New Deacons

Posted on August 16, 2010 by Susan Kehoe

Des Moines Deacon Ordination 2010

More pictures Here.

Praise God! There are now 13 newly ordained deacons for the Diocese of Des Moines. They were ordained Saturday morning at the Cathedral. It was a beautiful liturgy. I was filled with joy.

When  my husband was ordained,  I felt, for the most part, relief. A little joy. But my overriding emotion was relief. Relief that I hadn’t managed to get in the way of his vocation to the deaconate.  It is hard to believe that it will be four years on August 19th.

Anyway, it was a great day. I wish I had a camera to get a picture of all the deacons, their wives, and the priests who were lined up on the sidewalk as we waited to process into the Cathedral. It was quite a sight to behold in down town Des Moines. What a witness!

Unfortunately, cameras and purses are not liturgical items so we had to leave them at home.

Congratulations to the thirteen men from community 13.

Rev. Mr. Francis Chan

Rev. Mr. Dan Gehler

Rev. Mr. William Hare

Rev. Mr. James Houston

Rev. Mr. Michael Manno

Rev. Mr. Robert McClellan

Rev. Mr. James Obradovich

Rev. Mr. Steven Reed

Rev. Mr. Thomas Schenk

Rev. Mr. Terry Schleisman

Rev. Mr. Luke Tieskoetter

Rev. Mr. Steven Udelhofen

Rev. Mr. David Waddle

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Fact vs Fiction

Posted on August 11, 2010 by Susan Kehoe

Do progressives actually read the 16 documents of the council?  Study them? If they do, they really must have to be mental contortionists to contend that the Council affirmed the progressive agenda.

This time it is a sociologist. In an online science publication, of all places.

Non-Catholics influenced Vatican II liberalization of Catholic Church, new study says

August 11, 2010

A new analysis of voting patterns among bishops at the Second Vatican Council points to the indirect influence of non-Catholic churches in the Council’s liberalization of the Catholic Church.

Melissa Wilde, an associate professor of sociology in the School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Pennsylvania, led a team of researchers that investigated data from the Vatican Secret Archive to determine the critical factors influencing how bishops voted at the Second Vatican Council.

The article goes on to make the claim that the two most contentious debates concerned the validity of a document titled “On the Sources of Revelation,” which upholds the inerrancy of the Bible, and the importance of the Virgin Mary.

First the document on divine revelation is titled,  Dei Verbum (Divine Revelation).  It is true the final document was the result of fierce debate between radical progressives and radical traditionalists neither of the radical positions won. Continue reading →

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Free To Be

Posted on August 11, 2010 by Susan Kehoe

According to the Church true freedom is not the right to choose to do anything that we want. Not all choices are good. Many choices on the buffet, choosing abortion for example, are evil. When we go against God and his moral law we lose our freedom.  This is because when we go against divine truth we sin. Sin enslaves us; sin does not make us free. Only the Truth can make us free.

Jeffery Steel a former Anglican Priest, and (father of six) crossed the Tiber over a year ago. He has an excellent post up on Experiencing True Freedom as a Catholic.

He gets it!

Excerpt:

I was recently asked what I have learned the past year or so after being united to the See of Peter. At the heart of my answer was freedom. Many people might think that a bit oxymoronic having moved from an ecclesial community within the Anglican family and into the hierarchical institution of the Catholic Church. But that is where we get to the heart of real communio.

What some mean by freedom is the demand to have their voices heard today no matter what that voice is saying. Freedom is the demand to no longer be under the “thumb” of what were known as prior givens; anything that keeps one from realizing their full potential is nothing other than a roadblock and an obstacle to true freedom. Therefore, to many, the limits of what the Catholic Church would demand in a world crying out for freedom would be even more burdensome. So how can freedom be experienced in a Church that demands rules and an ordering of one’s public and private life? How can anything demand the course of my life to take a certain shape with such restrictive confines and so many commandments? Isn’t this really an immature dependency rather than true freedom? Sadly, what often happens is that the idea of Church is not as our personal desires want her to be, which is an attack upon our freedom, and a new demand for her to conform to our own desires making her a place for “every freedom” to exist without limits, is shouted from the rooftops.

