Faith and Reason

Monday Musings

2012-02-20T09:19:00.000-05:00

A few random thoughts and ponderings to begin the week...

Just a reminder that Lent begins this week. Two more weeks to decide how to commemorate this season of penance and sacrifice.

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Here is something I don't understand: As a faithful Catholic, Rick Santorum is mocked and openly attacked for his religious beliefs. But if you try to bring up Rev. Wright and the church that Obama belonged to for twenty years in Chicago... 'Well, that's just not fair! How dare you question his religious affiliation.'

We should go back and listen to a Rev. Wright sermon and compare it to something from Pope John Paul II or Benedict XVI - Then let's see whose religious beliefs are more radical.

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Just caught a couple of blogs that might be interesting to readers of this blog.. one for the guys and one for the ladies:

Two Catholic Men and a Blog - "Faith and reason are like two wings on which the human spirit rises to the contemplation of truth. Today we need to work for a reconciliation between faith and reason." [quoting Blessed John Paul II]

Catholic Mom's Connect - "...a ministry to encourage women to celebrate Faith-filled friendships and to support each other in our God-given role as Catholic mothers."

This Week's Headlines

2012-02-17T09:17:00.000-05:00

Lenten Observances in the Vein of a New Liturgical Movement - "Lent begins this Wednesday and so it is about that time to once again give our readers some considerations for their possible Lenten observances..."

Dealing with the Devil - "We may not be exorcists, but each one of us is called to engage in the spiritual battle, and we will succeed best when we take the battle seriously, and ourselves not so seriously."

How Not to Become a Catholic - [A rather long article...but clever and witty. The author is a former Presbyterian minister who converted to Catholicism. He explains tips for NOT becoming a Catholic, though he expects the readers to do the opposite.]

A Protestant Historian Discovers the Catholic Church - "I wanted to be able to show how the medieval church had left the true faith and how the Reformers had recovered it. To this end, I began Ph.D. studies in historical theology...I never imagined that Reformation Church history would move me to the Catholic Church."

What's the big difference between NFP and contraception? - "When we consider the positive impact of NFP on a marriage and the potential dangers of contraception, the most loving option becomes obvious."

19 Facts About Abortion In America That Should Make You Very Sick - [It does make you sick, but you need to know it.]

American Catholicism’s Pact With the Devil - "In the 1930s, the majority of the bishops, priests, and nuns sold their souls to the devil, and they did so with the best of intentions. In their concern for the suffering of those out of work and destitute, they wholeheartedly embraced the New Deal."

Catholic Bishops: Don’t Revise, Rescind - "The administration 'shifted' on nothing. It simply decreed that insurers, not employers, must provide 'preventive services' (including sterilization and abortifacient drugs), a shell game that has been variously and accurately described as a 'fraud' (Andrew McCarthy, in the Corner) and an 'absurdity' (the Wall Street Journal)."

The bishops' tougher response to the Obama 'compromise' mandate - "While that initial reaction was ambiguous, the bishops’ 2nd statement left no doubt that the USCCB would continue to oppose the Obama mandate."

Secularism and the HHS Mandate - [Brief post...but to the point.] "Collectivism is often very appealing to Christians who want to do good for their neighbors. Unfortunately, collectivism is frequently a fellow-traveler of aggressive secularism with little respect for religious liberty."

The Father of Lies - "The Left realize they've lost the debate on abortion. Therefore they are moving the goalposts and deliberately making the debate about contraception."

Don't Be Deceived! Evil Obama Policy Now Even MORE Evil! - "Under the guise of making room for religious conscience, the President has actually made the policy worse—far worse."

Archbishop Dolan Wants to Believe Obama's Not Anti-Christian. But... - "That's the thing about Obama. He's all about words. You're supposed to listen to his soothing words and ignore the shank in your spleen."

Can a Faithful Catholic Run for President? - "Maybe you have to be a Sebelius Catholic or a Pelosi Catholic nowadays to succeed. But then, isn’t that a discussion worth having as well? Or are we not allowed to discuss that either?"

Chesterton's Racehorse - "If you are Catholic, you are on the right horse and this horse will ultimately win. The question becomes, will you run the race with her?"

I STAND WITH THE CATHOLIC CHURCH: 10 Pictures In Defense of the Church - [Great for sharing on Facebook or other social media outlets...]

8 Reasons to Turn Out the Lights During Lent - "...if you’re looking for something to add to your Lenten practices that will shake things up and help you see your whole life from a fresh perspective, I highly recommend turning out the lights."

Marriage Fight Continues in Washington State - "Same-sex 'marriage' was signed into law by the governor Feb. 13, and traditional-marriage groups have filed a referendum as Catholics and Christians speak up for God's plan for marriage."

The Truth About Same Sex Attraction - "I never had any idea things could be this good, that I could be so confident, that I would so often feel like smiling for no particular reason."

Same-sex attraction and the choice for the greatest good - "A major part of my struggle as a Catholic who experiences same-sex attraction has been the difficulty of wrestling with my desire for the goodness of love, relationship and pleasure that seems to be denied me by the teachings of the Church about homosexual relationships."

Should The Government Be Involved in Marriage? - "The theory that marriage does not need government is foolish and irresponsible. It is related to the even more foolish and irresponsible theory that society itself does not need government."

"Brethren in Unity" -- History in Houston As Ordinariate Launches - "Though precluded from becoming a Catholic bishop due to his marriage, the new monsignor -- who, unlike his English counterpart, Msgr Keith Newton, has taken to donning the violet zucchetto normally reserved for bishops -- enjoys full membership and voting rights in the USCCB."

A Call to Prayer and Joyful Witness [A message from Archbishop Dolan] - "When the Holy Father presents the 'red hat' to the new cardinals, he will ask us to accept it as a sign of our readiness to shed our blood for the strengthening of the faith, the peace and tranquillity of the people of God, and the liberty and growth of the Church."

MSNBC's Martin Bashir Outrageously Compares Rick Santorum to Mass Murderer Joseph Stalin - [Don't trust the Mainstream Media!]

Remember when no one understood why ABC asked about contraception at the NH Republican debate? - [I don't think that was just a coincidence...]

The Loss of the Apostrophe in “Valentine’s Day”: One More Victory for the Forces of Secularization - "If St. Valentine is in our minds, then we can hardly forget that the 14th is HIS day, in honor of his witness: it is Valentine’s Day, and the possessive apostrophe pays him just tribute. To omit it is an offense against piety, if perhaps an unintentional one."

Megadeth frontman backs Rick Santorum - [Interesting endorsement... Well, I don't like his music, but I like his politics.]

Obama to Give Catholics a Present - [This is a satirical piece that I thought was pretty funny.]

I am sure there were many fine articles I missed in this round-up. In the comments section below, feel free to add any links you found interesting.

Random Thoughts of Sola Scriptura, Part V

2012-02-16T14:45:00.000-05:00

In Part IV we heard the complaint from some Protestant Christians that Catholics are “spoon-fed” their faith by an authoritative Church. Catholics look to the Church as the final authority on Biblical interpretation. Meanwhile “Bible-only” Christians are free to disagree with their church leaders and pastors whenever they feel that a particular doctrine is unbiblical. According them, every individual is capable of privately interpreting Scripture without turning to the Church for guidance.

So what does the Bible itself have to say about this principle?

The Apostle Paul established several Christian communities during his lengthy travels, and he taught them the faith as it had been passed on to him. He realized that this process of teaching Christian Truth is an ongoing and laborious process. The pupils (that is, we lay Christians in the pews) must be instructed by our pastors as children are taught by parents. Paul writes: “I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.” (1Corinthians 3:2)

So, as we can see from Paul’s words, not only are Christians sometimes “spoon-fed” the faith, we must first be “bottle-fed” on “milk” if we are to one day digest the solid food of a well developed faith. The Protestant notion that every Christian can pick up the Bible and dispute his pastor is laughable when one examines the facts about the early Church.

We can be sure that Paul knew well what kind of damage could be done to souls when individuals twist the words of Scripture and misunderstand doctrine. His own words were abused by Christians of his day. On this subject of twisting the Bible, 2Peter 3:15-16 attests: “…our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.”

So we know that the Bible can be easily abused and twisted by those who are ungrounded in the faith. The Bible itself admits to this problem. And as Paul describes, there must be some preparatory work, instruction in the faith. We must be fed milk before we eat meat; we must crawl before we walk. Christians must be taught by some authority outside of the Bible, which then can help them make sense of God’s Word.

In the Acts of the Apostles, when the Ethiopian eunuch was asked whether he understood the Scriptures he was reading, he replied: “How can I, unless someone shows me?” (Acts 8:31) We should be humble enough to answer in the same way. Many Bible-only Christians are comfortable disagreeing with their own pastors and denominations. They do not recognize the Biblical concept of an outside teaching authority. And this is the root of many division and schisms. They “distort Scripture to their own destruction.”

Quote of the Week

2012-02-15T08:51:00.000-05:00

"A woman who deliberately destroys a fetus is answerable for murder. And any fine distinction between its being completely formed or unformed is not admissible among us."

- St Basil the Great

Monday Musings

2012-02-13T10:34:00.003-05:00

A few random thoughts and ponderings to begin the week...

Just gotta keep telling yourself: No matter how bad it gets, it's all going to be OK. We know who wins in the end.

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Obviously the new Health and Human Services mandate requiring that Catholic institutions pay for employees' contraception coverage has been the hot topic among Catholic bloggers and among friends on social networking sites. Here are a few thoughts based on some comments I shared on Facebook recently:

The Health and Human Services mandate requires that religious institutions pay for coverage of contraceptives and medical procedures that are considered immoral by Catholics. Everyone is free to choose whether these things are moral or not. I'm not forcing that view on anyone. But the government should also not force Catholics (or anyone else) to pay for something that is considered by us to be a sin.

Contraception is not a "healthcare" issue. It is a matter of convenience. Contraception makes it easy to have sex without getting pregnant. So to claim that contraception is somehow saving women or protecting their health is false. All forms of contraception were designed with one goal in mind - to prevent a child. Contraception is not "medicine." Think about it. Medicine is meant to fight a disease. By telling the public that contraception is a "medical" issue the government is making children the "disease." This is not true medicine...they are pushing an agenda that hurts children and women.

I can't stop someone from participating in this contraceptive myth. But likewise the government should NOT require that I and my Church participate.

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The contraception mandate is an egregious attack on religious liberty. Forcing Catholic institutions to pay for sin is an abomination. But the though just occurred to me, what about employers who are faithful Catholics but NOT associated with the Church? What if I, as a lay person owned a business, and I am now forced to pay for my employees contraception? Do I not have the right to object based on my conscience? The Church is right to fight against this intrusion committed by the State, but every individual business owner has a conscience that can be violated as well. Shame on every Catholic who supported Obama and the Healthcare atrocity that he has produced. We are now reaping the results.

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[Note: A fellow Catholic, disturbed by recent events, commented below and mentioned his own blog. I recommend checking out this post of his for more commentary on the HHS mandate.]

This Week's Headlines

2012-02-10T10:19:00.000-05:00

As another week comes to an end, this is your chance to top off your glass with a final helping of news, current events, and just plain interesting stuff that may not have made into the mainstream media. A chance to linger for a few more moments before we close the door on the week. Below are some links to articles, blogs, and miscellaneous happenings that caught my eye over the past few days. Sample what you like - I'll serve up more next Friday...

Baptism etiquette requires a sober rite and a Christian name - "Benedict XVI urged parents: 'Give your children Christian names, these seal Christians with the spiritual mark that indicates the beginning of the path in the faith.'"

Bringing Christ's Church Door to Door - "Homeowners are used to members of the Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints coming to their doors, but many Catholic door-to-door missionaries are springing up across the country for the purposes of evangelization."

The Tide is Turning, Pro-Life Movement is Now Winning - "We should be aware of how much is being done in the United States for life. The tide of history is with the pro-life cause now."

The Santorum Sweep, Thank Obama - "Simply put, he has been a superior candidate to his rivals and getting better... There has been one candidate who has stood up for life and liberty like no other candidate and that candidate is Rick Santorum."

Time To Admit It: The Church Has Always Been Right On Birth Control - "The Church teaches that love, marriage, sex, and procreation are all things that belong together. That's it. But it's pretty important. And though the Church has been teaching this for 2,000 years, it's probably never been as salient as today."

Six Things Everyone Should Know About the HHS Mandate - [A must-read from the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.]

Obama administration faces backlash over rule ordering birth control coverage - "'President Obama just may have lost the election,' conservative columnist Peggy Noonan wrote over the weekend, adding, 'There’s no reason to make this ruling — none. Except ideology.'"

No, Obama is NOT looking to compromise or back down - "...Anyone who thinks otherwise is asking for a rock upside the head by year’s end."

Compromise On Religious Freedom? Never! - "How can you compromise on this question? Either the government is forcing our Catholic institutions to do this, or it isn’t. There isn’t any room in-between those two positions."

A Disturbing New Day for American Religious Liberty - "The United States government is now demanding that we 'pay for the bullet,' essentially, to assist employees at Catholic institutions to kill their children."

Spokeswoman of Evil Speaks! - "Children are not a disease, and they do not need to be prevented the way cancer or pneumonia do. While some women might have medical conditions that contraindicate pregnancy, that does not justify contraception as a means of avoiding it, and certainly the idea of recommending contraception to women in general is reflective of agenda rather than medicine."

Why the Pope's Army Will Not Kneel to the HHS Mandate - "For us Americans, it seems like there has always been a pernicious chorus in the background of our lives asking us to kneel to this or that false hope. Yet, the HHS contraception mandate was the keynote that explicitly brought the idol before the faithful and said 'Kneel or else.'"

How hedonism became America’s official religion - "In effect, we have a new state religion, a new Established Church of the United States of America, with Barack Obama as its head. It is the religion of Secular Hedonism, the worldview that sex is a sterile recreational activity, with babies thrown in as an afterthought, an optional extra, for people with quirky life-style preferences."

Young and Pro-Life? What About Pro-Marriage? - "While pro-life outreach has become a commonplace feature of campus life at many Catholic and secular colleges, many students who oppose same-sex 'marriage' think twice about speaking out."

Komen board member: new statement doesn’t mean Planned Parenthood funding will resume - [Well, I'm still confused. It sounds like they don't know which side to come down on. Personally, I would just avoid supporting the organization. Better to err on the side of NOT supporting abortion.]

I guess I'm not the only one confused: Pro-life leaders call for prayer, vigilance in wake of confusion over Komen statement

And I'm not the only one withholding my money: It Would Be Irresponsible for Pro-Lifers to Donate to Komen Now

Check out this political cartoon.

Random Thoughts on Sola Scriptura, Part IV

2012-02-09T11:02:00.000-05:00

Protestants group themselves into distinct denominations. These denominations put forth official statements of faith and profess a belief in certain doctrines and creeds, all of which define their theology as opposed to other denominations. But at the individual level, among the men and women in the pew, one is likely to find a variety of conflicting beliefs held by members of the same group. This is because Protestantism rejects the Church as the final authority for settling doctrine, and this naturally causes Protestants to question the authority of even their own denominational church on matters of doctrine.

And so, adding to what we have already seen in Parts I, II, and III of this series, Sola Scriptura not only causes division and confusion between denominations, but also within the denominations themselves. Each man and woman becomes his or her own final authority on biblical interpretation. If the “Bible Alone” is to be their guide, then each man and woman is left alone to interpret the Bible as they see fit. If Martin Luther can defy his own Church and claim private interpretation as his rule of faith, then so too can very man and woman in the pew.

A Protestant friend of mine once visited a large Evangelical church for Sunday worship at the invitation of a family member. At first he felt as though he shared a common faith with the people around him. He felt as though they were all worshipping the same God, and believing essentially the same things about that God. And so they were worshipping as one. That is until they came to the Communion service. As they each took a little cube of bread and a tiny paper cup filled with grape juice, he noticed that each person received these elements with a different attitude. Some had a sense of reverence and solemnity that was visible on their face and in their mannerisms. Others were casual in their approach, chewing the bread as though it were no more than a snack they bought at a movie theater, and slamming back the juice like shots in a bar. Some prayed afterwards, some turned to chat with their neighbors. Everyone seemed to have a different sense of what was taking place.

