Posted on 05/14/2005 6:18:48 AM PDT by NYer
Yanked all the way to Chihuahua?
Of course -- it's all the eels' fault!
Yes! We do need to reach them. Ultimately I have great hope because I believe in the trans-formative power of the Faith and the richness of our heritage. Consider if you will the fact that 2000 years ago this girl's ancestors saw nothing at all wrong in sacrificing virgins to get a better crop. And the Germanic tribes saw nothing at all wrong in raping and pillaging in war. How on earth did the Church transform these people? How on earth indeed. It wasn't by any earthly thing. So don't worry. Don't be afraid. Be confident. I remember something J.R.R. Tolkien wrote in a letter to someone who read is Lord of the Rings books and was commenting on Galadriel's assertion that the elves have been "fighting the long defeat". Tolkien wrote in response:
I am a Christian, and indeed a Roman Catholic, so I do not expect 'history' to be anything but a 'long defeat' -- though it contains...some samples or glimpses of the final victory.
"Tolkien wrote in response:
I am a Christian, and indeed a Roman Catholic, so I do not expect 'history' to be anything but a 'long defeat' -- though it contains...some samples or glimpses of the final victory."
Very interesting. Thanks.
BTW, I noticed your tagline and wanted to say, thanks for freeing us all from Tom Daschle. Bless you!
""If another faith came along that offered those things and gives me everything spiritually that I'm looking for," she said, "then I would give it a lot of thought.""
The problem with the current culture, not Western Civilization, is that everyone is looking for something for nothing.
I think a lot of people view God as superstition and they are not even aware that they do so. This God who creates us is not some user-friendly, interchangeable part. He is eternal, unchanging and constant.
He is also Redeemer and for those who like a comfortable God, Judge.
Indeed, I have, and on a weekly basis. But, our pastor is Maronite Catholic and very orthodox in his preachings. He ends ALL of his excellent homilies with a reminder of whose voice we should heed - "Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of Mary".
May God continue to bless this holy and humble servant!
"So much for the argument that modernism was unleashed by Vatican Council II and is the cause for this rift!"
No, Vatican II was an attempt to climb onto the band-wagon of modernism and Rome has since tried hard to shake off the ties of tradition. The failed "new springtime" fantasy has now given way to the patently obvious "smaller church" reality. There is no pleasing people who despise ritual and absolute values; chasing after their vote will only incur further contempt and undermine what credibility is remaining.
"Missionary work."
You mean a former nation of missionaries now needs missionaries from outside? Well, a few brave SSPX priests have gone over there; hopefully, they will not be attacked and beaten by the natives!
I have given much thought to this over the past few years, especially since joining FR where a forum of this nature can expand our understanding of other's views. Yes, there may be some truth to that comment but in reflecting over other extraneous influences, I see yet another pattern that has unfolded.
Bear with me on this, please. I was a child pre VCII but still retain strong recollections of church life back in the late 50's, early 60's. I also vividly recall the changes that swept rapidly through the US catholic church post VCII. Among the most anticipated changes, US catholics fully expected that artificial contraception would be approved by the Church. When Paul VI issued his encyclical, HUMANAE VITAE, we were shocked and surprised (I was still a child but recall that announcement like it was yesterday). What made it so 'shocking' however, was that we learned about it via the media. Prior to VCII, radio and television were forms of occasional entertainment. But by the mid 60's, most households owned at least one tv and watched the nightly news.
It may sound trite at this moment in time to suggest this but back then, the media were beginning to test the market to see just how much effect their commentary had on the viewing audience. Since then, television has expanded into 100's of cable channels all vieing for your attention.
Never underestimate the power of the press, media and others to sway public opinion. Consider public education and its effect on young fertile minds. Granted, there were and still are many liberals in the Catholic Church who have abused the work of VCII, but it is wrong to fault it for what we see today. There are a multitude of factors that have influenced catholics who live in a secular society. Some of the changes 'recommended' by VCII and implemented in 3rd world nations, have reaped positive results. There is far more to this issue than meets the eye. If anything, VCII may well have been the right council at the wrong time. Think about it!
