#Catholic ????????????????????????

[tomicscomics]

04/26/2024

It's a metaphor!

What's a meta for?

Nothin! What's a meta for you!

*wheezes for six minutes straight without taking a breath*

___

JOKE-OGRAPHY: 1. In this Bible story, Jesus describes Himself as a vine (like a grapevine), and His disciples as its branches. Branches can only bear fruit while connected to the main vine. If their connection is severed or tainted, they wither and die, and then they're pruned, suitable only for being tossed in a fire. Jesus is warning His disciples that their mission's fruitfulness depends on their continued, dedicated, healthy connection with Him and His Father. 2. In this cartoon, after hearing Jesus's metaphor, Peter declares that he and the other apostles (the "branches" in Jesus's metaphor) will "stick" with the vine. A "stick" is a long, thin piece of wood (like a branch), but "stick" can also mean "stay connected to." This is an inferior pun, because while the word "stick" has the two above meanings, only one of those meanings makes grammatical sense in Peter's comment (the latter). 3. Jesus replies that the vine (Him, in the metaphor) will be "rooting" for them. "Rooting" can either mean "laying down roots" (as in a tree growing its roots into the ground), or "cheering on" (like an audience cheering for a sports team). This is a superior pun to Peter's, because both meanings make grammatical sense in Jesus's comment. His declaration can be taken to mean either (1) that, as the vine, He'll provide the apostles with roots to nourish their fruitfulness, or (2) that, as their teacher, friend, and Lord, He'll be cheering them on and supporting them in their mission.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is another "Tomics Resurrection," where I have plucked the desiccated husk of an old cartoon from the withered branch of the past, and gorged it with so many steroids and hormones that it blasphemes nature but looks way more colorful! Also, it's been slightly reworded to flow better while maintaining the meaning of the passage; the disciples have been moved inside to the Last Supper, since this reading takes place either during or just after; and the image of the grapevine is in the second panel now, including a lush branch and a withered branch to illustrate what Jesus is saying. Tell me, how does it compare?

[csykat]

back from my mini hiatus! wanted to start off with something wholesome and cute

twitter

[ynhart]

Divine Mercy

[heresylog]

I could never be a Dominican because I don’t know how to think

[angelinthesnow666]

[theoreticallycatholic]

Um. So I passed out in the car earlier today. Thankfully it happened just before I put the car into drive and I’m okay now, but it really freaked me out. I’ve never passed out before and I don’t know why it happened. Any prayers would be appreciated.

[calabria-mediterranea]

Badolato, Calabria, Italy

Photos by Francesca Guarna

Follow us on Instagram, @calabria_mediterranea

[monstrousgourmandizingcats]

Catholic young adult groups don't be breeding grounds for bigoted maniacs challenge (nightmare mode)

[faithful-whisper]

I look at the ocean and see God.

I look at the ocean and see infinity, water everywhere. No beginning, no ending.

I look at the ocean and feel God.

I look at the ocean and feel peace inside. Belonging and love.

I look at the ocean and hear God.

I look at the ocean and hear birds and waves. Nature that He created.

I look at the ocean and want to stay forever

[mineirando]

"The capture of Christ" (1620), by Anthony Van Dyck.

[momentsbeforemass]

If only

(for someone who’s stuck in an “if only” state of mind)

If only                .

We fill in the blank in a thousand different ways.

If only I could go back there again. If only he hadn’t said that. If only I could talk to her. If only they hadn’t done that.

No matter how we fill in the blank, they’re all really just ways of wishing for something we used to have. Or something we wish we had. Or something we never had. Or who we thought someone was.

Regardless, we don’t have it right now.

Really, it’s a little way of grieving for what we’ve lost.

It’s understandable. It’s okay to grieve. Because all of us have lost something. Including things that we hoped for, but that never happened.

Those losses? They’re the kind of losses that put us in an “if only” state of mind.

Wondering what things would have been like, if only…

Wondering why it didn’t last, if only…

A state of mind in which we can easily get stuck looking off in the distance. Whether it’s to a past we’ve lost. Or to a future that may never come. Or a bit of both.

Looking off in the distance isn’t the problem. It’s getting stuck. Putting all of our hopes, our dreams, our plans, our willingness to be who God created us to be – off there, in the distance.

Whether it’s a backward looking “I wish I still could…” Or a forward looking “someday, I’m going to…”

It leaves our life – and God’s purpose for our life – for another day. One lost long ago and never to come again. Or one off in the future that may never get here. Which means that it comes at a price.

Where we get stuck looking off in the distance, it comes at the price of now. It comes at the price of discarding the only moment that God has given to us. The only moment that we ever own. This present one.

Which is why now, more than ever, we need to heed that voice of the Spirit. That impulse to live out God’s call for our lives where we are. Not waiting for the big moment when everything is just right. But in the small context of today.

In truth, that’s the only way God’s call for our lives ever can be lived.

Don’t pine for the past. Don’t wait for the future.

Use what God has given you for this day. To do what God is calling you to do. Now.

As St. Catherine of Siena put it, “To the servant of God every place is the right place, and every time is the right time.”

Today’s Readings

[truedevotiondesign]

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[apostate-in-an-alcove]

Oh damn the Catholics have joined in on the war against AI "art".

[willigula]

Skull of St. Thomas Aquinas being transported to Fossanova Abbey. Photograph by Daniel Ibanez, 2024

[heresylog]

Hey, I was kinda curious about what the Catholic perspective on universal salvation is. From what I’ve heard, the Church says that Hell exists, but does not compel you to believe that there is anyone in there. Would that be accurate? What else is there to be said about the topic? And is there much of a history of universalism amongst Catholic thinkers?

Hola Max,

It’s not widely believed. Our Lady of Fatima’s visions she shared are just some evidence people point to when arguing that there are souls in hell currently.

I’d like to think of hell as empty, just as Pope Francis does.

[angelinthesnow666]