Random Musings (10/6/25)

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  I haven't had the time or energy to update often, so I've collected the following ramblings.

Hope springs eternal

20240817 For a reason I can’t explain I feel hopeful about the long-term future of the church. I see many people(laity) praying more and better, attending scripture study, visiting adoration, and generally focusing on their spiritual growth. I believe that the Lord is pouring grace on his people to combat the problems in the world. This is happening without any shepherds. The lord is the shepherd. I think as we see in scripture and predicted by the prophets that he is beginning to take matters into his own hands. I am still sad about the institutional church, but hope does spring eternal when we have the Lord to fall back on.

Intro Thoughts

20240810  My brain is totally messed up. I keep thinking the Lord wants the church to hear something and yet I can’t see how that can happen. I have many thoughts running in my head and can’t put them into a cohesive coherent story. I will just have to blurt it out and leave the rest to the Lord.

The world is in a mess in every arena, yet I see underneath it all a bright future. In some sense, the church is nowhere to be seen, and I don’t see her role in the future. All that comes from several things that I have seen and read that lead me to believe that the Lord has much better plans than I can envision. I recall many years ago an English professor in discussion the book “1984” said, “salvation comes from the Prols”. Not really sure what that meant but am beginning to get a glimmer. My eyes were opened when I read this quote of Bishop Sheen. “Who is going to save our Church? Not our bishops, not our priests and religious. It is up to you, the people. You have the minds, the eyes, the ears to save the church. Your mission is to see that your priests act like priests, your bishops like bishops, and your religious act like religious.” This fit in with another thought that has been occupying my mind for some time. The thought was about heaven (see What is Heaven Like? TBD)

Many minds

22021004 Seems like what I wrote last time is a bunch of gibberish. Have a hard time translating my thoughts into coherent text. Like in the movie Last Samurai there are too many minds going on. Mind this mind that. I really believe the Lord is trying to help me find peace. Not physical peace or spiritual peace, but peace beyond all understanding. I am drawn by the scripture passage that says my thoughts are above your thoughts, and my ways above your ways. What bothers me is all the commentary I read that seems to contradict that. All the authors have profound statements that imply they understand God and what he thinks. But if God is love, does God think? If God is compassionate does God feel? Back to measuring God with words and applying our words to define him. Might not be a fruitful way to solve the problem. At this point my take is that I (we) will never be able to understand God and can only hope that he will help us to an understanding that we can’t explain.

Keep trying

20221012 I continue working my way through a maze. It seems as though the Lord won’t give up on me. Every time I feel lost, I run across a road marker that brings hope with it. I have had several wonderful (full of wonder) experiences in strange ways. I found an old booklet that contains a thought-provoking story. I read another reflection that contains some unexpected gems. What to make of it. Then I attend a meeting where it seems some people don’t grasp some fundamental concepts. Not sure if it’s me or my ego that causes the problem. My best prayer is for the Lord to lead me down the right path. And trusting that he is even if I don’t recognize it.

Purgatory for priests.

For some time, I have had this thought about parish priests and what their purgatory would be like. After listening (or trying to listen to their Sunday sermon messages) I concluded that when that type priest gets to purgatory, he will be constrained to listen repeatedly to his sermons until he final believes them.