A-THEISTS POINT OF VIEW

There are those who believe (and I use the word “believe” very deliberately since it comes with its own set of un-provable presuppositions) that there is no God.  The theory of “no god” is also associated with the idea that there we are an accident of the universe with no meaning and when we die we cease to exist.  Period.  If this is so, then there really is no basis for a universal morality because there is no basis for absolute truth.

 

Some will argue that a basis for morality might be found in nature (natural law.)  There is small grounds here.  We might, for example, figure out through natural law that without clean water it we cannot survive and therefore it is good to have clean water and bad not to.  But what about people living in a desert?  Should we give them some of our clean water?  What if it places our access to clean water at risk?  If there is no real meaning to life why not let the people in the desert die?  If you give them water they will only increase in number and then we will need to send more of our limited supply of water.  But if they died, that would be the end of a problem.  There is no heaven or hell so there are no consequences and for the people who live, life on this meaningless planet just became more tolerable.

 

If, on the other hand, one would say that there is in natural law a basis for morality that says life has meaning and that we should take care of the people in the desert; that means that life and the universe have meaning and purpose.  If it has meaning and purpose that means there is an intelligence behind it and we get right back to some form of god.  But even if one argues otherwise, how do you enforce this concept of natural law other than to say, “This is my idea!” followed by a meaningful lump on the head with a club to the one who disagrees?

 

“But wait!” one might argue, “I know plenty of moral and good atheists!”  I agree.  So do I.  They are some of my favorite people.  They are also some of my favorite people in history.  People of towering (what Christians even would call) virtue.  But in the end it can only be fashion.  There is no absolute by which it can be enforced save for “Might Makes Right,” whether that be army, popular vote, control of resources, or other such means.  When the benevolent believer in a god free universe is no longer in control, to what can we appeal to continue his ideals against a contradictory force other than to raise our own force for our preferences?

 

It is often brought up that religion has caused so much war in the world.  From the Catholic perspective, it is exactly when we were NOT living up to the call of our faith that the worst in the world has been committed; when God is used as a false rallying cry and not to move people more deeply into the Gospel message. 

 

For the radical separation of Church and state (which I would argue does not state nor mean that the faith of many of the very people that they government is supposed to represent may have no sway in political activity) opens the door to those with power abusing those without power.  The worst in ourselves will come out over the (not so) long haul.

THE INCREDIBLE VANISHING ACT

Many seminarians are second career guys these days.  That is, they went to college, got a degree, and perhaps worked a while “out in the world” before fully realizing their call to the priesthood.  This is great because there is nothing that one can learn that is not helpful to the mission of the Church.  Art, engineering, history, plumbing, political science, medicine, accounting, you name it, it can be used to advantage for the kingdom of God.

 

So a seminarian asked me the other day how much of “us” do we bring to our ministry in the priesthood?  As in most things with authentic faith, the answer is “a careful and delicate balance.” 

 

Almost everyone knows of a pastor assigned to a parish that brings it to its knees.  Then there is the struggling parish that a new pastor brings fresh breath into.  Or the parish that falls apart because the popular pastor left and the one that transitioned as well as can be expected.  Part of it is the personality and charisma of the man.  But that is only part of it.  Extremely non-charismatic men have had at least a modicum of success at parish ministry.  It seems to me that there are two ingredients (assuming that one is teaching truth) that makes for a successful pastor/parish/Church relationship.

 

It is true that a parish will take on some of the personality of the pastor.  That can’t be helped.  In the end, someone has to make a final decision and that is the pastor and his decisions will impact the feel of a parish no matter how open minded he is.  He may be more of a roof and boilers man instead of an arts man and the resources of the parish will change direction.  That has a huge impact.  But first, a parish must know that the pastor does what he does because he loves them and does what he thinks is best for the overall parish.  Even the best of pastors cannot make everyone feel loved, but in general, it must be perceived that he loves the parish as he loves the Church.

 

Second is that his personality and talents and preferences should be like the red cape of a matador.  He gets your attention and leads you toward himself only to step out of the way; except when he steps out of the way it always to reveal the Eucharist.  There is the terrible temptation to begin a “personality cult” in which people are attracted to a parish because they like the pastor and it ends there.  It is Okay to like the pastor, but it must lead somewhere, not stopping there.  It must lead to the Eucharist, to the Church, to that which will be maintained when that pastor is no longer there.  And this is possible as long as he is a finger post pointing to that which is more important and not merely to himself.

 

But of course, this is not just the calling of a pastor.  This is the calling of all who spread the word of God.

MONDAY DIARY: ALMOST EXCRUSIATINGLY TRUE STORIES: 15 MINUTES AWAY FROM CREMATION

Thanksgiving is no longer fresh in any body's mind including the editorial staff of Adam's Ale.  But we have these cartoons left over (which lasted longer than the turkey) and now that the gist of working with blogs and pictures has been worked out, it seemed appropriate to bring the left overs out of the freezer and see if enough of the day can be remembered to make it worth while (or should we save the calories and just throw them away?)

 

For the third year I have hosted Thanksgiving at the rectory for one branch of the family anyway.  Don't get me wrong - I don't cook.  I am responsible for setting the table and keeping people's glasses full and that is about the extent of my responsibility.

 

My brother-in-law is the cook.  Normally a very accomplished cook.  He and my sister live in New York and they came down to celebrate with us and he decided that he would make the turkey which was just fine by me.  So I get a text on Wednesday:

Now I know Don.  I am sure he had every good intention to be at the rectory at 7:59AM on Thursday morning to start cooking and I did get up to make sure the doors were open and the lights were on just in case he actually showed up.  But every year he decides to do something else and as an after thought thinks to tell me.  (Not that I have a problem with this whatsoever.  The turkey eventually makes it's way to St. Sebastian and that's all that matters.)  So it is after Mass and there is still nobody in the kitchen cooking and I am not terribly surprised when eventually I get this text:

Or this one:

Or this one:

Okay.  I was surprised by this one:

My nephew Paul got his grandpa's oven working all right - but it acted like a blast oven.  It actually burned the oven mitts when they took the pan with the turkey out.  The 25lb beast was done in half an hour and I got a frantic phone call that dinner was being moved up by hours and we all needed to be at the rectory and eating ASAP.

After that it was hard to slow down and appreciate the meal.

But in the end, the results were exactly the same.

WHOOPS! YOU'RE OUT OF SPACE. YOU ARE CURRENTLY USING 100% OF YOUR 1 GB QUOTA FOR PHOTOS

First:

THANK YOU to everybody who contacted me to help me with my blog problems.  If you are experiencing the same problem and you are as much of a Luddite as I am and most of the advice on line makes absolutely no sense to you whatsoever, HERE IS A SITE where someone takes the time to hold you by the hand and walk you through the process.  Thank you so very much.

 

As it turns out it seems that Monday Diary cartoons are the really big culprit.  The largest picture one is suppose to have is 800 pixils I guess (whatever that means) and the cartoon pics were around 2,600 each.  IT TAKES TIME TO FIX but it is fixable.

 

Which brings me to a thought:  What on earth are we going to do if there is some sort of national calamnity?  I can't figure out how to put a picture in on my blog - if I had to, what would I do if I had to build a shelter, make my own clothes, catch and prepare a deer, build a fire to stay warm, remember which leaves not to use in the bathroom, pick the right mushrooms (which I wouldn't do anyway) and how to make tea out of blue spruce needles?  (How do you harvest a hamburger patty from a cow?  Do they peel off somehow?)

 

Don't get caught in a similar trap with the faith.  Why don't we use electic lights instead of candles?  Why don't we use (even really, really good) canned music instead of live music?  Why can't we watch Mass on T.V. instead of going to Church?  Why is a pipe organ better than an electric instrument meant to sound like a pipe organ?  Why can't we just sit still and listen instead of having to do Catholic arobics and sing all of time etc. etc. etc.  Because we do not want to be helpless needing to be spoon fed our faith should we be on our own.  If all of a sudden our support is no longer around us, we should be fitted out to carry on our faith and faith practices - not be completely shut down as I was with my blog because I couldn't understand what was happening to me.

