Category: Culture

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How Do You Dress for Church? Some Helpful Encouragement from a New Video

0713blogI have written at length before on the issues of modesty and how we dress for Mass:

Rather than repost all that commentary here, I would like to focus on a new video (thanks to Brandon Vogt and the other producers) that invites us to be more considerate about how we dress for Holy Mass. The video is quite balanced and presents a range of views. One man wears a tie, the other does not; one woman wears a dress, the other, slacks. The point is not to specify in minute detail what is to be worn, but rather to reinstill a devotion that influences our clothing and demeanor at Mass within a range that is culturally recognizable as appropriate for the occasion.

As a “range” this will vary a bit based on age, season, climate, personal issues, and the like. But a range, while admitting variability still has limits beyond which we ought not to go. Consider of a road with several lanes; it also has shoulders and a guardrail. And while one may travel in any of the different lanes (styles), the shoulders should ordinarily be avoided (except for urgent reasons). The guardrail represents a final limit which, if transgressed, indicates that one has gone beyond safety and prudence.

Here are a few random observations about the range of clothing decisions for Holy Mass and what might affect and influence that range.

  1. Church norms and rules – There are no official, specific Church norms or requirements for lay persons who attend Mass mentioned in Canon Law or the Sacramentary. Surely for priests and other clergy there are many rules and norms, but I am unaware of any currently binding norms for the laity. Although veils were once required for women (in the 1917 Code of Canon Law), the current code is silent on the matter.
  2. Hence it seems that the culture supplies most of the norms. A factor to be considered is that in the West, the culture has become secular and does not therefore supply a proper sense of the sacred. Therefore Catholics ought not to simply consider cultural norms in assessing proper attire for Holy Mass.
  3. For, indeed, in American culture we almost never dress up for anything anymore. Casual is an almost ubiquitous norm. Most of us who are older than fifty remember a time when this was not so. Prior to 1968 (when the culturkampf really exploded) one would almost never think of going into a restaurant in shorts or a T-shirt. Trousers with a belt, and a button-down shirt with a collar were the expected norm. This norm prevailed in most other public places as well. Shorts and T-shirts were fine for the backyard, but not out in public. Today such norms are long-gone and casual attire prevails almost everywhere. Jeans and T-shirts, once considered rather sloppy except for those engaged in physical labor, and are now considered fashionable.
  4. So the cultural norms have changed. Some of us who are older or more conservative lament this. But some room has to be made for the general consideration of things like fashion and for the fact that people have different opinions about what is acceptable.
  5. But remember, saying that there is a range does not mean that there are no limits. There is some right and duty to insist on limits and to indicate offense when necessary. The culture, even if it has gone casual, does not alone supply a proper sense of dress for Holy Mass, since the culture has become secular.
  6. Sadly, even among many Catholics, attitudes about Holy Mass have changed, too, arguably for the worse. Poor catechism, bad liturgical practices, secularism, other cultural trends, and even architecture have all lessened the reverence many Catholics have for Holy Mass. Many do not consider that they go to meet and worship God. Communal dimensions, not bad in themselves, prevail; they are out-of-balance and eclipse the presence of God and the orientation that Holy Mass should have toward God. We aren’t just “going to Church,” we are going to encounter God and worship Him. But this is simply not the emphasis in most people’s minds and it affects the way they dress.
  7. God cares how we dress. One of the replies that sometimes comes back in discussions about proper attire is that “God doesn’t care how I dress.” One ought to avoid saying that God doesn’t care about things, especially when His revealed word indicates otherwise. There are actually a number of places where God indicates in His Word that He does care about such stuff. There is the general directive to Adore the Lord in holy attire (Psalm 96:9; Ps 29:2). Moses was told to remove his shoes for he stood on holy ground. There are directives for the Passover meal that one should have staff in hand, with loins girt, and sandals on his feet (Ex 12:11). St. Paul speaks to norms of his day regarding decorum and orderliness in worship, that women cover their heads in prayer, etc. (cf 1 Cor 11 – 14). Granted, these norms spoke to the culture of that time and admit of interpretation. But it is wrong to say categorically that “God doesn’t care how I dress.” God does care, because, as we all intrinsically know, the way we dress says a lot about how we regard something and affects how we behave. Even in our more casual times, people know the value of dressing well for a job interview, or for important events such as a prom, a wedding, or a State dinner. Clothing both signifies and affects our attitudes. To this extent God does care, because he looks to our heart and its condition. And we, too, should care, by observing a proper range of clothing choices for something as significant as Holy Mass, wherein we go to worship the God of the Universe and take part in the Wedding Feast of the Lamb. Holy attire is fitting for holy things, holy rituals, and holy people.
  8. Climate – Another common reply is that it is “hot.” Yet here in America, I can hardly avoid chuckling at that response. For the most part, people leave their air-conditioned homes, get into their air-conditioned cars, and walk into air-conditioned churches. It may be hot outside, but most people spend little time in any sort of heat. It is also fascinating to me that our most recent ancestors, who had no air-conditioning at all, usually dressed and wore a lot more clothing than we do. I suspect one thing that helped them was that they wore more natural fibers such as cotton and linen. So this retort seems more rooted in a “comfort culture” that has made us soft and out-of-touch with the real weather outside. However, as noted above, climate and weather are factors in the range of clothing that is acceptable. Back in the “old days,” before the revolution, during the hot summer we would usually wear “only” a shirt and tie to Mass. It was mainly in the cooler months that a suit jacket was worn.
  9. Getting smarter about clothes? People often ask me, as a priest, how I tolerate the hot summers in Washington. I generally find that loose-fitting clothing is actually better than less clothing. My summer cassock (which has no liner) is a better option around the parish because it breathes more and shades my skin from the hot sun. Linen albs are best in hot weather since modern polyesters don’t breathe well. I am least comfortable in the black business suit I am often asked to wear. I shop for suit jackets without liners, but they are hard to find.
  10. The common good – In going to Mass, we do not simply dress to “suit” ourselves. We ought to have the common good in mind as well. Demonstrating the sacredness of Holy Mass is helpful to us and to others as well. Being careful not to dress in ways that distract others (by immodesty other such things) is important. The way we dress can be a teachable moment for others.
  11. Charity – Discussions about attire can easily descend into a lack of proper charity. We have to accept that there are going to be differences of opinion and, as I have said all along, there is a range of what is appropriate. The main hope is to scope out a sensible range, allow reasonable diversity within that range, and seek to correct extremes. Simply scoffing at others from either side (too casual or too formal) creates more heat than light. The main point is to consider what Holy Mass is, and to dress accordingly within an acceptable range, out of faith and charity.

