Catholic Sensibility

A favor to ask of my readers, but first, some background …

Much to my pleasant surprise, my new parish, when I arrived last summer, was involved with the Catherine of Siena Institute, and their effort to assist parishes and people discern gifts. I was certainly aware of Sherry Weddell’s work through her blog Intentional Disciples (see blogroll), and also in ministry circles around the Kansas City area. My first graduate school course twenty-five years ago was entitled “Self Discernment in Ministry,” so I’ve been formed (and formed well, I think) in the notion of discernment, spiritual gifts, and as a minister, in helping others discern their own gifts, their own role to play in the Church and in the world as a baptized Christian.

At my parish, I’m responsible not only for worship but also the nebulous area of “spiritual growth.” (Hence my acronym WSG.) My staff colleague Bobby has spearheaded our parish’s effort in Discerning Our Giftedness for the past two or three years. Before I was hired, the liturgist position was vacant for most of two years, and this has been Bobby’s own charism, aside from his devoted work as our parish business administrator. But he has told me that eventually Discerning Our Giftedness will fall under my oversight as part of WSG.

A few months ago, I thought I had better undergo the basic training and probably somewhat more to get familiar with the process, materials, and the parishioners involved already.

In discerning one’s gifts, one looks at areas in which one is reasonably sure there is a gift, areas in which a gift is possible, and areas in which there is unsureness. One of the borderline gifts I’ve chosen to explore is writing, and to this end, I’m altering my contribution to Catholic Sensibility for the next two weeks or so.

If writing (or any other human aspect) is truly a charism, truly a spiritual gift, then it must be directed to serve others, not the self. I blog largely for personal enjoyment. I think I write fairly well, at least when I put my mind to it. But gifts need to be tested. And to that end, I’ll be shifting to a different writing style for the next few weeks. I’m giving up the obviously self-indulgent things like politics. I’m putting the RCIA series on hold. Definitely no quick things on video hoaxes.

If you have comments on the new posts, even small stuff, go ahead and give it to me.

My wife has been avidly following the new Ken Burns documentary The National Parks: America’s Best Idea. Have you been watching? I keep hearing one of my favorite hymn tunes, Land of Rest, in various arrangements. The producers explain discernment behind the music choices:

In making the film, we wanted to infuse the story with music that matched the stories we were telling. Some of the songs we chose were taken from the particular times in popular culture during which our historical characters lived – from the hymnals early visitors to Yosemite would have known in the mid-1800s to the jazz of the early decades of the 1900s, from orchestral works inspired by the American landscape to the Rock and Roll of the 1960s. But throughout, we also wanted some thematic melodies that could span a century and a half of narrative and somehow capture the timeless emotions – from exuberant joy to hushed awe – people have consistently experienced when they entered these timeless places. We wanted melodies, what we call our film’s “emotional metronome,” that could as easily apply to John Muir, for whom the waterfalls of Yosemite sang an “exulting chorus,” to Adolph Murie a hundred years later, who felt that the howl of a wolf on a stormy Alaskan night was also “music…the voice of wilderness.”

Rod Dreher and Mark Shea have an Emily Litella moment.

Amazing.

The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter has imaged Buzz and Neil’s camera (among other stuff) at the Apollo 11 landing site. See the thin gray line out to Little West crater marked by the vertical arrow? Neil made a dash out there before the explorers packed up their moonwalk. Those are his boot tracks. This post and many other cool news items at Universe Today. Bookmark and visit daily: that’s my advice.

Archbishop Silvano Tomasi didn’t exactly lie, but he did pad his statistics in an attempt to blame homosexuals for the abuse of minors. Naturally the new media, in this case LifeSiteNews, is curiously incurious. A “secularist group” is putting on the pressure, though:

The statement comes in the wake of accusations at the UN Human Rights Council, which published a written statement by a secularist group, the International Humanist and Ethical Union (IHEU), alleging that the Vatican was responsible for the proliferation of sexual abuse cases involving Catholic priests. The IHEU accused the Church of a failure to honor obligations under the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

Roy Brown from the IHEU:

The Holy See has been heavily implicated for decades in covering up cases of child abuse carried our by its clergy and religious orders, in obstructing justice, and in failing to deal appropriately with abusers.

