tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9479398.post3334369933802703783..comments2024-03-17T09:38:01.251-05:00Comments on Adventus: Cafeteria Catholic?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9479398.post-8621083111479400292014-01-01T21:34:15.014-06:002014-01-01T21:34:15.014-06:00Come to think of it, Jesus was never made Cardinal...<i>Come to think of it, Jesus was never made Cardinal either.</i> <br /><br />As I've always said, he wasn't crucified for being too popular.Rmjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06811456254443706479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9479398.post-54549476508813352582014-01-01T19:32:25.460-06:002014-01-01T19:32:25.460-06:00Come to think of it, Jesus was never made Cardinal...Come to think of it, Jesus was never made Cardinal either.<br /><br />-geor3gegeor3gehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18382136451663610951noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9479398.post-90726942451438221692014-01-01T14:21:52.456-06:002014-01-01T14:21:52.456-06:00Thank you, Mimi. What a wonderful way to start th...Thank you, Mimi. What a wonderful way to start the New Year.Rmjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06811456254443706479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9479398.post-74290333555173732052014-01-01T14:17:07.849-06:002014-01-01T14:17:07.849-06:00Rmj, I've always thought it was the church'...Rmj, I've always thought it was the church's loss that you are not in full-time ministry, but I consider what you do here a ministry. And perhaps you are more of an influence for good in your second choice of professions.June Butlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01723016934182800437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9479398.post-78394616080383909972014-01-01T13:59:59.808-06:002014-01-01T13:59:59.808-06:00I had a church member try to blackmail me by withh...I had a church member try to blackmail me by withholding money from the church, over something I said or did or didn't say or didn't do.<br /><br />I had all but forgotten about it. I think it had something to do with the amount of attention I paid to him, or maybe because I eliminated the "Children's Sermon," that Art LInkletter-moment in worship that came along sometime while I was in college or after, and not attending church much. I despised it, anyway, and I have a memory that his displeasure was tied to it.<br /><br />Whatever it was, I didn't meet his threat with conciliation, and probably it was one more count against me when it came time for the powers that be in the congregation to insist I leave (ah, well, the church had a history of it; I was there for the average length of time of any pastor in that church's history. Had I had more confidence at the time in the church at large, I would have simply moved on to another pulpit.)<br /><br />This is why pastor's tell each other their churches are filled with baptized heathens, though. Unless certainly people are happy, the pastor (usually) is to blame. I had another couple withdraw from the church when they learned the UCC was actively working to abolish the death penalty. Their only son had been shot to death in a robbery, they were waiting for the murderer to meet his execution date in Huntsville. Perhaps that is more analogous to this, but their pain was personal and they kept it as private as they could (only telling the church, quite publicly, that I was not the problem. They were good people in many ways.).<br /><br />I like to think I'd be less inclined to be as conciliatory as Dolan; then again, that's why I don't have a church, and he is a Cardinal. That doesn't make me superior to him; or make him right.<br /><br />OTOH, I'd be pretty comfortable with handing Mr. Langone all the passages I've quoted above, and asking him to reflect on them, and his relationship to God, rather than reassuring him that God loves his money and really, really wants it for St. Patrick's Cathedral. Which, again, is why I'm not a Cardinal responsible for the maintenance of a cathedral.<br /><br />Mimi--I know, right?Rmjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06811456254443706479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9479398.post-78473503737172435812014-01-01T13:26:20.595-06:002014-01-01T13:26:20.595-06:00On the other hand, what does paying for renovation...<b>On the other hand, what does paying for renovations to St. Patrick's have to do with compassion for the poor?</b><br /><br />My thought exactly. What are the priorities?June Butlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01723016934182800437noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9479398.post-8116967224509979792014-01-01T12:38:20.900-06:002014-01-01T12:38:20.900-06:00I agree in general with this approach and defer to...I agree in general with this approach and defer to your pastoral experience, wisdom, and general restraint that I certainly lack. I do feel this is a pretty special case, however, because the ability to feel compassion towards others is foundational: it's innate in humans and even many animals. We're not talking about some abstract dispute over the nature of the persons in the Trinity or some quibble over a liturgical matter, this is literally about the ability to see those with less money than you as equal humans. <br /><br />As far as I'm concerned if you don't possess that or you peg your ability to express it to how much adulation you receive - which just means that you don't have it, Caligula - you've just failed Christianity 101. Along with Intro to Humanity. <br /><br />And this isn't about Langone or his fellow princes of this world being asked to give up all their billions and their mansions and jets and follow Christ in sackcloth doing the thankless work of preaching the Gospel while enduring hunger and the elements. It's about a vanity project to which they will contribute the tiniest mite of their income, much of it received unfairly or unjustly, in exchange for their name in highlights in perpetuity and a generous tax credit they would have taken one way or another. In other words, it costs them nothing. <br /><br />And still they want to blackmail the church over it in exchange for suppressing the parts of the Gospel that offend their delicate sensibilities while working tirelessly to cut off aid to the poor through buying politicians. So if I were his cardinal or pope or parish priest or doorman, I think I would feel pretty comfortable telling Ken to fuck off with his pretensions to Christianity. HIs career and involvement in politics and social issues makes it pretty clear that his god is mammon. <br /><br />If nothing else it might open up the opportunity for some constructive dialogue....<br /><br />Windhorse<br /><br />(yeah, I know the moniker says "trex," I just don't know how to change that now that we have to sign in to comment)trexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16838170190127187564noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9479398.post-69022830608999317722014-01-01T10:56:32.909-06:002014-01-01T10:56:32.909-06:00I've known a lot of people whose treasure was ...I've known a lot of people whose treasure was where their heart was, too, and that treasure was not fully lodged in the teachings of Jesus.<br /><br />It's one of the complications of ministry: it's not exactly the best pastoral practice to respond to opinions like Langone's with a hearty "F*ck off!, Failed Christian!"<br /><br />I mean, even Jesus felt for the guy who couldn't sell all he had and give the proceeds to the poor.<br /><br />So I don't like Langone's words, but I hesitate to condemn Langone(hate the sin, love the sinner? Well, not really, but that's another argument). I would prefer to correct him, though not necessarily in the way Dolan would.<br /><br />On the other hand, what does paying for renovations to St. Patrick's have to do with compassion for the poor?Rmjhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06811456254443706479noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9479398.post-16270500567836116852014-01-01T09:48:19.982-06:002014-01-01T09:48:19.982-06:00So pious, blackmailing Pope Francis to suppress th...<i>So pious, <b>blackmailing</b> Pope Francis to suppress the gospel.</i> <br /><br />That is EXACTLY how my wife put it when she heard this story. <br /><br />I can't imagine what religion Langone and his wealthy peers belong to in which their ability to feel compassion for those in need depends on their egos being stroked, but it surely isn't any religion that has sprung from the authentic teachings of Christ. trexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16838170190127187564noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9479398.post-13301144254488549262013-12-31T21:49:42.188-06:002013-12-31T21:49:42.188-06:00The Confession of St. Patrick is a lot more in lin...The Confession of St. Patrick is a lot more in line with those quotes from the scriptures and church fathers than it is Langone or Dolan, for that matter. <br />So pious, blackmailing Pope Francis to suppress the gospel. The Thought Criminalhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01381376556757084468noreply@blogger.com