ORTHODIXIE ... Southern, Orthodox, Convert, Etc.

I said a hip hop
the hippie the hippie
to the hip hip hop, and you don't stop rockin'

to the bang bang boogie, say up jumped the boogie
to the rhythm of the boogie, the beat

now what you hear is not a test -- I'm rappin to the beat
and me, the groove, and my friends are gonna try to move your feet
see I am Wonder Mike and I'd like to say hello
to the black, to the white, the red, and the brown, the purple and yellow
but first I gotta bang bang the boogie to the boogie
say up jump the boogie to the bang bang boogie
let's rock, you don't stop
rock the riddle that will make your body rock

well so far you've heard my voice but I brought two friends along ...

With apologies to the Sugar Hill Gang.
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When the day of the Jewish Pentecost drew near, the disciples of Christ, returned from Galilee to Jerusalem.

On the fortieth day after the resurrection of Jesus Christ they were all together in one house. Jesus Christ appeared to them and spoke with them saying, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning with Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation. He who believes and is baptized will be save, but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in My name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover.”

Then the Saviour said to the disciples that soon the Holy Spirit would come upon them, and until that time He charged them not to depart from Jerusalem. He said, “I send the promise of My Father upon you; but stay in the city, until you are clothed with power from on high; for John baptized with water, but before many days you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Conversing with the disciples, the Saviour led them out of the city as far as Bethany, to the Mount of Olives. The disciples, overjoyed with the words of the Saviour, surrounded Him and started to ask, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom of Israel?”

The Saviour said to the them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons which the Father has fixed by His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.”

When He had said this, Jesus Christ lifted up His hands and blessed his disciples. While He blessed them, He parted from them and He was lifted up to Heaven, and soon a cloud took Him out of their sight.

Thus our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ ascended in His physical body to Heaven and sat down at the right Hand of God the Father. His human soul and body took on the indivisible glory with His divinity. In His divinity, He always is and will be in Heaven and everywhere.

The disciples worshiped the ascended Lord and for a long time continued to stand and gaze into Heaven after Him. Then two angels in white robes appeared before them and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into Heaven? This Jesus, Who was taken up from you into Heaven, will come to earth in the same way (that is, in the flesh), as you saw Him go into heaven.”

After this the disciples of Jesus Christ returned to Jerusalem with great joy and stayed there together, awaiting the descent of the Holy Spirit. All of them, together in soul, spent the time in prayers and were continually in the Temple of God, praising and thanking God. With them were several women and Mary, the Most-holy Mother of the Lord Jesus Christ, with their relatives.

In those days the apostles, prayerfully, by casting lots, chose from among the other disciples of Christ the twelfth apostle, Matthias, to take the place of Judas the betrayer, who perished.

Ascended to Heaven, Jesus Christ, according to His own promise, invisibly always comes to earth among those who believe in Him and will come again to earth in a visible form to judge the living and the dead, who will then rise from the dead. After this will begin the life of the next age, another, eternal life which for true believers and pious people will be completely blessed, but for disbelievers and sinners will be a time of great torment.

Notes: See the Gospels of Mark 16:15-19 and Luke 24:46-53; Acts of the Apostles 1, 2:4-26.

The Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ is celebrated by the Holy Orthodox Church as one of the Great Feasts, on the fortieth day after Pascha. [This year, 2006, Ascension is June 1st.]

TROPARION of the FEAST

Thou didst ascend in glory, O Christ our God, having gladdened Thy disciples with the promise of the Holy Spirit; and they were assured by the blessing that Thou art the Son of God, the Redeemer of the world.

(Taken from THE LAW OF GOD - For Study at Home and School, compiled by Archpriest Seraphim Slobodskoy (First English Edition, 1994), pp. 378-380.)
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I have cleaned up my interview with Richard Petranek so that it is now a stand-alone piece.

Again, those wishing to learn more about the structure, style, and history of the Western Rite Vicariate of the Antiochian Archdiocese can visit their website. You may also visit these sites: general info, kalendar, and directory.

Also, for a ton of good answers to tough questions, go HERE.
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Just when you thought you'd heard it all ...

... comes the best cover up in history.

Reminds me of this story.
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Kneeling "is clearly rebellion, grave disobedience and mortal sin," Father Martin Tran, pastor at St. Mary's by the Sea, told his flock in a recent church bulletin. The Diocese of Orange backs Tran's anti-kneeling edict.

Since at least the 7th century, Catholics have been kneeling after the Agnus Dei, the point during Mass when the priest holds up the chalice and consecrated bread and says, "Behold the lamb of God." But four years ago, the Vatican revised its instructions, allowing bishops to decide at some points in the Mass whether their flocks should get on their knees. "The faithful kneel … unless the Diocesan Bishop determines otherwise," says Rome's book of instructions. Since then, some churches have been built without kneelers.

At the center of the controversy is the church's concept of Christ, said Jesuit Father Lawrence J. Madden, director of the Georgetown Center for Liturgy at Georgetown University in Washington. It's a question raised in the bestselling book "The Da ..."

More to it.

HT: NewsForum
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From Fr Mark Mancuso

On this Sunday, that before the Feast of the Ascension of Christ, the Church recalls to our attention the Gospel of the man born blind. There are two points here that I would particularly like to remark on.

First, the words of Christ about why the man was born blind. Replying to His disciples, He says that his blindness was not because the man sinned, or his parents, but so that the works of God be made manifest in him. In other words, according to our Lord Himself, illness or handicap do not always occur on account of personal sin or the sin of others, but they may be providentially allowed for the glory of God to shine forth.

We can see this in the lives of some disadvantaged people. They find their disadvantage to be a challenge, a challenge that may bring out the best in them. We can think for example of certain Downs Syndrome children who are unbelievably kind and loving, far more so than if they had been born 'normal'. We can also think of some blind people who, having lost one sense, have refined another sense almost to perfection, and show an understanding of the inner self that the sighted do not have. We can all think of examples of incredible courage and love among disadvantaged people. Why? Because the grace of God is upon them: 'the works of God are made manifest in them'.

On the other hand, we can also think of people with great 'advantages'. For instance, there are extremely beautiful women or very wealthy men who are quite unable to find wedded happiness. They are rather surrounded by those who have no interest in them as people, but only wish to take base advantage of their skin-deep looks or their bank accounts. We can also think of particularly intelligent and educated people,whose intelligence has 'gone to their heads', and they have become extraordinarily pretentious and silly, laughing-stocks before the face of the world. Thus their advantages become their greatest handicaps, hindrances to any sort of happiness.

In the case of the man born blind, all his life had been but a preparation for his meeting with Christ. Not only was his soul pure enough, refined by his lifelong handicap, to receive healing from the Lord, but also he confessed Him as the Son of God, thus making the works of God manifest in himself.

Firstly, the Pharisees, who were truly blind because they forbade healing and good works on the Sabbath, questioned him and intimidated him and his parents and then cast him out. And he witnessed to them that, 'I know not whether Jesus be a sinner or not; one thing I know; I was blind, now I see'.

Secondly, he added: 'If He were not of God, he could do nothing'.

And finally he confessed that he believed that Christ is the Son of God - one of the first in the Gospels to do so.

The judgment of the man born blind was then sound. He can teach us how to judge, or rather discern, others - by their fruits. If we, or others, are of God, then we shall last and bear good fruit, for if any is not of God, he can do nothing. And if any is of God, then he will finish by bearing witness to the Divinity of Christ.

The second thing that we should notice in today's Gospel is the way in which Christ healed. He spat on the earth and 'made clay of the spittle'. We note this for every sacrament of the Church heals in the selfsame manner:

Clay cannot heal the blind and yet with the breath of God, it becomes the container for the healing grace of God.