Yet for too long it has been given a free ride by the international community because of its presumed moral leadership. Our report is the first to bring the issue to the attention of the Council. We shall be referring to our report in the plenary of the Human Rights Council next week.

It’s a tough pill to have non-religious groups hounding the Church on an important ethics issue. Archbishop Tomasi doesn’t seem to get it. The problem is not the abuse perpetrated by individuals themselves. As the LSN article notes, other churches and organizations have problem members. The Catholic problem, as revealed in 2002, was the complicity of bishops in the sinful behavior. Institutional mismanagement … on a tragic scale. Archbishop Tomasi’s response: other groups are just as bad as we are, and besides: it’s all about gays anyway.

Every so often, I lurk and occasionally post on left wing blogs, just for the perspective. Regarding the commentariat discussing abortion protesters as terrorists, see for yourself if Archbishop Chaput hasn’t nailed the qualities of liberal and conservative critics in this instance:

(T)he conservatives are meaner, but the liberals’ language is more foul.

Language advisory on the link: about as many f-bombs on the thread as mentions of the word “heretic” on a Doug Kmiec or Fr Jenkins thread. I perceive the same tunnel vision, the same group-pc-speak, the same echo chamber I see on the Right. The world is divided into three groups, it would seem:

1. Me and my friends who think alike and we’re all polite.

2. A few exciteable allies who can barely master their passions, so sometimes bad words slip out, but that’s okay ’cause the cause is just.

3. All those screaming, foaming idiots who disagree with groups one and two.

A few years ago, I began a litany to Archangel Raphael, whose feast is today, and shared by Michael and Gabriel. I was trying to pull out themes from the book of Tobit, in which he figures prominently.

Raphael, messenger from God, pray for us.

Raphael, trusted companion and guide, pray for us.

Raphael, knowledgeable healer, pray for us.

Raphael, whisperer of love and marriage, pray for us.

Raphael, binder of demons, pray for us.

Raphael, source of good advice, pray for us.

Raphael, affirmation for generosity, pray for us.

Any additions?

The archangel has good words for generosity when Tobiah suggests to his father than an apt reward for his successful journey is to give half the loot to the companion. A nice canticle for sacrificial giving:

Thank God!
Give him the praise and the glory.
Before all the living,
acknowledge the many good things he has done for you,
by blessing and extolling his name in song.
Before all people, honor and proclaim God’s deeds,
and do not be slack in praising him.
A king’s secret it is prudent to keep,
but the works of God are to be declared and made known.
Praise them with due honor.
Do good, and evil will not find its way to you.
Prayer and fasting are good,
but better than either is almsgiving accompanied by righteousness.
A little with righteousness is better than abundance with wickedness.
It is better to give alms than to store up gold;
for almsgiving saves one from death and expiates every sin.
Those who regularly give alms shall enjoy a full life;
but those habitually guilty of sin are their own worst enemies. (Tobit 12: 6b-10)

Amid the constant calls from the Catholic Right to disband the USCCB, I wonder how this funding request from Rome will fly in those circles. I expect most bishops will be good soldiers and pass the request on to the laity, who will, in turn, pony up the cash.

Cardinal Rode’s cup rattle begs the question: Now that this visitation is well underway, why is the Vatican’s Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life asking for cash now? Is $1.1M the whole budget, or have other (seemingly insufficient) donations been socked away already?

In twenty-plus years as a parish liturgist, I’ve shepherded young people through any number of special events. Often, a family requests a teen or even a child sing at a wedding or funeral. That’s usually a challenging situation. A friend brought to my attention a recent experience of hers, and gave me permission to share the general details so we could discuss it here.

A ten-year-old girl was volunteered to sing the psalm at her grandfather’s funeral. The young lady worked with her music teacher to prepare a well-known setting, “Shepherd Me O God,” and was heading out of town full of confidence. The parish music director on site, however, was not pleased. The girl was criticized for being flat on the high notes. Musical drilling didn’t change the pitch, and brought the young lady to tears. A child alone would not do, as it was told, so an aunt was engaged to assist. Auntie sang verse one. The girl sang number two. They sang three together.

“You would have handled this better,” my friend said.

I hope I would have. But my solutions may not be palatable to the whole spectrum running from parents to liturgists. I remember shepherding a thirteen-year-old who was volunteered to sing at her cousin’s wedding. Five songs and four rehearsals later, the teen did a competent job on the music. But it was demanding work for both of us. I’m not usually engaged to provide singing lessons and confidence coaching as part of a wedding gig. The cousin was likely not thinking singing at a family wedding would entail so much effort and inner anguish.

Being a psalmist is  a serious, serious liturgical role. The psalmist proclaims the Word of God. As such, she or he is part of the kerygmatic ministry of the Church. My sense is that a level of maturity equal to that of the lector, deacon, or priest is required.

That said, there are liturgies in which the bar is lowered. One must learn to be a psalmist somewhere, sometime. Liturgies with Catholic schools and religious education programs would be a scenario in which it is reasonable to assume children will prepare the psalm and proclaim it to their peers. Even so, the young person must be reasonably competent in that particular environment. How many psalmists are there at a parish grade school? About the same number as there are athletic stars, or leads in the school play. It’s likely a single-digit number.

A funeral or wedding, despite protestations that it’s “the bride’s day,” or that it’s a “communal liturgy of the Church” are also family events. Funerals and weddings were family affairs before Christ, and they continue to have that emphasis, more or less, to the present day.

So if a ten-year-old were presented to me with the words, “Todd, I’d like you to meet the cantor for tomorrow’s funeral,” I wouldn’t strike a terrorist pose. At least not right away.

I would need to assess if the person were actually capable. The psalm verses would need to be communicated, possibly by placement in the worship aid, if need be. Diction and intelligibility would rate slightly above pitch. It might not be a liturgical experience of high quality, but I would have to ask: Is this potentially fruitful? If I sensed a child was getting railroaded into something over their head, I would likely take it upon myself to play bad guy and say no way were little kids (plural) capable of rendering the psalm properly. And then I’d suggest the vigil or the rosary would be a better place for this kind of “fluff.”

Any great stories? Any nightmares to share? What about your opinions on the situation, especially if the pastor is backing the family and insisting you make it work?

Meredith enjoyed the expression “Hermeneutic of Subtraction.” I don’t know if it’s original with me, but I do observe it quite a bit. To be fair, it’s not just a characteristic of conservatives, but of many aspects of our society. Whether they’re in power or not, the Right, God bless them, seem to get stuck with it a lot.

Rod Dreher, for example, refers to the “hysteria” of Banned Books Week. Banning books is a prime example of the Hermeneutic of Subtraction. I see the movement to ban books as an expression of the impotence of some parents, worried they cannot control adolescent rebellion, who decide to subcontract the rearing of their children to librarians and schools, and insist others do the job they feel they cannot do for themselves.

As a parent of a teen, I realize that if my daughter wanted to, she could borrow any library books she wanted. She might well know my wife or I would disapprove. She is smart enough to hide these books from us, read them at her leisure, return them and we would never be the wiser. I may have a thick wool hat pulled over my head, but I think I have a great relationship with my daughter. I don’t think I’ve given her any motivation to sneak around behind my back.

She did pick up one of the Pullman books a few months ago. My wife gave me an eyebrow, and the young miss (not seeing the subvocal exchange) returned it to the shelf, rejected.

If my daughter wanted to read something I thought inappropriate, I would make my case in a positive way, and suggest an alternative. If she insisted, I would hear her out. (She often rolls her eyes, by the way, when I ask her to make a case for what she wants. But she’s getting pretty good at it.) If she convinced me, we would talk about the content. I feel confident in the upbringing my wife and I have provided. If a teacher were to suggest something of questionable content, I think we would have a good family discussion about it. I certainly don’t need censors to help me raise my child. I’m not afraid of a silly book or two.

