The Attempt at Finding Solace Again

I’m finding this blog writing has, of late, become lost in my daily life. Not that it hasn’t been important, but rather that life has been so hectically busy. That said, though I haven’t been publishing on a regular, weekly basis, it is what it is and I will continue to post as I’m able to find time (without brow-beating myself!)

Ladies and Gentlemen: Saint Clement has Left the Building

Saint Clement’s Church Philadelphia, a great hallmark of Anglo-Catholicism and a standard in the fight for continuing traditional worship and ministry to the poor and needy, died last Sunday at the age of 153.

Saint Clement’s died at her center city home in Philadelphia of complications from a disease contracted from a foreign body. She fought this disease for over a year, said a son who was with her during her demise. Many of her children had left during her illness and she had been sick for “quite a while,” he said. “I just couldn’t continue watching her die like that,” said a daughter distraught over having to leave her behind.

Standing Up for What You Believe

Apparently, religion is no longer a very important part of people’s lives. I’ve written before about religion, and how it doesn’t play a major role in people’s lives any longer. I’ve written about changes I’ve seen personally, and changes in general. I’ve written about secularism invading religion. But the chasm grows ever wider, separating those who feel it is important in their lives and those who couldn’t give a lesser crap about religion, provided they’re still getting their paycheck. This mind-set even moreso affects clergy, who (some) get paid a hefty salary, even though they’re not doing the job for which they’re getting paid.

Corpus Christi for the Secular Life

The Feast of Corpus Christi is now upon us, and I reflect on what this feast means to me in all its spiritual fullness as I do every time the feast comes. It’s an important day (week, actually; as we celebrate it for eight days) because it calls to remembrance the Body and Blood of Christ, and His actions on Maundy Thursday at the Last Supper when He turned bread into His Flesh and wine into His Blood. It’s a Divine Mystery that cannot be fully understood with our feeble human minds (as are most Holy Mysteries), even though it is something that can be experienced by us. It’s the Sacrament that He gave us, to feed us in our life “in exile.” 

Anglo-Catholic Traditions: Fit for the Dustbin

As promised, this is the second in a series of truthful postings about what’s really been happening at S. Clement’s Church, Philadelphia. This particular truth deals with the slow elimination of the Anglo-Catholic Traditions long held at S. Clement’s, and how most have been dismissed without any replacement at hand. 

The Downfall of Today’s Churches

It’s hard to look at faith today and say it’s a strong and solvent business. So many parishes and congregations have seen their numbers decline over the past couple years; and those who have continued steadfastly at their churches have noticed the percentage of giving has decreased over the years as well. Churches note in their newsletters and from their pulpits and in their service sheets that pledges are waning, they’re downright withering. People have concluded the inevitable demise of the churches and they’re financial problems all stem from the fall of the economy. Sadly, the decline started much earlier than that.

The Politics of this Election

Christine O'Donnell: A deer in the headlights?

It’s interesting to watch what’s going on with this current mid-term election. The amount of mud-slinging from both sides is incredible! In Delaware the race for the Senate between Chris Coons (D) and Christine O’Donnell (R) is laughable. I’m not the typical voter who simply votes for their own party. I look at the individuals and what they stand for. If they don’t speak with my voice on the major issues, I’m not interested in voting for them – regardless of party. And in Delaware I’m hearing childish jabs at each other; but surprisingly, I’ve also been hearing some substantial answers addressed from Coons, but nothing from O’Donnell. Coons understands that what’s happened over the past 2 years hasn’t been perfect, but it’s been a start in the right direction. One example from O’Donnell: “I would immediately repeal Health Care Reform.” That’s it. No answer on what to do after that; just repeal something that, though imperfect, has at least started the ball rolling in the right direction. It’s a start that has been making the medical insurance agencies become just a little more responsible – the most important change is the elimination of pre-existing conditions. No longer can the insurance companies refuse to cover a pre-existing condition; and no longer can they drop coverage because an expensive illness comes along.

Petitioning God: Atheist with a Notion

Some time ago I came across a blog basically saying that you cannot petition God with prayer, speaking out against prayer and religion as stupid and wasteful in general. She’s one of those neo-atheists. It stuck with me (I’d found it totally by accident, looking for something else). The blogger continued to bemoan the fact that she was outraged and insulted when someone offered to prayer for her, and that she would rather rely on her confidence in science and her own judgment. I couldn’t help thinking how sad those statements were, even though she presented them as if she was so magnanimous in thinking that way – so highly evolved that she could rise above religion; and clearly, relying merely on science and her own (clouded) judgment, she will remain in question without any answers.

The Ultimate Mind Alteration

I’d recently come to the conclusion that my prayer life sucked. And as you may know from an earlier posting, I’d recently picked up the Anglican Breviary again and fell head-long into it with relish. (Okay, maybe not the entire breviary, but at least the hours of Lauds and Vespers which is a huge undertaking.) For some reason, this time it felt very different to me. It was comfortable, warm, inviting; like a cool drink in the summer and a warm blanket in the winter. It has a calming effect on me. My mind is at ease, my stress level comes down (if there is any), my head is clearer, and I feel as though I’ve accomplished something.

Corpus Christi

The Church celebrates the great feast of Corpus Christi (or, The Body of Christ) now. Yesterday was the day of the feast, and we will celebrate it for eight days. In the catholic church, it’s called an ‘octave.’

It’s a special day for me for a number of reasons.