Sacred Silence | Selah

 

Our Lady of Silence

Of course there is such an icon as Our Lady of Silence! I began to contemplate silence yesterday, and I ordered many (surely too many!) books on the topic from the library. Though I have by no means mastered the everyday duty to strengthen and govern my body, it is time to incorporate the second everyday duty, to feed and enlighten my intellect (see Feb. 15 post). I have sought the meaning of silence in the past, but I am finding the need for more serious, concentrated work in this area. 

As with all things sacred, we find that Satan has produced a diabolical counterfeit, and the spiritual pollution of a deadly sort of silence is to be avoided at all costs. True silence is rooted in the hiddenness and peace of God, in the abiding presence of the divine. A perfect image of such a blessed silence is that of Jesus sleeping in the boat while his apostles are being gripped with fear of the storm raging around them. Even the wind and the sea obey the Lord. Selah. 

James Tissot

The silencing of people for the purpose of controlling them, of striking fear into their hearts that is not the fear of God, is evil. We see this happening all around us today, with the silencing of the perceived enemy being accomplished by calling him racist, white supremacist, homophobic, transphobic, terrorist. We see it in the mass online censorship of voices that do not tow the party line of woke collectivism. 

We see our friends, family members, and neighbors gagged with face masks, unable to properly breathe, which surely should be an unalienable right. We cannot see one another's smiles, or sometimes even discern who is a stranger, and who is someone we know. People with medical conditions are refused goods and services for not masking up, their health exemptions not honored. In short, the disabled are treated as deplorables. We fear to speak or to show our faces, lest we be cancelled. Our lips are shuttered from proclaiming the Gospel. Selah.  

This silencing is the handmaid of a toxic noise. For the entire summer of 2020 we witnessed the chaos of burning and looted buildings, shattered lives and livelihoods, bricks and fire works thrown at people's heads, murder and rape, neighborhoods criminally occupied, police officers with hands tied from any action to mitigate the violence. We witnessed the pulling down and erasing of emblems of our country's history, and even of our Faith, and the menace of a cultural re-education to warp the minds of our children. This is the silent scream, the silence of the devastated and the dead. 

And all of this is called good by folks we once thought sane, in a country once known as brave and free. Selah. 

This is why we must seek a holy silence. We must quiet the counterfeit noise which masquerades as a call for unity and peace. Rather than fighting against the tyranny and oppression of our bodies, minds, and spirits, which will serve only to keep attention on the hellish fire, it's imperative that we determine what we are for. 

We won't undergo that process by steeping ourselves in the news and social media, or by striving to convince others of our point of view. When Christ is your light, you are a city on a hill, and the darkness is forced to flee. The energy and power to fight will only come from the calm center of the Sacred Heart, the cleansing fire of the Holy Spirit. We will arise in might only when the path is clear, when we know that He is for us, and we remember who we are and what we are for. But first, we pause. 

Lent is a time for prayer and penance. It's a season of intense contemplation. It is the command to "Be still, and know that I am God." 

Shalom. Selah. 

Our Lady of Sacred Silence, pray for us. 

 

What I'm "Giving Up" for Lent

 Sarah Combs bedroom, designsponge.com

This image came up when I searched for "Spanish minimalist decor." My home is decorated in a Spanish Mediterranean/Mexican hacienda style, with the goal of a colorful and cozy but uncluttered, minimalist aesthetic. Though I don't care for white walls, this bedroom presents the balance of color and interesting objects with a peaceful simplicity that I love. It is, however, lacking in books, which isn't to be tolerated, and I'd add a bit more artwork and personal effects. I find that one must begin with a vision for one's home, beyond the general desire that it be clean, beautiful, and orderly. What does this have to do with Lent?

For past Lenten seasons I've given up clutter, but I was not specific enough regarding how to make that happen in a systematic way. A couple of weeks ago I was contemplating conservative media in a blog post, and I felt at a loss as to how I might give up certain aspects of internet use for Lent. Immediately following that post, I spent a whole day internet free. 

That was a glorious day. I felt much less stressed. I was more productive, finishing all of my daily routines without feeling rushed. I spent plenty of time in contemplative pursuits--praying the Rosary, spiritual reading, and creative endeavors. It was, like, the perfect day! 