Is that to say that some things mustn’t ever be banned? No. Not at all. But observe carefully if the campaigners offer alternatives. A thoughtful person will always have something great to add to the shelf. I know my daughter’s reading likes and dislikes. I try to have suggestions I know she will enjoy. It’s always harder to build up than to tear down, but that’s the whole point of human civilization, isn’t it? If you want historical evidence for the Hermeneutic of Subtraction, just consider the Romans salting down Carthage or Alaric’s 410 sack of Rome or the Fourth Crusade.

My wife is big into family traditions, especially inventing, building, and maintaining them. When I retrieved the church pic from this morning, I found the First Day of School image my wife took on my cell phone last month. Compare with two years ago:

At some point, I’ll be the one to organize these shots. Most of them will need conversion to digital. My wife just remembers them, shoots them, and trusts that I keep track of them.

The young miss is growing, no?

I can’t say I’ve been a fan of handling overflow crowds at Mass by stuffing them into the vestibule, or setting up a tv in the parish hall. That said, we have a decent situation at my new parish. It’s Parents’ Weekend at Iowa State, and after Saturday success on the athletic field and court, Mom and Dad want to take their college man or woman to Mass. Significant numbers of families chose 10:30 Mass in Ames today.

Nice.

We cracked out over a hundred extra chairs, a third Communion song, and lots of extra hospitality. Check out this across-the-church image from the piano, with our on-time (aka not early) churchgoers seated behind and to the right of the font and the Great Cross, under the east balcony:

Including the day chapel and the south loft, our seating capacity is 852. That’s the largest for a church I’ve ever served. We’re not packed to the gills on Christmas and Easter, like most of your parishes. But Parents’ Weekend, Homecoming, and for the first time earlier this year, the Sunday before classes started, there’s a nice Triple Crown we look forward to now. If only we subjected our new sacristans (Good job, Larry!) to this every weekend!

So what’s your ideal solution for overflow? Sit in the purple chair and render judgment: turn ‘em away? set up a speaker in the parking lot? pack the vestibule and hope the fire chief isn’t a parishioner?

An interesting discussion on the wisdom of Rep. Baron Hill getting slightly testy on his no-record request at a meeting with constituents. Naturally, someone recorded his insistence, despite boos, of a “my meeting” stance.

Oopsie.

Now, according to the hopeful Right, this will trigger the collapse of the Democratic Party (sans “ic,” of course). Too bad they don’t see the polls on Congress, eh?

In the discussion mentioned, various points were made or attempted on freedom of the press (Is everybody with cell phone audio/video now a journalist?), on who is the servant of whom, on basic courtesy, and whatnot. A few thoughts:

1. I didn’t see what might have gotten under Rep. Hill’s collar before the YouTube gotcha! but he had better options. If I were a Representative, I would encourage recording of my own images and words. Maybe I would have my staff do it professionally and offer to send the video file to any constituent in my district who sent an e-mail request. However, I would ask questioners their permission before recording them. I would also caution aspiring press that asking permission to record other people at the meeting would be a matter of courtesy I would expect of them as well. Speaking out at a public meeting in a corner of America is one thing. Making it a matter of international scrutiny is something else entirely.

2. Having pretty much given up mainstream tv after the election, I haven’t seen any of the reported bad behavior caught on camera from these meetings. But I’ve seen boorish behavior on the internet, so it doesn’t surprise me that shocking things like this happens in real life. Thanks to the anonymity factor on the net, I can’t believe it’s as bad as St Blog’s can get. And we can be pretty nasty, let me assure you.

3. Can we equate blog sites and comboxes with these “free” town hall meetings? In other words, given the stance that these meetings are “open,” that people are “free,” and that blogs are just another human gathering, if not another form of “journalism,” is all this kerfuffle about editing, blocking, banning, and previewing just hot air? Donald McClarey from American Catholic:

This wasn’t a private home Todd or a private meeting for invited guests only. This was a public meeting held by a Congressman and anyone, by definition, could attend. Video taping such a meeting is commonly done by members of Congress for campaign commercials to show how in touch they are with their constituents. Now members of the public are doing precisely the same thing and some of the members of Congress are foolish enough to say publicly that they think is terribly unfair. This is not about manners, but rather a testament to just how totally out of touch some members of Congress are.

