Archive for the ‘culture’ Category

It’s [Bracket away Jesus Talking About Hell] week at your Local Catholic Parish

Posted: July 23, 2023 by datechguy in catholic, Church doctrine, culture
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Fr Lou: Hmm. Sadly, movies and TV have filled our heads with images that are largely metaphorical. Not meant to be taken literally. I’m not here to hurt you, Edward. I’m here to help you. To put you at your ease. Make sure you’re comfortable. Personally, I’ve never met a demon. I’ve never been part of an exorcism, nor do I expect to be. Many of the things that bother us are just our own fears and disordered thoughts.

Nefarious (though James): [Suddenly calm] So… You… You don’t consider demonic possession to be a possibility?

Fr Lou: Our understanding has evolved beyond that.

Nefarious: Huh. Well, I appreciate you telling me that. I feel… I feel much better. And, Lou, I was wrong about you. I should’ve had you come and visit sooner.

Fr. Lou: I am glad that we’re all getting along. Would you like me to stay?

Nefarious: No, we’re done.

Nefarious 2023

One of the most basic teachings of the church is that the mass is the mass and the sacraments are the sacraments even if the priest who preforms the mass or delivers the sacraments is a lukewarm, priest or a bad priest or even an unbelieving priest. Thus the mass obligation doesn’t disappear if the priest you have isn’t up to snuff, one just has to be careful to know their catechism so as to accept the sacraments and any should teaching while reject anything contrary to church teaching that might be thrown in.

But sometimes the problem isn’t so much what is preached being contrary but what is not taught at all and the next two weeks are a good measuring stick along those lines:

Today’s Gospel for example is the parable of the sower and the weeds:

Jesus proposed another parable to the crowds, saying:

“The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds all through the wheat, and then went off. When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well. The slaves of the householder came to him and said, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?’ He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ His slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. Let them grow together until harvest;
then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, “First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn.”‘”

Matt 13:24-30

Now that passage above will be read in every catholic parish in the nation, but the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has, for some reason, made the rest of the full Gospel scheduled for this week “optional”:

He proposed another parable to them.

“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the ‘birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.'”

He spoke to them another parable.

“The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour
until the whole batch was leavened.”

All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables. He spoke to them only in parables, to fulfill what had been said through the prophet:


I will open my mouth in parables,
I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation
of the world.

Then, dismissing the crowds, he went into the house. His disciples approached him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” He said in reply,

“He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. Just as weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears ought to hear.”

Matt 13:31-43

What jumps out at you right away in the part of the Gospel that is “optional” is Jesus explicably talking about those who “cause others to sin and evil doers” being thrown into the fiery furnace, in short, Hell.

So the USCCB is giving parishes the option to duck away from a core teaching of the church. Why? Perhaps because it might be off putting to those who sin or cause others to sin (think of all those pro-abort Catholics out there) who might otherwise think twice and want to give pastors the option to skip it.

“But DaTechGuy” you might say, “It’s the middle of summer and it’s a long gospel. If it’s a hot day perhaps a shorter Gospel might be better in a church without AC.” Well one might give that innocent interpretation to such options , that is if next weeks’ Gospel didn’t do the same thing with the following passage from Matthew’s Gospel mandatory on the joys of the kingdom of heaven:

Jesus said to his disciples:

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field, which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant
searching for fine pearls. When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it.”

Matt 13:44-46

And this part about eternal punishment “optional”:

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind. When it is full they haul it ashore and sit down to put what is good into buckets. What is bad they throw away. Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. “Do you understand all these things?”

They answered, “Yes.” And he replied,

“Then every scribe who has been instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old.”

Matt 13:47-52

Those extra five verses doesn’t make it a very long Gospel, but they again explicitly talk about damnation of the wicked and the USCCB has again made them “optional” in this post Vatican II world.

I’m sure there are many Fr. Lou’s out there who aren’t comfortable reading that Gospel or teaching about it because it challenges the congregation to see themselves in the light of truth and that just won’t do. I guarantee you that those are the parishes that have short or non-existent lines for confession every week because nobody there ever sins and has to worry about hell.

My advice is this: if you find yourself in such a parish, find another if you’re able. If you’re not then go to Mass and take the sacraments where you are but make it a point to read all the bracketed text and find a good solid outlet either online or on radio or TV with solid Catholic teaching to feed your soul.

Whoever has ears let them hear.

I’m Old Enough to Remember When Barnicle & Co Said Gay Marriage Wouldn’t Affect Your Marriage…

Posted: July 22, 2023 by datechguy in culture
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…And now less than 20 years after the Massachusetts Supreme Court redefined Marriage by a 4-3 vote and Mitt Romney did all he could to let it ride to keep himself as a viable presidential candidate in the eyes of the deep state Democrats are doing this:

As reported by Fox News, the “Amend the Code for Marriage Equality Act” was introduced by Congresswoman Julia Brownley (D-Calif.), and would change many existing laws by removing “husband” and “wife” from pre-existing text.

Less than 20 years and the left is openly trying to do what they pretended for years they had no intention of even thinking of.

Now granted the GOP is unlikely to let this pass but they will not control the house forever.

If you are surprised by any of this then you’re a fool.

If You Told Me Mexico Would Do This Just A Few Years Ago I wouldn’t have bought it…

Posted: July 20, 2023 by datechguy in culture
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…but it’s 2023 and leftists are all in bed together…

…and they’d like your kids to join them.

Review of the revival of The Who’s Tommy at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre

Posted: July 19, 2023 by John Ruberry in culture, entertainment, media
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By John Ruberry

Three days ago, the Marathon Pundit family saw the revival of The Who’s Tommy at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre. 

The original The Who’s Tommy was directed by Des McAnuff, who collaborated with Pete Townshend for the musical. Townshend, the Who’s lead guitarist wrote most of the songs for the Tommy rock opera. The original theatrical production was first performed in 1993, and that was directed, as is the Goodman Theatre production, by McAnuff. 

While not the first rock opera, most rock scholars give that honor to Pretty Things’ S.F. Sorrow, Tommy was a commercial and critical success for the Who; they had struggled to gain attention in America, as did some of the other bands who emerged at the tail end of the British Invasion, such as Small Faces and the Move. 

The plot of Tommy, the rock opera, is quite clunky. The atmosphere of Tommy is of the late 1960s, and it is a reaction to the guru culture of that strange time, which was filled with charlatans such as Timothy Leary, the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and much more darkly, Charles Manson. A better guru was Meher Baba–Pete Townshend remains a follower of his teachings. 

However, inexplicably, Townshend set the story of Tommy to begin shortly after the end of World War I. 

Tommy Walker becomes deaf and blind at around age four after he witnesses his father, who his mother believed was killed in the Great War, shooting her lover to death. Tommy’s parents look for a cure for their son, those attempts include bringing him to a “gypsy,” the Acid Queen, who fails to cure Tommy with LSD. Two relatives abuse him, Uncle Ernie, sexually, and Cousin Kevin, who tortures him. Tommy, despite his deafness and blindness, becomes a pinball champion and a celebrity. Tommy’s mother notices that her son often stares intently at mirrors. She smashes a mirror during one such gaze, which cures Tommy. He then becomes a cult leader, but eventually his followers reject him. Finally, Tommy realizes that he isn’t special, but everyone else is, as he sings in “We’re Not Gonna Take It.”

Listening to you I get the music
Gazing at you, I get the heat
Following you I climb the mountains
I get excitement at your feet.

But it was the songs, despite some dull filler such as “Underature,” that made the Tommy rock opera a smash. And the Goodman Theatre makes the most of the best-known numbers–along with some stupendous dancing–including “I’m Free” and of course “Pinball Wizard,” but also lesser-known tunes, such as “Amazing Journey” and “Sensation.” With a church backdrop, “Christmas” shines.

For those Who purists out there, beware, some of the lyrics of the songs have been altered to fit the adapted narrative of the musical.

There are many stand-out performances, foremost by Ali Louis Bourzgui as an adult Tommy, Alison Luff as Mrs. Walker, and Adam Jacobs as Captain Walker. The supporting cast is also superb, particularly Christina Sajous as the Acid Queen and Bobby Conte as Cousin Kevin. There are no casting mistakes here, unlike Ken Russell’s over-the-top Tommy film from 1975, which, like The Who’s Tommy, begins the story right after World War II. While Russell got it right with Who lead singer Roger Daltrey as Tommy, Tina Turner as the Acid Queen, Elton John as the Pinball Wizard, and Ann-Margaret as Mrs. Walker, there were some serious casting disasters in that move, including Eric Clapton (not an actor), Jack Nicholson (not a singer), and Oliver Reed, a drunk who played a drunk, but on the flipside, Reed couldn’t sing either.

Back to The Who’s Tommy at the Goodman: Not to be overlooked, the lighting, the costumes, the sparse but effective scenery, and the computer graphics are dazzling.

The play ends in an undefined, presumably fascist, future, with Cousin Kevin looking a bit like Joseph Goebbels. And with an attack, somewhat understated, on today’s celebrity and social media influencer culture. 

Last week, Bourzgui explained to the New York Times his interpretation of his Tommy portrayal, “He gets filled up by his followers,” adding “He keeps feeding off that, getting more gluttonous with power, until he realizes they’re following him because they want to feed off his trauma.”

The key word, in the 21st century context, is “followers.”

On the downside, a couple of songs, both penned by Who bassist John Entwistle and performed in succession, fall flat, “Cousin Kevin” and “Fiddle About.” In the latter, Uncle Ernie [John Ambrosino], sings about, well, I said what it is earlier. Both tunes are perfect times for a bathroom break, assuming you will be let back in before the end of first act. Mrs. Marathon Pundit dozed off during these tunes.

Townshend, since the release of the Tommy LP, said he was molested as a child. He was not charged after logging in a few times to a for-pay website that was advertising child pornography, stating at the time his motive to visit the site was “purely to see what was there” and that he was researching sexual abuse. In 2003, Townshend was placed on a sexual offenders registry for five years and he received a caution from the London Police. Townshend strongly denies every possessing child pornography. Citing those two sadistic Entwistle songs, Townshend said that he is too traumatized to ever perform Tommy again.

None of the other reviews of The Who’s Tommy I’ve read mentioned Townshend’s legal issues, but on the other hand, I paid for our tickets to this show.

Although not seen, the nine-piece band, led by Rick Fox, has some big shoes to fill by performing these songs–particularly those of Who drummer Keith Moon–is spectacular. I saw The Who in concert twice, in 1979 and 1980, with Kenney Jones on drums, Moon passed away in 1978. Entwistle died in 2002. Both of concerts were fantastic–and loud. My ears were ringing for days afterwards both times. 

Yes, it was a Sunday matinee performance, but it was a geriatric audience, reminiscent of the crowd on the Lawrence Welk Show, in attendance for the Goodman of The Who’s Tommy that day. Earplugs were available for the “loud” music at the Goodman–which wasn’t that loud. Oh, have times ever changed. 

The Who’s Tommy has been extended twice at the Goodman, some upcoming shows are sold out, the final Chicago performance is scheduled to be on August 6. The production is believed to be a dry-run for a return to Broadway, and presumably, a whole bunch of well-deserved Tony Award nominations.

John Ruberry regularly blogs at Marathon Pundit.

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