Fr. Longenecker writes here on why Catholics can’t have good music, and he makes a decent historical argument: Suddenly we were flooded with new hymns–most of which had banal lyrics, crappy folk music and trite sentiment. The Catholics didn’t sing the old hymns because they didn’t know them. In the meantime they were having lots of awful new songs shoved down their throat and they (quite rightly) didn’t bother singing them because they knew deep down that they were either... Read more
Under increasing pressure from the Vatican to come up with something better than “definite progress” and “robust discussion” concerning the implementation of Ex Corde Ecclesiae, the United States Council of Catholic Bishops announced this week that they’d contracted with staff from the National Labor Relations Board to, “help sort things out about those Catholic Colleges and stuff.” “It was divine intervention, really,” said the USCCB President, Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz. “Here we thought the Obama administration was yanking our chain... Read more
Fr. Dwight Longenecker has released his second Screwtape-style novel, Slubgrip Instructs. C.S. Lewis fans are understandably wary: Is it possible to write a follow-on work that’s more than a pastiche? The answer is yes, and there are good literary reasons why Longenecker has succeeded. Quick Background: The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis is a novel told from the perspective of the demons charged with tempting a young man. It’s a humorous and insightful look at the pitfalls and glorious reality of the Christian... Read more
(Quick update to remind the catechists: This is a blog for adults, not kids. Patheos is not a site for children. If you want to share this particular post with your class, just print it out and read aloud. For goodness sake don’t send a twelve-year-old here. But grown-up to grown-up? Share away.) *** My son and I were talking about click-bait. If only the Catholic faith were presented more like internet news. We brainstormed a few possibilities, as gleaned... Read more
If you browse among the purveyors of sex toys, which you most emphatically should not do, among the offerings you’ll find all the regalia of oppression and humiliation. BDSM as a variant on traditional women’s porn as sold at the grocery store didn’t come out of nowhere. Long before the intelligentsia were conflicted in their literary analysis by the clash between “cutting edge” and “terrible writing”, the neighbors were busy acting out sexual fantasies straight from the annals of Amnesty... Read more
It’s the Feast of the Presentation, the very last day of Christmas no matter how you count. From today’s readings: Because he himself was tested through what he suffered, he is able to help those who are being tested. Lent is around the corner. Here’s a tip for you, as demonstrated by today’s readings and by all the best carols: You’ll always do better if you put a bit of Lent in your Christmas, and a bit of Christmas in... Read more
This Sunday’s Gospel has Jesus out for a walk on the beach, and he sees these fishermen and tells them to drop everything and come become apostles. To hear it preached sometimes, you’d think they’d all never met before. But take a look at last Sunday’s Gospel: John was standing with two of his disciples, and as he watched Jesus walk by, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus. Jesus turned... Read more
I periodically give the friends and relatives a health update, which I don’t usually publish here. But thermostat settings, everyone wants to talk about that, right? So everything is holding steady, which is good. Miracle drug still doing its miracle thing. I got hold of a fitness tracker this winter and have started watching the daily exertion count, which makes it much easier to manage my activity level, but also maybe a little more depressing (she said buoyantly). Basically the... Read more
Reminder that today is a day of prayer and penance. Why, you ask? Because any society that makes Rome seem like the good guys is doing it wrong. Artwork: by Pietro Perugino, Marcus Porcius Cato [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons Read more
Bad news for human souls: The US Supreme Court has declined to hear the appeal of the case in which the Louisiana Supreme Court called for a priest to break the seal of the confessional. UPDATE: Simcha Fisher explains why there are other, better ways to protect victims of abuse. To bring you up to speed on the implications, here is why this is such a travesty, and what we can expect as a result of this ruling. If you... Read more
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