Welcome to DD's Mind! In this section of my site, I would like to share little bits concerning numerous adventures into; sports, computers, music, travel, science and mathematics, encounters with real people! Quite often I interrogate my self wondering whether I am not that "jack of many trades" who fails to recognize the limits of my kind of being. But in all truth I like it all and I try it all as long as it's good. And do not they say that in our short lives most of us only develop and utilize a minute percentage of the totality of our potentiality? You keep on keeping on! Many Walks, One Destiny"
Dennis' Days:
October 5
Simplicity is not mediocrity!
Trust is the foundation of true friendship
Unless you can' t help it, do not be the first to speak. Always listen.
some times if no one speaks, silence has to be heard.
Sept 27
sin scatters, grace gathers!
Sept 26
The futility of unbelief:
For believing I Iose nothing.
Be it that my belief turns out to be a fantasy,
Again nothing is lost.
For this fantasy is a pillar that keeps the edifice of my being stable.
And if it be not a fantasy, hope will be satisfied, and love will be true.
Sept 25
Perfect Loving Beauty:
Yours is an everlasting kingdom;
your rule lasts from age to age.
Sept 16
Truth always overcomes error. Alas, sometimes it takes too long.
Sept 15
That as U know us,
We may know U.
That as U love us,
We may love U.
That as U gave
Urself for us,
We may give
Ourselves for each other.
Sept 6
My cross is me.
Me must be conquered and freed.
Sept 5
There are only two ways of life; the good way or the bad.
The good news is I can choose one of the two ways.
The better news is I must choose only the good.
Sept 3
We can only see as far as the possibilities and limits of our vision,
We can only know as far as the possibilities and limits of our minds,
As to what we can do with our hearts, there are no limits, the possibilites are infinite.
Aug 14
Often take things easy and smile! Smiles reach miles!
Not a single word is just ever said for it's sake - human speech/language always has purpose immeidate or implied.
August 7
Do not take things for granted, never anybody!
Last Monday a great navy man lay in a tiny box cupped in my two little hands. All that was left of the great warrior was several ounces of ashes. "Death fears neither riches, nor guards, nor purple ..."(Theodoret) or in the words of the ancient Horace, "death levels the sceptre with the spade." But willingly or unwillingly, every passing moment we advance to this point - The beginning of eternity; rolling to eternal happiness or to everlasting suffering! My Lord provide me the grace and wisdom to choose the better when I still can.
Dear priest, occupy your mind with saving money and you shall win not a single soul for God.
July 25
More people want stuff and money; most long to keep their dignity.
When all has been said and done, actual conversion happens in small little ways.
Care only a little for that nice house where you dwell and set your mind on your grave, for there you shall dwell for ages!
The way to real happiness is a slope from the habit to the perfection of those little good things you are struggling to do.
Make it a habit to smile.
July 18
Some people still do not know that slavery ended many decades past.
July 14
A prayer for you today: May you get what you want and want what you get.
If luck exists, I hope I am lucky enough to recognize it when it comes my way.
? Question! Is Faith indeed the antithesis of Proof or Proof is actually the affirmation of fatih?
(July 1 - 7)
Thoughts:
� Saints alone recognize and acknowledge what great sinners they are.
� It is easy until it�s your turn to do it.
July 04, 2006
Think from your mind and speak from your heart.
All humanity is restless immigrants without a choice to come or to go. Just keep to the flow!
June 12, 2006
I thought you are a priest; what the heck are doing mowing grass!?
A fourth grader asked me last week! Perhaps she will have a answer in the next life.
As you go up those roofs, do not forget that ladder which helped you up; in this life, whatever goes up must come down!
Marx the finite advertised materialism, the prophet intuited the automatic self-destruction of the capitalist social structure! Watch! It�s already happening.
If we are not bound together by what is to character of our spirits and minds, but rather by what is to the character of our bodies the union will last but only a very short while. A materialistic �communalism� is ideally and practically an absurdity.
May 25th 2006
Our Success does not consist in how many times we fall rather in how we rise from each fall.
If flowers bloom but fail to bear fruit, they are no much better than thorns. They are even worse than thorns, for they engender false hope and anticipation.
People may be unequal in birth; in death the disparity is waived.
A good name is definately better than riches!
May 5th 2006
A prayer for Peace
The world would be better off , if people tried to become better.
And people would become better, if they stopped trying to be better off.
For when everybody tries to become better off, nobody is better off.
But when everybody tries to become better, everybody is better off.
Everybody would be rich, if nobody tried to become richer.
And nobody would be poor , if everybody tried to be poorer.
And everybody would be what he ought to be if everybody
tried to be what he wants the other fellow to be.
** Conscience is only a still small voice, and half the time
when it calls up, it finds that the line is busy.
April 12, 2006
Holy Thursday Reflection
When learning a new language, among the expressions one has to learn before many others are words of farewell; bye bye, aurevoir, ciao, adios, adieu, weraba, tutawonana etc.
In many languages these words tend to be quite short and simple but very meaningful. And to signify what they mean people accompany different gestures with them; could be a hand shake, a hug, a kiss or some sort of gesture that is recognized by one�s peers.
To share with you from my own experience, in my culture when bidding farewell we hug on the right shoulder, then the left shoulder. Here in the US people hug on one shoulder and that is it. So getting here for the first time, people would do the one shoulder hug and they would think that is it. All of a sudden I would turn over to the other shoulder and there and then what began as a hug would turn into a mess.
If you ever spend time with a group of youngsters who are really close friends of each other, you would be amazed how they bid farewell to one another. Often times the gesture is very unique to them. In a way it is symbolic of the group and it gives them distinction from so many other groupings in the neighborhood.
Knowing what he was up for him Jesus leaves his friends, his followers a gesture by which they would be identified and distinguished from all other grouping of people. And he does this at the Last Supper, which we are going to celebrate this evening.
Jesus had shared so many meals with his followers but this he did something special and symbolic. He washed their feet and he told his followers to do to each as he had them for them.
Thereafter, He took bread, said a blessing and then he gave it to his followers saying to them. �This is my body. Do this to remember. � Then he did the same thing to cup. And he told them, �This is my blood. Do this to remember me.�
In this manner, Christ turned what would have been a gesture of farewell into a gesture of everlasting presence with his followers. He transformed what would have been a symbol into his very presence amongst his friends.
From that day onwards washing each other�s feet � metaphor which symbolizes self sacrifice in the service of one another, and the Eucharistic meal, became the marks that distinguished Jesus� followers from the rest of people.
They gathered in their homes and shared bread and wine after saying the words Jesus had commanded them. The bread they shared with one another was not just a symbol of Jesus presence but the actual presence of Christ among them.
And historians do indeed tell us that many of them were accused and prosecuted for cannibalism because they talked about eating the flesh of human being.
As we shall hear in readings following Easter, the followers of Christ always recognized their risen Lord who now had now a transformed body at the breaking of bread. This was the sign of his presence among them and you and I continue to participate in the sacred encounter with the Lord in the blessed Eucharist.
What does this then mean for you and I?
The world over, there are two kinds of people; Christ�s admirers and Christ�s followers. But whom does Christ seek? Christ seeks followers and not admirers. He wants that those who are really his friends don�t just stop at admiring his actions but that they themselves join together with him to do the same for one another. In the event of the Last Supper, the Eucharistic meal and the washing of the feet what we often sing clearly comes through, that is, �You and I called from worship into service.� You and I are called to Service that involves self-sacrifice rather than self-affirmation, service that involves donation rather than dominion, and service that involves bridge building rather than divisiveness.
But being mere humans we cannot do any of this except with the grace of God. Let us therefore pray constantly for the grace of Christ to enrich us with the gift of Christ�s great love as we receive him in the in the Eucharist this evening and as we go forth to spread the good news first in our actions and then in our words.
Amen.
Good Friday Reflection
St. Teresa of Avila and the devil.
When Christ rose from the dead, the first thing was to show his wounds to his disciple. I picture him saying to them. Look my friends, I made it but not with out these wounds.
We also have ups and downs in our lives. But unlike Christ, our downs often play mental gymnastics on us. We suffer from a lack of understanding, a lack of meaning of things that come our way and we begin to question doubting in our minds: �If God really exists and whether he cares for us at all.
Christ begins his suffering in a very human manner. He prays, Fr. take this cup away from me but not as I wish but as you wish.� What an example he lives in this little prayer. Total submission to the will of God.
One good lady once shared with me her little story: although she had such a great love it was so hard for her to submit her problems to God.
If you are sliding your fingures into the guitar, Bob "the gong" Marley's Three little birds is a simple chord practice.
The Gold Cup is the big soccer event happening this side of the altantic. I live captured some of the action for the semis: Canada 1 USA 2 and Guadaloupe 0 Mexico 1. Finals On Sunday at 2pm Central time USA vs Mexiiico. fun!
Today I found something they say is Benedict XVI's weblog. It claims that he shares about his love for cats, his family, and yep! his favorite musings. I could not stop smiling as read through some the exchanges. Here, see for yourself and tell me if it's not a hoax papa ratzi
History: the Truth and lies! The Centrality of various Egyptian sources and their contribution to the takeoff and development of early Greek Philosophy is a hidden gem in the closet of politicized history. This article by Wim van den Dungen may have some dependable boldness and clarity in this regard. The Impact of Ancient Egypt on Greek Philosophy
In my view however insignificant, it's folly to deny the contribution of any part of humanity to the overall collective treasure of human learning and knowledge, neither is it worthwhile to attempt to set particular contributions against one another. Our duty is to appreciate the good, all who have gone before us bequeathing to us a great foundation and edifice, which still needs to be further expanded and richly furnished. Let us make this our duty and task beginning, continuing, and ending with Love.
When it all makes no sense I pray and play then it all makes sense. DD-12/17/2007
Love is total and touches the entire person. It can't be partial even if it is particular.
In Jesus, our faith is firmly founded, our hope will be totally fulfilled, and our love is real.
Memory is living. It is the foundation for virtue. It is there that we see the invisible hand of God carrying us through it all. DD-12/18/2007
Say what you mean and mean what you say.
Humility is not mediocrity; it is honesty. DD-12/20/2007
Details make the difference and the distinction. DD-1/30/2008
He who says that Catholics are not Christians can as well say that he, a human being, is born of cow. DD-1/30/2008
Our understanding may change; our faith we must hold unchangeably. DD-3/30/2008
The difference is not where or when or how we die. It is where we shall end up and how we shall be remembered. DD-1/30/2008
What did you do to celebrate Christmas?
Why do you celebrate Christmas?
Christmas is for Easter! DD-1/30/2008
Deusdedit - Dieudonn� � God-gave: It is only with this attitude that we can offer ourselves to God and one another with thankfulness, trust, hope, and love. DD-1/30/2008
O God grant us the grace to love each and every human being, and each and every creature for you do love each and all of them. DD-1/30/2008
Sin is when we have not loved as we should. DD-1/30/2008
There are fewer surprises in life, more are consequences. DD-1/30/2008
I think that there is a fundamental aspect left out in calling Christian love simply charity in the modern sense because for a lot of people charity is simply donating things or being "nice" to people. Is that really what Christ means when he says to us, �love one another as I have loved you�? DD-2/4/2008
Ultimately, my only consolation is found in the Rosary and the Office. And when I am unable to pray like this I offer my sorrow itself to God. DD-3/3/2008
Today I have seen a pregnant beautiful young woman and a thought came to me that that could have been my wife and my baby. Then I was at once aware how great a sacrifice the Lord has asked of me for his Church, how great a responsibility God has entrusted to me. DD-3/4/2008.
We may never rank among the saintly Doctors, but we must surely admire them. DD-3/18/2008
The vitality or decadence of a society can be judged from the type of entertainment to which the major sections of that society are given. In other words, one who wants to change a society must not only teach, but also persuade his or her contemporaries by providing alternative forms of entertainment in place of those which aim at not simply kidnapping the body but the soul as well. DD-4/18/2008
The true teacher must see the act of transmitting knowledge to others as an act of love and conduct that noble task in the same spirit. DD-4/18/2008
Comparison is the mother of envy. Envy and pride breed death. Only Love tramps all these soul-destroyers; giving way to inner joy and peace. DD-5/8/2008
Virtue is the health of the soul, vice is it's disease. DD-5/21/2008
In God's eyes, we all gentle things caught in cruel circumstances - A Dominican Priest
Preacher: How do you re-interpret your people's experiences theologically - place them in the basket of God's love and faithfulness, - relate them to the earthly life of the prototype human being, Jesus,- and inspire them to look forward with hope?
St. Paul: a) A Model missionary; at home with Jews and Gentiles, and sharing the Lord Jesus with all he encounters. b) Recognizing the essential and the peripherals & the situation. c) Proud of his heritage yet seeing all things through XT the supreme good (detachment - simplicity of life). d) Imperfect yet rejoices in his weaknesses (the centrality of the Cross!). e) Takes initiative, plans missions, cares for others. "Do not be afraid to say Yes" (Fr. J. Canary).
St. Thomas Aquinas: a) A man who enjoys life's simple pleasures. He embraces the human condition in it's totality. Convinced that God wants our happiness. b) Confident in finding the truth everywhere c) Eucharist - centered (the image of the pelican and her young ones).
St. Therese of Lisieux: a) Sanctity in the ordinary - sainthood without illusions. b) Handling the challenges of daily routine and encounters with other people. c) Willingness to abandon herself to God's love and mercy. Identifying with sinners.
February 11, 2009
There is a great message in the rite of instituting Lectors. The bishop says to the Lector, to take the book of holy Scripture, and to be faithful in handing on the word of God, so that it may grow strong in the hearts of his people. The cause of the waning of Christianity in many Christian nations perhaps has more to do with the ministers of God's word and sacraments than the changes that have occurred to those people as such. For how could the word of God ever grow strong in the hearts of people when it is so often not given to them or when it is given its meaningfulness is distorted or when the one who gives it disbelieves much of it or never takes time to study it and to live it?
All wisdom is not written, the best has hardly been written, it is lived
