jesus

The Charlie Kirk Effect

Posted on by laughingcatholic


My wife and I have a pleasant Sunday after-church habit of going for a walk.
The town where we live is pleasant and safe and we usually go for about an hour. This includes a stop at a local chocolate shop for something sweet and a coffee to go. It is a leisurely walk, a walk I anticipate fondly,
I often wear a baseball cap for these walks, typically choosing one from my broad MAGA collection. This is not an effort to foment revolution, but just show support for what I believe in. Sometimes my hat causes a reaction from others out for a Sunday stroll. The reactions have evolved through three periods of time.
In the year or so before the 2024 Presidential election, reactions alternated between a sneer of contempt and a quiet nod of approval. The anti-MAGAs were much braver than the pro-MAGAS; I think people who agreed with my hat were fearful to show it. Hating MAGA was seen as acceptable.
This changed after Donald Trump was elected in 2024. I noticed that many people I passed smiled and bravely said “I like your hat.” The MAGAs had come out of the closet and felt they had permission to confess their support for Trump. On the other hand, those who had opposed Trump either eyed me warily or avoided eye contact.
We now are in a third period, which I believe exhibits “The Charlie Kirk Effect.”
In short, the horrific murder of Charlie Kirk has emboldened moral people with Christian values to stand up for what is right and to speak it. After all, if a man dies for the truth, the least the rest of us can do is defend the truth.
Last Sunday, I wore my least bold MAGA had on our walk. It is all black with black MAGA lettering — rather subtle. Still, I got reactions. The first came from a couple teenage boys on bicycles who stopped and said they really liked my hat. From my experience, such behavior from teenage boys is unusual.
Then a young couple walking a dog passed us and the wife flashed a big smile and said, “I love your hat.” That put a smile on my face — and my wife’s pretty smile grew bigger.
This, of course, is hardly a statistically significant survey of American opinion. But I believe it is a positive moment, at least for me.
Charlie Kirk sacrificed his life simply engaging in constructive dialog to help young people find the truth — about Christianity, marriage, honesty, the eternal truths embodied in the Ten Commandments.
Charlie set the bar for the rest and we must follow his lead. We all have the responsibility to speak truth with patience, kindness, and respect. I promise to try.

Latin Rights and Wrongs

Posted on by laughingcatholic

I stumbled back to Church after a 10-year absence and enjoyed the modern style of the Mass. I enjoyed Mass with popular music, guitars, folksy songs, handshakes, hugs, and happy talk.


I even joined the “pop” choir, standing with the other musicians on the side of the alter, which clearly was not an appropriate place to be. But we were all part of the team celebrating the faith, partners with the priest, dancing nuns, and a congregation mostly ignorant of the true Catholic faith.


I could have left well enough alone, but if I had always left well enough alone I would have still been a Methodist. So as I came back to my converted faith, I decided to study, learn, and figure out what it is all about.


No, I did not evolve into a brilliant theologian. But I learned enough to recognize the faith being practiced with sincerity and devotion.


This brings us to the subject of the traditional Latin Mass.


I’m a post-Vatican II convert who didn’t grow up with the traditional Mass and thought Latin was for doctors and old guys with long beards. If I had returned to a Church with the incense, bells, and whistles of the traditional Mass, I might not have stayed. It might have been too alien, too off-putting, too frightening.


I needed something friendly, inviting, and, frankly, a bit like a Protestant service. But as time went on and I became more knowledgeable about my faith, I wanted more — and I found a deeper faith in a more traditional practice of the Catholic faith.


No, I don’t attend a Latin Mass (most of the time). But it is a joy to attend a formal service with traditional music, a homily that teaches the true faith, where there is no compromise of right from wrong.


When my faith became deeper, I moved to a more traditional parish. It has been a wonderful faith community for my family and me.


However, it never occurred to me to condemn my old parish or petition the bishop to remove the Gather songbook from its pews. If people want to sing vapid songs and strum guitars, so be it. I will always proclaim the truth but will not attempt to “outlaw” those who take a different path, assuming it is aligned with the teachings of the Church.


All this makes me deeply puzzled and troubled by the efforts by some in the Church hierarchy to suppress the Traditional Latin Mass, which faithful Catholics practiced for eons. If someone likes the old form, why deny them? To deny them, is to be divisive, which is the worse thing in the world, many would say.


What we need to focus on is the Essence of the Mass: the consecration, the true presence, the creed, and prayers. The use of incense, women in veils, holding a rosary, or the use of Gregorian chant are not symbols of rebellion against Vatican II; they are practices that appeal to some people, like guitar music appeals to others.


I hear lots about the need for tolerance. The Traditional Latin Mass is worthy of tolerance — or, perhaps, praise.