Trolling the Worldwide Internet

The other day, I was watching (& lamenting, but joyfully) the last video from SheIsCatholic (YouTube channel HERE), who has now run away & joined a nunnery.  In this case, the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist.  We at H.E. prays that she fulfills her vocation & grows in holiness & joy.  Her witness online will be missed.

But not forgotten - she seems to have started a movement of young, enthusiastic, Catholic Vloggers.  I came across one of those - SheSpeaksWithWisdom - who posed a question about someone who during Communion time at Mass took it upon themselves to dip their Sacred Host into the Chalice she was offering as an EMHC, a forbidden action we can call self-intinction.  The priest can do this, then offer the Host to a communicant, but the communicant absolutely cannot do it on their own.  You can find the Youtube page HERE.

I made a comment encouraging digilence in these matters, but shortly afterward, someone popped up with snide remarks about religion in general - a troll.  The general rule is, "Please don't feed the trolls," but I sensed from the screen name, thought chain, & language used that this was a young person who had drunk the secular, materialistic, relativistic, if-it-feels-good-do-it Kool Aid of the world, so I thought I might try to engage.  One never knows what could result from a positive exchange.  Plus, I thought others listening in might learn something useful.

I've listed the full exchange below, at least as it stands for now.  Things have been quiet for a few days.  Maybe their mommy made them go clean up their room or something : )  The "wurlwidinnernet" is an amazing thing (thanks, Al Gore!), but it can often be a cruel beast that allows us to treat each other impersonally & with disdain.  Let's pray that all people, but Catholics especially, use the web for good & as a tool of spreading Christ's peace.
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Mark G> Self intinction? Verbotten!

I know it's hard to know what to do on the spot, but as an EMHC, be prepared. People must consume the Host immediately when given. If someone walks up to you with Jesus in their hand, cover the chalice with your hand & politely ask them to consume the Host first.

If you ever see someone walking away with a Host, they need to be intercepted, charitably, of course. This is not something to treat blithely.

Why can't people just do what the Church says? Sigh...
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FatalFistFury> But doesn't religion tell you not to think because its too hard?
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MG> Sorry, Fury - the intellectual, philosophic, scientific, & theological traditions of the Catholic Church is unsurpassed. At least that's what my communique from Rome this morning said.

The liturgical rules exist to ensure we can worship together in harmony. They provide a way for us to enter the mystery we celebrate & protect against abuses. If everyone is doing their own thing, that's not really worshiping as the Body of Christ, is it?

P.S. Save the snark. Charity & good will wins every time.
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FFF> I agree, but can't we have charity and good will without religion? Am I still considered as cretin l if I help people out just because I want to and not because someone I go to church/mosque/temple? I'm not trying to flame anybody and I respect your choices albeit, my previous comment did come out of cynicism(which would also prove my lack of repect thereof) and I'm glad you caught that.
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MG> Of course people of various beliefs of no beliefs can love & act charitably towards others. Catholics hold that the Creator has inscribed the Natural Law in the soul of every person: Do good; Avoid evil. If they cooperate, God may look kindly on them in the end.

It is much harder for an atheist or even a non-Christian to give a reason for their charity or the existence of any moral absolute, esp. the reality of love. If you are genuinely open to seeking the truth, I am sure you will find it.
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FFF> So you're saying that only as a Catholic will I understand what love actually means? And I'm pretty sure that it is not man's instinct to impulsively kill their fellow kind, just as it is man's instinct to procreate. If that were the case then we would not have survived, but since you shun evolution thats another discussion.

Do you really need a reason for good will? Are you only doing it because the Bible told you to? Doesn't that contradict what good will is then?
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MG> I'm honored to have all these words put in my mouth! God has given man both natural law & divine revelation of himself. Many reject divine revelation, but do understand man's natural desire to love & do good. However, man's intellect & inclinations are darkened by his rebellion against God, the source of love & goodness itself.

In a world without God - a pure Darwinian world - the only laws are survival of the fittest & might makes right. The history of the 20th century is instructive.
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FFF> Furthermore, it is impossible for me and most reasonable people to have the Bible considered as intellectual when no one can question it nor scientific when you can't prove anything said in the Bible.
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MG> You falsely assume Catholics are biblical fundamentalists w/o bothering to find out if it's true - very sloppy reasoning. Catholics do question the Bible & seek to understand its message better. The Church knows that all truth is from God, so we can embrace a nuanced version of evolution. Did you know that it was a Catholic priest & scientist Georges Lemaître who 1st proposed the Big Bang theory? Or that the Vatican operates astronomical observatories both in Rome & w/ the Univ. of Arizona?
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MG> The historical claims of the Bible have been proven themselves over & over; new evidence is continuously being discovered. But God can also be known apart from the Bible: thru the order, beauty, & goodness of the cosmos, & thru the immensity & glory of man's own soul. Look inward & find God's handiwork.

While the Church appeals to man's head, it is his heart that most needs God's love & healing. I leave you w/ words from Augustine - Our hearts are restless, O God, until they rest in you. Salve.
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Sacred Music Workshop - Non Nobis Domine

Most folks I know have already seen/heard this recording from the July 2012 Sacred Music Workshop for the Youth of St. Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church in Lenoir City sponsored by the Knoxville Latin Mass Schola.

But if not, this motet was sung during Saturday Vespers after the Reading.  You can view other recordings from the workshop on the St. Thomas Youth FB Page. 

Don't tell me kids don't get it.  The kids I asked all said this was their favorite music piece from the workshop.

Also, this was just my first attempt to post a video to my blog.  I hope you like it.

I Am A Person

At break time at work, we usually tune into what has come to be known as The Daily Disaster on CNN.  Always seem to be some horrible thing going on.  The talking heads were going on about the War on Women or some such drivel, & the conversation steered around to the question of whether or not is was permissible to abort a child conceived in a rape.

Many engineers pride themselves on a hard-headed, pragmatic approach to things, so often they take a harsh view of things with little room for mercy.  I often just keep my mouth shut & pray.  This time, after the case was made, I spoke up & said something like, "Well, it's not the kid's fault is it?  I mean, do you think the woman wants to live with the guilt of killing her child on top of the horrible memory of being raped?"  They were a little taken back to hear me speak out like that.

I told them that I know someone who this actually happened to - she got pregnant as a result of a rape, & instead of "getting rid" of the child, she carried it to term & gave the baby up for adoption.  Talk about heroic virtue.  I am amazed by this young woman's courage & expression of love.  They didn't know what to say.  I think everyone assumes that the automatic choice for everyone in every case is abortion.

Well, things got weird then.  Someone said, "Well, don't you think there's something wrong with someone who would do something like that?  I mean, how could a normal person do something like that," meaning, I supposed, that the child should be killed because they had a deranged & sub-human male parent that made the child's worthiness to live suspect.  I said, "I don't really think that's the case.  Any person is capable of virtually any crime.  While there are people with mental problems who might be rapist, I believe it's more about the cumulative choices people make that lead them to take certain actions."  

Well, they didn't by this, but stuck by their "rotten DNA" defense.  I said, "Be careful with that, because then they'll be scrutinizing everyone to see whether or not they meet the criteria to live."  Finally, some nodding heads.  Still, I was creeped out by this exchange.  I realized walking back from break that what was being advocated was eugenics.  It was Nazism at its ideological finest - the desire to create a superior race by eliminating the unfit.

I'm honestly not very good at apologetics on the fly, so I realized after some reflection that this is where I should have gone: the argument that a raped woman (any woman?) should not keep her child is based simply on whether the child is wanted or not.  It takes an unimaginable amount of love to bear a child that you didn't ask for; one that came from a horrible, violent act.  Without trivializing this for women - I mean, obviously, how could I possibly know - if we accept as a society that some human life is disposable because it is inconvenient or unwanted, then we open a Pandora's box of horror that we normally only find in Sci Fi novels.  

Implied in my ramblings was the fact that the unborn child is a human person.  I mean, it either is or it isn't.  If it is, then it must be protected by all laws, rights, & privileges that you & I enjoy.  If not, well, then there's little to separate a born child from unborn child other than location & desirability.  Either could be killed for any reason. The burden of proof of not-personhood certainly rests on the opposition.  It is clearly human life at an early stage - it's not going to become a phone booth or an ostrich - it is clearly human life.  From there, an unassailable case has to be made this nascent human life is not a person; & I simply don't think that can be done.

It also suggests the question, How much can you love? & it's couplet, How much are you willing to sacrifice?  Only in God can the answer that leads to true joy & fullness of life be found.  The current pro-abort mindset is the opposite: How will you fulfill what you want to do if you have this parasite in you?  How will you live a life of selfishness, inversion, & detachment from relationship & obligation?  How will be able to chase the dream we've laid out for you on nearly every womans' magazine cover you've seen your entire life?

I sense the tide is turning.  Science has revealed to the world how amazing developing human life is.  I think young people see the damage a culture of abortion has caused.  Many have taken the brunt of the blast in broken families, abuse, missing siblings, & a seeming lack of purpose.  They want more.  They are far more open to the Pro-Life message, despite the other challenges of their generation.  I have great hope that life will win.  See you at the March for Life.