I'm a grown woman with a master's in theology, and *I* don't understand the Eucharist, and why God would want to enter into an intimate relationship that invites me to share in His life and heal me of my many ills - much less how it's possible for Him to do it. For heaven's sake - it may just be my Eastern Catholic bias, but are all the hoops (couched as "proper preparation") really doing more good for the kids being baptized than actually allowing them to be transformed by receiving the other two Holy Mysteries of Initiation??? Yoy, Hospodi pomiluj!
But what we need is more preparation, to prepare for beginning to start out (note sarcasm in my typed voice). In order to get there, we first have to go half way, but then half again, etc. This is the Zeno's paradox of catechetical formation when the Institutional Church no longer demands that parents are in charge of this via a relationship with their fellow parishioners, priest, DRE, Deacon, somebody who can help and, through actual training, has acquired some judgment. It's very odd; a subsidiarist church has adopted way too many written norms rather than prudence, and it makes for a weaker church. I await a Canonist's response to this with some 'how dare you's, but I suspect the one who moderates this substack might at least partially agree.
Wasn't there an interview with Metropolitan Hilarion where he mentioned that he appreciated Ben XVI for not just be Scholastic about everything? Regardless, the idea that everything needs explaining is a fault of us dealing with the enlightenment as far as I'm concerned. The mystical element has been minimized and we (myself included) would benefit from more of it
I’m born and raised Latin rite over here and I’ve been SCREAMING this from the rooftops since college when I read enough (after 12 yrs of catholic school which taught me very little) to understand. Alas I am me and thus no one worth listening to but I always feel the need to affirm likeminded sensible folk so you feel less like you’re the crazy person in the room 🤣
Do sacraments DO anything or do they not. For heavens sake! Literally! I do so very much love the western emphasis on apostolic connection in reserving confirmation to the bishop - we literally will never see him otherwise, which is a separate thing we could talk about - but I have a charitable envy of all those eastern babies safely sacramented all at once and as close to our Good Shepherd as their little hearts will ever be this side of heaven 💜💜
In my former diocese the bishop regularly visits all the schools, so he is still seen even when he is not there to give the sacraments. And while he's there he encourages vocations.
Artificially lengthening the process puts the cart before the horse. The whole point of a two year formation process is to give people time to develop a deeper relationship with Christ, habits of going to Mass etc, and learning the kerygma and other basics. If they demonstrate the ability to get there in less time, let them.
I'm not a man, but I do live by the "ignore the problem and it will probably go away" philosophy of car ownership. I make exceptions for glaringly obvious things like flames or grinding noises, and I do change the oil and check tire pressure. I also have the benefit of a good mechanic who wants my long term business.
One time I had a car fail to start, there was a mechanic across the street, I walked over and asked them if they could help me and they refused (bah), but then when I walked back over and said, "I'll just try this thing one more time," it started just fine and went on to run for several more years quite happily without issue.
My husband does not share this philosophy, and he spent a good deal of time and money this year on a noise that was barely detectable in our large van. We took a long trip with no issue (the noise was a little louder going up big hills, but it still ran.) I think he has finally come around to my thinking that it's just a quirk of this particular vehicle, but I can tell he doesn't like it. Cars were serviced and replaced much more frequently in his family of origin. These are the things they never tell you in marriage prep.
When I was baptized in the Spirit one of the first noticeable gifts I had was being able to lay hands on a non-functioning car and it would work. I have almost never owned a car, so this is proof for me that spiritual gifts are for other people.
// I'm not a man, but I do live by the "ignore the problem and it will probably go away" philosophy of car ownership. //
That's my wife's attitude, too. Unfortunately, we - especially city dwellers - live in a world filled with and controlled by machines. Machines, like lawns and houses, require regular maintenance to prevent them failing spectacularly and turning our daily lives into little nightmares.
I did offer a couple examples of regular maintenance. :) I tend to believe that if you do the basics, most machines will, most of the time, function just fine. This is why a good mechanic who isn't out to scam you (which I also mentioned) is essential. I can trust mine to tell me what is actually necessary and what is just racket.
(I guess to clarify, perhaps I used the wrong word when I said, "ignore" - perhaps it would be more accurate to say I use my intuition about it. I think a lot of dealerships and mechanics prey on consumer fear and recommend things that are not always necessary - or on a much more frequent basis than actually necessary - because people think if they don't do them the car will literally explode in the middle of the highway without any warning. I have a good track record with car ownership - our cars last well into six digit mileage with infrequent repairs and perhaps most importantly of all, very low anxiety.)
Loved your DMV story, Ed. I was born in Puerto Rico but grew up in MA and did driver's ed there. Then I went to the DMV to take the written test to get a learner's permit; I aced it, no mistakes. I expected that was it but the state trooper who administered the test said he would not give me a permit because I was "not born in the United States." I tried to tell him that PR is indeed part of these United States but, heck, just a kid at sixteen, how much confidence did I have to argue with a trooper? I passed the buck, telling my mom who then spoke to a supervisor who gave me the permit right away.
Ed, I can assure you that the problem will not go away. You may want to consider your wife’s safe advice and lease a new vehicle. It is about the only affordable way to get a new vehicle these days. Get anything made by Toyota or its upscale sibling, Lexus. They work.
And yet, READ THAT CONTRACT! Leasing cars can get you into trouble. If you can, buying second hand outright is better for a depreciating asset. That leased new car suddenly loses 20% of its new value the second its wheels leave the dealership and your lease doesn't drop accordingly!
I have three things I filter for when buying a used car 1) brand- generally speaking, Japanese cars are reliable, fuel efficient and parts are cheap. (Subarus are a favourite in our house for the all-wheel drive as standard, comes in handy on unsealed backroads and flooding suburban roads). Hyundai are excellent (had a few of them, currently running an i40 wagon) and usually cheaper than Toyotas. Kias AFTER 2010 are the same. 2) number on the speedometer: most cars need big services around the 100,000 km mark (things like timing belts, gaskets etc are getting to the end of their life). If you can snag a second hand car with 50-60,000 km on the clock, you’ll get a good couple of years out of it before you’re up for a larger mechanical refresh.
3) if you can, get an ex-fleet car. They have reliable service records, generally are well maintained and often have low kms as they are turned over frequently.
Fleet vehicles also don’t hold their value as well precisely because they are classified as fleet, so you will lose value down the line when it comes time to trade or sell. A higher trim level, if within budget, usually also includes the categorization of the vehicle as strictly a personal vehicle and thus insulates resale and trade values more than does fleet status. Just something to include in the calculus. We are a Toyota family. No frills, easy maintenance, generally very reliable.
Funny, it’s the opposite in Australia, unless they were truly garbage cars no matter the trim level like a Holden Cruze. That car is so terrible that you’re better off setting it on fire than purchasing it. Put the owner out of their misery.
I'll put in a plug for Honda. My Accord is ten years old and running well, and I have no plans to trade it in. When it's time for maintenance, a little dashboard reminder sends it off for a health check. And it belongs to me, not to someone else.
My deepest sympathy on the tetchy car. I once owned a Chrysler vehicle that led to my frequent prayer of the divine mercy chaplet as a means of coping with it's constant desire to show the engine warning light at me like some sort of bribery scam. Never again with a Chrysler product for me! Kias are usually more reliable than as described, I'm led to believe. But Consumer Reports tells me that they're not exactly BMWs either. Perhaps it's time to swim the Sea of Japan and obtain a more technically sound, largish vehicle? Nissan is in a similar price range as a Kia, and slightly more reliable, if you can't stomach going for a more expensive vehicle from Toyota, GMC, Chevrolet, VW, Honda or further up the food chain.
"I can scarce afford to find out what’s wrong with it now"
If the check engine light is still on you can take it in to any number of car part stores (think AutoZone or O'Reilly Auto Parts) and have them read the code using their OBD2 reader. This should be a free service. They can tell you what the fault code is saying. Google that information to determine if it is just a hiccup that can pass for a while or something that you need to setting aside some change to fix.
Yes, the connection between St. Nicholas and pawnbrokers is certainly fascinating, and the irony isn’t lost on anyone. People who frequent pawn shops often do so out of necessity, living hand-to-mouth and needing immediate cash for survival. While the interest rates can indeed be exorbitant, the pawn shop model at least provides the opportunity for the borrower to reclaim their item—a lifeline that outright selling, often for a pittance, doesn’t offer.
It’s a system born of desperation, but for some, it’s a bridge to get through a crisis. The roots of pawnbroking in the montes pietatius are a reminder that the original intention was charitable—a way to keep people out of the clutches of predatory moneylenders. Over time, as with many things, profit motives transformed the practice into something less noble.
Still, the ability to retrieve something of value rather than lose it entirely does provide a slim measure of dignity in a difficult system. As I think of St. Nicholas on his feast day, I reflect on how his legacy of charity might inspire us to create more humane alternatives for those in need.
Ed, after reading the sorry story of your Kia Sorento being held together with bubblegum and paperclips, I was almost ready to start a Go Fund Me page for a new set of wheels for you. But then when you concluded by saying you were jetting off to London to spend the holidays with family, you killed the entire emotional appeal. I appreciate the honesty but it is not a lie to omit information that was not directly relevant to the story. Who knows, had you omitted it, a few anonymous kind souls may have tossed a few golden balls down your chimney towards the cause this Christmas.
Another great Friday Pillar Post, "Ed." (Alright, Michelle, just admit you did this one also... Actually, does Ed Condon really exist? I'm so confused now.)
A thought on the French Francis Snub: Is his message exactly that Europe is NOT the center of gravity anymore, given the character of his Pontificate?
URGENT URGENT URGENT Kia Sorento Alert, Ed - - I could be wrong on this, but you are describing nearly exactly what we experienced with our own 2014 Sorento. TAKE IT TO THE OFFICIAL KIA DEALERSHIP. There was an issue with the engines in some of these models, and we got a brand new engine in ours at no cost. I was convinced ours was going to blow up or something, and nursed it to the dealership. They reached my after a bit, and I cringed as he said, "I've got bad news and good news..." The bad news was that it needed a new engine, and good news was that Kia was going to pay for it.
I can only hope you get a similar finding, especially at this time of year, and because you should spend more time writing instead of worrying about your car. This was a brilliant and entertaining bit!
That’s the weird thing- it was *Not* a recall… I’m assuming because it wasn’t technically a safety issue? But it was something where they found out some of these engines were going to fail, but they didn’t know which ones… and so if one went bad, they would replace it. So I would still go check into it in person at the dealership.
Yes! My coworker has had her faulty Kia engine replaced TWICE. Both times involved a huge fight with the dealer (I think she even contacted her state's attorney general at one point) but they finally paid for both engines.
Having been a Catechist for some decades now, and primarily for Confirmation prep, this item about waiting to Confirm struck a nerve.
The whole idea of separating the Sacrament from Baptism and Eucharist is a stupid. Baptism and Confirmation should be conferred at the same ceremony in infancy. In England during the 1100s bishops said parents whose children were not Confirmed by one year old were to cast on bread and water until their children were Confirmed, and if a child hadn’t been Confirmed by age three the parents were to be barred from receiving Sacraments themselves until their kids were confirmed. The gradual acceptance of delayed Confirmation was primarily an accident of geography - since in the Roman rite bishops were (and still are) the primary ministers of Confirmation, bishops getting around to all their parishes became difficult. In fact, the bishop in Cuba - whose ‘diocese’ was basically all of North America! - had to travel to Florida to confer the sacrament on recently baptized converts. About thirty thousand. The next year he made another trip to Florida to Confirm fifteen thousand. Each trip took months, and was exhausting, so he asked Rome for permission to delegate conferral of Confirmation to priests. He pointed out that his diocesan was huge and difficult to traverse. The Vatican response was bishops in Italy also had to travel around their dioceses, so quit complaining. And no, priests were not going to be allowed to be ordinary ministers of Confirmation in the Roma rite. As America ‘grew’ bigger, so did the dioceses - resulting in circuit riding bishops who could only get to each parish once every two or three years. Thus the custom of waiting to be confirmed and having each parish ready a “group” to get the sacrament.
Fast forward to about 1970, and good hearted but very untheologically aware older women in our parishes tried to explain to their now teenaged catechumens that Confirmation was “becoming an adult in the Faith” (which is not true - the sacrament is analogous to physical vaccination against physical illness, so Confirmation is a kind of spiritual vaccination against spiritual ‘illness’, infusing the soul with strengthened Faith, Hope and Love to counter Doubt, Despair and Sin).
Denying that soul-strengthening help until someone is “ready” misses the point horribly.
My children didn’t “understand” the diseases they were vaccinated against, but they didn’t suffer polio, diphtheria, smallpox etc.
Since the Grace received is from God, we should be generous in serving it.
Yes! And who could argue against the need for children today to be strengthened and shored up by the sacrament? There is absolutely no reason of merit to withhold it and every good and pressing reason to confer it. As another commenter mentioned, the sacraments either do something or they don’t. Amen!
Europeans seem constitutionally incapable of appreciating the size of North America. I'm sure this is correlated somehow with Ed's difficulties with cars and driving.
I can see waiting for the bishop to come around. But even if he can only get there every
4 years, that still doesn't get us to the specific age of 16. That gets us to Confirming everyone between 7 and 11, every 4 years. Or, should it be received as an infant, everyone between 0 and 4.
You'd think an age spread like that would be fantastic for convincing people that this is not linked to sufficient catechesis, and the kid still needs to learn, independent of whether he's received all the Sacraments.
I always ask catechists what they would teach adolescents who have already been confirmed - and then say they should be teaching that now instead of teenage cut and paste for Jesus (when they actually mention the Lord, that is).
Major problem, though, is most catechists do NOT know our Faith and are the ‘blind leading the blind’.
I was catechized by a person who barely knew her faith, and started spending more time studying it only a decade or two after teaching me. I call her "Mom". She wanted a better education for me than the one she got, so she looked for a curriculum that had substance to it, several decades of use elsewhere, and good reviews, gave me that - and never once opposed what it said with her own opinions.
Lack of knowledge is considerably less serious than a failure by the catechist to want his student to surpass him, a failure by the catechist to teach what the Church teaches rather than what he thinks, and also a failure to choose good curricula (I believe that one is on the pastor).
It is not necessarily standard practice in American dioceses to wait till 16. The age range for Confirmation varies widely, (I would estimate anywhere from 11-18 years old) sometimes even within the same diocese, from parish to parish.
To the excellent points made by many above, I would just like to add this; if intellectual prowess is to be the measure of someone’s readiness for the sacraments, where does that leave beautiful children like JD’s son, who has Downs Syndrome? Where does that leave other children with intellectual disabilities, who are precious in the sight of God, and often attain holiness before the rest of us? Should these beautiful souls be deprived of Confirmation and Holy Communion, simply because they can’t intellectually understand what is ultimately inscrutable?
I too have an Eastern bias, and frankly, it was this very issue that convinced me to follow my husband into an Eastern Catholic Church. The Lord gave us his grace freely, entirely without our having merited it; who are we to prevent the youngest and most innocent of us from receiving it?
Ooh, I kinda like this idea of holding parents directly responsible by denying them sacraments as long as their kids are denied.
Not that I could get away with that (or that parents would care), but there's something "right and just" about denying communion and the privilege of becoming godparents to those who neglect their child's sacramental life.
If only there was a similar way to hold parents accountable for failing to bring them to Sunday Mass and catechism...
I'm a grown woman with a master's in theology, and *I* don't understand the Eucharist, and why God would want to enter into an intimate relationship that invites me to share in His life and heal me of my many ills - much less how it's possible for Him to do it. For heaven's sake - it may just be my Eastern Catholic bias, but are all the hoops (couched as "proper preparation") really doing more good for the kids being baptized than actually allowing them to be transformed by receiving the other two Holy Mysteries of Initiation??? Yoy, Hospodi pomiluj!
