Not Catholic, but Catholic Educated

What's Up with That?

Something that has troubled me about the New Mass, and I don't know if this goes on in other countries .. well right there .. the idea that there are different readings in different countries breaking the whole concept of "Catholic" but there is something weird going on with the readings.  If you look at the readings selected on any given Sunday, the passages chosen are always broken up, missing sentences, somewhat nonsensical.

Let's take this week's readings for a starter and then perform this analysis of what the USCCB (United State Conference of Catholic Bishops) has deemed inappropriate for the ears at Mass.  The Second Reading for this Sunday (Feb 14) is listed as: 1 Cor 15: 12, 16-20.  To the uninitiated that Paul's First Letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 15, verses 12 and then 16 through 20. But wait, what about verses 13, 14 and 15?  What is contained in there ?  How often is this done? Is there a pattern here? On a  more basic level.  If you wrote a letter, how would you feel about an editing committee chopping out whole sentences?


At first glance, it looks like the USCCB completely butchers the passage, joining 12 & 13 but even still you can see what they chopped (which I highlighted in read in text lifted right off the Vatican site.)


 FROM THE USCCB: 

Brothers and sisters:
If Christ is preached as raised from the dead,
how can some among you say there is no resurrection of the dead?
If the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised, and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain;
you are still in your sins.
Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are the most pitiable people of all. But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

WHOLE SECTION FROM THE VATICAN:

12

⁵ But if Christ is preached as raised from the dead, how can some among you say there is no resurrection of the dead?

13

If there is no resurrection of the dead, then neither has Christ been raised.

14

And if Christ has not been raised, then empty (too) is our preaching; empty, too, your faith.

15

Then we are also false witnesses to God, because we testified against God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if in fact the dead are not raised.

16

For if the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised,

17

and if Christ has not been raised, ⁶ your faith is vain; you are still in your sins.

18

Then those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished.

19

If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are the most pitiable people of all.

20

^{7 8} But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 

So the USCCB did worse than leave out sentences (in red) , they chopped them in half!

In the red, Paul takes to task those that do not preach correctly. Hmm... looks like the USCCB didn't like that.  He is addressing them directly.  He convicts them. And they must be guilty of something, not wanting to hear the words or wanting us to hear them. The USCCB manipulates the passage to solely point the finger at the laity, when Paul is actually warning both the laity and the clergy (and thereby, himself).

On a side note, here's the Douay Rheims which translates closely and honestly from the Latin.  Not only is it a clearer formulation of the concepts .. Verse 20 is actually staring a whole new paragraph !!!!

12 Now if Christ be preached, that he arose again from the dead, how do some among you say, that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then Christ is not risen again. 14 And if Christ be not risen again, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. 15 Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God: because we have given testimony against God, that he hath raised up Christ; whom he hath not raised up, if the dead rise not again. 16 For if the dead rise not again, neither is Christ risen again. 17 And if Christ be not risen again, your faith is vain, for you are yet in your sins. 18 Then they also that are fallen asleep in Christ, are perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.

 20 But now Christ is risen from the dead, the firstfruits of them that sleep:

It gets worse. In the Gospel the USCCB inexplicably chops out these sentences (verses 18 & 19) just before Jesus gives the sermon on the Mount.

17

⁹ And he came down with them and stood on a stretch of level ground. A great crowd of his disciples and a large number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon

18

came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and even those who were tormented by unclean spirits were cured.

19

Everyone in the crowd sought to touch him because power came forth from him and healed them all.

20

And raising his eyes toward his disciples he said: "Blessed are you who are poor, for the kingdom of God is yours.

21

            Blessed are you who are now hungry, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are...........

I mean, why do this? Why go through the effort of mangle the Bible in this fashion? How dare one do that?  Let's go the context of what is chopped: People go to Jesus to hear him, get cured of their diseases, even those who were tormented by unclean spirits.


Based on my thesis of Bishops chopping what they do not like because it burns their ears: The Bishops don't want people going to Jesus for direct healing, including those with unclean spirits.  In a modern context one can take "unclean spirits" to mean things like addictions, things that take over your mind and lead you away from morality.

Conclusion:
1. The USCCB supplied readings are mangled, manipulated and exhibit the worst mistake that all protestants make .... taking snippets from the Bible to misconstrue points

2. There's a theme and reason for the omissions. Theme: [The Bishops] are false witnesses to God, their preaching is empty. ( I will keep coming back to the main theme of what is chopped so in the end of this little weekly excercise we can see what's in the Bible that the Bishops hate. Theme: The Bishops want to foster unclean spirits.

 Saint Jerome, ora pro nobis.

