Kat with a K

Palm Sunday

Yes, I'm still alive. Sorry. I was traveling and then got sick, and I'm just getting over that. And I'm trying to work on some writing projects that are cutting into my blogging time anyway, so the previous constant blogging schedule might not be viable right now. But I'm going to try to get back to posting at least once a day, more if I have more to say.

But it's Palm Sunday again, and I posted this quote last Palm Sunday so I thought I'd repeat it for you today.

Bradley Whitford:

Declaring oneself a Christian is easy. Putting Christian values to work in a dangerous and violent world is not.

Perhaps the best response to the tragedy of 9/11 was a preemptive war against a country that had nothing to do with the attacks. Tens of thousands of deaths later, perhaps it is still the right decision.

But it is not Christian.

Perhaps it is good economics to give me, an actor on a television show, over a quarter of a million dollars in tax relief over the last five years as the poverty rate climbs, as we burden our children with structural budget deficits and cut services for our most vulnerable citizens.

But it is not Christian.

Perhaps the death penalty is an acceptable way to punish criminals.

But it is not Christian.

Jesus Christ was the Prince of Peace, not the Prince of Preemptive War. He was an advocate for the poor, not of supply-side economics. And let's not forget that Jesus himself died in a bogus death-penalty rap. His was the original "bleeding heart," yet I am afraid he would be described pejoratively by many today as a "do-gooder."

Why I Am No Longer Giving Up Coffee for Lent

The short version: The Church and I are on a break.

The slightly longer version:
I probably wouldn't even bring this up, except that I seemed to have told a lot of people about giving up coffee, and now I'm afraid of someone yelling at me or something if they see me drinking it. Basically, I realized that i now disagree with so many teachings and policies of the Catholic Church that I'm not sure I want to affiliate myself with it anymore. It's a lot of things - women's rights, gay rights, etc. This was probably the last straw.

So . . . I don't know. I'm still thinking about things. There's a lot about the Church I really love. But sitting there and being quiet about it isn't working for me anymore. So we're on a break. And I'm drinking coffee.

Pancake Day?

I have to say, this idea of Shrove Tuesday being about pancakes is pretty new to me. Anyone know if it comes from a certain country or ethnicity? Of course, now I'm thinking about making pancakes for dinner, because they do sound good.

I did go to Starbucks and get a mocha this morning, because I'm giving up coffee for Lent this year. The barista was rather sad to hear that, but I promised I would still come in for chai.

His Appointed Orbit

Catholic writer Stephen M. Barr presents an elegant argument against Intelligent Design. It's theology like this that keeps me in the often-questionable Catholic Church, at least for now:

The older (and wiser) form of the design argument for the existence of God - one found implicitly in Scripture and in many early Christian writings - did not point to the naturally inexplicable or to effects outside the course of nature, but to nature itself and its ordinary operations - operations whose "power and working" were seen as reflecting the power and wisdom of God.

This is why I am not in sales.

I'm on the Social Committee at my church, which means that I help with things like dances and board game night and, at the moment, the parish picnic. Today I was assigned to sell picnic tickets by the door after Mass. (It's $5 a person or $3 a kid, basically just to pay for the food and the venue rental.) I asked every single person who walked by if they wanted picnic tickets, and do you know how many said yes? One. ONE! Now, I was at the side door, and I am theorizing that people who opt for that door instead of the main door are the ones who are trying to get away quickly and don't want to stand around talking. So I contend that the problem was not all just me. But still. It was rather demoralizing.

So then I bought a ticket for myself - and paid full price even though I won't eat most of the food provided (hamburgers and hot dogs) - so that's something. And I found a coworker who was there getting his son baptized and convinced him that he wanted tickets, too. That left my total at four, which was not QUITE as bad as one, but still. I am so not cut out for this "sales" thing.

(Anyone want to come to my parish picnic? I can get you tickets! Hah.)

Some words for Palm Sunday . . .

Bradley Whitford:

Declaring oneself a Christian is easy. Putting Christian values to work in a dangerous and violent world is not.

Perhaps the best response to the tragedy of 9/11 was a preemptive war against a country that had nothing to do with the attacks. Tens of thousands of deaths later, perhaps it is still the right decision.

But it is not Christian.

Perhaps it is good economics to give me, an actor on a television show, over a quarter of a million dollars in tax relief over the last five years as the poverty rate climbs, as we burden our children with structural budget deficits and cut services for our most vulnerable citizens.

But it is not Christian.

Perhaps the death penalty is an acceptable way to punish criminals.

But it is not Christian.

Jesus Christ was the Prince of Peace, not the Prince of Preemptive War. He was an advocate for the poor, not of supply-side economics. And let's not forget that Jesus himself died in a bogus death-penalty rap. His was the original "bleeding heart," yet I am afraid he would be described pejoratively by many today as a "do-gooder."

Novena for Faithful Citizenship

This Novena for Faithful Citizenship looks like it would be good to say sometime in the next few weeks leading up to the election, for those so inclined.

New translation of Mass prayers

At Mass this morning, Father told us that new English translations of some of the prayers during Mass had been approved. They're closer to the Latin, which makes me happy. This article lists some of the changes and a little background. There's a Vatican radio program about it here. (I haven't had a chance to listen yet.) No word yet on when the changes will take effect, but I'm looking forward to it!

Online Daily Devotion and Prayer Links

I always think that it would be nice to read from a devotional each morning, but I never seem to manage to fit it properly into my morning schedule - I'm always too distracted, and NPR is on, and I'm trying to make lunch, etc. So this morning I thought I'd look for some online versions that could be read in a few minutes before starting the work day. I thought I'd share the ones I liked, in case they could be of use to anyone else. (Note: Most of these are from Catholic sites, and might or might not be of interest to non-Catholics.)

Daily Mass Readings (from the US Council of Catholic Bishops)
Saint of the Day
Sacred Space (from the Irish Jesuits) - this has several parts that you click through, which may seem a little hokey, but I found it was actually helpful in making me concentrate.
Living Space (from the Irish Jesuits) - commentaries on the day's readings
The Word Among Us - meditations on the daily readings (with links to the readings themselves)
Minute Meditations - inspirational quotes from various Catholic books
Crosswalk.com Devotionals - a huge assortment of devotionals, including classics as well as new stuff. Seems to be non-denominational Protestant, but I'm not positive.
Heartlight Devotionals - another Protestant site with several different devotionals.