Call to Holiness Essay

Megan
Christian in the World
December 2, 2012

Call to Holiness Essay

When I first started reading through the writing assigned, the first thing that stood out to me was the Catechism entries, particularly the second one from the top. It says, “Charity is the soul of the Holiness which all are called: it ‘Govern, shapes, and perfects all the means of sanctification.’” I found it has an important role in the idea that if we need something, we chase after it if it goes away. In a way holiness is charity. And we should be chasing holiness not when it goes away, but until it goes away. That’s kind of a side note; I just thought it was really interesting.

Often times, we “don’t realize what we have until it’s gone.” I think this is the same thing. We get into relationships that we assume will always be strong and wonderful, but when things begin to crumble, we chase after them until it is either gone, or we get it back. The quote said the church failed mankind because she forgot who Christ was; she did not rely on it. This is exactly the same as the quote in the prompt. The church failed mankind because it failed to recognize the presence of Christ. In the same way, we fail Christ by not recognizing the call to holiness. (wow. I didn’t even realize I had made that connection until I did…). Like I said before, the call to holiness is charity according to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Because of this, in order to realize the holiness God has to offer, we must do more charity. They everyday catholic should do more charity. It is a simple act; it doesn’t even have to be for the standard poor or homeless, it can be for anything or anyone. A small simple act for the sake of doing it: that is holiness.

As for the last part of the prompt, I can’t say for sure I know. Maybe saying Christ’s name without shame means without sin, and recognizing his presence. Part of being holy, at least from my talk at Kairos is not boasting about your love for God, yet not being shameful either. You have to have at equal balance. Part of Holiness is striving for holiness. You have to make an effort to be holy in order to achieve it. This is the most important part because it allows a person to fully recognize the presence of Christ, and at the same time you are not chasing sometime once it disappears. Unlike the church, you would be relying on the gift of Christ, and will not be shameful. I guess that is what it means to not be shameful when speaking the name of Christ. It could also be a part of reconciliation, meaning you can’t speak the name of Christ with sin on your lips. This means you must be a full witness to Christ. Witness in this case mean myrtr, and that is the essence of not chasing Christ after he has left.

Post 14

Megan
Christian in the world-6
November 29, 2012

1. It seems as though even though the young woman was some kind of prostitute with no father or anything, the only gift that the woman could give the young girl was the gift of the Lord, and baptism. Dispite the feeling the woman had for the girl, she was able to love her, and the baby, and through this, the reader understand that the gifts in the sacrament of Baptism are those of loving those whom it is most difficult to love.
2. She could possibly mean that she saved him from a life without the Lord. One can not enter in the lord without Baptism, and because she baptized him, he can be saved from his sins when the coming of Jesus occurs. She did not physically save him per say, she started him on the path to be saved. and Maybe in the process she saved the young girl as well.
3.The journey in the story is meant to symbolize the journey to being saved and being baptized and loved by God along the way. It is very difficult to understand and fathom a real "journey" when it comes to being Baptized, however, there really is a long journey that is involved, in which one must prepare their hearts and minds for the coming of the holy spirit and Christ in the sacrament of Baptism.

Confirmation Post 12

Megan
Christians in the World-6
November 26, 2012

1. The gifts of the holy spirit are very interesting. I remember being forced to memorize them as a child going to Confirmation class. Wisdom, knowledge, counsel, fortitude, piety, fear of the lord, and understanding. After reading the document by Jim Seghers, I actually understand them. The ones I see most in my own life are Counsel, Fortitude and Fear of the Lord. I think I demonstrate Counsel because when decisions get hard, I tend to do what is right. With fortitude, it kind of has to do with the same thing as Counsel, I tend to avoid bad situations. Also, with fortitude, it is meant to give us determination to push past obstacles in our life and rely on God. I talked about this idea in my in class essay. How I feel like I have more drive then I can deal with, and despite all the horrible things that Have happened to me, I (kind of) believe God has a purpose for me. There is some crazy reason I was put on this earth, and I just need to trust in him. Finally, Fear of the Lord is very prominant in my life because I tend to worry about what others, mainly those above me, think about what I do, what i say. I fear I am not doing something right, or I can't understand something well enough. I fear doing wrong in the eyes of those who I love, or who respect me.

2. If I had to pick one gift that I need most right now, It would have to be Fortitude. I said before how I feel like I have a purpose on this earth and can persevere through anything, but if I was being really honest, I don't always feel this way. I take advantage of the life that has been handed to me. I don't always think I have a purpose. It is very had to have this mentality when life constantly pushes its hardest hand into your cards. This is why i need fortitude. I do believe I have a lot of resiliency, and I know what I am capable of getting through, but Fortitude will allow me to realize my true purpose.

