The Gadfly “To persuade and reproach” - Socrates, The Apology
Vol. XIV, Iss. I February 15, 2011
Can’t We All Just Get Along? Last semester, Fr. Gregory preached a memorable homily on the Charismatic Renewal and the Extraordinary Form of the Mass. It inspired me to write the following remarks which are, admittedly, rather late in coming. I was unable to write them last semester because none of my teachers asked to me write an article for the Gadfly as a homework assignment. As many of you will recall, Fr. Gregory preached this homily to encourage greater unity between students. He criticized the fact that many students label themselves as either “traditional” or “charismatic” and then frown
upon whichever group they don’t belong to. He argued that in order to be truly Catholic, one must be both “traditional” and “charismatic.” According to his homily, students should not criticize either the Extraordinary Form of the Mass or the Charismatic Renewal simply because they don’t understand them. Rather, students should learn about them and appreciate them as inspired by the Holy Spirit. He went on to say that students should not criticize the Extraordinary Form since it was the way in which the Mass had previously been celebrated for years and had developed out of many years of
Church tradition and history. Neither, he said, should students criticize the Charismatic Renewal because it has been approved by the Church. Therefore, he urged to students to embrace both and consider themselves both “traditional” and “charismatic” in order to be truly Catholic. While his efforts to bring about a greater unity between students on campus are admirable (and I do not mean this in a sarcastic way for they truly are) there was a fundamental flaw in his argument. He put the Charismatic Renewal and the Extraordinary Form of the Mass on the same level which, due to their natures, cannot be done. The Extraordinary Form Continued on page 6
The Mixing of Church and State No one would see me as a patriot, which I am glad for. I would sooner burn an American flag than raise one. If I just offended I apologize, yet what I am trying to bring to mind is the fanatical patriotism that infects various conservatives on our campus. Keith Michael Estrada from last semester was talking about rationality: clear reasoning perspective on campus; I have to echo his encouragement to do this as well. Being a patriot is an admirable thing, one thing I will not deny, but as a Catholic I do not
share this perspective. If you are faithful to God, why bring in a deeper passion for the State or a p o l i t i c a l p a r t y? Watching pundits, such as O’Reily, Beck or whoever else floats your boat, are they not unlike the T.V. evangelists? These persuasive talking heads rely on the same poignant petition that caresses all the right egos, for reasons such as these one can confuse Church and State. We all scream of how secular society separates Church and State, yet we cannot even find the right atti-
tude in how to distinguish between the two. Thomas Merton, while focusing on politics writes, “Propaganda succeeds because men want it to succeed. It works on minds because those minds want to be worked on.” How often is the majority swept away on the crest of some new wave of nationalism? In a republic, the State has to take measures to keep the public happy. This means the political process has had to adopt an entertainment value, which has made political campaigns into dog fighting. Seeing the advertise Continued on page 4
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St. Clare, pray for us!
Staff: Keith Michael Estrada (K.M.E.) Maria Cecilia Rocha (M.C.R.) Jeremiah Hahn (J.H.) Gillian LaMuro (G.L.) Alexander Pyles (A.P.) SE
From the Editor’s Desk “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.” ~The First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America
Layout Editor: Kimberly Doudna (K.D.)
Editor in Chief: Daniel Romeyn Davis (D.R.D.)
** Please note that the views held in the individual articles do not necessarily express the views of the whole staff. **
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~Mission Statement~ The Gadfly is an attempt to “bite the sleeping horse” in the spirit of Socrates. It is a student publication whose purpose is to facilitate discussion concerning campus and cultural issues as they pertain to students of Franciscan University. It aims to be a forum for open, well-thought out, and honest discussion towards the end of knowing and loving truth in its most robust sense.
Advisor: Dr. John White Advisor Extraordinaire
There are certain ideas that the people of the United States have always upheld. First among these ideas is the universal right to the freedom of speech, as stated above from the Constitution of the United States of America. I, as the new Editorin-Chief of this fine publication, understand that it is my responsibility to allow for the free exchange of ideas at Franciscan University. My personal politics are not a relevant factor in the execution of my job as the editor of the Gadfly. I respect the opinions of all people, as long as they are actively pursuing the truth. I will therefore, maintain a similar attitude as the Gadfly’s outgoing editor, Gillian LaMuro, who I am greatly indebted to. This does not mean that I endorse or support many of the ideas that are expressed in the variety of articles published in the Gadfly. Therefore, I welcome you, as readers of the Gadfly, to submit your own articles for publication. As the new editor I must ask for your patience and support as we together work to transform the
Gadfly into a center for free thought and dialogue on campus. Thank you and God bless, Daniel Romeyn Davis
“Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.” And, “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” ~The United Nations: Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Articles 18 and 19
St. Martha, pray for us!
