Quote of the Week

"If anyone does not wish to have Mary Immaculate for his Mother, he will not have Christ for his Brother."

- Saint Maximilian Kolbe

Monday Musings

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

With Congressman Paul Ryan as the V.P. pick for the Republican ticket there will surely be much said between now and November about his Catholic faith. And of course the same tired old complaints from liberal Catholics will be trotted out - that Ryan is not sympathetic to the poor, he gives tax cuts to the wealthy, he doesn't adhere to Catholic Social Teaching, blah, blah, blah.

The fact is that Catholic Social Teaching does not give particulars on how we should formulate  policy or write laws, construct budgets or tax codes, or exactly how we ought to give relief to the poor. Such decisions are left to lay Catholics who may use their own prudential judgment in deciding such matters. Certainly care for the poor and those in need are essential to Social Justice. But how we go about legislating on these matters is up to each Catholic to decide. Paul Ryan has written and spoken many times to this question and has demonstrated that he takes Catholic Social Justice seriously. 

What really irritates me are those liberal politicians (and their supporters) who drone on and on about their version of BIG-government Social Justice yet they support the killing of innocent babies in the womb and the destruction of traditional marriage and family. These "Catholics" will no doubt be casting stones at Paul Ryan for the next few months, while they carry on with their twisted and evil policies that bring disgrace to the name "Catholic."

Abortion and marriage are NON-negotiable moral issues. Whereas, tax codes, budget writing, and welfare benefits are debatable points on which Catholics are free to disagree. Hopefully we are seeing the beginning of a change in Catholic Social Justice in America.

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On a related note: I can't wait to see the Vice Presidential debate!

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So, our kids had their first religion class of the new school year at our parish on Sunday. The organizers of the CCD class made everyone (parents included) play ridiculous games as an "ice-breaker" instead of using the time to get down to real learning. This is EXACTLY what has been wrong with Catholic faith formation over the past forty years or so - making sure everyone gets along and has "fun" (whatever version of "fun" that might be) instead of teaching doctrine and building a solid foundation of faith. Don't get me wrong, our church's faith formation classes are OK...they do a relatively decent job teaching the faith...but it could be vastly improved with more substance and less frivolous time-wasting.

For the record: I refused to participate. I left with our three-year-old to play on the playground. Our older daughter also sat out of one of the games. She knows cheesy gimmicks when she sees them.

Some people might argue that these events build fellowship and draw people together... Well, maybe. But not everyone likes to do the same activities. Forcing everyone to play the same game or join in on some organized activity when some of those people loathe it only serves to alienate those who wish to NOT participate. Count me in that group.

Thie Week's Headlines

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...

Still very busy at work... I tried to round up enough posts to fill out this list, but it's a little shorter than I expected. Feel free to add in the comments:

Declaring War on the Church - [After watching this video about Obama "declaring war on the Church," I find even more reason to support Mitt Romney.]

Contraception Increases Abortions - "Artificial contraception claims to make sex available without consequences of children. When it fails, people feel that they need abortion as a continuation of the contraceptive attitude  – the attitude that the child is unwanted."

Wait, Do You Only Have Two Kids? - "When I got married right out of college, just shy of 22, I was fairly certain that I would be having 10 kids over the next 20 years."

Why I Threw Away My Bucket List - "Fulfillment can never be found in experiences; fulfillment only comes from unity with God."

What Guys Need to Know about Women - "When true femininity is allowed to flourish, women will regain their dignity. And from that, we’ll all benefit."

What is Cardinal Dolan Up To? - "Should the Archbishop associate a fundraiser for Catholic Charities with a leader whose administration remains defiantly opposed to Church moral teachings?"

Church-Speak: Strange things Church people say - "As a priest I have come to discover that I use terms, ordinary terms of traditional Catholicism, but given the poor catechesis (another Church word, meaning 'religious training,' by the way), the meaning of what I am saying is lost on many."

OK...here's a follow-up to the Chick-fil-A hubbub, then that's it. (Unless something new comes up.)

At the Precipice: “Gay Rights” & Religious Freedom - [Some thoughtful suggestions on what Christians should do to better engage in the gay rights debate.]

What Does the Swiss Guard Actually Do? - [...You mean besides look awesome in those cool outfits. But seriously, this piece does answer the question.]

Oh...and the picture of the week. Try to squeeze in a little more fun before the summer is over:

 

Male-only Priesthood, Part 3

As was said in Part 2, the Sacrament of Holy Orders (ordination) causes a real change in the very essence of the one receiving the Sacrament. From the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

This sacrament configures the recipient to Christ by a special grace of the Holy Spirit, so that he may serve as Christ's instrument for his Church. By ordination one is enabled to act as a representative of Christ, Head of the Church, in his triple office of priest, prophet, and king.

...The sacrament of Holy Orders...confers an indelible spiritual character and cannot be repeated or conferred temporarily.

...he cannot become a layman again in the strict sense, because the character imprinted by ordination is for ever. The vocation and mission received on the day of his ordination mark him permanently. (Catechism, 1581-83)

Keep in mind then that ordination literally changes the person in a permanent way. Being a priest is not just about public preaching or spiritual counseling or managing a parish. While these practical things do matter, the priesthood is ultimately about being configured to the priesthood of Christ. With Jesus as the model of perfect priesthood, (He is the High Priest and the source of our earthly priesthood), the recipient of ordination is changed to conform to this ideal of priesthood that we see in Jesus. This transformation is so profound that the priest is said to stand in persona Christi (in the person of Christ) when he is exercising his priestly role.

