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Year: 2006

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Christian Witness, Current Events, Media, Political

Church and State

The NY Times is doing a four part series called —In God’s Name—. It highlights the exemptions and benefits religious organizations get from the government.

The first two articles are now on-line:

I encourage you to give them a read (they are long).

Besides the false extrapolation of those in the religious community who act uncharitably (e.g., those who turned a nun out because she had breast cancer) to the entire faith community, the articles do beg the question —“ When will the piper come for his pay?

The faith community needs to take charge of the paradigm and refocus itself on matters of faith, not business (although doing business rightly is not a wrong in and of itself —“ business must be connected to and must flow from the central purpose of the organization).

Current Events, Perspective, Poland - Polish - Polonia, Political

Shut-up, shut-up, shut-up!!!

The Washington post reports on an academic who was to deliver a lecture at the Polish Consulate in New York City.

In: In N.Y., Sparks Fly Over Israel Criticism, Polish Consulate Says Jewish Groups Called To Oppose Historian the Post describes the last minute cancellation of a lecture by Tony Judt. The Polish Consul General, Krzysztof Kasprzyk, caved to pressure from the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee who do not agree with Mr. Judt.

Mr. Judt and other academics who espouse any thinking contrary to the sanctified image of the Jewish State and the United States’ multi-billion dollar support of that state have faced blistering attacks and cancellations of their lectures.

Personally, as a Polish American, I am ashamed of Mr. Kasprzyk.

The beauty of Poland was that it was once, and still is, a country that welcomes all (including, historically, millions upon millions of Jews who sought and received freedom there). Poland’s history as a nation is all the richer from the learning, growth, and development that occurred there based on a free exchange of ideas between peoples and cultures (much as the United States has).

The roots of today’s Jewish State go back to the social and political developments that took place within the Jewish community in Poland. Unfortunately, the connection between free speech and free development seems to be lost on people who would rather hold on to their tenuous grasp of what is today.

Groups like the ADL and the AJC have done a fantastic job of placing themselves in a position of influence. I actually credit their ingenuity and hard work.

I would just encourage people to peek under the covers and ask themselves if they like everything they see.

As to Mr. Kasprzyk, perhaps he likes being an errand boy. To him I would simply say —“ Iść i łudzić się (Go and deceive yourself). Perhaps you think that the ADL and AJC will stop labeling all Poles as anti-Semites, or that Poland will get a big fat thank you? Good luck! You should have learned in the school of hard knocks diplomacy that the convenience of today will be the downfall of tomorrow. I hope you are recalled from your post.

A few excerpts from the Post article with my commentary interspersed:

NEW YORK — Two major American Jewish organizations helped block a prominent New York University historian from speaking at the Polish consulate here last week, saying the academic was too critical of Israel and American Jewry.

The historian, Tony Judt, is Jewish and directs New York University’s Remarque Institute, which promotes the study of Europe. Judt was scheduled to talk Oct. 4 to a nonprofit organization that rents space from the consulate. Judt’s subject was the Israel lobby in the United States, and he planned to argue that this lobby has often stifled honest debate.

And… here’s the irony and the self fulfilling prophesy come to realization.

An hour before Judt was to arrive, the Polish Consul General Krzysztof Kasprzyk canceled the talk. He said the Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee had called and he quickly concluded Judt was too controversial.

“The phone calls were very elegant but may be interpreted as exercising a delicate pressure,” Kasprzyk said. “That’s obvious — we are adults and our IQs are high enough to understand that.”

Mr. Kasprzyk has bought into natavist stereotypes. He is defending his IQ, not freedom of speech.

Judt, who was born and raised in England and lost much of his family in the Holocaust, took strong exception to the cancellation of his speech. He noted that he was forced to cancel another speech later this month at Manhattan College in the Bronx after a different Jewish group had complained. Other prominent academics have described encountering such problems, in some cases more severe, stretching over the past three decades.

The pattern, Judt says, is unmistakable and chilling.

“This is serious and frightening, and only in America — not in Israel — is this a problem,” he said. “These are Jewish organizations that believe they should keep people who disagree with them on the Middle East away from anyone who might listen.”