[I might add here that the practice of shot-glass communion and trays of bread-cubes or crackers passed around on platters adds a certain symbolic individualism to Communion as well. No one is asked to come forward to receive. You can “stay where you are” and communion will be dispensed to you in neat little packages. Just as they are not required to physically leave their seats or drink from the same cup, these same Christians feel no need to move from their theological positions or to drink from the church’s wisdom when they are in disagreement with the church or with one another. They “stay where they are” and drink their own cup. This practice has become very popular among many Protestant denominations. And I think it shows an indirect link to the individualism of their faith.]

After this experience, my friend began to notice the same sort of things in his own Methodist church. Eventually he asked his minister about the official Methodist teaching on certain doctrines. But the answers that he received only revealed to him that his own beliefs were at a variance with the official Methodist teaching. And conversations he had with fellow Methodists revealed further disagreements. These issues gnawed at him until his death a few years later. He struggled with how a church can be a “church” when its members fail to see eye-to-eye on so many doctrines.

Unfortunately, for the vast majority of Bible-only Protestants this crisis of faith, as experienced by my friend, never enters their mind. They either float through their faith unaware of these doctrinal differences, or they justify it as I have been told during online debates: “If my preacher teaches something that I think is unbiblical, then obviously he is wrong and the Bible is right. I have no problem disagreeing with him or anyone else in my church, because I don’t need a church to spoon-feed me my faith.”

Or to put it more succinctly: Personal interpretation trumps the Church’s authority to teach doctrine.

In Part V we will explore this idea further.

Quote of the Week

2012-02-08T12:30:00.000-05:00

"Just as in one man there is one soul and one body, yet many members; even so the Catholic Church is one body, having many members. The soul that quickens this body is the Holy Spirit; and therefore in the Creed after confessing our belief in the Holy Spirit, we are bid to believe in the Holy Catholic Church."

- St. Thomas Aquinas

Random Thoughts on Sola Scriptura, Part III

2012-02-07T14:37:00.000-05:00

As discussed in Part I and Part II, the Protestant doctrine of Sola Scriptura does not protect the ancient Christian faith – instead it opens the possibility of widespread heresy. Nor does Sola Scriptura bring about unity among Christians – rather it divides Christians into denominational sects and causes endless schism. History has shown that the introduction of the “Bible Alone” Protestantism has brought about unprecedented divisions in the Body of Christ and has resurrected ancient heresies mixed with new false doctrines and theologies.

Obviously Sola Scriptura does not “work” from a practical standpoint. Division and heresy are its end results. But furthermore, it is simply not a principle that was ever used by Christians prior to the Reformation. In other words it is a relatively recent invention. And I mean “invention” in the worst possible way. It was “invented” as an excuse to depart from traditional Christian teaching and to undermine Christ’s Church.

Early Christian experience contradicts the Protestant notion of Sola Scriptura. For example, the early Church did not have an authoritative Biblical Canon. The books of the bible were not agreed to for at least the first four centuries of Christianity. Imagine if the United States existed for four hundred years without adopting a Constitution.

Thankfully the Church does not work like a nation or state. Before the Bible was compiled (in fact, before the New Testament was even written) there was already an established authority for the teaching of sound doctrine, and that authority was the CHURCH. Without an agreed to Biblical cannon there had to be some other locus of authority (i.e. not Sola Scriptura), and sure enough, the Church Fathers attest to a strong teaching authority for their bishops and under them the priest and deacons.

For early Christians, obedience to one’s Bishop was compared to obedience to Christ Himself. And these bishops received their authority through Apostolic Succession. Proving such a lineage, tracing one’s ministry back to Christ, proved the Church’s authenticity and ensured sound doctrine. That does not sound like a Protestant ecclesiology and it certainly doesn’t sound like Bible Alone Christianity.

Protestantism (for the most part) rejects Apostolic Succession, some even reject bishops altogether, and they reject the authority of a bishop to expound doctrine authoritatively (as “in the place of Christ” – the way the early Christians would have understood it). If you were to travel back in time and explain to a First or Second Century Christian the Protestant notion of a weak ecclesial governance and the doctrine of Sola Scriptura you would be called a heretic. And with good reason - Sola Scriptura is a heresy!

No doubt, when it comes to sound doctrine and teaching authentic Christian faith, Protestants would say that the Bible should be our pillar and foundation of truth. But the Bible itself proves them wrong. As the early Christians knew, and as Catholics believe today, for correct teaching we must look to “the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.” (1Tim 3:15)

Monday Musings

2012-02-06T13:27:00.000-05:00

A few random thoughts and ponderings to begin the week...

The Sunday Gospel was a good reminder for us as we approach Lent. Jesus went off to a secluded place to pray alone. Here we see the Son of God, who is Himself GOD, taking time to pray and visit with God away from other people. He often did this after performing a series of miracles (as in this particular passage) or before a great trial (such as the Agony in the Garden before His arrest). As the miracle of Christmas fades into our past and the trial of Lent and Christ's Passion lay before us, this Sunday's reading is a perfect reminder to us of our own need to step away from the crowds and spend time alone with God.

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After discussing some political and religious issues, my son (8 years old) recently commented: "I wish everyone in the world was Catholic. Then nobody would believe in abortion, and we wouldn't have any Democrats." ...If only it were that simple. :)

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So where are the new missals?! I've had one on back-order for months. And it's not just the company I'm ordering from. It seems that no store has them in stock. The pew cards are looking pretty beat up and just feel gross after so many people have handled them. I just want my own missal so I can follow all the new parts of the Mass, not just the responses that fit on a sheet of paper.

One More Headline

2012-02-04T07:42:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I posted my usual Friday round-up of headlines. But shortly after I posted, I ran across this well written piece by Pat Archbold over at the National Catholic Register. I wish I had seen it before posting my Friday headlines...but in hindsight, perhaps this deserves its own post. Here's an excerpt:

"Many Bishops have been speaking out and calling for Catholics and Christians of all stripes to contact the Obama administration and demand a revision to the conscience clause in the mandate. If that is their argument, they have already lost. They might win the battle, either through the courts or the election year largess of the emperor, but the war is lost.
"In order to win the argument they must change the argument. In order to change and win the argument, the battle, and ultimately the war, the Bishops need to understand that they were wrong, completely wrong. They were wrong when they supported the health care bill in the first place.

"Back in 2009, the Bishops made a show of demanding ‘amendments’ that would stipulate that no government funds would go to abortion. Given that stipulation, the Bishops Conference was completely on board with compulsory government run health care. They were completely on board with a government that can mandate that you buy something and mandate what it is you buy. In essence, the Bishops helped hand the bullets to the firing squad, and now they are shocked—shocked—when the guns now point at them.

"Lesson number one of appeasement, you cannot just give away a little of your liberty. When faced with the firing squad, you should not just hope that they aim low.

"Once you accept the government can tell you what health care to buy, you are only arguing over degrees of tyranny. That is the wrong argument. When you support the government being able to force people to buy something and force the sellers to sell only what the government wants, even out of some false sense of compassion, you support tyranny. When you support such things, you reject the liberty of the individual to say no. So, when that tyranny inevitably turns against you, you have forfeited the right to complain."

AMEN!! The bishops need to learn that you can't make a deal with the devil and expect to not get burned. Read the whole article here.

This Week's Headlines

2012-02-03T11:00:00.000-05:00

The New Anti-Catholicism Movement - "...the new anti-Catholicism does not adopt the posture of a humble and teachable critic seeking to engage the Church on matters over which reasonable citizens from differing theological and secular moral traditions disagree. Rather, it seeks to employ the coercive power of the state to force the Church’s institutions to violate the Church’s own moral theology, and thus compromise, and make less accessible, the Church’s mission of charity and hope."

Catholics, Get Ready to Suffer - "Bishop Fabian W. Bruskewitz of Lincoln, Nebraska in response to the Obama administration’s contraception mandate said, 'We cannot and will not comply with this unjust decree. Like the martyrs of old, we must be prepared to accept suffering which could include heavy fines and imprisonment.'"

Inside the Mind of Evil: Obama Administration's HHS Decision - "The policy is so bad, and so certain to be reversed, that I have difficulty understanding why the Obama administration would pursue it. The jackbooted, 'jam it down your throat' approach that the Obama administration has taken in this is shocking."

Just a Reminder - "...the Obama administration’s new unconstitutional insurance mandate seems to be jolting weary and jaded voters into action. Those who had given up on the political system and weren’t planning to vote, even with a clothespin on their noses—they’re suddenly realizing that it’s imperative to get this power-mad grand inquisitor out of office, no matter who replaces him."

This Celebrity Loves Abortion So Much She Gets Her Own Column - "Planned Parenthood makes its money selling abortions, oral contraception, emergency contraception, long-term contraception, condoms, STD treatments, and the like. When young people abstain from sex, Planned Parenthood doesn’t make any money. Like, at all."

I shouldn’t have waited for the bishops - "Think about it. If a doctor is willing to prescribe abortifacient drugs or abortifacient devices, then the doctor is willing to induce abortions. If we wouldn’t let a practicing sex offender examine our children, then why for Heaven’s sake would we let a practicing abortionist deliver them?"

Arguments Ever New - "The pro-life arguments, for many people, still come as news. Those arguments are never out of season, and we should never tire of sounding them anew. Especially in those dark places found, most likely these days, in college towns."

Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation Breaks Partnership with Planned Parenthood - "It’s unfortunate that it took a technicality such as Planned Parenthood being under Federal investigation in order to get this partnership broken off. One would hope that if the Komen Foundation is truly focused on cancer advocacy they would understand it can only hurt their cause to ally with a group involved in such incredibly controversial behavior as Planned Parenthood."

Why My Big Family Is Not Overpopulating the Earth - "...I don’t see my children as adding to the problem; I see them as contributors to the solutions of the future."

“Single Issue” Voting Returns–with a Vengence - "It was never actually true that culturally-conscious Catholics were 'single issue' voters. We have considered the other issues, and we concluded they are outweighed by widespread child-murder."

From Chick Flicks to Purgatory - "In our casual culture, it’s common to act as though the deceased person has already passed through any unfortunate suffering which might be imposed, and is already in the arms of the Father. But why would we presume that?"

Being Smart Is Not A Virtue - "This isn't to promote a bunch of mental slouching. It promotes an ideal moral standard which every child can meet."

“Occupy” Thugs Attack Catholic Girls - [Disgusting...but not surprising considering the type of people this "Occupy" movement has attracted.]

What to do if a bug gets into the chalice? - Father Z. gives a great response to the question in the title, but I also love this little tidbit: "At a very clerical supper one night we mused about the possibility of a mouse dashing across the altar after the consecration and making off with a Host. Our solution was to bless a cat, put a white stole on it, send it after the mouse, and when the cat came back, burn the cat and put the ashes down the sacrarium."

The Domestic Church: 7 Steps to a Proper Catholic Home

Random Thoughts on Sola Scriptura, Part II

2012-02-02T10:41:00.000-05:00

As was said in Part I, history shows us that Sola Scriptura (the Bible Alone) has caused division and schism among Christians. Protestants who claim that Sola Scriptura was meant to protect the ancient faith are proven wrong by history itself and the endless splintering of post-Reformation Christianity. Doctrines that had been unquestioningly held dear are now up for grabs. Certainly there were divisions and disagreements before the Reformers’ time; even the ancient Church suffered schism. But the scale of division that was seen after Sola Scriptura entered the scene is unprecedented.

The previous divisions in the Church’s history were largely caused by specific heresies – the Arians, the Donatist, the Pelagians, etc. If these heresies were bad because of the division they caused, then the Protestant heresy of Sola Scriptura, with the thousands of divisions it has caused, must rank high on our list of very bad heresies.

Protestants may shout: “Wait! We do not believe in heresy. We accept the early Councils. We accept the Creeds. We are merely concerned that these early statements of faith should not be corrupted by later additions. We limit our beliefs to these early Creeds and statements of faith so that we all have common ground as Christians. And so any differences you might see between Methodists and Baptists, or Anglicans and Lutherans, etc., are few and only secondary. We all still agree to the basic statements of the ancient faith. We reject the early heresies, but by using the Bible Alone to formulate our doctrine we avoid going beyond the ancient creedal statements.”

But this is a false and dangerous approach for at least two reasons.

1) The ancient Councils and Creeds themselves were not the product of using the Bible Alone. Indeed, these are examples of an authoritative Church which met together in Council to decree which doctrines were true and which were false. The Church realized that it was not enough to have a book of Scripture to sort out Truth. It was necessary for the Church to speak with force in order to quell a heresy. So for Protestants to claim that the Bible Alone will now protect the faith of these Councils flies in the face of what these Councils actually were. They were examples of an authoritative Church defending the Bible. How can the Bible now defend itself? It simply cannot. The existence of Creeds and Councils proves that Sola Scriptura is not an effective way to formulate sound doctrine. Sola Scriptura is a departure from the ancient practice of the Church.

2) To say that Protestants actually agree to these early Councils and Creeds is itself an overstatement of reality. There are definitely Sola Scriptura churches which do adhere to these ancient sources…but there are far more that do not. Sola Scriptura sets itself up to allow for rejection of these ancient Church statements. Since the Bible ALONE is their source of authority, then anything issued by the Church (ancient or otherwise) is automatically suspect, and can be discarded if a denomination views it as unbiblical. Protestants may like to pat themselves on the back because they agree on some doctrinal basics, but those basics are shaky at best and no two denominations agree on what those basics should include or how they should be understood. So the premise itself, that Sola Scriptura protects the ancient faith of the Church, is false.

Let’s keep in mind that the Councils and Creeds were largely designed to answer heresies. They were designed to settle doctrinal controversy. And let us also remember that the ancient heretics used the Bible to make the case for their own false doctrines against what the Church taught. The Bible is a two edged sword. As we said before, the Bible cannot defend itself. But it can be used to defend heretical doctrine. Only an authoritative Church can sort out Truth from error.

Indeed, over the course of 500 years, Sola Scriptura has actually served to resurrect old heresies, so that now new life has been breathed into old lies. There are Bible Alone denominations that reject Christ’s divinity, the Trinity, the Virgin Birth and other long-held doctrines from the ancient Church. Sola Scriptura does not defend Christian doctrine, nor does it lead to authentic interpretation of the Bible. It only serves to destroy the faith and unity of the Church.

Quote of the Week

2012-02-01T15:03:00.000-05:00

"Never read books you aren't sure about . . . even supposing that these bad books are very well written from a literary point of view. Let me ask you this: Would you drink something you knew was poisoned just because it was offered to you in a golden cup?"

- St. John Bosco

Random Thoughts on Sola Scriptura, Part I

2012-01-31T13:23:00.000-05:00

Prompted by some recent conversations I thought I would post a few thoughts on Sola Scriptura. Obviously this topic has been covered countless times by me and by others, but it doesn’t hurt to revisit such an important issue that divides Christians. This will be Part I of everal parts. I have not arranged these thoughts in any particular order; it will simply be a series of brief reflections…

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The Bible was never meant to be used "Alone." Yet there are thousands of Protestant denominations in existence today which adhere to the doctrine of Sola Scriptura – Latin for “Bible Alone.” These churches often claim to be defending the Church’s “ancient faith,” but the principle of Sola Scriptura effectively eliminates any authority that the Church's “ancient faith" might have in interpreting Scripture. In practice, Sola Scriptura does not defend the ancient faith, but rather undermines it.

The Protestant Reformers rejected the faith as taught by the Church of their day, and so they rejected the Church as defender of correct interpretation. Sola Scriptura simply allows for the formation of a new "church" in whose "faith" you can find your own interpretation. And history has shown that there is no end to the number and variety of “churches” this can produce. The “ancient faith” can be altered or deleted as each denomination sees fit. When the Bible stands “alone,” the ancient faith of the Church can be freely discarded.

And so today there are thousands of Protestant “churches” using the “Bible Alone” to arrive at a plethora of interpretations. They assume that God’s Word in Scripture (Alone!) will lead them to doctrinal truth. Yet these Bible Only churches hold doctrines that conflict with their fellow Christians. Can Truth conflict with Truth? Five hundred years of divisions and schisms have continued to skew the Protestant faith. Sola Scriptura does not give us Truth but confusion and a broken Body of Christ.

The Catholic Church understands that Scripture does not stand alone. The Church’s Ancient Faith stands alongside Scripture as its constant companion. We call this Sacred Tradition – the body of beliefs that have grown out of our shared Biblical experience since ancient times. If Protestant churches truly wished to defend the “ancient faith,” then Scripture can never stand alone. The Bible must always stand together with Tradition as a counter-balance against false interpretation.

Monday Musings

2012-01-30T21:44:00.000-05:00

A few random thoughts and ponderings to start the week...

