Hi Folks
Well, this past week, the Vatican has given us what I promptly dubbed a one-two punch. (I know Fr. Eutenauer also used this, but I used it before I read his letter...honestly!).
First, last Saturday, the long-awaited motu proprio, Summorum Pontificum was issued by the Pope. The motu proprio is essentially a memo from the Pope's office. In this case we were informed that the Tridentine Latin Mass (TLM) as it is called by some, may be celebrated by any priest, with or without permission of the local Bishop.
This Mass is now to be referred to as the Extraordinary form of the Mass, with the New, or Novus Ordo, or Mass of Paul VI, being the Ordinary form.
While I am not on the front lines of liturgical comings and goings, I know how I, and many of my friends, felt about this announcement.
I was pleased, and I know many of my friends were, too, although a couple wondered what all the fuss was about!
Do I hanker for an extraordinary form of the Mass in my neighbourhood? It would probably surprise many of my friends to hear me say "not particularly". If a priest in this vicinity cares to celebrate such once in a while, I will likely come and see what it's like. If it becomes a regular weekday Mass, I would attend whenever possible.
I am too young to have any real experience with what I will call, for expediency, the TLM . I've been to one and it disappointed me. That said, I can find my way around the TLM reasonably well, due to my study of liturgical music and its historical forms. And I was fortunate enough to have taken two years of Latin in High School.
What I am hoping for is a greater exposure to Latin and to more classic forms of liturgical music. It is news to many that even we of the post-Vatican II, 'new Mass', era are supposed to (according to the SC, Sacrosanctum Concilium, a Vatican II document) be able to recite the prayers of the Mass in Latin. I can do a little. Most people I know can do less.
And don't get me started on liturgical music. THAT is for another day.
Another thing I hope for is that those who ache for the Mass they grew up with will once again have the comfort of the unchanging Church. And for the young folk who are willing to take the step of familiarizing themselves with the TLM, go for it! It was a sad thing that Vatican II was seen to create such a breach in Church history. The TLM leaves little room for liturgical abuse, as it has few, if any, options. THAT alone is a reason for many to hanker for it.
The fallacy that congregations of the TLM didn't know what was going on during Mass continues to be perpetrated by those against the use of Latin. First, missals with both Latin and the vernacular (local language) have been available for a long time. Secondly, many people in the time of the TLM were taught about liturgy in school! Thirdly, if we think exclusive use of the vernacular for the celebration of Mass has automatically boosted people's understanding of what is happening during Mass, we would be mistaken. I've been in catechetics too long to believe Latin was the only obstacle for understanding Mass. And finally, is understanding Mass a requirement for anything? There are many aspects to our faith the are and will remain a mystery, regardless of the language of presentation.
The other 'punch' was delivered a few days later from the offices of the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith (CDF). Pope Benedict, as Cardinal Ratzinger, was head of this congregation before his election to Pope.
We Catholics have been told, on no uncertain terms, what our relationship with Protestants is. We have been told that their denominations are "defective". Ouch! That is a harsh word. But really, we have been told repeatedly in encyclicals, in the Catechism of the Catholic Church and in other places and times that the Catholic Church is the only Church founded by Christ, and the only Church that contains the fullness of Truth. Perhaps the strong language was used because all the kinder, gentler more politically correct words had been used up...and we weren't getting the message being extended.
Does this change the drive for Ecumenism? Not at all. It just reminds us of what we should have known all along. In the "ecumania", as an email friend of mine labelled it, started after Vatican II, most have lost sight of the goal, which is leading all to the complete Truth. What we had instead was a seeking of the lowest common denominator. Sure, we all know Jesus is Lord, and the God Loves Us. Most of us can recite the Lord's Prayer together. Some of us can recite the Liturgy of the Hours together. A very few of us can pray the Rosary together.
Many believe that 'real' ecumenism (and I believed this myself at one time) included ALL faiths, even those outside the umbrella of Christianity.
At the same time as all are gushing about ecumenism, many denominations (and by this I mean only Reformation churches and other Protestant groups. Catholicism is not a denomination) are gleefully scooping poorly formed Catholics into their folds, to feed on their ignorance and grow fat on their need to feel good.
There are many poorly formed Catholics. Changing Mass to vernacular languages didn't help that at all. Since Vatican II, few Catholics have been well formed in the basic tenets and requirements of the Faith. This has made us sitting ducks for congregations and denominations that make us feel good, and tell us what we want to hear. This happens within both Catholic and Protestant circles.
My personal feeling is that there is a very cozy place in Hell for Catholic teachers, be they priests, catechists, liturgists, parents or anyone else, who deliberately misrepresents Catholicism to make something relevant or to simply make someone feel good. How is endangering someone's immortal soul by lying to them a loving thing to do? Short term comfort could lead to long term, nay eternal, agony.
So, is pretending that ecumenism extends no farther than shared bowling matches and potlucks and singing Kumbaya a loving thing to do? Is telling members of the denominations that as long as they love Jesus and are good people they'll go to heaven, love? I do not see how it could be. We could be hanging a millstone around our own necks while we manage to tickle each others' ears with words of comfort alone, when what is needed is words of Truth.
I will add a word about our Jewish brethren. There has been a fear that increased use of the 'old' Mass, with its prayer for the conversion of the Jews will set back Jewish/Christian relations. Much of what I've said about applies to this situation as well.
A few years back, a group of American Bishops issued a document stating that the conversion of the Jews is not necessary for their salvation. This group rejected any further efforts on behalf of Christians to work toward this conversion.
This document was criticized from some high places. It is not considered representative of Church teaching.
So why are Jews surprised that prayers for their conversion should re-appear in the Mass?
It will be interesting to see the result of these two documents. There are already Catholics apologizing for the Church. They'd be the poorly formed ones who thought that the Church ever said anything different than what has been strongly stated this week.
I pray that wisdom and charity and God's will prevail.
God Bless
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Reply to Coren/Blizzard Debate
Happy Pentecost
Recently, my attention was brought to a debate in the Ottawa Sun between Christina Blizzard and Michael Coren, both columnists with the Sun. Christina is Anglican and Michael, Roman Catholic.
The debate was over the treatment of "gay unions" by the Catholic Church and by the Anglican denomination. The debate itself I have not figured out how to import to this blog, but I would like to share my husband's response to the article. Thus:
Interesting debate... only so much as it epitomizes the complete lack of clarity within the Anglican position.
As M Coren says, the Anglican Church is a church that is in complete decline. God tends to excuse himself from institutions that become completely "man-centric" - and without God, religions tend towards despondancy and irrelevance.
And that tends to illuminate precisely the problem with this debate on a global scale. The Catholic Church (others as well, but really the Catholic Church's position is the most clear) continuously precepts this debate from the perspective of a sovereign God, and illuminates the debate with its understanding of God's dominion over all of creation (man proposes - God disposes). The Anglican Church presents the argument from a man centric position... Man being, unfortunately, the only thing it believes in any more.
Wouldn't it be nice if we could just forget about the Word of God and just reinvent ourselves in our own image? Pretend that God does not exist and recreate the world as we see fit. But, and I say this as someone who has known and quite liked several gay people, we are not God. God does exist and God does, in fact, consider homosexuality a sin. God will not tolerate sin to be condoned and the Church as God's witness to the world must therefore not condone it.
And so they rejoinder with those very tired attacks on the "Church"... "blah blah blah, pedophile priests..blah blah blah". M. Coren's response was very precise here as well. As an institution (a corporate entity) the Church did not respond very well to individual cases. But as he said, neither did any of the other institutions of man when confronted with the same problem (school boards were just as bad at simply reassigning the "problem").
To be fair, maybe one should have expected better from churches but we weren't. So what!?! That a thousand sins might be committed or one sin committed a thousand times does not make the sin any less a sin. In fact, the fact that even priests can succumb to sin only emphasizes why the Church must stand so firmly in its resolve to "admonish the sinner" with love but "flee from sin" itself.
Anglicans (and others in this frame of mind) love to quote Jesus from John 15:17. They forget, however, that this is the culmination of a discourse that starts back in John 13:34 where Jesus clarifies the statement "a new commandment that I give you, that you love one another, EVEN AS I HAVE LOVED YOU...". So how did Jesus love them? Did he "just accept them as they were"? Did he leave them where he found them? Jesus Christ, the very Word of God himself... let people continue in their sin because he loved them? No!! His words to the prostitute in the temple resound down through the centuries... "neither do I condemn you (exclude you, hate you etc.), GO AND SIN NO MORE". Why "go and sin no more"? Because in our sin we condemn ourselves!!! The message of love in its proper context is "stop doing that which condemns you to an eternity separated from God". And that is the love that Jesus commanded his followers to pursue. And it is that love that the Church (the one, holy and apostolic Church) voices even today.
Faith liberates reason from its blind spots - Pope Benedict XVI
Recently, my attention was brought to a debate in the Ottawa Sun between Christina Blizzard and Michael Coren, both columnists with the Sun. Christina is Anglican and Michael, Roman Catholic.
The debate was over the treatment of "gay unions" by the Catholic Church and by the Anglican denomination. The debate itself I have not figured out how to import to this blog, but I would like to share my husband's response to the article. Thus:
Interesting debate... only so much as it epitomizes the complete lack of clarity within the Anglican position.
As M Coren says, the Anglican Church is a church that is in complete decline. God tends to excuse himself from institutions that become completely "man-centric" - and without God, religions tend towards despondancy and irrelevance.
And that tends to illuminate precisely the problem with this debate on a global scale. The Catholic Church (others as well, but really the Catholic Church's position is the most clear) continuously precepts this debate from the perspective of a sovereign God, and illuminates the debate with its understanding of God's dominion over all of creation (man proposes - God disposes). The Anglican Church presents the argument from a man centric position... Man being, unfortunately, the only thing it believes in any more.
Wouldn't it be nice if we could just forget about the Word of God and just reinvent ourselves in our own image? Pretend that God does not exist and recreate the world as we see fit. But, and I say this as someone who has known and quite liked several gay people, we are not God. God does exist and God does, in fact, consider homosexuality a sin. God will not tolerate sin to be condoned and the Church as God's witness to the world must therefore not condone it.
And so they rejoinder with those very tired attacks on the "Church"... "blah blah blah, pedophile priests..blah blah blah". M. Coren's response was very precise here as well. As an institution (a corporate entity) the Church did not respond very well to individual cases. But as he said, neither did any of the other institutions of man when confronted with the same problem (school boards were just as bad at simply reassigning the "problem").
To be fair, maybe one should have expected better from churches but we weren't. So what!?! That a thousand sins might be committed or one sin committed a thousand times does not make the sin any less a sin. In fact, the fact that even priests can succumb to sin only emphasizes why the Church must stand so firmly in its resolve to "admonish the sinner" with love but "flee from sin" itself.
Anglicans (and others in this frame of mind) love to quote Jesus from John 15:17. They forget, however, that this is the culmination of a discourse that starts back in John 13:34 where Jesus clarifies the statement "a new commandment that I give you, that you love one another, EVEN AS I HAVE LOVED YOU...". So how did Jesus love them? Did he "just accept them as they were"? Did he leave them where he found them? Jesus Christ, the very Word of God himself... let people continue in their sin because he loved them? No!! His words to the prostitute in the temple resound down through the centuries... "neither do I condemn you (exclude you, hate you etc.), GO AND SIN NO MORE". Why "go and sin no more"? Because in our sin we condemn ourselves!!! The message of love in its proper context is "stop doing that which condemns you to an eternity separated from God". And that is the love that Jesus commanded his followers to pursue. And it is that love that the Church (the one, holy and apostolic Church) voices even today.
Faith liberates reason from its blind spots - Pope Benedict XVI
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Great Books
Happy Easter!
This Easter, I am re-reading a favourite book. It's called "Father Elijah", and it's written by Michael D. O'brien.
This book is unique in my library in that I've read it several times. I cannot think of another book I have read as I've read this one! I think this reading is the fifth for me.
Fr. Elijah is a large book. It is subtitled "An Apocalypse". It is the artist's vision of the end of the world.
Having read this book as often as I have, I'm quite familiar with the plot. This is allowing me to pick up deeper meanings, I think.
It has struck me a bit funny that there are things I'm noticing now that did not have the same impact before. When O'brien talks about Jakov "the giant" I can form a much better picture now that I've been to the Balkans and have seen what men in the area tend to look like.
Reading the description, early on in the book, of the prior of Elijah's monastery, I think he's somehow talking about Pope Benedict!
Mr. O'brien is a very descriptive writer. Mental images abound. I have been told by those who have been there, that his descriptions of the Vatican are those of one who has experienced it and observed keenly.
This is a book entirely influenced by Roman Catholicism. The view of the end times, the importance of prayer and religious events to the plot, as well as the majority of characters being clergy...you can't help but learn something about the Church and its functioning.
It is a hopeful book. We see tribulation but we also see the strength of those who believe in a life beyond it all.
It is highly recommended!
God Bless
This Easter, I am re-reading a favourite book. It's called "Father Elijah", and it's written by Michael D. O'brien.
This book is unique in my library in that I've read it several times. I cannot think of another book I have read as I've read this one! I think this reading is the fifth for me.
Fr. Elijah is a large book. It is subtitled "An Apocalypse". It is the artist's vision of the end of the world.
Having read this book as often as I have, I'm quite familiar with the plot. This is allowing me to pick up deeper meanings, I think.
It has struck me a bit funny that there are things I'm noticing now that did not have the same impact before. When O'brien talks about Jakov "the giant" I can form a much better picture now that I've been to the Balkans and have seen what men in the area tend to look like.
Reading the description, early on in the book, of the prior of Elijah's monastery, I think he's somehow talking about Pope Benedict!
Mr. O'brien is a very descriptive writer. Mental images abound. I have been told by those who have been there, that his descriptions of the Vatican are those of one who has experienced it and observed keenly.