The leaders of the Jewish organizations denied asking the consulate to block Judt’s speech and accused the professor of retailing “wild conspiracy theories” about their roles. But they applauded the consulate for rescinding Judt’s invitation.

In diplomacy what goes unsaid often speaks louder than what is said. It is also what terrorists do; they create an atmosphere of fear. They needn’t say anything, everyone knows what …might… happen.

“I think they made the right decision,” said Abraham H. Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League. “He’s taken the position that Israel shouldn’t exist. That puts him on our radar.”

David A. Harris, executive director of the American Jewish Congress, took a similar view. “I never asked for a particular action; I was calling as a friend of Poland,” Harris said. “The message of that evening was going to be entirely contrary to the entire spirit of Polish foreign policy.”

If you weren’t asking for anything why call —“ to chat up the weather? Oh, and thank you for your affirmation of yet another country’s foreign policy. If it weren’t for your take on foreign policy the world might fall apart —“ but then again —“ it is…

Judt has crossed rhetorical swords with the Jewish organizations on two key issues. Over the past few years he has written essays in the New York Review of Books, the London Review of Books and in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz arguing that power in Israel has shifted to religious fundamentalists and territorial zealots, that woven into Zionism is a view of the Arab as the irreconcilable enemy, and that Israel might not survive as a communal Jewish state.

The solution, he argues, lies in a slow and tortuous walk toward a binational and secular state.

…

Foxman has referred to Judt’s views of Israel as “an offensive caricature.”

…

And we all know what offensive caricatures did to the Danes.

Thank you to Daithí­ Mac Lochlainn for Historian’s Voice Silenced which pointed to this and to the Young Fogey’s Conservsative Blog for Peace for the pointer to Mr. Mac Lochlainn’s article.

Saints and Martyrs

October 9 – St. Louis Bertran (Św. Ludwik Bertrand)

Św. Ludwiku Bertrandzie, oczerniany przez bezbożnych, ścigany przez zawistnych, nawiedzany od Boga rozmaitemi chorobami! Jakoś znosił wszelakie przykrości cierpliwie, wyproś nam u Boga odwagę do znoszenia krzyżów i dolegliwości z cierpliwością podobną do twojej, a kiedyś cieszyć się wraz z tobą w niebie. Przez Chrystusa Pana naszego. Amen.

Everything Else

Readers and their browsers

I use Google Analytics to get insight into what my readers like to read. Also, having a background and degree in Accounting (kind of fitting with being a deacon —“ the managers of charitable donations in the early Church), and a love for analysis, makes me one of those people who likes to look at numbers and trends.

I was looking at the Content Optimization stats for my blog. Under Browser Versions I noticed that 60% of my readers use Firefox (hurray) and 3.2% of those people are using one or another of the Firefox 2.0 browser release candidates.

The next highest group of users (37.35%) use Internet Explorer, and of those, only a little over 1% are using the IE 7.0 Release Candidate.

Knowing what your readers use is good in that it helps you with laying out your site, especially if it’s not a blog site.

As to blogging, WordPress is pretty indestructible across browsers, but there are fluky differences like the way bullet points are laid out or the way the WordPress Dashboard’s layout looks.

I rarely use IE anymore. I’ve just gotten away from using stuff that appears (at least to me) to be bloated and demanding. That’s why I like Firfox. It lets me take control of how I browse. I’m looking forward to Firefox 2.0.

If you blog, do you know what your readers use? Do you think blog readers are early adopters or testers of the latest and greatest? Do you still use IE?

Homilies

Baptism of Rileigh Irene

Why are you here, and why are you having this child baptized?

By your action and choice you are marking her as a Christian.

Anyone with a passing knowledge of the history of World War Two knows that you didn’t have to be a practicing or devote Jew to be thrown into a concentration camp. You either were or you were not. The Jewish people were marked by their simple membership in a people.

Anyone with a passing knowledge of the history of the Roman Empire knows that being marked as a Christian meant a certain death sentence. Yet so many became Christians. Why?

By baptism you mark this child as a member of the Christian people. You mark her as a Catholic. She is enrolled in the company of saints and is enrolled in the books of the Holy Church. You are setting her apart —“ not the wisest decision according to world opinion or popular culture —“ where being different is odd at best.

