tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12994638.post910929028260248485..comments2024-03-07T16:15:27.204-05:00Comments on the glory of everything: The Love ShackAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12564684437473178371noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12994638.post-48535131445012106982009-05-10T19:41:00.000-04:002009-05-10T19:41:00.000-04:00Thanks, everyone. I thought I was going to be ream...Thanks, everyone. I thought I was going to be reamed for my review - maybe those readers are just keeping quiet. : )<br /><br />Ali, as to your question about Notre Dame (thanks for picking at that wound : ) ) - I do not think it's scandalous that they would be honored with the president giving their commencement speech, in spite of the fact that he supports abortion. He is our president and he deserves respect as our president. (Though even on the issue of giving this honor I vacillate because of the potential message it sends - at least to other Catholics.) But the honorary degree makes me queasy. It's simply the wrong message. Then again, I know little about the giving of honorary degrees. If it's simply a gesture, and a rather meaningless gesture at that, then I wouldn't have a problem with it. If, on the other hand, an honorary degree is supposed to mean something, then suddenly it's problematic.<br /><br />Certainly we all need to honor Pres Obama, and pray for him. But it seems to me that a university is doing something different when it bestows an honor on an individual - or so I've always thought. And if that is so, Notre Dame made a mistake here, and has made mistakes in the past as well.<br /><br />I don't think Fr. Jenkins should have rescinded the offer to the president once it was made and once it was accepted. I think that would have been dishonorable. But there needed to be more counsel sought before such a controversial decision was made. Now that it is this year's plan, I think Catholics at Notre Dame (and elsewhere) need to do their best to show the president what it means to be Catholic, and not what it means to be conservative Americans. They need to be exemplary hosts and be missionaries of love rather than of anger. All this talk of having separate ceremonies and running protests is, to me, not very Christian. I imagine President Obama knows the Catholic Church's stand on abortion, even though his Catholic vice president does not fully participate in the Church's teaching on this issue.<br /><br />And while, overall, I generally disagree with what Notre Dame has done, it doesn't keep me awake at night. What concerns me more, honestly, is the way in which we handle others' missteps as Catholics, even (perhaps especially) one so public as Fr. Jenkins'. We need to be men and women of peace (of rest and stillness) and show Fr. Jenkins love even in the midst of our disagreement. The zealotry I see among many Catholics disheartens me (even though it's over right issues) because it dispenses with love. It's terrible how we treat one another, Ali. As if because abortion is such a grave evil, we are no longer obligated to love our "enemies" (those we disagree with), nor even, apparently, our brothers and sisters. Or our priests. Despite its gravity, even ending abortion through some means other than love, is an empty victory because we've lost our souls in the process - because we've not done it in Christ's spirit, but in another.<br /><br />Personally I would like to see more quiet desert fathers in the Church and fewer Crusaders. Certainly I would like to be more that way.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12564684437473178371noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12994638.post-54419602911508180572009-05-10T09:39:00.000-04:002009-05-10T09:39:00.000-04:00this is a great piece. you should submit it to a c...this is a great piece. you should submit it to a catholic blog or magazine. <br /><br />ps. i've been very curious to hear your opinion of the notre dame scandal...since you were a catholic that voted for obama.alihttp://www.alicavanaugh.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12994638.post-88291778823292815302009-05-06T12:28:00.000-04:002009-05-06T12:28:00.000-04:00It is so funny. I didn't like this book while I w...It is so funny. I didn't like this book while I was reading it or after, but I had been asked to read it by our family counselor. And it didn't hit me till later, that there were important things for me to remember which helped me in my prayers with Mother Mary I told you about in the summer. Strange how a book can work like that.truevynehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05998290681038658399noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12994638.post-2911219408391121892009-05-05T23:49:00.000-04:002009-05-05T23:49:00.000-04:00BTW...I'm sending you an email at what I think is ...BTW...I'm sending you an email at what I think is your current address...if you don't get it, could you send me one, with your current email? I'd like your feedback on a bit of writing I've done...pertaining to my most recent blog post. My email, in case you've lost it, is my last name with my first initial, @msu.eduDanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11232343536274836721noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12994638.post-21560051614535958222009-05-05T23:46:00.000-04:002009-05-05T23:46:00.000-04:00It's great reading your writing, friend. You're g...It's great reading your writing, friend. You're gifted, and insightful. And a pleasure to read, as well...you draw the reader in, so keep writing, whenever you find the time. You have things to say that people need to hear.Danhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11232343536274836721noreply@blogger.com