Jumping Without A Chute

Prayers Please

For a private intention.

Thank You.

The Married Couple In The Early Church

   I am sorry that I found this so late. Over at Laodicea is a well written, informative, and spiritual post about Priscilla and Aquila who were insturmental in giving help to St. Paul and helping to spread the Church throughout the Empire in its infancy. Go check it out.

Small World

   Head over to L.A. Catholic and scroll down to where Quintero has a thread entitled "Catholics Clamor for [Tridentine Mass] ." The celebrant in the photo is my old pastor Fr. Art or as he is officially known, Monsignor Arthur Bastress. Fr. Art was our pastor from my senior year in high school until about my early twenties. He witnessed my walking away from my faith and also witnessed my eventual reversion. Along the way he gave me a copy of St. Augustine's Confessions that I always keep handy.

   

Being a Dad is fun

We re-enact scenes from Full Metal Jacket

Full Medtal Fun

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The Cross

   "The Cross without Christ is justice without mercy. Christ without The Cross is mercy without justice."

-Servant of God Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen

   I find myself drawn towards the Cross this Lent. Yesterday evening, I stopped by the Shrine Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament for a bit of prayer and reflection. A gentleman there approached me and handed me a beautiful St. Benedict Cross. It sits in front of me now. It is an excellent focus for meditation. Today, my meditation has led me to the cross.

   We as a society love to hear about Jesus. Jesus the social justice advocate, Jesus the revolutionary, Jesus the defender of the poor, Jesus the political activist, Jesus the harbinger of socialism, Jesus the healer, Jesus the forgiving, Jesus the tolerant, Jesus the open minded, Jesus the progressive, Jesus the friend of all, Jesus the cool guy, Jesus Christ Superstar, Jesus with kung-fu grip,...

   We cringe when reminded of Jesus the Priest-Victim, Jesus the paschal lamb,  Jesus who called people to follow God in thought and deed not just in words. We turn away when reminded of Jesus the Christ, Savior of the World , Word Incarnate, and Son of the Living God.

   We would much rather look up into a clear blue sky and imagine the benign smiling face of Jesus looking down on us. We look up and see a grassy hill and we imagine Jesus there speaking and everyone gathered around listening to the beatitudes, and marveling at the words of this teacher. The sun shines on the red highlights of auburn hair, a rich chestnut colored beard fills his cheeks, his eyes are full of compassion and love. Everyone lolls about in some sort of bucolic pastoral scene from early 1st Century Judea.

   We will not look at that sky and see it darkened by a hidden sun. We will not see a rocky hill strewn with dirt and debris where a cross stabs into the earth like a dagger thrown from heaven to stab into the heart of the earth and kill the sin of that heart. We will not look at that cross and see the broken beaten body of Jesus calling for us to be forgiven despite the collective act of murder. We won't see blood staining the wood, we won't see the blood and welter upon the pilum held by a Legionnaire. We won't see the pain upon his mother's face as she holds the body of her son.

The idea of sacrifice is foreign to us. The idea of being indebted to someone for their sacrifice is repulsive to us. Guilt is nothing more than a psychological reflex action for which we are not accountable. Nothing is our fault. We are products of our environment, our parents, our instincts, nothing more. We deny grace, we deny mercy, and we deny Christ despite our protestations otherwise. We only choose to accept Christ on our terms, not His.

This Lent, I reflect upon The Cross, I force myself to look, to accept on His terms, not mine.

Yet Again, Jesus' Casket Has Been Discovered

Story here

   My question is, with all of these caskets in this cave, where's St. Joseph? Even the gnostics are giving him the shaft. As for the movie or going to New York to see the caskets, -yawn-, I'll pass.

   $20 says Dan Brown is already hard at work on his next book, we'll call it, the Cameron Code...

A Thing of Beauty

Is to see a Mass celebrated with reverence and the entire being of the celebrant. Last night, we were a few minutes late getting to 7:30 mass. This happens sometimes when dealing with the logistical issues related to a two year old. As a result of our tardiness, we ended up being seated right in the front row. My wife was worried as to what our daughter, the silent tornado, would end up doing to bring attention to us. I was more interested in watching the celebration and seeing things up close.

Our daughter didn't disappoint and, at the end of the Gospel, needed to take a walk in the back of the Church to burn off some excess energy. She was back in the pew by the time of the collection and at this point was fascinated by the goings on in the Sanctuary. Every movement by the Priest or Deacons was followed by, "Daddy, what's he doing?" Every now and then I would see a tiny smile on the faces in the sanctuary, my daughter's curiosity being a source of amusement to all.

During the Eucharistic Prayer though, even Elizabeth was silent and staring with awe as Fr. Ken moved through the prayers. Very seldom do you see a priest saying mass with so much of his being that you can see his physical commitment to the celebration. Concentration of unimaginable intensity shows on the face, focus on the Eucharist, every movement a prayer. If every Novus Ordo Mass was celebrated like this, it would beautifully compliment the Mass of Pius V rather than stand in stark contrast to it.

When we stood to receive Communion, Elizabeth sounded off with a "YAY!!!" that could be heard throughout the Church. When we went to receive the ashes she informed fr. Ken, "me want ashes too." Kindly, he obliged her. To leave Mass fulfilled spiritually, to feel more prepared for Lent, a great feeling or, as Elizabeth put it, "YAY!"

Thank You

To the gentleman who gave me the St. Benedict Cross this afternoon at the shrine chapel. I am overwhelmed and grateful for your kind gift and even more grateful for your prayers. May God bless you and keep you.

afr

The Truth About Robert Drinan

   In an editorial in the the Denver Catholic Register, George Weigel gives quite a bit of information on the true behavior of the late Jesuit/congressman and provides substantial ammunition to argue against the attempt of the secular left and mainstream media to make him  a saint/martyr/victim of right wing politics and conservative Catholicism.

   In addition to his defiance of his superiors, his prideful arrogance in his posturing, and partisanship that always came before his priesthood; Drinan's staunch and intractable support for abortion, (including partial birth abortion) gives one cause to wonder if he ever took his vows seriously at all. He didn't just create scandal, he reveled in it and in so doing, gave yet another black eye to those clergy who remembered that they are to be in the world but, not of it.

   I guess now it's a moot point. Drinan now must answer to a higher authority for his sins both of ommission and commission. In the meantime, look for the progressive types to write sensitive bios and possibly even a movie that shows the heroic Saint Robert stifled by those meanies in the Vatican and the Reagan White House. If it does happen, take notes for me, I'll be watching the Bells of Saint Mary's.

A New Look For Lent

   It's not quite sackcloth  and ashes but, you get the idea. Just a bit of a color change to perhaps focus attention on the Liturgical Calendar. I'll be starting Ash Wednesday with confession in the morning, (always a nice way to start Lent), and ashes this afternoon or this evening.

   Don't forget, no meat today!