Abp. Schwietz: New Missal Translation has "Dogmatic Clarity"

Archbishop Roger Scwietz

Archbishop Schwietz of Anchorage, Alaska has written a good article that expresses his strong support of the new english translation of the Roman Missal that will be implemented next Advent. He explains that his recent trip to Russia, where he celebrated the Mass in Russian, was formative in helping him realize how "unifying" the new translation will be for us here in the United States with the rest of the world. His excellency explains:

My trip to Magadan, Russia, to be with Father Mike Shields and the people of the Church of the Nativity for the 20th Anniversary celebration of the parish’s founding was eventful in so many ways. The gratitude of the people was expressed in every imaginable way. Their faith was clearly felt in the services we celebrated. I even began to pick up a bit of Russian while I was there.

As we celebrated the Sacred Liturgy of the Mass each day (in Russian) I began to recognize more and more the invocations and responses. After a while it became clear to me that the Russian translation of the Roman Missal which they were using was the same as ours in English: Not what we are currently using, but what we will be starting to use in Advent 2011. Just as I have seen in Spanish, French and German translations of the Roman Missal, we now have a common way of translating the Latin into the vernacular — common for all except the English speaking world. The English has been less tied to the Latin text.

That will soon change as we in the United States and elsewhere begin using the new English translation of the Roman Missal. Having labored over this translation in the U.S. bishops’ conference for years, I am happy to see this day arrive. I am well aware that some people feel the translation could be improved. At the same time, I am delighted that we are joining the rest of the Catholic world in sharing the beauty and simplicity of the Roman Rite with its Scriptural references and dogmatic clarity.

The great part of this article is that he acknowledges that there are those that disagree with the implementation of the translation as it is currently written, but he explains that such opposition is, and should be, in the shadows of the need for unity that comes from joining the rest of the World by sharing the same translation for the Missal. He describes the new translation as the... "beauty and simplicity of the Roman Rite with its Scriptural references and dogmatic clarity."

One of the biggest arguments against the implementation of the new translation comes from those that say that Dioceses are not doing enough in Catechetical formation regarding its use. The Archbishop, the Archdiocese of Anchorage, and the Catholic Anchor have already begun to address this concern. The Archbishop explains:

As this year of 2011 begins, I invite all of us to look into the reasons for the new English translation of the Roman Missal, and to launch into a time of preparation for the reception of this text. It is a text that is more clearly scripturally based and more elevated in its effort to worship God with dignity.

Among the resources which will be made available to us throughout this year of preparation is the series of reflections being presented by Father LeRoy Clementich, CSC. Father Clem has prepared several texts to help us understand the background and value of the new translation. Please read them carefully and, perhaps save them for future reference. They will give us the opportunity to prepare ourselves to adjust to our liturgical language with a trust in the Spirit’s continued guidance of the church. May our spirit of adventure help us receive the New Roman Missal for the greater glory of God.

He explains that the reason we should be so accepting of this translation is because it is, "elevated in its effort to worship God with dignity." In this simple statement, he not only explains why the translation is good for us Catholic and good for the Mass, but the proper role of the text in the Mass, that is: Worship.

On top of his support for the translation, the Archbishop has also implemented a Catechesis program for the new translation inside the pages of the Catholic Anchor. The feature is called Preparing for the New Translation of the Roman Missal. It will be written by Father Leroy Clementich, C.S.C.

We applaud the Archbishop for his support of the new translation, and the beginning efforts of explaining, instructing, and Catechetically forming the faithful in the Archdiocese of Anchorage.

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Midnight Mass - Christmas: St. Joseph's in Detroit, Michigan

Wanted to post a few pics from where my family attended Midnight Mass on Christmas. Unfortunately, I only took a few pics with my phone as I didn't think to bring the better camera.

We went to:

St. Joseph Catholic Church

Midnight Latin Tridentine Mass

Missa Brevis in G by W. A. Mozart
Ave Verum Corpus by William Byrd
sung and performed by the St. Joseph Cappella, Soloists, and Chamber Orchestra
(preludes begin at 11:30)

The Main Altar

Marian Side Altar

St. Joseph's - Detroit, MI

The Mass was beautiful, the Music was awe inspiring and it really was a Mass that sought the Sacred. 

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National Catholic Reporter Person of the Year - Off the Deep End: Officially

Many Catholic bloggers have taken the National Catholic Reporter to task for years. I have stayed out of it, because much better minds than I were doing a fine job of things. Then I woke up this morning and checked my twitter feed only to see a gem of a story that I knew I had to immediately post about. I also know that just about every major blog is going to post about this, and I personally cant wait to read what Larry D has to say over at Acts of the Apostasy.

The story? The NCR decided to name a "Person of the Year." They have "never named a person of the year and [they] might not again in the future." But clearly there was someone this year that was so influential and important in the history of Catholic thought and tradition that they had to break ranks. So who was this person that did so much for the cause of Christ?

Well, I normally don't do the whole inline commenting thing but let's take a look at the article [with my comments]. I won't attempt to be funny with my comments, because I will fail when compared to Fr. Z's or Larry's comments, so I will just try and paint the picture for folks, to help set up other commentators efforts. :

NCR has never named a person of the year, and we might not again in the future. [Because you have now lost all credibility?] However, as we sent our last print issue to press in the waning days of 2010, we felt the need to single out one American Catholic who showed extraordinary leadership and courage this last year. [Notice the lack of any mention of this persons adherence to the Faith.]

In the spring of 2010, as the national debate on health care reform seemed deadlocked, Sr. Carol Keehan, the Daughter of Charity who is president and CEO of the Catholic Health Association, led her organization to endorse the legislation and thus helped pass it through Congress. The move put health care coverage within the reach of an additional 32 million Americans. [No mention of the fact that it also put ABORTION within the reach of 32 million more people.]

In a video message delivered to the Catholic Health Association convention in June, President Obama praised Keehan: “Your work, your passion, your commitment helped make the difference, and you did so in a way that protects your long-standing beliefs and the beliefs of so many others across the country.”[Shows who their target readership is - an Obama mention is rather telling.]

Catholic bishops and conservative commentators were not pleased. The bishops had not endorsed the legislation, and they expected all Catholics to follow their lead. They called the health association’s position “a wound to Catholic unity.” The bishops held a closed-door meeting in June to discussion the association. [They have thrown in the towel at being an unbiased Catholic publication.]

