Posted on 03/26/2012 1:38:33 PM PDT by NYer
Edit: A definition from Wikipedia is useful here: Blasphemy is irreverence towards religious or holy persons or things.[1] Some countries have laws to punish blasphemy,[2] while others have laws to give recourse to those who are offended by blasphemy.
[Fell's Point, Baltimore, MD] There was a show called "Cheers" on television years ago. It was bawdy and vulgar yet there were some borders it was not safe to pass in the early 80s when the show first aired. It depicted a homey place, reminiscent of an unpretentious neighborhood bar with a hint of old world ambiance and Boston charm. The heavy wooden furniture and the bar spoke of permanence, elegance, and that favorite piety of secular artists, human dignity. It was not always clear who the show's buffoons were, but you knew them when you saw them, and sometimes, it was a comedic mailman who could be the most noble in the simplicity of his fears. Some other writer said something about irony being lost on a society which had no shame. That's why we'd like to wield a metaphorical hammer. Perhaps there are others who can put a better finish on the details of what we will tell.
|
| Satirical painting: priest displeased with Nun? |
All we can say is that sometimes evil is really mundane and some of us don't realize that we're not only bufoons needlessly offending people's religious sensibilities, but far worse than that, we're offending God. Even the name of the bar, a pun on the Blessed Mother's name seems calculated to be offensive.
 |
| Would you like some candy? |
We're not talking about this place, but it's not far from Boston, but it boasts a similar unmistakable charm you'd expect in New England with friendly folks.
One of the features of the bar, and there are many, is its unmistakable Catholic ambiance. It's called, Ale Mary's and is located in Fell's point Maryland. One can just smell the faint aroma of the ocean as you think about it. The food is inexpensive, but if you're Catholic you might find it too expensive for the peace of your conscience to see the sacramental elements of your religion appear for the sake of decoration in peculiarly deliberate ways.
 |
| Chalices Used for Holy Sacrifice Being Abused by Patrons |
It's not surprising, but it's not acceptable either that chalices which are used in Catholic Mass for the consecration of wine which becomes the blood of Christ, are used by patrons to drink (and get drunk from). They're made of precious metals, sometimes jewels, but their use in such a secular setting is strange and unsettling. No less than the inexplicable painting of a priest with a stole, looking aghast or in surprise at a nun who has her back to him.
The most disturbing thing in the restaurant is the monstrance which is behind the bar used as decoration. The monstrance is large ornate disk, often resembling the sun, which is surmounted in a long stand with a heavy base. It contains a crystal compartment at the center of the disk where a consecrated communion Host can be placed inside and it allows the priest to elevate the entire object by the stand for the veneration of the Sacrament it contains. Seeing this monstrance here in this bar, covered with mardigras beads and a mustached smiley face where the Host would normally be is a little bit like finding family heirlooms in the hands of people who not only use them for purposes for which they were never intended, but use them in disrespectful ways.
 |
| Mustached Smiley Face Seems Particularly Malevolent |
We found out about this recently and the individual who sent this to us wrote an e-mail complaining about the display of these religious items and even offered to purchase them. Far from being treated with the respect she deserved, her concerns were met with derision.
Despite the bar owner claiming that no one cared about this clearly blasphemous display of religious artifacts, he asked her to remove an entry she made under the bar at a public site allowing comment on establishments.
As he berated our friend, the proprietor insisted as an argument to justify his sacrilege and disrespect for Catholic sacramentals, that there were even Bishops and priests who thought that his blasphemous inclusion of religious articles was comical and that there was nothing wrong with this display.
Apparently, there's some truth to what he says, because Catholic clergy, including senior, does frequent this place.
We'll be praying a Rosary in reparation for having seen this blasphemy. Hopefully, the proprietor can be persuaded to part with these items before word of this affects his business either spiritually or financially.
Give them a call:
Corner of Fleet & Washington Sts.
Fell's Point
Baltimore, MD.
21231
410-276-2044
Golden colored cups and the artwork you call a monstrance are not Holy...And the people drinking out of them are not the dogs of scripture...