What to wear, what not to wear?

Hence at the risk of seeming old and stuffy I’d like to suggest a few norms for attire at Holy Mass. I hope you’ll supply your own as well.

  1. Men should wear formal shoes. We used to call these hard shoes (because they were) but today many formal shoes are actually quite comfortable. Sandals (not flip-flops) can be acceptable.
  2. Men should wear trousers (not jeans).
  3. Men should not wear shorts.
  4. Men should wear a decent shirt, preferably a button-down one. If it is a pullover shirt it should include a collar. Wearing a plain T-shirt without a collar seems too informal. No sleeveless shirts or tank tops should be worn.
  5. Men should consider wearing a tie, and in cooler weather, a suit coat. Some may consider this a bit too stuffy and formal, but who knows, you might be a trend setter!
  6. Now as I talk about women I know I’ll get in some trouble!
  7. Women should wear decent shoes. Flip-flops and beach sandals seem inappropriate. Some forms of sandals are more dressy and can be acceptable
  8. Women, like men, should not wear shorts.
  9. Women, like men, should not wear jeans, and though there is such a thing as fashionable jeans, they are seldom a good match to the Sacred Liturgy. Some nice and modest slacks can be fine.
  10. Women should consider wearing a dress or at least a skirt in preference to pants. It just looks a bit more formal than pants in most cases.
  11. Women should wear a nice blouse or shirt (if not wearing a dress). The blouse or shirt should not be too tight.
  12. Women should not wear tank tops, tube tops, spaghetti straps, or have a bare midriff.
  13. For both men and women, T-shirts with loud and obnoxious slogans or secular messages are inappropriate, as are sports jerseys and other sports paraphernalia.

Well, have at this list; add or subtract as you will; the discussion is open. But please, try to remain charitable; we all have opinions. Someone who doesn’t share your exact view isn’t necessarily a bad person. There is a range of acceptable options. Don’t attack the blogger (me) or your fellow commenters. Stick to the issue and comment on that.

If possible, please watch the video before commenting.

I have avoided speaking directly to modesty in this post. That, too, admits of a range and often leads to debates about men and women that I’d like to avoid here. Let’s focus on a sense of the sacred in attire, a theme that includes modesty but is wider than just modesty.

Here’s the video:

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A powerful and humorous look at vanity in a commercial.

Most people associate the word “vanity” with an excessive concern or pride in ones appearance, or sometimes with ones own qualities. But at its root the word “vain” or “vanity” refers to emptiness. To say that something or someone is “vain” is to say that it, or they, are empty or largely lacking in meaning, depth or substance.

It makes sense that people get worked up about externals when there isn’t much happening on the inside. And thus it makes sense that we connect emptiness (vanity) to excessive show.

There are lots of expressions that enshrine this connection:

All form and no substance
That Texan is all hat and no cattle
All bark and no bite
All booster, no payload
All foam, no beer
All sizzle and no steak
All talk
Show me the money

The Wisdom Tradition in the Bible, especially the Book of Ecclesiastes, speaks of vanity at great length. And there the word tends to refer to the ultimate futility of whatever this world offers, that the world is ultimately empty and vacuous. For example –

Eccl 2:11 Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.

Eccl 5:10 He who loves money will not be satisfied with money, nor he who loves wealth with his income; this also is vanity.

And thus the world which so mesmerizes our senses shows itself ultimately to be empty of power, or any lasting substance:

We have here, no lasting city (Heb 13:14).

As for man, his days are like grass: or as the flower of the field. Behold, he flourishes. But the wind blows and he is gone; and his place never sees him again. (Ps 103:15-16)

I thought of these notions of vanity when I saw this admittedly very funny commercial. It shows a man concerned only with his appearance. Actually, he is even more vain than that! It is how he smells that concerns him (this is an Old Spice commercial). He is so vapid, so vain, that even if he doesn’t look good, at least he smells like some one who looks good!

As he moves through the scenes of the commercial he becomes increasingly devoid of substance (literally)!

Symbolically we can see him as the vain person who goes through life carelessly, paying no attention to the way in which the world, the desires of the flesh, and the devil strike at, and eat away at him. But again, never mind all that, at least he smells like some one who looks good! His only real substance is to be lighter than air, a whiff. It is form over substance, impression over reality. It is empty show, it is vanity on steroids.

Here is a humorous look at vanity, a vanity so vain that it exists even beyond appearance and extends into the vapid, vacuous and vaporous vanity of merely “smelling like some one who looks good.” A remarkable portrait really of the empty show that vanity ultimately is. Enjoy!

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Ingenious in passing things, and foolish in eternal things, as seen on T.V.

By Pahudson (Own work) Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
By Pahudson (Own work) Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

We live in times of great ingenuity. We have a lot of clever smarts. We have been to the moon and back. Our computers never cease to amaze, as we make them smaller and more powerful. We peer to outer space and see further than ever. And then we look ever deeper into inner space, doing microsurgery and studying the human genome.

And yet, though technological giants, we are moral midgets. Though able to solve enormous technical problems, we cannot even figure how to stay faithful to our commitments, or keep our families together.Churches which once dominated our skylines are now dwarfed by buildings dedicated to banking, insurance and other passing worldly affairs.

Our houses with the great room, cathedral ceilings, and granite counter tops rise as monuments to our wealth and skill. But inside, these houses are not homes, and they are often filled with divisions, divorce and sterility.

For all our wealth there is little wisdom, for all our power there is little prudence.

From any eternal perspective our smarts amount to the building of sand castles that are sure to wash away. They cannot ultimately stand any more than we.

