About this blog
The purpose of my blog is primarily to share the meditations and ideas that I develop in my studies, prayers, and contemplations as well as collecting an archive of resources and notes for myself to use. By having it all in one location, I can easily access said resources, see development in my thoughts, and offer my ideas up for critique and feedback from others. Another reason is my desire to fulfill one of the callings of the Lay Dominicans, which is the preaching or sharing the fruits of contemplation. I am not a Lay Dominican as of today, but I hope and pray to one day join their Third Order, so this is my attempt at living out that calling to the best of my ability.
Why meditation and study?
I am a Roman Catholic and seek to live out my faith perfectly aligned to the will of God–in all aspects of my life. More than anything, I desire to one day, as I stand in front of my Creator, to be called His “Good and Faithful Servant” who used all her skills, resources, and abilities in a manner pleasing to Him (Matthew 5:21). The question is: how to become this servant? By immediately and consistently following my Master’s orders and commands. I know the negative ones–those that tell me what I am NOT to do–but I still need to fulfill the positive commands.
Christ tells us to “be perfect” as His heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48). He tells us to fulfill the works of mercy, both the physical and spiritual. He tells us to fast and to pray. But what does this all look like in the 21st century? How am I to fulfill these commands, practically speaking? How can I know that I am actually doing what God desires and not merely deceiving myself? This goal requires a knowledge of God’s will as well as the virtues needed to execute that knowledge, both of which mean I must study, meditate on what I study, then daily examine my behavior to ensure I am living out what I study. As Aristotle says in his Nicomachean Ethics, the goal of study is to be good, not just to know how to be good:
We are inquiring not in order to know what virtue is, but in order to become good, since otherwise the inquiry is of no benefit. (Book II, Chapter 2)
What to study?
Luckily, I am not left an orphan. I am not left to discover these truths all on my own, with no guidance. By God’s providence, I was born into the Catholic Church, with all her rich heritage of saints, teachings, precepts, histories, and above all, her sacraments. All I must do is take advantage of these goods and plunge into them with my whole being, so that I can form my opinions and make my decisions not with my own opinions, but with the wisdom of those holier and more virtuous than me. There is no greater comfort and encouragement than this in my pursuits of study.
I offer up this work of mine to God and ask His blessing in my pursuits of holiness, not for me own sake but for His. I beseech my Blessed Mother to pray for me and ask for the intercession of St. Dominic, St. Thomas Aquinas, and St. Catherine of Sienna, my models and inspirations. I hope to join them one day in the eternal contemplation and worship of God, but I choose to begin now.
I hope you find this blog helpful.
Glory be to God forever. Amen.
LPC Meditations 