Celebration

Again, I'll write more later, but here are a few pictures from the special weekend we celebrated this past weekend, with Michael's First Communion and Oscar's first birthday.  It was wonderful to be able to celebrate with friends and family and we're thankful for all those who made a trip to be here! (The Chicago and DC relatives have no idea how bummed the boys were for two days after they left.)  We are very happy, and particularly proud of Michael for how much he is learning about his faith and this big milestone for him.

Art projects

I'm about as far away from being one of those crafty Pinterest moms as one could be, and tend to let preschool provide the art project opportunities around here.  Still, every now and then I manage to do an actual little project, and I always encourage drawing and coloring.  A few weeks ago I decided to actually do one of those cool projects I saw on one of my Catholic mom blogs, and had the boys make rosaries for the Feast of the Holy Rosary.  Instead of chocolate chips we used Cheerios and Chex (or their Aldi equivalents :) for the Our Fathers and Hail Marys.  The boys got to glue all the beads (and eat some along along the way) and write or trace their names.  They had a great time and were very proud of their creations.  Malcolm later ate half of his after it was taped up on our unofficial Sunday School wall, so I had to take it down lest he eat any more Elmer's ... but it was fun while it lasted!

Malcolm also has been drawing these awesome "monsters" that look like grim little potatohead stick figures.  They are the greatest.  Recently he decided to add some monsters to our daily schedule, and also a "101" after music class, just because he happened to like those numbers, but the coincidence of where he put them made me laugh out loud.

Born into the Kingdom

Michael and Malcolm got a new Brother Francis DVD after Joseph was born called "Born Into the Kingdom," about the sacrament of baptism.  We thought it would be topical since the baby was going to be baptized soon!  The baptism happened last month on the Feast of Pentecost.  It was the first baptism for us since we joined our new parish of St. Thomas Aquinas a year ago, and things went a little differently.  Instead of four babies, there were nine (!) at this one, and while the deacon's explanation of how things would go was somewhat helpful, with the number of people there it really prolonged things.  Still, every family and group of friends got their own chance to come up for the main baptismal rite.  Joseph Benedict did great.  His godparents, Uncle Dan and my best friend Rachel, were both unable to make it due to travel restrictions for health reasons, so they stayed safely in the upper Midwest and our great friends Paul and Katie stepped in as proxies.  Then we had a nice reception at our house with family and some friends.  It was a wonderful, joy-filled day and we were happy to officially welcome our son into the faith!  Thanks to our families for being part of the celebration :)

In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit

Grandparents and Great-Grandma!

Aunts and uncles :)

With Paul and Katie

With Elizabeth

Malcolm takes on a new vocation

Topical

Given at St. Peter's, Rome, on the 25th day of July, the feast of St. James the Apostle, in the year 1968, by Paul VI: 

Responsible men can become more deeply convinced of the truth of the doctrine laid down by the Church on this issue if they reflect on the consequences of methods and plans for artificial birth control. Let them first consider how easily this course of action could open wide the way for marital infidelity and a general lowering of moral standards. Not much experience is needed to be fully aware of human weakness and to understand that human beings—and especially the young, who are so exposed to temptation—need incentives to keep the moral law, and it is an evil thing to make it easy for them to break that law. Another effect that gives cause for alarm is that a man who grows accustomed to the use of contraceptive methods may forget the reverence due to a woman, and, disregarding her physical and emotional equilibrium, reduce her to being a mere instrument for the satisfaction of his own desires, no longer considering her as his partner whom he should surround with care and affection.
 

Finally, careful consideration should be given to the danger of this power passing into the hands of those public authorities who care little for the precepts of the moral law. Who will blame a government which in its attempt to resolve the problems affecting an entire country resorts to the same measures as are regarded as lawful by married people in the solution of a particular family difficulty? Who will prevent public authorities from favoring those contraceptive methods which they consider more effective? Should they regard this as necessary, they may even impose their use on everyone. It could well happen, therefore, that when people, either individually or in family or social life, experience the inherent difficulties of the divine law and are determined to avoid them, they may give into the hands of public authorities the power to intervene in the most personal and intimate responsibility of husband and wife.

