Whoever writes the prayers of the faithful at our Masses is a Communist, a relativist, a feminist and a member of the Deep Church. Flowery and virtue signalling, signifying nothing.
"That our elected officials will ensure a just and equitable distribution of the earth's resources...."
"That a just wage be paid to all workers..."
"That we take care of the earth....."
I could read Michael Mann, Al Gore or Rachel Maddow's Twitter pages if that's what I want to get out of worship.
I do the same, also despite my Vatican misgivings. Having attended (without receiving the Eucharist) Orthodox Divine Liturgies as my Sunday stand-in when I lived in Russia decades ago, I was really drawn in by both the ritual and purity of our (largely) fellow-traveling faith. A few years ago (right before the start of the Ukraine war, I guess), I started attending (not entirely regularly, I'll admit) these weeknight prayer sessions called molebens (a sort of hybrid intercession/supplication) at my local ROCOR (Russian) church. It's been a nice spiritual supplement to be able to pray for the world in a different setting without having to renounce my Catholic faith (as actual Chrismation to Orthodoxy requires) over the RCC's earthly failings.
I haven't explored Orthodoxy in depth, it's just that the wakeup I've experienced these last 6 or so years means I have no connection spiritually to the House of Rome. I don't know that I ever did now that I think about it. It's difficult to navigate a spiritual path these days but Catholicism is my alma mater and my priest always ends the service with the prayer to St Michael Archangel which resonates the most with me. There is an Orthodox Church nearby and one day I'll go in. I think what the world is experiencing right now transcends dogma. We all need to find a way to connect with 'the other' if we are to ever experience peace. The Vatican and the Pope (this one and whoever replaces him) is no less 'establishment' than our governments. It's a thought that makes me sad.
The Catholic world as well as the Orthodox world are difficult to navigate these days--little can be taken for granted. Bad decisions in the past have been coopted by internal enemies--coming back to bite the institution in the ass. The key is that whereas in the past people would just leave, in recent centuries they have stayed with the purpose of subverting. Successfully.
I believe I've probably mentioned at some point that for three years or so I belonged to what is called a Ukrainian Catholic parish, which in Ukraine is known as Greek Catholic. They use the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom like other Eastern churches. I sang in the choir (in Ukrainian, not Church Slavonic).
I don't want to get into a comparative critique--there are positives and negatives to both.
My only real exposure to Eastern Rite Catholicism was as a journeyman altar boy at a Ukrainian Catholic parish in Yonkers, NY. I had a HS Russian and Religion teacher who was an astonishingly-brilliant, yet humble and hopelessly-disorganized, priest who, invariably, had a last-minute need to staff every Mass outside of his home parish. About 3 weeks into filling the sudden, 5pm Sunday vacancy at the Uke church, concerned whether it was “street legal” for your basic RC priest (no matter how fluent in Ukrainian, Russian and Polish) to be saying an Eastern Rite Mass, I asked him whether these “counted” as Sunday Mass. Will never forget his response— “son, if they don’t, I’m in much bigger trouble than you.” Not sure to this day what the answer is, but for an absolute scholar (Fordham PhD in Slavic Studies, and several Divinity degrees, whose dissertation involved a year of studying the Pecherska Lavra from Stalin-era Ukraine) and the most Christ-like soul I’ve yet encountered, I think he’d get a Divine mulligan. 😏
Agreed on comparative liturgies. I see some degree of Orthodoxy as a supplement, not a replacement.
If there were an award in the U.S. for valiant labor, its current president could well be a recipient—for his first hundred days in office, and especially for launching the tariff war.
However, the hammer and sickle of his tariffs are aimed at everyone, indiscriminately.
Close neighbors are suffering, the degenerates in Foggy Albion are weeping, and the mad old hag of Europe is fuming. Things are far from pleasant. They must now come, hat in hand, to perform the ritual deal under the code name “kiss my ass.” And now, to top it off, the lights have gone out in southern Europe… (Yes! Yes! We all know who did it)…
China, to be fair, has massive resources and a giant domestic market, so its economy will undoubtedly withstand any pressure. Here, Trump made a misstep.
We barely trade with America, so the new vicious tariffs don’t affect us. There’s no point in them anyway, when there are already 30,000 unlawful “restrictive measures” in place!
Still, Trump did succeed in breaking the Kyiv regime into paying for American aid with natural resources. Now, for military supplies, they’ll have to hand over the national wealth of a vanishing country. Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate, led by Republicans, is preparing to impose yet another set of “crushing sanctions” against us. Let’s see how the new administration responds. Trump’s ratings have dropped, and the “deep state” is fiercely resisting him.
May is off to a stormy—and anything but peaceful—start. Victory Day still lies ahead.
Whoever writes the prayers of the faithful at our Masses is a Communist, a relativist, a feminist and a member of the Deep Church. Flowery and virtue signalling, signifying nothing.
"That our elected officials will ensure a just and equitable distribution of the earth's resources...."
"That a just wage be paid to all workers..."
"That we take care of the earth....."
