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Year: 2006

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Current Events, Perspective

Miscellaneous silliness

The Conference

From the AP via the Houston Chronicle: Iran opens Holocaust conference

TEHRAN, Iran —” Iran on Monday opened a Holocaust conference that it said would examine whether the genocide took place, claiming the meeting was an opportunity for discussion in an atmosphere free of Western taboos…

I’m trying to ascertain what all the fuss is about. If Harvard, or Oxford, or anyone that mattered opened such a conference I would think that people would have a perfectly legitimate reason to protest. Being that this is an outlaw state with an obvious agenda… I think protests are like yelling into the wind.

For my part I firmly believe what the good Felician sisters taught me, never burn books or criticize someone’s right to speak their opinion. If you do, you have taken the first step down the same road dictators have trod. Idiotic opinions spoken openly are subject to sound Christian judgment and will soon be refuted.

The Menorah Wars

The Colonie Center Mall, quite nearby to me, and the Seattle Airport have been made part of the holiday wars (note NOT the Christmas wars)

From CBS News: Seattle Airport Removes Christmas Trees: Rabbi’s Request For A Menorah Ignored; Instead, Officials Take Down Christmas Display

(AP) All nine Christmas trees have been removed from the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport instead of adding a giant Jewish menorah to the holiday display as a rabbi had requested.

Maintenance workers boxed up the trees during the graveyard shift early Saturday, when airport bosses believed few people would notice.

“We decided to take the trees down because we didn’t want to be exclusive,” said airport spokeswoman Terri-Ann Betancourt. “We’re trying to be thoughtful and respectful, and will review policies after the first of the year.”

Rabbi Elazar Bogomilsky, who made his request weeks ago, said he was appalled by the decision. He had hired a lawyer and threatened to sue if the Port of Seattle didn’t add the menorah next to the trees, which had been festooned with red ribbons and bows.

“Everyone should have their spirit of the holiday. For many people the trees are the spirit of the holidays, and adding a menorah adds light to the season,” said Bogomilsky, who works in Seattle at the regional headquarters for Chabad Lubavitch, a Jewish education foundation…

Good, take down the trees, and who cares. You can close the Santa (cha-ching $25 for the picture with Santa) booth at the mall as well. As a writer stated in his letter to the editor at the Times Union:

—Please honor us Christian customers by having a nativity (the real symbol of Christianity).—

If you want, you could but up an Advent wreath, right next to the Menorah, and put up the crèche, without the baby Jesus, until Christmas day. Put Him in there on Christmas. When Easter gets near, put up a cross.

To the rabbi’s points: —trees are the spirit of the holidays, and adding a menorah adds light to the season—

Uh, NO! Trees have little if anything to do with the ‘spirit’ of the holidays. The spirit is recognizing the undeserved salvation that was begun with the incarnation of Emmanuel, God among us. That’s the only —light— anyone needs.

If Christians and Jews actually cared about the —holidays— they would be busy preparing themselves spiritually rather than engaging in battles over retail symbolism.

I suppose the new question for those believers is: How many angels can dance on the keys of a cash register?

Everything Else

Come and save mankind

O Rex Gentium,
et desideratus earum,
lapisque angularis,
qui facis utraque unum:
veni, et salva hominem,
quem de limo formasti.

O King of the Nations,
and the one they desired,
keystone,
who makes both peoples one,
come and save mankind,
whom you shaped from the mud.

O Królu narodów
przez nie upragniony,
kamieniu węgielny Kościoła,
przyjdź zbaw człowieka,
którego utworzyłeś z prochu ziemi.

You have fashioned and created us, formed us in the womb. You are our beginning and our ending, yet we reject You.

You are the keystone, the cornerstone, the stone the builders rejected. Because of that rejection You have made us co-heirs, adopted sons and daughters, yet for all this generosity we know You not.

You come to us weak and vulnerable, God in the flesh, we nailed You to a tree. You come again and again, in word and in food, word that flies by our ears and food we eat without an afterthought.

Come and save us indeed, save us from ourselves. Save us from the pull of the world which longs to return us to the mud.

You have fashioned and created us, formed us in the womb. You are our beginning and our ending, You know us best, and that is why You come, over and over, to save us.

Everything Else

Discernment in the Blogdom of God* essay

The following is an excerpt from an essay I submitted for the Blogging Essay Contest at WeblogToolsCollection.

I would appreciate your perspective on the essay. You can read the full version of Discernment in the Blogdom of God* at WeblogToolsCollection.

Please rate the essay using the star system at WeblogToolsCollection. The essay competition will be judged primarily on the input from readers like you.

The world of faith blogs is fascinating in its depth; and in what it, as a tool, can allow you to accomplish.

Faith blogging has unlocked the world of faith to seekers and researchers in levels unprecedented since the great efforts at Christian evangelization that occurred between the 15th and 18th century.

There are several aspects to this depth.

The Personal and Public Nature of Faith Blogging

As with any spiritual experience, the practice of blogging starts with oneself. Whether you are a recent convert, on fire for the faith, or a wizened philosopher, the message of faith in the realm of blogs most directly relates to opening yourself up —“ of sharing your personal faith journey.

Faith, at an essential level, is about fostering change. It is about self reflection, your relationship to the world, your fellow man, and to the metaphysical reality that exists beyond you and me.

The journey of faith often begins with a conversion experience. Whether one is a lifelong believer or new to faith, there is a moment at which the choice of faith, of believing, becomes real. After that moment, that conversion experience, you have to decide what you are going to do with your newfound joy.

