I would like to present the reflection of the Blessed Dom Marmion on the mysteries of the Holy Rosary. Therefore over the next 3 days I will present the 15 mysteries as they are divided between the Joyful, the Sorrowful and the Glorious mysteries. I hope they provide useful material for our contemplation during Lent.
I. THE JOYFUL MYSTERIES
1. The Annunciation
Picture the scene of the Annunciation. God proposes the mystery of the Incarnation which He will accomplish in the Virgin Mary—but not until she has given her consent. The accomplishment of the mystery is held in suspense awaiting the free acceptance of Mary. At this moment Mary represents all of us in her own person; it is as if God is waiting for the response of the humanity to which He longs to unite Himself. What a solemn moment this is! For upon this moment depends the decision of the most vital mystery of Christianity.
But see how Mary gives her answer. Full of faith and confidence in the heavenly message and entirely submissive to the Divine Will, the Virgin Mary replies in a spirit of complete and absolute abandonment: “Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to Thy word.” This “Fiat” is Mary’s consent to the Divine Plan of Redemption. It is like an echo of the “Fiat” of the creation of the world. But this is a new world, a world infinitely superior, a world of grace, which God will cause to arise in consequence of Mary’s consent, for at that moment the Divine Word, the second Person of the Blessed Trinity, becomes Man in Mary: “And the Word was made Flesh and dwelt among us.”
2. The Visitation
See how the Holy Spirit greets the Virgin Mary through the mouth of Elizabeth: “Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb! And blessed art thou that hast believed, because those things shall be accomplished that were spoke to thee by the Lord.”
Blessed indeed, for by this faith in the word of God the Virgin Mary became the Mother of Christ.
What finite creature has ever received honor such as this from the Infinite Being?
Mary gives all the glory to the Lord for the marvelous things which are accomplished in her. From the moment of the Incarnation the Virgin Mother sings in her heart a canticle full of love and gratitude.
In the presence of her cousin Elizabeth she allows the most profound sentiments of her heart to break forth in song; she intones the “Magnificat” which, in the course of centuries, her children will repeat with her to praise God for having chosen her among all women:
“My soul magnifies the Lord
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
Because He has regarded the lowliness of His handmaid…
Because He Who is mighty has done great things for me
And holy is His name.”
3. The Birth of Jesus
The Virgin Mary sees in the Infant that she has given to the world, a child in appearance like all other children, the very Son of God. Mary’s soul was filled with an immense faith which welled up in her and surpassed the faith of all the just men of the Old Testament; this is why she recognized her God in her own Son.
This faith manifests itself externally by an act of adoration. From her very first glance at Jesus, the Virgin prostrated herself interiorly in a spirit of adoration so profound that we can never fathom its depth.
In the heart of Mary are joined in perfect harmony a creature’s adoration of her God and a Mother’s love for her only Son.
How inconceivably great the joy in the soul of Jesus must have been as He experienced this boundless love of His Mother! Between these two souls took place ceaseless exchanges of love which brought them into ever closer unity. O wonderful exchange: to Mary Jesus gives the greatest gifts and graces, and to Jesus Mary gives her fullest cooperation: after the union of the Divine Persons in the Blessed Trinity and the hypostatic union of the divine and human natures in the Incarnation, no more glorious or more profound union can be conceived than the union between Jesus and Mary.
4. The Presentation of Jesus in the Temple
On the day of the Presentation God received infinitely more glory than He had hitherto received in the temple from all the sacrifices and all the holocausts of the Old Testament. On this day it is His own Son Jesus Who is offered to Him, and Who offers to the Father the infinite homage of adoration, thanksgiving, expiation and supplication.
This is indeed a gift worthy of God.
And it is from the hands of the Virgin, full of grace, that this offering, so pleasing to God, is received. Mary’s faith is perfect. Filled with the wisdom of the Holy Spirit, she has a clear understanding of the value of the offering which she is making to God at this moment; by His inspirations the Holy Spirit brings her soul into harmony with the interior dispositions of the heart of her Divine Son.