This is a book entirely influenced by Roman Catholicism. The view of the end times, the importance of prayer and religious events to the plot, as well as the majority of characters being clergy...you can't help but learn something about the Church and its functioning.
It is a hopeful book. We see tribulation but we also see the strength of those who believe in a life beyond it all.
It is highly recommended!
God Bless
Wednesday, April 04, 2007
Compassion
Greetings.
Here we are, nearly at the end of Lent and I'm just getting to writing something on it. Definitely a missed opportunity.
We have moved during this Lent. Not too far, but after so long in our last place it was quite a process.
Catholics like to talk about giving something up for Lent. I'll bet we beat you all. We gave up a ton of stuff! Literally...a dumpster full of collected junk, which weighed in at very near one metric tonne. Wow.
And as we settle into our new, smaller, place, we are still finding things that could have been tossed. Mind you, there really was no more room in that dumpster!
Over the years, I've noticed that Lent has gotten more challenging as I became more serious about and involved in my Faith. As Lent arrives, I have frequently wondered what earth-shattering occurrence or revelation would show up. One year it was a sudden call to end my association with a particular ministry in which I'd been deeply involved. Another year, a distant memory surfaced and demanded my attention.
This year? Simply the uprooting of nearly a decade of 'stuff'...some boxes hadn't even been unpacked from when we moved in! It is, in a way, a time to examine our lives now. Do we still need this ___ (fill in the blank with book, appliance, blanket, piece of furniture...). We decided that a tonne of stuff we'd collected was not worth moving on.
So we're travelling a bit lighter these days. Lent is good for that. Whether we are uprooting bad habits, old sins, new sins, or just examining our lives, we can all come out of Lent a bit lighter and with less to interfere with our spiritual journey.
Here we are, nearly at the end of Lent and I'm just getting to writing something on it. Definitely a missed opportunity.
We have moved during this Lent. Not too far, but after so long in our last place it was quite a process.
Catholics like to talk about giving something up for Lent. I'll bet we beat you all. We gave up a ton of stuff! Literally...a dumpster full of collected junk, which weighed in at very near one metric tonne. Wow.
And as we settle into our new, smaller, place, we are still finding things that could have been tossed. Mind you, there really was no more room in that dumpster!
Over the years, I've noticed that Lent has gotten more challenging as I became more serious about and involved in my Faith. As Lent arrives, I have frequently wondered what earth-shattering occurrence or revelation would show up. One year it was a sudden call to end my association with a particular ministry in which I'd been deeply involved. Another year, a distant memory surfaced and demanded my attention.
This year? Simply the uprooting of nearly a decade of 'stuff'...some boxes hadn't even been unpacked from when we moved in! It is, in a way, a time to examine our lives now. Do we still need this ___ (fill in the blank with book, appliance, blanket, piece of furniture...). We decided that a tonne of stuff we'd collected was not worth moving on.
So we're travelling a bit lighter these days. Lent is good for that. Whether we are uprooting bad habits, old sins, new sins, or just examining our lives, we can all come out of Lent a bit lighter and with less to interfere with our spiritual journey.
____________________
As we were unpacking in our new residence, I found a book loaned to me by a friend who is currently working away from home.
The book is by Catherine Doherty and is called "The Season of Mercy". It is the author's reflections on Lent and Easter as given in many talks she had delivered to residents of Madonna House over the years.
What a blessing this book has been! Yesterday, her treating of the word 'compassion' really impacted on me.
My kids don't like it when I break down words and translate the parts in order to define them. In truth, the word compassion had never really given me a reason to do that...until last night.
The prefix 'com' means "with". Passion means...well...passion. In this case it is not passion in the sense of wild emotion, but passion in the sense of the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus.
When we have compassion on someone, we are sharing their suffering. I'd never thought of that before. What really brought this home was that I'd just had a chat with a priest a couple of days earlier in which I'd asked how to deal with some painful recollections I was having about an event (which didn't directly effect me at all) from several years ago. His advice was very good, but I think it was topped off very well by my re-thinking of the word compassion. I think perhaps I have been sharing someone's suffering.
Mar, thanks for leaving your books with me!
Blessed Triduum to you all!
As we were unpacking in our new residence, I found a book loaned to me by a friend who is currently working away from home.
The book is by Catherine Doherty and is called "The Season of Mercy". It is the author's reflections on Lent and Easter as given in many talks she had delivered to residents of Madonna House over the years.
What a blessing this book has been! Yesterday, her treating of the word 'compassion' really impacted on me.
My kids don't like it when I break down words and translate the parts in order to define them. In truth, the word compassion had never really given me a reason to do that...until last night.
The prefix 'com' means "with". Passion means...well...passion. In this case it is not passion in the sense of wild emotion, but passion in the sense of the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus.
When we have compassion on someone, we are sharing their suffering. I'd never thought of that before. What really brought this home was that I'd just had a chat with a priest a couple of days earlier in which I'd asked how to deal with some painful recollections I was having about an event (which didn't directly effect me at all) from several years ago. His advice was very good, but I think it was topped off very well by my re-thinking of the word compassion. I think perhaps I have been sharing someone's suffering.
Mar, thanks for leaving your books with me!
Blessed Triduum to you all!
Monday, March 26, 2007
A Matter of Time
Hi Again
Wow. It's been a while. Things have been busy to be sure.
Lent is nearly done and I haven't even mentioned it! And I won't today, either.
Recently, I picked up a book belonging to one of my girls. It was a story of a young girl who discovered a way to travel back in time, in this case to the time of her mother's adolescence.
It was a nice little book to read. And I realized that I have read books with this theme several times as I grew up.
What is our fascination with time travel? I remember reading War of the Worlds by HG Wells many years ago and my strong interest in it.
More recently, I discovered a time travel of sorts. It was in the process of listening to a talk during RCIA given by our priest at the time. I was also an instructor, but this time I was definitely among the instructed!
I believe I've mentioned in a previous blog entry kairos and chronos time.
In our society, as well as European society, we live with chronos time. Time goes in a line and when it passes, it will not come by again. Kairos time is the time that God lives. Everything is there, past, present and future, all at once.
When we celebrate Mass, we are brushing up with kairos time. We are present in the death of Christ on the cross and at His resurrection. This is not a play. We have the real thing, right now and until the time when Christ returns to us in glory.
The Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is being celebrated in the world somewhere at virtually every moment of every day. And yet it's all the same Mass. It's been going on now for about 2000 years, since it was instituted by Christ Himself just before He was crucified.
So, how 'bout some REAL time travel?
Wow. It's been a while. Things have been busy to be sure.
Lent is nearly done and I haven't even mentioned it! And I won't today, either.
Recently, I picked up a book belonging to one of my girls. It was a story of a young girl who discovered a way to travel back in time, in this case to the time of her mother's adolescence.
It was a nice little book to read. And I realized that I have read books with this theme several times as I grew up.
What is our fascination with time travel? I remember reading War of the Worlds by HG Wells many years ago and my strong interest in it.
More recently, I discovered a time travel of sorts. It was in the process of listening to a talk during RCIA given by our priest at the time. I was also an instructor, but this time I was definitely among the instructed!
I believe I've mentioned in a previous blog entry kairos and chronos time.
In our society, as well as European society, we live with chronos time. Time goes in a line and when it passes, it will not come by again. Kairos time is the time that God lives. Everything is there, past, present and future, all at once.
When we celebrate Mass, we are brushing up with kairos time. We are present in the death of Christ on the cross and at His resurrection. This is not a play. We have the real thing, right now and until the time when Christ returns to us in glory.
The Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is being celebrated in the world somewhere at virtually every moment of every day. And yet it's all the same Mass. It's been going on now for about 2000 years, since it was instituted by Christ Himself just before He was crucified.
So, how 'bout some REAL time travel?
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Everyday Miracles
Happy New Year!
As the new year gets under way, I have been thinking deep thoughts...well, maybe not so deep. As I review last year, I see that problems which seemed insoluble were not.
I believe prayer had an awful lot to do with getting these problems under control. Thing is, I knew that prayer would do this, even though I had no idea how this would come about. I expected miracles, and I got them.
God is good. He can do whatever He wants, but I know that because He is Love, He will always do what is best for us.
Some people, even some Christians, do not believe in miracles. As a group, Catholics do believe that miracles can still happen.
I realize that Catholics expect miracles. So many of us talk about miracles like they were regular occurrences.
I was talking to a friend some time ago. She was talking about a trip she took with her family to a pilgrimmage site. She said they enjoyed the trip, their rosaries turned gold, they had a picnic...yes. She said in the middle of another sentence that their rosaries turned gold. Yawn. Just another day.
I've already written about the Catholic approach to family planning. Believe it or not, I think this has to do with miracles.
We hear about the miracle of life, but do we think about what we're saying when we say this?
"Yah, sure. Life is a miracle...but I only want one or two miracles." Does anyone actually make that decision?
Children are everyday miracles. They are a part of life as is every person we come in contact with. Does not scripture tell us that we are made in the image and likeness of God? That goes for all of us. Yet the psalmist asks "When shall I see you (God) face to face?"
Think about this. When we see our children and each other, we are seeing God face to face!
So why are people so very reluctant to allow God to plan their families? This doesn't mean that we'll all have fourteen children. I know of a couple very willing to allow God to plan their family...and the plan for them seems to be one child. I know other families that have welcomed ten or more images of God.
What a privilege it is to be able to be a co-creator with God and to have the opportunity to see Him face to face.
What miracles we live with.
As the new year gets under way, I have been thinking deep thoughts...well, maybe not so deep. As I review last year, I see that problems which seemed insoluble were not.
I believe prayer had an awful lot to do with getting these problems under control. Thing is, I knew that prayer would do this, even though I had no idea how this would come about. I expected miracles, and I got them.
God is good. He can do whatever He wants, but I know that because He is Love, He will always do what is best for us.
Some people, even some Christians, do not believe in miracles. As a group, Catholics do believe that miracles can still happen.
I realize that Catholics expect miracles. So many of us talk about miracles like they were regular occurrences.
I was talking to a friend some time ago. She was talking about a trip she took with her family to a pilgrimmage site. She said they enjoyed the trip, their rosaries turned gold, they had a picnic...yes. She said in the middle of another sentence that their rosaries turned gold. Yawn. Just another day.
I've already written about the Catholic approach to family planning. Believe it or not, I think this has to do with miracles.
We hear about the miracle of life, but do we think about what we're saying when we say this?
"Yah, sure. Life is a miracle...but I only want one or two miracles." Does anyone actually make that decision?
Children are everyday miracles. They are a part of life as is every person we come in contact with. Does not scripture tell us that we are made in the image and likeness of God? That goes for all of us. Yet the psalmist asks "When shall I see you (God) face to face?"
Think about this. When we see our children and each other, we are seeing God face to face!
So why are people so very reluctant to allow God to plan their families? This doesn't mean that we'll all have fourteen children. I know of a couple very willing to allow God to plan their family...and the plan for them seems to be one child. I know other families that have welcomed ten or more images of God.
What a privilege it is to be able to be a co-creator with God and to have the opportunity to see Him face to face.
What miracles we live with.
Saturday, December 30, 2006
A Catholic Meme
Merry Sixth Day of the Octave of Christmas! And an anticipatory Happy New Year!
I thank the blogger at http://somanydevotions.blogspot.com
for the basic material for this post.
I was a bit short on ideas. Not because I didn't have ideas, but because I have too many of them!
And I learned what a 'meme' is. It's the name for those quizzes people pester their friends with!
Here goes...
CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS MEME
1. Favorite devotion or prayer to Jesus? I have become a fan of the Divine Mercy Chaplet over the past few years. I rarely miss a day. I also say the short prayer "O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto Thine". I also say the Fatima Prayer as part of the Rosary. In place of a usual Act of Contrition, I say "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner".
2. Favorite Marian devotion or prayer? The Rosary. I was a late-comer to this, but say it daily now.
3. Do you wear a scapular or medal? Sometimes. I have a two year old who grabs and breaks chains, so currently I avoid them. When I can, I wear a crucifix and a couple of medals: Miraculous, and St. Cecelia.
4. Do you have holy water in your home? As a general rule - yes. Our font (stoup) is frequently found dry, but we usually have Holy H2O somewhere in the house.
5. Do you 'offer up' your sufferings? Usually. As one who lives with fibromyalgia, offering up suffering is not too far from my consciousness. I often wonder if that's why I have it...to give me something to offer up.
6. Do you observe First Fridays and First Saturdays? Seldom. We tried to foster this devotion at our chapel, but due to the erratic nature of military life and the rather inconsistent availability of chaplains, it didn't go far.
7. Do you go to Eucharistic Adoration? How frequently? Occasionally. The priest who just left us would have Adoration a couple of times a year. We have rarely gone to other parishes. I am not aware of Perpetual Adoration in our area anywhere.
8. Are you a Saturday evening Mass person or Sunday morning Mass person? We usually go to the 11am Mass, but if the children have an activity (and we try to avoid Sunday morning 'activities') we will attend another parish on Saturday evening. I will usually attend Sunday anyway without our children, as we have commitments there.
9. Do you say prayers at mealtime? Always...even in restaurants or when we are guests at another's home.
10. Favorite Saint(s)? St. John Vianney, St Therese of Lisieux (who is related to my dh and our children), St. Joseph, St. Michael, St. Cecilia...
11. Can you recite the Apostles Creed by heart? Sure! In Canada, we have an indult to use it at Sunday Masses. As a rosary person, I use it there, too. I can do a fair job on the Nicene Creed, but it's rough. We are supposed to use that one on feasts, like Christmas, but it isn't always done. A friend recently decided to use the Nicene Creed with his Rosary, in order to learn it better.
12. Do you usually say short prayers (aspirations) during the course of the day? I say prayers of my own concocting. I rarely use aspirations.
