Most Church Militant ... I guess.

So a while back, before she became a supper-blogger-extraordinaire, The Crescat hosted her last Cannonball Catholic Awards. These, anti-Awards are more fun than anything, but have caused some controversy amongst some in the past. Essentially, even though they don't really mean anything, are voted on like a Chicago election, and have few-if-any rules, they still sometimes cause drama.

This year I actually won an award. I was nominated in two categories: Best Spiritual Treat & Most Church Militant. 


I won for Most Church Militant.

I didn't put my Anti-Award up because, well I was trying to keep my blog above-all-that.
But who do I think I am?
I got nominated for a fun award, and a lot of people voted for me. Even if the award is kind of, a little bit embaressing for my wife:
"Of.Course.You.Won.That.Category...AWESOME.::Facepalm::" (There might have been an eyeroll too!)

I have decided to put it up.
Mostly because it is some awesome Vincenzo art, but also because... I don't take myself too seriously.

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Why are we so afraid to be Catholic, as Catholics?

Why are we Catholics so afraid to live our authentic faith? I have heard various Catholics say things which seem to point to the fact that they are afraid to live the true teachings of the faith because of all sorts of really stupid reasons.

"Oh, don't worry, I am not one of those Catholics..."
"I don't think Jesus cares if we..."
"We don't have to do that to get Heaven..."
"In the end I just try to be a good person..."
"There isn't just one way..."
"It isn't about 'right or wrong' but what works for you, personally..."

Diversity is one thing...

···†···

I am not so rigid to believe that the Catholic faith must be practiced in on certain fashion. I know that there are all sorts of spiritual paths that one can take to God. I look at one of my favorite parts of the religious faith: Women's Religious Orders, and I see the beauty and grace in diversity of spirit.

What baffles me isn't that people are diverse, but that we try as hard as possible to fit our faith to us, instead of the other way around. Shouldn't we be focusing on how to best conform our hearts to God? Instead of practicing our faith in a way consistent and in congruity with the past, we are constantly looking for ways to update the faith. I don't think is because we have mastered all the old ways and are looking for new challenges, I think this is because of fear, disbelief, or laziness. We want our faith a certain way. Instant gratification.

Challenge me, O Lord

···†···

As someone that has worked within politics over the course of my lifetime, I have been very accustomed to a rigid way of thinking about certain things. Even as a young person, I found myself quite far to the right on the spectrum of political thought. In doing so, I did it from an intellectual standpoint, but then again doesn't everyone? That being said, I tried to make sure that I was never so rigid in my thought, as to believe something to be true, just because it came from sources or people that I approved of. To me, everything needed to stand on its own. In other words, I tried not to be a "party guy" and simply "toe the party line."

Likewise, in my faith, I don't do things just because they are traditional. (This is where I differ from 'Trads.') I do things because I believe in my heart of heart to be the best, most efficacious, and morally (or Canonically) sound thing to do. Yet, my favorite thing is when God challenges my notion of what that something is.


I love when a new writing of the Pope catches me off guard and makes me question something I always thought. Or when I read a new book, and a certain spiritually makes me look at my own through a new lens. St. Therese is doing that to me right now. As someone with a more aggressive spirituality, if you will, I have never really had much interest in St. Therese. But once I started reading her, I saw how God challenged me, and how He was trying to get me to see that I can always find new ways to refine myself.

Change...for the better?

···†···

So why don't we do this more often then Catholics? A young girl I talk about the faith with recently told me that she prays the rosary in the car. When she said this, I almost fell over, and I called her on it. I remember her telling me once how she didn't like the Rosary, and it never really "did anything for her." The normal, "it is just a bunch of repetition" argument was made, and I told her that it was something you needed to work at. She told me, she understood that now, and after "working at it" she has become quite devoted to the prayer. WOW! It just takes a little effort.

Likewise I have learned of some young boys that are attending Mass in a different form and spiritual tradition than they are accustomed to. In doing so, their approach, and even their gestures, have changed because of this. WOW!

Maybe it is just us old fogeys that can't change? Or maybe it is those of us that are scared of actually diving into the faith? Maybe we are so afraid of losing ourselves, or dying to ourselves because we like it so much... just the way it is. In our culture, if we don't like something, we can just change it. If we don't like our TV, House, or Car - we can just go get a new one.

I think the only way to become a better Catholic is to realize that we aren't perfect. If we aren't perfect, then we have to be constantly challenging ourselves, or pushing ourselves in new ways. We have to question our spirituality, and force ourselves to become better. This doesn't mean that we keep jumping on the next new thing, but instead, stepping outside our box a little. If you haven't been to Eucharistic Adoration in a year... go spend an hour. If you haven't prayed the Rosary in the past month - do it now. If you haven't read an encyclical - try it, give it 10 pages. The point is to push yourself. We are spiritual warriors - athletes of the faith.

If we continue to do what we have always done... we will continue to get what we have always got.

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"Not By Bread Alone..." [VP]

I am not attempting to denounce the #Occupy movement because of any of its socio-political goals or principles. I am denouncing it on the fact that it symbolically shows how askew and obtuse our priorities have become, in this country. It is a sign that most in our society have completely lost their way, and that the focus is on entirely the wrong things. We Catholics must be careful not to become ensnared in the trappings and temptations of the world. Temptations which suck us into believing that some sort of material goods, or another, can keep us free from suffering and misery. We must not let the powers and principalities deceive us into thinking that God isn’t the most important thing in our lives, always. For He is.

Continue Reading at VirtuousPla.net >>>>>>>>

I need this...

...to #Occupymyshelf
#occupymybrain
#occupymytime

Dr. Peter's Suggestion on Amazon

Code of Canon Law

What? #justsaying

###

Sinking the White Witch

From XKCD.com:

Mouseover: If you fire a Portal Gun through the door of the Wardrobe
Space and Time knot together, which leads to a frustrated Aslan
trying to impart Christian Morality to the Space sphere.

Wow. Today is one of those days that I needed something like this to think about. 

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Public Education: The expensive cost of failure

As you look at the following graphic that I found at: Day By Day in Our World, I want you to think of something:

Home-schoolers, on average, achieve higher scores than institutionally taught children but are educated at a much lower "per student" cost.

To see it better:
1. Click to Enlarge
2. Click "Show Original in the lower left
3. Click again to "zoom"
4. Or visit: Day By Day in Our World

$7,700 per student?

Time to: #Occupypublicschools, nah, just Home-School your kids.

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Mass: The 'Incarnation' of Earth Embodied with Heaven

Incarnation | by:Piero Di Cosimo

While discussing the new Missal Translation with Mindy, from the Devout Life the other night I started thinking about what the Mass is and why we do certain gestures during the Mass. Now, the Mass is not symbolic, it actually is the re-presentation (not representation) of the sacrifice of Jesus at Calvary.

