5th - Sunday,
Wonderful readings and sermon. Brunch with friends and relaxing PM playing rummy (I lost again)
Another beautiful, summery day very strange for Pacific NW October, but...am enjoying it.
PHIL 4:6-9
Brothers and sisters:
Have no anxiety at all, but in everything,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
make your requests known to God.
Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding
will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers and sisters,
whatever is true, whatever is honorable,
whatever is just, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious,
if there is any excellence
and if there is anything worthy of praise,
think about these things.
keep on doing what you have learned and received
and heard and seen in me.
Then the God of peace will be with you.
I think of this as advice to keep working toward making everything in my life, all of my thoughts, words and actions , to be more and more Christ Like. A little bit better every day, by His Grace.
****Story for today***
This is a encouraging story for those who work from within a group to support the more dynamic, public figures. Administrators, biographers, managers who are behind the scenes while the Catherine's and other 'faces' of the church are promoting their mission as they are called. Many are called to support and make the work happen that others envision.
Blessed Raymond of Capua (1330-1399) lived as a Dominican his entire adult life. Around 1368 , he had been assigned as spiritual director and confessor to the noted Dominican tertiary, Catherine of Siena. Raymond was Catherine's director and confessor for the last six years of her life,. Those six years that are probably unparalleled in the history of any other woman. Raymond had not heard much about this powerfully influential woman, and was understandably cautious and not overjoyed about being selected for the role of Catherine's director and confessor. Further acquaintance with her convinced him that she was a very holy woman.
These decades on the Italian peninsula, and within the church, were filled with turmoil, and political confusion. The interplay of politics, beliefs, and personalities makes it nearly impossible, to untangle the web like connections which interlaced through Raymond and Catherine's lives. There were several crisis moments and many near disasterous meetings between the Italian city-states. Many changes in allegiances or alliances before Catherine was able to bring some of the leaders into line and there was a beginning toward settlement. She persuaded the pope, Gregory VI, to go back to Rome, thereby ending the sorry situation of having the pope within reach of the French king. With a tremendous effort of will, and at great personal sacrifice, Gregory VI went back to Rome and died. Pope Urban VI was elected to succeed him. After a confusing series of events, the cardinals declared the first election invalid and elected Clement VII as anti pope.
A few weeks after Catherine's death, Raymond was elected master general of the portion of the Order which supported Urban VI in Rome. He had the daunting, unhappy task of promoting reform in an Order that was neatly split in half, with some of its best men on both sides. Many criticisms of his efforts have been documented on both ends of the spectrum. Some claim he saved the Order's observance, others state he had a serious lack of attention on study. The work of reforming the Order from within was what he focused on primarily. He set up several houses of strict observance to pioneer this work, and he gradually extended it until this spirit of primitive observance would predominate in the entire Order. Raymond favored the development of a new interpretation of "observance", for which he drew upon the Franciscan example. In this work he gained the designation of being the second founder of the Order of the Preachers.
Raymond's book, the "Legend", was finished in 1395, fifteen years after Catherine's death.
Wonderful readings and sermon. Brunch with friends and relaxing PM playing rummy (I lost again)
Another beautiful, summery day very strange for Pacific NW October, but...am enjoying it.
PHIL 4:6-9
Brothers and sisters:
Have no anxiety at all, but in everything,
by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
make your requests known to God.
Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding
will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers and sisters,
whatever is true, whatever is honorable,
whatever is just, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious,
if there is any excellence
and if there is anything worthy of praise,
think about these things.
keep on doing what you have learned and received
and heard and seen in me.
Then the God of peace will be with you.
I think of this as advice to keep working toward making everything in my life, all of my thoughts, words and actions , to be more and more Christ Like. A little bit better every day, by His Grace.
****Story for today***
This is a encouraging story for those who work from within a group to support the more dynamic, public figures. Administrators, biographers, managers who are behind the scenes while the Catherine's and other 'faces' of the church are promoting their mission as they are called. Many are called to support and make the work happen that others envision.
Blessed Raymond of Capua (1330-1399) lived as a Dominican his entire adult life. Around 1368 , he had been assigned as spiritual director and confessor to the noted Dominican tertiary, Catherine of Siena. Raymond was Catherine's director and confessor for the last six years of her life,. Those six years that are probably unparalleled in the history of any other woman. Raymond had not heard much about this powerfully influential woman, and was understandably cautious and not overjoyed about being selected for the role of Catherine's director and confessor. Further acquaintance with her convinced him that she was a very holy woman. These decades on the Italian peninsula, and within the church, were filled with turmoil, and political confusion. The interplay of politics, beliefs, and personalities makes it nearly impossible, to untangle the web like connections which interlaced through Raymond and Catherine's lives. There were several crisis moments and many near disasterous meetings between the Italian city-states. Many changes in allegiances or alliances before Catherine was able to bring some of the leaders into line and there was a beginning toward settlement. She persuaded the pope, Gregory VI, to go back to Rome, thereby ending the sorry situation of having the pope within reach of the French king. With a tremendous effort of will, and at great personal sacrifice, Gregory VI went back to Rome and died. Pope Urban VI was elected to succeed him. After a confusing series of events, the cardinals declared the first election invalid and elected Clement VII as anti pope.
A few weeks after Catherine's death, Raymond was elected master general of the portion of the Order which supported Urban VI in Rome. He had the daunting, unhappy task of promoting reform in an Order that was neatly split in half, with some of its best men on both sides. Many criticisms of his efforts have been documented on both ends of the spectrum. Some claim he saved the Order's observance, others state he had a serious lack of attention on study. The work of reforming the Order from within was what he focused on primarily. He set up several houses of strict observance to pioneer this work, and he gradually extended it until this spirit of primitive observance would predominate in the entire Order. Raymond favored the development of a new interpretation of "observance", for which he drew upon the Franciscan example. In this work he gained the designation of being the second founder of the Order of the Preachers.
Raymond's book, the "Legend", was finished in 1395, fifteen years after Catherine's death.
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