The Mystical GeekDaily Bloghttp://albertesmeralda.squarespace.com/journal/2009-10-16T08:02:09ZSquarespaceAugustine and Prayerhttp://albertesmeralda.squarespace.com/journal/2009/10/16/augustine-and-prayer.htmlThe Mystical Geek2009-10-16T07:54:44Z2009-10-16T07:54:44ZThis morning I gave a lecture on Augustine's idea of prayer at the CSA-Biñan as part of the school's program in understanding Augustinian core values. During the course of the preparation for the talk, I looked at the way the Catechism of the Catholic Church makes use of Augustine's works. I already knew that Augustine is the most quoted Father of the Church in the Catechism. I was surprised to find out that even in the fourth part of the Catechism, he is also quoted more than any of the Doctors, Fathers and spiritual writers referenced there.]]>How Does One "Konek-Konek"? IIIhttp://albertesmeralda.squarespace.com/journal/2009/9/22/how-does-one-konek-konek-iii.htmlThe Mystical Geek2009-09-22T14:05:10Z2009-09-22T14:05:10ZThe series of articles on this blog about "konek-konek" arose from a question regarding how certain pastors/popular preachers relate one passage of the Scriptures with another one. This phenomenon has its "Catholic" origins from the Fathers of the Church who sought to explain Scriptures using Scriptures. I have written an article about this with regards to Augustine of Hippo and Guy the Carthusian entitled "Parallel Texts, Textual Resonances and the Liturgy". My point in that article is that through the free association of ideas, one can -- like Guy the Carthusian -- link scripture passages with similar ones, and that these "links" are created through the combination of biblical texts heard in the liturgy, especially at Mass and the liturgy of the hours. One can also consciously create those "links" when one -- like a St. Augustine -- makes a concordantic study of the scriptures and associates one text with another by way of comparison and contrast. Not all can be Augustine however; he had a prodigious memory that allowed him to quote lists of passages even at a time when the Scriptures had no chapters and verses yet!

]]>Joining a Great Adventurehttp://albertesmeralda.squarespace.com/journal/2009/9/18/joining-a-great-adventure.htmlThe Mystical Geek2009-09-18T13:53:00Z2009-09-18T13:53:00ZRet-collage-sm

This year's friars' retreat was held at the Carmelite Missionary Spiritual Center in Tagaytay with Fr. Pat Fahey, OSA as retreat master. The theme of the retreat is the Rule and its spirituality. The retreat master provided us with lists of texts from Augustine and other related materials arranged logically in topics like "Interiority", "Love and Friendship", "Prayer", the vows and about contemporary concerns like "Justice and Peace." In other words, the retreat master reviewed with us things that we were expected to know but from the perspective of one who has been living the life of a friar for more than fifty years.]]>

Ephphatahttp://albertesmeralda.squarespace.com/journal/2009/9/6/ephphata.htmlThe Mystical Geek2009-09-06T13:58:00Z2009-09-06T13:58:00Z

Showing-2dheart

Isaiah 35:4-7a is a prophetic oracle about the Peace that God will give to Israel at the time of its vindication. When the people who witnessed what Jesus did to the deaf-mute they said something that echoed this passage of Isaiah: He has done all things well: the deaf hear and the mute speak (Isaiah 35:5-6). Mark wanted to convey the message that in Jesus' healing miracle the Shalom that God reserves for those who love him has begun to break forth in human history.

]]>A Novena for Sts. Monica and Augustinehttp://albertesmeralda.squarespace.com/journal/2009/8/21/a-novena-for-sts-monica-and-augustine.htmlThe Mystical Geek2009-08-21T15:30:37Z2009-08-21T15:30:37Z

This year being "The Year for Priests", our celebration of the feasts of Sts. Monica and Augustine emphasizes the priesthood of the laity and the priesthood of the ordained. St. Monica is an example of the priesthood common to the baptized. By her prayers she was able to regain her son and bring him over to the Catholic Church. Augustine is the example from the ordained priesthood. The overall theme of the novena is a slightly modified Augustinian quote: "With you I am a Christian; for you I am a Pastor". So for a period of eleven days beginning on August 12 with the first day of the novenario, we at the Mother of Good Counsel Parish (San Pedro, Laguna PH) will be celebrating the memory of this mother and son team with a view to a more lively participation in the Church's Year for Priests.

