Excellent: add also it unveils EVIL usually far more hidden; Secondly add GOD'S PROPHETIC MESSAGES AND WARNINGS ESPECIALLY THROUGH THE BLESSED MOTHER IN OUR TIMES PRESAGING AN APPROACHING WORLD CRISIS THAT WILL GIVE WAY TO AN ERA OF SUPERNATURAL PEACE BEFORE THE END OF TIME
Though a minor point, the Big Crunch is a proposal that most cosmologist do not support. They speak of a "cosmological constant", which roughly has to do with the balance of matter & energy in the universe. If the constant is less than 1, the universe cannot sustain it's current expansion & will slow down & collapse back on itself. A constant equals 1 indicates a constant rate of universal expansion. The consensus seems to be that the constant is greater than 1, which means there is not enough matter in the universe to slow down the expansion – it will accelerate. If left unchecked, everything will eventually find itself a near-infinite distance from everything else. Sounds like hell to me.
Within the past couple of decades, astronomers have concluded that all the "normal" matter & energy in the universe only adds up to 10% or less of All That Is. The rest is a kind of new matter & energy whose properties prevent it from being observed directly, but whose effects on normal matter are observable. I don't know how these recent musings on dark matter & energy have influenced the expansion/contraction debate.
I used to really hang on every word of the astromoners & cosmologists. I eventually realized that they don't have any more of a clue than anyone else. I'm grateful for the gifts of Hope & Faith; the destiny I long for is so much brighter than the one science & mathematics can offer, even if it seems a fool's hope to the world.
January 22, 2010 at 2:47 pm
Loved this! Puts things in perspective.
January 22, 2010 at 6:32 pm
Robert Hugh Benson's classic, "Lord of the World" is an excellent Catholic book in this category.
Michael O'Brien has a terrific series of novels, the most famous of which is Father Elijah.
January 23, 2010 at 8:18 pm
Excellent: add also it unveils EVIL usually far more hidden; Secondly add GOD'S PROPHETIC MESSAGES AND WARNINGS ESPECIALLY THROUGH THE BLESSED MOTHER IN OUR TIMES PRESAGING AN APPROACHING WORLD CRISIS THAT WILL GIVE WAY TO AN ERA OF SUPERNATURAL PEACE BEFORE THE END OF TIME
January 25, 2010 at 12:08 pm
Thanks for the perspective, Father.
Though a minor point, the Big Crunch is a proposal that most cosmologist do not support. They speak of a "cosmological constant", which roughly has to do with the balance of matter & energy in the universe. If the constant is less than 1, the universe cannot sustain it's current expansion & will slow down & collapse back on itself. A constant equals 1 indicates a constant rate of universal expansion. The consensus seems to be that the constant is greater than 1, which means there is not enough matter in the universe to slow down the expansion – it will accelerate. If left unchecked, everything will eventually find itself a near-infinite distance from everything else. Sounds like hell to me.
Within the past couple of decades, astronomers have concluded that all the "normal" matter & energy in the universe only adds up to 10% or less of All That Is. The rest is a kind of new matter & energy whose properties prevent it from being observed directly, but whose effects on normal matter are observable. I don't know how these recent musings on dark matter & energy have influenced the expansion/contraction debate.
I used to really hang on every word of the astromoners & cosmologists. I eventually realized that they don't have any more of a clue than anyone else. I'm grateful for the gifts of Hope & Faith; the destiny I long for is so much brighter than the one science & mathematics can offer, even if it seems a fool's hope to the world.
January 25, 2010 at 3:56 pm
Mark G:
Your last paragraph is so genuine, a thing of beauty. 😉