Wednesday 28 October 2015

Rabanus Maurus 2. Interior Listening (Wm)

COMMENT from Donald
Fw: Six Rabannus Maurus entries
----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Donald ...
To: "William ....

Sent: Wednesday, 28 October 2015, 6:03
Subject: Six Rabannus Maurus entries

Dear William,
Our continuing of "My forehead. Enter into my thoughts."
Thank you comment and below to follow the furrows in Rabanus Maurus at 'enlargingtheheart.wordpress.com', six Entries included. May not be in our library.

Angels.
Yesterday at Western General Hospital, Raymond and I went to visit 93yr Mary in the maze to search. At the Reception an elderly WWW voluntary aid kept us all the way of paths by buildings, lifts and wards!  'Angel' I called her as she realized. And Mary suffering shingles, herself an Angel too. Hospital staff all so kind.
...yours,
Donald
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__________________________________________

COMMENT from William  - Thank you. D.
Fw: this interior listening

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: William ...
To: nunrawdonald  ...
Sent: Tuesday, 27 October 2015, 19:30
Subject: Re: this interior listening

Dear Father Donald,
There is a practical snag here for me... "No one learns anything through speech... unless the mind is anointed with the Spirit" And yet, the spoken word does not always 'register' for me its full meaning, (first thoughts distracting me), and when I do realize the meaning of all that I have just heard, the echo is gone! Whereas the written word places its meaning before me to consider and reflect upon, and review the meaning of one phrase caught up into the next: Lectio is for me this "interior listening".
I need the text for the full value of the spoken word to register. I wonder if that was in the mind of the writers of the Gospels as they sought to capture the depth of the meaning relayed in the oral traditions?
Just William

----Original message----

Date : 27/10/2015 - 07:34 (GMTST)
...
Cc ...
Subject : Night Office
The mind has the wealth of thoughts.
Sent from my iPad.    

Monday, Nov 7 2011 

Early Latin Monks and MONASTIC and PATRISTIC and Rabanus Maurus grace, heart, Holy Spirit, interior life, mind, scripture Mark Armitage 8:55 am
(On Jeremiah 36)
In the Gospel he who is Truth himself says to his disciples:
When you stand before kings and princes, do not think how you are to speak, or what you are to say; what you are to say will be given you at the time, for it is not you who will be speaking but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
We must realise that the grace of the Holy Spirit is necessary not only for those who teach but also for those who are taught.
Unless the Spirit is present in the heart of the listener, the teacher is wasting his breath.
Unless there is a teacher within us, the teacher without works in a vacuum.
In Church we all hear the same voice speaking, but all do not understand it in the same way.
Since there is no difference in what is said, why is there a difference in our understanding of it, unless there is an interior teacher giving certain people special instruction through their understanding of words of admonition addressed to all?
Concerning this grace of the Holy Spirit, John says: His anointing will teach you everything.
No one learns anything through speech, therefore, unless the mind is anointed with the Spirit.
Because King Jehoiachim and his servants were not inwardly illumined by the grace of the Holy Spirit who inspired the Prophet, their bodily ears could hear the words of God, but the ears of the heart were deaf to them.
It is this interior listening which our Lord demands in the Gospel when he says: Those who have ears to hear, let them hear.
One has to marvel at the blindness of the human mind and the wickedness of the hardened heart.
Those whom salutary admonitions should have filled with compunction and sorrow for their sins were at pains to burn the scroll containing the words of the Lord.
They also took every opportunity to insult the Prophet whom they ought to have honoured for his inspired teaching and admonitions.
And why did they do this? Was it not because there was in them the sort of wicked spirit that always resists grace?
Yet human pride is impotent when it sets itself to resist divine sovereignty.
An earthly King gave orders for the Prophet and his scribe to be arrested and sent to prison;
the King of heaven shielded his blameless saints from human malice so that they came to no harm.
Rabanus Maurus (c.780-856): Commentary on Jeremiah, 13 (PL 111:1073-75); from the Monastic Office of Vigils, Tuesday of Week 30 in Ordinary Time, Year 1
The mind has the wealth of thoughts.
Sent from my iPad. 

