An Aid To Memory

I want to highlight a few new blogs I have linked to:

Emerging Into Me - A blog by Kara, a freelance writer, and children’s author who writes from a strong Catholic perspective.

That Fatboy - A livejournal by a comic-book writer and (former) Reformed Baptist becoming Catholic.

I met both of these people on Paltalk (a voice/text chat medium) and I enjoy talking with them about the Catholic faith, and all topics really, including comic books, music (like Johnny Cash), etc. Also, in order to post on livejournal, I have opened an account there, An Aid to Memory Satellite. Hmm, this blog is so important it has a satellite location, lol. Well, it isn’t much, but I did break down and post a photo of me up there. I may use it as a place to link over to blog entries and articles I write, if I get involved over at LJ and think anybody would be interested in reading them.

Jonathan already linked over, but it is worth a mention and is going on my links (here and at Ancient and Future Catholics). What is this site? It is The Catholic Report, and is the Drudge Report of the Catholic world. Check it out. Finally, a quick and concise presentation of Catholic happenings.

I was raised studying Scripture, and since I was young I have owned multiple Bible versions. When I returned to Christianity after a hiatus in high school and early college, I began to study Greek. Even though I have had years of undergraduate and graduate Greek study, I still find interlinears, which have the Greek and English side-by-side, helpful.

Last night I was looking up a Greek passage in 1 Timothy, and came across a nice Interlinear. Check out the Interlinear Scripture Analyzer, a free software program that has the entire Protestant Bible in interlinear form, not to mention a word-by-word analysis of the each Greek word, including the case, gender, and number of nouns, and a similarly detailed analysis of each verb. It also has the Hebrew for the Old Testament. And it’s completely free (and free of spyware or viruses). Click here for a screenshot.

Many of you know that I read Pontifications often, and that Fr. Al Kimel’s observations helped me cross the Tiber almost a year ago. His observations eventually helped him convert to the Catholic faith as well. His newest post, The Church of the Body and Blood of Christ, describes his reception into the Church and his confirmation at a parish in South Carolina, as well as a few implications of his conversion.

I just got back from a 3 day trip to Lake Erie. I had a lot of fun hanging out at the local beaches, and I even attended a nice local small-town festival on the lake. I attended an Eastern Catholic Church for the second week in a row, mainly because I was close to one. Sadly, now I am back to the daily grind for awhile I guess.

Image from: http://www.hrparish.net/

I have had this blog since April 2004 (powered by Blogger from April through mid-July), and I had another blog prior to that called Lux Dei Christian Rants, which I operated from September 2003-April 2004. Most of my regular readers now probably have never visited this old one. I started Lux Dei (meaning Light of God) blog for me to add my voice to the Anglican controversies surrounding Gene Robinson’s election as bishop. I started that blog while I was at an Episcopal seminary and I always hoped none of the administration would find out.

Anyway, I find it interesting to read some of my past entries and see how far I have come in just a few years. I thought I would post a few of them. Keep in mind my theology has changed over the years. While I was writing that blog I was ready to fight for the soul of Anglicanism, and boy was I optimistic about the possibilities of conservative Anglicanism. This was before people started bailing out, but nonetheless, I honestly believed that 2004 and 2005 would see a real victory for traditional Anglicans. However, You can see signs of battle-fatigue, and a sense that I was not at home being involved in Anglican battles (since my temperament is hardly suited to constant confrontation). Anyway, here are a few highlights from the old blog.

Right-Wing Conspiracy or Scapegoat for Left-Wing Decline?
(9-03) Just because the gospel grows churches doesn’t mean there is a conspiracy afoot, as one group suggests.

Bishop Talbert Proves There is Such a Thing as Left-Wing Fundamentalism
(10-03) Methodist Bishop Talbert blasts "right-wing" groups. I didn’t think he had a clue.

The Geriatric Consecration of Gene Robinson
(11-03) The 60s generation strikes again! 

The S*** Hits the Fan so Get Ready for the Mess
(11-03) This describes the beginning of my separation from the Episcopal church. Funny, even though I had privately told friends I would either be Catholic or Orthodox in a year, the Catholic Church doesn’t get a mention in this post.

A New Year, A New Anglicanism?
(1-04) Idealistic post on what I expected to happen in 2004 within Anglicanism.

Will the Real Schismatics Please Stand Up?
(1-04) Being in schism with schismatics may not be so bad if it puts you in line with the gospel.

Image from: http://users.ox.ac.uk/~sg/ridgeway/33%20Divine%20light.jpg

I just got back from a wedding in Bloomington, Indiana, and after having a nice vacation, I thought I would blog a little. When deciding what to blog on I looked at two of the Catechisms I own, The Baltimore Catechism and the New Catechism of the Catholic Church. Both are very helpful and deep explanations of the Faith. The Baltimore Catechism is in a useful Q & A format, although the answers are less nuanced than the newer Catechism. Here are a few links to both of them.

Baltimore Catechism (.pdf)
Baltimore Catechism (print) 
Catechism of the Catholic Church (.html)
Catechism of the Catholic Church (print)

I am always reading Pontifications, which is in my opinion, probably one of the best blogs out there period. Part of it is Fr. Al’s excellent observations, and part of it is that some of the best minds in the Christian world seem to like to hang out there and make comments. I came across a cool quote from Fr. Jay Scott Newman, former Anglican and now a Catholic priest at Saint Mary’s, Greenville, South Carolina.

Fr. Newman said this on a recent comment thread on Pontifications:

"Now, for those who are trapped in a parish that was designed by Mike Brady and
decorated by Marsha, with a liturgy designed by Bozo and celebrated by Dr. Phil,
what counsel would I give?"

His advice was for Catholics to actually read the Documents of Vatican II, something those who endlessly criticize the Council, and those who so authoritatively act in its "spirit," often fail to do.

I have to say, that quote just plain sums up the bad liturgy and church design that is a reality in many Catholic parishes. The 70s, 80s, and 90s were a bad time for parish design, catechesis, theology, and liturgy. We are still recovering from the effects! I wonder if the late modern to early postmodern period won’t be looked upon as something akin to the era of Constantius when Arianism took hold so rapidly before waning. Who is the modern St. Jerome to lament about the 1970s-1990s when "the whole of Western Christianity groaned to find itself flaky"?

Image from: http://www.nhc.rtp.nc.us:8080/tserve/twenty/tkeyinfo/tmainstr.htm

Saintos (understandably anonymous at this point) is blogging about his journey from a contemporary-style Protestant church to the Catholic Church. He is still on the journey, unsure of the outcome perhaps. His blog is creatively titled Luminous Miseries, and contains the insights of a Protestant becoming Catholic.

I really relate to what he posts, as I have been on a similar path myself, going from Protestant to Catholic. In some ways, I would love to visit where he is, to be discovering Catholic devotion, the saints, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and Church History for the first time. I remember how amazing (and yet conflicting at the same time) the discovery of the Catholic faith was. Oh the newness and excitement of discovering such a rich tradition! Please keep him in your prayers and visit his very well-designed/well-written blog.

Image of the wedding of Cana (a luminous mystery) from: http://www.udayton.edu/mary/meditations/luminous.html

The Pontificator is renouncing his Anglican orders and becoming Catholic. When my brother showed me this post this morning I about fell out of my seat. The Pontificator (i.e. Fr. Al Kimel) was instrumental in my own conversion to the Catholic Church, and his postings on his blog have been far more Catholic and insightful than you see out of even most Catholic blogs. I am extremely excited today. The Catholic Church has certainly gotten one of the  best. We need priests and scholars like him: faithful, critical, a full appreciator of our Eastern and Western heritage, and a lover of good liturgy. Congratulations Fr. Al! I am very excited.

Coming soon from the same forces that brought you Ancient and Future Catholics, Church Year.Net, Totus Tuus, Ancient and Future Catholic Musings, and Winterr’s Words comes stperegrine.net, named after the patron saint of cancer patients.

Why? Well, I had the idea this afternoon while researching scientific journal articles on various cancer treatments. I also remembered that some of the folks who run the above-mentioned sites have lost close loved ones to cancer. I thought, "why not have a Catholic-based informational site dedicated to information, research, support, prayer, and forums related to cancer and even general health issues?" I talked to Jennifer and she thought it was a great idea.

This is just beginning, and the main page links to blogs and sites for the time-being, while we think of a fancy name. Anyway, I am hoping to get it off the ground shortly. While it is Catholic in mission, I hope it is helpful to everybody. In the future I will hopefully be writing more and asking for material and articles.