Jesus said to his Apostles:
“Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth.
I have come to bring not peace but division!
Ugliest Church Art Contest
Well OK, Let’s admit it, the modern age hasn’t exactly been known as the golden age of Church architecture. The following website has collected some of the more “unusual” Church art of the past decades.
Enjoy, and submit your own entries! By the way, I don’t agree that all the sites listed here are ugly. This is just for fun. It is well to remember the old Latin admonition: De gustibus non diputandem – In matters of taste let there be no disputes. According TO ME some of these entries are authentically ugly, even scary, but some aren’t so bad. You be the judge. And remember it’s just for fun. No polemical ugliness intended here.
And are some more really awful Church exteriors:
On a more positive note, here is a video I recently put together on some of what I CONSIDER to be some beautiful Church interiors.
Latest Catholic News
From CatholicTV.com
Pro-Life Democrats Weigh in
Many tend to think of Abortion as a partisan issue with Democrats supporting “Abortion Rights” and Republicans as pro-Life. But an interesting situation has set up in Congress. The issue is reported over at Creative Minority Report. Here is an excerpt.
With 235 Democrats in the House and 199 Republicans it was believed that essentially any legislation proffered by Obama would sail easily through without need of Republican support. But now, the only remaining hurdle to his plans might be pro-life Democrats. US News and World Report says that nineteen Democrats warned Democrat leadership that they would oppose any bill that did not specifically exclude abortion funding.
You can read the Full article here: 19 Democrats Stand Against Abortion Funding
Soli Deo Gloria – To God Alone be the Glory
The Video below has the very brief remarks by Archbishop Joseph Augustine Di Noia, O.P., Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, titular Archbishop of Oregon City, following his ordination to the episcopate at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C., July 11, 2009.
I must say his approach is very refreshing by being very God-centered. He sets the tone in his opening sentence by brushing aside the tendency to talk too much about ourselves and he focuses his gratitude and remarks on God. I am sure this will also set the tone for his Tenure at the Congregation for Divine Worship. Modern Liturgy has indeed tended to become too focused on its human dimension, what WE are doing. There is a need to set the focus back on God what HE is doing.
Church Teaching on”Same-Sex Marriage”
I found this video out on YouTube. It is rather well done in articulating the Church Teaching against “Same-Sex Marriage.” It is sensitively done as well, making clear that the Church does not reject or “hate” individuals with homosexual orientation. Yet to speak the truth in love means that we must insist on abstinence from sex for all unmarried individuals. Further, we cannot depart from Biblical teaching on the nature and purpose of marriage. We must remain consistent with Biblical truth and the constant teaching of the Church. It is a rather brief video and I recommend you view it and share the link with others.
Bottom line is, God has established marriage as a stable, lasting union of a man and a women and oriented it to the pro-creation and rearing of children. I have often quoted Genesis 2 and 3 in this regard but, here is another quote from the book of Malachi 2:15-17:
15 Has not the LORD made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth. 16 “I hate divorce,” says the LORD God of Israel, “and I hate a man’s covering himself with violence as well as with his garment,” says the LORD Almighty. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith.
Here then is the video
Noah at 900 – A Humorous Aside
Every now and then a little humor does us some good. Over at Creative Minority Report is an intentionally silly post about the remarkable ages of the Patriarchs who lived before the great flood. Adam, Noah, Enoch and others lived 800-900 years! How to understand these references?? Personally I think we need to take them at face value and just accept a mystery, that the ancient patriarchs lived a great number of years, far more than our modern experience. Attempts to render the 900 years as months or divide by 10 etc. yield absurd results such as the Patriarchs having children when they 2 years old etc. So just take it for what its worth, they lived a lot longer than we do and, as sin multiplied, our years grew shorter. Moses and Joshua made it to 120 but by King David our years were 70, or 80 for those who were strong.
BUT, this is all so serious! Click on the link below to enjoy a humorous back and forth in the article, and especially in the comments: CREATIVE MINORITY REPORT – THE AGE OF THE PATRIARCHS
I entered my own comments explaining the Age of the Patriarchs. Here are my entries: (Now don’t take this seriously folks, IT IS A JOKE!, in other words, I’M JUST KIDDING)
Explanation 1 The Bible clearly says we were visited by aliens who were also giants. This race of Giants is referenced in the book of Genesis. Now these giants had very large spaceships circling the planet. The combined gravometric effect of these giant spaceships actually slowed time down here on earth and thus we had 900 year life spans.
Explanation 2 – Another explanation is this: A guy goes to the dcotor and says, “Doc, I’ve gven up smoking, drinking, fattening foods and all sodium in my diet. Will I live longer?” And the Doctor says, “No, it will only seem that way.” Thus what he have in the Bible is the cummulative experience of a very long life, but it only seemed long to them because they did not have liquor, fattening foods, cigarettes, and high sodium diets. Hence the 900 year life span only seemed like 900 years, it was actually nine months.
🙂
The Teaching in the Title: Caritas in Vertitate
The Pope’s New Encyclical is entitled Caritas in Veritate. Simply translated, Cartias in Veritate means “Love (or Charity) in Truth”. But what the title really sets forth is a teaching that Love and Truth need each other for there to be balance.
Consider charity or love without reference to the truth. Too easily it becomes soft and affirms what should not be affirmed. Charity without truth can easily enable bad behavior. By this it can, though with good intentions, further enslave people in self-destructive behaviors. Charity without truth can lead others into error and sin by failing to correct. Charity without truth can rob others of their dignity through a kind of “soft bigotry” of low expectations. This kind of charity is patronizing and presumes that the poor and needy cannot be expected to attain higher goals, so it simply moves the goal posts. Charity without truth can rob others of the discipline they need to discover self-mastery. Without the truth Charity, or love, is soft and can become downright poisonous. Charity (or love) needs reference to the truth to be true charity, true love.
But Consider truth without charity. Without Charity, or love, the truth too easily becomes a club to swing at others, merely an argument to be won. Without Charity the truth can seem harsh and demanding, something to be avoided and feared. Without Charity the truth can seem unattainable. Without Charity, people usually lack the self-esteem necessary to even consider they could live the truth. When I was a child I needed my parents reassurance that I was able to do what was right and true. Without that love and encouragement the truth could seem crushing and impossible.
So there it is, a title, but more than a title, a teaching.
Familiar???? By the way Washingtonians, this title should seem familiar to you. The Late Archbishop of this Archdiocese James Cardinal Hickey had this for his motto: Veritatem in Caritate (Truth in Charity).