February 2012
60 posts
A God who is not God
simplyorthodox:
A God who remains generalized and reduced to ideology is no God at all. Only the daily encounter with the living God, with all the messiness it entails, can rise to the name Christian.
- Fr. Stephen Freeman, “Everywhere Present: Christianity in a One-Storey Universe”
1 tag
“Your desire is your prayer.”
–
St. Augustine (Discourses on the Psalms 37,14)
Faith and Struggle
In my first year of religious life, called the prenovitiate, I took a class on Friedrich Nietzsche. For those who know him, he is one of the most articulate, if not brilliant opponents and critics of Traditional Christianity. Although previously, I would have been shocked to study something that would be so contrary to my faith, something happened. It turned out to be beneficial.
The course I...
3 tags
Sammy Blaze "The Phoenix"
Sammy Blaze came out with this banger that seemed to come out of nowhere, The Phoenix, released on Phatmass and available digitally. Sammy Blaze was known for his previous release The Meaning of Life, which I previously reviewed. This is a follow up, and Sammy Blaze comes with the heat that made the first one a memorable showcase.
I saw Sammy Blaze live a few years ago, and he knew how to rock a...
“There is no key to happiness.The door is always open.”
– Mother Teresa (via worldasweknowit)
6 tags
Lenten Prayer of St Ephrem of Syria
During the season of Lent, as we penitently pray for our conversion from
sinfulness to righteousness, I though this prayer of Saint Ephrem of Syria
would be helpful. As Saint Ephrem of Syria is my patron saint, I will take
it up for myself. It is currently in used daily in Liturgy during the
season of Great Lent by Christians in the Eastern Rites. However, I think
it is applicable and helpful for...
6 tags
Akathist Hymn to the Theotokos →
The Tradition of Marian Devotion in the Eastern Christian Churches goes
back to the earliest of times. One of the vital, focal, and well known
tradition is the Akathist to the Theotokos. An Akathist, in the Greek, is a
Hymn dedicated to the Trinity. This one in particular, is used in the
Saturdays of Lent. I have posted the initial portion, so that you can get
an idea of the basic rhythm and form....
Our heart is a church
simplyorthodox:
There is no need to weep much over the destruction of a church; after all, each of us, according to God’s mercy, has or should have his own church - the heart. Go in there and pray, as much as you have strength and time. If this church is not well made and is abandoned (without inward prayer), then the visible church will be of little benefit.
- Holy New Hieromartyr Barlaam
...
For all the Young Catholics on Tumblr, We Pray to...
St Augustine Friary, Chicago, Prayer Intentions for Mass on February 23,
2012:
For all the Young Catholics on Tumblr, We Pray to the
Lord…
yeah, thats right, thats what I do, I’m a monk, I pray for you. Maybe
when I’m a priest, I will say a Mass for you too.
2 tags
Lenten Petitions →
Today is Ash Wednesday, and this season redirects our prayers toward conversion. Brett McCracken who writes at The Search, has some beautiful prayer intentions for today, or perhaps for the season:
In the stillness of dusk, on ever lengthening days; serenaded by car horns, engines, buzzing iPhones, birds, distant planes, and the mystical fugues of February vespers… speak to us oh God.
Remove us...
Human Story, Theology in Narrative
Jennifer Fulwiler, of Conversion Diary, discusses the concept of the human soul, the human story, and the inadequacy of a materialistic atheist worldview to account for the deep inspiration and heroism of the human story, in a piece titled He who knows the story.
Reading it, well, I had been thinking in my own in the past few years of the importance of Narrative for Theology, for Evangelization,...
2 tags
TheBreax "Parting Gift"
TheBreax released the Parting Gift, be sure to get it here.
San Diego is home to one of the most prolific crews of recent memory, theBREAX. Over the past five years they released 5 albums, 3 mixtapes, and a documentary. Comprised of Ruslan, who I reviewed previously here, and Belief, while gathering a squadron of beats from some of the illest local DJs, aside from that, their crewmembers have...
“All my hope rests only in your exceeding mercy, O Lord,”
–
St. Augustine
(Letters 263,4)
2 tags
Macho "Remember"
Tunnel Rat veteran Macho premiered his long awaited album Remember last September. After much anticipation, I admit I was thoroughly satisfied, and I kept putting it on since then. For those who do not know, Tunnel Rats was the OG Hip Hop crew out here in LA representing Christ in the Underground Scene, pretty much since the beginning. You can check out some reviews from crewmembers Propaganda...
1 tag
Dust, Hope, Psalm 90 & Lent
Having taken a Wisdom Literature course this past semester, I have decided to share with you my three Scripture Reflection assignments that I have written for the course. There will be slight revisions as in this case, there is a slight Lenten modification for this psalm. For the full text of Psalm 90, on which this reflection is based, click here.
Psalm 90 stands out among all the psalms not...