I could read Michael Mann, Al Gore or Rachel Maddow's Twitter pages if that's what I want to get out of worship.
I attend Catholic Mass but I feel no allegiance to the Vatican. If anything I think I'm tending toward the Orthodox Church.
I do the same, also despite my Vatican misgivings. Having attended (without receiving the Eucharist) Orthodox Divine Liturgies as my Sunday stand-in when I lived in Russia decades ago, I was really drawn in by both the ritual and purity of our (largely) fellow-traveling faith. A few years ago (right before the start of the Ukraine war, I guess), I started attending (not entirely regularly, I'll admit) these weeknight prayer sessions called molebens (a sort of hybrid intercession/supplication) at my local ROCOR (Russian) church. It's been a nice spiritual supplement to be able to pray for the world in a different setting without having to renounce my Catholic faith (as actual Chrismation to Orthodoxy requires) over the RCC's earthly failings.
I haven't explored Orthodoxy in depth, it's just that the wakeup I've experienced these last 6 or so years means I have no connection spiritually to the House of Rome. I don't know that I ever did now that I think about it. It's difficult to navigate a spiritual path these days but Catholicism is my alma mater and my priest always ends the service with the prayer to St Michael Archangel which resonates the most with me. There is an Orthodox Church nearby and one day I'll go in. I think what the world is experiencing right now transcends dogma. We all need to find a way to connect with 'the other' if we are to ever experience peace. The Vatican and the Pope (this one and whoever replaces him) is no less 'establishment' than our governments. It's a thought that makes me sad.
The Catholic world as well as the Orthodox world are difficult to navigate these days--little can be taken for granted. Bad decisions in the past have been coopted by internal enemies--coming back to bite the institution in the ass. The key is that whereas in the past people would just leave, in recent centuries they have stayed with the purpose of subverting. Successfully.
I believe I've probably mentioned at some point that for three years or so I belonged to what is called a Ukrainian Catholic parish, which in Ukraine is known as Greek Catholic. They use the Divine Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom like other Eastern churches. I sang in the choir (in Ukrainian, not Church Slavonic).
I don't want to get into a comparative critique--there are positives and negatives to both.
My only real exposure to Eastern Rite Catholicism was as a journeyman altar boy at a Ukrainian Catholic parish in Yonkers, NY. I had a HS Russian and Religion teacher who was an astonishingly-brilliant, yet humble and hopelessly-disorganized, priest who, invariably, had a last-minute need to staff every Mass outside of his home parish. About 3 weeks into filling the sudden, 5pm Sunday vacancy at the Uke church, concerned whether it was “street legal” for your basic RC priest (no matter how fluent in Ukrainian, Russian and Polish) to be saying an Eastern Rite Mass, I asked him whether these “counted” as Sunday Mass. Will never forget his response— “son, if they don’t, I’m in much bigger trouble than you.” Not sure to this day what the answer is, but for an absolute scholar (Fordham PhD in Slavic Studies, and several Divinity degrees, whose dissertation involved a year of studying the Pecherska Lavra from Stalin-era Ukraine) and the most Christ-like soul I’ve yet encountered, I think he’d get a Divine mulligan. 😏
Agreed on comparative liturgies. I see some degree of Orthodoxy as a supplement, not a replacement.
Happy Workers Feast and May Day!
Well, Medvedev wishes us all a Happy May Day:
Medvedev:
“On the International Day of Labor
If there were an award in the U.S. for valiant labor, its current president could well be a recipient—for his first hundred days in office, and especially for launching the tariff war.
However, the hammer and sickle of his tariffs are aimed at everyone, indiscriminately.
Close neighbors are suffering, the degenerates in Foggy Albion are weeping, and the mad old hag of Europe is fuming. Things are far from pleasant. They must now come, hat in hand, to perform the ritual deal under the code name “kiss my ass.” And now, to top it off, the lights have gone out in southern Europe… (Yes! Yes! We all know who did it)…
China, to be fair, has massive resources and a giant domestic market, so its economy will undoubtedly withstand any pressure. Here, Trump made a misstep.
We barely trade with America, so the new vicious tariffs don’t affect us. There’s no point in them anyway, when there are already 30,000 unlawful “restrictive measures” in place!
Still, Trump did succeed in breaking the Kyiv regime into paying for American aid with natural resources. Now, for military supplies, they’ll have to hand over the national wealth of a vanishing country. Meanwhile, the U.S. Senate, led by Republicans, is preparing to impose yet another set of “crushing sanctions” against us. Let’s see how the new administration responds. Trump’s ratings have dropped, and the “deep state” is fiercely resisting him.
May is off to a stormy—and anything but peaceful—start. Victory Day still lies ahead.
Happy Holiday! Happy May 1st!”
https://bishopjosephstrickland.substack.com/p/an-open-appeal-to-cardinal-kevin
An Open Appeal to Cardinal Kevin Farrell
Bishop Joseph Strickland
Stuff like this article need greater visibility. It's getting lost by omission over and over again as Vigano suggests.