Nurseries

Why are Evangelical Protestant communities more likely to provide better nursery resources than a Catholic parish?

This is because the primary sacrament in these communities is the reception of propositional truth under the form of Preaching.  Young children can be distractions, often making it virtually impossible to receive this sacrament fully. 

However, in Catholic parishes, the primary sacrament is the Holy Eucharist, and it is rare that a young child will block its reception.  Good luck hearing the homily, however.

St. Dominic and the Albigensians

In Josef Pieper's Guide to Thomas Aquinas, he describes St. Dominic's response to the Albigensian movement.  From what I understand, Dominic acknowledged many of their criticisms and sought to address them in his own order.

This paragraph and quote from Wikipedia explains the idea:

In 1208 Dominic encountered the papal legates returning in pomp to Rome, foiled in their attempt to crush the growing sect. To them he administered his famous rebuke: "It is not by the display of power and pomp, cavalcades of retainers, and richly-houseled palfreys, or by gorgeous apparel, that the heretics win proselytes; it is by zealous preaching, by apostolic humility, by austerity, by seeming, it is true, but by seeming holiness. Zeal must be met by zeal, humility by humility, false sanctity by real sanctity, preaching falsehood by preaching truth."

I enjoy Catholic apologetics, but I'm more interested in the heart changes behind apologetics.  What makes someone first open to even considering Catholicism as remotely plausible?  It's very unlikely that a Protestant will give Catholic arguments the time of day if every Catholic he's ever met has been apathetic, prideful, ignorant, and/or unholy.  Which is exactly the case with so many encounters between the two groups today!

Here are two ways Protestants might start giving Catholic views a chance:

1.  They meet a Catholic who seriously challenges their paradigm.
2.  They begin to seriously doubt a doctrine unique to Protestantism.

Number 2 happened to me first and got me far enough where 1 wasn't as much of an issue.

Anglican Use in Kansas City Update

Fr. Ernie Davis, a former Episcopalian priest received under the Pastoral Provision, is helping to facillate the reception of some local Anglicans into full communion. He sends this note:

St. Therese parish and our welcome to Episcopalians and Anglicans will be the topic of an interview to be broadcast September 8 at 4pm on KEXS Catholic Talk 1090. Spread the word.

Something About Myself I May Have Just Learned From Blog Reading

I can be pretty curmudgeonly.  But then I hear or read someone else acting like a curmudgeon.  It doesn't usually confirm my beliefs, but has the opposite effect and makes me want to be positive, upbeat, and give people and ideas the benefit of the doubt.

Chad Is Old Enough

Disturbing.

Fitness Update

Last night ran 6 miles non-stop with no mp3 player.  I think I fried both of ours (they were cheapos, but still) by running without a shirt and soaking them in sweat.  If anyone has recommendation of some cheap ones on sale (< $30), let me know.

Weighed in this morning at 181.  I had been hovering around 184 for the last month (which included a vacation with multiple Waffle House and Krystal stops), so it's nice to break that plateau.

Anglican Use In Kansas City?

For those that don't know, what is Anglican Use?

This is gonna be sweet!

http://www.anglicanuse.org/olh.html
http://www.ourladyofhopesociety.org/

And from Fr. Bergman of the St. Thomas More Society:

. . .I received a call the same week from a fellow Pastoral Provision priest, Fr. Ernie Davis. Fr. Davis lives and serves in Kansas City, Missouri, where a group of Anglicans has recently requested to be reconciled to Mother Church, while retaining elements of their Anglican heritage that are consistent with Catholic faith and practice. That is, they have asked for the Anglican Use Mass. Fr. Davis, aware of what we have done here in Scranton, has asked that I come out to Kansas City to preach and make a presentation to help get this new Anglican Use community off the ground. For now, it looks like I'll make the trip out in the first week of October. Please keep this group and Fr. Davis in your prayers, and give thanks to God for the honor He has bestowed on us in allowing our Society to play a role in reconciling another group to the Holy See.

Gilson on Glory

God creates, not that there may be witnesses to render Him His due glory, but beings who shall rejoice in it as He rejoices in it Himself and who, participating in His being, participate at the same time in His beatitude. It is not therefore for Himself, but for us, that God seeks His glory; it is not to gain it, for He possesses it already, nor to increase it, for already it is perfect, but to communicate it to us.

- Etienne Gilson (Spirit of Mediaeval Philosophy, 112)

Coming Soon From Amazon, etc.

	1	"Love Alone Is Credible" Hans Urs von Balthasar; Paperback; $10.17   Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC
	1	"The Meaning of Tradition" Yves Congar; Paperback; $10.17   Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC
	1	"The Salvation Controversy" James Akin; Paperback; $10.36   Sold by: Amazon.com, LLC

	1	"First Glance At Thomas Aquinas: Philosophy" Ralph McInerny; Paperback; $4.35   Sold by: internationalbooks
	1	"Parenting With Grace: Catholic Parent's Guide to Raising Almost Perfect Kids" Gregory K. Popcak; Paperback; $1.74

Lillian at the Beach

More here.

Viscosity of Warm Butter

If you like funny things.

Random Updates

Got back from a nice vacation in Florida this past Monday. Good times
on the beach and with the kids and my wife. Brendan loved the sand
and the ocean. He also had no fear making friends with kids and
adults that had cooler toys than he. He played with their sand toys,
their dogs, their bocci balls, their longboard skateboards. Lillian
was cute as always, but preferred to be left unstained by the sand and
water.

The last few days we were there, some good friends of ours who now
live in SC visited with us. I got to spend the late evenings with my
best friend, drinking beer, talking Catholicism, and visiting the
Waffle House at 2 AM. He wants to become a Catholic, but has some
hurdles like so many of us. Please keep him in your prayers.

Our beers for the weekend were:

1. Fosters - My wife got it for me at the grocery store in FL..
Hadn't had it in years. Decent.
2. Ice House - This is cheap, American lager. No it doesn't taste as
good as a German or Czech Pils, but for the price, it's one of my
favorite "compromise beers" for us poor folk. I used to get it fairly
regularly when I lived in Illinois and didn't feel like paying for
Warsteiner, etc. I haven't seen it here in KC, MO, so it's been a
while since I've had it. Enjoyed.
3. Samuel Smith - my friend recommended this on the final night when
we decided to each get a single, large bottle from those exotic racks.
Tasty!

I ate a lot of crap while on vacation, but didn't overdo it too badly.
I'm the same weight I was when I left. I did get 3 runs in, one of
which was barefoot on the beach, which did weird things to my feet,
ankle, and leg muscles.

Then yesterday, I ran Week 10 of podrunner's 8K series. I didn't
verify the distance, but it should be an approx. 5 miles, non-stop,
50-min run. I had some knee pain towards the end, but hopefully that
goes away as I get used to the distance.

I also found out that the Kansas City Kansas' diocese's young adults
group meets for ultimate frisbee every Monday at a nearby park, so I'm
looking forward to joining that. I haven't played a sport like that
in years. Good chance to try out this new body! lol. And to
challenge myself with something that isn't just plain endurance, but
requires bursts of speed, etc.

Chad In Florida - A Retrospective

2006 Vacation:

2008 Vacation: