Reflections from the Mission

On a Sunday Morning

 

Man lives by symbols.  He cannot realize a concept, an idea, until he has bridged the abstract with the analogous world.  Only then does thought declare itself. Only then does thought become real and lasting. 

For a man's most inner striving is to seek and to search; and in this quest he is as the motherless child who wills to hope for that which he cannot see, cannot hear, and cannot touch. 

As with this child, man feels the loss, the separation.  His life becomes one of searching.  He sees a sign post just ahead… "If only this…" the sign post reads.  Thus sets he a goal, "If only this…" 

Along the way the goal is reached.  But the frustration remains, the loss is still felt. 

In endless circles does man travel, day after day, night after night, wishing and hoping all the while that if only this would be, or that would be, then all would be right again.

Man's chronic frustration with life, his inability to be satisfied with – that he lives! That he exists!          stems from this sense of separation which he feels. 

He feels alone in this world, a stranger on the earth; and in his attempt to alleviate this feeling of loneliness he searches for his cause. 

To be sure, man does seek meaning and purpose in life; man is in a search for meaning.  But this search for meaning is a by-product of an effort to reduce the sense of loss which he is experiencing. 

As with the motherless child, when he has found her, then will his separation be gone, his search will be over, his life will be complete.

Man must believe.  Man must believe that his life is shared and interwoven with another.  For without this - he is as the motherless child, alone, seeking and searching for that which he cannot see, cannot hear, and cannot touch.

Man's search for meaning is his search for God.  That God exists he knows.  For mankind seeks to unite – to bring together the missing parts.  He seeks to make complete and whole that which is separated.  And though at times he may deny his own separation, his own loss, he is in constant motion to alleviate his loss.

This is what mankind is about:  He seeks to find his Creator. That which cradled him in His arms during that first moment when life began.

Да благословит Бог народ Российской Федерации! 

That is to say, Gott segne das Volk der Russischen Föderation,  & to remind the world that the German people according to the Great American President, J.F. Kennedy, are  still today jelly filled deoughnuts; that is to say in American idiom it means "One who has lost all their courage."  After all, when their  loved and admired American president proclaimed that he was in agreement with them "ONE with the German people - I AM a,  "Ich bin ein Berliner" they, the Berlin Germans applauded in unison -  in unison for they knew that this American President, a true war hero, was telling the people of Berlin and German people both East and West - STAND UP FOR YOUR NATION AND HAVE THE BACKBONE AGAIN of which your history attest to. Deutschland   Deutschland Ueber Alles ,  Germany  . . . . Germany  Above All   Audio.  And you are ashamed of being a German?  And just what is wrong with being German person?  How is that any different than saying "The United States is the Exceptional Nation"  Or that I (Nenad) am proud of being an American citizen. Because I am, still am, because the good that America has done far far outweighs the bad.  So too is this true of Germany.  It's past greatness lives on and as vibrant as ever.  And since my father was an Austrian I shall play this for you too.  It seems to have a bit of  Hollywood in it . That's OK, I am not offended. From the Movie: Sissi  But I caution you, I am no sissi - not even in my old age and neither are Austrain people.

History clearly shows that EVIL PEOPLE often times force their way into ruling a country and blemish that country's character, its reputation and leave a stain on that county's history.  But Germany long ago scrubbed clean the dirt that had stained its good reputation with the destruction of the NAZI political machine and its militarist who for a while controlled the German nation.

And was not  Russia and the Soviets a major contributor to the defeat of these NAZI, not true Germans.

The NAZI were NOT ever representive of the people who brought us the truly greats such as Johann von Goethe, and a Mozart, and Einstein, Max Plank, and that Grand Master, Ludwig van Beethoven; And your children and young adults are able to sing such magnificant chorus music composure as Georg Friendrich Handel, Der Messias - Halleluja . [ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMxCT_WNqCI ]

Georg Friendrich Handel was a German Baroque composer who visited Britain.  Same too with Hydn;  So too did Johann Christoph Friedrich Bach   His dad was THEE Johann Sebastian Bach.  And J.S. Bach had many harmonics, Johann being one of them, and there were three other harmonics of which you hear not so much.  You hear a lot of Mozart  in Johann. . .( Mozart - He was the greatest of them all, that comet that lights up the sky once in a thousand years; first there was music, then there was Mozart.  In my opinion) And, he was Austrian too, just a little more pure than the pure German but only by a gene or two.  But since the master himself, Mozart and the Johan Bach - were of the same time and both visit England of that time that is not supprising that Mozart influence Johann.   

I say to the German people of TODAY.  May our God bless the German people of Today and Yesterday and bury once and forever more the evil that for just a while forced its way upon the German people. 

