Musings of a Catholic Convert

Before you jump to any conclusions, I was not abused as a child, nor have I ever abused a child.  Let's just set that record straight.  I do know a few people who were abused as children, but that's not why I leave.  To be honest, there is no one thing that makes me leave.  No abuse in my past, no abuse in my family, never talked with anybody about their past abuse, no one thing that I can think of, no "trigger".  Anytime I hear about a child being abducted, or hurt, or aborted, or abandoned, or neglected, I can't just sit there and listen.

I want to vomit.

I want to weep.

I want to get the images out of my mind.

I ache all over.

I leave the room if I can.

I can't get them out of my mind.

I pray. 

Depending when this occurs, this pattern continues until I fall asleep from exhaustion.  I'm there right now.  That's why I'm typing this.  What set me off?  Several things actually, but we're in this 40 days of prayer and fasting to put an end to abortion and I'm just bombarded with emails and articles.  Nothing wrong with that.  I'm just especially sensitive.  I should be sensitive to the horror of abortion, right?  Duh!  Of course.  But it's more than that for me.  It's the reason why I can't eat (and I love to eat) or sleep.  It has to stop.  Abortion and abuse have to end, not so I can sleep at night, but because it is an atrocity.  

Every day I pray for an end to abortion, euthanasia, abuse and neglect.  I see the faces of the tiny babies, the children, the spouses, the innocent victims.  I hear them crying.  I see them crying, screaming, sobbing.  I pray more.

God change the hearts of these wicked people.  Don't let them hurt someone again.  Comfort the afflicted.  Have mercy on the souls of those innocents.  Protect my children.  Give my country leaders who understand the dignity of the human person FULLY and not just some socio-economic buzz words.  Change hearts.  End this holocaust.  Open the eyes of voters to see how critical the right to life is.  Guide them beyond the media hype and the constant equivocation that would make it seem abortion and life issues are just another political platform.  God PLEASE save those babies.  Save those embryos in the labs.  Don't let those lives be snuffed out in the name of scientific advancement.  God, please change our hearts as your creation.  Renew in us a wonder and reverence for our creation in YOUR image.  Don't let the abuser rest at night or day.  Don't let the abortion supporter sleep at night.  Don't let any of them have rest.  Bring to their mind the gravity of their sin.  Weigh it so heavily on their heart and mind that they are forced to reckon with it.  Drive them to their knees.  For it is then that they will turn to you, broken and repentant.  I know you take no pleasure in seeing them hurt, but that you rejoice in their return to you and to the dignity of your creation.  Only you can change them.  I'm just one guy.  I'm too scared to do a lot of things, but I pray because I know you listen.  For those who have sinned against you, Lord, myself included, show us your great mercy.  Remind us that we are never beyond the reach of your grace, that our ability to sin is not greater than your ability to forgive us.  Teach us repentance, guide us in pennance, restore us.  God have mercy on us all, especially on those who cannot speak up for themselves.

Will you pray with me?  Will you help?  It has to stop.  We can't ignore the horrors all around us.  We need to pray.  We need to fast.  We need to speak out.  Please take time, even now if you can, and pray to end abortion in this country.  Pray for an end to abuse.  Don't know how to pray?  Just tell God.  He's listening.  He listens to me when I'm eloquent and when I'm babbling.  I know He'll listen to you as well.  

I know that I am sort of a know-it-all.  It has been that way for as long as I can remember.  I just want to make one comment today and then I'll shut up.

When you want to make your English text look "Greekish" because of a restaurant, a Greek theme, or a television show. . .

YOU CANNOT USE AN "S" AS AN "E".

I see it all the time.  An English G, English R, Greek Sigma, Greek Sigma, English K.  It looks cute. 

"Oh, look, honey, they're writing in Greek.  How lovely."

Well, not, quite.  They've mangled two languages.  Even if you begrudge the English letters G,R, and K, you still have two sigmas in between.  So they've spelled "Grssk".  Congratulations.  Too bad a Greek E (epsilon) looks like an English E.