The Death of the Grown-Up

The Death of the Grown-Up

“WHERE HAVE ALL THE GROWN-UPS GONE?” That is the provocative question Washington Times syndicated columnist Diana West asks as she looks at America today. Sadly, here’s what she finds: It’s difficult to tell the grown-ups from the children in a landscape littered with Baby Britneys, Moms Who Mosh, and Dads too “young” to call themselves “mister.” Surveying this sorry scene, West makes a much larger statement about our place in the world: “No wonder we can’t stop Islamic terrorism. We haven’t put away our toys!” As far as West is concerned, grown-ups are extinct. The disease that killed them emerged in the fifties, was incubated in the sixties, and became an epidemic in the seventies, leaving behind a nation of eternal adolescents who can’t say "no," a politically correct population that doesn’t know right from wrong. The result of such indecisiveness is, ultimately, the end of Western civilization as we know it. This is because the inability to take on the grown-up role of gatekeeper influences more than whether a sixteen-year-old should attend a Marilyn Manson concert. It also fosters the dithering cultural relativism that arose from the “culture wars” in the eighties and which now undermines our efforts in the “real” culture war of the 21st century—the war on terror. With insightful wit, Diana West takes readers on an odyssey through culture and politics, from the rise of rock ‘n’ roll to the rise of multiculturalism, from the loss of identity to the discovery of “diversity,” from the emasculation of the heroic ideal to the “PC”-ing of “Mary Poppins,” all the while building a compelling case against the childishness that is subverting the struggle against jihadist Islam in a mixed-up, post-9/11 world. With a new foreword for the paperback edition, "The Death of the Grown-up," is a bracing read from one of the most original voices on the American cultural scene.

Gaming for Satan

by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
Staff Journalist

A long-time video gamer and devout Catholic is sounding the alarm about a new breed of satanically-themed video games that target God and the Catholic Church, invite players to make pacts with the devil, and elevate Satan to hero status.


“This has been going on for the last 10 years, but especially in the most recent games,” said Lance Christian, 32, of Alton, Illinois. “It wasn’t until last month when I said, ‘enough is enough!’ I’m a gamer, but I’m deep into my faith and I think God is showing me this so I can make other people aware of it.”

He has seen games gradually become more occult-based, promoting Satan and even the persecution of Christians. For instance, in one game, players kill the Archangels Michael, Gabriel and Raphael before going on to destroy God. Another game requires players to sell their soul to the devil and rewards them for “killing unbaptized infants.” One game has Muslims killing Christians in a holy war.

All these games seem to have one central theme - God is the enemy and the devil is the hero. One game guide blatantly states: “The Judeo-Christian God is portrayed as the prominent villain in the series . . .”

“This is just the tip of the iceberg in what I have discovered,” Mr. Christian said. “I feel that the devil has a new tool to work with in this age of technology, and the majority of adults in a position of responsibility are left in the dark.”

He provided us with the following list of the most egregious games:

1) Tecmo’s Deception: Invitation To Darkness (Playstation) – Players “make an unholy pact and sell their soul to Satan in exchange for power” with the object of the game being to ensure the resurrection of Satan and obtain his power. (This game is rated “T” for teen.)

2) Nocturne (Playstation 2) - A game in which the hero (a demon) destroys the three archangels St. Michael, Gabriel and Raphael, then goes on to destroy God.

3) Devil Summoner (Playstation 2) – Involves communicating with and recruiting demons. One demon tells the player “That Catholic Church is such an eyesore” and in the end of the game, blows up the Church.

4) Shadow Hearts (Playstation 2) - The hero uses his power to intercept and destroy God and “save the world.” Some games in this series are rated “T”.

5) Assassin’s Creed (Playstation 3/Xbox 360) – Main character is a Muslim assassin assigned to kill Christians.

6) Dragon’s Age Origins (Playstation 3/Xbox 360) – Game revolves around the story of God going mad and cursing the world. A witch attacks believers and players can “have sex” with her in a pagan act called “blood magic” so she can “give birth to a god.” Another scenario allows player to have sex with a demon in exchange for a boy’s soul.

7) Dante’s Inferno (Playstation 3/Xbox 360) – Loosely based on the Divine Comedy, player travels through nine circles of Hell, fighting demons, “unbaptized babies” and other tormented souls. (This game is being considered for a movie by Universal Pictures.)

8) Guitar Hero (Playstation) – Players use guitars decorated with pentagrams. God is repeatedly mocked by the devil and in the end, the devil is the hero of the game. Women dressed as Catholic school girls are degraded. (Rated “T” for teen)

Other games with Satanic themes are Darksiders, Koudelka, Trapt, and Bayonetta.

Choosing Sides

This is real simple: Support for Obama is not consistent with Roman Catholicism, the two are at loggerheads, they are unresolvable, unmixable. Once you digest that you can begin to deal with people who hold different views than you do, you can engage people who reject your views.

The Crisis is Modernism

Vatican official says religious orders are in modern 'crisis'

By John Thavisatholic News Service

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- A top Vatican official said religious orders today are in a "crisis" caused in part by the adoption of a secularist mentality and the abandonment of traditional practices.

Cardinal Franc Rode, prefect of the Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, said the problems go deeper than the drastic drop in the numbers of religious men and women.

"The crisis experienced by certain religious communities, especially in Western Europe and North America, reflects the more profound crisis of European and American society. All this has dried up the sources that for centuries have nourished consecrated and missionary life in the church," Cardinal Rode said in a talk delivered Feb. 3 in Naples, Italy.

"The secularized culture has penetrated into the minds and hearts of some consecrated persons and some communities, where it is seen as an opening to modernity and a way of approaching the contemporary world," he said.

Cardinal Rode said the decline in the numbers of men and women religious became precipitous after the Second Vatican Council, which he described as a period "rich in experimentation but poor in robust and convincing mission."

Vatican II is and was a disaster.  Time to scuttle it.