Happy Halloween!

I haven't posted anything in the past few weeks because my dad has been ill and hospitalized and, as a result, the interest to post just hasn't been there. He has made some improvements, but sometimes I lose hope because of the conflicting reports made by the medical staff. All I ask is that you please keep him in your prayers.

In lesser news...

You have no idea how difficult it was to get this costume on this little bast*rt without losing a finger...or two. Toby, the Evil Halloween Pup, would have nothing to do with his Halloween disguise and decided put his little fangs to use by biting away any attempt to put it on him. Finally, I was able to put it on him but not completely. He was way too angry and unmanageable.

God bless and I hope you and your families have a happy and safe Halloween!

Stop it.

So I'm doing my best to stay away from the Fr. Pavone controversy and discussing it in great detail simply because I don't believe in fueling disputes that are generated within the Catholic Church itself. However, this much I will say, whatever disgrace comes from this public contention, we have only Catholic sources to assign blame (in my opinion). But regardless of whether the Bishop is right or wrong, or Fr. Pavone has been unjustly removed, whatever happened to promptly addressing the issues and privately discussing them before going public with a war of words? And as a Bishop, certainly you must appropriately and respectfully eye those individuals who are under your jurisdiction, but can you apply your authority harshly and unfairly simply to preserve your "empire"? Yes. Absolutely. Anyhoo, I've said more than I wanted to say about this subject matter.

Quit Sending Me Emails
I get at least two emails a day from some source claiming to be associated with either Fr. Pavone or the Priests for Life caucus. I have unsubscribed myself from I don't know how many bulk email lists and STILL I get stuff in my in box from those sources. I'm not trying to be apathetic to the cause of the Priests for Life in any way, but since the subject matter of these emails is focused on the public dispute, I simply don't want to read them. Don't ask me how they got my email.

On a Lighter and Happier Note
This is Sebastien, my brother's new cat. He is still a baby (only four months old) and extremely playful. Rocco, who was also a youngster, passed away from a rare condition about two months ago.

It's only in retrospect that we can better appreciate the difference. On September 11, 2001, the human race, not just America, lost more of the benevolence and innocence the Creator imbued humanity with. The world since then has never been the same, nor will it be the same again. We're more distrusting, more suspicious, more technological (with the intent at tracking people of interest), and more alienated. Especially alienated. There was a time in the history of this country when you could knock on the front door of the White House and the President of the United States would answer. Now just try it and see what happens. But it's not just in the access to overly guarded politicians that we see a change, which in the case of the President is understandable. But also in airports security checkpoints, malls, schools, DMV's, borders, sporting events, streets, etc. It's almost impossible to walk around these days and not be seen by camera or some other surveillance device.

The Loss of Human Life
There is so much suffering and loss from the the 9/11 attacks that I simply cannot wrap my head around it. From the "good byes" and the "I love you's" over the phone, and the heroic efforts of both rescue personnel and civilians, to the continued absence of those who perished, there is nothing I can write that can justly describe the intensity and profundity of these events. I'm sure other blogs are posting about the tenth anniversary of the attacks with more eloquent and impactful wording. Please visit those since speech--despite ten years since the attacks--still fails me.

His name was Kevin Cosgrove. He was inside one of the World Trade Center Towers speaking on the phone to a 911 operator as the building begins to collapse. This is the released audio of that chilling call. This audio was played in the trial of Zacarias Moussaoui who is currently serving a life sentence in Florence, Colorado for his involvement in the September 11th attacks. Kevin Cosgrove left behind a wife and three children.

Vocations Revisited

It's no secret that Catholic vocations have taken a dramatic dip in the past five decades or so. Many diocese and religious orders have fervently taken up the task of encouraging potential candidates to seriously consider a life as a priest or a nun in a diocesan capacity or religious order. If it weren't for those efforts, I think an even greater number of parishes and monasteries might have closed or consolidated to compensate for the lack of clergy. This shortfall in Catholic vocations does, once again, invite a focused analysis of the overall components and pre-requisites of a life as a Catholic priest or Catholic nun.

Celibacy
Supposedly--and I don't always agree with this--the biggest precondition that keeps men from entering the priesthood is the celibacy demand. Many Catholics (and non-Catholics) that I've spoken to consider this pre-requisite to be anachronistic and well within the authority of the Magisterium to change or modify. I think this drive to eliminate priestly celibacy is also encouraged by the knowledge that married men are ordained in the Eastern Catholic Rites, and the exposure some parishes have had to the influx of Anglican priests entering the Catholic Church with wife and children. To this date, I haven't heard anything exceptionally derogatory about parishes managed by married Catholic clergy. But since I have a strong aversion to most things progressive, it's important not to dismiss the criticism that comes from the opponents of lifting the celibacy demand. Having said that, I personally don't think that a multitude of priests getting divorced or accused of infidelity would equal the scandalous and deleterious impact of one sexual abuse accusation. And if this was an issue of conservatives versus liberal Catholics, would the conservatives not be the ones who want to lift the celibatic condition to the priesthood, since, for the first eleven hundred years of the Catholic Church, married men were ordained to the priesthood?

When evaluating the relevance of the ecclesiastical law about sacerdotal celibacy--whether for it or against it--the first thing we have to do is detach ourselves from our egos and propensity to become hostile even at the mention of change. There's no doubt in my mind that some people on both sides of this issue at some point begin to argue for their personal win rather than for what is good and truthful for the Church.


Secularism/ Materialism

"Vocations begin at home."

Our culture measures success by income, status, and material holdings. This type of mentality seeps even into the most faithful of Catholic upbringings, often times promoting prestige and the ability to produce material goods as rewards for hard work and sacrifice (I would argue that mentality is more Protestant than Catholic but, nevertheless, enough Catholics think this way as well). Priestly life, while respected and appreciated (for the most part), is considered a corollary to mainstream professions that provide greater incomes and bigger opportunities to obtain material goods and higher status recognition. If a Catholic child is conditioned to believe those things, The Calling will undoubtedly fall on def ears. So when you think about it, those Catholics who on one hand join parish lay groups that encourage vocations and sponsor seminarians, but on the other hand perpetuate the Protestant Ethic, contribute in large amounts to the vocation deficiency they're trying to diminish.

The Catholic voice has to be louder than the secular clamor most people are accustomed to hearing. This secular cacophony is so ubiquitous and so unchallenged that most of our youth, and indeed their parents, march to the beat of it with an almost trance-like obedience. So when you consider the types of qualities that are valued in some everyday Catholic households, you realize that the lack of vocations isn't just a low number of candidates entering the seminaries, but also a misguided focus on behalf of the Catholic family on things that are ephemeral and materialistic.

Going off on a tangent
Some critics outside the Catholic Church, and even some Catholics, have judged the priesthood and religious life as a place where a gay man or woman could seek cover for the nature of their sexuality and keep suspicion at bay. A Catholic man that knew he would never marry because he was gay could easily account for the lack of a female partner if he was an ordained priest committed to living a chaste life, as I've heard some say. Now that there is a greater acceptance in our society for gay men and women, might that not alleviate the pressure felt by some Catholic members of this demographics to hide their sexuality by entering a religious life that they were never called for? I can hear the argument that a wrong in our society doesn't constitute a benefit for the Church.

Anyway, this is stuff that's been on my mind recently and I'm just throwing it out to you guys.

Photo Credit: Catholic Seminarians of Facebook

Elmo Has Issues

Be responsible this Labor Day weekend. Wild party boozing can only get you into trouble whether on foot or in car, human or not (see above pic). This brings me to my next somewhat related question: is enduring the crappy, godawful, pungent taste of hard liquor worth the buzz? People, you have got to be kidding me. I remember catching a brief scent of Stolichnaya Raspberry Vodka a few years ago and found the aroma quite agreeable. I purchased a bottle for a gathering at a friend's house and after I took the first sip, I nearly hurled! Oh there was plenty of vodka-taste in the sip alright, but NO traces a anything that could remotely be identified as raspberry. I was very disappointed. The raspberry existed mostly in the scent, not the taste.

I very, very seldom drink, but in the times that I do, it's typically wine or a wine-spritzer. And I usually start feeling the buzz--which I absolutely detest--long before I've reached the halfway mark of my drink. Not very manly, is it?

Selling Yourself

Very few people in the excessively materialistic world of celebrities and glory-hungry hopefuls are as prone to self exploitation as Kim Kardashian. A socialite with no redeeming artistic value, Kim, her parents and sisters currently star in a reality show called Keeping Up With the Kardashians. The success of that show has brought it back for six seasons thus far.

In 2007, Kim made a sex tape that was posted online for public viewing. She sued the adult video producer which posted the video, Vivid Entertainment, and was awarded five million dollars. However, savvy Kardashian negotiated a deal with Vivid Entertainment and as a result of those negotiations the tape became available for public viewing, but for a fee. Kardashian, in turn, would take a cut of those fees. This article credits her sex tape for launching her career.

Earlier this month Kim married NBA player Kris Humphries in Montecito, California. I'm assuming that the smut video his wife made was not an issue when he decided to pop the question. Personally, it would make me sick to my stomach.

What is most disturbing about Kim Kardashian's situation is the fact that her own family, specifically her mother and step-father, have failed to make even the slightest effort to have the video removed and protect the dignity and (potential) respectability of their daughter. They're all reaping the fruits of a porn video.

And I could never forget to give recognition to another twirp whose fame and notoriety are equally as mysterious and inexplicable as Kardashian's. And this, of course, is Paris Hilton.

