2006 August archive at Being Frank

Archive for August, 2006

Aug

Bargaining with God

By The Captain 10 Comments

Categories: Being Frank...

So, I missed Mass on Sunday. For a few reasons, none of them very good, and when I had to decide whether I left where I was and headed for Mass, or stay where I was, I set about “discussing” it with God.

“Look,” said I. “It’s really not a good idea to leave here now for this reason and that reason. But I tell you what: I’ll get up tomorrow morning and go to 7am Mass, and in fact I’ll do it a few times this week. How’s that? Sound like a decent plan?”

As I sat in Mass yesterday morning (hair not blow-dried, make-up not done, eyes barely open), I giggled. Giggled at the idea that God was looking down going: “Sure, that’s a good deal. Agreement reached, go ahead.”

It’s something one of my Christian friends says she does often. “Look Lord, if you get me this job, I’ll pray more.”

It’s pretty daft, really. Do I honestly think by going to Mass on a different day, or offering to be tolerant, God will be pleased and “let me off”? Why am I doing it if it’s just to fulfill the vague notion that I “should”? I go to Mass to feel Him, know Him, adore Him – not because I feel I have to.

I suspect, and I can’t be too sure about this, that my Heavenly Father wants me to do my best to be a living, breathing example of His love all the time – not just when I can bargain a convenient time, place and method.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to pray for work today to go quickly in exchange for laying off the road rage…

Oh, and just in case you’re wondering, I was at Mass because I wanted to be – not because of my contract with the Lord.

Aug

Thoughts on Eros

By Peter the First 15 Comments

Categories: Being Frank...

Agnes Day’s post “Indecent Exposure” last week discussed the “Boobs on Bikes” controversy, and provided a possible response to it as Catholics.

I just thought I’d offer another response, not to the parade, but to the “Erotica” expo it promoted.

Some of my friends, themselves strong Catholics, chose to express their faith not on the picket line or the demonstration, but by attending the expo.

This may sound a little strange at first, but their reasoning was valid.

Pornography is an industry that, to generalize, reduces the human being to a single dimension. The Erotica expo, indeed, contains much that is produced from this mindset.

However, the expo is not limited to pornography. Many married couples attend the expo not simply to gawk at pornographic actors, but to challenge and celebrate the erotic in their own union.

While the human being is best viewed as a whole, we do tend to compartmentalize. We go on spiritual retreats, to nourish the soul. We read, listen and learn to nourish the mind. We exercise, to maintain and extend the body. These friends view the erotica expo as a possible, if imperfect, place to recognize the positive erotic aspects of their relationships.

Over time, perhaps, enough people with like minds could sculpt such an expo into what it should be – a dignified celebration of the erotic, and the beauty of God’s creations.

After all, the prime use of the internet is currently for pornography, and yet we use this same medium to grow discussions around Christ. If we view Erotica as an event with a promising name, but a misguided focus, perhaps there is similar room to grow.

Aug

Are you peeking?

By Agnes Day Closed

Categories: Being Frank...

If you are peeking you are not worshipping!

From the beginning of the book of Genesis, we are already introduced to the purposes of human life: loving adoration of God and loving self gift in the complementarity of human love. “On the seventh day God had completed the work that he had been doing. He rested on the seventh day after all the work he had been doing.” (Gen. 2:1-2). “This one at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh!” (Gen. 2:23). Chapter three gives the terrible fact of the fall, and its impact on these finalities: a loss of trust in the Creator and a desire to be as God breaks the natural and supernatural worship, the bond of trusting dependence that sets us free; and with the consequent loss of integrity of self, comes a wounding in the ability to be self-gift to one another.

Eve with Cain and Abel There are many consequences, but in chapter four, we see the full playing out of Eve’s pain in child-bearing. Eve has given birth to divided sons. And this division has its impact on worship. Abel offers a pure offering to God, while Cain’s offering does not find favour. And Cain, in jealousy, introduces murder into human experience. He kills his own brother.

Here we have the clue as to why Cain’s offering is not pleasing to God. He peeked. He ceased to worship God, because he was ‘distracted by’ or focusing on Abel’s offering. His eyes were really on himself in a comparitive and competitive sense. So he was not leaving himself in making a true offering of himself to his Creator. If we find ourselves peeking during worship, so easy to do, distracted by the others or by what they are doing wrong, or right, in that moment our eyes have been taken off Our Lord and we have ceased to worship.

