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The Catholic Church

  • God Is!
    "In a way, all history cries aloud that God is." Pope Leo XIII
  • An important historical fact
    "The Catholic Church herself is an historic fact. Like a great mountain-range she bestrides the history of the past two thousand years. Whatever may be the attitude adopted toward her, it is impossible to escape her." Pope Pius XII
  • Not easily understood
    "Catholicism is a deep matter, you cannot take it up in a teacup." Venerable John Henry Newman
  • Not Perfect
    "Ought history to hide the faults of men and Orders? It was not after this fashion that the Saints laid open the scandals of their times... God indeed has conferred upon His Church the prerogative of infallibility, but to none of her members has He granted immunity from sin. Peter was a sinner and a renegade, and God has been at pains to have that fact recorded in the Gospels." Jean-Baptise Henri Lacordaire, O.P.
  • The Church
    "There is not and never was on this earth, a work of human policy so richly deserving of examination as the Roman Catholic Church... She saw the commencement of all the governments and of the ecclesiastical establishments that now exist in the world, and we feel no assurance that she is not destined to see the end of them all. She was great and respected before the Saxon had set foot on Britain, before the Frank had crossed the Rhine, when Grecian eloquence still flourished in Antioch, when idols were still worshipped in the temple of Mecca. And she may still exist in undiminished vigour when some traveler from New Zealand, in the midst of a vast solitude, takes his stand on a broken arch of London Bridge to sketch the ruins of St. Paul's." Thomas Babington Macaulay

Can you beat this?


  • Jesus promises you two things. Your life has meaning and you will live forever. If you get a better deal than that, take it!!!

Youth learn by example


  • Nothing is so contagious as an example, and our every really good or bad action inspires a similar one.

The Second Coming

  • I've no idea when Jesus is coming back. I'm on the Welcoming Committee, not the Planning Committee!

The Problems of Sin and Imperfection


  • Indeed each time we attempt to force a solution or our difficulties in a quick, easy way we refuse to enter the school of life. This is especially true of the problems of sin and imperfection. Our personal inclinations to certain types of sin and imperfection will be with us as long as we live. They are rooted in our unique nature and in the dark recesses of our past. To be sure, we must try to overcome them in the current of our existence, but we must also humbly accept the fact that possibly we shall never be wholly rid of them in spite of our efforts. It may be that we must live with a certain imperfection to the end of our life; that we must patiently try to cope with it in countless ways while never succeeding in eliminating it. A certain sin may persecute us until our last breath, humiliate us in the eyes of others, escape our understanding, and fill our eyes with tears. This fact we must accept. The Lord will never ask how successful we were in overcoming a particular vice, sin, or imperfection. He will ask us, “Did you humbly and patiently accept this mystery of iniquity in your life? How did you deal with it? Did you learn from it to be patient and humble? Did it teach you to trust not your own ability but My love? Did it enable you to understand better the mystery of iniquity in the lives of others? Did it give you the most typical characteristic of a truly religious person—that he never judges or condemns the sin and imperfection of others?” The religious man knows from his own life that the demon of evil can be stronger than man even in spite of his best attempts; he knows that it is the patience, humility, and charity learned from this experience that count. Success and failure are accidental. The joy of the Christian is never based on his personal religious success but on the knowledge that his Redeemer lives. The Christian is the man who is constantly aware of his need of salvation. Acceptance of the mystery of iniquity in our project of existence is a school of mildness, mercy, forgiveness, and loving understanding of our neighbor.

Suffering


  • There is at this moment, in the world, at the back of some foresaken church, or even in an ordinary house, or at the turning of some deserted path, a poor man who joins his hands and from the depth of his misery, without very well knowing what he is saying, or without saying anything, thanks the good Lord for having made him free, for having made him capable of loving. There is somewhere else, I do not know where, a mother who hides here face for the last time in the hollow of a little breast which will beat no more, a mother next to her dead child who offers to God a groan of an exhausted resignation, as if the Voice which has thrown the suns into space as a hand throws grain, the Voice which makes the worlds tremble, had just murmured gently into her ear, “Pardon me, one day you will know, you will understand, you will give me thanks. But now, what I am looking for is your pardon. Pardon.” These—this harassed woman, this poor man—are at the heart of the mystery, at the heart of the universal creation and in the very secret of God. What can I say of it? Language is at the service of intelligence. And what these people have understood, they have understood by a faculty superior to the intelligence although not in the least in contradiction with it—or rather, by a profound and irresistible movement of the soul which engaged all the faculties at once, which engaged to the depth of their entire nature…. Yes at the moment that this man, this woman, accepted their destiny, accepted themselves humbly—the mystery of creation was being accomplished in them. While they were thus, without knowing it, running the entire risk of their human conduct, they were realizing themselves fully in the charity of Christ., becoming themselves, according to the words of St. Paul, other Christs. In short, they were saints.