Just say no, people.

Excellencies,

We, the Catholics in the United States of America, need you now more than ever.  We are in need of your shepherding and your teaching.  We are in need of clarity regarding social evils.  We are in need of clarity regarding our social and political duties as faithful citizens.  We are in need of a properly formed conscience.  We can't do it on our own.  There are too many distractions, too many slick video edits and sound bytes.  We are distracted.  We are confused.  Deep down, faithful Catholics want to do what's right, but we often cannot discern the correct path to take.  So much is hidden and obscured.  Many priests and lay leaders are afraid to speak up because of fear of losing a tax status or being sued.  We need your help!

We are aware of the faithful citizenship documents published by the USCCB.  Tell me, how are parishes supposed to get that information?  How are the laypersons going to receive that document and, furthermore, how will they understand what you are trying to teach us?  We need you, as our Bishops, to explain things to us.  Explain to us when life begins.  Explain to us why the right to life is a fundamental issue that cannot be lumped together as just another social issue.  Tell us why we cannot support a candidate who opposes the right to life.  Share with us why claiming personal opposition to abortion while voting "pro choice" is still support for abortion.  Teach us that the Catholic Church has never and will never change her position on abortion and euthenasia. 

We need your help.  We beg for your help.  There are already a few Bishops who have begun to educate the public, and for that we are grateful, but we beg for all of our Bishops to stand up and speak out.  November will be here soon.  Citizens will go to vote, but who will they vote for?  Whose rhetoric will be slick enough to get their vote?  Will the truth of the Faith be in the hearts and minds of the people at the polls, or will people even know that the Faith matters in politics?

We love you.  You are our Bishops.  God has appointed you as our shepherds for a reason.  Please help us and guide us.

Sincerely,

Catholics from every parish, mission, and diocese in the United States of America

I now have a colony of Jesus Fish living in my house. 

By the way, for those of you looking for my comments on the University of Tennessee's recent loss to UCLA, keep looking.  As soon as Tennessee's football team shows up, I will let you know.  

Back to my Jesus Fish.  So these five fish move in Monday and have taken over the place.  As of yet, I do not know their names.  Therefore, I shall call them Inky, Pinky, Blinky, Clyde, and Joash.  They are quite rude, never responding to my queries and generally acting as though they cannot hear me.  Most of their day is spent pacing back and forth within their domicile, stopping occasionally to glare at me. 

I have come to the conclusion that they are plotting something.  Exactly what they are plotting is at this point unknown.  Until I have more data, I will have to observe them covertly and catch them plotting.  Perhaps I can fashion a listening device of some sort.  

No doubt they are reading this post as I type.  It is of little consequence.  They cannot remain on guard 24 hours per day.  At some point they will let their guard fall.  I must remain ever vigilent.  

My hope is that these Jesus Fish are indeed on the Lord's side and not just using the Name to fool me.  I will err on the side of mercy that their glossy stares are a sign of peace and nothing nefarious.     

Let me share a recent article with you.  Or have I already done this?

From Yahoo News:

DENVER - Two prominent Roman Catholic archbishops say House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Catholic Democrat, misstated church teachings about abortion in a recent television appearance, the latest sign that the U.S. Catholic hierarchy will not stay silent about politics this election year.

In an appearance Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press," Pelosi said "doctors of the church" have not been able to define when life begins and that "over the history of the church, this is an issue of controversy."

Washington Archbishop Donald Wuerl, citing the teaching responsibility entrusted to bishops, issued a statement late Monday that read, in part: "Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable."

Denver Archbishop Charles Chaput and his auxiliary bishop, James Conley, said in a statement posted on the archdiocesan Web site: "Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is a gifted public servant of strong convictions and many professional skills. Regrettably, knowledge of Catholic history and teaching does not seem to be one of them."

Abortion "is always gravely evil, and so are the evasions employed to justify it," the statement continued.

