The feast of St. Michael the Archangel is certainly hierogamous since he is the best example of an mediator between God and man other than the God-man Himself. I was named Michael by my mother in 1937, ten years before I was born, so he's rather special to me.. I think this is because of all the spiritual warfare in my life.
He has appears in Scripture and elsewhere:
490 to Elvi Emmanuete
708 to bishop Aubert of Auranches
590 over Castel'Angelo
1430 to Joan of Arc
1656 ended plague
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Happy Psalms
My newest inspired song, "Happy's the Man", came from the mention of the the happy psalms on our Sacred Heart Catholic radio station. I looked them up, the psalms that begin with "happy", Pss. 1, 32, 112, 119, 128. It begins:
Happy's the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked,
Nor walks in the way of sinners, but follows what the Lord's said.
Happy's the man who does not sit in the insolent company,
But delight in the Lord's Law, keeping it attentively.
Happy's the man who follows not the counsel of the wicked,
Nor walks in the way of sinners, but follows what the Lord's said.
Happy's the man who does not sit in the insolent company,
But delight in the Lord's Law, keeping it attentively.
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Dodge and/or Mayberry?
Watching an old episode of "Marshall Dillon" in which an attempt to disarm Dodge resulted in a senseless killing by a drunken cowboy, reminds me of gunless Sheriff Taylor. It reminds me of Archie Bunker's rebuttal that if you took away a man's gun he'd kill some other way. Guns do make it easier. Disintegrators would make it very easy and clean, but all Cain needed was a rock.
The real solution is not taking the gun away from the gunman, but making this world more like Mayberry than Dodge, more like a home and less like a frontier. With the unrest in men's hearts, it's no wonder there's unrest in the Middle East and elsewhere. The wonder is when a man puts down his gun or his rock and becomes his brother's keeper.
Our new gun law allows concealed weapons to be carried as long as the carrier doesn't drink. That's was what led to Dillon's problem. He didn't arrest Miss Kitty.
The real solution is not taking the gun away from the gunman, but making this world more like Mayberry than Dodge, more like a home and less like a frontier. With the unrest in men's hearts, it's no wonder there's unrest in the Middle East and elsewhere. The wonder is when a man puts down his gun or his rock and becomes his brother's keeper.
Our new gun law allows concealed weapons to be carried as long as the carrier doesn't drink. That's was what led to Dillon's problem. He didn't arrest Miss Kitty.
The Blame Game endgame
I came across Lars Larson's parody song, "I Blame Everyone, Man", about our president for whom we pray daily. The second line "I blame father and son, man." struck me as having a double meaning. Our current president has often blamed the previous president and his father, but he seems to want to blame even the Father and the Son. His attitude howver is widespread. You can see it best in the way that the Confession lines have dwindled.
Although my own parish is small and we no longer have a resident pastor, some other churches I can get to for daily Mass offer frequent Confession. Taking the blame for our own actions and their consequences is the only way to win the Blame Game, because only the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit can take away our shame.
I am old enough to remember LBJ's refusal to run again after what saw that he had done while in office. He found himself in difficult situation, inheriting an unwinnable war, and yet took the blame as commander-in-chief. Keep praying for all our government leaders to, not play, but pray to God.
Although my own parish is small and we no longer have a resident pastor, some other churches I can get to for daily Mass offer frequent Confession. Taking the blame for our own actions and their consequences is the only way to win the Blame Game, because only the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit can take away our shame.
I am old enough to remember LBJ's refusal to run again after what saw that he had done while in office. He found himself in difficult situation, inheriting an unwinnable war, and yet took the blame as commander-in-chief. Keep praying for all our government leaders to, not play, but pray to God.
Saturday, September 24, 2011
FAQ #1: What does hierogamous mean?
As I explained in my first book, Hierogamous Hymns (2000), hierogamous means "demonstrating hierogamy, the 'holy union' of two opposite things to form a synergistic new thing greater than the originals. Some examples would be: God and man uniting in the God-man, body and soul uniting into a human being, husband and wife into a marriage, Heaven and Earth uniting into the cosmos."
Pat Robertson and the Colossal Man
After posting on facebook about Pat Robertson's remark that Altzheimer's was grounds for divorce, I was reminded by a friend of his remarks last year about the sin of the Haitians being the cause of their devastating earthquake.
It reminded me of my quite different take on it in my article, "Haiti Quake Produces 'Miracles'". where I quoted Col. Gili Shenhal, " 'If you save one man,' we say in Hebrew, 'you save the whole world,' and this is one of the main reasons that we are here." and added "Some, however, consider the outpouring of charity from so many recession-hit nations to these very needy people the greater miracle."
Death for Haitian quake or Altzheimer's victims is said to be justifiable because the person is "gone" or no longer productive, no longer functioning as a person is expected to function. It was stated tonight in Off-beat Cinema's "The War of the Colossal Beast" (1958) as the Colossal man could not be restored to the way he was, but was now merely a beast. Col. Manning's sister did not believe that then and some of us still do not believe it. Once Human always Human! I like to think that the ending self-electrocution didn't kill the Colossal Man but like electroshock restored the rest of his memory.
It was then and still is the heresy of utilitarianism, the false idea that a person is only a person as long as he or she is useful to society. In a sense this is true, but the untruth comes in when one failed to consider the usefulness of the useless. Beggars were once considered a vital part of society because they kept the wealthy from growing too proud. That sort of idea is now considered medieval, archaic, useless. It is not; it's hierogamous.
It reminded me of my quite different take on it in my article, "Haiti Quake Produces 'Miracles'". where I quoted Col. Gili Shenhal, " 'If you save one man,' we say in Hebrew, 'you save the whole world,' and this is one of the main reasons that we are here." and added "Some, however, consider the outpouring of charity from so many recession-hit nations to these very needy people the greater miracle."
Death for Haitian quake or Altzheimer's victims is said to be justifiable because the person is "gone" or no longer productive, no longer functioning as a person is expected to function. It was stated tonight in Off-beat Cinema's "The War of the Colossal Beast" (1958) as the Colossal man could not be restored to the way he was, but was now merely a beast. Col. Manning's sister did not believe that then and some of us still do not believe it. Once Human always Human! I like to think that the ending self-electrocution didn't kill the Colossal Man but like electroshock restored the rest of his memory.
It was then and still is the heresy of utilitarianism, the false idea that a person is only a person as long as he or she is useful to society. In a sense this is true, but the untruth comes in when one failed to consider the usefulness of the useless. Beggars were once considered a vital part of society because they kept the wealthy from growing too proud. That sort of idea is now considered medieval, archaic, useless. It is not; it's hierogamous.
new book from Hierogamous
Hierogamous Enterprises has just published its latest book, Psalms, Hymns and Inspired Songs (Psalms Hymns Inspired Songs: from self-hate to Love through Scripture).
Here's what other autors have written about it:
Laurence Winchester: "Your book deserves all the success this site can give and I hope you do well. It is a fascinating, moving and humbling read and feel privileged to share and rejoice in your story."
Elizabeth Wolfe: "I like your limericks! This has obviously been a tough road for you, but worth it if you discover who you are as a person. That is the most important thing. I give you a lot of credit for working so hard to be honest with yourself.
Gordon L. Thomas: "I admire you from several viewpoints. You are extremely courageous. To write in such detail and openness about your own personal issues is an act of courage, to say the very least. You are an excellent writer and have a great sense of the rhythm of words. I just love your poems and songs. I enjoyed the one on the Klein bottle, especially as a former theoretical physicist, not that it is possible to be 'former' once you are a physicist!"
Rakhi Jha: "Beautifully expressed with a lot of heart and honesty. I particularly liked 'To Mom'."
Davis Craig: "You're telling a courageous and honest story here,
one which the secular world needs to hear."
Barry Wenlock: "Thanks for writing this. My friend's son has been very distressed about his own sexuality problems recently, so finding that one is not alone, will be a great help to people like him with similar difficulties in their life. I wish you all the best with it."
Rob A. Price: "Thank you for your honesty and open heart regarding this topic. I am
fully aware, myself, of the struggle the misguided attractions can bring-including the torment! I back this book 100%."
Fergus Davar: "Amazing stuff. Amen to you and your book. Your testimony gives glory to Almighty God (Father Son & Spirit). I am proud to have a brother like you. Sending you a lot of Christian love from India, yours in Christ."
Denise MacDermott-King: "This is heart searching. Your book has taken much soul searching also. Honest, real, poetic, touching in some ways, wow what faith, full of real love. CONGRATS on a very well crafted book."
Suzie Gulick wrote, "I love that Jesus is the lover of your soul and you are baring it to us. Your pitch is excellent, so set the hook for me to read your book. When you use short paragraphs and lots of dialogue, it makes me want to keep reading to find out what's going to happen next."
Daelle Worth: "Touching, Deep, Moving Book.It is clear that you stripped yourself naked in writing this and I love the pitches used throughout. I love the fact that you expound on scriptures to tackle the issue. It will lead others dealing with the same struggle to the right way out! And Congratulation on your victory... you are indeed more than a conqueror!!! Six-rated and backed. ;-)))"
Here's what other autors have written about it:
Laurence Winchester: "Your book deserves all the success this site can give and I hope you do well. It is a fascinating, moving and humbling read and feel privileged to share and rejoice in your story."
Elizabeth Wolfe: "I like your limericks! This has obviously been a tough road for you, but worth it if you discover who you are as a person. That is the most important thing. I give you a lot of credit for working so hard to be honest with yourself.
Gordon L. Thomas: "I admire you from several viewpoints. You are extremely courageous. To write in such detail and openness about your own personal issues is an act of courage, to say the very least. You are an excellent writer and have a great sense of the rhythm of words. I just love your poems and songs. I enjoyed the one on the Klein bottle, especially as a former theoretical physicist, not that it is possible to be 'former' once you are a physicist!"
Rakhi Jha: "Beautifully expressed with a lot of heart and honesty. I particularly liked 'To Mom'."
Davis Craig: "You're telling a courageous and honest story here,
one which the secular world needs to hear."
Barry Wenlock: "Thanks for writing this. My friend's son has been very distressed about his own sexuality problems recently, so finding that one is not alone, will be a great help to people like him with similar difficulties in their life. I wish you all the best with it."
Rob A. Price: "Thank you for your honesty and open heart regarding this topic. I am
fully aware, myself, of the struggle the misguided attractions can bring-including the torment! I back this book 100%."
Fergus Davar: "Amazing stuff. Amen to you and your book. Your testimony gives glory to Almighty God (Father Son & Spirit). I am proud to have a brother like you. Sending you a lot of Christian love from India, yours in Christ."
Denise MacDermott-King: "This is heart searching. Your book has taken much soul searching also. Honest, real, poetic, touching in some ways, wow what faith, full of real love. CONGRATS on a very well crafted book."
Suzie Gulick wrote, "I love that Jesus is the lover of your soul and you are baring it to us. Your pitch is excellent, so set the hook for me to read your book. When you use short paragraphs and lots of dialogue, it makes me want to keep reading to find out what's going to happen next."
Daelle Worth: "Touching, Deep, Moving Book.It is clear that you stripped yourself naked in writing this and I love the pitches used throughout. I love the fact that you expound on scriptures to tackle the issue. It will lead others dealing with the same struggle to the right way out! And Congratulation on your victory... you are indeed more than a conqueror!!! Six-rated and backed. ;-)))"
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