David Ancell / Sunday, August 18, 2002 / Comments(0)
This morning I attended the Tridentine Mass (the old Latin Mass) at Blessed Sacrament Church in Memphis. If you haven’t been to a Tridentine Mass, it’s a worthwhile thing to do (just make sure it’s approved by the Church, as the one at Blessed Sacrament is). While I think I’ll go back on occasion, I don’t think it’s something I’d do every Sunday.
I’ve heard people say it’s a more reverent Mass. I didn’t think it was necessarily so, but I noticed a big difference in the reverence that the people showed compared to most places I’ve been. Even the children were exceptionally well-behaved. They could sit still better than I could. The people to whom I talked were very nice as well. I wish people were like this at all Catholic churches, regardless of the Mass used.
This being said, there are parts of the Mass where I prefer the older way of doing things. I think having the priest face the same way as the people during the Liturgy of the Eucharist is a beautiful symbol of our movement together towards God. It makes a much better show of unity (or even “community”) that the “church-in-the-round” structure in some modern churches which serves only as a symbol of a community that is closed in on itself.
During the Tridentine Mass, we also knelt at some kneelers (a make-shift communion rail?) for communion. Given that this is the Lord himself whom we are receiving, I can’t understand why we aren’t kneeling at every Mass when we receive him. It would be a great way to reinforce the dogma of the Real Presence.
It’s my understanding that both of these things that I’ve mentioned can be done at a Novus Ordo without violating a single rubric. My question is: Why don’t we?
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David Ancell / Sunday, August 18, 2002 / Comments(0)
It looks like there’s been a response from the Vatican saying that no decision has been made on the U.S. Bishops’ policy. In fact, it seems that some bishops are awaiting the decision from Rome before taking drastic action, wisely, in my opinion (which differs from the authors of the linked-to article that says that some bishops “have not yet lived up to that promise.”)
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David Ancell / Saturday, August 17, 2002 / Comments(0)
Catholic World News seems to have some information to suggest that the Vatican will send the U.S. Bishops back to the ol’ drawing board. Here’s another article on Catholic Exchange concerning not only this, but also the document on evangelization of Jews. I don’t know why that particular document was deemed necessary at this moment, and I admit I have not read it.
Anyway, as much as I dread seeing the nasty media backlash complete with full commentary by Frs. Richard McBrien and Andrew Greeley, I hope the “zero tolerance” policy comes back with a big red “X” on it. I find it less than Christian to depose priests who committed a single offense 25 years ago and have been penitent ever since. One might argue that we don’t know if they’ll ever abuse again, but the fact is that we don’t know for sure whether or not any priest will abuse someone, regardless of his past.
We need our Bishops to make their judgement, and then stand by it regardless of public opinion. This goes for teaching as well as judicial matters. How will this be accomplished? Well, remember that the apostles often misunderstood Jesus. When Jesus was lead off to be crucified, Peter denied him three times. All of the apostles except John made a run for it. However, after Jesus rose and ascended into Heaven, something happened that changed the apostles. They became bold preachers who (with one exception) were violently put to death for their faith. What was it that happened? The Holy Spirit descended upon them. This is what we need to pray for today, not just for our Bishops, but for all people in the Church.
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David Ancell / Saturday, August 17, 2002 / Comments(0)
I’m sure there are a some people visiting me for the first time. Mark Shea was kind enough to announce the existence of my blog on his yesterday. I’m also now part of the webring St. Blog’s Parish. Maybe it seems a bit self-serving, but what’s the point of me doing this if no one reads it?
Weekends give me a time to think and write more. I work a full-time job doing second shift, so my weekday stuff is often written quickly while I try to get to work or to bed. I do want to post one thing that may have easily gone unnoticed. In the midst of the “contest” to find Miss Emily Stimpson a suitor, it’s possible that this great reflection on Christian singleness got missed. I must admit that I do appreciate the time that I have, being a single, but I tend to think that I would learn be more self-giving in another vocation. I need to pray that God will grant me the clarity to know what he wants me to do, and the courage to do it.
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David Ancell / Friday, August 16, 2002 / Comments(0)
Oh, and do please let me clarify my last post. I don’t just want to be an attack dog. I want to support all that is good and holy as well. If all I do is complain, I will be one bitter man when I grow old (which will be a long time from now-I’m only 27).
