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“Remember, O man, that dust thou art, and to dust thou shalt return.”
"Support us, Lord,
as with this Lenten fast
we begin our Christian warfare,
so that in doing battle against the spirit of evil
we may be armed with the weapon of self-denial.
Through Christ our Lord. Amen".
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...and now for the necessaries.
Please note: St. Anthony Catholic Church is one of two local churches celebrating the Traditional Latin Mass (EFLR) in the Wichita area. Though this blog is loosely centered around this parish and it's members, Venite Missa Est! is by no means, in any way an official voice of, or for, St. Anthony Parish or the Diocese of Wichita. Venite Missa Est! is strictly a private layman's endeavor.
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Reflections on Abbot Anderson's "Rugged Road"
Reflections on the Philosopher Pope
Submitted by Larry Bethel
Pope John Paul II continues in his opening to Veritatis splendor with this thought:
But no darkness of error or of sin can totally take away from man the light of God the Creator. In the depths of his heart there always remains a yearning for absolute truth and a thirst to attain full knowledge of it. This is eloquently proved by man's tireless search for knowledge in all fields. It is proved even more by his search for the meaning of life. The development of science and technology, this splendid testimony of the human capacity for understanding and for perseverance, does not free humanity from the obligation to ask the ultimate religious questions. Rather, it spurs us on to face the most painful and decisive of struggles, those of the heart and of the moral conscience.VS §1
Yes, the Abbot's Lenten talks should "spur us on to face the most painful and decisive of struggles, those of the heart and of the moral conscience."
Then in section 2 of the opening of Veritatis splendor, Pope John Paul II returns to the fundamental story about Christ as the new Adam, and we get a new look at Gaudium et spes §22: "Consequently the decisive answer to every one of man's questions, his religious and moral questions in particular, is given by Jesus Christ, or rather is Jesus Christ himself, as the Second Vatican Council recalls: 'In fact,it is only in the mystery of the Word incarnate that light is shed on the mystery of man. For Adam, the first man, was a figure of the future man, namely, of Christ the Lord. It is Christ, the last Adam, who fully discloses man to himself and unfolds his noble calling by revealing the mystery of the Father and the Father's love.'"
I am also appreciative of the Abbot's reference to the universal call to holiness:
One of the key intuitions of the Second Vatican Council, often referred to by the Servant of God Pope John Paul II in his discourses (e.g. Christifideles Laici, numbers 16-17), is that the Catholic faithful are in fact called to this perfection Christ speaks of. In other words, whereas often in the past most people thought of perfection, or “sanctity” or “holiness” (all of these terms covering nearly the same reality) as belonging exclusively to priests and nuns and members of religious orders, this call is truly universal. Just as God calls all human beings to the Christian faith (the Catholic Faith being this Faith in its complete form), so He calls all Christians to be perfect as their Heavenly Father is perfect.
The laity will receive the grace to live according to their state of life. I have found a good passage in the Letter to the Church in America: "On a continent marked by competition and aggressiveness, unbridled consumerism and corruption, lay people are called to embody deeply evangelical values such as mercy, forgiveness, honesty, transparency of heart and patience in difficult situations. What is expected from the laity is a great creative effort in activities and works demonstrating a life in harmony with the Gospel."
It is a rugged road. But the Abbot's closing remarks about Mary as a model and providing a motto are very instructive:
Our Motto is: “Ecce-Fiat” from the Gospel of the Annunciation. Ecce = humility; Fiat = obedience. They both lead to Magnificat at top of mountain, where God is all and God is love and we will be happy and blessed, having climbed the mountain of the Beatitudes and having re-entered the Paradise we lost, once upon a time.
"Ecce-Fiat" should be our watchwords for Lent -- and further up the rugged road.
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Local Artist, St. Anthony Parishioner To Exhibit Work
Paintings by Lynda Beck
Local artist and St. Anthony parishioner Lynda Beck, curator of art (exhibits) to the St Clare Sunshine Room, St. Anthony Catholic Church, Wichita is exhibiting her work Friday March 25th from 7-10 p.m. at The Jones Gallery, 412 S. Commerce Street, Wichita, Ks.
Lynda Beck has exhibited in the Sunshine Room previousely and has been featured in Venite Missa Est!, Post #80: Iconography:The Art of Lynda Beck.
THE JONES GALLERY
412 S Commerce St
FINAL FRIDAY OPENING RECEPTON
Friday March 25, 7-10 PM
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