Saturday, July 26, 2003
Thursday, July 24, 2003
Bishop Murphy, head of Rockville Centre Diocese, explains his role in Boston
I wanted to post this statement by Bishop Murphy but could not find it until now. This was published in the Long Island Catholic on July 2nd and it gives me more reason to like our Bishop. He has been attempting to clean up the mess left behind by Bishop McGann, who favored the heterodox. Bishop Murphy's progress has been slowed by the mistrust of Long Islanders. Many in the diocese, particularly those from McGann's time, do not like the fact that our new Bishop did not come from inside the diocese. I find this attitude uncatholic. I don't care if the Bishop is from China or Nigeria (I would love that) as long as he is orthodox. Many here have been ill-formed in their faith and it will take years to create a "Steubenville-Rockford-EWTN" type of diocese.
Along the same lines, I see there is another Long Islander at St. Blogs! Dan, one of the Notre Dame students at the Shrine of the Holy Whapping, posted on Bishop Murphy. The site even links Chaminade High so perhaps he may be a fellow grad.
I wanted to post this statement by Bishop Murphy but could not find it until now. This was published in the Long Island Catholic on July 2nd and it gives me more reason to like our Bishop. He has been attempting to clean up the mess left behind by Bishop McGann, who favored the heterodox. Bishop Murphy's progress has been slowed by the mistrust of Long Islanders. Many in the diocese, particularly those from McGann's time, do not like the fact that our new Bishop did not come from inside the diocese. I find this attitude uncatholic. I don't care if the Bishop is from China or Nigeria (I would love that) as long as he is orthodox. Many here have been ill-formed in their faith and it will take years to create a "Steubenville-Rockford-EWTN" type of diocese.
Along the same lines, I see there is another Long Islander at St. Blogs! Dan, one of the Notre Dame students at the Shrine of the Holy Whapping, posted on Bishop Murphy. The site even links Chaminade High so perhaps he may be a fellow grad.
Wednesday, July 23, 2003
Those who come here might have noticed a lack of posting lately. There are many factors contributing to this, the situation in the mideast, an unstable economy, the changing technological ......ok alright, the truth is: I have been really really lazy lately. It is simply too much to use aol and a dialup to surf the net or do anything. I am like an old yugo with a flat tire on the information superhighway. This Saturday all this will change as I will have a cable modem installed and will be able to spend 24 hours a day, 7 days a week online. This will make the blogging easier and so I see much posting ahead. In the meantime, go visit some of the fine Catholic blogs for all your Churchy gossip, rants, and fun stuff.
Tuesday, July 22, 2003
I belong to St. Raphael's Catholic Singles Online site. Both this site and Ave Maria Singles, do a good job getting single Catholics together. Both sites are sponsoring a Caribbean Cruise, and I have decided to go on the St. Raphael one. I have never been on a cruise and this will be my first serious vacation in years so I am pumped. The cruise is in October and is being coordinated by Catholic Adventures which is right here on Long Island. Any Catholic singles out there check out the cruise site and let me know if you are going to join me!
Saturday, July 19, 2003
Friday, July 18, 2003
From the Diocese Report, Michael S. Rose has published his latest book: Priest Portraits of Ten Good Men Serving the Church Today. I will say it again, Mr. Rose has done more good work for the Church in his 33 years than many who are twice his age.
Thursday, July 17, 2003
I am totally late in blogging this but the great Dancing of the Giglio Feasts have come and gone. One is held in my neighborhood and I did not even know it. I will try to get to this next year. I can still make it to the St. Rocco's Feast! These public, cultural things (common with Italians and Latinos) are just the thing we need to keep people connected in some way to the Church. What attracts more people -great zeppolis or deep theological discussions??
Saturday, July 12, 2003
Split Over Nassau Sept. 11 Memorial
"Nassau County has chosen a memorial design honoring nearly 300 county residents who died in the 9/11 terrorist attack, but the county and the designer disagree about building a separate wall for uniformed personnel."
This is similar to the argument occurring at Ground Zero-should the police and firefighters who died on Sept. 11th be given a separate monument?
"Nassau County has chosen a memorial design honoring nearly 300 county residents who died in the 9/11 terrorist attack, but the county and the designer disagree about building a separate wall for uniformed personnel."
This is similar to the argument occurring at Ground Zero-should the police and firefighters who died on Sept. 11th be given a separate monument?
Wednesday, July 09, 2003
"The crabby little girls of today are the crabby old women of tommorrow!!"
---Lucy Van Pelt
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO PEANUTS by Robert Short
---Lucy Van Pelt
THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO PEANUTS by Robert Short
Before discovering St. Blogs, I found various apologetic and traditional Catholic websites that introduced me to orthodoxy. The ability to speak online with fellow Catholics was limited to AOL chat rooms. These are nightmares. There are people who espouse nothing but the most stereotypical nonsense of both the conservative and liberal variety. Regulars were often nasty and did nothing but fight (not argue but fight). I actually was glad for the frequent children who came in to yell and curse, at least they livened up the room. Discovering St. Blogs meant I could forget the chat rooms and never go back. The blogs have better commentary, better arguments, better personalities and I have actually learned things from them. The only problem is that there are so many that it is impossible to check them all frequently. I wish there was a "Best of St. Blogs" site with only the top posts of various types.
Bishop urges home schoolers to feel at home in Church as well
"As Bishop William Murphy offered Mass for home-schooling families at St. Agnes Cathedral here June 30, he urged families to feel at home in Church as well.
“We are at home in the cathedral church,” Bishop Murphy told about 200 parents and their children who have opted for lessons at home rather than at a school. “Here, we are the family of Church.”
"As Bishop William Murphy offered Mass for home-schooling families at St. Agnes Cathedral here June 30, he urged families to feel at home in Church as well.
“We are at home in the cathedral church,” Bishop Murphy told about 200 parents and their children who have opted for lessons at home rather than at a school. “Here, we are the family of Church.”
Priest-vet’s war stories included in book
Msgr. Fink is, well, no fink. He was one of the 3 people who answered questions at the "Faith on Tap" open forum discussion-for Catholics in their 20's and 30's. Fr. is very bright, orthodox, and I had no idea he converted when in college.
Msgr. Fink is, well, no fink. He was one of the 3 people who answered questions at the "Faith on Tap" open forum discussion-for Catholics in their 20's and 30's. Fr. is very bright, orthodox, and I had no idea he converted when in college.
Sunday, July 06, 2003
“If the Church of the future knows John Paul II as ‘John Paul the Great,’ it will be for this reason: at another moment of peril, when barbarisms of various sorts threatened civilization, a heroic figure was called from the Church to meet the barbarian threat and propose an alternative. In the case of Pope Leo the Great (440-461), the barbarians in question were Attila and his Huns. In the case of Gregory the Great (590-604), the barbarians were the Lombards. In the case of John Paul II, the barbarism threatening civilization has been a set of ideas whose consequences include barbarous politics-defective humanisms that, in the name of humanity and its destiny, create new tyrannies and compound human suffering.”
p. 863 Witness To Hope The Biography of Pope John Paul II by George Weigel
p. 863 Witness To Hope The Biography of Pope John Paul II by George Weigel
Saturday, July 05, 2003
WAS POPE JOHN PAUL I MURDERED????????
No. Thus concludes Sandra Miesel in her article in Crisis magazine. Actually the article (not online yet) was a “debate” between 2 authors of books on the subject. Both authors are anti-Catholic bigots and do not deserve mention but Miesel’s article was interesting. What stuck out most in this issue was not this article though but a book review also written by Miesel, a frequent commenter at St. Blog’s. The review was of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Sanctifying Myth: Understanding Middle-earth by Bradley J. Birzer. The last line of the review has been rolling around my head (where there is plenty of space) since I first read it. It is said that the book
“exemplifies a worrying trend among younger ‘orthodox’ people: They play in the approved Catholic sandbox only and ignore the catholic beach beyond.”
I consider myself a “younger orthodox people” and since my reversion I have had a nagging feeling that I am concentrating too much on Catholicism in whatever I read or see, to the exclusion of other things. Here is how I look at it: Most of my life was not steeped in Catholicism despite 16 years of Catholic school. When I drifted from the Church it had nothing to do with the Church herself but with the many horrible people I was meeting in my life. This lead to much examination and that lead to the internet which led to good apologetic websites and organizations such as Ignatius Press and EWTN and Tan Books, etc... These things in turn made me aware of a mass of great stuff: intellectual, cultural, social, historical, spiritual, political, etc.. This stuff has astounded me with its depth and beauty and now that it has been a few years, I have not grown the least bit tired of it, but am more interested than ever. It does kind of consume you so that everything you see and read and experience is seen through certain lenses. It is not like I have been unaware of non-Catholic things, it is just that the Catholic world seems so deep and incredible that I want to explore more, and have no interest right now in examining much of the “non-Catholic” world, except through Catholic lenses. For instance the books and magazines I buy and read are almost exclusively Catholic in nature, although I will scan other types at the bookstore. I only read Catholic blogs and not any other types. I don’t know if this would explain some or all of the Catholic sandbox thing but I think it does. I sometimes hear older Catholics talk of not having any non-Catholic friends when they were growing up in the “Catholic ghetto” or not being exposed to much non-Catholic stuff but the past 25 years have been nothing like this. I think my generation wants to explore Catholicism since it was never presented to them at all. While the older people run from the ghetto, we are trying to rebuild it. Perhaps ultimately it is not a matter of totally ignoring the beach beyond but rather chilling on the sand in a nice comfortable spot, keeping an eye on the larger beach and utilizing it when necessary or desirable. Or is this just trying to justify laziness or small mindedness??
No. Thus concludes Sandra Miesel in her article in Crisis magazine. Actually the article (not online yet) was a “debate” between 2 authors of books on the subject. Both authors are anti-Catholic bigots and do not deserve mention but Miesel’s article was interesting. What stuck out most in this issue was not this article though but a book review also written by Miesel, a frequent commenter at St. Blog’s. The review was of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Sanctifying Myth: Understanding Middle-earth by Bradley J. Birzer. The last line of the review has been rolling around my head (where there is plenty of space) since I first read it. It is said that the book
“exemplifies a worrying trend among younger ‘orthodox’ people: They play in the approved Catholic sandbox only and ignore the catholic beach beyond.”
I consider myself a “younger orthodox people” and since my reversion I have had a nagging feeling that I am concentrating too much on Catholicism in whatever I read or see, to the exclusion of other things. Here is how I look at it: Most of my life was not steeped in Catholicism despite 16 years of Catholic school. When I drifted from the Church it had nothing to do with the Church herself but with the many horrible people I was meeting in my life. This lead to much examination and that lead to the internet which led to good apologetic websites and organizations such as Ignatius Press and EWTN and Tan Books, etc... These things in turn made me aware of a mass of great stuff: intellectual, cultural, social, historical, spiritual, political, etc.. This stuff has astounded me with its depth and beauty and now that it has been a few years, I have not grown the least bit tired of it, but am more interested than ever. It does kind of consume you so that everything you see and read and experience is seen through certain lenses. It is not like I have been unaware of non-Catholic things, it is just that the Catholic world seems so deep and incredible that I want to explore more, and have no interest right now in examining much of the “non-Catholic” world, except through Catholic lenses. For instance the books and magazines I buy and read are almost exclusively Catholic in nature, although I will scan other types at the bookstore. I only read Catholic blogs and not any other types. I don’t know if this would explain some or all of the Catholic sandbox thing but I think it does. I sometimes hear older Catholics talk of not having any non-Catholic friends when they were growing up in the “Catholic ghetto” or not being exposed to much non-Catholic stuff but the past 25 years have been nothing like this. I think my generation wants to explore Catholicism since it was never presented to them at all. While the older people run from the ghetto, we are trying to rebuild it. Perhaps ultimately it is not a matter of totally ignoring the beach beyond but rather chilling on the sand in a nice comfortable spot, keeping an eye on the larger beach and utilizing it when necessary or desirable. Or is this just trying to justify laziness or small mindedness??
Wednesday, July 02, 2003
The reason I am always glad to see posts on or about converts is that as a cradle Catholic revert I am blown away by converts. They have played a major role in my "becoming Catholic" and I am always amazed at the zeal, intelligence, knowledge, and depth of their discussions and writings. I should mention David Armstrong of Biblical Evidence for Catholicism -his website is loaded with great info. It seems to me that after the confusion of the 60's and 70's the Church is once again enjoying an increase in the number of converts and they are helping cradle Catholics to wake up.
