Ordered the 38-volume Ante-Nicene, Nicene, and Post-Nicene Fathers set today.

St. Polycarp of Smyrna

Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna is looked to as one of the great martyrs of the second and third-generation Church. A number of the stories associated with him is that it was he who was lifted up by our Lord as a model of child-like discipleship. It certainly makes sense, for Polycarp remained child-like to his death, converting through mere love his captors. It was Polycarp who did not need bindings to remain on a fiery pyre. May we be emboldened by his witness this day.

The ancient witness concerning this venerable saint may be found here.

Pray for the Church during Lent.

It is once again time for the liturgical seasons to change. There is something quite wonderful about following a liturgical calendar. For instance, I can say "Today is Quinquagesima Sunday..." It just sounds nice. Say it with me... "Quinquagesima."

Tuesday will be Shrove Tuesday, for which I hope to receive short shrift - not really, I actually hope and pray for the cleansing to begin.

But, at the parish, we will be taking down the Christus Rex and replacing it with the old Crucifix - mortis style. The tabernacle is replaced with a wooden one, sent off to the metal worker for polishing. The brass will be put away, also for polishing. Further, the Alleluia will be put away - also for polishing.

Lent, overall, is a time of polishing. We wipe away, once again, the collective layers of soot and tarnish that obscure and make grotesque our souls and natures. It takes serious time - repentance. But, the work we do is secondary. Just as the real miracle of polishing is the polish itself, and not the polisher"er," the Holy Spirit acts upon us. He is really quite something. Able, is He, to wash our souls and leave grace behind. For this I give thanks and one last - "Alleluia."

Deacons... I'm getting quite tired of the diaconate being denigrated more and more. There are a number of problems associated with this real and true crisis of ministry. First, we have either held deacons in too high or far too little regard. In the high regard, they hold merely liturgical function - reading the Gospel and preaching (without sufficient training) while their deaconal ministry amounts to no more than the most active of laymen. But, in the lesser sense, we offer the diaconate as a sort of consolation. Sorry - you're too late for the priesthood, how about the diaconate? We offer them substandard training outside of seminaries - weekend classes and the like and we send them out to do what is the most important work of a deacon, serving the Church and the world. The result is an increasingly dismal view of the order - especially that of direct ordination to the priesthood.

The ancient Church recognized the necessity for deacons who were not merely "second-rate priests." They did not combine the orders of male and female deacons, nor were they left unprepared for the rigors of clerical life. St. Stephen comes to mind, as does St. Laurence. These were men who were outspoken voices for the Church. They were important. If they weren't, they would not have witnessed the Faith with their own blood.

The model in the Eastern Church offers us a great vision for diaconal ministry. Two years in seminary, a lifetime of service to the Church. The suggestion is this - offer the order to those who already have existing ministries. Fund them through a seminary course, ask them to be missionaries in their own land.

Like most vocational processes, we allow those desiring to be faithful disciples to turn their heads with one hand to the plow, to first bury their fathers. We don't want to impose a life of sacrfice upon our people. But, I would suggest that the diaconate is a life of sacrifice and the Church should hold it as such.

Otherwise, we have made them the bearers of honorary collars and gilded Gospel books. This is not the vision of our Lord for His blessed deacons, neither should it be ours.

You are a Tortured Conceptual Artist. Your fellow
postmodernists call you an anachronism, but
you've never cared much about the opinions of
others. After all, most of them are far too
simple-minded to appreciate the nuances of your
work. They talk, while you are part of a lived
tradition.

Warning - this is a bit risque!
What kind of postmodernist are you!?
brought to you by Quizilla

My Lenten discipline for this year will include regular posting. I find it to be something of a miracle - as well as an immense challenge - that in a click of a button all the world can behold the ramblings of even the most ordinary of Christians. The Church Fathers were without this luxury, as were the Apostles - and look at the increase of the Mustard Seed!

So, if you don't mind, I will do a bit of sermon preparation here on the page and allow for a bit of development of ideas.

The first comes from the idea presented by the Apostle Paul in the Letter to the Philippians (3:20) - that our commonwealth is in heaven. The greek for "commonwealth" is politeuma. You should notice first the root - "polis." This is the root from which we get "politics" and "police" as well as "polite."

To the ancients, the polis was the center of civilization - all else was barbaric and rude. In fact, the word "pagan" refers to those living outside the polis. Nevertheless, the ancients believed that outsiders to the polis were incapable of living in virtue, comfort, or protection. Aristotle believed true friendship, and therefore the "good life" were impossible to those outside the polis. The very reason that slaves could not appreciate philosophy is that they have not the necessary membership in the polis.

The Philippians were well aware of this fact for Philippi was a polis. The Philippian Church took great pride in their place as Roman citizens. But, Paul counts all of this "loss."

Say what we may about the benefits of American citizenship - all of the rights and privileges thereof - what we must indeed proclaim is the Christian proclamation that America is ,after all, just a nation. It will pass away into the history books just like Rome and Athens before it. We must remember that the only kingdom worth persuing, the only nation worth membership in - is the Civitas Dei - the Kingdom of God. This is a way of suffering and dejection from the cares and occupations of the world in which we live, but the citizenship of the baptized is exactly this. We make our fasts because we know the filling of stomachs is second to the filling of souls. The heavenly banquet - poured out to the world in the Holy Sacrifice - is one which fills our souls. In this way, the world is crucified to us - dead and lifeless, for the blood and water flowing from the blessed wounds of Christ give us abundant life - both in this life and in the life triumphant.

Because of all this - our obedience must never lie in ourselves or our patriotism - as necessary as patriotism may be - but in the King of Heaven. The Saints, as always, point the way for us as members of the polis of Heaven.