By Dan Burke via Spiritualdirection.com | Catholic Spiritual Direction
“He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God shall give unto Him the throne of David his father: and he shall reign in the house of Jacob for ever. And of his kingdom there shall be no end.”
Luke 1:32-33
It is wonderful to notice in the prophecies of the Old Testament how, from the time of David onward, they settle down more and more upon the House of David. This at least was to be one sure sign; and so much had it become an essential part of the Messiah, that those who in His lifetime wished to proclaim their acceptance of His miracles and teaching called Him at once the “Son of David.” The Angel alluded to it at the first announcement; Zachary proclaimed it at the Benedictus; “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me,” cried the beggar on the roadside; the enthusiastic crowd on Palm Sunday shouted: “Hosanna to the Son of David”; even Our Lord Himself, when facing His enemies, used this belief of theirs for their confusion.
“And the Pharisees being gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying: ‘What think you of Christ? Whose Son is He? They say to Him: ‘David’s.’ He saith to them: How then doth David in spirit call Him ‘Lord’, saying: ‘The Lord said to My Lord, sit on My right hand, until I make Thy enemies Thy footstool?’ If David then calls Him Lord, how is He his Son? And no man was able to answer Him a word: neither durst any man from that day forth ask Him any further questions” (Matthew 22:41-46).
2. The genealogy of Our Lord from David, in that imperfect-perfect manner recognized by the Jews, has been preserved to us. When we look at the line we are struck with many things. David himself was a great saint, but also a great sinner, and Our Lord came from that union which had followed on David’s great sin. Moreover, she that had been the wife of Uriah was not even a Jew. So we can follow down the line of His ancestors and notice that there were others of their kind; that though Our Lord provided for Himself a spotless Mother, He by no means provided spotless forefathers. In this, as in many other ways, “He became like to man”; though in Him sin was not, yet so near did He suffer Himself to be allied to it.
3. Again, though the House of David was not suffered to perish, still it was suffered to be buried for centuries in obscurity; for centuries, too, it was a house divided against itself, and only in its undercurrents did the stream flow on. Kings were born of it, and slew each other, and their families were blotted out; while unknown members carried on the line in hidden places, little suspecting in their obscurity that their lives and the families they reared around them were the most precious, the most significant in all the world. This is to look at life along the plane of God. From the next world how differently will perspectives appear!
“The base things of the world, and the things that are contemptible, hath God chosen, and things that are not, that He may bring to nought things that are : that no flesh should glory in His sight” (1 Corinthians 1:28-29).
Category Archives: Christian
Clinging
Clinging, clinging to You,
As a leaf clasping the vine
With mouth pressed
And soul hungry,
Receiving in its will
Sustenance and vigor.
Stress, season, time,
And the tempters three,
World, Devil and fleshy me,
Turn, test and try resolve.
Clinging, I cling,
Clasping fast,
For only the glue of love
Suffice as bond,
To quell and conquer,
The wanton, the unruly.
For the Conqueror abides in me,
I cling to the Almighty Three.
Copyright 2011 Joann Nelander
The Now of Time and Passion
Jesus, You didn’t rush through the moments of Your Passion on the Way of the Cross.
You didn’t hurry through Your Suffering on the Cross on the way to Your Ressurrection.
Rather, You embrace the whole of each morsel of Time to sanctify the whole.
In Your steps along Your Way, may I walk embracing You,
In Your Passion, my passion,
In Your cross, my cross,
In Your Resurrection, my resurrection.
© 2011 Joann Nelander
my-life-is-a-gift-even-if-it-was-an-accident-response-to-molly-corn-abortion-advocate
by Gabrielle Timm
A few weeks ago, I read an opinion piece in The Hustler titled “The hypocrisy of anti-abortion extremists” by Molly Corn. The entire piece was written from a pro-choice perspective, and while I am pro-life, my response is prompted by the author’s direct and indirect comments about adoption.
Corn states that she believes “it (abortion) is right because every child deserves to be a gift, not an accident.” While the debate about when life begins will go on, a statement implying that because a child results from an unwanted pregnancy, he or she is not a gift is absurd.
I am adopted. To be more specific, I am the unplanned result of a one-night stand that likely involved alcohol. After my birth mother became aware of her pregnancy, my birth father wanted an abortion and she seriously considered that option for a while.
While I am an “accident,” I think it is possible to be both an accident and a gift. To my parents, who weren’t able to have biological children, I am a gift. To imply otherwise is insensitive and offensive to me, to my parents and to many adopted children and their parents, as well as to the courageous people who chose adoption over abortion.
The piece wasn’t directly about adoption, but Corn links to a column that disparages adoption as a genuine alternative for those with an unwanted pregnancy and includes several misrepresentations about adoption and the pro-life movement. The message seems clear: Life is only a gift if it is planned and/or wanted by its biological parents.
The column states that the pro-life movement often makes adoption out to be “the easy choice.” My birth mother, and others like her, did not make an easy choice. But, to many people, adoption is the only moral solution to an incredibly difficult situation when a birth parent does not want to raise the child or is unable to do so. To interpret the pro-life position so superficially, or to state it as a fact, is a gross misrepresentation of the pro-life movement’s stance as a whole regarding adoption.
The article also cites that the number of adoptions that occur annually is stagnant. Combined with the discussion about the danger of babies ending up in foster care should abortion cease to be legal, this article seems to imply that there is not a very large demand for domestic infant adoption. However, in recent years, the rate of babies being placed for adoption has dropped for a variety of reasons, including the widespread and common acceptance of abortion services and changing attitudes toward single parenting. While there are no readily available national statistics that track the number of couples looking to adopt, Richard Pearlman (executive director of the Adoption Center of Illinois, who has worked in the field for more than 26 years) notes that there is still a strong demand to adopt infants, evidenced by waiting lists which average six to 12-month waits.
A large part of the linked column discusses emotional negatives surrounding adoption, failing to fully address the serious problems abortion causes. Dr. David Ferguson, a pro-choice researcher, conducted a study that found women who had abortions were significantly more likely to experience mental health illnesses such as depression. Ferguson continues to be pro-choice, but noted in an interview that it would be foolish to not take the risks and benefits into account when considering abortion.
Adoption is a challenging and courageous choice. The adoption agency I was adopted through (Adoption Center of Illinois at Family Resource Center) even has links on its blog discussing the emotional difficulties birth mothers face. Judging the adoption alternative requires thoughtful consideration of the real issues associated with both adoption and abortion.
Finally, fewer than 140,000 total adoptions occur annually in the United States, which include international adoptions, adoptions from foster care, adoptions by step-parents, etc. Fewer than 20,000 of those are domestic infant adoptions. I would be very skeptical when reading statistics or articles arguing that many adopted children suffer from emotional problems due to separation from their biological mother, since the studies include all ages of adopted children and do not account for early experiences in foster care, orphanages, etc. A child’s emotional health, whether they are adopted or not, recognizes the important truth that families are bound not solely through biological ties, but through unconditional love.
I do not feel abandoned by my birth mother, who at the time of my birth had recently graduated from college. If I ever meet her, my first words would be to tell her how grateful I am that she decided to place me for adoption and how I think she is incredibly brave for giving me the gift of life and the gift of a child to my parents.
My life is a gift, even if it was an accident.
via LETTER: Prolife adoptee shares her story – The Vanderbilt Hustler: Opinion.
Lifetime’s The Sisterhood: Becoming Nuns — TV Review – Flavorwire
“It’s an unfathomable sacrifice to most, this dedication of your entire life to the church, and that’s what makes The Sisterhood both a fascinating watch and an illuminating amateur sociology project. As a docuseries, it succeeds because it wants to shed light on the subjects, not exploit them.”
via Lifetime’s The Sisterhood: Becoming Nuns — TV Review – Flavorwire.
The Lights of Advent Keep Vigil
Advent candles lit within my being,
Prayer like a torch,
Calling on the Spirit,
To light the lamp of vigil
And illuminate my soul.
Thanksgiving, a spotlight,
Setting blessings all aglow,
While praise as a million votives
Ring Your manger in the night.Though my soul be steeped in sorrow,
For the sin that went before,
My tears You turn to shining crystal
As the sea before Your throne.O, Sun of Justice,
In Heaven you replace the shining stars.
Banish all darkness here below,
As once Your Star lit Earth’s long nightAlight all holiness,
As a rainbow green with Life,
Arches ’bout the celestial throne,
While incandescent angels
Sing with halo-headed saints.Because You come,
This earthy life’s tomorrows
Are bedecked in Hope
As You knock at ready virgins’ door,The Promise ever before me,
You stand, an open door.
I, now, Bold Abandonment,
Before the throne of grace,Sainted souls gleaming like electrum
Flashing love’s arrows as lightning.
Advent becomes Christmas in my soul.By Joann Nelander
Be Holy! 