WORK TIRELESSLY FOR PEACE

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Spirituality


  • Spirituality is anything that reminds us we are already in the presence of a Loving God. Krister Stendahl

I will not fear, for you are ever with me


  • My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. I cannot know for certain where it will end. Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I believe that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in all that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you will lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore will I trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. I will not fear, for you are ever with me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone. Thoughts in Solitude by Thomas Merton

History of Maryknoll

  • Bishop James A Walsh
    James Anthony Walsh, son of James Walsh and Hanna Shea, was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on February 24, 1867. After completing his elementary education in the public schools, he attended Boston College High School where, in extracurricular activities, his skills in debating and journalism were first recognized and developed. He began his college program at Boston College, interrupted it to study bookkeeping, transferred to Harvard College as a "special student", and completed his studies at St. John's Seminary in Brighton, Massachusetts. He was ordained on May 20, 1892, at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston. Early Accomplishments After ordination, Walsh was appointed curate at St. Patrick's Church in Roxbury, Massachusetts where he directed sodalities and organizations for both the young men and women of the parish. In 1903, he was appointed Diocesan Director of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith and in 1907 founded The Field Afar magazine, a monthly publication about the foreign missions of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America Walsh's interest in the foreign missions led to his founding, together with Rev. Thomas Frederick Price, the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America (C.F.M.S.A.) (commonly referred to as the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers) in 1911. He acted as spiritual father and co-founder, with Mother Mary Joseph Rogers, of the Foreign Mission Sisters of St. Dominic (now called Maryknoll Sisters of St. Dominic). He served as Superior General of the Maryknoll Fathers and Brothers until his death in 1936. During the founding process and in his service as Superior General, Walsh made trips across the United States, to Rome and to other places throughout the world. A Lifetime of Service In 1933, Walsh was elected to the episcopacy and named Titular Bishop of Siene. He was consecrated in Rome on June 29, 1933, in the College of Propaganda Fide by Cardinal Fumasoni-Biondi. He died at Maryknoll, New York, on April 14, 1936.
  • Fr.Price
    Youth and Education As a youth, Price had close contact with the priests of his parish (St. Thomas, Wilmington, North Carolina). One priest who figured prominently in his early life was Bishop James Gibbons, newly appointed first Vicar Apostolic of North Carolina. Gibbons established his headquarters at St. Thomas Church and soon began to show a special interest in young Price. Price often served Mass for Gibbons and accompanied him on special trips throughout the Vicariate. With his religious background (especially the deep devotion of his mother to the Blessed Virgin), Price soon felt an attraction to the priesthood. He confided his interest to the parish priest, Fr. Mark Gross, and arrangements were made for him to enter St. Charles Seminary at Catonsville, Maryland, in August, 1876. On route to the seminary by ship, Price escaped death in the shipwreck of the Rebecca Clyde. Price attributed his survival to the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary. After the accident, he returned home until January 1877. Price attended St. Charles' Seminary from January 1877, until his commencement on June 28, 1881. On September 1881, he entered St. Mary's Seminary, Baltimore. He was ordained to the priesthood on June 20, 1886, by Bishop Northrup at the pro-cathedral in Wilmington, North Carolina (Both of Price's parents had died prior to his ordination.) Price was the first North Carolinian to be ordained to the priesthood, and he was assigned to missionary work in the eastern section of his native state. Early Years of Priesthood Within one year after his ordination, Price was appointed the pastor of the few Catholics in and around the towns of Asheville and Bern. After the first few years of priesthood, he obtained permission from Bishop Haid, his ordinary, to begin a statewide evangelization program. His methods were influenced by Fr. Eliott, a famous Paulist preacher. One of Price's tools for evangelization was the publication of the magazine Truth, which he began to publish and edit in April 1897. A second tool was the establishment of Nazareth Orphanage in 1898. Price's plan was to first help the underprivileged of an area and thereby win the favor of the general population who would then be more inclined to listen to the message of the missionary. Following the success of the Nazareth Orphanage, Price organized summer catechizing teams of seminarians. Finally, in 1902, Price opened his missionary training house at Nazareth. It was a preparatory seminary whose sole purpose was the education and formation of missionaries for the home missions. It was called Regina Apostolorum. From 1902 to 1909, Price directed the Regina Apostolorum and acted as its primary teacher and spiritual director. Plans for a Foreign Mission Seminary As time went on, Price began to emphasize more and more often in the pages of Truth the need of a seminary for the training of young American men for the foreign missions. At the same time, Rev. James Anthony Walsh, of Boston, was developing the same idea in the pages of The Field Afar. At the Eucharistic Congress in Montreal in 1910, the two priests met and began to formulate plans for the establishment of a seminary for foreign missionaries. With the approval of the American hierarchy, the two priests traveled to Rome in June 1911, to receive final approval from Pope Pius X for their project. After meeting with the Holy Father, Price traveled to Lourdes for the first time. During his stay at Lourdes, Price had a spiritual experience that was to significantly affect all of his future life. Price refers to the experience in his personal diary. A special devotion to Our Lady of Lourdes and Bernadette Soubirous would follow him all the way to his death. Returning to the United States, Price, together with Walsh, began the plans for the establishment of the new seminary and the foreign mission society. After a brief stay at Hawthorne, New York, property was purchased at Ossining, New York, for the site of the new society: the American Catholic Foreign Mission Society (popularly known as Maryknoll). Foreign Missions Begin Price made an around-the-country tour of America to gain support for the new endeavor. By 1918, three young priests (Frs. James E. Walsh, Francis X. Ford, and Bernard F. Meyer) were ready for the foreign missions in China. On September 7, Price went with them as superior to the new missions. From the time of the foundation of Maryknoll, Price had understood that Walsh was the one capable of administering and directing the seminary itself. Price himself had always hoped to be chosen as one of Maryknoll's first missioners, and his dream was realized. Because of his age, Price had great difficulty learning the Chinese language. He also suffered from physical ailments. On September 12, 1919, he died in Hong Kong as a result of a burst appendix. In 1936, his body was exhumed and transferred to the cemetery at Maryknoll, New York. In 1955, his remains, together with those of Bishop James A. Walsh, were finally interred in the crypt below the Maryknoll Seminary Chapel.
  • History
    Maryknoll was established in 1911 as the Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America by the Bishops of the United States. Responsibility for its development fell to two diocesan priests, Fr. James Anthony Walsh of Boston and Fr. Thomas Frederick Price of North Carolina, with the commission to recruit, send and support U.S. missioners in areas around the world. On June 29, 1911, Pope Pius X blessed the founding of Maryknoll. Maryknoll's first missioners left for China in 1918. Today there are over 475 Maryknoll priests and Brothers serving in countries around the world, principally in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

