Every few posts or so, I get the opportunity to spolight my own insecurities, fears, aspirations and petpeeves. Well this is one of them. Please excuse the irratic nature of these blog posts, in a sense it becomes a spring cleaning of the mind.
'Freedom is the right of all sentient beings.' That quote belongs to eighties pop icon and cartoon father figure Optimus Prime. That being said, the next question comes to mind,..what is freedom? Well,.if you read this blog regularly and take notice of the theological undercurrent, you'll know that what is meant by freedom is in actuality the ability to will the intellect over the sense. (We can freely know that broccoli is good for us, but our senses prefer candy...)
Up until recently I had been training at the gym with a friend, who acted more as my psychologist than a training partner, and these types of questions kept surfacing. What attracted me to this person was the fact that here was another individual who over intellectualized nearly every decision in life. Our question remains,..is everybody really happy? And(Yes, I just began a sentence with 'and.')why can't the world just freakin get it?!?!? The answer comes back to Optimus. You see, our whole life can either be the sum total of sensual experiences, or we can be part of that four percent who actually make a free decision, complete and of the will. Other than that, we engage in license, with our smile being constantly sustained by whatever sense is appeased at that moment. Why did I reference this friend, because we were the only two without smiles,..all the while understanding the dark satire that is Family Guy!
St Jude,..patron saint of hopeless causes,...pray for us!
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
The Media, the Church,..Les Separatisssssssssssss
I'm sure when you were young, you at one time played the game 'connect the dots.' Lo and behold, you came up with various animals, vehicals or any other character found within the mosaic of child-like interest. As an adult, however, we seem to have forgotten that game and sometimes leave our intellectual acumen within the hands of an elite,..or so they think. What am I getting at? The Media.
First off, let me dispel some invertabrate rumours, I am not a conspiracy theorist! There I said it,..so you cute little lefty tree huggers can either find jobs or continue milking our system until you crash our economy. Now,..wheww! (glad I got that off my chest!) That being said I found myself reflecting upon the timing that the so-called truth police, otherwise known as mass media use to advance an agenda reeks of a certain odor. SOCIALISM..!
First off the Catholic Church. In 2005, John Paul II passed and throngs of heterodox 'catholics' led by such luminaries as Richard McBrien and Sr Joan Chittister salivated at the mouth awaiting a new Pope who would advance their cause, opening up to the 'pro-choice'(BTW what are they choosing? Death?) pro-homosexual, pro-women's ordination agendas which they advance through their access to the pulpits. The Church needs to 'rethink' everything, (including gravity, some of them probably believe they can fly...)and create only a horizontal social movement with man saving himself. Well,..the Holy Spirit had other plans, on the balcony of St Peter's stood Joseph Cadinal Ratzinger now Benedict XVI and groans from the liberal elite could be heard from all over the planet. It would seem, their agenda would have to wait, if not undergo a second inquisition! The liberal agenda was crushed! Or was it? Enter mass media and a sloppy campaign filled with lies and half truths, and lo and behold, another scandal! This time implicating the Pope! Thank God, numbers don't lie, because teachers as well as protestant ministers far greater outnumber priest when it comes to abuse cases. (CNN, MSNBC, etc..won't report that though...) Next up, calling it a 'pedophile crisis.' Amazing, though when the facts are in, an overwhelming majority of victims happen to be post-pubescant boys! Why won't the media call it what it is? A HOMOSEXUAL CRISIS!!! Please repeat that, because, that my friends is the fact!
Next up,..les separatisss. First off living in this province allows me to come into contact with a most unusual breed of person....The Quebec Separatist. These people live off Orwellian media concepts and teach in their history classes about what an oppressive regime Canada is, and that because of the defeat on the battle of the Plains of Abraham, they were subjected to 400yrs of 'humiliation.' Most by and large have never heard of Maurice Duplessis, who it could be argued backed-up(not in a good way) the Quebec 'nation' more than any historical event. Two referendums later,(we call them 'Neverendums, 'A Louer Season')still sees the province as part of Confederation. Being the democrats that they are, however, they most always try to stir the pot. Who helps them? Why mass media of course! Canadians experienced a renewed patriotism after the Olympics, and this didn't sit too well with them. So what do you do? For one, report on a cross Canada trip that the leader of the Bloc Quebecois takes to talk about Separation. Next, cover up the fact that Jacques Parizeau (one of the firebrands of separatism) gets admitted to an anglo-Jewish hospital, and now break the story about former justice minister Marc Bellemare allegations against the premier. He is charging that Charest, the premier was directly implicated in dirty business (No!!??). What has conveniantly been left out, or downplayed is that Charest is suing Bellemare and,..oh yeah,..Bellemare was himself in a scandal when it was revealed that his stripper daughter has ties to the Hells Angels.
Enough for Now,..but the Truth hurts!,..Doesn't it?
