Prayers for the three knife victims

Perhaps the most forgotten murder victims in America, since their deaths don't help advance a particular agenda.  Not only those stabbing victims, I also mean these stabbing victims.  And countless others whose deaths don't warrant significant attention because they don't help The Way.  I mean that, by the way.  Prayers should be our first reaction. Unlike Mark, however, you're free do disagree.  In what can only be seen as a step down the credibility ladder, prayers have been offered for the individual killed in Seattle.  That's a good thing.  But not before a post laying out a screed against anyone who disagrees with Mark over gun control, and then essentially threatening anyone who doesn't just come to offer prayers (or my hunch, agree with Mark) with banishment.  There's a point where, in my ministry days, we would do what was called an intervention with fellow ministers.  This would be about the time.  The quality control of the Catholic blogosphere being what it is, however, I wouldn't hold my breath.  Prayers for all victims of violence.  Prayers that we can find real solutions to the actual problems.  And prayers for Mark.

Update: Apparently Mark meant it.  Though a couple threw out a few observations in keeping with Mark's general viewpoint, regular commenter 'Peter the Greek' came by to offer prayers, but also correct Mark's strange assertion that this murderer in Seattle was 'Exercising his 2nd Amendment Rights.'  Not sure what to make of it.  It can't be a lie, since nobody is stupid enough to think it's true.  Bombast?  Perhaps.  Post-modern style disregard for facts and truth?  Perhaps.  Anyway, ol'Pete stepped in and tried to point out that this was no more an exercise of the 2nd amendment than butchering a virgin on a pagan altar would be an exercise of the 1st amendment.  And BAM!  Pulled.  So again, pray as Mark said, or agree with Mark.  Personally, keeping it at prayer is good enough at this point.  

It was seventy years ago today

Thank you all.   To all veterans of course, not just those who fought and died for freedom on this day. In fact, this very day around the world 70 years ago, thousands would die as a result of the war.  An average of half a million died every month.  Hundreds of thousands more were wounded every month.  Or died of causes related to the war and those nations that started it.  When we wonder how anyone could bomb a city or drop an atomic bomb guaranteed to kill tends of thousands, we should remember the horrible, almost numbing toll that this war, and the war only a couple decades, had taken on the psyche of the world.  Perhaps the best thing to come from it was our reluctance to just jump out and start fighting any war, any way.  Even to the point that we'd rather lose a war than see so much carnage and death.  A half a million deaths a month.  That was the cauldron into which those young boys on June 6, and every other day that year and the years around it, were thrown.  And all so that goodness and freedom would be ours for the having.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13

Neo Catholics

I've seen this article, mocking those who have coined the term 'neo-Catholic' on several sites.  The obvious reference of the Seattle G.K.Chesterton is Mark Shea.  The point is to dismiss, and deride, those who have lashed out at the so-called neo-Catholics.

And who are these neo-Catholics?  Depends.  Like conservative, liberal, fundamentalist, radical - it's probably in the eye of the beholder.  But the gist is that it points to those completely loyal to the Church, now.  Wherever it goes and whatever it does.  It's now 6:39 AM, 06/03/2014, and all is Awesome in the Church.  How do we know it's awesome?  Easy, everything proves it.  And that which doesn't isn't important.

Fact is kiddies, the Church, like all of Christianity, is changing.  Post-Christian secular progressive thought has kicked serious butt in recent generations.  Many of the ideas by 19th century revolutionary thinkers has made its way into the bloodstream of the dying West.  And that includes the bloodstream of Christianity.

And the Catholic Church is no different.  In the eight years since I began my journey into the Church it has changed.  Things that were off the table eight years ago are being kicked around.  Things that were said as absolute a decade ago have moderated.  Certainly there is what the Church is on paper, and what it is in the real world.  And if the Paper Church is still as solid in the traditional Faith as it was 50 years ago, the Church in the Real World looks increasingly like it is being influenced by, and not influencing, these non-Christian ideas and forces.