Sancta Maria Abbey: http://www.nunraw.com.uk (Website)     Blogspot :http://www.nunraw.blogspot.co.uk, Doneword :http://www.donewill.blogspot.co.uk    |domdonald.org.uk,   Emails: nunrawdonald@yahoo.com, nunrawdonald@gmail.com

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Sts Simon and Jude Feast 2. Mass Apostles Intro Fr. Brendan,


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Tuesday 27 October 2015

Sts. Simon and Jude, apostles - Feast


Wednesday, 28 October 2015

SAINTS SIMON AND JUDE
Apostles
(Feast)

         The name of Saint Simonusually appears eleventh in the list of the apostles. Nothing is known of him except that he was born at Cana and is surnamed "The Zealot".
         Saint Jude, also called Thaddeus, was the apostle who asked the Lord at the Last Supper why he has manifested himself only to his disciples and not to the whole world (John 12:22).


Christian Prayer : The Liturgy of the Hours - Daughters of St. Paul * St. Paul Editions * 1976
©Evangelizo.org 2001-2015



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Rabanus Maurus: No One Learns Anything through Speech unless the Mind is Anointed with the Spirit

The mind has the wealth of thoughts.
Sent from my iPad. 

Sancta Maria Abbey: http://www.nunraw.com.uk (Website)     Blogspot :http://www.nunraw.blogspot.co.uk, Doneword :http://www.donewill.blogspot.co.uk    |domdonald.org.uk,   Emails: nunrawdonald@yahoo.com, nunrawdonald@gmail.com

----- Forwarded Message -----
From: Donald ....
Sent: Tuesday, 27 October 2015, 7:34
Subject: Night Office

Monday, Nov 7 2011 

(On Jeremiah 36)
In the Gospel he who is Truth himself says to his disciples:
When you stand before kings and princes, do not think how you are to speak, or what you are to say; what you are to say will be given you at the time, for it is not you who will be speaking but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
We must realise that the grace of the Holy Spirit is necessary not only for those who teach but also for those who are taught.
Unless the Spirit is present in the heart of the listener, the teacher is wasting his breath.
Unless there is a teacher within us, the teacher without works in a vacuum.
In Church we all hear the same voice speaking, but all do not understand it in the same way.
Since there is no difference in what is said, why is there a difference in our understanding of it, unless there is an interior teacher giving certain people special instruction through their understanding of words of admonition addressed to all?
Concerning this grace of the Holy Spirit, John says: His anointing will teach you everything.
No one learns anything through speech, therefore, unless the mind is anointed with the Spirit.
Because King Jehoiachim and his servants were not inwardly illumined by the grace of the Holy Spirit who inspired the Prophet, their bodily ears could hear the words of God, but the ears of the heart were deaf to them.
It is this interior listening which our Lord demands in the Gospel when he says: Those who have ears to hear, let them hear.
One has to marvel at the blindness of the human mind and the wickedness of the hardened heart.
Those whom salutary admonitions should have filled with compunction and sorrow for their sins were at pains to burn the scroll containing the words of the Lord.
They also took every opportunity to insult the Prophet whom they ought to have honoured for his inspired teaching and admonitions.
And why did they do this? Was it not because there was in them the sort of wicked spirit that always resists grace?
Yet human pride is impotent when it sets itself to resist divine sovereignty.
An earthly King gave orders for the Prophet and his scribe to be arrested and sent to prison;
the King of heaven shielded his blameless saints from human malice so that they came to no harm.
Rabanus Maurus (c.780-856): Commentary on Jeremiah, 13 (PL 111:1073-75); from the Monastic Office of Vigils, Tuesday of Week 30 in Ordinary Time, Year 1
   

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Monday 26 October 2015

Pope Francis' discourse at the conclusion of the Synod of Bishops on the Family

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   ww.zenit.org/en/articles/pope-s-discourse-at-close-of-synod 

