An Open Letter to Our Bishops

"The Denial of Peter"
Carl Heinrich Bloch, 1873

Dear Your Holiness, Eminences, and Excellencies,

My name is Kevin, and I have been a Roman Catholic for 35 years since my birth.  I was born to a mother and father who handed down the Faith to me and even sent me to Catholic school when I was a child.  I have questioned and even for a time doubted the Faith I have inherited.  I have recovered from my doubts, discerned the Priesthood for a time, and in God's time have found myself happily married with a beautiful daughter who will be two-years-old in the next year.  I am also a lay member of a Society of Apostolic Life recognized by the Holy See as well as a 4th Degree Knight of Columbus.  I mention my background not to flaunt my Catholic experience and continued service to Holy Mother Church, but to offer an accurate perspective of who I am.

I write all of you out of a sincere spirit of respect for your offices and full recognition of Pope Francis as Vicar of Christ and Sovereign Pontiff of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.  I write as one who is devoted to the Catholic religion and practices his Faith and rightly wishes that his children be raised to practice the same Faith that was given to their earthly father.  However, I write with grave concern and much urgency.

Your Holiness, Eminences, and Excellencies, it does not take much effort to realize that the Catholic Church is in crisis.  No doubt in your Sees you have seen crisis manifest in different ways.  However, it needs to be said for clarity that the Church is in crisis.  The Bride of Christ is weeping.  The Bride of Christ hemorrhaging from a wound inflicted by an assailant.  The Bride of Christ has been afflicted by a malaise which has weakened her immune system, and so is vulnerable to the spread of disease.

Every day.  Every headline.  Every piece of "click bait."  Every personal take on social media.  Every celebrity "theologian" and "academic."  Everywhere you go, no matter if it is at the newspapers, social media, or nightly news it is there, and it is presenting itself as a bully waiting for you after class behind the corner.  There is no escaping it.  Every day it is another scandal, another Priest or Bishop, another victim, another tale of oversight, another exposure of a Seminary program turned frat house in the 1970s.  Another hit piece from a Jesuit publication slamming, ostracizing devoted Catholics for requesting their local Pastor to use the Latin text of the Agnus Dei at Mass, or using Pope Benedict XVI's Summorum Pontificum to request from their Pastor or local Ordinary that use of the 1962 Missale Romanum (otherwise known as the Latin Mass, Usus Antiquior, Traditional Latin Mass, or Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite).

The mess, the malaise, the swamp.  I am confident that you are aware, for all of this is going on under your watchful, pastoral gazes.  I am confident that you are also becoming exhausted if not are growing weary of the tremendous Cross that seems to have come upon the shoulders of the Church.  It is a great Cross indeed.  At times this is cause for anxiety and fear.

Your Holiness, Eminences, and Excellencies, I pray every day as a son of the Church that you do not let the anxiety of the present crisis afflicting the Church weigh you down into apathy.  Rather, I hope that you are running into the arms of our Blessed Mother Mary, and throwing yourselves upon the Sacred Heart of our blessed Lord.  I hope too that my prayers and the prayers of the many Catholics praying for all of you are also an encouragement and comfort in this time.

As I may hope I am yet disappointed.  You see, I find myself in agreement of a particular point of view.  That point of view is that we the lay faithful who depend upon our Shepherds to lead us to Jesus Christ have been given over to lies, cover ups, and the type of childish gimmicks and antics one might expect from a children's television show.  Because many other more eloquent bloggers have shared specific examples I will refrain from adding to the litany ad nauseum.  But you also know what I am speaking of.  Or at very least you should.

So let us set aside the hyperbole and superfluous and allow me to answer what may be a question among you:  So, what do we expect the Bishops to do?

Simple.  Be our Shepherds.  Be a man after God's own Heart!  Love us lay faithful enough to sacrifice your own personal ambitions and take on the ambitions of the Sacred Heart--that is daily remind yourselves of salus animarum suprema lex.  As I, a husband, was taught on my wedding day by the words of St. Paul, "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ also loved the church, and delivered himself up for it."  If I am so charged with loving my wife to the point of giving up my life for her, how much more are the Pope, Bishops, and Priests called to do the same for the Church Christ founded and gave to their care?

The salvation of our souls is the primary work that you are called to do as our Shepherds appointed by Christ.  This work is accomplished by offering the Sacrifice (not a communal meal) of the Mass.  We, the lay faithful, need the Sacrifice of Christ in the Mass offered for our souls and in propitiation for our sins.  We also need to be reminded daily of that Sacrifice.  We need our confessions heard and then to be given penance for our sins, and not because we scrupulously are recklessly aiming for spiritual ruin, but because we have offended God, and we need to be told that without all the sugarcoating.  St. Paul even says that "all have fallen short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)  So how is it that we have turned the Sacrifice of the Mass in many areas into a festival celebrating banal human achievements that cannot measure to the Mercy and Justice of Almighty God?  How is it that depending on the personal style of the Pastor some of the lay faithful grow well in the faith and others do not?  Yes, I understand that original sin affects us all, but are not we supposed to grow in faith and not away from it?

The second work is to confirm the Faith.  This coincides with the first work as being the salvation of our souls.  Confirming the Faith does not mean giving us a puppet show in place of a well thought out, well prepared sermon/homily that brings the Gospel to us, but also raises our minds to contemplate Heaven and the good things that only God can give us.  Only God can give us a Pope, a Church, a Priesthood, the Eucharist.  We need to know this and be reminded of this weekly.  We need our minds and souls inspired to "seek the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness" (Matthew 6:33) by prayer and sacrifice.  How can we do this when Father processes into Mass dressed as a clown and tells us to avoid being like those "rigid" Catholics with their Latin hymns?  I must insist with honesty that once I discovered the heritage of my Faith in the traditional Liturgy I did not become "rigid" as many have accused.  On the contrary I found a treasure, the pearl of great prize, and a "stone rejected by the builders" that quickly became a formative part of my Faith.  It is because of the rich traditions of the Church that I have come to truly love the Church and defend her against attacks from without and unfortunately within.

