Pain

Last Tuesday I was sitting in Mass, looking at the crucifix and the following thought came to me: "Would I be willing to take others pain?" Would I be willing to simply trade my health and well-being for someone elses pain so that they would not have to suffer it? That is what Christ did and so that is what I ought to do, yet could I?

I came to the conclusion that I would like to, but if it actually came down to it, I don't know if I could do it.


Why are we afraid of pain? It seems like so much of our energy is spent avoiding pain, which in many ways is pointless. I'm not saying we should give up on painkillers, but pain will come, no matter how hard we try and avoid it. American popular culture is building the idea that pain must always be avoided, yet that is an impossibility that itself leads to greater pain.

Newsworthy News

This is a rather encouraging article:

Bishops Stand Firm on Birth Control

It is not encouraging because of its subject (I knew that already) but because of the manner in which it says it. The author spends no effort attacking the Church. Rather, he seems to talk only about the issues people have missed. My favorite quote:

"But Catholic Church teaching doesn't change based on statistics, even if that teaching is ignored for a couple of generations."

In many ways it is less about birth control per se and more about the idea of the teaching authority of the Church, that the Bishops and the Church teach the same thing for generations.

The article also includes quotes from Christopher West of the Theology of the Body Institute, probably the best known name in America about TotB.

What was particularly stunning was the lack of refutal of the Church's position. The only 'negative' quote came from a professor of moral theology who simply said that people have already made up their minds and will not change them. No source was brought into to show how the Church is harming the world.

Overall, I was very surprised by this article from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, carried by the Washington Post. It is a wonderfully simply explanation of the workings of the Magisterium, at least on this side of the pond.

The Failure of Ecumenicalism

I just returned from an Ecumenical thanksgiving service at the local United Methodist Church (which got me wondering there was a local Divided Methodist Church somewhere). I was not going to go on my own steam, but my cousin was playing in a bell choir performing there. I did not expect a very wonderful experience and I was not dissapointed.

Ecumenicalism as we now know it has failed. It attempts to not offend anyone and succeeds, as most parts of modern culture, in saying absolutely nothing. Rather ecumenicalism should attempt to offend anyone.

The purpose of ecumenicalism cannot be do make everyone enjoy everyone elses company, for the only way to do that is to silence all the parties involved. It must therefore be an attempt to bring back together the separated elements of Christianity. The only way to do this is to dialogue. Soft and worthless comunication make all people soft and worthless. Truly speaking what we believe is the only way to draw people together, if not in union, then in truth.

Veritas est non Tacitas. Truth is not silent. In silence no Truth can be spoken, and as such modern ecumenicalism fails to move toward Christ, who is the Truth itself.

Courage and Saints

This morning as I was praying the Rosary, I came to an interesting discovery. Christ had the courage and humility that, when he was crowned with a poor excuse for his royalty, he did not protest. We should do likewise. If ever the world treats us with less than we deserve (the award goes to someone else, no one realizes our brilliance, etc.) we should do little more than accept it. Who needs the world's praise anyway?

I also found to an interesting way to examine the idea of vocation. Which vocation would be the most effective at making you a saint? Imagine in seventy years you are dead and canonized. What would you be known for? Is is for living a religious life, or is it as part of a family? I have the feeling this question can greatly simplify parts of the discernment process.

Popes

So I came to an interesting conclusion a moment ago: it is the Europeans and Americans who are clamoring for an African Pope. As far as I know, the Africans are perfectly content with a European Pope, but the Europeans can't handle it.

It would seem to be that the problem then is not with a wilingness for diversity, but rather the European abhorence of colonization and any sort of elevation of a white man above a black man.

Just a thought.

Updates or lack there of

So the whole KofC thing went off quiet well, though one of the guys who was supposed to join slept through the whole thing (it was @ 2 in the afternoon, so he has no excuse). I am no officially a card carrying Knight as well as a card-carrying Catholic. Which reminds me, I need to print off more cards.

And a brief mention of the discernment thing: I talked with Fr. V for an hour last week, and he's going to give my number to some other priests to call me. I don't know much one way or the other, but I did realize much of what appealed to me about the priesthood was the same sort of thing that appeals to me about being a cop: namely that I had an authority.

Often I would think "if I was a priest I would do this, or do that," because that is how I thought they should be done. A lot of it was a pride issue.

I have a feeling everything I am writing today is incoherent, so I apologize if it is, and if it isn't, ignore this message.