Veil Wars

I just read an interesting discussion at a blog called “St. Louis Catholic” about whether or not theCatholic Church still requires women to cover their heads with a veil or hat at Mass.

The unnamed canon lawyer whose opinion that, yes, women are still obliged to wear them (even if virtually none do anymore), critiques the contrary opinion, advanced by Father John Zuhlsdorf, canonist Ed Peters, and Jimmy Akin. Even though I have long been of the opinion that the Church no longer requires this custom, at least not at Novus Ordo Masses, I must admit that this article has gone a long way toward convincing me that I have been wrong about this. The fact that “nobody does this anymore” is not a good reason not to observe this venerable Catholic custom. 

I do, however, have a respectful complaint for the proprietor of the St. Louis Catholic blog (who goes by “Tinman” rather than his real name), and that is: It is a mistake for you not to name the canon lawyer whom you quote and whom you refer to only as “an out-of-state canonist.” There's no reason that I can see why he should not be named, especially since he publically critiques others by name. That seems unjust to me. The unnamed canonist's argument has great merit, but its effects are blunted by his remaining anonymous. 

What All the Cool Catholic Kids Will Be Wearing on Christmas Morning

Seriously. Check these out. They're called “Sacrifice Beads.”

I happen to have come into possession of six of these beauties, and my wife and I are giving them as Christmas stocking giftlets for our six youngest kids. But adults of all ages can (and should) use them to stay recollected in a spirit of mortification. 

Check them out here, along with all the other great Catholic stuff for your kids (or grandkids), available from the good people over at www. HolyHeroes.com. 

A Holiday Message From the Religion of Peace

Ignorance and Arrogance Make for an Unflattering Combination

Terre Haute Tribune-Star columnist Stephanie Salter personafies this combo with her inane article “A Catholic priest is about to be excommunicated; guess why”.

This is my letter to the editor about this article:

“Stephanie Salter's article, ‘A Catholic priest is about to be excommunicated . . .’ was truly a bold, fresh, piece of foolishness, even by her standards.

 

It seems clear that she has no idea why the Catholic Church teaches what it does about the sacrament of holy orders (reading Pope John Paul II's document ‘Ordinatio Sacerdotalis,’ which is available in English at the www.vatican.va website, would be a good start). Nor does she seem to understand what ‘Liberation Theology¹ actually is and why it has been rejected as a distorted and destructive ideology by the overwhelming majority of Catholics in this country who have even heard of it and who know what it really is.

 

The next time Ms. Salter gets the urge to lash out publically against the Catholic Church, I suggest that she do some actual research on the subject before spouting nonsense, as she did in this article. It was effective in exposing her ignorance, but not in much else.”

Something to Read on The Feast of Our Lady's Immaculate Conception

MARY: ARK OF THE NEW COVENANT

By Patrick Madrid

This Rock Magazine, December, 1991

HIS FACE STIFFENED, and his eyes narrowed to slits. Until now the Calvary Chapel pastor had been calm as he "shared the gospel" with me, but when I mentioned my belief in Mary’s Immaculate Conception, his attitude changed. 

"The problem with you Roman Catholics," he said, thin forefinger stabbing the air a few inches from my face, "is that you’ve added extra baggage to the gospel. How can you call yourselves Christians when you cling to unbiblical traditions like the Immaculate Conception? It’s not in the Bible--it was invented by the Roman Catholic system in 1854. Besides, Mary couldn’t have been sinless, only God is sinless. If she were without sin she would be God!" 

At least the minister got the date right, 1854 being the year Pope Pius IX infallibly defined the doctrine of Mary’s Immaculate Conception, but that’s as far as his accuracy went. His reaction was typical of Evangelicals. He was adamant that the Catholic emphasis on Mary’s sinlessness was an unbearable affront to the unique holiness of God, especially as manifested in Jesus Christ. 

After we’d examined the biblical evidence for the doctrine, the anti-Marianism he’d shown became muted, but it was clear that, at least emotionally if not biblically, Mary was a stumbling block for him. Like most Christians (Catholic and Protestant) the minister was unaware of the biblical support for the Church’s teaching on the Immaculate Conception. But sometimes even knowledge of these passages isn’t enough. Many former Evangelicals who have converted to the Catholic Church relate how hard it was for them to put aside prejudices and embrace Marian doctrines even after they’d thoroughly satisfied themselves through prayer and Scripture study that such teachings were indeed biblical. 

For Evangelicals who have investigated the issue and discovered, to their astonishment, the biblical support for Marian doctrines, there often lingers the suspicion that somehow, in a way they can’t quite identify, the Catholic emphasis on Mary’s sinlessness undermines the unique sinlessness of Christ. 

To alleviate such suspicions, one must understand what the Catholic Church means (and doesn’t mean) by the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Pope Pius IX, in his constitution Ineffabilis Deus (issued December 8, 1854), taught that Mary, "from the first instance of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace granted by God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin." The doctrine includes the assertion that Mary was perpetually free from all actual sin (willful disobedience of God, either venial or mortal). 