You are going to step forward to do this. You are going to stand up and set her apart from the world.

There are consequences for this action —“ lifelong and eternal.

As parents we desire what is best for our children. We pour out our love, dedication, devotion, and our hard work upon our children. We give them the best and protect them as best we can.

By bringing Rileigh Irene here you are saying something important. You are saying that you believe —“ on faith alone —“ that this action, that being a Catholic Christian, is good for Rileigh.

Our Church does not buy into the concept of original sin, as believed in some Churches. What we do acknowledge is that there is evil, sinfulness, and many dangers in the world. By this baptism the power of the Holy Spirit will regenerate Rileigh, and mark her as one opposed to the world, one opposed to sin.

Baptism is a good. You know that is has value, otherwise you wouldn’t waste a beautiful Sunday morning. I ask you to consider and think on the question of why.

You’ve set Rileigh aside for God —“ not a god of I don’t know, some sort of magical mystery god, but for the God —“ Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Tough choice and tough commitment.

Once you’ve done this —“ don’t forget that the Church —“ God’s people is something you thought had value. Come back weekly to enrich yourselves and Rileigh.

PNCC

Eighth Day of the Octave – For the Fruits of the Holy Spirit

+ Come Holy Spirit, come!
And from Your celestial home,
shed a ray of light divine!

The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Light,
of Strength, and of Love. With His
sevenfold gifts He enlightens the mind,
strengthens the will, and inflames the
heart with the love of God. We should
invoke the Holy Spirit daily, for the Spirit
aids us in our infirmity. We do not know
what we should pray for, nor how we
should pray, but Scripture tells us that
the Spirit Himself asks for us.

Prayer

Almighty and eternal God, You have
regenerated us by water and the Holy
Spirit, and have given us forgiveness for
all our sins. From Heaven send forth
upon our Holy Synod Your sevenfold
Spirit, the Spirit of Wisdom and
Understanding, the Spirit of Counsel and
Fortitude, the Spirit of Knowledge and
Piety, and fill us with the Spirit of the
Fear of the Lord. Amen.

You, on those who evermore,
confess You and You adore,
in Your sevenfold gifts, descend;
Give them Comfort when they die;
Give them life with You on high;
Give them joys which never end. Amen.

The Fruits of the Holy Spirit

The gifts of the Holy Spirit perfect the supernatural virtues by enabling us to practice them with greater docility to divine inspiration. As we grow in the knowledge and love of God under the direction of the Holy Spirit, our service becomes more sincere and generous, the practice of virtue more perfect. Such acts of virtue leave the heart filled with joy and consolation and are known as Fruits of the Holy Spirit. These fruits in turn render the practice of virtue more attractive and become a powerful incentive for still greater efforts in the service of God.

Prayer

Come, O Divine Spirit, fill the hearts of all those attending Holy Synod with Your heavenly fruits: Your love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. May all clergy and laity of the Polish National Catholic Church never weary in the service of God but by continued faithful submission to Your inspiration, merit to be united eternally with You in the love of the Father and the Son. Amen.

Our Father … Hail Mary … Glory be to the Father …

Act of Consecration to the Holy Spirit

On my knees, before the great
multitude of heavenly witnesses, I offer
myself, soul and body, to You, Eternal
Spirit of God. I adore the brightness of
Your purity, the unerring keenness of
Your justice, and the might of Your love.
You are the Strength and Light of my
soul. In You I live and move and am. I
desire never to grieve You by
unfaithfulness to grace and I pray with
all my heart to be kept from the smallest
sin against You. Mercifully guard my
every thought and grant that I may
always watch for Your light, listen to Your
voice, and follow Your gracious
inspirations. I cling to You and give
myself to You and ask You, by Your
compassion, to watch over me in my
weakness. Holding the pierced Feet of
Jesus and looking at His five Wounds,
and trusting in His Precious Blood and
adoring His opened Side and Stricken
Heart, I implore You, Adorable Spirit,
Helper of my infirmity, to keep me in
Your grace that I may never sin against
You. Give me grace, O Holy Spirit, to
say to You always and everywhere,
“Speak for Your servant is listening.” (1
Sam. 3:10b)