Instead of trying to limit internet use each day to a certain amount of time, and/or cutting out particular things entirely, like social media, I'm going to make Wednesdays and Fridays internet-free for the duration of Lent. These are traditional Catholic days of fasting and abstinence. 

As I'm a vegetarian (I don't even eat fish), I don't need to abstain from meat on Fridays. I will replace that with abstaining from internet use. I think we only have a couple of obligatory fasting days during Lent, one of them being tomorrow, Ash Wednesday. I'm going to extend Wednesdays as days of food fasting, in addition to internet abstinence, throughout this liturgical season. This practice will mitigate some of the internet-produced clutter, which is mostly involving that of the mind, but it also clutters up my time. This leads to my next plan for giving up clutter. 

I will work on decluttering my home for a minimum of three hours a week. I initially thought I'd set it at five, but I want to set myself up for success. Five hours is my true goal, but three will suffice. I will keep a log of the time spent decluttering, and use a timer for 15-minute chunks, so as not to overwhelm myself. The time I'm giving up for decluttering will be in addition to my regular housework. 

I think that between the everyday duties for mental health outlined yesterday and this giving up of time away from the internet and toward decluttering, I will grow in virtue, which is the point of Lent. These small sacrifices will have the added benefit of bringing my vision for my home to more perfect life. I will outline my plans for spiritual devotion for Lent later this week. 

Happy Fat Tuesday everyone, and have a blessed Lent!

Achieving Peace of Heart | Four Everyday Duties

 

One of the books I'm currently reading, Achieving Peace of Heart by Rev. Narcisco Irala, S.J., is going to be an informing guide for my plans this coming Lent. Irala was both a Catholic priest and a psychologist, so we have the good fortune of finding a path to mental health which is rooted in the Faith. The last paragraph of Chapter I reads as follows:

"Four everyday duties will help me to acheive a more healthy mental life. I must resolve, first, to strengthen and govern my body (nourishment, exercise and discipline); secondly, to feed and enlighten my intellect (serious, concentrated work); thirdly, to elevate and control my heart (love of God and neighbor); and finally, to strengthen and exerise my will (decision and constancy)."

I don't think anyone would argue that the Covid-19 crisis has brought about a worldwide mental health problem exponentially greater than what had existed before, and which had already reached alarming levels. If you didn't have a mental illness previously, likely you find yourself now struggling to keep your wits about you and your emotions on an even keel. If your mental health was already very fragile, you may feel yourself nearly drowning.

I think it's extremely interesting that the first of the four everyday duties Irala lists pertains to the physical body. Arguably, if our bodies are not strong and healthy, we will struggle also in the areas of mental, emotional, and spiritual health, and we will be unable to strengthen our wills for the good. 

For this first week of Lent, which begins in two days, I will be focusing on my physical being. I will write down a system for the benefit of my body, contemplating both my strengths and weaknesses in this area. At the end of the week I'll report back with the specifics of my plan. My primary areas of concern are sleep, respiratory function, and physical strength. Physical pain is an impediment to happiness and makes it difficult to concentrate on other things, so for me, reducing pain needs be a primary consideration. 

I think keeping it simple is always key to making lasting changes. So for this week I will work on only three habits, pertaining to a consistent sleep schedule, exercise plan, and respiratory health strategy. In the area of sleep, I will turn off screens by 10:00 and go to bed by 11:00 p.m., with a wake-up time of 9:00 a.m. I tend to need a lot of sleep in winter, so that gives me 10 hours. 

My exercise plan will include morning warm-ups, done standing up, to a couple of praise and worship songs. During mid-day I will take a 15-minute walk, with a route in my neighborhood I already have planned out. A stretching regimen is part of my evening routine, which I need to make sure to complete consistently. Finally, I will add using my neti pot on a daily basis, likely also as part of my evening routine. 

Each week I will proceed to focus on the next everyday duty on the list, and my hope is to have developed a renewed system of habits by the end of Lent. My ultimate goal is to draw closer to Jesus and to align myself more perfectly to his will, eliminating all manner of clutter and distractions, to produce a lifestyle that reflects my deepest values and personal vocation. I desire a peace that cannot be shaken.

Please join me this Lenten season for this journey to a peaceful heart, resting in the Sacred Heart of Our Lord!

Is Conservative Media the Answer?

I've had enough time on the free speech (viz. conservative) social media platforms, Gab and CloutHub, to form something of an opinion in answer to this post's title question, is conservative media the answer? The best I can give you is a wishy-washy probably not. 

First, the pros. I don't spend anywhere near the time on these two platforms as I once did just on Facebook. This is primarily because I don't know anyone on them personally! Alas, none of my Facebook friends have come to find me in either place. I have, however, joined some groups, and that has been a fine experience. The first one I joined was the #WalkAway Campaign, which was the reason I signed up for CloutHub. Speaking of which...

I found out only Friday that on Monday, Brandon Straka was arrested in connection with the Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol. That's a whole other story, but one thing I heard was that some of the "evidence" against him included comments he made on YouTube, and it was a family member who turned him in. Statements made to Fox News also got him in trouble. So this kind of leads into a related question, as to whether anyone is actually safe using any kind of online media. 

We can find safer options, such as email and internet servers that block ads, don't share your info, and protect your privacy. We can choose social media platforms like Gab that are entirely self-owned and don't censor or fact-check you or spy on what you're doing other places on the web. So you could say that leaving Big Tech and switching to safer options is something of a solution. 

However, if the Leftist mob can shut you down, they will. They are going after the high profile people who have had a strong influence against them first, like poor Brandon. I believe they will eventually fry as many of the smaller fish as they can as well. Unless the whole scheme blows up in their face, which I think is a reasonably likely outcome. I have no doubt that they will start eating each other before it's all said and done. 

Right now I'm leaning toward the conclusion that social media is a plain old bad idea. It's a distraction, an addiction, and largely a waste of time. Following the news, whether it's the big Democrat controlled conglomeration or smaller, more sane alternatives, typically does nothing for one's mental health. Is the solution to cut back, to be very picky about who and how much you read and listen to, or would it be best to cut it all out of your life as entirely as you can? I find that most of my attempts at moderation fail. Once I get started consuming, it's a giant, rolling snowball. I suppose the first step is admitting you have a problem, so I'm probably ahead of the pack by virtue of simply asking these questions. 

What about you? Are you still slogging your way through fruitless sessions on Twitter and Facebook? Have you discovered some better options, but perhaps find them only minimally satisfying? Does viewing the news make you crazy? So then you turn to a Netflix or Hulu binge for escape? 

Where does it all end??? There must be a better way to live. No, I don't necessarily think that getting 100% off the internet is the answer. My family depends on it for a large part of our income, so we must have it. In our personal lives, though, I really don't think it would be hard to live without it. Because I'm old enough that I have. I like blogging, which by now is pretty much old school. I enjoy a TV series now and then. I have been in this place before, and I feel stuck. What changes should be made, and how, if I'm going to live a life around the three themes of this blog for 2021?

I think that wiping the slate clean first would be a feasible approach. Cut it all out and then decide on what, very specifically, to let back in, and how much time to allow for it. For Lent, beginning in 17 days, I could give up all internet but blogging (say, a maximum of once per week), what is needed for work and homeschooling, using the library catalogue online, and a daily, one-hour limit for TV (including YouTube). But no news on any forum and no social media. Okay, I'm going to sleep on that, and then I will proceed to share with you how I'm preparing for Lent and this working plan. I might even give up coffee too, if I'm feeling particularly ascetic!!

The Domestic Monastery

 

I think, in a certain way, it would be easier to form a domestic monastery if I had a house full of young children. There would be so much less time for distractions, as I would have very little time to myself. Busy mothers have extremely limited space in their days for prayer and contemplation, but they have much more motivation for developing regular routines and sticking to them. 

So I begin the discussion of my third blog theme for the year, the domestic monastery, at something of a loss. My spirit is restless, and I feel anxious for the future of my country, with Joe Biden's presidential inauguration just a day away. I have a vague vision of the life that I long for, but turning away from the world seems so difficult right now. The urge to stay informed is strong. 

The idea of the domestic monastery, or domestic church, in Catholic tradition is simply the practice of putting God at the center of family life. Like life in a monastery, domestic life is ordered around regular times of prayer, work, meals, study, and rest; always keeping the focus on growing in faith and virtue, with an eye toward Heaven, our final destination. It is the raising of saints and the cultivation of an inner life of contemplation. 

I'm beginning today with re-reading Ronald Rolheiser's slim volume, Domestic Monastery. I'm also listening to Marsha Sinetar's series of recordings on YouTube, "Marsha Sinetar - A Casual Contemplative's Archive."

I am feeling like I need to get back to basics, move toward taking a sabbatical from the internet, and refocus my energy on simplicity and minimalism. My plan right now is to substantially reduce time spent on social media, the news, and YouTube videos, and to only check my email once daily. This will be a jumpstart on making plans for Lent, which begins Feb. 17. I will also, of course, keep blogging here as I am so inspired by the Holy Spirit, but I can't say how often that might be. My prayer is to have insights to offer to others, but I must fill my own well first. If you have any experience to share, I hope to receive your comments! 

Godspeed, Rita Michele 

The Literary Life | Big Tech Purge a Blessing in Disguise?

 

Having begun the discussion on one of my three blog themes for 2021, the preservation of liberty, I will now introduce the second, the literary life. When I originally determined my themes, I didn't recognize a connection between these two concepts; but now their close relation strikes me as startling. Perhaps I can open the conversation of the literary life by sharing my own experience in a world before the dominance of the internet and social media on people's lives. 

The majority of folks now seem to live their lives directly on social media and do not know how to function otherwise. It's a true addiction. But earlier this week I deleted my Facebook accounts, and it really didn't hurt! Because of what this "platform," which is really a publisher, recently pulled, in cahoots with other Big Tech companies, I could rise above the personal and leave on principle, an ability that I can attribute to having once lived a literary life. 

As an English major in college, I learned that literature teaches us about life and the human condition, and that by reading high quality works that have stood the test of time, we can gain wisdom and understanding. Additionally, by analysing the ideas found in great works of literature, philosophy, and religion, then developing a thesis and arguing our point in writing based upon the text, we grow in our critical thinking skills. 

Today the focus is on information, and the power to control it, and this information largely comes in the form of video. I enjoy watching YouTube videos myself, and I spend much more time on those channels than I do reading blogs online or consuming print books. Even when people do read books, it's often on a hand-held device, so an inordinate amount of time is spent in front of screens. People work on computers, check their social media constantly, sit for long hours in front of the television, and have very little time left for more traditionally human pursuits. 

When I lived alone for most of my 20s in the 1990s, I had the bare minimum of technology available at the time. My computer came from an office that had replaced their system. All it did was spreadsheets, which I didn't use, and word processing. I typed my poems on it, saved them, and printed them out. That's all I used it for. To access my hotmail account, I had to walk down the street to the coffee shop and sign up for time on the shared computer. There were maybe two people that I emailed. I bought a cell phone, which only made and received calls, and I used it predominantly in the car. I don't remember if it even had texting. None of my jobs involved computer work, except for being a library clerk, and that was in a situation of interacting directly with people. Every job I had required that I work in direct service of others, in person and face-to-face. 

In my free time I took a lot of walks, watched a little TV on the 3 or 4 channels that my 13-inch television was able to receive, went to see movies, plays, and art exhibits, wrote poetry and went to poetry readings, hung out at bookstores and coffee shops, spent time with friends, and regularly went out dancing. Oh, and I read a ton and wrote daily in my journal. I took classes to learn things like calligraphy and writing for children, in person, and then became a student of belly dance after I was married in 2002. I was a well-rounded woman with a variety of interests and was comfortable both in social situations and by myself. 

As a mother, I homeschooled my child in the Charlotte Mason method, which is based in classic literature and nature study in the field. Lots of time with living books, engaging mind-to-mind with the ideas found in them, and as many hours as possible spent outdoors were emphasized in Miss Mason's philosophy. So there is always a cognitive dissonance experienced when people assume that we homeschool online. My daughter, now 16, uses an online math program and some other online resources, but the bulk of her learning comes straight from actual books. 

Unfortunately, I have in great part lost the comforts and benefits of the literary life I once so much enjoyed, and I spend a great deal too much time on my Kindle. I can only imagine the self-imposed isolation of life on a smart phone!

Our path to preserving liberty is not ultimately going to be found in big government, public schools, Big Tech, or mainstream media. It's going to be found in libraries, homeschooling, private schools, churches, and local governments and communities. It has to start in the home first and foremost, and with the cultivation of our own minds and the development of character and virtue in the classic sense. It has to do with the re-education of our senses to wake us up to the real world around us and the redirecing of our hearts to the True, the Good, and the Beautiful. We have to get back to Nature, to self-reliance, to in-person interactions, and to a literary life. 