Distance Learning 3

Megan
Christains in the World-6
November 8, 2012

Questions:
1. Ludwig is confused because he doesnt understand the grace comes from the sacraments, and thinks it is "narrow" to look at it this way
2. The Church does not propose sacraments to deny God’s universal love and will to save. It does not hold that unbaptized people of good will (like the good thief cruicied with Christ) are necessarily denied salvation simple because they missed out on the “magic spell” of baptism.
3. Christ and the possibility of salvation for each person is forcefully maintained by the Church against carious Christian sects who assert that Christ has only redeemed a few or that God actively desires the damnation of certain people.
4. Through relationship
5. The sacrament of Sacraments, The Incarnate son of God; gnostocism

6. For such spirituality oftens speaks as though God is a sort of extended ether in the cosmos that He would never sully himself with the crudeness of matter. To be spiritual is to be more or less disembodied, to well in the realm of intuitions and concepts and secret mindset. It is assign of barbarism.
7. God likes matter so much that he declaerd it "good", and began to manifest himself in it after creation when he declared it good.
8. It basically means that it was meant that God was going to die on the cross and save us from our sins, giving us salvation and the sacraments.
9. They are the divinity of christ
10. Sacramentally comes from the old christianity itself of the stuborn insistance that God came to save the world, and became "local" so that he could touch us and call us by name.
11. Gives us the Idea that God might touch us.

Distance Learning #2

Megan
Christians in the World-6
November 4, 2012

Introduction:
The entire article is about how humanity has lost its divine sense of humor, and how those who can see it are able to see through. The only thing the Lord took seriously was the soul. Man without a soul is a thing. He also revealed that the universe was sacramental. The author goes on to say that sacraments combine a visible and invisible element. because we are human, we see the invisible side, or the meaning behind the sacrament, not just the sound, or material. Finally there are 2 errors that blind out understanding of the natural world; to cut off entirely from Almighty God; the second is to confound it substantially with him. The first error is like saying the clock without the maker. This means Atheism cuts off creation from its creator.

The Bible is a Sacrament
The author describes the Bible kind of like a movie, and God is the Chief actor. He says that God used material things, like a golden serpent as a symbol for love and trust and other things. in Greek, Sacrament means mystery. Within in God is everything basically. The humanity of Christ is what made man holy. The sacraments were a means of symbols for man as well. Man needs to see physical material things. We as humans hold onto what that material symbolizes

What Sacraments bring to man
Sacraments bring a divine life or grace. The higher life is grace, a free gift from God. Men tend to live in three levels, The sensate, those who deny any other reality, like the tadpoles in the story, the Intellectual, meaning like the scientists and historians, who are comfortable with existence, who rest their ideas of reality from facts and evidence and reason, and the divine, or where the human heart is brightened by the truth, which reason can not know.When God made us, he put part of himself in us in creation. (Kind of like Voldemort and Harry Potter.) The proof of Christ saving power is through the sacraments, communicated through the church.

Seven Conditions of Life
There are seven conditions in the physical and natural world. (five within the person, 2 not)
1) the person has to be born in order to live;
2) a person must eat in order to live
3) A person must throw away their childish acts and become an adult
4) wounds must be bound and healed, which i think means sins
5)All diseases must be drawn out
1) One must love under the governement
2)called to "proprogate" the human species.
In order to lead a Christ-like life, there are seven conditions (sacraments): Baptism, Reconciliation, Eucharist, Confirmation, Holy Orders, Matrimony and Anointing of the Sick. A sacrament (as I learned it in 7th grade) is an outward sing of an inward grace instituted by Christ that encounter us during key points in our journey in life and give us grace. A sacrament has an outward sign; something visible like In confirmation, its the crism. However, a Sacrament must have three things: Instituted by Christ, Outward sign, Grace.

Power and Efficiency of the Sacraments:
Sacraments get their power from the Suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus. Life is in blood and blood is in sin. Blood is the best sign of Sacrifice. The blood of Christ has infinite value because of his divinity.

The application of the Sacraments:
The sacraments are all different in how they are applied to people. Christ effects us in different ways from the time we are born and Baptized then when we are adults in Matrimony. We enter this realm of responsibility when we get married. like we aren't just responsible for ourselves anymore. The blood of Christ is powerful, like during eucharist, it is presented through the wine. Basically, the blood of Christ effects people in different ways at different times.

What is the Divine sense of Humor?
Humor is the ability to see though things. Something physical and something spiritual, a handshake lacks a spiritual aspect. Its given the adjective divine; (okay, this guy is actually kind of funny; the Jonas joke was really funny). The word temple was interesting; destroy the holy of holy; because I am the holy of holy. God saved his smile for heaven;

The River

Megan
Christians in the World-6
October 30, 2012

The River

1987: "To cleanse us from our sins and to communicate to us," referred to page 6, when the preacher said you would be washed away of your pain in the river. Pain could be a symbol of sin, which is being washed away by the river, just like grace from the holy spirit cleanse our sins.

1988: "Being born to a new life," referred to page 8, when the preacher said, "You count now, you didn't even count before." Before Bevel "didn't count" but after being baptized, he was counted, or born into a new life, he was created.

1989: "Conversion" occurred when the woman says, "I know from it that this preacher can heal. My eyes have been opened! I testify to Jesus!" when the preacher asked her to testify to either Jesus or the devil.(page 7) The boy was also converted when he was baptized because he wanted to find the kingdom of God in the river, which caused him to drown himself.