Through the summer and fall, the association and Keehan were the butt of scathing attacks by conservative commentators. Relations between association leadership and the bishops were said to be strained. Numerous people told NCR the Catholic Health Association was keeping its head down and waiting for its relationship with the bishops to heal.

And then, last month, Phoenix Bishop Thomas Olmsted withdrew the “Catholic” designation from St. Joseph’s Hospital and Medical Center because he said the hospital wouldn’t accept his full authority about a medical case that he had deemed to be an abortion. The hospital had said it was acting to save a life. [This infuriates me! He didn't do it because they wouldnt accept his full authority he did it because they wouldnt accept the full authority and teaching of the CHURCH, the CATHOLIC CHURCH.]

As NCR tried to report on St. Joseph’s losing its Catholic status, we sought comments from ecclesial authorities and canon lawyers. Despite copious commentary produced over several months from ethicists and moral theologians who reasoned the hospital had acted compassionately and morally, no one had much to say for the record on this latest development, beyond acknowledging Olmsted’s right to do what he thinks best in his own diocese. No one, that is, except the Catholic Health Association, led by Keehan, who supported the hospital. [This is a contorted and confusing paragraph to set up their assertion that Sr. Keehan is a selfless martyr. This is not the case, she is a martyr to an agenda that is not selfless, but in actuality very selfish and misguided. By that, I mean misguided in the fact that she claims to be Catholic, but doesn't teach or profess true Catholic beliefs.]

As Catholics, we agree on essentials, but can, and often do, disagree on the application of essential beliefs, as in the St. Joseph’s Hospital case. When we disagree, we do it respectfully, as the Catholic Health Association has done. Sometimes it takes special courage, as in the health care legislation and the St. Joseph’s Hospital situations. [Wow, they gloss over this. No deep analysis of how, why and when we can disagree on the application of Catholic beliefs? Again, this is the NCR's acceptance that they are irrelevant and have completely become the official paper of the dissident progressive catholyc heresy.]

We also can’t help but note that with the Vatican in the midst of two investigations of U.S. women religious, many people have counseled the women to keep a low profile. In this atmosphere, Keehan, a woman religious, continues to take courageous stands. [Courageous stands for what? They never seem to say. A person is courageous if they rush into a lion cage... or maybe they are just something else...]

And that’s why Sr. Carol Keehan is NCR’s person of the year for 2010.

So the NCR is knowingly publishing faleshoods, and attempting to convince unsuspecting Catholics of their way of thinking through half-truths and vague paragraphs of distorted teaching. They are purposefully teaching contrary to the Faith, in an attempt to praise one of their own, and someone who is pushing their agenda: a progressive cafeteria-style Faith, with all the luxury of tradition and time. 


This move by the NCR should be a nail in their coffin. They have gone off the deep end, and if you see a copy of this publication in a parish you should probably find a better parish to attend Mass at. There is no defense of their dissident beliefs and they do nothing but harm the Catholic Faith.

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The Mysterious Quiet: The Catholic Anchor Saga - Part V

So it has been almost two weeks since we received word that Joel Davidson, the current editor of The Catholic Anchor, was given 6 months notice that he was going to be let go. The 6-month timeframe is peculiar enough in itself, but what is even more perplexing is the silence coming from all fronts. We have no official statement from the Anchor or the parties in question, and the only comment we have from the Chancery of the Archdiocese is that "Joel Davidson continues to be the editor." Also of note, today Joel Davidson published his first signed piece on the Anchor website since December 1st, 2010. So where does the situation stand?

We have not been contacted by the Archdiocese or anyone within the Chancery to tell us that our story is incorrect. Nor have we been contacted by anyone to tell us that we are incorrect. In fact, our blog comments and email have been continually used as an outlet for people who have continued to confirm our reports. We have also received a lot of communication from Catholics in the Archdiocese frustrated and upset with the way the Chancery has handled this.

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The truth boils down to two options: Either we are wrong and Joel Davidson was not given notice, at a meeting on December 15, 2010, that he had 6-months before he would be let go... or... he was. The Chancery has only added to the confusion of this question and not in any way helped to clarify it by giving the statement they did to us, in response to a series of questions that could have easily helped clear everything up.

So we will continue to wait... it appears it might be 6 months before we know the truth. Quiet continues to be the only sound coming from the Chancery. Meanwhile, we will continue to pray for the Archbishop, the Archdiocese, the Anchor, and the Davidsons.

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Happy Birthday Jesus!

and a Merry Christmas to all the readers of Defend us in Battle and especially to Joe (who owns this blog and lets me write here from time to time)

Some quick updates...

There has been a lot going on the past couple of days in the "Catholic World." While we have been focusing on whether or not Joel Davidson is still going to be the Editor of the Catholic Anchor, there have been other events in the world that I could have been covering, if I had more time.

Bishop Olmstead Acts Like a True Sheppard
In Phoenix, Arizona Bishop Olmstead "used his staff" and decertified a hospital there from being a Catholic institution. It is a rather interesting story, and is quite moving really. It shows that there are Bishops out there that are willing to stand up for the precepts of the faith.

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Another Pontifical Mass to Occur at BNSIC

The Paulus Institute is pleased to announce a Pontifical Solemn High Mass, to be offered Saturday, April 9, 2011, at 1 p.m., also in the Extraordinary Form at the High Altar of the Shrine, honoring Pope Benedict XVI on the 6th anniversary of his inauguration. All the Catholic Faithful are invited.

The celebrant, from the Vatican, will be the American Archbishop Joseph Augustine DiNoia, O.P., Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Liturgy and the Discipline of the Sacraments. His Excellency holds four theology degrees or certificates. He taught theology for 25 years at the Dominican House of Studies and was executive director for 7 years of the Secretariat for Doctrine and Pastoral Practices of the now United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

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The Internet Got Regulated
The Internet got a bunch of safeguards laws that were... well unnecessary? The FCC voted to "safeguard" the internet to ensure people were guaranteed access. The funny thing is, no one was denied any access, and in fact most people feel that this will limit access in the future, if and when the Gov't finds some need to limit it. This is a pretty complex issue, but I have a feeling that the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" statement will end up being the rallying cry once this thing starts becoming problematic. I envision "speed issues" will be the first big problem. Oh, and by the way... the FCC body that voted for this? Unelected. Nice Christmas present huh?

