tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post5691074498602198749..comments2024-03-28T05:17:04.006-04:00Comments on southern orders: CARDINAL MUELLER CALLS OUT THOSE WHO SO EASILY CALL POPE FRANCIS AND OTHERS HERETICS OR HERETICAL! THANK GOD FOR THE GOOD CARDINALFr. Allan J. McDonaldhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16986575955114152639noreply@blogger.comBlogger47125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-32525043027514721242016-01-19T08:56:00.416-05:002016-01-19T08:56:00.416-05:00Flavius, email me.Flavius, email me.Genehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06672484450736725268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-18611642673252854682016-01-19T08:11:24.764-05:002016-01-19T08:11:24.764-05:00Thanks to the Catholics and Methodists and Salvati...Thanks to the Catholics and Methodists and Salvation Army and others of goodwill there is no reason for a street person to miss breakfast, lunch or supper and snacks to boot. Daybreak and others try to address systemic change in the person so they can be independent. Health services, showers, washing machines, etc are available. I send my money to Daybreak and FAM more qualified than me to address real needs. I have an emergency fund to help parishioners over a jump and we have the St. Vincent de Paul Society for this as well. Fr. Allan J. McDonaldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16986575955114152639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-59583104024193629892016-01-19T07:59:20.117-05:002016-01-19T07:59:20.117-05:00I said 'this responder knows someone who sent ...I said 'this responder knows <b>someone who sent Fr.M</b> an angry letter. Maybe I need to be writing in Latin or French.<br /><br />Anyway, as I am just a step above homeless, there's not much I can do, other than being an ear for those who need one.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00554830859411216515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-37569515894252330892016-01-19T07:35:16.125-05:002016-01-19T07:35:16.125-05:00I agree that panhandlers do not need to be hanging...I agree that panhandlers do not need to be hanging around outside the Church or anywhere else. There are ample programs and centers for them, and we need to re-open the institutions so that some of the truly disturbed can be gotten off the streets. These people need to be properly cared for and supported, not re-inforced in their condition by rewarding them.Genehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06672484450736725268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-32407213551420228142016-01-19T07:16:21.246-05:002016-01-19T07:16:21.246-05:00I wrote a letter in the bullet many years ago aski...I wrote a letter in the bullet many years ago asking parishioners not to give money to panhandlers. It was not an angry letter and later Sister Elizabeth the founder of Daybreak and street people friendly supported what I wrote with a series of suggestions in the bulletin. She said to give money to those who know how to work with the poor and address their actual needs and not their addictive needs. Panhandlers know who the suckers are and no how to manipulate them. The elderly are prone to be manipulated as anyone with who works with the elderly knows, they can be gullible and often can lose their savings to unscrupulous people, poor or not!<br /><br />When you have elderly people and children nearby, one has to be cautious about encouraging street people or panhandlers from frequenting our churches, and entering the people to ask people in the pew for money which happens frequently at St. Joseph. Some of these people are addicted to hard drugs and alcohol and can become violent. Some are sex offenders. <br /><br />Often times people give panhandlers money because it makes them feel good, despite the fact that the money given goes to support an addiction thus causing more harm than good.<br /><br />We help the poor appropriately not to make us feel good but to authentically help them. FAV what is your experience and philosophy about helping the poor and how have you done so?<br /><br />So FAV, you are in favor of parishioners giving money to panhandlers for them to support their addictive problems, maybe spend it on a prostitute or buy crack or a bottle of booze?Fr. Allan J. McDonaldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16986575955114152639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-21044054604587636282016-01-19T00:36:46.265-05:002016-01-19T00:36:46.265-05:00Because, Anonymous, when Fr. needs to make absurd ...Because, Anonymous, when Fr. needs to make absurd accusations, he has a habit of making mistakes.<br /><br />Interestingly, I showed screenshots of this exchange (with the caption 'Well. Whatever that means.') to a couple of people on Facebook. One response was 'WTF is he talking about?'.<br /><br />Apparently, this responder knows someone who sent Fr. M an angry letter when he tried to eliminate St.Jo's panhandler 'problem'. I've been told the letter is quite worth reading.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00554830859411216515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-26381430560784353512016-01-18T20:19:12.637-05:002016-01-18T20:19:12.637-05:00The "Greek's"? Possessive form? Wh...The "Greek's"? Possessive form? Why?