Standing on My Head

The Mystery of the Magi - The Quest to Identify the Three Wise Men

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 21 Nov 2017 11:57:00 -0500

Load 'Em Up and Move 'Em Out

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 21 Mar 2012 15:28:00 -0400

This blog is moving. I'm joining the happy band of pilgrims over at Patheos. The new url is: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/standingonmyhead/

If you come here you'll have a page to re-direct you to my new home.

This should be a good move for everyone. I'm streamlining my blog and website, so this move along with the upgrade to WordPress helps me make that happen.

Patheos also continues to grow and move forward, so coming to visit me there is a way to open up into a kind of Catholic magazine with the best Catholic bloggers, opinion and news.

For some time I have also been looking for a way to expand my reach with the blog and Patheos provides that boost.

I'll see you over there, and hope the transition isn't too difficult for anyone.

Thanks for your patience!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 15:28:00 -0400

Click on the Twitter badge in the left sidebar to follow me on Twitter. I tweet links, pithy thoughts for the day, a few riddles and stuff to think about.

Catholicism and Free Thought

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 11:56:00 -0400

One of the favorite bats the anti-Catholics like to hit us with is the idea that Catholicism, because it is a dogmatic religion--must therefore stifle free thought and free speech.

"How nice for you" the condescending Anglican will say to the convert, "Now you're a Catholic you won't have to think anymore." Or, "It must be nice to be a Catholic and have such 'certainty.'" This is said with a snuffling, cynical laugh because by 'certainty' they mean that you have become a mindless moron--a Kool Aid drinking cult member following the demands of your leader in white without thinking.

Another jab is, "Of course there are some folks who need that kind of certainty." The subtext here is, "You're not really smart enough to think things through yourself, and you are probably emotionally and socially insecure and immature so you need to belong to a mutual self love group which offers it's members certainty in all things."

Like every heresy this is partially true. There certainly are cults that offer their members mind numbing 'certainty'. There are emotionally insecure and immature people who need to belong to such cults. We have to admit that there are some Catholics like that, and there are sadly, some Catholic sub-groups--religious orders and religious communities and movements in which members have sometimes behaved like this.

However, abuses do not undo right uses. The greatest response I know to the charge that "You Catholics all thoughtlessly follow your leader, believing and doing whatever he tells you" is that "You clearly don't know very many Catholics. The vast majority take little notice of what their leader tells them and have scant understanding of either the dogmas or the moral teaching of their church."

But that is to make a cynical response. Instead there is a more reasoned argument, and it is this: Let us ask foundational questions. Either there is such a thing as truth or there is not. If there is no such a thing as truth, then every man may think what he likes and the world is absurd. If there is such a thing as truth, then because we are creatures who use language both in thought and speech, then we must be able to put that truth into words.

We put that truth into words in many different ways. We tell stories, we write poems, we discuss and debate and reason our way into truth, and one of the ways we express the truth is through propositional theological statements. These statements or resolutions are not the whole truth, but they state the truth in a propositional way as precisely and completely as is possible. This statement of truth we call dogma.

If this process is possible at all, then a church (which is founded to proclaim and live the truth) must in some sense be dogmatic, and if it is at all dogmatic, then it must be in the business, at least in a minimal sense, to declare that dogma to be necessary. If the dogma wasn't necessary, then it wouldn't be dogma. In other words, that church must have the authority to say, "This particular proposition is true. That means you must believe it if you belong to this church because the church lives to proclaim and live the truth. It can't be true sometimes and not at other times. It can't be true for me and not for you. If it is true, then it is true always and everywhere for all people whether they understand it or not.

Now this is something solid--something real. It is a rock on which to build. Without such a thing as dogma (and the authority to declare a belief a dogma) the church is built on shifting sand of subjective personal opinion. This rock on which to build does not suppress free thought. It may seem to suppress free thought because, by virtue of declaring some things true it must necessarily declare other things to be false. To say, "My apple is red"is also to say "My apple is not blue."

Totally 'free thought' is like playing tennis without a net. Totally 'free thought' is free, but it is not thought--it is an expression of opinion or an exclamation of emotion. Dogma, therefore, empowers free thought. It does not suppress it. This is because dogma provides the fixed point upon which free thought can be based. Dogma is demanded not because it gives all the answers, but because it gives the foundation upon which to ask the right questions. Dogma gives thought wings because it gives thought a structure.