So the loyal Catholic?  What can he do?  One of the foundational beliefs of Catholicism is that the Church cannot be wrong.  Liberal Catholics don't appear to hold to this, at least in terms of the Church's moral teachings.  If not its theological teachings.  But Conservatives who cling to the  belief that it is impossible for the Church to change the cores of its teachings, or ever be wrong, are faced with a dilemma in light of the obvious shifts going on.

And I think those trying to pound that square peg into the round hole of what is happening are who the term 'neo-Catholic' is applying to.  How can they say what the Church taught about something like the Death Penalty 50 years ago was right (and not just stupid and barbaric), while accepting its reasons for changing now?  How can it toy with the idea that maybe there is no Hell after all, and have any connection with the previous 2000 years?  What does it mean when the Church says homosexuality is a disordered appetite but appears to have no real concern about its ramifications outside of the marriage covenant?  Liberal Catholics can just say, like liberals in general, that the Church was wrong.  All those silly old timers who just aren't as awesome as we are.  But non-liberals who can't just dismiss so easily the Church's past as fraught with error?  I think it's those who are trying to do so who the term applies to.

I could be wrong, but that's my guess.  Again, it's a vague term probably saying more about the ones using it (people who fear the Church is changing and altering things that shouldn't be altered).  But I'll bet I'm not too far off the mark.

The Devil may care

But most hip moderns don't.  One of the strange phenomena of the recent age is that humanity emerged from the 20th century more or less rejecting the existence, or the importance, of the Devil.  Thomas McDonald, echoing Pope Francis's strange tendency to speak of Hell and the Devil as if they matter, reminds us that we follow the modern tendency at our own risk.  Complete with prayer to St. Michael, Mr. McDonald's post is a call to Catholics that our faith is more than a ceremonial wing of the post-Christian liberal Democratic party.  It also challenges those Catholics who have followed Liberal Protestantism in reducing the faith to an existential unpacking of psychological yearnings rather than something real based on what it always meant.  Read and enjoy.

Harry Reid goes after gas prices

Actually, he doesn't.  Like the media, he seems pretty much willing to focus on anything other than our anemic economy, rising gas prices, rising prices, and general unraveling in our international status.  Gay rights is always a good thing to focus on.  And in lieu of that, for instance when gay rights are steamrolling liberties and freedoms in one victory after another, turn to another old standard of the Left: Race Relations.  And so we still go after those pesky Redskins, in this case Reid all but saying if they don't change their name they'll regret it, as well as going after TCM to add censorship wishes on John Ford movies.  This is a Democrat.  A liberal.  Remember those?  The ones who wanted to be free, free your mind, live and let live, respect diversity and all that?  How much of this is just the logic of liberal hypocrisy, and how much of it is deliberate attempts to keep our mind off of perhaps one of our country's worst presidents, I don't know  But it's worth thinking about.

Sane Pope Francis observations

Once again courtesy of Ross Douthat.  History will judge the effectiveness of Pope Francis.  I'm rather taken with him, and hope he goes farther than he's going in challenging the Church to stop looking at others more than ourselves.  I hope his non-European background will bring a new and radical approach to Christian discipleship.  I do wonder why so much of his condemnation is against what we might know as 'conservative' sympathies.  Unless the global Catholic Church is different, conservatives in the American Church are a minority.  I also wonder about his constant off the cuff style, and the continual need to have folks rush out and say 'the Pope didn't really mean this or that.'  Nonetheless, I'm reserving judgement and just enjoying the fact that Francis seems a decent sort trying to live out Jesus in a world ready to reject Him.  Nonetheless, there are valid Briticisms and concerns, and Mr. Douthat, as is his tendency, fairly and sensibly points to them in a way that's worth noticing.