Your Holiness, Eminences, and Excellencies I will refrain from further asking you to restore the traditional liturgy according to the 1962 Missale Romanum, in part because I know that not a few requests are perhaps received by you daily.  However, I encourage you to make the traditional liturgy available, per Summorum Pontificum, to the lay faithful who desire in faithfulness to the Church and to the Holy Father, to use the formula of the Sacraments as passed down through the centuries by your predecessors of happy memory.

I will conclude by pleading with not only yourselves, but also your Priests serving in parishes, schools, visiting the sick and dying, and even in the missions.  Enough is enough!  The flock of our blessed Lord needs fed.  We are starving and suffering spiritual undernourishment!  The flock needs fed not with the ice cream and candy of a faith that is little different from a Hallmark greeting card or nostalgia of a teenage slumber party, but with the Faith of our Fathers.  A Faith founded upon the faith of St. Peter of whom Christ said, "Thou art Peter, and upon this Rock I will build my Church." (Matthew 16:18)  This is an unwavering Faith.  It is time that we hear of the Faith that gives us our spiritual meat, potatoes, and vegetables.  Dessert can wait.  The faithful who have not yet deserted Christ are waiting.  We are waiting like sheep for our Shepherds to wake up and defend us from the wolf prowling around us waiting to strike.  Unfortunately, the wolf has been striking and has a voracious appetite.  Please, dear Fathers, Bishops, Cardinals, and Holy Father step up, defend your flock, defend the faith, and feed the lambs of Christ!  Otherwise, to whom shall we go?

Prayerfully in the Sacred Heart of Jesus,
A faithful Catholic concerned to see his Holy Mother Church weep

Surrounded By Hypocrites

As humans we are capable of amazing feats.  It was not that long ago when we were putting our first steps on the moon.  We have made innovations throughout history that have taken us from dwelling in caves to now populating the Earth.  We have gone from drawing stick figures on the faces of rock to writing blogs and connecting through social media.  From hunter gatherers on the plain to sitting in Athens discussing goodness and truth, indeed humanity is capable of so much positive and good in this world.  In a sense we should be compelled to congratulate ourselves for all of our accomplishments thus far.

But we have one of the most invasive pests in our midst.  A pest so clever that even after hundreds and thousands of years we have not be able to shake loose from its luxurious accommodations.  Hypocrisy is a disease, and unfortunately there is no cure or vaccination for this.  It seems as though we are stuck in a continuous cycle of great achievements followed by some of the most embarrassing follies we can devise!  What is more astonishing is that we take more pleasure in performing our hypocrisies than we do in those things we do well.  Rewarding and intellectual pursuits such as science, philosophy, and theology seem to take the back seat to our hypocritical pursuits.  For an unknown reason we much enjoy playing the hypocrite more than those things that make us reach higher than ourselves.

But, why?  Why is it easier for us to give in to hypocrisy time after time?

The short answer is because we are human.  It is an intrinsic property of our natural state of being.  However, I think we like the simple answers because humans are prone with ready heart and mind to accept overly simplistic answers and solutions.  We do not like long winded explanations, or dissertations.  We have not the patience for those things which may require a bit more effort, and yet we repeatedly implore others to have more patience with us than we are ready to render to them.  How is that morally correct?  It is not.

Use of reason vs. our ego

It is interesting to note that we are the only known species that we are aware of that has the amazing ability to reason.  We use the neurons in our brain to form words and attribute meaning to them.  We call this language.  We use it to communicate, but only as we will.  When we are angry or have some sort of grievance against another we find very clever passive aggressive ways of coping with our perceived feeling of being rejected, offended, or forgotten.  In our self complacent pride we endeavor to be at the very top of those around us.  It is subjectively desirable to be perceived by others as morally and virtuously superior.  None can dare upset the equilibrium of our egos.

We are unknowingly as gods unto ourselves, and anyone who so much as threatens our self complacency and confirmation bias are as devils proudly exclaiming "Non serviam!" (I will not serve!)  Ergo, our response to the disgusting parasitical demon that is our fellow man is the same as is attributed to St. Michael the Archangel: "Who is like unto God?"  The irony is that what we really think with our subconscious inundated by our ego is: who is like unto me?  This is where any basic form of communication truly becomes void and impossible.

The conspiracy theorist

Then we have the conspiracy theorist.  Ironic we use theorist, a word used to indicate someone of scientific intelligence, to describe the nonsensical rubbish that oozes from the mouths of the self obsessed.  It is hypocritical to be a conspiracy theorist because it goes completely against reason.  Let us examine a likely position he may take.

As much befits the attributed stereotype this man has a vendetta against technology.  Technology is some evil force that is responsible for Original Sin and therefore is used against society as the weapon of choice for the government--who is a tyrant--which has allowed the erection of all the "big box stores" and "big tech" corporations to exist entirely to spy on him, and take away his freedom.  It is not inaccurate to say that the man here in our example takes to social media--that is to use technology--to announce his "great" discovery that only a 30 pack of cheap beer can inspire.  Of course let us not dismiss his use of social media to share political sound bites and articles written by fellow conspiracy theorists.

We see the flaw in his argument (and in the method he chooses to deliver his argument) in that it is the utmost of absurdity.  It is absurd because it can be very quickly deduced by reason that the government is not spying on him, and quite frankly has no care for who he is.  However, this man will be the subject of his own self fulfilling prophecy when he accidentally says something with the intention of arousing the interest of the authorities.  The man is a lunatic and consequently cannot be trusted, and yet he is somehow able to inspire trust by others.

