That's my life...in the words of the world's most famous redhead Anne Shirley of Green Gables (actually the writer who brought her to life, L.M.Montgomery).
--- Sometimes I want to write about food on this blog and how my week is like a long episode of 'Chopped,' trying to find uses for all the vegetables in my CSA box. But then I realize that the world does not need another 'quick rice stuffed pepper' recipe.
--- The big problem with confession is also one of the best things about it: the seal. The priest cannot discuss anything that you said or confessed- which is beyond cool. The problem? People can talk about what the priest said in the confessional- or even fabricate words he never said.
--- I'm in a quandary, and I'm probably a hypocrite. My children and I listen to the Contemporary Christian radio station 'Air One' all day when we aren't listening to the public classical station. I call it 'Protestant' because none of the featured artists are Catholic. Their prayer line is staffed with Protestant pastors. They are having their pledge drive, and I haven't given anything. I am torn. They don't play Catholic artists (yes- they exist). Part of the money goes towards their prayer line; this is a good thing and helps many people, but I don't know if it is right to financially support the faith ministry that many times contradicts my own. Any sage advice?
--- The only Orthodox Christians that I know personally are those who are willing to visit our Byzantine Catholic missions. So it is shocking how much hatred there is out there regarding us. We are called 'papists' and 'uniates,' like being unified is something to be ashamed of. I suppose they expect us to be Orthodox not in union with Rome, ignoring Jesus' prayer that 'all may be one' (John 17) and ignoring that Peter was the rock on which the Church is built (Matthew 16). Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem were the original patriarchs. None should be ignored or disrespected. By saying 'papist' like you swallowed a lemon, it isn't very Christian, no? I suppose I should be a grown-up and stop looking at the memes 'Hyperdox Herman' posts on Facebook and focus on the Orthodox Christians who I actually know and who are kind even though I am a Uniate.
--- It has been tough lately in the news- the Gosnell trial, the Boston Marathon bombings, the horrible industrial accident in West, Texas. President Obama's visit to Planned Parenthood ("God bless Planned Parenthood") makes me really sad. I'm sad not because one man is happily pro-abortion even when 40% of his race is aborted, I'm sad that the majority of the country knew about these issues and how he would deal with them and happily re-elected him.
--- Two weeks ago, there was a little skirmish in the little part of the blogosphere I frequent- children being present at church and possibly making noises. I didn't blog about it- but you can start with red cardigan's post if you are interested...you can probably suspect that I agree with her opinion. Children are the Church just like middle-aged and elderly people- of course, if the child is truly screaming, take him or her out for a while.
--- one of my 'pet peeves' with the Church- the use of the terms 'permanent deacon' and 'transitional deacon'- and the fact that in many dioceses seminarians who are planning (and frequently do not finish seminary) to remain celibate and go on to the priesthood can wear a clerical collar but married deacons cannot. I think that it is a very sad thing that so many clergy and religious are in 'disguise.' Some sisters give up their habit to be 'liberal,' but some did so that they would not turn off normal people. And the same thing goes for married deacons. But this idea makes people shocked when they see clergy in their proper garb. I say, let's do the opposite! All sisters in some sort of habit! All deacons in some sort of clerical garb! (and no- no one will come and start confessing...they will at least ask if you are a Catholic priest with faculties to hear confession in that diocese...and then you can explain) All priests in their clerical collar...maybe even a cassock! There is no scandal if the cleric is doing nothing wrong...
--- Two weeks ago, there was a little skirmish in the little part of the blogosphere I frequent- children being present at church and possibly making noises. I didn't blog about it- but you can start with red cardigan's post if you are interested...you can probably suspect that I agree with her opinion. Children are the Church just like middle-aged and elderly people- of course, if the child is truly screaming, take him or her out for a while.
--- one of my 'pet peeves' with the Church- the use of the terms 'permanent deacon' and 'transitional deacon'- and the fact that in many dioceses seminarians who are planning (and frequently do not finish seminary) to remain celibate and go on to the priesthood can wear a clerical collar but married deacons cannot. I think that it is a very sad thing that so many clergy and religious are in 'disguise.' Some sisters give up their habit to be 'liberal,' but some did so that they would not turn off normal people. And the same thing goes for married deacons. But this idea makes people shocked when they see clergy in their proper garb. I say, let's do the opposite! All sisters in some sort of habit! All deacons in some sort of clerical garb! (and no- no one will come and start confessing...they will at least ask if you are a Catholic priest with faculties to hear confession in that diocese...and then you can explain) All priests in their clerical collar...maybe even a cassock! There is no scandal if the cleric is doing nothing wrong...
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I'm the same way about listening to KLOVE. I'm not in a financial situation where I have a lot of money to donate but sometimes I feel bad ignoring the pledge drive. They do play some of Matt Maher's songs who is Catholic. But yeah I get torn. There was an article on Revelife a few years ago about this but I can't remember what it said.
ReplyDeleteUh yeah I'm not sure what was up with all the pople blogging about babies in church. I wrote about people blogging about it in my qucktakes too.
maybe we should just give a token amount...and if ever listener did that they would be fully funded
DeleteI had the same issue this year.
Delete-I was going to say... Matt Maher is Catholic and I think at least one other artist is. I didn't start giving to KLOVE until last year despite being a relatively long-time listener. My response (in your shoes) would be to give. You listen to their music and while their prayer line is staffed with Protestant pastors (maybe no priests have volunteered?), their prayer line also exists for people like me who aren't the kind of Protestants they are but have still called in needing to talk to someone. Heck, the prayer lines for both KLOVE and Air1 get atheists and agnostics calling in and asking for someone to listen.
ReplyDelete-People fabricate things and claim that priests (and pastors) have said it? I am SHOCKED, SHOCKED I tell you!!!! (It happened to Jon in his first parish.) Thankfully, the scandalous thing in his second parish was some troublemakers claiming that I had flashed some parishioners. (I was reaching up to grab some ginger ale in the grocery store and my shirt lifted exposing an incredibly scandalous INCH of my pregnancy belly.) It totally backfired on them because I'm slightly more prudish than most nuns in full habit. :) My boss fell out of her chair laughing when I told her and our bishop howled with laughter for 5 minutes, calling in her staff and having me repeat it to them (who also laughed uproariously).
-I'm totally in favor of all clergy going out in habit. :)
-That reminds me: I need to write the President a stern letter about his position on abortion. I *did* vote for him (*ducks the flying shoes*) but NOT for that reason and I felt conflicted about it. I was also not jubilant about him being re-elected but more just thankful that the election was OVER.
about Air One- Thanks for the wisdom jen!
DeleteI'm pretty sympathetic to the call for more clergy in clerical garb. It's both a detriment and a gift for me that, as a rabbi, we don't have anything that corresponds to it. Sometimes, being identifiable would be a big help. Other times, I "get in" as a chaplain with people who aren't religious more easily, because my clothes don't scream "clergy", and I can explain the other things that a chaplain does besides pray. But being identifiable, when you want to be, when you're working, can be a great thing- a great source of authority for folks who are new to the clergy, and a reminder of your visibility and influence for all of us. (Also, taking them off must be a great way of demonstrating when you're "off duty", if you're in a position where you get that privilege.)
ReplyDeleteRabbi Maya- both of these arguments hold true...MANY times my husband comes in a hospital room and people think they are dying right then because a priest is there!
DeleteBut in any case, I think it is a good thing to be out in public as a believing sort of person...people would be surprised how many are 'out there'- this is one reason I hang a rosary in my car....it keeps me on my best behavior
What makes you think the world doesn't need your creative food ideas? Maybe you come up with combinations people otherwise wouldn1t think of!
ReplyDeleteIt's also lovely when people report their parish priest for saying something they didn't actually say during confession, because it wasn't Carholic. Of course it wasn't, but it also wasn't said by the priest.
I'd donate if I were you.
about the confessional seal- about two weeks ago a friend of a parishioner told our parishioner that she was thrown out of the confessional because she said 'Forgive me Father, for I have sinned. It has been over a year since my last confession." (Catholics must go to Confession once a year and for any 'grave matter'- possible mortal sins)...maybe the priest didn't say this, we will never know. Luckily, my husband was able to go and hear the woman's confession. I hope she feels better! and I am praying for that priest- if it is true, it is too bad that he forgets what the sacrament is for!
DeleteI'm always interested in hearing about the creative way other people use up ingredients. Bring on the roast pepper recipes, I say.
ReplyDeleteAbout the habits, I've always been in favor of priests and religious wearing identifiable habits or clericals in public because it does provide such an awesome witness. Recently, though, I did hear for the first time something that made me reconsider my knee-jerk judgment about nuns who gave up the habit. The article made the point that when religious communities were asked to return to their founding documents and to recover their original calling by their founders, some of them were surprised to find that their original constitutions did not in fact call for them to wear a habit but instead to dress in the garb of widows, or poor lay women of the day. I'd never heard that before and if indeed that is what a community's founder originally prescribed for them then it would seem to be in line with their community's charism to not wear a habit. I think if a community did indeed discern that they could better serve their particular mission without a habit and that it is in keeping with their charism, then perhaps they are the best authority on that. It really took me by surprise to find that line of reasoning making sense to me since I always assumed that a habit is best. That said, it does seem like the orders that wear habits are attracting new vocations and those that don't aren't, though I'm not positive that numbers necessarily will support that perception. Still, I think in today's world many young Catholics considering the religious life want to be that radical witness.
about habits- I agree with you- certainly the sari-like habit of Missionaries of Charity isn't a 'traditional' habit
DeleteThe sisters that sponsor my husband's hospital are Sisters of mercy- recently, we celebrated 100 years of the hospital and some lay women dressed up in the old habits- there was the original 'flying nun' kind from 100 years ago and then a simplified habit (pre-1960)- now, they don't wear anything (typical 'liberal' pant suit, florals, no visible cross) but one of the sisters was wearing an even further simplified habit (no veil- skirt below knee with matching suit-jacket, solid color and large cross pin- it was dignified and you could tell she is a sister
The permanent deacons in our diocese recently got clerical garb (I think it was last year sometime). I love seeing them in their collars. There are a few differences (a gray shirt instead of black) but it's wonderful that they have that now. I think transitional deacons where all black.
ReplyDeleteThat's great! It makes sense that the deacons-going-to-be-priests would start with black so they can continue to wear them as priests
DeleteI went to a Feast Day at the Byzantine Catholic Church in Cary, NC before prom once. It was a feast day and my date was serving at mass. I got dressed for prom in the church's basement. Love the Mass.
ReplyDeletevery cute and GREAT priorities!
DeleteWell, about the KLOVE situation - I would consider other factors besides whether their phone lines are staffed by Protestants. If you enjoy their music and have the funds to donate, then a donation would be an excellent time to say "I'm a Catholic and greatly enjoy your radio station, so much so that I am making this donation, however may I suggest representing other denominations? Keep up the good work!" Or something like that.
ReplyDeleteAnd I love the idea of ministers wearing collars and vestments - my husband is a minister and I think he'd look quite dashing. :-)