We were so busy at school today I forgot about the tradition of the boy bishop. It is connected with St Nicholas’ feast on 6 December. St Nicholas resurrected three boys who had been butchered and the evil butcher had put them in a barrel to pickle their flesh. Thus St Nicholas of Myra is the special patron saint of boys.

In honor of this, especially in England, a boy would be elected to be bishop or abbot for the day. He would preside over the diocese, officiate at a service and even preach a sermon. The custom has been revived recently in England–especially at churches dedicated to St Nicholas. Jay Anderson has more…

At St Joseph’s School today we had an Advent service. High schoolers put it together and performed a half hour compilation of Scripture, poetry, music and clips from the Jesus of Nazareth film. After the film students painted life sized crib figures which will be put up in the school tomorrow.

Maybe we’ll have time for the boy bishop tradition next year…

Quiz question – which modern English composer wrote a cantata on the life of St Nicholas in which the pickled boys sing a trio?

A favorite maxim of mine is by the Victorian English liberal F.D.Maurice. He wrote, A man is most often right in what he affirms and wrong in what he denies.

It is a dangerous saying, and the more you think about it, the more it makes you stand the world on its head. So often we define what we believe and what we do by what we deny, not by what we affirm. We expend huge amounts of energy being against something rather than for anything.

Conservatives are prone to this more than other folks. Because we value the past, when confronted with something new, too often we see the negative (or what we perceive as negative) and react against it, rather than finding what is positive about the new idea, new custom or new direction. We end up denying rather than affirming, and as such we deny ourselves something good, and if we’re not careful, by denying rather than affirming we may deny ourselves something very very good–like eternal life.

F.D.Maurice’s maxim actually brought me into the Catholic Church. While still a Protestant Evangelical I came across this eminently sensible quote. From then on, when I was confronted with something which was new to me, (especially when it was something Catholic) I tried not to deny, and tried to affirm instead. If I couldn’t affirm, at least I didn’t actively deny. I just put the new idea or custom or direction on the side and let it be. I came to realize that Protestantism was based on a whole series of denials. That is what gives Protestantism it’s character–it protests against something. it’s not really uniquely for much of anything. Thus, the more I tried to affirm all that I was presented with in Catholicism, the more I became Catholic, for Catholics should say like Therese of Lisieux, “I will have it all!”

I still try to do the same thing today. Instinctively, I’m conservative, but when confronted with something new like women priests or praise and worship songs or the charismatic movement or blogs or popcorn chicken or Latino music, I try to give it the benefit of the doubt. I try to find out what is good about it, for there must be something good and true (at least a little bit) in every theory, every religion, every idea or custom or practice otherwise it wouldn’t be attractive. That doesn’t mean I accept everything without discernment, and my personal judgement is always subject to the definitions and disciplines of our Church. What it does mean, is that even if I cannot accept something I still try to understand what is good about it.

Think how much better we would all get on if we could all adapt F.D.Maurice’s little dictum: A man is most often right in what he affirms and wrong in what he denies. Think how much richer our life would be! Think of all the new things we would try! Think of the exciting risks we would take. If we could adopt such a motto our lives would be eternally young. We’d run wild with the new, we wouldn’t be bound by our prejudices our bigotry and our narrow mindedness. We’d be constantly curious, open minded, creative and free.

In my post a few days ago I noted the Pastoral Provision’s snazzy new website, and rumblings from various quarters that Rome was trying to make it as easy as possible to help disenchanted Anglicans come into full communion.

As enthusiastic as all of us converts from Anglicanism may be, there are still some huge problems. Some of the problems are practical: when Anglicans come over there are significant numbers (clergy included) who have messy marital situations to sort out. Others have been church shopping so long that their spiritual trail is covered with all sorts of complications.

These things can be sorted out, and it is to Rome’s credit that she is willing to go through the hard work to get through the problems. The real difficulties, though, are not these practical ones.

For many Anglicans the problems are two fold. First is a long standing misapprehension about the Catholic Church. Many Anglicans–laity and clergy alike–really are amazingly ignorant about the modern Catholic Church. Even if they are attracted to Catholic styles of worship, they still think the actual Catholic church is the one of their childhood nightmares–all dark cavernous churches with Italian ladies wearing mantillas muttering rosaries in front of a bank of guttering candles before a gruesome crucifix or a lurid Queen of Heaven. They imagine hatchet faced nuns and red faced Irish drunks bellowing out imprecations to ‘Jesus Mary and Joseph’. Their Protestant upbringing has taught them to regard ‘Pope’ as meaning fat, corrupt medieval pontiff with ‘nephews’ and banquets selling indulgences to build a palace for himself. They know it is not like that now, but they can’t really shake these deeply rooted impressions.

I was talking with one of my students the other day about the mystery of the Roman Church. Has it ever struck you that we have here an institution that is older than Imperial Rome, yet it survives and thrives into the 21st century?

Wow! There is no other political, cultural or religious organization that has stood the test of time like this. Kingdoms and Empires come and go. Political ideologies last a few decades then wither. Psychological, scientific and philosophical theories flourish, then perish. Artistic and musical fashions fade. Even Christian sects and heresies come and go. They eventually die out. Don’t worry. Even Islam (which is a Christian heresy) will eventually die out. Like the grass, they all pass.

The Roman Catholic Church, on the other hand, stands firm. This simple fact of history turns history upside down. The secularists love to imagine that the church is ancient and failing. It’s an old lady in a nursing home gasping for her last. Then the world’s youth turn up for an old pope’s funeral and they are confounded. Turns out the Church is a young gal like Therese of Lisieux–proclaiming the gospel with the vigor, humor and revolutionary radical-ness of a teenager!

Here’s a community that is ever ancient, but also ever young. As B16 has said, “The Church is alive! The Church is young!”

Doesn’t that just make you want to kick up your heels? It does me, because if the Church is ever ancient and ever young, no matter how ancient I feel, (and have you seen my picture on this blog?) it means I’m ever young too because the church is in me and I am in the Church!

Geesh! That makes me excited! Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition!