Spring Has Sprung

Even though, at the time I shot this this morning, it was about 28 degrees out!

The Counter-Offensive Begins

Via the Idaho Health Freedom Act, signed into law last week, the Idaho legislature directed the attorney general, Lawrence Wasden, to  "seek injunctive and any other appropriate relief as expeditiously as possible to preserve the rights and property of the residents of the state of Idaho, and to defend as necessary the state of Idaho, its officials, employees and agents in the event that any law or regulation violating the public policy set forth in the Idaho health freedom act...is enacted by any government, subdivision or agency thereof." Hence, notwithstanding that the experts think it's pointless, Idaho has joined 12 other states in filing a lawsuit against the federal government to block implementation of Obamacare.   

The plaintiff states filed a 23-page complaint today in the federal district court for the Northern District of Florida.  They seek declaratory and injunctive relief: a declaration that the 2,409-page law is unconstitutional; and an injunction against its enforcement.  Paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 sum up the constitutional issues:

2. The Act represents an unprecedented encroachment on the liberty of individuals living in the Plaintiffs’ respective states, by mandating that all citizens and legal residents of the United States have qualifying healthcare coverage or pay a tax penalty. The Constitution nowhere authorizes the United States to mandate, either directly or under threat of penalty, that all citizens and legal residents have qualifying healthcare coverage. By imposing such a mandate, the Act exceeds the powers of the United States under Article I of the Constitution and violates the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution.

3. In addition, the tax penalty required under the Act, which must be paid by uninsured citizens and residents, constitutes an unlawful capitation or direct tax, in violation of Article I, sections 2 and 9 of the Constitution of the United States.

4. The Act also represents an unprecedented encroachment on the sovereignty of the states.... 

 The two district judges in the Northern District of Florida, Pensacola Division, were appointed by Reagan and Bush the Elder, respectively, so let's hope the forum was well-chosen and that this action will get a fair hearing.  We shall see where this goes.

The 13 plaintiff states are: Alabama, Colorado, Idaho, Louisiana, Michigan, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Washington.   Some of these plaintiffs have left very few fingerprints in the annals of rock-ribbed Republicanism (with a capital "R"): Colorado, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Washington are all blue states.  This reflects a point Rush Limbaugh made yesterday: the bipartisanship in the debate over Obamacare has been on the side of the opposition. 

How pointless would this exercise be, I wonder, if all the states -- or even just a simple majority -- joined the suit.

Never, Never, Never, Never Give Up

...however tempted one may be.

We have suffered a total and unmitigated defeat...We are in the presence of a disaster of the first magnitude...we have sustained a defeat without a war, the consequences of which will travel far with us along our road...we have passed an awful milestone in our history, when...the terrible words have for the time being been pronounced...: "Thou art weighed in the balance and found wanting." And do not suppose that this is the end. This is only the beginning of the reckoning. This is only the first sip, the first foretaste of a bitter cup which will be proffered to us year by year unless by a supreme recovery of moral health and martial vigor, we arise again and take our stand for freedom as in the olden time.

Winston Churchill in the House of Commons, denouncing the Munich Agreement, 1938

Time to take the last half of the last line to heart.

America

Well, it was a nice country while it lasted.

For, behold, the Lord, the LORD of hosts, is taking away from Jerusalem and from Judah stay and staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water; the mighty man and the soldier, the judge and the prophet, the diviner and the elder, the captain of fifty and the man of rank, the counselor and the skilful magician and the expert in charms.  And I will make boys their princes, and babes shall rule over them.  And the people will oppress one another, every man his fellow and every man his neighbor; the youth will be insolent to the elder, and the base fellow to the honorable.

Isaiah 3:1-5

Needed: Another Lepanto

The Obamacare debate starts tomorrow.  Wear out the rosaries.

I Can Has Cheezburger?

On second thoughts...forget it.

This tray of slops is featured on Fed Up with Lunch: The School Lunch Project, a blog with a substantial readership by a teacher, Mrs. Q., who is eating the same school lunches her students are getting every day throughout 2010 and reporting on them, complete with photos.  Mrs. Q. says some of the items she is served are not bad-tasting (relatively speaking); but almost all of them look unappetizing.  For example:

This is a classic example of what we get when we let the government take over functions that traditionally belonged to mothers and fathers.

One of the hallmarks of real love is doing everything in one's power to give the beloved the best of everything.  This...

...ain't it.

Yet for generations, those who have the greatest stake in the well-being of children -- their parents -- have been persuaded to turn their kids over to the gentle ministrations of that which has the least stake: government.  Government usurps more and more parental functions, and performs them incompetently, on the grounds that parents allegedly aren't doing them at all.  This is government schools' excuse for taking an adversarial stance against parents, which stance is one of the philosophical underpinnings of the university education courses where your kids' teachers are trained.  And the reason parents are adversaries is because they are the single biggest obstacle to the government's ability to mold and shape children as it sees fit. 

Which brings us to the other rotten things kids are getting, of which school lunches are only the tip of the iceberg.  In an age when government schools have brought us sex education at younger and younger ages, political indoctrination, illiteracy, crime on campus, sex abuse perpetrated by teachers, condom distribution, the general breaking down of inhibitions and natural modesty, and a host of other bads, it shouldn't come as a surprise when they can't provide children with meals that at least measure up to the slop standards on your average hog farm.

Yeah, I know: not all public schools are bad; not all public schoolteachers are having sex with their students; my kids go to an excellent school; the school I teach at has high standards; you're being too hard on all the overworked, underpaid faculty and staff trying to eye-drop holy water into hell; etc., etc., etc.  But for all that there are individual teachers out there doing their best, there is a sobering reality, of which lousy lunches are only one sign, that parents need to grasp: 

The government simply does not love your kids.

Nor will it be around to pick up the pieces when your kid comes home with ptomaine poisoning.  So for God's sakes, pack him a lunch every day.

H/T the Crescat via Facebook. 

My First Extraordinary Rite Mass

Now I have been to the Extraordinary Rite Mass.  Low Mass was offered tonight at 6:00 p.m. at St. Bridget of Kildare in Nyssa, Oregon by Fr. Andrew Szymakowski, FSSP.  I am posting a picture of St. Bridget of Kildare because none of the pictures I took of the sanctuary of her pretty little church came out to my satisfaction.

Concerning my first Extraordinary Rite Mass, some observations:

-- Since I read through the Ordinary of the Mass ahead of time, and got my ribbons in place to mark the propers, I was able to follow along relatively well.  The only things that threw me were the periods of silence, because, not knowing how long it takes the priest to recite the silent prayers, I ran the risk of missing things through trying to find my place.  I will need more Masses to get used to the responses.

-- Fr. Szymakowski keeps veils on the tabernacle in accordance with the liturgical season (tonight they were purple, and he changed them before Mass to rose-colored for Laetare Sunday).  These veils are quite lovely and look to be of antique vintage.  (I took pictures before Mass, but they didn't come out.)  He also uses a chalice veil and a maniple.

-- Tonight we heard Low Mass.  There are those who have their complaints about Low Mass, which is somewhat shorter than High Mass and contains no music, because they consider it to be minimalist.  But when I compare Low Mass to Sunday Mass in the Ordinary Rite stuffed to the rafters with campfire hits from Oregon Catholic Press, I consider Low Mass to be infinitely preferable.  If you have access to the Extraordinary Rite on a daily basis, or at least a frequent basis, even if it's "only" Low Mass, then you need to count your blessings.

-- Now I understand why, for generations, people prayed the Rosary and practiced other private devotions at Mass.  It's not because they weren't paying attention, or because they didn't know what's going on.  But, in stark contrast to the Ordinary Rite as frequently executed, there are lengthy periods of silence.  True, the Second Vatican Council wanted people to focus their attention on the Mass; but it would seem that if the faithful were properly disposed in the days before the Council, then they were offering their prayers with those of the priest who prayed in silence.  Besides, what could be more appropriate at the foot of the Cross -- which is exactly where we are at Mass -- than prayer? 

-- The priest's role as intercessor for the people stands out far more clearly in the Extraordinary Rite than in the Ordinary Rite.  Why?  Because he is facing God, and not us; because much of his prayer is silent; because he is clearly doing almost all of the work.  There are many, both within and without the Church, who find this objectionable.  I find it consoling.  Contrary to what we have tried to make priests in recent decades, and what they have tried to make themselves, a priest is not Just One of the Guys.  He is chosen to approach the Altar of the Lord, to speak on behalf of the Church, and he has been consecrated and specially fitted out for this task.  Since, in the Extraordinary Rite, laymen are not prancing around in the sanctuary, the fact that the priest is specially set apart is quite clear.  I think greater exposure to the Extraordinary Rite would help to put the kibosh on the business of blurring the distinction between laity and clergy. 

-- There are, in fact, very few tasks for the laity to perform at Mass in the Extraordinary Form.  Even when we receive Holy Communion, we are not required to say anything, only to receive the Eucharist.  To me, the lack of visible tasks for the laity to perform during Mass is a reminder that our own efforts, by themselves, count for next to nothing.  We need the help of grace, and we are getting this at Mass.  We must cooperate with grace, do what lies to hand, and then leave the rest to God, getting out of His way.  This requires us to mortify our desire to busy ourselves with many things.  By wanting to take on all sorts of jobs at Mass, all we're really doing is making life harder than it needs to be.  "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things; one thing is needful. Mary has chosen the good portion, which shall not be taken away from her." Luke 10:41-42.  "Be still, and know that I am God."  Psalm 46:10.