Cain is a chilling reminder that our hearts need to be Abel's offering purified. What is in the heart during worship really does matter. Our redemption comes about in two pure and complementary hearts, united in worship. Jesus offers his divine and human heart to the Father and in love to his Bride the Church, which is formed from his side. Mary unites her heart, pierced by a sword of sorrow, in union with his, in perfect worship to the Father. And in this mutual complementary love, the Church is born and we are redeemed. Mary is the answer to Cain. And with her our gift can be as ‘pleasing as God’s servant, Abel’.

Aug

Re-initiation

By James the Least Closed

Categories: Being Frank...

I had a great weekend of re-initiation.

Firstly, I was lucky enough to be invited to two baptisms, which were just fantastic. Have you ever thought back to your own baptism? I can’t really remember mine, but I got the opportunity this weekend to renew my baptismal promises, see all the smiling faces of the friends and family who were there for the kids being baptised, and to eat lots of nice party food. And why not party? Here are all these little kids, full of hope and promise, being brought into the Catholic family…my Catholic family.

I left the events feeling truly blessed and well fed.

I also went to Mass on Sunday night and listened to a great homily from the parish priest. He was using the homily to provide some catechesis for the congregation on what the various rites within the Mass are, and why they are there. This, I thought, was a really good idea as I’d wager the majority of those in attendance didn’t really know what part was the Penitential Rite and why the Collective Prayer is called as such.

At one point, the priest got on to an overview of the Nicene Creed – how it has been around since the fourth century and how it is not to be played with etc. It is as it is because this is what we as Catholics believe and that doesn’t change anywhere in the world. He then spoke of the Liturgy of the Word and how the same readings are read throughout the world. On top of all of this, he noted that there is no rank when it comes to receiving Christ in the Eucharist. You could be in front of a C.E.O and behind a school kid – we’re all the same to God. This unity in Christ and the universal church just seemed to really strike home with me this weekend.

So, for me, I had a weekend of re-initiation into the Church. I was reminded of the beauty and holiness of Baptism in a very real way and I was reminded of the reasons behind some the ceremonies in the Mass and the connections to the wider Church and to Christ that are provided through it.

It was a good weekend. Just thought I’d let you know.

Aug

Divorced from God?

By eyeWitness 2 Comments

Categories: Being Frank...

I recently started a new job, and was surprised to find a majority of the people I work with are single parents, mostly with a child under five. They are wonderful parents, but I can’t help feeling sad that their children will never know the security of having both their mother and father living with them. They have never known the family unit that God meant us to have. Their parents have to live with the bitterness of a failed relationship, and the increased hardship of bringing up a child on their own.

Why is it that so many relationships end like this?

What is it about us?

There is definitely a trend towards getting married later in life. In 1999 the median age of first-time grooms in New Zealand was 28.9 years, and the median age of first time brides was 27. This was on average six years older than in 1971.

Maybe because we get married when we’re older, we spend a lot of time ‘shopping around’, and sleeping with a lot of different people. Kind of like when you see one dress and love it, or you try on 15 dresses then just become indecisive about the whole thing.

There are also more and more people not planning on getting married at all, or just living with their partners and planning on getting married some time in the future. Then when they get married nothing really changes, and it doesn’t feel like a real commitment. Maybe (sorry I’m going to blame guys mainly here…) actually getting married, after living with someone for so long, suddenly feels like some sort of claustrophobic trap which you can no longer get out of.

Maybe we’re just not prepared to make commitments? Moreover, very few of us take making a commitment to God seriously in our relationships at all. Maybe because we are willing to have so many casual sexual relationships we are left emotionally scarred, and can no longer trust anyone completely.

The most awful thing is the causalities of this casual attitude to relationships and sex is children. Unplanned children often get aborted in New Zealand. Or solo parents may do their absolute best for them, but they still don’t have the family base God wanted for us.

We should be able to feel loved absolutely and completely trust our partners. When we know the other person has made a commitment to God that’s a whole lot easier. It seems a lot of people give themselves completely to another person in a relationship, yet that person is not willing to make a commitment to them. This seems to leave a trail of messed up emotions, children without families, and broken people.

Aug

I loved the pornography parade!

By The Dumb Ox 3 Comments

Categories: Being Frank...

Mr Steve Crow
Organiser of the Boobs on Bikes parade
Auckland

Saturday 26^th August, 2006

Dear Mr Crow,

I am emailing to express my sincere gratitude for the most excellent Boobs on Bikes parade that you organised and facilitated last Wednesday, during lunch hour, in Auckland’s central city.

First; let me start by saying that I thought it was really unfair of the New Zealand government to stop your attempts, a few years ago, to film the birth of a porn star’s baby and then include it in one of your pornographic movies featuring the baby’s mother.

