random thoughts

*John Zmirak is funny when he wants to be.


*There are a number of bloggers posting thoughts on American Catholicism and why it's in such a bad state. None of them has quite come out and said it: the Faith that is presented in most parishes today isn't worth dying for and it certainly isn't worth living for. Having handed us nothing, it's not surprising that people wander off for the emotionalism of the 3000 sects of Protestantism, or the laziness of  going to church two or three times a year.
I was a grown woman before I realized that it was a sin to miss Sunday Mass and I went to a good Catholic elementary school. When the old  nuns died and retired the lay teachers and the hip young nuns took over and I spent a lot of time drawing rainbows during religion class. And then there was the religious instruction in high school. Oh boy. I remember poor Brother Ray and Sr. Joanie nd Gracie. They all meant well and tried so hard to be relevant and hip. If the Harlem Shake had existed back then I can imagine they would have tried to do something "cute" like this:





I stopped going to Mass on a weekly basis after Confirmation. So did most of my classmates. I don't recall any adult Catholic telling me that coming to Mass when I felt like it and taking Communion was wrong. Things in the 80s were very nice and non confrontational. Beyond the basic prayers I had to learn my Faith as an adult, on my own by pouring through the lending library of the Catholic Information Center in DC.


*There are people who say that Muslims and Christians worship the same God. We do not.  Please note. This is a very graphic link so do not click if you are sensitive.


*Cardinal Dolan is not coming to the rescue and Cardinal Mahoney isn't going anywhere.