Just as Mary had given her consent in the name of all humanity when the angel announced to her the mystery of the Incarnation, so also on this day Mary offers Jesus to the Father in the name of the whole human race. For she knows that her Son is “the King of Glory, the new light enkindled before the dawn, the Master of life and death.”
5. Jesus is Found in the Temple
“How is it that you sought Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” This is the answer that Jesus gave to His Mother when, after three days’ search she had the joy of finding Him in the Temple.
These are the first words coming from the lips of the Word Incarnate to be recorded in the Gospel.
In these words Jesus sums up His whole person, His whole life, His whole mission. They reveal His Divine Sonship; they testify to His supernatural mission. Christ’s whole life will only be a clarifying and magnificent exposition of the meaning of these words.
St. Luke goes on to tell us that Mary “did not understand the word that He spoke.” But even if Mary did not grasp the full significance of these words, she did not doubt that Jesus was the Son of God. This is why she submitted in silence to that Divine Will which had demanded such a sacrifice of her love.
“Mary kept these words of Jesus carefully in her heart.” She kept them in her heart, for there was the tabernacle in which she adored the mystery concealed in the words of he Son, waiting until the full light of understanding would be granted her.
If you would like to learn more of the Blessed Columba Marmion and his spirituality I would suggest this recent article at Homiletic and Pastoral Review: http://www.hprweb.com/2017/02/bl-columba-marmion-on-living-in-christ/
I love the Rosary and it has had a very profound influence on my life. My Rosary was given to me years ago when I was a curate. One of our congregation was going to Lourdes and on her return she brought back a Rosary and gave it to me. I still have it and use it. In fact its here on my desk beside this computer.
Saying the Rosary was crucial in helping me recover from traumatic shock.
A few years ago a man committed suicide in front of me. He was already saturated with petrol when I came upon him in a moorland car park. I attempted to talk him out of it for almost and hour, but then suddenly he struck a match and literally exploded in front of me. I won’t go into the details,but witnessing a human being consumed by flames is horrific.. I also experienced terrible guilt that I hadn’t been able to help him.
Apart from counselling and medication I took to saying the Rosary every day walking along the local beach. It was a very bleak period in my life and I had to resign my work as a parish priest. I was unable to preach.
Medical help and counselling can only take you so far.
The actual performance of the Rosary beads passing slipping through one’s fingers together with the traditional prayers were a source of healing. The sorrowful mysteries are
The Agony of Jesus in the Garden
The Scourging at the Pillar
Jesus is Crowned with Thorns
Jesus Carried the Cross
The Crucifixion of our Lord.
Within a year or so I was able to resume my vocation. It wasn’t putting it behind me, but allowing Jesus through His Holy Mother’s intercessions to share the trauma.
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Suicide by self-immolation is a rare occurrence and a few have happened in the West after the Asian protests by Buddhist monks in the 60’s. They account for less than 1% of suicides in the world and even less in the West. They are so rare that they are always reported in the news. Can you provide a link to the story you just told as most of these people are either Asian in ancestry and/or have previous psychological problems. I tried to Google the story but had no luck as the handful I found were not remotely possible for being the one you related.
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All I can tell you is that it happened on 26th November 1993. The policeman who was called to the scene was PC Dave Leslie.He was marvellous and keptin touch with me. He was stationed at Camelford.
Another PC Roger Lyle had a nervous breakdown as a result of seeing the burnt corpse. Walter Edwards was the name. of the man. From the conversation I had with him i learned that he was desperately lonely, his wife and daughter had no time for him. He used to visit a local pub in Boscastle and was always threatening suicde. One day he did it. One thing he didn’t die alone.
The Vicar of Camelford – Ian Morris was a great help to me. He died a few years ago
I was summoned to appear in Bodmin,at the County Court for the inquest just before Christmas 1993. One of my Churchwardens came with me. Chris Smale lives in Launceston. I can give you her phone number. 01566 772850 . She would confirm my story. She also came with me to Rough Tor where it happened prior to the inquest. She still lives in Launceston.
Don’t you believe me or something?
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That’s the funny thing about trust isn’t it? Once you have been found out in a lie, most people will no longer believe anything from that person. I have looked for all the names you gave and the date and can’t even find as much as a mention or an obituary. Seems odd, that’s all.
