John Schultz: November 2003 Archives

I'm sure everyone has seen the news. Bush's trip to Iraq made me glad for two reasons:
1. It proves that our government can still keep a secret under difficult circumstances
2. It's as strong a show of support as can be made for freedom in Iraq.

Where is everyone? The food coma can't have set in early.

I don't recall ever seeing a football post here.

Turns out it's open season on the Redskins.

Be careful not to speed in Washington D.C.; the police are handing out
Redskins tickets.

Q: What's the difference between the Redskins and a dollar bill?
A: You can still get four quarters out of a dollar.

Q: What do you call 47 people watching an NFL playoff game on TV?
A: The Washington Redskins.

Q: What's the difference between O.J. Simpson and the Redskins?
A: O.J. Simpson at least had a defense.

Announcement from public address system at FedEx Field:
"Will the parents who lost your eleven kids here at the stadium please
come get them? They are beating the Redskins 14-0."

Q: What do the Redskins and possums have in common?
A: Both play dead at home and get killed on the road.

Q: How do you keep the Redskins out of your yard?
A: Put up goal posts.

Q: What do you call a Redskin with a Super Bowl Ring?
A: A thief.

Q: Why was Steve Spurrier upset when the Redskins' playbook was stolen?
A: He wasn't finished coloring in it yet.

If it's your job to get offended, if you get more donations by fomenting angst about anything that could possibly be offensive to your constituency, if you find a conspiracy staring back at your from your bowl of corn flakes, then it does.

And for those people who say it's more than just a toilet joke, look what I have for you:

So let's get this all straight for you folks out there:
There's a good chance you'll see a cresent moon in the following places:
The night sky and the door of an outhouse. And outhouses stink. And the joke is, who would go into an outhouse not knowing that it stinks.

It's like me saying: Is it me, or does CAIR sometimes go out on a limb to make it seem like perfectly normal things are totally offensive to Islam?

You'd think the guy had written a sequel to the Satanic Verses or something...

The church sign generator referred by Fr. Bryce is a hoot.

It's our first day or real cold here in DC (will be in the 20s tonight) so here's a winter picture of Teresa and our dog Eva to get you prepared for what comes next.

Scenario for discussion:

Family of 5.
The father is Catholic, the 3 children ranging from under 12 month to 6 years old have been baptized. The mother is a Protestant. She would like to become Catholic, but the RCIA program in the parish calls for 2 meetings per week for 2 hours each. Catechism for the oldest happens at a different time than the RCIA classes. The father works a full time job with some travel. No nanny or other support is around. So between father, mother and 3 small kids, it's very difficult to commit to the 12 month schedule of the RCIA program.

Question:
Should the structure/schedule of the RCIA program be flexible to accomodate the needs of a family such as this? Is it fair for a non-Catholic mom to have to attend several hours a week of RCIA classes and discussion sessions when the needs of the family are great? Should the RCIA program schedule and requirements be adjusted in order to get converts access to the sacraments sooner?

Discuss in the comments boxes, please.

Here's detailed info from the Catholic Encyclopedia.

I'm two days late blogging about All Souls - so what you are going to do, give me an F?

We sang the Stanford "Justorum Animae" and in spite of some pitch problems did a great job. We're having a heat wave here on the east coast, but that doesn't mean that the central heat gets turned off. Humans who are experiencing discomfort often have pitch problems, among other things.

The piece is part of the great British choral school of the 19th/20th century. It builds on the best of Tallis in terms of form but contains the harmonic drama of the best of Elgar or Vaughan Williams. In that respect it communicates a great deal to our modern sensibilities while still expressing the sacredness of the text and it's place in the liturgy.

The translation is as follows - it's take from the first reading on All Soul's:

The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God;
there shall no torment or malice touch them.
In the sight of the unwise they seem to die,
but they are in peace.

Next week we do the Bruckner "Locus Iste" - which is coming together nicely and is perfect for the Feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica.

Police Uncover Weapons Cache in Mecca.

The Boston Globe's look at the vast right-wing conspiracy within the AmChurch

(link from Amy)

Two years after Kennedy's election, Pope John XXIII called the Second Vatican Council. Vatican II is now a towering historical event, representing for some the ongoing spirit of reform in the church and for others a kind of theological breeder reactor, constantly on the edge of going out of control. While favoring the latter view, Pope John Paul II, who has led the Catholic Church since 1978, also has reinterpreted the events of the council in such a way that they support his traditionalist view of the church.

Over his lengthy pontificate, John Paul II has allied himself with the traditionalist side of every ongoing dispute within the church.

It strikes me that the media is unable to grasp what is that core of Catholicism - absolute and certain Truth that is unchanging. So when JP II preaches about the Truth, we're told he's supporting his "traditionalist" view of the Church. And because he's a "traditionalist" he put the kabosh on the Vatican II reforms, as though the council stopped just short of allowing women to be ordained and it just needed a little push to make sure we can pack our entire wish-list of western sociological hang-ups into how the Church teaches and preaches.

When the children of the 60's wax poetic about Vatican II, they get all glassy eyed and dreamy. When "traditionalists" remind them of the substance of Vatican II in the form of the actual documents they clamp their hands over their ears and run screaming into night.

Am I wrong about this?

And here's another nugget of wisdom from one of the brightest stars of Catholic acaedmia:

"But what will they do," wonders Notre Dame's [Rev.] Richard McBrien, contemplating the post-John Paul II church, "without their great patron?"

You know what we'll do? We'll have another Pope who by the grace of God preaches and teaches Truth in a holy and uncomprising fashion. Is your brain too full of postmodern theology that you don't remember the Gospel of Matthew and 2000 years of Catholicism?

It quite sad that you often manage to reinforce the media's mistaken idea that the Church is just a big club and if you get "your man" in power everything will change over night.

So to Richard McBrien: how about praying a Rosary before answering your phone next time? That may prevent the floor in Hell being paved with the skulls of priests. And I'll do the same because God knows I need the prayers.