Russell Shaw is very afraid for what the future has in store for the American Catholic Church. In American Church: The Remarkable Rise, Meteoric Fall and Uncertain Future of Catholicism in America (Ignatius Press, 2013), Shaw analyses the assimilation of immigrant Catholics into the American mainstream and the disaster that accommodation with the secular culture has become.
Originally titled The Gibbons Legacy the book tracks the career of Cardinal James Gibbons of Baltimore who promoted Catholic assimilation in the late 19th and early 20th century. The process of "Americanizing" the immigrant church has worked so well that except for a small percentage of devout persons, the behavior of most American Catholics is indistinguishable from the larger culture. With the culture becoming militantly secular, those who hold to the teachings of the Church can expect to be marginalized at best and punished at worst.
Shaw is calling for a new Catholic subculture which will resist the inroads of the larger culture. This is a good book which should be widely read. (Review from National Catholic Register here. Review from First Things here.). Pax.
The Department of Defense says that it will begin to court martial and punish service members (including chaplains!) who share their faith with other service members. Read the full story here.
On a literal and historical level, this "Royal Psalm" sings of the earthly power of ancient Jewish Kings and was probably composed to be sung during a coronation ceremony. On a spiritual level, the Church has always interpreted this Psalm as referring to Jesus the Messiah.
"Why are the nations in an uproar? Why do the peoples mutter empty threats?" Psalm 2:1 (1979 BCP). In this fallen world there is always going to be saber rattling. Nations are perpetually threatening war on each other. Today it is North Korea and Iran, tomorrow it will be others. There will never truly be peace until Our Lord returns. Jesus said that we must expect there to be "wars and rumors of wars," until the end of time. But God considers the threats of earthly rulers to be empty and from the viewpoint of eternity human conflicts mean little.
The King James Version translates this verse as "Why do the heathen rage , and the people imagine a vain thing?". The "raging heathen" brings to my mind images of people like Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens and Madeline Murray O'Hare who deny existence of God and are angry that anybody else does.
"Why do the kings of the earth rise up in revolt, and the princes plot together, against the LORD and against his Anointed? Let us break their yoke ," they say; " let us cast off their bonds from us.". (Psalm 2:2-3). From a literal and historical standpoint, these verses refer to the revolt of vassals of the ancient Kings of Judah. In Hebrew the word Messiah means "the anointed one" and this was the title given to the ancient Israelite kings. In Greek "Messiah" is translated as the word Christ.
The Kingdoms of the earth have risen and continue to rise against Christ and his Church. The increasingly militantly secular government of the United States continues to enact laws and regulations in disregard of divine command. We murder our unborn children and we order everyone to pay for it. We mandate same sex marriages and command that everyone must agree with it. Although we do not have officially mandated atheism yet, that experiment has been tried many times. It seems that men must constantly try to live without God and to try to make themselves God. Some of the past "kings of the Earth" who sought to destroy the LORD's anointed include the Radicals of the French Revolution, the Nazis, and the Communists. Joseph Stalin asked with derision how many divisions the Pope had. Apparently, in the end the Pope had more divisions than the Soviet Union. Stalin's USSR is no more but Christ's Church is with us still and shall stand forever until the end of time.
"He whose throne is in heaven is laughing; the Lord has them in derision. Then he speaks to them in his wrath, and his rage fills them with terror.". (Psalm 2:4-5). God is not impressed with human beings and their pretensions. Earthly rulers may believe that they are really in charge of something. Humans in authority may really believe that they can control events. However, as Jesus told Pilate "You would have no power over me at all if it were not given to you from above." (John 19:11, New Living Translation). The power of earthly rulers is granted from above. Those who exercise civil power with no regard for divine law will, sooner or later, answer to higher authority.
"I myself have set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.". (Psalm 2:6). The hill of Zion refers in a literal sense to the City of Jerusalem and more specifically the Temple Mount. On a spiritual level Zion is a metaphor for the place where God is and where we shall be together with him. I am reminded of the old Protestant hymn which goes "Children of God we are marching to Zion," and the Southern Gospel Spiritual called "The Old Ship of Zion". The King is Christ and the Holy Hill of Zion is the Church. Eventually all of the Church, the new Israel, will be gathered with the Lord in the Heavenly Jerusalem.
Let me announce the decree of the LORD; he said to me 'You are my Son; this day have I begotten you.". (Psalm 2:7). The New Testament quotes this verse as referring to Christ. (Hebrews 1:5). The Father eternally begets the Son. God has come in the flesh and become a man and he has died and risen to conquer Hell and death. Alleluia.
"Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance and the ends of the earth for your possession.". (Psalm 2:8). Regardless that men believe that they are in charge of something, Christ is the true ruler. Like C.S.Lewis said, earth may now be occupied by the Devil but the true King is going to return.
"You shall crush them with an iron rod and shatter them like a piece of pottery. ' And now, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Submit to the LORD with fear, and with trembling bow before him; Lest he be angry and you perish; for his wrath is quickly kindled." (Psalm 2: 9 - 12). This imagery is used again in the Book of Revelation (Revelation 12:5; 19:15). All the works of humans will come to an end and the works of the wicked will be destroyed along with them. Those who do not turn to God for mercy will ultimately perish. We are warned that God's wrath will come upon us quickly and without warning.
"Happy are they all who take refuge in him" (Psalm 2:13). Maranatha. Amen.
I have had the honor of meeting Father Anthony Delisi, O.C.S.O. on several occasions and have had the privilege of being in a retreat led by Father Anthony. Father Anthony has been a monk of the Monastery of the Holy Spirit in Conyers, Georgia since 1948.
Father Anthony Delisi, O.C.S.O.
In Black Like Licorice: A Contemporary Monk’s Call to Africa (Monastery of the Holy Spirit, 2011), Father Anthony tells of his call to the priesthood and monastic life. At age 9, in the back of his family’s delivery truck for their produce business, he heard a voice telling him that he would be a priest and that he would one day go to Africa.
The title Black Like Licorice comes from an anecdote about the first time Father Anthony saw a person of African descent. He asked a neighbor why their skin was black. She replied “From eating too much licorice.” Father Anthony’s memoir is like a “Who’s Who” of great Catholics from the mid-twentieth century. He has visited the poor with Dorothy Day, went to school with scripture scholar Raymond Brown, prayed with Mother Teresa of Calcutta, and discussed the Charismatic movement with Thomas Merton.
Father Anthony is an accomplished farmer.
Father Anthony tells about his racist novice master from Texas who did not want the novices to wave at black children while they worked in the fields on the monastery farm. Father Anthony loves to grow things, especially tomatoes, and the story of how he became the primary tomato grower at the monastery is very entertaining.
Father Anthony makes fudge at the Monastery of the Holy Spirit
In the late 1970's, true to his childhood revelation, Father Anthony went on a mission to Nigeria to help found a Trappist monastery there. This was to be the first of three mission trips to Africa. Altogether, Father Anthony lived in Africa for approximately eight years. After helping to found the men’s monastery, Father Anthony returned to Nigeria and Cameroon to serve as chaplain to a foundation of Trappistine nuns.
Father Anthony’s memoirs of these years are truly fascinating. Father Anthony’s holiness and love for God and his fellow human beings shines through on every page of this wonderful book.
Despite the fact that I have a good many quibbles with the theology presented in these films, I couldn't help but like The Perfect Stranger (2005) and its sequel Another Perfect Stranger (2007). These two independent Christian films are based upon novels by Evangelical Christian writer David Gregory. I understand that there is a third sequel called The Perfect Gift which I have not yet viewed.
The Perfect Stranger is the story of attorney Niki Cominsky (Pamela Brumley) who is struggling with problems in both her private and professional life. As an attorney Niki works long hours in a large firm whose partners are cheating clients by over billing. At home, Niki is faced with a stagnant relationship with her husband and not enough time to spend at home with her 10 year old daughter, Sarah.