So, the Mormon missionaries returned to my neighborhood recently, not once but twice in the span of about two weeks. They had knocked on my door a few months ago, at which time I briefly explained my disagreements with their religion. Apparently they remembered me from that visit. These past two times they skipped over my house entirely. They visited all of my neighbors but never knocked on my door.

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Seriously...I really will try to post something original this week. I have just had serious writer's block and have been totally unmotivated.

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Still getting used to the new Mass translation? Yeah, so is everybody else. With that in mind here's a really funny picture that was making its rounds on Facebook last week:

This Week's Headlines

2012-01-27T14:05:00.000-05:00

On the Indefectibility and Infallibility of the Church - "There are very few certainties in this world about anything. But one thing is for sure: The Church will prevail, the Church will be here to infallibly lead us to the end of days."

Hand Communion Causes Loss of Faith - "One takes ordinarily with one's fingers what one wants in a commonplace way. On the other hand, kneeling Communion on the tongue is a 'complete gesture of sacrality, which expresses the sublime.'"

The Importance of Vocation - "All work, not only that of priests and religious, can be holy when done as an act of love, service, and sacrifice according to the mind God."

Child sacrifice in 21st-century America - "...America is a country in which almost 1 in 4 pregnancies ends in the willful, violent death of the unborn child. And this slaughter of the innocents has been going on, often in higher percentages, for almost four decades."

A Thread for Weaving Joy [Archbishop Charles J. Chaput]- "Studies show that more than 80 percent of unborn babies diagnosed with Down syndrome now get terminated in the womb. They’re killed because of a flaw in one of their chromosomes – a flaw that’s neither fatal nor contagious, but merely undesirable."

“It’s a Girl!” Could be a Death Sentence in Canada - "'A pregnant woman being told the sex of the fetus at ultrasonography at a time when an unquestioned abortion is possible is the starting point of female feticide from a health care perspective,' writes Dr. Rajendra Kale."

Bene, bene, bene - "What do we call our children, beyond their literal names? What do we say to them? No matter how old they are, how often do we tell them that they are good, and it is well that they are here?"

Every American Catholic Must Fight for Religious Freedom - "There may well be no perfect candidate, but there will be those who pose a greater threat to our Catholic principles. Pope Benedict XVI has given us our priorities: the defense of human life from conception to natural death, the defense of the family and the defense of religious liberty."

Top Catholic bishop feels betrayed by Obama - "I had to share with him [Obama] that I was terribly let down, disappointed and disturbed..." - (Archbishop Dolan) [I don't mind saying: "I told you so." Why did the bishops put there confidence in a guy who supports abortion and the destruction of traditional family when he says that he's going to fix healthcare??? Don't you realize that his plan will include the evils that we oppose?? Why do Catholics support the Democratic Party??? You're just asking to get burned. The Republican Party is not perfect...]

Contraception mandate prompts Peoria bishop to instate St. Michael Prayer - "The move comes in response to a new federal requirement that will force many Catholic organizations to provide insurance coverage for sterilizations and contraceptives."

Pope Benedict, President Obama and religious freedom - "The bottom line, [Pope Benedict] said, is that America's once-strong political consensus has 'eroded significantly in the face of powerful new cultural currents which are not only directly opposed to core moral teachings of the Judeo-Christian tradition, but increasingly hostile to Christianity as such.'"

The Bell Is Tolling - "Without change, Catholic institutions will soon be legally required to provide services which violate a fundamental principle of our religious beliefs. If plans go unchanged, the Catholic Church, acting through our Catholic institutions, will no longer have legal protection for the free exercise of religion."

Forgotten religious relic rediscovered in New York - "The tapestry contains a calendar of 365 relics of the saints, one saint's relic for each day of the year. And in the center of the roughly 2-foot-by-3-foot tapestry are what are supposed to be the relics of the actual crucifixion of Jesus: a piece of the Crown of Thorns, the sponge used to dab his lips, and a sliver of the cross itself, all woven into the cloth."

Quote of the Week

2012-01-26T08:47:00.000-05:00

"America needs no words from me to see how your decision in Roe v. Wade has deformed a great nation. The so-called right to abortion has pitted mothers against their children and women against men. It has sown violence and discord at the heart of the most intimate human relationships. It has aggravated the derogation of the father's role in an increasingly fatherless society. It has portrayed the greatest of gifts -- a child -- as a competitor, an intrusion, and an inconvenience. It has nominally accorded mothers unfettered dominion over the independent lives of their physically dependent sons and daughters

"...Human rights are not a privilege conferred by government. They are every human being's entitlement by virtue of his humanity. The right to life does not depend, and must not be declared to be contingent, on the pleasure of anyone else, not even a parent or a sovereign."

- Blessed Theresa of Calcutta

This Week's Headlines

2012-01-20T22:13:00.000-05:00

Spiritual but not Religious? - "This just means the person is too lazy to look beyond their adolescent bias. They are too lazy to learn what it means to be truly religious." [AWESOME!!]

God Matters: Ethical Theory and Divine Law - "Contemporary theorists hope that bracketing the question of God’s existence will clear the way for agreement on a conception of the natural world, which they assume will be less controversial than natural theology. But theists and atheists disagree about the existence of God because they already disagree about the nature of the world, including the nature of morality."

The Apple Argument Against Abortion - "I think most people refuse to think or argue about abortion because they see that the only way to remain pro-choice is to abort their reason first." [In #13 of this article you'll find a particularly good critique of the pro-choice position. But do read the whole article.]

Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People? - "...suppose that bad things didn’t happen to good people. Going to church would suddenly be like getting vaccinated. Worshiping God would no longer be about Him but about the person who does not want an illness or an untimely demise. Faith becomes motivated by fear rather than love."

A reader asks about a neighbor's Bible Study - "...what you might do is not only graciously accept the invitation in the spirit of neighborliness, but also (after you have been a couple of times) extend an invitation to these folks to come to Mass with you (it will be an absolutely new experience for them, most likely)." [I generally dislike Mark Shea's writing - style and content - but this piece is pretty good. I'll give credit where credit is due.]

How Ratzinger Reacted to Becoming Pope Benedict - "Yes, the thought of the guillotine occurred to me: Now it falls down and hits you. I had been so sure that this office was not my calling, but that God would now grant me some peace and quiet after strenuous years."

The Other Successors of Peter: The Patriarchs of Antioch - "...This is how it came to be that the Church of Antioch now sports five successors of Peter, although the city in which the disciples were first called Christians is now such a backwater that none of them are actually based there." [Interesting history lesson.]

Is the Historical Chair of St Peter at the Vatican? - "I suppose that there is no way to know for sure, but Tertullian (cf. De præscriptione hæreticorum, 36) and others seem to suggest or assume that a true physical chair kept in Rome had been that of Saint Peter."

Raising Independent Catholic Kids in an Age of Conformity - "I recently took some time to observe dozens of other children in approximately our sons’ age range in a variety of locations and situations in our area. I also stay current about what is happening to young people in general. All I have observed and read is troubling and has prompted a lot of reflection and prayer."

The Twilight of Protestant America? - "In a talk he gave this summer, Cardinal George said that he was much less worried about Protestant America, and much more worried about post-Protestant America. I think we're going to have to start thinking much more seriously about just what this entails, because America's post-Protestantism is descending upon us rapidly."

Pope Benedict creates new science and faith foundation - "The new foundation builds on the work of the STOQ project – Science, Theology and the Ontological Quest – which was created by Pope John Paul II in 2003."

Hawking's Bummer Birthday: No Eternal Universe - "No model of an eternal universe works...'All the evidence we have says that the universe had a beginning.'"

Why the Hobbit Trailer Creeps Me Out - [This is a great read for "Lord of the Rings" fans. Although personally I think the author is way too critical of Peter Jackson's films. I understand some of his complaints, but much of what he says is off-base. I am REALLY looking forward to the Hobbit movies!]

17 Big Companies That Are Intensely Religious - [Interesting...]

Monday Musings

2012-01-16T21:35:00.000-05:00

A few random thoughts and ponderings to start the week...

I think I might have mentioned this here before, but the thought entered my head again this Sunday while at Mass: Since the introduction of the new Mass translation during this past Advent, the popular Mystery of Faith proclamation, "Christ has died; Christ has risen; Christ will come again," is no longer listed as an option in English language missals. Indeed, this option was never a part of the original Latin text and (in my opinion) should not have been introduced into our English Mass. It strikes me as bold and un-Catholic the way such additions and alterations were made to the liturgy post-Vatican II. To simply invent an option that did not exist before flies in the face of a true understanding of the ancient Liturgy.

The widespread use of this invented text was, to me, emblematic of the whole post-Conciliar era. It seems that everybody used this Mystery of Faith as their go-to option (many parishes I attended used it almost exclusively)...but nobody knew that is was a purely invented line that did not appear in the Latin. So too with many other liturgical inventions: everybody does it, because nobody knows that it should not be done.

I am grateful that the new Mass translation has served to tighten up our liturgical practices.

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I recently had a conversation with some Protestant friends concerning Sola Scriptura...I plan to post some of what I said during that conversation in the form of a blog post in the coming days. Maybe that will kick-start my writing since I seem to be in a bit of slump.

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This Sunday's Gospel told of the Apostle Andrew going to his brother, Simon (Peter), and telling him that he had "found the Messiah." Meanwhile, the Epistle reading mentioned purity of heart, and living a moral life. Our priest used these passages to point out the necessity of "fraternal correction." It is our duty to tell others about Jesus, and to bring them into a relationship with Him (as Andrew did), and a huge part of that evangelizing includes living a moral life and teaching others to do the same. We are called to be temples of the Holy Spirit (as the Epistle said) living our lives accordingly. If we are to bring others to Jesus, as Andrew brought Simon to the Lord, then we must teach others to live according to His commands. It was good to hear our priest speak so forcefully about fraternal correction, since the topic is often avoided in our "live-and-let-live" society.

This Week's Headlines

2012-01-13T14:42:00.000-05:00

Two Interesting Arguments for God: Intelligibility & Desire - "I wanted to share two simple arguments for God's existence that I don't see used very often :the argument from intelligibility, and the argument from desire."
Theology: The Spiritual Danger of the Bella Figura - "As the Church, the body of Christ, we are at our best when we see ourselves for who we are—fallen men and women in need of a savior."

Converts and the symphony of truth - "If there is a thread running through these diverse personalities, it may be this: that men and women of intellect, culture and accomplishment have found in Catholicism what Blessed John Paul II called the 'symphony of truth.'"

How the Church Fathers Can Help Us Engage the Culture for Christ - "...despite the limits of argument, we should never fail to offer arguments when they are demanded of us."

What Makes Norman Rockwell Possible? - "Though he wasn’t a regular churchgoer, he seems to have beheld the world with a sensibility that, in the history of the world, has only developed within a Christian civilization. It is what made his art conceivable."

Controversial John Paul II statue will get makeover - [Well, that's good to know. If you've seen it, you'll know why.]

Art & Liturgy: The Splendor of Faith - "In manifesting the underlying principles of the Catholic faith, liturgical art is integral to both the lex orandi (mode of prayer) and the lex credendi (mode of belief) of the Church."

"Marky Mark" Grew Up And Digs the New Translation - [Watch the video - it's refreshing to hear a celebrity talk about family and faith in this way.]

Jehovah’s Witnesses Came by Today - [More Catholics should be prepared to do what this author did.]

Should priests with effeminate manners work to correct them? - [Interesting question... As usual, a hard-hitting answer from Fr. Z.]

Conservatives Remain the Largest Ideological Group in U.S. - [Good news on the political front. Hopefully this is a trend for the future.]

And finally, I saw this posted at a blog I happened upon:
"True story. Someplace 'out East' (as we say in the Midwest). Second Sunday of Advent. Pastor began Mass by reporting that he received an angry letter from a parishioner. Seems the priest had changed all the words of the Mass last Sunday, even the consecration. “If you don’t stop this immediately, I’ll report you to the Pope."

I've been slow getting back into blogging after the Christmas Season, so I threw these links together at the last minute. Feel free to post any other links of interest in the Comments Section below.

Monday Musings (...one day late)

2012-01-10T08:30:00.000-05:00

A few random thoughts and ponderings to start the week...

OK...I admit, it's taking me some time to get back into blogging. Hopefully, I can focus in the coming weeks and get back on track.

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And so, Christmas comes to an end as we celebrate the Baptism of Our Lord. Here are a few comments I posted recently in an online conversation concerning the Baptism of Jesus:

It is easy to think of Christ's baptism as an odd thing. Since He did not need the grace that is imparted in baptism, then why should He receive the Sacrament at all? He even told John that it was necessary that He be baptized, when John said that instead Jesus should be baptizing him. So why should it be necessary for the Son of God to be baptized...?

I have heard it explained before that Jesus did not need sanctification or grace in the waters of baptism (as we do), but the water itself was made holy by His baptism: He entered the water before us to open the Sacrament up for our benefit.

And so it is necessary that Jesus be baptized, not for His sake, but for ours. He must first open the waters to us by piecing them with His own flesh. It is Christ who makes the Sacrament of baptism effective for imparting His grace by first entering into the Sacrament in a physical and literal way. We find Christ in the waters of baptism because He truly went there.

I have read a similar explanation of Jesus' death: We encounter Christ after death because He went there before us. Prior to the Son of God becoming incarnate and dying, God had not enter into "death."And so Jesus' death was God's way of placing Himself on the other side of death's door, so to speak. So when we say that Jesus "descended into hell" or "descended to the dead" (depending on the version of the Apostles Creed), we are saying that God entered into death and opened the way for us, so that the Infinite enters into the finite; the God of Life conquers death by literally bringing His Life into the realm of the dead.

So in baptism, it is an effective sacrament (actually imparting true grace) because Grace itself first entered into the waters.

This Week's Headlines

2012-01-06T08:57:00.000-05:00

Breaking Bad Liturgical Habits, by George Weigel - Part I and Part II

Why Do We Ask Saints to Pray for Us? - "Mary and the saints are more alive and more holy than our family and friends. To refer to them as dead is not at all true. They are more alive in Christ now than even the holiest person on earth."

Arianism Today - "Today Arianism takes a different form, and comes to us in the guise of humanism. By 'humanism' I mean that belief system that takes man as the measure of all things."

What does IHS stand for? - "The meaning of the Holy Name of Jesus." Also, check out this piece on the same topic.

Understanding Christ's Humanity and Divinity - "...Jesus was not human before the Incarnation, and... Nestorianism is wrong for rejecting the Hypostatic Union. So let's address the Catholic position, and then compare it with the early heresies."

Should government be in the marriage-recognition business? - "Even when a couple chooses not to have or cannot have children, the state’s publicly and legally recognizing their heterosexual, committed relationship as marriage reinforces marriage as a procreative, child-rearing institution in general."

The Prophetic Pope Paul VI, and the Consequences of Contraception - Pope Paul VI "was able to see everything from the loosening of societal morals and the increase in infidelity, to the 'pornification' of culture (and objectification of women), to the risk of state-imposed contraception (including sterilization). And he saw all of these things in 1968, when perilously few others were sounding the alarm."

Here Comes Fr. Everyone - "I have known priests who play the drums, and priests who look bizarre without a cassock on; preists who bubble over with mirth, and priests who struggle with depression. Athletes, intellectuals, bon vivants, wet blankets, firebrands, gourmands, shysters, flirts, gentlemen, ascetics, exorcists, prophets, jokers, and weirdos."

Error Has No Rights: Time to Ditch Liberalism for Theocracy - [Bold essay - can't say that I agree with the author, but he has a compelling point.] "There is no reason to be embarrassed of theocracy. It was the norm up until the eighteenth century. And what have the last three hundred years given us but a few hundred million deaths thanks to the godless spawn of Enlightenment infidels?"

Catholic Beverages: Moored by Reason and Time - "No authoritative Church documents deal with gin or Scotch, lager or stout; nor do they tell us much about how (or how much) to drink."

"My Dad, Fallen Catholic Bishop"? - [I ordinarily prefer not to highlight scandals in the Church, since that is not the point of this blog, but this article takes an interesting angle to a recent resignation of an American bishop.]

Get off the Hulu, Save America - [This is just plain funny.]

More articles can be found at these sites:

New Advent

The Pulp.it

Pewsitter

And as always, feel free to post any links you may find interesting in the Comments Section below...