Prayer for the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit

O Lord Jesus Christ, Who, before
ascending into heaven, did promise to
send the Holy Spirit to finish Your work
in the souls of the Apostles and Disciples,
grant the same Holy Spirit to our Polish
National Catholic Church that it may be
made perfect in the work of Your grace
and Your love. Grant us the Spirit of
Wisdom that we may despise the
perishable things of this world and aspire
only after the things that are eternal; the
Spirit of Understanding to enlighten our
minds with the light of Your divine truth;
the Spirit of Counsel that we may ever
choose the surest way of pleasing God
and gaining heaven; the Spirit of Fortitude
that we may bear our crosses with You
and that we may overcome with courage
all the obstacles that oppose our
salvation; the Spirit of Knowledge that
we may know God and know ourselves
and grow perfect in the knowledge of
the Saints; the Spirit of Piety that we
may find the service of God sweet and
amiable, and the Spirit of the Fear of the
Lord, that we may be filled with a loving
reverence towards God and may dread
in anyway to displease Him. Dear Lord,
mark our Polish National Catholic
Church with the sign of discipleship and
enliven our Holy Synod in all its dealings
with Your Spirit. Amen. +

Homilies,

The Solemnity of the Christian Family

God looked at everything He had made, and He found it very good.

Teenagers and children —“ you have a job to do.

We need you to build on the foundations we have laid. We need you to build, not by becoming us, but by adding your uniqueness, your gifts, your personalities to the Church —“ to the Christian life.

Adults, all of us, are afraid, not just for your safety, not just for your health, education, and well-being, but for the most important aspect of your life —“ that you share yourselves with us and that what you share be everlasting.

You are more than the future.

When people talk at you they tell you —“ ‘oh look you are our future.’ Then they try to capture your imagination and attention. They do this by trying to give you everything. Look you can be rich, we can provide you with cool music and clothes, fun and pleasure are easy. Just remember, you are our future.

Those sayings, those types of things are just a way for people to capture you. They want to capture you and turn you into what they are.

Mom and Dad, your teachers and friends, counselors, doctors, all want you to be their future. ‘Look, you are just like me.’

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Christian Family.

Our Holy Church chooses to mark this special day as a festival. Our Holy Church chooses to focus on family.

But what is family? Is it a group of older people and their future? Is it a group of clones where everyone thinks, looks, dresses, eats, and acts the same?

I don’t think that these would count as Christian families.

The essence of the Christian family is the conscious sharing of ourselves with each other. That is what heaven will be like —“ no barriers, no putting on masks. You will be the perfection of who you are, and you will share yourself freely in the adoration of God.

That means that we, here on earth, have to bring who we are to the table. It means that we all have to respect the fact that God created each of us in His image, as today’s reading from Genesis tells us:

Then God said: “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness… God created man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them.

God does not make mistakes. He doesn’t make errors in His use of His creative power. He endows, gives, each of us a share in His image. We each have a uniqueness —“ a unique personality, unique skills and abilities, all coupled with a natural desire to be part of a family, to be loved, and to reach God.

My dear children and teens, I do not want you to turn into me. I already have one me.

Remember that Jesus said a very powerful thing when he blessed the children:

“Amen, I say to you,
whoever does not accept the kingdom of God like a child
will not enter it.”

Jesus, being God, knows that each person, regardless of their appearance, status, age, or stature is valuable in His Church. As St. Paul tells us:

Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all and in all.

What I wish for —“ and more importantly what I pray for —“ is that you turn into ‘the you’ God created you to be. I pray that Our Lady, our patron, watches over you and guides you so that you share yourselves with the entire Catholic Christian community. And finally I pray with Jesus who said:

I do not ask that you take them out of the world but that you keep them from the evil one.
They do not belong to the world any more than I belong to the world.
Consecrate them in the truth. Your word is truth.
As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world.

We pray that the world does not bind you, but that you challenge the world by your Christian witness. We pray and ask that you be kept safe, and that you clearly see that you are valuable, not as our clone, not as our future, but simply because you are valuable to God.

Teenagers, children, you have a job to do. The job you have is to share yourselves with us as a community, and with the whole world – to share that part of God’s image that is you.

PNCC

Seventh Day of the Octave – For the Gift of Wisdom

+ Come Holy Spirit, come!
And from Your celestial home,
shed a ray of light divine!

The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Light,
of Strength, and of Love. With His
sevenfold gifts He enlightens the mind,
strengthens the will, and inflames the
heart with the love of God. We should
invoke the Holy Spirit daily, for the Spirit
aids us in our infirmity. We do not know
what we should pray for, nor how we
should pray, but Scripture tells us that
the Spirit Himself asks for us.

Prayer

Almighty and eternal God, You have
regenerated us by water and the Holy
Spirit, and have given us forgiveness for
all our sins. From Heaven send forth
upon our Holy Synod Your sevenfold
Spirit, the Spirit of Wisdom and
Understanding, the Spirit of Counsel and
Fortitude, the Spirit of Knowledge and
Piety, and fill us with the Spirit of the
Fear of the Lord. Amen.

Give them virtue’s sure reward;
Give them Your salvation, Lord;
Give them joys that never end. Amen.

The Gift of Wisdom

Embodying all the other gifts, as charity embraces all the other virtues, Wisdom is the most perfect of the gifts. Of Wisdom it is written “all good things together came to me in her company, and countless riches at her hands.” (Wisdom 7:11) It is the gift of Wisdom that strengthens our faith, fortifies hope, perfects charity, and promotes the practice of virtue in the highest degree. Wisdom enlightens the mind to discern and relish things divine, in the appreciation of which earthly joys lose their savor, while the Cross of Christ yields a divine sweetness according to the words of the Savior: “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for yourselves.” (Matthew 11:29)

Prayer

Come, O Spirit of Wisdom, and reveal to the souls of all those attending Holy Synod the mysteries of heavenly things, their exceeding greatness, power and beauty. Teach all in attendance to love these above and beyond all the passing joys and satisfactions of earth. Help all of us to attain them and possess them for ever. Amen.

Our Father … Hail Mary … Glory be to the Father …

Act of Consecration to the Holy Spirit

On my knees, before the great
multitude of heavenly witnesses, I offer
myself, soul and body, to You, Eternal
Spirit of God. I adore the brightness of
Your purity, the unerring keenness of
Your justice, and the might of Your love.
You are the Strength and Light of my
soul. In You I live and move and am. I
desire never to grieve You by
unfaithfulness to grace and I pray with
all my heart to be kept from the smallest
sin against You. Mercifully guard my
every thought and grant that I may
always watch for Your light, listen to Your
voice, and follow Your gracious
inspirations. I cling to You and give
myself to You and ask You, by Your
compassion, to watch over me in my
weakness. Holding the pierced Feet of
Jesus and looking at His five Wounds,
and trusting in His Precious Blood and
adoring His opened Side and Stricken
Heart, I implore You, Adorable Spirit,
Helper of my infirmity, to keep me in
Your grace that I may never sin against
You. Give me grace, O Holy Spirit, to
say to You always and everywhere,
“Speak for Your servant is listening.” (1
Sam. 3:10b)

Prayer for the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit

O Lord Jesus Christ, Who, before
ascending into heaven, did promise to
send the Holy Spirit to finish Your work
in the souls of the Apostles and Disciples,
grant the same Holy Spirit to our Polish
National Catholic Church that it may be
made perfect in the work of Your grace
and Your love. Grant us the Spirit of
Wisdom that we may despise the
perishable things of this world and aspire
only after the things that are eternal; the
Spirit of Understanding to enlighten our
minds with the light of Your divine truth;
the Spirit of Counsel that we may ever
choose the surest way of pleasing God
and gaining heaven; the Spirit of Fortitude
that we may bear our crosses with You
and that we may overcome with courage
all the obstacles that oppose our
salvation; the Spirit of Knowledge that
we may know God and know ourselves
and grow perfect in the knowledge of
the Saints; the Spirit of Piety that we
may find the service of God sweet and
amiable, and the Spirit of the Fear of the
Lord, that we may be filled with a loving
reverence towards God and may dread
in anyway to displease Him. Dear Lord,
mark our Polish National Catholic
Church with the sign of discipleship and
enliven our Holy Synod in all its dealings
with Your Spirit. Amen. +

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