-- And, though we have lost this to a great extent since Vatican II,  stillness lies at the heart of the Mass.  Silence is the language of God.  The greatest wonders of all are out of the reach of our senses.  In the Extraordinary Rite, this is exemplified by the fact that the Holy Sacrifice itself takes place in silence -- at least, we in the pews cannot hear the words of consecration.  The silence of the congregation -- even a very small one, like we had tonight -- is a sure sign of active participation.  I was reminded of the hush that must have fallen on Calvary (which is where we in fact were), in those last moments before the great work of Redemption was accomplished.

So those are my preliminary thoughts on the Extraordinary Rite.  If you live in Boise, and you want the Extraordinary Rite, it is now within reach (only an hour's drive).

Dear God: please bless Fr. Szymakowski.  Please inspire more people to attend the Extraordinary Rite Mass in Nyssa, so that Father will be able to offer it more than once a month.  And please drive down the price of gas so we can all afford to keep going out there.   

Gearing Up

This Saturday evening, I plan to attend my first live Mass in the Extraordinary Form.  Since this is my first one, and I want to know what to do and get out of it as much as I possibly can, I have begun my preparation.  Today, I went out and picked up Baronius Press' Summorum Pontificum edition of the 1962 Missal -- the last one in the shop, as it so happened, sitting apart from all the other prayer books, as if it had been set out just for me.

As I looked through this classy volume, I couldn't help contrasting it with The Redoubtable One's one-volume English-language breviary, circa 1962.  The language in it is far superior to the ICEL translation of the Divine Office currently in use; on the other hand, the volume is full of the sort of weird, cubist/LSD-type drawings that still infest the covers of missalettes -- a symptom, even at that early date, of coming dislocations.  However, there is no place for that kind of nonsense in this missal.  Here is a typical illustration:

(For those of you who have clamored to see a picture of me, there's my thumb.)

Since beginning this Mass preparation, I have been reflecting on the fact that, in the wake of Vatican II, the liberals have succeeded not only in having Gregorian chant, the Latin language, and the Tridentine Mass shelved; they have also managed to instill in many Catholics a visceral hatred of these things.  The standard objections to these "relics of the past" -- nobody understands Latin, chant is "too hard" or "too depressing," etc., etc., etc. -- are so irrational and without foundation that hatred and prejudice, coupled with an utter lack of understanding of true Catholic worship, are the only explanations for them that makes sense.  

There is nothing "hard" about the Mass in Latin.  Generations upon generations of people far less educated than you understood the Mass.  And understanding the Mass is what the Missal is for.  I will grant that the Missal is a little on the complicated side, but the difficulties are not insurmountable.  Certainly, if you know your way around a breviary -- and not a few laymen do these days -- then the 1962 Missal will not be too hard to figure out.  Even if you don't recite the Office, the help is out there.

But here is the essential beauty of the Missal:

English on one side; Latin on the other.  Simple!  Not to mention all the nifty explanations in between -- because it doesn't kill us to learn new things.

And then there is the handy-dandy cheat sheet for when to stand, sit and kneel:

This Missal is also a treasury of devotions and essential Catholic prayers, which make it even more worth possessing.

So I, for one, am not worried about being able to follow what's going on at Mass this Saturday evening, or how I'm going to engage in "active participation."  The "active participation" starts now, with this volume.

The only thing that worries me is how, once I have experienced the beauty and the power of the traditional Mass, I'm going to be able to cope with the crappy music, etc. at the regular Masses I'll attend on the days when I can't get the Extraordinary Rite.

Change What You Want

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness; for they will be satisfied.

Matthew 5:6

There are criminal defense attorneys who grow despondent because their clients have not the smallest shred of gratitude for all their efforts.  Public defenders are especially prone to this, since they are subjected to daily abuse by both clients and the families of clients.  Despite the fact that even young public defenders are already highly experienced litigators and negotiators -- far more so than some lawyers in private practice -- they are viewed as inferior goods by a clientele that does not pay them, and therefore has no yardstick by which to measure the value of the services they are getting.  Many public defender clients actually believe that public defenders are not real lawyers, and do not hesitate to apprise their court-appointed counsel of this fact.

So if you are a criminal defense attorney, and you want praise and plaudits from your clients, and you're thinking of throwing in the towel just because you're not getting them, then here is the solution: 

CHANGE WHAT YOU WANT.

Seriously.  Listen to the voice of experience.

Your problem is not that you aren't getting what you want; your problem is that what you want is wrong.  

Until you start wanting what is right, you can never hope to find satisfaction in this or any other line of work.

March 4, 1863: Idaho Territory

147 years ago today, Abraham Lincoln took time out from dealing with the Civil War to sign into law an act of Congress creating the Idaho Territory.  The territory contained what are now the states of Idaho, Montana and most of Wyoming.  Its first capital was Lewiston, Idaho.

But then, in 1864, the capital moved to Boise -- and has stayed here ever since.  To make it up to the bereft citizens of northern Idaho, Idaho's land grant university -- the University of Idaho, my law school alma mater -- was situated in Moscow, the seat of Latah County.  

Incidentally, Latah County is the only county in the entire nation that was created by an act of Congress.