The Practical Parson

 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 ...

 Recently in the State of North Carolina where I live and conduct my own ministry, the Roman Catholic Bishop of the Charlotte Diocese has issued new "liturgical norms", pertaining to the administration and reception of Holy Communion.  In his letter, he orders that altar rails and prayer kneelers no longer be used by people who wish to receive communion, that altar rails should be removed, and that the faithful are to be encouraged (if not commanded) to receive communion standing instead of kneeling.   While it is entirely within the Roman Church's capacity to force upon its followers whatever it may deem appropriate; one must keep in mind that forcing the faithful to practices which go against their own tradition and the faith they practice, is a mark of arrogance and irreverent pride.   The Bishop writes that he has chosen to enforce these actions to produce "Uniformity" within the church's liturgies.  Ah yes, the age-old myth of liturgical "Uniformi...

 Recently, the Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Charlotte, NC has taken it upon himself to fully implement the Motu Proprio "Traditionis Custodie" of the late Bishop of Rome.  Apart from banishing all adherents of the Latin Mass to a single parish as of July 8th, which won't even open until late in the Fall; an even more disturbing document was leaked from the bishop's office this week.  In the letter that Bishop Martin had planned to issue to the diocese, he makes a multitude of uninformed and personal liable claims against traditional liturgy and people who worship in that manner; as well as theological arguments which have no basis in Catholic teaching, and would be more at home in a Baptist church than a sacramental one.  He has a desire and plans to ban every semblance of tradition from all parishes in the diocese: From banning altar rails, to telling priests they cannot cross their stoles or say vesting prayers for specific vestments (which he claims cau...

 This week, a new addition to the ever-increasing pantheon of liberal insanity emerged from the governor of Michigan.  In a video that was posted online, Gretchen Whitmer (Governor of Michigan) is speaking with a left-wing "influencer" and podcaster (whatever the hell that is) about.  The 2 women spoke about the Biden-Harris administration's CHIP act, which aims to invest in domestic microchip manufacturing, and also abortion; you know, the only true talking point that the American left  has been singing about during this election cycle.  The video concludes with Whitmer feeding a Dorito's chip to the influencer by placing it on her tongue while she kneels.  The camera then pulls back to show Whitmer standing and wearing a "Harris/ Wallz" ballcap.   While people are certainly free to discuss whatever topics they find fascinating or important, despite how distasteful or outright disgusting they may be; there is one thing one should try to shy away ...

   “Holy Communion is not a reward for good behavior, but spiritual food for the starving!” While on the surface this may sound like a noble and pastoral sentiment, it underlies a lack of knowledge of the depth of the great mystery of Holy Communion, and a lack of respect for the dignity of the mystery itself.   While it is indeed true that Holy Communion is not a reward for good behavior, it must be understood quite clearly that the church has never held nor taught that only those who are on their best behavior are able to receive it.  Rather, the church advises and admonishes the faithful (as they are charged so to do, 1 Corinthians 11:27) to prepare themselves as best they may in order to receive the great mystery of our Lord’s true presence in the sacrament.  Why does the church do this?  Is it because they want to prevent sincere souls from seeking Christ?  Heaven forbid!  It is rather because the church truly loves those even outside of...

 Recently, I was watching a group interview with members of GAFCON and ACNA speaking about the creation of a new, Independent Anglican Diocese info Australia (Diocese of the Southern Cross).  A theme which kept recurring in the discussion they engaged in was the term and references to "Revisionists" and "revisionism".  At face value, to anyone who holds Sacred scripture as the groundwork of our faith, that sounds like a terrifying concept- who would dare try to revise holy writ?  And I think that, that is to an extent what the bishops of GAFCON and ACNA were going for- the shock factor of others attempting to revise what the scriptures teach.  However, as Anglicans, it is an intriguingly odd notion to accuse anyone else of attempting to revise teachings; when the revision of teaching itself is the cause for the Anglican Communion's very existence.  Had it not been for Henry VIII and Cranmer changing the foundational teaching of the church's independence and...

  In just under a month, Christians will gather in crowded, candlelit churches on Christmas Eve to celebrate the great feast of our Savior's birth.  Recently, some clergy friends of mine have directed me to an interesting little thing that the Episcopal Church's National Cathedral in DC has decided to do for Christmas Eve this year.   Are they going to bring in the homeless so that they have a warm place to sleep that night?  No. Are they going to actually preach the Christ whom they are obliged to by the book of common prayer?  No. Are they going to charge people to attend Christmas Eve Mass and receive Christ?  YES! You heard that correctly, the National Cathedral in Washington, DC; has decided to CHARGE people to attend a worship service on Christmas Eve.  Now some will defend this move as an attempt to control crowd levels or such; but that goes against the very essence of the Christian faith and the nature of cathedrals themselves.  The ...

 This past week, the Roman Catholic Church celebrated its "World Youth Day"; an event marketed as a way to get youth reinvigorated in their faith and to give them opportunities for worship.  What World Youth day is, or at least what it has become; is a festival of sacrilege and blasphemy against the sacraments of the catholic faith and Christ himself.   So-called "designer" vestments which look like they were made for a Halloween Costume shop, chalices and patens made from anything but dignified materials, glass bowls for consecrated hosts covered with saran wrap, stages that look like something out of apocalyptic film/ TV series rather than altars of worship of the most Blessed Trinity.  The list of sins World Youth day this year has committed against the dignity of the Christian faith is as long as one's arm; yet the most disgraceful, distasteful, and outright blasphemous act is the manner in which the sacred Body of the Divine Savior was both distributed and ...

 In recent months, I have found myself being forced by society to bear witness to an ongoing saga of insanity being played out in the public square.  The debate surrounding the Transgender ideology and its purported rights and privileges have become topic of violence and hatred; truly ironic in light of the fact the people who promote the ideology claim to do everything in the name of "love" and "acceptance".  I have never cared much either way about whether a man or a woman wishes they were the opposite sex, and whether they decided to mutilate their body in order to satisfy that desire for validation; that is entirely within their own right to do so as an adult citizen of the nation in which we live.  However, seeing an increased number of people demanding that children under the age of 12 be subjected to (so-called) "gender-affirming care" in the way of life changing surgeries, puberty blockers, and enough supplemental hormones to damage their brain cel...

  Those of us who have been involved in the ministry for any great length of time can all agree that one of the most difficult aspects of what we do is to try to convince people to come to church.   It seems easy enough on the surface: just go invite them!  The unfortunate truth of the matter is that the vast majority of people we encounter seem to not be able to care any less about the Church or Christ in general.  Oh they claim to be spiritual, many even claim they have that so-called "personal relationship with Jesus" that televangelists are wanton to sell: But ask them to take 5 minutes out of their day to pay a visit to Jesus in the sacrament or even just to stop into his house for a brief prayer of gratitude, and it's too much for them to bear.   I have been a mission priest for over 10 years now, and trying to build up a small congregation is always increasingly difficult.  Yet in spite of seemingly insurmountable difficulty given the way o...