Stony Creek Digest

Earlier this year I received a book in the mail, a yet unpublished novel written by Christopher Blunt of The Yeoman Farmer. He was kind enough to let me read it before the final editing was done. My wife, LeXuan, happened to get the mail that day and immediately started reading. I didn’t see the book again for two weeks. She brought it with her on all of her motherly errands - violin lessons, piano lessons, organ lessons, etc. - so that she could grab a page or two during her down time. She brought it with her to work to read on her lunch break. She kept the book handy so she could read it while nursing the baby. In our late night conversations, just before bedtime, she would try to tell me about the story without giving too much away. For several weeks, in fact, this book probably made up 10% of our daily conversation - even after we both had finished.

Suffice it to say that Passport is a real page-turner.

I don’t normally go in for books like this. It’s a work of fiction in a contemporary setting, my least favorite literary genre. But the book doesn’t feel like fiction at all. The characters and their lives are all-too real, their errors and failings all-too familiar. The book could be the story of anyone but for a few salient features that make this novel exceptional.

“Passport” is written by a man who quite obviously has traveled some distance himself on the el camino real, the road to sanctity, and because of this he is able to capture the silent workings of grace in the lives of his characters in a way that is beyond the reach of most writers. The main characters - both of them - are faced with agonizing and frankly humiliating choices. Even I, a supposedly seasoned Catholic, found myself longing for the characters to take the easy way out, the way of respectability and comfort and happily-ever-after. Although there is plenty of romance (hence the attraction for female readers), the Catholic life is not romanticized or sugar-coated. In fact the book vindicates one of the primary reasons for my own conversion, the realization that Catholicism is a religion thoroughly obsessed with reality, no matter how messy, no matter the cost, and often the cost is high indeed.

The personalities of the book were meaningful to me. The central character is a man much like myself - in many respects a better man, and in others, perhaps less so. Stan Eigenbauer’s story was, at times, uncomfortable reading due to its honesty and familiarity. I don’t know how many other Catholic men will have the same reaction, but I can think of a few who might (note to self: make sure TSO sees this post and orders a copy). The other characters had remarkable similarities to people I know, or have known in the past, including a certain Vietnamese-born woman who converts from Buddhism to the Catholic Faith.

This is a story about an ordinary man who does an extraordinary thing: he takes up his cross and follows Christ. Despite his hopes of breaking free, he is nevertheless determined to go all the way if he must. In the process, he takes a few others with him - even those who don’t realize they are going - and discovers a new freedom that is beyond anything he has ever experienced.

Every book has a target readership. I’m not sure who Dr. Blunt has in mind, exactly, but in my opinion this is a book best suited for Catholic young people, maybe age 18-30, who are not strangers to the ways of the world. The book is utterly without any trace of obscenity, vulgarity, or objectionable material of any kind. But it does deal with “adult” issues and isn’t something you want your 13 year old homeschooled daughter picking up. The book presupposes a Catholic reader, but I can think of quite a few non-Catholics who would enjoy the book and benefit from it. It is one of those rare books that you will still be thinking about several months after finishing.

“Passport” can be ordered through one of the vendors linked here.

And thank you, Chris, for writing this book. As I told you on the phone, it is a book I should have read twenty years ago!

The California Supreme Court has ruled that California’s legal prohibition of same-sex marriage is unconstitutional.

More on the story here.

But it isn’t over. There is likely to be an initiative on the November ballot which, if passed, will amend the state constitution to define marriage properly. By the end of the year we will know what kind of state California is to become.

A liberal website called “The California Progress Report” has an article discussing the latest Field poll pertaining to same-sex marriage. If I’m reading the numbers correctly, the November initiative has a good chance of passing, despite the fact that support for same-sex marriage has been steadily increasing. Let’s take a look:

“The Field poll questions have remained the same during the six surveys analyzed here. In 1985, only 30% of those polled supported same sex marriage. This increased to 38% in 1997, and the average for surveys in 2003-2006 showed support by 43%.

While only 25% of those born before 1940 are in support, that number has grown by 5% over these years. Those born in the 1940’s are supportive at 40%, also a gain of 5%. Similar 7 and 8% increases are found for those born in the 1950’s and 1960’s, reaching above the 40% threshold. Those born in the 1970’s and 1980’s are in support by 51% and 58%.

