No Wonder the Youth is Disinterested and Disenchanted

Well, it got itself done, the class of catechumens were duly sealed with the Holy Spirit and they are on their way. I can't say that my first foray into sponsoring a teenager was exactly exciting. Niece was appropriately and beautifully dressed (if not a little too maturely), and did the deed, and read her part of the Intentions very well, our little lawyer did.

Bp Olmsted: Be sealed with the Holy Spirit
Niece: Amen (thinking: halfway there!)
Bp Olmsted: Peace be with you.
Niece: and also with you. (now leave me alone forever, and I'm never, ever coming back)

And she said her responses without a shred of sincerity--no surprise for a girl who, in her sterile thank you note to me, ended with, "your interest in the process is very refreshing." Just smacking of insincerity. Ugh. And the whole thing saddened me beyond measure. Her only thought when we got to our pew was that the chrism was going to make her forehead break out. I know she's a teenager, but really... some gravity was appropriate at that time.

We were fortunate to be in the first couple of mobs to go up (90 kids confirmed in this Mass), so I got to people watch. Most kids dressed appropriately, many sponsors did not. How interesting. Also interesting as to how the usually impassive pastor jumped whenever Da Bish even raised an eyebrow... or even the Deacon that came with Da Bish. That Deacon from the Diocese, he made things smooth. Old pro.

Let's talk about really refreshing: Da Bish obviously enjoys administering the Sacrament, it shows on his face and in his movements. His homily also reflected that, once he got past his initial stilted start, he really got into it, but in his quiet and sincere way. He is no showman. He is truly happy in his vocation, and enjoys it immensely. I lurve Da Bish, for this and many other reasons.

To be honest, Niece wasn't the only one disconnected, disdainful, and disinterested. There were plenty in this parish that had some familiar Phoenix power bloc names that were in her boat: too sophisticated to be interested in this whole uncool crap. Most of the kids were somewhere in between: they were OK with it, they accept the teachings, but it really hit no deep chord.

But there were others, some with shy smiles, others with bright and brilliant smiles, whose faces really shined as they replied to Da Bish, "and also with you." Those were the kids who got it, they were the ones who heard the Lord quietly knocking on their inner doors. It was neat to see. You can't stage that.

~~

There were other, less happy things during this Confirmation Mass.

The altar hangings looked like the 3rd grade did them, although it was obvious that an adult did them. Third graders would have done better, methinks. The silly tableau on the altar steps was just... well... silly: candles and posterboard and bright, shiny taffeta. The silk floral swag draped on the Crucifix was all right (although I don't know how really acceptable it is), except that it obscured His face. All these things are to be expected in the maverick post-Vatican II Church in America. Butt-ugly artistic expressions are a way of life--they may be sincere and have the best of intentions, but one only has to look at the new cathedral in Los Angeles to understand what I mean. Ugh.

But the music!!!!! Oh, my God, the music--!!!! *retch*

A friend of mine whoI was in the choir with would have called them "frustrated lounge singers," and that is being kind. Very kind. A lackluster and sloppily dressed choir, a pianist who pounded dramatically on the keys, a drummer who thought he was a solo act, and the lead/cantor who belongs in a hotel bar in a wanna-be Doris Day kind of way. The Hosanna and Alleluia were one of those horrific blues-crossed-with-jazz deals and ol' Doris up there was scat singing... no, she was caterwauling!
Ahhh-lay loooooooooooo hooooooo hoo hoo yoo yyyyyyyyaaaaayyyaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh...!

I fervently wished for earplugs at that point, because it got worse. Much worse.

I kept seeing the Lawrence Welk singers in my head at Communion as the bland tune was sung over and over, with another un-charming scat session by ol' Dumb Dora. So distracting--I could barely concentrate on my wee chat with Da Big Guy. You see, God, it's like this... and, later: Blessed Mother, after witnessing this, intercede for all of us...

The recessional was so secular that I felt it belonged to a high school over-achievers rally instead of a sending forth song in a Catholic Church--"go out and make a difference!"--never mind that for a moment I felt I was at a Baptist revival with people's arms waving and clapping. Having had the honor of being a part of an excellent Catholic parish choir, this made my ears bleed.

But that's not all!

