Punditry

It is good news when columnist Nick
Coleman of the Star Tribune is
unhappy with changes at a Minneapolis parish.
 Previously
Coleman wrote quite a negative column on his Excellency Most Reverend
John Nienstedt, Coadjutor Archbp. of St. Paul and Minneapolis for
actually accepting the truth of the Church’s view on homosexual acts.
 Nick Coleman displays his same accuracy in his political
columns as he does on the few columns he writes concerning the Church.
 His political columns have long been fisked in the
conservative blogosphere and he is working for the same reputation in
St. Blogs.

This time he upset about changes at St
Stephens in Minneapolis which seems to be the same type of
parish as St. Joans and St. Frances Cabrini also in Minneapolis.
 Where the word inclusive means accepting homosexual acts, but
not being inclusive towards orthodoxy.  Inclusive communities
are usually much more dogmatic on the issues they want to be dogmatic
on.  Try going to one of these parishes and dissent on their
teaching on homosexual acts or some of the other typical issues and you
will find out just how “inclusive” they are.

It looks like change are being made there
with the appointment of Fr. Joseph William effective Easter Friday,
March 28, 2008.  A 9. a.m. Mass (Coleman calls it a prayer
service) has now been canceled.  We will let Coleman describe
this Mass for us:

“They
all have to play with the same playbook,” says Dennis McGrath,
spokesman for the archdiocese. “They’ve had plenty of warnings to get
their act together.”

The “playbook” is the GIRM —
“General Instructions of the Roman Missal” — which spells out the
rubrics for worship services. After the Second Ecumenical Vatican
Council in the early 1960s, the orthodoxies loosened and churches,
especially ones in needy neighborhoods like St. Stephen’s, put more
emphasis on carrying out the message of the Gospels than following the
rubrics.

The 9 a.m. service in the school gym
(there’s also a 9 a.m. Spanish-language mass in the church sanctuary)
became a place where all were welcomed, the wording of prayers was
changed to make them inclusive (“Our Father and Mother, Who Art in
Heaven,” for example), women had leadership roles in services, and
simple ceramics were used instead of chalices of precious metal, as
called for in the rubrics.

Coleman writing just cracks me up. Phrases
like “the orthodoxies loosened” show exactly his mindset.  The
idea that Orthodoxy or “right thinking” should be loosened and I guess
substituted for wrong thinking is always unintentionally funny.
 I saw let the orthodoxies be loosed not loosened.
 There is also other typical liberal thought shown here with
the incredibly false idea that before Vatican II that the Gospel was
not carried out and somehow it was prevented from being preached
because of those nasty binding rubrics.  As if great Saints
like Saint Vincent de Paul and countless others could not preach the
Gospel and help the poor because of the rubrics of the Mass.
 Coleman has a Protestant mindset and seems to have no
understanding of the Catholic “Et … et” – the both/and approach that
we take more often.  Helping the poor in needy neighborhoods
is not the reciprocal of following the rubrics and following the
rubrics does not prevent you from living and preaching the Gospel.
 Though as with most inclusive parishes they have their own
rubrics that must be followed.  For example using ceramics and
so-called inclusive language.

Coleman also complains about the
parishioners who will be leaving the parish to go somewhere else five
blocks away with the
same “spirituality” that they were use to at St Stephen’s.

You know the kind of service: with
guitars, lay people giving homilies, dancing in the aisles with people
who have mental and physical disabilities, gay couples openly
participating in worship, along with ex-priests, ex-nuns and sundry
other spiritual wanderers. 

This 9 AM Mass has been going on for forty
years (about time they got out of the wilderness of progressive
liturgy) and so it is understandable that some of the parishioners
would be upset at the change.  It is only too bad that such
nonsense was not stopped much earlier to prevent these types of
defections where it looks like some of them will now being going to a
non-Catholic service.  They should never have been able to get
use to such open dissent and liturgical abuse in the first place.

“It’s incredibly sad,” says Mary Condon
Peters of Golden Valley, who has belonged to St. Stephen’s for 16 years
and served on its parish council. “All these years, there was room in
the big old Catholic tent for all of us. And now there isn’t. And they
gave us three weeks’ notice.”

It was on Feb. 5 that Flynn met with parish representatives and
instructed them that the 9 a.m. prayer service must end. McGrath says
that “nothing of substance” will change, and that the parish outreach
to the poor, the homeless and the Hispanic community will go on.

What you mean that unloosening “the
orthodoxies” does not halt outreach to the poor and others?
 Who would have thunk it?

Clayton who gave me the heads up for this
story will be commenting on it later today.

a band plays “Obama-alujah” and thousands stand in the chill night ready to be rapturous.

As the New York Times continues the Obama as Messiah meme.

Well for one thing I would really like an Obama rapture just as long as it occurs before election day and his true believers are taken up from earth. Though instead of "Left" Behind I guess it would be the right that would be left behind.

I think the most interesting thing about the Obama messiah meme is that so far it seems none of the MSM has asked Obama about his reaction to people speaking a about him in messianic terms and of course there is all the Obama iconography that has appeared and is associated with his campaign. He says he is a Christian and surely is aware of the context in which he is being described. It certainly seems to me that a Christian would be quite embarrassed about anybody speaking of them in messianic terms and would request that it would be stopped. Obama-alujah is pretty over the top and soon they will be throwing palm leaves in his path. Surely St. John the Baptist was embarrassed about this confusion in his own time in people thinking he was the Messiah and he quickly put them straight. Though unlike St. John the Baptist I guess his motto is "I must increase."

Via "Is Obama the Messiah?"

Excerpts from the Ecological Stations of the Cross

Second Station: Jesus Embraces the Cross
(Earth as Suffering Servant—Isaiah)

Meditation:
Mother Earth, you are alive with Christ’s Spirit. You, like Christ, are the suffering servant. You serve all Earth’s creatures so splendidly and graciously, but we often treat you as nothing more than a storehouse of goods. May we awaken to see both your suffering and your generosity. May we only harvest wood from your forests in ways that are sustainable and may we leave your ancient, mystical, old-growth forests to grow in peace.

Eighth Station: Jesus Speaks to the Women of Jerusalem
(Women and Education, Hunger, Poverty and Sustainable Population Growth)

Reflection:
Christ, you look with compassion on women: the birth-givers, the nurturers, and the comforters. May we commit to sustainable world population growth by bringing women out of poverty; by providing adequate nutrition, health care and education, and by honoring the lives of all women.

Point to Ponder:
Unsustainable population growth is a direct result of poverty, hunger and illiteracy, especially for women. Without food, economic security, and education, no amount of family planning programs will curb high birth rates.

These Ecological Stations of the cross are reportedly from Immaculate Conception Church in Durham, NC. These were sent in from a reader of Fr. Zuhisdorf and I think Fr. Z was right to wonder if someone was putting him on.

Unfortunately these don’t appear to be parody and it looks like the Ecological Stations of the Cross was a project of St. Elizabeth Garden of Learning in Oakland, Calif. This center is part of St Elizabeth’s Church in Oakland. The National Catholic Reporter previously had an article on these "stations of the cross" so these are all too real. Almost as strange is this mosaic above the Church’s altar at St. Elizabeth which is an emerging Peace dove is destroying a U.S. Military 9 mm Beretta pistol.

These stations as "Collaborative Public Sculpture" were sponsored by the Office of Peace, Justice, and Integrity of Creation, of the Franciscan Province of St. Barbara. Pope Benedict previously referred to a statement by Bishop Sorrentino of Assisi about the "abuse" of the figure of St. Francis. This abuse is mostly of seeing St. Francis first and foremost as a radical environmentalist which loses its proper order of his love of creation principally as a fruit of the love of the creator. Much of environmental spirituality is like hanging great paintings in a museum and putting the tag of "anonymous" underneath them. They have made God the anonymous author of creation and if he is mentioned at all it is sort of as a footnote.

As a side note it really saddens me to see terms like "family planning" and "population growth" used in a Stations of the Cross. It is as if they agree that Hell is other people and the number of people as a great evil. They seem to forget the history of environmental scare mongering and how all the dire predictions of the past never happened. It reminds me of "prophets" who make predictions of the end of the world and when it doesn’t pan out set new dates.

Let us love God first and foremost and then our neighbors and be proper stewards of all the gifts that God has given us in creation. It is when this order is reversed or torn asunder that things go wrong.

I think the pundits have missed what was really wrong about Obama’s “Just words” speech. The charges of plagiarism don’t really seem to stand because of his cozy relationship with Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick and it just isn’t plagiarism when you have permission.

What was the real problem is that he was using his speeches focusing predominately on hope and change and comparing them to “I had a dream” and “We hold these truths to be self evident.” This is rather egotistic in the first place and there is a great difference between his words and those words. For one Martin Luther King’s words and activism were founded on action where his words matched something substantive with his movement of nonviolence and civil disobedience where he was willing to go to jail in face of these racial injustices. The words of the Declaration of Independence were also based on action and people willing to lay down their lives to defend the new country and the ideas in the declaration.

So for Obama using this as a tactic to deflect criticisms that he was all talk with no actual plans by quoting rhetoric that was backed up by plans and action doesn’t really do much. Though I guess the irony is that he was using empty rhetoric to defend himself against the charge of empty rhetoric. Another thing I don’t get about the Obama fascination is all the praises for his speeches when what he is doing is giving a good reading of a prepared speech. When he had to give a talk without a teleprompter and he didn’t want to be reading from a prepared speech it gave a much better idea of Obama the speaker with him bashing President Bush, Karl Rove and former FEMA head Michael Brown and using much more of the language of political liberalism today.

I do think it is pretty cool how far Christopher Blosser’s Is Obama the Messiah? blog has taken off and how much traffic he is getting.

One thing though – with Jesus we got The Beatitudes, with Obama we get The Platitudes. Besides doesn’t the Bible have strong words about the Obamanation?

Dutch Catholics have re-branded the Lent fast as the "Christian Ramadan" in an attempt to appeal to young people who are more likely to know about Islam than Christianity.

The Catholic charity Vastenaktie, which collects for the Third World across the Netherlands during the Lent period, is concerned that the Christian festival has become less important for the Dutch over the last generation.

"The image of the Catholic Lent must be polished. The fact that we use a Muslim term is related to the fact that Ramadan is a better-known concept among young people than Lent," said Vastenaktie Director, Martin Van der Kuil.

Well this only follows since Dutch Bishop Tiny Muskens earlier asked Catholics to use Allah for the name of God. Funny how more than a generation of reaching out and conforming the Gospel to secular culture with such products as the infamous Dutch Catechism results in young people knowing more about the Muslim than the Catholic faith.

Just think of all the Muslim comparisons we can use to teach Catholics the faith. Turning towards Mecca is similar to turning towards liturgical East at Mass. Praying five times a day is similar to the practices of the Litugy of the Hours. Prayer rugs are similar to kneelers. Beheading those who insult Islam is simlar to, I guess, notifying the Catholic League.

Hat tip to Happy Catholic and John C. Wright.

Christopher Blosser has come up with a
great new site that chronicles people describing Obama in Messiah-like terms called
Is Barack Obama the Messiah?  He uses real quotes,
stories, Hollywood/rap-star sing-a-long video to Obama, and though he
tweaks some of the posters via Photoshop for added effect, the posters
are also real. 

As I am currently rereading The Lord of
the Rings I came across a quote from the book that when I read it
instantly reminded me of Obama.  In a conversation about Frodo
and his initial distrust of Strider he says “I think a servant of the
Enemy would look fairer and feel fouler.”  This described
exactly my feelings about Obama.  He looks and sounds so fair
and you really want to like him as you listen to his high sounding
rhetoric.  He has charisma to spare, but when I look at his
record in regards to Illinois’ “Born Alive Infant Protection Act” and
his willingness to support infanticide to protect abortion “rights” and
having the most liberal record in his short time in the Senate I see
Obama as feeling fouler.  No I don’t think we need to shave
his head and look for 666, but his agenda surely makes him a servant of
the enemy and some calling him Moloch Obama seems to be to be quite
accurate.  But hey he seems like such a nice guy that you
wouldn’t mind sitting down and having a beer with, so let us just put
aside our differences.

Obama has been deluding people using his
technique I call “Hope-a-Dope.”   His constant references to
hope effectively disarm his opponents when he is hiding his real extreme liberalism and advocacy of the culture of death.  Hillary has launched many blows against him and this has been a losing tactic, thus “Hope-a-Dope” is working to help him win.

SOUTH BEND A theological seminar for
Roman Catholic bishops that had been scheduled for the University of
Notre Dame will be moved off campus because of a planned performance of
the play “The Vagina Monologues.”

The Catholic bishops made the decision because they disagree with the
university administrations decision to allow a student performance of
the controversial play.

“Because of the likelihood of the presentation of the play The Vagina
Monologues at Notre Dame this year, the bishops made a collective
decision to move the seminar off campus,” the Most Rev. John M. DArcy,
bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend, said today in
a written statement. The bishop declined a request for an interview.

