Fiat Voluntas Tua

Catholic Is Not Enough

Just when you thought it was safe to call yourself "Catholic," an illustrious convert to the Catholic Church from Evangelical Protestantism explains what kinds of "Catholic" you should not be.

Catholic Is Not Enough

By Thomas Howard, Ph.D.
Envoy Magazine

A NUMBER OF YEARS AGO, I wrote a book (which was not a bestseller) under the title, Evangelical Is Not Enough. The editor of Envoy Magazine has asked me now to write this article with the title which appears at the top.

What a malcontent this man must be, readers may be pardoned for murmuring. What an ecclesiastical dyspeptic. Will nothing satisfy him? Is anything enough? Come.

On the surface of things, such would indeed appear to be a just reaction on the part of a reader. On the other hand, there is a certain point which perhaps may legitimately be made without ones taking on the guilt of merely carping.

What, then, can possibly be meant by ones saying that Catholic is not enough?

Clearly we must begin with a demurral, or perhaps even a slightly sheepish admission of artfulness: The title is an editorial eye-catcher, of course. Readers of Envoy Magazine expect this journal to be squarely behind the assertion that Catholic is enough. Hence, when they see this title (or, so hope the editors and the author), they will snap up the magazine with, Oh-ho! What have we here? Envoy gone soft, eh?

On the other hand, unhappily enough, there is a sense in which the assertion that Catholic is not enough is very widely true. To be rigorously just, however, we would need to insert some modifiers: This sort of Catholic is not enough, or, what you hear being taught over there in that RCIA program is not enough.

But clearly, to venture such remarks is to sail very near the wind of arrogance. Well! I see we have a self-appointed inquisitor here, pronouncing on everyone's faith, and handing out obiter dicta hither and thither as to the quality of that faith. And all unsolicited in the bargain.

Such an accusation might well hit home, and to tackle an assertion such as we have in the title of this article, one must venture along hesitantly and tentatively, frequently testing ones own attitudes with the litmus test of Charity.

We might canvass several situations in which we find ourselves encountering a Catholic outlook which is not enough.

For example, here is Mr. O'Brian, or Mr. Przybyzewski, or Miss Spiridigliozzi, or Mrs. de la Rocha or Mrs. Garcia who, if asked about their faith, might pass off the question with some reference to the Old Country from which their family emigrated to America and leave it at that. Obviously, that won't quite suffice when it comes to the Divine Tribunal.

There is neither Jew nor Greek (nor Englishman, Irishman or Mexican) in Christ. Your country of origin won't save you. A highly ethnically-conscious Catholicism can be a genuinely robust thing, most heartening to behold (besides being perhaps enormously curious to someone strange to that background). The pluck, fidelity and loyalty which often accompany such an ethnic faith can well turn out to be the stuff of which martyrs are made.
On the other hand, as we know, such a stance can . . . (continue reading) 

Proverbs 18:7 in Action!

Click the pic.

See also here.  And don't forget, this same fellow also said: 

“It will not be six months before the world tests Barack Obama like they did John Kennedy. . . . remember I said it standing here if you don’t remember anything else I said. Watch, we’re gonna have an international crisis, a generated crisis, to test the mettle of this guy.”

“I can give you at least four or five scenarios from where it might originate. And he’s gonna need help. And the kind of help he’s gonna need is, he’s gonna need you — not financially to help him — we’re gonna need you to use your influence, your influence within the community, to stand with him. Because it’s not gonna be apparent initially, it’s not gonna be apparent that we’re right.”

[...] “This president, the next president, is gonna be left with the most significant task. It’s like cleaning the Augean stables, man. . . . There are gonna be a lot of you who want to go, ‘Whoa, wait a minute, yo, whoa, whoa, I don’t know about that decision.’” 

St. John Vianney: The Dreadful State of the Lukewarm Soul

In speaking to you today, my dear brethren, of the dreadful state of the lukewarm soul, my purpose is not to paint for you a terrifying and despairing picture of the soul which is living in mortal sin without even having the wish to escape from this condition. That poor unfortunate creature can but look forward to the wrath of God in the next life. Alas! These sinners hear me; they know well of whom I am speaking at this very moment.... We will go no further, for all that I would wish to say would serve only to harden them more.

In speaking to you, my brethren, of the lukewarm soul, I do not wish, either, to speak of those who make neither their Easter duty nor their annual Confession. They know very well that in spite of all their prayers and their other good works they will be lost. Let us leave them in their blindness, since they want to remain that way....

Nor do I understand, brethren, by the lukewarm soul, that soul who would like to be worldly without ceasing to be a child of God. You will see such a one at one moment prostrate before God, his Saviour and his Master, and the next moment similarly prostrate before the world, his idol.

Poor blind creature, who gives one hand to God and the other to the world, so that he can call both to his aid, and promise his heart to each in turn! He loves God, or rather, he would like to love Him, but he would also like to please the world. Then, weary of wanting to give his allegiance to both, he ends by giving it to the world alone. This is an extraordinary life and one which offers so strange a spectacle that it is hard to persuade oneself that it could be the life of one and the same person. I am going to show you this so clearly that perhaps many among you will be hurt by it. But that will matter little to me, for I am always going to tell you what I ought to tell you, and then you will do what you wish about it....

I would say further, my brethren, that whoever wants to please both the world and God leads one of the most unhappy of lives. You shall see how. Here is someone who gives himself up to the pleasures of the world or develops some evil habit.

How great is his fear when he comes to fulfil his religious duties; that is, when he says his prayers, when he goes to Confession, or wants to go to Holy Communion! He does not want to be seen by those with whom he has been dancing and passing nights at the cabarets, where he has been giving himself over to many kinds of licentiousness. Has he come to the stage when he is going to deceive his confessor by hiding the worst of his actions and thus obtain permission to go to Holy Communion, or rather, to commit a sacrilege? He would prefer to go to Holy Communion before or after Mass, that is to say, when there is no one present. Yet he is quite happy to be seen by the good people who know nothing about his evil life and among whom he would like to arouse good opinions about himself. In front of devout people he talks about religion. When he is with those who have no religion, he will talk only about the pleasures of the world. He would blush to fulfil his religious practices in front of his companions or those boys and girls who share his evil ways . . .  (continue reading) 

See For Yourself How it Looked at Fatima in 1917

Click for more info on the Fatima Apparitions

Father Z Pins the Tail on the Donkey

You simply must read Father John Zuhlsdorf's brilliant and devastating analysis of "the ultra-left-wing National Catholic Reporter [which] has an editorial in which they reveal their darkest fear:

...the goalposts have shifted in the U.S. episcopacy in the past decade – and they have swerved in a decidedly rightward tilt on both the ecclesial and political spectrums.

As you read this mournful baying of desperation, keep in mind that the NCR editors know they have lost the Catholic identity debate.  

Catholics cannot be pro-abortion.  NCR and their pack are still weakly proposing we can be soft on a politicians pro-abortion agenda if they are doing other good social justice things. They claim this will really result in a reduction of the number of abortions anyway.   

They know now that they have lost that argument because it is being made clearer and clearer from pulpits and in the blogosphere and press that Catholics cannot support abortion.  We can differ on how to help the poor but we cannot compromise on the fundamental human right: the right to life precedes the right to liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

What follows in this long NCR editorial is a demonstration of desperation.  Because they have lost the Catholic part of the argument they now fall back on the only weapon they have left: party politics. . . . (continue reading)

More Water Under the Bridge as Archbishop Weakland Makes His "Announcement"

I suppose this AP story about Archbishop Weakland publicly admitting his homosexuality was intended to be a "bombshell," but it's really more of a dud of a scud missile that everyone saw coming, long ago. There's no need to rehash the sordid details here, this article does that for us.  But I would like to comment on one thought that came to mind as I read this sorry tale. 

Many years ago, perhaps as many as 20, I read an interview by Dr. Joseph Nicolosi, a Catholic psychotherapist who specializes in counseling homosexual men and women, in which he asserted that he knew for certain that there were at least 3 or 4 (I'm paraphrasing here) actively homosexual Catholic bishops. I recall the emotions of shock and anger and  . . . credence . . . that washed over me when I read that claim. Shock that a bishop -- a bishop! -- as well as priests could be implicated thusly ( I see now how utterly naive I was back then), anger that someone would even make such a claim about Catholic bishops, and, yes, credence -- a slowly unfolding, dread-in-the-pit-of-your-stomach kind of horrified realization, that this vile claim just might be true.

And, oh boy, was it ever true. Much more than I ever could have imagined back then. It is a truism to say that a lot has happened in the Catholic Church since the 1980s, back when the very suggestion that homosexuality was a widespread problem among the clergy then (and quite possibly even now), a lot of terribly murky, fetid, noisome water has passed under the bridge.  How much more such flotsam will pass by as the years flow into the past and as the Catholic Church (please God!) gradually becomes more purified, repaired, renewed, and restored by God's grace and by the courageous, heroic virtue of her priests and bishops, religious and laity? How long, O Lord? How long?

New Japanese Video "Game" Glorifies Rape and Abortion

Players earn points for acts of sexual violence, including stalking girls on commuter trains, raping virgins and their mothers, and forcing females to get abortions, according to the group's online statement.

Airplane Apologetics

Would you care for some coffee, tea, or truth?

Kevin was headed home at last, tired from a long business trip and eager to see his wife and kids again. He settled down in the back of the plane with his Bible and Catechism, looking forward to an hour of peace and quiet. But just before takeoff, two United Pentecostal preachers sat down beside him, and when they discovered he was Catholic, they were ready for a theological rumble. Reluctant yet prepared to “proclaim the Word . . . whether it is convenient or inconvenient” (2 Tim. 4:2), this Catholic lay apologist dove into a deep debate about the truths of the Faith. Little did he know what God was up to . . . at thirty thousand feet. (read article)

Are You Tired of Bibles Made Out of Paper?

Then try the new i-Bible. 

As a Catholic Apologist, This Is Not What I Mean By "Apologist"

But it's pretty hilarious, even so!

Shut Up

Does it Count? Here's the Bottom Line on Sunday Obligation

Most Catholics find themselves, from time to time, feeling a little blasé about fulfilling their “Sunday Duty.” No, that doesn’t refer to getting coffee and donuts on the way home from Mass, it refers to going to Mass. Sometimes Catholics slip into a minimalist mindset about their Sunday obligation of going to Mass, wondering to themselves, “What’s the absolute minimum of time I have to put in to ‘make it count’?”

Do you feel that showing up for weekly Mass is often no more than a roll call? And when it does feel that way, then are the spiritual goods still evident in your life? Do you ever find yourself asking, “Does it Count?” Do you struggle with some of the “requirements” of being Catholic? Come on . . . not even with one or two? Aha! That’s what I thought. So check out this very helpful Envoy Magazine article by Eric Scheske . . .

We Are At War! Are You Ready to Fight the Good Fight?

Bishop Robert Finn recently declared: "We are at war!" I couldn't agree with the good bishop more, and in response to his rallying cry, I have devleoped a plan to help Catholics everywhere get into high gear as the "Church Militant." Please click the banner to see how you can take part in this new apostolic project to combat error with truth and darkness with light. Join me!

Extreme Home Makeover — Depression Edition

I’m a California native, born & raised, and lived there most of my life. I never imagined I would ever see anything like this. Could it be a bizarre portent of worse things to come? I am starting to become inclined to think so. I hope I'm wrong. What do you think?