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CU Episode 87: And They Eat That?

In this episode: our patent-pending blend of low bandwidth audio and theology, an Anti-Christ alert, how Planned Parenthood is actually a bit of an misnomer, our picks of the week and a slew of news on the cu metro.

The Harsh, Clear Light of Day

Note: This post is harsh, direct, blunt and true. It is not intended or designed to be gentle or soft. It is the truth and, as St. Paul declares, it is like a sharpened sword. If you’re not in the mood or interested, don’t read it.

1. The Roman Catholic Church isn’t WalMart or Burger King; it’s the Body of Christ.

2. Catholic priests, nuns, sisters/brothers and laity aren’t employees; we are members of the Body of Christ.

3. The doctrine and dogma of the Catholic Church are not consumer products that the Church’s employees sell to those who want them; Catholic doctrine and dogma express the unchanging truth of the faith.

4. Life in a Catholic parish is not a trip to Disney Land or Target or McDonald’s where your consumer needs and whims are catered to by the whimpering clergy and lay staff; parish life is the life of Christ for the local Catholic family.

5. You do not come into the Catholic Church b/c you like the building better than you like the Methodist chapel; or because the priest at the Catholic parish is cuter than the Baptist preacher; or because you heard that the homilies are shorter at St. Bubba’s by the Lake than they are at the Unitarian Church. You come into the Catholic Church because you believe that the Catholic faith is the truth of the gospel taught by Christ himself and given to his apostles.

6. Leaving the Catholic Church because a priest was mean to you, or because sister whacked you with a ruler, or because the church secretary looked at you funny is as stupid as giving up on the truths of math because you hate your high school algebra teacher. Why would anyone let a crazy priest or a cranky nun or anyone else for the matter drive you out of the faith you believe is true? My only conclusion: you never thought it was true to begin with; or, you have a favorite sin the Church teaches against and crazy priests and cranky nuns is as good an excuse as any to leave and pursue your sin all the while feeling justified b/c Father and/or Sister are such jerks.

7. Anyone who comes in the Catholic Church thinking that they will find clouds of angels at Mass dressed as parishioners; hordes of perfect saints kneeling for communion; seminaries packed with angelic young men burning to be priests; a parish hall stacked to the ceiling with morally pure people eager to serve; and a priest without flaw or blemish, well, you’re cracked and you probably need to go back and try again. Telling Catholics that they aren’t perfect makes as much sense as telling fish they’re wet. We know already. Move on.

8. Of the hundreds of priests and religious I know, I know two who could count as saints right now. The rest of us are deeply flawed, impure, struggling creatures who know all too well that we fail utterly to meet the basic standards of holiness. For that matter: so do you. Get in line.

9. The Catholic Church owes no one a revision of her doctrine or dogma. She didn’t change to save most of Europe from becoming Protestant, why would you imagine that she would change just to get you in one of her parishes?

10. If you want to become Catholic, do it. But do it because you think the Church teaches the true faith. If a cranky priest on a blogsite is enough to keep you from embracing the truth of the faith, then two things are painfully clear: 1) you do not believe the Church teaches the faith; 2) and you care more about expresssing your hurt consumer feelings than you do for your immortal soul.

Fr. Philip, OP

Wow! Although it’s very harsh, I’m with Fr. Philip here. He’s got some tough words, but I know where he’s coming from. So often, people come to Mass looking for entertainment. Or we come to Church looking to “get out what we put in” or we come for some other horizontal experience of community… Which is so bogus. Long before I was a priest, I went to Church for the feeling of togetherness. It wasn’t until years later that I got serious about my soul… And although I might have phrased it differently, Fr. Philip is right – the salvation of our souls has to be priority one, which means that we’ve got to get serious or get gone.

Mediocrity is the great plague of our modern day. Too many people are living for the maximum pleasure at the minimum expense of effort… Christianity is not a faith for the weak hearted. It’s a faith for those who want to climb up on a cross where people look at you funny, insult you and mock you. It’s the kind of faith where love is suffering and sacrifice. It’s the kind of faith that you enter through a symbolic death (Baptism, c.f. St. Paul) and you hope to enter through actual death… It’s the faith founded by a man who spoke the truth in season and out of season and who died so that we could live… And once we accept that, then the blessings of this world have their context and their place… It’s not masochism, it’s the way things are in this world and it’s the only way through it… We are strangers and sojourners.

Harsh words – you bet – but necessary!

Michael O’Brien, Island of the World

So I just finished reading Michael O’Brien’s latest novel, Island of the world. While it’s a slow starter, it’s a really amazing novel. O’Brien is not a trained writer and his style is not Evelyn Waugh . But the story, the charachterization, the historical perspective and the development of wisdom is amazing. Here is a book that manages to express the horrors of the second world war and the Tito regime in Bosnia & Croacia and still come to the end with a profoundly wise and positive view of this world – something I’m still working on. The only down side for me is that I’m not very appreciative of poetry. I don’t fault the author – the poetry he writes (and there’s plenty of it in this book) is very pleasing, but I’m just not a poetry fan. Other than that, the author knows how to write an “old soul” into being. Throughout, I was worried that it was going to devolve into some adgenda driven tripe about politics, communism, culture or other – but it really never did. It was fresh, heart wrenching and sincerely worth reading. I really wish I could meet Josip Lasta and I hope that this book will be read widely… It’s worth it.

Fathers For Good

Fathers For Good
This is a fantastic website for Christian Fathers… I love it. Check out the talks under the podcast link.

Life is Still Worth Living, Ep 21, Slavery

This week’s topic is much less pleasant and was not easy to speak about. I spoke about slavery and not in the usual way. I really wanted to take a minute to realize just how horrible it was and just how present it is in our American culture. It’s not all that easy to listen to, but I moved into spiritual slavery and then into freedom which is wonderfully meaningful in the context of this episode. I hope you all are moved.

Music: Linda Holzer

Life is Still Worth Living, Ep 21, Slavery

Life is Still Worth Living, Ep 21, Slavery
This week’s topic is much less pleasant and was not easy to speak about. I spoke about slavery and not in the usual way. I really wanted to take a minute to realize just how horrible it was and just…

CU Special: Hallowed Not Hollow

Fr. Mark Spruill gives a presentation on how All Hallow’s Eve came to be and what we can do to live this Christian holiday despite the secular influences all around.

I’m back

So the retreat is over and done with – it was fun. Will be posting again in a couple of days.