The Star Wars Holiday Special

One of the greatest cinematic disappointments in my life until the Phantom Menace.  I remember it well.  Here's a pretty lengthy piece tracing the steps.  Funny how so much of it was built around keeping interest in the franchise when I remember theaters still showing Star Wars a year later.  As I've said elsewhere, the interest easily went beyond the release of Empire Strikes Back.  Still, I wasn't on the business side, and I'm sure they had facts and figures that necessitated this pile of garbage.  And if it weren't for Phantom Menace and later contributions to the franchise that have Lucas's stamp of approval, I'd be more inclined to believe his tale of non-involvement.

When I say my ministry days are behind me

I mean it.  So I was informed of a position not too long ago in another diocese.  Since our own diocese has all but shut the door on me for good, I thought perhaps - just perhaps - moving out would be the open door I've been praying for.  Even though I grumble about tossing my library in the can and turning away and never returning, there's always that tug, that yearning for those crazy, hazy days of Christian ministry.  They were rough, as all ministry is.  But they were rewarding beyond measure.  And I miss that.

So hoping that the shutout was more a regional thing, I expanded my radius and sent my resume and cover letter.  It was great.  One of the best I've ever written.  I had proof readers working overtime.  The reason?  It was a position made for me: someone with knowledge of Protestantism, especially Evangelicals, a Masters of Divinity minimum, experience in Christian ministry, theological background, knowledge of Church History, and a commitment to the Catholic Faith.  Oh, and website experience would be a plus.

I submitted my resume and prayed.  The next day I checked our emails and there it was!  A rejection email.  The candidates had already been narrowed down and the final interviews in place.  The door had been shut weeks earlier (though it had only been posted weeks earlier, so not sure what that meant).

Well, I tried to object, but was politely, yet firmly, told to cease pestering them, the decision was made.  So I decided to look up and see just who it was that got this position.  And who was it?  Well, he did have a PhD from a Catholic university in Ecumenical relations.  And he had struggled with his faith in college.  But he was and always had been Catholic.  His knowledge of Protestantism?  What he had studied, and the Protestant friends he had.  But what he really was?  A Catholic with experience working with Facebook.

And that has been a trend I've noticed.  Not in all cases.  I've been shut out of chaplaincy positions just as quickly.  I've actually received rejection emails the same day I applied, even when I was overwhelmingly qualified.  No, in many 'ministry' positions I've noticed the real emphasis is on Tech.  Website design, digital, electronic communications.  Actual knowledge of theology, biblical studies, Church history, is increasingly irrelevant.  Certainly when the request is for someone who knows something about Protestantism, and a Catholic with protestant friends is picked over a former Protestant minister with over a decade and a half of Protestant ministry experience, I'd dare say it's time to rethink any real future as a minister within the Church.
As I've said before, this is not Scott Hahn's conversion story.  Increasingly, I'm coming to realize that from the Church's POV, the fact that I was a minister, had training or education, was a Protestant, came damn close to bankruptcy and ruin in order to become Catholic is about as irrelevant as the market trends for butter churns.  And that hurts, though there really isn't anyone to tell it to that can - or worse, will - make a difference anyway.  Just thought I'd throw that out.  Best of luck to the fellow who got the position.  Maybe he'll learn to appreciate those separated brethren in new ways, and through it, some might come to learn about the Church.

My comment on Mark Shea's blog regarding Gun Control

I'm sure the comments are dwindling, but here's my three cents. First, solutions.  

Gun control.  Exactly what would such measures accomplish?  I"m OK with looking at ideas, but they should actually work.  Would various ideas proposed really stop, or at least limit, these things?  Remember, like plane crashes, the number of mass shootings for a nation our size with our population is actually rather small.  And most, despite recent news stories and the last few years, were accomplished with normal guns/handguns.  Most of which were legally purchased.  And it appears that many, when the dust settles, wouldn't have been stopped by the proposals that come out in their wake.  How exactly would such proposals stop these particular tragedies is a question worth answering before plowing forward.  

Smart guns?  Sure.  Why not.  Inventions.  Just don't let the government mandate them, certainly until we're sure they won't hurt lawful gun owners or innocent people.  I think that's a fair and sensible demand.  And if deep down someone doesn't really care because deep down they have a problem with guns and those who own them, then there you go. 

Mental health?  Yeah, let's look there as well.  From the 50s on, we've put a premium on protecting mental health illness from abusive treatment.  The payback has been there is little to do when someone has mental health issues and doesn't want to  be treated beyond how they want to be treated.  How many of the recent mass killings have been by people actively seeking therapy?  What's that even mean?  What's it say? What exactly can we do that might reduce these things without stampeding those suffering from mental illness? That's certainly worth looking at. 

It's not all about mass killings.  Gun violence is bolstered by stats including suicides (that most gun law proposals would not touch), and of course drug and gang and crime on crime stats.  We won't even get into the disproportionate level of gun violence within minority communities, primarily within the inner cities. The crimes of passion or some guy getting pissed and killing someone over a potato chip make up a small portion of such crimes in proportion to our population.  If we want to get serious about it, we'll get serious about it.  Or not.  

We're not New Zealand, or England, or China, or any other beautiful country that exceeds the perfection of the New Jerusalem.  For better or worse, we are a major super sized nation, with a very large, and very diverse population in the cross-hairs of international mega events, with a premium on freedom.  Freedom, by the way, that we were authoritatively told for ten f**king years should never be compromised, even in response to a tragic event like 9/11.  We can change that of course.  But if 9/11 wasn't enough to warrant change in our principles regarding freedom, liberty and rights, then why now?  Maybe it's me, but shifts like that always always get my attention. 

Admit there are extremes and ulterior motives on both sides (if not all sides) of the debate.  That's obvious and common sense.  I doubt any side is cleansed from all potential for sin.  Admitting that helps put at ease those who want to solve the problem, but get the funny feeling not everyone is in it for the right reasons.  And, of course, it's always true when dealing with anything.  

It's the society stupid.  Yes, I'm afraid that if we get real brave and grow a couple, we'll admit that a large part of the problem is the society we've built.  As fun as it is to insist the problems are always "Their" fault, if we really want to solve the problems we'd step back and admit there are parts of our culture today that we indulge in that are likely as much to blame as any part of the culture "they" indulge in. Are we brave enough (and dare I say, humble enough) to admit that? Or worse, actually do something about that?  Remains to be seen. 

Those are a few thoughts.  We won't get into Joe the plumber, or the media rallying around a grieving father to the exclusion of those whose grief doesn't fit the agenda.  Again, this is if we want to try to solve the problems, If we just want to advance agendas, score points, win one for the team, then I doubt we'll do much but accomplish nothing, which seems the one accomplishment our modern generation of adults is particularly adept at.  

Pummeled on the Catholic Blogosphere

I'm about to get skinned over at CAEI.  Mark posted a hit piece on "Joe the Plumber" who echoed critics of our response to 9/11 by saying that dead kids don't trump his rights.  Of course that was an oft repeated mantra following 9/11, and in honesty, there's something to be said about it.  Losing freedom and doing anything in the wake of a tragedy, no matter how horrible, is never acceptable.  Now, of course, it looks like the prudent approach, at least in terms of gun control.  Anyway, it isn't going to be pleasant.  Here I go!

Congrats to our Grad!

And a week later, on the 24th, our oldest *sniff* graduated from high school.  We attached to a home school family that could personally change the shape of the continents if they set their mind to it, and put together quite a graduation ceremony for local home school grads.  It was quite an event.  Speaker and everything.  I'll get into that, too, down the road.  But for now, some obligatory pictures from our oldest, who is the most awesome oldest kid a person could hope for.  You did us proud son!

He makes us proud

Proud parents with reason to be proud

Congrats to my Confirmandi

Last Saturday - the 17th of May - our eighth grader was confirmed.  Hurray!  More on this down the road.  I just wanted to post a couple of his pictures, one with the brothers, and one with his sponsor (our oldest - we were proud) and our next oldest who was called on to serve (just like his younger brother served for his confirmation last year).  Proud of you!