Several objections are raised by Protestants. . . . (continue reading)

A Tribute to Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and His Wife Rivka

As you know, this young Chabad Jewish couple were heinously murdered last week by Muslim terrorists in Bombay, India. Rivka, 28, was six months pregnant with the couple's fourth child.

The Holtzbergs were aware of the dangers that surrounded them as they fostered Jewish life in Mumbai, said Rabbi Goldberg. “Next to the night stand, on the bed, there were several religious books, and next to the books was another [book]: How to Protect Yourself When Terrorists Come to Your House. “There was criticism from people who said it was irresponsible to have them in a place such as [Mumbai]. But we had security. Gavriel was conscious of the risks; he was reading the book because he was a target.”

The couple’s murder is the latest chapter in a story of personal tragedy afflicting the family. They had tried for years to conceive, but their two eldest children were born with Tay-Sachs, a terminal genetic disease. The oldest died. The second is hospitalised in Israel. At the time of her death, Rivka was six months pregnant.

This tragedy — remembering all who were murdered in Bombay during this attack — saddens me very much. I find myself thinking and praying about this often.

The couple's 2-year old orphaned son, Moshe, cries for his mother at their funeral:

“Mission of Love”

Watch this poignant video tribute (in two parts) to Rabbi Gavriel Holtsberg and his young wife Rivka, who, along with three other Hasidic Jews were tortured and then murdered by Muslim terrorists in Bombay, India.

Part 1:

Part 2:

Also, here's a good article from the Chabad website about this young couple: http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/782173/jewish/At-The-Shabbos-Table-With-Gabi-and-Rivkah.htm

May the Lord have mercy on their souls and grant them peace and salvation. 

Yesterday's “Open Line” Radio Show Now Available

It was an interesting show, as all of them tend to be. In the latter part of the 2nd half, I encouraged a discouraged Catholic mom to consider sending her college-age daughter to Belmont Abbey College, instead of the “Catholic” college she's at now, where she's in big-time danger of losing her Faith.

For me, at least, my show is the fastest hour in Catholic radio. You can listen to yesterday's installment here.

Let's Pray That India and Pakistan Don't Spin Out of Control

Memri is running this ominous story:

“Pakistani Nuclear Scientist: 'None Of India's Cities Can Remain Safe From Our Missiles'; 'Our Missile System . . . Can Be Fired in Only 10 Minutes — They Are On the Launchers.'

“Amid growing tensions between India and Pakistan following the 11/26 Mumbai terror attacks, Pakistani nuclear scientist Dr. Samar Mubarakmand spoke of the readiness of Pakistani missiles and of their capability to target Indian cities . . .” (read more).

This information has been widely known all along, of course. But what makes this situation particularly eye-catching is the recent terrorist attack in Bombay, India, perpetrated (yet again) by trained Muslim killers.

India blames Pakistan for at least harboring the attackers within its borders, if not actually masterminding their attack, and the Indian government is under extreme pressure from many of its people to strike back militarily. Pakistan, on the other hand, denies involvement. So, if India does strike, and they very well may, I fear that the chaotic, jihad-ridden, anti-Indian elements in the Pakistani government (which is probably a significant percentage of it) may just say, “to hell with it,” and launch their own attack using nukes.

Yes, the two contries have been at each other's throats for decades, but the thing that's different this time is the Bombay terror attacks. That could be the match that lights a very big fire this time around. I hope and pray that that doesn't happen.      

Some Lunchtime Levity

As I break for a quickie repast, I cast my eyes across the blogosphere and they fell upon these comedic gems over at Ironic Catholic, under the heading of “Theological Trash Talk.” (I just know that some of my priest friends — you know who you are — will appreciate a few of these in particular.)

• You lovable gravely disordered noodlehead
• Yeah, you. This is your conscience. This is your conscience on drugs. Any questions?
  
• You've really got your transcendental Thomist freak goin' on
  
• You're such a cross between a Jansenist and a Cathar. Yeah, pun intended, pharisaic punk
  
• Your similitudo dei needed an elephantine spit shine when you were born
• Yo momma's like St. Monica without her faith
• When you got baptized, that chrism oil curdled on your forehead like rancid salad dressing
  
• Dude, you have free will. That Freebird song don't have nothin' to do with it. And Lynyrd Skynyrd ain't no theologians
  
• When you received the gifts of the Holy Spirit, you asked for a receipt
  
• You so messed up, you thought "intrinsically disordered" was a self-canceling pizza delivery

Feel free to add some theological zingers of your own in the comments box. I'll start with these:

1) It's time for you to go a little heavier on the exitus and a lot lighter on the reditus. 

2) Hush your mouth. Your sitz im leben is starting to show. 

Abortion = Black Genocide

(Thanks, Thérèse.)

And Then There Were Pimps

“Bishop Don Magic Juan, the self-proclaimed king of the pimps, poses in one of his professional outfits in Los Angeles. Real pimps and former pimps, like Don Magic Juan, have become celebrities in the hip-hop culture.”