Quote of the Week

2012-01-04T09:06:00.000-05:00

"We believe that the Word became flesh and that we receive his flesh in the Lord’s Supper. How then can we fail to believe that he really dwells within us? When he became man, he actually clothed himself in our flesh, uniting it to himself for ever. In the sacrament of his body he actually gives us his own flesh, which he has united to his divinity. This is why we are all one, because the Father is in Christ, and Christ is in us. He is in us through his flesh and we are in him. With him we form a unity which is in God."

- St. Hilary of Poitiers

A Quick Note...

2011-12-30T08:07:00.000-05:00

I've sort of let this blog rest for a couple of weeks. Spending time with the family during the Christmas Season. Merry Christmas everyone, and I plan to be back to blogging next week.

In the meantime, check out these sites for Catholic news and stories of interest:

This Week's Headlines

2011-12-16T10:23:00.000-05:00

A Blessed Christmas - "'Where will you have your Christmas?' A common question this time of the year. What’s it mean?"

Breast-Beating During the Confiteor - "Although the Second Vatican Council requested the removal of "useless repetitions," it must be said that not all repetition is useless."

Investigation concludes on alleged Fulton Sheen miracle - "The documents will now be shipped to the Vatican for consideration. If the alleged miracle is approved by the Pope, U.S. Catholics could witness the first ever beatification on American soil in the Diocese of Peoria, said the foundation."

What Hitting Reply Instead of Forward Taught Me About Sin - "Other people in my RCIA class struggled with the idea of confessing their sins to a priest, but I never had the slightest problem with this practice. Especially after that experience with the mistaken email..."

Can a bishop forbid Mass in Latin? - "What many people don’t realize is that the Second Vatican Council mandate that Latin be retained in the Latin Church’s liturgical worship (SC 36.1). It said that the vernacular could be used at times for some parts of the Mass (SC 36.2)."

Humor Site Revealing of Pro-Abortion Culture - "...when ignorance or dismissal of the sanctity of human life has become this pervasive, it’s safe to say we’ve gone too far in participating in or subsidizing the moral corruption of young adults." [The things reported in this article are disheartening.]

Still Praying For Christopher Hitchens - "I have no reason to think that Hitchens had a sudden religious awakening at the end, but I can hope. I can hope that at the end there was a small crack in the veneer large enough to let in the light."

December is just so busy... Not much time to blog. Check out these sites for more headlines. And post more in the comments section below, if you see anything of interest:

New Advent

Pew Sitter

The Pulpit

Monday Musings

2011-12-12T10:49:00.000-05:00

A few random thoughts and ponderings to start the week...

My son made his first Confession this weekend. He said, "It felt good. It makes you feel clean inside, and like a weight is off of you." He said he actually enjoyed it. Good for him. I was still nervous though. I hope he keeps his enthusiasm.

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My five-year-old daughter thought confession was OK (of course, she didn't have to go - she just sat in the pew and looked at books). But what she really liked was Mass earlier in the day. She loved the "pink" vestments that father wore. I told her they are actually "rose" colored. It didn't really matter what I had to say: "No Dad... THAT is pink!"

(By the way, the books that my kids look at and read during Mass are by a priest named Fr. Lawrence Lovasik. I highly recommend them. They can be ordered online from many Catholic sites or at a local Catholic bookstore.)

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In honor of Gaudete Sunday:

Gaudete in Domino semper: iterum dico, gaudete.

Modestia vestra nota sit omnibus hominibus:

Dominus enim prope est.

Nihil solliciti sitis:

sed in omni oratione petitiones

vestræ innotescant apud Deum.

Benedixisti Domine terram tuam:

avertisti captivitatem Jacob

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice.

Let your forbearance be known to all,

for the Lord is near at hand;

have no anxiety about anything,

but in all things, by prayer and supplication,

with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God.

Lord, you have blessed your land;

you have turned away the captivity of Jacob.

This Week's Headlines

2011-12-09T12:34:00.000-05:00

Einstein, Imagination and the New Translation - "Of course it’s good that everyone understands what’s going on, but the good is the enemy of the best, and mere intelligibility is not really what the liturgy is all about."

G.K. Chesterton and the Use of the Imagination - "The right use of imagination then is to be lawful, not lawless. To be obedient, not disobedient. To use our creativity for worshiping the Creator, not for defying him."

When a Catholic parish closes, what do they do with the tabernacle, statues and windows? - "The practice of reusing religious items is a common one among Catholics."

Our Heritage of Beauty - "So great is the schism between faith and faithlessness in art after the seventeenth century that you might suppose that modern artistic formation consciously rejects belief in God." [Featuring an artist who harkens back to a better time in Catholic art.]

Seven Reasons to Own Your Own Missal - "Since the allowance of the vernacular in the Mass following Vatican II, the idea of people having their own Roman Missal has fallen into relative obscurity."

Star Wars and the History of Vatican II - I may not agree with everything in this piece, but this line is priceless: "Jar-Jar Binks represents the really annoying, naive, wild, and even ethnic influences that drizzled into the liturgy and minds of Catholics and consequently empowered modernism to take more control...Jar-Jar is evil."

Vatican university hosts unusual tattoo conference - "Tattooed mummies in ancient Egypt, Crusaders who branded their foreheads with crosses, and New Zealand's inked Maori warriors were fodder for an unusual conference at a Vatican university Tuesday on the role of tattoos in shaping identity."

Just a Dad Playing Hero - "I’ve played Barbies. I’ll admit it. Don’t you dare judge me. I’m a father of four girls. I had no choice."

Jimmy Fallon on His Catholicism - [A fallen away Catholic on how the Mass has changed and why he hasn't gone back.] "I want the old way...like straight up, just Mass Mass."

Busy week - short list. Feel free to add more links in the comments section below...

Monday Musings

2011-12-05T19:32:00.000-05:00

A few random thoughts and ponderings to start the week...

Still loving the new translation. It might take a few more weeks to get the hang of all the new parts we have to say... especially, "And with your spirit." So far I have messed it up at least once at each Mass I've been to. But i know I'm not alone.

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A friend recently posted the following on their Facebook page:

"Homosexuality is found in over 450 species.
Homophobia is found in only one.
Which one seems unnatural now?"

My reply:
Many species also eat their young, kill their mates, and allow their wounded to be taken by predators. These are all "natural" things. But just because something happens in nature doesn't mean that humans should follow the example of these animals. I agree that homophobia is wrong... but that doesn't mean that homosexuality is just another form of "normal" for the human species.

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Tomorrow is St. Nicholas' Day...
Don't forget to put your shoes out tonight!

This Week's Headlines

2011-12-02T08:52:00.000-05:00

Who’s Actually Upset with the New Roman Missal? - "Given the absence of any really significant or coherent opposition within the Church itself (and a laudable open-mindedness towards the changes even by ‘many’ clerics and laypeople who were formerly skeptical) it is becoming increasingly apparent that the only dead-set opponents of the changes are those outside the Church: ex-priests, professional critics, or reporters captivated by the prospect of another internal fight in the Catholic Church."

The Four Liturgists of the Apocalypse - [A great piece by Jimmy Akin about the new Mass translation. It opens with a tongue-in-cheek spoof on the Book of Revlation.] "...I saw that the Roman Missal they had was still in its shiny, new shrinkwrap. And behold, there were seven seals upon its shrinkwrap..."

This one is pretty funny too: Nuevo Trad Catholics Revolt

Bishop’s decree: Stop holding hands during the Our Father - "Only the priest is given the instruction to “extend” his hands. Neither the deacon nor the lay faithful are instructed to do this." [Read the bishops whole decree here]

For old Mass books, tradition decrees burial or 'cremation' - "The bishops' liturgy office recommends 'burying the Sacramentary in an appropriate location on church grounds, or perhaps in a parish cemetery,' after the switch to a new liturgical translation on Nov. 27."

A Consideration of St Cyprian’s Teaching against the Fear of Death - "Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God…..Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded."

Atlantis rises: US seminaries are changing - "I’m tremendously impressed with the quality of the candidates, their zeal... We’re seeing a real renewal of the priesthood."

Justice requires fundamental economic equality, not absolute economic equality - "When some folks in the Occupy Movement decry the disparity of wealth, they err if they think unequal wealth is itself unjust. Different activities can justly have different economic value, even vastly different economic value, and thus people can justly receive vastly different incomes or vastly different rates of income growth."

Are we sleepwalking through the great infanticide? - "Is it just me, or is there something sickly schizophrenic about a society that huffs and puffs in outrage at the killing of a baby in the light of day, but quietly supports it when it happens in the darkness of the womb?"

Vatican says seat-belt complaint drew papal smile - "...the Vatican was 'grateful for the affectionate concern for the Pope's safety,' but added that the complaint did not seem to reflect much flexibility in interpreting the meaning of the law."

The Robopocalypse Will Be Brought to you by Harvard - "Harvard researchers just announced that they've built a flexible robot that can crawl and slither under a pane of glass and into your home..."

8 Super-Simple Ways to Celebrate Advent - "For fellow converts or anyone else who needs some baby steps to get started celebrating Advent, here are eight of my favorite ideas from my readers..."

The miracle of A Charlie Brown Christmas - "The reason A Charlie Brown Christmas has endured is because the message is timeless- the true meaning of Christmas, which the elites had a problem with even 50 years ago."

The Seven Worst Christmas Specials…Evah! - [Funny!]

Feel free to add other links in the Comments section below...

Quote of the Week

2011-11-30T20:47:00.000-05:00

"The only true riches are those that make us rich in virtue. Therefore, if you want to be rich, beloved, love true riches. If you aspire to the heights of real honor, strive to reach the kingdom of Heaven. If you value rank and renown, hasten to be enrolled in the heavenly court of the Angels."

- Pope Saint Gregory the Great

Monday Musings

2011-11-28T14:19:00.000-05:00

A few random thoughts and ponderings to start the week...

New translation was great this weekend. Of course there were a few glitches: slipping into the old responses out of habit. But with more practice we'll soon feel more comfortable with it. The overall effect was more reverent and solemn. The Eucharistic prayer had more "verbal weight" - if that makes sense. But one of my favorite parts of the Mass was when many people in the congregation struck there breasts three times during the words "...through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault..." It seems that changing the words has affected our actions as well. Overall, I am very pleased with the results. Hopefully, with time, it will only get better.

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Just discovered I received a comment on an older post about Mormonism. You can read the original post here, and then click below to see the comment. I don't know if it will spark a conversation, but I admire the person who made the comment. He is a 13 year old LDS member who came to the defense of his church. Bravo!

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Advent has begun. Inevitably, our kids think of Christmas and Santa and presents. Our daughter (five years old) has the right idea though. She said, "I'm going to make a birthday card for Jesus every year for the rest of my life. Then when I get to heaven I can give him all of the cards."

Maybe we should all do that this Advent.

Quote of the Week

2011-11-23T14:58:00.000-05:00

"Now concerning the Thanksgiving (Eucharist), thus give thanks. First, concerning the cup: We thank you, our Father, for the holy vine of David Your servant, which You made known to us through Jesus Your Servant; to You be the glory for ever. And concerning the broken bread: We thank You, our Father, for the life and knowledge which You made known to us through Jesus Your Servant; to You be the glory for ever. Even as this broken bread was scattered over the hills, and was gathered together and became one, so let Your Church be gathered together from the ends of the earth into Your kingdom; for Yours is the glory and the power through Jesus Christ for ever. But let no one eat or drink of your Thanksgiving (Eucharist), but they who have been baptized into the name of the Lord; for concerning this also the Lord has said, Give not that which is holy to the dogs."

- Didache [The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles]

This Week's Headlines

2011-11-18T14:48:00.000-05:00

Busy week = short list...

What Makes Those “Conservative Catholics” Tick?

Does the Government Work for Us, or Do We Work for the Government? - "The government fears trade because it can’t control it. The feds would do well to remember the historical truth that where goods and services don’t move freely, armies will; and where goods and services do move freely, armies don’t."

Catholic Social Teaching: My Thoughts On The Preferential Option for the Poor and Vulnerable - "There are many ways to do good but we are never permitted to do evil."

Underpopulation—The Real Problem - "More and more Americans are waking up to the fact that the UN Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) is involved with some of the most horrific population control programs the world has ever seen."

Obama's Catholic Strategy in Shambles - "Broadly applied, the HHS policy would amount to systemic anti-Catholic bias in government programs. And the provocation is one in a series."

ObamaCare and the Limits of Government - "Under our Constitution's system of dual sovereignty, only states have the authority to impose health and safety regulations on individuals simply because they are present. The Supreme Court has ruled many times that the Constitution denies to the federal government this type of 'general police power.'"

How can I learn more about the early Christian Fathers? - [Two books for suggested reading]

Does coffee break the Eucharistic fast? - [Interesting question; interesting answer.]

That Big Catholic Family Circus - "The question that seems to have been left unanswered in so many of the obituaries for Keane is quite basic: If this man’s values were at the heart of his art, then where did these values come from?"

How Does The Secular World View God? Analyzing a Remarkable Movie Clip - "...they are not so much rejecting God, as a caricature of God, a false and distorted picture of God, gleaned from selective reading of Scripture, and a selective and a distorted notion of the life of faith."

Feel free to add other links in the Comments section below...

Monday Musings

2011-11-14T15:17:00.000-05:00

A few random thoughts and ponderings to start the week...

The new musical arrangements for the Sanctus and the Gloria, which our parish has begun using in anticipation of the new Mass translation, are beginning to grow on me. But I'm afraid I still don't like them. For All Saints Day we simply chanted the Latin a cappella. As I said here previously, I really think we should try some kind of chant for the English... Just keep it simple. Why does everything we sing at Mass need musical accompaniment and clumsy melodies.

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Our son turned eight recently. A friendly older couple, who seem to have adopted our kids as surrogate grand-kids, gave him a card with five dollars in it. The following week, after Mass, they asked what he spent his money on. We told them that he had donated it to St. Jude's children's hospital. He said, "Those kids need it more than I do." It goes without saying that our friends were impressed and we had a proud parent moment. :)

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Apparently it has become fashionable in some circles to wear rosaries as jewelry, and I don't mean out of some sort of devotion, but as a fashion statement. I had read about this phenomenon recently, but over the weekend I saw some fashion "rosaries" for sale at the mall...tacky, gaudy, and in bad taste. I hope this fad passes quickly.

This Week's Headlines

2011-11-11T09:52:00.000-05:00

What's So Great About Catholicism? - "...if we look on the world through truly Catholic eyes, we will find that the fog lifts, our perspectives grow deeper, and beauty and truth beckon above the puerility of mass popular culture."

God: The Shakedown Artist For The Welfare State? - "Concern for the poor permeates Scripture, but nowhere does God set forth the means to achieve this end. There certainly is no directive to turn to the state. The Good Samaritan didn’t lobby the Sanhedrin to create a public bureau to aid travelers waylaid by criminals; rather, he personally paid to care for the injured man."

Obama Couldn’t Wait: His New Christmas Tree Tax - "The economy is barely growing and nine percent of the American people have no jobs. Is a new tax on Christmas trees the best President Obama can do?"

Why We Must Stop Liberal Catholics From Handing The Church Over To the State - "For orthodox Catholics, the Church (founded on Christ) is the ultimate moral and personal authority, it supersedes the State in every area where the Church has primacy, namely, faith and morals. For liberal Catholics, however, I see only increasing evidence that the State and the liberal view of the State are their ultimate authority."

A Majority of Democrats Seldom or Never Go to Church, Says Gallup - [Interesting...but not surprising.]

The Bible: Who Owns the Copyright? - "Look, there’s a reason why Catholics don’t read the bible in an exclusively literal sense, and haven’t since the time of Origen (+253). The Church looks at the books of scripture according to the genres in which they were written (history, allegory, wisdom, prophecy, and so on)."

Treating Jesus as a King Without a Kingdom - "Christ doesn't leave us as ecclesial consumers to choose our favorite flavor of Christianity. He establishes Himself as the eternal Shepherd, guiding and guarding the Flock. If we find ourselves going in a separate direction from the flock, we're going in a separate direction from the Shepherd."

Proportion, Integrity and Honesty: 3 Foundations for Church Architecture - "...a Catholic church should witness to the Catholic faith and that the Catholic faith is timeless; therefore, the church should be built to last 1,000 years."

Before and after: how to renovate a Catholic church [pictures of a beautiful renovation]

Joint ills prompt pope's use of mobile platform at St. Peter's - "Pope Benedict XVI has reached the age John Paul II was at his death in April 2005, and every stumble or step with a cane is watched for signs of impending doom."

How Catholics can reclaim the American feast of Thanksgiving

Feel free to add other links in the Comments section below...

