Nuns who pray for journalists

This short article references a small group in Italy that has been praying for the journalists of the world for the last 80 years. They also do catechetical (educational) work in this regard as well.

This is the type of thing more of us need to get involved in. We talk about all the problems of the world: bias of the media, context of TV programs, etc.. What we really need to do is get involved. Where's the best place to start: prayer.

It's why my Quote of the Day a few days ago was "Work as if everything depends on you, and pray as if everything depends on God." -St. Ignatius of Loyola, Founder of the Jesuits

I think we need to take those words to heart more often. I think particularly in America we forget that prayer actually works and that actions speak louder than words. It seems that those two thoughts are opposed to one another, but as St. Ignatius points out, we must embrace that mystery.

kencraw on 02.21.04 @ 08:21 AM PST [link]

Keeping track of gay marriage status

Just to keep up with the news:

1. Another judge refuses to immediate halt SF gay marriages
2. New Mexico gay marriages halted
3. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger tell the attorney general to initiate legal action against gay marriage

Total gay marriages to date: approx. 3,170

kencraw on 02.21.04 @ 08:09 AM PST [link]

Another teacher & student sex case

This article reports yet another case of a female teacher having sex with a male student. Is it just me, or is this kind of thing on the rise lately? Or maybe, just like so many other things, now getting front page attention where in the past it didn't.

In any case, I see a controversy brewing around School Districts, female teachers and sex with male students. Eventually this isn't going to be seen as case by case issue but a categorical problem.

kencraw on 02.21.04 @ 07:23 AM PST [link]

Quote of the Day

"Learning unsupported by grace may get into our ears; it never reaches the heart. But when God's grace touches our innermost minds to bring understanding, His word that has been received by the ear sinks deep into the heart." -St. Isidore of Seville (recently declared the Patron Saint of the Internet)

kencraw on 02.21.04 @ 07:11 AM PST [link]

Nader to jump in Presidential race

Here we go again! More 3-party fun. I wonder which party will be blaming their lose on the 3rd candidate this time. Just in case you were keeping score:

2000: Nader kept Gore out of office by turning the tide in Florida.
1996: No conflict, Dole got killed (err... beat badly, no old jokes there, I promise.)
1992: Bush loses because Perot stole Republican votes

Tie breaker anyone?

Here's the fox news article

kencraw on 02.20.04 @ 06:56 PM PST [link]

New Gospel verses

I don't want to keep harping on Gay Marriage, but there is just so much out there. This is in the funny category:

Some Verses From the Same Sex Marriage Version of the bible. Pretty funny. My favorite:

"But at midnight there was a cry, `Behold, the Applicant! Come out to meet unmarried individual.'" (Matt 25:6)

kencraw on 02.20.04 @ 06:50 PM PST [link]

Pres. Bush waffling on Gay Marriage

In this article President Bush's position on gay marriage is analyzed.

I wonder why he is being so vague on the issue? Is it that he wants to see how it all plays out before making a stand? Is he hoping that it'll get resolved on a state/local level and he won't have to come out strongly against it (and maybe lose some votes in an election year)?

Anyway, I can't help but laugh at this quote in the article in regards to the fact that the will of the people is against gay marriage: "In San Francisco, the democratically elected mayor took this action just weeks after hundreds of thousands of people voted for him," said Jon Davidson, senior counsel of Lambda Legal, a gay and lesbian legal group.

That person clearly doesn't understand two critical concepts: hierarchy and cross-city and cross-state legal standing. I'll try to explain it in words he'll understand:

If SF democratically thinks gay marriage is acceptable, they can vote on it if they want or elect people who will enact (that means to write them and pass them) laws about it. But the citizens of the state of California voted to outlaw gay marriage (that means it's not acceptable anywhere in the state). The state of Californias laws supercede (that means they are more important) those of SF because of this complex idea of "hierarchy". This is particularly important when the marriage licenses issued in one city must be respected (that means honored or accepted) throughout the entire state and as such throughout the entire US. See when you get married in SF, you're still married when you go home to Vacaville. Because this is true we can't have one city issuing (that means giving out) marriage licenses that are invalid (that means not worth anything) in the rest of the state. Understand?