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Physician Heal thyself.
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Clever.
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I have asked my prayer group to intercede for the soul of the late Walter Edwards. May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen.
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Scoop, I am certain that you are aware that Google is not the purveyor of all truth. There are many stories not scooped up on the web, especially from as early as 1993. Of course you are free to disbelieve the date Malcolm has given, but if you assert that the story is a lie (as you have), it falls upon you to provide proof. Otherwise you leave us all with nothing but scandal and a sense of ill will on your part. To each his own I guess.
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Yes this too is the internet and we at times get fooled by those who are good at gaining sympathy and respect. At times they reveal themselves and prove that there is more to know than is apparent. All I can say is that what you don’t know, you don’t know. It will all play out in the end.
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You are suggesting that a charlatan is permitted to write for this blog.
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I abide by an old saying: “Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.” It won’t happen again.
Celia, when I was about 60 years old I met a new employee who was among the funniest people I ever knew. He ingratiated himself to me, my wife and my kids and so when he was having problems we loaned him a substantial amount of money. I came to find out after the money was given that there was nothing about the man that was true; not his funny stories nor his problems which he faced in life. Nothing.
I demand only 1 thing from a person that I would deign call a friend: trust and honesty.
A mistake in facts is understandable. A lapse of judgement is forgivable. A concerted effort to deceive and even evade a face to face confrontation by lying is not.
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But Scoop, this is more hint-hint, wink-wink. From recent posts I gather that some folks become enraged at Malcolm for not being Catholic. He writes like other Anglicans I have come across, as far as his attitude toward Rome goes. It seems perfectly normal, and he doesn’t appreciate being beaten over the head with cries of heresy. Now you are telling me that he is nothing but a fraud but you offer no substantiation other than hint-hint wink-wink. I am told that I don’t know the facts and here I am asking you point blank for the facts. Otherwise what I am dealing with here is character assassination born from some bitter feuds from the past.
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And BTW, nobody is enraged with him for not being Catholic. Religion has nothing to do with this, Celia. I have gone toe to toe with every different brand of religion that has come through here since I came to AATW back in 2012. We disagreed and sometimes rather heatedly but we had mutual respect and trust. We have remained friends. Too bad you missed the dust-ups with Struans from years ago or with Geoffrey . . . both were great debaters and gentlemen of the highest caliber. No, religion doesn’t have a thing to do with what is going on right now.
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And I wish that I could but it is not my website. If it were, I would lay it all out for you. I’ve said far too much already after your prodding. If his direct lies to me which were in the comments of my last post were not sufficient for you then that’s fine. I really don’t care who you want to believe or what you, in fact, believe. I have to operate on the knowledge that I have and not on the knowledge that you have and you will, I am supposing, do the same. If we come to different conclusions then well and good. We are products of our education both in and out of the classroom or the school of hard knocks.
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Please do not be condescending to me, Scoop. I did not prod you in the first place to level accusations of dishonesty against Malcolm. I have asked for proof of your accusation and in fact I am prepared to believe you if you could hand over sometime convincing. You assume that I won’t believe and so you resort to trying to belittle me by saying “I don’t care who you want to believe or what you, in fact, believe.” Also, do not presume that I have not had as many lessons in the “school of hard knocks” as you, another belittling tactic.
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And as to your snarky bit about my being condescending to you . . . aren’t you being a bit oversensitive? You still don’t get it. It is not about you and it is not about me. It is not about you and me and it is not about me and Malcolm. It is solely about Malcolm all on his own. He is both the object and the subject of this whole thing. He created the mess, he foments the mess and he is still carrying on in the same manner and apparently with the blessings of C though he seems to play the part of the ‘perceived sane’ Charles Boyer in the film Gaslight as opposed to the many Ingrid Bergman’s who are sure that it must be they who cannot trust their own sanity and not him. So be it.
As to your last sentence . . . refer back to what I said and please tell what the word “we” means. Since you don’t know I am referring to you as well as all human beings. Get over yourself.
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Your comments are prodding me to answer are they not? Would you prefer I not answer or lie to you? I call it like I see it. Read the latest post and read the comments that I referred to you. Take it any way you like.
