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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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.
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| 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
>> “That is particularly true of those who begin with their truth, that the Church instutited by Christ is evil...” <<
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Dishonest strawman.
The church that was started with Christ is invisible, mystic, and embeded in the hearts of the believers. It owns no property, has no wealth whatsoever, and meets whenever two or more are gathered in his name.
The nicolaitan abomination that has corporate headquarters in the Vatican is founded on all the evil that the heart of man can conjur up.
It hides the word of God by “interpreting” it to cover the truth therein with idolatry, and fear.
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We can all read the Didache...It says to command all to be baptized to fast for two days...Surely young children and babies can not be included which obviously means we don't baptize babies and young children...
Obama has the respect of many people...If Obama tells you something, do you automatically believe it??? Especially when the evidence says otherwise???
Unfortunately, statements like that say far more about you than they do the Church and the truth. I will pray for a conversion of your heart. Not that you will become Catholic, but that you emerge from the darkness that is embracing your soul and seek God in the light of the Truth.
God Bless and keep you.
Very good.
You accuse the Church of Ishtar worship. Now you are accusing the OT Israelites of having pygmy high priests.
This is getting endlessly fascinating. Who’s the next target?
Rejection of the Trinity and the Nicene Creed disqualifies one from being Christian. Splitters and quitters don't get to make the rules.
Dude, that is an awesome post.
The nicolaitan abomination that has corporate headquarters in the Vatican is founded on all the evil that the heart of man can conjur up.Can someone translate that weird babble please? I am sure there is a point.
It is orthodox (beliefs are mandated), it has property and wealth (Acts 2) and meets in a regulated community with the Apostles and their descendants controlling the community.
Your claim of mysticism is noted and rejected.
The nicolaitan abomination that has corporate headquarters in the Vatican is founded on all the evil that the heart of man can conjur up.
Just because they don't acknowledge the individual's right to believe and claim anything they want.
It hides the word of God by “interpreting” it to cover the truth therein with idolatry, and fear.
It has maintained the word of God throughout the ages when the antiCatholics were axe-wielding barbarians before they became the Scriptural slash and burn barbarians that they are today.
Nicolaitan...
“It is a symbolic name of a party that represents the hierarchy of a ruling class over the rest of the people, developing a pecking order of fleshly leadership”
http://latter-rain.com/eschae/nicola.htm
I believe editor-surveyor was trying to make a case for the Vatican being an expression of Nicolaitan Heresy. Its a fairly widespread sentiment among some Protestants actually.
Are you saying that people worship the chalices and monstrances? Really?
” Its a fairly widespread sentiment among some Protestants actually. “
Any particular denomination?
This person is persistently trolling the Catholic threads. Based on what I have read, I see no indication of an open mind or sincere attempt to engage, but rather a desire to wage war on what he/she perceives as an abomination from the perspective of his/her particular Protestant sect. If there is no sincerity of engagement other than a mission to take down the Church, can we better focus our dialog on more sincere and fruitful correspondents?
Let us not forget that non Trinitarians who spurn the Nicene Creed can hardly be called Christians. I’m not sure I’d paint them with the term Protestant either, unless we use the term to encompass everything that has developed from the Reformation, and often from the Restoration.
>> “Are you saying that people worship the chalices and monstrances? Really?” <<
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The person to whom I originally replied appeared to.
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>> “It is orthodox (beliefs are mandated), it has property and wealth (Acts 2) and meets in a regulated community with the Apostles and their descendants controlling the community” <<
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That is a perfect definition of Satan’s imitation church.
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That “Nicola” nonsense has nothing to do with Christs denouncement of a church that held “the Doctrines of the Nico Laitanes” in his letters to the seven actual churches. That specific doctrine witheld interpretation of the scriptures from the people.
The link you provided is a satanic red herring, intended to deflect from the above fact.
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>> “It has maintained the word of God throughout the ages when the antiCatholics were axe-wielding barbarians” <<
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This statement has been proven totally false, yet you constantly repeat it, why?
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