Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Feast of the Archangels


Today was the feast of the Archangels! I was fortunate enough to be able to read at midday prayer, and fact that it was the feast day of my confirmation and patron saint (St. Gabriel) lifted my mood despite some otherwise undesirable circumstances.

Why do I love St. Gabriel so much? Part of it has to do with a fascination with angels I had when I converted, but also because it is Gabriel who comes to Mary and announces her to be the ark of the new covenant, which exalts her womanhood and motherhood. It is Gabriel who speaks the words of God so clearly, who helps Daniel to understand his dreams, announces the births of John the Baptist and Jesus, and even instructs the unborn in the womb. For Christians, Gabriel is the angel of the Incarnation, consolation, and mercy. He's just so cool!



As is my custom, here's a bit of prayer, with a few pieces of the litany that I particularly identify with or aspire to emphasized:

Litany of St. Gabriel

Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, have mercy on us. Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.
God the Father of Heaven, Have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us.
God the Holy Spirit, Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God, Have mercy on us.

Holy Mary , Queen of Angels, pray for us.
Saint Gabriel, glorious Archangel, pray for us.
St. Gabriel, strength of God, pray for us.
St. Gabriel, who stands before the throne of God, pray for us.
St. Gabriel, model of prayer, pray for us.
St. Gabriel, herald of the Incarnation, pray for us.
St. Gabriel, who revealed the glories of Mary, pray for us.
St. Gabriel, Prince of Heaven, pray for us.
St. Gabriel, ambassador of the Most High, pray for us.
St. Gabriel, guardian of the Immaculate Virgin, pray for us.
St. Gabriel, who foretold the greatness of Jesus, pray for us.
St. Gabriel, peace and light of souls, pray for us.
St. Gabriel, scourge of unbelievers, pray for us.
St. Gabriel, admirable teacher, pray for us.
St. Gabriel, strength of the just, pray for us.
St. Gabriel, protector of the faithful, pray for us.
St. Gabriel, first adorer of the Divine Word, pray for us.
St. Gabriel, defender of the Faith, pray for us.
St. Gabriel, zealous for the honor of Jesus Christ, pray for us.
St. Gabriel, whom the Scriptures praise as the Angel sent by God to Mary, the Virgin, pray for us.

Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world, Have mercy on us.

Christ, hear us. Christ, graciously hear us.

V. Pray for us, blessed Archangel Gabriel,
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Jesus Christ.

Let Us Pray: O blessed Archangel Gabriel, we beseech thee, intercede for us at the throne of Divine Mercy in our present necessities, that as thou didst announce to Mary the mystery of the Incarnation, so through thy prayers and patronage in Heaven we may obtain the benefits of the same, and sing the praise of God forever in the land of the living. Amen.


Saturday, September 25, 2010

Blankets, and my Grandpa, in Dreams.

A recurring theme in my dreams of late has been that of giving a cold person blankets. A few weeks ago, I dreamed that I was huddled in some blankets (the blankets usually on my bed) when a homeless person approached me and asked me for spare change. The environment was apparently such that I appeared to be wealthier than he, in any case. I told him that while I had no change, I had spare blankets he could keep warm in... and he seemed pleased with this, and took them graciously.

Just now, I awoke from a dream in which I recognized my Grandpa Torbeck was with me. He was reclining on a mattress, and we spoke a bit. The light in the room was the same brightness and colour it had always been in his living room - shaded lamplight, hued a slight orange from the lampshades and wood-paneled walls. I told him that he has many grandchildren to be proud of (ironically only one more than when he passed away, so it's not as if he didn't know this - and indeed, he responded, "I know."), and that I was writing a book (I'm not currently, though I hope to). I mused quietly that I had so much to ask him, and then I noticed he was shivering.

"Grandpa, are you cold?" I asked. "Actually, I'm freezing, buddy," he answered. I covered him with two blankets (again, from among those I generally have on my bed, the warmest two), and he pulled another (one that I had grown up sleeping with but no longer have) over him as well. He fell asleep, looking a frailer man than I had realized him to be at first.

I wonder if there's any significance to the blankets in my dreams... Anyway, this dream meandered through all kinds of scenarios, and this was but the end, but what a joy it was to talk to Grandpa again, even if only in a dream.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Virtue as Refuge: A Reflection on a Dharma Talk


I beamed this morning as our car wound down through the fog and trees of the Missouri countryside toward the sleepy sanctuary that was our destination. My fiancee, her sister, and I would meet a friend of mine there, and we would spend the day among an unfamiliar culture and a mostly unfamiliar faith.


