The culture of dissent.

WDTPRS: What the Pope really says... Or: Why do we need his Definitions defined for us by amateurs anyway?

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The culture of dissent seems to have been born of the spirit of Vatican II - not from the Council itself - the Council did not call Catholics to a state of perpetual questioning of authority. Just as the irregularities and novelties associated with the Novus Ordo were developed after the Council. It is very easy for us to read the documents - or better put - other's interpretation of them, and assign blame or praise to the Council itself. This is what many traditionalists have done, as well as those of us who find some of the post-Councillor reforms to have been implemented badly. On the other hand, dissidents have made an idol of personal freedom, conscience, and dissident theory - convinced the Council set some sort of revolutionary standard.

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Blessed John XXIII, revered by dissidents and faithful Catholics alike, never intended the Council to overthrow the authority of Church teaching. In his opening statements to the Council Fathers the Pope said:

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"In calling this vast assembly of bishops, the latest and humble successor to the Prince of the Apostles who is addressing you intends to assert once again the Church's Magisterium [teaching authority], which is unfailing and perdures until the end of time, in order that this Magisterium, taking into account the errors, the requirements, and the opportunities of our time, might he presented in exceptional form to all men throughout the world.15
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The greatest concern of the ecumenical council is this: that the sacred deposit of Christian doctrine should be guarded and taught more efficaciously." 17

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The Holy Father will have much to suffer.

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Every successive Pope has suffered and labored to not only safeguard, but promulgate all that accords with the perennial teaching of the Faith. Many traditionalists like to say the Council did not formulate any dogma, or promulgate any specific teaching, or condemn any heresy, and therefore one is not obliged to accept the documents as infallible. Of course, the cafeteria Catholic also seems to think dissent was declared an infallible right, calling anyone and everyone to dissent from any Church discipline or teaching they happen to disagree with, or that doesn't accord with popular culture. So in essence - the culture of dissent, a corruption of the concept of sensum fidei, has infected every aspect of the Christian life - bearing similarities to the confusion which was the result of the Protestant Reformation.

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That said, as faithful Catholics, we are called to submit to the Pope, Christ's Vicar.

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"This loyal submission of the will and intellect must be given in a special way to the authentic teaching authority of the Roman Pontiff, even when he does not speak ex cathedra, in such wise, indeed, that his supreme teaching authority be acknowledged with respect, and that one sincerely adhere to the decisions made by him, conformably with his manifest mind and intention, which is made known principally either by the character of the documents in question, or by the frequency with which. a certain doctrine is proposed, or by the manner in which the doctrine is formulated." 25

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It is indeed true that within the Council debates heated discussions took place, cardinal was against cardinal, theologians and periti proposed this or that, but in the end, when all the votes were counted and the final draft of the documents were agreed upon and signed, they were then promulgated by the Pope - hence the documents are binding. This is what our current Holy Father is emphasizing in seeking to implement the authentic teaching of the Council and not simply the spirit of Vatican II.

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As Ralph McInerny said:

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"Unfortunately, some theologians, particularly moral theologians, for reasons we will examine in subsequent chapters, have simply rejected this clear teaching of Vatican II. They have come to see their role as one of criticizing, passing judgment on, and even dismissing magisterial teaching.

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There is no surer protection against this attempted usurpation than the documents of Vatican II themselves and particularly the passages just quoted from the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, Lumen Gentium.26

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There is, of course, something odd in the effort to quarrel with what are obviously teachings of the Church and therefore require religious assent from Catholics. It is almost as if the aim were to discover how little one need believe. But surely, as Vatican II urges, it should be the mark of Catholics that they take on the mind and heart of the Church and show gratitude for God's great gift of the Magisterium.

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...to advise Catholics to ignore clear magisterial teachings is to advise them to reject the clear teaching of Vatican II. How ironic that the council should be invoked as warrant for dissenting from the Magisterium when it is precisely the council that rules this out.

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To accept Vatican II is to accept what the council says about the Magisterium and the Catholic's obligation to obey it. - What Went Wrong With Vatican II - Ralph M. McInerny. (All quotes in italics have been taken from his essay.)

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Therefore, all things considered, I think it goes without saying that Humanae Vitae is infallible teaching. Even though dissenters have said no since the document was promulgated, which in my opinion accounts for much of the immorality we see today.

The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Terry at Idle Speculations has several posts with lovely art for the feast of the Assumption, accompanied by wonderful stories from tradition.

St. Maximilian

August 14 is the feast of St. Maximilian Kolbe.

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Fr. Kolbe is famous for establishing the Militia of Mary Immaculate and promoting total consecration to Our Lady.

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Consecration to Our Lady is not complicated.

Catholic tea party...

OH!!!! MY!!!! GOSH!!!!

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I just stumbled upon a blog with photos of a bunch of Catholic women at a tea party - in the middle of the day... I think the blog background was pink with lace and flowers and the women were kind of pre-20th century looking... all sweet and proper and... traddish?

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It was awful. Horrible. Dreadful. Stepfordish.

What does the priest really do when he is not online?

WDTPRS?

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I'm kidding! I love Father!

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Story here.

Hermits.

Idiorrhythmic monks.

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That is a term used in the East to describe Orthodox monks and hermits who essentially do their own thing. Well kind of - it is a bit more complicated than that however. Suffice it to say it generally implies laxity and some level of corruption of the monastic ideal - I'm not talking corruption as in vice, but deviation from traditional cenobitism... which in my book amounts to doing your own thing. Private, personal piety sets the tone - although in the generally unstable modern aspirant - one may prefer to say it evolves. Very smart, long term idiorrhythmic monks or nuns may therefore consider themselves to be highly evolved. And indeed they may be - only God knows.

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In the East monks can be distinguished by four categories; eremetic, semi-eremetic, cenobitic, and idiorrhythmic. I suppose one might say that idiorrhythmic observance came about by degrees and accommodation to modern life, though it dates back to the 14th century in Greece, a period of decline. However, there is no time like the present for decadence in religious observance. We live in unsettled and unstable times, when theology and liturgy is corrupted, therefore religious life itself will show signs of strain and corruption.

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I'm not offering a critique of modern monasticism or religious life, but I've been thinking about it since my post regarding Br. Roger of Taize, wherein I mention monastic life and got a couple of replies which led me to once again review what I know about contemporary gyrovagues - as Benedict might describe them - or the idiorrythmic monks, nuns, hermits, what have you, that seem to abound today. I'm no expert of course, just a guy with an opinion - who happens to have known many characters who aspired to their own special form of monastic/heremetic life. Some persevere, others do not - and not a few are characterized by a noticeable lack of stability.

