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go here to buy my stock photography Alan Creech
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 I hear this from time to time, and it never fails to bother me. The terms "faithful Catholic" and conversely, "unfaithful Catholic" are thrown around a good bit, especially in the blogosphere. They are almost always used by Catholics in the very conservative arena to describe either themselves (the faithful) or to describe Catholics, well maybe they're Catholics, who have issues with some of what the Catholic Church teaches, some of it's theology or practice (the unfaithful).Very simplistically speaking, the story goes that if you put all your beebees, all your mental trust, without reservation of any kind, into the Magisterial basket - if there is no point of doctrine that you simply cannot assent to (as it is presently stated and understood) - if the Catechism is quite enough for you, no more discussion or struggle needed - then you are... a faithful Catholic. On the other hand, if you hear or read what the Magisterium has laid out there and on some points you just can't grab hold - if you (just as an example) simply cannot accept the presently stated and understood concept of mortal sin (even though you've theologically struggled through this and have over-thoughtfully and prayerfully come to your position) - if you aren't very fond of some of your Church's present disciplines (having come to the conclusion that some of them can be, in fact, harmful instead of helpful) - if, perhaps, you feel free to open your mouth and speak your conscientious thoughts and convictions and they happen to run contrary to the present letter of Catholic Magisterial teaching - then you are, pour soul, one of the unfaithful. Some of you can see why this would bother me. Part of it is because, guess where I end up on this set of scales? Go ahead, guess. Never mind, I'll tell you - I am, apparently, an unfaithful Catholic. Some might even say that makes me not a Catholic at all. They might say I'm a Protestant already in my thoughts and actions so I might as well just go ahead and be one. Maybe they're right. I wonder that sometimes myself. Interesting thought. Is there not room for what some call a faithful dissent in some areas? I mean a dissent (as I see it, an inability to assent with good conscience) that is prayerful, thoughtful, educated and conscientious - not one that is apathetic or born of a desire to engage in some inordinate behavior or because you are swept away by the worldly culture around you. Also, not a dissent that is all about carrying picket signs or causing a whole bunch of trouble. I mean being a thinker, one who needs to, and is perhaps called to, work things out and not simply accept the status quo without question. This is what seems like it could be a healthy dissent. Maybe we should stop calling it "dissent" at all, that word having such a negative connotation in this discussion. It's definitionally correct I suppose - assent vs. dissent and all that. I guess my point is that "dissent" in this arena doesn't need to mean that you hate the Church and you want to blow it all up in favor of some wild, opposite alternative. This is how it's characterized sometimes though, which is unfortunate. Perhaps I'm just taking seriously my part in the Sensus Fidelium - the sense of the faithful - realizing that the Holy Spirit of Truth lives in, acts in and speaks to me as a member of the mystical Body of Christ... too. The protection we have from God from going over the cliff as far as error is concerned is more complicated than just, "the Pope said it, that settles it." The members of the Body who don't wear collars are not simply faceless, spiritless, sheep. We are all incorporated into Jesus, and are the fullness of Him who fills all things in all places (Eph. 1:22-23). And no, I'm not talking about sitting around making it all up for ourselves. If you think that's what I'm talking about, well, you can think what you like, but it's not nearly what I'm referring to. Things in this broken, human world are not that cut and dry. They are complicated. The Church and everything that makes her tick, is complicated. The Holy Spirit and how He works in the Church and in the world is not entirely quantifiable. Yes, He may have given us certain assurances that we wouldn't ultimately go over the edge, but all manner of things can happen before that. We (Catholics) get all manner of flack from some quarters of the Protestant world about how we have contradicted ourselves over the years, about how we will never give a straight answer about how the Catholic Church has, or has not, been wrong here and there down through the centuries. Can we just give somebody a straight-up answer that yes, the Catholic Church has been wrong, has grown and changed and developed and corrected itself many, many different times. I just said it. It doesn't bother me. It doesn't make my head spin. Are there contradictory stances within her? Sure. What do you expect? Have Popes contradicted each other - even? Certainly they have. Like I said - a broken mess, all of us. Yeah, yeah, I know all the definitions... Holy