The people never condoned or acquiesced [ einwilligen ] to this NAZI might, powerful and cruel - nor capable of doing much about it - anymore than the American people were able to intervene against the war hawks of the Vietnam Era or today, or today condone or acquiesce to the slaughter of the innocent now happening in various parts of world - of which, in my personal opinion is a result of the same NAZI mentality as of 79 years ago, one year longer than my life time today. 

I don't feel soiled because 50 pecent of my genes are German made and made in Munchen Germany in fact; or to be more plain spoken, it happened in Munchen one crisp sunny Sunday day; nine months after the Second World War to End All Wars - I happened along.  And I can truthfully say, I am German engineered and proud of it.  Gene wiz. 

You do know from whom your national anthem music comes from?  " Kaiserhymne " ( sound only )

Listen here, I wish that I could be in that church today speaking and singing the words that I hear, where once as a small child I did speak the language, the language of my early childhood until about age six.  

Friends - I tell you the truth as a fellow German, and as a fellow Serbian, and as a loyal citizen of the United States and a friend and admirer of the NEW Russia, not the old Soviet Russia of Whom John Kennedy was referring to on that June 1963 day in Berlin - but the Russia of today with similar great culture as Germany and admirable history and whose people are of a kind character with a live and let live attitude who brought to Germany low very low priced energy and whose only desire is be friends with you and engage in mutually beneficial joint  economic ventures and share with each other joint cultural persuits.

Freunde, ich sage euch die Wahrheit, the people of The Russian Federation and its leader,  Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin   with the Russians - who lament today in sadness and pitty that YES  - you have become that of which you applauded that day in June 26, 1963 , jelly deoughnuts when you could have remained the dynamo of EU and European industry and innovation and "German Engineering"   The world recognized German Engineering  as meaning The Best  in Quality and Engineering.

Friends, this man is NOT your enemy.  That is propaganda from those who have destroyed your economy and the future prosperity of Germany  and your children's future  (in my opinion under which I assert my 1st. Amendment rights)  But this damage can be reversed.  Abraham Lincoln once said, it is less  expensive to make a friend than to have a war.

President Putin, as does the President of China, Xi Jinping, want only to have peace and commerce and joint ventures that are mutually beneficial to both Germany and Russia, China and others too who see the value of a more equitable business relationship where both parties profit and gain; shared cultural exchanges to promote understanding between peoples of different nations with different cultures, customs and languages. 

What is done is done.  Look ahead and be . . . FUTURE ORIENTED . . .   This is definately true of the German people - to look to the future and to begin again in a new and better direction and their childen and their children will benefit from the wise decisions of Germany's leaders of today.

Auf Wiedersehen & До свидания пока  & Au revoir pour l'instant &  збогом за сада [zbogom za sada]

---

2024-march-29 @ 3:55am No changes made here.

Nenad (Cuic) Downing, Marion Mission,

May 20, 1984

2024-march-29 @ 3:55am No changes made here.

The circumstance of my being at Marion Mission, about 40 miles west of Chattanooga, was my interest in becoming a brother, a monk, somewhat as Thomas Merton had done. I was drawn to all things Catholic. A Fr. Rudesell from the Peter and Paul Catholic Church in downtown Chattanooga (where I often attended) brought me to the Mission and introduced me to Fr. Basil Mattingly.  I often stayed at the Mission on weekends and during my vacation time from work.

An event happened one very early Sunday morning which I cannot explain. But some years ago I did explain in writing to a long time Catholic friend of over 40 years what had transpired. If he outlives me then perhaps he can explain. Later in the afternoon I wrote down the prose that I have written above.

The circumstance of my being at Marion Mission, about 40 miles west of Chattanooga, was my interest in becoming a brother, a monk, somewhat as Thomas Merton had done. I was drawn to all things Catholic. A Fr. Rudesell from the Peter and Paul Catholic Church in downtown Chattanooga (where I often attended) brought me to the Mission and introduced me to Fr. Basil Mattingly.  I often stayed at the Mission on weekends and during my vacation time from work.

An event happened one very early Sunday morning which I cannot explain. But some years ago I did explain in writing to a long time Catholic friend of over 40 years what had transpired. If he outlives me then perhaps he can explain. Later in the afternoon I wrote down the prose that I have written above.

I will say this and nothing more. There is another dimension in the universe. It is a reality but which is beyond our immediate perceptions, that which we perceive with our senses. I believe also that this other dimension logically explains the many paradoxes to be found in Quantum Mechanics.

We see from time to time evidence of something, an unexplained great unknown something. This includes such phenomena as the so called flying unknown phenomena at speeds and maneuverability that is beyond explanation by ordinary science. Tucker Carlson, also himself a phenomenom but apparently of this earth, has brought up these interesting happenings on his television show from time to time.

