Blog Roll

Along with a general blog update, I'm asking other bloggers to invite me around to their place with a view to adding a link in my blogroll. I've been around to The Crescat's place today.

It's great fun and worth a look in. Lots of humor, great churchy pictures and all with an Eastern Orthodox slant.

 Standing on My Head is in second place. Watch out Fr. Z!

Interview with a Romanian Monk

Bewdiful. From Fr Ray Blake via the Crescat.

Never Fear...

...Underdog is here.

Everybody loves an Underdog, vote for Standing on My Head in the Weblog awards.

Weblog Award Update

Yesterday Standing on My Head moved from fourth to take a solid third place, and late this morning EST we moved into second by twenty or so votes. Fr.Z is way out in front though, with a margin of over 700 votes. Remember to vote again today! Just click on the logo and vote for Standing on My Head.

No Such Thing as a Bus

The Daily Telegraph reports that the atheists have now raised enough cash to buy their own messages on London busses.

This seems very appropriate to me. You wait and wait for a bus, and soon you start thinking there is no such thing as a bus. People have told you there are these wonderful things called busses that whisk you off to the land of your dreams, but they are all deluded, sad people who have been brainwashed. 

I have visions of the Almighty-- in long shabby robes and a long shaggy beard roaming the streets of London with a sandwich board saying, "There's probably no bus, now stop worrying and enjoy yourself."

 Vote Early. Vote Often

Good for the Soul

For an arrogant guy like me it's good for the soul to get beaten in chess by this guy. He's our youngest: ten year old Elias. He often beats me in the best out of three. The little stinker.

 You can vote once every 24 hours. Keep them coming!

Catholic Worship

(Click to Enlarge)

What you see pictured here is something called Catholic Worship. This is an ancient form of Christian worship that everyone thought was going to die out, but it is making a comeback.

Catholic worship is characterized by a God-centered act of devotion rather than a people centered act of fellowship. It is focussed on a corporate act of sacrifice offered by a priest rather than a corporate act of togetherness offered by a 'gathering leader'. Catholic worship focusses on a supernatural transaction that takes place between God and human beings. This transaction is called 'redemption' or 'salvation'. It was accomplished by the death of Jesus Christ on the cross two thousand years ago.

Through this corporate ritual that is two thousand years old the priest brings the once for all sacrifice of Jesus Christ into the present moment and applies its benefits to the church and the world.

This is not something you will find at the local community church.

 Standing on My Head is edging upward. Watch out Fr. Z! Now what would be nice is if all you other bloggers out there were to join my campaign and tell your readers about the competition and get them to sign in and suggest that they vote for Standing on My Head. 

Right Deed Wrong Reason

Pretty hideous crucifix right? This hung outside a 1960s Anglican Church and the vicar has had it removed. Good decision. However, click here for the crazy comments that surround the decision.

The vicar took it down not because it was hideously modern and simply bad art. He took it down because it was scaring the kiddies. I admit, it looks like some sort of spooky creature from the Sci Fi movie, Signs, but did the vicar replace it with a beautiful crucifix? No, he replaced it with a newly designed modern polished steel cross without a corpus because it would be a 'symbol of hope and positive thinking and nurture self esteem' or some such nonsense.

One of the parishioners objected to the removal because, get this, "it was another nail in the coffin of traditional Christianity to remove a corpus from the cross." I get her reasoning, sort of, but the point is that this gruesome corpus was not an example of traditional Christianity to start with.

I'm tempted to start an image series of the most awful representations of the crucifixion. We Catholics have ours too, but they're usually sentimental rather than gruesome. What about that one where Jesus reaches up from the cross to release a dove?

 UPDATE: Standing on My Head just inched into third place! Click on the logo to vote now, and remember you can vote once every 24 hours. Why not join in the fun and circulate an email asking friends to vote? Encourage them to read the blog too of course.

Dogmatists and Doubters

There are two types of people who are like two madmen strapped together back to back. They are the dogmatist and the doubter. The dogmatist is the person who has reduced his religion to dogma. This person has everything worked out. He has all the rules and regulations and rubrics in place. He knows all the moral regulations and restrictions. Every 'i' is dotted. Every 't' is crossed. He not only knows it all, but he knows that he knows it all. Don't get me wrong. I'm not opposed to dogma, but religion is more than dogma, not less, and the dogmatist has boiled it all down to the rule book.

The doubter seems to be the opposite of the dogmatist. He takes pride in debunking everything and doubting all verities. He has no time for the revelation, the rules, the restrictions, the rubrics and the regulations. He does not believe in God. He despises religion. He doubts spiritual realities. He debunks dogma, scorns sacraments, castigates the clergy and repudiates prayer. The doubter doubts everything, but never doubts himself. In this respect his belief system is as watertight and impermeable as the dogmatists.

