Well, I'm Back

Retreat was awesome, and so was the Ordination in Omaha.  More later and happy Memorial Day!

Ordination Countdown

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I'm Back...for now...

I am back from the ordination in North Dakota.  Boy, there really is nothing up there....really...there is nothing.  I will be here until Friday when I go on retreat for five days, then immediately to Omaha, NE for another ordination.  Then it's back to good old South Dakota.

Gone For The Weekend

I am off to North Dakota for the ordination of a classmate.  Please pray for safe travels.

George W. Bush - Man Of Compassion

In a moment largely unnoticed by the throngs of people in Lebanon waiting for autographs from the president of the United States, George W. Bush stopped to hold a teenager's head close to his heart.

Lynn Faulkner, his daughter, Ashley, and their neighbor, Linda Prince, eagerly waited to shake the president's hand Tuesday at the Golden Lamb Inn. He worked the line at a steady campaign pace, smiling, nodding and signing autographs until Prince spoke:

"This girl lost her mom in the World Trade Center on 9-11."

Bush stopped and turned back.

"He changed from being the leader of the free world to being a father, a husband and a man," Faulkner said. "He looked right at her and said, 'How are you doing?' He reached out with his hand and pulled her into his chest."

"The way he was holding me, with my head against his chest, it felt like he was trying to protect me," Ashley said. "I thought, 'Here is the most powerful guy in the world, and he wants to make sure I'm safe.' I definitely had a couple of tears in my eyes, which is pretty unusual for me."

Get Yours Today!

Joe London Writes A Parody Of A Vocation To The Diaconate

"You see, father, I felt the enema of life..."

"Enema? What you mean Matty?"

"Yes the mystery”

"Oh ok, enigma"

"Yes what did I say?"

"Ok go ahead, son, I understand now"

"I felt the big enigma of life deep inside me, and I suddenly knew there was only an answer..."

"yes son, I understand you very well."

"My greatest aspiration is that of becoming more closely part of the bride of God, the Church, as a deacon, hoping to humbly deserve such a honour, because I have indeed comprehended that only as a deacon shall the enema of life be fulfilled..."

"I am glad to hear that son, I sure hope your path will be paved with grace and enormous satisfactions"

"I have tried other paths, the easy ones, the ones that the inane world consider straight, but after many attempts I understood that, as the Bible says, in Luke 13:22-35, one should choose the Narrow Door, however hard and difficult the entrance might be!"

"yes son, the doors that most people enter, however orthodox they may appear to them, are not the Narrow Door that we, saved, know to be the only one that leads to the ultimate bliss."

"Exactly father, I can recognize, and admire in you, the perspicacity that divine Grace only can confer to a human soul".

"Don't say so, you make me blush, son"

"So father, like I said, I have tried various ways, and I finally understood, that whereas the world preaches wisdom, I shall embrace madness, for verily madness to the world is reason to God..."

"yes son!"

"..whereas the world preaches power, I shall embrace passivity, because suffering is to be passive to the will of God…"

"yes yes yes, oh saintly words, Matty"

"... whereas the world screams and raises a loud vulgar voice, I shall pursue the softness of the fluted voices of angels"

"yes yes yes, oh yes, Canister, your remind me of the early days when I felt aroused by faith and heard the call"

".... and whereas the world, blindly pursue the delusive and deceitful common pleasures of the flesh, I shall pursue less common pleasures..."

"oh Matty! I love it when I meet men that feel so strongly the call"

"yes father.. oh father, I have decided to give in, to comply, to accept, to bend to the will of God..."

"...Oh Matty, I have decided the same, years ago, welcome to the great sisterhood of the brides of God, and come here and give me a pure, theologically sound, big sisterly kiss!"

Among the many problems with his little parody, there is one that sticks out like a sore thumb.  The problem of which I speak is his misunderstanding of the bride-groom analogy used by the Church to explain the relationship of priests and deacons to the Church.  Mr. London seems to think that the priest/deacon is identified with the bride (the Church) as opposed to the groom (Christ) which leads to homosexuality among clergy.