Ushers in shorts and Hawaiian print shirts! An altar server in a red robe and white alb wearing the very Van tennies that were all the rage in 1986! The one next to him wore grubby loosely-laced tennies, again a la 1986. And, for criminy sakes, could some of these kids wash and comb their hair just for today? Some of the parents were just as bad. Shorts again and everywhere. Our family was almost overdressed. And, please, don't get started on the socioeconomic end of things; let's just say that this parish sits in a nice pricey part of town. It's no excuse anyway--I've been to less financially fortunate parishes, and many of them dress MUCH better than this one this past weekend. You are in the Lord's House--act and dress accordingly.

Is it really so hard?

~~

This capped a sad and long journey that has explained to me why the Da Vinci Code is a big deal. In a way, the Church has only itself to blame. The Catechism which is taught is so weak these days that Catholics do not know how to answer questions about their faith, let alone defend attacks against it. That's what Confirmation is about, being ready and willing to defend our faith. But no, we're so worried about how people feel, rather than just teaching the Truth, that the Truth gets lost in the muck and the kumbaya crap.

Case in point was the "retreat" for Candidates, Sponsors and Parents the weekend before last. Things are run by a Suze Orman clone--not that she doesn't have a hell of a load getting 180 kids prepped for confirmation (God save her!), but Holy and Dear Sweet Mother, if there were any more "small group activities," both myself and my sister-in-law were about to puke. It was just too damn cutesy, run too much like a corporate training ice-breaker session, and too much emphasis placed on "feelings" that nobody gained anything from the six hours we sat in the parish center.

So, big deal if a local news guy, who happens to be a parishioner, has a presentation, playing tag team with his wife. It was a space filler and a plug for his little pet project, and a little too late to be preaching social service to a bunch of kids who just wanted to go swimming or go to their friends' houses. I know for a fact that many of those kids didn't do squat, although they were required to do some kind of social service.

Worse, however, was the mangling of the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit. How in the hell do you get that screwed up? I keep a holy-card-sized thingy on my computer here, given to me by a dear friend at my own Confirmation 4 years ago. Wisdom, Knowledge, Counsel, Fortitude, Understanding, Piety, Fear of the Lord. Not that hard, huh?
(hmmm.... sounds like a future reflection!)

Well!

Somehow compassion got in there, and awe instead of fear, smooshed wisdom and knowledge together with empathy, and they politically corrected them and watered them down to the point that even my barely-practicing and skeptical sis-in-law was like, "huh?" The adults were scratching their heads and the kids were confused, then bored. It was a waste of time. A very important point in Catechism was diminished by a crummy Powerpoint presentation with a wishy-washy speaker. It's really too bad.

I wish I had attended some of the actual catechism classes, but on the other hand I probably would have found more fodder for my disdain for this whole mess.

When the kids (and adult!) catechumens aren't guided/taught correctly, their facts get muddled. When the facts concerning their faith get muddled, they start to not care because that foundation begins to feel a little unstable. Add to that the lack of reverence within their own parish (in addition to the above, at one of the Confirmation meetings, kids were eating Carl's Jr in the baptistry! And there's more... much more... ugh), plus the uninspiring music... and the parental carelessness... no wonder they tune out.

The Baltimore Catechism sure is looking attractive after what I've witnessed in these last several months. It really is.

Why I love Julie... and her Thought Provoking Posts

Wandering my usual list of blogs, I always try to keep up on Julie on "A Little Pregnant." Today's post was excellent as usual, and an excellent reason why I love reading her opines: sassy, funny, and even if she doesn't agree, she'll at least be fair. Strongly disagree, even, but still be open to the opposing view.

The comments range from "SO archaeic and ridiculous" to "Profoundly out of touch" to "The Catholic church is only going to keep losing members if it doesn't modernize its policies." There are the those who post and say that they're Catholic and then rail against the rules. Well, you know what's up, the Church's stance has never been a secret. Why cry now?

And then there are the tiny minority, like Catholicgirl ("No one should be made to feel shame or doubt for being Catholic, either, but these comments are making me feel like s**t"), the personal attestation by Ktcakes, the "I'm tired of the Catholic bashing" from P, Jennifer's great comment, and the excellent discourse from Arwen, which is really a good read on Julie's comments page for this particular post (wanna teach RCIA?). Otherwise, it's a sad discourse on those who don't really have a good idea of what the Church's stance is on life. It saddened me to the point of commenting.

Like I commented, it's not easy being Catholic... and it isn't for everyone. And Cath-Girl, don't be ashamed, nothing to be ashamed of, hon.

~~

My personal viewpoint is still a little muddled when it comes to assisted reproduction. TJ and I have been trying now for over three years and nothing. Doctors won't really look at me until he gets tested, but these days TJ barely has time to breathe, so nothing has happened yet. I cringe at the thought of forking over the cash just for the hysterosalpingogram to see if anything's blocked (insurance won't cover). And what if it's me? What then?

My ectopic pregnancy almost two years ago scared the daylights out of both of us--it's sobering when a doctor says to me that he may have to remove half of my reproductive system (he thankfully didn't have to, but hoo-boy...). It was in that hounded-by-demons-from-Hell period that I tripped over Julie's blog (and Tertia's, and NakedOvary's, etc) because I was looking up methotrexate and things equally as scary.

MTX is naaaaasty stuff, but it saved me from a potential surgery that probably would have resulted in terrible scarring in all the wrong places if I want a child. I had seen the abnormality in my fallopian tube before the technician did--and there was no heartbeat, just tissue continuing to grow (molar pg?). But I always hear this tiny whisper, what if it had been? And then I remember that it could have killed me if it had gone undetected. And then again... what if...? It was an emotional and physical path of horror.

So I could understand a part of Julie's path... and what keeps me coming is her wicked humor, sparkling snarkfests, and shameless trolling for assvice. And her fairness, forgiveness, and openness. She possesses grace under fire, although the shots are from needles rather than from guns... and she's jumping into the battleground once more, God bless her. Brave lady.

~~

Terrifying events like ectopics makes you consider what is life, and where it starts, and how it starts.

What if I get to the point where I will have to go to a specialist? I'll do it, I think, not for ego but, like any woman headed to that scary one-way street with an unknown end, the whole point is the creation of life, the ardent desire to have that new life, the baby, the positive as opposed to anything negative. It's not a chosen road, not by a long shot. We women (and men) envy the Britneys of the world, able to pop them out with nary a thought or consideration for herself, anyone else, and especially the child itself, the most frustrating thing; we struggle to not scream at her insouciance and her ignorance, and people like her.

Now, if and/or when we get to that exit ramp, it doesn't mean I'll defecate on the teachings of my Church in my pursuit of motherhood. I cringe to say it, but there are some things that I have thought long and hard about, and have actually disagreed with the Church. God gave us brains, after all. However, I will not smear said feces all over the catechism, or the dignity of that ancient faith. As my sister naively put it one time, 2000 years can't exactly be wrong. Put before that the parent religion of Judaism for another millenium or so, and it's pretty hard to dismiss the teachings. It has been pretty consistent.

Like I say, the Church thinks in terms of eons, not in the caprices of societal norms. That is how she survives. Like the commenter Jennifer said, "It is a symptom of the contemporary blight that we think we can read a few lines in a badly written internet news piece and dismiss 2000 years of theology and philosophy with a few glib remarks. " Amen, sister.

EFF-EYE-CEE-TEE-EYE-OH-ENN. Period.

Come on, folks. Or, if you prefer a fancier name, Historical Revisionism.

Because I try to be at least wrist-flick-at-a-fly fair about things, I must confess I read The DaVinci Code. Because the film is going to be released next week, I had to know what all the hullaballoo was all about. And, no, I'm not wasting money to see Tom Hanks play a role he isn't really appropriate for. I mean, who is going to believe Forrest Gump as a Harvard professor of symbology? And Opie as director? Please. Much as I do like both of them, they are overrated.

Anyway, how do I feel about it?

It's a nice piece of FICTION.

What was it we used to put in our notes to friends in school in the eighties to denote something known to not matter? Oh, yes. B. F. D.

Anyone with a smattering knowledge of Christianity, let alone Catholicism, knows that this is a load of codswallop. Yes, Opus Dei does exist. If it were so secret, you wouldn't know about it. And, as a proud ROMAN CATHOLIC, passably versed in Church history, I can say with a fair amount of comfort that there aren't renegade Orders running around and killing people.

The Priory of Sion--or whatever 'secret society' he claims exists--well, if their whole mission was to debunk it's "mortal enemy," I think it would have been a long time ago. Well, you know, the Reformation would have been a prime point in time to let it all out and wreck it all while Catholicism was almost on its knees and the fledgling Protestant churches were unstable.

And, when one digs around, it's no secret that Brown borrowed heavily from other conspiracy theorists (one presented as being heavily used is Holy Blood, Holy Grail by Michael Baigent). He has presented nothing new. There's nothing in the Louvre. Really.

All it's going to do is this:

1. Feed the fires of those who don't like Catholicism (or Christianity in any form), or your daily conspiracy theorists, and/or
2. Further decay the wavering faith of what are referred to Sunday- or Cafeteria-Catholics (or the Protestant equivalent), and/or
3. Stoke the fire of those who believe in His Truth, no matter the Christian splinter to which they belong.

Now, if this book and movie were about the Belly-Lint Adoration Society, Lutherans, Scientology, Hammertoes Anonymous, Mormonism, Islam, Druidism, extreme right cults, extreme left cults, devil worship, World of Warcraft devotees, Wicca, Buddhism, etc., there would be an uproar that would shake the core of the earth. But because it bashes the Catholics specifically, as well as feeding the extreme feminist core, it seems to be OK within society.

Why is that?

And why is it that you're bad if you're Catholic?

~~

I got a chain email earlier this week, and I was slightly amused.

The Da Vinci Code Lie Exposed

The movie "The Da Vinci Code" staring Tom Hanks, directed by Ron Howard will soon be released in the first part of this year. This movie will have the potential to deceive billions of the world's population. The story line attacks the very heart of the Gospel and attempts to destroy the very nature and character of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God. (Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord, and against His anointed? Psalm 2:1, 2)

[Removed paragraphs of vitriol]

Oswald Chambers states in his timeless writing My Upmost For His Highest ..."Our calling is not primarily to be holy men and women but to be proclaimers of the Gospel of God. The one all-important thing is that the Gospel of God should be recognized as the abiding reality" Yet we have to ask ourselves today when this abiding reality comes under direct attack who will defend it? The answer can only be that those of us who have been transformed by it's truth for eternity will and must defend it here and now.

Pray that Christian lay people, prayer leaders, writers, pastors, and all those in Christian media outlets will get the message out and expose this deception of hell and reveal the lie this movie will present before it ever hits the theaters.

...Email this on to everyone you know (don't delete, give it feet) and lets expose this lie for what it is because the hour is late and ... much later than we think.

Also for more research on the web a good start would be at a website called "The Da Vinci Code Hoax" as well as other sites exposing this fraud.

This, after I had already read the book. Well, I'm sure I'm not going to Hell just for reading the book. It's a fact that the book has the standard clause, "This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously..." blabbity blah blah blah. Interesting to note that the "fictional" Swiss bank manager is named Andre Vernet, and yet Brown lists an "Andre Vernet" in his acknowledgements at the front of the book. Hmmm.

Everyone seems to have forgotten that the Church and Opus Dei were exonerated by book's end, manipulated by a rich and greedy member of the British Aristocracy. Interesting.

~~

It's an established fact that the post-Crucifixion translations of the Old Testament corresponds with the nearly 2000 year old Dead Sea Scrolls-remarkably so, and then some. Esther seems to have gone on vacation in the Scrolls, but maybe she'll pop up one day. They do dispel the mystery, or lack thereof, there.

Constantine had nothing to do with the compilation of the Bible we read today. Nada, zip, zilch. Here is a nice essay on where he fits in the story. St. Jerome (c.342-420) translated the Old Testament and New Testament into Latin, which the Dead Sea Scrolls prove that he (and subsequent scribes) did a competent job. Please note that CONSTANTINE was DEAD by the time Jerome was born. Again, I repeat, it's a fallacy that Constantine had anything to do with the selections of the various texts. Constantine died in 337. Jerome was born about 342, and the selection of New Testament books was finally settled at the Council of Carthage, 397. These are historical facts. You figure it out.

I tripped across this site looking things up tonight; that'll be a pleasure read for me later.

But as I cruise the 'Net, I notice three groups: people believing that Brown has presented a huge revelation; those who can credibly discredit the assertions in this book; and those who just look at the whole screaming melee and think, "what is the big deal?"

~~

One curious thing that has not been addressed anywhere: the Roman Catholic Church is also called the Holy Mother Church, and referred to with feminine pronouns and possessives. Those men who have the priestly vocation are said to espouse the Church.

Sacred feminine, indeed.

~~

*sigh*

I hate pop culture.