I had a dream recently....
I was with a friend who was struggling with his faith. It was late, and we were on Fifth Street in Saint Charles, having just left Saint Charles Borromeo Church. Full of self-confidence and spiritual pride, I asked my friend if he wanted to meet Jesus face to face. A poor beggar was nearby, and we gave him some food to eat, since our Lord said that whatever we do for the least among us we do for Him. We got on our knees in front of the beggar and I asked him if he would give us a blessing: in a brief flash of light, the Resurrected Christ himself in glory gave us a blessing. After the vision faded, the beggar, dressed in rags, asked if I would be willing to let him come under my roof and stay with me.
I woke up.....
I have many seemingly valid excuses why my taking care of the poor is not possible. But our Lord's command to us to care for the poor and needy is a hard teaching. It is something that the Government is incapable of doing, and cannot be delegated away.
Friday, December 31, 2004
Two Masses, One Spirituality
I was fortunate enough to be able to attend Midnight Christmas Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis on Lindell Boulevard. The experience was of breathtaking splendor. The music, directed by Dr. John A. Romeri, was beautiful and varied, and took excellent advantage of the acoustics of the huge church. The basilica itself is of great beauty, ancient tradition, and is a catechesis in stone and glass. I was seated at the front of the west transept, unable to see the Altar, but was amazed to hear voices above my head, as well as behind from the choir loft. Unfortunately, I arrived a half hour before Mass but did not know about the carols and lessons before the Mass itself. There were about seven scriptural lessons with carols between them. The Mass itself had chanted readings, and a friend with whom I attended was overjoyed by the beauty and solemnity of the readings and music, and for that time received the gift of peace and lack of anxiety. Archbishop Burke's homily was not soft, but challenging and fitting for Christmas. The slow procession of the altar boys and clergy to the sanctuary was fitting of such a happy yet solemn occasion. The entire Mass was dignified, holy, and respectful, as well as beautiful.
The next day, the Sunday within the Octave of Christmas, I attended the Mass celebrated by the Canons Regular of the New Jerusalem; this was the first time I attended their mass since their move from La Cross to Saint Louis; their Sunday and Holyday masses are held at the Passionist Chapel in Ellisville. Thinking that Mass would start at 9:30 instead of 9:45 a.m., I arrived a bit early and was surprised to find myself the second person in the chapel -- although happily it filled up quickly afterwards. The Canons Regular Mass was starkly different from the Archbishop's Mass...the traditional Liturgy of 1962 instead of the New Mass; no musical instruments and only a choir of two Fraters instead of several choruses, grand organ and instrumental soloists; and the entire Mass was chanted in Latin instead of in English. The chapel itself is Modern but not Modernist, being made of contemporary materials and design and spare ornamentation, but not of iconoclastic meeting-house style. I thought that it was a fitting chapel for the style of Mass celebrated by Dom Oppenheimer -- a complex liturgy said with only a few human voices in the simple, but noble, Gregorian Chant style. The chapel, altar, and vestments were not made to impress, but they did not have to. The chanting of the two Fraters was very beautiful, understandable, well-studied, and precise. The Mass itself, done in the ancient manner, was the center of attention. They prove that money and a large staff are not required for celebrating Mass in a holy, beautiful, and fitting manner.
Both masses, although far apart in scale, language, and music, represented the same Sacrifice, and both were done with respect, dignity holiness, and beauty.
The next day, the Sunday within the Octave of Christmas, I attended the Mass celebrated by the Canons Regular of the New Jerusalem; this was the first time I attended their mass since their move from La Cross to Saint Louis; their Sunday and Holyday masses are held at the Passionist Chapel in Ellisville. Thinking that Mass would start at 9:30 instead of 9:45 a.m., I arrived a bit early and was surprised to find myself the second person in the chapel -- although happily it filled up quickly afterwards. The Canons Regular Mass was starkly different from the Archbishop's Mass...the traditional Liturgy of 1962 instead of the New Mass; no musical instruments and only a choir of two Fraters instead of several choruses, grand organ and instrumental soloists; and the entire Mass was chanted in Latin instead of in English. The chapel itself is Modern but not Modernist, being made of contemporary materials and design and spare ornamentation, but not of iconoclastic meeting-house style. I thought that it was a fitting chapel for the style of Mass celebrated by Dom Oppenheimer -- a complex liturgy said with only a few human voices in the simple, but noble, Gregorian Chant style. The chapel, altar, and vestments were not made to impress, but they did not have to. The chanting of the two Fraters was very beautiful, understandable, well-studied, and precise. The Mass itself, done in the ancient manner, was the center of attention. They prove that money and a large staff are not required for celebrating Mass in a holy, beautiful, and fitting manner.
Both masses, although far apart in scale, language, and music, represented the same Sacrifice, and both were done with respect, dignity holiness, and beauty.
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
How to be a Better Catholic
Daily
- Get up at a fixed time, as early as possible.
- Offer your day to God.
- Work with order and intensity during the day as a way of serving God.
- Try to attend Mass, receiving holy Communion.
- Spend some time in mental prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.
- Pray the Angelus at noontime.
- Pray the Rosary.
- Do some spiritual reading.
- Make a short examination of conscience.
Weekly
- Center all activities around the holy Mass on Sunday.
- Receive holy Communion on Sunday and Holy Days.
- Honor the Blessed Virgin Mary on Saturdays.
Monthly
- Go to Confession.
- Seek and follow the spiritual guidance of a wise priest.
- Spend a few hours in recollection.
Yearly
- Spend two or three days each year in silence.
Always
- Stay in the presence of God.
- Thank God for the graces that He gives you.
- Do everything for the love of God.
- Try to live as you would like to die.
These rules are abridged from the Daily Roman Missal, edited by Reverend James Socías, and published by the Midwest Theological Forum, Inc.; Scepter Publishers, Inc.; and Our Sunday Visitor. Copyright © 2003 by Fr. James Socías.
- Get up at a fixed time, as early as possible.
- Offer your day to God.
- Work with order and intensity during the day as a way of serving God.
- Try to attend Mass, receiving holy Communion.
- Spend some time in mental prayer before the Blessed Sacrament.
- Pray the Angelus at noontime.
- Pray the Rosary.
- Do some spiritual reading.
- Make a short examination of conscience.
Weekly
- Center all activities around the holy Mass on Sunday.
- Receive holy Communion on Sunday and Holy Days.
- Honor the Blessed Virgin Mary on Saturdays.
Monthly
- Go to Confession.
- Seek and follow the spiritual guidance of a wise priest.
- Spend a few hours in recollection.
Yearly
- Spend two or three days each year in silence.
Always
- Stay in the presence of God.
- Thank God for the graces that He gives you.
- Do everything for the love of God.
- Try to live as you would like to die.
These rules are abridged from the Daily Roman Missal, edited by Reverend James Socías, and published by the Midwest Theological Forum, Inc.; Scepter Publishers, Inc.; and Our Sunday Visitor. Copyright © 2003 by Fr. James Socías.
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
In Good Company
Dan Brown must be making a fortune off of his novel The Da Vinci Code, the conspiracy theory book that attempts a revisionist history of the Catholic Church. A premise of the book is that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene, and that their bloodline exists to this day, carefully guarded by an esoteric group of the enlightened.
One of Mr. Brown's main sources is a book called Holy Blood, Holy Grail, which I happened to read back in college. The book says that the bloodline of Jesus and the Magdalene exists today, and that this secret was guarded by such luminaries as the artist Leonardo Da Vinci and scientist Sir Isaac Newton, members of a secret society called The Priory of Sion. I must admit to being somewhat disturbed by that book, but providentially at the same time I ran across in my college's library a huge dusty multivolume collection of documents of the early Church. This was even more of a revelation for me than the Holy Blood -- many alternative Gospels, including Gnostic writings, Roman documents, and so forth, in scholarly and dispassionate volumes officially produced by the Catholic Church. Being at that time a Lutheran, knowing nothing but the Bible, this was a gold mine of early Christian history. But of greater importance I found out that ancient non-biblical writings of Christianity were not suppressed by the Church, nor were they preserved and protected by secret societies, but instead were a well-known part of the patrimony of Catholicism. The introductory paragraphs to the writings told something about their authenticity or correctness, but they still printed the works, heresy or not. I found that to be intellectually honest and refreshing. (I must add that I read parts of St. Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologica at that time and immediately gained tremendous respect for Catholicism -- although it took me twenty years to convert). Today, you can read many of these ancient documents online in the orthodox Catholic website www.newadvent.org. Dan Brown should reconsider his reliance on the Gnostic gospels, considering that they were preserved by the Vatican.
Back to Holy Blood, Holy Grail. Sadly for the authors, after the publication of this book it turns out that the secret society the Priory of Sion was a hoax. Not that this prevented them from coming out with another book on the same subject. One thing that I noticed was that the authors had initials after their names, kind of like members of Catholic religious orders. However, these initials showed Masonic membership. I didn't know what to make of it at the time, although much later I found out that many books that I later read on esoteric history, like the lost civilization of Atlantis, were also of Masonic authorship; in fact, that group seems to have a great fascination with alternative history. After watching a particularly annoying presentation of an alternative life of Jesus on PBS -- put out by the Jesus Seminar -- I did a little research and found out that many Seminar members had scholarly specializations in subjects such as Masonic ritual, Wicca, and other such non-Christian fields.