Just keep in mind that after all these years spent here this is the first time in the history of this website that an author had the audacity to try to change the history by deleting it and covering his own tracks. There are other bits which have been deleted now and if you did not catch them then you missed the boat. I did not. My convictions stand and it is obvious that you stand by yours as well. That is as it should be. I would much rather that you did not comment than to share the why’s of my convictions with you. It really doesn’t matter anymore as nothing is going to be done about it anyway.
I was under the impression that a light was going to be turned on to illuminate the events of late. But I was wrong. Instead, a decision to sweep the dirt under the rug has been made. And because that is the decision I feel that this place will not recover . . . I guess I am losing trust now in the entire endeavor of this site. It’s not forthright and seems unprincipled. Not a good place for me to spend my Lent.
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You want frankness? The perpetrator of the vicious attack on Gareth was Malcolm. ‘Nuff said. I’m outta here.
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While evangelising a neighbourhood I met a guy many years ago who said he had attempted suicide as a protest against government in the same manner. I dd not confirm his story but the scars from burns were obvious and he revealed that under his long hair his ears had been burnt off.
He said that his attempted suicide was prevented by a taxi driver.
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Indeed, even among the few attempts that occur, many do not succeed . . . except in mutilating their bodies. Usually it is a very sad case of psychological problems or a protest for some cause . . . as it is usually staged in front of someone or in front of the cameras.
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Scoop, One thing your Blessed Columba Marmion could do with losing a bit of weight.
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Since he’s dead I don’t think it matters a whole bunch.
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I don’t suppose it does. However his picture is a lesson on not to eat too much. Far mystics tend to belie their suppose holiness. The Desert Fathers are a much better example. There’s a lovely quotation by Oscar Wilde in Lady Windermere’s Fan.
“I couldn’t help it. I can resist everything except temptation.”
There’s probably more truth in that than meets the eye.
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A simple diet of potatoes and bread does tend to fill out the figure. Whereas luxurious high-protein diets keep you thin. This is a stupid conversation.
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Agreed . . . they are getting dumber by the minute.
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Mistake I didn’t mean to click like my comment.
“Fat” not far as I’m misprinted.
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The real significance of praying the Rosary, like the Jesus prayer, is the repetition of the Holy Name that acts on us allowing a door to open to the Holy Spirit.
A kind of gap opens within us that makes room for our Lord. “Thou hast made us for thyself,” says St Augustine “and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in Thee.”
One could say its a form of mantra, although that doesn’t really describe its full significance.
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1) Events like the one Malcolm reports are not always reported in their details, for the simple reason that headlines about suicides are thought by some to provoke more suicides. This is even more so the case with respect to events that have some extraordinary element (such as self-immolation). Parenthetically, self-immolation makes me think not so much of protest as psychosis.
2) I can also tell you that a person’s physical shape has NOTHING to do with the quality of their thought, writing or inner life.
As a new(ish) Catholic who struggles with questions of orthodoxy, I have enjoyed the many views presented by this blog. However, with all the vituperative nonsense lately, it has seriously started to jump the shark.
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1) I believe you are right from what little I’ve read. The protest aspect seemed to emanate from the Far East. Psychosis is usually the diagnosis for those who attempt self-immolation . . . though rarely successful because if others are present they usually smother the fire . . . though most are horribly disfigured for life.
2) Absolutely right. Gluttony occurs only when one makes a God of satisfying their tastes. A thin person with a high metabolism might be a glutton but we shouldn’t assume that a fat person is either; as it is an inward disposition not an outer appearance that is important in this regard. St. Thomas Aquinas, I would doubt, was a glutton as I am sure that Marmion was not one either.
Yes, the vituperative nonsense, as you call it, will likely end soon.
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Thank you. I would also like to underline that I very much enjoy Malcolm’s and your perspectives, particularly when discussing positions with which I disagree. Debate among intelligent and well-intentioned people is a good thing, particularly in the context of high-stakes subjects like religion.
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Zombie-Biter
Thanks for that kind comment I’m sure that Scoop and I will put all this behind us and be the best of friends again. On an ecumenical blog such as this there are bound to be stormy moments on occasions and we may say things which we later regret.
For my part I’m sorry about the breakdown of our relationship. I guess Scoop and I have to trust each other again.
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No I’m sure marmion wasn’t either scoop.
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God proposes the mystery of the Incarnation which He will accomplish in the Virgin Mary—but not until she has given her consent.
A fable designed to give a human co redeemer status. The early Roman state run religion incorporated a female deity to attract those that had worshiped a female god. They re named her Mary, and to prove she has powers, they came up with fables, not to be found in scripture. That’s one of the reasons the CC has always discouraged its devotees from opening a bible and would hunt down and kill anyone trying to translate in vernacular and distribute it amongst the people. If one bothered to look, one wont find Gabriel asking Marys permission. he told her she will conceive a child and what she should call it.
Its one of the cruelest jokes Satan has come up with. Devout catholics, and others, die expecting to be saved because of some female queen of heaven or some other what ever that religions come up with.
Jesus said most people are on the path to destruction.
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Celia,
My thanks to you for coming to my defence. Your generosity of spirit does you credit.
I shall, God willing continue to post on this web site.
I’m neither a fraud or a liar. If anyone like to think I am that’s their choice. When all is said and dome blogging isn’t real life. One of the problems is that there’s no body language. One can’t help thinking that this has been blown up out of all proportion by two people. If it keeps them happy let them carry on.
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So you exonerate yourself. How typical. You manipulated the posts, you lied about why you manipulated the posts and foisted a caluminous attack out of the blue on another blogger after you had claimed that you were sorry. You feel no shame for having made the attack after the blogger had left AATW. You are a pitiful soul Malcolm and a master at manipulating people and delivering insults and even scurrilous inuendos at defenseless people who have left this place. And it is an insult to the Anglican Church that you represent not to mention the people who have populated this place for years. Trustworthy? You? How do regain trust after what you have done? You are simply up to your old tricks of gaslighting and pointing your finger over your shoulder. It was you from the start and it is you who will finish and they can have you if they can stomach you.
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I have asked my prayer group to intercede for the soul of the late Walter Edwards. May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen.
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Bloggers and their lives are very real and precious to them. We hold each others hearts in our hands and need to take care of what we say here. You might like to check out this piece
https://equusasinus.net/2017/03/24/of-living-vines-and-real-people/
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If I could comment on C’s latest post, Doing and Undoing Damage, I suppose that I would reply by saying that you removed the termite damaged beam to the house and neglected to exterminate the termite. That won’t work very well in the long haul.
Probably why I can’t comment there.
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I stand corrected and will ask C to remove me from the blog.
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No need. Gareth and I have both left. You win.
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That is a great pity scoop. There’s no winner and the least I can do is to leave.
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I hold no malice against you personally Malcolm . . . I fear you suffer from NPD. I can’t deal with that.
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Maybe I have. You did both rather set into me with your Catholic fervour. It’s very easy to say you bear no malice against me, but that isn’t how you came across to me on my two blogs. I felt bullied. and accused of heresy.
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Not unless your name is Teilhard. Nobody bullied you . . . you began the ad hominems and heresy wasn’t even mentioned until Gareth said that Teilhard was a heretic . . . which he is in our Church . . . even if the modernist new agers within the Church come to his defense. It wasn’t about you . . . it was about Teilhard. You know that and yet you acted as though you were a victim and went off looking for sympathy by the claims of being bullied when nobody was being bullied . . . not even the person of Teilhard. The IDEAS and false PHILOSOPHIES of Teilhard were debunked, period, end of story. So how you took that to be a personal attack against you is rather interesting. It isn’t about you Malcolm . . . you seem to think everything is.
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You certainly didn’t make it clear that your attack was on the philosophies of Teilhard de Chardin. You were scathing and aggressive. But have it your own way if that
keeps you happy..
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Oh so you’re the martyr? Well, it is not me that is having it my way but you. None of this made me happy but I bet it did you.
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Of course it didn’t make me happy. If you think that then we are all as bad as each other. which is probably nearer the truth.. Any way Good night.. Lets face it you are very aggressive by nature that comes across in your ultra extreme Catholicism.
