Oreo Cookie Church
Once again, I want to wish all my blogger friends a blessed Easter. May the rest of the Easter season be as fruitful for you as, I hope, the preceding weeks have been.
Nadine worked hard during Holy Week getting caught up on her correspondence. The season is a bit easier for her, now that she has twelve thousand of her first cousins and seven thousand second cousins trained in the finer nuances of Easter deliveries.
I also want to thank all those wonderful folks who voted for me in The Catholic Blog Awards. Tony (Soprano) was only able to garner enough votes in the pews to put me in sixth place for Best New Catholic Blog, but considering the competition, I am very honored.
Carolina Cannonball at The Crescat is running another important Catholic Blog Competition. I nominated myself in all categories because I crave attention and adulation. My motto has always been, “Bad attention is better than no attention at all.” I will be nominating others in various categories and you may want to stop over and nominate your “favorite.” Please note this is not “sour grapes”, but more in the spirit of poking fun at ourselves.
And the good Lord knows, at least I think He does, that healthy humor is good for the soul. Over the past few weeks, I have been scandalized by some of the comments showing up at my favorite blogs. The vitriolic level and personal attacks have reached a level that can only be described as disgusting. And as usual, it is coming from the opposite sides of the same coin. On the one side, we have the ultra-conservative folks, and on the other the ultra-liberal. Jeffrey, at Roving Medievalist, posted a link to a very good article on this subject, which you can read HERE.
In the middle of this battle are the majority of Catholics, average folks who go to church on Sunday and for the most part, have no idea of what this ugly storm is all about. My husband so perfectly described it this morning as a church that has become an Oreo. Each of the cookie halves represent the two extreme factions, and the white frosting in the middle represent “everyday Catholics” - those who pay the light bill by donating the majority of the money scooped up every Sunday by the ushers. Without the “white stuff”, the two halves will not hold together.
There can be no denying the presence of problems in some parishes, most notably in the liturgy, of which music is an integral part. However, slinging insults at one another is not going to solve anything or bring about any meaningful change. Prayer, gentleness, and humor can work wonders. We need not look any further then Jesus for an example of how we should be behaving.
Coming Soon
I will be starting my series on the Twelve Steps for Catholics tomorrow. I will be celebrating my 18 birthday in AA this coming July, but like all alcoholics, I really only have “one day at a time.” People I consider to be way smarter and better writers have addressed this subject, but I also believe, “If only the most gifted bird sang, the forest would be a quiet place.” Therefore, I will be adding my “chirps” to the forest.
9 comments:
“Bad attention is better than no attention at all.” You are ready for the paparazzi! Tell Britney I say "hi." LOL!
I voted for you in all the categories I found your blog in at the Catholic Blog Awards. But as you wrote, sixth place isn't all that bad. It was nice of you to keep Tony restrained throughout all the voting. There had been talk of Jimmy Carter coming down to monitor the voting process as a U.N. representative to ensure the democratic process was not torpedoed. Again: LOL!
I completely agree with you about all the bad blood circulating between the factions mentioned. All this in front of God Almighty! It's like getting into a fight with a sibling right in front of your parents:0( Shame. Shame. Shame.
I agree that prayer, cordiality, and humor is always the best way to bring people who think differently under the same umbrella.
Looking forward to your Twelve Steps for Catholic posts. As I wrote to you previously, I’m sure it’s applicable to many areas of our individual lives.
For the most part, factions are found online only. That's easy to deal with.
Glad you're soon to write of working the Steps.
A blessed Easter season to you and yours!
Carol
I can hear the Father now: "Don't make me stop the car and come back there!"
Happy Easter Adrienne!
I believe it is a mistake to characterize "The Battle for the Church" (See book by Msgr George A. Kelley) as "Progressive vs Conservative" - these are political terms and the only real measure of consequence is Orthodoxy vs. Heterodoxy.
In "A New Song for the Lord" (Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, 1996) our pope hit it on the head; at the root of the problem is our personal answer to the question Jesus asked "Who do (you) say that I am?" - and the answer for way too many is in reality a fantasy rather than the Jesus who is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Is the person who is "scandalized" when God is called Father and the Savior of mankind referred to in the masculine first person, the "same" as the person who is "scandalized" and suffers intensely, and perhaps less than silently, when the Lord is mocked and blasphemed from the pulpit? the first suffers as a result of their own resistance to truth and ill will, the second suffers with the suffering Christ. both feel the same thing, just as the two on the crosses on either side of Jesus.
The real personal danger, I suspect, is to be like Peter, in the face of Jesus' enemies, and deny Him. Pray the cock crows, and hear Peter remind us to always give an account of our faith, with charity (which is never opposed to truth).
Tom - You are always so sweet to me. All that money I'm sending you is really working.
Carol - I think the blogoshpere is a hint of what is going on in the minds of Mr. and Mrs. average Catholic in the pews. Just not so ugly (Thank goodness)
Mark - As usual you are so erudite that two, sometimes three readings of your comments are needed. I absolutely agree with you that the terms “liberal” and “conservative” are not the best choices but they seem to be ones that folks understand. The reality is truth vs non-truth. Either we are living the Catholic faith as taught by Jesus along with Tradition (Scripture and Tradition) or we are not.
And I also agree that some pretty funky things are going on in some parishes. Theology is definitely being undermined so that the average pew potato (sometimes I’m one of those) can feel good or have a “meaningful” experience.
What disturbs me is the personal attacks, including juvenile name calling, in the comboxes perpetrated against people who have just voiced an opinion. It seems to be the opposite sides of that coin that become the most violent. It sometimes leaves me feeling queasy.
I thank God everyday for faithful Catholics like you, whose prayer life silently announces to the world who they are and what they stand for.
The problem with the Oreo is that the best way to eat them (according to the guys at work)is once they've been blended with 1/2 a pint of full cream milk! I'm just not sure what that says about the Church....
I've just come from visiting the Crescat...shameless publicity indeed! We lesser bloggerpersons bask in your reflected glory.
Auntie A-
Why are the checks bouncing?
Hey, lots of moving parts going on with you. I'm finally getting a chance to sit down and catch up with folks. Looking forward to your 12 steps postings.
Karen
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