Mormon 2 Catholic

New Blog

2007-03-17T15:12:00.000-05:00

I'm not even sure if I have anyone who reads the feed of this blog anymore, but if you do, I've moved.

My new home is:

http://mormon2catholic.wordpress.com/

If you are into feeds, the new feed is:
http://mormon2catholic.wordpress.com/feed/

New blogger is finicky

2006-12-24T18:00:00.000-06:00

I was wanting to blog the other day, but there's something about the Blogger Beta that doesn't work at work. Maybe it can't get past the firewalls. I'm not sure.

Being a member of the Cathedral Guadalupe parish, I found this NY Times article quite interesting:

Nuevo Catholics - The Hispanicization of American Catholicism

My parish is I'm sure at least 95% Catholic. I'd be willing to guess that 60%+ of the parishioners at the Noon mass, the one I normally attend, is of Hispanic origin, and the Spanish-speaking masses are always amazingly overfilled. The dedication to the Virgin at the Cathedral is amazing. If you want to see dedication and beauty, come to church around December 13th, the feast day of the Virgin Guadalupe. The stage of the church, a very large area, is completely covered with roses and carnations and every kind of flower. The smell is amazing.

My church is affected by its Spanish-speaking members in other ways, too. I've read that the Cathedral has the second-highest weekly mass attendance in the country next to St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York. We have one English and one Spanish Vigil mass, and on Sunday, we have two English and four Spanish masses. At the 3p mass, they have a mariachi band that plays. Virtually all of the programs are for Spanish-speaking members. There are many social services that are available for Spanish-speaking members, such as tax assistance, tutoring, and special dancing and choral groups. There is an English speaking choir that sings at the Noon mass, and for the first time, an English study group is going to be forming in January, and I am very excited about that.

I had a commenter ask why I like the Cathedral as opposed to the other places I have tried going to church. Well, first of all, the Cathedral has the big benefit of being the closest Catholic church near me. Parking is a nightmare, but my husband drops me off and picks me up, which is not a huge inconvenience because it's so close to our loft. Secondly, the church is fairly moderate. It's not too liberal, like the guitar masses at Holy Family of Nazereth. I wish it rang bells when the sacrament was served, like St. Thomas Aquinas does.

Other than St. Jude, there haven't been any churches I've just flat out disliked. Each had their benefit. Holy Trinity has an excellent choir. St. Thomas Aquinas has a very orthodox view and lots of programs for English-speakers. It's just so far away - 15-20 minutes through busy city streets is a very annoying drive for me.

I absolutely loved going to the Tridentine Masses. But the problem is that it is a VERY tiny chapel, and I always felt like I was taking up space there that was best suited for someone more devoted to the traditional liturgy.

The homilies at the Cathedral are also pretty good - not too "God is Love" fluff, actual thought-out homilies. The Deacons and the priests both put a lot of preparation into their weekly thoughts. I miss Father Ramone's sermons. We have a Dominican priest at the Cathedral now, though, which I really like. I like the way that Dominicans preach, and it makes me happy to have one in my parish.

The Cathedral has many different advantages over St. Jude. First, it has a choir at the Noon mass, and music is a big part of how the Mass takes me out of the mundane world and brings me into a more spiritual realm. The priest at St. Jude tells jokes, which to me is an insult to the Liturgy of the Word. There's a difference between having a line in a homily that induces a snicker and putting in a "So two priests are walking on a golf field" joke. From what I understand, it's very popular for many of the parishioners, but I find it's not my taste.

One thing I like about the Cathedral over St. Jude is that at the Cathedral I can receive both the body and blood of Christ. St. Jude stopped serving both species when the Dominicans left.

I think what it boils down to is that after much thought and much prayer, I kept being pointed to the Cathedral over and over. I don't know why I'm supposed to be there yet, but I know that the Cathedral is where I am supposed to be. It's hard to describe - kind of a gut feeling about the whole thing. I know that's where I'm supposed to be, so I don't fight it.

I do know that if St. Jude ever gets a new priest, and I still live downtown, and if he's halfway decent, I will most probably switch to going to St. Jude. But I just find the new priest intolerable with his jokes.

St. Jude Chapel makes me sad

2006-12-11T01:22:00.000-06:00

Have you ever seen a boyfriend/girlfriend/close friend that you used to be really tight with, but have been apart from for quite some time? There is still a sense of intimacy, of familiarity, but there's just something that really reminds you "you can't go home again."

I went to St. Jude chapel today. Being there makes me so deeply sad. There are parts of me that still love so much about that chapel. I have a very special bond with that chapel - it's the chapel where I solidified my love for the Catholic church. I spent many intimate hours with Christ there, worshiping him at the tabernacle as I prayed or meditated or worshiped during Mass. Going there always makes me feel comfortable and safe. For a bit.

And then the priest walks in. He walked in today at 12p, no vestments (the mass starts at 12:10p). The "lighting" of the second Advent candle was comprised of the priest sticking a velcro candle flame onto a banner hanging from the front of the altar. While they have managed to get a new cantor, no one sang. No one at all.

The priest has yet to stop his amazingly annoying habit of saying a joke before his homily. Here's how his homily started out: A man finds out that he has leukemia. He decides to fulfill his life's dream and become a painter in the short while he has left on this earth. He gives his paintings to a gallery to sell. He calls the gallery a little later in the week, and asks if the paintings sold. The gallery owner says, I have some good news and some bad news. The painter asks to hear the good news first. The gallery owner said that someone looked at the paintings and asked if they would be worth more when the painter died, I said yes, and he bought every one of your paintings. And the bad news, asked the painter? The gallery owner said, the man was your doctor. Now, it was supposed to be a joke, I'm sure, but out of the pews came this huge "Awwwww ...." It was hilarious!

At any rate, it breaks my heart. It used to taste like spiritual Steak to me, and now it tastes like cold Chicken McNuggets.

I have found that I do enjoy going to the Cathedral. I've been going there for months now. I've made a few friends. Now that I'm a member of the congregation, however, some of the flaws are more apparent. But I still go, as I feel like it's where I need to be spiritually.

Hello from the Ghost Blog

2006-09-18T00:44:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone! I got a comment today asking if everything was Ok with me, so I thought I'd give a quick note telling everyone how I am.

Let's see, where was I? Oh yeah ... after a couple of months of church hopping and a month at the Tridentine Mass, I started going to the Cathedral every week. It's a nice church. I still hate going to confession there because the priest doesn't speak hardly any English. But the masses are Ok.

This week, I didn't feel like dealing with the parking garage down at the Cathedral, so I went to St. Jude Chapel for the first time in 2-3 months. Things were ... a little better than last time I went. The chapel was pretty full this time, the cantor was back (apparently she had been on some kind of European tour), and the priest kept it to one joke in his homily. I just hate going into the Nicene Creed after the priest ends the homily on a joke. And not a very funny joke. He transitioned from suffering into a long spiel about the yearly CCA fundraiser. The "goal" of the fundraiser is to raise $53,000. Whatever they don't raise comes straight from the chapel coffers. I hate that the diocese puts that kind of pressure on that little chapel. Last year they threatened to shut down the chapel if there wasn't enough money. There was a generous donor who came through in a pinch to cover almost all of the debt (who, by the way, is no longer there), but it's scary to think the diocese could pull that stunt again.

On personal news, my husband broke his arm a few weeks ago in a bicycle accident, but it looks like he's healing fine. My job is still eh, but what are you gonna do, you know? I have been accepted into the MBA program at Texas A&M Commerce - Universities Center campus, but I have to wait until my job stabalizes to start taking classes - apparently a year and a half of "special projects" has made my job very unstable. Every time I start a project, I'm told "We're not sure what we're going to do with you when this is over." I'm ready for them to say "We know you're Special Projects, so we won't worry about your job we'll just keep you."

My spiritual life is very quiet. I do my day to day things, but it doesn't permeate my life like it did when I was investigating. I know it is right, and right for me, and I pray and do what I am supposed to do. I go to church every Sunday, although I haven't gone to a Daily Mass in weeks, not like I did when I first was baptized. I have a side hobby now which occupies much of my Internet time, so I don't get on the Catholic boards much.

My husband and I are still delightfully happy, and he's still very sweet. Today it started raining after Mass started, and my husband walked down to the chapel with an umbrella so I wouldn't have to walk home in the rain. My husband rocks.

Anyway, so I'm not dead. Just quiet. :)

Surreal experience at the Cafe Brazil

2006-08-05T11:19:00.000-05:00

After church last Sunday, my husband and I went to Cafe Brazil on Cedar Springs for some tasty migas. (There's still a little Mormon part of me that feels guilty eating out on Sunday. Is that keeping the Sabbath day holy? I've never heard anything about that on the pulpit since being Catholic, nor have I read about it. I'm not sure.)

Anyway, so my husband and I were sitting there, and started hearing the words Mormon over our shoulder. In our little area of the restaurant, we could hear the two people sitting next to us having a "get to know each other" type of conversation over their breakfast. The gentleman started slowly divulging his past. He was born in Salt Lake City, BIC ("born in the covenant", meaning his parents were sealed in the temple before he was born - basically a "cradle Mormon"), married in the Temple, divorced, married multiple times, and now he was gay. It was interesting hearing his stories about how his family would not let him see his children after he came out and the struggles he has had since coming out. (He was kind of loud, and verbose. I'm really not that nosey).

It made me think of how my life has journeyed since leaving the Mormon church. When I first left I was passionately anti-Mormon. Most ex-Mormons who left because of doctrinal differences get this way for a while. It's a good way to vent the feelings of anger and betrayal that most exMo's have. I then was agnostic for years, but still trying to find a "center" in all of it. I learned about wicca for a while, and went through a wild phase. In my mid-20's, I came back to the church for a bit, and felt more hollowed and betrayed after I left again than before I came back in.

It's odd how my Mormon past comes back to haunt me in odd ways and in the weirdest times. Like the breakfast thing earlier. Is it a sin to eat out? I don't know. I feel mischievous sometimes when I drink a Coke. I've never had guilt drinking tea since leaving the church, but I still get a thrill every time I drink a Coke. I don't do it often, but when I do I feel like the kid who swiped a cookie when their mom wasn't looking. I still am very reserved about cussing in public and have an overdeveloped sense of public dignity. I can spot a missionary a mile away, and my husband has gotten where he spots them too. On random occasions and with no provocation, I get "Popcorn Popping on the Apricot Tree" stuck in my head.

It's odd hearing how much hurt ex-Mormons have about the betrayal that they feel when they leave the church. I could hear the obvious hurt in that diner's voice, about how he could not visit his children because of the Bishop, and how his family had shunned him. One of my favorite blogs is Joseph's Left One, an exMo whose family is still strongly entrenched in the Mormon church. Other than talking to my best friend (whose family is still all Mormon but him), and my mom, I don't have anyone talking about Mormonism to me. It's pretty much behind me. But he's dealing with it on a daily basis. His wife is feeling pain because of his loss of testimony.

It's so confusing being an exMormon. I've been getting a lot of random out-of-the-blue comments about my blog from what I assume are God-Fearing active Mormons. Most of the comments are like, "If you'd just feel the spirit, you'd still be Mormon" and "why do you criticize the church, you don't know what you're talking about!" Things like that. What is the point of criticism like this? Do they think they're going to guilt me back into the church? "Oh my Gosh, I was lost, but then this person said I was making false assumptions about the church and all I need to do is pray and I'll come back. Why didn't I think of that?? I'll go pray right now!" What good do they think that negativity is going to do me? Or them? Does it make them feel better to put down people with differing opinions than them? It's one thing to share personal feelings about something in one's blog or in one's circle of friends. It's a totally different thing to go into someone else's home or blog uninvited and attack them for their beliefs.

I was asked by someone whose opinion I greatly respect if I brought anything good out of Mormonism. I thought about it for quite a bit. And you know, I did. Some of my best memories from my tween and teen years were with my Mormon friends. I met my best friend at a Mormon church, and my life wouldn't be the same without him. I learned lots of homemaking skills, like how to iron a shirt and how to cook. I learned how to study, and I learned how to defend my beliefs by learning everything I could about a subject. Much of my family is still Mormon and they have not had the kind of amazingly hurtful things happen to them that I have read about on the RFM boards (well, that's not totally true, but they were able to move past the hurtful things and remain faithful members).

But doing this evaluation made me realize something else - I learned nothing about God while Mormon. Everything I learned was false, based on the claims of someone whom I have come to believe is a liar, and the things I did learn didn't move me with passion. The temple was boring (and heartbreaking - it kept getting thrown in my face how single people were less worthy than married people and I hated that), sacrament meeting was amateur hour. Fellowshipping for me simply didn't exist. Doing endowment sessions didn't move me nearly as much as attending Mass and receiving the Eucharist does now. Every single Sunday I look forward to communing with God in the most intimate way possible. I looked forward to the Temple because I liked dressing up, and feeling like I was doing what God wanted me to do. But I never felt close to God. I always walked out of there feeling lonely. Every time. I often cried in the Celestial Room because I couldn't understand that if I was supposed to be doing God's work, why did I feel so alone? When I'm in Mass, praying in front of the Tabernacle, I never feel alone, even though sometimes I'm there by myself.

And here's another thing - I love being Catholic. I love going to Mass, I love hearing the homilies, I love receiving the Eucharist. I love wearing my St. Benedict medal, and I love praying the Rosary before Mass. I love blessing my food before I eat, and I love learning about saints. I love the feeling I have when I pray to God in gratefulness for the sacrifice that Christ made for me. I love the calm, centered feeling that I have now, whether I'm in church or whether I'm sitting at work. Sometimes it washes over me in waves and makes me just genuinely happy about life. I love feeling my prayers, if that makes sense. It's all so good. It's like being raised on fast food, and then being introduced to Vietnamese Pho, and Enchiladas, and Spaghetti, and Chinese Stir-fry. There's a world of good things out there that exist outside of the circle of Mormonism, and I'm experiencing all of them that I can.

Always with you

2006-08-05T11:18:00.000-05:00

From my favorite comic, Toothpaste For Dinner

Hot in herre

2006-07-22T23:21:00.000-05:00

Hello all! So answer your questions yes, I am still Catholic. :) I've been attending the Tridentine Mass for about a month now. I'm still leaning towards going there. The only problem that I have with the experience is that it's in a beautiful but tiny little chapel. I usually get there before 9a for the 9:30a service. The rosary starts at 9a, and every pew is full by the second decade every week. Then people start squeezing in, and then men start giving up their seats to women, so the chapel is lined with men. It's crazy how packed that little chapel gets.

It seems like each pew has already been "claimed" by a family who sits there every week. And there's maybe 24 pews total that seat 4 adults each. The first few Sundays I ended up sitting on the same pew as a family of 5 (one baby), which was pretty tight but not too bad. Last week I ventured out a bit and moved over to another aisle, only to be told that the choir sits there. I thought I had sat up enough not to be in the choir seats, but I was mistaken. I don't know where I can claim "my" seat in that chapel.

And apparently it's hard to keep the place cool when it's packed to the gills with people. Last Sunday it was over 90 degrees outside when church started. As soon as I walked into the church, I felt the heavy, hot air surround me. And it got progressively worse as the place started to fill up. Men in formal shirts had huge sweat stains, and babies were pink from the heat, their little hair matted up from the sweat. It was very old school.

It's uncomfortable enough being crowded in a cool building, but to be packed in like sardines in a hot chapel was almost more than I could bear. I offered it up the best I could.

Now, I'll endure sweltering heat and awkward seating situations to be able to worship in such a sacred and spiritual environment. But I don't want to feel self-conscious while I'm there because I'm afraid I'm sitting in someone else's seat or that I'm crowding a family who has always sat in the same pew.

Embracing weaknesses

2006-07-10T11:18:00.000-05:00

Reading II for Sunday, July 9, 2006
2 Cor 12:7-10

Brothers and sisters:
That I, Paul, might not become too elated,
because of the abundance of the revelations,
a thorn in the flesh was given to me, an angel of Satan,
to beat me, to keep me from being too elated.
Three times I begged the Lord about this, that it might leave me,
but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you,
for power is made perfect in weakness.”
I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses,
in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me.
Therefore, I am content with weaknesses, insults,
hardships, persecutions, and constraints,
for the sake of Christ;
for when I am weak, then I am strong.

I’ve been going to the Tridentine Mass in Dallas for the past few weeks ago, and enjoy it immensely. But I needed to go to confession before Sunday mass, so I went to my little chapel down the road, St. Jude, and attended Vigil Mass on Saturday night. I’m thankful I did because I got a lot out of one of the scripture readings for the mass.

The message in the Sunday reading really hit home for me. I so often feel weak. I felt like I was very strong when I got baptized, like I was where I needed to be spiritually. But lately I’ve felt off. I’ve been dwelling on what I will simply state as my “weakness” more than I feel is appropriate.

I want to be content with my weaknesses. I want to be accepting of the parts of me that I know will never change. There are parts of me, behavior patterns, ways of interacting with people that have been there since I was old enough to remember them and will be there until I die most probably. These traits can often be frustrating, and I, like so many people before me, just simply want to be “normal”.

But I will do my best to embrace my weaknesses. I’ve been trying to pray about these weaknesses lately, and to offer them up to Christ in union with his suffering, but the context of my weaknesses seems so far removed from anything spiritual. It’s hard putting certain traits of mine into a spiritual context. It’s like trying to put my dislike for raw tomatoes in a spiritual context. Does my like or dislike of raw tomatoes make me any less or more of a spiritual person? It’s a trait I’ve had since I was a child – I do not like raw tomatoes. I don’t see it changing. But it’s a small yet significant part of who I am. I hope this is making some kind of sense.

I don’t want my weaknesses to affect my relationship with God, or with my husband, or with my friends. I don’t want my work to get neglected, or my home. I’m struggling with the balance between embracing my weaknesses and trying to overcome my weaknesses at the same time. It’s a hard struggle. Thank goodness, when I’m in church, I feel stronger. I feel the importance of those weaknesses in my life melting away. In church, I feel whole, and “normal”. When I leave, it’s like I’m battling those demons yet again. I feel solace in prayer.

Adding Gravitas to the Nicene Creed

2006-07-07T09:06:00.000-05:00

So how the heck is everybody??? And what the heck have I been up to? Well, to be perfectly honest, I've been watching way, way, way too much of this guy, Stephen Colbert of "The Colbert Report". In keeping with the topic of the blog, I've posted a clip of when Colbert recites the Nicene Creed in its entirety on his show, adding a healthy dose of gravitas on the way.

Colbert is the youngest of 11 children, and was raised in an Irish Roman Catholic family. He has said in an interview that:

I love my Church, and I'm a Catholic who was raised by intellectuals, who were very devout. I was raised to believe that you could question the Church and still be a Catholic. What is worthy of satire is the misuse of religion for destructive or political gains. That's totally different from the Word, the blood, the body and the Christ. His kingdom is not of this earth.

He also said in an interview with Terry Gross of NPR's "Fresh Air":

We're, you know, very devout and, you know, I still go to church and, you know, my children are being raised in the Catholic Church. And I was actually my daughters' catechist last year for First Communion, which was a great opportunity to speak very simply and plainly about your faith without anybody saying, `Yeah, but do you believe that stuff?' which happens a lot in what I do.

One more interesting quote in an interview in the New York Times says:

I have a wife who loves me, and I am oddly normative. I go to church. I would say that there would be plenty of Catholics in the world who would think of me as not that observant, but for the world I move in professionally, I seem monastic.

Becoming Catholic has been an interesting journey for me, and I have found that trying to find where I belong in past parts of my life has been much more difficult than I thought it would be. Comedy has been a part of my life since I was a small child. I remember listening to my comedy vinyl albums over and over. Artists like Stephen Wright, Emo Phillips, Bill Cosby, and "Weird Al" Yankovic became part of my daily inner monologue. I loved comedy, I loved listening to comedy and reading about comedy. I was an SNL junkie, and loved stand up on the new cable stations that began streaming into my home as a teenager.

As I got older, I began to learn about things such as improv comedy, late night television show comedy, and sketch comedy shows. Comedy Central became my favorite network as I absorbed more and more about comedy. I began learning about the Second City family of players, and how the different players would go on to do so many things in the comedy spectrum. I would watch and learn about new sketch comedy shows the way others would learn about their favorite sports team. While some people could tell you about the new rookie on the basketball team and tell about their high school and college ball career, I could take a writer from SNL and tell you their career history as well, from stand-up or Second City, or possibly the Groundlings in LA or the Hasty Pudding at Harvard, to smaller cable shows to becoming head writer on a popular show. I knew all the big players, and where they had come from and what they were doing now.

But being Catholic, I found my sensibilities changing. What's safe to laugh at? How do I take this passion and incorporate it into my new wineskin? It was a struggle, and I found myself missing that part of my life.

Enter Stephen Colbert. He's successful, he's had a long career in comedy, AND .... he's a professed Catholic. While he would most definitely be considered more "progressive" than most of the Catholics I associate with, on the other hand, he also truly believes in the Church and treasures it in his life. He makes constant references to the Catholic religion on his show, but never in a mean spirited way.

So I've found a new comedian to learn about. And that makes me happy. So I watch him.

Carnival of the Veil

2006-06-23T14:01:00.000-05:00

Carnival of the Veil, the ex-mo blog carnival is being hosted by Heart of Darqueness this week. Go check it out!

Obligatory smaltzy anniversary post

2006-06-23T13:32:00.000-05:00

CONFIDENTIAL TO DAN:

It's been a beautiful four years, and I love you so very much.

You're my sweetie and I love you. Happy Four Year anniversary!

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Nah nah nah nah, hey hey hey, Goodbye

2006-06-23T13:12:00.000-05:00

There's been lots of talk around the Dallas Diocese about the imminent retirement of Bishop Charles Grahmann. The weekly church bulletin of the Cathedral has been announcing the big mass celebrating his Triple anniversary (75th birthday, 50th as a priest, 25th as a bishop) on July 7th for weeks now. But Bishop Grahmann's service has not been a smooth one; in fact, it's been littered with problems for many years. There's an interesting article in this month's D magazine that discusses the Grahmann issue.

PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Miserere Nobis

This month Charles Grahmann will resign as Catholic bishop of Dallas. Even so, he thinks he’ll stay on for two more years. He’s wrong.

by Wick Allison

On July 15, a birthday will be celebrated that has been awaited by local Catholics with as much anticipation as Christmas. On that day, Charles Grahmann will turn 75. By long-standing protocol, he will offer his resignation as bishop of Dallas to the Holy See.

But before anyone pops a champagne cork, I must report—it is my duty—that there is little likelihood he will step down this year. That’s the bad news. The good news is that he will be replaced sooner than he expects.

Rome has been embarrassed by the good bishop four times. The Rudy Kos verdict in 1997, of course, leveled against the Church the largest judgment ever against a diocese. In 2002, the Dallas Morning News called for the bishop’s resignation when he refused to dismiss Rev. Ramon Alvarez, rector of the bishop’s own cathedral, for sexual misconduct. (Alvarez abruptly resigned this April; no reason given.) In 2003, after even more embarrassments, a large and formidable lay group made national headlines by petitioning the Holy See for his removal. Then last year, there was the district attorney’s investigation. It’s not for nothing that the authoritative Belief.net named Grahmann one of the 10 worst bishops in the United States.

Full Article

Now, I've only been participating in masses in the Diocese of Dallas for less than a year. The main beef I have with the leadership of the Diocese is the fact that orthodoxy has a tendency to get punished, especially when it involves Latin in the mass. For example, when one priest began doing the Novus Ordo in Latin, he was quickly disciplined by Bishop Grahmann. He went to the Vatican with his case. He was allowed at that point to use Latin, but he got exiled to St. William, a small church in Greenville, TX (on the outer edge of the diocese). I also remember when Fr. C at St. Jude was dressed down for using as much Latin as he did in his masses, and was forced to use no Latin whatsoever or risk being moved from the chapel. He ended up being moved anyway due to health reasons, and the Dominicans completely lost control of the Chapel.

I hope that what the article says is true, and that we will get an orthodox, Latin-loving priest as a Bishop when Bishop Grahmann retires.

Here kitty kitty

2006-06-23T13:00:00.000-05:00

Moneybags wrote an interesting post yesterday about Saints and their pets which you should go check out if you're an animal lover. Here's a excerpt:

St. Don Bosco had a pet dog in his youth while St. Philip Neri had a cat in his old age. St. Francis of Paola had a pet fish that was cooked one day. So, St. Francis of Paola raised it from the dead by the power of God.

Saint Brigid even tamed animals. Back in her time, the law stated that if a thief was in a Church no-one was allowed to arrest him. One day a group of hunters chased a wild boar into Church and wanted to come in and kill it. The men said that the Church refuge rule did not apply to animals. Saint Brigid said the rule did indeed apply, and so the hunters were forced to leave. She then gave the exhauated boar a drink and it ended up living on her personal farm with the cows she owned.

Our house is a zoo. We have three kitties (Lance is the white kitty, Lorenzo is the orange tabby, and Arianna is the cute dilute calico above), two figure eight puffers, and a tarantula. We had two little read ear slider turtles that were about the size of a silver dollar and the cutest things you've ever seen, but we returned then when we looked them up online and found out that they'd need either an outdoor pond or a 100+ gallon tank in about two years. We can't have a tank that large on our 100-year old wood floors. They sure were cute, though.

