Not exactly, but if you smoked what someone generously left on your car, you might think you're having a religious experience.
A man left about a $20 bag of marijuana on each car in several church parking lots with an cryptic note about Indian "peace poles". Police didn't know what he was referring to but it may having something to do with these and this. (Haven't they heard of Google?)
I got this shocking story from the Family Research Council:
Nearly a year after receiving threats from Broward County Police, the Florida Family Policy Council (FFPC) is filing a suit in Federal District Court against two officers for violating the group's First Amendment rights. Last June, the FFPC paid to exhibit at a Promise Keepers Conference in Sunrise. As part of its display, volunteers distributed information about the state's marriage protection amendment and asked visitors to sign the petition in an effort to get the proposal on the 2008 ballot. Later that day, the group had some surprise visitors at its booth--the Sunrise Police Department.--who showed up and shut down their petition drive. Sergeant Stephen Allen, the officer in charge at the scene, lectured the FFPC and onlookers about Jesus' supposed views on homosexuality and the Bible's command to obey authorities. When asked, the officers refused to provide a legal justification for their actions, but their political agendas were quite evident when Sgt. Allen leaned over and mockingly kissed a fellow male officer in front of the group. FFPC President John Stemberger said, "The officer in charge... displayed a lack of professionalism as well as utter disregard for our constitutional rights." Stemberger, who was "personally threatened with arrest" if the petitions remained on the table, said, "We are simply not going to be discriminated against because certain bad cops do not like our message." We applaud Stemberger's group for taking the officers to task. Theirs was a classic abuse of power that, if unchecked, would empower other law enforcement authorities to intimidate people based on their personal and political bias. The Sunrise Police exist to protect the rights of FFPC--not infringe on them. Fortunately, their actions haven't dampened the enthusiasm of voters for the Florida4Marriage campaign. So far, the group is only 21,000 signatures shy of the required 611,009 needed to get the issue on the ballot.
I hope there is something missing from the story — something this side is not telling, but it seems fairly straightforward. If this is all accurate, I find it quite shocking. Have we entered a new age? Will we become like Canada? I always thought that would never happen.
The New York Times recent had an article about the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, one of the best and most dynamic religious orders in the church today. You are probably more familar with their flagship friar, Fr. Benedict Groeschel. They strive to live religious life the way it was intended to be lived: in simplicity and poverty (not to mention obedience and chastity). And unlike most religious orders (especially the liberal ones), vocations-wise they are bursting at the seams.
Quote:
The friars devote themselves to evangelizing and fostering a strong prayer
and community life while renewing their dedication to poverty, chastity and
obedience. Or as the friars like to joke, "No bling-bling, no sweet thing,
Christ is King."
(Thanks to Amy M.)
In a long-awaited document from the International Theological Commission, limbo is said to represent "an unduly restrictive view of salvation". Pope Benedict authorized the publication of the document, giving it his approbation.
The document is quick to emphasize that this does not negate baptism or its importance, or the doctrine of original sin.
The document does not represent a essential change in Catholic doctrine. Limbo was always considered speculative, and was never doctrinal. The document is quite right that it represents an overly restrictive view. It makes a definitive judgment on a matter that is best left to God's mercy. It was a logical conclusion of the church's teaching on original sin, but neglected to consider that God is not bound by the sacraments. On the other hand we can't presume too much on God's mercy. While there is hope that an unbaptized infant is saved (especially when the parents had a firm intention to do so), it is better to baptize the child expeditiously than to take a lackadaisical approach. A hope is not a certainty.
The Pope is set to make his mark on U.S. churches, chiefly by key appointments now up in sees such as New York, Baltimore and Detroit, where cardinals have reached retirement age. These will likely be pulled from other sees, who will then have to be filled as well. Other places likely to see appointments are Seattle; Minneapolis-St. Paul; Pittsburgh; New Orleans; Louisville, Ky.; Omaha, Neb.; and Mobile, Ala.
Benedict "has tended to appoint people who are moderate, who are good teachers, good communicators and pastoral," said the Rev. Thomas Reese, although I'm not sure how much I'd trust him. It doesn't seem inconsistent with what we've seen so far, though. Fr. Richard John Neuhaus says Benedict will appoint bishops who are "vibrantly orthodox"; him I'd definitely believe.
The New York Times has an interesting article on George Weigel's attempts to argue that the Iraq war is a just war.
Weigel not only goes against liberals but the Pope as well (maybe two popes). He makes the interesting assertion (if this article is correct) that 'the “classic” doctrine treated war not as a moral anomaly that had to run a gantlet of moral tests before it could be justified but as “a moral category,” a neutral instrument of statecraft that could be used for good or ill.' This seems strange to me, as every presentation I've heard of just war describes it precisely as a gantlet of moral tests that determine whether war is justified. Just war has always required that the cause be a last resort. I'm not sure what "a neutral instrument of statecraft that could be used for good or ill" means but it sounds like he's trying to say that it's an ordinary, everyday tool in a state's arsenal, which seems to defeat the concept of just war. I am also given to understand that pre-emptive war is absolutely ruled out by just war. Seems to me he's trying to justify Republican politics rather than look at things objectively.
In an interesting followup to what John Paul said, Pope Benedict has just released a book called Creation and Evolution in which he asserts that "the theory of evolution is not a complete, scientifically proven theory." That should get people talking. In the context, I think he means that Evolution cannot be proven experimentally in the lab. I'm sure some scientists would argue that it doesn't need to be proven experimentally in the lab to be "scientifically proven". I admire him though for having the courage to stand up and take a stand, especially to the tendency of science to make philosophical pronouncements it has no business making.
Abortion is now legal in Portugal up to 10 weeks. Pray for Portugal, Blessed Jacinta and Blessed Francesco!
A supermarket chain in the U.K. called Somerfield decided to do a public service and educate people about Easter. They issued a press release that said, "Brits are set to spend a massive 520 million pounds [US$1.02 billion] on Easter eggs this year, but many young people don't even know what Easter's all about." And what is it about? "The birth of Jesus." Oooh-kaaay. They quickly fixed that, referring to "Britons' mounting ignorance regarding Easter" and Jesus's "rebirth". Hmmm. Then they decided to consult with the Church of England (good thing they didn't consult with Bishop Spong) and finally got it right: His Resurrection. “We spoke to the Church of England press office, who suggested we use the word resurrection, in keeping with the Church’s teaching. We were happy to do that.” This marked the first time the Church of England had actually corrected a heresy.
According to the article, they were trying to sell more chocolate eggs. “ Brits will on average be enjoying over 3.5 eggs each over the Easter weekend alone. But over a quarter don’t know why handing them out symbolises the resurrection of Jesus.” The article points out that "in ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome and Persia eggs were dyed for spring festivals." I like to point out that eggs used to be part of the Lenten fast (still is in my church) and so became a symbol of Easter. Just as I gorge myself on meat as soon as Easter Vigil is over, so people ate eggs in celebration. Maybe that's a tiny stretch, but at least you can make a plausible argument, unlike bunnies, which have absolutely no Christian meaning. (They celebrate the Church's teaching on contraception. Yeah, that's it.)
Reported in the London Times, and by This Is True.
Pope Benedict called for global evangelism during his Easter Regina Coeli message. I fully approve, and only wish more people would listen. We need to act first of all like the Christian faith is worth embracing. I'd like to say we need to act like it's life-changing, but for too many of us, it's not. We don't let the power of Christ transform us — Christianity is often an ingrained habit we picked up from our parents, which we never got around to embracing on our own. If Christ has never transformed you by his life-giving love, Christianity won't mean much to you, at least as something worth sharing with others. This means that we have to evangelize our own churches. I almost said "first", but if I say "first", that means no one outside will get evangelized until everyone inside is, and I know that will never happen, so it's best to take a two-pronged approach. Sadly, we can't really rely on our priests to do this, meaning that either they do it or not, there is not a lot we can do to change our priests, so it's up to us. Living out the faith faithfully ourselves is a big part of it. Charitably answering questions when they arise is another part. Sharing our testimony is another — telling how God has changed our lives and what a difference he has made. There are other ways as well. Let us pray that God will show us the way!
I was checking out my latest album from mercyme (an Evangelical Protestant band) when I saw a blurb in the album insert about a courageous youth who gave his life in the service of the Gospel. Strangely, the website dedicated to him is called www.prayforbj.com. I stopped in my tracks and scratched my head with a quizzical expression on my face. I remembered all the Evangelical songs I'd run across that talk about prayer in the context of death. One says:
I pull over to the side of the road and
I watch the cars pass me bye
The headlights and the black limousine
Tell me someone is saying goodbye
I bow my head and I whisper a prayer
For the comfort the broken hearts...
See as a Catholic this always struck me ... I don't know, as so wrong. Every time I hear the second to last line, emotionally I'm expecting prayer for the dead person, but then in the next line my heart is snapped back as the dead person isn't even mentioned. Ever hear that sound effect that imitates a record needle being abruptly removed during playback? "Oh George, I love you! Denise, I am yours, I will always RRRRIIIIPPPP". That's how it feels to me.
Anyway the reasons why Protestants do not pray for the dead are clear to me (though I am fully convinced that one need not believe in purgatory to pray for the dead, the Orthodox do). It just feels funny to me to pray for everyone involved in a funeral except for the person who died!
So that is why I was so startled to see this Evangelical website for a dead person which was entitled "Pray for BJ". After some thought I concluded that what must have happened is they got the domain while he was sick and just kept it. It was a nice thought though to think that some Evangelicals believe in prayer for the dead. Although his death was rapid enough and long enough ago (18 months) that it tantalizing to think that just maybe ...
Pray for BJ. Even now. Even if you believe he is in heaven, you can pray that he grow closer to God. Can you go wrong doing that?
Pope Benedict's car is for sale again, being sold by the Golden Palace Casino that snaps up all these oddities with the proceeds going to Habitat for Humanity. No idea what prompted them to divest themselves of it. Maybe people bugging them for being a casino and using such a relic to promote themselves.