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Today anyone can call themselves a monk, a nun, a hermit, an anchoress, what have you, and remain living in their house or apartment, keeping their job or living off of donations or, as seems to be the case lately, supporting themselves through some online business. Nothing is wrong with that either. Others go off to a little piece of property and build a hermitage and a chapel and if they have the bishop's approval, they some times provide space for retreats. Getting the local bishop's approval isn't always that hard and does indeed provide a level of legitimacy to the hermit's life. After all, there are provisions in Canon Law for private hermits, consecrated virgins, and so on. It must be said that many modern hermits have responded to a call or spiritual direction indicating to them that they devote their lives to seeking God in solitary prayer. The bishop's blessing confirms the vocation and the Church recognizes it.

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Nevertheless, many times the religious observance can only be defined as idiorhythmic as opposed to authentic eremitism in the traditional sense - in fact it is usually semi-eremetic at best - but nearly always idiorrhythmic. Again - a personalized cell rule is necessary - although amendments frequently find their way in. "I need a juicer now!" Or, "I need a new blackberry." Life goes on, I know.

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I've known one nun in particular who has moved from diocese to diocese - perhaps unhappy with the former bishop, or to be closer to friends? I don't know. But she always has to set up new housekeeping and facilities. I've known monks like this as well - not you Father. To be fair, I also know generous lay people who have consecrated their lives and live an edifying life as semi-hermits, or full-fledged hermits - away from cities and towns - quite like genuine hermits. Nevertheless, most if not all, live quite comfortably - and even go on vacation from time to time.

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I might mention I also know communities who live an eremetic life in cities - much like the Little Brothers or Sisters of Jesus, whose life is inspired by the monastic example of Bl. Charles de Foucauld. One group I'm familiar with follows the Rule for Hermitages as written by Francis of Assisi - albeit added to with their own constitutions. I'd call their life semi-eremetic, although they consider themselves hermits and contemplatives - another term that may often be used in vain - I think.

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Please - don't get me wrong, all of that is fine, and the more recognition and approval by the Church one receives the better - one's life is regularized and legitimized through canonical status or diocesan approval. And for some, status is an issue. Some may think of themselves as finally having a job, a meaningful position, a status because they can identify themselves as a hermit or an anchoress. It all can sound and appear rather romantic, like a tiny, precious illuminated manuscript, the hermitage within looms in one's imagination like a tiny little cottage nestled in a clearing of a thick woods, self-sustained and contained... From which the hermit can come and go at will, watch TV, listen to music, surf the Internet, email friends, entertain guests - just like me in my little house. Wow! I could be a hermit too.

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I could be a hermit too?! I rarely go out except to the store and church for Mass and confession and adoration. I pray and study and paint icons and religiously themed works, I garden... I must be a hermit - right in the middle of a city. Of course - there are hermits everywhere and anywhere now days - in fact the man in the cubicle next to you may be a hermit - with a condominium of course - or a room in his parent's basement, and he may even have initials after his name... sosf, ocds, osbs.

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I realize third orders and pious associations are charisms provided for the sanctification of the faithful, as well as the edification of the Church. As most of my readers know, I am a third order Franciscan. Nevertheless, I don't know why it is so hard for some people just to be Roman Catholic - whether part of a group or not. I don't know how or why they miss the greatness of ordinary life. That is why I admire Opus Dei - they never sport an external sign of their spiritual affiliation or status - they simply blend into ordinary society.

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Pray for vocations though - we desperately need real vocations to the religious life and the priesthood.

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Please note: This post is based upon personal experience, observation and opinion. It is a generalization and not addressed to specific persons.

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Art: St. Onufrius.

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Link:

Start your own religious order.

All quiet on the Midwestern front?

'Catholic' Coalition for Church Reform?
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Not so fast Sr. Mary Michael.
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I thought things were a little too quiet locally, and I was right. This from the Archdiocese of St. Paul/Minneapolis:
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It has come to the attention of the Archdiocese that a group calling itself the Catholic Coalition for Church Reform (CCCR) is planning a 2010 ‘synod’ in the Archdiocese entitled, ‘Claiming Our Place at the Table’.
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While the agenda for the proposed synod purports to be an exploration of the role of baptized Catholics within the institutional Church of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, it is not being conducted under the auspices of the Archdiocese, the universal Roman Catholic Church, or any entity or organization affiliated with the Archdiocese or the universal Roman Catholic Church.
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The Archdiocese wishes it to be known that the Catholic Coalition for Church Reform, the 2010 synod, and individuals endorsing the same, are not agents or entities of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis or the Roman Catholic Church. Moreover, the Archdiocese wishes to lovingly caution those members of the faithful participating in the ‘work/study groups’ and intending to attend the synod of the potential that the issues on which CCCR will seek reform are magisterial teachings of the Church, and are therefore to be believed by divine and catholic faith. The Archdiocese also wishes to remind the faithful of its need to shun any contrary doctrines, and instead to embrace and retain, to safeguard reverently and expound faithfully, the doctrine of faith and morals proposed definitively by the magisterium of the Church. - Catholic Spirit
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It is good to know.

Painting Fatima

This is the icon I did of the Apparition of the Mother of God at Fatima for Fr. Frederick Miller who had been the Director of the Blue Army in New Jersey at the time (1991). I publish it now since I am working on a panel depicting the secret of Fatima, which as everyone knows, consists of three parts - not 3 separate secrets. I surprised myself having nearly forgotten this panel, to review the variety of experience by the seers I attempted to illustrate within the composition. My current work is much more surreal, although just as naive as this icon I painted so many years before.

I have no idea if the icon remains at the shrine in New Jersey. So much has happened there since Fr. Miller left. It was quite an odd place, rather cult-like I think. I knew a former nun from there who left because of irregularities within the community of the Handmaids of the Immaculate Heart of Mary - a group which has since been suppressed. The former religious told me how Fr. Miller had been disliked by the establishment at the Blue Army, and suspected of being a liberal.

Anyway - I completely forgot I had painted this and laughed because I also painted the Trinity in my new panel in a rather similar fashion. The similarity ends there - right now I will tell you that the icon shown is better than my current work. Interestingly some folks thought the girls in the image presented above appeared to be Muslim, because of their prayer position and the veils - I never made that connection - although the name Fatima itself is Muslim - Mohammed's daughter in fact.