Passion

2006-06-22T04:48:00.000-05:00

pas·sion
[Middle English, from Old French, from Medieval Latin passi, passin-, sufferings of Jesus or a martyr, from Late Latin, physical suffering, martyrdom, sinful desire, from Latin, an undergoing, from passus, past participle of pat, to suffer. See p(i)- in Indo-European Roots.]

n 1: strong feeling or emotion [syn: passionateness] 2: intense passion or emotion [syn: heat, warmth] 3: something that is desired intensely; "his rage for fame destroyed him" [syn: rage] 4: an irrational but irresistible motive for a belief or action [syn: mania, cacoethes] 5: a feeling of strong sexual desire 6: any object of warm affection or devotion; "the theater was her first love" or "he has a passion for cock fighting"; [syn: love] 7: the suffering of Jesus at the crucifixion [syn: Passion, Passion of Christ]

A blog of a person found in my not-so-distant past wrote a post recently about passion. I won't get into the details of the post, but the post actually got me thinking. The post's definition of passion was something to the effect of "anything that affects [your] life in a large way or occupies even a portion of the majority of the days in any given year." Meaning, basically, you may really like kayaking, for example, but does it mean so much to you that you devote much of your life to it on a daily basis? And what is that fine line between interest, passion, and even love?

I think there's a difference between passion and love. Love is satiable and simply "is", passion is not. Passion, to me, is an insatiable desire to participate and revel in a certain task or thought or person in a way that cannot be satiated. It's like being hungry and never being full. I can understand passion and appreciate it. But then I also think that love is also very rewarding. It's good to feel the emotions from the passion, but love is the byproduct of a healthy passion.

And, of course, it's impossible to think of the word "passion" without thinking of the Passion of Christ. Now, this is different from the noun in quite a symbolic way. I never understood what was meant when I saw the movie title of "Passion of the Christ" before I became Catholic. Christ's Passion was his death for us. Not just his giving up of his life, but the entire process of being condemned to die, his beatings, the carrying of his cross, his nails being driven into his hands, and his suffering for three hours hanging on the crucifix.

I decided to do a little bit of investigating on the Catholic interpretation of Passions when I came across the New Advent definition of "passions":

By passions we are to understand here motions of the sensitive appetite in man which tend towards the attainment of some real or apparent good, or the avoidance of some evil. The more intensely the object is desired or abhorred, the more vehement is the passion. St. Paul thus speaks of them: "When we were in the flesh, the passions of sin, which were by the law, did work in our members, to bring forth fruit unto death" (Romans 7:5). They are called passions because they cause a transformation of the normal condition of the body and its organs which often appears externally.

...

The chief passions are eleven in number:

* Six in the concupiscible appetite -- namely, joy or delight, and sadness, desire and aversion or abhorrence, love and hatred -- and
* five in the irascible -- hope and despair, courage and fear, and anger.
...

The moral virtues are to regulate the passions and employ them as aids in the progress of spiritual life. A just man at times experiences great joy, great hope and confidence, and other feelings in performing duties of piety, and also great sensible sorrow, as well as sorrow of soul, for his sins, and he is thus confirmed in his justice. He can also merit constantly by restraining and purifying his passions. The saints who reached the exalted state of perfection, have retained their capacity for all human emotions and their sensibility has remained subject to the ordinary laws; but in them the love of God has controlled the mental images which excite the passions and directed all their emotions to His active service. It has been justly said that the saint dies, and is born again: he dies to an agitated, distracted and sensual life, by temperance, continency, and austerity, and is born to a new and transformed life. He passes through what St. John calls "the night of the senses", after which his eyes are opened to a clearer light. "The saint will return later on to sensible objects to enjoy them in his own way, but far more intensely than other men" (H. Joly, "Psychology of the Saints", 128). Accordingly we can understand how the passions and the emotions of the sensitive appetite may be directed and devoted to the service of God, and to the acquisition, increase, and perfection of virtue.

When I began thinking of my own passions, I realized I only have a few that really affect my day-to-day life. First, I am passionate about being Catholic. I'm passionate about going to church, and reading the prayers, and spending time in contemplative worship. Finding my place with God has changed my life, and the more time that I spend dedicating my life to God, the better I feel in my soul. I love praying the Liturgy of the Hours, praising God and being thankful for all that I have been given. I'm thankful for all of the many opportunities that I have every day to praise God for his goodness in my life, and He rewards me with a peace I have been searching for all of my life. The first thing I do in the morning is rise, set eyes on my crucifix and pray, and the last thing I do at night is to look on my crucifix and pray before I go to sleep. It boggles my mind that this force has been around me my entire life and only now have I tapped into it.

My second passion is the environment, and the world around me. This passion affects many small and large decisions I make every day. I don't throw paper away, I put it in the recycle bin. I walk to the grocery store to save the atmosphere from a few blocks of my driving. I eat organic foods. I buy products that are recyclable or are made from recycled material. I make my own cleaners. I also talk a lot about how important it is to be aware of the daily choices made by each and every one of us. One person can make a difference. These daily actions take up quite a bit of my time, but they have become a part of who I am. In context of being Catholic, I'm going to steal a line from a commenter on an earlier post and say that being a steward of the Earth is something we are all called to be. I take my role as a steward of this planet very seriously.

My third passion is knowledge. I'm like a sponge. I read, I peruse the Internet, I have discussions, I go see films, I listen to what other people have to say. I refuse to stew in ignorance. I also find that being passionate about knowledge goes past simply learning so as to not be ignorant of a topic, but also to learn the depths and layers of a topic. It's one thing to, for example, go to Mass and learn about its meaning. It's another thing to learn specifically about what many of the learned saints have to say about the Eucharist, the Body and Blood of Christ, the Tridentine Mass vs the Novus Ordo mass, Vatican II, the meanings behind the symbolism of Mass, etc. I have been Catholic for less than two months and investigating the Catholic church since October, but I have dozens of books on multiple different topics within Catholicism. It's important for my faith for this desire for knowledge to be fed. I also have bookshelves full of different books about a ton of different topics, and I read on average a book a week, sometimes fiction, sometimes non-fiction. I encourage the pursuit of knowledge with people around me and enjoy learning new and interesting things.

Since converting to Catholicism, I find that my passion towards loving and serving God has fulfilled a need in me that I was aware of but never quite understood. I searched high and low my entire life trying to quench this internal thirst I had. I tried to fill it with passion for music, for literature, focusing this desire on television shows or musicians or boys or hobbies. But it always felt like I needed more. The passions I had were consuming and destructive to me. But that insatiable craving is gone, filled with the happiness I have found in the Catholic church. I know now what I was craving.

Oddly grieving

2006-06-20T23:24:00.000-05:00

I never thought I'd be so heartbroken over the loss of a basketball game.

I need a little time to grieve about it, I think.

Carnival of the Veil

2006-06-18T21:57:00.000-05:00

Carnival of the Veil is being hosted this week by Mormon Truth if you'd like to go check it out!

Latin Mass

2006-06-18T20:23:00.000-05:00

My Tour of Churches last Sunday let me to the Holy Trinity Church in the Oak Lawn neighborhood in Dallas. It was a wonderful choice for Holy Trinity Sunday.

This Sunday's church experience actually started on Saturday. I have been seriously considering going to a traditional Latin mass, or Tridentine Mass. I've been to Latin Mass on a Saturday before, but I haven't been to a Sunday mass. To make sure I wanted to do this, I first went to the Saturday mass at St. Thomas Aquinas. I got there early enough to be able to go to confession, and had a wonderful confession with the priest. It was very thoughtful and he helped me quite a bit with an issue I've been struggling with. I've been looking for a decent confessor, so I'm extremely happy that I found one.

The Saturday Latin low mass was beautiful, as the previous one was, so I decided I'd take the plunge and go to the High Mass on Sunday. I went to Sacred Heart, my favorite little Catholic bookstore, and got a veil and a little red Missalette. I studied it last night so I could at least get a general idea of what was going on during the Mass.

The Latin Mass for Dallas is held in a small chapel attached to a cloistered Carmelite nun community in Oak Cliff (for more information check out the Mater Dei Latin Mass community home page). I left my house at 8:48a this morning and parked at 9:05a, so I made really good time getting there. The chapel is BEAUTIFUL. It's super tiny, but the altar is super ornate with lots of statues and woodwork. It was interesting seeing all of the other women there, all veiled. My veil kept shifting and I was really self conscious that it was crooked the whole mass. I was amazed at how many children and young parents were there. There were eight (!) altar boys helping the priest and all were in the traditional black and white garb.

I got there right before the Rosary started, and the place was already almost full. By the time Mass started, the church was packed and there were people standing. The mass started, and then the music kicked in ... Latin! Yes! Beautiful chanting by the priest, the choir, and the schola.

There was a LOT of kneeling. I'm going to need to toughen up my knees something fierce if I plan on going to mass on a regular basis. There was also a lot of up and down, which I didn't mind.

After Mass, there was a benediction and a procession with the monstrance and the body of Christ. Oh my gosh, it was beautiful! We all followed the procession, and when it doubled back on itself to go back to the tabernacle, we all knelt on the asphalt in adoration. Other than slightly flashing the people behind me because my foot caught my skirt, I did ok getting up and down. The asphalt hurt

I want to go back again. Bad. I think I might just become a Latin Masser.

I'll need to get a missal, but it's a small price to pay to be able to participate in such a beautiful mass.

"An Inconvenient Truth" - Review

2006-06-18T19:46:00.000-05:00

I must preface this review with a bit of a disclaimer - when it comes to the environment, I am a tree-hugger 100%. I have been for as long as I can remember being old enough to make a conscious decision to be one. The environment to me is a very important cause, and I do my best to be informed about issues when I can.

This being said, I would like to heartily recommend the movie "An Inconvenient Truth." Let me get a few things out of the way first hand. The movie is basically a slide presentation that Al Gore has been giving on the environment to groups for years. There's a lot of slides, a lot of charts, and a lot of statistics. It's dry in parts, and feels a bit choppy at times. There's also a few bits about his personal life which if you're not an Al Gore fan, you might have problems swallowing. He talks about his political career, his loss of the 2000 election, and the loss of his sister to lung cancer. He also seems to have forgotten to brush his teeth before filming, as he has a very distracting bit of green detritus in his lower teeth.

Now, once you get past these facts, the movie will scare the living crap out of you. It shows photographic evidence of glaciers disappearing, of Antarctica melting, of drought and floods being brought about by global warming. It shows chart after chart, evidence after evidence of the horrible things that mankind is doing to the planet, and is showing how much damage is being done. He takes the comments that are given by naysayers about how global warming is simply a "theory" and blows them all out of the water, over and over.

The movie only makes one or two comments about the "current administration" and those comments revolve around America's neglect to ratifying the Kyoto agreement and the doctored environmental report that was given to Bush during his first term, both of which are heavily documented and can be easily found with a simple Google search (as my links will attest to).

I don't care if you're a Republican or a Democrat, I highly recommend seeing this movie. It is important in a very global sense. And go out and get some energy-efficient bulbs. And walk to the grocery store once in a while - it's only a few blocks and it's good for you!

Ok, let's try this one more time ...

2006-06-18T19:33:00.000-05:00

GO MAVS!

The A1 Thick and Hearty Burger is BACK!

2006-06-18T19:03:00.000-05:00

My husband and I were journeying out to Grapevine Mills mall yesterday afternoon, when I looked over and saw a billboard with an amazing announcement. As I feasted on the beautiful picture in such gigantic proportions, I swear I could hear the angels sing its glory as I squealed in delight .... The A1 Thick and Hearty Burger from Whataburger is back!

If you are anywhere near the state of Texas (or any of the other great states lucky enough), you need to get yourself to your nearest Whataburger and partake of the most artery-clogging unhealthy burgers ever to be combined between two freshly toasted white bread buns. Why is it worth your health, and possibly your immortal soul???

My friends, we are talking about two 100% American raised All-Beef patties, two slices of melted cheese, a mound of fresh grilled onions, three slices of crisp, smoky bacon and a layer of tangy A1 steak sauce, surrounded by a toasted grilled bun.

Yes. It's as good as you could ever dream of it being. It is, quite simply, the best burger on the entire planet.

They only have it available about two months out of the year, and I know they've had it for at least three years off and on. I think there's a cycle where they introduce the burger about this time every year. Last year, during my vegan phase, I was on about Month 3 of my journey, when I saw that the A1 burger was again being offered. All moral fortitude went out the door as I ran as quickly as I could to get a taste of that smoky, saucy goodness.

I'm not kidding. Go, and support one of the greatest treasures we have in Texas - the Whataburger chain of burger restaurants. You can just picture yourself with a burger right now, can't you?

Emo

2006-06-16T14:40:00.000-05:00

I was in San Fransisco once, walking along the Golden Gate Bridge, and I saw this guy on the bridge about to jump. So I thought I'd try to stall and detain him, long enough for me to put the film in. I said, "Don't jump!" and he turns... You've heard of the elephant man. He was kind of like that, he had a, well, you could say he had the head of a horse. And my heart went out to him. I said, "Why the long face?"
He said, "'Cause all my life people have called me mean names like horses-head or Flicka or chess-piece or Trigger..."
I said, "Well, don't worry about it, Ed. It can't be that bad."
He said, "My girlfriend's suing me!"
I said, "For palomino?"
He said, "Why was I put on this Earth?"
I said, "My friend, anywhere else you wouldn't stand a chance."
He said, "Nobody loves me."
I said, "God loves you, you silly ninny."
He said, "How do you know there's a God?"
I said, "Of course there's a God. Do you think that billions of years ago a bunch of molecules floating around at random could someday have had the sense of humor to make you look like that?"
He said, "I do believe in God."
I said, "Are you a Christian or a Jew?"
He said, "A Christian."
I said, "Me too. Protestant or Catholic?"
He said, "Protestant."
I said, "Me too! What franchise?"
He says, "Baptist."
I said, "Me too! Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?"
He says, "Northern Baptist."
I said, "Me too! Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?"
He says, "Northern Conservative Baptist."
I say, "Me too! Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist or Northern Conservative Reform Baptist?"
He says, "Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist."
I say, "Me too! Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist Great Lakes Region or Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist Eastern Region?"
He says, "Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist Great Lakes Region."
I say, "Me too! Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1879 or Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912?"
He says, "Northern Conservative Fundamentalist Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912."
I said, "Die, heretic!" And I pushed him off! -- Emo Phillips

Of all of the anti-Mormon comments, tirades, and criticisms I ever encountered directly about me to my face, my absolute worst in my entire life was from Emo Phillips.

Emo Phillips was one of my comic idols as a child. I listened to his "E=MO²" album on vinyl so much I pretty much had the entire thing memorized. I was thrilled to see him in a cameo in "UHF" (The "Weird Al" movie from 1989), and always watched him during his TV appearances when I could catch him.

Sometime in the late 1990's, I had a friend of a friend who worked on Emo's web site, and could introduce him to us after he performed at a local comedy club. I was so excited to meet him! I even brought my vinyl album, the one I pretty much wore out in the 80's, to the show to get autographed. Me and a group of friends went to the Improv and waited for the show.

When I was a kid, I used to pray every night for a new bicycle. Then I realized that the Lord, in his wisdom, didn't work that way. So I just stole one and asked him to forgive me. - Emo Phillips

The show was pretty good, and afterwards we all waited around anxiously for our introduction to the great Emo Phillips. We were all pretty much lifetime fans. He came over and after some extremely self-depreciating remarks, began having an interesting conversation with us.

At some point, he made a comment about religion and about Mormons in particular, and all of my friends started to laugh. He said, "Is one of you Mormon?" All of my friends turned and stared straight at me, and I could feel my face starting to blush. He said, "You're Mormon? You don't actually believe all that crap, do you?" I said, extremely sheepishly, "Well yes, I do." He then said, "You seem like such a smart and interesting girl, why in the world would you believe such total nonsense?" or something to that effect and then went on a (I kid you not) 15 minute tirade about what a moronic religion that the Mormon church was.

I was walking down fifth avenue today and I found a wallet, and I was gonna keep it, rather than return it, but I thought: well, if I lost a hundred and fifty dollars, how would I feel? And I realized I would want to be taught a lesson. - Emo Phillips

I felt horrible, completely raked over the coals. Now, this was during my NeoMormon phase (1997-2000), so my testimony was still a touch shaky. But it offended me greatly that he would have tore into my beliefs with such gusto, tearing me down over and over until I almost started to cry (I did cry, but I waited until I was outside). It made me feel heinous to have someone put me down so seriously because of my beliefs. And not only just someone, but one of the idols of my childhood, someone who I loved and adored and admired as a comic genius.

I never did get my album autographed.

And the blogosphere goes wild! - New Translation of the Mass

2006-06-16T08:32:00.000-05:00

I guess this means we're all going to have to run out and get new missals, huh?

Here's a link to the AP article - " New Catholic Mass translation OK'd.

American Papist has gathered some links together that show what some of the blogosphere's heavyweights have to say about it.

Julie D. fromHappy Catholic has another meta post about the new mass translation hubbub.

Who knew?

2006-06-16T08:29:00.000-05:00

What Kind of Cross are You?

You are the San Damiano Cross: Rich in symbolism, this cross was first painted in the twelfth century gathering images from the Gospel of John. Christ is the central figure and is surrounded by the angles, the apostles and the Virgin Mary. The cross became well known because it was the cross in front of which St. Francis was praying when he received the call to rebuild the Church.
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HGBLOG

2006-06-14T10:27:00.000-05:00

I thought I'd blog this idea with pictures, so I could have the whole thought process documented. My husband and I recently had a flurry of decorating activity in our home, or an Xtreme Loft Makeover if you will. Here's some pictures of the result of most of that flurry (I'll try to take a more recent pic or two tonight and repost):

A couple of weekends ago we got a cool new furry white couch. By the way, we learned REALLY quick that club soda gets out the most stubborn hairball stains on a white faux fur Klippan sofa and ottoman.

We also got a shelf to display our cool Franciscan Starburst dishes. My mother gave us a bunch of dishes like this when we got married. They were her wedding dishes when she got married, and they're a very hot collectable right now. They look like this:

We were eating French Toast this Sunday on our recently rediscovered dishes, when I got to looking at my dishes and realized that the colors in my dishes were really nice looking! I started to brew the idea of possibly painting the walls in my house these two colors - aqua blue and chartreuse. For a while I've been planning on painting the walls chocolate brown and ice blue (like the colors in this pillow), but now I'm thinking I may go with these colors instead. For me, the important thing is that my walls are some shade of blue. Blue soothes me, and makes me happy.

Since all of our furniture is white and even our bedsheets and duvet is all white, we can go with any color we want on the walls and it's going to work. On one of my favorite home decorating blogs, Apartment Therapy NYC, they featured a color on their blog this week called Sweet Pear. Here's a pic:

And the aqua blue color that is in the plates is all over design catalogs this season. Here's a pic from the West Elm catalog:

If we went with blue along the outside curving wall which goes from the living room all the way into the bedroom, we could easily have the bedroom be blue with chocolate brown, and then have the living/kitchen area (in the above pic) be blue and chartreuse. We'd still have the inside wall be white, but we could make it a slightly creamier white like on the dishes. We'd still have to figure out the bathroom, but I think we could easily paint the walls a lighter shade of aqua that would be darn close to ice blue, accent it with a new white shower curtain and white monogrammed towels, and put a black and white pic of downtown Dallas in a black frame on the wall to make it look super sweet in there.

So ... what do you think? Too trendy? Very bold? Super swank? (We're kind of going for swank-retro.)

Because this is cheap and sounds like a lot of fun ...

2006-06-12T15:17:00.000-05:00

Beat the HEAT Watch Parties at American Airlines Center

What: “Beat the HEAT” Watch Parties at American Airlines Center presented by Sprite; Sponsored by The Dallas Morning News, Quick and ESPN Radio 103.3 FM

When:
Game 3: Tues., June 13, 8:00 p.m. CT tipoff (doors open at 6:30 p.m.)
Game 4: Thurs., June 15, 8:00 p.m. CT tipoff (doors open at 6:30 p.m.)

Where: American Airlines Center

Parking: FREE parking in Official American Airlines Center parking lots

Ticket Info: Tickets to both the Game 3 and Game 4 “Beat the HEAT” watch parties will go on sale to the general public beginning Friday, June 9th at 10 a.m. by phone (800-4NBA-TIX), here on mavs.com and at American Airlines Center’s North Box Office. All tickets will be priced at $5 and will be sold on a first come, first served basis with specific seat assignments, and there will be a 10 ticket limit per order.

Details: Mavs fans who attend the watch parties at American Airlines Center, will get to experience all the live entertainment that takes place during regular Mavs home games during television commercials. Entertainment will include Mavs Dancers, ManiAACs, Mascots, on-court contests and promotions, and video and animations on the big screen. Mavs fan shops and concession stands will also be open for the watch parties.

“We want to give our fans who might not get the opportunity to attend a regular season or playoff home game the chance to experience what a game night really feels like at American Airlines Center,” said Mavs owner Mark Cuban. “It is the perfect opportunity to bring the family and get together with other fans to cheer on our Mavs.”

Other Info: Mavs fans don’t forget that Dave & Buster’s off 75/Walnut Hill is the Official Mavs Road Game Watch Party destination. All Dave& Buster’s parties begin 30 minutes prior to tipoff. Dave & Buster’s will offer Mavs food and beverage specials as well as giveaways that include merchandise.

Why I Love Mark Cuban Reason #245

2006-06-11T22:32:00.000-05:00

From Mark Cuban's Blog, "Blog Maverick"

Finally Game Day…

Tom Petty was right. I hate the wait.

Just got to the arena.

Made sure i first got my protein. Stopped at 7-11 for my gourmet Tuna Fish Sandwich. Dentyne Ice to make sure no one else realizes I had a tuna fish sandwich and a Monster Lo Carb Drink. (Got to alternate between my faves…Kronik and Monster low carb)

Had to talk on the phone to the daughter of one of the clerks while the line backed up. The people behind me in line went from “Go Mavs” to “would you shut up already and let us buy our Big Gulps”. Hey, I can handle the pressure.

As of right now, the lead has been cut to 18 points, but they have taken Dirk out of the game. Go Mavs!

Go Mavs!

2006-06-11T14:13:00.000-05:00

The Onion has a great article about the NBA finals featuring the Heat (boo) and the Dallas Mavericks (YAY!!!). The Mavs making it into the finals has actually got people in Dallas caring about sports other than the Cowboys again. Sort of. It's quite exciting, actually. My husband and I have seen most of the playoff games and have been Mavs fans for a few years, so we're pretty swept up in the whole hubbub. (And I secretly have a crush on Mark Cuban, but don't tell my husband.)

Mavericks To Incorporate Machetes Into Hack-A-Shaq Defense

My favorite line from the article:

Enthusiastic team owner Mark Cuban said that, when he was presented with the idea of purchasing machetes for his "boys," he was immediately behind it.

"I thought, 'Great! Avery is finally thinking outside the box!'" Cuban said. "And since then, machetes have been the only things on my mind. Thinking about machetes has taken up every second of every day. Machetes! Machetes, man."

Cuban then purchased a case of machetes, and had each one custom-made to fit his players' size and frame, and engraved them with his players' names, numbers, the Mavericks' logo, the 2006 NBA Finals logo, and the credo "Defense Wins Championships."

Full Article

More quotes from Bruce R. McConkie

2006-06-10T14:29:00.000-05:00

I've been talking a lot today about the article "Our Relationship with the Lord". Even though I quoted much of his article in my previous posts, this one is my very favorite quote of all from the article:

Now I sincerely hope that no one will imagine that I have in the slightest degree downgraded the Lord Jesus in the scheme of things. I have not done so. As far as I know there is not a man on earth who thinks more highly of him than I do. It just may be that I have preached more sermons, taught more doctrine, and written more words about the Lord Jesus Christ than any other man now living. I have ten large volumes in print, seven of which deal almost entirely with Christ, and the other three with him and his doctrines.

His humility astounds me. It's amazing how many fun quotes you can find from this man if you just do a little research:

Bruce McConkie states that the conception and birth of Jesus was completely natural.

"And Christ was born into the world as the literal Son of this Holy Being; he was born in the same personal, real, and literal sense that any mortal son is born to a mortal father. There is nothing figurative about his paternity; he was begotten, conceived and born in the normal and natural course of events,...Christ is the Son of Man, meaning that his Father (the Eternal God!) is a Holy Man." (Mormon Doctrine, by Bruce McConkie, page 742.)

"As far as this life is concerned, [Jesus] was born of Mary and of Elohim; he came here as an offspring of that Holy Man who is literally our Father in heaven. He was born in mortality in the literal and full sense as the Son of God. He is the Son of his Father in the same sense that all mortals are the sons and daughters of their fathers" (Bruce McConkie, Mortal Messiah 1:330).

"The Father had a Son, a natural Son, his own literal Seed, the Offspring of his body" (Bruce McConkie, The Promised Messiah, pg.355).

"There is no need to spiritualize away the plain meaning of the scriptures. There is nothing figurative or hidden or beyond comprehension in our Lord's coming into mortality. He is the Son of God in the same sense and way that we are the sons of mortal fathers. It is just that simple" (The Promised Messiah, pg.468).

Bruce McConkie states that God became a God by being saved by obedience to laws

“The Father is a glorified, perfected, resurrected, exalted man who worked out his salvation by obedience to the same laws he has given to us so that we may do the same.” (McConkie, Bruce R. A New Witness for the Articles of Faith. Salt Lake City: Deseret Book Company, 1985. p. 64)

“Man and God are of the same race, and it is within the power of righteous man to become like his Father, that is to become a holy Man, a Man of Holiness.” (Mormon Doctrine, pp. 465-466)

“This Holy Man, the Father of us all, who reigns supreme and is a saved being , ordained and established a plan of salvation so that his Firstborn and all his spirit children might advance and progress, become like him, have all power, know all things, live in the family unit, having eternal increase of their own – or in other words, that they might gain for themselves immortality and eternal life.” (A New Witness, p. 704

Interesting Antecdote

I knew a man, now deceased, not a member of the Church, who was a degenerate old reprobate who found pleasure, as he supposed, in living after the manner of the world. A cigarette dangled from his lips, alcohol stretched his breath, mind profane and bawdy stories defiled his lips. His moral status left much to be desired.

His wife was a member of the Church, as faithful as she could be under the circumstances. One day she said to him, "You know the Church is true; why won't you be baptized?" He replied,

"Of course I know the Church is true, but I have no intention of changing my habits in order to join it. I prefer to live the way I do. But that doesn't worry me in the slightest. I know that as soon as I die, you will have someone go to the temple and do the work for me and everything will come out all right in the end anyway."

from “The Seven Deadly Heresies,” in Speeches of the Year, 1980, Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University, 1981, pp. 78–79

The Godhead vs the Trinity Part III - Relationship with Christ?

2006-06-10T13:18:00.000-05:00

In my first two posts discussing the speech "Our Relationship with the Lord" (Part I and Part II), I discussed McConkie's assertion of the nature of God and of Christ according to the doctrine of the Mormon church.

After McConkie makes clear the nature of Christ through his 17 points, he then begins to clarify the relationship one should have with the Godhead:

There are yet others who have an excessive zeal which causes them to go beyond the mark. Their desire for excellence is inordinate. In an effort to be truer than true they devote themselves to gaining a special, personal relationship with Christ that is both improper and perilous.

I say perilous because this course, particularly in the lives of some who are spiritually immature, is a gospel hobby which creates an unwholesome holier-than-thou attitude. In other instances it leads to despondency because the seeker after perfection knows he is not living the way he supposes he should.

Another peril is that those so involved often begin to pray directly to Christ because of some special friendship they feel has been developed. In this connection a current and unwise book, which advocates gaining a special relationship with Jesus, contains this sentence:

Because the Savior is our mediator, our prayers go through Christ to the Father, and the Father answers our prayers through his Son.

This is plain sectarian nonsense. Our prayers are addressed to the Father, and to him only. They do not go through Christ, or the Blessed Virgin, or St. Genevieve or along the beads of a rosary. We are entitled to "come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16).

And I rather suppose that he who sitteth upon the throne will choose his own ways to answer his children, and that they are numerous. Perfect prayer is addressed to the Father, in the name of the Son; and it is uttered by the power of the Holy Ghost; and it is answered in whatever way seems proper by him whose ear is attuned to the needs of his children.

Now I know that some may be offended at the counsel that they should not strive for a special and personal relationship with Christ. It will seem to them as though I am speaking out against mother love, or Americanism, or the little red schoolhouse. But I am not. There is a fine line here over which true worshipers will not step.

It is true that there may, with propriety, be a special relationship with a wife, with children, with friends, with teachers, with the beasts of the field and the fowls of the sky and the lilies of the valley. But the very moment anyone singles out one member of the Godhead as the almost sole recipient of his devotion, to the exclusion of the others, that is the moment when spiritual instability beings to place sense and reason.

The proper course for all of us is to stay in the mainstream of the Church. This is the Lord's Church, and it is led by the spirit of inspiration, and the practice of the Church constitutes the interpretation of the scripture.

And you have never heard one of the First Presidency or the Twelve, who hold the keys of the kingdom, and who are appointed to see that we are not "tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine" (Ephesians 4:14)--you have never heard one of them advocate this excessive zeal that calls for gaining a so-called special and personal relationship with Christ.

You have heard them teach and testify of the ministry and mission of the Lord Jesus, using the most persuasive and powerful language at their command. But never, never at any time have they taught or endorsed the inordinate or intemperate zeal that encourages endless, sometimes day-long prayers, in order to gain a personal relationship with the Savior.

Those who truly love the Lord and who worship the Father in the name of the Son by the power of the Spirit, according to the approved patterns, maintain a reverential barrier between themselves and all the members of the Godhead.

I am well aware that some who have prayed for endless hours feel they have a special and personal relationship with Christ that they never had before. I wonder if this is any or so much different, however, from the feelings of fanatical sectarians who with glassy eyes and fiery tongues assure us they have been saved by grace and are assured of a place with the Lord in a heavenly abode, when in fact they have never even received the fullness of the gospel.

I wonder if it is not part of Lucifer's system to make people feel they are special friends of Jesus when in fact they are not following the normal and usual pattern of worship found in the true Church.

.....

It is a fine and sacred line, but clearly there is a difference between a personal and intimate relationship with the Lord, which is improper, and one of worshipful adoration, which yet maintains the required reserve between us and him who has bought us with his blood.

from ""Our Relationship with the Lord"

In contrast to McConkie's statements, the CCC is rich in text discussing the personal relationship of God's children through prayer of all types. The entire Part IV of the CCC is dedicated to discussing types of prayer, and to whom to address prayers.

Here's some particularly beautiful passages in the CCC about prayer and how it relates to our personal relationship with Christ:

Jesus hears our prayer

2616 Prayer to Jesus is answered by him already during his ministry, through signs that anticipate the power of his death and Resurrection: Jesus hears the prayer of faith, expressed in words (the leper, Jairus, the Canaanite woman, the good thief) or in silence (the bearers of the paralytic, the woman with a hemorrhage who touches his clothes, the tears and ointment of the sinful woman). The urgent request of the blind men, "Have mercy on us, Son of David" or "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!" has-been renewed in the traditional prayer to Jesus known as the Jesus Prayer: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!"86 Healing infirmities or forgiving sins, Jesus always responds to a prayer offered in faith: "Your faith has made you well; go in peace."

St. Augustine wonderfully summarizes the three dimensions of Jesus' prayer: "He prays for us as our priest, prays in us as our Head, and is prayed to by us as our God. Therefore let us acknowledge our voice in him and his in us."

THE LIFE OF PRAYER

2697 Prayer is the life of the new heart. It ought to animate us at every moment. But we tend to forget him who is our life and our all. This is why the Fathers of the spiritual life in the Deuteronomic and prophetic traditions insist that prayer is a remembrance of God often awakened by the memory of the heart "We must remember God more often than we draw breath." But we cannot pray "at all times" if we do not pray at specific times, consciously willing it These are the special times of Christian prayer, both in intensity and duration.

2698 The Tradition of the Church proposes to the faithful certain rhythms of praying intended to nourish continual prayer. Some are daily, such as morning and evening prayer, grace before and after meals, the Liturgy of the Hours. Sundays, centered on the Eucharist, are kept holy primarily by prayer. The cycle of the liturgical year and its great feasts are also basic rhythms of the Christian's life of prayer.

2699 The Lord leads all persons by paths and in ways pleasing to him, and each believer responds according to his heart's resolve and the personal expressions of his prayer. However, Christian Tradition has retained three major expressions of prayer: vocal meditative, and contemplative. They have one basic trait in common: composure of heart. This vigilance in keeping the Word and dwelling in the presence of God makes these three expressions intense times in the life of prayer.

PERSERVERING IN LOVE

2742 "Pray constantly . . . always and for everything giving thanks in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father." St. Paul adds, "Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance making supplication for all the saints." For "we have not been commanded to work, to keep watch and to fast constantly, but it has been laid down that we are to pray without ceasing." This tireless fervor can come only from love. Against our dullness and laziness, the battle of prayer is that of humble, trusting, and persevering love. This love opens our hearts to three enlightening and life-giving facts of faith about prayer.

2743 It is always possible to pray: The time of the Christian is that of the risen Christ who is with us always, no matter what tempests may arise.36 Our time is in the hands of God:

It is possible to offer fervent prayer even while walking in public or strolling alone, or seated in your shop, . . . while buying or selling, . . . or even while cooking.

2744 Prayer is a vital necessity. Proof from the contrary is no less convincing: if we do not allow the Spirit to lead us, we fall back into the slavery of sin. How can the Holy Spirit be our life if our heart is far from him?

Nothing is equal to prayer; for what is impossible it makes possible, what is difficult, easy. . . . For it is impossible, utterly impossible, for the man who prays eagerly and invokes God ceaselessly ever to sin.

Those who pray are certainly saved; those who do not pray are certainly damned.

2745 Prayer and Christian life are inseparable, for they concern the same love and the same renunciation, proceeding from love; the same filial and loving conformity with the Father's plan of love; the same transforming union in the Holy Spirit who conforms us more and more to Christ Jesus; the same love for all men, the love with which Jesus has loved us. "Whatever you ask the Father in my name, he [will] give it to you. This I command you, to love one another."

He "prays without ceasing" who unites prayer to works and good works to prayer. Only in this way can we consider as realizable the principle of praying without ceasing.

Reading the McConkie article in its entirety really opened my eyes to beliefs that I once held that I now cannot believe I held. The main issue I have with the McConkie article is that it says over and over how having a personal relationship to Christ is contradictory to the teachings of the Mormon church.

But it also shows a ton of contradictions that are hard to reconcile in my mind. On the one hand, he talks about the perfectness of Christ, and on the other hand he says not to single Christ out for prayer. He talks about the importance of the Holy Ghost, and then in a later paragraph says "And again, if it were proper--and I repeat, it is not!--to single out one member of the Godhead for some special attention, we might well conclude that member should be the Holy Ghost. We might well adopt as a slogan: Seek the Spirit. The reason of course is that the sanctifying power of the Spirit would assure us of reconciliation with the Father. And any person who enjoys the constant companionship of the Holy Spirit will be in complete harmony with the divine will in all things." That sentence is a web of circular logic and confusion.

I hope I have shown some of the unique differences between the beliefs of the Mormon church in the words of its leaders verses the teachings of the Catholic church.

The Godhead vs the Trinity Part II - More definition of the nature of Christ

2006-06-10T11:29:00.000-05:00

In my last post, I clarified the Mormon position on the Godhead, and its comparison to the Christian Trinity as clarified in the Nicene Creed. Next I'd like to talk about the second part of McConkie's speech to BYU entitled "Our Relationship with the Lord". Again, I will add emphasis, and make comments on the primary sources when I feel it adds to the content presented.

The next part of McConkie's speech, after he defines the Godhead, discusses "those doctrines and concepts that a gracious God has given to us in this day and which must be understood in order to gain eternal life". According to McConkie, they are:

1. We worship the Father and him only and no one else.

We do not worship the Son, and we do not worship the Holy Ghost. I know perfectly well what the scriptures say about worshipping Christ and Jehovah, but they are speaking in an entirely different sense--the sense of standing in awe and being reverentially grateful to him who has redeemed us. Worship in the true and saving sense is reserved for God the first, the Creator.

Our revelations say that the Father "is infinite and eternal," that he created "man, male and female,"

And gave unto them commandments that they should love and serve him, the only living and true God, and that he should be the only being whom they should worship. [D&C 20:17–19]

Jesus said:

True worshippers shall [note that this is mandatory] worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father seeketh such to worship him.

For unto such hath God promised his Spirit. And they who worship him, must worship in spirit and in truth. [JST John 4:25–26]

There is no other way, no other approved system of worship.

from "Our Relationship with the Lord"

The main problem here between these teachings and the teachings of the Catholic church is that the Catholic church teaches that Christ IS God IS the Holy spirit. The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church states:

83. In what sense is Jesus the Only Begotten Son of God? (441-445, 454)

Jesus is the Son of God in a unique and perfect way. At the time of his Baptism and his Transfiguration, the voice of the Father designated Jesus as his "beloved Son." In presenting himself as the Son who "knows the father" (Matthew 11:27), Jesus affirmed his singular and eternal relationship with God his Father. He is "the Only Begotten Son of God" (1 John 4:9), the second Person of the Blessed Trinity. He is the central figure of apostolic preaching. The Apostles saw "his glory as the Only Begotten of the Father" (John 1:14).

84. What is the meaning of the title "Lord"? (446-451, 455)

In the Bible this title regularly designates God as Sovereign. Jesus ascribed this title to himself and revealed his divine sovereignty by his power over nature, over demons, over sin, and over death, above all by his own Resurrection. The first Christian creeds proclaimed that the power, the honor and the glory that are due to God the Father also belong to Jesus: God "has given him the name which is above every other name (Phillippians 2:9). He is the Lord of the world and of history, the only One to whom we must completely submit our personal freedom.

87. In what way is Jesus Christ true God and true Man? (464-467, 469)

Jesus is inseparably true God and true Man in the unity of his divine Person. As the Son of God, who is "begotten not made, consubstantial with the Father," he was made true man, our brother, without ceasing to be God, our Lord.

from "Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church", 28-29

Next, in McConkie's speech, he gives more doctrines:

2. We love and serve both the Father and the Son.

In the full, final, and ultimate sense of the word the divine decree is:

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy might, mind, and strength; and in the name of Jesus Christ thou shalt serve him. [D&C 59:5]

And Jesus also said:

If ye love me, keep my commandments. [John 14:15]

These, then, are the commandments of commandments. They tie the Father and the Son together, as one, so that both receive our love and service.

3. Christ himself loves, serves, and worships the Father.

Though Christ is God, yet there is a Deity above him, a Deity whom he worships. That God is the Father. To Mary Magdalene, the first mortal to see a resurrected person, Jesus said:

I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.[John 20:17]

All of us, Christ included, are the spirit children of the Father; all of us, Christ included, seek to become like the Father. In this sense the Firstborn, our Elder Brother, goes forward as we do.

4. The plan of salvation is the gospel of the Father

The plan of salvation originated with the Father; he is the Author and Finisher of our faith in the final sense; he ordained the laws by obedience to which both we and Christ can become like him.

The Father did not ask for volunteers to propose a plan whereby man might be saved. What he did was ask whom he should send to be the Redeemer in the plan he devised. Christ and Lucifer both volunteered, and the Lord chose his Firstborn and rejected the amendatory offer of the son of the morning.

Thus Paul spoke of "the gospel of God, . . . concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh" (Romans 1:1–3). It is the Father's gospel, it became the gospel of the Son by adoption, and we call it after Christ's name because his atoning sacrifice put all of its terms and conditions into operation.

5. Christ worked out his own salvation by worshiping the Father.

After the Firstborn of the Father, while yet a spirit being, had gained power and intelligence that made him like unto God; after he had become, under the Father, the Creator of worlds without number; after he had reigned on the throne of eternal power as the Lord Omnipotent--after all this he yet had to gain a mortal and then an immortal body.

After the Son of God "made flesh" his "tabernacle," and while he "dwelt among the sons of men"; after he left his preexistent glory as we all do at birth; after he was born of Mary in Bethlehem of Judea--after all this he was called upon to work out his own salvation.

Of our Lord's life while in this mortal probation the scripture says:

He received not of the fulness at the first, but received grace for grace;

And he received not of the fulness at first, but continued from grace to grace, until he received a fulness.

Finally, after his resurrection,

he received a fulness of the glory of the Father;

And he received all power, both in heaven and on earth, and the glory of the Father was with him, for he dwelt in him. [D&C 93:12–14, 16–17]

Note it, please, the Lord Jesus worked out his own salvation while in this mortal probation by going from grace to grace, until, having overcome the world and being raised in immortal glory, he became like the Father in the full, complete, and eternal sense.

In summary, according to McConkie, here are some basic truths about Christ:

God and Christ should be loved and served
Christ, separate from God, loves and worships God as we should
Christ is our elder brother
Christ volunteered to be the Savior and beat out Lucifer for this task
Christ worked out his own atonement
Christ's mortal life was a mortal probation for him
Christ progressed while on this earth to become like God

In contrast, according to the Catholic church:

Christ, in union with God, came to this earth "in order to save us by reconciling us with God" (CCC, 457)
Christ is the incarnation of God in the flesh (CCC, 461)
Christ, as the "Word made flesh", came to Earth to be our model of holiness (CCC, 459)
Christ, as the son of God, " '... came down "from heaven, not to do [his] own will, but the will of him who sent [him]', ... said on coming into the world, 'Lo, I have come to do your will, O God.' 'And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.' From the first moment of his Incarnation the Son embraces the Father's plan of divine salvation in his redemptive mission: My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work.'" (CCC, 606)
Christ's experience at Gethsemene was described as "The cup of the New Covenant, which Jesus anticipated when he offered himself at the Last Supper, is afterwards accepted by him from his Father's hands in his agony in the garden at Gethsemani, making himself 'obedient unto death'. " (CCC, 612) Gethsemene was not the sacrifice, it was the acceptance of the sacrifice to come and the ultimate submission to the will of God.

Next up, more doctrines, and how to worship God.

The Godhead vs the Trinity Part I - Definition of "Godhead" and "Trinity"

2006-06-10T09:59:00.000-05:00

During my process of becoming Catholic, and even now, I have a very strong struggle getting my mind around the concept of the Trinity. Three beings in one - this literally blows my mind away. The "egg" analogy and the "Shamrock" analogy and things like that are just not quite enough for me to get my mind around. I accept the doctrine behind the Nicene Creed, but I don't quite understand it. I don't expect to fully understand it in this lifetime. On occasion, I will have a thread of thought that at the end makes me go, "Ok, it's possible", and that puts my mind at ease on a fairly regular basis.

While perusing my RFM boards a few weeks back, I ran across the transcript of an interesting speech given by Bruce R. McConkie in 1982. You might remember him as the author of "Mormon Doctrine", an encyclopedia of basic beliefs of Mormonism. At the time the speech was given, Bruce R. McConkie was a member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles of the LDS church. The speech was given to students of BYU and entitled "Our Relationship with the Lord". Reading this, I realized why I struggled so hard to understand the concept of the Trinity. The Trinity and the "Godhead", as Mormons call it, are quite distinctly different concepts.

I'd like to share with you a few choice quotes from this speech by McConkie (emphasis added), and compare and contrast them to concepts taught in the Catechism of the Catholic Church . With this particular post, I hope to show you the difference between the Mormon concept of the "Godhead" verses the Catholic/ Christian concept of the Trinity. Mostly I'm going to furnish quotes from the primary sources, because I think they really speak for themselves. But I will interject from time to time.

McConkie starts with a brief introduction to his words that contains this statement:

Please do not put too much stock in some of the current views and vagaries that are afloat, but rather, turn to the revealed word, get a sound understanding of the doctrines, and keep yourselves in the mainstream of the Church.

from "Our Relationship with the Lord"

When a member of the "Brethren" brings up the topic of the "revealed word", what they mean specifically is that revelations from the current leaders of the church trumps the teachings of previous leaders if they contradict them. Joseph Fielding Smith once said "Now, brethren, I think there is one thing which we should have exceedingly clear in our minds. Neither the President of the Church, nor the First Presidency, nor the united voice of the First Presidency and the Twelve will ever lead the Saints astray or send forth counsel to the world that is contrary to the mind and will of the Lord." When the Brethren speak, it is considered to be the voice of God. This is especially true when the remarks are prefaced with one like McConkie makes in this speech.

McConkie then begins discussing some of what he sees as errors in teaching of other Christian religions:

True and saving worship is found only among those who know the truth about God and the Godhead and who understand the true relationship men should have with each member of that Eternal Presidency.

It follows that the devil would rather spread false doctrine about God and the Godhead, and induce false feelings with reference to any one of them, than almost any other thing he could do. The creeds of Christendom illustrate perfectly what Lucifer wants so-called Christian people to believe about Deity in order to be damned.

These creeds codify what Jeremiah calls the lies about God (see Jeremiah 16:19; 23: 14–32). They say he is unknown, uncreated, and incomprehensible. They say he is a spirit, without body, parts, or passions. They say he is everywhere and nowhere in particular present, that he fills the immensity of space and yet dwells in the hearts of men, and that he is an immaterial, incorporeal nothingness. They say he is one-god-in-three, and three-gods-in-one who neither hears, nor sees, nor speaks. Some even say he is dead, which he might as well be if their descriptions identify his being.

These concepts summarize the chief and greatest heresy of Christendom. Truly the most grievous and evil heresy ever imposed on an erring and wayward Christianity is their creedal concept about God and the Godhead! But none of this troubles us very much. God has revealed himself to us in this day even as he did to the prophets of old.

from "Our Relationship with the Lord"

(Sidenote: Mormons often ask, "Why must you persecute us? We simply wish to have the right to believe as we feel dictated to in our hearts?" But very high leaders of the Mormon church say very negative things about other Christian churches (or at least they did when I was growing up). This is evidence of one of those times where the Mormon church says some very negative things about the rest of the Christian family.)

Here is the teaching of the Trinity according to the Nicene Creed, said during the Catholic Mass and used as a basis for much of the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in Being with the Father. Through him all things were made.

For us men and for our salvation, he came down from heaven:

by the power of the Holy Spirit he was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered died and was buried.

On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures;

he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.

Amen.

CCC, Credo

McConkie then goes to basically create a Credo of the beliefs of the LDS church in relationship to God, which shows the contrast between the Apostle's Creed/Nicene Creed and teachings of modern-day Mormonism:

We know thereby that he [God] is a personal Being in whose image man was made. We know that he has a body of flesh and bones as tangible as man's; that he is a resurrected, glorified, and perfected Being; and that he lives in the family unit. We know that we are his spirit children; that he endowed us with the divine gift of agency; and that he ordained the laws whereby we might advance and progress and become like him.

We know that God is the only supreme and independent Being in whom all fullness and perfection dwell and that he is omnipotent, omniscient, and, by the power of his Spirit, omnipresent.

We know "the Almighty God gave his Only Begotten Son" (D&C 20:21), as the scriptures attest, to ransom man from the temporal and spiritual death brought into the world by the fall of Adam and to put into operation all of the terms and conditions of the Father's plan.

We know that the Holy Ghost, as a "personage of Spirit," is both a Revelator and a Sanctifier and that his chief mission is to bear record of the Father and the Son.

Thus there are, in the Eternal Godhead, three persons--God the first, the Creator; God the second, the Redeemer; and God the third, the Testator. These three are one--one God if you will--in purposes, in powers, and in perfections. But each has his own severable work to perform, and mankind has a defined and known and specific relationship to each one of them. It is of these relationships that we shall now speak.

from "Our Relationship with the Lord

The CCC says this about the Godhead:

To believe in God alone

150 Faith is first of all a personal adherence of man to God. At the same time, and inseparably, it is a free assent to the whole truth that God has revealed. As personal adherence to God and assent to his truth, Christian faith differs from our faith in any human person. It is right and just to entrust oneself wholly to God and to believe absolutely what he says. It would be futile and false to place such faith in a creature.

To believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God

151 For a Christian, believing in God cannot be separated from believing in the One he sent, his "beloved Son", in whom the Father is "well pleased"; God tells us to listen to him. The Lord himself said to his disciples: "Believe in God, believe also in me." We can believe in Jesus Christ because he is himself God, the Word made flesh: "No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he has made him known." Because he "has seen the Father", Jesus Christ is the only one who knows him and can reveal him.

To believe in the Holy Spirit

152 One cannot believe in Jesus Christ without sharing in his Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit who reveals to men who Jesus is. For "no one can say "Jesus is Lord", except by the Holy Spirit", who "searches everything, even the depths of God. . No one comprehends the thoughts of God, except the Spirit of God." Only God knows God completely: we believe in the Holy Spirit because he is God.

The Church never ceases to proclaim her faith in one only God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

CCC, 150-152

It's quite easy to get one's mind around the concept of two resurrected, glorified beings. The Holy Ghost is a little more difficult. But God is much easier to understand as three separate and distinct beings (two of which are very similar to myself) than as a glorified essence of sorts. Reading this speech, I was reminded why the Trinitarian concept was not only foreign, but also was so hard for me to believe. My whole life I had been taught of the "heresy" of the concept of God as not being a resurrected being, and now here I was trying to believe that heresy. Of all of the concepts that I've struggled with since becoming Catholic, this one has been the hardest to deal with, and I have no doubt it was because of years of indoctrination from the leaders of the Mormon church about the Godhead.

More on this speech in my next post.

"JPod" review on Boing Boing

2006-06-09T15:13:00.000-05:00

I think everyone of my generation has heard of the book that named our generation, "Generation X" by Douglas Coupland. I accidentally discovered Douglas Coupland at a Barnes & Noble bookstore years ago. I was broke and looking for a discount book, and found his book "Microserfs" in a discount bin for $3, I think. I read through that book and immediately became a Coupland fan. I own all of his fiction and all of his non-fiction but one book and they sit in a special place on my bookshelves.

He has a new book out called "JPod", and Boing Boing has a review of the book. Here's an excerpt from that review:

JPod is a novel about how the novelty-seeking, irony-soaked, instant-nostalgia, gross-out culture of the Internet can corrode your soul, so that when you crack wise, there's nothing underneath it but more wisecracks. The book made me uncomfortable and sometimes even angry, but I never wanted to put it down, and it made me think hard about my own life and values.

Coupland's earlier books, like 1995's Microserfs, tell the stories of smart, committed young people working their guts out because they believe in the transformative power of technology, because their pure passion for technology unites them. These young people are exploited and have personal problems, but they overcome them by supporting one another -- finding ways outside of "enterprise IT" to use technology to make their lives better. They become entrepreneurs, activists, or artists, finding ways to create change where none had existed before.

But JPod has none of that. In JPod, the little brothers and sisters of Generation X slave away at a thinly-disguised EA Games in Vancouver, where marketdroids reward their slavish labor by heaping menial tasks on them, and perverting the games they make so that they're not even cool. None of these people will be a software millionaire. They are people who work sweatshop hours for lousy wages, burn out young, and go nowhere. They use Google and eBay to scour the globe for anything to make their lives meaningful. They don't find it.