13. Bonus Question: When you pass by a automobile accident or other serious mishap, do you say a quick prayer for the folks involved? When we remember.
I thank the blogger at http://somanydevotions.blogspot.com
for the basic material for this post.
I was a bit short on ideas. Not because I didn't have ideas, but because I have too many of them!
And I learned what a 'meme' is. It's the name for those quizzes people pester their friends with!
Here goes...
CATHOLIC DEVOTIONS MEME
1. Favorite devotion or prayer to Jesus? I have become a fan of the Divine Mercy Chaplet over the past few years. I rarely miss a day. I also say the short prayer "O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto Thine". I also say the Fatima Prayer as part of the Rosary. In place of a usual Act of Contrition, I say "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me a sinner".
2. Favorite Marian devotion or prayer? The Rosary. I was a late-comer to this, but say it daily now.
3. Do you wear a scapular or medal? Sometimes. I have a two year old who grabs and breaks chains, so currently I avoid them. When I can, I wear a crucifix and a couple of medals: Miraculous, and St. Cecelia.
4. Do you have holy water in your home? As a general rule - yes. Our font (stoup) is frequently found dry, but we usually have Holy H2O somewhere in the house.
5. Do you 'offer up' your sufferings? Usually. As one who lives with fibromyalgia, offering up suffering is not too far from my consciousness. I often wonder if that's why I have it...to give me something to offer up.
6. Do you observe First Fridays and First Saturdays? Seldom. We tried to foster this devotion at our chapel, but due to the erratic nature of military life and the rather inconsistent availability of chaplains, it didn't go far.
7. Do you go to Eucharistic Adoration? How frequently? Occasionally. The priest who just left us would have Adoration a couple of times a year. We have rarely gone to other parishes. I am not aware of Perpetual Adoration in our area anywhere.
8. Are you a Saturday evening Mass person or Sunday morning Mass person? We usually go to the 11am Mass, but if the children have an activity (and we try to avoid Sunday morning 'activities') we will attend another parish on Saturday evening. I will usually attend Sunday anyway without our children, as we have commitments there.
9. Do you say prayers at mealtime? Always...even in restaurants or when we are guests at another's home.
10. Favorite Saint(s)? St. John Vianney, St Therese of Lisieux (who is related to my dh and our children), St. Joseph, St. Michael, St. Cecilia...
11. Can you recite the Apostles Creed by heart? Sure! In Canada, we have an indult to use it at Sunday Masses. As a rosary person, I use it there, too. I can do a fair job on the Nicene Creed, but it's rough. We are supposed to use that one on feasts, like Christmas, but it isn't always done. A friend recently decided to use the Nicene Creed with his Rosary, in order to learn it better.
12. Do you usually say short prayers (aspirations) during the course of the day? I say prayers of my own concocting. I rarely use aspirations.
13. Bonus Question: When you pass by a automobile accident or other serious mishap, do you say a quick prayer for the folks involved? When we remember.
Friday, December 01, 2006
Christ vs. Robin Hood
Allow me to digress in my very first line.
THANK YOU to the host of CBC's early weekday morning spot. She has just finished speaking to the film critic, Jesse Wente (which I may be misspelling). He was talking about the Nativity Movie that has just come out. He said it's predictable...my goodness. What a surprise. How could it be anything BUT predictable?
He referred to Jesus being "immaculately" conceived. As I was gritting my teeth through his chatter about the movie, the hostess actually explained that the Immaculate Conception referred to the birth of Mary! She is correct, but I've never heard a correction like that! The reviewer agreed and then went on to say that Mary's "sister" was pregnant with John the Baptist. Oh well. I guess we can't really expect accuracy from our national radio station.
The reason for this blog is an 'essay' by a woman on the Christmas season. She maintained that despite the growing complaints about people not saying "Merry Christmas" but things like "Season's Greetings" or "Happy Holidays", we do not really celebrate Christ's birth.
She says that we cannot celebrate Christ's birth and have Santa Parades, or buy gifts. If we were truly celebrating Christmas, she opines, we would collect money for the poor, be ecologically aware, help at soup kitchens...
When did Christ become Robin Hood? Jesus is the one who said that the poor would always be with us. He is the one who, when the woman anointed him with expensive nard, chastised those who said she should have given the money to the poor instead of spending it on the ointment for him.
Jesus did help the poor. Remember the woman with the hemorrhage, or Mary and Martha when their brother died. He also recognized that he was worthy of adulation. Did not the Wise Men bring the young Christ gifts that could be seen as rather useless to a young child?
I won't mention the religious origins of Santa Claus, as that origin is rather far removed from what we see today. I will mention that Christmas IS the time when many give to the poor. They volunteer at soup kitchens and shelters. They ensure that their Christmas tree is chipped and composted at the end of its life...and decorate their own biodegradeable Christmas wrap.
Is commercialism rampant at Christmas? Yes, I think it is. I made a decision many years ago not to take my children to the mall at this time unless I had no choice. We put Santa in his place. Does this mean we do not celebrate Christ's birth? No, it doesn't. I will say that many who keep the season do not celebrate Christ's birth. It may be choice or ignorance. But many many people DO celebrate Christ's birth. We go to church...sometimes several times...in the course of a couple of days. We also go to church every other Sunday. We also donate, volunteer, and try to walk gently on the Earth.
It does not have to be one or the other. My family and friends do a lot of volunteering at Christmas. We sing in choirs, we proclaim the Good News at Masses. In a way, we are like the woman who anointed Jesus instead of giving money to the poor. We volunteer to celebrate Jesus. There are other times when we will volunteer for the poor.
I once heard it said that in the process of keeping Christ in Christmas, we often end up keeping him ONLY in Christmas. It is the one time of year when many who do not recognize his sovereignty any other time suddenly find it very important to go to Church.
A friend of mine tells a joke about the miracle of the flowers. A man runs up to the priest and very excitedly says he's seen a miracle. The priest is intrigued. The man explains that last time he was in church, the flowers were lilies. Now, they'd changed to poinsettias!
I invite anyone reading this to take note of Advent this year. It starts on Sunday, December 3. Prepare yourself for Christmas as well as you prepare your home!
God Bless
THANK YOU to the host of CBC's early weekday morning spot. She has just finished speaking to the film critic, Jesse Wente (which I may be misspelling). He was talking about the Nativity Movie that has just come out. He said it's predictable...my goodness. What a surprise. How could it be anything BUT predictable?
He referred to Jesus being "immaculately" conceived. As I was gritting my teeth through his chatter about the movie, the hostess actually explained that the Immaculate Conception referred to the birth of Mary! She is correct, but I've never heard a correction like that! The reviewer agreed and then went on to say that Mary's "sister" was pregnant with John the Baptist. Oh well. I guess we can't really expect accuracy from our national radio station.
The reason for this blog is an 'essay' by a woman on the Christmas season. She maintained that despite the growing complaints about people not saying "Merry Christmas" but things like "Season's Greetings" or "Happy Holidays", we do not really celebrate Christ's birth.
She says that we cannot celebrate Christ's birth and have Santa Parades, or buy gifts. If we were truly celebrating Christmas, she opines, we would collect money for the poor, be ecologically aware, help at soup kitchens...
When did Christ become Robin Hood? Jesus is the one who said that the poor would always be with us. He is the one who, when the woman anointed him with expensive nard, chastised those who said she should have given the money to the poor instead of spending it on the ointment for him.
Jesus did help the poor. Remember the woman with the hemorrhage, or Mary and Martha when their brother died. He also recognized that he was worthy of adulation. Did not the Wise Men bring the young Christ gifts that could be seen as rather useless to a young child?
I won't mention the religious origins of Santa Claus, as that origin is rather far removed from what we see today. I will mention that Christmas IS the time when many give to the poor. They volunteer at soup kitchens and shelters. They ensure that their Christmas tree is chipped and composted at the end of its life...and decorate their own biodegradeable Christmas wrap.
Is commercialism rampant at Christmas? Yes, I think it is. I made a decision many years ago not to take my children to the mall at this time unless I had no choice. We put Santa in his place. Does this mean we do not celebrate Christ's birth? No, it doesn't. I will say that many who keep the season do not celebrate Christ's birth. It may be choice or ignorance. But many many people DO celebrate Christ's birth. We go to church...sometimes several times...in the course of a couple of days. We also go to church every other Sunday. We also donate, volunteer, and try to walk gently on the Earth.
It does not have to be one or the other. My family and friends do a lot of volunteering at Christmas. We sing in choirs, we proclaim the Good News at Masses. In a way, we are like the woman who anointed Jesus instead of giving money to the poor. We volunteer to celebrate Jesus. There are other times when we will volunteer for the poor.
I once heard it said that in the process of keeping Christ in Christmas, we often end up keeping him ONLY in Christmas. It is the one time of year when many who do not recognize his sovereignty any other time suddenly find it very important to go to Church.
A friend of mine tells a joke about the miracle of the flowers. A man runs up to the priest and very excitedly says he's seen a miracle. The priest is intrigued. The man explains that last time he was in church, the flowers were lilies. Now, they'd changed to poinsettias!
I invite anyone reading this to take note of Advent this year. It starts on Sunday, December 3. Prepare yourself for Christmas as well as you prepare your home!
God Bless
Thursday, November 30, 2006
How Civilized are We?
Vale!
During the first week of Advent, I attended the mission being held at our chapel. A mission is short series of talks (in this case three evenings) usually held by a visitor to the church, designed to inspire or catechise those present.
The visiting priest spoke on "Journeying" over the course of his three talks. I was able to attend only the 2nd talk, which was on Peter, the apostle.
The talk was very good. The point was that God loved Peter. Indeed, He started his Church on Peter. If we read scripture, we see that Peter had some rather noteable weaknesses or sins.
As we know we are all sinners, it should be very comforting to us to know that God loves us even when we sin. Without sin and reconciliation, we would not be able to experience God's forgiveness and mercy.
Many people grow closer to God when they are struggling against sin in their lives.
The talk swung a bit into the realm of impetuousness. Peter acted quickly and cut off the ear of a soldier.
Someone brought up the genocide in Rwanda...countrymen rising up against each other and killing many of them.
We speculated that many can act in very sinful ways when they find themselves under some sort of pressure.
Something occurred to me very strongly at this point.
We spent several weeks last year in Bosnia. This country is in central Europe, yet just a few years ago, its people were killing each other. Neighbour was rising up against neighbour. Where we were wasn't even a war zone!
I don't think we realize just how close any one of us is to participating in an atrocity of this sort. The veneer of civilization is very thin. If we scratch it just a bit, anywhere, we find human nature can be very cruel.
In the Balkans, many were killed or displaced due to religious differences. In Bosnia, Serbian Orthodox rose up against Catholics and Muslims. In what is now Croatia, Catholics rose up against the Orthodox.
This area is one of the oldest bastions of Christianity in the world! Yet the peaceful message of Christianity was dismissed so quickly and by so many when the opportunity arose.
In Rwanda, one ethnic group rose up against another, resulting in many deaths.
One common link here is that both of these areas had been ruled by another party. In the Balkans, it was Tito's regime that kept the lid on age old tensions. In Rwanda, the Belgians had colonized and used one group of natives to rule the other, resulting in rivalry.
Once the 'foreign' rule was gone, suppressed tensions rose quickly.
I did not care to take it up with the assembled group, but I remembered the "FLQ Crisis" in Canada in 1970. I"m not sure if it applies in quite the same way, but I'll speculate.
In 1970, the FLQ (Federation de Liberation de Quebec), a terrorist group, kidnapped and killed James Cross. They were trying to somehow gain Quebec's "freedom" from the rest of Canada.
The Prime Minister at the time, Pierre Trudeau, acted decisively and imposed the War Measures Act, which meant that the entire country was plunged into a situation where civil rights were restricted as they might be in a time of war.
I was a small child at the time, and living almost entirely across the country from where the action was, but I remember feeling afraid. My father, a member of the RCMP, Canada's national police force, was gone from home (battle readiness I suppose). I remember commenting to my mother some time later that they news kept talking about this situation long after the crisis subsided. She, correctly, told me that we would be talking about it for years to come.
In Quebec, the Church and the provincial government had made a sort of arrangement which, according to citizens of the province many years later, worked toward giving more advantages to the English citizens of the province than to the Francophone majority.
After the death of Premier Duplessis, this arrangement fell apart. The FLQ arose apparently to shake off the yoke imposed by either English Canada, or by the Catholic Church.
Soon, a separatist government surfaced in Quebec. The practice of Catholicism plummeted.
A couple of years ago, I was talking with my mother on the phone. She lives in the West. We are in Ontario. She made a comment about the 'big French families'. I had to break the news to her that those families were rare now. She was shocked. In fact, the birth rate in Quebec is lower than the already low rate for the rest of Canada. Large families have traditionally been synonymous with the practice of Catholicism.
Quebec no longer has Catholic schools. According to a Quebecois chaplain I knew, everyone in Quebec was baptised, but any formation after that was unusual. Baptism is as much a cultural practice there as it is in the rest of the country. Any connection to the Catholic faith is incidental.
I guess my point in all this is to caution against the Church becoming associated with any ruling party. I believe that the Church should speak out strongly against its members who participate in evil practices, in order to avoid the appearance of collusion on the part of the Church.
Human beings are weak, as was Peter. We can get caught up in emotions and practices that are evil very easily when we do not have strong leadership...and sometimes even WITH strong leadership. We need strong leadership from our Church to help us preserve the veneer of civility when so much around us may be drawing us into places we should not go.
God Bless
During the first week of Advent, I attended the mission being held at our chapel. A mission is short series of talks (in this case three evenings) usually held by a visitor to the church, designed to inspire or catechise those present.
The visiting priest spoke on "Journeying" over the course of his three talks. I was able to attend only the 2nd talk, which was on Peter, the apostle.
The talk was very good. The point was that God loved Peter. Indeed, He started his Church on Peter. If we read scripture, we see that Peter had some rather noteable weaknesses or sins.
