Leah Mickens makes a good point about The Benedict Option

It's obvious from her about page that I don't have a lot in common philosophically with Leah Mickens, but she says something I generally agree with in this piece:

While it’s true that monasteries helped drain swamps, preserve those works that were considered worthy of being saved, and maintained a culture of literacy, it’s unclear how much the average peasant or serf would have benefited from their efforts. Monasteries, especially those in the early Middle Ages, were essentially closed communities, and monks weren’t supposed to have much contact with the masses, because that could lead to too much worldiness. Most people living in classical antiquity, the medieval period, and beyond would not have shared in the cultural inheritance of their society, because they weren’t literate.... Presumably, everyone in Dreher’s Benedict community would be literate, but that in and of itself, is a modern innovation that he doesn’t seem to understand.

I think the monasteries in Benedict's time were probably a benefit to the world, but not in the way the mendicant orders were. They encountered the world in more of a direct way which is, frankly, what I think we need now.

The mendicant friars were bound by a vow of absolute poverty and dedication to an ascetic way of life. They lived as Christ did, renouncing property and traveling the world to preach. Their survival was dependent upon the good will of their listeners. It was this way of life that gave them their name, "mendicant," derived from the Latin mendicare, meaning "to beg." Unlike monks of the Cistercian or Benedictine orders, mendicants spread God's word in the cities. They were active in community life, teaching, healing, and helping the sick, poor, and destitute. Their personal maxim was: sibi soli vivere sed et aliis proficere ("not to live for themselves only but to serve others").

Nota bene: If you decide to become a Dominican or Franciscan Friar, please don't call it the Mendicant Option or the Friar Option. Just go do it.

For example, Saint Angela Merici was a member of the Third Order of St. Francis and founded the Ursulines who actually started schools for girls so they wouldn't end up in prostitution. That's an example of the true and correct type of feminism which Pope JPII called for.

Speaking of just go do it, I heartily agree with Mickens's point that all kinds of cultural, religious and literary stuff is available to us now that wasn't in the past. All we have to do is tap it in our domestic churches.

Blessed John Paul II on the Eucharist

Today's Gospel commentary on the Daily Gospel site comes from Blessed John Paul II's encyclical Ecclesia de Eucharistia.

"Taking the five loaves... he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples"

The Church was born of the paschal mystery. For this very reason the Eucharist, which is in an outstanding way the sacrament of the paschal mystery, stands at the centre of the Church's life. This is already clear from the earliest images of the Church found in the Acts of the Apostles: “They devoted themselves to the Apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (2:42). The “breaking of the bread” refers to the Eucharist. Two thousand years later, we continue to relive that primordial image of the Church. At every celebration of the Eucharist, we are spiritually brought back to the paschal Triduum: to the events of the evening of Holy Thursday, to the Last Supper and to what followed it. .. The agony in Gethsemane was the introduction to the agony of the Cross on Good Friday. The holy hour, the hour of the redemption of the world. Whenever the Eucharist is celebrated at the tomb of Jesus in Jerusalem, there is an almost tangible return to his “hour”, the hour of his Cross and glorification. Every priest who celebrates Holy Mass, together with the Christian community which takes part in it, is led back in spirit to that place and that hour.

“Mysterium fidei! - The Mystery of Faith!”. When the priest recites or chants these words, all present acclaim: “We announce your death, O Lord, and we proclaim your resurrection, until you come in glory”. In these or similar words the Church, while pointing to Christ in the mystery of his passion, also reveals her own mystery: Ecclesia de Eucharistia – the Church's life is in the eucharist. By the gift of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost the Church was born and set out upon the pathways of the world, yet a decisive moment in her taking shape was certainly the institution of the Eucharist in the Upper Room. Her foundation and wellspring is the whole Triduum paschale, but this is as it were gathered up, foreshadowed and “concentrated' for ever in the gift of the Eucharist. In this gift Jesus Christ entrusted to his Church the perennial making present of the paschal mystery.

Celebrations and Cerebral Explosions Immanent

JP2 pulled another miracle out of his hat. Watch for joyous celebrations among them Roman Catholic people and exploding heads among uber-Catholics, traddies, ex-Catholics, anti-Catholics and the generally disgruntled. Excerpt:

(ANSA) - Vatican City, July 2 - A second miracle by Pope John Paul II was approved Tuesday by a plenary meeting of cardinals and bishops of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints, ANSA sources said. The decision means that John Paul may be canonized by the end of this year, the sources said.

