St. Blog's Mandatum
I have received what I would consider to be the Mandatum of Catholic Orthodoxy in St. Blogs. I have been attacked in an article on St. Blogs in Commonweal. Oh happy day! Now I know I am on the right track.
St. Blog’s has an official proofreader, Nihil Obstat (“Don’t ask for the facts unless you want the truth”) who corrects both grammar and improperly formed Web addresses. There’s a resident humorist, the Curt Jester, whose parody of Amazon.com sells the Patriot Anti-Missalette Battery, “Guaranteed to not allow modern missalettes such as those published by Oregon Catholic Press within a thousand feet of your church...the ultimate in GIRM warfare protection”—General Instruction on the Roman Missal, get it? Not all the Jester’s lines hit their target.
This is just awesome. It looks like out of the whole article the only person she took a pot shot at was me. Perhaps one of the targets I did hit was too close to her for comfort. Kind of like sitting in a submarine set for silent running while depth charges rain down. Well I can hope.
Also notice she feel that she has to explain to the readers of Commonweal what GIRM stands for. Well, maybe she's right. I also enjoyed the "Get it?" the special emphasis to show how lame my humor is. Of course that same Avazon.com parody also drew about 10,000 hits in two days, somebody must "get it."
A special thanks to Domenico Bettinelli for his reaction to this article and his more than kind comments about my humor.
Not surprisingly, there are several blogs by converts. The best of these are reverent with gratitude; most explain (sometimes with an unfortunate didacticism) what led the author to Catholicism.
What in the world does "unfortunate didacticism" mean. What is wrong with converts making "moral observations" about their path to Rome. I guess she must object to the moral part.
Curiously, women religious are absent from St. Blog’s. An absence explained by the conservative bent of many blogs, or just a function of statistics?
Notice her assumption that the women religious are automatically liberal. And how can the blogosphere prevent liberals of any stripe from opining, conservative bent or not? Now if I was going to write an article on St. Blogs, I would look at the blogs listed on the main list maintained by Gerard at praise of glory. From that I would notice that there are at least three blogs of women who are preparing to enter religious life. But I guess since these women are not progressives they don't count as women religious. I would also notice that almost all of the priests that blog are diocesan priests except for Fr. Jeffrey Keyes C.PP.S. The same goes for religious brothers. Could perhaps the lack of access to computers and the time needed for blogging not fit with those living in religious communities? Whatever the answer is I doubt if it is the conservative bent or a function of statistics. Deacons also seem to be absent from St. Blogs. Why no comment on that?
One positive thing about the article is that there is an interesting sampling of Catholic blogs (but no links). Though how can you write a serious article on St. Blogs and not mention Mark Shea, Amy Welborn or the Catholic Blogger who started it all and penned the name St. Blogs; Kathy Shaidle?
The traditionalist blogs are one response to the weakening of Christian certainty—in this case, a negative response—one that often displays a judgmental attitude and a corrosive cynicism about the “secular” world.
This is really funny and ironic since she herself is judging us negatively by saying we have a "corrosive cynicism" and that we are a negative response. She also seemed to be upset that Commonweal was not held up as the standard for St. Blogs. Sorry, most of us are serious Catholics who don't want the watered down Gospel portrayed in Commonweal. But she should be happy that we do not often mention articles from Commonweal. Just think of the words "fisk" and "Dale Price."
She ends with:
I’ll let Flannery O’Connor have the last word: “To have the church be what you want it to be would require the continuous miraculous meddling of God in human affairs, whereas it is our dignity that we are allowed more or less to get on with those graces that come through faith and the sacraments and which work through our human nature….We can’t understand this but we can’t reject it without rejecting life. Human nature is so faulty that it can resist any amount of grace and most of the time it does.” If only she’d had a blog.
If Flannery O'Connor had a blog I really doubt that anyone in Commonweal would be happy about its contents. I also think this is an odd quote for a progressive to use "To have the church be what you want it to be" is the very stamp of progressivism .
Known as 
Jeff:
My take is (no offense intended):
“To have the church be what you want it to be..."
is the very stamp of protestantism....We should want the Church to be what Christ wills it to be for all eternity.
We have in this day a multitude of imposters posing as Catholics. It it truly unfortunate but many do not seem to understand what it means to be Catholic at all. I dare say the grass growing in one's yard at least follows the will of God.
You've made it to the Big Time, now, my friend...Too bad they didn't have a chance to review Moloch's Blog!
I just had to post something on this. It's way too cool to pass up...
Ataboy Jeff! Keep giving the folks at Commonweal something to write about.
A pint for everybody on me!
I happen to like Mr. Miller's jokes, thank you very much, Ms. Linner.
Perhaps you could oblige Ms. Linner by creating a "blog" by a modern nun.
well, i'll say this for you, mr. miller, you keep pissing off the right people. kudos, sir.
Congrats, Jeff!
Awesome. Way to go, Jeff!
I love it! Do a parody site by Sister Mary Biko, and send an url to the author of this article, acting like you found it on the web and wanted her to see that leftist nuns blog too! Imagine how easy it would be to write. Just use words like doctorate and paradigm and sabbatical and teaching moment over and over.
If I could see the stats on both sides, my guess is that your readership, Jeff, is on the rise, while rags like Commonweal and NCR (Is there any difference?) are on the way down.
Those people are oh so 70's.
A progressive nun parody blog does sound like fun. Sounds like a good upcoming bit to do.
Be sure to add Commonweal's remarks to your "Shameless Promotion" box, Jeff:
"Not all the Jester's lines hit their target." --Commonweal
Sounds like a great plug for an orthodox blog from a progressive rag! ;)
I'm with Michelle on this one. Put 'em on your banner. Sometimes you understand someone best by knowing who their detractors are!
And I've always been kind of proud of my judgmental attitude and corrosive cynicism about the "secular" world!
Shows you how far apart we are--I can't imagine anyone NOT being cynical about the secular world!
Ach!
Hey, don't take all the credit -- unless I'm mistaken, Miss Linn thought 'Against The Grain' (among others) "tilted decidedly to the conservative side" and failed to "exhibit the thoughtfulness and charity" of Peter Nixon.
(No offense, Peter, but I love your blog)
Peace, Jeffrey.
I deeply hold that this taking of pride in the constructive criticism of others and pride in rejecting a wymyn's voice constitutes a negative response to uncertainty and is very symptomatic of your "corrosive cynicism."
This "wymynnmhmnmym" offers a hearty handclasp of congratulations!
Way to go, Jeff.
Michelle and Terry,
I have added their endorsement to my shameless promotion.
Great job, Jeff. So can we play Dueling Circulations? Total number of Commonweal readers vs. total number of people who communicate on St. Blog's? Probably higher for us? Hmm? Saw the same annoyance about this New Media for this lady that the LibEstablishment Media holds for Drudge, Fox News, Rush, etc. Challenges their orthodoxies. Very hurtful and insensitive. Add her pull quote to your page- permanently.
I have never heard of Commonweal before but after reading through their website I figure being insulted by them would be a great honor. Way to go!
I agree with Bill. Keep up the good work, Jeff! I told my friends about your blog and now they are all fans. One now has only to mention the words "Liturgical Boot Camp" or "Liturgy for Ignoramuses" to elicit peals of laughter from us.
Luke 6:26
The most laughable part (other than the notion that "St. Blogs" merits a piece in any publication, on-line or otherwise) is her characterization of "St. Blogs" as "traditionalist blogs." O . . . my . . . dear. If the hyperlibs consider you all traditionalist, the Church Militant is more firmly in the catacombs than I thought.
More fruitful would be a discourse on how "St. Blogs" is yet another manifestation of VII modernist worship-of-self ("St. Blogs" = self-beatification). St. Anthony of the Desert, pray for us! UIOGD,
I don't visit a lot of the people you mention in this post, but the fact that some people take things really seriously is the very thing that makes funny things funny.
Actually, she missed a blog by a female religious-to-be - the blogger at the Theoscope is a postulant with the Nashville Dominicans. But then that's not the sort of women religious she probably had in mind...
Sorry- I missed your mention of those three women...
Wow, congratulations!
Looks like the Man..err...Woman is beginning to notice the impact of St. Blogs.
More power to the people! And to St. Blog's.
PS
She reminds me of how the NY Times views Matt Drudge.
Gotta love the projection inherent in the line, "the traditionalist blogs are one response to the weakening of Christian certainty." The pluperfect Commonweal line: it's all about psychology, not God.
It's also interesting that extremism is seen as a vice when it seems to me Jesus was rather extreme, extreme enough for the Romans to crucify him.
At worse, St. Blog's is exercising Ms. Linner
s charity and patience, much as the '70s Commonweal-ish spirit exercised our charity and patience.
I was buckled over laughing at the GIRM joke. I sent the link to my brothers. I hate people with no sense of humours.
Well, I guess I won't be linking to Commonweal any time soon.
Loved your fisk of the article! and I am honored to be named in the company of some truly great bloggers!
I don't see, though, how she managed to miss Mark Shea.
" 'St. Blogs' is yet another manifestation of VII modernist worship-of-self ('St. Blogs' = self-beatification)."
????
Dude, what surgeon performed that senseofhumorectomy on you? He deserves an award as the best in the business for having done a job so thorough.
You got to him before me, Victor. Dear The Aptly Named SS: lighten the heck up! I coined the word St Blogs because at one point the variety of Catholic blogs included a number of priests, a choir director, a canon lawyer, a couple of liturgists and of course a bunch of lay people. Get? It? Our on-line presence was starting to faintyly resemble, yet in no way replace, a typical parish. It's a, I say, it's a joke son. And I'm about as Vatican II as an Opus Dei receptionist! Get a grip, boy!
Victor,
"Senseofhumorectomy", very good. For Rad Trads I guess this goes beyond just elective surgery.
Kathy,
"And I'm about as Vatican II as an Opus Dei receptionist!"
I laughed so hard it brought tears to my eyes.
Catholic blogs
Ms. Kathy: "Catholic"? If "St. Blogs" is a joke, what are you mocking? Sainthood? The Catholic parish? The notion that "St. Blog"ers attempt to form real community in un-real time and space? Sorry. I don't get it. What I do get is that a lot of bad ideas masquerading as "catholic" makes its way to many computer monitors via "St. Blogs".
To quote John Lane: [O]ne who seeks to inform others of matters of Sacred Doctrine must take all care that he knows the Church's mind on the matters he is pretending to teach. If somebody is not morally certain he has an adequate grasp of a subject, he should remain silent rather than risk misleading others.
When the Faith is restored, the Holy Office will shut "St. Blogs" down. UIOGD,
"If "St. Blogs" is a joke, what are you mocking? Sainthood? The Catholic parish? The notion that "St. Blog"ers attempt to form real community in un-real time and space? Sorry. I don't get it. What I do get is that a lot of bad ideas masquerading as "catholic" makes its way to many computer monitors via "St. Blogs"."
Its quite simple actually. Its a play on the typical composition of your parish bureaucracy. Quite cute actually. Can't believe you missed that.
Somebody needs a Simpsons marathon...
Suspicious Severus proves that Ms. Linner doesn't realize that we whom she calls "Traditionalists" are actually middle-of-the-roaders. Perspective is everything.
"If 'St. Blogs' is a joke, what are you mocking?"
Basic reasoning error alert -- abort!!! abort!!!
"Joke" instantly get conflated with "mocking"? wtf? There are other kinds of humor, and even mockery itself can be done and/or taken in several spirits.
That surgeon did a REAL good job.
"To quote John Lane: [O]ne who seeks to inform others of matters of Sacred Doctrine must take all care that he knows the Church's mind on the matters he is pretending to teach. If somebody is not morally certain he has an adequate grasp of a subject, he should remain silent rather than risk misleading others."
To quote Christ: "Remove the plank from your own eye first." Ecce(te), a quote war.
Sully, why do you even waste your time mingling with we lower forms of life and generally treating us in a way guaranteed to make us dislike you? It couldn't be that you are just using St. Blog's to promote your own weblog - no, never. Not when you so obviously despise it.
Ms. Meg: As corporal works of mercy can involve picking your way through the dingy back alleys of blighted urban streets to bring comfort and guidance to the homeless and the drug-addicted, so too I slog my way through the rip-roaring, joking, oh-isn't-it-so-funny-how-far-the-modernists-have-destroyed-our-religion dregs of "St. Blogs" to nudge souls towards the bread of Truth. UIOGD,
Mr. JonathanR.: "Simpsons"? What are "Simpsons"?
Mr. Morton: Now THIS is funny! UIOGD,
Curt Jester's average visitors per day: 636.
www.commonwealmagazine.org's: 760.