Idiocy

I'm nearing the end (I hope) of a very self-destructive week so I'm just going to keep going because at this point I have nothing to lose and don't really care:

This week a local newspaper ran an article about the planning sessions being held by the Archdiocese. I am not going to link to the article.

The article itself started off with a bad opening line, went into a basic summary of some issues faced by the local Catholic diocese, and then, if one desired, one could read the multitude of vile hatred spewed by asinine ignoramuses who aren't Catholic, who hate the Church without any factual reason for doing so, and who clearly hate anyone who professes the Catholic Faith.

As usual, several vile, ignorant, and hateful commenters trot out the abuse scandals, accuse the Vatican of withholding "wealth" and all sorts of other baseless charges leveled against the Church.

To my fellow Catholics:

The world hates us. But it hated Christ before us. Why should WE be any different?

But some of those vile, hatred-spewing idiots are unfortunately alleged "ex-Catholics", and instead of being part of the solution, they're advancing warfare against their own Mother.

We shouldn't be so surprised. People are fickle.

My fellow Catholics, if you have left the Church or are trying to leave the Church because of a few bad men, I hope you look deep into your own souls and realize you're just as evil and flawed. Who do you think you ARE, leaving the rest of the Mystical Body of Christ? What a yellow streak you have, you COWARDS! What happened to your Baptismal promises, to your Confirmation?

Or didn't you ever MEAN what you said? To you parents who had your children Baptized...didn't you MEAN it when you made those baptismal promises on behalf of your child? And now you're going to tear your children away from Jesus and take them into what, a garbage dump? Where else is there to go?

Isn't receiving OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity ENOUGH for you?

If you leave the Catholic Church because people are fallable, then you were NEVER Catholic to begin with! We aren't Catholic for our faith in Men, but for our Faith in God. And DAMMIT we are a FAMILY and you are a part of it! You do NOT get to leave your family, no matter how much your family sucks!

Blood binds, and you, Catholics, are bound by Blood, by Water, and by Oil. You don't get to leave. You can run and you think you can hide, but you'll be back because there is an indelible mark upon your soul. And you're only this angry because you feel so betrayed.

Do you think you're the only person in history who has ever been betrayed...by MAN? You haven't been betrayed by GOD, but by MAN, and MAN is fallible!

Get over yourself and focus on Our Lord who DIED for you and gave you the incredible privilege of calling you into the Catholic Church!

Our ancestors DIED for our Faith! When St. Ignatius of Antioch was eaten by lions, Catholics, average men, women, and children, who had been hiding in terror stood up and proclaimed their Christian Faith. They were all mercilessly slaughtered at the hands of pagan rulers and their henchmen. They didn't die for a lie.

And yet, you so-called "ex-Catholics" or "former-Catholics" are fleeing INTO the lies! And propagating them!

WHY are you persecuting Christ?

If our parishes close, it's YOUR own damn fault.

I'm first to admit I haven't done my part. I haven't supported my parish enough. Neither have YOU.

But there's one reason parishes are closing and I can't claim to be a part of that particular problem. Read on.....

The vile ignoramuses that comment all over secular news articles mentioning the Church keep crying that the Church is dying, the Catholic Church needs to "get with the program" or she will disappear. They say the Church is irrelevant to our age.

The vultures, clearly, are circling, but apparently they haven't read ahead; the Church will NEVER die.

The only death to be found is OUTSIDE the Church.

We see this in our modern society. Have you noticed the rate at which public schools are closing? In my county alone, my DISTRICT alone, I think, are 6 or 8 schools closing and merging.

I don't see anyone out there crying out that the American Government is dying. That's really interesting, because there are a HELL of a lot more public schools closing than there are Catholic parishes.

The reality is that both public schools and Catholic schools/parishes are actually closing for the same reason: low birth rates. Low birth rates is equal to fewer people growing up, getting jobs, paying taxes, and contributing to their parishes and other public services.

What causes low birth rates in a wealthy society such as ours?

Let's think about it..hmm.... Oh! Right! Contraception! Abortion! People, our population is IMPLODING! And NO ONE wants to acknowledge the elephant in the room. The biggest sex scandal of our time has NOTHING to do with a few perverted priests, but rather the perverted view of sex that makes people think children aren't the purpose and natural end of the sexual act!

The greatest perversion, the greatest scandal in our society is the slaughter of our unborn, and the very prevention of their lives through contraception!

But parishes are closing for more than THAT reason; greed and laziness are factors, too.

If your parish closes, it's because there aren't enough people to actually foot the bills. My guess is that there aren't enough people willing to volunteer their time to make things happen, either. I work in a parish that's doing ok, even in these times, although as it is for everyone everywhere, things are tight. Only a small percentage of the parish does ANYTHING to actually help. People arrive, they expect services they receive for free, they complain about any fees they are charged for things like religious education, never contribute to the Offertory at all, and then moan and complain that the Church isn't doing enough to help the poor, or themselves, or whatever their pet project happens to be.

HEL-LO! The Church's job is to DISTRIBUTE and ADMINISTRATE what YOU give to the poor! The POOR are YOUR problem! The people in the Church who actually keep those books take your donations and distribute them according to need and among the many different programs that require money to do things like purchase food for the poor!

And never mind the parish staff, who can't pay their own damn bills! You know why? Because YOU don't contribute enough for that, either!

What...you really think all a parish does is done for free? Maybe it could be if more of you would step up to the plate and offer your time, abilities, and expertise!

This isn't a Catholic problem.

I've spoken with people from MANY different religions, and they see the same problems, and the same causes. As it turns, out, shockingly, people are the same everywhere.

It seems to me, thought, that unfortunately, "Catholics" are the biggest whiners, especially those who actually don't know their faith at all and would rather spend time attacking it. The people who do the LEAST tend to complain the MOST when things don't go their way, and simply are at a loss when a parish they never contributed a DIME to suddenly closes. Suddenly it's someone else's fault. Let's blame it on the Vatican.

My fellow Catholics, the problems we face in the Church today are OURS. Let's take responsibility for our own failings, whether our failings belong to contraception, abortion, greediness (on our own personal part!), laziness, or anything else.

God did NOT send Christ into the world so that we could sit at His feet and whine about how no one is taking care of us and some of our spiritual leaders are sinners.

Last time I checked, Jesus died horribly for us each, individually. He called us EACH into His Body and expected we'd all contribute in some way. In fact, He sent the Holy Spirit to EMPOWER us to take Him into the world, but you know what? We suck at it, and it's because we're rejecting Him. We're sending the Holy Spirit away because we want to revel in comfort and let someone else do the heavy lifting.

Showing up for Sunday Mass once in awhile is not a "contribution". It's pathetic. Stop saying you're "contributing" or that you're "Catholic" if you haven't bothered to darken the door of a Catholic Church in decades. Stop claiming to be Catholic if your income doesn't do anything to help the Church because you refuse to offer it. Stop complaining there isn't anything in the Church for you if you're not willing to get off your fat, pampered lazy duff and offer your talents and ideas and abilities. Stop thinking that meeting the minimal premises of our Faith (which you probably can't even list) is enough.

We are not called to mediocrity, but to glory. And yes, that means YOU!

Catholics, remember who you are, who you were called to be, and in the words of St. Leo the Great, remember your dignity!

Even those of you who have fallen away...the Church needs YOU! Stop fighting so hard, suck it up, and just come back! What, you think you're the only one who has ever sinned?

Have you not read my blog? Sheesh!

I'm tired. I'm going to bed. I don't really care what the rest of you do, but the Church belongs to God. I'm in Sales and I suck at it. If you have a problem with anything I said here, take it up with Management. That would be God.

He can be reached by saying the following:

O God, Come to my Assistance. Lord, Make haste to help me.

Glory be to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, As it was in the beginning is now and will be forever, Amen.....

Scandal

When people hear the word "scandal", they think of some bit of juicy titillating gossip about a political figure or celebrity, and enjoy the sense of feigned "shock" followed by the ripple effect of articles and photos and water cooler discussions brought up by the event which might not even be true.  

Our Canon Law professor told us last weekend that there are some canonists who don't understand the meaning of the word, and will argue that extramarital affairs and liturgical abuses don't cause scandal anymore becuase no one is surprised when those things happen.  In other words, those who are supposed to know better are defining "scandal" as "entertaining, exhilierating, titillating, shocking and newsworthy."  

What idiocy. 

Scandal is now, in the context of canon law and moral theology EXACTLY what it has ALWAYS been!  It is a stumbling block. 

Scandal is defined as something that leads others to sin.  That's why scandal itself is a sin. 

For example, if I take a youth group into a store and I steal a pack of gum, I've just caused scandal. Whether those kids know it or not, they've been scandalized because my action, coming from being a person who should be a moral leader, has now given legitimacy to the sin of theft. 

Does that mean they'll automatically go out and steal gum?  No. 

But I can think of times in my own life where people I looked to as a moral example did or said something wrong, and because they did so, it made me think the action was ok. And then I committed the same thing.  That doubles the sin;  not only did the person who gave example commit an objective sin, but by their example they led me to do the same.  That's scandal. 

Practical Application

I look around at certain "journalistic" rags (both religious and secular) and there, I read only scandal. Not because I'm tempted, but because others are. And THAT leads me to an entirely different sin of calumny and detraction against the reporters, the writers, the average uniformed "Catholics" writing letters fraught with heretical ideas. 

 Scandal. 

I look around at the blogosphere which at least is honest in that the individual authors tend to proclaim their bias and don't pretend to be "balanced" - but there is much scandal there as well. For there are more than a few blogs I can no longer follow because all I see there is pride, calumny, detraction, anger, attack...etc.  All things that are not properties belonging to holiness.  

If I can't look at someone or their writings and see holiness, then it's time to walk away. Because if I give in to taking up anger and detraction, well, that's a scandal. 

It means that the person writing those inflammatory words is causing scandal, because by his or her example, I am being led into the same sin they possess.  I've found over and over again that when I read snark, I become snarky, and if I get snarky and make it public, it makes other people snarky, too. 

That's scandal.  

Now, there is a line; we CAN be critical of things that are unjust or need to be corrected.  Pointing out a public wrong doesn't automatically mean the person commenting on it is causing scandal or adding to it. It's all in how it's done.

That's why truth in journalism is so important, why truth in blogging is so important.  We're human. We're going to be biased, we're going to have opinions, and often we are going to be quite passionate about those opinions. But that doesn't mean we have to cause scandal in our passion.  

I've had a lot of posts that have "magically" disappeared over the last few years, and I'll have more as I go through my archives, or as I write when maybe I'm a bit too inflamed to do so.  

The reason many of those posts disappear is because I judge them to be scandalous;  either because they contain misinformation which has come to my attention, they are uncharitable (thus scandalous), or maybe they are simply mean-spirited.  

The example we set as Christians makes a difference.  If X person who claims to be a good Christian has this biting, snarky commentary, it must be ok to respond in that manner and poke fun at someone who is ignorant of our beliefs.  If popular X person gives an example of ridicule, then it becomes ok for the rest of us to follow that example, because...hey!  X person is popular so his or her opinion must mean a great deal more and if they do it, then we can, too. 

False logic.

The fact is that someone who exhibits the above behaviors is causing scandal; they are leading others into sin. 

And yes, I've done it.  

I do it all the time, and I am sincerely sorry for leading others to enter with me into such sins.  I pray God have mercy on those I mislead and instead place their punishment upon my shoulders, which would be just.  If I have scandalized, it is I who should suffer for it, for I have a greater duty. 

Sometimes it's hard, though, to know when someone has caused scandal.  Snarky humor can be fun, and it can be innocent and poking humorous criticism at serious issues may be a good way to bring correction.  Yet, so often, there is a mean spirit involved.  We have to evaluate...are we making a personal attack?  Are we singling anyone out?  

Is the person we are reading being a jerk or is their humor honest and innocent of malicious intent? Are they leading us to denigrate something or someone in an unjust manner? In an unholy manner?  

What response does their example cause in us?  Does it incite us to our own rants, make us dredge up old offenses and anger...or do we simply laugh at truthful humor and move on? 

Is there darkness in our laughter or is there the guilty pleasure that comes with that which is illicit if not fatal?  

In looking at all this,  in pondering it, I consider my "ranting" posts, and I wonder at whether charity is present.  There are some rants I've written out of pure humor, albeit with a biting style.  And even though I don't feel anger or bitterness, often that does come through because it's truly the way, culturally, I've learned to express critical humor.  And that, even without intent, may be scandalous. 

I wonder at my previous posts, knowing that it's important to address what is problematic, but I knew that there would be those who might arrive and begin to air their own liturgical complaints.  That has happened...the keyword "liturgy" always attracts people with grievances.

Is that scandalous?  Am I responsible for the most bitter among us who are in need of healing but can't seem to find their way out of the darkness so that healing can take place?  Am I making their situation worse?  

These are things I consider. 

Recently, at Crescat's blog, I received a nomination for "Best Spiritual Treat Blog" and I wonder if I should decline the nomination itself.  

I love what she's doing, I love her blog, and I've recommended her to others.  I love her humor, her truthfulness of who she is and who  she claims to be, and totally identify with her.  

But...how can I be a spiritual treat if I'm as snarky as the next guy?  How does that lead others to holiness?

The reality is that here, I don't have a specific agenda.  Maybe evangelization, maybe just sharing my faith because I know there are others who need to know they are not alone.  Maybe revealing moments of piety juxtaposed with the majority moments of sin.  

I'm not a "Spiritual Treat".  You're not going to come to my blog and see a perfect exudation of holiness.  It simply isn't present.  I'm just a sinner in need of salvation. Awards won't change that fact.  If someone thinks I'm anything close to a Saint, well...they've never met one.  I spend most of my time causing scandal, actually. 