The next step is for Pope Francis to give the final signature. The cardinals and bishops belonging to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints were in favour of a canonisation ceremony taking place in December, after the end of the current year of the faith.

But the final decision is up to Francis. Last month a board of theologians of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints gave its green light to a miracle that, up to now, has remained a closely guarded secret but which Vatican sources say will "amaze the world".

Hey, I'll take any miracles offered at this point. I recently heard a priest say that we need to pray for more miracles, and I think he's right. Also while you're praying, say a quick one that I can find my damned car keys.

H/T Catholic Culture

John Paul II Beatification

Nice quick video.



The line "...Princess Letizia, wearing a black lace mantilla..." cracks me up. Obviously the journalist is trying to "spice up" this seemingly dull story.

Ross Douthat on the New Liberal Misogyny

In the past, I've noted the similarity between the emergence of pro-life Republican female candidates for office and what Pope John Paul II seemed to be talking about when he called for a "New Feminism". I also pointed out one person, Camille Paglia, a standard bearer of the feminist left who welcomed Sarah Palin into what she felt should be a "big tent" and reprimanded those who didn't by slamming them forcefully as "whining, sniping...establishment feminists" before going on to praise Palin for her "bravura" and "moose-hunting feminism".

Here's Ross Douthat's op-ed analyzing last Tuesday's primary results along the same lines. Excerpt:

What Tuesday’s results demonstrated, convincingly, is that America is now a country where social conservatives are as comfortable as liberals with the idea of women in high office. More strikingly, they’re comfortable voting for working mothers — for women publicly juggling careers and family obligations in ways that would have been unthinkable for the generations of female leaders, from Elizabeth I’s Virgin Queen down to Margaret Thatcher’s Iron Lady, who were expected to unsex themselves before being entrusted with the responsibilities of state.

It's sad yet sort of humorous that we conservatives have to prove we're not misogynists and chauvinists by choosing women to represent us. But we don't mind. These people speak for us, not wimpy-assed white men like Harry Reid.

Dawn Eden's Thesis

Yesterday I purchased an eBook (PDF format) of Dawn Eden's masters thesis entitled Towards a "Climate of Chastity": Bringing Catechesis on the Theology of the Body into the Hermeneutic of Continuity. You can buy it here for $9.95. [Note: no longer available―see below.]

I read it in a couple sittings,although I haven't read all the footnotes yet―there are a lot. It's very well written and I highly recommend it. It's a very respectful and measured critique of Christopher West's presentation of Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body. Eden deals with the controversies arising from West's style, but also uncovers errors in subject matter and points at which he departs from church teaching. Interestingly enough, at least half of the references she uses to demonstrate this are from John Paul II himself. If nothing else, a reader comes away realizing that many of the things West proclaims are definitely his own ideas and may or may not reflect the thinking of our previous Holy Father.

The problem I've always seen with West is that of many in my generation―namely overreaction against those who hold views closest to their own. Example: everyone is prudish about sex, especially Catholics, right? So let's talk about how the Easter candle is really phallic and when it's dipped into the baptismal font on Holy Saturday to bless the water it's like a penis going into a vagina. Or let's call the Song of Songs the "centerfold" of the Bible because it can be said to contain erotic language. Or let's state that Hefner and Ensler are really on to something, barely noting that their beliefs and lifestyles are much farther away ideologically from Catholics than that pious Puritan guy who guards his eyes around the attractive women at a wedding reception.

The Easter candle example seems to be the exact opposite of preaching that the human body has a theological dimension, and it feels more like a manifestation of what JP2 called sexualism, and it amounts to an insistence upon a necessary sexual dimension for the experience of God. But what I just said and how I phrased it is about as crude as stating "West fails the Rorshach test", and that's why I advise everyone to read this thesis if they are interested in JP2's Theology of the Body. Because I could go on a great deal about the topic, yet she does a much more thorough job of it.