Anyway - the above panel illustrates two parts of the secret, the vision of hell and the devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. The background vignettes portray two of the preparatory apparitions of the angel which took place before the actual apparition of Our Lady on May 13, 1917.

Bark like a dog.

Maybe Chaz Bono could get turned on - but this cleavage shot is supposed to get Angela Merkel votes? Germans are kinky aren't they?

I'm worried about the Kat.

Crescat - AKA Carolina Cannonball - AKA Kat - needs prayers. She was hospitalized with a torn artery - I heard she is now home. She is a single mom with a small son - so she needs our prayers. I'm praying - please pray. Torn arteries are serious - but I don't know anything about Kat's.

Santa Chiara di Assisi

Today is the feast of St. Clare of Assisi, the protege of St. Francis, together they founded the Order of Poor Clares, at one time one of the most austere order of contemplative nuns in the world. Today many monasteries of strict observance continue to thrive - and I suspect the monastic life lived within those enclosures corresponds well to the original charism of St. Clare.

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In Clare's time their poverty was extreme and the nuns slept in dormitories. St. Clare's love of Jesus crucified was so intense, her asceticism seemed to know no bounds, to the extent that Holy Father St. Francis commanded her to temper it.

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Despite the arduous penances she imposed upon herself, the fasting and the vigils, amidst such extreme poverty, St. Clare was a loving mother to her nuns and exercised her duties as abbess with great tenderness and care, providing for her daughters in all of their needs. Her joyful demeanor and loving accessibility lightened the yoke of obedience and imparted to her nuns the gift of joy - a characteristic seen amongst all Poor Clares to this day.

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For me, the feast of St. Clare is always an occasion of joy. Happy feast day.

See - we can all snap occasionally.

"Whadya mean? I'm the Schecaterry of State, not that womanizing son of a bit - wha? Huh? Ask Bill if ya wanna know what trha hell he's doin' for his damn birthday! I'm the Schecaterry - Chelsea - get your mother another cocktail! An' make it a big one!"

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Mrs. Clinton got mixed up at a press conference in Africa.

"The Jews! The Jews!"

"So, a rabbi and a cop were walking..."
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This is a weird story - rabbis trafficking in human organs and money-laundering. It almost sounds like part of the Elders of Zion myth, or those medieval Christian horror stories of Jews sacrificing Catholic children and drinking their blood. So I have to question if these reports are perhaps exaggerated or even false... could such stories help to reignite anti-semitism? Remember how The Passion of the Christ unleashed such violence against Jews? (I don't either.) At any rate, the story appears to be an isolated incident - and if anything, it demonstrates how corrupt New Jersey is.
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The Brooklyn man arrested for organ trafficking in connection with a massive federal corruption and money laundering sting is described a "thug" who reportedly pulled a gun on kidney "donors" who were getting cold feet, according to a Daily News report Friday.
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Levy-Izhak Rosenbaum allegedly bought kidneys from impoverished people overseas for $10,000 and turned them around for $160,000 in the U.S., according to the newspaper. His operation was first brought to the attention of the FBI seven years ago by Nancy Scheper-Hughes, a University of California, Berkeley anthropologist who studied human organ trafficking.
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She described Rosenbaum to the Daily News as "the main U.S. broker for an international trafficking network." One of her sources, a man who worked with Rosenbaum, said he would pull a pistol on nervous kidney sellers, telling them "You're here. A deal is a deal. Now, you'll give us a kidney or you'll never go home."
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Rosenbaum became part of the federal corruption probe, which netted more than 40 people, including rabbis and elected officeholders from New Jersey and New York, after an FBI informant crossed paths with him and learned of his organ trafficking operation. - Full Story
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Yeah. I only bring it up because I found the story on Pewsitters and they link their story to the one on Catholic Forum - Fisheaters.com
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Whaddya willing to bet...

Rules for dissidents...

"There's another reason for working inside the system. Dostoevsky said that taking a new step is what people fear most. Any revolutionary change must be preceded by a passive, affirmative, non-challenging attitude toward change among the mass of our people. They must feel so frustrated, so defeated, so lost, so futureless in the prevailing system that they are willing to let go of the past and change the future. This acceptance is the reformation essential to any revolution. To bring on this reformation requires that the organizer work inside the system, among not only the middle class but the 40 per cent of American families – more than seventy million people – whose income range from $5,000 to $10,000 a year [in 1971]. They cannot be dismissed by labeling them blue collar or hard hat. They will not continue to be relatively passive and slightly challenging. If we fail to communicate with them, if we don't encourage them to form alliances with us, they will move to the right. Maybe they will anyway, but let's not let it happen by default." - Rules For Radicals, Saul Alinsky

Attention

My new email.

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With the new computer I haven't been checking my old email - I know! And that means I haven't read any - if any were sent. So anyway, if you want to get in touch, here is my new email: tj.nelson@hotmail.com

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If you would rather call and insult me, my phone number is 6-2-8-1-15-5.

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Update: Vincenzo was surprised I would post my #. I decided to take it down after Joe Biden called.

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(Just so you know, I rarely ever answer the phone, although I do pick up messages from time to time.)

Nagasaki

An account.

40 years ago.

The Haywain.

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Yesterday was the anniversary of the cover shot for the Beatles's Abbey Road album -no photos please - of the album that is. My blog is enough.

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This week also commemorates the Woodstock - 40 years gone.

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What it all means? Just that those who experienced it are now old. You people are OLD! Me - not so much...

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When I think of Woodstock I always think of Bosch's Haywain, as well as scenes out of a few of his other paintings - Garden of Earthly Delights, and so on. Many of Bosch's characters remind me of the hippies - as well as a good number of the people we see in entertainment and hip urban areas these days. One surely has to admit that the freak show of today makes Woodstock look tame, what with multiple piercings, bodies camouflaged by garish tattoos, multi-colored hair chopped mental-patient style, awful clothing accompanied by public nudity and sex. In this generation, vulgar has become the new bourgeois.

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The Sanger free-love movement from the early 20th century flowered into the Woodstock generation, and led to what we see today - abortion survivors.

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None of us are any good.

Not much to say.

I went to Mass this evening in the neighborhood.
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Not much to say...

It rained all day.

So I painted all day.

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I tried to take a nap, but I can't stop painting in my head.

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I don't think it is turning out however.

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I don't know.

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I keep going back to add detailing.

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I don't like the color - I have no idea what is wrong with me that I'm using so much color lately.

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I think it looks as if a high school kid painted it.

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I wish I could direct someone more skilled to paint it for me - it needs to be air brush and digital.

