I know that Lent isn't "just about giving up things," but...
Greetings, and Welcome to The Small Shoppe
You are welcome to read what is written here, and encouraged to do so. Appropriate comments may well be posted.
Michael Francis James Lee
The Not-so-Small Shoppe-Keeper
Monday, February 12, 2024
It's Time for Your Medicine
Monday, January 15, 2024
“THE HOLY FAMILY IS IN DANGER OF INSULT; NOT EVEN BECAUSE IT IS HOLY, BUT MERELY BECAUSE IT IS A FAMILY.”
~ G. K. Chesterton – New Witness, December 10th, 1920
Read that again please and take note of the date on which it was published. The longer I am a student of Mr. Chesterton’s writings, the more often I find myself marveling that he seems to be—in a sense—timeless.
What he wrote in 1920 could just as easily have been written by someone this week, as we all know that the family is under attack. Perhaps more subtly at times the attack on the family takes the form of disregard. As corporate, educational, and governmental entities cancel the words husband, wife, mother, father, son, and daughter, one can easily imagine that the very word family will also be jettisoned.
Of course, the attack on the family is an attack on God, who is revealed to us as a family—The Most Holy Trinity. Jesus Christ is conceived in the womb of Blessed Mary and is born into a family. Jesus sends the Apostles forth to baptize us into His family, the Church.
So yes, as Mr. Chesterton said, the Holy Family endures insult “merely because it is a family.”
Sunday, June 3, 2018
Single, Married, Available, or...
~ Msgr. Charles Pope, in First the Bait, Then the Hook – a Sober Meditation on Temptation
I was in a conversation with a young, Catholic friend just the other day. This young man is, by all accounts, a solid Catholic, committed to purity and chastity in accord with his current single state in life.
At one point in our conversation, Tom (not his real name) was referring to an exchange between himself and another young Christian, and said "I told her I wasn't single..." (though, to be sure, he is indeed single). Perhaps he meant that he wasn't presently looking for a girlfriend-boyfriend relationship.
The more I have mentally replayed and considered this part of our conversation, the more concerned I am about what I see as a subtle and dangerous trap being set against Catholic young people (and against all Christians) regarding sexuality, marriage, chastity, purity, and the single state.
As I thought about this, I recalled hearing similar statements from good, Christian, young people; referring to themselves as "not single," even though it was clear they were not married. I've also heard young people say "I'm single again," even though they have actually been single their entire lives to that point. And, of equal concern, I have seen such young people list themselves on Social Media as "Married," though they are single. Finally, some have described themselves, saying "I'm available," in response to which one might ask, "Available for what, exactly?"
Here are my main points of concern regarding this particular incursion of secular humanism into Catholic Christian culture:
1. It is an attack on marriage. This re-defining of "single" and "married" serves to desensitize us as to what these terms have always meant -- especially as to how they have traditionally been used and applied in the Teaching of the Church. It follows then, that it is also an attack on the single state, on celibacy, and ultimately on chastity and purity. It subtly, or not so subtly, encourages a belief that being single is a negative situation in need of remedy -- or at least something to hide from view ("I'm not really single right now"). As pertains to Chastity and Purity, if one is "not single," then is it really wrong to indulge in those things rightly reserved for married persons? Satan loves to blur the lines.
2. It is, further, an attack on the Indissolubility of Marriage, taught by the Catholic Church as revealed Truth. Again, by means of desensitizing young people, the idea of moving in and out of being "single right now," breaks down the young Christian's resistance to divorce and multiple "marriages." By the time these young people are really and truly married, they will have already had the experience of being "single", "not single right now", "married", and "available again", many times -- so what's the big deal if this marriage doesn't work out? Satan loves rationalization.
3. It devalues the individual person, and promotes the hook-up culture. This perversion of truth teaches young people that being single means being available. Again I ask, available for what? It leads young people to see themselves as being of little or no value until and unless someone saves them from their "availability." Satan loves to leave you hanging.
4. It confuses the differences and distinctions among casual friendship, dating, and courtship. Everything becomes a "pretend marriage." See: https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/column/the-difference-between-courtship-and-dating-1276
Satan loves confusion.
