The Holy Spirit Is a Woman

Yeah, yeah, I know, the Holy Spirit has no gender. Malarky! Remember in Catechism, learning about God the Father (clearly male) God the Son (clearly male) and God the Spirit (genderless)? Does this make sense? Why does only one leaf on the shamrock have no gender?

It is Pentecost Sunday, the day the Spirit came to the Apostles and they became filled with it, so naturally, the Spirit was the topic of the homily. Throughout his sermon, Father Don kept referring to the Spirit with masculine pronouns ~ and I realized: he is wrong.

The Holy Spirit fills Christians with strength, courage, faith and joy. The Holy Spirit inspires, ennobles and encourages. The Holy Spirit pushes us in the right direction. It guides us. It comforts us. It helps us notice what we need to notice. The Spirit never demands, never forces us to accept it. The Spirit waits for our invitation. And the Spirit really doesn't get the credit it deserves. Sure, we all know about the Spirit, but it's always the third branch.

Who gets the praise? The Father & the Son. Who gets the glory? The Father & the Son. Who does all sorts of amazing things behind the scenes because they need doing? The Spirit.

See, the Holy Spirit is female. And it's not just any female. The Holy Spirit is a mother. All those who insist God is a woman, are not entirely wrong. So, on one of the special days where we recognize the greatness of the Holy Spirit, I hope you are all filled with her fire and inspired to go and share the joy.

Joy in Faith ~ Delighting in God

St Patrick's Cathedral, Manhattan

I've spewed a lot of words against our current Archbishop and realize this could mislead people. I love my religion. The opening hymn at Mass this morning was "Here I Am" and as I sang (probably off-key, but God doesn't care, He gave me this voice) the chorus, "Here I am, Lord. Is it I, Lord? I have heard You calling in the night. I will go, Lord, if You lead me. I will hold Your people in my heart." I was overjoyed. If I could maintain that love for all His people that I feel in Mass, I might not have to worry when the boss calls me into a private meeting.

The Catholic religion is filled with beauty, glory, God's love. But, while the Truth is His, the organization is peopled with, well, people. The Pope is infallible on doctrinal matters, the Archbishop is not the Pope ~ nor is a state amendment Catholic doctrine.

When in doubt, I ask God for an answer, well sometimes He whomps me upside o' the head with a spiritual 2x4 ~ I can't see it but I sure can feel it. For instance, sitting in Mass, distracted by the caliber of the lector, I actually heard, out loud, "I don't see you offering to do it."and the voice was so powerful I felt the vibration. No one else around me did. I took the hint and lectored for six years. Sometimes, though, sometimes He's subtle and I can't figure out what He's saying.  I suspect that sometimes we just don't want to hear the answer, and I pray His patience holds out. We're a stubborn species.

Anyway, just because I don't always agree with the people in charge over what is God's and what is Caesar's, I'm not about to walk away from my Church. I know Christ is present in the Eucharist, I can't walk away from that. In fact, I pray that everyone will find their way back to the One True Faith. Actually, I pray that God will bring everyone home. Andrew Greeley gives a nice explanation about why Catholics stay Catholic even when disagreeing.

Chapel of the Holy Cross
Sedona, Arizona

For years, Catholics evangelized differently, some folks went around telling everyone how evil they were, "Join us or go to hell!" they said. We were odd, unique even, we evangelized by throwing a big party, with food, raffles, bingo & beer and said, "Come join us! God is loving!" We need to go back to that old school Catholic evangelism.

Catholicism has inspired so many through the centuries. Detractors complain of the time & money put into beautiful buildings not understanding why we can't pray in something utilitarian. We can, of course. God hears our prayers in cathedrals, traffic jams, schools, in cities, on mountaintops. The churches are beautiful because the God's love is beautiful. They are humble mankind's attempt to give glory to God. Also, pretty pictures in stained glass are useful for children and those with ADD, while their thoughts will hop to 34 topics in an hour, at least some of them will land on the windows & the statuary and therefore stay kinda sorta on topic.

The prayers are beautiful, too. St Thomas Aquinas wrote Tantum ergo Sacramentum, the most popular English name would be Down in Adoration Falling.  There's also the Memorare:

Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided.
Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me.

She always answers. Sometimes you feel a little strength from her, sometimes a lot. Like any good mother, Mary only gives you as much help as you really need. There's an old joke about her that says quite a bit about how much joy there is to be found in the Catholic faith. 