Common theme links

Another numbered post, with a few links I have come across in the last few days:

1. Liturgy.  Here are some reflections on the Easter Triduum from Pope Benedict today.  One of the things I appreciate most about the Holy Father is how incredibly accessible his writing and speeches are.  It is in contrast to Pope John Paul II, who I admit I occasionally struggled with because of the denser nature of a lot of his writing, including his original Love and Responsibility (though it's not just him - high-level philosophy is always challenging for me).  Pope Benedict has an amazing gift for making his words understandable, illuminating, and relevant.  Every time I read his reflections on theology I learn something new.  He concludes his main reflections today with this exhortation, which I will try to keep in mind: "On reliving the Holy Triduum, let us dispose ourselves to receive also in our lives the will of God, conscious that in the will of God, though it seems hard, in contrast to our intentions, is found our true good, the path of life."

2. Vocations. Saw this interesting article yesterday about Catholics and the practice of law as a vocation.  The writer, who went to ND Law School, says he found his way into law school without ever really thinking about whether it was his vocational calling to practice law.  Given the crushing weight of debt many students incur and the lack of enjoyment many have practicing law, and the pressure that comes from being trapped in the second because of the first, many people might be better off thinking more seriously about law school in the first instance.  In addition, the "billable hour" that rules at large law firms in particular has a way of creeping into your whole life, where you start to measure your worth by the number of .25 or .1 hour increments that can be billed to clients.  The author argues it crowds out spiritual life. 

Leaving a large law firm has helped me break out of the "billable hour" mindset (although I do still think about it pretty constantly at work, since I'm not in-house or in public service) but the practice of law is still not, and wasn't from the begining, about "vocation" for me.  I enjoy my corporate practice ("the law"), though I keep my interest in bigger picture/theory ("The Law") up through Federalist Society and St. Thomas More Society events and reading on Catholic traditions in natural law.  I don't think the profession is harmful to my faith, but the article made some good points for reflection.

3. Family Life.  Very interesting discussion on NFP the other day on the Catholic moms' blog I read, taking off on a recent study that apparently found only 3% of married Catholics practice NFP.  Now, I understand the study had a lot of limitations and that number comes with a lot of caveats - it may not include people currently pregnant who have practiced it, people who don't practice anything at all, or people who are post-partum or trying to conceive, with or without NFP - plus I'm not clear whether that percentage is higher among Mass-attending Catholics.  Regardless, it's dismally low, the percentage of Catholics using ABC is dismally high, and the discussion about it brought up some very interesting points.  The most interesting one to me is how many people just flat out never realized what the Church teaches in this area.  I'm usually skeptical of the effect of "raising awareness" campaigns, but it seems like this is one area where raising awareness, along with compassionate education and careful teaching, might actually be quite effective over the long term.  Kind of overwhelming odds given the 45-year head start (and pervasive success) of secular mores in this case, but not insurmountable.

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

In honor of today's solemnity, here is a clip of Stevie Wonder singing "Ave Maria."

God's plans

Before the week is over, I wanted to link to the USCCB's resource page on this year's NFP Awareness Week, which falls during the anniversary of the release of Humanae Vitae. They have a lot of great information about natural family planning itself and what the Church teaches about contraception, married love, and openness to life, and also have testimonials from couples practicing NFP and resources on where to learn more about it. The best summary there I saw was that NFP is "unique because it enables its users to work with the body rather than against it. Fertility is viewed as a reality to live, not a problem to be solved."

Instead of viewing fertility as a threat, or a woman's problem to address, or an obstacle to be overcome, with NFP it is treated as a natural part of a marital relationship that should be integral part of a couple's communication on responsible family decisions -- whether trying to achieve or avoid pregnancy as you go through different life stages. It can be challenging to live out at times (and we'll soon be heading into the less certain period again of postpartum fertility awareness, which I admitted here last year was freaking me out a little) but it really can be rewarding. Knowing that you are on the same page with openness to life -- or revisiting the subject on a regular basis to strive to be on that same page -- is hugely beneficial to a relationship. Plus, for women, I think it is great to give us greater awareness of our own bodies. I had no idea on a lot of it until I took the classes before marriage. Every woman is different but NFP teaches tools to figure out what's going on with your own body and sometimes can alert to health or fertility problems that might have gone undetected otherwise.  No matter what, it gives you regular cause to reflect and pray on what God's plan for your marriage is and how you can seek the grace to be open to that plan.

