GK Chesterton's cause for sainthood has met a major stumbling block. According to the Bishop of Northhampton, Most Reverend Peter Doyle:

“That conclusion is that I am unable to promote the cause of GK Chesterton for three reasons. Firstly, and most importantly, there is no local cult. Secondly, I have been unable to tease out a pattern of personal spirituality. And, thirdly, even allowing for the context of G K Chesterton’s time, the issue of anti-Semitism is a real obstacle particularly at this time in the United Kingdom.”

Ouch. 

Now if you have ever been to a Catholic college (as in non-Jesuit, but rather truly Catholic), you will be familiar with the Chesterton crowd. They will smoke cigars, quote pithy from GK, and meet at pubs to discuss intellectual topics (while smoking more cigars). “In Catholicism, the pint, the pipe and the cross can all fit..." they will add, as a smoke ring rises to the rafters. 

I'm not sure if these Chestertonians ever discuss how on earth GK's distributism theory would work. Do you force people to give up their land for the sake of re-distributism? It sounds more Leninist than Levitical. Or what about this issue of "anti-semitism"? And is there, if we're being perfectly honest, an appetite for GK to be named a saint because he loved to indulge in the finer pleasures of life? Food, cigars, ale... he's not exactly a proto-typical desert father, but possibly a dessert father. One we certainly can cling to and, dare we hope, even mirror our lives on. Smoke and mirrors indeed.

Needless to say, the Chesterton crowd had, and has, no appeal for me.

Oh, but I have nothing against GK Chesterton. Though not a fan of his novels, I can appreciate his witty style. The more I get to know him, possibly the more I will like him. A saint though? God only knows. But it seems his cause is going up in smoke.

Now, can we move on to more important issues? Like Tolkein, for instance...

Image taken from a First Things Article.

The Long Road of Peace Goes Through Covington

"Peace, man."

The existential cry of the hippy lives on in the Catholic Church. While prolife, male, white, Catholic teenagers from Covington are subject to virulent unicorn-esque condemnations from the liberals of America, a large portion of Catholics are guilty of having joined in on the mob attack. Some Catholics have since retreated, perhaps grasping at some natural reality that black is not white, up not down, and receiving death threats because of one's prolife, male, white Catholicity is not actually criminal, at least not this time. Yet rather than take the next logical step of actually defending the Covington teens, many Catholics are simply content to offer a "peace, man", and let those prolifers fend for themselves.

For instance, at Bishop Barron's ingratiating website we encounter the typical hippy Catholic mantra. Writer Elizabeth Scalia opines that we must do better at being peaceful, and that we should just appreciate the anthem: "Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me"? I am not making this up. In other words: "Peace, man", unless of course you are a prolife, male, white Catholic.

This is not what peace is. Peace is not simply an absence of war, all the while possessing inner serenity. Peace requires justice. Justice requires order. Order requires action. When seventeen year old pro-life, male, white Catholics are attacked by racist and hateful bigots, it is not peaceful to retreat in order to find one's inner strength and harmony. Life happens in real time. Virtue must be habitual and readily applicable. Evil must be immediately fought when presented. How long must people retreat before they decide they are personally peaceful enough to defend an innocent person? One day? One week? One year? Justice at times demands immediate action. Inner peace is not achievable while omitting one's Christian duty.

Consider Samwise Gamgee in The Lord of the Rings. He is presented with a glimpse into the future by the Marian-like Queen Galadriel. Sam observes that the Shire is not what it should be, and he even shouts out: "There's that Ted Sandyman a-cutting down trees as he shouldn't. […] I wish I could get at Ted, and I'd fell him!"

Sam demands to return to the Shire. His aiding Frodo in conquering the powers of evil is lost on him; he would rather save some pleasant trees near his home. Sam's demand is ultimately for personal wants, and not for true peace and order.

The Mirror of Galadriel by Alan Lee

Galadriel gently reminds Sam that he is pressed into service for a greater deed, and that if he chooses to reject his duty he will never encounter true peace in his own land of the Shire. In other words, peace in our own lives is fettered to fighting evil.

The story continues with Sam sitting on the ground in deep thought. Shaken by his vision, he becomes at war with himself. Finally, he offers: "I wish I had never come here, and I don't want to see no more magic,' […] and fell silent. After a moment he spoke again thickly, as if struggling with tears. 'No, I'll go home by the long road with Mr. Frodo, or not at all.'"

Inner peace is needed; however, inner peace requires we fight the injustice presented to us. Peace is not simply retreating to one's pseudo-harmonious life, but rather it is, as Sam discovers, a long and difficult road of fighting for what is right. Indeed, in some cases the long road of peace goes through Covington.

A New Saint: What the Church can Learn from Baseball

My latest entry at Bravest Thing. I ranted a bit, and will probably calm down a bit and see things differently after more sleep. Check it out HERE.

Haken Loob for the Hall of Fame?