1990: "Purifies his heart from sin, detaches man from sin," is present on page 7, when the preacher says, "if i Baptize you, you will be able to go to the Kingdom of Christ. You'll be washed in the river of suffering  son, and you'll go by the deep river of life." Being in the river to purify one's heart is kind of an on going theme.

1991:"Acceptance of God's righteousness" was on the last page, when the author talked about the Kingdom of Christ in the river. Bevel wanted to be one with God, and had accepted this, so he went to the river to find the kingdom.

1992:""blood has become the instrument of atonement for all the sins of man," is talked about when the preacher says that the river is the river of life made of Jesus's blood

1993:"establishes cooperation between God's grace and mans freedom," happens at the end of the story when God pulled Bevel into the river, and he gave up his freedom to go to God.

1994:"Wicked is a greater work than the creation of heaven and earth; the most excellent work of God's love," was shown when the preacher said something about how if you haven't come to river for Jesus, you haven't come for him. meaning you have to come for the grace of God, not just to be healed, which in essence is being wicked.

1995: "Holy Spirit is the master of the interior life," which for me was best shown when the author said Bevel was overcome with surprise at the coming of the Kingdom of Christ.

1996:"Grace is favor," was best shown when Mrs. Connin taking Bevel to babysit as a favor to his mother, and then takes him to be baptized and then prayer for his mother.

1997:"Grace is the participation in the Life of God," happens when Mrs. Connin gives Bevel the book "the life of Jesus Christ for readers under twelve." He entered in the participation of of the life of God with this book.

1998:"vocation to eternal life is supernatural." This occurs when Bevel come up for air the first time, could have been a sign that he was not ready for eternal life, but he showed his devotion and was eventually accepted in to the Kingdom of Christ

1999:"grace of Christ is the gratuitous gift that God makes to us his own life." this was kind of hard. I said it was when Bevel find out he was "made" by a carpenter named Jesus. Meaning that God Made us himself.

2000:"Gods intervention" This occurs when Bevel come up for air the first time, could have been a sign that he was not ready for eternal life, but God still wanted him in the Kingdom of Christ, so he intervened.

2001:"God brings to completion in us what he has begun." This is repeated when the preacher says, "All the rivers come from one River and go back to it like the ocean sea." it is like everything come full circle.

2002:"created man in his image by conferring on him," goes back to this idea of Bevel finding the Kingdom of Christ in the river.

2003: "Sacramental graces, gifts proper to the different sacraments." Baptism is the theme in the short story, and Bevel received sacramental graces with Baptism

2004:"Responsibilities of the Christian life and ministries within the church." Being baptized is part of the ministries 

2005:"we can not rely on feelings or our words to conclude that we are justified and saved." On page 5, the preacher says you have to come to the healing for Jesus, you can't just come to see. You can't rely on what you see in order to know that you are going to be saved in the end.

Man With No Face

Megan
Christians in the world- 6
October 14, 2012

Man With no Face Essay

Charles is a young boy who has a desire of going to boarding school. Just like any true desire, when he does not get into the boarding school of his choice because he failed the test, his mother gave up hope, almost gladly, because it meant Charles was not going anywhere. However, this made Charles more determined than ever to fulfill his desire. Because of this, he seeks out the help of a teacher, one who is not the most popular in the town. It is not until Chuck really gets to know McLeod, Mel Gibson’s character, that certainty of his love that Chuck actually lets McLeod tech him fully, not just in preparation for the exam, but about friendship and acceptance.

            I think the first time Chuck is really uncertain of McLeod was when McLeod asked him to dig holes for him. The first was in a shape of a cube, the other was a triangle. McLeod had no real reason for this, other than the fact that he wanted to build his work ethic and also to build his trust. However, these little things were the building blocks of their relationship. The next time was when McLeod asked him to write an essay on anything he wanted, and Charles plagiarized taking the easy way out. Eventually, Charles complies with McLeod, learning his way of teaching. However, I think the most important moment was when McLeod yelled at Charles because he was staring at his scars, which scared Charles. This was the breaking point in their relationship that cracked the fear and doubts that Charles had about McLeod. Shortly after this scene, McLeod showed Charles his artwork and talent, which opened the door for Charles to ask the all-important question about what really happened to make McLeod’s face and body the way it was. This was the beginning of their friendship, which never diminished.

            It was when Charles’s sister told him what really happened to his father, that he killed himself in a mental hospital, that their friendship is tested by those around them. Charles’s mother finds out that McLeod is teaching Charles, she interrogates him, asking questions like ‘did he ever touch you,’ which launched a full blows interrogation about McLeod’s past with the accident he was in. Because of this, the two were never allowed to see each other again. However, the movie ends happily, when Charles graduates from the boarding school, and McLeod is seen walking away, and just before he disappears, he turns around and waves.

            Charles’s certainty grows in McLeod, despite his fear and doubts because of the strength in their friendship. He knows the truth about McLeod, and I think McLeod appreciated the fact that someone finally took the time to get to know him, and was actually able to look past his mistakes, like the car accident. Charles specifically says on a car ride home from flying a plane that he could no longer see the scares on his face a body. He was able to look past them and see the beautiful that is inside him. This is what allows Charles to grow despite the doubts and fear he has.