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November 22, 2009
> 10:04 AM
Christ the King  This is actually a re-post from 2007. I couldn't think of anything better I could share with you on this feast day. The words of Thomas Merton about Christ the King, since I heard them, have always rung in my ears: "Christ is a king who does not control by power... who does not control by law." Swallow that, but make sure you chew on it for a good while first or you might choke.Tomorrow [actually today] is the feast of Christ the King. I found an image I think is appropriate for how Christ showed Himself as King to us, for us. I don't really have a lot to say about that right now but I also wanted to share a two minute section of audio with you - of Thomas Merton speaking about Christ the King, on or near that same feast day in 1968, in Bangkok Thailand. So this was recorded about two weeks before he died. The quality isn't the greatest, but what he says is very well worth letting sink in. Listen well. > Merton on Christ the King Labels: church, liturgy, merton 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | August 17, 2009 > 10:28 AM mistakes, regrets and hankering I should have written "hankerin" - just doesn't sound right to say "hankerING." But, as with what I'm going to talk about, that's how it goes. That's how I wrote it. There are events in your life that play out in certain ways. Some you have little control over - they just happen around you and it's like you're watching a movie. Most personal life-events, though, are to some degree, bound up with our wills, our choices. They "play out" as they do partly because of how we choose to act or not act, as the case may be. We affect how the play moves and happens. OK, this is not a treatise on free will. These are just things connected to my thought process here. For the most part, I've been thinking about some of the decisions I made a couple of years ago in light of my discernment to come back into the Catholic Church. At the time this sense to "go back" came upon me, and that's what it was like, I was leading, pastoring, abbotting, a small faith community that met in our home. I was, and had been, a participant in a kind of grassroots dialogue taking place in certain sectors of the Church as a whole - in at least part of the whole "emerging church" scene. Then - well, then I sort of dropped it all like a hot potato. Not quite that drastic, but it seems a bit like that to me now. The way I handled all that, in part, I regret. At the time, I felt I needed to make a very clear break from one thing in order to pursue the other, so that's what I did. I'm not sure, in hind sight, that it really needed to happen that way. Maybe God had something in mind for me that I still don't totally understand. This is likely true for all of us to some extent I suppose. But I'm not sure that one can't still be involved in some sort of emerging type community and still be a part of another church, the Catholic Church in particular, in my case. I'm not sure one has to give up one voice in order to have another. Whatever voice I had or have is able to speak, if that's what God wants it to do, to whomever, whenever, wherever. There are certainly things in me that needed to be dealt with, and are still being dealt with by God. The one thing my spiritual director (whom I haven't seen in far too long) said to me early on in all this process, was, "maybe God is making you small, huh?" May be - and I still say to that - not fun, not at all. Is it supposed to be fun? No. I feel that, at least for a while, I became invisible, powerless and mute. This was, perhaps, necessary for a time. I think, though, that I'm starting to see myself in the mirror again, a little bit, and my voice is coming back - a little bit. I just have to listen and figure out what that means. So, I have made mistakes, I think, in how I handled some of my and my family's ecclesiastical transition. I'm sorry for that. Nothing I can do to change it now. God deals with more screwed up messes than that, I reckon. I lift all involved to His Grace and Mercy. I regret some of the ways things went down. And finally, I am beginning to have a hankerin' for something... something. Not just the monastery. That too. I have not let that die. I don't think God has let it die despite my lack of hope sometimes, my lack of faith. Maybe it's like someone who's a creative woodworker, who's an artistic carpenter, who has that gift and skill-set - if you close down your shop for a while and put your tools down, eventually the smell of saw-dust and mineral oil and stain will creep into your dreams. It won't totally go away. Then you have to discern - when do I want to go back into the shop, and what do I want to build when I get in there. Fill my mind and heart, Holy Spirit. Labels: catholic, church, emerging church, reversion 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | June 25, 2009 > 2:02 PM two links I'm not usually a "linker" when it comes to blogging, but here and there something will hit me and I want to share it with you, whoever you are. Today I have two blog posts - linked in order of having read them - from two friends.
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permalink | e-mail me | June 14, 2009 > 10:23 PM the Body of Christ  Down in adoration falling, This great Sacrament we hail; Over ancient forms of worship Newer rites of grace prevail; Faith will tell us Christ is present, When our human senses fail. Word made flesh, the bread of nature, By his word to flesh he turns; Wine into his blood he changes: What though sense no change discerns? Only be the heart in earnest, Faith its lesson quickly learns. Today is the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ - Corpus Christi. We celebrated in a special way this central part of our worship as the Body - the Eucharistic Presence of Jesus in our midst, given as our spiritual food. It's not the only way Jesus is present among us, or in us, but this is one of the more tangible ways we can receive Him, come into union with Him, experience His Life.  We did the procession as well. The Bishop carried the Blessed Sacrament in a monstrance out of the church and we all processed around the block singing the hymn above. I like that hymn. Those are only two verses I chose to share - the first and the fourth. That part about our senses not seeing any change but our faith learning the lesson - good stuff. He spoke about the symbolism of how we receive Christ into ourselves in the church and take Him out into the world - also good stuff. Labels: church, liturgy, sacraments 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | June 11, 2009 > 9:27 AM loth @ ctk  LOTH@CTK stands for Liturgy of the Hours at Christ the King - our parish. When I first came back into the Catholic Church I pretty much stayed quiet and to myself. I didn't want to go in trying to do all kinds of things and "be somebody" right out of the gate. The thing is, I'm not right out of the gate - that's part of the point. I'm this guy who has been a Christian and living the Christian life for, at the time, 27, now 29 years. I had grown and learned and become this leader, then a pastor, a thinker, a spiritual director to some - et cetera, et cetera.But here's the thing - in this arena, no one knows anything about me. I'm the new guy. I felt, really, that God was having me sit still for a while to re-orient, to recover. He's been doing this to me for a while - as a wise, old spiritual director said to me - "making me small." Not fun, but good, he said hesitantly. So, the part of the new guy, the little guy, the nobody, was/is new to me. I haven't been that for a long time. But this is the way it is. I've been learning how to deal with it. One of the things I said I'd love to do even since I was being quiet in the pews, was to help, somehow, to introduce praying the Liturgy of the Hours to the people in the pews with me. Most Catholics - really - aren't that familiar with it as a way of daily prayer for them. That's for Priests and Religious (vowed monks and nuns and brothers). Well, it's for all of us and there has been, for a while, a resurgence of liturgical prayer among all the people. I've certainly been a part of this in other Christian territory. The wider Body of Christ is catching hold of this fast.    