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I'll finish it however, but first I have to get some garden work done by September. When the painting is finished I will probably put it in the attic...

And yet people think I'm bizarre.

The Transfiguaration, Hiroshima, a priest, the anniversaries, the protest at the missile silo: The clown priest loves such symmetry... and who doesn't?
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Father Carl Kabat awoke early Thursday morning, put on his clerical collar, grabbed his clown suit and quietly strolled out of his longtime friend's Arvada home.
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William Strabala, who has known the Catholic priest since their days in the seminary more than 50 years ago and had hosted him since he arrived from St. Louis, simply sighed. It was pointless, he knew, to attempt to talk the 75-year-old priest out of what he was about to do.
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Shortly before 8 a.m. Thursday, Carl Kabat arrived outside a N-8 Minuteman III nuclear missile silo near New Raymer in Weld County. He donned his signature clown costume and breached the fences that surround the silo.
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He hung banners on the fence. He kneeled in his yellow wig, his one-piece blue jumper adorned with patches and smiley faces and his outsized red shoes. And he prayed.
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Military authorities quickly arrived.
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Carl Kabat, who has spend most of the past two decades in federal prison for more than a dozen similar anti-nuclear-weapon protests, was led once again to jail, facing charges of criminal mischief and second- degree criminal trespass.
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"What is the date today?" Bill Strabala asked when I contacted him. "It is the 50th anniversary of his ordination as a priest, the 64th anniversary of the nuclear attack on Hiroshima, Japan."
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Carl Kabat, he said, loves such symmetry. - Story
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Photo: Fr. Kabat in his habit.
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Why do clowns always make me think of Fr. R? LOL!

The Transfiguration of the Lord

Video

Who Do You Think You Are?

LOL!

Couple things...

Today is my day of recollection, so I have to be nice. I'll be praying for all of you.
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I wasn't complaining about Father yesterday - I really like him - I just don't want to get so involved as to sign in or apply for permission to make comments.
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I'm painting you know - it is about the secret and the apparitions at Fatima. I do not like what I'm painting - I do not like the work. But I have been pressed to paint it ever since the 3rd part was revealed at the beatification of Jacinta and Francisco. I've tried to avoid it but now I'm doing it and want to do a good job. It looks as if a 5 year old painted it - the composition is all over the place.
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Anyway - Fatima - I'm still convinced the revelations at Fatima are deeply significant for our time. In every vision and miracle - every aspect of each secret - there is a great deal of information - perhaps details as to what has unfolded and continues to unfold in our day. Each time I feel I finished a section, I understand it differently and revise what I have tried to document. I rarely ask for prayers, but please say a prayer for me as I paint The Secret. I happened upon an interesting site concerning Fatima - I think the author is quite good, not a Grunerite or conspiracy theorist - her understanding is very much in accord with my own intuition. You may want to read her here: Keeping it Catholic - the Blog. Also check out Fr. Hardon, Why the Miracle of the Sun is Important.
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Also - I'm on the new computer and doh! I do not know how to access my old email so I have to create a new account - which I will post the address to as soon as I figure it out.
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In the meantime - I know I missed your updates Paula; Jeron - I missed you too; Juan - I'm not ignoring you; Anthony - I got your email and was waiting to write a good reply... - and anyone else - I am not ignoring you. Although I'm starting out with a clean slate here.
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Also - today is my brother Tim's birthday - please say a prayer for him. Thanks.

The Dedication of the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome

What?

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Link:

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http://www.vatican.va/various/sm_maggiore/en/storia/interno.htm

This is serious!

Making comments on blogs.
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You can imagine how intimidating it is to solve those word puzzles and type in those word verification jobbie-things just to comment on a blog... Yeah - so now a very famous - internationally famous priest, well known even to Monsignor Ganswein and his boss, is requiring that people register or log in to make comments on his blog.
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People, I can't be bothered, okay? I am so not going to jump through hoops to make comments on your blog.
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You know, some of your blogs take forever even to open - you have big fricken files and I am not waiting for them to download. And if you happen to be a department store of ads - I'm not waiting for your site to open.
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Well there you go.

Vianney

Now this is a proper image of the saint.
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Happy feast day to all of my Fathers - those I link to, those who link to me, those who read me, those who absolve me and feed me, those who pray for me and like me, those who don't like me, those whom I have pleased and those whom I have displeased, those who guide me and those who haven't, those who are my frineds, and those who aren't. I pray for all of you... with you and for you... I thank God for you... and I thank you.

Soma

This may explain our National stupor...

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I have been saying this since before I began blogging - Americans are on anti-depressant drugs - real drugs - in record numbers. We are doped up.

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No wonder we are so complacent and tolerate the politicians, the corruption, and the collapse of our Nation.

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Oh wait. Is that too harsh? Sorry.

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Antidepressant use doubles in US...

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"Use of antidepressant drugs in the United States doubled between 1996 and 2005, probably because of a mix of factors, researchers reported on Monday.

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About 6 percent of people were prescribed an antidepressant in 1996 -- 13 million people. This rose to more than 10 percent or 27 million people by 2005, the researchers found.

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"Not only are more U.S. residents being treated with antidepressants, but also those who are being treated are receiving more antidepressant prescriptions." Dr. Mark Olfson of Columbia University in New York and Steven Marcus of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia wrote in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

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The survey did not look at why, but the researchers made some educated guesses. It may be more socially acceptable to be diagnosed with and treated for depression, they said. The availability of new drugs may also have been a factor. More than 164 million prescriptions were written in 2008 for antidepressants, totaling $9.6 billion in U.S. sales, according to IMS Health." - Source
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Brave new world... Really.

Crowd Explodes When Arlen Specter Urges That We "Do This Fast"

Prayers for the persecuted.

Pakistan.

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Sectarian violence will most likely accelerate in Iraq as troops withdraw, while in other Islamic countries - right now Pakistan, violence is increasing. Now we all know Islam is a religion of peace, don't we? Therefore we can only blame extremists for such crimes. Ignorant and naive as I may be, I do not buy that. Call me a Crusader if you must...

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Burned alive.

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Pakistani special forces have taken control of the town of Gojra (Punjab) after yesterday’s bloody episode in which at least 8 people - including 4 women and a child of 7 years - were burned alive and 20 others wounded. At least 50 houses of Christians were burned and destroyed and thousands of faithful fled to escape execution. Relatives of the victims refuse to take care of dead bodies and do not want funerals until the culprits are arrested. Some of the killed have been identified: Hamed Masih, 50, Asia Bibi, 20; Asifa Bibi, 19, Imam Bibi, 22; Musa 7; Akhlas Masih, 40, Parveen, 50.

