My one word resolution for 2019

Every year about this time I choose a theme for a New Year's resolution that I can put a one word label on and just concentrate on that one thing for a whole year until it becomes an ingrained habit. I am pleased to report that this system has worked for me very well. Here is a partial list from years past:

2011 "Ideate" ("to form an idea of", "think of", "imagine", "conceive of","envision", "visualize")

2012 "Update" ("improve", "correct", "renew", "revise", "upgrade", "amend", "overhaul", "modernize", "contemporize")

2013 "Motivate" ("prompt", "drive", "move", "inspire", "stimulate", "influence", "activate", "impel", "push", "propel"

2014 "Ataraxia" ("Tranquility", a state of freedom from emotional disturbance and anxiety)

2015 "Contemplate" (Know Thyself, "examine", "inspect", "observe", "survey", "study", "scrutinize")

2016 "Intentionality" ("Intentionality" is the connection between our conscious mind and the object we are thinking about. It is the quality of our thoughts and beliefs that consists in their being directed toward some object or state of affairs. In other words a clear and conscious focus.)

2017 "Altruism"  (The practice of selfless concern for the well being of others. It is the charitable and humble giving of oneself to other people in many different ways.

2018 is "Meditate" (To focus and quiet the mind to reach a higher level of awareness and inner calm.)

My theme for 2019 is "Validate" (To check that something is true and that there is objective evidence from a valid source to prove or confirm that it is true or correct.

In this age of "relative truth" and "alternative facts" there is is obviously a serious case of "truth decay," and facts are likened to a "curate's egg." A "curate's egg" is something that is described as partly bad, but also partly good, whether that is true...or not. The term is derived from a cartoon in Punch (November, 1895) in which a timid curate, who has been served a bad egg while breakfasting with his bishop, when asked how he liked it, said that "parts" of the egg are excellent. The modern meaning is that something is a mix of good and bad but mostly one or the other depending on who is describing it. It is like saying after the massive white supremacist rally and subsequent violent confrontations in Charlottesville, Virginia in August of 2017, "I think there is blame on both sides. You had some very bad people in that group, But you also had people that were very fine people, on both sides.” That is a good example of a curate's egg."

It is said that we are living in a "post truth era" where truth is not necessarily true and this is damaging our democracy (and our collective morals) by calling into question whether or not there exits an objective truth. "Post truth" is based upon feeling and emotion and not hard data and objective reality. Post truth is moral relativism; the way that you like to remember the facts may be to your liking but not particularly by their veracity. Moral Relativism (or Ethical Relativism) is the position that moral or ethical propositions do not reflect objective and/or universal moral truths, but instead make claims relative to social, cultural, historical or personal circumstances. This encourages "truthful hyperbole," a presumed innocent form of exaggeration when the truth does not seem adequate. The reader or listener or political rally attendee is overwhelmed with a blatant disregard for truth and logical coherence.

There is nothing to be achieved by mere zeal of opposition to moral relativism, alternative facts, or political hyperbole. The end will be achieved through the concentration of all parties on truth, justice, and the camaraderie of charity (love through sacrifice) for one another. "E Pluribus Unum"..."Out of many, one."

Truth is Freedom. In John 8:32 Jesus said to the people who believed in Him,”And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

In John 18:37-38 Pilate asked Jesus, "Are you a king?" Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” After he had said this, Pilate turned away from the truth and handed Jesus over to the lynch mob to be crucified as a scapegoat.

Adam and Eve bought our knowledge of good and evil with their original sin and expulsion from Paradise but Jesus Christ paid for it with His death and resurrection and so we have no excuse for not seeking the truth.

May God bless everyone who reads this and may the Holy Spirit bring you light to guide your own path towards the truth.

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On Paradise

"It's Christmas! It's Christmas in Heaven!
Hip hip hip hip hip hooray!
Every single day is Christmas day!"
(From Monty Python - "The Meaning of Life")

This isn't the Heavenly Paradise that we all long for. This Heaven that they sing about consists of a worldly, consumer driven Christmas, utterly lacking in any religious or spiritual meaning, for the reality of the situation is clear: everyone in this Monty Python skit has gone to Hell. The true Heavenly Paradise that everyone hopes to see (but many won't) is the Paradise that Saint Francis de Sales wrote about in his Introduction to the Devout Life. The following is my adoption of his meditation on Paradise:

Eighth Meditation - On Paradise

Considerations:

1.) I consider a lovely, calm, summer's night, when the heavens are bright with the light of the glittering stars, a scene that rivals the beauty of the blue sky, the white clouds, and the glorious morning sun. I imagine that all of this falls far short of the glory of paradise.

2.) I consider the beauty and perfection of all those who already inhabit paradise; the Angels, the Apostles, Disciples, Martyrs, Saints, and Innocents along with all of the other righteous men and women who have gone before. I imagine what it would feel like to be in that number, in perpetual joy, unimaginable bliss, and incredible delights.

3.) I consider how the inhabitants of Paradise enjoy the presence of God who fills them with wondrous knowledge and understanding and the perfection of a being united in Him. The souls in Paradise are like happy children without jealousy and strife, singing praises of their Creator.

Affections and Resolutions:

1.) I admire and rejoice in the thought of Paradise and the vision of my camaraderie with Jesus, His Apostles, His disciples, my mother and father, and my ancestors who have gone before me.

2.) I admonish myself for not availing myself long ago of God's gift and promise to those who acknowledge Him and keep His commandments. How could I neglect or reject such a treasure for mere vain, corruptible, and temporary earthly pursuits?

3.) I will aspire earnestly toward that Heavenly shore, not for the reward of the delights that it offers but for the blessed relief to be with my God in the company of all who love Him.

Conclusion:

1.) Bless me O Lord with Thy glorious gift of Paradise which I don't deserve but I long for with all my heart. I wish to dissolve my soul in holy unity with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit forever and ever.

2.) O God, please help me to grow in faith and love for Thee with all my heart and soul and to love my fellow human beings without exception. I cling to the hope and the promise of my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, that one day I shall be with Him in Paradise. Amen.

Merry Christmas Everyone! "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."  Amen!

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Pass it on!

We live for a moment in time just once,
For one fleeting second, and no more.
We live our lives taking leave of the past.
In the last moment we fade into that past,
Along with the memories about us.
Nothing is quite as good as it seems to be.
All things are best at the beginning.
We tire of things, they fall apart,
The sunlight fades, the party is over,
The night grows cold. It too shall pass away.
We are created with a free will.
We may want to shirk the responsibility
And shy away from dealing with it, but
In the end we must choose something,
Even if the choice is not to choose.
The Golden Rule: forgive others and be forgiven,
We will be done by as we do to our brothers.
Forgive us our trespasses Oh Lord, as
we forgive those who trespass against us.
Choose well and the momentum will lift you up.
While the heart weeps for our regrets
The spirit rejoices in peace and hope.
Prayer is a spiritual consensus between believers
and the Creator; a spiritual union, as it were.
The cost of sacrifice is the price of something
That it hurts to lose. Sacrifice is conscious love.
Sacrifice is charity and virtue. It is God's love.
He sacrificed for us. Pass it on.

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