I Hardly Have the Heart to Write

Of course, if you know me, you know that when I'm the most disheartened, I'm the most likely to write. Israel and Gaza bombing each other into ... what, further bombing? Bin Laden says Jihad. Iranian president says Israel must go. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.

If ever in history the world has needed Jesus Christ, and him crucified, it is right now. We can contemplate until the cows come home and it's not going to do one bit of good for the dire situation the world is in, right now. With the vocation of intercession upon me I am hard pressed to find time to worry about how my introversion affects my life. At any one moment there is enough violence going on in the world that if we were to perceive it all in an instant, it would overwhelm us, and probably kill us. Does this mean that I promote the active life as opposed to the contemplative life? No way!

What it means is we should stop worrying about ourselves and whether or not our introversion gets hurt and start praying to God non-stop for this world. The world needs our prayers, and contemplatives need to be giving those prayers, not just for ourselves and our tiny part of the world, but for the entire planet. God looks upon the planetary scale. Can we pray on the planetary scale? I think we can. I think that with the Holy Spirit praying within us we can pray some small change into the physical world.

One side says it's the fault of the Gays.
Another side says it's the fault of Abortion.
Another side yet, says it's the Arabs.
Another side says it's the Jews.
Still yet another side says it's all of the above.

Ach! What a world.

Poetry time.
John Donne

VII.

THE PATRIARCHS.

And let Thy patriarchs' desire,
—Those great grandfathers of Thy Church, which saw
More in the cloud than we in fire,
Whom nature clear'd more, than us grace and law,
And now in heaven still pray, that we
May use our new helps right—
Be satisfied, and fructify in me ;
Let not my mind be blinder by more light,
Nor faith by reason added lose her sight.