But I won't spend too much time trying to educate him on these immensely difficult legal concepts. I don't know if a lawyer could understand them.

kencraw on 02.20.04 @ 06:41 PM PST [link]

Jews for Jesus

I don't know a lot about this group other than by name, but they have put together a website on their thoughts on "The Passion". It includes an open letter to Mel Gibson that is worth reading.

kencraw on 02.20.04 @ 02:10 PM PST [link]

Quote of the Day

"I had an experience. I can't prove it. I can't even explain it. But everything that I know as a human being, everything that I am tells me, that it was real. I was given something wonderful, something that changed me forever. A vision of the universe, that tells us undeniably how tiny and insignificant and how rare and precious we all are. A vision that tells us that we belong to something that is greater than ourselves, that we are NOT, that none of us are alone. I wish I could share that. I wish that everyone, if even for one moment could feel that awe and humility and a hope. But… that continues to be my wish."

-Dr. Ellie Arroway (played by Jodie Foster) in the movie Contact

kencraw on 02.20.04 @ 02:00 PM PST [link]

Mel Gibson's Father

This blog entry from Dale Price's site was impressive enough to include.

I've been reading the articles over the last few days about Mel Gibson's father and some of his odd theological and political ideas. I didn't feel that they were worth commenting on in my blog because I don't think that anyone, even Mel's dad should be able to steal the focus from what is important here and that is the movie itself. I decided (and am sticking to it) that it is best to ignore those thoughts.

Yet deep inside I didn't understand how Mel could be so disciplined about refusing to comment on or to criticize his father, when even his father seems to be trying to add controversy to the film. But Dale's blog entry helped me to put the events in a new light. As such, they were well worth reading.

kencraw on 02.19.04 @ 03:12 PM PST [link]

Is "The Passion" too violent for children

In this article they discuss whether parents should be taking their children to see the movie since it is so violent.

I have to agree with the critics on this on. While I think it is appropriate that the movie is violent, (in fact, I don't think it can make its point unless it is) that doesn't allow us to disregard the impact that violence will have on young children. I remember seeing the movie "Mississippi Burning" in the theaters in 1988 when I was 13 years old. The movie had a profound impact on me with the racial violence in it.

I was just old enough to appreciate that violence and the impact was a meaningful one. Much younger however and I think it would have scared me without benefit. I would say that from what I've heard of "The Passion", that 12 is a good guideline age. Of course the maturity of each child should be taken into account in deciding whether they are ready for the movie. It is probably wise for every parent who is even remotely concerned about whether it is appropriate for their children, to go see it themselves before deciding whether their children should go. When a child is ready, I think it is important for them to see this movie, just like it was important for me to see Mississippi Burning. But we must wait until they are ready. I'm just guessing here, but I'm pretty sure it will be on DVD for those children who aren't ready yet.

Now onto my rant on the subject (I'm just getting warmed up!):

It's no wonder that so many people are critical of the "religious right". When the American Family Association is recommending that you take your children to see this movie (without even an implication of a minimum age) it stinks of hypocrisy. These are the same people who would be inclined to tell you that Bambi is too violent for your young elementry school student (OK, I'm exagerating slightly, but I hope you get my point).

I think some people have forgotten that there is more than one way to teach people about Christ. "The Passion" is NOT THE ONLY SHOW IN TOWN. Sure, I'm glad that it is coming out and am very much looking forward to seeing it. But I think too many people have lost their perspective. While this is a big event, and it will likely impact our society as a whole, in the end, it can only have as much impact as a movie can have. To abandon some of our most cherished beliefs (like protecting our children from violence in movies) because of this movie will only come back to bite us later. It will only show the that we can be just as biased (and hence not worth listening to) as those we fight against.

This is particularly worrisome about this is that so many of the children who will be going to see this movie have been (appropriately) shielded from violence in movies up until now. My mom was very careful to not let me see violent movies. We couldn't go to see a PG-13 movie until we were 13. She had gone to see "Mississippi Burning" and decided that even though it was an R rated movie, that I should go see it (I remember being shocked, yet excited). I think part of the reason it affected me so much is because it was such a violent movie in comparision to what I had previously seen.