The King's Good Servant, But God's First

Today is the feast day of St. Thomas More, canonized in 1935 by Pius XI. In 2000, John Paul II made him patron of statesman and politicians (including lawyers). Kim is proud member of the St. Thomas More Society of Dallas, which is celebrating his feast day with a special mass at the Cathedral downtown.

Sir Thomas makes an interesting study in Catholic sainthood; He was, by all contemporary accounts, a true Renaissance man, learned in every manner of the law and theology. He was a reluctant statesman, an honorable jurist, and loving husband and father.

His steadfast refusal to publicly affirm Henry VIII's decision to divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, in order to marry his mistress, Anne Boleyn, eventually led to his arrest and execution.

St. Thomas More's modern popularity can partly be attributed to the film A Man For All Seasons, which won the Oscar for Best Picture in 1966. Below is a scene that encapsulates the man who stood against his King and country, to the point of martyrdom:

40 Days

Matthew 4:1-11 (RSV)

1Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
2And he fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was hungry.
3And the tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread."
4But he answered, "It is written, `Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'"
5Then the devil took him to the holy city, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple,
6and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written, `He will give his angels charge of you,'
and `On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.'"
7Jesus said to him, "Again it is written, `You shall not tempt the Lord your God.'"
8Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them;
9and he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me."
10Then Jesus said to him, "Begone, Satan! for it is written, `You shall worship the Lord your God
and him only shall you serve.'"
11Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and ministered to him.

Sacraments and Sunday school

Last weekend I was honored to become the godmother to my friend's little girl, Caetlin. It's the first time I've ever been asked to be a godmother! Patricia was having both her daughters baptized and her marriage convalidated and how could I not say yes to being part of that whole day? :) I take this responsibility quite seriously. Also, I'm so happy I was able to make the actual ceremony in Atlanta and get to visit with the whole family over the day. Everything went great. This family has some great friends! (All of whom seemed to have little kids running around everywhere.) I got Caetlin a small book called "Little Acts of Grace" that talks about small devotionals kids and families can do day-to-day to make their faith part of their lives. I should probably take some of the suggestions myself.

Speaking of three-year-olds and faith, I recently volunteered to be a Sunday school teacher for three-year-olds at our parish. As an aside, it wasn't an easy process to volunteer in this day and age -- despite having done three criminal background and reference checks for the D.C., Florida and Texas bars in the last couple of years, I and every other volunteer still had to have a background and reference check by the diocese as a volunteer working with kids, and watch a video about child abuse :/ -- wish all that weren't perceived, wrongly I think, to be necessary.

I've been having such a tough time feeling connected at this parish that I think volunteering might help things out. It would also give me a window into the catechism program here so we can evaluate later down the road if we really feel comfortable here canonically and liturgically or if we would do better to follow our leanings and join another parish in Dallas as Michael gets older. (We are talking to priests about this as well in this ongoing discernment -- would be a very hard decision that I really don't want to make, but staying seems hard sometimes too.) In any event, I haven't taught since my senior year of high school when I taught with my mom, but I remember it being a lot of fun. I am so looking forward to teaching the little kids! We will start with Adam and Eve, talk about Noah and the ark, Miriam and Moses, David and Goliath, and other Bible stories :) It should be so much fun. I'm going to talk to my co-teacher in the next couple of days, and I just got the class list in the mail today too. Can't wait to meet little Gillian, Mia, Nicholas, Gianna, Chloe and others. Little kids are great :)

Open to life

I've found a couple of new favorite blogs to read, which I've added to the sidebar along with an established standby, The Anchoress (she used to blog pseudonymously, like I do, but then she went public as Elizabeth Scalia when she joined First Things). The new ones are Faith and Family, a group blog by a Catholic magazine that talks about exactly what it says it does, and Conversion Diary, by a convert Catholic, NFP-practicing mom of four who just five years ago was a hipper-than-thou atheist with absolutely no plans to have children. I recommend all of them!

