Who Says a Guy that Plays Flute Can't be Cool?

The Super-Secret REAL Teachings of the Catholic Church

Ok fellow Catholics, it's time to fess up.

Let's all pull out our Super-Secret decoder rings, and the hidden handbook (all written in Latin so no one else can understand, of course) and admit to what we REALLY believe, but pretend not to with all those faux "official documents of the Church".

You know what we really believe...that the Pope is more important than Christ Himself, that he can change scripture all he wants and we accept it gladly. (Not quite sure why he hasn't taken out some of those pesky verses as of yet, all that "call no man father" stuff and "doctrine of demons" stuff that describes us so well!)

That Mary is above God in our eyes (since She's His Mother, after all!)

That reading scripture is dangerous, and we're not really allowed to unless a priest reads it to us so he can tell us what it REALLY means, especially when it seems so obviously contrary to Catholic teaching (the REAL Catholic teaching, you know).

That priests are the most powerful and magical people on Earth, and it's necessary to treat them as such.

That Christ needs to bend His will in accordance with His Blessed Mother's.

Come on guys...we've been outed, it's time to admit it!

Yum!

Here's a pic from our trip to Miami, we ate at a scrumptious French restaurant called Le Bouchon du Grove. (Merci à MC!)

CoC-to-Catholic Forum Issues

Just wanted to say I'm sorry for all the delays on the board lately, it just so happens that the very server we're on is having issues. It is supposed to be resolved by this coming Tuesday, when they upload more RAM. Hang in there! Sorry for the inconvenience!!!

B16 Totally Rocks - Latin and Gregorian Chant for All!

In his just released Sacrementum Caritatis, which speaks of the most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist and its importance, Pope Benedict says the following:

62. None of the above observations should cast doubt upon the importance of such large-scale liturgies. I am thinking here particularly of celebrations at international gatherings, which nowadays are held with greater frequency. The most should be made of these occasions. In order to express more clearly the unity and universality of the Church, I wish to endorse the proposal made by the Synod of Bishops, in harmony with the directives of the Second Vatican Council, (182) that, with the exception of the readings, the homily and the prayer of the faithful, such liturgies could be celebrated in Latin. Similarly, the better-known prayers (183) of the Church's tradition should be recited in Latin and, if possible, selections of Gregorian chant should be sung. Speaking more generally, I ask that future priests, from their time in the seminary, receive the preparation needed to understand and to celebrate Mass in Latin, and also to use Latin texts and execute Gregorian chant; nor should we forget that the faithful can be taught to recite the more common prayers in Latin, and also to sing parts of the liturgy to Gregorian chant. (184)

Fortunately, I already attend a parish where Gregorian Chant is sung, though I wouldn't mind more of it, and we could definitely do with more Latin! Not that I expect things to change tomorrow, but it was heartening to read this nonetheless, especially about seminarians being prepared to use Latin and Gregorian Chant, it gives me much hope for the future!

Curtsy to Kate!

Spring Break!

I probably won't be blogging much next week as I'll be in Miami visiting family. Hope everyone has a blessed week!

Introducing...

The CoC to Catholic forum!!! Welcome CoC-Catholic converts, seekers, questioners, anyone who is interested. Come on over and join the fun!

A Clarification

To all my ex-er friends out there, I wanted to make something clear. I'm not planning on running away to another playground and throwing sand at where I came from, not at all! I have given up the ex board for Lent, but I will be back! I thought that plenty of people would welcome a chance not to hear so much Catholic talk, and I thought the Catholics would welcome a chance to be able to talk about super-Catholic stuff without being looked at like we have three heads, lol. Let me make this very clear, the CoC-Catholic board will NOT be a place to bash the ex-CoC board!! I have no hard feelings towards the board as a whole, and I completely understand that I can't, and shouldn't expect all the non-Catholic exers to understand the unique struggles Catholics face in the modern world. Up until now, I had to waffle between different place to get support for different things...I'd go to a Catholic online community to get support from the everyday struggles we face as Catholics, but they wouldn't understand the ex-CoC stuff! So I'd go to the ex-CoC board to get support for the ex-CoC stuff, but they don't get the Catholic struggles! It's not the fault of either community that I don't get both kinds of support in one place, but I just thought, wouldn't it be great to have it in the same place?