The same trends are apparent over time in those who identify themselves as ‘liberals’ (increasing from 43% to 76%, a gain of 33 points) and ‘moderates’ (climbing from 31 to 44%, a gain of 15 points). However, amongst self-styled ‘conservatives’ a reverse trend is seen and the numbers have dipped from 20% support to 15%. There is an astonishing 61% spread between liberals and conservatives on this issue.

The same general patterns hold for partisan identification, with Democrats supportive at a level of 59%, independents at 41%, and Republicans at 23%. There has been a marked shift in increased support over time amongst Democrats and independents, while Republicans are slightly less supportive by 3 points.

Support has increased in every religious group identified, but the lowest level of support is amongst Protestants at 28% and represents a gain of only 4%. Catholics jumped 13% to 38% support. Those with ‘No religion’ had the highest level of support at 71% followed by those who are Jewish at 70% (reported as being a small sample, but with this number being higher it must be of statistical significance), and ‘Other religions’ at 55%.

Asians showed the highest support level based on race or ethnicity at 55%. White non-Hispanics at 46% followed this, then Latinos at 35% and Blacks (a small sample) at 23%. There were strong gains in each of these except for blacks, which were down by 1%, probably statistically insignificant, except in indicating no real change as opposed to other categories.

There appears to be a gender gap with female support at 47% and male support at 39%.

There is a strong correlation with level of education with college graduates supportive at 64%, followed by some college at 41%, and high school or less being at 34%.”

The trend is distressing, of course, but support for same-sex marriage in California is not likely to be much greater than 43% today. The key would seem to be getting out the vote among Latinos, Blacks, and those with low education levels in November.

In this story you will find links to the letters (PDF files) of eleven mental health workers who witnessed maltreatment and abuse of FLDS women and children at the hands of Texas authorities. These letters are must-reading for an inside look at CPS attitudes, assumptions, and policies. The actions of CPS workers are stunning in their heartlessness. So much for the rule of law, due process, and legal pieties about presumption of innocence: the state can crush whomever it will, for any reason, so long as there is enough public support for the action.

HT: Grits for Breakfast.

There is nothing greater on this poor earth. To receive the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ - and with Him all the graces that God can bestow upon the soul - is the most sublime and significant thing one can do in this life.

Such a magnificent gift is not to be trifled with.

All Catholics know that one should not receive the Eucharist when in a state of mortal sin. But many a Catholic would not know a mortal sin if it bit him on the arse. This is not a new problem. Saint Teresa of Avila, in her autobiography, describes some of her earliest priest-confessors who were themselves confused on the point and led her astray:

“What was venial they said was no sin at all, and what was serious mortal sin they said was venial. This did me so much harm that it should not surprise anyone that I speak of it here in order to warn others against so great an evil.”

Due to my own capacity for self-deception, I myself am not always sure about this, despite the clear teaching of the Church.

This occasional uncertainty, along with the weight of the sheer accumulation of venial sins, induces me to hold myself back from holy communion from time to time. Some have told me that this practice is “Jansenistic” and scrupulous. Perhaps there is a taint of scrupulosity in my personality, and perhaps not: that really isn’t the point. It just seems to me that the Holy Eucharist is important enough to prepare oneself well, and when one hasn’t prepared himself well, refraining from communion can provide the incentive and devotion needed to prepare for the next opportunity.

The Catholic Church, of course, does not require weekly reception of Holy Communion, but encourages it for those who are well prepared. Receiving Our Lord with indifference, distraction, lukewarmness and moral uncertainty - as I am so often inclined to do - does not strike me as being well prepared. That said, I expect that most of my neighbors are usually better prepared than I am, or at least have better internal assurances, and I would advise any Catholic with a properly formed conscience - including my own children - to receive communion whenever in doubt, with the intention of going to confession during the week.

I am reassured by the fact that the writer at Dust of the Time observes a similar devotional rule. She writes:

“On some occasions, I personally choose to stay behind and not receive the precious Body and Blood of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. Perhaps too many venial sins have piled up and I haven’t yet confessed my sins to the priest, or perhaps I have been inattentive and not prepared myself well for Holy Communion.”