Quote of the Week

2011-11-09T15:08:00.000-05:00

"It is clear, therefore, that in the supremely wise arrangement of God, sacred Tradition, sacred Scripture and the Magisterium of the Church are so connected and associated that one of them cannot stand without the others. Working together, each in its own way under the action of the one Holy Spirit, they all contribute effectively to the salvation of souls…this Magisterium is not superior to the Word of God, but is its servant. It teaches only what has been handed on to it. At the divine command and with the help of the Holy Spirit, it listens to this devotedly, guards it with dedication and expounds it faithfully."

- Pope Paul VI, Dei Verbum

This Week's Headlines

2011-11-04T12:28:00.000-04:00

Breaking Bad Liturgical Habit - "[T]he “changes in the words” offer the Church a golden opportunity to confront, and then break, some bad liturgical habits that have accumulated, like unlovely barnacles on the barque of Peter, over the past several decades."

One Example of How Beautiful Church Buildings Lead People to God - "To experience beauty is to experience God. It’s why the monasteries and cathedrals of Western civilization have always been so marvelous, why places like the Sistine Chapel lure people of all different faith backgrounds to behold them."

How to handle awkward conversations with family members - "So, to be a faithful Catholic today, one must remember first and foremost that to do so means being rejected at times, even by those we dearly love, but this rejection can be a means of drawing closer to Christ — of being truly blessed."

How do Saints in Heaven 'Hear' Us? - "Ultimately, glorified Saints in heaven take up their priestly identity as the people of God. This priestly identity involves intercession and so they continue to love us and the only thing they can do is pray for us."

Pope on All Saints' Day: 'The Original Vocation of Every Baptized Person Is Holiness' - "The Pope also reflected on how today’s emphasis on the “communion of saints” continues into tomorrow’s commemoration of All Souls, which occurs every Nov. 2. This is the day when the Church prays for the souls in purgatory."

And He Will Wipe Every Tear From Their Eyes, yes, Every Tear. A Reflection on the Healing Hope of Purgatory - "Purgatory has to be. God loves us too much to leave us in our present unseemly state."

The Enchiridion of Indulgences - "The following is not represented to be an exact reprint of the Enchiridion but and accurate digest of what constitutes an approved indulgenced work by the Sacred Apostolic Penitentiary."

The ancient Christian origins of the feast day of All Saints

Sing the Dies Irae at My Funeral – A Meditation on a Lost Treasure

The Three "Reformation Day" Ironies - "While I respect the desire to have fun without celebrating evil, I find Reformation Day to be unwittingly hilarious. Here's why..."

Witches Are Real - "All magic is black magic because of the philosophy behind it: those involved in witchcraft seek power, and anybody who seeks power for it's own sake is bad."

Vatican Does Horrible Job of Being Anti-Science - "The Vatican signed a $1 million contract with NeoStem, and will be co-hosting an adult stem cell conference in Rome in November. The Church supports adult stem cell research, but condemns embryonic stem cell research because it requires the destruction of the human embryo."

Top 5 Heresies I Would've Believed Without the Authority of the Church - "If God wanted us to know him, it seemed nonsensical that he would give us a system where even the most basic ideas about his nature and his will were up for grabs... Then, when I heard the theory behind the Catholic Church, it all came together."

Moral Economics 101 - "...next time you’re talking to someone about Occupy Wall Street, don’t just denounce greed. Bring up honesty, prudence, and chastity: these are as important as charity in the development of a just, flourishing economy."

Why are parents encouraged to abort Down syndrome children and banned from aborting girls? - "Since the advent of ultrasound, sex also can be diagnosed prenatally. However, the Ethics Committee for the American Congress of Obstetrician and Gynecologists (ACOG) issued an opinion in 2007 that said it was unethical to use prenatal testing for sex selection. This was the same year that ACOG also recommended that all women be offered prenatal testing for Down syndrome."

The Coming Church-State Wars - "...if the Office of Human Rights has nothing better to do than spending six months investigating these nonsensical charges, it ought to be abolished. Give the taxpayers back the money these bureaucrats are wasting..."

U.S. House Reaffirms 'In God We Trust' - "The resolution, passed by a vote of 396 to 9, encourages the motto's public display 'in all public buildings, public schools and other government institutions.'"

Quote of the Week

2011-11-02T12:20:00.000-04:00

"The whole Church observes this practice which was handed down by the Fathers: that it prays for those who have died in the communion of the Body and Blood of Christ, when they are commemorated in their own place in the sacrifice itself; and the sacrifice is offered also in memory of them, on their behalf. If, then, works of mercy are celebrated for the sake of those who are being remembered, who would hesitate to recommend them, on whose behalf prayers to God are not offered in vain? It is not at all to be doubted that such prayers are of profit to the dead; but for such of them as lived before their death in a way that makes it possible for these things to be useful to them after death."

- Saint Augustine

All Saints Day

2011-11-01T14:35:00.000-04:00

In Praise of the Saints
How shining and splendid are your gifts, O Lord
which you give us for our eternal well-being
Your glory shines radiantly in your saints, O God
In the honor and noble victory of the martyrs.
The white-robed company follow you,
bright with their abundant faith;
They scorned the wicked words of those with this world's power.
For you they sustained fierce beatings, chains, and torments,
they were drained by cruel punishments.
They bore their holy witness to you
who were grounded deep within their hearts;
they were sustained by patience and constancy.
Endowed with your everlasting grace,
may we rejoice forever
with the martyrs in our bright fatherland.
O Christ, in your goodness,
grant to us the gracious heavenly realms of eternal life.
(Unknown author, 10th century)

Monday Musings

2011-10-31T13:52:00.000-04:00

A few random thoughts and ponderings to start the week...

Today is the Eve of all Saint's Day (All Hallow's Eve = Halloween). But it is also the anniversary of a famous (or infamous) event in Protestant history. On this day nearly 500 years ago, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Thesis to the church door in Wittenberg, Germany, sparking the Protestant Revolt (a.k.a. Reformation). Here is a piece written in 1995 by Protestant theology professor Stanley Hauerwas on the theme of "Reformation Day," as this day is called. It is a refreshing re-evaluation of the Reformation that boarders on "Catholic" in its approach.

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Sometimes when you hear of someone else's tragedy it reminds you of how lucky you are, and how insignificant your own problems are. I had a moment like that today.

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When I started doing these Monday Musings posts, I needed some way to separate each independent thought. So I always put three crosses + between each of thought. The crosses are separated by eight spaces. The three crosses represent the Trinity but also faith, hope, and love. The eight spaces are to symbolize joy and celebration, as in an "octave" celebration on the Liturgical calendar.

Maybe by doing this I'm over-thinking things a bit, but I like to do things with a purpose, and it seemed a fitting element to added to this blog. For Catholics, symbolism is a very important part of our faith, and I like utilizing that idea whenever an opportunity arises.

This Week's Headlines

2011-10-28T14:02:00.000-04:00

Can we hope that all men be saved? - "In any case, we cannot trust the speculations of the modern theologians, we must trust in the promise of Christ. And he never promised that all would be saved, he only said that we will be saved if we continue to follow him."

Reformation Day – and What Led Me To Back to Catholicism - "Although I am forever indebted to my Evangelical brethren for instilling and nurturing in me a deep love of Scripture, it was that love that eventually led me to the Church that had the authority to distinguish Scripture from other things."

Mea Culpa - "The new Confiteo is a refreshing antidote to the victim-entitlement poison. I beat my breast and say, 'My fault, my fault, my most grievous fault' and as I do I take responsibility for myself in a most solemn threefold vow of acknowledgement."

Government Greed Needs an 'Occupation' Too - "Solutions can be found not in centralized power and burdensome regulation, which facilitate and reward government greed, but in framing sensible laws and reinvigorating a culture of virtue in business and government alike."

The New Vatican Document on Finance: Right Diagnosis, Deadly Cure - "The Vatican seems to be growing in intellectual sophistication over worldly affairs. Now it gets economic matters half right. Sadly, being half right on something this important can lead to permanent calamity." Also this piece, and others below...

On Going the Way of World Government - "If the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace is trying to make the Catholic Church sound as if she’s living in a fantasy world or trying to portray Catholic social teaching as completely irrelevant to real world problems, I’d say, 'Mission accomplished.'"

Just How "Major" Was Monday's Finance Document? - "...the document does not represent the Church’s teaching authority or Magisterium—at least the document as a whole does not. (It does contain quotations from other documents which do carry magisterial authority, and those passages carry the same authority as they had in their original context.)"

The new “white paper” from the Pont. Council Justice and Peace. [Fr. Z's rant] "...thanks be to God this 'white paper' (I won’t dignify it with 'document') doesn’t form part of the Holy Father’s Ordinary Magisterium."

Catholics, Finance, and the Perils of Conventional Wisdom - "For a church with a long tradition of thinking seriously about finance centuries before anyone had ever heard of John Maynard Keynes or Friedrich Hayek, we can surely do better."

The PCJP’s Vision of Polity: The Ideal vs. the Real - "This to me is the great failure of the document: It calls for an approach which is likely to be sensible only in an ideal world, and which is fraught with danger everywhere else."

Spare us from Vatican economic analysts - "...while economists are learning from the Vatican, perhaps the Vatican might learn a few lessons from economic analysts."

Profits Are For People - "The pursuit of profits forces producers to be attentive to the will of their customers, simply because the customer of, say, a supermarket can fire it on the spot by taking his business elsewhere."

Assisi Gives an Encore. But Revised and Corrected - "As a cardinal, Joseph Ratzinger did not participate in the encounter of Assisi in 1986. He never criticized it in public, but his absence was interpreted as a distancing of himself from the ambiguities that the initiative unquestionably produced, inside and outside of the Catholic Church."

Pepsi Shareholders Demand It Stop Using Aborted Fetal Cells - "As recently as May, Pepsi ignored concerns and criticism from dozens of pro-life groups and tens of thousands of pro-life people who voiced their opposition to PepsiCo contracting with biotech company Senomyx even after it was found to be testing their food additives using fetal cells from abortions."

Why It Matters that Kate Middleton Can Be Catholic Now - "The change in the royal succession laws is good, in that it gets a blatantly anti-Catholic law off the books, and one that was causing heartburn as recently as 2007, with Blair's conversion. But the sad reality is that this change is possible simply because religion of all sorts - Anglicanism, Catholicism, or theism in general - no longer seems to matter to the United Kingdom in the way that it once did."

The unintended consequences of socialist architecture - Opposition to post-war architecture tends to focus on aesthetic concerns... But its mostly deeply pernicious effect is surely the way in which it has affected people’s behaviour..."

Quote of the Week

2011-10-26T12:42:00.000-04:00

"Never be afraid of loving the Blessed Virgin Mary too much. You can never love her more than Jesus did. If anyone does not wish to have Mary Immaculate for his mother, he will not have Christ for his brother."

- St. Maximilian Kolbe

Monday Musings

2011-10-24T15:13:00.000-04:00

A few random thoughts and ponderings to start the week...

I really do plan on writing more soon...but not this week. Kids are on fall break and I have some time off from work. I feel like being lazy, not writing.

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At our parish we've been trying some new musical settings for the new translation of the Mass. I must say, they are mediocre. Not that they are bad, per se, but they just sound like a re-hash of some of the same stuff we've heard before. Maybe some simple chant is all that's called for.

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I ordered a new Missal in preparation for the new translation. It is currently on back-order. When I receive it and get a chance to use it, I'll make a comment or two about the particular missal I bought. Different publication houses organize the contents differently. I didn't really look into the details of the missal I bought (I purchased it based on price and availability, so I know next-to-nothing about how the text is laid out); I'm anxious to see how I like using it.

This Week's Headlines

2011-10-21T21:50:00.000-04:00

Heresy Gets Things Done - "Heresies have always been simpler and more persuasive than nuanced orthodox answers. Orthodoxy, like reality, is tediously complex when you try to account for all the details. Like math, it’s hard. Like surgery, it’s work..."

2012 is the “Year of Faith”…What Does It Mean? - "According to Pope Benedict XVI, the 'Year of Faith' will officially begin on October 11, 2012 and will last until November 24, 2013."

Are the Gospels Myth? - "Christianity, more than any other religion, is rooted in history and makes strong—even shocking—claims about historical events, most notably that God became man and dwelt among us."

Does the Bible Prohibit Religious Images? - "Now, obviously, Protestants today aren't roving around destroying Catholic art. But iconoclasm has ongoing negative impacts."

Is Religion Relevant - "The problem with trendy vestments, and any other attempt to make the faith 'relevant' is that it is immediately out of date."

Are You a Nice Christian? - "Fact is, we don't know if they are or not, but we can see what they believe and how they behave and make some tentative judgements."

Pro-Lifers Urgently Need to Engage in the SEO War - [SEO = search engine optimization] "There needs to be a concerted effort in the pro-life movement to get our websites do better in online search results."

Evangelizing the Self-Satisfied Secularist - "It is not a very effective strategy for believers to tell the self-satisfied secularist that he is really unsatisfied, just not aware of it. It is far better to appeal to the unstable nature of human satisfaction, and the consequent human tendency to always yearn for more, even when we feel satisfied."

Rick Santorum: Disabled Children Have So Much to Teach Us - "As Santorum said this week, 'If it’s (the pro-life movement’s) not successful, we will lose the soul of the country.'"

John Paul II will soon be a saint - "The second miracle attributed to the Blessed John Paul II, must be recognised by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints on behalf of the deceased pope. The dossier of miracles attributed to Karol Wojtyla is constantly being updated with new testimonies."

Robert Downey, Jr. Asks Hollywood to Forgive Mel Gibson - "I would ask that you join me...in forgiving my friend his trespasses and offering him the same clean slate you have me, allowing him to continue his great and ongoing contribution to our collective art without shame."

Quote of the Week

2011-10-19T11:25:00.000-04:00

"There is one God and one Christ, and one Church, and one chair founded on Peter by the word of the Lord. It is not possible to set up another altar or for there to be another priesthood besides that one altar and that one priesthood. Whoever has gathered elsewhere is scattering."

- St. Cyprian

Monday Musings

2011-10-17T21:15:00.000-04:00

A few random thoughts and ponderings to start the week...

I've been a lazy blogger lately... I have no excuse. Hopefully, as the weather cools off and I spend more time inside, I'll have more time to write.

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I had a conversation recently about religion and politics. Someone suggested the faith should not be involved in people's political decision making because it violates the separation of church and state. There are many arguments against this fallacy, but during the course of our conversation I proposed the following:

There is no way to separate “faith” from political decision-making, because for most Americans there is no way to separate “faith” from “values/morality”. Our laws are by their very nature "moral" - through the power of "law" society imposes moral order. Since most people are religious or subscribe to some faith, it would be unfair to tell these religious people that they must make their value-decisions (when voting for a candidate or a ballot initiative, etc.) without utilizing their faith…you are telling people to jettison a part of who they are if they want to engage in politics. This has never been the case in American history…in fact I would argue that belief in a Creator is a foundational principle in this country.

Now certainly we cannot legislate *theology* or *doctrine*; we cannot establish a national *church*. I would submit to you that that what was meant by “separation of church and state” is that our government cannot dictate religious belief or require its citizens to subscribe to a particular faith. Specifically it means that the State (our government) is to remain separated from the Church (ecclesial bodies). And so we must consider that while “church and state” must remain separate, there can never be a separation of “faith and politics” nor did the Framers intend any such separation.

This Week's Headlines

2011-10-14T10:46:00.000-04:00

A Letter to the Lazy - "Do something specific and constructive, and if you are willing to work as hard as the people on Wall Street, you might just accomplish something."

Belloc, Distributism and Political Power - "I can always find common ground with the Distributists I meet... But then there’s the question of centralized political power in the economy."

The New Missal Translation: Renewing Awe and Wonder - "The new translation affords us an opportunity to look at the words in the Mass and ask, 'How and why is this different?' I think if people do this, they will find that the new translation offers a great opportunity for deeper prayer and reflection."

Why Young Christians Leave the Faith - "We aren't losing a generation - they are lost. The question now is, what do we do about it?"

Why Teens Leave the Church – A New but Dubious Study? - [An analysis of the study cited in the article above.]

Answering Four Common Protestant Objections to the Papacy - "Andre, a Protestant on his way into the Catholic Church, recently had something of an exit interview with his former pastor. His pastor made some last-ditch attempts to scuttle Andre's belief in the papacy."

