Silent Servants...

Silent Servants...

... of the Used, Abused, and Utterly Screwed Up.

A Secular Franciscan looks at the world...
with a more jaundiced eye than ever...
and lots of ellipses for you to fill in the missing text...
(with thanks to Thomas S. Klise for the title)



Showing posts with label Catholic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Catholic. Show all posts

Saturday, August 31, 2013

Well, there it is



St. Callistus Catholic Church moves to Crystal Cathedral site

"St. Callistus families celebrate Mass on the former Crystal Cathedral grounds, embracing a new home nearly four times the size of their former place of worship."

I was surprised by the purchase, but it has gone ahead...


Wednesday, August 28, 2013

I'm sure

that there were lots of sermons on Sunday about discipline. We certainly need them.

The Joy of Discipline


Thursday, August 08, 2013



The Possible St. Gilbert Chesterton?

A move to make Chesterton a saint isn't a surprise of any sort. It's good news, as well, as far as I'm concerned...


Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Good article

The WWJD Stick

You may have to know a bit about American secular politics and American Catholic politics to follow the bases of the article, but Simcha Fisher lays things out pretty good.

Besides, how the heck would any of us know what Jesus would do in any specific situation? He spent his entire public ministry confounding people...


Wednesday, April 18, 2012

I want to see this







Benedictine nun who as young actress starred with Elvis returns to film

I've blogged about her before, but in a more general sense. I hope I can find a channel showing this. I wonder if HBO will be selling copies of it, particularly with it's notoriety as an unusual topic?

Speaking of notoriety, she seems (and I'm sure is) very secure in her vocation and in her faith. I certainly hope that this blip in her usual experiences don't hurt her or affect her in a negative way. Lord, bless Mother Dolores...


Thursday, March 29, 2012

A very good question


if you think about it from the perspective of a Communist leader who has been cut off, at least physically, from the closest 'democratic' neighbour for all these years.

Fidel Castro to Pope Benedict: “What does a pope do?”

In fact, I think a lot of Catholics would be able to pose the very same question, as illiterate of Church teachings and structure as they are...




Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Ah, my...

There will be as many positions on Development and Peace as there are Catholics...

Is D and P worth donating to? You decide

(Sarcasm on) Who cares if it does lots of good? If it doesn't have JMJ written on every communication it's not Catholic, and if it's not Catholic, well, can it really be from God? (Sarcasm off)

(Why not just be like certain Bishops (even a Canadian one I know of) and refuse to give D and P their money from the collections and go ahead and spend it on whatever said Bishop wants. He knows better than those do-gooders anyway! That's another solution.)


Tuesday, March 27, 2012

A moment of grace

delivered by an unexpected angel...

The Billboard of the Body


"What do you do when you have sucker written all over your forehead?"
Or a bruise on your lips from the foldback or bulldog clips?

Ask me, I know...


Friday, February 17, 2012

A nice light snack


Buying the Body of Christ

This is a very interesting article. You can see how it has been many things that have contributed to the declining vocations issue and the loss of work within the convents. Mind you, in our current culture it would be demeaning to think that it would have to be the women religious who make the hosts. An issue of human rights!

On another note, when my father and I were helping to remove discarded items from an old convent that was being torn down, we found a host mold and a bunch of host cutters. The mold was two engraved flat plates that were welded to the ends of two rods and put together like a clamp. The dough was placed between the plates and baked in an open oven, then taken out to cool while the process was repeated over and over. They were cut, with the round cutters, at some point. The 'new nuns', the 'nuns of the '60's and early '70's' were just throwing out these items of historical importance. We salvaged them, Dad had a case made for them and we donated them to a local museum that focuses on the early years of the province. A great save!


Thursday, January 12, 2012

A funny guy and his faith



He speaks of pain in the usual Catholic manner...

Colbert, comedy and the cross

...but the last line of the last quote of his, his words on manners, is something we all should take away from this.

Ignore the comments. Whether he's orthodox or heterodox in his beliefs is none of our business. Only if we are looking to him as an icon to follow would that matter. I can't believe the targets of interest of some moreCatholicthanthePope Catholics...


Wednesday, January 04, 2012

So, if they've got the majority


they've got the power.

Nigeria: The fundamentalists’ ultimatum. The appeal of Bishop Ayau Kaigama


"The Islamic group Boko Haram has given Christians three days to leave the north of the country. A bishop: “There are secret forces that move them.”"
Even if they don't have a majority, how do you deal with a religion that solves disputes or exerts the power it does have at the end of a gun?


Wednesday, December 28, 2011

I'm getting tired


of reading of and hearing people say that something someone else has said is 'hurtful', suggesting that therefore they shouldn't say it, because it might hurt someone's feelings. Anything someone says might hurt someone else's feelings. That doesn't make it a crime, or hateful.

Cardinal Francis George Warns That Chicago Gay Pride Parade Might 'Morph Into Ku Klux Klan'

They want to be respected. Are they going to parade past the church in a respectful manner or are they going to mock the Church, dress in clothes that are deliberately provocative, dress like gay nuns, and so on? The things they usually do at these parades? If they do, then they're the ones being hurtful. But that's OK because they're gay and Catholic bashing is an acceptable action. Hating Catholics is the last acceptable prejudice...


Friday, December 09, 2011

Either something unusual but natural happened



or somebody's fibbing...

Moruga Host did not bleed


"The red substance found on the wooden carving of the Host and chalice at the Rock River RC, Moruga is not blood."

Thursday, December 08, 2011

Are you interested


in how the Church is responding to the traditionalist Society of Saint Pius X?

Vatican newspaper addresses traditionalist concerns


"Essay examines questions about Vatican II, authority, and assent"

A well-written article by an essayist and Catholic apologist I really enjoy reading...


Tuesday, December 06, 2011

I feel very sorry


for American Catholic Republicans.

Why I Will No More Vote for Gingrich than Obama

Americans who reject Obama for whatever reason have no serious option in the Republican camp. So far all the candidates in that nomination race have been so bad as to be ludicrous. Now, that isn't simply a U.S. Republican phenomena. It appears to be happening the world over. Why are so many political hopefuls so bad?



Friday, December 02, 2011

The article says a lot

about the movement, but not a lot about the specific accusations...

The Community of the Beatitudes follows the path of the Legionaries

I'll wait for more information before having my own opinion on them. I've only heard about them in reference to other things, I've never heard much about them myself, so the article provides some useful information...


Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Now, if we only knew


who he really was and who really wrote his works...

Vatican newspaper says Shakespeare was secret Catholic

I'm willing to joyfully claim him as one of the flock (though I haven't any real right to do so, of course), but I'm not sure that there isn't just a little too much ambiguity about him, his identity, hiw works and everything else about him. I'm not a conspiracy theorist, I've just read too many contradictory theories...


Saturday, November 19, 2011

We all need to laugh...


Father James Martin’s Sublime Silliness

Really! Laughing is important to life, and so must be important to one's spiritual life. Everyone should read Anatomy of An Illness (as Perceived by the Patient) by Norman Cousins. I believe the paperback is still in print. It wasn't when I managed to find a copy, but I think it is now. I think it's a terribly important book for our society...



Monday, October 31, 2011

On this date,

in 1517,

Martin Luther

posted his '95 Theses' at the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany.

And so it truly began...