St. Roch

I finished the panel - well I finished the figures and I'm still glazing and adding details to the background.  I say I finish a piece when I sign it - that means if I died, I wouldn't object if people saw the panel.  I actually think I like it - at one point I was deeply moved while painting it - which is scary because that means I'm attached.  Being attached is scary because you can be afraid to make corrections. 

The history of St. Roch/Rocco is in dispute - but I ignore such things - I venerate the saints as I know them - or as tradition has taught.
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Anyway - I may post him on "Up Your Street" in the next day or two.  Unless I fall into deep depression and cut my ear off.  I wish it was as good as the above photo.  Now I'm wondering if it may not be the worst painting I ever did.
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Tuesday schedule:  When I'm not painting I will be removing snow.

Priests are people too.

Random thoughts on priests, celibacy, and stuff like that.
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I love that expression - I picked it up from my friend Paul who used to say, "Kids are people too," right after telling me, "Your father hated you."  Paul could be outrageous and I kind of think it was because his father really had hated him - not sure though.  I know - this has nothing to do with my post - or does it?
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Back to priests.  Sometimes I think of them as just regular guys and maybe go to far with them - I used to do this all of the time with a famous blogger priest, and then once or twice I noted he posted something about being down about something and needing prayers.  I immediately thought - he was offended by my post!  I felt so bad, took the post(s) down, prayed extra hard for him and would try to be nice afterwards.  It's really hard for me to be nice all of the time.  I'm so like my friend  Paul:  Once, at my going away party from the company we worked together at, he went around to all the executives and drunkenly asked, "Who invited you?"  Much to everyone's delight - although most of the exec's didn't get the joke.  But I digress.
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Locally I know of four priests - count 'em - 4 priests who are or have been on leave because of clinical depression - each guy is fantastic - very solid in their faith, devout, down to earth, regular guys - and as far as I know, straight.  Most definitely straight, and committed to celibacy to be sure.  I don't know what happened.  They had not been ordained that long and suddenly they are out to pasture.  Nope - it is so not funny.  I pray for these guys all of the time... they are very humble, compassionate, and even very holy men.
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Fixing a hole.
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Is it celibacy?  I honestly don't think so.  Is it loneliness?  I don't know.  Fr. Charles ofmcap has an excellent reflection on celibacy and loneliness.  I especially liked his comment on how celibates distract themselves, or attempt to fill the void left by continence... actually, it is just a temptation, but one easily falls for it.   Father writes:  "You have to resist all of the ways that would-be celibates medicate themselves against the loneliness with alcohol, anonymous sex, pornography, mania for control, overwork, eccentric and pointless hobbies, and even the internet." - a minor friar   He's right of course - but he neglects to mention the most common vice - over-eating.
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Resisting the vices is one thing, being successful at it is another, and if one is prone to depression, melancholia, what have you - it can be pretty difficult.  Now some celibates claim they do not get lonely - but they must be pretty holy and extremely well balanced and live a more integrated life than your run of the mill solitary.  I lived in a rectory once - what a nightmare - it was like a haunted house - which is why some priests need to spend money to refurbish those places.  Although one local guy spent a fortune adding a hot tub and other luxuries.  He was transferred elsewhere.
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What makes you feel like doin' stuff like that?
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Today an Australian priest is in the news because he is something of a story teller - he should probably get a blog.  While we are on the topic, don't you think spoken Australian is the worst English ever?  I was watching a travel show last night and they do not even pronounce words correctly - it's almost like Cockney: " 'm 'enry ei'th i em."  I think the country was founded by criminals anyway, so it kind of makes sense they can't speak well.  But I digress.
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So anyway - the priest who lies - he faked prostate cancer so he could get donations (tell me!) to send him to Lourdes for a "miracle cure".  (I know - see, he needed a blog with a widget.)  That's not a bad idea - the lies are bad of course - but the trip to Lourdes could have helped him - maybe.  Be that as it may - if he was a really good liar he would have said the cancer disappeared when he got back and he'd now like to go to Rome to testify.  Obviously that did not happen.
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"Father Abourjaily was branded "delusional" by the Archbishop of Sydney, Cardinal George Pell, and suspended from his duties at All Hallows parish church at Five Dock when his lies were uncovered, said the Sydney Morning Herald." - CathNews 
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All is not lost however, since the priest has been reassigned: 
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"Father Richard Abourjaily, who lied about having cancer to raise money from his Sydney flock, has been moved to Perth. His spiritual adviser believes the priest was "repentant" and would not lie about anything so serious in future.
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Father John Flader, director of the Catholic Adult Education Centre, said he was "very confident" the priest would not lie about anything serious again. "All he did was to lie and that's not a good thing. He was very, very repentant of that and, being as repentant as he was, he is not going to reoffend again," Father Flader said." - Source 
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All the lonely people.
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It is not easy being a priest - therefore these news stories are excellent reminders to us that they really do need our prayers and support.  Who knows if the lying priest may crack again?  Hopefully they did some close interviews with him to determine where all of that came from - were his parents con artists?  Parents do a lot of damage.  Is he hiding something else?  God bless him for wanting to continue his ministry.
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I've been rather tongue in cheek about all of this, but I'm quite serious about caring for our priests.  Over my lifetime I've met some crazy ones - but you know what - even those guys helped me through the tough times.  You see, I'm celibate too - and the so-called worst of them had the greatest compassion upon me when I failed.  When I failed "to resist all of the ways that would-be celibates medicate themselves against the loneliness with alcohol, anonymous sex, pornography, mania for control, overwork, eccentric and pointless hobbies, and even the internet." - a minor friar.  Actually you could take out pornography for me - I never got into it - 'there but for the grace of God' only.    I once loved eccentric and pointless hobbies - collecting religious artifacts and art - I know two other guys who do this.  And I know many over-eaters as well.  Gratefully, these priests were there for me in confession... they understood me. 
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If one lives long enough, and perseveres through many fallings and risings, one is eventually purified of these vices and loneliness is no longer "empty".  It ceases to be a void we are trying to fill. 
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It is all about the "poverty of love" - the fact that God allows us to participate in the loneliness of all mankind: every homeless person, every old man or old lady in a nursing home, every orphan, every victim of evil, every sinner, every failed priest, and most especially, the loneliness of His Son.
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One gets used to it.
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Art:  "All the Lonely People" - crayon on paper.