Peace
First off, let me dispel some invertabrate rumours, I am not a conspiracy theorist! There I said it,..so you cute little lefty tree huggers can either find jobs or continue milking our system until you crash our economy. Now,..wheww! (glad I got that off my chest!) That being said I found myself reflecting upon the timing that the so-called truth police, otherwise known as mass media use to advance an agenda reeks of a certain odor. SOCIALISM..!
First off the Catholic Church. In 2005, John Paul II passed and throngs of heterodox 'catholics' led by such luminaries as Richard McBrien and Sr Joan Chittister salivated at the mouth awaiting a new Pope who would advance their cause, opening up to the 'pro-choice'(BTW what are they choosing? Death?) pro-homosexual, pro-women's ordination agendas which they advance through their access to the pulpits. The Church needs to 'rethink' everything, (including gravity, some of them probably believe they can fly...)and create only a horizontal social movement with man saving himself. Well,..the Holy Spirit had other plans, on the balcony of St Peter's stood Joseph Cadinal Ratzinger now Benedict XVI and groans from the liberal elite could be heard from all over the planet. It would seem, their agenda would have to wait, if not undergo a second inquisition! The liberal agenda was crushed! Or was it? Enter mass media and a sloppy campaign filled with lies and half truths, and lo and behold, another scandal! This time implicating the Pope! Thank God, numbers don't lie, because teachers as well as protestant ministers far greater outnumber priest when it comes to abuse cases. (CNN, MSNBC, etc..won't report that though...) Next up, calling it a 'pedophile crisis.' Amazing, though when the facts are in, an overwhelming majority of victims happen to be post-pubescant boys! Why won't the media call it what it is? A HOMOSEXUAL CRISIS!!! Please repeat that, because, that my friends is the fact!
Next up,..les separatisss. First off living in this province allows me to come into contact with a most unusual breed of person....The Quebec Separatist. These people live off Orwellian media concepts and teach in their history classes about what an oppressive regime Canada is, and that because of the defeat on the battle of the Plains of Abraham, they were subjected to 400yrs of 'humiliation.' Most by and large have never heard of Maurice Duplessis, who it could be argued backed-up(not in a good way) the Quebec 'nation' more than any historical event. Two referendums later,(we call them 'Neverendums, 'A Louer Season')still sees the province as part of Confederation. Being the democrats that they are, however, they most always try to stir the pot. Who helps them? Why mass media of course! Canadians experienced a renewed patriotism after the Olympics, and this didn't sit too well with them. So what do you do? For one, report on a cross Canada trip that the leader of the Bloc Quebecois takes to talk about Separation. Next, cover up the fact that Jacques Parizeau (one of the firebrands of separatism) gets admitted to an anglo-Jewish hospital, and now break the story about former justice minister Marc Bellemare allegations against the premier. He is charging that Charest, the premier was directly implicated in dirty business (No!!??). What has conveniantly been left out, or downplayed is that Charest is suing Bellemare and,..oh yeah,..Bellemare was himself in a scandal when it was revealed that his stripper daughter has ties to the Hells Angels.
Enough for Now,..but the Truth hurts!,..Doesn't it?
Peace
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Liberalism Metastisised
Alright kiddies time for another blog filled with opinion, venom and vitriol(is that a word?). This past week I found myself contemplating our Western mindset within the greater context of liberalism, the agenda and its eventual results. What I am concluding is that this very notion within the Church, society(especially where I live) and philosophy has tremendous consequences especially in light of its 'rethinking' of certain norms. I think anyone with half a brain can easily conclude that this experiment in the absurd has gone perilously off its tracks.
What am I talking about? Well last week I wrote a piece about the theology of priesthood. Now as I've mentioned before, the hatemail started coming in, flooding my junk 'inbox' as a ship taking on water. To recap, I've mentioned that a blog has a comments section in order to induce dialogue, yet no one seems to try to put forward their opinion especially if they disagree. So that being said, the cowards put forth accusations such as pedophile protector, abuse cover up defender, so on and so forth, you get the picture. Welllll, never at a loss for words, I will once again try to diagnose the reality we are living. So-called catholics, the social justice variety called me 'closed minded' regarding the ordination of women. I returned there illogical argument calling them closed minded regarding the pregnancy/motherhood of men. 'Priests should be married!', they shouted. I answered that if they were called to marriage they would be, and that issue is a discipline, not a dogma! Finally if these issues were settled the way they 'feel' they should be, there would be no pedophile problem. Hmmm, really? Not taking anything away from the victims, but they are overwhelmingly male and post pubescant. That's not pedophilia. period. exclamation mark.
The final kicker in their warped view of reality was this quote,..'I was Catholic but I couldn't remain in a Church that was so corrupted.' To that I responded,.'I agree! I used to believe in mathematics, but my teachers were all selling drugs, so I don't believe in math anymore!' I think you understand my sarcasm. To conclude this rant, cause well, that is what it turned into,..I am not going to put forth any numbers, instead I'm gonna let my readership do their own homework, but I will make the following claims
- Not that it matters, because all sin is evil. But there are more pedophile cases among protestant clergy than Catholic priests. My question,.Why is only the Catholic Church singled out?
-Not that it matters, but there are more pedophile teachers and people in the educational system abusing children than there are priest cases. Again why is only the Catholic Church singled out? Does the person who stopped being Catholic not send the kids to school?
-Not that it matters, there are more coaches in amateur sports abusing children than than priest abuse cases.
Do you get my point? The attack is upon orthodox Catholicism. The perpetrators are heterodox catholics masquering marxism under the guise of 'social justice.' Don't believe me? Then ask yourself the question, why do most abuse cases happen in the most dangerously liberal dioceses.(Los Angeles) But why did Cardinal Law occupy more media time than Cardinal Mahoney? The answer is because the latter agrees with heterodoxy, so 'Call to Action' and the rest of the communists give him a pass.
I've ranted enough,..my ADD kicked in way too early this time.
God Bless
What am I talking about? Well last week I wrote a piece about the theology of priesthood. Now as I've mentioned before, the hatemail started coming in, flooding my junk 'inbox' as a ship taking on water. To recap, I've mentioned that a blog has a comments section in order to induce dialogue, yet no one seems to try to put forward their opinion especially if they disagree. So that being said, the cowards put forth accusations such as pedophile protector, abuse cover up defender, so on and so forth, you get the picture. Welllll, never at a loss for words, I will once again try to diagnose the reality we are living. So-called catholics, the social justice variety called me 'closed minded' regarding the ordination of women. I returned there illogical argument calling them closed minded regarding the pregnancy/motherhood of men. 'Priests should be married!', they shouted. I answered that if they were called to marriage they would be, and that issue is a discipline, not a dogma! Finally if these issues were settled the way they 'feel' they should be, there would be no pedophile problem. Hmmm, really? Not taking anything away from the victims, but they are overwhelmingly male and post pubescant. That's not pedophilia. period. exclamation mark.
The final kicker in their warped view of reality was this quote,..'I was Catholic but I couldn't remain in a Church that was so corrupted.' To that I responded,.'I agree! I used to believe in mathematics, but my teachers were all selling drugs, so I don't believe in math anymore!' I think you understand my sarcasm. To conclude this rant, cause well, that is what it turned into,..I am not going to put forth any numbers, instead I'm gonna let my readership do their own homework, but I will make the following claims
- Not that it matters, because all sin is evil. But there are more pedophile cases among protestant clergy than Catholic priests. My question,.Why is only the Catholic Church singled out?
-Not that it matters, but there are more pedophile teachers and people in the educational system abusing children than there are priest cases. Again why is only the Catholic Church singled out? Does the person who stopped being Catholic not send the kids to school?
-Not that it matters, there are more coaches in amateur sports abusing children than than priest abuse cases.
Do you get my point? The attack is upon orthodox Catholicism. The perpetrators are heterodox catholics masquering marxism under the guise of 'social justice.' Don't believe me? Then ask yourself the question, why do most abuse cases happen in the most dangerously liberal dioceses.(Los Angeles) But why did Cardinal Law occupy more media time than Cardinal Mahoney? The answer is because the latter agrees with heterodoxy, so 'Call to Action' and the rest of the communists give him a pass.
I've ranted enough,..my ADD kicked in way too early this time.
God Bless
Thursday, April 1, 2010
A Primer on the Theology of Priesthood
Today is Holy Thursday, a day when Our Lord instituted the Eucharist, the very gift of His Body and Blood in anticipation of His death on Good Friday. The Church also celebrates the institution of the Priesthood which is necessarily linked to the Eucharist. Before going into a short commentary, I would like to clearly state the Church's position,..NO PRIEST=NO EUCHARIST! Yup it is that simple!
Our fast paced society values money at an alarming rate, but beyond monetary gain, it would seem that our very being is attacked by every other sensual desire operating in the here and now making choices that much more difficult. What does this have to do with priesthood? Everything. Men are being called, they're just not hearing it. So keeping that in mind, let me establish a few key points with regards to how Catholics are to understand priesthood.
1. There is but one Priest, Jesus Christ. The ordained priest through the sacrament of Holy Orders, shares in Christ's ministeriel priesthood. Through apostolic succession he shares in the Bishop's power to act 'In persona Christi.' That is in the person of Christ. When the priest consecrates the Eucharist, the words of institution imply the effect. "Take this all of you and eat it. This is MY body which will be given up for you." The priest does not say, 'This is His Body' because at that moment it is Christ himself saying the words through the priest.