So, not long ago, I met with our Pastor and mentioned that I'd like to help do something like this - teaching people how to pray the Office and making it available to them in the parish. I ended up talking to my Deacon friend, Tim and found out this is one of his "things" too, and we went to work making it happen. Last week, it became a reality at the Cathedral parish of Christ the King. We had an introductory session to go over what it is (you see the group there seated), the history, why we pray in this way, and how to do it - then we prayed Evening Prayer together. Tim, Fr. Al (both pictured there) and I tag-teamed at the teaching thing, then we went into our side chapel that we had set up choir style (photo 3 there) and prayed Vespers together. Very cool. 20+ people showed up for the first session - great! We're doing this now every Wednesday night at 7:30pm at the Cathedral - only Evening prayer, no more intro sessions. Last night was our second week - news is getting around because more people showed up than last week - good stuff. We're using the small prayer book called Shorter Christian Prayer, which has only Morning, Evening and Night prayer for the 4-week Psalter rhythm. We bought several and have them available for people to use. Several people have bought them from us as well, to take home. Hopefully, they will begin using them during the week at home as well. All this has been very fulfilling for me, and I know it's not all about me - but I'm grateful that I've been able to be a part of helping this happen. I think there is part of my own vocation in doing this. I see a dim shadow of things to come, of people learning and living in a rhythm of prayer, together... Labels: church, liturgical prayer, reversion 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | June 07, 2009 > 12:57 PM trinity Blessed be God the Father and his only-begotten Son and the Holy Spirit: for he has shown that he loves us. + Let us pray to our God who is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God, we praise you: Father all-powerful, Christ our Lord and Savior, Spirit of love. You reveal yourself in the depths of our being, drawing us to share in your life and your love. One God, three Persons, be near to the people formed in your image, close to the world your love brings to life. We ask you this, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one God, true and living, for ever and ever. Amen. + Today is Trinity Sunday, when we celebrate the essence of God as three in One, God in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Of course this deep revelation of Who God Is, is special to all of us who are Christians. Although we don't fully understand it with our intellects, we are made able by His Grace to spiritually understand it, and Him. As we are being transformed into His Image, in and through the action of the Trinitarian God, we become more and more able to grasp the significance of this mystery. I have a personal connection to God as Trinity in that I was birthed into Christ in a church called Holy Trinity - and wait, that's not all! The man who opened the Gospel of Christ to me, who baptized and confirmed me, who was a deeply important early mentor and spiritual director to me, was a member of a religious order called The Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity - Fr. Killian Mooney, S.T. There Trinity Missions aren't there in Harlan any more - not for a long time, but there were there for quite a while and I was a product, so to speak, of their missions there. I'm grateful they were there and that Fr. Killian was there in the right place and right time to help usher me into the Kingdom. I could probably say a lot more about God as Trinity and our own nature as His Children, community, etc., but that's really all that I have for today. Peace. Labels: church, liturgy, theology 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | May 31, 2009 > 9:19 PM go and be  Pentecost. The Easter season is officially over. Time to get Ordinary again. Today their waiting came to an end and the Holy Spirit "came down" upon them, and within them, to give them power - to give US power to serve, to go and be Christ to the world - to Love as He Loves, to speak as He spoke, to be the continuation of the Incarnation. ALL of us. All of us. Not just the Bishops and the Priests and Deacons and Pastors and Ministers. The Holy Spirit is given to us all, as members of the One Body. So, don't just sit there. GO and BE. You don't have to do some big spectacular thing. That's not necessary. Just be in Him - continue to do what belongs to being in Him and then you will be who and what you're supposed to be.Labels: christian life, church, liturgy 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | May 25, 2009 > 10:19 AM a link on memorial day Sometimes I wonder if in the morass of my life presently, I have lost something. I think I have lost some of my voice, some of the boldness I used to speak with about many things. I think I am afraid - of what or whom, I do not quite know. Perhaps today I will at least live vicariously through the words of a brother, whom I do not know, who's voice certainly still has a sting to it. The post I'm linking to is 2 years old, but still rings out pretty clearly on the subject at hand: Amercian civil religion, syncretism, Christian participation in warfare and the like. These are things which I have developed deeply conscientious views about over the years. All the readers of this blog will certainly not agree on this issue, but it may be a bit of good, alternative thought on the matter - worth checking out. From catholicanarchy.org > Memorial Day and the religious syncretism of the state PEACE be with you. Labels: christian life, church 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | May 22, 2009 > 3:10 PM let's blog > life update  Yes, I'm still drinking coffee - approximately one cup every morning, sometimes two. This is probably more symbolic of "life goes on" than anything I suppose. There are certainly times when, generally speaking lately, life sucks - but it still goes on. We still manage to get up and do whatever it is we do during the day. All our kids are still at home, although a couple of them are hardly "kids" any more. I think I like that. I know you're supposed to be a good, tough parent who wants their kids to move out on their own and be independent young women and men, taking on the world, but give me a freakin' break! No, I can't say that I'm happy about that idea. Do I want them to be good and healthy, spiritually sound, Christian adult people? Sure I do. I just like having them close. The "letting go" thing is very difficult for me. It's baseball season again and that means family schedule chaos around here. My 15 year old son, Conor, has played some form of baseball since he was probably 4. He's in his last year of city league ball this year - Babe Ruth League - and we're in the swing. Practice and ballgames very week - some of the normal drama that goes along with baseball teams and leagues at this level: parents, coaches, players all hollerin' at each other, agendas, blah, blah, blah. All these things are reasons I'd never be an umpire or a baseball coach at this level. Sitting on the sidelines is better than going to jail for bustin' somebody in the mouth. Sad, but that's how it can be. Conor, though - this is a boy who is not too affected by all that. He likes playing and has fun even when others are bent out of shape. Good for him. He's playing first base this year and has done well. So, we're half-way through the season - fold out camp chairs, sunflower seeds, gatorade - moving right along. That's a beet there - well, the leaves of a beet plant, the beet is growing in the dirt (which is what they taste like if you ask me). I don't like beets, but Liz does, so we grow them. It's garden time. That's a good thing. It's Liz's passion, and has become a good thing for me as well. I tend to concentrate on the tomatoes for some reason. Now, I don't like to eat raw tomatoes either, just cooked in various forms, so go figure. It's very monastic work for me to putter around the garden - watering, tending, making sure the weeds don't take over, etc. We garden organically, so things are a bit messier. No weed killers, pesticides, fertilizers - none of that. There are good, healthy, natural ways to do all that. But you do have more bug holes in your leaves, more weeds or grass growing randomly and you might not have giant, mutant-sized fruits and veggies. It's fine, though. We still have several jars of canned tomatoes from last year, and it looks like we'll have even more this year. The rest is as follows: beets, red onions, potatoes, green bell peppers, jalepeno chilis, cucumbers, corn, and 3-4 different kinds of tomatoes (mostly Roma). I'm still making rosaries and selling them from time to time, so listen, go buy you one or two, or get some for presents. They're cool rosaries - seriously. :^) The sales seem to come in spurts. Advent and Lent were big times, and another time when Michael Spencer got his Baptist head handed to him for promoting the horrid practice of praying with prayer beads - aagghhh!!! Kind of hilarious if it wasn't so sad, but such is the screwed up Body of Christ on earth I reckon. So, I thank those of you who have supported my rosary-making habit by purchasing or encouraging your friends to buy my hellish prayer beads. Please don't stop now - there are so many pockets not holding one of these fine pieces yet in the world. :) Church - yep, still a part of it. I haven't jumped ship yet. I certainly have that urge sometimes, but I'm sure I'm not alone. I've picked back up the mantle of (now let me be canonically correct here) Extraordinary Minister of the Holy Eucharist - aka, Eucharistic Minister - Lordeee. I like doing that. It's just a small, simple thing, but something I like. I've been helping on the formation committee for small groups, or small faith communities in the parish. I've got the experience to be able to help in some way, so I'm doing that. I'm a bit idealistic, I find, when it comes to these things, so I get a little frustrated, but that's fine. It's not all about what I think it should be for sure. The most "exciting" thing I've been doing is helping initiate the practice of praying the Liturgy of the Hours in our parish - to teach people what it is, how to do it, how formational it can be. So, we're starting by praying Vespers together with an intro session on June 7th - nice. My Deacon friend, Tim, and I have been working on this thing and it's coming to fruition - good stuff. And of course, off in the distance, in my heart and in my head, is a bell ringing on a foggy morning, friends walking together to pray the Morning Office, their lives being formed together into His Image...Labels: church, gardening, kids, liturgical prayer, rosaries 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | March 22, 2009 > 4:20 PM questions > one If you speak English, and live in an English-speaking part of the world... is it possible to pastor people without knowing Greek, or Hebrew, or German, or Latin? Labels: church, leadership 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | February 03, 2009 > 9:05 PM more prayer  I'm not usually a linker to articles, but I saw this linked over at the Spencer's place and couldn't help but join the party and link to this myself. I also don't usually keep tabs on the Archbishop of Canterbury, but old Rowan has said a couple of things we could all do with hearing - hear it - listen to it - seriously. Here is a quote section from the middle of the article that I wanted to pull out. "And yet that noticeboard used to worry me and it still does. It seems to me it speaks of an idea of the church which supposes that the church is about human beings doing things. When you looked at that church you would have thought, what a lot of things they do there. But I'm still wondering if anyone ever asked, does God do things here? It seemed to be just a slight risk that there was hardly any room in the week for God to find his way in among all these activities."That last part hits some core ground. The bolding is mine. The whole concept he's bringing to light - the Church being more concentrated on prayer than anything else - is just huge. I can't even begin to say how much I agree with this on a very, very deep level. We are drawn together in prayer. We are focusing on the One who draws us into Himself in prayer. That's a good thing. 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | December 19, 2008 > 3:13 PM another gangsta hit  There's been another hit! The Gangstas are at it again over at iMonk. Hey, I'm one of 'em, what can I say. Once again, the question get harder. This time we were asked to discuss the nature of authority and dissent in the Church, for Catholics, Protestants, etc. IIIiiiinnteresting. Here's how this week's question was couched...In an interview with Boston.com, the late Avery Cardinal Dulles answered a question with a crucial observation: Q. What is the appropriate role of dissent in the church? A. Dissent should be rare, respectful and reluctant. One’s first reaction as a Catholic is to agree with the official teaching of the church. Thousands of IM readers ponder this question: If we cannot join our Catholic brothers and sisters in simply trusting the teaching authority of the Roman Catholic church, then what is the answer to the “authority” question for non-Catholic Christians?Labels: church, liturgical gangstas 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | December 06, 2008 > 9:02 PM more 6 degrees Yeah, that's right, more 6 degrees of separation, so what? It was fun last time - most comments I've had in a while. I started thinking about some names from here and there in my past. Here are three men I have met, or known somehow, in person - one degree baby - that means two for many of you. Don't you feel special. I've got a few more, but lets go three at a time, OK? OK.    They are pictured alphabetically by last name so I won't offend anyone - ha! Ah, let me start at the beginning: It was a slow day in the store. We had recently moved from a smaller location across the street. I was holding down the fort alone that afternoon when two men came strolling in to browse. I think I saw him before he came in with his friend - then - yes, sure enough, Albert Finney! Holy crap! This guy is big - not just your run of the mill TV star or something - this was Ebenezer Scrooge! This was Daddy Warbucks! And, of course, many other great characters. He was in jeans, dressed very casually. I let them have their space and when the opportunity arose, I asked, "so, what brings you to Lexington Mr. Finney?" He was very pleasant, very nice, responding that he was visiting a friend who had a horse farm locally. I now almost always refer to him as "my buddy Albert Finney." Many of you will not recognize the next striking figure. When I was involved in a small charismatic church here in Lexington, we used to have a visiting preacher from time to time. He was the Pastor of a very small store-front church in Charleston, West Virginia - an extremely dynamic preacher. He was dearly loved by the congregation. When he came, I was usually responsible for seeing to his needs, which weren't many, so we talked. He wont' remember me now but we met many times and hugged and even ate dinner together at least once. Once he was in rare form and prophesied over me, holding me tightly after he had already sweated through three layers of suit, until my knees buckled and I hit the floor. Bishop T. D. Jakes - you've likely heard of him now. Oh, and he tried to counsel my wayward Pastor, at one time, after he had committed adultery and was trying to split the church up. His counsel was not followed unfortunately. I'm not a big proponent, these days, of the kind of charismatic business I was a big part of some time ago. That's not to say I don't believe much of it is legitimately a part of the Christian life. Anyway, from what I saw of the man up close, what I heard, and what I hear from time to time now, I may not totally agree with him but I do have a respect for him. Some of you won't understand that, but oh well. Consistency, I think, and from all I ever knew, integrity. I have to shorten these stories. Lefty Kreh is the next on the list. Most of you won't know who Lefty is from Adam. He's a pretty famous American Fly Fisherman. He's helped develop new ways to cast, to build rods, new flies, etc. for a few decades now. Once upon a time a friend and I went to fish the famous waters of South Central Pennsylvania - the Letort Spring Run and Yellow Breeches Creek. As we pulled up to hit the Letort for the first time it was like - well, like sneaking into the Grand Ole Opry to play your music when nobody's there - except - today - all the characters we had read about in books, etc. were there, having a picnic, right there! We were at Charlie Fox's house (yeah, I know you don't know him either, but anyway...) and they were there! Lefty, Ed Shenk, old Charlie, Bob Clouser, and who knows who else. Through an odd series of events that day, we ended up meeting a great old guy named Jack Hunter - who invited me to come to the picnic (of The Letort Regulars) the next year. So, hell yes, I drove 8.5 hours to fish and hang out with legendary fishermen! I sat and talked to Lefty on the banks of the Letort, listening to him tell dirty jokes and talk about the old days. Good stuff. The next day I caught a gorgeous 16" Brown Trout upstream of Charlie's house at Bonny Brook. That's a great memory. So much for shortening the stories. I had three more up there but I'll save them for the next installment. Peace. Labels: church, fishing, fun stuff, personal 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | December 05, 2008 > 6:05 PM liturgical gangstas 2 OK, I got anuda job from da boss. The second installment of the Internet Monk's Liturgical Gangstas is now up. Go check us out. Our question this time was this:Here’s this week’s question: Three words are coming up frequently in discussions about the church: Sacramental: Think Orthodox, Catholic, Anglican. God gives sacraments. The church distributes them as the center of Christian experience and the church’s mission. These are three good words. All of you would use them in some way. (Well….Baptists can’t spell sacramental, but still…) What is the way to go to be the church Jesus is building: Sacramental, Attractional or Missional? And in what mixture? For what reasons?Labels: church, liturgical gangstas 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | November 11, 2008 > 2:45 PM ironic > st. martin of tours  Today is the memorial of St. Martin of Tours. Being a Roman soldier - after his conversion, he became what we now know as a conscientious objector. He refused to fight any longer. The famous quote is..."I have served you as a soldier; now let me serve Christ. Give the bounty to those who are going to fight. But I am a soldier of Christ and it is not lawful for me to fight."Many Christians before and after St. Martin have come to the same conclusion about killing in light of their new Life in Christ. I have myself. Once upon a time I actually joined the U.S. Navy, just before Liz and I were married in 1988. I took the oath, all that. I was scheduled to go to boot camp on delayed entry at the end of that Summer. I never went. Just before I decided to join, I prayed and asked God to give me a quick answer (I know, I know - anyway...) - it was "no." But I shrugged it off and did it anyway. When I took the oath, I felt as squirrely as a, well, as a big red-tailed fox squirrel. It didn't feel right. During the next couple of months, I prayed a lot, studied a good bit, and came to the very firm conclusion that I could not kill anyone for my country, for anyone. That, along with that pesky oath business did me in. I couldn't do it. I called the Senior Chief Petty Officer who recruited me and explained to him my dilemma. He was actually very nice about it, very understanding, questioned me, proposed scenarios to check my resolve and finally told me I would receive paperwork in the mail soon that I needed to sign. It came. I signed it. That was it. And no, I'm not officially a "veteran" since I was only ever technically in the "Innactive Naval Reserve." OK, that's my story. I'm no Martin of Tours. He could have been instantly killed for his decision, which took place in a battlefield setting. The occasion made me think of it, though, so there you go. There is a long tradition of Christian Pacifism which shouldn't be taken lightly. Even those of us who aren't convicted in this way, should be very careful and serious about vowing your oath and allegiance and taking up arms to kill for a cause. Of course, if you ask my advice or opinion, I'd say, steer clear and don't put yourself in that position. Oh, the "ironic" part up there is obviously that it's Veteran's Day in the U.S. today. Interesting overlap. Take a look at the site of Catholic Peace Fellowship for some more info. Here's a helpful PDF file of quotes from Church history, etc. on the subject of conscientious objection. PEACE be with you - seriously - to all of us. St. Martin, pray for us. Labels: church, pacifism, saints 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | November 05, 2008 > 8:46 AM oh my The first thing I'll say is - can we all now, as Christians, get back to focusing on being who He created us to be, on the Kingdom that is not of this world, on not finding ways to press our siblings into tight, worldly corners? I doubt it, but maybe it will at least be interesting for a while for those who may tend more toward trusting in the arm of conservative politics to usher in God's reign. That's out of the picture for a while. I'm sure there are those who's trust is in the other arm too. I pray they can keep their eyes on the Author and Finisher. So, I'm not going to hell - I didn't vote for him. ha! That's a bad joke - very unfortunate that it actually, yes actually got that far in this election, at least among some Catholics. The top of my head is spinning about that one. Of course I didn't vote for anyone, so maybe it was just venial... uuuhh, or maybe not. The kind of stuff thrown around about all this for the last year or so has been further formation for me in my conscientious decision not to participate. It's just too hateful. It draws out the very worst in people. And at the core, I can't get very far at all from the belief that ultimately, this is simply not our realm of action. Certainly, aspects of that can be argued, but ultimately, seriously. It was fascinating to watch last night - definitely a historical moment in America. I was impressed by McCain's concession speech - very gracious and humble (not so much the crowd - it seemed to disturb him as well). Obama's speech was very good as well. Again, very gracious to his beaten oponent. It's a good thing to see a black man going into the White House, an emotional thing. That alone signals that some change has happened in people over the last 40-50 years. I'm just talking about the symbolism of it, calm the fire down. And now, as I already have, I'll pray for President-elect Obama and his family, for wisdom and clarity and safety and protection. Good on Michael Spencer for bringing the Scriptures to bear on this. I'd say that would be a good thing to do more than talk about him or freak out. 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | November 02, 2008 > 12:17 PM birthday > all souls  Happy birthday to the Kenz! McKenzie Ann Creech, that is - our youngest baby child. Baby no more, I suppose. 13 years ago today, McKenzie was born. And that means, yes that's right, we now officially have 4 teenagers!!! Hail Mary, full of Grace.... pray for us! I think we'll probably be alright, but you know, it's a little intimidating. Thank God we have good kids (for the most part, you know). I'm not sure what I would do otherwise. I have bad enough problems dealing with what I have sometimes. Anyway, we love our Kenz. She's a handful. She actually started being a teenager when she was about 10 I think, so she should actually chill out in the next year or so, right? Right?? I'll let you know what we got her as a present after she finds out later today. :)Today is All Souls Day. Yeah, All Saints was yesterday - this is slightly different. I think some people think of All Souls as only for those who have passed over and are still "in purgatory." OK, as if we can really know who is and who isn't. And then, there's the when and where of purgatory - kinda hard to nail down something that exists outside of time in eternity. So, "how long?" - hmmm, not really qualified to fully answer that one (not putting myself down, nobody is). Also, that "where" business is a bit sketchy. Purgatory is about mercy and God's Love and transforming power working on us until we're done, until we're fully recreated as members of the New Humanity. It's not about a place of punishment. I feel fairly confident saying that. That was sort of a tangent, but it was worth it probably. All Souls - when we celeberat all the faithful departed. All those who were marked with the mark of Jesus, who have gone before us, whether or not they have been officially recognized as "Saints." They all aren't necessarily still being purged. We can still look to them as examples. We can still ask for their intercession, their prayers. I want to name some names - of some whom I have known or "known" (who aren't on any Saint list). I want to recognize them and ask them to pray for me, for us...
Labels: church, family, friends, saints 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | November 01, 2008 > 11:26 AM all saints > merton Well, happy feast of All Saints. Congratulations! Old blog readers here will have seen my write this before on All Saints Day. You'll get what I mean shortly. Here's the deal - we have a lot of friends in the Heavenly arena. Some we know only by reputation, some we have known personally in this life. Most of them aren't canonized "Saints" - that's fine, you don't have to be. Of course, there have been heroically holy people a'many who have passed over into the fullness of eternity with God whom we have no knowledge of whatsoever - probably several to whom the likes of St. Francis would tip his proverbial holy hat. Being a Saint is not about being canonized, it's about being wrapped up in the Life of God, about being transformed into the Image of Christ. The Church sometimes officially recognizes this reality in some of its members, but that has never meant that only those people are "in Heaven" and can be venerated or petitioned for their intercession. There's probably some overlap with tomorrow, All Souls Day, which is about all those who have died and gone before us, whether or not they have been officially recognized as "Saints."  And of course, we are Saints. Maybe we're just saints. I'd think if we are inhabited by the Life Essence of God, the same thing that has made the recognized Saints who and what they are, maybe we should capitalize our Saints too. Anyway, that's really neither here nor there. I have a treat for you today - no, not leftover candy...I've skimmed a few brief minutes from a recording of Thomas Merton teaching a conference to the younger monks at Gethsemani that I have. This particular tape (or CD, however you buy it) is called Sanctity. One side includes this talk from Gethsemani in the late 60's, about All Saints. The other side was recorded in Bangkok probably a week before he died. You can buy them at the Gethsemani book and gift store or from Credence Communications, who distributes them. > This is a great little section about All Saints, about us being Saints, Grace, etc. And there's a lot more laughing in here than you'd think from that picture over there (I wonder if he laughed when they had him stare out the window - funny). Happy All Saints from me and Big Tom. technorati tags > all saints, thomas merton Labels: catholic, church, merton, saints 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | October 26, 2008 > 12:09 PM politico Don't get too excited, this won't be long. I don't very often at all write about politics except to say here and there that I and my informed conscience cannot, do not participate. I've talked about some of the reasons why in the past on this blog. It always illicits very interesting responses. These responses, for me, often tend to add very solid blocks to my building of reason for not taking part. You never see - almost never - the kind of emotional rancor tossed around by those on either side of the political divide, in any other Christian arena (wait, maybe theology - there are ways to and not to do that too - be careful). I know, I know, you all have very good, morally sound reasons for all that. And don't get me saying that all debate is bad and rancorous - it is not. It need not be. But what we have generally is not any kind of healthy debate. It's just hatred disguised as... well, not disguised very well as anything. And all hatred need not be full-on, total hatred. A little hatred here, a little hatred there - it all adds up to a much bigger, collective pile of... you know, hatred. And that's not Love > and that's not God > at all > don't even try it. Our American political system is not the only one in the world. Shocker. It doesn't even encompass within its systemic bounds the greatest number of people in the world, not by a long shot. Capitalism is not God's chosen economic vehicle to bring His Kingdom to fullness on the earth - holy crap, I just said that! And neither is the governmental system of a Republic or a Democracy, and no, neither is Communism, Socialism or Totalitarianism. The only system of government I remember having any reliable record of God being involved in directly was Monarchy, and yeah, those Judges and all that. Here's the deal on all those systems: They are imperfect ways to deal with a broken, heard-hearted, sinful and stiff-necked people > US. None of them are ideal. None of them was or is God's ideal plan for mankind. Israel for a time and the Church now are what we have as the closest thing to what God wants for us - and even these things would not have been necessary if we had not fallen into darkness. OK, this is getting too long. I know I'm supposed to be some kind of disobedient, ignorant, uninformed whatever by saying this, but I cannot, with any semblance of a good conscience, step into the political arena, by voting or mostly otherwise. I feel I'm stepping into a battle that is not mine - into a land of deep division and hatred - into taking sides among God's people. I say this of myself and of my conscience. I will not fully universalize these convictions and spread them around to all my friends and to those I don't know who choose to participate in the system. I do not believe it is somehow inherently evil or bad to do this. I just know I can't, and I know I have come to this position in a very informed and educated way. I am not apathetic. If you don't vote, etc. because you just don't care - that's not a good reason for anything - figure yourself out. Study, think, pray, read, inform yourself and be informed. I will pray for the election. I will pray for whomever is elected. I will pay my taxes and obey the law (pretty much, you know, speeding and all that). Mostly, though, I hope I can focus my energy on doing work, some kind of work, for and in the Kingdom of God, in the Church and around the Church (to and with everyone as an ambassador of Christ). That's all for now. And if you're going to comment, you don't have to agree with me (honestly) but please be respectful. Don't preach or assume that I'm stupid - please. Pax vobiscum. Labels: church, personal, politics 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | September 15, 2008 > 8:25 AM good news Just so you know, guess what in the heck was read out loud and publicly in the Mass yesterday. Of course we were all exalting the Cross and everything, and the Gospel comes... GospelWhadaya know about that? And the homily about that cross, that torturous crucifix that's in every Catholic church - how it's only the beginning and only has it's fully meaning in what happened three days later when He was raised from the dead. Good stuff. 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | September 06, 2008 > 4:54 PM quicktake cubed > politics, law, parenting That's nice and vague isn't it? Yes, it is. I'll try my best to de-vauge-ify it in the following blog post. I often think about many things, and very often too much. I "crank" on things - pushing the gears of my mind into overtime on certain things. This is OK sometimes, but often it's unhealthy. Whatever the case in the following list, here you go...
Labels: catholic, church, family, politics 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | August 27, 2008 > 10:02 AM ray ray, guitars, and holding hands   I love a quiet, stripped-down Mass. If I go to daily Mass it's usually there on the right - St. Peter's downtown. Usually not more than 20 people there at Noon. Very quiet, no singing, sometimes no homily, simple Mass. I like that a lot. I like singing too. It would seem that a lot of Catholic parish members do not, since they don't. Of course my kids don't either - I don't get it.Where we typically go to Mass is on the left - Christ the King, the Cathedral for the Lexington Diocese. 2,700 families it is said - families. Talk about a megachurch. Not nearly all of these "members" show up ever. If they did, they'd have to tack on 15 more Masses on the weekends. As it is, there are 5, including the Vigil on Saturday. We have become Sunday at 5pm folks. This is a Mass that many traditionalists would love to hate, I imagine. It's the LifeTeen Mass. For some of my Protestant friends, it's much like a Catholic Mass and a Vineyard service had a baby. Let me tell you something - I like it. Now, if you don't, well go to the 8:45am Mass. There's a very good choir, very traditional music, etc. Guess what? I like that too. I find no reason to pit one against the other. At the center, both are the Mass. There is a worshipful reverence at/in both. The Catholic Church is, after all, said to be the Church of the great both/and. That's a good thing if you ask me, which perhaps you didn't but oh well, there's a free one for you. Agnus dei, qui tollis pecata mundi, misserere nobis. Agnus dei, qui tollis pecata mundi, misserere nobis. Agnus dei, qui tollis pecata mundi, dona nobis pacem. We actually hear and pray this, in a certain form, at the Mass we attend. My kids love to kid, "Ray Ray was there tonight." They know what it means. I've made sure of that. And I like that. I like a bit of Latin every now and then. If I know what it means, it works. If not, from my heart, it's kind of pointless. Even though it has a sort of culturo-sentimental tug in my emotional area, I have no illusion that Latin is some kind of inherently holy language given by God. Of course, language in general was given by God, in a sense, as a way for us to communicate. Latin happened to develop in the Italian region in a certain time period, long before the Church was around, from other languages I'm sure. Same with Greek and even Hebrew and Aramaic. Under it all, they're just languages that people speak, or did speak, in certain areas of the world. Latin was sort of adopted by the Church for practical reasons at the time, since it was the common language that tied together most of the European known world at the time. This was so because of oppresive Roman conquest - imperialist expansion - so the reason that Latin was common was certainly not "holy" by any stretch of the imagination. It was simply baptized like many other things, and there's nothing wrong with that. It's smart actually. To hold on to it, or yearn for it as if it's an angelic tongue, though, is another thing. Not sure that's really something we need to be doing. I like guitars too, even when played in the Mass - oh my. Guitars are musical instruments, developed from other musical instruments that mankind has used over the millenia for entertainment, worship, etc. They are much like organs, instruments, except much more ancient, along with their forebears, the lute. Some like organs, some like guitars, some like banjos or fiddles (violins if you prefer, depends on how you play them). I'm not sure our time and energy is best spent trying to make cases about which one is somehow (and how this is done is beyond me and I'm pretty damn smart) more inherently "reverent" or condusive to worship than another. Let's stick with the great both/and and get on with it. Please. I could go on and on - and on, but I'll lose steam after a bit. Holding hands is good, for instance, but I don't prefer to do it when I'm praying the Our Father in Mass. You will find my hands raised in the Orans position though. What I also don't do is gaze around to see all the other hand-holders while grinding about how somehow horrible that is in my heart - while praying the Our Father. OK, that really is it for today. It's a fine soft day out there, as they say in Ireland. We have a constant fine mist of rain blowing around today - just like Erin. The garden will love that. Pax vobiscum. Labels: catholic, church, liturgy 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | July 17, 2008 > 9:06 PM introducing.... That's Steve Harvey, comedian of the Original Kings of Comedy fame, introducing Jesus. Thanks to Michael Spencer for pointing this out. I've you've never heard of Steve, you might need to stop being so white for a minute and check him out - and that's Ricky Smiley on the keyboards (way too funny not to know about). I'm pretty sure Steve done preached himself happy by the end of this, for real. And I'll tell you what, he might preached me happy too. This is classic stuff. I've sat in preaching services like this. I have room for it. Amaan mistu Steve, Aman! 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | July 12, 2008 > 2:07 PM in a galaxy far far away...  This is my very good friend Kevin Rains. Today he wrote a little piece on his blog remembering some connections some of us made several years ago. It was a little bitter-sweet for me to read. As he said, two of our comrades have since moved on to a fuller expression of God's Kingdom. Also, the connection we all had after that day, growing for a few years, seems to have faded a bit. That's not necessarily bad. God has moved some of us here and there, shifted our focus, etc. It still feels like something I'm personally lacking though - sometimes. That's a little sad for me.When I was at the event Kevin describes in his post (it began the night of July 25, 2001), I kept a very constant written journal. I recorded my thoughts as that weekend progressed. In 2005 I posted my own memorial post about the same event. The poem you see at the end there was one I wrote after a bunch of us went to a local bar/music club there in Cincinnati one night. I actually have pictures of that time somewhere, probably on a roll of film that never got developed. I'll try to track those down. I love you people - still - believe it. Palmer and Chad, pray for us. Labels: church, emerging church, friends, midwest crew 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | June 21, 2008 > 10:27 PM soooo sick This may be one of the things I have to say: I am sooo sick of controversy in the Christian arena. I'm so damn tired of theological argumentation - We've got this right, of course they've got all that wrong. I'm so glad I'm not like that crew over there. It makes me feel really good knowing that I've got it all wrapped up. Seriously - I see so much of it in the blog world that it just makes me ill. But healthy theological debate is important - Truth is important - we've got to hash these things out and get to the bottom of things. I'm really beginning to wonder about all those statements. How important is it? Please don't answer that - any such answer will undoubtedly be in the category of that which makes me want to throw up. Listen, I'm a theological thinker. My mind works like that. But when it comes to what's really, really important in the Christian life, in life in general, I'm beginning to believe that getting everything tightly wrapped up in a neat little "Truth bundle" is NOT it. It's not what we really should be expending our energy on. I'm sure there are healthier examples than I see regularly. It would be nice if they were more the norm - but they're not. Yes, yes, it matters what we believe. Yes, some things are "truer" than others. Some things believed produce other things that aren't good - I know this. This can be so without us all becoming those who just sit around waiting for opportunities to pounce on those with whom we have "issues" ecclesiastically or theologically. All this mess goes 26 different directions. There really aren't many innocents out there. Hell, I'm sittin' here bitchin' about people who bitch about things, so there you go. We're in a broken world. We would all do well to more fully realize this. Lord have mercy, please. technorati tags > theology, controversy 