Gratia plena

In the past one month or so, the topic of "grace" has been dominating my interest and reading. It started out with a simple question during a doctrine class in which a priest was teaching a bunch of us about sacraments - and in particular, baptism. I can't recall exactly what the question was -- I think it was adherence to natural law and the merits of non-Christians -- but the reply given was like a burst of light.

In short, he explained that in his experience, conversion to the Christian faith owes most of it to grace, rather than human merit alone. So, the non-believer or those who have never encountered the faith can be saved not only because they live in a just manner, but chiefly because God gave them grace.

Grace... what is that? Although I have been a Catholic for thirteen years now, the word "grace" has only been part of my familiar vocabulary in the last one year. Partly as part of discerning my vocation, the term "grace" entered my life through the various spiritual directors and mentors. And yet, its meaning was never made clear. At best, grace is defined as "participation in divine life." As if this definition would elucidate anyone...

Since then, I searched to find out more about Grace, and found an excellent primer in Charles Journet's "Meaning of Grace". He wrote brilliantly about grace - what it is, what it is not, and the role of grace in the Catholic interpretation of what some Protestants believe of 'predestination.' Pick it up and gain a deeper appreciation for the treasure that we have in earthen vessels.

And today, as we celebrate the Assumption of Our Lady, a day that has always been graced with signs thus far, I turn my thoughts to Our Lady, Our Mother, who is full of grace, gratia plena. Her immaculate conception probably meant that she never had to struggle against resisting graces. In fact, thinking about it, all we have to do is to NOT obstruct the workings of grace in our lives. Next to the Holy Spirit, she is our best teacher when it comes to cultivating disposition towards grace. Mater divinae gratiae, ora pro nobis.

Update on the rosary widget

The latest rosary widget is here... I know it has been a long time since I wrote here... here's one update I'd like to share with everyone.

What are the changes? I've put the rosary into beads-string form, and you can track your 'current bead' as indicated by a single rose. Also, I've added another link to reflection, not only to Fr Z's patristics rosary project, but to St Josemaria Escriva's Holy Rosary reflections.

You can download it from Yahoo! official Widgets Gallery here.

50 Reasons to pray the Rosary

Santiago passed me this beautiful link. Been immersed in work up to my neck. Since it's the month of May; it's too good not to pass it on. Pray the rosary today!

Did you know..

... that to run a console application on the phone you have to launch it using either a program like FExplorer or a remote console like QConsole? There is NO built-in way to execute a console application on Symbian.

I didn't, and spent almost an hour getting frustrated.

Lest I forget Heaven...

Tomorrow is the Feast of Ascension, and it marks the start of the decenary (10-days) to the Holy Spirit. I heard this story at Mass today, and I thought to share this here:

A monk was tormented by the dilemma of Eternity--he was continuously plagued by doubts about whether he could ever be happy contemplating just God and the angels for all eternity? A thousand years, maybe.. but for all eternity? Surely, man, so accustomed to variety on this earth, shall find something amiss? One spring evening, the monk went for a walk around the monastery and found himself entranced by the beautiful song of a nightingale. After what he thought were a few hours, he returned to the monastery. Passing through, none of the monks there were familiar to him. He walked through the different rooms, surprised at what he saw and realising that something strange was happening. When he at last realized that nobody recognised him, he went to see the Prior, who was astonished and remembered that a tale went that, a few hundred years ago, a holy monk had disappeared, thought to be eaten by wild animals on one of his spring walks in the woods. The monk then understood that when one is in Heaven, an eternity seems like but a few moment.
--similar story also found here

At Holy Mass today, I once again felt I am Loved. Utterly loved and uplifted from the shadows. Time does fly when one is in love, and conversely, it seems to expand to eternity when one is not in love, or separated from Love. What a loving Father we have; who came after us even if we forget Heaven!

Tomorrow is the feast of Ascension, when we celebrate Jesus' Ascension into Heaven. We celebrate this very much with the mind to follow Him there one day!

Path to happiness: the school of Mary

I'm currently reading this incredibly clear and inspiring book by George Weigel called "Letters to a Young Catholic". A dear friend had recommended it to me some years back, but I'm just recently discovering this gem.

