It's fitting to do a 3 Up, 3 Down today, what with game 6 of the World Series being played tonight.
As usual, in order to end on a positive note, I will begin with the negative.


1) Down - Abba Father

The worst part about being kicked out of the house due to mould is that I have Rev. Carey Landry's Abba Father playing in my head continuously! More specifically, in my head is the slow drawn out verse: "Mold us...  mold us and fashion us... into the image...  of Jesus your Son..."

Sometimes the tacky key change kicks in as well.


1) Up - Cory Millette

That's pronounced Cory Mee-Yet, if you've ever listened to WHL broadcasts. Anyway, my cousin seems to have found new life with the Saskatoon Blades. He'll have to keep working hard though. But it's nice to see him get off to a good start with his new team.

2) Down - Priestly Knowledge

Perhaps this is more for another blog post. Or, perhaps this shouldn't be said at all. Nevertheless, I am continually amazed by how little priests around here know the Catholic faith. I don't even know where to begin! For instance, on Sunday we went to a small parish Mass where about 10-12 people went for Communion. The priest gets 2 EXTRAORDINARY Ministers of Holy Communion to help distribute the Precious Blood. The only EXTRAORDINARY part was how small the congregation was! How hard is it to read about when you're actually permitted to use EMHCs? This is just a small example of what is becoming very frustrating. It seems we have to continually be explaining to priests basic teachings on the Liturgy and Sacraments. Most of what is said is right there in Vatican II, or Canon Law. ARRRRGH!! There, I got my frustration out! Sort of.

Knowledge of the faith, and a desire to keep studying the faith, are essential. You can't pass on what you don't know. Thankfully, I see many (certainly not all though) younger priests (under 40) who are much more knowledgable of, and thus much more on fire for, the faith.


2) Up - Playoffs

"Playoffs? We're talking playoffs?" That's right. Let's be proud of this for a minute. The Riders will finish the year with at least 11 wins, and a home playoff game. Though they will be in tough in the post season, we should be happy with how they are doing so far.

3) Down - Report Cards

I'm way behind in working on report cards. In fact, I still have to teach stuff, and then give tests, and then mark the tests, record marks, and enter comments, for pretty well all of my classes. I guess I was slacking too much in September.


3) Up - A Roof and Three Squares

That's right. We're very thankful to be able to stay at my parents during this time. We have a roof over our heads, and three square meals a day. Well, three square meals and a never ending pile of snacking food!

Mr. Brightside

Not to belabour the point that "poor us" are still without a home, but we have fortunately seen some silver lining to our current situation.


Health - Yay, no more sore throats since moving to Nipawin for the weekend.

Halloween - We were annoyed at the thought of having to be living in a town during Halloween. There's no way in the world I'm dishing out hard earned cash to buy candy for kids I teach (and thus personally know they don't need anymore sugar). What to do? Hide in the basement the entire evening? Well, problem solved! We just don't have a house to live in period!

Food - Food is expensive. But it's always plentiful at my parent's house!

Water - We used to have to fill up with water in Nipawin every week or so using these:

Not anymore. We just turn on the tap and out comes the goodness!

Dentist - I was dreading going to the dentist in Tisdale this week. First time in a decade or so (it's called poverty, ok). But I guess it will have to be postponed since we're very much preoccupied with housing.

HDTV - No need to explain. And it's the best time of year to have access to it (World Series, CFL, NHL, NFL)!

Open House - I was able to miss our school's dreaded Open House because I was moving stuff out of mouldy rooms!

Leaves - I feel kinda dumb going out and raking the leaves in our tiny yard. It's almost emasculating. Living in town is so much easier than living in the country. Now I don't have to worry about the embarrassment of raking such a small patch of land!

Church - I get to stop in at the church in Nipawin on my way out every morning. The church in Tisdale is always locked, and we don't have a key, but I still have a key for Nipawin.

Babysitters - More people for Joseph to bug in Nipawin! More free time for us (in theory). Or, more likely, we simply ignore him and he gets into more trouble:

Update:

I stopped by our old house this morning and it was far more comfortable. The humidity level dropped by at least 10%. The landlord I guess spent the weekend removing mould and inspecting/fixing the bathroom ventilation. It looks as though the mould was surface mould possibly caused by a lack of proper ventilation. Nevertheless, we should bring in Mike Holmes.

On Being Moulded to Live Like Christ

"Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head" (Lk. 9:58).

Unfortunately we also are without a place to live. We are being moulded to live like Christ. After a few weeks of noticing a dampness in the house we rent, on Wednesday night mould reared its ugly head in several rooms:

It is a sickening feeling to know that we have been living in a house that has mould growing in it. Last night we carted all of our stuff out of those three rooms and started filling up the living room. We will have to go live at Grandma and Grandpa's in Nipawin for the time being. We must put our health first.

Our beautiful beds behind the couch!

Alas, the sun still rises beautifully, despite our current disarray. We feel a little overwhelmed at the moment, but at least we're safe.

Clericalism

The following is from Fr. John Trigilio. A great priest whom many of you might have seen before on EWTN. Here he is replying to an attack that traditional/conservative priests are clericalists. I must say that I've personally seen much of what he says. Please read the whole thing.

Father Horan, OFM, is correct that clericalism is a vice, which ought to be repudiated by every pope, bishop, priest, deacon and consecrated religious. Problem is that it is unfair, unjust and inaccurate to portray clericalism as merely an indulgence of conservatives or traditionalists. I have been ordained twenty-five years and spent twelve years in seminary beforehand. Even went to high school seminary (hence, I am called a ‘lifer’). As a pastor of two parishes for more than eleven years and a parochial vicar for fourteen years in several assignments as a diocesan priest (secular clergy) and as president of a national association of 500+ priests and deacons (Confraternity of Catholic Clergy), my experience has been that all too often it is the so-called liberal and progressive priests who behave and act in such a way as to personify clericalism.

Clericalism is a mindset, an attitude, a perspective. It patronizes and denigrates those who disagree and uses ad hominem attacks to belittle. When a priest speaks disrespectfully to an elderly woman and embarrasses her publicly at Mass merely because she exercises her legitimate option (as defined by Rome) to kneel or genuflect at Communion time rather than just stand, that is clericalism. When the faithful are denied their legitimate option to receive Holy Communion on the tongue or confession behind a screen, that is clericalism. When women are ridiculed and scoffed at by priests for wearing chapel veils, which is their option, that is clericalism. When some of the faithful ask the pastor if the Extraordinary Form could be celebrated in their parish and the priest goes ballistic and insults them and calls them fanatical, schismatic rad-trads, that is clericalism. When priests who wear roman vestments and lace albs instead of burlap potato sacks and moo-moo albs are laughed at and slandered by gossip among their brother diocesan clergy, that is clericalism.

Clericalism is also nepotism. Not the kind where relatives are promoted but where ideologues and those who are philosophically and theologically ‘brothers’ take care of one another. When sycophants are rewarded with papal knighthood and are made monsignors for being blindly loyal to their Ordinary, that is clericalism. It is a cheap shot to attack a priest for his personal taste in vestments. What really counts is whether or nor Father preaches and teaches orthodox Catholic doctrine; does he celebrate a reverent Mass; is he living a chaste, honest, and virtuous life on the altar and off? Wearing lace is NON-SEQUITUR. BEHAVING properly is what matters.

During my seminary career, I saw the effects of BAD THEOLOGY combined with BAD LITURGY. Both supported one another like two deadly poisons. The two then produced an even more diabolical by product, BAD MORALITY. Whether a priest likes the Latin Mass or the Vernacular, Ordinary or Extraordinary, lace or plain albs, roman or contemporary chasubles, et al., the crucial question is not does he wear a cassock or does he allow others to call him by his first name (with no title)? DE GUSTIBUS NON DISPUTANDUM EST, St. Thomas Aquinas said so well long ago. Real clericalism is not about attire or language, birettas or baseball caps. It is about sound doctrine, reverent worship and holy, virtuous living. I have seen priests on both sides of the fence (conservative/liberal or traditional/progressive) treat laity with disdain and contempt. It is not an issue rooted in liturgical garb.

I have seen or heard of priests and deacons ignored, ostracized, marginalized, passed over for promotion, humiliated and publicly vilified merely because they were considered ‘too conservative’ or ‘too traditional’ Sometimes they call us “JP2 groupies” or “Benny worshippers” just because we do not disobey papal authority or because we do not fit the mold of Charlie Curran, Hans Kung or Richard McBrien. The faithful want clergy to treat them as adults, not as ignorant children. Yet, often I get emails about pastors who deny infallible doctrines in their homilies but when asked by a parishioner act as if the layperson were in kindergarden. It is clericalism to disguise heterodoxy and irreverence as valid options while simultaneously insulting and disparaging a layperson’s fondness for devotions or forcing parishioners to get GPS in order to find the Tabernacle since they removed them from sanctuaries and now hide them out of view lest any spontaneous latria might occur.

What a priest wears and how he is called is his personal preference, taste and opinion. Options are just that, not meant to be mandatory nor prohibited. Yet, wear purple or worse, black, vestments at a funeral, and some of the CLERGY (not the laity) label you rad-trad, Lefebvre-ite, arch-conservative, et al. What the people want are holy priests, virtuous and moral priests, obedient and loyal priests. They also want priests who respect them and who do not insult their intelligence. If a parishioner is Charismatic, in Cursillo or a member of Opus Dei, my job as parish priest and pastor is to provide them with valid sacraments, reverent worship, orthodox teaching with compassion and mercy. Making fun of someone’s Marian devotion is not catechesis, it is modern clericalism. Chancery workers, ecclesiastical bureaucrats and other middle management types who happen to also be ordained ministers, just treat your brother clergy and the lay faithful with RESPECT. Keep an eye and ear on those clergy who might be breaking their vows and possibly causing further scandal instead of persecuting and demonizing your colleagues who have a legitimate difference of opinion and who demonstrate a different style or taste. Remember, Pope Benedict XVI said it best when he said Catholicism is the religion of BOTH/AND not EITHER/OR. There is room for both Ordinary Form and Extraordinary Form, Latin and Vernacular, ad orientem & versus populum, Roman vestments and modern ones, lace albs and plain albs, etc. Don’t be hung up on externals, the People of God are NOT. No one is bothered by my biretta but if I am not behaving or acting as a priest should and ought to do, then the folks have every right to complain and seek a remedy. Meanwhile, please do not impute motives or agendas onto Pope Francis. His style and preference may not be identical to his immediate predecessor but both B16 and F1 are true shepherds and brothers in more ways than one. Basta cosi.

Fr. John Trigilio, Jr.
President
Confraternity of Catholic Clergylergy

7 Snippets: Joseph Edition

Life goes on around here. I'd love to blog more, but growing a baby is tiring and many afternoons I find myself curled up in bed. I've come to accept that when my groggy head surfaces an hour and a half later, that's ok. There was nothing so important to "get done" that couldn't wait while I grow this baby. So some of this news and most of these pictures are not exactly new...

{one}
Joseph is totally weaned. Sounds crazy, I know. If you told me back before nursing days that I'd still be nursing my first-born when he was over 2 and could clearly ask for it in a full sentence, I'd never believe you. But I tell ya, this kid loves, loves, loves his na-na's. And I say that in present tense because while he's not nursing anymore, he still asks and would still love to nurse. As we were slowly cutting out the nursing, I taught him to sing, "na na na na, na na na na, hey, hey, goodbye." I thought it appropriate. He loved the song, wasn't too thrilled with the actual idea.

{two}

Joseph is mostly sleeping through the night! Again, if you told me before the Joseph days that I'd be waking up multiple times each night with him, I might have clocked you over the head. What I'm trying to say, people, is this is a huge milestone! He sleeps until 5 or 6am, then joins me in bed for another hour or two. We're enjoying a little more sleep at night, but realize it's going to be all over again in March with a newborn.

{three}

Although we'd known for a long, long time that Joseph had issues with dairy, it's only recently that we've made real, huge efforts to cut it all out permanently. Longer sleeping at night seems to be one of the results! We've also discovered that almond milk doesn't even change the taste of mashed potatoes and meatloaf. And donuts with sprinkles are a wonderful substitute for Dairy Queen pumpkin pie Blizzards for a little boy!

{four}

Joseph is a huge conversationalist! Here is a smattering of our conversations:

during pre-supper hunger...

Joseph: food?

Me: what do you want to eat?

Joseph: food!

Me: do you want a muffin?

Joseph: no! food!

Me: a pear?

Joseph: no!! food!

Me: do you want supper?

Joseph: NO! food!

at supper...

Joseph: see, eat food!

changing diapers...

Joseph: dump the poop in the toilet!?

Me: there's no poop.

Joseph: dump the poop!

Me: you didn't have any poop.

Joseph: dump the diaper?

or when there is poop...

Joseph: I flush the poop?

Me: ok, flush the toilet.

Joseph: where poop go?

Me: it went down the toilet.

Joseph: where go?

Me: down the toilet.

Joseph: where go?

Me: to the sewer.

Joseph: where go?

Me: gone.

Joseph: where go?

...

going grocery shopping...

Me: c'mon, Joseph, we're going to the grocery store.

Joseph: I drive car

Me: no, you can't take your car to the store. C'mon.

Joseph: bye, Mom. 

expressing his thanks for a new toy from a friend (the friend not being present)...
Joseph: thank you, Collin!
Joseph: you're welcome, Mose!

{five}
Joseph has mastered his 123s and ABCs! At two, we think that's pretty good. He can count from 1-10 and has started recognizing numbers of items ("two lights"). Thanks goes to the designers of the newest Pampers diaper whose great idea of putting letters on the back of the diapers has resulted in Joseph singing his "ABCDs" every time he gets changed. And many times in between. Whenever he sees words or letters on things now, he says "ABCDs!" Last Saturday morning we were all hanging out in bed trying to feel our baby kicking. Predictably, Joseph was singing ABCs to our baby. At this rate, he or she will have mastered them by birth!



{six}
Last Sunday, we picked up Dan's drum set from his parents' home. I think it was the best day of the year for my poor mother-in-law, who has endured years of her sons playing drums in a small area attached to the main kitchen/dining room. Thankfully, we have plenty of room in our basement for them and my "boys" have been rocking out down there where it's not directly in our living space. Joseph is just as thrilled as Daddy and setting himself up to be quite the musically talented little boy. He did have us a little concerned, though, when he began singing "Immaculate Mary" to his loud accompaniment!

{seven}

We had our first snowfall on Monday morning! It's all melted now, but while it lasted Joseph was so thrilled. "Look, snow," he'd tell us again and again. "Like rain." He asked to walk in the snow and was over the moon to have a snowsuit and boots (despite barely being able to move in them). While at the park, he whizzed down a slide and landed on his back before I could catch him, biting his tongue pretty badly. With blood all over, a crying boy, and a hurt tongue, I thought the best thing would be to introduce eating "nice, clean snow"... I sure hope it was the best thing to do and won't find him eating yellow snow, ever. 

Clearly, this is not a snow picture. This was Joseph taking himself for a walk one Fall day! 

A Quick Laugh.

It's been a long - short week. Here, we'd better laugh a little at some of the latest memes that are going around.

Or when the reader reads the response wrong.

I love these two side by side:

You could have fooled me by the pictures!

Ok, that's just mean. And yet I want to try it.

Yeah, I have to admit it's true.

And finally (with a big shout out to my friends in Barry's Bay), the groaner of the week:

We're All Special, Whoever You Are

I'm a month and a half into the school year and I still don't know all of the names of the kids I teach. Not by a long shot. Now I know all of the grade 5s, most of the grade 2s (I taught half of them last year), and a fair bit of the grade 3s. I'm at about 65% of the grade 1s and, gulp, about 25% of the kindergartners. I've always been awful at remembering names, but when you see some of the students for just half an hour every second day, and usually out in a big gym where everybody is running around, and they all kinda look the same, there's sure to be problems.

 

But the real problem has been the actual names.

You know how kids are all told that they're special? And you know how we counter that if everybody is special, then special is only ordinary? Well this holds true with names. As it turns out, just about every kid has a "special" name. And by special I mean "odd," "unusual," or even "crazy." I teach Manmeet, Marston, and Jett. Merit, Zenek, and Nastya. Kady (short for Kadence), Caden, Kaiden, Odin, and Gage. There's good old Roshan and Kerrington, Korbin and Dacey, even Kana and Jaycie. Kazmyn and Elle (named after the letter "L"?). Baily, and Bailey. Taiven and Tayen. Or perhaps my favourites: Madison and Brooklyn. What about Terren, Crispin, and Robinson?  I could go on and on. I haven't even scratched the surface.

Some of them are actually very precisely named. For instance, Havoc lives up to his name very well, and so does Christian. Others, like Serenity, not so much.

All in all, I just can't remember their names. Too unique. What's funny is that I'm having a much easier time remembering Samuel and Daniel, Dominic and Adam, or Matthew and Jenna.

It turns out that ordinary is the new special.

Happy Thanksgiving

A very happy Thanksgiving to all of you!

We started our weekend on a bright note (yes, sarcasm) when Joseph was picky picky with supper on Friday night and started throwing up around bedtime. I had a funny feeling that we were coming down with something, although Dan didn't have that feeling for himself at all. So I made a meal filled with as much garlic as I could manage on Friday and we prayed we didn't meet anyone we knew on our evening walk and kill them with our breath.

Friday night was a little of an up and downer, taking care of our sick little man who was so patient and good. It struck me how different a sick toddler is from a baby: no spewing milk everywhere and nursing continuously, no hitting and kicking the bowl away when you try to catch the stomach contents coming up. There is no happy, non messy way to talk about this, is there? With all the contents out of his stomach by the second throw-up, Joseph was just making his uphill recovery Saturday. For once, we all sat around the living room and watched most of the Rider game in the afternoon and intermittently fed Joseph banana and toast.

Thankfully (it was Thanksgiving weekend, after all), just Joseph got sick and by Sunday was definitely on the mend and eating 'real food' again. We decided it wouldn't be very kind to bring our post-sicky to visit with all his cousins, so we stayed home and valiantly ordered out Chinese for our Thanksgiving supper.  