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The Archdiocese of Anchorage Responds - The Anchor Situation: Part IV

The Archdiocese has finally responded to our request for comment. We broke this story 5 days ago, and at that time inquired with the Archdiocese for comment. After receiving nothing for days, I finally have received the official statement from the Archdiocese of Anchorage. The statement is troubling, for a multitude of reasons. The Archdiocese is in serious need of public relations help, as Mark Shea points out, but something tells me that I am not in line for that job.

As for the Archdiocese's official statement on the matter, Kim Bakic, the Executive Secretary to the Archbishop responded to my series of questions:

Thank you for your concern however, Joel Davidson continues to be the editor for the Catholic Anchor.

When asked a clarifying question of whether this means that Joel is currently the editor but has been told that his position will end at a date in the future, the response, quickly given this time, was:

Joel continues to be the Editor of the Catholic Anchor.

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Now, this reply is perplexing. Either, Mark Shea, The Devout Life, GLACC, ChesterBellocAK, SupportJoel.org, and I are all incorrect and rumor mongers, or there is more to this statement. It also shows that the AOA really doesn't understand PR and the way that the news cycle works.

This is most likely the AOA trying to be savvy with their statement. As I have said, there are reports that Joel will be let go in the spring. Essentially, he has been told that he is going to be let go, but that it will take effect a few months from now. I think this is an honorable, and appropriate thing to do for an employee. That being said, it doesn't change the fact that he will be let go. As a matter of fact, I even alluded to that in my questions that were emailed to the Chancery. So why this type of response then?

I think that they are trying to make us think that Joel isn't going to be let go. But if that is the case, why not issue a full statement about how I am completely incorrect, that Joel's situation with the Anchor is unchanged, and that I am simply on the wrong end of some vicious rumor? Why then wouldn't Joel Davidson email me and correct me? In fact, a Mass was held at the CATHEDRAL yesterday regarding this situation, why wouldn't the "rumor" be put to rest there? Why doesn't the Chancery take this blog, or the faithful that ask questions seriously?

I leave it to you the readers, and you the parishioners within the Archdiocese. Does this answer satisfy you? Does this answer your questions? Did you know that every time you give at Church in Alaska, part of your gift goes to the publication costs of the Anchor? Without clear answers, can you morally continue to give at Church? We are called to give financially to support the Church, but we are not called to give at our parish. In fact, we are taught that if we don't know or believe that our financial gifts are going to things that promote the True teachings of the Church, we are called to give elsewhere?

What if we all stopped giving until we got answers? What if instead we gave to Rome directly, or the Dominican Sisters, Mary Mother of the Eucharist? Or what if we gave to Tara - if we want to give locally? Maybe then this Chancery, and Chanceries around the country would take the faithful seriously. Especially at Christmas... what if our Christmas Gifts [the checks] were instead replaced with coupons that explained where we were giving instead? Would they then take us seriously?

For Past Information on this subject please see:
Part I
Part II
Part III

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A Clarification & Apology

In my last post, I made a point that was incorrectly understood. I blame myself for quickly writing my post and not being more clear. I want to clarify this point, as I offended someone that I was trying to stick up for and to herald as someone that puts herself out there and defends the faith on a daily basis.

Here is the part of the post in question:

Again, I don't blame Danielle Bean, she is simply explaining how her Faith has been distorted and lost to the proud and haughty hands of others. The True Presence has been hidden by those who are more interested in form over substance. We must storm against the eradication of truth and the distortion of The Faith. We must have Priests, the faithful, and especially EMHC stand up and say, "I want to do what is right for the Lord, I want to reclaim reverence for the True Presence!"

Now, there is a reason why I capitalized Faith, and I tried to make a precise nuanced point, but it was lost on most readers. Unfortunately, it was also confusing to the person I was talking about and in a most egregious way.

I did not mean that Ms. Bean's faith, as in her inter-personal faith, was lost. Instead I capitalized Faith, meaning the CATHOLIC Faith, hence the capitalization. What I meant could be better written as such:

I don't blame Danielle Bean, she is simply explaining how the Catholic Faith has been distorted and confused by the proud and haughty hands of others.

Now I don't expect Danielle to know me, or know what I meant. I am sure she found my blog because it was linked to hers. Yet, I am sure most of my readers know that I would never imagine to pretend that I could know someone's heart or their inter-personal belief. I would never say that someone's faith was shaken, lost, distorted, or anything even remotely similar. I don't know if this is enough to satisfy Ms. Bean, but I haven't had anyone else write me that was upset with this post, so it was a tad shocking to see her comment. In fact, while writing this post I thought to myself, "The only person that might actually appreciate this post is Danielle herself." So when I saw her comment, I was taken aback. I re-read the post and realized why the mistake occurred, and that it was due to my sloppy writing.

So to Ms. Bean, I apologize. I am sorry for even remotely insinuating anything about her personal faith. It truly was due to the way I worded it, and in the way that I tried to make a "clever" point through capitalization. Honestly, if I wanted to attack someone, I would be much, much more direct than that. I feel horrible that someone that is such a stalwart and strong defender of the faith like Ms. Bean was thrown into this controversy due to my klutzy wording.

For others, as I have said, I think you know that I do not operate in such a backhanded way. If I had a problem with someone, or something, I would be much more direct than to couch a slam in some cryptic post. Again though, I would never pretend to know or think that I could judge someone's heart, let alone their inter-personal faith. So I am sorry for my poor choice of words, Danielle Bean exposes her soul on a daily basis on her blog, and doesn't need me commenting on it. I hope that everyone can see that I never meant to attack her, and in fact I was trying to hold her up as someone that is a humble and contemplative servant of the Lord. She is a very gracious and pious witness to the Faith.

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True Presence - True Courage: Reclaiming Reverence

You will not like this post. Many of you will be disappointed, think I am wrong, and may even stop reading this blog. I am willing to risk that because I feel strongly about one topic: The True Presence in the Eucharist. If you know me at all, I don't pull punches, and I'd rather be wrong and invoke a little thought, than be polite and sit back and watch our Faith be destroyed

···•°···

I really believe that the #1 problem in our faith right now is that we as Catholic's don't truly believe in the True Presence. I know this because of the way people act around the Blessed Sacrament. We don't genuflect, we don't receive the Eucharist in a respectful way, and we have "cattle calls" at Mass to all get our hand outs. Everyone is a part of the problem, Priests, EMHC's, the faithful -- we are the problem.

