Recent Posts
In its unsearchable wisdom the divine goodness is often accustomed to delay the manifestation of virtue, not that it might slip into oblivion, but rather that after having been hidden, it may be revealed more abundantly at an opportune moment. Whether God wished to so provide greater benefits for the Church or whether for some other reason, certain brothers whose simplicity outweighed their prudence decided that it would be quite sufficient if the glory of Saint Dominic, the servant of the Most High and the founder of the Order of Preachers, were known to God alone. They decided it was not worth the effort to bring that glory to the attention of others.
It makes no sense to act as a disciple of Christ while consciously going against His teaching. When we comfort the afflicted, feed the hungry, etc. we are doing much more than temporal works of charity; all such acts are ways of bringing Jesus to those that need Him. If we want to do this in the name of His mystical body (the Church), doesn't it make sense that we would do so in an exemplary manner? If you knowingly persist in not obeying a commandment (actively engaging in wrong doing), how can that be seen as anything but a mixed message? I think of it like a drug counselor trying to help addicts while publicly being active in addiction himself.
 |
| Portrait of Fra Angelico |
When singing my praise, don't liken my talents to those of Apelles.Say, rather, that, in the name of Christ, I gave all I had to the poor.
The deeds that count on Earth are not the ones that count in Heaven.
I, Giovanni, am the flower of Tuscany.
--Epitath (translated) on Fra Angelico's tomb
Note that while the above forbids any liturgical use, the following excerpt fully excludes the participation by priests outside the liturgy as well!"...it [dance] cannot be introduced into liturgical celebrations of any kind whatever: that would be to inject into the liturgy one of the most desacralized and desacralizing elements; and so it would be equivalent to creating an atmosphere of profaneness which would easily recall to those present and to the participants in the celebration worldly places and situations." (emphasis mine.)
"If the proposal of the religious dance in the West is really to be made welcome, care will have to be taken that in its regard a place be found outside of the liturgy, in assembly areas which are not strictly liturgical. Moreover, the priest must always be excluded from the dance." (emphasis original, bold is mine.)
They ought not to detract from the profound meaning of their own ministry by corrupting the liturgical celebration either through alteration or omission, or through arbitrary additions. For as St. Ambrose said, 'It is not in herself . . . but in us that the Church is injured. Let us take care so that our own failure may not cause injury to the Church'.What can be done?
Read the complete six examples from the article here.The Catholic University of America President John Garvey addressed the General Assembly of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in Atlanta, Ga., last week and offered six reasons to believe that religious liberty is under attack.
Garvey compared the current situation with regard to religious liberty in the U.S. to that of Tudor England, a time and place synonymous with religious persecution. “We are not the kind of violent and intolerant society Tudor England was,” he said. “But in recent years the landscape of religious freedom has changed. Its purview has narrowed considerably. Let me give six examples.”