Reporters, Baptists, Romney & ‘cults’- "Journalists are going to have to get up to speed and learn how to tell the difference between bigoted believers who reject Mormons, period, and those who reject their theology, but are willing to work with them in the political arena. Otherwise, there is no way to make sense of these events."

Is Mormonism a Christian Denomination? - [Excellent overview of Mormon beliefs, including the Christian response to each error.]

Jehovah’s Witnesses Knock on the Wrong Door - "No one can change their beliefs on a dime. It takes time... It’s enough to present the truth and then let them see it as God helps them to understand."

Yes, Steve Jobs, R.I.P., was an innovating genius. But... - "Don't get me wrong: I fully recognize that Jobs was an innovating genius when it comes to technology and material things. But his perspective of the bigger picture was seriously lacking."

Large Group of Episcopalians Received Into the Church - "The ceremony seemed to have made a deep impression on many of those present. Two women clutching handkerchiefs admitted they had been moved to tears." See also this article which includes a few pictures: Episcopal parish in Bladensburg converts to Roman Catholic Church

Catholic-dudes, we need you - "Find the time to impress upon the younger men you encounter how fulfilled you are by being a faithful brother in Christ."

Capital Punishment Revisited - [An interesting compilation of essays for and against, from a Catholic perspective.]

19 Words Every Catholic Should Know

Feel free to post more links in the comments section below...

Quote of the Week

2011-10-12T14:26:00.001-04:00

"There is a sense that Christianity is only old hat. It’s been around for so long and so many people, cultures, and even civilizations have tried it. Yet, despite such endlessly common efforts, they seemed to have still fallen short. They didn’t produce the missing link, the holy grail, or that secret to life that makes sense of this mysterious existence. Christianity is just a worn out pair of shoes, used when useful and in the end 'found wanting.' That’s the common perception anyway. But it’s wrong.

"The truth is that the Christian life has largely 'been found difficult and left untried.' And because of that we’ve never actually experienced the fullness of the Christian ideal.
"There are some who have actually overcome the difficulties, given it a fair try and did not find it wanting at all. They’re called Saints. So before we go writing off Christianity as more of the same old hat, consider looking to the Saints and trying on a hat that you perhaps have never fully tried."

- G. K. Chesterton

Monday Musings

2011-10-10T12:20:00.000-04:00

I read an article recently pertaining to the culture of the "new media." Specifically the author points to the fact that articles, blog posts, and other information found online is perceived to have a shelf-life - people assume that old news is no news; things from the past are not worth reading. This leads to a lack of appreciation for what has come before, and the inability to build upon a thought and elaborate on ideas. The new media is fast-paced, and so, readers are tuned into the new but forget about the old. People tend to read current content, but seldom access the archived posts or look beyond the main page of a site. The author suggested that we as readers should spend more time tapping into the archived posts of websites and thus engage in the web-culture more thoroughly and thoughtfully. As a blogger I intend to re-post articles from time to time so that readers are confronted with older posts that still have relevance.

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A few thoughts I recently shared with a friend concerning eccuminism:

...I think many people have placed false hope in the ecumenical movement of the past few decades. The reality is that having a dialog about what unites us is not productive unless we eventually face up to our disagreements as well. Ecumenism that ignores our differences is a sham and counter-productive. It does nothing to address the real problems at hand. If our ultimate goal is to repair a shattered Christianity (knowing that Christ prayed for Christian unity), then we cannot afford to be complacent and pacify ourselves with a partial unity.

Repairing this Christian division is like nursing a wounded body... The rest of the body may be healthy, but if we ignore the wound, if we focus on the healthy condition of the rest of the body and say that the injury does not matter as much, then the wound will fester and the patient is in a worse state than before. Like a physician, we must zero in on the injury. We cannot rejoice in the health of an injured body - but that is what this false ecumenism does. It says, "See, you have your legs and your arms, just ignore the gaping wound in your side." But to have an authentic ecumenism, the "wound" (i.e. our disagreement) is the most important thing we must focus on.

Also I would say this... From reading I have done, it seems that the official Catholic position is that true ecumenical dialog is only possible with specific Christian denominations - ones that have retained a certain ecclesial order, proper liturgical practices, and a recognizable hierarchical structure. So the scope of ecumenism is not as wide as many people think. Mainly we [as Catholics] must focus on the Orthodox, the Anglicans, some Lutherans, and a few others. Unfortunately, our differences with the other denominations really are so BIG that there is little chance of getting anywhere ecumenically. For one thing, many Christian denominations have no discernible hierarchy with which to dialog. They do not exist as a "church" properly speaking. They have rejected the very foundation of what makes "church" a true Body. And so, we cannot speak productively with a "body" that has no discernible form, a body that has no "head" with which to speak in return... The most we can do is point to the Truth of Catholicism and lead them home.

This Week's Headlines

2011-10-07T15:06:00.001-04:00

Legislating the Constitution Down - "This is how America will fade away, not with bursting bombs or tidal waves, but with legislators and courts reshaping the notion of rights and entitlements until they become difficult to tell apart, and then deciding who gets to be who they are, and who must change or be ostracized."

The US bishops stick with a losing political strategy - "Faithful Citizenship does not draw the necessary, clear distinction between the issues on which good Catholics might disagree (such as economic policy) and those that are non-negotiable (such as abortion)—not to mention the distinction between issues on which prudent compromise is wise (economics again) and those on which compromise is odious (abortion again)."

Steve Jobs: the Edison of His Time - "There have been 54 million abortions since Roe v. Wade in 1973. We will never know have many of these lost children were other Steve Jobs."

"Darn Tootin'!" Obama Brags on His Thuggish Contraception Policy - "The proposed regulation, designed to implement part of Obamacare, will require all private health plans in the United States to cover sterilizations and all FDA-approved contraceptives—including those that cause abortions—without charging any fees or co-pay."

Don't Judge Parenthood by the First Six Years - "The misconception that parenting only gets harder as you have more children is especially dangerous these days, when permanent surgical sterilization is so easy to come by."

Polish Catholics see miracle in communion wafer - "The communion wafer in question developed a brown spot in 2008 after falling on the floor during a Mass in the eastern Polish town of Sokolka. Two medical doctors determined that the spot was heart muscle tissue, church officials have said."

Of Matters Liturgical - "It may seem a small thing to say “chalice” instead of “cup,” or “eternal” instead of “everlasting.” But the cumulative effect of these details is a subtly more elevated dignity and a proper distance from the everyday."

The rosary: To Jesus through Mary - "October is traditionally regarded as the month of the rosary. During this month, the Church urges us to pray the rosary regularly and to reflect upon its mysteries."

Why I Pray Boring Prayers - "Just like always saying 'I love you' to our spouse no matter what mood we are in, perseverance in repetitious prayers like the Rosary can get us through the dry times in our spiritual life. But even more than that, I think we will find these prayers becoming the brick and mortar of beautiful inner chapels where we learn to walk and talk with God intimately, and at all times."

Exploring Four Myths About the Crusades - "...the usual pointing to this historical period with selective moral outrage, is a tired old attack on the Church, an attack, usually simplistic in its understanding, devoid of historical context, and quite one-sided."

What Does it Mean that the Gates of Hell Won't Prevail? - "The answer to that question has some pretty profound implications for how we understand the idea of Church..."

St. John Chrysostom and St. Augustine on Matthew 16:18 and the Papacy - [follow-up to above article] "In yesterday's post, I stated my intention to set the issue of whether or not Peter was the “Rock” in Matthew 16:18 aside to have a more fruitful discussion on Christ's promises in that passage. It didn't quite work out that way in the comments..."

10 Reasons To Come Back to the Catholic Church

Feel free to post more headlines in the Comments below...

Liturgical Thoughts: Proper Worship Music

2011-10-06T08:28:00.001-04:00

Music exists in many styles and genres, each suited to its own purpose. A musical style played outside of its appropriate context can be jarring, especially when unexpected. If we were to attend a symphony concert, a black tie affair at a grand concert hall, and instead of Beethoven or Mahler we heard the opening chords of a punk rock anthem echoing in our ears, we might certainly ask for our money back. If we attend a joyous gathering at a friend’s house expecting a light-hearted celebration, but from the stereo we hear the dark notes of a Mass for the dead, the mood would certainly be dampened and the guests would excuse themselves early.

We expect music to fit our mood; and music in turn can shape our mood. A good rock-n-roll or pop tune might liven up a party; soft jazz or an elegant orchestral piece can sooth an anxious mind; a hit from the past can evoke a sense of nostalgia. As with any art form, music carries with it an emotional force, a power to shape one’s attitude and to conjure up memories and passions. Music is as varied in its style as the human heart is in its ability to feel and to express its desires and longings. Music is indeed a powerful medium.

The music we encounter in our worship is no different. Some styles of music are particularly suited to elevate our hearts and minds to God. Good worship music is focused entirely on this purpose. We should not attend Mass expecting a rock concert or a 1960s-style folk revival. Yet, unfortunately, that is what is often presented as valid liturgical music in many parishes today. Since the radical experimentation of “liturgists” post Vatican II, many Catholics have become accustomed to the guitar-strumming, tambourine-rattling, “performances” (and I use the term in a derogatory way – no liturgy is designed to be a “performance”) that seem more like a protest sit-in than real liturgical accompaniment. Many parishes have even given the “band” a space on the altar where they really do “sit in” on the Mass and turn up their amps to drown out any prayer that might be going on.

This style of music often carries with it a cultural baggage that clashes with the solemnity and seriousness of the Mass. Every genre of music has its own particular history and cultural tale which has shaped its current form. And so, for example, the story of rock-n-roll, its path to popularity and the cultural setting in which it took shape, gives to it a certain expressive weight, which colors our emotions and taps into our subconscious when we hear it. A certain chord or a specific drum beat may evoke images of Chubby Checker or Led Zeppelin; we might recall a particular song that has a similar sound or a situation or lyric with which we are familiar; we connect the dots within that musical genre and we react accordingly. Musical styles draw out a certain emotion or awaken certain passions. This is a natural response to music (or to any type of art) and it is precisely why the right music ought to be used at Mass. At worship our minds should be elevated God, not dragged down to earthly things.

The Catholic Church has long held the belief that certain styles of music are simply not suited for liturgical use. Music can become tainted by the profane, imbued with a worldliness that draws our attention away from the divine. The Church loves and honors music and the arts, but art must be put to its proper use:

“The Church has always recognized and honored progress in the arts, admitting to the service of religion everything good and beautiful discovered by genius in the course of ages — always, however, with due regard to the liturgical laws. Consequently, modern music is also admitted in the Church, since it, too, furnishes compositions of such excellence, sobriety, and gravity, that they are in no way unworthy of the liturgical functions. Still, since modern music has risen mainly to serve profane uses, care must be taken that musical compositions in this style admitted to the Church may contain nothing profane, be free from reminiscences of theatrical motives, and be not fashioned, even in their external forms, after the manner of profane pieces." (Motu proprio of Pius X)

Modern music can certainly be employed for liturgical purposes, but the cultural baggage that necessarily accompanies modern music, the profane roots of modern musical styles, and the impulse among musicians to be true to their art, makes its liturgical use more problematic. Sitting through a Rock-Mass demonstrates how easily the Church’s warnings can come true. When the congregation knows to kneel only after the guitarist has finished his solo…it has gone to far.

Unlike modern music, sacred music has grown up in a setting that naturally directs it toward the divine. By utilizing this genre of music, the risk of profaning the Mass is practically eliminated. The Church has deliberately nurtured the development of sacred music for the purpose of liturgical worship:

"…under the sponsorship of the Church, sacred music, through the course of centuries, has traversed a long road by which, though sometimes slowly and laboriously, it has finally reached the heights: from the simple and natural Gregorian modes, which are, moreover, quite perfect in their kind, to great and even magnificent works of art which not only human voices, but also the organ and other musical instruments embellish, adorn and amplify almost endlessly. Just as this progress in the art of music shows clearly how dear to the heart of the Church it was to make divine worship more resplendent and appealing to Christian peoples, so too it made clear why the Church also must, from time to time, impose a check lest its proper purposes be exceeded and lest, along with the true progress, an element profane and alien to divine worship creep into sacred music and corrupt it." (Pope Pius XII in his encyclical, Musicae sacrae disciplina)

The Church has been vigilant over the centuries as she has safeguarded the integrity of Christian worship and promoted the solemn, reverent dignity of liturgical music… and then came Vatican II. As with many aspects of Catholic faith, the “spirit of Vatican II” has done much to wreck the worship of otherwise faithful Catholics. The profane has entered the sanctuary. But there are new winds blowing. The experimentations after Vatican II are giving way to a new understanding of what the Council actually said. And this includes its statements about sacred music:

“The musical tradition of the universal Church is a treasure of inestimable value, greater even than that of any other art. The main reason for this pre-eminence is that, as sacred song united to the words, it forms a necessary or integral part of the solemn liturgy…

“The treasure of sacred music is to be preserved and fostered with great care. Choirs must be diligently promoted, especially in cathedral churches; but bishops and other pastors of souls must be at pains to ensure that, whenever the sacred action is to be celebrated with song, the whole body of the faithful may be able to contribute that active participation which is rightly theirs…

“The Church acknowledges Gregorian chant as specially suited to the Roman liturgy: therefore, other things being equal, it should be given pride of place in liturgical services. But other kinds of sacred music, especially polyphony, are by no means excluded from liturgical celebrations, so long as they accord with the spirit of the liturgical action…”

“In the Latin Church the pipe organ is to be held in high esteem, for it is the traditional musical instrument which adds a wonderful splendor to the Church's ceremonies and powerfully lifts up man's mind to God and to higher things...”(Sacrosanctum Concilium)

The Church’s sacred music is a “treasure of inestimable value.” Has it truly been “fostered with great care” over the past few decades? Can we honestly say that Gregorian chant has been given “pride of place” when it is never heard sung in our churches today? Can we say that the pipe organ is “held in high esteem” when in reality it has been replaced by guitars and tambourines? Does our liturgical music of today “lift up man’s mind to God and to higher things,” or have we been dragged down to the level of secular entertainment?

The new Mass translation will surely spur Catholics into rethinking liturgical worship in all of its aspects, including sacred music. Among other things, the English words for parts of the Mass that are traditionally sung (such as the Sanctus and the Agnus Dei) will be changed so that new compositions must be produced, fitting the new words to new music. After Vatican II some composers took liberties with the words to these and other parts of the Mass, shaping the language to fit their musical tastes rather than staying true to the prayer and making the music bend in service to our worship. Rather than a liturgy that dictated the style of music, we had instead music that dictated the style of liturgy. Thus our liturgy has suffered. The new translation can help by reasserting the importance of the words over and above the musical accompaniment.

Many people may be offended to learn that some music is simply not appropriate for Catholic worship. Musicians who pour their efforts into a particular style of “worship music” will not welcome a change of style that effectively shuts them out of the liturgical music scene. But we all must remember the following:

“As the sacredness of the liturgy has caused the Church to dictate to the priest, to the smallest detail, what vestments, words, vessels, and actions he should employ in the fulfilment of his duties — which regulations he may not disregard without sinning — so also the regulations concerning church music are binding on the singers [and musicians], whether the reasons for these regulations be understood by the individuals or not.” (Catholic Encyclopedia at newadvent.org under the entry for “Ecclesiastical Music)

Quote of the Week

2011-10-05T08:37:00.000-04:00

"Idolatry is committed, not merely by setting up false gods, but also by setting up false devils; by making men afraid of war or alcohol, or economic law, when they should be afraid of spiritual corruption and cowardice."

- G.K. Chesterton

Monday Musings

2011-10-03T20:44:00.000-04:00

A few random thoughts and ponderings to start the week...

Our parish is preparing for the new translation of the Mass, and this weekend we had a taste of how one facet of the liturgy that is seldom discussed will be affected. Because the words will be changed to prayers such as the Gloria and Sanctus, which are generally sung, new music must be composed and put into use. Our choir and organist demonstrated the new Gloria after Mass on Sunday for anyone who wanted to stay and listen. I'll be writing about music and the liturgy in an upcoming post.

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I overheard a conversation among some Protestant Christians asking one another which denomination they would join if their current denomination dissolved. Each gave their answers and also listed a few problems they have with their present church, and why they thought another tradition might be more to their liking. I was struck by the readiness they all had to "jump ship." They seemed to have given this some thought before the question was ever asked and could give ample justification for leaving their church behind. Many of these were ordained clergy, whom you would think would be more committed to their denomination. But I suppose they know the reality...Protestant churches always live on the brink of schism. They are born of schism and they bread more schism. As a Catholic, when asked, "What would you do if the catholic Church ceased to exist or was proven false?" I always respond, "I would be an atheist!" There is no other choice. Either God gave us the Catholic Church (and no other) or there is no God.