More thoughts on Medjugorje.

"Good fruits alone are still no confirmation for the supernatural origin of a visionary phenomenon." - Manfred Hauke
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I came across an extraordinary interview on Pewsitters dealing with Medjugorje.  It was conducted with a famous Mariologist, Fr. Manfred Hauke.  The interview is rather lengthy, but well worth the read.  Here is an excerpt:
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"For pastoral care it is important, to lead the renewal of faith created by the stream of pilgrims to Medjugorje into the roads of the Church, and not let the devotees of the phenomenon fall into the void. Marian devotees would be well advised to concentrate on trustworthy prophetic revelations, approved and well accepted by the whole Church, so that they would deal with, say, Guadalupe, Lourdes, or Fatima. Questionable and unequivocally false phenomena should be presented as such. Therefore it is not sufficient, in my estimation, to pragmatically recognize Medjugorje as a "place of prayer", without reaching a judgment on the events that lie at its basis. German bishops also reacted against this approach: non-recognition of alleged "apparitions" along with simultaneous recognition of the place as an official "shrine" (for example, with respect to Heroldsbach and Marienfried). If a new investigative commission reaches a recognition that certain characteristics indissolubly connected with the phenomenon of the apparitions speak against their authenticity, then the love of truth demands that this be made known with all clarity and that Catholic Christians be warned expressly against "pilgrimages". The principle is valid here: "bonum ex integra causa; malum ex quovis defectu" ("Good comes from an undamaged cause; bad from some kind of defect"). If a drink is mixed with rat poison, it's not sufficient to point out that it contains only two percent strychnine with 98 percent water: the whole drink has to be poured out. If the Church does not, herself, finally lance the boil that is connected with Medjugorje, then anti-Catholic groups will do the job and with pleasure. And then the patience extended to the enthusiasm of Medjugorje could become a boomerang that attacks the Church from inside, if the groups previously connected with the Bosnian "place of pilgrimage", finally disillusioned, should turn against the Faith and the Church. And that could also explain that the devil takes "good fruits" as part of doing his business in Medjugorje: if he can bring forth a vastly greater harm to the Church in the end. Pastoral love must not be separated from the love of truth." - Mariologist Hauke on Medjugorje: "Don't let the devotees fall into the void"
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Fr. Hauke's discernment and analysis is very sound, based upon authentic mystical theology of the Catholic Church. 
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H/T Deacon's Bench