For so many 12 year olds these days, who have seen all the violent movies, it might not be a big deal to see Christ beat nearly to the point of death. But for those good Christian parents who have been shielding their children from violence in the movies, to have "The Passion" unleashed on them is too much. It will shock them in a way that is not appropriate. Parents out there with young children:

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, FOR THE SAKE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY, WAIT UNTIL THEY ARE READY TO SHOW THEM THIS MOVIE!

Ask yourself, are they ready to see Braveheart? (same director, similar viens of thought (Wallace was a Martyr, right?), both R rated)

kencraw on 02.19.04 @ 02:47 PM PST [link]

A review of "The Passion" on Zenit

This review of "The Passion" is written by the author of "Crossing the Threshold of Hope", an excellent book that is essentially an interview with Pope John Paul II.

The important note is that he saw the final version! Most people who have previewed the movie have seen an unfinished version that didn't have the final soundtrack amongst other differences. This is a review of what we'll all see starting next Wednesday.

kencraw on 02.19.04 @ 08:44 AM PST [link]

An e-mail dialogue between Christians

Or are they acting that way...

Check out this blog entry from another site.

Why do we do this to each other? As much as we disagree, I think it is pretty un-Christian to spend our time attacking others.

An interesting note from a related blog entry. Anybody read the book "How Not to Share Your Faith"? Sounds interesting. If nothing else the author (Mark Brumley) was good enough to come up with a good title.

kencraw on 02.19.04 @ 08:34 AM PST [link]

Quote of the Day

"For me, it goes against the tenets of my faith. To be racist in any form, to be anti-Semitic, is a sin. It’s been condemned by one Papal council after another. There’s encyclicals on it. Which is uh… you know… to be anti-Semitic is to be un-Christian, and I’m not."

-Mel Gibson from his interview with Diane Sawyer in regards to being Anti-Semitic

kencraw on 02.19.04 @ 08:28 AM PST [link]

"The Passion"'s biggest legacy may be bringing Christians together

Here's a quote from this article a Baptist on blogs4God.com, a Evangelically oriented site, wrote:

"I never, ever, EVER want to hear from another Evangelical that Catholics aren’t Christians. One need only watch the beginning of the interview to see one Catholic’s accurate grasp on essential historical Christian theology … and I’m not talking about Ms.Sawyer."

I think the greatest thing that may come from "The Passion" is not the conversions it will cause but the work it will do to help Unify the various Christian groups. I particularly see Protestants seeing Catholics in a new light.


kencraw on 02.18.04 @ 10:58 AM PST [link]

What unity means

I went to a dinner party on Friday with some friends from Church. Yesterday, one of the people from the party told me that I had said something profound and asked me if I could write it down for them. I don't know if it is profound or not, but if they think it is worthy of repeating, then it definitely belongs on the blog, since most of the stuff here isn't worthy of repetition.

As a precursor, we were talking about the Unity of Christianity. Someone had asked if Christ would be disappointed with us if He came down and saw how we were evangelizing (we were speaking of the churches that send out mailers or have banners that say things like: come and have FREE Crispy Cream donuts). I initially responded that I didn't think Christ would be overly disappointed in things like that, but that He would EXTREMELY disappointed in the lack of Unity in the Church (Protestants vs. Catholics vs. Orthodox vs. etc). Most agreed but one person asked, if the Church has ever been unified. Hasn't there always been conflict in the Church? That's were my supposedly profound statement comes in:


I think we often misunderstand what Unity means. Unity is not about always being exactly of the same mind. Unity is about refusing to walk away and be disunified. It's like a marriage. Is every day of a marriage a continual argument-free bliss-filled existence? Of course not! What makes a marriage continue to succeed is not the lack of disagreements, but the refusal to walk away from the table. We insist on coming back even when we are hurt or feel like walking away. A marriage ends when we finally walk away.

