Dominican Idaho

Happy feast of St Thomas!

2012-01-28T06:00:00.025-07:00

This is a repost from last year, with additions!

FAITH - REJECTING ONE ARTICLE OF

"To reject any article of the faith is to reject the faith itself. This is like pulling one stone out of an arch; it is like putting one hole in the hull of a ship. The whole arch tumbles down; the whole ship sinks. A man who has the faith, accepts God's word. Now, God's word has set up the Church as man's infallible teacher and guide. If a man, therefore, rejects one article of the faith, and says that he believes all the other articles, he believes these by his own choice and opinion, not by faith. Rejecting one article of the faith, he rejects the whole authority of the Church, and he rejects the authority of God who has set up and authorized the Church to teach truth. Hence, it is entirely incorrect to say that am man may have lifeless or formless faith in some article of the Creed while he rejects others; such a man has not the faith at all, living or lifeless." Thomas Aquinas, Summa IIa IIae Q5

Sorry, I lost the source of the above quote, which is based on the Summa, as opposed to IN the Summa.

To continue the general idea of Faith, we can turn to the old Catechism's explanation of the article in the Creed:

"I Believe the Holy Catholic Church"

Finally, with regard to the Church, the pastor should teach how to believe the Church can constitute an Article of faith. Although reason and the senses are able to ascertain the existence of the Church, that is, of a society of men on earth devoted and consecrated to Jesus Christ, and although faith does not seem necessary in order to understand a truth which even Jews and Turks do not doubt; nevertheless it is from the light of faith only, not from the deductions of reason, that the mind can grasp those mysteries contained in the Church of God which have been partly made known above and will again be treated under the Sacrament of Holy Orders.

Since, therefore, this Article, no less than the others, is placed above the reach, and defies the strength of the human understanding, most justly do we confess that we know not from human reason, but contemplate with the eyes of faith the origin, offices and dignity of the Church.

This Church was founded not by man, but by the immortal God Himself, who built her upon a most solid rock. The Highest himself, says the Prophet, hath founded her. Hence, she is called the inheritance of God, the people of God. The power which she possesses is not from man but from God.

Since this power, therefore, cannot be of human origin, divine faith can alone enable us to understand that the keys of the. kingdom of heaven are deposited with the Church, that to her has been confided the power of remitting sins," of denouncing excommunication, and of consecrating the real body of Christ; and t)tat her children have not here a permanent dwelling, but look for one above.

We are, therefore, bound to believe that there is one Holy Catholic Church. With regard to the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, we not

only believe them, but also believe in them. But here we make use of a different form of expression, professing to believe the holy, not in the holy Catholic Church. By this difference of expression we distinguish God, the author of all things, from His works, and acknowledge that all the exalted benefits bestowed on the Church are due to God's bounty.

FROM the Legion of Mary on the True Church:

Attacks on the Church on the score of evil-doing, persecution, and lack of zeal could be argued indefinitely, and hopelessly confuse the issue. An element of truth may underlie some charges, and thus add complication to confusion. To satisfy the hostile critic on these and all other minor points of dispute is completely impossible, even if great erudition is enlisted in the task. The course to be taken by the legionary must be that of persistently reducing the discussion to its very simplest elements: that of insisting that God must have left to the world a message - what men call a religion: that such religion, being God's voice, absolutely must be one, clear, consistent, unerring, and must claim divine authority. These characteristics are to be found only in the Catholic Church. There is no other body or system which even claims to possess them. Outside the Church, there is only contradiction and confusion, so that, as Cardinal Newman crushingly puts it: "Either the Catholic religion is verily the coming of the unseen world into this, or that there is nothing positive, nothing dogmatic whither we are going."

There must be a true Church. There can be only one true Church. Where is it, if it is not the Catholic Church? Like blows, ever directed to one spot, this simple line of approach to the Truth has over-whelming effect. Its force is manifest to the simple. It is unanswerable in the heart of the more learned, though he may continue to talk of the sins of the Church. Remind such a one briefly but gently that he proves too much. His objections tell at least as much against any other religious system as they do against the Church. If he proves the Church to be false by proving that Churchmen did wrong, then he has only succeeded in proving that there is no true religion in the world.

The day has gone when a Protestant would claim that his own particular sect had a monopoly of the truth. Nowadays he would more modestly contend that all Churches possess a portion or facet of the truth. But a portion is not enough. That claim is equivalent to an assertion that there is no known truth and no way of finding it. For if a Church has certain doctrines that are true and therefore others that are untrue, what means are there of recognising which is which; when we pick, we may take the ones that are untrue! Therefore the church which says of its doctrines: "Some of these are true", is no help, no guide for the way. It has left you exactly where you were without it.

So, let it be repeated until the logic penetrates: There can be but one true Church; which must not contradict itself, which must possess the whole truth; and which must be able to tell the difference between what is true and what is false.

And if there is still doubt, let John Henry Newman speak to your heart in his essay FAITH AND PRIVATE JUDGEMENT, and learn what that saving faith consists in.

March for Life at Idaho's capital

2012-01-25T10:06:00.000-07:00

I would say that this year's March for Life in Boise had a larger turnout than last year, in spite of weather that was cold and wet. The mass at the Cathedral before the march was standing room only; just 2-3 years ago it attracted only perhaps 200 or so. Parishes and the Knights of Columbus are to be commended for making organized efforts to bring people from out of town. Even the Franciscan Sisters of Adoration (from Pocatello) came, dressed in their lovely habits! A tremendous witness; the "ministry of presence".

When I took this picture, I was about mid-position in the march on Capital Blvd. I couldn't see either the head or the tail of the procession. Of course, I walk rather slow, so I started at the head and was about the last to arrive! I would hesitate to guess how many were present, but the turnout was good.

The presentations were given at the steps of the statehouse.

Of note was Brandi Swindell (Stanton Healthcare, Rock for Life) who reported on taking portable ultrasound equipment to Washington so children in the womb could testify to Congress!

I saw the Planned Parenthood (sic) advertisement in The Boise Weekly commemorating the day as well. It appears that the death merchants, are mathematically challenges as well as morally challenged; they got the number of years since Roe v Wade wrong!

A couple of the Dominican Lay members had a table at the Cathedral after the march to promote the "Cross of Rembrance", a memoral to children lost in the womb. More on that later!

A wonderful retreat

2012-01-18T09:50:00.000-07:00

The Chapter retreat with Fr Brian Mullady OP was a great success!

Father gave us three presentations on the journey to union with God, based on St Theresa of Avila's Interior Castle and presented according to Garigou Lagrange's Three Ways of the Interior Life. It is clear to me that Father is a gifted teacher; the presentations were both concise and moving.

Saturday was a full day capped by dinner at the lovely home of our Subprioress Carolyn Reese. Father and a couple of intrepid members even sat outside in the 20 degree weather to enjoy cigars! Sunday we convened at the Chapter house for Mass and a potluck lunch, then sent Father to the airport to try and get him home before the snow hit Portland.

Speaking of which, snow has finally hit Boise today, with an expected snowfall of 4 to 8 inches, I've already got at least three inches outside my door. Yes, I stayed home today, beautiful and needed as it is, I don't want to travel in that stuff!

we're told to expect a good week of rain after today, for which we give thanks.

Petition

2012-01-13T12:08:00.001-07:00

Fr John Speekman (Homilies from Australia) has set up a petition asking the Holy Father to restore communion on the tongue.

Click the picture to view and sign the petition

update: The petition has been moved to http://communiononthetongue.blogspot.com/

Retreat with Fr Brian Mullady OP

2012-01-06T16:32:00.000-07:00

Boise, Idaho- Father Brian Mullady, O.P. will lead a daylong retreat at St Paul’s Catholic Student Center in Boise on Saturday, January 14th (1915 University Drive) hosted by the Third Order of St Dominic, Blessed Margaret of Castello Chapter.

Father Mullady is well known for preaching missions and retreats. He is the author of two books and numerous articles, writes the “Questions and Answers” column in Homiletic and Pastoral Review; is a theological consultant to the Institute on Religious Life, and an academician of the Catholic Academy of Science. In addition he is an adjunct professor at Holy Apostle Seminary in Cromwell Connecticut and has had seven series on Mother Angelica’s EWTN television network. He has a 12 CD set on Moral Theology

The day will start at 9AM with mass and morning prayer (from the Breviary) and run until 4:30. There is no charge for the retreat.

Please contact Bonnie Fitzpatrick at 208-249-2635 for more information.

For further information about Fr Mullady: http://fatherbtm.com

Boise's missing altar(s)

2012-01-05T16:59:00.000-07:00

Recently I posted about the high altar which was built for the Cathedral in Boise but went to Utah instead (Got off the train in the wrong city). Thanks to an anonymous combox comment, I've learned that in 1917 the altar was sent from Utah to Lake Charles, LA. The mystery continues. But today I notice that the Utah State History site also has a picture of the St Joseph side altar as well:

Since the style seems to match the main altar rather well, I think it reasonable to assume that not only the main altar, but both side altars were also installed in the respective wrong cathedrals.

This copyrighted picture is from Utah State History collections, here

Tough Franciscans?!

2012-01-05T16:23:00.001-07:00

This item from Fr Z's blog gave me a chuckle, so I'm reprinting it here!
Criminal Serving Time with Monks Begs to be Sent Back to Prison

Criminal serving his sentence with monks pleads to be sent back to prison… because monastery life is too hard

A convicted criminal who was serving out his sentence in a monastery has escaped for the second time and asked to be sent back to prison because life was too tough.

Thief David Catalano, 31, was sent to a Santa Maria degli Angeli community run by Capuchin monks in Sicily last November.

But he found their austere lifetstyle too tough to handle and soon escaped. After a short while on the run he was caught by police and sent back.

On Monday he fled for the second time in six weeks, only to swiftly turn himself in at a police station and beg officers to send him back to jail in the nearby town of Nicosia.

He told the stunned policemen: ‘Prison is better than being at that hostel run by monks.’

A police spokesman said: ‘Catalano arrived out of the blue and said there was no way he could stay on with the monks.

‘He said it was too tough and he wanted to go back to prison, so we happily obliged and he is now back behind bars serving the rest of his sentence.

‘Life with the monks can be pretty tough – there are no mod cons and they are up early and go to bed early. There are no luxuries at the hostel and the monks run a very austere regime.’

The Santa Maria degli Angeli community is based in a monastery near Enna on the island of Sicily.

It has been run as a halfway house by the Capuchin friars for more than 12 years with around 60 prisoners accommodated there as they near the end of their sentences.
[...]

Thank you, Fr Z!

Orestes Brownson and the twin evils of Capitalism & Socialism

2011-12-16T11:28:00.000-07:00

The following quote is from Orestes Brownson, quoted by Michael Greaney at Just Third Way blog.

"Communion with God through Creation and Incarnation is religion, distinctively taken, which binds man to God as his first cause, and carries him onward to God as his final cause; communion through the material world is expressed by the word property; and communion with God through humanity is society. Religion, society, property, are the three terms that embrace the whole of man's life, and express the essential means and conditions of his existence, his development, and his perfection, or the fulfillment of his existence, the attainment of the end for which he is created."

Michael has a multipost series on Brownsen and the mistaken view that the only options are Capitalism or Socialism. you can start the series here.

Brownson is on my reading list but hasn't floated to the top yet.

From Steve Ray

2011-12-13T16:53:00.001-07:00

Vietnamese Father of 50 Babies – all saved from abortion
by Steve Ray on December 13, 2011

This man is a modern day hero. Watch the video to see his incredible story. When asked why he has saved all these babies from abortion and adopted them he said, “I am a Catholic!”

With over 7,000 graves of the unborn in his backyard he and his wife hold vigil for their little souls. This is a man and women who live their faith and make huge sacrifices for the unborn. Wait until you see the beautiful living babies who who have been slaughtered. Wait until you see his yard full of gravestones.

Saints still live among us. Living martyrs. Holy men and women who love God and others more than themselves.

Click to watch the report

St Albert, peace, and Dominicans

2011-12-12T18:55:00.000-07:00

The following quote is from "St Albert the Great" by Kevin Vost:

Albert was a consummate peacemaker among men because peace, like joy, is an effect that flows from charity, an infused virtue with which Albert was abundantly blessed. Peace is a concordance or harmony of desires among persons. When those persons’ desires are not fully just and their thoughts are not focused on good and honorable ends, peace will not last long. [Albert] knew well that true peace was only possible among good men, and that is why his greatest peacemaking efforts were performed not in the settlement of sundry disputes but through his teaching and preaching: by making men good .

This reflects a thought I have long harbored, and I think brings out what I believe to be the serious error espoused by those Dominicans who seek political solutions through political means, neglecting and even denigrating the preaching mission, which some have even called "useless" (in personal communications).

I will even offer this additional thought; the lack of peace the ends in war is the terminal symptom of the failure to preach; because of our fallen nature we will not fall far from the nature family tree (Cain) but will fall far from our adopted family tree (of Life).

St Albert well understood that men journeying together towards heaven live in a harmony not found amoung men journeying any other direction.

How to Preach A Very Bad Homily

2011-12-07T15:56:00.002-07:00

This is actually rather priceless! From the blog of the Eastern Province:

How to Preach A Very Bad Homily, Fr Basil Cole, O.P., gave the following talk at a conference to the priests of the Archdiocese of Minneapolis/St. Paul....

read it here

Peter Kreeft answers the question, "Can a Catholic be a Liberal?"

2011-12-06T13:46:00.000-07:00

This interesting report is by Doug Erickson in the Wisconsin State Jornal, as reported by Fr Z here. I'll just snip a bit here...

There is no middle ground to Kreeft. It would be silly and redundant to him, for instance, to call someone a “pro-life Catholic.” You cannot be anything but against abortion to be a Catholic, Kreeft said.

“To be a Catholic is to take the whole deal,” he told the crowd.

Kreeft said several definitions of a liberal can and should fit Catholics, including “someone who is generous and unselfish” and “someone who highly values liberty and freedom.”

On abortion, Kreeft contended Catholics are the “true liberals,” because a liberal wants to extend liberty to the oppressed, and “the unborn are the most oppressed,” he said.

Kreeft said these Catholic advisers “told the Kennedys how they could get away with murder.” Kreeft then made one of his boldest comments of the evening, suggesting the theologians who first convinced Democratic politicians they could support abortion rights and remain Catholic did more damage to the Catholic Church than pedophile priests.

“These were wicked people. These were dishonest people. These were people who, frankly, loved power more than they loved God,” Kreeft said. “Sorry, that’s just the way it is. In fact, I’d say these were even worse than the child molesters — though the immediate damage they did was not as obvious — because they did it deliberately, it wasn’t a sin of weakness. Sins of power are worse than sins of weakness. Cold, calculating sins — that’s straight from the devil.”

Read the full article here

Some strong words. First I am glad to see that the primier Social Justice issue is being called out; the bulk of purported social justice advocates these days seem to have no interest in the lives of the unborn, demonstrating a very inadequate understanding of justice and the hierarchy of value that necessarily attaches there-to.

It is the strong condemnation of dissident theologians which I believe is remarkable - a bit of straight talk the likes of which is rarely heard. Then to put it in perspective by stating that it caused more damage than pedophile priests; amazing. He's right, of course.

From Frederick Faber

2011-12-03T08:25:00.000-07:00

THE ETERNITY OF GOD

O Lord! my heart is sick
Of this perpetually lapsing time,
So slow in grief, in joy so quick,
Yet ever casting shadows so sublime:
Time of all creatures is least like to Thee,
And yet it is our share of Thine eternity.

O change and time are storms
For lives so thin and frail as ours;
For change the works of grace deforms
With love that soils, and help that over powers;
And time is strong, and, like some chafing sea,
It seems to fret the shores of Thine eternity.

Weak, weak, forever weak!
We cannot hold what we possess;
Youth cannot find, age will not seek,
O weakness is the heart’s worst weakness:
But weakest hearts can lift their thoughts to Thee;
It makes us strong to think of Thine eternity.

Thou hadst no youth, great God,
An Unbeginning End Thou art;
Thy glory in itself abode,
And still abides in its own tranquil heart:
No age can heap its outward years on Thee:
Dear God! Thou art Thyself Thine own eternity!

Without an end or bound
Thy life lies all outspread in light;
Our lives feel The life all around,
Making our weakness strong, our darkness bright;
Yet is it neither wilderness nor sea,
But the calm gladness of a full eternity.

Oh Thou art very great
To set Thyself so far above!
But we partake of Thine estate,
Established in Thy strength and in Thy love:
That love hath made eternal room for me
In the sweet vastness of its own eternity.

Oh Thou art very meek
To overshade Thy creatures thus!
Thy grandeur is the shade we seek:
To be eternal is Thy use to us:
Ah Blessed God! What joy it is to me
To lose all thought of self in Thine eternity.

Self-wearied, Lord! I come;
For I have lived my life too fast:
Now that years bring me nearer home
Grace must be slowly used to make it last;
When my heart beats too quick I think of Thee,
And of the leisure of Thy long eternity.

Farwell, vain joys of earth!
Farewell, all love that is not His!
Dear God! Be Thou my only mirth,
Thy magesty my single timid bliss!
Oh in the bosom of eternity
Thou does not weary of Thyself, nor we of Thee!

Faber's Hymns, Frederick Faber, 1875

Silent Night

2011-12-02T11:50:00.000-07:00

Soon we'll be singing that old favorite "Silent Night", a hymn to remind us of that anticipation of awaiting our Savior's humble entrance into our world. Yet, we come to church and await Him in a manner bereft of silence.

We so need to recover what is meant by "active participation" (actuosa participatio). What is it? It didn't spring immaculate and virginally from Vatican II, but already had a long history in the liturgical renewal.

"In order that the faithful may more actively participate in the sacred liturgy, let them be once again made to sing Gregorian Chant as a congregation." Pius X, motu proprio Tra Le Solicitudini

How did Vatican II expect "active participation" to be brought about? "Therefore, pastors of souls must zealously strive to achieve it by means of the necessary instruction in all their pastoral work." Vatican Council II, Sacrosanctum Concilium, n. 14

Surprise, surprise! The Fathers of Vatican II told the pastors that they should teach us Gregorian Chant so we could sing the mass as a congregation. I'm still waiting...

The quotes are from a wonderful article: The Mass of Vatican II | Fr. Joseph Fessio, S.J.

Got off the train in the wrong city.

2011-11-26T21:01:00.017-07:00

The old high altar in Boise's Cathedral of St John the Evangelist has long puzzled many people for it's two flanking pillars, each topped with what appears to be a jar, or a vase.

The explanation is that the altar was built by a company that at the same time built the high altar for Salt Lake City's Cathedral of the Madeleine. Both were shipped west on the same train, but Boise's was unloaded in Salt Lake City, and theirs went to Boise! Hence, Boise's high altar has the "alabastar jar of costly spikenard" motif to remind us of Mary Magdalene's unself-conscious and generous anointing of our Lord before his death.

The high altar that was built for the Cathedral of St John the Evangelist, Boise, was installed in the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City. It apparently fell victim to a post Vatican II wreckovation, I understand it was destroyed. It has, however, survived in photographic evidence (picture is from 1909).

So Boise, here's what we missed:

This copyrighted picture is from Utah State History collections, here

PS: Not only did Utah loose the high altar, even the stained glass windows behind the altar are gone, as this current picture attests:

Third Edition of the Roman Missal

2011-11-25T12:14:00.000-07:00

Here's an interesting little video from the Corpus Christi Watershed folks. It addresses the form of the mass, particularly the replacement of the Introit with a hymn...