TUESDAY QUOTE OF THE WEEK CCLXXVI

FINDING TRUTH WHEREVER IT MAY BE FOUND:  "A modern vegetarian is also a teetotaler, yet there is no obvious connection between consuming vegetables and not consuming fermented vegetables. A drunkard, when lifted laboriously out of the gutter, might well be heard huskily to plead that he had fallen there through excessive devotion to a vegetable diet.” – G.K. Chesterton  h/t to Ellen

 

QUOTE II:  "Never drink and try to entertain."  Frances Valencheck

 

IN OTHER NEWS:

 

Well, no solution has presented itself yet to my picture dilemma.  I've gone on to these threads and it seems that an unusual amount of people were suddenly given the same message at the exact same time and no amount of deleting seems to be doing any good besides going ahead and buying the extra space.  This reminds me remarkably about the time I was locked out of my AOL account for a month and then suddenly it just came back amid a lot a Emails about "buy protection for your AOL account so that nobody can ever take it over and lock you out."

 

. . . *ahem*

 

So I will wait a little bit.  Maybe it is true and they just had a major purging which is just fine - but there is still some sort of bug there and I am not ready to make any drastic changes just yet.

(The pictures today were not uploaded new.  They were previously uploaded.)

 

Fr. D sent this in:   "Would you please let your readers know that Borromeo Seminary is playing Saint Mary Seminary in basketball at our annual Holy War at the CPL Field House this Saturday night? The game begins at 7:15pm and admission is free. We'd like to pack the gym and allow the good folks of the diocese of Cleveland to see our seminarians engage in some healthy competition. Also, there will be entertainment, giveaways, contests, and prizes. Borromeo will also be introducing their new pep band!"

 

From the artist that did the paintings of Saint Sebastian for this parish came this:  "The new art book by artist Eric Armusik, "Silent Emotions," is now available for pre-order! This full color book features over three dozen of Eric's paintings."  For more information go here.

 

This was sent in from the diocese:  "The position for Director of the Lorain Catholic Action Commission,, the social action office serving Lorain and Elyria is open and now posted on the Cleveland Catholic Charities website"  Go here.  It is job listing 22.

 

THE EMMAUS ROUNDTABLE SITE IS LIVE!  Go here to see it and learn more about the Emmaus Roundtable.

 

I did not know this story until S.H. of the Halo Foundation showed it to me.  Inspiring!

 

MONDAY DIARY OF SORTS

Greetings,

 

There is a Monday Diary ready to come out, but when I try to upload my pictures I get this notice:

 

"Whoops! You're out of space. You are currently using 100% of your 1 GB quota for photos"

 

The problem is: I don't even know what this means!  Is there no more space on my computer?  On my blog site?  Can I erase pictures on my computer or on the blog?????  Does this mean that I have to pay $$$ for more space wherever that is . . .

 

I tried to go to the "helpful" site but of course it was anything but.  You have to know what a computer is before you can understand what it is they are trying to tell you.

 

Can anyone out there in blog land enlighten me?

Thanks,

Fr. V

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

From the entire staff here at Adam's Ale, a very blessed Thanksgiving to you.

PUTTING YOURSELF OUT THERE

If you are looking to get married you don’t hide things about yourself in order to lure someone into marrying you.  One of two things might happen as a result: 1) You will be somewhat unhappy hiding something for the rest of your life or 2) Your spouse will be feel angry and betrayed when whatever it is you are concealing becomes exposed.

 

For some reason (and I occasionally fall for it myself) preachers do the same thing in trying to “keep the numbers up.”  Dicey and controversial topics are not brought up in homilies, prayer services, or classes because we might lose people.  So leading up to the last election much of the Catholic Church was caught with its pants down trying to proclaim a message but unfortunately for much of the Church it was too late: Catholics did not need to be reminded about what our faith says about many of these touchy topics, they needed introduced to a mindset that produces these beliefs.  A pamphlet or a homily one week before the election aint gonna cut it.

 

There is a gentleman who works at St. Sebastian who happens to not be Catholic.  One day he stopped me and presents me with a list of topics ranging from abortion to health care.  “When was the last time you preached on any of these topics?” he asked me for he was greatly saddened that he had not heard any of this talked about at all at his church ever.  “Our faith is supposed to help us understand these things.  If we don’t hear about them at church there are plenty of other people out there working hard to have us think the way they want us to think about them.”

