Enter Amazon here, buy something, and get me a kickback.
"The Daily Eudemon is the sort of thing
that Chesterton or Mencken would be doing, if they were
alive today. It's what, in saner times, was called journalism.
In the writing and in the reading, it's exactly the sort
of leisure we should want at the basis of culture."
Mike
Aquilina, Author of The Fathers of the Church
and TV Talk Show Host.
"Literate
Catholicism-urbane, witty, engaged-is alive and well!
If you can read, you should be reading The Daily Eudemon!"
David
Scott, author of A Revolution of Love: The Meaning
of Mother Teresa
"If
you like your blogs pithy, nimble, pointed, high-spirited,
and waggish, then bookmmark Eric Scheske's The Daily
Eudemon. Ooops! You want prolixity, density, meandering,
dull, and sober? Then run (do not walk!) to the blogs
of the major news outlets. They have just what you want.
Honestly they do." John
Peterson, Editor, G.K. Chesterton: Collected Works,
Volumes 12 and 13.
"Eric
Scheske's web site is full of information and insight.
Always worth a read." James
V. Schall, Author of Another Sort of Learning.
"Eric
Scheske has one of the few indispensable sites in an overcrowded
blogosphere." Thomas E. Woods, Jr., Ph.D.,
New York Times Bestselling Author and Author
of How
the Catholic Church Built Western Civilization.
Advent is a penitential season. It doesn't get nearly the respect Lent does in this regard, but I try to do something. This year, I resolved to read all the daily entries in Francis Fernandez' meditation series, In Conversation with God.
It didn't go well. The book is great, but I'm not. Between sickness and a blitz at the office, I fell five days behind last week. On Saturday, I started reading Tuesday's entries and caught up by Sunday evening. It has a lot of great stuff. I figured, "Maybe others have struggled this Christmas, too. Maybe a 'best of' Frankie F.' would help get them ready for Our Savior's birth." So as I read last weekend, I typed in a few good passages as I came across them:
"Once again we must want a new conversion--that turning towards God just before Christmas."
"When you love someone, you want to know all about his life and character, so as to become like him. That is why we have to meditate on the life of Jesus, from his birth in a stable right up to his death and resurrection."
"It was the simplicity of [the shepherds] that would enable them to see the Child who had been announced to them. It enables them to surrender themselves to Him and adore Him. . . . Without humility and purity of heart it is impossible to recognize him, although he may be very close."
The "Church invites us to pray: Almighty and merciful God, grant that the anxieties of this life may not impede us as we hasten to meet your Son." (Quoting the Collect of the Mass for the Second Sunday of Advent.)
"Watch. . . [W]e men tend towards drowsiness and comfort-seeking. We cannot allow our hearts to become dulled with gluttony and drunkenness, and the cares of this life." (Quoting 1 Thessalonians)
"Our vigilance has to be in the little things that fill up our day."
"It would be sad if our life was like a great avenue of wasted opportunities. [It] could happen through letting negligence, laziness, comfort-seeking, selfishness and a lack of love creep into us."
December 23rd, 2008 at 11:38 am
This is a very sweet post, and I understand your devotion to our dear Savior.
I Sometimes have anxiety over not knowing enough about him, or about Catholicism, but then I think about how it is to be with our spouses whom we love, sometimes just lying next to them quietly is enough. Just being in their presence is enough. No one even needs to speak. It’s so peaceful , and joyous to be with the ones that we love. Sometimes that’s the best that I can do, with Jesus too, and it’s good enough -at least for the moment. I might get an eternity to learn all about Jesus, but for now I am content with thinking about his love for me ,and my love for him. I have 8 kids ,and I can’t do much more than that.
I am not going to stress over what I am not able to read, or about the things that I fail to understand anymore, Jesus pick up my slack ,and he gives me direction, and understanding.What I don’t know isn’t going to matter in heaven. When I stress over these things then I am distracted from Christ, besides when you “go with the flow”, and follow Christ, he may want you to feed the poor instead of reading about how St.Francis fed the poor. Sometimes our idea of what Christ wants from us isn’t really what he intended from us at all.
I would bet that kissing your child ,and telling them about how dear they are to Jesus , and to you is more important to him than you knowing what his favorite food is.
This note from me was not intended to be any sort of a “correction” to you. I would not have the nerve to write such a thing, but it was intended to be a comfort to you for when your stressing about your failings. Or for what you perceive your failings to be.
BTW. Has anyone told you lately how very much Jesus loves you ,and how he aches for, and longs for your return- to himself, and for you to be united with him for an eternity. How cool is that!!
I remember your family photo, and they are all so beautiful. God bless your wonderful family ,and especially during this most Holy season.
December 24th, 2008 at 6:51 am
Thank you. Merry Christmas.
December 24th, 2008 at 9:00 pm
Dear Eric,Please delete my looong comment. I am such a dork ,and it’s embarrassing. Thanks!
I am having bloggers remorse.