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Awkward Post-Confession Con•
So, what did you confess?
• Dude, you were in there FOREVER!!!! What did you do? • I don’t know if you know this, but your voice really carries and, well, um… • It just seems so weird that he had a heart attack during your confession…
•
I bet you feel a lot better
• So, apparently, I’m not supposed to have anything more to do with you. •
What do you mean you have to go to the police now?
~G.L.
Have your say.
In Defense of Christopher West and “Theology of the Body” With all of the hype that has been going on regarding Christopher West, I thought it would be interesting to comment on this, particularly since a prominent critic of this popularizer of the Theology of the Body, Dawn Eden, spoke here at the University earlier this semester. While unable to attend the lecture, I did find it graceful and in keeping totally with Christian, not to mention Catholic, charity, that Eden entitled her talk "A thoughtful critique of Christopher West", emphasizing the thought put into this legitimate criticism rather than outright condemnation. I've heard several criticisms of West, including some of various degrees of inappropriateness which he has encouraged that I don't really even feel appropriate to list here in this column. While not well-versed in this particular field of study, I do think it necessary to at least minimally defend West against the onslaught that is undeniably excessive, fearful, and exaggerated, whatever one's authentic concerns. The main point I wish to convey is that each
Don’t be Squished.
and every one of the allegedly sincere criticisms of West which have been voiced and that I personally have heard, have all presupposed an underlying Jansenistic and dare I say almost antiincarnational (and thereby antiCatholic) attitude at the heart. I don't say that those who propose these concerns are in any sense conscious of their implicit attacks not on West in particular but on Christianity in general, not to mention the Catholic Church's specifically infallible interpretation of the Christian story, or should I say history. When West interprets the body as most fully revealing the image of God in the human person, this is simply Christianity or there is no such thing as Christianity. Whether or not West's particular interpretations of how this plays out can or must be debated within Catholic circles, there can be no denying that the full impact of the Incarnation on how the soul and body connect in the human person, and how as a result God and the body Continued on page 7
notestothegadfly@gmail.com
Professor Quotes of the Week:
"You have revealed to me that women stalk and fantasize about men as much as men do women. This worries me now. I can't stop wondering if women are staring at me now and fantasizing about me." ~Dr. Fitzgerald
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St. Etheldreda, pray for us!
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ments, debates and rallies of Obama, Biden, McCain and Palin, was no more than reality t e l e v i s i o n . We take positions of Republican or Democrat and think Catholicism functions the same as the State, with different agendas and issues that underlie a platform. Why the division here? Last I checked civil and religious matters carried different weight. I have seen so-called ‘patriots’ take better care of the American flag than I have seen Catholics take care of crucifixes. We put voting on par with going to church, simply because voting is a privilege. To me, voting is not all that it is blown up to be despite seeing that people may have a ‘voice’ in the State, however small that voice may be. Merton spoke of my own concerns here with the following, “I wonder if ‘democracies’ are made up entirely of people who ‘think for themselves’ in the sense of going around with blank minds which they imagine they could fill with their own thoughts if need be.” Merton is taking into account of whether people are truly following what is on their hearts. Merton is bringing to mind how the amount of people who do not truly consider the options and thus merely follow what a bias they may align themselves with provide, hence the
term ‘blank minds’. Party lines are what feed off this common line of thinking, which has been the product of the political system, which patriotism can feed as well. This always gives me doubts if patriotism is really an honest passion grounded in the sound heart of a person. I know religion can cause the same upheaval at times especially here at Franciscan, but patriotism can become dangerous, mainly to those who immigrate into a country and to those who do not share the same national fervor. During World War I & II, we can see how patriotism and even nationalism were abused. The famous quote from Martin Luther King Jr. comes to mind, “Never forget that everything Hitler did in Germany was legal.” We know of how the German peoples were manipulated by their patriotic feelings to throw all their resources behind a government that was performing all sorts of atrocities behind the military parades. In a country of freedom of speech and expression there is that fine line of what is acceptable or not. Yet, it is a patriot’s first reaction to cast stones at those who g o a g a i n s t t h e c o u n t r y’ s ‘feeling’. Many have a problem with the war in Iraq, which is of course has yet to be seen in the clarity of hindsight, but spreading democracy on the end of AK-47 s e e m s t o s t i l l ap p e a l t o some. These of course are only my observations, so you can take them
o r
l e a v e t h e m . You can be a patriot, but remember that is something entirely different from being a Catholic. I personally have no idea how one can remain loyal to the State after everything that has happened as a result of its reactions. With that said Pope John XXIII referenced to his Mater et Magistra in Pacem in Terris, to say, “In such circumstances they must, of course, bear themselves as Catholics, and do nothing to compromise religion and morality. Yet at the same time they should show themselves animated by a spirit of understanding and unselfishness, ready to co-operate loyally in achieving objects which are good in themselves, or conducive to good.” (Mater et Magistra p. 456). Keeping John XXIII’s words in mind, the State is of this world, while the Catholic Church offers us the next. In the end, being Catholic will matter more than being a citizen of the United States.