I told you, you will not like this post. Watch at Mass next time the way Communion is distributed. I have seen more reverence at public functions where they pass out concert tickets. It is a disgrace and now, the haphazard and sloppy way we distribute the Body of Christ has infected those that try and do it in a reverent way. So much so, that some have decided that changing how they receive is the only option to continue doing so in a reverent way.

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What do I mean? Well I recently read Danielle Bean's post on the NCR:

Danielle Bean  

I could be stubborn and insist upon receiving on the tongue because I have a right to, even when the challenges it causes become a distraction to myself and others. But that doesn’t seem like something Christ would want me to do.

Jesus is Jesus, in my hand or on my tongue.

And that is why I am 90% convinced that from now on, when I receive the Eucharist from an EMHC, I should put my own preferences aside and receive in the way that is least likely to cause confusion and distraction—in the hand.

O Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like yours!

Now, I don't blame Ms. Bean. In fact, shame on the EMHC. Seriously. They are so proud and haughty, thinking they play an important role in the Mass. Running up to the Altar and "playing priest." Well Mrs. EMHC you role is to know how to properly distribute Communion. Your role is to know how Jesus can be best handled. Who are you to think you are worthy to even touch our Lord? I am not even worthy to receive him, let alone control who does and doesn't get to receive him. It kills me that someone honestly feels that they are some how wrong for wanting to receive in the most humble way possible. It isn't a preference. I really don't blame Ms. Bean, she is simply trying to be the most humble and gracious servant of the Lord. She is trying to be humble for herself, and for the EMHC. What a pity.

What if we all said one day, "I am only receiving from a priest, and on the tongue." Not because EMHC's are wrong to utilize, but when they can't perform their function correctly... it is time for a change. What if we all just lined up in the priest's line and made that statement. Sure, you could say it politicizes the Mass, but what are they, the EMHC doing with their added blessings, their words beyond "The Body of Christ," their eyerolls when we receive on the tongue, or worse when we kneel to receive? Every time we bend and break our traditions for the "nicety" of others, we destroy the faith. We become the problem, we become the Judas, we become the Peter. "Oh no Lord, I would never deny knowing you!" I'd say we are on about strike two, wouldn't you?

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If we don't get the courage to fight for our Faith, it will quickly evolve into something foreign to us. It will no longer be the True Faith, but some faith. If we don't start acting like we actually believe in the True Presence, we will lose the Truth.

Again, I don't blame Danielle Bean, she is simply explaining how the Catholic Faith in this country has been distorted and lost to the proud and haughty hands of others. The True Presence has been hidden by those who are more interested in form over substance. We must storm against the eradication of truth and the distortion of The Faith. We must have Priests, the faithful, and especially EMHC stand up and say, "I want to do what is right for the Lord, I want to reclaim reverence for the True Presence!"

"The Kingdom of Heaven suffers much violence, and the violent are taking it by force!"

-Matthew 11:12

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More on Joel Davidson and the Catholic Anchor: Part III

Waking up this morning, I was hoping that I would have an email in my Inbox that explained the Joel Davidson situation. Alas, I do not. So we as the faithful continue to be broken-hearted, confused, and left to wonder.

I did receive some good news though. I found an email in my inbox from someone that has taken the right approach and decided to support Joel through prayer. The following is the email that I received:

As most are already aware, Joel Davidson of the Catholic Anchor has been let go as the Editor of the Catholic Anchor. At a time when most of us are receiving Christmas bonuses or end of the year bonuses, after years of service and award-winning work Joel received a pink slip. Joel is an extremely talented writer and award-winning Editor who has received several awards annually to prove it. The diocese of Anchorage has received National and International attention because of his work at the Catholic Anchor. I have to say, in my opinion, losing Joel as Editor is a tremendous loss to our diocese and our community. Media is a powerful tool that can bring us each closer to Christ, or can lead us astray. Joel's work at the Anchor has always directed us faithfully back towards Christ through articles and editorials that kept us connected to the local, national, and International Catholic community.

The mass intention will be for the Davidson family on December 20th, 2010, at twelve noon, at Holy Family Cathedral. I invite you to join us.

Please forward this website to family and friends. The site simply recognizes some of Joel's accomplishments during is tenure as Editor at the Catholic Anchor and proposes some ways in which the Catholic community may voice their support. www.supportjoel.org

So as you can see there will be a Mass today at Holy Family Cathedral. This is the proper way to support someone in a situation like this. You offer it up to prayer, and let God take command.

Please check out the website, pray for Joel, pray for the Archbishop, and pray that the Archdiocese will be held in God's hand and in the end we will all be brought closer to Him. As I said, I think the website is a good thing, and I am pleased that other people are utilizing digital resources to show their supoprt, and evangelize the Faith. From SupportJoel.org:

Together, faithfully, prayerfully and actively let us stand with Joel Davidson and his family, united in and through Christ, to show our support for his tremendous work at the Catholic Anchor and all that he has done for the Archdiocese of Anchorage. Let us make sure our voice of support is heard throughout the Archdiocese with prayers, petitions, letters and thanksgiving.

Perhaps we all share in the blame. How common it is that those who are content and pleased with the work before them rarely take the time to say so. Yet those who are not pleased, always seem to have the loudest voice heard. If you've been happy with the Catholic Anchor in recent years, take this moment now, for now is the time, to send the Archbishop a letter, letting him know how much you have appreciated the quality and content of the Catholic Anchor.

Email our Shepherd Archbishop Roger Schwietz, OMI ab.schwietz@caa-ak.org

The Archdiocese has failed to respond to our multiple requests for comment.

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Frontline Faith: Catholic MP3 players for the troops

Just saw a news story on Fox about Frontline Faith. It is an organization that distributes MP3 players to troops that have a myriad of material on the players so that the troops have their faith "with them" during deployment.

