On the Purpose of Sacred Art

Distributism - Catholic Economics

I have recently been reading a bit about the economic system known as distributism. This system was championed by the likes of G.K. Chesterton and Hilaire Belloc and based on the encyclical of Pope Leo XIII, Rerum Novarum. Below are some links to the Distributist Review, a website dedicated to this idea. There is tons of information and links on the site. Reading some of it recently has truly been enlightening. Check it out!
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Sunday Inspiration - 1st Sunday of Advent

To You I lift up my soul;

In You, O my God, I trust;

Let me not be put to shame;

Let not my enemies exult over me.

No one who waits for You shall be put to shame.

Happy New Year!

This Sunday marks the beginning of Advent, the new liturgical year of the Church. We begin the year by focusing on the coming of our Lord, which we celebrate on Christmas. My prayer for Advent is that everyone will spend this season preparing their hearts room for Jesus Christ.

Of course, as I mentioned in recent posts, many people focus most of this season preparing for Christmas morning with gifts and decorations, neither of which are bad in themselves. But let us not forget about the King of kings, the Lord of lords for whom we are celebrating.

Along those ends, I recently found out about the organization called Advent Conspiracy, which advocates for a changing of priorities in our society during Advent and Christmas. They produced this excellent video which really speaks for itself. Check it out, maybe you'll be inspired:

I really like the idea about taking some money you save from buying less stuff and giving it to those in need. One organization that helps you do this is World Vision . They have tons of options for donating money. You can buy people farm animals, wells, school supplies, and many more things that will help those who are seriously in need. Consider making this a part of your Advent and Christmas traditions.

So as we wait for the coming of Our Lord, let us give thanks for all that we have, but not be so focused on what we do not have that we forget about those who have nothing.

I pray that God blesses everyone during this wonderful season.

Black Friday Rant

Well, today is Thanksgiving, a wonderful day in which we give thanks to God for all that we have. Unfortunately, for many this holiday has turned into a day of preparation for the intense first day of Christmas shopping known as Black Friday. It is called Black Friday because of the huge profits many retailers make, causing them to be "in the black," as opposed to "in the red." Most stores have big discounts on items which means that scores of people line up hours in advance hoping to be one of the lucky ones to partake in these deals. I have been seeing advertisements on televsion for the big sales that many stores are having. Just yesterday I saw an add for a clothing store that will be opening at 3am!

I see two problems with all of this material madness.

First, Thanksgiving is such a wonderful holiday we have in the U.S.A. and for many it has been pushed aside to make way for their desire to save a bit of money on Christmas gifts. Rather than being focused on what we can get for cheap, we should be giving thanks for what we have.

Second, because most of these stores that have deals on items only have a limited quantity, it has lead to some serious competition. As mentioned above, people camp out all night waiting for the store to open. Then, as we hear about in the news each year, as the store doors open there are mass stampedes with people being injured and sometimes killed and, of course, there are the disputes and fights over the items. Here is an article about last year's madness in which a Wal-Mart employee was crushed and two men shot each other at a toy store.

Personally, I think it's crazy. Christmas is a celebration of the life of Christ and the life that we all have through Him. Yet we're willing to kill to buy presents to celebrate that?

Please join me in praying that people will find the true meaning of Christmas and not be so focused on getting the best stuff for the best deals that they are willing to hurt others to get it.

It's Christmas!!! - oh wait...its not even Thanksgiving yet.

I love Christmas. I just want to say that before I start complaining about so much of the stuff that comes with Christmas. To me Christmas is a very important day because it is the day we celebrate the birth of Christ. I love the beautiful music, visiting with family, and decorating the tree.

I also love Thanksgiving. And the season of Advent. That is why I am very bothered by the fact that I began seeing Christmas decorations on display in stores, Christmas advertisements on television, and Christmas lights on houses in October! I just saw a commerical on television yesterday advertising a Christmas program for kids that is going to be aired this week!

I think in some ways people think this early celebration of Christmas somehow enhances the holiday. I, however, think that it takes away from it very much, not to mention taking away almost completely the celebration of Thanksgiving and the preparation for Christmas that is the season of Advent. It seems that Christmas would be so much more meaningful if we waited in anticipation until the actual day to celebrate. What a celebration it would be! I must admit that in the last few years I am pretty much sick of Christmas by the time it even gets here. Even though I try to avoid Christmas as much as I can until we get close to December 25th, it is almost impossible. I am bombarded with commercials, advertisements, and music. It's everywhere!

So here is my suggestion: Wait for Christmas. Give thanks and celebrate on Thanksgiving, rather than spending the day planning your 18-hour shopping trip on "Black Friday." Spend the beautiful season of Advent preparing for and anticipating the coming of Our Lord. And finally, celebrate Christmas...on December 25th!

Prejudice and Catholicism

Fr. Z over at the blog What Does the Prayer Really Say? picked up on a great opinion piece written in the Canadian newspaper, the National Post. The article, titled "The Last Acceptable Prejudice," discusses how easily and quickly people criticize the Catholic Church when anything negative is done by a member of the Church.

It is a great article. Read it here.

God vs. State

There is a battle going on over a Cross in the Mojave National Preserve in the southern California Desert. The Mojave Cross, a 75-year old war memorial, currently has a box covering it due to objections to a religious symbol existing on public land. The Supreme Court will hear the case this week. CNN's website has the story about the Mojave Cross. It is an interesting read and it discusses some other recent Church vs. State cases. Check it out here.

Remember those WWJD wrist bands that everyone was wearing a while back?

Well, I just feel the need to ask the question. What would Jesus do?

Thankfully we have scripture to tell us. So, here we go:

St. Matthew 10:33

"But he that shall deny me before men, I will also deny him before my Father who is in heaven."

UPDATE:

The New York Times published an editorial about this story, available here. In it they argue for the Cross being taken down. For some reason I notice myself disagreeing with the NY Times' editorials fairly often.

Television and Values

Last week, a cast member of Saturday Night Live said the F-word loud and clear on the air. This week David Letterman was applauded by his audience when he admitted that he had had sexual relationships with women who had worked for his show. This morning I was speaking with a good friend of mine who has two young children and who told me that it is difficult for him to have his children watch television because of the commericals that show images that he does not want his children seeing. The sisters pictured above would not be happy.

The values of our society have changed extremely rapidly and continue to, especially on TV, go down the tube (pun intended). Young people are using words regularly that if I would have used when I was a child, would have caused me to be in serious trouble. Anyone who denies that television, movies, the internet, and music is having a negative impact on our society is fooling themselves.

What can we do about this? Parents need to be responsible. Don't let the TV raise your children. Monitor what they watch and listen to. Talk to them about what they see. Counteract the negative stuff with positive stuff. We can bring values back to our society!

UPDATE:

The National Catholic Register has a good post about this topic here.