Dwight Longenecker's Blog, page 205

Duck Dynasty and the Dowager Countess

Brantley Millegan opines here about the secret of redneck show  Duck Dynasty’s success. What’s the secret to its success? Compared to most of what’s on TV, but especially compared to other reality TV shows, Duck Dynasty is clean, family fun – even more so than it appeared to be early on. Phil Robertson recently explainedthat bleep-outs [Read More...]

Women Should Know Their Position

So someone says to this old priest, “There should be more positions for women in the church.” Grumpy old priest says, “There is only one position for a woman in church: on her knees either praying or scrubbing the floor.” Not good. But maybe not to unusual? Here is my article for Aleteia on the [Read More...]

Pope Francis – The Devil is Real

Pope Francis takes a straightforward approach to the reality of evil. It’s reported here. The Pope then outlined three ways of fighting evil: “Do not confuse the truth. Jesus fights the devil: first criterion. Second criterion: he who is not with Jesus is against Jesus. There are no attitudes in the middle. Third criterion: vigilance [Read More...]

Theresa of Jesus- It’s Simple – Love Jesus

All the best answers are simple even if they are not easy. St Theresa of Avila reminds us that the path to perfection is simple: love Jesus. Many, many times I have perceived this through experience. The Lord has told it to me. I have definitely seen that we must enter by this gate if [Read More...]

Seattle Bound..Y’all Come!

I’ll be speaking at the Frassati Conference at St Mary Star of the Sea parish in Bremerton WA on Saturday. Fellow Patheos blogger The Crescat will be there too. Ya’ll come and see us. I’m leading a workshop on Benedict and Bosco for parents and a keynote on the New Evangelization. The real reason for [Read More...]

Be Bald and Angry but Sin Not

Some time ago a reader jumped into the combox and accused me of being “an old bald angry guy.” I liked that. It mad me real mad. Grrrr! In fact the anger thing is very interesting. I like that Scripture verse, “Be angry, but sin not.” Now there’s a pithy bit of wisdom if ever [Read More...]

Joining John Allen

Is there a John Allen fan club? I’m reading his Global War on Christians and yow is it good! The great thing about Allen’s journalism is its professionalism. He does what journalists should do. He dig out the facts with thorough research, he organizes the information, presents it and analyzes it intelligently and compassionately and yet objectively and [Read More...]

Complicity in Clericalism

Are priests too consumed with their own power, prestige and importance? Deacon Kandra gathers the differing views on clericalism that are generating discussion on his blog here. The talk got started with an article by a Franciscan friar called Fr Horan Lead Us Not Into Clericalism which made some snippy remarks about the breed of younger priests [Read More...]

Penance is a Therapy Too

News today of yet another Catholic priest caught with his pants down. Last week a priest in Pennsylvania in a car with a fifteen year old boy he’d contacted through Craigslist. The priest gave the pitiful reply, “But I asked him three times if he was eighteen.” Then in Newark a priest is busted sending [Read More...]

The Pope, Fatima and the End of the World

As pastor of a church dedicated to Our Lady of the Rosary, I found today’s Marian celebration in Rome very moving. Rocco Palma reports on it here–giving the text of the Holy Father’s meditation on Mary on Saturday, his homily at Mass today and links to Saturday’s papal teaching on women. An interesting side line [Read More...]