Even when a person dissents from church teaching and denies the dogma they are still affirming the necessity for dogma, otherwise what would they have to rebel against? Even the person who kicks a rock proves that the rock exists. Indeed, it is arguable that it is the person who kicks the rock who is most affected by the rock, for by kicking the rock they have hurt their foot. Therefore even the 'free thinker' who rejects dogma proves the reality and solidity of that dogma.

Therefore dogma gives thought structure. It not only gives thought a structure, but dogma, combined with tradition, give a person a context and structure for a unified world view. There are corridors in the mind, shelves of knowledge which are catalogued, galleries of works of art to enlighten and libraries of the great minds from the past to illuminate, biographies of the wise and righteous to guide and correct the free thought. Catholicism, rooted and nurtured and flourishing within the Western classical tradition provides a unique and irreplaceable structure in which truly free thought can flourish.

Without this structure and context the 'free thought' is simply a jumble of impressions and emotional reactions conditioned by a scrap of propaganda here, a bit of education there and a swirl of sentimental reactions and personal opinions thrown up by popular culture and conditioned by a shallow educational experience.

Dogma provides that structure necessary for real thought. If we take the creed as an example, some free thinkers may find it restrictive--an antique formula for a dying religion. It is a straight jacket, a set of blinders, a cage for the mind. Think rather that it is a ladder on which to climb. It is the stairway on which to ascend, it is the map for the journey.

But it is the climbing, the ascent and the journey which matters most.

Sentimentalism and Violence

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 09:55:00 -0400

When dogmatic belief dies all that is left is subjectivism, and when subjective belief (which is never more than mere opinion) dies all that is left is sentimentalism.

Our society now is awash in sentimentalism. Most every argument is now a sentimental (or utilitarian) argument. Here is an example: Slaughterhouses kill animals so we can eat them. Vegetarians feel bad about this. Not only do they want to not eat meat themselves, but they don't want us to eat meat either.

Most of them have no philosophical or logical reasons for banning meat. They might have moral arguments--that factory farming and slaughterhouse practice is un necessarily cruel and barbaric--but mostly their argument is sentimental. Killing animals makes them feel bad.

Sentimentality lead to violence when sentimentality becomes an ideology. An ideology is a single driving idea that sweeps every other consideration aside. Those who follow an ideology are always self righteous, and they will use every means possible to enforce their ideology. The ideologue may attempt to argue logically or philosophically, but this will only be a tactic--it is not because he believes that logic, philosophy or theology have any real weight. These disciplines will serve the ideology--the ideology itself may never be questioned. Not only logic and philosophy are subject to the ideology, but all things are subject to the ideology. All other considerations are subject to his ideology--including moral considerations.

So the sentimental ideologue will eventually force his opponent to conform. He will use any means possible--political legislation, financial pressure, social pressure, shouting more loudly, imprisonment and persecution and finally bloodshed if necessary.

This is why the Catholic faith is the sworn enemy of every ideology: because the Catholic faith insists that there is a higher truth, that there is an objective truth and that it is revealed by God--not made up by human beings. Every ideology--whether it is economic or political or sentimental or erotic or ecological or social--every ideology will find the Catholic Church to be an obstacle.

The ultimate irony is that every ideology (like every heresy) is partially true, and it would find it's fulfillment within the fully expounded Catholic faith.

The way, therefore to counter the ideologies is not for Catholics to be better ideologues, but for Catholics to be better Catholics.

Update: The Anchoress writes here some further thoughts on Sentimentalism. She contributed a chapter on this awful "ism" for the book Disorientation.

The Vicar and the ABC

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 09:28:00 -0400

Guest blogger, The Rev'd Humphrey Blytherington is Vicar of St Hilda's, Little Snoring with All Saints, Great Snoring. He is a graduate of Plymouth University. He completed his studies for the ministry at Latimer Hall, Durham. He is married to Daphne and enjoys home brewing, model railroading and is an avid member of the Great Snoring Morris Dancers.

Evenin' all! Sorry not to have been down here at the pub for so long, but She Who Must Be Obeyed insisted on a holiday together. Now she's a Roman she wants to visit France and Italy all the time, so we spent the two weeks trolling through Normandy. Very enjoyable indeed.