SYNOD OF BISHOPS

Schermata 2015 10 21 alle 11.45.40

Pope's Discourse at Close of Synod

"It was about showing the vitality of the Catholic Church, which is not afraid to stir dulled consciences or to soil her hands with lively and frank discussions about the family."
Pope's Discourse at Close of Synod
"It was about showing the vitality of the Catholic Church, which is not afraid to stir dulled consciences or to soil her hands with lively and frank discussions about the family."
Vatican City, October 24, 2015 (ZENIT.org) Staff Reporter | 7827 hits
Below is the Vatican-provided translation of Pope Francis' discourse at the conclusion of the Synod of Bishops on the Family in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall this afternoon:
***
Dear Beatitudes, Eminences and Excellencies,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
men and women who contributed generously to the labours of this Synod by quietly working behind the scenes.
Be assured of my prayers, that the Lord will reward all of you with his abundant gifts of grace!
As I followed the labours of the Synod, I asked myself: What will it mean for the Church to conclude this Synod devoted to the family?
Certainly, the Synod was not about settling all the issues having to do with the family, but rather attempting to see them in the light of the Gospel and the Church’s tradition and two-thousand-year history, bringing the joy of hope without falling into a facile repetition of what is obvious or has already been said.
Surely it was not about finding exhaustive solutions for all the difficulties and uncertainties which challenge and threaten the family, but rather about seeing these difficulties and uncertainties in the light of the Faith, carefully studying them and confronting them fearlessly, without burying our heads in the sand.
It was about urging everyone to appreciate the importance of the institution of the family and of marriage between a man and a woman, based on unity and indissolubility, and valuing it as the fundamental basis of society and human life.
It was about listening to and making heard the voices of the families and the Church’s pastors, who came to Rome bearing on their shoulders the burdens and the hopes, the riches and the challenges of families throughout the world.
It was about showing the vitality of the Catholic Church, which is not afraid to stir dulled consciences or to soil her hands with lively and frank discussions about the family.
It was about trying to view and interpret realities, today’s realities, through God’s eyes, so as to kindle the flame of faith and enlighten people’s hearts in times marked by discouragement, social, economic and moral crisis, and growing pessimism.
It was about bearing witness to everyone that, for the Church, the Gospel continues to be a vital source of eternal newness, against all those who would “indoctrinate” it in dead stones to be hurled at others.
It was also about laying closed hearts, which bare the closed hearts which frequently hide even behind the Church’s teachings or good intentions, in order to sit in the chair of Moses and judge, sometimes with superiority and superficiality, difficult cases and wounded families.
It was about making clear that the Church is a Church of the poor in spirit and of sinners seeking forgiveness, not simply of the righteous and the holy, but rather of those who are righteous and holy precisely when they feel themselves poor sinners.
It was about trying to open up broader horizons, rising above conspiracy theories and blinkered viewpoints, so as to defend and spread the freedom of the children of God, and to transmit the beauty of Christian Newness, at times encrusted in a language which is archaic or simply incomprehensible.
In the course of this Synod, the different opinions which were freely expressed – and at times, unfortunately, not in entirely well-meaning ways – certainly led to a rich and lively dialogue; they offered a vivid image of a Church which does not simply “rubberstamp”, but draws from the sources of her faith living waters to refresh parched hearts.1
And – apart from dogmatic questions clearly defined by the Church’s Magisterium – we have also seen that what seems normal for a bishop on one continent, is considered strange and almost scandalous for a bishop from another; what is considered a violation of a right in one society is an evident and inviolable rule in another; what for some is freedom of conscience is for others simply confusion. Cultures are in fact quite diverse, and each  general principle needs to be inculturated, if it is to be respected and applied.2 The 1985 Synod, which celebrated the twentieth anniversary of the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council, spoke of inculturation as “the intimate transformation of authentic cultural values through their integration in Christianity, and the taking root of Christianity in the various human cultures”.3 Inculturation does not weaken true values, but demonstrates their true strength and authenticity, since they adapt without changing; indeed they quietly and gradually transform the different cultures.4
We have seen, also by the richness of our diversity, that the same challenge is ever before us: that of proclaiming the Gospel to the men and women of today, and defending the family from all ideological and individualistic assaults.
And without ever falling into the danger of relativism or of demonizing others, we sought to embrace, fully and courageously, the goodness and mercy of God who transcends our every human reckoning and desires only that “all be saved” (cf. 1 Tm2:4). In this way we wished to experience this Synod in the context of the Extraordinary Year of Mercy which the Church is called to celebrated.
Dear Brothers,
The Synod experience also made us better realize that the true defenders of doctrine are not those who uphold its letter, but its spirit; not ideas but people; not formulae but the gratuitousness of God’s love and forgiveness. This is in no way to detract from the importance of formulae, laws and divine commandments, but raather to exalt the greatness of the true God, who does not treat us according to our merits or even according to our works but solely according to the boundless generosity of his Mercy (cf. Rom 3:21-30; Ps 129; Lk 11:37-54). It does have to do with overcoming the recurring temptations of the elder brother (cf. Lk 15:25-32) and the jealous labourers (cf. Mt 20:1-16). Indeed, it means upholding all the more the laws and commandments which were made for man and not vice versa (cf. Mk 2:27).
In this sense, the necessary human repentance, works and efforts take on a deeper meaning, not as the price of that salvation freely won for us by Christ on the cross, but as a response to the One who loved us first and saved us at the cost of his innocent blood, while we were still sinners (cf. Rom 5:6).
The Church’s first duty is not to hand down condemnations or anathemas, but to proclaim God’s mercy, to call to conversion, and to lead all men and women to salvation in the Lord (cf. Jn 12:44-50).
Blessed Paul VI expressed this eloquently: “”We can imagine, then, that each of our sins, our attempts to turn our back on God, kindles in him a more intense flame of love, a desire to bring us back to himself and to his saving plan… God, in Christ, shows himself to be infinitely good… God is good. Not only in himself; God is – let us say it with tears – good for us. He loves us, he seeks us out, he thinks of us, he knows us, he touches our hearts us and he waits for us. He will be – so to say – delighted on the day when we return and say: ‘Lord, in your goodness, forgive me. Thus our repentance becomes God’s joy”.5
Saint John Paul II also stated that: “the Church lives an authentic life when she professes and proclaims mercy… and when she brings people close to the sources of the Saviour’s mercy, of which she is the trustee and dispenser”.6
Benedict XVI, too, said: “Mercy is indeed the central nucleus of the Gospel message; it is the very name of God… May all that the Church says and does manifest the mercy God feels for mankind. When the Church has to recall an unrecognized truth, or a betrayed good, she always does so impelled by merciful love, so that men may have life and have it abundantly (cf. Jn10:10)”.7
In light of all this, and thanks to this time of grace which the Church has experienced in discussing the family, we feel mutually enriched. Many of us have felt the working of the Holy Spirit who is the real protagonist and guide of the Synod. For all of us, the word “family” has a new resonance, so much so that the word itself already evokes the richness of the family’s vocation and the significance of the labours of the Synod.8
In effect, for the Church to conclude the Synod means to return to our true “journeying together” in bringing to every part of the world, to every diocese, to every community and every situation, the light of the Gospel, the embrace of the Church and the support of God’s mercy!
Thank you!
NOTES
1 Cf. Letter of His Holiness Pope Francis to the Grand Chancellor of the Pontifical Catholic University of Argentina on the Centenary of its Faculty of Theology, 3 March 2015.

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Ambrose 2. Psalm 118:151. Mark 10:46-52.BLIND beggar .

COMMENT: 
Mark 10:46-52. Blind beggar ....

Thomas Merton

Psalms Are Our Prayer

Above all, Psalm 1I8, the longest of them all, is a litany of praises extolling the peace that is found in the will of God. This Psalm, which might at first seem dull and "juridical" -since it praises the Torah from beginning to end-turns out, on long acquaintance, to be one of the most contemplative of them all. St. Ambrose, indeed, commented on it in terms appropriate to the Canticle of Canticles. It is a song of the soul that rejoices in perfect self-surrender to God.

Pointing out that in this Psalm 1I8, as well as in the various sapiential books, moral and mystical meanings are mingled together, St. Ambrose describes how the
Church welcomes the coming of Christ In this Psalm:-

Holy Church, who in the beginning of the world was espoused to God in paradise, who was prefigured in the deluge, announced by the Law, called by the prophets, has long awaited the redemption of men and the beauty of the Gospel. She now runs, impatient of delay, to kiss the Spouse, exclaiming: "Let Him kiss me with the kiss of His mouth."
In Psalmum CXVlII. MPL 15 :1.201.

Chanting the numerous verses of this long hymn to the will of God, we learn to recognize, in God's will for us, the fulfilment of the Mystery of Christ in our own lives, and we hasten to co-operate with the action of the Holy Spirit, who, in all that He does, strives to unite the sons of the Church more closely in the unity of the Mystical Christ.
When we are fully and whole-heartedly united with the will of God and striving to bear one another's burdens and build the mystical City of God on this earth, we find our peace-filled hearts spontaneously overflowing with that praise of God which is the joy of the poor whom He has deigned to call to the riches of divine sonship. Rectos decet colladatio! (Praise is fitting in those who are sincere with God.)

Sunday, 25 October 2015


25/10/2015 Ambrose Ps. 118:151


Sunday, 27 October 2013


Psalm 118 by Saint Ambrose

Monastic Office of Vigils.   
__________________________________________
St. Ambrose Ps. 118
....... He penetrates the soul, then, and illuminates it as with the brightness of eternal light. But although his virtue is poured out among all and into all and over all, since he was born of the Virgin for the sake of all, both good and bad, just as he commands his sun to rise over good and bad, nevertheless he warms only those who come near to him. For just as people shut out the sun's brightness when they close the windows of their houses and choose to live in darkness, so those who turn their backs on the Sun of Righteousness cannot see its splendor. They walk in darkness, and it is plain to everyone that they them­selves are the cause of their blindness. Open your windows, then, so that your whole house shines with the brightness of the true Sun; open your eyes so that you can see the Sun of Righteousness rising for you.
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Sunday 25 October 2015

25/10/2015 Ambrose Ps. 118:151

 

Sunday, 27 October 2013

Psalm 118 by Saint Ambrose

Monastic Office of Vigils.   

Psalm 118: 151 by Saint Ambrose

Monastic Office of Vigils.  


THIRTIETH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME  SUNDAY
First Reading
Jeremiah 23:9-17.21-29
Responsory   Lam 2:14; Jer 23:21
The visions your prophets saw for you were false and deceptive.
+They did not expose your sin, so as to reverse your fortunes.
V. I did not send these prophets; I did not speak to them. +They did not ...

Second Reading
From a commentary on Psalm 118 by Saint Ambrose Expositio in Psalmum 118, 19, 36-39: CSEL 62, 440-442

You are near, Lord, and all your commandments are true. The Lord is near to all of us, because he is everywhere. We cannot escape him if we offend him, nor deceive him if we sin, nor lose him if we worship him. God watches everything, he sees every­thing. He is close to each one of us; as he says: I am a God who is close at hand. How can God fail to be everywhere, when you read of the Spirit of God that the Spirit of the Lord has filled the whole world? For where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is the Lord God. I fill heaven and earth, says the Lord. Where then can he fail to be who fills everything? Or how can we all share in his fullness unless he is near all of us?

So, knowing that God is everywhere, and fills the sky, the earth, and the sea, David says: Where can I escape from your Spirit, where flee from your face? If I go up to heaven you are there; if I go down to Sheol you are there; if I take flight before dawn to dwell at the sea's furthest end, even there your hand will lead me and your right hand hold me fast. In what few words he has shown that God is everywhere, and that wherever the Spirit of God is, there is God, and where God is there is his Spirit! The union of the indivisible Trinity is portrayed here, since it is the Son of God who pro­nounced these words through the mouth of the prophet. He spoke in his human nature, for he descended to earth in the incarnation, ascended to heaven in the resurrection, and through his bodily death went down to the underworld to free the prisoners. Or if you prefer to ascribe these words to the

prophet, you notice it is clearly shown that wherever God the Father and God's Holy Spirit are, Christ is near as the hand, and the right hand of God.
Since we know that the sun shines everywhere, can we doubt that the splendor of God's glory and the image of his being shines everywhere? What could the Word of God, the eternal splendor, not penetrate, when he illuminates even the hidden mind, which the sun itself cannot penetrate?
He penetrates the soul, then, and illuminates it as with the brightness of eternal light. But although his virtue is poured out among all and into all and over all, since he was born of the Virgin for the sake of all, both good and bad, just as he com­mands his sun to rise over good and bad, nevertheless he warms only those who come near to him. For just as people shut out the sun's brightness when they close the windows of their houses and choose to live in darkness, so those who turn their backs on the Sun of Righteousness cannot see its splendor. They walk in darkness, and it is plain to everyone that they them­selves are the cause of their blindness. Open your windows, then, so that your whole house shines with the brightness of the true Sun; open your eyes so that you can see the Sun of Righteousness rising for you.

Responsory   Jer 23:23-24; Ps 139:7
Am I a God when near at hand, and not a God when far away? Can anyone hide in a dark corner without my seeing him? + Do I not fill heaven and earth?
V. Where can I escape from your Spirit? Where flee from your face? + Do I not fill ...






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