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Aggression or the practice of the virtue of fortitude? You’re not used to be confronted are you Malcolm? Used to having control of everything in your little perfect world? Well AATW has now become an ecumenical safe space so have no worries. Nothing but teddy bears and hot chocolate. Enjoy.
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that’s rite good brother Malcolm. According to the Roman State Run Religion, you are a separated brethren, not of the fold of Christ.
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This is for C. Do you not feel the readers of AATW are worthy of a truthful explanation of the reason Gareth requested that his letter be posted? Over the last week post and comments seem to appear and then are gone with the wind. One wonders why? What has happened in the recent past? And who is the cause of such?
Katie Hopkins had much to say at the Daily Mail. Excerpts were posted at American Digest, which I will link. Did the AATW also die on March 22, 2017?
“An entire city of monkeys: see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil. Blind. Deaf. And dumb.”
http://americandigest.org/mt-archives/5minute_arguments/welcome_to_london_we_can.php
Also, thought this post by Fr. Z would be useful for some here at AATW.
“Remember Proverbs 6: 16-19:
Six things there are, which the Lord hateth, and the seventh his soul detesteth: Haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, A heart that deviseth wicked plots, feet that are swift to run into mischief, A deceitful witness that uttereth lies, and him that soweth discord among brethren.
Of the six things that God hates, two of them concern liars.”
http://wdtprs.com/blog/2017/03/ask-father-telling-a-lie-during-confession/
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Don’t stretch too hard good brother Brown….you belong to the king of lies, the CC. You and your Holy Father and tons of graven images.
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My own view, Steve, is that it is very easy to stir up a storm in a teapot in the comments column, where, with the exception of those concerned, no opne else reads them. It was my regard for Gareth which prompted the post. Now I could go into the details, but I am not going to because they were not told me in order that I should broadcast them.
C
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Thanks for your response.
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Scoop: Thank you for introducing us (me, at any rate) to Blessed Columba Marmion. I enjoyed the article at the link you provided, and I do hope that the Sturm und Drang in the comments section today does not dissuade you from writing the other posts in your planned series on the mysteries of the Rosary.
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I’ll be happy to post them but I wont be around to comment. Indeed Marmion is a gift to the Church . . . do try to get a copy of Christ the Life of the Soul. You won’t be sorry.
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It will be very regrettable if you cease writing here. So much of the online discussion on religion is such an echo chamber. The conservative Catholics have their blogs, the liberal Catholics have theirs, the Anglicans, the Methodists…..The problem is that in the absence of real interlocutors — actual, thoughtful people who don’t agree with each other — the conversation tends to devolve toward feel-good platitudes for the in-group and rank paranoia and loathing toward the out-groups. The unique thing about this blog is that it provides a forum for spirited discussion. It would be a shame for it to lose your point of view. Should it come to that, then I hope at any rate that you will continue to write somewhere.
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I still have my other blogs but I’m not sure if blogging is for me anymore. I’ll take some time off and see. In the meanwhile, why not give yourself a go at it? You’re bright and intelligent and there is no better school for apologetics than putting together a good argument. I pass the torch to you my friend.
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Scoop and I have blogged together, the problem is that you need several writers to keep up posts to gain any sort of following. This is why this blog has been successful in my view. It’s easier said than done.
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I’m deeply touched that you would say that, but I couldn’t do it. Maybe someday, but I’m a new Catholic, and weird as this might sound, my understanding of my own faith is still very tentative. My conversion had nothing to do with argument or logic – it sort of just happened, over a period of a few years – and so it’s hard for me to be able to frame a coherent discussion about Christianity. I’ve tried, and I end up feeling like I’m trying to find the scansion of birdsong. (Reading it over, that last bit sounds kind of pretentious, but since it’s a good description of how I feel, I’ll let it stand).
Basically, I think there is a real chance that I might inadvertently injure some other person’s faith by writing something stupid.
Also, time is a concern – I barely write at my own blog (which is an attempt at a Swiftian parody of some of the problems in my profession).
Anyway, thank you for your work here and elsewhere.
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