Raleigh Cathedral

Here is the proposed new cathedral for the Diocese of Raleigh, North Carolina. What is exciting about this design is that it is not only traditional in style, but it is being built by an architect who understands and has studied not only traditional Catholic architecture, but traditional ways of building.

It's great that more and more parishes and pastors are planning traditionally styled churches, but too often those who want a traditionally styled church simply go to the local architecture firm and ask for it to 'look traditional'. So what happens is Joe Architect, who is used to building dentist offices and shopping malls and hospitals and schools gets the job to build a church. He puts up the usual steel box, and then to make it 'look traditional' he slaps in a few arches and 'churchy' looking decorations made out of studs and plasterboard, and what you end up with is a church that just looks like a dentist's office, but with arched windows or interior arches that don't really do anything.

Then there is one step better than that, where the architect understands traditional church architecture, but he still builds with a steel structure which he then clads with a brick or stone veneer and with pretend stone effect on the inside--complete with faux arches and plastic groin vaulting. Often these churches even come with walls that are given 'the illusion of depth'. Many people will like these churches a bit more than the dentist office churches, but will still find them too much like Harry Potter world--where the engineers and designers do wonderful things with concrete. What is lacking is an inner integrity between method and materials.

I'm pleased to say that we have hired an exciting young architect/designer for our new church at Our Lady of the Rosary parish. Andrew Gould, of New World Byzantine, has already produced some exciting schematic drawings for a Romanesque style church, and we are soon to move on to the stage of having some watercolor renderings. He is teaming up with Matthew Alderman, who is going to work on the interior designs.

I hope to write extensively about architecture and the new church at Our Lady of the Rosary parish in the coming months. That Raleigh is designing a traditional new cathedral, and that Catholicism in the South is on the rise means that we may have the opportunity to establish a renaissance in Catholic architecture. It would be exciting for various young architects to show what they can do to build churches that are traditional and yet suited to Catholic worship for the twenty first century.

Success Makes you Stupid

Albert Einstein said, "With fame I become more and more stupid."

So springboarding from that-- here's one: success makes you stupid. Discuss.

What makes me say this is that here in America where success is king I see a lot of people around me who are successful but stupid. When I say 'stupid' I mean they are spiritually stupid. They are stupid in relationships. They do dumb, arrogant stuff and don't even know they are doing it, and nobody calls them on them because they're surrounded by subordinates and other big dogs who are just as arrogant and dumb as they are.

 They offend people, miss the point, have the wrong priorities and miss God and the gospel totally. I mean totally. But because they're successful they can't see it. They are blind to their faults and, whoo boy, do they dislike it if you dare to criticize. But that's why they're 'successful' right? Because they've charged through life with their eye on 'success' and missed everything else, trampled on everyone else and got where they got because 'success' was their God.

Even more scary is that I see myself falling into the same trap. Hey, I want to be 'successful' like everyone other red blooded American guy! I want to show off and be better than other people too. I want to be top dog. It's all there in my heart too, and the more I give into this temptation (which I believe the Sacred Scriptures call 'the pride of life') the more I see myself behaving in petty, nasty and stupid ways. Yep, success makes me stupid.

Instead of this 'pride of life' which puts success on the top of the heap give me St Therese and the Little Way. The  Little Way of Service to others instead of them serving me. The Little Way of Stillness not Activity. The Little Way of Suffering not Pleasure. The Little Way of Joy not Anger. The Little Way of Silence not Stupidity. The Little Way of Love not Pride.

You have to stand on your head to see this one, and standing on your head isn't easy.

It requires balance.

Rich and Poor

This just in from one of those bulk emails we all get:

As you open your pockets for the next natural disaster, please keep these facts in mind:

The American Red Cross President and CEO Marsha J. Evans' salary for the year was $651,957 plus expenses.  The United Way President Brian Gallagher receives a $375,000 base salary along with numerous expense benefits. UNICEF CEO Caryl M. Stern receives $1,200,000 per year (100k per month) plus all expenses including a ROLLS ROYCE. Less than 5 cents of your donated dollar goes to the cause. 

Meanwhile: The Salvation Army's Commissioner Todd Bassett receives a salary of only $13,000 per year (plus housing) for managing this $2 billion dollar organization. 96 percent of donated dollars go to the cause.  The American Legion National Commander receives a $0.00 zero salary. Your donations go to help Veterans and their families and youth!  The Veterans of Foreign Wars National Commander receives a $0.00 zero salary. Your donations go to help Veterans and their families and youth!

UPDATE: Check the combox for better figures. I did point out that this was from one of those bulk emails, but it turns out from a look at Snopes that the figures are way off. I'd delete the post, but it's raised interesting comments, and a worthwhile discussion--not least of which is really don't trust those bulk emails sincere people send you!

Labor Day

From the archives--on this national holiday in the USA, here's what I love about my country:

The list is in no particular order.

Hot Dogs and Sauerkraut, Elvis Presley, It's a Wonderful Life, Drive In Restaurants, The Blue Ridge Parkway, Columbo, Amish people, Manhattan, Hamburgers, Flannery O'Connor, T-Shirts, Clear Creek Monastery, equality, Cole Porter, the saxophone, Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream, Katherine Hepburn, Makers Mark, Honda 750 Shadow Spirit, football, Shawshank Redemption, cranberry juice, generosity, Johnny Depp, shoo fly pie, North Carolina mountains, milkshakes, marching bands, T.S.Eliot, religiosity, Amusement Parks, Fiddler on the Roof, Aaron Copeland, Optimism, Indiana Jones, beauty pageants, Washington DC, Orthodontics, Frank Sinatra, Thomas Merton, Rib Eye Steaks, Charleston, Bar BQ, Tina Turner, ceiling fans, Myrtle Beach, Thanksgiving, gospel quartets, the community pool, oreos, baseball, clean toilets, Disneyland, Ray Ban sunglasses, B. B. King, Ronald Reagan, turtle track ice cream, Tennessee Williams, Entrepreneurial Spirit, Casablanca, Minnesota, pickles, Andrew Wyeth, pretzels, the Blues Brothers, Dorothy Day, patriotism, air conditioning, summer camp, Patsy Cline, speed boats, pecan pie, naivety, James Taylor, Manhattans, peanut butter, Catcher in the Rye, pizza, root beer, the pro life movement, friendliness, Dr. Pepper, conspiracy theories, peaches, front porches, EWTN, the Grand Canyon, corn on the cob, Renee Zellwegger, Franciscan Friars of the Renewal, hash browns, the open road, Empire State Building, enthusiasm, gangster movies, Buster Keaton, fresh shrimp, Knights of Columbus, Guys and Dolls, Gershwin, freedom, the Shenandoah Valley, taking risks, Ella Fitzgerald, fried chicken, Robert Frost, radio preachers, cheerfulness, interstate rest stops, Redwood forests, Robert Duvall, cook outs, Niagara Falls,

Mantilla the Hon on Lace

Guest blogger Mantilla Amontillado is the founder of Veritas Vestments. She holds a degree in Ecclesiastical Haberdashery from Salamanca University. She has done the pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostella three times on horseback and is engaged to the famous matador, Senor Augusto Torquemada.

OK, hon we need to talk serious for a minute you know? I am hearing people say a priest should not be wearing lace in his alb or lace in his cotta or lace in his surplice. Why is this? Why so many people talking about something they know nothing?

Listen to me hon. Mantilla has not studied Ecclesiastical Haberdashery at Salamanca for nada. OK, so maybe I say what I think, but then maybe Mantilla know more about stuff than other people you know what I mean hon?

Some people say the priest like to wear lace in his cotta because he is some kind of pansy. What kind of insult is this to our priests? You know what hon? Augusto and the other matadors wear those tight pants and little jackets with sequins and those little hats, but nobody say he is a sissy. Anybody say that to Augusto and he will get the toreadors on him, and let me tell you hon, those toreadors don't take no Toro mierde from nobody.

See Augusto and the matadors wear the fancy clothes because they are brave and strong, not because they are weak and sissies. The lace in the alb is something precious and beautiful. Real lace takes women who I buy it from many, many hours to make. At my company, Veritas Vestments, we put it in the albs and surplices not to adorn the priest, but to adorn the priesthood. Padre is doing something at the altar which is precious and rare and beautiful and good. The lace reminds us of this. No hon, the priest who wears the lace has to have some guts. I hear somebody say, "Only real men can wear lace." I think Augusto agree but say, "Only real men can wear sequins."

Some other people say, "Oh Mantilla, the priest should not spend so much money on putting lace in the alb. They should give the money to the poor." OK  hon. The priest should help the poor, but he should also make the worship at the Mass something beautiful for God. You know what hon? Mantilla tell you a secret. The people who always say this about the priest he should give the money to the poor? These people are never giving money to either the church or to the poor. One time Monsignor Quixote tell me about these people. We were doing a display of vestments in the cathedral and some man come up and say this about giving money to the poor instead. Monsignor Quixote say to him, "Amigo, the person who say this in the gospel was Judas." But the man was a communist and didn't never read the gospel anyway, and say something very stupid like, "I think Judas was much misunderstood." So Monsignor say to him, "If you like Judas so much maybe one day you will go and be with him."

OK  hon. It is true that lace in the vestments costs some money, but let me tell you. Things that are beautiful and true do cost money. Love is extravagant you know? It's like when a man buy a diamond ring for his fiancee when they get engaged. Nobody say, "Oh, that's too expensive you should give the money to the poor." No. They say, "Ohh. What a beautiful diamond. He must really love you very much." Anyway, that's what everyone say to me last summer in El Salvador when Augusto finally ask me to marry him. So now everybody asking me, "When is the day when you are getting married?" I think maybe in June hon, and don't worry I discuss it with Augusto and make sure you are going to be bridesmaid okay?

Just don't complain when Monsignor Quixote come out wearing that special alb I make him with lots of lace in it. Ok hon?

Church Whispers

See where blogging can get you? Here's a nice feature article on Whispers in the Loggia blogger Rocco Palmo.

Pro Life Movement Helps Women

Depression and abortion linked? Surely some mistake!--or so we would be led to believe by the main stream media and the health professionals. When treating women who are depressed do they ask if the woman was ever pregnant, and if the pregnancy ended in abortion? Probbly not.

The pro life movement is often blamed for being obsessed with the crime of abortion and being anti-woman and not caring enough for women in crisis pregnancies. However, the pro life movement, by definition are the only ones who are truly caring for women because it is only the pro life movement that encourages them to choose life, and to deal with an unwanted pregnancy in a way that is positive and will lead the woman to make a choice that will increase her self esteem by helping her make a positive choice.

The only way the pro abortion movement 'helps' women is to help them murder their child, and thus 'helping' them to disdain human life, and (if they have any conscience at all) to disdain themselves, to feel guilty, ashamed and often depressed and suicidal. Does the pro abortion movement 'help' women to 'get over' their guilt and 'move on' and treat the whole affair as no more important than having a tooth pulled? Then they are 'helping' the woman by feeding her a lie. She is therefore much more likely, when the dark clouds of depression loom, to blame something else and never find a cure because she has been told that the abortion would never cause depression or mental health problems. Their propaganda has 'helped' women therefore to wallow in depression and fear without having any chance of discovering the root cause and to find a cure.

Is there a cure for the depression and suicidal feelings that come from a woman having an abortion? Yes. Ministries like Rachel's Vineyard and Silent No More offer counseling and spiritual care. In my experience, a woman who has had an abortion can find healing and reconciliation through the sacrament of confession, and through a healing Mass which has the intention of praying for the repose of the soul of her lost child. This is a powerful form of healing which has helped many many men and women who have been through the trauma of an abortion.

When these ministries of help for women are added to the thousands of women's clinics that provide endless hours of counseling, adoption services, medical aid, financial aid and social aid for women in crisis pregnancies it has to be said that the pro life movement are the only ones who are truly helping not just women, but their children and families.

The pro abortion folks 'help' women in the same way that the Nazis 'helped the Germans' by eliminating a perceived problem: the Jews.

Abortion and Diabolical Lies

This latest study shows that women have an 81% increased risk of serious mental health problems if they've had an abortion. Who is reporting this? Nobody. The study was published in a UK journal, and at the same time in the UK we hear that the politicians are up in arms over a very modest amendment to a health services bill that will stipulate that women who are seeking an abortion should receive counseling from an independent source. Christina Odone writes very effectively and movingly here about the abortion issue in the UK.

Notice that the amendment is not even proposing that the independent counselor be pro life. They are simply saying that counseling by an abortion provider is not independent--there is a conflict of interest. What abortion provider (who stands to make money out of the abortion) is going to advise against abortion? Still the amendment is likely to fail because the pro aborts are so terrified that some woman somewhere might actually receive advice to keep her baby or choose adoption. And what tack is David Cameron taking? He's actually saying the amendment should fail because it threatens to influence women wrongly and inhibit true choice. So choice is more enabled by having fewer facts and only one viewpoint? Geesh, the double think of these diabolical propagandists is mind boggling!

Meanwhile, my friend Valerie, who is our local pro life organizer tells me that the largest breast cancer charity--the ones with the pink ribbons everywhere-- contributes millions to Planned Parenthood. How crazy is that? Study after study indicates a link between abortion and breast cancer, and the largest charity trying to cure breast cancer donates millions to abortion providers. It's like the National Organization for Preventing Tooth Decay donating millions to the makers of candy and soft drinks--except that of course in the abortion debate we're not talking about tooth decay but killing babies.

The Devil just loves lying like this. He's so happy to confuse people and get them in situations where one ideology prohibits them from encouraging another truth and getting them to double contradict themselves and never see the inconsistency of the deception.

The Great Transaction

In the church today there is a heresy that doesn't yet have a name--or perhaps it does and I have not learned it yet. It goes like this: "Mankind is in search of meaning. In every person there is a God-shaped space. By looking within, by searching for one's own heart desire, we will eventually find meaning. We will have an encounter with Christ. We will realize that the Christian way is the true way. Then we will walk in this way with peace, joy and a fulfilled life." Let's for the want of a better term call this heresy 'personalism'--or perhaps it could be called "existentialist fideism" inasmuch as it calls for a kind of faith in one's own inner 'vision' or 'desire'.

Like all heresies, it's not all wrong. It's just that it's not all right. Sure there is a God-shaped space in each one of us. Sure, the source and summit of all our desires is, in the end, the Christ who loves us. Sure, if we seek we will find, and if we search we will discover. If we ask we will be answered. However, what this new "existentialist fideism" does is places the human person at the heart of the search for God. It sounds nice and humanistic and all that, but it's not really in the Bible is it? It's not really the way of the saints. You don't find God telling the patriarchs to "search their inner being to discover the light." He says, "Obey me. Leave all, and go to the promised land."

Jesus doesn't tell the fishermen of Galilee to form a discussion group or to do group therapy in which you all discuss together where your inner journey is taking you. He stands up and says, "Leave your fishing nets and follow me. Do some wave walking. Come on. Do something. Follow me and I will make you fishers of men." This new personalism is very often subjective in it's declared encounter with Christ, and as such it is unreliable.

I'm increasingly in favor of the simple transaction that the gospel and the church have always called for. "Repent and believe the Gospel." There's the basic encounter with Christ. A soul says, "God, I'm sorry for my sin. I want to do better and can't unless you help me. Give me the power of Christ and I will follow him." Within this simple transaction is all that is required. Not a lot of soul searching is needed. Not a lot of philosophical or theological discussion...not a lot of learning. Just simple obedience and humble acceptance of Christ. Just simple metanoia--turning from my own way to the way of Christ.

This is the only gospel I have to proclaim. It is the only gospel there is. I don't know of any other. It's the transaction I seek every morning, and within that transaction of repentance and faith I turn away from my self seeking and my tortured self examination and I realize I need Christ. Within that transaction grace is given and have the power to follow the Master.

Within this transaction the Sacred Heart of Jesus takes my heart in his and makes it one. Within this transaction my little life is gathered up into his cosmic life. In this simple transaction I am both lost and found.

This Great Transaction is the burning diamond heart of the Christian faith.

The rest is paper.

Clint Eastwood and Jesus

Jesus as a girly man is what Mgr. Charles Pope writes about here. He's right. Jesus in the sixties and seventies became a limp-wristed hippie peace and love type of guy. It reminds us that too often we re-make Jesus in our own image.

I guess because I was brought up in a fundamentalist church with preachers who knew how to 'shoot the gospel gun' and call sinners to repentance and preached about the wickedness of "them long haired hippie types with their tight blue jeans and rock and roll music" that I was never really attracted to the Jesus of Godspell and Jesus Christ Superstar. I always saw Jesus as a loner--a prophetic, even vengeful character a bit like some of Clint Eastwood's characters--maybe the preacher in Paler Rider.  He was the squinty eyed Jesus--eyeing up his enemies and dispatching them with a well chosen pithy comment. "Let the dead bury their dead" or "Render unto Caesar what is Caesar's and unto God what is God's" are sharp and edgy.

Maybe what we need is more stern preaching in this soft and effeminate age. This Sunday's reading from Ezekiel reminds the preacher that he must call the sinner to repentance. Now we don't like this very much because it makes people feel uncomfortable and uneasy. We're told it makes them feel guilty. So what's the big 'victim' thing about feeling guilty? If you've done wrong you should feel guilty. Guilt is like pain. If you put your hand in the fire it burns. Then you pull your hand out. Same with guilt. You do wrong. Guilt makes you feel bad. You stop doing wrong.

Saying that you shouldn't feel guilty or that guilt is bad is like saying that the burning sensation in your hand when you put it in the fire is wrong. How crazy is that? So guilt--although it causes us pain--is good for us. It keeps us in check. Increasingly in our society, however, there is no preaching about sin and punishment--not only because it makes people feel uncomfortable, but because many preachers don't really believe in punishment for sin anyway. God, like Jesus, has become the cotton candy God. All sweetness and fluff but no real content. However, how is anyone supposed to be aware of sin unless the preacher points out that it is a sin? There is a residual awareness of sin in our lives due to generations of a Christian society, but that is fading fast, and if the preacher doesn't speak about sin he's as negligent as the doctor who refuses to tell a patient that they have cancer because he's too cowardly to or because he think the patient might 'be traumatized.'

No, the doctor calls the patient in and says, "You've got cancer. We have to operate. Brace yourself." Likewise with the cure of souls. We call the patient in and say, "You're suffering from the cancer we call sin. Doctor Jesus needs to operate."

The other reason preachers don't mention sin and punishment is because they are all too aware of the sin in their own lives. So maybe the remedy is for more priests to live austere lives of asceticism and self denial. Maybe we should not be so concerned for our material well being, our comfortable lifestyle and our retirement plans. Maybe we should live life on the edge more--be more prophetic and cut through all the comfortable, sentimental middle class Am-Church crap. That would give us the authority to preach about sin a bit more and maybe save some souls and help renew the church.

Just sayin'

Moonasteries

It seems that Domino's Pizza is the first company to have plans to set up a fast food outlet on the moon. You can read about it here. This is exciting news, especially as Domino's was founded by Catholic entrepreneur and philanthropist Tom Monaghan. I've met Mr Monaghan a couple of times, but never thought to ask him whether the name of the pizza chain 'Domino's' means that the whole thing belonged to the Lord. If so, it would be a nice touch for a Catholic entrepreneur...I like secret symbolic meanings.

The idea of the pizza restaurant on the moon raises the question of why the pizza chain got there first. Shouldn't the first outpost on the moon be a monastery? In the Middle Ages the Benedictines and Cistercians went to the most barren and God forsaken bits of territory and redeemed them--draining the marshes, clearing the rock fields and planting crops and settling the land.

I'm in favor of the first moon monastery. In fact it could be called a 'moonastery'. I'd sign up to be one of the first astromonks. Talk about getting away from it all! I think there is something in this, and we'd have no problem with the architecture because there are plenty of architects who build Catholic churches that look like rocket ships, igloos and futuristic space stations already...In fact, maybe they could go and live there too, at last they will have found a suitable context for their architectural ideas and a suitable population to enjoy them.