Chateau Lloyd

One of the many sacrifices of Lent is the practice of praying only the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary.  I like the variety, and freely admit that because I know Lent will be all-Sorrowful-all the time, I tend to shy away from Fridays just for the sake of variety.

Today on Aleteia, I saw a fun suggestion that one should say the Joyful Mysteries during Advent.  I don't get many opportunities to say these as Mondays and Saturdays are busy days for me, but today I set aside the Glorious Mysteries and enjoyed the experience.  

Something I've learned over the years is that prayer is something you should do, but be careful that you don't push yourself too hard into it, lest it become a chore or a burden.  I typically say a Rosary a week, but sometimes I will do more if the spirit takes me.

My prayer life is becoming deeper, but here again, I try not to force the issue but instead let myself be drawn deeper into it.

If I have learned anything over the years, it is that while discipline is important, one can compel affection or order someone (including yourself) to feel a certain way.  A better way is to set the table for good feelings - faith - love - to emerge and then enjoy them without trying to stretch them too far.

And yes changing things up keeps it all interesting.  Going to Mass on Monday was a delight, in large part because the parish students are so endearing when they belt out the hymns at the top of their lungs.

I guess it's a fine line between the satisfaction of meeting ones obligations and going beyond now and again because you feel like it.

Yesterday was the Feast of St. Nicholas, more popularly known as Santa Claus.   While reimagined as an elf living at the North Pole, the actual St. Nicholas was a bishop of the Church and some claim he punched out the arch-heretic Arius at the Council of Nicea.

The linked article says that there's no contemporaneous evidence of this, the the oldest source for the story is from the 14th Century.  This is consistent with the scholarly rule of thumb that sources closer to historical events are more accurate.

However, there is one giant caveat here, and that is that often individuals who later become significant, are ignored or diminished in their own time.  In the years afterwards, more information becomes available but this is subsequently lost, and so  all we are left with are more distant recapitulations of those stories.

This trait is akin to how scholars approach prophecy, generally assuming that they are all fake, created by snake-oil salesmen to support their made-up religion rather than honest people who are credulously recording remarkable events. 

For example, if a friend of mine writes down that I correctly predicted in August of 2013 that Michigan State would have an incredible run, there is no reason for anyone to doubt that as he has nothing to gain.  Yet bible scholars would, because (to them) such things are highly unlikely.  Clearly my friend is trying to push a cult or something.

In the bigger picture, this points to how people who ostensibly swear by facts and reason are just as emotional and biased as the religious people they disdain.  One of the reasons I entered the Church and began to take its claims seriously was that the logical contortions to explain away all these well-document events was comical.

Simply insisting that the sum of all knowledge has already been found and that miraculous events - which are meticulously documented - is completely illogical.  

So while it's impossible to prove St. Nick didn't bust Arius' chops, we can't rule it out, either.

I've noted before that much of American culture is built upon Puritanical beliefs.  This is where we see the celebration of industriousness and a certain contempt for the poor, who are assumed to not try hard enough.

Despite this Calvinist foundation, Catholicism has worked its way into the national consciousness as well.  For one thing, the idea of receiving absolution, that is forgiveness of sins in real time is very much embedded in the national psyche.

Like the anointed kings of old, the American president has been granted the powers of clemency and pardon, acts of mercy celebrated in the Bible.  Pagan societies also admired mercy, but rarely granted it.  To both the Greeks and the Romans, mercy was dangerous, and the safer (and wiser) course was to carry out the law in the harshest possible way.

While clemency and pardons are useful, they are inherently limited by the nature of the legal system.  It is one thing to offer clemency to a repentant model prisoner or remedy a faulty conviction with a pardon.  But how does one create a secular form of absolution, which erases all sins?

In an absolute monarchy, one might be able to achieve this, but not in a federal republic, because while the various executives at the state and national level can offer pardons, their jurisdiction is limited.  There is no equivalent to a Roman emperor proclaiming and amnesty on a beloved subject.

America actually used to be quite good at forgiving, but the rise of Yard Sign Calvinism has shifted the balance away from mercy to pure punishment.

It will be interesting to see of arguments for clemency become stronger in the coming years.  Keeping score is tiring and ultimately pollutes the soul.  There is a better way.

Since I first visited Germany, I was struck with how familiar it was.  The food in particular was basically a minor variation on what we think of as traditional American food: frankfurters, hamburgers, pork chops, fried chicken, and countless variations on frying or mashing potatoes.

The beer is outstanding, and served agreeably cold.

In the fifteen years since, this sense of cultural affinity has only grown, and looking at world events, I think German politics and political norms are also closer to the present United States than that of Great Britain.  Put simply, our English heritage has been superseded by the massive waves of German immigrants.

To be sure, Germans arrived long before the Revolution, and it's interesting to note that the drillmaster of the Continental Army was not English, but German.  Friedrich von Steuben was a seasoned Prussian Army officer whose career in Europe had gone into terminal decline.  Upon the outbreak of the American Revolution, he offered his services to help train and discipline the young rebel army.  As a result, the Continental Army became more disciplined, effective and the drill manual he wrote became the foundation of American arms.  

This is why American troops march and salute using a German style rather than stomping with each order and using a palm-outward form of salute as the British Army and its many descendants do.

Another German military innovation was the long rifle, variously attributed to Pennsylvania or Kentucky but developed in the Rhineland.  This hunting weapon proved to be highly effective at targeting British officers, and played a crucial part in their defeat at Saratoga.  The emphasis on precision marksmanship as a foundational principle of American Army doctrine continues to this day.

Much of that tradition of marksmanship is sustained by hunting, and Americans have a very German attitude towards the sport.  In the UK, hunting is only for the elite and their friends.   I've chatted with British gamers for many years online and the notion of a suburbanite buying a rifle and going out on state land to harvest deer is simply inconceivable to them.

In Germany, however, it is considered part of one's basic rights and culture.  Germany has embraced an American concept of game management, which uses hunting as way to keep animal populations in balance.   Just as in the US, Germans are required to take a qualification course in order to obtain a license.  German firearms regulations are of course far more restrictive than the US, but much less stringent than those found in the UK.

According to various international surveys, approximately 20% of Germans own firearms, a rate of ownership four times that of the UK.  It's interesting that Austria, which is of course also German, has a 30% rate of firearms ownership.

What this means is that the "gun culture" of German-speaking countries is much stronger than English-derived ones.  The US is very much an outlier among the Anglosphere.  I will note that German legal protections for self defense are less sweeping than those offered in America, but they are vastly superior to those in England, which are practically non-existent.

Another interesting point of comparison can be found in the weapons industries in the various countries.  Arms manufacturers in the UK are almost non-existent.  Even the ones that are still in operation have outsourced production to Italy.

Germany of course has Walther, SIG-Sauer and Heckler & Koch.  Tiny Austria boasts Glock and Steyr.  

Firearms ownership brings to mind another German-American similarity: a written federal constitution.  The British famously use an unwritten constitution.  While the UK is "the mother of parliaments," the US took a different path, preferring a federal republic to a unitary state.

Like Germany, the US is an aggregate of states, and this similarity was noted in the Federalist Papers, albeit unfavorably because at that time, the Holy Roman Empire was generally fragmented and weak.  The Federalists liked the autonomy of the various baronies, counties and duchies, which could levy their own taxes and even support their own armies, but the weakness of the Emperor invited constant conflict both within and without.  

Intriguingly, the Founding Fathers borrowed a concept from Germany rather that creating a parliamentary system.  The Holy Roman Emperors were not hereditary monarchs in the English sense.  The position was actually an elective one, chosen by seven specially designated "princes" of the Empire.  These were the Imperial Electors (hmmm, familiar term), and while certain families (like the Habsburgs) tended to 'inherit' the honor, it is worth noting that as late as 1748, the succession was disputed by divided Electors.

The US similarly has a special group of people who are outside the normal political sphere - the Electoral College.  Their only duty is to choose the next president.

Heck we even drive on the same side of the road as the Germans.

I could go on, but I think the point has been made - American culture has quietly shifted to be more in alignment with that of Germany over England.  This would be even more apparent if the World Wars hadn't caused Germans to aggressively drop their language and overt displays of ethnic loyalty.  Oktoberfest is about the only explicitly German thing left.  Even the foods have had their names worn down into "hot dogs" and "burgers."  

But if you're paying attention, it's hard to miss.

Overall, this has been a remarkably quiet year, especially c0mpared to the tumultuous ones that preceded it.  A year ago our family noted that the last "good year" was 2019.  Since I wrote that, things have steadily become more orderly, and therefore more calm.

There is no plainer evidence that God desires order and peace and that order helps bring peace than we I have gone through.

The lack of drama today was comforting.  So much so that after an early dinner, the whole household took a nap.

Adding to this calmness is a sense that a lot of the national and international drama is receding.  People are worn out, and I know for a fact that people who do not share my politics are still relieved to have things finally, decisively resolved.

The danger is that we become complacent, neglect the attitude of gratitude and end of finding ourselves in the same place.  I think this Thanksgiving will help check that attitude for a time.  Everyone I meet, even in stores, seems to speak with an unusual sincerity when they speak of Thanksgiving.  The darkness that threatened to engulf us all in strife has dissipated, and we can feel the sunlight on our faces again.

For that, I am deeply thankful.

As part of a wide-ranging discussion of prayer, the other day I saw someone express an opinion that praying over sports, especially its outcomes, was a waste of time.  Sports were not something worth prayers.

My answer at the time was that anything that draws people into prayer is a good thing, because it brings them closer to God.  Maybe the outcome of a sportsball game will open their heart even more, and prayer will become a daily thing.

Upon further contemplation, I feel even more strongly that prayer in sports is a good thing because sports themselves are good, and necessary.

As much as one can condemn the wealth and vulgarity of professional sports, the fact is that lower-tier sports are essential to a functional society.  Indeed, one of the hallmarks of our civilizational decay are declining male participation and men pushing themselves onto women's teams under the guise of being transgender.

Only in a decadent, flabby and (non-coincidentally) secular society can such nonsense be even discussed, let alone put into practice.  Young men in particular need an outlet for their competitive energy, a way to express physical prowess in a controlled and reasonably safe manner.  At all levels sports require rules, a sense of fair play and the acceptance of the outcome.

The comparatively recent advent of school schooters has now escalated to the point where social media sites like Blue Sky are filled with death threats and assassination fantasies from people who have never learned how to take a loss.

Sports bring people together and in general, everyone benefits.  The participants gain the benefit of exercise and development, tenacity and discipline.  They will forge relationships that can last a lifetime.  The spectators also gain more than just mere entertainment.  They become part of a larger community, and of course the venue itself becomes for a time a temporary community.

Until recently, prayers were recited before these events, and unofficially still are.  The Covid lockdown showed how vital these gatherings are to maintaining a healthy mental state.

Many teams still have chaplains, and the are countless athletes who credit their success to God.  Indeed, the knowledge that even the greatest must find comfort and recourse to prayer is humbling.

Team prayers do still exist, and so that also brings people closer to God.  Seeing a team at prayer can also inspire others to embrace it.

Like all human institutions, sports can be turned to evil, but I think it offers great opportunities for spiritual growth.  If praying for victory is what inspires someone to speak to God, who am I to object?

There are certain people who look upon every blessing as a curse waiting to happen.  They cannot simply accept good fortune and instead regard it as the preface to something awful happening.

I was like that for much of my life, conditioned to expect unrealistic outcomes and then embracing the idea that whatever success I had at the moment, they would be rendered null and void by future events.

This is utterly self-defeating and one of the ways that I have found deeper peace is by simply accepting every blessing as it is.  What happens next is nothing I can affect, so I will enjoy it while I can.

I mention this because no sooner have we experience a great a glorious victory, a deliverance from evil than people are already claiming that all will come to naught and that things are in fact going to get far worse than anyone can imagine.

There is a word for these sentiments: evil.  The Enemy rejoices in despair, and every time a blessing is denigrated or ignored, he rejoices.

Of course, one should not gloat (too much), or assume that from now on everything is going to be sunshine and ice cream, but one should at least take pleasure in the moment, while at the same time accepting that moments change.

When Marxism failed to sway the proletarian masses, Communist leaders had to explain why.   They hit upon the notion of a "false consciousness," that is that the workers had been duped.  Religion was a major part of this, the "opiate of the masses" and had to be destroyed for the revolution to succeed.

Only once they saw the world as it was (that is, according to Marxists) would the Communist dream come to be.

Of course, Marxism itself is a religion, a form of heresy, which is why it persists despite a record of complete failure wherever it has been tried.

The concept of false consciousness has also endured, and in recent years, has actually appeared.  Thanks to corrupt news outlets and social media, a fully realized alternative universe now exists for many people.

Imagine being a fan of a sportsball team, and visiting a "news" site specific to that team that actually published false scores of the games, turning a close loss into a blowout win.  As the season progresses, the faithful fans happily anticipate playing in the championship game and tune in filled with expectations of glory only to learn that they never made the playoffs.

(This will be the mental state of Michigan fans when their victories and titles from 2021-3 are vacated next month.)

It remains to be seen how these people will react to the revelation that the real world is different from the one on their screens.  Many are threatening suicide and some have already carried it out - sometimes murdering others as well in their rage and despair.

There is no easy way back to reality for these people, and the ones who broke them have much to answer for.  It remains to be seen how many will make the transition or what their new delusion will be.  Happily, with God anything is possible, and I wonder how many will in time be drawn back to Him.  We can only hope.

Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby has submitted his resignation.

The precipitating event was the repeated failure of the Church of England to take action against sexual predators, one of whom was close to Welby and preyed on more than a hundred boys and young men.

There are couple of interesting elements here.  The first is that gay predators are not unique to the Catholic Church.  It is often argued (generally by Protestants) that Catholic priests turn to pederasty out of sexual frustration, but of course Anglican clergy are free to marry.  Protestant ministers also their share of sex scandals, so this is just another refutation of that argument.

The other is that Welby has presided over a massive schism within the Anglican Communion.  He has essentially be excommunicated by his co-religionists, and the fact that this was no career ending and that he felt no compulsion to quit his duties in remorse speaks volumes.

Then there was the ongoing scandal of the Church of England seeming to renounce its evangelical mission.  Apparently the Africans were better off pagan.

Much is made of how Pope Francis has sown confusion and discredited himself through protecting corrupt priests while persecution the Traditional Latin Mass, but Welby stands in a class of his own.  Only the irrelevance of the Church of England has kept him from widespread scorn.  He is largely an obscure figure in public life, a non-entity in British politics and a religious curiosity.

It is widely assumed that his successor will be a woman, which will be both Stunning and Brave as well as totally isolating the Church of England theologically.  All talk of closing the schism with Rome or affiliating with the Eastern Orthodox Church will come to end.

The Church of England has become something of an anti-Christian cult, a grouping that uses the same vestments and iconography in mockery of the true Church.  Let us home the ill-begotten child of Henry VIII will finally pass away soon.

While I don't like to follow politics, there is undeniably a link between government action, policies and the spirit realm.  Government can either side with the angels or work for the devil.  The notion that there is some neutral ground where all are free to operate is at best naive and at worst a damnable lie.

Christians across American breathed a sigh of relief that their faith would not be put to more strenuous tests in the near future.  Catholic hospital administrators went to bed free of worrying when and what form of abortion mandate would be imposed on them, and how they would fight it.

Contrast this with the situation in England, where the British Government demands control over the very souls of its subjects, demanding that silent, otherwise undiscernible prayer be banned in certain places.

This is of course nothing new for the British, who ran a martyrdom factory during the Tudor era.  As a sidebar, the other day I came across a conversation where Protestants observed all the important theological reforms made by the English Reformation, and now necessary they were for the development of Christianity.  I managed to restrain my desire to point out that if they were no necessary, why was torture and death employed to implement them, and how's the old Church of England doing these days?  The ancient cathedrals are being used for dance parties and put-put golf games.  But I digress.

Many people have remarked to me over the last few months of the gloom and dread they felt, and former agnostics returned to the faith as a result.  A better example of God letting us see the folly of our sinful ways in order to repent cannot be imagined.

And now there is an undeniable change.  A weight has been lifted.  Other in the paid performance press, the division has largely vanished.  People can get on with their lives and the faithful have the marvelous feeling of deliverance.

At the same time, we have won a battle but the war goes on.  Now is the time to further devote ourselves to God and lock in these gains.  The only way to avoid a recurrence is to so shape society that it becomes impossible.  That means the hard task of conversion and also pursuing individual holiness.  The two go hand in hand as people who are saintly draw sinner to them.  

By saintly I mean truly saintly - modest and humble, not bragging or self-righteous.  Yet at the same time, we must avoid the trap of "Nice Christianity" and speak with unwavering firmness about the evils in our midst.  A great many people still do not understand the full evil of abortion, how its supporters have twisted statistics and lied about medical necessity to kill viable children on a whim.

There is also the issue of the sudden rise of transgenderism.  It is impossible to find a parallel example of such a wicked, cruel belief system being imposed so quickly and so thoroughly.  The damage to souls and institutions will take years to heal, and a full reckoning must be made for those responsible.

Indeed, I think one of the biggest changes in the spirit world is that the faithful now find themselves confident and reassured and the wicked are suddenly troubled and afraid.  The dark powers that sustained them seemed invincible, powered by the "arc of history," but that arc has collapsed.  The secular future is no longer inevitable and the tide of events has unexpectedly turned.

We must not let this moment simply fade away.