Full text of review

I think everyone finds some kind of media, whether it's an artist or a musician or a writer, that finds a way to touch their soul. Douglas Coupland has articulated many different types of angst that I have experienced in my life and brings them to a clarity that has allowed me to analyze my true problems and feelings. His book "Life After God", specifically, the last short story in that book, changed my life. I know that this paragraph probably sounds overly dramatic, but unfortunately I have discovered in life that when the word "angst" is used in a paragraph, the entire entry gets a very involuntary "Dawson's Creek" type vibe. (I just dated myself, didn't I?) As the above reviewer also states, "... every generation will get a chance to experience some kind of wrack and roll."

I'm totally stealing Closed Cafeteria's schtick

2006-06-09T11:18:00.000-05:00

This church makes me think that the architect looked in his son's toy box full of blocks and maybe a toy ship and said, "I think I could use that design for a house of God!"

Proposed Hal-Farrug church
Emily Barbaro-Sant, Mosta

What at first glance seemed to me a cruise liner (I am not being cynical but honest), was Richard England's design for a church for Hal Farrug (May 25), a tiny village with approximately 70 families.

I am in no way contesting the architectural abilities of Prof. England, but I sincerely hope that Mepa will consult the local ecclesiastical authorities before possibly giving its blessing, even though the design of this "Church of our time" won an international award.

Irrespective of Prof. England's explanation of the "Church of our time" (meaning turbulent times), of a "composite structure based on a geometry of rotations, inclinations, oscillations and fluctuations", this is not what matters most in a church. A window overlooking Filfla is not a requisite either. One goes to church to pray, to meditate and meet and adore God, the Creator of all good and beautiful things. Unnecessary artistic constructions will only boost distraction.

I tend to agree that the Church is passing through difficult times. It has always been like that. But we have God's words to Peter quoted in St Matthew's Gospel: "You are Peter and upon this rock I shall build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against you." (16:18-19).

From the financial point of view, I wonder how the rector of the proposed church, if this design is finally approved, plans to overcome the heavy burden of paying for it. I feel it's already a lot for the 70 families or so to fork out the professional fees or commissions.

Very humbly I suggest that the church, designed and described as an anti-order of forms, with an inclining cross, inclining entrance tunnel and all, should remain on paper - a beautiful work of art given an international award - and a simpler, less complicated and less mysterious construction be built at Hal Farrug which will truly provide a place fit for worship.

(Thanks to Celtic Cherokee for the link!)

More on my personal politics

2006-06-09T10:33:00.000-05:00

Politics are always a touchy subject no matter where they are brought up. Many liberals bristle at the thought of being perceived as "conservative" and conservatives think very badly of the hippy baby-killing tree-hugging soft-on-crime Liberals.

I'm finding that I am becoming much more conservative on some issues, such as pro-life. I've always been of the "none except for incest or rape" mentality (which has changed since becoming Catholic), but I am also starting to see the importance of anti-abortion legislature, making it tougher for people to have abortions. Even moreso than destroying innocent life, I've always been a believer that it messes up a woman psychologically to do that to her body and that damage alone is worth fighting for less abortion and for people to be more responsible with their sexual actions.

I've also realized recently that I have always been EXTREMELY conservative on crime. If a person breaks the law, they shoud pay the consequences, no negotiation. Ok, so even though pot is as "harmless" as alcohol and is just a mild drug, it still is manufactured and distributed through a pipeline that disregards law, and the drug dealing scene is rife with crime and other illegal acts. Drug dealers are bad news and need to be put away. I don't care if "they'll get their drugs from somewhere else" if the dealer goes to jail, if a person breaks a law they should pay, plain and simple. If we need to build more prisons, then tax me to get more police and more prisons, but get them off the street.

I am still very liberal when it comes to things like taking care of the poor, the weak, the old, and the infirmed. For example, I do believe that the Conservatives have a point that in an ideal world the rich should voluntarily give to churches and charities to help the poor. But I also realize that it will never be an ideal world and I believe that there comes a point when that voluntary donation isn't enough and that the public as a whole, through taxes, should also contribute to the welfare of the less fortunate. I also believe that military, cops, teachers, firefighters and other public servants are the backbone of our society, and a teacher should be able to make more than an entry-level clerk with no college education. And if a person is willing to take a bullet from a criminal or war enemy to save my life, then by Gosh pay the man (or woman) already! I hate taxes as much as the next guy, but I hate getting shot more.

I'm also still, and will always probably be, a Birkenstock-clad recycling making-my-own-cleaners organic-eating tree hugger. I'm all about saving the environment in a very hippy-esque way. I believe I am what might be dubbed a "crunchy con." But I'm also making sure I do research into the "crunchy" businesses I support to make sure that they don't support companies that support causes that I feel are wrong due to my orthodox religious beliefs.

I'll get it right eventually, I'm sure I will.

Carnival of the Veil

2006-06-09T10:28:00.000-05:00

The ex-mo/post-Mormon carnival, Carnival of the Veil, is being hosted by Sideon this week. Go check it out.

DISCLAIMER: These blogs are anti-Mormon, but not necessarily pro-Catholic.

Sorry about the comments

2006-06-09T10:09:00.000-05:00

I've began moderating comments after I experienced a commenter with views I did not feel like sharing on my blog. He was an anti-"Anti-Mormon" if you will. I have no problem with Mormons posting their side of things, and I actually encourage it. I try to show both sides of an issue even when it's clear which side I support, and I have no problem with the opposite side of an issue being brought to light, as long as no cuss words are being used and as long as common courtesy is expressed. But I'm not too much into "Mormons are right and you suck" comments. I've been out of 8th grade since 1985, and don't plan on going back.

Anyway, this past few days Blogger has been on the fritz (which would explain why my aggregator has been oddly empty of posts), and I haven't been able to post the comments.

I apologize for this error, and all of this mess has really got me thinking about transferring to my own URL. It is definitely a motivation. I'll let all of you know if I decide to change to a non-Blogger blog.

Dead people and vomit

2006-06-09T09:49:00.000-05:00

There are two things that I have an exteme aversion to. And by extreme I mean I will scream and cover my eyes and avoid at all costs. The first one is vomit. I hate seeing vomit, I hate thinking about vomit, and I certainly despise being put in a situation where vomit is being hurled out of an orafice. Let me give you two examples that I have come across in my very recent history. I was driving to work about two weeks ago, minding my own business, when I stopped at a red light. Directly in my line of vision, for no apparent reason, there was a young man throwing up into a clump of plants in the parking lot of the downtown McDonald's. I hope that young man is happy because I will never be able to eat at that McDonald's again. This week was the debut of one of the few reality TV shows that I actually like, "So You Think You Can Dance." (This year they even have a nice little Mormon boy in the top 10!) But one of the "Can you believe this horrible dancer auditioned" shots was a girl who danced, and then threw up off of the side of the stage. And they showed this shot repeatedly, both in the "teasers" and as a segment of the show. I don't want to see vomit on my nice, family-friendly TV show. Seriously, I'm not kidding.

The second thing I have a severe aversion to is seeing dead bodies on the news. If Saddam's sons got blew up, great, but don't broadcast the picture over and over and over. I don't want to see. At least they had the sensitivity to hide the pictures of Uday and Qusay behind "sensitive pictures" links on most web sites. But I can't escape the picture of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of Al Quida who was killed during a US air raid this week. Yes, I know he was a bad man. Yes, I believe that he was killed. But I can't go on any US news site, and I can't go on many blog sites, without seen graphic pictures of his dead face. I don't want to see his dead face. I don't like to see death, no matter how justified that death might be. I didn't even visit my father in the mortuary when he died. I knew what he looked like alive, and that was enough for me. I don't want to see dead bodies piled up after a bombing or a flood, I don't want to see body bags after a fatal car wreck, I don't want to see a father holding on to the limp body of their child. I just don't want to see it. It makes me sad. It puts images in my head that won't go away. Put pictures of al-Zarqawi being nasty on a videotape or something on the news articles, but don't put his bloodied dead face on venues where I can't avoid it. It gives me nightmares.

Rant over.

When the heck did I become a moderate?

2006-06-06T14:43:00.000-05:00

Your Political Profile:

Overall: 45% Conservative, 55% Liberal

Social Issues: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal

Personal Responsibility: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

Fiscal Issues: 0% Conservative, 100% Liberal

Ethics: 25% Conservative, 75% Liberal

Defense and Crime: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal

How Liberal Or Conservative Are You?

I've always been extremely liberal. To become a moderate, at least according to this little quiz, is very odd for me.

Another disappointing mass at St. Jude

2006-06-05T09:23:00.000-05:00

These past couple of weeks have been super busy for me. Last weekend and this weekend I've been spending way too much time and money on what I've dubbed "Xtreme! Loft Makeover" of my home. We've gotten a new couch, new shelves, new lighting, a new piece of art, etc. It looks great, but I've been busy.

Since we shopped all day on Saturday, I knew I'd be super busy doing projects all day Sunday. Not the best way to keep the Sabbath Day holy, but I figured I'd do some resting later in the day. I got up early and went to 9:30a Mass at St. Jude Chapel so I would have plenty of time to work on my home later in the day.

That place has gone downhill, for lack of a better word, since Fr. C left. It makes me really sad, because I *really* wanted to go to church there, but I just don't like it. Here are some of the changes that have happened to the Sunday Mass since Fr. C left:

No "ringing of the bells" to start Mass (there's no big church bells there, but there's a little set of bells by the door of the sacristy that they would ring to start Mass)
No incense
No Cantor for either Sunday Mass
No receiving of both species of communion, only the host
People reading the Scriptures from books other than the big fancy Red one (i.e. from papers or from the Missal)
Things left on altar after serving of communion (BIG pet peeve of mine - I'll always remember when Fr. C said to me "The Altar is a place to bring in the son of God, not a bookshelf")

On top of what I consider to be minor liturgical abuses and just loss of the "smells and bells", the priest's homilies are ... well, I just don't like them. He brings up pieces of paper, so I know he's prepared it to some extent, but he just rambles and goes on tangents about "current events" without telling enough about them for those of us who don't know all about them, and things like that.

I'm so sad as to what's happened to St. Jude. I don't necessarily need Fr. C there to be happy there, but when he was there, it was reverent and the homilies were very spiritual, and Fr. C always did the best he could to make sure that the service was the best that it could be. Now the Sunday service isn't even as complete as the weekday Mass I attend at Holy Family. I really wanted that to be my "home church" but I can't handle going there and not being spiritually nurtured. I need a good homily, I need good music, and I really like receiving both species, at least on Sunday.

I think next Sunday I'll go to St. Peter's again. I really liked going there. Great music, great people, nice and small ... it was very nice.

Rainbow

2006-06-01T21:53:00.000-05:00

It's amazing how the little things can really be a mood booster.

This weekend, my husband and I invested in a sofa from Ikea, and we were able to give away our futon on Craigslist. We also got a really neat shelf from Ikea so we would have a place to display our Franciscan Starburst dishes that my parents gave us when we got married. It's finally starting to feel like home here, and we've lived here almost two years.

I had a wonderful day. I've been getting a lot done at work, and I've been communicating well with my boss. I'm really enjoying my new work calendar (my boss suggested I get it to "improve my time management" - and it's working). Today I got a new laptop for work, my very first laptop. I was able to get my docking station and dual-monitor setup all situated this afternoon so I can basically walk in the door tomorrow and use my computer at the docking station.

On the way home, there was a gorgeous rainbow that looked like it was ending right in the middle of downtown, right over my loft. We went down to the Press Box Grill and watched some of the Mavericks game and our burger was KILLER. If you ever go there, I highly recommend getting some of their House Ranch dressing to dip your fries in. And when I got home, I had half a pint of Haagen-Dazs Chocolate ice cream for dessert.

Overall, it's been a very good day, and a very good week. I feel all warm and fuzzy. Maybe it's the chocolate.

MAILBAG - DaVinci Code and Mormons

2006-05-29T00:37:00.000-05:00

I received an e-mail from Larry that says:

I was wondering what is the general view of Mormons to the Da Vinci Code. While I have not read the book, I did get some of the details from "EWTN Live" last Week.

Some of the facts asserted by the book are exactly what I was taught as a Mormon. For example: Jesus is not God. That he was married to Mary Magdalene (at the wedding
Feast at Cana). That they did have children as Joseph Smith was a litteral decendant of Jesus.

I've been meaning to respond to this e-mail for a while, but I've been having problems finding a whole lot about the Mormon church's "official" statement on the church.

However, I did this link on the SperoNews blog. This is an article written in the Salt Lake Tribune. I'm pretty sure that it's tongue-in-cheek, but then again, I too went to Seminary early in the morning, and I too was taught that Jesus was most probably married and that Mary Magdalene could have been his wife. So take it with a grain of salt, and enjoy!

Living History: Debunking 'Da Vinci Code': Christ's kin live in Utah

By Pat Bagley
Salt Lake Tribune Columnist
Salt Lake Tribune

Dan Brown, author of the phenomenal best-seller, The Da Vinci Code, (currently also a major motion picture starring Tom Hanks, as if you didn't already know), was sued recently for plagiarism. A couple of angry authors thought Brown stole their idea.

The book in question, Holy Blood, Holy Grail, is not a thriller, not a romance, not even a heart-rending memoir that will later turn out to be a pack of lies. It is a book which marshals dubious documentation and tediously footnoted arcane citations to argue that Jesus Christ was married to Mary Magdalene, they had children and, after the crucifixion, Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus' family to France.

It's all nonsense, of course. Even the British court agreed. Without even a single reference to homicidal papist albinos, Holy Blood, Holy Grail is nothing at all like The Da Vinci Code. The case was thrown out.

And besides, everyone knows Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus' children to England and, later, the descendants emigrated to Utah.

Full Text

Being Catholic - Week 6

2006-05-28T23:50:00.000-05:00

So I started the weekend with the big plan of confessing. That was the one thing that I wanted to do this weekend. I took a nap on Saturday afternoon, and by the time I got up, showered and to St. Thomas Aquinas, it was about 3:35 or so. STA has confession from 2:45p-3:45p with Mass starting at 4:00. When I got in line, there were about a dozen people ahead of me. I waited in line until finally the priest had to leave so he could do the Mass, about 3:55p. There were about 5 people ahead of me and 2 people behind me when the confessions ended. I was quite disappointed.

But I had a Plan B. I checked, and made sure that there was confession at the Cathedral on Saturday afternoon, and there was - from 4:45p-5:15p with Vigil Mass at 5:30. I drove over there and got there about 4:10p. There was a Spanish-speaking wedding going on, so I knelt in front of the Tabernacle and prayed and got ready for my confession. At 4:30p, I went and sat near the door where people wait for confession. This is the first time I've been to confession there. I waited and waited and waited, and finally about 4:45p the priest that was officiating the wedding came out. Now, there's one small problem with this priest. He's Columbian and knows pretty much two sentences of English - "Do you know Spanish?" and "I don't speak much English." There were quite a few of us waiting in line to confess and I was #4.

We all stood up and got in line, and then Guy #6 decides this is a good time to make some buddies. Here, in line for Confession. That's not a *normal* thing I hope, is it? He kept chatting up the guy right behind me, who was obviously in a contemplative mood as I was. It was just ookey hearing this guy say, "So, do you go to church here often? I've been going here a few months now ..."

I go into confession and hear "Do you speak Spanish? I only speak a little English" from the priest. I said, No, I don't speak any Spanish, sorry. So he pulls out these English "cheat sheets" and starts reading from them the basics about confession. I said the Bless me Father thing, and then confessed my sins, but I'm really not sure if he understood what I was saying. Then he read the Absolve you part of confession off of our little English "cheat sheets" and I read my "I confess" prayer and I was done. I was given Five Our Fathers for penance.

It was quite awkward. Didn't I need to do more than just five Our Fathers for a month's worth of sin, one of which was a Mortal sin? I wanted to ask the priest about my situation with my friend, and receive good solid Catholic guidance on how to support my gay friend without being in a state of sin, but this priest didn't know any English and barely got through the absolute basics of sin. It was really awkward. Should I find an English confessor and confess again?

Vigil Mass was good. Deacon Charlie gave the homily, and it was a good one, about the Ascension and faith. After Mass, he blessed my St. Benedict rosary with the St. Benedict blessing, so now I feel like I can use it.

Ok, I forgot to tell you about last Saturday's mass. We had a substitute priest at St. Jude. I tried to get him to bless my new St. Benedict rosary, but when I went to go talk to him, he was really busy and didn't notice that it was a St. Benedict rosary and fired off a very basic "May the user of this rosary be blessed" 10-second blessing before running off to defrock. Yeah, it was annoying. But I finally got it blessed.

This morning, in honor of Pope Benedict's tour of Poland this week, I decided to continue my Tour of Churches with a visit to St. Peter's parish in Uptown. It's right off of Woodall Rogers just outside of Downtown, and is actually a Polish-ethnic parish. But they do have an English Mass at 9a. So I went to it. The church is simple, but also has some really great elements of beauty. Above the altar is a gorgeous replica of the Our Lady of Czestochowa portrait from Poland. I was actually given a holy card with this portrait from my friend Nancy, one of the sponsors in my RCIA class.

It was interesting to me that the congregation seemed predominantly African-American. The next thing that I found was very cool was that the person sitting in front of me turned around, extended a hand, and said Hello! In all of the parishes I've been to, this is the first time I was greeted by a parishioner as I sat in the pews. There were maybe 50 or so people at the church. I have a feeling most of the parishioners of that parish come to the 11a service.

They have a very small choir - 4 or 5 women, 1 man, all African-American. And the music was BEAUTIFUL! I knew many of the songs that they sang (the Gloria, the Holy Holy Holy, etc.). But this small choir sang them so beautifully. They also had this Kyrie that started in English, then the next verse was in Greek, then they sang on top of each other, kind of like In The Round. It's hard to describe.

The service was also very solemn. The bells were rang during the Eucharistic Prayer, and the altar children were very reverent and solemn.

They did a Rite of Welcoming into the Community for a small baby. It had been in dire health when born, so the mother did an emergency baptism for the baby at its birth. The rite was very similar to a baby baptism, and they did the candle and the bib and the chrism oil.

The priest is a good priest, very reverent and obviously spiritual. I enjoyed the homily quite a bit. The only problem I had during the entire service is that I was sitting directly in front of a large family whose son kept touching me, which I found to be very distracting. But they were quiet for the most part. It was good to see so many people who obviously cared for the well-being of each other. The parish is so small that people seemed to know everyone that was there. Even the priest shook my hand and welcomed me in a tone that seemed like he knew I was new, but was happy to see me.

I might just have to return to St. Peter's. I really liked it. I liked that people know each other, and that there is a small community where the priest knows the parishioners, and I *LOVED* the music! The people that were there seemed like they were really there for the right reasons.

For those looking for a blood pressure monitor

2006-05-26T15:04:00.000-05:00

Normally I wouldn't be a shill for the Man, but I found a screaming deal last night at Radio Shack. Apparently, they've discontinued their LifeWise™ Wrist-Cuff Blood Pressure Monitor. We were able to pick one up for $16.97 plus tax at the Radio Shack at Forest and Greenville Ave. in Dallas, but I'm sure that they're on sale at Radio Shacks throughout the country.

Normally a blood pressure cuff like this will run you at least $50. We know because my husband has high blood pressure and we've been looking for one for months. If you need to monitor your blood pressure, this is a good way to go.

End of commercial.

Confession

2006-05-25T21:50:00.000-05:00

I tried to go to confession last Saturday, before the Vigil Mass, at the Chapel. But apparently there was a guest priest who didn't make it into the Chapel until 5:45p or so and we weren't able to do confession.

Today I tried to go to the only place I know of that does weekly confession at night outside of business hours - St Thomas Aquinas. I left Grand Prairie at 4:55p and drove into Dallas via 183 and Loop 12. I parked my car at 5:50p. There were a LOT of cars there, but I figured it was something to do with the school. I was partially right. I walked into a very crowded chapel, and there were no confessions happening. Instead, a bell choir was playing, and there were people everywhere. Apparently it was some kind of service for graduating Seniors, maybe a graduation Mass or something. I ended up turning around and going home because I was so disappointed about not being able to confess, plus the crowds made me nervous.

I really do want to confess. I think I'm going to have to break down and go on a Saturday afternoon, which is seriously inconvenient, but the only time most parishes offer scheduled confession. The Chapel runs confession every weekday, but only during the lunch hour so I can't participate because I'm in Grand Prairie working. At the church where I go to Daily Mass, Holy Family, the only time they do confession is Saturday afternoon. Same with the Cathedral - only 45 minutes worth of confession before the English-speaking Vigil Mass on Saturdays.

Ugh, I wish they offered Confession at more times during the week than they do.

Lord hear our prayer

2006-05-25T11:44:00.000-05:00

Please keep the family of Steve and Cindy P. in your prayers. I've mentioned them before - they are the family whose father is having serious heart problems, and whose son was recently in the hospital due to seizures. The mother and father (Steve and Cindy) and their two sons were in my RCIA program, and we all were confirmed and/or baptized together at Easter Vigil.

Our RCIA class mailing list received this e-mail from Steve:

Keep praying for our 3 grandkids; The mom has run away with the children we have not heard any news of there where about or condition. There mom is Bi-Polar and Skisa franc? We are really concern for the children the police has put a ALL POINT Bullent to attempt to find them, Child protective services has been working along with the Police.

I e-mailed them yesterday to see if there was any progress, but the children have yet to be found. Please pray for a safe return of those children to their family.

Also please pray for the repose of the soul of Fr. Tom Reitmeyer, one of the bloggers from the St. Blog's Parish and the author of the blog "A Son Becomes A Father". Amy Welborn relayed news of his death in her blog and posted a link from News 8 Austin about the personal watercraft accident that took this priest's life.

Happy Friggin' Birthday!

2006-05-25T11:34:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday to my fellow Dallasite, Julie D. over at Happy Catholic!!!

Because it makes me laugh

2006-05-25T09:38:00.000-05:00

From Toothpaste For Dinner

My first heaping helping of Catholic Guilt - but not in the way that you'd think

2006-05-25T00:06:00.000-05:00

Ma Back over at the Ward Wide Web posted something interesting recently:

Every single time you stand in the line to receive Holy Communion, you're making a statement to the world.
This statement includes the following:
I believe in every single item of the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds.
I believe 100% in what the Catholic Church teaches about homosexuality.
I believe 100% in what the Catholic Church teaches about contraception.
I believe 100% in what the Catholic Church teaches about capital punishment.
I believe 100% in what the Catholic Church teaches about Euthanasia.
I believe 100% in what the Catholic Church teaches about abortion.
I believe in the Papacy, and I believe in the succession from St. Peter to Benedict XVI.
I believe 100% in the mystery of transubstantiation, and I believe in the Church's teaching that in order to receive our Lord in Holy Communion, my soul should be in a state of grace. For all but the most heroic of Catholics, this probably means Confession at least once a month.

I take receiving the Communion Host EXTREMELY seriously. I don't take it lightly, and I've been known to refrain from taking a host when I know that I'm not worthy. I've already been to confession a couple of times and I was just baptized at Easter, and I'm planning on going to confession tomorrow after work. My soul feels gunky.

It's easy for me to say, "I'm not going to commit X sin." For example, I'm not going to use a condom or have an abortion or help someone with assisted suicide or live an actively homosexual lifestyle. But my most difficult struggles have been how to be supportive of people in my life who are openly sinning according to the precepts of the Catholic church. According to their (often Christian) church, they are not sinning.

For so much of my life, I felt judged by the fact that I had no God, no church, no religious affiliation. I hate ... for lack of a better way to put it, imposing my beliefs on other people. Who am I to say that my God is right? I barely have a belief system of my own, how can I expect others to believe the same way? They don't attend church, or do but don't attend Catholic church, or are lapsed Catholics. It's hard. I'm not ready for that yet, and I feel like a failure before God for feeling this way.

I know that taking the communion means accepting these beliefs 100%, which I am willing to do. I can take care of myself, but I am not ready to be burdened with the sins of my friends, of my relatives, of my spouse. How can I find that spot between faithfulness to my fledgeling religious life and support of my friends out of love?

This relates, to some extent, to a post that Julie D. wrote on her blog Happy Catholic. She talks about having a "healthy serving of guilt":

Would bringing back guilt help keep these things in check? It is an interesting question, even if one could accomplish such a thing, which is an interesting question in itself.

Please note that I am not advocating shame here. I am talking about guilt. It seems to me to be similar to making the jump that we all managed from years ago when a drunk at a party was an amusing spectacle who was often left to weave his way home ... to the attitudes of today where alcoholism is treated seriously as dangerous to everyone but the alcoholic person is viewed with compassion as someone who needs to be helped. Part of that jump is accomplished for the alcoholic by knowing society's views and how he or she is expected to make a serious effort to control those dangerous impulses. As The Anchoress says, we are sometimes dealt a stinking card in life but we still must live with it the best we can. How much easier is this when society lends a helping hand without empowering the destructive impulses?

I understand that sometimes a bit of guilt, a bit of collective conscience, can be healthy for many different situations, the afforementiones alcoholism referenced above being one of the situations. But making that leap from some sins to others is hard. I could jump someone up one side and down the other for smoking pot and the illegality of it and how it is a gateway drug without any kind of guilt or hesitance whatsoever. But what about my married friends who use condoms and the Pill for contraception? What about my friends in a committed heterosexual relationship, who are not only having sex out of wedlock but also living together? What about my best friend, living with another man in the state of "holy union" and commitment? Why am I so hesitant to share my moral thoughts with these people? Can I identify with them more? Am I afraid to hurt feelings, or lose friends? Or is it that in my mind, some sins are more easy for me to pass judgement on than others? Or is my mindset of "Who am I to judge these people" so strong as to reign back my religion in their presence? I also constantly think of the scripture that states "He who is without sin cast the first stone." I do not feel comfortable telling people about sin that they know good and well that I participated in, nor do I feel that I am in any way perfect. I am still trying to pull out the mote in my own eye, so who am I to tell a person about the splinter in their eye?