The release of the critique could not be more timely, arriving on the heels of West's newly-announced 6-month teaching sabbatical, the stated intention of which is "to reflect more deeply on fraternal and spiritual guidance he has received in order to continue developing his methodology and praxis as it relates to the promulgation of the Theology of the Body." I hope he considers her critique in his reflection.

H/T Mark Shea.

Update: Just received this email from Ms. Eden in response to my investigation:

I'm very happy you liked my thesis--thank you! The statement below explains why it's unavailable, I would be grateful for your feedback as I work on the second edition. You are of course free to blog about the thesis as you see fit.

God bless,
Dawn

When BridegroomPress.com made the eBook available for purchase, I offered at the same time to send a free copy to anyone who worked for a parish or diocese. The response to the free offer was truly overwhelming―over 100 requests in two and a half days, from priests, seminarians, and catechists throughout the United States and Canada, and even one in New Zealand.

I asked readers to send me their feedback, and have already heard from several of them. Some wrote that they found my work helpful, but wanted to see some of my arguments articulated in greater depth than I was able to provide within the confines of a 70-page thesis. As a result, I have made the decision to temporarily remove Towards a "Climate of Chastity" from circulation while I work on a revised and expanded version, which will be made available during the week of May 24. At that point, I will make it available for free once more to those who work for the Church, while others may purchase it from BridegroomPress.com.

Thanks for reading my blog. For current commentary and what-not, visit the Est Quod Est homepage

Obama's Health Pitch: Subject Versus Object

I was listening to Rush yesterday and I heard him playing some of the dialogue in the ABC Obamacare Infomercial. Here's the excerpt that made me furious, courtesy of Hot Air and Sword at the Ready:

Jane Sturm told the story of her nearly 100-year-old mother, who was originally denied a pacemaker because of her age. She eventually got one, but only after seeking out another doctor.

“Outside the medical criteria,” Sturm asked, “is there a consideration that can be given for a certain spirit … and quality of life?”

Obama: I don’t think that we can make judgments based on peoples’ spirit. That would be a pretty subjective decision to be making. I think we have to have rules that say that we are going to provide good, quality care for all people.

When I cooled down, I focused on Obama's criticism of subjectivity in making decisions about health. Karl from Hot Air pegged him well, he wrote "Obama came off sounding more like one of the evil insurance company execs he wants to drive out of business than the sort of empathetic person he wants to appoint to the federal judiciary." What decision about health could not be called "subjective" to one degree or another?

This reminded me of a passage from George Weigel's excellent biography of Pope John Paul II. On page 415, he writes about the Pope's recovery from the assassination attempt gunshot wound in 1981.

The Pope was an active patient, determined to understand what was happening to him and to have a say in his care. He had Dr. Crucitti explain the anatomy and normal workings of the intestine and the way in which the colostomy compensated for his temporary disability. When the doctors gathered for a consultation in the meeting room of his suite, he would poke fun at them afterward: "What did the Sanhedrin say today? What did the Sanhedrin decide on my behalf?" (67) He was joking, but the joke had an edge on it. Part of the struggle of an illness, he once told his doctors, was that a patient had to fight to become "the 'subject of his illness' instead of simply remaining the 'object of treatment'" (68) The dignity of the human person was not surrendered at the hospital door.

From my view, Obama's cry against subjectivity was a blunder, a peep hole into the bureaucratic nightmare of rationed government healthcare that Obama wants to provide for everyone other than his own family. I still have hope that this can be defeated, however if it isn't, make sure you're not seen as a useless bread gobbler.

Sarah Palin: Flagship of the New Feminism?

When I heard Sarah Palin was a member of Feminists for Life obviously I thought first of Pope John Paul II. This is because the first time I encountered the elucidation of a "new feminism", which incorporated respect for all life, born and unborn, it was while reading his encyclical The Gospel of Life. The pertinent excerpt is in part 99.

99. In transforming culture so that it supports life, women occupy a place, in thought and action, which is unique and decisive. It depends on them to promote a "new feminism" which rejects the temptation of imitating models of "male domination", in order to acknowledge and affirm the true genius of women in every aspect of the life of society, and overcome all discrimination, violence and exploitation.