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-8538898425046596042016-01-18T15:15:15.091-05:002016-01-18T15:15:15.091-05:00Anon 2, ideally yes...I would only accept the use ...Anon 2, ideally yes...I would only accept the use of violence in the limited circumstances approved by the Church. However, there is some lee way for interpretation. I view Islam as the enemy of Christianity and Western culture. I have no qualms regarding violence against them. After all, the Church, herself, has done it. Even if most of the Crusades deteriorated into a disaster of pillage and plunder in totally uninvolved countries and ultimately failed (the Third showed promise until Richard had to go home), the Church's awareness that sometimes we have to take up arms for the faith is sound. Violence should never be a first choice.<br /><br />Re: relationship to God. Those in false religions cannot, by definition, have a proper relationship with God. Genehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06672484450736725268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-62251657392048374882016-01-18T14:47:50.130-05:002016-01-18T14:47:50.130-05:00Gene:
Are you now saying that you would only acce...Gene:<br /><br />Are you now saying that you would only accept the use of violence in those limited circumstances where its use is approved in Church teaching? If so, I am delighted because it means that you are walking back some of your previous positions (for example, your preferred approach in response to 9/11 if I recall correctly--nuking every major city in the Islamic Middle East).<br /><br />As for extra ecclesiam etc., isn’t the real issue the relationship we have with God? The nature and quality of that relationship differs among the religions.<br />Anonymous 2noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-24602769586845165012016-01-18T14:37:49.295-05:002016-01-18T14:37:49.295-05:00BTW, Suzuki was a practicing Zen monk from Japan w...BTW, Suzuki was a practicing Zen monk from Japan who moved to California. Don't confuse him with D.T. Suzuki, who was an academic (however, his book, "Zen and Japanese Culture," is a marvelous read. The two-hundred pages or so on Japanese swordsmanship are alone worth the price of the book, even if you are not a martial artist.) If you come to understand Zen mind, it is a key element in any physical undertaking, whether martial arts, shooting, sports, dance, or running and cycling. Genehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06672484450736725268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-29684565251258981862016-01-18T14:16:06.410-05:002016-01-18T14:16:06.410-05:00Actually, Flavius, I thought Kopp was ok...certain...Actually, Flavius, I thought Kopp was ok...certainly better than Kapleau and some others. There are lots of problems with the Western interpretation of Buddhism, especially Zen. If you have not read Shunryu Suzuki's "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind," do so. Good stuff.Genehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06672484450736725268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-888186535579273882016-01-18T09:13:48.177-05:002016-01-18T09:13:48.177-05:00Oh, I see, religion is a buffet of academic pursui...<i>Oh, I see, religion is a buffet of academic pursuit for you until you find the most delicious course! It makes sense now!</i><br /><br />Whatever. That's not what I mean and you know it. <br />____________________________________________________<br /><br />A potato would be more authoritative than Kopp, and Zen is about as Buddhist as Katharine Schori is Christian. (Granted, I'm suspicious about all forms of Mahayana, and I think Theravada is the closest to 'historical' Buddhism as one can get.)<br /><br />Not that any of that matters. Buddhism lacks Christ, and on that basis alone is irrelevant. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00554830859411216515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-21962478739254724812016-01-18T08:42:25.453-05:002016-01-18T08:42:25.453-05:00Oh, I see, religion is a buffet of academic pursui...Oh, I see, religion is a buffet of academic pursuit for you until you find the most delicious course! It makes sense now!Fr. Allan J. McDonaldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16986575955114152639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-80273687845922405492016-01-18T08:30:08.616-05:002016-01-18T08:30:08.616-05:00Have you left the Greek's for Budha? Still sea...<i>Have you left the Greek's for Budha? Still searching? This can be good but really tiresome.</i><br /><br />So... because I know what I'm talking about, that <b>must</b> mean I'm a Buddhist? Like... I can't have studied Buddhism because of a college class or because I was interested in learning about it?<br /><br />Are you fecking kidding me?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00554830859411216515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-58930942099084969172016-01-18T08:15:26.209-05:002016-01-18T08:15:26.209-05:00Flavius, Sheldon Kopp wrote a book called, "I...Flavius, Sheldon Kopp wrote a book called, "If You Meet the Buddha on the Road, Kill Him." His point is that WE are the Buddha. He says, "if you have a god or a hero, you have diminished yourself in some way." Buddhism may not have a "god" in the philosophical/religious sense, but the teachings are tantamount to saying that all of us are "god." That is my point. Zen, of course, with which I have much experience, is basically a very useful and simple way to live and understand everyday life. But, it is still we who are the focus of the spiritual renewal that takes place. It is the ultimate immanence.Genehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06672484450736725268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-69681510478794659682016-01-18T07:54:55.663-05:002016-01-18T07:54:55.663-05:00Have you left the Greek's for Budha? Still sea...Have you left the Greek's for Budha? Still searching? This can be good but really tiresome. Catholics and I include the east, schismatic and not, are to be detached for the sake of the kingdom, not exploiting the material for a higher cause. The detachment though isn't the idol nor is the embracing of it to make us feel good about ourselves.Fr. Allan J. McDonaldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16986575955114152639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-3661418272520839382016-01-18T07:49:47.651-05:002016-01-18T07:49:47.651-05:00Detachment for the sake of detachment, though, is ...<i>Detachment for the sake of detachment, though, is Buddhism's false god!</i><br /><br />Too bad Buddhism doesn't teach 'detachment for the sake of detachment'.<br /><br />(Please backup your statement with either Sanskrit or Pali sources. It shouldn't be hard. There's a huge corpus going back thousands of years. I assume you're more than familiar with that corpus of works, since you're an expert on Indian religious history. If I, a 21 year old, can cite them, you, a 60+ year old Catholic priest, can too.)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00554830859411216515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-36719911569601131912016-01-18T07:41:19.384-05:002016-01-18T07:41:19.384-05:00And before anyone responds that it doesn't mat...And before anyone responds that it doesn't matter what Buddhism teaches—it does, as long as other religions are going to be discussed here. <br /><br />If a commenter came here and began talking about how Catholics were Mary worshippers and cannibals, we'd take nothing they said seriously. Likewise, it's hard to take commenters seriously if they get basic beliefs of Buddhism, Hinduism, or (I've seen it here before) Eastern Orthodoxy wrong.<br /><br />This is the internet—available for anyone with a computer and network connection to see. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00554830859411216515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-78716629902478451302016-01-18T07:37:30.065-05:002016-01-18T07:37:30.065-05:00Detachment for the sake of detachment, though, is ...Detachment for the sake of detachment, though, is Buddhism's false god!<br />Fr. Allan J. McDonaldhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16986575955114152639noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-46696162769578286962016-01-18T07:32:56.503-05:002016-01-18T07:32:56.503-05:00Gene, Buddhism doesn't teach that. Buddhism te...Gene, Buddhism doesn't teach that. Buddhism teaches that the goal of life is to attain nirvana by renouncing attachment to the material world. Buddhists aren't pantheists. Buddhism is agnostic—the existence of a god is irrelevant to the goal of renouncing the world; the closest concept to a god is a bodhistiva, which is more like a saint than a god. You're confusing Hinduism (specifically Vedanta) with Buddhism. <br /><br />I fail to see how rejecting the trappings of the world constitutes idolatry... living in the world but not being of it...Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00554830859411216515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-56607881111810710742016-01-18T06:50:32.840-05:002016-01-18T06:50:32.840-05:00Anon 2, the God I worship is no more tolerant of v...Anon 2, the God I worship is no more tolerant of violence than your's. Christ counsels against violence (although he never explicitly excludes it). Violence is a sin, in most cases, just as any other sin is a sin. It is the understanding of sin on which you and I differ. In a sinful and fallen world, I believe that violence is sometimes justified and necessary to preserve the Faith and the values that we hold dear and that God has given us. The Church also believes and teaches this. <br /><br />Now, if all religions lead to the same God, why be Catholic...or Christian? Why all the hoopla about the relationship of the Church to protestantism? All this extra ecclesium nulla salus is pure nonsense. Why don't we all just go experiment with Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, pantheism, witchcraft, or dog worship? The logic of that idea certainly leads to that conclusion. Buddhism teaches that the Buddha is within us...we are gods, ultimately. Hey, that's cool. Pass the bong...<br />This is called idolatry and is forbidden by the first commandment. Why has the Catholic Church spent so much time recently trying to diminish the uniqueness of Christianity...trying to water down the Gospel message?Genehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06672484450736725268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-73328389450264098442016-01-18T06:21:40.727-05:002016-01-18T06:21:40.727-05:00The statement that Muslims and Christians worship ...The statement that Muslims and Christians worship the same God reflects a complete misunderstanding of the NT and of Scripture in general. If you read some of the history of the founding of Islam, you will see that it is a faux creation of Mohammed's, based upon his gleaning of Biblical themes and a hodge podge of his own megalomanic ramblings. No non-Trinitarian religion may be said to