Sunday

The Seventh Day

Saturday morning.
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As you can see the view from my back yard is the Seventh Day Adventist church across the street. It was once a Lutheran church - many years ago. The congregation is largely African now - real African Americans, comprised of immigrants from Ethiopia and someplace else in Africa - some of the women continue to dress in colorful extravagant caftans with matching headdresses. The white elders continue to lead the congregation, and many white families attend, although a majority of whites seem to have have moved to a suburban church.
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No one is ever at this church during the week - just on Saturdays when services are conducted - other days the church is non-functional. As they worship they sing many of the same hymns Novus Ordo Catholics do. Of course Catholics adopted the hymns from the Protestants. I mention this because the congregation across the street considers the Pope to be the Anti-Christ, and the Catholic Church the whore of Babylon - which may explain why they are not friendly to me, although being a single male may have something to do with it too.
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I've always been very nice to them, waving, saying hello, helping to clean snow off the cars during winter, calling police when vandals TP the place, not mowing when services are in session, and so on. Yes I called the police once when a congregant parked blocking my drive-way a year or so ago. And yes, I blew off a couple of old guys who were too friendly and were obviously trying to convert me explaining that homosexuals were going to hell. "Yes, yes," I answered, "I know that. I'm a Roman Catholic, you should be too." That always worked - we still wave to one another. I think the guy with the wig may have died however.

Anyway, talk about discrimination and passing judgement: Extremely handsome (and masculine) single white male, living in a beautiful house with a stunning garden seems to equal gay in many people's eyes. Although one of my neighbors explained to me that gay people did once live in this house and evidently they always left the windows uncovered... no shutters or drapes. (Which also explains all the traffic by the front of the house after I first moved in.)
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But I digress.
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So anyway - on Tuesday of last week the skaters were at the church again. They tape themselves riding the handrails of the staircase. They use a large piece of particle board as a ramp at the first set of stair leading to the main door. To make a long story short one of the guys hurt himself and his buddy got him into his car and drove off, leaving the 4' x 6' panel behind. The deacon who does the gardening was there on Wednesday and ignored the panel. On Thursday another deacon came to mow the grounds - he left the panel there as well. It is still there this morning as all the people arrive, in their Saturday best, filing into church, climbing the now narrow stairway, looking curiously at the panel. The preacher came out to look at it, as did several other guys, only to go back into church to begin the service. Isn't that interesting?
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Yes, I could walk across the street and explain it to them, but they are so good at figuring things out, I'm sure they will know what to do.

Internet addiction...

and denial.
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I love it whenever I post about "us" - people who blog daily and check emails hourly and surf the net for news throughout the day and night - it always pricks some one's conscience and they offer some sort of defense as to why they live online. Whatever - it's your life, not mine - no need to defend yourself to me.
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Sadly - just as I began to appreciate the lady, Dawn Eden is dropping the blog - to work on her masters thesis. I was particularly impressed by her candid admission regarding how absorbing the Internet can be...
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To be honest, I have suffered from an Internet addiction for the past several years. Just as there is no such thing for an alcoholic as "one drink," there is no such thing for me as a quick e-mail check and a perusal of the day's online headlines. If I sit down at the computer, I remain glued to it for hours on end. I might excuse myself by telling myself I am reading about important world events or doing research for school. But the truth is that I allow myself to be distracted by whatever comes to mind while I am at the computer, to the point where it becomes a self-medication for loneliness and boredom. And why do I become lonely and bored? Because I waste so much time on the Internet, of course.
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St. Thomas Aquinas had a word for this vice that causes one to fail to moderate one's quest for knowledge: curiositas. - Dawn Patrol
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Her honesty is refreshing.

Friday stuff.

I'm not writing about you...

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So anyway.

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I'm working on a painting and it's a rainy morning and I have to get to work. It is a difficult painting and if it doesn't turn out I will burn it or gesso over it and paint a pear. I just want to make a comment however.

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The Kinsey report - I came across another critique of Kinsey - the great scholar and sex therapist who deceived the nation with his bogus research. Just like Marge Sanger did with her eugenics doctrine - 'get rid of the undesirables', you know - well Ruth Bader Ginsberg knows what I'm talking about... But I digress.

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"Alfred C. Kinsey had a secret. The Indiana University zoologist and "father of the sexual revolution" almost single-handedly redefined the sexual mores of everyday Americans. The problem was, he had to lie to do it. The weight of this point must not be underestimated. The science that launched the sexual revolution has been used for the past 50 years to sway court decisions, pass legislation, introduce sex education into our schools, and even push for a redefinition of marriage. Kinseyism was the very foundation of this effort. If his science was flawed -- or worse yet, an outright deception -- then our culture's attitudes about sex are not just wrong morally but scientifically as well." - You gotta read this.

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Gay activists often take some of their data from Kinsey, as does Hollywood and Oprah. I know! What difference does it make? "Kinsey's pseudoscience arguably did the most damage through our court systems. That's where attorneys used the researcher's facts" to repeal or weaken laws against abortion, pornography, obscenity, divorce, adultery, and sodomy." (I have to wonder if Christopher West accepts the same sexual revolution data? So-called theology based upon false data isn't good.)

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Just like Marge Sanger's policies have become reproductive rights for women, making abortion settled law - according to Sotomayor and the President and most of Congress.

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It seems to me St. Paul may have been writing of our times in 2 Thessalonians: "[The] lawless one will appear as part of the workings of Satan, accompanied by all the power and signs and wonders at the disposal of falsehood - by every seduction the wicked can devise for those destined to ruin because they have not opened their hearts to the truth in order to be saved. Therefore God is sending upon them a perverse spirit which leads them to give credence to falsehood, so that all who have not believed the truth but have delighted in evildoing will be condemned." - 2 Thes 2: 9-12

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Whatever, huh? I got my jabs in - now back to work.

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(See, it really wasn't about you.)

Pin the tale on the racist....

Henry Louis Gates and Obama.

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Someone's elitist slip is showing. Professor Gates played the race card despite the fact Officer Crowley was just doing his job. And the President stepped in it...

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President Barack Obama plunged his presidency into a charged racial debate and set off a firestorm in one of America's most liberal bastions by siding with a black Harvard scholar who accuses police of racism.

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Saying he was unaware of "all the facts" but that police in Cambridge, Massachusetts, "acted stupidly" in their arrest of Henry Louis Gates, Obama whipped up emotions on both sides of an issue that threatens to open old wounds in America. - Source

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Wow! The President making racist claims. The President calling civil servants - the police - stupid. I think the President overstepped his bounds on this one. Officer Crowley was just doing his job - and he happens to be an expert in racial profiling prevention.

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Why is it only white people can be racist anyway? What are Gates and Obama?

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Just imagine - all of this so soon after Michael Jackson's untimely death! I'm sure Rev. Sharpton would agree, if it hadn't been for Michael, Professor Gates would never have been able to hold the position he has at Harvard and the DuBois Institute. I just wonder what Oprah thinks.

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[In the '60's there was a Communist youth group known as the DuBois Club - I wonder if there is any connection? Nah! Harvard people wouldn't have any Marxist connections.]

The smoke of satan...

Did I mention I'm reading Weakland's memoirs?

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Anyway.

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Speaking of the spirit of Vatican II, I came across this from an interview with an exorcist:

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Again, are you saying that many bishops and priests are not, consequently, Catholic?

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FR. AMORTH: Let us just say that they do not believe a Gospel truth. So, if anything, I would stop them propagating a heresy. But, to be clear about this, a person is officially a heretic if he or she is accused of something and persists in the error. No one today, given the situation in the Church, is accusing a bishop of not believing in the Devil , or in demonic possession or of failing to appoint exorcists because he does not believe. And yet I could give you the names of so many bishops and cardinals who, on their appointment to a diocese, stripped exorcists of their faculty to perform the rite. Or there are bishops who openly say they don’t believe, that these are things of the past. Why is that? Unfortunately, we have had the insidious influence of certain biblists and I could mention some illustrious names. We who are in daily physical contact with the ‘other world’ know that this influence is evident in numerous liturgical reforms.

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For example?

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FR. AMORTH: The Second Vatican Council asked that some texts be revised. Disobeying this command, they set about re-writing them completely with no thought for the danger of making things worse instead of better. So many rites came off badly from this mania to throw out the old and start from scratch, as if the Church to date had always conned us and as if only now the time had at last come of the great geniuses, the supertheologians, the super-biblists and the super-liturgists who know what the right thing is for the Church. This is a lie: the last Council simply asked that the texts be revised, not destroyed. - Read more.

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I KNOW!

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Art: I believe the allegory is titled, "Faith over heresy".

Back online...

But...

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The new laptop is in the process of being uploaded and while I was at Best Buy I picked up a new monitor for this here old laptop as well - so - I am so online. However - every time I distance myself from this blogging thing, I start painting, working in the yard... and... and... actually living. I realize I've actually got a life.

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I have to wonder - really wonder about some other bloggers - daily bloggers - more than one post a day bloggers. Religious and clerics who blog and twitter and surf - day in and day out... I just wonder...

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Oh! Oh! But it's none of my business is it.

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I"m back though - sorry if I haven't responded to comments and emails - I'm trying to mind my own business.

The garden

From last week - the hosta blooms are insane this week so I will begin removing them to restore order.

It takes a village Larry...

Clinton says North Korea is acting like unruly children.
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Bad boy that Little Kim. Hil-larious explained it like this...
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"What we've seen is this constant demand for attention," Clinton, who is in India, said in an interview that aired on ABC's "Good Morning America" on Monday.
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"And maybe it's the mother in me or the experience that I've had with small children and unruly teenagers and people who are demanding attention -- don't give it to them, they don't deserve it, they are acting out," she said. - Story
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I might say "Thank God Larry never made the White House" but look at what we got instead. I have no confidence in these people.
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So anyway. Before computers I used to watch PBS newsprograms such as Washington Week - last Friday I watched because my lap top screen was out - today it works. Anyway, Gwen Eyefull was hostessing the show - and the entire round table is now all women - with one token man - a young guy who isn't very articulate, although he has dark hair.

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Have you noticed women are taking over the world?
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Seriously, they are everywhere; ads, sitcoms, politics, news - and the direction is blatant role-reversal and discrimination - representing white men as uninformed, unable to solve problems, weak, inept - all the dismissive stereotypes projected upon women before the age of rad-feminism and equal rights.
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Watch the commercials and sitcoms and dramas on network TV - women are almost always the bosses, or at least the ones who solve all the crimes and come up with the answers - and they can even beat up big, tough, burly men.
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Anyway - needless to say this guy will not watch Washington Week again - I will not waste my time watching a bunch of women sitting around talking politics and the economy and other hot topics.
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Gotta run - the screen is pooping out right now, and The View is on! I love that show.
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(Yeah - I call Hil Larry now. Nothing to do with Lerry from A of A though.)

Did I mention?

I have difficulty keeping a screen up therefore my Internet use is limited.
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I began a painting - after about 2 or 3 weeks of research and preliminary sketches. I never know what will happen however...
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Sunday I came across the following:
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[The] "call to carry the cross will predictably be met with bitter ridicule by some, it should be remembered that this is the way to eternal life for all who follow Christ. 'You cannot belong to Christ unless you crucify all self-indulgent passions and desires.'
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It is easily misunderstood however, if it is merely seen as a pointless effort at self-denial. The cross is a denial of self, but in service to the will of God Himself who makes life come from death and empowers those who trust in him to practice virtue in place of vice."
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Today is the memorial of St. Elijah, prophet and reputed founder of the Carmelites.
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Sad news: Mrs. Rabitowitz has died. Foul play is suspected.
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Her remains were found beneath the east yew hedge.
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Snaglepuss, the wandering cat is a feline of interest - I'm not allowed to say 'suspect' or mention he is both black and white.
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Another theory put forward is that she succumbed to some sort of poisoning.
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The body is so badly decomposed we may never know for certain.
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Needless to say, it's been a very difficult few days.

Quincy Jones - Stuff like that

Stuff like that!

QUINCY JONES - STOMP

Never EVER gets old!

Heaven's Girl

For Mrs. R.

Word for the day.

Inversion...

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A characteristic of diabolic deception and the times of the Anti-Christ.

Fame

(Gotta work fast while I still have a screen!)

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So yeah. That Susan Boyle lady really made it big, didn't she.

Okay - it is real.

It is just not necessary for heaven.

Blogs and life and death matters.

Who cares?

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I'm having problems with my computer again - so I will probably be offline for awhile.

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This isn't real you know - blogging. You think it is, but it's not. We think our opinion matters, but it doesn't. We think highly of ourselves, our writing, our being right about stuff - but it doesn't mean a great deal in the long run.

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Monday I got news that an event planner, Robert Isabell died recently. He was originally from Duluth - he created extravagant parties and was sought after by everyone who was anyone. He worked for people like the Kennedy's; he did Jackie's funeral, John and Carolynn's wedding, he did stuff for Caroline, and many other socialites here and abroad. He died suddenly of a heart attack. It occurred to me that in a few years no one will remember him. His 'creations' were momentary - memorable to some perhaps - yet only for awhile. He will fade away - he's just dead.

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They like to speak of Michael Jackson how he will 'live on' through his legacy of music - but he will still be dead.

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My former boss from Dayton's-Marshall Fields died several years ago, the stores he designed and embellished have all been sold, the trends have changed along with the economy, and nothing of him is left. He has an industry award named after him - but he's dead, and soon no one will pay any attention to the name of the award - just the recognition they receive.

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We are all going to die - and most of us will be completely forgotten - we are not as important as we think. Yes, yes, God loves us - but most people's efforts go into making others love us, making others esteem us, making others believe we are important - ego stuff you know. We always think we are right. Most people never really think of God, much less acknowledge him. yet everyone thinks they are going to heaven.

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Not everyone goes to heaven either.
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Whatever. So anyway - I'll be offline for awhile. Have at it.


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Just remember we are all going to die and be forgotten. "Yeah, but what's your point?" - "I'm not sure."

Lovely Lady

Happy Feast Day!

A thought from the Founder of the Visitation.

"To wish to be corrected is an evident sign of perfection, for the principal point of humility is realizing our need of it.

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"A convent is a hospital for the spiritually sick. The sick wish to be cured, and, therefore, they willingly submit to be lanced, probed, cut, cauterized, and subjected to any and every pain and discomfort which medicine or surgery may suggest." - St. Francis De Sales

Maybe I'll go fishing today instead...

Stuff

I'm actually working this week. I'm narrowing the hedge - it's a big job - for me. I need a space between the fence and the hedge - I don't know how successful I'll be. It's overcast and rainy this morning so If I can't go outside I'll force myself to paint - I have to get back to painting.

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I had TV on in the background and heard that the UK is encouraging kids to masturbate instead of being sexually active with one another - I guess to avoid unwanted pregnancy, disease, and so on. People do not think masturbation is sinful - but it is - for Catholics it is a grave sin that must be confessed. (It was only about a decade ago that I found out women do it. I know! I can be surprisingly naive sometimes.)

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Elsewhere online I noted Sarkozy has always been a champion of abolishing Sunday restrictions on trade in France. I wasn't aware businesses were closed on Sunday's in that country. The headline read something like, "France to abolish Sunday" - how revolutionary is that! I immediately recalled Our Lady of LaSalette warning of famine and disaster because of the desecration of Sundays and blasphemy against the Holy Name.

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I'm reading Archbishop Weakland's memoir you know. I laughed to myself that I once said the book should be burned - that was hyperbole of course. The book is interesting however. Especially for those interested in Benedictine monasticism - I'm reading it slowly, despite the fact it almost reads like a novel. I can't really comment on the man's life until I read the whole thing, but the history he provides is very telling as to why his ecclesial life turned out as it did - and he wasn't alone either. Things started going down hill for him after JPII became Pope - although Weakland's resistance to Rome began early, and like I say, he wasn't alone, which may explain the resistance of some congregations of sisters to the Vatican visitation now underway.

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Photo: Ecclesial fashion show sequence from Fellini's Roma

The Hillary Clinton Story.

" I clawed my way to the top!"

Courage conference.

My online friend - I'll call him JJ - called me this morning to tell me about his experience at the Courage Conference at Villanova in Philadelphia this past weekend. He was pumped. JJ is a guy who is so obviously being led by the Holy Spirit it is edifying.
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His conversion from homosexuality has taken a relatively short time - maybe 6 - 8 years now. He finds great support in Courage, the apostolate for men and women who happen to struggle with same sex attraction and yet desire to live in accord with Roman Catholic moral teaching. It has been a very successful apostolate for those who desire to live chaste lives with the support of others and the blessing of the Church.
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What is Courage?
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"Persons with homosexual desires have always been with us; however, until recent times, there has been little, if any, formal outreach from the Church in the way of support groups or information for such persons. Most were left to work out their path on their own. As a result, they found themselves listening to and accepting the secular society's perspective and opting to act on their same-sex desires.
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His Eminence, the late Terence Cardinal Cooke of New York, was aware of, and troubled by this situation. He knew that the individual dealing with same-sex attractions truly needed to experience the freedom of interior chastity and in that freedom find the steps necessary to living a fully Christian life in communion with God and others. He was concerned that many would not find this path and would be constantly trying to get their needs met in ways that ultimately do not satisfy the desires of the heart.
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In response to this concern, he decided to form a spiritual support system which would assist men and women with same-sex attractions in living chaste lives in fellowship, truth and love." - Courage
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JJ was very impressed with Dr. Nicolosi's presentation on reparative therapy this past weekend - reparative therapy is based upon the conviction that a person really can change their sexual orientation. Another speaker who happened to be a priest discussed the question many SSA people ask themselves, "Why am I like this?" Something Nicolosi also addressed. Nicolosi has a new book entitled, Shame and Attachment Loss: The Practical Work of Reparative Therapy by Joseph Nicolosi, Ph.D. On the Narth website, the reader can find a series of endorsements for Nicolosi's book, the following is a sample:
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"Dr. Nicolosi's theory and therapeutic method is consistent with my decades of research on childhood gender identity disorders. His book shows how homosexual attractions and enactment functions as a situational reaction to feelings of gender inadequacy and to unmet emotional needs including a developmental lack of male attention, affection and affirmation from father-figures and/or other male mentors. Same-sex attractions function as attempts to "repair" an emotional deficit in a male's own "perfectly normal and authentic needs for male attention, affection, and approval.
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Dr. Nicolosi helps his clients to identify circumstances and emotional states when most tempted to homosexual behavior. He affirms human will, and the reality of the ability to choose to interrupt the sequence of psychological events would otherwise lead to homosexual temptation and to homosexual enactment. This book is not only psychologically sound and theoretically insightful, but it is consistent with the Judeo-Christian theological understanding of the creation of humans as male and female and the normality of close emotional, non-sexual, relationships among men as illustrated by the loving relationship between David and Jonathan. His book clearly illustrates how he assists men with same-sex attractions to adjust to created realities of human personality and relationships, while abandoning a False Self that emerged from a problematic development in early life.
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Dr. Nicolosi shows theoretically and therapeutically how strengthening feelings of masculinity diminishes same-sex attraction and how mental health depends on acceptance of psychological realities. He does so with a compassionate understanding of the client's needs and problems." - ---George A. Rekers, Ph.D., Th.D.
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JJ never went through reparative therapy, but he gained a great deal of insight from Dr. Nicolosi's books. He has a great spiritual director and confessor, frequents the sacraments, prays, studies, and so on. Through the observance of chastity and the deepening of his spiritual life, JJ has experienced tremendous freedom from unwanted homosexual desires as well as a former attachment to auto-eroticism. He told me he has never felt more liberated in his life and with this new found freedom of spirit, he can no longer identify himself as gay or homosexual. His experience is a forceful witness to the healing grace of God. JJ and I have corresponded and talked somewhat regularly on the phone for a couple of years now - I've witnessed his growth in wisdom, maturity, and grace. His journey has been incredible and most edifying.
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Lest anyone be discouraged however, let me assure you that Courage is not focused upon changing a persons sexual orientation, but about living chastely and personal sanctity. The Catholic Church in no way requires SSA persons to change their perceived sexual-orientation, only to refrain from homosexual acts and promotion of the gay lifestyle.
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The five goals of Courage.
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"The following five goals of Courage were created by the members themselves, when Courage was founded. The goals are read at the start of each meeting and each member is called to practice them in daily life.
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1 - Live chaste lives in accordance with the Roman Catholic Church's teaching on homosexuality. (Chastity)
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2 - Dedicate ones life to Christ through service to others, spiritual reading, prayer, meditation, individual spiritual direction, frequent attendance at Mass, and the frequent reception of the sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Eucharist. (Prayer and Dedication)
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3 - Foster a spirit of fellowship in which all may share thoughts and experiences, and so ensure that no one will have to face the problems of homosexuality alone. (Fellowship)
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4 - Be mindful of the truth that chaste friendships are not only possible but necessary in a chaste Christian life and in doing so provide encouragement to one another in forming and sustaining them. (Support)
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5 - Live lives that may serve as good examples to others. (Good Example/Role Model) - Courage website
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Keep in mind however, the studies of Dr. Nicolosi and NARTH are helpful for those seeking to understand some of the possible causes of homosexual attraction as well as the effects - it helps answer the question, "Why am I (they) like this." I think it is well understood that not all people are interested or believe themselves capable of changing something they view as a lifelong sexual orientation, and that only those persons who are highly motivated to change and who voluntarily seek reparative therapy - independent of coercion - can be helped. That said, NARTH demonstrates that people can change. Those who believe it impossible may still benefit from the research, which can be a valuable aid in understanding the temptation to homosexual behavior as well as a help to acquiring greater self-knowledge, something so necessary in the spiritual combat.
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What is NARTH?
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"We respect the right of all individuals to choose their own destiny. NARTH is a professional, scientific organization that offers hope to those who struggle with unwanted homosexuality. As an organization, we disseminate educational information, conduct and collect scientific research, promote effective therapeutic treatment, and provide referrals to those who seek our assistance. NARTH upholds the rights of individuals with unwanted homosexual attraction to receive effective psychological care and the right of professionals to offer that care. We welcome the participation of all individuals who will join us in the pursuit of these goals." - NARTH website

Good morning!

Visiting.

Just a couple things...

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Lately I have been getting stuck on a couple of blogs and cannot exit them - so I do not visit as often.

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On some blogs with heavy advertising or large photo files it takes forever for your pages to download - so I do not visit often.

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On other blogs I have to jump through too many hoops to place a comment - so I don't.

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Sometimes I just get bored with you - so I don't comment, visit, or link to you.

Making fun of nuns.

Sister Act - a video I saw on another blog showing seminarians dressed up as traditional nuns performing a number from the movie of the same name. I don't think it's a good idea for men to dress up as nuns - especially seminarians - even if it is just for fun at recreation. Whatever the motivation, making fun of nuns has often been something of a past-time for Catholics and non-Catholics alike. Don't get me wrong, it is almost always done without malicious intent, nevertheless there is very often some level of mockery underlying such satirical presentations.
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Currently, with the Vatican ordered visitation of American Sisters underway, nuns are getting swiped again. I know there are religious women who no longer seem to belong to the congregations they once professed vows in, yet claim they are furthering the original charism of the order in the lifestyles they adopted. We all know of institutes dedicated to a New Age version of Catholic spirituality. And we all know that many of these sisters no longer wear a discernible habit and no longer live in convents. More traditionally minded Catholics, lay and clerics alike, miss the old nuns and seem to want them back - hence they welcome the visitation. On the other hand, the more progressive sisters do not welcome it.
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Throughout the history of the Church visitations and reforms have been conducted of religious life - that is the duty of the Shepherds - our bishops and the Pope - they safeguard the faith. And yep - the laity gets their nose in it too - at lest voicing their opinions and complaints. That isn't all that unfair however. The orders depended upon the laity in the beginning - vocations come from the laity, as well as donations and support for their apostolate and living situations. All religious exist because of the laity - hence they are accountable to the whole Church, which includes the hierarchical structure that orders the visitation.
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What has happened in the post Vatican II era is that Independence and self-governance has become the norm and the visitation challenges that development. The progressive nuns feel threatened. Catholic bloggers are not terribly sensitive to that either - and many of us fall into that old making fun of nuns routine with our critiques.
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I don't know the full story on congregations such as the Sisters of St. Joseph who have a reputation for being quite liberal now days, but it seems to me, although they may be dying out, they continue to have fruitful apostolates. I read an editorial in the NYT:
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Across 30 years, the modern version of the Sisters of St. Joseph has been revolutionizing the treatment of imprisoned women in New York. Thanks to the nuns’ efforts, mothers are now allowed to care for their infants on the inside and remain close to their children in creative visitors’ programs. Once they are paroled, these women and their children can find a year’s shelter in one of nine Providence House sanctuaries the nuns created in defunct city rectories and convents. The order has never lacked courage: five members were guillotined in the French Revolution for giving shelter to the hunted. - Source
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After reading that I realized many of the congregations were formed in response to the social justice and catechetical needs of their times. The women wore habits which reflected the fashion of the times - often described as 'widows weeds'. They set up housekeeping in normal houses - not huge monasteries, and they attended Mass in parish churches, often praying the Little Office of the BVM instead of the Breviary or monastic office. The institutions they established grew from these simple beginnings.
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I think we as Catholics have to support these women as best we can and to be more sympathetic to the development of their religious life and their internal struggles - respecting their familial boundaries as a community. Yes, sound Catholic doctrine must be insured, which is why the visitation was ordered.
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So anyway, let the visitation go on, but we maybe should be a lot more charitable towards these religious women who strive to live out their original charism in modern times. The Church is a diverse family, there are traditional orders for those who seek that life, and there are congregations for those who seek a more active participation in social justice issues and works.
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I like nuns, I just keep my distance. I tend to be more traditional and therefore have a greater affinity for more traditional orders, but I appreciate the works of the others as well. Any public work in the name of the Church must be subject to the oversight of the ordinary Magisterium however. It is better to pray for all concerned in the visitation rather than making fun of those who initially resist it.

Just a couple things for Sunday morning...

"Work out your salvation with fear and trembling." - Philippians 2:12

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Remember that from the ending of Emily Rose? I know!

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Anyway - after many years I finally found out the source of another scriptural passage I often recall when I sense I may be the object of scorn or detraction by others. The interpretation which ruminates within my heart is: "The sin of the Gentiles is they lack charity." Nevertheless, I could never find the same translation in Scripture, and I had no recollection as to where I got it from. Until today.

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I discovered the source of the translation is contained within this passage: "One sees in them men without conscience, without loyalty, without affection (charity), without pity." [Romans 1:31] Paul is discussing the situation of the pagans who refuse to glorify God and whose unbelief led to the errors and depravity of the pagan world.

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I encountered the passage in the writings of St. Francis De Sales on friendship, which I have read numerous times without realizing it contained the obscure Scripture: "The sin of the gentiles is they lack charity". St. Francis references the passage while writing on the suitability of particular friendship for persons in the lay state, offering examples from the lives of the saints.

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"St. Jerome, St. Augustine, St. Bernard, and all the great servants of God have had very particular friendships without doing any harm to their perfection. When condemning the disorders of the pagans St. Paul accuses them of being people "without affection" [Rom. 1:31], that is, they had no true friendships. Together with all good philosophers, St. Thomas states that friendship is a virtue. He speaks of "particular friendship" since, as he says, "perfect friendship cannot be extended to a great many persons." Hence perfection consists not in having no friendships, but in having only those that are good, holy, and sacred." - Introduction to the Devout Life, Bk. III; 19

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Of course Philippians 2:12 is translated differently from my recollection of it as well: "Work with anxious concern to achieve your salvation." I think "work out your salvation with fear and trembling" is more apt, since "our battle is not against human forces but against the principalities and powers, the rulers of this world of darkness, the evil spirits in the region above." [Ephesians 6:12]

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Art: Allegory on chastity; Sacro Convento, Assisi.

All rightey then! She's back on the best dressed list.

The Obama's presented beautifully today as they met the Holy Father - Mrs. Obama followed protocol perfectly and looked very dignified.

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I'm proud of them.

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H/T to Whispers in the Loggia.

When things get really bad...

I think of St. Maximillian Maria Kolbe and the Militia of Mary Immaculate:

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In 1912 St. Maximillian was sent to Kraków, and in the same year to a college in Rome, where he studied philosophy, theology, mathematics, and physics. He earned a doctorate in philosophy in 1915 at the Pontifical Gregorian University, and the doctorate in theology in 1919 at the Pontifical University of St. Bonaventure. During his time as a student, he witnessed vehement demonstrations against Popes St. Pius X and Benedict XV in Rome and was inspired to organize the Militia Immaculata, or Army of Mary, to work for conversion of sinners and the enemies of the Catholic Church through the intercession of the Virgin Mary. - Source

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O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee, and for those who do not have recourse to thee, especially the enemies of the Church and those recommended to thee. Amen. - St. Maximillian

Assman

Wow! I hope this guy's daughters never get punished with a baby.

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Sarkozy reportedly remarked to the Prez; "Oui! - How you say, that is what a normal one looks wife - I mean like!"

Shepherds...

"Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been pasturing themselves!" [Ezekiel 34: 2]

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Did you hear the one about the Archbishop who gave the Canadian PM Communion and didn't think anything was wrong with that scenario...

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"'I'm sure he (Harper) didn't mean any desecration or nothing of the sort. Somehow, the gesture was misunderstood. I think he should have been briefed by the protocol of what has to be done in a Catholic ceremony.'"

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Ayeaaah! You're the Archbishop - so brief the guy! WTF?!

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Archbishop Andre Richard, head of the Moncton archdiocese, said Thursday it's considered "sacrilegious" for non-believers to take part in the rite, but only if it is meant out of disrespect. (Who the hell made that up?) "In the context, it's obvious that no disrespect was meant, I'm quite sure," he said in a telephone interview. - Source

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"God's gonna get him for that one."

The Ugly Americans

The first family and their entourage.
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In the 1958 novel, The Ugly American, a Burmese journalist says "For some reason, the people I meet in my country are not the same as the ones I knew in the United States. A mysterious change seems to come over Americans when they go to a foreign land. They isolate themselves socially. They live pretentiously. They're loud and ostentatious." - The Ugly American, by Eugene Burdick and William Lederer.

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Can't say that about the Obama's, they just show up badly dressed - every where... jus' ordinary folk. They obviously do not isolate socially either - or do they? Is every State trip going to be a family affair in this Administration? No doubt dressing inappropriately is not pretentious - but is it arrogance? Could be - 'we are the first family - this is how we are'. I don't care if it's summer and really hot in Rome, a t-shirt and little shorts is pretty much street urchin dress - and who's the guy looking like a gangsta in the gym clothes? I know, probably Secret Service - it's still street life.

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Shelley can carry all the $6000 handbags she wants - she has no class. People may think my assessment harsh or unfair, but this family is representing the American people when they go abroad. When you are working you should dress appropriately - if not modestly - even when you are 10. These trips are not State funded vacations - or are they?

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Photo source.

Stephen Harper puts the host in his pocket

He extended his hand as if he were just shaking hands - there was absolutely no reverence - and why was he given Communion in the first place - he is a Protestant?
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This incident is good reason for abolishing Communion in the hand and putting a stop to the free for all that occurrs at Communion time in Roman Catholic churches.
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Don't forget that Roger of Taize was given Holy Communion by Cardinal Ratzinger at JPII's funeral - I don't know what that was about, but situations like it give the impression anyone can do it. (Think the Protestant Clinton, the apostates Kerry and Pelosi, et al.) Thank God, as Pope, the Holy Father has changed the way he distributes Communion - to those who kneel and on the tongue.

The Martyrs of Gorcum.

They were killed by Calvinists.
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Have you ever been accused of being a Calvinist or a Jansenist lately? It is the fashionable, albeit shameful, accusation to make now days - especially as a criticism of Catholics with an old fashioned morality - you know, those papists who long for a proper Mass, advocate pro-life politics, or who reject same-sex marriage legislation and arbitrary hate crimes bills. How the tables are turned today. But I digress...
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By 1572, the Netherlands had fallen culturally and politically into Protestant hands, and Catholics of the country became objects of persecution for Lutherans and Calvinists alike. As town after town fell to Protestant control, the Catholic clergy of the area were arrested and often tortured. The goal of this mistreatment was not death, but apostasy.
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In June of 1572, the town of Gorcum (modern Gorinchem, 20 miles west of Rotterdam) fell into the hands of Calvinist pirates, and immediately they arrested nine Franciscan priests. Later, two Franciscan lay brothers, three secular priests, and an Augustinian canon were also arrested. Eventually four more priests were added to their number. These included two Norbertines, another secular priest, and John of Cologne, a Dominican friar working outside of Gorcum. After hearing of the arrests of the Franciscans, St. John disguised himself and traveled to Gorcum to console his brother priests with the sacraments. He was eventually caught and imprisoned along with them.
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The pirates demanded that these nineteen priests and religious deny the Real Presence and the authority of the Pope. They refused, much to their captors’ distress. Despite a plea for leniency from William of Orange, the Dutch prince and leader of the Protestant Rebellion, the Calvinists of Gorcum transferred their prisoners to nearby Brielle, where they were martyred outside of town in a dilapidated shed. Their bodies were horrifically desecrated both before and after their deaths, out of mockery for their priesthood.
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One of the secular priests killed was notorious for his unchastity. When accused of this by his captors, he offered his famous reply, “Fornicator I always was, but heretic I never was.” - Source
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I like that: “Fornicator I always was, but heretic I never was.”
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People can call me what they like too.
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July 9 is the memorial of the Martyrs of Gorcum. They all chose death rather than renounce their faith in the Blessed Sacrament and Papal supremacy. Imagine that.

Death and dying.

A litany...

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Loss.

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Lost.

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The abyss.

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Salvation uncertain.

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The damned...

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Meaninglessness.

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Failure.

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Finality.

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Emptiness.

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Spiritual nothingness.

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Purposelessness.

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Nothing.

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Abyss of non-existence.

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Annihilation.

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Oblivion.

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Vacuous emptiness.

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Falling.

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Falling.

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Falling.

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Falling.

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Falling.

The funeral...

Michael Jackson's.
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I watched some of it - I wasn't going to, but I did. Overall, it was well done - it never became the spectacle I expected. (Well, Mariah Carey was inappropriately dressed, but she always is.) Some aspects of the program were sad to the point of disturbing - a couple of times I had to leave the room, finally, I just stopped watching. It creeped me out. 'The guy is dead and this is a performance,' I thought.
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The service was so emotion driven, and at times insipidly sweet, it felt oppressive. An unhealthy sense of nostalgia or melancholy seemed to permeate every aspect of the event. It seemed so superficial, so secular, so earth-bound, and terribly pretentious. I felt a sense of spiritual nothingness, a vacuous emptiness while I watched the performance.
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I came away from the funeral coverage a bit sobered by the strangeness of the event, yet feeling great pity for his children.
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I don't want to hear another Michael Jackson song, news report, eulogy, ever again.

Trappist Martyrs of Atlas

Were they really martyrs or victims of friendly fire?

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One reason martyrs are not immediately canonized is that the Church must be convinced they had been killed for the faith. The Martyrs of Atlas, 7 French monks, were killed about 10 years ago in Algiers, presumed to have been executed by Islamic extremists, the only remains found being their heads:

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"During the night of March 27-28, 1996, seven monks of the Cistercian Monastery of Our Lady of Atlas, near the village of Tibhirine in Algeria, were abducted by Islamic fundamentalists. Their abduction was claimed by a radical faction of the GIA (Groupe Islamique Arm�) in a communiqu� dated April 18, 1996 and published on April 27. In a second communiqu�, dated May 23, the GIA announced that the monks had been executed on May 21, 1996. Their remains were identified and their funeral Mass was celebrated in the Catholic Cathedral of Algiers on Sunday, June 2. They were buried in the cemetery of their monastery at Tibhirine on June 4, 1996." - Source

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I wasn't aware there were other theories regarding the monks death until today:

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"PARIS (AFP) — President Nicolas Sarkozy said Tuesday he was determined to find the truth of who was really behind the 1996 abduction and beheading of seven French monks in Algeria, which has been blamed on Islamists.

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"I want the truth. Relations between major countries are based on the truth and not on lies," he said, adding that he would release any classified documents on the killings which investigators might ask for.

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The move came a day after potentially explosive revelations that a French general told investigators the Algerian army killed the monks by mistake when it raided an Islamist camp and the French state covered up the tragedy.

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Critics have long been suspicious of the official French and Algerian view that the Trappist monks were killed by the Islamic Group Army (GIA) at the height of a decade of Islamist violence that left at least 150,000 people dead.

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The Paris prosecutor's office opened an inquiry in 2004 into the massacre of the monks after a civil suit was filed by the family of one of the men and by a senior member of the monks' order.

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Patrick Baudouin, lawyer for the plaintiffs, said Monday the latest allegations were proof there was an attempt at "dissimulation on the part of the Algerian authorities and certainly on the part of the French authorities." His comment came after a source close to the probe leaked remarks allegedly made to French investigators last month by General Francois Buchwalter, who in 1996 was France's military attache in Algiers.

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The now-retired general said Algerian army helicopters, hunting Islamist rebels, opened fire on a camp they spotted in the mountains near the monks' hilltop monastery in Tibehirine, 70 kilometres (45 miles) south of Algiers.

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The helicopter crews realised afterwards that not only had they hit members of the armed group but also the monks, Buchwalter said, according to the source." - Story

Summer reading.

The Naughty Archbishop.

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We intellectuals love to share with the Community College graduates what we are reading for the summer - and believe you me - you ignoramuses, it is so not an Oprah's book club selection either.
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Of course I'm just finishing my re-read of Brideshead Revisited - I might have said, my revisit... oh, oh, ah, ah, ah, ohhhhhhhhh! Oh you funny man you! And I've long thrown the Divine Comedy in the dumpster - what was with that Dante guy anyway?
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No, now I'm breaking the spine of Weakland's memoir... his tell all - Hollywood Wives style summation of his life.
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Seriously, with all due respect to his office, A Pilgrim In a Pilgrim Church by Archbishop Weakland is a fascinating, if not at moments, difficult read - in a heart-wrenching sort of way. I just picked it up this afternoon and I've been jumping all over the contents ever since, reading here and there, as well as beginning at the beginning. I think it is an important book historically, and definitely absorbing in the revelations by such a prominent figure in the American Episcopate. I have a million thoughts on his 'revelations' and the scary thing is - I know what he is talking about. I don't think I ever met him - but it sure seems as if I did. (In other words, he wasn't alone in his vision, mission, agenda for the Church.)
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I recall when he was named Archbishop of Milwaukee, I thought to myself, "Oh good, a monastic Archbishop - he will restore things as they should be!" Oh, oh, oh, ha, ha, ha, ha, ohhhhh, oh, oh, ah, ah, ah, oooooooooooo! - such a silly boy!
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So far, the memoir is helpful towards understanding the tragedy of the Archbishop, as well as the dysfunction of the post-Councilor Church in the U.S.. It's a real page turner. The really sad thing is - from what I gather - the Vatican knew. They knew the problems with Weakland and the other progressives - but nothing was done.

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Bark like a blog!

Reconstructing Catholic identity.

St. Anthony returns to Modesto church.
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A statue of St. Anthony, once removed from the church of St. Stanislaus due to the re-emergence of the ancient iconoclast heresy following the spirit of VII, has now been reinstalled. Read on - as to the reason why the statues were removed in the first place:
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All that is known is that after the reformations of Vatican II were handed down in the 1970s, priests often removed the statues of saints to help parishioners focus on the celebration of the Eucharist instead.
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"Before Vatican II, the Mass was in Latin," said the Rev. Ramon Bejarano, pastor of St. Stanislaus. "Because they didn't understand the Latin, people were praying devotions to the saints or saying the rosary during Mass. Some priests and parishes decided to move the statues out so people could concentrate and have active, full participation in the Eucharist." - Story
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Huh?
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The reformation of Vatican II? People didn't understand the Latin? So they wreckovated the churches in order that people could concentrate and have active participation in the Eucharist? That's what all that was about?
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This past weekend my pastor has taken to enhancing the Mass by adding explanatory prayers before the offertory and other parts of the Mass. After the gifts are brought up and the altar is prepared, he ad libs something like, "As we prepare the altar... let us bring our hearts, our cares our sorrows, etc., joining them to this bread and wine..." I don't know what else. He is a good priest and means well, but I really have to agree with Fr. Z - PLEASE: Just say the black and do the red.

Old sinners have a lot to teach us.

Alessandro Serenelli.