Say what? I thought this was a crime (and I'm not just talking about the costume). This pimp trend, which has been around awhile now, is another example of the depraved downward spiral so much of the music culture is locked into.

Let's Go Visit the Temple

These images from the UCLA website are fascinating. See how the Temple in Jerusalem might have looked based on research fed into a computer-generated graphics program. Nice! (Scroll down on the web page to see more.) These are a good teaching tool for your kids, if you'd like to give them a visual idea of what the Temple was all about. They read about it (or at least hear about it) in Scripture, but may not have any clear idea of what it was. And they really should. After all, aside from its central importance in the Old Testament, this is where so much of Christ's public ministry took place.

Here's another resource with plenty more fascinating information on the Temple, which was located somewhere atop what today is known as the Temple Mount.

I Get Letters, Lots of Letters

Barbara, a non-Catholic visitor to the Envoy Magazine website site (www.envoymagazine.com), sent me the following note. I post it here so you can get a flavor of the “other side” of Catholic apologetics; the side many people who like Catholic apologetics and apologists don't often see. There are plenty of folks out there, Barbara being one of them, who definitely do not like the Catholic Church.

(FYI, I'm posting Barbara's comments verbatim, including her no doubt inadvertent misquoting of Scripture.)

“Hello Mr Madrid, I have never heard of you. But recently I saw your name while surfing the web because I try my best to make catholics see the error of their beliefs.

“I hate the RCC because it destroys lives. Need I tell you how? I can. I am interested in why you apologize for the RCC. You could never apologize enough for your pagan system and your idolatrous daily consumption of your wafer god. I am a christian, but, of course not a catholic. You can serve God and mammon.

"I have also studied religion and ancient history and I can tell you that the RCC is not the church of the living God. It is a religious money making machine that manufactures 'priests' like a factory makes puppets. The pope is not holy, nuns aren't either, the wafer is not the Body of Christ, confession is unscriptural also.

“As a matter of fact, the RCC is the great whore that sits on seven hills and is mentioned specifically in the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ given to John on Patmos. Jesus told his servant John to send seven letters to the seven churches in Asia. Rome was not one of them. That should tell you something.

“A sister in our church was a cloistered nun for 25 years until God had mercy and saved her. In Mexico one can go to see the old convents where dead bodies of babies were found buried behind walls.A guide will take you through.

"I marvel that you are so amazingly ignorant of the Bible, but that is typical of a catholic. South and Central America are steeped in poverty and ignorance. Why? because some of my ancestors, the Conquistadores brought with them only priests and soldiers, but they did not bring Jesus.

“America is the greatest nation on earth .Why? It is founded on Protestanism. Protestant children fare better than catholic children. and I could go on and on, but I think you get my message. I watch TBN and know many ministers personally and minister myself through prophesy, evangelism and teaching the Bible. I also am a Gospel singer. I see clearly that the faces of the preachers and christians are radiant with joy and EWTN makes me sad to see the dead faces of those poor "priests" and nuns and how the RCC is desperately trying to be like the Protestants.

“Yes, God is able to save catholics and he is doing it, praise his Name, but when he does, he removes them from their paganism and idolatry. I owe Martin Luther nothing and I owe the RCC nothing. I owe all to Christ who died for me.

“In closing, let me say that the RCC will be brought into judgement by God for all the lives that have been destroyed by it's pagan teachings and it's idolatrous behaviour.

“Sincerely, Barbara”

Women Tells of Stolen Babies

A 22 year-old Romanian woman is weeping - my visit, and request for an interview with Tatya, which is not her real name, brings back terrible memories. 

After she has recovered her composure she tells me how nearly two years ago she was stopped in the street and offered the chance to leave her small, impoverished village behind. 

A youth, who she knew quite well, told her he knew people who could find her well-paid work in Italy. 

It was, he said, the chance of a lifetime for her. He was lying. 

A month later, Tatya recalls, she was smuggled into Italy by sea and then forced to work in a brothel to make money to pay for the trip. 

She became pregnant a few months later, and was taken to be examined by a man claiming to be a doctor, she says. 

He confirmed she was five months pregnant. Three months later, she recalls, she was brought back to the same man who induced her to give birth. 

Tatya says her baby was born without any apparent problems and seemed well. 

But before she even had the chance to hold him or even look at him properly, they took him away. "I remember just seeing his body. He was alive though," Tatya said. 

She was never to see him again. 

Two weeks later, Tatya says, she was put back on the streets and told to continue selling herself for sex. 

Within two months she was pregnant once more and the same gruesome ordeal was replayed again, she says. 

After carrying the child for eight months the birth was induced and the baby taken away from her within seconds of being born. 

She pleaded with the men to tell her what they had done with this baby and the one before him. 

"They told me that the babies had died but they were not telling me the truth, I know," Tatya said. 

"I think that my babies were taken for their organs or to be sold. I don't know for sure, but one of these things." 

Within a fortnight of giving birth to the second baby, Tatya says she was again put back on the streets to work as a prostitute. . . . (read article)