The reason the conspiracy theorist is able to inspire trust in others is of course due to the propensity of man to be gullible, as well as experience periods of mental dullness.  The details in his conspiracy theory are so incredible, vague, and yet are subjective enough that disproving his claims would appear to take more effort and dedication than is warranted.  Therefore, to the gullible his claims are true.  However, to those who are willing to set aside the temptation to be hypocritical and dishonest the reward is a very well done refutation that brings light to the darkness that the conspiracy theorist brings.

Conspiracy "theories" do not just have to be about technology either.  Any range of topics can be used for conspiracy theories.  Climate change, politics, education, religion, vaccines, university fraternities and sororities, among many other controversial and "hot button" topics can easily fall victim to the undermining efforts of conspiracy theorists.

The emotionally reactive

Imagine if you will someone of reasonable wealth and affluence who will never be able to be bothered to help one of the many homeless in their city and is always ready to profane and demolish anything and everything that does not digest well with their personal fantasy of how the world should work.  Enter the emotionally reactive.

The emotionally reactive is a hypocrite in much the same way as the conspiracy theorist.  Both are more satisfied with their own ego and confirmation bias than they are with actually having experienced any form of civility or rational thought.  They thrive on their buzz words such as "tolerance," "equality," "racism," "shaming," "gaslighting," and other words that ignite a passionate reaction to protest the littlest inconvenience or distressing moment some person, somewhere in the world, God forbid, might experience.  In fact they may even genuinely feel like something has to be done because of reasons A, B, and C.  If formulated in an otherwise rational state of mind in a calm, introspective demeanor it could be argued that perhaps some thing should be done about this or that situation.

However, on the contrary we find that everything is reactive.  Their coffee is a degree hotter than expected.  Bring on the lawyers and blame the employee for discriminating against their veganism!  The level of absurdity flirts with the boundary where most psychologists would agree delusion begins and a healthy mind ends.  This is serious.  It is serious because the many, many individuals who experience this type of hypocrisy may never become fully aware of it.  The reason for this is because self preservation and even herd mentality not only go hand in hand but magnify a perceived threat to be bigger than just something that is noticed.

Similar to the conspiracy theorist, the emotionally reactive have the flaw of absurdity in their argument.  This happens when we make an argument based on emotion rather than reason.  It could actually be argued that the source of all disagreements in the colorful history of humanity that have either escalated to total war or long term animosity is precisely the human temptation to let emotions take the lead on decision making.  This tendency needs to be tempered otherwise the great ambition of humanity of living among the stars may never come to fruition.

How hypocrisy is resolved

Let it be revealed to our minds that there is no easy remedy or solution to hypocrisy.  Hypocrisy is going to continue to infect the human condition as the bubonic plague infected millions in Europe during the 14th century.  It is a most unfortunate Achilles heel to the foot steps of the human species that if left uncontrolled will mean the slow, progressive destruction of everything that we possess any affection for.  Your trip to Starbucks.  The freedom to worship Almighty God.  The ability to acquire an education or provide for your family.  All of these things which every day we take for granted could be snuffed out like a candle or left to rot like road kill if hypocrisy is allowed to persist.

Indeed hypocrisy is an integral part of human nature, and as such demands our attention and respect.  Respect for the destruction it can bring to our own lives and to our society and culture.  Attention to its symptoms will help us to recognize how we too are in need of introspection and self examination.  When do we say what we think is right, but when given the opportunity do anything but what is right, and then give our selves every excuse?  When do we give in to false information, become enraptured in the hype of a news story, or allow our passions to become inflamed over some trifling thing?  Ah yes, hypocrisy is like an unattended fire in the wilderness.  All that is required is for one action to spark a reaction that destroys hundreds of acres of beautiful landscape, and thus this is what hypocrisy does to the soul of every person who has ever traversed the world.

How Can I Socialize as an INTJ?

You're not an introvert, you're too social.  This is a misunderstanding that I get from time to time.  It is a misconception that demonstrates a lack of understanding of what introversion really is.  So what does it mean to be an introvert?  How do I find it possible to get out and socialize?  Well, for starters it is not easy.  Welcome to the puzzle of my mind.

What is introversion?

In order to unpack what introversion is, let us start by examining what it is not.

In common parlance we would say that such and such a person is an introvert, because they are shy.  Many introverts exhibit varying degrees of shyness.  Shyness is not a good indicator of introversion, and is the opposite of what we would describe as an outgoing persona.  There is also what can be accurately called social phobia which I once thought was type of shyness, however as it turns out social phobia is more closely similar to social anxiety disorder.  None of these describes what introversion is.

To say it simply, introversion is way by which the mind internalizes and processes information.  One of the main outcomes of this internalization is introspection.  Introspection is the way by which someone examines themselves vis a vis the external world.

The driving force for the INTJ is at the top of their function stack: introverted intuition (Ni).  INTJs are considered to be an Ni dominate personality type.  Because the intuition, the recognition of patterns, is introverted this means that INTJs spend a lot of their mental energy observing and internalizing the patterns they see in the external world.  This introverted intuition is aided by their auxiliary extroverted thinking function (Te) which helps them to apply the patterns they see into solutions.  Many times this earns the INTJ the reputation of being blunt, cold, abrasive, cynical, and seemingly aloof, an over simplification that leads to misunderstanding.

It is not that INTJs do not seem to care or give notice to what is going on around them.  They are actually quite attuned to their environment, however the big picture of their observations is keeping their mind busy processing and analyzing the patterns they are observing.  This is what the INTJ does at their best.  They observe and make sense of the world.

How can INTJs be social?

