All Things in Perspective

When one hears things in context, one is less likely to be blind-sided by things like this article from LifeSite News. From the American political perspective, the "left" will be shocked that "Papa Frank" is not "The fluffiest Pope evahr" (to steal a phrase from Fr. Z), and the "right" will be shocked that he is not " the great enemy of morality and the free market."

Love him, hate him, you can't ignore him.

This is the core of what heresy means - to take away; specifically to "take out" what you don't like, and leave the rest. It is to take a true thing, a fact, and take it out of context. Heresy - like all the best lies - is not dangerous because of the falsehood, but because of the truth with which it is wrapped.

To put it another way, "The devil doesn't come dressed in a red cape and pointy horns. He comes as everything you've ever wished for."

The Third Luminous Mystery

He Who Announced the Kingdom of God
The Sermon on the Mount

The time is accomplished, and the Kingdom of God is at hand: repent, and believe in the gospel.

How often do we actually listen to the words of our Lord? How many times does the same passage of scripture come up again, and we think, "Oh, I know that verse!" and proceed to tune out the actual reading?

I know, I know, so judgmental! But if I judge in this matter, I also judge myself. I mean, the Sermon on the Mount? Really? The Beatitudes? That's just another way for people I don't like to beat me over the head with how all Christianity is about is being a nice person, and how I shouldn't judge and stuff. Right?

Wrong.

Speak the Word of God with Boldness

I recently gave a talk to the young men of my church preparing for the sacrament of Confirmation, and I thought I would share some of the reflections I had while preparing.

I was blessed with the opportunity to speak only to the young men. I have spoken to mixed groups before of course, and there are many very insightful young women in our confirmation and youth group programs, but sometimes a man just needs to speak to those becoming men, to call them out into their masculinity. That is in fact the only way they will ever become men, if they are called.

Sexy Sex

This is part 3 in a series on sex (because I promise that talking about sex will not turn you into a porn fiend. It will probably do the exact opposite). Part I. Part II.

So, sexy Catholic sex. This is the middle ground, the liberal and pure as opposed to the libertine or puritan. This isn't even really Catholic sex insomuch as it is HUMAN sex. Like I said last time, sex is marriage, and marriage is what we call a "natural" sacrament, that is it comes from our nature and was ratified by Jesus as a sacrament (as opposed to the Eucharist or Ordination which was directly instituted by Him as a new thing).

So Sex. Marriage. Love. There are so many ways to get it wrong, how do we get it right?

Puritanical Sex

At the insistence of a friend who complained that Popular Sex was too short (I blame the estrogen in the water), here is part two, wherein we take a look at our Puritan heritage in sexual mores.

Last time we dealt with crappy sex. How do I know it's crappy? Gotta be, come on! It's gotta be! Why? I’ll tell you why. Here we are. All of us are basically alone, separate creatures just circling each other. All searching for that slightest hint of a real connection. Some look in the wrong places...

Ten points if you correctly identify the source of the above line.

Popular Sex

There was a bit of a kerfuffle on the interwebz a few weeks ago surrounding the Grammy awards. Unfortunately, it was over the wrong song.

While far too many Christian outlets were concerned that Katy Perry had performed witchcraft on stage (she didn't), there seemed to be less outcry over the much more insidious lyrics in Jay-Z's portion of his wife's song "Drunk in Love," where he puts himself as Mike Tyson (convicted rapist) biting off Holyfield's ear and Ike Turner the Abuser (Google "Eat the cake, Anna Mae" if you don't know what I'm talking about).

Memento Mori

Shut up! Shut up, you American.
You always talk, you Americans.
You talk and you talk and say
'let me tell you something' and
'I just wanna say this'.
Well, you're dead now, so shut up!

Memento Mori. Remember your Death, for on that day,

The written book will be brought forth,
in which the whole (record of evidence) is contained
whence the world is to be judged.

Therefore when the Judge shall sit,
whatever lay hidden will appear;
nothing unavenged will remain.

Yeah, I'm looking forward to that, aren't you?