Perhaps we will find that the Big Tech purge of conservative voices will be a blessing in disguise. If more and more of us find the courage to leave the likes of Facebook and Twitter, and to cut our dependence on social media even when we find good alternatives; and we reinvigorate ourselves physically, intellectually, creatively, emotionally, and spiritually in the ways human beings have done for thousands of years, we will have the edge when we we need it most. And that time is fast approaching. 

In upcoming posts, we will continue to explore the connections between the preservation of liberty and the literary life, and how this all finds its foundation in the domestic monastery. 

Big Tech Treachery | A Patriots' Underground Railroad?

 

I'm sure you've all heard by now about Friday's Big Tech purge. Twitter kicked President Trump off its platform and even deleted his tweets from the official POTUS account. The app for Parler, a free speech alternative to Twitter, was removed by both Google Play and Apple; and as of midnight tonight, Parler's website server will be taken down by Amazon, effectively wiping it off the internet. Parler says it has plenty of others competing to be its new server, so there is still some hope.  

Facebook also made sweeping purges of users and groups, most notably for me the #WalkAway Campaign, a group of over 500,000 people, founded by Brandon Straka. All of the group's admins' personal accounts were wiped as well. #WalkAway was the most diverse group you can imagine, with people of all races and ethnicities, many members of the LGBT community, teenagers to senior citizens, folks from all walks of life. The common ground is that they have all walked away from the Democrat Party, and the group's purpose was to provide a place for testimonials and support. #WalkAway has no history of violent rhetoric or action, either online or in person. They broke no Facebook rules. 

Brandon is working right now to get his group reinstated on Facebook, but he realizes it's time to find a new home. He asked for viewers at his YouTube channel to find the group at clouthub.com. I joined CloutHub today myself, and it looks like a user friendly, alternative social media platform for Patriots. Brandon had previously asked followers to sign up at the #WalkAway website for the email list, only to have Leftist trolls report him as spam, resulting in getting kicked him off his email provider! 

On the news media front, CNN has launched a campaign to pressure cable providers to no longer host Fox News, News Max, and One America News! Both the social media and news media giants have been engaged in censorship and information manipulation for a long time. With the Democrat Party soon to be in nearly complete power of the federal government, the Communist coup will be a done deal. It's the end of the Republic as we know it. But are all the nails on the coffin pounded shut?

I doubt the effort to remove Fox News, OAN, and News Max will be successful, and even if it is, there are other options, such as LifeSite News, Church Militant, and EWTN, all conservative Catholic outlets. YouTubers such as Timothy Gordon, Patrick Coffin, the Rubin Report, Candace Owens, Dr. Taylor Marshall, and Matt Walsh of The Daily Wire group are all good resources for news and commentary. (Please note that I don't necessarily agree with all opinions or viewpoints expressed on these platforms.) Of course, conservatives on YouTube have also been enduring a great deal of censorship, needing to resort to speaking in code in some cases, so alternatives to that platform will likely be necessary too. I've heard Rumble mentioned in this regard. 

Just as Patriots may need to geographically relocate, concentrating themselves in red states, we will need to regroup online, finding new venues for communication. I think email, which has been making a comeback, is going to be instrumental as a way to ensure privacy and communicate to large groups of people. I've recently started using Proton Mail, a secure server out of Switzerland, and I'm very happy with it. 

One caveat to all this is that the conservative movement, by which I don't mean the Republican Party specifically, must remain entirely peaceful (while keeping in mind that self-defense could become necessary). Violent extremists should not be welcome. What happened at the Capitol last week did nothing to further the "Patriot Party" cause and gave Big Tech just the excuse they needed to launch their assault. 

I'm thinking in terms of a Patriots' Underground Railroad to get us off the "Democrat Plantation," as conservative author and activist Candace Owens puts it in Blackout. We need to find a new home court advantage. Mixing it up on platforms like Facebook and Twitter is counterproductive. No, we don't want to get lost in our own echo chamber like radical Leftists are, but we desperately need the support of like-minded communities, the ability to speak freely and safely, and places to organize our plans. 

Since Blogger is owned by Google, even this little corner of Organic Mothering may eventually have to find a new home...