Safe Haven

5 Thoughts On Holy Saturday 5. In my experience, this day was not as...taxing, when I was Reformed. 4. But Easter Sunday wasn't as thrilling, either. (No offense.) 3. But who am I kidding? A large portion of me wants to sing, "No Lent, no Lent, la-la-la-la-la-la!" 2. On the other hand still, I hope and pray that the joy of my first Easter Vigil in communion with the Church never fades. To be Catholic for me means an active choice to renounce anything from my former days that dissents from the Church. "Test everything; hold on to what is good." 1. Almost 2 years... [Two actual liturgical years, anyway.--ed.] Indeed.

I'm christening a new nickname right now: Gentle Warrior. When she reads it and realizes it's her, she will feel unworthy of it. Which is precisely why it is deserved. I hadn't intended to do it, but if I want to tell you a Good Friday story, I need you to know the people in the story. Oftentimes, when people see Christ in us, we are instead humbled by our self-knowledge, our own sin that is ever before us. And yet, let the love of Christ be so near that self-knowledge draws us in, rather than pushes us away. If we need to do penance, well and good. But not of servile fear, but love. There is no such thing as "Catholic guilt." It doesn't exist. When people say this, they are the epitome of the damned in Hell. The damned will regret the consequences of what they've done, but not what they have done with true penitence. If your conscience accuses you, go toward Christ! Was He not speaking through St. John about this very thing when He said, "But God is ...

I'm sorry. I had to do it. What a great song, anyway. Even if Carly Rae Jepsen spurns the Boy Scouts for morally dubious reasons. All I can say is this, and that Jesus Christ is the Lord of history. The Incarnation and the Paschal Mystery are the pivot-points of all history. Contact with Him isn't some weird existential encounter--at least not fundamentally--but acceptance of the apostolic testimony that God has come to redeem man in Jesus Christ. History may be messy [Just like hermeneutics. Ahem.--ed.] but Truth isn't. Good luck evangelizing the world from a place of epistemic skepticism. That's why "Proper Confidence" has only a limited usefulness. You may gain an audience with a few impressed by your "openness," but it's that same non-realism that prevents them from moving from, "That's interesting" to, "God said that--who is Truth Himself--and I need to do something about it." Now, let's clarify a few things. P...

It has been asserted that I have an inappropriate, unnecessary need for epistemic certainty, and it has been offered by the Catholic Church, [Sidebar: It is indeed the Catholic Church, not the Roman Catholic Church, unless we are referring to its principle of unity, or to the liturgical rite used by most of the West. There is a proper way to say we are united to the Bishop of Rome, and so it can be that way. However, most of us feel "Roman Catholic Church" is a little misleading, owing to the fact that, what, 22 separate particular Churches are united to the Successor of Peter, many with a unique liturgical tradition going back...a really long time. I digress.] and so, I took it. Some friends of mine covered this . And at this point, I have to call shenanigans. Or BS. Or something. Because visible communities have reasons for not being united with each other. Despite whatever lies they tell each other with the Borg Cube of Mother Church bearing down on them, I take them at t...

5 Thoughts For Today 5. These bishop-dudes, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, know what they are talking about. Looking in your direction, Lumen Gentium. 4. It's like they wrote the Catechism to help people understand Vatican II! Oh, wait. 3. "Where the bishop is, there is the Catholic Church." I read that somewhere. 2. CCC, 2089. Know it, love it, live it. Er, kind of. It's more like what not to do. You get the idea. 1. "I was all set to publish my master work on the glories of Monophysitism, when the Church and her stupid Council shut it all down!" said no faithful Christian, ever. Take Bill & Ted's phone booth to 1563, and apply. Ahem.

Did the books of Moses say, "Israel put their faith in God, and in his servant, the book that fell out of the sky"? What happened when Miriam and Aaron challenged Moses? Did God say, "This is really complicated, and hey, nobody's perfect?" And King David totally killed that scumbag Saul, because he obviously wasn't really king, being so unworthy and all. The "protest" of Korah's family obviously led to a glorious era of power-sharing and conciliarism. Oh, wait. With due respect, that's just silly. I don't know where you are trying to go with that, but it seems like Israel generally always had a head, someone in charge. Whether they were good is almost beside the point. Was that power constituted legitimately, even if gained illegitimately? It seems so. It would also seem that God is the only one who can legitimately revoke it. Did I miss something? I remember the circle with the 'R'. I never saw a democratic free-for-all anywh...

I got a lot of reaction from my last post. You said, among other things, that I sounded angry. You said in various ways that I was mischaracterizing your position. I love that one. 57.6% of the time, people don't feel the need to show how they have been misunderstood, they simply assert it. Frankly, when I see this, I often read it as, "I'm offended." Who cares? Well, I care. But not enough to refrain from taking the risk. I feel I owe you an explanation. So, I'm going to restate everything I said in the last post as an explanation of what I was thinking to write it that way. Fair enough? If the tone got in the way of the point, I am sorry. But I'm not at all sorry that I view certain principles--cherished principles of the Reformation--as self-refuting nonsense that deserve nothing but mockery and disdain. Ahem. Onward! Mere Christianity paragraph: I was trying to say that Catholics do not and cannot consent to being one viable option among many. If that ...

We are not one among many. I do not accept your "Mere Christianity." This is not one room in the house; this is the house. I can say this because the conceit that allows your Mere Christianity some surface plausibility is Catholic truth. Those of you who are not completely sucked into fundamentalism or individualism (but I repeat myself) are incoherently relying on some Catholic means or truth to make some semblance of a narrative out of Christian history without the Catholic Church. It mystifies me that people passionately committed to objective truth in other areas of life, who battle relativism wherever it is found in the natural world, become rank postmodernists in theology and ecclesiology. Anything to avoid becoming Catholic. Yes, I'm talking to you, Protestant. Get some Protestants in a room, and it sounds like a bumper sticker. "Co-Exist." Peace and love. One big happy family. Based upon what? United by what? Anti-Catholicism? What would be the point o...

5 Spiritual Nuggets Of Wisdom From British Soul Singer James Morrison 5. "This is precious love, precious love/No, I can't get enough." 4. "Like holy water/Washin' over me/You make it real for me." 3. "You always give me somewhere/Somewhere I can run." 2. "If you're here with me/I know which way to turn." 1. "If your sky is fallin'/Just take my hand and hold it/You don't have to be alone, alone/Yeah, I won't let you go." There is more than a haphazard connection between God's covenant love for His people, and marital and sexual intimacy. Paging St. Paul! (Ephesians 5:25-27) So if we want to raise a fuss about liturgy because a certain form does not conform to the rubrics in Vatican II, or that it clouds the purpose for which we have come (musically or otherwise), I'm cool with that, to a point. But let's seriously not say we shouldn't do it a certain way because it's "emotiona...

5 NCAA Tournament Thoughts 5. Am I a bad alumnus to pick Mizzou to lose next round? 4. No matter their struggles, look out for any team coached by Tom Izzo. (Michigan State) 3. Have you noticed? Butler and Gonzaga are expected to win now. The only thing between "mid-major" schools and the big boys is a couple of deep tournament runs. 2. Good guard play. [Drops mic, leaves] 1. On the women's side, the great shadow of Pat Summitt hangs over everything. God, bless the greatest basketball coach I ever saw. Amen.

...as I think this: "[W]hen it is not possible to overturn or completely abrogate a pro-abortion law, an elected official, whose absolute personal opposition to procured abortion was well known, could licitly support proposals aimed at limiting the harm done by such a law and at lessening its negative consequences at the level of general opinion and public morality. This does not in fact represent an illicit cooperation with an unjust law, but rather a legitimate and proper attempt to limit its evil aspects [no. 73]." Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/blog/jimmy-akin/pope-francis-on-homosexual-unions/#ixzz2O8oFaP64  could easily apply to Paul Ryan's abortion position (and "compromise") as a candidate in 2012. We're waiting for your apology to Ryan and his supporters. Yes, I'm serious.

Especially with regard to political opinions, I am not especially known for speaking temperately. I'm not ashamed to call myself an ideologue, but I will steadfastly protest the notion that I am reflexively partisan, or noxiously so. To me, the only thing worse than a person who believes that his opponents have nothing interesting to say, is another type of person who lacks the energy and enthusiasm to debate and dialogue, and instead says, "Can't we all just get along?" Have I ever lost my cool in a discussion? Of course I have. But I come with the fundamental conviction that whoever I'm talking to is telling me the truth about what he believes, and I also believe that we share some common core of values or convictions that could form the basis of some agreement, even if we actualize that in very different ways. What frustrates people like me in politics is when a particular opinion or policy choice that differs from someone else's is used as a reason to dism...

I went through my daily ritual of seeing what Alan Noble and the other fine folks at Christ and Pop Culture have written. I'm not kidding, I love it. I love it even when they annoy me with their Protestantism (granted, easy to do) and their politics, although if you figure out what it is, let me know. I'd describe it as "annoyingly moderate," but I repeat myself. Anyway, this Derek Rishmawy dude is worth reading all the time. I think I stopped by his blog once and thought, "Whoa, he's way smarter than me." I hate it when that happens, but it happens a lot. I digress. Derek wrote a piece about Rob "Love Wins" Bell and his new book. I mean, it's clear to me that he's not commending the book to his core team, but goodness, I hope if I ever write dangerous books advocating universalism and complete capitulation to prevailing cultural opinion, I get "savaged" like this. Ahem. [You're too passionate and volatile to write lik...

Awhile back, I wrote this . I still think it. I'm a far cry from a peacenik spitter, but you'd think we all were, the way some people react when you bring this up. We have not been a nation characterized by peace in my entire lifetime, and the brief calm before the storms of war is not peace. Peace is a steadfast resolution to avoid military intervention in all but the most extreme circumstances, and a principled articulation of the terms of international cooperation, and the explicit terms under which the normal state of comity will be breached. Does anyone know? And are we really going to say that to demand this is beyond the pale, because Pvt. Johnny from down the street is a helluva guy? And again, I'm not saying he's not. I'm just saying the personal bravery, patriotism, and selflessness of our personnel has very little to do with the moral correctness or the prudence of the political decision to send them into the theaters where that fortitude is displayed. ...