“I believe denying oneself Holy Communion once in a while is useful not only for our own souls, but also serves as an example to others who may feel they are obligated to receive Holy Communion simply because they attend Mass.”

As for the charge of Jansenism, the practice of refraining from communion for devotional reasons long predates this heresy. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, which in retrospect seems to promote very frequent communion rather incautiously, the frequency of reception declined precisely as Faith was on the ascendancy:

“The Poor Clares, by rule, communicated six times a year; the Dominicanesses, fifteen times; the Third Order of St. Dominic, four times. Even saints received rarely: St. Louis six times a year, St. Elizabeth only three times.”

At a time when scrupulosity was a widespread problem, it made sense to promote frequent communion. But we live in different times: today the problem is presumption, not scrupulosity, and the greater danger is sacrilege.

I don’t want the Church to abandon the ideal of frequent communion, but let’s remove the stigma from not receiving. There are many reasons not to receive: not having confessed one’s mortal sins (or uncertainty about the same), not having fasted properly, not having recollected oneself, arriving late for Mass, etc. One should have a good confessor to help determine whether scrupulosity is an issue. All should try to receive weekly by preparing themselves well, beginning, if possible, on Saturday night. The preparation need not be perfect, of course. And it is good to remember that reception of the Eucharist bestows the forgiveness of venial sins. But let’s also remember that, for some, abstaining from holy communion on occasion is helpful in maintaining a proper reverence and respect for the Sacrament, so that the Eucharist is received more worthily and lovingly in the future.

The FLDS tragedy continues apace. Last week it was announced that Texas authorities, claiming to be “the legal parents of the children”, will be administering vaccines to all of the children without the consent of their real parents. Just the beginning of the children’s new foster-care drug regimen, I suspect. And today we have news of a group of mental health workers roundly condemning CPS for needlessly traumatizing 464 “healthy, well-behaved, and emotionally normal” children:

“Mental health workers sent to emergency shelters in San Angelo last month to help care for the hundreds of women and children removed from a polygamist sect’s West Texas ranch have sharply criticized the Child Protective Services operation, telling their governing board it unnecessarily traumatized the kids.

The CPS investigation of suspected child abuse and its decision to seek state custody of all 464 children punished mothers who appeared to be good parents of healthy, well-behaved and emotionally normal kids, workers said in a set of short and unsigned written reports made at the request of the board after a briefing Tuesday.

All nine reports by employees of the Hill Country Community Mental Health-Mental Retardation Center expressed varying degrees of anger toward the state’s child welfare agency for removing the children from their community, separating them from their mothers or for the way CPS workers conducted themselves at the shelter.

A few described ongoing tension between the two groups of social workers, including threats by CPS to have interfering MHMR workers arrested.

‘I have worked in Domestic Violence/Sexual Abuse programming for over 20 years and have never seen women and children treated this poorly, not to mention their civil rights being disregarded in this manner,’ one wrote.”

Read more.

HT: The Common Room.

The Western Confucian has lately linked to arguments ( here and here ) for abolishing the Pledge of Allegiance on the grounds that it is idolatrous. Considering the contribution of the Knights of Columbus to the Pledge, I have a hard time believing that it is idolatrous by Catholic standards. The Catholic Philippines, for example, has a similar Pledge:

I am a Filipino
I pledge my allegiance
To the flag of the Philippines
And to the country it represents
With honor, justice and freedom
Put in motion by one nation
For God, Nature,
Humanity and
Country.

I don’t see any idolatry there.

I do have reservations about oaths in general, and the U.S. Pledge in particular. For the Catholic, an oath of allegiance is always contingent. A good Catholic will “rebel” against the directives of any government insofar as it persecutes the Faith, requires its citizens to do something immoral, or otherwise denies or perverts the truth. We have only one absolute loyalty, and that is to God. Therefore we should be up front about this: our allegiance to the Pope and the Church precedes our loyalty to our flag and country. That’s always made some of our fellow Americans nervous. There is no reason why these loyalties should be in conflict, but it is possible that they might.

Let’s examine the American Pledge of Allegiance:

“I pledge allegiance to the flag
of the United States of America,“

Nothing wrong with that, so long as “allegiance” is rightly understood.

