Bad Hair Day, Part 2

Because I'm all about equal opportunity!

Ho-Hum... End of Civilization Just Ahead

Here we go, strolling down the road to destruction one piece of legislation at a time. You know it really is hard to keep track of them all. For example, there is the Stalinist centralized health care plan, the legalized union extortion bill, and the bring-about-economic-ruin-in-the-name-of-the-fantasy-of-global-warming bill.

Here's one more:

Controversial Homosexual "Hate Crimes" Act Set for Senate Vote Thursday

But don't worry, you won't have to be bothered with it in the State-controlled media.

Hey, was Obama wearing "mom jeans" at the All-Star Game? And who gets Michael Jackson's children?

News Flash: G.K. Chesterton Knows How to Write

I mean, really.

You may notice that on the sidebar I list books that I am reading or have recently read. I have had the Chesterton biographies of St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Francis of Assisi up for the longest time. The reason is that I started the Aquinas part of this combined bio some time ago, and then one book after another got in the way of finishing what I thought would be (even considering the author) some pretty dry material. Boy, was I wrong.

Chesterton is of course writing about one of the most important Catholic saints, a saint whose philosophy has had the most profound and lasting effect on the Church and whose intellect and holiness were inestimable. But just as good as the subject is the way that Chesterton writes about it.

It is as though every 3/4 of a page or so, I have to put the book down and just think about a passage I read.

Now I know that no reader of this blog would ever complain that one of my posts is too long, but I think that if I wanted to cover all the highlights of this 180 page book, it would take a 130 page post. So I will spare you. But I can't recommend the book highly enough.

Here is one paragraph only, near the end of the book. After covering the life of St. Thomas, his history, sanctity, philosophy, and importance, Chesterton begins to hint at the re-emergence of the ancient enemy of Thomism, which is not Augustinian but rather the perversion of it that was in essence Manichean, and which exploded in the heretical revolt of the arch-heretic Augustinian monk in the 16th century:

"Thomas Aquinas had struck his blow; but he had not entirely settled the Manichees. The Manichees are not so easily settled; in the sense of settled forever. He had insured that the main outline of the Christianity that has come down to us should be supernatural but not anti-natural; and should never be darkened with a false spirituality to the oblivion of the Creator and the Christ who was made Man. But as his tradition trailed away into less liberal or less creative habits of thought, and as his medieval society fell away and decayed through other causes, the thing against which he had made war crept back into Christendom. A certain spirit or element in the Christian religion, necessary and sometimes noble but always needing to be balanced by more gentle and generous elements in the Faith, began once more to strengthen, as the framework of Scholasticism stiffened or split. The Fear of the Lord, that is the beginning of wisdom, and therefore belongs to the beginnings, and is felt in the first cold hours before the dawn of civilisation; the power that comes out of the wilderness and rides on the whirlwind and breaks the gods of stone; the power before which the eastern nations are prostrate like a pavement; the power before which the primitive prophets run naked and shouting, at once proclaiming and escaping from their god; the fear that is rightly rooted in the beginnings of every religion, true or false: the fear of the Lord, that is the beginning of wisdom; but not the end."

Two Weapons

“One day, through the Rosary and the Scapular, I shall save the world.”
~Our Lady to Blessed Alan de la Roche

Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, she who is so identified with the Carmelite Order and the promotion of the Brown Scapular as one of the most powerful sacramentals in of the Church. If you have not been invested in the Brown Scapular, contact your parish priest. Read more about it here.

“In the end, My Immaculate Heart will triumph. The Holy Father will consecrate Russia to Me, and she will be converted, and a period of peace will be granted to the world.”

Our Lady's Words at Fatima tell us to keep praying and to keep sacrificing for sinners, especially those in gravest danger of damnation. One day, the consecration asked for by the Blessed Virgin will be done, and her Immaculate Heart will triumph. How can we look around us and fail to pray for the triumph of the Immaculate Heart?

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, pray for us!
Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!

Makes Sense to Me

OK, you want to be President of the United States. The media loves you. Your party loves you. Everyone outside of the U.S. loves you. You run against an incumbent party that is at its lowest approval rating ever, and which party has nominated a man his own party dislikes intensely.

Cue Hail to the Chief, right? Nice and easy.

Easy, that is, if in fact you are a natural born citizen of the United States, as the Constitution requires in Article II, Section 1.

Hey, no problem, you were born in Hawaii.

But wait-- lots of "crackpots" make the accusation that you were born in Kenya. Your relatives let slip that they think you were born in Kenya. Other official documents issued in your boyhood years list Kenya as your birthplace. People start bringing lawsuits alleging you are not eligible for the office of President of the United States.

But hey, no problem-- because you have two options to settle this issue:

1. Spend $15 to get a certified copy of your Hawaii birth certificate and give it to the press for everyone to see.

2. Spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on lawyers to defend the lawsuits, put a gag order on your family, tell the sycophantic press that you don't want it covered, provide an unauthenticated xerox of what you say is an Hawaiian birth certificate that doesn't match the template for Hawaii birth certificates issued in the year you claim you got it, and fail to provide the original.

Oh yeah, and after you are President, cave into every soldier's demand that he not be deployed into war until you prove you are actually eligible for the job.

Which would you choose?