Over the weekend, Chaput said in an e-mail to The Associated Press that Democratic vice presidential nominee-in-waiting Sen. Joseph Biden should refrain from receiving Communion because of his abortion stance.

A Pelosi spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

2270 Human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception. From the first moment of his existence, a human being must be recognized as having the rights of a person - among which is the inviolable right of every innocent being to life.⁷²

Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you.⁷³

My frame was not hidden from you, when I was being made in secret, intricately wrought in the depths of the earth.⁷⁴

2271 Since the first century the Church has affirmed the moral evil of every procured abortion. This teaching has not changed and remains unchangeable. Direct abortion, that is to say, abortion willed either as an end or a means, is gravely contrary to the moral law:

You shall not kill the embryo by abortion and shall not cause the newborn to perish.⁷⁵

God, the Lord of life, has entrusted to men the noble mission of safeguarding life, and men must carry it out in a manner worthy of themselves. Life must be protected with the utmost care from the moment of conception: abortion and infanticide are abominable crimes.⁷⁶

2272 Formal cooperation in an abortion constitutes a grave offense. The Church attaches the canonical penalty of excommunication to this crime against human life. "A person who procures a completed abortion incurs excommunication latae sententiae,"⁷⁷ "by the very commission of the offense,"⁷⁸ and subject to the conditions provided by Canon Law.⁷⁹ The Church does not thereby intend to restrict the scope of mercy. Rather, she makes clear the gravity of the crime committed, the irreparable harm done to the innocent who is put to death, as well as to the parents and the whole of society.

2273 The inalienable right to life of every innocent human individual is a constitutive element of a civil society and its legislation:

"The inalienable rights of the person must be recognized and respected by civil society and the political authority. These human rights depend neither on single individuals nor on parents; nor do they represent a concession made by society and the state; they belong to human nature and are inherent in the person by virtue of the creative act from which the person took his origin. Among such fundamental rights one should mention in this regard every human being's right to life and physical integrity from the moment of conception until death."⁸⁰

"The moment a positive law deprives a category of human beings of the protection which civil legislation ought to accord them, the state is denying the equality of all before the law. When the state does not place its power at the service of the rights of each citizen, and in particular of the more vulnerable, the very foundations of a state based on law are undermined. . . . As a consequence of the respect and protection which must be ensured for the unborn child from the moment of conception, the law must provide appropriate penal sanctions for every deliberate violation of the child's rights."⁸¹

2274 Since it must be treated from conception as a person, the embryo must be defended in its integrity, cared for, and healed, as far as possible, like any other human being.

Prenatal diagnosis is morally licit, "if it respects the life and integrity of the embryo and the human fetus and is directed toward its safe guarding or healing as an individual. . . . It is gravely opposed to the moral law when this is done with the thought of possibly inducing an abortion, depending upon the results: a diagnosis must not be the equivalent of a death sentence."⁸²

2275 "One must hold as licit procedures carried out on the human embryo which respect the life and integrity of the embryo and do not involve disproportionate risks for it, but are directed toward its healing the improvement of its condition of health, or its individual survival."⁸³

"It is immoral to produce human embryos intended for exploitation as disposable biological material."⁸⁴

"Certain attempts to influence chromosomic or genetic inheritance are not therapeutic but are aimed at producing human beings selected according to sex or other predetermined qualities. Such manipulations are contrary to the personal dignity of the human being and his integrity and identity"⁸⁵ which are unique and unrepeatable.

Euthanasia

2276 Those whose lives are diminished or weakened deserve special respect. Sick or handicapped persons should be helped to lead lives as normal as possible.

2277 Whatever its motives and means, direct euthanasia consists in putting an end to the lives of handicapped, sick, or dying persons. It is morally unacceptable.

Thus an act or omission which, of itself or by intention, causes death in order to eliminate suffering constitutes a murder gravely contrary to the dignity of the human person and to the respect due to the living God, his Creator. The error of judgment into which one can fall in good faith does not change the nature of this murderous act, which must always be forbidden and excluded.