But that’s not why I am writing. I really wanted to write, as I said earlier, to express my gratitude for all the effort you put into organising last Wednesday’s Boobs on Bikes parade.

As a proud kiwi I think it is really important that private commercial enterprises; such as your pornographic video manufacturing company, are allowed to stop lunchtime traffic in our busiest city to further their own financial ends. It was also really encouraging to see that the tax-payer funded New Zealand Police force was able to take the time to provide traffic and crowd control for your personal parade.

That’s the kind of work and effort that I really like to see the police putting into our society.

I know it sounds a bit cheesy and sycophantic; but I really want to thank you for the impact that your organisation and its parade is having in the lives of the young men and women of New Zealand.

We live in a time of great confusion and brokenness for young people, and in light of our escalating and world-leading youth suicide rates, it is excellent to finally see someone offering young men and women true leadership in the area of self-image and respect for each other.

So many women have been mislead by all those crazy ideologies about the perfect body not being that important, etc, and you are so right to lead by example in showing them that a female’s body is actually far more important than her mind, emotions or even her personality.

I believe that it is timely that you have reminded women that it truly is liberating and empowering to turn yourself into the powerless sexual object of another person’s self-centred sexual gratification. It’s also great to see society being reminded that one of the most important things a woman can do for a man is to get breast implants and plastic surgery.

It is so great that you have been able to remind the women of this country that their true identity and self-worth should be based purely on their physical looks.

I also think that it is really exciting to see an event that truly encourages young men to treat women with dignity and respect by making them the object of their self-centred self-gratification.

The sooner we get rid of the PC notion that women shouldn’t make themselves available to be mindlessly objectified for the sexual gratification of males the better!

The pornography industry is doing really great things for society, it’s such a shame that so many of the participants in that industry have AIDS and other sexual diseases, and that the industry is rife with drugs and broken people.

It’s also a real shame that the pornography industry is helping to fund organised crime, because it really does offer many other great benefits to society (I can’t think of any right now, but I’ll write to you as soon as I do).

I think it is also ridiculous of those moral do-gooders to keep reminding people about the marriages that are being ruined by pornography, and the lives that are being harmed by addiction to porn.

I mean; come on you fanatics – the answer to that problem is so simple; don’t get married if you want to look at pornography!!!

Your industry is doing such great work in promoting the truth that human sexuality is actually just about physical pleasure and objectification of the other person for your own satisfaction. I get so sick of people talking about self-giving love and commitment, that’s why I really love the product that your company is producing (in which the women never say “no”).

I have to finish up Mr Crow, as I know that you are a busy man and that you have plenty of other things that occupy yout time.

Thanks again for the parade and your dedication to the cause.

Yours truly,

Ima Perv

Ps – I don’t know if you heard the news, but last Wednesday (the same day as your parade; coincidentally) it was announced that the number of men convicted of child pornography in New Zealand has increased fivefold in the last ten years.

I’m sure it doesn’t mean anything in regards to the great work that you are doing by promoting the normalisation of pornography in New Zealand, I just thought I’d let you know as you probably didn’t get the chance to read the news last Wednesday.

Aug

Musings

By Methuselah's Beard 4 Comments

Categories: Being Frank...

Firstly I would like to clarify that my musings do not represent what Methuselah thinks. After all, I am only Methuselah’s beard. Methuselah’s other body parts probably have different thoughts and opinions from Methuselah. For example, Methuselah’s left nostril believes the smell of cream cheese is nice, while Methuselah’s right nostril doesn’t. But we all get along. There’s a lesson in that for everyone I’m sure. What would happen if the left nostril tried to impose it’s beliefs on the right one? Nostril wars. Won’t be very pretty.

In my line of work, it’s important to make good impressions and to develop good relationships with people. Is this a good way to go about living life? No! Sure you can go through life agreeing with popular opinion and not rocking the boat. But what kind of life would that be? It would be an “Equilibrium” kind of life (for those that haven’t seen the movie, it involves kung fu. With guns. Gun fu in a way)…

It is important that we as individuals, develop our own opinions about what’s going on in the world today. Don’t be afraid of finding out new things. Fear can hold us back from so many things. Don’t make excuses for not wanting to find out more about what’s going on. Be informed.

Following on from this, I suggest you form your own opinion about “Snakes on a Plane”. Movie critics will probably pan it. But what do these so called critics know?

Methuselah’s beard recommends that this week you find out about something you’ve always wanted to know more about. You can call it “Finding out about something I’ve always wanted to know more about” week.