Since I haven't finished reading, I'll just provide an excerpt from two chapters. The whole book aims to invite the reader to explore the richness of the Catholic faith and to invite us to contemplate and respond to our vocation; that call that each Christian receives from God. Weigel drew the example of St Peter and Our Lady in their discovery and the living of their faith.

In the example of St Peter, we are shown that faith in Jesus Christ starts as an encounter with Truth. And such is the quality of Truth that it demands we stake everything for its sake (vitam impendere vero).

One of the most important truths .. is this: the truth of faith is something that seizes us, not something of our own discovery (still less, our invention). The Peter who was led from Galilee to Rome did not make the journey because of something he had discovered and wanted to explore to satisfy his curiosity. Peter went from the security of his modest Galilean fishing business to the dangerous (and ultimately lethal) center of the Roman Empire because he had been seized by the truth, the truth he had met in the person of Jesus.
(p 27)
Being seized by the truth is not cost-free. "You have received without pay, give without pay," Jesus tells his new disciples, including Peter (Matt 10:8). In Peter's case, the call to give away the truth that had seized and transformed his life eventually cost him his life. And that, too, is a truth to be pondered: faith in Jesus Christ cost him his life. And that, too, is a truth to be pondered: faith in Jesus Christ costs not just something, but everything. It demands all of us, not just a part of us.
...
Peter, who has been given his new name because he is to be the rock on which the Church rests, is being told, gently but firmly, that his love for Christ is not going to be an easy thing. His love is not going to be a matter if "fulfilling" himself. His love must be a pouring out of himself, and in that self-emptying he will find his fulfillment—if not in terms that the world usually understands as "fulfillment." In abandoning any sense of his autonomy, in binding himself to feed the lambs and sheep of the Lord's flock, Peter will find his true freedom. In giving himself away, he will find himself. Freely you have received, freely you must give—if the gift is to continue to live in you.
(p 28)

Weigel also drew on the example of Mary, who remains a paragon of victory through self-giving and commitment, especially for our generation, who have seen the wreckage of 'modern loves' and have every excuse not to trust nor commit.

The first of the rosary's "mysteries" - the Annunciation - takes us back to Mary's fiat and reminds us that Mary as the first of disciples is also the pattern of Christian vocation. The Gospel tells us that Mary found the angel's greeting "troubling". And why not? But Mary's response amid her fears and doubts - Mary's fiat - vindicates the angel's greeting, that she is "full of grace". Mary doesn't' negotiate. She doesn't ask for a prematernal contract, unlike today's couples with their prenuptial agreements. Mary doesn't have an exit strategy. Mary doesn't "keep her options open." In fear and trembling, but with confidence in God's saving purposes, she gives the answer: fiat. Let it be. I am the Lord's servant and the Lord will provide.
(p 60)
...
"Keeping your options open" is not the path to happiness, wholeness - or holiness. That's an important Marian insight from the New Testament for every generation but perhaps especially for yours. We've all heard, time and again, that yours is a generation short on trust? If so, it's not hard to understand why. You've seen the wreckage caused by the sexual revolution and its dissolution of trust between men and women, both within marriage and outside of it. You've seen public officials betray their oath of office, and priests and bishops betray the vows they swore to Christ and the Church at ordination. You've seen teachers and professors betray the truth because of expediency, cowardice or an addiction to political correctness. If yours is a generation that finds it hard to trust and thus hard to "commit", that's understandable. But not persuasive.
(p 61)

He then next shows that despite our cynical propensity towards commitment, we are also drawn to figures which embodies commitment, like our Pope John Paul II of happy memory. How'd he do it? How did a priest from a Nazi-occupied and Communist-oppressed country manage to overcome the darkness that would naturally engulf anyone exposed to such suffering, to give himself totally? Weigel says, Mary is John Paul II's teacher.

Perhaps this 'trust deficit' is one of the reasons why so many young people found Pope John Paul II such a compelling figure. Here was commitment embodied in an irresistible way... Unlike popular culture, the Pope didn't pander to you - he challenged you: never settle for less than the greatness of soul that God has made it possible for you to live, because of Christ. At the same time, he demonstrated with his life that he asked of you nothing that he had not made, no struggle that he had not struggled through.

