the barque of peter is not a luxury cruise ship or even a passenger liner.  it's a fishing boat.

on redefining a most basic human institution

on "the common good" and the harm that will be caused by the redefinition of marriage, what has helped me to understand is by starting from humanity's common understanding and common vocabulary.  the Church recognizes that marriage has existed from the beginning of humanity.  the words "husband" and "wife" are commonly understood by all human societies through the millennia.  they're words whose definitions require a partner.  a husband can only be a husband if he has a wife, and a wife can only be a wife if she has a husband.

they are husband and wife for reasons that are common across societies: unity of the spouses and procreation.  all societies also know what is a "son," "daughter," "brother," and "sister."  it takes little to no explanation when it comes to understanding these words, because they're basic biological and social realities for human beings.

but with the redefinition of marriage, the very words "husband" and "wife" are redefined.  these are definitions that have been understood by humans for as long as we've been around, but now they've been redefined in the u.s.  by judicial decree.  the Church warns that the effects of doing this will be dire, not on the Church itself, but on human society as a whole.  it's sad that many of the same people who are convinced of long-term effects when it comes to climate change can't see the dangerous long-term effects when it comes to redefining marriage.

in terms of human rights, we have the right to not be compelled by any government to redefine the fundamental meaning of some of the most basic words in our vocabulary.  we have to keep reminding the government of this right.  the truth is worth fighting for.  it's worth dying for.

we often point out "the failure of catechesis" as partly to blame for many of today's societal ills.  and yet our catechesis continues to push terms like "the common good" and "natural law" and "preferential option."  the problem with that is most people (like me!) don't even have a clue what many of those terms mean.  to that, the teachers revert to: "well, it's their fault they never learned what 'natural law' means."  nice, that's really effective, isn't it?

so, more than ever, we need witnesses to authentic marriage.  let us begin in our own home.  ... and remember that in latin, the word for "witness" is "martyr."  may the Lord have mercy on us and give us strength.

on the crown of thorns as a sign of man's corruption of creation

perhaps this was influenced by the fact that pope francis's encyclical on the environment will be made public soon.  whether or not it is (i don't know), these thoughts first came to me during meditation this past sunday.

i was looking at the crucifix in chapel, and focused on the crown of thorns.

the crown of thorns.

fashioned by cruel men from a plant.  embedded so painfully into the Savior's skin, surrounding his head.

natural, yet corrupted.

God created.  He made it, and it was good.

but what of this crown?  the thorns so sharp.  why the thorns?  would God have created an instrument of suffering?

there is a school of thought that said that, before the fall of adam and eve, all creation was in complete harmony with each other.  the lamb slept beside the lion.  but when adam sinned, he brought the rest of creation down with him.  the lion against the lamb.

did this plant have thorns before the fall?  did adam cause it to grow thorns?

and yet we know that such devices ultimately developed as a means of survival.  all this plant wanted to do (inasmuch as a plant can "want") was survive.  the thorns developed in order for the plant and its descendants to continue living.

but this device, a device of defense, a device intended for life, became a device of suffering.  a device intended to harm.  a device of offense.

twisted--literally!--by man, a plant, which only wanted to survive, became a weapon of attack.  an attack against the One who made it.

how sad must that plant have felt!  created to live, it was forced to participate in the death of Life.  forced to attack the Son of its Creator.

oh adam, what have you done?  this nature, corrupted by your first sin, continues to be corrupted by you.

but God made it to be good.  very good.

oh, but what rejoicing this plant must have felt, when on that third day it witnessed the light breaking forth from that dug-up rock!  it must be so honored to have become the crown of the King who lives and reigns forever!

and so i can only imagine that this plant's offspring will one day no longer have a need for sharp thorns.  no longer will men cut it and twist it and make each other bleed with it.


[it goes without saying that i'm not a theologian and i hold no teaching authority whatsoever, and that these are my personal thoughts.  if i've deviated from Catholic doctrine, i didn't intend it, and i welcome corrections.]

denver archbishop moves confirmation to before first communion

interesting.  i also did not know that archbishop aquila had done the same when he was bishop of fargo.

http://denvercatholic.org/opinion/forming-saints-in-our-midst

on fire, brimstone, and the devil

yesterday i was speaking with three older women from church.  they're all probably in their mid-to-late 70s.  what i found curious was that they all shared a common dislike--actually, stronger than dislike--for condemnatory tones in church, especially the homilies.

i'm guessing that they're from a time in church history when fire-and-brimstone preaching was much more prevalent, and so they got turned off by it.

more curious to me, though, is that two of the women don't like to hear warnings about the devil.  so not only do they not like hearing about God's judgment, but they also view warnings about the ways of the devil as fear mongering.

i don't like over-emphasis on judgment either.  God is both just and merciful.  but most of all, God is love.  but when there's a balance, a certain amount of "fear of the Lord" and an awareness of the ways of the evil one is essential.

on a side, related note: the point of view of these women seems to be a tendency of their generation.  i hope the younger generations are doing better.

where are the voices? why the silence?

a classic performance. the lyrics are drawn largely from psalm 40.

“I waited patiently for the Lord;
he inclined and heard my cry.
He lifted me up out of the pit,
out of the miry clay”