 

Now I admit that I am intimidated to speak on some of these matters.  But they are what they are – they are who we are.  It is not matter of politics – it is Catholic 101.  That some of these topics happen to line up with hot button issues going on in politics is just happenstance.  And we must be honest about who we are for we are in covenant together and that means full disclosure as one would hope a future spouse would offer.

 

Just one last note: I know there is some amount of wiggle room in some of these topics.  I am just saying we must talk about them as Church.  Only then can someone make a clear, full, and free decision if they want to be part of (or leave) this intimate Communion of people.

TUESDAY QUOTE OF THE WEEK CCLLXXV

FINDING TRUTH WHEREVER IT MAY BE FOUND:  "Prostitutes are in no danger of finding their present life so satisfactory that they cannot turn to God.  The proud, the averace, the self righteous are in that danger."  from C. S. Lewis's, "The Problem of Pain"

 

QUOTE II:  "[One] man serves God as a son, [another] as a tool."  same source.

 

IN OTHER NEWS:

 

This appeared in my inbox.  It is a link to a sight to a Christian sculptor.  You know, it is difficult for artists to make it creating art for the Church because we keep buying things out of catalogues.  If we do not support artists, they will receive their support from those who will pay them - and those are largely not venues for the building up of the dignity of mankind. 

 

As you may be aware this past Sunday was the blessing and dedicatory concert of the new organ at St. Sebastian Parish.  The Akron Beacon Journal did a fabulous article in the Sunday paper about it and Collette Jenkins also published an article on line with a short video.  You can find it here.

From the Diocese of Cleveland Enewsletter:  "The Catholic faith community in the Diocese of Cleveland is invited to review the Diocese of Cleveland's Financial 'Report to the Community 2012.'"  Read more here.

 

A few of you have written or spoken to me about your comments being removed from the comments section of the blog.  It has been a year since I thought it necessary to remove a comment.  So no, you did nothing wrong and I have no idea why your comment is not posted.  Please keep trying!  When putting in the "code word" remember that there is also a picture of a number that needs to be entered also.  God bless!

MONDAY DIARY: ALMOST EXCRUSIATINGLY TRUE STORIES: ANOTHER THEORY FOR THE GREAT CHICAGO FIRE

There is a young adult in the parish who decided that he wanted to start serving at the altar.  Though this story is true, the names have been changed to protect the guilty.  So let's just say his name is Raul.

Raul came to serve Tuesday night benediction last week.  It was Raul's first experience with the thurible (or incense thingy.)

For some reason, the thurible that I though was in reasonably capabe hands kind of did this flip/explosion thing and burning hot embers shot out.

Fortunately most of the burning coals landed on marble.

Like I said, "most of the burning coals . . ."

Our kneeling pad caught on fire.  Just a small one. 

 

Anyway, of course Raul felt poorly so I let him in on some little known secrets.

 

There is a reason we no longer have a rug in the sanctuary at St. Sebastian.

There is a reason that there is no longer a flawless parquet flooring at St. Peter and Paul.

There's a reason that St. Clare no longer has wall to wall carpeting in the sacristy.

After I got after the initial shock, I stomped on the embers as best I could because I had to get out on the sanctuary.  All seemed Okay and safe at the moment.

Coming back in there was noticed a pungeant smell and smoke in the room.  It hadn't gone out and was re-lighting!  I dumped water in the floor.

After another hour or so all seemed right with the world and so I vacuumed it up.

And that is why they also have a new vacuum cleaner.

So don't fret.  Join the club kid.

FRIDAY POTPOURRI: THERE'S BREAKFAST AND THEN THERE'S BREAKFAST

Things are wonderfully hectic here at the parish as we prepare for the organ dedication.  They are so busy that one would think that Christmas was this weekend (save that there are no decorations in the house.)  So rather than say anything lengthy or useful, I thought I would share this humorous little tidbit under the category “Nuptial Entertaining.”  It concerns what should be served for breakfast to your guests the day after the wedding.

 

To quote Mrs. Fenner:  “To serve more than four courses for a wedding breakfast is almost unheard of nowadays.  (You can say that again.)  For such a breakfast as we have been describing, four might be served, in which case a possible menu would be:

 

“Consume Madrilene

Lobster Newberg * Toast Points

Cold Ham in Aspic * Endive Salad

Pineapple Ice

 

“The following three course menus are also elaborate enough for a lavish breakfast:

 

“Vichyssoise

Roast Duck with oranges * endive salad

Fruits refraische au rhum

 

or

 

“Melon

Roast Squab with Wild Rice * Russian Salad

Chocolate Ice Cream

 

or

 

“Minted Fresh Pineapple

Chicken Eugene * Asparagus, butter sauce

Strawberry Mousse”

 

Hmmmmm.

 

The traditional post nuptials breakfast in our family is potica and coffee.

 

Now to be fair she does offer other menus for less formal weddings but none of them include potica and coffee.

 

Only a couple times in my life have I had a breakfast like the ones mentioned above.  They were fun but I admit to rather a fan of “Farm Breakfasts” with a heavy emphasis on dairy and meat products. 

YOU'RE INVITED

The Parish of Saint Sebastian

requests the honour of your presence

at the

Blessing Ceremony

of its new

Pipe Organ

to be celebrated by

His Excellency

The Most Reverend Richard G. Lennon

and the

Dedicatory Concert

to be presented by

Mrs. Lynn Frey-Steward

on

Sunday, the eighteenth of November

two thousand and twelve

at half past three in the afternoon

at

St. Sebastian Parish Church

Akron, OH

 

Pipe organs in some form have been around since well before the time of Christ and had been a favorite instrument of emperors and kings.  For centuries, in one form another, the pipe organ has been married (as it were) to the Church and her worship.  According to the Second Vatican Council document “Musicam Sacrum” paragraph 62, “The pipe organ is to be held in high esteem in the Latin Church, since it is its traditional instrument, the sound of which can add a wonderful splendor to the Church's ceremonies and powerfully lift up men's minds to God and higher things.”

 

Until the advent of the computer, the pipe organ was the most complicated and advanced piece of technology in the world.  With this one instrument, a single musician can replace a whole orchestra and fill a space with sound that just is not possible with a piano (unless a microphone is used.)  It can speak softly to accompany soloist or it can take on the force of mighty orchestra and full tilt.  It can produce different sounds from flutes to strings to trumpets.  It is a marvel of ingenuity, beauty, artistry, and history.

 

The St. Sebastian organ made by the Schantz Organ Company will consist of 2,683 pipes.  There are 44 ranks of pipes.  (A rank is a set of pipes usually consisting of 61 pipes.)  There will be four divisions, the Great organ, the Swell organ, Positiv organ, the Choir organ, as well as the pedal division.  The new organ will have two division exposed to the congregation, which is new.  Previously the entire organ was contained behind a screen.

 

I hope that you are able to join the parish for thisimportant event.  It is free and open tothe public.  The address of the parish is476 Mull Avenue.

WHO HAS TIME TO PRAY? (YOU DO)

Say it was a very trying day.  When you get home all you can think of is getting to bed and falling into a deep slumber, after all, you must be up early in the morning.  So you think to yourself, “Ugh!  I haven’t done my night prayers yet.  I just don’t have the energy to do them.  I think I am just going to skip them tonight.  Maybe I can make up for them tomorrow.”  In the time that it took you to think these thoughts as you shuffle toward your bed in your slippers, you could have said most of a Hail Mary.  It may not have been the prayer you usually do, it may not have been the quality of your nightly prayers, but it is a far cry better than skipping prayer all together.

I don’t recommend using this as your only method of prayer, but next time you are tempted to think, “I just don’t have time to pray now,” know that you do – for if you had time to think that thought, you had time to pray however brief.  It is far better than not praying at all.

 

And when something comes up and you think, “I should really pray about that.  I should make some time later to make sure I pray.”  That is a very good thing to do.  Put it on the docket for some quality contemplation time.  But you could have shot the first salvo of prayer across the bow right them.  In the time it took you to think about putting prayer on the docket, you could have already sent a message to heaven.

 

And when someone asks you to pray for something, if it is feasible and you are willing, say yes and do it right.  Suggest that you say a Hail Mary right at that moment together (when 2 or 3 are gathered in His name . . .) or in the back of your mind immediately think, “God, hear this persons appeal.”

 

Prayer can be anytime/anywhere.  “Pray always,” says Scripture.  Prayer on the fly may not be the best prayer, but more prayer rather than less is always better.

TUESDAY QUOTE OF THE WEEK CCLLXXIV

FINDING TRUTH WHEREVER IT MAY BE FOUND:  "Lapses in grammar, in your bathrobe, with your spouse, in the morning before the coffee is ready, doesn't bother me."  Barbara Wallraff, author of Word Court

 

QUOTE II:  "'Let's eat Grandma' 'Let's eat, Grandma'  Commas save lives."  T-shirt

 

IN OTHER NEWS:

 

Here is an interesting article on the Church and blogging.  About one in three Catholics wish their priests or bishops blogged.  Read more here.

People often wonder why Catholic information doesn't make it to the faithful.  "Why didn't I hear about this?" I am often asked.  It is because you have to go looking for it.  Popular media is not going to bring it to you.  Diocesan newspapers do not reach people as they used to, one can only preach so much, and people do not know where to look.  Perhaps parish bulletins need to change their mission.  But perhaps this is one reason blogging, at least for the moment, is so important.  Did you know the pope made contact with the president after the election?  The Diocese of Cleveland Enewsletter made it possible for you to find out.  "Vatican City, 7 November 2012 (VIS) - Benedict XVI, through the apostolic nunciature in Washington, U.S.A., has sent a message to Barack Obama, congratulating him on his re-election as president of the United States of America."  Read more here.

From the same source:  "Did you know that during the Year of Faith, the Diocese of Cleveland is featuring short videos of people talking about their faith and everyday life?"  See more here.

 

P sent this in:  "Dear Fr. V. and Fr. P., This link is for Cardinal George's most recent column, printed in the Oct. 21st issue of the Chicago archdiocesan paper, The Catholic New World.  In the column, the Cardinal referenced his now "viral" quotation about dying in his bed etc., explaining the context and adding an additional line that is generally omitted when the quotation is repeated." 

 

The part of the quote this article is addressing is, "I expected to die in bed, my successor will die in prison and his successor will die a martyr in the public square."

 

Ellen sent this in:

 

MONDAY DIARY: ALMOST EXCRUSIATINGLY TRUE STORIES: THE PHONE CALL OF FORTUNE

A wonderful phone call came into the rectory this past week:

Well, it seemed almost that quick.  The desk is absolutely beautiful, solid wood, a nice antique.  And huge.  And heavy.  Even in a house of this size a lot of prep work needed to go in to making room for it.

 

There is no easy way to get anything into this house.  The driveway door is tiny and involves corners and steps so most large things like pianos and desks must be delivered through the front door.  Unfortunately there is no way to get to the front door and so such things must be carried from the street down a long and uneven sandstone path and up steps.  Fr. P and I are very grateful to the fellows who helped get this behemoth thing into the house.

 

And that is when the life sized game of checkers began.

 

So of course my desk had to moved and so Fr. P and I moved it out of my office and then carried the new desk in.  It was apparent almost from the start that it would not fit, so we moved that desk back out and moved the original desk back in.  Deciding that it might fit in his office better we moved his desk out and moved the new desk in.  But what to do with his desk?

 

We moved a desk out of the Chesterton Room in the west wing and moved it to the top floor where we have a new resident's room that needed furnishing and so went to move his old desk to fill the space now open in the Chesterton Room.  We fought winding stairs, many corners, and worst of all . . .

Small door ways.  There are three sizes of doors in this rectory: Ginormous, oddly narrow, and "Who in their right cotton-picking mind ever thought that a door this small would be useful?"

We twisted it, flipped it, wedged it, took the door off and . . . nothing.  It just wasn't going to happen.  So we finally resorted to taking the desk apart in order to make it fit.