“and to the Republic for which it stands,
one Nation under God,”

So far as I can tell there is nothing wrong with this either. We do live in a Republic, which is indeed “one Nation under God”, and we ought to be loyal to our Republic.

“indivisible”

This is my one criticism of the Pledge. Our nation is not “indivisible”, in point of fact. Neither do I believe it was intended to be. Neither do I want it to be. Our nation will not last forever, undivided. If there is idolatry in the Pledge, it is contained in this one little word, which seems to almost - almost - ascribe to the nation an eternal, immutable, god-like character. So when I put my hand on my heart and recite the Pledge, I chalk the word “indivisible” up to rhetorical excess and practice the art of mental reservation.

“with liberty and justice for all.“

A noble ideal to which I gladly give my allegiance.

According to Mark Shea, our very own Dale Price has been hospitalized for a condition that still has not been diagnosed. I don’t generally blog prayer requests, but Dale and his family could really use your prayers today.

This is a serious proposal. Here are my thoughts:

1. I’d prefer to see a smaller Northern California, cut off somewhere north of Sacramento, and including the northern coast. But this scheme will do, and I have to admit it makes good political sense.

2. As it stands, Northern California - probably one of the most conservative regions in the United States - is politically impotent and ultimately dominated by the Coastal and Southern liberals. Under this “three Californias” arrangement there will be a much better alignment of culture and politics.

3. Southern California, though presently suffering from all manner of decadence, has a decisively Catholic heritage that could be more easily recovered as an autonomous political unit.

4. Coastal California is breathtakingly beautiful, a veritable Eden in many places - despite the ugliness of a few Bay Area cities. With the creation of “three Californias”, many refugees from Coastal California will choose to settle in Northern California rather than the Midwest or the East Coast. And Coastal California will remain a lovely place for Northern Californians to spend their long weekends. Outside of San Francisco, the region’s political radicalism is not likely to last more than another generation or two.

I’m not much of a gardener. Very few of the 100+ melons I planted last month came up the first time, due to my planting too early and overwatering. I had to replant the entire melon patch last weekend. For me gardening is a little bit like fishing: I may not be very good at it, but I enjoy it immensely.

Our melon patch is situated between the house on the north side, the goat pasture to the west, and the cow pasture on the south side. It’s about 35′ x 35′, or 1225 square feet, give or take. Gardening out here is feast for the senses. A city person would think it eerily, desperately quiet. But you can hear every pheasant calling, every hen clucking, and every rooster crowing for a quarter mile. You can hear the munching of the cows as if they were right there in the garden with you. (Have you ever really listened to a cow eating grass? Eating and breathing, I should say. There’s a rhythm to it that is unlike anything else.) You can hear the water bubbling up from the irrigation risers far in the distance. The gentlest breeze grabs your attention; the furthest, tiniest cloud is a heavenly wonder; even the weeds in the garden become objects of fascination (and maybe you resolve to let one live now and then).

A goat leaves the herd and walks over to the fence. She stands there alone, bleating at me endlessly, clearly trying to get my attention. I wonder if she’s about to have her babies. Sure enough, an hour later my children gleefully inform me that she has given birth to two healthy kids. I continue to work the ground, staining my hands, taking it all in. Strangely, it does not give me peace. Instead it gives me a longing for peace. There is still something lacking … what? There are still unpurged sounds in my head and unrelinquished corners in my soul. It is the old, haunting truth that I have been avoiding for years now. The Next Step: I haven’t taken it. The spiritual rut I’m in is a comfortable rut. Comfortable - but oppressive when alone with myself. I know what the Lord is asking of me. I know what I need to change. Must I wait until some horrible tragedy shakes me out of my lethargy?

No, a country garden doesn’t bestow real peace, no matter how fertile and serene. But a country garden, with its silent angels, might just lead me there.

Danby of Refuge for Catholics is looking for a place to farm - a place where Catholic orthodoxy and affordable land can be found. I suggest Stockton, Missouri, the only place in southern Missouri with a weekly TLM. And just look at these land prices! It’s also close enough to Springfield to be a viable resettlement destination for non-farmers.