Uncle Teddy and Preying on Hirelings

The disgusting story of Cardinal Theodore Edgar McCarrick has left many Catholics baffled, confused, outraged, and yet not surprised. That a man, ordained thrice, could be so scandalously repulsive for so long, and even be promoted through the ranks of Church hierarchy, is a reality that should have died in the winter of 2002. It lives on of course. Just look at the mess in Chile. I'll give Pope Francis the benefit of the doubt in Chile and state that he was lied to by people close to him. Either way, we are not over this train wreck. Not by a long shot.

Nevertheless, it still merits asking how McCarrick, creepily self-referenced as "Uncle Ted", was able to carry on for so long. Many have suggested that liberals didn't want to make an issue of McCarrick's homosexual escapades for fear of damage to the LGBT followers, whereas conservative Catholics feared damaging the reputation of the Church by "outing" (no pun intended) this Cardinal. And so he carried on. Don't ask. Don't tell. How American. Uncle Sam meet Uncle Ted.

I don't really believe in the oversimplification of the McCarrick explanation. That being both liberals and conservatives on the same page, seeking the supression of truth and justice, yet for different reasons. And let me be clear that though McCarrick is a liberal Cardinal, I could just as easily believe that this case could happen to a more tradition-minded churchman. No, the issue is deeper. And by that I mean worse than any simple explanation. McCarrick escaped reprimand and fraternal confrontation because our Church has become mercenary and deficient of real leaders.

Ours is a mercenary Church structure. Clergy are hirelings, meted out their due pay for services provided. It has to be. With the scarcity of true shepherds comes the necessity for hirelings. There are rules for governance, beyond Canon Law, which bishops must introduce within their diocese. Priests are paid a salary. They must work a certain amount of days, take such and such vacation time, receive set mileage rates, dutifully report their stipends on tax returns, and so on. In our diocese the rumour is the bishop is looking into mandatory hours at the church for priests. He has to. A nearby parish has a priest show up in the morning, then goes who knows where once the noon bell rings.

In some ways the mercenary/hireling structure does not go far enough. What about mandatory dress code for priests? Whereby priests dress like, well, priests? Perhaps the Canon law which strongly suggests Mass should be said everyday should just say, in a word, that Mass must be said everyday. Yet the fact that priests need to be told to say Mass daily is completely the point. We've come this far. There are faithful shepherds who would do anything for their, often ungrateful, parish. There are too many pastors who need to be told how to be a priest. Acedia? Comfort? To be commanded to say Mass everyday is like commanding a mother to cuddle her newborn child. "Do I have to?" said no mother ever.

When a Catholic hears of an important Churchmen failing scandalously in his call to holiness, the mercenary attitude is to hold rank, don't cause a fuss, and to do one's duty of position. "I will leave this Cardinal alone for he is powerful and, really, who would even listen to me? I would surely be reprimanded at some point, or removed all together." Is this true? I think, in many cases, it absolutely would be true. Why? Because our hierarchy is based on power, positioning, and employment of services. It is difficult to defy the setup because the setup is in defiance of love, with love including fraternal correction. The Church too often beats as a machine, and not a heart.

We fear a system. We fear backlash, politics, lawsuits, repercussions, and just about everything else more than the one thing we should fear: hell. It is mercenary. It is leadership of authority, which is good, but only when the authority has merited this leadership role to begin with. For instance, why is Cardinal Cupich still a high ranking Archbishop in Chicago? What on God's green earth has he done to merit such a powerful position? It baffles the mind how the system works. And because it works as such, I am not supposed to question why he is where he is. God's will. So I'll just shut up and understand my place. Just as one was not supposed to publicly ask why Uncle Teddy took seminarians to the beach house on Friday nights. Did these seminarians fear the man himself? Would not one, with complete moral justice, fight back on one of those Friday nights? "Your Eminence! Where did you get that black eye?" They feared the position of the man. Not with fear-and-trembling of the man’s consecration to God, but that the man wielded power and influence.

Rather than prolong these words, it is best to examine a solution. Clearly we cannot be rid of our current Church administrative-reliant structure. And sadly the hirelings will continue as such. But is there not a hope for real change?

So many Catholic quandaries can be alleviated if we but look to, and imitate, the lives of the saints. How does a bishop not treat his priests as employees? Has anyone ever actually read the life of St. Alphonsus Ligouri? He was not afraid to clean house. To choose between the hireling and the shepherd. Yet with the greatest of charity. There's a reason why Fr. Garrigou-Lagrange states a bishop must be in the unitive way in the spiritual life. Or the bishop St. Anthony Mary Claret? See zeal in action. He was a great administrator because he was first a great saint. An overseas trip on a boat was not a cruise, but rather an opportunity to lead his priests on a retreat. That's how you first treat, and love, your priests. They become not hirelings, but rather themselves good shepherds.

Uncle Teddy benefited from a Church structure which requires administrative savvy and not sanctity. The Church cries for saints. The Church requires saints in leadership. Not for those in the Church to be required to do what is right. But for those in the Church to be required to love doing what is right. Even to correct what is wrong. Holiness is a demand for all. But we learn from our shepherds.