Due to the introspective nature of INTJs it can be confusing when we see one in a social situation.  Take my job, for instance: I work as a technical support analyst for an internet service provider.  It is an integral part of my job to talk to people and because of how the floor plan is designed, I am in rather close proximity to my coworkers.  This often makes for returning home at the end of the day exhausted and emotionally checked out.  In fact more often than not I enthusiastically anticipate watching a video on YouTube and tuning out the world after a long day interacting with people at the office and on the phone that eating dinner becomes an afterthought.  The problem is, I am too exhausted to actually make myself a decent meal.

Alright, so how can I be social, have friends, and accidentally come off like I am completely at ease in a social situation.  What is the method to my madness that enables me to bravely take on maneuvering throughout society and the external world without losing my mind periodically?

Sleep!

If I have a social activity planned, I do my best to make sure I am well rested.  Nothing drains my mental reserves and patience for people than by not having enough sleep.  That extra 30 minutes of sleep is pretty much making it possible for me to store up the energy needed to deal with people as long as I have to.

Coffee!!

This is will be a no brainer to my fellow coffee lovers, addicts, and snobs out there.  A cup or two (or three or four) of coffee really makes the difference between approaching the day or social event with my usual INTJ "death stare" and at very least feigning some form of social graces.  Probably the easiest way to my heart (and good side) is a dose of trimethylxanthine (commonly known as caffeine).

Keeping a schedule

Scheduling out my day/week and sticking to it is essential.  Not that if anything out of the ordinary happens I have an aneurysm, but it helps to know I have some stability of what to expect.  This ensures that things get done when they need to.  One of the things as an INTJ that my mind craves is structure.  I cannot get enough structure.  Even something as meaningless to the outside world as "alone time" is actually quite structured.  I structure everything from color coding my calendar, my cubicle at work to ensure the most efficient workflow, to even what coffee cup I use on what day of the week.  (My wife thinks I am a little OCD about it, and I might be a little excessive here, but I cannot stress enough how important structure is.)

So that's my secret!  Plenty of sleep, drinking coffee, and keeping a schedule all go a long way to ensuring that yours truly can get out and experience life and even socialize.  As long as I get enough time to feed my Ni (introverted intuition) by exploring my thoughts and synthesizing them with the patterns I observe in society, I am usually pretty content.

The Best Part of My Morning Routine

My Van Der Hagen safety razor,
badger hair brush, shave soap, and bowl

Recently, I just made a change up in my morning routine, and it was the best decision I ever made.  I made the switch to a traditional safety razor.

When I started shaving, half my life ago it seems, I used a typical electric shaver.  It was a good start and at the time not anything time consuming.  I was in high school and was merely concerned with making sure I at least looked "cleaned up" as possible.  I was also known for occasionally being one of those guys who used Axe body spray if I was in a hurry.  Yeah, thank God I am much more organized now!

So for many years I used an electric razor.  It wasn't until ~2009 when I started thinking, "gee, I wish there was a better way to shave in the morning."  I was tired of shaving only to find that by lunch time I was already developing a 5 o'clock shadow.  Most of all, I was tired of having to constantly shell out tens of dollars on new blades for my electric razor.  If that wasn't enough - I've had at least a couple of electric razors short out which means if I didn't have a back up razor, then I was just out of luck and up the creek without a paddle.  Worst yet, is that I'd have to spend money on a new electric razor; good one that was reliable and get a close enough shave would end up setting me back at least $75 or more depending on availability.  Plus there's the whole having to ask a store attendant to unlock the case.

Simply put, I was just done and looking for a better shave that had a lot more bang for my buck.

I switched to a cartridge razor and Barbasol shaving cream and loved it.  However, as the years went on I began noticing that the cost effectiveness of the cartridge razor was really not too different from when I was using an electric razor.  Yeah, I mean it was a lot less expensive overall, but I just can't justify dropping $15 bucks on a five cartridge pack that I'm just going to be buying the next month anyway.  Sure, I tried stretching my cartridges until the aloe strip (a great innovation, by the way!) as long as they could go, but as any one can tell you - shaving with a dull blade is not ideal.

So, I made the decision to go on the market for a safety razor.  But before that, I made a crucial switch.  I switched to shave soap, and as much as I did love my can of Barbasol, I could not help but notice my face just felt a bit smoother and cleaner.  It was bittersweet, but it was time to say good bye to the way I had shaved before.

While looking around for safety razors I found that Van Der Hagen (which makes my shave soap) also makes safety razors.  So I dropped the $15 dollars on a safety razor kit that included the razor and 5 fresh blades.  So far I was impressed.  That's very cost effective.

But I was a little concerned that I would slice myself open.  So I decided to do my research.  A Google search shows several results for how to guides for safety razors.  I read my usual go to on Wikihow.  It proved useful, and I definitely was confident that I was very likely not going to slice up my face like I was performing surgery.  So I decided that I wanted to find a useful video to reinforce what I was reading.  I knew I could shave with a safety razor just fine (it's a safety razor afterall), but really wanted to cross reference my research to make sure my first shave was as enjoyable as possible.

I decided to search YouTube for an instructional video, and I struck gold.

If you're thinking of shaving with a safety razor, you must watch this video and subscribe to Geofatboy on YouTube!  Geofatboy explains perfectly how to use a safety razor.  Best of all he offers little practical hints and advice that before I saw his channel I had no idea I was missing in my shaving routine.  Little things like "clearing the run ways" and "pinching your brush" are a couple seemingly insignificant tips, but just altering what I do before I take the blade to my face has made all the difference in starting my day with a good shave.

Since watching a couple instructional videos I've noticed my shave in the morning is just better.  It feels good and my face feels clean all day long - something I haven't had before, which I would say is an added benefit.  I emphatically recommend giving a traditional wet shave with a safety razor and shave soap a try.  If you don't like it, that's fine, but at very least give it a chance.  I'm glad I have.

