2005 LETTERS
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Contents © 2005
by Jim Holman.
All rights reserved.

LETTERS
January 2005

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Though she was correctly identified in the story, Alexandra Kelly, director of the diocesan office for civil affairs, was misidentified as Alexander Kelly in a photo caption on the Little Notes page of the December issue. Our apologies to Ms. Kelly.

VALIANT CRUSADERS

The valiant efforts of the Crusaders (Fighting the Good Fight, December 2004 issue) to bring to the attention of Catholics who attend -- and alumni -- the errors and apostasy at USD, are to be lauded indeed, however, I must state that they are wasting their time on such apostates as Dr. Lyons and her ilk.

We must keep in mind that Our Blessed Lord said that we must love our enemies, but He did NOT say to love HIS enemies!

As practicing Catholics, we must be able to discern the difference between the two, if not, then we will be forever enmeshed in confusion and despair. USD is certainly not Catholic any longer; as most other "Catholic" universities have gone down the politically correct, "tolerant" route based on the heresy of Modernism -- the synthesis of all heresies (so stated by Pope St. Pius X).

Further, we must keep in mind that we are making a grave mistake to think that the new order church-men (and now women) are capable of "changing" and returning to traditional Catholic and Apostolic teachings of Holy Church. They have made their pact with the devil.

Our Blessed Lord also told us not to cast pearls before swine: the pearls being our prayers and charitable works, and the swine, the new church-men and their secular-humanism. Yes, we have to be judgmental in this regard, if not, then we will all be led down that "primrose path" to destruction. And, as we are all responsible for the salvation of our own souls, our charity must begin at home; the world second. Please, do not lose sight of that!

Eugene R. De Lalla,
Troy, New Hampshire

NOT HURTING AT BLESSED SACRAMENT

I am a parishioner at Blessed Sacrament Parish, profiled in Stanford Espedal's column "Roamin' Catholic" (December 2004), and I also subscribe to News Notes. Very often, I find myself more in agreement with Mr. Espedal than not (a rarity in my parish, I am sure).

I've also read the furious responses to his previous columns. I don't want to lump myself in with those, again in large measure because I share some of his more controversial traditional positions regarding liturgy and architecture.

That written, I want to make sure when Father William Rowland, CJM -- Father Bill as we call him -- our Pastor, is mentioned in News Notes he is given the utmost respect. Whatever his liturgical aesthetics, he is a solid priest, competent administrator, and a genuinely fine man.

The parish is in wonderful financial shape ... despite the numbers listed by Mr. Espedal. Father explained the various gaps and so forth in the report. I don't need to go into that here. Safe to say, we're not hurting in the slightest.

As far as people "leaving" the parish, that's not the case from my limited perspective. We gain people left and right. The parish definitely goes through cycles, but I don't think we're any different in this regard than the general trend within the American Church (a different subject altogether).

Father Bill has performed some of the kindest acts of mercy I have ever witnessed. He inspires love and devotion among a diverse congregation ... young, old, families, single, widowed, divorced, rich, poor, middle class, white, African, Mexican, Filipino, etc., etc. I would hate for him not to be appreciated. Pax vobis,

Craig Kelso
San Diego

HURTING AT BLESSED SACRAMENT

I read with great interest the latest Roamin' Catholic concerning Blessed Sacrament in the College area.

The state of the liturgy is in even worse shape than anyone concerned about the Church could imagine. In the very next 9 a.m. Mass I attended at Blessed Sacrament, almost literally after nodding and shaking my head in agreement with Stanford's observations, bongos were thumping during a Tom Booth hymn, "Find Us Ready!" The choir looked indifferent to the nauseating pounding out of synch with the ghastly hymn. I wish I were joking.

Even worse is the sporadic liturgical dancing at different masses. Oh my Good Lord is this awful. The dancers very often have pastel-colored streamers attached on a stick, which they wave and twirl as they run about the sanctuary and into the nave. As a responsorial is sung, parishioners are whipped in the face by the long purple and pink banners. The slapping of bare feet clap against the, once sacred, terrazzo floor and can be heard against the flaccid choir's bellowing. Sickened, I tried the 6 p.m. Sunday Mass.

Backslapping, loud shouts across the church, and a drummer setting up his drum kit directly next to the tabernacle, blocking any devotional access, was how I was greeted. The bass guitarist began to tune shortly thereafter, echoing through the chamber. A pianist and two acoustic guitarists proceeded to join the bassist and rock drummer in an impromptu jazz-inspired concert while I was attempting in vain to speak to Our Lord in prayer. The music sounds like something one might hear at a lounge. The flamenco guitar chords weave in and out of the song during the cantor/lead singer's whining croon. I have, due to my schedule, returned to this Mass and had the same experience.

Overall the liturgy is a rushed affair. Little reverence is exhibited -- even by some of the priests. It is not unusual to find a priest bored, fighting back a large yawn, or reading pat from an obviously lifted homily. One priest at a 6 p.m. Mass kept saying "and" over and over again, "...and this is the body of Christ ... and the Lord be with you...." Prayers were spoken so cavalierly that they almost made Mass seem the chore it obviously was for this priest.

Unsurprisingly, the altar servers are similarly inclined. Bored out of their skulls, they roll their eyes, wear torn and tattered tennis shoes under vestments which appear to be sewn together hospital gowns. The lettering of heavy metal t-shirts beneath their albs can be easily read. When they are actually in attendance, they lumber begrudgingly down the nave almost waving the votive candles and cross. The servers are hardly ever on time. The procession begins without the servers a lot of the time. The Great Scrambling during Mass begins as parents nudge their little brats to sprint to the sacristy to change and slovenly spill out onto the stage/sanctuary. The servers reluctantly say the Our Father and won't even bother to move their lips during the Creed. Girls far, far outnumber boys as servers.

Tragedy strikes most acutely in the form of not-so extraordinary ministers of Communion. The low hit here is rock bottom. Far from being solemn, reverential duty reserved to the ordained, it is parceled out as a role or position to be filled. The lay ministers, much like the liturgists, musicians, priests, and altar servers, exhibit similar laxity. They wear shorts with flip flops, low cut tops, too-short skirts, and dish out the Body as if it were a party snack. The attitude is one of, "You're lucky I am here." A disaster would be the best description of Blessed Sacrament's Mass.

The bright spot in my recent memory was the deacon, a youngish looking fellow, offering a milk toast homily regarding the then up-coming election. He took from Catholic Answers' Voters Guide, softly admonishing the congregants to not vote for a politician who goes directly against Church teaching. He made some rather profound points considering the normal preaching we get: jokes, strange stories, and ridiculous metaphors passing for Gospel interpretation. After Mass, I went outside to shake his hand and tell him he kept me awake. In line, I heard older women angrily ranting about a violation of Church and State. He seemed to get a cold reception, though I know quite a few others were down right apoplectic to get a sliver of red meat Catholicism at Mass.

I know I am not the only one disappointed.

Anonymous

BARKER IS A WOLF IN SHEEP'S CLOTHING

Page 12 of the December 2004 News Notes headlines "The Wolf Inside The Catholic Church," an ad from New Oxford Review. Across from it on page 13 is the "Confessions" feature by Broderick Barker, telling readers some negative views of NFP.

The "wolf in the church" in my opinion, is the evident rejection of Humanæ Vitæ, or if not outright rejection, silence, and negative reporting of "Licitness of Recourse to Infecund Periods" -- Part 16 of this prophetic document-- and to a certain extent, the wolf in sheep's clothing is to have Barker's negative views in News Notes.

Why not tell readers they can obtain the encyclicals by web search and download free? It can be readily proven that many educated Catholics reject the clear message, and we know that consensus-expert, semi-porn novelist Fr. Andrew Greeley and Fr. Richard McBrien write in favor of allowing contraception, and oppose our Pope. We also know that there are very few divorces among NFP couples, and to announce that Catholic novelist Bud McFarlane seeks divorce after "NFP, four kids" does not reveal his deep reasoning or behavior, nor how communication works with his good wife.

A problem today is the Devil's haunt of population fears, as if added children will embarrass a couple. If a couple prays together, they might see in the Lord's Prayer "Thy Will be done" the freedom to choose and postpone, totally avoid, or achieve human life pregnancies according to their being two-now-one in Sacramental union.

With 40,000,000 elective abortions since Roe v Wade, population statistics suggest that the Vicar of Christ speaking in Pope Paul VI (Humanæ Vitæ, 1968), and Pope John Paul II in The Gospel of Life (Evangelium Vitæ, 1995) are proving to be prophetic and wise. How else to confront the devastating holocausts of AIDS, STDs, abortions, sterilizations, in major nations and the wimpy silence of celibate hierarchy and clergy. (For instance in Putin's Russia today, married women average five or six abortions.)

Rather than use the Catholic press to soothe the consciences of contracepting Catholics who probably are majority, Broderick Barker ought to tell about Mother Teresa's Nobel Peace Prize lecture, or Padre Pio's acclaim for Pope Paul's issuing what "even some Catholics" have rejected in Humanæ Vitæ, and tell about some of the heroic groups and doctors who are teaching couples the happy advantages of NFP. Remind us, too, of our modern generation of self-indulgence, and how Alexandr Solzhenitsyn distilled from the Gulag horrors, that after all, "Freedom is self-restriction" -- self control for the sake of others.

Sincerely,
Edward L. Peffer
Cypress, California

Broderick Barker responds: The column was an exposition of a defect in myself -- the belief that practicing NFP will somehow guarantee a happy marriage and an easy life. The Church has never suggested this, because it is patently silly. It was not a "negative view of NFP." It was an acknowledgement that following God's will as expressed by His Church can be difficult, and that obedience is not a shield against earthly woes.

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