2011 GIRM 48. This chant is sung alternately by the choir and the people or similarly by a cantor and the people, or entirely by the people, or by the choir alone. In the Dioceses of the United States of America, there are four options for the Entrance Chant: (1) the antiphon from the Missal or the antiphon with its Psalm from the Gradual Romanum, as set to music there or in another setting; (2) the antiphon and Psalm of the Graduate Simplex for the liturgical time; (3) a chant from another collection of Psalms and antiphons, approved by the Conference of Bishops or the Diocesan Bishop, including Psalms arranged in responsorial or metrical forms; (4) another liturgical chant that is suited to the sacred action, the day, or the time of year, similarly approved by the Conference of Bishops or the Diocesan Bishop.

And of course, while we're at it, ccwatershed also has a new hymnal, the Vatican II Hymnal:

The Dominicans at St Albert Priory (and the Eastern Province) have chosen the New Edition of the St Michael Hymnal:

I'm pleased to see these fine efforts, but somehow I expect that I'll be subject to slight variations of the sameold-sameold instead of what the Church is asking for...

First Sunday of Advent

2011-11-23T16:59:00.000-07:00

From the Fr Pius Pietrzyk OP of the Eastern Dominican Province, posting on Preacher's Sketchbook for First Sunday of Advent:

Dom Prosper Gueranger, The Liturgical Year

We find that this mystery of the coming, or Advent, of Jesus is at once simple and threefold. It is simple, for it is the one same Son of God that is coining; it is threefold, because He comes at three different times and in three different ways. ‘In the first coming,’ says St. Bernard, ‘He comes in the flesh and in weakness; in the second, He comes in spirit and in power; in the third, He comes in glory and in majesty; and the second coming is the means whereby we pass from the first to the third.’

This, then, is the mystery of Advent. Let us now listen to the explanation of this threefold visit of Christ, given to us by Peter of Blois, in his third Sermon de Adventu: ‘There are three comings of our Lord; the first in the flesh, the second in the soul, the third at the judgement. The first was at midnight, according to those words of the Gospel: At midnight there was a cry made, Lo the Bridegroom cometh! But this first coming is long since past, for Christ has been seen on the earth and has conversed among men. We are now in the second coming, provided only we are such as that He may thus come to us; for He has said that if we love him, He will come unto us and will take up His abode with us. So that this second coming is full of uncertainty to us; for who, save the Spirit of God, knows them that are of God? They that are raised out of themselves by the desire of heavenly things, know indeed when He comes; but whence He cometh, or whither He goeth, they know not. As for the third coming, it is most certain that it will be, most uncertain when it will be; for nothing is more sure than death, and nothing less sure than the hour of death. When they shall say, peace and security, says the apostle, then shall sudden destruction come upon them, as the pains upon her that is with child, and they shall not escape. So that the first coming was humble and hidden, the second is mysterious and full of love, the third will be majestic and terrible. In His first coming, Christ was judged by men unjustly; in His second, He renders us just by His grace; in His third, He will judge all things with justice. In His first, a lamb; in His last, a lion; in the one between the two, the tenderest of friends.’

The above is a well written reminder that the Lord who came amoung us a Bethlehem and died for our salvation on the cross, has kept his promise to "be with us always". Now is the time to make friends with Him. When He comes in judgment, that time will be past.

Truth Be Told issue #19 - Newsletter of the Laity of the Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus

2011-11-18T10:46:00.000-07:00

The 19th issue of "Truth Be Told," the newsletter of the Laity of the Province of the Holy Name of Jesus has been posted to the web.

The newsletter is available for download at the provincial web page here:
http://laydominicanswest.org/newsletter/

Benedict XVI on "We are Church"

2011-11-09T19:22:00.000-07:00

The Holy Father made a reference to the "we are church" dissident movement in a speach to seminarians in Germany.

APOSTOLIC JOURNEY TO GERMANY
22-25 SEPTEMBER 2011
MEETING WITH SEMINARIANS
ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS BENEDICT XVI

St Charles Borromeo Seminary Chapel, Freiburg im Breisgau
Saturday, 24 September 2011
Personally being with Christ, with the living God, is one thing: another is that we can only ever believe within the “we”. I sometimes say that Saint Paul wrote: “Faith comes from hearing” – not from reading. It needs reading as well, but it comes from hearing, that is to say from the living word, addressed to me by the other, whom I can hear, addressed to me by the Church throughout the ages, from her contemporary word, spoken to me the priests, bishops and my fellow believers. Faith must include a “you” and it must include a “we”. And it is very important to practise this mutual support, to learn how to accept the other as the other in his otherness, and to learn that he has to support me in my otherness, in order to become “we”, so that we can also build community in the parish, calling people into the community of the word, and journeying with one another towards the living God. This requires the very particular “we” that is the seminary, and also the parish, but it also requires us always to look beyond the particular, limited “we” towards the great “we” that is the Church of all times and places: it requires that we do not make ourselves the sole criterion. When we say: “We are Church” – well, it is true: that is what we are, we are not just anybody. But the “we” is more extensive than the group that asserts those words. The “we” is the whole community of believers, today and in all times and places. And so I always say: within the community of believers, yes, there is as it were the voice of the valid majority, but there can never be a majority against the apostles or against the saints: that would be a false majority. We are Church: let us be Church, let us be Church precisely by opening ourselves and stepping outside ourselves and being Church with others.

Contextual article by Sandro Magister at Chiesa Online is here
the Holy Father's full text is here

November Chapter meeting

2011-11-09T11:30:00.000-07:00

The November Chapter meeting will be held at St Paul Newman Center, BSU, instead of in Caldwell. It also will start earlier, at 9:30AM Saturday, Nov 19, 2011. Fr Vincent Kelber OP will be with us, and it is planned that he will offer mass at approximately 10AM in the chapel.

there will be a Thanksgiving potluck meal, turkey provided! Sides should be coordinated with Stephanie DeNinno - ssdeninno [at dog] yahoo.com

So I said...

2011-11-09T05:41:00.003-07:00

I know. I said I don't spend a lot of time looking at Chant and Music sites, but sometimes they find me anyway! This one is worth passing along, it's the Liturgy of the Hours set to Gregorian Chant.

All Souls of the Dominican Order

2011-11-08T01:00:00.000-07:00

For those who have gone ahead of us in the Order, we celebrate All Dominican Souls day today. May we join you in the heavenly chorus!

All Saints of the Dominican Order

2011-11-07T10:07:00.000-07:00

From the Provincial web site, http://opwest.org

All Saints of the Dominican Order
Feast for the Order

Today we faithfully remember "those who have gone before us in the family of Saint Dominic and who offer us the example of their way of life, their company in the communion of saints, and the help of their intercession. By this celebration may we be moved to imitate them and be strengthened in the spirit of our vocation." [LCO, nn. 16, 67]

Prayer:
God, source of all holiness, you have enriched your Church with many gifts in the saints of the Order of Preachers. By following their example may we come to enjoy their company forever in the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Fr. Vincent Benoit, O.P.

Cool find

2011-11-03T15:55:00.002-06:00

I found this over at Dominican Liturgy blog in a post titled Dominican Prayers on the iPhone

Behold the golden dawn arise;
The paling night forsakes the skies:
Those shades that hid the world from view,
And us to dangerous error drew.

May this new day be calmly passed,
May we keep pure while it shall last:
Nor let our lips from truth depart,
Nor dark designs engage the heart.

So may the day speed on; the tongue
No falsehood know, the hands no wrong:
Our eyes from wanton gaze refrain,
o guilt our guarded bodies stain.

For God all-seeing from on high
Surveys us with a watchful eye:
Each day our every act he knows
From early dawn to evening’s close.

All laud to God the Father be;
All praise, eternal Son, to thee;
All glory, as is ever meet,
To God the Holy Paraclete. Amen.

Melody: Old 100th L.M.
Music: Louis Bourgeois, 1500-1561
Text: Sol ecce surgit igneus, eleventhth century Anglo Saxon
Translation: John M. Neale, 1818-1866

No, I don't have an iPhone, but I do love Old 100th!

I'll also confess that I spend almost no time on the music and liturgy blogs, I get too depressed. I used to, but it's like window shopping when you have no money; you want but you can't have, and the intense beauty drives one a bit nutters with desire because it has been banished and demonized in this part of the world, where it is preferred to sing(sic) music(sic) set to "I wish I were an Oscar Mayer weener" and suchlike. OK, some are nice campfire songs, but I don't see a campfire when I look at the candles on the altar...

Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace: recommendation of a global financial authority

2011-10-29T17:35:00.000-06:00

A couple days ago the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace issued a position paper recommending, as a solution to the world's financial problems, what some would attribute as "more of the cause." The Document, titled: "TOWARDS REFORMING THE INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL AND MONETARY SYSTEMS IN THE CONTEXT OF GLOBAL PUBLIC AUTHORITY", can be read here.

The paper, which doesn't seem to have an attribution of authorship, and certainly does not bear the imprimatur of the church, much less the Holy Father, has been written about by more competent authors than me, so I'll let you find those articles on your own and form your own opinions. What strikes me as a layman, is that the Vatican, with it's scandal-plagued Vatican Bank, would offer suggestions of this nature when it has clearly demonstrated deficiency in this department; a department that it seems lies outside the competence of the Church. From a moral standpoint, if the world had embraced Christ and lived a devout faith, there would be no financial crisis, right? given fallen human nature, there will always be crisis of one sort or another, as man seeks to assert his will over his fellow man, rather than serve his neighbor as one created in the image of God.

So it seems to this financially-challenged mind, that a document that suggests that to make things right, the world needs to live as though the fruits of charity were present and could be counted upon, without ever mentioning the name of Jesus, from whom all charity flows, has missed the mission statement:

"Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” [Mt 28:18ff]

Chrysostom on Withholding Communion

2011-10-04T14:50:00.000-06:00

Leon Suprenaut has started blogging for the Diocese of Kansas City, Kansas. here's an interesting post he put up!

Today is the feast of St. John Chrysostom, the famous Bishop of Constantinople at the turn of the fifth century. He was given the title “Chrysostom, which means “golden mouthed,” because of his eloquent sermons. He’s also known as a doctor of the Church because of his timeless, orthodox teaching.

In his book Luminous Mysteries, Scripture scholar Tim Gray quotes at length from St. John Chrysostom’s homily “On the Institution of the Eucharist,” which I reprint below. I think you’ll agree that it’s quite instructive on the controversial subject of the sacred minister’s duty to withhold Communion from a notorious sinner:

“I speak not only to the communicant, but also I say to the priest who ministers the Sacrament: Distribute this gift with much care. There is no small punishment for you, if being conscious of any wickedness in any man, you allow him to partake of the banquet of the table: ‘Shall I not now require his blood at your hand?’ (2 Sam. 4:11). If some public figure, or some wealthy person who is unworthy, presents himself to receive Holy Communion, forbid him. The authority that you have is greater than his. Consider if your task were to guard a clean spring of water for a flock, and you saw a sheep approach with mire on its mouth–you would not allow it to stoop down and pollute the stream. You are now entrusted with a spring, not of water, but of blood and of spirit. If you see someone having sin in his heart (which is far more grievous than earth and mire), coming to receive the Eucharist, are you not concerned? Do you try to prevent him? What excuse can you have, if you do not?

“God has honored you with the dignity of priesthoood, that you might discern these things. This is not to say that you should go about clothed in a white and shining vestment; but this is your office; this, your safety;
this your whole crown.

“You ask how you should know which individual is unworthy to receive? I am speaking here not of some unknown sinner, but of a notorious one. If someone who is not a disciple, through ignorance, comes to Communion, do not be afraid to forbid him. Fear God, not man. If you fear man, you will be scorned and laughed at even by him; but if you fear God, you will be an object of respect even to men. But if you cannot do it, bring that sinner to me, for I will not allow anyone to dare do these things. I would give up my life rather
than give the Lord’s Blood to the unworthy.

“If, however, a sinful person receives Communion, and you did not know his character, you are not to blame, however. I say the things above concerning only those who sin openly. For if we amend these, God will speedily reveal to us the unknown also; but if we let these flagrant abuses continue, how can we expect Him to make manifest those that are hidden? I say these things, not to repel sinners or cut them off, but I say it in order that we may bring them to repentance, and bring them back, so that we may take care of them. For thus we shall both please God and lead many to receive worthily. And for our own diligence, and for our care for others, we will receive a great reward. May we attain that reward by the grace and love that God gives to man through Our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory, world without end. Amen.”

Link

A day...

2011-09-21T18:13:00.001-06:00

Today was my second day back at work after being off for three weeks due to pneumonia. Glad to say I'm improving but not quite all there yet!

Today I received a reminder that yesterday marked the 1 year anniversary of the passing of Deanette Pease OPL, whom I met at Lourdes last year while on pilgrimage. Deanette had taken Bl Margaret of Castello's name as her Dominican profession name. While Lourdes did not cure Deanette's cancer, it certainly helped her prepare to meet that part of our family which has gone before us. Ann, who took Deanette on pilgrimage, found my email and contacted me today.

If that wasn't enough for the day, when I got home there was a package from Italy waiting for me. Last month I had written the Dominican Nuns in Italy and requested a first class relic of Bl Margaret for our chapter house and shrine at Homedale. I was told by more than one person it was unlikely that they would send it. Maybe its the prayers of Deanette, Gwen, Jim, Janet, and all our lay Dominican family on the other side?

here's a bit more of a close up.

Yes, the genuine article. Now, I just need to find someone to translate the rather long letter in Italian!

Br Corwin Low OP of the Dominican Studentate was kind enough to translate the letter for me.

Truth Be Told issue #18 - Newsletter of the Laity of the Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus

2011-09-14T12:47:00.000-06:00

The 18th issue of "Truth Be Told," the newsletter of the Laity of the Province of the Holy Name of Jesus has been posted to the web.

The newsletter is available for download at the provincial web page here:
http://laydominicanswest.org/newsletter/

This issue completes the third year of publication of Truth Be Told! Although it will probably never attain 100% original content, I am pleased by the steady increase of original material appearing in these pages.

There is a new feature on the website where the newsletter is posted. Previously, the same version of the newsletter appeared there as I send subscribers by email. Now, the version available on the web for download is a higher resolution, printer-ready edition that is about 300% larger in size, and the smaller email version is also availble through a link. We have done this so that people who want to print a clearer, sharper copy can do so. The emailed version is intentionally smaller and optimal for online reading, as well as for downloading over a slower connection speed.

Liturgiam Authenticam - Trailer

2011-09-07T14:36:00.000-06:00

New movie from the Dominicans at Kindly Light

This probably won't be playing at your local multiplex, but it ought to play at your parish!

Index of Forbidden Songs

2011-09-04T17:23:00.001-06:00

Fr Eric Richtsteig has posted a series of delightful entries at his blog Orthometer. He's made a list of bad music which should be banned. Way to go!

Index of Forbidden Songs (Gather Part III)
Index of Forbidden Songs (Gather Part II)
Index of Forbidden Songs (Gather Part I)

and

Index of Forbidden Songs (Music Issue, Part IX)
Index of Forbidden Songs (Music Issue, Part VIII)
Index of Forbidden Songs (Music Issue, Part VII)
Index of Forbidden Songs (Music Issue, Part VI)
Index of Forbidden Songs (Music Issue, Part V)
Index of Forbidden Songs (Music Issue, Part IV)
Index of Forbidden Songs (Music Issue, Part III)
Index of Forbidden Songs (Music Issue, Part II)
Index of Forbidden Songs (Music Issue, Part I)

However, it would appear that the only banned music is Gregorian Chant, Latin hymns, and polyphony. Yeah, the crap is easier to sing, I will grant that. however a diet of peanut butter sandwiches, french fries, and coke tends to weigh one down with bloat. we've effectively banished beauty and truth, and distorted love, justice, and mercy. Is it any wonder that we fail to respect and obey God who is Beauty, Truth, Love, Justice, and Mercy?

Book: The Search for the Historical Francis, A Penitent from Assisi

2011-08-24T18:30:00.000-06:00

I haven’t written much for a while, but that is not to say that I haven’t been busy!

This last weekend I traveled to California, for the 40th reunion of my high school class of 1971. Because I graduated a year early in 1970 I did not receive an invitation, but I went at the suggestion of a childhood friend whom I’d lost track of for nearly 30 years, who invited me to rejoin my original class. The event was very interesting. I spent over 5 hours on my feet talking to people I hadn’t seen in over 40 years. Oh, old creaky memories!

I had planned to stay at St Albert Priory in Oakland, and it just so happened that the Corpus Christi lay Dominican chapter was holding a retreat this weekend, and they graciously allowed me to join them. I must say it was a wonderful retreat, and it made the trip much more fulfilling. I have to say it was quite a contrast, the worldly and the other-worldly.

The retreat featured two presentations by Fr Augustine Thompson O.P. Father gave two presentations. The first was based on his book “Cities of God: The Religion of the Italian Communes, 1125-1325.” I’d heard a version of this presentation last year at the Lay Provincial Council meeting, but it has grown since then and it was really delightful. I will definitely have to buy the book!

However, it was the second presentation that really got my attention. It built on the first, and included a bit of an advance on Father’s next book (due out March, 2012, in honor of the conversion of St Clare). The presentation title was “The Search for the Historical Francis, A Penitent from Assisi.” A bit of a humorous play on “the search for the historical Jesus” in the title notwithstanding, it was a fascinating presentation which brought to light some of the current research. In the last ten years, there have been 220 biographies of St Francis published, all of which dress up and present the same standard version of Francis, which, it turns out, is a bit of a Santa Claus to St Nicholas! Well, not quite that bad, but pretty bad. This book will knock a few socks off, and instead of the standard initial printing of 2,000 copies, the publisher is planning a first edition run of 10,000 copies! I will get one, you may want to too!

What was so delightful about Fr Thompson’s presentation is that he comes across as a historian who is like a kid in a candy store, reveling in the rich flavors of nuggets of history mined from the various new sources unearthed in the last decade.

I'm looking forward to a fascinating read next March!

Holy Father Benedict and the removal of Bishop Morris of Toowoomba

2011-08-09T09:29:00.000-06:00

There is a petition to support Benedict XVI's action in the resignation of Bishop Morris of Toowoomba, Australia. Click image below to add your support!

Blessed St Dominic Day!

2011-08-08T11:02:00.001-06:00

Please remember that today, Monday, August 8, 2011, is the Solemnity of St. Dominic, the day we celebrate his death and entrance into Heaven. At 7PM we will gather at the day Chapel at Holy Apostles at the corner of Meridian Road and Chinden Blvd in Meridian for prayer. We will be praying the Evening Prayer and the Office of the Dead for those who have gone before us in the friendship of God. We will gather briefly thereafter for coffee or other refreshments. Thank you.

John Keenan, O.P.(Lay)

Utopia of Usurers?

2011-08-03T11:46:00.000-06:00

From the Social Credit list, the following comment:

I think it is fairly easy for most people to understand that all credit money comes into existence as a debt to some operator within the financial system. This is true, by definition, and some 97% of monies in the system is credit money. The crux of the matter is that the debt system, controlled by private financiers, is simply a tool for controlling the population at large by putting most everybody in a position of dependence on the financiers by way of debt.

The fundamental understanding that needs to dawn upon people is that this is a form of abuse because people are made to borrow, at interest, what they already own.