No more so than the Ark of the Covenant.
"The account given by the Liturgy of the life of this holy Doctor is so complete that we need add nothing further. But it will be well to give a short summary of the definitions by which in the eighth and sixteenth centuries the Church has avenged the holy Images from the attacks made on them by hell. The second Council of Nicaea declares that: 'It is lawful to place in churches, in frescoes, in pictures, on vestments and the sacred vessels, on the walls of houses and in public streets, images, whether painted or mosaic or of other suitable material, representing Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, our most pure Lady, the holy Mother of God, the angels and the saints; and it is equally lawful to burn incense before them and surround them with lights' [Second Council of Nicaea, Session VII.]. 'Not that we must believe that these images have any divinity or virtue of their own,' says the Council of Trent against the Protestants, 'or that we must put our confidence in them as the pagans did in their idols. But the honour which given to the images is referred to Christ the prototype, to whom through them all our veneration is addressed, and to the saints whom we venerate in their portraits' [Council of Trent, Session XXV.]."
Speaking of propaganda and falsehoods, I'd still like to know where you get your information from.
I can't imagine those sources to be more accurate than whatever Natural Law posted.
I’ve never observed NL to post particularly valid info.
Natural law proponents usually tend to be secularists, and atheists.
I used the Bible primarily. The Revelation prophesied the papists, and The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire records the fulfillment. Professor Walter Veith also does an excellent analysis on it. The links on that have been posted her many times for those intellectually honest enough to read them.
Of course, Nicea and Trent were excellent dog and pony shows for those wishing to sidestep the second commandment (the real one, not the catholic version).
Neither of them were for true Bible believers.
So you think that Revelation says that the Catholic Church was founded by the pharisees in the Fourth Century?
If so, any particular verses?
Speaking of propaganda and falsehoods, I'd still like to know where you get your information from.
I can't imagine those sources to be more accurate than whatever Natural Law posted.
True. N-L's posts are usually quite accurate and to the point. He is not blinded by antiCatholic hatred.
Very good. Non Trinitarians are exposed as non Christians. Thank you for pointing this out. Would you be able to help us in further identifying further departures from the Christian faith as canonized by the Church?
The bride of Christ doesn’t need nicolaitan canons; it has the Holy Spirit to guide Bible study.
Of course, catholics have no more concept of how the Holy Spirit works in the real church than a blind man has of a color wheel.
Keep on thrashing; you remind me of Sambo’s tigers running around the tree until they turn into butter.
.
The “he who lets” that was taken out of the way was the Roman empire, and the very first pope, rising in the aftermath of Rome was the second fulfillment of the “little horn.”
.
What has led you to interpret those lines that way? Could it be a commentary by Veith?
That has been the traditional way that the Calvinists interpret it, and this time thay got one right.
The most important point in understanding Revelation lies in understanding that the book is mostly to be read literally; then everything falls into place, including the wound unto death that was healed when the popes were restored to power in the political realm.
Freedom of speech and association not your thing?
I have never heard Calvinists say that the Catholic Church was created by Pharisees in the Fourth Century.
The most important point in understanding Revelation lies in understanding that the book is mostly to be read literally
Your interpretation is not literal, or else the "little horn" would really be interpreted as being an actual little horn.
Freep-mail me to get on or off my pro-life and Catholic List:
Please ping me to note-worthy Pro-Life or Catholic threads, or other threads of general interest.
The 2nd Amendment forbids all imagery, except that it does not. It is part of the prohibition of idolatry, which the worship of no god except the God who has no image. Except our image, which is the shape he assumed. But Christians worship an incarnate God, and hold to a paradox, that the one God is yet three, that the Great God is the same as the small. That the Word can be made flesh. That we die and yet live.
The written word needs a true interpreter. I am reminded, someone of the Star Treck episode where the primitives Kirk encounters have a sacred writing and he understands nothing.Until he looks at the document and sounds it out differently, discovering it to be in fact something familar to every American.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.