Celebrating Repentance

Did you know that in every Catholic Church there is a room dedicated to celebrating repentance? They literally take an entire space in their churches and dedicate it exclusively to embracing the prodigal son who comes home.

See! I told you so. 

Now let's think about the story of the prodigal son. The son leaves. He spends his inheritance, and finds himself in the pigsty. He comes to his senses and realizes that he must return. The son does not make amends in the pigsty. Instead, he knows he must go back to his father's house because his sin is not just against God but against his father. Sometimes we miss that fact in the parable because we are so focused on the father acting as a type for God, but the parable makes it clear that his sin is against both God and his father:

"I will arise, and will go to my father, and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee" -Luke 15:18

Last night started First Communion classes for my eldest child. The first four sessions are about Confession, and last night the priest made the point that the Church, in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, celebrates the repentant sinner. That thought really struck me as profound. Like the father in the parable of the prodigal son, the Church is literally waiting (v.20) to embrace any of her sons or daughters who have wandered away. However, that embrace is not impotent.

The Church's embrace is not impotent because she does not embrace the repentant sinner in Her own strength. As St. John records:

"He said therefore to them again: Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent me, I also send you. When he had said this, he breathed on them; and he said to them: Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained. -John 20:21-23

God breathed upon the first Adam and made him a living soul. Yet through the first Adam's disobedience, all the sons and daughters of Adam were led into destruction and death. However, the Second Adam, God the Son, breathed upon his new creation -- the Apostles -- so that through their ministry all the sons and daughters of Adam could be made alive! This ministry is not in addition to the ministry of Christ, but is precisely His ministry. You see, when a priest receives you in Confession who has received his ministry by the laying on of hands through a succession that goes back to Christ, he absolves you not under his own authority but in virtue of a gift he has received. This gift is a gift given by Christ to make all things new.

Sons of Adam, come home! 

There is a room waiting for you...

Eucharistic Reflection

People lived with God Incarnate and thought him only a nice teacher, carpenter or prophet. St. John said, though, that when we beheld Christ we beheld “the glory of the only begotten of the Father” (John 1:14). Even at the Cross, the soldiers were casting lots while the salvation of the world was happening above their heads. Do you fail to perceive the glory of God in the Eucharist? Of course, this cannot be the fault of the Eucharist; in the same way that it was not Christ’s fault that one woman touched his garment and was healed while the crowds thronged around him unfazed. Let us now consider the words of the holy ones regarding the most August Sacrament of the Altar: 

“Do grant, oh my God, that when my lips approach Yours to kiss You, I may taste the gall that was given to You; when my shoulders lean against Yours, make me feel Your scourging; when my flesh is united with Yours, in the Holy Eucharist, make me feel Your passion; when my head comes near Yours, make me feel Your thorns; when my heart is close to Yours, make me feel Your spear.” -St. Gemma Galgani

“This food we call the Eucharist, of which no one is allowed to partake except one who believes that the things we teach are true, and has received the washing for forgiveness of sins and for rebirth, and who lives as Christ handed down to us. For we do not receive these things as common bread or common drink; but as Jesus Christ our Savior being incarnate by God’s Word took flesh and blood for our salvation, so also we have been taught that the food consecrated by the Word of prayer which comes from him, from which our flesh and blood are nourished by transformation, is the flesh and blood of that incarnate Jesus.” -St. Justin Martyr

“And just as He appeared before the holy Apostles in true flesh, so now He has us see Him in the Sacred Bread. Looking at Him with the eyes of their flesh, they saw only His Flesh, but regarding Him with the eyes of the spirit, they believed that He was God. In like manner, as we see bread and wine with our bodily eyes, let us see and believe firmly that it is His Most Holy Body and Blood, True and Living. For in this way our Lord is ever present among those who believe in him, according to what He said: “Behold, I am with you all days even to the consummation of the world.” (Mt. 28, 20)” -St. Francis of Assisi

Peace to you on your journey!