It's true, I was feeling more tension as of late on the ex-CoC board, but I'm sure it could be because of me as well as others, which is why I felt a break would help me cool off and return later with a better attitude, and possibly some new self-imposed rules to help me avoid inflammatory posters and/or comments. But I am not picking up my toys and leaving for good, I'm just rearranging what topics I'll discuss where!

So, peace and much love to all you exers!

Bishop Fulton Sheen on Confession

The man was brilliant...it takes a bit of time to watch the whole thing, but it is so worth it, and especially relevant for Lent!

So I've Been Thinking...

There are a good number of us on the ex-CoC board who have become Catholic. Sometimes, we even tend to eclipse other groups on the board because we are pretty numerous and pretty vocal. I know, and understand, that this can sometimes be annoying for the non-Catholics on the board. And yet, I love being able to talk with all my CoC-Catholic converts who GET IT, who know what I'm talking about.

So, what would y'all think if I started our very own CoC-Catholic convert forum? Thoughts? Ideas? Opinions? I'm thinking this would let us get all our Catholic talk out without annoying the other exers. It would be an area free from anti-Catholicism where we can relax and not feel like we're on the defense all the time. I think we could also welcome our Orthodox friends, if they so desired to join us. And I wouldn't even mind people of other faiths interacting with us, as long as they understand that anti-Catholic remarks will not be tolerated.

So, what do y'all think? Let me know!

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

So I consider myself to be a pretty reasonable person. I try my best to be respectful to people of all faiths (or non-faiths) and I try to play by their rules when I'm on their turf. It's frustrating, though, when they don't even play by their own rules, and then get upset when I ask them to. It's especially upsetting when I feel duped, when I've been told I'm welcome as an equal and actually believed it, only to be scoffed at.

On a recent thread on the ex-CoC board entitled "The Pagan Roots of Christianity" I, against my better judgement, attempted to light-heartedly point out that, since the skeptics' rules are that nothing should be accepted without hard proof, perhaps it would be prudent not to start with the assumption that Christianity DOES have its roots in pagan beliefs. I wouldn't have had a problem with a thread merely discussing the similarities between pagan beliefs and Christianity, and entitled as such. There's just that old post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy thing, after all, that's easy to make, that I thought skeptics, being skeptics, and constantly claiming to hold up reason and logic as the highest goal, would appreciate the sentiment. But apparently, I wasn't aware of the rule that one need not be skeptical or logical if the claim is something attempting to discredit Christianity. Now I know better.

I find it interesting and rather telling that asking the skeptics to play by their own supposed rules of logic simply got more long diatribes about how Christians aren't logical or rational, and so they just don't get it. Out comes the usual comments about Christians relying on "faith" (which I imagine being said with a tinge of contempt, or at least pity), while skeptics (cue the spotlight and triumphant music) rely purely on reason and logic.

Just don't try to point it out when they don't.

I decided to add the ex-CoC board to my list of Lenten sacrifices. It wasn't this incident that prompted me to do so, it was a combination of recent ugliness in general. I normally go there in order to lend and receive support, and to stretch my brain a bit, consider other viewpoints, practice my reasoning skills, etc. All these things are good for me when a basic level of mutual respect exists, but when that isn't there, it becomes harmful and toxic. Recently I've felt the mutual respect wane, and especially at this time of year, I don't want to risk being disrespectul back. So I felt it was best to remove myself from the atmosphere for a bit, and focus on renewing my faith and life in Christ. After all, that's what Lent is all about!

Into Great Silence

I'm looking forward to seeing this film, either when it comes to Austin, or on DVD. Steven Greydanus said on Jimmy Akin's blog "I can't fully articulate how Into Great Silence affected me, except to say that it was a transforming experience, in that I find very, very few films to be. I walked the dozen or so blocks from the screening room to my parking garage in another world — not just imaginatively immersed in the world of the film, but enveloped in a silence in my own heart." I only wish it were coming sooner to Austin, it won't be here until April 27th. (You can see if and when it is playing in your area here)