Spirit... infallibility... teaching authority... et cetera. Some of it is troublesome, I'll hand you that on a platter, but that doesn't negate it all. Even if, as I see it, some of it is not that well defined, or is too defined, it still doesn't take the whole house down. It doesn't have to. I've wandered in this essay. It's already too long for a decent blog post. I'm even fairly afraid to post it, how about that? I'm really not looking for a big argument. I'm certainly not looking to be scolded by anyone. OK, there are my insecurities out on the table. Oh, and I'm not looking to institute any clown Masses any time soon either - holy crap! What I'm talking about is a little deeper and more complex than that. One more thought I had was that, practically speaking (and this is worth taking into consideration, and not just from a populist viewpoint), in the sensus fidelium arena, unless you want to take on a sort of fortress, we're the tiny remnant of true Catholic Christianity attitude, the vast majority of Catholics in the United States (and I doubt it's only the US, but that's all we hear about mostly) are unfaithful Catholics. That's most members of most parishes, and it can't all be chalked up to "bad catachesis" or "those pitiful seminaries after Vatican II." There are probably a lot of factors. I'm not trying to define them here. What I might be saying, at least in part, is that some of this is not bad - some of it is perhaps about the Holy Spirit slowly working a correction in through the People of God. Please don't hem me into some liberal corner either. I just said what I said. I didn't say what you're thinking I said. That I have to say that is pretty funny anyway. OK, that's enough of this. If I post this it'll be a tiny miracle - we can attribute it to the intercession of Thomas Merton, how about that monk-fans? Pax vobiscum. technorati tags > church, catholic church, faithful catholics, unfaithful catholics, sensus fidelium, faithful dissent :::
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permalink ::: e-mail me ::: May 11, 2008 >> 6:06 PM pentecost talk Well, Easter time is at an end again. Back to Ordinary - I love it. I love Ordinary Time - call me weird. Anyway, I wanted to share a little story here that I put on another blog's comments. I'm not sure if I've ever told this story on this blog before. Pentecost - the birthday of the Church and the anniversary of that wild, mystical Holy Spirit business; tongues and prophecy, etc. I know this feast day is not all about the charismatic "stuff," but it did happen then and apparently these kind of things have continued to happen in the life of the Church ever since. The charismatic movement basically got started inside the Catholic Church in America. That sort of re-opening spread all over the whole Body pretty quick. And just like the early church, it got weird and went in some funky directions. I've certainly seen some of that first-hand. There is also a lot of good, though - a lot of that has taught many to open themselves to God more fully, even open to a lot of what makes no sense. As a Catholic Christian in college about 23 years ago, I began investigating Scripture about this whole business (after having been very skeptical) and finally decided to ask Him to baptize me (immerse me, fill me to overflowing) with/in His Holy Spirit - that if this is something He wanted for me, to pour it over me. I asked specifically to be able to pray in tongues. I was lying prostrate on the floor in my bedroom in my apartment with a candle burning and a John Michael Talbot record playing as I worshiped alone. I began to pray and eventually was praying in tongues. I described how it "felt" later - as if "light" were sort of burning in my chest. God did something there, in me, in response to my faith in asking Him. I still pray in tongues when the "need" arises - when I have nothing to say or how to pray, in times of worship, and often under my breath as I'm going up to receive Him in the Eucharist. I sort of consider myself a "post-charismatic" at this point, meaning I still see all those things as legitimate parts of the Christian spiritual life, but that they should just be more normal and not focused on so much or run after so hard as sometimes happens. I saw tons of running too hard after things in non-denom charismatic circles for a while - not the healthiest thing. "Feeling God" is an amazing thing. Experiencing His Holy Spirit work in and through you in very tangible ways can take hold of you - it can intoxicate you. These spiritual things can become a great distraction to one's actual spiritual development, and those of others who are around us. We can end up seeking the periphery rather than the center or the core. I think it's best we stick to the core and be open to everything that comes with it. Maybe that means we get a little "tipsy" every now and then or see some cool things happen here and there. That's fine I suppose - let's just beware that we don't become "spiritual alcoholics." Pax vobiscum. technorati tags > pentecost, charismatic, spiritual experience, praying in tongues Labels: charismata, spiritual formation :::
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permalink ::: e-mail me ::: May 08, 2008 >> 5:16 PM took a trip  Goooooood Lord. OK, yesterday, between Liz and myself, we drove over a 1,000 miles! Yes, that's right, in one day - no overnight stays, etc. We started off at 5am and drove to Raleigh, North Carolina. Apparently that's about 494 miles from here. We took a small detour on the way, that made up the "over 1,000" number in case you were counting. Why? Good question.  Well, here's the reason. I bought me a "new" truck on the internets! Good deal too - that's why so far away. Anyway, it's a 2002 Toyota Tacoma, SR5, 4x4, 5-speed, V6 with Toyota's TRD off-road package - wheeew. Our Isuzu Trooper developed a bad engine problem that would have been too expensive to fix a while back, so we sold it "as-is" to a mechanic who could fix it on their own - annnnd, went on the hunt for this. It took too long to find this thing, I'm tellin' you. Tacomas as HOT, it appears.Anyway, we tried to get a delivery service to bring it but no one could give us a guarantee about time and it's expensive - soooo, we finally decided to just go pick it up ourselves. Even with gas prices now, it was still significantly less money. Positives: got to drive through some very pretty country (sorry to myself and all Kentuckians, but the most beautiful part was in the state of Virginia, land of my ancestors if you go back far enough); good time for Liz and I to spend together talking; got to go to Mayberry! (more about that in a second); uuuhmm, I think that's it. Negatives: Looooong ass drive! My back felt like someone had boot-kicked me several times; tiiiiired, we were sooo tired - you wouldn't think driving would wear you out so much but it does if it's that much at one time; gas prices! Holy crap! Paid my all-time high of $3.89 per gallon somewhere in the middle of West Virgina, not good. I-64 East took us to Charleston, WV. Ashland, KY, Huntington and Charleston, WV are sort of industrial towns - oil, coal, etc. So, what surrounds them is pretty but the towns, at least driving by them, seem a bit dirty. The interstates that run through West Virgina are nuts! They wind through the many mountains and have the steepest grades I've ever seen on a big road like that. It's pretty country to drive through though. I love the mountains - being from Harlan, it's sort of in my blood I guess. The neck of Southwest Virginia, from Bluefield to the NC border, is gorgeous. I mean, it's like look at idyllic paintings all the way through. A lot of the countryside looks like Ireland as well. The part of North Carolina we were in wasn't the most picturesque - a little flat once you got past the mountains.  Anybody and Andy Griffith Show fan? It's always been one of my favorite TV shows of all time. I've probably seen every episode 20 times or more. Anyway, it takes place in the mythical town of Mayberry, North Carolina. Mayberry is based on the town that Andy Griffith is from there, actually called Mount Airy - in North Central North Carolina near the Virginia border. I've known this forever and have always said it would be cool to go there someday and visit.Our trip yesterday took us right by Mount Airy so seriously, there was no choice - it had to be done. It was only a 15 minute detour so we went to Mayberry (commence whistling TV show intro song now) - and we did that as we drove into town, ha! It doesn't really look like the town on TV except how all small towns in the South and mountains look the same I guess. It's a nice little town - and they know who they are. I think tons of tourists come there because of the show. We got out, walked around, took some pictures, went in some shops, etc. So, I can say I have officially been there, done that, and yes, bought the t-shirt (wearing it now). Here are a few shots we took in and around town - Snappy Lunch, Floyd's Barber Shop, and Mount Pilot! It's actually called Pilot Mountain but you know, it's Mount Pilot to me.    That's it I guess. We got back home around 1:30am last night, driving the last few hours in rain. I think it makes you more tired if it's dark and raining. It takes more effort to be safe. Anyway, we made it and I thought I'd share the adventure. technorati tags > driving, buying cars, mayberry, mount airy north carolina, andy griffith show Labels: personal, television :::
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permalink ::: e-mail me ::: May 05, 2008 >> 2:40 PM on may 5th or thereabouts Get ready for some prime blog rehash! You've got to dip back into your archives sometimes to keep things rollin' you know. So here we go. I went back to several previous May 5th posts, or as close to May 5th as I could get. One is an awesome two-part series which is very relevant to (and seeded mind you) my recent post about union with God. There's another soteriological post in the list too - woo hoo! What can I tell you - these are the things I think and wrestle around with in my mind. I may have even evolved a little more since some of this, but I think it's still good. Some of the comments are interesting too - if you get froggy, try to read them as well - even if they say there are (0) comments, they're there.
