THE most beautiful person in the world.

I know I've posted this picture before, but I just had to put it up again, because of what I'm about to blog about.

This excerpt I'm taking from St. Alphonsus de Ligouri's book, the Passion and the Death of Jesus Christ. This great saint expresses what I want to say, so well and so very beautifully in his meditations, I am left with no choice but to paste it here in my blog. =D

-------

VIII

Jesus one day manifested himself under his scourging to Sister Victoria Angelini; and showing her his body one mass of wounds, said to her, “These wounds, Victoria, every one of them, ask thee for love.” “Let us love the Bridegroom,” said the loving St. Augustine, “and the more he is presented to us veiled under deformity, the more precious and sweet is he made to the bride.”

Yes, my sweet Saviour, I see Thee all covered with wounds; I look into Thy beautiful face; but, O my God, it no longer wears its beautiful appearance, but disfigured and blackened with blood, and bruises, and shameful spittings: There is no beauty in Him, nor comeliness: and we beheld Him, and esteemed Him not.

But the more I see Thee so disfigured, O my Lord, the more beautiful and lovely dost Thou appear to me.

And what are these disfigurements that I behold but signs of the tenderness of that love which Thou dost bear towards me? I love Thee, my Jesus, thus wounded and torn to pieces for me; would that I could see myself too torn to pieces for Thee, like so many martyrs whose portion this has been!

But if I cannot offer Thee wounds and blood, I offer Thee at least all the pains which it will be my lot to suffer. I offer Thee my heart; with this I desire to love Thee more tenderly even than I am able. And who is there that my soul should love more tenderly than a God who has endured scourging and been drained of his blood for me? I love Thee, O God of love! I love Thee, O infinite goodness! I love Thee, O my love, my all! I love Thee, and I would never cease to say, both in this life and in the other, I love Thee, I love Thee, I love Thee.
Amen.

-------

The week has been nicely busy for me! =D

BUT, thing is, I'm finally LEARNING this semester!

1) The Metabolism and Regulation module has been great so far and I've never had so much pleasure learning about the different metabolic pathways that are occuring in our body at this very moment. Glycolysis, Tricarboxylic Acid Cycle, Gluconeogenesis etc etc, I never cease to be in awe of my Creator, who makes me seriously happy over smallest matters I never thought I could be happy about. Seriously speaking, after the retreat in June, I've been looking at things in very different perspectives and I've never felt better in my whole entire life. The things my Jesus and of course, your Jesus, our Jesus will do for you.

As a matter of fact, I cannot imagine why evolution has taken so high a place in the very explanation of everything scientific. Everything in biology these days seemed to be explained in terms of evolution. For eg., after learning so much about Oxidative phosphorylation, the electron transport chain and the TCA cycle, with all the many complicated steps that allow us to live and breathe the very air we breathe in now, I really cannot see why in the Introduction to Carbohydrate metabolism, the introduction slide says, and I quote,

- Life is a chemical process involving thousands of different reactions occuring in an organised manner.

- Chemical strategies perfected by millions of years of evolution are elegant and fascinating.

-Underlying everything is energy.

NO OFFENCE TO ANYONE,

For one, I cannot imagine that Life is just a chemical process. For if Life is just a chemical process, we are no better than the monkeys that we are THOUGHT to evolve from. We are so much more than monkeys, than just chemical processes. We are created in the Image and Likeness of God. Perhaps our lecturer was just trying to emphasize this point that metabolism is a serious study of these chemical processes that really do involve thousands of different reactions, but I cannot agree with the fact that the lecturer says Life is a chemical process. BUT one thing I like is that it also states that the different reactions occur in an ORGANISED manner. First things first, why would we be so organised, especially after learning about tissue specificity and enzyme specificity and all about specificity, if we are thought to be evolved?

Evolution states that a new species is created after many millions of years, one that has been evolved to a state of perfection and they say that we humans are that most perfect species.

Note: Can you imagine being related to a jellyfish?

The reason why there is so much order in our systems is because we are created by ONE creator, who is none other than God the Creator.

The second law of thermodynamics (a fundamental law that all things on earth obey) states that 1) Natural processes always tends towards disorderliness (towards chaos) and 2) the simple will never produce the complex. These all goes to say that the Universe is running down, going downhill into disorder. BUT evolution requires the exact opposite. It requires that the Universe run uphill, from disorderliness to orderliness and that it requires the simple to become complex that is as in my given example above, that the Jellyfish can become man!!! Evolution goes against this fundamental law and the only justification that is offered is that the energy from the Sun will do the trick. Thing is, the energy from the sun will not do the trick. The sun's energy will never produce order from disorderliness. The energy from the sun cannot sustain life without God, the sun's energy is definitely useless without God.

- Chemical strategies perfected by millions of years of evolution are elegant and fascinating.

This sentence is utterly crazy. God is fascinating and elegant, not evolution.

please note, some of the arguments are taken from Wallace Johnson's lectures on evolution.

2) the war module is also superb. Now, I'm concentrating on why Stalin's calculated risk in June 1950 was more reckless than the American failure to sort out a clear policy for Korea before then.

The study of history has never been more fascinating. I'm actually learning much much more in these few weeks that I've started term than in my past whole life. And Deo gratias for that. I'm not angry that evolution takes centrestage anymore, for in time, and history has shown it too, dearest Jesus will let everyone know in His own time, in His own way.

And so be it! =D

Till the next time then.

In Christo et Maria!

-rachel anne thérèse