Nurses Uniforms

Kat wants to dress more professionally when she gets her first nursing job...  Angela has offered her services as personal fashion coordinator, and Cathy has made herself available for hair and make-up.  Digit will be standing by to handle all the malpractice suits.  And of course, dear Fr. R. will take care of the ones who don't make it through recovery.
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Shown here:  Vintage German military nurse uniform - very nice, very modest.

Just calm down.

Looking for abuse... everywhere.
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These blog posts of ours, complaining, complaining, complaining, can foment suspicion and a lack of confidence - rather than building up the Body of Christ. 
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For instance - a few weeks ago I complained that my pastor messed up the liturgy by adding an explanatory prayer of his own making before the Eucharistic prayer.  A well informed friend, who was once a cop - and remains so in some sense - offered that it was perfectly in keeping with the GIRM that Father insert something like that.  Fine.  So be careful when enforcing  "say the black, do the red".  Hopefully, lesson learned.
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A week later I complained that he neglected a couple of words in his added prayer regarding the Eucharist - he was saying, "Soul and Divinity" while neglecting "Body and Blood".  Readers said I should let him know, I stated it probably wouldn't be well received.  Long story short - on his own, the priest has restored his full prayer, using the correct, "Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity".  I'm now thinking it was merely an oversight on his part that he neglected it in the first place.  He's a good priest...  I'm thinking the problem was mine.
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See how that goes though?  We study the GIRM, we read Fr. X, we compare Masses - EF vs. OF, Latin/English, altar girls, women in the sanctuary... the list goes on.  We pick apart the priest's homilies, his performance, his decorum, does he lift the host high or hold it low?  Is the priest gay?  Does he wear clerics?  Does he live in the rectory or his own house?  Does he ignore single people and focus upon families?  Does he favor the richer parishioners?  Does he drive an expensive car?  Take too many vacations?  Does he not appreciate the fact you have a degree in theology?  Or that you met Mel Gibson?  What really annoys us about this guy?  What annoys you about the lector?  The cantor?  The ushers?  The woman in front of you?  Think about it. 
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Is that devotion?  Is that prayer?  Is that active participation?  Is that necessary?
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(Remind me of this post the next time I bitch.)

Who counts?

Catholic capon-bloggers.
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I have a site meter, but I rarely consult it.  I have a followers box, but I do not pay a whole lot of attention to it - you see, they come and they go - readers.  Once in a while I notice fluctuation in the count.  I don't like the idea of followers - no one should follow me - so I ignore it - I'd take it down, but I don't want to offend anyone.  I actually do follow some blogs and only recently began registering - normally I have all I can do to get through a post - especially if it happens to be a long one about brushing one's hair or fixing one's make-up - spiritually speaking of course.
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Anyway, as my eyes move down the post I happen to be skimming, I can't help but notice all of the widgets in the sidebar, and sometimes I may notice if that particular blogger links to me or not.  Lately I have noticed that certain blogs - mostly the trad type - have dropped me from their links - a couple of neo-con blogs have done so as well.  Disassociating themselves from me for one reason or another.  I suppose one's reputation may be at stake, although once in awhile I suspect they may be punishing me for something I wrote, or making a critical comment, or finding out I have an opinion that conflicts with one of their prejudices.
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The first blogger who dropped me - that I actually paid attention to I mean - is a priest friend who wrote long comments on my blog posts when I started out blogging - and to think I'm the one who suggested he start his own blog.  If I remember correctly, he was miffed that I wrote about a gay priest who happened to be an artist, and whose conduct wasn't very becoming a monastic priest.  Some readers may not know this, but at one time I was a vocal critic of gay priests, now I figure it isn't any of my business - especially after they are ordained.  A gay blogger across the sea dropped me because of that too - he may be a seminarian right now - I'm not sure.  Then of course, many gay people have dropped me because I'm supposedly a homophobe.  I'm not scared however.
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It's possible one trad blog dropped me, I'm just assuming here, because I criticized the Remnant and one of their writers, his friend (another blogger) may have dropped me because I laughed at him and said he was "very young" - implying some maturation would help his rigidity.  Today I noted one of my favorite blogs dropped me and I can only wonder if it is because I actually like English in the liturgy?  Now I realize many people think I'm eccentric, but I promise you, a couple of these people are just as nuts - look at their profile photos - what's with the pipe?  And you still live at home?  Get over your self.
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I have had holier than thou, pompous acquaintances since I returned to the Church in 1972.  People come and go - and I'm usually better off when they go, albeit I occasionally miss the laughs.  Kidding.  But seriously, I don't want to belong to anybody's argument of the moment club or catholic offensive league.
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"By God's grace, I am what I am." - 1Corinthians 15: 1-11 - Today's Second Reading at Mass

