Two Books by Thomas H. Green S.J..

Thanks to a recommended reading list from A Guide to Christian Meditation, by John Bartunek, LC, I've learned of the remarkable writing of the late Thomas H. Green, S.J..

I've just finished reading 2 of Fr. Green's books, Opening To God, and When the Well Runs Dry.

Opening To God might best be described as an introduction to prayer while When the Well Runs Dry goes beyond the beginnings for more serious pray-ers who might be experiencing what St John of the Cross called the "Dark Night of the Soul".

The two books draw from Catholic sources, - St. John of the Cross, St. Teresa of Avila and the author of The Cloud of Unknowing.

Both books are rather quick reads - particularly Opening To God and I'm quite certain I'll be re-reading the two again and again.

Another Faux Ordination.

The first paragraph of this news article pretty much sums it up:

"In defiance of Roman Catholic authority and doctrine, the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests ordained its first Louisville-area priest on Saturday."

What part of "In defiance of Roman Catholic authority and doctrine" is so difficult to understand?

"Despite the name, the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests is not an entity of the Roman Catholic Church or the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville,” Louisville Archbishop Joseph Kurtz said in a statement. “Its action in carrying out a simulated ordination of Dr. Rosemarie Smead stands in direct opposition to the Roman Catholic Church’s teaching on the priesthood."

The Vatican insists that any woman who attempts ordination, and anyone seeking to confer the priesthood on her, faces automatic excommunication.
In another news article, the woman in question, Rosemarie Smead, was quoted as saying "I have no fear of excommunication."

Obviously not.

The Catholic Church teaches that it has no authority to allow women to be priests because Jesus Christ chose only men as his apostles. To this, supporters of women's ordination argue that Jesus was acting only according to the customs of his time.

So let me get this straight; the argument goes that the second person of the Holy Trinity, the Son of God, wanted to have women priests in His Church, but he was afraid of breaking a custom. That's the best they can come up with?

Christ certainly wasn't afraid of breaking customs or proclaiming truths which His disciples found difficult to accept - John 6:52 - "The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, 'How can this man give us [his] flesh to eat?' "

He was crucified for going against the customs of His day.

The "ordination" was performed in a Protestant church, St. Andrew United Church of Christ.  How appropriate - apostates performing an illegal ordination in an heretical church.

Smead plans on leading monthly services for Christ Sophia Inclusive Catholic Community, though the services will actually take place at St. Andrew.

A Female Dalai Lama?

In an interview with the 14th Dalai Lama, UK's channel 4 presenter, Cathy Newman had a number of odd questions for the Buddhist spiritual leader.

In an obvious dig at the Catholic Church, Newman asked the Dalai Lama if he'd be pleased if his successor as Dalai Lama was a woman.

The question itself reveals a total misunderstanding of Buddhism. According to Tibetan Buddhism, the 14th Dalai Lama's successor - the 15th Dalai Lama - would be his reincarnation. It just seems odd to me that she would ask if he'd be pleased if his next reincarnation was a woman. I don't think picking the gender of your next reincarnation is even an option. I suspect he'd be pleased that he came back as a human being and not a a lower life form.

The second odd question from Newman came when she asked "......if he could 'do a Pope', and quit when he gets too old and frail."

If number 15 is supposed to be his reincarnation, how in the Hell is he supposed to step down as Dalai Lama and be a sort of Dalai Lama emeritus?

Newman doesn't seem to realize that he'd have to off himself for that to happen.

I guess it doesn't really matter to Newman, however. The sole purpose of these questions was to criticise the Catholic Church for the Church's views on women in the priesthood.

Relax. It was Boxing, Not Radical Islam.

What a relief!

According to an article at ThinkProgress.org, we really don't have anything to worry about in regards to radical Islam. The article suggests that Boston Marthon Bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev did not plant bombs along the route of the Boston Marathon because of his renewed commitment to Islam; no, the author believes, Tsarnaev may have suffered from chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) resulting from his having been hit upside the head one too many times while boxing.

Is it possible that the writer of the ThinkProgress piece may have been hit upside the head one too many times as well?

French Gay Marriage Law Met with Violent Protests.

From Spiegel Online:

In Paris, protesters threw fireworks, bottles and stones at police officers. Security officials responded by deploying tear gas to push back the crowds, and at least 12 arrests were made late Tuesday night. Photos taken at the scene show emergency workers carrying out police officers apparently injured in the melee, but only one officer has been injured according to official statements.