Both the dogmatist and the doubter take refuge in their neat and tidy, self made and self defended little fortress. Both feel safe and secure, and both are just as locked tight in their own hypocrisy and narrow mindedness.

The true believer, on the other hand, takes what is good of all things and reconciles them. In other words, the true believer is both a dogmatist and a doubter. He believes in his dogma, but not as an end in itself, but as a means to an end. He knows he needs dogma, but not to bolster his defense system, but as a map for his journey. The true believer relies on dogma as a man relies on a ladder--as a tool to help him climb. As a result, he spends time making sure the dogmas is right as a man check the ladder for broken rungs before he climbs. However, he does not mistake the ladder for the climb. The former serves the latter (if you'll excuse the pun)

The true believer is also somewhat of a doubter--in fact he is a more radical doubter than any secular doubter for he doubts the very foundation of belief that the secular doubter takes for granted: he doubts himself. The true believer doubts his own perceptions and perspectives. He has learned that he is a product of a particular upbringing and set of assumptions. He is the product of a particular culture and a particular age and a particular mix of genetics. The true believer doubts himself most of all because he has learned that there is more in the world than himself, and he has accepted that most shocking truth of all--the truth that mortals dare not contemplate lest their universe disintegrates--that he is not the center of the universe.

The true believer trusts his dogma because it points beyond dogma, and he doubts himself because his self does not point beyond anything at all. The two together enable him to look beyond himself to that force called Love--the force by which all things were created and hold together, the force that 'moves the Sun and the other stars' a force which his dogma tells him took human form and was reflected in the movement of the stars, affected the movement of human history and effected an everlastingly new transaction between God and Man.
update: Standing on My Head is neck and neck for third place. Vote now!

Weblog Award Update

Fr.Z really is the ultimate blog award winner machine. He's way ahead so far, and we need your votes!

Did you know that you can vote once every 24 hours! Voting closes a week from today, so if you read this blog daily, then click on the embedded logo that I'll put in each blog post and vote again.

If you send me your email address I will share the $25 million prize money between all readers.

Married Priests?

Mrs. Longenecker has an inadvertently ironic news headline clipped out and stuck to the fridge. It comes from a Catholic paper and says, "Married clergy Argue for Celibacy from Personal Experience".


As a married former Anglican priest who is now a Catholic I sometimes hear Catholics say things like, "Excellent, and it's about time too! I hope all our priests could marry. That would solve a lot of the problems."

What they mean is that relaxing the celibacy rule will solve the priest shortage, solve the problems of pedophile priests, solve the problem of loneliness and 'difficult' celibate priests.


I can tell you from being in a church with married clergy that you would only exchange one set of problems for another. Here's a story from England about a married priest who ran off with his female assistant. I am not relishing the problems outlined in this article, nor am I tut tutting and pointing the finger at the Anglicans.


I'm simply pointing out that having married clergy would not necessarily solve any problems.


Marriage has problems too. It was all best summed up by an old Irish priest I met in England. "What do you think Father," I said, "About all of us married men becoming Catholic priests?"


"Well," he said with a twinkle in his eye, "I expect sometimes we'll be jealous of you...and then again, I expect sometimes you'll be jealous of us."

Ancient Christian Commentaries

I was delighted this evening when the UPS man arrived with my order from Amazon. Six volumes of the Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture. It comes in twenty eight volumes, so I bought the ones dealing with the gospels first of all.

The ACCS is an ambitious project involving Biblical scholars from the three 'great traditions' of Christianity: Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Reformed. The idea is that we can all share in those writers from the first eight centuries of the Church since they were all living before any of the great divides. There are several other exciting aspects to this project. First of all, the editors seem to agree that it is the end of the line for modern 'scientific' scholarship i.e. form criticism, historico-critical method and that other baloney. The results of that scholarship have been mostly negative and have done little to inspire the faithful or unlock the deeper meanings of Scripture.

Unless you were willing to take refuge in fundamentalism, however, there seemed little option. A return to the patristic period of Biblical commentary is an exciting and refreshing way forward--not neglecting the good and valuable modern scholarship, but recognizing that it was mostly ignorant of (and often despising) the commentary of the Fathers. This return is also very high tech. With impressive computer search technology the scholars have been able to scour huge amounts of ancient material in the original languages to find the references in the ancient writings to the various pericopes of Scripture. Computer search functions have telescoped the time and manpower spent on such a huge project into a fraction otherwise expected, while up to date publishing technology has made the project affordable for any pastor or lay Bible student.

I came across the series on the shelves of a parishioner who is a mathematics professor at Furman University. He was buying the set on subscription as each new volume came out. Tom told me about the project and I was immediately impressed.

I cracked open the first volume on Matthew this evening and read the introduction. I'm looking forward to using them for my preaching preparation so there can be a bit more content in my homilies rather than my own second and third hand random thoughts.

Capitalism and the Cardinal

Cardinal Cormac  Murphy O'Connor, head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales has said that capitalism has collapsed. Much has been made over the observation from Pope John Paul II that there were two materialistic, atheistic systems in world power: communism and unrestrained capitalism. Cardinal Murphy O'Connor seems to be echoing those sentiments by suggesting that, just as communism tumbled, so now capitalism (because of the credit crunch) is crumbling.

The remark has got him into hot water with the UK government, who, like many governments are trying to appear calm in the midst of the worst economic meltdown since the depression. The further irony is that the Cardinal made his comments at a posh fund raising dinner to which the richest and most influential Catholics in Britain were invited to cough up funds for the British Bishops...but if the Cardinal's words are true, then maybe they were just the ones to hear the message. 

It might have done their souls some good, even if it wasn't the wisest remark at a fund raising dinner replete with plenty of fat cat capitalists.

Vote Now!

It only takes a moment to click on the logo and vote for Standing on My Head. Fr.Z already has an impressive lead, so come on folks!

Other things you can do to help the vote: blog about the contest and get others to vote. Vote on every computer you have access to. Send a round robin and get friends to vote. (You might also use it as a chance to recommend the blog and consider it a form of evangelization) Unless of course, you consider such ballot box stuffing to be unsporting!

St John Neumann

Today is the memorial of St John Neumann, the great Bishop of Philadelphia. Here's a link to his shrine. Damian Thompson's blog links to Fr Blake in Brighton who has criticized the English Bishops. After waiting ten years in England to be ordained, and having nothing happen, I tend to be sympathetic. I could say a good bit myself about episcopal incompetence, lack of imagination, mediocrity, corruption and idiocy. Worst of all, (as Fr Blake points out) is what seems to be a complete lack of the Catholic faith in their ministry. The ones I'm thinking about are all about making the world a better place and being nice to one another. Wonderful aims to be sure, but the Catholic faith is something more than that.

But why spend time criticizing the bishops? What good does it do? All it does is spread discontent and division and tempt people to detraction and gossip. In thinking about the life of St John Neumann it struck me that in every age there are very few bishops who are courageous, saintly, pure and learned. In every age Bishops have been seduced by the Spirit of the Age, they've compromised, been corrupt, betrayed the faithful at worst, and at least they've been shallow, confused careerists, mediocre men who mistake ecclesiastical promotion for holiness. But at the same time, in every age, God has raised up great bishops: quiet, holy and strong men who are the true shepherds of his people. We should focus on the good ones and accept the bad with a spirit of forgiveness.

For do not the bishops simply represent the whole church? If they are mediocre, vain, corrupt and confused, aren't we all? Are they any different from the Apostles themselves?--some great saints, others minor saints, and among them a Judas and ambitious James and John and Peter who denied the Lord? The whole church is a collection of sinners. Why should the bishops as a group be different?

The call is for each one of us in our own vocation and calling to be the courageous, learned, noble and true Christians we wish the bishops to be. I want to be a saint, and my own broken down, stumbling attempt at this goal is not furthered by pointing out that others too have fallen.

Podcasts Have Started

Check posts printed in blue for the first two podcasts of homilies from St Mary's.

Pope Benedict is Failing Fast

Because he only attracts 2.2 million pilgrims a year instead of 2.8. CMR comments on a report from the Time of London here.

Feed Me...

...Feed me now. Go here to subscribe to my feed. It's just been updated with Feedburner and should send you regular updates as well as my the new podcast feature with my sermons from ST Mary's, Greenville.

Fr Newman on the Epiphany

(Click to enlarge)

Fr Newman's parish bulletin letter this week is especially good. He gives an explanation of the Solemnity of the Epiphany, the history of the feast, and how it links with both the Nativity and and the Baptism of the Lord--all of them being part of the same manifestation of Christ the Light of the World. Read it here.

T.S.Eliot (RIP)

Today is the forty third anniversary of the death of T.S.Eliot

Did you know he conducted a friendly correspondence with Groucho Marx? They were mutual admirers. They met once and discussed jokes, poetry, cats and cigars.

Journey of the Magi

Eliot wrote this in 1927--just after his baptism. 

A cold coming we had of it,
Just the worst time of the year
For a journey, and such a long journey:
The ways deep and the weather sharp,
The very dead of winter.
And the camels galled, sore-footed, refractory,
Lying down in the melting snow.
There were times when we regretted
The summer palaces on slopes, the terraces,
And the silken girls bringing sherbet.
Then the camel men cursing and grumbling
And running away, and wanting their liquor and women,
And the night-fires going out, and the lack of shelters,
And the cities dirty and the towns unfriendly
And the villages dirty and charging high prices:
A hard time we had of it.
At the end we preferred to travel all night,
Sleeping in snatches,
With the voices singing in our ears, saying
That this was all folly.

Then at dawn we came down to a temperate valley,
Wet, below the snow line, smelling of vegetation;
With a running stream and a water mill beating the darkness,
And three trees on the low sky,
And an old white horse galloped away in the meadow.
Then we came to a tavern with vine-leaves over the lintel,
Six hands at an open door dicing for pieces of silver,
And feet kicking the empty wineskins.
But there was no information, and so we continued
And arrived at evening, not a moment too soon
Finding the place; it was (you may say) satisfactory.

All this was a long time ago, I remember,
And I would do it again, but set down
This set down
This: were we led all that way for
Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly,
We had evidence and no doubt. I had seen birth and death,
But had thought they were different; this Birth was
Hard and bitter agony for us, like Death, our death.
We returned to our places, these Kingdoms,
But no longer at ease here, in the old dispensation,
With an alien people clutching their gods.
I should be glad of another death.

Podcast 2 - Epiphany

Link here for the homily for Epiphany from St Mary's.

This second podcast should be easier to use. It is in the proper MP3 format. The Epiphany homily is early since I often celebrate the vigil Mass at St Mary's on the first Saturday of the month.

Let me know if this is better.

Adoration of the Magi

This painting is situated in the East end of one of the most glorious buildings in Christendom: Kings College Chapel, Cambridge. I was chaplain at the choir school there for two years, (in my Anglican days, and was able to see this picture every day.

There ought to be a movement to restore sacred paintings to sacred buildings. They're wasted in museums.

Christ of the Abyss

I spent some of my down time during the Christmas holidays playing with the computer, and have added an iGoogle homepage. One of the gadgets is a feed of National Geographic photographs, and this morning I was delighted to find this photograph of 'Christ of the Abyss'

I was immediately reminded of these words from the Benedicitus: ...Seas and Rivers bless the Lord, You dolphins and all water creatures bless the Lord...

Any other quotes from Scripture or the liturgy that you think would fit?

Update on Podcasts

The first podcast was uploaded as a .wav file. I now realize that it needed to be encoded as an MP3 file. This will enable a faster download time and instant access through subscription to iTunes.

Good New Year's Resolution

St Gregory of Nazianzen wrote this about his brother in Christ, Basil the Great:

Our single object and ambition was virtue, and a life of hope in the blessings that are to come; we wanted to withdraw from this world before we departed from it. With this end in view we ordered our lives and all our actions. We followed the guidance of God’s law and spurred each other on to virtue. If it is not too boastful to say, we found in each other a standard and rule for discerning right from wrong.

I like the line, 'ordered our lives and all our actions.' If only we could see the results of true, grace-filled virtue in the world, then we would pursue this as a pearl of great price.

True virtue saves souls, transforms lives, rescues the fallen, gives hope to those who despair, brings light to darkened hearts, joy to those who grieve and laughter to those who weep. It brings humility to the proud, simplicity to the vain and wisdom to fools.

More Convert Clergy

Ruth Gledhill of The Times in London reports here on two former Anglican priests--a father and his son--who have both been ordained as Catholic priests. (b/t to the Curt Jester)

Award Winning Blog

Imagine that! Standing on My Head is a finalist in the Weblog Awards in the Religion category.

When I mentioned this to Mrs Longenecker she asked how many finalists there were.

"10" I replied.

She looked up from her book, "Twelve nominations?"

One of the best arguments for married priests is that a wife is very good at keeping your feet on the ground.

Voting starts on January 5. Fr. Z is the one to beat, so I hope you will watch this space for information on voting and prove Mrs. Longenecker wrong....

Podcast 1 - Solemnity of the Mother of God

Here is the first podcast--from the Vigil for the Solemnity of the Mother of God. This was preached at St Mary's on New Year's Eve at 5:00. Link here.

Please let me know if you have been able to download this or listen to it through this link successfully. 

Check out the panel on the sidebar to learn more about subscription to my feeds which will allow you to subscribe to the homilies through iTunes.

UPDATE: The first podcast is in a wav file format. Future ones will be encoded as MP3 files which will mean a faster download time and availability on iTunes.