Water cannot heal and yet the water of baptism heals because the blessed water bears the Holy Spirit. Oil cannot heal and yet the oil of chrismation and unction heal because they are filled with the grace of God.

A piece of cloth cannot heal and yet a priest's stole can heal through the grace of Christ at the sincere confession of sins and the repentant intention not to sin again.

Bread and wine cannot heal and yet bread and wine transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ heal through the Holy Spirit.

Wood and paint cannot heal and yet icons can heal by the Holy Spirit Who penetrates into their material essence and radiates grace from them.

Smoke cannot heal and yet incense burnt brings healing through the blessing of Christ.

Christ teaches us then that all things can be used for our healing and benefit and salvation, but that they must first be touched by His grace.

In this way our bodies, mere flesh and bones and blood, can become containers of Christ. Our souls activated, we can become lamps of the Holy Spirit; the eyes of our souls, the doors of perception, become seeing, and we see the whole of God's Creation as it really is. We see that every blade of grass and every hill, every tree and every cloud, every drop of rain and every ocean, all creatures and all people, are miracles of God's handiwork, signs of His sacramental presence among us, and we see that we live not in the banal, everyday world, but in potential Paradise, the world as it really is, as God made it first, for we see God the Creator behind all things and all people.

And then we too, together with the man born blind, can say: 'I was blind, now I see'.
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Persecution and martyrdom of Christians under 20th century totalitarianism—mainly of Russian Orthodox Christians under Bolshevism—is by far the greatest crime in all of recorded history. It is several times greater than the Holocaust in terms of innocent lives brutally destroyed. It has killed more Christians in a few decades than all other causes put together in all ages, with Islam a distant second as the cause of their death and suffering. And yet it still remains a largely unknown, often minimized, or scandalously glossed over crime.

According to the respected and reliable OUP World Christian Encyclopedia (2001), there have been many more Christian martyrs in the 20th century—over 45 million—than in all of the preceding 19 centuries of Christianity. Of that number, some 32 million were killed by “atheists” and over 9 million by Muslims.

More to the story.

Thanks to blog reg, Paul.


Remember the notice about the movie, The God Who Wasn't There?

Well, here's an update.

Thanks to blog reg, Robert.




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Un. Real.

All the speculation, the books, the seminars, the movies ...

To decipher the meaning behind the Number of the Beast.

Could it be so easy?

HT: NewsForum


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With a surname like Petranek, you don’t immediately think Anglican. But if people can look Anglican, Richard Petranek used to. Maybe that’s because the first time I met him he was in the clerical dress of an Episcopal priest. These days he comes to church dressed in a suit and tie. Since renouncing his orders in the Episcopal Church, especially now that he is enrolled as an Orthodox catechumen, I’d have to say he looks merely distinguished. Soon, God willing, he’ll once again be dressed as a priest – only this time he’ll be Orthodox. Doesn’t “Petranek” sound Orthodox? He will serve as the founding priest of Houston’s new Western Rite Orthodox mission.

I sat down with Richard Petranek recently and the following interview is presented in hopes of introducing him and his vision to those in the Houston area and beyond. Petranek, who served as a priest in PECUSA for nearly 33 years, is well aware that the Western Rite might not be everyone’s cup of tea. But, what I came away with more than anything else is that Richard Petranek is a pastor. He cares about people, the flock. He believes he is on a journey through Faith, within the True Church, to Christ and His Kingdom.

When did you first encounter Orthodoxy?

“I began reading about Orthodoxy in seminary. In 1974, Fr Alexander Schmemann had an article in TIME magazine. It caught my attention and I wrote to him. What impressed me most was ... humility. This great man, who did not know me at all, wrote back. Not only that, but it was a hand-written letter! I’ve been searching for that old correspondence recently – but, I remember it dealt with ‘realizing Theology by Communion’.”

Why did it take you so long to come home to Orthodoxy?

“Politics. I’ll be honest, I got into the politics of the church. It was only later – much later – that I came to the realization that I was so involved in politics that I’d lost my soul.”

I’m sure there are some that would name their favorite ecclesiastical “ill” and say, “Dick, why on earth did it take you so long?”

“For me, the issue was order. In almost 35 years I’d witnessed a complete turn-around in the established order of the church. The role of the Bishop had changed from Chief Pastor to Chief Administrator. This, I believed, was a tragedy because, historically, Anglicanism was orthodox. Yet, in the US, the church seems to have lost its roots. I was but a few years away from retirement. But, in the end, I asked my wife: ‘What are we fighting for? We don’t believe this way.’”

When did you begin this journey? Where are you now?

“I’d been meeting, off and on, with Fr John Salem for the past five years. A few months ago I renounced my Orders in the Episcopal Church. Since that time, my wife, Elaine, and I have been on an incredible journey! We’ve traveled to several Western Rite parishes and worshiped regularly with the Houston Antiochian parishes, St George & St Joseph. We have about 40 souls making the journey with us. Elaine and I, along with many others, were enrolled as Catechumens at St Joseph’s earlier this month.”

How does your wife feel about all this?

“She loves it! Our first meeting with Bishop BASIL was so refreshing for her. It was such a change to talk solely about spiritual health as opposed to social issues. The bishop was concerned about her soul! She’s loving it. I say all this with the understanding that by leaving PECUSA I’ve forfeited many benefits; we’ve sold our home, our car, our boat ... And we are in a better place, spiritually, than we’ve ever been.”

Why the Western Rite?

“My culture. I’d served as a priest for so long ... it makes sense to me. It makes sense to my people. To my mind, the purpose of the Western Rite is to reach out to those who are familiar with Western practice – seeking the True Faith of the Apostolic Church as found in Orthodoxy.”

What sort of folks do you believe are attracted to the Western Rite mission?

“Those who appreciate the historicity of the Church – who know the struggles of the early Church and how She was reconciled when there were differences. I mean, there’s nothing new under the sun. All the problems we see plaguing various Christian groups today have been around from the beginning.”

What version of the Western Rite will you be using? Music, etc?

“We will use the St Tikhon’s Liturgy and that of St Gregory, along with the St Ambrose Hymnal.”

Is it true that key figures in the Orthodox Church, past and present, are opposed to the Western Rite?

“Yes!”

How do proponents of the Western Rite respond?

“My Bishop, my Metropolitan, and my Patriarch support it – that’s good enough for me. Antioch was always the center of missionary outreach. The Western Rite is part of the missionary outreach of Orthodoxy. It was in Antioch that St Paul began his three missionary journeys. He didn’t let cultural differences change the essence of the Faith. We see our mission in the same light.”

Someone posed the question: “If ten years from now – for any reason or no reason – the Western Rite was abolished or folded into the Eastern Rite, where do you think that would leave your parish and long-term faithful?”

“They’d go to the Eastern Rite. I can’t see myself convincing someone to be Western Rite as opposed to Eastern Rite. The theology is the same, the expression is different. I also can’t tell you how freeing it is to be under a bishop who is concerned for the salvation of souls. The person is extremely important in Orthodoxy – that’s where the emphasis is ... not primarily in getting bogged down in social issues, agendas, and debates. I know what my bishop believes. It’s what I believe!”

When is your first worship service as the Western Rite Orthodox mission in Houston?

“June 4th. We’ll have Matins at 10:00 AM, followed by Christian Education.”

After you all are received into the Church, what will be your worship schedule?

Matins, 9 AM
Eucharist, 10 AM
Church School, 11 AM

I also hope to institute a mid-week Liturgy as well.

Finally, where will you be meeting?

"Beginning Sunday, June 4th, we'll be meeting at:
11749 Memorial Drive next to Ninfa's Restaurant
(between Dairy Ashford and Eldrige)."

Contact: Houstonwesternriteorthodox@yahoo.com

The worship of Western Rite Orthodox parishes may look and sound a whole lot different than the more common Eastern Rite of the Church. At first glance, it may even resemble Anglican worship. Then again, one could ask: What does Orthodoxy look like? What does it sound like?
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To My Beloved Clergy and Laity of the Syrian Greek-Orthodox Catholic Church in North America:

Greetings in Christ Jesus, Our Incarnate Lord and God.

My Beloved Brethren:

Two years ago, while I was a Vice-President and member of the Anglican and Eastern Orthodox Churches Union, being moved with compassion for my children in the Holy Orthodox faith "once and for all delivered to the Saints" (St Jude ver. 3), scattered throughout the whole of North America and deprived of the ministrations of the Church; and especially in places far removed from Orthodox centres; and being equally moved with a feeling that the Protestant Episcopal (Anglican) Church possessed largely the Orthodox faith, as many prominent clergy professed the same to me before I studied deeply their doctrinal authorities and their liturgy -- the "Book of Common Prayer" -- I wrote a letter as the Bishop and Head of the Syrian Catholic Mission in North America, giving permission, in which I said that in extreme cases, where no Orthodox priest could be called upon at short notice, the ministrations of the Portestant Episcopal (Anglican) clergy might be kindly asked. However, I was most explicit in defining when and how the ministrations should be accepted, and also what exceptions should be made. In writing that letter I hoped, on the one hand, to help my people spiritually, and, on the other hand, to open the way toward bringing the Anglicans into the communion of the Holy Orthodox faith.

On hearing and in reading that my letter, perhaps unitnentionally, was misconstrued by some of the Episcopalian (Anglican) Clergy, I wrote a second letter in which I pointed out that my instructions and exceptions had been either overlooked or ignored by many, to wit:

(a) They (the Episcopalians) informed the Orthodox people that I recognized the Anglican Communion (Protestant Episcopal Church) as being united with the Holy Orthodox Church and their ministry, that is holy orders, as valid.

(b) The Episcopal (Anglican) Clergy offered their ministrations even when my Orthodox clergy were residing in the same towns and parishes, as pastors. And,

(c) Protestant Episcopal clergy said there was no need of Orthodox people seeking the ministrations of their own Orthodox priests, for their (the Anglican) ministrations were all that were necessary.

I, therefore, felt bound by all the circumstances to make a thorough study of the Anglican Church's faith and orders as well as of her discipline and ritual. After serious consideration I realized that is was my honest duty, as a member of the College of Bishops of the Holy Orthodox Greek Apostolic Church, and Head of the Syrian Mission in North America, to resign from the vice-presidency of and membership in the Anglican and Eastern Orthodox Churches Union. At the same time, I set forth, in my letter of resignation, my reason for so doing.

I am convinced that the doctrinal teaching and practices as well as the discipline of the whole Anglican Church are unacceptable to the Holy Orthodox Church. I make this apology for the Anglicans whom as Christian gentlemen I greatly revere, that the loose teaching of a great many of the prominent Anglican theologians are so hazy in their definition of truths, and so inclined toward pet heresies that it is hard to tell what they believe. The Anglican Church as a whole has not spoken authoritatively on her doctrine. Her Catholic minded members can call out her doctrines from many views, but so nebulistic is her pathway in the doctrinal world that those who would extend a hand of both Christian and ecclesiastical fellowship dare not, without distrust, grasp the hand of her theologians, for while many are orthodox on some points, they are quite heterodox on others. I speak, of course, from the Holy Orthodox Eastern Catholic point of view. The Holy Orthodox Church has never perceptibly changed from Apostolic times, and, therefore, no one can go astray in finding out what she teaches. Like her Lord and Master, though at times surrounded with human malaria -- which He in mercy pardons -- she is "the same yesterday, and today, and forever" (Hebrews 8:8) ... the mother and safe deposit of "the truth as it is in Jesus" (Eph.4:21).

[Here St Raphael details differences between Orthodoxy and Anglicanism with regard to the number, substance, and ministration of the Sacraments.]

I do not deem it necessary to mention all the striking differences between the Holy Orthodox Church and the Anglican Communion in reference to the authority of holy tradition, the number of the General Councils, etc. Sufficient has already been said and pointed out to show that the Anglican Communion differs but little from all other Protestant bodies, and, therefore, there cannot be any intercommunion until she returns to the ancient holy Orthodox Faith and practices, and rejects Protestant omissions and commissions.

Therefore, as the official head of the Syrian Holy Orthodox Catholic Apostolic Church in North America and as one who must "give an account" (Hebrews 13:17) before the judgment throne of the "Shepherd and Bishop of Souls" (1 Peter 2:25), that I have fed the "flock of God" (1 Peter 5:2), as I have been commissioned by the Holy Orthodox Church, and inasmuch as the Anglican Communion (Protestant Episcopal Church of the United States) does not differ in things vital to the well being of the Holy Orthodox Church from some of the most arrant Protestant sects, I direct all Orthodox people residing in any community not to seek or to accept the ministrations of the Sacraments and rites from an clergy excepting those of the Holy Orthodox Catholic and Apostolic Church, for the Apostolic command, that the Orthodox should not commune in ecclesiastical matters with those who are not of "the same household of Faith" (Galatians 6:10), is clear: "Any Bishop; or presbyter or deacon who will pray with heretics, let him be anathematiezed; and if he allows them as clergymen to perform any service, let him be deposed" (Apostolic Canon 45). "Any bishop, or presbyter, who accepts baptism or the Holy Sacrifice from heretics, we order such to be deposed, for 'what concord hath Christ with Belial, or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?'" (Apostolic Canon 46).

As to members of the Holy Orthodox Church living in districts beyond the reach of Orthodox Catholic clergy, I direct that the ancient custom of our Holy Church be observed, namely, in cases of extreme necessity, that is, danger of death, children may be baptized by some pious Orthodox layman, or even by the parent of the child, by immersion three times in the names of the (persons of the) Blessed Trinity, and in case of death such baptism is valid: -- but, if the child should live, it must be brought to an Orthodox priest for the Sacrament of Chrismation.

In the case of the death of an Orthodox person where no priest of the Holy Orthodox Church can be had, a pious layman may read over the corpse, for the comfort of the relatives and the instruction of the persons present, Psalm 91 and Psalm 118, and add thereto the Trisagion ("Holy God, Holy Strong One," etc). But be it noted that so soon as possible the relative must notify some Orthodox bishop or priest and request him to say the Liturgy and Requiem for the repose of the soul of the departed in his Cathedral or parish Church.

As to Holy Matrimony, if there be any parties united in wedlock outside the pale of the holy Orthodox Church because of the remoteness of Orthodox centers from their home, I direct that as soon as possible they either invite an Orthodox priest or go to where he resides and receive from his hands the holy Sacrament of Matrimony; otherwise they will be considered excommunicated until they submit unto the Orthodox Church's rule.

I further direct that Orthodox Christians should not make it a practice to attend the services of other religious bodies, so that there be no confusion as to the teaching or doctrines. Instead, I order that the head of each household, or a member, may read the special prayers which can be found in the hours of the Holy Orthodox Service Book, and such other devotional books as have been set forth by the authority of the Holy Orthodox Church.

Commending our clergy and laity unto the safe-keeping of Jesus Christ, and praying that the Holy Spirit may keep us all in the truth and extend the Borders of the Holy Orthodox Faith, I remain.

