Fun Facts and Useless Information…
Just thinkin’ about nothin’.
#1) Not all devout Catholics were always devout - some were great big sinners - even anti-Catholic - before they became devout.
#2) Not all cradle Catholics practiced their faith their entire lives.
#3) The rule that women should cover their heads for Mass was never changed.
#4) Many Catholics do not like the Stewardship Campaigns conducted by their parishes because it seems too much like the Protestant ethic of tithing - and even Protestants don’t like that idea.
#5) The Pope looked very papal at the consistory this weekend.
#6) Oprah is going to teach “A Course In Miracles” based upon the book with the same title by Marianne Williamson which is based on a nonsensical New Age cult/belief system. As the Irish might say - it’s a bunch of malarkey.
#7) Nuns who wear traditional habits do not, as a rule, shave their heads, they simply cut their hair short.
#8) The 6:30am Sunday Mass at St. Agnes in St. Paul is not as crowded as it was when Fr. Altier had the Mass, which concerns me because they could cancel that Mass at anytime. (It also suggests to me that Fr. Altier did have groupies.)
#9) I think I quit smoking, it has been 4 weeks since I had a cigarette. I was happier as a smoker.
#10) This is odd and useless: It’s the story about the woman who had an abortion and sterilization to save the planet from over-population. It’s that old “Was man made for the sabbath or the sabbath made for man?” debate, only this question seems more transparent, “Was the planet made for man, or man made for the planet?” With this woman’s logic, we should begin to exterminate children when the schools begin to get over-crowded.
#11) Secularists do not believe in Divine Providence.
#12) When the vernacular began to be introduced into the Mass, and the Novus Ordo came along, most average Catholics in the pew thought the only changes to the Mass had been the language and the novelty of the priest facing the people. Few of the laity understood the rite was no longer extraordinary.
#13) Marilyn Manson seems dangerous. I don’t like him.
November 25th, 2007 at 5:48 pm
Imagine opening your Diocesan newspaper and reading an article by our state’s so-called Youth Minister raving about how wonderful “A Return to Love” by Mariane Williamson was and everyone needed to buy their own copy.
I try to keep my cool but that day I just exploded strange green stuff all over the walls of my home.
#1 and #2 are sooooo true.
Four weeks with no cigarettes??? Amazing! I’m jealous.
November 25th, 2007 at 5:50 pm
Guess I should have said my first comment referred to #6
November 25th, 2007 at 7:29 pm
According to what I am reading, current canon law is silent on the subject of women covering their head in church, which is different from saying that it commands or forbids it. See http://72.14.205.104/search?q=cache:DgKvZakZG1MJ:www.catholi cexchange.com/node/65378+women+covering+heads+canon+law%3F&h l=en&ct=clnk&cd=4&gl=us. (I apologize for that awkward link, I haven’t figured out formatting too well yet). Personally, I am neutral on it. I still have a couple of mantillas in my dresser drawer from the old days, if it were local custom I would wear them. I can remember pinning a piece of kleenex to my hair for school Masses when I had forgotten to bring something more suitable. I don’t really see that as being more holy and respecful than going bareheaded.
November 25th, 2007 at 7:35 pm
Melody - you are correct - there is no longer any regulation on the subject. It seems to me it is a matter of personal preference and devotion, if it is not local custom.
Seriously, I thought of the veiling thing this morning when the woman in front of me at Mass had “bed hair” and I thought to myself - “Now this is where a chapel veil would come in handy.”
November 25th, 2007 at 7:38 pm
Congrats on quitting smoking!
I know of a few people who left St. Agnes when Father Altier did and followed him to Hastings.
I don’t know what to think about MM. He reminds me of Alice Cooper, but now you hear AC is a conservative Christian. Hmmm.
November 25th, 2007 at 7:40 pm
#9) I think I quit smoking, it has been 4 weeks since I had a cigarette. I was happier as a smoker.
No pain, no gain (paraphrase of John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila, et al.)
November 25th, 2007 at 7:43 pm
Ah! Pope Gregory the Great - you are wise beyond your years. Good to hear from you sir.
November 25th, 2007 at 10:36 pm
As I understand it, the veil is no longer required, but encouraged.
I wear one, but not always. I wish I could always wear one.
Canon law on this was never abrogated, but custom has been accommodated. As it is not necessary for salvation, well, the issue gathers dust.
November 26th, 2007 at 8:19 am
on #9:
Caryll Houselander, from her letters:
“Indeed I don’t sneer over the smoking—I mean the not smoking. I know how fearful it can be, for I also was for years a chain smoker–used actually to stay up most of the night so as to go on smoking, and, apart from the physical necessity–or disease–it had become, I felt towards it as if it were a person, a friend, whom I’d betray, if I cut it out. I did give it up, and for months–even now occasionally–felt a pang as if I had lost a dear person. Like you, I cut it off completely, in a day; I tried to be moderate, but I’m too weak to do things moderately, so I had to stop. It was hell for three weeks, then got easy. It’s years ago since I had that last cigarette–about six months before the war….”
November 26th, 2007 at 1:05 pm
i would prefer nuns/sisters to wear veils..for myself it was something i considered but i think it would make me look holier than thou if you get my drift…re the cigarettes i’d rather be round a smoker than a drinker..
November 26th, 2007 at 1:08 pm
I thought the very same thing about the Pope this weekend, too!
November 26th, 2007 at 1:13 pm
About the sisters cutting hair short and not shaving the head: some sisters, especially the younger ones actually wear their hair long under the veil. I know one who grows her until its about the peek from the bottom of her veil, then she cuts it short and donates her hair to make wigs for women getting chemotherapy.
Congrats on quitting smoking!
November 26th, 2007 at 2:32 pm
#3) I suspect that wearing a veil would be an occasion of pride for me, like genuflecting for Communion was when I started practicing that.
#10) I read a “Slate” article recently, where Dennis Kuchinich supporters debated whether or not they should procreate. I couldn’t help laughing, especially when the author of a “vasectomy memoirs” was cited.
#13) Difficult to have sympathy for Marilyn Manson’s band member; it was fine when MM spent hs own millions on disgusting artifacts, as long as Mr. Bier was getting his share of the boodle?
November 27th, 2007 at 4:03 pm
Melody,
CCL 1983 is also silent on joining the Masons.
When people started asking, “Hey, Vatican, is it okay if we join the Masons now?” the Vatican responded with an emphatic “NO!” and said that just because something was “left out” didn’t mean it wasn’t still in force.
Laws are in force unless they are specifically abrogated.
In addition, veiling is what’s called an ‘immemorial custom’, that is, it’s been in force since the Church began.
And immemorial custom trumps even Canon Law, believe it or not. It says so right on page 2 or 3 of the CCL.
Having said all that, I’m extremely liberal when it comes to women veiling.
I do it, but I don’t mind if you don’t.
Terry -
I’ll be six years smoke-free on 2/11. Smartest decision I ever made, after marrying my husband.
(Adopting wasn’t a “decision” - it was a burning desire.)
November 27th, 2007 at 5:19 pm
Great explanation, Ma Beck. I feel the same way about it.