Following the herd over the cliff...

So I read this post over at AmP:
American Papist: Not Your Average Catholic!: Video: Silent Monks Singing Halleluia

And I realized that I am not a true Catholic blog until I post this video & that Solidarity is a Christian virtue:

Enjoy!

Theology Of The Shopping Cart - (From: Acts of the Apostasy)

There is a great post of at:

Acts of the Apostasy: Theology Of The Shopping Cart

It really is a great way of explaining the current state of affairs within our Church. YOU HAVE TO READ IT! [If you don't the rest of this post won't make any sense.]

The part that struck me the most was the analogy of the carts which gather in little clusters.

Then there are larger groups that congregate in the parking spots. They're in the way, and they accuse those who want to use the spot as being oppressive and judgmental. Strangely enough, they think they're in the Church because "where two or three are gathered", they say. But they aren't tolerant of those who try to use the space - they get defensive and become more stubborn. Sometimes, though, another cart comes along and gathers them in, and by God's grace, they find their way back to the corral. But by and large, this group believes the institutional corral is wrong, that Christ never intended to create a corral the way it is today. They stay where they are, becoming a nuisance and source of irritation to everybody.

We see this all the time. 1 person, probably someone we know is sorta off to the side saying this, that, or the other thing. All of a sudden a second person cart comes over and gathers there. Why did they come over? Well because when the person was finished using the cart cart was faced with the decision of going to the corral or the "group in the spot", it chose the spot.

But why? Because it was quicker, easier, and seemed to make the most sense. The person who collects the cart was going to have to collect all the carts anyways. And they weren't hurting anyone WAY over here in the spot. Plus, they might have just followed the "masses" and gone to the corral, but clearly someone else felt that this spot was appropriate. Plus, who is to say that this isn't actually the BEST place for them to be? that corral way up front isn't used properly anyways. The carts are just randomly chucked in there not even pushed all neatly together?

Churches face this problem. When a church lacks a strong pastoral leader, the people carts run the corral.

Focus: Alaska & The Catholic Church

I have occasionally posted about things dealing with my  parish (which I have not named) and other things in general within the Catholic Church here in Alaska. I have been thinking/hearing from some that I should focus more on the local Church. I will begin doing so but need help.

Alaska as you know is a pretty big place, and although I am in the Anchorage Diocese which is pretty big and populated, it is still difficult to get information from more remote areas. I do know that quite a few Alaskans read this blog, if you have news, info, "tips", etc... please email me: angelsdefendus@gmail.com

The Catholic Church here in Alaska is still very young. It has a lot of good things going on... [as well as a lot of not so good things.] My hope is that we can focus on the former which should in turn help to weed out the latter. Even the Pope has called for the "new media" to help evangelize the world. We must heed his call... so let's get to it!

That being said... ALASKAN CATHOLICS: please send me info about what is going on in your parish, city, or diocese!

New Blog: Acts of the Apostasy

HOLY-FLIPPIN-ARIOUS!

Ok... the newest blog to the Cathologosphere is : Acts of the Apostasy

It is a doozey! You really need to read it... if you have a sense of humor. It is funny, witty, sarcastic, and SPOT ON!

Plus he is from Michigan, so there a lot of posts near and dear to my heart!

New Blog: The Catholic Key

I need to do this more often when I add new blogs to my blog roll.

I added the Catholic Key. It is the blog written by the Staff of the Diocesan Newspaper of Kansas City. It is really good, nicely orthodox, and pretty spot on. I definitely feel comfortable adding them.

Check them out by clicking on the pic:

The blog deals a lot with politics, Catholic news, and social issues. Like any other diocesan paper, they deal with issues, but the blog gets to dive deeper... and these folks do a great job!

New Blog: TrueManhood.com

I just want to call to your attention a new blog/website that I stumbled across:

It is run by Dave DiNuzzo, and has a theme that is pretty "near and dear" to the heart of your beloved [or not, maybe I assume too much] blog-host. The blog tackles a lot of issues that I have posted about here, and does a much better job than I have done :)

So if you have a chance go check it out! And women, don't be afraid to check it out either, there is a whole section dedicated to women. On top of that, Dave and his Wife Catherine work together to make the information applicable to both men and women, so it makes the website a lot more versatile than the title may suggest.

Greatest Hits...

As more new readers are coming to the blog... I figured it would be a good time to link some of the old posts that I feel are worth noting. From time to time I will compile a list of links in an attempt to give new readers a chance to read some old posts and get caught up. Here is a list of some of October's better posts:

• Danny Abramowicz - Support A Catholic Speaker Mont...
• Prayer Challenge: Carry a Rosary with you!
• Pro Multis - The Confusion, Debate...
• Compendium Eucharisticum - Manual for proper celeb...
• Support a Catholic Speaker Month - info
• Marian Meditation - Question

So check em out!