Scripture warns of the human tendency to maximize the minimum and minimize the maximum. We are smart, but about the wrong things, ultimately. Our priorities are wrong:

  1. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. (Matt 23:22-24)
  2. “But God said to [the rich man who built barns], ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ “So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich in what matters to God. (Luke 12:20-21)
  3. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. (Lk 16:8)
  4. For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ. (Phil 2:21)
  5. But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people. (2 Tim 3:1-5)
  6. How prosperous Israel is— a luxuriant vine loaded with fruit. But the richer the people get, the more pagan altars they build. The more bountiful their harvests, the more elaborate their pagan pillars. Their heart is false; now they must bear their guilt. The LORD will break down their altars and destroy their pillars. (Hosea 10:1-2)
  7. A discerning person keeps wisdom in view, but a fool’s eyes wander to the ends of the earth. (Proverbs 17:24)
  8. They are ingenious in their wickedness. (Romans 1:30)

In other words, we human beings tend to get smartest about the least important things, and are foolishly forgetful about the things that matter most and eternally. Yes, we maximize the minimum, and minimize the maximum. There are some who know everything there is to know about the game of football, or who is who in Hollywood and politics, but are at a loss when it comes to the most basic spiritual concepts, biblical stories or moral teachings. Hours are given over to football, T.V. and politics, but there is no time to pray.

Well you get the point. We are smart, but about the wrong or passing things. Meanwhile we remain foolishly out of touch of the things that matter to God and which last unto life eternal.

Somehow I thought of this when the following commercial appeared in my YouTube queue. It illustrates our capacity to be ingenious about things that don’t matter. It features men that know everything about beer and have developed every talent imaginable about it.

To be sure, I have nothing against beer in moderation. But allow the beer to represent this world. And thus we see humorously illustrated our tendency and capacity to become VERY talented in so far as worldly things go. But at the end of the day, its just beer, its just the world, a world that is passing away.

Are we as talented and ingenious about spiritual things?

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First Person Plural

Multiracial Hands Making a CircleIt is a very brief word that begins the Lord’s prayer, “Our”, as in “Our Father.” Note that it is in the first person plural. Such a little insight, yet such a powerful one.

We live in times that emphasize the first person singular: I, me, mine my rights, my opinion, my choice, my lifestyle, my personal statement, my personal relationship with God, the God of my understanding, etc.

We could probably do with a little more the first person plural. Our Lord, our Father, our family, our children, our Catholic faith, our heritage, our common lot.

Yes, just a little more of the first person plural.

At a funeral yesterday, a priest friend of mine said of the deceased simply, “She lived her life in the first person plural.” And all the assembled nodded their heads as they recalled how she had summoned them to family unity, and lived her life caring for others. Yes, and Ms. Lillie insisted that her children and grandchildren. and great-grandchildren should do the same, living decent, God-fearing lives, living in a way that was respectable, and respected others. And she insisted on justice, caring for those in need in the family, and beyond.

Yes, living our lives in the first person plural, something to think about, something to recover.

It is true, there is a certain glory in the insistence of our modern age on the dignity and the rights of the individual. But too often, we fail to balance it properly with the common good. We do well to remember once again the first person plural. Are we individuals? Yes, but we’re all in this together.

Am I my brother’s keeper? You are indeed. First person plural: “Our Father…”

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A Case for Communion in an unlikely place.

I was tipped off by a parishioner  to a social commentary in an unlikely place, a journal for Engineers, called ECN. In the article Karl Stephan, Consulting Engineer, Texas State University, San Marcos writes on the decline of the average American worker to find stability in the workplace, and that this instability has ripple effects in the family and does not make our future as a culture very bright.

Karl Stephen refers to this decline as a problem with “communication” But his use of the term as he defines it is closer to what we in the theological world call communion, or Koinonia.

In his own insightful way he points out that if we cannot find and maintain a higher degree of communion, we are likely doomed to steady decline as a culture and will not be able to sustain the taller growths that have led to our great achievements of the past 100 years.

Let me present a few excerpts for your consideration along with my own commentary in red. These are excerpts, the full article is here: Do We Know What We Are Doing?

Back in the 17th century, the word [“communication”]used to mean “anything good that two or more people have in common.” Communication meant not just talk, but trade, education, the town or country where people live together, institutions of all kinds—in short, the whole social fabric of benevolent interaction among human beings..…

Again, I would argue that what he enunciates here is close to our concept of communion (koinonia) at least at the human level.

We may be facing a future in which the coming generation increasingly cannot find work that allows them an adequate means of social communication….

A big factor in this problem is the deterioration of the family structure, which is both a cause and an effect of economic changes. The family is probably the most vital and intimate form of social communication of all. Any nation which neglects the preservation and encouragement of the family will sooner or later end up running on fumes, because mentally and physically healthy, disciplined, competent workers capable of long-range planning do not simply grow on trees. They typically come from healthy families, and the fewer of those there are, the fewer upstanding citizens we will have to work with in the future.

Exactly. As a pastor who has had a School associated with his parish for much of my priesthood, I can also attest that much of what we describe as a problem with education, and much of what we ascribe to poorly run schools, is more often a problem rooted in family decay.

It may not be realistic to suppose we can turn out brilliant scholars and above average students, when nightly we send these children home to dysfunctional families and often highly deleterious situations in their homes.

The same is true for catechesis. It is not realistic to suppose that teaching children for an hour a week, no more than 30 days out of the year is going to bear a lot of fruit when they go back to homes where,  God is seldom mentioned, and the teaching of the Church and Scriptures are ignored or openly defied.

It is a true fact that our schools need great reform, as does catechesis, but one cannot wholly lay the blame at the feet of educators and catechists. Even very effective programs are not going to bear much fruit in the absence of a good family setting.

Our author speaks sobering words when he says, Any nation which neglects the preservation and encouragement of the family will sooner or later end up running on fumes…. Indeed the soil in this country grows ever thinner and we are less and less able to sustain the taller growths demanded if we wish to see the kind of technological and economic progress that we have in the past.

[In recent decades] the new-model corporation [has] emerged leaner, meaner, and more efficient….Engineers made these productivity gains possible with all the technology, communications systems, and automation improvements that have come online in the last several decades. [But as he will point out, people got left behind and were increasingly seen as an inefficiency in a system that prizes efficiency above all].

[But] corporate America is becoming a victim of its own success. In 1947, lifetime employment of wage-earners working for large corporations was the norm, and over that lifetime the average hourly worker with only a high-school education could expect to get married, buy a house, a couple of cars, have some kids, and maybe put one or two of the kids through college. And that is pretty much what happened.

Today, by contrast, a person starting out even with an advanced college degree can expect during one’s career to work for many companies, most of which will get bought out, restructured, or moved offshore at some point, and even engineers with good starting salaries will be fortunate to be continuously employed without large gaps in employment or having to do extensive retraining at several points…..

Yes, both of my brothers, and most of my parishioners are caught up in this instability in modern life. Even some of the largest and most stable companies of the past have been bought out, sold, or are endlessly reworked. Job security seems to be a thing of the past, even at the highest levels.

All of this causes serious social ripples, especially at the level of the family. It is hard to underestimate the toll that uncertainty takes, as well as the social costs of being uprooted and frequently forced to move about the country. 

I certainly know as a priest that parish life is rendered far less stable with all the moving about many Catholics are expected to make. Fewer and fewer are the parishioners who have been in the parish a long time. A nearby parish that caters  mainly to Capitol Hill workers has few families for longer than five years. Developing leadership, vocations and other works requiring committed stability is difficult.

Not only is the high-school dropout of today unable to get a decent job; he can’t afford many of the things that today’s economy makes. That drying up of the domestic market is what Mr. Friedman sees as the really ominous cloud on the horizon. Already, many U. S. companies are finding that their growth markets are mainly overseas.

Yes, economic isolation is growing and a permanent underclass is being formed among those who cannot academically compete. I find that many College Grads in my parish are competing for jobs as simple Admin assistants, even store clerks, and fast food workers.

If even college grads are fighting for these jobs, what does that say to those who for economic or academic reasons cannot get college degrees? What it says is that they will spend most of their life economically isolated and standing little chance of any upward mobility.

The despair that even college grads face, let alone mere High School grads does not bode well for social stability and health in the decades ahead.

We assume that this is because domestic markets are simply saturated, but maybe they are actually shrinking because the less-employed U. S. workers can’t afford to buy the things that the corporations make. The result? Millions of young people who can’t get a decent job, can’t afford stable relationships and the other promises of the American dream, and who may turn America into something closer to one of those countries where mobs of unemployed young men create continual civil unrest…..

Ominous. Last summer we look with shock as European Youth rioted in the streets. And while the roots of that unrest are linked to socialism, the picture we saw last summer may be repeated here for different reasons. The current economy shows little signs of suddenly opening up to a wider job market. Social and economic mobility seem increasingly locked down, new doors seem unlikely to suddenly open up. 8% unemployment (the real number is far higher and we all know it), has become so “normal” that it isn’t even reported anymore.

All of this becomes a downward cycle as the current economy further destabilizes the communion necessary for strong communities and families. And as those institutions further destabilize, the capacities for producing strong well trained workers and problem solvers further diminishes. And as  strong well trained problem solvers and those who invent new technologies and industries recede from the scene, the capacity to pull out from the decline further erodes, and the downward cycle continues. Add to all this the stifling of creativity by growing government regulations and intrusive policies, and a kind of perfect storm is emerging.

At the end of the day the communion we so desperately need seems increasingly hard to find. Marriages happen later as young people strive to find elusive stability before marriage. And families in crisis or families that are formed only very late tend to be small and lacking in the synergy most necessary for a favorable future.

As our author points out, communion, or as he calls it “communication” is at the heart of our problem, and at the heart of the solution. It is as he says, not just the ability to talk, but also to trade, give and receive education, to have some roots in the town or country and live together with others is an historical less ephemeral way. It is stably participating in institutions of all kinds. In short it is the whole social fabric of interaction among human beings.

All of this is strained today, at almost every level. Even in the Church, the decline in Holy Communion is not only problematic, it is emblematic of tear in social communion at every level.

It is the work of the Devil to divide and he has succeeded well. Spare us O Lord and restore our lost communion. Without you, and without one another we fall, and indeed great is our fall. Parce Domine, et miserere!

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A Critique of Moral Relativism in a Monkees Song?

021813There is a song about the sadness of moral relativism in an unusual place: “The Greatest Hits of the Monkees.”

Some who are old enough may remember growing up with the songs of the Monkees. I confess their song “Only Shades of Gray” was not one I remember well from those days. But it is a fascinating song about moral relativism.

Some think it’s just a song about growing up. But to most it speaks of a time when things were more certain and compares it to these more modern times when it seems everything is disputed and up for grabs, no more black and white, only shades of gray.

It is all the more poignant that the song was written in the turbulent 60s and, perhaps, represented the anxiety generated by those times when just about everything was being thrown overboard.

Now I know that it is wrong to point any particular age as the “golden age.” Scripture itself warns against this: Do not say: How is it that former times were better than these? For it is not in wisdom that you speak this (Ecclesiastes 7:10). I am also aware that not everyone feels the same about the “good old days.” For some they were not all that good. We should not forget the terrible wars of the early half of the 20th Century. Further, I serve in a parish that is predominantly African American and for many of my parishioners previous days featured “Jim Crow” laws, disenfranchisement, lynching and enforced segregation.

And yet, it remains also true that some fifty years ago we had a much wider consensus on basic moral teachings and appropriate behaviors.

  1. Premarital sex was considered gravely wrong and guarded against, even if it was not perfectly observed. Remember chaperons and separate dormitory facilities?
  2. Easy divorce and remarriage was considered wrong, and it was in fact legally difficult to get divorced.
  3. Abortion was illegal
  4. And it never even entered our minds to give children in school contraceptives.
  5. There was also strong consensus against homosexual activity and the thought of homosexuals demanding to marry and being taken seriously was something that would have seemed from an episode the Twilight Zone.
  6. Families were larger and most were intact.
  7. There was also a general appreciation of the role of faith and prayer in American life.
  8. I could go on but perhaps this is enough.

Here too I can hear the objections: “We might have had those standards but we didn’t live them well…. Things went on behind the scenes, families weren’t perfect, many kids still had sex etc. etc….”

But I will respond by saying, At least we had those standards and saw them as truths to be respected. It is an extreme measure, a kind of nihilism, to say that since we do not live up to our standards perfectly we should not have them at all.

And I also know we were more wrong about some things in the past. We were more racist and less open to legitimate diversity, less concerned about pollution. But here too it is extreme to say that because we were wrong about some things in the past the whole thing should be thrown out. Why not keep the best and purify what is needed?

So here we are today, is a radically relativistic and nihilistic time where there is less and less agreement about the most basic of moral issues. And, without a common basis for discussion, such as Natural Law, or the Judeo-Christian worldview, we are left to a battle of wills, an increasing power struggle where the one who shouts the loudest, has the most money, wins an election or has the most access wins, at least for the moment.

It is what Pope Benedict has described as the “Tyranny of Relativism.” Reason and principles increasingly do not transcend political, economic and social distinctions. There are fewer and fewer shared values that every one agrees on no matter what their party or background. Public policy is rooted more in power than in right reason. We are a culture without a “cultus” i.e. without God, or even a higher truth outside ourselves to which we all look and have general agreement. Closed in ourselves and our own little world we are like crabs in a basket, fighting and clawing for the top. There is nothing we acknowledge from above to order us.

Whatever our struggles of the past, we used to agree on more. Many of those certainties have been replaced by a wide presumption that everything is just shades of gray.

Listen to the song. Don’t forget my disclaimers. I do not propose a simplistic old=good; new=bad scenario. I just write to provoke thought. Please feel free to comment. . First the words, then the video.

  • When the world and I were young,
  • Just yesterday.
  • Life was such a simple game,
  • A child could play.
  • It was easy then to tell right from wrong.
  • Easy then to tell weak from strong.
  • When a man should stand and fight,
  • Or just go along.
  • Refrain:
  • But today there is no day or night
  • Today there is no dark or light.
  • Today there is no black or white,
  • Only shades of gray.
  • I remember when the answers seemed so clear
  • We had never lived with doubt or tasted fear.
  • It was easy then to tell truth from lies
  • Selling out from compromise
  • What to love and what to hate,
  • The foolish from the wise.
  • It was easy then to know what was fair
  • When to keep and when to share.
  • How much to protect your heart
  • And how much to care.

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“I am the One Who fished you out of the mud, Now come over here and listen to me.”A Meditation on the Fear of the Lord.

021713Perhaps it will be of help to develop a theme set forth in the Gospel this past Sunday. The Lord Jesus at one point rebukes the devil and says, Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'” (Lk 4:8)

Jesus is tapping into the Old Testament vision of the “Fear of the Lord” as Deuteronomy says,

Fear the LORD your God and serve him. Hold fast to him and take your oaths in his name. (Deut 10:20)

or again

Fear the LORD your God, serve him only (Deut 6:13).

I have written extensively on the “Fear of the Lord” HERE and HERE.   But for our purposes here let us reflect on the magnificent gift that it is to fear the Lord. And, if you don’t mind, I’d like to begin with the personal.

I want to say that I am awestruck, utterly astonished, at how good God has been to me. His gifts to me have amazed me. I do NOT deserve them and can only conclude that I received them for the benefit of others AND that God is utterly gratuitous, giving gifts simply because He is good, rather then because we are deserving.

I want to add that even the setbacks in my life have been “gifts in a strange package.” I have come to discover that even the dark passages, wherein I grew lost and angry, have now turned to bless me. My crosses have become the tree of life for me by His grace.

Let me repeat, I am utter astonished, dumfounded, amazed, astounded, bewildered, blown away, boggled, bowled over, overwhelmed, startled, stunned, stupefied, and taken aback by God’s love, grace and mercy.

Why do I say all of this (other this in profound gratitude)? Because, this is most fundamentally what it means to “Fear the Lord.” To fear the Lord is not a cringing fear, which waits for a punishing blow. It is a holy reverence, born in love and deep appreciation, indeed awe at Who God is, and how good and holy He is.

To fear the Lord is to hold Him in awe, It is to be amazed at what he has done for me.

In every Mass Jesus says, “Do this in remembrance of Me.” What does it mean to remember? To remember is to have so present in my mind and heart what the Lord has done for me, that I’m grateful, and I’m different. It is to go to the foot of the cross and finally have it dawn on me that He died for me.