Pop Culture Seminar Quote: Customs official: Anything to declare? Avi: Yeah. Don't go to England. Snatch (2008)
~Alexander Pyles
St. John, pray for us!
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Pride Before the Fall “Better to reign in Hell rather than serve in Heaven,” Satan declares to his fellow devils in Milton’s renowned poem, Paradise Lost. It is one of the starkest declarations of a person’s total, completely willful independence from God ever written. The famous British apologist and beloved fantasy writer C.S. Lewis described the soul about to be judged before God thusly: There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, "Thy will be done," and those to whom God says, in the end, “Thy will be done.” All that are in Hell choose it. ... No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it. Those who seek find. To those who knock, it is opened. Both these writers agree that at the heart of every person who has rejected everlasting union with God is a pride that rejects the obedience and love the soul owes to God. Writers, thinkers, and theologians have spent hundreds of years and thousands of pages discussing what exactly causes the soul to spend eternity separated from the love of God. All Catholics can agree that when the soul faces its maker, it is the one that damns itself. This is because of the nature of the soul. The famous Italian poet, Dante Alighieri, for example, decides in his Divine Comedy that those who use the natural light of reason, a gift from God that sets mankind apart and above every other one of God’s creatures, to commit malicious crimes of treachery, theft or murder, belong at the bottom of Hell. It is for the soul to cry out to God for mercy, as St. Faustina emphasized so often in
The Diary of St. Faustina. She stresses this fact, the importance of immediate conversion for the soul, in her Diary entry, 1507: All grace flows from mercy, and the last hour abounds with mercy for us. Let no one doubt concerning the goodness of God; even if a person's sins were as dark as night, God's mercy is stronger...One thing alone is necessary: that the sinner set ajar the door of his heart, be it ever so little, to let in a ray of God's merciful grace, and then God will do the rest. If the soul fails to repent, it does so because of pride. Why is pride such a big deal, you may ask? The Medieval Doctor of the Church, St. Thomas Aquinas, defined pride in one way as the greatest of all vices, stating in the Summa Theologica, …pride has extreme gravity, because in other sins man turns away from God, either through ignorance [of the mind] or through weakness [of the will], or through [a disordered] desire for any other good whatever; whereas pride denotes aversion from God simply through being unwilling to be subject to God and His rule.” So therefore is all pride to be condemned? The Greek philosopher, Aristotle, however, provides a slightly different perspective on the issue at hand in his Nicomachean Ethics: …he who is worthy of little and thinks himself worthy of little is [only being] temperate [and not humble]…On the other hand…The man who thinks himself worthy of less than he is really worthy of is
unduly humble, [whereas]…the man is thought to be proud who thinks himself worthy of great things, being worthy of them. While the Greeks may have used terms slightly differently 2,000 years ago, the meaning is still the same: a very specific type of pride has its place. Let me give an example. My Household uses St. Mary as our foremost example of humility, one of our charisms. Upon being told she was to bear the Son of God into the world, after all, her words were, “Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord. Be it done to me according to your word.” Yet just a few verses down in the Gospel of Luke, we can read St. Elizabeth praising Mary for her acceptance of God’s will. Does Mary modestly ask Elizabeth to stop, afraid of the praise going to her head? Far from it! Instead, true to how Aristotle described proper pride, St. Mary proclaims, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior…Henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.” Mary declares that all generations will bless her, and she is correct! I believe the final lesson we can draw from all these wonderful men and women of God is simple: be grateful and take joy in whatever way God blesses you and do not insist on a false humility through which one fails to appreciate one’s God-given talents.
~Jeremiah Hahn
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St. Thomas Aquinas, pray for us!