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At least 3 thousand Muslims, after they have were incited by local religious authorities, marched to the Christian village Gojra founded 50 years ago. Groups of young Muslims - perhaps from the Sunni group Sipah-e-Sahabaha - with their faces covered started to shoot wildly. The villagers fled, but some were trapped and were killed by the uncontrollable fire unleashed by the mob.

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Some Christians argue that although the police were present during the attack at Gojra, the thugs were not apprehended. Other witnesses say that after a while the police tried to stop them, but the militants also attacked the police injuring some. - AsiaNews

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Fatima
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Did I mention I'm doing a painting on the apparitions at Fatima? It deals primarily with the so called Third Secret which is really just the third part of the whole secret. I don't know if it will turn out - I don't want it to be too pious - but it is difficult to paint visions and messages - the worst part is becoming too literal about it. No - the worst part about it is that I'm painting it. But I digress.

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Many people think Fatima is over - that it was all neatly wrapped up and concluded with JPII. I don't think so. And no, I do not believe there is some unpublished part of the secret - I think everything has been revealed - the mistake - in my opinion - is to believe the relevance of Fatima is past, that the prophecies have been fulfilled. I'm not sure about that.

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Did you know that the appearance of Glinda, the good witch in the Wizard of Oz was uncannily reminiscent of Our Lady's apparition in Fatima? Well, just the fact Glinda was all dressed up in white and light like a Queen, and she arrived in a globe of light. I doubt the producers knew of Fatima when they made Oz, although some one's muse may have. Again - I digress.

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BTW. Did you know painters and artists some times have muses? Frequently painters understand things differently from non-painters - I think the phenomena is referred to as inspiration by some. I could be wrong though. I knew a painter who... oh, never mind, that can be another post.

Christianity without tears.

But what if the soma doesn't work anymore?

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"Christianity without tears–that's what soma is."

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"But the tears are necessary. Don't you remember what Othello said? 'If after every tempest came such calms, may the winds blow till they have wakened death.' There's a story one of the old Indians used to tell us, about the Girl of Mátaski. The young men who wanted to marry her had to do a morning's hoeing in her garden. It seemed easy; but there were flies and mosquitoes, magic ones. Most of the young men simply couldn't stand the biting and stinging. But the one that could–he got the girl."

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"Charming! But in civilized countries," said the Controller, "you can have girls without hoeing for them, and there aren't any flies or mosquitoes to sting you. We got rid of them all centuries ago.

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"The Savage nodded, frowning. "You got rid of them. Yes, that's just like you. Getting rid of everything unpleasant instead of learning to put up with it. Whether 'tis better in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end them … But you don't do either. Neither suffer nor oppose. You just abolish the slings and arrows. It's too easy." - Brave New World. Thanks to Idle Speculations Blog

What would St. Peter say?

Huh?

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In encouraging the early Church, the first Pope wrote concerning St. Paul's writings; "Paul, our beloved brother, wrote you... in the spirit of wisdom that is his. There are certain passages in them hard to understand..." [2 Peter 2: 15-16]

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I have to wonder what he'd say about Benedict XVI's latest encyclical Caritas in veritate. Way over my head, beyond my pay grade, and all of that. I suppose it will foster new apostolates and new studies however - which means books, the lecture circuit, seminars - profit for those promoting what they think the Pope's message was all about. "What Does The Pope Really Say?"

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Kind of like TOB. Did you realize there are numerous blogs dedicated to TOB? Nothin' wrong with that. (Except maybe it's a cult? LOL! I still want an illustrated version...)

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Ka-ching.

My excellent Catholic adventure...

Sunday Mass.

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I attended early Mass this morning - but I will not tell you where and don't try to guess either.

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The parish has a deacon - I like deacons - especially when they wear dalmatics that match the priest's vestment - as they do there. The deacon acts with perfect decorum, and when he preaches, everything is good. He's very good. I appreciate married deacons very much.

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This morning the priest gave the homily. It also was good, he's very good. He's newly ordained. I remember once when I first met him and my coworker John and I - never mind.

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Anyway - he began Mass with an intro to the penitential rite mentioning the beautiful morning and directing our attention to God and what we were about to do. Forgive me for saying this but it seemed like an opening monologue one is accustomed to on television - Father was enthusiastic. He was very deliberate with pronunciation as well, adding much emphasis on various words of the prayer. He was connecting extremely well with the audience - err, congregation. Especially at the Eucharistic prayer. He's a good priest. Very sincere.

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So what's my point? Is something wrong with that, you ask? I'm not sure about training for priests, or exactly how it promotes presentation and communication skills with the assembly, but I know there is training for this. I know there is a big emphasis on engaging the assembly, inclusion and active participation - all of those buzz words. This morning Father got an A+ for his performance. Don't get me wrong - he said Mass prayerfully and devoutly and was yet able make eye contact with the worshippers. Nothing wrong with that, right?

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I don't know. It seems stagy to me - too much like a TV special, too much like a performance - too protestant. Some thing's off. Maybe it's just me. it could be that - I'll take the blame. I'll close my eyes or look down during Mass and try to participate recollectedly - oh right - I already do that. I'm going through the dark night maybe? Because I'm having a great deal of trouble with Sunday Mass extravaganzas. I've flat lined... I don't like watching the priest - and that is what one does when he is facing you. And you get distracted by how he looks, how he speaks, how he gestures: "Did he look at me just then? Remember when he was a seminarian and came in the store?" But wait a minute, wait a minute - Mass is so not supposed to be about the celebrant - right? (Maybe I'm wrong, so next time I'll wave back.) Seriously, it seems as if lately when I go to Mass, I fight and wrestle with these interior distractions, not to mention the stress and frustration I experience in trying to assist, to fully participate - and now it seems, just as soon as I receive Communion it is all over and Father is rattling off a litany of announcements.

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It is me, I know it. I'm an awful Catholic - I'm bad. I'm weak. I shouldn't say these things. It is my problem, why discuss it publicly? Perhaps, come fall, I will start going to St. Augustine's - the Extraordinary Form is celebrated there. I've come to the point where I think ad orientum is the way to go for Mass - I just do not need to make eye contact with the priest during the penitential rite or the Eucharistic prayer. I also think not ad-libbing or adding to the rite is better and more prayerful - it's more focused that way. I just don't know why priests have to add to the prayers of the Missal in the Ordinary Form - are the prayers wanting in some way?

