The Arrow's Path

The Pope did not say, "If a person is gay, who am I to judge?" Fr. Ed nails it . What the Pope actually said had a huge qualifier that is not being correctly quoted in the media (a media that has made Catholic bashing an all American past time for centuries). What the Pope said (in the context of a question about a 'gay lobby' in the Vatican) was, "If a person is gay and seeks the Lord and has good will, who am I to judge that person?" 'To be seeking the Lord and have good will' is a huge qualifier. This was not an approval of any and all homosexual activity. But it does not really matter. I have come to believe that when anything having to do with sexuality comes up in any context, people hear whatever they want to hear, whether it has any basis in what was actually said or not. Eventually the media's honeymoon with Pope Francis will be over when they realize he is staunchly Catholic and is not going to re-make the Catholic faith into their ...

“I’ve always carried a bag when I’ve traveled. It’s normal,” he (Pope Francis) said. “We must be normal.” Pope Francis, with a big smile, told reporters that the bag did not contain “a key to the atomic bomb,” like a U.S. presidential aide would carry. Instead, he said, it has “my razor” — and he laughed when the journalists did — it also has his “breviary, daily planner (with phonebook) and a book to read. This time I brought one about ‘Santa Teresina’ (St. Therese of Lisieux), to whom I am devoted.” - Source . 

I always said when I was an active priest that leading liturgy on Sunday was a different form of spirituality and worship. You always had to be in the moment, aware of what came next in the order of service. That could be worshipful, but it is a whole different ball game than getting the luxury of sitting in the pew, where you can let your mind wonder off as you contemplate the Holy Mysteries. I have found that having kids in the pew with you is also like that. You always have to be mindful that your precious young'un is throwing her socks or crawling under the pew or yelling out, "Is it over yet?" That is a whole different type of worship as well. Our daughter has been adjusting to worship in a new church with daddy in the pew, and it has been an adventure. We have made some progress, but she is still antsy. Part of that is just being a kid. Everyone always feels like their kid is being a nuisance, and perhaps that is true. However, most folks are just sitting there,...

I think I may be getting to teach an inquirer's class this fall. I have needed something to do, and this may be the ticket.

Employee 1: "Do we have any 9 volt batteries?" Archer: "Well, if we do, they are in the supply cabinets over there." [5 minute pause with various rummaging sounds followed by silence] Employee 1, while walking by with a mouth full of twizzlers, "Well, they weren't in the candy drawer either."

So, I was at a continuing education seminary this morning on managing problem employees. The topic came up about what do do when there is inter-generational conflict between Baby Boomers/Gen X/Gen Y folks in the office. The speaker asked the following question: Have you ever had to interview someone for a job who came with their mother? There were probably about 35 to 40 managerial types in the room. Get this: A good quarter raised their hands.

In my previous posts, I have discussed the need for a balance in economic theology between subsidiarity and solidarity as it pertains to evaluating healthcare reform in this country. I have gotten a surprising number of ‘likes’ from people across the political spectrum when I post these on Facebook, which has surprised me. Maybe I am making too much sense, and sense is something we cannot have in political discourse these days. I closed my last blog entry with a foray into looking at beginning to look at other systems, particularly what I learned about Israel’s system when I was there a few months ago. Israel is more socialized than not, though it is not a pure form of socialized medicine, as there are options within the system and also private coverage available for those who want it. For purposes of this blog entry, I wish to delve into the Swiss system, which I think is actually the existing model that American could most easily copy because it is a free market system though th...

There is a fabulous article here on a subject that John Paul II does not get nearly enough credit for: liturgical renewal  and the use of art in liturgy. Excellent stuff...

Saw this at the Stuhr Museum yesterday.

Granted, it was a period museum that had a walk through railroad town, but it was still amusing.

Today is July 3rd, 2013. It was 150 years today that the famous Pickett's Charge at the Battle of Gettysburg during the American War between the States. Pickett's charge was a military maneuver that has been highly romanticized but was itself a tactical disaster. The failed charge has been poetically labelled "the high tide of the Confederacy," and that is exactly what it was. To understand what it was all about, one has to understand the background to the Battle of Gettysburg. General Lee had decided to make a foray into Union territory and took his army into Pennsylvania instead of dropping back and waging a defensive war. This proved to be Lee's undoing. Despite what you see in the movie, Gettysburg , and other depictions of Southern soldiers, the Southern army under Lee was poorly equipped. Textiles and other supplies usually bought from the British in Southern ports for trade in cotton. Due to the Yankee blockade, the Southern troops largely didn't ha...

In my meanderingly roundabout way, I have finally come to the place where I can delve (tiptoe?) into actual applications of moral theology on the current healthcare situation in the United States. There has been a systematic method to my madness because I felt I needed to give a little historical background as well as a basic primer on applicable church teachings on economics. As healthcare, for better or worse, is inextricably linked to the almighty dollar in this country, I felt I needed that background before I launched headlong into critiques of Healthcare reform. In my last post, I finally explained the need for both subsidiarity (i.e. the lowest level of governance that can adequately deal with the problem is the best option) and solidarity (i.e. Christian charity that has a preferential option for the poor) as pillars of a just economic society. The two have to be balanced, lest an economic policy or economy become either completely centralized or dictatorial, which does no...

One of the things that has amazed me in my study of Catholic theology is the truly brilliant amount of work that the Popes going back to the 1800s have done in the field of economic social justice and economics. I have read nothing even remotely on the level of sophistication from any Protestant theologian. For those interested, the Papal encyclicals (some are better than others) in chronological order: Rerum Novarum : On the Condition of Workers, Pope Leo XIII, 1891 Quadragesimo Anno : On the Reconstruction of the Social Order, Pope Pius XI, 1931 Mater et Magistra : Mother and Teacher, Pope John XIII, 1961 Populorum Progressio : On the Development of People, Pope Paul VI, 1961 Laborem Exercens : On Human Work, Pope John Paul II, 1981 Sollicitudo Rei Socialis : On the Twentieth Anniversary of Populorum Progressio, Pope John Paul II, 1987 Centesimus Annus : The Hundredth Anniversary of Rerum Novarum, Pope John Paul II, 1987 Caritas in Verit...

who still die for the Christian faith everyday . Lord, have mercy.