From their website:

The FRONTLINE FAITH Players include an audio rendition of the Mass celebrated by The Most Reverend Timothy P. Broglio of the U.S. Archdiocese for the Military Services; a "Warrior Rosary" conceived by Lynda MacFarland, the wife of a career military man, using the sorrowful mysteries; "Centurions of Rome," a presentation made by the late Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.; children's letters to soldiers read by the children themselves; an examination of conscience; and two-and-a-half hours of stories about faith in military life, including "The Grunt Padre" about a priest who ministered to infantry soldiers and a tale of a soldier who carried the Eucharist into battle.

This really is a great idea, and I know others have posted about this, because as I searched for the webstie and info about it, lots of blogs popped up -- so that is good! But I wanted to make sure I did my part in getting the word out. The players cost $24 and they distribute them through the kind donations of people like you and I. So please, go to the website, donate and buy a gift for a service member this Christmas.

Here is the link to the TRACK LIST that is on every Frontline Faith MP3 player.

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CatholicVote.org's: Top 10 Reasons for Hope - 2010

CatholicVote.org is one of the best Socio-Political websites out there. Whether it is their awesome viral videos, their election season endorsements, or their star-studded list of bloggers, they continually are at the forefront of Catholic American Political discourse.

Well, they did it again. They have created an awesome look back at the past year and the top ten things that should give all Catholics hope. Check out their website, read their blogs, and definitely watch the video below.

"Top 10 Reasons for Hope - 2010 edition." I think it speaks for it self.

Oh no she didn't!

From The Daily Caller:

Last night on The Last Word, Meghan McCain became the latest person to impugn Sarah Palin’s hunting abilities. McCain explained that, while she had never killed an animal before, she had done her fair share of shooting. Ha! Clearly the woman is a GOINO. You know, Gun Owner In Name Only.

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The Public Relations of the Archdiocese of Anchorage & The Catholic Anchor Situation- Part II

As I began thinking about this situation, what I simply can't get my heart and mind around is the various facets of this situation. The fact that the Chancery seems so out of touch with the faithful in the Archdiocese, the fact that someone or some people are poorly advising the Archbishop, the fact that the Archdiocese has an abysmal public relations operation [or maybe no operation?], and the fact that a very good editor was let go for presumably printing stories that uphold the tenants of the faith.

I suddenly rememberd that the Catholic Anchor had an 'Editor problem' in the past, but one that was quite different than this one. It was in fact a situation where someone that shouldn't have been the editor was actually in that role. What is striking isn't the qualifications of the people, but the way that the Archdiocese handled the situations.

···•°···

A few years back a young woman was hired to be the editor of the Anchor. What happened is that once people started investigating her, they found out some things she had said a year prior to her hiring about Pope John Paul II. Several people found a blog that she kept and read her posts about the Pope, the Papacy, and various other thoughts she had on the Church's attitude towards women. She allegedly made these posts a year prior to her hiring. My point is not the merit of her comments, but the fact that she made rather inflammatory and controversial statements that are contrary to the teachings of the Faith. When the faithful found out about them, they rightfully brought them to the attention of the Chancery and the Archbishop.

How did the Archdiocese handle it? Well this is how the Assistant to the Bishop handled it:

Mary Gore, assistant to Archbishop Roger Schwietz of Anchorage, told LifeSiteNews.com that Nolan made the comments when she was in college and editor of the campus newspaper.

Gore admitted the archdiocese had received complaints about Nolan’s comments but she was not sure what the archbishop was going to do.

“Bottom line is that it's an internal policy decision,” Gore was quoted as saying. “Right now, Archbishop Schwietz is sticking by his editor.”

Now, this isn't really a good public statement, but it is in the very least a statement. It is better than the silence that we receive when we contact the Archdiocese. But it appears that even back then the Chancery's PR approach wasn't much better than it is today. I found several stories that stated that they failed to respond to requests for comment prior to posting. In terms of any statement that came up in a search, this is the extent of a public statement that I was able to find.

So, what is the big deal? Is the Church supposed to be a well oiled PR machine? No, it isn't. But it should understand the needs of the faithful. They should understand that once one or two people find out about something as important as this, they will begin to talk. Sometimes that talk will devolve into gossip, and I am not trying to blame the failings of man on the faults of the Chancery, but when no information can be ascertained, the talk and gossip are exacerbated.

···°•···

Someone messaged me and asked why I am "raking the Archdiocese over the coals" in this situation when "you [I] don't have all the facts." That isn't my goal. I in fact do have quite a few pieces of information, that I would consider facts, but that I cannot confirm until someone from the Archdiocese Chancery gets back to me. When you have emailed 4 people and have gotten silence for almost 24 hours, there isn't a whole lot more that I can post about aside from my perception of the situation. In fact, I have already seen a bunch of emails regarding Davidson, and folks support for him. People are flocking to the blog in Alaska obviously interested in this situation. So my objective here isn't to "rake anyone over the coals." In fact, I held back on posting until I gave the Chancery a chance to respond to my questions and provide comment. 

The role that my blog has taken on is not one that I relish or sought out. In fact, all of the stories that I have ever published concerning the Archdiocese have come at the behest and request of others. This blog was never intended to be, nor was it fashioned to be a news site. It has become that over time because the faithful saw a need for this. They yearn for information, and ultimately the truth. 

···•°···

So why does the Archdiocese and the Chancery have such a public relations problem? I can't answer that precisely, but I can offer some guesses:

I would imagine that many of the folks in the Chancery don't understand exactly how fast, prevalent, and important the internet is. Take one look at the website for the Archdiocese and one can gather how low on the priority list communications, and especially digital communications are on the over all priority list. I just dont think the Chancery understands communications. 

Let's say that the number of people that read the blogs is 500. Doesn't seem like a ton, but then those 500 people tell their family members, and 2 friends who do the same. Then that number goes from 500 to about 3000 in a matter of minutes. Add to that facebook, twtitter, text messages, and email and the number of faithful that hear about any given thing might match or surpass the daily visitor total of the Archdiocese of Anchorage website, or the circulation of the Catholic Anchor. 

···°•···

We are going on 24 hours since I emailed various folks in the Chancery. We are going on 48 hours since the editor of the Archdiocesan newspaper and blog was informed that he would be let go. 

The official stance of the Archdiocese of Anchorage is: "The Archdiocese has not responded to our requests for comment."

