"For all these wild beasts, and more than these, are bred upon that rock of which I have spoken, and those whom they have once captured are inevitably dragged down into such a depth of servitude that even to please women they often do many things which it is well not to mention. The divine law indeed has excluded women from the ministry, but they endeavor to thrust themselves into it; and since they can effect nothing of themselves, they do all through the agency of others; and they have become invested with so much power that they can appoint or eject priests at their will: things in fact are turned upside down, and the proverbial saying may be seen realized-"The ruled lead the rulers:" and would that it were men who do this instead of women, who have not received a commission to teach. Why do I say teach? for the blessed Paul did not suffer them even to speak in the Church. But I have heard some one say that they have obtained such a large privilege of free speech, as even to rebuke the prelates of the Churches, and censure them more severely than masters do their own domestics."

St. John Chrysostom, On The Priesthood, Book III.

“in a church which accepts the legitimacy of contraception, the absolute condemnation of same-sex relations of intimacy must rely either on an abstract fundamentalist deployment of a number of very ambiguous texts, or on a problematic and non-scriptural theory about natural complementarity, applied narrowly and crudely to physical differentiation without regard to psychological structures.” - Archbishop Rowan Williams

I've been watching this thread at Pontifications. Healy makes another good point. My mentor Fr. Crary and I have for sometime discussed the need for a reversal of our Church's teaching on contraception as necessary in returning to orthodox and Catholic teaching on marriage and sexuality.

The issue of contraception is one in which sex is turned into a purely sensual pursuit, without the fullness so inherent in the act. No longer does a husband truly give himself to his wife. He becomes instead an instrument of her pleasure. The same is true vice versa. If sexual relations are merely about pleasure and fulfillment of desires, then clearly we must allow for homosexual activity, for procreation is no longer inherent in the act. Colleen O'Carrol shows us with alarming insight that my generation is not only calling for sexual orthodoxy, but for full orthodoxy in these matters. So, the message is this to orthodox groups within the Anglican Communion - fully reform the teaching of the Church. Let us bring doctrinal clarity and cohesiveness in this time of confusion, that we may be fully God's people.

"Moreover, the Scriptures are not silent even about His death. On the contrary, they refer to it with the utmost clearness. They have not feared to speak also of the cause of it. He endures it, they say, not for His own sake, but for the sake of bringing immortality and salvation to all, and they record also the plotting of the Jews against Him and all the indignities which He suffered at their hands. Certainly nobody who reads the Scriptures can plead ignorance of the facts as an excuse for error!"
St. Athanasius De Incarnatione, ch. 34.

In a couple days, we will celebrate the Feast of Jackson Kemper. Last week, I was mowing the grass around his grave here at Nashotah, and began to meditate on all the lives which make up the Church. Names on the stones - James Lloyd Breck, Edward Laribee, Edward Sidney White, John Henry Hobart Van Deusen, James De Koven, William Adams, Jackson Kemper. They're all buried at the House, among the others whom I barely recognize. The question came: what would they think about the Church today? No doubt it would be a shock. But, these were men of action. The answer would likely be - "Come labor on, who dares stand idle on the harvest plain?" In the words of one of my favorite movies - Secondhand Lions - they "died with their boots on."

This article describes the situation in Wisconsin quite nicely. Am I really paying $2.13 per gallon? Yes.

eBay is so great.. especially for buying POD stuff. Like this set of the works of Jeremy Taylor... now to find the 4th Volume. I am most certainly among the "gently mad."

The Works of Jeremy Taylor on eBay

"When a priest starts seminary, a couple of constants emerge. One of these, hopefully, is commitment to the Gospel and personal sanctity. Another is grousing about things happening in the seminary, the Church, and the world at large. This is a mixed blessing. It can represent a "restlessness" that desires all things to move toward Christ. This means that change will be in the offing. The downside is it can reflect a certain disobedient, uncharitable attitude. But regardless of its source, the effect is the same. As observations and the attendant frustrations mount, a voice starts chattering in one's head. It proposes solutions and directions and ideas that might be of benefit. But no one hears them until they burst forth. The bursting forth is the work of the inner ragemonkey and everyone has one."

Taken from A Catholic Ragemonkey. So true.

Yippeeee!!! New blogger interface.

Two postings for today. Haven't had much to say recently, as papers are due and I've been nose-deep in Richard Hooker's Laws. As well, I've been reading Geoffrey Rowell's The Vision Glorious.

First, a A Sermon for the Fifth Sunday of Easter

Secondly, my term paper:The Eucharistic Theology of Jeremy Taylor: A Defense of Anglican Uniqueness

What a Milquetoast!!!

Absolutely shameful.