Who can properly receive such a transformation? Who can stand in the person of Christ? As with any Sacrament we must ask, what requirements must be met for the Sacrament to be valid?

In the Sacrament of the Eucharist, we know that Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it, and gave it to His disciples. In order for our Eucharist to be valid we must also use bread. Bread is the required stuff for the Sacrament. The same is true of the wine. To remain faithful to Jesus' own actions, bread and wine must be used in order for the Eucharist to do what we say it does - become the very Body and Blood of Jesus.

So too in ordination. In order for a valid ordination to take place, the right stuff must be present. We know that the priest will be standing in persona Christi - in the person of Christ - and as a person we know that Jesus was a man. So it is logical that a man must be the correct recipient for a valid ordination to take place.

Some might argue that men and women are no different when it comes to spiritual matters. God is neither male nor female, He is pure spirit, and so when it comes to the spiritual care of the Church our sex should not matter. But this is contrary to the Catholic Church's teaching on human spirituality. We are never merely "spiritual" beings if we are truly human. The Church teaches that human beings possess both a soul and a body, and these two realities are intimately united:

The unity of soul and body is so profound that one has to consider the soul to be the "form" of the body: i.e., it is because of its spiritual soul that the body made of matter becomes a living, human body; spirit and matter, in man, are not two natures united, but rather their union forms a single nature. (Catechism 365)

So when we say that Jesus was a man, that the Son of God came down to earth and became a man, we mean that He was a man in the same sense that every man is. His body and soul, intimately united, in a male human form. When a priest stands in persona Christi, he stands in the person of a man named Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus is not a pure spirit; He is a male human composed of both body and soul.

So for a valid ordination we need the right stuff. If the one receiving ordination is to truly change into an image of Christ, the High Priest, then he must be male.

Quote of the Week

"...true freedom is not advanced in the permissive society, which confuses freedom with license to do anything whatever and which in the name of freedom proclaims a kind of general amorality. It is a caricature of freedom to claim that people are free to organize their lives with no reference to moral values, and to say that society does not have to ensure the protection and advancement of ethical values. Such an attitude is destructive of freedom and peace."

- Pope John Paul II

Monday Musings

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

Wow! My work just got extremely busy. Not much time (or energy) in the evenings to blog. Last week I really let it go. This week I hope to do better. Hopefully I'll have the next installment on the male-only priesthood.

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Last week there was a lot of talk about the Chick-fil-A/marriage controversy. Some people got tired of hearing about it. That's perfectly understandable. I mean, it was certainly blown out of proportion by liberals in the first place. It never should have reached to the level that it did. Any business owner in America should be able to take a stand in favor of traditional marriage without raising all the hoopla that Chick-fil-A's owner did.

But in the midst of the controversy a few people tried to blow off the whole issue by saying, "It's just a chicken sandwich. What's all the fuss about?" One late-night comedian said that it shows how divided the nation has become when the most heated argument we have is over chicken sandwiches. People who were tired of the whole mess just wanted to joke about the sandwich and avoid the real issue - marriage. But that's like saying that the Boston Tea Party was just about tea. People who discount the Chick-fil-A phenomenon as much ado about nothing, are missing the symbolic importance of standing up against religious persecution.

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Incidentally, a friend of mine went to Chick-fil-A today and reported back that there are still long lines and busy counters at our local restaurant. Good! Keep buying those sandwiches! Show support to a fellow Christian willing to stand up for traditional values.

This Week's Headlines

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...

Very busy this week...not much time to blog. So here's a short list. Feel free to add any interesting articles in the comments.

First, this from TheBigPulpit: WED. SPECIAL: Chick-fil-A Tolerance Day

The Mark of The Beast and Chick-Fil-A - [This was perhaps my favorite piece written during the whole Chick-fil-A controversy.]

There can be no compromise on same-sex ‘marriage’ - "Since most liberals and even some conservatives, it seems, apparently have no understanding at all of the conjugal conception of marriage as a one-flesh union — not even enough of a grasp to consciously consider and reject it — they uncritically conceive marriage as sexual-romantic domestic partnership, as if it just couldn’t possibly be anything else."

Some cold water for your chicken sandwich and waffle fries - "What we’re seeing is an authentically liberal backlash against a budding ersatz-liberal totalitarianism.  However, we have to wonder if the backlash has enough staying power to open up space for traditional-marriage supporters to be heard."

4 Failures in the Chick-Fil-A Controversy - "In light of the Chick-Fil-A controversy, I now realize modern man is almost incapable of distinguishing between these four things..."

My favorite pic of the week...

Democrats plan to include gay ‘marriage’ in new party platform - [Uuum... The only surprise here is that some Catholics still vote for Democrats.]

President Obama says he’s a Christian. So why don’t people believe him?  - "Indeed, how believable is it that Barrack Obama, a man who battled to prevent the passage of legislation requiring that infants born alive after an abortion be given care, is even remotely inspired by the Gospels? It was hardly believable when he ran in 2008, and it’s even less believable today, after four years of bitter experience."

Determining the top candidates for papacy - [Perhaps a bit early...but interesting nonetheless.]

Beauty is Truth and Truth Beauty - [I am posting this article for two reasons: 1) It is authored by Fr.Z, and I think he's awesome, 2) because of the following line:...] "Why is it that everything from a pile of dog turd to a new copies of classical artworks are being produced and sold as ‘art’."