2278 Discontinuing medical procedures that are burdensome, dangerous, extraordinary, or disproportionate to the expected outcome can be legitimate; it is the refusal of "over-zealous" treatment. Here one does not will to cause death; one's inability to impede it is merely accepted. The decisions should be made by the patient if he is competent and able or, if not, by those legally entitled to act for the patient, whose reasonable will and legitimate interests must always be respected.

2279 Even if death is thought imminent, the ordinary care owed to a sick person cannot be legitimately interrupted. The use of painkillers to alleviate the sufferings of the dying, even at the risk of shortening their days, can be morally in conformity with human dignity if death is not willed as either an end or a means, but only foreseen and tolerated as inevitable Palliative care is a special form of disinterested charity. As such it should be encouraged.

I understand that Barack Obama has selected Joe Biden (Sen. Delaware) as his running mate.  Many of the newswriters have said that this was a great move and a way to gain "the Catholic vote."  Talk abounds of how this fiesty Irish Catholic senator is "in line with Catholic Social Teaching" which of course they equivocate with caricatures of social issues.  Let me make this clear, friends - and you need to tell your friends, family, and coworkers this message - take it from another fiesty Irish Catholic when he reminds you that YOU CANNOT BE IN LINE WITH CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING IF YOU DENY THE RIGHT TO LIFE FOR THE UNBORN.

Catholic social teaching is based on the premise that we are created in the image and likeness of God.  This dignity of the human person exists at every stage of human life, beginning with natural conception.  Abortion is a sin against the dignity of the human person.  It is the snuffing out of an innocent human being.  It is murder.  To procure for yourself an abortion is to commit grave sin.  To encourage someone to have an abortion is to commit grave sin.  To create legislation to continue the murderous practice of abortion is grave sin.  When you as a voter cast your vote for someone who has a record of voting for such things, or who says this is their "moral conviction" or "what their conscience is telling them" you are in material cooperation with them.  Saying that you are personally opposed to abortion and voting for it or supporting those who do is still supporting abortion.  All you're saying is that you won't be the one physically butchering the baby, but that you fully support the person doing it.

Do you want to avoid material cooperation in the mortal sin of abortion, DON'T VOTE FOR A PRO ABORTION CANDIDATE.  Don't buy into the lie that because someone claims to be a Christian that they are living Christian lives.  Just because Biden has a rosary doesn't mean he is in line with the teachings of the Church.  Don't be fooled by propaganda.  Don't let your conscience be improperly formed because of sound bites and what you've been duped into believing is social justice. Fight for those innocent who cannot vote for themselves.  Fight for the children who are being murdered as you read this post.  Fight against the discrimination toward the unborn.  If we would quit voting for people who support such murderous garbage, we can instead elect people who will stop the killings and restore to these United States a culture of life instead of a culture of death.

Archbishop Chaput, I know that they have not invited you to the Democratic Convention in Denver, but please try to speak with Senators Obama and Biden.  Please encourage them to fight for life instead of against it.  You're a good bishop and I know you will do your best.  Thank you for standing up for the Faith.         

Some of you asked if I would post my talking points from today's Catechist Training Day at Incarnation.  I'm putting them up here, just keep in mind that the written points vary a little from the talk you heard.  

The Year of St. Paul and Incarnation Catechists

The Holy Father, Pope Benedict, has declared June 2008 to June 2009 to be the year of St. Paul, coinciding with the 2000^th anniversary of St. Paul’s birth.   This year is a celebrating of St. Paul and his contributions to the Church; but, more than that, this is also a special time of Evangelization.  That is why I am here speaking to you this morning.

What comes to mind when you think of the word Evangelization?            