How long has it been since the Church last addressed the question of Usury? (ON USURY AND OTHER DISHONEST PROFIT. Vix Pervenit. Encyclical of Pope Benedict XIV promulgated on November 1, 1745)

In the intervening centuries, that which we borrow has changed. It is now credit instead of the capital which was the subject of Vix Prevenit; which that that the collection of reasonable interest on capital borrowing was deemed to not be usury. Does this hold for credit, though? When I, or a nation, borrows and what transacts is not transfer of capital but entries into legers, a very useful legal fiction, but a fiction none the less, is it not usury to demand more of the fiction in return? Especially if the fiction is backed by the "full good faith of the nation" which is the common stock of us all, as the quote above states?

This is not a question I can answer, but I wish the Church would offer guidance in this.

800 years young

2011-08-02T15:57:00.001-06:00

The Dominican Order is approaching its 800th anniversary, which is only 5 years from now. What has been a key to this life in the spirit? certainly one aspect has been adapting to the times without being absorbed by the thinking of the times. Br Corwin Low has made an exquisite commentary in the picture below, which is from his blog Cantate Domino. read it here

Mary Magdalene, Patroness of the Dominicans

2011-07-27T17:42:00.000-06:00

From the Friars of the Eastern Province:

In this video series Fr. Dominic Legge, O.P. explains why Mary Magdalene was chosen as a patroness of the Dominican Order.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4

There's even some DaVinci Code (remember that?) thrown in!

Priests, religious, and lay faithful asked to offer sacrifices and prayers for the health of the Apostolic Nuncio

2011-07-26T14:40:00.000-06:00

From the Friars of the Eastern Province:

July 26, 2011 - Archbishop Pietro Sambi, Apostolic Nuncio to the United States of America, has been placed on assisted ventilation after complications following a delicate surgery. The Apostolic Nunciature and the Nuncio's family kindly ask that Bishops, priests, religious, and lay faithful offer sacrifices and prayers for the health of the Apostolic Nuncio.

link

Truth Be Told issue #17 - Newsletter of the Laity of the Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus

2011-07-21T19:12:00.001-06:00

The 17th issue of "Truth Be Told," the newsletter of the Laity of the Province of the Holy Name of Jesus has been posted to the web.

The newsletter is available for download at the provincial web page here:
http://laydominicanswest.org/newsletter/

This issue was released late due to holding it for the results of the Lay Provincial Council meeting held at St Albert Priory July 8-9. I expected two extra pages and got about 10 instead! Lots of good stuff, including new original material. My thanks to all the authors, especially Jim Likoudis, who will be a regular contributor for some time to come.

Mike Lee - graduated, ordained, home

2011-07-20T10:57:00.000-06:00

Mike Lee and family are due in Boise today.

Five years ago Mike Lee took his family to Austria to work on his doctorate in Sacred Theology at the Pontifical Institute. On June 11th Mike receiving his diploma from Cardinal Schönborn.

What Mike hadn't plan on was falling in love with the Byzantine Divine Liturgy and Eastern spirituality. No, when he left behind youth ministry and Life Teen masses, I seriously doubt he would have guessed that five years later he would be ordined to the deaconate on May 8th of this year by Bishop John Kudrick.

It is my understanding the Mike's goal is to be ordained to the priesthood, and to that end after a brief visit in Idaho, he travels to Ohio on Aug 4. I hope you all have the chance to bump into Mike and bid him your best!

Retreat wrapup

2011-07-16T22:56:00.000-06:00

The Blessed Margaret of Castello Chapter would like to thank Thelma Prisco OCDS for joining us today on the feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel to speak to us on contemplative prayer and about the local Secular Discalced Carmelite group.

The pictures show our group quietly and attentively listening to Thelma. We know how to behave when needed, but the retreat also included that seemingly ubiquitous Dominican 'tradition' of eating and good company and discussion over meals. The last diehards are still at the Chapter House as I write, and will finally break up tomorrow; having been at it since Friday evening, when we started with a beautiful votive Mass of the Precious Blood in the Extrordinary Form at Our Lady of the Valley Church in Caldwell (I didn't take pictures, too busy with the chant!). Stephanie DeNinno and Carolyn Reese both did the consecration to the Precious Blood, which was beautiful. Followed by dinner at Mr V's in Caldwell, it was a late evening for all!

Good company, good food, sacraments, divine office, and serious discussion makes a well rounded event!

COMMEMORATION OF ST. DOMINIC'S FEAST DAY; MONDAY, AUGUST 8, 2011

2011-07-15T09:53:00.003-06:00

On August 8, 2011, after 7:00 p.m., at the day Chapel at Holy Apostles Catholic Church in Meridian, Idaho (SW corner of Meridian Road and Chinden Blvd), the Dominican Laity will join in the Liturgy of the Hours and Rosary in celebration of St. Dominic's Feast Day. The Dominicans will also say the "Office of the Dead" for those who have earlier departed in the friendship of God. Please join us. We will meet for a meal after the prayer time.

Saints Bonaventure and Aquinas

2011-07-15T08:00:00.001-06:00

The following is a delightful offering for today, the feast of St Bonaventure.

The Crucifix is a Book

I remember having read, under this title, a beautiful story in “Christian Perfection;” it relates to St Bonaventure. At the time when he was in great repute, teaching theology in Paris, and attraction general esteem and admiration by his works, St Thomas Aquinas went one day to see him, and requested him to show him what books he used for his studies. Then St Bonaventure, conducting him to his little chamber, showed him some very common books that were on his table. But St Thomas gave him to understand that he desired to see the other books from which he derived so many marvelous things. The Saint then showed him a small oratory, with nothing in it but a crucifix: “There, Father,” said he, “is all my other books; this is the principal one from which I draw all I teach, and all I write. Yes, it is by throwing myself at the foot of that crucifix, and begging of Him whose image it bears, the enlightenment of my doubts, and assisting at Mass, that I have made more progress in the sciences, and have gained more true fights than I should have done by the reading of any books whatsoever.” You did not expect this, that whilst men study much and know but little, the Saints content themselves with this crucifix, and attain to this most sublime genius.

Catholic Gems and Pearls, Rev J. Phelan, 1900

July Retreat

2011-07-07T19:56:00.006-06:00

MAGDALENE RETREAT

SATURDAY, JULY 16, 2011, DOMINICAN CHAPTERHOUSE, HOMEDALE, IDAHO

The 7th Annual Mary Magdalene retreat at the Dominican Chapter House in Homedale will be on the subject of Contemplation in the Dominican and Carmelite traditions. We are blessed to have Thelma Prisco OCDS to speak to us about the Carmelite tradition, as well as the Secular Carmelite community in the Treasure Valley.

The retreat begins with Mass at 9:00 AM at the Chapter House, followed by breakfast (provided). The morning presentation will be on the Dominican tradition, and the afternoon presentation on the Carmelite tradition (lunch provided). Expect it to be very "interactive" with discussion. There will be a Holy Hour (3-4PM) and the retreat will close with Mass at 5:00 PM, followed by BBQ dinner (Please bring a salad, chips, or cookies to share both for the lunch and the BBQ dinner). Please call Stephanie (850-9688) for a count.

There is also an optional Friday evening mass as well. This will be at Our Lady of the Valley in Caldwell at 7 PM on July 15. It will be a Missa Cantata Votive Mass of the Precious Blood in the Extraordinary Form. Stephanie and Carolyn will do the Consecration to the Precious Blood. Dinner to follow at a local establishment TBD.

Directions to Chapter House in Homedale:(Map)
You can email me at for further information (at "mgross at integrity dot com").

My apologies for the late notice!

Discussion on Vatican II

2011-06-29T17:07:00.000-06:00

The following is an excellent analysis on Sandro Magister's Chiesa Online.

A proposal for the fiftieth anniversary of Vatican II

THE SUPERNATURAL WAY TO RESTORE PEACE BETWEEN
THE PRE- AND POST-COUNCIL

by Enrico Maria Radaelli

Third question: If we deny the infallibility of the doctrinal developments of the Council that depart from previous doctrines of the faith or close to the faith, won't we weaken the power of the continuist thesis?

Of course you weaken it, dear Fr. Cavalcoli, and even more: you annihilate it. And you strengthen the opposite thesis, as it should be, that there is no continuity.

No rupture, but also no continuity. So what then? The way out is suggested by Romano Amerio (1905-1997) with what the author of "Iota Unum" calls "the law of the historical preservation of the Church," revisited on page 41 of my book, according to which "the Church would not be lost in the case that it did not 'match' the truth, but in the case that it 'lost' the truth." And when does the Church not match the truth? When it forgets its teachings, or confuses them, muddies them, mixes them up, as has happened (not for the first time, and not for the last) from the Council until today. And when would it lose the truth? (In the conditional: it has been seen that it cannot in any way lose it.) Only if it struck it with anathema, or if vice versa it dogmatized a false doctrine, things that could be done by the pope and only by the pope, if (in the metaphysically impossible hypothesis that) his dogmatizing and anathematizing lips were not supernaturally bound by the two aforementioned oaths of Our Lord. I would insist on this point, which seems decisive to me.

read this fascinating article here

Receiving communion kneeling

2011-06-24T13:35:00.000-06:00

A recent post discussed the disturbing situation where a person was denied communion for kneeling to receive it and then dressed down after mass. Today Fr Z has a post on this topic. This Advent there is a new translation of the General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM), which says:

NEWER USA ADAPTATION VERSION:

… The norm established for the Dioceses of the United States of America is that Holy Communion is to be received standing, unless an individual member of the faithful wishes to receive Communion while kneeling (Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, Instruction, Redemptionis Sacramentum, March 25, 2004, no. 91).

It should be noted that the GIRM hasn't changed, rather the translation with USA norms has changed. Fascinating.

read the full article here:
What Does GIRM 160 for the USA Really Say?

WHAT DO THEY FEAR?

2011-06-17T16:11:00.004-06:00

On Friday, June 17th, 2011, the high school principal at Fair Haven Union High School in Vermont said “We are absolutely strong supporters of free speech” but prohibited a valedictorian from giving his talk about God at commencement. How little the principal understands First Amendment jurisprudence. Yet, his ignorance rules the students and their lives.

The relevant text of the First Amendment states:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or the press . . . "

What is known as the “establishment clause;” it derives from the early colonial period when the many commonwealths established and supported (with taxpayers’ money) an official state church. After the United States was formed, the commonwealths eventually abandoned this practice, with Massachusetts being the last to do so in 1833.

The latter clause in the First Amendment prohibits any restriction on the “free exercise” of religion. After the 14th Amendment was passed, the First Amendment prohibition against the establishment of religion and free exercise was eventually enforced against each state as well as the federal government.

With this background, it is baffling to see a high school principal censor a valedictorian from giving his speech to his fellow students at his high school commencement, while on one hand roundly lauding free speech and on the other stating “federal law limits the kind of religious speech that’s permitted at a commencement at a public high school.” Really? No. More on that below.

The Founding Fathers would have found such an interpretation of the First Amendment bizarre. After all, “free exercise” means precisely that. Also, the valedictorian is not representing or giving the testimony on the state’s behalf; but his own. Here is one part of his censored speech:

"I have peace and can finally enjoy every moment God has given me, good or bad. I wouldn't be standing before you without the blessings God has given me through my tough situations. He is the reason I am the man I am today, made new through Jesus death on the cross."

Does this look like the testimony of the state or the school? Obviously not. It is the valedictorian’s words. With such censorship based on flimsy legal science, our society suffers at the hands of the fearful and witless officials. Without good reason, they stress over lawsuits, religious minorities, political correctness, excellence and the ACLU; but not God. Any mention of His Name or His work in a person’s life, or even a symbol like a Cross is quickly and unceremoniously swatted out of the public eye.

Yet, with all this cowardly fear, what is free speech? If anything, it is the ability to speak about issues that matter, including God, civility, hope, honor and life whether agreeable or not. It gives us the opportunity to seek the truth, to inquire, to challenge, and (like it or not) to offend.

In a nutshell, here is what the Supreme Court said about this issue:

"[T]here is a "crucial difference" between government speech endorsing religion, which the Establishment Clause forbids, and private speech endorsing religion, which the Free Speech and Free Exercise Clauses protect. We think that secondary school students are mature enough and are likely to understand that a school does not endorse or support student speech that it merely permits on a nondiscriminatory basis .... The proposition that schools do not endorse everything they fail to censor is not complicated."

Bd. of Educ. of Westside Comm. Sch. v. Mergens, 496 U.S. 226, 250 (1990). The school administers cannot censor because it isn’t politically correct or it tends to offend some. The First Amendment prohibition against establishment of a religion binds the school administrators—not the valedictorian in this case. The views belong to the student not the school.

In the end, the valedictorian honored the school officials because, as he said, one is “supposed to respect [the school’s] authority.” It is debatable whether the valedictorian in this case is obligated to obey his higher authorities [Romans 13] or to obey God rather than men. [Acts 5:29]; but one thing is clear that this valedictorian respected the school principal. Yet, I confess a hope, which we all can do, that all such students will resist the perceived duty to conform to authority which is based on a fearful, confused and politically-correct mind.

It helps to know the truth about the law, so that honest men and women of good will may bring God and His principles back to the public square without fear that it is an “establishment of religion.” However, isn’t it ironic that those who fear such public expression of a religious mind will trample all over the “free exercise” of religion to prohibit free speech about religion and religious principles?

What do they fear?

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/06/17/school-censors-religious-words-in-graduation-speech/
http://www.rutherford.org/articles_db/legal_features.asp?article_id=60

Clear thinking v. confused thinking

2011-06-16T14:28:00.000-06:00

The Psychopathology of “Sex Reassignment Surgery”: Assessing its Medical, Psychological and Ethical Appropriateness
published in The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly
Moral Issues in Major Surgery
Spring 2009
Richard Fitzgibbons, Philip Sutton, and Dale O’Leary

AbstractIs it ethical to perform a surgery whose purpose is to make a male look like a female or a female to appear male? Is it medically appropriate? Sexual Reassignment Surgery (SRS) violates basic medical and ethical principles and is therefore not ethically or medically appropriate. (1) SRS mutilates a healthy, non-diseased body. To perform surgery on healthy body involves unnecessary risks; therefore, SRS violates the principle “primum non nocere (first, do no harm).” (2) Candidates for SRS may believe that they are trapped in the bodies of the wrong sex and therefore desire, or more accurately demand SRS; however, this belief is generated by a disordered perception of self. Such a fixed, irrational belief is appropriately described as a delusion. SRS, therefore, is a “category mistake”—it offers a surgical solution for psychological problems such as a failure to accept the goodness of one’s masculinity or femininity, lack of secure attachment relationships in childhood with same sex peers or a parent, self-rejection, untreated gender identity disorder, addiction to masturbation and fantasy, poor body image, excessive anger, severe psychopathology in a parent, etc. (3) SRS does not accomplish what it claims to accomplish. It does not change a person’s sex; therefore, it provides no true benefit. (4) SRS is a "permanent," effectively unchangeable, and often unsatisfying surgical attempt to change what may be only a temporary (i.e., psychothepeutically changeable) psychological/psychiatric condition.

the entire article may be read here

hat tip to the C-Fam Friday Fax (link)

A Womanpriest Meets a Little Girl

2011-06-14T12:52:00.000-06:00

Father Z linked this video. priceless!

A Womanpriest Meets a Little Girl

Living in the moment

2011-06-13T17:13:00.000-06:00

A gem from "All Men Have a Special Vocation" in "Spiritual Conferences" by Fr. Frederick William Faber

But the surest method of arriving at a knowledge of God's eternal purposes about us is to be found in the right use of the present moment. We must esteem our present grace, and rest in it, and with tranquil assiduity correspond to it. Our present grace is the most infallible will of God. It is a revelation from God, which almost always brings its own authoritative interpretation along with it. What we want for our sanctification is not merely grace, but the right grace, the right grace at the right time and in the right place. God's will does not come to us in the whole, but in fragments, and generally in small fragments. It is our business to piece it together, and to live it into one orderly vocation. Like a lantern in the night, grace gives light around our feet, a circle of light just wide enough to prevent our stumbling. But then we must look at our feet. If we strain our eyes into the gloom ahead of us, we shall stumble in spite of the lantern: nay sometimes we shall even stumble because of it, its shadows move so suddenly, and with such unwieldy strides. Our present grace is also the one least beset with delusions, and we can act safely upon it, although perhaps not comfortably, even when we do not see how it matches with what has just gone before, or how it can fit into any conceivable future which our circumstances will allow. The hours are like slaves which follow each other, bringing fuel to the furnace. Each hour comes with some little (censored) of God's will fastened upon its back. If we thus esteem our present grace, we shall begin to understand God's purposes. It seems an easy thing to do, and yet it cannot really be easy because so few do it. One man is always pulling the past to pieces, while another man is marching with his head erect into the uncertain future, disdainful of the present. Strange to say, intentions are more exciting than actions, and therefore more attractive. For safety and for swiftness, for clear light and successful labour, there is nothing like the present. Practically speaking, the moment that is flying holds more eternity than all our past, and the future holds none at all, and only becomes capable of holding any, as it is manufactured piecemeal into the present. The spiritual direction of multitudes of men consists of nothing but keeping them to this; and it is one of those unlikely works which has the misfortune of being seldom successful, even though it is indispensable, and on the whole least successful, where most indispensable.

The Fall 2012 Idaho Dominican Colloquium: Social Doctrine of the Church.

2011-06-07T14:32:00.005-06:00

On May 27, 1537, Pope Paul III issued his encyclical entitled Sublimus Dei that addressed the Church’s social doctrine with regard to the Indians in the New World. Indeed, the Americas were a new country with peoples not yet seen or experienced by the Christian realm. They were called “Indians.” The Pope concisely and unambiguously stated the Church’s position on the new peoples in the New World. He made three points: (1) “that the Indians are truly men and that they are not only capable of understanding the Catholic Faith but . . . they desire exceedingly to receive it[;]: (2) that even though the Indians live “outside the faith of Jesus Christ; [ ] that they may and should, freely and legitimately, enjoy their liberty and the possession of their property[;]” (3) that the Indians should not be “any way enslaved; should the contrary happen, it shall be null and have no effect[;]” and, (4) that the “Indians and other peoples should be converted to the faith of Jesus Christ by preaching the word of God and by the example of good and holy living.”

This early expression of the Holy Gospel and the Church’s social doctrine finds that the Christians should respect and permit the Indians to enjoy their liberty and the possession of their property and that any enslavement would be nullified. He urged Christians to convert the Indians by their holy example.

The history books are brimming with examples of sorrowful stories and events where the American Indian was not treated rightly per the papal instructions--before and after they were conquered. The one thing that impresses me is the papal admonition warned Christians to respect the Indians as fellow human beings and their respective and equal rights to liberty and to property. They were not to be enslaved. As human beings, the rights to liberty and to property were necessary to the independence and honor of the Indians and to the economic freedom to provide for themselves and their families.

The focus here is on social justice, the ability of men and women to be free, to own property, and to enjoy the fruits of labor, and to provide in charity for the less fortunate in their respective communities. These principles are no different today in the modern world of the 21st Century. Human dignity demands that life be respected, that law regard no difference between humans regardless, among other things, of their ethnic, racial, or economic background, and that liberty is key to that human dignity; and laws that are grounded in liberty and the natural law and that no man is above the law.

The concept of “Social Justice” is a big subject but the social doctrine of the Catholic Church is based on the wise counsel of Jesus Christ and His Church and not on the ideologies and political platforms of this World. It is toward the end of justice, adhering to what is good and right, and with the goal of ordered liberty, and freedom under law, that the Blessed Margaret of Castello Chapter of the Lay Fraternities of St. Dominic, dedicates its coming Idaho Dominican Colloquium on the Social Doctrine of the Church in the Fall of 2012. The exact date and place will be announced at a later date.

