Monday, September 26, 2011

"It is right and just!" Why are too many Boston priests hesitating over the new Roman Missal?

It is right and just, of course to give thanks to the Lord our God.

It is also right and just to teach the folks in the pews the long awaited prayers of the Mass which are scheduled to begin, for English speaking congregations, on the First Sunday of Advent.

I am not to begin to be an "apologetic" for the changes in the Missal. They're great and long overdue.

What I'm wondering is simple: when the bleep are priests, in my Archdiocese anyway, going to help us get used to it? When Advent comes? After that? Next year? What?

I live in Boston.

Which is often called the "Hub of the Universe." It's also one of the largest center of Catholics in the United States.

Yet, I've still not heard one iota about "The New Missal" (and by the way, I'm starting to despise that term) from the churches and chapels I attend, which include The Cathedral of the Holy Cross, Saint Francis Chapel, and the chapel at Massachusetts General Hospital (and it is only my good angel who is preventing me from linking to all).

There are some exceptions, I'm sure. I've found one. Our Lady of Victories Parish, in the South End, blessedly, is offering parishioners not just the new responses, but the Scriptural reasons behind the new and beautiful words.

But what I've heard from priests I know, when asked about the lack of education to the folks in the pews? Well, here's a sprinkling:


What
"New Missal?"

The Archdiocese should take care of this.


We're busy with other important things.


This last one makes me cry. What in God's world could be more important than the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass? What?


Come on, Fathers. Help us out here. It is right and just.

Monday, September 19, 2011

Around the blogs...

Jeff Miller wants a vote.

Father Z
talks about the blood of Saint Januraius. (Very cool.)

Sister Mary Martha answers an interesting Rosary Question.

Jill Stanek lets us know what's going on in Taiwan and other stuff.

Mark Shea is a'rattlin' that tin cup, God love him.

Cardinal O'Malley meets with his fellow Capuchins...and talks about so many things.

Enjoy!

Sunday, September 11, 2011

"Tragedy" vs. "Attacks"

The word "tragedy" when applied to 9/11, always bugged me.

A "tragedy" is, for example, when a child dies, accidentally, of an inexplicable disease.

Or a mom is killed in an automobile accident.

Or someone falls off a roof while attempting to fix a leak.

No one's at fault. There's no one to blame. All we can say is: "this is God's will" and try to deal with it. With prayers, one hopes.

Today, I grumbled—to myself, I thought, but evidently not without earshot—at the words of our parish program: "...the tragic events of September 11, 2001."

"They weren't `tragic' events," I mumbled. "It was an attack."

My good friend Father Jonathan Gaspar, overhearing me, quipped: "I know what you're going to blog about tonight."

I denied it vehemently. No way!

Father Gaspar was, as it turns out, correct.

Here's the thing:

Whom do you forgive when a child dies of an unknown disease? The disease?

Whom do you forgive when a mom dies in a car accident? The accident?

Whom do you forgive when the guy falls off the leaky roof? The leak? The roof itself?

Bosh.

The reason we need to understand that 9/1/01 wasn't a "tragedy" but rather an attack is very simple, at least to a Christian.

It gives us the opportunity to forgive.

While you can't forgive a roof, or a disease, or an accident, you—and I—can surely forgive those who attack us.

That's the point. Hard as it might be, we are bound to forgive our enemies. That surely must be the only reason why God created enemies in the first place.

Because God did create those who attacked this country ten years ago. And you know what? He loves them very much. God doesn't deal in trash. He deals in love.

Most of you heard the readings of the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time today. The Scriptures fairly scream the word: FORGIVENESS!

So stop the "tragedy" baloney and call it what it was: an attack by our enemies.

That, you see, clears our eyes from the dimness that clouds the commandment Jesus left us:

Love. Forgive. Seventy-times times seven. In other words? Always.

May our Merciful Father forgive and continue to love us all. Amen.

Friday, September 09, 2011

This weekend's challenge: forgiveness


Ten years ago, some people committed suicide in order to kill thousands of Americans. I was personally affected but this isn't what this post is about.

Here's the thing: if you're a Christian, these people—what's more, the people who sent them—must be personally forgiven. By you and by me.


If you're a Christian, you must forgive those who rejoiced in the deaths of our fellow countrymen.


If you're a Christian, you must not only forgive them...you must pray for them.
That's it. That's your job and that's my job.

Easy? Probably not. Essential? Ask Jesus.

You know what you have to do. It's time to do it.

That's it. Let's roll.

Saturday, September 03, 2011

About "war crimes"

I am constantly amazed by folks who think War is a game where there are somehow "rules" as to how the "game" is played. This is absurd.

An anti-war site "uncovered" [gasp!] an instance where [gasp!] innocent people were killed in War and are Outraged at this Heinous Crime. Here is my response to them, and to you:

~~~~~~

War is really bad. War destroys all sorts of people. Born and unborn. All creatures made in the image of God. This is what war does.

If it weren't so sad, I'd be amused by the term "war crimes." War IS a crime. Against humanity. Against God's children.

And you've gotta love the word "heinous." What the bleep does that mean? That sometimes killing is "un-heinous?" C'mon.

Folks. We're at war. You can't pick and choose, much as we'd all like to. War sucks. People die in wars. People don't merely die (after all, people die in hurricanes, volcanoes, car accidents, illness, old age, etc.) In war, people are killed by OTHER PEOPLE. People who, in my faith, are my brothers and sisters in Christ.

That's what war does. It kills people. Accept it.

But please don't come back to me and tell me that "some wars" are justified. I believe some wars are, but you folks who want to pick and choose "who gets killed and who doesn't"...forget about it. I don't want to hear from you because you are hypocritical, at best.

I also don't want to hear from you about our "WWII heroes," our "Korean War Heroes," nor do I want to hear from you about our "Revolutionary War" heroes. I don't want to see you celebrating Independence Day because there wouldn't BE an Independence Day if it weren't for War. (Wars which, in case you don't know, killed innocent people.)

I don't want to hear you extol Davy Crockett, General Patton, Bill Clinton, FDR, JFK, Barack Hussein Obama, or ANY American — including our troops now out there trying to save our sorry asses — because that would be hypocritical of you, too.

War makes otherwise decent people do indecent things. That's what War is all about. It's...horrible.

You have a choice. And, to their credit, some doves *have* made that choice. They have courageously condemned war under ANY circumstances. I respect those people tremendously.

These are people I'll listen to. But for the rest of you who want your cake and eat it too? Screw.

I don't want to listen to your "rules" about what's "fair" in War. Because contrary to the saying, nothing's "fair" in War. It's not a game. It's about killing each other.

May God have mercy on us all.