The Practical Parson

 As the clock ticks down to the planned episcopal consecrations by the Society of Saint Pius X on July 1st, there is a lot of philosophical grandstanding taking place across social media and religious news outlets.  The majority of Roman Catholic outlets and clergy seem to tow the predictable line that the SSPX is going to be straying into schism because of 'disobedience to the pope', an assumption presumably confirmed by the current bishop of Rome's own words on the matter this week at Castel Gandolfo.  The entirety of the assumption of schism centers around the SSPX's rejection of the majority of what has come to be attributed to the Second Vatican Council, although no one can ever quite cite what source from the council documents they proclaim the SSPX to be in revolt on.   At the very heart of the matter is, in plain fact; the very issue that the Roman church takes with other sacramental churches: liturgy and intent.  These 2 issues can be summed up qui...

 Recently, the Vatican issued a reprimand of 2 Argentinian bishops who deprived the faithful in their dioceses of the canonical right to receive Holy Communion while kneeling.  While that is something one would not EXPECT to hear ordinarily, it is sadly a sign of the times in the modern era of sacramental Christianity.  Ever since the accursed "council" in the 1960's, the Roman Church's modern proclivities towards sacrilege have sadly infected the other sacramental churches as well; in the spirit of ecumenism, of course.  Yes, rather than being bold in tradition and liturgical worship, our churches have abandoned centuries old practices and observances, in favor of the new and innovative concepts of faith; which are ever-changing and never the same from day to day.  There is an old Latin expression which says "Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi" or "As you pray, so you believe".  If we do not worship the Lord with respect, with honor, and with dignity; what ...

 Last night President Trump posted a criticism of Pope Leo, and an image depicting Trump as a quasi-messianic figure was later posted to his account as well.   While we may never know who actually posted the image (as there are multiple staffers who have access so to do),  I think we can all agree that trying to depict yourself in comparison with Jesus is not a GOOD thing.  Yet the hordes of online warriors who have spent the last year A.I.-ing themselves into every manner of conceivable art, having themselves depicted as saints, pagan deities, and even into images with Christ himself; are completely outraged that Trump would dare allow something in the same vein of himself to be posted.  While I disagree with the image in question and would say it is in extreme poor taste; the reason why most people are aghast by it has nothing to do with the IDEA behind the image, as much as it is the PERSON who is in the image.   That being said, I would call t...

 This week, a news report broke which claimed that the Pentagon had demanded a meeting with the Vatican's US envoy, Cardinal Christophe Pierre; wherein they threatened the Roman Church unless the Pope "fell in line" with the President's administration's ideas.  On the surface that seems a fairly salacious and horrifying thing, yes?   But when we read the story further, it begins to fall apart at the seams.  Firstly, it was reported by "Free Press", not known for being a bastion of journalistic integrity to begin with.  Secondly, they name that famous person who knows all, sees all, hears all, as their source for the report- Anonymous Source.  There are no more deceptive words used in journalism than the lines "Anonymous sources report"  and "it is reported".  Neither require proof, they require no facts, they don't even require citation; putting journalistic integrity beneath high school and college term/ research papers, which ge...

 In recent weeks, there has been a growing obsession with the Priestly Fraternity of St. Pius X (SSPX), due to the announcement that they will be pursuing the consecration of new bishops for their society in July.   Ever the fraternal, loving, ecumenical, "God wants us all to be together in love" crowd; the mainstream Roman Catholic Hierarchy have taken to staunch denouncements of the society, proclaiming them schismatics, heretics, and worse.  For daring to presume that they have the right to have their own bishops; a number of otherwise intelligent and decent Christian people are quite legitimately threatening the SSPX with the fires of eternal damnation.  The crux of the matter is the breakdown in communications between the society and the prefect for the congregation of the doctrine of the Faith, Cardinal Fernandez.  Specifically, it is known that Cardinal Fernandez himself has prevented the SSPX from being able to meet with the Roman Pontiff themselves...

 There is a malignant ideology that pervades our society today; wherein man considers that all that is old, traditional, and past, must be swept away in favor of a new approach to life.  That all that has been before is somehow ignorant, outdated, or invalid; in light of the modern pursuit of the modern concept of "unity".  This is true not only of our churches, but also of our secular society as well. Millennia of Human history and civilization, law and order; we are urged to cast aside in order to "free" the modern man from the perceived bonds of the past.  Yet if one casts aside what has gone before, is one truly Free?  Consider the example of cultures that seek to erase what came before them.  When the system that they establish on this principle is unleashed, it spends a vast amount of time and effort almost solely focused on suppressing the past and oppressing the people until they accept it.   This can be demonstrated in the Draconian estab...