Showing posts with label superstition. Show all posts
Showing posts with label superstition. Show all posts

Sunday, October 20, 2013

Sometimes the Answer is "No"

Prayer can be meditation, turning something over in my mind and looking at it from all angles; or formal praise and petition, like the Lord's Prayer. It can be an informal but respectful conversation with the Almighty.

Just knowing about prayer isn't enough. We need to do it. Prayer also needs to be tied to how we live, and how we live:
"He 'prays without ceasing' who unites prayer to works and good works to prayer. Only in this way can we consider as realizable the principle of praying without ceasing."
(Origen, as quoted in Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2745)

Deciding Who's In Charge

Prayer doesn't make God do tricks for me. Reciting particular phrases and expecting results is superstition. Catholics aren't allowed to be superstitious, and that's another topic. (Catechism, 2111)

The idea isn't to 'make' God do what I want. Answered prayer starts with changing my heart and mind, so that I want what God wants. (Catechism, 2739)

"Conversation with the Almighty?"

The old joke is right, in a way: God is a great listener, but He doesn't say much.

Having a "conversation with the Almighty" doesn't mean that I think I hear God's Voice. I have never had a 'road to Damascus' experience like the one in Acts 9:3-11.

What I mean by "conversation" is deliberately forming ideas, and sometimes words, directed at God: the same way I'd direct words at any other person. Except that in this case the other Persons are God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit: and that's yet another topic.

I don't expect God to "do tricks for me," but it's okay for me to ask for help or guidance.

Sometimes the answer is "no." As a young man, I was very attracted to a particular young woman. What I didn't know was whether or not I should marry her, so I asked God what I should do. A few days later she told me to keep looking around.

That isn't the quickest response I've had to prayer, but it was prompt: and disappointing in the short run.

In the long run, it helped put me on paths that led me to marrying someone else: and that has worked out very well indeed.

A very quick look at:
  • Prayer
  • "Prayer in Gethsemane"
    Pope Benedict XVI (February 1, 2012)
  • "General Audience"
    Pope Benedict XVI (November 30, 2011)
  • "The Lord's Prayer," 14 – 17
    (St. Cyprian, Treatises (3rd century))
  • The Lord's Prayer
    • Introduction
      (Catechism, 2759-2760)
    • "The summary of the whole Gospel"
      (Catechism, 2761)
    • At the center of Scriptures
      (Catechism, 2762-2764)
    • Overview
      (Catechism, 2765-2766)
    • The prayer of the Church
      (Catechism, 2767-2772)
    • "Our Father"
      (Catechism, 2777-2796)
    • The seven petitions
      (Catechism, 2803-2854)
Related posts:
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Friday, May 17, 2013

Statues, Magic, and Juggling Plutonium

There are folks who ring the changes on 'prosperity gospel' goofiness. The idea that faith, and giving to the 'right' spiritual outfit, guarantees wealth is a bad idea.1

There's also the persistent notion that burying a statue of St. Joseph will magically make your house sell faster or for more money. Snopes.com has a pretty good backgrounder on that bit of folklore. And that's almost another topic.

Despite what you may have heard, Catholics don't worship statues. That's idolatry, and a very bad idea. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2097, 2112-2114)

As for burying a statue, or doing anything else 'magical:' the best-case scenario would be that nothing much happens. The 'pulling a rabbit out of a hat' variety of magic is harmless entertainment. The sort of magic that actually works is not safe. I'd much rather try juggling plutonium in my skivvies. (March 13, 2013)

What the Church says about doing the 'practical' sort of magic is, basically: Don't. (Catechism, 2115-2117)

Driving back from seeing an industrial robot demonstration this week, I let my mind wander: a little. Driving and daydreaming mix about as well as driving and drinking, and that's yet another topic.

Related posts:
1 Individual Catholics can, and have, believed stuff that the Church says is a bad idea. The prosperity gospel is one of them. Bottom line, it's a bad idea. Here's some background:
"...The Renaissance and the Reformation have shaped the modern western individual, who is not weighed down by external burdens like merely extrinsic authority and tradition; people feel the need to 'belong' to institutions less and less (and yet loneliness is very much a scourge of modern life), and are not inclined to rank 'official' judgements above their own. With this cult of humanity, religion is internalised in a way which prepares the ground for a celebration of the sacredness of the self. This is why New Age shares many of the values espoused by enterprise culture and the 'prosperity Gospel' (of which more will be said later: section 2.4), ..."
("Jesus Christ The Bearer Of The Water Of Life," 1.1) [emphasis mine]

"...In a New Age perspective, illness and suffering come from working against nature; when one is in tune with nature, one can expect a much healthier life, and even material prosperity; for some New Age healers, there should actually be no need for us to die...."
("Jesus Christ The Bearer Of The Water Of Life," 2.2.3)

"...New Age training courses (what used to be known as 'Erhard seminar trainings' [EST] etc.) marry counter-cultural values with the mainstream need to succeed, inner satisfaction with outer success; ... some New Age devotees are involved not only to become more authentic and spontaneous, but also in order to become more prosperous (through magic etc.). 'What makes things even more appealing to the enterprise-minded businessperson is that New Age trainings also resonate with somewhat more humanistic ideas abroad in the world of business....they are likely to appeal to those businesspeople who have already been involved with more (secular) humanistic trainings and who want to take things further: at one and the same time for the sake of personal growth, happiness and enthusiasm, as well as for commercial productivity.(46)"
("Jesus Christ The Bearer Of The Water Of Life," 2.4) [emphasis mine]
More:
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Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Getting a Grip About: Technology and Magic

What I said earlier about idolizing science applies to technology, too. Treating anything that's not God as if it's divine is a really bad idea. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2112-2114)

Technology

Humanity is made "in the image of God." We have awesome responsibilities, including stewardship of this creation. (Genesis 1:26-31) (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 355-361)

We're "in the image of God," but we're not God, so we need tools to get most work done. Developing tools and using them to maintain or improve what we can, comes with being human. It's the sort of creature we are.