Your affectionate Servant in Christ,

RAPHAEL
Bishop of Brooklyn, Head of the Syrian
Greek Orthodox Catholic Mission in America

[Issued late in the year 1912; taken from an old book, “The Most Useful KNOWLEDGE for the Orthodox Russian-American Young People,” compiled by the Very Rev’d Peter G. Kohanik, 1932-1934 (pp. 297-303).]
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If you could ask questions of someone who is starting a Western Rite Mission ... what would you ask? Please comment below, ASAP. Results soon to follow ...
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In truth, we’re all converts. We are called to convert to Christ daily: “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3). Thus we know that there’s no such thing as being “born Orthodox.” But when people use that term, or Cradles, we know what they mean. Hopefully the same may be said of these labels: Converts, Reverts, and Retreads. Convert refers to those of us who have come home to Holy Orthodoxy, having been reared outside the Church. Reverts were reared in the Church only to leave the fold, usually for some other Christian group, and return later. Retreads are those men who were ordained elsewhere, only to later be ordained in the Orthodox Church. Converts, Reverts, and Retreads thought they understood the Truth, only to find out differently through Faith. By hook or crook, usually with great stumbling, they have found the Orthodox Church. All are Orthodox, nonetheless.

Whatever our backgrounds, there’s much that we understand about each other. However there’s a lot that gets lost in translation. It’s one thing for American Converts to adopt new recipes, foreign phrases, and customs; it’s another for Cradles to understand where the Converts are coming from and why. It’s another thing entirely when Converts start speaking with a foreign accent! And the clergy who must shepherd this colorful flock? God help them!

For those of us who have found Orthodox Christianity after much struggle, there’s an initial period of euphoria that just plain knocks us off our feet. It is a time of new discovery, fresh insight, and incredible buoyancy. This may be hard for our Cradle brothers and sisters to fully appreciate. It can be a fun, exciting, and exasperating time for everyone.

As with all things outside of Paradise this initial phase of conversion doesn’t last. And it is the crucial “next phase” of the journey that can get a little nutty. More than one Convert has experienced the “two year itch” (or 3, 4, or 5-year itch). During this phase, some time after being received into the Church, the incense, chanting, vestments, and icons just don’t sustain one’s enthusiasm as they once did.

This sort of struggle is foreign to most Cradles. Sure, they may fall away from the Faith or their church community. But, due to family, ethnic, and old-country ties, most stay the course through thick and thin, feast and famine, no matter how low their spiritual zeal. Not so, the American Convert. Having struggled toward Orthodoxy valiantly and having been buoyed by the experience temporarily, this new and harder struggle can be severely underwhelming. This phase may prove too difficult for some and, unfortunately, they may end up leaving the Church. For those who make it over this hump, the fullness of the Orthodox Faith is often appreciated in a new and unshakeable light.

In the midst of this, there are personal stories to be told. It is my hope that in publishing some of these tales and pastoral issues we might all, Cradles and Converts alike, better understand each other, even share a laugh or two, as we struggle toward the Kingdom together.

Order from Regina Orthodox Press.

Signed copies available via email request. :)
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Unless I detox myself of all reactionary tendencies (major, major endeavor) this blog may never become a DVC-Free Zone. The residue of that oil spill continues.

For instance, Madonna. Slamming Christianity is in vogue these days. Ranks right up there with being anti-Bush. In fact, the two usually go hand in hand. Eventually, if not immediately, it do get tiresome.

In the same vein, The Da Vinci Code phenomenon certainly allows for many "teaching moments." Yet, it may just wear us all out. Sort of like Disco. It was fun for a while ... but you just can't boogie-oogie-oogie ALL the time!

Here in Houston, the Fine Arts Museum has been showcasing the works of Xul Solar. I've walked through it several times -- and, though not my favorite, have enjoyed it. My soon-to-be-12-year-old toured the museum with me one day and after about 30 minutes viewing Solar's works she said, "Dad ... uh, I think this guy had a lot of problems ... and he just wanted the world to know it."

Can't that be said about much of what passes (perhaps always has past) for Art?

"I've got problems. Real problems. Here ... let me show you."

Exhibitionists are always able to find willing voyeurs, and vice versa. This is never more true than in our moor-less age of apostasy and anarchy. I'm not sure if right-believing Christians are supposed to simply ignore it, speak up, or -- of course -- pray more.

Reading the lives of the Saints one could get the idea that, compared to their words and deeds concerning heresy, we are lukewarm. As Scarlett O'Hara said: "Tomorrow is another day."

But is it? When is the day that turns the corner past all reason? Then again, my typical thought on seeing Christians up in arms and protesting is: "Oh. My. Gosh." And, like the Pharisee, I secretly thank God I'm not like them.

Inaction can be viewed as sophistication. Perhaps, in God's eyes, too smart by half.

When I was a kid, someone gave us a dog named "Satan." He ran away. How do you pray for "Satan?"

I have a similar struggle when it is suggested that I pray for "Madonna."
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Not long ago a farmer went to the city one weekend and attended the big city church. He came home and his wife asked him how it was. "Well," said the farmer, "It was good. They did something different, however. They sang praise choruses instead of hymns."

"Praise choruses," said his wife, "What are those?"

"Oh, they're okay. They're sort of like hymns, only different," said the farmer.

""Well, what's the difference?" asked his wife.

The farmer said, "Well it's like this - If I were to say to you:

`Martha, the cows are in the corn,' well that would be a hymn. If, on the other hand, I were to say to you:

`Martha Martha, Martha, Oh, Martha, MARTHA, MARTHA,
the cows, the big cows, the brown cows, the black cows,
the white cows, the black and white cows,
the COWS, COWS, COWS are in the corn,
are in the corn, are in the corn, are in the corn,
the CORN, CORN, CORN,'

Then, if I were to repeat the whole thing two or three times, well that would be a praise chorus."

(author unknown - from an email circulated a few years ago)

Forgive me ... but, more here.

Thanks to FWD from Symeon.
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According to Matt Drudge, this is the way Madonna opens her latest tour.

Perhaps it speaks volumes about contemporary society -- or just me -- but, the thought that overwhelmed me was:

Who cares?

(For those who do.)

Lord have mercy.
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"I don't need someone to interpret God for me," Mr. Jacobs said. "When I want to commune with others, I go to church."

Maria Bolden, 42, a customer service representative for a cable company, said after seeing the movie, "If marriage is such a sacred sacrament, why is it such a problem for Jesus to have married?"

"The Catholic Church has hidden a lot of things — proof about the actual life of Jesus, about who wrote the Bible," said Ricardo Henriquez, 25, the associate director of a senior center in the Bronx, as he waited for the Da Vinci screening to begin. "All these people — the famous Luke, Mark and John — how did they know so much about Jesus' life? If there was a Bible, who created it and how many times has it been changed?"

Mr. Henriquez, by the way, is a Catholic who was baptized and confirmed in the church, went to Sunday school for six years, and still attends Mass twice a month.

(I kid you not.)

Source.

HT: NewsForum

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"The issue for me is that God seems to be on the wrong side of most issues," Spong said in a telephone interview. "The public God we see today is mostly opposed to abortion and gay and lesbian people, and I find that really rather fascinating."

Thirty-some years ago, God was mostly mentioned in the context of the anti-war and civil rights movements, Spong said.

"That was the public voice of Christianity," he said. "Now it's the Religious Right, centered in the South and basically homophobic and anti-female."

Source.
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by Archpriest Victor Potapov

Today's Gospel excerpt (John 4: 5-42), brought to our attention by the Holy Church on the 4th Sunday after Pascha, relates Christ’s discussion with the Samaritan woman. The Lord tells her of some "living water" He possesses, and which He could give her to drink. It is a special kind of water, with the capacity to slake thirst forever, and to one who drinks of it appears a "well of water springing up into eternal life." What is that miraculous water, that life-giving water of life? That water is LOVE. For God, the wellspring and source and of all life, is Love. The Holy Apostle St. John the Theologian says "God is love, and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him." (I John 4: 16).

Love is the foundation and essence of the Holy Trinity: The Father loves the Son and the Son loves the Father. The Holy Spirit is the Personal, Hypostatic Love of the Father for the Son and of the Son for the Father. It was out of love that God called the world from out of non-existence. God’s Creation was founded on love, and it is by God’s love that it lives. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3: 16). For man’s salvation - God not only loves His creation and unceasingly provides for it, God not only offers Himself as a sacrifice for mankind’s salvation, but He also asks love of us. So to speak, He needs our love. Of the Samaritan woman, the Lord asks, "Give me to drink!" On the Cross, he is to say "I thirst!"

He gave man the Commandment of love. In fact, love is not even a Commandment; rather it is a condition of life, a requisite of our existence. The Holy Apostle James teaches us, "Faith without works is dead!" (James 3: 20) Christ’s suffering on the Cross was not so much physical pain as it was the pain of enduring the evil of the world, the scarcity of love in mankind. With our wars, our hatred, our squabbling, and our dislike of one another, we insult God’s love, cause Him sorrow, and bring Him new pain.

Love is jealous. Love needs to be requited. Therefore God, Who is Love, is a jealous God. In the Old Testament, we learn that His Name is "Jealous."(Exodus 34: 14).

Christ awaits and expects our love, and asks us for it. Through the mouths of those in prisons, in hospitals, in need and in suffering, He asks us for a cup of cool water. (Matthew 10: 42).

And right now, today, Christ’s words to Photini the Samaritan woman and the request repeated on the Cross, continue to sound out to us: "Give Me to drink!" "I thirst!"

Source

+ + +

TODAY is also the Feast of Saints Constantine & Helena.
More ...
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And who was the elderly looking, slightly hunched-over man with a long white beard and flowing black robe ...?

He was not just someone who’d come in traditional formal wear. It was Archbishop Varnava of Cannes, who walked the red carpet [at the Cannes Film Festival] like all the other celebrities.

The bishop of an exiled Russian Orthodox community came to give his blessing to “The Da Vinci Code,” and pronounced it safe for consumption.

Audience members were surprised that Varnava was so accessible, and ready to tell anyone who asked that he approved of Ron Howard’s film.

Source.

Thanks to email from David Stone.

I believe it was Fr Peter Gillquist who said: "Shine a light bright enough and even the bugs will come!"
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By now, most of you are aware of the passing of Church historian, and Orthodox Convert, Jaroslav Pelikan. A parishioner had forwarded me his obit; I did not post it at the time as I'd already read about Dr Pelikan's passing here, there, and yon. That said, THIS is a worthy read.

The Rev. John H. Erickson, dean of St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary, in Westchester County, said ... that Dr. Pelikan had "likened his path to Orthodoxy to that of a pilot who kept circling the airport, looking for a way to land."

May his memory be eternal!
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A little humour for a Saturday. Just the messenger here; this comes from a FWD from a parishioner. It appears to be an expanded version of one I've seen. I have taken some editorial liberties. Warning: No toes are safe with these cows! Enjoy!

DEMOCRATIC

You have two cows.
Your neighbor has none.
You feel guilty for being successful.
Barbara Streisand sings for you.

REPUBLICANISM

You have two cows.
Your neighbor has none.
So?

SOCIALISM

You have two cows.
The government takes one and gives it to your neighbor.
You form a cooperative to tell him how to manage his cow.

COMMUNISM

You have two cows.
The government seizes both and provides you with milk.
You wait in line for hours to get it.
It is expensive and sour.

CAPITALISM, AMERICAN STYLE

You have two cows.
You sell one, buy a bull, and build a herd of cows.

BUREAUCRACY, AMERICAN STYLE

You have two cows.
Under the new farm program the government pays you to shoot one, milk
the other, and then pours the milk down the drain.

AMERICAN CORPORATION

You have two cows.
You sell one, lease it back to yourself and do an IPO on the 2nd one.
You force the two cows to produce the milk of four cows. You are
surprised when one cow drops dead. You spin an announcement to the
analysts stating you have downsized and are reducing expenses.
Your stock goes up.

FRENCH CORPORATION

You have two cows.
You go on strike because you want three cows.
You go to lunch and drink wine.
Life is good.

JAPANESE CORPORATION

You have two cows.
You redesign them so they are one-tenth the size of an ordinary cow
and produce twenty times the milk.
They learn to travel on unbelievably crowded trains.
Most are at the top of their class at cow school.

GERMAN CORPORATION

You have two cows.
You engineer them so they are all blond, drink lots of beer, give
excellent quality milk, and run a hundred miles an hour.
Unfortunately they also demand 13 weeks of vacation per year.

ITALIAN CORPORATION

You have two cows but you don't know where they are.
While ambling around, you see a beautiful woman.
You break for lunch.
Life is good.

RUSSIAN CORPORATION

You have two cows.
You have some vodka.
You count them and learn you have five cows.
You have some more vodka.
You count them again and learn you have 42 cows.
The Mafia shows up and takes over however many cows you really have.

TALIBAN CORPORATION

You have all the cows in Afghanistan, which are two.
You don't milk them because you cannot touch any creature's private parts.
You get a $40 million grant from the US government to find
alternatives to milk production but use the money to buy weapons.

IRAQI CORPORATION

You have two cows.
They go into hiding.
They send radio tapes of their mooing.

POLISH CORPORATION

You have two bulls.
Employees are regularly maimed and killed attempting to milk them.

BELGIAN CORPORATION

You have one cow.
The cow is schizophrenic.
Sometimes the cow thinks he's French, other times he's Flemish.
The Flemish cow won't share with the French cow.
The French cow wants control of the Flemish cow's milk.
The cow asks permission to be cut in half.
The cow dies happy.

FLORIDA CORPORATION

You have a black cow and a brown cow.
Everyone votes for the best looking one.
Some of the people who actually like the brown one best accidentally vote for the black one.
Some people vote for both.
Some people vote for neither.
Some people can't figure out how to vote at all.
Finally, a bunch of guys from out-of-state tell you which one you
think is the best-looking cow.
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The best response to The Da Vinci Code -- besides derisive laughter -- is a boycott. Resist the urge to determine just how bad it is by buying a ticket. You'll only be rewarding the perpetrators -- perhaps encouraging The Da Vinci Code: Part II, wherein Dan Brown reveals that Jesus was really married to Lazarus.

I stole the zinger, but it's all good.

Thanks to FWD from blog reg, Keith.
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As a participant in The Da Vinci Challenge, I was invited to an advanced screening of the much anticipated, much hyped, movie version of Dan Brown's bonkers-selling book. I don't usually go to movies. Don't watch television. Don't have Cable. Just plain don't get out much. So when a free offer pops up ... hey. Why not? I'd reluctantly read the book. I'd written several review installments. I'd even taught a semester long Adult Ed Class on the fallacies of The Da Vinci Code. "Ya know," I thought, "I believe I'll go."

I began to fantasize about the creative direction of the movie review. Perhaps I could weave some mystery into the review itself. Heck, given the negative press that spewed out of the Cannes Film Festival, I even started feeling sorry for Opie. I mean, Opie! Like Stephen King's CUJO, a rabid dog who loved his human family -- but killed them nonetheless -- face it, if you've suffered through that book, you know what I mean. You start to feel for the dog! He's terrorizing folks and committing murder ... but, he has feelings, too! Ron Howard and Tom Hanks are good people. So what if they made a bad movie about the Church being a liar and Jesus being a Daddy? All the hype, the expectation, the rumination, the preparation, and then ... the press! Bless their hearts!

But when you read Stephen King's On Writing you discover that ol' Steve was nightly downing a case of tall-boys back in those days and didn't even recall writing the bestseller "Cujo". I can only imagine that about the time the midnight oil was burnt and the cans were squished, that's when King got morose and put feelings into that rabid dog -- and by telepathy planted them in readers' heads. Bless our hearts! But I digress ...

My wife had even agreed to accompany me to the advanced screening of The Da Vinci Code. That was a surprise. She'd never shown the least interest in reading the book.

But, before I get to my movie review, several things happened on the way to the theater.

1) I read many of the negative reviews. They made me happy. Thank God!

2) Having participated, willingly, in The Da Vinci Challenge, I'd often read articles posted by the other "experts" on that site. It was kinda cool. I found common ground with brothers and sisters way outside of my normal circle. Till yesterday. Yesterday, I read this piece by Erwin Raphael McManus. In conclusion, he writes:

"Perhaps what I love most about the controversy created by The Da Vinci Code is that it exposes how the institutional church has corrupted the message and mission of Jesus Christ. It has clouded in secrecy and hypocrisy what should have remained a simple message of acceptance, forgiveness, and freedom."

Looks to me like he's taking a swipe at Catholics -- including Orthodox. That was a turn-off. I was close to pouting. By golly, I'd been had, Cujo! (Bless my heart.)

3) I had lunch with an Orthodox catechumen (someone on the journey toward entry into the Church) and mentioned that I was planning to attend the advance showing. I felt wrong saying it. I felt even wronger watching his face hearing me say it.

4) I read Frederica's review.

That last was the kicker. I like Mama Fred and Mama Fred sees lots of movies.

Frederica's patron is St Felicity.

St Felicity was arrested for her faith, she was ordered to worship pagan gods; she refused. Her sons were arrested and given the same order; they refused. After a series of appeals, they were ordered executed by emperor Antoninus. Felicity was forced to watch as her children were murdered one by one; after each one she was given the chance to denouce her faith.
Source

Remember the Three Dog Night song ... Mama Told Me Not to Come? Well, there you have it.

Truth is, a lot of people in every generation have suffered horrible deaths so that others -- me, you, ours -- might have this precious Faith.

Why would I want to go see The Da Vinci Code?

I seen so many things
I ain't never seen before
Don't know what it is
I don't wanna see no more

I didn't go.

I did take my wife out to dinner, though. Unlike the advanced screening for "experts" it wasn't free. It was, however (you see this coming, no doubt) ... priceless.

The kids stayed home and watched, again, the Chronicles of Narnia. The wife and I went to dinner in Sugar Land. And all the people said: Amen.

Look, if I'm happy the movie is a bore and getting bad press ...

If I thank God for allowing me to be part of the "institutional church" ...

If I couldn't joyfully explain my interest in seeing the flick to a catechumen ...

And, finally, if Mama told me not to come ...

She said, that ain't the way to have fun, son
That ain't the way to have fun, son

Why on earth would I go?
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In all honesty, especially since my mother sometimes reads this blog, I must admit: Most of the snarkier teachings (below) I actually learned from my father. This list comes courtesy of a FWD from my wife. Enjoy!


THINGS MY MOTHER TAUGHT ME ...

1. TO APPRECIATE A JOB WELL DONE.
"If you're going to kill each other, do it outside. I just finished cleaning."

2. RELIGION.
"You better pray that will come out of the carpet."

3. TIME TRAVEL.
"If you don't straighten up, I'm going to knock you into the middle of next week!"

4. LOGIC.
" Because I said so, that's why."

5. MORE LOGIC.
"If you fall out of that swing and break your neck, you're not going to the store with me."

6. FORESIGHT.
"Make sure you wear clean underwear, in case you're in an accident."

7. IRONY.
"Keep crying, and I'll give you something to cry about."

8. OSMOSIS.
"Shut your mouth and eat your supper."

9. CONTORTIONISM.
"Will you look at that dirt on the back of your neck!"

10. STAMINA.
"You'll sit there until all that spinach is gone."

11. WEATHER.
"This room of yours looks as if a tornado went through it."

12. HYPOCRISY.
"If I told you once, I've told you a million times. Don't exaggerate!"

13. CIRCLE OF LIFE.
"I brought you into this world, and I can take you out."

14. BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION.
"Stop acting like your father!"

15. ENVY.
"There are millions of less fortunate children in this world who don't have wonderful parents like you do."

16. ANTICIPATION.
"Just wait until we get home."

17. RECEIVING.
"You are going to get it when you get home!"

18. MEDICAL SCIENCE.
"If you don't stop crossing your eyes, they are going to get stuck that way."

19. ESP.
"Put your sweater on; don't you think I know when you are cold?"

20. HUMOR.
"When that lawn mower cuts off your toes, don't come running to me."

21. HOW TO BECOME AN ADULT.
"If you don't eat your vegetables, you'll never grow up."

22. GENETICS.
"You're just like your father."

23. ROOTS.
"Shut that door behind you. Do you think you were born in a barn?"

24. WISDOM.
"When you get to be my age, you'll understand."

And ...

My mother taught me about JUSTICE.
"One day you'll have kids, and I hope they turn out just like you !"
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"I've come to the conclusion that it's wrong to be queer, but that's a long story. Oh, the reasons are comparatively simple. In the first place, all homosexual acts are acts of envy. In the second, the more you're involved with someone, the more trouble arises, and affection shouldn't result in that. It shows something's wrong somewhere."

More.

Oh, and about the picture on "HOMOPHOBIA" ...?

Mollie explains it.


Peggy Noonan, after writing about President Bush's failure and his use of the "S" word, ventures into the flopping of The Da Vinci Code ...

Speaking of the detachment of the elites, the second big news of the week--in some ways it may be bigger--is the apparent critical failure of "The DaVinci Code." After its first screening in Cannes, critics and observers called it tedious, painfully long, bloated, grim, so-so, a jumble, lifeless and talky.

There is a God. Or, as a sophisticated Christian pointed out yesterday, there is an Evil One, and this may be proof he was an uncredited co-producer. The devil loves the common, the stale. He can't use beauty; it undermines him. "Banality is his calling card."

I do not understand the thinking of a studio that would make, for the amusement of a nation 85% to 90% of whose people identify themselves as Christian, a major movie aimed at attacking the central tenets of that faith, and insulting as poor fools its gulled adherents. Why would Tom Hanks lend his prestige to such a film? Why would Ron Howard? They're both already rich and relevant. A desire to seem fresh and in the middle of a big national conversation? But they don't seem young, they seem immature and destructive. And ungracious. They've been given so much by their country and era, such rich rewards and adulation throughout their long careers. This was no way to say thanks.

Read it.

HT: News Forum

UPDATE: Reviews of The Da Vinci Code!

HT: Dawn
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Asked whether his wife Rita Wilson, who comes from a Greek Orthodox background, had any qualms about a story that has been condemned from Greek churches, he said: "No, absolutely not. My heritage, and that of my wife, suggests that our sins have been taken away, not our brains."

More.
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Oh my! Please forgive me, but this is kinda cool ...

'I wish there were some way to get a bunch of like-minded people together [at the movie theater] and get them to mock the living daylights out of this: dress up for it, like albino monks and Spanish Inquisition cardinals; at every mention of the eeevil Vatican, cheer loudly and give them a chorus of God Bless Our Pope; loud booing when the heroes are mentioned; when the infamous flagellation scenes start, say loudly:

Call that a discipline?

This is a discipline!

... and wave a thumping great cat o nine tails in the air; to heighten tension and create the requisite dramatic mood, chant a few verses of the Dies Irae; you know, stuff like that.

Comment passed on from GetReligion.
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Today marks the half way point on our journey from Pascha to Pentecost. So, let us cry:

Christ is Risen from the dead, trampling down death by Death ... and upon those in the tombs bestowing Life!

Now, here's the news ...

KIEV (The Birthplace of Russian Orthodoxy) - As "Pastor Sunday" prepared to make a grand entrance, the choirgirls shook their pompoms, the disco lights started to flash and a fanfare sounded. The lights cut out, and Mr Adelaja emerged from a shroud of dry ice. Children holding flags of the world wafted round him and the choir bellowed "Sanctus!"

The congregation responded enthusiastically. Many danced in the aisles. With his eyes closed and brows furrowed in concentration, he raised his arms aloft. A hush fell over the audience.

"A man who is having problems functioning in his manly area, God is healing you," he intoned. "Those who are having skin problems, God is healing you."

On and on he droned, curing everything from buttock problems to bankruptcy. Some in the congregation wept, others bellowed hallelujahs. Ushers discreetly passed around collection boxes.

Read more at Directions to Orthodoxy.


Bill O'Reilly ... on Judas?

Has someone ever stuck up for you, but that defense came up short or even raised its own problems?

That's the case for Christians with Bill O'Reilly, the pugnacious, populist television talker on Fox News, who wrote a newspaper column recently addressing the much-hyped Gospel of Judas.

"My third-grade teacher at St. Brigid's School, Sister Mary Lurana, would not be having any of this." So far, so good. But then O'Reilly strays: "The good sister understood that the Gospels were teaching tools, not history..."

Read it all.

HT: Anglican TK

Exodus: Why Americans Are Fleeing Liberal Churches for Conservative Christianity
(A book by Dave Shiflett)

Imagine a 1950s American mother waking up in 2005 and turning on the television or the radio, or picking up a popular magazine. She would probably suffer a fainting spell, if not cardiac arrest, from the assault of deeply immoral attitudes toward marriage, family, and sexuality.

The reason this can happen in a nominally Christian country is that the definition of "Christianity" in America has changed, and this is the story that Shiflett's book tells. The great culture clashes that divide our country presently are at their root theological: They pit those who acknowledge religious authority (either biblical or exercised by a divinely guided inspired church) against those who ground their principles on the unencumbered moral right of each person to create his own personal religion, regardless of objective morality and doctrinal belief.

SHIFLETT TURNS FIRST to the Episcopal Church, which was once the prototype for a traditional denomination. Many former Episcopalians have fled to more conservative Protestant denominations, or to the more liturgically minded and doctrinally based Catholic and Orthodox Churches.

Read the rest of C.J. McCloskey's review H E R E.

Thanks to FWD from Fr Miguel Grave de Peralta.

Finally ...


Metropolitan Hierotheos Vlachos on Frank Schaeffer on American Society.

HT: Ancient Church



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To my knowledge, the only thing good about the movie Howard the Duck is that it was the first movie-date for me and my wife.

Now another Howard, Ron, directs the movie adaptation of Dan Brown's bestseller.

Tonight's opening at the film festival reads like The Producers gone right.

Wouldn't it be great, really, if the movie flopped? Now that's a novel idea!

Not holding my breath, but here's what I mean ...


Variety

HT: Dawn

More

And again.

HT: Drudge
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Pat Buchanan on Da Movie:

Putting "The Da Vinci Code" on film, with what it alleges about the Catholic Church, is the moral equivalent of making a movie based on the "The Protocols of the Elders of Zion" and implying this is the truth about the Jewish plot to control the world. One imagines Ron Howard and Tom Hanks would take a pass on that script.

Like the "Hitler's Pope" smear of Pius XII, a man who did more than any other to save the Jews in World War II, "The Da Vinci Code" is a Big Lie that, though readily refuted by the facts, will be believed.

But that it will be a box-office smash, that it is the subject of lavish praise in the press, that it is the best-selling novel of the 21st century, tells us we live not just in a post-Christian era, but in an anti-Catholic culture not worth defending or saving, for it is truly satanic.

Read it all.

HT: News Forum
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Thanks to dnb Productions, I have a new PR pic for the book campaign.

See sidebar.

And I mean it: No comments! :)

Speaking of pics ...

Here's one of the raising of the Cross on the site of the new building for
St Anthony Church in Spring this past Saturday.


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Today, grabbing a bite to eat in a food court, I passed by a kiosk selling snarky "Christian" t-shirts. I was too flabbergasted to pause. Besides, I was dressed as a priest and, gosh, it was just sooo, so, uhll ...

From memory ...

One shirt had a huge cross on it with the caption, "I killed your God." (I didn't get to read further.)

One said (I kid you not): "Get Stoned Like Paul"

One even read:

"Heavy Drinker - John 7:37"

[Which reads: On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and proclaimed, "If any one thirst, let him come to me and drink."]

"When you put on a Christian T-shirt, hat, hoodie, beanie or whatever, you make yourself a walking, talking billboard for Christ." Read more.

Y'all probably know all about these. Thankfully, I don't get out much. Especially to malls!

Back when I was a teen, I had a favorite t-shirt. Unfortunately I wore it in many vacation pics (meaning, I come across it more than I'd wish). It read: "Conserve Energy ... Shut Up."

And, on that note ...
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A while back I mentioned this film. Here's (sort of) an update:

The FilmForce reviewer—who mentions a Catholic upbringing—praises the script as "a reverent recounting of the biblical story that also added an insightful socio-political dimension to the world Mary would have been brought up in." He calls it "respectful enough of the Gospels so as to not alarm the faithful, while also being broad enough thematically in order to appeal to a wider demographic. In other words, you shouldn't expect Nativity to spark any Passion-ate firestorms."

Source

Perhaps I'm being hyper-crytical, but this kind of thing just gives me the willies. True, like The Da Vinci Code, such movies allow Christians opportunities to witness to the Truth.

What's Hollywood trying to do? Wear us out?

I mean, really ... how'm I s'posed to explain Forrest Gump in a mullet?
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We are often lame in giving thanks. Think of the times when in great distress and pain of heart you have cried out to the good God to have mercy, nay, even to work a miracle. And He did. Then what?

In Today's Gospel lesson [John 5:1-15] we read the story of a man who had been ill for almost 40 years. The Lord asked him, "Do you want to be healed?" And the man, certainly owing to his good upbringing said, "Yes sir! I appreciate your asking! Please -- and I thank you!" And the Lord healed him, the man thanked him, and everyone was happy. In fact, the man was so blessed by the Lord that he went on to be quite rich.

Had it been one of us, we might have whined about having no one to help us. We might have even complained about some of the folks who'd received healing over the years in front of, instead of, us!

What if, even in the midst of our weaknesses, the Lord healed us anyway? What if he simply said: "Rise, take up your pallet, and walk?"

Lo and behold, stood up and walked we did! Imagine.

It has happened, no doubt. In fact, of course, that's what really happened in today's Gospel lesson. And the healed man went immediately to the Lord, fell down at His feet and worshipped him. Right? Nope. That Gospel account has yet to be found.

Rather, the man simply moved on. He didn't even know who Jesus was.

Can you imagine?

Well ...


Come to think of it ...

We probably can. It may happen that the Lord often answers our pleas for help and after the worst is past, or bypassed, we forget ... and move on.

But the Gospel passage doesn't end there. This miracle just so happened on that one day of the week when, whether you were just miraculously healed or not (I don't care who you are or how long you been ailing), you weren't supposed to be carrying around a pallet. The man was questioned, but he was ignorant.

Then, I told you he was blessed, he was found by the Lord again. Jesus said: "See, you are well! Sin no more, that nothing worse befall you."

And the man didn't even have to ask. He knew. At that moment, he knew whom it was that had healed him. Voila! He was healed again! This time, of ignorance. For there was only one man going around speaking with authority about such things: Jesus of Nazareth. And he told the world -- not only the Jews, but the world (me, you, them too) that it was Jesus who had healed him.