But what we need is more preparation, to prepare for beginning to start out (note sarcasm in my typed voice). In order to get there, we first have to go half way, but then half again, etc. This is the Zeno's paradox of catechetical formation when the Institutional Church no longer demands that parents are in charge of this via a relationship with their fellow parishioners, priest, DRE, Deacon, somebody who can help and, through actual training, has acquired some judgment. It's very odd; a subsidiarist church has adopted way too many written norms rather than prudence, and it makes for a weaker church. I await a Canonist's response to this with some 'how dare you's, but I suspect the one who moderates this substack might at least partially agree.
I don't know any canonists who would disagree in principle with your views here.
// a subsidiarist church has adopted way too many written norms rather than prudence, and it makes for a weaker church //
Keeping things simple is anathema to the modern relativist mind.
Wasn't there an interview with Metropolitan Hilarion where he mentioned that he appreciated Ben XVI for not just be Scholastic about everything? Regardless, the idea that everything needs explaining is a fault of us dealing with the enlightenment as far as I'm concerned. The mystical element has been minimized and we (myself included) would benefit from more of it
I’m born and raised Latin rite over here and I’ve been SCREAMING this from the rooftops since college when I read enough (after 12 yrs of catholic school which taught me very little) to understand. Alas I am me and thus no one worth listening to but I always feel the need to affirm likeminded sensible folk so you feel less like you’re the crazy person in the room 🤣
Do sacraments DO anything or do they not. For heavens sake! Literally! I do so very much love the western emphasis on apostolic connection in reserving confirmation to the bishop - we literally will never see him otherwise, which is a separate thing we could talk about - but I have a charitable envy of all those eastern babies safely sacramented all at once and as close to our Good Shepherd as their little hearts will ever be this side of heaven 💜💜
In my former diocese the bishop regularly visits all the schools, so he is still seen even when he is not there to give the sacraments. And while he's there he encourages vocations.
While that is lovely and I commend him many children don’t go to catholic school and all ages should see him as well
In Indiana most children qualify for financial help to attend the school of their choice.
Artificially lengthening the process puts the cart before the horse. The whole point of a two year formation process is to give people time to develop a deeper relationship with Christ, habits of going to Mass etc, and learning the kerygma and other basics. If they demonstrate the ability to get there in less time, let them.
I'm not a man, but I do live by the "ignore the problem and it will probably go away" philosophy of car ownership. I make exceptions for glaringly obvious things like flames or grinding noises, and I do change the oil and check tire pressure. I also have the benefit of a good mechanic who wants my long term business.
One time I had a car fail to start, there was a mechanic across the street, I walked over and asked them if they could help me and they refused (bah), but then when I walked back over and said, "I'll just try this thing one more time," it started just fine and went on to run for several more years quite happily without issue.
My husband does not share this philosophy, and he spent a good deal of time and money this year on a noise that was barely detectable in our large van. We took a long trip with no issue (the noise was a little louder going up big hills, but it still ran.) I think he has finally come around to my thinking that it's just a quirk of this particular vehicle, but I can tell he doesn't like it. Cars were serviced and replaced much more frequently in his family of origin. These are the things they never tell you in marriage prep.
When I was baptized in the Spirit one of the first noticeable gifts I had was being able to lay hands on a non-functioning car and it would work. I have almost never owned a car, so this is proof for me that spiritual gifts are for other people.
// I'm not a man, but I do live by the "ignore the problem and it will probably go away" philosophy of car ownership. //
That's my wife's attitude, too. Unfortunately, we - especially city dwellers - live in a world filled with and controlled by machines. Machines, like lawns and houses, require regular maintenance to prevent them failing spectacularly and turning our daily lives into little nightmares.
I did offer a couple examples of regular maintenance. :) I tend to believe that if you do the basics, most machines will, most of the time, function just fine. This is why a good mechanic who isn't out to scam you (which I also mentioned) is essential. I can trust mine to tell me what is actually necessary and what is just racket.
(I guess to clarify, perhaps I used the wrong word when I said, "ignore" - perhaps it would be more accurate to say I use my intuition about it. I think a lot of dealerships and mechanics prey on consumer fear and recommend things that are not always necessary - or on a much more frequent basis than actually necessary - because people think if they don't do them the car will literally explode in the middle of the highway without any warning. I have a good track record with car ownership - our cars last well into six digit mileage with infrequent repairs and perhaps most importantly of all, very low anxiety.)
Loved your DMV story, Ed. I was born in Puerto Rico but grew up in MA and did driver's ed there. Then I went to the DMV to take the written test to get a learner's permit; I aced it, no mistakes. I expected that was it but the state trooper who administered the test said he would not give me a permit because I was "not born in the United States." I tried to tell him that PR is indeed part of these United States but, heck, just a kid at sixteen, how much confidence did I have to argue with a trooper? I passed the buck, telling my mom who then spoke to a supervisor who gave me the permit right away.
Fun times at the DMV!!
The State Trooper sounds like a real jerk.
Ed, I can assure you that the problem will not go away. You may want to consider your wife’s safe advice and lease a new vehicle. It is about the only affordable way to get a new vehicle these days. Get anything made by Toyota or its upscale sibling, Lexus. They work.
And yet, READ THAT CONTRACT! Leasing cars can get you into trouble. If you can, buying second hand outright is better for a depreciating asset. That leased new car suddenly loses 20% of its new value the second its wheels leave the dealership and your lease doesn't drop accordingly!
I have three things I filter for when buying a used car 1) brand- generally speaking, Japanese cars are reliable, fuel efficient and parts are cheap. (Subarus are a favourite in our house for the all-wheel drive as standard, comes in handy on unsealed backroads and flooding suburban roads). Hyundai are excellent (had a few of them, currently running an i40 wagon) and usually cheaper than Toyotas. Kias AFTER 2010 are the same. 2) number on the speedometer: most cars need big services around the 100,000 km mark (things like timing belts, gaskets etc are getting to the end of their life). If you can snag a second hand car with 50-60,000 km on the clock, you’ll get a good couple of years out of it before you’re up for a larger mechanical refresh.
3) if you can, get an ex-fleet car. They have reliable service records, generally are well maintained and often have low kms as they are turned over frequently.
Do NOT buy anything by GM manufactured by Daewoo.
Fleet vehicles also don’t hold their value as well precisely because they are classified as fleet, so you will lose value down the line when it comes time to trade or sell. A higher trim level, if within budget, usually also includes the categorization of the vehicle as strictly a personal vehicle and thus insulates resale and trade values more than does fleet status. Just something to include in the calculus. We are a Toyota family. No frills, easy maintenance, generally very reliable.
Funny, it’s the opposite in Australia, unless they were truly garbage cars no matter the trim level like a Holden Cruze. That car is so terrible that you’re better off setting it on fire than purchasing it. Put the owner out of their misery.
I'll put in a plug for Honda. My Accord is ten years old and running well, and I have no plans to trade it in. When it's time for maintenance, a little dashboard reminder sends it off for a health check. And it belongs to me, not to someone else.
I drive that same year Accord. Could not agree more.
My deepest sympathy on the tetchy car. I once owned a Chrysler vehicle that led to my frequent prayer of the divine mercy chaplet as a means of coping with it's constant desire to show the engine warning light at me like some sort of bribery scam. Never again with a Chrysler product for me! Kias are usually more reliable than as described, I'm led to believe. But Consumer Reports tells me that they're not exactly BMWs either. Perhaps it's time to swim the Sea of Japan and obtain a more technically sound, largish vehicle? Nissan is in a similar price range as a Kia, and slightly more reliable, if you can't stomach going for a more expensive vehicle from Toyota, GMC, Chevrolet, VW, Honda or further up the food chain.
"I can scarce afford to find out what’s wrong with it now"
If the check engine light is still on you can take it in to any number of car part stores (think AutoZone or O'Reilly Auto Parts) and have them read the code using their OBD2 reader. This should be a free service. They can tell you what the fault code is saying. Google that information to determine if it is just a hiccup that can pass for a while or something that you need to setting aside some change to fix.
The light went back off after I got it to restart
Unless you unplugged the battery to clear they computer, the code should still be in the system for the reader to pick up.
This is what I was going to suggest as well.
"My wife has become enamoured of the notion of “leasing” a car"
Why not put JD in charge of finding you a good used vehicle? I hear he has friends in the business...
I adore my provisional license and plan to only ever use it to buy vodka from Sainsbury’s. The train works for me!
Ed, your car knows you don't like it, and it is returning the compliment.
Yes, the connection between St. Nicholas and pawnbrokers is certainly fascinating, and the irony isn’t lost on anyone. People who frequent pawn shops often do so out of necessity, living hand-to-mouth and needing immediate cash for survival. While the interest rates can indeed be exorbitant, the pawn shop model at least provides the opportunity for the borrower to reclaim their item—a lifeline that outright selling, often for a pittance, doesn’t offer.
It’s a system born of desperation, but for some, it’s a bridge to get through a crisis. The roots of pawnbroking in the montes pietatius are a reminder that the original intention was charitable—a way to keep people out of the clutches of predatory moneylenders. Over time, as with many things, profit motives transformed the practice into something less noble.
Still, the ability to retrieve something of value rather than lose it entirely does provide a slim measure of dignity in a difficult system. As I think of St. Nicholas on his feast day, I reflect on how his legacy of charity might inspire us to create more humane alternatives for those in need.
Your Latin masters hang their heads or perhaps roll their eyes: pietatius?
Ed, after reading the sorry story of your Kia Sorento being held together with bubblegum and paperclips, I was almost ready to start a Go Fund Me page for a new set of wheels for you. But then when you concluded by saying you were jetting off to London to spend the holidays with family, you killed the entire emotional appeal. I appreciate the honesty but it is not a lie to omit information that was not directly relevant to the story. Who knows, had you omitted it, a few anonymous kind souls may have tossed a few golden balls down your chimney towards the cause this Christmas.
In fairness, his family all live in London so it’s not so much a vacation as the dutiful obligation of a good son-in-law
I'm the Bishop, I set the rules! I win, you lose!
Sad day when those tasked to lead the flock need to make up rules to please their egos and power trips.
Another great Friday Pillar Post, "Ed." (Alright, Michelle, just admit you did this one also... Actually, does Ed Condon really exist? I'm so confused now.)
A thought on the French Francis Snub: Is his message exactly that Europe is NOT the center of gravity anymore, given the character of his Pontificate?
URGENT URGENT URGENT Kia Sorento Alert, Ed - - I could be wrong on this, but you are describing nearly exactly what we experienced with our own 2014 Sorento. TAKE IT TO THE OFFICIAL KIA DEALERSHIP. There was an issue with the engines in some of these models, and we got a brand new engine in ours at no cost. I was convinced ours was going to blow up or something, and nursed it to the dealership. They reached my after a bit, and I cringed as he said, "I've got bad news and good news..." The bad news was that it needed a new engine, and good news was that Kia was going to pay for it.
I can only hope you get a similar finding, especially at this time of year, and because you should spend more time writing instead of worrying about your car. This was a brilliant and entertaining bit!
We’ve brought it in to the dealer for so many recalls I can’t count
It might be worth checking this if you haven't done so already: https://www.nhtsa.gov/recalls.
That’s the weird thing- it was *Not* a recall… I’m assuming because it wasn’t technically a safety issue? But it was something where they found out some of these engines were going to fail, but they didn’t know which ones… and so if one went bad, they would replace it. So I would still go check into it in person at the dealership.
Yes! My coworker has had her faulty Kia engine replaced TWICE. Both times involved a huge fight with the dealer (I think she even contacted her state's attorney general at one point) but they finally paid for both engines.
Having been a Catechist for some decades now, and primarily for Confirmation prep, this item about waiting to Confirm struck a nerve.
The whole idea of separating the Sacrament from Baptism and Eucharist is a stupid. Baptism and Confirmation should be conferred at the same ceremony in infancy. In England during the 1100s bishops said parents whose children were not Confirmed by one year old were to cast on bread and water until their children were Confirmed, and if a child hadn’t been Confirmed by age three the parents were to be barred from receiving Sacraments themselves until their kids were confirmed. The gradual acceptance of delayed Confirmation was primarily an accident of geography - since in the Roman rite bishops were (and still are) the primary ministers of Confirmation, bishops getting around to all their parishes became difficult. In fact, the bishop in Cuba - whose ‘diocese’ was basically all of North America! - had to travel to Florida to confer the sacrament on recently baptized converts. About thirty thousand. The next year he made another trip to Florida to Confirm fifteen thousand. Each trip took months, and was exhausting, so he asked Rome for permission to delegate conferral of Confirmation to priests. He pointed out that his diocesan was huge and difficult to traverse. The Vatican response was bishops in Italy also had to travel around their dioceses, so quit complaining. And no, priests were not going to be allowed to be ordinary ministers of Confirmation in the Roma rite. As America ‘grew’ bigger, so did the dioceses - resulting in circuit riding bishops who could only get to each parish once every two or three years. Thus the custom of waiting to be confirmed and having each parish ready a “group” to get the sacrament.
Fast forward to about 1970, and good hearted but very untheologically aware older women in our parishes tried to explain to their now teenaged catechumens that Confirmation was “becoming an adult in the Faith” (which is not true - the sacrament is analogous to physical vaccination against physical illness, so Confirmation is a kind of spiritual vaccination against spiritual ‘illness’, infusing the soul with strengthened Faith, Hope and Love to counter Doubt, Despair and Sin).
Denying that soul-strengthening help until someone is “ready” misses the point horribly.
My children didn’t “understand” the diseases they were vaccinated against, but they didn’t suffer polio, diphtheria, smallpox etc.
Since the Grace received is from God, we should be generous in serving it.
Yes! And who could argue against the need for children today to be strengthened and shored up by the sacrament? There is absolutely no reason of merit to withhold it and every good and pressing reason to confer it. As another commenter mentioned, the sacraments either do something or they don’t. Amen!
Europeans seem constitutionally incapable of appreciating the size of North America. I'm sure this is correlated somehow with Ed's difficulties with cars and driving.
I can see waiting for the bishop to come around. But even if he can only get there every
4 years, that still doesn't get us to the specific age of 16. That gets us to Confirming everyone between 7 and 11, every 4 years. Or, should it be received as an infant, everyone between 0 and 4.
You'd think an age spread like that would be fantastic for convincing people that this is not linked to sufficient catechesis, and the kid still needs to learn, independent of whether he's received all the Sacraments.
I always ask catechists what they would teach adolescents who have already been confirmed - and then say they should be teaching that now instead of teenage cut and paste for Jesus (when they actually mention the Lord, that is).
Major problem, though, is most catechists do NOT know our Faith and are the ‘blind leading the blind’.
They don't necessarily have to know it.
I was catechized by a person who barely knew her faith, and started spending more time studying it only a decade or two after teaching me. I call her "Mom". She wanted a better education for me than the one she got, so she looked for a curriculum that had substance to it, several decades of use elsewhere, and good reviews, gave me that - and never once opposed what it said with her own opinions.
Lack of knowledge is considerably less serious than a failure by the catechist to want his student to surpass him, a failure by the catechist to teach what the Church teaches rather than what he thinks, and also a failure to choose good curricula (I believe that one is on the pastor).
It is not necessarily standard practice in American dioceses to wait till 16. The age range for Confirmation varies widely, (I would estimate anywhere from 11-18 years old) sometimes even within the same diocese, from parish to parish.
To the excellent points made by many above, I would just like to add this; if intellectual prowess is to be the measure of someone’s readiness for the sacraments, where does that leave beautiful children like JD’s son, who has Downs Syndrome? Where does that leave other children with intellectual disabilities, who are precious in the sight of God, and often attain holiness before the rest of us? Should these beautiful souls be deprived of Confirmation and Holy Communion, simply because they can’t intellectually understand what is ultimately inscrutable?
I too have an Eastern bias, and frankly, it was this very issue that convinced me to follow my husband into an Eastern Catholic Church. The Lord gave us his grace freely, entirely without our having merited it; who are we to prevent the youngest and most innocent of us from receiving it?
Ooh, I kinda like this idea of holding parents directly responsible by denying them sacraments as long as their kids are denied.
Not that I could get away with that (or that parents would care), but there's something "right and just" about denying communion and the privilege of becoming godparents to those who neglect their child's sacramental life.
If only there was a similar way to hold parents accountable for failing to bring them to Sunday Mass and catechism...