Christian contemplation thrown into the muddy highways of the world : encouragement : experiences : resources
Marcel Văn died at an internment camp in Yên Bình in North Vietnam on July 10, 1959, four years two months and three days after his initial arrest. The conventional framing here would be that he could be a confessor of the faith, if not a martyr, as he died in the hands of the …
Continue reading “The Death of Marcel Văn and Moral Injury (Part 6)”
It’s been a long time, but Contemplative in the Mud is coming back. Same mission, new era. A lot has happened in the intervening years, and I’m sure some of that will come out in future posts. But this isn’t a biographical blog, so never will I enter into details just for the sake of …
I felt the truth of Saint Augustine’s words when he says, “Lord, our hearts are restless until they rest in you”; in fact, foolish is he who pursues the joys of the world, because these are always fleeting and cause pain, wheeas the one true joy is that which faith gives us, and our beloved …
If you cannot meditate on the Passion of Jesus, speak about it to him: “Lord so loving, what was within your heart in the garden? Such pain, such blood, such bitter agony! And all for me?” At times, it will seem you can neither meditate nor remain lovingly attentive before God. You are like a …
Sometimes we have trouble praying for long. We know not only distractions but simply an inability to pray. Or so it seems. Perhaps, though, the problem sometimes arises by seeking only one kind of prayer, rather than being open to a larger variety of prayer. I think this really happens to us. I think Saint …
O Sacrament of true piety, sign of unity, bond of charity! The Lord has given us His Body and His Blood under the species of bread and wine, and as the bread is made out of many grains and the wine from many grapes, so the Church of Christ is made out of the multitude …
Today’s first reading at Mass (Latin Rite) includes Saint Paul’s reference to the freedom of the children of God. What does that mean? Surely there are many ways to approach the topic, such as Saint Augustine’s famous sentence: “Love, and do what you want.” Is there, however, a broad, encompassing view of different kinds of freedom and …
Father Garrigou-Lagrange often compared material goods and spiritual goods. For him, this was important because the world in the interwar years was experiencing a major economic crisis. Material goods were talked about all the time. This is rather like the present. We are and have been in a major financial crisis for some time now. …
At the Eucharist we receive what we are and we become what we receive. Saint Augustine of Hippo
There is nothing truly enjoyable without a friend. Saint Augustine of Hippo
Contemplative in the Mud 