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Where we are going and the distractions along the way
Tonight our minds are filled with disparate images of what some Catholic parishes have become and what is in their future. We are also thinking of what has happened to Christianity over the last 500 years and where we might be heading.
We came here to Rappahannock County and St. Peter’s after six years in the wayward Diocese of Boise (Idaho). My friends tell me it is somewhat better now than it used to be. So, this recent picture of Bishop Peter Christensen as he “helped the RCIA candidates on their Journey of Faith at the Rite of Election on Friday, February 16” in our old parish shows us that many of the old “distractions” are still there.
No, your eyes are not deceiving you. The girl holding the book really does have green and blue hair. Perhaps we are too old fashioned, but my beautiful spouse and I would consider that a “distraction” at Mass or any liturgy.
Now let’s consider our good Pastor. He made the news many years ago with his defiance of the then bishop. Read about it in Priest Who Allowed Altar Girls Is Told to Stop. Now you might say this is old news. Yet, if you look at it from the perspective of “distractions”, you might find it hard to believe that our Pastor would think that so-called “altar girls” would be no distraction, but ringing of bells at the elevation of the Eucharist would. In his words:
2014-07-13 – Pastor’s Piece:
RINGING BELLS – I prefer to have the servers ring the bells one time at the Epiclesis which is when the priest calls down the Holy Spirit on the gifts. I prefer to have some moments of silence after the words of institution (“this is my body” -“this is my blood”). Ringing the bells seven times (once for the epiclesis and 6 times for the Body and the Blood) does not give us enough quiet time in which to say a quick prayer. My mother always said to herself in that quiet time-“my Lord and my God”–the words of St. Thomas to the resurrected Jesus.
The problem is, now our servers don’t ring the bells even one time. If there is a ever a requirement for “distractions” at Mass, please give us those ever so distracting bells and spare us the green and blue hair.
Luther and Henry VIII started something of a trend in the Christian World. 
And my wife and I believe the Association of U.S. Catholic Priests (AUSCP) are in line with the present day manifestation of that trend. Look at what has happened to Christianity in Sweden since Luther. On the left is Eva Brunne, the “world’s first lesbian ‘bishop'”. A recent story reports that (Sweden’s Liberal Church ‘Set to Lose over a Million Members in Next Decade’).
“Bishop” Brunne and friends
The story line reminds one of the losses in the Catholic Church here in America. Now the AUSCP intends to explore that problem at their next assembly. Consider what we said last week in our post Here’s Your Theme & “almost final schedule”. Remember that the AUSCP assembly theme will be a very simple and straightforward:
The Church in a Post-Modern World: Spirituality and Ministry in a Secular Age Can we still attract and grow disciples?
Our thought at this point is this: Dear Fathers of the AUSCP, you were the ones who brought on the “distractions”. Can you pull up your pants, act like real men, and get rid of the “distractions” and pray the Mass as priests of God? If you can’t do that, then please tell us where Christianity is going in the next 500 years.
Perhaps we should pose that question to this group as well.
The Rappahannock Clergy Association
Created Male and Female – Our Pastor’s New Year’s Resolution?
There is authentic ecumenism and there is fake ecumenism. On December 15, 2017, there was an exemplary display of authentic ecumenism on the United States Council of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) website. An open letter signed by a diverse group of Catholic and other religious leaders was posted for the world to see.
Please read Created Male and Female: An Open Letter from Religious Leaders in its entirety. It is a superb and almost amazing display of Truth and Reason triumphing over political correctness. It is all the more amazing because the letter comes from a combination of Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican, Presbyterian, Baptist, and Islamic leaders. And here is some of what the religious leaders had to say:
We come together to join our voices on a more fundamental precept of our shared existence, namely, that human beings are male or female and that the socio-cultural reality of gender cannot be separated from one’s sex as male or female.
We acknowledge and affirm that all human beings are created by God and thereby have an inherent dignity. We also believe that God created each person male or female; therefore, sexual difference is not an accident or a flaw—it is a gift from God that helps draw us closer to each other and to God. What God has created is good. “God created mankind in his image; in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Gen 1:27).
That, in our estimation, is authentic ecumenism.
This blog has reported many meager, lame, and ineffective ecumenical efforts of the Rappahannock Clergy Association (RCA) and our Pastor. Shall we call those efforts fake ecumenism?
Now that we have this shining example of authentic ecumenism from the USCCB, we call upon our Pastor to urge the RCA (of which he is a founder) to issue an open letter that strongly endorses and supports all that is presented in Created Male and Female: An Open Letter from Religious Leaders. If religious leaders at the national level can present the truth in an authentically ecumenical manner, certainly our Pastor could persuade the RCA to do the same.
Authentic ecumenism is about the salvation of souls. Certainly our Pastor would do well by making a New Year’s resolution to mobilize the RCA for that purpose. The Rappahannock News would certainly rush to print an article entitled Created Male and Female: An Open Letter from the Rappahannock Clergy Association.
