The new evangelization needs to take on the sexual revolution if it has any hope of making an impact anywhere in the Western world. I believe everything that the Catholic Church teaches in her Catechism.
A fair while back, I did my best to reassure any rad-trad readers and others who love the Traditional Latin Mass that there was no reason to fear Pope Francis was going to be hostile to the liturgy they loved.
Clearly, I was wrong. See here. I apologize. Traditionis Custondes is surprisingly contrary to subsidiarity, further limiting the liberty of priests, and expanding the authority of bishops. But I still say we should pray, hope, and don't worry, and that we should be open to how the Spirit will use Pope Francis.
Behold, a girl who picked up the sticks at two, and has played the drums like a rock star from the age of eight. And that's not just me, that's Robert Plant, watching her play Led Zeppelin's "Good Times, Bad Times." (Her full video is here.)
And she's gotten even better. check this out from 3:10 to 3:20:
But this is where she just radiates such exultant joy that I go back to see her do it again, and again, and again:
Seriously, when was the last time you were doing something that made you this happy? I was never this happy singing, or writing, or playing trumpet, and I loved Purcell's trumpet concertos. She just loves percussion, and I hope and pray that nobody ruins it for her, so she can continue to love it like this for the rest of her life.
I am a huge fan of These Stone Walls. Fr. Gordon Macrae has an entirely unique point of view in the blogosphere -- a priest sent to jail, probably for life, for crimes of sexual abuse he did not commit. His voice is consistently one of justice, mercy, and compassion. He deserves your attention and prayers.
In this post (go read it first. Go read it now.), he takes Raymond Arroyo and Laura Ingraham to task for their expressed desire that soon-to-be nonogenarian Theodore McCarrick be sent to jail for his crimes. They argue that because McCarrick has not repented, he deserves no mercy.
Perhaps he doesn't, Fr. G will admit. But he is eighty-nine years old. The elderly and frail are treated very badly in prison by the young and thuggish who make up the majority of its population. Justice perhaps need not offer mercy to the unrepentant, but compassion says we should not put a man who will soon be ninety into a population that greets those like McCarrick with chants of 'Kill the priest! Kill the priest! Kill the priest!' And if we are not going to kill McCarrick ourselves, then it is unjust to put him among those whom we can reasonably foresee will do so without our sanction.
Read the comments too, where compassion is likewise extended to Arroyo and Ingraham.
If, for some bizarre reason, you prefer my writing to that of David Warren, what's wrong with you?
His latest essay, Breeding Instructions, describes with empathy and beauty the joy found in a large family united in their struggle against poverty. I cannot recommend it highly enough.
It also describes (and refutes) a few of the lies population planners tell themselves about large families in desperately poor times and places. These lies are embedded deep within their worldview, and implicit in their expectation that poor people must join the rich in not having children. Why do they tell (and believe) these lies? Do they hate the poor? Or perhaps they suffer from acedia (on which both Max Lindeman and Darwin have recently written)? Or perhaps I fret too much; surely their hatred and self-deception arise from the mystery of evil.
But I will say that if we have a pope who will demonstrate through example that appearance matters less than internal disposition, then it stikes me that that is exactly what our current image-obsessed culture needs. And people think God doesn't know what He's doing.
I'm not a traddie myself. I have sympathy for them, and I think they're doing good things for the Church -- the liturgy IS important. I also think that while the Extraordinary Form probably isn't important to Papa Francis the way it is to Papa Ben, he has no history of hostility towards it, and I don't see any reason why he'd approve of any either. I offer the concerned traditionalists some advice from St. Padre Pio: "Pray, hope, and don't worry. Worry is useless. God is merciful and will hear your prayer." And from myself: be open to how the Spirit will use Papa Francis.
I've just discovered Lindsey Stirling. I really love her videos. Here's an example:
In case you're wondering why, first, I'd have to say that her face is utterly radiant with joy and enthusiasm for what she's doing.
Second, I've been of the opinion for some time that innovative art very often consists of taking elements of two or three disparate styles in a given medium, or else elements of disparate media, and combining them. Lindsey Sterling combines violin with hip-hop dance. I know from experience that it is tough enough to play trumpet while walking, let alone stomping. Keeping the bow on the strings of a violin while bouncing around as she does is a challenge in and of itself. To simultaneously play well and dance well is a remarkable feat.
Third is her authenticity, which this video makes clear she values. She clearly loves her music and choreography. But in addition, she avoids several inauthentic and self-exploitative variations of femininity, such as this one or its byproducts. She is feminine and beautiful without any attempt to be a trollop like Lady Gaga or Kei$ha or the Pussycat Dolls or.... you get the idea. Her sexuality is not something she flaunts, and I say kudos. She reflects God's beauty in a way that seeking to be hot cannot.
for reasons I don't intend to go into atall, I went back to Waiterrant today. I started from the beginning, clicking through his first few posts until I got to one entitled Leftovers. In it, the Waiter discusses what makes a woman beautiful and desirable, and some of the truly horrific damage some of them do to themselves in pursuit of the Main Stream Media norm of physical perfection, which is utterly divorced from reality. If you doubt it, watch the video.
Deo gratias, my wife is sane. She may not be aware of the Photoshop effect, but she does know how her skeleton is shaped. She eats like a human being, not a famine victim. I love her, she is as beautiful as she could be, and our marriage is a deluge of God's grace into my life.
Many thanks to the redoubtable Simcha Fisher, whose blog "I Have to Sit Down" (see Blogs I Like in the sidebar) is always a delight, for leading me to this interview she did. It includes some insight into how to deal in a Catholic, Christian manner, with same-sex attraction. Read and enjoy.
And also to What Lies Beneath, a meditation on the true nature of Reality that is so often hidden from us. Read and enjoy that too.
Jennifer F. has written yet another fabulous post; this one regards the purpose of art and the nature that it has when its form follows its true function. Read and enjoy!
Comments are moderated. First, because this helps me find new ones. Second, because I've had comments that were nothing more than a means to link to a business site of which I do not approve (e.g., "Nice blog" or "Nice post" with the link in the commenter's name or the post itself). Third, because some comments are personal attacks. I don't tolerate that crap. In fact, it was an anonymous F-bomb directed at another commenter that motivated me to enable comment moderation.
Try to stay on topic, and try to avoid gross rudeness.
All of my good works are possible only through the grace of God. In other words, they are gifts given freely to me by Him. Thus, all attributions are to God. And since He has given all so freely to me, how can I then selfishly not share His gifts with others? Thus, I impose no license on any of this work, and declare it all to be in the public domain.
Those who derive from it are on their own, legally, morally, and spiritually, though I will pray for them all, and ask Our Lady of Perpetual Help to do the same.
Catholic libertarian. Where the two conflict, Catholic usually wins. I have a website and an old blog. While my intent is to focus on heroes and heroism, that will not prevent me from ranting about whatever thoughts are so recurring in my head as to be annoying.
