tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7002745.post5680134632131974098..comments2023-06-08T11:21:10.878-04:00Comments on EPISTLES FROM THE SCRIPTORIUM: "Reverend Father, make our intellects less than yours"Brian Michael Pagehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09836644567939527991noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7002745.post-83971666651991870002008-02-27T11:41:00.000-05:002008-02-27T11:41:00.000-05:00The thing that is bugging lots of people in our Di...The thing that is bugging lots of people in our Diocese is the money being spent on Spanish only programs. I think it would make more sense to set up programs to teach them English. I would be happy to help with that endeavor.<BR/><BR/>Those that don't learn English well will be always be second class citizens. Doesn't seem very charitable to me.Adriennehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01562944653624224107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7002745.post-70903483527686558502008-02-27T07:39:00.000-05:002008-02-27T07:39:00.000-05:00Thank You Adrienne, that links in with the related...Thank You Adrienne, that links in with the related article that RC shared with us from Frist Things -- the glorification of poverty and childishness. At least it's been my experience from listening to Bishop's appeals for the poor and various "outreach" programs sponsored by religious orders and parishes, that the Church really sees itself in many places as nothing more than a giant welfare organization. It's true the poor are always with us, however, it seems the latest montra of the Church is "thank God for the poor. They give us a reason to be!" There's a difference between fighting poverty and perpetuating it. It goes back to the "give a man a fish" cliche. Bottom line: it's easier and less costly to give the fish than to teach how to fish -- and when you can guilt soemene else into giving a fish, that's even better. What's the sin? Telling the indigent to get a job or training them for one, or keeping the indigent where they are in order to make onesself feel good for the justification of one's own existence? I hate to attack a sacred cow, however, here's another example: I recall reading an article in a magazine back in the 80's about Mother T. of Calcutta. The author of the article had wanted to interview her. She made arrangements with Mother T's nuns, she traveled to India, and when it came time to meet, Mother T. didn't show. The reporter persisted, returning a second time with a check for a substantial amount. Mother T. came out and talked with her on the spot, never having made mention or acknowledged that she was supposed to have met with the reporter only days before. This little episode has always made me rather cynical when it comes to the Indian nuns, and fosters the idea: To catch the attention of the most charitable person in the world, you need one or both of two things: leprosy or a check. <BR/><BR/><BR/>JPJason Penningtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14531010709396601925noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7002745.post-64810120903316225762008-02-27T00:30:00.000-05:002008-02-27T00:30:00.000-05:00On Monday's news we are told that our young people...On Monday's news we are told that our young people scored 24th in Math against other developed nations.<BR/><BR/>Tonight some high school teacher on the news said this is the smartest generation ever. Huh?<BR/><BR/>I work with the kids at church and, except for a few exceptions, they are incapable of thinking and are suffused with a sense on entitlement. They are not stupid they are uneducated. Sad!Adriennehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01562944653624224107noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7002745.post-34196504174529268872008-02-26T19:13:00.000-05:002008-02-26T19:13:00.000-05:00Thanks for that cross-reference, RC. The First Th...Thanks for that cross-reference, RC. The First Things article is indeed a related theme to the one that Jacoby puts forth. One might entitle a general overview theme as "the loss of common sense in America."<BR/><BR/>JPJason Penningtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14531010709396601925noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7002745.post-90067870712667827722008-02-26T18:03:00.000-05:002008-02-26T18:03:00.000-05:00Here's a companion theme to yours: the refusal to ...Here's a companion theme to yours: the refusal to exercise adult judgment, <A HREF="http://www.firstthings.com/onthesquare/?p=980" REL="nofollow">discussed today in the FT blog</A>. <BR/><BR/>Our Lord teaches us to be compassionate and respectful to the poor, the unlettered, and children, but there is a certain Romanticism that glorifies poverty and childishness. It pretends that they are marks of sanctity, even to the point of exalting intellectual poverty and cultural deprivation over ordinary human development and achievement.Richard Chonakhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02327763839418228519noreply@blogger.com