Daphne dragged me off to visit Lisieux where some little gal lived who the Romans think is awfully special. Daff was thrilled, but I couldn't quite see it myself. They say she's a great saint, but seems to me she was a rather spoiled child who said a rosary bead every time she climbed the stairs and then became a nun. It's all the sentimental stuff the Romans are worst at I'm afraid--all simpering sisters, roses and holy cards. Not really my cup of tea at all.

What did I like about it all? Well, to tell the truth, the little restaurants were awfully good and we stopped by that French version of St Michael's Mount. Can't help being impressed by that--monastery built on a rock in the middle of the bay. There was a rather odd thing happened at that Lisieux place too. Daff was in the chapel of the convent praying and I was sitting on a bench enjoying the afternoon sun when suddenly the most extraordinary thing... a slight breeze and I could swear I heard someone whispering, "I pray for priests I will pray for you." It kept up for about a minute or so, then it all died down. I expect it was just the combination of the breeze in the trees and the rather good lunch I'd just had. P'raps I dozed off a bit and dreamed the whole thing. It's odd how the mind plays tricks on one.

Well lads, it looks like we're going to get a new Archbishop of Canterbury. Y'know I bumped into the present fellow once at a diocesan do. Seemed pleasant enough. Needs a good barber in my opinion, but he seems to enjoy the 'beardy weirdie' reputation. Folks have been saying that he's been a terrible Archbishop, but I can't see it myself. Seems to me he's done just a good a job as anybody else. Everybody tut tutting about it being an impossible job. Doesn't seem so tricky to me. All it takes is keeping one's mouth shut and pretty much letting everybody get on with doing as they like. Now and then you might have to remind folks to be a bit more tolerant, but that's all. Seems a doddle. No problem at all.

What it takes is understanding the dear old C of E. We're a broad church. There's room for everyone here. Lavinia was saying the other day that Our Lord wouldn't have excluded anyone, and didn't he say to the woman taken in adultery, "neither do I condemn you?"

I did meet that George Carey a couple of times. He was a jolly enough fellow, not all that bright, but you don't need brains to be a nice chap. It was Mrs Carey who was rather formidable. Eileen she was called. A rather hefty woman as I remember. We were at a garden party at Lambeth Palace. An old college friend of mine was being made bishop and Daphne and I found ourselves in conversation with Mrs Carey. Daphne said she wasn't in favor of women's ordination and Eileen got really rather huffy. Said something like, "You'd better go off and join the Romans then. The sooner people like you leave the Church of England the better."

I was trying to smooth her feathers, but I could see poor old Daff was most annoyed. She sipped her tea and said, "Mrs Carey, you must know all the wives of the bishops. Have you ever met Mrs. Proudie? You remind me so much of her." Mrs. Carey said she had never met Bishop Proudie and asked what diocese he was. "Barchester" said Daff. Eileen got a sort of befuddled look then changed the subject.

It took a week for poor old Daff to cool off. Never mind. Water under the bridge. We'll all be looking forward to the next fellow to take the job. Some folks think it could be that African. I like him. That should liven things up in Canterbury. Bongo drums and dancing in the aisles I expect. Sounds like good fun don't you think?

St Joseph - The Wise Old Man

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 17:15:00 -0400

Have you ever noticed how certain characters crop up in story after story? They're called archetypes. You've got the princess, the king, the wicked queen, the witch, the soldier, the jester, the fairy godmother, the wicked sorcerer and the wise old man.

What I love about the saints is that they fulfill a kind of function in the life of the world as if they are making all the fairy stories come true. The fairy tales with their stock characters point to a greater reality, and the reality is the mystery of salvation working its way out through ordinary human history.

St Joseph, for example, is the historical foster father of Our Lord. He's a humble carpenter, a wise, strong and silent man. But in the wider scheme of the imagination he also becomes the wise old man. See how this character type comes up in story after story? Gandalf, and Obi Wan Kenobi and the Wise Wizard and Merlin. You can think of more--maybe Dumbledore. These wise old men are the mentors of the hero. They are the 'extra father.'

Within the Judeo Christian tradition they are Father Abraham, the patriarchs, Moses with his staff and old Samuel who anoints the king. They are the monks and hermits of the world--Elijah the prophet and the Apostle John--venerable and strong. They are St Antony of Egypt and St Benedict.

The wise old man is also St Joseph. He's there as a source of wisdom, chastity, charity and clarity and light. He's there as an extra grandfather and godfather and holy father in God.

St Joseph
pray for us.

St Joseph

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 07:27:00 -0400

Chust for Nice

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 19:49:00 -0400

St Therese -- A Steel Magnolia

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 19:01:00 -0400

If Therese was a "Little Flower" she was a steel magnolia. Here she is pictured as one of her heroines, St Joan of Arc.

She was tough, and this post recounts her exploits in the first world war. She appeared to French soldiers and did miracles. This is a trait she shares with every saint--the awareness that she is a soldier for Christ. The same language is used by St Benedict in his rule, and examine the writings of every saint and you will find the military imagery.

I realize that it is Lent and a time of battle, but I am feeling more and more the call to be a happy warrior, and look to St Therese as a patroness. How crazily wonderful is the Catholic faith that we put forward as our most noble knight the princess--and as the most manly warrior a little girl!

For more on this saint Pius XII called 'manly' you might want my book St Benedict and St Therese--The Little Rule and the Little Way.

Un-Blessing with Un-Holy Water?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 18:34:00 -0400

This article says a group of atheists gathered to 'un-bless' a portion of highway with 'un-holy water.'

If they were really atheists they wouldn't believe any of that stuff, so why would it matter if the road were blessed or not? The fact that they take the trouble to conduct some sort of ceremony or ritual to 'un-bless' the road seems laughable, but is, in fact sinister.

If they really wanted to counter a Christian blessing they should have got some shaman or witch in to curse the place, and it is only a matter of time before they do so.

What the atheists don't understand, of course, is that atheism will eventually lead to the demonic. Nobody can believe in nothing for long. The atheists are not content to live as true atheists--minding their own business, imagining that they can live in a spiritual vacuum, and allowing those "religious kooks" to do their own thing.

No. They're not content to let religious people do what they want. Beneath their louche tolerance, shallow sophistication and affected nonchalance, their atheism is driven by rage so they have to try to close religion down, and when their meager efforts fail they will become increasingly violent and hateful.

They will then drift into new ways to curse God and destroy religion, and many of them will (either explicitly or implicitly) summon up and yield their souls to the powers of darkness. This is because it is impossible for a human being, who has an immortal soul, to exist in a state of non-alliance. You must serve either God or the Devil.

Already locked in a vile hatred of religion, they will find it all too easy to ally themselves to even greater powers of hatred and violence. Their God-empty souls will be vulnerable to every spiritual entity out there in the great chaos and taken over by evil, they will initiate a demonic reign of terror. More terrifying still is that they will do the most vile things and praise themselves for being 'free' or 'bringing about a new society.'

Do not imagine for a moment that atheism is ever benign. The atheists have always been out to destroy the church, and they will fight the faith with the tenacity and terror of the pit.

The Second Coming

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 14:14:00 -0400

I've just finished re-reading Walker Percy's The Second Coming. Whew! what a knockout last page!

It's the story of Will Barrett--an emotionally wounded, rich, late middle aged Wall Street lawyer who has retired to North Carolina. He has a mental breakdown after the death of his wife and is rescued by Allison, a loopy gal who escaped from the mental asylum herself.

Beneath the story is the struggle for faith and meaning, a contemplation on the madness of miserable Americans pretending to be happy, a meditation on wealth and emptiness, musing on sanity and insanity, faith and experience, forgiveness and being born again.

It's a powerful and compelling novel, and one which bears reading and re-reading because Percy understands the complexity of human nature and communicates it with all the subtlety and skill that his own main character exhibits. The interwoven complexities of the person and his relationships are shown, not told and the reader is drawn into the emotional struggle through the outwardly dull, but inwardly tumultuous life of the hero.

Turn off the TV, tear yourself away from the computer and read this great book.

Geesh, I wish I could write a book like that!

The Practical Purpose of Penitence

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 13:15:00 -0400

In Lent I repent. I say, "I'm a sinner." I admit I am wrong, not right. I accept that I am flawed, that I am ignorant and arrogant and proud and willful and egotistical and I could go on and on.

What is the purpose of this self denial and degradation? One of the practical purposes of penitence is that I am being realistic. My own high self image is very likely to be at very least distorted and probably a complete fabrication. Therefore repentance is a useful correction.

