St. Francis de Sales and Friendships

St. Francis de Sales once said, in his writing of Philothea, “friendship is the most dangerous of all love, because other affections may exist without mutual communications…” (p. 166). There are friendships that exist today which are based on merely assumption and very little communication. As described in Philothea, good and bad friendships may be compared to honey and flowers. A beautiful flower with delicious honey is equal to a healthy friendship, where a poisonous flower has bad honey and is an unhealthy friendship. St. Francis describes these relationships as flirtations. Without true, honest communication, and desire of a chaste friendship, there is no friendship at all.

A healthy friendship is one of “…charity, devotion, and Christian perfection…” (p.172). Good people who desire to make the opposite sex a better person would follow these guidelines: (1) caring for another’s well-being and (2) ensuring that they get into heaven is key for a healthy friendship. St. Francis talks about flirting that is fine only when there is the intention of marriage between the two persons. These flirtations are of purity, such as holding hands and showing facial expressions of affection, and nothing more. The flower and honey St. Francis speaks of was once good and held characteristics, which it no longer possesses. The flower was healthy and produced excellent honey for all to enjoy, this is how a true friendship should be.

Friendships, which are unhealthy, are ones of lust filled with selfishness of their own feelings and pleasures. People in these friendships do not take in account anyone else’s concerns or needs. They do not care if they have true love, all that matters is they have someone in the moment with them. These people have nothing but lust and sin in their lives and make no attempt to go in the direction of God. There is no care for another’s well-being or leading a sacred life, it is a life of sadness and loneliness. This life is the life of the poisonous flower, which produces bad honey, honey that cannot be benefited by anyone.

True, healthy friendships are examples of discipleship. The disciples led lives of holiness, following Jesus and proclaiming his word. If it were not for doing their best in leading a chaste life, they most likely would not have had healthy friendships among each other. Today we have the guidelines of healthy and unhealthy friendships because of Jesus’ disciple’s example. If we follow the bad examples we will end up as unhappy people sinning for the rest of our lives. However if we choose to lead a life of holiness, following Christ’s example, we will end up happy forever in heaven for all eternity.

The Beatitudes

According to Pope Benedict XVI in his book Jesus of Nazareth, the Beatitudes are not new laws to follow; rather, they are gifts that "reinforce" the Ten Commandments (p. 71).  In all, there are eight Beatitudes to follow, but Pope Benedict XVI only describes some in depth.  These eight gifts support the Ten Commandments, which remind us of Jesus' teachings and the word of God.  Like the Ten Commandments, the Beatitudes will lead us to salvation with God.

The first and second Beatitudes are closely related in that they share some similarities.  According to the pope, the first Beatitude, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven," means that they are the "true Israel" and are disciples of Christ (p.75).  The second Beatitude, "Blessed are the meek, for they shall posses the land," expresses that the people of Israel were poor and put into exile, in which Moses delivers them and leads them to the promise land.  The poor are grateful for what they have and ask for nothing more.  They do not care about having the best things in the world and they are very strong in their faith.  Israel knew that God would come and save them and they believed.  

The third Beatitude is about the people who mourn: "Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted."  Those who mourn not for themselves but for others, "open the windows of the world to let the light in (p.87).  Meaning, they believe in God enough to go through some suffering in order to enter his kingdom.  The eighth Beatitude is "Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."  In the gospel of Matthew, the Lord foretells the situation of the church which they were living through.  The church has become a persecuted church "for righteousness' sake" (p. 88).  This means man is and will always be looking for God, so he will stumble along the way because man cannot easily find God.   

The Beatitudes are related to Christ and discipleship in that they are all connected with each other and with the Ten Commandments.  The disciple decides to dedicate his life to the Beatitudes in order to live a more Christ-like life.  "The disciple is bound to the mystery of Christ.  His life is immersed in communion with Christ" (p.74).  "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me,"(Gal 2:20) is the lifestyle the disciple starts to lead.  Christ says to follow him and the disciple does so by becoming poor in selling all of his belongings, becoming meek, and having a humble heart.  The disciple mourns for others, gives mercy, and tries to make peace among himself and others.  

The Beatitudes are not laws to follow along with the Ten Commandments.  They are meant as gifts to be received from God after living a Christ-like lifestyle.  As Jesus said in Matthew chapter five verses seventeen to eighteen, he has not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it with the Beatitudes.  The Beatitudes complete the Ten Commandments.  By following them we will find salvation with our Lord Jesus.  

Miracles and their Connections

In today's world, there are people who try to argue against the Bible in saying that Jesus was a fake.  Some say Jesus never performed miracles, or he never ascended into heaven, or he was never born.  If what these people say is true then everything we were ever taught has to be false, right?  Wrong, what these people say is completely false because, Jesus is actually real in everything he has ever done.  We know this because scripture tells us so.  No matter how much one may argue against it, the Bible can prove people wrong both in the Old and New Testaments.  Some of these connections can be found in parable of the "Wedding at Cana" and in the beginning of Genesis, as well as in Isaiah.  Jesus exists today in many ways in that he is everywhere we are.

In John 2, Jesus performs his first of many miracles at the "Wedding of Cana".  Before Jesus performs his first miracle, his mother Mary, tells him that there is no more wine, in which Jesus responds by calling her "woman".  Today calling one's mother woman is not proper, but back in his time, Jesus called her so as a sign of respect.  This could be derived from the creation story in Genesis, in which God made Adam and Eve, the first father and mother.  Jesus is the new Adam as well as Mary is the new Eve.  The ceremony continues to progress and yet there is no more wine for the guests to drink.  Jesus directs servants to take six jars and fill them up with water and then to take some to the steward (head master of the celebration).  Once given to the steward, he realizes he has drank wine.  This was Jesus' first miracle which may also be connected to Moses in the Old Testament when he turns the river into blood.  

In Isaiah 61-62, Isaiah refers to a bridegroom, who the bridegroom is would only make sense if it were Jesus.  These two chapters are about a man who will come and save everyone and everyone will rejoice.  At the wedding of Cana the term bridegroom is used again, here he is the man who actually marries a woman.  At this point of the parable is where people would get confused, because through out the Bible Jesus is referred to as the bridegroom.  To make it clear, Jesus may not be the actual groom for the wedding, but he is still the groom who is married to the church.  The Catholic Church is his bride which he saves along with his people by dying on the cross.  

Other connections I found would be in Genesis 1 and John 1, they both start off with "In the beginning...".  The water which Jesus turned into wine represents baptism the washing away of sins.  The water also represents the flood God sent with Noah.  God rid the world of evil and saved the good.  Simple connections such as these can be found throughout the Bible.  The New Testament needs the Old in order to be understood as well as the Old needs the New.  In order to find these connections one must want to understand scripture and not think of it just as a group of words.  Scripture is the word of God and must not be taken lightly.  

Papa

When one influences another in a positive way by having good, strong character, one is known as being a hero.  In comic books, a heros is someone that protects the people from bad guys.  I believe a hero is someone who looks out for you in every way possible and who cares for you as well.  The hero in my life would have to be my father, Jim Cuevas or as I call him "papa".  He is my hero because he is an amazing person with a huge heart.  My papa has a strong character, which has helped to make him who he is today. 

My papa is the youngest of eight children and was the only to be born in the United States, not Mexico.  Being the youngest of eight one would think that my father would be spoiled, but this is not true.  My papa grew up knowing that life would be tough because my grandfather worked  several jobs during his childhood. By the age of twelve or thirteen most of his older siblings had moved out and got married.  It was now time for my father to grow up and help his parents with the home expenses.  Working at a young age probably took away from his childhood experiences.  However, I am sure that working at a young age has helped in his recent success.  My papa finished high school and attended college at Cal Poly Pomona.  Where he graduated, and received his degree in architecture.  

After graduating, he worked for Bank of America as a project manager.  He worked for the company for about six years and eventually decided to leave and start his own company.  His company manages projects, the same thing he did while working for Bank of America.  It has taken my papa eleven years to build his company to what it is today.  When it first started he had more employees, but like most businesses, one must let people go in order to succeed.  In my papa's case, business died down, so he made a sacrifice by not allowing his company to grow in size.  He has worked very hard at everything he has ever done in life.  

All my papa's qualities have lead him to his success over the years; qualities such as, courage, leadership, confidence, integrity, and character.  His most important quality is that he believes in the Man up above----God.  My papa thanks God for everything that has ever happened to him.  He dedicates all his time to work because he strives to give his family a better life and he helps the community around him in hopes of a better world.  

My papa is my hero because he has taught me many valuable lessons.  He is always teaching me something new in everything I see or hear.  He is an amazing person to me and there is not a day that has gone by that I did not yearn to learn something new from him.  The love he shares with family and friends is extreme because he puts in the effort to gain as well as to give back.  The main reason I believe he is amazing in every aspect is because he has the title of "Dad" or "Papa of Courtney."  

 

Home SWEET Home

According to Merriman-Webster Dictionary a home is "one's place of residence" or "the origin where one comes from".  To me home is not only the building which gave me shelter, for eighteen years of my life, it is also the town and people around me whom I grew up with.  I hail from a place called Riverside, California.  It is really not a town but a huge city that is still growing in size and population.  Even though Riverside is a big city, it still has the small town touches to it.  

There is historical architecture located all around Riverside, one of my favorite historical buildings is the Mission Inn hotel.  Built in 1876 as a boarding house and later on from 1902-1931 other wings were gradually added on, turning it into a hotel.  The hotel is known for its beautiful architecture, luxury spa, and many different style rooms, such as the St. Francis Chapel, Spanish style dinning patio, Chinese room.  Not only is the Inn known for its wonderful features, but there are rumors that the famous hotel is haunted.  Weather that is true or not one must go on a tour or inquire from an employee.  The hotel is also known for two different presidents getting married there.  These people are President Nixon and Reagan.  During Christmas the Mission Inn is covered in decorations, from lights, a big Christmas tree, angels, bears, presents.  It is a beautiful sight that has to be seen by anyone who goes and visits.  

Another famous building is the Riverside Art Museum.  The museum was built in 1929 and designed by architect Julia Morgan.   Ms. Morgan is well known for designing Hearst Castle on the coast of Northern California. Julia found her inspiration in designing the museum by taking aspects of the Mission Inn Hotel and the Riverside Municipal Auditorium.  Today the museum is used to hold local artists work and to benefit the local Riverside community.  Other buildings that have amazing architecture are the homes built in the late nineteen-hundreds and the old train station, now a restaurant, and the old carriage houses that have been restored.  

Riverside is not only known for its beautiful architecture but all the citrus it harvests each year.  A hundred years ago Riverside was covered with orange trees in every direction.  Today, there are not as many because there are homes being built every where.   Land is being cleared to make room for the growing population of today.  I must say that Riverside oranges taste better than any other orange imported to the local grocery story.  The beautiful thing about living in Riverside is when it comes to orange season.  The first few weeks of spring the orange blossoms in the grove and the city is blessed with an amazing scent of citrus fruit.  

One more great aspect about Riverside is the great food that can be found there.  The Mission Inn servers Mexican and American food and there is the Old Spaghetti Factory that sits inside of the old train station.  Across the street is a Spanish restaurant Sevillas which sits in a restored, run downed building.  This restaurant brings back life, love, dancing, and amazing food for every one to enjoy.  The is also casual dining that can be found in odd areas of the city but they are very homey at the same town.  

My home in Riverside is the roof that I have slept under for many years with my family.  It is also the place that I have grown up in and participated in many different activities with friends and family.  Riverside is the place which has helped shape the person I am today because of the people who live in this town.  It may not be famous on the map, but it is famous to me because this is wear I come from and the city now holds a little part of me.  

Life's Wonderful Blessings

Someone once said "you do not know what you have 'till it is gone".  This saying is true to those whom have wonderful blessings at their hands and instead choose to look away.  Taking advantage of an opportunity when it is first presented is easier to enjoy, rather than waiting for a second opportunity and it never reappearing.

My favorite movie is "Scent of a Woman," a story about an old, blind, stubborn colonel who goes through a self-transformation over Thanksgiving weekend with the help of a prep school student.  He learns life lessons about true integrity, courage, and where to go when one finds themselves at the crossroads of life.  

Al Pacino plays Colonel Frank Slade, a recent blind man, who lives a miserable life.  Frank decides to spend his "last" Thanksgiving weekend in New York City engaged in fine dining, dancing, adventure, and terminating his weekend in killing himself.  He believes that he will never find love or true happiness because he has wasted away his life belittling women.  Frank believes that because he is blind, he cannot continue on with life, but what he does not know is he actually can.  He is taught this lesson from a prep school student, who is supposed to be taking care of him at his house.  He learns from the young man, Charlie, life can be more, as long as you make it out to be that way. 

The movie has influenced me to distinguish right from wrong and observe the correct path in the cross roads of life, instead of choosing the easy way out.  Al Pacino has saved up his money to do something with his life and ends up unhappy.  I have recently taken an opportunity down a road not seen by many people.  This road is called attending J.P. Catholic University.  I am taking my one chance now to make a difference through business/media, I do not know when I will find the same opportunity again.  The message is live life to its fullest and not to waste it.  Take the opportunity to enjoy life now, do not wait for a second chance, if you do, it may never happen.   

Life's Wonderful Blessings

Someone once said “you do not know what you have till it is gone”. This saying is true to most whom have wonderful blessings at their hands and instead choose to push them away. Taking advantage of an opportunity when first given is a lot easier to enjoy now, versus waiting for a second chance and never finding it again. My favorite movie is “Scent of a Woman” a story about an old, stubborn colonel who goes through a self-transformation over Thanksgiving weekend, with the help of a prep school student. It teaches life lessons about true integrity and courage, and where to go you one finds themselves at the crossroads of life.
Al Pacino plays a man, Colonel Frank Slade, who once could see, but is now blind and miserable with his life. He decides to have Thanksgiving weekend in New York City, along with fine dinning, dancing, adventure, and ending his weekend in killing himself. He believes that he will never find love or true happiness because he has wasted away his life messing around with women while in the army. He believes now that he is blind that he cannot continue on with life, but what he does not know is he actually can. He is taught this lesson from a prep school student, who is supposed to be taking care of him at his house. He learns from the young man, Charlie, life can be more only as long as you make it out to be that way.
The movie has influenced me to see right from wrong and see the right path in the cross roads of life, instead of choosing the easy way out. Al Pacino has saved up his money to do something with his life and ends up unhappy. The message is live life to the fullest and not to waste it. Take the opportunity now to enjoy life do not wait for your second chance, because if you do you may end up unhappy.