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To be sure, I'm just grateful to be able to attend Mass at all, and to have so many churches to chose from. I pray for our priests and bishops.

St. Francis and the Mother Feast of Franciscans

The feast of pardon.

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This is the feast of the Mother Church of the Franciscan Order, the 'little prtion', or 'porziuncula', otherwise known as the Chapel of Our Lady of the Angels. St. Francis loved this little jewel of a Chapel, now enclosed in a huge Basilica in the valley below Assisi. I love this feast of Our Lady of the Angels!

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(Incidently, this feast is the patronal feast day of Los Angeles, which was named after the little chapel of St. Mary of the Angels, by the original Franciscan missionaries in Calfornia.)

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Art: St. Francis receiving the Great Pardon of Assisi.

Understanding chastisement...

"...that they may recognize that man is punished by the very things through which he sins." (Wisdom 11:17)

My Friday post...

Yesterday a friend sent me an email asking that I consider the veracity of Medjugorje in light of his following insight:

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"Those who have a problem with Medjugorje are definitely not Marian. If a person is Marian, not just a devout Catholic, then he would perceive Our Lady in a different way. Such persons wouldn't see any problem with the duration and frequency of the apparitions in Medjugorje. Try and be objective and tell me if you understand it the same way."

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My response:

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"I'm not sure about that. Devotion to Our Lady is integral to Catholic faith, but that does not oblige faith in apparitions. Consider the apparitions of Fatima - even the Popes were not obliged to heed Our Lady's warnings - indeed they did not - until one got shot and realized the prophecies were true."

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Luke 16:31: "But he said to him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.'"

Another sign of contradiction...

"The advent of a Universal Republic, which is longed for by all the worst elements of disorder, and confidently expected by them, is an idea which is now ripe for execution. From this republic, based on the principles of absolute equality of men and community of possessions, would be banished all national distinctions, nor in it would the authority of the father over his children, or of the public power over the citizens, or of God over human society, be any longer acknowledged. If these ideas are put into practice, there will inevitably follow a reign of unheard-of terror." — Pope Benedict XV, Bonum sane (motu proprio on Saint Joseph, July 25, 1920) - Source

Are we reaching the Omega Point soon?

Pope Benedict mentions Teilhard de Chardin.
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"Toward the end of a reflection upon the Letter to the Romans, in which St. Paul writes that the world itself will one day become a form of living worship, the pope said, "It's the great vision that later Teilhard de Chardin also had: At the end we will have a true cosmic liturgy, where the cosmos becomes a living host." - Source
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Teilhard is a popular guy amongst New Age mystics - the following is a sample of one of their prayers:
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"We reach towards the Omega Point with our hearts and minds. As we strive to create a more conscious, interconnected and harmonious society we are strengthened by Your love and wisdom. We recognize the potential for divinity in our fellow men, in nature and in the species that have gone before us. We revere the Filigree, Solarians and Ur-Mothers for showing us that the great goal of becoming a true body of Christ is possible. Help us make the right decisions to live our lives to the greatest good for our species, support us in times of doubt and trouble and grant us the love we feel for You." - From the prayerbooks of the Liberty chapter of the Association of the Faithful of St. Teilhard.
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Whatever works I guess.

Lesbian stories.

Part funny, part serious.
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Okay. So Kat posted this photo with a First Communion related story dealing with her frustrations as a result of all the complications involved in arranging for her son's First Communion t her parish. My use of the photo has nothing to do with her post, nor did the following possibly inappropriate comment I left...
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This may be a little off-topic but did I ever tell you about my sister's co-worker who happened to be a dwarf (and a lesbian) and asked Beth - that's my sister - if she would let she and her lover, who was also a dwarf, borrow her twins' Communion dresses and veils because they were going to Vermont to get married? Beth told her no because the dresses couldn't be let out that much, but she (Beth) told her they could use the cake toppers if they wanted. (Your photo reminded me of the story.) - my comment at Crescat
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I know! I thought it was a funny story - and it wasn't that off-topic, was it? (Don't answer that.)
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Vowed friendship.
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Seriously now - since you brought it up, this post deals with another one I stumbled upon at a lesbian Catholic's blog late last night - why I read her I have no idea. She did a post about 'vowed friendship' for same sex couples - all chaste and celibate of course, I guess..., I don't really know. It certainly sounds like a proposal for a variation on gay marriage to me - this from a woman who once wrote she isn't interested in finding out what made her gay - she just is. (Not an exact quote BTW.) In other words, it's just fine with her to identify as gay - at least that is what I take from her. It is like the priest who tells his gay penitents that he is SSA too - same sex attracted. (In his case, it's probably empathy gone wrong.)
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Don't misunderstand me, people can identify themselves in any way they wish, but I think the Catholic penitent needs to move beyond such labels and identity and take his/her place as the woman or man God created them to be, especially if they are presenting their lives as a witness to Catholic faith and teaching on sexual morals. People disagree with me on this issue all of the time, but it is not impossible to do. Therefore if the idea of vowed friendship (a concept adapted from Victorian or even medieval times) were to take hold, I'm convinced it could only be understood as affirming or blessing a same sex relationship in an extraordinary way. And to what purpose? One must remember the gay mystique is all about the extraordinary, the unique, the special, the queer... it is a symptom of the disorder.
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It seems to me that many "Catholic" gays who appear to advocate celibacy and chastity in accord with Church teaching, also seem to desire recognition and affirmation of their very existence as gay, as same sex attracted, or (rarely) homosexually inclined - to use a few popular terms. Perhaps it is not wrong in itself that persons with deep seated homosexual inclination are convinced their sexual orientation defines who they are, therefore as the catechism teaches, "They must be accepted with respect, compassion , and sensitivity." (CCC 2358) Nevertheless, I think the push is on for more.
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Acceptance, respect, compassion, and sensitivity.
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Making friendship a sacramental, binding it by a vow would oblige the Church to move beyond acceptance into the position of affirmation and recognition of same sex unions. Historical revisionists have claimed new scholarship demonstrates that the early Church administered blessings of same sex unions, or recognized some form of filial adoption as an alternative to marriage, just as they have claimed the early Church ordained women. Such claims are distortions of the truth.
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Now it is true that a person with homosexual inclination is not required to seek to change his or her sexual orientation, but simply to abstain from homosexual activity as well as the promotion of the lifestyle; nevertheless as one grows in grace and understanding, a person can experience freedom from the homosexual identity. That said, the ascesis of leaving homosexuality is geared toward sanctity of life, in other words, the person with homosexual inclination is called to holiness, which necessarily includes the virtue of chastity. Same sex friendships are not excluded of course, even particular friendship in the case of lay people, in fact they may be necessary, but they must be chaste and celibate and properly ordered to the will of God. (Inordinate affection and emotional codependency necessarily mortified of course.)
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Everyone, no matter who they are, must try with all of their might to deeply comprehend what our Lord meant when he taught, "If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny his very self, take up his cross and follow me. For he who would save his life shall lose it, but he who loses it for me shall gain it." (Mk. 8:34-35)
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It is difficult for us in this day and age of rights and entitlements to grasp this teaching, "deny his very self". I think of St. John's pleading remarks; "Oh, who can make this counsel of our Saviour understandable, and practicable...? Oh, who can explain the extent of the denial our Lord wishes of us!" (Ascent Bk. II 7:5-6)
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Beware of compromise... "selling your birthright for a meal" (Hebrews 12:16)

Novus Ordo Seclorum...

I KNOW!

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I'm kinda, sorta beginning to know how Robert Langdon felt... I came across this site called Sinister Sites - yes, H/T to old Spirit Daily. Actually the memorial architecture displayed on the site is generally wonderful as is the art, although the author points out the Masonic implications and hidden symbolism behind it all. Is it real or is it theory? I kinda, sorta think it could be real. Check out the site for yourself - some of the architecture is great - and the theory somewhat convincing. (See Cath - I know how to spell it.)

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While we are on the subject however, look at the image I lifted from the site - doesn't it remind you of the two pillars in the vision of Don Bosco? Oh! Oh! Look at the ladder in the image - does it not so look like that one Catholic church with the stairway in the sanctuary in Crescat's ugly church contest?

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If you look at another photo on the site, you see the interior of a Masonic temple, the altar looks exactly like the people's altar one sees in Novus Ordo Catholic Churches... what's that all about?

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Oh! And get this:

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“In the event that I am reincarnated, I would like to return as a deadly virus, in order to contribute something to solve overpopulation.” -Prince Philip (Do you think he had Princess Diana murdered? Just wondering. What a queer thing for PP to say - aren't the royals kind of a virus already? Sorry - my mistake, I think they are referred to as parasites.)

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Anyway. The author discusses the Masonic/Illuminati agenda throughout the post - especially the motivations of the ruling elite, appealing to the sensibilities of the new urban elite in Western culture...

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"The elite are into eugenics, planned parenthood and other (more extreme) ways to reduce the world population. It is important to understand the state of mind of those people and the way they are reasoning before analyzing their symbols. Other researchers who have studied occult memorials have concluded that these structures actually celebrate the ritual sacrifice of these people for the elite, the “illuminated”. The presence of ancient pagan symbols such as phallic and yonic shapes, mixed with emblems of western occultism are very recognizable signatures of Illuminati architecture. When one is aware of the culture of death that is cultivated in the higher level of the occult orders, one sees the real meaning of the National Memorial. It is saying: “These people died to serve our interests.” - Sinister Sites

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Maybe because I'm reading the Weakland memoirs (I take long breaks from it), or reading odd blogs - but it makes one wonder, doesn't it? What's going on? The Novus Ordo... the Pope's encyclical on Novus Ordo Seclorum and Marxist/Socialist economy, and Barack and Skip Gates horsing around with Rachel Tenshun, and Hilary wearing that sling with the seal of the U.S., and Bishop L. had his reception in a Masonic Lodge when he was first made a bishop, and remember that famous Archbishop who allowed a transsexual to be a nun and then dismissed her under pressure, oh - and the military is planning for martial law during the H1N1 pandemic, and, and, and... Sarah Palin may run for president!

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OMIGOSH! I'm screaming in terror! It's all simply much too much! Much too much!

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(See, and yet not a word about the homosexual menace!)

Whitey

You will not fear the terror of the night

nor the arrow that flies by day. Psalm 90

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In the monastery we sang psalm 90 every night at Compline - it is one of my favorite psalms and always evokes a variety of emotions in me. I've often connected it to death and dying and still do to some extent - perhaps because it was recited at the end of the day.

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After a restless night, I prayed the psalm once again this morning. The terror of the night... People sometimes mistake such existential fears for the mystical night John of the Cross and other spiritual masters write about. Perhaps they can be likened to such experiences, although I consider that notion personally rather unrealistic. Grasping the reality of life and death - indeed, grappling with it, can be terrifying all by itself - even for the person of faith.

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Recall Therese of Lisieux who warned her sisters to keep medicines far away from the dying lest they succumb to temptation and attempt suicide. I thought of this after reading a comment from Melody to my post yesterday on euthanasia and assisted suicide. I will reprint her comment here since it speaks well to the end of life dangers the lonely elderly or disabled may face.

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The support of family and friends.
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My mother-in-law passed away earlier this year. Her last weeks were filled with suffering. I lost count of the times she said, "I wish God would just take me." She had signed a "no-code", and we were all in agreement that no extraordinary means would be employed. But she didn't mean that she wanted another human being to end her life. I am afraid that if the euthanasia option were readily available, a lot of terminally ill people wouldn't have the strength to resist the temptation, especially if they were suffering. And their families might think they were doing a kindness.

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I should add that when the time came, my mother-in-law slipped away peacefully. Most of the family members whom we have lost have died in peace (the only one who didn't ended his own life). It's just the time leading up to death which has been very difficult. The temptation would be very great to expedite matters; I don't think we want to go down that road. - Melody

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Melody's comment reminded me of the deaths I've witnessed over the years. I remember my mom one day telling the nurse in hospice, "I keep trying to die, I just don't know how to do it." I now understand that if assisted suicide were available, in her state she may have welcomed it. Another friend's mother cried out to me the night she was dying, "Terry, can't you do anything?" She may have asked me that because she knew I was praying for her and that I was religious - which turned out to be little consolation for the poor lady in her moment of distress. Likewise, as my brother struggled during his last days he told me - "I'm scared to die." Almost glibly I told him not to be, that purgatory wouldn't be that bad. My assurances couldn't console him... All I could do was to be near him, promising I would pray for him and have Masses offered for him after death - yet it only quieted him - which in turn helped to relieve my own sense of helplessness.

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I've been with others who have died as well. I can see now how each could have been inclined, even convinced to accept some sort of potion to alleviate their pain, and above all, their terror, perhaps in a cocktail mix permitting them to slip away. People without faith or an understanding of suffering may be particularly vulnerable, especially if they feel themselves to be dying alone, without friends or family nearby, and no religious support... just clinicians working the night shift, surfing the Internet, listening to i-tunes or busy texting their time away. I've seen such employees even in Catholic health care facilities. And unfortunately, Catholic health care is disappearing.

