Wednesday Photo Caption Contest

Image source.

At least according to Andrew Sullivan...

From The Daily Dish:

And Benedict has gone out of his way to issue what can only be called calculated affronts to the dignity of homosexual persons. Yesterday's statement that humankind needs "saving" from homosexuality, the way the rainforests need saving from being raped and pillaged is his latest provocation. His first-in-history attempt to ban even celibate gay seminarians is easily the most draconian and hateful anti-gay policy of any church, stigmatizing them even if they agree to obey every stricture the church places on them. His own complicity in covering up the abuse of children and evil protection of Father Maciel make his attacks on the dignity of homosexuals all the more repulsive.

Mr. Sullivan did correct course slightly re the Pope a couple of days later:

You've read the press accounts in which the Pope allegedly spoke of protecting the rainforests from destruction in the same vein as protecting heterosexuals from homosexuality. The actual text, brought to us by Rocco, is more complex, but essentially argues that the forms of male and female as created by God can know of no complexity or variance. The fact of same-sex sexual and emotional orientation - displayed throughout nature and expressed by human beings since the beginning of time - is, in the Pope's view, a divine error. The entire universe must fit into the binary Thomist vision, or we are allegedly divorcing humankind from our own nature. And nature must be divorced from all new knowledge of the human and animal sciences. Well: at least the knowledge we have gained since the Middle Ages.

Read the whole thing. There is little new in it, although that is not a criticism for a Pope.

But he got the Maciel thing right.

Wanna buy a book?

By the way, the author of this missive left the Legion of Christ and the priesthood. Maybe a smart move.

Funny, how and if...

...this fits in with all of the mess...

Look out Lemont! Here they come for your kids and your money!

Lemont to get new Catholic school

Legion of Christ order has faced controversy



Read it here in the Chicago Tribune

Only 4???!!!

LC ordinations in Rome last week:

The new priests come from 13 countries: 23 Mexicans, 6 Spaniards, 4 Americans, 3 Germans, 3 Brazilians, 1 Argentinean, 2 Columbians, 1 Canadian, 2 Italians, 1 from Chile, 1 from France, 1 from Ireland, and one from Venezuela.

Only four gringos and one canuck for the tons of vocation work and the dozens and dozens of candidates and apostolic school kids from the mid nineties in the US and Canada? Where have they all gone?

If you want real Theology honey...

Is the Legion of Christ really the best place to go?
From causa nostrae laetitiae

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Theology 101 and me
There's a reason that Theology is rarely discussed here. After a year of Catholic high school Theology where I learned the historical critical method, which 'explains' all the miracles in the Bible as natural events, I shied away from Theology for fear of losing my faith. Everything I know about Theology I learned from my personal reading and EWTN.I still have a lot of catching up to do and I'm not going to display my ignorance here. My one strength is knowing where to go to get reliable Theology, and seeking to improve my knowlege in odd moments in my busy days.I am just beginning to understand the concept of Natural Law, for instance. Here is a short introduction to Natural Law from a fellow at the Westchester Institute.
Posted by Leticia at 2/27/2008 0 comments Links to this post
Labels: Legionaries of Christ, Theology

Father, where the heck did you learn to write? Or did you ever learn?

The following gospel reflection just sucks. It sucks as prose and its depth could not drown a hamster.

Father Ernest Daly, LC
John 20:1a and 2-8 [...]

Introductory Prayer:Lord, today I am reminded of the intensity of love that you stir in the hearts of your followers. I want to be your follower today. I believe that you love me. I believe that you have overcome sin and death. I believe that you walk with me.
Petition:Lord, give me the joy of discovering you as St. John discovered you.
1. EagerSt. John was on fire for Christ right from the beginning. Early on, Christ had won his heart. In his Gospel, John would record many things about Christ in a very personal way, giving us special insights into Christ. Christ allowed him into his heart, and John’s faith gave him reason to hope in the Resurrection. That is why he runs with such eagerness to the tomb. He does not yet know that Christ is risen, but he wants to know. He wants to be where Christ is. Am I eager to be with Christ? This time of Christmas is a special time in which I can naturally feel attracted to Christ. Do I take advantage of this grace and try to converse more with him?
2. FastNo hesitation. Get there as quickly as possible. John knows where he has to go. Nothing else is as important. He does not let anything get in the way. A saint lives his life quickly, even if his years are long. He lives it quickly because he lives each day, each moment, intensely for Christ and souls. He lives his prayer life intensely — in spite of the natural fatigue and moments of dryness — because he knows the time spent in prayer is the most important moment of the day. A saint lives his service to his family and others with the intensity of love. Rather than tiring him, love brings him closer to God. Am I afraid to love and live with intensity?
3. BelievingJohn was rewarded for his faith. His Lord is alive! No amount of cruelty and evil, not even death itself, can defeat his Lord. John teaches us to believe in Christ, to discover with joy the signs of his presence. Am I using this Christmas season to reaffirm my faith in Christ’s presence in the world? Do I cultivate a supernatural outlook in the things I do, in the way I deal with those around me? Do I build up confidence in Christ’s victory in souls and discover the signs of that victory?
Conversation with Christ:Lord, thank you for St. John’s faith. He was close to your heart. Help me to place my heart in your heart. I want to run to you, Lord, throughout the ups and downs of my life, the good times and the bad. Today I will stay close to you in my heart. I beg you to remain close to me.
Resolution:I will the Creed in front of a manger scene today and make a special effort to talk about God’s providence in my conversations with others.