be anything like Christianity...Paul in Acts and in his letters, not to mention the letters of John, Jude,s and others makes it abundantly clear that the Christian faith is unique, superior, and ascendant over all other religions. ALL other gods are false. Now, the Church has, over time, attempted to woo other religions by diminishing the differences among them. but this is not Biblical. One of the major weaknesses of Catholic theology is that it has always made too much of man's capacity for getting to God from an understanding of man and of man's capacity for a rationalistic understanding of revelation. It is the strongest point of Luther and Calvin in their arguments with the Church. I believe they have something to teach the Church and we should listen. <br />Anyway, the book of Acts is not about the likenesses of other religions to Christianity. To lift 17:23 out of context as an argument for that is ludicrous. Read the whole book.Genehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06672484450736725268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-17193832762100608202016-01-18T03:37:40.097-05:002016-01-18T03:37:40.097-05:00Gene:
In a way both you and Father Kavanaugh have...Gene:<br /><br />In a way both you and Father Kavanaugh have a point and are right.<br /><br />You have a point but not because Muslims are not Trinitarian. Nor are Jews, but unless I have seriously misunderstood, you would not deny that Jews and Christians worship the same God (of course one can always argue that there are important distinctions between Jews and Muslims as the article in the link given by Father McDonald does). No, your stronger point, surely, is Pope Benedict’s point in his Regensburg speech in 2006, something we have discussed before—in the medieval dispute between the intellectualists (God as a God of Reason) and the voluntarists (God as God of Will unbound by constraints of reason), the intellectualists captured the Christian tradition but the result was the opposite in the Islamic tradition (indeed some scholars think we got the terms of the debate, and much else besides, from Islam, although the conundrum involved goes back to Plato’s Euthyphro).<br /><br />But does this mean we do not worship the same God, or does it mean, rather, that we understand Him in different ways? Let’s take an analogy. I assume that you and I both accept that God is a God of Reason. But we have rather different conceptions of what this means. Thus the God (and the Christ) I worship is much less tolerant of violence than yours (and your “theologic”) appears to be. Please correct me if I have misunderstood you.<br /><br />And yet we worship the same God, do we not? This is why Father Kavanaugh has a point too, and indeed why he appears to have the better point because his point does seem to be consistent with the teaching of the Church. Thus in addition to Lumen Gentium he could also have adduced the following statement of the Church in Nostra Aetate Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions:<br /><br />“3. The Church regards with esteem also the Moslems. They adore the one God, living and subsisting in Himself; merciful and all-powerful, the Creator of heaven and earth, who has spoken to men; they take pains to submit wholeheartedly to even His inscrutable decrees, just as Abraham, with whom the faith of Islam takes pleasure in linking itself, submitted to God. Though they do not acknowledge Jesus as God, they revere Him as a prophet. They also honor Mary, His virgin Mother; at times they even call on her with devotion. In addition, they await the day of judgment when God will render their deserts to all those who have been raised up from the dead. Finally, they value the moral life and worship God especially through prayer, almsgiving and fasting. “<br /><br /><br /><br />Anonymous 2noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-23602176253397101922016-01-17T14:40:08.457-05:002016-01-17T14:40:08.457-05:00Gene - You are wrong, again.
Fr. Vincent Serpa, O...Gene - You are wrong, again.<br /><br />Fr. Vincent Serpa, OP, at Catholic Answers - "Granted, Muslims do not believe in the Trinity as we do. Nor do Jews. Yet we all believe in a Supreme Being who created and governs the universe. When St. Paul learned that the Greeks worshipped an unknown god (Acts 17:23), he identified that god as our God. Muslims worship the one God to the degree that they know him—which in our view, is a very limited knowledge."<br /><br />You and others can continue your "Vatican Two is not authoritative" cant until the cows come home. In that you will also be wrong, continually. I'm not going to argue the point.<br /><br />Vatican Two taught nothing new as evidenced by the quote from Pope Gregory VII in 1076, 886 years before the opening of Vat 2: "You and we owe this charity to ourselves especially because we believe in and confess one God, admittedly, in a different way, and daily praise and venerate him, the creator of the world and ruler of this world."<br /><br />Once again, I am glad to stand with the teaching of the Church. I would encourage you to do the same.<br /><br /><br />Fr. Michael J. Kavanaughnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7846189835239594160.post-67130146903628358752016-01-17T12:06:10.669-05:002016-01-17T12:06:10.669-05:00Just to point out, there are no 'Buddhist gods...Just to point out, there are no 'Buddhist gods'.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00554830859411216515noreply@blogger.com