The New Job: Tech Support

Wow, has life been busy!  A month ago was my last day at Walmart as an Optician (yes, I can fix your glasses, and no I didn't do eye exams - that's the Optometrist!) and a few days later started my new job at a local Internet Service Provider (ISP).  So far it's a great job, and one that I'm naturally good at.  During the same time, as I was transitioning between jobs, my wife was weaning our daughter which was its own adventure - one that I just won't get into.

So what am I doing exactly?  Well I do technical support.  Essentially I'm the guy who fixes your internet when you call in saying that your internet is slow or down.  (Occasionally I help out the customer service representatives by taking payments from customers too, but that's not exactly exciting.)  The exciting part of every day is helping people get their internet up and running.  This involves listening to the problem being described by the customer and then diagnosing the root of the problem by running tests and assembling stats on what's happening.  Sometimes I do have to escalate some issues to be handled by another department, but that's in extreme cases.

It's not always busy at the office which has a geeky ambiance that I enjoy.  It has all the markings of my dream job.  Alright, alright so what don't I like about the job?  Well, to be honest there's nothing I like less than any other part.  I mean, it's work.  However, the people I work with really have a sincere focus on team work and an emphasis on supporting each other.  It's also an environment where everyone is highly encouraged to learn something new every day regardless of whether or not you're in technical support or accounting.  It's just an all around great place to work!

Given that one of my goals is to get in to IT or programming, this is a great first step.  The best part is that I can already see that my simple entry level position is not the end of the line for me.  There's room to move up.  And you know what else?  I'm encouraged to move up if I want to.  This is a company where if you're good and what you do, then results will usually follow.

It's really a great opportunity to expand upon my skill set.  And the absolute best part is that I have a regular schedule.  That makes all the difference.  I think the sacrifice I made taking a pay cut to accept this position has opened a door to me, and I'm happy I walked through.

However, I'm not naive.  I know there are going to be tough days.  I know there are going to be days I wish I hadn't shown up to work.  There are going to be days where things are overwhelming, and maybe things just aren't working right and tickets get back logged.  This isn't any different from any other job.  The difference is that in this job I think I'm going to have a good experience during the tough times because I know I have the support of my coworkers and supervisor who want to see me be my best.

Contra Sede Vacante

There is an unfortunate phenomenon on social media.  A movement full of vitriol, relentless trolling, antisemitic and other racial slurs, and just plain ignorance of actual Catholic teaching.  I am speaking here of sedevacantism.  What exactly is sedevacantism?

Sedevacantism is the belief that, at very least since 1958--upon the death of Pope Pius XII--that every Pontiff of the Catholic Church has been, and is, an "antipope."  However this is the tip of the iceberg.  There are as many different versions of sedevacantism as there are sedevacantists!  There are some I have encountered who claim that Pope Pius XII was a heretic and therefore an anti-pope.  Still there are even those whom claim that we may not have had a valid Pontiff since Pope Pius IX.  As mentioned prior, there are as many versions of sedevacantism as there are sedevacantists.  In a word, adherents to sedevacantes position are divided over what constitutes a valid Pontiff, and with most of them claiming to be laypersons of the Catholic Church it is very easy to see that they have read a handful of erroneous propaganda and have developed a disordered point of view of the Church.

Similar to them, and just as problematic, are the conclavists, however I will not address them at this juncture.  I should now address a brief history of sedevacantism as far as it relates to our modern history.  I will show the brief history vis a vis the crazed time frame that occurred after the Second Vatican Council (hereafter Vatican II).

It all began when nine Priests, now formerly of the Society of St. Pius X, brought up objections to the late Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre during the late 1970s.  The controversial Archbishop was having difficulty among many prelates within the Church, however was still allowed to teach and form those Seminarians who desired to be taught by him.  The nine Priests objected to Abp. Lefebvre maintaining not only ties with the Vatican but also fidelity to Pope Paul VI who was the Supreme Pontiff (e.g. the Pope) until 1977.  Abp. Lefebvre maintained that as he was a Bishop of the Catholic Church, as he had sworn fidelity to the Holy Father when we was consecrated a Bishop, and would continue to do so.  This did not sit very well with these nine Priests and so they began teaching those under them to resist the instructions of Abp. Lefebvre.  Circa 1983 the late Archbishop expelled those nine Priests, who in turn took with them their own students, some of whom waited to be ordained by Abp. Lefebvre prior to leaving the SSPX.  Those who left, or were expelled, formed together to found the schismatic Society of St. Pius V (SSPV).  Thus sedevacantism is a split from the Church.

In my personal point of view these nine Priest committed an act of schism by refusing the guidance of their superior and therefore the Church.  Their schism de facto cut them off from communion with the Church, and therefore they cannot be considered Catholic.

Let us flash forward 36 years.  What began as nine Priests acting in disobedience has spiraled into several splinter groups.  It could be argued that SSPX did not seem traditional enough, and so the sedevacantists severed ties with Rome; similar to how Martin Luther did in 1517 when he thought that the Church could not meet his personal standards.  From SSPV there are others who split because SSPV was not traditional enough because they held that Pius XII was a valid Pontiff.  This spiral continues similar to how John Calvin thought that Luther was too Catholic and promulgated his own brand of bad theology that one is predestined to Heaven or Hell arbitrarily because somehow the mercy of God is void and favoritism is the name of the game.