During the course of the conversation, we talked about various things and the topic of Angels came up and how they are referenced in the new translation. Which got me thinking about what we do in the Mass, according to the newer Ordinary Form versus the Extraordinary Form (The New Missal versus the older Missal (1962 and before)).

Specifically, I starting thinking about the Creed. If Mass is celebrated according to the usus antiquior (eg a Latin Rite Mass in the Extraordinary Form) we genuflect during the portion of the Creed where we profess our belief in the Incarnation. In the Ordinary Form of the Mass, we now make a profound bow. I then juxtaposed this thought about how our view, in general terms, of the Mass has changed in the last few decades, as a collective.

A Gift...not a Creation

···†···

The Mass is a gift from God, it is a small slice of heaven on earth. A small, small, tiny fragment of the actual reality of Heaven. God is present, we sing in communion of the angels... "And so, with the Angels and all the Saints we declare your glory, as with one voice we acclaim:..." and then we kneel in humble worship. The Mass becomes, is 'incarnated' as Heaven in our presence. It is a descending down of Heaven to earth.  This is possible because God descended down to earth and became Man. It wasn't a creation, but a becoming. We once knelt in awe of that mystery and miracle, but now we simply bow during its acknowledgment and profession.

So I thought, does this change in posture have a reflective or theological implication as to our belief as a collective whole? Have we lost an appreciation or acceptance of that mystery of the Incarnation? Does that then transfer to our belief of what the Mass is as a whole? Have we become complacent with what the Mass truly is? Is it to us entertainment? Do we feel as if we create our liturgy as opposed to accepting it as a descent of something greater and Holy?

This is all conjecture and thinking out-loud, but I do wonder if "Lex Orandin, Lex Credendi" comes into play here. I was reading some commentaries on the Mass, according to the usus antiquior, and there was a comment by someone about the "right of the people" to be within the Sanctuary since the "days of the 1962 Missal." The focus of thought was on the fact that the Mass is somehow a right. A right implies there is a duty for someone to give it to us. But who would that 'someone' be? God, the Church, the Bishop? It just gets complicated, and maybe I am the one making it that way, but when we starting thinking of the Sanctuary, Mass, or Liturgy as a right or something owed to us, and owed in a certain way, we have surely lost sight of the fact that is in in fact a gift. It descends to us and isn't created or made by us. Again, isn't Mass an 'Incarnation' of Heaven? Maybe incarnation is the wrong word, but it is something much more than something we as humans can make or do. Just as Jesus was not created or made, he was begotten, Incarnated.

In the end I think we do ourselves a disservice if we don't examine the new translation through a lens of growth and recapture. We must grow in our understanding of what the Mass is and recapture the proper understanding. If we simply make the new translation about new responses and carry on as we always have, we have not only lost an opportunity, but possibly lost the understanding of what properly is a gift and not a creation. We cannot simply make the new translation about new words, it must be more... it must be a new or new-found way of understanding the Mass.

Again, this is just a lot of thinking out-loud, but what say you all?



A little more food for thought, on a slightly although similar point, from Bishop Sample, of Marquette, Michigan (h/t: Pertinacious Papist):

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Monday Mayhem

Welcome to Monday! I don't mean that sarcastically. That isn't true, I guess. I sort of mean it sarcastically. OK, so hopefully your monday didn't include an email inbox like mine. If it did, I offer my sympathies. That being said, I am going to do a quick links post to some stories and maybe circle round with a few of them later, but there is too much to cover, so I want to get as much info out there.

Since some people visit my blog for more of the "Current Events" topics, I figure a post like this, on a day like this would be the best way to get this info out there, without doing 15 different posts.

The Pope Vatican ...a pontifical commission council wants a One-World Gov't World Bank Supports Occupy Wall Street has listed some ideas to move forward...
Ok, by now you have probably read all 18 pages of the most recent letter from the Pontifical Council of Justice and Peace. If you haven't you have probably read some article distorting what it says, which carried a headline like one of the crossed out ones above. All of those were actual headlines, in some form that I read. It is crossed out, it isn't true. That being said, go read the 18-page document, study it, read it in light of Rerum Novarum and other documents of a teaching level. Then read this blog post: "Vatican wants One World Government!!!!" Enough said. Seriously. Remember the whole: "The Pope supports contraception and condoms!?!?!" Yeah. Let us be a little more tempered in our commentary, and read this in light of Church teaching. You might also want to brush up on your Distributist reading and understanding of where Catholicism sits in terms of economic justice and norms. Oh, and read this too... about what the letter from the council isn't doing... Catholic Vote: ...Not a Papal Decree.

Providence and "Courage, Compassion, and Cross-Cultural Care"
Apparently there is a "Cultural" educational class occurring at Providence Hospital today. I dont have a lot of details except what is provided on there website, and the website of "Bent Alaska - Alaska GLBT News and Events" It doesn't bother me that a Catholic hospital is discussing better ways to interact with different "communities" that present themselves for care at a Catholic hospital. What concerns me is that there is an indication, or inference that can be drawn, that there is a lack of compassion for certain individuals, due to their differences. While I won't pretend that certain prejudices don't exist, it offends me as a Catholic, that an allegedly Catholic institution would ever treat any human being as less than another human being. This is the kind of thinking that paves the way for abortion, contraception, and sterilization. There are all sorts of "ghosts" in this story, but I don't want to touch on them because I don't have all the facts. I would love if a reader that attended this lecture report back and let us know how this subject was handled. I think there is a need to properly discuss homosexuality within the context of Catholic teaching. We need to stop conflating homosexuality and "gay" and realize there is a difference between sexual attraction and lifestyle choices. (Some great blogs in this regard are Abbey Roads, as well as Steve Gershom's blog) Unfortunately most of the time Catholics handle the homosexual issue in one of two ways: full acceptance or none at all. The teaching of the Church is somewhere in the middle. Find out more at: Courage.

Cistercians of Spring Bank Auction: Good sets of Vestments for Auction (Black, Gaudete, etc...)
From the Badger Catholic:

The Cistercians of Spring Bank still have items left to be sold off. They have several nice vestment sets worth taking a look at. Since they declared bankruptcy, the auctioneer has to make money off of them. At the discounted price, they are still a good deal. If you can find a good home for the vestments please do. Go to auctiongroove.com and search the word "vestments."

It appears there are several other items of interest from the abbey that might be of interest. The website is a bit hokey, but you should be able to search if you are interested.