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I Am Giving Up _______ For Lent...

...because what you give up should be between you and God. 

May God richly bless you during this season of Lent. May you enter into the profound mystery of the passion of our Lord, obtaining the graces you need for victory over sin, true piety and a gentle spirit.

Pray for me and I will pray for you.

Go to Mass. Get Ashes. He Does.

The Canon Made Impossible...

Most Protestants love Jesus. These Protestants are “Jesus people,” and this love for Jesus gives them something in common with Catholics. Catholics, as the people who partake of Jesus’ body, blood, soul and divinity, cannot help but be endeared to them. Enter Bart Ehrman. A seeming enemy of both Jesus-loving Protestants and Catholics alike, Ehrman and his associates attempt to “debunk” the Sacred writings that we both hold in high regard...

You can read the rest here at Called to Communion...

7 Theological Quick Takes Friday (vol. 9)

-1-

My knee surgery went very well. I'm in rehab. Here's a good analogy:

If surgery is confession, than rehab is penance. Without rehab, there is no firm resolve to allow the work of the surgery to take effect. In fact, the full affect of the surgery cannot take place without rehab.

Think about it.

Go. To. Confession.

-2-

Why do I blog? What is the purpose?

For one, I openly admit that about a year ago, I thought blogging was for narcissists. I still think it is. Who cares what I have to say after all?

One must have a purpose in whatever it is one is doing. Personal exhibition, catharsis, etc. is not enough.

I write this blog to share with you reasons why I am Catholic. I also try to re-communicate what I have learned along the way. I figure most people do not have time to read 1 billion pages of theology/philosophy, will not quit their day job for 8 months, or other kinds of extreme things I did on my journey to Catholicism. No worries. I hope to redact what I learned and give it to you in blog-size installments. Some of it will be more "scholarly" than others. No worries. We don't footnote conversations, and blogging allows for conversation style communication.

Dig it?

-3-

In one of my recent posts, I asked "where's the Protestant out-rage" over having to subsidize chemical abortions under the HHS contraception mandate.

I'm going to give credit where it's due. I've updated the post, but if anyone wants to post other links of Protestant courage in the face of despotism -- GO FOR IT!

-4-

ALERT! SHAMELESSLY PLUGGING A FRIEND'S BOOK

Why have you not bought this book yet?

BUY. IT.

Really?

Why?

Do you not like Brandon?

The Internet?

Jobless?

Homeless?

No Excuses.

Buy it and help kids in Africa...

...go on the Internet, make Power Point presentations, and start blogs exposing the plight of living in a developing country.

-5-

Back to this regularly scheduled quick takes. I have a guest post coming up at Called to Communion about the canon of Scripture (<---- live link).

Fact: Since the canon is not "in" the Scriptures, the canon is a part of the Sacred Tradition. If it is not a part of the Sacred Tradition then it is a mere tradition of men. If it is a mere tradition of men, then the canon should not be closed.

I also mention what is called the “No True Scotman” ad hoc fallacy. It goes like this:

1. All Christians are given a grace to recognize the Protestant canon
2. Brent is a Christian; he does not recognize the Protestant canon
3. Therefore, Brent is not a true Christian

If you are Protestant, how do you know the canon? Also, check out the article when it is live. I will link to it from here. Thus, consider subscribing to Almost Not Catholic.

UPDATE! Here's the link

-6-

This made me smile:

-7-

How do I feel about the Catholic Church?

For the zeal of thy house hath eaten me up: and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.- Psalm 69:9


Thanks Hallie for hosting!

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There is a Luther inside all of us...

...not this Luther

...not this one either (dang!)

...but this one!

[insert potty word]

Sorry, I know you wanted me to tell you that we all had an inner dude or dudette inside us. I wish we did. That would make us way cooler. It's a simple equation: Vandross + King, Jr = a better world. In fact, in a previous life, I had hoped that when I got to heaven I would have the voice of a soul-full black man. Maybe something like this:

That guy has an instrument in his mouth. If only we were all so lucky...

[note: please ignore the Oneness heretic at minute 1:44]

I've been Catholic for 3.5 years now. In that span of time, I have witnessed more than a few converts who went back to Protestantism. I have also witnessed more than my fair share of those who would never darken her doors. There is a common theme and by now given my title, I am sure you know where this is headed.

Worms.

What?

Mr. Verms

A steady diet of worms.

Real worms?

No, not real worms.

If you are a student of history, you know that I am referring to the Diet of Worms (pro-nounced "v-e-r-m-s" to make you sound way, like, in the know). At the Diet of Worms, Luther was pronounced a heretic and told he was getting the smack-down if he didn't come back to the fold. What happened? Looking at a phone book under the heading "churches" gives you a quick insight into how history played out. Bummer.

Though we think we are above it, we all have our wormy moments. What I mean, of course, is that we all come to a place in our lives where either the Church is right or we are right.

Church? Me? Church? Me? Church? Me?

Some leave over small things, while others over major theological issues. In almost every case for the Protestant who becomes Catholic and goes back to Protestantism, it appears that he or she imagined the Church as just the greatest protestant denomination of all time. Then, when the mental placeholder in their head was replaced by the reality of the Church, they take their toys and go home.

What do you mean there are pathetic priests?

What do you mean we only take communion under one species?

What do you mean by faith informed by agape?

The list could go on, and it does go on everyday, throughout the world, in the minds of countless who find the Church passé, outmoded or just plain wrong, dangit! But at the end of the day, all you or I or anyone is facing is their inner Luther. It is a crisis of faith. I have had it, I will admit.

I was in the Basilica in St. Louis, and Cardinal Burke was processing in. To my Protestant sensibilities the whole thing seemed a bit off, if just for a moment. Then, coming to my spiritual wits, I whispered to the Lord:

"Where can I go, you have the words of eternal life."

And so I settled down remembering that the YouTube video above would seem kind of "off " as well--as a substitute for worship--to a cradle Catholic

If the Catholic Church is the Church Jesus personally founded, then you should come into full communion with Her. Further, you should not leave her. If you leave Her, while understanding who she is, you leave Christ. Moreover, as a son of the Church, you should listen to her as your teacher. You should submit when you have your "Luther-an" moment.

Church? Me? Church? Me? Church? Me?

A: Church

Or you might end up like Luther saying things like:

"Who would have begun to preach, if we had known beforehand that so much unhappiness, tumult, scandal, blasphemy, ingratitude, and wickedness would have been the result?" [Walch. VIII. 564]

or

"Under the Pope, people were very fervent in building churches . . . Now that the true religion is taught, and that the people are properly instructed concerning good works, everybody is cold, so much so that we cannot help being surprised at it." [Walch. VI. 1211]

(ht: D. Armstrong)

You might also like:

Don't Be Catholic...


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Even Chris Matthews Gets Catholicism

I often hear it lodged against the Catholic Church that her unity is only skin dip, that her ranks are full of dissidents and that she is just like the Protestant ecclesial communities--only with a facade of hegemonic control. I have read this complaint more than once. I admit that the Catholic Church is full of sinners. She is the genius behind the modern hospital system because She was and still is the original hospital...

...of souls. 

This problem is exacerbated because most Christians sects form as a kind of rigorist response to some perceived evil: anywhere from card playing to short-shorts. Others develop out of a deep sense of personal agreement over some social concern, while others form around a shared theological interest that will mark their marquee: Pentecostal, Baptist, Methodist, etc. All that to say, all of them form out of a common agreement and thus their members share a cultic resemblance. Their lock-step behavior seems much more 'unified' than the diversity one can find in Catholicism. Even the one's who declare their doors to be "wide open" are rather homogeneously granola--if you get my meaning.

Recently, our president decided to kick the Catholic Church in the teeth. He then asked them to pay for the dental work. In the video below, pay close attention to what is said at minute 1:04-1:20. Chris Matthews notes that all of the dissenting Catholics, in this moment when the Catholic Church teaches what seems to be so backward to the modern man, understand what Catholicism is all about:

HT: Chelsea Zimmerman

What. The. Church. Teaches. 

This is no argument that what, in fact, she teaches is true. However, it is an argument that proves that even dissenters know they are dissenting in the Catholic Church. Catholic unity is found in the unity of truth--not in the unity of common held opinion. It's reason #2, I'm Catholic. (here's reason #1)

Yet, why do dissenters stay?

Well, like her founder, Judas's have a way of sticking around for the ride. That's just how we roll.

You might also like:

"When Church Shopping Makes Sense"


"Three Reasons Why Jesus Would Be Rejected"


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HHS and "Products of Conception"

Almost 7 years ago, my wife and I made the harrowing drive from our home to a hospital. Only 3 months before, our hearts were filled with joy beyond compare. We were to be new parents! Our jejune marriage was being blessed with a child–something that seemed à propos given our recent and quiet stoppage of chemical contraception.

We were thrilled.

At around 10 weeks, we went in for a check-up and ultra-sound. Lying in my wife’s womb was a beautiful child. She looked peaceful, restful, but to our horror we learned that she was too restful. In fact, she was dead.

Click here to read the rest at Ignitum Today.

Apostolic Succession is as Easy as WWJD

In Scripture, we are given a record of Jesus handing off his authority to His Apostles. What were his Apostles to imply from this act? That the kingdom would die upon their death? Do we have one word from Christ instructing them to “write down this Gospel so it might be the ‘sole rule of faith’”? No, not at all. Instead, they did what he did. They passed off their ministry to successors. That is why St. Paul says in 2 Timothy 3:14:

“But continue thou in those things which thou hast learned, and which have been committed to thee: knowing of whom thou hast learned them.”

I imagine the scene like this:

[moments after the Ascension]

Apostle A: "What are we going to do?"

Apostle B: "Write a book!"

Apostles C: "Bad idea. Too costly. Not enough people can read. Plus, did anybody notice Jesus writing anything down?"

Apostle E: "Nice point, Apostle C."

Apostle F: "What would Jesus do?" (peering down at his bracelet)

Apostle G: "I remember Jesus saying, 'Peace be to you. As the Father hath sent me, I also send you.' Maybe we should do that?

Apostle B: "Do what?"

Apostle F: "Pass our ministry off to successors. Send them. Duh."

And So They Did...

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Taut This!

—from "Honor Societies," in xkcd.

What is a tautology?

I get tired of tautologies. Taut this, taut that. They are unfalsifiable since they are ways of simply saying the same thing twice. Here's a few examples:

1. Skinny people are thin.

2. Good tasting ice cream is ice cream and good tasting.

3. Those in heaven were saved.

Let's look at this last one more closely. A few months ago, I entered the combox with a gentlemen who makes a claim close to this one. I've read versions of it elsewhere, and it is one that is impossible to argue against because the premise is false.

If someone gets to heaven, obviously, they are saved. Who can argue against that? Thus, the proposition "Those in heaven are saved" is a true and accurate description of a future state of affairs. However, what one cannot adduce from this proposition is anything regarding the state of affairs of someone now, nor does it follow from either the premise--which virtually contains the conclusion (hence a tautology)--that the conclusion can bear on any present judgment.

In other words, I cannot use this proposition to "prove" anything about right now. I cannot use it as a measure by which to either include or exclude any description of any present state of affairs. In plain English:

To say that "everyone who finishes a race finishes the race" doesn't tell me anything about who finished the race in relationship to who started the race.

"Brent, why are you writing about this on your blog? What does this have to do with theology or Catholicism?"

Good question. It has everything to do with the pernicious heresy of "Once Saved, Always Saved" (OSAS). This doctrine says that once you "accept Jesus", "put your faith in Christ", etc. you will never fall away. You can never fall away. If you start a race, you will finish it. This idea sounds familiar, doesn't it? It should. But to those who affirm OSAS, the wrong Scripture passage comes to mind. They think:

"Being confident of this very thing, that he, who hath begun a good work in you, will perfect it unto the day of Christ Jesus" -Philippians 1:6

When they should be thinking about:

"Wherefore, my dearly beloved, (as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but much more now in my absence,) with fear and trembling work out your salvation. For it is God who worketh in you, both to will and to accomplish, according to his good will. And do ye all things without murmurings and hesitations; <-----That you may be blameless, and sincere children of God, without reproof, in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation; among whom you shine as lights in the world. Holding forth the word of life to my glory in the day of Christ, because I have not run in vain, nor laboured in vain."-Philippians 2:12-16

"Not as though I has already attained, or were already perfect; but I follow after, if I may by any means apprehend, wherein I am also apprehended by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended. But one thing I do: forgetting the things that are behind, and stretching forth myself to those that are before, I press towards the mark, to the prize of the supernal vocation of God in Christ Jesus."-Philippians 3:12-14

The beauty of Sacred Scripture is that every non-Catholic interpretation of a given passage is usually proceeded or preceded by a number of passages that make the previous rendering nearly impossible. Saying that "the elect will be in heaven" does little good for us down here on earth. St. Paul makes it explicitly clear that we should not presume as to that which we have obtained. The prize is yet still before us. We press on towards it.

We should be confident, but confidence is not the same as sure knowledge. When speaking about our own salvation, that is pride. Such a stance toward salvation leads to a "not-so-certain certainty". But, I've already covered that.

Peace to you on your journey

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The Other Scandal of HHS (UPDATED!)

 Is that Protestants are not scandalized by it too. I know, I know, some Evangelicals and Jews have told the White House "we support Catholics". That's dope. [pause. fist bump] However, for the Evangelicals, I think saying "let them Catholics be Catholics" ain't enough. It's not like the White House has said:

"All Catholics must no longer hold to the dogma of the Immaculate Conception."

If they did, I get what the Evangelicals would be doing.

Evangelicals:

The new inalienable right

"Hey, we don't believe that Mary was born sinless, but no government can tell someone they can't?  That's the evangelical way, by gollie. It is your God-given right to believe whatever the heck you wanna believe. Sure we don't agree with the Catholics, but let em' go on doing their thing."

But, that is not what this whole thing is about.

The HHS mandate is not about the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception (IC). It's about the doctrine of the Compulsory Contraception (CC). Unlike the IC, the content found in the doctrine of CC (contraception) is something all Protestants disbelieved for most of Protestant history. Moreover, what's at stake here is not just the Protestant's right of conscience to believe that spraying pesticides on their reproductive organs is their God-given right. No, it is about the right to life, and that is a cause we still share in common. I think. You see, the HHS mandate is not just about rubbers--its about morning after pills. It's about abortafacient drugs; and the lack of Protestant personal and institutional outrage is an about-face to their historic stance for life.

Q: Is this one of the logical ramifications of systemically accepting the spaying and neutering of entire Christian denominations? I'm not sure I can answer that question, but it is a question that interests me and one worth considering.

You may be thinking that I am coming down too harsh. You Catholics always have something to say about what other people are doing. Leave us "Occupy Rome: 491 Years and Counting"-ers  alone. But in my case, I'm a former Protestant of only a few years ago, and I find this issue to be quite personal. I've found myself asking myself:

"Self. Do Protestant employers not care if they have to subsidize chemical abortions?"

Wait a minute Brent, no one is forcing anyone to use contraception.

Not being forced to use contraception is about as
relevant to the HHS debate as a free hat to Colorado

That's a non sequitur. No one is arguing that. The doctrine of the CC is not about compulsory use. It's about compulsory payment. It's about using a gulag-esque power to coerce those--whose consciences reject the use of contraceptions--to pay for the very thing their conscience prohibits. Worse yet, for those that want to use contraception, "preventative services" or other euphemized products or procedures, the buck is passed. Liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and the right to prevent life are the new "inalienables", and those that still believe in "life" at that beginning of that string of rights are forced to foot the bill for the society nouveau. That is the doctrine of the Compulsory Contraception.

So again I ask, where is the Protestant--of any ilk--outrage? Not outrage over the principle of "general religious freedom" or fear that the government might control the millions of "para-church" ministries in the evangelical world, but about the principle that they have to foot the bill for chemical abortions.

Where is it?

Somebody, please point me to it.

Please.

I'm outraged, not as a Catholic, but as a former Protestant. Help this former Protestant believe, again, in the virtues of his Protestant separated brothers or for goodness sake (literally) become Catholic.

Then again, you could always just become Catholic either way.

Update: Rick Warren: You. Da. Man.


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Guest Post: R.U. Reedy is Back!

Pastor RU Reedy at the New-Year Episcopal

Preach Off Competition--2nd place 

I've invited my old friend Pastor Reedy back to Almost Not Catholic. For those who don't remember, Pastor R.U. Reedy leads a flock at Volt Church, a ministry of Engage Outreach International, a subsidiary of PowerHouse, Inc: wholly owned and operated by OnFire.usa. He has a knack for story-telling and the homiletical spin. For us lay people that means he can get his "preach on".

What's up! I'm shocked that Brent let me back on here. Despite his best efforts, I heard (from my assistant pastor of online Catholic outreach) at least three people made a commitment to Je-hey-sus from my last guest post. Some of them repented from Mary worship, having statues of virgins in their houses, religiously eating Wendy's fish sandwiches on Fridays and a few other man-made traditions. That'll show the devil. 

Can I get an "Amen" up in here? 

[my hands are "raisin' the roof"]

This is the Greatest Obstacle
to God Working in Your Life

I got to testify. So put on your Holy Ghost seat belt, I'm going to take your spirit on a ride you may never forget. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. Forget about your flesh, just sit back, unplug your totally depraved mind, and let the spirit take control. 

You see, the other day over a fish sandwich at Wendy's, I was talking to our Associate Pastor of Online, 5 and under, Children's Ministry. We were discussing how to really reach out to children--5 and under--on the world-wide-web. In my prayer closet, I felt that God told me that kids were into surfing the net. Lucky for me, this associate pastor runs the online worship service for this business unit segment of my ministry. In our time together, we both felt that God told us that "children's church" was the "old manna". God had moved past the "old wine" of pulling children out of service with their parents and putting them into a playpen service of their own. Children no longer "played together". My children's ministry staff told me that they simply could not medicate keep the children still enough to teach them basic Bible stories. We had even purchased a carousel to keep them "spinning for Jesus". At first, it was a big hit. However, it became a real safety liability. Kids were falling off because they were staring down at their iPods Bibles, and weren't focusing on keeping saddled on their "holy horses"--as we called them. 

Anyways, so our first move was to move the 5 and under worship service to Facebook. It was a simple integration for our Senior Pastor of Facebook evangelization, and we knew the kids had the devices to "be there". Then we found out that 5 year olds are not suppose to be on Facebook. So we pulled the plug and developed a website where children can customize their worship experience. They get to pick their favorite three songs, skit, printable coloring page, and 2 minute sermonette. It is in Spanish and English so we can reach out to Catholics everyone in the community.

Sola Deo Gloria!

The results? We our now reaching children, 5 and under, on 8 continents, in 37 languages, and some of their parents have signed up for our e-news letter. Oh yeah, they don't even know the good things that God has in store for them.

[you can now buy the R.U. Reedy Study Bible, online! Only three easy payments of $19.99. Every R.U. Reedy study Bible comes personally signed by R.U. Reedy himself! No Stamps. No Stickers. Just Pastor R.U. Reedy's authentic, anointed handwriting, whereby you can join your faith with his to expect God to give you everything you ever dreamed. Also, every Bible comes with one blank page between every page in the Bible where you can add your personal tradition of men make copious notes as R.U. Reedy teaches you the word of God]

I hear you Catholics debate a lot about your worship? Maybe you should take a lesson out of my playbook. Just sayin. Proofs in the pudding.

Nice job!
picture from "Chemin Neuf"

This guest post was inspired by various experiences in Protestant churches and, embarrassingly, some discussions I've seen about "worship" in the Catholic Church.

7 Theological Quick Takes Friday: Twitter Edition! (vol. 8)

-1-

So, I joined Twitter (a few months ago), and now I kind of like it. I like it for a number of reasons:

1. I find good stuff to read
2. I can "spam" trolls or pervs
3. It makes presidential debates entertaining in spite of the moderators
4. Jim Gaffigan

Don't know anything about Jim Gaffigan? Start out with this:

-2-

But, of course, now I know you are wondering how this is a "theological" Quick Takes. Slow down. For starters, laughter "makes the medicine go down" (Proverbs 17:22, *NRRP). For that use of a Scripture verse in response to a near-sighted whine, I earn the right to skip to #3.

-3-

One of the things I like to do on Twitter is share prayers. The "new evangelization" and evangelization in general must flow from a life of prayer. You cannot give what you do not have. We meet God in prayer. He meets us in the Sacraments. Prayer and the Sacraments play a dynamic role in the life of the Christian. Notice where the Catechism places prayer: after the Sacraments.

In other words: God initiates the conversation. 

Nonetheless, we must speak.

Conversion requires prayer. Becoming Catholic is not for the faint at heart. Many times, some make out Catholicism as something for the "intellectual" only--the erudite club who can read Aristotelian metaphysics while copy editing Newman's Apologia over a scotch. However, nothing could be further from the truth. While I will admit that many intellectuals find the Catholic Church home, She is equally pregnant with what an east-coast socialite might call "the help". People like us. Normal folk. 

-4-

In #3, you saw that I was "retweeted" by someone. In this case, I retweeted "Fr. George Mabura"--a Catholic priest from Kenya who has about 9,400 more "Followers" than me. I have amassed 343 followers.

[you cannot see me right now, but I am flexing my social media muscles (SMM) in front of an electronic device turned off. I thought it would act like a mirror. I don't see anything]

-5-

What I do not like about Twitter:

1. The irrationality of how and/or why certain hash-tags "trend"(e.g., #applesthatusedtomakemedance)
2. People telling me stuff that makes me "un-follow" them
3. Bad speelling
4. Bad links
5. The mobile app not always talking to my other apps perfectly (inhibiting me from sharing via email something I found that was interesting)
6. Waa, waa, waa, waa...

Give me a break: it's free, fun, and easy to use. We are so spoiled in this technocratic civilization.

-6-

And here are my two favorite tweets, I've tweeted (awkward conjugation string):

-7-

So, that's all I've got. [lack of segue] Speaking of prayer (from above), I would appreciate your prayers. The contributors to Undoing Babel are turning in their first drafts of their stories. I'm going to be busy for the next few months. I'll be going in for surgery next week on my knee (minor). The requisite bed-rest should give me plenty of seconds to edit. Also...

...consider doing 3 things:

1. Following me on Twitter
2. Telling your friends to follow me
3. Telling me why you like or don't like Twitter in the combox

Thanks Hallie for hosting!

*NRRP = New Really Relevant Paraphrase

Catholic Dads On Tap: Creed-less Christianity?

Devin and I were at it again! Here's the skinny:

• We discuss Christians who think creeds are passé
• Offer you a "lightning apologetics" moment
• Finish up with a discussion about "what to watch for" in RCIA

ENJOY!

You can subscribe to the podcast here.