Perhaps as a second New Year’s resolution, our Pastor could replace the Hate has no home here sign in front of St. Peter’s with a sign saying: Love lives here and He created us Male and Female!
Misgivings
mis·giv·ingˌmisˈɡiviNG/nounplural noun: misgivings
Misgiving about Giving? You keep it in a drawer or place it on a shelf. The box simply says “My Offering” and nothing more. This week you will pull out an envelope from that box that looks like this.
Now read this year’s CCHD update from the Lepanto Institute. Read it closely and consider where your money will be going this year and what it will be supporting. If you come to the same conclusion as we have; if you have a misgiving about giving, you might consider inserting the item pictured below into the envelope pictured above.
You may want to print out many extras for our Pastor. In my mind I can see him sitting near the fire burning in his wood stove with his faithful SJW dog Alinskee resting at his feet. All the while he will be enjoying a cool Stella Artois and counting an enormous stack of Alinsky bucks.
Misgiving about Thanksgiving? Let’s ask the simple question: Will there be a Mass at St. Peter’s on Thanksgiving Day this year?
Until the weekly bulletin comes out this evening, we have no clue. – So, we are waiting, waiting with the usual measure of misgiving.
Of course you remember last year there was no Mass – instead, there was an Ecumenical Thanksgiving worship service at St. Peter’s. (See Soul Check: WooHoo! The parking lot is a sin! for the details concerning that troubling event.)
My wife’s capable detective has found that this event will be hosted by Trinity Episcopal Church. (See Ecumenical Thanksgiving Day Service.) The pastor at Trinity Episcopal was impressed with the service at St. Peters last year as expressed in his note The Rambling Rector, by Miller Hunter.
One of the highlights of my first year in Rappahannock was attending the Thanksgiving service at St Peter’s last November. I am pleased and honored that Trinity will host the service this year.It is very much a community event. Many of the clergy from the Rappahannock clergy group will participate and the community choir will lead the music. Our friend, the Rev. James Kilby, will be the preacher for the service.Last year I found it the perfect way to begin my Thanksgiving celebration. I know you will also find it to be meaningful. Please plan to join us on Thanksgiving Day at 10:00.
For the Sheep in Exile – Bulletin 2017-10-29
Here is Bulletin_2017-10-29
Sunday of Christ the King: On the old Church calendar, today is the Feast of Christ the King. The Mass in the Extraordinary Form prayed at St. John the Baptist in Front Royal today was truly befitting the King of Heaven and Earth. The angels and saints were there.
Fr. Z had an interesting article related to this feast. Sunday of Christ the King – Act of Consecration of the Human Race to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
This week’s bulletin and the parish site present the following announcements:
All Saints Day – Wednesday, November 1st:
Wednesday, November 1st is All Saints Day and a Holy Day of obligation. Masses will be at 8:30 and at 7 P.m.
All Souls Day – Thursday, November 2nd:
REMEMBERING ALL OUR BELOVED DEAD
Join us on Thursday, November 2, to remember our beloved dead. Mass will be at 7pm as usual but those who want are encouraged to bring pictures of the dead whom they are remembering and put them around the altar before Mass. At the end of Mass we will have a candlelight procession to our cemetery where we will have a short prayer for all the dead. You are then invited to join us for the Holy Hour that follows the procession.
Bereavement Group: In the “for what it’s worth department”, here are links that might explain the latest offering for the renowned Rappahannock Clergy Association (RCA) posted on page two of the bulletin. As usual, when a new group or person, in this case the Bereavement Group and Danny Wilson, is introduced by the RCA, we feel obliged to check it out. (If you don’t have the time to read these items, we see no problems in faith and morals. Factually, we see no faith involved at all.)
In Rappahannock, health care headaches for an aging community
Grief Support Group – Bereavement Support Group
For the Sheep in Exile – Bulletin 2017-10-08
Here is Bulletin_2017-10-08
Check out the Pastor’s Piece in this week’s bulletin (page four). There are some good events scheduled for future weeks. Of course, there is one event sponsored by the Rappahannock Clergy Association that is not on our list of “must attends” – the Churches and Community Picnic.
Cryptic Notice about Our Dog: As with so many items that have been featured in this blog, we find that, when we start scratching around, there are many things beneath the surface that require follow-on research. In our last post (Rules and Tools for Radical Pastors #23 – Why is his dog in this fight?) we revealed that we have a dog, a very tenacious bloodhound. Perhaps he is not the most likely dog to engage in a dogfight with our Pastor’s dog Alinskee, but our dog comes to the fight armed with the facts.
Now, our dog has teamed up with my wife’s detective and they are hot on the trail of a foul smelling scent. Perhaps someday we will be able to tell you about it. Until then, if you see a detective in a rumpled, old trench coat accompanied by an enthusiastic bloodhound, be certain that there’s “just one more thing.”
Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us”
The Sheep of Kephas 