The Annual Forlorn Hope

 We got  our first Christmas card yesterday. My cell phone says that if I don't have my Christmas tree yet, I had better hurry up; they are in short supply. Last year I tried to buy Christmas stamps on Dec. 10, and the post office was all out.
 Know what?
 I don't care anymore. My days have dwindled down to a precious few. I know I won't live to see Christmas get put back into Christmas. For years, the Knights of Columbus, joined eventually by Bill O'Reilly, tried to "put Christ back in Christmas." All they got for their efforts was Kwanzaa. And, anyway, they were trying to put Christ into Advent, not Christmas. When President Trump boasted that -- thanks to him, of course -- people are saying "Merry Christmas" again instead of "Season's greetings," he was talking about the shopping season, not the Christmas season which starts after the shopping season.
 But I don't care anymore.

Two Popes: Francis and John Paul II

Popes Francis and Benedict have often been compared and sometimes contrasted, especially in regard to Catholicism's internal government.  However last week we had two articles that compared Francis with John Paul II on the world stage of international affairs.

Pope Francis, globe trotting pope

The most impressive part of the article is the graphic comparing the trips of the Popes by areas of the world. While JP2 traveled widely, he slacked off during the last decade of his pontificate more and more concentrating on Europe.  Benedict traveled mostly inside Europe.  In other words for over two decades Popes have not been globe trotters. Francis has resumed a pace and a scope more comparable to the early JP2, and he has largely ignored Europe. 

The WAPO article cannot resist characterizing his journeys as looking to change the church, however Francis like JP2 is interested in Evangelization, the Gospel having an effect upon the world.

In the blast zone, NO to Nukes

"Over Francis' nearly eight years on Peter's Chair, a critical emphasis of his pontificate on the wider scale has been a concerted effort to burnish the Holy See's "soft power" ........what the marked increase in papal advocacy has wrought is that, to a degree last seen at the zenith of John Paul II after the fall of Communism, when The Man in White speaks, the world's leaders pay attention."

Rocco then pivots to a not unrelated theme, the inculturation of the Gospel. John Paul II may have brought Catholicism together as a world wide organization. What Francis is attempting to do is make the Gospel relevant to each country through inculturation and emphasizing the importance of Bishops Conferences and synodal government at all levels. 

My comments:

The run-the-richer-guy strategy

... because sometimes it works.

The angry elephant in the room

  The Democrats seeking the presidential nomination seem to be talking about everything but what will be Job One for the next president. That’s how it looks to someone who isn’t keeping score but only knows what he reads in the newspaper.

 I mean, Medicare for All is an interesting proposition. But how are you going to dampen the outrage? If the next president can’t approximate that, the rest of the agenda will die on the shoals of distrust and disgust. Whether Trump leaves by impeachment (and not even Sky Masterson would take any odds on that), or is defeated at the polls, or is term-limited out and actually goes in 2025 (he has hinted he may not), some day there will be another president. And that one -- even if it’s one of the Mikes, Pence or Pompeo -- will have to pick up the shards and dig out the land mines and bind the wounds of Trump’s long, rancorous ego trip.

St. Cecilia Feast Day

Happy feast day of St. Cecilia.  She is the patron of church musicians, and musicians in general. She is also the patron saint of our archdiocese; the cathedral is named for her.

Even though she came from a wealthy family, she didn't have an easy life. Though some details of her life may be apocryphal, her existence and martyrdom is considered a historical fact. She didn't want to be married, but was more or less forced into it by her family.  Her husband sounds like a decent guy; according to the story he didn't force the issue about her previous vow of virginity, and was martyred himself after he converted to Christianity. Cecilia was killed in a brutal manner for professing her faith.  She lived in the 2nd or 3rd century A.D., her exact dates of birth and death are not known. She is believed to have been about 25 at the time of her death.

After the tribulations of her earthly life, hopefully she enjoys her heavenly gig of being the patron of music and musicians.

Eat your heart out, John Grisham

Triggered by by Donald J. Trump Jr. was published Nov. 5 and leaped immediately to the top of the New York Times' Best-Seller list. It's about how the liberal media, the socialist Democrat Party and the Ebonians are all out to get his daddy.
 Mr, Trump Jr. has a bachelor's in real estate finance. His literary success reminds me of the old joke: "Six months ago I didn't know how to write, and now I are a author."
 The Times  reports that the book got a boost from  a $94,800 advance order from the Republican National Committee. That is not unusual. Organizations, even political parties, often buy books in quantity to either resell or give away. This is a little odd, though, according to the Times' story;

 While it’s not uncommon for books to be sold for fund-raising purposes by Republican and Democratic committees, the R.N.C.’s Triggered  purchase is unusual in that the committee is promoting a book written by a candidate’s son who isn’t a politician and isn’t running for office.

 Of course, the R.N.C. these days, like the White House, is less an organ of American politics and more a wholly owned subsidiary of the Trump Corporation, which Mr. Trump Jr. nominally heads.
 In light of his overnight success as an author, though, don't you think the corporation and its subcontractors should lay off the criticism of Hunter Biden?

Sondland's fan dance

Gordon Sondland, testifying this morning, about his role in the quid-pro-quo merry-go- round certainly got Pompeo, Pence, and assorted other officials into the witness box. Trump and Guiliani maybe not so much.  Sondland, rich man, amateur diplomat, and the U.S. Ambassador to the EU probably got himself off the perjury hook. I think he's lying when he says he did not hear the word Burisma connected to Biden & Son. There are so many things he can't quite remember while acquiescing in other's sworn statements about their conversations with him. Would he be even more forthcoming if charges of perjury were pursued by the committee.

Why do Christians love hell? The Tablet

The cover story was written by David Bentley Hart.  I'm sure some of you here already know his work, but he's new to me. I had heard his name somewhere, and was intrigued by the title of the essay  Why do we love hell?.  Wiki tells me that he converted to eastern Orthodoxy from Anglicanism.   Not sure why he was an Anglican and not Episcopalian, since he is American. Guessing he likes high church liturgies. He is also a member of the Democratic Socialist party.  Interesting guy.

Syrian Christians have been abandoned more than once

St. Ephrem’s Lament

Joseph Amar is professor emeritus of Syriac, Arabic, and Eastern Christianity at the University of Notre Dame. He is currently at work on a biography of Ephrem the Syrian. He is a priest in the Syriac Maronite Church.

Syriac Christianity is an important and much neglected part of the history of Christianity. When I went to ND during the summers, I was hoping Amar would offer a course in the theology department. But he was preoccupied with graduate students giving them the tools they needed to study the original texts.

I look forward to his book on Ephrem.

Marie Yovanovitch

Probably like a lot of Americans, prior to 2019 I didn't know who Marie Yovanovitch was.  But lately her name has been in the news a lot, and in the headlines today.
What do we know about her? According to Wikipedia, "Marie Yovanovitch is the daughter of Mikhail Yovanovitch and Nadia (Theokritoff) Yovanovitch,^[5] who fled the Soviet Union and later the Nazis.^[3] She was born in Canada, moved to Connecticut at age three, and became a naturalized American citizen at age eighteen. She grew up speaking Russian....She  earned a B.A. in History and Russian Studies from Princeton University in 1980.^[7] She studied at the Pushkin Institute (1980) and was awarded an M.S. from the National Defense University's National War College in 2001.^"
She joined the US Foreign Service in 1986, and has served as a diplomat for over three decades, under six presidents.

Jesuit Priest Appointed Secretary of Economy

Pope Francis Names Spanish Jesuit New Head of Vatican Finances

Very interesting development. Another Jesuit being moved into a key position. CDF head is also a Jesuit. Even more interesting,

America has learned that Father Guerrero, 60, will not be named a cardinal or a bishop in this post. Nevertheless, Father Guerrero’s authority comes from the fact that he will respond not only to the Council of Economy headed by Cardinal Reinhard Marx, but also directly to the pope. Father Sosa the head of the Jesuits asked His Holiness that Father Guerrero not be appointed a bishop so that Father Guerrero could return, after finishing his mission, to his normal life as a Jesuit. 

Take a look at the America article especially his background. Although this guy does not have curia experience it looks like he has had a lot of experience (the usual Jesuit been everywhere done everything). Could the Curia meet its match in this guy?  Lots of other people have failed including JP2 and B16. And, of course, despite trying Francis has not been too successful either.

"There's a breakdown of the central teaching authority of the Roman pontiff"

The quote in the post's headline is from Ross Douthat's interview with Cardinal Raymond Burke in the New York Times.  Douthat gets Burke to speak frankly on a number of topics, from Pope Francis to the dousing in the Tiber of the indigenous image during the Amazon Synod ("it's a pagan idol") to his present exile ("it's clear that pope doesn't want me in any leadership position") to what he views as the incipient apostasy on the part of the church in Germany ("the Catholic Church in Germany is on the way to becoming a national church with practices that are not in accord with the universal church") to distancing himself from Steve Bannon.  A bit on his traditionalist liturgical views, although nothing on his vestments.

He comes across as human, and as reasonable in his stances, even when I don't agree with them.  I'm sympathetic with someone who is trying to offer loyal resistance, and it's pretty clear that that's how Burke sees himself.

So many dolts, so little time

 Every now and then (all the time, my wife says) I come across a new low. The other day, it was a bumper sticker reading "So Many Species, So Little Time." It was mated with a Trump 2020 sticker. Of course. (You were expecting maybe "Support Breast Cancer Awareness"?)
 I don't suppose that would be overly popular in the Bahamas these days, but, hey, MAGA.
 In the normal course of events, something new would come along. I didn't expect it to be that bumper sticker turning  into public policy. But, thanks the the Environmental Protection Agency, it is due to become  policy next year. (Also here.)

How do I know? My Twitter tells me so

 

 The open hearings on impeachment start this week, and you don’t have to look very far to find an expert, solon or moosehead to tell you everybody’s mind is made up already. Contrarians are keeping a low profile. Maybe they don’t want to be primaried.

   The Times’s story on the Kentucky election today may tell us more than the experts, solons and mooseheads about what to look forward to in 2020.

  In the former tobacco commonwealth last week, the Democratic candidate for governor apparently beat the incumbent, Matt Bevin, by 5,000-plus votes. Nevertheless, Bevin demanded a recanvass (which is less than a recount). The history of recanvasses is: You still lose. Nevertheless, after the recanvass, Gov. Bevin can “contest” the election, which sends the race to the legislature. Where there is a supermajority of Republicans.

 Quoth Gov. Bevin: "What we know is that there really are a number of significant irregularities."

The great unknown(s)

When I visit the blog, a list of contributors appears along the right-hand margin.  I've just noticed that some four or five of them are now listed as "Unknown".  Are those folks whose names used to appear whose profiles have died?  Or what are they?  Does anyone know?

Homily 2 - life after death

You might describe the marriage between my wife Therese and me as a love match.  We got married because we dated, and then fell in love, and then decided that we wanted to be married – and then we got married. 

That story obviously is important to Therese and me, but it may not sound that interesting to you, because there is nothing that is particularly unusual about it.  Marrying for love, by mutual consent, is our culture’s ideal – you might call it our culture’s norm.

But that hasn’t been the way that marriage has worked in all places and times. 

Homily 1 - angels

I preached twice this weekend, once for a "normal" mass, and once at a mass with a baptism (which is an unusual occurrence for us).  This homily was written for the baptism mass.  I'll post my other homily separately.  The readings for today are here.

One more year of conventional wisdom

 I have a sudden feeling that we should uncouple Mayor Mike and Sleepy Joe from Margaret's thread that started out appropriately appalled by Gen. Bonespur playing the role of Ulysses S. Grant at the New York Veterans Day parade. And put the race into a new thread.
 For a couple of reasons.
 One is that Margaret's piece on the Commonweal Website is not the same as her column in the current print edition. Both worth reading, but I still don't understand why I am supposed to ignore Cory Booker, who is a senator and was the mayor of a city larger than South Bend. (A nice place, but you wouldn't want to go to college there.)
 Another is that Never-Trump Republican Bret Stephens of the NYTimes is all in today for Mike Bloomberg, and there are two grafs in his piece that I would like to dissect.

Preaching with a newspaper in one hand

I afflict our group with the texts of my homilies, and so far, not many of you have asked me to stop.  One of my recent offerings invoked Greta Thunberg and climate change.  I mentioned, in the blog discussion that followed my posting of that text, that I had received negative reaction from some parishioners.

Guess who's coming to the parade

The 100th anniversary of the Veteran's Day Parade take place on Monday, November 11. It began with the end of World War 1 and has incorporated veterans of our many wars since. The parade organizers have invited Donald Trump to send off the parade beginning in Madison Square Park. The NYTs reports that he will not lead the parade--a security nightmare!

As everyone knows, Trump gave up his NYC residency and moved to Tom Blackburn's Florida backyard. And as everyone further knows, he is not popular here (you could be the person he shoots on Fifth Avenue). First hearing the news, I could only think he was leading the parade, being booed, and having rotten tomatoes coming at him, etc. Then in these paranoid time, I thought OMG, this will show up in a campaign twitter, video, you tube, showing what awful snobs NYers really are.

At least at the moment, he is not leading the parade, is apparently not in it, just setting if off. But in case he does lead, I hope the parade watchers will simply turn their backs.

Racism today

For the last few days, the Chicago area has been jarred by a racist incident at a Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant in suburban Naperville, IL.

The Emerging Church

For several years I have been reading about the "emerging church".  Many religious leaders have been writing about it from across the entire christian spectrum and I have read many of their books and articles.  It's a topic that I seldom see discussed on most religion-related websites however - including Catholic sites.  It seems almost like a hidden movement. But it might be worthwhile for those in the "conventional" churches to read some of the ideas expressed by those leading the emerging church movement. Wholesale adoption of the ideas by the more conventional is unlikely, but it could open minds to new ways of seeing - of thinking.

Zacchaeus, that ink-stained wretch

 Tax collectors have been in the Gospel lately. Last week, it was the humble one who was justified in contrast to the boastful Pharisee. This week it was Zacchaeus, treed, who was described as both rich and a tax collector. In both stories, the tax collector comes out well, in spite of being one of a despised class of citizens.

 Somebody had to collect the tax.

 We were wondering who, in this land of the free, might stand in for tax collectors if the Gospel  stories were told in this day and age, when tax collectors are mostly a computer program. My friends suggested: journalists.

 Yeah, there is something in that. The president has called us “enemies of the people” 36 times, and Tweeted “fake news” 558 times. Sometimes he points out reporters and gets his cult to chant, “Lock them up.” Customs and Border Patrol agents seem to be on board.

Who Wins in the Culture Wars? Part I

I have been sad and mad ever since this latest shot was fired in the election cycle culture wars.  I am of course referring to the incident in which Joe Biden was denied Communion by a priest in a church in Florence, South Carolina.
This article  by Michael Sean Winters which appeared in NCR today expresses my thoughts exactly: