David Ancell / Thursday, December 19, 2002 / Comments(0)
Take a look at Gregory Popcak’s post on why he continues to post the new revelations of the scandal in the Church.
Truthfully, I have mixed feelings about the whole thing. As Catholics, we need to speak against evil. Hopefully, some of the posts will be a rally call for us to stand and speak against evil. The world needs to know that Catholics do not tolerate this stuff. They aren’t going to hear it from the secular press. Furthermore, if done in a spirit of prayer, it can be a means to encourage others to pray and do penance for the Church in America. Let’s hope that Popcak and others are praying before they hit that “Post” button.
On the other hand, one can run the risk of spending so much time blogging the sins of others that we forget to reflect on our own sins. One can become hardened with pride and anger. One can basically assist the media in attacking the Church. We have to be careful at what we buy from the secular media. If we spread something that turns out not to be true, then we have effectively cooperated with calumny. Let’s not forget that writing about the scandal can also be a means to increase readership, even if by bringing out anger.
Popcak mentions that he keeps posting new revelations so that we never forget what is going on. However, he runs the risk of desensitizing us. For example, we hear a lot of news stories about murders and natural disasters taking a lot of lives. Have you ever heard a story about a disaster in which one person was killed and been tempted to think “Oh, good, it was only one person this time,” as though that were insignificant? I know that I have become desensitized to hearing about the tragic loss of life.
I do think that some commenting on things that have happened is good. Heaven knows that I do so. However, it must be done with great care and prayer. For starters, let’s ask God to help us see the evil in what is happening and be willing to do whatever he asks us to do about it.
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David Ancell / Thursday, December 19, 2002 / Comments(0)
I just love this Catholic Exchange article by Mary Beth Bonacci. She decries the “most people” standard of determining right and wrong. In our democratic society, we may be easily swayed into thinking that what “most people” think is always right. I’ve heard this in situations at work where someone will say “the majority of the team thinks . . . ” as though our workplace were a democracy.
Often times, however, what we try to pass as what “most people” believe is really what we believe. In other words, we assume that “most people” agree with us. In this case, we are only trying to justify our own belief.
In my case, I know that “most people” don’t agree with a lot of things I believe. I wouldn’t even go so far as to say that “most Catholics” agree with the Magisterium. I think they don’t. However, God is a far greater majority than any number of people.
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David Ancell / Wednesday, December 18, 2002 / Comments(0)
Check out this site where David McCreery sends a letter Fed Ex to Santa Claus at the North Pole. He even has a picture of the letter and airbill.
It turns out, the package was delivered to Basalt, CO and signed for by S. Claus (signature on file).
Hmmmm . . . I’d like to know who really got that letter. Maybe he’ll write back.
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David Ancell / Tuesday, December 17, 2002 / Comments(0)
I am going to have to add this post to my list of best posts by others as soon as I get back to Memphis. This tells you how to tell if your liturgy is inhabited by a Liturgeist. This is hilarious!
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David Ancell / Tuesday, December 17, 2002 / Comments(0)
May I give a kind of flipside to my last post?
While I agree with leaving bishops who have neglected in our office for a time so that they can face the music, I don’t think it should be for too long. Perhaps the time has come for some house cleaning. Weakland went first (though he really had reached retirement age) and was replaced by Dolan. Law is gone. I suspect that several others will follow.
We need good shepherds. We need to support them. Now, more than ever, the Church needs bold proclaimers of the Gospel.
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David Ancell / Tuesday, December 17, 2002 / Comments(0)
I find myself in complete agreement with Mark Shea on why the Pope isn’t buying into the “throw the #$@%$# out!” routine when it comes to bishops. If all of these bishops were allowed to resign, it would amount to no less than allowing them to neglect their office and then bow out quickly just as everything comes crashing down. It would be like giving them a special life raft to get the heck out of the sinking ship.
I also agree that our leadership is really a reflection on us. Let’s face it . . . if we as Catholics extended support to bishops and priests who defended the faith, it would be much easier for them to do so. How many of us say nothing when a member of the clergy speaks boldly but are eager to excoriate him when he messes up? I’m afraid I’m guilty of that one. I know that being in Memphis with people my age who actually believe the Church’s teachings made a world of difference in my life. Surely it would strengthen the faith of a priest or bishop.
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David Ancell / Monday, December 16, 2002 / Comments(0)
We’ve all heard of David Letterman’s Stupid Pet Tricks; now we need a show about stupid Church tricks. Oh, wait, here is an article about one such trick.
It is true that there may be a domino effect in the resignation of bishops. It is time to clean house. Hopefully, they will be replaced with orthodox bishops who will uphold the true Catholic faith. Then we will see about this so-called “power of the laity.”
Sadly, it seems that this has the potential to be turned into a power struggle. For some, it already has been. May the Lord have mercy on them! May they be converted to an attitude more like the one in this post by Dennis Schenkel.
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David Ancell / Saturday, December 14, 2002 / Comments(0)
I have been informed that there is this new blog by a young lady in college trying to live her Catholic faith in a secular world. The posts that I read are great. I have added her to my links. I don’t see her full name, so I’ll use the name of the blog in the link.
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David Ancell / Saturday, December 14, 2002 / Comments(0)
I have spent most of my weekend at an Advent Conference featuring Tim Staples. More information available on the Spiritual Pyromania blog.
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David Ancell / Saturday, December 14, 2002 / Comments(0)
I am going to tail one of my recent posts a bit, but I really lament the lack of good spiritual formation available. Yeah, I know I can go and read. Believe me, I do. However, I want something that will give me the big picture and help me apply it to my life. There are even things that I know that I forget to live.
For example, take the topic of suffering. Some things that I have read make it sound like the more you suffer, the holier you are. At my last confession, the priest told me that my calling is likely what I enjoy and feel comfortable doing. If I enjoyed working in a soup kitchen, then that is likely something that God called me to. When reading St. Frances de Sales, my patron, he seems to make a point to say that things that you don’t enjoy are more meritorious.
The other issue is something that I have posted a few times on this blog. I had one priest tell me that “The only thing that Jesus was intolerant of was intolerance.” I believe that statement was a bunch of malarkey, and I have a hard time trusting that priest nowadays. Another priest said “Always say positive things about people.” Sounds great until you realize that sometimes it doesn’t correspond to the reality that one has to deal with. Two other priests said that we do indeed need to say things that may be offensive, but one made a point to tell me to do it out of love.
Then, there is the subject of assertiveness. How defensive should one be of one’s own rights? One school of thought says not to defend yourself against an accusation unless it would cause scandal. St. Frances de Sales said that you have a right to defend your reputation. However, looking further into this, what if I want to demand more pay (or a bonus) from my employer. I don’t really need more money, but I think I have done something to earn it (e.g. traveled to Nashville).
Yes, I know I should pray. I at least try to. It still is hard to deal with the seeming contradiction. This is why I wish I could just go away somewhere for a year and receive authentic formation on how to live as a Christian in the world. I have studied much and do know things, but applying them is still difficult.
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