Damian Stayne - Caveat Emptor

First, let me give a little personal background information in the interests of making clear my own first-hand knowledge of what I'm about to relate.

During my late teens and much of my early adulthood I was involved with the "Catholic charismatic renewal" as a member of Mother of God Community.  There were quite a few other groups like it throughout the United States.  Many of these - including MOG - began to behave as cults.  In the mid 1990s, much of that came to a halt.  In 1997 the Washington Post magazine put out two issues that delved into the history.  Normally I don't recommend anything by the Washington Post but I can vouch for the accuracy of this series - based on my own personal knowledge of events.  During 1996 I ended my own official affiliation with MOG for many reasons.  One of those reasons was my apprehension of their overemphasis on personal "experiences of God".  I still count many of the other members of MOG - current and past - as close friends; they are sincere in their love for God and the Church.

What Has Gotten Into The Drinking Water At Aleteia?

Pewsitter published today two rather dopey articles from them, straight out of "church of nice".  Both of them purport to give "meaningful" (be careful of that word "meaningful" for it is full of subjective gobblygoop) ways of preparing for Easter.  One author shares how his family prepares by turning off electrical conveniences and using only candlelight.  The other talks about "being present".   None of these concepts are bad in and of themselves - but they have nothing to do with the essential truths of Easter.

Laced throughout these two pieces is a theme of "what can we get from Easter".  In fact the second author writes, "I want to taste and touch and feel every moment of this Holy Triduum, this pause in our year, this gift that allows us to celebrate the fact that we have been saved."  Taste? Touch? Feel?  Seems rather sensual, wouldn't you say?  It certainly betrays a focus on subjective experience.  Except for the word "saved" there is no hint whatsoever regarding eternal salvation.

I've no need to tell regular readers what happened.  Christ laid down His life for us to ransom us from the power of sin.  His Precious Blood was shed for our redemption.  He rose from the dead; Scripture says that was a type of "first fruits" of salvation.  Three Sacraments were instituted: Holy Eucharist, Holy Orders, Penance.  I'm sure I'm missing other important aspects, but "feeling every moment" and other "smell the flowers" stuff is not on that list.

Let's look at what's not mentioned in these two articles as ways of preparation for Easter - ways that have been promoted by the Church for hundreds of years.

1. Confession.  In the comment section of the second article, one reader does mention it.  It seems he/she wants to remind the author of that.
2. Prayer. For the first author, I wonder if family prayer was more emphasized.
3. Fasting.  There are 40 days during which that should be done, not just the last week.
4. Almsgiving.  How about prayer in front of an abortion mill?

On the surface, what these authors wrote might seem somewhat harmless.  However, if the most one can say about a given object is that "it's harmless", then I'd tend to wonder about any benefit from the same.  I don't think it's harmless at all.  To imply that such "fluffy-puff stuff" ideas are in any way on a par with authentic preparation for or significance of Easter poses serious dangers of obscuring the truth of our salvation.  Yes, we are talking about eternal salvation versus eternal damnation: truths that transcend "nice experiences".

I'd be willing to bet that similar examples of sentimentality exist.  While they may seem rather innocuous, I'd hope that no one would assume that the things suggested therein are in any manner on a par with the Catholic understanding of Lent and Easter.

Matthew Kelly Poison In DC Parishes Again

After Christmas Mass we all received a Christmas present.  It was a book by Matthew Kelly called "Rediscover Jesus".  I've written about Kelly in the past as I have found his stuff to be, quite frankly, less than Catholic.  Because it was free (meaning I did not have to pony my cash to Kelly's wallet) I took one and glanced through it.  That one glance told me that Kelly's theology had not improved one iota.  I copied the page and post it below.

The problem is the last sentence of the third paragraph.  I tried to highlight it, but it is faint.  At any rate, that last sentence is enough to cause a sane Catholic to junk this book.  Ladies and gentlemen, note the phrase "half-brother of Jesus".  Jesus had no "half-siblings".  The Perpetual Virginity of Mary is defined Catholic dogma!  Please let no one delude themselves into thinking that this point is "just a technicality".  If Holy Mother Church thought it important enough to make the perpetual virginity of Mary a dogma, then it deserves all due consideration.

Whether or not Kelly intended it, he wrote heresy.  Perhaps this lapse can be chalked up to faulty formation that he may have received as a child.  We all know how far Catholic education has declined in the past 50 years or so.  But isn't that all the more reason for our parishes and chanceries to carefully vet these books before they're released to the Catholics in the pew?

