Salt And Light

There is some posting going on in St. Blog's regarding a Dignity Mass being held at the University of Detroit / Mercy. Mark Shea and others have asked their readers to contact Cardinal Maida and the university administration.

Just to put things in perspective, here are some different models for ministry to homosexuals:

Dignity's Purpose Statement:

"We believe that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons can express their sexuality in a manner that is consonant with Christ's teaching. We believe that we can express our sexuality physically, in a unitive manner that is loving, life-giving, and life-affirming. We believe that all sexuality should be exercised in an ethically responsible and unselfish way.

DIGNITY is organized to unite gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Catholics, as well as our families, friends and loved ones in order to develop leadership, and be an instrument through which we may be heard by and promote reform in the Church."

Um ... no.

Then, in the middle of the road, the format most Diocesan ministries take:

htttp://www.naclgdm.org

"We urge those in ministry to:

reflect on Sacred Scripture,
reflect on Church teaching and pastoral practice,
study the social and physical sciences,
listen to and ponder the lived experience of lesbian and gay persons and their families.
This ministry respects the human dignity and human rights of lesbian and gay persons, and affirms that all who are baptized are called to full participation in the life, worship and mission of the church. "

Which, depending on who's in charge on a local level can be a basis for a fruitful faithful ministry or basically a Diocesan approved quasi-Dignity chapter. *sigh*

And then there's Courage

"The following five goals of Courage were created by the members themselves when Courage was founded. The goals are read at the start of each meeting and practiced by every member in daily life.

Live chaste lives in accordance with the Roman Catholic Church's teaching on homosexuality. (Chastity)

Dedicate ones life to Christ through service to others, spiritual reading, prayer, meditation, individual spiritual direction, frequent attendance at Mass, and the frequent reception of the sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Eucharist. (Prayer and Dedication)

Foster a spirit of fellowship in which all may share thoughts and experiences, and so ensure that no one will have to face the problems of homosexuality alone. (Fellowship)

Be mindful of the truth that chaste friendships are not only possible but necessary in a chaste Christian life and in doing so provide encouragement to one another in forming and sustaining them. (Support)

Live lives that may serve as good examples to others. (Good Example)"

Now, maybe Cardinal Maida has serious concerns about the prudence of loudly and publicly removing a Dignity Mass from a local Catholic College. Maybe as long as its not in parishes we should be happy.

But if you won't denounce the group which is selling spiritual death, can't you at least publicly praise, and invite to the diocese, and offer resources to a group that offers spiritual life?

The ambivalence of most dioceses toward Courage is disheartening.

Let it begin with me

John at Disputations offers some advice if we're exasperated by Bishops:

When the problem is always them, though, the problem is never me. And the problem that is me is the one problem we have each been commanded to resolve. My job is not to impose a plan of action that will guarantee the survival of the Church in the United States. My job is to guarantee the survival of the Church in the United States by seeing that it survives in me. That, ultimately, is the one thing I have control over -- and, it seems to me, it's also ultimately the only way of reforming and purifying the Church. I can't reform and purify you, I can't reform and purify them, and I certainly can't make you reform and purify them.

Amen!

Christ bids us to be a little nuts

Blogger Athanasius reminds us that "In a world gone mad and corrupted by sin, it's more sane to be crazy"

St. Simeon Stylites, Pray for Us.

Meet the Brothers

Check out these Lay Brothers from the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal

And here you can find some history of the vocation of a Franciscan Religious Brother:

The male branch of the Franciscan family, a community of Lesser Brothers, is made up of men who are both clergy and consecrated laity traditionally called "lay brothers". In its early years the Franciscan family was made up of a majority of lay brothers with fewer priests. Yet, in time the Order would undergo what some describe as a process of "clericalization" with ordained members becoming dominant in numbers, authority, and influence

History shows, however, that despite the increase of clerical members in the Franciscan family, the notion of the Order being a "gospel brother" had never been extinguished, and in some times and places regained new vigor. The Capuchin reform in the early 16th century brought a fresh vitality to the identity and role of the non-ordained friar. The list of Capuchin lay brothers known for their sanctity and influence in the Church is formidable. The ranks of the early Capuchin reformers were composed mostly of lay members who acted as guardians (superiors) of friaries, and in some instances, preachers.