The same is true of our faith life and of the Unity of The Church. We are unified when we insist on being the One Body of Christ. This doesn't mean we won't disagree. What it means is that we keep coming back to the table to be Unified. An example of this insistence is from the Acts of the Apostles. When St. Paul is unhappy with the teachings of St. Peter and the others in Jerusalem regarding circumcision, he walks half way across the Roman Empire to discuss the matter and come to resolution. It would have been far easier for Paul to disregard the community in Jerusalem. His communities were thriving and would eventually become the backbone of the Catholic Church. But he was unwilling to walk away. He insisted on being unified and he was willing to go to extreme lengths to ensure that Unity be the cornerstone of the Christian Faith.


That's the end of the purportedly profound statement. After taking the time to write it down, I have one further thing to add: May God have mercy on all of us, Catholic, Protestant and Orthodox, who have walked away from the table. May His guidance bring us back into full communion with one another to become One Holy catholic and Apostolic Church.

kencraw on 02.18.04 @ 10:42 AM PST [link]

Mel Gibson's PrimeTime interview

If you missed it (I made sure I recorded it on my Tivo) you can watch it on the web at:

http://www.doxaweb.com/interview_qt.htm

It is definitely worth watching. I watched it this morning and was impressed for the most part. I think some of the criticism of Diane Sawyer that I've seen on other blogs is exaggerated. I think she was doing her best to be impartial.

One VERY SMALL note that dissappointed me about the interview. He slipped and mentioned an account of St. Paul from "The Gospels", which there are none. All of the mentions of St. Paul are either in the Epistles or Acts of the Apostles. I'm sure he just misspoke, but it always makes me cringe when a spokesman for the faith makes a mistake that the critics can try to rip apart.

kencraw on 02.18.04 @ 09:50 AM PST [link]

SF Judge refuses to stop gay marriage

This article has more details on the hearing. The short of the matter is that there will be another hearing in on March 29th where the city of SF will have to defend their position.

It looks like the opponents will be trying to get it blocked sooner through other court venues, maybe as early as next week.

This doesn't surprise or disappoint me as much as I thought it would. I think that to some degree I'm comfortable that no matter what happens, my faith can not be taken away from me.

kencraw on 02.18.04 @ 09:41 AM PST [link]

Quote of the Day

"Critics who have a problem with me, don’t really have a problem with me and this film. They have a problem with the four Gospels. That’s where their problem is."

-Mel Gibson from his interview with Diane Sawyer

kencraw on 02.18.04 @ 09:30 AM PST [link]

Statistics on American's view of Biblical literality

Is literality a word? If not, it should be!

Anyway, this article talks about a survey of American's and their view of whether the stories of creation are literally true. It's always interesting to see surveys like this. I think it gives us insight into our society.

kencraw on 02.17.04 @ 07:55 AM PST [link]

Quote of the Day

"Work as if everything depends on you, and pray as if everything depends on God."

-St. Ignatius of Loyola, Founder of the Jesuits

kencraw on 02.17.04 @ 07:51 AM PST [link]

2000 gay 'marriages'

From this article:

"She said the city had processed weddings for 460 couples on Sunday -- bringing the total to about 1,700 since Thursday"

That'll mean well over 2000 gay marriages performed in SF (maybe as many as 2500) by the time the injunction can be put in place (assuming the judge goes that way) on Tuesday.

Got to give them a hand for their effeciency at least. Why does it take the DMV a hour to process 10 license renewals?

kencraw on 02.16.04 @ 08:10 AM PST [link]

The U.N. and The Catholic Church

Here's a good article on why The Church is still a big fan of the U.N. despite their very liberal policies on abortion and population control.

I think this article is a good example of what Catholics mean by Church. Do we have to be happy about everything our Church is doing? No. But what makes us "one Holy 'Universal' and Apostolic" is not our ability to be completely in sync with one another, but our ability to continue to come to the table in our differences.

In everything we have a choice: we can fight for what we have or we can abandon what we have. Sometimes abandoning is the right thing to do. An example would be an lifestyle of pornography and masturbation. But for our critical relationships in life: our marriage, our Church, our Country and our World, we must fight and to do that, we must remain in relationship.

kencraw on 02.16.04 @ 07:58 AM PST [link]

This is how extreme gay theologians must get to defend themselves

I read this article last week and decided not to post it because it was so extreme it didn't seem worth responding to. But with everything that has happened in regards to gay marriage in the last week, when I re-read it because I saw it through another blog, I saw it as amazingly important.