It is not surprising that most of us do not first consider ourselves, but that is exactly what you should be thinking.  The Church’s primary vocation is Evangelization, the spreading of the Gospel or “good news” of Jesus Christ.  In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus gives instruction to the Apostles to go and make disciples, but it is not only the Apostles/Bishops, who have this responsibility.  No, it is the responsibility of EVERYONE in the body of Christ to share the Gospel.  Since I don't know EVERYONE in the body of Christ, I'm encouraging EVERYONE in this room to evangelize.

How many of you have heard of the term “the new evangelization”?

When we speak of evangelism, we are not speaking of anything new.  There is nothing new about the Gospel.  It never changes.  Yet, at the same time, the Gospel of Jesus Christ is always relevant, always purposeful, always effective.  Sometimes the means of sharing the gospel sometimes change.  The principles of evangelism, however, NEVER change.

Where does evangelization begin?  With you.  We have a moral obligation to know Christ and to know the Faith he has given us.  It will not start with the people who never come to Mass, with the people who drop their kids off at PRE and never step foot in the Church otherwise.  Father can't do it all.  The Bishop can't do it all.  We HAVE TO share in this work.  The popes have stressed this, and the lives of the saints show us that it is possible for us to carry out the Great Commission alongside our shepherds.  But how do we do it?

Part of evangelization is how we live our lives.  We have to have the gospel in us.  We must be in communion with God and with each other.  Our faith cannot be something we put on the shelf when we get home from Mass.  It must be the WHO WE ARE.  That is what it means to have Christ in us.  He IS OUR LIFE.  Not in a symbolic way, not as a metaphor, but ontologically truly dwelling within us and living through us.  The primary way we renew the resurrection life of Jesus within us is through the EUCHARIST.  Friends, if every Catholic on the parish roll understood this, truly understood it, we would not have a problem with mass attendance in the summer.  If people understood what it was they were receiving each Mass, we wouldn’t see people in a hurry to leave Church.  We wouldn’t see disrespectful actions during Mass.  But listen, that kind of change and understanding will only come about when WE AS LAY LEADERS, AND YES CATECHISTS ARE LAY LEADERS, ARE CONSISTANTLY LIVING THE FAITH AND KNOWING, NO LOVING, WHAT WE HAVE.  They’re going to have to get it from us.  They will NEVER come up with this on their own.

Let me share something with you from my own life.  Most of you know my background, and you know that I was a Southern Baptist pastor for several years before I became Catholic.  Most people make the assumption that I resigned from my pastorate in order to join the Catholic Church.  In fact, to this very day, the people at my last congregation have been led to believe this is the case.  But it’s not true, and I even stood before them and explained why I was leaving.  You wanna know why I resigned?  It’s because I was not living the faith I was proclaiming as a teacher and leader of that congregation.  

You see, I could not stand in that position as a teacher, if I was not also living what I taught.  You cannot give someone something you don’t have.  Wait!  Before you decide to call the DRE and resign your post, let me tell you something I’ve learned.  YOU have something to give, and maybe you don’t realize it.  As a PRE teacher you have received the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, Reconciliation, and the Eucharist.  You may have also received the Annointing of the Sick or the Sacrament of Matrimony.   Right off the bat, you have an experience with God that these children and teens might not yet have (depending on their circumstances of course).  What can you do with these great gifts?  How can you impart some share of this life within you?  Look at St. Paul.

Look at his statement in 2 Corinthians 4:1-18.  Here, we see not only the essence of what it means to be an evangelist, but also what it means to be part of the body of Christ.  When Paul was called by God and was baptized, he ceased being Saul of Tarsus and became Paul.  Old friends became enemies.  Saul, for all practical purposes, was dead.  The new man, Paul, gave himself over and over again to suffering, ridicule, and affliction for the sake of the Gospel.  He rejected sin in order to live a life worthy of He who dwells within him.  Total self-donation.  That is the key.  That is the reality we see in the Trinity, that total self giving love.  We, being made children of God are called into that self same reality. 