O Sapienta - December 17

O Sapientia: “O Wisdom, O holy Word of God, you govern all creation with your strong yet tender care. Come and show your people the way to salvation.” Isaiah had prophesied, “The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him: a spirit of wisdom and of understanding, a spirit of counsel and of strength, a spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord, and his delight shall be the fear of the Lord.” (11:2-3), and “Wonderful is His counsel and great is His wisdom.” (28:29). [Link: CERC]

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The O Antiphons

The 'O Antiphons' are a collection of prayers in the Breviary that start a week before Christmas, so today is the first of those prayers. [Yes, a week before Christmas!] Diane over at Te Deum laudamus, along with many other fine blogs explains exactly what they are:

December 17th - those of us who pray the breviary will be praying the "O Antiphons" of Advent before we pray the Magnificat in Evening Prayer. This should serve as a beautiful meditation. Also, today we begin the Christmas Novena. Don't worry about jumping in late!

If you pray the breviary, this may have escaped your notice. If you don't pray the breviary, perhaps you can follow Vespers (Evening Prayer) for the next 7 days at divineoffice.org. This is a good, free site to use if you want to see what the breviary/divine office is all about.

She further points to a good resource that explains them in better detail. The Catholic Education Resource Center (CERC), and Father William Saunders explains:

The “O Antiphons” refer to the seven antiphons that are recited (or chanted) preceding the Magnificat during Vespers of the Liturgy of the Hours. They cover the special period of Advent preparation known as the Octave before Christmas, Dec. 17-23, with Dec. 24 being Christmas Eve and Vespers for that evening being for the Christmas Vigil.
The exact origin of the “O Antiphons” is not known. Boethius (c. 480-524) made a slight reference to them, thereby suggesting their presence at that time. At the Benedictine abbey of Fleury (now Saint-Benoit-sur-Loire), these antiphons were recited by the abbot and other abbey leaders in descending rank, and then a gift was given to each member of the community. By the eighth century, they are in use in the liturgical celebrations in Rome. The usage of the “O Antiphons” was so prevalent in monasteries that the phrases, “Keep your O” and “The Great O Antiphons” were common parlance. One may thereby conclude that in some fashion the “O Antiphons” have been part of our liturgical tradition since the very early Church.

The importance of “O Antiphons” is twofold: Each one highlights a title for the Messiah: O Sapientia (O Wisdom), O Adonai (O Lord), O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse), O Clavis David (O Key of David), O Oriens (O Rising Sun), O Rex Gentium (O King of the Nations), and O Emmanuel. Also, each one refers to the prophecy of Isaiah of the coming of the Messiah.

If nothing else you will be able to read about these various Antiphons at many of the Catholic blogs. I will try and highlight the Antiphon of the day over the next week. Please forgive me if I miss one or two.

For more info please see:
O Antiphons Start Today! - Badger Catholic
O Antiphons - Father Z
O Antiphons! - Vivificat

Joel Davidson, Editor of the Catholic Anchor & The Archdiocese: Part 1

Joel Davidson was informed that he would be "let go" yesterday, December 15th, 2010 from his position as the Editor of the Archdiocese of Anchorage's newspaper the Catholic Anchor. Since that time nothing in way of a statement has come from [nor can be found on the respective websites of] the Archdiocese, the Archbishop nor Chancery, or the Catholic Anchor. This looks to be a very slow moving story.

I reached out to all of the above. I emailed the Archdiocese through 3 different people. The did not respond to any of my various requests for comment. They have not issued a statement. I reached out to the Anchor and have not received comment.

···•°···

So what then happened? Why was Joel Davidson removed? Was he fired? He was the popular Editor of the Catholic Anchor  and seems to been fired only as the newspaper was becoming both more orthodox, and more popular. Was there a catalyst to his termination?

There are several frustrating parts to this situation. First, that the public relations arm of the Archdiocese has again, failed to understand the needs of the Faithful. We cannot blame the Archbishop, he is not supposed to handle the day to day communications for the Archdiocese. But there should be concern when every time some sort of situation occurs within the Archdiocese the only thing coming from 225 Cordova Street is: silence.

···°•···

Secondly, Joel Davidson was a very good editor. The Anchor was professional, engaging, and informative. It seemed to lack teeth a lot of the time and the stories seemed rather restrained, but overall it was heading in the right direction. In fact, in recent weeks and months I have had several conversations concerning exactly that: the Anchor seemed to be heading in the right direction and was publishing good orthodox stories, raising the consciousness of some controversial and yet important issues, and the Archbishop seemed to be finally understanding the needs of the Faithful. This new development though seems to have derailed most of that.

The Archdiocese outside of Anchorage is in dire need of intellectual Catholicism. This is true of any parish or diocese. Removing one of the few people that is seemingly a proponent of Catholic intellectual thought, and one who is of the more orthodox persuasion, one has to wonder what egregious act could have been the impetus for removal?

···•°···

Finally, this leads your humble blog author to a rather interesting question. Is is possible that it is exactly that thing which we admired about Davidson, that was the cause for his removal? Was it his orthodoxy? Did he commit some offense that was just enough of a reason to fire him, when in reality it was his theological base that was the catalyst for his demise? When we finally get answers to our questions will we see a rather weak "case against" Davidson, and start to believe that we are right to think that Davidson was let go more because of his beliefs than any one article he may have written. 

It is clear if you have read the Anchor over the past year or more that there are certain things that Davidson liked to write about as a journalist, and there were certain things that were important to the editorial direction of the Anchor. As an Editor, the editorials that you put your name on stand as your base. The editorials that come from a paper do the same for the paper itself, and to a slightly lesser extent the Editorial board and the Publisher. One only need to look at Davidson's editorials to know where he was on the spectrum of Catholic orthodoxy. Here is a list of the titles of Davidson's recent editorials (with topic in parenthesis):

• In Death Alaska Reaches for God (Alaska's reach for Faith in times of strife) - Aug. 25, 2010
• Help prevent the abuse of minor girls in Alaska (A plea to Vote Yes on Prop. 2) - Aug. 14, 2010
• Who needs confession? (A message to Catholics to seek the Sacrament of Reconcilliation) - Jul. 13, 2010
• The Church must be like a loving mother - even if you disagree, you know she loves you (How Catholics and the Church must embrace the digital age of communications to evangelize the faith) Jun. 14, 2010
• For more please see the Anchor's Editorials Page

···•°···

What one finds when they read Davidson's editorials is a faithful Catholic, who adheres to the teachings of the Church and Her magisterium. They also see that he has embraced the call of the Pope and the Church to push forward in the realm of digital communication. The new format of the Anchor is much closer to what other dioceses around the country are doing, and it embraces both the print and digital mediums that are most effective at spreading the Good Word. So again, why was Davidson fired?

