David Ancell / Wednesday, September 11, 2002 / Comments(0)
Today is the anniversary of the worst evil that I’ve seen in my lifetime. I was in the gym of my apartment complex when I saw it on the television. It changed my workplace that day as we couldn’t ship our drug due to the cancellation of flights. However, this was extremely trival compared to what the people of New York experienced.
What caused this? I do not know. Many, whether intentionaly or not, have used the disaster to further their ideas. They told us that this was caused by anything from “American intolerance” to “American tolerance for [insert evil here] that caused us to lose God’s protective hand.”
How did this affect people’s faith? I don’t know this either. There was a surge in attendance at the noon Mass in my church that day. There was a lot of emotion, but I’m afraid that once the emotion wore off, many people returned to their former lives. However, if even one soul was saved because of this, then God brought a great good out of a terrible evil.
All I can offer now is prayer and penance. Pray for the victims and their familes. Pray and do penance for the terrorists, for the conversion of the living and the souls of the dead. Christian charity requires that we desire no one’s damnation. Pray for all travelers for their safety.
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David Ancell / Tuesday, September 10, 2002 / Comments(0)
Gregory Popcak blogged a good one. Unfortunately, the link appears to point to the wrong article, but read his excerpt here. Apparently, teenagers have begun to sue McDonald’s because they have health problems from eating their food.
I guess it shows that we are really over-lawyered in today’s society. What’s next? Will someone who is late for work sue the person who drove in front of him/her for driving too slow? We already have parents suing teachers for their child’s poor performance in a class. Maybe the teachers should start suing the students for making bad grades. Better yet, maybe we orthodox Catholics could sue dissidents for misrepresenting the Catholic faith.
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David Ancell / Monday, September 09, 2002 / Comments(0)
Yesterday and today we’ve had some pretty interesting Scripture readings about how we are to respond to evil. Sunday, we had Ezekiel 33:7-9 and Matthew 18:15-20. Today at daily Mass, we had 1 Corinthians 5:1-8. All of them speak in their own way about our duty to speak against evil. The Gospel of Matthew says to first approach the matter privately, then bring a friend, and only after that hasn’t worked do you bring the whole Church.
One of my greatest struggles is trying to reconcile this and the teaching of Jesus against the judging of others. It seems that all I see are extremes. Some people are so critical that they probably think that “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” is corrupting the minds of young people because it’ll make them think that farm is spelled “e-i-e-i-o.” I wonder what good they think they are doing. Others act as though the only sin is to say that something is a sin. The irony is that in saying that it’s wrong to judge others, they judge all of those people whom they perceive to be judging others.
What is the proper attitude towards sin? For example, how should we respond if we see someone having spent all of Mass out in the narthex talking to someone else? Bring this up, and invariably someone will shrug you off and tell you that you are being judgmental. However, this person didn’t satisfy his/her Mass obligation, and this person’s soul may be in danger because of it. We don’t appreciate seeing someone treat our family and friends with disrespect after being invited over to their houses. Why shouldn’t we be concerned when we see our beloved Lord taken so lightly?
On the other hand, some of those who preach against sin act as though they are looking forward to seeing the sinners burn in Hell. Why not exercise some fraternal correction? Speak up, and try to help the person like Jesus said to do in the aforementioned Gospel.
I want to fight against sin, both in my own life and in others. Jesus did say that once we’ve removed the log from our own eye, we can see clearly to remove the speck from our brother’s eye. I pray that God will grant me the prudence to know how to go about it.
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David Ancell / Sunday, September 08, 2002 / Comments(0)
It’s late on a Sunday night, and I’m here pounding at the keyboard. Several thoughts are in my mind. Actually, some of this is always present. Forgive me if I’m hard to follow tonight.
As long as I have been Catholic, I knew there was some really strange disparity between what I read in solid materials and what was actually preached in the churches I went to. It seems like there was a lot of this “nice” Catholicism being taught. It felt pretty good, but something didn’t seem right. Eventually, I began to lament the fact that actual Church teaching was hard to come by. I rarely noticed some kind of blatant lies, but I rarely noticed substantial teaching.
I’m thinking about a thought that came to mind in a conversation that I had yesterday. We talked about a television talk show that was “nice.” In other words, it wasn’t the “I sleep with anything that has a pulse and at least one leg” mentality. However, it was a new age, secular humanistic kind of thing.
So what am I getting yet? I have this fear that it’s the “nice” stuff, rather than the blatant immorality, that is the work of the Devil. The Devil is smarter than most of us want to give him credit for. Besides that, the Devil is a gentleman. He tries to make us think evil is good. He knows that there are some people out there who don’t enjoy stuff that is obvious filth. However, many of those people will buy subtle, “nice” sounding ideas that actually lead us away from the Gospel.
Do you know people who think it is nearly impossible to go to Hell? Do you know people who make light of sin because of God’s mercy? Surely, you know people who have a rather rigid interpretation of Jesus’ words about judging others that they think it is wrong to speak strongly against evil deeds. These are all examples of potentially diabolical ideas. May the Holy Spirit grant us true wisdom.
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David Ancell / Sunday, September 08, 2002 / Comments(0)
It has been said by some that the Church’s teachings or Mass is not relevant to real life. The real problem is that what passes for real life is often not relevant. If the Mass or the teachings of the Church do not seem relevant to your life, then it’s time to change your life.
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David Ancell / Sunday, September 08, 2002 / Comments(0)
There’s a great article on Catholic Exchange about Modernism. The article seems to suggest that modernism isn’t as widespread as it used to be, but I seem to be able to find traces of it around. I’ve heard my share of people who seem to think that dogma is a contraint rather than a light.
Ironically, it’s dogma that gives us the ability to grow in our knowledge of the Lord. If every generation has to erase and start over, then no one will get very far. Having the centuries of Tradition to build upon ensures that growth is possible.
Furthermore, most people know that it is ridiculous to say that believing the law of gravity restricts our ability to grow in science. Gravity is there whether we believe it or not. Science that doesn’t take it into account is junk science. The same is true for dogma. It is true regardless of our belief. A defined belief is a dogma is no more restrictive than our belief in gravity.
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David Ancell / Friday, September 06, 2002 / Comments(0)
Here is the e-mail I sent to Phil Donahue (donahue@msnbc.com) just minutes ago:
Dear Mr. Donahue,
I am writing in regard to your interview with Oprah Winfrey in the September 2002 issue of Oprah Magazine. In it, you gave a graphic description of an abortion that you filmed.
In this, you describe the unborn child as “the birth matter in the jar” as though it were a disposable object being described. That which was in that jar was nothing less than the mortal remains of a human being just like you and me. If you had been aware that someone had planned to gun down someone else on the street, would you have filmed it?
You noted that half of the people to whom you showed the film in a room were crying when they saw the abortion. No doubt they recognized that this was the murder of an innocent human being. I am saddened to hear that your response to them was “Well, that’s the procedure–15 minutes,” as though they were viewing a normal medical procedure. Many of them, are aware that an abortion is, for many people, not just a 15-minute procedure. It is the killing of a human being. Many women will suffer for a lifetime because of the evil they know they have done. On top of that, many suffer from medical complications as a result of their abortion, including infertility and infection from incomplete removal of the unborn child.
I would hope that you would become more respectful of human life in the future. I will pray for as much. However, if you have determined that you will not be so, please be more sensitive to those who are suffering from regret for what they have done. Such depictions as these can bring back very painful memories in these women.
Your attention to this matter is appreciated.
Sincerely,
David Ancell
My e-mail to Oprah Winfrey (youropinions@hearst.com) is very similar, but here it is:
Dear Ms. Winfrey,
I am writing in regard to your interview with Phil Donahue in the September 2002 issue of Oprah Magazine. In it, Mr. Donahue gave a graphic description of an abortion that he filmed. I am disturbed that you would print such a thing.
In this interview, he describes the unborn child as “the birth matter in the jar” as though it were a disposable object being described. That which was in that jar was nothing less than the mortal remains of a human being just like you and me. Would you have been so willing to print the interview if he had described filming a murder of someone on the street?