What is a Colloquium? The term “colloquium” is a conference or seminar in which a particular subject or topic is discussed. Unlike many a conference or seminar in which people simply listen to guest speakers, a colloquium invites dialog and discussion among many people. This Colloquium will focus on the social doctrine of the Catholic Church and its effect upon Idaho and the modern world.

Fr Boniface Willard OP - First mass at his home parish

2011-06-06T09:56:00.000-06:00

The Idaho Dominican laity turned out in force to assist at the first home mass of Fr Boniface Willard OP on Saturday, June 4. There was a long line to receive blessings, and a wonderful potluck dinner afterward.

Dominicake!

Ordination

2011-05-31T17:14:00.000-06:00

The ordination of Fathers Boniface Willard OP and Mark Francis Manzano took place Saturday, May 28 at St Theresa parish in Oakland California.

It was nice to see so many Dominicans, and Sisters from different congregations, including the Dominican Sisters of Mary Mother of the Eucharist (Sacramento)

The interior of St Theresa; much concrete!

Procession starts...

...and at the rear, The Bishop,

His Excellency Anthony Fisher OP of Parramatta, Australia.

The calling of Brothers Boniface and Mark Francis. Note, "calling" to the priesthood is an act of the Bishop, not an interior disposition!

Annointing:

Promises and prayers and litany of the saints...

The laying of hands; apostolic continuity!

Blessings from all the other priests, and there were many!

Including Fr. Andrew Szymakowski

The newly vested priests receiving of the chalice and paten from the Bishop

First blessings given by the new priests: (R to L) Fr Reginal Martin OP, prior of St Alberts, Bishop Anthony Fisher OP, and Fr Mark Padrez OP, Prior Provincial of the Province of the Holy Name of Jesus (Western Dominican Province)

Oh, yeah! party!

Jesus and Barabbas

2011-05-24T17:17:00.001-06:00

Although I purchased this book quite some time ago, its taken being confined to bed with the flu to start reading it. I must admit that reading in the introduction about "historical criticism" and the important contribution of protestant and irreligious scholars, sort of gave me a negative response; until I read that such leads down the wrong path without being conducted in the full context of faith and the Holy Scripture as a unitary expression of the Holy Spirit.

Although I'll return to work tomorrow, and my reading will slow down as a result (I'm about half way through the book), there have been a couple delightful insights which I was pleased to discover. The first was the Holy Father's heavy use of Jacob Neusner's A Rabbi Talks with Jesus, in order to place the Sermon on the Mount in the deep context of Jewish faith, as the expression of the New Law from the New Moses on the new Sinai. So, there's another book for my reading backlog [I just ordered one].

The second is a little linguistic surprise which was so obvious yet I'd never read or heard it before. Let's go back to the Praetorium, where Pontius Pilate is asking the mob who to release, Jesus, your king, or Barabbas, robber & murderer (sometimes rendered "revolutionary"). Turns out "robber" in the context of 1st century Greek is infused with the meaning of a "resistance fighter" and it was in this context that Barrabas had committed murder. It is even stated that historical evidence shows he was the leader of yet another resistance movement intent on driving out the Romans, a secular "messiah" who will save Israel and restore the kingdom.

With that, look at the name: Bar Abbas = Son of the Father. Add to this an observation from Origen that prior to the third century, approximately half of the codexes in circulation name him "Jesus Barabbas."

The choice before the mob, was a savior who promised to drive out the Romans and restore the kingdom, and a Savior who promised suffering and claimed the Kingdom was already present. The Holy Father brings up Barabbas in the context of the third temptation of Jesus; "bow to me, and I will give you all the kingdoms..." This temptation remains with us today, doesn't it? In this light, I am more inclined to be understanding and join our Lord in saying "forgive them Father, they know not what they do."

It is good to reflect on which Jesus we are asking for...

May Meeting

2011-05-21T22:15:00.001-06:00

Well, the May meeting is over! We held this one at St Paul's Student Center, BSU, for the second time in a row. This time we were able to use the lower loung, which is where we met for the first 8 years. So it was sort of like a homecoming.

We were a little late getting the web telecast started, aplogies for that! Matt Keenan worked hard to do a professional job and we are very grateful.

We were very pleased to be joined by Father Andrew Szymakowski of the Baker Diocese.

Presentations by Anita, Mike, Phil (looking very professorial here), Stephanie and Carolyn were all very good.

Remarkably, the peanut gallery was relatively quiet this meeting. Perhaps Paul put the fear in all of us...

John and Matt kept the video going as best they could, but bandwith was being sucked up somehere else and had a negative impact on our ability to stream the content.

To all who watched, thank you. To Matt Keenan, a special thanks, and stay tuned next month to do it again; this time from Our Lady of the Valley, Caldwell, on June 18!

Safe Haven

2011-05-19T16:12:00.000-06:00

Hungary: a governmental pro-life campaign
M. Viktor Orban’s government, just few weeks after the promulgation of the new Constitution protecting “the life of the foetus […] from the moment of conception”, started a consciousness-raising campaign in favor of adoption aimed at pregnant women in distress. Here is a poster. This picture was taken (by Sakari Huttunen for the Hu-lala website) at the beginning of May in a subway station in Budapest. This is a positive and comprehensible message, which invites to prefer adoption to abortion:
“I understand well that you are not ready to welcome me in your life, but give me to the adoption service, let me live”, entreats the unborn child.

[]

Article II of the new Hungarian Constitution protects a foetus’ right to life, which begins at conception:

“Human dignity shall be inviolable. Everyone shall have the right to life and human dignity; the life of the foetus shall be protected from the moment of conception."

From Grégor Puppinck, Ph.D, writing the blog Turtle Bay and Beyond

The 1960s generation: Getting Knickers in a Knot over Devotion.

2011-05-18T16:14:00.002-06:00

At times I get the opportunity to leave my office for a break, which is located about three blocks from the St. John’s Cathedral in Boise, and either go to Holy Mass or take some time in prayer in the downstairs Chapel. I visited there today—not long after the Mass had been completed.

As I entered, it was quiet and the lights were dim and I knew it was a good time for silent prayer. After kneeling, it was apparent the sacristy door was wedged open slightly and a conversation could be heard.

The uneasy conversation occurred while others were praying in the Chapel including myself. While I could not attend Mass earlier, I was in the Chapel not long thereafter. From the wedged door, the people in the Chapel could hear the celebrant engaged in a lively discussion with a young woman.

From what could be discerned, she had knelt to receive Communion during Mass. The celebrant obviously objected to her posture. Having caught the end of a degrading dialog, I heard the young woman cite a recent statement by the Vatican encouraging receipt of Communion while kneeling. She also noted the fact she had received Communion while kneeling at another church without objection.

The celebrant voiced his objection again and—posing a question laced with cynicism—asked whether the “other” church celebrated the Latin Mass or had a communion rail. The young woman responded “no.” The woman recalled that the Mass celebrated at the “other” church was the ordinary form of the Holy Mass. After her response, the celebrant again objected to her kneeling and cited that she presented herself for communion “carrying Rosaries and a picture of Jesus.”

The celebrant asked the young woman to leave. As I had already finished my brief prayer and as I parted, the young woman appeared outside the Chapel in tears. From what I could discern during the last part of the dialog mentioned above, the woman’s motive was her object of devotion: Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist.

The celebrant is an elderly priest. His communication seemed intolerant of certain outward expressions of devotion as unsuitable in the modern Church. Yet, his generation and the 1960s mode of thinking are passing.

While I continue to pray for and am thankful for these elderly priests who celebrate Holy Mass and who sacrifice for others every day; why is it they get their knickers in a knot when it comes to the Faithful’s public expression of devotion to a Good God? Especially, when there is no harm done? If anything, public devotion is a good model for others to follow particularly children. Also, it appears that the celebrant’s objection to kneeling for Communion has more to do with form than substance.

Ordination, Meeting

2011-05-16T13:10:00.003-06:00

Br. Boniface Willard, O.P. To Be Ordained, Will Hold Celebration Holy Mass in Emmett, Idaho

On May 28, Idaho native and seminarian Brother Boniface Willard, O.P., will be ordained in Oakland by His Excellency Bishop Anthony Fisher OP of the diocese of Parramatta, Australia. Fr Willard will celebrate his first Holy Mass at St Albert Priory on Sunday, May 29, at 1PM. Returning to Idaho, Fr. Willard will celebrate his first Holy Mass at his home parish at Sacred Heart Church in Emmett, Idaho, at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 4, 2011. A potluck will follow. Please join the remainder of the Dominicans in celebration of Br. Boniface being ordained and becoming Fr. Boniface Willard. Sacred Heart Parish is located at 211 East First Street, Emmett, Idaho.

May Chapter Meeting, 11:00 A.M., May 21, 2011 At St. Paul’s Catholic Student Center, BSU, Boise

The May Blessed Margaret of Castello Chapter meeting will be held with a Rosary at 11:00 a.m., lunch, and meeting to follow at St. Paul’s Catholic Student Center, 1915 University Drive on the Boise State University campus.

The Chapter will again broadcast the meeting on line at
http://premiumenergymedia.com/DOMINICAN_LIVE_TELECAST.html.
If you have questions or comments you may email at john@keenan.org; or join the dialog online at the above site or join the twitter. For more information as to the agenda etc., please email the Stephanie DeNinno, O.P. (Lay) at ssdeninno@yahoo.com. The agenda and notice will be posted online next week at http://www.dominicanidaho.org/.

Contra

2011-05-10T18:34:00.000-06:00

I have seen a few articles decrying people expressing joy at the death of Osama bin Laden.

Wesley Smith, anti-euthanasia and Human Exceptionalism proponent, takes a slightly different view which I think bears consideration:

Was Killing Osama Unethical?

I don’t see anything wrong with people being happy about a victory over an implacable and dangerous enemy that acted so despicably and mercilessly against unarmed, defenseless people ...

Truth Be Told issue #16 - Newsletter of the Laity of the Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus

2011-05-09T12:41:00.000-06:00

The 16th issue of "Truth Be Told," the newsletter of the Laity of the Province of the Holy Name of Jesus has been posted to the web.

The newsletter is available for download at the provincial web page here:
http://laydominicanswest.org/newsletter/

Divine Mercy

2011-05-05T15:58:00.000-06:00

Does anyone think it interesting that JPII was declared a blessed on Divine Mercy Sunday, and the following day one of his very poor appointments as bishop, the Most Reverend William Morris of the diocese of Toowoomba, was removed? Is this a portent of further mercy on the abused faithful?

Controversial Australian bishop sacked by Pope Benedict XVI

Yard Sale announcement

2011-04-19T12:03:00.000-06:00

The 4th Annual
Lee Family Yard Sale Fundraiser

May 27 and 28, Fri and Sat

HELP BRING THE LEES BACK TO THE USA!

Mike will have finished his Doctorate in Theology and the family will be returning to The States.

We're holding one last yard sale to help them get a strong start in their new home.

Where?

Trana Family Home
175 N. Black Cat Rd. Meridian, ID 83642
Near Black Cat Rd & Franklin Rd

How can I help?

Donate gently used, good quality items for the sale. Items most needed: furniture, household appliances, outdoor goods (working lawn mowers, etc). What's in your garage/attic/

basement/spare room? Donate those items to the sale address beginning May 16, 2011 (daylight hours). Contact Lauren: 283-5344 laurentrana654@gmail.com

Volunteer to help prepare for or work the sale.
Contact Lisa Penzkover (before she contacts you.) 362-7701 penzfamb810@msn.com

Bring food for volunteers.
Be a part of the pricing team.
Contact: Rebecca Sharratt 887-0073 ras7ymh@aol.com

Brought to you by:

LIFTID: Ladies in Faith Together - Idaho http://ladiesinfaith.org
FOTMLF: Friends of the Mike Lee Family http://sevenlees.blogspot.com

Suffering

2011-04-12T10:26:00.000-06:00

How many times do we hear (or pose) a variant the question “If there is a God who loves us, why does he allow suffering?” or more to the point, “If God loves me, why does he allow me to suffer?

As we approach Passion Sunday, the question again bears some reflection. In order to do this, let us first cease to think of ourselves first, and think about love in its highest form, the love of the Holy Trinity. For, as it is said, the Father loves the Son, and the Son loves the Father, and this love is so perfect it is a Person, the Holy Spirit. Now there is no greater love than this, and this is the love that human life was created to enter into. So as we look at Jesus, in all he has done, his agony in the garden, his death on a cross, we see that the Father who loves the Son permits His Son to endure the most unspeakable suffering which man can inflict and endure. And the Son does this out of love for the Father, and for us, for also there is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friend.

We are confronted with the reality that there is something so much more valuable in the eyes of God than our mere comfort, and that in attaining this something, somehow suffering is a part.

If we turn our thoughts back to Lazarus, we see a bit of that Trinitarian love of Father and Son mirrored in the love of friends, Jesus and Lazarus. For Lazarus was one of Jesus’ best friends, yet Jesus allowed him to suffer and die, before taking action at the request of other friends, and raising him from the dead. To be a friend of God is to embrace the suffering which will come our way, which it will. And Lazarus means “Friend of God.”

According to Aquinas, the suffering of hell by the reprobate spirits is that they will other than what is or what is not (as explained by Abbot Vonier in “The Human Soul”). Thus, our suffering is compounded when we will against that which is or is not; when we align our will with God’s permissive will, in the sense of accepting what has been permitted, then do we find we have entered the way where the peace which passes all understanding is to be found.

I don’t really expect those who repose in the question which I began will really understand this if they don’t already, but it helps me to put these thoughts together in order to recall and focus on the source and destination of Life, before whom with St Paul we learn to say “I count all things as loss”. For those to whom this makes no sense, I can only suggest: "Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened." - Sound advice, I read it in a good book.

Cristiada - Defending the Faith

2011-04-11T15:46:00.001-06:00

Armed gunmen invade a Catholic church, shooting the faithful in prayer and murdering the priest. The Middle East today? Germany in the 1940s?

At America's back door in the 1920's the Mexican Government, headed by the atheist Plutarco Elías Calles, began an all-out assault on the Catholic Church, and especially the clergy of Mexico. In reponse, thousands rose up in armed revolt against the repressive Mexican government and in defense of the Church and religious freedom. The uprising became known as the Cristeros War, or Cristiada.

Now, Newland Films, a Mexican production company, is releasing a new film, Cristiada, about the Cristeros War. The movie stars Andy Garcia and Peter O'Toole, and is already garnering interest as a stirring tribute to those who risked their lives in defense of the faith in Mexico. The makers of the film describe it a: "A chronicle of the Cristeros War (1926-1929) which was touched off by a rebellion against the Mexican Government's attempt to secularize the country. The film follows the stories of ordinary people from across the country who choose to stand up for their freedom. Caught up in a full-fledged civil war, they must decide how far they are willing to go and what they're willing to risk."

From the Friars Blog of the Eastern Province (Link)

2011-04-09T15:14:00.000-06:00

Re: Lay Dominican Chapter Meeting Saturday April 16, 2011 and Dominican Overseas Education; Relief Society fundraiser on May 2nd DOERS (www.doersmissions.org).

Dear Dominicans, Friends, & Prayer Members:

1. Dominican Overseas Education & Relief Society -- May 2nd Dinner Fundraiser: See details here: www.doersmissions.org. Questions? Send Kasey Smart an email at Kasey@doersmissions.org; or call me at 208.375.2532. Great Job D.O.E.R.S Committee, affiliated with the Idaho Lay Dominicans, for the hard work, commitment, and excellence you achieve on behalf of the children in Honduras and the Dominican Mission in Mexicali.

2. Lay Dominican Meeting Telecast:

There has been much discussion to set up a live internet link so that outlying inquirers and professed members of the Chapter in Moscow & Twin Falls, Idaho, and in eastern Oregon and Washington states, may access the monthly meetings on an interactive basis. I am working on that access; or should I say that my son, Matthew, is graciously working on that issue. Regardless, this is our first meeting on the internet whether interactive or not. Please have patience. Presently, he has set up a link to access the meeting via the internet at 11:00 a.m., Saturday, April 16, 2011. Here it is:

http://premiumenergymedia.com/DOMINICAN_LIVE_TELECAST.html

At present, this is only one way and not interactive. The logistics for a two-way connection are being worked on. Regardless, there are some "bugs" to work through. If it is not interactive, someone at the meeting will be there to monitor emails: you can send comments and questions via email and they will be addressed as sent. Please send an email if you have a question or comment to:

john@keenan.org

In the event that interactive is available, then you will access the above site and will be able to communicate with the Chapter meeting if you have the necessary computer, internet connection, camera, and microphone. Please pray that we can make this interactive.

You are invited to attend the Chapter meeting date, time, and place:

Begins with Rosary with lunch and meeting to follow at 11:00 a.m.

Saturday, April 16, 2011

St. Paul's Catholic Student Center
1915 University Avenue
Boise, Idaho
208.867.6327

For more information: www,dominicanidaho.org.

Have a Blessed Lenten Season & Holy Week.

In peace & faith,

John.

John Keenan, O.P.

Lay Dominican

Feeding Sheep or Amusing Goats?

2011-03-30T12:05:00.000-06:00

A friend sent this essay, written by a the British Baptist Charles Spurgeon in 1890. It ought to ring some bells, especially in light of the new tell-all book by Dale Fuschek, defrocked founder of the "Life Teen" program. (Catholic-hostile news report here)

Feeding Sheep or Amusing Goats?
attributed to Charles H. Spurgeon, 1834-1892 (edited)
________________________________________
An evil is in the professed camp of the Lord, so gross in its impudence, that the most shortsighted can hardly fail to notice it. During the past few years it has developed at an abnormal rate, even for evil. It has worked like leaven until the whole lump ferments. The devil has seldom done a cleverer thing, than hinting to the Church that part of their mission is to provide entertainment for the people, with a view to winning them. From speaking out as the Puritans did, the Church has gradually toned down her testimony, then winked at and excused the frivolities of the day. Then she tolerated them in her borders. Now she has adopted them under the plea of reaching the masses.

My first contention is that providing amusement for the people is nowhere spoken of in the Scriptures as a function of the Church - if it is a Christian work why did not Christ speak of it? 'Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature'. That is clear enough, so it would have been if He had added, 'and provide amusement for those who do not relish the gospel'. No such words, however, are to he found. It did not seem to occur to Him. Then again, 'He gave some apostles, some prophets, some pastors and teachers, for the work of the ministry'. Where do entertainers come in? The Holy Spirit is silent concerning them. Were the prophets persecuted because they amused the people or because they refused? The concert has no martyr roll.

Again, providing amusement is in direct antagonism to the teaching and life of Christ and all His apostles. What was the attitude of the Church to the world? 'Ye are the salt', not the sugar candy - something the world will spit out, not swallow. Short and sharp was the utterance 'Let the dead bury their dead'. He was in awful earnestness!

Had he introduced more of the bright and pleasant elements into His mission, He would have been more popular when they went back, because of the searching nature of His teaching. I do not hear Him say, 'Run after these people, Peter, and tell them we will have a different style of service tomorrow - something short and attractive with little preaching - we will have a pleasant evening for the people. Tell them they will be sure to enjoy it. Be quick, Peter, we must get the people somehow!' Jesus pitied sinners, sighed and wept over them, but never sought to amuse them. In vain will the epistles be searched to find any trace of the gospel of amusement. Their message is. 'Come out, keep out, keep clean out' - anything approaching fooling is conspicuous by its absence. They had boundless confidence in the gospel and employed no other weapon.