The guilt is hard to carry. If I had a priest I could talk to, and could confide in for guidance, I would definitely take advantage of that. But I barely know the priests at either the Cathedral or the Chapel, and it's hard to go up to a stranger and start dumping personal problems in their laps.

Persistant missionaries

2006-05-24T23:58:00.000-05:00

This is a very cute video about some of the crazy tactics that (Mormon?) missionaries will resort to to win your soul to Jesus. Theoretically.

MAILBAG - Catholics dating Mormons

2006-05-24T23:20:00.000-05:00

I received this e-mail from C:

I'm just a regular 16 year old Catholic girl. I dated a 17 year old Mormon boy, whom I loved very much. We were great together, but sometimes I couldn't figure out why he loved me back. After all, I wasn't Mormon, and he told me that he "would love to convert me, but wouldn't force me." He even got me a Book of Mormon for Valentine's Day (romantic, I know). One time, he talked about marriage and how he would want to be married to me forever (which scared the crap out of me. Who at my age thinks about marriage? I guess Mormons do). Besides that, things were great until his parents forced us to break up after 3 months of going out. Apparently, the prophet said that continuing a relationship after 3 months was dangerous. This was the absolute first time that my Mormon guy had heard this, and resisted his parents. I won't go into all the things his parents did to make us break up, but once they hacked into his email account and threatened to blackmail me, I couldn't go through all that pain anymore. We were both very depressed, angry, and confused (his parents labeled me as a "dangerous" girl, which I am totally not at all). So I began to look things up on the internet about Mormonism. I read both "pro" and "anti" Mormon matieral. I read ex Mormon stories. And I cried when I concluded that my ex boyfriend whole heartedly believed all the lies in the Church with his "solid testimony".

This whole experience has made me closer to and more appreciative of my Catholicism. I guess I'm one of those crade Catholics who've "reverted", right? Anyway, I think I said some things that offended my ex boyfriend after our break up. He didn't seem very pleased when I asked him, "Is it true that you guys have special underwear?!" or when I told him, "I'm never dating a Mormon again." He has definitley become colder towards me. The whole point of this email is, what might be going through his mind about me because of these comments? Why is marriage so important? Why were his parents so controlling after reading what the prophet said? Why did he want to convert me (I mean, I was fine with him being Mormon until I found out all those lies...)? And...how can I help him find the Catholic Church?

Unfortunately, I can't really tell you what goes on in a 17-year old's brain, nor can anyone I don't think except for maybe another 17-year old boy. But you did bring up a good question - why is marriage so important to Mormons?

When I was growing up, from the time I was old enough to know about boys (about 12), I was in a program called Young Women's Association. In these classes, taught every Sunday for one hour, I was in an all-girls class and taught about things that "girls" should know. I was taught that virtue was the most honorable trait a girl could have, and that a woman should allow herself to be killed before losing her virtue (actual quote from Spencer W. Kimball). I was taught that motherhood and being a wife were the greatest and most honorable callings a woman could have. I was taught to only date Mormon boys, as only they would have the same virtues as me. I was also taught to save myself for my husband, and to prepare myself to be a good wife and mother.

Now, the part about virtue was, and is, a very good teaching. I know that chastity and virtue are taught in the Catholic church, and one of the most pious things a woman can do in the Catholic church is to commit herself to perpetual virginity as a bride of Christ. It's the marriage part that makes things tricky when it comes to the Mormon church.

From the time teenagers are old enough to start paying attention to people of the opposite sex, they are taught to be virtuous and to only date Mormons and to remember the blessings of marriage even while dating in high school. This culture of marriage is brought about because of the Mormon teaching of Eternal Marriage.

Eternal marriage is the concept of being married in the Mormon temple for "time and all eternity" as opposed to Death Do Us Part. It is a covenant, similar in that aspect to a sacramental wedding in a Catholic church. The "catch" about this teaching is that it is taught that all must be "eternally" married to go to Heaven. This progression is part of what is called the "Plan of Salvation". Our road on this earth has been mapped out for us (here's another chart that I actually have in my home that was given to me as a child), and the only way we can be with our Father in Heaven, according to Mormon teachings, is to be married in the temple for time and all eternity.

The goal from this progression, being in the Celestial Kingdom, is to become Gods of our own worlds as God is the creator of ours. We will, with our eternal companion (and all of his other wives) be given the blessing of creating our own worlds with our own children, and progressing throughout eternity as God has continually progressed. A couplet that was said by Lorenzo Snow goes "As man is, God once was, as God is, man may someday become."

And yes, this concept is VERY MUCH opposite of the concept of the traditional Trinitarian God that the Catholics (and most Protestants) worship. Catholic Answers has an interesting page called Mormon Stumpers that has more information about Mormon teachings from a Catholic perspective.

I hope I have answered at least some of your question. Mormons put emphasis on an Eternal Marriage in the temple because for Mormons, the only way to complete salvation and living in the presence of God throughout eternity is through Eternal Marriage. Without marriage, a Mormon cannot be in the presence of God's full glory after his death.

Carnival of the Veil

2006-05-24T22:48:00.000-05:00

This week we have quite an interesting mix of posts for the ExMo/ PostMormon "Carnival of the Veil". Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: For my Catholic readers, just a reminder that these blogs are ExMo, but not necessarily pro-Christian or Pro-Catholic.

Gunner, the originator of this Carnival, talks about God - the man behind the myth. He specifically discusses the attributes of the Mormon God and sees which attributes he dislikes the most, with Mormon scriptural references to back up his claims.

Natalie Collins from "Trapped by the Mormons" brings to light some interesting comments made by a a Salt Lake Tribune journalist about the DaVinci Code.

Exmoron from the group blog "Sons of Perdition" presents an interesting argument describing the way that the Mormon church makes attempts to "mainstream" its beliefs.

JLO, one of my personal favorite ExMo blogs , described (with vivid detail) yet another interesting experience he had while in the mission field - watching the locals butcher a Brahma bull.

Cr@ig, from "Cr@ig in the Middle", relays his experience while viewing the Joseph Smith movie, as well as many of the "whitewashing" contained within.

Doug from "Eight Hour Lunch" presents his newest personal War of Wits, the Weenie Awards and discusses the reasons for the nominees.

Diane from "The Thought Spot" graduates!

Trixie Granny of "Shallow Thoughts" gives an interesting thought about Near Death Experiences.

Equality from "Equality Time" discusses her feelings on the Billion Dollar Mall being built with LDS funds in downtown Salt Lake City, UT.

All's Quiet on the Western Front

2006-05-22T12:48:00.000-05:00

I apologize for the absense of posts over the last few days. That pesky thing called "real life" has totally gotten in my way this week. Not only have I been swamped at work (where I usually get a good post in or two a day), but my personal life has also been super busy. While aggregating posts from other blogs and web sites is a great, easy way to fill up a blog, I would like to not rely on that system so heavily in the future.

I have a whole bunch of posts in my head just waiting to happen, as soon as I get time to devote to creating them. I'll work hard to posting some of those ideas soon.

Because some things are too silly not to blog about

2006-05-18T13:32:00.000-05:00

There's a very interesting article in the New York Times this week called "This Season's Must-Have: The Little Black Roll" The article discusses the new trend of having black toilet paper in bathrooms as a design element. Here's a very interesting quote from the article:

"In a design sense," he wrote, black means "irreverence, maybe touching a bit on the core nature of art, which is to break rules and set new ones.

"Culturally, deep down, Renova Black invites people to break down whatever might be limiting as common sense ideas," he wrote.

I'd love to wrote an in-depth thought-provoking paragraph about this TP, but honestly, the only thing I can think of is that some people really have way more money than sense.

Carnival of the Veil - Week two

2006-05-18T13:04:00.000-05:00

Carnival of the Veil is up for Week Two!

Next week, the Carnival will be hosted by Yours Truly. I'm really glad that Gunner is putting this resorce together for exmo/Post-Mo blogs. I know that this blog is read primarily by Catholics, so it might not be understood what a milestone a resource like this truly is. Most exmo's are anonymous, in hiding and suffering through the loss of a religion in a very personal way. Exmo's who choose to blog about their experiences, though few and far between, are finally beginning to form a network of support for each other. Now, if we can only get a St. Blog's for exmo bloggers, we'll be in business!

My obligatory " 'The DaVinci Code' Blows" post

2006-05-18T12:59:00.000-05:00

Nothing is more entertaining than reading the reviews of a movie that is being universally panned by the critics. So far, this is my favorite opening line from any review read so far.

You know a movie's a dud when even its self-flagellating albino killer monk isn't any fun.

John Beifuss, Commercialappeal.com

Opus Dei - The new Kabbalah?

2006-05-16T12:30:00.000-05:00

MSNBC has a very amusing tongue-in-cheek article online called Forget Scientology, how about Opus Dei, suggesting that Opus Dei might be the new trendsetter religion. Here's an exerpt:

Style watchers are tired of the same old fringe faiths. We cry out for our celebrities to adopt a hip new opium — something to fill up entertainment magazine side-bars, launch accessory trends, and inspire prime time investigations. But what group could possibly have enough hype and heft to usurp behemoths like Scientology and Kabbalah as the next great religious movement of the rich and famous? My money is on Opus Dei.

Full Article

EDIT: I just wanted to make something clear. I don't think this article is funny because Opus Dei is so wacky. I think this article is amusing due to the fact that it pokes fun at the nature of Hollywood's elite and their tendancies to flock around the Religion de Jour.

One of the good things about "The DaVinci Code" coming out as a movie is that it has forced Opus Dei to come out into the open to explain itself as the pious, and rather boring, entity that it is. As far as I can tell, while there may be some abuses in the system as there is in any institutionalized organization, there is in no way any murdering Albinos or any other activity going on that is way out of line with Catholic teachings. It is simply a basic path of fellowship and action, filled with piety and direction towards God.

Because I'm all about the Industrial Look

2006-05-16T09:37:00.000-05:00

Gerald Augistinus posted this very interesting picture of a monstrance, which would be appropriate in a chic urban loft as well as a steel factory:

Borrowed lovingly from Julie D.

2006-05-16T09:35:00.000-05:00

This quote really addressed some issues that I have been dealing with lately, so I thought I'd blog it and share.

If someone has wronged you, you are not required to think they're wonderful for doing it. You can despise what they did to you, and tell them so. You can tell them it was lousy and that you feel lousy and that you forgive them in spite of all that. The Lord asked us to forgive, but He never asked us to feel like forgiving. You must decide to forgive, just like you decide to love. None of this has to come naturally, and if you are expecting to develop the natural inclination to forgive, you're going to wait a long time.

As Christians, we don't forgive someone because it makes us feel like a nice person or because its sweet, but because its hard. The very difficulty we have in summoning true forgiveness out of our hearts makes us resemble Jesus.

Mother Angelica

Catholic Carnival

2006-05-16T09:33:00.000-05:00

Go check out the Catholic Carnival for this week!

Just call me Sloth

2006-05-15T16:32:00.000-05:00

Greed:	Very Low
Gluttony:	Very Low
Wrath:	Very Low
Sloth:	Medium
Envy:	Very Low
Lust:	Very Low
Pride:	Very Low

Take the Seven Deadly Sins Quiz

All Things Benedict

2006-05-15T01:29:00.000-05:00

This weekend, while at Sacred Heart bookstore to buy a cross for a wedding gift for the convalidation we attended this weekend, I also bought a few cool things for myself. As most readers know by this point, I have this special affinity for the St. Benedict jubilee medal. Well, the bookstore had a rather nifty little St. Benedict rosary (like the one in this picture), so I had to get it. It's very cool - I love the black beads. The only thing tricky about getting anything with a St. Benedict medal is that I have to get it blessed with a certain prayer that is specific for St. Benedict jubliee medals. And it takes a bit for the prayers to be said. But it's worth it to have these sacramentals as part of my devotions.

I also got my very own copy of the hot-off-the-presses book "Decoding Mary Magdalene" by Amy Welborn. I figure it was a slightly better way to spend my money than to see The DaVinci Code this weekend. I've read quite a bit about Mary Magdalene since deciding to pick her as one of my Conversion saints, and I am looking forward to getting to read even more about her, especially from an established Catholic author.

Finally, I was able to procure a copy of the new Compendium to the Catechism of the Catholic Church. So far I really love the layout, but I'll have to give you another review once I've gotten through the entire book. I love the prayers in Latin in the back. I'm trying to memorize the Anima Christi, so that I can say it during my post-communion prayers in Mass. It's my favorite prayer in Latin.

Mass Confusion

2006-05-15T00:21:00.000-05:00

Well, another journey in trying to find my Catholic home has been taken. I went to St. Thomas Aquinas today for the 11a Mass.

The reading today for the Mass was about how Christ is the vine and we are the branches. The priest at STA kept talking about community and unity within the church, and how we are all stronger when we are united in our church.

I was feeling pretty grody because of my allergies, and decided to go to the Cathedral about mid-Mass. My nose was runny and I was achy all over, and in all honesty, I was feeling kind of "homesick", for lack of a better word. I'm pretty sure it was the STA homily that made me think of my "community" back at the Cathedral. So, after the Homily at STA, which was great btw, I left the STA Mass and drove over to the Cathedral and attended the Noon mass there. I actually braved the Cathedral parking garage, and it wasn't nearly as scary as I thought it would be. I ended up sitting with my friend Nancy and my sponsor.

I talked with Nancy after Mass, and she told me that she will most probably switch to attending St. Thomas Aquinas very soon, after she settles a few things in her personal life. She loves the homilies at STA, and she also loves that there are so many programs there for English-Speakers. She had hinted that she might transfer parishes to STA in earlier conversations, but from the the tone of our talk today, it sounds like it is definitely going to happen in the near future.

I've been so torn with going to the Chapel vs the Cathedral vs St. Thomas Aquinas. Each group has its benefits and its drawbacks. All benefits are good for each church. It's so great to be able to walk down the street for church at St. Jude Chapel, but on the other hand, there's not much opportunity for me to be active in the church except for to show up for Mass. I could probably become a lector or something, but other than that I'm out of luck. I'm sure that if I attend St. Thomas Aquinas a few more times that I'll feel more comfortable there and really get into the groove of things. I even have a blog friend who attends there that would like to say Hi to me the next time I go to mass there. It's odd to me that the main motivation for me to go to STA is because, for lack of a better way to put it, it's an "ethnic" parish geared towards English-speakers. I don't think it's wrong for me to want access to multiple programs in my Native language. Why does that feel so un-PC, though? I just seriously dislike that there's not many opportunities to be active at the Cathedral parish since I don't speak Spanish.

I've been praying for discernment as to where I need to go on Sundays. Maybe I should just continue to jump around for a while, get the feel of things and decide what to do from there. Maybe I'm just being unduly influenced by my friend who is feeling the calling to go to another parish. Maybe I'm not giving the new rector of St. Jude Chapel enough credit.

It's a hard thing to decide, and it's really been troubling me. I struggle daily to find my place in the church, in a parish and in the diocese. I really want a church "home" that I can commit to with my time, my donations and my energy.

It just occurred to me - this feels an awful lot like what happened to me when I went back to the Mormon church from about 1997 to 2001. I started out my reactivation in the Fort Worth Singles ward, but felt awkward because I was so much older than most of the people there. After about a year in the singles ward, I transferred to a small inner-city family branch in Fort Worth. After being in that ward for less than a year, I ended up moving to Grand Prairie so that I could look for jobs in both Fort Worth and Dallas due to a buyout of my company and an expected lay-off (which indeed happened a few weeks after the move). Once relocated, I first went to the Grand Prairie family ward, but after three miserable weeks there, I transferred to the Dallas South Singles ward. It was a nice group of people, but the church was 30 minutes away, and I was beginning to lose faith and motivation to go to church at that point anyway.

I don't know quite what I was searching for exactly then, and I'm not sure what I'm searching for now. On the up side, this time instead of having to decide between the better of two evils, I'm trying to decide which is the best of three great choices. It's like someone going up to you and saying, "Ok, here's three ice cream cones - Chocolate, Vanilla, and Strawberry. Which one is best?" But they're all good, you know?

I think the biggest question that I need to answer for myself is which church is going to bring me closest to God, and at which church will I be able to serve the members of the church the best? I have no doubt the desire to serve is from my previous "callings" as a Mormon. But I also want to meet people, to get involved. It's important for me to feel like a contributing part to a community.

I have no idea which church would bring me closer to God, or if any of my three choices have a clear advantage over another. I think my journey to God at this point is mostly between me and God. I think at this point that as long as I am going to church on a regular basis, if I can simply go with a contrite heart and spirit, that any church experience will do the trick. I just wish I could find a home and commit to it, and be satisfied with my decision.

Tridentine Mass vs Novus Ordo Mass

2006-05-15T00:16:00.000-05:00

I found an interesting web page that I thought I'd share. It is a page that compares the contents of the Tridentine Mass to the contents of the Novus Ordo mass.

A COMPARISON - THE TRADITIONAL (TRIDENTINE) MISSAL AND THE NOVUS ORDO MISSAL

I would like to attend the Tridentine Mass again, but before I do I want to hunt down a 1962 missal (Or at least the little "red" missal I've heard some people use). And a hairpin for my veil. I was paranoid about wearing my veil this last time when I went because I wasn't sure if it would stay on my head.

The weekend thus far

2006-05-14T10:04:00.000-05:00

My weekend thus far has been rather eventful. I went to Mass both Friday and Saturday at St. Jude Chapel with the new priest, Fr. John. He's Ok. He's no Fr. Celio, but then again I seriously doubt the chapel will ever get that lucky again. He said in the bulletin for the week that his goal is to build up the congregation and make the chapel a more comfortable and welcoming worship place.

But ... I still want to to go to St. Thomas Aquinas. I know it's a drive, and I know it's not my parish, but I really feel drawn to go there. So today I'm going to be at their 11a mass. I want to go to that mass because that's the mass where their main choir sings. I love music. I'd love to join a church choir in the Fall, whether it's at the Cathedral or STA.

I also went to a wedding yesterday at the Cathedral, a convalidation of a couple in my RCIA class that has been civilly married for quite some time. It was a very beautiful mass. It was the first Catholic weddding I have been to since becoming Catholic, and it was amusing to see the people who were obviously Catholic verses the people who were obviously not. At Catholic weddings, I used to be one of those people trying to figure out what was going on, and now I'm one of those people who actually knew what to say, and was able to go up and receive communion during the wedding mass. I found it quite a cool experience. The wedding was planned and executed just like a regular wedding, down to the 10 bridesmaid's dresses and all the matching suits of the groomsman. The reception was in the West End in downtown Dallas. We took the train down there, but it was such a beautiful night that we just walked home. We got to see the Cichlid tank at the Dallas World Aquarium and also some rather interesting graffiti. I love living downtown, have I mentioned that lately?

Jimmy Akin on Mormon Baptisms

2006-05-12T21:56:00.000-05:00

Jimmy Akin has posted a very informative blog post about the validity of Mormon Baptisms.

Pastoral Consequences Of The Mormon Baptism Decision

(Jimmy Akin)

A reader writes:

My wife came into the Catholic church somewhere around 2000 before we were married in the Church. She had been a baptized Mormon before then, in which the Deacon teaching her RCIA class said the church recognized as a valid baptism. I never thought to double check his assertion on this, and there's the possibility he flat out just misunderstood or lost record of her telling him this. Whatever the case, she underwent the Preparation for Christians, instead of the Preparation for the Unbaptized. We regularly celebrate the sacraments together now, and I was wondering the validity/invalidity of her confirmation into Catholicism? Would you please shed some light on this for us?

This is a very delicate question, and I want to compliment you for asking it. It shows a willingness to confront potentially unpleasant or disturbing matters and to follow God's truth even in the face of potential difficulties.

What the deacon told you was probably based on a correct understanding of Catholic practice at the time. Prior to 2001, it was generally assumed that Mormon baptisms were valid and thus that Mormons who became Catholic did not need to be baptized upon their reception into the Church, though many were given conditional baptisms just in case.

Full Text

Blessed Imelda

2006-05-12T21:40:00.000-05:00

MAY 13 - MEMORIAL OF BLESSED IMELDA

The Dominican cloistered nuns at Moniales OP posted a beautiful story about Blessed Imelda.

The Dominican Sisters of Saint Cecilia Congregation have prayers for the intercession of Blessed Imelia.

Deborah Kay tells a beautiful story about how she chose Blessed Imelda as her confirmation saint.

Mormon Baptism and Communist Bishops

2006-05-11T08:08:00.000-05:00

I found a very interesting post about the comparison of the Chinese Bishops being ordained on the blog of Edward N. Peters, JD, JCD(by way of Thomas A. Szyszkiewicz's blog). It discusses the intent of the Chinese government, and then compares it to the intent of Mormons who baptize. Here's an excerpt:

The excommunications consequent to the illicit episcopal ordinations (1983 CIC 1382) staged by Chinese Communists are so obvious that few commentators have mentioned them. Here I raise a different question: In the face of some sacraments being so obviously celebrated with no discernible pastoral sense and, in fact, driven by little besides a "let's stick it to the Catholic Church" animus, has the time come to step back and ask some hard questions about the canonical validity of such sacraments?

I have suggested that the most theologically significant decision reached by CDF under Cdl. Ratzinger was its 2001 declaration that Mormon baptism is invalid, despite eligible ministers and recipients, and despite proper matter and form. Reopening a debate that seemed settled since the time of Sts. Augustine and Cyprian, Mormon baptisms are invalid apparently solely on the basis of intention, that fifth, and in many ways most elusive, of the factors impacting sacramental validity.

Is it too much to wonder, then, whether Communist episcopal ordinations have crossed a similar line? Just what is a Communist's understanding of and intention in confering, of all things, holy orders? Remember, until a few decades ago, similar questions on Mormon baptism seemed unthinkable, and until a few years ago, everyone assumed they knew the answer.

Full Text

Thomas A. Szyszkiewicz adds to the discussion by contributing some of his own personal experiences while in Salt Lake City.

I had first-hand experience with this. I spent a year as the Director of Education and Formation at the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City, about three blocks east of Temple Square. One of my duties was to be an advocate for those who petitioned the Diocese of Salt Lake City for a declaration of nullity in regard to their marriage. This meant I had to have some quick tutoring in canon law, and was ably assisted in that by Father Robert Moriarty of the diocesan tribunal. One of the things we discussed was the validity of Mormon baptism. That this was even a question was a surprise to me, but he explained that when it came to form and matter, they had everything correct. They baptize with water and use the same formula we do.

But -- and this is a big 'but' -- do they intend to do the same thing that we do?

Full Text

The first post-Mormon blog Carnival!

2006-05-10T21:59:00.000-05:00

Carnival of the Veil is the first effort by Gunner of the "Talking to God" blog of creating a Carnival for exMo/post-Mormon blogs. It includes people who still go to church but don't believe, people who have left for good, and people like me who have moved on to other religions. There's quite a few interesting blog entries referenced. I would highly recommend checking it out!

New Catholic programming on Sirius radio

2006-05-10T14:12:00.000-05:00

I got a Sirius radio for my New Beetle for Christmas, and from the instant it was in the car, I was in love. There's 2-3 stations for just about any musical genre that you might want to listen to, plus they have EWTN Radio. I listen to Catholic Answers almost every day on the way home from work and enjoy listening to the Q&A sessions on the show. I also love commercial-free music. That's the #1 reason why I wanted sattelite radio - I hate commercials. I don't want to be manipulated into spending my money.

I mostly picked Sirius over XM because I really wanted access to EWTN Radio. Now to have a choice of Catholic programming is going to be wonderful! As long as the new network is Orthodox in its guests and programming, I will tune in.

American Papist blog mentioned this article which discusses the new satellite radio venture:

Sirius to launch Catholic radio channel
Effort will include daily Mass from New York's archdiocese

NEW YORK - Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. said Wednesday it would create a new channel of Catholic-themed programming with the Archdiocese of New York.

The channel, which will launch in the fall, will carry live daily Mass from St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York as well as talk and music programming. Financial terms of the arrangement weren’t disclosed.

Full text of article

Mother's Day in the Single Ward

2006-05-10T12:42:00.000-05:00

When I was in the Singles Ward in Fort Worth (a geographical church attandance group where only single young adult Mormons attend), Mother's day traditionally had a unique event. The men in the Elders Quorum (Male-only study class) would bring the women in the Relief Society (Women-only study class) a rose, for the "mother they will someday become."

On the one hand, it was nice to get a flower, but on the other hand, it was a painful reminder that I was still alone, single and childless. Thank goodness I only had to endure a couple of those days.

M2C Conversion Story - Mike

2006-05-10T12:35:00.000-05:00

I found this conversion/reversion story on the Catholic Ex-Mormon boards on Yahoo. I asked Mike if I could post his story on my blog, and he not only said I could post it, but he edited it to make it more thorough and blog-friendly. Mike was a cradle Catholic who joined the Mormon church, only to come back home to the Catholic church a few years later. Thank you so much, Mike, for allowing me to get your story out!

