Remembering 9/11: Eight Years Later

The New York I Remember from My Youth, When the Towers Stood Tall and Proud. I Still Can't Picture the Skyline Without Them.

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Doug Coupland once said that the Nineties ended on September 11, 2001, and I'm inclined to agree. The world of the Eighties and Nineties where our generation came of age, the world of "Beavis and Butt-Head," "Married with Children," and countless other inanities (which I still watch on a regular basis!) disappeared overnight, only to be replaced with a colorless and repressive world of Homeland Security, badly-made so-called "reality shows," the attempted rise of the Religious Right, the Bush-Cheney Neoconservative agenda, and that ever-present fiction called "The War on Terror."

Obviously, anyone reading this could infer that I really don't much care for the post-9/11 world, and the reader would be exactly right. If I could invent a time machine, I would just as soon go back to 1984 or so, and keep hitting the "Rewind" button as the clock neared September 10, 2001, going to a different place in the country each time, so as to keep everything from being boring. If anything, I'd just love to get away from the uber-partisanism characteristic of our current era, which has permeated both the political and religious establishments alike. Not only that, but I know that I am not alone in this opinion.

Yet the reality is that no matter how many of us might waht that, or how much we might want that, it's just not an option, and probably for the better, too. The reality is that a bunch of planes hit a bunch of buildings, a bunch of Neocons found an excuse to implement the "Policy for a New American Century," and the memories of those people who died there were simply trampled over by an administration that used their deaths as an opportunity to further a personal agenda.

I feel, therefore, that we should remember the victims who died in these terrorist attacks, not as an impetus for "revenge" against Al-Qaeda or Saddam (a bit late for that, you think?), or as any of the other nonsense that certain individuals would have you believe. Nor do I think these victims should be remembered within the context of the various conspiracy theories floating out there, usually saying "the government did it" and what not. No, for to do so is to victimize these individuals twice over: firstly, in the actual attack itself; and secondly, in defaming their memories in order to feed whatever "pet theory" the Left or Right may try to throw at you.

Instead, I choose to remember the victims of 9/11 exactly as they were, as the unfortunate souls who had the bad luck to be in the wrong place at the wrong time, and who lost their lives as the result of a senseless event which has had enormous consequences. They were fathers, mothers, sons, daughters, husbands, and wives. They were workers and businessmen, and above all they were (mostly) our fellow Americans. Eight years after the fact, let us not take their deaths in vain, but instead remember their passing with an atmosphere of hope. Hope for their eternal souls, and hope for the eternal spirit of this great country.

The New Novus Ordo Missal: Have the Neo-Cons Truly Taken Over?

The New Novus Ordo Missal, Due to Be Released Sometime in the Near Future. Is It Really a Neo-Con Victory, or Are Their Modernist Masters Simply Being Nice?

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Brothers and sisters, I'd like to think that to anybody with the slightest smattering of Latin, it would be obvious that the English version of the Novus Ordo Missal is pathetically mistranslated, and from the recurring patterns, it's mistranslated on purpose. In fact, I remember the one night in the summer of 1998 when, unable to sleep, I pulled out a copy of its Ordinary in Latin and another in ICEL's English, then grabbed a red pen and proceeded to play "Latin teacher." It was a fun exercise that, I'm sure, has been done to death many times over, all over the world.

On the same vein, the idea of correcting the official translations is not a new one, either. In 1993 (I believe that's the right year), a group called "CREDO" published its own suggested translation for the Novus Ordo, in a booklet titled The Mass of Vatican II. For those interested in what this translation looks like, it can be found on EWTN's website, here.

The story gets more interesting in 2001, however, when Rome, hearing the cries of those concerned about intentionally bad translations, issued Liturgiam Authenticam, which clearly stated "that the translation of the liturgical texts of the Roman Liturgy is not so much a work of creative innovation as it is of rendering the original texts faithfully and accurately . . . the original text, insofar as possible, must be translated integrally and in the most exact manner, without omissions or additions in terms of their content, and without paraphrases or glosses." (n. 20)

In the face of such a clear pronouncement --- certainly a rare bird flying out of Rome these days --- it's hard for one to help oneself from jumping up and saying "Hurray!" But of course, it was also hard to keep oneself from wondering how the Modernists would find a way to screw it up.

So, when Ambrose Hawk sent me an E-mail yesterday with a link to the USCCB's proposed new translation, I was excited to see it. Granted, Ambrose's gripe has to do with the Novus Ordo Missae's lack of deep spirituality (a subject I'll address later in this post), but having taken that as a given a long, long time ago, I simply looked at the translation and the pastoral implications of introducing this to the people.

In and of itself, the new translation is much better than the one foisted onto the English-speaking world for the past four decades, and does away with such foolishness as "We Believe" and "And also with you," which I've talked about in previous posts. It's more litteral, and its tone is reminiscent of the English used in the American version of the 1964 Missal (the Gloria in both Missals is very similar, for example) and in other places there seems a compromise with the CREDO translation.

I'll let the reader have the fun of perusing these texts side-by-side to see what I'm talking about, but all in all I was left with the impression that unlike the ICEL translation, which was overseen by a narrowly liberal group, this translation was overseen by Neo-Cons and was implemented according to the Neo-Con agenda: translate the words correctly and stay true to the "spirit" of the text, but don't make it so accurate that it would resemble anything extant prior to Vatican II. In essence, we're left with the Novus Ordo unchanged except in its vernacular dressing, and looking even more like it really is: the cold, lifeless derivative of the mainline Protestant liturgies extant in the 1950's and 1960's.

This, of course, brings me to Ambrose's concerns about spirituality and the Novus Ordo. Thinking as a Catholic, it is understandable that one should be able to expect a certain amount of Catholic spirituality to flow out of a supposedly Catholic liturgy. If nothing else, it's a given. Yet the Novus Ordo Missae, for all its talk of "evolution," is, as we have established elsewhere in this blog, merely a derivative of Protestant liturgies with the serial numbers rubbed off and a Catholic paint-job slapped on.

Now, when we consider that these liturgies were composed by groups who held a core tenet in "sola fide," and to whom such things as spirituaity and mysticism were often (though not always) considered a "work," it would stand to reason that any such liturgy derived from them would be significantly deficient in mystical or spiritual content, especially if this derivative were presented in the attempt to make said denominations happy. This, I wonder, may be a part of why the High-Church Protestant movements got started in the first place, to bring a sense of the sacred and of the supernatural back to a Protestantism that had so sorely lacked it, as it was embraced by hearts who sorely needed it.

However, all of this pales compared to the pastoral implications of foisting these new translation onto the people. The USCCB is beginning what appears to be a wonderful internet apostolate, and I have no idea what preparation is happening for the people in the pews, nor do we have any idea how many presbyters and laity will simply reject the changes outright anyway. Honestly, I think this has the potential to be every bit as damaging as was the top-down implementation of the Novus Ordo in the first place. One thing about average people in the pews when it comes to religion is that they tend to have either a great attachment to (or rejection for) the things they grew up with, and generally are not willing to compromise.

Now as much as I support the idea of a better translation --- or better yet, the outright abolition of the Novus Ordo and the re-implementation of the True Mass --- the fact is that two entire generations, Gen-X and Gen-Y, have already grown up in the N.O. Church saying "We believe" and "And also with you," and have not been exposed to anything else. No matter how much "preparation" is done in the name of better translations, there is still the risk of an emotional reaction on the part of these congregants who may very well feel betrayed by the sense that the way they were raised simply wasn't good enough. If anything, it would be no less cruel than the changes that were forced onto our parents and grandparents back in '69, and before long we may have to hear about an "extra-extraordinary rite." Pastoring is nowhere near an exact science, and a pastor must be prepared for litterally any possibility.

But, back to my previous comment, that might be exactly how the Modernists plan to screw this up in the first place. They know from their disastrous experience with the imposition of the Novus Ordo, forty years ago, that a stage could be easily enough set for a revolt, and gan easily enough manipulate a feeling of "the Church is trampling on me" amongst the general populace; remember, after all, that these guys are the ones running the show, not the Neo-Cons. On the other hand, the Modernists know, as well, as we Traditionalists do, that this is not a war over liturgy, but a war over doctrine. They have already caused a widespread rejection of Limbo (hence enabling a denial of the necessity of Baptism for salvation), minimized teaching on Purgatory and Hell, created disbelief in the Real Presence, all but destroyed the sense of Catholic spirituality and mysticism, and have pretty much narrowed the public's perception of Catholic teaching down to one of blind (traditionally called "false") obedience.

So in the long run, who cares if the Neo-Cons can feel like they've scored a few points with a more accurate translation? The Modernists have already rigged the game in their favor.

Do the TRADITIO Fathers Like the New International Bible?

The New International Version, Popular Amongst Conservative Evangelicals. I Like My Vulgate Better... It Has Pictures of Naked People!

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In my new ministry (since October 2008), things may be a lot more "open-minded" that what you'd find in the average Trad, Neo-Con, or Modernist church, but we still have certain things that are beyond the pale. In the main, we tend to stick with the aesthetics of the mainline/old-line churches, and eschew anything that is Reformed, Anabaptist, or Evangelical (although the term "Evangelical," in the American usage, is often a mixture of badly-butchered Reformed theology and Anabaptism).

Of course, a part of this could just as easily be seen in our use of Bible Versions, and how we conduct our Bible Studies. In our worship, our Lectionary is Revised Standard (1946/1952), while we retain the King James Psalter (the style is a lot more beautiful and poetic than in modern versions). In our Bible Studies, we run interchangeably between the King James, Douay/Challoner, and Revised Standard Versions, and study the texts in light of the original text, the culture and politics of the time, the interpretations of the Fathers and Doctors, and how the text has been (mis)interpreted throughout history to the present day. Obviously, the shallow-headed and "fluff-bunny" types would quickly find themselves rather uncomfortable.

Obviously, our church's tendency in these matters derives primarily from the pastor's (in this case, my) sense of derision for anything "low-church," "un-intellectual," or "evangelical," and may also be symptomatic of the fact that most of our church's members are converts from these types of sects, who have generally converted either to Lutheranism or Catholicism before coming to us; it's an interesting mix, to be sure.

Hence, in my own sense of derision, it was easy for me to overlook whatever things are popular with the Evangelical Movement, especially their Bible translations such as the New King James (whose artificiality of language renders it distasteful to me), and the New International Version (which I simply held suspect because it was a modern translation). After all, modern translations are notoriously terrible, and what was the point of re-inventing the wheel again, anyway (which is exactly what people do every time they issue a new translation)?

Then, this past Sunday, as I was waiting for people to come to church, I went to our bookshelf and opened a copy. Interestingly enough, from my by-no-means-comprehensive scan, the translation didn't seem that bad at all. I didn't see the inclusive language and ugly English which is endemic with modern bibles, and it certainly didn't seem like another New Jerusalem or New American Bible!

Then today, I read a post on TRADITIO's "Commentaries from the Mailbox," addressing the exact same issue, comparing the NIV to modern Novus Ordinarian translations:
"A revised New International Version of the Bible, first published in 1978, will be released in 2011 to coincide with the 400th anniversary of the King James Version. Since 1978 the NIV has become the most popular modern English Bible version in the world. The 2011 revision will mark the first complete update of the NIV since 1984. . . The NIV won high praise as a literal, faithful, and euphonious version, characteristics that Newchurch's New American Bible, issued after Vatican II (1962-1965), signally lacked."

I just found it interesting how timely that was, right after my own experience! Not that it'll change my standard at the pulpit or at the altar --- we've no reason to abandon use of the Revised Standard or King James Versions in our worship --- but it does show a need for open-mindedness even on us pastors' parts, when it comes to judging a book by its cover (or date of publication; 1964 is the general cut-off date for me).

For us Catholics who have certain unified standards of worship, reading, and practice (e.g. the Immemorial Mass, the Douay Bible, Friday Abstinence, etc.) --- and where, with certain exceptions, pretty much everything to come out since Vatican II has a legitimate reason to be avoided --- it's easy to forget that Protestants don't have such unified standards, and we can't legitimately apply our standards of judgment to their works of literature, but must evaluate every piece of work on a case-by-case basis. We may find ourselves surprised!

Wiping Generation X Off the Face of the Earth

Is this the real reason they're called Generation Y? (Cartoon from the Journal de Quebec)

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Before I begin, I'd like to make it clear that I am unapolgetically a member of the Generation X cohort, and I've no desire either to put down Generation Y, or to participate in what seems to be the media's seemingly manic desire to praise Generation Y --- oops, I'm sorry, "Millenials" --- as being more special than they really are. I believe that there is good and bad everywhere, and neither should be addressed to the exclusion of the other.

Now, moving right along. . .

Two years ago, a few months after I'd started my current secular job, I was browsing the net and found this article on Yahoo Finance, titled "Why We Should Be Grateful for Gen Y." After reading it, I printed it out and shared it with my co-worker (a fellow Gen-Xer), and her parents (both Baby Boomers), we immediately saw in it a praising of (what many of us older folks consider to be) Gen-Y's sense of laziness, entitlement, pack mentality, and superficiality, and so we spent most of the afternoon critiquing the ever-loving hell out of it.

That same afternoon, I also ended up reading the Washington Post Article, "The NSC's Sesame Street Generation," which essentially blames Generation X for the planning of the Iraq War (and, implicitly, everything that's wrong with US Foreign Policy). The article was filled with such out-and-out crap --- such as saying that Gen-X had no memory of Vietnam or the Cold War (I grew up in a house where both were hot-button issues), and that Gen-X's history began with September 11, 2001. Naturally, my co-worker and I ripped this article apart, too, but her parents had no interest in anything to do with the article or Generation X whatsoever.

This alone would be telling enough, but then we have to consider what has become a deluge of articles on the internet regarding Generation Y, praising them for their "teamwork," calling them "special," and saying that they may well be "the most studied generation in history." Now I'm not sure if the reason for the study has to do with the media praise or if this is simply the first generation born since Strauss and Howe gave us the widely-though-by-no-means-universally-accepted model of Turnings and Saecula (these kids, having been in childhood in 1991, would be the first serious chance to give that model a full and proper "real-time," test, instead of judging the model's validity solely in light of history's narrative), but I do believe one thing: that the Baby Boomers and Generation Y both have come to consider our generation a mistake, and are actively (even if unconsciously) endeavoring to scour every remnant of our generation's mentality from the public memory.

When we were growing up, the media said we were so stupid and lazy as to put the nation at risk. In the early 1990's, it was predicted that our generation's movies would "depict youths as noncommital, unattached, brazen about sex and work, obsessed with trivial things, and isolated from the worlds of older people or children." Well congratulations, they predicted Mallrats!

Now that we've entered our thirties and forties, Hollywood can't stop sodomizing our childhood, taking the things we grew up with and cherished, then butchering them and sanitizing them for the younger generation (two words: Clone Wars). Honestly, I don't know whether this is done to spite us (if it were for nostalgia's sake, they wouldn't have butchered everything!), or simply because Gen-Y is not widely known for having a depth of originality or creativity, but the bottom line-effect is still the same: the memory of Generation X is actively blotted off the face of the earth, treated as though the entire generation were a bad mistake that is better off forgotten.

According to Strauss and Howe, this is the fate that awaits all "Reactive" or "Nomad" generations, just like the Lost Generation before us and the Gilded and Liberty Generations before them. In our own case, it's perhaps particularly poignant that we are the last generation that has truly known real freedom --- before the advent of unsupervised wiretapping, before metal detectors were placed in school, before students were required to have "School ID" badges, and before the rise of the Neo-Con Homeland Security State which Obama has made clear he refuses to dismantle --- so our memories of freedom become an obstacle to those in power (regardless of generation) who desire to take that freedom away even more, and those memories also become an enigma to those younger than we, as they have little to no true experience of real freedom to help give them a base for comparison (let alone understand us in any real way, shape, or form). If anything, I genuinely fear the time when it's their turn to run the country.

Maybe we can't fight it, maybe we can't change it. But I, for one, refuse to roll along with those particular punches, either.

The Fifteen-Fold Spiritual Journey, Part III: The Glorious Mysteries

The Coronation of the Blessed Virgin, in Which We See the Ultimate Destiny of the Soul Fulfilled, That of Being Perfected and Attaining the Crown Which Awaits It in Heaven

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The Glorious Mysteries

xi. The Resurrection
We are told that the spiritual fruit of this Mystery is the strengthening of our faith, and this sets the tone for the Glorious Mysteries as a whole. From the youthful optimism that characterizes the beginning of the process represented by the Joyous Mysteries, and from the darker, more somber notes sounded by the soul’s purgation in the Sorrowful, we now move on to the lighter, airier, and more sublime strains of the Glorious Mysteries, in which the Dark Night has passed, and the process now works its way to completion. In the Resurrection, we see the Word come back from the dead, and He is now immortal and impassible. From the standpoint of His Mother, we have seen the fruit of the Holy Pregnancy being ridiculed, mocked, beaten, and destroyed, and have seen that fruit come back indestructible. The soul now has passed through the furnace of probation and knows that its work has not been in vain, and as such its faith is quickly edified to the point of becoming concrete, absolute knowledge. This is also the completion of the Fifth Joyous and the Fifth Sorrowful Mysteries, because now the soul is turned to Christ-ward so strongly that it is unconscious and effortless at this point. The soul has conquered the Dark Night, and now the Bright Dawn shines through it and within it, illuminating all those with whom the soul comes into contact. The process of completion has now begun.

xii. The Ascension
Viri Galilaei, quid statis aspicientes in caelum? These are the words that the men in white said to the Apostles immediately after Jesus’ Ascension into heaven, and I think that it is a good place to start: “O Men of Galilee, why do ye look up into heaven?” We look up into heaven, because by meditating upon the Second Glorious Mystery, we seek to gain the fruit of “longing to be in heaven, our true home.” This is where we have found the completion of the Third Joyful and Second Sorrowful Mysteries, in that the soul has now become detached from the things of the world and has gained control over its physical desires and its lower will, that it, in its conversion, now looks up into heaven. It is not oblivious of the world, nor does the soul seek to escape the world, nor does the soul hate the world; rather the soul simply has come to view its true home as being heaven, because the creature now longs to dwell in the same house as its Creator. Through this detachment and love, the power of Divinity flows through the soul even more so, and the soul is prepared for the next stage in its transformation.

xiii. The Descent of the Holy Ghost
In the Third Glorious Mystery, the soul’s disposition is transformed. They say that the spiritual fruit of this Mystery is either “the fire of charity” or “the gifts of the Holy Ghost,” and I would add that this is an extension and completion of the Second Joyful and Fourth Sorrowful Mysteries. I say this because where first charity had moved the soul to be a force for good on behalf other people in the Second Joyous Mystery, and had moved the soul to withstand persecution and persevere in the Fourth Sorrowful Mystery, so now the soul is filled with the greatest gifts and the rewards to come from that Love. This is because Charity is a two-way street; God loves us so much that He will not give us more than what we’re ready to handle, and will definitely not give us something if we’re not ready to use it responsibly. Yet it is now through humility, love, obedience, and perseverance that the soul has become ready and worthy of such an influx of divine power, so much so that the soul no longer seeks to hide away from the world (as the Apostles did in the Upper Room), but instead goes out into the world in love and power, ready to share that power with the world and help heal its wrongs and ills, the way the Apostles did after the Holy Ghost came upon them and the Blessed Mother. Yet for us, in our own role walking in the Blessed Mother’s shoes, we see that the Holy Pregnancy has come to fruition, and that the soul has become a channel of unlimited divine power and knowledge. Yet we should always do well to remember that without that fire of charity, all knowledge and all power are as sounding brass, and a tinkling cymbal.

xiv. The Assumption
The journey of the soul is now reaching completion, and the fruit of this Mystery is often described as “a happy death, the reward of a life well-lived.” Such a happy death is the reward of obedience to Divine Law, as we have been taught ever since we were little children, and that obedience is not just a literal, blind, or fanatical obedience to the letter of the law, but is instead the co-operation of all the virtues and purgations the soul has received, and a faithfulness to the Law’s spirit. The soul has thus lived in obedience, in love, and in humility, and now the time has come to receive its reward. The soul’s longing for heaven, combined with doing the right things to get it into heaven, have paid off, and now it is time for the soul to be received into the mansion which God has prepared for it. The race has been run, the finish line has been crossed, and the foundations laid in the Fourth Joyful and First Sorrowful Mysteries have now been perfected.