Jennifer at Conversion Diary got me thinking this past week more about being "open to life," as married couples are supposed to be. I have to admit, having a baby has been way more of an adjustment than I thought it would be -- that is, I knew it would be an adjustment, of course, but the reality of it has still been a lot to handle. I've always thought I would have a lot of kids, since Mike and I both come from large families, but with one now, I look at all those "mega-moms" with six, seven, eight or more children and cannot truly say I am "open" to that right now!! And NFP is not always easy to practice, although in light of the principles I mentioned in the last post, it is something that Catholic couples who seek to practice "responsible parenthood" (as described in Humanae Vitae) should strive to understand and, if warranted, follow. We're certainly committed to it, but sometimes conviction follows actions rather than the other way around. I know in my head that we are open to life, but I don't always feel that way! How can you actually manage with that many children? How did our parents do it so well??

The post that made me feel better upon reflection was Jennifer's on how God doesn't call the equipped, He equips the called. I love that. She said if she could talk to herself from 5 years ago and tell her what her life was going to look like, old Jennifer would freak out and think there is no way she could handle that. But the reality is, you get time to adjust to each new reality and God works with you to give you the grace to handle new challenges. I really like that thought -- and I think it's helping me feel more open to life.

Inseparable

For a lot of reasons, I've been thinking a lot lately about NFP and the Church's teaching on sexuality. As Catholics, we are called and obliged to believe what the Church teaches about what Christopher West calls "the good news about sex and marriage." Sex has two inseparable aspects, the unitive and the procreative, and if either of these purposes or aspects is frustrated, it goes against not just Church teaching but also the natural law.

The unitive aspect relates directly to what the Bible says, that God created man and woman, and when a man shall leave his family and cleave to his wife, the two shall become one flesh. Christ affirmed this reality -- he performed his first miracle at the wedding at Cana -- and raised marriage to the dignity of a sacrament (a visible sign of invisible grace). Expanding on this, St. Paul says that the one-flesh unity of marriage is a mystery like the union of Christ and the Church.

That's pretty serious stuff. Sex is the most intimate relation a man and a woman can have, a total gift of self to another. Even if it is taken seriously, as many people take it, if it is outside marriage, it will often have negative consequences emotionally, relationally, and physically. People start to see each other as instruments for their own satisfaction instead of as full human beings deserving of respect and love in and of themselves -- not usually this blatantly, of course, but in an incremental, subtle shaping of their thinking and actions. Sex outside of marriage may say, I love you, but not enough to commit to you for life. Use of contraception may say, I love you, but not your fertility. And if people are not willing to commit to their partners fully, and accept that the natural outcome of their actions may be a whole new human life (a joyful thing!), then they are using each other for mutual satisfaction. And this often causes problems, even if neither of them thinks they have a problem with what's going on.

It may be a silly analogy, but just as fire in the fireplace is wonderful but fire outside the fireplace could burn down your house, so sex is properly placed within marriage -- and can cause all sorts of damage when yanked outside that context. One million abortions a year in America -- 30,000 new cases of STDs every day and 65 million people living with incurable STDs -- help show that fact, to take account only of the physical toll of nonmarital sex. Spiritually, it can cause even more damage. Again, the marriage relationship is like that between Christ and the Church. It is a bond ordained and celebrated by God. Sharing a semblance of that bond with people to whom we are not committed for life does damage to the bond. How can you give of yourself completely and openly if you don't know -- because you've exchanged vows and received the grace of the sacrament -- that your partner is committed for life to you, your well-being, and the well-being of any new life you may create by your actions? Unfortunately, women usually get the short end of the stick in this regard.

