Canon Law

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mary [2018/08/15 06:57] – [Presence - Truly our Sister] amycsjmary [2018/08/17 17:10] – [Part Four - Mystic and Prophet] amycsj
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   - To assess challenges to Marian doctrine and pastoral praxis   - To assess challenges to Marian doctrine and pastoral praxis
   - To hear again the words of Mary in the scriptures   - To hear again the words of Mary in the scriptures
-  - To discover Mary as mystic and prophet+  - To discover Mary as truly, our sister, and as mystic and prophet
  
 ----- -----
  
 =====Part One - Mary in the Church===== =====Part One - Mary in the Church=====
-Historical Mary?+Historical Mary? - A first century Jewish woman living a hard-scrabble life in a land violently occupied by a foreign power.
   * First-century    * First-century 
     * Fog of historical past     * Fog of historical past
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 {{ :theotokos2.jpg?200  |}} {{ :theotokos2.jpg?200  |}}
   * Mary as our mother   * Mary as our mother
-    * Ancient cultural meaniing of intercession forms theology+    * Ancient cultural meaning of intercession forms theology
     * Perpetually available to do children's bidding -      * Perpetually available to do children's bidding - 
     * Virgin and Mother - defined by feminine passivity.     * Virgin and Mother - defined by feminine passivity.
  
-  Jan 1 -  +Jan 1 -  
-  O God, who through the fruitful virginity of Blessed Mary +  O God, who through the fruitful virginity of Blessed Mary 
-  bestowed on the human race +  bestowed on the human race 
-  the grace of eternal salvation +  the grace of eternal salvation 
-  grant, we pray,  +  grant, we pray,  
-  that we may experience the intercession of her, +  that we may experience the intercession of her, 
-  to receive the author of life, +  to receive the author of life, 
-  our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son. +  our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son. 
-  Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit +  Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit 
-  one God, for ever and ever.+  one God, for ever and ever.
  
 ----- -----
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     * The Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.     * The Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.
  
-  Aug 15 - Assumption +Aug 15 - Assumption 
-  O God, who, looking on the lowliness of the Blessed Virgin Mary, +  O God, who, looking on the lowliness of the Blessed Virgin Mary, 
-  raised her to this grace, +  raised her to this grace, 
-  that your Only Betonnen Son was born of her according to the flesh +  that your Only Betonnen Son was born of her according to the flesh 
-  and that she was crowned this day with surpassing glory, +  and that she was crowned this day with surpassing glory, 
-  grant through her prayers,  +  grant through her prayers,  
-  that, saved by the mystery of your redemption, +  that, saved by the mystery of your redemption, 
-  we may merit to be exalted by you on high. +  we may merit to be exalted by you on high. 
-  Through our Lord Jesus Christ, you Son, +  Through our Lord Jesus Christ, you Son, 
-  who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit +  who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit 
-  one God, for ever and ever.  +  one God, for ever and ever.  
  
  
 ----- -----
  
-===Immaculate Conception of Mary - Dec 9===+===Immaculate Conception of Mary - Dec 8===
   * Defined in 1854 - four years before the apparitions at Lourdes   * Defined in 1854 - four years before the apparitions at Lourdes
     * Original Sin:      * Original Sin: 
       * Original Blessing / Created in the image of God       * Original Blessing / Created in the image of God
       * Deeply compromised, conflicted, weakened       * Deeply compromised, conflicted, weakened
-    * Gen 1:27 God created mankind in __God's own image__, in the image of God-self God created them; male and female God created them.+    * Gen 1:27 God created humanity in __God's own image__, in the image of God-self God created them; male and female God created them.
     * Gen 2:25: Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.     * Gen 2:25: Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.
     * Gen 3     * Gen 3
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   * Reform Churches see this as without scriptural basis, negating the saving power of Christ and flying in the face of modern scientific understanding.    * Reform Churches see this as without scriptural basis, negating the saving power of Christ and flying in the face of modern scientific understanding. 
  
-  December 8 +December 8 
-  Oh God, who by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin +  Oh God, who by the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin 
-  prepared a worthy dwelling for your Son, +  prepared a worthy dwelling for your Son, 
-  grant, we pray, +  grant, we pray, 
-  that, as you preserved her from every stain +  that, as you preserved her from every stain 
-  by virtue of the Death of your son, which you foresaw +  by virtue of the Death of your son, which you foresaw 
-  so, through her intercession, +  so, through her intercession, 
-  we, too, may be cleansed and admitted to your presence. +  we, too, may be cleansed and admitted to your presence. 
-  Through our Lord Jesus Christ, you Son, +  Through our Lord Jesus Christ, you Son, 
-  who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit +  who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit 
-  one God, for ever and ever.  +  one God, for ever and ever.  
  
  
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 ===Perpetual Virginity of Mary=== ===Perpetual Virginity of Mary===
-  * From the early ecumenical councils+  * From the early christian writers and ecumenical councils - Constantinople 553
   * Strong liturgical evidence "Blessed Ever-Virgin Mary"   * Strong liturgical evidence "Blessed Ever-Virgin Mary"
   * Mary was virgin before, during and after the birth of Jesus   * Mary was virgin before, during and after the birth of Jesus
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   * Jesus brothers, cousins, half-brothers.... and the extended family unit   * Jesus brothers, cousins, half-brothers.... and the extended family unit
   * "Behold thy son."   * "Behold thy son."
 +  * Submission? or Strength?
  
 ----- -----
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 ----- -----
  
-====Mary in Ecumenism====+z====Mary in Ecumenism====
 Eastern Christianity Eastern Christianity
   * Christo-centric Mariology   * Christo-centric Mariology
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   * Liturgical - integrated   * Liturgical - integrated
   * Symbolic - of the mystic and prophetic call.   * Symbolic - of the mystic and prophetic call.
 +
 +{{ :iconostasis.jpg?direct&400 |}}
     * [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/04_%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%BE%D1%81_1.oggvorbis.ogg|Akathist]]     * [[https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/04_%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%BE%D1%81_1.oggvorbis.ogg|Akathist]]
     * Rejoice, O you through whom joy will shine forth;     * Rejoice, O you through whom joy will shine forth;
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 Reform Christianity Reform Christianity
   * Most reformers hold to Ecumenical Councils   * Most reformers hold to Ecumenical Councils
-  * Theotokos+  * Theotokos / Ever-virgin
   * Christological Mariology   * Christological Mariology
  
 ----- -----
 +
 +
  
 ====Mary in Anthropology==== ====Mary in Anthropology====
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       * Interpret Fiat as divine/human rather than male/female       * Interpret Fiat as divine/human rather than male/female
       * Full humanity of women:       * Full humanity of women:
- * Justice +  * Justice 
- * Sustainable Human Development +    * Sustainable Human Development 
- * Women's rights are Human Rights +    * Women's rights are Human Rights 
- * We as a church are in process, evolution +    * We as a church are in process, evolution 
- * Full dignity of women +    * Full dignity of women 
- * There is no Jew or Greek, Slave or Free, Male or Female+    * There is no Jew or Greek, Slave or Free, Male or Female
   * Call to responsible discipleship for all   * Call to responsible discipleship for all
-  * Evolutionary world - responsible co-evolution +    * Evolutionary world - responsible co-evolution 
-  * Scientific world-view +    * Scientific world-view 
-  * Deconstruct hierarchies +    * Deconstruct hierarchy and privilege 
-  * Social responsibilities+    * Social responsibilities
  
 ----- -----
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 ====Inkblot==== ====Inkblot====
  
-{{ :1533-rorschach-ink-blots-2009_04_12.jpg?400  |}} +{{ :1533-rorschach-ink-blots-2009_04_12.jpg?200|}} 
  
 Migrate feminine images back to God. Migrate feminine images back to God.
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 ----- -----
 +=== Parable of the Trapeze by Danaan Parry ===
 +{{ :trapeze.png?200|}}
 +Sometimes I feel that my life is a series of trapeze swings. 
 +I'm either hanging on to a trapeze bar swinging along or, for a few moments in my life, I'm hurtling across space in between trapeze bars.
 +
 +Most of the time, I spend my life hanging on for dear life to my trapeze-bar-of-the-moment. 
 +It carries me along at a certain steady rate of swing and I have the feeling that I'm in control of my life.
 +
 +I know most of the right questions and even some of the answers.
 +
 +But every once in a while as I'm merrily (or even not-so-merrily) swinging along, I look out ahead of me into the distance and what do I see? I see another trapeze bar swinging toward me. 
 +It's empty and I know, in that place in me that knows, that this new trapeze bar has my name on it. 
 +It is my next step, my growth, my aliveness coming to get me. In my heart of hearts I know that, for me to grow, I must release my grip on this present, well-known bar and move to the new one.
 +
 +Each time it happens to me I hope (no, I pray) that I won't have to let go of my old bar completely before I grab the new one. 
 +But in my knowing place, I know that I must totally release my grasp on my old bar and, for some moment in time, I must hurtle across space before I can grab onto the new bar.
 +
 +Each time, I am filled with terror. 
 +It doesn't matter that in all my previous hurtles across the void of unknowing I have always made it. 
 +I am each time afraid that I will miss, that I will be crushed on unseen rocks in the bottomless chasm between bars. 
 +I do it anyway. Perhaps this is the essence of what the mystics call the faith experience. 
 +No guarantees, no net, no insurance policy, but you do it anyway because somehow to keep hanging on to that old bar is no longer on the list of alternatives. So, for an eternity that can last a microsecond or a thousand lifetimes, I soar across the dark void of "the past is gone, the future is not yet here."
 +
 +It's called "transition." 
 +I have come to believe that this transition is the only place that real change occurs. 
 +I mean real change, not the pseudo-change that only lasts until the next time my old buttons get punched.
 +
 +I have noticed that, in our culture, this transition zone is looked upon as a "no-thing," a noplace between places. Sure, the old trapeze bar was real, and that new one coming toward me, I hope that's real, too. 
 +But the void in between? Is that just a scary, confusing, disorienting nowhere that must be gotten through as fast and as unconsciously as possible?
 +
 +NO! What a wasted opportunity that would be. 
 +I have a sneaking suspicion that the transition zone is the only real thing and the bars are illusions we dream up to avoid the void where the real change, the real growth, occurs for us. 
 +Whether or not my hunch is true, it remains that the transition zones in our lives are incredibly rich places. 
 +They should be honored, even savored. Yes, with all the pain and fear and feelings of being out of control that can (but not necessarily) accompany transitions, they are still the most alive, most growth-filled, passionate, expansive moments in our lives.
 +
 +We cannot discover new oceans unless we have the courage to lose sight of the shore.
 +
 +So, transformation of fear may have nothing to do with making fear go away, but rather with giving ourselves permission to "hang out" in the transition between trapezes. 
 +Transforming our need to grab that new bar, any bar, is allowing ourselves to dwell in the only place where change really happens. 
 +It can be terrifying. It can also be enlightening in the true sense of the word. 
 +Hurtling through the void, we just may learn how to fly. 
  
  
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 Jesus Christ the Apple Tree.  Jesus Christ the Apple Tree. 
 Jesus as tree of life. Jesus as tree of life.
 +
 +=== To a Snowflake ===
 +by Francis Thompson
 +[[https://youtu.be/MCA2VmDVzEo|snowflake formation]] [[http://www.union-bankrc.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/charming-pics-of-snowflakes-5-i0113a331a-paper-crafts.jpg|snowflake]]
 +
 +  * What heart could have thought you? --
 +  * Past our devisal
 +  * (O filigree petal!)
 +  * Fashioned so purely,
 +  * Fragilely, surely,
 +  * From what Paradisal
 +  * Imagineless metal,
 +  * Too costly for cost?
 +  * Who hammered you, wrought you,
 +  * From argentine vapor? -- 
 +  * "God was my shaper.
 +  * Passing surmisal,
 +  * He hammered, He wrought me,
 +  * From curled silver vapor,
 +  * To lust of His mind --
 +  * Thou could'st not have thought me!
 +  * So purely, so palely,
 +  * Tinily, surely,
 +  * Mightily, frailly,
 +  * Insculped and embossed,
 +  * With His hammer of wind,
 +  * And His graver of frost." 
 ----- -----
 =====Part Four - Mystic and Prophet===== =====Part Four - Mystic and Prophet=====
 +
 +  * In the Christian tradition, women as virgins, martyrs and mystics can gain personal autonomy and authority.
 +  * Mary is a Virgin in this tradition. 
 +  * She is also an archetype of Christian discipleship, mysticism and prophecy. 
 +  * Medieval women mystics developed a distinctive theology of Mary.
 +    * Mary is first disciple.
 +    * Mary is companion of disciples.
 +    * Mary is archetype of the spiritual life.
 +  * Mystical writers have often been objects of suspicion and persecution by church authorities
 +    * Even Satan can be disguised as an angel of light
 +    * Yet there are still angels of light. 
 +    * Attributing mystical experience to Mary is 'safe.'
 +    * Yet it risks confining the experience to Mary.
 +  * Three-fold way - Mysticism
 +    * Love God with a free heart, letting go of whatever is lesser or gets in the way.
 +    * Inward silence, empty and free from images of all things which they ever saw or of which they ever heard.
 +    * Loving adherence to God.
 +      * The beloved has fallen into the lover in mutual surrender.
 +      * The spirit immerses itself, and knows not how, nor where, nor in what it is. Self-annihilation
 +      * Spirit beholds a Darkness beyond reason, dead and lost to self, one with God without difference and without distinction. And when it feels itself one with God, then God alone is its peace and its enjoyment and its rest.
 +  * Prophecy - One is sent down by God from these heights into the world is full of truth and rich in all virtues. And they seek not their own but the glory of God Who has sent them. They must always spend themselves on those who have need of them; for the living fount of the Holy Spirit, which is their wealth, can never be spent. 
 +
 +==== Hildegard of Bingen ====
 +
 +O Viridissima Virga (O Greenest Rod)
 +
 +  * O branch of freshest green,
 +  * O hail! Within the windy gusts of saints
 +  * upon a quest you swayed and sprouted forth.
 +  * 
 +  * When it was time, you blossomed in your boughs—
 +  * “Hail, hail!” you heard, for in you seeped the sunlight’s warmth
 +  * like balsam’s sweet perfume.
 +  * 
 +  * For in you bloomed
 +  * so beautiful a flow’r, whose fragrance wakened
 +  * all the spices from their dried-out stupor.
 +  * 
 +  * They all appeared in full viridity.
 +  * 
 +  * Then rained the heavens dew upon the grass
 +  * and all the earth was cheered,
 +  * for from her womb she brought forth fruit
 +  * and for the birds up in the sky
 +  * have nests in her.
 +  * 
 +  * Then was prepared that food for humankind,
 +  * the greatest joy of feasts!
 +  * O Virgin sweet, in you can ne’er fail any joy.
 +  * 
 +  * All this Eve chose to scorn.
 +  * 
 +  * But now, let praise ring forth unto the Highest!
 +===== Trinities =====
 +
 +Created and Uncreated Trinities originate in the French School and are taken up by the first Sisters of St. Joseph.
 +
 ====Uncreated Trinity==== ====Uncreated Trinity====
  
 +Creator - Redeemer - Spirit
 ====Created Trinity==== ====Created Trinity====
  
 +Jesus - Mary - Joseph
 ====Evangelical Trinity==== ====Evangelical Trinity====