How could he do this? I think he gave the answer at Czestochowa, the great Polish shrine of the Black Madonna, Poland's most famous Marian icon in 1979. There, John Paul said, quite simply, "I am a man of great trust; I learned to be one here." I learned to trust here, in prayer before this image of Mary that draws us into the mystery of Mary's special role in the salvation history—which is the world's history, read in its true depth. I learned to trust, not in 'options' or 'exit strategies' but in the mother who always points us toward her son, toward the Christ who never fails in his promises.

That's why the inclusion of the wedding feast at Cana in the New Luminous Mysteries of the rosary is another invitation to think and pray about your vocation. Every Catholic, every Christian, has a vocation— a unique something that only you can do in the providence of God. That, too, can be disturbing thought until we recognize that that same providence will mercifully, repair and make straight whatever false steps we take in living out our vocational commitments. "Do whatever he tells you" That is Mary's message to us, as well as to the servants at the wedding feast in Cana. "Do whatever he tells you" is Mary's gentle invitation to make her fiat your own. Don't look for an exit strategy. Live in trust, not in calculation; stake everything on Christ.

In his embrace, to which Mary points us, you'll find the path to happiness, wholeness and holiness that you will never find by keeping your options open.

And all these, are just from the first few chapters! I'll continue writing as I progress through the book.

World Youth Day: fundraising

I'm helping some friends to raise fund to go for the World Youth Day in Sydney. If you're interested to purchase these miniature roses (made of soap) for any occasion (Mother's Day, Father's Day, etc), do drop me a note at catholiclinuxmonkey AT gmail DOT com.

They are available at S$12 to S$20, depending on the size.

More photos here:

SMS Operations in Symbian 3rd edition

Some notes of experience (most likely for my own future reference) to accompany the Wiki entry on SMS Operations. In particular, this is useful for those who are new to Symbian. The above link gave example on how to send an SMS, and delete the sent message, but the code (SmsHandler.zip) needs to be a slight tweak to make it work.

Problem Description: Usually applications that sends out SMS messages like to do so discreetly. The example given doesn't delete the SMS sent by your application?

Solution:

1. At the sending of SMS,
Change: need to put the Application UID into the SMS created at CreateMsgL()

2. At the HandleSessionEventL() for the new message to move from "Outbox" to the "Sent" folder,
Change: need to match the Application UID (inserted in step 1) -- highlighted here in the code addition for HandleSessionEventL()

case EMsvEntriesMoved:
{
// Entry id is obtained from the session event arguments.
TMsvId* entryId = STATIC_CAST( TMsvId*, aArg2 );

// We are interested in messages that are moved to Sent Item Folder
if ( *entryId == KMsvSentEntryId )
{
TMsvSelectionOrdering sort;
// to handle also the invisible entries
sort.SetShowInvisibleEntries(ETrue);

CMsvEntry* parentEntry = CMsvEntry::NewL(*iSession, KMsvSentEntryId, sort);
CleanupStack::PushL(parentEntry);

CMsvEntrySelection* entries = parentEntry->ChildrenL();
CleanupStack::PushL(entries);

for(TInt i = 0; i < entries->Count(); i++)
{
// iMtmData3 here must match your application UID, in which case
// variable 'KUidMsgTypeSMS' needs to be renamed accordingly
if( parentEntry->ChildDataL(entries->At(i)).iMtmData3 == KUidMsgTypeSMS.iUid )
{
parentEntry->DeleteL(entries->At(i));
break;
}
}
CleanupStack::PopAndDestroy( entries );
CleanupStack::PopAndDestroy( parentEntry );
}
break;
}
}

NOTE: there was a bug in the example given at the Wiki entry; I've changed this to help all newbies checking out this code.

Arrivederci, America!

Papa Benedict XVI has said "Tschuz" to America, after almost a week visiting the two cities, Washington DC and New York City. After he met hundreds of thousands of his flock as well as other Americans, the media pretty much decided that the trip has been a success. Well, there are always those who said the Pope didn't do enough. He can't please everyone!

Meanwhile, Americans and the rest of the world (aren't we all Americans last week? With Papa Benedict's appearance all broadcast almost live to everywhere the Internet reaches, we almost were), are going to have a good number of days, weeks even, to digest what the Pope has said, and to experience the fruits of his trip.