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"The Beauty of Our Worship In The Liturgy" - Bp. Morlino

The following is a column by The Bishop of Madison Wisconsin, The Most Reverend Robert C. Morlino, from the Catholic Herald:

Dear Friends,

Clearly there has been much dialogue recently about our continuing liturgical renewal in the Diocese of Madison — this awareness has even risen to the international level. There was, in fact, a recent blog in Spain about our local matter. It is very difficult for me to believe that the tale of a bishop, leading his diocese in fine-tuning the implementation of the correct interpretation of Vatican II, would rise to the level of an international news item. But that says, indeed, a lot about the world in which we live, favoring as it does anarchic displays rather than a reasonable exercise of lawful authority.

Be that all as it may, I myself have yet to mention in a very public way the consideration which essentially accompanies our realization of Christ’s true presence and our natural and supernatural response of reverence. The liturgy, as the worship which the Holy Spirit has given His Church, always requires beauty in its celebrations.

Since the frequently mistaken implementation of Vatican II (almost 50 years ago), many liturgies have taken place which are, at least, less than beautiful. To this statement, our country and our culture would respond immediately, “but beauty is in the eye of the beholder,” or, “everything is beautiful, in its own way.” Just as our culture has sought to relativize everything important to human nobility, asserting that it is human nature not to have a nature, so too is this the case with beauty itself.

Beauty: not simply in the ‘eye of the beholder’
Beauty is not, in fact, simply in the eye of the beholder, from the viewpoint of reason. For reason tells us that beautiful, good, true, and one are interchangeable; therefore, whatever is beautiful is also good and true, and expresses unity and harmony.

Beautiful can never be mistaken as an indicator of what pleases some majority of people somewhere. The fact that our parish likes to sing a particular song at the liturgy cannot, of itself, make that song beautiful. To be beautiful, indeed, is to be good and is to be true. As much as some people may enjoy the musical antics of Lady Gaga, these cannot honestly be described as beautiful.

Beautiful means, in the first place, embodying the truth. Some of the songs that we sing at liturgy contain lyrics which clearly are not true — for example, the song “All Are Welcome.” As a matter of fact, the liturgy takes place mystically in the heavenly sanctuary. All are welcome at the liturgy who truly seek salvation in and through Jesus Christ, by following God’s Will, as spelled out through His Son’s very Body, the Church. People who have little interest in doing God’s Will don’t fit at the liturgy. And certainly, by their own choosing, the poor souls who suffer in Hell for all eternity are not welcome. Those are simple, but true facts. Thus the song, “All Are Welcome,” gives an impression that the choice for the Will of Jesus Christ, as it comes to us through the Church, makes no difference; and nothing could be further from the truth. It could therefore be concluded that the song, “All are Welcome,” is not beautiful so as to be appropriate-for-liturgical-use. Being true is necessary before anything can be beautiful.

Ennobling the human person
But, it is equally important for something to be good so that it also might be judged beautiful. The truth, which is clothed by beauty, must be such as to ennoble the human person in terms of bringing out his or her very best, both of intellect and of will. The beautiful must embody that which is true, but also ennobling to our human nature as made in the image and likeness of God. Whatever is beautiful must fix our minds and our hearts on the things above, according to St. Paul (Phil 4).

When one realizes that to be authentically beautiful, something must be both true and ennobling of our human nature, that tells us a great deal about what exactly is appropriate at the liturgy. Because it is the source and the summit of our lives as followers of Christ, the liturgy must never be anything less than beautiful, beautiful in such wise as to evoke the correct sacramental attitude of reverence, beautiful as befitting our communion at the liturgy with all the angels and saints.

Thus, everything that we will be doing in the days, months, and years ahead, since it will be aimed at reverent Christ-centeredness in liturgical celebrations, must be nothing less than beautiful, reflecting the perfect beauty, unity, truth, and goodness of the object of our worship and adoration Themselves, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Thank you for reading this. God Bless each one of you! Praised be Jesus Christ!

Now, this might be the single handed most forthcoming and forthright piece of written Catechesis I have seen from an American Bishop. Now, granted, it comes with a disclaimer: "This column is the bishop’s communication with the faithful of the Diocese of Madison. Any wider circulation reaches beyond the intention of the bishop." So that means the good Bishop understands his role as the shepherd of a particular flock, and would never improperly begin to think that his teaching should ever encroach on that of other Bishops. Humility.

That being said, I think this letter is instructive not only in its direct message to the faithful of Madison, but also in why as a Bishop he feels the need to say such things.

Wow. Solid.

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[VP Post] - "We Don't Belong"

We are in a battle, a spiritual war for the salvation and damnation of souls, so we shouldn’t be surprised that people are shooting at us and picking sides. You can’t be victorious without an enemy, and you can’t have an enemy without being hated. This hatred against us is a sign that we have offended those that we once tried to belong to, we have essentially told them we don’t want what they are selling. In a way they have a right to hate us… and so be it.

Continue Reading at VirtuousPla.net >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Notre Dame Worried About Protecting Their Image, But In A Greedy Way

Notre Dame never fails to disappoint. Not worried about their Catholic "Brand" they gave Obama a stage and an honorary degree. Further, they arrested non-violent protestors in the course of that situation.

Yet, now they are so worried about logo revenue they have sent a cease-and-desist letter to Chapman High School in Kansas in order to get them to change their logo. Who is Chapman, they are the school that was destroyed by a tornado last summer along with almost 80% of the rest of the town.

Look, I know there are lots of great students at Notre Dame, and lots of great alumni. Most of my Professors at Ave Maria graduated from there. And even though they have every right to do this, and that there are lots of "grey" areas in all of these stories, Notre Dame never seems to take the high ground in any of them. Oh, and for those wondering, Notre Dame could have done several things here. Licensed the logo out or have them alter is slightly are two easy solutions.

Oh, and how did ND find out about the logo? Well, Chapman has been using the logo since 1967 but it wasn't until someone from ND saw it on the Chapman website while reading about the devastation by the tornados that they finally contacted them. Nothing says Spiritual Work of Mercy like legal action motivated by profit motives.

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Kim Vandapool: UNiconoclast

The Annunciation 

Immaculate Heart of Mary

What are you waiting for?! Go over to UNiconoclast, and beg, plead, and commission Kim to do more!

Oh, and tell her I sent ya.

†††

Prayer Intention

Dear Readers,

I kindly ask for your prayers regarding a personal intention. I cannot reveal the subject of this intention right now, and I apologize for that, but over the next few days, and possibly weeks, it is something that will need many to storm heaven for its cause. 

Now, to make sure you don't worry, this doesn't have anything to do with health or anything like that, it is spiritual in nature. I would just kindly ask that you briefly ask for this intention to come to fruition.