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David Ancell / Friday, August 16, 2002 / Comments(0)
If you’ve been following other Catholic blogs, you’ve probably noticed a lot of strong statements. My own blogs may be regarded as some as such. I’ve sought some advice as well as e-mailed a couple of other bloggers whom I like to read. We all seem to have, to some degree, a struggle. How do we make strong statements when needed and still be charitable?
Like many Catholics, I have my share of frustration regarding what’s going on in the Church. I love the Church and her teachings. However, even before I was baptized in 1991, I had some sense that the Church’s teachings weren’t really being taught. People in the Church didn’t seem to know or understand them. If anyone spoke in the Church against her teachings, little was done about it. It was like the NAACP invited a Ku Klux Klan member to speak and then didn’t try to refute what he said. Now, this has culminated in this sexual abuse scandal that we see all over the news. Then, when the time comes to address it, the symptom (the sexual abuse) is treated (in the wrong way, in my opinion), but the disease (lack of proclamation of authentic Catholic teaching) and its cause go unaddressed. I cannot explain the grief in my soul.
My flesh wants to lash out and say uncharitable things, often in the name of making my blog entertaining. However, I really want to be an authentic, charitable Christian man. I don’t want to be an obstacle to someone’s acceptance of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and his Church. At the same time, I don’t think that all strong statements are uncharitable. Sometimes, the truth needs to be strongly proclaimed. I’ve heard people say that Jesus wouldn’t make strong statements, but Jesus forcefully drove the money changers out of the temple. If you look at an excellent book by David Mills, The Seeker’s Guide to Knowing the Real Jesus, you’ll see that the early Christians had some colorful words for the heretics.
So what’s my point . . . . I, like some others I have talked to, am struggling to discern how God wants me to use this blog. I try to attack bad ideas, not people. I do not want to commit a sin of rash judgement by judging someone’s intent without objective evidence of it. I really don’t want to be involved in detraction or calumny. Bishop-bashing is something I want to avoid like the plague. At the same time, I want to preach against the evil of our day, whether going on in the Church or elsewhere, but I have to be careful to do this without forgetting the evil in my own life for which I need repentance.
Any ideas? Comments? Please feel free to write.
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David Ancell / Friday, August 16, 2002 / Comments(0)
Here’s a blog from Gregory Popcak on pre-nuptial agreements. I had some strange wondering as to whether such an agreement could make for an invalid marriage. It appears that it would.
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David Ancell / Thursday, August 15, 2002 / Comments(0)
One should always be very suspicious of “Catholic” groups that are endorsed by the media. Here’s a report on Catholic Exchange about Voice of the Faithful. I’ve looked at their website, and they go out of their way to look like a cordial group trying to help the Church. However, I’m naturally suspicious of these groups, and reports that I’ve seen show my suspicion to be well founded.
With the above being said, there is great temptation to forget that God does love these people. We must pray for their conversion.
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David Ancell / Wednesday, August 14, 2002 / Comments(0)
If you aren’t a subscriber to the Words of Encouragement by Mark Shea and Jeff Cavins, I would encourage you to do so.
Take a look at today’s entry. You can easily go to any secular bookstore and buy books on the “new and improved Jesus” by these “scholars” who have the “historical Jesus” figured out. The aforementioned Word of Encouragement gives the perfect illustration of just how absurd their whole premise is. Did it ever occur to these guys that the people who lived at the time of Jesus probably knew more about what he said and did than they with their Ph.D. earned over 1900 years later?
While you’re at it, you might as well pick up a copy of Mark Shea’s book By What Authority (scroll down the page to find it, but do check out his other stuff, too). It gives an awesome overview of the real grounds for believing in the inspiration of Scripture.
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David Ancell / Tuesday, August 13, 2002 / Comments(0)
I always thought that comic books were supposed to be fun reading for kids, but forget about putting this anywhere near any children I may have. It’s too bad . . . Green Lantern was one of my favorite superheroes as a kid. Why do we need a homosexual “coming out of the closet” story in a comic book?
Even if homosexuality were not an objectively disordered state, this obsessive drive to get the word out is, to say the least, really, really, annoying. The manner in which these people try to prove that they are normal invariably demonstrates the opposite. While it is true that there are people with homosexual tendencies striving to live a chaste life, even this isn’t acceptable subject matter for a comic book.
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