A Chinese Proverb


  • Tell me and I'll forget; show me and I may remember; involve me and I'll understand.

Chinese Wisdom

  • When we see men of worth, we should think of equaling them; when we see men of a contrary character, we should turn inwards and examine ourselves.
  • The superior man cannot be known in little matters, but he may be entrusted with great concerns. The small man may not be entrusted with great concerns, but he may be known in little matters.
  • The man who in view of gain thinks of righteousness; who in the view of danger is prepared to give up his life; and who does not forget an old agreement however far back it extends - such a man may be reckoned a complete man.
  • Recompense injury with justice, and recompense kindness with kindness.
  • If a man takes no thought about what is distant, he will find sorrow near at hand.
  • Those who are contented with what they have are often happy.
  • “A single beam cannot support a great house. ”
  • A vacant mind is open to all suggestions, as a hollow mountain returns all sounds.”
  • One's good deeds are only known at home; one's bad deeds far
  • He who rides a tiger is afraid to dismount.
  • Not the cry, but the flight of the wild duck, leads the flock
  • Much wealth will not come if a little does not go.
  • Words are the voice of the heart.
  • The journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step.
  • Virtue cannot live in solitude; neighbors are sure to grow up around it.
  • When anger arises, think of the consequences.

God Needs Us


  • The hardest cross to bear in life is the thought that we are wasting our time, that we are useless, that the world is rushing along and we, apparently, have not yet found our feet. For the missioner the monotony of merely marking time, of facing petty tasks, or even manufacturing small jobs to kill time can be especially disheartening. This monotony readily suggests to a nervous conscience that we could be doing better work elsewhere, that we are not really appreciated at our full worth, and that we are not given a chance to show what we could accomplish in busier circumstances. All of us have our daydreams of ideal conditions in which we modestly achieve wonderful success through our own plans, and in these dreams it is difficult at times to distinguish between inspiration and vanity. We all have our moments of dreadful tedium, when even our favorite books are distasteful and when we favor a chance visitor with unusual cordiality. At such times we could recall with profit the worlds of the blind English poet Milton: “ Thousands at His bidding speed, and post o’er land and ocean without rest; they also serve who only stand and wait.” God needs us where we are at; we are active even being merely on call; and the Omnipresent God is beside us even when we feel alone….Sentry work is essential though seemingly inglorious. There is a tendency in modern moods to emphasize the emotional side of religion; and we are all somewhat tainted by this error. We are only too prone to look for sensible consolation in our mission work, and in their absence we are tempted to take a grim view of life. The remedy for this self-centered condition is contemplation and service of God. Contemplation takes us out of ourselves and focuses our attention on God; service of God instinctively issues from our contemplation. We see that God needs us in His redeeming of the human race; and we forget ourselves in satisfying God’s need. Bishop Francis Ford M.M.

Decisions

  • focus
    "There is, I think, nothing in the world more futile than the attempt to find out how a task should be done when one has not yet decided what the task is." - Alexander Meiklejohn

From I have a Dream


  • And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning: My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride, From every mountainside, let freedom ring! And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania. Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado. Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California. But not only that: Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia. Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee. Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring. And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: Free at last! free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!

