Safe Haven

I'm a Catholic, if that isn't obvious. I'm a real Catholic, too, by the way. Not a person who's understanding of the faith is limited, though of course, any of us could stand to deepen our understanding. This means for our purposes here that I actually believe the Council of Trent was and is correct. And despite what you may have heard, the Second Vatican Council is not in essence any different from Trent. Our popes and Councils like to use a phrase "of happy memory" to refer to a predecessor who did something important, and that council is no exception. A good Catholic loves and affirms all the ecumenical councils. Not only is that an obligation we have, but we rejoice to do so. I belabor the point because if any non-Catholic Christians harbor hopes that some teaching of the Church on faith and morals will change, because they have been in dialogue with a Catholic who has a defective morality, faith, or ecclesiology, they stand a good chance of being deceived...

...is kind of a pain.  Get out of here with your alarmingly sensible papist reasonings from the Scriptures! Dude, I was kind of like a young woman, who finds that young man "kind of annoying," but her friends know she's in denial. I could see that all the Scriptures made sense with what Trent was basically saying ,--I know, try not to die--but I fought it. I fought in stages: 1. "You're wrong!" Phase: I was utterly thwarted by two things: 1) I am in fact not the end-all, be-all, know-it-all from the Scriptures, talented as I may be, which necessitates a reasonably humble person to ask his community, which led to the second problem, which was 2) these obnoxious papists dared to say that my community did not have authority in the first place! Actually, the first problem blended with the second problem, because the hermeneutical pluralism in evidence should convince even the proudest fool that he doesn't have the hermeneutical magic bullet that everyone e...

Sure, he didn't fully embrace "historic" Christological orthodoxy, but he's just doing what a good Protestant should do: Wondering aloud just what is so "historic" about that particular interpretation. He's not bound to it, any more than you have bound yourself to the dogmatic conclusions of the Council of Trent. Oops. I'm seriously not messing with you when I say things like, "There is an irreconcilable conflict between the fundamental principle of the Reformation, and the imposition of ecclesiastical authority." If you want an "historic" faith, you are bound to those means by which it became the historic, true, and universal faith. When it's all said and done, you're either an atheist, or a child of the Catholic Church. Man alive, that is scary business! But it's enlivening, too.

From the "Why Isn't This Obvious?" Department .

5. It's really the illegal wars that are galling, sir, not your peacenik rhetoric. 4. Once more, it doesn't bother me per se that Hagel is "anti-Israel"; it bothers me more that he is too cowardly to defend views he clearly holds. 3. Yes, I called a veteran a coward; deal with it. 2. We do actually deserve the truth about Benghazi. 1. President Obama has made several mistakes in personnel; Samantha Power is not one of them.

5. The Office just isn't funny. 4. Actually, NBC in general isn't funny. 3. I have to like the characters who make me laugh. I don't know who decided Awkward Funny was the way to go, but he was wrong. 2. Jim Gaffigan is funny. Notice how similar he is to Cosby in subject matter. 1. Every time you say, "faith alone," a kitten dies. [Rant] I have to believe that absurd characters we like to make fun of is a reflection of being very damaged, and reaching out for someone worse off than we are. We don't want anyone to know that is us. We're "ironic" because being real would hurt too much, or so we think. You forget that suffering and joy aren't very far apart. The deeper you cry, the deeper you laugh. Have you ever wondered why Robin Williams is so funny? I don't wonder; I know. He has suffered and endured. This is why he started doing serious films and family films, and it's worked so brilliantly. The love of God makes us free...

Politics is about power. We need to frankly acknowledge this. This sphere of human life is about the acquisition of power for oneself or others. It need not be a negative; it may often be necessary, and depending on the ends and the means, even conducive to the good of all. If you align yourself with a political movement, you align yourself not only with the ends of that movement, but with the means of its achievement. Feminism is a political movement. It has transparently secular ends, for one thing. And what is the end of feminism or feminisms? The replacement of a perceived patriarchy with a matriarchy. It is women in power over men. It isn't hard to find or see. If we forget that all political movements are about power, we can easily delude ourselves, aligning ourselves with various secondary effects, or in opposition to numerous injustices against women. But if we say we are feminists, we get more than we likely intend. There is no doubt of it. Don't say, "I'm...

I hate it when that happens .

That's my kind of liberalism , brethren.

5. Stay inside! 4. The precipitation may not be too bad, but look out, New England! This monster is coming for you! 3. I will happily teach Catechism in the Bahamas, Father. 2. Speaking of New England, Tom Brady is so hot right now. Tom Brady. 1. Alright, I'm coming out of my Patriots closet: I root for the Patriots when the Rams aren't involved. Sue me. Excursus to follow. Camera 3. [turns] [Rant] Look, people. I get it. The Patriots are evil. They've been consistently great since 2001, and it's obnoxious. They won 3 Super Bowls, and lost in 2 others. Then, they cheated by videotaping other teams when they practice. That didn't help the rep. Fair enough. But I love what they do. They collect players other teams gave up on, and they turn them into champions. Even the year they missed the playoffs by some stupid fluke, they won 11 of their 16 games, without Tom Brady, who'd blown out his knee. Are you seeing this? Do you remember when they were the unde...

5. It's not hard. Freedom means being able to do what you will within the commands of the gospel. If my weaker brother asks me not to eat or drink for his sake, his needs are greater than my freedom. I've done this a million times. If you struggle with a sin in some area, you are not as free as the man who doesn't. You are bound by the chains of the gospel, even if another finds your self-imposed restrictions limiting for him. He cannot tell you to adopt his standard if this would harm you, and you can't judge him for his, either. We've got to back each other up in our mutual pursuit of holiness. This is charity, and this is what St. Paul was getting at. I think some of you in regard to drinking give cautions to other Christians in order to protect weaker brothers, but the truth is, you actually are that weaker brother. If you believe a brother or sister has sinned, tell him or her. There is no need for general "cautions." The strong Christian worries abo...