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The Canadian bishops are just now urging Catholics to prepare for the upcoming battle against euthanasia and assisted suicide. Albeit rather late - we need to do the same.

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It's not like we didn't know all of this was coming however - JPII consistently warned about it, while any reasonable person ought to have known legalized abortion prepared the way for it.

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From the womb to the tomb.

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"The close connection which exists, in mentality, between the practice of contraception and that of abortion is becoming increasingly obvious. It is being demonstrated in an alarming way by the development of chemical products, intrauterine devices and vaccines which, distributed with the same ease as contraceptives, really act as abortifacients in the very early stages of the development of the life of the new human being.

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...the point has been reached where the most basic care, even nourishment, is denied to babies born with serious handicaps or illnesses. The contemporary scene, moreover, is becoming even more alarming by reason of the proposals, advanced here and there, to justify even infanticide, following the same arguments used to justify the right to abortion. In this way, we revert to a state of barbarism which one hoped had been left behind forever.

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15. Threats which are no less serious hang over the incurably ill and the dying. In a social and cultural context which makes it more difficult to face and accept suffering, the temptation becomes all the greater to resolve the problem of suffering by eliminating it at the root, by hastening death so that it occurs at the moment considered most suitable."

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No one, however, can arbitrarily choose whether to live or die; the absolute master of such a decision is the Creator alone, in whom "we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28). - Evangelium vitae

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"It is the Lord who will free you from the snare

of the fowler who seeks to destroy you..." - Psalm 90

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Link:
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International Taask force on Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide

Midsummer craft project.

Re-thatching a nesting platform, or what to do with spent Hosta stems.
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Midsummer is a time for trimming the hedge, deadheading flowers, and harvesting vegetables. It is also a good time to re-thatch one's roof - imagine a hearty Julia Child laugh right now.
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I cut up the stems of the Hosta flowers that I had cut back and use them to re-thatch the roof of the nesting platform I keep as Our Lady's shrine. Then I take the twigs from my hedge pruning, split them in two, and nail them in place to secure the reeds tightly. The photos are self-explanatory.
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Each winter the birds and Mr. Squirrel pull the dried thatch out, requiring that I repeat the process the next summer. It only takes about 20 minutes to do.

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(The statue is wood and has been with me for 30 years - always outside in some sort of shrine, this year squirrel is throwing her out so I will replace the figure with another that the critters can not chew on. BTW - that is me in the last photo. You can see my big toe if you look closely.)

Dear Abbey

No shoes, no shirts, no Communion.

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I don't know why I didn't think of this before - but when blogging becomes a problem I think I'll do a Dear Abbey column. Send me questions - as you always do - and this time I may answer some of them. The following is a variation on a frequently asked question concerning appropriate attire for Mass:

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Dear Terry - err Abbey,

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My friend and I go running every Sunday morning and stop at the Cathedral for the earliest Mass on our run by. During the summer my friend insists we wear t-shirts if we are stopping in - we have on running shorts of course - nevertheless people stare at us even though we sit off to the side and in the back. This is the best time for us to attend Mass - is our attire inappropriate? Should we skip Mass rather than attend in our running clothes? The Romans who converted to Christianity must have worn togas to Mass - that's kind of a joke - but I've seen photos of mountaineers in their gear assisting at Mass - isn't our condition similar?

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Signed,

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Don Sichspaque.

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Dear Don,

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I'm no authority so my comments are simply my POV - always ask your priest for direction and questions regarding the faith. Until you do however, let me say right off I think it is wonderful that you and your friend consider it so important to attend Mass on Sunday - in a time when so many people do not. Although to some it may seem you are squeezing it in, I suspect you attend Mass more out of devotion than a sense of obligation, which is also to be commended.

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That said, if you assist at Mass attentively and devoutly I personally see nothing wrong with how you are dressed, as long as you are covered, and the running clothes were an exception - not your regular habit. Of course many people will disagree with me on that one, and they really do have a point.

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I gotta say, I like your toga excuse though - I used it myself when I'd go to Mass wearing shorts - but it doesn't fly in our culture - even though everyone seems to wear shorts - they just don't cut it for formal occasions. Formal dress is not required at Mass of course, but being suitably covered is - for the sake of modesty and respect for the presence of God. In fact, even if one is just making a visit to the Blessed Sacrament or dropping in to light a candle, a runner or biker should always have a shirt on over his shorts - church is not clothing optional.

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In warmer climates and throughout the summer women and men do attend Mass wearing shorts in the US, and if they are modest, it doesn't bother me. But it is not up to me either - it is up to the priest to enforce dress code, albeit difficult to do with vacationing visitors. As many people know, raincoats are handed out to immodestly dressed tourists at St. Peter's in Rome, but Americans resent authority far too much to put up with that practice here.

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So anyway, to answer your main question while ignoring all the other issues it raises, it would be better for you and your friend to at least wear long pants and a shirt to Mass, and maybe postpone your run. Readjust your schedule - perhaps you could even attend Mass the evening before or later in the day on Sunday.

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Incidentally, I think I saw the two of you that one really hot Sunday when you weren't wearing shirts, outside doing your stretches on the Dayton side of the church - I'm glad you didn't go in undressed like that.

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Keep the faith buddy!

Nothing to blog about.

Sunny days are distracting.

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I surfed the net after Mass this morning, I found nothing interesting enough to post about. I ended my search by saying, "Why bother?" And, "Who cares?" Is that apathy or just blogger burn out? Perhaps it is sloth? Or maybe it is rancor? It feels like rancor. I feel rancorous at some of the news stories I read, and some of the blog posts I skim through. Rancor stems from envy. Am I envious? Envy often shares her disposition with anger, and both are rooted in pride. These are sins you know.

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But wait a minute, wait a minute! Snap out of it! No one said I have to write or comment about anything. So I don't feel like blogging and the Internet bores me today, yesterday - and maybe tomorrow. That is okay.

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Although I want to say something about the sins I just mentioned. Feelings are not sins - if I feel those things; rancor, anger, envy, etc., it is not a sin. If I do not consent, if I do not harbor such thoughts, and especially if I do not act upon these temptations - it is not a sin. One does penance and practices mortification by the self-denial it requires in not acting upon these dispositions and bad humors. And that is misery's silver lining.

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Which means I will not say anything about the load of crap I just read on that last blog post! ;)