Gotta love LC intellectual formation!

Hey folks, I just cut and paste them.

Image source.

Keep an eye on the kids!

Nice family. But I would not leave my kids with the guy they quote at the top of this blog. (hint, there are two "M's" in his name).
'Tis a nice quote. Too bad he never lived by it in reality. Just for show...

What do you think of this answer from vocation.com?

Kassie asks:
During the past Holy Week, I fought a strong call be be consecrated. I finally realized that I was being selfish with Christ and that I needed to offer him back all that he has given me, and that I can give up anything for him after what he has done for me. Immediately, I experienced peace. The question of whether I was called to consecrated or married life was no longer imperative. I felt as though Christ was helping me find my generosity by asking for the biggest gift I could give him, and when I realized that I could give him that, he was happy. Now, I am unsure if the call to consecration was just me being afraid that he would ask for the biggest sacrifice, or whether I really do have a vocation. I am 17 years old and a Junior in high school, and am unsure how I should go about preparing for college without knowing exactly what Christ wants. Was he simply testing my generosity in order to bring me closer to him (I am so much closer to him now and have received so many graces) or is he asking for a vocation?
Sincerely, Kassie

Dear Kassie,

We go through many stages in discovering our vocation: searching, apparently groping in the dark, moments of clarity, consolation and conviction, and times of doubt, distraction and temptation. These and others are unpredictable and vary from one person to another, and at times the whole journey can be quite a roller-coaster of emotions and perceptions. To get to your situation: 17 with one year of high school to go, you have experienced the peace that came from offering yourself totally to Christ, yet now you are wondering if you really were being generous, and you are unsure of how to prepare for college if you don't know exactly what Christ wants.
Kassie, I think it will help you to stick to the facts, and the first one is that you did sincerely offer Christ everything out of gratitude for all he did for you. You simply put him in the center and told him nothing else mattered. The most important thing to do now is to keep him there, right in the center. When you get worried about other things, keep coming back and never let go of this anchor: there is only one way to repay Christ for all he did to save us from sin, and it is to give him all we are, and do whatever he wants.
Now, does he want you to consecrate yourself to him? Here, you have another fact to consider. When you decided to put Christ at the center, the thought of consecration came into your mind. That does not happen to everybody, and it may be (only "may be", not "is") a first indication of a vocation. So, it is good to look around and see if the other signs of a vocation are there in your life (Is there an attraction? Are your motives spiritual? Do you have the normal maturity for your age? Are you aware of what you would be giving up? Are you doing it freely, not out of fear? etc.) It would be good to speak about all this with your spiritual director if you have one, or with a priest you trust.
Then, a final fact, our vocation is God's plan for our lives. So trust him. He is not going to want you to do something and then not give you the opportunity to find out what it is. God after all is intelligent, much more than you or I, and we wouldn't make a mistake like that. So, if you start looking he is going to place what he wants you to do in your path. I think it would be wise to think Christ may be calling you, and the best way to find out if he is, is to start looking into where it may be. There may be a religious Congregation or a Movement you know or have heard about that has made you curious, start there. I imagine if you start looking now, by the time you are half-way through your senior year you will have a fairly good idea if you have a vocation or not, and where it is to. And that will give you a good idea if you should be looking into college or into following the vocation right away. God bless.

Fr. Anthony Bannon, L.C.

Text and Photo from www.vocation.com

Wednesday Photo Caption Contest (Returns)

SHAME on you Fr. Jon-Jon

Fr. Jonathan Morris of Fox Forum should be ashamed of himself.
Just try mentioning anything even questioning the Legion or Maciel on his blog on Fox and the comment will post and then disappear a few minutes later. Just try it. This is shameful: if he puts himself out publically, then he has to take what is said.
Legionaries of Christ create their own reality. Even the most public ones. Just ask some poor parents who have lost their sons to them.

If you are man enough not to hide behind your collar and pretty boy face, then come here and let us know your reasons, Fr. Jonathan Morris, L.C.

Photo credit.

Less Queen Helene, but more Cookie cut faces

Another website? Who pays all the web fees?
Whynotpriest.org
Well, Christmas is a time for legions of identical, saccharine Gingerbread men. One says that he wants to help the poor. Well, abandon ship. You just ain't gonna be able to do that in the Legion of Ginger Christ.

I can think of a lot more "why nots?". Can you?
Why not help those who you booted out?
Why not keep more RC members in?

By the way, there is no mention of the Legion sponsoring the site. Quelle surprise!

Photo credit.

I'm Mr. Lonely

It must be lonely when you have only one friend left in Rome. Read it here.

Photo from linked article.

Listen below while you read:

Fr. Jon-Jon takes on Playboy

Something to say about everything here.

I am sure he only reads the articles.

Help!

I just saw that I have not updated in over a month. Well, help me break through the writers' block and send me some info and photos for posting: landoncody6@gmail.com