One Bread, One Body

I am currently reading The Imitation of Christ and it is blessed going. I had forgotten about “dying to the world” and “dying to self” being daily portions of what Christian life should be. Thanks be to God for gently calling me back, above the din and distractions of 21st century living.

What makes this critique interesting is, apart from having recently received that book by Rick Warren as a gift, this Lutheran critic also presents the most readable summary of the Law and the Gospel that I have come across so far. But, as with earlier renditions from another Lutheran, who is a colleague at work, I am amazed to find nothing (so far) that strikes a discordance with my Catholic faith (yes, Catholic and united with the bishop of Rome).

Excellent writing from Mark Shea.

It’s pretty official, as I’ve seen the proposed bill listed in the Parliament’s website. Meanwhile, the Archdiocese of Melbourne has already responded firmly:

“Victoria has one of the highest abortion rates in the world with at least 1 in 4 pregnancies ending in abortion. Women with unplanned pregnancies need to be offered alternatives to abortion. No woman should have to choose between her own wellbeing and the life of her child. Yet all too often women report feeling that they had no other option. Abortion has become the only “choice” and is a reflection that we are failing women.”

….

“It is time for politicians and all people of good-will to leave behind the polarised debate of the past and work together to find genuine ways to support women and their families. We call on the parliament to investigate ways of increasing financial and human support for those facing the dilemma of an unexpected pregnancy. Women need good counselling and support, healthcare, welfare and housing assistance. Provision also needs to be made for their educational needs so that they can finish school or university.”

Now isn’t this statement from the Archdiocese much more intelligent than what politicians generally come up with? The postmodern penchant for abortion seems to evade some hard questions. Why are there so many unexpected pregnancies in a society where contraceptives are part of the culture, aggressively advertised and readily available, e.g., supermarkets. Not that I support artificial contraception in the first place, but this trend sure turns reliance on contraception on its head. Another question to ask: why isn’t government willing to focus on abstinence programs which, at the very least, offers a viable concurrent strategy — unless, of course, our politicians are convinced of the utter lack of will and intelligence among Australians.

Still another example of hacking a solution by attacking the symptoms rather than the source of the problem. What are short-sighted, shortcut-crazy people doing in Parliament?

This is a must-read (or must-see). Quite funny.[Thanks to The Catholic Report for this link.]

Note: details about the bill are not yet available at the parliament website. More details will be supplied as soon as information becomes available.

This action alert is being sent by Right to Life Australia:

Today MLC Candy Broad will be introducing a bill to allow for decriminalization of abortion in the state of Victoria. As you know this will mean that no unborn child will have any protection in the womb and will be able to be killed right up to the birth.

Please contact your members of the Legislative Council immediately in order to stop this terrible piece of legislation.

Tell them we want protection for unborn babies NOT unlimited killing.

THE MATTER IS URGENT!

See below for your MLC.

As Dr. Robert Moynihan points out,

I was conversing with others at a recent parish council meeting, and the subject came up. I did put in my own misgivings about some who seemed fixated on Latin for the Mass, but now I see that this isn’t generally the case — at least, not for Papa Benedict. It really is right worship that is at stake.

I’ve always been fond of Latin in liturgy. I have yet to attend a Latin Mass, but I have attended Benedictions in Latin back in college, and they were solemn and beautiful. Did I understand what I was chanting or singing? In time, I did, since I had the English and Latin text side by side in my booklet. It didn’t take me long to learn the Rosary in Latin, either (the Spanish training helped immensely). This is really no different to attending Mass in English as a child (the norm at our parish when I was growing up), whereas we spoke in Filipino or Chinese at home. Of course, it helped that English was used in primary school, but perhaps if we had Latin in primary school, too?

And there is that valid point about inappropriate liturgy, which I didn’t really see back home, but definitely saw here in Australia — and as I’ve seen footages, much worse occur in the US. Some make me wince, groan, even pray for deliverance. Why is this so important? Is this aesthetics? No. It’s “right worship of God.” Either you revere him completely or you don’t. God need not command that reverence. We simply owe that to Him in gratitude and love.

A happy thought elicits a smile, but a smile is also capable of eliciting a happy feeling. That’s just how it works. And irreverent liturgy is capable of diminishing what we think of our God. It really is that simple. Sadly, as much as I love the English language, it is hardly the most reverent in 21st century usage. So much has become ambiguous and tainted with strange double meanings that it is very easy to lose the proper liturgical meaning in English.

So who’s afraid of the motu proprio on the Latin Mass? No one should be. The vernacular Novus Ordo is not being replaced; it is only that the Latin Mass may now be used without the priest having to jump through episcopal hoops to obtain permission to do so. Amen to that.

[Link source: The Catholic Report.]

Last night, we watched “Spirited Away” on DVD, and one of the lessons I explained to my kids was to finish what you’ve started. This from Kamaji telling Chihiro to do so after she had picked up a heavy piece of coal in order to rescue a sootball trapped underneath. Chihiro then proceeded as told, to bring the coal to the incinerator, completing what she had begun. Today’s readings (oddly enough) say the same thing. The first reading (1 Kings 19:16 - 21) relates how Elijah appointed Elisha as an apprentice, and Elisha had first asked to go and say goodbye to his parents. The great prophet pointed out that he had to make a hard choice. In the second reading (Galatians 5:1 - 18), St. Paul exhorts us:

This, too, is about finishing what was started, in this case, what was started in us by baptism: our justification. As was the Lord’s words in the Gospel reading (Luke 9:51 - 62):

Stories of cafeteria Catholicism or Christianity-lite in general are always sad. It’s easy to fall into the trap of taking our calling for granted. That’s why I do admire people such as Cardinal George Pell, Pope Benedict XVI and the late Pope John Paul the Great — and there are countless others leading families and churches/congregations/orders — who understand that the Lord’s calling is nothing trivial. St. Josemaria Escriva was wont (it seems to me) to present the seriousness and gravity of the Lord’s calling, and he was entirely right to do so. How can the Lord’s calling ever be considered anything but a clarion call to arms when so much is at stake? It is easy to forget, especially in comfortable societies such as here in Australia, that our Christian calling has always been and is always a call to war, when good must confront evil — in ourselves and around us — and win. And we have in our arsenal faith, hope and love, and among our ammunition is prayer, and they all as their source and object the king of kings, the lion of Judah! But in any struggle, commitment and perseverance is crucial. When we slow down in our momentum towards Heaven, there is always the danger of letting distractions divert us from our goal — to see the face of God and live!

Regnare Christum volumus: we want Christ to reign!

Apparently so, if these saints of the East are to be believed — some of them having been Popes themselves. Amazing!

[Source: Catholic and Enjoying It!]

This post is a must-read.