Pamela Brumley as Niki Cominsky
Niki is disappointed when her husband would rather go to a baseball game with his friends than spend a romantic evening with her at a posh Chicago restaurant. When Niki goes to her office she is surprised to find a dinner invitation to the restaurant she wanted to go to. The invitation is signed "Jesus Christ." Thinking that she is the victim of a practical joke, Niki goes to the restaurant where she is met by a man in a business suit claiming to be Jesus (Jefferson Moore). The majority of the film is takes place in the restaurant where Jesus talks with Niki and answers her questions about life and faith.
Jefferson Moore as Jesus Christ
Although as a practicing Catholic I have to quibble with some of the theology presented, over all, the movie was very good. Even though it primarily involved a dinner table conversation, the film holds the viewer's attention well. Niki, who is almost persuaded that Jesus is who he says, is finally convinced when she sees the nail scars in his wrists. At the end of the film Niki, who up until now was an agnostic, throws herself into the arms of Christ and resolves to become a Christian. In good Evangelical fashion Jesus leaves Niki with a Bible verse to look up.
The sequel, Another Perfect Stranger, was much more theologically objectionable than the first movie. It's now ten years later and Niki's daughter, Sarah, who is already an accomplished artist, is seeking admission to a prestigious art institute in Portland, Oregon. Just before leaving on an airplane flight to Portland, Sarah (Ruby Marie Lewis) has had a huge fight with her mother and father over religion. Niki has told Sarah about her dinner with Jesus ten years earlier. Sarah thinks that her mother is nuts.
Jefferson Moore reprises his role as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords
Of course, guess who's seated next to Sarah on the airplane, has coffee with her during her layover and is seated next to her again on her connecting flight. Once again, after a painless theology lesson, Sarah slowly realizes the identity of her new friend and by the end of the film has been "saved.".
Sarah Cominsky (Ruby Marie Lewis) has coffee with Jesus
When Sarah says that she's turned off by religion, Jesus (once again played by Jefferson Moore) says that he doesn't like religion either. Jesus defines religion as "trying to use ritual to work your way to God" as opposed to having "a personal relationship." These are Evangelical Protestant buzzwords against Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, High Church Anglicanism and other sacramental forms of Christianity.
Nevertheless, both movies are fun to watch and have a nice feel good message about faith in Jesus Christ. The Bad Catholic gives both films three and a half Bibles.
Prayer Before Reading Scripture: Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and kindle in us the fire of your love. Send forth your Spirit and we shall be created and you shall renew the face of the earth."
"Happy are they who have not walked in the counsel of the wicked, nor lingered in the way of sinners, nor sat in the seats of the scornful" Psalm 1:1 (1979 BCP). We can take instruction on how to live our lives from one of two places, from God or from "the world." Those who take instructions from "the wicked" that is, those who do not respect and obey God cannot expect true happiness. The Psalmist tells us that the righteous man does not "linger in the way of sinners." How often Oh, my God have I done this through the course of my life. How often have I gone to places I should not have been, watched movies I perhaps should not have watched, or viewed images which excited sinful feelings and emotions. I have "lingered in the way of sinners" in order to get a temporary thrill or a momentary pleasure with no thought for eternity. I have "sat in the seats of the scornful." I have laughed with those who scorn God and the Church. I have intentionally on occasion scoffed at the notion that God is real and is everywhere with us. With the help of Your Holy Word and Sacraments I hope to do better in the future to achieve the happiness promised by the Psalmist to those who do not do these things.
"Their delight is in the law of the LORD, and they meditate on his law day and night." Psalm 1:2. Does this mean that I should become like some ultra-orthodox Jews who send their wives out to work so that they can go the Yeshiva and study Torah all day? That is certainly the literal sense in which this verse has been interpreted. Or is it something much more spiritual?
To delight in the law of the LORD means that one will strive to obey God's law and to enjoy all the good things of faith. To meditate on his law day and night may mean more than study, although it surely means this as well. A verse well beloved of Evangelical Christians is 2 Timothy 2:15: "Carefully study to present thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth." (Douay-Rheims Bible). But more than this, like Mary, we are to "ponder these things in our hearts". Then the living Torah, Jesus Christ, will truly dwell with us.
"They are like trees planted by streams of water, bearing fruit in due season, with leaves that do not wither; everything they do shall prosper." (Psalm 1:3). The prosperity referenced here is obviously not wordly prosperity. Jesus said "Blessed are the poor". Some of the most righteous people who are the closest to God are destitute in the eyes of the world. It also does not mean that the righteous soul can expect good health or the absence of pain and suffering. The greatest saints endured the greatest of suffering. There is no Prosperity Gospel in real Christianity. The prosperity spoken of here is the prosperity of Saint Therese of Lisieux or Saint Bernadette who suffered much but in the eyes of the world accomplished absolutely nothing in their short painful lives. But millions of faithful people have drank from the well spring of Living Water that has gushed forth as the fruit of their lives and many souls have been converted and many prayers have been answered. This is the prosperity which the Psalmist speaks of.
"It is not so with the wicked; they are like chaff which the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked shall not stand upright when judgement comes, nor the sinner in the council of the righteous. For the LORD knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked is doomed." (Psalm 1:4-6). The Psalmist now compares the prosperity of the righteous with the doom of the wicked. In this life, the wicked may indeed triumph and prosper. But without spiritual roots, a worldly person is blown about by the changing fortunes of life. Poverty and sickness will destroy such a person. The day of judgment is coming for all of us. The righteous who know and love God will go to be with Him and go deeper into His love forever. The wicked, the unrepentant sinner who refuses God's grace, will be forever condemned to an eternity without God. This is the spiritual condition called Hell.
Prayer after reading scripture: O God, who by the light of the Holy Spirit did instruct the hearts of the faithful, grant that by the same Holy Spirit, we may be truly wise and ever enjoy His consolations. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
Edith Schaeffer, along with her husband Reverend Francis Schaeffer, founded L'Abri Fellowship in Switzerland and were giants of Evangelical Christianity. Mrs. Schaeffer passed away today at age 98.
Thanks to the Petinacious Papist.
On Holy Thursday the Holy Father went to a prison for juveniles in Rome and washed and kissed the feet of 12 inmates as part of a Mass. The 12 included non-Christians and girls. This has apparently started a firestorm among Catholic traditionalists because it violates the rubric for the Holy Thursday Mass which specifies that 12 MEN should have their feet washed by the priest.
(For whatever it's worth my heretical diocese has apparently disregarded this rule with the permission of the Bishop every Holy Thursday since I converted to Catholicism 8 years ago. Unfortunately here in the rural Bible Belt there's no SSPX parish to defect to so I guess I'll have to go back to First Baptist Church. Of course, for years the owner of a local restaurant has diligently tried to convince me to join his Greek Orthodox Parish in a neighboring city 40 miles away so I guess that's always an option.)
I guess I'm a Bad Catholic for a reason: it seems to this old former Southern Baptist that Jesus violated a lot of religious rules himself for which he was greatly condemned by a lot of really religious people. Despite the liturgical rules which may have been broken, this may have been the first time that anybody has told or shown these young people that God loves them and that they are entitled to some respect just by virtue of being a human being made in the image of God. I seem to remember that another pastor who broke some rubrics about Sabbath observance said "The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath." That's my two cents. Read more here.
"Something strange is happening, there is a great silence on earth today, a great silence and stillness. The whole earth keeps silence because the King is asleep. The earth trembled and is still because God has fallen asleep in the flesh and he has raised up all who have slept ever since the world began. God has died in the flesh and hell trembles with fear." (From an ancient sermon for Holy Saturday)
"Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him. And the soldiers plaited a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe, and said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands. Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him. Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate said unto them, Behold the man! When the chief priests therefore and officers saw him, they cried out, saying Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him: for I find no fault in him." John 19:1-6 (K.J.V.)