Catholic Pages Convert Page
Some individual Conversion stories
Catholic Pages Convert Page
Some individual Conversion stories
Gerard Serafin at Catholic Blog for Lovers posts a great list of converts and I added two in the comments:
Joseph Pearce: the author of Literary Converts, Old Thunder, Tolkien Man and Myth, and Wisdom and Innocence. He is the co-editor of the St. Austin Review and a writer in residence at Ave Maria.
Thomas Reeves: author of America's Bishop: The Life and Times of Fulton J. Sheen, A Question of Character A Life of John F. Kennedy, The Life and Times of Joseph McCarthy, and The Empty Church: The Suicide of Liberal Christianity
Joseph Pearce: the author of Literary Converts, Old Thunder, Tolkien Man and Myth, and Wisdom and Innocence. He is the co-editor of the St. Austin Review and a writer in residence at Ave Maria.
Thomas Reeves: author of America's Bishop: The Life and Times of Fulton J. Sheen, A Question of Character A Life of John F. Kennedy, The Life and Times of Joseph McCarthy, and The Empty Church: The Suicide of Liberal Christianity
Sunday, June 29, 2003
Great review of Mel Gibson's film The Passion at Church of the Masses! Great to hear that it is well done. Looks like Gibson is a shining example of how to be a lay Catholic working in the world to bring Christ to people. Ironic that this most Vatican II of ideas is being put into action by someone who basically rejects Vatican II.
Monday, June 23, 2003
Catholics Are Stupid!
This is the title of a book that Fr. Benedict Groeschel said he wanted to write. He was referring to how Catholics have neglected their incredible heritage and allowed silly people to take away their best art and traditions. I thought of this phrase for an entirely different reason when reading the local anti-Catholic rag today. Bishop Murphy held the first of 3 listening sessions and of course Newsday's reporting on the event is incredibly biased. But many of the people sound, well, stupid. The fact that Murphy has not had a single priest on Long Island abuse anyone in the 2 years he has been here seemed to be ignored. The fact that Bishop McGann, under whose watch most of the abuse occurred, never paid any attention to the people of the diocese was also ignored by the Voice of the Faithful types. The more I have learned of what went on in this diocese under McGann, and now under Murphy, I'll trust the current leadership and try to ignore anyone associated with the former leadership.
This is the title of a book that Fr. Benedict Groeschel said he wanted to write. He was referring to how Catholics have neglected their incredible heritage and allowed silly people to take away their best art and traditions. I thought of this phrase for an entirely different reason when reading the local anti-Catholic rag today. Bishop Murphy held the first of 3 listening sessions and of course Newsday's reporting on the event is incredibly biased. But many of the people sound, well, stupid. The fact that Murphy has not had a single priest on Long Island abuse anyone in the 2 years he has been here seemed to be ignored. The fact that Bishop McGann, under whose watch most of the abuse occurred, never paid any attention to the people of the diocese was also ignored by the Voice of the Faithful types. The more I have learned of what went on in this diocese under McGann, and now under Murphy, I'll trust the current leadership and try to ignore anyone associated with the former leadership.
Very Sad Story
This very sick man walked into Our Lady of Peace Church during Mass last year and shot to death the priest and a parishioner. He had been treated for paranoid schizophrenia and was not taking his medicines. He had been educated at Chaminade High School, my alma mater, and today called as character witnesses, four of the priests and brothers from the school who taught him. Ironically, they also teach at least one family member of the murdered parishioner. The sick man comes from a good Catholic family, the priest was an great priest, and the parishioner came from a good Catholic family which had already had more than its fair share of troubles. The whole situation is just awful.
This very sick man walked into Our Lady of Peace Church during Mass last year and shot to death the priest and a parishioner. He had been treated for paranoid schizophrenia and was not taking his medicines. He had been educated at Chaminade High School, my alma mater, and today called as character witnesses, four of the priests and brothers from the school who taught him. Ironically, they also teach at least one family member of the murdered parishioner. The sick man comes from a good Catholic family, the priest was an great priest, and the parishioner came from a good Catholic family which had already had more than its fair share of troubles. The whole situation is just awful.
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