OSV Daily Take

I would ask the Bishop to consider the following: ...

2009-11-07T15:00:37.113-05:00

I would ask the Bishop to consider the following:

God said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and 'Whoever curses father or mother must certainly be put to death.' Mathew 15:4

Jesus: "So Pilate said to (Jesus), "Do you not speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you and I have power to crucify you?" Jesus answered (him), "You would have no power over me if it had not been given to you from above." John 19:10-11

Jesus: Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, "Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us." The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, "Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." (Jesus) replied to him, "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." Luke 23: 39-43

Jesus: "You have heard the ancients were told, ˜YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER" and "Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court". But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever shall say to his brother, "Raca", shall be guilty before the supreme court and whoever shall say, "You fool", shall be guilty enough to go into fiery hell." Matthew 5:17-22.

The Holy Spirit: God, through the power and justice of the Holy Spirit, executed both Ananias and his wife, Saphira. Their crime? Lying to the Holy Spirit - to God - through Peter. Acts 5:1-11.

The Word of God: Numbers 35: Note the words "shall" and "surely". What do you think they mean?

16 ‘But if he struck him down with an iron object, so that he died, he is a murderer; the murderer shall surely be put to death. 17 ‘If he struck him down with a stone in the hand, by which he will die, and as a result he died, he is a murderer; the murderer shall surely be put to death. 18 ‘Or if he struck him with a wooden object in the hand, by which he might die, and as a result he died, he is a murderer; the murderer shall surely be put to death. 19 ‘The blood avenger himself shall put the murderer to death; he shall put him to death when he meets him. 20 ‘If he pushed him of hatred, or threw something at him lying in wait and as a result he died, 21 or if he struck him down with his hand in enmity, and as a result he died, the one who struck him shall surely be put to death, he is a murderer; the blood avenger shall put the murderer to death when he meets him.

Here is the full context http://nasb.scripturetext.com/numbers/35.htm

From a biblical and theological standpoint, can God contradict Himself on this issue, with regard to His teachings in the Old Testament as compared to the New?

Hmmm, on the first bullet point, the good Archbish...

2009-11-03T15:04:39.377-05:00

Hmmm, on the first bullet point, the good Archbishop is producing nothing but baked wind. He's comparing one story about one year of one community of a city with the press-treatment of the proven behavior of the majority of bishops for the last 60 years, and he doesn't even get that right. The article clearly states that there were 26 arrests this year, not the "forty cases of such abuse" that he claims. According to the story, there are 40 people willing to testify, which means the orthodox community is obviously not using the same legal teams as our sweet mother, The Church.

Additionally, he implies the Times was behaving in a persecutory manner toward the church regarding a "tiny minority of priests." This demonstrates that, Once Again, we have a Bishop willing to only tell a tiny, and conveniently self-serving fraction of the truth about the scandal by claiming it was about child-molesting priests and not the majority of Bishops who were willing to sacrifice an indefinite number of other people's children as long as they didn't have to do their damned jobs. Golly. I hope I have that kind of integrity someday.

Now, to his credit, he doesn't accuse the orthodox community of conducting an ongoing campaign of lies, willful obstruction of justice, or legally attacking victims to intimidate them, or using spiritual authority to silence them...but that would raise such uncomfortable questions about the Bishops long-standing behavior of giving only lip-service to justice while behaving like overzealous mafiosi, now wouldn't it? Quelle Horror! We want to distance ourselves from those kinds of things as quickly as possible.

The second bullet is iffy, and 3 and 4 are pretty much on his side. Why would he lead with the deception?

I suppose he can claim he’s concerned with being “truthy” rather than “accurate” or “correct” or “honest” or “virtuous.” Then you read the disclaimer, in image form, on the right: “…The Archdiocese of New York is not responsible for the accuracy of any of the information supplied in the blog.” If questioned about anything he’s said or done, it sounds like Dolan’s going to be just like most other Bishops: he won’t be able to recall.

I just love the Von Balthasar quote. How amazing i...

2009-11-02T11:53:36.866-05:00

I just love the Von Balthasar quote. How amazing it is to think of it that way!

Daily Grace, Thank you so much for your kind words...

2009-11-02T10:49:35.678-05:00

Daily Grace,
Thank you so much for your kind words, and thank you for reading my work here and on Not Strictly Spiritual.
Peace,
Mary

Mary, I enjoyed this post immensely. The lives of ...

2009-10-30T22:49:57.941-04:00

Mary, I enjoyed this post immensely. The lives of the saints have always been an important point of reference and a wonderful form of reflection for me.Father James Martin's video presentation is delightful. I have pasted this on to my family members.

I always look forward to your posts; you are one of my favorites!

I am just finishing an excellent book on the same ...

2009-10-29T18:44:23.426-04:00

I am just finishing an excellent book on the same topic. It is tiled "Secular Sabotage" and is by Bill Donohue of the Catholic Civil Rights League. The examples of the anti-Catholic sewage flowing through our society that he gives are nauseating. But I know he is not exaggerating because I have followed the news closely for years and I know his examples are noy blown out of proportion.

I for one welcome the changes, even those that see...

2009-10-28T16:00:13.127-04:00

I for one welcome the changes, even those that seem awkward. How much can we attribute the "naturalness" of the current translation to the simple fact that we are used to it? I am very bothered by Bishop Trautmann's constant badmouthing of the translation. Yes, I know he was against it from the beginning. It's no longer in his hands. The decision has been made. The only thing he is doing now is stirring up the emotions of people who may otherwise not have been upset. How is that helpful? What is his objective? It would appear sowing discord is all that he can hope to accomplish with his public rants at this stage of the game.

I hope that our priests will take this opportunity...

2009-10-28T12:59:38.473-04:00

I hope that our priests will take this opportunity to reflect upon and explicate the creed to their parishoners, regardless of how they as professionals feel about the new translation. If priests bemoan or decry the new translation, parishoners will take that as yet another reason to think the Church is "old-fashioned and out of touch." If priests acknowledge that the language is unfamiliar and then explore its meanings and the reasons for the statements (in particular in homilies, with connection to the Gospel and NT readings, but also in bulletin inserts and such), the "difficulty" will actually become an avenue to increased understanding and identification with the Truths of our Faith (as your own intimate reflection on the creed did for you as you prepared your book).

One friend says the publishers will make money tha...

2009-10-28T12:07:54.821-04:00

One friend says the publishers will make money that might be better spent helping people in need. Unfortunately, right or wrong, I get the impression this is being done to "reform the reform." At least it is not Latin.

The bishops of Pennsylvania decided that for the p...

2009-10-27T10:22:08.086-04:00

The bishops of Pennsylvania decided that for the present we shouldn't receive the cup, and that the Peace should be passed with a smile and a nod. I think that's a reasonable decision, and don't mind the temporary change.

I can only wonder what the Orthodox are doing, given that they share a spoon.

I don't think we can have it both ways: At first ...

2009-10-26T09:02:47.555-04:00

I don't think we can have it both ways: At first we have said that the Eucharist from the cup is not harmful because there is alcohol in it and we wipe the chalice. Now we are concerned about the health concerns. My protestant freinds are saying "I told you so."

Why does the Catholic Church almost always end up ...

2009-10-24T10:51:22.671-04:00

Why does the Catholic Church almost always end up aligning with right wing, fascist political parties? - Franco, Mussolini, Ustache in Croatia, arguably Hitler, Bush. Hitler was "pro-military", banned abortion and jailed homosexuals. Is that really what the Catholic Church wants?

gblaxton, are you talking about Harcourt, the form...

2009-10-23T09:30:51.114-04:00

gblaxton, are you talking about Harcourt, the former parent company, or Harcourt Religion, which is now Our Sunday Visitor?

What is your awareness/comment about the Harcourt ...

2009-10-23T09:26:58.842-04:00

What is your awareness/comment about the Harcourt tie to Planned Parenthood and the controversial content in some of the textbooks?

signed,
A faithful subscriber and catechist

Wow. What a negative focus on a solid and even hum...

2009-10-22T23:20:56.763-04:00

Wow. What a negative focus on a solid and even humble response by West. This news brief seems to hone in on only the negative aspects of his statement ("For any way my own folly", etc.). This looks like some selective editing.

Among other things, West did not compare Hefner to JPII in a favorable light--the host did. I've seen him speak on this issue and watched it again on YouTube ("The Playboy and the Pope"). He was merely saying that both recognized that sex, in its essence, was very good. On his videos on You Tube,
West then goes on to point out how the two then radically depart. JPII reveals the beauty and truth of sex; Hefner denigrates it. I think we need to cut this guy some slack. From what I understand, he's leading many to the truth of Catholic teaching.

Well, I appreciate that our priest trusts us to ma...

2009-10-22T21:40:11.153-04:00

Well, I appreciate that our priest trusts us to make our own choices. Our parish has not issued any guidelines. Each adult makes choices for themselves and their children.

As a nurse I have to laugh at the suggestion that receiving in the hand is more hygienic! Hands are usually filthy- especially children's. To ask the priest to touch everyone's hands at Mass is not just a risk to parishioners, but to himself.

I think the rule should be that everyone should receive on the tounge or by intinction- Believe me- that's less of a risk than a lot of hand contact.

I could tell you many awful stories of what I'v seen people do with their hands at Mass before stepping up to receive communion, but I'll just say that it ranges from picking noses to picking gum off the bottom of their shoes!!

Are there hand-sanitizer gels in place on buses, t...

2009-10-22T18:57:23.528-04:00

Are there hand-sanitizer gels in place on buses, trains, planes, in nightclubs, bars, movie-theatres, football stadiums, and other place where large crowds are gathering in confined spaces. Are the surfaces in these places regularly wiped clean of any infectious material that a hand might have left there.

Maybe so, but all I seem to hear about is how you're likely to get infected in Church.

Thanks to Leticia for sharing this on Facebook! I...

2009-10-22T15:28:08.867-04:00

Thanks to Leticia for sharing this on Facebook! I have to agree. My 4th child, John Michael, is 23 months old and has Down syndrome. While I didn't have prenatal testing at age 40, I was strongly encouraged to do testing. Fortunately, my OB is pro-life and didn't push. I have found in our own parish much support and love from the parishioners and the young priest who baptized our son. Our Catholic school principal has approached me about including John Michael in the school when he's old enough. I was very moved by the support and care given to our family. The love and joy that John Michael brings to those around him is pure. His gifts continue to unfold as he grows and we look forward to who he will become.

I think adults can make choices for themselves: ta...

2009-10-22T14:50:48.006-04:00

I think adults can make choices for themselves: taking precautions for catching the flu, staying home when ill, watching over the children, and all. We don't need bishops or pastors altering liturgical procedures.

That said, I have no problem with people bowing instead of shaking hands. As long as clergy realize that they aren't empowered to omit the Rite of Peace.

It's so encouraging to hear the Archbishop talk ab...

2009-10-22T13:53:08.127-04:00

It's so encouraging to hear the Archbishop talk about the importance of supporting mothers whose unborn baby has an adverse diagnosis. Thank you for sharing it here.
We have to spread this message of hope till no mother feels that she must terminate her child for fear of the future and lack of knowlege about the blessings these special children bring.
My daughter Christina, age 7 has Down syndrome and she made us all better Catholics; less impatient, less selfish,less judgemental. She reminds us to pray as a family, to forgive readily, and hug more often.

Our parish doesn't give us Holy Communion under th...

2009-10-22T10:03:49.518-04:00

Our parish doesn't give us Holy Communion under the species of blood until, I think, March.

However, I wish they'd also go straight to the Lamb Of God and forego the Sign of Peace as well. Some people don't care if they're ill or not, they shake hands anyway as it's their habit to do so.

It just makes for good sense, especially when we're dealing with the H1N1 and in our town we already have several cases, one of which is hospitalized at the hospital where I work.

The Church will receive this group, more or less i...

2009-10-21T11:48:28.150-04:00

The Church will receive this group, more or less intact, and allow some of their liturgical traditions (and at least the current married priests) to continue. There is a division among current Catholics about liturgy. This includes what songs are proper, which direction the priest should face, holding hands during the Our Father, etc. This might add to that division.

I am a prayer partner involved in the 40 Days for ...

2009-10-19T23:37:22.023-04:00

I am a prayer partner involved in the 40 Days for Life fall campaign. This video makes me so sad.

Why are so many people bashing the President? I s...

2009-10-16T08:44:26.805-04:00

Why are so many people bashing the President? I sense that many have a political agenda.

I found this article very informative. Obama appe...

2009-10-16T03:57:45.878-04:00

I found this article very informative. Obama appears to be a fine man.