Smorgasbord #20

A convert, a dinner party, and monerias

Primus

“The danger of being a cradle Catholic is not being aware of what you have that no one else has.”

I first learned about Roy Schoeman through one of my teachers at Kino, who quoted from his book "Salvation is from the Jews" how Mary is the perfection of Israel. I kept thinking about Mr. Schoeman and thought of checking out his online presence. I was happy to stumble upon his witness testimony, of which I now offer you a summary.

Roy Schoeman is the son of German Jewish holocaust refugees who grew up outside New York City in the 50s. Once a Hasidic Jew, he lost his faith in college when he attended MIT. There, he gained the belief that religion was a medieval superstition that men came up with to explain the world around us.

He eventually became a professor at Harvard Business School. He was successful by every worldly metric, but he felt like life had no meaning or purpose. He could only find solace in nature. One day, while walking by the beach, he had a mystical experience where he could see the spiritual world. He felt the presence of a God who knew and loved him deeply and personally. There, he found his purpose, to worship and serve this God, as long as it wasn't Christ.

Roy prayed for God to reveal himself so that he may know who his Lord was. Every day, he would pray for this, and on the first anniversary of his mystical experience, Roy went to bed only to be visited in his dream by the Blessed Virgin Mary. He described Mary as the most beautiful young woman he had ever seen. Mary's voice struck him the most; he described it as "what makes music music." He was in a state of ecstasy.

During his audience, he was ashamed he didn't know the Hail Mary since he desired to honor her properly. He asked her what her favorite prayer was, and Mary responded: "O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee." This is the inscription on the miraculous medal, which was revealed to St. Catherine Labouré. He also asked her who the Holy Spirit was, and with a smile full of love, Mary responded: "It is His gaze." He later would learn that Aquinas described the Holy Spirit as the look of love that passes between the Father and the Son. After this experience, it was clear that it was Christ whom he encountered at the beach.

Roy regularly visited the National Shrine of Our Lady of La Salette in Massachusetts, where his desire for the Eucharist grew every time he saw a Mass being celebrated. He attributes his desire to become Catholic to knowing Mary and his intense desire to receive the Eucharist.

On a skiing trip to the French Alps, he took a detour to La Salette, where he was stuck for ten days because of a blizzard. This experience led him to meet another pilgrim who told him about the Carthusians, the most strict contemplative order in Catholicism. He spent some time with them as well. "They're all wannabe Jews," he thought as he experienced the Carthusians praying the psalter.

Eventually, he was baptized and welcomed into the Church. He firmly believes that the Blessed Virgin Mary animates the spirit of the Catholic Church and that our job as Catholics is getting to heaven and taking as many people as we can with us.

Which leads me to the quote at the top. We ought to evangelize. Those of us who have received and embraced the Catholic faith are like the rich man in Luke 16:19-31, and the world is Lazarus. We ought to share all richness with those who may be hungry.

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Secundus

• Recently,

  Diana Cantu
  and I watched “Pride & Prejudice” (2005). It was my introduction to the Jane Austen world, and I really liked it. Especially because now I can enjoy this:

• And if you like Pride & Prejudice, you may also like

  Scoot
  ‘s The Selected Letters of Armin Tolor, a character-drama serial inspired by the likes of Pride and Prejudice, Dune, and The Godfather.

• I started reading what the crew over at

  Macabre Monday
  did with their collaborative writing project, Dinner Party, set in the ominous realm of dark fiction and horror. It is a stage play script where each participant embodies a character and scripts their actions and lines amidst a gathering shrouded in mystery and suspense. I thought it was a fantastic idea and still need to finish it (it’s 125 pages long), but there have been some interesting interactions so far. Plus, I may recreate the cocktail recipes mentioned in it; stay tuned.

• I’ve been dipping my toe in the fiction pool and wrote two micro-fiction stories that you can read here and here. Feedback appreciated.

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Tertius

This week’s Spanish lesson is “Eres un estuche de monerias.”

Literal translation: You’re a case full of nice things.

Meaning: You’re a jack of all trades.

Example: My friend Jon is good at fixing things by himself, electric, pumbling, you name it; es un estuche de monerias.

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Sobremesa

1. What would you ask the Blessed Virgin Mary if you could have an audience with her?

2. What’s your favorite Pride & Prejudice character?

3. What trades are you the jack of?