So how does a cradle Catholic go from leaving the Holy Catholic Church for Mormonism only to find his way back home 5 years later? I hope that this brief story of my ‘reversion’ to Catholicism will serve two purposes: First, I hope that those that are joining, returning to or strongly considering and praying about becoming one with the Bride of Christ can appreciate the developmental process I had to go through to come to an understanding, or better yet, gain a testimony of the truthfulness of the Catholic Church. During my re-investigation period the testimonies and conversion stories of others were paramount in my return. Second, for those critically and judiciously investigating the doctrines and beliefs of the LDS church, I hope to expose the truths about the doctrinal developments in Mormonism over the last 200 years juxtaposed to Biblical Christianity.

For starters, here’s a little about my background. I grew up in a very strong Catholic family in East Central Ohio. A lot of my earliest memories consist of my family going to Mass together on Saturday evening and then spending Sunday together with extended family. Although I did not attend Catholic school, I was active in the CCD program until receiving the Sacrament of Confirmation at age 14. Through high school and during my undergraduate studies I never questioned Catholic doctrine; I looked at how the Church had strengthened my immediate and extended families. In hindsight, however, I never underwent a full conversion process allowing me to discover the fullness of truth that resides in Catholicism. Towards the end of high school I met a nice Catholic girl who would eventually become my wife. We were married in 1999 right before I started graduate school at the University of Iowa.

Within the first week of moving to Iowa City LDS missionaries made their way to our doorstep. Where I grew up there is virtually NO LDS population; I hate to confess this but upon my first encounter with the missionaries I did not know that Mormons were also Latter-day Saints. I had never heard of Joseph Smith or the Book of Mormon. Upon our first encounter I took a Book of Mormon and told the Elders that I was busy and that if they came back some day and I happened to be home I would talk with them. Within that academic year LDS missionaries and members of the LDS church were constantly in contact with us. It was pretty intimidating to say the least. We took the 6 missionary discussions; however, we were unconvinced at that point that Mormonism was true. Our ‘lessons’ with the Elders varied in quality considerably. There were, however, a handful of missionaries that were fairly well-versed in other aspects of Christianity other than Mormonism. During this time of ‘investigation’ I also stumbled upon Mormon apologetic groups such as FARMS and FAIR. It struck me how it always seemed – or at least they painted the façade – that Mormonism was always under attack, yet they were always on the defensive, defending the true Gospel of Jesus Christ. The format of the missionary discussions was also presented to make Mormonism appear like any other Christian church. As we would eventually discover, the pivotal doctrines that truly make Mormonism unique are cautiously not included in these initial discussions. Growing up Catholic, we wrestled with the doctrine of a “great apostasy’ necessitating a restoration of truth through Joseph Smith, Jr. (Even after our ‘conversion’ to Mormonism all of my questions were never completely answered.) In 2000-01 I was awarded a DAAD Fellowship to study in Marburg, Germany. It was during that time that we ran into LDS missionaries again and continued to investigate Mormonism. From the LDS apologetic material that we had found and read and from what we perceived at that time to be a ‘spiritual witness’ from the Holy Ghost, my wife and I decided to join the LDS church in March 2001. All together we had investigated Mormonism for almost 2 full years (ca. 22 months) and felt that we were doing the right thing.

In the fall of 2001 we moved to Lawrence, Kansas were I began my Ph.D. coursework at the University of Kansas. Upon moving to Kansas we became very active in the LDS church. I held callings as a ward missionary and councilor in an Elder’s Quorum Presidency, whereas my wife worked in the primary (Sunday school) program and eventually served in the Primary Presidency. The one thing we loved about the LDS faith was its encouragement to read the Scriptures (of course, the Catholic Church also calls its members to a life of active Scripture study). During our 2-year process as “eternal investigators’, we had become quite facile with the Scriptures. My wife and I feverishly participated in the Church Educational System’s (CES) Institute Program and graduated from the program with a 4-year diploma in only 3 years of course study. (We also co-taught a course on the Doctrine & Covenants.) We often accompanied the missionaries when they were meeting with lapse Catholics. We also attended the temple in St. Louis and Winter Quarters as much as possible.

One of the members of our ward that we were quite close with always spoke to us about a ‘spiritual’ conversion and a ‘social’ conversion. Although we had bought into the ‘spiritual’ side of Mormonism, we struggled mightily with what I term ‘social Mormonism’. Everyone was quick to point out to us what we should and shouldn’t be doing in our free time, how their personal version of Mormonism was more righteous than everyone else’s, etc. Being both converts we simply tried to do the right thing yet still really felt out of place. Looking back on things it was our ability to take a step back from the social aspect of Mormonism that enabled us to critically evaluate our newly adopted beliefs and return to Catholicism. In mentioning our disdain for Mormon culture, I don’t mean to paint too bleak of a picture; we did have quite a few friends – or those who we at least thought were our friends – during our time as members of the LDS church. As could have been expected, however, our departure from Catholicism led to a bit of a schism with our parents and immediate family. Although our parents respected our decision they were quite puzzled and disappointed with our decision. Having on our ‘Mormon blinders’ we couldn’t understand what possible problems our parents would have with us being active in another church? After all, we had found spiritual truth whereas they were just clinging on to what was familiar to them (at least in our minds). ‘Social Mormonism’ does an excellent job of making its members feel like they are the only ones who truly live an active Christian life of charity and service (cf. Mosiah 2:17), where as Catholics – as well as other ‘apostate’ Christian groups – are generally not active in their faith nor to they very often serve the greater community. I’ll come back to this point later in the story.

All was going fine in Mormonville for both Jill (my wife) and I until the spring of 2005. At this time Jill was a member of the Primary presidency and I was a councilor of an Elder’s Quorum presidency when the full-time missionaries met a postmaster who was a fallen away Catholic (for the sake of anonymity, let’s call him George). They missionaries inquired if I would meet with him, which I most certainly agreed to. From my first meeting with this guy it was clear that his life was in shambles and he was just looking for some companionship; his wife had recently left him and he was just one lonely guy. I was quite skeptical of the missionaries’ tactics with this guy knowing that he was at such a point in his life that he was most likely unable to make a leap of faith the magnitude of the missionaries’ desires. Although a fallen away Catholic, George was very well versed with official Catholic doctrine. He was so well read and learned in the Catechism that I purchased an official copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church that summer so I could better understand his point of view. The clarity with which he explained Catholic doctrine was something I had never experienced before in my life. With that being said, I don’t mean to portray my parents as lazy Catholics who were unaware of doctrine nor do I blame my former CCD instructors; however, one thing was perfectly clear: I didn’t understand Catholicism as fully and deeply as I once thought I did. Many of my ‘concerns’ with Catholicism that lead to my ‘conversion’ to Mormonism turned out in the end not to be ‘concerns’ at all. An example of this would be the veneration of Saints; I never understood why we should pray to them. After re-reading the Book of Revelation (8:3) it was clear that the Saints did function in the role clearly explained by the Catholic Church. The list of instances such as these goes on and on. Rather than merely study Catholicism for the means of having ammo to convert George to Mormonism, I took the time to really learn the Catholic faith for the first time in my life. I turned quite often to the Early Church Fathers, in particular Father Jurgen’s excellent three-volume set on the writings of the Early Church Fathers (and even with three volumes he’s only just scratched the surface!). After turning to these sources, it became clear that Catholic rather than Mormon doctrines abound in early Christianity. LDS apologists are quick to scrape the bottom of the barrel or gerrymander obscure segments of apocryphal Christian works.

By the end of the summer I was convinced that I needed to take more time to re-investigate Catholicism; however, that seemed almost impossible to do. My calling eliminated a lot of my free time and every other waking moment I was consumed with writing my dissertation. (I also had a band – yes, a ROCK BAND – I told you that I wasn’t really into the ‘social Mormon’ scene! ) After finishing my doctorate, I accepted a position as a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the University of Michigan last fall (2005). At the end of the summer we also found out that we were expected our first child. My level of skepticism and dissidence with the LDS church had grown to a point where I had to talk to my wife about my feelings. At first she didn’t accept it well, even though we had always felt that something was missing and that we just didn’t ‘fit in’ with the whole Mormon scene. Upon her request, we decided to stick things out for a little while longer to see if the situation would improve. The minute we walked in the door at our new ward we had new callings. I was called to a Young Men’s presidency and Jill as a nursery teacher. Again, we had no time to really ponder our relationship with God, and discussing this with anyone would be simply out of the question for two reasons: First, any serious questioning of LDS dogma – be it honest or not – would most likely be viewed as a form of apostasy on our part. Second, the answers we had received in the past when issues like this had been brought up were very superficial and never really addressed our concerns.

There were two incidents immediately upon our arrival in Michigan that prompted our departure from the LDS church. Anyone who’s ever been involved with the LDS church or has Mormon friends is familiar with the “every member a missionary” slogan. Some people truly do care about their neighbors and handle their ‘responsibility’ to proselytize their friends, family and neighbors with dignity and respect; however, more often than not Mormons can be quite pushy about their church and beliefs. The ward mission was quite big on involving the youth in active missionary activities. At first I had no objections to this at all; I thought it was cool that teenage members of the church had the opportunity to expose friends of other faiths to our activities. It made us seem a lot less cult-like. That all changed really quickly. The Stake Young Men’s presidency provided us (the ward Young Men’s presidency) with a list of “less active” members and those who had requested to be placed on the “do not contact” (DNC) list. The Stake presidency had done their homework and had isolated families with teenage children. Our responsibility was to encourage our youth to befriend the children of these ‘fallen away’ Mormon families, even if it meant disregarding their wishes to not have contact with the church. The immediate thought that raced through my head was “Is this legal?” Rather than keeping my thoughts to myself, I asked the question, which of course was greeted with a rather suspicious look from the Stake Young Men’s president. He was all too happy to inform me that this was a “loophole” in the system through which we could potentially maintain contact with these families. I was appalled. The second event that led me to leave Mormonism was simply a phone call from the missionaries. They were working with a young Catholic family and wanted to know if I could accompany them to perhaps inform them of my own spiritual journey. I knew right then and there that my faith in Mormonism had been shaken and that I could lie to that family. I respectfully declined citing a prior commitment interfered. The event with the Young Men’s presidency also shook my wife’s faith considerably. After that event she began to earnestly re-investigate the teachings of the Catholic Church and realized that we had been hoodwinked by the romantic edited version of Mormonism that we had been spoon fed. In the beginning my wife was much more skeptical than I was about Mormonism. As a matter of fact, if it would have been up to me, I would have joined much earlier than I did. I respect her spirituality a lot and knew that if we felt the same way about this that we needed to talk to our bishop.

So we scheduled an appointment with our bishop to discuss our ‘concerns’. He followed protocol and asked us to turn in our Temple Recommends and asked us if either of us were here due to being offended by another member of the ward or due to gross misconduct on our part. In other words, before even hearing us out it was thrown at us that some how this had to be our fault. We had put our hearts and souls into the LDS church and to have someone flat out ask you that really hurt. We said that we wanted to search out our feelings about returning to the Catholic Church. He respected our wishes but subsequently bombarded us with missionaries, home teachers (funny that they never showed up prior to this meeting!), visiting teachers, etc. that became so overwhelming that we requested to be put on the “do not contact” (DNC) list immediately thereafter.
To make sure that our ‘feelings’ weren’t misleading us again, we decided to attend Mass regularly at a parish called Christ the King in Ann Arbor, Michigan. After participating (and that’s the key word) in the celebration of the Mass we both knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that we needed to return to the Bride of Christ, the Holy Catholic Church. We immediately contacted the Priest and had a few meetings with another Deacon. After telling them the details of our spiritual journey and our experiences with Mormonism they both felt that upon receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation we could once again fully participate in all of the blessings and Sacraments provided under Christ’s true Church.

Our break up with the LDS church has been messier than I would have imagined. We harbor no ill feelings towards the church or any individual members; however, they have fought us tooth and nail regarding our desire to leave. We have tried to clear the air that our desire to recommit ourselves to Christ through the Holy Catholic Church is not due to anyone offending us or due to our inability to “live the gospel” due to any grave transgressions that we have committed. Our return to Catholicism is solely due to its centered belief in Jesus Christ and the truthfulness of its doctrine and teachings. Many of our former LDS ‘friends’ have written us off completely, but it just goes to show that they really didn’t care about us in the first place.

Since our re-version to Catholicism I have had the privilege of talking to other Catholics in forum settings about honest theological differences between Catholicism and Mormonism. We have even helped a couple that was struggling with their Catholic faith and strongly considering joining the LDS church to return to activity in the Catholic Church. In the future we will undoubtedly become more active in our new parish (we’re moving again…this time I’ve accepted a position as an assistant professor at Michigan State University); however, for the time being we’re enjoying our role of strengthening our relationship with God – something we NEVER had time to do in the LDS church. Perhaps sometime in the not-too-distant future we will become involved in RCIA or some other faith-promoting venture such as an adult Bible study; however, for the time being, we’re just happy to be back!

This weekend our 3-month old daughter Abigail will be baptized by the priest who married us almost 7 years ago. We are elated that our daughter will have the opportunity to learn the truth about God and His relationship with the human family. For those of you entering, returning to or seriously considering joining the Catholic Church I hope that our story will help you in your journey of faith. Although as a member of the Catholic Church you will not receive a formal calling from local clergy, you will have the opportunity to participate in the Mass. Your participation will be aligned with the celebration that also occurs in heaven (cf. Book of Revelation). Unlike Mormon meetings where spontaneous talks are given on a wide array of topics ranging from food storage to tithing and Mormon chapels were the pulpit is the centerpiece of the room, the Holy Catholic church focuses solely on the worship of Jesus Christ. At the center of Catholicism is the altar where the Great High Priest Himself invites us to partake of Holy Communion with Him. At the celebration of the Eucharist we are invited to “come unto Christ” (cf. Moroni 10:32) in a way unavailable to Mormons. I am thankful to once again be a member of the Bride of Christ. If there’s anything I can do to help any of you in your journey of faith, don’t hesitate to be in touch!

God bless!
Mike
syntaxpunk1976@yahoo.com

My Grandma

2006-05-10T11:12:00.000-05:00

My grandma had a very hard life. She had three sons, and when they were very young, my grandfather worked away from home in the oil fields. One day my grandmother decided to suprise him, and when she got to his hotel she was told by the front desk clerk that "Mr. Gill and his wife" had gone out to dinner that evening. My grandmother went to the restaurant, threw a fit, and promptly left him. She married her second husband, Jack, because he was a nice man and would help take care of the boys. She never really loved him, but she did need him.

When I was born, my grandmother lived with my parents for about a year and helped take care of me. My mother says that she never let me cry - as soon as I made a noise, she would pick me up until I settled down. Because of the fact that she helped raise me so closely, I was always one of her favorite grandchildren.

I have many great memories of my grandma growing up. When I would go visit her, she would ask me what kind of cereal I wanted for breakfast. I'd say, "What kind do you have?" She'd say, "Well, what kind do you want?" Then when I'd say some sugary monstrosity that I'd never get at my own house, like Corn Pops, she'd run out to the store quickly and get it for me. She was always such a great cook until her eyes started to fail her.

When I was about 13, she took me to the World's Fair in New Orleans. I was so rotten to her. I wanted to hang out with kids my own age and maybe hold hands with a cute boy. I remember at some point she screamed at me for being so selfish, and I really felt horrible. I hope that she remembered that trip fondly, because I always felt guilty about it.

My grandmother was always close to her sons. She had the misery of having to see each one die. First my uncle Roger died, the healthiest of the bunch. He got ALS and died after a very slow and painful illness. She got really sick after that from the grief. Then a week after I saw my uncle Bobby at my brother's funeral, he died from a diabetic coma. In 2004, my father passed away from pancreatic cancer, and she was so fragile by that point that she wasn't able to make the funeral. She has always been very close to Richard, Bobby's son. Because Richard's mother and Bobby got a divorce when Richard was so young, my grandma basically helped raise Richard.

My grandma had many health problems in her old age. She had breast cancer, heart problems, bladder problems, arthritis, and her vision was almost gone. For the past year she has been essentially bedridden, taken care of by Richard.

The last time I talked to her, a few months ago or so, she sounded really rough. I was telling her about Dan and our loft, and she said, "You didn't tell me you had gotten married! Why wasn't I invited?" I said, "Grandma, you were there at the wedding, don't you remember?" The doctors said that she had a small stroke and it pretty much cooked her brain.

Yesterday I got a call. My grandmother had a stroke last week, and after staying at home after a few days of hospice, she passed away. She was 92. She, like my uncle Bobby, is donating her body to science. After her body is used for research, she will be cremated. There will be no funeral, no memorial service. The only ones who would be there to attend would be the grandchildren, anyway.

Please pray for the repose of the soul of my grandmother, Nadine Burdette.

M2C Mailbag - Teenagers and Mormon Friends

2006-05-09T13:23:00.000-05:00

I received this e-mail from "J" and thought I would share my answer with the readers of the blog:

I've been wanting to ask someone about the tactics used to persuade teens to join their religion. You know a teenage guy well - not a lot of information comes our way. Teens don't want parents casting judgement on their friends and their families. It's a fine line to walk: allowing him to spend time with his friend while trying to limit that amount of time without over reacting.. They treat our son like gold and their son is always on the phone inviting him over. What frustrates my husband and I, is that it seems their son can never come to our home.

Any insights on how to handle this situation or what to watch for would be greatly appreciate

You are very wise to be concerned about your son's involvement in his Mormon friend's activities.

Many teenagers join the Mormon church due to fellowshipping and "love bombing" from their friends. Mormon teens are encouraged to socialize with non-members almost exclusively in the context of trying to convert them. Mormon teenagers are encouraged to have nice "wholesome" entertainment, and for this they should be praised. However, the fact that the children are only allowed to socialize in their Mormon home is basically saying that the parents don't quite feel that your home is "wholesome" enough for their children.

Also, from the time children are old enough to have friends who are not Mormon, they are taught the concept of "Every Member a Missionary." They are taught that giving the gift of the Gospel is the best gift you can give to a nonmember friend. No matter how close your son becomes to these Mormon friends of his, I can guarantee you that their guard will be up and they will always try to find ways to give your son the gift of the Gospel.

Here are some articles from official LDS publications that address the issue:

Activities that Change Lives
They've turned 16, now what?
Sharing the Gospel: It’s the Grice Thing to Do
A Parent’s Guide, 5: Teaching Adolescents: from Twelve to Eighteen Years

What I would recommend is to talk to your son about his friends and their religious belief. Let him know that it is Ok for them to be friends, but if religion comes up that he is encouraged to bring back questions he may have about his faith and the Mormon faith home instead of taking what they say as concrete fact. Make sure he knows his catechism, and make sure he's secure in his faith.

There's not much that can be done, unfortunately, especially because I'm sure these types of discussions would be quite difficult for a parent and a teenage boy.

I hope this gives you at least some perspective on where the friends are coming from, and what you can do to protect your son.

"Mormons losing faith from information from Internet" says BYU Dean

2006-05-09T12:33:00.000-05:00

I'm totally stealing this from JLO. There's a new web site out there for an orgainzation called the More Good Foundation. According to the organization's Make a Difference page:

At the More Good Foundation we believe that we should never give up our right to tell our own stories, in our own way. We should share our experiences and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ in a way that is readily understandable by those honestly seeking the truth; we should not be ashamed or hesitant of sharing our point of view. Religious experiences and feelings are personal and deep; they cannot be properly described or conveyed in a neutral, dispassionate, or analytical manner. Our spiritual experiences and testimonies, while real, can’t be completely conveyed by simply describing facts or using only logical arguments. The Spirit of the Lord works in a different way.

Moreover, a neutral point of view can sometimes be used to disguise antagonistic feelings while pursuing the goal of discrediting the Church or its leaders. Since the beginning, the Mormon Church has had to face enemies who did all in their power to spread rumors and lies about the Lord's work. While we respect their right to do so, we are under no obligation to simply listen to them, ignore them, and then move on.

We don't need to move on, we need to move IN. We have the duty to help those “who are blinded by the subtle craftiness of men, whereby they lie in wait to deceive, and who are only kept from the truth because they know not where to find it” (D&C 123:12). How can people learn the truth if they cannot easily find the truth? This is where we, as members, must be better prepared and better equipped to tell our own story—and to have that story heard by those who are seeking.

In a nutshell, the More Good foundation was created to help combat the negative information on the web about the Mormon church (i.e. this site).

JLO makes some very good observations about their Testimonies page:

A couple of things to notice: Dr. Millet explicitly acknowledges that once people have all the information, there is a disconnect between what they feel with their emotions and what they understand rationally. Also, the guy in the last clip tells us that missionaries are losing investigators because they can't control the information people get about the church.

Personally, I think they have very little chance of affecting what investigators learn about the church, but then I'm pretty sure that this effort is aimed at members. There seems to be a more desperate focus on keeping members from reading anything that might damage a fragile testimony. What I think that will do is leave a core membership that is willfully ignorant of church history. That's not a good base for a growing church.

I could be wrong, though.

M2C Mailbag

2006-05-09T11:03:00.000-05:00

I received this e-mail from "N. from Omaha" a few days ago which asked a very good question:

Hi Cynthia ... I saw your blog and was very interested. Our stories are similar. I'm 37. Married to a Catholic. And, we're both ex-Mormons. I served a mission in Korea, and was a very active Mormon, married in temple. Left the LDS Church in '03 six months after my husband became Catholic. I've been exploring Buddhism and attending Unitarian Universalist church for two years. But I'm scared of exploring Catholicism. I don't know why it's so scary to me. I respect my husband's decision to join, but as a former Mormon I carry around so many biases against Catholicism. My motivation for learning about Catholicism would be to feel closer to God and my husband, and to give our two young children a foundation of faith.

How should I get over my fear? It's like I've been brainwashed my entire life to FREAK out at the sign of a cross? How do you overcome the Mormon programming?

Thank you for the question, N! "Deprogramming" from old Mormon prejudices and stereotypes is a huge part of mentally freeing oneself from the Mormon ties that bind.

I do understand about the Mormon biases against Catholicism, not to mention the Mormon biases against Protestantism, Judaism, and pretty much every religion except Mormonism. I do still carry some of those to this day, unfortunately. Going into a "Christian" bookstore makes my skin crawl. Bumper stickers with catchy little phrases like "In case of rapture this car will be unmanned!" really get on my last ever loving nerve.

But I've always been fascinated by Catholicism. Maybe it's the media and the way the church is presented, or maybe it's the cool little statues and metals, but I always was intrigued by the Catholic church. Growing up Mormon I was told bad things about the Church, but I always loved when I'd get to go to Catholic things with my father for work (he worked in Catholic hospitals his whole career) or got to go to Catholic weddings. I even went through a period in college (after I left the Mormon church) where I attended Mass.

After my search for God led me to a Catholic mass, and I realized this was where I needed to be, I read like crazy and figured out what all these statues and rosaries and prayers and paraphenalia meant. It got rid of much of the "ookies" that were residual effects from my Mormon upbringing.

Also, being raised Mormon, I was always taught to be a "good Mormon". So, moving my religious life into Catholicism, I instictively moved to become a "good Catholic." I read like crazy about all different aspects of the Church. I had to relearn to pray, but I quickly learned some of the basic prayers of the church such as the Hail Mary, etc.

At the same time, though, I also had to relearn how to simply worship God as opposed to trying to be a "good Catholic". Growing up Mormon, I had to pray and read the scriptures and do my calling and tithe 10% of my Gross, not Net, and had to do food storage and journaling and .... I'm sure you distinctly remember. But being Catholic, if all I do is go to Mass every week, confess when I sin, and pray when I can, I"m doing Ok. If I decide to do more, I'm doing Ok, too. It's a hard thing to realize that I can walk into church, attend Mass, receive the Eucharist, and go home, and that's perfectly Ok with God.

However ... I still would feel odd wearing a crucifix, and I would seriously feel odd wearing a cross. During my conversion process, I have learned to have great reverence to crucifixes, so much so that I would feel irreverant to a crucifix if I were to wear it. I am also very careful with my rosaries to make sure that they are treated with great respect because they have a crucifix on them. Crosses still remind me of the "Yay Jesus" mentality of protestantism and they still give me the willies. I wear a St. Benedict medal, which has Latin prayers on it, and has a small cross on it but not a "cross" cross, if that makes sense. It lets Catholics know I'm Catholic, and it gives me something to remind me of my Catholicism. I was the type of Mormon who wore my CTR ring constantly. I like to flash something that people who are "in the know" will know but people who do not know will be oblivious to it.

So what would I recommend to get over your ingrained fear of the Catholic church? What I would recommend for you to do first is to go to a Catholic church by yourself, when there is not a service going on so it will be quiet, and pray in front of the Tabernacle. As I'm sure you know, Catholics believe in transubstantiation, and that the consecrated Hosts truly are the body of Christ. Spending time in front of the Tabernacle and praying has brought me closer to God than any other action I have done in my conversion. Even if you feel uncomfortable praying, just go and talk to God there from your heart, not with any formula or with any memorized prayers. I truly think it will help you gain perspective and bring you closer to God. Trust me when I say this, I was beyond hope for many years. But the Eucharist, the miracle performed in every Mass, is what gave me an insatiable desire to become Catholic. I had to experience that, no matter what the cost.

Pray for the ability to learn how to pray better. It's a simple request. Ask God to teach you how to talk to him so that you can be closer to him. Every other request is gravy right now. That's the first prayer I prayed in a Catholic church, and it's one I pray every day. I have to learn not to pray to be a "good Catholic", but to pray to be closer to God. It's something I work on every day.

I hope this helps and I hope that it answers your question! If any of my readers have a question about Mormonism or my conversion, feel free to e-mail me (link in sidebar) and I will publish your answer here.

