OK I have enabled comments but they will be moderated until I can get the ban IP thing down for spammers.

Turning off moderation ...

OK, this is a big work in progress but I am posting the gist of it now anyway

On June 17, 2000 my wife and I were married in a small Episcopal Church. We did a lot of things pretty traditionally. Other standard American marriage traditions we didn't mind so much. One was the way we dealt with taking pictures. We did so before the ceremony. My wife showed up a few minutes after we did but a few hours before our early bird 9:30 am wedding. I still to this day can see her joyous smile peering from the back seat of her mothers car. Her smile was aimed only at me, as if I was the only thing in the world that existed. Another thing we decided to do was make it very clear that our marriage was focused on our relationship with Christ. He was going to be the center of our relationship. We took the opportunity to create a long program for our wedding knowing that many people would be coming from different backgrounds. The Catholics in our family would be familiar with the liturgical order of the service. The Protestants in our family would be familiar with some of the more contemporary Christian musical choices that we made. We also decided to print all of the scripture readings we selected and the responses that were expected from the attendees.

Our song choices were:
Classical tunes: "Clair de Lune" - Claude Debussy, "Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring" - J.S. Bach, "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee" Ludwig von Beethoven, "Brother James Air" - Bain
Contemporary tunes: "Lord I Life Your Name on High", "You Are My All In All", and "Shout to the Lord"

Our Scripture readings were:
Song of Solomon 2:10-13; 8:6-7
Psalm 127
1 John 4:7-16
John 15:9-12

From that point on, time flew. Before I knew it I was standing face to face with her and all I could see was gold illuminating her face. This woman was soon to be my wife and God was making it very apparent to me that this was a special moment in my life. The grace abound was astounding -- so thick nearly that I felt I could physically see what was happening in a way I knew no other person in the room could see. My wife told me afterwards that she saw the same thing. We both knew that something extraordinary had happened that morning. It was more than a social contract appeasing our parents. It was blessed by God to be something special.

A few years later, our lives brought us to consideration of Catholicism. What was different between it and the Anglican communion of which the Episcopal church was a part? I found in the back of the Book of Common prayer some "historical documents" of which a declaration called the 39 Articles was included.

XXV. Of the Sacraments.
Sacraments ordained of Christ be not only badges or tokens of Christian men's profession, but rather they be certain sure witnesses, and effectual signs of grace, and God's good will towards us, by the which he doth work invisibly in us, and doth not only quicken, but also strengthen and confirm our Faith in him.

There are two Sacraments ordained of Christ our Lord in the Gospel, that is to say, Baptism, and the Supper of the Lord.

Those five commonly called Sacraments, that is to say, Confirmation, Penance, Orders, Matrimony, and Extreme Unction, are not to be counted for Sacraments of the Gospel, being such as have grown partly of the corrupt following of the Apostles, partly are states of life allowed in the Scriptures, but yet have not like nature of Sacraments with Baptism, and the Lord's Supper, for that they have not any visible sign or ceremony ordained of God.

This bothered me, partly from my experience at our wedding and further from my experience as a married man. I had already encountered more Catholic understandings of marriage through reading on birth control. I found it wholly repugnant to ignore that Christ's first miracle occurred at the wedding at Cana and further to ignore St. Paul's having compared it, in a very real way to the Church itself. The actual grace that comes from trying to be a faithful Christian husband to your wife is readily apparent to any and all who partake in marriage. How could the obvious fruits of marriage, including children be anything less than a sign of God's love and grace to all of us? The actual grace was undeniable. I have heard it said by some that the ordinary means of salvation for the majority is through the faithful service of ones spouse and the right upbringing of children in the faith. Of all the arrangements in my life, the most clear arrangement resulting in closeness with God is my marriage. To say it is not a sacrament was tantamount to insulting all that I held dear about marriage and to further relegate it to a mere social contract as if God had no intent in the right ordering of spouses towards sacrifice and sheer dependence on grace to even make it work. I decided to share my dismay with other Episcopalians. Upon this inquiry I found that whether or not we believed the contents of the "39 Articles" was really up to us. I could hold a sacramental belief about marriage. I further found this difference in belief also included our beliefs on the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist which we found differed in the church from actual belief in the Catholic doctrine all the way to those who believed it no more than bread and wine.

To me this was even more bothersome. The Eucharist either IS or it IS NOT Christ. Marriage either IS or it IS NOT a sacrament. Those are pretty fundamental things to disagree on and here I was going to church with every manner of person believing as they wish. The relativistic aspect I was encountering on matters of doctrine was giving me strong cause to reconsider my affiliation with the church I was going to. The lack of real support for young married couples was even more pressing at that time in our lives. Our church was simply lacking in young families. We desired Christian friends with young children even if only for fellowship reasons. This collection of reasons gave us what we needed to justify church shopping.

It was a difficult path though. We loved the people we went to church with. What about those relationships?

I am going to fill in the gaps of my conversion story ... It is the main reason I started this blog in the first place. Anyway, I just added When family members convert.

Check out the rest from the Conversion Story index.

Also, I am going to make a post in the next few days demonstrating use of the "Call no man father" verse from patristic sources. To me it is interesting, particularly St. Augustine's use of it.

A few years before we converted my to be brother-in-law was spending time with my mother. You see, my mom is the neighborhood matronly figure that many of my friends adopted as their second mom. It was not unusual to me to hear of my friends talking to my mom and breaking down in tears over some personal struggle in their lives. Its different talking to someone else's mom. There are times when you are not really quite sure you want your own mother to know about something in your life -- not yet -- but you still want sage advice from those who have been through the fire already. Other friends parents often fit the bill quite nicely. Over the course of normal discussions my mom simply handed him a copy of popular Catholic apologetics book. The thought of converting to Catholicism was quite far from his mind at the time.

The time following this is somewhat of a mystery to us. Eventually he announced to his family that he intended to convert to Catholicism. We had no idea what was going on. He was pretty much dismissed by my wife and I as being an angst ridden and defiant -- so typical of men his age. At the time the concept of returning to the Church was so foreign to me that I fell prey to one of the most common anti-Catholic assumptions about conversion. I thought "He just didn't KNOW what he was giving up." Today I read people, especially Presbyterians, say this about Scott Hahn quite a lot. The thought of someone converting for a REASON is just poppycock to them. So it was with me and my brother-in-law. When you are in that mindset there HAS to be another, more irrational reason. What sane person would so such a thing as to give up the freedom of grace based Protestantism for works based, archaic, and heavily rule-laden faith such as Catholicism? Time passed, and it became something of a novelty when we would mention it to our Protestant friends. The response was almost always "Why I've never heard of such!" "Me either", I would retort. We all fell blind to that assumption. Everyone knows that faithful Christians only leave the Catholic Church. My poor deceived brother-in-law, turned over into a religion of bondage. Still, I had sympathy for him. I had never thought too poorly of the Catholic Church. I at least gave them the title Christian, just an odd sort of faith with lots of useless rubrics added to it.

Eventually my wife had a discussion with him about it. "Why on earth?" -- His response was quite simple. "If the Catholic Church is who it claims to be, then I had to be part of it." I was thinking when I heard of this -- 'Oh, do tell, what is it that the Church claims to be?" He told my wife that the Catholic Church claimed to be THE Church founded by Jesus Christ. Over time he had come to the conclusion that it was and furthermore that it was disobedience to Christ to remain apart from it. The thought was interesting but as far as I was concerned it was preposterous to think that any Christian Church had all of the truth. The reason people changed churches is because, just like the Catholic Church did during reformation times, they tend to become corrupt under the influence of the traditions of men running them. Eventually we all have to judge them against Scripture and when they err we simply find some other group more in line with what the good book says. (Little did I know this would play out in our lives in the near future) ... Further discussion with him also led him to pointing out that the real kicker for him was a chapter in the book "Catholicism vs. Fundamentalism" on the canon of the New Testament and history of the Bible.

All in all it was intriguing to understand why someone would do so. It seemed sensible but we had our own experience to show us otherwise. In reality, it was another seed. The occasions to discuss it became occasions to demonstrate the irrational understanding of others about what the Catholic faith was really about.

Gotta be careful ... upgraded my blog software to a beta version and lost my last post because it logged me out ... hmmmmm

Anyway, here is the short version.

I spend WAY too much time trying to make this blog look better. Yesterday I fiddled with CSS for about 4 hours. The result is what you see now. Welcome "Gill Sans" as the typeface. Also, I added a little quote mark for things I quote. See below for an example ...

Was clearing out my Google Reader shared items ...

For you Latin lovers out there ... Summorum Pontificum Contact Database via phatcatholic

The motu proprio has been released! The next step is to start putting the Catholic faithful who want to assist at the extraordinary form of the Holy Mass in touch with Catholic priests who want to say the extraordinary form of the Holy Mass. Please fill out the form below with your contact information so we can help you make a connection. Your personal information will not be shared with ANYONE without your consent.

Also, now you can tour the Vatican City State online. From the CWNews article:

The new web site ... provides general information about the history, structure, and government of Vatican City, and links to some of the departments of greatest interest to visitors, including the Vatican library, publishing house, and stamp office. The site also provides links to the Vatican Museums and the media sites operated by the Holy See.

I just wanted to throw this out for discussion ...

Why do the majority of Catholic blogs tend towards orthodoxy? In general the Catholic blogosphere is not a mirror of your average parish. In your average parish for example apparently 90+% of married couples contracept. In the 1000+ blogs that make up what is typically considered St. Blogs almost every railing I see regarding contraception is perfectly in line with Humanae Vitae. Why is this?

I have seen a listing indicating official membership in St. Blogs requires fidelity to the Magisterium but as a practical reality I don't see how that is a requirement to be a Catholic blog. I have not seen a similar "Spirit of Vatican II" version of St. Blogs out there. I have some theories but I wanted to open the question up to anyone who sees this. Don't be shy ... please comment.

Contracepting the environment – Birth-control poisoning of streams leave U.S. environmentalists mum

I'll pull out the choice quotes

When EPA-funded scientists at the University of Colorado studied fish in a pristine mountain stream known as Boulder Creek two years ago, they were shocked. Randomly netting 123 trout and other fish downstream from the city’s sewer plant, they found that 101 were female, 12 were male and 10 were strange “intersex” fish with male and female features.

It’s “the first thing that I’ve seen as a scientist that really scared me,” said then 59-year-old University of Colorado biologist John Woodling, speaking to the Denver Post in 2005.

They studied the fish and decided the main culprits were estrogens and other steroid hormones from birth-control pills and patches, excreted in urine into the city’s sewage system and then into the creek.

In the spirit of fairness "decided" is not as useful as "demonstrated" or "proved" ... Still, the findings are alarming.

Harden said the growing knowledge of estrogen-polluted water may expose the cultural double-standards that protect birth control from the scrutiny given to other chemicals and drugs.

“It’s going to start looking funny,” Harden said. “The radical environmentalist won’t eat a corn chip if the corn contacted a pesticide. But they view it a sacred right and obligation to consume synthetic chemicals that alter a woman’s natural biological functions, even if this practice threatens innocent aquatic life downstream.”

Despite growing and nationwide knowledge of birth-control pollution in rivers and streams, leading environmentalists remain unfazed – even in Boulder, where it’s been known about for years.

Curt Cunningham, water-quality-issues chairman for the Rocky Mountain Chapter of Sierra Club International, worked tirelessly last year on a ballot measure that would force the City of Boulder to remove fluoride from drinking water, because some believe it has negative effects on health and the environment that outweigh its benefits. But Cunningham said he would never consider asking women to curtail use of birth-control pills and patches – despite what effect these synthetics have on rivers, streams and drinking water.

“I suspect people would not take kindly to that,” Cunningham said. “For many people it’s an economic necessity. It’s also a personal freedom issue.”

I have always wanted to wear an anti-contraception/pro-NFP t-shirt to Whole Foods with the tagline "If you are going to go natural, go all the way." I am not sure how well it would go over.

It was church shopping in my Protestant days that resulted in us sitting through a beautiful Catholic mass one Sunday morning. Our criteria at the time was 1) liturgical, 2) Lords Supper every week 3) young families ... We got Catholic.

Protestants criticize, Orthodox welcome Vatican document - Russian Orthodox more specifically.

"For an honest theological dialogue to happen, one should have a clear view of the position of the other side," said Metropolitan Kirill of Smolensk, the leading ecumenical official of the Moscow patriarchate.

Quite honestly I don't know why non-Catholics get bent out of shape by reitterations of this. Non-Catholics claim their biblical interpretation is superior to the Catholic Church. I don't get bent out of shape about it. Some claim their liturgy is better than the Catholic Church. I don't get bent out of shape about that. Geesh, I mean, most of the world claims it is more enlightened than the Catholic Church. Nope ... not staying awake over it.

This is THE claim of the Catholic Church and its one that begs the question -- Is the Church right about this?

I believe the Church is the One. I could get nice liturgy at my local Episcopal church. I could get exciting bible teaching at my local baptist church. I could get Starbucks at my local mega-church. I could get tolerance at my local Unitarian church. There is no reason to be Catholic if you do not believe its fundamental claim that it is THE Church founded by Christ -- a visible reality -- One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic.

See Reponses to some questions regarding certain aspects of the doctrine on the Church

I am growing tired of this ...

If you wanted to take the count to an extreme you could just count individual Protestants and say there are that many denominations. Many Protestants today hold as I used to hold that there is no church that has got it all right so the primacy of ones interpretation of Scripture was supreme. In essence that would make ME a denomination if you are considering minutia in differentiation. In reality though my beliefs were pretty much in line with many other people I knew or read.

Quite frankly I think 30k is an overstating the case somewhat in terms of what I would consider core beliefs. So many of those differently labeled churches hold nearly identical core beliefs. The diversity of "non-negotiable" doctrines outside the Catholic Church can well be demonstrated without resorting to numbers which, to me, are truly difficult to accurately quantify. If you limited yourself to demonstrating 10 differences in belief on baptism alone you would get the point across far more effectively and without denigrating your opponents position to that of mere fancy.

Resume ...

I posted this .... in this case Catholic

A Jesuit priest Father Benito Vines was also very instrumental in the development of early hurricane forecasting.

I first read about this in a secular book on hurricanes and not from a Catholic source.

On October 6, 1900, Willis L. Moore, Chief of the U.S. Weather Bureau, wrote in Collier's Weekly that ". . . probably the Reverend Benito Vines gave more intelligent study to the investigation of tropical cyclones than any other scientist."

As the Pope heads off on vacation I will remind those of you traveling by car with children under 6 months that you need to double drive times everywhere you go.

Anyway the Pope calls vacation "a Gift of God"

In an address today to those gathered in St. Peter's Square to pray the Angelus, the Pope wished to all, "especially those most in need, the possibility of taking a little vacation to reinvigorate your physical and spiritual energies and recover a salutary contact with nature."

John Paul II

In this oasis of quiet, amidst the marvelous spectacle of nature, one easily senses the value of silence, today an increasingly rare good. The many opportunities for relationships and for information that modern society offers risk sometimes eliminating room for recollection, to the point of making people incapable of reflecting and praying. In reality, only in silence can man succeed in listening, in the intimacy of his conscience, to the voice of God which truly makes him free. And vacations can help us rediscover and cultivate this indispensable inner dimension of human existence. -- via Papal Wisdom: I need a vacation!!!

It is good to see that B16 and JP2 both feel that vacation should involve getting back to nature ... ahhhhhhh

Without indulging in a tirade, I would also like to point out that Americans do not get enough vacation time ...

Vacation days by country - 10 years employment
Here is a similar list I saw elsewhere .. Average Number of Vacation Days Around the World Per Year .. with the U.S. once again nearly bringing up the rear.

I have seen much liberal hand wringing in the press about the Pope granting greater freedom to those who love the Latin Mass. Supposedly its a major blow to liberal advances in the Church. Even worse, it includes supposed anti-semitic verbiage like praying for the Jews to convert to Catholicism.

Cafeteria is Closed has included links to some of the finest hand wringing including choice gems:

... a dangerous sign of taking into question the decisions of Vatican II, or to even revert them step by step.
and
I can't fight back the tears. This is the saddest moment in my life as a man, priest and bishop,

Ladies and gentlemen, this is over an increase in freedom.

Meanwhile, from the mouth of the Pope, some sanity:

Benedict XVI says new norms do not affect validity of Vatican II, unity of the Church, or authority of Bishops
and
Open hearts to Latin Mass, Benedict says

For the best in MP coverage head to Fr. Z's blog.

Spin vs. Professionalism

Good read ...

My first mentor in matters journalistic, Seattle's David Brewster, once said that journalism's claim to being a "profession" would remain an affectation until journalism became self-disciplining (like law and medicine), with the members of the guild taking real responsibility for policing themselves. Such professional responsibility means editors keeping editorials out of the news hole, and reporters telling the whole truth. That the misshapen stories cited here are hardly rarities suggests the unhappy probability that David Brewster, who was right thirty years ago, will remain right long into the future.

Which is bad news for American democracy.

The cream will rise to the top from alternative sources. Quite honestly, people prefer spin and that is why they go for sources containing it. The MSM knows this much. The only way the major news media might regain its slipping foothold on credibility would be to implement something like what they mention here. If I could count on the news to not have thin syrupy veiled bias all throughout I might be more prone to read it. That said, I don't think the MSM gets it and they may not get it until their entire profession has been replaced by more talented amateurs who turn professional and drive readership by their skill and not just because they happen to work for the New York Times. They are trying to compete with a new model that they are not set up to compete with.

As an exercise I recommend an occasional browse through a Google News search on Catholic Church ... the ignorance will floor you.

Why would I trust a journalist with limited knowledge of my faith to inform others when there are so many knowledgeable Catholics who write well and, more importantly, who will get facts about my faith right?

Google News results on "Catholic Church"

From Happy Catholic who did a Simpsons Self-Portrait

My wife and I ...


Our four children ...


And all of us

Pope Approves Wider Use of Latin Mass

"I am of the opinion, to be sure, that the old rite should be granted much more generously to all those who desire it," then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger said. "It's impossible to see what could be dangerous or unacceptable about that."

I think it is about as simple as that. To pretend that this is a battle over the teachings of Vatican II is to ignore what a council is and to suggest that the faith is one borne of popular whim and not guided by the Holy Spirit. Quite simply, Vatican II is not going to be reversed because devout Latin Mass loving Catholics do not have to resort to drastic measures to attend a mass they should have already had access to.

Way to go Pope Benedict XVI

This is a test using my blog with Jott. I plan to add new features in the near future. I am really excited about the possibility of doing things like this. We will see how it works. I hope you enjoy. Bye.

Patristic Melody via phatcatholic
Lyrics by Dan Idzikowski

Um diddle diddle um diddle ay
Um diddle diddle um diddle ay

Superchristological and Homoousiosis
Even though the sound of them is something quite atrocious
You can always count on them to anathemize your Gnosis
Superchristological and Homoousiosis

Um diddle diddle um diddle ay
Um diddle diddle um diddle ay

Now Origen and Arius were quite a clever pair.
Immutable divinity make Logos out of air.
But then one day Saint Nicholas gave Arius a slap--
and told them if they can't recant, they ought to shut their trap!

[chorus] Oh, Superchristological and Homoousiosis...

One Prosopon, two Ousia are in one Hypostasis.
At Chalcedon this formula gave our faith its basis.
You can argue that you don't know what this means,
But don't you go and try to say there's a "Physis" in between!

[chorus] Oh, Superchristological and Homoousiosis...

Um diddle diddle um diddle ay
Um diddle diddle um diddle ay

Now freedom and autonomy are something to be praised,
But when it comes to human sin, these words must be rephrased,
For Pelagius was too confident that we could work it out--
And Augustine said *massa damnata* is what it's all about.

[chorus] Oh, Superchristological and Homoousiosis...

Heresies are arguments that you might find attractive,
But just remember in this case the Church is quite reactive.
So play it safe and memorize these words we sing together,
'Cause in the end you'll find, my friend, that we may live forever.

[chorus] Oh, Superchristological and Homoousiosis
Even though the sound of them is something quite atrocious
You can always count on them to anathematize your Gnosis
Superchristological and Homoousiosis.

I am the Very Model of a Modern Unitarian via Mark Shea
by Christopher Gist Raible
Sung to " I am the Very Model of a Modern Major General" from " Pirates of Penzance".

I am the very model of a modern Unitarian,
Far broader than a Catholic, Hindu, Jew or Presbyterian.
I know the world's religions and can trace their roots historical
From Moses up to Channing, all in order categorical.
I'm very well acquainted, too, with theories theological,
On existential questions I am always wholly logical,
About most any problem I am teeming with a lot of views,
I'm full of fine ideas that should fill our church's empty pews.

(Chorus members:
We're full of fine ideas that should fill our church's empty pews.
We're full of fine ideas that should fill our church's empty pews.
We're full of fine ideas that should fill our church's empty empty pews.)

I quote from Freud and Jung and all the experts psychological.
I'm anti nuke, I don't pollute I'm chastely ecological.
In short, in matters spiritual, ethical, material,
I am the very model of a modern Unitarian.

(Chorus members:
In short, in matters spiritual, ethical, material,
We are the very model of a modern Unitarian.)

I use the latest language; God is never Father or the Lord,
But Ground of Being, Source of Life or almost any other word.
I never pray, I meditate, I'm leary about worshipping.
I serve on 10 committees none of which accomplish anything.
I give to worthy causes and I drive a gas conserving car,
I have good UU principles (although I'm not sure what they are).
I'm open to opinions of profound or broad variety,
Unless they're too conservative or smack of righteous piety.

(Chorus members:
Unless they're too conservative or smack of righteous piety.
Unless they're too conservative or smack of righteous piety.
Unless they're too conservative or smack of righteous pie-piety.)

I formulate agendas and discuss them with the best of 'em,
But don't ask me to implement, we leave that to the rest of 'em.
In short in matters spiritual, ethical, material,
I am the very model of today's religious liberal.

(Chorus members:
In short, in matters spiritual, ethical, material,
We are the very model of today's religious liberal.)

An Indecent Family

As a man of faith and as show of solidarity with other "indecent families" I heartily refer you Creative Minority Report who has suffered an offense sadly common to those with larger than average families.

From a chat I had today ...
I have an indecent family. I aim to offend. Our family is Rated-I

Art from Vatican lands in Mississippi

------

PE teacher worked in BR

This has been all over the news here. A quick summary is that this guy was taking pictures of young girls in bikinis in a public place. He gave the police permission to search his home computer and they found 13,000 pictures of girls in bikinis and the like however they claim they found nothing pornographic. I had an urge like all men around here to rub mud on their faces, hoist torches high and head towards the jail house hollering all manner of unintelligible obscenity like calls.

Come to find out he works at a Catholic school in Lafayette and used to work at one in Baton Rouge. *sarcasm* Allow your inner conspiracy free to tie all of that together ... I am sure the Pope knew as well. Its an institutional problem you know. *sarcasm*

Finally parents have been complaining on local radio that they cannot find modest swim wear for their young girls.

Try the Internet folks - Modest Swimwear - I know you cannot try it on but I promise you can find someone who will let you return it if it doesn't fit. Time consuming yes but don't say that there isn't an option.

Speaking of local news ...

New Orleanians March On Baton Rouge

These headline writers have got to be more careful. I was ready to pull out the rations, overturn the tables, don the protective head gear and pull out the weapons. I know there has been a rival between certain factions in each town but this is rediculous ...

Time has been limited for regular posting. I am working on an essay that I hope to post here in the coming weeks. Also, I may be crossposting my articles from CatholicDaily.org in the near future.

If you are trying to contact me find a comment by Ggoose on here. The email address is available there.

-- May try to post about St. John Bosco tonight

"The greatest gift you can give your child is another sibling." Pope John Paul II

Which brings me to this ad for a candy bar ...

Saw this in the local news ... in a place called Paw Paw. Had visions of a terrified old man with his hands over his eyes bulleting down the Interstate on the grill of a big rig ...

Man in Wheelchair Pushed Four Miles by Semi-Truck