This Week's Headlines

2011-09-30T10:23:00.000-04:00

Why the Liturgical Reform? - "The Council’s reform was genuinely needed. But the errors resulting from misinterpretation of the Council were very serious, indeed, and these errors led to divisions within the Church."

Unintended Consequences: Hurting When You Think You're Helping - "I doubt that many people seriously disagree that feeding the hungry and clothing the naked are worthy objectives. A lot of the policies we enact in the name of these goals have unintended and positively counterproductive consequences."

Is It Wrong for Christians to Own Mansions? - "When someone is willing to use his means to let others experience the best of the created world, he can bless people in a way that those of us with less money can’t. And, though it might not be as noble as Mother Teresa in the streets of Calcutta, that’s a way of glorifying God too."

A Taste of Heaven - "Much of what passes as liturgical music today reflects the rhythms and beats present in secular music that we hear every single day, instead of immersing us in the sacredness and reverence of the Mass. Maybe the lyrics have been changed, but the overall flavor of pop music remains. "

Can the Catholic Church Ordain Female Deacons? - "Proponents of women's ordination to the diaconate pit themselves against the Apostles' clear instructions in Acts 6:3, St. Paul's description of the qualifications needed to become a deacon in 1 Timothy 3, and the explicit teaching of the First Council of Nicea."

Peter Kreeft: Twelve things to know about angels - "We don't see pure spirits, and we can't imagine them. That doesn't mean we can't know or understand them."

7 Things You Need to Know about the Torah - [In honor of Rosh HaShanah] "This is an old post I wrote about the Torah, which I’m republishing here again today..."

The Growing Aversion to Abortion - "The news that the abortion rate has fallen to its lowest level in 30 years elicits various explanations, from increased use of contraceptives to lack of access to abortion clinics. But maybe the chief reason is that the great majority of Americans, even many who see themselves as pro-choice, are deeply uncomfortable with it."

What Every Catholic needs to know about funerals - "The funeral Mass is a final opportunity to commend the deceased to God’s mercy, and that’s why it must be done with reverence."

Be Awesome - "We're not just anyone, we're Catholics! What we do reflects our Church, and our Church is the only sane thing left in the world! Strive for excellence then, glorify God by using every drop of talent He's given you..."

4 Guidelines for Catholic Awesomeness - "I’ve found that the four simple rules below act as a safeguard to prevent too much worldliness from creeping into the creative process..."

Good Writing Is Not a Luxury - "It’s very important for Catholics to learn how to write. At least, if they are going to write, they need to learn how to do it competently. People form their opinions of our faith based, at least in part, on what they see online—and that means the written word..."

Student Punished for Christian Faith - "...he told the student behind him that he was a Christian and that he believed being a homosexual was wrong... Upon hearing what had taken place and what Dakota had said, the assistant principal gave Dakota a two day suspension from school."

Supreme Court Battle Over Pro-Abortion Obamacare Set for 2012 - "The U.S. Supreme Court appears to be the location for the final battle next summer over the legality of Obamacare, the government-run health care scheme that pro-life groups opposed because it allows abortion funding and prompts rationing concerns."

Peter Seewald describes Pope's visit to Germany as "a small miracle" - "They said the Germans would turn their backs on him and all kinds of other stupidities. There appears to be nothing more offensive in our times than being Catholic."

Three nuggets from pope's Germany trip - "Benedict XVI warned Germans in advance not to expect a 'spectacle' or 'sensations' from his third homecoming but first official state visit, and the four-day swing seemed to deliver on those expectations."

John the Baptist and the Canon of Scripture

Quote of the Week

2011-09-28T09:00:00.000-04:00

"To materialists this world is opaque like a curtain; nothing can be seen through it. A mountain is just a mountain, a sunset just a sunset; but to poets, artists, and saints, the world is transparent like a window pane - it tells of something beyond...a mountain tells of the Power of God, the sunset of His Beauty, and the snowflake of His Purity."

- Archbishop Fulton Sheen

Monday Musings

2011-09-26T21:01:00.000-04:00

A few random thoughts and ponderings to start the week...

Over at the blog Roma locuta est there has been an ongoing series of posts pertaining to the new translation of the Roman Missal. The scope and depth of this series is far beyond anything I could present here, but I would urge anyone who has the time and the interest to check out this page, which compiles all of the posts in the series. It is an ongoing endeavor, so check back periodically for updates.

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I read this on someone's Facebook page:

"In the Bible Jacob was a cheater, Peter had a temper, David had an affair, Noah got drunk, Jonah ran from God, Paul was a murderer, Gideon was insecure, Miriam was a gossiper, Martha was a worrier, Thomas was a doubter, Sara was impatient, Elijah was moody, Moses stuttered, Zaccheus was short, Abraham was old, and Lazarus was dead.... God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called!"

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A non-Catholic friend recently asked me: Why does the Catholic Church have nuns? Where did that idea come from?

My reply:

From the earliest times Christians have always held in high honor those who committed themselves to a life of virginity and dedication to serving God. Paul wrote that he wished more people would take up the unmarried lifestyle (as he did) so that they can dedicate themselves to God more fully. Paul wrote: “I would that all men were even as myself; but every one hath his proper gift from God .... But I say to the unmarried and to the widows, it is good for them if they so continue, even as I.” (1 Corinthians 7:7-8) He goes on to point out that people who get married are wrapped up in concerns for worldly things, for their family, for their work, trying to get ahead in the world, etc. But those who are not married can give themselves more completely to God, they are dedicated more fully to the Lord because they have cut their ties to earthly concerns (1 Corinthians 7:32-35).

So there has always been a sense that some Christians are called to a different lifestyle which sets them apart from worldly living. Both men and women answer this call. By the late 200’s A.D. men and women who chose to live celibate lifestyles and who dedicated themselves to prayer and doing good works, began living in communities and organizing into groups. Often they were forced out into the desert when Christians were being persecuted and there they formed monasteries and convents as we know them today. They established rules to govern these communities and each member took vows promising obedience to the leadership of the community.

So “nuns” have always been a part of the Church, in some form or fashion.

Perhaps another question might be: Since the early Church had men and women who dedicated themselves to God in this way, why does your church NOT have nuns?

This Week's Headlines

2011-09-23T10:12:00.000-04:00

Fracture since the Second Vatican Council. Are we creating a New Tower of Babel? - "...the new translation is to be accompanied by catechesis on re-sacralising the liturgy - reverence and paying attention to the rubrics is something we are supposed to have been doing with the old missal but many people didn't bother."

Why Obama is in Danger of Losing the Catholic Vote in 2012 - "...we’ll need all hands on deck to keep Catholics in the column of the candidate and party that best represents Catholic social teaching on foundational issues as life, marriage, family, subsidiarity, and religious freedom in 2012."

Next Election, Don’t Count on the Seniors - "...the mainstream media utterly abandoned whatever responsibilities to the public trust to which it still felt obliged, tossed presumptive-nominee Hillary Clinton aside and—rejecting any-and-all discomfiting questions about his experience, background, past-operations, education, friendships or capabilities—hoisted candidate Barack Obama upon their shoulders and carried him into the White House in triumph."

Why I Was a Pro-Choice Vegetarian - "When I began researching Catholicism, one of the many things that immediately resonated as true was the Church’s teaching on the dignity of man. This idea that every single one of us has dignity—a dignity that exists simply by virtue of being human, regardless of our of size, intelligence, consciousness, or any other observable traits—was like an articulation of a truth that had been written on my heart all along."

Catholic Orthodoxy is Not Bigotry: A Response to the Hate-Filled Comments Received by a Catholic Blogger - "So much for the 'tolerance' of many of our interlocutors. And yet it is we who are called hateful, bigoted, phobic and so forth."

This statement is not bigotry: Public displays of homosexual affection should be illegal - "While it is certainly possible that some might disagree with the claim that homosexuality is immoral and harmful to society, that is a point which can be debated; but is anyone so narrow-minded as to think that one who questions the morality of homosexuality is therefore a hate-filled 'bigot'?"

What Mormons can teach Catholics about online evangelization - "Stephen Allen, head of the Mormons’ missionary department, explained in a recent Washington Post article that, 'If we don’t show up in the top 10 results on Google, we don’t exist.' The same holds true for Catholics. If we’re missing from search results — or if the results are antagonistic toward Catholicism — then we’re losing out."

Why Virginity Matters - "I’m sure there are all sorts of deep theological reasons for the virgin designation so commonly seen after the names of the saints...but it strikes me that one of the practical benefits of the practice is that it’s a reminder that people can have good lives—great, history-making, God-glorifying lives, in fact—without ever having sex."

Did Mary Write the Bible? - "Practically, the fact that an entire portion of Scripture is indebted to the witness of Mary should demonstrate her central role in the life of the early Church."

Study reveals many "Da Vinci Code" fans are irrational, illogical, and scared of death - "...contra the 'wisdom' of the day, religious adherents are more open to logic, arguments, and facts than are non-religious folks.

Padre Pio on Hell - "Padre Pio was asked what he thought about modern people who didn't believe in hell. 'They'll believe in hell when they get there.' he replied."

New Translation - It is not a good idea to shield children from difficult words. Better that they know them and are fascinated by them and then learn more about them as they grow older.

Archbishop Fulton Sheen credited with baby's stunning recovery - "Bonnie held her motionless baby for a few brief moments before he was quickly taken away for CPR while an ambulance was called."

Relic Video: The Liquifying Blood of St Januarius - [This is just cool!]

Quote of the Week

2011-09-21T09:06:00.000-04:00

"[T]here are many other things which most properly can keep me in [the Catholic Church’s] bosom. The unanimity of peoples and nations keeps me here. Her authority, inaugurated in miracles, nourished by hope, augmented by love, and confirmed by her age, keeps me here. The succession of priests, from the very see of the apostle Peter, to whom the Lord, after his resurrection, gave the charge of feeding his sheep [John 21:15–17], up to the present episcopate, keeps me here. And last, the very name Catholic, which, not without reason, belongs to this Church alone, in the face of so many heretics, so much so that, although all heretics want to be called ‘Catholic,’ when a stranger inquires where the Catholic Church meets, none of the heretics would dare to point out his own basilica or house"

- Saint Augustine - Against the Letter of Mani Called "The Foundation" 4:5 [A.D. 397]

Monday Musings

2011-09-19T21:20:00.000-04:00

A few random thoughts and ponderings to start the week...

I read recently an interesting thought concerning the perceived tension between religion and science. Among other things the author pointed out that religion and science are both seeking Truth, and so there can be no real conflict between authentic religion and authentic science. One cannot pass judgement on the other, for truth cannot contradict truth, faith and science must always be in harmony. To paraphrase the author's words: We cannot judge Truth; Truth judges us.

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Just under 7 weeks until the introduction of the new Mass translation! My only question is, when will missals be available in stores?

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I have continued to make frequent use of Latin in my private devotions, and I strongly encourage others to take up the practice. Praying in this ancient language of the Church has many spiritual benefits, of which I have written here before. With that in mind, I am considering creating a permanent page on this blog with some of the basic Catholic prayers in English and Latin as a quick reference for those interesting in praying in the language of the Church. I will experiment with the layout for this page and post more here if anything comes to fruition.

This Week's Headlines

2011-09-16T14:28:00.000-04:00

The Cosmopolitan Conservative - "...liberalism has become insular and narrow-minded. It lacks the capacity for the generous appreciation of other points of view needed in a pluralistic society. That capacity is more likely to be found today among conservatives, particularly religious conservatives."

Forgiveness at Mass - "...I become irritated with the concept of Mass as fellowship meal being made the main image of understanding the Mass. It's not. It's a secondary image. The primary understanding of the Mass is now, and always has been, a re-presentation of the cross of Christ."

Judgement day has come for Lefebvrians and the Vatican - "The Holy See considers the acceptance of the document as an essential condition for full communion, which would also provide for a legal settlement for the Fraternity founded by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre, probably through the constitution of a similar ordinariate to the one expected for the Anglicans."

Society of St. Pius X Has Meeting at the Vatican: Presented Statement of Principles - "...if all goes well, the likely status of the Society of St. Pius X would be a personal prelature - a Church jurisdiction without geographical boundaries designed to carry out particular pastoral initiatives. At present, the only personal prelature in the Church is Opus Dei."

Revisiting External Markers of Our Faith - "As one of my friends tells me, we’re too much into 'Catholic lite.' And it’s backfiring, I’m afraid. I hear our Catholics tell me, “We don’t want Catholic lite; we want to be 'lights to the world!'"

Jobs Act Usurps Liberty, Christian Charity - "If one relies on government programs to help the poor, how can one be blamed for asserting 'I gave at the office' rather than ponying up at the Salvation Army drum or the church collection basket, or buying a Christmas goose for the laid-off father of the family at the end of the block?"

Faith and Work, Politics and Jobs - "The faith in government evident here is really just astonishing. Politicians promising jobs is just another example of making grandiose promises that they can’t hope to fulfill. It’s really just telling us what we want to hear (or at least what they think we want to hear), rather than what we need to hear."

Of Atheists and Their Pretensions - "The interview below with Dr. David Berlinski from Peter Robinson’s Uncommon Knowledge represents for me one of those great moments when one can revel in hearing someone much smarter than you agree with the reasonableness of your position."

“Conscience” in a Culture without Truths? - "We are flying an important banner when we unfurl the cause of 'conscience,' but we are flying that banner in a culture that no longer understands us as we understand ourselves. Most people around us think we are simply invoking intense, personal beliefs when we invoke claims of conscience on abortion."

Funding the Couch Bum - "It was kind of like the moment when mom and dad realize that their son’s college friend, who’s been crashing on the couch for the last eight months, can afford an iPhone, a motorcycle, and a $70 pair of jeans, but somehow never manages to scrape up enough cash to pitch in for the rent. He smokes pot and brings home skeezy girlfriends, and they’re fairly sure he has fleas."

St. John Chrysostom with some…unusual advice - "...go up to him and rebuke him; and should it be necessary to inflict blows, spare not to do so. Smite him on the face; strike his mouth; sanctify your hand with the blow,"

Fragmented Liturgy - There are far too many different ways of celebrating the Mass within the Roman Rite. For the sake of its mission, it's time to restore unity in the Church.

The Massgoer's Guide To Full and Active Participation - [tongue-in-cheek look at what it takes to participate at Mass]

Liturgical Thoughts: Twisting the Mass

2011-09-15T14:26:00.000-04:00

Most people are familiar with the game Twister: A plastic sheet, printed with a series of brightly colored circles, is spread out on the floor. Players take turns placing a hand or a foot on one of the circles as determined by spinning a wheel designed to randomly choose the next move for each participant. The object of the game is to see who can “twist” their body into an ever more complex configuration without collapsing onto the floor in a tangle of arms and legs, thus eliminating themselves from the game. As with any game, Twister can be great fun in an appropriate setting. The Catholic Mass is not such a venue.

Now, to be fair, I have not yet seen the colorful Twister mat laid out on the floor of any Catholic parish, but I have seen some dreadful contortions and bizarre body knots undertaken in the middle of Mass that would surely win the aforementioned game. I refer to the practice of holding hands during the Our Father.

Hand-holding during Mass seems to be a regional phenomenon (at least from my limited observation). I have been to Mass at various churches from Nebraska and Minnesota, to Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and Pennsylvania and across New England. I have also talked to others who have attended Catholic parishes in regions where I have not. From what I can tell, holding hands during the Lord’s Prayer is most often encountered in the Midwest and South. So this is not a universally accepted practice. It is obviously a culturally influenced addition to the liturgy.

From what I have read and heard, Catholic hand-holding began in the folksy 1970s, when guitar Masses and the Protestant-izing of the Church was in full swing after Vatican II. During this time many unofficial changes and experimentations were done to the Liturgy (with or without approval from Rome or local bishops). I gather that the practice in question was a grassroots movement, primarily a spontaneous act of the people, but perhaps also encouraged by certain priests or “liturgists” as the movement gained ground. Today there are even hand-holding circles on the altar, with the priest in the middle and extraordinary ministers of the Eucharist and servers flanking him.

But the real show to watch is the people in the seats. Arms stretch out across pews, one hand behind the back, across the aisle, over the shoulder…one foot on red, the other on blue, and spin the wheel for the next challenge. Can you hold that position until the concluding doxology?