technorati tags > union with god, christian mysticism, soteriology, theology, salvation Labels: catholic, liturgical prayer, liturgy, spiritual formation, theology :::
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permalink ::: e-mail me ::: May 04, 2008 >> 12:16 PM dave nixon > sleep, silence, nature Here is my friend Dave talking about Retreats and specifically here; sleep, silence, and nature. This is part 3 of 3 on Retreats. I'm sure the links for the other two will be at the end of the YouTube video. Good stuff. Today is not a mentally good day for me. If you think about it, please pray for me and for my family. I'd appreciate it. Pax vobiscum. Labels: spiritual formation :::
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permalink ::: e-mail me ::: May 02, 2008 >> 12:36 PM union with God A few days ago my blogging friend Michael Spencer put up a question he was thinking about at Internet Monk about being in union with Christ and how Sacraments such as the Eucharist relates to that. I put in my 3.5 cents and it made me start thinking about the subject again. My comment at his place was a beefy one so I thought I'd regurgitate it as a post here. I also want to add links to several other posts I've done on the same subject - union with God - in my own blogging history. This is actually one of my central themes of blogging/teaching about Christian life. So here we go... The whole idea of union with Christ is, for me, the center of Christianity. I think the concept is often talked about too simplistically. Some Christians don't talk about it at all. Their notion of what a Christian is has more to do with an external statement of faith or merely an assent to a catalog of beliefs. They have no theology of union, of a mingling of Life and life. This is unfortunate. I certainly wouldn't say this makes them not genuinely Christian. It may, though, hinder their ability to tap into certain aspects of our union with God in Christ. Another thing that might make this discussion a little more difficult between those of different traditions is this: thinking of union as either an either-or situation or one in which a person is initially connected and then grows, progressively, in a deeper and deeper union with God in and through Christ and the action of His Holy Spirit. If one's view tends toward the either-or - either you're in union or not, I can understand having philosophical difficulty if we start talking about how, for instance, Sacraments such as the Eucharist are said to help bring us into a greater union with God in Christ. If, on the other hand, you think more in my neighborhood - that there is, yes, an initial connection (justification, union) but there is then a growing union with God, a progressive union. In this view, we may well be connected to God but our union with Him is not yet complete. A lot of things can and do contribute to this growing union. Sacraments are some of the chief ways we can tap into the fullness of God's Life (God's Grace - the actual "stuff" of Grace). And the Eucharist is the prima Sacrament I suppose, in which we are given an opportunity to tap into (I like to say it like that) the ever-flowing river of His sacrificial Grace in the heavenly dimension. Can one be in union with Christ, be a Christian, be born from above, belong to God, be "in Christ" without ever receiving the Eucharist as Sacrament? Yes. Are there many ways (in my view of progressive union) that Christians can deepen or increase their union with God in Christ? Again, yes and this gets to this business about having "more of Christ." It's not really about someone saying, "nya nya, we've got more Christ than yoooouu dooo" - I hope it's not. It's about a certain view of a growing union with Him that produces real transformation of our being. And it's not just mechanical; i.e., you go up and receive Communion and boom, you're more unified. The proverbial Sacramental "wormhole" may have been opened up but your inward, participatory faith is a key element in how efficacious this Sacrament is for you. It's much like "mixing faith" with the hearing of or reading of the Scriptures - faith mixed and change happens - faith not mixed and you have heard words but they don't do much. There is a definite cooperation element which is key in this life of progressive union with God. Some of the old mystics and monks used to (still do I guess) talk about what they called the unitive way - the way in which we walk in order to participate in a furthering of our union with God. And I'm not talking about us doing some kind of "works" and God rewarding us with more union. I'm talking about tapping into the Way, which as we are concerned does involve practices, things we do in order to put ourselves under the proverbial water fall of His Grace. So, if you have an understanding of our union with God as growing and progressive then there's really no disconnect with the idea that a Sacrament like the Eucharist or the Lord's Supper could be a conduit for increasing or deepening that union. And I'm not saying that this union is only to be had through the Sacraments, and not only to be facilitated by them. They are conduits given by God for a broken humanity. One day the Church (in any expression) won’t be necessary. One day Sacraments will fade away in the blinding light of our complete and unbroken union with God through and in Christ by the Holy Spirit. Right now we’re talking about a God who works through His People, through the Body of His Son both in and, in a way, through the context He has created us to live, the world. But, of course, the more technically we try to nail these things down and define them, the more trouble we get in, for God won’t hold a nail. Well, He did once for a little bit, but you know what I mean. His mystical Reality is not bound by our understanding of the Sacraments or even how He might have intended them to work for us in our present state of existence. Here are some links to a few older posts I've done concerning the subject of union with God. This list is probably not complete. I did some looking around today and these are what I found. I'll start the list with probably one of the most comprehensive and pointed posts on the subject. I read it again this morning and it really does get to the heart of the matter for me. The rest will be in chronological order...
technorati tags > union with god, christian mysticism, soteriology Labels: sacraments, spiritual formation, theology :::
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permalink ::: e-mail me ::: April 29, 2008 >> 7:53 PM pray for little portion Pray for the Brothers & Sisters of Charity at Little Portion Monastery in Arkansas. They've had a fire that totally destroyed their Chapel and Common House. This is the Monastic Community that John Michael Talbot founded and where he lives. His post about the fire is here. Apparently no one was hurt, which is a very good thing. Sad, though. I remember visiting there once with Liz - one evening 10 years ago we went there and prayed Evening Prayer with them in that Chapel. Too bad. :::
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