Those desiring this intention have entrusted the patronage of this cause to Saint Dominic, so please use him as an intercessor. 

Saint Dominic - Ora Pro Nobis!

Saint Dominic - El Greco

Also, please keep my employment situation in prayer if you can spend an extra moment or two as well. Which is of course entrusted to Saint Joseph, the Worker. 

Thanks.

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Help Support A Small Business, Yourself, and Me

I try to limit any sort of "ads" or promotions on this website unless I think they contribute something positive in a spiritual way to my readers. I also try to be up front about anything I get to review or for free. (I don't get a ton of promotional stuff, but occasionally I do and will let you know why I am talking about it.)

The one place I do frequently support though is Aquinas and More, an independent Catholic Bookstore based out of Colorado that has a very extensive collection of Catholic goods, especially books.

They are a really great business and have a great affiliate program. What that means is, every time one of my readers buys something from them, I get a little bit in return towards my future purchases there. This helps them out, it helps me out, and you get the pleasure of great Catholic items. So occasionally I will promote them in an attempt at getting you all to remember to buy your Catholic "goods" from them.

This helps me out greatly, because it keeps me stocked with books, and I can also use the rewards for purchasing gifts for my God-children on their birthdays, feast days, and Sacramental celebrations. This lightens the burden on me in two areas of my life that are really important to me: family and books. 

 I know there are places that I can make "money" from and some have tried to convince me to use "bigger" places to make a little money, but I think it is important to help our small businesses and A&M has always been really good to bloggers. Beyond that, they have a really intentional and deeply loyal business plan that is faithful to the Catholic Church like no other business I have ever seen. From their site:

Mission
Our mission is to provide the tools necessary for Catholics and non-Catholics to learn more about the Faith and for Catholics to deepen their Faith. This goal will be achieved by providing a clear, unapologetic presentation of the faith and quality Catholic products that are beautiful, fairly priced and helpful to those who want to get to Heaven.

No Chinese Products
We believe that by purchasing products from China we would be contributing to the things mentioned here. Because of this, we refuse to carry most statues and pretty much anything porcelain that's made today. We have been able to find sources for products in other countries. They may cost a little more but we rest better at night knowing that our money isn't helping to support forced abortions and the persecution of Christians in China.

They also have all sorts of really great features on their site to let you know how faithful and orthodox certain items are. Beyond that though, they don't even cary a lot of "questionable" items simply so that they can guarantee that anything you buy from theme is aligned with authentic Catholic teaching.

So the next time you want to buy a book, or need a gift for a relative, please click on the link on my side bar (or use the search box I have included) to go over to Aquinas and More, and do you shopping there.

Here are some great things you can purchase through them:

Daily Roman Missal - The New Translation

Books by Pope Benedict













Magnificat Subscription Renewal












Latin Curricula for Homeschooling












Gifts for Sacramental Celebrations













Aside from just the shopping site, A&M also has a multitude of online resources for staying up on the latest and greatest Catholic products.

• Tiber River is their book review supersite.
• Musings from a Catholic Bookstore is a blog they have to keep people up to date on new products, issues related to Catholic products, and inform Catholics about aspects of the faith that touch on products they carry. 
• Sign up for their Newsletter, full of new products, promotions, and sales.
• Facebook is also a way to stay up to date and connect with them.
• Twitter too. 

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So Ungrateful In Her Role - Sr. Joan on the state of Catholic Women

Sr. Joan Chittister

The story I am about to tell is getting old. I have told it, as have others, many times before, but it has never felt as it does today.

It happened like this:
About 15 to 20 minutes ago we were sitting around in our Alaska abode in the dark misty morning reading news, twitter, and eating a bit of breakfast.

We love Alaska, it is a free and wild place. Men are Men, and Women rival them in their amazing awesomeness. Maybe it is the fact that women are generally better hunters and fishers than men, but let's not admit that out loud :) But there is something about an Alaskan girl. Whatever.

While reading Twitter I came across an article about "Women's Issues" and decided to read it to my wife. While she is running our household, making food, and caring for our daughter, she likes me to talk to her or discuss what I am reading and writing about. She is a woman in charge, she is the boss, the leader, and is a true feminist.

That is why it came as a shock to me. I was shocked at the nature of her response. Not because it was shockingly accurate, but because it came so simply and succinctly. It wasn't the take on the article, but the fact that she has that take after surviving the '80s, '90s, and a Jesuit college.

I mean, it isn't like she came from a home-schooled household. No, in fact, her mother is a teacher and a rather outspoken woman. She has more aunts than uncles by a 3:1 margin. She has a degree, worked in corporate America at a very high level, and has made more money than I have in our lifetimes. She handles our finances, and has always believe she can do whatever she wants. So we aren't talking about a sheltered girl here, she was groomed to be a working american woman, she was made to roar.

So what shocked me was that her response was heartfelt. What blew me away was that somewhere inside her she truly believes her take on this article that I read from the NCR's Sister Joan Chittister. What hit me like a ton of bricks was that she must have found this answer somewhere in the space between her gut and her mind, a place that some doctors have called "The Heart."

As I finished reading the piece, it happened. It cut like a knife when I heard these words, almost instantaneously after finishing:

"Why did a sister write this? I can't believe she is so ungrateful in her role and her ability to serve God in the way a sister should."

How could this happen? How could this girl, raised in the world where women are supposed to support other women betray her kindred spirit, Sr. Joan.

For the love of God, we had a daughter sitting in the room with us.

How could my wife betray all of womanhood with her answer? And then it got worse.

She then made this point:

"Why does she stay Catholic, why doesn't she go practice some other faith that allows for these things?"

I can't answer that. I don't know what makes people remain Catholic when they don't believe the teachings of the faith. I also can't answer what sort of horror will befall our daughter with a mother like this.

As we try and raise our children in a parish where sometimes the only man "actively participating" in Mass is the priest, we seem to be in a place that Sr. Joan would call "on the right path." So I wonder how my daughter(s) will grow up with a mother that thinks the way she does. What if she suggests they become a sister or nun in an order that wears those demeaning habits?

What if she suggests that they become stay at home moms and raise their children? What if she explains to them that only her sons can serve at the Altar but that they can be sacristans, or Sunday school teachers, or bring up the gifts, or lead the Rosary guild, or keep a Holy Hour, or some other demeaning task?

How is my daughter going to learn to cut her hair short and wear pant suits to Mass if all she is accustomed to is dresses and skirts? My daughter has spent more time in a kitchen than most girls born in the 80's have in the entire lives! My daughter has witnessed canning, sewing, cooking, baking, and other abusive activities. What sort of mother does she have?

Sr. Joan must be on to something, and I need to convey this to my wife. You see, at parishes around me more and more people are leaving the Church and it must be because we don't have female priests. Since every other position is held by a woman, and the Church still won't let them be priests people must be fed up and going somewhere else.

Yet, while the parishes that are flourishing are doing so only because the men are dragging women like my wife to Mass. They force them to wear dresses and chapel veils. They force their daughters to learn to sing. They fills the Churches through oppression and trickery. Their choirs only sound beautiful because the girls are made to learn to sing, such a silly sentimental archaic activity. The altar linens are crisp and pressed because the mean men make the women toil and use an iron. The word itself, IRON, is emblematic of torture and pain. The smile on the faces of these women, even though they have 4, 5, 6, and even more children isn't real, it is demanded by evil men.

So, I am left with a wife that thinks women have beauty and worth. Sr. Joan would be so disappointed in me. I am left with a Church that tells women they are brides of Christ, the essence of beauty, and the embodiment of love. I don't know how I will explain to my daughter than only women can bear children, I dread that day. All that talk about nurturing, loving, feeding, caring. All the smiles she will have to endure as her children are happy at a world such as ours. How I dread that day. But even worse is how can I ever explain to her that our faith teaches that women, sisters, nuns are seen as brides of Christ, the same way God describes His Church. How will I let her in on the horror that women are the backbone of the domestic Church and the Church militant? Oh the horrors.

Finally, I want to leave you with the void that Sr. Joan talks about. Look at the anguish. The Pain. The Suffering. The Oppression. If only... they could have a role in the Church...

Young Aspirants... so few of them.

If only this young women had been given a role, but instead her Church and Her God gave her this way of life. And so listen to the oppression and pain she feels - Sr. Hannah (h/t By Love Alone):

“I came to understand in a very real way that God loved me more than I had ever comprehended. In realizing that, I recognized my call to a vocation of love. I longed to give my all to live for God, who so willingly gave all of Himself in the desire for my love. My fears and self-doubt have been replaced by peace and the desire to serve Him with all that I am.”

What an ugly way to live. Sr. Joan is right:

From where I stand, it is clear that the church already lost a good proportion of one generation of women in the last 25 years and is now willing to lose the next one to reassert its maleness. The question rises again with new and demanding urgency for many: Why do we go there?
The answer to it will not only affect the women and their children for generations to come.

The girls in that picture are the lost that Sr. Joan speaks of. So are these:

God save them. God save our daughters.

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(*UPDATE*):

After having my post linked on a Google+ feed by someone two comments were left that said similar things. Here are excerpts:

...The condescension, distancing, grumbling, ranting, and complaining in this article is more than snarky; I would challenge that it is in direct opposition to the beauty and dignity of woman religious and of Christ. And that's blunt, but said in love....

Another said:

When you respond in the same tone as Sr Joan you are being Sr Joan like - not Christ Like. Snarky ness belies some sort of anger at the one it is directed towards .. and yes Sr Joan does make some of us just plain angry - but we as Christians must not retailate in kind - we must love our neighbors - even when correcting them - you are (perhaps) right to correct Sr Joan - but to be truly Christlike you should try to say these things in a way that lifts women up without being hurtful to the poor wayward sister. I value the things you had to say - I wish you would try your hand at rewriting this minus the snarkcasm...

So I am going to attempt to write my post, making the same point, without the snark. This is a self-exploration and we will see, maybe I can make this same point, without snark. Maybe it will send the message that these ladies think it will, and maybe it won't. Let us see:

Sr. Joan Chittister wrote an article in the NCR today that isn't a far cry from much of what she has been saying for the last few decades. She is no stranger to controversy or dissent. In fact, she is seen in some circles as a hero, as a leader of "progressive feminist Catholicism". She is the poster child for those that saw the reforms of the 1970s not as some anomaly in the history of the Church but who live within the hermeneutic of rupture.

Sr. Joan though is hard to take serious in an article like this. Not because I dismiss her thoughts due to her previous body of work, but because she makes claims in this piece that simply fly in the face of reality. Throughout the article and especially at the end, it seems like Sr. Joan fails to see the world in the way it actually exists, and instead sees it in the way she desires it to exist.

Now I don't doubt that her feelings are sincere, oh no, I believe that they are and that is what makes this article so problematic. You see, I read it aloud to my wife and she had two things to say about it. First my wife commented that she was shocked to hear a woman, a religious sister at that, seem so ungrateful at the vocation God called her to. We have quite an affinity in our household for women's religious, and I in fact have started a Blog Project/apostolate to promote and support them [See the Society of St. Scholastica]. So when my wife's reaction came so quickly and honestly at the conclusion of the article, I knew she was heartfelt.

Now don't get me wrong. My wife is no uptight sheltered woman. It isn't as if she was sheltered from progressive feminism. In fact, I would argue that if anyone has a right to make a comment about Sr. Joan and her role, the appropriateness of her position on this issue, and women in general - it is my wife. She has been on both sides of the fence. She is highly educated, worked at a fairly high level in BIG corporate America, and comes from a stock of pretty outspoken and intelligent women. So when she comments on the proper role of women, she speaks with intelligence, authority, and clarity.

As we discussed the article more, and who Sr. Joan was, since my wife didn't really know, she made a further comment. She asked why Sr. Joan would remain Catholic, or why anyone (there is more to this, by anyone we mean specifically those that preach heterodoxy or heresy) would remain Catholic if they didn't accept the full teachings of the Faith. I didn't really have an answer, and don't think there is one that applies across the board. I think this is the biggest mystery to people like Sr. Joan - when they are so openly opposed to certain teachings what is it that keeps them Catholic? Is it aspirational hope? Is it that the 90% they agree with is worth the struggle? Is it pride? What is it?

When I got to the bottom of Sr. Joan's article, past the whole sentimental story, I realized what point she was trying to make. That somehow we were losing not only women but the Church. She was essentially arguing that not having women priests was leading to an exodus by women, and in doing so an evaporation of the Catholic Church. When I realized that was her point... one thing came to mind: The Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist. A traditional and orthodox order that is so full they have had to literally build new convents around the country. Were they lost?

So where is the disconnect with Sr. Joan? How has she lost the vision of women's religious as the proper role for women in the Church? Is she bitter? Was she some how prevented from fulfilling God's call because she was a woman? Doesn't that fly in the face of vocation - prima facie? When she dramatically "cut back" to the little girl, now in her 20's I couldn't help but think - what did her parents tell her about the role of women in the Church, in a religious sense? Does Sr. Joan encourage girls to seek a religious vocation? What does she think about CMWSR orders?

