As I have revealed in some past posts, I am always fascinated by the distribution of proper names in the populations I serve. For example, in performing infant baptisms, one gets a look into the names people are giving their babies.
In the ministry of marriage preparation one gets to see how people one generation removed from those babies were named. On my chart of weddings in production, I notice that nearly half (44%) of upcoming brides are named either Danielle or Amanda. Eccentric and verbose as I am, I have a special fondness for girls who have gerundives for names. No Mirandas yet.
The men reveal no pattern. In fact, there are no two with the same name.
September 30, 2009
Tam Rudes Erant
Yesterday, in looking forward to preaching today on the feast of St. Jerome, I was poking around in my Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft Vulgate looking for some gem from the great translator that I could turn into a homily. You see, Jerome didn't just translate the Sacred Scriptures into Latin, but he also wrote little prologues and introductions to various sections and books.
In his introduction to the letters of St. Paul he asks the question of the order of the letters in the canon: why should the letter to the Romans be first, when it is clearly not the first that was written? Though the principle of ontological economy would suggest that the letters are simply arranged in descending order of size (excepting Hebrews, of course, whose Pauline authorship was doubted even in antiquity), Jerome comes up with a novel solution: the letters are arranged according to an upward graded path, in ascending order of spiritual perfection.
The Romans were so backward and rude that the spiritual condition they represent has to be presented first. The Corinthians, who seem to have known something of grace at least, represent the next spiritual step, and so on, until we get to the persecuted strength of the Thessalonians and the lofty spiritual heights of the letter to the Hebrews. A grain of humility for us 'Romans,' no?
Now I couldn't bring myself to make the people suffer through a homily concocted out of these obscure points, but it does remind us that Sacred Scripture is not a collection of neutral information about God. Scripture--and all Divine Revelation--is presented in such a way that it is geared for what we need to set us on the path of salvation.
In his introduction to the letters of St. Paul he asks the question of the order of the letters in the canon: why should the letter to the Romans be first, when it is clearly not the first that was written? Though the principle of ontological economy would suggest that the letters are simply arranged in descending order of size (excepting Hebrews, of course, whose Pauline authorship was doubted even in antiquity), Jerome comes up with a novel solution: the letters are arranged according to an upward graded path, in ascending order of spiritual perfection.
The Romans were so backward and rude that the spiritual condition they represent has to be presented first. The Corinthians, who seem to have known something of grace at least, represent the next spiritual step, and so on, until we get to the persecuted strength of the Thessalonians and the lofty spiritual heights of the letter to the Hebrews. A grain of humility for us 'Romans,' no?
Now I couldn't bring myself to make the people suffer through a homily concocted out of these obscure points, but it does remind us that Sacred Scripture is not a collection of neutral information about God. Scripture--and all Divine Revelation--is presented in such a way that it is geared for what we need to set us on the path of salvation.
Vast Atheistic Conspiracy
For the feast of St. Jerome, a comment about one of his particular patronages, libraries and librarians:
Was it not some atheistic 'humanist' who decided that in the Library of Congress Classification, Sacred Scripture should be put under 'BS'?
UPDATE: a regular reader and real librarian--my mother--points out that in LC the Bible has no author. To the one who made this decision we might quote 2 Timothy 3:16--and why not in Jerome's translation for his feast day: omnis scriptura divinitus inspirata et utilis ad docendum ad arguendum ad corrigendum ad erudiendum in iustitia. "All scripture is divinely inspired and useful for teaching, for refuting, for correcting, and for training in righteousness."
Was it not some atheistic 'humanist' who decided that in the Library of Congress Classification, Sacred Scripture should be put under 'BS'?
UPDATE: a regular reader and real librarian--my mother--points out that in LC the Bible has no author. To the one who made this decision we might quote 2 Timothy 3:16--and why not in Jerome's translation for his feast day: omnis scriptura divinitus inspirata et utilis ad docendum ad arguendum ad corrigendum ad erudiendum in iustitia. "All scripture is divinely inspired and useful for teaching, for refuting, for correcting, and for training in righteousness."
September 29, 2009
Overheard in Church
Lines one just doesn't expect to hear in a eulogy at a funeral Mass:
So I went and got my gun, spun the chambers, and put it on the table.
N.B. The story was unrelated to the departure of the deceased from this life.
So I went and got my gun, spun the chambers, and put it on the table.
N.B. The story was unrelated to the departure of the deceased from this life.
Standing Up for Real Health Care
One must rejoice a little when the secular press represents a Catholic position more or less well. From the New York Times this morning:
The Catholic Church seeks to cooperate with grace in the development of the common good and a more just human society; public health--as an issue of both wellness and justice in our time--is a critical component of this vision. The problem here is that abortion is not health care, but in fact the opposite, both for its specific victims and for the deforming of our imagination around human life that it imposes on all of us.
Full article here. Thanks to the writer, David D. Kirkpatrick.
UPDATE: An old friend, who often does me the great favor of keeping me honest in these posts, reminds me that we should always keep in mind that federal funding for abortion has long been forbidden. So, just to clarify, my point is not to try to say anything about politics, funding, insurance plans or anything else about which I am unqualified to comment. What I do want to point out is that the debate in these days is a good moment to remind ourselves that what the world calls 'health care' is not the same thing as what we Catholics would call 'health care.' Since many of our so-called Catholic politicians do not seem to care about this distinction, I think it's important that we point it out when we can.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, which has lobbied for decades to persuade the government to provide universal health insurance, says it opposes the bill unless it bans the use of subsidies for plans that cover abortion.
The Catholic Church seeks to cooperate with grace in the development of the common good and a more just human society; public health--as an issue of both wellness and justice in our time--is a critical component of this vision. The problem here is that abortion is not health care, but in fact the opposite, both for its specific victims and for the deforming of our imagination around human life that it imposes on all of us.
Full article here. Thanks to the writer, David D. Kirkpatrick.
UPDATE: An old friend, who often does me the great favor of keeping me honest in these posts, reminds me that we should always keep in mind that federal funding for abortion has long been forbidden. So, just to clarify, my point is not to try to say anything about politics, funding, insurance plans or anything else about which I am unqualified to comment. What I do want to point out is that the debate in these days is a good moment to remind ourselves that what the world calls 'health care' is not the same thing as what we Catholics would call 'health care.' Since many of our so-called Catholic politicians do not seem to care about this distinction, I think it's important that we point it out when we can.
September 28, 2009
Punks Not Dead
You know you're still rock and roll when...
You stand outside church praying at the end of a funeral Mass, and as the piper gets a few bars into "Amazing Grace" you feel something stir inside. And it's only then you realize that you're waiting for the guitar and drums to roll in, because the version to which you are must accustomed is the arrangement by Dropkick Murphys:
Search Terms
One of the fun and interesting aspects of maintaining a blog is reviewing the search engine terms that bring visitors. Here are some of my recent favorite searches made by some soul that succeeded in drawing them to a minor friar:
following simple directions. One of my special talents!
interesting burial requests. I don't know if they are interesting, but I do have requests.
Capuchin friars horarium. I wish!
dangers of celibacy. Have I something to say, or am I myself the example?
six day hypocrite and Sunday morning saint. That's me! Except for the Sunday morning saint part.
following simple directions. One of my special talents!
interesting burial requests. I don't know if they are interesting, but I do have requests.
Capuchin friars horarium. I wish!
dangers of celibacy. Have I something to say, or am I myself the example?
six day hypocrite and Sunday morning saint. That's me! Except for the Sunday morning saint part.
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