As we know we are all sinners, it should be very comforting to us to know that God loves us even when we sin. Without sin and reconciliation, we would not be able to experience God's forgiveness and mercy.
Many people grow closer to God when they are struggling against sin in their lives.
The talk swung a bit into the realm of impetuousness. Peter acted quickly and cut off the ear of a soldier.
Someone brought up the genocide in Rwanda...countrymen rising up against each other and killing many of them.
We speculated that many can act in very sinful ways when they find themselves under some sort of pressure.
Something occurred to me very strongly at this point.
We spent several weeks last year in Bosnia. This country is in central Europe, yet just a few years ago, its people were killing each other. Neighbour was rising up against neighbour. Where we were wasn't even a war zone!
I don't think we realize just how close any one of us is to participating in an atrocity of this sort. The veneer of civilization is very thin. If we scratch it just a bit, anywhere, we find human nature can be very cruel.
In the Balkans, many were killed or displaced due to religious differences. In Bosnia, Serbian Orthodox rose up against Catholics and Muslims. In what is now Croatia, Catholics rose up against the Orthodox.
This area is one of the oldest bastions of Christianity in the world! Yet the peaceful message of Christianity was dismissed so quickly and by so many when the opportunity arose.
In Rwanda, one ethnic group rose up against another, resulting in many deaths.
One common link here is that both of these areas had been ruled by another party. In the Balkans, it was Tito's regime that kept the lid on age old tensions. In Rwanda, the Belgians had colonized and used one group of natives to rule the other, resulting in rivalry.
Once the 'foreign' rule was gone, suppressed tensions rose quickly.
I did not care to take it up with the assembled group, but I remembered the "FLQ Crisis" in Canada in 1970. I"m not sure if it applies in quite the same way, but I'll speculate.
In 1970, the FLQ (Federation de Liberation de Quebec), a terrorist group, kidnapped and killed James Cross. They were trying to somehow gain Quebec's "freedom" from the rest of Canada.
The Prime Minister at the time, Pierre Trudeau, acted decisively and imposed the War Measures Act, which meant that the entire country was plunged into a situation where civil rights were restricted as they might be in a time of war.
I was a small child at the time, and living almost entirely across the country from where the action was, but I remember feeling afraid. My father, a member of the RCMP, Canada's national police force, was gone from home (battle readiness I suppose). I remember commenting to my mother some time later that they news kept talking about this situation long after the crisis subsided. She, correctly, told me that we would be talking about it for years to come.
In Quebec, the Church and the provincial government had made a sort of arrangement which, according to citizens of the province many years later, worked toward giving more advantages to the English citizens of the province than to the Francophone majority.
After the death of Premier Duplessis, this arrangement fell apart. The FLQ arose apparently to shake off the yoke imposed by either English Canada, or by the Catholic Church.
Soon, a separatist government surfaced in Quebec. The practice of Catholicism plummeted.
A couple of years ago, I was talking with my mother on the phone. She lives in the West. We are in Ontario. She made a comment about the 'big French families'. I had to break the news to her that those families were rare now. She was shocked. In fact, the birth rate in Quebec is lower than the already low rate for the rest of Canada. Large families have traditionally been synonymous with the practice of Catholicism.
Quebec no longer has Catholic schools. According to a Quebecois chaplain I knew, everyone in Quebec was baptised, but any formation after that was unusual. Baptism is as much a cultural practice there as it is in the rest of the country. Any connection to the Catholic faith is incidental.
I guess my point in all this is to caution against the Church becoming associated with any ruling party. I believe that the Church should speak out strongly against its members who participate in evil practices, in order to avoid the appearance of collusion on the part of the Church.
Human beings are weak, as was Peter. We can get caught up in emotions and practices that are evil very easily when we do not have strong leadership...and sometimes even WITH strong leadership. We need strong leadership from our Church to help us preserve the veneer of civility when so much around us may be drawing us into places we should not go.
God Bless
Friday, November 24, 2006
A life of consequence
Wow. November is nearly done and soon we will re-enter the season of Advent. Time seems to be flying so fast this year!
Last weekend, my husband, two daughters and little son attended a local hockey game. We haven't been to one in several years, so it was a treat!
My youngest daughter, who has a sense of style that is all her own, was decked out in a pink jacket and very fuzzy pink mittens. She did look rather sharp.
As we were waiting in line to have our hands stamped, we passed a man with Down's Syndrome. Where we live, this is not at all unusual as there are good facilities for assisted living in this area.
What was unusual was that he quickly whipped his arm around my daughter's shoulders, said something about the colour pink, and gave her a kiss on the cheek! She was rather tickled.
As I passed behind her, this fellow gave me a light punch on the arm and told me my daughter was special. I told him I agreed and said he was special, too. He told me he knew that!
As we watched the game, we noticed this fellow and a friend of his, also with Down's Syndrome, enjoying the game thoroughly and dancing to the music played when the game halted for some reason. I realized I remembered this pair from games several years back. Their joy in life was so clear.
I have always been familiar with people living with Down's Syndrome. My mother's step-sister, who is about 8 years older than I am has Down's. I have always been familiar with it. It does not bother me in the least.
My aunt has lived nearly her whole life with my grandmother. In recent years, she has taken residence with a sister, while my grandmother resides in a seniors' home. She is now in her 90s and wisely considered that my aunt should learn to live with someone else before her own death.
As people with Down's go, I gather my aunt is very highly functioning. She taught herself parts of several languages, drew quite well, played music, had a sense of humour (which could be rather harsh on those who displeased her in some way!)and learned to cook simply by observing her mother who did not think her capable of doing the task.
My younger children do not know my aunt, as they have lived their entire lives 1000 miles away from her, but when my older children were small, my aunt was very attentive to them.
She has been such a blessing to my grandmother. She has given many people pause with her witty observations coming from an obviously 'challenged' body.
As she is now, I think, over 50 years of age, she has reached a good age for someone with her disability. Her health is good though, and she doesn't have the common ailments of others with her characteristics. If she is like her female forbears, she will live a long time yet.
I find it so amazing that some would not have allowed her to be born.
When my grandmother gave birth to her, she chose my aunts names so that her initials were 'JEM'...a jewel.
A friend of mine has a young daughter with Down's. My friend was not of advanced age when she had this child, so it was unexpected. Not knowing that Down's children often are lacking the reflex to nurse, my friend happily breastfed her, giving her the very best thing the baby would need.
My friend attempted to network with other parents of such children, but was very upset to see that these other families stopped having children after they gave birth to their 'jem'. My friend believes strongly that all children are a gift from God. She has gone on to be very gifted and now has three children younger than her jem of a daughter!
I think we really do not know what we do when we start practicing the sort of eugenics that would not allow these, or other children with challenges, to have life.
God help us!
Last weekend, my husband, two daughters and little son attended a local hockey game. We haven't been to one in several years, so it was a treat!
My youngest daughter, who has a sense of style that is all her own, was decked out in a pink jacket and very fuzzy pink mittens. She did look rather sharp.
As we were waiting in line to have our hands stamped, we passed a man with Down's Syndrome. Where we live, this is not at all unusual as there are good facilities for assisted living in this area.
What was unusual was that he quickly whipped his arm around my daughter's shoulders, said something about the colour pink, and gave her a kiss on the cheek! She was rather tickled.
As I passed behind her, this fellow gave me a light punch on the arm and told me my daughter was special. I told him I agreed and said he was special, too. He told me he knew that!
As we watched the game, we noticed this fellow and a friend of his, also with Down's Syndrome, enjoying the game thoroughly and dancing to the music played when the game halted for some reason. I realized I remembered this pair from games several years back. Their joy in life was so clear.
I have always been familiar with people living with Down's Syndrome. My mother's step-sister, who is about 8 years older than I am has Down's. I have always been familiar with it. It does not bother me in the least.
My aunt has lived nearly her whole life with my grandmother. In recent years, she has taken residence with a sister, while my grandmother resides in a seniors' home. She is now in her 90s and wisely considered that my aunt should learn to live with someone else before her own death.
As people with Down's go, I gather my aunt is very highly functioning. She taught herself parts of several languages, drew quite well, played music, had a sense of humour (which could be rather harsh on those who displeased her in some way!)and learned to cook simply by observing her mother who did not think her capable of doing the task.
My younger children do not know my aunt, as they have lived their entire lives 1000 miles away from her, but when my older children were small, my aunt was very attentive to them.
She has been such a blessing to my grandmother. She has given many people pause with her witty observations coming from an obviously 'challenged' body.
As she is now, I think, over 50 years of age, she has reached a good age for someone with her disability. Her health is good though, and she doesn't have the common ailments of others with her characteristics. If she is like her female forbears, she will live a long time yet.
I find it so amazing that some would not have allowed her to be born.
When my grandmother gave birth to her, she chose my aunts names so that her initials were 'JEM'...a jewel.
A friend of mine has a young daughter with Down's. My friend was not of advanced age when she had this child, so it was unexpected. Not knowing that Down's children often are lacking the reflex to nurse, my friend happily breastfed her, giving her the very best thing the baby would need.
My friend attempted to network with other parents of such children, but was very upset to see that these other families stopped having children after they gave birth to their 'jem'. My friend believes strongly that all children are a gift from God. She has gone on to be very gifted and now has three children younger than her jem of a daughter!
I think we really do not know what we do when we start practicing the sort of eugenics that would not allow these, or other children with challenges, to have life.
God help us!
Thursday, November 16, 2006
Novenas
Happy Thursday
I think I have experienced a miracle this week.
As I've mentioned before, I am involved in liturgy preparation at my parish.
Lately, we've had a 'personnel change', for lack of a better term, at the parish. Along with this, and not too surprisingly, some changes occurred in liturgical practice.
Unfortunately, these were changes that brought us further away from liturgical norms, rather than closer...and closer is where we've been heading for the past 5 years or so.
This is distressing to those of us who are interested in good liturgical practice (which I will readily admit is not the majority of the congregation...but the Church has never been a democracy. My feeling is that the congregation should at least know what good liturgy IS...before they decide whether they like it or not!)
I had a disheartening occurrance, when a priest I looked forward to working with, and who is very interested in good liturgy, got moved away.
My liturgy team had some good people, but not all were willing to be educated about 'best practices', and of course these did not come already trained!
I faced my first meeting flying 'solo' with great trepidation. So, I started a Novena.
A Novena is a prayer, or set of prayers, usually said over the course of nine days. At times these may be said over a multiple of nine days, or done over nine hours (called a power novena). The word 'novena' comes from the Latin word for nine. It is based on the Apostles praying for nine days in the Upper Room.
Novenas are usually directed to one member of the Trinity, or the Blessed Mother, or to a particular member of the Heavenly Host, ie. A Saint.
I made my novena, in this case, to the Holy Spirit. I made up the prayers myself, although there are several ready-made novenas to the HS. My novena, as it turned out, would end on the day of my meeting.
Well, the Sunday before the meeting, one of the team members told me she didn't really want to be doing what she was doing. This surprised me a bit, but I said we'd find someone else then. On Monday, a friend came over to visit and in the course of chatting, expressed interest in the ministry newly without a leader. Hmmm. She didn't know anything about the situation. I asked her if she'd like to lead it. She said she would.
This effectively gives me a team which is VERY interested in liturgy and willing to learn. Our 'bosses' have not changed, but I think as a unified voice for the Church's teaching, my team might be strong and effective.
So, on the last day of the Novena, Tuesday, I went into the meeting confident. The other members accepted the new person. They all know her and most have worked with her before, quite successfully. This meeting, as it turned out, was also without a rep from the chaplains, who all happened to be at a conference. So we had a chance to talk and get some things in the open. It was a great meeting.
Things looked brighter than they have since our priest left. News from his new location tells us that he is greatly needed there. God knows what he's up to!
I would like to mention that other novenas I've prayed have brought rather dramatic results. I've prayed to St. Joseph, patron of husbands and fathers. I say a novena beginning or ending on the ordination dates of priest friends I have. This is addressed to St. John (Jean) Vianney, the patron saint of confessors (priests).
I do this to support the ministry of these priests. I've discovered that many priests have their ordination dates in May!
I have said a novena to this saint on my own behalf and have suddenly become aware of areas of sin in my life. He is, after all, the patron saint of confessors, which is who we confess our sins to!
This is a rather old-fashioned devotion in the eyes of some, but I recommend taking a look at it.
God Bless
Jaye
I think I have experienced a miracle this week.
As I've mentioned before, I am involved in liturgy preparation at my parish.
Lately, we've had a 'personnel change', for lack of a better term, at the parish. Along with this, and not too surprisingly, some changes occurred in liturgical practice.
Unfortunately, these were changes that brought us further away from liturgical norms, rather than closer...and closer is where we've been heading for the past 5 years or so.
This is distressing to those of us who are interested in good liturgical practice (which I will readily admit is not the majority of the congregation...but the Church has never been a democracy. My feeling is that the congregation should at least know what good liturgy IS...before they decide whether they like it or not!)
I had a disheartening occurrance, when a priest I looked forward to working with, and who is very interested in good liturgy, got moved away.
My liturgy team had some good people, but not all were willing to be educated about 'best practices', and of course these did not come already trained!
I faced my first meeting flying 'solo' with great trepidation. So, I started a Novena.
A Novena is a prayer, or set of prayers, usually said over the course of nine days. At times these may be said over a multiple of nine days, or done over nine hours (called a power novena). The word 'novena' comes from the Latin word for nine. It is based on the Apostles praying for nine days in the Upper Room.
Novenas are usually directed to one member of the Trinity, or the Blessed Mother, or to a particular member of the Heavenly Host, ie. A Saint.
I made my novena, in this case, to the Holy Spirit. I made up the prayers myself, although there are several ready-made novenas to the HS. My novena, as it turned out, would end on the day of my meeting.