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | June 03, 2008 > 12:42 PM christian humor > saints > church I just finished watching these 3 videos about the value of humor in the Christian life. Very good stuff from Fr. James Martin, S.J. I actually saw James on the Colbert Report (which I don't watch regularly, just happened to see it) once. Anyway, check this 3-part deal out as he addressed a publishing convention. Very funny - good thing considering the subject matter. Many, many of us (Christians of whatever stripe) take ourselves MUCH too seriously. Laughing is far too foreign to us. These are helpful words for sourpusses. Peace and laughter. technorati tags > christian humor, catholic humor, james martin sj 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | May 23, 2008 > 11:02 AM little portion update from jmt I got hold of this link from John Michael Talbot's blog. He's posted a personal video on YouTube telling the story of the fire and loss at Little Portion and asks for our help. Take a look if you haven't seen this. I feel a great kinship with them not just because I've loved John's music for years but also because of what they're doing as a monastic community. I feel myself in those shoes a little bit. So, I'll be praying for them at least, if not more. technorati tags > john michael talbot, little portion hermitage, brothers and sisters of charity Labels: church, monasticism 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | May 20, 2008 > 8:50 PM confirmed  Well, as of tonight, one journey is over. This is my family receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation - being received into full communion with the Catholic Church. Thier sponsors (or proxies thereof) are behind them. Our friend, my spiritual director, Fr. Louis Lipps, is presiding there. It was a very simple, sparsely attended daily Mass today at 5:30pm. I like that it was simple this way. I'm very proud of my children today. They said "yes" to Jesus. They received more of His Grace to live that "yes." I love my wife, but I'm not so much "proud" of her as happy for her that this part of the road is over and now we can settle in and live it out. Things will not be perfect now. Difficulty is not over. We shouldn't think it is. One journey has ended... and another begun. Labels: catholic, church, family, personal 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | May 19, 2008 > 3:31 PM too long delayed Here's a very timely and interesting quote from Fr. Karl Rahner that I ran into a little while back. I don't really feel the need to comment further. It's just a good quote and I thought I'd share it here ...the Church is today caught up in a transformation. Probably this has been too long delayed. For people used to think it a special Christian virtue, the salvation of an imperiled world, intransigently to insist on what had always been the case; and therefore this transformation is now coming very suddenly, and with all the typical features and dangers that arise when something in itself necessary has to be "caught up with" too quickly. Yes a transformation of this kind is necessary if the Church does not want to remain the Church of the peasant and petit-bourgeois classes particular to late European modernity, with ever decreasing membership, but instead to become a Church for the kind of society that has a future. This transformation in the Church is difficult because is has begun too late. It involves the danger of betraying the true substance of Christianity. It is painful. It brings the different levels of the Church, which are at different stages in their awareness, into conflict with each other. But it cannot be avoided – indeed it is still not being engaged in with anything like sufficient seriousness. technorati tags > church, catholic church, change in the church, karl rahner Labels: catholic, church, rahner 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | May 14, 2008 > 11:16 AM the faithful  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 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | April 25, 2008 > 10:14 AM me and my story  I was poking around yesterday and found a podcast that was done fairly recently, interviewing myself about my recent story as well as talking about some other interesting things about church life, etc. I realize that some of you may not have heard me talk about this, not in this way at least. As I listened to it again last night, it became apparent to me that I "sound" much different than I "read" sometimes. My friends Kevin Rains and D.G. Hollums are doing a podcast called Praxis (nice logo, yeah that was me, hire me). I was apparently their inaugural show, very cool. You can take a listen to that here. While you're over there you can subscribe to the podcast I'm sure. Peace.Labels: catholic, church, emerging church, personal 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | April 24, 2008 > 10:24 PM church, money, future conversation Well, this ought to be interesting. There's a bit of a blog-versation going on among some of my friends about the future of the church, how it conducts itself, how and where churches come together for worship, how ministers/pastors/priests are supported by their communities - all in light of possible coming monetary problems, financial crisis, etc. You can check their musings out first if you like to keep in stride...
I spent quite a few years with my mouth wide open about how large church buildings that depend on quite a bit of money and ministers who depend on salaries that suck the life out of a congregation are bad for the Church as a whole - that they put our focus on the wrong things and help perpetuate a way of being Christian which is not quite what I'm thinking Jesus intended. Now, some may think, here I am in the biggest, richest, most opulent ecclesiastical institution of them all - shut up! I guess technically they'd be right. Nothing like Rome for some gold and stained glass and seeeeeriously whoopdeedoo vestments. Right. Nothing like the Vatican's stash. Right. And those Cathedrals! Holy, well holy cathedral Batman! Show me the MONAAAAY! Rome doesn't fund local Catholic parishes by the way - just thought I'd through that in there. There's a lot of medieval mess in all that. There's a ton of leftover, as Jason mentioned, deeply "Christendom" ideas floating around this ancient church. And yes, I believe it's a problem, one not easily or quickly solved. Some of the defense behind some of these things is a sort of anti-Gnostic, matter and things here on earth are important, beauty draws us to contemplate God, He is worthy of something amazing and cool like that kind of thing. Can you see where that's coming from without me having to write another book on it? I can see some of it, but not all of it. I can understand an attitude that God in His infinite wonder and wants to reflect that around us in a context of worship - sacred space and all that. I get that. I love beautiful spaces. I'd rather be in a beautiful, sacred space than in a corny, goofy lookin' space. We're human. We're of this earth. It matters. BUT, how much does it matter? In what way does it matter? I think we've too easily answered these questions. We've adopted answers that aren't "our" answers over the years and unfortunately they have stuck with us and we've developed apologies for them. How about the beauty of simplicity? Can I get some Franciscan love up in this joint? Is Jesus really looking for golden thrones and million dollar sanctuaries? It seems odd for a God who once tried to convince us that He doesn't dwell structures built by human hands - doesn't it? It does. Oh, I know, the Blessed Sacrament (pardon me for a second guys) - yes, I do believe in His Real Presence in the Sacrament. But then there's that animal stall in Bethlehem, those dirty streets He walked on, the humble, normal house he lived in - all that. This is only part of my point. To me, opulence and finery are a very surface way of getting the point across, of showing respect. It's not evil, necessarily, but it's also not necessary. Simple, normal, regular, how about that? Things seem to be moving in a direction that might cause us all to have to rethink what we spend, what we build, how we pay our staff, etc. Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, whatever - things will change and we will all have to face it sooner or later. This all makes me remember a story an old Priest told me about something a friend said to him who had spent a lot of time in Rome, that the best thing that could happen to the Catholic Church is for an oppressive government to take over and strip it of all it's wealth, tear the external institution down and push it back into the catacombs. OK, the catacombs part was my creative addition, but you get my point. And it's not only the Catholic Church but much of the rest of the whole Church - let us all lose the ability to own buildings, to pay our leaders or our tax exemptions. Bring it! Where would our focus be then? Maybe on the Kingdom of God, something novel like that. It's time for some Body of Christ creativity. Maybe we should start practicing now - maybe. Lord have mercy. technorati tags > church, church buildings, church and money Labels: catholic, church, emerging church 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | April 04, 2008 > 1:23 AM into one body The reading from Mid-morning prayer this morning in the Office... It was in one Spirit that all of us, whether Jew or Greek, slave or free, were baptized into one body. All of us have been given to drink of the one Spirit.I'm not too keen on Catholics gearing this to say "...oh, and that one Body is us, only us and the rest of you are out of luck." I know, I know - "it's your Church that says these things, deal with it buddy, or you need to get out" - oh, and, AND (from the Catholics), "You may not like it but we ARE THE one true Church, and that's just it, deal with it buddy, bend your neck or get out." That mess just pisses me off so don't say that. I know this too (I'm real smart by the way) - not all Protestants think like that or would say that AND not all Catholics would say anything like that. I know that so don't start. But it IS out there and it's common enough to take note of, and it's hard for me, in my present circumstance, not to take note. I know also that many Catholics, especially converts from Protestant Churches it seems, take great comfort in the "One True Church" thing. This is why many of them converted. They are convinced this is the only way to go, that nothing else is really legitimate, so the choice is fairly limited. I understand the excitement something like this can instill. I get the great value placed on the ancient nature of the Catholic Church and all it has kept intact for nearly 2,000 years. I understand that this has also been the fuel that has reignited the fire in many a cradle Catholic as well. I see and understand these things. I want to say, though, that I think there are other ways one can be a Catholic Christian, other reasons to love the Catholic Church than because of any exclusivity claims. Personally, I have to look past the exclusivity claims, whether they are made by the Church authorities or by her members, in order that they don't overshadow what love I have for Catholic Christianity which is not based in this thinking. The whole Church, all of us, every institutional expression, every so-called non-institutional expression, and every individual member, is screwed up. We are collectively not ideally what we were designed to be. I believe there are ancient, True, beautiful, and amazing things in the Catholic Church that have been more fully maintained than in many other strains of the Body of Christ. There are things, I believe, that have been forgotten or lost in the Catholic arena as well - yes eeeeven in the Catholic Church. Even inside the beauty, there is some ugliness. Sure, like I said, I believe there is a certain fullness to be found in the big old walls of the Catholic Church. Does this mean to me that there is none of that fullness found anywhere else ecclesiastically speaking? It doesn't mean that to me. Perhaps, you may say, as a Protestant or as a Catholic, that I need to rethink my deal. Look, I'm always rethinking my deal. I'm always trying to listen to God and sense the Holy Spirit. I believe I have a decent ability to "hear God" leading me in my life. I can certainly miss it. I'm a part of the broken Body of Christ. Even though there may be a certain fullness here or there, some things forgotten or lost in this or that place, we are ALL still a part of this broken, yet to be fully transformed Body. One of the best things we could probably do along the way is at least recognize that and live with each other on that level, as the diversely scattered fellow members of the One Body of Christ. Oh, all you members of the Body, Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Coptic, etc. - please pray for my Dad if you think about it. He's in the hospital (fine right now), but he has developed a couple more major artery blockages and will need another bypass surgery soon. Thanks. Peace to you. technorati tags > body of christ, the church, catholic church Labels: catholic, church, ecumenism 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | March 01, 2008 > 3:44 PM mccabe on the kingdom I've been reading my new book, which makes me ask, why have I never heard of this man before now? I'm speaking of Herbert McCabe. I guess Dominicans don't really get famous very often. God, Christ and Us is a collection of sermons and other teaching, so it doesn't come off like hard-to-read theology. I don't mind some of that myself, but this is very accessible. Here's another quote for you to chew on - very good stuff on the Kingdom of God, about temporary things vs. permanent things. Check it out... I think that the author of Hebrews is thinking of the fact that in one way we have received the promise, in one way the Kingdom has come. We are no longer simply groping in the dark. In a sort of way, in Jesus Christ the promise is fulfilled, the Kingdom is established - in an odd sort of way, myteriously, in the way we call 'sacramentally'. Sacramentally, we have arrived at the Kingdom, just as Abraham arrived as a stranger, a foreigner in the Promised Land. But he lived there in a tent - a temporary shack. And he didn't make the mistake of thinking that what he built was the real thing. It was just a structure he threw up while waiting for the gift of the real city, waiting for the terrible giving of the city, a giving that involved letting his people be broken and remade.The Church is a tent, a shack, a temporary dwelling on our way to the fullness of the Kingdom. Oh my. I think this is very true, though. And because this is true, we cannot afford to think of the Church as the point of it all. It is not the point. The Church is sacramentally the presence of the Kingdom of God on earth. It's a conduit, a tool God is using to move us from one way of being to another. I've said this before. The Church is really a stop-gap solution for a broken people. It's not meant to be permanent. Once the fullness of the Kingdom swallows us all up, there will be no more need for the Church, our worship as members of it, it's liturgy, even for the Sacraments. We won't need all this any more at that point. We will be where It has been leading us. This is not to say the Church is unimportant or not needed now. We are far from the recapitulation of all things. Until then, the Church is our vehicle of transformation. It is the vessel God has given us, in which we travel from the brokenness of this dimension of life into the fullness of the one we do not yet fully see and experience - more accurately, into the re-merger of these two dimensions, the earthly one and the Kingdom. technorati tags > the kingdom of god, hope, herbert mccabe 0 comments
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permalink | e-mail me | February 06, 2008 > 1:27 PM ashes, ashes, we've all fallen down I just thought that was cleaver, so there. Which mean, probably, that somebody's said it before at some point - oh well. It's Ash Wednesday - that means the beginning of the liturgical season of Lent. Today - I feel nothing. Maybe that's good. It's not about feeling anything I don't guess. I wonder, when I speak in a rather colloquial manner, do certain people tune me out as possibly someone who has little of substance to say? Interesting question in the middle of my thought-train there. So, like I said, Lent begins today and even though I don't feel anything about it really, I do have a couple of thoughts...
technorati tags > lent, liturgy, catholicism, lenten disciplines Labels: catholic, church, lent, liturgy 0 comments
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