The problem with penitence is that it has been distorted by heretical notions of total depravity and excessive doses of guilt. These religious ideas have produced some Christians who are laden with guilt and have a self image that is so low that it can hardly be lifted at all.

Healthy repentance, on the other hand, helps us to take a serious, simple and honest look at ourselves, realize we are imperfect, and begin to make amends. The best way to do this is through a complete examination of conscience.

A good examination of conscience enables us to take an objective look at the state of our soul and to steer around the three things which most cloud our vision: fear of being found out, shame and guilt.

The lowest level of sorrow for sin is fear of being found out. Shame is the embarrassment and disgust at ourselves for doing something which goes against the fine and delightful image we have of ourselves. Guilt is a healthy sorrow for sin because it breaks God's commandments, and most of all because it offends God himself and desecrates his love for us.

When fear of being found out, shame and guilt combine the emotions are strong and drive us to repentance and the confessional. However, the level of our fear, shame and guilt may not be an accurate indicator of the seriousness of our sin. We may do something sordid and shameful and which may have serious consequences if we are found out, but which may not be a very serious sin. Likewise, we may do something which does not make us feel ashamed and which may have no serious consequences at all, but which is more serious because it is grave matter and we did it intentionally.

A good examination of conscience helps us move beyond the natural feelings of fear, shame and guilt to look objectively at what we've done and receive forgiveness and absolution through the confessional. This objectivity corrects both the person who doesn't feel guilt, fear and shame for their sin and the one who feels this too much.

Homosexual Marriage in England

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 12:49:00 -0400

The homosexual marriage debate is raging in England. Damian Thompson-- who is probably one of the world's greatest journalists-- write here about how the church will lose the argument. They are saying that there will be a clause in the legislation banning homosexual marriages from taking place in church, but Damian's right in pointing out that there will be plenty of Church of England priests willing to conduct church "blessings" of the homosexual marriage. They've been "blessing" second and third marriages in church for a long time now already.

What this means is that Adam and Steve get "married" have their civil marriage then go on to the church for the "blessing" which will be all fancy just like a wedding. Catholic priests will not be allowed to conduct such services, but anybody who has followed this debate and knows what the homosexual activists are like can easily predict the future. Homosexual marriages in churches will soon be allowed, and then be made mandatory--especially in the established Church of England.

The time will come very quickly when religious groups will not be able to maintain their own employment policy which excludes homosexual people, and churches will be forced to "marry" homosexual people if that is what they demand. It will be the law, and refusal to co operate means you will be punished.

Sermon for Sunday

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 21:50:00 -0400

Got my sermon ready for Sunday already...

Thrown Under the Bus?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 13:07:00 -0400

Was Fr. Guarnizo thrown under the bus by the Archdiocese of Washington?

He makes his statement here, and most importantly, contends that his 'suspension', which the Archdiocese said was due to 'intimidating behavior' was connected with the funeral-lesbian incident after all.

If this is true, is justice being done? Can an Archdiocese withdraw faculties from a priest simply for 'intimidating behavior'? What on earth does that mean? Any kind of conflict in a parish in which a priest asserts himself might be construed as "intimidating behavior". For goodness sake, I can name half a dozen priests off the top of my head about whom reports of "intimidating behavior" are reported weekly.

Even if Fr Guarnizo is guilty of "intimidating behavior" what did he actually do? Did he hit someone? Did he threaten them with violence? Did he threaten to blackmail them? What did the "intimidating behavior" consist of? Were there witnesses? What actually happened?

Will "intimidating behavior" become the new "abuse". Increasingly we hear charges against people of "abuse". "Abuse" used to mean that a man came home, kicked his kids down the stairs, punched his wife and raped his daughter. "Abuse" used to mean a woman got drunk, burned her kids with cigarettes, tortured the dog and locked her son in a cupboard. "Abuse" used to mean a priest was a drunkard, raped little boys and stole the collection money.

Now the term "abuse" is thrown at people, damning them with a vague and unproved accusation. "My husband was abusive!" I hear a woman complain, and it turns out he didn't listen to her enough and forgot to take out the trash on a Tuesday. "My mom is abusive!" a high school kid wails, and it turns out she yelled at him to clean up his room and grounded him because his grades were lousy.