Today there exists sedevacantists who claim to be from a Catholic monastery in New York state.  These effectively are taught that SSPX, the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest (ICRSS), and other communities that use exclusively the liturgical books of 1962 are not Catholic and say invalid Masses.  This of course is not true!  One can observe from their style of ad hominem attacks, quoting of obscure situations from the recesses of Church history, and at times even antisemitic stances that they are only interested in one thing: showing how their version of Jesus is better than the next person's, and so on.  I have seen this before in the vitriol preached from the pulpits of some protestant sects who claim wrongly the usual objections of the Catholic faith (i.e. the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Saints, the Pope, the Eucharist, etc.).  So one can ask themselves, "How are sedevacantists different from mainstream Protestants?"  The short answer is that they are no different, and in some ways just as extremist as the Westboro Baptist Church.

But cannot their arguments be verified?  This is where it can be easy to get wrapped up in their arguments and be fooled into thinking that they're correct in their position.  Recently, in a discussion I was having with a sedevacantist I proposed that Christ promised that "the gates of the Hell shall not prevail" (Matthew 16:18) against the Church.  In response I was given the counter argument, citing Pope St. Leo IX as the source, "The holy Church built upon a rock, that is Christ, and upon Peter... because by the gates of Hell, that is, by the disputations of heretics which lead the vain to destruction, it would never be overcome." Taken at face value this would seem to indicate that when a Pontiff states something that is contrary to what the Church has always taught that it immediately invalidates the Papacy and the one who is Pope fails to be the Pope.

In the same conversation it was claimed that I am "rejecting Christ's words that the gates of hell will never prevail because [I am] effectively saying that the 'gates of hell' are sitting at the VERY TOP of His Church." This is an absurd take, because it essentially states that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has no power to protect His Church against Her very Bishops and Pontiff! That is as the first Pope, St. Peter, defines in his second epistle (letter) as a "personal interpretation." (2 Peter 1:16-20) I could give more examples, but we would be here all day.

What is contained in the very eloquently stated arguments and talking points is something nefarious. Hiding beneath the facade of appearances of zealous devotion to the Church and Her teaching are superfluous arguments, circular logic, and a twisting of what the Church teaches to satisfy a hidden desire to deceive all who are unprepared into believing that they are correct. For any who do not know their faith well enough they will be easily taken into the charm of their claims. Simply put their claims address the overwhelming crisis in the Church by manipulating the emotions of those who at the moment, and for good reason, feel that the Church is falling apart. And what an opportunity the sedevacantists have chosen. That they have chosen to capitalize on the crisis in the Church by taking to social media to promote their deception is the only thing I can say is a point in their favor.

What makes sedevacantism so appealing is that it appears to solve a crisis in the Church. But at what cost? Accepting the sedevacantist position means falling into a similar error that unfortunately many who took and ran with the so-called "spirit of Vatican II" fell.

Ultramontanism is the error that everything that falls from the mouth of the Pope is infallible and therefore to be taken, believed, and acted upon with immediate effect. This is not true. The First Vatican Council discussed Papal infallibility in these words, "For the Holy Ghost was promised to the successors of Peter not so that they might, by his revelation, make known some new doctrine, but that, by his assistance, they might religiously guard and faithfully expound the revelation of the deposit of faith transmitted by the Apostles." From this we know that the infallibility of the Pope is only when speaking of faith and morals. It is well worth it to research, in depth, the documents of Vatican I because in no way does it make out the Pope to be some sort of super king with a hyper infallibility. Yet this is what both sedevacantists and some who adhere to the craziness of the 1970s "spirit of Vatican II" conflate Papal infallibility to mean, which is contrary to Vatican I!

To conclude, the problem with sedevacantism goes much deeper than one can write about in brief. Sedevacantism is a misappropriation of Church teaching and is therefore a true poison to the teachings of the Catholic Church. Once you have backed them into a corner, and they run out of arguments, they return ad hominem attacks, and if you're Catholic claim that you are excommunicated. These "excommunications" are not valid, nor should they ever be treated with more than a good laugh, since only a Bishop (including the Pope) can excommunicate someone, so really it just takes on the appearance of an overzealous "citizen arrest" situation that just goes to further demonstrate that truly, no matter what they claim, they are just as knowledgeable about what the Catholic Church actually teaches as someone who listens to a protestant pastor drone on about the alleged heresies of the Roman Catholic Church.

Family Day

Now that I have a family some things have become more important - specifically spending time with my wife and daughter in a non distracting environment.  I say non distracting, because it would seem that in the world that I'm raising my daughter in is not lacking in distractions.  If it's not concerns with work and what immediately lies ahead on the daily agenda, then it's technology.  Interestingly, those who know me would be confused at this point.  Technology?  Really?  The self described technophile is concerned that technology is a distraction?  Well c'mon, I'm not naive!  As much as I enjoy working with and learning about and using current tech trends I'm also equivocally vigilant about how much of my life is spent basking in the warm, inviting glow of my phone, tablet, or laptop.  (As an aside, I make every effort not to abuse tech, however that's a discussion for a later time.)

I'm finding myself increasingly aware of the fact that it would be the best thing for my family if I'm not constantly checking social media, reading the news, drafting a new blog post, catching up on the latest research in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics), or just aimlessly browsing until I land somewhere interesting.  After a lot of reflection on every pro and con and measuring how much time I really spend using such frivolous things as social media I've come to a simple conclusion:  It's time to set aside an entire day where I don't engage with tech - at very least keep it to a practical minimum.  Of course, in practice this can be complicated.  Look around you and it cannot be more clear: technology is used every day by every person.  This is why being practical about tech is just that much more imperative.  So, just like every goal I've ever set (I'll admit some goals I've set are more practical than others) I have to establish the ground rules, so as the Joker is quoted as saying in Batman: The Dark Knight: "So, here we go..."

1. No checking social media!  That witty response, meme, or group chat?  That can probably wait until the next day.  If it's the family group chat, that's allowed, because... it's family day.
2. The computer stays off!  My internet browser, while good at showing my email, agenda, and to-do list is also a temptation to sit for a while and stare at my social media feed (if I have nothing else to do).  That time spent staring and gawking at society's "epic fails" or shortcomings could actually be spent with family.
3. Phone calls and text messages are allowed, because it could be my boss trying to get a hold of me due to an emergency at work, or maybe a friend needs something urgent.

As I made clear the idea is to minimize my engagement with tech by taking one day out of the week and shifting my focus to something else.  I foresee actually being able to eventually sit down and a couple books that I haven't picked up in a while (books that I'd really like to dive back into!).  I could also see the time spent with family turn into breaking out a board game or even going for a walk (spring is coming soon... I hope!).  The end goal is to make a purposeful effort to give my family the time it very much deserves.  As far as what day that is?  Well, that's easy:  Sunday!

What I'd like to do is also encourage you to try the same.  (No, your family day doesn't need to be on Sunday, that's just what I've chosen.)  Don't try to just give up technology, as that would actually be impractical, and typically those who completely cut the cord with tech usually come off as conspiracy theorists who have a unfounded paranoid opinion linking the government and "Big Tech" as somehow trying to enslave the human race, or some other garbage.

What I'm encouraging here is a chance to take one day a week and do something fun that doesn't have to include technology.  All the advancements in technology are great and totally worth while, and often times extremely helpful, but we have to remember that just like a hammer, a car, or a pocket knife these are merely tools.  Sometimes, even your favorite tool is also allowed to have a day to rest from use.

Why I Love Google

Source

So, it was pointed out recently that I have an apparent "fan boy" lean towards Google.  I'll admit, I bring up Google a lot when talking about tech, and the latest trends.  Over the long haul since the day I first opened my Gmail (and before that when they were my exclusive go to for searches) I've found their products easily integrated into my day-to-day life. 

What's great is that from one email address I have so many services and options to choose, or not to choose, from.  This means that I'm not constantly creating logins for everything, which cuts down on time logging into to services that I use regularly.  This of course means that while I'm checking my email, calendar, and even blogging (yes, Blogger is part of Google!) all that time I save by logging in once is time that can now be given to productivity - getting things done!

But is that all there is for my existence on Google's servers?  There's actually quite a long list of available services to Google users.

Gmail, Contacts, Blogger, Calendar, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Forms, Drive, Hangouts, Keep, Voice, YouTube, Sites, Groups, Maps, Photos, Play Music, Messages for Web, and Arts & Culture

The above list - I'm sure - is just a sliver of what's available from Google if you have a gmail.  Much more if you're a business or educational facility that uses GSuite.

Best of all the services I use on a daily basis is the Google Assistant.  Saying the hot phrase "Hey Google," followed by a command such as, "what's on my agenda today?" or "what time does Starbucks close?" yields results that make it easy to find the information you need.  Apple's Siri (yes I have an iPod and tested Siri for myself) just doesn't compare.

The focus of every product from Google is productivity.  This proved especially helpful during my time in academia.  Saving something to my Google Drive proved useful for backup if I needed to pull something up on campus and didn't have time to open my laptop and plug in my USB drive.  Best of all, since my professors required projects/assignments to be submitted in *.docx, *.xlsx, or *.pptx (MS Office formats), I could use Google Docs to

• Collaborate on a group project without needing to fish through emails looking for the current version of whatever you're working on
• Comment and suggest edits to existing projects
• Use the Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides apps on my phone and tablet to edit assignments and projects when away from my laptop
• Save projects as MS Office, *pdf, *.epub, or any other format you need!

That last bit really came handy as professors required MS Office formats.  I mean, really came in handy.

Google Keep has always been handy as a way to have a shopping list.  Best part is that as you're shopping you can check off what you put in your cart and it'll cross it out and move it down so you know what's left to get.  This is especially handy with to-do lists and other times you need to keep track of things and mark off when done.  My wife and I keep a shared grocery list that we add to as things get low and when it comes time to shop we both have the same list so either of us can shop and keep updated on what we need.

I could go on with every service I've used, how I've used it, and how it actually helps me, but we would be here all day.  I guess looking back over what I've written here it seems that I may be slightly fanatic about Google.  You know what?  I'm completely cool with that!  Some people may not even like Google, and may even have an absurd idea that Google is some sort of Skynet or the Matrix or the one of the omens of the apocalypse, but that's just infantile paranoia and a conspiracy fantasy.

Noravirus & Job Hunting

So I've been a bit "under the weather" this week.  I managed to make it half way through my shift on Monday only to leave work.  After returning home and immediately falling asleep I woke up later with the usual symptoms now in full flare: fever, cephalgia (headache), and of course making my "offering to the porcelain god."  So that wasn't fun.  Fortunately - I'm not sure how - I somehow survived this short round of noravirus, commonly known as the stomach flu.  My dear wife was there to keep the Gatorade and a bucket at my side to avoid dehydration with much success.

Unlike the last time I had the stomach flu I'm not being wiped out for a few weeks.  The 2017 noravirus was essentially a week long taste of death, without actually dying, and recovery lasting a few weeks after the symptoms went away.  And some folk out there think the man cold and man flu is just a myth.  Ha!  I beg to differ!

Of course as life would have it, the day I'm better and can return to work, the roads are covered in ~1/4 inch of ice making travel impossible (can't stop at an intersection if you're on ice).