Around the Blogosphere

2006-05-04T14:38:00.000-05:00

The question on the collective mind of the Catholic blogosphere - Why no "Da Vinci Code" screenings? - Amy Welborne

Top 10 Shortest Mormon Books by JLO

Cute Mormon Kid Drawings courtesy of C.L. Hanson

Seventh Generation natural cleaning products now have their own blog - Inspired Protagonist

Groove

2006-05-04T10:34:00.000-05:00

I feel very comfortable in my groove that I've developed since Easter. I pray the morning and evening prayers of the Liturgy of the Hours almost every day. I go to Daily Mass 2-3 times a week at least, plus I go to St. Jude Chapel on Saturday and Sunday. I pray when I can, and read when I can. I keep up with my Catholic board, and I'm so grateful to all the Catholic bloggers who keep me informed on what's going on in the political arena with the Catholic church, both nationally and globally.

I am also trying to make sure to focus attention on my husband more, because I don't want to become so involved in being a "Good Catholic" that I become a bad wife. It's important to me for us to continue to have a good relationship.

Since finding out this weekend that St. Jude Chapel will be getting a new permanent rector and that they will continue to have Saturday and Sunday Mass, I feel like a lot of pressure has been taken off of my shoulders. I was really stressing about whether I should continue to go to the Cathedral or if I should switch to St. Thomas Aquinas. Both options had their plusses and minuses. But I honestly only want to go to St. Jude. I'm happy and comfortable there. I know the faces, and I know many of the people. Plus it's so close - half a block from the front door of my loft building. I don't even have to cross the street to get there! The seats are comfy and it's always nice and cool there. The mosaics in the church are gorgeous - I really need to go take pictures and post them. There's lots of carpeting and padding, so the accoustics are such that even when there are fussy babies it is still quiet and peaceful.

I'm also very comfortable at Holy Family where I go to daily Mass. I really like the people, and again, I am getting to know the faces of the regulars pretty well.

I think one of the things that I like about the way that I worship right now is that I can go, do my Mass thing, pay my offering when they have it, and leave. When I was Mormon, I knew that as soon as I walked in the door that I was going to be given a "calling" or a responsibility to perform in the church. In my many different wards (a ward is equivalent to a Parish), I was called often to be in the Primary (children's sunday school) as a teacher and I was librarian a few times. In one Singles Ward, my whole job was to make covers for the programs for each week, and to print them in the library on the copier. I was also called frequently to be a "Visiting Teacher" to other women, visiting their homes once a month to check up on them. But I very rarely ever visited the people I was supposed to visit.

I know at some point I will want to become more involved with the organizations at church. But for now, I am just happy being Catholic, doing Catholic things, reveling in the prayers and in the Mass. It makes me happy just to sit there and be a part of the community. I don't want to get too involved - I want to keep it simple for now. I just want to work on developing my relationship with God, which is a difficult job in and of itself.

I think I'm just a little gunshy after seeing some of the problems that have happened at St. Jude and at the Cathedral since going both places. Things can get very complicated very fast when life happens to the priests and to to the members. My beliefs and my testimony are still very fragile. I still feel like a total newbie, faking it the best I can and praying that God will give me guidance to be able to make it through until I am stronger in my faith.

Controversy

2006-05-04T10:18:00.000-05:00

I really didn't mean to cause so much controversy in the post earlier this week about Michael. This blog is all about my journey as a new Catholic, and part of that journey is to figure out how to best juxtapose my new beliefs onto my existing life. Michael's commitment ceremony is part of that.

I do appreciate everyone's feedback on the comments section, and hope that I haven't upset too many people from the post.

Oh, and the way I got uninvited from the wedding is that my husband made a comment about the groom-to-be that the bride-to-be did not approve of in his weekly podcast (he said that our friend quitting a band a week before they got signed was ... let's just say that my husband called that a stupid decision) and the bride-to-be got on my husband's blog and made terribly tacky comments about my husband, his show and my personal life and friends that were completely uncalled for. Then she uninvited us to the wedding.

It's a shame, really. He was one of my oldest friends, and the comment was not a direct insult to him but saying that his actions were not the smartest. No, we don't know the whole story behind why the friend left the band, but instead of calling us out on his comment or trying to discuss the misunderstanding like adults, we were berated in a public forum by his girlfriend which is just way too 8th grade for my tastes. I was really looking forward to getting them a fondue set for their present, too.

The Lost Experience

2006-05-04T10:16:00.000-05:00

For those of you who are not completely addicted to the TV show "Lost" yet, the network has found another way to hook you. They are running a game called the "Lost Experience."

Belo, bless their hearts for finally doing something right, is hosting a blog with information about the contest. I have no doubt there are sights that are much more involved than this one up there, but for now, this site works for me. I'll do more research this weekend about the game.

My Best Friend's Big Gay Wedding

2006-05-01T15:02:00.000-05:00

My best friend Michael is having a commitment ceremony with his boyfriend of 5+ years on May 21st. I've blogged about Michael before. His wedding, like every "traditional" wedding I've ever experienced, is starting to have drama.

He has two attendants, me and T. T does not like me at all. She told Michael that she was throwing the Bachelor Party, and she did. Of course, she did no planning, invited only her friends and none of his, and left in the middle of it with her clique of lesbians, but that's another story. (And yes, I've already been to confession about it.)

She's also decided that she's standing next to him at the wedding. He told her I was his Honor Attendant (the politically correct term for Best (wo)Man), and she cried and said that if she didn't get to stand next to him and hold the ring that she wasn't coming to the wedding. He relented, and now she's pretty much decided to take all the "Best (wo)Man" things for herself, even though that's not her part in the wedding.

I'm really frustrated about the whole situation, as you might imagine. Michael is my best friend and has been for 14 years, and I am his best friend, and we always have each other's back. But this woman insisted on being in the wedding party, essentially forced herself to be Best (wo)Man, took all of the things I was going to do for him for herself and then talked trash about me to him after the party was over. She says she left because I made a comment she didn't approve of, but she was only half-listening and didn't hear the whole comment in the context of the joke. And if I said something that offended her, she should have said something to me instead of ditching the guest of honor at his own party.

If I'm this stressed, I can only imagine how upset Michael is about this whole thing.

We all have flakes at our wedding. She is his flake. I told him that in lieu of a bachelor party, since I won't be throwing that, I'll take him out for a day of pampering on the Friday before his wedding - a nice lunch and a mani/pedi kind of thing. Plus I'll throw in some Mimosas and we'll be good to go.

I have so much going on this month, between my company picnic next weekend and two weddings this month (we had three, but we got uninvited to one, so now we're down to two) that I'm just going to be exhausted by the end of the month. Thank goodness for that three-day weekend at the end of May.

My first Tridentine Mass

2006-04-30T23:16:00.000-05:00

I got up early and went to the Tridentine mass held on 8a at St. Thomas Aquinas on Saturdays. I was really nervous about going.

The altar was dressed up beautifully. The priest was wearing a very cool "fiddleback" chasuble, which I had never seen one in real life. It was very cool. There were two very young altar boys, about ages 5 and 7 I'm guessing. They were so disciplined! All the altar "people" at the Cathedral (who are girls except for one boy who I thought was a girl for three months because his hair is so long) are only responsible for carrying up the cross and the gifts. And they sit there looking very bored throughout Mass. These two little young boys were kneeling and standing and praying in Latin and kneeling and moving things and other than the youngest scratching his nose once, were the two best behaved boys I've ever seen I think. They were so reverent. They were wearing the black cassock and white thing that goes over the cassock (sorry, I don't know the names of these things). The people who were attending the mass were reverent, and most has missals that they were using to follow along. At STA, we are allowed to receive communion by going to an altar rail, and I found that very respectful as well. The altar boy held up the paten under my mouth as I took communion from the rail.

Now the down sides. The WHOLE THING is in Latin except for a few Hail Mary's at the end. No homily, no scriptures, no prayers in English at all except for the few Hail Mary's I mentioned before. Also, the only participation that was going on during Mass with the parishoners was standing/sitting/kneeling and the Hail Mary's. The Kyrie and Pater Noster and other parts of the mass were recited by the altar boys (did I mention that they absolutely blew me away???). I didn't have a missal, so I kind of had to guess what was being said. The priest kind of mumbled the Latin, so it was hard for me to follow. I actually picked up a lot of Latin going to Fr. C's Novus Ordo masses in Latin, so I know the big phrases for that mass. But I couldn't even understand the Priest. He said most everything at a level that was impossible to hear. He faced away from the people the entire mass.

I honestly didn't feel very spiritual going there at all. I can definitely see why people would be boggled by the VII changes, but on the other hand, I can also see why they were made. I like participating by praying and responding to the priest. To me, the priest is supposed to be acting in Christ's place during the mass, so it makes total sense that he face us and speak to us as if Christ is speaking to us. It brings me into the mass much better and it helps me to feel spiritual to be able to participate.

On the other hand, I absolutely loved the reverence and solemnaty of the mass. It was so reverent, and was done with such precision. I really wish that I could find a way to bring that into normal attendance at churches.

To me, an ideal mass would be one done as the Novus Ordo mass was at St. Jude, with the Adoramus hymnal so that we could sing Gregorian chant. Much of the main part of the mass would be in Latin, but they would do the scriptures, homily and prayers after the Homily in English. I would also love to see the Mass treated with such respect as that priest and those altar boys. That was an amazing site. I'd love to hear the bells ringing during the Sacrament prayers to announce that Christ has risen as they do at STA.

I don't think I'll be going to the Tridentine mass on a regular basis. I get much more spirituality out of my little daily mass at Holy Family. And I really enjoy going to St. Jude, even though it's small and doesn't have nearly the bells and whistles that the Cathedral has. I enjoy the smallness, and seeing the familiar faces, and being able to walk half a block to church on both Saturday and Sunday.

Bad news - Good news

2006-04-30T23:07:00.000-05:00

We had some interesting news about St. Jude chapel today. The bad news is that of mid-May, the Dominicans will no longer be running the chapel. This is sad becuase I've gotten to know a few of the Dominican priests and they're such a great group of men. Unfortunately, their regional headquarters is in New Orleans and has been struggling to recover from Katrina, and the priory and the region is just very short staffed.

The good news is that the Bishop has decided that the chapel will become a Diocean priest-run chapel. It will keep the same mass and confession schedule that it currently has. That makes me terribly happy for so many reasons. First, I really love St. Jude's on so many different levels. I love that it's convenient, I love that it's small. I hope that with the staff changes, I can find ways to serve the church and get involved as a volunteer. I really wanted the Chapel to be my church "home", but feared that with the changes that it might not have weekend services or might be shut down completely.

They've finally anounced a replacement for Fr. C there, and I'm very thankful for that. Ever since Fr. C left, attendance has been steadily dropping. I truly believe that with a strong leader and a permanent replacement for Fr. Ce that people will start coming again in the strong numbers.

I know that there are people that are going to have their feathers ruffled by the fact that the Dominicans are leaving, but I hope and seriously pray that people will work to build the unity and strength of the Parish now instead of being petty and snotty about every little thing. St. Jude is too small to weather much contention.

MormonQuotes.com

2006-04-28T10:05:00.000-05:00

I found a very cool and interesting site online today called Mormon Quotes. It is a site that only has quotes from leaders of the Mormon church, from talks and papers they have presented. Just for fun, I put in "Catholic" in their search engine, and here's some of the quotes that appeared:

Q. Who founded the Roman Catholic Church? A. The Devil, through the medium of Apostates, who subverted the whole order of God by denying immediate revelation, and substituting in the place thereof, tradition and ancient revelations as a sufficient rule of faith and practice. Q. Did the great Protestant Reformers restore the Church of Christ to the earth? A. No: for they had no inspired Apostles, Prophets, or Revelators among them, without which the Church could not be restored. Q. But did not the first Protestant Reformers receive their ordination and authority from the Catholics? A. Yes: and in this manner they received all the authority that their mother church was in possession of; and the mother having derived her authority from the Devil, could only impart that which his Satanic majesty was pleased to bestow upon her

Author: Orson Pratt
Source: The Seer
Page: 205

But who in this generation have authority to baptize? None but those who have received authority in the church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints: all other churches are entirely destitute of all authority from God; and any person who receives Baptism or the Lord’s supper from their hands will highly offend God, for he looks upon them as the most corrupt of all people. Both Catholics and Protestants are nothing less than the “whore of Babylon” whom the Lord denounces by the mouth of John the Revelator as having corrupted all the earth by their fornications and wickedness. And any person who shall be so wicked as to receive a holy ordinance of the gospel from the ministers of any of these apostate churches will be sent down to hell with them, unless they repent of the unholy and impious act.

Author: Orson Pratt
Source: The Seer
Page: 255

Shall we go to the Greek Church for the true authority? It is based pretty much upon the same principle as the Roman Catholic Church is, and all the sectarian bodies of Christendom are as destitute of the true authority of God as the mother church is. Where shall we look for the true order or authority of God? It cannot be found in any nation of Christendom. There is no people that have held communion with God, no true church, priesthood or authority, no medium of communication between God and man for church government, to dictate, regulated manage and control the affairs of his kingdom upon the earth.

Author: John Taylor
Source: Journal Of Discourses
Volume: 10
Page: 127

Isn't the Internet fun?

Why I posted the words to a part of the Temple ceremony

2006-04-27T14:14:00.000-05:00

When I realized I was going to do some posting on topics that I knew might or would offend Mormons, I put quite a bit of thought into it. Would it offend so much that any Mormon readers might run off and any chance I had to minister to them would be lost? Would it bore Catholic readers?

I decided specifically to post the information about the Temple ceremony in a recent post because so much of what goes on in the Temple is shrouded in mystery. As a Mormon preparing to go into the Temple, I had absolutely no idea what was going to happen. People who have Mormon relatives and are invited to "wait outside" as their Mormon relatives go in and have a Temple Marriage without them having no understanding of what is happening within the Temple walls.

So I decided that offending Mormons who might read this blog was worth the risk, so that I could at least inform the non-Mormons who read this blog of some of the truth of what is taught in the Mormon temple right now, and to show the teachings that I was exposed to in my lifetime.

Yes, I did make a vow to keep these things sacred, but I also made a vow to consecrate all I had to the Mormon church, to wear Garments until I die, and to obey my husband as long as he obeyed God. I no longer respect the secrecy of the Mormon temple because I've been there, I know the history, and honestly, I know how silly the whole thing is.

I don't think the secrecy thing is inherantly dangerous, I just think it's pointless. I was told after I went through the temple that half of the people get blown away with the depth and mystery of what just happened, and the other half goes, "Is that it?" I was one of the latter people.

Similarities between Catholic Rites and the Mormon Temple Ceremony

2006-04-26T10:54:00.000-05:00

On the RFM boards (I'm drawing a lot of inspiration from them these days), there was a post that linked to a BYU document that discusses the similarites between the Catholic liturgy and the Mormon temple.

The document is a beast to read (each page is a separate PDF), but I did my best to peruse most of it. I'll get it printed out this week if I can and I'll type a post about it. But as I thought of the title in the post, I vividly remembered something in my early days of investigating the Catholic church.

The Rite of Acceptance as a Catholic Catechumen is done usually a bit before Advent, to formally welcome the investigators into the Catholic church and officially declares them Catechumens in the eyes of the Church. After going through this Rite, a person can be buried in a Catholic cemetary and is considered "Christian" by the Catholic church.

In our parish, all of the catechumens and candidates were walked down the center aisle, and our sponsors stood in front of us. Then a prayer very similar to this was said:

THE SIGNING OF THE SENSES
The presider addresses the candidates saying.......

"I mark your forehead with the sign of the cross [all signs of the cross being done with the palm and not the thumb]. It is the sign of Christians. Let it remind you always of Christ and how much he loves you."

At each of these prayers, the sponsors make the sign of the cross of the areas of the bodies mentioned.

"We stand with you, we pray for you, O holy child of God

I mark your ears with the sign of the cross: hear the words of Christ.

I mark your eyes with the sign of the cross: see the works of Christ.

I mark your lips with the sign of the cross: speak as Christ would speak.

I mark the sign of the cross over your heart: make your heart the home of Christ

I mark your shoulders with the sign of the cross; be strong with the strength of Christ.

I mark your hands with the sign of the cross: touch others with the gentleness of Christ.

I mark your feet with the sign of the cross: walk in the way of Christ"

The presider alone traces the sign of the cross over the whole person of each candidate saying...

"I place you entirely under the sign of Christ's cross. In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: to live with Jesus now and forever."

We were then presented with a wooden cross - we were officially carrying the cross of Christ as we continued on our journey towards becoming Catholic.

Upon reflection of this Rite, I had the distinct feeling that it was familiar to me. At some point, it dawned on me - this is extremely similar to the Initiatory Ritual in the Mormon temple. Here is information that clarifies what happens in that Mormon Rite in the Temple:

INITIATORY ORDINANCES
(PRELIMINARY TO THE ENDOWMENT)

After showing his [or her] Temple Recommend to a worker stationed near the entrance inside the building, the patron repairs to the men’s [or women's] dressing area, where he is assigned a private locker (dividers and a door ensure privacy). After disrobing he covers himself with a "Shield"—a white poncho-like linen covering with a hole in the top for his head and open sides (held shut while walking). Covered in the Shield [a person is completely naked underneath the shield], he carries one pair of Temple Garments (one-piece style [basically like a one-piece t-shirt boxer short combination with a zipper up the front]) to the Washing and Anointing area, and waits on a bench until directed by a temple worker to enter one of the Washing and Anointing booths through a veiled partition. The booths are simply small cubicles made up of suspended lined veils.

When called for, the initiate enters the booth and hands his Garments to a worker who places them on a towel rod. As the initiate stands upright in his Shield the temple worker wets his fingers under a small faucet of running water in the booth, and lightly touches each area of the initiate’s body through the open sides of the Shield. [NOTE: While this sounds naughty, in my experience nothing unseemly or inappropriate happened during the ceremony. Also, the temple ceremony has changed this policy this past year, but when I went through the temple in 1997, this is how it was done.]

WASHING

Brother _______, having authority, I wash you preparatory to you receiving your anointings [for and in behalf of _______ (patron and then temple worker read name of deceased), who is dead], that you may become clean from the blood and sins of this generation. I wash your head, that your brain and your intellect may be clear and active; your ears, that you may hear the word of the Lord; your eyes, that you may see clearly and discern between truth and error; your nose, that you may smell; your lips, that you may never speak guile; your neck, that it may bear up your head properly; your shoulders, that they may bear the burdens that shall be placed thereon; your back, that there may be marrow in the bones and in the spine; your breast, that it may be the receptacle of pure and virtuous principles; your vitals and bowels, that they may be healthy and strong and perform their proper functions; your arms and hands, that they may be strong and wield the sword of justice in defense of truth and virtue; your loins, that you may be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth, that you might have joy and rejoicing in your posterity; your legs and feet, that you might run and not be weary, and walk and not faint.

(Females undergo a similar ritual, attended to by females, which includes the following, "Sister _______, having authority, I wash you preparatory to your receiving your anointings [for and in behalf of _______, who is dead], and whereas you have obeyed the principles of the Gospel of Jesus Christ with a true and honest heart, and have been faithful in keeping your covenants, your sins are forgiven and you are clean every whit. I wash your head that your brain and your intellect may be clear and active in discerning between truth and error, and that you may be filled with the spirit of the Lord..." etc.)

After the cleansing with water, a similar prayer is said, but with the annointing of oil, and then the temple patron is presented with the garments and their "new name". (I remember getting terribly excited because I was "clean every whit" - I had essentially gone through an ordinance that cleared all of my sins, just like baptism!) The church doesn't speak of these things outside of the Temple walls, so the whole thing was a surprise to me.

It was very interesting to me that the Mormon Initiatory and the Catholic Rite of Acceptance both were intiation rituals. Both blessed different parts of our body. Both ended with us being given something that we would keep with us always and something that was tangible. The Rite of Acceptance gave us the mark of the Cross on our soul and a wooden cross for us to wear, the Mormon Initiatory gave us a "new name" and Garments (sacred undergarments to be worn at all times under clothes).

The main difference between the two rituals in my opinion is while the Rite of Acceptance happened in the center aisle of the Cathedral in front of my priest, all of the parishoners, my fellow catechumens, and my sponsor, the Initiatory happened in a small curtained off room, with an old lady with minty breath and shaky hands. And I got to keep my clothes on for the Rite of Acceptance.

Fixed the graphic

2006-04-26T10:18:00.000-05:00

I'd like to say a big Thank You to my husband for fixing the graphic at the top of the blog. I had a graphic with an 800 width and I was having to fix the width in the coding, which made it look really sloppy, but he reedited it and saved it at the correct width, and it looks SOOOOO much better!

Thanks, sweetie!

When you cut them, do they not bleed Wite-Out?

2006-04-26T09:43:00.000-05:00

Slate has a funny-because-it's-true article about Administrative Professionals Day, or as the Author calls it, the classic term of Secretary's Day.

If you've ever worked in an office where this holiday is celebrated, I can tell you from personal experience that every down side to this holiday that is mentioned in the article does happen and will be repeated over and over today.

I've pretty much been an administrative professional since starting my professional career after college. I worked for Incredible Universe as my first job out of college in 1995, but I was considered a Clerk, not an Administrative Professional, so I didn't get anything for this day. IU got shut down by Tandy and my position was eliminated, so I ended up branching out a bit career-wise. When I first got a job as Office Manager at LDD Productions in 1996 (which was quite fun because they ran a haunted house), my boss told me, "We're not going to celebrate that for you because you're much more than just an Office Assistant - you're our Production Assistant!" Ok, that one I could kind of buy. After the end of the Haunted House season, I was told that my position was going to go from year-round to seasonal, so essentially my position was eliminated. The job I had after that, at Warrantech in 1997, I was officially an Administrative Assistant to a rather young Middle Manager. Of our admin team of 12, every single person got something -lunch, flowers, etc - except for me. My boss told me he was about to get married and he was really low on funds, but he'd buy me something at some point. Yeah, guess when I got that gift? If you said "never", you would be correct. I ended up having my position eliminated (along with 7 other admins that day), and moved on to Flashnet in 1998. I started there as the Tech Services Supervisor, which actually ended up with me scheduling the internal IT guys to fix the computers, so even though they put "supervisor" after my name, I was getting paid less than my employees and did all the administrative work for them. I moved on in FlashNet to become the Sales Reporting Analyst, which I didn't consider myself to be administrative, so when I didn't get anything, it didn't hurt my feelings. In 2000, SBC bought FlashNet and, yep, my position was eliminated and I lost my job. In January of 2001, I got hired by Broadvision as an administrative reporting analyst, and at about the four month mark, I had my position eliminated (along with 1/2 the sales force in the office) about a week before Administrative Professionals day.

I've been working at Big German Corporation since September 4, 1991. (The second week of my job was quite interesting - check the date.) So far, after being here 4 1/2 years, and being paid as an Administrative Assistant, and given accomodations like an Administrative Assistant, and doing all the Crap Jobs like an Administrative Assistant, I am pretty much an Administrative Assistant. I do high-level reporting, but when you look at my pay stub, it says "Admin Asst I" as title. Last year, I was told, "I know you don't consider yourself an admin, but we're taking all of the administrative staff out for lunch and we'd like to invite you as well." I thought it was a nice thought, but I also thought that my reporting skills and my professional duties had elevated me from the Secretary niche due to the fact that I hadn't gotten squat before. I was wrong - the bosses were just lazy before last year. So I took my free lunch and I ran.

Well, I haven't heard anything about the "Administrative Staff" getting free lunch today, although one of the Regional Sales Managers is taking out all of the Order Entry Clerks for lunch. So even though my jobs are even more crap this year than last year, I guess I'm not getting free food today.

I hate my job. And I hate Secretary's Day, too.

Communion services

2006-04-25T12:36:00.000-05:00

There's a church very near where I work that has Masses on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 5:30. I know I've mentioned it in my blog at some point. Since becoming baptized, I've also been going to their communion services, offered M-W-F.

On Monday, the Deacon presides and it is almost identical to a Mass with the exception of the deletion of the Eucharist prayer and the addition of the Te Deum or the Magnificat. On Wednesdays and Fridays, it is led by a lay minister and is very truncated - no homily, no eucharist prayers, simply the readings and a few basic prayers.

I worried about the legitimacy of this quite a bit, but when I talked to my RCIA teacher, Deacon L, he said that it was perfectly licit. So I'm not so worried anymore. I've heard comments for and against communion services with lay ministers, but I figure if it's the only opportunity I have for daily reception of the host, and my Deacon says it's licit, then it's Ok.

I stayed afterwards to ask the Deacon there about the Liturgy of the Hours and ended up talking to him and a couple of other parishoners for an hour and a half. They were all amazed that I was already attempting to pray the LOTH and I'm such a recent convert. (Obviously they have not met my friend L. She's been praying the 4-volume LOTH for years.)

It's good to feel like I have a weekday home. I'll feel better when I have a weekend home as well. While the Cathedral is still my parish, and I've decided to support it, it frustrates me that they have no Daily Mass on Saturdays, so I'm essentially forced to go to another chapel for Saturday Mass. I'm so grateful for St. Jude, because I can pop in and out of there on a Saturday and it's super convenient. I want to get in the habit of going to my parish on Sundays, though, so I'll haul myself down to the Cathedral on Sundays.

Chloroform in print

2006-04-25T12:21:00.000-05:00

Jimmy Akin's blog has published a quote by Mark Twain on his impression of the Book of Mormon. Here is my very favorite quote of all time about the Book of Mormon, courtesy of Mark Twain:

The book is a curiosity to me, it is such a pretentious affair, and yet so 'slow,' so sleepy; such an insipid mess of inspiration. It is chloroform in print. If Joseph Smith composed this book, the act was a miracle -- keeping awake while he did it was, at any rate. If he, according to tradition, merely translated it from certain ancient and mysteriously-engraved plates of copper, which he declares he found under a stone, in an out-of-the-way locality, the work of translating was equally a miracle, for the same reason.

(READ MORE FROM JIMMY AKIN'S BLOG)

The Lamanites must rise!

2006-04-25T10:29:00.000-05:00

Due to the ever-changing nature of the Mormon religion, often an article or talk published by the church comes back to bite them in the backside. This is one of those times.

Perusing the RFM boards today, I found a very interesting post that referenced two articles that can be found on the LDS.org web site: "The Lamanites Must Rise in Majesty and Power", written by Elder J. Thomas Fyans, Assistant to the Council of the Twelve in the Ensign, May 1976 (p. 12) and "Miracles among the Lamanites" by Elder Gene R. Cook of the First Quorum of the Seventy in the Ensign, Nov. 1980, (p. 67).

To give you a brief Book of Mormon lesson, it has been taught since the beginning of the teachings of Joseph Smith that the Book of Mormon was a historical account of the people who live on the American continent. There were essentially two sets of people talked about in the Book of Mormon who had traveled to America from the Middle East/Holy Lands and split apart after their arrival - the Nephites, descended from Nephi, son of Lehi (good guys) and the Lamanites (bad guys), descended from Laman and Lemuel, also sons of Lehi. At the end of the Book of Mormon, the Nephites had been conquered and destroyed by the Lamanites, and the Lamanites were considered to be the ancestors to what we call the Native Americans today.

This teaching of Lamanites being the ancestors of all Native Americans has been proven genetically impossible by modern science. That's a discussion that can take up an entire book. Suffice it to say that the Mormon church is scrambling to change history, trying to prove that there were never (or rarely) teachings of the Lamanites being the ancestors to Native Americans. On the FAIR site, the article "Who Are The Lamanites?" (PDF link), copyright 2004, contains this text with emphasis added:

One traditional assumption that does not conform to an enlarged understanding of the text is the once-held opinion that the Lehites populated all of the Americas. (See the FAIR brochure "Were the Lehites Alone in the Americas?") Most LDS scholars agree that the Lehites were a small incursion into a larger existing population of Native Americans. (This would account for the disappearance of Lehite DNA. See the FAIR brochure entitled "Is an Historical Book of Mormon Compatible With DNA Science?")

It is being implied by contemporary Mormon apologists that the "traditional" Lamanite as Native American ancestors was just a teaching, an opinion, as opposed to true doctrine of the church.

However, the Fyans article is evidence that the Lamanite as Native American ancestor school of thought was taught as doctrine, even going as far back as Joseph Smith. I'd like to break down this article for you in sections so that it can be more easily digested, with emphasis added on the particularly interesting bits. The article begins thusly:

As we listened to the prophet as he opened this conference, I was reminded that the inspiration and direction of prophets over the years have given us foreknowledge of what was to come in the future.

In this dispensation, our day, a book of prophetic utterances has channeled earthward to us.

The statements that are being quoted in this article by Fykes are "prophetic utterances", or in other words these are revelations given to the leaders of the Mormon church. These are the words of God, not simply an opinion of Fyans or the leaders quoted.

The Prophet Joseph Smith said, "One of the most important points in the faith of the Church of the Latter-day Saints, through the fullness of the everlasting Gospel, is the gathering of Israel (of whom the Lamanites constitute a part)." (History of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2:357.)

In a proclamation of the Twelve Apostles of the restored Church in 1845, we are told - speaking of the Lamanites of North and South America - "They will also come to the knowledge of their forefathers, and fullness of the gospel; and they will embrace it and become a righteous branch of the house of Israel." (Proclamation of the Twelve Apostles of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, New York, "Prophet" Office, Apr. 6, 1845, p. 3.)

The Lamanites of North and South America referred to here are the Native Americans, and their forefathers are the Lamanites depicted in the Book of Mormon.

The article goes on to quote numerous Mormon leaders discussing the flourishing of Lamanites with the introduction of the Gospel. Next, the author brings the prophetic utterances into the present day.

Now may we consider the book of revelations of today as shared with us by the present prophet, President Spencer W. Kimball: "The Lamanites must rise in majesty and power." (Conference Reports, Oct. 1947, p. 22.)

This prophetic statement was made on October 3, 1947, when in Central America we had fewer than 100 members and in that great land of Mexico fewer than 5,000, half of whom were in the Mormon colonies. "The Lamanites must rise in majesty," I repeat. The fewer than 100 in Central America when these prophetic words were uttered has blossomed into more than 40,000 as of today. From the fewer than 5,000 in Mexico at that time, a rich harvest of over 150,000 stand tall in the field white already to harvest; the total membership of 1947 but represents harvest of a pair of months today.

Fykes is saying in this part of the article that the reason that the Mormon church has flourished in Latin America is because it was prophesied that it would years ago by multiple prophets. It was flourishing because it was prophesied that the descendents of the Lamanites, the Native Americans, would prosper when given the fullness of the Gospel, in this case by the missionaries of the Mormon church.

The article then talks about all of the industrial growth and church growth in the 1900's, and according to Fykes, this is again attributed to the prophesies of the leaders of the church.

When reading the Cook article, the first sentance makes no mistake of who the Lamanites are:

My family and I are presently living in South America among the Lamanites—the children of Lehi, the people of the Book of Mormon, a people of great promise.

Cook quotes a scripture from the Doctrine & Covenants, a collection of revelations to Joseph Smith, which says:

D&C 28:8

8 And now, behold, I say unto you that you shall go unto the Lamanites and preach my gospel unto them; and inasmuch as they receive thy teachings thou shalt cause my church to be established among them; and thou shalt have revelations, but write them not by way of commandment.

Cook, as Fyans did, mentions the Lamanite world as he quotes statistics of Latin American church membership:

What a miracle to behold! Only in part of the Lamanite world, in Latin America alone, there are over 600,000 members of the Church, with 7,000 baptized nearly every month; 181 stakes at present with almost 2,400 congregations of Saints and 2,500 Latin missionaries serving; thousands and thousands of priesthood holders—Regional Representatives, mission presidents, patriarchs, bishops—faithful sisters, and faithful children of a powerful generation yet to come.

(The retention of LDS converts is another very complicated subject, but you can see some interesting articles about the subject here, here and a seriously scientific projection of growth with all kinds of fun formulas and graphs here. Most studies show that LDS retention rate of members is extremely low.)

Sometimes it's good for me to take a refresher course on why exactly I no longer believe in the Mormon church. One reason I no longer have a testimony is because I no longer believe that the Book of Mormon is what it claims to be. I no longer believe what I was taught in my youth, that the Lamanites were the ancestors of my Native American ancestors.

There is too much DNA and scientific evidence proving the true heritage of the Native Americans (that they are mongolian and made their way to this land via the Bering Strait in Alaska). And the whitewashing of Mormon history has already begun with the Lamanite subject, so I would just like to make firm documentation that indeed, the Native Americans as Lamanites doctrine was taught as true fact by high leaders of the Mormon church and has now been proven scientifically to be a lie.

CCDB

2006-04-24T10:36:00.000-05:00

Today on my blog template, you will find the addition of a little green button with "CCDB" on it. This is a link to the Catholic Catechism Dialogue Blog. It's a blog whose tagline reads "A group blog for devotional & practical dialogue while READING THE COMPLETE CCC IN ONE YEAR". They give a list of readings each week for readers of the blog so that they can follow along, and then each day the mutiple contributors post about their reflections on the readings of the day.

So far it has been very interesting and enlightening. I'm looking forward to when they get a little bit father in the book and really start getting into some "meaty" issues. I would highly suggest blogrolling this blog or putting it into your RSS feed.

Keeping tabs on sin for confession

2006-04-24T01:04:00.000-05:00

I am finding, a whole week into my Catholicism, that I am going to appreciate going to frequent confession. I'm still trying to get a hang of this Mortal/ Venial sin thing and which ones need confessing before taking the sacrament and which ones are ok to keep until confession because they are only venial.

Last week, when I was thinking of my sins, every day 2-3 times a day I would go over my "mental list" of sins so that I would make sure that I wouldn't forget anything when I confessed. When they dealt with bad thoughts, such as anger towards someone, I found I would relive that anger over and over each time I thought of the sin. I just want to get it out of my head. I don't think I need to go to confession multiple times a week, but I definitely need to go to confession every week or two.

I already have one in my head that I keep playing over and thinking, was that a mortal sin? I'll go ahead and say it, because I'm sure the same thing has happened to everyone else. My husband and I were at a clothing store buying a skirt for me. I went to a second clothing store and found a better skirt (it was longer, and I didn't need a slip with it), so I went back to the first store to return the skirt. When I purchased the first skirt, I used a 30% off coupon. But when I got my refund, I got the full amount of the purchase. I feel like I stole that $3 difference. Now, in my defense, they were having serious problems with registers and there were 9 people behind me who had been waiting at least 10-20 minutes to ring up. To bring it to the cashier's attention would have meant having the people behind me wait another 5 minutes until the transaction was rerung, plus it may have taken even longer since the registers were acting so badly.

Also, I lied to them when I returned the skirt. I told them I was unable to find a slip to go with it. I just didn't have the courage to tell them that I found a better skirt at their competitor. I feel guilty about it and feel the need to confess it. But is that a mortal sin or a venial sin? I know the lie was a real lie, because I sat there and tried to figure out what I was going to tell them before I went into the store to justify returing a skirt I had purchased 30 minutes ago.

I have a couple of other small sins similar to the one above that, while not terrible, I'm having to keep a mental tally of, and it's hard to remember them all. I'd rather just confess them and learn from them and get on with my life, you know? And I want to make sure that I don't take the eucharist when I'm not worthy.

I've found multiple web sights that help a bit, but I still worry that I might be too sinful to take the eucharist. I pray for forgiveness and bless myself with holy water but I just don't want to offend God.

New Articles of Faith revealed at last!

2006-04-24T00:10:00.000-05:00

There's some pretty funny people over at the Salamander Society, and they have some really funny submissions for their Salamander Awards. The funniest winner of the 2005 Salamander Awards is the section entitled "New Articles of Faith revealed at last!" by Deconstructor. There's four different versions of the New Articles, so please check out their web site and see the other three.

(For those Catholics who read this blog and don't know what the Articles of Faith are, they are basically a creed of sorts, that tell the basic and principal teachings of the church. Go read the page on this link, and then read the rest of the post. And floss. That's good advice, too. Floss every day. And look both ways before you cross the street. But I digress. Onto the hillarity!)

The Articles of Faith, Now With 10% More Disclosure

1. We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost. God lives on a planet near a star named Kolob. But there are lots of other Gods, too. We aren't sure if our God is the oldest God, or the most powerful, or not. I don't know that we teach that. By the way, you can be a God too, if you give God some of your money (give it to us, we'll pass it on) and do everything we say God wants you to do for the rest of your life.

2. We believe that men will be punished for their own sins, and not for Adam's transgression. We also believe that God sometimes commands us to sin, or at least puts us in situations where sinning is necessary to fulfill God's purposes. Also, some sins aren't sins if you are doing them to help God's church. Also, you might be punished for other people's transgressions (like Cain, if you have dark skin, or Eve, if you are a woman) but not for Adam's. Whew!

3. We believe that through the Atonement of Christ, all mankind may be saved, by obedience to the laws and ordinances of the Gospel. Well, they may be saved, but only if they obey the laws and ordinances, which are changing almost all the time. They change kind of slowly, so sometimes no one notices, and WE sure as heck don't call attention to it.

4. We believe that the first principles and ordinances of the gospel are: first, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; second, Repentance; third, Baptism by immersion for the remission of sins; fourth, Laying on of hands for the gift of the Holy Ghost. There are a lot of other ordinances and principles, too, but if we mention them up front, no one would ever join our church. They'd think we were some kind of whacked-out cult. But we aren't. And if you ask us specifically about some of the bizarre things we think are part of the 'gospel', we will lie about it; but that's okay (see Article 2).

5. We believe that a man must be called of God, by prophecy, and by the laying on of hands by those who are in authority, to preach the Gospel and administer in the ordinances thereof. Only our Church has this authority. If you are in another church, you aren't called by God, you don't have his authority, and your ordinances won't save you. We will tell you that we don't think people from other religions are going to hell, but we only say that because we think you might become a Mormon later in this life, or after you die. If you don't, you are going to hell, no doubt about it. Well, Mormon-Hell. It's actually pretty nice, but you live in eternal regret of not being mormon.

6. We believe in the same organization that existed in the Primitive Church, namely, apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, evangelists, and so forth. Well, we don't have pastors, or evangelists, per se, but still, it is the same as Christ's church. Well, we change our organization a lot, actually, for good reasons, but whatever the current version is, it MUST have been the same way back in Christ's church, because we said the two are the same. And they are. And always will be, no matter how much they change.

7. We believe in the gift of tongues, prophecy, revelation, visions, healing, interpretation of tongues, and so forth. Well, not the speaking in tongues thing anymore. That's freaky-weird. But now we say that learning a foreign language (even if we don't speak it very well) is the gift of tongues. Oh, and prophecy doesn't mean predicting things correctly, it just means being inspired about something, usually a new Church program, or a new rule about earrings or knee-length shorts.

8. We believe the Bible to be the word of God as far as it is translated correctly; we also believe the Book of Mormon to be the word of God. By 'translated correctly', we mean not what it said in the original texts, but whatever we think it should say to be consistent with the Gospel, as defined by us (God told us). And about the Book of Mormon, well, it might not be true, as in 'it really happened', but it still has inspiring stories. But we know it is true, too. At least for now.

9. We believe all that God has revealed, all that He does now reveal, and we believe that He will yet reveal many great and important things pertaining to the Kingdom of God. Including stuff that contradicts the old stuff.

10. We believe in the literal gathering of Israel and in the restoration of the Ten Tribes; that Zion (the New Jerusalem) will be built upon the American Continent; that Christ will reign personally upon the earth; and, that the earth will be renewed and receive its paradisiacal glory. Well, we think we do. This all sounds a little crazy, so we don't talk about it much, certainly not to non-Mormons. In fact we'd probably deny it if we thought it would help get you baptized (again, see Article 2). It's in the scriptures, so it must be true.

11. We claim the privilege of worshiping Almighty God according to the dictates of our own conscience, and allow all men the same privilege, let them worship how, where, or what they may. Unless you are a Mormon, then we have a bunch of things you can and can't worship, certain places you can and can't go, certain things you can't talk about, and a lot of things can't do, and other you have to. But the members of the church are free to do/believe what they want. Unless they do/believe something we don't want them to. Then we excommunicate them and ostracize them as much as possible. And they are going to hell, and not the nice Mormon-Hell we mentioned in Article 5.

12. We believe in being subject to kings, presidents, rulers, and magistrates, in obeying, honoring, and sustaining the law. Well, not all the laws. At least, not the laws against polygamy, unless they threaten to send troops. But now we obey that one, too. And if you can break a law to help get people baptized, that is probably okay, but don't get caught.

13. We believe in being honest, true, chaste, benevolent, virtuous, and in doing good to all men; indeed, we may say that we follow the admonition of Paul--We believe all things, we hope all things, we have endured many things, and hope to be able to endure all things. If there is anything virtuous, lovely, or of good report, or praiseworthy, we seek after these things, but never in Church meetings, where we stick to the lesson plan and are careful not to use any outside sources, because they might lead us astray. And we really mean that honest and true part. Stop laughing.

Mass today

2006-04-23T23:08:00.000-05:00

I decided to go to my home parish for Mass today instead of going to St. Jude. My husband drove me up there (I have GOT to get over my fear of parking garages!), and I was there plenty early. There was a TV camera outside filming people going in or something.

My sponsor was sitting in the front row where the catecumens usually sit, so I sat with her. I like being close to the front, and I particularly like being on the front row at the Cathedral - I can pray as long as I want without worrying about bumping my hands on the back of someone else's head.

Mass was good. They had a visiting priest, due to the leaving of Fr. Ramone I imagine. He was pretty good. He reminded me a little of Robert Carradine.

Have I mentioned lately how cool it is to be able to recieve under both species? It's pretty sweet.

At the end of the mass, where they read announcements, they read a letter from Fr. Ramone. It said that basically he was severely stressed out, and his health was suffering, which is why he is taking a break from things. It didn't say whether he would ever be a priest again, although there was a lady whispering that maybe he was going into a hosipital ministry and being a staff priest. So we'll see. No one said a word about the newspaper article in church.

There were quite a few people from my class at Mass, which made me happy. We all kind of sat in the front, where we usually have been sitting.

Confused

2006-04-22T09:16:00.000-05:00

I didn't know whether to title this post "Confused" or the alternate, rejected title of "Dropping Like Flies."

I was reading my friend Julie D's blog, and ran across a post about my parish. It linked to an article in our local paper, the Dallas Morning News about the priest in my parish where I was baptized. Here's an excerpt from the article:

Priest's exit stuns staff

Dallas: Cathedral pastor cites health; he may testify in abuse cases

07:12 AM CDT on Saturday, April 22, 2006

By BROOKS EGERTON / The Dallas Morning News

The pastor of Dallas' Cathedral Shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe suddenly left his high-profile post this week, stunning staff members and leaving fellow clergymen in the dark.

Catholic Bishop Charles Grahmann has tightly guarded news about the Rev. Ramon Alvarez's departure, which the priest disclosed to some church staff Monday.

By late this week, many other local clerics didn't know it happened, or why.

Here's the two sentences in the article that really freaked me out:

Patrick McLain, one of Father Bagert's attorneys, has said Father Alvarez came under legal scrutiny because he was told that his friend ordered a video with images of nude children.

In 2002, diocesan officials said Father Alvarez admitted "inappropriate contact" with a middle-aged man who sought a blessing from him in 1991. The man said the priest groped and propositioned him.

This is the priest that concelebrated my baptism seven days ago. This is the priest who led our RCIA retreat. He grew up in this parish, went to seminary school, and has stayed on to teach in this parish.

This is really blowing my mind, for lack of a better way of putting it. First Fr. C leaves St. Jude Chapel and now Fr. Ramone has left under very odd circumstances. I know that you can't put all of your beliefs into what the newspaper said, but even if the one fact about Fr. Ramone "inappropriately touching" someone is true, which he admits to, it's a very bad thing.

I've been struggling for a while whether to stay with the Cathedral or branch out to a different church for my home. The two options I've been considering are the Latin Rite masses, and the second option is St. Thomas Aquinas, a very traditional church. That's where I had my first confession in an earlier post. Latin Rites would be nice because of the Latin, but I don't want to become a RadTrad right out of the baptismal gate. St. Thomas Aquinas, on the other hand, is very traditional and conservative while at the same time presenting the Novus Ordo as prescribed by the leadership of the church. The only problem is that it's not my parish. And I just joined the parish a week ago. They are having a welcoming gathering next Sunday, and if I go to STA this week and really like it, I may go next week and get to meet some people.

I hate to not be loyal to my home parish, but I honestly don't know what to do.

I did it - my first confession

2006-04-21T10:20:00.000-05:00

I went ahead and went to St. Thomas Aquinas and did my first confession. I left work at 5p, trying to get to STA before 6:00. Because it was rainy and Dallas drivers are stupid, it took me 55 minutes to drive from Grand Prairie to Lakewood where STA is. I got there, and looked for the confession area. STA has those old-timey boxes for confession, just like you see at the movies. Have you ever seen Moonstruck? Yeah, kind of like that. There is a green light over where the priest sits, so you'll know that he's in there, and there's red lights over the doors when someone is in the box confessing. I imagine that's so that you don't walk in on someone. I'm also guessing that the preist flips the switch to turn on the red light. They had two sides you could go in, one with a kneeler and a screen and one called the "Reconciliation Room." I went to the one with the kneeler because I could see what was in there when the person before me stepped out.

There was one person before me, so I sat there and waited. I prayed for a good confession, and then it was my turn. I had brought a Cheat Sheet from the Internet with all of the prayers in it, in case I wasn't sure what was coming next.

The booth where I was to confess was very bright, not dark and scary like the ones in the movies. It was painted ivory, and the screen was actually like little slatted wood, so that you could hear but not see a thing. The Act of Contrition prayer was on the wall next to the screen, held on by a little tack.

I knelt down, and said, just like in the movies (I don't know if you can tell, but the movies is pretty much my only point of reference for these things) "Bless me father for I have sinned. This is my first confession." The priest said, "Ever?" I said, "Yes, father, I was baptized on Easter." He said, "Oh, this Easter? Like two weeks ago Easter?" I said, "Well, like four days ago Easter, yeah. I was just really nervous about getting this first confession over with." He said, "Well, congratulations! About getting baptized, I mean." I was hoping he wasn't congratulating me about sinning.

He told me about how in the middle ages people often got baptized on their deathbed, but now people get baptized early. I said, "Ok, is this where I confess then?" He said yes, so I said my sins. He said, "Ok, this is where you pray the Act of Contrition", so I did. He said after that, "Do you have that memorized?", like it sounded that I did, and I said, "No, it's on a piece of paper in here on a tack." He said, "Oh, yes, ok then." Then he absolved me of my sins and gave me two Hail Mary's as a penance ... just like in the movies.

I was very grateful for Hollywood when I was kneeling in that box.

So I went and knelt and said two Hail Mary's. I stayed for the evening Mass. It was a very nice mass. We knelt at the altar rail to receive communion, and when they said the part in the eucharistic prayer about This is my body, and held the bread up, they rang bells. I thought it was quite cool.

The main part of the mass wasn't as different from the little daily Mass that I've been going to. There were a lot of people there, though, but they were all scattered about the church.

If I can handle Dallas traffic, I'd like to make a habit of going there on Thursday nights for confession.

I'm thinking that I will probably go there on Sunday this week, just to see how I like it.

Gas Prices and Weather - because my blog is just that darn exciting today

2006-04-21T10:16:00.000-05:00

Yesterday morning, I paid $3.09 per gallon for premium gas to fill up the tank of my Volkswagen New Beetle. Yesterday afternoon, on my way home from work, gas prices had risen to $3.15 per gallon at the same station. It cost me $40.61 to fill up my subcompact car with about 13 gallons of gas. Now that's just stupid.

On the up side, it rained and we desperately needed it. It's been so dry that there are no bluebonnets this year. And that just breaks the heart of every native Texan out there.

First Confession

2006-04-20T16:20:00.000-05:00

I've been very nervous about my first confession ever since I realized I'd have to make one at some point. I don't know why - it's not like I'm doing anything terribly bad. I just feel nervous.

There's a nightly mass at a church I've been considering attending (St. Thomas Aquinas), and on Thursday nights they have confession and Mass. I think I might go tonight and get confession out of the way. I don't know how "bad" a sin has to be before it is so bad that I have committed a mortal sin. I feel confident that my small infractions in the past few days do not count as mortal sins, but I'd rather get in the habit of frequent confession (weekly or bi-weekly), even if the only offenses I have done are small. I've kept a mental tally of my offenses, and so far I'm up to three. Again, nothing bad, but I don't want to forget one and then not have a chance to be forgiven of it.

I know we had a lesson about Mortal vs Venial sin, but I don't remember exactly the line between the two. Yes, I know mortal is with forethought and knowing that what you are doing is wrong but you do it anyway, but how bad of a sin does it have to be before it is mortal?

Also, is running a red light intentionally because it was yellow when you were close and you ran it because you were running late (when it was red before you got into the intersection) considered a mortal or a venial sin? See, I seriously need a regular confessor so that I can get these things worked out so I'm not running to confession every time I run a red light or speed or violate a traffic law.

Washing the Feet

2006-04-19T23:32:00.000-05:00

One of the questions I had at Mystagogy class was about the Washing of the Feet at Holy Thursday. The woman I was sitting with told me that normally both men and women had their feet washed and that our Bishop was "liberal" like that. I had read many blogs and news articles about the controversy about feet being washed.

I asked the deacon why only men were selected this year, and how he felt about the Men Only/ Men and Women controversy with the feet washing. He said that he was a little bit insulted that they only used men this year, and it was the choice of one nun for our parish, not a diocean decision. He said that women have always played a huge part in the church and not including them was discrediting all of the work that he did. He did not consider the act a reenactment of the last supper, but a representation of serving all kinds of people during the mass.

I'm not sure how I feel about that, because I thought it was a representation of the 12 apostles, which makes sense to me. You don't let women be priests because of the fact that Christ was a man and the preists represent Christ, and the same logic says to me that you should only have men's feet washed at the Holy Thursday ceremony because there were no women apostles.

Daily Mass/ Communion service

2006-04-19T23:27:00.000-05:00

Ever since I got baptized, I've been going to daily mass. A whopping three days, I know, but hear me out. I find the time good for me to be able to receive the eucharist and to take time in front of the Blessed Sacrament to say my evening prayers. It takes about 40 minutes total, and it's right after work, so it's very convenient.

Their Communion Service is odd, though. Basically on Monday, there was a Deacon so the entire structure was the same as Mass except no Eucharistic Prayer. Tuesday was a regular mass. Today the Communion Service was conducted with a lay person, so it was a Reader's Digest version of everything. Much less prayer, no homily, that kind of thing. I asked Deacon L about it at class today, and he said it's very valid and that it's common due to the priest shortage that we are having these days for many churches to do this. It eased my mind quite a bit. It's a real blessing to be able to spend time at the Chapel and especially to receive the Eucharist every day.