There are other issues with this book (and his previous books).  While this book does state that sin hinders our relationship with God, it is quite selective about the kinds of sins with which it deals.  I see talk of "greed" and "losing one's temper", but nowhere did I detect any mention of mortal sins such as the support of abortion, contraception, gay #mowwidge.  But anyone with two functioning eyeballs can see that it's rampant in the pews - not only the support but the participation in these mortal sins.  That means we have Catholics in the pews who may well be hell-bound, and there's no mention of these real dangers.  Speaking of hell, I see no mention of that important reality whatsoever in that book (or his other books).  Why not?  Our Lord mentioned it often as a solemn warning.  In all fairness to Kelly, it can be argued that he's merely following the lead of the American clergy in not specifying mortal sins and the reality of hell.  In their misguided and dare I say feckless desire not to upset people, they are doing the Catholic congregation a gross disservice.

Another related issue is the overemphasis on "experience".  As I read the Gospels, I see no mention of Jesus calling people to "experience" Him.  Rather, there is the call for repentance and obedience, with the graces communicated through the Sacraments as administered by the Church.  Indeed, in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus's first recorded word is "repent".  The soon-to-be-canonized Mother Teresa of Calcutta is said to have gone most of her life with no experience of God's presence.  She did count that as a cross, but still it goes to show that "experience" is not a necessary component of the Catholic's spiritual life.  One could call Kelly's approach "putting the cart before the horse", but without specific mention of the serious sins for which one should repent and obtain absolution, I'd have to say in this instance that "there's a cart but no horse".

Some might think my characterization of Kelly's materials as being "poison" to be a bit harsh.  They might say that the great majority (while somewhat vapid for its "peaches and ice cream tone") is decent enough.  But no one can gainsay the heresy that is there in plain sight.  For reasons that I stated in an earlier post, I don't think anything that contains heresy can be used as a spiritual guide regardless of other material contained within.

Is this book showing up in other parishes?

UPDATE - The answer to that last question is "yes".  Someone from St. Andrew the Apostle told me they have it.  That suggests impetus from the DC chancery.

UPDATE #2 - Per Jeff's comment below, the phrase I wrote above, "he wrote heresy" should be rendered "he published heresy".  Kelly says it's from another source but in his own book offered no correction nor clarification regarding the Church dogma.

Baltimore's "Rebuilt" Parish In Serious Need Of REAL Rebuilding

Below is another video of a "church of nice" gushing about how nice they are!  This is the Church of the Nativity and it's in the northern Baltimore area, within the Archdiocese of Baltimore of course.  As you look at the surroundings of the two people, they could be in any workplace lunchroom.  There's nothing to distinguish it as a Roman Catholic Church.  You'll also hear the incessant yammering about "experience".  This subjective "experience" is often registered at the level of mere emotion; forget the intellect, reason and will.

Some oddities:

1. At the 1:00 mark, we hear that to "reach the lost we must understand what their likes are..and construct your building, physical surroundings and your service to reflect those likes".  If by "construct your service" he means tweaking the Mass rubrics, he has his thinking literally upside down.  Let's look at the definition of Holy Mass, per the Baltimore Catechism.  "What is the Mass?  The Mass is the sacrifice of the New Law in which Christ, through the ministry of the priest, offers Himself to God in an unbloody manner under the appearances of bread and wine."  Here's another.  "What are the purposes for which Mass is offered?  The purposes for which the Mass is offered are: first, to adore God as our Creator and Lord; second, to thank God for His many favors; third, to ask God to bestow His blessings on all men; fourth, to satisfy the justice of God for the sins committed against Him".  To be brief, Mass is about God, not about "an amazing weekend experience"!
2. At 2:45, the man is playing the role of the hypothetical visitor.  "Now that I'm seated, it seems like a great atmosphere; it's almost like a theater."  Whoa!  Let's pause right here!  A theater?  As in "entertainment, show-kind" of theater?  Is that an integral goal of this "amazing weekend experience"?
3. He goes on.  He does say the "light is on the altar where it needs to be".  I'll give him kudos for that, bit it goes downhill.  "The music is great, the band looks professional."  The band!!?!?!?  I tremble at the thought of the cacophony emanating from them during Mass.  In churches of old (back when "experience" was not worshiped more than God), we had choir lofts in the back of the church.  They were elevated and more importantly, behind the congregation so that they wouldn't draw undue attention.  The choir at that time enhanced the worship of God and was not concerned about entertainment and experience. 
4. Notice how they refer to "service"?  Whatever happened to the word "Mass"?  I find that substitution odd and a tad disconcerting.
5. You'd have to be paying attention before 3:51 to glean what the woman considers "the capstone of the weekend experience" to be: the socializing and snacks after Mass.  Would not the capstone of Holy Mass be the Consecration?  Or at least Holy Communion??  What she uttered is the kind of drivel that spills out of the mouth of those who don't understand just what a priceless treasure the Holy Mass is.  Her focus, at least in this video, is completely man-centered and not at all God-centered.

I sincerely hope and pray that they rediscover the real riches of their Roman Catholic heritage.  They're settling for, and offering, fluffy-puff stuff.