xv. The Coronation
“Receiving the crown that awaits us in heaven,” that’s always been the way they’ve described the spiritual fruit of this Mystery. Yet we should realize that at the first stage and the middle stage of the process --- the First Joyous and Fifth Sorrowful Mysteries, respectively --- the virtue emphasized has been that of humility. And here, just as the soul’s humility enabled it to begin this journey and the purgation of pride enabled the soul to continue it, here does the perfection of humility allow the soul to complete and perfect it. Mary was never a proud woman, she was never widely known during her lifetime, and she was so obscure that almost nothing is known about her with any sort of accuracy. But in death, she became the most famous woman ever to walk the earth, and she likewise became the Queen of Heaven, crowned by her Son with a crown of twelve stars. At all stages, the soul is defined by its fruits, and the works that it produces; in this case we have it exemplified that the Holy Pregnancy is only as good (or as worthless) as the fruits that it produces in the soul of the impregnated. After death, we will all be known by our fruits, and during life, the same is equally true. However, here we see the reward we stand to receive, of which the Catechism of the Council of Trent says that “we become, as it were, gods.” The soul has attained that state, the baby of the Holy Pregnancy has finally been fully delivered, and the reward has been conferred. Now the soul exists at the right hand of God, the creature at the right hand of the Creator, looking down upon the earth and watching, interceding on behalf of those others who are still in the process of making the journey.

These are the Fifteen Mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary, and the illustration which they paint of the spiritual life. There is a great deal of power in these Mysteries, more than most self-proclaimed Catholics will ever know or comprehend. And that’s a sad thing, because the only reason that they will not comprehend is that they choose not to comprehend. But for those of us who desire to learn, these Mysteries also contain the complete pattern of spiritual development and unfoldment, and in order to learn more, in order to grow, we need only to be serious and to listen to what the Blessed Mother has to teach us.

Originally, I was planning another installment, in which I move slightly away from the analogy of the Rosary and discuss another model which I describe as the "Five Keys" and how they fit into the spiritual life: Knowledge, Faith, Piety, Obedience, and Perseverance. However, we're going to take a break for the time being, so that the reader may have a chance to process what has already been presented.

The Fifteen-Fold Spiritual Journey, Part II: The Sorrowful Mysteries

Perseverance, the Fruit of the Fourth Sorrowful Mystery, Which is the Key Through Which the Fruits of the Other Mysteries Are Fulfilled.

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The Sorrowful Mysteries

vi. The Agony in the Garden
In the progression of the Five Joyous Mysteries, we become acquainted with the soul’s experience of the Illuminative Life, in which the soul is first made aware of the presence of a power greater than itself, and it is moved to grow in some sort of unity with that power, acquiring the necessary skills and virtues as it progresses. Yet in the process of the Sorrowful Mysteries, we embark through that part of spiritual development known as the Purgative Life, and the mood becomes somewhat darker. For instead of gathering new skills and virtues, we find existing virtues being put to the test, while old vices are being stripped away. In the First Sorrowful Mystery, we meet Jesus on the night before His death, agonizing and questioning the necessity of His impending crucifixion. Yet for all His agonizing, the ultimate answer is “Not my will, but Thy will be done.” This builds upon the obedience to Divine Law described n the Fourth Joyful Mystery, where by humility, charity (love), and conversion, this obedience is transformed into a commitment and submission to Divine Will. Before we can truly be filled with the Spirit, we must gain self-control, and then subordinate ourselves to the power we wish to channel through us. This is not a theme unique to Catholicism, but it is in Catholicism that it achieves this level of expression.

vii. The Scourging at the Pillar
As the Agony in the Garden built upon and extended the spiritual fruit of the Fourth Joyous Mystery, so does the Scourging build upon the spiritual fruits of the Nativity. For as in the Nativity we learned the virtue of being indifferent to the physical world and its circumstances, it is here, in the Second Sorrowful Mystery, that the soul undergoes the process of being stripped of the desire for worldly or fleshly things. The traditional description of the spiritual fruit of this Mystery is “mortification of the flesh,” and by this we could consider it to mean bringing our lower will under control, so that we no longer unduly desire the things of the world. As stated before, this indifference to the world --- in fact, “detachment” might be a better word --- is necessary so that we do not become indifferent to or detached from the things of the spirit, thus it is here that the lessons of the Nativity are even more firmly impressed upon the soul, that its Pregnancy by the Word may become an even more pure product and bear an even more pure fruit than it did previously.

viii. The Crowning with Thorns
At this point, we find ourselves halfway through the Rosary, and we also find ourselves staring back upon the lessons of its first Mystery. Traditionally, we are told that Jesus underwent the crowning with thorns and the mockery of the soldiers in expiation for our sins of thought and pride, and the spiritual fruit of this Mystery is that we may transcend above those sins. Thus I would call it a purging of pride, which thus reinforces the soul’s humility, which in turn reinforces all the other virtues and purgations which the soul has undergone thus far. Another fruit of this mystery ties it into the Mystery which has come before it, in that it is an effort to gain control over one’s thoughts and emotions. Thus by control we find that the lower (physical) will is made subordinate to the higher (mental) will, while by the purgation of pride and the subsequent reinforcement of humility, the higher will becomes subordinate to the Divine Will.

ix. The Carrying of the Cross
As the Sorrowful Mysteries progress, we see that each Mystery contains a culmination of those which have come before it, and this is driven home even more so in the Fourth Sorrowful Mystery. Older prayer books refer to this Mystery as signifying “perseverance” or “patience under crosses,” and nothing could be more accurate. It is also a reinforcement of the Second Joyful Mystery, because we know all too well that charity is something preached all too often, until it suddenly becomes inconvenient for those preaching to act on it. This Mystery teaches us that the soul must be perseverant in all its works, in all its virtues, in all its strivings for perfection, and must persevere whether in celebration or in persecution, whether in good times or bad. This Mystery also takes on a separate meaning, too, in the sense that during the Rosary we are not only Christ, but we are also Mary observing the life of Christ unfolding before us. As Mary, who sees her son buffeted, persecuted, and ultimately slain, so too does the soul see the child of its Holy Pregnancy being ridiculed, derided, and trod underfoot by the cruel and less spiritual people around it. Yet the soul must continue its work if it is to advance to a state of perfection, and this period is a test which is intended to show whether the soul is ready to shoulder up its cross and continue with the work, or if it needs to re-learn some of its previous lessons before it is truly able to carry on with its journey.

x. The Crucifixion
In the Fifth Sorrowful Mystery, we now witness the climax to all the Mysteries which have come before it, and the gateway to all those which will come after it. For here the soul has learned its lessons and persevered in the work of perfection, but in its submission to God and pursuit of the spirit, at some point the soul must die to the world. It must die to the world so that it may transcend the world. It must die to the world so that it may forgive the offenses, real or perceived, which have been heaped upon it by the world. As the soul has gained virtues and had the corresponding vices purged, so must the soul eventually die to those vices, that it may transcend them. This is what St. John of the Cross called “The Dark Night of the Soul,” and the defining point in the soul’s journey. This is also a reinforcement of the Fifth Joyous Mystery, for the ultimate way to turn to Christ-ward is to die with Christ, which is exactly what the soul must do at this point in its development. We die to all things which separate us from Divinity, so that we may make of ourselves a stronger channel whereby that Divinity may operate through us. Having become purged of those vices, of pride, of avarice, of lust, and of disobedience, we die to them, that we may emerge from the tomb in glory.

To Be Continued. . .

The 15-Fold Spiritual Journey, Part I: The Joyous Mysteries

The Fifteen Mysteries of the Most Holy Rosary. The Cycle of Spirituality in One Neat Package.

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As we continue onto our next installment in this series, I now present the reader with the first five "Mysteries" or "Decades" of the Most Holy Rosary, whch are collectively known as "Joyous" or "Mysteria Gaudiosa," and how they may be considered as analogous to the beginning stages of one's spiritual life.

The Joyous Mysteries

i. The Annunciation
In the First Joyous Mystery, the Annunciation, we are brought to the spiritual fruit of humility. We also begin our journey here, fixing our eyes upon the form of a 15-year old girl in ancient Judea, who was first made aware of her mission when the Angel startled her. Yet when she gave her fiat and announced herself “the handmaid of the Lord,” she displayed the humility to recognize that there was one greater than she, and began her journey in becoming what she was yet destined to become. This is the same virtue that the proud Saul of Tarsus was forced to learn on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:3-11), and which virtue was the beginning of a process for him, by which this proud student of Gamaliel was made to put away his perceptions of self, of God, and of others, and was then able to more quietly and open-mindedly perceive others as they truly were, and discern the good from the bad. It is also firstly through humility that we, like Mary, may become truly impregnated with the Word, that the Word may bear fruit in our minds, in our hearts, in our deeds, and in our words. This impregnation is something I call the “Holy Pregnancy,” which, although often by other names, is something which all mystics and spiritual people seek in their quest for the realization of God dwelling within them.