One day, St. Peter approached Jesus and handed him the keys to heaven, saying, "I quit, Lord." 

Stunned, Jesus asks, "Why? You do a great job and have all the power to decide who gets in. It's up to you to keep the sinners out." 

"I know, Lord. But it's your mother, every time I turn someone away, she lets them in the back door!"

Sacre Coeur, Paris

That's what the Catholic Church is, you see.  We aren't just a religion, we are family, God's huge sprawling, brawling, loving family. That's why we want everyone to join us, we are all God's children, thus, we are all part of this loud, bossy, devout, warm family. Come to the next reunion, there's a big one every Sunday, close by and the food can't be beat.

Vote Your Moral Conscience

Priests bring up the marriage amendment with varying approaches. Some are frighteningly heavy-handed, last spring, Father Izen of St. Raphael's gave me my first dose of this bitter brew. He threw oh-so-casually into his homily the "fact" the children must be raised by their biological parents,  that adoption means one or both biological parents doesn't love them enough to stick around. After Mass, I sat in the car for a good ten minutes sobbing ~ not a discrete little sniffle, we're talking full bawling with fluids pouring out of every facial orifice. Never, ever, was I made to feel like a second-class citizen until that sermon. And Father Izen, I sincerely hope that on your first day of purgatory you can feel the pain you caused adoptees & their families and gays & those who love them, during that sermon, because Jesus talked a lot about love, and he seemed pretty darned fond of children, and I cannot believe that he'd like hatred spewing from the altar in his name.

Today, Father Don (St. Hedwig Church's greatest asset) brought up the election. He doesn't do well with the mean approach. At the Prayers of the Faithful, he reminded us of the upcoming election and prayed that everyone would pray and, "Vote your moral conscience." What a beautiful way to put it. Isn't that what priests should tell their parishioners, "Vote your moral conscience"? I seem to recall my seventh grade religion teacher telling us we shouldn't follow anyone, even bishops, blindly, lest we be led astray by false prophets.

If you pray on the subject, and open your heart, and listen for God's answer, won't you vote properly? I've prayed and prayed. The answer that keeps coming is "Love one another." As a Catholic, chapter & versing doesn't come naturally, I had to actually look up the verse I wanted. It's Matthew 22:39, "Love your neighbor as yourself" That's a quote, from Jesus; he's kind of a bigshot with us. I love myself enough to marry the person I truly love. Jesus keeps whispering "love" in my ear. So, I have to vote "NO!" because that is clearly the more loving choice. I don't presume to know God's mind (unlike Mr Nienstedt). What I do know, is that if I'm wrong, and I could be, it will be a lot easier to face the Final Judgement having wrongly supported love than wrongly supported bigotry.

I think I should be able to marry whomever I chose (and I did, woo hoo!) without the state saying I picked the wrong gender of person. It's a slippery slope we're on. First, the big push to decide which gender one can marry, next they'll decide which race is appropriate. Pretty soon, the government will decide which religion your prospective spouse must be.

There is a great song that everyone pondering voting yes should listen to. The first time I heard it, I felt the Holy Spirit and it wasn't saying anything bad about homosexuals, it was agreeing with the song.  You'll have to follow the link because I couldn't embed it. For all the children.
God bless and vote your moral conscience.

An Open Letter to John Nienstedt

He's getting quite a few of these open letters lately, hope he appreciates the sentiment behind them. I am Catholic (as in, I drag my butt out of bed to attend Mass every week because Jesus is more important than sleep) and I have no problem with homosexuality. I find myself increasingly embarrassed by Archbishop Nienstedt and actually wondering when he'll start demanding that homosexuals wear pink triangles so good people can avoid them.

The truth is, the church has NO business in this matter. No one is trying to make any church perform what it considers inappropriate weddings. To sue the government over Obamacare then argue that her stance on secular marriage must be enforced by law makes a hypocrite of the Church. That makes me sad. So, Mr Nienstedt, I'd like to share a few quotes with you. All Biblical quotes are NIV.

This one is frequently used in marriage Masses, even though it is Ruth speaking to Naomi ~ but, oh no! Wouldn't that be the evil same-sex marriage? Ruth 1:16 ~ Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.

We all need to practice this more. No mention of only loving heteroes. John 13:34-35 ~ “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” 

Matthew 7:1 ~ "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. "

You say homosexual marriage is immoral and should be banned but, and this might be my favorite, it's from the then Bishop of New Ulm, John Clayton Nienstedt, "We cannot legislate morality."