Because of course, the other inseparable aspect of sex is the procreative. Ever since the invention of the Pill, people have been able to effectively, on a culture-wide basis, mentally separate sex from children. Of course, by its nature as the reproductive act, sex is very much connected to children -- in spite of people's efforts to pretend otherwise (and in spite of almost a half-century of "safe sex" teachings, during which everyone I think has pretty much gotten the message), sex still seems to result in babies. We still have over 25% of all pregnancies end in abortion, and close to 40% of the rest of pregnancies result in babies to unmarried mothers. What we know, though, is that children do best (emotionally, physically, psychologically, educationally, economically -- pretty much every way) when raised by their own married mother and father. Of course children can and do turn out well all the time outside that context -- which is wonderful, and there are a lot of courageous single parents out there doing the best they can -- but it does no one any good to pretend that marriage doesn't matter at all. Since sex can result in children, who do best in the context of marriage, a proper respect for potential life that can be created suggests that sex should be reserved for marriage.

Going back to commitment, I do believe many people involved in nonmarital sexual relationships take it seriously, and believe and live as though they are truly committed -- and it may be that they never experience any ill effects of their decisions, and experience successful relationships. But contrary to widespread belief, cohabitation, for instance, actually increases the divorce rate by half. And the overall divorce rate in our culture spiked when we started relaxing cultural norms against premarital sex and separating procreation from sex. So something about that commitment expressed in marriage must matter -- and of course, the Church teaches that it does matter.

Human beings are fallen, so we're never going to be perfect. Even if everyone followed Church teaching on sexuality, we'd still have lots of problems and challenges to address within marriages. But acknowledging the truth of what the Church teaches gives us the best chance of success in our relationships and the best hope for our children.

Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Reading 1
Gn 3:9-15, 20

9 But the LORD God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?"

10 And he said, "I heard the sound of thee in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself."

11 He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?"

12 The man said, "The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate."

13 Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this that you have done?" The woman said, "The serpent beguiled me, and I ate."

14 The LORD God said to the serpent,"Because you have done this,
cursed are you above all cattle,
and above all wild animals;
upon your belly you shall go,
and dust you shall eat
all the days of your life.

15 I will put enmity between you and the woman,
and between your seed and her seed;
he shall bruise your head,
and you shall bruise his heel."

20 The man called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.



Reading II
Eph 1:3-6, 11-12

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places,

4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him.

5 He destined us in love to be his sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will,

6 to the praise of his glorious grace which he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.

11 In him, according to the purpose of him who accomplishes all things according to the counsel of his will,

12 we who first hoped in Christ have been destined and appointed to live for the praise of his glory.



Gospel
Lk 1:26-38

26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth,

27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

28 And he came to her and said, "Hail, O favored one, the Lord is with you!"

29 But she was greatly troubled at the saying, and considered in her mind what sort of greeting this might be.

30 And the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.

32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High;
and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David,

33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob for ever;
and of his kingdom there will be no end."

34 And Mary said to the angel, "How shall this be, since I have no husband?"

35 And the angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
and the power of the Most High will overshadow you;
therefore the child to be born will be called holy,
the Son of God.

36 And behold, your kinswoman Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month with her who was called barren.

37 For with God nothing will be impossible."

38 And Mary said, "Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her.

You have to start somewhere

Last week I mustered my resolve and did something I haven't done before - decided to try and see if I could make a small change to how things are done musically at our parish.  (In the past, I (or Mike and I) have either gone to another parish or just accepted things more quietly.)  I wrote to the music director at our parish and asked if/how the beautiful organ at the parish is used.  I asked if anyone has ever asked him about starting a schola or more traditional choir group to learn chant and integrate that somewhat into the Mass, as I have been exposed to that more in the last two years than in the rest of my life to that point.*  I expressed sincere interest in learning more of this music, if he was willing to teach it, as I've been picking up what I can from the parishes I have attended in the last few years but it's still not completely familiar since it's still relatively new to me.

I also mentioned, in charity, that the Vatican has directed all bishops and parishes not to use the word "Yahweh" in music or liturgy any more, in observance of long-standing ecclesial tradition.  (We sang "Yahweh, I know you are near" a few weeks ago.)

