Wild Tangents
Marc talks about life in Nashville, life as a Catholic and life as a geek.

My good friend Paul Camarata, host of the SaintCast recorded this song for his 100th episode. Now there’s a video for it. It’s a real riot….

“Zosimus“, that kills me every time……

Just a clue to the BBC, only deacons, priests and bishops are “ordained” in the Catholic Church. In this article, they clearly say that Blessed Alphonsa of Kerala was “ordained”. But what happens when a religious brother or sister becomes such is not referred to as “ordained”, but rather as taking a “profession of vows”.

She persisted with her religious vocation despite serious health problems, and in 1928, she was ordained, taking the name Sister Alphonsa.

[From BBC NEWS | South Asia | Vatican to canonise Indian woman]

Now while I am sure that no one from the BBC would stoop so low as to use the Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, the Oxford dictionary requires an account to look up words. So I’ll use MW instead. They define “ordain” as:

1: to invest officially (as by the laying on of hands) with ministerial or priestly authority

[From ordain - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary]

Other wise this was great article, until it got an agenda.

Indian Christians have been accused by hardline Hindu nationalists of “forced conversions” - especially among low-caste and tribal peoples.

They are also accused of making conversion to Christianity a condition for receiving treatment at medical centres they run.

[From BBC NEWS | South Asia | Vatican to canonise Indian woman]

UM…OK….While I don’t know if this may or may not be happening, I’m not sure what it has to do with the subject of this story. And, if it is happening, it is deplorable and what Christ wanted out of us. Our Blessed Lord offered the woman at the well the water of life before she converted, not after.

Words escape me, except “Good job Dr. Paul!”

Check out SQPN for all the great Catholic podcasts yo can get on your iPhone.

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Last week my good friend Rob interviewed me for Faith Journeys #3, which is an episode of a show he runs on his Tupelo Catholic podcast feed. I figured I would post it here in case anyone looking around here might want to hear it…

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 Faith Journeys #3: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (172)

Here’s another great episode of “That Catholic Show” covering the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

Please visit the SQPN site for more info on and episodes of “That Catholic Show“.

For more information on the topic, Catholic Answers has tract on the teachings of the Church Fathers on the subject. They also have a tract that is generally discussed the Catholic teachings on the forgiveness of sins.

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In all honesty, I’ve never met Dennis in person. I found his blog less than a month before moving from Memphis to Nashville. But after reading his blog, following his seminary experience and corresponding with him a few times via email, I feel like I do know him well enough to know that he will make an awesome priest. I can’t believe it’s already time for his ordination to the transitional Diaconate.

He announces on his blog that it’s time….

DATE: 3 November 2007
TIME: 4:30 PM
SITE: St. Louis Catholic Church, Memphis

I won’t be mailing out a large mailing list of invitations or announcements for my upcoming Diaconal Ordination. I’m saving my money for printing and postage for announcements of my Priestly Ordination (7 June 2008). Also, it takes place during the regular vigil mass for the parish, and I expect that the church will be pretty full.

Nevertheless, if you read this, you’re invited! And there will be a nice reception at the parish afterwards.

Please keep Dennis in your prayers.

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I am getting a flood of comments on the post I made last year on the Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Go check it out!

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The Blessed Virgin Mary already lives body and soul in Heaven.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes the Assumption as:

966 “Finally the Immaculate Virgin, preserved free from all stain of original sin, when the course of her earthly life was finished, was taken up body and soul into heavenly glory, and exalted by the Lord as Queen over all things, so that she might be the more fully conformed to her Son, the Lord of lords and conqueror of sin and death.” The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son’s Resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians:

In giving birth you kept your virginity; in your Dormition you did not leave the world, O Mother of God, but were joined to the source of Life. You conceived the living God and, by your prayers, will deliver our souls from death.

The first paragraph of the Wikipedia article on the Assumption sums things up pretty well also:

According to Roman Catholic doctrine and the traditions of the Catholic Church, the Blessed Virgin Mary (Mary, the mother of Jesus) “having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory.”[1] This means that Mary was transported into Heaven with her body and soul united. The feast day recognizing Mary’s passage into Heaven is celebrated as The Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary by Roman Catholics. This doctrine was dogmatically and infallibly defined by Pope Pius XII on 1 November 1950 in his Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus Deus. In those denominations that observe it, the Feast of the Assumption is commonly celebrated on August 15.

This is also a holy day of obligation in the US and most other places. If you’re not Catholic and you’re wondering why the Catholic Churches seem so busy today, this is why. The holy days of obligation for we catholics requires us basically treat the day like a Sunday as far as our spiritual and worship life is concerned.

The Catechism explains Holy Day of Obligation as:

2180 The precept of the Church specifies the law of the Lord more precisely: “On Sundays and other holy days of obligation the faithful are bound to participate in the Mass.”117 “The precept of participating in the Mass is satisfied by assistance at a Mass which is celebrated anywhere in a Catholic rite either on the holy day or on the evening of the preceding day.”118

2181 The Sunday Eucharist is the foundation and confirmation of all Christian practice. For this reason the faithful are obliged to participate in the Eucharist on days of obligation, unless excused for a serious reason (for example, illness, the care of infants) or dispensed by their own pastor.119 Those who deliberately fail in this obligation commit a grave sin.

2182 Participation in the communal celebration of the Sunday Eucharist is a testimony of belonging and of being faithful to Christ and to his Church. The faithful give witness by this to their communion in faith and charity. Together they testify to God’s holiness and their hope of salvation. They strengthen one another under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

2183 “If because of lack of a sacred minister or for other grave cause participation in the celebration of the Eucharist is impossible, it is specially recommended that the faithful take part in the Liturgy of the Word if it is celebrated in the parish church or in another sacred place according to the prescriptions of the diocesan bishop, or engage in prayer for an appropriate amount of time personally or in a family or, as occasion offers, in groups of families.”

If you have any questions about this or any other aspect of the Catholic Church, feel free to leave of comment or contact me through email. I might not know the answer off the top of my head, but I do know how to find the answer.

God bless everyone and Happy Assumption Day!

BTW - The quotes from the catechism include paragraph numbers before each paragraph. This is the referencing method used in it. You can pick any copy or printing of it and find these paragraphs using the paragraph number.

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And hits pay dirt in my opinion. It’s actually a pretty cool article. I recommend reading it. I was especially impressed by what my old pal Drew Sill had to say:

“The Latin Mass is so pure, it’s so reverent, I just feel more spiritual when I worship this way,” said Drew Sill, 30. “And I like the fact that the Latin Mass is the same in every culture in the world. It brings us all together in community.”

Awesome Drew, just awesome!

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This is probably my favorite so far.

The life giving waters of the Earth and the life giving waters of baptism. Just awesome!

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