Have you heard the news? Pope Francis has decided that the Papal Apartment in the Apostolic Palace is too fancy for his taste and has decided to live in the Vatican Guest Quarters. Our new Holy Father apparently intends to live like his namesake Saint Francis of Assisi. I am excited. What new wonders await us? Full story from Whispers in the Loggia.
The Red Shoes worn by the Popes until John Paul II stopped and which Benedict XVI was made fun of for wearing symbolize that the Papacy stands on the Blood of Martyrs and that the Pope may be called upon to give his life for the faith. Read about it here.
Going Clear: Sceintology, Hollywood, & the Prison of Belief (2013) is investigative reporter Lawrence Wright’s expose on the Church of Scientology. From the thorough biography of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard to the current crop of celebrity converts like John Travolta and Tom Cruise, the portrait which emerges from Going Clear is that of a dangerous oppressive cult.
According to Wright, Hubbard’s experimentation in spirituality began with his involvement in the early 1950s with Aleister Crowley’s Ordo Templi Orientis and participation in the Black Mass. According to Wright “Nibs - Hubbard’s estranged eldest son and namesake, L. Ron Hubbard, Jr. (he later changed his name to Ronald DeWolf) - claimed that his father had read the book (The Book of the Law by Aleister Crowley) when he was sixteen years old and developed a lifelong allegiance to black magic. “What a lot of people don’t realize is that Scientology is black magic just spread out over a long time period,” he continued. “Black Magic is the inner core of Scientology - and it is probably the only part of Scientology that really works.”
Over the 430 pages of Wright’s book, the story he tells is shocking and bizarre. In the 1960s Hubbard and his movement literally went to sea. The Church of Scientology purchased several ships and the “Sea Org” is still the name of the full time Scientology clergy who have to sign “billion year contracts.” When a Sea Org member “blows” or leaves the Church, they are often hunted down and tried to be made to come back. Sometimes, according to Wright, force has been used. Sea Org members who offend some higher up in the Church are sent to “Rehabilitation Project Force” or “RPF” camps where they eat rice and beans and perform menial tasks. Sea Org members have been forced to divorce their spouses and “disconnect” from family and friends who have been declared by the Church hierarchy to be “Suppressive Persons” or “SP’s.” Wright’s book is full of footnotes that “The Church of Scientology refutes this.” And the Church refutes almost all of the book.
The rank and file members purchase “auditing sessions” where they are hooked up to “E-Meters” to “clear” the memories of past lives. At upper levels, auditing concentrates on removing Thetans, or disembodied spirits of aliens who have attached themselves to the person. Hubbard developed an elaborate cosmology which involves space aliens, fleets of battling spaceships, and Galactic Empires. When Hubbard died in 1986, Church leaders declared that the leader had “dropped his body” for a higher plane of existence. Scientologists still await Hubbard’s return.
In 1846 Abraham Lincoln was a prominent attorney in the eighth judicial circuit of Illinois and a former member of the Illinois legislature. He was also the Whig parties’ candidate for Congress from the 7th Congressional District. In his service in the Thirtieth Congress, from 1847 to 1849, Lincoln first came to national prominence as a politician.
Chris Derose is an attorney and former political strategist who now teaches at the University of Phoenix School of Law. His new book, Congressman Lincoln: The Making of America’s Greatest President, is old fashioned narrative political history and biography.
After the disintegration of the old Federalist Party, the Democrats swept everything before them with the election of Andrew Jackson. The Whig Party began as a coalition between former Federalists, disgruntled Democrats and any one else who opposed Jackson and his policies. As you may recall, Andrew Jackson opposed the National Bank and advocated, like Jefferson, a nation of small farmers. The Whigs wanted a sound national economy and a national monetary policy and Federal oversight of major internal improvements like canals and post roads.
In 1846, the Whigs won a slim majority in the House of Representatives. The Democratic President, James K. Polk, was a former Governor of Tennessee and a slave owner. After Texas revolted from Mexico, Polk provocatively annexed the Republic of Texas as U.S. territory and marched troops to the Rio Grande. When fire was exchanged between Mexican and U.S. troops, the Mexican War began. President Polk made no secret that he intended to prosecute the war to secure new territory from Mexico.
The Mexican War was the Vietnam Conflict of its day. Congressman Abraham Lincoln angered his political enemies and alienated many of his friends when he took the floor of the House and denounced President Polk’s war. The slavery issue loomed large over the Thirtieth Congress. Abolitionist Northern Whigs opposed the extension of slavery into the territories and the abolition of the slave trade in the District of Columbia. Southern Whigs and Democrats generally supported the expansion of slavery. The slavery issue would ultimately tear the Whig Party apart, with Southern Whigs leaving the party and Northern Whigs who supported abolition forming a new party, the Republicans.
Congressman Lincoln has interesting details about Lincoln’s personal life, his sometimes dis-functional marriage to Mary Todd, his famous wit and his personal habits and appearance. The book also has a great deal of information about many men who were major national political figures in the 1840s who have now slipped into obscurity. There is also a lot of information about Lincoln's law practice, including the fact that while he was serving in Congress, he became the first future President to argue a case before the United States Supreme Court.
Gridlock and crisis have not just now hit Washington. As a matter of fact, it may have been worse in Lincoln’s day as DeRose details how fist fights, sometimes involving canes and knives, broke out between members of Congress on the floor. Apparently, in the early 19th century Congress maintained a saloon in the basement of the capitol so that members could enjoy a libation between sessions!
All around, if you are interested in the political history of this country, Congressman Lincoln is a great read.
According to Professor William Kilpatrick this soon could be what the Miss America Pageant looks like.
In Christianity, Islam and Atheism: The Struggle for the Soul of the West, recently published by Ignatius Press, former Boston College professor Kilpatrick says that we have been engaged in a culture war with Islam for decades and that we are losing.
According to Kilpatrick, there is no such thing as radical Islam. The teachings of Islam demand that Muslims rule the world and that non-Muslims either submit to Muslim rule or be killed. Kilpatrick says that politically correct multiculturalism plays into the hands of Islamic jihadists who are bent on turning Islam into the majority religion in the world. Once Muslims are entrenched in politics and culture, then sharia law will become the law of the land. Professor Kilpatrick says that Western Europe is imminently facing this fate.
This is an interesting and important book. Highly recommended.
Apparently, there is some tension at the Western Wall in Jerusalem between Ultra Orthodox Rabbis who do not want women wearing prayer shawls and other religious items usually worn by Jewish men, and women who are members of Reformed Congregations. Read the entire article from Haaretz here.
O Lord Jesus Christ, who for our sake didst vouchsafe to descend from thy throne of glory to this world of pain and sorrow; who wast conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, and was made Man; Make, we beseech thee, our hearts a fit habitation for thyself. Beautify and fill them with all spiritual graces, and possess them wholly by thy power. Give us grace to prepare for thy coming with deep humility, to receive thee with burning love, and to hold thee fast with a firm faith; that we may never leave thee nor forsake thee. Who livest and reignest, world without end. Amen.
We Americans must never take our right to Free Speech guaranteed by the First Amendment for granted. How long will it be before we wind up like Europe and Canada with "hate speech" trials.
Incredible. We live in a society in which a college feels compelled to photoshop a photograph of some kids to remove crosses painted on their chest. So I take it that no public expression of Christian faith is now allowed - That seems to be the message. Full story here.
My favorite priest, Father Benedict Groeschel, has been thrown under the bus by a few ill chosen comments. Like a Stalinist publication, EWTN has now removed any reference to anything Father Groeschel ever did for them. Read more here.
Welcome to the Brave New World! The Department of Justice has responded to a lawsuit filed by a small business that if the owners must either comply with Obamacare and violate their beliefs as Catholics or if they refuse to abandon their backward religious beliefs they must give up their business. Full story here.
Almighty God, who through Your only-begotten Son Jesus Christ overcame death and opened to us the gate of everlasting life; Grant that we, who celebrate with joy the day of the Lord's resurrection, may be raised from the death of sin by Your life-giving Spirit; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen. (Source: 1979 BCP p. 222)
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