"And the hireling flieth, because he is a hireling: and he hath no care for the sheep" (John 10:13).

Prime Time Saints

While in Barry's Bay we were talking with a friend about the differences in the liturgical calendar and Divine Office between the Novus Ordo and Traditional books. He told us that he enjoys praying the Traditional Office, and particularly Prime. Now Prime, along with other "hours" was removed for us Novus Ordo folks. It can sadly be said that the Church prays less now than ever before. Anyway, this is a long preamble. The point is he was telling us how Prime contains readings from the martyrology of the Church. He then proceeded to tell us about one such newly married couple who were... um, after a period of torture crucified facing each other. They exhorted each other to continue to suffer on the cross, and managed to live quite a lengthy time. Oh yeah, and they were newly weds. How's that for a honeymoon? It's quite fascinating. Briefly, for your edification:

The holy Martyrs Timothy and Maura were husband and wife. Timothy was from Penapeis in the Thebaid, a reader in the Church, and had been married to Maura only twenty days when he was betrayed to Arian, the Governor of the Thebaid, as a teacher of the Christians. Arian commanded Timothy to surrender his sacred books, which he refused to do, comparing it to a father's giving up his children to death. For this answer, heated iron spits were thrust through his ears. As he was being put to other tortures, Arian summoned Maura, hoping that she would persuade her husband to worship the idols, but she confessed herself a Christian. The hair of her head was pulled out, her fingers were cut off, then she was lowered into a cauldron of boiling water, but remained unharmed. Finally husband and wife were crucified facing each other, and after nine days, received their martyric end, during the reign of Diocletian (284-305).

http://www.dowama.org/content/righteous-priests

Saints Timothy and Maura, pray for us. 

I don't know about you, but our kids are saints...

This is Becca's ghostwriter. She's busy today caring for a sick little Emilie :(

The Saints are one of the best reasons to be Catholic. They should make us long for our heavenly home. Plus they're pretty good at interceding for us. Some are of ancient times. Others more modern. For instance:

And some are even more recent! Behold the latest:

 

 

 

Yes, there was an all Saints day celebration. Becca did an amazing job once again this year of creating the wardrobe! Can you guess who the saints are?

 

Why it's St. John Paul II, St. Teresa of Calcutta, and St. Padre Pio!

Grandma was happy to see them at the party.




Cutest little Pope ever!

Our little saints!

 

 

Thumbs up! Right Emilie, er, Mother Teresa!

Living Saints Where Are You?

Lifesitenews reported the other day on a CBC radio interview with Jean Vanier. Do you know who Jean Vanier is? I admittedly do not know much about him. All I really know about him is from others who are familiar with L'Arche, the community Vanier founded which helps those with special needs. These people have all said the same thing to me: "Vanier is a living saint." I just sort of took their word for it.

I've always liked the idea of living saints, though admittedly it is actually a risky judgment placed on someone. For instance, years ago people used to say Fr. Corapi was saintly. Later it was discovered he was living a double life (though apparently has since repented). Other living saints that come to mind whom I've "experienced" in my life are Mother Theresa and Pope John Paul II, who are actually now canonized, Pope Benedict XVI, Mother Angelica, and perhaps a couple of older priests I've known personally. Not a huge list by any means.

Back to Vanier and the CBC interview. As Lifesitenews reported, actually in an article written by Professor John Paul Meenan, as trusted a Catholic as you will ever find, Vanier has publicly stated that euthanasia should be possible in certain circumstances. I couldn't believe it when I read that. What a clear rejection of the teaching of the Church, and God's eternal moral commandment. Though I do not know much about Vanier, it is very difficult to hide my disappointment in what he said. Clearly I will cross Vanier off of my saint list, a list that probably should not exist to begin with, and rather pray for his change of mind and heart to that of Christ's.

This is especially troublesome to hear considering saints are needed now more than ever. Of course there could be many hidden saints in this life. Those suffering humbly and quietly. Those we will never know about. Yet when history looks back at moments of great importance, often saints stepped up to the public spotlight. Think of Saints Athanasius, Francis of Assisi, Ignatius, Francis de Sales, and Alphonsus Ligouri. All played a significant role in the Church during times of crisis. Yet, if ever there was a saint we could use these days, I firmly believe it would be St. Catherine of Sienna.

St. Catherine, who amazingly was the 25th child born to her mother, was a great third order Dominican and mystic known for her spiritual classic: The Dialogue. I state that St. Catherine is needed because she was also a fearless defender of the Catholic faith, and would frequently write the Pope to influence him in following Christ and to return to Rome. In a confused world, and confused Church, St. Catherine provided a steady influence which can only be described as divinely inspired. I believe if St. Catherine were around today she would be providing Pope Francis with an invaluable wisdom which would greatly bless our confused Church. But she's not here. It is just us, unavailingly seeking living saints to bail us out somehow. Yet another of the living saints is not what he seems. Saints choose life, not death.

Of course there is always the possibility that God's next saint is typing these words out. Or reading them. Let's not get crazy here! We're not saints, right? Clearly not us.

And yet we should be.