Another Ugly-as-Sin "Church"

It is a sad fact that most new Catholic churches today are a devastating affront to 2000 years of proud architectural and artistic achievement. From the smallest chapels to the most elaborate cathedrals to the majesty of St. Peter's Basilica, Catholics have always known how to construct edifices suitable to be called houses of the Lord, places where all worship and offer sacrifice in awe of God's majesty.

A fundamental belief of Catholicism is that we are both flesh and spirit, and while the spirit takes precedence in all things, the flesh manifests in an exterior way what the soul contains. Therefore, we dress modestly to reflect the sanctity of our human person and the fact that we are temples of the Lord. We stand when the Gospel is read in reverence and we kneel during the consecration at Mass in adoration. We build beautiful churches in which much time and energy has been invested so that they may be a lasting tribute to the glory of the Lord and the majesty of the Church.

God knows what went wrong in recent years. We went from beautiful and edifying to hideous and bland in the span of only 40 years. We've discarded a rich tradition of aesthetic beauty rooted in theologico-architectural synthesis in favor of an architecture, or lack thereof, that reflects the pathetically stripped-down sense of awe that we have of our Lord. Our bland, ugly, meaningless assembly halls of churches reveal quite adequately how little so many of the faithful really care about offering tribute to our God. Why? Because it is an affront to the poor? This is nonsense. For centuries churches have been sanctuaries, places of refuge for the poor. If a congregation can have both a beautiful and edifying place of worship as well as fulfill its mission to the poor, well, I see that as a wonderfully balanced Christian life. We've thrown out the aesthetic to save a few bucks. Look what we've got now:

St. Patrick's "Catholic" Church, Gainesville

This sad excuse for a church is disgusting to put it nicely. It looks like the public library in my hometown or like the community center in a retirement development. If an alien were to drop down and attempt to figure out what it is, he would say it looks little different from the other buildings he's seen.

Does this mean that we must build Notre Dames or St. John Laterans in every town and city across the world? Absolutely not. Even small and unimposing churches can be beautiful. What we see now is not beautiful. It shows little or no effort on the part of parishes or priests to disply some sort of care in the making of the house of the Lord.

We've gone from this:
...to this:

When our Lord told the rich man to divest himself of his goods and follow Him, he addressed himself to that one man, who wanted to more purely follow the Lord. He did not mean that entire groups of people should cast away all their possessions and thereby be incapable of providing for the ministry! What good is a materially and, worse, spiritually impoverished church going to do for those in need of sanctification? Obviously the notion of a place of worship was essential to our Lord. He taught frequently in the temple and promised that he would raise it up, meaning himself. The Lord himself is a temple. Should not our modern-day churches be reflective of that reverence which we owe our Lord, the temple of our souls?

Catholic Word of the Week - Orthodox

Orthodox - (from Gk, orthodoxeia, "of right opinion, belief") signifies right belief or purity of faith. Right belief is not merely subjective, as resting on personal knowledge and convictions, but is in accordance with the teaching and direction of an absolute extrinsic authority. This authority is the Church founded by Christ, and guided by the Holy Ghost. He, therefore, is orthodox, whose faith coincides with the teachings of the Catholic Church. As divine revelation forms the deposit of faith entrusted to the Church for man's salvation, it also, with the truths clearly deduced from it, forms the object and content of orthodoxy. (Catholic Encyclopedia)

There is no such thing as a liberal or conservative Catholic. There are only true Catholics who are orthodox and then heretics, who reject one or more of the Church's teachings, either tacitly or overtly.

To be an orthodox, or right-believing, Catholic is not the same as to be a member of one of the Orthodox churches, which are heretical.

Our Lord teaching in the temple.

"Spem in alium"

I have never heard anything so beautiful as "Spem in alium" by the great Thomas Tallis. As the sound sweeps around, you can imagine the gates of Heaven opening before you with choirs upon choirs of angels crying out in joy. The trumpets blare, the light dazzles before you, you approach the Lord our God in all of His divine majesty and splendor...
Words can not describe the sight.

"That eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love him." - 1 Cor 2:9

Spem in alium numquam habui praeter in te
Deus Israel
qui irasceris
et propitius eris
et omnia peccata hominum in tribulatione dimittis
Domine Deus
Creator coeli et terrae
respice humilitatem nostram

I have never put my hope in any other but in you,
O God of Israel
who can show both anger
and graciousness,
and who absolves all the sins of suffering man
Lord God,
Creator of Heaven and Earth
be mindful of our humility.

Euthanasia Legalized in Montana

Today is Wednesday, December 10, 2006. On Friday, December 5, the state of Montana, or rather an activist judge in Montana, ruled that euthanasia is legal and protected by the state constitution. The news didn't come out in the AP until Saturday. I did not see it on the news until today. That this very troubling news has slipped under the radar is a frightening testament to our general moral anesthesia. You may not believe it but this is the beginning of what I guarantee will be a vast tide, a Satanic assault, against the dignity of life and the moral teaching of the Church as has been gay "marriage" and abortion.

Montana legalizes Euthanasia

The eugenic tide which began with birth control, has brought us abortion, and is now moving towards euthanasia is here. Whether we resist it and continue to affirm the dignity of all human life will be the moral test of our civilization, and one which will destroy us if we should say no. We can not take up the opinion that to kill a weak person who requests it is acceptable. We can not accept the lie that we should be allowed to murder those who are smaller than us, who are voiceless, who are weak, who are ill, those who most demand our love and care! For those who sympathize with this heinous crime, do not be so confident in thinking that it will not catch up to you. History is doomed to repeat itself.

"It is necessary to state firmly once more that nothing and no one can in any way permit the killing of an innocent human being, whether a fetus or an embryo, an infant or an adult, an old person or one suffering from an incurable disease or a person who is dying. Furthermore, no one is permitted to ask for this act of killing, either for himself or herself or for another person entrusted to his or her care, nor can he or she consent to it, either explicitly or implicitly nor can any authority legitimately recommend or permit such an action. For it is a question of the violation of the divine law, an offense against the dignity of the human person, a crime against life and an attack on humanity." Vatican Declaration on Euthanasia, 1980.

"Whatever its motives and means, direct euthanasia consists of putting an end to the lives of handicapped, sick, or dying persons. It is morally unacceptable. Thus an act or omission which, of itself or by intention, causes death in order to terminate pain constitutes a murder gravely contrary to the dignity of the human person and to respect due to the living God, his Creator. The error of judgement into which one can fall in good faith does not change the nature of this murderous act, which must always be forbidden and excluded." cf #2277.

"Discontinuing medical procedures that are burdensome, dangerous, extraordinary, or disproportionate to the expected outcome can be legitimate; it is the refusal of 'over zealous' treatment. Here one does not will to cause death; one's inability to impede it is merely accepted. The decisions should be made by the patient if he is competent and able or, if not, by those legally entitled to act for the patient whose reasonable will and legitimate interests must always be respected." Ibid. #2278.

"Even if death is considered imminent, the care ordinarily owed to a sick person cannot legitimately be interrupted. The use of analgesics to alleviate the suffering of the dying, even at the risk of shortening his days, can be morally in conformity to human dignity if death is not willed, as an end to a means, but only foreseen and tolerated as inevitable. Palliative care constitutes a privileged form of disinterested charity. For this reason it must be encouraged." Ibid. #2279.

Catholic Word of the Week - Magisterium

Magisterium - the living, teaching office of the Church, whose task it is to give an authentic interpretation of the word of God, whether in its written form (Sacred Scripture) or in the form of Tradition. The Magisterium ensures the Church's fidelity to the teaching of the Apostles in matters of faith and morals. (CCC)

While Scripture may be interepreted many different ways by individuals, as proven by the multiplicity of Protestant sects, it is by the teaching authority of the Magisterium that we know which interpretation is faithful to the original teachings of Christ and his Apostles.

Through the Magisterium, the Church infallibly carries on the teaching Tradition of Christ in our day and age.


"And it came to pass, that, after three days, [Joseph and Mary] found [Jesus] in the temple, sitting in the midst of the doctors, hearing them, and asking them questions. And all that heard him were astonished at his wisdom and his answers. And seeing him, they wondered. And his mother said to him: Son, why hast thou done so to us? behold thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. And he said to them: How is it that you sought me? did you not know, that I must be about my father's business? And they understood not the word that he spoke unto them." (Luke 2:46-50)

Sanctification and Salvation

I often choose topics that are too big to chew but I can't resist. I'm only briefly touching the tip of an iceberg which is gloriously large.

What is the fundamental mission of the Church? The answer is simple: the sanctification and salvation of mankind.

Going therefore, teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world. (Matt 28:19-20)

We often hear of the great things that the Church has done in the realm of social justice- alleviating poverty, ministering to prisoners, etc- and justifiably so! She has done her task well! And yet we hear nothing about the infinitely more important work which the Church fulfills in leading the Lord's flock to salvation. No other calling is more important. For,

...what doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul? Or what exchange shall a man give for his soul? For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels: and then will he render to every man according to his works. (Matt 16:26-27, Mark 8:36*)

What profit do we have to be freed from poverty, to have the comforts of life, to be free from physical bondage, if our souls are still chained down by sin? All is dust but the soul is eternal. If we allow ourselves to replace the spiritual life with the charitable one, virtuous as acts of mercy and charity are, we put ourselve in grave risk of forfeiting our souls! And should we deny the priority of the spiritual life as Catholics over all other things without reservation, we effectively deny eternity and the salvation which is to come. Beware!

We have much to be thankful for and should be greatly inspired by the works of charity fulfilled by the faithful. Indeed, our Lord has commanded us to love our neighbor and to fulfill such works with zeal. And yet, the most important work that we as the faithful can possibly do is pray unceasingly. Pray for the faithfully departed. Pray to the saints that they may intercede on our behalf. Pray for the sanctification and salvation of mankind, for it is only by this that our Lord's Kingdom will come.

Remember the event in the Gospel according to Mark, chapter 2. The paralytic, gravely afflicted in the soul and flesh, is lowered down by four men through the roof before our Lord. In that moment, seeing the man ill from palsy, the Lord says to him, "Son, thy sins are forgiven thee" [italics added]. Witnessing this most grievous of physical maladies, our Lord Jesus Christ takes as priority the healing of this man's soul of its sins. This, likewise, is the mission of the Holy Mother Church.

My beloved priest once said in a sermon, "I only ever pray for one thing. You need only pray for one single thing: the sanctification and salvation of mankind." Should we pray for a lifetime and witness by that prayer the sanctification and salvation of one man, that singular act will be greater in weight than if we were to save 100 men from physical strife, only to see their souls condemned. So much so that we may come before our Lord and hear His glorious words: "Well done, good and faithful servant, because thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will place thee over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." (Matt 25:21)