projector and manual focus.  Kind of kicks us back 15 years before the proliferation of PowerPoint presentation.  Oh, the humanity of it all:  Old School Icons presentation.  Pretty cool.