Thursday, March 30, 2006
Packed Churches and Persecution of Christians
It would seem that Fr. Samuel doesn't have enough EMHC's since mass lasts
up to 4 hours, and he doesn't understand that the people need to hear the
mass in the vernacular in order to be "fed", especially the less
educated... Tell that to the 2000 people who assist at mass in one of the
only packed churches in Belgium every Sunday.
"One of the rare Belgian churches that is packed every weekend is the
church of Saint Anthony of Padova in Montignies-sur-Sambre, one of the
poorest suburbs of Charleroi, a derelict rust belt area to the south of
Brussels. Holy Mass in Montignies is conducted in Latin and lasts up to
four hours. Yesterday over 2,000 people attended the service by Father
Samuel (Père Samuel). The priest's sermon dealt with his persecution."
Now this Holy priest is being persecuted for warning society about the
dangers of islamization in Europe. He's on trial for these words:
"Every thoroughly islamized Muslim child that is born in Europe is a time
bomb for Western children in the future. The latter will be persecuted when
they have become a minority."
http://www.brusselsjournal.com/node/936
Pax Christi,
Matt
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
On Repressing the Fear of the Lord
In this day where sin is so profoundly embedded in the fabric of society we
are in dire need of some fear of God. Jesus is not "our friend" he is our
Lord and saviour, and he will come to judge us in the end. This sentiment
is well expressed in an article by John Linton from the archives of New
Oxford Review:
A classic in the Hell-bound genre of pulpitry is Jonathan Edwards's
"Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God":
"The wrath of God is like great waters that are dammed for the present;
they increase more and more, and rise higher and higher, till an outlet is
given, and the longer the stream is stopped, the more rapid and mighty is
its course, when once it is let loose. 'Tis true, that judgment against
your evil works has not been executed hitherto; the floods of God's
vengeance have been withheld; but your guilt in the meantime is constantly
increasing, and you are every day treasuring up more wrath; the waters are
continually rising and waxing more and more mighty; and there is nothing
but the mere pleasure of God that holds the waters back that are unwilling
to be stopped...."
How sad that we live in a country today that would almost unanimously
denounce this sermon as "extremist," as an example of "hate speech."
Actually, it is both theologically complex and exquisitely literary. No
doubt the Edwardian prescription for today's mild Christians would be
another Great Awakening.
Find the whole article here - http://www.newoxfordreview.org/article.jsp?did=1296-linton
Praise be to Jesus Christ,
Matt
Dutchman builds modern Noah's Ark
"Dutchman Johan Huibers is building a working replica of Noah's Ark as a
testament to his Christian faith."
How appropriate that a Dutchman is building a new Ark. In a place prone to
flooding, where human life is not sacrosanct, but is only as precious as
it's percieved value to society. Babies are killed because they won't be
born healthy and perfect, old people are killed when they can no longer be
productive, there is talk even of forced sterilization and abortion for
those members of society not deemed fit.
Article is here http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4853890.stm
Dominus Vobiscum,
-- Matt
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
What's wrong with the NAB?
Some time after these events, God put Abraham to the test. He called to him, "Abraham!" "Ready!" he replied.
On the blog The Cafeteria is Closed.
"Shared Christian praxis" in Catholic Catechesis
Why are young Catholics in the USA so embroiled in the heresy that Pope
Benedict condemned in his address of March 15? That notion of an
"individualist Jesus" who's teachings we can adapt to our own lives and
still be saved.
It's due in a large part on the teaching methodology of Thomas H. Groome
who has been involved in virtually all of the catechitical materials used
in the US dioceses. You will find his concepts used in books published by
William H. Sadlier Inc, National Catholic Educational Association
workshops.
While you will find some elements of out and out heresy in these teachings,
the bigger concern is the way that the material is presented to students.
Instead of a "doctrinal" approach where students are taught to understand,
assent to, and apply the teachings of Christ and the Church, they are lead
through an approache which gives them an aopportunity to "adapt" those
teachings to their own circumstances and beliefs. This is precisely what
Pope Benedict refers to.
Shared Christian praxis has five steps, called movements, which comprise
the method. None of the movements can be eliminated; each is considered
essential to the educational approach. The movements are as follows:
(1) Naming/Expressing "Present Praxis": Participants communicate either
their own or society's current behavior or beliefs.
(2) Critical Reflection on Present Action: Participants are called to look
critically at what motivates their present behaviors and beliefs, including
any prejudices or societal influences.
(3) Making Accessible Christian Story/Vision.
(4) Dialectical Hermeneutic to Appropriate Christian Story/Vision to
Participants' Stories and Visions: Participants compare their critically
understood present praxis from Movement Two with the "Christian Story" that
was presented in Movement Three, and develop a new understanding of "their
truth."
(5) Decision/Response for Lived Christian Faith: Participants have an
opportunity to decide how they intend to live their faith as a result of
the decisions that they made about it in Movement Four.
Frighteningly this methodology is being presented, not because of a well
meaning and innocent error, but as a way to indirectly advance Groome's
agenda of dissent, radical feminism, pantheistic indifferentism, etc. etc.
all of the heresies of modernism. His writings clearly indicate his
viewponts.
San Francisco Spiritual Director's Conference
What can I say about this? We're bringing in a pagan to teach our
spiritual directors.
'The 17th Annual Spiritual Directors Internations Conference theme is
"Coming Home to the Interior Landscape." The Conference is open to anyone
interested in the ministry of Spiritual Direction including spiritual
directors, students/interns/descerners, ministers and faculty, chaplains
and hospice workers, campus ministers, other spiritual care providers. The
Keynote Presenter will be Jeremy Taylor, MA, STD (HON), DMin. He is an
ordained Unitarian Universalist minister who has worked with dreams for
over 30 years. Jeremy Taylor blends the values of spirituality with an
active scial conscience and a Jungian perspective. He is the founding
memeber of the Association for the Study of Dream and has written three
books integrating dream symbolism, mythology, and archetypal energy. '
Monday, March 20, 2006
Between Christ and the Church there is no opposition
Pope Benedict XVI has just initiated a cycle of Catechism in his weekly
audience on Wednesday's. The series entitled Credo Apostolicam Ecclesiam
began with a discussion of the unity of Christ and the Church - Between
Christ and the Church there is no opposition.
He condemns a heresy which has become common in the Church over the last 40
years: the individualistic interpretation of Christ's proclamation of the
Kingdom as proposed by liberal theology is unilateral and unfounded. Here
is how the great liberal theologian Adolf von Harnack summarized this
interpretattion, in a series of lectures in 1900 entitled "What is
Christianity?": "The Kingdom of God comes in the degree in which it comes
to specific men, finds an opening into the soul and is accepted by them.
The Kingdom of God is the 'lordship' of God, that is to say, the dominion
of the Holy God in each different heart" (Third Lecture, 100ff).
His response is that "The individualist Jesus is a fantasy. We cannot find
Jesus without the reality that he created and through which he communicates
himself".
He addresses the Jews specifically: "By their mere existence, the twelve
called from different backgrounds have become a summons to all Israel to
conversion and to allow themselves to be reunited in a new covenant, full
and perfect accomplishment of the old".
Apparently the concept which has been proposed of late, that the Jews are
saved by the old covenant until the second coming, and that we should
demure from attempts at evangelisation is in err.
Analysis and an unofficial translation here on Chiesa.
Praise be to Jesus Christ.
Friday, March 17, 2006
The Liberal Baby Bust
It seems that demographers have started finding out that we are destined
for a return to traditional values in the West. The "progressives" are
contracepting, aborting, and homosexualizing themselves into oblivion.
Those with strong moral values are having far more children, and thus
making their beliefs far more likely to be carried into future generations.
While not all these children will carry on their parents moral values,
those that don't will find a world with far fewer potential mates who share
their values.
"In the USA, the 17.4% of baby boomer women who had one child account for a
mere 9.2% of kids produced by their generation. But among children of the
baby boom, nearly a quarter descend from the mere 10% of baby boomer women
who had four or more kids.
This dynamic helps explain the gradual drift of American culture toward
religious fundamentalism and social conservatism. Among states that voted
for President Bush in 2004, the average fertility rate is more than 11%
higher than the rate of states for Sen. John Kerry. "
"Tomorrow's children, therefore, unlike members of the postwar baby boom
generation, will be for the most part descendants of a comparatively narrow
and culturally conservative segment of society. To be sure, some members of
the rising generation may reject their parents' values, as often happens.
But when they look for fellow secularists with whom to make common cause,
they will find that most of their would-be fellow travelers were quite
literally never born.
Many will celebrate these developments. Others will view them as the death
of the Enlightenment. Either way, they will find themselves living through
another great cycle of history."
Link to the full article from USA Today on Yahoo
Thursday, March 16, 2006
UST Lenten Lecture
Last night at the University of St. Thomas Annual Lenten Lectures series
(http://www.stthom.edu/ia/publicaffairs/events/pdf/LentenLecture06Poster.pdf),
Msgr. James Anderson of St. Rose of Lima parish
(http://www.stroselima.org/), and Mark McNeil
(http://www.fullnessoftruth.org/MarkMcNeil_Theo/index.htm) spoke about
their journey of faith from baptism among our separated brethren with their
rays of truth, to the fullness of truth in the Catholic Church.
Msgr. Anderson's started in his journey after visiting a Catholic Church in
the early 60's for Holy Thursday as a young child. A particularly
beautiful mass under the rubrics the traditional missal, or so I'm told, as
it unfortunately is not celebrated in this diocese. The "incarnate" beauty
of the traditional Catholic church and liturgy connected with his soul in a
special way which prompted him to begin this journey. I wonder would
today's church buildings and liturgies engender the same response in
potential converts? In speaking with Msgr. after his talk we agreed that
it would be good to bring back this beauty which drew him in. I plan to
visit his parish in the near future to see how it's progressing under his
leadership.
Professor MacNeil conversion was later in life, and based on more
intellectual theological reasons, but no less profound.
I asked the speakers to comment on Church hierarchy's present focus on
"dialogue" rather than "return", the response, particularly from Mark was
that it is time for the pendelum to swing back towards return, as it has
moved far too deep into the area of "dialogue". Mark suggests that
dialogue is an important first step in opening the lines of communication,
but it must have, as a second step the goal of returning the individual or
group to the One True Church. We ought to give special consideration to
this perspective from converts who have personal experience as protestants.
Msgr. Anderson commented that the Church no longer "hurls out anathema's",
in charity, I didn't ask what he felt has been the fruits of this change in
discipline.
The remaining lectures in the series are:
March 22 "The Rite of Baptism from the Early Church to the Present" by Fr.
William Kelly.
March 29 "Does the Church Say Non-Catholics Can Be Saved?" by Dr. Paul
Hahn.
April 5 "The Theology and Ritual of Baptism among our Non-Catholic Fellow
Christians" by Sr. Madeleine Grace, CVI.
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
New Oxford Review on Collegiality & Lack of Ecclesiastical Discipline
The US Bishops response to a group of dissenting politicians who signed a declaration denying the authority of the Church shows that this is still the modus of Church discipline.
Is it not time to abandon this disciplinary experiment and return to the time tested practice of active protection of the faith from error? Perhaps Pope Benedict XVI's will fall back on his germanic heritage and exercise the discipline the Church so sorely needs today.
From an article by David Palm in the New Oxford Review:
Now, the peculiar feature of the pontificate of Paul VI was the tendency to shift the papacy from governing to admonishing or, in scholastic terminology, to restrict the field of preceptive law, which imposes an obligation, and to enlarge the field of directive law, which formulates a rule without imposing any obligation to observe it. The government of the Church thus loses half its scope, or to put it biblically, the hand of the Lord is foreshortened….
Two things are needed to maintain truth. First: remove the error from the doctrinal sphere, which is done by refuting erroneous arguments and showing that they are not convincing. Second: remove the person in error, that is depose him from office, which is done by an act of the Church’s authority. If this pontifical service is not performed, it would seem unjustified to say that all means have been used to maintain the doctrine of the Church: we are in the presence of a brevatio manus Domini….
The origin of this whole brevatio manus lies quite clearly in the opening speech of the Second Vatican Council, which announced an end to the condemnation of error, a policy which was maintained by Paul VI throughout the whole of his pontificate. As a teacher, he held to the traditional formulas expressing the orthodox faith, but as a pastor, he did not prevent the free circulation of unorthodox ideas, assuming that they would of themselves eventually take an orthodox form and become compatible with truth. Errors were identified and the Catholic faith reiterated, but specific persons were not condemned for their erroneous teaching, and the schismatic situation in the Church was disguised and tolerated….
The general effect of a renunciation of authority is to bring authority into disrepute and to lead it to be ignored by those who are subject to it, since a subject cannot hold a higher view of authority than authority holds of itself….
The renunciation of authority, even as applied to doctrinal affairs, which had been begun by John XXIII and pursued by Paul VI, was continued by John Paul II. (Iota Unum: A Study of Changes in the Catholic Church in the XXth Century)
Amerio cites the amazing testimony of Cardinal Oddi, who spoke to a gathering of Catholics United for the Faith in the 1970s. Amerio shows, in his answer, that refusal to exercise discipline in the Church has at its heart a philosophical shift:
The Prefect for the Congregation of the Clergy was insistently asked why the Holy See did not remove those who taught error, such as Fr. Curran, who had for years been openly attacking Humanae Vitae, and who teaches the licitness of sodomy. Why was it that the Holy See did not correct and disavow those bishops, such as Mgr Gerety, who depart from sound doctrine and protect those who corrupt the faith? The Cardinal replied that “The Church no longer imposes punishments. She hopes instead to persuade those who err.” She has chosen this course “perhaps because she does not have precise information about the different cases in which error arises, perhaps because she thinks it imprudent to take energetic measures, perhaps too because she wants to avoid even greater scandal through disobedience. The Church believes it is better to tolerate certain errors in the hope that when certain difficulties have been overcome, the person in error will reject his error and return to the Church.”
This is an admission of the brevatio manus…and an assertion of the innovation announced in the opening speech of the council: error contains within itself the means of its own correction, and there is no need to assist the process: it is enough to let it unfold, and it will correct itself. Charity is held to be synonymous with tolerance, indulgence takes precedence over severity, the common good of the ecclesial community is overlooked in the interests of a misused individual liberty, [and] the sensus logicus and the virtue of fortitude proper to the Church are lost. The reality is that the Church ought to preserve and defend the truth with all the means available to a perfect society. (ibid.)
Read full article: here
To learn more about New Oxford Review, or to become a subscriber please visit us at http://www.newoxfordreview.org. No bozos or sissies, please!
Friday, March 10, 2006
Lenten Question: Should we party on Friday nights?
Praise Be to Jesus Christ.
I think this is a good "teaching" moment. This discussion occurred after a
young adults group sent out an event for a party. I wanted to remind
everyone that this a time of penitence.
Why is it that we feel the need to celebrate and have fun all the time?
This seems especially true of young adults. Instead of the the Holy
Sacrifice of the Mass, we prefer the "Lifeteen" Kumbaya masses. We ignore
the sacrament of reconcilliation, and sacrifice on Fridays even during
Lent. Why do people respond so harshly when a gentle suggestion is made
that this type of activity might need to be reconsidered?
These things seem to be sympomatic of the "experiential" catechesis and
permissiveness that is prevalent in the US Church today. There are no hard
and fast rules anymore. I shudder to imagine what our children will be
like.
I actually liked A.S. suggestion of asking people to schedule these events
for Saturday's, at least during Lent. There are tens of millions of single
Christians out there, if we spoke with one voice about these things, we
would make an impact.
Matt
=========================================================
From: "P.M."
To: "anonymousyoungadultsevent"
Sent: Tuesday, March 07, 2006 6:30 PM
Subject: [anonymousyoungadults Event] For singles!
This looks like fun!
On Friday, March 10, 2006 join Houston's 106.9 The Point as we
partner up
with HoustonConnect.com and Gulf Greyhound Park to bring you a
get-together
for singles in Houston!
Schedule of events:
7-8 Check in at Point booth by entrance (participants will be given a
name
badge, asked to register for the "Register to Win" contest for the
dinner
for 2 at the restaurant and also given their game pieces for their
respective genders.
7-9 Appetizers available in the lounge
7:15 Welcome point and KLDE listeners -
7:30 First singles game - grab a date and pick a race to win
trifecta
7:45 Second game- Speed dating - find out as much as you can about
that
person in 5 minutes and then we will switch again going on for 20
minutes .
8:30 Third game- Birth Month Bingo!
8:45 Fourth game- music trivia- grab a partner and a trivia card and
we
have an elimination game kicking people off until one couple survives-
wins
9:30 Fifth game- win place or show - if your dog comes in 1,2, or
3rd
place then you find a partner with matching numbers to win. First 3
couples
to come up with matching tickets win.
10:00 Register to win contest winner announced . Announce next
singles
event date.
Gulf Greyhound Park:
Phone Number: (409) 986-9500
1-800-ASK-2WIN
One block west of 1-45 south at Exit 15, 30 miles south of Houston
and 15
miles north of Galveston in La Marque, Texas.
=========================================================
Matt McDonald wrote:
You might consider that we are in Lent, and Fridays are not only days
of
abstinence, but of penitence.
Pope Leo the Great said:
IV. Use Lent for general improvement in the whole round of Christian
duties.
Relying, therefore, dearly-beloved, on so great a promise, be heavenly
not
only in hope, but also in conduct. And though our minds must at all
times be
set on holiness of mind and body, yet now during these 40 days of
fasting
bestir yourselves to yet more active works of piety, not only in the
distribution of alms, which are very effectual in attesting reform, but
also
in forgiving offences, and in being merciful to those accused of
wrongdoing,
that the condition which God has laid down between Himself and us may
not be
against us when we pray.
========================================================
From: A.S.
To: Matt McDonald ; P.M.
Cc: anonymousyoungadultsevent@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Tuesday, March 07, 2006 11:33 PM
Subject: Re: [anonymousyoungadults Event] For singles!
Matt, with all do respect....
I absolutely agree this is Lent and this is a Catholic group. But it is
also in the Bible that men and women have to find each other, get married,
and start a family for the glory of God. Then, how are men and women going
to make this possible? Should single people not "date" on Lent? Or
better, should we tell the people who organize these events to do them on
Saturdays?
Anyway, you can do the Way of the Cross before going there. And you can
also pray the Rosary while you are there... And pray a little extra if you
like someone! I am NOT, absolutely NOT kidding or being disrespectful. I
used to pray in places like this. And hey! I am a very happily married
woman :-)
However, like any other event sponsored by anonymousyoungadults, since
you should be over 21 years old, you should know if you want or you do not
want to participate...
Just my humble opinion.
God bless,
A.S.
Matt McDonald wrote:
With all due respect, there is a time and place for everything, and Lent
is a special time for penitence and remembrance that Christ died on the
Cross for our sins, especially on Fridays. The Church has declared it a
day of abstinence and penance... our minds should be on Calvary. There are
only 7 Friday's during Lent..An interesting number, the same number of
deadly sins, the same number of the last words of Christ on the Cross... do
you really think the "one" will get away if you aren't shopping on these
days?
In this modern age we set aside our faith to become part of the secular
world.... we should be encouraging each other to imitate Christ and the
Saints.I point this out in Christian Charity, it's not my idea, but those
of the Saints.
====================================================
From: A.M.
To: A.S. ; Matt McDonald ; P.M.
Sent: Thursday, March 09, 2006 11:54 PM
Subject: Re: [anonymousyoungadults Event] For singles!
Dude,
Get a life!!!! I totaly agree with A.S.!!!! This is a SINGLES group, it
is a way of meeting people and sharing our faith.
You should you be prayerful every day of your life not just on Fridays
during lent!!!! Do you go back to your sinful ways on Saturday?
Have fun being intimate with Christ and the Saints tomorrow.
I recently lost a loved one so I personally think we should go out,
celebrate and have fun because who knows what tomorrow will bring!!!!!!!
And yes your celebration can be in line with the teachings of the Catholic
Church no matter what day it is!!!!!
A.M.
==================================================
From: Matt McDonald
To: A.M. ; A.S. ; P.M.
Sent: Friday, March 10, 2006 6:58 AM
Subject: Re: [anonymousyoungadults Event] For singles!
Praise be to Jesus Christ.
I'm sorry for your loss. I'll offer my prayers today for the repose of
your loved one's soul.
Of course you should be prayerful every day of your life, compassionate,
and charitable too. We all sin, not one of us is perfect, we try hard, but
in this secular world it is often difficult to keep your eye on the prize.
I don't know where you heard that it's a good idea to celebrate on Friday's
during Lent, but it's certainly not from the teachings of the Catholic
Church. Life is not always about "having fun", Christ had no fun on the
Cross.
The Catechism:
1438 The seasons and days of penance in the course of the liturgical year
(Lent, and each Friday in memory of the death of the Lord) are intense
moments of the Church's penitential practice. These times are particularly
appropriate for spiritual exercises, penitential liturgies, pilgrimages as
signs of penance, voluntary self-denial such as fasting and almsgiving, and
fraternal sharing (charitable and missionary works).
God bless,
Matt
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Church of Freedom and License
I just came up with an interesting idea.
Cardinal Archbishop Mahony of Los Angelus is hosting a gathering of
heretical and apostate speakers next month, earlier this month, a group of
55 congressmen signed a heretical declaration, 19 French-Canadian priests
have declared that it's good to be a gay priest, in Orange, Ca a Bishop and
pastor have "invited" traditional and faithful Catholics to leave the
diocese if they don't fall into line and start recieving communion
standing.
Why don't all these folks just go off and start their own church? I would
nominate Abp. Mahony to be the first pope of the new "Church of Freedom
and License". They can have the LA Cathedral, and most of the other
churches around the country built in the modern style of atheistic and
secular humanism. They can ordain, and marry whomever they please. They
could replace the sacraments of penance and extreme unction with Reiki, and
Yoga to their hearts content. They can have liturgical dancers, gay
choirs, and clown masses weekly.
One condition is that they only use leavened bread (or alternatively
cookies) and grape juice, so as to avoid desecration of the Real Presence
(this shouldn't be a problem since they really don't believe in it anyway).
And, they must not refer to themselves as "Catholic".
