David Ancell / Tuesday, June 10, 2003 / Comments(0)
A friend of mine just e-mailed me this link on information on how to sign up for the national telemarketers’ “Do not call” list. It might be a great way to reduce those annoying calls. Perhaps the telemarketers will complain about losing their jobs, but they should remember that the main people who will get on this list are people who don’t want your calls anyway.
To be honest, though, I’m skeptical about how much I will really benefit. The reason for this is that banks and long-distance carriers are currently exempted from the law. The vast majority of telemarketing calls that I get are either credit card offers or long distance offers. The new laws seem to make it more difficult for them to call though, because the FCC is pulling the plug on their use of computer dialing.
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David Ancell / Monday, June 09, 2003 / Comments(0)
In our Frassati Society yesterday, we began a discussion of the Vatican II Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy. One of the thoughts that I had related to article 7, the article that I have seen abused the most. Click the link above and read it if you haven’t already.
It mentions that Christ is present in his Word because it is him who preaches. He is present “when the congregation prays and sings.” It also mentions the presence of Christ in the priest. However, notice the word “especially” attached to Christ’s presence in the Eucharist.
I have seen this statement treated as though it were defining some sort of new theology stating that we should de-emphasize the Eucharist. Supposedly, there are four levels of Christ’s presence that perhaps are equal in their minds: the priest, the people, the Word, and the Sacrament. Indeed, the Bishop of St. Petersburg, FL, issued this document in which the following question appears in the conclusion (among other problematic questions):
Are they as respectful and reverent toward Christ’s presence in the gathered Body, the Church, as they are to the presence of Christ in the Sacrament?
However, Vatican II is well known as a pastoral council. As a council of the Church, it is infallible. In the statement, the document was meant to assume knowledge of the Church’s teaching regarding the Eucharist. It was meant no more to teach the “other presences” of Christ any more than the Church already taught them. They are true to a certain extent, but they have been taken to an extreme. If the presence of Christ in one another is equal to that of the Blessed Sacrament, then we should all genuflect to each other. There is probably a looney parish somewhere who does just this.
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David Ancell / Monday, June 09, 2003 / Comments(0)
If you are wondering why the Vatican doesn’t do something in our present crisis, it could be the way the information is being filtered for the most part. Take a look at this post. Please note that I do not believe that the specifics in reply number one necessarily apply to any particular bishop.
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David Ancell / Monday, June 09, 2003 / Comments(0)
I have taken on Mike Hayes in Busted Halo when he decided to tell me what the scandals prove:
The scandals refute nothing of what I have said. The Church taught then as she does now that sexual abuse of children is wrong. The problem was not the Church’s teaching but the failure of some to live the teaching. As Frank Sheed stated, “A medicine cannot be judged by those who buy it but by those who actually take it.”
The teaching of truth is in no way related to the personal holiness of the teachers. Even the most corrupt popes were unable to change Church teaching to fit their corrupt lifestyles. The hierarchy are not protected from sin, much less from errors in administrative matters, even those involving serious moral issues. However, the teaching of the Church can never be error. For example, we must believe everything in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. On the other hand, we could validly request changed in the Code of Canon Law, and the Pope may decide to make such changes as long as they do not violate divine law.
There are disciplinary matters that are subject to change. It would need to be so to evangelize people. However, the deposit of faith remains the same. Remember that all time is present to God at once. He knows very well what must be subject to change as well as what could never be. He is not himself subject to change as all reality is as one moment to him. Many councils were called not to change the Church’s teaching but to define it against some heresy that someone is teaching.
While you might think that it is “putting God in a box” or otherwise limiting his power to suggest that there are things that God cannot change, it is also a limit on the power of the Holy Spirit to suggest that he cannot declare something be so for all time no matter what we humans decide to think. Further, we should be warned that not every “insight” is of the Holy Spirit. Some are of the Devil.
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David Ancell / Sunday, June 08, 2003 / Comments(0)
In reading this word of Encouragement on the love of money, I’m reminded of a conversation that I had with three friends. We talked about how it was greed that caused a business to be open on Sunday when they didn’t need to. There are legitimate reasons to be open on Sunday, but most stores in your average shopping mall need not be.
The best thing that we can do about this is to ensure that we do not go shopping on Sunday unless absolutely necessary. It would be easy to say that “That won’t make a difference.”, but spread the word to others. Maybe eventually it can. However, it is wrong to do unnecessary buying and selling on Sunday regardless of whether you have an impact.
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David Ancell / Saturday, June 07, 2003 / Comments(0)
I just posted this to Busted Halo when a member started a thread about dissent:
1. The Church is not a mere opinion body. The Magisterium is given the authority by Christ to “bind and loose.” She can only present what Christ has taught. Therefore, all that the Church teaches is a revelation from God.
2. “I don’t agree with it.” can often be truly translated as “I don’t like it.” If we find ourselves in disagreement with a Church teaching, it may be the old tendencies towards sin brought about by our wounded nature. Many Church teachings are difficult, but it makes them no less binding. In fact, when difficulties arise, we should be more eager to obey than risk disobeying out of the weakness of our flesh.
3. When we don’t think we agree with what the Church teaches, we should always assume that the Church is right and that it is our understanding that is wrong. More on this later, but it is truly not a blind faith that we are to have but a faith seeking understanding. We should do our best to seek understanding.
4. God’s ways are not our ways. Remember that God created the universe. It goes without saying that he is wiser than any human being ever was or ever will be. He knows best. He has an eternal perspective; we have a limited perspective. Therefore, he will understand what we do not. The right thing in his eyes may not make sense to us because we are missing part of the picture.
5. To assume the right to disagree with even one aspect of Church teaching is to make all of Church teaching subject to our opinion. In this case, we try to become our own God. It just happens that we agree with the other teachings or we wouldn’t follow them either.
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David Ancell / Saturday, June 07, 2003 / Comments(0)
A few weeks ago, I was eating dinner with the parents of the Confirmandi of a nearby parish. I was there because I had sponsored my cousin. One of the Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist who was present was complaining about the new norm that required the laity to wait until the priest had his communion before they approached the sanctuary. She was complaining because “We need the lay people to do more.” I didn’t get much chance to respond because the group was not interested in listening.
It is true that the lay people need to do more, but not in the way she meant. We need to do more outside the Church to bring people in. We need to be doing the work proper to laity. Let’s get out of the Church and evangelize. We must bring Christ to the world.
I mention this because I just got out of a workshop by the St. Catherine of Siena Institute. The presentations were great. It was the Called and Gifted workshop that helps us understand how to discern our spiritual gifts and then use them to evangelize. It’s like they came to teach us what Vatican II really said and a practical way to implement it. I recommend them.
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David Ancell / Tuesday, June 03, 2003 / Comments(0)
I have since lost the e-mail, but I saw a survey that said that 60% of people who have PDAs take them on dates. Well, I’d probably do that since I rarely leave my apartment without my Palm. However, they survey also said that about 20% of users take their PDAs to bed. That is one thing that I can assure you that I do not do.
However, I did take my laptop into my bedroom to see if the wireless Internet connection would reach. It is on the opposite side of the apartment from my router. I am happy to report that it reached just fine.
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David Ancell / Tuesday, June 03, 2003 / Comments(0)
I found out from Jeff Miller’s blog that Catholic Light has moved. It’s a great blog if you haven’t seen it. I’ll need to update my links.
Take a look at this post on bad art in a bulletin. The associated post is so true that it is funny.
or how about this one on the placement of a tabernacle. It appears that divine intervention is present here.
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David Ancell / Monday, June 02, 2003 / Comments(0)
Whether your diocese celebrated the Ascension on Thursday or Sunday, we are now right in between Ascension and Pentecost. A couple of weeks ago, I was my cousin’s confirmation sponsor. At Mass, we have Scriptural passages about the Holy Spirit and the pouring out of the Spirit on the people.
This all comes to mind because I have been reading Let the Fire Fall by Fr. Michael Scanlan, TOR. He is, of course, well known for having made Franciscan University of Steubenville what it is today. He has done great work, and he seems to me to be a very holy man.
However, I am both intrigued and somewhat disturbed by one of the experiences he described. After he had been ordained for a while, a Carmelite advised him that he needed to be “baptized in the Holy Spirit.” This, of course, is a big deal in the Charismatic Renewal. He had some people pray over him, and he was then “baptized in the Holy Spirit.” He goes on in his book to tell the impact that this had on his life.
Here is what bothers me about the whole thing:
Isn’t the Sacrament of Confirmation the baptism in the Holy Spirit? Where did this other thing called being baptized in the Holy Spirit come from, and what is the point? It almost looks to me as though someone were out to invent a new Sacrament. Can someone please explain?
I do not mean to sound disrespectful. I do not question the work nor the holiness of Fr. Scanlan. I honestly want an answer.
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