1. Nothing I say in this blog has either an Imprimatur or Nihil Obstat. Reader beware... you are being exposed to the ramblings of an old curmudgeon who is neither teacher nor preacher.
2. I eat with sinners... not publicans or tax collectors... just sinners. Moreover the sinners in question are not Catholic or even Christian. They do, however, serve a delicious cut of meat and I smile when one of them quotes Chesterton back at me.
3. I attend a Novus Ordo mass regularly at my local parish and haven't the slightest inclination to go to any of the Tridentine masses though I may go to hear some Gregorian chant at some point.
4. I do not subscribe to any alternate magisteriums. Make no mistake about it, both liberals and conservatives indulge in this questionable practice. I generally look up any questions I may have in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. I sometimes read the Fathers, especially the Apostolic Fathers, but that's it. There's always the 1911 edition of the Catholic Encyclopedia lurking on my hard drive somewhere.
5. I oppose rigorism in all its forms. When I was a child my parents did not attend mass and often I had to go alone. One Sunday while my parents were visiting my grandfather I went to mass and got in line for communion. Two men pulled me out of the line and asked me if I had been to confession the previous Saturday. When I said no they prevented me from going to communion. The memory of such incidents kept me away from the sacraments for years once I entered my teens.
6. Perhaps most damning of all, I regularly get together with Barona, Santa and Montfort for fellowship. Guilt by association!
I forgot the most damning thing of all...
ReplyDeleteI have notoriously bad taste in beer. I have been known to consume Budweiser or even Bud Lite Lime in public without the least bit of shame. Last time someone asked "Is there anyone here completely lacking in taste?" my hand shot up and someone handed me a green can which tasted like a cross between Bud Lite and soda pop.
I have actually read Thomas Merton. I still have an old copy of Raids on the Unspeakable. It holds fond memories for me since it was one of the few things that has remained with me since I was a teen. I would recommend the essay To Each His Darkness to anybody.
ReplyDeleteAdd to my list of crimes that I am not particularly consistent in my behaviour after communion. On Sundays I will often walk to the rear of the church and stand while on weekdays I will return to my seat.
ReplyDeletePerhaps it has something to do with crowding on Sunday mornings.
And do not forget - you strongly adhere to the Catholic teaching that the Church actually has a Teaching Authority to which we must submit. In this age of individualism, so many Catholics forget this. And so many, that those who remember are "suspicious"...
ReplyDeleteArticle of region Book of Common Prayer 1962 Canada
ReplyDeleteThe Bishop of Rome hath no jurisdiction in this Realm of England.
Just in case anyone might wonder why I would post a quote from the BCP -- I wanted to showcase that Catholic's divided against each other ( one refusing to follow his own bishop another nit picking ) is that for most of Canadian history the grouping of Catholic was seen as a dangerous force loyal to outsiders. I suggest you all get along in your communal sand box You used to be an illegal orginisation in these realms of England or had you forgotten that?
ReplyDeleteAlright... one more thing that makes me a suspicious character. I actually have a copy of the Book of Common Prayer to look this up in!
ReplyDeleteXXXVII. OF THE CIVIL MAGISTRATES.
ReplyDeleteTHE King's Majesty hath the chief power in this Realm of England, and his other Dominions, unto whom the chief Government of all Estates of the Realm, whether they be Ecclesiastical or Civil, in all causes doth appertain, and is not, nor ought to be, subject to any foreign Jurisdiction.
Where we attribute to the King's Majesty the chief government, by which Titles we understand the minds of some slanderous folks to be offended; we give not to our Princes the ministering either of God's Word, or of the Sacraments, the which thing the Injunctions also lately set forth by Elizabeth our Queen do most plainly testify; but that only prerogative, which we see to have been given always to godly Princes in holy Scriptures by God himself; that is, that they should rule all estates and degrees committed to their charge by God, whether they be Ecclesiastical or Temporal, and restrain with the civil sword the stubborn and evil doers.
The Bishop of Rome hath no jurisdiction in this Realm of England.
The Laws of the Realm may punish Christian men with death, for heinous and grievous offences.
It is lawful for Christian men, at the commandment of the Magistrate, to wear weapons, and serve in the wars.
Poor Trout has forgotten where he is... this is Canada. Queen Elizabeth II is Queen of Canada, an independent realm. The fact that we share our queen with England merely shows what generous souls we are, and the fact that they foot the bill doesn't hurt either.
ReplyDelete