I think I took the right tone (I tried really hard) because the reply I got from the music director was very nice.  He said they do use the organ sometimes, and he has had the choir learn at least one Latin song for an ordination Mass, so he does have some knowledge of these types of music.  However, he said I am the first person in his 13 years at the parish to express any interest in chant or more traditional music (!) so he does not have any current plans to introduce this.  He said he is afraid that he does not use many songs that I would prefer, but he would still like to meet me and talk about things further.  (He also wasn't aware of the proscription against using "Yahweh," but he would observe it now.)

This was better than I expected - no defensiveness or outright dismissal!  So I've been thinking about how to approach our discussion that I agreed to set up with him.  I think I am going to just emphasize that the songs he uses are certainly familiar to me, as it's what I grew up with - I know all the words and verses too, and like many of them!  I've just gotten exposed to more of the Church's rich musical tradition in the last few years, and appreciate some of the older hymns that I also think it's good to know most of the words and verses to.  Maybe we could introduce just one of these every Mass?  Additionally, for choir-only pieces at communion, why not have the choir learn some polyphony or interesting arrangements of classic hymns, instead of the same modern stuff?   (I will try to phrase this politely - I think a lot of it is wimpy and musically trite, but that's not great to say!)  His main goal in Mass is to have the congregation participate fully.  I think that's fine, but I can point out that traditional hymns are sometimes even easier to get the congregation to sing because they are musically straightforward (though not uninteresting), often with stronger lyrics.  In any event, it's worth a try.  And then if anyone else ever comes forward and asks for this type of music, he can't say no one else has ever asked!  I do think there may be a change in the future, as the text of the Mass changes with the new translations in a couple of years.  But in the meantime, I feel like I have to say something.  And we will be getting involved in other groups at the parish so that we can become more a part of the community we are a part of now, even if the liturgy itself is less than edifying sometimes.

*One random thing I realized yesterday at Mass was that the first time I ever heard the words "dona nobis pacem" and sang them was in my eighth-grade public school choir.  (!!!)  The next time probably wasn't until I moved to Maryland and started attending Holy Cross.  Even at ND, I'm pretty sure the traditional Agnus Dei was rarely heard (although I know it is more commonly now).

Show stoppers

The music situation at our parish has not improved at all since Mike wrote about it a few weeks ago.  (Well, why would it?)  If anything, it is becoming even harder to bear.  I usually love singing at Mass, but I can't bring myself to sing most of this stuff at all, much less with any enthusiasm.  Last week there was a choir-only song at communion, with the first line "This iiiiiiis, the moment of graaaaaace," which sounded for all the world like a Broadway number.  Standard sweeping piano intro, soft start, rousing chorus, etc.  A pure performance piece. In fact, when I googled it later, it sounded quite a lot like Jekyll and Hyde's "This is the moment."  (Or Spamalot's "The song that goes like this" - heh.)  I like Broadway just fine.  I don't find it particularly liturgical, though.

This week, in addition to the standard Gloria and Sanctus that involve multiple gratuitous repetitions of, for instance, "blessed is he, blessed is he, blessed is heeee" and "hosanna (ho-sa-ha-na), hosanna (ho-sa-ha-na), hosanna," we had the regular children's liturgy song for children to process out.  ("Children, listen to the word of God!" - complete with "Children's!" (tm) type happy piano music.)  We also had two hymns that were so awful liturgically that today I was still shaking my head.  The first was called "As a fire is meant for burning," text by Ruth Duck, arrangement by Marty Haugen.  Misleadingly, the tune was actually a traditional one, but the lyrics involved such choice lines as how we go out into the world "not to preach our creeds or customs, but to build a bridge of care."  Gee, I thought the Catholic Church actually cared quite a bit about our creed.  Right?  We do recite it every week.  And "bridge of care"??  The hymn also contained a feel-good reference to being "seekers" and creating oneness "'mid earth's peoples, many hued."  You could not come up with a better collection of hippie-type platitudes if you were trying hard to parody it.  A bit of research determined that Ruth Duck is exactly who you might come up with if you were trying to create a parody of a hippie-type "womyn's" liturgist.  Duck, who very unfortunately actually has an M.A. from Notre Dame, is an ordained UCC minister (hence the no-creed stuff - fits right in with the UCC, which is great, but not the Catholic Church!) who lives with her "partner" (at least he's a guy) in a liberal Chicago suburb, has written a book about revising the names of the persons of the Trinity to not be so male, and has made part of her approach to hymns to be to "revise old hymns that would provide an alternative to traditions showing God as exclusively male."  I could not roll my eyes any more than I am right now.  Her music is used in many denominations, which is great for her, but her theology is clearly not Catholic.  I have no idea how this has worked its way into Catholic hymnody.

The second awful hymn yesterday, liturgically speaking, was called, "Let us be bread."  This starts off with "Let us be bread . . . life for the world / Let us be wine, love freely poured."  Okay.  Well, while we are part of the Body of Christ, I'm pretty sure we aren't the bread or wine ourselves.  I'm pretty sure that's just Christ.  But move on to the first verse: we switch from at least singing in our own persons, to singing in the person of Christ (which we're really not supposed to do), "I am the bread of life, broken for all / Eat now and hunger no more."  Back to chorus.  Another verse: "See how my people have nothing to eat / Give them the bread that is you."  Again, this is a confusion of persons - I'm not even sure if this verse is supposed to be spoken as if Christ was saying to us, or what - ?  What is this stuff?  Whatever it is, the focus is certainly on us, much more than on the actual Body and Blood of Christ that we are supposed to be focusing on during the Eucharist.  The writer of this hymn actually is Catholic, and unfortunately also has a degree from Notre Dame in music and theology.  The focus is just unfortunate - I have to assume it's the same poor catechesis so many of us have had in the last forty years.

Here's the thing - music during Mass is not supposed to be about drawing attention to the choir.  It's not supposed to draw automatic applause every week.  It's not supposed to be about telling ourselves how great we all are.  And it's not supposed to rely on sappy platitudes (contained in treacly musical numbers) that are completely devoid of any theological substance.  It's supposed to integrate into the liturgy as part of the prayer and worship, and it's supposed to help us orient ourselves interiorly and exteriorly towards a more reflective, reverent posture in the Mass.  I like participating in singing, but not at the expense of abandoning good music and good theology.

In any event, rolling my eyes throughout Mass is not a good posture to be assuming.  I know that.  So last week I decided to try and do something about it.  Even if it eventually comes to nothing, at least I'll have tried!  More on this in another post.

The New Parish

We are blessed to have a Catholic parish 1/4 mile from our house. It is a very vibrant and diverse community. Catholics from Nigeria, Ethiopia, Vietnam, the Philippines are part of the normal life of the parish. As our family grows, it will most likely be a wonderful place to raise our children.

That being said, we have been completely underwhelmed during mass so far. We were extremely blessed at Holy Cross in Maryland to have a music director and a priest who collaborated to provide parishioners with the very best the Church has to offer in terms of music and ritual. Christ the King in Dallas also had a talented music director and a church that properly oriented parishioners interiorly and exteriorly in the celebration of the mass.

The mass at St. Joseph's is filled with every cliche invented since the advent of the vernacular mass: friendly, ad-libbing celebrants, inclusive language, folk guitar accompaniments, chirpy mass setttings, children's liturgy (with accompanying Sesame Street hymn), bad jokes, a preponderance of extraordinary ministers, an underwhelming altar presentation, and clapping.

The blame starts at the top and works its way down. The church actually has a beautifully constructed organ that is sparingly used. The choir is fully staffed, but is stuck singing hymns written and published by Oregon Catholic press. There is a beautiful, eastern-style crucifix hanging behind the altar, but it is surrounded by empty space. There are plenty of altar servers, but they are barely used during the mass.

Unless the pastor (who has been there since 1995) or the music director leave, I don't see much hope for the future. We will continue to pray that they utilize more of the rich tradition of the Church and stop trying to serve us McDonald's every week.