One of my brother priests told me about this story from the Des Moines Register about a student from Notre Dame who is skipping his graduation in order to stay in the church and pray for the commencement speaker, President Obama. Now, I'm sure that there will be those who will immediately label it as racism but, to me, it's encouraging.
When the leaders of institutions like Notre Dame refuse to make Catholic theology a priority and reward people who support abortion and stem cell research with honors, it really goes to show how pathetic the Vatican II generation is at promoting a catholic world view. They claim this will open up a dialogue with him but it will not. You can't dialogue with a politician any more than you can dialogue with a terrorist. If we want to dialogue with them, we don't invite them to campus to preach and then give them an honorary doctorate. We invite them to sit on a panel debating the merits of infanticide and give them a certificate of participation or something. But this attitude that we need to engage the modern world by letting them preach the gospel of death on our campuses is just ridiculous.
I'm especially proud that this is an Iowan who is standing up here and doing what is right. We should pray for him and for his parents because the progressive side of the Catholic Church cannot tolerate orthodoxy. You can believe whatever you want but you cannot possibly uphold the teachings of the Catholic Church. This young man is going to be harassed. Pray that he stay strong.
Friday, April 17, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
A Blessed Triduum and good start to Easter
For some reason this year, I decided that I wasn't going to update too quickly on my Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday experience. So, here it is...
I was out at my little rural parish, which tends to be more "in step" with the way I like to celebrate these "high holy days" of the church year. Holy Thursday had a small congregation of mainly the core members. There were probably somewhere between 50 and 75 people there. I love this mass since it is one where I wash the feet of twelve parishioners in the same way that Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. It's a liturgy that, for me, focuses on the role of the priest in the community.
Good Friday was beautiful, although I forgot to take the Good Friday collection for the Holy Land for the second year in a row. If we lose Beit Jala this year to the Saracens, it's all my fault! No, but in all seriousness, I feel bad for not doing it, especially since the Holy Land was such a formative place for my faith. The carrying of the cross and veneration of that cross is so tied to Jerusalem and the church of the Holy Sepulcher that I can't believe I forgot.
I decided not to attend the Easter Vigil this year. I won't get many years where that will be possible so I decided to do it this year. But that meant that I started Easter on Sunday morning, which seemed a little strange. Nonetheless, the absence of an Easter Vigil was deftly made up for by my little rural parish. Incense! Candles! Easter Candle! Renewal of Baptismal Promises! Chanting all the prayers! Alleluia! It was incredible. It sort of confirmed for me that I really do hope to be a pastor someday. I made the decisions out there, which means I followed what the book calls for. It really felt celebratory.
He is Risen! He is truly Risen!
I was out at my little rural parish, which tends to be more "in step" with the way I like to celebrate these "high holy days" of the church year. Holy Thursday had a small congregation of mainly the core members. There were probably somewhere between 50 and 75 people there. I love this mass since it is one where I wash the feet of twelve parishioners in the same way that Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. It's a liturgy that, for me, focuses on the role of the priest in the community.
Good Friday was beautiful, although I forgot to take the Good Friday collection for the Holy Land for the second year in a row. If we lose Beit Jala this year to the Saracens, it's all my fault! No, but in all seriousness, I feel bad for not doing it, especially since the Holy Land was such a formative place for my faith. The carrying of the cross and veneration of that cross is so tied to Jerusalem and the church of the Holy Sepulcher that I can't believe I forgot.
I decided not to attend the Easter Vigil this year. I won't get many years where that will be possible so I decided to do it this year. But that meant that I started Easter on Sunday morning, which seemed a little strange. Nonetheless, the absence of an Easter Vigil was deftly made up for by my little rural parish. Incense! Candles! Easter Candle! Renewal of Baptismal Promises! Chanting all the prayers! Alleluia! It was incredible. It sort of confirmed for me that I really do hope to be a pastor someday. I made the decisions out there, which means I followed what the book calls for. It really felt celebratory.
He is Risen! He is truly Risen!
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