This is the heresy of sentimentalism turned violent. The play is on a supposed victim's feelings. So-and-so was "abusive" or "intimidating" and I'm feeling wounded so the accusation is made, the "abusive" or "intimidating" person is accused, assumed guilty and executed without trial.

I don't know Fr Guarnizo and I don't have enough facts either way to make the judgment in this case, and anyway it's not my job. It's easy to jump to Fr Guarnizo's defense and view the Archdiocese as the Big Bad Wolf (in sheep's clothing) when the fact is, we really don't know all the facts and so we can't make a judgment one way or the other. We have to give both Fr Guranizo and the Archdiocese the benefit of the doubt.

However, in the midst of this fuss, I'm making the more general point that accusations of "abuse" and "intimidating behavior" should not be enough.

Everyone deserves justice and fair play and not only must there be justice, but justice must also be seen to delivered. Let's hope that is what prevails in the conflict between the Archdiocese and Fr Guarnizo.

Tertullian on Prayer

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 07:28:00 -0400

Prayer is the one thing that can conquer God. But Christ has willed that it should work no evil, and has given it all power over good.

Its only art is to call back the souls of the dead from the very journey into death, to give strength to the weak, to heal the sick, to exorcise the possessed, to open prison cells, to free the innocent from their chains. Prayer cleanses from sin, drives away temptations, stamps out persecutions, comforts the fainthearted, gives new strength to the courageous, brings travellers safely home, calms the waves, confounds robbers, feeds the poor, overrules the rich, lifts up the fallen, supports those who are falling, sustains those who stand firm.

All the angels pray. Every creature prays. Cattle and wild beasts pray and bend the knee. As they come from their barns and caves they look out to heaven and call out, lifting up their spirit in their own fashion. The birds too rise and lift themselves up to heaven: they open out their wings, instead of hands, in the form of a cross, and give voice to what seems to be a prayer.

What more need be said on the duty of prayer? Even the Lord himself prayed. To him be honour and power for ever and ever. Amen.

Eau My Goodness

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 10:58:00 -0400

At Italian perfumer has produced a perfume especially for the Holy Father. The Daily Telegraph reports here. The expert says it was very difficult and she almost gave up. I would have thought it was quite easy--just take the fragrances of various incense types and you'd have something suitably ecclesiastical.

What got me is that she attempted to produce a fragrance that reflected the Holy Father's personality and theological position. What?? It got me thinking what sort of fragrances might reflect my personality and theological position.

I'm for cordite, incense and the mustiness of old books.

The Attack of the Ism's

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 10:43:00 -0400

Every year during Lent I am asked to conduct a Lenten mission in a parish. On the first night I tell my conversion story. On the second I talk about the "attach of the Ism's". These are twelve ways of thinking that have invaded our society and which undermine our Catholic faith.

1. Individualism - I'll do it My Way
2. Eclecticism - Cafeteria Catholicism
3. Sentimentalism - If it Feels Good it must be True

4. Materialism - What You See if What You Get
5. Scientism - Only Scientific Knowledge is Valid
6. Utilitarianism - What Works is What's True

7. Nationalism - My Country or Ethnic Group Right or Wrong
8. Sectarianism - My Church or My Ideology Right or Wrong
9. Elitism - The Survival of the Fittest

10. Fideism - Fundamentalist and Anti-Intellectual
11. Historicism - "Truth" is determined by historical circumstances
12. Progressivism - Every Day in Every Way We're Getting Better and Better!

The neat thing about these twelve is that they are countered by being One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic. The first set of three are attacks on the unity of Church Authority and Church Teaching, so are countered by being "One" The second set of three are attacks on the supernatural, on grace, on the belief in an afterlife. The are, at heart, atheistic, so they are countered by the "Holy". The third set of three are counted by "Catholic" because they are attacks on the universality of the Church. The fourth set of three are countered by "Apostolic" because they are attacks on the historicity, antiquity and dynamic continuity of the Church.

The third night of the mission I discuss how we as parishes, families and individuals can be more "One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic."

The people of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Providence, RI are experiencing this teaching this week. We're having a great time.

What Women Want

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 14 Mar 2012 10:30:00 -0400

Watching the news coverage of the Alabama and Mississippi primaries last night it was interesting to note that Santorum got the large share of women's votes. The commentators on MSNBC were bemoaning the fact, revealing their own bias and arrogance.