ii. The Visitation
The Second Joyous Mystery, the Visitation, is associated with selflessness and charity. In spite of her own discomfort as a pregnant mother, she learned of her cousin Elizabeth’s condition, and set out across the desert to go and assist her. When contemplating this Mystery, we must remember that selfishness is the hallmark of immaturity, and that in order to progress spiritually as well as emotionally, we must develop the maturity to lay down our selfish desires and reach out to those in need. Just as a genuine virtue of humility is required for us to truly begin our journey of spiritual growth, so is a genuine charity necessary for us to begin bearing the fruit of being impregnated with the Word. For it may be great to have all gifts, all knowledge, and all power, which is the one thing exclusively sought by most would-be “spiritual people.” But if we have not charity, we are as sounding brass and a tinkling symbol. For to have such knowledge, but not to have charity, is an undoing of humility, which automatically condemns us to begin the process anew.

iii. The Nativity
After Mary had helped Elizabeth through her own pregnancy, and Elizabeth had come to term (bearing John the Baptist), the Blessed Mother then went home. Yet when she herself was about to come to term, Caesar called a census of all provinces and required all to register within their city of birth. Even though this was but a small distance, we should make no mistake, for it was still a great deal of work and travel for a woman who was nine months’ pregnant. But to top off her hardships, when it was time for her to deliver, there was no room at the inn, and so her Son had to be born in the stable amongst the beasts, their filth, and the smell of their manure. These crowded and unsanitary conditions, to be sure, certainly paint a disgusting picture in our minds --- and I’m certain that the average pregnant teenager today wouldn’t even consider giving birth in a stable --- but this is how Our Lord was born into the world. The spiritual fruit of this Mystery, therefore, is indifference to the physical world and its conditions, indifference to our own wealth or poverty, indifference to our own comfort or hardship. When we obsess about these things, we allow them to control us and become slaves to them. Yet when we just “let it go,” it is then that we no longer allow these things to control us, and instead we begin to take control of them. This indifference also reinforces the virtues of humility and charity, as we here see the relationship between pregnancy and delivery. We become impregnated with the Word through humility, and nurture its growth within us through charity. Yet in our good works and our interaction with the physical world, we bear the children of that pregnancy. However, if we allow any praise, recognition, or condemnation over those works to go to our heads, the soul again becomes puffed up with pride and a lack of charity.

iv. The Presentation
In the first three Mysteries, we encountered the concept of the Holy Pregnancy and how it is nurtured and bears fruit. However, the virtues associated with these Mysteries pertain mostly to us within ourselves. But in the next several Mysteries, we will see the development of spiritual fruits which pertain to our relationship to ourselves and to God. In the Fourth Joyous Mystery, for example, the spiritual fruit is obedience to divine Law. Through humility and charity, we have come to the point of realizing that we need not be obsessed with our wealth, our status, or other things (we should care, yes, but not to the point that it dictates everything else in our lives!). Having come thus far and nurtured the first seeds of our pregnancy, we find that in order to continue nurturing it, we must gain and maintain a connection to Divinity, and that connection is best maintained through obedience to the laws which God has given us. We do not come to this realization out of guilt or fear anymore, as so many of us were taught in childhood, but instead we come to it out of knowledge and love. All true Catholics are raised on a Catechism that starts out by telling us that we were created to “know Him, to serve Him, and to love Him,” and at this stage in our spiritual development, we begin to become aware of exactly what that means.

v. The Finding in the Temple
We were created “To know Him, to serve Him, and to love Him.” Let us pause and think of what that means. To Mary and Joseph, as they were seeking her Son in Jerusalem, they were only thinking that they had lost their Precious Boy and must find Him at all costs! This brings us to the Fifth Joyous Mystery, in which we are told the spiritual fruit is that of true conversion, or of turning ever “to Christ-ward.” For us, it means that just obeying divine Law is not enough to form and nurture a connection with Divinity, but that we must also know and love that which we serve and obey, and we must endeavor never to lose sight of Him. In the process of spiritual development, it has been said that the process never stands still, but is always moving either forward or back. Our desire is to continue forward, and to continue forward in the hope of being with Christ and of nurturing our own spiritual pregnancy by His Word, then we must always endeavor to keep our eyes on Christ, and to always turn Christ-ward for help and strength in conquering the temptations that assail us here below.

Here ends this exposition of the Joyous Mysteries, and in it, the reader will perhaps find a number of concepts that are not unique to Catholicism. It would be on this note that I encourage all readers --- Catholic and non-Catholic alike --- to consider how this system may apply to them personally.

Until next time!