Rough words here for the "old feminism"; the Holy Father is basically saying "You became as bad as the boys whose behavior you rightly decried, girls." Then he turns to the positive and begins to expound upon the "true genius of women in every aspect of the life of society" by quoting earlier remarks from Vatican II and his Apostolic Letter Mulieris Dignitatem:

You are called to bear witness to the meaning of genuine love, of that gift of self and of that acceptance of others which are present in a special way in the relationship of husband and wife, but which ought also to be at the heart of every other interpersonal relationship. The experience of motherhood makes you acutely aware of the other person and, at the same time, confers on you a particular task: "Motherhood involves a special communion with the mystery of life, as it develops in the woman's womb ... This unique contact with the new human being developing within her gives rise to an attitude towards human beings not only towards her own child, but every human being, which profoundly marks the woman's personality". A mother welcomes and carries in herself another human being, enabling it to grow inside her, giving it room, respecting it in its otherness. Women first learn and then teach others that human relations are authentic if they are open to accepting the other person: a person who is recognized and loved because of the dignity which comes from being a person and not from other considerations, such as usefulness, strength, intelligence, beauty or health. This is the fundamental contribution which the Church and humanity expect from women. And it is the indispensable prerequisite for an authentic cultural change.

Emphasis mine. Because I couldn't help thinking of widely-reported life affirming remarks regarding her little boy, Trig, who was born with Down's Syndrome:

Palin knew there were complications while she was pregnant but never considered an abortion. When he was born, she said, "I'm looking at him right now and I see perfection. Yeah, he has an extra chromosome. I keep thinking: in our world, what is normal and what is perfect?" Undaunted, she held a meeting as governor three days after giving birth. "I just put down the BlackBerrys and pick up the breast pump," she said of her life as a working mother.

It would seem to me that Sarah Palin is someone who is intimately acquainted with the qualities of usefulness, strength, intelligence, beauty and health in her own person, and yet that is not what she ultimately values the most. She loves her son for the dignity of his own otherness, his personhood. From her simple words, we see the attitude of accepting, unconditional love toward another person which the Holy Father says is the "profound mark of the woman's personality."

"This is the fundamental contribution which the Church and humanity expect from women. And it is the indispensable prerequisite for an authentic cultural change."

Does this not make her a more than adequate spokesperson for this New Feminism, if not a veritable embodiment?

So, unlike New Coke and "the New Math", I have to say I like the New Feminism better than the old stuff. And just in the interest of full disclosure, I do not own any stock in brassiere companies.

(What's the "V" for anyway, Betty?)

Pauli blows chance to get on TV by being his usual laconic, abrasive, sarcastic self

I probably won't make the evening news since I'm such a smart-ass, but honestly I hadn't even heard of the big pope euthanasia rumor. I was approached by a channel 19 news-chick going up the steps of St. John's at Noon today. It went kind of like this:

news19chick: Excuse me sir... I know mass is starting... have you heard about the story... I mean you're a good Catholic, right?... the Roman Catholic church claims to be against euthanasia... an Italian physician said the Pope didn't have to die.... what do you think?

pauli: Sounds like Godfather three.

cameraman: [laughs]

news19chick: uhh... O... K... more... give me more, I need more, can you give me more thoughts....

pauli: Well, I thought the first two Godfather films were a lot better.

I then turned around and went into the cathedral for Mass. Like I said, I doubt they'll run that.

I try to look on the bright side of things. At least she's not out making porno movies.

Father Jonathan deals with the whole non-story here in a more substantive way than I did.


Mr. Coppola, I hate to tell you this, but your beard could have done a better acting job than your daughter.

UPDATE: Finished watching the channel 19 news at 11PM and they ran the story about the Italian doctor, the feeding tube, blah, blah, blah... but they didn't show anyone they man-in-the-street-interviewed. That's funny because they hung around outside the Cathedral all through Mass and were there interviewing 3 or 4 people when I was on my way to lunch with a friend. We were laughing; obviously the daily Mass crew isn't composed of the types to say "No... really? You don't say! Wow! I knew Pope John Paul II was a big hypocrite!"

Racking up the Miracles

Dr. Jeff Mirus reports on the cause for Pope John Paul II.

The anniversary of his death is approaching. I remember it easily because April 2 is my first son's birthday and the 11th anniversary of my becoming a Roman Catholic. He was a hard worker on earth, let's give him some more tasks.