Education


  • You should have education so that you won't have to look up to people; and then more education so that you will be wise enough not to look down on people. M.L. Boren

I CAN'T WAIT

Lessons for Life

  • Some Very Good Advice
    1. Life isn't fair, but it's still good. 2. When in doubt, just take the next small step. 3. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone. 4. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends and parents will. Stay in touch. 5. Pay off your credit cards every month. 6. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree. 7. Cry with someone. It's more healing than crying alone. 8. Save for retirement starting with your first paycheck. 9. When it comes to chocolate, resistance is futile. 10. Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present. 11. It's OK to let your children see you cry. 12. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about. 13. If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it. 14. Take a deep breath. It calms the mind. 15. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful. 16. Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger. 17. It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else. 18. When it comes to going after what you love in life, don't take no for an answer. 19. Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. (OK – NOT you guys) Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special. 20. Over prepare, then go with the flow. 21. Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple. 22. No one is in charge of your happiness but you. 23. Frame every so-called disaster with these words 'In five years, will this matter?' 24. What other people think of you is none of your business. 25. Time heals almost everything. Give time time. 26. However good or bad a situation is, it will change. 27. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does. 28. Believe in miracles. 29. Don't audit life. Show up and make the most of it now. 30. Your children get only one childhood. 31. All that truly matters in the end is that you loved. 32. Get outside every day. Miracles are waiting everywhere. 33. If we all threw our problems in a pile and saw everyone else's, we'd grab ours back. 34. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need. 35. The best is yet to come.

The source of faith


  • "Who am I?...I am one loved by Christ." Thomas Merton

Peace Prayer


  • Lord make me an instrument of your peace Where there is hatred, Let me sow love; Where there is injury, pardon; Where there is error, truth; Where there is doubt, faith; Where there is despair, hope; Where there is darkness, light; And where there is sadness, Joy. O Divine Master grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled As to console; To be understood,as to understand; To be loved, as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, It is in pardoning that we are pardoned, And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

knowledge

  • knowledge
    It is possible to store the mind with a million facts and still be entirely uneducated.

The Eucharist


  • The nourishing quality of the eucharist, freely offered to anyone who's famished, has always been a central metaphor for me. I don't partake because I'm a good Catholic, holy pious and sleek. I partake because I'm a bad Catholic, riddled by doubt and anxiety and anger: fainting from severe hypoglycemia of the soul. I need food. Nancy Mairs

Seeking God


  • It needs more training to seek God among the rough stones of the dusty road than in the beauty of the sunset.

Building


  • He that gives good advice builds with one hand; he that gives good counsel and example builds with both; but he that gives good admonition and bad example builds with one hand and pulls down with the other. Francis Bacon

The Miracle


  • Maybe the burning bush was burning all the time and Moses didnt notice. Maybe the miracle is when you stop and pay attention. Francine Prose

John of the Cross


  • How amazing and pitiful it is that the soul be so utterly weak and impure that the hand of God, though light and gentle, should feel so heavy and contrary. For the hand of God does not press down or weigh upon the soul, but only touches it; and this mercifuly, for God's aim is to grant it favors and not chastise it. "The Dark Night," Book II Chapter 5

God's Love


  • God's love for us is not the reason for which we should love him. God's love for us is the reason for us to love ourselves. How could we love ourselves without this motive?

Be Not Afraid


  • It is the heart afraid of breaking that never learns to dance. It is a dream afraid of waking, that never takes a chance. It is the one who won't be taken, who cannot seem to give. And the soul afraid of dying, that never learns to live. A.McBroon

Spirituality


  • Spirituality is anything that reminds us we are already in the presence of a Loving God. Krister Stendahl

If my compassion is true


  • If my compassion is true,if it be a deep compassion of the heart and not a legal affair, or a mercy learned from a book and practiced on others like a pious exercise, then my compassion for others is God's mercy for me. My patience with them is His patience with me. My love for them is His love for me. Thomas Merton " No Man is an Island"

Youth learn by example


  • Nothing is so contagious as an example, and our every really good or bad action inspires a similar one.

Sunday, January 03, 2010

Could 2010 Be the Year of the Tigers?

Detroit Tigers 1

The year 2010 will be the Year of the Tiger! Or at least in this part of the world it will!!

February 14th (Valentines Day) is the date of this year's Spring Festival. The following Wednesday February 17th will be Ash Wednesday, which means there will be basically a worldwide Mardi Gras taking place leading up to Ash Wednesday.

12 animals

The zodiac of twelve animal signs represents twelve different types of personality. The zodiac traditionally begins with the sign of the Rat, and there are many stories about the Origins of the Chinese Zodiac which explain why. The following are the twelve zodiac signs in order and their characteristics.

Each of the 12 animals are:

Zodiac

Year of Birth

Rat

2008

1996

1984

1972

1960

1948

1936

1924

1912

1900

Ox

2009

1997

1985

1973

1961

1949

1937

1925

1913

1901

Tiger

2010

1998

1986

1974

1962

1950

1938

1926

1914

1902

Rabbit

2011

1999

1987

1975

1963

1951

1939

1927

1915

1903

Dragon

2012

2000

1988

1976

1964

1952

1940

1928

1916

1904

Snake

2013

2001

1989

1977

1965

1953

1941

1929

1917

1905

Horse

2014

2002

1990

1978

1966

1954

1942

1930

1918

1906

Goat

2015

2003

1991

1979

1967

1955

1943

1931

1919

1907

Monkey

2016

2004

1992

1980

1968

1956

1944

1932

1920

1908

Rooster

2017

2005

1993

1981

1969

1957

1945

1933

1921

1909

Dog

2018

2006

1994

1982

1970

1958

1946

1934

1922

1910

Pig

2019

2007

1995

1983

1971

1959

1947

1935

1923

1911

The Year of the Tiger will officially begin on February 14, 2010.  Drama, intensity, change and travel will Tiger 1be the keywords for 2010. Unfortunately, world conflicts and disasters tend to feature during Tiger years also, so it won’t be a dull 12 months for anyone. The Year of the Tiger will bring far reaching changes for everyone. New inventions and incredible technological advances have a good chance of occurring. For all of the Chinese horoscope signs, this year is one to be active – seizing opportunities and making the most of our personal and very individual talents. Everything happens quickly and dramatically in a Tiger year – blink and you could miss an important chance of a lifetime!

Posted at 07:53 PM | | Comments (0)

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Wherever you go, go with all your heart. Confucius

Office shot 1 
Having an oval office as I do, with some great windows, allows me to enjoy the winter scenes while keeping warm.

Office shot 2 
Today's high temperature is minus 18 with a low of minus 33.

Office shot 3
A bad day to be outside.

DSCN7081 
A nice day to be inside with a cup of coffee to keep you warm.

DSCN7083
In weather like this the best meal going is a hot pot and I think that when it comes to hot pot 

DSCN7082
the more vegetables the better....like I've said before hot pot is

DSCN7088  really great


Posted at 01:30 PM | | Comments (0)

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Saturday, January 02, 2010

Epiphany 2010

 Great Wall Snow scene

Laws control the lesser man.  Right conduct controls the greater one.  Chinese Proverb

 

Today is the last day of the three-day New Year weekend. This has not been much of a vacation for the students as they are all holed up in study rooms and their dorms preparing for the final round of exams. Monday thru Thursday are exam days and then the students can begin heading home on Thursday afternoon for their winter break.

 

Next weekend the national postgraduate entrance examinations will be given. A number of our students will be taking exams to qualify for residency programs in different specialties.

 

I have had a good time the past few days. I celebrated the New Year in the countryside and had a lot of fun. It was cold, but I dressed for the occasion.

 

I had plenty of visitors the past  few days, which of course was great! With Jingmei on vacation I had a chance to do some cooking!

DSCN7055
In the kitchen cooking some pasta. 

 

Holmes

Holmes was in town for a few days.

 

Cui Xinxin

Cui Xinxin stopped by for some pasta and a little wine.

 

Wang Wei

Wang Wei stopped by for some wine and a little pasta! ^_^

 

119

Here is a photo f Tang Jiali's son. The picture took a while to get here, but it was worth the wait. The little guy looks like his dad! Judging from his outfit he is already thinking of girls....definitely a chip off the old block. ^_^



I had mass this morning and then hung around the apartment. Tomorrow I plan to make a day retreat and get away from the campus from morning till night.

 Sheets

It remains very cold here in Jilin. When I was leaving my apartment this afternoon my neighbor had the sheets out on the line to dry. I guess when the process is finished they will be freeze dried sheets.

 Today's lunch crew

Students outside the apartment

 

Winter scene on campus

One of the campus streets



Sunday’s gospel and some comments:

 

When Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea,
in the days of King Herod,
behold, magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying,
“Where is the newborn king of the Jews?
We saw his star at its rising
and have come to do him homage.”
When King Herod heard this,
he was greatly troubled,
and all Jerusalem with him.
Assembling all the chief priests and the scribes of the people,
He inquired of them where the Christ was to be born.
They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea,
for thus it has been written through the prophet:
And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
since from you shall come a ruler,
who is to shepherd my people Israel.”
Then Herod called the magi secretly
and ascertained from them the time of the star’s appearance.
He sent them to Bethlehem and said,
“Go and search diligently for the child.
When you have found him, bring me word,
that I too may go and do him homage.”
After their audience with the king they set out.
And behold, the star that they had seen at its rising preceded them,
until it came and stopped over the place where the child was.
They were overjoyed at seeing the star,
and on entering the house
they saw the child with Mary his mother.
They prostrated themselves and did him homage.
Then they opened their treasures
and offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.
And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed for their country by another way. Matthew 2:1-12

 

On a cold Jilin morning three apple farmers were warming themselves by the fireside. Soon two of them were engaged in a heated debate comparing their religions to decide which one was the true religion. The oldest among them, sat quietly listening to the debate. Suddenly the two turned to him and asked, “Decide for us, Liu Ming. Which religion is the right one?” Liu Ming rubbed his chin and said thoughtfully, “Well, you know there are three ways to get from here to the cider mill. You can go right over the hill. That is shorter but it is a steep climb. You can go around the hill on the right side. That is not too far, but the road is rough and full of potholes. Or you can go around the hill on the left side. That is the longest way, but it is also the easiest.” He paused and then added, “But you know, when you get there, the mill man doesn’t ask you how you came. All he asks is, ‘How good is your fruit?’”