The seminar, which includes Notre Dame faculty speakers and is
co-sponsored by the universitys Institute for Church Life, had been
scheduled for Monday through Wednesday on campus. Instead, it will be
at the convent of the Sisters of St. Francis in Mishawaka.

Notre Dame spokesman Dennis Brown confirmed that the bishops moved the
gathering off campus and that the decision was related to “The Vagina
Monologues.”

The university issued the following written statement:

“We understand that not all are in full agreement about the propriety
of allowing performances of this play on a Catholic campus. Because of
concerns about the play and its potential performance, we have worked
collaboratively with the bishops to move the conference out of respect
for everyone involved.

So I guess moving the Bishop’s conference
off campus makes so much more
sense than moving VM off campus.

A nun in Silver Springs is making waves
as an author, but don’t judge her book by it’s cover just yet.

By day, Sister Christine Kresho studies scripture with lady friends at
leisure world, talking about God and how to be holy.

By night, she writes novels about wicked priests, sex, and murder
stories.

“They might not read an essay, something serious, they might not read a
theology book. But if they read a novel, my hope is it would be in the
grocery store and they would see it and pick it up!”

She says she purposely pushes the envelope to get people to talk about
issues facing the Catholic church.

Her latest work, “Sacred Betrayal,” is about an archbishop threatened
by a progressive group in the church and his evil assistant father who
she says will “Go as far as raping and murdering the archbishop’s
sister, who’s a leader in this group, if that’s what it takes.”

Sister Kresho joined the convent when she was just
17-years-old.  She’s been a teacher, principal and now
Pastoral Associate at our Lady of Grace Church in Silver Spring.

ABC 7 News myTAKE – What’s Your Opinion?”If you really follow the
gospel and you’re really a disciple of Jesus, you have to be a
radical,” Sister Kresho says.

Her lurid novels, the first about two murdered priests, aim to somehow
get those ideas out and talked about.

Her boss says he’s had no complaints. “It’s her private work and it’s
her private thoughts. The church allows people to publish without
imprimaturs or permission and that’s a good thing,” says Father Peter
Sweeney.

Her leisure world ladies support her too, “She took vows, but her vows
didn’t prohibit her from thinking. So why not,” says Adeline Loftus.

In fact, Sister Kresho is already praying about her next, equally
provocative paperback, working title, “My Priest, my Husband!””

Sister Christine Kresho  I guess
by the topics of her books (printed via a vanity press) is trying to be
the female equivalent of Fr. Greeley. 

“The Washington Archdiocese dismisses
her
works as poorly written and say they do not reflect reality but has no
plans to take any action against her.”

What you mean to tell me there aren’t evil
priest assistants out to rape and murder the leader of a progressive
group who happens to be the Bishop’s sister?  I guess albino
monk assassins were already taken.

Last week in the bulletin for the St.
Augustine Church which is the
Catholic Student Center for the University of Florida.

MAGDALENE PLAY AT ST. AUGUSTINE!!
St. Augustine is pleased to sponsor a very special theater presentation
on the first Friday of Lent, February 8, 2008.  This will be
an original play providing a perspective on Jesus life, death, and
resurrection as seen through the eyes of Mary Magdalene.  In
the play, an angel appears to tell Mary Magdalene her life on earth is
near its end, and she offers her reflections on what she has come to
know of Jesus and the early Christian community.  It is a
one-woman production by Thelma Ann Jones who has traveled across the
United States and Europe.  Read more about the production on
the bulletin board across from the office.  Tickets are on
sale in the parish office for $5.00 per person.  This will be
one night
only, and promises to be a unique way to begin our Lenten
season!  Buy your tickets now!  Child care will be
provided in the main nursery.

This week this blog reports that
in
the
bulletin is a notice from my bishop Victor Galeone.

Bishop Galeone has decided that the
Magdelene Play should be canceled. In his opinion, certain lines of
the monologue call into question the Churchs position on two
sacraments. Accordingly, such a performance in a Catholic setting would
be a counter-witness to important Church teaching.

I don’t know what exactly what was in the
script since there is really no information available about this play,
but you can probably guess since the hosting parish is not exactly
known for orthodoxy and their celebration on the feast day of St. Mary
Magdelene is a hotbed of women’s ordination supporters.  Regardless
thanks to Bishop Galeone for stepping in.