Posts Tagged ‘catholic’

The 2nd Best Non-Move I ever made Anna Maria College 12 Years Later

Posted: July 10, 2021 by datechguy in catholic, Church doctrine, culture, personal
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Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there also will your heart be.

Jesus via Matthew 6:19-21

My oldest son turns 30 next week and when I was writing my under the fedora piece for today (that is going up tomorrow instead) I touched on a story that brought this to mind.

Back in 2009 he had been offered a big scholarship to Anna Maria college and we went to visit the place. What I saw at the “catholic” college was less that overwhelming:

My problem with the place is one of my pet peeves. The college is a Catholic College There are old crosses on buildings and portraits of older bishops in one or two places, but I saw nothing affirming their Catholic identity. No portrait of the pope, no schedule of Masses (although they do offer daily Mass).

There were pictures celebrating the new president all over the place, banners celebrating diversity, announcements of the woman’s study courses but nothing on the March for Life later this month in Washington. The concert was a “holiday” concert. In the Anna Maria in the news bulletin board at the admissions office there was an article talking about protesting the pope in the US. That was the extent of any recent mention of religion.

Of course that was written in the days when “Is the Pope Catholic” was a one liner rather than a legit question but I digress…

When he was offered a full boat at the local Fitchburg State college (before it became Fitchburg University) which never pretended it wasn’t a secular organization he jumped at it allowing him to live at home and continue in our parish where his faith was well formed. I was going to let it go at that until we got a letter from the Bishop congratulating us on being accepted at Anna Maria and the Scholarship and the importance of a Catholic education.

At that point I wrote a letter to the Bishop that said in part:

We were excited when Sam was accepted at Anna Maria; even more so when they offered the largest (in dollars) scholarship of any of the nine colleges that have accepted and attempted to recruit him. We looked forward to the visit to the college and liked the prospect of a college that would expand both his faith and his educational horizons.

Then we actually visited the college.

Comparing your description of the college as a “great example of a Catholic institution…” and my experience I thought of George Weigel’s line commenting on the differing press releases concerning Speaker Pelosi visit to the Holy See: “Were Benedict XVI and Nancy Pelosi in the same meeting, or even in the same city?”

it continued:

When I talked to the gentleman from admissions after the tour he informed me that this was not unusual at Catholic colleges and seemed to stress diversity rather than the Catholic identity, in fact seemed happy to reassure the next visiting student that he would not have to take any courses having to do with religion. Continuing my quote from the blog:

…It would be nicer if Catholic identity actually meant something. I’ve spent much more than I can afford over the last 10 years giving my sons a Catholic education. If I’m going to spend a whole lot more for a Catholic College then I expect a Catholic College.

I can’t reconcile your description of Anna Maria with what I saw and I can’t believe you would make that description after visiting the college yourself. While academically I believe it would be strong I don’t believe attending would foster his faith, in fact I suspect if he choose to wear his faith proudly it would go hard on him there.

The Bishop forward my letter to the president of the college who wrote me to dispute my impression and I posted both letters on the blog trusting readers to make their own decision.

Because I was referencing this story in the post I took the liberty of visiting the Anna Maria Web site curious if things had changed in twelve years and under a different president.

The front page like many sites has a rotating gallery highlighting many different things none of them involving the faith and while on other tabs you could find a reference particularly on the Campus Ministry page you will be hard pressed to find a sign of it. For the fun of it I did a search for the phrase: “Jesus Christ” on the site here were the results:

search result 7/10/21 10:20 am

two of those are blog posts from 2020 and the other two are programs offered.

Now if you search for “diversity” however…

Search 7/10/21 10:24 AM

You’d have to go to additional pages to see all the results you can find but I figured the 1st page was enough to make my point. If you search for LGBT…

search result 7/10/21 10:26 AM

Well at least Jesus does equally as well as LGBT in the search results. I’ll wager there are plenty of Catholic Colleges where he doesn’t.

Well that’s Anna Maria College 12 years later. As for my son twelve years later last week I had a rare Sunday off and so I had the pleasure of my wife and sons all with me at the 6 PM mass at our parish. Neither of my sons received communion but both went up to the priest arms crossed for a blessing. When the mass was over they asked him for confession. When they had both received the sacrament the pastor took them to the tabernacle and they received Holy Communion after mass. I can imagine my mother & father punching the air in heaven at this and as their dad I can’t adequately state how proud I was to see this.

The best non-decision my wife and I ever made still remains not moving to the Portland Oregon area after our Honeymoon there 33 years ago but I’m thinking giving Anna Maria a miss twelve years ago comes in as a pretty solid second.

The July Indulgence Calendars are now available for Download

Posted: June 27, 2021 by datechguy in catholic, Church doctrine
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This months indulgence calendars are now available for download.

As before we have both a full calendar with the names of people to gain indulgences for daily and a blank calendar so that you can fill in names yourself ready for download.

Both of these calendars will be shortly available at the WQPH radio website as well.

As before each day in the indulgence calendar is in the following format:

The blank calendar excludes the particular name.

If there is a person you want included in a future indulgence calendar feel free to leave their name in the comments. We always reserve some spaces for such requests every month.

Starting this month my home parish in Fitchburg MA is now participating in this ministry with its own indulgence calendar (I’m not including it here as printed copies are available at the parish) and I would encourage any other parish that wants to do this to download our blank calendar and fill it in for their parishioners and/or use it as a template for their own calendar (or calendars if they have a lot of people participating).

Remember praying for the dead is a spiritual work of mercy and don’t forget the words of Christ:

Blessed are the merciful for they shall be shown mercy.

Matthew 5:7

Remember when we show mercy to others we are also calling down God’s mercy on ourselves.

Here are the downloads

July Indulgence calendar wqphDownload
July Blank Indulgence CalendarDownload

For those who didn’t see our June Post here are the indulgence norms which are listed on the back of the sheet repeated.

Indulgence Norms and notes

  1. Communion on the day of an indulgence. This can be applied to any amount of indulgences that day.
  2. Confession within 20 days 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.
  5. Indulgences can only be applied to the dead or to the person earning the indulgence. They can not be applied to any other living person.
  6. For a PLENARY indulgence you must have NO attachment to sin. If such an attachment exists the indulgence earned is only partial.
  7. A plenary indulgence can only be earned one a day (expect if death is imminent), there is no limits to partial indulgences daily.
  8. An indulgence attached to a feast day is still valid if the feast day is transferred lawfully.
  9. A specific day’s indulgence requiring a visit to a particular church or oratory can be made from noon the previous day to midnight on the actual day.
  10. No unbaptized person nor any Christian who is currently under the penalty of excommunication may earn an indulgence.
  11. You must ACTIVELY seek and or state your intention to obtain an indulgence for the act or prayer that carries it to be valid.

Prayers & Acts that carry an indulgence (Partial list) All indulgences partial unless BOLD

Prayers

The Actiones Nostras, Act of faith hope and Love, Any Devout Mental Prayer, Adsumus, Adoro te Devote, Prayer to St. Joseph, Prayer of Thanksgiving, The Angelus, Domine Deus Omnipotens, Spiritual Communion, The Apostles Creed, Angels Dei, The Niceane Creed, The office for the dead, Any approved Litanies, Psalm 130, Iesu Dulcissime Redemptor, Ave Maria Stella, Maria Mater Gratiae, Exaudi Nos, O Sacrum Convivium, Prayer for the Pope, Prayer for the Dead, Psalm 51, Sub tuum praesidium, Prayer for Benefactors, Angel of God Prayer, Te Deum, Public Novenas for Pentecost Christmas or the Feast or the Immaculate Conception, Tantum Ergo, Prayer for Vocations, The Sign of the Cross, Sancta Maria Succurre Miseris, The Magnificat, Vista Quaesumus Domine, Act of Contrition (expect during Sacramental Confession), Prayer to St Michael, Chaplet of St Michael, Come Holy Spirit, Prayer before a Crucifix Plenary if done after communion Friday in Lent, Five decades of the Rosary Plenary if done in a family, religious community or Pious association, The Stations of the Cross Moving from Station to Station (unless physically unable to do so)