I encourage everyone, especially young Catholics (and other Christians) to study Pope St. John Paul ll's "Theology of the Body." Learn about the great gifts God has given to each of us, and the high value He places on each of us. Learn to be thankful and joyful "in your own skin," so that you do not fall into the trap of believing that your importance and worth depend on being "not single."
Finally, I encourage everyone to remember that "words have meaning," and there is a very real danger to our culture and even to our souls when we blur those meanings.
Saturday, March 26, 2016
Don't Touch Them! They Are Not Yours!
(Jn 10:16, RSVCE)
Sunday, December 27, 2015
I’ve just been so busy...
Saturday, May 30, 2015
May His Blood be Upon Us, and Upon the Whole World
This photo, taken at St. Patrick's Oratory, is from 2014 |
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Recently, approximately a month or so ago, I had a flare-up of extreme back pain, that -- contrary to my usual pattern -- did not subside after 3 or 4 days. I decided it was time to see my primary care physician, and let her know of the problem.
She is an excellent physician; the very best doctor by whom I have been treated in my entire life. Her genuine concern was quite obvious. She ordered an immediate x-ray, and she was able to get me in quickly for an appointment at a local spine center.
The doctor who saw me at the spine center seems to be a fine physician as well. He ordered an MRI, which was completed once the "peer reviewers" approved of the procedure.
The MRI showed in greater, "pinpoint" detail what had been indicated by the x-ray. I have two compressed and deteriorating discs, which are impacting the sciatic nerve. On the MRI, a red, protruding object, looking something like a jellybean is clearly visible -- and seems to be the thing that is contacting the sciatic nerve.
The considered opinion of the doctor at the spine center, given my extreme level of pain, and the fact that I have gone, in a matter of weeks, from walking unassisted, to using a cane, to using a walker, and now to using a wheelchair, is that spinal injections are the next effective step. He set me up for the procedure to take place on April 15th. He wanted to to do it right away, but because my insurance is through the "marketplace" (read "Obamacare"), he had to schedule it out at least two weeks, so that those charged with "preauthorizing" such procedures would have sufficient time for their task.
I will not be getting the spinal injections that I need on April 15th after all. Those who are paid to find reasons to deny coverage have done their jobs well, and I was told, in the late afternoon on April 7th, that I was denied. My doctor will now have to come up with some sort of treatment (which the deniers will have to approve) that will be considered "conservative care." I will need to undergo that treatment for at least 6 weeks -- and the two weeks of pain, canes, walkers, wheelchairs, and assorted medications I have already been through, of course, do not count toward the required six weeks of "conservative care."
I spent the remaining hours of yesterday afternoon and evening moving in, out, and among various negative, unpleasant, and mentally numb states of mind.
Evening came, and then Morning came; the second day.
As I had my morning coffee, graciously pre-prepared by a friend who visited me late last evening, I collected my thoughts, and made a conscious effort to pray.
These are the words that came:
Dear Blesseds Francisco and Jacinta of Fatima,
You knew and endured suffering, accepting it joyfully for the conversion of poor sinners.
Help me now to accept and embrace whatever suffering is to come my way, for whatever time lies ahead. Help me to do so without complaining, and to be joyful.
Help me to offer my suffering in reparation for my own sins, for the sins committed by others due to my influence or bad example, and for the conversion and salvation of other poor sinners.
Help me also to offer my sufferings lovingly for the consolation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the Sacred Heart of Jesus.
Amen.
I may well fail miserably in this resolve, yet I hope by God's grace, and the helpful prayers of Francisco and Jacinta, to start over again, after each failure, and continue to offer my pain and trials as prayerful sacrifices.
----------------------------------
For those who would like to do something similar, with whatever sufferings come their way in life, I offer the following Fatima Prayers:
O my God, in union with the Immaculate Heart of Mary (here kiss your Brown scapular as a sign of your consecration – this carries a partial indulgence). I offer Thee the Precious Blood of Jesus from all the altars throughout the world, joining with it the offering of my every thought, word and action of this day.
My God, I believe, I adore, I hope and I love Thee! I beg pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not hope and do not love Thee.
O Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I adore Thee profoundly. I offer Thee the most precious Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges and indifference by which He is offended. By the infinite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg the conversion of poor sinners.
O My Jesus, it is for love of Thee, in reparation for the offenses committed against the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and for the conversion of poor sinners.
O My Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of hell. Lead all souls to Heaven, especially those most in need of Thy mercy.