Mysterious Things

Sexual promiscuity among the so-called 'gay' population; Grindr, it's called. And this is only the second or third time I've gotten beyond the first paragraph of one of Polly Verdon's Guardian articles: it was that "new sexual revolution" that did it.  But qua innovative use of technology it's pretty cool: mutatis mutandis, we might look at our mobiles only to discover that there are in fact 15,354 regular Sunday mass-goers in the Archdiocese of Portland who prefer the usus antiquior and 520 of them are within five miles of our parish church.  Apart from that speculative fantasy, of course, such things are only going to make life more difficult, alas, for those who are already on a more challenging moral and spiritual journey than many.

Update on Saturday, July 10, 2010 at 16:27 by Marc

The great defender of human life Wesley J. Smith also notices:

... Such destructive hedonism will not increase happiness generally, but rather, add to the danger of sexual assault, the transmission of STDs, promote divorce, broken homes, family dysfunction, and will, I think, result in greater isolation since users become the dehumanized equivalent of blow up dolls. 

This is extremely reminiscent of the soulless society of Brave New World, whose minions were expected to be promiscuous but socially disapproved if they fell in love or formed close relationships. Huxley wrote in 1949 that when he wrote the novel, he thought it would take 700 years to get to that sterile place, but that he had changed his mind and worried it would be with us by the end of the (20th) Century. It looks like he was right-- again.

Is a pleasant surprise on a Saturday morning; that the NCR has become a magazine, I did not know.  I try to keep up with Miss T. but she really does have such a wide range of interests that sometimes economy demands that I click through in the aggregator: she is comparable to Laudator Temporis Acti, the difference being that I am personally interested in a much higher percentage of LTA's posts than I am in hers (which is of course rather sardonically amusing); had a friendly acquaintance with St Aelred before our Eve was out of the nursery.

Ha; I haven't had such a good laugh at this hour of the morning in quite a while.  Living in a Golden Age has a video up: such things are capable of being quite thought provoking... although not this early in the day. 

But have used several of the posts of this excellent blog recently; I hope the Jesuits involved will continue to apply the great saint's holy lessons throughout the months and years to come.

... This is what it is to be a “contemplative in action”: to know and receive God’s love in such a profound way, that we are filled with a desire to share that love with God and with others.  This is what it is to “find God in all things”: to know that God is constantly laboring on my behalf so that in whatever might befall me, I might find God’s will and be quick to obey.  Christ emptied Himself on our behalf in order to save us.  He now beckons us to receive that grace and cooperate with Him in furthering it to the ends of the earth.  Let us always be attentive to his call and be quick to respond.

I suppose I ought to add a comment to this effect on their site tsk; I may have done on the first post? but--knowing myself really too well for that nonsense--what in fact happened is that I thought of thanking them for their efforts and then did not.

Update on Wednesday, April 7, 2010 at 6:34 by Marc

I see that the authors are done adding new material (Pater Paternostro) but will leave the site on the Web indefinitely; wonderful.  St Ignatius concludes the 'first principle and foundation' of the Christian life and his Exercises:

... Therefore, we must make ourselves indifferent to all created things, as far as we are allowed free choice and are not under any prohibition.  Consequently, as far as we are concerned, we should not prefer health to sickness, riches to poverty, honor to dishonor, a long life to a short life.  The same holds for all other things.

Our one desire and choice should be what is more conducive to the end for which we are created.

From Classical Values, and all I got was politics.  Tsk.

As being somehow involved in the ongoing wave of sexual abuse scandals in Germany? Andrea Tornielli points out that he isn't, and wasn't, and is named only because 'the media' found a way to sensationalise their stories.  Wonder if the 'Evil' NCR and Golias are featuring this continental vilification on their front pages yet....

L'affaire Balducci is bad enough, alas: and the hypocrisy of the Left (Golias is certainly on that story) is nauseating, ha, if amusing at the same time; what, they want the Pope to revive the Inquisition to make absolutely sure that nobody in the service of the Household or the Curia or the City State is indulging in homosexual acts? 

Update on Saturday, March 6, 2010 at 10:56 by Marc

Deo gratias agamus etsi in minimis.