On the other side of things, because of changes happening at work, such as the threat of reducing payable hours, I'm putting myself back on the job market for something decent.  As I look back on my now "on again off again" work relationship with Walmart I see that the company has always been there when I've needed a a job.  In fact I emphatically support anyone who wants to work there!  For someone starting out on the job market, or going to school, or is in need of something, it does the trick.  The problem frequently arises when you're trying to take care of a family (whether married or a single parent) and perhaps other financial responsibilities (student debt, rent/mortgage, car payments, etc.) that the wages don't really cover.  This of course leaves the employee with a couple of options:

1. Get a second job and hope that work schedules don't conflict, or
2. Take your chances on the job market

Option 2 seems the best option in most cases.  As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm looking primarily for a job that utilizes my computer, analytical, and technical skills.  Unfortunately, where I live there's a lot of manufacturing jobs and it's semi rural.  A lot of people don't think tech is really all that important.  There's much more emphasis on a job sometimes requiring 12 hour days, boots on your feet, and the type of work that a trained monkey could do in its sleep.  In a sense, finding a job within my skill set is like finding a needle in a haystack.  Sometimes I really perceive that I'm really "not from 'round 'ere."

I press on, because there has to be a job out there that I can retire from, and can support my family with.  The good news is that I did here about a potential job that would likely utilize AND develop my skills which apparently has a place not too far from me, so I'm definitely going to apply to that!

I've Created A Monster

So, I'd say I've created a monster.  Let me start with a history lesson, of sorts, to aid in our understanding.

My dear wife, Jessica was merrily putting our daughter down for a nap when the tablet she was holding (containing a game she enjoyed playing) slipped from her grasp, descended through the atmosphere, and crashed on the tray of Isabelle's high chair.  The screen now hilariously dysfunctional and gone to meet it's eternal reward, left my wife with nothing else to do with her free time.  She had become exhausted of the parade of Netflix personalities and wanted a new hobby.

I come home from work and she asks me to help her create a blog.  Of course I'm always happy to help my family and friends with their web presence, so I didn't realize what I was doing.  I created a monster.

To place humor and superfluous parlance aside, it is a good blog.  My wonderful wife really knows how to write and weave a tapestry of words.

You can find her blog at Crafty Adventures in Motherhood.

Leaps, Bounds, Milestones, and Other Thoughts, Oh My!

So, I've just realized that I haven't posted an update on my daughter in a long time, not since she began crawling.  Visiting relatives over Christmas, a crazy work life balance, and a hundred other distractions have gotten in the way.  Looking at the photos on my phone I realized just how much my daughter has grown in the last couple of months.

For starters Isabelle had her first taste of a snow storm on January 12th when we received 15.5 inches (39.37 cm) of snow accumulation over the course of 36 hours.  My little daughter thought the snow was just absolutely the BEST thing ever, like a new toy, but cold, and magical as it turns to water in your hand.  As I began the couple hour long process of moving the snow off of the cars and drive way my wife Jessica brought our daughter outside to see the snow.

On Thursday of this past week Jessica and I looked up and found Isabelle grabbing the table with one hand and standing more steady than she has.  Her legs are getting stronger and I'm sure at this rate she'll be walking very soon!  So far it would seem that at only 9 months she's a little ahead of the game on milestones.

Some days it seems like I can't quite keep up with how fast she's growing and developing.  Sometimes, I'm sure, people might think I'm crazy and wonder how I plan to give time to my family and to my hobbies.  Sometimes, I think I am crazy taking on a lot.  However, I would not trade it for anything else in the world.  I do miss my "old life" as it had a lot of great memories and I still keep in contact with my friends, but I've learned that this life is exciting too, and I know I have the support of my old life.  But I really don't consider it my old life.

In retrospect I consider the adventure of getting married and starting a family as just another chapter in the book of my life.  It's something that I've noticed some people think is an "end of your life" moment, however I think that assertion is very short sighted.  I still have just as active and fulfilling of a life now as when I was in college or even when I spent a short time as a Catholic seminarian.  As I look to the year ahead, I'm excited to see how my family will grow and develop, and to see what friends I can run into.

Work-Life Balance Not Exactly Ideal

Image source

So the balancing act between my work and life probably could not be any worse.  At the moment my goal of waking up early just isn't going to happen because my biorhythm is not well supported by my work schedule.  Due to short staffing and payroll cut backs I can't be full time.  Being part time has immense drawbacks since I get left with all the hours that no one else wants.  Essentially I work afternoon and evenings half the week followed immediately by morning and daytime shifts.  This pretty much leaves me exhausted and unable to function day to day by the end of the week.  Every precious minute I get to sleep, is welcomed with no protest!

From another point of view I wonder what the chaotic schedule is doing to the relationship I have with my wife and daughter.  I'm away from home at odd times and there's no consistency.  At times I'm unable to remember the last time I had a chance to actually have a good conversation with my wife that didn't revolve around finances, benefits, or how much my next pay check is going to be.  At the same time my work schedule and every day agenda at work is also partially dictated by whatever mood my boss happens to be in.  Such inconsistency causes great mental stress and anxiety about even going into work.

To summarize: I need a new job.

I have been out on the job market actually since March of last year, and so far with no success.  My wonderful wife has helped my compile a list of applications when I've been at work and I've received tips of who's looking to hire.  (As an added bonus: jobs that would give me the work/life balance I desperately need!)  Unfortunately, the story is the same after every interview.  I've got potential, but this other person has more experience.  Sure I make it into the final batch of qualified candidates, however, this does not help my need to provide, support, and be there for my family.

To say it's been rough would be a great understatement!

But this has got me thinking about where I want to go in life and what I need.  I don't need another job.  And even a retail job that's full time won't cut it.  I need a job that I can retire from in 30 years.  A job that utilizes my natural talents, nourishes and expands my potential, and develops my existing skill set.  Such a job - I realize - would likely be related to computer science or IT.  It's almost ecstasy to think that I could find a job where my day to day forced interaction with the general public would be drastically reduced or very limited.  I think that's what I really want though.  I'm just done with only retailers willing to hire me, and then force me into a position where I can't grow in my job.