 

In the stories of Jesus’ birth, two special groups of people came to visit the new-born babe: the shepherds and the magi. The church has no special feast to commemorate the visit of the shepherds but we have this special feast of Epiphany today to celebrate the visit of the magi. Why is that? It is because the visit of the magi is an eye-opener. The shepherds learnt of the birth of Jesus through a direct revelation from angels appearing in the midnight sky. This is direct and supernatural revelation. Many of us have no problem with that. The magi, on the other hand, learnt of the birth of Jesus by observing a star. The star did not say anything to them. They had to interpret this natural sign of the star to know what it meant and where it led. If we remember that the magi or the three wise men were nature worshippers, people who divined God’s will by reading the movements of the stars and other heavenly bodies, then we can see how the visit of the magi challenges some of our popular beliefs.

 

Like the apple farmers, religious people of all persuasions tend to think that their religious tradition is the only way to God. This is what some of us hear when we hear such words of Jesus as: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). We hastily conclude that the way of God equals the way of our religious tradition. Yet the word of God cautions us against such a narrow interpretation. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord” (Isaiah 55:8). That is why we are fascinated with the story of the visit of the magi. It is a unique story that opens our eyes to the fact that God is not limited to any one religious tradition.

 

 

Notice how people of different religious traditions came to know that the Son of God was born. The shepherds who were regarded as unclean and could not take part in Temple worship without undergoing purification came to know through a direct vision of angels. The magi knew through a reading of the stars. And King Herod’s scribes came to know through searching the scriptures. Visions, stars, scriptures -- different ways of arriving at the same truth. Of course this does not mean that any religious tradition is just as good as the other. Notice how Matthew indicates that when the guiding star got to Jerusalem its light failed and the magi had to consult the scriptures to direct them to Bethlehem. Over and above the natural light of the star the magi still needed the supernatural light of scripture to finally get to Jesus.

 

 

Yet the crucial question in the story remains: Who actually got to find Jesus? Herod and his scribes who had the scriptures failed to find Jesus but the magi who followed the natural light of the stars were able to find him. Why? Because the Jewish authorities, even though they possessed the shining truth of revealed scriptures, did not follow it. They did not walk in the light of the scriptures. The magi, on the other hand, who enjoyed only a star light followed its guidance. It is not the possession of the truth that matters, it is how prepared we are to walk in the light of the truth that we possess. It is better to have the dim light of the stars and follow it than to have the bright light of the holy scriptures and neglect it.

 

As Christian we believe that our religion possesses the fullness of truth. But what does that benefit us if we do not walk in the truth? Nature worshippers or non-believers who are sincerely committed to following the dim light of natural reason may arrive at Jesus before Christians who have the exalted truths revealed by God but who do not walk the walk of faith. This is the challenging truth we celebrate today in the story of the pagan wise men who seek and find the Lord.

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The truth is, that all genuine appreciation rests on a certain mystery of humility and almost of darkness. The man who said, “Blessed is he that expecteth nothing, for he shall not be disappointed,” put the eulogy quite inadequately and even falsely. The truth “Blessed is he that expecteth nothing, for he shall be gloriously surprised.” The man who expects nothing sees redder roses than common men can see, and greener grass, and a more startling sun. Blessed is he that expecteth nothing, for he shall possess the cities and the mountains; blessed is the meek, for he shall inherit the earth. Until we realize that things might not be we cannot realize that things are. Until we see the background of darkness we cannot admire the light as a single and created thing. As soon as we have seen that darkness, all light is lightening, sudden, blinding, and divine. Until we picture nonentity we underrate the victory of God, and can realize none of the trophies of His ancient war. It is one of the million wild jests of truth that we know nothing until we know nothing.



- G. K. Chesterton, in Heretics



Jilin_catholic_church_at_night

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Thursday, December 31, 2009

Auld Lang Syne Farewell 2009 and Welcome 2010

Maryknoll Bash 
 “Think where man’s glory most begins and ends, and say my glory was I had such friends." W.B. Yeats

Gang Along the river 

North American College Sems and Jilin Medical College students along the river walk. 

Robbi and Jennifer
Robbi and Jennifer from Baker College in Michigan came to teach in August and September.

The Gang in Lansing
Wang Wei, Tim Iding, Li Zhuo and Hao Lin in Lansing this past summer.

Former Students 
 Li Na, Tong Jie, Li Zhuo and Wang Wei

Christmas Party
With my students at the Christmas Party

NAC Sems and Bishop Tong
Patrick, Victor, Bishop Tong of Hong Kong and Colin Wen at the Stanley House in Hong Kong.  

 

When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand.  The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares.  Henri Nouwen

 

My 25th 
As my jubilee year draws to a close, I am ever mindful of how many friends God has blessed me with on my journey. I want to thank all of you for being my friends!!

