Make Kindness an Always Norm

 

August 13, 2024

Hi!  How is each and every one? On August 15, the Church will be celebrating the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

On November 1, 1950, Pius XII defined the Assumption of Mary to be a dogma of faith:  “We pronounce, declare and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma that the immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul to heavenly glory.”  The Pope proclaimed this dogma only after a broad consultation of bishops, theologians and laity.  There were few dissenting voices.  What the Pope declared was already a common belief in the Catholic Church.

“Finally the Immaculate Virgin, preserved from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and conqueror of sin and death. The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son’s Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians:

          “In giving birth you kept your virginity; in your Dormition you did not leave the world, O Mother of God, but were joined to the source of Life.  You conceived the living God and, by your prayers, will deliver our souls from death.” (CCC 966).

We find homilies on the Assumption going back to the sixth century.  In following centuries the Eastern Churches held steadily to the doctrine, but some authors in the West were hesitant.  However, by the 13^th century there was universal agreement.  The feast was celebrated under various names (Commemoration, Dormition, Passing, Assumption) from at least the fifth or sixth century.  Scripture does not give an account of Mary’s Assumption into heaven.  Nevertheless, Revelation 12 speaks of a woman who is caught up in the battle between good and evil.  Many see this woman as God’s people.  Since Mary best embodies the people of both Old and New Testament, her Assumption can be seen as an exemplification of the woman’s victory. 

Furthermore, in 1 Corinthians 15:20 Paul speaks of Christ’s resurrection as the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep.  Since Mary is closely associated with all the mysteries of Jesus’ life, it is not surprising that the Holy Spirit has led the Church to belief in Mary’s share in his glorification.  So close was she to Jesus on earth, she must be with him body and soul in heaven.

Let’s show our love and affection towards Our Mother, Mary in many details around the house, such as, having images of her in every bedroom perhaps, even in the kitchen and laundry areas to keep her presence as she is truly our Mother and a very dedicated homemaker as well. Making time and space to pray the Holy Rosary daily alone or better with the family, as the adage goes “The family that prays together stays together”. 

August 15, Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, used to be a holyday of obligation.  Presently the Church observes only three holydays of obligation for Catholics, December 8, Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, December 25, The Nativity of Jesus Christ, January 1, Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God.

Following is the continuation of Our Divine Longing for Dignity (From Broken Gods, Hope, Healing, and the Seven Longings of the Human Heart, Gregory K. Popcak, Ph. D. Ch 5).

The Antidote:  The Heavenly Virtue of Kindness

Traditionally, the heavenly virtue of kindness has been promoted as the antidote to envy, but few people really understand why.  If envy is a distortion of the divine longing for dignity, kindness gives the ability to both locate and rediscover the center of our dignity.  Kindness is one of the fruits of the spirit (Gal 5:22-23).  In other words, it is one of the qualities that shine out of us when we are connected to God’s love for us.  Remember, our dignity is rooted in the fact that God loves us.  Likewise, we remind others of their dignity by loving them.  Those same people remind us of our dignity by loving us back.  The Greek word for kindness is chrestotes, which means “benignity, tender concern, and uprightness.”

San Diego Family Magazine

 Classically, love is universally understood by theologians, philosophers, and psychologists as the commitment to will and work for the good of the other.  Kindness might properly be considered to be love’s little sister.  Kindness is the commitment to look for little ways we can work for the good of others, to use what we have to make another’s day easier or more pleasant through simple acts of generosity.  Through those simple acts of kindness, we reverse all the ways that envy undermines our dignity.  To be kind, we must first reconnect to our sense of God’s love for us, which reminds us of our dignity.  That connection leads us to want to restore connection with others, to promote their dignity, by looking for simple ways to care for them. 

The more we commit ourselves to making simple acts of kindness, the more we enable others to flourish just by being in our presence.

Think about that last sentence for a moment.  What would it be like to be the sort of person who enables others to flourish just by walking into the room? That strikes me as a particularly awesome superpower.  Pope Francis appears to have this superpower in spades.  When he was first elected to the papacy, public perception of the Catholic Church was, understandably, at an all-time low.  Within a year of his election, the world was willing to give Catholicism another hearing primarily because of simple but powerful acts of kindness such as cold-calling a woman who was pregnant out of wedlock and promising to baptize her baby personally; embracing a man covered in disfiguring tumors due to neurofibromatosis; letting an autistic child play on the stage while he addressed an international audience for the Pontifical Council for the Family; and giving yet another child a ride in the Pope mobile.  Simple gestures such as these and others like them have communicated not only the pope’s genuine warmth, but also his deep regard for the dignity of others, and that, in turn, affirmed the dignity of the pope and the church he represents.

 

Sunshine House

 Brain scientist Dr. Daniel Siegel notes that “kindness is integration made visible” (2012).  Siegel’s research employing functional brain imaging shows that kindness is the sign of the brain working at its best.  The kind brain, as it were, shows better cross-communication between the left and right hemispheres and the higher (cortex) and lower (limbic) brain, which allows a person to exhibit higher levels of insight, mindfulness, and self-control.

 Some practical examples of simple random acts of kindness at home

·           *Pick a tissue or paper somebody dropped on the floor.

·           * Rearrange furniture, chairs that have been left out of place.

·          * A kind reminder to persons who use them periodically to return chairs in their proper place.

·            *Switch off lights after use.

·            *Switch off electric fans after use.

·            *Water the plants.

·           * Move furniture inside when raining cats and dogs.

·       *Switch off the aircon units after an activity and air or ventilate the room of stuffiness and odor. Open windows; draw down dividers.

·            *Empty trash bins; dispose garbage properly.

·            *Write down notes of repair and suggestions.

·            *Open and close windows in the room after use.

·          *Make sure you personally attend to and receive the deliveries of orders you have placed.

When the human brain is optimally doing its job of integrating input from your body, thoughts, and relationships, you feel a sense of harmony within yourself and your relationships.  This harmony is most often expressed both as kindness toward oneself (evidenced  by being forgiving of one’s mistakes and attending thoughtfully to one’s physical, emotional, and spiritual needs) and kindness to others (evidenced by making simple gestures that communicate how one cherishes another).  Siegel notes that from a brain-based perspective kindness is one of the best indicators that we are functioning at our best as biological, psychological, and relational persons.  Further, kindness is not just a sign of a well-functioning person; being kind can actually help restore the brain to a state of regulation from a state of dysregulation.

Depressed or anxious persons who intentionally focus on simple ways they might be kind to others not only lift their subjective moods but end up with healthier functioning brains (Layous, Chancellor, Lyubormirsky, et al., 2011). Being intentionally kind actually helps the brain reset itself after stress; it restores us to a state of improved body, mind, and relational integration.

What to do?  Make kindness a norm of always.  Let us resolve to be mindful and attentive of doing random acts of kindness 24/7 at home, in the streets, in transit, in school, in the office, marketplace, mall, Church, hospital. Our good habits and actions make each of us personally a better version of ourselves and only then do we become good examples or models to the others. Otherwise, we become less and less the saint or the witness God wants us to be. Only then is daily life a good life that is meaningful, intimate and virtuous.

Aleteia

Bring the above ideas into your quiet moments of dialogue with Our Lord in prayer and ask what He thinks of them and how He would like you to please Him and others.  Turn also to Our Lady and ask her how you could show kindness towards her and the others in daily life. Doubtless with Our Lord and our Lady your heart and mind will expand and you will find many different and creative ways of being kind to yourself and others.

 See you in the next post, “May tomorrow be a perfect day; may you find love and laughter along the way; may God keep you in his tender care; ‘til He brings us together again.”

 Affectionately,                    

Guadalupinky