The unexplained great unknown something also includes a thing we call "Medical Miracles." And these miracles are invoked so often by the process of prayer that this too, prayer, is part of the equation to be solved.

Lastly I will tell you this: the Apparations of Our Lady, as the Catholics refer to the phenomena - are also real - as real as the flying UFOs that are detected by objective evidence devices such as radar and video recordings. When you study the matter to assess its validity - that is to say, the appearances from time to time in history and so many of these visitations in that history have been recorded - the preponderance of the evidence shouts loud and clear to all who have ears to hear and eyes to see - the phenomena, what ever it truly be - it is real! 

Schrodinger's cat. I could go on and on, the Double-slit experiment, and much more - the great unknown somethings that seem to defy common sense, an explanation today and certainly were not even thought about at the time of Miraculous Medial or even Fatima and so many other instances where what is seen and often what is felt and sometimes what is heard seems to defy the science of our time as clearly it did at the time of Catherine Laboure.

What does it all mean? That a Lady appears to us in the sky, a picture, a painting, there in the sky, and is seen by people; what does it mean that an unexplained moving object recorded by scientific devices is measured and observed by expert witnesses such as military pilots? 

It means in my opinion that a great unknown something is telling us - that it, the great unknown something exists! That it is real. That is to say, there is another reality - another dimension in the universe - shall we call it heaven?

This I know above all else that I have observed and felt in my life time. There exists a spiritual world, bound by its own set of laws - spiritual laws that hold it together. It appears that we can tap into this dimension with the energy of our prays, our contemplations and wonderment of it all. Some will say, "What is the proof." Swamiji Vivekananda has replied in his lectures (all of which are available on this website and others) that "it is unfair to ask for a material proof to spiritual phenomena."

You can understand that there exists different states of matter. As the cosmos are studied in depth by the astronomers - what IS often becomes what WAS.  The Steady-state theory, proposed in 1948 by Bondi, T. Gold and Sir Fred Hoyle is today WHAT WAS but in 1948 it was what IS.

aside> By the way, here is something to give you goose bumps - but don't blame it on the goose or you may yourself get goosed by new knowledge.

Thomas Gold, a world famous astonomer from yesteryear - proposed, along with other scientists from the past - the Abiogenic petroleum origin of OIL. Black gold! Really a complement if you are a back dude.

The abiogenic petroleum origin proposes that most of earth's petroleum and natural gas deposits were formed inorganically"Wiki, see link above.

Now Wiki article sort of poo poos Gold's theory. By the way, his book is on Amazon.

But take a look at this:

https://www.usnews.com › opinion › blogs › on-energy › 2011 › 09 › 14 › abiotic-oil-a-theory-worth-exploring

Abiotic Oil a Theory Worth Exploring - US News & World Report

Thomas Gold, a respected astronomer and professor emeritus at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY, has held for years that oil is actually a renewable, primordial syrup continually manufactured

https://healthresearchfunding.org › abiotic-oil-theory-explained

Abiotic Oil Theory Explained

There are 6 possible mechanisms that could support the processes described in the abiotic oil theory, creating organic matter from inorganic matter. 1. Ancient Deposits. Crude oil and natural gas could be formed from ancient hydrocarbon deposits that have always been present on our planet.

https://www.realclearscience.com › blog › 2015 › 07 › oil_deniers.html
The Prestigious Scientist Who Theorized That Oil Comes from Another ...

According to Gold's theory, abiotic oil should have been present below the crater in great quantities. It wasn't. Despite drilling down over six kilometers in two locations, the costly operation turned up just 80 barrels of oil over six years, and there was no definitive proof that it was abiotic in origin.

Well, it's getting real late so I will continue tomorrow, actually now today, for tomorrow is another day and always has been. But in closing, in view of world events now going on (2023) did you know that originally this theory of T. Gold was called The Ukranian Theory regarding the formation of oil in very deep layers of the earth. Something to think about.

In 1985 work brought me to Central Kentucky. The location was about an hour drive to St. Meinrad Archabbey. Approximately three months during the length of the outage I traveled each Friday evening after work to St. Meinrad – to stay for the weekend. Come very early each morning the great bells of St. Meinrad would awaken me to make hast and attend the Liturgy of the Hours.

Then I would return to the room where I stayed and read books and  – quietly thought about things in general.

During the day I would often takes walks around the Monastery grounds, visit the large library, and again, just think.

The evening would come again and the great bells would ring their call for the Liturgy of the Hours.

Monday morning, I would arise and once again walk to the Cathedral for the morning service. Then I would travel back to my work station in Kentucky. This went on for about three months.