Cardinal George issues a clarification on New Ways Ministry.

No Way New Ways...
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Just before 4pm Eastern (on Friday February 5), a "clarification" emerged from the USCCB President, Cardinal Francis George of Chicago, on the ecclesial standing of New Ways Ministry, the "gay-positive" outreach for Catholic gays and lesbians whose founders were sanctioned by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith in 1999 and barred from further ministry to the community.  "New Ways Ministry has no approval or recognition from the Catholic Church and they cannot speak on behalf of the Catholic faithful in the United States." - George on New Ways
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New Ways said "who cares" and were a tad upset because they felt snubbed by the Cardinal:  "We are astonished that Cardinal George released such a statement, since New Ways Ministry has never been contacted by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops to discuss the nature of our work. We were not even extended the basic courtesy of being informed of the statement as it was being released to the press. Instead, we learned about it only by reading a press account." - New Ways to George
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A little bit of Catholic teaching repeated.
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New Ways is not being entirely honest of course - the group has been condemned since the '80's for not adhering to Roman Catholic teaching regarding homosexual activity.  As the posts cited above explain, Sr. Gramick and Fr. Nugent were forbidden by the Archdiocese of Washington to continue their activities there, while their respective superiors forced them to separate from New Ways completely.  Later, the CDF prohibited the couple from having anything to do with the organization and/or directing homosexual persons.  (I think they ignored the prohibitions however.)  Nevertheless, New Ways persists with the propaganda, trying to convince the faithful otherwise, while attempting to wear down the bishops. 
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At any rate, the Cardinal was obliged to clarify the (non-Catholic) status of New Ways Ministry since the organization has come out so strongly condemning the USCCB's defense of traditional marriage.  New Ways, claiming to be an approved Catholic ministry, has been actively campaigning for Catholic votes in support of legal recognition for same-sex marriage.  Church leaders have to make such clarifications.
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Photo:  I know, it should have been the Cardinal, but I chose this photo of Sr. Jeannine Gramick, the founder of New Ways Ministry instead.   I know!
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Thanks to Whispers in the Loggia for the story.

Oh, now this is news: Catholic higher ed enhances Catholic identity.

U.S. Catholic colleges and universities produce more committed and practicing adult Catholics than do non-Catholic institutions of higher learning across the country, said two reports at the annual national meeting in Washington of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities.

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Richard A Yanikoski, outgoing ACCU president and CEO, sharply challenged contrary reports in his presidential address Feb. 1 at the close of the association's gathering.
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"Certain well-funded organizations external to the USCCB [U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops] and to Catholic higher education have made it their purpose to convince bishops, priests and the lay faithful that most of Catholic higher education is going astray," he said
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"These critics' perceptions are skewed by limited observation and a pre-ordained agenda," he said. He added that their criticisms, often widely publicized in the media, "infect how Catholic higher education is viewed by all who have a stake in the enterprise."
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The Jan. 30-Feb. 1 gathering of the ACCU also featured a report by the Georgetown University-based Center for Applied Research in the Apostolate on a three-year sociological study comparing religious belief and practice changes among Catholic students in Catholic higher education with those same changes among Catholic students in non-Catholic institutions.
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The researchers said the results challenge a recent Cardinal Newman Society claim that Catholic colleges and universities are failing in their mission because their students become less Catholic over their years in a Catholic university environment. - Source
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Very timely indeed.