If the choice comes down to staying where you are, being what you are, or evolving, of what Orthodox Christianity calls Theosis —“ coming into an ultimate unity with God (in a sense), the only choice is to evolve. Blogging is an effective tool in that process. It allows an opportunity to analyze where you have been and where you are going. It becomes a journal of the soul’s journey.

…

How do we live, how do we change, how to we evangelize? In the midst of all that, how do we live our faith commitment in such a way as to avoid being pulled down? Blogging offers a tool to meet those challenges. Like any tool it may be used for right or wrong purposes. If used properly, it can help you get there; it can help you in becoming a saint.

Homilies,

The Second Sunday of Advent

The word of God came to John the son of Zechariah in the desert.

The word of God came and John went.

John went throughout the whole region of the Jordan,
proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins

God’s coming to John was quite different from the rest of the prophets. God had to come to them in burning bushes, in whispering winds, and in a myriad of other ways. John simply listened and when he heard God’s word he went.

John’s example brings up two very important virtues: perception and readiness. John is the perfect example for our Advent preparations, exactly for the virtues he lived.

Let’s tackle these virtues head-on.

The first is perception.

In essence the act of perceiving is our ability to listen for and hear God’s word in our life; our being tuned into God.

Oh, but deacon, God doesn’t talk to me… Anyway I do good things and I try hard.

While I’m sure that you have that perception, a perception that flows from your comfort zone, I’m here to shake up that perception.

God wants to talk to you. He is prepared to talk to you at several levels, but to hear Him you must clear your mind. Clear your mind and get out of your comfort zone. God’s here to upset the apple cart.

This Advent prepare yourself to perceive God’s word.

How do you think John prepared? He did it by study —“ John knew his scripture, his prophets, and he knew the men and women of his generation. He knew human life and family life, but, and this is the big difference, he allowed God to put that knowledge in perspective for him.

John prepared by study, prayer, fasting, and extreme self denial. He was the man who came wearing a cloak of animal fur and eating locusts and wild honey.

You too must prepare to hear God in the same way; you must prepare to listen for God’s perspective on your life. You must prepare by penance, fasting, self denial, study, and most importantly prayer. You must prepare by creating the space in your life, the space God is ready to fill with His word.

Yes my brothers and sisters, God will speak to you. You won’t like what He has to say, you won’t be comfortable with it, but His is the only voice that counts. His is the only voice that will save you, redeem you, and bring you to heaven.

Do not place anything above His voice. Do not place obstacles in your path to heaven. Rather than place obstacles remember what God has done for Israel:

For God has commanded
that every lofty mountain be made low,
and that the age-old depths and gorges
be filled to level ground,
that Israel may advance secure in the glory of God.

You are the new and everlasting Israel. God wants to speak to you. He has prepared the way, so prepare yourselves to perceive His voice.

The second virtue is that of readiness.

Readiness is more than preparation. Preparation, as I noted, is the act of getting ready with the tools you have been given, and for the event you know is coming.

Think of a dinner party at your home. You know the guests that are coming; you know the number of chairs, hors d’oeuvres, place settings, and wine glasses you will need. You know what you need to prepare for and how to prepare.

Again, as I noted, preparing to hear God’s word, and the tools you need are well known: penance, fasting, self denial, study, and most importantly prayer.

But readiness is more. Readiness is more like the firefighter. He never knows what may come, but he is ready to go.

You too must be ready. The same tools: penance, fasting, self denial, study, and prayer give you the training you need to be ready.

Your being ready means that you are prepared to respond, to go forward without thought or regret. God says go and do, you go and do, and like John you do not count the cost or the implications. Like John sometimes it means loosing your head for Christ.

Brothers and sisters,

Be perceptive and be ready. Remember, God upsets the apple cart. He calls you to do things that you once thought were impossible. He asks you to give up things you once thought you could never live without. He turns the world on its head.

Be perceptive and be ready to live up to the name you bear —“ Christian.

Be perceptive and be ready so that Paul’s prayer might be fulfilled in you.

And this is my prayer:
that your love may increase ever more and more
in knowledge and every kind of perception,
to discern what is of value,
so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ

The day of Christ will dawn upon us without warning. Be perceptive and be ready.

Everything Else

I guess I have a rich mind


What Color is Your Brain?


GOLD:

At work or in school: I like set routines and organized ways of doing thingsl rules and directions are a great help to me. I prefer to stay on one topic at a time. I need to know what is expected of me, and I always want to know if I am on the right track. I like subjects that are useful and traditional, such as business, accounting, history and government.

With friends: I prefer people who are careful with their money and who make plans ahead of time. I like my friends to be loyal, dependable and on time. I am serious about love and show it in many practical ways.

With family: I like stability and security and enjoy traditions and frequent celebrations. I like to spend holidays with family members, and I plan ahead for such gatherings.

Take this quiz!

Everything Else,

On respecting the Lord and the laity

Patricia Tryon of Out of the Frying Pan writes on her attendance at Mass today for the Roman Catholic Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Her comments are worth a read, especially by priests, deacons, and seminarians.

Respect for the Lord and the laity begins with preparation. Preparation sets the tone for the Holy Mass (or for any other liturgical/devotional service). Solemnity and prayerfulness are expected, after all, the clergy and laity are there to worship the Lord, not square dance.

As clergy we should be respectful of the fact that most folks do come prepared, and for us to do otherwise (and gloss over the lack of preparation – hey why not explain what happened, people will give you the benefit of the doubt) is disrespectful.

For Patricia’s full take on the issue see Today is a Holy Day of Obligation.

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