When we hear the narrative that Republicans are "against women" what we are really hearing is from the feminists is "we don't like Republians." The idea that one political party is "against" one gender is ridiculous and degrading to women. If I were a woman I'd be outraged to think that some ideologue of either the right wing or the left wing were speaking for me.

When the liberal media talk about Republicans or Catholics or any other group being "against women" what they mean is that these groups do not rubber stamp the feminist agenda. But when are the feminists going to realize that they are not the only women in the world and that there are plenty of women (in fact the majority of women) in this country who don't buy into their radical agenda?

When the votes go against their ideology they will do two things: 1. Mindlessly shout out the dogmas of that ideology even louder and more repetitiously 2. Attack the other side with every weapon they've got--usually ignoring the other side completely, but also mis representation, distortion of truth and finally portraying the opposition as mindless hillbilly cretins who are "clinging to their Bibles, guns and snot nosed babies."

But of course, the women who voted for Santorum are not mindless hillbilly cretins. They may not be educated at some ivy league college, but they also are intelligent, thoughtful human beings who simply look at the world in a different way. Are there some ignorant, stupid women among them?

Sure. But nobody's got a monopoly on ignorance and stupidity.

Keep Talking

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 17:19:00 -0400

Thomas Peters reports evidence that those who are opposed to the WH mandate are winning the argument, and encourages all those with a media voice to keep up the pressure. More and more voices are pointing out that the Catholic bishops are not trying to ban contraception or force anything on anybody. All we want is the freedom to obey our consciences and not pay for something which goes against our conscience. More and more commentators are pointing out that free (or very inexpensive) contraception is already available all over the place.

So it's not really about contraception. It's about getting the Catholics out of health care.

Time to Quit the Chick Tracts

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 12 Mar 2012 17:06:00 -0400

Has anybody noticed that the style of the cartoons illustrating the 'Time to Quit the Catholic Church' ad in the New York Times is remarkably similar to the artwork in Chick Tracts?

What's curious about the current wave of anti-Catholic paranoia in our country is that it uses much of the same scare tactics, exaggeration, bigotry, distortion of truth and downright lies that have been used for a long time by the fundamentalist Protestants.

The New Anti Catholicism--The Last Acceptable Prejudice by Philip Jenkins--goes through this in great detail. He chronicles how the present anti Catholicism has its roots in Puritan America, the Know Nothing riots, and anti-Catholic legislation.

It should not surprise us that the present atheistic, secularist anti Catholic gangs are using the same tactics as the Protestant fundamentalists, because at the very root of both movements is not only a hatred of the Catholic Church, but the same philosophical decay. Secular, atheistic anti Catholicism is merely the end point of Protestantism. It is, if you like, the retarded child of Protestantism.

Protestantism has at its roots, the philosophy of nominalism--that universals do not exist--just the particulars. The result of this is materialism, individualism and subjectivism. There is no universal objective truth. Instead all that matters is the individual and the particular.

For Protestants this means that only the personal experience is relevant. The end point of this is relativism--that there is no such thing as objective truth, and the end point of this is the secular materialist position--in which all that matters is my own judgement and what you can see here and now.

For both Protestants and secular materialists the idea that there is some over arching law or Almighty lawgiver which mankind must obey--is absurd. That there is an earthly institution that claims to be the channel of communication for that lawgiver is an outrage.

Of course, I am talking about foundational principles here and making generalizations. There are plenty of good Protestants who believe in God and an objective moral law that is communicated through the Bible. The point I am making, however, is that their intrinsic antipathy to the Catholic Church (even when the use polite ecumenical type language) is rooted in the same philosophical assumptions which drive the more rabid anti Catholicism or the radical Protestants and secular materialists.

No wonder therefore, that the NY Times ad looks like a Chick Tract.

Cleansing the Temple

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 15:01:00 -0500

Do you know why the commerce in the temple was so bad? Not because you shouldn't sell stuff in church. It's because the Jews had to make sacrifice in the temple in Jerusalem. It couldn't happen anywhere else. Furthermore, they had to sacrifice animals that were perfect. So here is what happened:

Good Jewish man comes to temple gates to sacrifice the little lamb he thought was perfectly acceptable. The temple guard checks it out..whoops it has a defect. He has to buy one of the approved ones which they have already inspected in the temple courtyard.

So your Jewish worshipper goes to buy his sacrificial lamb, but he's not allowed to use the Roman currency because it has an image of the emperor on it which is a graven image and that would be blasphemous to bring into the temple, so he has to change the Roman money to Jewish shekels, which can only be done--you guessed it--at the official money changer table.

So he goes to change his money to buy his lamb to make his sacrifice and finds out that, too bad, the exchange rate is not so good and also the money change makes a commission on each transaction.

No wonder Jesus was hopping mad. They were making a killing out of the poor Jewish faithful who, by their own religious rules, had to make a sacrifice in that place in that way approved by those people who were all getting rich on it.

Death, Slavery and the Pursuit of Blessedness

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 14:48:00 -0500

I was feeling grumpy and anti-American yesterday because it was a Friday in Lent, but also because sometimes I get exhausted with the whole grinning, plastic society that much of America has become.

I read a letter from someone in a Catholic leadership position who was saying something like, "We need to ask ourselves the question whether we have truly found what will make us truly happy." What is that all about? Where on earth in the gospel is the idea that Jesus and the Catholic faith are supposed to make us happy?

This is Catholicism adapting to the American way which is all about "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." The problem is that Americans are so intent on the pursuit of happiness that they are now willing to sacrifice life and liberty in order to attain it.

Forgive me if I criticize this most venerable shibboleth of being American, but this phrase has now been taken out of its historical context and has come to mean something very different. Initially "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" meant that Americans were free to live and pursue their own happiness no longer enslaved to economic and political overlords. That's fine. I understand this.

There was also a sense of priority in the three ideals. Life was first. Liberty was second. The pursuit of happiness was third. That means that the third is subservient to the second and the first and the second is subservient to the first. In other words, your pursuit of happiness is only possible because you have liberty and you only have liberty because you have life. Furthermore, your personal pursuit of happiness takes a back seat to your defense of liberty and your defense of life.

Here's an example: if you have to defend your liberties and your country you might have to go to war and get wounded or killed which runs contrary to your personal pursuit of happiness. Likewise you may have to give up your pursuit of happiness or your liberty in order to preserve and defend human life.

Our perverse society in America has now reversed the order completely. Pursuit of happiness comes first, and this is not even pursuit of the classical definition of happiness which might mean the greatest good for the greatest number or even the kind of happiness attained by the Stoics or Epicureans in which happiness was only attained after a life of discipline and refinement. Instead 'happiness' means entertainment, licentiousness and general vulgarity--and liberty and life will serve whatever pleasures we think we want.

As this blog is called Standing on My Head, allow me to stand this American phrase on its head and say that perhaps as Lenten Christians we should stand instead for Death, Slavery and the Pursuit of Blessedness. In other words, to truly live the abundant life we must die to self. In order to attain true liberty and freedom we must become a slave to Christ, and this may not lead to happiness, but it will lead to blessedness--which is something far more eternal and profound.

Not a cheerful message perhaps--but this in Lent you know!

Been Busy

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 10 Mar 2012 07:01:00 -0500

Sorry not much blogging this week. Things at Our Lady of the Rosary parish have been very busy, and I am in Providence, RI this week to preach a Lenten mission at Blessed Sacrament parish.

In the parish we are busily engaged in the capital campaign to build our new church--pictured here. The people of the parish have been trying to build their church for twenty years, and have raised a good amount of money so far, but we still have a long way to go.

The first phase of this campaign is a round of targeted visits in the parish to get us to the next threshold. Then another round of visits in the parish before we go into phase two--which will be a whole range of creative fund raising events. We hope this will get us to the point of commissioning the construction drawings and breaking ground.

Phase three will continue the fund raising to pay off the new building and finish the decoration and artwork that will go inside. It will also include the construction of a shrine to the Divine Mercy in the crypt of the new church.

Can you help? Here's how: take some time to learn more about our exciting church construction project. Go to the OLR website and read my articles on sacred architecture, meet the designers and talk up the project.

Tell people about our new church. Link to this post on your blog or link to the articles on architecture and talk it up. Put the pictures of the church on your blog or facebook page and talk it up. Publicity will help bring this project to the attention of those who will have the finances available to make a large donation.

And by the way, you can also make a big donation yourself if you want! The OLR website will take you to ParishPay, or you can send me an email to discuss now you can donate or make a pledge.