The Church has never seen the analogy this way.  The priest/deacon is configured to Christ (the groom) and not to the Church (the bride).  The priest stands apart from the Church (bride) to act in the person of Christ (the groom).  Therefore in the bride/groom analogy the priest identifies himself with the masculine and not the feminine.  This is one of the reasons why Catholics do not allow women to be priests, because it would not work to have the feminine woman taking on the masculine role of the groom.

Priests are called to be real men full of strength and vigor, fighting the good fight for the salvation of all.  Priests must never be passive, but rather, true to their own masculinity, they must give of themselves for their bride (the Church) just as Christ did on the Cross.  Priests must have the moral fortitude and strength to stand with Christ and proclaim "This is my body, given up for you."

Bishop Aquila Kicks Butt

Bishop Aquila of Fargo, ND to pro-abortion politicians: "Jesus Christ has warned clearly within the Gospel that hell is a reality and that we are free to choose it. Catholics who separate their faith life from their professional and social activities are putting the salvation of their souls in jeopardy. They risk the possibility of hell"

I have met Bishop Aquila a number of times and he is a holy and prayerful man who is also very down to earth. Now I also know that he is a man of great integrity who is not afraid to tell the truth.

Read the whole homily here.

More Of The Same

It's amazing how much hatred people can have for the Church.

Transition

Well folks, my exams are done and I am packing up and heading home.  I will post when I am back in the holy land (South Dakota).  Keep me in your prayers.

South Dakota And Catholic Politicians

RAPID CITY, S.D. - The chairwoman of the South Dakota Democratic Party and the state's Republican governor, both Catholics, disagree on whether it is right for some officials in their church to work actively against abortion in the political realm.

"I don't believe this should be an issue," said Judy Olson Duhamel, a lifelong Catholic and chairwoman of the state Democratic Party. "I'm sorry my church doesn't see that, at times, everything is not black and white."

Duhamel, of Rapid City, answered questions about a cardinal's statement, made recently from the Vatican, that politicians who support abortion rights are "not fit" to receive the Catholic sacrament of Communion. Cardinal Francis Arinze's statement made news worldwide and led to coverage of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry's taking of Communion and his strong statements in support of legalized abortion.

Gov. Mike Rounds said it is church officials' job to point out right and wrong.

"The issue of abortion is an absolute right and an absolute wrong. I think the church is correct in that they have to lay out right and wrong," Rounds said.

But Rounds stopped short of endorsing sanctions for elected officials who do not agree with the church on every issue.

"The church should be clear in its teachings, but even with the most clear teachings, there are questions about the appropriate way of how to fix what is wrong," Rounds said.

Bishop Blase Cupich of the Catholic Diocese of Rapid City said church officials are not considering sanctions, such as the denial of Communion.

"This was no official pronouncement by this cardinal. He later clarified that he was not telling anybody how to do anything," Cupich said.

A domestic policy task force is working on recommendations of how to put into practice a Vatican document about how church officials should communicate with elected officials, Cupich said.

"Even in that, there is nothing said about sanctions," Cupich said.

Cupich said he believes church officials are right to give advice on politics but that it should not be limited to a single issue.

"We want all Catholics to take responsibility as adults for their political actions. It's our job to inform them about the moral implications of those decisions," the bishop said. "We cannot cherry-pick particular issues. We have to be willing to talk about all issues. Our position begins with protecting the unborn, but it doesn't end there."

Governor Mike Rounds is a pretty good guy. I recently ran into him in the Chapel of the Discalced Carmelites in Alexandria South Dakota, and he usually shows up at the fishing tournaments sponsored by my diocese to help fund seminarian education. I just wish he wouldn't have sent the bill to make abortion illegal in South Dakota back to the Senate where it lost the second time around...I sometimes wonder if that wasn't some sort of shady deal. But I am sure it will be back next year, and hopefully he will sign it into law.

