Today the Easter Season is over and it’s the return to ordinary time: Ordinary meaning counted.
The Rev. Bosco Peters of the Aglican Communion, has a wonderful article on his site.
There is nothing “ordinary” about “Ordinary Time”. Ordinary Time is not about common, regular, mundane, or run of the mill. Ordinary Time comes from the word “ordinal” as in “ordinal numbers”. Remember your Maths: Cardinal numbers answer “how many?” “Ordinal Numbers” tell the rank, they answer “what position?” Ordinal Numbers are first, second, third, fourth, etc.
His home page has an interesting blurb on ecumenism, too. Peruse to the bottom. Today’s also the Feast of Justin, Marytr, early Father of the Church.
Il Papa Benedicto talks about the role of the Laity, an ever endearing topic:
“The Church, therefore, is not the result of a sum of individuals, but a unity among those who are nourished by the Word of God and the Bread of Life,” the Pontiff noted.
Basically, he’s reaffirming the Biblical concepts of our unity in Christ, as we’ve done for centuries. The Church is not the Clergy and the Heirarchy, it’s not the buildings: it’s the people of God, the Body of Christ living and breathing it’s vocation in the world, each one of us living out our Baptismal calling. Sweet.
In politics what isn’t happening? Is it the death of the GOP?
Senate Republicans do not need to resort to the kind of hysterical lies Ted Kennedy told about Robert Bork in 1987, nor those told by Anita Hill against Clarence Thomas in 1991. They simply need to look long and hard at this nominee’s long oral and paper trail and let her record speak for itself. If they do not — or if they do and find the kind of radical ideology Obama embraces — and then vote for her out of fear of a popular president, we should order the headstone that reads, “RIP, GOP,” for this great party will be headed for the ash heap of history, right alongside the Whigs.
As a Catholic citizen of the USA I’ve grown a bit calloused toward politics lately. I’m starting to identify more with my faith and with my spiritual beliefs than with any particular party, and even more with my Faith than with the nation. I love the USA, don’t get me wrong. But I find every side is getting more vehement. The Republicans in Congress are complete cavers. the Democrats seem to be more interested in partisan politics than any serious purpose, and Obama seems interested in complete socialization. The right wingers shriek and the left wingers shriek. There’s so much hate building up. I don’t want to take part in the hate. That being said I love my faith, and I love the USA, so … cause for further reflection. Senator Tom Coburn, writes over at Red State that:
To our founders, America was, and is, an idea that trusts individuals more than the government, and it is an idea that trusts the competition of ideas and the entrepreneurial spirit to produce a more fair and just outcome than the cold calculations of governing elites.
The dignity and life of the individual over the life of government, now that’s Catholic!
Fr. Ryan Larson’s Pentecost Homily.
Then over at Bloomberg they’re dissing the stimulus and comparing it to a sugar high. (How surprising!)
Ten Scandalous Facts about historic figures has the beta to quench the curiousity (Hitler was a tax evader, Gandi was a dirty old man…).And if you truly have nothing to do in your life…. Facebook is using Twitter!
Taking pause here, there’s a story out podnering the abuse in the Church and wondering if the abuse is Irish or is it Catholic?
Damian Thompson has a tough question to ask about the Irish abuse scandal. “How much of the abuse was Irish and how much of it was Catholic?”
“Journalists noticed (but scarcely dared point out) that” the worldwide abuse scandal “seemed concentrated among the Irish Catholic diaspora.”
He said a prominent American priest scholar agrees …
Abuse is abuse and let’s not cut corners or throw stones. Socialogically one might wonder, but seriously, if it happened in the Church, it happened and let’s deal with it and prevent it from happening again. Are we going to start pointing fingers at the Irish now?
Rick Salbato’s article on Information vs. Knowledge is right on tack. ‘Are People Stupid?” he asks. Yes. And I am in that number more often than I would prefer to be.
Enough with the information overload for today… Aside from abortionist murders and plane crashes. Peace out.