Author: Steve

The left side of this page that is. Some old, some relatively new. Check them out!
James Akin
Eve Tushnet
G. Thomas Fitzpatrick – Verus Ratio
David Alexander – Man With Black Hat
Steven Riddle – Flos Carmeli
Tim Drake

(All links open in new window so you will come back here and keep reading.)

Father Rob Johansen gives his take on greeting before Mass. Excellent teaching over there.

The liturgy is not our personal property: it does not “belong” to me, or to my particular parish, or even my diocese. It is not ours to manipulate or change as we see fit to suit or own particular preferences or perceived needs. I say “perceived” because what we in any given generation or place think we “need” is very often not at all what we truly, objectively need.

Liturgists and musicians who want to monkey with the Mass, turning it into “McMass” don’t see this.

Father Jim Tucker at Dappled Things gives us a lesson on the Rite of Peace.

Mark Shea has another take on the probem and suggests a practical alternative at HMS Blog.

You don’t get a Catholic culture by trying to create a Catholic culture. You get a Catholic culture as a by-product of simply trying to be Catholic along with a lot of other Catholics doing the same thing. And you try to be Catholic, not by trying to be Catholic but by focusing your life on a) the Eucharist and b) turning to bring the Eucharist to the world. Culture comes from that as a by-product.

The rest of his post is worth reading – have a gander at it.

At Disputations there are some interesting thoughts as well. This is what struck me, though you should give that link a click and read what else he has to say.

What has happened, I think, is that the entire social dimension of being Catholic in America has collapsed down into one hour a week. What isn’t done in that one hour isn’t done, and that includes “building a sense of community.” It’s not my job to ensure that a sense of community is built in my parish (though it is to help build it), but I can well imagine that those who do feel this responsibility will try everything they can to succeed.

John is out of town! For the next week this blog is mine, all mine! My plans for global Catholic blog domination can proceed unfettered! I will unmask Nihil Obstat! Rod Dreher will link to me on The Corner! Priests with blogs will refer to my insightful commentary on the Liturgy! Pez will be its own food group! The Tridentine Rite will be restored! Six years of both Latin and Greek will be required in public school! Everyone will buy several copies of ALL Mark Shea’s books and tapes! Ditto for Amy Welborn! The ACLU, the DNC, PETA and VOTF will close up shop and give all their money and mailing lists to Catholic Answers! Religious vocations will soar when Mattel launches “Carmelite Barbie” and “Jesuit Ken!” OCP will recall all their hymnals, cease publishing, and open up petting zoos in Guatemala! The French will declare English their national language! The next two episodes of “Lord of the Rings” will be in theaters next week! Dan Rather will begin the news saying “Dominus vobiscum!” No one will ever, ever play guitar or sing Marty Haugen tunes at Mass again! I will have my own primetime show on cable called “Cooking with the Bran Man!” The whole world will be regular thanks to me! All this will come to pass before John returns!

Actually things are going to be pretty much the same. I’ll have a few original thoughts, maybe humorous ones, and I’ll link to other more interesting blogs. Status quo.

Please pray for John, his wife Teresa and my dear mom and dad on their journey.

has a new blog for all our Catholic Apologetics needs and more! Check it out!

Mark Shea is my hero for telling Jim Koch to give us a real apology.

Mark Sullivan suggests some higher-quality, geographically correct beers to enjoy in the place of Sam Adams. I like the Harpoon IPA quite a lot!