And as that happens, as I begin to realize what He has done, my heart is broken open, and love, appreciation and gratitude begin to flood in. A deep love and holy reverence, an awe begins to fill my heart.

This is the Holy Fear of the Lord.

And out of this Holy Fear, born in love and appreciation, I dread, that is I fear, the thought of ever offending God who has been so good to me.

This is the Holy Fear of the Lord. I invite you to visit the links above to see how this is born out in scripture.

In this fear, this appreciative love, we want to obey God, we are eager to serve and reverence Him, because He is good, not merely because he can punish.

I am mindful of an old rabbinic tale which meditates on why God, over and over again says, when giving the Law in Deuteronomy ends every command with the expression “I am the Lord.” (e.g. Lev. 22) An Old Rabbi, unnamed, says,

Let me tell you what God means when he says this! He is saying, ‘Look! I am the One who fished you out of the mud, Now come over here and Listen to me!

Indeed, yes Lord, You have been good to me! You have done more than fish me out of the mud, you have saved me from Hell, you snatched me from the raging waters and set me on firm rock. Yes Lord, I love you, and whatever you want, I want. Whatever you don’t want, I don’t want it.

This is the Fear of the Lord. Ask for this holy gift. It is the solution to many temptations.

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Mercy Triumphs! As seen on T.V.

021513A quick word of thanks for your patience, as the Blog has been down for three days. We got hacked in a bad way. Terrible malicious software brought the whole server down. Every thing had to be cleansed and copied to a new server. We are back on Firefox, Safari and Explorer but Google Chrome is still mad at us. Hopefully they too will be back on line after we prove we’ve been cleansed by the Blood of the Lamb, and also by IT experts!

It is impossible for us to know why we were attacked, it may be something that was said or posted here or it may just be that it was “our turn.” Either way, Satan has been busy and he and his minions will answer to God someday for things far more serious than this, but not to exclude things like this.

And that leads me to today’s commentary on a Mercedes Benz commercial. In the video below Satan appears with promises to the whole world and all its pleasures if the man in the video will just sign on the dotted line. Not only will the man get a free Mercedes Benz but he will also get all the things that are supposed to go with a Benz: beautiful women, caviar, luxurious receptions, fancy homes, access, victory, popularity, you name it. “It’s all yours! Just sign here!” says Satan.

But the man considers the price of a Mercedes without the devil as a partner versus everything with the Devil as a partner. Do not miss the meaning of the name “Mercedes” which means mercy, and Benz which is a name meaning “brave”. Mercy is worth more than anything else, no matter how pleasurable in passing. For the mercy of the Lord endures forever, while the trinkets of the devil are but for a time. You might say, in financial terms, mercy has positive leverage while the Devil’s payouts have diminishing returns. If the Devil gives you a payout, you’ll watch it diminish with each passing day. But God’s grace and mercy grow to yield an abundant harvest. There may be the payout of the cross and deferred pleasure, but wait till you say the harvest. Thus once must bravely (“benz”) reach out for Mercy (“mercedes”).

Thus, in the commercial the man considers all Satan’s trinkets against the glories of mercy and he chooses mercy. He know the cost, but considers it acceptable if he can but have mercy for himself, without the Devil as a partner. How about you?

A final detail worth noting in the commercial: At the bottom of the proposed contract held out by Satan is a backward Chi Rho (The Greek abbreviation for “Christ”) and the Latin Inscription Sigilla posuere magister diabolus et daemones (Master seal of the Devil and demons. The backward initials recalls an image of the anti-Christ. And the Latin is more literally means “A seal to set the Devil and demons (as) Master.”

In the end that is the choice. You will have the master your choose. And of this the Lord reminds we must choose one and only one:

No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. (Matt 6:24)

Whose coins are in your pocket and whose seal is on them? The choice is yours. You are free to choose, but you are not free NOT to choose. You can have it all now, or store it up bravely for later:

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matt 6:19-21)

Why not be Benz (brave) and choose Mercedes (mercy)?

In the end the Scripture is fulfilled for the man which says, Resist the Devil and he will flee (James 4:2)

Here’s the Commercial: