Archive for the ‘Church doctrine’ Category

Every (#Catholic) Earn an #Indulgence for Rush Limbaugh Day Sunday May 30

Posted: May 27, 2021 by datechguy in catholic, Church doctrine, special events
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Be generous to all the living, and withhold not your kindness from the dead.

Sirach 7:33

A couple of days ago at work I was listening to music on my very old iPod that I bought off my son’s friend about 15 years ago when I suddenly had the thought to put on Manheim Steamroller.

That might seem an odd choice as Christmas is half a year away but we are asked to keep the spirit of Christmas in our hearts all year long so I put on the album while I was working. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed it and the concerts I had gone to with my wife and kids the latest being at the Colonial in Boston before this insanity took place

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1FK6UivXSVE

As I was doing my work it occurred to me that this pleasure along with the joy of those concerts was one more thing that I and millions of others owed to Rush Limbaugh who had introduced Chip Davis and his music to his audience and thus to the country and world. I found myself thinking about the impact he had on the nation culturally and politically from the initial victory of the GOP breaking the 40 year run of Democrat control of the house in 1994 to his role along with Sarah Palin in the 63 seat red wave in 2010.

One might consider this a debt we can’t repay as he’s been dead now for several months but by an odd coincidence as I was thinking of all I owed him I remembered a project that I’m working on The Indulgence Calendar.

I’ll be writing more about the indulgence Calendar (along with some downloads) on Memorial day but the bottom line is that if you are a Catholic there IS something you can do for Rush Limbaugh: You can earn an indulgence for him.

Now Rush wasn’t Catholic but that doesn’t matter. You can earn an indulgence for any deceased person and the merits of said indulgences do not depend on if the subject was Catholic thus I propose:

Every Catholic Earn An Indulgence for Rush Limbaugh Day

Sunday May 30th 2021

I propose this date because

  • I will be starting the indulgence Calendar June 1st and want to sneak this in before it.
  • Holy Communion is necessary for an indulgence (see #1 below) so a Sunday maxes out the number of Catholics.
  • Finally I think Rush would not want to make Memorial Day (May 31) about him rather than vets who gave their lives

Now to earn an indulgence there are certain norms that must be followed here are the ones that apply from my indulgence calendar

  1. Communion on the day of an indulgence. This can be applied to any amount of indulgences that day.
  2. Confession within two weeks of the day of an indulgence. Applies to all indulgences during that period
  3. Prayers for the intentions of the Holy Father (an Our Father, Hail Mary or any appropriate prayer) once per day of indulgence.
  4. To earn an indulgence you must be in a state of grace (no unconfessed mortal sin) at the time of the indulgenced act….

11. No unbaptized person nor any Christian who is currently under the penalty of excommunication may earn an indulgence.

12. You must ACTIVELY seek and or state your intention to obtain an indulgence for the act or prayer that carries it to be valid.

So if you are a Catholic going to mass and receiving communion on Sunday all you have to do, in addition to receiving communion to earn an indulgence for Rush Limbaugh Sunday May 30th is:

  1. Declare your intention to do so
  2. Make sure you go or have gone to Confession sometime between May 11th and June 19th
  3. Say an Our Father and a Hail Mary for the intentions of the Pope that day
  4. And do any act or prayer that carries an indulgence (outside of mass) from reading scripture to Praying the Angelus or even the sign of the cross.

Additionally Earning an indulgence for the dead in purgatory is a spiritual work of mercy so in doing this for Rush we are also helping ourselves along our path to Christ.

Oh and fyi, there is no limit to the number of partial indulgences that you can earn in a day as long as you declare your intention to earn it so feel free to obtain multiple indulgences for Rush and maybe one for yourself.

If you want to learn more about indulgences stop by on May 31st and I’ll introduce you to my Indulgence Calendar Project which launches June 1st.

Prayers for Priest Cenacle Procession & Interviews

Posted: April 25, 2021 by datechguy in catholic, Church doctrine, special events
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On Wednesday I was invited to cover a small prayer event for the sake of Priests. Mary Ann Harold of WQPH explains.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLZTk79G_rg

The event consisted of a Marian Procession with prayer (which took place just before the interview)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6HKBKdE6nQ

followed by prayer intention (where I plugged indulgences more on that in a week or two btw)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NmpHN8tP01k

and the praying of the Glorious Mysteries of the Rosary. I recorded the 1st decade

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mCJw4-QMjs

Before things go started I shot a pair of interviews with attendees. The 1st was with a woman who talked about her conversion to the Catholic faith:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMoO4_Yqfok

And the 2nd was with a gentleman named Manuel originally from the Azores whose upcoming book is titled: Memoirs of a Visionary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJ4AWD3gkjU

Between covid and my job I haven’t been able to do much of this kind of think in a bit. Hopefully that will change this year.

Satire: Mafia Families and the Priests that Serve them deride Vatican’s Continued Stance against Murder, Theft & Prostitution

Posted: March 24, 2021 by datechguy in catholic, Church doctrine, comedy, culture, entertainment, fun
Tags: , ,

Members of the Cosa Nostra were united in their disappointment that the Vatican has not changed their stance concerning the sinfulness of murder, theft and prostitution.

“It’s a real cultural problem.” said a spokesman for the Bocce crime family. “Don Giuseppe was saying just the other day that the church’s stance unfairly stigmatizes people whose culture, tradition and inclination. has steered them in this direction for centuries.”

“It’s a terrible disappointment.” said Fr. Mel A Stophilies of Angel of Light Parish and the unofficial chaplain to the Polenta family. “Why just the other day Dona Polenta was talking about how Pope Francis’ attacks on the mafia had affected her 14 year old grandson who has dreamed of entering the family business since he was five and has just started his career as a runner: ‘Does the Vatican understand what his can do to a 14 year old just staring in the rackets? It can destroy him'”

At the business of Dino and Luigi Vercotti they echoed this statement noting that on the local level their priest have been more supportive.

“At our parish they have been much more caring toward the women in our business just trying to make a living.” Said Dino Vercotti in between answering calls for appointments, “In fact our parish priest Fr. Heretic has been using a more compassionate translation of scripture where Jesus tells the woman caught in adultery in John 9:11: ‘Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now that’s not sin any more.’ It’s really made both our girls and their customers feel better about themselves.”

In Philadelphia some locals still expressed hope that the Vatican will see the light on these things.

“If the church is going to be part of the world and not hated they need to change with the times and recognize that the acceptance of things like adultery, theft and the occasional murder (as long as it doesn’t cross the wrong racial lines) is where society is.” said Fr. Morty Sine “After all if they took those lessons to heart have spent hours filling in and delivering ballots in the wee hours after election day? If they hadn’t done that Rome would not have been able to celebrate the election of only the 2nd Catholic president of the United States.”

“After all one man’s sin is another’s way of life.” said Fr Terr. I know our parish has greatly benefited from the support we have given the local families and I’m sure eventually the Church will see the advantages of such an arrangement.

Ash Wednesday: Even Now

Posted: February 17, 2021 by datechguy in catholic, Church doctrine
Me? You want me to Join You?

Jesus: Matthew, Matthew son of Alphaeus.

Matthew: Yes?

Jesus: Follow me.

Matthew: Me?

Jesus: [laughs] Yes, you.

Simon (Peter): Whoa whoa whoa whoa. What are you doing?

Matthew: You want me, to join you?

Gaius: Keep moving street preacher.

Simon (Peter): Do you have any idea what this guy has done? Do you even know him?

Jesus: Yes.

The Chosen, Season 1 Episode 7

Today is Ash Wednesday and it’s worth repeating the point I made last year about my favorite old testament passage from the Prophet Joel which is the 1st reading at every Catholic Mass today (and which I want to be the 1st reading at my funeral when the day comes).

Even now, says the LORD,
return to me with your whole heart,
with fasting, and weeping, and mourning;
Rend your hearts, not your garments,
and return to the LORD, your God.
For gracious and merciful is he,
slow to anger, rich in kindness,
and relenting in punishment.
Perhaps he will again relent
and leave behind him a blessing,
Offerings and libations
for the LORD, your God.

Blow the trumpet in Zion!
proclaim a fast,
call an assembly;
Gather the people,
notify the congregation;
Assemble the elders,
gather the children
and the infants at the breast;
Let the bridegroom quit his room
and the bride her chamber.
Between the porch and the altar
let the priests, the ministers of the LORD, weep,
And say, “Spare, O LORD, your people,
and make not your heritage a reproach,
with the nations ruling over them!
Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’”

Then the LORD was stirred to concern for his land
and took pity on his people.
Joel 2 12-18

This is for my money the most hopeful passage in the entire old testament and the perfect prestaging for the coming of Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, not only because of what it says but because what it doesn’t say. It doesn’t say…

  • Even Now….unless you’ve had an abortion
  • Even now….unless you’ve cheated on your spouse
  • Even now…..unless you are a thief
  • Even now…..unless you are a drug dealier
  • Even now…..unless you are a murder
  • Even now…..unless you are a terrorist
  • Even now…..unless you are an atheist
  • Even now…..unless you promote sodomy
  • Even now…..unless you’ve sold your soul to the devil

and it’s worth noting that there is no political connection

  • Even now…..unless you voted Trump
  • Even now…..unless you voted Biden
  • Even now…..unless you stole an election
  • Even now…..unless you rioted
  • Even now…..unless you’ve been cancelled
  • Even now…..unless you’ve cancelled someone
  • Even now…..unless you’ve pushed transgerderism
  • Even now…..unless you’re transgender
  • Even now…..unless you’re a communist
  • Even now…..unless you’re a fascist
  • Even now…..unless you’re Antifa

Put simply if at whatever place you happen to be in the now you choose to Turn to God with your whole heart you will be shown forgiveness and mercy.

This is actually where we are every single day of our lives, but every Ash Wednesday the church explicitly reminds us of this remarkable fact.

Here’s the video of Matthew discovering it.

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