The first theological lesson to be learned that we find in the clear thinking of Cardinal Newman is that the Church is not a democracy of freedoms.

It is long but well worth the time. Read it all here.

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Patron Saint Of Television

Posted on August 11, 2010 by Susan Kehoe

Catholics have a Saint for just about everything!  St. Clare, whose feast we celebrate today is the Patron St. of Television. In 1958 Pope Pius XII was trying to come up with a St. for television:

“She was given this title by Pope Pius XII on Feb. 14, 1958. On Christmas night, 1252, the nun received the grace of seeing from her cell the Church’s celebration of Christ’s birth.” (article from Zenit) H/T Deacon Greg

Television certainly needs a Saint, Lord have mercy!

You Can read about her here:

The preserved body of St. Clare (1194-1253), displayed in the crypt of the Basilica di Santa Chiara in Assisi.

An excerpt from one of her letters from today’s office of reading:

“Happy indeed is she who is granted a place at the divine banquet, for she may cling with her inmost heart to him whose beauty eternally awes the blessed hosts of heaven; to him whose love inspires love, whose contemplation refreshes, whose generosity satisfies, whose gentleness delights, whose memory shines sweetly as the dawn; to him whose fragrance revives the dead, and whose glorious vision will bless all the citizens of that heavenly Jerusalem.  For his is the splendor of eternal glory, the brightness of eternal light, and the mirror without cloud.” Read it all Here.”

Finally, Here is a video on St. Clare and the history of the Poor Clare Nuns in Ireland.

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Stripped Of Love….UPDATE

Posted on August 10, 2010 by Susan Kehoe

the Gospel message alienates souls. We are called to preach the truth in love.
This doesn’t mean that we should not present the hard teachings. We should. Without flinching.

But we should strive to invite people to the truth of Christ. We have to let people walk away.  Jesus is our model and he let people walk away when they could not handle what he was teaching.

This is what happens when the gospel is preached with hate instead of love (HT Rich Leonardi):

WARSAW, Ohio — Strip-club owner Tommy George rolled up to the church in his grabber-orange Dodge Challenger, drinking a Mountain Dew at 9 in the morning and smoking a cigarette he had just rolled himself.

Pastor Bill Dunfee stepped out of a tan Nissan Murano, clutching a Bible in one hand and his sermon in the other, a touch of spray holding his perfectly coiffed ‘do in place.

Inside the New Beginnings Ministries church, Dunfee’s worshippers wore polyester and pearls.

Outside, George’s strippers wore bikinis and belly rings.

Both men agree it is classic sinners vs. saints. But George says it is up to America to decide which is which and who is who.

Dunfee says God already has chosen.

“Tom George is a parasite, a man without judgment,” Dunfee said. “The word of Jesus Christ says you cannot share territory with the devil.”

The battle that has heretofore played out in the parking lot of George’s strip club – the Foxhole, a run-down, garage-like building at a Coshocton County crossroads called Newcastle – has shifted 7 miles east to Church Street.

Every weekend for the last four years, Dunfee and members of his ministry have stood watch over George’s joint, taking up residence in the right of way with signs, video cameras and bullhorns in hand. They videotape customers’ license plates and post them online, and they try to save the souls of anyone who comes and goes.

Now, the dancers have turned the tables, so to speak. Fed up with the tactics of Dunfee and his flock, they say they have finally accepted his constant invitation to come to church.

It’s just that they’ve come wearing see-through shorts and toting Super Soakers. More here.

UPDATE. Maybe I was a tad hasty in my assessment. Bobby at Get Religion has a good frisk of the article. Get thou there!

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Patron Saint of Deacons

Posted on August 10, 2010 by Susan Kehoe

St. Lawrence (or Laurence) of Rome, Deacon and Martyr   

My favorite deacon’s first name is Laurence. Heh. That is probably why he received nearly 100 St. Lawrence holy cards for his ordination.