Simple, Practical Steps to Increase the Reverence of the Ordinary Form of Mass

I know a priest, let's call him "Unknown Secular Priest X", or Fr. X for short. He is a great priest, of some diocese in some country, dedicated to carrying out his vocation in faithfulness to the Church.

I asked him if he might be interested in writing a brief post about what steps could be taken that would have the most immediate effect of increasing the reverence of the Novus Ordo.

The New Liturgical Movement blog is concerned with the "reform of the reform" of the Mass. And while perhaps some of the steps listed below could be seen in conformity with that goal, mostly I wanted simple, straightforward ideas that could improve things right now for that majority of Catholics attending the average parish church. Fr. X's ideas are exactly that.

Of course, this is not a post where I intend to compare the OF and the EF; my feelings on that subject are no doubt well-known.

Here is Fr. X's reply:

1. Say the black, do the red. The mass needs no introduction, no little improvements, no help explaining itself.

2. Use the Confiteor-the words, “I confess . . .” are always appropriate. [Before the Cross there is no excuse]. (SLC note: Ante Crucem Nihil Defensionis is the episcopal motto of His Grace Archbishop Carlson. Fr. X knows St. Louis is my Archdiocese of residence).

3. Priest and people facing liturgical East, journeying toward the Lord.

4. Use the Roman Canon frequently, if not all the time. Remember always, the priest is addressing God, not the people during this critical time in the liturgy.

5. Make use of ritual reverences in the treatment of the sacred species appropriate to a rite which is the Lord’s own sacrifice, not a potluck; purify all vessels after communion and before the closing collect and dismissal.

6. Maintain our connection with the tradition and the Communion of Saints by using Latin in the ordinary of the mass. The Sanctus and the Agnus Dei are simple and easily used.

7. Burn all the guitars and synthesizers, or at least use them someplace appropriate. And, while we’re at it, get the musicians in the back of church where they belong.

8. Move away from the 5 hymn “sandwich” and move back to the sung propers (there are many places to find these things in translation with appropriate settings that are free; Chabanel Psalms online, for example) .

__________________________

One Priest's list. Perhaps others would like to add or comment in the combox. Please try to keep it constructive.

My thanks to Fr. X. Still waiting to hear from UCLX, by the way...

FYI: Both photos above are N.O. Masses, neither photo pictures Fr. X.

BREAKING NEWS: Pujols to Miss All-Star Game Tonight!

In what can only be described as a devastating development for the National League as it seeks to break a long losing streak in the midsummer classic, and a disappointment for baseball fans, Albert Pujols has announced he will miss tonight's All-Star Game.

When quizzed about the reason, Pujols had this to say, "Man, you know I love to compete, but I just couldn't stay away from Canon Wiener's Anniversary Mass and Reception tonight at 6:30pm at the Oratory. Who knows, maybe if there is time afterwards I can get the stadium to pinch hit and win the game."

Mass and Reception Tuesday at 6:30 pm in Commemoration of the Tenth Anniversary of Canon Wiener's Ordination

At St. Francis de Sales Oratory.

I have been remiss in posting this event, but am happy to do it now. Canon Wiener, who is approaching the first anniversary of his appointment as rector, was ordained ten years ago on June 30, 1999, the Commemoration of St. Paul, by then-Bishop Raymond Burke.

There is a Solemn High Mass at the Oratory this Tuesday, July 14, at 6:30 pm, with a reception afterwards in the parish hall. Canon Wiener has been a blessing for the faithful at St. Francis de Sales, St. Margaret Mary, and all of the apostolates he has served. He deserves a party, don't you think?

Canon Wiener is pictured above, on the right. He is next to Canon Lenhardt, the past rector, on the occasion of the "changing of the guard" last September. I haven't been able to take my digital camera for a while, as Sharon may have misplaced it.

Please come and celebrate this joyous event. To avoid Presidential motorcades and All-Star Game traffic, you may want to avoid the interstates, but check traffic before you go. Directions and map at the link above.

Catholic Key Does It Again

Jack Smith at the Catholic Key has an excellent, excellent post on the financial woes of Voice of the (so-called) Faithful, and also some interesting information about the professional finger-pointers at SNAP. A must read.

Homeschool News from HSLDA

Missouri--Announcing the Families of Home Education
Back to School Homeschool and Leadership Conference!

Dear HSLDA Members and Friends:

The FHE Back to School Homeschool and Leadership Conference is coming to your area on August 7-8, 2009. This event will be held at First Baptist Grandview, 1416 Main Street, Grandview, MO 64030. It is free for FHE members who pre-register by August 1, and $20 for non-FHE members.

HSLDA Attorney Scott Woodruff will be attending this conference to
explain recent changes in Missouri homeschool law:

"Under a newly passed Missouri law, compulsory attendance goes to age 17 unless a child has earned 16 credits, with a credit consisting of at least 100 hours of instruction in a course. Scott Woodruff will explain what a "credit" is and the hours of instruction required to earn one, and how this impacts the records you need to keep and the way you need to teach.

Along the same lines, President Obama's ambassador to the UN recently said his administration is discussing ratifying the UN International Rights of the Child Treaty. Woodruff will discuss what is actually in this treaty, what it would mean for you as a parent if it is ratified, and what we must do to stop it."

For more information about the FHE Back to School Homeschool and
Leadership Conference, contact FHE at 877-696-6343 or visit them
online at http://www.hslda.org/elink.asp?id=6743.