Daylight Saving Time ....

Set your clocks ahead and save the world.  

Oh, wait.

Dr. Joseph Nicolosi RIP

Joseph Nicolosi

+Prayers for the repose of his soul and prayers for the consolation of the Nicolosi family.+

Linda Nicolosi, Joe's lifelong collaborator and also his wife of 39 years, is grateful for everyone's prayers and words of appreciation and has shared these words: 

"Joe was certainly a larger-than-life, one-of-a-kind guy. Never worried about political correctness, he was happy to swim against the cultural tide when he was sure the culture was going in the wrong direction. That got him into trouble quite a few times. Gay-activist web sites, for example, are still fond of quoting the occasional risqué jokes he made during his life in the public eye, and of showing and re-showing him tossing a mic back at a rude TV interviewer. But Joe had ardent convictions about the truth of male and female design, and because of his conviction and courage, his awareness that he would face biased reporters didn't stop him from appearing on Oprah Winfrey, Larry King Live, Hannity and Colmes, O'Reilly Factor, 20/20, Dr. Phil, BBC News, etc. 

Dr. Nicolosi had always hoped for his legacy as the creator of Reparative Therapy to go on. His career was dedicated to helping people align their lives with their deeply held convictions. Anyone, he stressed, is free to live his life as gay; but we are inevitably gendered beings, and our fullest humanity calls us to live out our biological design." - Facebook

What a shock for his wife Linda and their son.  My deepest sympathy.

I was surprised by the mean spirited comments left on the Facebook page.

There were aspects of Nicolosi's thought I would have to disagree with, but generally his research into the nature and causes of male homosexuality has been helpful for many, including myself.  LGBT activists are vehemently against any type of Reparative Therapy, pretty much based upon horrible attempts to eradicate homosexual inclination in the past - and in the present, as evidenced by ABC Brian Ross's report on Conversion Therapy, part of which I caught on Night Line last night.  I also understand families do send unwilling individuals into such therapy, perhaps causing even more psychological damage.  

I may be wrong, but I was always under the impression that Nicolosi accepted the fact that many are neither interested in, nor willing to change, while some may not be able to do so, especially adults who have lived or identified with gay culture most of their lives.  Nevertheless, I believe his research has helped such individuals who were unhappy with their sexual orientation, to understand themselves better, and to help them recognize the psychological motivations of their individual homosexual experience.  Such self-knowledge helped many to integrate themselves into the Church, especially withing the context of a Catholic community (parish).  I believe his work has been helpful in pastoral care as well - with the understanding his work should not be taken as the sole authority when it comes to ministering to gay people.  The response to the news of his death should make that very clear.  

I will admit I know little about NARTH, but most everything I've read by Dr. Nicolosi is certainly worthy of consideration in how Catholics respond to the issues related to homosexuality - especially those who wish to live faithful, chaste lives in accord with Catholic teaching.  Catholic teaching does not insist that a person go into therapy, or seek Reparative Therapy to change what he perceives to be his sexual orientation, but rather to live a chaste and holy life according to his station in life.  It's the same for unmarried men and women.  I believe it is the wrong focus to attempt to 'pray away the gay' or throw all of one's energies into changing so-called sexual orientation.

I personally believe that unless an individual is highly motivated to change, any form of Reparative Therapy with an expectation to suddenly be straight or free of homosexual temptation, can drive gay people away from the Church, and more specifically the Sacraments, not to mention cause greater psychological and moral harm.  I am also opposed to recommending gay people require therapy, especially that type which they may not want, and/or may not be able to afford, much less have the insurance to cover the expenses of such treatment.  I believe a devout life and the Sacraments are enough for salvation. 

People driving you crazy?

Ecce Homo ... Homo homini lupus est

Embrace your homophobia.

It's the counter-cultural thing to do.

It seems I've gone for weeks without writing about homosexual stuff - LGBTQ topics are all over Catholic social media today - why?  Like I always say, I hate writing about this stuff - if you leave something behind you, why keep looking back?  Remember Lot's wife, and all of that.  Unlike the Israelites in the desert, I don't look back with longing, quite the contrary.  Internalized homophobia?  That's what 'they' call it - yet I call it repentance, contrition, and conversion.  If that's homophobia, I gladly embrace it.

