Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church, KC, MO

Arguably the most beautiful Catholic Church in the Kansas City area is Redemptorist Church, with a capacity of over 2,000 people. It is staffed by Redemptorist priests and the true name is Our Lady of Perpetual Help Church.

The white and glorious main altar is flanked by two similar side altars, plus two other very large end altars with separate railings that are located in the cross-part of the church. The ceiling of the church is awesome, likely stretching to 60 feet or more above the floor. The sanctuary has a white front altar/table that is beautifully carved. Twenty-five magnificent and large stained glass windows rise along the sides and around the back of the sanctuary. A very large crucifix is mounted on a pillar on the right side of the sanctuary.

This is a church which represents the best construction work of prior generations in Kansas City. Fortunately it appears little if any interior art work has been damaged by reconstructionists of the past 40 years. Even most of the beautiful altar rail remains. Flowers were in abundance.

I attended Tuesday 11:00 am devotions to the Mother of Perpetual Help. An estimated 100 or more people attended the Novus Ordo Mass, some in their 30's and 40's, but most above the age of 50. Different races were present, with the majority older Caucasian. Several women wore head coverings and most of the people were dressed up for Mass and the devotions that followed.

The homily on St. Paul ended with the admonition that we have to choose whether we just sit back and "watch, or get into the action" with respect to acting on our faith. Afterwards, two women in their 30s who were scheduled for surgery the next day were anointed with holy oil said to be blessed by Bishop Finn. Their emotions seemed to indicate that their health problems were serious and they appeared to be consoled by their experience. I was surprised to see a weekday collection taken up, but likely the large church has a tremendous heating/cooling bill and needs all the resources it can obtain.

The Mystery of Faith acclamation, as standard practice in the Novus Ordo Mass, referred to Jesus coming again. This has always upset me because the words "Mystery of Faith" are very old and formerly referred to Christ's true presence after the consecration. After the liturgical revolution, the meaning of "Mystery of Faith" was changed to mean Christ's coming at the end of the world--just at the time when he becomes present in our midst.

Two priests distributed Holy Communion to people, mostly in the hand. Some bowed before reception; one genuflected before the Blessed Sacrament. Apparent recorded instrumental music was played during the communion time. After communion, there was a blessing with holy oil given to most of the church attendees who came in long lines to two priests.

Almost all the people stayed after Mass for the devotions to our Mother of Perpetual Help. After devotions, quite a few people stayed to pray in church, remaining in pews, but especially before the crucifix and two large end altars with candles--one of which had a painting of Our Lady of Perpetual Help.

TV in the "Old Days"

"Death Valley Days" began as a radio program in 1930 and featured stories of the old West. I've looked for reruns of the popular TV series that appeared in the 50s and early 60s, but they never seem to be rebroadcast. Before he became Governor and then President, Ronald Reagan was host of the series and starred in eight episodes. The show is ranked as #3 of the longest running anthology series on TV.

The stories on "Death Valley Days" were all of a historical nature (a "true western adventure") and were sponsored by U.S. Borax (20 Mule Team Boraxo). [The borax mine in Nevada is now owned by Rio Tinto, and the Boraxo soap name is owned by Dial.

One program featured Ronald Reagan who played a Protestant minister who was asked by a widow to discipline her son. The minister hesitated, but finally agreed after the widow insisted that the 13-year old boy needed to be whipped for being very bad. After the boy had been beaten with the minister's belt, he cried and asked the minister "Who beats you when you're bad?" I've always remembered Reagan's slow and sorrowful answer, "When I'm bad, I beat myself."

I highly encourage readers to view an example "Death Valley Days" TV program by clicking on the sidebar, "Episode Webcasts". The half-hour free episode "Fifty Years a Mystery" gives a flavor of the many good TV programs we kids saw over 50 years ago.

In particular, look at the Boraxo commercials with Rosemary DeCamp and ask yourself if you would mind looking at this type of commercials again. Also note the number of commercial minutes in the program. You will ask yourself how our public airways became so fouled and with much, much longer commercials. You may want to point this out to the Federal Communications Commission which is supposed to protect the interests of American citizens--not the TV owners!

Disorder and the Man on a White Horse

Many years ago we were warned that if our country became libertine (as distinguished from exercising responsible freedom), disorder would come and the only solution would be a Man on a White Horse. The Man would justify taking away legitimate freedoms so (he would claim) to restore order to society.

One website describes the phrase "man on a white horse" as

referring to a politician who does nothing but appease the masses. The white-horse aspect refers to the fact that such a politician will 'ride in and rescue all the people from their sorrows'. The man-on-a-white-horse typically labels himself as a champion of the common man.