Here's an excerpt from a brilliant speech he gave at St Joseph Seminary, where he proclaimed the importance of freedom to be rooted in truth:

... The fundamental importance of freedom must be rigorously safeguarded. It is no surprise then that numerous individuals and groups vociferously claim their freedom in the public forum. Yet freedom is a delicate value. It can be misunderstood or misused so as to lead not to the happiness which we all expect it to yield, but to a dark arena of manipulation in which our understanding of self and the world becomes confused, or even distorted by those who have an ulterior agenda.

Have you noticed how often the call for freedom is made without ever referring to the truth of the human person? Some today argue that respect for freedom of the individual makes it wrong to seek truth, including the truth about what is good. In some circles to speak of truth is seen as controversial or divisive, and consequently best kept in the private sphere. And in truth’s place – or better said its absence – an idea has spread which, in giving value to everything indiscriminately, claims to assure freedom and to liberate conscience. This we call relativism. But what purpose has a “freedom” which, in disregarding truth, pursues what is false or wrong? How many young people have been offered a hand which in the name of freedom or experience has led them to addiction, to moral or intellectual confusion, to hurt, to a loss of self-respect, even to despair and so tragically and sadly to the taking of their own life? Dear friends, truth is not an imposition. Nor is it simply a set of rules. It is a discovery of the One who never fails us; the One whom we can always trust. In seeking truth we come to live by belief because ultimately truth is a person: Jesus Christ. That is why authentic freedom is not an opting out. It is an opting in; nothing less than letting go of self and allowing oneself to be drawn into Christ’s very being for others (cf. Spe Salvi, 28).

How then can we as believers help others to walk the path of freedom which brings fulfillment and lasting happiness? Let us again turn to the saints. How did their witness truly free others from the darkness of heart and mind? The answer is found in the kernel of their faith; the kernel of our faith. The Incarnation, the birth of Jesus, tells us that God does indeed find a place among us. Though the inn is full, he enters through the stable, and there are people who see his light. They recognize Herod’s dark closed world for what it is, and instead follow the bright guiding star of the night sky. And what shines forth? Here you might recall the prayer uttered on the most holy night of Easter: “Father we share in the light of your glory through your Son the light of the world … inflame us with your hope!” (Blessing of the Fire). And so, in solemn procession with our lighted candles we pass the light of Christ among us. It is “the light which dispels all evil, washes guilt away, restores lost innocence, brings mourners joy, casts out hatred, brings us peace, and humbles earthly pride” (Exsultet). This is Christ’s light at work. This is the way of the saints. It is a magnificent vision of hope – Christ’s light beckons you to be guiding stars for others, walking Christ’s way of forgiveness, reconciliation, humility, joy and peace.

At times, however, we are tempted to close in on ourselves, to doubt the strength of Christ’s radiance, to limit the horizon of hope. Take courage! Fix your gaze on our saints. The diversity of their experience of God’s presence prompts us to discover anew the breadth and depth of Christianity. Let your imaginations soar freely along the limitless expanse of the horizons of Christian discipleship. Sometimes we are looked upon as people who speak only of prohibitions. Nothing could be further from the truth! Authentic Christian discipleship is marked by a sense of wonder. We stand before the God we know and love as a friend, the vastness of his creation, and the beauty of our Christian faith.

Dear friends, the example of the saints invites us, then, to consider four essential aspects of the treasure of our faith: personal prayer and silence, liturgical prayer, charity in action, and vocations.

...

(more good things in the full speech)

His speeches and gestures revealed much of the person he is, and his words, source of inspiration. Read all of them here.

Our Pope turns 81 today!

Pope Benedict XVI celebrates his 81st birthday today, during his first visit (as a pope) to the US. His visit to the US is a major event (like almost everything else, everything is bigger in the US!) and will be covered by major media outlets.

UPDATE: At the lavish White House welcome ceremony today, he was treated with a warm welcome note from President George Bush, a few songs and then the soprano sang him an impromptu Happy Birthday for him.

Pray for him, as it must be tiring for an octogenarian to make such intense schedule in this visit! And of course, for the many fruits of his trip.

V: Oremus pro Papa nostro Benedicto!
R: Dominus conservet eum, et vivicet eum, et beatum faciat eum in terra, et non tradat eum in animam inimicorum eius.

Ad multos annos!