What I'm not phobic about is murals in Cathedrals, or gay bishops suggesting the Church change her teachings, or crazy bloggers screaming "FAGGOTS" as some sort of doomsday threat against the papacy, and I'm not even scared by people like feminist Camille Paglia citing the collapse of Western Civilization because LGB's embraced the T's and G's as part of their social-reconstruction-equality program.  I'm so scared!  Not.

What I do hate is what Austin Ruse revealed today ... I haven't vetted it, but I trust Ruse and his professional reputation.  He knows what he talking about.  Sometimes I disagree with his tone or repeated criticism of those who criticize him - that's not important.  Today just one thing in his essay at Crisis struck me as revolting and on some level - criminal - as it applies to grooming youth to embrace homosexuality, or to be more exact, sodomy.  It is, in my opinion a sexual  behavior or practice to fear and hate - or more precisely, to be phobic about.

The quite remarkable thing that has happened is they are now willing to talk openly about their way of life. The execrable but nonetheless mainstream gay publication Advocate published a story—by a doctor no less—teaching youngsters how to train their bodies for sodomy. It makes for truly gruesome reading.

He writes, “I often tell patients that great bottoms have been doing it for quite some time, with many first experiencing it in their youth. Unfortunately, no one showed us the right way to bottom in our high school sexual education class. Still, it’s never too late to learn, and we all enjoy new and positive sexual experiences. Here’s my 101 guide to bottoming…”

The publication also ran a piece on how gay men should have regular pap smears for their backsides. Now, these pieces will not be seen outside the homosexual bubble, but even more out in the open are two shocking and revealing pieces just published in the more mainstream Huffington Post. - Crisis

There is nothing generative, nurturing, or loving about sodomy.  Call me homophobic - I'm fine with that.

Transgender issues are not new - the Church has simply ignored the complexities of the phenomena for decades.

Whenever I paint the Holy Face ...

Holy Face 

T. Nelson

I mix a tiny bit of my blood in the paint ...

I always tend to cut myself when I do art and craft projects, and when I do, I drip a bit of blood on images of the passion of Christ.  Just a little.  It dries brown.  One painting even has some hairs from my beard embedded. Once, doing a wood cut and printing it on linen and silk, I cut myself really bad and most of the pigment is my blood.    I still have the block and perhaps on a very hot day, I can use my sweat to do a print - just to see if aging in the sun would cause it to discolor and leave an imprint?

So anyway.  Must get busy painting the icon I'm working on. 

LifeSiteNews offers a correction ...

For the fake news report:

March 6, 2017 (LifeSiteNews) – On March 3, LifeSite published an article originally titled: “'Pope Francis has urged us to have fewer children,' claims Vatican academy member.” That article misquoted botanist and environmentalist Peter Raven, who was reported to have said at a Vatican press conference that, “Pope Francis has urged us to have fewer children to make the world more sustainable.” After reviewing audio recordings of the press conference, LifeSite has amended the story to accurately reflect Raven’s words.

What he actually said was, "We need at some point to have a limited number of people which is why Pope Francis and his three most recent predecessors have always argued that you should not have more children than you can bring up properly."

LifeSite sincerely regrets the error and has taken steps to ensure that similar errors do not occur in future. LifeSite places a very high priority on accuracy in reporting and this error violated that constant standard.

Now, will everyone else offer their corrections and make amends?  Canon 212?  Pewsitters?  Rorate?  One Peter Five?  Vox Cantoris?  LarryD? Kellyanne Conway? President Trump?

CIA uses techniques to make cyber attacks

look like they originated from enemy state.

Lent with style ...

Stylite style...

St. Alypius, Stylite

St. David and Simeon

Stylite tower in Jordan.

The reason this type of extreme asceticism died out is that monks didn't want be put on a pedestal.

ba-da-bing!

Ricardo Cinalli's Cathedral Fresco.

-source-

The 'Heavenly Jerusalem' detail just may be a bigger problem than the nudity and homoerotic subtext.

Someone on Facebook pointed out to me the inclusion of minarets in the scene.  Not that Muslims can't go to heaven ...  but the ecclesiology seems to be a bit off here.  At least something about it is hetero - albeit heterodox.  What?

I wish someone like Elizabeth Lev would critique the mural.  I'm not satisfied with the artist's narrative.  It would be nice if Archbishop Paglia would offer some catechesis on the composition as well.

As a work of art - I like it.

Looks okay to me.

Devout Catholics want to get rid of the Pope? Really?

Some say.

Some say some Cardinals do...

The report is considered valid, having been first reported by prominent Catholic journalist and Vatican expert Antonio Socci for the Italian newspaper Liberio. His report was quoted as saying that about a dozen of the cardinals who voted for Pope Francis are convincing him to retire. - Source

Some say, "It is time to stop pretending that everything is alright and to choose which side you are on."

Works for me.

I'm Catholic and Francis is my pope.

Mass Chat: First Sunday in Lent

Saturday Detention: Erotic Art in the Cathedral.

Fresco in Cathedral church of the Diocese of Terni-Narni-Amelia

depicts Jesus lifting nets full of prostitutes, 

homosexuals, and other lascivious characters, into heaven.

Theology of the Body Studies.

The work is incredible - I like it very much - but of course, I paint, and I'm a bit more open to such things.  That said, it's pretty gay, and I expect many will be disturbed by the content.  "Erotic" content, as the artist pointed out: “In this case, there was not – in this sense – a sexual intention, but erotic, yes,” said Cinalli. “I think that the erotic aspect is the most notable among the people inside the nets.”

The Lifesite article pretty much emphasizes the homosexuality of the Argentine artist Ricardo Cinalli commissioned by Bishop Paglia and Fr. Fabio Leonardis to do the mural.  Cinalli explains that he was guided at every step by the two priests, saying: “There was no detail that was done freely, at random. Everything was analyzed. Everything was discussed. They never allowed me to work on my own.”

That would drive me nuts.  The artist deserves time off purgatory for having endured that.

Detail

The angels are kind of skinhead looking.

Lifesite also seems to suggest something queer about Paglia and Leonardis.  I can see why, yet the composition is nonetheless very compelling - Christ rescuing sinners - as Today's Gospel of the call of Matthew reminds us, "I have not come to call the righteous to repentance, but sinners."  The fresco is on the inner wall of the Cathedral's facade, so in some sense, one is leaving that sinful life behind as one approaches the sacraments.  Christ, the fisher of men, pulls in the nets of salvation - filled with sinners, including the bishop and the priest.  It's a stunning allegory, very much in accord with the concept of mercy, going out to the peripheries, as proclaimed by the Franciscan papacy.

I don't see it as something scandalous, though I can understand while some who believe the Church is being undermined by homosexuals, modernists, and liberals would be.  I think of the scandal the Sistine Chapel caused when it was first completed, because of the nudity and the churchmen depicted in hell, and so on.  I'm not sure that there is anything ideologically subversive in the Terni fresco, albeit disturbing for the 'erotic' content - not explicit of course - more at intent.  In Italian art there is a great deal of nudity, much of it in churches.  It too can be considered erotic.

Knowing a bit about art history might quell the fears of some who appear to be scandalized by the work.  The nudity in the work of Luca Signorelli's Orvieto frescoes comes to mind.  Critics point out that the model for Christ in the Terni fresco was a gay hairdresser.  So what?  Throughout history artists have used models of 'ill repute', therefore I don't understand the problem.  And who knows, maybe the gay hairdresser is a former homo - living a chaste and celibate life now?  The critics are also scandalized that 'Christ's private parts' can be seen through his clothing.  It's not as if we've never seen it before.  Fra Angelico did that too, along with many other painters throughout history.  In art, on one level at least, it demonstrates that Christ was truly man and truly God.

So anyway - I like the work - but it is a bit queer... not that there is anything wrong with that.

The only Catholic thing lacking is any reference to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

That's Fr. Fabio with the heart on.

H/T Dad29

I would rather lie abject on the threshold of the House of God ...

Than dwell in the tents of the wicked. - Ps. 84

What to do if a bear shows up ...

Henry Louis Gates ... for Lent.

PBS' "Africa's Great Civilizations"

If you get a chance to watch this, I encourage you to do so.  I love this guy - ever since Obama had him over for a beer with the cop who arrested him.  If it wasn't for Gates, I would never have been able to know the depth of my internal racism... I know, sounds like I've been brainwashed, but it's true.  I've always believed I wasn't really racist - but thanks (in part) to Gates and his excellent scholarship - I'm serious - I was able to recognize what I'd call an internalized cultural racism and prejudice towards black people who were more 'hip-hop' culturally.  (Not sure what the PC term would be.)  More importantly, Gates' work has given me a much greater respect and esteem for African peoples and their heritage.

That sounds a bit over the top I suppose, but I'm really grateful to him and media which gave him a voice outside of the academic realm.

My appreciation of African culture has been limited.  For instance, I've always been fascinated by Ethiopian culture and Orthodoxy, my first introduction was through their iconography and monasticism, yet the rest of African culture I was interested in only grabbed my attention from an European perspective, as it related to the missionary efforts of the Catholic Church.  I ignored the exploitation colonialism which exploited African natural resources and people.  Therefore, this PBS series by Gates is very informative.

This, rather, is the fasting that I wish:
   releasing those bound unjustly...

During the night, I reflected on the sad state of humanity - wondering how we can do this to one another, century after century; how could God tolerate it?  We ask those questions over and over throughout history, saying 'never again'!  Yet we ignore the horrible crimes committed against indigenous peoples of every nation.  We think God will intervene to punish or put an end to the atrocities associated with abortion, but he has allowed humanity to slaughter and kill, to exclude and subject entire nations, not only in Africa, but around the world.

Thus says the Lord GOD:
Cry out full-throated and unsparingly,
lift up your voice like a trumpet blast;
Tell my people their wickedness,
and the house of Jacob their sins.
They seek me day after day,
and desire to know my ways,
Like a nation that has done what is just
and not abandoned the law of their God;
They ask me to declare what is due them,
pleased to gain access to God.

Tell my people their wickedness,
   and the house of Jacob their sins...


Every day online you read someone on Facebook, or on their blog, bitching about Trump or the Pope, catching every single little (or big)  faux pas or misspeak.  Like we are so morally superior or correct about what is to be done or what should be corrected.  Over and over, repeated day in and day out, this harping on this or that - how can we even know the depth of our hypocrisy when our contempt for others blinds us?

"Why do we fast, and you do not see it?
afflict ourselves, and you take no note of it?"

Lo, on your fast day you carry out your own pursuits,
and drive all your laborers.
Yes, your fast ends in quarreling and fighting,
striking with wicked claw.
Would that today you might fast
so as to make your voice heard on high!
Is this the manner of fasting I wish,
of keeping a day of penance:
That a man bow his head like a reed
and lie in sackcloth and ashes?
Do you call this a fast,
a day acceptable to the LORD?
This, rather, is the fasting that I wish:
releasing those bound unjustly,
untying the thongs of the yoke;
Setting free the oppressed,
breaking every yoke;
Sharing your bread with the hungry,
sheltering the oppressed and the homeless;
Clothing the naked when you see them,
and not turning your back on your own.
Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,
and your wound shall quickly be healed;
Your vindication shall go before you,
and the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer,
you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am! - IS 58:1-9A

I know people do not like Gates and disagree with his historical research and conclusions, even the question of racism may be more complex and politically defined than many of us understand - so one needs to be alert to false narratives which claim everyone and all of Western culture is hopelessly racist.  Nevertheless, I appreciate the work of Henry Louis Gates and find it an important POV on African history.  So there.

So, what was really wrong with Baby Jane Hudson?

She was a drinker.

Unrelented Lent ...

Late yesterday I went to Mass at my parish.

I arrived early to pray.  The religious ed sister was rehearsing the child readers, the choir was practicing, and there was a lot of activity.  Normally I take that in stride, but yesterday it was like the rug was pulled out from under me spiritually.  I was crushed in spirit.  I prayed my rosary as best I could - respecting and accepting what was happening, all the time struggling against the temptation to leave, to just walk out.

By the time Mass started, the church was packed. I was surprised.  The children who did the readings did so very well - it wasn't a performance, they sounded like angels proclaiming the Word of God.  I felt completely immersed in the 'assembly' if you will - I felt I was truly a part of the congregation, repenting, seeking God's mercy, praying, worshiping, and so on.  After all the temptations not to be there, I felt I was in the heart of the Church.  Nothing outside could separate me from that experience.  It was unique.

Later in the evening, my temptations returned.  I recalled that something like this happened to me once before, and I fell away from the spiritual exercises and observances of my spiritual life.  At the time, I had been disappointed to learn a few spiritual persons whom I looked up to changed their lives, left their religious lives, and so on.  The effect was devastating to me at the time, these people were my spiritual guides and mentors in those days so soon after my return to the sacraments.  It was like I too lost the faith.

I felt that way yesterday.  It seemed to me I felt, or was in the same state as those Catholics who are fed up with those cardinals and bishops and theologians who appear to be teaching in error.  I wondered if this sudden loss of certitude and stability was perhaps similar to the experience of St. Therese when she felt herself to be seated at the table of sinners, sharing the lot of unbelievers ... hence my reference to the 'attraction of nihilism' in my post yesterday.

