Yup, agreed again.
It's also self-destructive to judge someone as self-righteous, and without any knowledge of them personally. Not that anyone is necessarily doing that.

Going back to the theme of stages of development, now that I'm in my fifties, I find myself being called to tackle new areas of learning and acquire new skill sets, despite wanting to cling to the old and familiar.

It's very easy at this stage to let one's mind remain in the same cozy groove because picking up new skills and reading about new subjects is more daunting than it ever used to be.

Sticking with the same circle of friends is also very tempting, and for the first time in my life I'm wary of venturing into new relationships.

It's hard to admit that age (and arthritis!) is creeping up on me, but the realization has made me more determined than ever to resist the call of comfort and convenience, so I made a resolution a few weeks ago to get my old Steinway upright tuned and I took out all my old Czerny piano books, and am finally learning all the Bach and Chopin preludes that I usually skip over and am learning to crochet and swim--something I've put off all my life. I'm also letting my college son pick out history books for me to read so I can widen my literary horizons.

These are all little steps, of course, but it just seems that if I don't start taking life by the horns, it will soon pass me by. What do the rest of you do to keep stagnation at bay?

Sorry, Kathy. I always clip from this site which hosts the Vulgate and the Latin always clips last.

http://latinvulgate.com/

Sounds like you have a full plate, CharlesW! I never realized Tennessee got that much rain. We get alot here on Long Island, too, and it's rare that we have to water the garden or the grass.

Gardening is another great hobby. I'm starting to think that all I want out of the rest of my life is a few acres of land and a couple of goats---and the Latin Mass, of course.

We were vacationing in Cape Cod all last week, and we all find Massachusetts, Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire extremely appealing. I love the focus on self-sustainability and the spirit of open-mindedness. So different from the suburban dead-end of Long Island. Everything here is so established and scripted and packaged, and you must at all costs stay in your little box.

I would move out of here in a flash if the circumstances were right, but it would be a far stretch at this point in time to find a Latin Mass community that's like the one we are fortunate to be involved with here. Maybe in a few years, though, things will be different.

At which "stage(s) of development are children inculcated with the impetus to gossip? In my own life I literally cannot remember any specific moment where it dawned upon me that what I was speaking to others was actually "gossip." What I remember more vividly was a house occupied by two parents, two children where there was almost constant discord and bickering. The objective for my parents apparently was summed up by who got the last word in, or who relented and who prevailed. For my sister and I that moment couldn't come fast enough-finally a blessed relief, a respite from the storm. We knew though another one could be right on the last one's heels. But the need to be King or Queen of the Hill was instilled in both of us. I don't think this is all that uncommon for that era, or any era for that matter. And being King or Queen of the Hill essentially requires the vanquishing of foes by all means necessary. You tear down the opposition or rivals by word or deed so that you can plant your standard on that hill. The hill is composed of the souls of those we tear down.

Is gossip a tool, or more accurately a weapon, by which we think we prevail over others? When in our life stages do we realize that gossip is self-destructive, even outside of the superimposition of gospel mandates?

I ask us (me) these questions because my wife showed me a thread of posts and comments on FaceBook (I don't do any of that) wherein there for the world (not just FB people) to see that were brutally offensive to some mutual friends and acquaintences, written by other mutual friends and acquaintenences who post here and elsewhere. It was an ulcer of castigation that I never would have thought could have festered hidden beyond these forum boards and the NLM/Cafe. I'm seriously surprised by this reality. I can't fathom it.
If some of us here are in the period of establishing legacies, and others like me are in reflective periods...

Then I ask, are we accounting for the things that lie hidden in our hearts as we live our daily lives in total honesty and faithful to the Lord's commands. Should whatever we say about another person in any public way (even between two people) be measured by whether we would say that to the person who is the object of gossip face to face? Should we say those things about those others' faults as we perceive them in our prayers to our Lord?

Sounds like I need to read Facebook more often. I set up an account some time ago, because the Stash Tea Co. was running a contest with an ipad to the lucky winner. I entered the contest, didn't win, and haven't put anything else on that Facebook account. Didn't know what I was missing, but I still think Facebook is a big time waster.

Wood! I might have known. Upsetting the CA sage. This used to be a peaceful place - LOL. Actually, it never was THAT peaceful.

Of course, you only referred to some Facebook thread as

. . . an ulcer of castigation that I never would have thought could have festered hidden beyond these forum boards and the NLM/Cafe. I'm seriously surprised by this reality. I can't fathom it.

as a remonstrance for your own benefit.

But I do the same thing too: I often post denunciations on the forum in order to improve myself. :-)

About stages of life...
Am I too pie-eyed Pollyanna to think that one's building up of apostolic works can last a lifetime? Maybe I'm too stuck in the second stage, but I truly want to die with my boots on, so to speak, and have as long as I can remember. Maybe that's just my busy, passionate personality, and not something wise at all.

I do like the idea of rest, and recreation, and I know our earthly life is not all work...

It just seems to me that the culture at large, certainly the spirit of the world, has always wanted heaven now, rest now, pleasure and comfort now. Someone else can do the work that needs to be done- in the fields, factories, at war. This seems to be true more than ever, partly because, at least in more affluent countries, folks are living longer, and have more disposable wealth in general- than previous eras.
With all the cultural messaging, well meaning Christians can easily miss the balance of work & rest/recreation - in either direction of course, though I think the more common tendency is toward wanting too much comfort.

Am I living as if there is a real heaven, and a real heavenly reward? This is the question I ask myself.

It's threads like this that make me glad I check in on the Forum, and have friends and acquaintances with points of view that are different from my own. I'm so thankful for this. Melofluent, I'm particularly touched by your ruminations. A lot of good soul food in this.

And in the course of that, their hearts won't be so hardened by the busyness that infects our modern world.

Thank you for this insight into my teenagers and college kids! Since one can't very well keep one's offspring wrapped up in cotton balls, and said offspring must maintain some contact with the culture that surrounds them, one often laments their pseudo-sophistication and "busyness".

What's heartening is to find that someone else agrees that the only way to prevent one's children from becoming mindless, soulless, heartless pagans is regular immersion into "refined worship, intimate worship with the Almighty"---which I can't help but identify as the traditional Latin Mass, which was, after all, the primary inspiration for the unsurpassed achievements of the Renaissance.

The traditional Roman Rite was the epicenter around which the world's greatest music, art and architecture flourished, so how could it not exert the same ennobling, civilizing and enlightening influence on the present generation of young people?