Order and disorder are addressed by Alice von Hildebrand in the April 2007 issue of This Rock magazine (usually quite good). She puts the issue into perspective, showing that order for its own sake can "become a straitjacket and can cause them [some people] gravely to offend charity."

Another kind of habit is genuinely good in and of itself. One only need read the Rule of St. Benedict to see that he orders his monks to follow a tight schedule: time for prayer, time for reading, time for work, time for sleep. In convents and monasteries, the bell rings to call the religious to certain duties. St. Benedict insists that as soon as it rings, the monk should immediately abandon whatever he is doing (relictis omnibus). This is not easy when one is very close to completing a task. Most of us would either get irritated, or cheat a tiny bit....

Following a schedule is a good habit; so is leading an ordered life. Some talented people accomplish very little because they lack discipline. Some people who have no exceptional talents nevertheless accomplish much because they organize their day. Discipline and order are praiseworthy. But they too can become illegitimate ties. We all know peopole who actually lose their temper when an object is misplaced. Moreover, charity demands that sometimes we should disrupt our schedule in an emergency. In such cases, charity should always be given precedence.

Mrs. Von Hildebrand concludes: "The saint, though, acquires a superb flexibility and indifference. One the one hand, he never allows his moods to disrupt his schedule; on the other he never hesitates to break it when charity demands it." Very good advice.

My own opinion is that societal disorder is so rampant that the firm practice of order should be encouraged. When I was growing up my elders all followed a regular pattern of life. Monday was wash day; Tuesday was ironing day.... Saturday was housecleaning day. Most importantly, Sunday was a very special day beginning with early Mass followed by breakfast, reading the paper, and refreshing our energy. On that day we were likely to visit with relatives. Sunday always ended with the family rosary. It's a good way to live life.

St. Louis Church, Kansas City, MO

I visited St. Louis Church for a Saturday afternoon Mass. It is a fairly small church with predominantly black Catholic parishioners and is located on one of Kansas City's wide boulevards. St Louis parish seems to be a keystone of Catholic life in the local community with its Senior Center, Food Pantry, and Social Services and assistance office.

Only clear windows are seen from the exterior of the church, but inside there are six very large and beautiful pictures of saints that appear to be large stained glass windows. The sanctuary includes a large, wall-mounted crucifix at the back of the sanctuary. On a high platform (formerly high altar?) beneath the crucifix, chairs were occupied by the priest and deacon during much of the early part of Mass. An Easter candle was lit in the front of the sanctuary.

During the Mass, a choir of four older men and women who sat in the front left of the sanctuary sung several songs from "Lead Me, Guide Me," identified as an "African American Catholic Hymnal" from G.I.A. Publications. One song seemed quite appropriate for Mass: "Let us praise God together on our knees. Lord, have mercy on me." The refrain, "on our knees," was repeated many times.

The accompaniment was provided by an older gentleman who played the piano as well as anyone I've heard recently. Even though the style of music was very expressive and could not be considered as "Roman reverent," my personal judgment (take it for what it is worth!) was that God was pleased with the music in the Mass.

The priest, deacon, an altar girl, and others processed down the main aisle toward the sanctuary at the beginning of Mass. The deacon held the book of prayers raised high, with its bright colors on the cover. As the priest entered the sanctuary, he moved to the right and genuflected deeply to the Blessed Sacrament reserved in a tabernacle on the right side altar. The opening prayers included prayers for both Pope Benedict and Bishop Finn and these were repeated in the Eucharistic Prayer.

The priest spoke with a Spanish accent, yet I did not see any other Latinos at this Mass. Almost all of the 40 to 50 people at the Saturday afternoon Mass seemed older than 55 years old, with minor exceptions including two young black men in their 30s. Many of the people wore suits and dresses, as distinguished from casual clothes such as jeans, and a few black women wore hats.

Lay women read the scriptures and led the music. The deacon read the Gospel and the priest gave the homily that preached on death as a reality, the conquering of death by Christ, God's mercy, and the need for faith beyond the apostle, Thomas, who wanted a sign of Christ's resurrection. The priest reminded his listeners that "people who go to heaven will pray for us."

After the homily, the petitions were requested, with additional ones added from the parishioners. The prayers preceding and during the Preface were sung by the priest. It appeared that the sacred liturgy was precisely and reverently performed by the priest and deacon. A large beige circular host was used by the priest during the consecration. No bells were rung to remind the people of the consecration. Gold vessels were used for the Blessed Sacrament. The Great Amen reminded me of a reverent Negro spiritual.

Both species of the Eucharist were distributed to the parishioners. The priest and deacon distributed the Body of Christ, and lay persons distributed the Blood. Almost everyone in the church received Holy Communion. One old white woman knelt, but most people received communion standing and in the hand. The deacon cleansed the holy vessels after the distribution of Communion.

The meditation time after reception of Holy Communion was followed by several announcements by laypersons, including an announcement of the Dead Sea Scroll exhibition in Kansas City, and a 'thank you' from the altar girl for a relatively small amount of money contributed by parishioners to help her in a contest. The priest then announced that another Catholic community would begin joining them every Sunday. Daily Mass would be started, and monthly Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament would be on First Fridays.

Fantasy Vatican

The NCR was trying to be funny, but Wolftracker achieved real hilarity. See his Kansas City Catholic piece here.

Sedevecantism

A lot of traditional Catholics in Kansas City recently received a letter advertising "Counterfeit Catholicism," a talk to be given by Gerry Matatics. Gerry used to accept the Pope, but now has retreated to the belief that no Pope has occupied the chair of Peter since Pope Pius XII who died in 1958--almost 50 years ago. As is pointed out by one of the three indult priests serving traditional Catholics in the Kansas City area, this requires one to believe the Papacy is now extinct because no Cardinals appointed by the last 'valid' Pope, Pius XII, are alive to elect the next Pope. Sedevecantists cannot objectively describe when and by whom the next Apostolic Primate will be elected, indicating a Papal vacancy could last until the end of time.

Some other observations on and objections to sedevecantism (two Latin words which mean “the Chair is vacant”) include:

1. To a large extent, this theological position is a deeply emotional response to the horrors in the Church in the past 40 years, something we can all understand.
   
2. Sedevecantism requires one to believe the visible and indefectible Church promised by Christ can exist without a successor to St. Peter for a very long time--generations--even though the longest time between the death of one Pope and the election of the next has been three years, with the Holy See providing a visible government in that short time period..
3. Past Popes have been heretics and have continued at the helm of the Church. For example, Pope Honorius (625-638) was condemned in 680 by the 3rd Council of Constantinople because he favored the Monothelite heresy.
4. Father Garrigou-Lagrange is one of several extremely well respected theologians who concluded in the past 500 years that a heretic Pope could still retain his jurisdiction if his heresies were not notorious and pertinacious. [And only a very few Catholics are acquainted with the charges that recent Popes were heretics.]
   
5. Jesus Christ instituted a visible Church with a visible leader. The Church was designed by Christ never to be a rudderless ship without a Captain--a successor of St. Peter.
6. Sedevecantism is reduced to the absurd (reductio ad absurdum) when one considers:
1. An imposter Pope would always act invalidly, eliminating the rule of obedience
   
2. All church laws and spiritual activities from Rome would be either evil or worthless
   
3. This malignant cancer would completely destroy the Church, contrary to Christ's promise
   
4. An imposter Pope would also be an false Bishop and could not legitimately consecrate other Bishops
5. No cardinals to elect the next Pope could be validly appointed by an imposter Pope

[The above items have been taken from a thorough examination of sedevecantism found here. Don't be surprised that this very detailed study was written by Rev. Dominique Boulet of the Society of St. Pius X. The SSPX has been in the forefront of opposing sedevecantism for many years.]

The terrible confusion in the Catholic churches today encourages poor understanding and judgment. Catholics find it difficult to explain how Popes can err in the governance of the Church, or approve 'new teachings' such as Limbo no longer exists. [Also see Fr. Brian Harrison's comments on Limbo.] Consequently, they turn their backs on the Church because the Captain can be an incompetent or unfaithful sailor.

My own opinion is that if St. Peter, the first Pope, could deny Christ three times, and even later had to be corrected by St. Paul for his error in compelling Gentiles to live as do the Jews (Gal. 2:11-15), then it isn't unusual to observe current Popes making mistakes--even very serious ones that lead to very critical damage in the Church. Yet the Church will continue to be led by a valid successor of St. Peter because Jesus promised Peter:

And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven. (Matt 16:18-19)

The Church exists to bring men to holiness by the sacraments, the sacrifice of the Mass, and by transmitting the teachings of Jesus to future generations. It will not and cannot fail this mandate.

Our "Sunday Best"

This post continues the discussion of dressing up for Sunday Mass. To clarify, we are not talking about wearing our "Sunday Best" clothes for weekday Mass. People work during the week and often can attend Mass only if they wear their work clothes.

Millet's painting of peasants praying the Angelus shows the work clothes of European farmers of almost 200 years ago. These clothes might have been worn for daily Mass (probably after they washed their hands and the woman took off her dirty apron), yet the peasants would have worn their "Sunday Best" on God's Day.

