[Response to 2013 WSJ article] Cultural Catholicism and the End of Life: “You Earned It”

309 words of Wall Street Journal article posted on triablogue Blogspot ^ | Wall Street Journal August 29, 2013 : blog on August 30, 2013 | by PAUL MOSES Wall Street Journal copied by John Bugay

[RnMomof7]

I’ve mentioned that Roman Catholicism is so onerous because it puts its hooks in you at various times in your life – from baptism as a child, to “first confession” and “first holy communion”, then Confirmation as an early teen, then marriage, baptism of your own children, etc. It’s a programmatic cycle.

There is another point at which Rome is prominent, and that is at death. As the “Baby Boom” generation continues to age and die, people will continue to be focused on this phase of life, either as people focused on the end of their own lives, or that of their aging parents.

Paul Moses, a journalism professor at Brooklyn College/CUNY”, has written a piece for the Wall Street Journal this morning entitled “A Liberal Catholic and Staying Put”, which puts this in view.

Beginning the article with some comments from the atheistic “Freedom From Religion Foundation”, which urged discontented, liberal-minded Catholics to “Summon your fortitude, and just go”, he rejects this notion with the following comments:

To me, these invitations reflect a shallow view of the Catholic Church that reduces its complex journey to the points where it intersects with the liberal social agenda. Pope Francis’ pastoral approach has shown a more merciful, less judgmental face of the church—one that always existed but needed to be more prominent in the public arena.

After my father died last year, I realized that my instinctive resistance to these “just go” arguments—from the atheists, the secularists, the orthodox, the heterodox or anyone else—runs deep. It began when I observed how impressively the church was there for me in a moment of need (emphasis added).

This is where the programmatic structure of Roman Catholicism vis–à–vis human life comes into play. And while Moses accuses the “atheists, secularists, orthodox, heterodox, and anyone else” of having a “shallow” view of “the Catholic Church”, here basically is a basically shallow and un-engaged liberal New York professor coming into touch with the ritual shallowness of “the Church” and liking it.

Early on the morning after he died, I went to my father's parish, St. Peter's in lower Manhattan, to find out what to do to bury him. I found one of the priests in the sacristy after the early Mass. The Rev. Alex Joseph took my hands in his, spoke a beautiful prayer, told me of his own father's death years earlier and added, "Our fathers are always with us." I was much moved.

Given Professor Moses’s credentials, both as a professor and as a Roman Catholic, I found myself wondering why he would be first of all surprised, and then “much moved” by such a shallow and basically universalist statement by the priest “our fathers are always with us”. It seems to me that this priest was hedging his bets.

For any of you pastors who have had to attend at funerals of non-believers, you are probably aware of the difficulties of addressing this situation.

In Moses’s case, his father was a life-long Roman Catholic.

We decided to have my father's funeral in the Staten Island parish where he had worshiped for 25 years … Bernard L. Moses, who died at 88, had loved Father Madigan’s homilies, and to hear [Father Madigan] speak at the funeral Mass was to understand why. My father had advanced up the ranks of the New York City Housing Authority to director of management. Citing his concern for tenants, Father Madigan used the traditional Catholic term “corporal work of mercy” to describe what my father did. It explained for me, in those difficult moments, why my father, who was well-schooled in Catholic social teachings, had passed up the opportunity for a more pleasant career in academia, or a more lucrative one managing private housing, to work in housing projects instead.

Again, Moses is surprised by the motivations behind his own father’s career choices – that his father’s position in the liberal government program is reinforced by “Catholic social teachings”. The father’s life was spent first of all on “the sacramental treadmill” on Sundays, then during the week, doing government-sponsored “corporal works of mercy” was enough to get him into heaven, under the liberal Roman Catholic schema.

If we wonder why the United States can so willingly adopt the liberal agenda, this is one great and largely invisible source of power for that engine.

This article reminded me of something quite the opposite, related by J.I. Packer in his “A Quest for Godliness: The Puritan Vision of the Christian Life”. Packer said:

Few of us, I think, live daily on the edge of eternity in the conscious way that the Puritans did, and we lose out as a result. For the extraordinary vivacity, even hilarity (yes, hilarity; you will find it in the sources), with which the Puritans lived stemmed directly, I believe, from the unflinching, matter-of-fact realism with which they prepared themselves for death, so as always to be found, as it were, packed up and ready to go (emphasis added). Reckoning with death brought appreciation of each day’s continued life, and the knowledge that God would eventually decide, without consulting them, when their work on earth was done brought energy for the work itself while they were still being given time to get on with it (pg 14).

The Roman Catholic system is an on-going treadmill that in no way takes into account the realities of God’s Biblical Revelation – neither the joys of it, nor the realities – but rather, wraps itself around its own processes and the false salve of “you earned it” to the dying and reassurance that “you can still earn it” to shallow, unthinking liberal Roman Catholics like the professor Paul Moses.

[Resettozero]

Catholics and Orthodox don’t worship relics or icons, they are honored and venerated.

Roman Catholics don't pass gas but they do honor and venerate flatulence.

[Syncro]

I wish all Catholics would ignore the hate on this site.

How ironic, the first reply to your post shows hate from a Catholic. Perhaps Catholics should stop posting hateful comments and outlandish accusations, huh?

Probably some KKK types on this board. I agree, I have not posted in months and after today, will do the same.

162 posted on Saturday, April 18, 2015 11:52:44 AM by CTrent1564

The irony is ignoring the hate posted by you and others in your belief system while complaining about made up hate by those that are not of your denomination.

Thanks for exposing the hypocrisy of some Catholic posters.