We've had some technology, like cooking fires, for so long that they seem quite 'natural.' Newer tech, like steam locomotives and the Internet, has made some folks uneasy. (January 27, 2013; Apathetic Lemming of the North (April 9, 2012))

Like science, technology is a "precious resource."1 By itself, technology isn't bad: or good. It's how we decide to use technology that makes a difference. (Catechism, 2293-2295)

Harmless Entertainment

As I said in the first post, I've got three sorts of 'magic' in mind today:
  • Harmless entertainment
  • Unfamiliar technology
  • A really bad idea
The first sort is 'stage magic,' prestidigitation, "manual dexterity in the execution of tricks." (Princeton's WordNet) It's the sort of 'watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat' thing that I've enjoyed.

I suppose stage magic could be harmful, if used to distract folks while a pickpocket exercises another sort of manual dexterity: but so could many other activities.

Unfamiliar Technology

There isn't anything 'magical' about telephones, television, computers, or the Internet. But these new technologies might seem 'magical' to someone who had grown up without them. I think that may explain the dislike or fear of new tech that I've seen.

A few generations ago, watching events on the other side of the world as they're happening, and talking with folks who are miles away, might have seemed like 'magic.'

I remember when my family got our first television set, and the first public transatlantic television feed. Today, we've gotten used to seeing crystal-clear live television from almost anywhere on the planet.

By the way, I might take dire warnings about the malefic influence of the Internet on the nation's youth: if I hadn't heard the same sort of thing about television; and telephones. Sure, we've got social ills today: but I don't think technology is to blame, any more than letting teens use telephones caused social upheavals in the '60s.

I've quoted Job 5:7 before, and that's almost another topic.

A Really Bad Idea

The third sort of 'magic' involves making a deal with a fallen angel. It's a very bad idea. Satan isn't nice, and can't be trusted. The same goes for the other angels who followed Satan's lead. (Genesis 3:5; Luke 10:18; Peter 2:4) (Catechism, 391-395)

For folks who learned about exorcism and the Catholic Church from dramatic offerings such as "The Last Exorcism Part II" and "Catholic Ghoulgirls," the real thing might seem rather dull.

Hollywood histrionics notwithstanding, Satan is quite real. I agree with the chief exorcist of Rome:
"The world must know that Satan exists...."
(CNA/EWTN News)
The Catholic Church has quite a few words to say about unauthorized efforts to control or communicate with "occult powers," but they boil down to "don't." (Catechism, 2116-2117)

Divination isn't a good idea, either. (Catechism, 2115-2116)

I suppose someone had a fit back in the day when meteorology was a new science, and weather forecasts became possible.

That's not divination: we get weather forecasts by studying physical conditions. Data from weather satellites helps, a lot: and that's yet another topic.


(from Reto Stöckli, via NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, used w/o permission)

Exorcism

"When the Church asks publicly and authoritatively in the name of Jesus Christ that a person or object be protected against the power of the Evil One and withdrawn from his dominion, it is called exorcism...."
(Catechism, 1673)
Unlike divination or magic, exorcism is authorized contact with the Evil One. A simple sort of exorcism is performed during Baptism. (Catechism, 1673)

A major exorcism is a very serious matter, and may only be performed by a priest with specific approval of the bishop. It is emphatically not a 'do-it-yourself' proposition. Preparations for a major exorcism include making sure that it's the Evil One, not some illness, causing the problem. (Catechism, 1673)

Somewhat-related posts:
1 Science and technology are "precious resources:" provided that we use them ethically:
"Basic scientific research, as well as applied research, is a significant expression of man's dominion over creation. Science and technology are precious resources when placed at the service of man and promote his integral development for the benefit of all. By themselves however they cannot disclose the meaning of existence and of human progress. Science and technology are ordered to man, from whom they take their origin and development; hence they find in the person and in his moral values both evidence of their purpose and awareness of their limits."
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2293)
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Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Recovering From Sandy: Breezy Point, Queens; Santiago, Cuba

Quite a few folks are helping others sort out the mess left by Hurricane Sandy, including organizations like these:
If you don't see a tight focus on the recent Atlantic storm on those websites: don't be surprised. Sandy is a major storm: but it's not the only reason that folks need help.

On the other hand, cleaning up after Sandy is a big job: and it's very much in the news.

Floods, Fires, and Sturdy Masonry


(Associated Press, via New York Daily News, used w/o permission)
"The storm sparked a fire that took down dozens of homes in Breezy Point, Queens."

"Hurricane Sandy: Fire in Breezy Point burns down more than 80 homes, residents devastated"
Lisa L. Colangelo , Mark Morales, Tracy Connor, New York Daily News (October 30, 2012)

"Superstorm sparked a blaze that engulfed dozens of homes in Queens community, including that of Rep. Bob Turner, who praised first responders and vowed Breezy Point would be rebuilt.

"The tight-knit Queens enclave of Breezy Point was a scene of horrific devastation Tuesday -- row after row of homes engulfed by by an inferno that raged on streets flooded by superstorm Sandy....

"...Those who lost homes include Rep. Bob Turner, who praised first responders, vowed that the devastated community would be rebuilt, and said he was grateful he and his family were safe...."
I can't tell whether that statue started out inside a building, whether it was outside before the fire. Either way, I'm glad to see that folks in Breezy Point have at least one reminder of stability.

Here's where I could indulge in some conventional philosophizing. Depending on which audience I was playing to, I could write about:
  1. The 'miraculous' survival of a masonry structure
  2. How religion is stupid
    • Because the statue didn't protect Breezy Point
  3. The hate-filled Catholic Church
    • Wasting money on statues
    • Not supporting
      • Gay marriage
      • Eugenics
      • Whatever
That's not going to happen. I take my faith, and my Lord, seriously. I also realize that I've got my particular judgment coming, and don't need any more trouble than I've already got. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1013, 1021)

Here's what I think about those 'devout,' 'intelligent,' and otherwise, ideas:

1. Miracles and masonry

Maybe that statue's survival really was a miracle: but I've noticed that objects and structures made out of brick, mortar, and stone, tend to be more fire-resistant than wooden ones.

I acknowledge that miracles happen. In a sense, the continued existence of the universe is a miracle: and that's another topic.

2. Statues and Good Luck Charms

Some Catholics are superstitious. For that matter, some Catholics are mass murderers. (December 26, 2008) That doesn't, I think, mean that the Catholic Church should change the rules because some of us don't follow them - yet more topics. By the way, as a Catholic, I'm not allowed to commit murder.1 (Catechism, 2258-2262, 2268-2269)

I'm also not allowed to be superstitious. It's a very bad idea. (Catechism, 2110, 2111)

3. Hate and the Catholic Church

Maybe you know a Catholic who hates people. That's an individual, not the Catholic Church. I'm not allowed to hate people. It's "contrary to charity:" and is another very bad idea. (Catechism, 2303)

As for the 'hateful' things the Catholic Church stands for? I think Futon Sheen was right:
"There are not a hundred people in America who hate the Catholic Church. There are millions of people who hate what they wrongly believe to be the Catholic Church — which is, of course, quite a different thing."
(Bishop Fulton Sheen, Foreword to Radio Replies Vol. 1, page ix (1938), via Wikiquote)

Meanwhile, in Cuba - - -

"Cuban recovery from Hurricane Sandy will take years, agency reports"
CNA/EWTN News (October 31, 2012)

"The secretary general of Caritas Cuba said it will take years for the eastern section of the country to recover from Hurricane Sandy but that the local Church is bringing relief to thousands of victims.

"Maritza Sanchez told CNA on Oct. 29 that the situation in Cuba 'remains very difficult, especially in the city of Santiago, because the damage has been so severe.'...

"...While the Cuban government plays the key role in providing assistance, she continued, the Church is helping wherever possible and is seeking 'to officially collaborate with the structures of the State in order to broaden our efforts.'

"She said priests in hardest hit areas are identifying the families that have been most affected and are helping to distribute the food and water provided by Caritas. In some areas make-shift soup kitchens have been set up to help those whose needs are critical...."
I see what Caritas Cuba and the Catholic Church is doing in Cuba as another example of how we work with folks: where they live, as they are. On a local level, often as not, we are the 'natives,' the folks who live in an area.

"Subsidiarity" is fancy word for making decisions - and acting - as close to the local level as possible. I've shown how this principle works before. (April 28, 2011)

Ancient Church, Recent Events

Cuba has a communist government. Catholic institutions operate in Cuba. This doesn't mean that the Catholic Church is a commie plot.

The Catholic Church is also not a subversive puppet of Western capitalistic imperialism.

We were around nearly two millennia before the east-west, communism-capitalism conflict started: and I strongly suspect we'll be around when Whigs, Tories, Democrats, and Republicans are as ancient as Optimates and Populares are today:
Moving along.

"...Every Parish is Making an Analysis..."

"Cuban bishops bring relief to victims of Hurricane Sandy"
CNA/EWTN News (October 30, 2012)

"The bishops of eastern Cuba toured the provinces of Santiago, Holguin and Guantanamo to survey the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy, and bring pastoral and material aid to thousands of victims.

"An official from the Diocese of Holguin told CNA on Oct. 26 that local Bishop Emilio Aranguren 'personally went to all of the affected parishes,' and later went to Santiago to meet with Archbishop Dionisio Garcia, who also toured the affected areas...."

"...Manolo Martinez of Caritas Holguin said emergency teams are fanning out across the affected regions of the province and that 'every parish is making an analysis of its surroundings so that we can do our best to help the greatest number of people possible.'..."
I mentioned subsidiarity, getting the job done as far away from 'headquarters' as possible, before.

I think one reason the Catholic Church is so effective at charity work is that most of the time, we're already 'there.' Our organization is global, but we're also neighbors in the narrow sense of the word: folks who live down the street, across the valley, whatever.

Preparing For Sandy

"Catholic community helps East Coast prepare for Hurricane Sandy"
Michelle Bauman, CNA/EWTN News (October 29, 2012)

" As much of the East Coast braces for Hurricane Sandy, the Church is helping local people prepare for the storm, reaching out to offer shelter to the homeless and organizing disaster response efforts.