Actions that carry an indulgence

  • Making a Pious invocation raising your mind to god while performing the duties of life
  • Devoting yourself or your goods in compassionate service to your brothers in need
  • Voluntarily abstaining from something that is licit & pleasing in the spirit of penitence
  • Adoration of the blessed Sacrament Plenary if done for a half hour or more
  • Reading the scriptures Plenary if done for a half hour or more
  • Teaching Christian Doctrine
  • Visiting a church on All Souls day (Nov 2)
  • Going on a religious retreat for 3 or more days
  • Use a blessed religious object Plenary if blessed by a Pope & used on the Feast of Sts Peter & Paul
  • Visiting a Parish Church on the Feast day of its Saint(s) or on Aug 2nd (say Our Father & Creed)
  • Attending the 1st Mass of a newly ordained priest or his jubilee mass (25th 50th or 60th anniversary)
  • Visiting a cemetery and praying for the dead (Plenary if done from Nov 1st through Nov 8th)

Biden, Lieu and Remembering the 18

Posted: June 21, 2021 by datechguy in catholic, Church doctrine
Tags: , , ,

Hell will be no more bearable and Heaven no less glorious if you find yourself there next to someone you hated in life

DaTechGuy

There was an article at the Daily Mail in England that talked about the Biden Eucharist business that had a headline that I thought missed the point completely:

Biden goes to Mass ignoring bishops’ move
that could BLOCK him and other Catholic
politicians from receiving Communion if
they support abortion

If you are a properly catechized Catholic your reaction to that headline would be: Of COURSE he went to Mass. he SHOULD go to mass. As a Catholic he is required to go to Mass weekly on pain of mortal sin and the solution to being in a state of mortal sin isn’t to add another one on top of what you have.

Now of course he like any other Catholic who is at Mass but not in a state of grace should not receive although he can go up to the priest at communion with his arms crossed to receive a priestly blessing but he should absolutely be going to mass.

The reaction of those thinking he should not illustrates the other half of this story, the other sin that the Devil is trying to foster in us: Spiritual Pride.

Pride is the deadliest of the deadly sins and Spiritual pride C.S. Lewis’ Screwtape calls it the: “strongest and most beautiful of the vices”

The danger of us looking at a Biden or a Lieu or anyone else who is committing public sin and boasting of it is that we look at such a person and grade ourselves on a curve based on their actions. The puffing of ourselves up is the temptation that is being played on us and we would be wise to remember this warning from Christ:

At that time some people who were present there told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices. He said to them in reply, “Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were greater sinners than all other Galileans? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did!

Or those eighteen people who were killed when the tower at Siloam fell on them   – do you think they were more guilty than everyone else who lived in Jerusalem? By no means! But I tell you, if you do not repent, you will all perish as they did

Luke 13:1-5

We can rightly call out this sin and hope to avoid it but let’s make sure that we don’t use it as a distraction from examining our own conscience.

That’s the trap, don’t fall into it

The Eucharistic as it Actually is

Posted: June 20, 2021 by datechguy in catholic, Church doctrine
Tags: , ,

With the left/media trying to turn the Eucharistic into an attendance prize it’s rather important to remember what it actually is and nothing illustrates it better than this image.

What happened is this. During the mass the priest when giving out the blood of Christ accidently spilled some on the carpet. When the mass was over he went to get the items necessary to clean up the precious blood he found that three nuns were kneeling before the spilled sacrament in adoration.

They know and they understand exactly what and more importantly WHO the Eucharist is and what a honor is it to be even in the presence of the blessed sacrament.

Would that not just Catholic pols but ALL Catholics and even all Christians had the same honor, reverence and understanding of the Eucharist that these three nuns have.

Here’s the video.

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