The Masons have a fascination with the Holy Grail, as does Dan Brown, but in Holy Blood and the Code, the Grail is not the Cup used by our Lord in the Institution of the Eucharist, but is instead Mary Magdalene, as the vessel containing the bloodline of Jesus. Mr. Brown's interesting take on the subject is a feminist reinterpretation of the Magdalene as a strong, independent goddess figure, who was oppressed by the chauvinistic Apostles.
Masonry is an easy target for outlandish conspiracy theories, but the 19th and 20th century Masonic revolutions in Spain, France, Mexico, Portugal, Italy, and other places killed huge numbers of Catholics and led to intense persecution and outlawing of the Faith. A comparison of bodycounts between Catholic abuses and these Masonic atrocities are illuminating.
But the Masons and Dan Brown are not the only folks attracted to the Magdalene Grail theory. In the mid-19th century, various strains of non-Catholic German Romanticism and Rationalism, fascinated by such diverse ideas as Darwinism and the occult revisionist history of the Knights Templars, led to the notion of a race of men, superior all other races, descended via the Magdalene Grail. This of course is the Aryan Race of Germany and other parts of Northern Europe; impurities in this bloodline from other degenerate races weakened this Master Race. And we all should know about what happened to the Nazis and Hitler, who actually implemented what this theory suggests, by starting an efficient eugenics program and who attempted to eradicate racial impurity by the force of the law and arms. By the way, feminist Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood, also embraced this program of racial purity: read the book Architects of the Culture of Death for more information.
More adherents of the Magdalene Grail theory can be found in Elohim City, a settlement associated with Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. This group is nominally Christian, but they believe in the same pure bloodline of race descending from Mary Magdalene.
Dan Brown and his theories are in good company. His closest allies appear to be feminist academics, who support abortion on demand; and whose abortions kill millions every year in the name of the Sacred Feminine. This abortion mentality is leading to the even more deaths among the sick, depressed, and elderly, through doctor-assisted suicide and euthanasia. Dan Brown and his fellow Grail theorists have a very bloody past and present. May God Forbid an even bloodier future.
One of Mr. Brown's main sources is a book called Holy Blood, Holy Grail, which I happened to read back in college. The book says that the bloodline of Jesus and the Magdalene exists today, and that this secret was guarded by such luminaries as the artist Leonardo Da Vinci and scientist Sir Isaac Newton, members of a secret society called The Priory of Sion. I must admit to being somewhat disturbed by that book, but providentially at the same time I ran across in my college's library a huge dusty multivolume collection of documents of the early Church. This was even more of a revelation for me than the Holy Blood -- many alternative Gospels, including Gnostic writings, Roman documents, and so forth, in scholarly and dispassionate volumes officially produced by the Catholic Church. Being at that time a Lutheran, knowing nothing but the Bible, this was a gold mine of early Christian history. But of greater importance I found out that ancient non-biblical writings of Christianity were not suppressed by the Church, nor were they preserved and protected by secret societies, but instead were a well-known part of the patrimony of Catholicism. The introductory paragraphs to the writings told something about their authenticity or correctness, but they still printed the works, heresy or not. I found that to be intellectually honest and refreshing. (I must add that I read parts of St. Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologica at that time and immediately gained tremendous respect for Catholicism -- although it took me twenty years to convert). Today, you can read many of these ancient documents online in the orthodox Catholic website www.newadvent.org. Dan Brown should reconsider his reliance on the Gnostic gospels, considering that they were preserved by the Vatican.
Back to Holy Blood, Holy Grail. Sadly for the authors, after the publication of this book it turns out that the secret society the Priory of Sion was a hoax. Not that this prevented them from coming out with another book on the same subject. One thing that I noticed was that the authors had initials after their names, kind of like members of Catholic religious orders. However, these initials showed Masonic membership. I didn't know what to make of it at the time, although much later I found out that many books that I later read on esoteric history, like the lost civilization of Atlantis, were also of Masonic authorship; in fact, that group seems to have a great fascination with alternative history. After watching a particularly annoying presentation of an alternative life of Jesus on PBS -- put out by the Jesus Seminar -- I did a little research and found out that many Seminar members had scholarly specializations in subjects such as Masonic ritual, Wicca, and other such non-Christian fields.