We must have a spirit of self-donation, giving our time, our talent, and yes material resources in order to build up others for the sake of the Gospel.  It goes against everything we see on TV and read in the paper.  Put others first.  Show the love of God working IN US.  Share what God is doing IN US.  Give HIM to other people.  We can do that in our service, in our teaching, in our parenting, in our marriages, in the workplace, in the pew, at WalMart, and on vacation.  But it MUST MUST MUST be a conscious effort.  You’ll never do it automatically.  You can’t coast.  Remember my story.  But as intentional disciples, we can share the portion we have been given with other people.

What will happen when we do that?  We’ll stick out like sore thumbs for one thing, but boy will we make a difference.  If we can share that hope that is in us in a spirit of humility and love, look out!  Even a few words of personal testimony speaks volumes.  And we point people to Jesus.  It’s like a blind beggar who has found a source of life-giving bread, who then goes to the other blind to help them.  It is not about OWNING the truth, but it is about knowing the truth, sharing the truth, living the truth.  If we can do that in our lives, this group of men and women can at the end of our lives echo the words of St. Paul when he spoke to a young Bishop named Timothy near the end of his earthly life, 2 Timothy 4:7-8.  The road ahead is hard, but I’m learning day by day how worthwhile this struggle can be, and I’m learning how liberating it is to let go of the things that I thought I needed to be happy and finding true happiness in Jesus.

God grant us the courage to give him ALL of US and to give ourselves away for the sake of the Gospel, especially in this year of St. Paul.  

It would appear that Brett Favre has been traded to the New York Jets.  According to Yahoo Sports, The Green Bay Packers traded Quarterback Brett Favre to the New York Jets for a draft pick, 2 llamas, and an unopened bag of Funyuns.  Whether or not cash was involved in the trade is unclear at this point.  What I do know is that there is still no happy ending apparent in the debacle that surrounds Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers.  

What do I think?  I think Favre should have stayed retired.  If he didn't want to retire, he shouldn't have retired.  Players retiring then coming back rarely, if ever, turns out well.  If there is going to be a comeback, let's put David Hasselhoff back in KITT and revive Knight Rider.  Enough of this Mustang KITT.  Let's put the Hoff back in the sweet ride, eh?  

Montana as a 49er or as a Chief?

Rice as a 49er or as a Raider?

Ryan Leaf, maybe you need to come back to the NFL.  I mean, you did so well.  Let's just let everybody come back in.  Retirement means nothing in sports.  Brett Favre can retire in 2009 (again) as a Jet.  Then, if he's unhappy, he can unretire and see if he can get picked up by somebody else.  Oh, and good luck in the AFC East.  Enjoy playing the Patriots twice this season.  

This has not been pretty and it's not over.  Pride comes before a fall, and there is enough pride out there to cause a whole lot of falling. 

I am a fan of burritos, and I've enjoyed sampling the offerings at several Memphis area establishments.  Now, let me tell you, it's hard to go wrong with a burrito.  It's just not something you can really mess up too badly.  I've had my favorites.  In fact, my favorite burrito USED TO BE the big burritos from Guadalajara near the corner of Mendenhall and Winchester.  Sunday, the title's changed hands.  My new favorite burrito comes from. . .

steady . . .

wait for it, boys . . .

almost there . . .

Burma Shave. . .

Did you even get that?

Okay.  Before I tell you about Burma Shave, let me tell you that my favorite burrito can be purchased at Su Casa in Collierville, TN.  Muy delicioso!  For the same price as my big honkin' burrito at Guadalajara, I can get a bigger burrito with rice and beans on the side.  AND this one has white cheese sauce on it as well.  I had to eat it with a fork, but I did not mind.  Something so delicous was made to savor.  I didn't even finish the whole thing, and was forced (in shame) to take a portion home in a box for later.  

DID I MENTION IT WAS DELICIOUS?  FULL OF PEPPERS, ONIONS, GRILLED STEAK, GRILLED TOMATOES, MAYBE EVEN A PINCH OF CINNAMON. MMMMMMM.

Great place to take the family to eat.  I heartily recommend the place.