A few quotes from the article:

'"Christianity in its roots is a very queer religion," said Jay Johnson, programming and development director for the center and a rising star among queer theologians. "We're talking about an itinerant preacher who was unmarried in a society that was built on family relations, who hung out with all the weirdos and the freaks, who said they have a much better chance of getting into the kingdom of God than the religious leaders do, who was tortured and killed by the state, and whose resurrection was reported by a bunch of hysterical women. This is really queer stuff. Right?"'

'... the question about openly gay and lesbian clergy is just a no-brainer," he said. "Of course, our critics haven't gotten past that. ... It's the arguments we've heard ad nauseam for decades and decades and decades -- as if none of those arguments had before been refuted."'

(In reference to one of Paul's condemnations of Homosexuality) "The 'exchanged' indicates that they had some other options. ... The only people Paul was talking about were heterosexuals who became involved in homosexual relationships."

"I'd like to think that two thousand years of Christianity might have led us to a slightly better moral sense about the world than the authors of the Bible had."

(speaking of Paul) "He took all his erotic energy, and probably fears about male sexuality, and channeled it into an erotic relationship with Christ."

Need I go on (there's plenty more)? The problem isn't that they're wrong, it is that there is a subset of the world that is listening to these people. I have a lot more respect for the gay people of the world who just disregard Christ, or even those who just argue that the bible wasn't written for today's people, but to COMPLETELY re-write the bible and the people in it, it's just dispicable.

Later in the article a reference is made to the same point that is in "The DaVinci Code" about Jesus being married. People who think "The DaVinci Code" is harmless, don't realize that the road their heading down is the destruction of the Bible. It leads to articles like this.

kencraw on 02.16.04 @ 07:25 AM PST [link]

Quote of the Day

"Then we'll die!" -Indiana Jones
"My souls prepared, how's yours?" -Casam
"This is your last chance!" -Indiana Jones
"No Dr. Jones, it's yours." -Casam

-From Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade

kencraw on 02.16.04 @ 07:07 AM PST [link]

It's my brother's Birthday

Today is my Brother's birthday. Happy Birthday Brian:

Holy smokes, you're 25! Now you can rent a car without the rental Nazi saying "No car for you!"

kencraw on 02.15.04 @ 05:56 PM PST [link]

Thoughts on today's Gospel reading

Today's Gospel reading (Lk 6:17, 20-26) was very moving to me. The beatitudes always strike me just because they call us to something so radically different than what society calls us to. How often do we cherish the "blessed"'s of society over the "Blessed"'s of our Lord? I think it is a continual challenge to each of us to put the Lord first.

Additionally, a thought came to my mind. In Luke's Gospel the Beatitudes come from the "Sermon on the Plain" which we frequently think of as the "Sermon on the Mount" because that's the way the Beatitudes are delivered in Matthew's Gospel. Many ask the question, which is right? My thought is, why can't it be both?

Not that I dare ever compare Christ to a politician lest I be struck by lightning, but do people who give speaches ever repeat themselves? Of course. In fact, people who have a message to deliver, repeat themselves more than most people do. They tell the world over and over and over and over and over, what their message is. I suspect that Jesus probably gave the "Sermon on the Mount" many times. Sometimes it was on the mountain top, sometimes in the plain, sometimes by the river, sometimes by the sea, sometimes in the temple, sometimes in a disciples home, sometimes through the Holy Spirit, but all the time to be received in all of our hearts.

May God's peace be with us all.

kencraw on 02.15.04 @ 01:49 PM PST [link]

Quote of the Day

"Blessed are you when people hate you,
and when they exclude and insult you,
and denounce your name as evil
on account of the Son of Man.
Rejoice and leap for joy on that day!
Behold, your reward will be great in heaven."

-Jesus Christ, from the Gospel of Luke and today's Gospel reading in the Universal Catholic Church.


kencraw on 02.15.04 @ 01:36 PM PST [link]