Catholics today

[Thy Geekdom Come]

Oh, and there's a beautiful line in the litany Lil Red posted:

That others may become holier than I, provided I become as holy as I ought.

That's wonderful...I was thinking about StColette the other day, whom I believe to be holier than I, and I realized that I didn't mind that and that I was, in fact, glad that she was (yet let me become as holy as I should!)...which of course showed me that I get jealous of others who are holier than I am (which happens a lot).

[Era Might]

Also, I think we need to realize that the ability to give our opinion is a privelege, not a right.

Everyone and their mother can post their opinion online for thousands of people to read. I think we're drunk with power, in some sense. We think our opinion just HAS to be heard.

I think I know now why St. James warned us about our tongues.

[quote]Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you realize that we will be judged more strictly,

for we all fall short in many respects. If anyone does not fall short in speech, he is a perfect man, able to bridle his whole body also.

If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we also guide their whole bodies.

It is the same with ships: even though they are so large and driven by fierce winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot's inclination wishes.

In the same way the tongue is a small member and yet has great pretensions. Consider how small a fire can set a huge forest ablaze.

The tongue is also a fire. It exists among our members as a world of malice, defiling the whole body and setting the entire course of our lives on fire, itself set on fire by Gehenna. [/quote]

Edited February 20, 2006 by Era Might

[Lil Red]

yes, raph, that we help others to become holy, but do not neglect our own duty in making ourselves holy as well (with prayer, study, etc.)

[Lil Red]

[quote name='Era Might' date='Feb 20 2006, 02:56 PM']Also, I think we need to realize that the ability to give our opinion is a privelege, not a right.

Everyone and their mother can post their opinion online for thousands of people to read. I think we're drunk with power, in some sense. We think our opinion just HAS to be heard.

I think I know now why St. James warned us about our tongues. 
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[/quote]
so often i will type out a reply to someone on a thread, then read it as if my mother was standing there reading it. so often i will delete replies because of the lack of charity.

[Thy Geekdom Come]

[quote name='Era Might' date='Feb 20 2006, 04:56 PM']Also, I think we need to realize that the ability to give our opinion is a privelege, not a right.

Everyone and their mother can post their opinion online for thousands of people to read. I think we're drunk with power, in some sense. We think our opinion just HAS to be heard.

I think I know now why St. James warned us about our tongues. 
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Indeed. I was going to post to something the other day to refute something and then I thought, "wait...I will add nothing new to the debate...everyone's already brought up the points I would bring up...why do I want to post?" Then I realized that it was the pride of wanting to be heard. Of course, I often check back to see if people validate my posts. I think that's part of the addiction...we want to say something and know that someone out there cares and replies. We place so much joy in the replies we get on the internet.

"They have mouths, but they cannot speak;
They have eyes, but they cannot see;
They have ears, but they cannot hear;
They have nostrils, but they cannot smell.
With their hands they cannot feel;
With their feet they cannot walk.
No sound comes from their throats.
Their makers will come to be like them
and so will all who trust in them."

[Amator Veritatis]

As Lil Red stated, I think one of the most profitable exercises at the centre of any spiritual life is a daily reading of the Lives of the Saints. Probably the best edition in English is Father Alban Butler's [i]Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and Other Principal Saints[/i], which is published by St. Bonaventure Publications. Be sure, if you wish to be edified by your reading, to obtain a copy of the original edition, not the revision done by Thurston & Attwater.

[Era Might]

[quote name='Raphael' date='Feb 20 2006, 04:58 PM']Of course, I often check back to see if people validate my posts.  I think that's part of the addiction...we want to say something and know that someone out there cares and replies.
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[/quote]

Yep. I think it's just the nature of the Internet. It's faceless, so we have nothing to go on but our own egos.

I don't think we act in real life the same way we do online. We don't shout at people or vilify them or accuse them of this and that. We may disagree, but we're civil because we're talking to a person. Online, we're just talking to a monitor.

[Lil Red]

[quote name='Raphael' date='Feb 20 2006, 02:58 PM'] Then I realized that it was the pride of wanting to be heard.   Of course, I often check back to see if people validate my posts.  I think that's part of the addiction...we want to say something and know that someone out there cares and replies.[right][snapback]892980[/snapback][/right][/quote] YES!!! so true!!

[quote name='Amator Veritatis' date='Feb 20 2006, 02:59 PM']As Lil Red stated, I think one of the most profitable exercises at the centre of any spiritual life is a daily reading of the Lives of the Saints. Probably the best edition in English is Father Alban Butler's [i]Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and Other Principal Saints[/i], which is published by St. Bonaventure Publications. Be sure, if you wish to be edified by your reading, to obtain a copy of the original edition, not the revision done by Thurston & Attwater.[right][snapback]892982[/snapback][/right][/quote] yes! i think reading more about the saints has done so much to enhance my spiritual life, making me think of things i could be doing for the Church, or what i am not doing.

[jezic]

so this sounds great and i do agree, the thing is what about the rest of the community?

[Thy Geekdom Come]

I don't want this to turn into one of "those" threads, but in light of some thinking I've been doing along these lines recently, I think I need to leave PM. The dynamic of the internet has its good side and its bad side, but I think it would be good for me to leave because I have slowly been realizing that this addiction we like to joke about causes depression, anxiety, pride, and anger toward others.

I'd love to keep in contact with all the friends I've made here, though. I'll check back in on occasion, but I'll be keeping the posts to a certain type and number so as to avoid being drawn in.

My father quit smoking cold turkey...I'm convinced it's the best way to quit anything. If anyone would like to contact me, you can email me through PM.

[Era Might]

[quote name='Raphael' date='Feb 20 2006, 05:15 PM']The dynamic of the internet has its good side and its bad side, but I think it would be good for me to leave because I have slowly been realizing that this addiction we like to joke about causes depression, anxiety, pride, and anger toward others.
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[/quote]

I feel you, definitely. I've wanted to do that for a long time with the Internet in general. Blogs are more a vice for me than Phatmass.

Maybe you can just change how you visit Phatmass. Make it a point to go to the prayer room before anything else and pray for all the new requests. Hang around the vocation station, converts anonymous, the spiritual phorums, etc. And the Word and Apologetics phorum is a good place to discuss apologetics or whatever without the rancor or debate.

Edited February 20, 2006 by Era Might

[photosynthesis]

you should read my blog ( [url="http://theconfessionator.blogspot.com"]http://theconfessionator.blogspot.com[/url] ) because I don't rip people to shreds there. it is a positive blog!

[Quietfire]

O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, hear me.

From the desire of being esteemed,
deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being loved,
From the desire of being extolled,
From the desire of being honored,
From the desire of being praised,
From the desire of being preferred to others,
From the desire of being consulted,
From the desire of being approved,

From the fear of being humiliated,
deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being despised,
From the fear of suffering rebukes,
From the fear of being calumniated,
From the fear of being forgotten,
From the fear of being ridiculed,
From the fear of being wronged,
From the fear of being suspected,

That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I,
That in the opinion of the world,
others may increase, and I may decrease,
That others may be chosen and I set aside,
That others may be praised and I unnoticed,
That others may be preferred to me in everything,
That others may become holier than I,
provided that I may become as holy as I should.


- Rafael Cardinal Merry del Val

This is sweet.

There is no need to leave.
Do you have any idea how many times I started a post, finished it, reread it and completely closed it without posting it.

Heck, if I actually posted every post...my post count would be HUGE.
I often close them out cause after reading them a few times, I realize that ya'll dont need to know every private aspect of my life, or need to know every opinion I have.

Phatmass has helped me curb my tongue outside the internet as well.

Oh trust me...Im still wacked. Im just wacked with less posts!

Edited February 20, 2006 by Quietfire

[Desert Walker]

[quote name='Amator Veritatis' date='Feb 20 2006, 02:42 PM']This is perhaps the most relevant point regulating the manners of Catholics today. Those who sacrifice charity in the search of truth do an injustice to truth and stray from the right path, [i]veritatem facientes in caritate[/i], secundum admonitionem Sancti Pauli. With that said, however, we must not forget the duty incumbent upon us to follow the will of God both in our actions through charity and our words and beliefs through a propagation of the truth, most especially the only true Faith.
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Oh how right you are...

Are Catholics really ripping each-other to shreds over the stuff? I mean, are they really sacrificing charity, or is one side more worried than the other? I for one would like to see the return of a solid Catholic culture, one that is clearly identifiable as Catholic. I get the feeling from the raging debate that no one really knows what such a culture should focus on. My other feeling is that until priests start laying out clearly what ALL Catholics should believe and do, this debate will continue to rage.

It's also a sign that American society in general likes to debate stuff. And hey, as long as people don't start bringing shotguns to the debates, let's just be sure and remember to say "I'm sorry I said that." Because the shotguns would bring the cops.

[Ora et Labora]

I just hate how Catholics disagree about so many things! We ARE the same religion, remember?