If parish life is the center of Catholic spirituality and you are not supposed to "shop around" every week for the mass you like (and if you live in a diocese where your parish is predetermined by geography) how do you deal with a really unorthodox, or maybe just unappealing parish? For example, it may not be unorthodox to kneel, but what if standing feels wrong to you? What if the music is "new-agey"?
(Exhibit One to the right...)The mainstreaming of a white Jesus began in earnest during the early Middle Ages in Europe, a time and place where darkness had a powerfully negative connotation. Eighth and ninth century European theologians, obsessed with the symbolism of the Passion, began ascribing blame to the Jews. As such, Judas and King Herod and eventually Pontius Pilate came to be represented in dark, sinister hues while Jesus became increasingly white. “The oldest basis of all Christian art is the clash of good versus evil, light versus dark,” said Colum Hourihane, director of the Index of Christian Art at Princeton University. “This was particularly the case in the ninth and tenth centuries, when basically the Jews assumed a dark coloration [in art] while Christ became radiantly white, illuminated.” This whiteness naturally extended to such secondary characters as Mary and Joseph and the disciples.
found on She's A Crafty Pumpkin:If we want to adore God with praise and thanksgiving we are going to have to learn to stop seeing everything as a "problem" or "interruption" and begin to be open to seeing God's goodness and interventions even in the most unlikely of places.
- from How To Get The Most Out Of The Eucharist, by Michael Dubruiel
Pope Benedict XVI on Saturday encouraged the display of religious symbols in public buildings including schools, courthouses, hospitals and prisons, saying that God needs to be present in community life.
The pontiff, in a speech to participants of a national convention organized by the Union of Italian Catholic Jurists, said that at its origin, "lay status" referred merely to a person of Christian faith who was not a member of the clergy or a part of the religious state.
However, in modern times it has come to mean the opposite, Benedict said.
Nowadays, "a lay status entails the exclusion of religious symbols from public places," Benedict said. "The basis of such a concept is an a-religious vision of life, of thought and of morality; that is a vision where there is no room for God, for a mystery that transcends pure reason, for a moral law that has an absolute value."
"It is the job then, of all believers ... to help elaborate a concept of laicism that on the one hand gives God and His moral laws, Christ and His church the place it deserves in life ... and on the other affirms and respects the legitimate autonomy of terrestrial realities," the pope said
...a great read--obviously about the virtues, but likely unlike any book about the virtues you've ever read before. Very entertaining read, Father has a way of approaching the virtues that is refreshing. It would make a great Christmas gift!
