1. God's infinite mercy and forgiveness are shown in the woman's love for the girl. If we sin and repent to God, he will always grant us forgiveness and we will start anew. This correlates to the woman's interaction with the girl. The girl has sinned in the eyes of society (and God) but she is repentant to the woman. She genuinely feels remorse for her actions and promises to be a good girl. The woman unquestioningly acknowledges this and trusts that the girl will learn with time.
2. The woman means that she saved him from sin and Satan. She did this through baptism. By baptizing him in his very few seconds of life, she gave him new life in God. The child received the holy spirit because of her. This action saved him from our world and the original sin associated with being born into it. If he had not been baptized, he would not have had the time or ability to commit any sins, true, but he would be tainted with original sin as all humans are. He would not have been truly one of the Lord's.
3. The purpose of the description is to show the woman's grace. The author has her praying the rosary, referring to the sun as holy fire, thinking of her family before herself, and modestly deflecting a "thank you" for her child saving abilities. She is proved a devout, god-fearing, unselfish, and graceful woman by this description. The purpose of this section is to develop her character and provide an example of a true Christian to the reader: a dutiful, intelligent woman that supports her beliefs by her actions, both small and large.
P.S. - I think this story also says something about marriage - she clearly feels little to no love for her husband, only referring to the man as "himself", but yet she is still married to him, likely because she respects the sacrament andS institution of marriage.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Gifts of the Holy Spirit
1
I see the gifts of the Holy Spirit acting in my life as I gradually develop faithful habits and shed the routine of the secular world. I am beginning to recognize the presence of God through these habits. For example, I have begun trying to see Him in the people I don't like. A few years ago, I couldn't have imagined thinking this way. I would only focus on the bad qualities I saw in that person, and I wouldn't even stop to think that I was insulting God by doing so. While I do not always think to do this, when I do, it is evidence of the gifts of piety and understanding acting in my life.
I also notice Fear of God in my life now as I never did before. I feel genuine remorse when I recognize that I have sinned because I now understand the implications of such a thing. The remorse is greatest when I only recognize a sin once it is brought to my attention by somebody else, and I would never have noticed it on my own. Because of this new fear of sin, I am more aware of my habitual sins, like telling small, insignificant lies or flaunting my mom. I think this is the work of the Holy Spirit, slowly bringing my closer to God by making me aware of my sins and helping me to stop committing them.
2
I need wisdom the most. In my young age, I often make rash decisions for a number of reasons. Some include hormones, peer pressure, simple secular desires, stress, the list goes on. I need to learn to take a second, often. I need to take this second and think about the moral and spiritual implications of the impending action, and whether they are in line with my beliefs. I also need help looking deeper into my long term actions. I have no idea whether this thing I feel for that girl is a healthy love or mere affection or even sinful desire.
Speaking of sinful desire, wisdom would help me repress the desires of the flesh that are so hard to resist at the hormonal age. Wisdom would let me separate what vices are truly sinful and what vices are just frowned upon by this world's society. Not that any vices are good, really... but, moving on. Essentially, wisdom would give me the ability to shape my life in the right direction. The key there is "in the right direction". There are other gifts that give the ability to shape one's life (counsel), but wisdom confers instead the sureness of the right direction. I need that.
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Chuck Norstadt became more certain of Mr. McCloud's identity by spending time with the man and sharing experiences with him. Two scenes in particular prove this point. The first one is the scene in which Chuck and McCloud are acting out the play and, upon being told to go home, Chuck says he wants to stay and finish the play. The second one is the scene in which Chuck finds out the truth about his father and runs to McCloud's house to cry in his arms.
The first scene, mentioned above, shows how shared experiences strengthen Chuck's sureness of McCloud's identity because it is the first time that Chuck not only shows a fondness for learning, but also a fondness of McCloud. Prior to that moment, Chuck had only really been coming to see McCloud so that he could learn enough to pass the entrance exam, it seemed. Also, most of their interaction had been in the form of teacher-to-pupil discourse. The first time that barrier falls and they share an experience in which they are nearer to equals, Chuck begins to seem more comfortable with his teacher, and wants to return from that point on. I do not mean to suggest that this one moment was the only factor that caused Chuck to start liking Mr. McCloud, but rather that it was experiences like these that did so.
Another such moment was the second scene mentioned; this one is an experience of greater magnitude and importance than the acting of the play because it is a personal and life-changing discovery for Chuck. First, Chuck's decision to turn to McCloud in this time of need speaks to how much Chuck had already overcome his fears and doubts and preconceived notions about his tutor. The aftermath of this experience is more important, however. The next morning, Chuck attempts to resist the orders of the police officer that wants to take the boy home. Later that day, Chuck tells his mother that McCloud is his best friend. Clearly, that night has caused Chuck to grow closer and more sure of McCloud's identity.
However, the end of the movie throws a cog in the gears. Chuck learns from his mother that McCloud is supposed to have molested the boy that was killed in the car accident. This questions all of the things Chuck thought he learned about McCloud. Chuck is so disturbed that he steals the family car and drives to McCloud's house to ask him if he molested the boy. But, McCloud does not give Chuck the answer outright. He asks Chuck to think and to call upon all that Chack had learned about McCloud through their shared experiences, and to draw his own conclusion. Because of the plethora of those experiences they went through together, Chuck is sure that McCloud did not molest the boy. This is the ultimate evidence of the effect that their time together had on Chuck's confidence in McCloud's character, and one of the major themes of the movie.
The first scene, mentioned above, shows how shared experiences strengthen Chuck's sureness of McCloud's identity because it is the first time that Chuck not only shows a fondness for learning, but also a fondness of McCloud. Prior to that moment, Chuck had only really been coming to see McCloud so that he could learn enough to pass the entrance exam, it seemed. Also, most of their interaction had been in the form of teacher-to-pupil discourse. The first time that barrier falls and they share an experience in which they are nearer to equals, Chuck begins to seem more comfortable with his teacher, and wants to return from that point on. I do not mean to suggest that this one moment was the only factor that caused Chuck to start liking Mr. McCloud, but rather that it was experiences like these that did so.
Another such moment was the second scene mentioned; this one is an experience of greater magnitude and importance than the acting of the play because it is a personal and life-changing discovery for Chuck. First, Chuck's decision to turn to McCloud in this time of need speaks to how much Chuck had already overcome his fears and doubts and preconceived notions about his tutor. The aftermath of this experience is more important, however. The next morning, Chuck attempts to resist the orders of the police officer that wants to take the boy home. Later that day, Chuck tells his mother that McCloud is his best friend. Clearly, that night has caused Chuck to grow closer and more sure of McCloud's identity.
However, the end of the movie throws a cog in the gears. Chuck learns from his mother that McCloud is supposed to have molested the boy that was killed in the car accident. This questions all of the things Chuck thought he learned about McCloud. Chuck is so disturbed that he steals the family car and drives to McCloud's house to ask him if he molested the boy. But, McCloud does not give Chuck the answer outright. He asks Chuck to think and to call upon all that Chack had learned about McCloud through their shared experiences, and to draw his own conclusion. Because of the plethora of those experiences they went through together, Chuck is sure that McCloud did not molest the boy. This is the ultimate evidence of the effect that their time together had on Chuck's confidence in McCloud's character, and one of the major themes of the movie.
The Bible is a Sacramental
The Bible is sacramental: it represents the truths of God (symbolizes them). For example, the brazen serpent is a symbol of Jesus. If you look at the poisonless serpent, you are cured of the venom. If you look at the sinless man, you are cured of sin. This comes to us as a great mystery: we cannot understand how God was contained in a man. Like Christ, the sacraments are signs of God and our salvation. They work for us because as men, we need material signs of Him.
A Divine Sense of Humor
A sense of humor means one can see through things. Since sacraments are symbols, one must be able to see through them in order to grasp their divine meaning. Our age has lost this sense of humor. We no longer see reality as a sacrament of Him. We must always realize that we are seeing the Divine Image in one another. We must be careful not to go too far with this however. God and his creations must be kept separate. At the same time, we cannot separate ourselves from Him. We must realize that the universe is a sign or indication of God.
Seven Conditions of Life
Regular Life/Divine Life
-One must be born/Baptism
-He must nourish himself/Eucharist
-He must mature/Confirmation
-He must have his wounds healed/Penance
-He must have his diseases cured/Anointing of the Sick
-He must live under government and justice/Holy Orders
-He is called to propagate the human species/Matrimony
The Power and Efficacy of the Sacraments
The sacraments get their power and efficacy from the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of our Lord. These three things all center around his blood being shed. The sacraments get their power from this bloodshed because blood symbolizes the purification of sin, the sacrifice Christ performed for us, and infinite value of his sinless life. We will be saved by the Blood of Christ.
The Application of the Sacraments
The sacraments are the pipelines that connect us to the reservoir of grace that is Christ. The application of this grace can have all kinds of different results depending on when it acts on one's life. The effect of the grace will also vary based on the spiritual state and maturity of the one receiving it.
What the Sacraments Bring to Man
The Sacraments make a higher life, or grace, accessible to man. This higher life is a free gift of God, and grants an inner peace and provides infinite love that cannot be found in the pleasures of the flesh or intellectually. We must open ourselves to God in order to receive this gift. Also, the Sacraments help us to do this by making Jesus present for us. Interacting with the sacraments is the same as interacting with Jesus as if he were alive.
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