After Peter and John were locked up for preaching, the Church had a prayer meeting, but they did not pray, 'Lord, grant unto thy servants that by a wise and discriminating use of innocent recreation we may show these people how happy we are'. If they ceased not for preaching Christ, they had not time for arranging entertainments - scattered by persecution they went everywhere preaching the gospel. They turned the world upside down, that is the only difference! Lord, clear the Church of all the rot and rubbish the devil has imposed on her and bring us back to apostolic methods.

Lastly, the mission of amusement fails to effect the end desired. It works among young converts. Let the careless and scoffers, who thank God because the Church met them half way, speak and testify. Let the heavy laden who found peace through the concert not keep silent! Let the drunkard to whom the dramatic entertainment had been God's link in the chain of their conversion, stand up! There are none to answer! The mission of amusement produces no converts.

The need of the hour for today's ministry is believing scholarship, joined with earnest spirituality, the one springing from the other as fruit from the root. The need is Biblical doctrine, so understood and felt, that it sets men on fire.

With good reason Leo XIII ordered the St Michael prayer be said at the end of mass.

Saint Michael, the Archangel, defend us in battle; be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, thrust into Hell, Satan and all the other evil spirits, who prowl throughout the world, seeking the ruin of souls. Amen.

Interview with Abby Johnson

2011-03-23T11:58:00.001-06:00

The March-April issue of "Truth Be Told" contains an original interview by Denise Harvey with Abby Johnson, author of "UnPlanned". It is reproduced here in full.

An Interview With Abby Johnson

Lent is a grace filled season for conversion, which prepares us to receive Jesus at Easter. One woman’s dramatic story captures the essence of Lent and captivates our attention. Her name is Abby Johnson. She went from a career at Planned Parenthood to a staunch pro-life advocate overnight. She has appeared on numerous television programs and has traveled around the country sharing her testimony. Abby is also the author of the best selling book “unPlanned”.

Denise: Thank you, Abby for being with us in this interview.

I’d like to get right to the heart of your story and start with the day that changed your life. You were working on an ultrasound guided abortion when you actually saw an abortion procedure being done for the first time. Tell us about that day and explain to us exactly what you witnessed.

Abby: The doctor said to me, “just hold the probe in place during the procedure so I can see what I’m doing.” The cannula—a straw shaped instrument attached to the end of the suction tube---had been inserted into the uterus and was nearing the baby’s side. It looked like an invader, out of place. Wrong. It just looked wrong. The next movement was the sudden jerk of a tiny foot as the baby started kicking, as if it were trying to move away from the probing invader. As the cannula pressed its side, the baby began struggling to turn and twist away. It seemed clear to me that it could feel the cannula, and it did not like what it was feeling. The cannula was already being rotated by the doctor, and now I could see the tiny body violently twisting with it. For the briefest moment the baby looked as if it were being wrung like a dishcloth, twirled and squeezed. And then it crumpled and began disappearing into the cannula before my eyes. The last thing I saw was the tiny, perfectly formed backbone sucked into the tube, and then it was gone.

What happened to you immediately after seeing that procedure?

I knew that I had to leave Planned Parenthood. I knew that I could not continue to stay and spread the lies that they had been creating for so many years.

Planned Parenthood, in their own words, states: “Pro-choice means supporting access to all reproductive options whether its motherhood, contraception, abortion or adoption”. However, their statistics show that for every one adoption referral they perform 62 abortions. That’s certainly not the unbiased ratio that’s suggested in their statement. Does Planned Parenthood encourage women to have abortions?

Yes. They have to coerce women into having abortions. There is no information available concerning prenatal care, fetal development or adoption. They are not concerned in providing that, because those services do not increase their bottom line.

Planned Parenthood claims that only 3% of their business is abortion. They further claim to provide vital medical care including mammograms, STD tests, and ultrasounds for women who otherwise might not receive these services. Are these statements true?

While Planned Parenthood says abortions make up just 3 percent of its services, I found they used an sleight of hand, unbundling family planning services so each patient shows anywhere from five to 20 "visits" per appointment (12 packs of birth control would show up as 12 individual visits). It does the opposite for abortion visits, bundling them together so each appointment shows as one visit. This skews the numbers. You have an overwhelming number of "visits" for family planning compared to abortion, even though you may have seen the same number of patients.

Does Planned Parenthood prey on low income women, and if so, how?

They have placed 76% of their clinics in low income and minority areas. They have special health educators designed to go into low income areas and convince women and men that PP is the only place they can go for healthcare in their area.

Most of us have seen the videos produced by Live Action exposing Planned Parenthood in their concealment of underage women and human trafficking crimes. Were you aware of this illegal activity, and were you also encouraged to “work” the system?

We weren’t given any specifics on how to necessarily work the system. But it is common for PP clinics to cover up child sexual abuse.

With all the media attention lately, it seems that the truth is finally being discovered about Planned Parenthood. What’s at stake for them right now and how important is it for them to keep up appearances?

It is extremely important for them to keep their government funding. They cannot keep their clinics open without it. They need for this political battle to appear as an attack on women…instead of what it really is…an attack on Planned Parenthood and their poor quality of health care.

Spiritually speaking, did you ever feel the presence of evil or experience any struggle in your life when you were working at Planned Parenthood?

No. I didn’t feel it while I was there. I now see how evil was pervasive in my life. I am able to see how my thoughts, actions, speech and so many other things were completely taken over by evil.

Would you say that prayer vigils outside of clinics are effective?

Absolutely. I wouldn’t be here today, fighting in this movement, if people hadn’t been outside of my clinic. When people are outside of clinics, it is reminding the workers and clients that there is something morally objectionable about what they are doing inside of that building. We also have to be a public witness to our communities. Being outside abortion clinics helps bring about that awareness.

Some pro-life advocates have, shall we say, a less than Christian approach in defending life. Did you ever witness that yourself and if so, what effect did it have on you and your co-workers?

We did have a group of very angry protestors outside of our clinic. They only invigorated our movement. When people would be hostile towards us and our clients, it would make us feel very protective of our clients. It almost helped to form a sort of camaraderie with our clients. They were harassing our clients and we were saving them. It also did not serve the “Christian” population very well. It made Christians seem judgmental, harsh, mean, condemning and hateful. The patients and the workers saw that…there was little chance of conversion.

Eighty-five percent of our country’s population consider themselves to be Christian; yet its “legal” to kill children. In your experience, what would you attribute this to; and. what advice would you give to pro-life advocates so their message will be more effective?

I believe abortion has been legal for 38 years because of apathy. Our churches aren’t frequently talking about abortion. Our churches don’t have ministries for women who might be considering abortion, or may have already chosen abortion. We are fighting a spiritual battle…and unfortunately, many of our churches are part of the problem.

What would you like to say to Christians who don’t actively take part in the pro-life movement simply because they think others are doing it?

There is a place for everyone in this movement. My 4 year old daughter prays with me outside of the abortion clinic. Everyone should be involved. There really is no excuse. One day, we will stand in front of Christ and He will ask us what we did for the “least of these.” I hope we all have an answer.

With your change of heart came not only a change in employment but also a change of faith. You and your husband are being received into the Catholic Church this Easter. You were formally members of the Episcopal Church and were asked to stop attending services because of your pro-life activity. What did you feel when they asked you to leave? Did you see it coming?

I felt very sad and betrayed by them. This was our faith community…people who we loved. But on the other hand, we had started to attend there because of their liberal views, so it made sense. It was still very hurtful.

Tell us about your journey home to the Catholic Church.

We are very excited about becoming part of the Catholic Church. After we left the Episcopal Church, we went searching for a different church home. After attending our first Mass in the Catholic Church, we knew we were home. In particular, I think I have always longed for a relationship with our Blessed Mother. I can see this even as a child. Being able to fulfill that devotion has truly completed my faith.

It’s beautiful to see how God is working in your life. When you gave up a job that took away the body and blood of a human being, He replaced that with The Body and Blood of Jesus.

Thank you again, Abby for your time and all your good work. May Our Lord bless you and Our Lady wrap her mantle of protection around you. I am so happy and excited that very soon you will be brought into The Church. You will be in my prayers and I would also ask the Western Province to pray for you as well.

God Bless you,
In Jesus and St. Dominic,

Denise Harvey, Vice President
Lay Provincial Council, Western Dominican Province

I would encourage everyone who can to pick up a copy of Abby’s book. It’s a fascinating story that unmasks all the lies about abortion and reveals the truth. You will also be supporting Abby and her mission to end abortion in this country. I would also encourage you to get involved with “40 days for life” which is underway now. The 40 days for life folks pray, fast and hold peaceful vigils outside abortion clinics. I’ve become more and more convinced that abortion is the greatest threat to peace and safety in our country. The first chapter of unPlanned can be read at the publisher's web site:

http://www.UnplannedBook.com
Abby Johnson holds a B.S. in psychology from Texas A&M University and an M.A. in counseling from Sam Houston State University. She was hired by Planned Parenthood in 2005 and was later promoted to health center director. Abby ran both the family planning and abortion programs. In 2009 she left Planned Parenthood and joined the local Coalition for Life as a volunteer. She now serves as Chief Research Strategist for Live Action and works on projects with the national 40 Days for Life campaign.

"Aquinas" by Fesser

2011-03-23T06:00:00.001-06:00

I've finished reading Edward Feser's "Aquinas, a Beginner's Guild." The book ends delightfully:

For Aquinas, we are not here for ourselves, but for the glory of God, and precisely because this is the end set for us by nature, it is in him alone that we can find our true happiness. And it must be emphasized that [] he takes this conclusion to be a matter, not of faith, but of reason itself.

Therein lies the sting of Aquinas's challenge to modernity.

Yes, I'd recommend this book to anyone embarking on trying to understand St. Thomas's work.

Must be seen to be appreciated

2011-03-22T12:11:00.000-06:00

From the Pendleton men's conference last month, Go West Catholic Men

And a woman afflicted with hemorrhages for twelve years, 15 who (had spent her whole livelihood on doctors and) was unable to be cured by anyone, came up behind him and touched the tassel on his cloak. Immediately her bleeding stopped. Jesus then asked, "Who touched me?" While all were denying it, Peter said, "Master, the crowds are pushing and pressing in upon you." But Jesus said, "Someone has touched me; for I know that power has gone out from me." When the woman realized that she had not escaped notice, she came forward trembling. Falling down before him, she explained in the presence of all the people why she had touched him and how she had been healed immediately. He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has saved you; go in peace." Lk 8:43-48

On the New Translation

2011-03-19T06:00:00.010-06:00

the following excerpt is from the Friar's Blog of the Eastern Province:

There is a strange temptation in the world today to see religion in terms of what we get out of it. We are supposed to find the religion or the church that gives us the best service, the most for our money. I'm sure we have all heard people complain, "I don't get anything out of Mass." Perhaps when we've been frustrated with the music or preaching at our parish, we've even shared that sentiment ourselves. Yet, when we gather to celebrate Mass, we do not come to get to hear beautiful music, to get insightful instruction from the priest, or to get to share in our community of faith. All these things are good, but we come not to get them but to give-to give our worship to God.

We are sometimes tempted to imagine a god who doesn't want to be worshiped, a god who is much more egalitarian, a regular Joe just like us. But in imaging such a god, we imagine something that is not God. Worshiping doesn't fit well into our American culture as we have managed to obliterate so many signs of respect and honor from ordinary life. This makes it hard for us to see anything as worthy of honor. It also leads us to forget that man's greatest attribute is being made in the image and likeness of God. Our fellow men and women deserve to be respected and honored because each one is like God. God Himself deserves not just to be respected and honored but to be worshiped and adored because he is God.

The new translation of the Mass that we will start using next advent intentionally highlights this aspect of the Mass. It uses loftier language and sometime even big words-words that were chosen not because they were the easiest options for us but because they were the most worthy options for God. Those who fret that average Americans won't be able to understand these words not only insult average Americans but also forget who is being addressed throughout most of the Mass-not us but God. The language used at Mass will be a bit different from the language we use for other activities, but that is because what we do at Mass is different from any other activity.

The effort we spend to prepare and celebrate Mass is not so we or others can get more out of it, but it's so we can give more honor to God. The art and beauty of our Churches is not meant for our eyes or ears but is a sacrifice rising up to God. We come to Mass to give- to give everything to God. Like the Magi, in giving, we will find our greatest joy. We will discover a God who is not only a source for grace and enlightenment but one who is Emmanuel, God with us. God dwells with us giving us his very flesh and blood so that we can receive him and adore him.

Fr. Darren Pierre, O.P.

Promoter for the Lay and Priestly Fraternities of St. Dominic, Province of St. Joseph

Read the whole article here, it is well worth it! And while you are at it, Part 1 is here

Movie: Of Gods and Men

2011-03-18T10:16:00.000-06:00

Here's an interesting movie with a limited release. Check the web site by clicking the image.

This movie will play in Boise at "The Flicks" on Friday, April 22.

Exploiting chaos to advance abortion

2011-03-18T07:40:00.000-06:00

Enough to make one sick.
From the C-Fam Friday Fax

Activists Say Political Chaos Can Advance Abortion Rights

By Amanda Pawloski

NEW YORK, March 17 (C-FAM) Activists and lawyers shared advice on how to exploit chaotic political situations to advance abortion rights during a recent UN side event. Panelists boasted of their successes in influencing the new constitutions of both Kenya and Nepal to include provisions allowing for legalized abortion.

“Strategic moments can surface in chaos,” said Melissa Upreti, a legal advisor of the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR). She advised audience members at the UN Commission on the Status of Women event to seize those moments as opportunities to advance abortion and “reproductive rights.”

Activists at the CRR have swayed abortion policies by filing test cases to push the envelope on abortion laws. As a result of these lawsuits, many governments have adopted policies to ensure that access to “reproductive rights” includes state-funded abortion and contraceptive services.

Speakers from the Kenyan Federation of Women Lawyers recounted how just last February they were afraid progressive reproductive health provisions would not be included in the new Kenyan constitution, due to vocal opposition by religious groups. At an informal discussion, a Kenyan audience member said, “we would not have won if the Christian denominations hadn’t splintered.”

The Kenyan women lawyers attributed their success to peeling away opposition in other Christian denominations and isolating the Catholic Church as the only major group in opposition to a constitutional article that provides reproductive healthcare rights, and legal access to abortion.

At another panel, with the entire Kenyan delegation and Minister of Gender present, experts explained that the new Kenyan constitution provides for international law directly in the legal structure, which may also at times even override local law. The new constitution also provides that the new rights, which include reproductive healthcare, are progressive and that the state must continually adapt to meet the demands of such rights.

A representative of the Center for Reproductive Rights spoke on their success in influencing the interim constitution of the Nepalese government, which was adopted in 2007. Progressive legal experts are celebrating Nepal’s constitution as a major victory for abortion rights because it intentionally excludes a right to life. She highlighted its similar features to South Africa and Kenya, including rights to healthcare, education, and rights against exploitation in the name of custom and tradition.

The important distinction in the Nepalese constitution is that instead of a right to life it guarantees a “right to freedom, and to live with dignity.” A legal advisor explained that the right to life, included in other constitutions, has been interpreted in favor of the fetus regarding abortion cases. This has sometimes deterred abortion activists, however, Nepal’s constitution is a huge step forward for abortion rights and sets a precedent in international law.

The movement to expand human rights to include economic, social, and cultural rights has found many critics. Experts say that instead of ensuring economic and social progress, expansive rights eventually deter healthy economic growth and promote a social ideology that is not commonly shared.

World's Largest Human Cross

2011-03-16T15:05:00.000-06:00

From the Dominicans in the Phillipines, reported by the Eastern Province, we have this bit of uber-coolness!

Some 24,000 Filipino students at the University of Santo Tomas in Manila, reportedly broke a Guinness book of world records by forming the largest human cross. The students gathered at University of Santo Tomas in Manila which is run by the Dominicans, to send a message against a reproductive health bill in the Philippines. Wearing black and white T-shirts, students and teachers formed a Dominican cross. The previous record was by 935 participants at the Oslo Opera House in Norway in May 2010.

Watch the slide show at:
http://www.op-stjoseph.org/blog/dominican_students_break_world_record

Washington DC TV stations won't carry this add...

2011-03-13T14:26:00.000-06:00

From American Life League (article here)

Professor Edward Feser and the Thomas Aquinas Anselm “straw-man”

2011-03-08T14:26:00.000-07:00

I went to Bend for the weekend, but sometimes I "go around the bend" so to speak. One of my hobbies is trying to understand the writings of Thomas Aquinas; which, without a formal training in philosophy, is not an easy task. Yet, one of the popes (Pius X I think) wrote that you cannot understand Catholic dogmatic theology if you do not understand Aquinas. I consider the gauntlet thrown, and have nibbled around the edges of Aquinas’ works for some years.

Some years ago I encountered a list of books which should be read as primers to Aquinas; so I purchased all the books. I did not make it past GK Chesterton’s “The Dumb Ox.” Was Chesterton by this title having a spot of fun at the expense of his readers, the title referring to readers like me?

Some years ago I purchased a reprint of Etienne Gilson’s “The Philosophy of Thomas Aquinas” on a $1 markdown shelf. At the time I did not make it past the first chapter, and each time I’ve tried to read it, I’ve gotten a little further. Last time I tried, about five years ago, I made it as far as the fourth “proof,” but I’d plowed that far on sheer will to continue, without gaining much understanding from the read. I think this is because he writes close to his subject, not just his style. I derived tremendous benefit from Gilson’s book on the social justice encyclicals of Leo XIII, “The Church Speaks to the Modern World”, and his book “God and Philosophy”.

I have read and will heartily recommend Fr Walter Farrell OP’s “Summa Companion”, which is on the internet and extremely readable; a delightful work. One of his excellent quotes even appears on the sidebar of this blog. The delightful little book, “My Daily Life”, based on the Summa, is also excellent and readable. Yet, after reading these, when I return to the source, Thomas in the Summa, I am more often than not befuddled.

All of this is a lead in to my most recent attempt to “crack” the Aquinas Gordian knot; Professor Edward Feser’s “Aquinas,” published in the “Beginners Guides” series by Oneworld Publications, Oxford (2009). The author is Assistant Professor of Philosophy at Pasadena City College, California. I actually found first him and then the book through a social justice web forum, and was encouraged to try one more time. The book contains the following endorsement on the back cover:

“At last. A concise, accessible and compelling introduction to Aquinas’ thought. Feser shows that Aquinas’s philosophy is still a live option for thinkers today.” – Kelly James Clark, Professor of Philosophy, Calvin College.

I am making an effort to go through this book, taking my time, and trying to understand. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Nothing substitutes for the rigor of training the mind! I will say that I have gained a deeper appreciation for Thomas’ “proofs,” the objections against them and the refutation of said same objections.

All of which leads to the subject of this particular meditation; Aquinas and Anselm’s Ontological Proof. At the end Chapter 3 (Natural Theology), Feser writes:

“Much more could be said about Aquinas's account of the divine attributes, but this much suffices to show that there is no basis whatsoever for the widespread assumption that Aquinas never justifies the claim that the being whose existence he argues for in the Five Ways is the God of traditional theism. It also gives a sense of how much Aquinas thinks we can know about God through purely philosophical reasoning. But there is also a sense in which Aquinas thinks that we ultimately cannot know the essence of God, at least not as it is in itself. For in the strict sense knowledge of the essence of a thing requires the ability to define it in terms of its genus and difference, and as we have seen, there is for Aquinas no distinction in God between genus and difference, and thus no way to define him (CT 26). It is in this sense that Aquinas holds that "we cannot know what God is, but rather what He is not" (ST 1.3). And this is why the famous ontological argument associated with St. Anselm is not considered by Aquinas to be one of the ways in which we might prove the existence of God. For Anselm, God is by definition the greatest conceivable being, and it is (Anselm holds) greater to exist than not to exist. Hence if God did not exist it would follow, absurdly, that there could be something conceivably greater than the greatest being. Anselm's argument thus begins with a definition of God's essence and attempts to show that given knowledge of that essence, we can know also that there must be something in reality corresponding to it, and thus that God exists. Since Aquinas holds that God's essence and existence are identical, he agrees that if we could have knowledge of God's essence we could see that he must exist. But since in fact we cannot, in his view, have knowledge of that essence, we cannot know the starting point of the ontological argument (ST 1.2.1). Our knowledge of God must therefore be a posteriori, based on observation of his effects. But that, as we have seen, affords us in Aquinas's view with ample grounds indeed for affirming God's existence and predicating of him the traditional divine attributes.
Edward Feser, Aquinas for Beginners, Ch 3, p 130

First, I will say that I do not know if I am writing about Aquinas’s view of Feser’s view of Aquinas, so please keep that in mind. So let’s look at Anselm’s proposition: “God is that which a greater-than cannot be conceived.” In response to this, Feser says that Anselm’s proof states that God is “the greatest conceivable being” (see quote above). This is a derived conclusion (the conceivability of God) which I do not think is justified nor even intended by Anselm. I believe Anselm, had he been able to sit at table with Aquinas, would have agreed that this knowledge is beyond our conception, and complete agreement would be attained, at least on that point. I will attempt to explain what I think Anselm has in mind by way of an analogy.

I remember in the early days of the US Space Program, would-be astronauts were trained in the experience of working in a weightless environment. How? They were put in an airplane which flew in an arc to the maximum altitude and then curved back to earth. This provided a few brief minutes where the trainees and their equipment were completely free of the earth’s gravity, which at that point had the plane along with the contents of the plane, resulting in zero net gravity. We used to enjoy watching the news clips of floating men trying to work with wrenches and doing weightless acrobatics in the belly of the plane. From a physical standpoint, if you fly high enough, at the stall point gravity takes the plane but inside the plane all the contents are falling at the same rate, so that the net effect to the passenger is that of no gravity at all; for a moment, one can slip the bonds of earthly bondage to gravity without actually going into space.

And this is the key, I propose, to understanding what Anslem desired us to know. For if you begin a chain of conceiving of things and their “greater than,” you will, in contrast to regressing to infinite causes or movers, expend your efforts considering God as greater than what God has ever been conceived of, one at a time from statue upwards; and finally, like that airplane, slip for a moment beyond your ability to conceive of a thing at all. In this momentary “weightless state,” the tool which we have used all our life is no longer functional, and it is here in this moment that our limited intellect can encounter God. And granted that this “proof” of the existence of God is not one of rigorous logic, such as those of Thomas’s five, but rather one of direct experience, and experience of the sort that inclines one to say “all else is but as straw.”

Be that as it may, straw is good, very good. I continue to seek to understand Thomas, and I thank Professor Feser for some of the best assistance I have yet found. I will also concede that it is entirely possible that I have misunderstood Anselm and have done little more than stumble through a contemplative crack in the philosophical matrix, which the thick fog of my mind is too dense to penetrate. Either way, “seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." [Mt 6:33]

I hope to go 'round the bend again soon.

In defense of Dominic as originator of the Rosary

2011-03-03T22:22:00.000-07:00

an interesting article from eLumen, the newsletter of the Eastern Province:

Letter to the Editor

The following is a letter addressed to Mr. Raimondo Di Bona, OP, who reviewed the book The Rosary: The John Paul II Method, by Mr. Robert Feeney, OP. in July 2010, eLumen, Volume 6, # 7, p. 13. Mr. Feeney writes:

I came across eLumen ‐‐ July – 2010…. Thank you for recommending it. In it, you made comments regarding the tradition of St. Dominic as author of the Rosary. I enclose some excerpts from my books: The Rosary: The Little Summa (4th ed.). They are from the chapter – The Papal Tradition. I send these excerpts to throw some light on your comments. My high school teacher used to always say: “A word to the wise is sufficient.”

The Papal tradition of the Rosary is singled out in official documents written by Popes starting with Pope Urban and ending with Leo XIII in the early 20th century. These documents consist of facts about the Rosary that have gone through tests of research and verification. These Popes did not accept these facts without reasonable proofs. They had learned men assist them in the composition of these papal documents on the Rosary.

In the 17th century, because some Belgian Jesuits (Bollandists) had cast doubt on St. Dominic being the author of the Rosary, Pope Benedict XIII, in 1724, asked Cardinal Prospero Lambertino, a scholar and promoter of historical studies with a Vatican Congregation, to look into the matter. The cardinal thoroughly investigated the Bollandists’ research. After doing this, he affirmed the tradition of St. Dominic as the true author of the Rosary. He rejected the Bollandists’ research and claim that St. Dominic was not the author of the Rosary. Pope Benedict accepted his conclusions. The Cardinal published: “The Popes in their decrees, to which assent is to be given, rightly designated St. Dominic as author of the Rosary.

Cardinal Lambertini would become Pope Benedict XIV (1740‐58). During his papacy, he taught that faith should be given to papal documents in which St. Dominic is rightly called author of the Rosary. He alluded to the fact that even writers of his time did not credit St. Dominic with being the author of the Rosary. The same could be said of some writers today.

Men's Conference in Pendelton Oregon

2011-03-03T14:50:00.003-07:00

Last Friday I traveled with three other Cathedral parishoners to Pendleton Oregon, for the third annual "Go West Catholic Men" conference. (link)

The conference feature presentations by Cardinal Raymond Burke, prefect of the Apostolic Signatura of the Vatican (think: Chief Justice of the Vatican's Supreme Court), Bishop Robert Vasa (late of the diocese of Baker Oregon and soon to be installed in Santa Rosa, California), Father Clement of St. Mary Church, Pendleton, the host, and Doug Barry, host of EWTN program "Life on the Rock". Music was provided by the Wyoming Catholic College Choir, with 26 students travelling from Lander Wyoming under the direction of Dr. Peter Kwasniewski, professor of Theology and Philosophy, and one time novice of the Dominican laity.

The link above now has the presentation, audio, and pictures, and I'd direct you there. however, I want to include one here because it was such a remarkable experience. Fr. Clement preceeded eucharistic adoration with a brief meditation on the scripture where the woman was healed from a 12 year hemorage by touching the hem of Jesus' garment; Jesus asks who touched him while he is being crushed by a crowd "for power went out..."

Father held the monstrance for 45 minutes while two acolytes held the ends of the humeral veil stretched out (it must have been 20 feet long!), and some 500 men nealt before Jesus and touched/kissed/wept on the hem of His garment.

There also was an "International Rosary" with the Boise Diocese's own Fr Eladio Vieyra (Immaculate Conception, Buhl) and our friend from the Baker Diocese, Fr. Andrew Szymakowski, recently of St Brigit, Nyssa Oregon, now at Wasco Oregon. first time I'd heard the Hail Mary in German; beautiful!

and who doesn't love a Professor, a Cardinal, a Bishop, and the wonderful young people who gave up their weekend to be the choir for our masses? They sang beautiful chant, sacred polyphony, and sacred hymns, earning a comment from Cardinal Burke: "thank you for providing the sort of music that the Holy Father has been asking for!"

Hit and Miss

2011-02-24T14:27:00.002-07:00

France does something right!

France’s Constitutional Council Upholds Marriage as Between One Man and One Woman

6. Whereas, first, Article 66 of the Constitution prohibits arbitrary detention and entrusts to the judicial authority, as provided by law, the protection of individual liberty; the freedom to marry, a component of personal freedom, arises from Articles 2 and 4 of the 1789 Déclaration des droits de l’homme et du citoyen (Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen); the challenged provisions do not affect personal liberty, and therefore, the complaint of violation of Article 66 of the Constitution is irrelevant;

7. Whereas, second, the freedom to marry does not restrict the legislature’s jurisdiction under Article 34 of the Constitution to establish conditions for marriage so long as they are not contrary to other constitutional principles;

8. Whereas, on one hand, the right to lead a normal family life is founded in the tenth paragraph of the Preamble to the Constitution of 1946, which provides: “The Nation shall provide the individual and the family with the conditions necessary for their development”; the last paragraph of Article 75 and Article 144 of the Civil Code do not preclude the freedom of same-sex couples to cohabit under the conditions defined by Article 515-8 of the Code or to benefit from the legal framework of a civil union (PACS) governed by Articles 515-1 et seq.; the right to lead a normal family life does not necessitate a right to same-sex marriage, and consequently, the challenged provisions do not implicate the right to lead a normal family life;

9. Whereas, on the other hand, Article 6 of the 1789 Declaration states that the law “must be the same for everyone, whether it protects or punishes”; the principle of equality precludes neither that the legislature regulate differently in different situations nor that he depart from equality in serving the greater good, provided that in either case the resultant difference in treatment be directly related to the state interest; by maintaining the principle that marriage is the union of one man and one woman, the legislature, in exercising the jurisdiction granted it in Article 34 of the Constitution, considers that the difference in situation of same-sex couples and couples composed of a man and a woman can justify different treatment with regard to the rules of family law; it is not for the Constitutional Court to then substitute its opinion for that of the legislature in this matter; therefore, the complaint of violation of Article 6 of the 1789 Declaration must be rejected;

10. Whereas it follows from the foregoing that the complaint of infringement of the freedom to marry must be rejected.

From the Blog Turtle Bay and Beyond, International Law, Policy, and Institutions (Link)

and Germany misses the mark:

Germany: Radical Lesbian Gender-Theorist appointed to serve at Constitutional Court

It is pretty much as if Margaret Sanger, Marie Stopes, or Judith Butler had been appointed as Justices for the US Supreme Court: since the beginning of this month, Germany’s Constitutional Court (Bundesverfassungsgericht, BVG) features among its judges a radical gender-theorist with absolutely no prior experience as a judge. Her name is Susanne Baer, and she is living in a lesbian relationship.

Mrs. Baer has no prior experience whatsoever as a judge, nor as an attorney. Her qualification for the job is that for eight years she has served as Professor for “Feminist Legal Theory” at Humboldt University, Berlin. Until 2010 she also was the Director of the “GenderKompetenzZentrum” (Center for Gender Competence), an Institute that was established at Humboldt University to promote the theory of “Gender-Mainstreaming”. The basis for her swift academic career was thus not the promotion of knowledge and insight, but of radical ideologies. I write “ideologies”, because, closely following the Marxist tradition, she views law as a tool to make politics rather than as something that must correspond to an outward reality. As she once wrote, “law is a means to construct reality”….

The task of a judge is to apply laws to cases. Mrs. Baer, it must be expected, has neither been trained to do that, nor does she want to. With all due respect: given her career as an ideologue-dressed-up-as-academic, it is hardly likely that she will not abuse her judicial power in order to turn her radical theories into law. After all, that is precisely what her political masters have nominated her for…

From the Blog Turtle Bay and Beyond, International Law, Policy, and Institutions (Link)

Encouraging signs

2011-02-24T14:04:00.000-07:00

From the C-FAM Friday Fax - Holy See Combats Radical Agenda During Commission on Social Development

Many delegations have commented on what they see as a new tenor and tone of the Holy See delegation. Delegations are also talking about how much more active the Holy See delegates have been in actual negotiations. Some delegations have greeted this outspokenness with chagrin and even hostility.

"The greatness of Christianity lies in its being hated by the world" - Ignatius of Antioch to the Romans

Passing of my father

2011-02-21T12:28:00.002-07:00

In the previous post I asked for prayers for my father; he passed away peacefully yesterday and if you don't mind, I hope you will say a prayer for the repose of his soul.

thank you and God bless you.

Why do we Climb Mountains, by Br Corwin Low OP

If you are reading this...

2011-02-15T14:50:00.001-07:00

If you are reading this post, please know that the computer you are using (if it has a disk drive) contains technology pioneered by my father, William A Gross, while working at IBM/Morgan Hill in the 1950s. Dad was part of a 5 man "Tiger Team" charged with developing the theoretical and technical engineering which would come down to us as the "magnetic head" which is the heart of all disk drives. His seminal book, "Gas Film Lubrication" was published in 1962 and is still in print undergoing active revision and is an industry standard.

Dad left IBM and disk memory, and went to AMPEX where he was VP of research (magnetic tape), and was involved in such things as the development of cassette audio tapes, video, and portable video recording. it wasn't until 1984 when he was invited to speak on the topic of Tiger Teams at an IEEE meeting in San Diego, that he learned that his research had attained such profound practical application!

I was but a tot during dad's years at IBM; he commuted in a 1956 VW Bug (comes in any color, as long as it's grey), but by the 60s I was old enough to help Al Stahler with the first field test of the first portable video recorder, a 90 lb monster backpack carried while filming; the test was a Stanford university football game; "instant replay" from the field was born!

I went to university to study Geology, and one day in the early 1970s startled my dad with the revelation that fossil energy resources are finite, a problem which captivated his immagination; having lost his dear wife, Shirley to a rare liver disease, he was ready for something new; with his new wife Sharon, and a new outlook on life, they moved to Albuquerque New Mexico where he took the post of Dean of Engineering, where he invested his creative energy in alternative energy and entepreneural engineering, as well as putting his social conscience to work finding ways to bring minorities into the engineering profession, and helping to develop engineering programs in third world countries around the world.

Dad was raised Baptist, but his response to the horrors of WWII was to become a member of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), in which I was raised, and which he has remained active all his adult life. I don't think dad ever has understood how my becoming Catholic is a logical and rational thing to do based on the foundation he laid in my childhood; the boogy-man of Catholicism used to terrify him as a child he never really outgrew, but he did not oppose it, seeing it as something that filled an obscure need of mine, never grasping the nature of the relationship.

And so as William A Gross (Bill) spends his last days in hospice, I beg your prayers for him and his beloved Sherry, and I also thank God for the gifts which He gave me through his servant Bill. We all fall short of the glory of God, but this dear man taught me as a child an invaluable lesson while camping: "Always leave a place better than you found it." until last week I didn't really appreciate how this lesson from the campground shapes life in general, and relations with people in particular.

Thanks to Anita at V-ForVictory who put out the earlier call for prayers while I was in Phoenix and Albuquerque with dad. it was a tremendous gift to spend those days with both dad and Sherry. thank you for your prayers. And thanks for indulging a bit of memory lane wandering.

Happy feast of St Thomas!

2011-01-28T03:15:00.001-07:00

FAITH - REJECTING ONE ARTICLE OF

"To reject any article of the faith is to reject the faith itself. This is like pulling one stone out of an arch; it is like putting one hole in the hull of a ship. The whole arch tumbles down; the whole ship sinks. A man who has the faith, accepts God's word. Now, God's word has set up the Church as man's infallible teacher and guide. If a man, therefore, rejects one article of the faith, and says that he believes all the other articles, he believes these by his own choice and opinion, not by faith. Rejecting one article of the faith, he rejects the whole authority of the Church, and he rejects the authority of God who has set up and authorized the Church to teach truth. Hence, it is entirely incorrect to say that am man may have lifeless or formless faith in some article of the Creed while he rejects others; such a man has not the faith at all, living or lifeless." Thomas Aquinas, Summa IIa IIae Q5

Sorry, I lost the source of the above quote, which is based on the Summa, as opposed to IN the Summa.

From "Bad Vestments" blog

2011-01-27T23:20:00.001-07:00

I fount this image at the site "Bad Vestments" which is so like a train wreck where you don't want to see the carnage but can't help but look.

anyway, this had me in stitches...

Bad Vestments post can be found here

Link between liturgical and sexual abuse?

2011-01-27T13:52:00.004-07:00

Anita (V-for Victory) found an article which we’d read a few years ago and lost the link to, and so I’m posting the link again so that I won’t loose it.

In this article, the author, Fr. Farfaglia, makes the provocative suggestion that sexual impurity is perhaps at the heart of liturgical abuse. Following is the section of the article; I suggest you read the whole thing at Renew America.

Another cause of the present state of emergency with regard to the liturgy could be the underlying cause of the entire mess we're in. Having taught the Catechism of the Catholic Church to a large number of parishioners, I have found the following insight of the Catechism to be quite amazing. When discussing the Ninth Commandment, the Catechism states:

'The sixth beatitude proclaims, 'Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.' Pure in heart refers to those who have attuned their intellects and wills to the demands of God's holiness, chiefly in three areas: charity; chastity or sexual rectitude; love of the truth and orthodoxy of faith. There is a connection between purity of heart, of body, and of faith' (#2518).

It is interesting to note, based upon a lifetime of observation, that those priests who habitually carry on with women, or those active homosexual priests who carry on with their proclivities, are guilty of the most obtrusive and bizarre liturgical abuses. There is a connection between purity of heart, of body, and of faith.

Fr James Farfaglia, “State of Emergency, The Present Situation of the Catholic Liturgy in America, in Renew America, 2007 (link)

Where there’s smoke, there’s fire?

Additionally, at Chiesa Online, Sandro Magister recently quoted from Cardinal Biffi’s book, Memories of an Italian Cardinal. He has an interesting thing to say on The Ideology of Homosexuality:

Regarding the problem of homosexuality that is emerging today, the Christian conception tells us that one must always distinguish the respect due to persons, which involves rejecting any marginalization of them in society and politics (except for the unalterable nature of marriage and the family), from the rejection of any exalted "ideology of homosexuality," which is obligatory.

The word of God, as we know it in a page of the letter to the Romans by the apostle Paul, offers us on the contrary a theological interpretation of the rampant cultural aberration in this matter: such an aberration – the sacred text affirms – is at the same time the proof and the result of the exclusion of God from the collective attention and from social life, and of the refusal to give him the glory that he is due (cf. Romans 1:21).

The exclusion of the Creator determines a universal derailing of reason: "They became vain in their reasoning, and their senseless minds were darkened. While claiming to be wise, they became fools" (Romans 1:21-22). The result of this intellectual blindness was a fall, in both theory and practice, into the most complete dissoluteness: "Therefore, God handed them over to impurity through the lusts of their hearts for the mutual degradation of their bodies" (Romans 1:24).

And to prevent any misunderstanding and any accommodating interpretation, the apostle proceeds with a startling analysis, formulated in perfectly explicit terms:

"Therefore, God handed them over to degrading passions. Their females exchanged natural relations for unnatural, and the males likewise gave up natural relations with females and burned with lust for one another. Males did shameful things with males and thus received in their own persons the due penalty for their perversity. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God handed them over to their undiscerning mind to do what is improper" (Romans 1:26-28).

Finally, Paul takes pains to observe that the greatest abjection takes place when "the authors of these things . . . not only do them but give approval to those who practice them" (cf. Romans 1:32).

It is a page of the inspired book, which no earthly authority can force us to censor. Nor are we permitted, if we want to be faithful to the word of God, the pusillanimity of passing over it in silence out of concern not to appear "politically incorrect."

We must on the contrary point out the singular interest for our days of this teaching of Revelation: what St. Paul revealed as taking place in the Greco-Roman world is shown to correspond prophetically to what has taken place in Western culture in these last centuries. The exclusion of the Creator – to the point of proclaiming grotesquely, a few decades ago, the "death of God" – has had the result (almost like an intrinsic punishment) of the spread of an aberrant view of sexuality, unknown (in its arrogance) to previous eras.