He seems to have all the requisites of a great Editor. He is faithful to the teachings of the Church, he has embraced the new digital movement in media while at the same time maintaining loyalty to the print medium, and he has put his finger on the pulse of the Archdiocese in regards to their intellectual and spiritual needs. So what was so offensive to the Church and the Archdiocese that he was let go? 

I guess we will all have to wonder and pray until we finally get answers. Until then, we can only guess as to the reasons. Hopefully a new day will bring answers. 

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The Price of Power

**UPDATE**:
Apparently Harry Reid has PULLED the bill from the Senate floor as he is realizing he doesn't have the votes!! That is a very, very good thing!


If you want to know why those that support Earmarks say that there is no reason to get rid of them as they don't make up that much of the overall Federal Spending Budget, just take a look at the spreadsheet outlining the Omnibus Bill. [If that all seemed like another language to you... skip this post.]

I found this over at Heart for God. She has linked the Spreadsheet for all the spending projects in a nice little Google Doc.

BREAKING NEWS: Catholic Anchor - Editor Joel Davidson to be let go. - *EXCLUSIVE*

BREAKING NEWS:

We received word last night, and have confirmed today, that Joel Davidson, the Editor of the Catholic Anchor -- the Paper of the Archdiocese of Anchorage, has been informed that he will be let go from his position as Editor of the Paper. The decision was made official and public yesterday, Wednesday, December 15th, 2010 at an afternoon meeting of Archdiocesan leaders, and Catholic Anchor advisory staff. We have not received confirmation as to the reasons behind the decision.

We have reached out to the various individuals involved in this matter and have not received any official response as to the details and facts. We emailed the Chancery of the Archdiocese and they did not respond to our request for comment.


We will post more details once we have them.
Please check back for updates.

###

Alaskan Parental Notification law becomes: 'Toothless'

The Alaska Judiciary is out of control. Judges rule in any manner they want, regardless of the law or precedent. This is apparent when you look at decisions like the one that Judge John Suddock ordered on Monday that effectively reduced the Alaskan Parental Notification law to a procedural step by stripping it of all civil and criminal penalties.

Steven Ertelt of LifeNews.com reports:

Superior Court Judge John Suddock ruled the new parental notification law state voters approved can stand, but he said abortion practitioners should not face prison sentences for failing to comply with it. He also removed a section allowing parents to file a civil lawsuit against abortion practitioners who don’t comply seeking financial damages.

The law calls for a fine of up to $1,000 and imprisonment of up to five years when abortion practitioners keep parents out of their daughter’s abortion.

Judge Suddock also revised the language of the law to weaken the notification element — making it so a “designee” of an abortion practitioner can also notify parents, legal guardians or custodians of a minor girl.

This leaves the voters of Alaska with a lot of questions and few answers. Jim Minnery who is the president Alaska Family Action, the advocacy arm of Alaska Family Council, explains the following:

Where do we go from here? The ruling essentially is a preliminary or temporary injunction or ban of certain provisions of the parental notice law. Now, more than ever, we must continue to mount the strongest legal defense of this law in the coming weeks as evidence is brought before the court.

There are steps we can take to help protect what we worked so hard to gain. The state Department of Law, under the direction of Governor Parnell, bears primary responsibility for defending the law in court against Planned Parenthood’s attacks.

We have already been in communication with the Governor, the Lieutenant Governor, and the Attorney General and have urged them to organize the most aggressive legal defense possible.

We also plan on filing an amicus, or “friend of the court” brief on behalf of Alaskans for Parental Rights / Alaska Family Action, in which we outline for the court’s consideration the arguments and factual evidence proving that parental notice is both constitutional and good public policy.

We’ll also be coordinating with other pro-life and pro-family organizations, both state and national, to encourage them to file their own amicus briefs with the court. We must remind Judge Suddock that there is broad support for this law.

Alaskan's need to remember this sort of thing during elections when it is time for JUDICIAL RETENTION. In Alaska we get to vote whether to RETAIN judges or not. It is obvious that for Catholic's and those who are Pro-Life Judge Suddock is another person we must vote NO on.


Links:

Alaska Judge Weakens Parental Notification on Abortion Law
Judge Wrong to Eviscerate Alaska Parental Notification Law

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Renovation & Reinvigoration

The concept of renovating a parish's Sacred Space has been brought up many time here at the blog. The concept is simple: take a bland, boring, space -- your typical modern parish and with simple and inexpensive updates, make a Holy, reverent, and Sacred space. The point is to transform a church building from a church into a parish. It calls to mind the old saying: "When does a house become a home?"

···•°···

Over the past few weeks, the New Liturgical Movement, a favorite website of ours, has been posting real life examples of such transformations. The results are stunning. Some obviously are the result of a little more capital then others, but in general we are talking fairly cosmetic changes, and not really structural. In other words, we are talking about adding to the look and not changing an auditorium style building into a cruciform one, for example.

···°•···

What this does for a parish is that it reinvigorates it. It takes the "old" and sheds it, while implanting the new into the heart and soul of each parishioner at the parish. [Well, I guess except for those SOV-II hold outs hoping for Pope McBrien.] It gives new vitality to their worship. This isn't because external and symbolic things are somehow crucial or even necessary to the worship of the faithful, but because we are beings of sense and spirituality, and the sensory 'speak' to our inner core, our soul if you will, and enliven it with thought and emotion.

I feel as if I harp on this enough in my posts regarding Sacred Space, so I will not repeat my past missives. What I will say is that many parishes are in need of many things few are are crucial as a renovation and reinvigoration of their Sacred Space. And again, this isn't because it is somehow necessary in a theological sense, but because the people are often in need in a spiritual sense.

Here are some of the sneak-peek examples:


St. John the Baptist -- Tryon, NC

Before...