2. By our Baptism, we the Laity are considered priests in the universal sense. Does that mean we can consecrate the bread and wine? No,.because simply put we were not ordained by the laying on of hands by apostolic succession to offer sacrifice. We can however by our witness, testify to the kingdom of God. It is in this sense that we are priests. The martyr 'Stephen' was not a priest.(Although there is a school of thought that believes he might have been a deacon.
3. Only male Baptized Catholics can become priests. Why not women? Well the short answer is because that is what Christ intended. At the last Supper, Jesus ordained His apostles to the priesthood. ('Do this in memory of me.') He did not ordain His mother would would have been more than a fit for the role. Since then we have understood in our theology that the Church mirrors Mary and is therefore feminin. The priest, being an icon of Christ, therefore male, marries the Church, or the 'new' Jerusalem. As well, the man will sense a deep 'call' in the very heart of his soul attracting him to priesthood. It is not a job,.it is a very change of being,. an ontological change.
So what about all the scandals? How can we take priests seriously when there has been nothing but negetive press since 2003. Well, I and many other people belive the problem is two-fold. First, we need to look at the problem in context. I will take nothing away from the victims, because what they suffered was aan emotional and psychological rape. Their innocence was taken from them and consequently covered up. Those Bishops must be held accountable and should face charges. Contextually however, the facts reveal another story. It would seem that the 'pedophile' crisis is actually a homosexual one. The victims by and large being male and post pubescant. Numerically there are more protestant ministers who have molested kids, not to mention more teachers. So why this fascination only with the Catholic Church? The answer is simple. Satan. Go back to the beginning, no priest=no Eucharist. So combine the media with the liberal 'spirit of vatican II' agenda to 're-imagine' priesthood, and what we have is a flown blown crisis.
To conclude, things are getting better. Younger more orthodox priests are on the way, inspired by the witness of John Paul II. Traditional orders are seeing an increase in vocations, while those dioceses still perpetuating liturgical silliness and heterodoxy are going the way of the dinosaur.
St Jean Vianney,..Curee des Arts,..pray for us!
Our fast paced society values money at an alarming rate, but beyond monetary gain, it would seem that our very being is attacked by every other sensual desire operating in the here and now making choices that much more difficult. What does this have to do with priesthood? Everything. Men are being called, they're just not hearing it. So keeping that in mind, let me establish a few key points with regards to how Catholics are to understand priesthood.
1. There is but one Priest, Jesus Christ. The ordained priest through the sacrament of Holy Orders, shares in Christ's ministeriel priesthood. Through apostolic succession he shares in the Bishop's power to act 'In persona Christi.' That is in the person of Christ. When the priest consecrates the Eucharist, the words of institution imply the effect. "Take this all of you and eat it. This is MY body which will be given up for you." The priest does not say, 'This is His Body' because at that moment it is Christ himself saying the words through the priest.
2. By our Baptism, we the Laity are considered priests in the universal sense. Does that mean we can consecrate the bread and wine? No,.because simply put we were not ordained by the laying on of hands by apostolic succession to offer sacrifice. We can however by our witness, testify to the kingdom of God. It is in this sense that we are priests. The martyr 'Stephen' was not a priest.(Although there is a school of thought that believes he might have been a deacon.
3. Only male Baptized Catholics can become priests. Why not women? Well the short answer is because that is what Christ intended. At the last Supper, Jesus ordained His apostles to the priesthood. ('Do this in memory of me.') He did not ordain His mother would would have been more than a fit for the role. Since then we have understood in our theology that the Church mirrors Mary and is therefore feminin. The priest, being an icon of Christ, therefore male, marries the Church, or the 'new' Jerusalem. As well, the man will sense a deep 'call' in the very heart of his soul attracting him to priesthood. It is not a job,.it is a very change of being,. an ontological change.
So what about all the scandals? How can we take priests seriously when there has been nothing but negetive press since 2003. Well, I and many other people belive the problem is two-fold. First, we need to look at the problem in context. I will take nothing away from the victims, because what they suffered was aan emotional and psychological rape. Their innocence was taken from them and consequently covered up. Those Bishops must be held accountable and should face charges. Contextually however, the facts reveal another story. It would seem that the 'pedophile' crisis is actually a homosexual one. The victims by and large being male and post pubescant. Numerically there are more protestant ministers who have molested kids, not to mention more teachers. So why this fascination only with the Catholic Church? The answer is simple. Satan. Go back to the beginning, no priest=no Eucharist. So combine the media with the liberal 'spirit of vatican II' agenda to 're-imagine' priesthood, and what we have is a flown blown crisis.
To conclude, things are getting better. Younger more orthodox priests are on the way, inspired by the witness of John Paul II. Traditional orders are seeing an increase in vocations, while those dioceses still perpetuating liturgical silliness and heterodoxy are going the way of the dinosaur.
St Jean Vianney,..Curee des Arts,..pray for us!
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