The Eclectic Electric Journal Of J. Daniel Lillich

Catholic Husband & Father. Curator, Accumulator, Polymath, Intellectual Adventurer, Raconteur & Purveyor of the Creative Life. And I Lift Heavy Things.

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Liked on YouTube: Phish: Live from MSG 12/30/2017 Set II https://youtu.be/IVyCwiFUDZc

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Liked on YouTube: Phish: Live from MSG 12/30/2017 Set I https://youtu.be/vRQ-CWEWvT4

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A resolution, if you will.

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Speak when you are angry and you will make the best speech you will ever regret.

Ambrose Bierce

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Anybody can become angry — that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way — that is not within everybody's power and is not easy.

Aristotle

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"Theology is there to give us a greater understanding of what we already believe." from "Catholicism: New Study Edition--Completely Revised and Updated" by Richard P. McBrien

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Without Grace

There was something in that last passage I posted that struck me. To date, I have been exercising my intellect without the benefit of Grace. I suppose that's what laziness does to you.

I became a Christian about 13 years ago. At least I thought I did. I was a follower in name only. Okay, I did it for a girl. Are you happy now? There is an intense amount of pressure when you find the girl of your dreams. There is doubly so when that girl lives 12 hours or more away from you and you have never had a girlfriend that was worth a damn in your life. When my wife was up north and I was in Kansas, with no options or life for that matter, I had no choice but to leave all of what I did have behind and see what there was for us as a couple.

What was I leaving behind? By all accounts, not much.

I was a college student, barely. I worked a dead end job and spent all my money on beer and CDs. Every payday I'd hit Best Buy for whatever latest releases there were and then spend the rest of the day and night blasting said music and getting blind drunk all while trying to find "the One."

Looking back as a nearly 40 year old, married man, I cannot tell you what I'd do if my daughters found a guy that was like me back then. Oh wait, I can totally tell you: I'd think I failed as a father.

If I would've read this post as the college guy I was, I wouldn't believe I was the one that wrote it. That's Grace for you. I didn't always understand that to be the case, though. Even as an early Christian. I was naïve in my thinking, immature in my understanding of what being in communion with Christ was all about. I was still imaging this business to be like "Raiders of the Lost Ark." The golden chest containing the 10 Commandments melting the faces off of evil-doers. Made sense to me. The touchy feely stuff was lost to a guy whose biggest responsibility was... Scratch that. I didn't have any responsibilities back then. I was floating on a sea of "Do whatever" hedonism that was lacking in anything redemptive.

Wait, what was I talking about? Oh, yeah.

When I decided to become Catholic, it opened up a whole new world for me. It became clear that my intellectual journey to Faith was actually a good thing. I suddenly felt God leading me toward an understanding that I could really sink my academically geared brain into. History, Tradition, Philosophy, and Theology. It's all there. There are lots of 1,000+ page books out there to read. I'm excited to spend the rest of my life getting to know Jesus.

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TIL #1

Being silent when someone is trying to see how angry you are is far more effective than blowing up at them.

Silence scares the living S*** out of people.

There is a story behind this post that will only be shared with someone (winkwink) in private.

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"Unless the grace of the Spirit is present, elevating the intellect above its own limited natural capacities, we cannot truly believe in God." from "Catholicism: New Study Edition--Completely Revised and Updated" by Richard P. McBrien

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"51 “It pleased God, in his goodness and wisdom, to reveal himself and to make known the mystery of his will. His will was that men should have access to the Father, through Christ, the Word made flesh, in the Holy Spirit, and thus become sharers in the divine nature.” 2 (2823, 1996)" from "Catechism of the Catholic Church" by Libreria Editrice Vaticana

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"A faith that one never thinks about or consciously expresses, whether in words or in actions, is in effect no faith at all. A person who had such faith would be like an individual who purchased a winning multimillion-dollar lottery ticket, but never bothered to look at it and so never redeemed it." from "Catholicism: New Study Edition--Completely Revised and Updated" by Richard P. McBrien

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#Reading: 1. Genesis 1, Psalms 1, Matthew 1.1-17, Catechism Intro.

I'm really good at starting things. I find that I'm at my best during the initial planning stages of anything I set my mind to in this life. It's when I have to continue it, or do it with any discipline that I fall flat on my face. I reall have nothing to say about the passages that were in the readings for today. I've only read the beginning of each of the Bible passages a million times. I have also read the Catechism, but this time, I want to actually teach myself to stick with it. God calls me to this and I will pray with every fiber to continue it and see it through. That being said, we'll see what happens from here on.

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Join me throughout the new year as I will be reading and talking about #Scripture as well as the #CCC #Cathechism #Catholics #Converts

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I can always choose to be mean to myself, to beat myself up over the petty things I've done for selfish reasons. Or, I can move past it and learn from the wise, to never do those things again. I may not be extremely happy in the moment, but I will grow closer to God.

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Liked on YouTube: "Flex Your Brave" - Hosanna Poetry Live Sessions https://youtu.be/0OSRiVMh1g0

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I set forth to make a habit of saying the Saint Michael prayer with my oldest every morning on the way to school. I haven’t been really great about it, but have stuck with it for the most part. This morning we did not do it and my wife asked me if we did. I said “Yes!”

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#wisdom for today: Do not lie, ever. Lying is ignorant regardless of what it’s about. This morning I lied about praying with my kids on the way to school of all things. To my wife. Great way to start a Monday.