Fools rush in where angels fear to tread.

Online snipers.
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"I have plenty of enemies, but at age 76, I don’t care, because I’m checking out of here anyway." - Fr. Benedict Groeschel
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A couple of bloggers are writing about the errors of Fr. Benedict Groeschel - he had a 'bad' guest on his EWTN Sunday Night live show, who evidently recommended a bad book or author - Benedict knew nothing about either of them.  Apparently Father also made a mistake in responding to a question - I understand he corrected himself the next week.  EWTN is also suspect of being a bad network, because of this and that and the other thing.  Don't waste your time trying to figure it out - read the Remnant - the Wanderer's cousin - to get the dirt.
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Just like their political counterparts, Catholic conservatives work their search fingers to the bone looking for dirt on people they disagree with, and before thinking - and sometimes after thinking - they post about it.  Now everyone knows I do not like Sarah Palin as a politician - I'm sure she is a nice lady, being pro-life and all.  (I'll bet she uses lots of politically incorrect terms too - except for retarded and bastard, of course.)  If I wanted to, I could raise all sorts of questions about her character in order to justify my dislike of her - former Catholic, smokin' dope, feminist when convenient, etc..  I could do the same with other people, and sadly I have.  I'm ashamed.  Discredit your opponent with name-calling, by digging up dirt, raising suspicions - works all of the time.  I've done it - I know.
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Fr. Benedict Groeschel is one of the best Catholic priests ever ordained for the Catholic Church in the United States.  If people have a problem with him or what he said, he can be reached at EWTN or contacted personally - he is one of the most accessible people in the world.  He is so humble he would correct publicly any mis-perception taken by his viewers and readers.  Catholics must get over this guerrilla warfare mentality and all the snipping.  Fr. Benedict is a good man, a holy priest.
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"I have to tell you that the more traditional people did not win the battle; it was a standoff, but things nonetheless started to change. You find in this country that the mainstream Protestant churches are dying off; nobody goes to them. It’s the evangelical Protestant churches that are doing well. Also, many young Jews who had no actual religious training are becoming orthodox Jews. And even among young Catholics who are not particularly observant, there is at least an interest in the faith. God himself, through the Holy Spirit, is calling to souls, and I’m absolutely delighted with the changes that are taking place. The pendulum has swung." - National Catholic Register Interview  
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Photo:  Fr. Benedict on the day of his ordination 51 years ago.

And other really dumb things educated people say.

Yesterday on The View (I did not watch it!) - a friend told me Sarah Silverman was on with her new shtick about selling the Vatican.  Evidently she believes the Pope should sell off all the art and treasures of the Catholic Church and give the money to the poor.  How do you even respond to that?  I'm always surprised educated people still say such dumb stuff.  That is such a stupid old yarn - makes no sense - it's just a load of kool-aid stand economics.
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Later in the day I read that Episcopal bishop, Gene Robinson, responding to a question posed by CNSNews.com  at the National Press Club on Tuesday, regarding St. Paul's letter to the Romans wherein he condemns homosexual acts, explained:
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"St. Paul was talking about people that he understood to be heterosexual engaging in same-sex acts," said Bishop Robinson. "It never occurred to anyone in ancient times that a certain minority of us would be born being affectionally oriented to people of the same sex. So it did seem like against their nature to be doing so.”
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“The other thing about St. Paul,” Robinson said, “is that he was also speaking out against a practice known to him and both the Roman and the Greek world, and would have been known in the Palestinian culture there of an older man taking a younger boy under his wing, using him sexually, and so on. No one’s—that’s child abuse. No one is arguing for that today. We would all be against that. We would all agree with St. Paul on that.” - Source
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I'm always surprised educated people still say such dumb stuff.  Makes no sense - it's just a load of amyl-nitrite-revisionist exegesis.