Category: Uncategorized

A processional cross with a Resurrected Christ on it. That’s about as appropriate as nuns in leotards dancing to the tune of “I’m a Little Teapot” on the Solemnity of Christ the King.
Are you resurrected? Are you inhabiting your glorified body following the General Judgment? Are you sitting in row 1,359,299,783 in the heavenly stadium while a band of Angels is singing the Hallelujah from the Mount of Olives?
I didn’t think so. So why parade around the church during the Easter season or at a funeral with a resurrected Christ on the cross? Aren’t we all still suffering? Aren’t we called to sacrifice and suffering? Why is it that it’s just in the last few decades out of 2,000 years that we are pre-emptively celebrating the resurrection?
If one of the more educated folks in St Blog’s Parish can tell me there’s some historical precedent for this, I’m all ears.

Welcome folks who came from Mark Shea’s blog, and thanks for spending some time in Schultzville.

has been champing at the bit for someone to write “chomping at the bit.”

These questions we posed yesterday by Amy Wellborn. There are a lot of comments on her site but I will put my two cents here instead.

Why Jesus? He wasn’t only a thinker, prophet or teacher, he did things on this Earth that only God can do. Compare His life with Buddha’s or Mohammed’s and you will see what I mean.

Why here and why this way? The Catholic Church was founded by Jesus himself and our lives, as his was, are to be sacramental. His grace is not only conferred on us through the sacraments, but the sacraments are the divinely appointed means He gave us to share in His life. He conferred his grace by physical means, i.e. healing the blind man with mud he made with his spittle, and he comissioned the Apostles to continue this sacramental activity through the Eucharist, forgiveness of sins, laying on of hands, etc.
Another question might be why not another way? I hear from Protestants, mostly Evangelicals, that “you can’t put God in a box.” By that I think they mean you don’t have to have rules and rituals to experience the grace of God. That’s true, but unfortunately they also mean some of the rules don’t matter, particularly the ones they disagree with. Just because God has revealed truth doesn’t mean that He Himself has limited himself, He has simply shown us the way to eternal life. Dogma does not confine God, it reveals Him.

So, Amy, that’s not a feeling or a “faith experience.” That is the fullness of truth.

Karl from Summa Contra Mundum wrote yesterday about the Liturgy of the Hours and how lay people can participate in these universal prayers. You can view it online at the Universalis website or download it to your PDA on a weekly or daily basis. Another great alternative is the Magnificat publication to which you can subscribe via this website. In addition to the Office of Readings and prayers of the Mass, it contains daily reflections.

Karl mentioned the priests from the local parish preaching from the Office of Readings and doing wonderful things to promote the spiritual well-being of their parishoners. It is unfortunate that we neglect the richness of Catholic tradition – especially what the saints have to tell us.