He noted that half of the people to whom you showed the film in a room were crying when they saw the abortion. No doubt they recognized that this was the murder of an innocent human being. I am saddened to hear that his response to them was “Well, that’s the procedure–15 minutes,” as though they were viewing a normal medical procedure. Many of them, are aware that an abortion is, for many people, not just a 15-minute procedure. It is the killing of a human being. Many women will suffer for a lifetime because of the evil they know they have done. On top of that, many suffer from medical complications as a result of their abortion, including infertility and infection from incomplete removal of the unborn child.
I would hope that you would become more respectful of human life in the future. I will pray for as much. However, if you have determined that you will not be so, please be more sensitive to those who are suffering from regret for what they have done. Such depictions as these can bring back very painful memories in these women. In fact, I would ask you to consider having a show about post-abortion trauma. It is a side of abortion that is rarely depicted in the secular media.
Your attention to this matter is appreciated.
Sincerely,
David Ancell
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David Ancell / Thursday, September 05, 2002 / Comments(0)
I may not be a theologian, but I won’t let it stop me. Since I blogged the appeal to support the law to protect pharmacists from being forced to dispense abortifacient drugs, I thought I’d post a couple of reflections.
First, in some of the articles I’ve read concerning conscience clauses for pharmacists, a question has been raised. It goes like this: What if you are the only person available to “provide the service” (to dispense abortifacient medication)? The thinking of many of these people is that a pharmacist who objects to abortion should be obliged to “provide the service” because otherwise the patient’s “rights” would be violated. However, Catholic moral teaching would actually state that the pharmacist would have a greater obligation not to dispense the medication. The reason for this is that the pharmacist’s cooperation would become necessary to the performance of an objectively evil action.
The second reflection may seem to make the first one a moot point if you haven’t been reading pharmacy “ethics” literature (most of which is stinky relativism, hence the quotes). In fact, the only reason that I brought up the second point was due to literature I had read. Pope John Paul II stated in his 1995 encyclical Evangelium Vitae that formal cooperation in an abortion is never morally acceptable, even under the guise of “I don’t impose my values on others.” See the quote from article 74 of the encyclical below:
In order to shed light on this difficult question, it is necessary to recall the general principles concerning cooperation in evil actions. Christians, like all people of good will, are called upon under grave obligation of conscience not to cooperate formally in practices which, even if permitted by civil legislation, are contrary to God’s law. Indeed, from the moral standpoint, it is never licit to cooperate formally in evil. Such cooperation occurs when an action, either by its very nature or by the form it takes in a concrete situation, can be defined as a direct participation in an act against innocent human life or a sharing in the immoral intention of the person committing it. This cooperation can never be justified either by invoking respect for the freedom of others or by appealing to the fact that civil law permits it or requires it. Each individual in fact has moral responsibility for the acts which he personally performs; no one can be exempted from this responsibility, and on the basis of it everyone will be judged by God himself (cf. Rom 2:6; 14:12).
This is pretty powerful stuff from the Holy Father. It speaks of truth in an age of moral relativism. It is my hope and prayer that more people will follow suit.
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David Ancell / Thursday, September 05, 2002 / Comments(0)
Once again, I am urging my dear readers to consider action. As a pharmacist, I am concerned that one day I may have to give up my profession because I will not be involved in abortion, euthanasia, or other moral evil. Please consider writing a letter support the Abortion Non-Discrimination Act that is being considered in the House of Representatives. As a pharmacist, I can say that we are forgotten almost every text on medical ethics that I’ve read. We need protection, too. Although I am fortunate enough to have an employer who doesn’t deal in these products (we are a specialty pharmacy), who knows where I’ll be in the future.
It’s a bit disturbing to me that I was not able to find any mention of this on the Tennessee Pharmacist Association web site (of which I am a member). I didn’t find anything on the site of the American Pharmaceutical Association either (of which I am not a member). In fact, a search of “abortion” on their site revealed this garbage.
Interestingly enough, many people who consider themselves “pro-choice” do not want to extend that choice to health care providers. This is one more reason why I prefer the label “pro-abortion.” In any event, please support our pro-life pharmacists.
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David Ancell / Thursday, September 05, 2002 / Comments(0)
Is the Voice Faithful?
Here’s another article on Catholic Exchange by Deal Hudson. In case you haven’t seen it, they have a new web site. The article in Catholic Exchange suggests that the web site doesn’t accurately represent what’s going on inside the organization.
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