Dwight Longenecker's Blog, page 327

Are You a Beautiful Temple?

St Paul writes, "You are God's building...do you not know that you are the temple of God,

and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?"



The teaching functions on several levels. You and I as individuals are the temple of the Holy Spirit--God's beautiful building. Each part of us--every physical part, but also every thought, every idea, every prayer, every memory is a part of the whole building. However, the church is also the Body of Christ, so the metaphor of the temple also applies to the whole community. Each one of us are 'living stones' as St Peter says, built up as a spiritual temple.



All of this imagery combines on this feast of the Dedication of St John Lateran. Here is the mother church of the whole Church--the cathedral church of the Bishop of Rome. Here is the church that reminds us that every church is a glorious temple and dwelling place for the Son of God, and that as such we too are meant to be glorious temples to the living God.



See how banal, barren and brutal all of this imagery is when our churches have become utilitarian auditoria--bare Protestant preaching barns--cheap and nasty warehouses to have Mass in? What does this modern, utilitarian architecture say about your spiritual life and mine? It makes prayer and the life of sanctity to be a barren, utilitarian thing--lacking all beauty and mystery and grace.



And what is utilitarianism except a harsh heresy--a crude religion of works--for the creed of the utilitarian is, "If it works it's good" which is another way of saying "I believe in good works." A utilitarian church building cannot speak of the grace of beauty or the absurd extravagance of worship. It cannot speak of the mystery of God's love poured out in beautiful abundance in the world or the strange shadow and light of God's providence and grace.



It's just a big boxy room where you can seat a lot of people, where you make sure the air conditioning works and the sound system works, and then you put some pretty stuff in it because Catholic churches are supposed to be pretty.



Instead let us build beautiful churches, churches, that like St John Lateran take centuries to complete and beautify--churches that reflect the work of grace in our lives and the fact that I too long to be a beautiful temple--in which every part of me has been transformed and glorified by grace--a life that people behold--like they behold the work of St John Lateran--and say, "That's beautiful!"



PS: If you want an update on the beautiful church we are planning to build in Greenville, South Carolina in the heart of the Bible belt--go here. You can also read there my archived articles on architecture.[image error]

A Catholic in the Bible Belt

Here's a well written piece full of observations of a cradle Catholic in the Bible Belt.[image error]

The Soul in Paraphrase

PRAYER the Churches banquet, Angels age, 
        Gods breath in man returning to his birth, 
        The soul in paraphrase, heart in pilgrimage, 
The Christian plummet sounding heav'n and earth ; 

Engine against th' Almightie, sinner's towre, 
        Reversed thunder, Christ-side-piercing spear, 
        The six daies world-transposing in an houre, 
A kinde of tune, which all things heare and fear ; 

Softnesse, and peace, and joy, and love, and blisse, 
        Exalted Manna, gladnesse of the best, 
        Heaven in ordinarie, man well drest, 
The milkie way, the bird of Paradise, 

        Church-bells beyond the stars heard, the souls blood, 
        The land of spices, something understood. 




--George Herbert[image error]

What I Love About the Catholic Church - 8

use the 'Label' facility to read all the posts in this thread.



What I love about the Catholic Church is that it's history reads like the Old Testament, and that feels authentic. What I mean to say, is that it is a history of rogues and scoundrels, criminals, psychopaths, spiritually insane people and incomprehensibly awful sinners.



Where else but the Catholic Church do you also find the most amazingly radiant saints, supernatural warriors for God, courageously innocent virgin martyrs, tireless friars, magnificent theologians, world changing figures who exhibit the height and breadth of redeemed humanity?



This is what the Reforming Protestant and the other worldlings don't get. They look at the sinners and the skunks in the Catholic Church and get all huffy and cry out for reform and point fingers at the failures and mock the hypocrites and go all serious and sign a petition, never understanding that Jesus himself said the wheat and tares would grow together and the sheep and goats would be in the same flock.



I trust the Catholic Church because it is full of sinners. The religious groups I don't trust are all the squeaky clean grinning Christians with their button down shirts and buttoned down lives. The ones who give me the creeps are not hard drinking swearing, repenting sinners in the Catholic Church, but the holier than thou  Christians who retreat into their little spiritually self massaging study groups and sects pretending that nothing bad ever happens there.



No. The Catholic Church is like the Old Testament. There is Noah, lying drunk and naked. There's Abraham disobeying God and taking his maid instead of his wife. There's David ogling Bathsheba and plotting to kill her husband after he makes her pregnant. The same rich stink of sin wafts through the Catholic Church too, and that is what makes it seem real.



Don't get me wrong. I'm not glorying in sin and making excuses. I'm just pointing out that reality has stench. Real things cast shadows. The Way is a road and every road has a gutter.



And what I love about the Catholic Church, therefore, is that in the midst of this horror and stench and ugliness--the light of redemption shines. There is such a thing as repentance. There is grace. There is forgiveness. There is light and sanctity and goodness and beauty and truth--and it is all the chaos that makes the order stand tall, and in the darkness the light shines more brightly.[image error]

Stick 'Em Up - Day Two

That's right. This is a hold up. For just two weeks every year in the month of November we hold the annual Stick 'Em Up Campaign in which I humble ask for donations by the use of emotional blackmail...



Not really. Just a reminder to all the faithful readers that this blog if free, and I (who usually get paid for writing) do all this because I love you all so very much...



The recommended donation is $25.00 for each reader. Do the math. That works out at $.06849315 cents per day. Yes, just under seven cents. That's not even a dime a day!



For this you usually get at least one post a day--often two or three, and what a cornucopia of Catholic delights! Sensible catechesis, pretty pictures, classy music, corny and sassy humor, devotional insights, some personal from the heart stuff, links to the best in Catholic blogging, serendipitous pictures of people in hats, and don't forget the stellar cast of guest bloggers: Mrs Brady Catholic Old Lady, Caitlin O'Rourke, Mantilla the Hun, the Vicar, Todd Unctuous, Duane Mandible and a soon to be unveiled new alter ego...



Yes, I am saying today that if you're generous and realize that padre needs your pennies, then after the campaign is over I will be introducing a new guest blogger.



So please dig in. Hit the 'Donate' button. Grit your teeth and make your donation, and if you're embarrassed at what a small donation $25.00 is I now grant you a formal dispensation to give far more than that if you wish.[image error]

The Red Plume

Why don't they give you one of these hats when you're ordained? I mean, the biretta's okay, but that's a real hat.[image error]

What I Love About the Catholic Church - 7

...The fact that she is not fashion conscious. Take this new translation of the Mass for example. Non Catholic Christian denominations, when they revise their liturgy bend over backward to make it as politically correct and up to date as possible. The feministas in the Anglican Church are busy writing new 'canticles' by Julian of Norwich and St Bella of Azbug and Hildegarde of Bingen. Everything is done to make their church as groovy and up to date as possible.



Sure, we have hip hop priests and nuns who dress like cleaners in a mental ward, but their days are numbered, and did anybody who takes Catholicism seriously ever take them seriously? It's also true that in the last fifty years many Catholics have taken a wrong turn. They've wedded the Spirit of the Age, and now they're widows. In the last five decades too many Catholics have forgotten the timelessness of the Church in order to have a good time.



This plastic and elastic Catholicism is bogus. Deep down Catholicism has something ageless about it which survives all the depredations of the trendy crowd. Down through the ages the saints have never really taken notice what age they lived in. They sought to follow the truth, knowing that the truth, in every age would be both unpopular and yet totally relevant. They saw clearly and cut through the crap. I love this about the Catholic Church: although individual Catholics may fall for the Spirit of the Age, the Catholic Church herself does not.



The Catholic Church does not belong to any age because she belongs to every age. Just think of it. Here is an institution which has been around since the time of the Roman Emperors and she's still going strong. She's seen it all. Corruption from within and persecution from without. She's stood the test of time. Consequently, she stands above all the fashions and fads.



But at the same time, she takes on from the age she lives in, whatever good things exist there. She doesn't mind using modern technology, re-phrasing the ancient faith in modern terminology and engaging with the conflicts and debates of the age on equal terms with the children of that age. She's ever ancient and ever new.



She's like one of those august, aristocratic English women I used to know who wore their grandmother's tweeds and welly boots and went hunting grouse with a shotgun, and then came in and ordered dinner with their cell phone from a Chinese take away served in the formal dining room on antique china.



You can use the 'label' facility to read the other posts in this series from the archives[image error]

The Word Among Us

Isn't  Van der Weyden just the best? Learn about him here.[image error]

Harnden and Herman

As usual the American loving British ex pat Toby Harnden nails it on this column on how the allegations against Herman Cain have actually given him a boost.



Writing for the Daily Telegraph, Harnden understands the dynamics of middle America better than most American journalists. He sees that most common sense Americans think that the majority of sexual harassment cases are a case of whining 'victims' looking for a lawsuit, hand in hand with a fat, but hungry lawyer.



These ordinary folks that Harnden understands like Cain because he's an outsider, because he is politically incorrect, because he takes risks and doesn't take himself that seriously. Furthermore, because the right wing often have a bit of a persecution complex anyway, all it takes is for those they perceive as the 'liberal' press to launch an attack to make them circle the wagons and stick up for the one being attacked.



Consequently, the allegations against Cain will probably continue to boost his campaign rather than damage it. As Toby Harnden says, the left overplayed their hand. It seems the only people dumber than the politicians are the journalists--Toby Harnded excepted.[image error]

Stick 'em Up

Hands in the air!



Yes, dear readers. It's time once again for the annual Stick 'em Up Campaign. For just two weeks in November I ask you to make donations to this blog. That's it. None of guilt trip inducing 'tin cup rattles' you get from other bloggers like the Dark Lord.



Fact is, I do this blog for free. Not only do I blog for free, but for all three of you who are totally addicted to whatever I write; I am now Twittering and doing Facebook and starting in Advent I'm going to be recording my homilies again, and putting them up as podcasts, and I aim to do some video casts if there is time.



So here on the blog--which is the home base if you like...I try to keep the usual blend of standing on my head with solid Catholic catechesis, pretty pictures, comment on things Anglican and American, Catholic devotional thoughts, bits of music, some personal stuff, leaden satire (to quote one of the world's greatest journalists--Damian Thompson) and WHO ELSE DOES THIS NOT EVEN MARK SHEA OR KATRINA OR THE ANCHORESS OR FR. Z??--a gallery of lovable, infuriating, brilliant, entertaining and stupid alter egos.



All this free of charge. Yep. Free. OK, I sell some books through it from time to time. However, have you noticed there are no ads? No annoying pop ups for dietary aids or any other embarrassing medical type products? Not even Google ads or Amazon ads or anything like that. I mean not even ads for Monks Coffee or statues of Santa Claus kneeling down before the baby Jesus!



So here's what I'm suggesting: a $25.00 donation from every reader. Now what does that work out to? Over a year?--Less than seven cents a day. That's right. Not even a dime a day. Not even one thin dime.



Just hit the 'Donate' button and grit your teeth and do it.



Thanks a million.[image error]