Long story short, I was praying through these thoughts when I concluded I needed to embrace that emptiness - while not leaving, not excusing myself from the 'heart of the Church' - the assembly, the parish.  I wish I had a better way to express that understanding - because there was something very profound about it.

Give up the Church for Lent.

I was thinking of attempting to write something 'deep' about this intuition, but then this morning, I came upon David Mills article in Aleteia - Give Up the Church For Lent.  He expresses the very same sentiments I was attempting to articulate.  An excerpt:

Hence my suggestion for Lent: Give up the Church. Not the Church as she comes to you, in the Mass, confession, adoration, prayer, devotion, and calendar, in the Blessed Virgin, St. Joseph, and the saints, and in her spiritual and theological works. I mean the Church as you see her when you see her from outside, as a thing, particularly as a battlefield or a political object, as a competition between good guys and bad guys.

We only have so much time and so much energy. We can only sustain so much indignation and outrage, and the time and energy we spend being upset is time and energy we drain from our interests and callings. Being upset is rarely fruitful and most often a waste of time and energies of which we are stewards. We need to use our time and energy better than many of us do.

Your feelings about the goings on in the Knights of Malta, or Cardinal Burke’s assignments, or the famous footnote in Amoris Laetitia and the Dubia, or the pope’s addresses, or the American bishops’ declarations on immigration, or Fr. James Martin, or whose feet are washed on Holy Thursday, or the extraordinary form, or church music, don’t matter. They don’t affect anything, especially not the decisions of the people who decide these things. Francis does not eagerly scan your Facebook page for instructions. Neither does Cardinal Burke.

Give up the Church for Lent. Don’t read the usual controversial websites. Don’t open the email messages from the friend who’s always sending stories of scandal and offense. Skim through Facebook and Twitter and skip over the items tempting you to jump into battle, and definitely don’t click on the links. - Aleteia

Works for me.

[I'm still keeping comments closed, which cuts down on internet time since I won't be checking for comments or email alerts.  How contemplative, huh?]

That's right - throw the bishop out with the bathwater.

  

Cocomotion ... Cardinal Coccopalmerio

I blame Cardinal Coccopalmerio.

I was going to do a post about some of his statements - before doing so I looked for a song for the post - Cocomotion.  Old disco.  I got distracted ...

I don't like what Cardinal Coccopalmerio says.  I don't like what a few other prelates are saying either.  

I don't understand what is going on in the Vatican.  

It is very unsettling, disturbing, and I must admit that I am scandalized.  

I see it as a temptation.  So I must pray.  

I don't think there is any Catholic online who knows what is happening.  Not one.  There is not one to help me.  Not one.

I'm closing comments.

Priest, prophet, forage in a land they know not.

I said in my alarm;

'no man can be trusted'

all have gone astray,

there is not a good man left -

there is no one who does good,

no, not even one. 

Song for this post here.

The attraction of nihilism ...

I should write about that.

Song for this post here... here... 

and here.

and here...

and here.

Lent is a time to repent and believe in the Gospel.

When no counsel, leads to comfort...

I think it may be easier to do that if I ignore what comes out of the Vatican and Vatican spokesmen.

Some things have been bothering me lately.  For instance, to suggest that couples living in sin should be admitted to Holy Communion, repeated by so many Churchmen, simply contradicts Catholic teaching.  It's not Catholic.

I say that after considering the life and repentance of St. Margaret of Cortona, in preparation for Lent.  It has troubled me, considering how Our Lord himself explained to St. Margaret the gravity of her sinful life, calling her lover 'the enemy of your salvation'.

While she was at prayer, Margaret heard our Lord make mention of the different stages of her vocation from its first beginning:

"My child," He said to her, "think on the manifold graces and lights with which I have endowed thy soul, in order to turn thee to Me. Think of how, on the death of the enemy of your salvation, overcome with sorrow, with downcast looks, bathed in tears, and clothed in black, you came in confusion to Laviano, to your father's house. Think of how, at the instigation of your stepmother, he altogether forgot fatherly compassion, and drove you from the house... - Life and Revelations

I need to look to the saints, to the penitents this Lent.  I need solid doctrine.

No more useless information ...

St. Alexis and St. Mary of Egypt,

pray for us.