A lot of time was required to dress in their "Sunday Best." My Grandma said that to obtain lye, she would filter water poured through wood ashes. She said the lye water would bleach the white shirts worn by the men to Sunday Mass. Washing was often done by hand using a washboard. [Does anyone even have one of those? I do, but now seldom use it.] Shoes were polished for Sunday. Regardless of how poor they were, everyone was expected to be dressed up, clean, and neat for Mass.

For over forty years, two of my aunts even dressed up in "church clothes" for early daily Mass (6:00 am), then changed into house and farm work clothes when they came home. It would have been unthinkable for both of them to wear their "everyday clothes" to church to greet God and receive the Eucharist.

The men who attended daily Mass were different because they had to wear their work clothes to church as most of them left Mass to go directly to work. Yet, work clothes were considered highly unsuitable to wear for Sunday Mass, unless the man had a job requiring him to leave Mass immediately to go to work on Sunday. Sunday jobs were not common (mostly firemen, a few policemen, and a small number of utility workers).

To give a feel for the effort to get ready for Sunday Mass, I remember my mother washing our shoe laces and restringing them, and polishing our white shoes on Saturday so that my siblings and I would look our best for Sunday Mass. We took weekly baths and washed our hair on Saturday, so that we would be our cleanest and smell nice for Sunday. Sunday was a much more special day then than it is now, and our appearance mattered because beauty, order, and cleanliness were highly valued. We believed God also valued these, and it was a common saying that "cleanliness (and neatness) is next to Godliness."

It may seem hard today to understand why these beliefs and practices were valued so highly when I was young. We believed that a person's Sunday appearance should reflect attention to beauty, order, and cleanliness. If it didn't, then it meant the person was sloppy or lazy and didn't take the time to prepare adequately for Sunday Mass.

Do I want the Church to enforce a "Sunday Best" clothes mandate? Of course not. I am also opposed to individuals posting themselves at the church doors believing God has authorized them to take on the role of "clothes police." Rather, the purpose of my posts is to encourage people (including myself!) to voluntarily prepare ourselves in our "Sunday Best" to meet our Lord, Jesus Christ, in the local Catholic church. And this means preparing ourselves both spiritually and physically for our great encounter with the Divine!

Casual Dress at Sunday Mass

My recent post "Should I Reconsider?" asked whether I should begin again to review Catholic church liturgies and their environments. The number of comments certainly exceeded my expectations, with the majority of people answering in the affirmative. Nevertheless, there is a significant opposition to my continuing to review Kansas City churches, especially to my descriptions of the church environment and people's casual dress at Sunday Mass. This post (and a future one) responds to those comments.

I did not advise on the suitability of people's dress and actions during Sunday Mass. I simply noted people most frequently dressed in a casual fashion (except for one traditional Latin Mass group where very few, if any, casual clothes were seen). I also noted whether a church had beautiful artifacts (e.g., stained glass windows, statues), altar girls, a crucifix, stations of the cross, etc. I attempted to describe those who attended Mass on Sunday. Only old people? Pregnant women? Children? Black, white, and Latino? Finally I tried to remember whether lay participants showed any outward signs of reverence, especially by silence or by staying after Mass to pray. I also commented on the special actions and prayers of the priest and others at Mass, such as kneeling for the introductory prayers of the Mass where the entire church asks God to forgive their sins.

I did not claim to see into people's hearts when I noted that many of the people at Sunday Mass wore jeans and almost all the women did not wear head coverings. I recognize these people came to Mass with the obviously good intention to fulfill God's solemn commandment to adore Him on the Sabbath (or on Sunday because of Christ's Resurrection). At a future point, I intended to discuss the suitability of casual clothes at Mass, and this post is that occasion.

My own experience shows that in the workplace, the visit of an important client or a key official means employees dress formally. Men continue to dress mostly in suits or sportcoats and dress slacks, and women typically wear dresses, nice blouses, or suits. Neither sex wears athletic shoes for the workplace visit of an important person. Yet these same people wear jeans and athletic shoes to Sunday Mass. In particular, some of the jeans I have seen at Sunday Masses I previously reviewed were well-worn, frayed, and had holes in them.

Let's put the issue of "dressing up" into perspective by returning to the World's Fair of 1939-40. More than 40 million people visited this Fair to see "The World of Tomorrow." A film projecting the lives of people in the future showed all of them were dressed up--just as they were when they went to public events in 1939 (and that continued for another ten or fifteen years. My Mother never went out of the home into the public without dressing up in those days, and she still keeps that habit. Most certainly Dad and Mom and their children never went to Mass on Sunday except in their "Sunday Best." In fact, our clean and pressed clothes were specially laid out the night before, and shoes were well polished.

So what happened? Fashions clearly slid downhill because it was easier, more comfortable, and often required less cost and time. Also people started doing alternative things on Sunday that they could not and would not have done before--such as shopping at the newly opened stores. Sunday dress became less important, and so did the worship of God. (to be continued)

A Dirty Pot Made Clean Again

When new palms are distributed at Palm Sunday Mass, I let mine dry in a flat position before placing them above a picture of Jesus or above a mirror associated with a small shelf used as an altar for veneration of sacred objects. Depending on the month, either a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary or a statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is placed on the shelf. On May 1, my husband will replace our Sacred Heart statue with one of Mary, the Mother of God. In June, he'll do the reverse.

The old palms are taken down and burned but it is sometimes hard for them to catch a good fire. This year I decided to use a small "stainless" steel pot to burn the old palms and then distribute the ashes around our house or garden, asking God for protection from lightning, hail, and other bad weather events. BAD mistake! (That is, to use the stainless steel pot.) But I learned several good lessons from trying to clean the hard black carbon that stuck like glue to the inside of the pot.

First, the natural effect of sin is very difficult to remove, like the carbon that took about 15 minutes of scrubbing with a nylon pad and powder cleanser to get the pot clean again. Second, if I had been smart, I would have found it easier to spray the inside of the pot with oven cleaner and leave it within a black plastic bag in the sun (compare to prayers with indulgences). After a while, the black would have been easy to scrub off. Lastly, next time I'll use a clean disposable can for burning old palms!

Greatest Saints of All

Someone with the initials rllw responded to my last post about the forthcoming Motu Proprio with extensive comments. My own response ended with a reference to the greatest saints of all time predicted for the future by a number of past saints, such as St. Louis Marie de Montfort. Here are some of the factors that will make future saints the greatest saints of all:

1. Their lifetime will be a period of the greatest adversity in history for the Church and its members
2. The saints will not be just survivors, they will actually thrive in such an adverse age
3. They will have unwavering voices attracting others to the true Faith in Jesus Christ
   
4. They will bring a special beauty into that time
   
5. They will inspire many Christian sinners to follow a holy life
6. Occasionally, they will disappear into seclusion or imprisonment to be restored by Christ
7. They will have visions
   
8. The saints will be both servants of God and awesome warriors who fight His causes
9. They will be willing Simons and love their enemies, even to the point of risking their own own lives
   
10. They will convert heretics and pagans
11. At times, they will be condemned by both friends and foes
12. They will not resist saying 'yes' to God's every command as soon as He asks
    
13. Between the saints, there will be a special chain of friendships which will be very important to their successes--perhaps communication through a super entangled web
    
14. They will encounter and defeat the greatest temptations presented to mankind, both of faith and flesh
    
15. They will create order in disorder, charity within divisions, and hope among those who are fearful and helpless in apparent defeat
16. They will encourage small churches in Catholic homes
17. They will suffer much and become both dry and wet martyrs

Motu Proprio to be Issued in May

I'm going to stick my neck out and say the Motu Proprio is definitely to be published in May, the month of Mary the Virgin Mother of God. The blog, Rorate Coeli, has kept everyone abreast of all the promising news on the universal permission for the old Latin Mass.

Here's what Cardinal Bertone, Secretary of State in the Vatican, said in an April 2 interview in Le Figaro--(using a somewhat modified Babelfish translation, not too accurate, but you'll get the drift.)

The value of the conciliar reform is intact [not trying to undo Vatican II and the Novus Ordo]. But the great liturgical inheritance given by saint Pius V [the old Latin Mass] should not be lost, as the faithful want to attend Masses according to this rite, within the framework of the missal published in 1962 by the pope John XXIII. There is no valid reason not to give to the priests of the whole world the right to celebrate according to this form. The new authorization [of the old Latin Mass] by the sovereign pontiff obviously does not invalidate the rite of Paul VI [the Novus Ordo Mass]. The publication of the Motu Proprio specifying this authorization will take place, and it will be the Pope himself who will explain its motivations and the framework of its decision. The sovereign pontiff will personally give his vision of the use of the old missal to the Christian people, and in particular to the bishops.

Then on April 7, a nasty editorial was published in the French national daily, Le Monde, entitled "The Church in Retreat" which lamented the Papal decision to further expand the old Latin Mass. Some of my favorites of the 30 comments on the Rorate Coeli post on the nasty Le Monde editorial included:

"Weeping and gnashing of teeth."
"This is one of the most ludicrous editorials that I have read in some time. Given the howls of indignation the Pope is right on target with the motu proprio."
"More drivel brought to us from the authors of the French Revolution and secular humanism."
" Sore loosers"
" Militants of ancient tradition, unite! Thank you, Le Monde, for reminding us that our instincts are correct."

Finally, the Italian daily Il Tempo published an unsigned article on April 10 claiming in the headline that the Motu Proprio will be issued next Monday, 16 April, after the celebration of the Holy Father’s 80th Birthday. [Thanks to Father Z for this information.]

New Traditional Catholic Bloggers in KC

I've been negligent reading the local Catholic bloggers. Guess what, there's more of them than I thought! Take a look at Christopher's blog, Lost Lambs. Chris identifies himself as a 22-year old "lost lamb" with two children. I highly recommend his personal story where he describes how the death of his grandmother led him to the old Latin Mass.

Kansasopolitanus is another new traditional Catholic blog offered by Daniel, who attends the old Latin Mass in Kansas City, MO. Based on comments from others, he's a doer!

Traditional Catholic Mom is written by Augusta, a 24-year old stay-at-home mother and convert whose husband introduced her to the old Latin Mass. I've got to try her taco soup recipe. Augusta has a brother-in-law who is a novice at St. Benedict's in Atchison.

Indulterer X is a fourth new traditional Catholic blogger from Kansas City. He's a good writer and should compose more posts (but perhaps less about shoes and the mall!).

There's also a new guy who is very excited about being accepted at Conception Abbey. See Pater Noster Benedict.

[I just checked Wolftracker and he already has listed most of them! You're ahead of me, WT!]

John C. Wright, Again....

I am continuing to read John C. Wright' Journal, the atheist writer of science fiction who converted to Christianity a few years ago. Here is a sample of his recent and extended discussion with atheists. Pray for him.

It is the failure of modern systems, after Kant, to explain synthetic a priori reasoning which has led to the foolishness (e.g. Marx) and triviality (e.g. Wittgenstein) and wickedness (e.g. Nietzsche) of modern philosophers. The moderns no longer believe the mind of man can deduce truths about the universe and know right from wrong. Without an assumption that reason tells us real things about the real universe, we are left with three possibilities: philosophy is an intellectual superstructure or rationalization imprinted on our false consciousness by the mechanics of the inanimate forces of history around us (Marx); or philosophy is just a word-game (Wittgenstein); or philosophy, especially moral philosophy, is an arbitrary convention of the small minded that the great should shrug aside during their triumphant march into the superhuman (Nietzsche)

At no point did I say that a man could reason himself to a belief in God. At most, philosophy can argue that the Unmoved Mover of Aristotle or the Absolute of Hegel exists: but this God of the Philosophers does not have the character and personality of the God in the Bible (even though the God in the Bible, oddly enough, does have the character of the God of the Philosophers). I do not think anyone can believe in God unless he is inspired or suffers a revelation, or accepts the testimony of someone else who is or has. Theology, reasoning about God, is defensive, not persuasive. I cannot possibly talk you into belief in God: all I can do is show you why, once I have accepted such a belief, my ideas are rational and cohere each with their axioms and conclusions.
........................

Christianity is the default position for several reasons: its age proves it has stood the test of time; it is a mature and a beautiful view of the world; it has a salutary effect; it has no serious rivals.

Keep in mind that during its 2000 year history, Christianity has been opposed by many rivals. Only Islam has any staying power, and, frankly, Islam copies many of the best features of the Judo-Christian tradition, but leave out some specific humanizing elements and beatitudes that gives this sad copycat religion the barbaric backwardness so much on display today.

Everything else has flourished and faded. Is communism still a viable rival for the affection of the intellectuals and common man? What about Logical Positivism? Deism? Theosophy? Albigensianism? Donatism? Montanism? Gnosticism? Right now, the only contender on the field is a type of naïve materialism that can't even explain itself, much less the universe, and offers no reason or meaning to life.

The historical dominance of the belief does not necessarily show that it is right; but it does show that every generation was sufficiently convinced of its verity to pass it along to the next, and each new generation was sufficiently impressed to accept the learning and add to it. The jury has been sitting for two thousand years, and a single nay vote of one generation would kill it as dead as Thor-worship.

Small Dollars to Change the World

Have you ever thought about starting your own very small charitable foundation? I have because then I could decide exactly what my money would be used for. I've found that the most effective charity starts at home and in our church and local communities. If you look, you can find all kinds of ways to work privately for good. You won't be able to take a tax deduction, but you will do your small part to change the world.

Most of the time, only a few dollars are needed to make a huge difference in what happens to people in their future lives. Here are some gifts people have given me or that I have learned about from others:

1. Buy a subscription to a good Catholic magazine or newspaper for someone special. It really can be a lifelong gift.
   
2. Volunteer to take someone's little kids so the couple can see a movie like "Into Great Silence." Pay their way.
3. Give the altar boy who won't get a nice present for Confirmation (because his family can't afford it) a special gift.
4. Pay for a small ad in a local paper (either Catholic or secular), volunteering to send a person a free small catechism of the Catholic Church.
   
5. Design a contest to draw out the best in Catholic students. Mail an announcement to schools, or ask a Catholic newspaper or church bulletin for free publicity. Give small money prizes.
6. Pay for a Catholic Information booth at the county fair. Ask the Legion of Mary or another parish organization to staff it with materials and people.
   
7. Invite a person to go with you to a Catholic movie, conference, monastery, or shrine and treat them to lunch or dinner. You'll enjoy it more than they will!
   
8. Keep your eyes open to help someone with a special need; often it won't cost much.

Now, it's your turn to suggest ideas of where to spend "Small Dollars to Change the World."

Should I Reconsider?

I've heard from several people who believe that dusty's reviews of Catholic churches in the Greater KC area should not have stopped--(see sidebar for relevant posts on different churches). Our oldest daughter gave me a 'hard' time on Easter Sunday because she believed the series is a good historical record of rapidly changing conditions in Novus Ordo parishes. She believes, as do I, that the imminent future in Catholic parishes will be like the late '60s when the Mass and other aspects of Catholic practice changed dramatically in a short time. Yet there is little documention of what actually happened in individual Catholic churches during that very important time period.

Do readers have comments on whether to proceed with the series? And if so, how, and under what conditions?

Divine Mercy Sunday and Catholic Printing Houses

Next Sunday is Divine Mercy Sunday with its great opportunity for a plenary indulgence. I've ordered some holy cards with this icon image because my Mother is particularly attached to the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. Icons are a wonderful substitution for the poor religious art of the past 40+ years!

When Mother and I are driving together, we try to say the full rosary or the chaplet together. More information on the Divine Mercy devotion and this icon image are available at the Printery House of Conception Abbey in northwestern Missouri. I won't vouch for all their products, but the selection has improved over the past several years. [I still like the Angelus Press the best however, because their books feed the soul.]

For a long time, I would not touch anything from Conception Abbey (and its associated printing house) in the Kansas City diocese because they appeared to have lost their faith. A friend of mine liked to visit seminaries and he told me about ten years ago, that his new visit to Conception showed the seminarians had changed from being primarily effeminate to now being mostly true men. [I'm only repeating what a good man with a lot of experience visiting religious houses around the world told me.] With Bishop Robert Finn now in charge, I have ever higher hopes that Conception's destiny is full of hope and promise.

Catholic Schooldays--1950

What was Catholic gradeschool like back in the late 40's and early 50's? Here are some memories.

1. Tuition at the Catholic grade school was $1 per month, with a lower cost for families with 3 or more children. One family in our school had 18 children.
   
2. Only sisters in full habit taught in the school, and most seemed quite young.
   
3. The sisters lived in a convent house owned by the parish and they cooked their own meals, often with food donated by parishioners. Finally, they needed another house because so many nuns came, and they rented one across the street. One or two nuns had to crawl up the ladder and sleep on mattresses in the attic because no other sleeping space was available.
   
4. The sisters had no car and they did not drive, so they relied on a volunteer woman driver (one of my aunts) to take two of them to the grocery store and the department store once a week. I got to go along at least once and it was lots of fun being with the sisters in the crowded car.
   
5. A lot of the sisters were good artists in that they painted holy cards, signs for the classroom with wonderful script, and made decorations with Easter palms. [Later, I once borrowed some of their handmade script patterns to make pro-life signs.]
   
6. We girls were especially interested in whether the nuns had blonde, brown, or black hair. Only rarely did a wisp of hair peeking out from under her headpiece reveal the actual color. One day we were astonished to learn that our teacher had a sunburn on her arms because she rolled up her sleeves to to wash her clothes.
   
7. Handwriting was a very important skill to practice and learn.
8. The English textbooks with stories and associated artwork had already changed from the Misericordia readers series by the Sisters of Mercy to English readers that were not nearly as good. [Perhaps the influence of John Dewey and his friends.]
   
9. Occasionally, we were allowed to buy candy and gum during school from a Sister who made money for the nuns by selling a candy bar or a pack of gum for 5 cents each.
10. We had three recesses each day, 15-min ones during the morning and afternoons and an hour-long recess at noon. We ate our lunch rapidly so we could go outside and play. Softball, tag, volleyball, and other games were typically non-structured.
    
11. School started only after Labor Day and we were finished by about May 20.
    
12. Organ music was played in church--only from the balcony to the rear.
13. The kneelers in church had no padding and we knelt on wood. Our church, like almost all, had no air conditioning during the summer, so early Sunday Masses at 6:00 am or 8:00 a.m. were best. No microphone either, the priest was expected to preach loud enough to hear.
14. On First Fridays, the mothers fixed us hot chocolate and doughnuts after Mass. That morning, the school water faucets were covered with brown paper bags because we were not allowed to drink water after midnight if we wanted to receive communion.
    
15. Father X always passed out the report cards--looking carefully at each one and making us very nervous because he saw our grades first.
16. The Baltimore Catechism and a small gray Bible history were our religion textbooks. And we memorized the answers.
    
17. We students especially looked forward to the color comic book that came once a month, Treasure Chest.
    
18. I was confronted during a visit to the Blessed Sacrament during recess by the pastor who asked why I wasn't wearing something on my head. I responded it was recess and the visit was unplanned. I remember asking the priest whether it was better not to make a visit if I didn't have a head covering. He responded by leaving me to pray alone in the silent church.
    
19. I knew only one child of divorced parents during my entire time in grade school.
    

Complaining About a Complaint Free World

I've been noticing signs advertising the "complaint free world," a program developed by Christ Church Unity in Kansas City that believes in "celebrate[ing] the divinity and God's diversity in all." The minister says he initiated the program because people whined about his choice of worship music. He then asked people to stop complaining and criticizing for three weeks, using purple rubber bracelets that are switched to alternate wrists every time a person complains.

What's right with complaining? When is it a virtue? A person forcefully COMPLAINING about injustice seems to reflect the beatitude, "Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill." Frankly, unless my neighbors had not loudly complained about a 2+ year old problem in our neighborhood, the city would never have fixed it.

Jesus' parable about the complaining widow reflects the occasional necessity of complaining to a superior who can make things right:

Luke 18:1 And he spoke also a parable to them, that we ought always to pray, and not to faint, 2 Saying: There was a judge in a certain city, who feared not God, nor regarded man. 3 And there was a certain widow in that city, and she came to him, saying: Avenge me of my adversary. 4 And he would not for a long time. But afterwards he said within himself: Although I fear not God, nor regard man, 5 Yet because this widow is troublesome to me, I will avenge her, lest continually coming she weary me.

Complaining about little things distracts from real problems, but not complaining when vital things are clearly wrong is a vice. A good Christian cannot ignore evil. If he ignores evil, he is compliant with evil. When no one complains about abortion, or an unjust war, or divorce, or any of a host of evil situations, then I know the people have lost their soul. If nothing is worth complaining about, then nothing is worth fighting for, and people have lost their capacity for righteous indignation.

St. Lawrence Center at KU

A Catholic friend is very enthusiastic about the St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center at the University of Kansas. She described the recent surge in the numbers of potential vocations to the religious life, stating that the increase is approximately 400 percent over the past five years--from about 15 students to about 60 who are considering a religious vocation. I don't know if the numbers are valid, but if so the figures likely represent a real revival for the Catholic Church among young adults.

Tom Burke, Knight of Life

The 1994 Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) law makes it a federal crime to block access to abortion clinics to save babies. If a FACE-type law had been in place 40+ years ago, it would have strangled the Civil Rights movement. The Operation Save America website compares the two movements quite clearly.

Tom Burke of Kansas City, KS is a Catholic man who has been arrested (40+ times) for attempting to save babies from being killed in abortion clinics by "blocking access." This time it appears the government will sentence Tom to federal prison for a year and a half for his trying to save babies. Tom's recent pro-life work is described in the last paragraph of Congressman Jerry's Moran's report.

I spoke with Tom a few months ago and he said, "If people understood the great happiness that comes with doing this work, there would be many others who would join me in getting arrested." Tom was joyous when he said this, as he knows he has chosen a very special and rewarding way to serve God.

Tom's thoughts about the special vocation of non-violent resistance to abortion are described in his published letter to Joe Scheidler, founder of the Pro-Life Action League and another long-time whipping boy of pro-abortionists. [Joe will be speaking in Kansas City this fall.]

Dear Joe,

May the Lord give you peace. Thank you for being a committed and faithful pro-life activist. Please extend my thanks to your wife, Ann, your son Eric, and your daughter, Annie, too. I am very grateful for the love and concern your family shows for all children who are or were in danger of abortion and for their mothers.

Thank you for praying for the conversion of your enemies each day. God hears your prayers, especially when they are presented before the throne by the Blessed Virgin Mary.

God bless you all. Love and prayers,

Brother Tom Burke, Kansas City, KS

Please pray for Tom Burke as he sacrifices himself again for his smallest brothers and sisters.