Kirjahaku

He was formed by the Holy Ghost in the Virgin Mother's womb. How do we contemplate so pro-found a Mystery, which we are before? This silent Mystery we are before, the Eternal Word of God can be understood from the reflection of one of the First Century Bishops: Eph. 19.1 (AF-E) if Now the virginity of Mary and her giving birth were hidden from the ruler of this age, as was also the death of the Lord-three mysteries to be loudly proclaimed, yet which were accom-plished in the silence of God. Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Ephesians, 19:2] Here St. Ignatius does three things. First, he outlines the profound Mystery of the Word of God when he says, 'the virginity of Mary.' This Mystery of faith from the first century of the Church has relevance for us when we come before the Blessed Eucharist. Secondly, he indicates that not only was Mary a Virgin, but also that it was a great Mystery to the early Christians that 'her giving birth, ' to the Son of God, was deemed a miracle of God. One early poet named Sedulius praised the Virgin Birth in what has become a famous hymn to Christ:

The psalmist ask this question because he is awe-struck at the incredulity of these people who raise themselves up against the Lord of glory. He doesn't refer to one person but a nation of protesters. Is it possible that so many people could try to find fault against God? Yet, many people think that if there are enough people who turn against God, then God will change, but that is a fantasy. See how many have turned against God since the beginning of human history, even since the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Has God changed? No See how many have left the Church and started so many denominations, causing disunity in the One Church of God. Has God changed? No Why do they protest? They protest because they do not have the faith to see that God is Love and that unless he were love, neither could they protest nor exist. By their existence he shows his power, by allowing them to protest he shows his mercy and patience.

A Life Experience The initial experience of this love of God, which I had not thought too much about came from one initial experience when I was about ten years old. I was a baseball pitcher then and living in my hometown of Lake Arthur, La. I was attending the public school and used to spend a lot of my free time in my hometown park. One day as I was walking along inside the park I had what has come to be my own "mystical experience." What was so wonderful about this experience was I was experiencing this within throwing distance 1] of Our Lady of the Lake, my hometown Catholic Parish, where I was baptized, confirmed and received my first communion. I'll give you just a little background to my experience and how God had prepared me for it. My parents raised all of my family Catholic. I had five Sisters and two Brothers. We attended Catechism at St. Maria Goretti Catholic School, but at the time I was still attending Lake Arthur High and about to make the transition to Junior High School. I didn't consider myself a loner, since I had plenty of friends, but I was searching for meaning in my life other than the usual thrills a kid my age had as a teenager. My Mother would always tell me "God has a plan for you." I heard this enough times and still believe it today, but at the time I had this experience I'll tell you about I was wondering what it all meant. My Mother was the sweetest and kindest person with a great faith and someone I learned to love and trust deeply despite all the teenage hurts and difficulties I was going thru at the time. Another element that helped me to accept the experience I'm about to tell you is that my Mother often told me when passing in front of the Church at Our Lady of the Lake that God was present there. I understood that to mean God being present in his Church as well as present in his sacraments, as baptism and the Eucharist. I had already made my first communion and confirmation at the time. 1] I say throwing distance, since the only thing that separated me from Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church was the baseball field and a parking lot across the street.

Prayer to Mary Mary, you are beautiful. You are ever brilliant in "proclaiming the greatness of the Lord." Who could fathom the incomprehensible nature of God in the womb of your heart? Your Immaculate heart gave its "Yes" to the Father's will and the "overshadowing of the Holy Spirit " (Lk. 1:26-38) You are filled with the light of God. I profess that Jesus Christ 1] is "God from God" and "Light from Light," (Nicene Creed) I also profess and make my confession of faith in your "let it be done to me as you say," which surrendered your virginal womb and Immaculate heart to the "Word" (Jn. 1:1) who was "made flesh" (Jn. 1:13) in your womb. You are the daughter of the eternal Father, the Mother of His Son, and the Spouse of the Holy Spirit. You are beautifully created to be the highest honor of the human race and the dwelling place of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. Dear Mother, you are greatly to be loved because he who is within you is "greatly to be praised." (Ps. 145:3) The Beauty of the Word In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (Jn. 1:1) And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father's only Son, full of grace and truth. (Jn. 1:14) The beauty of the Word was united with the beauty of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and Beauty Himself was "made flesh." In the beginning was unrevealed beauty and the Word was the Beauty of the Father. He revealed to us "he who sees me sees the Father;" the consubstantial Word of the Father was made flesh and we "saw his glory" (Jn.1:14), which was "full of grace and truth." But the incomprehensible glory of the Father cannot be seen, even in heaven it is concealed from the Saints in glory. However, Mary who was a perfect reflection of the grace given to the human race gave birth to the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ. 1] God could have chosen another way to manifest himself to the world, but he chose Mary to be his chosen temple.

A Form of Communication All stories are a form of communication that expresses the dramatic code.(Truby, 5) John Truby says that the story is a form of communication and that its purpose is to express what is called the "dramatic code." This code of the human drama is man's desire for fulfillment and accomplishing his journey. Man's journey comes at a price since he begins this journey with certain expectations and resourcefulness, but as he continues along his journey, he finds he lacks either a clear goal or sufficient tools to accomplish the goals he wants to achieve. Human beings can accomplish his desires in purely abstract form or one closer to the material world. The former brings to mind the many accomplishments of people who work in the theoretical world, while others pursue more practical goals of creating new inventions or designing new laws and legislature. Regardless of what field of action a person lives out his life, speculative and theoretical or technology and business, his goals are often offset by difficulties and setbacks. The dramatic code is those habits of mind and heart that keep a person on the right track of his goal, while working out the ways in which he can overcome his difficulties. Searching for Accomplishment In his search for the accomplishment of his sought after goal, a man may become disheartened and fearful of failure or setbacks. He searches for others who can show him the way. He needs teachers and instructors. Ultimately, a person must find his own true wisdom to flesh out his own dreams of success. At any and eery point along the way he may encounter failure or roadblocks. After he finds guidance and instruction, he faces one last challenge to accomplish his goal and that is himself. While his environment and people whom he encounters can cause trouble and hardship for the hero seeking to bring a resolution to his story, there is no greater challenge to overcome than his own fears or inability to move closer towards the goal. Often the structure of the story brings about the awakening of the hero's dilemma he needs to face; that is, something inside the hero must change before he can overcome his adversary. Whether it is fear, cowardice, laziness or stupidity, every kind of vice man is capable of may come between himself and his goal. The main drama is an interior transformation of his own weaknesses and desires. Inner transformation is a large part of the dramatic code. Inner transformation and change encompass both the interior battle as well as the exterior confrontations a person seeking his true self must encounter. I believe that this is an alignment process of interior and exterior values. These values may be ethical, moral, psychological and spiritual. These personal values form a web of interrelationships with one another and form a personal web of meaning.