MABA - photo by Jacqueline Marstall, September 19, 2010
The Mid-America Buddhist Association (MABA) sprawls over sixty acres of secluded hillside, set back from the main road amidst trees and a beautiful pond full of waterlilies. A handful of Buddhist monastics work the grounds and keep the gorgeous area up for their weekly communal gatherings - gatherings that seemto me more like a family getting together than a worship service. Perhaps by virtue of the commitment required - being so secluded, the journey to MABA is quite a drive - or by the virtue of the small number of Buddhists in Missouri, the congregants arrive, chant, meditate, eat, and visit together over the course of three hours or more each Sunday. It's humbling, compared to many experiences I've had in parishes more familiar, where the congregation is too busy worrying about other business to enjoy the koinonia that could be theirs. A minute too long, and the congregation is unhappy and grumbling. I've even heard of one congregation that neglects the Gloria in the Mass because they think it takes too much time.

None of that is really the intent of this entry, however. The intent is to comment a bit on a talk that Venerable Kaizhao gave just after meditation, on the application of Dharma (essentially the Buddhist notion of "Gospel") in our daily lives. I was particularly struck, being heavily formed by the Thomistic theology of the Dominicans I study with, by the notion of Karma, specifically as refuge. Karma is essentially what Thomas speaks of when he talks of the relationship between virtue, vice, and habitus.

Karma can be roughly spoken of as the energy that forms the habitus from virtuous (or vicious) action. The action cultivates an energy that then returns to us - in the case of virtue, we cultivate peace and move toward Happiness. In the case of vice (also referred to as unwholesome action), we cultivate unhappiness. Venerable Kaizhao spoke of Karma as a refuge. This idea seemed intriguing and played at my imagination; I wondered,
what can I take from this notion?"

In Thomistic Anthropology, virtues reside in powers of the soul, and shape the power in which they reside. For example, Prudence resides in the Intellect, and prudent actions will shape the intellect so that it makes better decisions, and becomes more naturally prudent. A more prudent Intellect will more readily and easily guide the Will, which will help guide the Soul and the whole being of the person toward Happiness. To the contrary, vicious actions, imprudent, frivolous, hateful, and other types of actions, cultivate the opposite effect.

Virtue, then, is our refuge in that it provides our souls shelter from unhappiness. Unwholesome acts invite bad karma, inviting chaos and destruction into our shelter, casting our house (our souls) into disarray. We see this manifest in the disordered concupiscences of the Will and Sensitive Appetite, in the corruption of our imagination, and in the lack of prudence in our Intellect.

Venerable Kaizhou emphasized that these results are both public and private, and inescapable. I would add that these results are fostered not only large obvious acts of sin or virtue, but by the small things, the venial things as well. In a Catholic context, this is why the sacrament of Confession is so important, even for such things as venial sins - it cultivates a virtuous habitus by acknowledging and absolving even the peccadillos, so that all the small harms we may do to ourself and others are not stumbling blocks and obstacles in our den. Confession "cleans our house," so to speak, setting our soul aright so that our actions might be free and excellent, unhindered by the burden of sin, and ordered to their proper end: our Happiness, found only in God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

So, flee from sin, and cultivate virtue: pray, fast, give alms, partake in the sacramental life of the Church in all its fullness, both celebration and penance. This is the path to Happiness, our hope and our salvation.

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~jacob w torbeck

Thursday, September 16, 2010

The wind cries, "Mary..."

Yesterday was the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, and I was so busy I forgot to blog...


However, I was in a Hendrix sort of mood, and this song seemed so appropriate I wanted to share it:







The traffic lights they turn up blue tomorrow
And shine their emptiness down on my bed
The tiny island sags downstream
‘Cause the life that lived is, is dead
And the wind screams "Mary..."

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Distributism and Catholic Social Teaching

Unlike some things which I have a purely academic interest in, Catholic Social Teaching and Social Justice are issues of practical and immediate interest to me. Catholic Social Teaching should shape the day-to-day actions of each and every Catholic to a transformative degree - and thus, it should make a difference in our world.

Thomas Storck of the Distributist Review is doing a series of articles on Catholic Social Teaching that summarize the development and promulgation of our doctrine, so, as is becoming my tradition, I've compiled his articles thus far and linked them for handy use. One may be advised that the author writes with a bend toward economics and politics, with favor given toward the theories of Distributism; this is merely one facet of Catholic Social Teaching.