" 'Since Hurricane Katrina, we have focused on being prepared for future disasters,' Father Larry Snyder, president of Catholic Charities USA, said in an Oct. 27 statement.

" 'Not only are we early responders, but our presence in the community also puts us in a position to be able to quickly assess and provide support in the long-term,' he added...."
I've said this before. The Catholic Church doesn't insist, or expect, that 'the natives' will stop being who we are. The Church has worked with worked with barbarian warlords, kings, dictators, and the American Congress.

That's not the same as saying that the Church approves of whatever the local shaman or Senator does: and that's yet another topic. Topics.

Related posts:
1 The Catholic Church says that human life is sacred. (Catechism, 2258) This belief results in awkward rules about killing people. Basically, as a Catholic I'm not allowed to kill an innocent person; even if:
  • It's legal
    (Catechism, 2270-2275)
  • 'In the victim's best interests'
    (Catechism, 2276-2279)
  • Part of an experiment
    (Catechism, 2292-2295)
  • I'm 'just following orders'
    (Catechism, 2313)
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Sunday, March 25, 2012

Faith and Obedience

Earlier today, I posted about an odd comment: and odder assumptions about the Catholic Church.Some of what folks 'know' about the Catholic Church simply isn't so. On the other hand, it's true that the Catholic Church is huge, and ancient. I'm okay with that, but some folks aren't.

It's Not American!

The Catholic Church isn't an American institution. Like the fellow said, we're "all over the world:"


(from H.E. Fowler, via Wikipedia, used w/o permission)
"Crowley, Jeremiah J. (1913) 'The Pope: Chief of White Slavers High Priest of Intrigue,' p. 430"

Jeremiah J. Crowley was right on one point. The Catholic Church is "all over the world."

I was attracted by that aspect of Catholicism. (March 23, 2012) But I grew up in a different era, and decided to become a Catholic. Not everybody's like me.

I didn't, by the way, covert to Catholicism to be with folks who were pretty much like me. The Church encourages diversity, and that's another topic.

Superstition?

A dictionary says that superstition is "an irrational belief arising from ignorance or fear." (Princeton's WordNet) For folks determined to believe that religion is an irrational belief arising from ignorance or fear, Catholics are "superstitious."

Here's what the Catholic Church has to say, in part:
"Superstition is the deviation of religious feeling and of the practices this feeling imposes. It can even affect the worship we offer the true God, e.g., when one attributes an importance in some way magical to certain practices otherwise lawful or necessary. To attribute the efficacy of prayers or of sacramental signs to their mere external performance, apart from the interior dispositions that they demand, is to fall into superstition.41"
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2111)
Bottom line, as a practicing Catholic, I'm not allowed to be superstitious. It's against the rules.

I've been over this before:

Faith, and the Alternative

I think I understand why some folks think religious faith is unpleasant:
"By faith, man completely submits his intellect and his will to God.2 With his whole being man gives his assent to God the revealer. Sacred Scripture calls this human response to God, the author of revelation, 'the obedience of faith.'3"
(Catechism, 143)
'Submit my intellect and my will to God?' Why should I give up my whims and preferences? That sounds so - restrictive.

Simon Peter explained why sticking with my Lord makes sense, in the long run:
"Jesus then said to the Twelve, 'Do you also want to leave?'

"Simon Peter answered him, 'Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.

"We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.' "(John 6:67-69)
At the end of all things, I've got two options: to be with my Lord, or not. On the whole, I'll take "the words of eternal life" over the alternative.

I put a definition of faith, Catholic style, and more links under "Background," at the end of this post.

As for why I think it makes sense to submit to my Lord:

Obedience

I spent my teens in the '60s, when obedience wasn't a fashionable idea. The establishment of that era had made a mess of America, and I've been over that before. (January 12, 2010) The establishment's changed in some ways; and not so much in others. (September 15, 2011)

I'm quite willing to obey my Lord. That's because I know who He is, and what He did. (March 18, 2012, March 11, 2012)

Faith, Yes: Blind, No

I've said this before. I'm not required to check my brain at the door when I go to a Catholic church.

I think the Church's position is seen as "vague," or worse, in part because we're expected to think about what we're told.

We're not told that beer is evil, or workers are right. Instead, we're told about moderation and fundamental rights.

That's part of the reason that Catholic groups in America often host Bingo games. And that's yet another topic.

The sort of freedom we have comes with responsibility. (Catechism, 1731-1738). Part of those responsibilities involve being good citizens. (Catechism, 2238-2243) More topics.

Then there's erroneous judgment. (Catechism, 1790-1794) And that's - what else? Another topic.

Related posts:Background:
"FAITH: Both a gift of God and a human act by which the believer gives personal adherence to God who invites his response, and freely assents to the whole truth that God has revealed. It is this revelation of God which the Church proposes for our belief, and which we profess in the Creed, celebrate in the sacraments, live by right conduct that fulfills the twofold commandment of charity (as specified in the ten commandments), and respond to in our prayer of faith. Faith is both a theological virtue given by God as grace, and an obligation which flows from the first commandment of God (26, 142, 150, 1814, 2087)."
"OBEDIENCE: (1) The submission to the authority of God which requires everyone to obey the divine law. Obedience to the Church is required in those things which pertain to our salvation; and obedience is due to legitimate civil authority, which has its origin in God for the sake of the common good and the order of society (1897). The fourth commandment obliges children to obey their parents (2216). (2) Obedience of faith: The first obedience is that of faith: to listen and freely submit to the word of God (144). (3) Obedience of Christ: Jesus Christ substituted his obedience to the will of his Father, even unto death, for the disobedience of sin, in order to bring us the grace of justification and to satisfy for our sins (615). (4) Vow of obedience: In imitation of this obedience of Jesus, as an evangelical counsel, the faithful may profess a vow of obedience; a public vow of obedience, accepted by Church authority, is one element that characterizes the consecrated life (915)."
(Glossary, Catechism)
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Sunday, September 18, 2011

Skeletons in the Closet, Darkroom Ghosts, and Getting a Grip

A few days ago, my wife asked me if I knew some of my ancestors were spiritualists. She's been putting together a family photo album, and had run across an odd picture of my Campbell forebears, a husband and wife - and (allegedly) their three-year-old daughter.

I'm pretty confident about the identity of the mother and father in that old photo. I'm also pretty sure that the ghostly image over my great-to-some-power grandmother's head is of their daughter, who died when she was three years old.

Or at least a picture of some little girl who looked enough like her to be convincing, after the photography studio did a little darkroom work.

Or: Maybe those two really had managed to conjure up a dead child.

An Unblemished Bloodline? Me?!

Once in a while you may run into folks who don't want to find out too much about their family history. Because they're afraid of what might turn up.

That never made much sense to me: but then, I've always figured that folks decide what they'll do, and that:
  • My ancestors made their decisions
    • I make mine
  • Anyone who gets me confused with someone who died decades ago is - confused
    • When it's someone who lived in the 19th century or before? Very confused
I wasn't at all surprised that some of my ancestors had gotten into Spiritualism:1 it's been very big in several periods, so the odds were pretty good that somebody would have given it a shot. Or robbed a bank, or done something else that I probably wouldn't.

Considering the sizable crowd that anyone's ancestors form, once you've gone back a few generations, I'd be surprised if someone hadn't managed to stand out in some way - good or bad.

I'm not exactly happy about the Spiritualism thing, which I'll get back to. But I'm not terribly ashamed of it, either.

Ancestors and Me

My ancestors are important to me. Without them - I'd never have been born. I'm carrying their genes, and inherited their successes and failures in raising children.

Some of their influence is fairly obvious: like my blue eyes and susceptibility to sunburn. We're just starting to understand how much our genes determine how our bodies grow - including our brains, the 'machinery' we use for thinking.

And I'm wandering off-topic again.

My point is that because of who my ancestors are, I've got a sort of 'envelope' of potential. Including these factors:
  • My height and build
    • Which pretty much guaranteed that I wouldn't be an outstanding basketball player
    • Even if I'd been born with working hips2
  • My seriously overclocked brain
    • Which let me do something with my interest in language
      • And just about everything else
    • No bragging, it's just the equipment I was issued
My guess is that the ADHD-inattentive, and major depression, that made most of my adult life so interesting have a genetic component. No complaints:3 again, it's the equipment I was issued.

Conjuring Up Ghosts and Other Bad Ideas

As far as I can tell, magic is:
  • Okay
  • A really bad idea
It depends on what you mean by "magic."

There's prestidigitation - the 'watch me pull a rabbit out of my hat' sort of thing. That's a skill requiring delicate, precise work with the fingers, and a certain amount of acting ability.

That sort of 'magic' is a sort of parlor trick. And, I think, harmless entertainment. Like just about anything else people do, it could be used for bad purposes: and that's another topic.

The sort of magic that the Catholic Church won't let me do - and I want no part of - is the Doctor Faustus sort of thing:
"All practices of magic or sorcery, by which one attempts to tame occult powers, so as to place them at one's service and have a supernatural power over others - even if this were for the sake of restoring their health - are gravely contrary to the virtue of religion. These practices are even more to be condemned when accompanied by the intention of harming someone, or when they have recourse to the intervention of demons. Wearing charms is also reprehensible. Spiritism often implies divination or magical practices; the Church for her part warns the faithful against it. Recourse to so-called traditional cures does not justify either the invocation of evil powers or the exploitation of another's credulity."
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2117)
Notwithstanding campus coffee shop philosophies, thinking that "occult powers"4 exist doesn't mean I'm superstitious.

As a practicing Catholic, I can't be superstitious: it's not allowed. In a way, superstition is religion carried to crazy extremes. But it's not 'too much of a good thing.' Sort of. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2110)

Here's a really short look at what the Catholic Church says about:
  • Superstition
    • Bad idea
    • A deviation of religious feeling
    • Assumes that outward performance magically makes things happen
      • Like just saying the words of a prayer
      (Catechism, 2111)
  • God may let us know what's going to happen
    • But it's the Almighty's decision
      (Catechism, 2115)
  • Don't do divination
    • This includes, but is not limited to
      • Asking Satan or demons for help
      • Conjuring up the dead
      • Consulting horoscopes
      • Astrology
      • Palm reading
      • Interpretation of omens and lots
      (Catechism, 2116)
  • Magic or sorcery, trying to tame occult powers, is a not allowed
    • Even if you mean well
      (Catechism, 2117)

Grieving Parents, Darkroom Ghosts, and Me

I don't know from personal experience what it's like to lose a three-year-old daughter, as the folks in that photo had.

On the other hand, my wife and I lost our youngest child just before birth - an event that almost killed my wife, too. I think I may have some idea of the sort of sadness, grief, and feelings of loss that would go with having a somewhat older child die.

The idea of communicating with my deceased daughter never occurred to me. Mostly, I think, because I knew better: By the time we lost our daughter, I'd found that bit in the Catechism about divination and related bad ideas.

Besides, I expect to meet her before too long. Human beings don't often live more than maybe a century. Unless something highly unexpected happens, somewhere in the next several decades I'll die. Then, I hope and pray, I'll be looking forward to a better life: with questions answered, people met, and praises to sing. And that's yet another topic.

Finally, about that image on the photo? I think the odds are that the photographer decided to make the grieving couple's wish come true - and superimposed a 'ghostly' image on the print we have. It'd be easy enough to do - and might have seemed an act of kindness, as well as commercially expedient.

But maybe those Campbells really did get - someone - to show up, and whatever was there made an impression on the photograph. On the whole, I'd rather think that we're looking at darkroom tricks.

That interview with the woman from Endor5 didn't end well - and that's yet again another topic.

As for "Doctor Faustus,"6 that Elizabethan-era play? Among other things, it shows that folks being uncomfortable with new information - is nothing new. And that topic will have to wait for another post, another day.

Related posts:
1 Spiritualism, capital "S," was really big in the 19th century - and the 20th, for that matter:
  • "Spiritualism"
    Wikipedia
    • The angle here is the familiar PC/women's studies thing
      • But the page gives a good-enough overview of names and events in 19th century Spiritualism
2 I've got congenital hip dysplasia: a five-dollar phrase meaning that my original-equipment hip joints weren't up to spec. Being part of a medical experiment didn't help matters, and that's another topic:
3 Between defective hips and a 'trick' central nervous system, I've had experiences and opportunities not many people get.
4 "Occult" has quite a few more-or-less similar meanings:
  • Occult (noun)
    • Supernatural forces and events and beings collectively
    • Supernatural practices and techniques
  • Occult (verb)
    • Cause an eclipse of (a celestial body) by intervention
    • Become concealed or hidden from view or have its light extinguished
    • Hide from view
  • Occult (adjective)
    • Hidden and difficult to see
    • Mysterious, mystic, mystical, occult, secret, orphic
    • Having an import not apparent to the senses nor obvious to the intelligence; beyond ordinary understanding
    (Princeton's WordNet)
5 Some of the folks in Bible weren't the best role models. Including some of the 'good guys." 1 Samuel 28:7-19, for example. Here's an explanation for why we shouldn't do everything that Saul did:
"Human beings cannot communicate at will with the souls of the dead. God may, however, permit a departed soul to appear to the living and even to disclose things unknown to them. Saul's own prohibition of necromancy and divination (⇒ 1 Sam 28:3) was in keeping with the consistent teaching of the Old Testament. If we are to credit the reality of the apparition to Saul, it was due, not to the summons of the witch, but to God's will; the woman merely furnished the occasion."
(1 Samuel 28, footnote 1)
6 Since I don't know when I'll do a post about Dr. Faustus, here's a link to a pretty good discussion:Links to my posts about:
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Friday, July 15, 2011

Our Lady of Sorrows Crucifix, Art, and Being Catholic

There's good news from Detroit: an old crucifix, 13 feet tall with a five-foot corpus1, is being restored. Catholics have been keeping it safe, after it survived a fire back in 1963 that took out the Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church.

More good news: nobody was killed in the fire.

Church Flambe

The bad news is that folks lost a church in the '60s. I think the story's best told by quoting part of a CNA article:
"Beloved Detroit crucifix saved from fire finds new parish home"
Marianne Medlin, CNA (Catholic News Agency) (July 10, 2011)

"...The cross was the only surviving artifact from a fire - believed but never proved to be set by arsonists - that destroyed Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church on the city's east side in 1963...

"...Pastoral associate Alton James [of Detroit's Good Shepherd parish, where the crucifix has been kept] told CNA/EWTN News that the spared crucifix was transferred to a nearby parish after the fire, which merged with other parishes over the decades and eventually became Good Shepherd...."

Torching a Church: Unpleasant Idea

If the church down the street, Our Lady of Angels, burned: I wouldn't like that at all. My wife and I were married there, it's the church she grew up in, and we've got decades of shared memories there.

I think I might feel worse, if I thought that someone might have deliberately torched the place.

That's not likely to happen. Sauk Centre, Minnesota, is largely Catholic. With so many of us around, there's even blatantly Catholic stuff in local stores. (December 2, 2010) And, although we've got the usual quota of jerks and soreheads, we're a fairly boring community. From the point of view of someone looking for strife, discord, deep-seated hatred, and all that dramatic stuff.

Vandalism as a Spiritual Exercise, Or Something

Not all areas have quite the infestation of malignant virtue that my part of the world did, when I was growing up. Once in a while, though, someone decides to smash a statue. One of those Catholic ones.

Sometimes, I'm pretty sure that vandalizing a Catholic church is simply - vandalism: the sort of impulse that ended in shot-out windows - around $20,000 worth - in the town where I live, back in November, 2005. Nobody was hurt, thank God, and the local kids may have learned something. And that's another topic. (Sauk Centre Journal (September 2, 2006))

Sometimes, though, I think the vandals are filled with what they probably think is holy zeal: and are, consciously or not, emulating the great Lord Protector. I'm just glad that it's illegal to hunt Catholics in this country.

'Smashing Statues for God?'

'Smashing statues for God' actually makes sense, given a few alternatively-accurate assumptions about Catholics and the Catholic Church.

Like the notion that Catholics are deluded, superstitious folks:Destroying religious art as a sort of spiritual exercise comes from the related idea that we worship statues.

With upwards of 1,000,000,000 of us alive today, the odds are pretty good that a few actually are superstitious. And some may worship statues. In direct violation of Church teaching.

As I've said before, I don't expect to change a zealot's mind: but I also think that a sort of reality check couldn't hurt:
  • Catholics are forbidden to worship statues
    • That's a form of idolatry, and
      • Idolatry is something that's quite explicitly forbidden (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2097, 2112-2114, 2534)

Sacred Art, Yes: Worshiping Art, No

The interiors of all Protestant churches do not resemble sensory deprivation chambers, with plain white walls and plain - well, everything. And I've been in some Catholic churches that could, in my opinion, have stood a bit of livening up. Visually speaking.

Back to that CNA article:
"...'Religious art is absolutely crucial,' Alton said, referencing the growing local media buzz on the crucifix restoration. 'It always inspires us to prayer as well as enriching our faith experience.'

"Alton praised older Church art like the Belgian crucifix, saying 'it's a phenomenal inspiration' that helps us utilize our senses 'in order to draw closer to God.' "
(CNA)
I could say something like "well, that's one person's opinion," and go on with some conventionally-sophisticated observation about reality being relative. Or whatever is in fashion at the moment.

Not gonna happen.

Mainly because Alton's opinion is also what the Catholic Church teaches:
  • Sacred art is okay
    • Truth is beautiful, art is okay, and bishops should promote sacred art (Catechism, 2500-2503)
There's some pretty high praise for art there. And, more importantly, an explanation for why art is important:
"Created 'in the image of God,'294 man also expresses the truth of his relationship with God the Creator by the beauty of his artistic works. Indeed, art is a distinctively human form of expression; beyond the search for the necessities of life which is common to all living creatures, art is a freely given superabundance of the human being's inner riches. Arising from talent given by the Creator and from man's own effort, art is a form of practical wisdom, uniting knowledge and skill,295 to give form to the truth of reality in a language accessible to sight or hearing. To the extent that it is inspired by truth and love of beings, art bears a certain likeness to God's activity in what he has created. Like any other human activity, art is not an absolute end in itself, but is ordered to and ennobled by the ultimate end of man.296"
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2501)
Before wrapping up this post, here's the end of that quote, again:
"...Like any other human activity, art is not an absolute end in itself, but is ordered to and ennobled by the ultimate end of man.296"
(Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2501)
Art? That's fine. "Art for art's sake?" That's not a good idea. And I've harangued about that before.

Somewhat-related posts:
In the news:
1 "Corpus?!" That's the statue of my Lord, that's on a crucifix. The word has quite a few other meanings, all of which translate into English as "body." It's Latin, and means - "body." If you have more than one corpus, you've got corpora.

Why can't Catholics use English? Those of us who live in America do, for the most part. But English isn't the common language of the 1,000,000,000 or so Catholics living today. It's Latin - which served as a trade language around the Mediterranean two millennia back.

I suppose the Church could re-translate all its documents every century or so, as new languages emerge and become widely known. But that seems like an awful lot of fuss and bother.

Besides, although I like America just fine - my guess is that two thousand years from now, something besides English may be the language most likely to be understood by at least one person in town.
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Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Italy's Big Earthquake, Divination, and the Five-Day Forecast

I don't think there's going to be a major earthquake in Italy today.

But that's not because I think the Pope has a special lucky magic rabbit's foot at the Vatican. I'll get back to that.

It's 10:08 p.m. in Rome as I'm posting this - so there isn't much of May 11, 2011 left there. Here in Minnesota, it's 3:08 p.m. Central, and the International Dateline is well to the west of here - so there's still quite a few hours left of 'today,' somewhere on Earth.

I still don't think Rome will be shaken and the city destroyed by a great, big earthquake. Not today.

Even though Raffaele Bendandi made predictions. He predicted stuff, and died in 1979. He didn't, apparently, predict the big May 11, 2011, Italian earthquake - but lots of folks saw his name and a prediction on the Internet - and that's almost another topic.

Rumor + Internet + People = Silliness

Italy's 'big one' is a sort of filler item in the news:
"According to a rumor that has circulated on the Internet for months, Raffaele Bendandi, an Italian pseudoscientist who died in 1979, predicted before his death that a massive earthquake will strike Rome on Wednesday, May 11.

"...Romans are taking heed and fleeing their city by the thousands...."
(LiveScience, via FoxNews.com)
"In Italy, Asia and New Zealand, long-range earthquake predictions from self-taught forecasters have recently had people on edge. But is it possible to pinpoint when a quake will strike?

"It's a quake prediction based on the movements of the moon, the sun and the planets, and made by a self-taught scientist who died in 1979.

"But on 11 May 2011, many people planned to stay away from Rome, fearing a quake forecast by the late Raffaele Bendandi - even though his writings contained no geographical location, nor a day or month.

"In New Zealand too, the quake predictions of a former magician who specialises in fishing weather forecasts have caused unease...."
(BBC News [emphasis mine])
"...'To predict an earthquake, you need a precursory signal of some kind, and we've yet to find anything reliable,' said Tom Parsons, a geophysicist with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). 'A lot of things have been tried in terms of looking for electrical signals or gas release, and paying attention to animal behavior, but none of these have turned out to be reliable.'..."
(LiveScience)
I don't blame folks in the English-speaking world for buying the notion that planetary alignments will cascade a cold fusion of metabolic proportions. Which is nonsense - but might sound cool.

Science education hasn't been a particularly high priority. Real science, not the 'everything causes cancer' stuff. And that's almost another topic, too.

Then there's that 2012 thing, and I've discussed that in another blog:I suspect that part of the problem is that thinking isn't always easy: while remembering slogans and developing emotional responses often 'just happens.'

Playing the Odds

About today's big Italian earthquake? It's not that I'm sure it won't happen. My lack of concern comes from knowing that the odds are very much against a major earthquake happening there, on this one particular day.

Still, low-probability events do happen now and then. Like the earthquake in Alexandria, Minnesota, last month:For what it's worth, my oldest daughter's cat was unusually jumpy after that quake - but that was after the fact.

Aren't Catholics Superstitious Simpletons?

If I thought that a lucky magic rabbit's foot was keeping the Vatican safe: I'd be superstitious. I'm not. I'm not allowed to be: I'm a Catholic.

I don't know this, but my guess is that some of the 1,000,000,000 or so Catholics alive today are at least a bit superstitious. Rules or no rules.

Some Catholics probably aren't all that well-educated. And the intelligence of quite a few is - almost certainly - under the 50th percentile. In a population that large, that doesn't have academic requirements for membership - and I'm not going to start discussing statistics.

The Catholic Church has quite a few words to say about divination and magic. I think a reasonable paraphrase is: don't. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, (2115-2117)

As to why divination, attempts to "unveil" the future, aren't a good idea, I think the Catechism has a pretty good explanation:
"All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to 'unveil' the future.48 Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone."
(Catechism, 2116)
Being superstitious is on the 'don't' list, too. (Catechism, 2110-2111)

What about Weather Forecasting?

If someone tried foretelling the weather for the next five days, based on sacrificing a goat to Baal: I'd want nothing to do with the results. Even if - particularly if - the forecast was spot-on accurate.

On the other hand, I have no trouble at all with going to www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?query=56378&wuSelect=WEATHER, and learning that there's a 40% chance of precipitation tomorrow. I even stayed up late, last night, keeping an eye on a tornado watch for this part of Minnesota. Nothing happened here, by the way: but some folks east and south of us got heavy rain, hail, and - of course - lightning.

Does this make me a hypocrite?

No. Rejecting divination and palm-reading, while keeping track of weather forecasts, makes me a practicing Catholic who lives in the Information Age.

Weather forecasting is a practical application of meteorology: which is a science, and has been for some time. As for whether or not it's okay to study meteorology? A professor of geophysics (another science) at the Pontifical Academy of Science, Raymond Hide, has done scientific research in meteorology, as well as geomagnetism, geodesy, oceanography, planetary physics, fluid mechanics and nonlinear dynamics.

Yes, I think it's okay to check on weather forecasts: just as I think it's okay to keep the roof repaired, and wait for a green light before crossing an intersection.

As for the Italian quake? My take on that is that it's another silly rumor: which gave me something to write about today.

Related posts:
News and views:
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Tuesday, April 5, 2011

Saint Christopher, 1969, the Catholic Church, and All That

My son-in-law and I were talking about candles, factories, and a manufacturing robot that he and my son are developing, when St. Christopher's status came up. It's that kind of a family.

He (my son-in-law) hadn't heard of St. Christopher's 'demotion' - which wasn't so much a 'decanonization' as an official recognition of what the Church had known for - centuries. No surprises there - my son-in-law's memory doesn't go back to 1969, and there are many aspects of Catholicism that are more important than the story behind all those dashboard ornaments.

St. Christopher, Documentation, and an Ancient Church

St. Christopher had a feast day on the Roman Catholic calendar until 1969. That was when the Church essentially caught up on some bookkeeping, and officially recognized that St. Christopher - had never been a saint. Not a formally canonized one, that is.

So: no more official feast day for St. Christopher, and several others. But what I've read indicates that there's no rule against personal devotion to Christopher. He's just not on the official rolls. And never has been.

There was, almost certainly, a Christopher in the late third and early fourth century: right around the year 300. But the detailed story we've got of St. Christopher only goes back to around 1260. Yes, there have been popular devotions to St. Christopher since before the Vikings. Folks still pray to St. Christopher, and my guess is that we'll still be doing so a thousand years from now. Some of us, anyway.

But there just doesn't seem to be enough documentation on him to warrant his inclusion in the list of recognized Saints.

The formal process for canonization of Saints didn't start until - well, actually the process has been evolving for over a thousand years. It would be possible to say the current system started in some particular century - but that would involve using one of the steps along the way as the 'real' beginning. And I think that's a little arbitrary. I've put links to a few resources, under Background.

The Weird Stuff

There are some - goofy, in my opinion - notions about Christianity in general, and Catholics in particular. I was going to write about that today, but it's getting late, I've still got dishes to wash and a chaplet to pray. And anyway, I've been over that stuff before:
Now, back to St. Christopher and all that - Saint-related posts:
Background:
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Marian Apparition: Champion, Wisconsin

Background:Posts in this blog: In the news:

What's That Doing in a Nice Catholic Blog?

From time to time, a service that I use will display links to - odd - services and retailers.

I block a few of the more obvious dubious advertisers.

For example: psychic anything, numerology, mediums, and related practices are on the no-no list for Catholics. It has to do with the Church's stand on divination. I try to block those ads.

Sometime regrettable advertisements get through, anyway.

Bottom line? What that service displays reflects the local culture's norms, - not Catholic teaching.