 

 

Today’s gospel and some comments:

 

The shepherds went in haste to Bethlehem and found Mary and Joseph, and the infant lying in the manger. When they saw this, they made known the message that had been told them about this child. All who heard it were amazed by what had been told them by the shepherds. And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart. Then the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, just as it had been told to them. When eight days were completed for his circumcision, he was named Jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. Luke 2:16-21

 

The name "January" comes from the Roman god Janus, the god with two faces, one looking to the past and the other looking to the future. This is indeed a time to look back at the year that has just ended and to look forward to the New Year ahead of us. How did I spend this one year of my life that has just passed? Did I use it to advance my goals and objectives in life? Did I use it to enhance the purpose of my existence? Could I have done better last year in the way I invested my time between the demands of work, family, friends and society, and the demands of my spiritual life? What things did I achieve last year and what did I fail to achieve? How can I consolidate the achievements of last year while reversing the failures and losses in this New Year? Through soul searching questions like these we find that a review of the past year naturally leads to setting goals and resolutions for the New Year.

 

There are people who tell you that there is no point making New Year resolutions. Do not believe them. We must set goals and make resolutions as a necessary conclusion to our review of the past year. And we do need to review our lives from year to year because, as Socrates says, the unexamined life is not worth living.

 

Today's newspapers are full of individual and collective New Year resolutions. Most of those, however, are not resolutions at all but only wishes. What is the difference between a resolution and a wish? A wish identifies a goal one wants to reach, a resolution specifies the steps one will take to reach it. A wish says this is where I want to be, a resolution says this is the road I will take, this is what I will do to get there. The wishful person says "I want to pass my exams this year" and the resolved person says "I will devote an extra hour to my studies everyday in order to pass my exams." The wishful person says "I will have more peace and love in my family this year" and the resolved person says "I will spend more time with my family at table instead of rushing off to the TV, so that we get to know and understand ourselves better." The wishful person says "I will live a life of union with God this year" and the resolved person says "I will set aside this time everyday to pray and hear God's word." The difference between wishing and resolving is: are we prepared to do what it takes to make our dreams come true, are we prepared to pay the price?

 

The gospel today presents Mary to us as a model of that new life in Christ that all of us wish for ourselves in the New Year. We see that Mary was prepared to do something to realize this goal. What did she do? We read that the shepherds, when they went to adore the Child Jesus in the manger, told all that the angels had said to them. "But Mary treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart."  Again after the boy Jesus was found in the Temple, we are told that "His mother treasured all these things in her heart" (Luke 2:51). Mary was a woman who valued the word of God, who treasured it and made time to meditate and ponder it. It is true that the holiness of Mary is attributed to the grace of God, but this should not make us forget that she needed to make an effort in order to cooperate with the grace of God. She pondered the word of God in order to discern what God was saying to her at every stage in her life as the handmaid of God.

 

The two examples above of Mary pondering the word of God, namely, after the visit of the shepherds and after the finding in the temple, show that Mary found the word of God both in divine revelation (the angels' words to the shepherds) and in her own experiences (her encounter with her son in the temple). Similarly God speaks to us today through divine revelation (e.g. the Bible, the teaching and preaching of the Church) as well as through our personal experiences, if only we made time to reflect on them as Mary did.

 

Whatever the situation in which we find ourselves (a hardship, a disappointment, a decision to make) God has a solution, an answer that is right for us. We tell God about it in prayer but we also listen to what God has to tell us about it. Prayer is a conversation with God but sometimes all we do is pick up the phone, read out the list of our problems to God and drop the phone without listening to hear what God has to say to us. Let us today resolve to listen more to the voice of God, to treasure God's word and ponder it in our hearts. Then shall we be able to realize our New Year resolution of a new life in union with God.

 

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It is minus 33 Celsius (minus 27 Fahrenheit) in Jilin this moring. I just finished correcting the last exam composition a few minutes ago. I am planning to finish up the grades and office work and then head out for the New Years Eve party.



I pray that God will bless all of you with peace, happiness and fulfillment in all that you do in 2010!

Cold Weather

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Wednesday, December 30, 2009

A Trip to Changchun to See Wei DanDan!!

Train over the Songhua River

An optimist stays up until midnight to see the New Year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.  Bill Vaughan

 On the train

Brian on the train to Changchun yesterday morning.

 

 

I went to Changchun yesterday to take care of a number of important tasks.  I am glad that I decided to go by train as we got hit with yet another snow storm yesterday.

 

 Morning at back gate 

Waiting for a taxi at the back gate yesterday morning.
  Snow outside the train

Snow scene outside the train yesterday.

 

Brian,Dandan, Mingli and Xudong 
The Wei Xudong family and Brian.

 

I went to Changchun to see Mingli, Xudong and their son. The little guy looks great. Xudong’s father passed away on Saturday morning, so I also wanted to spend some quality time with him and his mom.

 Brian And Dandan2

Brian and Dandan 

 

While I was in Changchun I also stopped by to see Fr. Sergio who has just opened a language school in the middle of the city. He was looking for some advice on how to run a school (with no such experience I wasn’t much help) and had a few other questions for me.

Fr.Sergio 
 Fr. Sergio

 Morning campus snow scene

The snow really came down yesterday and we have another six inches or so, on the ground. The winter of 2009 -2010 has started off as the coldest and snowiest winter since I came to Jilin in 1999. The temperature this morning was down around minus 30 (minus 22 Fahrenheit) which means  among other things that it was a good day to stay inside.