Well, the Sunday before the meeting, one of the team members told me she didn't really want to be doing what she was doing. This surprised me a bit, but I said we'd find someone else then. On Monday, a friend came over to visit and in the course of chatting, expressed interest in the ministry newly without a leader. Hmmm. She didn't know anything about the situation. I asked her if she'd like to lead it. She said she would.
This effectively gives me a team which is VERY interested in liturgy and willing to learn. Our 'bosses' have not changed, but I think as a unified voice for the Church's teaching, my team might be strong and effective.
So, on the last day of the Novena, Tuesday, I went into the meeting confident. The other members accepted the new person. They all know her and most have worked with her before, quite successfully. This meeting, as it turned out, was also without a rep from the chaplains, who all happened to be at a conference. So we had a chance to talk and get some things in the open. It was a great meeting.
Things looked brighter than they have since our priest left. News from his new location tells us that he is greatly needed there. God knows what he's up to!
I would like to mention that other novenas I've prayed have brought rather dramatic results. I've prayed to St. Joseph, patron of husbands and fathers. I say a novena beginning or ending on the ordination dates of priest friends I have. This is addressed to St. John (Jean) Vianney, the patron saint of confessors (priests).
I do this to support the ministry of these priests. I've discovered that many priests have their ordination dates in May!
I have said a novena to this saint on my own behalf and have suddenly become aware of areas of sin in my life. He is, after all, the patron saint of confessors, which is who we confess our sins to!
This is a rather old-fashioned devotion in the eyes of some, but I recommend taking a look at it.
God Bless
Jaye
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Sacrifice
Hello!
Yesterday, I taught a baptism preparation class. Not a new thing for me.
My 'method' is to give a short course in Catholic parenting. Most of the couples I see are not regular churchgoers. Many are not sacramentally married.
Yesterday afternoon, I was washing the dishes in the kitchen. At my feet, I saw a shred of an advertizer my 2yo had destroyed.
There was an ad for clothing. I saw the last part of the word "sacrifice" on the paper. I had to think for a minute what the word sacrifice had to do with sweaters. I realized it must have been an ad exhorting the reader that they didn't have to sacrifice quality for price, or something like that.
I initially thought that this was a mis-use of the word. But given how the word is often used today, it's not such a bad usage.
But we've wandered away from the original meaning of the word.
In my talk to the young parents, I emphasize to them that their children are part of God's plan to get them into heaven. Children cause parents to see outside themselves. As I thought of this yesterday, I realized I could say that parents make 'sacrifices' for their children. Beautiful tie-in...
The word sacrifice comes from two latin words. the 'fice' part comes from the latin word 'to make'. The 'sacri' part comes from the latin word for 'holy'.
Sacrifice means to make holy. Wow! So it makes sense that parents make 'sacrifices' for their children. What they are giving up is being made holy, just as the parent is being made holy by doing the giving!
We Catholics also use the word sacrifice when we talk of the "Holy Sacrifice of the Mass".
Modernists (a friend calls them the liberazzi)don't like this word, as it calls up images of the crucifixion of Christ which aren't pretty. The Mass is called a meal, by these people.
Certainly, the Mass is, in part, the sharing of the meal: the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus, as He commanded in the Gospel of John. But the Mass is also celebrating the sacrifice Jesus made for us, to enable us to go to Heaven. At Mass, the meal is made holy, and indeed WE are being made holy.
I wonder just how we got to the meaning of simply "giving up" for the word sacrifice.
May we all, in some way, share in Christ's sacrifice today!
God Bless.
Yesterday, I taught a baptism preparation class. Not a new thing for me.
My 'method' is to give a short course in Catholic parenting. Most of the couples I see are not regular churchgoers. Many are not sacramentally married.
Yesterday afternoon, I was washing the dishes in the kitchen. At my feet, I saw a shred of an advertizer my 2yo had destroyed.
There was an ad for clothing. I saw the last part of the word "sacrifice" on the paper. I had to think for a minute what the word sacrifice had to do with sweaters. I realized it must have been an ad exhorting the reader that they didn't have to sacrifice quality for price, or something like that.
I initially thought that this was a mis-use of the word. But given how the word is often used today, it's not such a bad usage.
But we've wandered away from the original meaning of the word.
In my talk to the young parents, I emphasize to them that their children are part of God's plan to get them into heaven. Children cause parents to see outside themselves. As I thought of this yesterday, I realized I could say that parents make 'sacrifices' for their children. Beautiful tie-in...
The word sacrifice comes from two latin words. the 'fice' part comes from the latin word 'to make'. The 'sacri' part comes from the latin word for 'holy'.
Sacrifice means to make holy. Wow! So it makes sense that parents make 'sacrifices' for their children. What they are giving up is being made holy, just as the parent is being made holy by doing the giving!
We Catholics also use the word sacrifice when we talk of the "Holy Sacrifice of the Mass".
Modernists (a friend calls them the liberazzi)don't like this word, as it calls up images of the crucifixion of Christ which aren't pretty. The Mass is called a meal, by these people.
Certainly, the Mass is, in part, the sharing of the meal: the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus, as He commanded in the Gospel of John. But the Mass is also celebrating the sacrifice Jesus made for us, to enable us to go to Heaven. At Mass, the meal is made holy, and indeed WE are being made holy.
I wonder just how we got to the meaning of simply "giving up" for the word sacrifice.
May we all, in some way, share in Christ's sacrifice today!
God Bless.
Sunday, November 05, 2006
Saints and Souls
Hello again!
This past week saw the Church celebrate two very important dates on its calendar: All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day.
All Saints', the original reason for Halloween which was once called All Hallows (Saints') Eve, is the day in which the Saints, known and unknown are celebrated. That includes all those who are still working out their salvation...the Church Militant...which would be you and me.
We are all called to perfection in Christ. We are called to be holy. In other words, we are called to be saints!
While the Church has never and will never say that any person is in Hell, they do, from time to time, declare that a certain person is in Heaven. These are the Canonized saints whose names may be used in the canon of the Mass. In truth, anyone who makes it to heaven is a saint, whether canonized or not. There are countless saints known only to God.
All Souls' Day is the day in which we remember and pray for the dead. Some of those dead will have gone to Heaven. Some will still be having the rough edges worked off in Purgatory. For those in Purgatory, we offer prayer which we hope will shorten their stay there. Those prayers may also shorten OUR stay there!
One need never fear praying for a person who may actually be in Hell. A person in Hell will not be helped by prayer. Their destiny is already set. Any prayers directed that way will be used to help someone who still has hope of Heaven.
Our churches often have a Book of the Dead available for the month of November so people can write in it the names of their deceased loved ones. These dead are remembered at Masses throughout November.
I will not get into a discussion here on "Last Things" which are our destinies of Heaven or Hell. Nor will I enter into an apology of Purgatory. Many have gone before me who have done a fine job of that. Maybe I'll tackle it another day.
Happy Sunday!
This past week saw the Church celebrate two very important dates on its calendar: All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day.
All Saints', the original reason for Halloween which was once called All Hallows (Saints') Eve, is the day in which the Saints, known and unknown are celebrated. That includes all those who are still working out their salvation...the Church Militant...which would be you and me.
We are all called to perfection in Christ. We are called to be holy. In other words, we are called to be saints!
While the Church has never and will never say that any person is in Hell, they do, from time to time, declare that a certain person is in Heaven. These are the Canonized saints whose names may be used in the canon of the Mass. In truth, anyone who makes it to heaven is a saint, whether canonized or not. There are countless saints known only to God.
All Souls' Day is the day in which we remember and pray for the dead. Some of those dead will have gone to Heaven. Some will still be having the rough edges worked off in Purgatory. For those in Purgatory, we offer prayer which we hope will shorten their stay there. Those prayers may also shorten OUR stay there!
One need never fear praying for a person who may actually be in Hell. A person in Hell will not be helped by prayer. Their destiny is already set. Any prayers directed that way will be used to help someone who still has hope of Heaven.
Our churches often have a Book of the Dead available for the month of November so people can write in it the names of their deceased loved ones. These dead are remembered at Masses throughout November.
I will not get into a discussion here on "Last Things" which are our destinies of Heaven or Hell. Nor will I enter into an apology of Purgatory. Many have gone before me who have done a fine job of that. Maybe I'll tackle it another day.
Happy Sunday!
Saturday, November 04, 2006
I'm back...
Yesterday, I finally had a chance to present my Catholic books to the local Catholic teachers. I have been trying for four years to become a vendor. Others have been trying to help, but I finally got in this year. I am thankful.
It was an interesting day. I got to see, in passing at least, most of the teachers, educational assistants, principals and other employees of the Catholic school board.
There is an area within the board boundaries which is known for its "conservative" approach to the Catholic faith. Some people would just say that these people are faithful to the teaching of the Magisterium of the Roman Church. I suspect this to be true. I could almost tell who these people were by their dress. I could also tell by some of their book choices!
I noticed, of course, that many of the teachers did not come near my table, and I was the only book vendor. Some teachers would likely be near retirement and would feel no need to add to their collections. But I wonder at some of the young teachers...
As it turned out, the line up for lunch wound right in front of my table. Some spent the time they were 'captive' browsing. Some had actually done the 'Judas Shuffle', a phrase which I believe Scott Hahn coined to describe people who left Mass immediately after receiving Holy Communion, instead of waiting for Mass to end. By leaving early, these people beat the line up for lunch. But they missed the end of the "Lamb's Supper", the Eucharist. Hmmm.
I also heard comments as people browsed the books. Some looked at the books on morality with a sneer, or they picked up a book, glanced at it and tossed it down dismissively. This seemed to be particularly evident with the "Love and Life" books by Colleen Kelly-Mast. I only heard one group of teachers all day which considered buying any of the morality or Theology of the Body related books. Of course these books would be at odds with the prevailing societal attitudes on the subject. It would also be a very different approach to the subject than is given in the books published by the Canadian College of Catholic Bishops, who have given us wonderful documents like the notorious "Winnipeg Statement"
It would, sadly, also be at odds with the lifestyles many of these people have. A few years ago when I worked in several schools as an emergency supply teacher, I was quite appalled at some of the conversations that took place in the staff rooms. Teachers were pregnant out of wedlock, or co-habiting without benefit of marriage. I wonder how it is that these teachers can pass on the life-giving Truth our faith holds, when they don't know it themselves.
There were some bright lights though. One teacher, who has known our older children, congratulated me for considering homeschooling our youngest one from the very beginning of his schooling. He also seemed glad to hear that our middle daughter was at home...and this man teaches at the Catholic High School! His own children are homeschooled.
The most involved book conversation I had all day was with a woman who was looking for some sort of devotional herself. We spoke about the varied writing styles of JP II and Pope Benedict XVI. She bought a book which some would consider rather heavy, but which contained some writings of Sts. Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross, St. Francis de Sales and Thomas a Kempis. Another teacher dashed up to me later in the afternoon and asked me, completely out of the blue, when Mary's birthday was! I think I was settling an argument.
By the way, the birthdate of the Blessed Virgin is on September 8, given that the Feast of the Immaculate Conception is on December 8.
I am very glad to have had the opportunity to be at this event, which is held annually. I look forward to next year, when I will bring a bigger float, some different books, and, hopefully, a credit card system that works.
I also hope that perhaps something I sell will help someone to take a second look at Church teachings he or she finds difficult to live by.
God Bless!
Yesterday, I finally had a chance to present my Catholic books to the local Catholic teachers. I have been trying for four years to become a vendor. Others have been trying to help, but I finally got in this year. I am thankful.
It was an interesting day. I got to see, in passing at least, most of the teachers, educational assistants, principals and other employees of the Catholic school board.
There is an area within the board boundaries which is known for its "conservative" approach to the Catholic faith. Some people would just say that these people are faithful to the teaching of the Magisterium of the Roman Church. I suspect this to be true. I could almost tell who these people were by their dress. I could also tell by some of their book choices!
I noticed, of course, that many of the teachers did not come near my table, and I was the only book vendor. Some teachers would likely be near retirement and would feel no need to add to their collections. But I wonder at some of the young teachers...
As it turned out, the line up for lunch wound right in front of my table. Some spent the time they were 'captive' browsing. Some had actually done the 'Judas Shuffle', a phrase which I believe Scott Hahn coined to describe people who left Mass immediately after receiving Holy Communion, instead of waiting for Mass to end. By leaving early, these people beat the line up for lunch. But they missed the end of the "Lamb's Supper", the Eucharist. Hmmm.
I also heard comments as people browsed the books. Some looked at the books on morality with a sneer, or they picked up a book, glanced at it and tossed it down dismissively. This seemed to be particularly evident with the "Love and Life" books by Colleen Kelly-Mast. I only heard one group of teachers all day which considered buying any of the morality or Theology of the Body related books. Of course these books would be at odds with the prevailing societal attitudes on the subject. It would also be a very different approach to the subject than is given in the books published by the Canadian College of Catholic Bishops, who have given us wonderful documents like the notorious "Winnipeg Statement"
It would, sadly, also be at odds with the lifestyles many of these people have. A few years ago when I worked in several schools as an emergency supply teacher, I was quite appalled at some of the conversations that took place in the staff rooms. Teachers were pregnant out of wedlock, or co-habiting without benefit of marriage. I wonder how it is that these teachers can pass on the life-giving Truth our faith holds, when they don't know it themselves.
There were some bright lights though. One teacher, who has known our older children, congratulated me for considering homeschooling our youngest one from the very beginning of his schooling. He also seemed glad to hear that our middle daughter was at home...and this man teaches at the Catholic High School! His own children are homeschooled.
The most involved book conversation I had all day was with a woman who was looking for some sort of devotional herself. We spoke about the varied writing styles of JP II and Pope Benedict XVI. She bought a book which some would consider rather heavy, but which contained some writings of Sts. Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross, St. Francis de Sales and Thomas a Kempis. Another teacher dashed up to me later in the afternoon and asked me, completely out of the blue, when Mary's birthday was! I think I was settling an argument.
By the way, the birthdate of the Blessed Virgin is on September 8, given that the Feast of the Immaculate Conception is on December 8.
I am very glad to have had the opportunity to be at this event, which is held annually. I look forward to next year, when I will bring a bigger float, some different books, and, hopefully, a credit card system that works.
I also hope that perhaps something I sell will help someone to take a second look at Church teachings he or she finds difficult to live by.
God Bless!
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Life Issues
God's blessings to you all!
Last Thursday, my husband and I attended the annual dinner for the local Right to Life group.
We went to this a couple of years ago and had a nice time. We were away last year, but when I heard that Michael Coren was speaking this year, I HAD to go!
Michael Coren is a journalist who is a syndicated writer for some Canadian newspapers. He is also and author, and a recent convert to the Catholic Church.
He did not disappoint! He is an entertaining speaker, and definitely lets us all know how he feels on the issues he addresses.
In the case of this dinner, the issues were Life issues...abortion, and euthanasia in particular.
I cannot speak for the denominations present, but I would like to address the Catholic teachings on these issues, as I understand them.
The Catholic Church is the only mainstream Christian church which has consistently taught that a) Life begins at conception (not implantation, as is often argued) b) We do not have the right to deliberately end a life, either at its beginning or at its end, therefore induced abortion and euthanasia are not something the Church permits for any reason.
That life begins at conception is part of the reason the Church also cannot allow the use of abortifacient forms of birth control, such as The Pill, IUDs and diaphragms. (The Church does not allow any other form of deliberate pregnancy prevention either, but the other forms do not fall into the abortifacient category, so I will not deal with them here).
Euthanasia is often touted as humane or compassionate. As God is the author of life, only He has the right to end life. We do not have to look far to find examples of people with no 'reason' to be alive. They may have been chronically ill, severely handicapped or mentally incapacitated. But in this group are also those who have given and received great love. There are those who, although mentally affected, are used by God to teach the "wise" great lessons. Some have even become canonized Saints.
Families have stories of their elderly members who, although weakened by age, managed to dispense wisdom to the other family members, sometimes despite chronic pain. These people are often the 'praying arm' of their families and parishes.
Who are we to decide when to end a life? Who can know the mind of God? Is this degeneratively ill person here in order to allow someone to learn how to love him or her? Is someone in need of lessons in compassion? Is the ill person themselves in need of lessons in humility? Patience? We don't know.
To my mind, abortion is a self-evident evil. I know, however, that I seem to be far from the majority in this. It is certainly not reflected in our national lack of ANY regulation concerning abortion. Imagine! In Canada, a small person can be aborted, killed, up to the very last days of in utero development!
People do not realize the connection between abortion and birth control. It is relatively recently that countries have allowed access to abortion. Some still do not allow unrestricted access.
What people also do not realize, is that NO major Christian Church (and I'm not aware of any minor ones either!) allowed any form of birth control until the Anglican church allowed it for grave reasons. This happened at the Lambeth Conference of 1930.
I would like to point out that the Muslim religion does not allow birth control or abortion either. And they're supposed to be the 'bad guys'?
At this point in time, the only major Christian Church to withstand public pressure to give in to abortion and birth control is the Catholic Church. I will add here that I do know that there are many non-Catholic Christians who, as individuals and in some cases parts of their denominations, also eschew BOTH abortion and birth control...but usually birth control is not seen as an evil.
So what is the issue with birth control? Well, as mentioned above, some forms are abortifacient (they cause a very early abortion by allowing the woman's body to shed the fertilized egg before it implants). These would be seen as abortion is seen.
Other forms of birth control are still interfering with God's work of starting and ending life. It is strange to me that people who strive to have God in control of their lives, will not allow Him to be in charge of their reproductive lives! But in a society which can allow the death of a child within its mother, why should we see the value of children outside their mother?
It strikes me as sad that when someone is talking about the value of planning their family naturally, they lose credibility when it is found that they have more than three or four children!
What people do not understand is that many people WANT lots of children and view them as gifts, not problems.
Even when I was at the doctor expecting my last child, they asked what form of birth control I was using. I said none. Then I clarified that we had used Natural Family planning, but this pregnancy was not a failure of the method. They don't have a category for that, I don't think.
This is a rather scattered view of some life issues. I will explain Natural Family planning another time. Good night!
Last Thursday, my husband and I attended the annual dinner for the local Right to Life group.
We went to this a couple of years ago and had a nice time. We were away last year, but when I heard that Michael Coren was speaking this year, I HAD to go!
Michael Coren is a journalist who is a syndicated writer for some Canadian newspapers. He is also and author, and a recent convert to the Catholic Church.
He did not disappoint! He is an entertaining speaker, and definitely lets us all know how he feels on the issues he addresses.
In the case of this dinner, the issues were Life issues...abortion, and euthanasia in particular.
I cannot speak for the denominations present, but I would like to address the Catholic teachings on these issues, as I understand them.
The Catholic Church is the only mainstream Christian church which has consistently taught that a) Life begins at conception (not implantation, as is often argued) b) We do not have the right to deliberately end a life, either at its beginning or at its end, therefore induced abortion and euthanasia are not something the Church permits for any reason.
That life begins at conception is part of the reason the Church also cannot allow the use of abortifacient forms of birth control, such as The Pill, IUDs and diaphragms. (The Church does not allow any other form of deliberate pregnancy prevention either, but the other forms do not fall into the abortifacient category, so I will not deal with them here).
Euthanasia is often touted as humane or compassionate. As God is the author of life, only He has the right to end life. We do not have to look far to find examples of people with no 'reason' to be alive. They may have been chronically ill, severely handicapped or mentally incapacitated. But in this group are also those who have given and received great love. There are those who, although mentally affected, are used by God to teach the "wise" great lessons. Some have even become canonized Saints.
Families have stories of their elderly members who, although weakened by age, managed to dispense wisdom to the other family members, sometimes despite chronic pain. These people are often the 'praying arm' of their families and parishes.
Who are we to decide when to end a life? Who can know the mind of God? Is this degeneratively ill person here in order to allow someone to learn how to love him or her? Is someone in need of lessons in compassion? Is the ill person themselves in need of lessons in humility? Patience? We don't know.
To my mind, abortion is a self-evident evil. I know, however, that I seem to be far from the majority in this. It is certainly not reflected in our national lack of ANY regulation concerning abortion. Imagine! In Canada, a small person can be aborted, killed, up to the very last days of in utero development!
People do not realize the connection between abortion and birth control. It is relatively recently that countries have allowed access to abortion. Some still do not allow unrestricted access.
What people also do not realize, is that NO major Christian Church (and I'm not aware of any minor ones either!) allowed any form of birth control until the Anglican church allowed it for grave reasons. This happened at the Lambeth Conference of 1930.
I would like to point out that the Muslim religion does not allow birth control or abortion either. And they're supposed to be the 'bad guys'?
At this point in time, the only major Christian Church to withstand public pressure to give in to abortion and birth control is the Catholic Church. I will add here that I do know that there are many non-Catholic Christians who, as individuals and in some cases parts of their denominations, also eschew BOTH abortion and birth control...but usually birth control is not seen as an evil.
So what is the issue with birth control? Well, as mentioned above, some forms are abortifacient (they cause a very early abortion by allowing the woman's body to shed the fertilized egg before it implants). These would be seen as abortion is seen.
Other forms of birth control are still interfering with God's work of starting and ending life. It is strange to me that people who strive to have God in control of their lives, will not allow Him to be in charge of their reproductive lives! But in a society which can allow the death of a child within its mother, why should we see the value of children outside their mother?
It strikes me as sad that when someone is talking about the value of planning their family naturally, they lose credibility when it is found that they have more than three or four children!
What people do not understand is that many people WANT lots of children and view them as gifts, not problems.
Even when I was at the doctor expecting my last child, they asked what form of birth control I was using. I said none. Then I clarified that we had used Natural Family planning, but this pregnancy was not a failure of the method. They don't have a category for that, I don't think.
This is a rather scattered view of some life issues. I will explain Natural Family planning another time. Good night!
Monday, October 16, 2006
Greetings in Christ!
Late last week, I had the privilege of receiving one of the healing sacraments. In other words: Confession, Reconciliation, Penance. Those names are all aspects of the one sacrament of forgiveness.
This is probably one of the least favourite sacraments. Arguably the other is probably Holy Orders!
Confession, as I tend to call it, is the act of publicly (to a priest) naming sins, and, hopefully, being absolved of those sins.
People tend to avoid this sacrament, often putting themselves in grave danger of being "guilty of the Body and Blood of Christ" as St. Paul said, by receiving the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist unworthily. The avoidance is akin the avoidance many people have of the doctor's office. They may well suspect they are ill, but don't want to hear it said aloud, as if this somehow makes the illness non-existent.
The illness dealt with by the sacrament of Reconciliation, as it is usually called at present, is the spiritual illness of sin. We all do it. If anyone has doubts, they only have to read Scripture to hear that "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God". Taking that sin into the confessional and speaking it aloud to the priest is a difficult thing to do.
Sin falls into two categories, Venial Sin and Mortal Sin. Venial sin is the type that damages, but does not break, the relationship between God and His people. Mortal sin, on the other hand, breaks the relationship between God and His people.
This is actually a scriptural distinction, although many are not aware of this. 1 John 5:17 (RSV): All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin which is not mortal. {KJV: "not unto death"}
The Church teaches us that all mortal sin must be confessed sacramentally in order to be absolved.
Venial sin can be absolved in several ways. During the Mass itself there is more than one instance when venial sin is absolved. We may say during Mass "I confess to Almighty God and to you my brothers and sisters that I have sinned through my own fault: in what I have done and what I have failed to do and I ask Blessed Mary, ever virgin, all the angels and saints and you my brothers and sisters to pray for me to the Lord, our God." This is in the Roman Canon, now called the first Eucharistic Prayer. In the Tridentine Rite, we would say "Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa" (By my fault, by my fault, by my most grievous fault) and acknowledge our sin. Just before Communion we now acknowledge our imperfection and say "Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I ("my servant" in Scripture)will be healed.
What is the difference between mortal and venial sin? For a sin to mortal, it must involve grave matter and the sinner must have full knowledge of the sin and give it full consent.
It's pretty hard to commit a mortal sin accidently. In actuality, what is a mortal sin for one person, may be only a venial sin to another if they are ignorant of what they are doing.
Now, should ONLY mortal sins be confessed sacramentally? You might hear different things from different people. I think it is good to remember that no sin can enter heaven. If we persist in venial sin, we can find ourselves sliding into mortal sin without much thought. In a way, unrecognized venial sin desensitizes us to more serious sin. One speaker I heard likened unresolved venial sin to a callus that can grow over an irritation on our skin. It can make the irritation less irritating, and cause our conscience to go into a sort of hibernation.
Many people develop a devotional relationship to the sacrament of reconciliation. At one time it was not at all unusual for people to go to confession every week, before they received the Eucharist at Mass. Now, many people do not do the bare minimum, which is reconciliation once a year. Some people, however, go to confession regularly, monthly or even weekly.
Are these people greater sinners than other people? They may actually be less sinful. People who confess often get into the practice of monitoring their behaviour, with a mind to change what needs changing. They may do a daily examination of conscience, which has them deliberately reviewing the day's activity.
Regular confession to one confessor (that would be the priest) helps to expose recurrent behaviours and helps to eradicate them.
Some of our Protestant brethren take issue with confessing sins to a man and having him absolve. After all, priests are sinful people too, right?
Scripture very clearly gives the ability to bind and loose on earth and in heaven to the apostles (Matthew 18:18). By apostolic succession, this ability has been passed on to the priests of today.
The one actually absolving the sin is Christ. We say that the priest, when absolving sin, is acting 'in persona Christi Capitis'. By virtue of his holy orders, the priest is binding or loosing, in this case sin.
I try to receive this sacrament frequently. Frequently enough? I don't know. Sometimes, I feel very light when I am absolved. Sometimes I don't feel much of anything. But I am always touched when I hear the words of absolution. It is a tremendous gift. I can tell you quite cleary what my most persistent faults are! I confess, I mess up, and I confess again. I do not confess as a 'cop out' as some would say. I confess what I truly want to change.
Occasionally, and it is rare, I have been 'talked out' of a sin. The circumstances around what I saw as a sin were such that Father did not believe my behaviour was actually a sin. That can certainly give one a moment of thought!
Unfortunately, it can happen that the confessor does not believe in the confession of venial sin, and will discourage this practice. These men are really robbing the penitent of a great tool for achieving holiness! In a society which seems to like to tell us or show us that nothing is sinful, it can sometimes be a quite a challenge to take up the call to holiness.
I would challenge whomever finds himself (or herself) reading this to consider going to confession soon. For a Catholic, this is one of our most valuable gifts.
God Bless
Late last week, I had the privilege of receiving one of the healing sacraments. In other words: Confession, Reconciliation, Penance. Those names are all aspects of the one sacrament of forgiveness.
This is probably one of the least favourite sacraments. Arguably the other is probably Holy Orders!
Confession, as I tend to call it, is the act of publicly (to a priest) naming sins, and, hopefully, being absolved of those sins.
People tend to avoid this sacrament, often putting themselves in grave danger of being "guilty of the Body and Blood of Christ" as St. Paul said, by receiving the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist unworthily. The avoidance is akin the avoidance many people have of the doctor's office. They may well suspect they are ill, but don't want to hear it said aloud, as if this somehow makes the illness non-existent.
The illness dealt with by the sacrament of Reconciliation, as it is usually called at present, is the spiritual illness of sin. We all do it. If anyone has doubts, they only have to read Scripture to hear that "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God". Taking that sin into the confessional and speaking it aloud to the priest is a difficult thing to do.