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After about 6 years into his sentence, the man who killed Maria Goretti experienced a profound conversion in prison after the blessed Marietta appeared to him in a dream, smiling upon his tortured soul. The saint assured him of her forgiveness and Alessandro finally experienced a sense of peace and penitence. Before that moment he had been tormented and filled with contempt for all that is good. His life had been debased by his passions, which he indulged in pornography leading up to the attack upon Maria. After the saint appeared to him, he became a different man. Upon completion of his prison sentence, Serenelli was accepted as a Capuchin tertiary and lived in the monastery, laboring as the friar's gardener and handy man. He was reconciled to the townsfolk, and more importantly to Assunta, Maria's mother, whom he accompanied to the canonization of her daughter.

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Alessandro Serenelli died on May 6th, 1970 in the Capuchin convent of Macerata. He left the following testimony, dated May 5, 1961, as his spiritual legacy:

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"I'm nearly 80 years old. I'm about to depart.

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"Looking back at my past, I can see that in my early youth, I chose a bad path which led me to ruin myself.

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"My behavior was influenced by print, mass-media and bad examples which are followed by the majority of young people without even thinking. And I did the same. I was not worried.

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"There were a lot of generous and devoted people who surrounded me, but I paid no attention to them because a violent force blinded me and pushed me toward a wrong way of life.

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"When I was 20 years-old, I committed a crime of passion. Now, that memory represents something horrible for me. Maria Goretti, now a Saint, was my good Angel, sent to me through Providence to guide and save me. I still have impressed upon my heart her words of rebuke and of pardon. She prayed for me, she interceded for her murderer. Thirty years of prison followed.

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"If I had been of age, I would have spent all my life in prison. I accepted to be condemned because it was my own fault.

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"Little Maria was really my light, my protectress; with her help, I behaved well during the 27 years of prison and tried to live honestly when I was again accepted among the members of society. The Brothers of St. Francis, Capuchins from Marche, welcomed me with angelic charity into their monastery as a brother, not as a servant. I've been living with their community for 24 years, and now I am serenely waiting to witness the vision of God, to hug my loved ones again, and to be next to my Guardian Angel and her dear mother, Assunta.

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"I hope this letter that I wrote can teach others the happy lesson of avoiding evil and of always following the right path, like little children. I feel that religion with its precepts is not something we can live without, but rather it is the real comfort, the real strength in life and the only safe way in every circumstance, even the most painful ones of life." - Alessandro Serenelli

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From John Paul II:

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"Maria Goretti, so illuminating with her spiritual beauty, challenges us to a firm and secure faith in the Word of God, as the only source of truth, to remain firm against the temptations of this world."

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"Young people, look at Maria Goretti, don’t be tempted by the tempting atmosphere of our permissive society, which declares, everything is possible. Look to Maria Goretti, love, live, defend your chastity."

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"Young people, don’t be afraid to carry the torch of your life, light and ideals into modern society."

The Apotheosis of Michael Jackson

The media event of the century...

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Al Sharpton was in Los Angeles Sunday preaching on Michael Jackson's contribution to the Civil Rights cause - according to the Rev., Oprah wouldn't be the success she is without Michael. He was also accusing Jackson's detractors - anyone in the press who brought up all the scandals in their coverage - as being racist and hate-filled. In death Michael is being rehabilitated and mythologized beyond all imagining. Sharpton:

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The Rev. Al Sharpton has delivered a sermon in Los Angeles where he called for nationwide "love vigils" for Michael Jackson on Tuesday.

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The civil rights activist addressed congregants at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church on Sunday.

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Sharpton is urging people to gather in schools, community centers and churches to honor Jackson on Tuesday, when a public memorial service will be held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. - AP

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My biggest surprise yet regarding the eulogies piling up in honor of Jackson came from Vox Nova with the most over-the-top post I have ever read on that blog: Michael Jackson: The Man in the Mirror.

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Reflecting on the 1980s and early 1990s, one labors to imagine a more heroic episode in history’s hard march against tyranny. Liberty sprang up amidst a near bloodless convulsion, and took a daring but peaceful step forward. It was in the intensity of this revolutionary fervor that the artistry of Michael Jackson towered as a beacon of light for those struggling to be free. - Gerald Campbell

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I will never again be embarrassed about anything I post on my blog.

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Most recent beatified model of purity.

Bl. Albertina Berkenbrock (1919-1931)
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From the Holy See website:
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"Albertina Berkenbrock was born on 11 April 1919 in São Luís, Imaruí, Santa Catarina, Brazil. She was baptized on 25 May 1919 and confirmed on 9 March 1925. She made her First Holy Communion on 16 August 1928.
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Albertina grew up in a devout family. She willingly helped her parents at home and on the land. At an early age she learned to pray with deep devotion and was strong in the practice of her Catholic faith. She spoke of her First Communion Day as the most beautiful day of her life and had special devotion to Our Lady and to St Aloysius Gonzaga, a model of purity and the Patron Saint of São Luís.
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At school Albertina was a model for her peers and a cause of admiration to adults. Her teachers especially praised her spirituality and morals, superior to children of her age. She was a diligent student who knew her Catechism and kept God's Commandments.
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At home, when her brothers teased and taunted her, as siblings do, she would not retaliate. With her Christian upbringing, even the childhood games she played reflected her deep religious sense. She played happily with the poorest children and shared her bread with them.
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At home, she was especially loving to the children of an employee of her father; while unknown to her, that man would become her future assassin.
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One day when Albertina was searching for a runaway bullock she came across Maneco loading beans into his cart. When she asked him if he had seen the bullock he pointed in the wrong direction to entice her to a place where he could satisfy his lust without attracting attention.
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Innocently, Albertina followed Maneco's directions and came to a wooded area. On hearing twigs cracking she turned, thinking it was the bullock, and found herself face to face with Maneco. She was petrified.
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He informed her of his intentions but she firmly refused him. Albertina fought hard for her virtue. Even when he threw her to the ground, she did her best to cover herself. Furious at having been morally defeated by the young girl, Maneco grasped her by the hair and slit her throat with a knife." - Finish reading here.
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Image source.
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Also: News report on Youtube. Another here.