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has to do with the way in which the Mass, the essential and central event of the Catholic life, is celebrated while the Charismatic Renewal is simply one among many lay movements in the Church. By “ s i m p l y” I d o n o t m e a n “insignificant” but just that it is not as significant as the Mass. As Catholics we understand that the Mass is essential to our life because it is during the Mass that we receive Jesus Christ both in the Word and in the Eucharist. Without Him, our faith would die and it is only through the Mass that we can receive Him. The Extraordinary Form is the way in which the Church received the Eucharist for hundreds o f y e a r s . When Fr. Gregory said that the Charismatic Renewal was approved by the Church, he was right. It was not, however, approved by Her as a form of liturgical worship but merely as another lay movement. There are many lay movements in the Church because the Church is universal and encompasses so many different people with widely different personalities and spiritual needs (hence the many different religious orders in the Church). Each movement that has been approved by the Church draws the faithful closer to God and deepens their faith in a
particular way. Now, to say that one has to be Charismatic in order to be truly Catholic is like saying that one has to be a part of Opus Dei and the Schoenstatt Youth and the Third Order Carmelites in order to be truly Catholic. I’m sure neither Fr. Gregory nor anyone else would make such a claim because in order to be a part of all of those movements at once – in an effort to be truly Catholic – one would have to have multiple personality disorder. Many people are attracted to the Charismatic Renewal for various reasons and find that it helps them in their faith life. Many people are not attracted to it for various reasons and instead are attracted to some other lay movement approved by the Church. Before any of these lay movements started, Catholics were still considered truly Catholic because they participated in what distinguished them from the rest of the world, namely the Mass. I am not saying that we must all be “traditionalist” in order to be truly Catholic, but I am saying that we must recognize the Extraordinary Form as an old, accepted, and beautiful form of
the Mass and must respect it as such. The Charismatic Renewal, not having anything to do with the celebration of the Eucharist, cannot be put on the same level but must be recognized for what it is: a lay movement approved by the Church and available for those who need or desire it. Strictly speaking, one doesn’t have to like it, recognize it, approve or it, or anything else in order to be truly Catholic. One must receive the Eucharist at Mass, go to Confession, receive the other Sacraments when appropriate and accept the Church’s teaching on matters of Faith and Her interpretation of the Scriptures in order to be truly Catholic. One may doubt or dislike what She has to say on lay movements or even Marian apparitions and still be truly Catholic. I agree with Fr. Gregory that there should not be disunion in the sense of judging either “traditionalists” or “charismatics,” but to say that one needs to be both is incorrect. And to put them on the same level in order to compare them is entirely misleading.
~Regina Szyszkiewicz
The Classics?! "All women are subtle in exaggerating their weaknesses; they are inventive when it comes to weaknesses in order to appear as utterly fragile ornaments who are hurt even by a speck of dust. Their existence is supposed to make men feel clumsy, and guilty on that score. Thus they defend themselves against the strong and 'the law of the jungle.'" Nietzche
St. Teresa of Avila, pray for us! Continued from page 3
connect, have not had their full ramifications within the Catholic consciousness. As a concrete example, how many of us, particularly the majority of us who rightly pride ourselves as being devout Catholics, are totally repulsed and even horrified by the assertion that there is sex in Heaven? And yet such a view is simply at least a very possible corollary of the Dogma of the Resurrection of the Body! If God will raise the bodies of those who have been incorporated into and conformed to Christ, for what purposes will their be bodies in Heaven if they will not through this supernatural work of glorification be made to possess the fullness of all that is naturally good, holy, sacramental, and godly about sex on earth? Did Our Lord Jesus Christ not say that He has come not to abolish, but to fulfill? All of Catholic theology, as distinct from all other heretical forms of Christianity, has been fundamentally based on the essentially Christian principle deriving from Thomism that grace never destroys, but always perfects and fulfills nature. No theologian worth his salt would ever dare to deny or in any way undermine this basic principle which is not only the basis of all Catholic theology, but of all sanity in religious matters. The divine work of Jesus Christ is never to reject, never to destroy, but always and only to fulfill, to perfect, to recreate: "Behold, I make all things new." Surely it would be ridiculous to fault sincere Catholics such as Christopher West, among other popularizers of the Theology of the Body, for including our God-given sexuality and even the