St. Lawrence  was a deacon of the Church of Rome. He was roasted alive on a gridiron. St. Ambrose wrote that St. Lawrence, while being burned, said “this side is done, turn and eat”.

Mmm. My deacon does like to cook on the grill.

You can read more about him here.

In today’s Office of Reading, St. Augustine writes:

The Roman Church commends this day to us as the blessed Laurence’s day of triumph, on which he trod down the world as it roared and raged against him; spurned it as it coaxed and wheedled him; and in each case, conquered the devil as he persecuted him. For in that Church, you see, as you have regularly been told, he performed the office of deacon; it was there that he administered the sacred chalice of Christ’s blood; there that he shed his own blood for the name of Christ. The blessed apostle John clearly explained the mystery of the Lord’s supper when he said Just as Christ laid down his life for us, so we too ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. St Laurence understood this, my brethren, and he did it; and he undoubtedly prepared things similar to what he received at that table. He loved Christ in his life, he imitated him in his death.Read more here..

Here is an interesting video:

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Saint of the Day

Posted on August 9, 2010 by Susan Kehoe

I am behind on the Saints. Today we celebrate St. Teresa Benedicta of The Cross (Edith Stein).

Youngest of seven children in a Jewish family. Edith lost interest and faith in Judaism by age 13. Brilliant student and philosopher with an interest in phenomenology. Studied at the University of Göttingen, Germany and in Breisgau, Germany. Earned her doctorate in philosophy in 1916 at age 25. Witnessing the strength of faith of Catholic friends led her to an interest in Catholicism, which led to studying a catechism on her own, which led to “reading herself into” the Faith. Converted to Catholicism in Cologne, Germany; baptized in Saint Martin’s church, Bad Bergzabern, Germany on 1 January 1922.

Carmelite nun in 1934, taking the name Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. Teacher in the Dominican school in Speyer, Germany and lecturer at the Educational Institute in Munich, Germany. However, anti-Jewish pressure from the Nazis forced her to resign both positions. Profound spiritual writer.

[Auschwitz]Both Jewish and Catholic, she was smuggled out of Germany, and assigned to Echt, Netherlands in 1938. When the Nazis invaded the Netherlands, she and her sister Rose, also a convert to Catholicism, were captured and sent to the concentration camp at Auschwitz where they died in the ovens like so many others.

Here is her biography at the Vatican site.

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On the Blog Again

Posted on August 9, 2010 by Susan Kehoe

Sorry about not posting in awhile. I am gearing up for RCIA, which begins in two weeks.  There are things that need to change, calendars to make, and advertising material to develop etc.

Besides it is kind of hard to post when you are attending pity party for one. It is rare for me to be down or wallow in self pity. But wallow I did.  I tried to resist really I did.

We haven’t been able to visit our children and grandchildren, in Ireland and Scotland—for over a year. The tickets have gone way up in price, and we have never recovered from Deacon being out of work for over a year several years ago. Money is tight and I have gotten the message that God does not trust us with money, but this is the longest we have gone without seeing the kids. And I couldn’t attend my nieces wedding either.

It didn’t help that I am having difficulties with MS fatigue—more than usual. When will I realize that trying to fight it just makes it worse?

God finally gave me the equivalent of a slap in the face to snap me back into reality. For days I heard a litany of real woes, suffering, and hardship from people. People who discovered they have life threatening illness. People who have multiple problems made worse by job loss. A 28 year old who committed suicide leaving his family and loved ones devastated.

For days and days I heard from people who were experiencing real problems. Even tragic ones.

Ok. God. I get the message. I will keep my small cross and be grateful for all the gifts that you have given me. I will not ask to trade in my small cross; I may end up with a larger and heavier one.

So I will keep on swimming and count my blessings.

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You Must Submitt

Posted on August 5, 2010 by Susan Kehoe

The great rallying cry of many progressives is the demand for tolerance. We, as a society, should accept all ideas, religions, behaviors, etc, as long as they are not hurtful or against the law. Unless, that is, you do not possess progressive views or believe that there is such a thing as objective truth.. Then all of sudden all that luv and tolerance flies right off the table.

This is especially true of homosexuality. It is not enough, anymore, to have unconditional love. Oh no we must have unconditional acceptance. We must approve. Or else.

R.R. Reno over at First Things has an article up on the increasing discrimination in Universities of professors and students who have the audacity to not approve.

Excerpt:

“People can be very cruel when they imagine their beliefs to be self-evident, which happens when all dissent is silenced and censured. In a group-think atmosphere, those who disagree are seen as unthinking “fundamentalists” or hateful “bigots.” Even the most highly qualified and nuanced moral statements about homosexuality will be denounced as “homophobic” if they fall short of a full and unqualified affirmation of homosexuality.

Sexual liberation seems to have become the great moral cause. It is true that American schools expect ideological homogeneity on all manner of topics, and being pro-life or a person of faith—or even a Republican—can get you in trouble. But homosexuality alone seems to call forth the full repressive power of educational institutions.”

Read the whole thing here.

Jesus did say blessed are the persecuted. It is the cost of discipleship.

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Bury The Eulogy. Please

Posted on August 5, 2010 by Susan Kehoe

I have heard some pretty bad and or inappropriate eulogies. Eulogies are always  inappropriate at a Catholic funeral Mass, but for pastoral reasons they are often allowed. If I die first, Deacon Larry will be giving the homily. He has been warned not to praise me or celebrate my life. I am no fan of sentimentality. Besides it is really, really important that he remind people that I, , as a poor soul in purgatory, will be in need of prayer.  At least I hope that I am on the road to at least the front porch of heaven and not on the road to perdition.  If  he gives a eulogy, or allows anyone else to, I will come back to haunt him. Well if God lets me.

A priest who is preparing his own funeral,  says it all for me in an article from U.S. Catholic. H/T Deacon Greg

Excerpt:

The commonplace “eulogy” is not part of our Catholic tradition, and it doesn’t belong in a Catholic funeral Mass. Eulogy is Greek for “word of praise,” and we come to bury Caesar and not to praise the wretch, as Shakespeare says, because the only one we praise in liturgy is Christ.

A local undertaker recently adopted a new obituary style, writing that “A Mass in honor of Bootsie will be celebrated at Holy Martyrs Church tomorrow.” No, Bootsie will just have to be patient with us, since we celebrate Mass in honor of Christ.

I don’t blame him for his mistake, because lately funerals have taken on the attributes of canonizations. Secular canonizations at that. Nary a word of faith, of a disciple’s life, is heard at during the “words of remembrance,” that brief time after communion set often set aside to remember the deceased Christian witness (rather than list off accomplishments, or more often, embarrassing moments). Indeed, you may be surprised that the Catholic Order of Christian Funerals makes only one mention of a “eulogy”-and there it outright forbids them, even warning that homilies are to be kept free from the eulogistic style.

There are two purposes for the Christian funeral, according to the OCF: “The church through its funeral rites 1) commends the dead to God’s merciful love and 2) pleads for the forgiveness of their sins” (OCF, #6). These values conflict with two cultural values in play: 1) to review the biography of the deceased and 2) to achieve “closure.”

The first need can be well addressed within the “vigil for the deceased,” frequently called “the wake.” The second need, for closure, is simply not a Catholic value. We believe that the bonds of affection that unite us in life do not unravel with death; it is merely hidden now in Christ but available to us in prayer and waiting for us in God’s future.

Nevertheless, the custom of having a “word of remembrance” at the funeral Mass has seized hold in the last 30 years or so, sometimes with the grudging approval of bishops in the particular law of the diocese. This adaptation normally happens after the communion prayer and before the final commendation. Where there are guidelines, they are often ignored.  Read it all here.

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