The man was now walking the walk and -- you gotta forgive me here, but this will preach -- talking the talk!

And yet, in the midst of this miracle, another change happened. If we read on to John 5:16, we read:

"And this was why the Jews persecuted Jesus, because he did this on the sabbath. "

Joshua at A Whistling Train says it well:

In this Sunday’s Gospel lesson, Christ heals the Paralytic on the Sabbath, scandalizing the Pharisees. One of the points that Christ makes is that there is a spirit behind the Law, behind every rule, commandment, and precept. It is the spirit that is important, as we train for the race, for the fight, for this road of life. To live by the letter and not by the spirit is the same as [to speak] in tongues and move mountains, but have not love.

Christ does not tell us to dismiss the commandment outright – to not keep the Sabbath – but He reminds us of its underlying spirit. This spirit is the essence of the Law and the prophets. It is love.

Love it is that heals and soothes. Love it is that creates and recreates. Love it is that transforms and reigns. Love is key. Love covers a multitude of sins. For without love we are lost.

On this Fourth Sunday after Pascha, as we approach Mid-Feast, let us give thanks to the good God who first loved us.

As we stand in thy holy house, we thine unworthy servants, offer thee ... praise from the depths, shouting, O Christ God, O thou who hast lighted the world with thy third-day Resurrection, deliever thy people from the hands of thine enemies, O Lover of mankind.
(from Vespers)

Christ is Risen!
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1) You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like, if you like sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should keep the chips and dip coming.
Alan, age 10

2) No person really decides before they grow up who they're going to marry. God decides it all way before, and you get to find out later who you're stuck with.
Kirsten, age 10


WHAT IS THE RIGHT AGE TO GET MARRIED?

1) Twenty-three is the best age because you know the person FOREVER by then.
Camille, age 10

2) No age is good to get married at. You got to be a fool to get married.
Freddie, age 6


HOW CAN A STRANGER TELL IF TWO PEOPLE ARE MARRIED?

1) You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids.
Derrick, age 8


WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR MOM AND DAD HAVE IN COMMON?
1) Both don't want any more kids.
Lori, age 8


WHAT DO MOST PEOPLE DO ON A DATE?
1) Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get to know each other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough.
Lynnette, age 8

2) On the first date, they just tell each other lies and that usually gets them interested enough to go for a second date.
Martin, age 10


WHAT WOULD YOU DO ON A FIRST DATE THAT WAS TURNING SOUR?
1) I'd run home and play dead. The next day I would call all the
newspapers and make sure they wrote about me in all the dead columns.
Craig, age 9


WHEN IS IT OKAY TO KISS SOMEONE?
1) When they're rich.
Pam, age 7

2) The law says you have to be eighteen, so I wouldn't want to mess with that.
Curt, age 7

3) The rule goes like this: If you kiss someone, then you should marry
them and have kids with them. It's the right thing to do.
Howard, age 8


IS IT BETTER TO BE SINGLE OR MARRIED?
1) It's better for girls to be single but not for boys. Boys need
someone to clean up after them.
Mike Schaffer, age 4


HOW WOULD THE WORLD BE DIFFERENT IF PEOPLE DIDN'T GET MARRIED?
1) There sure would be a lot of kids to explain, wouldn't there?
Kelvin, age 8


And the winner is ...


HOW WOULD YOU MAKE A MARRIAGE WORK?

1) Tell your wife that she looks pretty, even if she looks like a truck.
Ricky, age 10


Another FWD. This time from my wife :)
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One week before it's release, you can watch DVC movie online!
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Once again, y'all, I'm just the messenger. These rules were sent to me by a blog reg. Enjoy!

1. You must learn to pronounce the city name. It is "Hue-stun," not "Ewe-stun", or "house-tun" Oh yea, it is pronounced "San Phil-ee-pay," not "San Phil-eep" (San Felipe).

2. Forget the traffic rules you learned elsewhere. Houston has its own version of traffic rules ... Hold on and pray. There is no such thing as a dangerous high-speed chase in Houston. We all drive like that.

3. All directions start with, "Go down to Loop 610" ... which has no beginning and no end.

4. The Chamber of Commerce calls getting through traffic ... a "Scenic Drive."

5. The morning rush hour is from 6:00AM to 10:00AM. The evening rush hour is from 3:00PM to 7:00PM. Friday's rush hour starts Thursday morning.

6. If you actually stop at a yellow light, you will be rear-ended, cussed out and possibly shot. When you are the first one off the starting line, count to five when the light turns green before going, to avoid getting into any cross-traffic's way.

7. Kuykendahl Road can only be pronounced by a native Houstonian.

8. Construction on I-10, I-45, US 59 and Loop 610 is a way of life and a permanent form of entertainment.

9. If someone actually has their turn signal on, it is probably a factory defect.

10. All old ladies with blue hair in a pink Cadillac have total right-of-way.

11. The minimum acceptable speed on Loop 610 is 85 mph. anything less is considered downright sissy. In turn, the minimum speed on Westheimer is at least 45mph ...

12. Never stare at the driver of the car with the bumper sticker that says, "Keep honking, I'm reloading." In fact, don't honk at anyone.

13. If you are in the left lane, and only going 70 mph in a 60 mph zone, people are not waving when they go by.

14. The Sam Houston Toll road is our daily version of NASCAR.

15. If it's 100 degrees, Thanksgiving must be next weekend.

16. When in doubt, remember that all unmarked exits lead to Louisiana.

17. If you live in Katy and I live on the south side of Houston we'll never hang out.

18. The best thing about being drunk between 2-5 am is Whataburger will serve both breakfast and normal menus.

19. You are always able to be pulled over by any police vehicle, even if you were just given a ticket.

20. You don't have to wait for an exit to get off a freeway, just follow the ruts in the grass to the feeder like everyone else. This is how Houston residents notify Texas Department of Transportation where exits should have been built.

21. Elsewhere, they are called frontage roads ... Here in Houston, they are called FEEDER roads, so don't look stupid when we say "Exit the feeder road and use the loop-d-loop (or U-eee)."

If you don't live here, most of this will sound utterly insane, but to all of us who call this place home ... nothing but the truth.
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It's Good News when Baptists start talkin' like this!

A Planned Parenthood Mother's Day gift?

DAWN: There's one Planned Parenthood e-card with which I agree: Every child a wanted child. Every child is wanted by God, who wishes it to have the opportunity to thrive. The child's mother is blessed with the responsibility to give him or her that opportunity. On Mother's Day and every day, I'm thankful that my mother gave me mine.

Bishop Hilarion, the Russian Orthodox Bishop for Central Europe based in Vienna, Austria ... speaks on Orthodox - Catholic cooperation in the battle against the ideology of globalization.
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If when you wake up in the morning,
And the hurting is so great,
You don't want to get out of bed
And face a world of hate.

If everything in life goes wrong
And nothing you do seems right,
You must try a little harder
And soon you'll see the light.

For every person who has put you down
And filled your life with pain,
You must strive to achieve greatness
And show them you can win.

For every disappointment,
For the times you are let down,
There will be a better moment
And your life will turn around.

Because everyone feels heartache
And everyone feels pain,
But only those who have true courage
Can get up and try again.


Written by Peter Ignatin following the death of his much-loved grandfather, Sven Haakenson. Originally published in "The Eagle" (June 2003) of St Innocent's Academy, Kodiak, Alaska.
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"The good Lord shows His great care for us in that the shamelessness of the feminine sex is checked by shyness as with a sort of bit. For if the woman were to run after the man, no flesh would be saved."

-- St John of the Ladder

Click the link above and, oh, light a candle.
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