With sponsor brother, assisting brother, and of course Bishop Campbell
(I don't know what he said, but he got a laugh out of the bishop)

The boys

A full rich week

It's been a busy, busy, busy week.  Last week was our Eighth Grader's Confirmation, and yesterday our Oldest Graduated.  I'll post more on those when we have time. Family was in, plus the medical issues and concerns and visits, have put us behind.  Right now, a kudos to our veterans.  When I think of what we've done to our country, and how we're prepared to let it sink into the sea rather than fight to preserve what they sacrificed for, I'm at times almost ashamed.  Nonetheless, I'm thankful to them.  We're not worthy of them, but nonetheless, a big thanks.  From those who fought centuries ago to establish this new ideal, to those still fighting for a nation that would rather Tweet and play their smartphones, it is appreciated. 

My boys nail it

In reflecting on their reaction to JAWS vs. other recent movies they've watched, plus their reactions to other older movies, they concluded something that I think hit the nail on the head.

Movies today look real but are fake, movies back then looked fake, but were real.  

And then they followed up with this observation:

We're wimps today.  We have more violence and gory death, but's just violence and gory death.  We couldn't handle a movie made like that (or other older films) dealing with things realistically. 

I'm thinking they're onto something.

You know your life sucks

When you receive an email from a reader saying they can't keep coming by your blog, it's too depressing.  Not because of the focus on this or that issue, but because of the family updates and prayer requests and the constant stream of one thing after another we keep getting hit with.   Hopefully the good reader will return.  I appreciate that and any emails I get (though commenting on the actual posts is allowed you know!).  Still, had to think of the truth behind that observation given the string of issues we've been hit with.  You think reading about our life's problems is tough, try living them.  See my opinions of these recent events here.

This being the 100th anniversary of the start of World War I

A nice series of pictures from the front of that awful war to end all wars.  Of course it wasn't, and there's a good chance we'll see more in the years to come.  But to begin the remembrances, a nice slide of the living hell that was the Western Front.   

Speaking of the end of freedom

Zippy Catholic, who apparently is back from a hiatus, points out the obvious.  The old liberal promise of a society without rules where everyone can be free to define reality the way we want notwithstanding, no society is free.  You simply have societies that believe in different absolutes, and have every intention of drawing some line in the sand and warning anyone who dares cross it to stay put or else.  In fact that is one area that Conservatives have over Liberals.  At no point did a Conservative ever promise a society of 'if it feels good, it's reality'.  That would be the liberals.  The ones who are now chiseling away at any notion of freedom from an imagined point of view, or even a classic Christian point of view.

Gas prices have been rising

Just thought I'd throw that out there.  If you're waiting for the same media stampede that happened back when gas prices went up during the Bush administration, don't hold your breath.  All pretense of objectivity has long gone the way of the   Hence I had to dig a while before I found this article that dares to mention the bleeding obvious.  And it's USA Today!  That's right, McPaper.  And that's where I find a story about the ongoing rise that has been happening.  Most of the rest of the media is busy covering Obama's buster brown, and is falling on any diversion possible to keep attention away from our President's ineptitude and incompetent lack of leadership.  So because rising gas prices might make him look bad, it's better that Americans suffer than let the cat out of the bad and admit what historians of the future will know: that we have one lousy leader in the White House.

Mark Cuban needs punished

And punished now! The man has spoken his mind, and worse has admitted to what he thinks is true.  Unless there is some rant in which he calls for lynchings and a return to death camps, I'm not seeing it.  But this is the 21st  century, post-modern child of the liberal lie.  We're becoming the very nation liberalism once promised to save us from.  Discussing the merits of Communism in the 1950s?  You think that's tough huh.  Well try giving an opinion about anything that runs afoul of the always unseen magistrate of PC thought that promises freedom below the waistline and tyranny over everything else.

I have to admit

That even though I know it's not good theology, it's still how we feel: