It seems obvious to me that the tortoise is aware that there is a bunch of merch that says "I just think JD Flynn is a horrible person" and is acting upon that knowledge.
I just checked TeePublic, and while they offer multiple styles of both Male Fit and Female Fit, there is no guidance as to whether there is a Tortoise Fit.
JD, can you please ask your tortoise friend why there are no permanent deacons as official delegates at the synod? Perchance you could ask one of the synodal leaders that question too.
Thanks, JD, for the little meditation on the Cross at the end there. This week has been a rough one for me, with a lot of unsuccessful attempts at readjusting the cross my family is carrying, trying to make it a more manageable load for me personally even though I'm really playing the Simon role on this particular via dolorosa. This quote here:
"That kind of pastoral care doesn’t obscure the Cross, because it usually comes from someone already with the Lord in his agony. It is fraternal — it doesn’t imagine it can take the Cross from anyone, but it knows that Christians help another to bear the weight."
Opened my eyes a bit. Also made some water come out of them. Must be dusty in here.
Back in the 1970's Fulton Sheen invented a word for "fear of the cross": skolophobia. Fear of the Cross is a sign of the demonic. (Christ called Peter "Satan" in public looking at the other disciples because Peter feared the cross for the Lord and took Christ aside privately to dissuade him from the cross.) Sheen relates how at a retreat he gave for priests, one young priest always squirmed when Sheen spoke of the cross. Sheen told the Bishop: "You have a priest who will leave." Sheen pointed out the squirmer. The Bishop said, "Nonsense. He is one of our most talented and promising young priests. I am bringing him into the diocesan office after this retreat." Sheen was right in diagnosing skolophobia and the young priest did leave. Sheen bemoaned the situations where those with skolophobia do not leave and dishonestly attack the church from within.
The fullness of the Holy Spirit not only gives patience under suffering, but also in some cases rejoicing to be found worthy to suffer. Paul and Silas after being scourged and thrown into prison were praying and sang praises unto God. Their crime was freeing a young girl from demonic possession which cost her masters money.
Acts chapter 16
20 - 34 And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans. And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.
I am perfectly happy for the Synod having been a departure episode. I interpret that to mean there will be no significant changes to the Church, particularly in the teachings of sexuality and "modernizing" the Church.
So the turtle's a metaphor for the synod of Bishops? Something small and inconsequential that wouldn't--and up until recently hasn't--been noticed had it not drummed up enough controversy to be noteworthy, and in spite of the angst it generates online it will be quickly forgotten as the world moves on to more important matters?
"At the crux of that dichotomy is a question: Are we afraid of the Cross?"
Yes, this is the fundamental question for Christians. The problem is not one of suffering; indeed, suffering occurs regardless of one's orientation to the Cross.
The problem is whether our suffering is productive, whether our suffering is redemptive. The Cross provides the redemptive path, the "via dolorosa" because suffering redemptively requires embracing the Cross. That said, our suffering has been redeemed by Jesus (cf, Salvifici Dolores), so embracing the Cross allows our suffering to participate in our Redemption.
I believe the reason the Church is losing people is that much of the leadership has abandoned the "via dolorosa", for whatever reason--doesn't matter. At least in the States, there is a dramatic level of suffering going on and people need some hope that their suffering will resolve in a positive way. If the Church is not offering that path then why bother? Jesus is available on the "via dolorosa" if we travel it because He has already redeemed our suffering. However, we if don' t travel the path of the Cross, we cannot receive the benefit of that Redemption--it is the path of our reception.
This is the precise problem of proportionalism (did I get this right)--the idea that our sins are okay because they are the best we can do at the time. We all know that this is not true, that we perpetrate evil through our sins and that this is not good. Claiming and repenting the evil that I have perpetrated is part of the "via dolorosa". The good news is that Jesus opened the way to the way of resurrection through the "via dolorosa", that there is His light at the end of the tunnel of pain and sorrow.
It seems obvious to me that the tortoise is aware that there is a bunch of merch that says "I just think JD Flynn is a horrible person" and is acting upon that knowledge.
Indubitably. No dubia about it. :-)
I just checked TeePublic, and while they offer multiple styles of both Male Fit and Female Fit, there is no guidance as to whether there is a Tortoise Fit.
"Because maybe the real synodality is the tortoises we’ve met along the way?"
Two thumbs up, would subscribe again.
JD, can you please ask your tortoise friend why there are no permanent deacons as official delegates at the synod? Perchance you could ask one of the synodal leaders that question too.
I didn’t know that! That’s a definite omission
Because we're not lay women, and that's what this thing is really about.
Thanks, JD, for the little meditation on the Cross at the end there. This week has been a rough one for me, with a lot of unsuccessful attempts at readjusting the cross my family is carrying, trying to make it a more manageable load for me personally even though I'm really playing the Simon role on this particular via dolorosa. This quote here:
"That kind of pastoral care doesn’t obscure the Cross, because it usually comes from someone already with the Lord in his agony. It is fraternal — it doesn’t imagine it can take the Cross from anyone, but it knows that Christians help another to bear the weight."
Opened my eyes a bit. Also made some water come out of them. Must be dusty in here.
JD is secretly revealing to those of us who are in the know, that the synod is really turtles all the way down...
JD - two words: turtle soup.
Back in the 1970's Fulton Sheen invented a word for "fear of the cross": skolophobia. Fear of the Cross is a sign of the demonic. (Christ called Peter "Satan" in public looking at the other disciples because Peter feared the cross for the Lord and took Christ aside privately to dissuade him from the cross.) Sheen relates how at a retreat he gave for priests, one young priest always squirmed when Sheen spoke of the cross. Sheen told the Bishop: "You have a priest who will leave." Sheen pointed out the squirmer. The Bishop said, "Nonsense. He is one of our most talented and promising young priests. I am bringing him into the diocesan office after this retreat." Sheen was right in diagnosing skolophobia and the young priest did leave. Sheen bemoaned the situations where those with skolophobia do not leave and dishonestly attack the church from within.
The fullness of the Holy Spirit not only gives patience under suffering, but also in some cases rejoicing to be found worthy to suffer. Paul and Silas after being scourged and thrown into prison were praying and sang praises unto God. Their crime was freeing a young girl from demonic possession which cost her masters money.
Acts chapter 16
20 - 34 And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, And teach customs, which are not lawful for us to receive, neither to observe, being Romans. And the multitude rose up together against them: and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and commanded to beat them. And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging the jailor to keep them safely: Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast in the stocks. And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one's bands were loosed. And the keeper of the prison awaking out of his sleep, and seeing the prison doors open, he drew out his sword, and would have killed himself, supposing that the prisoners had been fled. But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here. Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas, And brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.
Where does Sheen talk about this "skolophobia"?
JD, perhaps the tortoise would prefer some of your insalata? I hear they love greens.
I am perfectly happy for the Synod having been a departure episode. I interpret that to mean there will be no significant changes to the Church, particularly in the teachings of sexuality and "modernizing" the Church.
Synod as legislature, its members chosen by the president/pontiff, its findings a sort of lobbying for various possibilities.
Interesting comparison with Seinfeld. But I am reminded of one writer's description of it: a show about nothing.
So the turtle's a metaphor for the synod of Bishops? Something small and inconsequential that wouldn't--and up until recently hasn't--been noticed had it not drummed up enough controversy to be noteworthy, and in spite of the angst it generates online it will be quickly forgotten as the world moves on to more important matters?
"At the crux of that dichotomy is a question: Are we afraid of the Cross?"
Yes, this is the fundamental question for Christians. The problem is not one of suffering; indeed, suffering occurs regardless of one's orientation to the Cross.
The problem is whether our suffering is productive, whether our suffering is redemptive. The Cross provides the redemptive path, the "via dolorosa" because suffering redemptively requires embracing the Cross. That said, our suffering has been redeemed by Jesus (cf, Salvifici Dolores), so embracing the Cross allows our suffering to participate in our Redemption.
I believe the reason the Church is losing people is that much of the leadership has abandoned the "via dolorosa", for whatever reason--doesn't matter. At least in the States, there is a dramatic level of suffering going on and people need some hope that their suffering will resolve in a positive way. If the Church is not offering that path then why bother? Jesus is available on the "via dolorosa" if we travel it because He has already redeemed our suffering. However, we if don' t travel the path of the Cross, we cannot receive the benefit of that Redemption--it is the path of our reception.
This is the precise problem of proportionalism (did I get this right)--the idea that our sins are okay because they are the best we can do at the time. We all know that this is not true, that we perpetrate evil through our sins and that this is not good. Claiming and repenting the evil that I have perpetrated is part of the "via dolorosa". The good news is that Jesus opened the way to the way of resurrection through the "via dolorosa", that there is His light at the end of the tunnel of pain and sorrow.
I was not expecting a "Community" reference. Nostalgia, here we go...
I’m just remembering my aunt who used to check our feet for “toe jam” between sweaty toes. Bottle episode: phew! Phew! Tortoise says!! Toe jam😄
Urgent: to tame the tortoise try strawberries.