The ideology of homosexuality – as often happens to ideologies when they become aggressive and end up being politically triumphant – becomes a threat to our legitimate autonomy of thought: those who do not share it risk condemnation to a kind of cultural and social marginalization.

The attacks on freedom of thought start with language. Those who do not resign themselves to accept "homophilia" (the theoretical appreciation of homosexual relations) are charged with "homophobia" (etymologically, the "fear of homosexuality"). This must be very clear: those who are made strong by the inspired word and live in the "fear of God" are not afraid of anything, except perhaps the stupidity toward which, Bonhoeffer said, we are defenseless. We are now even charged sometimes with the incredibly arbitrary accusation of "racism": a word that, among other things, has nothing to do with this issue, and in any case is completely extraneous to our doctrine and our history.

The essential problem that presents itself is this: is it still permitted in our days to be faithful and consistent disciples of the teaching of Christ (which for millennia has inspired and enriched the whole of Western civilization), or must we prepare ourselves for a new form of persecution, promoted by homosexual activists, by their ideological accomplices, and even by those whose task it should be to defend the intellectual freedom of all, including Christians?

There is one question that we ask in particular of the theologians, biblicists, and pastoralists. Why on earth, in this climate of almost obsessive exaltation of Sacred Scripture, is the Pauline passage of Romans 1:21-32 never cited by anyone? Why on earth is there not a little more concern to make it known to believers and nonbelievers, in spite of its evident timeliness?

Giacomo Biffi, "Memorie e digressioni di un italiano cardinale," Translation by Matthew Sherry for Sandro Magister, Chiesa Online (Link)

To make it even more interesting, Athanasius Schneider, the Auxiliary Bishop of Kazakhstan has issued a call for clarification – (will the real Vatican II please stand up!) in the form of a Syllabus of errors:

[. . .] For a correct interpretation of Vatican Council II, it is necessary to keep in mind the intention manifested in the conciliar documents themselves and in the specific words of the popes who convened and presided over it, John XXIII and Paul VI.

Moreover, it is necessary to discover the common thread of the entire work of the Council, meaning its pastoral intention, which is the "salus animarum," the salvation of souls. This, in turn, depends on and is subordinate to the promotion of divine worship and of the glory of God, it depends on the primacy of God.

This primacy of God in life and in all the activity of the Church is manifested unequivocally by the fact that the constitution on the liturgy occupies, conceptually and chronologically, the first place in the vast work of the Council. [. . .]

*

The characteristic of the rupture in the interpretation of the conciliar texts is manifested in a more stereotypical and widespread way in the thesis of an anthropocentric, secularist, or naturalistic shift of Vatican Council II with respect to the previous ecclesial tradition.

One of the best-known manifestations of such a mistaken interpretation has been, for example, so-called liberation theology and the subsequent devastating pastoral practice. What contrast there is between this liberation theology and its practice and the Council appears evident from the following conciliar teaching: "Christ, to be sure, gave His Church no proper mission in the political, economic or social order. The purpose which He set before her is a religious one" (cf. "Gaudium et Spes," 42). [. . .]

One interpretation of rupture of lighter doctrinal weight has been manifested in the pastoral-liturgical field. One might mention in this regard the decline of the sacred and sublime character of the liturgy, and the introduction of more anthropocentric elements of expression.

This phenomenon can be seen in three liturgical practices that are fairly well known and widespread in almost all the parishes of the Catholic sphere: the almost complete disappearance of the use of the Latin language, the reception of the Eucharistic body of Christ directly in the hand while standing, and the celebration of the Eucharistic sacrifice in the modality of a closed circle in which priest and people are constantly looking at each other.

This way of praying – without everyone facing the same direction, which is a more natural corporal and symbolic expression with respect to the truth of everyone being oriented toward God in public worship – contradicts the practice that Jesus himself and his apostles observed in public prayer, both in the temple and in the synagogue. It also contradicts the unanimous testimony of the Fathers and of all the subsequent tradition of the Eastern and Western Church.

These three pastoral and liturgical practices glaringly at odds with the law of prayer maintained by generations of the Catholic faithful for at least one millennium find no support in the conciliar texts, and even contradict both a specific text of the Council (on the Latin language: cf. "Sacrosanctum Concilium," 36 and 54) and the "mens," the true intention of the conciliar Fathers, as can be seen in the proceedings of the Council.

*

In the hermeneutical uproar of the contrasting interpretations, and in the confusion of pastoral and liturgical applications, what appears as the only authentic interpreter of the conciliar texts is the Council itself, together with the pope.

One could make a comparison with the confused hermeneutical climate of the first centuries of the Church, caused by arbitrary biblical and doctrinal interpretations on the part of heterodox groups. In his famous work "De Praescriptione Haereticorum," Tertullian was able to counter the heretics of various tendencies with the fact that only the Church possesses the "praescriptio," meaning only the Church is the legitimate proprietor of the faith, of the word of God and of the tradition. The Church can use this to fend off the heretics in disputes over true interpretation. Only the Church can say, according to Tertullian, "Ego sum heres Apostolorum," I am the heir of the apostles. By way of analogy, only the supreme magisterium of the pope or of a future ecumenical council will be able to say: "Ego sum heres Concilii Vaticani II."

In recent decades there existed, and still exist today, groupings within the Church that are perpetrating an enormous abuse of the pastoral character of the Council and its texts, written according to this pastoral intention, since the Council did not want to present its own definitive or unalterable teachings. From the same pastoral nature of the texts of the Council, it can be seen that its texts are in principle open to supplementation and to further doctrinal clarifications. Keeping in mind the now decades-long experience of interpretations that are doctrinally and pastorally mistaken and contrary to the bimillennial continuity of the doctrine and prayer of the faith, there thus arises the necessity and urgency of a specific and authoritative intervention of the pontifical magisterium for an authentic interpretation of the conciliar texts, with supplementation and doctrinal clarifications; a sort of "Syllabus" of the errors in the interpretation of Vatican Council II.

There is the need for a new Syllabus, this time directed not so much against the errors coming from outside of the Church, but against the errors circulated within the Church by supporters of the thesis of discontinuity and rupture, with its doctrinal, liturgical, and pastoral application.

Such a Syllabus should consist of two parts: the part that points out the errors, and the positive part with proposals for clarification, completion, and doctrinal clarification.

*

Two groupings stand out for their support of the theory of rupture. One of these groupings tries to "Protestantize" the life of the Church doctrinally, liturgically, and pastorally. On the opposite side are those traditional groups which, in the name of tradition, reject the Council and exempt themselves from submission to the supreme living magisterium of the Church, from the visible head of the Church, the vicar of Christ on earth, submitting meanwhile only to the invisible head of the Church, waiting for better times. [. . .]

In essence, there have been two impediments preventing the true intention of the Council and its magisterium from bearing abundant and lasting fruit.

One was found outside of the Church, in the violent process of cultural and social revolution during the 1960's, which like every powerful social phenomenon penetrated inside the Church, infecting with its spirit of rupture vast segments of persons and institutions.

The other impediment was manifested in the lack of wise and at the same time intrepid pastors of the Church who might be quick to defend the purity and integrity of the faith and of liturgical and pastoral life, not allowing themselves to be influenced by flattery or fear.

The Council of Trent had already affirmed in one of its last decrees on the general reform of the Church: "The holy synod, shaken by the many extremely serious evils that afflict the Church, cannot do other than recall that the thing most necessary for the Church of God is to select excellent and suitable pastors; all the more in that our Lord Jesus Christ will ask for an account of the blood of those sheep that should perish because of the bad governance of negligent pastors unmindful of their duty" (Session XXIV, Decree "de reformatione," can. 1).

The Council continued: "As for all those who for any reason have been authorized by the Holy See to intervene in the promotion of future prelates or those who take part in this in another way, the holy Council exhorts and admonishes them to remember above all that they can do nothing more useful for the glory of God and the salvation of the people than to devote themselves to choosing good and suitable pastors to govern the Church."

So there is truly a need for a Syllabus on the Council with doctrinal value, and moreover there is a need for an increase in the number of holy, courageous pastors deeply rooted in the tradition of the Church, free from any sort of mentality of rupture, both in the doctrinal field and in the liturgical field.

These two elements constitute the indispensable condition so that doctrinal, liturgical, and pastoral confusion may diminish significantly, and so that the pastoral work of Vatican Council II may bear much lasting fruit in the spirit of the tradition, which connects us to the spirit that has reigned in every time, everywhere and in all true children of the Catholic Church, which is the only and the true Church of God on earth.

As reported by Sandro Magister, Chiesa Online (link)

Five years have passed since the Holy Father Benedict XVI spoke of the clash between the right and wrong interpretation of Vatican II, the conflict between the hermeneutic of rupture versus the hermeneutic of reform, presented to the Roman Curia in his Christmas message of Dec 22, 2005:

[] it all depends on the correct interpretation of the Council or - as we would say today - on its proper hermeneutics, the correct key to its interpretation and application. The problems in its implementation arose from the fact that two contrary hermeneutics came face to face and quarrelled with each other. One caused confusion, the other, silently but more and more visibly, bore and is bearing fruit.

On the one hand, there is an interpretation that I would call "a hermeneutic of discontinuity and rupture"; it has frequently availed itself of the sympathies of the mass media, and also one trend of modern theology. On the other, there is the "hermeneutic of reform", of renewal in the continuity of the one subject-Church which the Lord has given to us. She is a subject which increases in time and develops, yet always remaining the same, the one subject of the journeying People of God.

The hermeneutic of discontinuity risks ending in a split between the pre-conciliar Church and the post-conciliar Church. It asserts that the texts of the Council as such do not yet express the true spirit of the Council. It claims that they are the result of compromises in which, to reach unanimity, it was found necessary to keep and reconfirm many old things that are now pointless. However, the true spirit of the Council is not to be found in these compromises but instead in the impulses toward the new that are contained in the texts.

These innovations alone were supposed to represent the true spirit of the Council, and starting from and in conformity with them, it would be possible to move ahead. Precisely because the texts would only imperfectly reflect the true spirit of the Council and its newness, it would be necessary to go courageously beyond the texts and make room for the newness in which the Council's deepest intention would be expressed, even if it were still vague.

In a word: it would be necessary not to follow the texts of the Council but its spirit. In this way, obviously, a vast margin was left open for the question on how this spirit should subsequently be defined and room was consequently made for every whim.

The nature of a Council as such is therefore basically misunderstood. In this way, it is considered as a sort of constituent that eliminates an old constitution and creates a new one. However, the Constituent Assembly needs a mandator and then confirmation by the mandator, in other words, the people the constitution must serve. The Fathers had no such mandate and no one had ever given them one; nor could anyone have given them one because the essential constitution of the Church comes from the Lord and was given to us so that we might attain eternal life and, starting from this perspective, be able to illuminate life in time and time itself.

Through the Sacrament they have received, Bishops are stewards of the Lord's gift. They are "stewards of the mysteries of God" (I Cor 4: 1); as such, they must be found to be "faithful" and "wise" (cf. Lk 12: 41-48). This requires them to administer the Lord's gift in the right way, so that it is not left concealed in some hiding place but bears fruit, and the Lord may end by saying to the administrator: "Since you were dependable in a small matter I will put you in charge of larger affairs" (cf. Mt 25: 14-30; Lk 19: 11-27).

These Gospel parables express the dynamic of fidelity required in the Lord's service; and through them it becomes clear that, as in a Council, the dynamic and fidelity must converge.

The hermeneutic of discontinuity is countered by the hermeneutic of reform, as it was presented first by Pope John XXIII in his Speech inaugurating the Council on 11 October 1962 and later by Pope Paul VI in his Discourse for the Council's conclusion on 7 December 1965.

Here I shall cite only John XXIII's well-known words, which unequivocally express this hermeneutic when he says that the Council wishes "to transmit the doctrine, pure and integral, without any attenuation or distortion". And he continues: "Our duty is not only to guard this precious treasure, as if we were concerned only with antiquity, but to dedicate ourselves with an earnest will and without fear to that work which our era demands of us...". It is necessary that "adherence to all the teaching of the Church in its entirety and preciseness..." be presented in "faithful and perfect conformity to the authentic doctrine, which, however, should be studied and expounded through the methods of research and through the literary forms of modern thought. The substance of the ancient doctrine of the deposit of faith is one thing, and the way in which it is presented is another...", retaining the same meaning and message (The Documents of Vatican II, Walter M. Abbott, S.J., p. 715).

It is clear that this commitment to expressing a specific truth in a new way demands new thinking on this truth and a new and vital relationship with it; it is also clear that new words can only develop if they come from an informed understanding of the truth expressed, and on the other hand, that a reflection on faith also requires that this faith be lived. In this regard, the programme that Pope John XXIII proposed was extremely demanding, indeed, just as the synthesis of fidelity and dynamic is demanding.

However, wherever this interpretation guided the implementation of the Council, new life developed and new fruit ripened. Forty years after the Council, we can show that the positive is far greater and livelier than it appeared to be in the turbulent years around 1968. Today, we see that although the good seed developed slowly, it is nonetheless growing; and our deep gratitude for the work done by the Council is likewise growing.

(Link)

with special thanks to Matt Abott at Renew America for Fr. Farfaglia's article, and to Sandro Magister for the articles by Cardinal Biffi and Bishop Athanasius Schneider.

New Provincial elected

2011-01-13T14:21:00.001-07:00

The members of the Blessed Margaret of Castello Chapter would like to congratulate Fr. Mark Padrez, OP on his election to Prior Provincial of the Province of the Holy Name of Jesus (Western Dominican Province).

hat tip to Fr. Pius Pietrzyk OP of the Eastern Province for the news on the Friar's Blog

We Three Kings - Epiphany reflection

2011-01-06T02:19:00.002-07:00

The following is from eLumen, the Newsletter of the Lay Fraternities of St. Dominic, Province of St. Joseph, U.S.A.

From the Provincial Promoter’s Desk

We three kings of orient are
bearing gifts we traverse afar
Field and fountain, moor and mountain
following yonder star.

In our popular carol about the Wise Men, we quickly pass over their journey with all its fields and moors, fountains and mountains. In the usual Christmas spirit, this allows us to focus on the most important part—the presents! Each gift is given a whole verse to itself: gold for Jesus the King, incense for Jesus who is God, and myrrh for Jesus who is to be a sacrifice. Yet, for the Magi,the journey to Jerusalem and then on to Bethlehem to find Jesus was a significant trip. We don’t know exactly who they were or from where they came. Many traditions hold they came from Persia, Arabia, or Indian. Typical nativity scenes show the magi representing three ancient gentile races: Greeks, Ethiopians, and Chinese. A journey from any of these places would be incredibly long, over a thousand miles. We modern Americans have no idea what it meant to travel that kind of distances. We complain if we have to cross to the other side of town or spend a few hours in an airport. For the magi this journey would have taken months, perhaps half a year, doing nothing but traveling. Even for those with wealth and power, such a journey was not easy or safe. And certainly, camels have never struck me as being particularly ergonomic.

These Wise Men spent months traveling thousands of miles following a star. They were searching not for the Seven Cities of Gold or the fountain of youth. They gained no glory or power or fame. They didn’t even get to appear on “Amazing Star Following” on CBS. In the end, all they found is a baby boy, born in a stable, who was too young to remember or even recognize them. And so, after months of travel, they turned around and went home. Only, they were forced to sneak back “by a different way” because paranoid King Herod was trying to kill them to cover the whole thing up. They undertook an incredible journey of risk and sacrifice which brought them...absolutely nothing. They didn’t get anything out of it.

This realization is crucial to understand what the Wise Men were about. For the Wise Men didn’t make their journey to get anything. They made that journey to give. Certainly, they gave their famous gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. However, more importantly, they went to give the gift of worship. When they found the child with Mary his mother, “they fell down and worshiped him.” They were willing to travel so far and risk so much, because they found someone worthy of their worship, someone whom they could adore. This was the point of their thousand mile journey, and this is the point of the journey of each of our lives. We are made to seek someone to worship, someone worthy of our adoration.

There is a strange temptation in the world today to see religion in terms of what we get out of it. We are supposed to find the religion or the church that gives us the best service, the most for our money. I’m sure we have all heard people complain, “I don’t get anything out of Mass.” Perhaps when we’ve been frustrated with the music or preaching at our parish, we’ve even shared that sentiment ourselves. Yet, when we gather to celebrate Mass, we do not come to get to hear beautiful music, to get insightful instruction from the priest, or to get to share in our community of faith. All these things are good, but we come not to get them but to give—to give our worship to God.

We are sometimes tempted to imagine a god who doesn’t want to be worshiped, a god who is much more egalitarian, a regular Joe just like us. But in imaging such a god, we imagine something that is not God. Worshiping doesn’t fit well into our American culture as we have managed to obliterate so many signs of respect and honor from ordinary life. This makes it hard for us to see anything as worthy of honor. It also leads us to forget that man’s greatest attribute is being made in the image and likeness of God. Our fellow men and women deserve to be respected and honored because each one is like God. God Himself deserves not just to be respected and honored but to be worshiped and adored because he is God.

The new translation of the Mass that we will start using next Advent intentionally highlights this aspect of the Mass. It uses loftier language and sometime even big words—words that were chosen not because they were the easiest options for us but because they were the most worthy options for God. Those who fret that average Americans won’t be able to understand these words not only insult average Americans but also forget who is being addressed throughout most of the Mass—not us but God. The language used at Mass will be a bit different from the language we use for other activities, but that is because what we do at Mass is different from any other activity.

The effort we spend to prepare and celebrate Mass is not so we or others can get more out of it, but it’s so we can give more honor to God. The art and beauty of our Churches is not meant for our eyes or ears but is a sacrifice rising up to God. We come to Mass to give—to give everything to God. Like the Magi, in giving, we will find our greatest joy. We will discover a God who is not only a source for grace and enlightenment but one who is Emmanuel, God with us. God dwells with us giving us his very flesh and blood so that we can receive him and adore him.

Fr. Darren Pierre, O.P.
Provincial Promoter

Duty to die

2011-01-04T17:34:00.000-07:00

From the Irish prolife site, Family and Life:

Belgian Court Decides Disabled Child Denied “Right” to be Aborted A Belgian court has ruled that a disabled child was denied his “right” to be aborted. Belgian journal, Revue Générale des Assurances et Responsabilités, has just published a decision rendered by the Brussels Court of Appeal on 21 September 2010 in a case of a child born disabled after an erroneous prenatal diagnosis. The Court ruled that the child, represented by his parents, could claim damages from physicians for the injury of being born disabled. "Certainly, the misdiagnosis did not cause the child's disability, which existed before the error and which could not be remedied," the Court considered. "However, the injury which must be compensated is not the disability itself, but the fact of being born with such disabilities." For the Court, the child would have had "right" to an abortion if the disability had been...
Details: http://www.familyandlife.org/Abortion-and-Embryo/2050/9/13.html

Turkey-free Christmas dinner

2010-12-27T11:52:00.001-07:00

This year for Christmas the kids decided to go "sans turkey" and rather than the Brazillian fejoida of the last 25+ years, we decided to make a paella instead. Less than two hours to prepare, compared to the all day excercise that fejoida can be! No muscles or clams, but we used chorizo, shrimp, snapper, and lobster. it was a real hit.

good thing I had a gigantic electric skillet!

I hope your Christmas day was wonderful. don't forget, NOW it's Christmas; Advent is over, the Christmas season has started! let the celebration begin and continue to it's proper conclusion at the Baptism of the Lord on January 9!

Christmas note from Dominican Mission in Mexicali, Mexico

2010-12-22T16:33:00.002-07:00

I received a Christmas note from Br. Corwin Low OP, and reproduce it here. Some of you might recognize Fr. Bart!

Christmas 2010
Dear Friends and Family,

Believe it or not, I'm in my 5th year as a Dominican. In this year of formation ( out of 8) we suspend our studies in order to get "real world" experience. Although I do not discount the value of academic work, from my years in corporate America I have always recognized that theory is one thing but reality is quite another-and yet we live in the real world. I was surprised at my assignment however. While I have been studying Spanish over the last year, I didn't think it was sufficient to warrant a year working in a parish in Mexico; but my superiors thought to the contrary.

As a Type-A perfectionist it hasn't been an easy transition. For one thing, it's difficUlt to express your opinion if you lack the ability to speak. But at the same time I've seen and experienced so many things that I woUld never have if I had been dropped into a safe, familiar (and therefore easy) situation. Had I not yielded to the wisdom of my superiors I woUld have never understood it.

One of my ministries is to visit the parish neighborhood called Villa Zapata (picture with a portion of the community is attached). It is far from the center of Mexicali and is remote enough that it lacks basic necessities. Electricity is only now being installed; and there is no water. When I arrived there was no shelter from the heat of more than 120° Fahrenheit (49° Celsius). But now in the winter it has dropped to 35° (4°) at night. While that might not seem overly cold to you, it is to the people here because their houses are made from little more than discarded factory palettes and no insUlation. Lately we've been distributing blankets and warm clothing to help get people through the nights, particUlarly with the vicious winds of the desert. One particUlarly heart-wrenching case is a house (actuallya shack) of 6 children. The eldest is 13. They lost their mother last summer and their father abandoned them long ago. Neighbors take turns keeping an eye on them, but it isn't really sufficient. There are cases similar to this throughout the community, though this is perhaps the worst. It is gratifying to see their smiling faces when we show up.

Because I don't have papers to write or hundreds of pages to read, I actually do have time to work on some web sites. This keeps me a little more hands-on with technology in a place where technology up to the point I got here was little more than a typewriter and a photocopier. How's that for cUlture shock? I've been keeping a web log (address below) and I've been generating content for our mission website (http://mexicali.opwest.org). I woUld very much enjoy it if you take a look. I am eager to get feedback on them and I am continually updating them. So keep coming back!

So in a nutshell, Mexicali has been good work and good for me. I especially enjoy assisting at bringing the sacraments to the people. They truly desire it them. I've only now just started preaching in Spanish, but the early feedback has been positive-a good sign from a people who are usually reserved with such things. And, bey eve it or not, I'm still singing. ..

Br Corwin Low, OP
http://www.cantateop.org

Serialized book of note

2010-12-07T17:16:00.001-07:00

The Dominican Friars of the Eastern Province are serializing one of Fr. William Hinnebusch's books, "Dominican Spirituality", 1965. This is an excellent book and a project worth following (much better than a mindless TV show)!

The first three chapter have been posted:

Chapter I - A General View of Dominican Life
http://www.op-stjoseph.org/blog/dominican_spirituality_i

Chapter II - The Dominican Life is the Image of St. Dominic
http://www.op-stjoseph.org/blog/dominican_spirituality_ii

Chapter III - Dominican Life is Contemplative
http://www.op-stjoseph.org/blog/dominican_spirituality_iii

Thanks to Fr. Benedict Croell, O.P., who is posting these!

"The Mystery of Advent"

2010-11-29T18:49:00.000-07:00

some excellent Advent posts over at the Friar's Blog; I'm only about half way through the first one, but thought I'd post the links.

The Mystery of Advent
by Fr. Pius Pietrzyk, O.P.

In 2007, some of the priests and brothers at the Dominican House of Studies prepared a series of reflections on the four weeks of Advent. As the Church begins the new liturgical Year of Grace with the season of Advent, we present again these reflections.

Mystery of Advent, Week One
Mystery of Advent, Week Two
Mystery of Advent, Week Three
Mystery of Advent, Week Four

New book

2010-11-19T11:45:00.003-07:00

A new book on Bl. Margaret of Castello is out.

Well, actually more of a pamphlet... It's from the Catholic Truth Society

From the back cover:

Patroness of the disabled and marginalized Margaret's story shows how God has a purpose for even the most unfortunate and disadvantaged; that his gifts may shine strongly in any of us, whatever our situation in this life. Young, small, blind, lame, unattractive, a hunchback who was rejected by her parents, in today's world she would certainly have been another victim of abortion. Yet, despite her severe disadvantages, 'Little Margaret' emerged as an exemplary model of selfless love. In recognition of this she was beatified, and now the cause for her canonization is recognized in Rome. Invoked as the patroness of the disabled and unwanted, there are shrines to her in America where she is revered as patron of the disabled and the marginalized.

Alan Frost has authored other titles for CTS, including St Louis-Marie de Montfort.

Old Book - "From Luther to Hitler"

2010-11-19T11:29:00.000-07:00

My next read came in - "From Luther to Hitler, The History of Fascist-Nazi Political Philosophy", 1941, by William McGovern.

I found this in the references pages of "Philosophies at War", 1943, by Fulton J Sheen, and decided to check it out!

Dominican Sisters on Oprah, Nov 23

2010-11-18T16:43:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends,

The Dominican Sisters of Mary will be featured on the Oprah Winfrey Show on Tuesday, November 23rd.

This is a new show that includes interviews with Mother Assumpta, Sr. Joseph Andrew, Sr. Mary Samuel, Sr. John Dominic and other Sisters; as well as on-site filming of the First and Final Profession Masses and this year’s Entrance Day, during which we welcomed 22 Aspirants.

The show will feature the experience of a Sister entering religious life and the meaning of religious profession as being ‘married’ to Christ.

You may recall that Oprah first reached out to our community on February 9th of this year due to an interest in the hidden aspects of religious life. Click here to watch an excerpt from that program.

The response from the first show was so positive that the Sisters were asked if we would be open to another opportunity to share our life. We have accepted this invitation in the hopes of reaching an audience we might not otherwise reach with the witness of our life and the Gospel. Please join us in praying that the show will be for the good of souls and the honor of God.

As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, let us give thanks to God for His bountiful goodness. May God bless you and your families during this holiday season.

In Jesus and Mary,

The Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist

p.s. To learn more about supporting the Sisters’ ongoing formation and education, click here.

4597 Warren Rd.
Ann Arbor, MI 48105
(734) 930-4222
http://www.sistersofmary.org/

Book plug!

2010-11-16T12:28:00.000-07:00

Zaccheus Press is pleased to announce the release of two new titles by Abbot Vonier: The Human Soul and The Life of the World to Come.

See below for our special sale offer.

Abbot Vonier was a bestselling author in England of the 1920s. After decades of neglect, Vonier is today recognized as a masterful spiritual writer whose work "is as inspiring and fresh as ever." Zaccheus Press is bringing his finest books back into print for a new generation of Catholic readers.

The Human Soul: In the eyes of God the human soul is a jewel of infinite worth, of more value than the whole world with all its glory and treasure. But what do we think of the soul so highly prized by God? What do we know of our own soul?

Abbot Vonier's first and most popular book, The Human Soul was written to open the eyes of readers to the tremendous frontiers of their true country: the immortal soul. Written with "a youthful freshness and vigor," it is a work of rare inspiration, "such as to make one hold one's breath at the beauty and grandeur of what we so lightly, without thought, call our soul."

The Human Soul features a Foreword by Ralph McInerny.

The Human Soul by Abbot Vonier
240 pages . $14.95 (paperback)

The Life of the World to Come: We all want to go to Heaven - but what will Heaven actually be like? Drawing on sacred Scripture and Catholic doctrine, The Life of the World to Come pulls back the veil to give us a closer look at the dazzling joys, the reality of eternal life. With simplicity and good humor, this "marvelous little book" achieves the goal Abbot Vonier set for all his works - to open the eyes of men and women to the splendors of the Catholic faith.

The Life of the World to Come features a Foreword by Edward T. Oakes, SJ.

The Life of the World to Come by Abbot Vonier
128 pages . $11.95 (paperback)

Special Introductory Offer: The Human Soul for only $12.95 (regular price: $14.95), and The Life of the World to Come for only $9.95 (regular price: $11.95). Sale ends December 31.

Early-Bird Special: Order one or both titles by Tuesday, November 23 and receive free shipping!

Please note: The Human Soul and The Life of the World to Come will ship on or about November 24.

Sorry, we can only offer free shipping to customers in the United States. Orders are shipped via USPS Media Mail, and will usually arrive within 7 business days, but please allow up to 21 business days for delivery. As we get closer to the Christmas season, longer than usual delivery times can be expected. Please plan ahead and place your order accordingly.

HOW TO ORDER
Place your order for The Human Soul at our webpage here.

The Life of the World to Come may be ordered here.

If you have trouble with the embedded links, please copy and paste the following into your web browser, one at a time:
http://tinyurl.com/Vonier-Soul [The Human Soul]

http://tinyurl.com/Vonier-Life [The Life of the World to Come]

You will automatically receive free shipping on orders placed by November 23.

Our secure webpage now accepts PayPal, as well as all major credit cards.

You can also phone in your credit card order. Call 970-416-6672. Orders may be placed Monday-Friday, 9 am - 5:00 pm, mountain standard time.

To arrange expedited shipping, please call 970-416-6672, Monday-Friday, 9 am - 5 pm, mountain standard time.
For Canadian orders, please call 970-416-6672, Monday-Friday, 9 am - 5 pm, mountain standard time, or email: comments@zaccheuspress.com

Other Christmas Sale Offers
This Christmas season we are offering special sale prices on all of our previously released titles. Please see our webpage for details.

In addition to the sale prices on individual titles, we offer free shipping on orders of any combination of 3 books or more (not including The Human Soul or The Life of the World to Come until after the early-bird free shipping offer ends on November 23).

Our books make wonderful Christmas gifts. Please go to the Zaccheus Press home page for details, and place your order today!

Praise for Abbot Vonier
"Those seeking spiritual wisdom will find it here. Vonier was a master, and his work is as inspiring and fresh as ever."
-Matthew Levering, author Christ and the Catholic Priesthood

"Abbot Vonier has a serious right to be considered one of the great Catholic theologians of the 20th century. Here is the theology of St. Thomas translated into a contemplative idiom and communicated with a wonderful clarity and simplicity of expression. These new editions of his works, after decades of neglect, are warmly to be welcomed."
-Fr. John Saward, author Cradle of Redeeming Love

"Turning new lights on old truths and making application of revelation to life, Abbot Vonier 'digs down into the meaning of Catholic dogma.' His thought is so simple, clear, and practical that no formal theological training is needed to follow him with profit and delight."
-Fr. C.C. Martindale, SJ, quoted in Commonweal

"Gifted in his capacity to write of sublime things in terms that all could understand."
-The American Benedictine Review

"Abbot Vonier was the most gifted dogmatic theologian writing in England during his lifetime. The Vonier revival is a highly encouraging sign of the return of classical doctrine in the Church."
-Aidan Nichols, OP, author The Shape of Catholic Theology

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2010-11-09T10:14:00.001-07:00

This is from an inlaw's inlaw:

From: Stanley
Sent: Monday, November 08, 2010 7:47 PM
Subject: Coho

Dear Friends and Acquaintances,

There are few things in this world that encourage me more than the annual Coho Salmon run here in the South Umpqua Elk Creek watershed. It seems to simply wash away the deep concerns of life when I see those giant flashes of red going against the tide of the stream. They are relentless and unwavering in their determination to keep the cycle of life going. The return of the salmon is an ancient reminder that so much is going on in this world that is not under our control. A reminder that greater things than us mold our existence.

So rejoice with me at this years very early run of Coho in Elk Creek!

high regards,

Stan

--
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
O O O 0 0 0 o o o . . . >< )))(*>
_______________________________________________
Stanley Petrowski
President/Director
South Umpqua Rural Community Partnership (SURCP)
Tiller, Oregon

More on recent travels

2010-11-06T18:09:00.001-06:00

Time to catch up a bit on traveling - a reflective moment after arriving in Bantry, Ireland. Germany... remember Germany?

A week before we'd attended the Cannstatter Volksfest in Stuttgart, Germany. Here's a view from the giant ferris wheel:

The "beer tents" are at the very far upper left in this picture; you really can't get a sense of their immense size, reputedly they hold 5000 each! here's a view which shows the size:

Yes, there are three of them shown. "Tent" is a stretch, although the roofs are actually canvas. Inside there is some serious pouring going on!

Which means, better get some food under it. marvelous at that!

The Germans there seem to be very friendly...

Although there was one dick-head:

Generally, a happy and enthusiastic crowd enjoying the live music.

and as the evening wore on (we arrived around 4), folks got even livelier, moving from the floors to the tabletops!

Live music from Tina Turner! Oh wait, thats... well, a really good impersonator by voice if not looks

As the evening wore on, my young photographers seem to have lost something in their photography skills as they gained something in beer consumption! oh wait, did I take that picture? hummm. Second-hand alcohol at work here! Yeah, that's it!

All things considered, not a bad vacation day, considering that 24 hours before Emily had been in Kampala, Uganda...

Thank you Stuttgart, Dorothy, Tina Turner...

Truth Be Told issue #13 - Newsletter of the Laity of the Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus

2010-11-05T19:00:00.000-06:00

The thirteenth issue of "Truth Be Told," the newsletter of the Laity of the Province of the Holy Name of Jesus has been posted to the web.

The newsletter is available for download at the provincial web page here:
http://laydominicanswest.org/newsletter/

Bombing of Cathedral in Baghdad

2010-11-03T16:43:00.002-06:00

Church bombings in Iraq since 2004

from Google translate:

Statement issued by Prince El Hassan about the terrorist attack on the Church of Our Lady of the Annunciation in Baghdad

Amman - Npras News - His Royal Highness Prince El Hassan bin Talal, a statement Wednesday night about the terrorist attack on the Church of Our Lady of the Annunciation in Baghdad.

And, consequently, the text of the statement:

What is the guilt of the resort to the house of God to seek tranquility and peace of mind and to communicate with his Creator ... What harm even thrown in hell is no longer a worldly known range, shape, or from any point of burning fire?!

What is sin even destroy the houses of God and claim the lives of command within Creator to Nsunha and to protect and make ourselves in order to respect the sanctity of life?!

Did this manipulation of religion to reduce the affect upon the Almighty in the houses of worship from churches and mosques, and a terrible disregard for His creation, who assumed they were safe all the security in those houses?!

The recent terrorist attack on the Church of Our Lady of the Annunciation in Baghdad, which has killed Muslims and Christians, and other previous terrorist acts against mosques and other churches, is a serious indicator of the degree to which he arrived thinking exclusionary and mobilization blind ideologies politicized is not a religion at all, and not of our heritage for anything.

The sanctity of human life are hung on the gallows industry, hatred, ill-treatment is the ugliest pictures every day and means the most bloody.

"We sent thee but as a mercy to the worlds." What kind of mercy in the killing of worshipers were Inajon Lord, and raising their hands to pray?! Any mercy in the destruction of places of worship, which is supposed to be no shelter of refuge for him, but not a place to fight over, conflict and settle political scores and sectarianism?!

The Mercy truth exists in our history and our heritage in the teachings of our Islam and the teachings of Christitna. I was born Christian, and Islam was born among us and in Arab lands. And spread both in the world from our churches and mosques. Muslims and Christians are brothers and sisters in this part of the universe throughout history. Together they built a civilization still bright effects even today in various fields of life.

This is a cry of every human soul Distressed what happened: Where is the mercy, love and rationality in this bloody scene. Where is the mercy, love and rationality in our view of our family members as the historical one, Bchristiera and Muslims?

Go back to Allah and fear Him in worship and in His creation, "and equipped themselves with the best provision is piety."

بيان صادر عن الأمير الحسن حول الهجوم الإرهابي على كنيسة سيدة البشارة ببغداد

عمان - نبراس نيوز- اصدر صاحب السمو الملكي الأمير الحسن بن طلال بيانا مساء الاربعاء حول الهجوم الإرهابي على كنيسة سيدة البشارة في بغداد .

وتاليا نص البيان :

ما ذنب من يلجأ إلى بيت من بيوت الله طلباً للسكينة والطمأنينة والتواصل مع خالقه... ما ذنبه حتى يزج به في جهنّم دنيوية لم يعد أحد يعرف مداها أو شكلها أو من أي جهة تشتعل نيرانها؟!

ما ذنب بيوت الله حتى تدمّر وتزهق داخلها أرواحٌ أمر الخالق أن نصونها وأن نحميها وأن نبذل أنفسنا في سبيل احترام قدسية حياتها؟!

هل وصل التلاعبُ بالدين إلى هذا الحدّ من تطاولٍ عليه سبحانه وتعالى في بيوت عبادته من كنائس ومساجد، ومن استخفاف فظيع بخلقه الذين يُفترض أنهم آمنون كلّ الأمان في تلك البيوت؟!

إن الهجوم الإرهابي الأخير على كنيسة سيدة البشارة في بغداد، والذي ذهب ضحيته مسلمون ومسيحيون، وغيره من أعمال إرهابية سابقة ضد مساجد وكنائس أخرى، لهو مؤشر خطير على الدرجة التي وصل إليها التفكير الإقصائي والتجييش الأعمى لأيديولوجيات مسيّسة ليست من الدين في شيء، وليست من إرثنا في شيء.

إن قدسية الحياة البشرية أصبحت معلقة على مشانق صناعة الكراهية، ويتم التنكيل بها كل يوم بأبشع الصور والوسائل وأكثرها دموية.

"وما أرسلناك إلا رحمةً للعالمين". فأيّ رحمةٍ في قتل مصلّين كانوا يناجون ربهم ويرفعون أيديهم إليه بالدعاء؟! وأي رحمةٍ في تخريب أماكن عبادته التي يفترض أنها ملجأ من لا ملجأ له، وليست مكاناً للاحتراب والنزاع وتصفية الحسابات السياسية والطائفية؟!

إن الرحمة الحقيقة موجودة في تاريخنا وفي تراثنا وفي تعاليم إسلامنا كما في تعاليم مسيحيتنا. لقد ولدت المسيحية، كما ولد الإسلام، بيننا وفي أرضنا العربية. وانتشر كلاهما في العالم انطلاقاً من كنائسنا ومساجدنا. والمسلمون والمسيحيون أخوة وأخوات في هذا الجزء من الكون عبر التاريخ. بنوا معاً حضارة مشرقةً لا تزال تأثيراتها حتى اليوم في مختلف ميادين الحياة.

هذه صرخة من روح إنسانية يؤلمها كل ما حدث: أين الرحمة والعقلانية والمحبة في هذا المشهد الدموي. أين الرحمة والعقلانية والمحبة في نظرتنا إلى أفراد أسرتنا التاريخية الواحدة، بمسيحييها ومسلميها؟

عودوا إلى الله واتقوه في عباده وفي خلقه، "وتَزوّدوا فإِنّ خيْر الزّاد التّقوى".

http://www.nebrasnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=20352&Itemid=45

Hat tip to Abouna Imad Twal
http://www.cics-ar.org/

For All Saints

2010-11-01T19:11:00.000-06:00

The Dies Irae

My attempts at Irish Soda Bread

2010-11-01T18:11:00.001-06:00

humm... breadmaking trial; not nearly ready for prime-time.

I have a long way to go!