 

With the guys

It was a good day for most people to stay inside, but the not the street boys! I got a nice surprise this afternoon when Sr. Qian and all the guys stopped by to say hello. They are now on winter break and really  enjoying their vacation.

 

I spent the day in the office correcting test papers and will continue that work again Exam correcting 2 tomorrow. I’m hoping to be able to finish correcting the exams sometime tomorrow afternoon before I head out to the countryside for a New Years Eve party with some friends. The Weatherman is predicting more snow (big snow storm) on New Years Eve and New Years Day so I want to leave Wang wei correcting exams early and get there before the snow starts to fall. It is no easy task correcting 150 exams for the freshmen writing class, but as one of the students put it this afternoon, "It was no easy task taking the freshmen writing class exam,either!"  I'm correcting the compositions, the computer is correcting the grammar and vocabulary section and Wang Wei is correcting the error correction section. With any luck at all I should be able to finish this task before I head out tomorrow.

 

 Exam correcting 
 
Yes, I can!

 

The routine of correcting exams can get pretty boring after a while. One of the nice things about teaching in the nursing college is that there are always a number of lovely students stopping by to say hello and chat. It is a great way to take a break from correcting exams!

 Angie in the Office

Angie

 

Birthday Girl

Today is the Infamous One's Birthday! I gave her a nice pen for her birthday, but she knows me a little too well and accused me of re-gifting a pen I don't want as her birthday present.  Sometimes it is not easy being me!!  Happy Birthday Marina Wang.

 

Some reflections as we prepare to celebrate New Year’s Day.

 

Brothers and sisters:
When the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son,
born of a woman, born under the law,
to ransom those under the law,
so that we might receive adoption as sons.
As proof that you are sons,
God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,
crying out, “Abba, Father!”
So you are no longer a slave but a son,
and if a son then also an heir, through God. Galatians 4:4-7

 

 

In all cultures, the passing of the old year and coming of the new is marked by a two-fold celebration. The first phase of the celebration, on the last night of the old year, is marked by noise-making, drunkenness and disorderly behavior. In it humanity re-enacts the primordial chaos that enveloped the world before creation. The second phase of the celebration, as the first day of the New Year dawns, is, very different. It is marked by calmness, sobriety, and orderly behavior. In it humanity reenacts creation, the triumph of order over chaos.

 

Students interested in being baptized often ask why there is no feast of the creation in the church’s liturgical calendar. They ask why there is no feast dedicated to God the Father, when we have feasts dedicated to God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. One reason for this omission is because the early Christians were more concerned about the new order of grace that came through Jesus and Mary rather than the old order of nature that came through Adam and Eve. The passage above, taken from Paul’s Letter to the Galatians, dwells on this new order which began with God sending us his son and continues with God sending us his Holy Spirit.

 

 

There are two parts to the reading. The first part dwells on the incarnation which is the mystery of the Son of God becoming human. The second part dwells on sanctification, that mystery whereby God sends the Spirit of his Son into our hearts to make us God’s own children.

 

 

But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children (Galatians 4:4-5).

 

 

Paul sees the entire order of nature, from creation up to the coming of Christ, as a preparation. In the fullness of time, when the preparation was complete, then the real thing happened. God sent his Son. Paul points out the contrasts between the new order in Christ and the old order in Adam. Jesus was God’s Son whereas Adam was only God’s creation. Jesus was born of a woman, Mary, whereas the woman, Eve, came from Adam. Jesus was born a loyal subject of the law whereas Adam would not obey God’s law. Jesus brought us redemption, Adam brought us the fall. In Jesus we regain the dignity of being God’s children, in Adam we lost it.

 

 

In other words, the incarnation is a new creation. It is God’s fresh attempt to realize the original purpose of creation, which our first parents failed to abide by. In the incarnation God gives humanity another chance. We can, therefore, say that God sent his Son to become human like us so that we could become God’s children like he is.

 

 

And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God (Galatians 4:6-7).

 

God’s first attempt to make us his children through creation failed. God would not want the new creation to be a failure also. To ensure that this does not happen, God sends “the Spirit of his Son” into our hearts to teach us and empower us to be and feel and live as God’s children. This indwelling Spirit helps us to know God as our loving Father and address God with familiarity “Abba! Daddy!” This Spirit helps us to know ourselves as God’s beloved children, not as fearful slaves who have to do God’s will under fear of punishment.

 

 

As the New Year begins, we can look at this year as another chance given to us to get it right, to grow in familiarity with God our loving Father, and to grow in our awareness of ourselves as God’s beloved children, all of us, beloved children of the same loving Father.

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Tuesday, December 29, 2009

Just got back from Changchun. I made a quick trip to see Mingli and Xudong and their new son. In the picture below is the cute little guy. Dandan was born on November 14th and weighed 7.2 pounds at birth. He looks just like his dad.



Xudong's father passed away on Saturday morning so it is a tough time for all of them. His dad was 53 years old and a great guy!

DSCN7007

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Monday, December 28, 2009

For my readers located in China. The blog is now available without using a proxy.Typepad blogs are no longer blocked in China!!!!

Brian in Jilin City

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I thought this one was excellent!!

Video games danger wii

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