The Masons have a fascination with the Holy Grail, as does Dan Brown, but in Holy Blood and the Code, the Grail is not the Cup used by our Lord in the Institution of the Eucharist, but is instead Mary Magdalene, as the vessel containing the bloodline of Jesus. Mr. Brown's interesting take on the subject is a feminist reinterpretation of the Magdalene as a strong, independent goddess figure, who was oppressed by the chauvinistic Apostles.
Masonry is an easy target for outlandish conspiracy theories, but the 19th and 20th century Masonic revolutions in Spain, France, Mexico, Portugal, Italy, and other places killed huge numbers of Catholics and led to intense persecution and outlawing of the Faith. A comparison of bodycounts between Catholic abuses and these Masonic atrocities are illuminating.
But the Masons and Dan Brown are not the only folks attracted to the Magdalene Grail theory. In the mid-19th century, various strains of non-Catholic German Romanticism and Rationalism, fascinated by such diverse ideas as Darwinism and the occult revisionist history of the Knights Templars, led to the notion of a race of men, superior all other races, descended via the Magdalene Grail. This of course is the Aryan Race of Germany and other parts of Northern Europe; impurities in this bloodline from other degenerate races weakened this Master Race. And we all should know about what happened to the Nazis and Hitler, who actually implemented what this theory suggests, by starting an efficient eugenics program and who attempted to eradicate racial impurity by the force of the law and arms. By the way, feminist Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood, also embraced this program of racial purity: read the book Architects of the Culture of Death for more information.
More adherents of the Magdalene Grail theory can be found in Elohim City, a settlement associated with Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh. This group is nominally Christian, but they believe in the same pure bloodline of race descending from Mary Magdalene.
Dan Brown and his theories are in good company. His closest allies appear to be feminist academics, who support abortion on demand; and whose abortions kill millions every year in the name of the Sacred Feminine. This abortion mentality is leading to the even more deaths among the sick, depressed, and elderly, through doctor-assisted suicide and euthanasia. Dan Brown and his fellow Grail theorists have a very bloody past and present. May God Forbid an even bloodier future.
Monday, December 13, 2004
The Courage to Change the Things That Should Be Changed
The famous Serenity Prayer was written by the liberal Lutheran Pastor and theologian, Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr, who was born in Wright City, Missouri. This prayer gained notice by its inclusion in 1944 in an army chaplains' field book, and later became nearly synonymous with AA. The original version of this prayer is:
God, give us grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
courage to change the things that should be changed
and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.
Notice the strength of the original third verse, compared to the modern version: "courage to change the things we can".
Dr. Niebuhr was a pacifist during the First World War, a Socialist, and a theologian of the Social Gospel, but became alarmed by the rise of the Nazis. He gave up his pacifism and was horrified by the general lack of concern in the civilized world of this new power of evil, and the unthinking pacifism of his fellow Liberals. Of course, Liberals do not take evil seriously.
We live in an era where great evil is celebrated by the media and defended by the law. We live in the new "Culture of Death" that promotes abortion, suicide, pornography, euthanasia, and eugenics, while becoming ever more harshly aggressive against our Christian patrimony. Taking the trends of these laws and the philosophy behind them, and extrapolating them to the future, one can predict that our future could be very bloody indeed.
Sadly, perhaps a majority of citizens in the civilized world don't bother themselves to change the path our world is on. Conservatives and Traditionalists have been complaining for so long that they are ignored. Will our Liberal brethren realize the vast injustices that may come to pass, before it is too late?
God, give us grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
courage to change the things that should be changed
and the wisdom to distinguish the one from the other.
Notice the strength of the original third verse, compared to the modern version: "courage to change the things we can".
Dr. Niebuhr was a pacifist during the First World War, a Socialist, and a theologian of the Social Gospel, but became alarmed by the rise of the Nazis. He gave up his pacifism and was horrified by the general lack of concern in the civilized world of this new power of evil, and the unthinking pacifism of his fellow Liberals. Of course, Liberals do not take evil seriously.
We live in an era where great evil is celebrated by the media and defended by the law. We live in the new "Culture of Death" that promotes abortion, suicide, pornography, euthanasia, and eugenics, while becoming ever more harshly aggressive against our Christian patrimony. Taking the trends of these laws and the philosophy behind them, and extrapolating them to the future, one can predict that our future could be very bloody indeed.
Sadly, perhaps a majority of citizens in the civilized world don't bother themselves to change the path our world is on. Conservatives and Traditionalists have been complaining for so long that they are ignored. Will our Liberal brethren realize the vast injustices that may come to pass, before it is too late?
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