But don't think we gave up turkey and pumpkin pie completely! We headed to Nipawin for the final day of visiting on Monday and loaded up our plates with all the beautiful leftovers. It was a beautiful, cool Fall day out and the kids had lots of fun playing around together.

7 of 8 (remember, #8 is still in utero) Millette grandchildren. Poor Michael was rushed into the picture and didn't like the idea of sitting there, so he started crying; Sophia looks on concerned for her little cousin, meanwhile Catherine didn't want to leave her little brother crying by himself. Case in point: it is impossible to get a group of kids all looking and smiling together.

Rio, the horse, got a huge feast with all the hay and corn stalks the kids brought for her. We even felt sorry for her later in the day and gave her a pile more, she seemed so hungry. Bet she wishes these kids were around all the time!

 Walking the trail, everyone is happy again. Grandma is making it a nature lesson for the older kids, gathering lichen, mushrooms, and such.

Joseph loves to ride with 'baby' Michael on his stroller

 I love this little girl, our beautiful god-daughter, Catherine! They are just over 2 months apart and she was so excited when we arrived to have Joseph play with her. And within minutes of crying, she is as happy as, well, Little Red Riding Hood. "Want to hold my hand?" she asked Joseph. They are so sweet!

Happy Thanksgiving to you!

Pope Francis and the Devil

Given my recent post regarding Pope Francis, I'm sure this blog post headline is a bit of an attention grabber. No, don't worry! I don't think Pope Francis is being led by the Devil! I actually just wanted to publish the text of his homily today. It's, quite frankly, awesome:


“There are some priests who, when they read this Gospel passage, this and others, say: ‘But, Jesus healed a person with a mental illness’. They do not read this, no? It is true that at that time, they could confuse epilepsy with demonic possession; but it is also true that there was the devil! And we do not have the right to simplify the matter, as if to say: ‘All of these (people) were not possessed; they were mentally ill’. No! The presence of the devil is on the first page of the Bible, and the Bible ends as well with the presence of the devil, with the victory of God over the devil.”

For this reason, he warned, “we should not be naïve”. The Pope observed that the Lord gave us certain criteria to “discern” the presence of evil and to follow “the Christian way when there are temptations”. One of the criteria is “not to follow the victory of Jesus” only “halfway”.

“Either you are with me, says the Lord, or you are against me,” the Pope said. Jesus, he added, came to destroy the devil, “to give us the freedom” from “the enslavement the devil has over us”. And, he cautioned, this is not “exaggerating”.

“On this point,” he said, “there are no nuances. There is a battle and a battle where salvation is at play, eternal salvation; eternal salvation” of us all.

There is criteria for watchfulness. “We must always be on guard,” exhorted the Pope, “on guard against deceit, against the seduction of evil”.

“And we can ask ourselves the question: Do I guard myself, my heart, my feelings, my thoughts? Do I guard the treasure of grace? Do I guard the presence of the Holy Spirit in me? Or do I let go, feeling secure, believing that all is going well? But if you do not guard yourself, he who is stronger than you will come. But if someone stronger comes and overcomes, he takes away the weapons in which one trusted, and he shall divide the spoil. Vigilance! Three criteria! Do not confuse the truth. Jesus fights the devil: first criterion. Second criterion: he who is not with Jesus is against Jesus. There are no attitudes in the middle. Third criterion: vigilance over our hearts because the devil is astute. He is never cast out forever. It will only be so on the last day.”

When the impure spirit leaves man, the Pope pointed out, “it wanders in deserted places, and seeking rest and finding none, says: ‘I will return to my house, from which I left’.”
And when he finds it “swept clean and adorned”, then he goes, “takes another seven spirits worse than he, who come and make their homes”. And, this way, “the last state of man becomes worse than the first”.

“Vigilance,” he said, “because his strategy is this: ‘You became Christian. Advance in your faith. I will leave you. I will leave you tranquil. But then when you are used to not being so watchful and you feel secure, I will come back’. The Gospel today begins with the devil being cast out and ends with the devil coming back! St. Peter would say: ‘It is like a fierce lion that circles us’. It is like that. ‘But, Father, you a little ancient. You are frightening us with these things…’ No, not me! It is the Gospel! And these are not lies: it is the Word of the Lord!

“Let us ask the Lord for the grace to take these things seriously. He came to fight for our salvation. He won against the devil! Please, let us not do business with the devil! He seeks to return home, to take possession of us… Do not relativize; be vigilant! And always with Jesus!”
 