Sin falls into two categories, Venial Sin and Mortal Sin. Venial sin is the type that damages, but does not break, the relationship between God and His people. Mortal sin, on the other hand, breaks the relationship between God and His people.
This is actually a scriptural distinction, although many are not aware of this. 1 John 5:17 (RSV): All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin which is not mortal. {KJV: "not unto death"}
The Church teaches us that all mortal sin must be confessed sacramentally in order to be absolved.
Venial sin can be absolved in several ways. During the Mass itself there is more than one instance when venial sin is absolved. We may say during Mass "I confess to Almighty God and to you my brothers and sisters that I have sinned through my own fault: in what I have done and what I have failed to do and I ask Blessed Mary, ever virgin, all the angels and saints and you my brothers and sisters to pray for me to the Lord, our God." This is in the Roman Canon, now called the first Eucharistic Prayer. In the Tridentine Rite, we would say "Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea maxima culpa" (By my fault, by my fault, by my most grievous fault) and acknowledge our sin. Just before Communion we now acknowledge our imperfection and say "Lord, I am not worthy to receive you, but only say the word and I ("my servant" in Scripture)will be healed.
What is the difference between mortal and venial sin? For a sin to mortal, it must involve grave matter and the sinner must have full knowledge of the sin and give it full consent.
It's pretty hard to commit a mortal sin accidently. In actuality, what is a mortal sin for one person, may be only a venial sin to another if they are ignorant of what they are doing.
Now, should ONLY mortal sins be confessed sacramentally? You might hear different things from different people. I think it is good to remember that no sin can enter heaven. If we persist in venial sin, we can find ourselves sliding into mortal sin without much thought. In a way, unrecognized venial sin desensitizes us to more serious sin. One speaker I heard likened unresolved venial sin to a callus that can grow over an irritation on our skin. It can make the irritation less irritating, and cause our conscience to go into a sort of hibernation.
Many people develop a devotional relationship to the sacrament of reconciliation. At one time it was not at all unusual for people to go to confession every week, before they received the Eucharist at Mass. Now, many people do not do the bare minimum, which is reconciliation once a year. Some people, however, go to confession regularly, monthly or even weekly.
Are these people greater sinners than other people? They may actually be less sinful. People who confess often get into the practice of monitoring their behaviour, with a mind to change what needs changing. They may do a daily examination of conscience, which has them deliberately reviewing the day's activity.
Regular confession to one confessor (that would be the priest) helps to expose recurrent behaviours and helps to eradicate them.
Some of our Protestant brethren take issue with confessing sins to a man and having him absolve. After all, priests are sinful people too, right?
Scripture very clearly gives the ability to bind and loose on earth and in heaven to the apostles (Matthew 18:18). By apostolic succession, this ability has been passed on to the priests of today.
The one actually absolving the sin is Christ. We say that the priest, when absolving sin, is acting 'in persona Christi Capitis'. By virtue of his holy orders, the priest is binding or loosing, in this case sin.
I try to receive this sacrament frequently. Frequently enough? I don't know. Sometimes, I feel very light when I am absolved. Sometimes I don't feel much of anything. But I am always touched when I hear the words of absolution. It is a tremendous gift. I can tell you quite cleary what my most persistent faults are! I confess, I mess up, and I confess again. I do not confess as a 'cop out' as some would say. I confess what I truly want to change.
Occasionally, and it is rare, I have been 'talked out' of a sin. The circumstances around what I saw as a sin were such that Father did not believe my behaviour was actually a sin. That can certainly give one a moment of thought!
Unfortunately, it can happen that the confessor does not believe in the confession of venial sin, and will discourage this practice. These men are really robbing the penitent of a great tool for achieving holiness! In a society which seems to like to tell us or show us that nothing is sinful, it can sometimes be a quite a challenge to take up the call to holiness.
I would challenge whomever finds himself (or herself) reading this to consider going to confession soon. For a Catholic, this is one of our most valuable gifts.
God Bless
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Hello friends
I apologize for my lapse in posting here. We've had computer trouble, now apparently mended, and I am also working on a posting that is actually requiring some research, and it's far from finished yet. In the meantime...
A very dear priest-friend of mine once said that Catholics do funerals very well. Sadly, we tested this comment once again this week.
Canada is at war. The troops in Kandahar province of Afghanistan are suffering what seems to me to be a high number of injuries and deaths over there. An inside source tells me that there is a news blackout regarding the injuries. For morale, I suppose.
The deaths cannot be hidden.
On Friday at our chapel, I sang in the choir for the funeral Mass for a soldier, and member of our chapel parish. Although I did not know the family personally, I had certainly seen them frequently. This was about the hardest funeral I've ever been involved with. I was not the only participant who felt very drained when it was over.
Catholic funerals are not what people generally think of when they think of funerals. There are similarities of course, but also many profound differences.
The Catholic funeral is less a memorial to a life ended than it is a celebration of new life with God. In fact, the only two times a person will have the large Paschal (Easter) Candle lit for him or her during the lifetime, is at the person's baptism and at his or her funeral.
What is the connection between Easter, Baptism and the Funeral? The Paschal Candle, which should be brand new each year (and incidently is the only candle in the church required to be wax, specifically at least 51% beeswax) is lit during the Easter Vigil Mass each year. It is lit from a special fire made for just this purpose. The light from this candle symbolizes Christ's light of salvation given through His resurrection from the dead. The candle is plunged into the water to be blessed at this Mass as well.
So, the candle is a sign of Christ's resurrection. It stays lit during every Mass of the 50 day Easter Season.
When a person is baptized, they are baptized into Christ's death and resurrection. The pouring of water on the one being baptized symbolizes, among other things, death! This is seen somewhat more clearly if the baptism is done by immersion. Coming out of the water symbolizes rising from death as a new creation in Christ. Infants being baptized have the stain of Original Sin removed. Adults, or anyone over the age of reason, have Original Sin and any sin they've committed (Actual Sin) up to that time, removed. This symbol is further exhibited when the newly baptized are clothed in a white garment.
When a baptized person has died, Catholics believe that he is passing into everlasting life. "You raise the dead to new life in the Spirit" go the words to the Kyrie we chanted at this funeral when we asked for Christ's mercy for the dead and for ourselves. The funeral pall draped over the casket is a reminder of the white garment given at Bapism!
I'm not sure, but I surmise that this is why the Catholic military funerals I've seen do not drape the casket with a Canadian flag. My understanding is that the flag may be placed on the casket before burial, but not within the Mass.
Catholics do not properly have a Eulogy at a funeral Mass. The priest or perhaps a Deacon as I saw at another funeral, will deliver the Homily, as at a Sunday Mass. This homily will almost always give those at the Mass examples of what kind of a person the deceased was. Sometimes funny stories, collected from friends and family in the days before the funeral, are related. But always, in my experience, the emphasis is on eternal life. Family and friends are usually given other opportunities to share stories of the life of the deceased. This can happen before or after the Mass, at a wake or at a reception.
We are a Church that prays for the dead. We believe the dead are "alive in Christ". In John 11:25, Jesus says "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26 and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
So death of a believer is a type of resurrection. This is the Easter connection.
I am not sure I've ever been to a Mass that did not involve incense. Before the casket is taken from the church, the deceased is commended to God. The casket is blessed with Holy Water and is incensed. Holy Water is another reminder of Baptism and incense is symbolic of our prayers rising to God. At Friday's funeral, we sang a short song during the incensing which wished the deceased a greeting of angels when he entered heaven.
As hard as this funeral was for the choir, who must sing on, often through choked back tears (on a personal note, I saw that the deceased had surviving him a son who was only about as old as our youngest, which us under three), we can only imagine what this was like for the family, who we saw throughout. The choir left with headaches, the family, who appeared very strong in Faith, left with heartache, which cannot be cured with an aspirin.
God Bless
I apologize for my lapse in posting here. We've had computer trouble, now apparently mended, and I am also working on a posting that is actually requiring some research, and it's far from finished yet. In the meantime...
A very dear priest-friend of mine once said that Catholics do funerals very well. Sadly, we tested this comment once again this week.
Canada is at war. The troops in Kandahar province of Afghanistan are suffering what seems to me to be a high number of injuries and deaths over there. An inside source tells me that there is a news blackout regarding the injuries. For morale, I suppose.
The deaths cannot be hidden.
On Friday at our chapel, I sang in the choir for the funeral Mass for a soldier, and member of our chapel parish. Although I did not know the family personally, I had certainly seen them frequently. This was about the hardest funeral I've ever been involved with. I was not the only participant who felt very drained when it was over.
Catholic funerals are not what people generally think of when they think of funerals. There are similarities of course, but also many profound differences.
The Catholic funeral is less a memorial to a life ended than it is a celebration of new life with God. In fact, the only two times a person will have the large Paschal (Easter) Candle lit for him or her during the lifetime, is at the person's baptism and at his or her funeral.
What is the connection between Easter, Baptism and the Funeral? The Paschal Candle, which should be brand new each year (and incidently is the only candle in the church required to be wax, specifically at least 51% beeswax) is lit during the Easter Vigil Mass each year. It is lit from a special fire made for just this purpose. The light from this candle symbolizes Christ's light of salvation given through His resurrection from the dead. The candle is plunged into the water to be blessed at this Mass as well.
So, the candle is a sign of Christ's resurrection. It stays lit during every Mass of the 50 day Easter Season.
When a person is baptized, they are baptized into Christ's death and resurrection. The pouring of water on the one being baptized symbolizes, among other things, death! This is seen somewhat more clearly if the baptism is done by immersion. Coming out of the water symbolizes rising from death as a new creation in Christ. Infants being baptized have the stain of Original Sin removed. Adults, or anyone over the age of reason, have Original Sin and any sin they've committed (Actual Sin) up to that time, removed. This symbol is further exhibited when the newly baptized are clothed in a white garment.
When a baptized person has died, Catholics believe that he is passing into everlasting life. "You raise the dead to new life in the Spirit" go the words to the Kyrie we chanted at this funeral when we asked for Christ's mercy for the dead and for ourselves. The funeral pall draped over the casket is a reminder of the white garment given at Bapism!
I'm not sure, but I surmise that this is why the Catholic military funerals I've seen do not drape the casket with a Canadian flag. My understanding is that the flag may be placed on the casket before burial, but not within the Mass.
Catholics do not properly have a Eulogy at a funeral Mass. The priest or perhaps a Deacon as I saw at another funeral, will deliver the Homily, as at a Sunday Mass. This homily will almost always give those at the Mass examples of what kind of a person the deceased was. Sometimes funny stories, collected from friends and family in the days before the funeral, are related. But always, in my experience, the emphasis is on eternal life. Family and friends are usually given other opportunities to share stories of the life of the deceased. This can happen before or after the Mass, at a wake or at a reception.
We are a Church that prays for the dead. We believe the dead are "alive in Christ". In John 11:25, Jesus says "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; 26 and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?"
So death of a believer is a type of resurrection. This is the Easter connection.
I am not sure I've ever been to a Mass that did not involve incense. Before the casket is taken from the church, the deceased is commended to God. The casket is blessed with Holy Water and is incensed. Holy Water is another reminder of Baptism and incense is symbolic of our prayers rising to God. At Friday's funeral, we sang a short song during the incensing which wished the deceased a greeting of angels when he entered heaven.
As hard as this funeral was for the choir, who must sing on, often through choked back tears (on a personal note, I saw that the deceased had surviving him a son who was only about as old as our youngest, which us under three), we can only imagine what this was like for the family, who we saw throughout. The choir left with headaches, the family, who appeared very strong in Faith, left with heartache, which cannot be cured with an aspirin.
God Bless
Sunday, September 03, 2006
Law
Today at Mass, Father's homily really made me think.
That is a good thing, and really not SO unusual!
He was discussing liturgy and the rules. He mentioned scrupulosity, that sin of seeing sin where none exists. Made me a little nervous.
I will readily admit to finding great comfort in rules. They give our lives structure and a certain level of predictability.
I have been called pharisaic, that is; like a Pharisee.
The Pharisees were a sect in Judaism who took great interest in the many laws that existed for the Jewish people. Jesus took them to task. This can be a troublesome text for people like me, until some light is shed on it.
The Pharisees were very caught up in the letter of the Law. By losing sight of the reasons behind the law, the 'spirit' of it, they became incapable of the love that is necessary for the just functioning of a society.
Scripture tells us that we are to love the law. We are to love the Lord's precepts (another word for rules). Jesus came not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it.
God gave us His Church so that we would not be without leadership when Jesus ascended to heaven. The Church is the Body of Christ. We are a part of the Body of Christ. The Church (the Body of Christ) gives us rules. As we love the Body of Christ, we are to love the Church and love the rules. Oh, did I mention that Jesus Christ IS God in the form of the Son?
Part of the problem is that people present the discussion as if it's an either/or thing. You either love OR you follow the rules. This is certainly not the case.
As confirmed adult Catholics, we are REQUIRED to admonish the sinner. That is one of the Spiritual works of mercy. We can't admonish the sinner if we don't know right from wrong...ie rules.
Father's homily was referring mostly to liturgy. Liturgy has rules. It's very easy to dismiss the rules as bureaucratic, hierarchical, outdated, outmoded, irrelevant. Who's to know? Does God really care if we follow the rules the Church gives us for liturgy? Will the people know any different?
I think of the Parable of the Talents in the Gospel of Matthew where we hear "Well done good and faithful servant. You have shown you can be trusted in small things. You will be trusted with greater things."
Following faithfully the directions on the timing of, say, the Communion song seems to many people like a very small thing indeed. But there are reasons behind it. We should be faithful to that small thing.
But if the song starts three seconds late, or even early, do I bite off the head of the music leader? Of course not. If she truly does not know, at some point direction will need to be given. If she gets it right 14 weeks out of 15? Ignore it. She knows how it's supposed to work.
If I know that someone is falling into grave sin, do I let it go? Well, if I am certain the person knows better, it is entirely possible that my pointing out a sin would be no help. It might even make matters worse.
If the person is ignorant of the sinfulness of his action, the loving thing IS to point out the sin. How loving is it to have a person persist in sinfulness that may endanger his soul?
I've known people in positions of authority and guidance who ignore blatant sin, because, well, the sinner is so HAPPY...one wonders if that might be a temporary condition. And what of the soul of the person who did not admonish the sinner?
We are not in a time and place that much likes being told what to do. I think we have lost sight of how rules help us function more smoothly as a society.
I also think that in the Church, of all places, where we are called NOT to conform to the patterns of the world, would be a place where rules would be respected.
That is a good thing, and really not SO unusual!
He was discussing liturgy and the rules. He mentioned scrupulosity, that sin of seeing sin where none exists. Made me a little nervous.
I will readily admit to finding great comfort in rules. They give our lives structure and a certain level of predictability.
I have been called pharisaic, that is; like a Pharisee.
The Pharisees were a sect in Judaism who took great interest in the many laws that existed for the Jewish people. Jesus took them to task. This can be a troublesome text for people like me, until some light is shed on it.
The Pharisees were very caught up in the letter of the Law. By losing sight of the reasons behind the law, the 'spirit' of it, they became incapable of the love that is necessary for the just functioning of a society.
Scripture tells us that we are to love the law. We are to love the Lord's precepts (another word for rules). Jesus came not to abolish the law, but to fulfill it.
God gave us His Church so that we would not be without leadership when Jesus ascended to heaven. The Church is the Body of Christ. We are a part of the Body of Christ. The Church (the Body of Christ) gives us rules. As we love the Body of Christ, we are to love the Church and love the rules. Oh, did I mention that Jesus Christ IS God in the form of the Son?
Part of the problem is that people present the discussion as if it's an either/or thing. You either love OR you follow the rules. This is certainly not the case.
As confirmed adult Catholics, we are REQUIRED to admonish the sinner. That is one of the Spiritual works of mercy. We can't admonish the sinner if we don't know right from wrong...ie rules.
Father's homily was referring mostly to liturgy. Liturgy has rules. It's very easy to dismiss the rules as bureaucratic, hierarchical, outdated, outmoded, irrelevant. Who's to know? Does God really care if we follow the rules the Church gives us for liturgy? Will the people know any different?
I think of the Parable of the Talents in the Gospel of Matthew where we hear "Well done good and faithful servant. You have shown you can be trusted in small things. You will be trusted with greater things."
Following faithfully the directions on the timing of, say, the Communion song seems to many people like a very small thing indeed. But there are reasons behind it. We should be faithful to that small thing.
But if the song starts three seconds late, or even early, do I bite off the head of the music leader? Of course not. If she truly does not know, at some point direction will need to be given. If she gets it right 14 weeks out of 15? Ignore it. She knows how it's supposed to work.
If I know that someone is falling into grave sin, do I let it go? Well, if I am certain the person knows better, it is entirely possible that my pointing out a sin would be no help. It might even make matters worse.
If the person is ignorant of the sinfulness of his action, the loving thing IS to point out the sin. How loving is it to have a person persist in sinfulness that may endanger his soul?
I've known people in positions of authority and guidance who ignore blatant sin, because, well, the sinner is so HAPPY...one wonders if that might be a temporary condition. And what of the soul of the person who did not admonish the sinner?
We are not in a time and place that much likes being told what to do. I think we have lost sight of how rules help us function more smoothly as a society.
I also think that in the Church, of all places, where we are called NOT to conform to the patterns of the world, would be a place where rules would be respected.
Sunday, August 27, 2006
Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time
Good evening.
Today is, as the title indicates, the Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Ordinary time simply means 'ordered' or 'numbered'. It does not mean 'unremarkable' or 'boring'. Sundays which are not in Ordinary Time are in other seasons of the Church calendar which would be Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter seasons. In that case a Sunday would be called "The Fourth Sunday in Lent" or something like that.
It comes as a surprise to many that there is no 'First Sunday' in ordinary time. I do not know why. Many a new liturgical minister has been befuddled by this!
Today is the Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time, but we were blessed today with a Mass that was not at all ordinary.
We had three priests and a deacon celebrating Mass. And it wasn't a wedding or funeral. This is rather unusual at any rate, but in our military chapel it is exceedingly rare for many reasons. The priest who was the main celebrant even commented on how unusual it is for all these men to be ANYWHERE at the same time!
This is the first time I"ve seen our new deacon, who is still in the process of moving in. He was ordained less than a month ago. It is also the first time I've seen a deacon 'in action'. There are specific parts of the Mass reserved for deacons.
I will also add that there are two types of deacons. Temporary deacons are men on their way to Ordination as a priest. Permanent Deacons are men who may be married with families. By their ordination they make the statement that they will not re-marry if their wife dies. This is similar to the priests in the Eastern Rite churches. Once they are ordained, they may not marry.
It was a lovely Mass today. Father commented that it would be hard to claim a vocations shortage here.
With our one altar server, who is also an adult, it made for an all-male team in the sanctuary, which is all too rare.
We in the choir numbered only four, and even then that was only when both my husband and I were not being called upon to tend to our little one! Nonetheless, I gather we sounded pretty good. We got applause after Mass.
I do NOT like getting applause. The glory is to be to God. We are not entertainment. But still, it feels nice. Did that make any sense?
Our music leader has been making heavy use of a few songs over the past couple of weeks. The small congregation is slowly learning them and starting to sing better. There was a fellow here this week visiting his daughter who was a wonderful, if temporary, addition to the musical side of the congregation. We decided he had to join the choir, but unfortunately it would be too long a commute!
All in all I came away feeling particularly blessed today. I hope this feeling oozes out to the community so they will join us!
God Bless
Today is, as the title indicates, the Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Ordinary time simply means 'ordered' or 'numbered'. It does not mean 'unremarkable' or 'boring'. Sundays which are not in Ordinary Time are in other seasons of the Church calendar which would be Advent, Christmas, Lent and Easter seasons. In that case a Sunday would be called "The Fourth Sunday in Lent" or something like that.
It comes as a surprise to many that there is no 'First Sunday' in ordinary time. I do not know why. Many a new liturgical minister has been befuddled by this!
Today is the Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time, but we were blessed today with a Mass that was not at all ordinary.
We had three priests and a deacon celebrating Mass. And it wasn't a wedding or funeral. This is rather unusual at any rate, but in our military chapel it is exceedingly rare for many reasons. The priest who was the main celebrant even commented on how unusual it is for all these men to be ANYWHERE at the same time!
This is the first time I"ve seen our new deacon, who is still in the process of moving in. He was ordained less than a month ago. It is also the first time I've seen a deacon 'in action'. There are specific parts of the Mass reserved for deacons.
I will also add that there are two types of deacons. Temporary deacons are men on their way to Ordination as a priest. Permanent Deacons are men who may be married with families. By their ordination they make the statement that they will not re-marry if their wife dies. This is similar to the priests in the Eastern Rite churches. Once they are ordained, they may not marry.
It was a lovely Mass today. Father commented that it would be hard to claim a vocations shortage here.
With our one altar server, who is also an adult, it made for an all-male team in the sanctuary, which is all too rare.
We in the choir numbered only four, and even then that was only when both my husband and I were not being called upon to tend to our little one! Nonetheless, I gather we sounded pretty good. We got applause after Mass.
I do NOT like getting applause. The glory is to be to God. We are not entertainment. But still, it feels nice. Did that make any sense?
Our music leader has been making heavy use of a few songs over the past couple of weeks. The small congregation is slowly learning them and starting to sing better. There was a fellow here this week visiting his daughter who was a wonderful, if temporary, addition to the musical side of the congregation. We decided he had to join the choir, but unfortunately it would be too long a commute!
All in all I came away feeling particularly blessed today. I hope this feeling oozes out to the community so they will join us!
God Bless
Monday, August 21, 2006
AIDS boondoggle
Happy Monday!
What follows is some disjointed mental meanderings...
Well, the Aids conference held in Canada is over. Deep Breath. What a mess this seems to be.
The devil is tapdancing in some pretty high places it would seem by some of what has surfaced in the "fight against AIDS"
I've heard it called a pandemic. What is a pandemic? Answers.com (the first definition that showed up) says this:
Widespread; general.
Medicine. Epidemic over a wide geographic area and affecting a large proportion of the population: pandemic influenza.
n.
A pandemic disease.
The Spanish Flu of 1918-19 is listed as a pandemic. It killed 20 million people world wide in ONE YEAR.
AIDS deaths worldwide since 1981 (that would be twenty five years) is 25 million, according to AVERT.com. Another site says 20 million, yet another 23 million.
Let's say that there are 900,000 deaths each year since 1981.
This is what the WHO says about cancer rates worldwide:
Cancer by the Numbers
Lung cancer is the most common cancer worldwide, accounting for 1.2 million new cases annually; followed by cancer of the breast, just over 1 million cases; colorectal, 940,000; stomach, 870,000; liver, 560,000; cervical, 470,000; esophageal, 410,000; head and neck, 390,000; bladder, 330,000; malignant non-Hodgkin lymphomas, 290,000; leukemia, 250,000; prostate and testicular, 250,000; pancreatic, 216,000; ovarian, 190,000; kidney, 190,000; endometrial, 188,000; nervous system, 175,000; melanoma, 133,000; thyroid, 123,000; pharynx, 65,000; and Hodgkin disease, 62,000 cases.
How come AIDS gets as much attention as it does? It isn't such a big deal compared to cancer.
We hear a lot about AIDS prevention. Usually, the other word seen with that is 'comdoms'. Condoms are too porous to stop a virus. There has to be something better than that.
There is.
Uganda managed to get it's AIDS rate down below 6%. The employed the chastity principle. This is, I believe the best progress yet made. Ah. Yes, but chastity is so unpopular! And no one makes much money off of it. And by golly, it calls for self control. Can't have that!
If all these people talking about AIDS really cared about lives, they'd do what worked.
I think there's an agenda or two, or ten, at work. Apparently sex trade workers (I think we used to call them prostitutes?) used the opportunity to ask for more rights or something. Huh?
I guess I get tired of the shrillness, the intolerence that seems to be associated with this movement. We need to find treatments for those who are ill, but also, we need to prevent this disease.
I guess I'm not the only one. Tony Clement said there was no point saying anything at the conference. He said it was not a place for rational discussion, and that it had become too political.
When will there be rational discussion? The Catholic Church is very active in hospices which help people dying of AIDS and other diseases. They are also promoting prevention by calling for chastity. This means abstinence from sexual relationships if you are not married, and faithfulness to ones spouse if you are married. Oh, and of course to be married means that there is one man and one woman involved.
The Church is more than willing to help those attracted to members of the opposite sex develop a lifestyle of chastity. There are many who have done it and continue to do it.
But it still comes back to self control, doesn't it?
What follows is some disjointed mental meanderings...
Well, the Aids conference held in Canada is over. Deep Breath. What a mess this seems to be.
The devil is tapdancing in some pretty high places it would seem by some of what has surfaced in the "fight against AIDS"
I've heard it called a pandemic. What is a pandemic? Answers.com (the first definition that showed up) says this:
Widespread; general.
Medicine. Epidemic over a wide geographic area and affecting a large proportion of the population: pandemic influenza.
n.
A pandemic disease.
The Spanish Flu of 1918-19 is listed as a pandemic. It killed 20 million people world wide in ONE YEAR.
AIDS deaths worldwide since 1981 (that would be twenty five years) is 25 million, according to AVERT.com. Another site says 20 million, yet another 23 million.
Let's say that there are 900,000 deaths each year since 1981.
This is what the WHO says about cancer rates worldwide:
Cancer by the Numbers
Lung cancer is the most common cancer worldwide, accounting for 1.2 million new cases annually; followed by cancer of the breast, just over 1 million cases; colorectal, 940,000; stomach, 870,000; liver, 560,000; cervical, 470,000; esophageal, 410,000; head and neck, 390,000; bladder, 330,000; malignant non-Hodgkin lymphomas, 290,000; leukemia, 250,000; prostate and testicular, 250,000; pancreatic, 216,000; ovarian, 190,000; kidney, 190,000; endometrial, 188,000; nervous system, 175,000; melanoma, 133,000; thyroid, 123,000; pharynx, 65,000; and Hodgkin disease, 62,000 cases.
How come AIDS gets as much attention as it does? It isn't such a big deal compared to cancer.
We hear a lot about AIDS prevention. Usually, the other word seen with that is 'comdoms'. Condoms are too porous to stop a virus. There has to be something better than that.
There is.
Uganda managed to get it's AIDS rate down below 6%. The employed the chastity principle. This is, I believe the best progress yet made. Ah. Yes, but chastity is so unpopular! And no one makes much money off of it. And by golly, it calls for self control. Can't have that!
If all these people talking about AIDS really cared about lives, they'd do what worked.
I think there's an agenda or two, or ten, at work. Apparently sex trade workers (I think we used to call them prostitutes?) used the opportunity to ask for more rights or something. Huh?
I guess I get tired of the shrillness, the intolerence that seems to be associated with this movement. We need to find treatments for those who are ill, but also, we need to prevent this disease.
I guess I'm not the only one. Tony Clement said there was no point saying anything at the conference. He said it was not a place for rational discussion, and that it had become too political.
When will there be rational discussion? The Catholic Church is very active in hospices which help people dying of AIDS and other diseases. They are also promoting prevention by calling for chastity. This means abstinence from sexual relationships if you are not married, and faithfulness to ones spouse if you are married. Oh, and of course to be married means that there is one man and one woman involved.
The Church is more than willing to help those attracted to members of the opposite sex develop a lifestyle of chastity. There are many who have done it and continue to do it.
But it still comes back to self control, doesn't it?
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