I wondered about the wisdom of this statement, especially if applied to the blogosphere. Can we say something like this:

This wasn’t a private internet site or a private meeting for registered users only. This was a public blog hosted by a blogger and anyone, by definition, could read and publish comments. Commenting on such a blog is commonly done by all sorts of people to show how in touch they are with issues and with other internet commenters. Now some of the bloggers are foolish enough to say publicly that they think is terribly unfair. This is not about manners, but rather a testament to just how totally out of touch some bloggers are.

I’ll have to keep these thoughts in mind as I continue to enter lions’ dens in the blogosphere. Over the past ten years, I’ve been banned on five or six sites, for persisting in ways not unlike those who have gone to these political meetings. There is another blogger, whom I count as a good friend, who consistently edit my posts or deletes them if they get too off his echo track. Should I feel a bit left-out if some on the Right object to my arguments, but have no problem, in turn, with their philosophical sisters and brothers shouting down others in an equally public place?

For my readers, I certainly urge you to watch my words for inconsistencies and problems–and please call me on it when you see it. By no means should you believe everything I write, especially if your antennae are quivering. But I also advise watching the behavior of conservative sites, too, if you surf there. See if the same human thin skin doesn’t cover their temples of the Holy Spirit, too. See if the usual suspects aren’t just channeling Baron Hill with their own blog management.

4. Lastly, is the taping of meetings by “the press” overall a good development or not? In other words, once politicians know their semi-informal meeting could get plastered on YouTube and on the other party’s web site, will they be even more circumspect in what they say? Will the town hall meeting start looking like Sundya morning talk tv with puffball questions and lots of smiles and platitudes? Or have we had enough of politicians giving us honest answers and from the gut?

Thoughts?

Let’s put together the rest of the Presentation of the Creed. The elect are called forward after the homily–remember: only the unbaptized, okay? The celebrant instructs in “these or similar words.”

My dear friends, listen carefully to the words of that faith by which you will be justified. The words are few, but the mysteries they contain are great. Receive them with a sincere heart and be faithful to them.

Then the priest or deacon, along with the assembly, recite either the Apostle’s Creed or the Nicene Creed. The elect “listen,” as the rubric instructs.

RCIA 161 gives the Prayer over the Elect:

Lord,
eternal source of light, justice, and truth,
take under your tender care
your servants N and N.

Purify them and make them holy;
give them true knowledge, sure hope, and sound understanding,
and make them worthy
to receive the grace of baptism.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.

Then we have the dismissal of the elect, with four options just like RCIA 67, 116, or 136, followed by the celebration of the Eucharist … if you’ve invited a baptized assembly.

Dale asked about my NFL prognostication for the upcoming season in progress. I’m not really excited about football this fall. I think the 49ers are for real but the Jets aren’t. I have doubts on the Cowboys and Patriots and probably the Cardinals. The Saints are a surprise to me. My SB pick is a shot in the dark. Other than that, I have a busy day at the church tomorrow. I probably won’t be watching any games. 

New England (11-5), Buffalo (9-7), NY Jets (6-10), Miami (6-10)

Baltimore (13-3), Pittsburgh (11-5), Cincinnati (9-7), Cleveland (2-14)

Indy (12-4), Tennessee (9-7), Jacksonville (9-7), Houston (8-8)

San Diego (11-5), Denver (7-9), Oakland (4-12), Kansas  City (4-12)

Dallas (10-6), Phila (10-6), NY Giants (10-6), Washington (3-13)

Chicago (11-5), Minnesota (9-7), Green Bay (7-9), Detroit (3-13)

New Orleans (11-5), Atlanta (10-6), Carolina (9-7), Tampa Bay (4-12)

San Francisco (12-4), Arizona (9-7), Seattle (5-11), St Louis (2-14)

Supe XLIV: Ravens 42, 49ers 20