  Very well done, Pope Francis.

"Tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies."

So apparently Tisdale Elementary School is in a lockdown, and that a man is coming to steal all of the kids "in five hours."

For your information, a sick-minded man with a criminal record two miles long is on the loose near the Saskatchewan/Alberta border. Actually, his vehicle was found in Lethbridge, Alberta, over the weekend, so one would be inclined to think he's actually on the Alberta side of things. Last week a few schools were put in a partial hold and secure mode, just as a precaution. The media said they were in a lockdown, but I don't think that word means what they think it means. Hold and secure. School doors stay locked. Children stay inside. Parents must pick up their children at the office at the end of the day. No lockdown with kids huddled in the corner of their locked classrooms with the windows and blinds shut and stacks of desks barricading the door... at least as far as I know.

Anyway, yesterday morning someone in Tisdale posted something on facebook about our school being in a lockdown. It went along the lines of: "Did anyone else hear that TES is in a lockdown?" The story exploded! Parents were calling, or stopping in, left-right-and-centre. Apparently they were furious that we didn't call them with this news. When they were told that there was actually no lockdown, they were furious that we didn't call them to tell them that we were in a lockdown. No, I didn't mistype that last sentence. Sigh.

As things progressed we learned that the man, according to facebook and various parent texts, was seen in nearby Melfort and Star City, as well as Saskatoon and several other local communities. Also, he was purposely coming to steal the kindergarten children, that he had guns, and, as stated earlier, he was coming "in five hours." Despite attempts to explain that the police confirmed that all of this was not true, people believed otherwise.

Oh well, if nothing else, yesterday turned out to be a "teachable moment" for me with the grade five students I was with. We talked about how it's foolish to believe rumours on facebook over the word of the RCMP. It was a good discussion, and I think it sunk in with them.

Now if only they would pass on this knowledge to their parents.

Maybe within five hours.

The Spirit of...

So much talk. Honestly, I'm very confused right now. If you find this blog posting confusing, it's because it deals with confusing matters.

I speak of the Papacy of Francis, Bishop of Rome. Now what I say is all opinion. Further, it is opinion that could easily change by next week. If you want the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, read the Gospels, or the Catechism.

Holy Thursday

For me it all started on Holy Thursday. Yes, that awful terrible day when Pope Francis went to a prison and, perhaps somehow granting himself an exemption from the existing rubric, washed the feet of women during the liturgy. Having been so immersed in the teaching of Pope Benedict XVI (of venerable memory), to wash the feet of women in the liturgy signaled, to me, a lack of understanding for the essence of the liturgy. Benedict, the master theologian, clearly explains that worship, and the liturgy, come only from God. Going back to Mt. Sinai, ceremonial precepts were Divinely instituted (and strictly enforced). Without worship mankind was lost, and so God, in His goodness, was reaching out to His people, sort of along the lines of the Mass prayer: "our desire to praise You is itself Your gift." Benedict goes so far as to explain that a major part of the problem with the Golden Calf was not simply idolatry, but that the Israelites tried to create their own worship. You get the point here: worship comes from God, and is faithfully handed down (with both continuity and organic development) via the Church. To wash the feet of women at the Holy Thursday liturgy wasn't just a minor detail then, it went against the very basis of all of Benedict's teaching.

"So what? Who cares? Isn't the Holy Thursday liturgy also about service?"

Competing signs do not sit very well either, especially for a Thomistic brain. Yes, the washing of the feet signifies service. It also very much so signifies the institution of the priesthood. The two signs go perfectly together. This is what our liturgy (coming from God through the Church) does, it all just ends up fitting together, as only God can orchestrate. Pitting two signs against each other is rather ridiculous. For instance, in the 1970s theologians tried to change the Mass from a sacrifice to a meal. Huh? Benedict, in Feast of Faith, says that the Mass is both (though it is primarily a sacrifice). Competing signs? How utterly 1970ish. Yes, I believe Pope Francis was wrong to do what he did. He made life a whole lot more difficult for those who have been fighting to follow the Mass rubrics in light of the ex-hippy feminists who demand otherwise. But St. Peter wasn't perfect either. And, if nothing else, we see that Pope Francis has a heart of gold.

World Youth Day

Then there was World Youth Day. I still just shake my head at it. Communion in plastic cups. Offering beach balls at Mass. Girls swimming in immodest bathing suits during Mass. Elder bishops embarrassing themselves with some flash mob dance, all led by a gay porn poster boy. To be clear, this would have happened regardless of who the Pope was. These events are often hijacked by people with specific agendas. I'm against big outdoor Masses in general (more for theological reasons... how can a priest concelebrate while sitting 300m away?.., but also for liturgical abuse reasons). However, the Pope cannot take control of every detail with these events. He must trust his bishops. His bishops must trust their staff members and priests. In the end, these events inevitably go awry somewhere along the chain.

But the end of World Youth Day signified the beginning of another phenomenon: the interview. 

Now here's the deal: the Church has a hard time reaching people. If your diocese is like the one I'm in, you frequently get letters from the Bishop that are to be read before/during/after Mass. The letters usually begin with little substance, end with even less substance, and produce a few Zzzzs here and there. Sorry to sound so mean, but the reality is they don't work. Probably because they never say anything of importance (e.g. "Dear Sisters and Brothers... as seasons change, and waters flow, let us remember that God made water... and we should be mindful to be stewards of water..." or something like that). In other words, the basic letter from bishops is not working. Pope Francis, I believe, understands this. I believe he knows that, by and large, the hierarchy of the Church, in this present form (letters etc.) is not being listened to with great interest. And so, like a good shepherd, he is seeking to change this. Enter the interview.

Following World Youth Day the Pope gave a doozy of an interview while flying home. I can just picture it. The Pope absolutely excited (pumped, stoked, etc.) about the large enthusiastic crowd he just ministered to. And so, he opens up. And he does so with gusto. He sets off bombshell comments about such things as "who am I to judge?" and other hot topic issues. Truth be told, the Pope simply explained the Catechism, but in a slightly different way.

"Tell Me More, Tell Me More"

Ever since then it seems we're always getting interviews. And with the interviews has come the confusion, and dare I say loose lips. Now some of this has been completely and utterly blown out of proportion by the media. This cartoon summarizes it best:

And they've not just been taking what Pope Francis says out of context. The translations, apparently, have been horrendous. This last interview had a section where the Pope was explaining that he had the humility to get the job done (curia reform). Suuurrrrre he bragged about his humility.

They did it with Benedict, and they're doing it with Francis. Now after every interview there seems to be countless Catholic bloggers, and I'm talking bloggers with PhD's, who come out and meticulously try and explain what Pope Francis is really saying. And, to be honest, sometimes they are just guessing.

Quite frankly, much of what we've been reading from these interviews has not always made sense. There's the calling out of those obsessed with ending abortion (where are all these minions of people?). There's been the declaration that youth unemployment and elderly loneliness are the greatest evils of our times (I still wonder if that is what he actually said. I sure hope not). There's been sloppy talk about the "Old Mass" as if it is a nostalgic Mass not on par with the "New Mass" (in addition to the Franciscan restrictions regarding Summorum Pontificum). There's been confusion over conscience and even proselytization (where does this exist again?). There's been comments made against those who prayed rosaries for the Pope, and then stated the number of rosaries in total that were prayed (as a spiritual bouquet). There's even been a comment that the Church has never been stronger (come to Saskatchewan!). I could go on and on. Each one of these remarks could have a long blog post dedicated to them. What was actually said? Whom was it said to? What was the context? How does this comment fit in with the teaching of the Church? What is the Pope really getting at with this or that comment? It would take an awful long time to examine each point.

But, to be honest, much of it makes little sense. And it hurts me to have to say that. Many people are very confused as to not only what he is saying, but why. One should not need a PhD in order to decipher what a Pope is saying to his flock. I don't have a PhD. And I'm confused.

The Effects

Inevitably the actual effects of these interviews must be discussed. Now, from my very narrow perspective of one little Catholic in Saskatchewan in the midst of the Universal Church ministering to the entire world filled with every culture, creed, race, religion, and human soul... this very narrow perspective of mine sees problems with what is going on. And herein lies the punch line to the title for the blog post: "The Spirit of..."

We all know about the disastrous phrase "the Spirit of Vatican II." It has scorched our poor Church. It has been the punch line for a licence to disobey Church doctrine and discipline. I was thinking that maybe the libs were finally running out of steam. Maybe, just maybe, progress was being made, and the whole "Spirit of Vatican II" agenda was fading. Again, I would attribute the phenomenal teaching of Pope Benedict as not only giving light to the situation, but also to providing ammo for faithful Catholics to fight back (ammo as in very clear statements which defend Church teaching, and are easily understandable). Well, it has been suggested this past week that the Church's next big fight will not be in combating "the Spirit of Vatican II."
 
Instead, it will be in combating "the Spirit of Francis."

"Are YOU Attacking the Pope?"

Of course not. Vatican II is great when understood in light of all Church teachings, especially Pope Pius XII's Mediator Dei. I just hate the so called "Spirit of Vatican II." Pope Francis seems like a great man, but I fear a true "Spirit of Francis" is building. That is, regardless of Church teaching, heck, regardless of Vatican II, one can take these Pope Francis interviews and spin them whatever the heck way you want to. Why not? I can't really understand what he's getting at much of the time, and even feel uneasy about some of it. I think (again, just opinion) what will happen if this continues is that the libs will increasingly hurl snippets of Pope Francis interviews here and there, and press on with renewed enthusiasm. Many Catholics on the internet are already saying it has begun, with the big catch phrase thrown at them lately being "who am I to judge?" Long story short, the interviews by Pope Francis are beginning to hurt the Church over here. Actually, let me be more precise: the interviews, both as a medium and as snippets of random unprepared Pope Francis thought, are beginning to hurt the faithful, orthodox, front-line Catholics in North America.

The True Mission

Now that I've proceeded to school Pope Francis on what he's doing wrong (how many years in purgatory for that?), I will tell you what he needs to do right. Oh, and for the record, take what I say with a grain of salt. Obviously Pope Francis has the Holy Spirit helping him constantly, and I truly do not know better than him. Just play along with me here. Anyway, to quote God, here's what he needs to do: "rebuild My Church."

Pope Francis needs to continue boldly reforming the hierarchy of the Church which, by all accounts, is filled with corruption. There are many saints in the Church, but there are many corrupt people as well. And this is exactly what Pope Francis is doing. He's re-writing procedures, booting people out, bringing people in, even excommunicating people. This is the mission that Benedict, despite his sheer awesomeness, knew he would be unable to undertake. I think Pope Francis understands this very well. I think he understands the harm of having priests who speak out against the faith. I think he understands the scandal that the LCWR (Hippy Nuns for the Ruin of the Church) can bring. I think he understands how utterly difficult it is for us lay people to never, never, have set confession times. I think he understands the devastation caused by bishops who ignore their flocks and make underhanded dealings (e.g. hiding problems with D&P), or lay people who would rather criticize and gossip than seek out Christ (mea maxima culpa). He understands the rebuilding that is needed, or better yet, the need to expose the wound so that Christ can heal it. This, I believe, is what he was elected for primarily. And this, I believe, is what he will do. The Church cannot evangelize Christ unless it first lives Christ. Despite all of Pope Francis' words - far too many words - it will be his actions that ultimately will guide this poor Church forward. Yes, at times I get incredibly frustrated with him. Whoops. I just said that out loud. Ok, I may as well admit it: I get incredibly frustrated with Pope Francis at times. But despite this frustration, I know that he has a most difficult mission, and that he is very courageously taking action. The weight of what he is doing, the weight of the cross he bears for doing it, would surely crush me within a Hail Mary or two. Besides, and I believe this is the proper context for me to reiterate his words, "who am I to judge?" So ultimately I just have to say this to Pope Francis: Thank you! You are doing an amazing, wonderful and necessary task. And as for all that other stuff I talked about, I'll keep praying for you. But please pray for me too, dear Holy Father. May we carry on...

 ...in the spirit of charity.

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Fall Hiking

We've had some beautiful Fall weather here of late. Interspersed with cold, rainy days, of course. But beautiful all the same. Unlike the Ontario vibrant reds, oranges, and yellows, Saskatchewan's Fall leaves are mostly a bright gold. And while I miss the red, I love Fall on the Prairies. Seeing as mosquito season pretty well takes the place of late-Spring and all of Summer, it's a blessed relief to go outdoors and just enjoy the weather. 

The coloured leaves and crispness are enough to make us remember (dread) that Winter is just around the corner. Last year, we got our first snow-fall in mid-October and it never melted. 

But did I just mention snow?! Not yet, please. 

Tisdale has some beautiful walking trails that wind their way around the golf course, ball diamonds, park, and trout pond. Part of our daily walk usually includes a small section of the paths and a stop at the swinging bridge for throwing rocks. The Fall leaves have made this area especially beautiful and make us feel like we're out for a hike.

Joseph usually grabs a walking stick and meanders his way along the paths, making what should be a 30-min walk into 1-hr. He'll ride in his stroller for the road section of the walk, but loves to run down the hills and pick up rocks on the paths. Not a few bumps and bruises have resulted from this path, but there's no speeding this kid up or slowing him down when he has a mind for something.

Our daily walks by the golf course all Summer included two things: praying a Rosary and searching for off-the-course golf balls. We have a huge bucket with somewhere around 120 balls and a little boy proud of his "guh-golf ball" collection. The look on his face when you find him another golf ball or, better yet, a huge rock to throw off the bridge, is completely priceless. We're going to miss these walks so much when the paths become impassible.