5 Thoughts For Today 5. To quote the great American philosopher MC Hammer, "We need to pray just to make it today." 4. Dear Blogger, I hate that you are now spell-checking me as I type. Don't suck the fun out of JK being JK. 3. I will finish this paper today. 2. No, seriously. 1. When Henry Rollins starts making sense, our culture really is in the toilet. (No offense, Henry.) Rape is rape, but we do need to have lots of conversations about causes. We really do. Just sayin'.

I have a "virtual" friend; her name is Nicole. I'm not sure even how we are connected. If I should know, I don't remember. I blame Confirmation Sponsor Guy, and his merry band of...whatever they are. And I blame another friend, whom I shall christen "Lake McWheels," and trust he is not offended. Catholics find each other, and we don't even care how random it is. I digress. What I mean to say is that Nicole here is a wise lady, and a darn good writer. God must be at work, and Mrs. DeMille must be pretty close to Him, (or at least on the way) because I'm pretty sure I'd not be handling her crosses as well as she does. That will embarrass her, and she will deny it. I say, "Humor me, lady. They tell me they're glad I get out at all." Sidebar: I usually take that stuff in stride, but I sense that some people aren't just uncomfortable; they don't respect me, and this is a way to do that while appearing kind. Moving on. Well,...

My fantasy team looks like this: Starting Pitchers: Adam Wainwright David Price Roy Halladay R.A. Dickey Tim Hudson Shelby Miller Closers: Mariano Rivera Fernando Rodney Rafael Soriano Jim Johnson Line-Up: C: Joe Mauer 1B: Albert Pujols 2B: Aaron Hill 3B: Kevin Youkilis SS: Derek Jeter 2B/SS: Neil Walker 1B/3B: Adam Laroche OF: Jason Kubel OF: Chris Davis OF: Corey Hart OF: Garrett Jones OF: Ryan Ludwick Bench: Adam Dunn (1B) A. J. Pierzynski (C) [Joe Mauer insurance] Tyler Colvin (OF) I think I can win with these guys. I always draft starting pitchers very early; you'd think they would try to stop me. I also picked the closers early, to make sure I got who I wanted. The outfield suffered the cost of this, but again, I think I can get enough out of them. There are injury/age concerns all over, but "Jason Wins!" upside.

Everyone I care about gets a nickname. I try to make them flattering names that they'd enjoy if they heard them. Sparky, Junior, Lucy, Comrade, (we gave each other that one) Confirmation Sponsor Guy. They might start out as gentle tweaks, but I notice that each one fits better as we share more of life together. I can't help it. I subsist as a creative force on catchphrases, and nicknames. Who am I kidding? I'm not a creative force. [You beat me to it.--ed.] On the other hand, some of you I care deeply about don't have one yet. That's OK. I'm working on it. It has to work. It has to fit. What does it mean, to have a nickname? Well, I can tell you what it means to me. It means that you are unique. It means that my life has flavor because of you. When you get the name, it means that my soul laughs a little at the thought of you, and when I share it, it means I want us to laugh together. I'm discovering that parents do this a lot. God does it a lot. Of cou...

I was coming home after dinner with friends, and I couldn't get it out of my head. It was a melody composed by Jay Chattaway, written for what would become the most popular episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Both the episode and the piece are called, "The Inner Light." It's a simple, haunting melody, and it's the sort of thing you hear, and immediately want to hear again. The emotional power of the episode has something to do with it. I'll not tell it here. Let's just say that it's the epitome of Star Trek in its relentless optimism, and its abiding humanism. That was Roddenberry's vision. Star Trek has room and the creative forces to go beyond that vision to a point, but not to repudiate it. And I think that if there was a criticism I could level with those who carry on the tradition of Star Trek, it's that it flirts with being too gritty, too present-day. I'm the furthest thing from a secularist, so it could always rub me wrong, a...

"The main reason I'm Catholic: If nobody since Christ is infallible under any conditions, then religion is a matter of opinion. That makes divine revelation *as such* epistemically inaccessible. But divine revelation as such is epistemically accessible. Ergo..." --Michael Liccione If divine revelation is epistemically accessible, it must be accessible by certain means. What are those means? They would be the basis of the agreement between Catholics and Protestants, in this case. The Ecumenical Councils of Nicea and Chalcedon. There are two roads we can take with this: 1) The Council has authority as such; or 2) the Council's conclusion is correct, but it has no authority as such. Interesting question: How do we assert its veracity over against alternatives, if it is not an authority in itself? What is the principled basis upon which to do this? Can we account for this becoming the orthodox position without, quite frankly, the bald imposition of ecclesiastical fiat? ...