Curveballs, Fire, and Critique

I am copying Meryl's blog format for this post.  You will find below three sections.  1) My life, 2) A reflection on Purgatory, and 3) Something controversial.

SECTION ONE: Baseball on the mind...?

God likes to throw odd pitches to me at very strategic times, I've noticed.  Maybe He thinks I'm a good hitter and wants to challenge me...maybe it's a warning to say I should look out...maybe it's a test...maybe it's just Him laughing at me.  I don't know.  Sometimes He throws a curveball and I don't anticipate it (or know how to swing!), and sometimes He'll throw a slider and I'll basically run into the ground.  Whatever it is, it means that He's telling me something.  Oh, that I had ears to hear!

I got a pitch thrown at me recently, and it's in slow motion, so I'm not even sure if it IS a curveball.  All I know is that God is true to His word.  He told me that He has my life worked out for me.  So I guess I should stop worrying about the pitch and let Him tell me whether or not to swing instead of analyzing it from a thousand different angles.  Cooperation is the key.

SECTION TWO: A little more serious.

In dealing with frustrating situations, knowing that cooperation with God's grace and the situations in which I find myself can be directed toward a greater End: the greater glory of God and the salvation of my soul and of those souls around me.  It's important to remember that every action, every thought, every inclination, will be examined on the day of Judgment.  Everything will lead us further from Christ or closer to Him.  And we'll have to give an account of everything...EVERYTHING...at the end of our lives.  Modern society likes to tell us that there are no consequences, no rules, and nothing to worry about during life, and that there's nothing awaiting us after we die.  The Church knows something different...consequences are real, rules effectively gives us freedom rather than slavery, and that, after we pass from this fleeting life...there is Heaven or Hell forever.

This morning, Canon Jean-Marie Moreau, ICKSP, gave a homily that was nothing short of shocking.  It's the month of November (in your charity, please stop reading and say a prayer for the poor souls in Purgatory.  Pater Noster...Ave Maria...Gloria Patri...), so Father preached on the reality of Purgatory.  He said that the fire we know here on earth is a fire that was created for our convenience: cooking, heating, purifying, etc.  The fires in Purgatory are the same as the fires in Hell.  They were created for our inconvenience, for punishment.  The souls in Purgatory yearn to be relieved of their suffering and to be united with God. They can no longer help themselves while they are in Purgatory.  They rely on OUR prayers.

SECTION THREE: Some of you may not like this....

...but I've been reading Alice von Hildebrand's critique on Christopher West's take on A Theology of the Body, the popular work by Pope John Paul II on the meaning of human sexuality and love, and its relation to the Divine Persons.  Having read both the TOB (for a class at Ave Maria) and Alice von Hildebrand's critique, I very much recommend it to you.  The reason I bring this up at all is because I've gotten a few emails from an FSSP priest with various different resources on thoughts of the TOB.  (Side Note: He highly recommends reading St. Teresa of Avila's Interior Castle or St. Francis de Sales' Introduction to the Devout Life instead.  I must agree with him; trying to explore such mysteries without careful thought, great wisdom, and constant guidance is very dangerous.  Spiritual reading by the Doctors of the Church and the mystics is more edifying, tried-and-true, and conducive to salvation.)  However, if you are a TOB fan (or not!), you may find Mrs. von Hildebrand's reflections to be thought-provoking and beneficial to your own understanding.  You can find the link here.