Archbishop Myers Steps Up To The Plate

Archbishop John J. Myers of Newark N.J. issued a pastoral letter entitled "A Time For Honesty." In it he says:

This is not a new teaching of the Church. From the earliest years, it has been pointed out that one cannot claim to be a Christian and yet believe other than what the Church teaches. In the second century St. Justin Martyr described the Eucharist in this way: “No one may share the Eucharist with us unless he believes that what we teach is true, unless he is washed in the regenerating waters of baptism for the remission of his sins, and unless he lives in accordance with the principles given us by Christ.”

The law and discipline of the Church recognizes this fact in various ways. It is a time for honesty. I ask and urge that Catholic voters and Catholics in public life carefully consider their position if they find themselves in opposition to Church teaching in these matters. Sadly, I must point out that to continue down this road places them in danger of distancing themselves even more from Jesus Christ and from His Church.

Perhaps it is also time to remind ourselves of the meaning and purpose of communion. No one has an absolute right to the Eucharist. It is a gift given to us by a merciful and gracious God. In fact, the Eucharist is God’s gift of Himself to us. In receiving Him we are made one flesh with him. This reception also symbolizes and makes real our union with the whole Church. To receive unworthily or without proper dispositions is a very serious sin against the Lord. St. Paul explicitly teaches this in his letter to the Church at Corinth when he wrote, “This means that whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily sins against the body and blood of the Lord. A man should examine himself first; only then should he eat of the bread and drink of the cup. He who eats and drinks without recognizing the body eats and drinks a judgment on himself” (1 Cor 11: 27-29). “Without recognizing the body” refers both to recognizing the presence of Christ in the Eucharist and recognizing the Body of Christ, which is the Church. Obviously this means that no Catholic should approach communion unless properly disposed (without unconfessed mortal sin on one’s conscience, having fasted at least one hour in accordance with the Church’s discipline, etc.).

But, receiving the Eucharist also means that one is in fact in full communion with Christ and His Church. To receive communion when one has, through public or private action, separated oneself from unity with Christ and His Church, is objectively dishonest. It is an expression of communion by one’s action that is objectively not in accordance with one’s heart, mind, and choices.

Communion is Not Private

Because the Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith, the most sacred action of our Church, to misuse the Eucharistic symbol by reducing it to one’s private “feeling” of communion with Christ and His Church while objectively not being in such union is gravely disordered.

This is particularly true when it comes to the area of protecting human life. Abortion and infanticide are, as Vatican Council II stated, “abominable crimes” (Gaudium et Spes, Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, 51). The fact that all too many U.S. citizens have grown comfortable with the on-going injustice of abortion on demand is quite upsetting. That some Catholics, who claim to believe what the Church believes, are willing to allow others to continue directly to kill the innocent is a grave scandal. The situation is much much worse when these same leaders receive the Eucharist when they are not objectively in communion with Christ and His Church. Their objective dishonesty serves to compound the scandal.

 Amen!

The Curt Jester Strikes Again

Check out the In-Sin-erator.

This Coach Deserves A Very Severe Beating

I hope they fire him.

Getting It Straight

Looks like there is a great new book out by Timothy J. Dailey, Ph.D., and Peter Sprigg that debunks some myths about homosexuality by looking at the facts.

Getting It Straight:What the Research Shows About Homosexuality is a compilation of research findings concerning several foundational issues with respect to homosexuality. For decades, the public has not been "getting it straight" from the news media, entertainment media, and academia. Instead, a number of myths have been widely promoted and have taken root in the public mind--myths such as:

·  ten percent of the population is homosexual,

·  people are born homosexual, and

·  homosexuality is harmless

Getting It Straight debunks these myths--primarily by using direct quotations from scholarly articles and publications.

Check out this website for more info on the book and what it says.

Food For Thought

Feminists For Life

Kerry's Henchwomen Continue To Abuse Pro-Lifers

Five pro-life college students were forcibly removed from a pro-abortion rally held by presumptive Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry on Friday. The students were literally dragged off after they began leading a pro-life chant and one woman suffered injuries to her feet as a result.

With leaders of NARAL and Planned Parenthood at his side, Kerry held a rally on Friday to tout his pro-abortion position and Planned Parenthood's endorsement prior to Sunday's march for abortion. Supporters began chanting "What do we want? Choice! When do we want it? Now!" The next time through the chant, the students, all women from George Washington University, screamed out "Life!"

According to Edmiston, after the chants, a group of young adults with NARAL t-shirts surrounded the women. "All of a sudden these NARAL girls appeared out of nowhere," Edmiston. "You guys have to leave right now," the NARAL women told the students. Edmiston said the students told the abortion advocates they would leave, but wanted a uniformed official to explain why they had to leave a public event and one for which they had obtained tickets from the Kerry campaign.

After seeing the students wouldn't leave, the NARAL women told each other to link arms and began to surround the pro-life students. They became angry and began to push and shove the pro-life women. One woman told Suanne that her mother should have aborted her. The NARAL women eventually enveloped three of the students, including Suanne, in a circle and began dragging them away.Suanne was wearing flip-flops and one of her shoes fell off as she was taken away. "My foot is dragging on the gravel and they wouldn't let me get it," Edmiston said.

The abortion advocates dragged her barefoot over a rough gravel surface that caused her foot to bleed so much that Edmiston required medical attention afterwards."I have never been manhandled like that before -- pushed around, shoved and tossed -- it was ridiculous," Edmiston said. "I really felt violated, they had no right to touch me like that. So much for 'my body, my choice.'"

Read the whole article here.

Homosexual Terrorists

The head of a national homosexual organization is vowing to politically "punish," "terrify" and "torture" activists who oppose his organization's agenda on "gay" rights – which he says would give him "endless satisfaction."

Matt Foreman, executive director of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force in Washington, D.C., made the comments in yesterday's edition of Between the Lines, a Detroit area homosexual newsmagazine, the American Family Association of Michigan points out.

Foreman said, "We would set up a [political action committee] and go in and terrify them with a credible challenge. ... So we go in, for a modest investment of money and torture these people, which would give me endless satisfaction. And the word would go out very quickly, 'You know what, this really isn't worth it.'"

It really makes me uneasy to hear these radical homosexual activists using words like "terrify" and "torture."  If they use these words to describe what they want to do to pro-family legislators, what will they do to faithful Catholics?

Read the whole article here.

The Diaconate

I was sitting here doing a little spiritual reading in preparation for my ordination to the diaconate. I picked up a book by Federico Suarez entitled "About Being A Priest." Granted, it is not about the diaconate per se, but since the diaconate is a participation in the priesthood I thought it would be appropriate. It is a wonderful and powerful book about the priesthood...in fact I was very moved in reading a particular section. I guess you could say it jolted me into realizing the seriousness and permanance of what I am entering into. Truly I enter into it with fear and trembling. I will quote here the section I am speaking of. I have taken the liberty of changing the words priest and priesthood to deacon and diaconate.

Above all else, a deacon is a consecrated man. there is a clear difference between a man as such and a Christian, for Baptism imposes on its recipient an indelible character, a permanent mark, so permanent and indelible that it can never be erased, and this makes him really and truly a new man. There is also a difference between a Christian as such and a Deacon, for the sacrament of Orders confers on the Christian who receives it a new character, a new mark which is also permanent and indelible, making its recipient a [sharer on the priesthood] for ever - a sacerdos in aeternum. Just as anyone who has been baptized is saved or damned as a Christian, so the Christian who has been ordained is saved or damned as a deacon. He has taken an irreversible step that leaves him marked out forever. When a Christian is ordained he receives and accepts something new that never disappears, something that changes him and makes him different from all others. God take possession of him in a special way; he consecrates him to his service for the benefit of the rest of mankind, his brothers and sisters; he makes him a sharer in Christ's priesthood and gives him a new personality.

This man, who has been consecrated by the sacrament of Orders, is not a deacon simply by virtue of the acts he performs when using the powers and faculties conferred on him, nor is he a deacon merely when his is performing such acts. He is a deacon continually, internally, invisibly; he is a deacon always and at every moment, whether he is performing the highest and most sublime office or the most vulgar and humble action of his ordinary life. Just as a Christian cannot leave aside the fact that he is a new man, the Baptism has given him a particular character, and act "as if" he were jus a man purely and simply, neither can the deacon leave aside his diaconal character and behave "as if" he were not a deacon. Whatever he does, whatever attitude he adopts, whether he likes it or not, it will always be the action or the attitude of a deacon because he is a deacon always and at all times down to the very depths of his being, whatever he may do or whatever he may think. Jus as Christian cannot cast off the fact that he is a Christian as if it were an old coat, neither can a deacon lose his diaconate even for a single moment, simply by dressing in lay clothes of by engaging in non-diaconal activities; he is simply a deacon dressed as a layman or engaging in non-diaconal activities.

Wow! That's some serious matter for meditation.

Why Do Some Priests Insist On Putting Their Own Mark On The Mass?

Fr. Matthew has a great answer:

Something I refer to as "carving your initials on the Mona Lisa"; after working with teenagers for years I noticed some of them were prone to a certain type of narcissism, unpleasant but not too uncommon among children. Many people have at one time or other encountered a sort of "Beavis" personality that would find the Mona Lisa boring. But if Beavis carves his own initials on the Mona Lisa, all of a sudden it becomes interesting, because it is "his" now! This is the mentality behind most graffiti and vandalism. This is also the mentality that the new Vatican encyclical Redemptionis Sacramentum is fighting against. There exists a small number of Catholic adults who like "customizing" the liturgy so that it reflects themselves more than the Church's faith. Fortunately I have only encountered this kind of abuse on rare occasions - but even a little bit of it is a problem. Priests who change the words of the mass are carving their initials on the Mona Lisa. Churches or communities that mis-translate scripture to make it more "inclusive" are carving their intials on the Mona Lisa. Liturgists who try to increase the entertainment factor by adding paraliturgies or dance are carving their initials on the Mona Lisa. Of the liturgical abuses described in the documant, I have fortunately only encountered a few: adding to the Agnus Dei never seemed too bad to me as long as the correct words were included. Consecrating wine in a carafe was simply a functional matter that can get out of hand. I have seen or heard of some of the more serious ones in the past, but these have largely been corrected. (The most common problems I see are bad hymn lyrics, showy choirs who forget they are supposed to be praying, too many cutesy things involving children...the liturgy is not child's play.) I know there remain some "radical parishes" or Newman Centers where even the really bad stuff lingers on. Very few people really like it. It just seems that a lot of liturgists have been named Beavis.

Trust Me

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Speaking Of Satan

Looks like Fr. Armoth, Rome's chief exorcist, has been busy lately:

In a small room, well away from the street so that no one hears the screams, Father Gabriele Amorth does battle with Satan. He is a busy man.

As the Vatican's top exorcist, Amorth performs the mysterious, ancient ritual dozens of times a week. A confused world engulfed in tragedy and chaos is turning increasingly to black magic, the occult and fortune-telling, he said, proof that the devil and his handmaidens are having a field day.

Amorth is arguably the world's most famous practitioner of exorcism and certainly its greatest promoter.

He co-founded the International Assn. of Exorcists, an organization of priests that meets in secrecy every two years, and he remains its president emeritus. Author of numerous books on the subject, he has had a hand in recruiting, training or inspiring most of today's exorcists.

Amorth said his calendar is always full. "I have three this afternoon," he said matter-of-factly recently.

Read the whole article here.