Tuesday, April 15, 2014

TUESDAY QUOTE OF THE WEEK CCCXXXV

FINDING TRUTH WHEREVER IT MAY BE FOUNDThis week's quotes come from the last meeting of the St. Sebastian Chesterton Society.  We finished reading "Manalive" this past month.
 
QUOTE I:  "For a mystic holds that two worlds are better than one."
 
QUOTE II:  "With our weak spirits we should grow old in eternity of we were not kept young by death.  Providence has to cut immortality into lengths for us, as nurses cut the bread and butter into fingers."
 
QUOTE III:  "'I don't deny,' he said, 'that there should be priests to remind men that they will one day die.  I only say that at certain strange epochs it is necessary to have another kind of priests, called poets, actually to remind men that they are not dead yet.'"
 
QUOTE IV:  "Marriage is a duel to the death, which no man of honour should decline."
 
IN OTHER NEWS:
 
Tom took this picture of the St. Sebastian windows on a beautiful day.  Thank you for sharing.
 
You can watch the Chrism Mass taking place in the diocese of Cleveland today streaming live on your computer!  See more here.
 
Mary sent this article in about a controversial talk given by a nun at a Catholic high school.  (My how times have changed!)  Read more here.
 
From the Diocese of Cleveland Enewsletter an interesting tidbit:  "Across the 186 parishes in the Diocese of Cleveland, new members will be welcomed into the Catholic Faith at the 9:00 p.m. Easter vigils on Saturday evening, April the 19th.  This is a one hundred fold increase in new members as compared to a year ago and the Diocese's Evangelization Office and Office for Worship attribute a portion of the upturn to the . . ."  Read more here.

4 comments:

Pat said...

Father,

Sister Jane spoke at St. Sebastian (in Z Hall) last summer. I forget who arranged her talk.

She spoke on this very subject that the high school in the article did not like.

Mary W. said...

Yes, Pat, Sister Jane Dominic was indeed at the parish this past summer, initiated by the request of a fellow Nashville Dominican sister, who is a daughter of St. Sebastian Parish. Having not only attended Sister's exceptional talk, but also having had hosted her in my home, I can attest to the fact that Sister Jane Dominic is about as gracious and bright as they come. I could not have been more impressed by her as a teacher and as a human being.

Here's a bit more of a Catholic perspective, on what happened with Sister Jane Dominic. Fortunately, you can still hear Sr. Jane Dominic's well-crafted teaching on The Theology of the Body in her course, "The Rich Gift of Love" at the Newman Connection. She is a gem in the Church and I can only pray that her sabbatical will be brief, as to have a voice such as hers silenced is a sore loss indeed.

On the heels of this story is a remarkably similar story about an equally well-respected teacher, Fr. Frank Hoffman. Also known as Fr. "Rocky", Fr. Hoffman is a friend and spiritual mentor to many in the Akron area, where he used to minister regularly before he relocated to Chicago. A brilliant canon lawyer, he is also now director of Chicago's Catholic Relevant Radio station. He, too, gave a talk at a Catholic highschool which resulted in a backlash from students, parents, and faculty. Here's that story.

Has it really gotten to the point that Catholic teaching cannot be taught by the best of our Catholic priests or sisters in Catholic schools without a rebellion by sentimental and poorly-catechized teens and their parents (and faculty members)? Has it really gotten to the point where we dare not suggest that the ideal setting in which children would be raised is by their own mother and father in a lifelong marriage? (Why Pope Francis said the very same thing a few days ago: "it is necessary to reaffirm the right of children to grow up in a family, with a father and a mother capable of creating an ideal environment for their development and emotional maturity.")

Please, Lord, don't allow us to give up and resign ourselves to confining the Light of Truth to a little corner under the basket of the Church. Help us to discern how it is that we can shine the light of Truth in all it's splendor and Beauty such that it can be recognized for the Good that it is by those who are now lost in darkness.

Anonymous said...

"it is necessary to reaffirm the right of children to grow up in a family, with a father and a mother capable of creating an ideal environment for their development and emotional maturity.")

Yet often the Church does not leave much choice to a parent who must separate from their spouse because of physical or emotional abuse.

What alternative do they have especially if the spouse will not cooperate in obtaining an annulment.

Fr. V said...

Greetings,

The Church in no way condones the abuse, physically or mentally, of anybody. The Church does, in fact, recognize the invalidity of truly abusive marriages.

It does not require the cooperation of the former spouse to apply and recieve a decree of nullity.

Thanks for writing,

Fr. V