Lent is near, and I WILL BE blogging
I will not be giving up tumblr for Lent, in fact, I will probably be
posting more in the next two months then I have been posting in a long
time. This week I will be posting a few Chastity & Relationships themed
posts from the perspective of a Celibate person. I will be posting up
portions of some of my January intensive semester assignments, namely
reflections from selections of Old Testament...
thelightswentoutingeorgia1-deac asked: Brother Mark, could you please pass this onto the anon who asked about mercy after self-harming? Anon, I struggle with self-harm. I've been doing it as a false coping mechanism for years, and am just now stopping. God is very merciful, my friend. You will be shown mercy if God chooses, but it sounds like you will be because you know you are trying to stop <3.
Anonymous asked: Wow thank you, your answer to my self harm question made me cry. I don't really have words. I should let you know that I have reached out to my family so I am getting help. I appreciate your prayers, thank you :)
“No one succeeds in raising to another to the height where he stands, unless he...”
–
St. Augustine
(Letters 11,4)
Anonymous asked: So i used to self harm and I have decided to stop but I'm afraid that God won't forgive me for the way I treated my body. I just wanted to ask for your prayers for my recovery and I guess I just need some consolation that God still loves me even after what I did.
An angel just came to me, wow...
“From our mother’s womb, indeed before we were conceived, each of us has been...”
– …And You are Christ’s: The Charism of Virginity and the Celibate Life by Thomas Dubay, S.M. (via egodilectomeo)
“The Eucharist should be the heart of every vocational journey: it is here that...”
– Pope Benedict XVI (2012 World Day of Vocations message, just released)
Reblog if Jesus is your Valentine.
Anonymous asked: I'm fourteen and I find monastic life very appealing, maybe for the wrong reason, which is to get away from people and society. I'm currently a scholar with grades going down the drain because of my laziness. I have no idea why I'm telling you about this; I guess it's because I'm wanting to be an Augustinian nun and find the story of how God's love found St. Augustine...
Anonymous asked: What do you think about rap groups such as dead prez and NWA?
“The fruit cannot be good unless the tree is good.”
–
St. Augustine
(Sermons 72, 4)
1 tag
My thoughts on Nicki Minaj Grammy performance, and...
This year, I intended to watch the Grammy’s, if at least to point out some of the strange absurdities in our culture that become glorified at the Grammy’s. Somehow, maybe, I feel like I can be a decent hero to alarm the readers on my blog. It may not be much, as if anybody with common sense can scratch their head at some silly Katy Perry or Drake garbage. The Grammy’s, over the...
It's Nicki Minaj, pretend like your busy
Last year, a Nicki Minaj tumblr page started following me. My brother insists it was fake, and I thought it was. Probably promo, who found me under a hip hop hashtag. I did, however, feel really awkward, if not a little yucky. I post a lot of God stuff, cause I’m a G. Anyways, she stopped following me. I think shes desperately trying to get my attention because I’ve deliberately been...
THIS.
Led Zeppelin- 1975: If the sun refused to shine, I would still be loving you. When mountains crumble to the sea, there will still be you and me. Kind woman, I give you my all, Kind woman, nothing more.
Nicki Minaj- 2012: You a stupid hoe, you a, you a stupid hoe, you a stupid hoe, you a stupid hoe, you a stupid hoe, (yeah) you a, you a stupid hoe, you a stupid hoe, you a, you a stupid hoe (stupid, stupid), you a stupid hoe, you a, you a stupid hoe (stupid, stupid), you a stupid hoe, you a, you a stupid hoe (stupid, stupid) (stupid, stupid)
The following is an account, from Saint Bernadette, of her experiences
of the Apparitions.
I had gone down one day with two other girls to the bank of the river
Gave when suddenly I heard a kind of rustling sound. I turned my head
toward the field by the side of the river but the trees seemed quite still
and the noise was evidently not from them. Then I looked up and caught
sight of the cave...
Unacceptable →
Ethicists take the White House to task for the alleged accommodation.
You can read the letter here. Former Vatican Ambassador, Mary Ann Glendon,
Catholic University of America President John Garvey, and a few other
prominent professors of Law and Ethics signed this letter.
The simple fact is that the Obama administration is
compelling religious people and institutions who are employers to...
2 tags
5 Reasons I Love Religion!
It may be that the “I Hate Religion, I love Jesus” video has officially passed out as a cultural phenomenon like many other pop culture trends that this very video is indebted to, while Religion still stands. It may be that another critical response is so late in the game, that it is somehow irrelevant.
I, however, still did wish to share some affirmative critical responses in favor...
Creation & Eschatology, Gungor & David Crowder
This past Winter Intensive I took a Dogmatic Theology course “Creation &
Eschatology.” Creation Theology is the exploration of the origin of all
things, and God’s interaction with it. Eschatology is the exploration of
the end of all things, and God’s guidance of it. The two are intimately
linked, if we understand Eschatology in the context of Christ’s...
To the non-religious person who says they follow...
People often say that they follow the teachings of Jesus, as a way of skirting around the issue. They accept, and/or follow some vague, fluffy, generic, abstracted, unspecified and imprecise collection of ideas and values from a variety of religious traditions, as if to boast on their inclusivity and open mindedness. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of things from Orthodox and...
