Occasional reflections on religion, culture, politics, and anything else that comes into my mind...
AMID POLITICAL DIVISIVENESS
WE NEED TO TALK AND LISTEN
John Pavlovitz is a minister, a writer, and a rising star of liberal Protestantism. His blog, “Stuff that Needs to Be Said,” has a wide readership, and his books are prominent among Amazon.com’s Christian Living titles. [Read more…] about A Tale of Two Hats
A GIFTED PRIEST
MOVES ON
Hardly a day goes by without someone pontificating on how to achieve a “proper” worshipful atmosphere at Mass.
You have your advocates of “sanctity.” You have your advocates of “welcoming.”
You have your organ music lovers. You have your guitar fans.
And don’t even go near the ongoing debate over communion in the hand.
For all that, it’s been my experience that the greatest determinant of parish spirit — both in communal worship and in overall faith life — is the pastor.
The priest sets the tone.
A good priest brings all the factions together, bridging divergent expectations and points of view.
A great priest creates an atmosphere of love.
Fr. Joe Krupp is such a priest.
RELIGION IS BEING USED
AS A WHIP AGAINST TRUMP
There are certain Facebook pages I visit regularly to keep up with the topics that agitate folks on the Progressive Left. And I’ve discovered something quite interesting…
If you want to encourage a lefty agnostic to read the Bible, tell him it’s a great source of material for bashing Donald Trump.
Ever since media began focusing on the practice of detaining illegal-immigrant kids separately from adults, Facebook has become a veritable Scripture study. You needn’t look hard to find passages such as…
“Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt.”
— Exodus 22:21
“There shall be one standard for you; it shall be for the stranger as well as the native…”
—Leviticus 24:22
“Cursed is anyone who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow.”
— Deuteronomy 27:19
“Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner.”
— Jeremiah 22:3
Indeed, you’d think Progressives have their iPhones set to stream “The Bible Answer Man” 24/7.
IRELAND COMPLETES
ITS QUIET REVOLUTION
How interesting it’s been — no, revealing, actually — to observe the absolute glee with which Ireland’s legalization of abortion has been met.
Facebook is awash in photos and video footage of people celebrating wildly.
There appears to be no mixed emotions, no acknowledgement of moral ambiguity, about this reversal that’s taken place in historically Catholic Ireland. All is joy, merriment, revelry.
Pass around the Guinness, lads! Crank up the volume on that U2 album! Good old Bono was with us!
POPE FRANCIS SETS OFF
ANOTHER CONTROVERSY
My Facebook news feed has been ablaze ever since a report broke suggesting that Pope Francis assured a gay man that God made him homosexual and that’s just fine.
Did the Holy Father really say such a thing?
I’ve read numerous reports that cite the Pope’s alleged remark…
“You have to be happy with who you are. God made you this way and loves you this way, and the pope loves you this way.”
…all set forth in pretty much the same words.
But does this flood of reportage rise to the level of multi-source confirmation? Or is it a matter of citing a single source, and therefore, echoing the same possibly inaccurate quote?
REEXAMINING WHY
JESUS WAS CRUCIFIED
Why Jesus had to die on the cross is a question that becomes a major stumbling block for many people when they first consider the Christian story in a serious way.
It doesn’t seem to make sense that someone who touched people’s lives for the better, as Jesus clearly did (physically, morally, spiritually), should have been seen as a threat.
What could possibly have made anybody wish to harm him — much less put him to such a grizzly, tortuous death?
My novel, MY BROTHER’S KEEPER, attempts to answer that question in an engaging fictional narrative. But back in 2013, when I launched this blog, my first post was an essay that addressed the issue of Jesus’ execution.
That piece was republished by the online journal, American Thinker, and I have reposted it at Eastertime in succeeding years.
My approach is not theological. I don’t go into the salvific power of Christ’s death and resurrection. Rather, I examine the social, economic and political circumstances surrounding Jesus’ mission (as I do in the novel as well).
Since, 2,000 years later, much confusion and misunderstanding remain, it’s timely to examine the question once again…
JESUS’ FOSTER FATHER AS
A TIMELESS ROLE MODEL
The earthy father of Jesus receives official honor twice during the liturgical year.
March 19 has been his feast day since, as they say, “time immemorial.” And in 1955 Pope Pius XII designated May 1 as the special feast of “St. Joseph the Worker,” highlighting Joseph’s worldly vocation as a carpenter or builder (tekton in Greek).
The pope’s intention was to provide a Christian alternative to May Day labor celebrations being promoted worldwide by the Soviet Union and the Communist Internationale. His idea caught on, and that feast is now celebrated by workers throughout the Catholic world.
St. Joseph plays a prominent role in my novel about the family of Jesus, MY BROTHER’S KEEPER. And on the first Father’s Day after the book’s publication Nancy Hastings of the Gatehouse Media Group did a brief feature article highlighting the unique challenges faced by St. Joseph, as I sketched them in my novel.
It’s only right St. Joseph is honored as a model of the fatherly virtues.
Those virtues are under stress these days. Much of the crime, violence, extremism and sexual perversion we see around us can be attributed to the collapse of fatherhood that’s evident throughout large portions of our society (and those of other nations as well).
Appealing to St. Joseph as an intercessor in this difficult period would be most appropriate. And if you don’t accept the Catholic notion of saints interceding on our behalf, then merely try invoking the name of Joseph in the prayers you address directly to God. Either way, I believe Joseph is a powerful helper standing by — and an example for all men with children to raise, young lives to mold.
So to mark the Feast of St. Joseph — and even though it’s not Father’s Day — here’s Nancy’s article…
IT’S GOOD TO REMIND OURSELVES
OF OUR FLAWS AND FAILINGS
Ash Wednesday kicks off Lent this week. Perhaps some thoughts I posted back in 2014 (and then reposted last year) might still be of interest…
____________
I have to confess that there are certain Catholic pious practices I don’t entirely get.
It probably reflects the fact that I’m an adult convert and wasn’t raised in the Church — or that I’ve made less progress on my spiritual journey than I like to assume.
One of the things I don’t get is fasting.
As I understand it, the Church advocates self-denial as a way of detaching ourselves from fleshly preoccupations. Yet I’m never more preoccupied with concerns of the flesh (that is to say, eating) than when I deny myself food.
ONGOING PRAYERS FOR PEACE
AMID HOPE AND UNCERAINTY
Christmas 2017 caps a year of great improvements mixed with continuing conflicts — and some ominous signs of problems ahead.
Our prayers for peace remain all too relevant.
So once again I post my little variation on Franz Gruber’s Christmas classic, “Silent Night.”
I wrote these lines for the Christmas concerts presented by my 1980s music group, Company, which I’ve mentioned from time to time. Based in Colorado, Company was a forerunner of today’s Independent Catholic Music Movement. We did an annual benefit program for a regional charity called Christmas Unlimited. And the high point was always our rendition of “Silent Night” that included this insert…
THE LORD’S PRAYER
EMPHASIZES CONTRAST
Pope Francis and Donald Trump are susceptible to the same temptation: to speak in ways that are a bit too spontaneous.
Each is a shoot-from-the-hip kind of guy, and this characteristic has gained each an enormous, loyal following. Unfortunately, it also inclines them to say things that aren’t fully thought out, that spur the media to wild speculations, and that make people go a little nuts.
Francis’ recent remark about the Lord’s Prayer — or as Catholics call it, the Our Father — is a prime example. Hysteria reigns over the expectation that he’s going to change the one prayer which virtually all Christians (and quite a few non-Christians) know by heart.
SURVEY OFFERS INSIGHTS
ABOUT MUSIC AT MASS
Advent is a confusing time.
The liturgical season that began on December 3 anticipates Christ’s return in glory. But its timing — immediately before Christmas — and the themes infusing its weekly readings point also to Jesus’ first appearance in a Bethlehem stable.
So Advent feels like, and tends to function as, a run-up to that beloved silent night, holy night. Not to mention serving as a reminder that time for holiday shopping is running out.
To make things even more confusing, the new church year begins with Advent. This is in contrast to the turn of our secular calendar a few weeks later.
For those churches that subscribe to liturgical materials services — OCP, GIA, etc. — Advent also brings new music books. And with those fresh, unwrinkled paperback volumes inevitably comes renewed discussion about the music we use at Mass.
Consideration of that topic in my parish was enriched this year by a survey with which we attempted to discern people’s preferences in hymns, instrumental accompaniment, and song leadership. Worshippers at all Masses were asked to complete and return a brief questionnaire.