Resettozero, metmom: Note the instant hate brought out from mlizzy's complaint.

[caww]

....”you can take all the Free Republic Protestant self anointed prophets and theologians and other internet self anointed theologians to support your view”.....

I prefer taking God at His Word as it is written as the ultimate authority for what I believe and hold true.

“Forever, O LORD, ‘Your word is settled’ in heaven”....Psalm 119:89

....it is settled, determined, fixed, sure, immovable.... Man’s teachings change so often that there is never time for them to be settled; but the Lord’s word is from of old the same, and will remain unchanged eternally.

Therefore it is thee authority above any other...regardless of those who’s paths others choose to follow.

[ealgeone]

You’d probably bow to the Queen of England if you were presented to her but you wouldn’t bow to the Queen of Heaven?

Nope....as American's we don't bow to the Queen of England.

[caww]

The day we accepted Jesus’s sacrifice in it's all sufficiency is the day our life and eternal destination changed from a death sentence to life everlasting....... Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer.....

"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us 'to Himself through Christ'....2 cor.5:17

"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh"............. "Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.".........Ezekiel 36:26/John 3:3

The word 'Therefore' makes a difference...

[ealgeone]

>you shall not bow down yourself to them, nor serve them<

Bowing down means kneeling before....we're not talking about bowing your head here.

Cornelius fell at Peter's feet and Peter told him to get up. John fell before the angel and the angel told him to worship God.

We don't kneel or pray to mary or anyone or anything else. It's pretty clear.

No, it would not. Icons or images of Mary are not the same as Worshiping. Bowing down is only sign of reverence.

Idolatry is much broader than even you definition, not only does it refer to false pagan worship, it also refers to things that Man places or reveres to a level that it challenges his love of God, this could be Money, race, the State [politics or say political party], power, etc.

On this I agree.

[metmom]

No, it would not. Icons or images of Mary are not the same as Worshiping. Bowing down is only sign of reverence. Catholics bow their heads when they enter a Church, or they should, that does not mean they are worshiping the walls of the Church or sacred art, icons, statues, etc. in the Church it is only a sign of reverence.

The problem Catholis have, however, is that the commandment is not to not worhip images, but to not bow down before them, and that we see Catholics doing all the time.

Images of that going on are posted regularly and Catholics still twist and spin and redefine words to justify and excuse their sin.

[Resettozero]

Note the instant hate brought out from (FReeper's) complaint.

1. What the poster later posted while lambasting the site moderation was NOT what was first posted. Poster tried but failed to deceive forum readers.

2. Some FR RCs do not understand that their prevarications follow them and are transparent to those FReepers who have paid attention.

3. Open-thread complaints on FR RF frequently come from some posters who claim to be Roman Catholicism devotees and political conservatives yet speak the language of the left in their complaints and other postings.

4. When current site management is changed eventually, IMO, FR will become only a Catholic Caucus site within a year. Wish current forum rules for moderation could be written on stone tablets for all time, with liberty and justice for all.

5. Good to see you posting.

[caww]

I must have missed the question back thread...so I’ll answer it now...You ask if I believe in the Resurrection of the dead?

Yes but then that does depend on which one your talking about and what you think that might mean.

The Bible tells us what death is....in James 2:26
“the body without the spirit is dead”.

Can we agree on that????

[caww]

....”That would be way to simple for the catholic mindset”....

Perhaps so... but if they don’t get that “simple” part right in their minds and hearts then everything else will just be ‘learning’ without ever seeing or coming to the ‘saving knowledge’ they need to even begin with....they would have “missed the mark” entirely....

...and therefore Jesus words will ring true...”The blind leading the blind”.

[Resettozero]

And they fell into this ditch how many centuries ago...?

[mlizzy]

I wish all Protestants would ignore the hate on this site, as well.

[caww]

You mentioned to another poster...Define “resurrection of the dead” so we’re on the same page”....

But for catholics it might be better to start with what is death to them.

I believe what it is written defines death...”The body without the spirit is dead”....I think that’s in James.

[caww]

...”Catholics do NOT honour the resurrected body. They honour the body that was sown in dishonour. They honour the body that was “sown in weakness”.....

From what I’ve seen written and practiced I have to agree it certainly looks like that. But then let’s see how they define death itself.

The Bible defines it quite well for me...”The body without the spirit is dead.”

[Resettozero]

I wish all Protestants would ignore the hate on this site, as well.

Am not a member of a Protestant denomination. Am insteead a believer in and follower of Lord Jesus Christ alone, the Son of the living God, The only Savior, The Sanctifier, The Healer, and The Coming King.

I gather with like-minded Christians, more than a few of whom are former Roman Catholics, to fellowship and worship God pretty much like the first believers did, except we don't up to temple like those Jews did. And we're mostly but not all Gentiles.

[Religion Moderator]

You will receive an answer shortly via FR mail.

We prefer the threads in the Religion Forum focus on the issues brought out in the articles and comments concerning points relevant to spiritual discussion.

[TheStickman]

As a thankful Catholic convert I am always puzzled by the things I read here on FR regarding the Church.

In light of those being murdered throughout the world for believing Jesus Christ is the Son of God who died for us ALL...why the ridicule in this thread?

Makes no sense to me on any level.

May we all come to know God’s Infinite Mercy through Our Lord & Savior, Jesus Christ.

[Resettozero]

As a thankful Catholic convert...

To or from Catholicism?

[TheStickman]

After many years of living in a very dark life I was blessed to be lead to Christ through the Catholic Church.

[Resettozero]

I’m interested to learn if before becoming a member of the RCC, you were a member of another religious group such as Episcopalian, Methodist, or some other denomination.