David Ancell / Thursday, January 02, 2003 / Comments(0)
Greg Popcak has a great post on resolutions. Well worth reading.
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David Ancell / Thursday, January 02, 2003 / Comments(0)
It seems that we have a hot discussion about Liturgy going on at St. Blog’s. It’s time for my twenty-five cents :-).
Let’s recap . . . .
First, the original post by Jeff Culbreath that started it all. Mr. Culbreath asks if it is a sin to attend a Novus Ordo.
Then, Michelle of And Then? chimes in with this response.
I wrote this piece, but I don’t think I got into the meat of the discussion. I have written an earlier post about the Tridentine Mass here, when I attended for the first time. I haven’t been back, but I need to go back.
Finally, Dave Palwak chimes in here, and Michelle posts a snippet from her comments.
I’m sure there are others, but I don’t have the links. Be sure to read the comments. There are some good, thoughtful things there, too.
Now, for my twenty-five cents:
1. You will convince me of Geocentricism before you will convince me that it is a sin to attend the Novus Ordo. The Novus Ordo was approved by the Church who has the power to bind and loose.
2. Neither will you convince me that the Novus Ordo is an inferior rite. The apparent inferiority is a result of the pass-the-marijuana mentality that some “liturgists” have imposed on the Mass, among other things that have been imposed. Besides that, our translation stinks (Check this site out.). Getting a better translation will improve things significantly.
3. While I would never want to go back to the Tridentine Mass, there are some elements that I wish had been preserved. I would rather the priest face the same direction as the people during the Liturgy of the Eucharist. I like kneeling to receive the Eucharist, and I like the silent canon of the Eucharistic prayer. Contemplation practically went by the wayside with the Novus Ordo.
4. On the other hand, there are good changes that came with the Novus Ordo. The use of the vernacular is in many ways a positive change. Some potential converts would probably give up before they could receive appropriate catechesis on the Liturgy if they Liturgy remained in Latin. I would have thought it was too weird myself. I was in high school.
5. There is a fine line to walk when we “vote with our feet.” If we alienate ourselves from our Ordinary, then we have effectively become Protestant. How can we hope for our Ordinary’s support of reverent Liturgy if we say nothing that doesn’t implicate him as being in league with the Antichrist?
6. Liturgy is, in my opinion, the most difficult subject to find authentic teaching on. I was totally clueless for several years before I picked up some orthodox sources. Even then, I regarded them as rigid for some time. When I convey the things I have read to others, they view my viewpoint as rigid. Even some priests who are basically orthodox seem to have some odd liturgical views. Often, the reason why people aren’t bothered by liturgical abuse is because they just don’t know better. When you tell them, they think you are overly obsessed by rules. Our culture hates rules.
7. Being stuck in a less-than-exemplary Liturgy can be offered up as a penance. We may well gain more merit from being at a Mass that is not offered very well than at a good one. However, I do not intend to imply that we should seek out the worst Mass that we can find and go to it. There comes a time in which we should avoid certain Masses because of their lack of reverence. However, I don’t think that church-shopping for the best Mass is always appropriate.
I don’t know whether I’ve addressed the discussion well or not. Maybe I am a little distant from it. Here in Memphis, it has been my observation that there are very few parishes in which you will find serious liturgical abuse. I rarely find more than a few odd wording changes.
The only problem we have is bad music. I belong to one of the few parishes that doesn’t use the OCP materials, but our music is still so artsy-fartsy that few can sing it. One parish uses what appears to be a kind of litrugical pop music that is also difficult for congregational singing, though it is good for listening at home. Our latest FOCIS conference invited John Angotti to talk about liturgical music for people of all ages. I didn’t go to the conference (It was pretty lame last year.), but I know that John Angotti isn’t my favorite muscian.
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David Ancell / Thursday, January 02, 2003 / Comments(0)
We must remember this Catholic principle:
“It is not permissible to do evil so that good may come out of it.”
It is true that God may bring good out of great evil, but we must not deliberately do the evil to get the good. This is the case with so-called “therapeutic cloning.”
I write this because of a potentially confusion opinion in today’s New York Times. The fact is that “therapeutic” cloning involves the destruction of a human life. Notice that the article says that “an embryo is created.” An embryo is a human being.
So, it may be that “All Clones are not the Same,” but they are all evil to produce.
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David Ancell / Wednesday, January 01, 2003 / Comments(0)
If you are paying Jeff Miller to blog, then his predictions may be an opportunity for you to get your money back. Then again, methinks they will all come true.
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David Ancell / Wednesday, January 01, 2003 / Comments(0)
I have come up with a new prediction for 2003; this one isn’t church related:
A new scientific discovery will reveal that Americans, by virtue of their being overweight, are pushing the continent further into the earth. By 2004, if everyone doesn’t lose at least 10 pounds, the continent will be pressed down so far that the oceans will flood everyone out.
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David Ancell / Wednesday, January 01, 2003 / Comments(0)
What is the population of Hell? Well, actually, I don’t want to know that.
During my travels to Nashville, I have been listening to CDs from St. Joseph Communications in my car. One series is Moments of Grace by Grace MacKinnon. I recommend it. Mackinnon, who answers questions in her Dear Grace column, has an amazing story.
Anyway, on her last CD, she mentioned that St. Alphonsus Ligouri believed that most people go to Hell. In the not-too-distant-past, I debated a traditionalist who said that the Church teaches that majority of Catholics, including priests and bishops, are going to Hell. He knew this “by the authority of the saints.” The only evidence he sited was this article from an obvious dissident site. I do not know the authenticity of it, but suffice to say I know that it is not an authoritative source. The article claims that several doctors of the Church believed that very few would be saved. I do not know the veracity of those claims. Jesus himself often speaks of entering through the narrow gate.
On the other hand, one of the letters of St. Peter in Scripture mentions that God waits patiently because he wants all to come to salvation. Jesus loves us all and wishes to save all of us. From what I’ve read about St. Catherine of Sienna, she seemed to think that God would use every opportunity he had to save a soul. Even the priests who wrote Radio Replies (published by TAN books, not exactly a liberal theology department) stated that they do not believe that there are more people in Hell than in Heaven.
So, why do I bring this up? I do so mainly because the idea that very, very few will be saved is a disturbing thought. To believe so would be to say that God created us, claims to love us, and sent his only Son to die for us only to have salvation be so hard for us that the majority of us fall into Hell anyway. I do not believe that Hell is empty, though I hope it will be as close to empty as possible. If the majority of God’s created beings are in Hell, then it looks like Satan came awful close to defeating God. That cannot happen.
So, do any readers have any insight on this? Please do comment. I do know that there is a Hell and that going there is a real possiblity. It has to be for free will to be anything other than a sham. Please don’t accuse me of the universal salvation line; I do not believe that everyone will be saved. What I hope for is some hope that far more will be saved than we know.
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David Ancell / Wednesday, January 01, 2003 / Comments(0)
Perhaps one thing that many readers may not know is that it is possible to hold a pharmacy license in more than one state. In my case, I am licensed in Tennessee and Mississippi. My controlled substance registration for Tennessee came due this year, and they asked for an updated picture before issuing the renewed registration. Little did I know what they were going to do.
I got my registration in the mail yesterday. In the past, Mississippi had used these wallet cards that were so cheap that I could probably have duplicated them on my printer. This time, they sent me a picture ID card. According to the attached letter, I have to use this ID for the next six years. It’s about time someone used something that was a little sturdier as a pharmacy license. I saw a West Virginia license one time, and it was nothing more than a printout on a green sheet of paper.
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David Ancell / Wednesday, January 01, 2003 / Comments(0)
Being on two blogs, I often post something I want all my readers to see. Here is my post on Spiritual Pyromania about today.
Of note for me is this: How many Catholics think we are going to Mass because it is New Year’s Day? In one sense, the choice of dates is unfortunate because New Year’s Day can overshadow the holy day in the minds of many. On the other hand, it was Mary’s consent to God’s wishes that brought about a new beginning for the whole human race, so maybe it is most appropriate to celebrate this on New Year’s Day.
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