What irritates me most about this practice is not the hand-holding itself (although I personally am not a full-contact worshiper - I prefer to keep my hands and arms to myself), what really frustrates me is the broad assumption among these hand-holders that their practice is a required action within the liturgy. I have received more than one dirty look and snooty reaction from those to whom I have denied my hand during the Lord’s Prayer. They seem to believe that I am the one going against the rubrics. But the reality is that hand-holding during this point of the Mass is a distortion of the real purpose behind the Our Father. Hand-holding and the Our Father point to two different Christian concepts…

I have asked some of these hand-holding Christians why they choose to participate in this game of faux-Twister and they usually respond by saying that holding hands demonstrates our unity as brothers and sisters in Christ - the whole congregation linked together as one, (hands-across-America style). The problem is that the Our Father is not that sort of prayer. The words given to us by Jesus in the Our Father form a prayer of supplication. We are asking for things such as “daily bread” and for God to “deliver us from evil.” Sure we are united in our prayer request, but the words simply do not express that concept explicitly. A far better point of unity would be when we recite the Creed. It is at that point that we are praying a prayer of Christian unity – coming together in a verbal confession of faith. So the symbol of holding hands is misplaced within the Mass.

But besides that, the Liturgy already provides us a physical symbol of Christian unity in the Exchange of Peace. You can shake hands, hug, kiss, or offer any other tasteful symbol of unity at this point of the Mass, and the rubrics actually specifically call for such actions. Why introduce an unnecessary gesture into the wrong point of the Mass when the symbol is already present in the appropriate place.

And anyway, the hand-holding just looks plain silly. The congregation stretches into the aforementioned Twister positions; old ladies lose their balance; young kids are stretched out like rubber bands; people stand in the aisles trying to link up with the other side of the congregation, sometimes only able to grasp at fingertip. Is this really liturgically desirable? Does this add or subtract from the solemnity of the Mass? We all need to step back and really look at what this practice has produced.

The Church provides for us the liturgical rites and practices that shape proper Christian worship with the desire that we might worship as one Body. The Liturgy of the Mass is not ours to add to or subtract from as we please. It is not our place to manipulate the rites of the Mass for our own purposes. The Liturgy of the Eucharist is not “family game night” where we get to decide how we want to engage in each activity. I think it is time to roll up the Twister mats and put away our games.

Quote of the Week

2011-09-14T09:58:00.000-04:00

"Reprimand and rebuke should be accepted as healing remedies for vice and as conducive to good health. From this it is clear that those who pretend to be tolerant because they wish to flatter - those who thus fail to correct sinners - actually cause them to suffer supreme loss and plot the destruction of that life which is their true life."

- St. Basil the Great

Monday Musings

2011-09-12T20:57:00.000-04:00

A few random thoughts and ponderings to start the week...

During the September 11th commemorations this weekend I got to hear again the lyrics of some of the later verses of America the Beautiful. Obviously, the first verse has the words "God shed His grace on thee," but the religious references continue throughout. I was particularly struck by the words: "Confirm thy soul in self-control," in the second stanza. In this age of instant gratification and self-centeredness, at a time when people want all of the pleasure in life without the pain and none of the consequences, this lyric should tell us something about the true fabric of American identity... as it once was. Maybe during these times when we remember the sacrifice of others we can examine our own lives and see where we might benefit from a little more self-control.

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A woman who attends church with us allows her 7-year-old son to wonder up and down the aisles during the sign of peace, shaking everyone's hand as quickly as he can before the opening notes of the Angus Dei. Usually he is still tromping back to his seat from the furthest reaches of the church while everyone else is focused on the Blessed Sacrament and preparing to receive Communion, stopping as he goes, expecting a handshake long after the sign of peace has ended. Needless to say, this presents a bit of distraction.

I recently heard the mother remark, "Some people may think that it's inappropriate for him to run around like that in church, but I see the smiles on people's faces and I just know that it's OK."

Now I do believe that the Mass should bring us joy. Awaiting the reception of the Eucharist might certainly bring a smile to our faces. But that is not the same thing as being distracted by an amusing romp from a seven-year-old during a solemn moment of the liturgy. Is it really "OK" just because it makes people smile? There are any number of things we might do at Mass that would bring a smile to people's faces, but the question is: Are those things appropriate? Are we shifting the focus away from Christ just to get an emotional reaction?

If we just want to make people smile, we could have a comedian do a five minute stand-up routine just before Communion. That would bring a smile to people's faces. We could have the priest wear a clown costume and floppy shoes. We could do many things that bring a smile to people's faces, but the liturgy is not ours to manipulate. Making people smile by distracting them from the Eucharist is not a valid excuse to allow your children to wonder through the aisles unattended.

My wife and I have three young kids. We know that they can be disruptive at Mass, but we try to teach them how to behave appropriately in that setting. We set certain limitations. Obviously there will be occasional outbursts, and misbehavior. I don't mind that (...in fact, I expect it). When that happens, we do what is necessary to correct the situation and then hope that they do better next time. People around us are very understanding when our kids misbehave. They usually smile a "knowing" smile and get a little chuckle. It is puzzling to me that a parent would use such a smile from a stranger as a valid excuse to allow (and even encourage!) their child to continue the disturbance.

"...I see the smiles on people's faces and I just know that it's OK." - Well, no, actually it's not.

This Week's Headlines

2011-09-09T12:35:00.001-04:00

Why we celebrate Mary's birth - "Of course, the Mother of God was sanctified before her birth – indeed, she was wholly preserved from original sin. Thus, she was holy in her birth in a pre-eminent manner...

The frightening duty of fraternal correction - "The practice of fraternal correction, encouraging and admonishing those around us when they fall into sin, is a harrowing experience. This Christian duty has often been neglected and even disparaged in our individualist culture where we risk being told to ‘mind our own business’."

UK Launches New English Translation - It seems to go off without a hitch... Listening to the new translations has had a more powerful effect upon me than reading them has had."

The Mass: The Gift of the Father - "We have received a gift that explains ultimately what we are. We will not concoct something better. In the meantime, we are asked to keep the reality, the memory, of what the Last Supper is, with its leading to the Crucifixion and our redemption before us."

Are the Four Gospels Historically Verifiable? (Arguments in Favor) - "There is literally no other literary work that has this much early testimony to support it. The writings of Cicero and Caesar do not even come close - to say nothing of Plato and especially Homer."

In Contraceptive Culture, Women Can Never Rest - "The Church totally called this one. Back in 1968 Pope Paul VI made four predictions about what would happen when the world accepted contraception, and in one of them he stops just short of naming toddler thongs and octogenarian breast implants specifically."

Things That Have No Right To Exist - "I do expose my kids, when they’re ready, to ideas that are contrary to what we believe. On the other hand, one essential way to make them ready is to instill a deep, visceral, emotional loyalty to the ideas which are true (such as: there is a God, the Church is not evil or repressive, and Tolkein could kick Philip Pullman’s bony atheist hinder without even putting his pipe down)."

An Imperial Presidency Revealed - "The National Labor Relations Board's power grab is not limited to Boeing. It's also claiming authority over St. Xavier University, saying that the school doesn't qualify for the religious exemption to NLRB's authority because St. Xavier is not Catholic enough."

New Philly Archbishop... - "'If they don't believe what the church teaches, they're not really Catholic,' Chaput told The Associated Press in an interview Tuesday, two days before his installation at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul."

New Cathedral for Raleigh, North Carolina - "For those who don't follow the ins and outs of ecclesiastical architecture very closely, it's worth reiterating: this is a big, big deal. ...[T]his is the first time in our lifetime that a bishop has engaged a specialist in traditional to design and build a new cathedral."

Mel Gibson to make movie about the Maccabees... - "Mel Gibson And Joe Eszterhas To Collaborate On Film Telling Jewish Hero Judah Maccabee Story For Warner Bros."

The Anti-Catholic's Guide to Catholic Comboxes - [Funny...only because it hits so close to the mark.]

What I Did On My Summer Vacation...

2011-09-08T19:45:00.000-04:00

With summer coming to an end, and school in full swing, I thought I would post a few pictures from our vacation...

For many Americans, summer vacation is a time to unwind, relax, and travel. Possible destinations are endless. Disney World and other commercial resorts are at the top of some families' dream vacation lists. Then there are the usual natural wonders: the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, countless beaches, and mountain getaways. Or you could visit national landmarks and historic sites: Mount Rushmore, the Golden Gate Bridge, Washington D. C. All of these are fine choices. Some of them I have been to myself and enjoyed them immensely. But there are other possible destinations scattered throughout the country that provide an opportunity to incorporate our Catholic faith directly into our vacation plans.

As Catholic parents, my wife and I always plan ahead when we are traveling so that we are near a Catholic Church on Sunday to attend Mass. Indeed it is our obligation as Catholics to do so. But beyond this minimum obligation we Catholics can also enjoy some wonderful and historic pilgrimage sites all across the nation while traveling to vacation spots. Certainly Sunday Mass attendance is a must for our own spiritual benefit, but we can also enjoy many spiritual blessings by taking a brief pilgrimage to various shrines, monasteries, chapels, cathedrals and basilicas while traveling.

With that in mind, our family made two such pilgrimages this summer in connection with our trip to Niagara Falls, NY: Our Lady of Victory Basilica Shrine in Lackawanna, NY; and Our Lady of Fatima Basilica Shrine in Lewiston, NY. Both are within an hour or less drive from Niagara Falls. Both are minor basilicas and so have spiritual significance as pilgrimage sites. And both offer regular Mass schedules. The kids enjoyed seeing these religious sites as much as they enjoyed Niagara Falls, and they were absolutely free to tour (although donations are always appreciated). By incorporating these pilgrimage sites into our vacation plans we can teach our children the importance of bringing our faith with us wherever you go (...we never take a vacation from being Catholic.)

Below are some links to the websites of each of these basilicas, as well as some photos we took while on vacation...

Our Lady of Victory Basilica Shrine

Our Lady of Fatima Basilica Shrine

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Of course, included in this trip was a visit to Niagara Falls. When visiting a natural wonder such as Niagara Falls, parents can use this too as an opportunity to point out the beauty of God's creation. It can become another pilgrimage of sorts. The grand churches and basilicas were built by man to give glory to God...the works of nature were created by God to show forth His own glory to man. Either way, vacations can be a great opportunity to connect with the divine.

Quote of the Week

2011-09-07T14:00:00.000-04:00

"Life is not just a succession of events or experiences: it is a search for the true, the good and the beautiful. It is to this end that we make our choices; it is for this that we exercise our freedom; it is in this – in truth, in goodness, and in beauty – that we find happiness and joy. We must not allow ourselves to be deceived by those who see us merely as consumers in a market of undifferentiated possibilities, where choice itself becomes the good, novelty usurps beauty, and subjective experience displaces truth." - Pope Benedict XVI; New Technologies, New Relationships

Monday Musings

2011-09-05T20:01:00.002-04:00

A few random thoughts and ponderings to start the week...

The Catholic Church is often criticized for two contradictory flaws: On one side we are attacked for our refusal to change. On the hot-button issues of the day the Catholic Church refuses to alter its teaching or to bend to the cultural whims of society. Yet on the other side we are accused of changing too much. There are those who say that the Catholic Church has manipulated the Gospel message and added doctrines that were not a part of the original Good News proclaimed by Jesus Christ. So which is it? Is the Church an archaic, unbending relic from the past; or is the Church a fabricator of false doctrines that inventor of beliefs irregardless of the teachings of Jesus?

The reality is that the Catholic Church remains steadfast in Truth. But we should not be surprised to find enemies on all sides in this broken world. The world first hated Jesus, and now it hates His Church. We will always stand accused of whatever the world deems most threatening to its refusal to do God’s Will.

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Looking forward to the new Mass translation! Check out this link for sample texts and other resources.

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Today is Labor Day. Except for the fact that my wife and I both have the day off from work and our kids are home from school, it is kind of a non-holiday for us. Just another government-mandated excuse to spend time with the family – which is great, don’t get me wrong; I do love the family time. But as I check out websites of other Christian (non-Catholic) churches I have come to realize that on days like this some Christians seem to take their cues from the secular calendar as opposed to any ecclesial/liturgical calendar.

Labor Day and other national holidays have a prominent role in some Christian churches’ celebrations. There is a nationalistic flair to many American denominations. They have Labor Day, Thanksgiving, Memorial Day, Fourth of July, etc. celebrations, and these sometimes seem to overshadow the strictly religious holidays and feast days. By stressing these secular, American holidays they often neglect the global reality of the Christian message (not everyone is American; not every Christian celebrates these holidays). But worse, these secular holidays have little or nothing to do with Christianity at all. Really, the Church has no business occupying its time with planning liturgical celebrations that elevate secular holidays to the level of religious holy days. So, while I do enjoy these days off and I do recognize their value for society, I attach little religious significance to them and I wonder why so many Protestants fail to see the error of placing Caesar on a par with God.

This Week's Headlines

2011-09-02T10:29:00.000-04:00

Accepting Evangelization - "Be willing to suffer, but know that you in fact may not. Grace will conquer suffering and turn it into rejoicing. And that, dear fellow Catholics, will make you never want to give up or shut up!

Questioning the Questioners: Why Do You Not Honor Mary in Accordance With Scripture? - "We Catholics are always on the defensive, always in answer mode. But we ought to ask a few questions too."

Defrocked Episcopal priest hopes to join Catholic Church - "You almost never hear of Catholic priests being suspended for being too conservative — but that seems to happened with this Episcopalian from suburban Philadelphia."

The Christian Critic - "I’m a big meany. I’m a mean, mean, meany-pants, and I carry a cane with me at all times, in case I see some pretty flowers that need whacking. But, as Evelyn Waugh said, 'You have no idea how much nastier I would be if I was not a Catholic. Without supernatural aid, I would hardly be a human being.'"

Work and Natural Rights - "Unions, along with other associations, could bring the benefits of solidarity joined with love and charity, as members help one another in many ways. But it was quite another matter when unions use their power to deny, to ordinary people, legitimate work they were willing to do."

Distributists Ignore the Lessons of History - "...distributist system is, if not totally impossible to implement, certainly a cure worse than the disease."

Lessons from Hurricane Irene - "[I]n recent history, the United States has over-federalized disaster response in a way that threatens the resiliency of the nation’s communities, according to a new report from The Heritage Foundation..."

Gay Marriage, Democracy, and the Courts - "The marriage culture, already wounded by widespread divorce, nonmarital cohabitation and out-of-wedlock childbearing will fare no better than it has in those European societies that were in the vanguard of sexual 'enlightenment.' And the primary victims of a weakened marriage culture are always children and those in the poorest, most vulnerable sectors of society."

Far from being opposed to science, Catholicism is its best advocate and defence - "We should rejoice in men like Mgr Georges Lemaître, who are heroes of science and witnesses to the Church's devotion to reason and logic."

Stained Glass and the Book of Revelation - "...But stained glass also served another purpose, that of imaging the foundational walls of heaven. For, recall that traditional church architecture saw the church as an image of heaven."

Benedict XVI: on rediscovering the path of beauty - "Works of art are the fruit of human creativity, which question the visible reality, trying to discover its deep meaning and to communicate it through the language of shapes, colours, sounds."

New England’s European-Style Birth Dearth - "Basically, New England is trending the way of Western Europe. Ironically, this was the area that Europeans first settled, and now those European descendants are going the way of Europe."

Biden One-Child Policy Comment No Gaffe, Obama Admin Ignores It - "...the Vice President was clearly pandering to his Chinese hosts. It wasn’t ignorance and it wasn’t a gaffe. Biden wanted China’s communist leaders to know that he and the President he serves are more than willing to turn a blind eye to atrocities committed in the name of the one-child policy."

Planned Parenthood Abortion v. Adoption Referrals - "The new document the abortion organization posted shows Planned Parenthood provided prenatal services to merely 7,021 women and referred only 977 women for adoption services."

Washington Post Shows Bias Again in Coverage of Abortion - [Media bias - Nothing new about this...]

Answering Seventh Day Adventism - "It's not as if [Ellen] White was wrong on some minor details. She got the basic facts about the core doctrine of Adventism all wrong, and obviously so. It's long past time for Adventists to ditch Ellen White and come home to orthodox Christianity."

Atheist Brokeback Mountain Movie Bombs! - "This really just goes to show that atheists can make movies just as bad as Christians -and let’s face it there’s been some reeeeaaaallly bad Christian movies. But at least Christians make bad movies because they mean well, atheists don’t even have that excuse."