And if I could truly see the impact of my life on others, I'd drop in my tracks and die. For I've lead far more souls into sin than I have been able to point to salvation.  And as for myself...I wallow in sin.  It covers me. The second I leave the Confessional, I'm back to my regular charms, which aren't charming at all.  

My biggest hobby, truthfully speaking:  offending God. I go out of my way to offend Him, and then say to myself that it wasn't my intent, no matter how willful my act.  

Please don't load my combox with a bunch of platitudes of how great I art.  I don't need that nor want it. I NEED to understand the harm I've caused, I NEED to see very clearly the effects of sin, both in recognizing how others have lead ME to sin, and how I have lead others. That's important. 

We ALL cause scandal. All of us. We all lead others to sin. 

But my hope is here:  God NEVER reveals sin without revealing His mercy.  

I weep in gratitude that God can see my scandalous life and offer me His pierced hand anyway, so that when He is raised up, I am drawn to Him.  

Therin is the scandal of the Cross. The ultimate juxtaposition.  Such an event that makes us see how so great a fault that we possess can warrant us so great a Redeemer is beyond our comprehension.  

The fact is that Jesus Christ reaches His bloody hands out to us, in forgiveness and sacrificial love, bringing our scandalized souls into Him through scandal personified.  

Therin is His Glory. 

I have nothing to offer Him but scandal, for I not only sin, but lead others to do so as well. When I approach Him, I bring not only myself, but all those who have been wounded or killed by my actions.  

Scandal. 

And then He is so generous that at the very revelation of my sorrow, He erases my guilt and restores me to His side, hiding me within His Most Sacred Heart. 

And we are all scandalized by such great generosity. 

Truly...none of us understands scandal, for it is through scandal that we fall, and in gratitude of scandal that we might enjoy eternal life with Christ.  

I will go on, pondering scandal, for even now, I don't understand...

*

Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner....

 

The Catholic Spirit and the 8th Commandment

I would caution the professional Journalists of the Catholic Spirit--they are held to a higher standard than bloggers. So what is their point? And why are they painting with such a broad brush?

Take my previous post as an example; because we as bloggers can be so quick to editorialize, yes, we have responsibility, but our ability to respond holds these professional writers to a much higher standard. Get the facts right, or face the consequences. We deal with it in com boxes...editors have the right to shred their responses, but they can't shred blog posts. So instead, they attempt to discredit all sources.

I'm sorry. Is the above accusation against the 8th Commandment...or a legitimate defense of the reactions of coherent bloggers with valid opinions?

The Catholic Spirit is not known to be the most...uh...FAITHFUL...newspaper out there. And quite honestly, I've never found a newspaper I truly trust, for each writer puts his or her own spin on the subject at hand. Can we then accuse each and every journalist out there, no matter their intentions, of detraction, calumny, and every other sin under the 8th Commandment, as the Spirit does against bloggers?

The notorious issue professional journalists face is the fact that they know a little bit about many subjects...and as such, it's very easy for them to determine that they know all there is to know. I have heard this from professional journalists themselves in that this is one of their greatest temptations. So I would suggest that the Catholic Spirit be very careful to check ALL their facts before print, or we will likewise have good grounds to quote their very words back at them.

Let's contrast this with the Gospel message of charitability; it seems that the Catholic Spirit is trying to discredit bloggers across the board. Why? We are all called rather to give people the benefit of the doubt. The Church, in fact, has NEVER condemned a single soul to Hell, but quickly jumps to discern if a particular soul was called to Heaven immediately; thus the process of Canonization, versus the non-existent process of damnation.

I have to ask then; why is this article so quick to paint with such a broad, condemning brush? Really? Do ALL bloggers fit this pattern, or is is just a matter of perspective? Or intention? Or just a mistake in bias?


If we look at the Cathoic Spirit's article about bloggers, they seem to be going the route of damnation of all bloggers. While I'm the first to admit that sometimes we don't have all the facts, as we all well know, neither do the journalists. In fact, most of the time, the journalists are completely useless and ALSO spread rumors and detraction in favor of readership and ratings.

I like to think that Catholic publications are above that, but I live in the real world, with real people, and with the recognition that deadlines often make people do crazy things...such as crunch in an article in favor of making the boss happy, versus getting the facts straight. Anyone every watch KSTP? Yeah...not only do they misspell their copy on the web page at times, but they so often misquote, misunderstand, and completely miss the point. Guess that's detraction and no TV news, newspaper, or magazine article can be trusted. Guess that means the Catholic Spirit is a bit discredited as well.

So my suggestion to the Catholic Spirit would be to remember your own words and cautions against breaking the 8th Commandment; for as professionals, you are held to a much higher standard; and as such, you may take a much greater fall if you falter. A blog can be deleted and the blogger anonymous. But a newspaper and byline goes down in infamy.