]]>Call for Lay Participation in Honest Electionshttp://albertesmeralda.squarespace.com/journal/2009/7/17/call-for-lay-participation-in-honest-elections.htmlThe Mystical Geek2009-07-17T11:59:58Z2009-07-17T11:59:58ZThe CBCP has issued a pastoral statement entitled Lay Participation in Politics and Peace.  The pastoral statement is prefaced with a theological conviction that justifies its call for an active lay participation in the coming 2010 elections:

Our mission as Church is to proclaim the Lord Jesus as our Savior. In proclaiming him we necessarily proclaim the Kingdom of God that he himself proclaimed. God’s Kingdom, St. Paul reminds us, is not a matter of drinking and eating, but a matter of justice, peace and joy (Cfr. Rom 14, 17). It is in the Kingdom of God where “Love and truth will meet; justice and peace will kiss” (Ps. 85: 11). Therefore, in the light of our mission to proclaim the Reign of God in Jesus Christ we your pastors write you this urgent pastoral letter.

It is interesting that this theological premise links together Rom. 14:17 and Ps. 85:11.]]>

Caritas in Veritatehttp://albertesmeralda.squarespace.com/journal/2009/7/8/caritas-in-veritate.htmlThe Mystical Geek2009-07-07T17:36:57Z2009-07-07T17:36:57ZPope Benedict XVI’s third encyclical is now available.  It is called “Caritas in Veritate” and you can find it here.  I have also made a PDF version of the document for distribution to my students in the Social Doctrines of the Church.  The file is in a zipped archive.  You can download it from here.  I do not know when it will come out in our bookstores.  But the document is only about 40 pages long with footnotes occupying about five pages.

]]>The Lord's Supper and the Passover Meal (Jewish Seder)http://albertesmeralda.squarespace.com/journal/2009/6/2/the-lords-supper-and-the-passover-meal-jewish-seder.htmlThe Mystical Geek2009-06-02T15:46:13Z2009-06-02T15:46:13Z_lastsupper-pic

While I was writing a Bible Workshop article for the Feast of Corpus Christi, I came across certain blogs written by Jewish Rabbis on the Last Supper. I was searching the web for articles on the Passover meal as Jesus and his companions would have had it, and I did find one: a reconstruction based on the Pesachim and -- get this -- performed by a congregation of Christians. The article is called "Passover in the Time of Jesus" At first, I thought that the article reflected an academic exercise where students of theology had an experience of a reconstruction of the Last Supper. But it appears that Christian congregations in the States (it seems) are having these reconstructed "seders" as part of their celebrations of the Lord's Supper.]]>

He is Seated at the Right Hand of Godhttp://albertesmeralda.squarespace.com/journal/2009/5/22/he-is-seated-at-the-right-hand-of-god.htmlThe Mystical Geek2009-05-22T04:47:09Z2009-05-22T04:47:09Z_christ-glorified

Since the Ascension God's plan has entered into its fulfillment. We are already at "the last hour". "Already the final age of the world is with us, and the renewal of the world is irrevocably under way; it is even now anticipated in a certain real way, for the Church on earth is endowed already with a sanctity that is real but imperfect." Christ's kingdom already manifests its presence through the miraculous signs that attend its proclamation by the Church. (CCC 670)

From the depths of Hades, the Lord moved upwards to the land of the living and beyond that to the right hand of the Father where He is now seated in glory "far above the principalities and powers", as Paul would say. "From there, He will come again to judge the living and the dead", we say as we profess the Creed. The Ascension of the Lord makes us look forward to His second coming and assures us of the glory that awaits us. In sum, we are already winners. That thought should make us more generous, more loving and caring in a world that gives us more reason to be selfish, unloving and uncaring. We know that the world is passing, that it does not have the last word. The last word belongs to the Lord; and He does not lie.

]]>Augustinian Friars in the Newshttp://albertesmeralda.squarespace.com/journal/2009/5/6/augustinian-friars-in-the-news.htmlThe Mystical Geek2009-05-06T13:55:18Z2009-05-06T13:55:18Z