Huh?

"We would question, however, any policy that is more pro-fetus than actually pro-life. If the rights of the unborn trump all of the rights of all of those who are already born, that is a distortion, too — if there's such an emphasis on that."

"We have been, in good faith, raising concerns about some of the church's teachings on sexuality. The problem being that the teaching and interpretation of the faith can't remain static and really needs to be reformulated, rethought in light of the world we live in."

Just a few choice quotes from a recent interview NPR had with Sister Pat Farrell, the president of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious and the vice president of the Sisters of St. Francis in Dubuque, Iowa. Check out the whole article here if you like. Judas would be proud.

All I can say is:

AVE MARIA, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Iesus. Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, nunc, et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen. 

Kyrie eleison. Christe eleison. Kyrie eleison.

For some odd reason Bob Dylan's "Masters of War" also comes to mind.

Cardinal Burke cautions against over-use of concelebration :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Cardinal Burke cautions against over-use of concelebration :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)

Thought I'd share these comments by the Holy Father on Catholic education after I heard of a Catholic parish/school that has chosen to hire a marketing director over a director of religious education.

Given by the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI this past Saturday to a group of American Bishops (full text here):

"Before all else, I would acknowledge the great progress that has been made in recent years in improving catechesis, reviewing texts and bringing them into conformity with the Catechism of the Catholic Church."

.....

"It is no exaggeration to say that providing young people with a sound education in the faith represents the most urgent internal challenge facing the Catholic community in your country. The deposit of faith is a priceless treasure which each generation must pass on to the next by winning hearts to Jesus Christ and shaping minds in the knowledge, understanding and love of his Church."

....

"First, as we know, the essential task of authentic education at every level is not simply that of passing on knowledge, essential as this is, but also of shaping hearts. There is a constant need to balance intellectual rigor in communicating effectively, attractively and integrally, the richness of the Church’s faith with forming the young in the love of God, the praxis of the Christian moral and sacramental life and, not least, the cultivation of personal and liturgical prayer."

....

"In every aspect of their education, students need to be encouraged to articulate a vision of the harmony of faith and reason capable of guiding a life-long pursuit of knowledge and virtue."

....

"The Christian commitment to learning, which gave birth to the medieval universities, was based upon this conviction that the one God, as the source of all truth and goodness, is likewise the source of the intellect’s passionate desire to know and the will’s yearning for fulfilment in love."

.....

"Firmly grounded in this vision of the intrinsic interplay of faith, reason and the pursuit of human excellence, every Christian intellectual and all the Church’s educational institutions must be convinced, and desirous of convincing others, that no aspect of reality remains alien to, or untouched by, the mystery of the redemption and the Risen Lord’s dominion over all creation."

------------------------------------------

Back to my comments: 

In general, who is more likely to implement these words of the Holy Father, a marketing director or a director of religious education? I know that the state of religious education in the United States over the past 40 years has been pretty weak to say the least. Based on the above comments, I think the Holy Father realizes this too. And sure, a lot of us have even lost so much trust in DRE's and Catholic schools that we opt for home-schooling to implement an authentic Catholic education. But, overall, I would still argue that, for a parish, hiring someone with the direct mission of teaching the truths of the faith to children, especially the right person, is better than hiring someone to implement a business strategy designed to increase market share. Even better would be holy Pastors, Priests, and Religious to teach the Faith. 

Here's an idea, preach the Gospel. Here's another idea, stay faithful to the Magisterium of the Church. And here's one more, teach your children to live and love the Faith. I bet if you do these right, you won't need a marketing director to come in and re-vamp your weekly bulletin to draw people in. Just a guess though. 

Good Old Chesterton

A LITTLE LITANY

by G.K. Chesterton

---

When God turned back eternity and was young,
Ancient of Days, grown little for your mirth
(As under the low arch the land is bright)
Peered through you, gate of heaven--and saw the earth.

Or shutting out his shining skies awhile
Built you about him for a house of gold
To see in pictured walls his storied world
Return upon him as a tale is told.

Or found his mirror there; the only glass
That would not break with that unbearable light
Till in a corner of the high dark house
God looked on God, as ghosts meet in the night.

Star of his morning; that unfallen star
In that strange starry overturn of space
When earth and sky changed places for an hour
And heaven looked upwards in a human face.

Or young on your strong knees and lifted up
Wisdom cried out, whose voice is in the street,
And more than twilight of twiformed cherubim
Made of his throne indeed a mercy-seat.

Or risen from play at your pale raiment's hem
God, grown adventurous from all time's repose,
Or your tall body climed the ivory tower
And kissed upon your mouth the mystic rose.

Analytical this...

CNN brings us a report of a new study which allegedly shows that analytical thinking decreases religious belief. "Religious belief is intuitive - and analytical thinking can undermine intuitive thinking," says one of the co-authors of the study.

Now, on its face the article doesn't seem to be an outright attack on religion. According to the article, the only thing the study claims to show is that people who engage in analytical thinking are more likely to experience a decrease in religious belief. Likewise, the same co-author of the study points out that his team doesn't think analytical thinking is better than intuitive thinking.

That's nice. But I'd like to zero in on a couple points here. First, is the co-author right? Is religious belief merely intuitive? The general definition of intuitive is, "based on what one feels to be true even without conscious reasoning." Is religious belief simply what one feels to be true without any conscious reasoning? Sed contra, take a look at Article 3 of the Second Question of the First Part of St. Thomas's Summa. Or for that matter, take a look at the whole Summa Theologica. Looks like St. Thomas's religious beliefs are based on a little more than feelings don't you think?

Second, what's up with the "my team doesn't think analytical thinking is better than intuitive thinking?" The common definition of analytical is, "using logical reasoning." So is the guy really trying to say that his team doesn't think that using logical reasoning is any better than simply going with what one feels to be true without any reasoning? I guess that makes sense in today's relativistic culture where belief in objective truth has been abandoned.

Third, it seems like the real thesis of this article by CNN is, "Hey dummies, smart people don't believe in God." It's the old faith v. reason false dichotomy in a little different package. The thesis being that faith is incompatible with reason. This is directly contrary to Catholic teaching. The Catholic Encyclopedia's entry on Fideism puts it nicely, "Rejecting both rationalism and fideism, [the Church] teaches that human reason is capable (physical ability) of knowing the moral and religious truths of the natural order; that it can prove with certainty the existence of God, the immortality of the soul, and can acknowledge most certainly the teaching of God; that, however, in the present conditions of life, it needs (of moral necessity) the help of revelation to acquire a sufficient knowledge of all the natural truths necessary to direct human life according to the precepts of natural religion."

And Fr. Robert Barron's take here.

St. Athanasius, Ora Pro Nobis

Fr. Dwight Longenecker posted a nice little summary of Christological heresies over at his blog "Standing on my Head." I've posted titles of the heresies below; check out the link to his site for the definitions. Most, if not all, of these are still around today. And in response to the heresies: The Catechism of the Catholic Church. Happy St. Athanasius Day.

Christological Heresies - Fr. Dwight Longenecker

Ebionism, Adoptionism, Docetism, Arianism, Apollinarianism, Nestorianism, Monophysitism

Speaking of a little fun here and there

Turns out eating popcorn, popped in lard, with a cold beer in hand, after a shot of Wild Turkey, may be good for you after all. No, seriously. Of course, if you are a good distributist, you'll have raised the pig, corn, wheat, barley, and hopps, butchered the pig, brewed the beer, shucked the corn, and distilled the whiskey yourself. If you're just an alright distributist, on the other hand, you simply purchased your neighbor's excess. :)

Inaugural Post

The goal is to use this blog as a forum to discuss and defend the Catholic faith, to give a nod to classical philosophy now and then, to cover and criticize the various insidious political and legal policies throughout the nation, and to promote the economic and civil virtues of subsidiarity and solidarity. Of course, please forgive me if I stray from these time to time and have a little fun. Welcome.