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action of sex itself, in this transformative work that only Our Lord can do. No matter how one theologizes about the glory of the Beatific Vision, it is a given that all that is naturally good, naturally beautiful, naturally holy, will only find its fulfillment when those who love God find themselves in His glorious presence. The Catholic principle of inclusion frees the soul to imagine and even to philosophize and theologize, albeit for the most part speculatively, about not merely the spiritual aspects, but even more incredibly, the corporeal, tangible, bodily, and physical aspects of Heaven. On this principle is based virtually all the liberating doctrines and dogmas of Catholicism: including but not limited to Marian coredemption, salvation by faith and works combined, the connaturality and complementarity between faith and reason, religion and science, the cooperation of man's free will with the free, unmerited grace of God, among numerous others. Rather than waste time with speculative musings about the possible dangers of taking Catholic principles, which are simply the theological and philosophical expression of the holy words and teachings of Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, taken to their logical conclusions, which Christopher West has masterfully done and continues to do, it would be much more meritorious and in keeping with true Catholic zeal and integrity, to praise all of the good that has irrefutably been done by West. Without making him the infallible teacher and inimitable guru, or even the Saint he clearly isn't, I do feel justice must be served by acknowledging
the overarching good for not just the world, but predominantly for the Church, that has been done by West and his popularization of the Theology of the Body in the Christless world in which we live. That he is doing this necessary work through the application of Church teaching regarding this particular aspect of sex is something to be applauded for its uniqueness and ingenuity. Without ever forgetting that warranted concerns do exist, I end this important defense with the words of the prominent Catholic apologist, Peter Kreeft, who is a much more reputable source on this matter than a mere college student: "What is this book? Like the love it sings, this book is a gift. What does it give us? Not emotional manipulation but joy, genuine inspiration. Not intellectual manipulation but seeing, insight, the ‘big picture.’ This is a beautiful, beautiful book. Nothing in it is new, yet everything in it is new. Old, previously-‘ known’ (but not known) truths suddenly light up in new ways and become arrows of light that pierce into the middle of your heart. This book is good news. It is the Gospel applied to the aching sore in the heart of modern man.”
~ Edward Abdallah
j|Çx? j|à tÇw jtzzxÜç Reflections on the March for Life Why march for life?
Thousands and thousands of people brave cold weather, long bus trips, and much discomfort in order to march in Washington, D.C. as a protest against the 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision. It is wonderful to have such an amazing number of people support the pro-life movement. However, the hype the March for Life receives is hardly effective if we voice our opinion only one day of the year and then retreat until the next march. The people who favor abortion rights will never have anything to fear if this is the extent of our pro-life activism. The March for Life should be a time to invigorate us as we see so many other people who share our views on the dignity of life. It should also be a time to remind the nation—or those that will listen—of the large numbers of people who support life. It is not a time to simply travel or feel like one’s dues are paid. If all we do is March for Life and assume Roe v. Wade will be overturned, or more importantly that abortions will cease, we need to step back into reality. Look at history and ponder the example of the quest for equal rights regardless of race. The battle was arduous and involved both the political
realm and changing the hearts and minds of people. The politics and gatherings were necessary for the success, but persistence and prayer were more crucial. Consider the words of the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow: “The heights by great men reached and kept / were not attained by sudden flight, / But they, while their companions slept, / Were toiling upward in the night.” The March for Life is a good thing in and of itself. However, it is arguably not the best aspect of the pro-life movement. Many traveled hours to get to DC, lost sleep, and sacrificed the cold and discomfort. The same happens when you go to pray outside the clinic in Pittsburgh on Saturday mornings or during the week. Praying outside the abortion clinic in Pittsburgh doesn’t seem as grand, though, and you don’t get as much attention. But it is Pro-“choice” supporters real. would rather we march for life once a week than actually go to the place that we desire to close. They would rather we be passionate marchers, eloquent preachers, and veteran travelers yet totally neglect to visit the place where abortions actually occur. Abortion clinics are the sore point of the abortion rights campaign. The victim is not present in academia, courtrooms, or marches. The victim is present on
the streets going to the abortion clinic. We are the “pro-life university.” Or are we? If we merely ride on the amazing history of those who have gone before us, what does that say about us? We are all busy and have many activities. There are so many ministries we can be involved in besides our studies and simply living. However, if everyone committed to going to the abortion clinic at least once per semester, what a difference it would make. We, as survivors of Roe v. Wade, need to commit ourselves to prayer and sacrifice for the conversion of hearts and an end to abortion. Each person is called in a different way; you must simply find which way you are called to serve. You are probably not all called to go out every week to pray outside the clinic in Pittsburgh. However, you are called to witness to the sanctity of life in some way. I encourage you all, whether you went to the March for Life or not, to truly consider how God wants to use you (because He does) in building a culture of life and a civilization of love!
~Trish Irvine