not of this world

Happiness belongs to man in respect of his intellect: and, therefore, since the intellect remains, it can have Happiness.

Thus the teeth of an Ethiopian, in respect of which he is said to be white, can retain their whiteness, even after extraction.

Ia IIae, Q4, a5, ad3 (dealing with the question of the possibility of happiness for the separated soul)

every once in awhile Thomas’ examples make me hear Simone’s voice in my head going “errr?” but the more i considered it, i guess it is a good example, maybe came across as less odd in the 13th century… there is always McInerny’s charming line that

the art of teaching consists of tactful condescension…

want to share this week’s Ultimate Issue Hour, on Faith & Doubt - it’s a great hour in itself, but also because our very own Soopermexican calls in and makes an excellent point, advertises for TAC, and charms the pants off dear Dennis Prager, all with impeccable smoothness. His call is about 20 minutes in…

get it?

where to go from here
(mercifully
no longer believe i have the answer)
though much mused
about the good,
participation, the ordered
whole

roots of wretchedness
dug deep in the battleground
of conflicted hearts
really hungering
for that poverty
foreign to uncouth grasps
at satiety

we ought trust Him
and distrust ourselves
simple enough
all such wrestling
might then be the foreplay
to something
truly sublime

to know and love
one other human being
is the root of all wisdom

-Charles, Brideshead Revisited

(mixed translation)

O Lord, thou has searched me
and known me!
Thou knowest my resting and my rising,
Thou discernest my devisings from afar.
Thou searchest out my path and my lying down,
all my ways lie open to Thee.

Before ever a word is on my tongue
lo, O Lord, Thou knowest it altogether.
Behind and before I am besieged by Thee,
Thy hand ever laid upon me.
Too wonderful for me, this knowledge,
too high, beyond my reach.

Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit?
Or whither shall I flee from Thy face?
If I climb the heavens, Thou art there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, Thou art there!

If I take the wings of the dawn
and dwell at the sea’s furthest end,
even there Thy hand shall lead me,
and Thy right hand shall hold me fast.

If I say: “Let only darkness cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
even the darkness is not dark to Thee,
the night is bright as the day;
for darkness is as light with Thee.

psalm 139:1-12

in man’s subsistence [standing on his own, being a source of action etc.], there is a vestige of the Father; in his form, a vestige of the Son; in his inclination towards the good, a vestige of the Holy Spirit.

the pre-socratics are always with us.

-Fr. Dewan

from the Glenn Beck Insider’s Convention (fully accepting the uber nerd status this confers upon me), care of a kind gentlemen who captured it with much appreciated, and unexpected initiative.

believe this was the moment i’m telling beck about the fact that since i’ve been listening to him, i’ve had 3 nuclear holocaust dreams, but that at least he helps me laugh despite all the craziness developing in these latter days.

signing my “we’re all going to die!” t-shirt

and from the post post gathering at cafe fiorello, which i HIGHLY recommend if you’re in town, with my gracious host and the dear John bird.

i don’t think i could live here, but am very much loving my time so far in this crazy, gushing city.

[Our entire life] is an exercise in holy desire. You do not see what you long for, but the very act of desiring prepares you, so that when he comes you may see and be utterly satisfied. Suppose you are going to fill some holder or container, and you know you will be given a large amount. Then you set about stretching your sack or wineskin or whatever it is. Why? Because you know the quantity you will have to put in it, and your eyes tell you there is not enough room. By stretching it, therefore, you increase the capacity of the sack, and this is how God deals with us. Simply by making us wait he increases our desire, which in turn enlarges the capacity of our soul, making it able to receive what is to be given to us.

- St. Augustine

(from her residency time at ol’ san quentin, like ya do)