Thank you for the timely reminder! It also helps to have supportive parents. Great story.
Alright, that's it, NYer. I've decided to make you an honorary Phoenician. You're now Lebanese. Learn how to do the dabke, develop a taste for kibbe-nyee, and remember to cross yourself and say "Jesus, Mary, and Joseph!" in Aramaic every time you see something shocking. Welcome to the family!
Oh and one more thing! Many of those young college students went on to become the leaders of a Movement called Solidarity, which was the pebble that started the avalanche that brought down the Soviet Empire! Think of what one priest can do. Think of what ordinary people can do.
Interesting observation! In fact, when my saintly aunt passed away last year, her oldest daughter (late 50's) commented that her friends often asked my aunt to pray for them. Most were not religious or practicing any religion but looked up to her for her sincere devotion to her faith. My cousin quipped that when asked to pray for someone, her mother would 'rattle the rosaries' as she ticked off the prayers. "All that mumbo jumbo catholic stuff" was her comment.
I was truly dismayed to hear this because her mother, my aunt, and her aunt, my grandmother, were the ones who most influenced and strengthened my faith over the years. Needless to say, my cousins have been added to my daily prayers, especially out of deference to the guidance provided by their mother.
" Alright, that's it, NYer. I've decided to make you an honorary Phoenician. You're now Lebanese."
Well she is Italian, you know. That's why the Greeks hereabouts are so nice to her. It only figures that our cousins across a few miles of sea in Lebanon would see that she's OK. "One Face, One Race", to quote the late and unlamented Mussolini to the Greeks! :)
You know what just amazes me about the world today? We've got people wearing mood-rings and playing with ouiji boards or listening to Dr. Phil as if he were Moses. A gal I work with practically kills herself 4 times a week doing this rigorous pilate regimen (which she doesn't really need to do because she's already fit and is not a dancer, etc.). And yet these same people think a 2000 year old tradition steeped in the wisdom of the ages and shining as the very culmination of all man's aspirations for God... and all they can do is call it "mumbo jumbo"? The gal in my office who inflicts this masochistic exercise regime on herself calls the medieval church with its penances and self-flagellations the height of lunacy. Who's the lunatic? (Don't get me wrong, I'm not endorsing a return to flagellation or hair shirts.)
This is the height of modern solipsism. Our culture is like a dried out dead branch cut off from the Tree of Life and from all sense of history and tradition, just waiting to be tossed in the fire.
Oh and one more thing in re: the exercise gal I was mentioning. The real irony is that this exercise gal and the medieval flagellating monk were doing these things for the same reason. They both wanted to life forever! The monk wanted eternal life in heaven. And this gal wants to live forever on earth. I even heard her layout her plan to stay forever young -- botox, acid peels, face lifts, plastic surgery galore. The real question is, which one of them had/has a better chance of achieving their goal?
"This is the fault of the PARENTS, who are too busy to be involved in the lives of their children. Parents who give the children things instead time. Money without working for it. Parents who want to be liked instead of respected.
You reap what you sow."
Yup.
Thanks for the honorarium. After rolling grape leaves and stripping mounds of parsley for last year's Hafli, I do feel a connection. Perhaps the greatest compliment I have received came from one of the Lebanese parishioners. When her grandson was born last November, I gave the young parents a small gift - really, it was nothing. The daughter in law told her about the gift and tried to describe me. The grandmother replied: "Yes, I know who you are talking about - she's one of us". That truly made my year! (Please remember this child in your prayers. He was born with undetected severe heart defects, underwent immediate open heart surgery, pulled through and is now in rough shape following his second open heart surgery. The father is struggling with his faith.)
You'll have to help me with the Aramaic (or as Abouna prefers to call it - 'Lebanese') form of that prayer :-)
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