In this morning’s conference we are dealing with natural law and moral choices and conscience in our of society. It is interesting that children are actually taught a great deal – a kind of creed – but sometimes we assume they have been taught very little.
They learn in a kind of anti-tradition and anti-creed that God is not important. They learn a traditionless tradition. They learn wrong mores and a wrong understanding of "authority".
Coat of Arms by D Burkart
A Daily Prayer for Priests
Nota bene: I do not answer these numbers or this Skype address. You won't get me "live". I check for messages regularly.
WDTPRS
020 8133 4535
651-447-6265
on Rome Shot 07Everybody remembers that first time they enter St Peter's. The awe and overwhelming sense of beauty. It's an eye opener... on Rome Shot 06"I love Rome even for this, although indeed one has other grounds for praising it, both for its greatness, and...
on A brief moment of relief from SCOTUS for religious liberty in BrooklynA few words regarding Chief Justice Roberts.... I wish to preface my comments by stating emphatically that I do not...
on ASK FATHER: What happens to the Eucharist if the priest does not communicate during Mass?I’ve always wondered about the concelebration of a priest during an EF ordination. The new priest receives under the species... on ASK FATHER: What happens to the Eucharist if the priest does not communicate during Mass?I’ve always wondered about the concelebration of a priest during an EF ordination. The new priest receives under the species...
on “Devout” Biden and the PalmistJoe Biden has dementia. That is the problem. Surely he read it to someone else before he read it to...
on ASK FATHER: What happens to the Eucharist if the priest does not communicate during Mass?Father, What if, for some odd reason, the priest were to consume a different Host than the One consecrated at...
on Rome Shot 07A powerful photograph from inside St Peter's Basilica looking from the area of the papal altar down the nave towards...
on Wherein Fr. Z offers a plea to priests and bishops. Lay people are not forgotten.@NOCatholic - We had a wonderful Thanksgiving because, praise God, my happiness has never and will never depend upon any...
on ASK FATHER: What happens to the Eucharist if the priest does not communicate during Mass?Interesting post. The answer points out that there can be a consecration without having a Mass (for a very strange...
on “Devout” Biden and the PalmistOh, it's a good one. Remember some years ago, Bryant Gumbel was introducing a performance of Gershwin's "S'Wonderful". He referred...
on Wherein Fr. Z reacts to a seminarian’s “cri de coeur”Pretending can really take a toll, though. It is difficult to constantly hide all of your traditional tendencies and one...
on Wherein Fr. Z offers a plea to priests and bishops. Lay people are not forgotten.WVC: Before I begin, I want to add to the 2 takeaways form my last post, some more: - If...
on This is as evil as anything I’ve seen in a long time.What an unholy coven. Look at those evil people, sitting there believing they are doing the Lord's work by condoning...
on Daily Rome Shot 05Antique Electric Tools? The perfect spot for Tracer Bullet to get that twenty-horsepower espresso machine he's been hankering after. JonPatrick:...
on Wherein Fr. Z reacts to a seminarian’s “cri de coeur”If the seminarian reads this blog and I hope that he does, my strongest advice to him would be to...
on A brief moment of relief from SCOTUS for religious liberty in Brooklynthe mayor and his family flew to Mississippi to have Thanksgiving with relatives. hwriggles4 Slight correction. The mayor, Michael Hancock,...
on Wherein Fr. Z reacts to a seminarian’s “cri de coeur”We have had a few young men in our parish leave SHMS in Detroit after a couple years. They do... on A brief moment of relief from SCOTUS for religious liberty in BrooklynA wise old man told me a saying of his father's. "Never trust a man that smiles like a Jackass...
My "challenge coin" for my 25th anniversary of ordination in 2016.
Want one? I do exchanges with military and LEOs, etc. and you can make a donation.
Loading ...If you travel internationally, this is a super useful gizmo for your mobile internet data. I use one. If you get one through my link, I get data rewards.
Loading ...
They find you a pro-life agent in your area who commits to giving a portion of the fee to a pro-life group!
Help Monks in Wyoming (coffee – UPDATED LINK) and Norcia (beer) and the wonderful "Soap Sisters" of Summit, NJ!
Please follow me on Twitter!
- Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
I’d be interested in a summary of it. I recall an interview with Fr. Thomas Williams when he published Knowing Right from Wrong: A Christian Guide to Conscience. In the interview he said there are two major errors regarding conscience. One (and the more deadly and prevalent one in my estimation) is that conscience is moral law unto itself. So if one says their conscience says it’s ok to contracept, then it IS ok. This isn’t how conscience works and is similar to sitting in a room engulfed in flames and saying there is no fire because the smoke alarm isn’t beeping. The other error views conscience as nothing more than a referee whom you only hear from when you do something wrong. Properly, conscience also prompts one to betterment, cultivating virtues, etc.
To me, this is the subject that most needs our attention in this chaotic culture. Any conference insights will be most appreciated.
I would love to trace the history of how conscience went from the little voice telling you what you should do when you wanted to do something else (a la Jiminy Cricket) to the authority by which you could do whatever you want, irregardless of what you should do.
It’s one of the greatest tricks Old Scratch ever pulled off.
I expect that one of the reasons for this is the near total absence of real men in the lives of children. Many fathers are completely absent in the lives of their children, and many their fathers are not really authority figures in their homes. In the schools the situtation is reinforced. Nearly all elementary teachers are women and very few principals are men any more either. I think few children have much real experience of what loving authority is, because they don’t see it in Dad, and they don’t see it in school. And in many catholic parishes, they don’t really see it from the pastor either, because to many delegate their authority away to pious church ladies, who, as lovely as they are, are not men.
It is extremely sad that “adults” seek to brainwash their children this way. There has to be a solution to this nonsense.
I have to assume that the State is imparting just the sort of creed it wants to impart.
Ya think, Father? I’m just a lonely school teacher, and I could have told you that!!!
I meant lowly…I am certainly not lonely
mrteachersir – Freudian typo, perchance? :)
It’s the TELEVISION. It is the dominant cultural influence in society. Whoever controls it, controls the culture. Even young kids from good families are misled by degrees because of the constant barrage and wind up in a very bad place.
The Church has been civilization’s greatest patron of the arts and that needs to happen with our new(ish) media. And I’m sorry, but that doesn’t include Christian (wretch) Rock music and cheesy Kirk Cameron made-for-TV movies.
This post has prompted a lot of thinking on the subject.
In my experience, Children start out knowing right from wrong, and authority (Mom and Dad)- early on. The Very young are much smarter than adults give them credit for. Even Infants know this stuff.
Yet they also start learning the opposite (or unlearning) soon too. How much is the various influences (television, peers, school, society), or how much is due to original sin in the child is something that’s hard to generalize.