Skip the Title

"Give up yourself, and you will find your real self. Lose your life and you will save it. Submit to death, death of your ambitions and favourite wishes every day and death of your whole body in the end: submit with every fiber of your being, and you will find eternal life. Keep back nothing. Nothing that you have not given away will ever be really yours. Nothing in you that has not died will ever be raised from the dead. Look for yourself, and you will find in the long run only hatred, loneliness, despair, rage, ruin, and decay. But look for Christ and you will find Him, and with Him everything else thrown in." ~ C.S. Lewis

Since claiming my return to blogger, you have no idea how many false starts I've experienced when constructing a post. Instead of giving you a count of how many post I began but never developed, I will simply say that I have enough beginning material to last me a LONG TIME, most of which will undoubtedly be deleted. And then there was the indecision of how to return. How on earth do I begin what I said in my last post (three months ago) I was resuming? What post would be fitting? What topic would be appropriate? Since I didn't have a good answer to any of those questions (and still don't), I simply decided to type away and post.

The above quote is from the celebrated author/ Christian apologist, C.S.Lewis. What an admirable and passionate commitment he had to Christianity. I often think of him and those jewels of Saints that pepper Catholic historicity whenever I feel like I'm faltering or about to make erroneous conclusions about God. They don't necessarily stop me from making those bad conclusions, but they sure help me fight my way out of them by functioning as beacons of light in the darkness. How many of us, for example, in the course of our day, besieged by set-backs, bad news, demoralizing defeats, would be tempted to conclude that God is apathetic or that He simply doesn't exist? I think a great deal of humanity experiences that type of situation. And if your Catholic and voice publicly (and honestly) a moment of profound desolation or unbelief, it's nothing short of scandalous! I never understood why, however, since moments of unbelief are part-and-parcel to the ups and downs of a spiritual life taken seriously. It should be, I think, about as unusual and shameful as finding someone with a cold during winter, or a painter with blotches of paint on his uniform.

And there are plenty of experiences that can weaken your faith: A fragmented relationship; bad medical news; shattered dreams; losing a loved-one; life taking you on a path different than the one you hope for, and perhaps, just general unhappiness.

But the good news is this. Could St. Therese de Lisieux, St. Augustine, Mother Teresa, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Benedict, and the courageous steadfastness of the murdered monks of Tibhirine (to mention just a few) be the product of delusion and self deception? Were this people--as Richard Dawkins and Christopher Hitchens might lead you to believe--the victims of a sham instituted by shysters and perpetuated by organized religion? Examine that question deeply and the only ones self-deceived are the ones who answer yes.

I want to conclude this short post with this Agnus Dei from Arvo Part's "Berliner Messe." It's simply extraordinary and highlights the meat and potatoes of Catholic worship: Mysticism. Which in this case I mean Mystery of God. Communion is a great part of this Mystery.


Also, I did manage to post a picture of myself on Facebook. Ha! But I made sure that some people couldn't see it. This reminds of my next chore, thin-out my Friends list on Facebook. To be perfectly honest, there are people on that list that I simply don't care to have any connections with. Some of which are on Blogger! Not you, of course:0)

Pentecost

It's a good day to return, don't you think?

"When the time for Pentecost was fulfilled, they were all in one place together. And suddenly there came from the sky a noise like a strong driving wind, and it filled the entire house in which they were. Then there appeared to them tongues as of fire, which parted and came to rest on each one of them. And they were all filled with the holy Spirit and began to speak in different tongues, as the Spirit enabled them to proclaim."

Happy birthday, Church! And to all of you, my blogger pals, it's time for us to reconnect and pick up from where we left off.

Check out this video. This is simply amazing!

Did any of you know about this?

Hates begets hate. This misanthrope praises the death of six innocent human beings (one of which was a child) and then has the audacity to thank God for it. He is the "Christian" equivalent of Muslim extremists.

A New Year Has Begun

Let me begin this post by extending a Happy New Year to all of you and your families. I truly hope that whatever you were lacking in the previous year, or had been vexing you in 2010, will emerge or leave your life hastily, never to return.

Some times I get a bit apprehensive about the new year. I think of it as a long, untraveled road with sporadically hidden and unforeseen surprises. As you know, these surprises aren't always good. But what really puts me on edge is WHERE these surprises are hidden, ready to spring up and reveal themselves at the last moment or when it's already too late. My grandmother, in her kind and infinite wisdom, would have no such worries. When I was very young, I encountered a very frustrating moment and, amid the frustration and despair, uttered the famous grown, why me? To which she responded, "Why not you?" I don't think my grandmother knew anxiety like I have known it, nor did she ever worry about things that were beyond her control.

I have decided to take spring semester off from school. My plate is full and adding more to it for the sake of an accelerated completion just isn't worth my sanity. I hope resume my studies with greater clarification and focus during summer session.

May Christ be with you, protect you, guide you, and bless you and your families this new year and everyday of your lives. Amen.