Nuts, Bolts and a New Bishop in the Wings!

Okay,..so at times the Optimusmastro email account gets loaded with many unusual questions, that once again call for 'Confessions' to publically answer the Optimusmailbag!  The topics,..though not only religious, reflect in a very healthy way what my interests are and truly capture the essence of who I am.  Throughout the existence of this blog, I have made no bones about articulating my positions whether they be pro-life, traditional Catholic or socially conservative, but also at the same time, reminding people that I'm a dude too!  I burp, I fart, and can have some opinions and interests on what some people would consider very immature subjects!  So without further delay let's dip into the Optimusmailbag, have some fun and answer some questions!  (Everything of course will be paraphrased, and the 'sender's' name will not be revealed...')

Ques:  Hey Marco,..What's the deal with the anti-Vatican II sentiment on your blog!  My priest says that it must be our model for the future Church!

Ans:  First off, there is absolutely no anti-VII sentiment on my blog!  What I do question is the so-called heterodox interpretation of the Gospel, as put forward by the so-called 'social justice' crowd.  Vatican II did not make any infallible pronouncements and in essence concluded the work of VI.  Sadly, however people within the Church use and interpret VII as sort of new beginning, whereby the Holy Spirit intended to create a whole new Church.  The same Holy Spirit who convened the Council, is also the same Holy Spirit who chooses the Pope.  Last I heard, we are seeing the return of the Tridentine Mass and a general restoration of orthodoxy, so I guess that means that VII was and is to be interpreted within the light of Tradition and not some flaky open ended marxist propaganda blueprint for a social organization which only bears the name 'catholic.'  (Sorry Fr Hans...)

Ques:  What do you think of Medjugorge apparations?

Ans:  The Church still has not sanctioned the Apparitions and therefore being in obediance to the Magisterium requires that we do not accept as worthy of belief just yet,.what the supposed apparitions messages are saying.  The local Bishop seems to be against them, then again, the Church also initially went Fatima.  Irregardless of whether or not the messages are legit, the deposit of Divine Revelation is closed.  We have all we need, and all these messages can only serve as reminders of Revelations we already have.  Being 'worthy of belief' does not necessarily mean we have to accept it.

Ques:  Who would win in a fight between a Kung Fu guy and an MMA guy?

Ans:  The guy with the overall better fighting skill level period.  Whether or not your trained in Shaolin Kung Fu, Jiu Jitsu, Muay Thai or Arabian belly dancing, your individual skill level will no doubt play a role.  On the other hand, a few posts back, I noted a difference between what would be a martial art and what would be a sport.  That said,.a guy with serious training in Shaolin Chin Na going into the Octogon would pose a serious problem for the MMA guy with respect to his joints, pressure points and muscle tissue fighting.  For this reason, it would be highly unlikely that a traditional Kung Fu guy would be able to use everything in his arsenal against the MMA guy.  The stand-up style Kung Fu in the Octogon used by guys like Frank Shamrock or Pat Militich has been adapted (edited..) to more of a sports oriented approach based on a point system.  Youtube shows a clip which is honestly quite laughable whereby a 'Gracie' Jiu Jitsu practitioner fights a so-called Kung Fu 'expert' and is easily defeats him by going to the ground, thereby exposing the one dimensionalism of Kung Fu...It's a cute video, unfortunately what if the Kung Fu guy closed a vain, or stuck a thumb in the eye of the Gracie grappler?   We'll never know...

Ques:  Why do you put so much emphasis on philosophy?  (from a protestant)

Ans:  Simply put, the Faith is rational.  Look up the Gospel of John,..its loaded with greek philosophy.  Truth is truth, plain and simple.  Where philosophy leaves off, Theology takes off and we can arrive 'a posteriori' at the truths God wishes to have us know about Him whose nature is Love.   To acknowlege the Bible is to acknowledge the Church which discerned Her books! (cause and effect)  God Bless!!

To conclude,..I want to give a shout out to Father Thomas Dowd,..(the monster responsible for me!!  Yes, he's the dude from the diocesan book room who more or less brought me back to the Faith)  Fr Tom is going to be consecrated as a Bishop this coming September!  How cool is that?  His blog, Waiting in Joyful Hope  is the first blog by a Canadian Roman Catholic priest! Please keep him in your prayers...

St Jean Vianney,...ora pro nobis!