To me, it seemed she was saying girls like the ones I posted above are part of the lost. She also makes reference to the last 25 years as a time of exodus for women, and I see the opposite. Not only that, but I see the last 10 years as a time where young women have finally stepped up and reclaimed the role that they see as appropriate. When I look around my parish for example, and we are not talking about a bastion of orthodoxy or traditionalism, the ones I see wearing more traditional things such as dresses and veils to Mass are the young women.

Sr. Joan isn't wrong because I disagree with her. She is wrong because the women that have left the Church have left because of reasons aside from their inability to be priests. They haven't left because the Church has erased them, they have left the Church because they no longer believe in the Church. Women are not in danger of the Church becoming more male, we are in danger of a Church without any males. The priesthood will be fine, I am worried about the lecterns, classrooms, and pews.

What Sr. Joan fails to realize is that women have a beautiful role in the Church prescribed by God himself. What about Mary? What about all the Sisters and Nuns around the world? Are they nothing, meaningless, less than? We don't risk losing our girls and our Church to maleness we risk losing our women to a false understanding of beauty. Women are the beauty of God in personified. They are beauty, love, grace, and compassion. If we remove that from them, if we take them out of their natural order and try and make them more like men to level out the maleness, we will lose the feminine.

If we really want to preserve women in the Church we must preserve their place as women, as feminine, as something different than men. We must preserve them as beauty. We must preserve women's religious as brides of Christ. We must preserve women as the embodiment of love... not power or authority.

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Catholic Guys

For the past few months, there has been a group of 3 girls that have taken the Catholic blogging world by storm and injecting wit, intelligence, femininity, beauty, and fierceness into their blogs. These girls refer to themselves as the Bright Maidens, and rightfully so.

From their Facebook description:

We three are from the oft-mentioned, widely-speculated upon demographic of young, twenty-something Catholic women. We're here to dispel the myths and misconceptions- please join us for the discussion!

They are super active on twitter, do a twice monthly themed posting topic, and are featured on all sorts of blogs left and right. While their posts are fantastic examples of the young Catholic feminine mind, they are in need of some counter-part voices. That is where we step in. On Twitter, they utilize the hashtags #cathsorority & #brightmaidens. They have been bugging several of us guys for weeks now to step up and do the same. We have chatted about the idea on #cathdudes (not the best name, I know) and haven't solidified a group of folks to do it yet. So that is why I am posting on my blogging and hoping I can drum up 2-3 more guys who are willing to do this.

The commitment is really just a twice monthly posting on a topic that we choose. We can sometimes join with the #Brightmaidens if we choose, but the point is to do our own thing as well. What they do is post a list of topics and then every other week, all post on the same day about the topic for that week. There isn't much to it.

So, if you are young(-ish or at heart), Catholic, Male, and would like to post every other week according to a pre-specified (by us) topic, please let me know! I have a few names that we floated around, but I am willing to listen to suggestions. The Bright Maidens are behind a male venture so, don't think we are stealing any thunder, I think we will only add to their awesomeness.

Please let me know if you are interested. I can answer any questions for you, but understand that this isn't a huge commitment, and it looks to be really fun. If you don't want to necessarily commit to the "Group", please stay tuned and think about writing on some of the topics that interest you. The Bright Maidens open their topics up to anyone that wants to participate, so consider at least writing on those topics that interest you. Looking forward to getting this group going...

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"Say the Black, Do the Red"

Father Z coined the phrase a long time ago: "Say the Black, Do the Red." It references the Roman Missal and is the code that priests should live by in regards to the celebration of the Mass. It is really quite simple, if we are One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, then there should be universality in  much of what we do and what we believe. Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi - "What we pray is, what we believe." (Literally - the law of prayer, is the law of belief.)

This isn't some fringe concept, this is straight-forward common sense. It makes practical as well as theological sense. Why cant priests realize that? Look, I am not talking about the occasional verbal stumble or the every-once-in-a-while addition of some prayer or thoughts when moved by the spirit (yes, I am trying to be as charitable and progressive as possible) I am talking about repetitive and systematic ad-lib or change in the words or actions of the Mass. I don't want to turn this post into a rant, or a lecture on what the Mass is, but I think we should ALWAYS pause and pray prior to Mass and reflect on what the Mass is and what it isn't.

The future church

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As a parent of a young child, I fear what some of our parishes will leave as a legacy to my child's generation. Certainly I have a role in that situation, but after 40+ years of progressiveness we have "advanced" to what? Many of our parishes are whitewashed and devoid of anything resembling the Sacred, our catechism classes are imparting a faith that has been altered similarly, and those of us that see a problem with that are marginalized and called 'divisive', 'judgmental', and 'uncharitable.'

As a blogger with a rather small following I don't get as many stories as some folks do about problems around the Church. Yet, I do receive a decent amount. A common theme is from parents who are appalled at the state of their Parishes' Catechesis. They talk about dissent, incorrect teachings, and a general "liberalization" of the Faith. While the "powers" that be in most parishes are unwilling to utilize anything resembling tradition, most parents are simply looking for orthodoxy. The irony is that most progressive minded parish leaders are 'Ecumenical' and want 'Big Tent Catholicism' but to them that means protestantism and not traditional Catholicism. You are more likely to find Labyrinths and Protestant Praise and Worship music at many churches than you are Gregorian Chant or Latin.

Recently I heard stories that should SHOCK any Catholic, but unfortunately are becoming so common that they hardly phase even the most delicate of sensitivities. Stories where Catholics who have recently converted have no idea what the "Catholic Catechism" is, stories about Confirmation teachers calling the Mass "boring" or that one day the Church will finally have women priests. Priests that say praying isn't that important, or that the Body and Blood are not the True Presence at Mass, but instead the words refer to us, the people. These are all things that in and of themselves may seem like a correctable mistake but they are part of a larger systemic problem. No one is perfect, and I am not suggesting that we require perfection. I do think we should expect that those of us who choose to be Catholic are at least attempting to achieve perfection. 

Tradition and Orthodoxy

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The systemic problem comes down to those who have been running our churches for the past few decades and their conflation of the terms: tradition and orthodoxy. Orthodox, means an adherence to the objective teachings of the faith. It would seem simple, but we have seen this objective standard thrown out the window long ago, and now sides are fighting over the best way to eradicate and utilize the word, all at the same time. Tradition simply means things that we as Catholics have done for a long time, not simply because they are old, but because they are efficacious. The Rosary isn't grand because it is old, but because it is a Spiritual Weapon against evil. We don't use ships in warfare because we are sentimental about our forefathers, but because water and land are objective truths that exists. We are talking simple logic here, causation vs. correlation.

So what has happened is that the church in this country over the last 40+ years has focused on all the problems (read: tradition) that existed prior to the reforms of the Liturgy and used them as an excuse to conflate tradition with orthodoxy. The argument is essentially that rubrics, cannons, missals, and dogmas are restrictive and create complacency. We become bored and lost due to the rigid nature of our faith, therefore we must create a system where freedom and expression reign and where fluidity is a constant. Now you can argue against this theory, but if we look at the big picture we see this to be true. We hear of all the "abuses" that exist in the Liturgy, the problems of watered down faith, and a general loss of souls. This isn't because people are still clinging to rigidity, but because the baby was thrown out with the bath-water.

The Greys...

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Now what I am not advocating is a hermeneutic of rupture, nor am I advocating that the reforms of the second Vatican Council were themselves faulty. What I am arguing is that what happened after the council (regardless of correlative or causal) is that there were those that saw an opportunity to make the Church whatever they pleased. We no longer worried about operating in black or white, what mattered was control of the Greys. We are more worried about quantity than quality. Offending someone is more of a concern than the loss of their soul, which gets me to the ultimate point. We have stopped saying the black, and doing the red, because we don't really believe our faith. We can't... and at the same time act and speak the way we do. (Caveat: when I say we, I mean a large portion of Catholics "in charge" of our faith on a local level.)

Concepts like True Presence, Heaven, Hell, Satan, Evil, Sin, Rubrics, Canons, etc... are all believed at a theoretical level, as opposed to a literal one. I say this because we can't actually believe these things and act the way we do. Think about it? This isn't judging others, it is simply looking at a big picture and commenting on what you do and don't see. People find reasons why they do and don't do things, and those reasons are usually justifications as to why they dont adhere to the black and white of the Faith. Once we start to explain, why we do something as a Catholic and the answer isn't: "Because the Church says so..." we are probably on the wrong path in that regard.

Which gets me back to my opening point. Say the Black, Do the Red. Our priests are meant to be teachers. They are in persona Christi. When they start walking their own path, we ourselves are going to wander. Think of a young child. If you are sitting at the dinner table with your family, and you pick up a pea and throw it at your child... what will they do? Throw it right back. You can't expect them to sit there, see that happen and rationalize: "well, they are an adult, and maybe this is a special instance where only they can safely throw food. In fact, I shouldn't take anything from this, except that maybe there is a very specific reason why they are doing so here, and it reveals some higher importance." No, they are simply going to pick up a handful of peas and you are now soon going to be covered in peas.

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Blogging Charisms

Last night I had a 'genius' idea. Well, I don't know if it was genius, but it kept me up for two hours just imagining things in my mind. It was an idea for a "new blog", which is the worst kind of idea a person like me can have. I know that such a project would drive my unofficially diagnosed OCD brain into madness, so I didn't let myself indulge, but it has kept me thinking about how each blog has a particular place in the blogosphere.

This all started yesterday when I was talking with Dan from GLACC. I was telling him how I wish he and his blog crew could update more. I really like reading things that are of a "local" concern. This is something I struggle with on my blog, the whole local v. wider audience thing. That concept then got me thinking not only local v. wider audience, but also about what I call blog 'Charisms' in general. What I mean by that is, like a religious order, I think blogs generally have a certain 'Charism' or area of theology/spirituality that they write about. Some blogs may even have a 'Seinfeld-esque Charism' where every new post is something new, but that is their Charism. (Think: The Crescat or  The Curt Jester.) There are all sorts of Charisms. There are the Pro-Life blogs, the Catholic News and Events, Theology, Liturgy, Mom-Blogs, etc...

The concept of blog Charisms is helpful to readers as well as writers for various reasons. This idea generally ties into the Name of the Blog, for example. The name is the first thing we encounter when we are going to read a blog for the first time. Therefore, a good name will really help your readers know what you are writing about, but even more importantly it can help inform you as to what you should/could be writing about. This is not to say that a blog should corner itself in within the parameters of your Charism/Name, but that it is important to understand where your faith is focused.

Some of the best "designed" and "put together" blogs really stick to their Charism. Take "Happy Catholic" for example. Julie D's blog is nicely laid out, everything is nice and neat, and she has a Charism that she sticks to quite nicely. Another blog that serves up a nice dose of continuity is "Shoved to Them". When you read Rebecca's posts, you know you are going to get poigniant examples of everyday faith from the perspective of a great Catholic mom. She  doesn't write a "mommy blog" per se, but she certainly utilizes her experience as a great mom to help us all understand our faith better in the day to day.

why it is important to think about your 'Charism'

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I have been thinking about this, because I realize that there are a lot of posts on my blog from way back when that really put myself, and my thoughts on the faith out there. My blog is not the "neatest" or written with the clearest "Charism." It was intended to be a blog about spiritual warfare, the day to day battles of the faith, and our place within the Church Militant. To many, that isn't their cup of tea. I know that I won't get hordes of readers streaming in from Mom-Blogs or the more popular "everyday Catholic" type blogs because my 'Charism' isn't appealing to them. In the past, when I have tried to "broaden" my appeal, I feel like these posts are forced or don't quite fit. I think this is similar to when we try something "new" in our spiritual life and although it works for some, it isn't necessarily for us. '

I think it is important that we write what we know. That isn't to say don't avoid writing a post just because it doesn't seem to fit your "theme" or 'Charism', but don't try to get readers to your blog by posting about something that is "trending" if it isn't something that moves you. There are a lot of blogs out there, and there will always be blogs that you run across that you think are better than yours, and some probably are. Yet, we all started blogging because we thought we had something important to say, or we wanted to grow in a certain way, or we thought we could help others in a certain way. That being the case... write in that certain way. Embrace your Charism, have it be what makes you a better Catholic, a more spiritual Catholic, and even a better blogger.

I face some flack because of my blog. My "militant" style has been called everything from judgmental and critical, to over-bearing, near-sighted, and un-charitable. I don't try to be any of these things, in fact, I   try to be the opposite of these things. What I know is that my life hasn't been a "Catholic walk in the park." My spiritual journey has been a war. Therefore, what I know is that we are in battle... and so I will write about that. My audience might not be as big as Father Z's, but my Charism makes me who I am as a Catholic.

A final note. A lot of blogs really try to "teach" people things. That is often a really good things, and I have learned a lot. I have even tried to do so with this blog in a rather direct manner. Sometimes though, I think we need to take Rebecca's 'Charism' and apply it to our posts. We need to find the things in our life, our minds, and our hearts that are examples of how to live the faith, and simply relate those experiences. It is the "Little Way" of life that sometimes leads us to the biggest revelations about God and Faith. So embrace your Charism, let it guide you and lead you to not only writing better posts, but to enhancing your faith life by accepting who and what you are as a Catholic. There is a reason there are so many different religious orders, don't let your Charism be something you are ashamed of, but instead, embrace it and make it be a garden of rich soil.

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Reminder re: Society of St. Scholastica [SSS]

I just wanted to remind all my readers about the Society of St. Scholastica. We are halfway through the first month of this humble little blog project and I wanted to encourage everyone to continue to support the society or if you haven't already, to sign up and support this months order, the Sisters of Our Mother of Divine Grace.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please get in contact with me. We have seen decent response to this venture, but I really would like to make it a wider effort and get more people on board, so please help to spread the word.

There is a blog "button" to help support the society and there is the monthly support link at the bottom of the Society's page. Please consider using these means to get the word out.

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Conflicted

On the eve of our return to our new home, Alaska, we are spending the last few hours in our old home with family and friends. It is a hard thing, living in our current circumstances. I don't blog a lot about it here, but things have been quite trying for the last 10 months for my family due to my employment situation and our desire to live a lifestyle in a place far from what we have always known.

While being around family and friends in a place that is so familiar is nice and comfortable, there are also things about it that are less than ideal. Our faith life is very important to us, well supreme really. That being said, there are practical things such as salaries and bills that have to be attended to. Life is about balance, but it is also about risk, reward, and trust. Trust is a hard, hard thing to have when things are rough and very easy when things are good.

I pray that when we return to that land of the north, we will be comforted. Not necessarily with feelins of peace, but with the ability and strength to trust. What I want for my family is to trust in God in such a way that we are willing to do our part, and leave the "details" up to God. There is a tendancy with people to do one of two extremes: either sitting back and saying: "it's all up to God" or to grab the reins and say "I need to take control of my life." Neither is very helpful because they ignore the reality that we are people of action and free will. God wants us to act and move forward, and will help us when we trust Him in such a way that we are unafraid of making a mistake.

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DUIB Board Meeting

Today I will be going to visit Brian, the person who inspired me to write this blog, and an occasional blogger here, himself.

It is so very nice to see such friends, regardless of how infrequently it happens.

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Silent Sunday: Assumption Grotto - Detroit, MI

Assumption Grotto - Detroit, MI

Planting a Seed

While we are in Michigan, I really want to do some "Catholic Stuff" but with family and friends, it is hard to find time to visit all the places that I want to visit. While speaking with my wife the other day I suggested visiting somewhere and tried to justify it by saying that it was to expose our daughter to "The Sacred." She laughed and said, "She isn't even 2 yet."

Where I wanted to go was to see the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist at their Motherhouse. Now granted, I don't think you can just "stop by." I mean, I know they don't have tours or a gift shop, but I just thought the idea of exposing our daughter to some amazing and holy women at an early age might plant a seed.

I know - she isn't even 2, got that... just wanted to plant a seed :)

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Georgetown Professor Is Clueless as to Why God is Important, and Why Palin Gets 'It'

Not surprised. I am not. We hear jokes about Jesuit institutions all the time and their lack of "Catholicity." Is it the Jesuits fault? Well, that is hard to say, but where there is smoke, there is usually fire.

Take for example the Washington Posts: "Georgetown/On Faith" Blog section where they write about politics. You can read their about section if you want. They have Professor Jacques Berlinerblau writing about Palin's choice not to run. His take? That her priorities are screwed up because she adheres to a God, Family, Country philosophy. Yes, he disagrees with this order because... well... that is what liberals do. You can't even say, "Oh I get what he is saying, good argument I just disagree." No. For a professor at an allegedly Catholic institution, he is completely clueless. Let's look at his article [my comments in red]:

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin has decided not to run for the presidency in 2012. In her statement she writes:

After much prayer and serious consideration, I have decided that I will not be seeking the 2012 GOP nomination for President of the United States. As always, my family comes first and obviously Todd and I put great consideration into family life before making this decision. When we serve, we devote ourselves to God, family and country. My decision maintains this order.

The order she refers to, “God, Family, Country” comprises a bewildering conflation of priorities, recklessly emphasizing the personal over the civic. Wait, what? Bewildering? You mean, all the slams by the left that the was "reckless" with her children by running in the first place? And a public servant should walk away from the anchor of family once they run, because... the public is more important than the personal. Honestly, this statement is so far from anything sensible that I should have stopped reading here. 

Palin works from the assumption that one enters public service not to uphold the constitution, not to defend the nation, not to enrich the lives of citizens, but to honor God. Ok, this is an allegedly educated person. Why does he mess up the whole concept of mutual exclusion. Even if you were to argue that Palin places God at the top of this list he creates, it doesn't necessarily mean that she then excludes the rest. 

Whose God, you ask? That’s a great question in a society as religiously diverse as our own. From Palin’s vantage point the answer to that can only be: my God and my interpretation of God. Which, chances are, won’t be your God and your interpretation of God. Wait, now, if you believe in God as a public servant, you can't have a personal view of Him? Again, this is a GEORGETOWN professor.

This type of reasoning has roots that extend back deep into the Puritan heritage of this country. Yet it is important to recall that since the times of let’s say, Roger Williams, this reasoning was challenged by dissenters who were every bit as God-fearing as the Puritans. That is to say, in American history there have existed significant faith-based motivations for fearing public servants who claim to serve God. Ahh... so his colors are showing, he admits essentially that we don't want people who believe in God to serve the public.

Taking the Silver Medal in Palin’s hierarchy is “family.” Her emphasis is perhaps psychologically understandable, given the ferocious battering that the Palin clan, most notably the children, has endured in the press over the past few years. Wow... this is just crude. I get more upset the more I read this. The Academia "elite" really are vile people, this is just more of the same though. If you aren't with them, they hate you - literally. 

Yet once again, a politician does not seek elected office to better his or her family. The inverse proposition seems more likely: those who chose to serve do so to the regrettable emotional detriment of their loved ones.

As for the last of Palin’s priorities, it should have been her first and arguably her second and third as well. Americans are certainly allowed to believe that their God is much more important than their country. But those Americans perhaps ought not run for high office. His conclusion: only atheists or fairweather religious should run for office. Thanks professor, one more Catholic college off the list. He makes it much easier for us Catholics to cross Georgetown off the list of where to send our kids for college. 

I can't believe I wasted my time. As I said, I am not surprised. More of the same. Intellectual "elites" at Catholic entities getting it completely wrong. You should stop giving to Georgetown, and you should stop sending your children to allegedly Catholic institutions. I am sure many of you made it out alive... but what if your kids aren't as lucky? Do you want them thinking like this?

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