...After

St. James Cathedral -- Orlando, FL

Before...

...After

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Lots in the news...

A lot has been happening in politics and 'religion' over the past few days:

• The 'Tax' Vote
• DADT
• START
• Gov't Shutdowns
• Advent
• Bishops coming and going
• Christian Christmas List 'Wars'

I am trying to get to all this as well as work on getting myself some permanent employment, spend time with our family in Michigan, figure out where we are going to spend the Christmas Holiday, and of course work some more on getting employment.

I promise I will get to some of this stuff, as I am trying to ramp back up with the blog. I am also working on a story that I was tipped on tonight regarding some pretty big happenings in the Alaska Catholic world. So please stay tuned over the next couple of days and I will get what I can out there.

Locked out

The Blessed Sacrament
Photo Link

My family and I were driving home from Brian [co-blogger] and his family's place tonight and my wife and I got to talking. Right now, life is pretty "up in the air" as we like to say. So the conversation centered around careers, living location, Alaska, Michigan, Washington D.C., vocations, faith, and all sorts of fun things such as those and of course many others. As we approached my wife's parent's place, where we are staying while we are here visiting, I mentioned how prayer, blogging, and my "closeness" with God has suffered as of late because of how hectic and crazy my life has been over the last three months. She suggested that we go to Adoration, as there is a Perpetual Adoration Chapel just blocks from her house, at her childhood parish. We have been many times before, at all hours, and I can recall two vivid instances of "popping in" to hang with Jesus at some quite odd times. But isn't that the luxury and joy of perpetual Adoration?

As we got closer to "temporary home" I inquired as to whether she still wanted to go. The little dinosaur daughter was still asleep, so we risked an all night "play" session by going in to Pray a Rosary. But my wife answered with an emphatic "Yes" and so I pulled in. Now some mine find it odd, that at 12:30am a young family, with child in tow, in 10 degree [ -4938˚ F w/WC - their measuring seems to exaggerate the wind chill a bit in Michigan] weather would be tromping into a chapel simply to Pray a Rosary to "regain their closeness" but being from Alaska, we take authentic Catholicism whenever we can get it. Even if it is at 12:30a on a cold night in Michigan. 

···•°···

Locked?
Photo Link

So, we pull up, pile out, and try and not wake the baby. We walk up to the chapel pull open LOCKED! The door was locked, locked? We sort of looked at one another and thought, "hmmm." The lights were on, it seemed, but we did notice the absence of any cars. We sort of drove around the backside of the building and it seemed plenty, if not too many lights were on, but no one was there. We came of with a whole list of possibilities, this wasn't really that shocking, but more of a 'disappointment.' So, we got back in the car and drove home, which was quick and painless -- our daughter even remained asleep.

When we got inside though, I mentioned how cheated I felt. Deprived almost. I was right there! Right outside the door from Jesus! Why couldn't I just go in?! I recalled in that moment, that as I was driving away, I wished at that moment that the convent still existed across the street. I also wondered that if it did still exist, whether it would have been a sin to tell a small exaggeration to the nun that answered my 'bell ringing' [you know, once I convinced my wife that I was going to ring the bell at midnight to get one of them to let us into the chapel] explaining that, 

'my family had a VERY SERIOUS matter, and if she simply would let us into the chapel, we would hold vigil until the next hour, or at least spend a Holy Hour with the Blessed Sacrament, and then return the chapel to its locked state.'

···°•··· 

What type of delusional, crazy, obsessive/compulsive person am I? Why did I feel so deprived? But I did. I felt cheated. I felt like being locked out of Adoration was the worst thing ever. Sure I had the past two weeks to go. Sure I could have gone any time, but I wanted to go now, I was needing wanting? wanting! needing? wanting! access to the Blessed Sacrament -- NOW! The thing that killed me was that I was denied. LOCKED OUT! Now again, this wasn't life or death, and I sure as much didn't seem to notice, know, or mind what sort of access was available over the last 12 days, but when I wanted it, I thought of how horrible it was that I couldn't have it. 

Is this what Heaven will seem like for those of us that lose access to it upon death? Obviously the feeling and gravity will be ∞ times worse, but in some small part this scared me. I could barely handle the 20 minutes I felt gipped out of, and our chapel is basically a square room, brick, and not much to look at aside from the Blessed Sacrament, so we aren't talking visual splendor, it is simply about the spiritual. It invigorated me in a way I didn't realize. God taught me a great little lesson in this situation. I am sure that the person for this time simply couldn't drive in the horrible ice. It was probably no big cosmic deal, but God sure did teach me a cosmic lesson. What an AMAZING God. Takes the most insignificant event for the world, and makes it one persons universe. What an awesome God that can teach such an important lesson: that if we really want something, we need to act like it -- and not simply once we can't have it. What an extraordinary God that can teach our hearts how to want Him, by locking us out, even for 20 minutes.

∞†∞

Battle Ready: Pausing to Prepare (CatholicDadsOnline.org)

My new Battle Ready, the weekly feature I write over at CatholicDadsOnline.org is posted.

You can follow the link below:

Pausing to Prepare

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Blogging from Brian's

Just wanted to write a quick post... I am actually posting from Brian's.
Who is Brian? Yeah, I asked myself the same thing. He is actually someone that is supposed to post here. Just like "aka the Mom" supposedly is a poster here. Maybe I can convince them to do so a little more in the future.

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Christmas Cookies: Open Thread

I know this is random, but I wanted to do an "Open Thread" for a couple of reasons. First, my blogging has been slow the last few months and I want to "reanimate" life around here  a bit. [Is reanimate the word choice I want? Zombies come to mind.] Second, I like comments, and it allows users to feel "ownership" over the blog a bit, which helps in turn with #1. And finally, a selfish reason, I want some suggestions for some good cookies.

Now, go ahead, let's talk COOKIES! A couple of notes: I really like chocolate and peanut butter, not so much nuts or at least exotic ones, and coconuts are almost ALWAYS A NO! That being said, I don't care what you post about just tell me some of your favorite cookies, and possibly email me a recipe or three. Once we get back to Alaska, if it sounds good maybe I'll have the lovely wife make some of them!

Some of my faves:

• Thumbprint Kisses
• Russian Tea Cakes
• Candy Cane Twists

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