Twenty years of blogging here

It was 20 years ago today, 16 August 2005, that I first began this effort. I logged into the computer located in the office I shared with the parochial vicar in the rectory of The Cathedral of the Madeleine and started on a Tuesday afternoon. This blog first bore the title Scott Dodge for Nobody. I cribbed that name from a Sunday night radio program on local community radio (i.e., Tom Waits for Nobody).

As accustomed as I have become to using it, the verb "blogging" is bad enough. Therefore, I will resist celebrating my twentieth "blogiversary." How's that for backhanded?

My first post was "Intelligent Design- Religion & Politics." Over the next twelve days, this was followed by five more posts along these same lines. I had no idea what I was doing other than writing about something that had my attention at the time.

I won't forget how amazed I was at the ease of starting a blog and transmitting what I wrote to the "world wide web," as it was called much more frequently then than it is now. Such a capability is now so normal that the wonder and awe I felt 20 years ago seems naïve if not a bit stupid. Nonetheless, it remains a mind blowing experience for me. I was also intimidated.

I felt intimidated because I didn't think I had anything to write that was worth anyone's time. And so, after those five intial posts, I posted nothing until "How Occasional?" on 19 July 2006. It was then that I renamed my blog Καθολικός διάκονος. It was with that post that I began blogging in earnest.

While I was ordained in January 2004, my blogging is roughly coterminus with becoming a deacon. Since my earnest commencement (i.e., 2006), I have felt this to be part of ministry. Bear in mind that "ministry" is another word for service or diakonia. Perhaps this at least partly explains why, 20 years later, I'm still at it.

I care deeply about what I post. I don't aim to be spectacular or novel. Since this a labor of love, I don't have to be controversial or over-the-top to gain readers. As those who've read this blog for years know, I have wandered down a couple of paths before turning around. Even those By God's grace, were not fruitless forays. More and more I am realizing Eugene Peterson's wisdom in insisting that following Christ is "a long obedience in the same direction."

From 2007-2015, I blogged like a madman! I wrote about anything and everything. But I enjoyed it and learned a lot. Frankly, it was one of the best educational experiences I've ever had. Those were heady days.

There have been valleys, too. 2018 was the first time my blogging waned significantly. During both 2023 and 2024 I slowed down a lot. As readers know, after Easter last year I seriously considered folding up this virtual tent and calling it good.

One of the things that kept me from quitting last year was the thought of this anniversary. "One more year and some change," I thought, "until I reach a full two decades." What made me decide not only to continue but to rededicate myself to cultivating this little cyber space is the enjoyment and satifaction I derive from doing so. I like it. And last year, after awhile of not doing it, I missed it.

Since rejuvenating this blog last October, I have taken to deleting some short, kind of weird posts written during my overly prolific days of blogging. I don't go hunting for such posts. But as these pop up in the normal course of things, I schwack them. None of these are substantial contributions. It's easy to forget that for years this was my primary and even my only social media platform.

I have to say, the idea of reaching 20 years of blogging in earnest next summer is a driver for me to continue. It's also nice to be indefinite about blogging. I have no idea how long I might continue. I've poured a lot my heart and soul into this. As a result, I've grown tremendously. Writing publicly also serves as kind of grounding function as well as a reality check at times.

Back in the late oughts and early teens, blogging was all the rage. It seems like everyone had a blog. My start was likely the result of wanting to join in. Well, join I did! While it was cutting edge then, both my format and the platform I use are now what are politely called legacy.

I remember when Wordpress came on the scene and that became all the rage, supplanting Blogger, which had already been purchased by Google. I considered moving over to that platform. I even went so far as to set everything up there with the title Diaconal Digressions.

I can easily recall when paying platforms started: BeliefNet, Patheos, Aleteia, et al. at the height of this craze, I was nearly lured over to one of these. But, like switching to Wordpress, it didn't feel right. Now, of course, there is Substack.

For better or for worse, here I've stayed. Here I plan to stay until blogging days are done.

"A great sign appeared in heaven"

For those ofus who still abstain on Fridays, even in places where it is not obligatory, a Friday Solemnity is a nice thing. Even where Friday abstinence is obligatory (i.e., England and Wales, etc.), Friday solemnities abrogate that obligation. So, have a steak or cheeseburger and enjoy it today.

The Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary is probably my favorite holy day. Called her "Dormition" ("going to sleep") in the East, this observance is a fairly ancient one. It is observed in West and the East on the same day. One issue about our Blessed Mother's being bodily assumed into heaven is whether she died and was then taken up or whether she was taken up without dying.

Assumption of Mary, Rubens, ca. 1626

Among Roman Catholics, the most supportable position is that the Blessed Virgin Mary died and was bodily assumed into heaven. As a result, her body did not decay. This is position is not a dogmatic one. In his Apostolic Constitution Munificentissimus Deus, promulgated 1 November 1950, in which he infallibly declared Mary's Assumption as a dogma of the faith, Pope Pius XII, while clearly leaning toward the position that she first died, does not make that de fide.

It also bears noting that since the First Vatican Council's definition of papal infallibility in 1870 with the Dogmatic Constitution Pastor Aeternus, there has only been one infallible declaration, a singluar extraordinary exercise of the papal magisterium, which is found in Munificentissimus Deus. Prior to Vatican I, Pope Pius IX infallibly declared the Blessed Virgin Mary's Immaculate Conception in 1854 with Ineffabilis Deus, .

In Munificentissimus Deus, Pope Pius XII, by "the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul," and on his own authority,

pronounce, declare, and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory (sec. 44)

Upon being so assumed, she was crowned as Queen of Heaven. Therefore, one week after the celebrating the solemnity of her assumption, the Church observes the Memorial of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Our traditio for today's Solemnity is the Introit for the Mass of the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Signum Magnum (i.e., "A Great Sign").

Memorial of Saint Clare

Readings: Deuteronomy 10:12-22; Psalm 147:12-15.19-20; Matthew 17:22-27

Today is the Memorial of Saint Clare. She was the close companion of Saint Francis of Assisi. They had a very special and unique relationship. Clare was the first woman to practice the life of entire poverty as taught by Saint Francis.

It was Francis who made her the prioress of a few women in a small convent at San Damiano. She remained head of that community until her death forty-two years later. And so, she is credited as the foundress of the contemplative Order of Poor Clares, which exists to this day.

At the time of its implementation, the Rule adhered to by the Poor Clares consisted of austerities and penitential practices previously unknown in monasteries of women. They went barefoot, slept on the ground, kept perpetual abstinence (i.e., were effectively vegans) and made poverty the basis of their lives. We observe Clare’s memorial today because it was on 11 August 1253 that she died.

Remarkably Clare, whose name in Italian is Chiara, meaning “light,” was canonized two short years after her death. Even in the days prior to the Church's current canonical process for sainthood this was remarkably quick. In the old Breviary it was noted:

Following the example of St. Francis, she distributed all her possessions among the poor. She fled from the noise of the world and betook herself to a country chapel, where St. Francis himself sheared off her hair and clothed her with a penitential garb (this happened on 18 March 1212, when she was just eighteen)

Our Gospel today picks up the theme we’ve been exploring the last few Sundays, namely the eternal unimportance of worldly wealth and status. Saint Clare certainly lived this most of her life in this awareness.

In our Gospel, Jesus telling of His own passion and the incident of finding in the fish the coin for the Temple tax are not unrelated. Both express what, in the end truly matters: to live for God, as a citizen of God’s kingdom. And doing so in full realization that this often makes us strangers and foreigners in this transient world.

Our reading from Deuteronomy states it well because it is in the form of a question:

what does the LORD, your God, ask of you but to fear the LORD, your God, and follow his ways exactly, to love and serve the LORD, your God, with all your heart and all your soul, to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD which I enjoin on you today for your own good? (Deut 10:12-13)

Often the trouble is recognizing that living and serving God with your whole being is how you realize the good you seek because the passing allure of this world is enticing.

Especially in our culture, it is easy to think “I can have it all!” But following God requires making choices. These are different for each of us. The essence of being a Christian is discerning and then doing God’s will. Saint Ignatius of Loyola described three kinds of people: “the postponer, the compromiser, and the free person” (Taken from Tim Muldoon, "Three Kinds of People")

A postponer has some interest in imitating Christ but thinks there are more important things. By contrast, a compromiser, while at times following Christ, places conditions on God- this person can’t really bring her/himself to trust God. Finally, the truly free person is the one who, knowing God’s will, freely and unconditionally does it. In doing so experiences not only true freedom but genuine happiness.

It is probably not the case that God is calling you or me to the same vocation to which He called Saint Clare. Then again, especially for younger people, He might. To rule something out a priori is to fall into being a postponer. As Pope Saint John Paul II taught, there is only one vocation. We all received it at Baptism: follow Christ no matter one's state of life.

No matter what God calls you to, it requires some sacrifice. And so, the question we all must face is “Am I willing to make the sacrifices heeding God’s call requires me to make to answer His call?”

Be "a faithful and prudent servant," like Saint Lawrence

Readings: Wis 18:6-9; Ps 33:1.12.18-22; Heb 11:1-2.8-19; Luke 12:32-48

In the wake of Pope Benedict XVI's resignation in 2013, Italian philospher, Giorgio Agamben, whose work very much informs my political perspective, wrote what basically amounts to a pamphlet: The Mystery of Evil: Benedict XVI and the End of Days. In this short treatise, Agamben notes something that Heidegger noted early on in his own philosophical career that resulted from his deep dive into Saint Paul's first letter to the Christians in ancient Thessaloniki, namely that over the course of two millenia, Christians have lost our sense of eschatological urgency.

Yet, each Sunday we profess in the Creed, be it the Nicene or Apostles Creed, that Christ will return to judge the living and the dead. Rooted as it is in divine revelation, this is a dogma of Christian faith. As a result, as Jesus teaches into today's Gospel, how we live in the meantime matters. "Christ has died. Christ is Risen. Christ will come again." We are not meant to just mark time.

It is easy to fall into a worldly perspective and live for this life only. Inevitably and without exception, this life ends, which is what makes living exclusively for time and disregrading eternity so dangerous.

Money, possessions, power, and status aren't the measure of a person. You really can't take it with you, as Jesus' parable from last Sunday powerfully and simply demonstrated. Status and power matter, at least how one who has them wields them does. It can mean the difference between being rewarded for using them prudently and wisely, that is, charitably and only being beaten lightly or being beaten severely.

It is not God's desire to punishment anyone. Rather, as Jesus intimates in our Gospel, it is the Father's pleasure "to give you the kingdom." But, at the end of the day, your heart is where your treasure is. It isn't so much that God denies you the kingdom as you saying to God, "No thanks." As C.S. Lewis wrote:

There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, “Thy will be done,” and those to whom God says, in the end, “Thy will be done” (C.S. Lewis, The Great Divorce (1946; rprt. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 2001), 75)

The Basilica of Saint Lawrence outside-the-Walls (i.e., San Lorenzo fuori le mura), 18th century engraving by Giuseppe Vasi

As a deacon, I can't help but mention that in years when 10 August does not fall on a Sunday (i.e., most every year), the Feast of Saint Lawrence is observed universally. Along with Saint Stephen and Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Lawrence is one of the Church's greatest deacons. Lawrence lived his entire life in the third century (AD 225-258).

Saint Lawrence gives us a lively example of what the Lord teaches in today's Gospel. Ordained a deacon at 32 by Pope Sixtus II, Lawrence was quickly named Archdeacon of Rome. The archdeacon was first among the seven deacons who served in the cathedral church. Archdeacon was a position of that came with status, power, and control of the Church's treasury. As such, Lawrence was charged with distributing alms to the poor. By all accounts he was honest, diligent, and caring in the exercise of his office.

In August 258, the Roman emperor Valerian issued and edict that all bishops, priests, and deacons should be put to death. on 6 August, Pope Sixtus II was arrested while celebrating the liturgy and executed. After the execution of Sixtus, the prefect of Rome demanded that Lawrence turn over all the Church's wealth to the emperor. Lawrence asked the perfect for three days to gather up the riches to be handed over.

On the third day, Lawrence led a delegation and presented himself to the Roman prefect. Immediately, the prefect demanded that Lawerence hand over the Church's treasure. Lawerence then proceeded to 'hand over" the Church's treasures: the city's indigent, crippled, blind, and suffering. He did so with these words: "Here are the treasures of the church. You see, the church is truly rich, far richer than your emperor!"

This brazen act led to Lawrence's arrest and execution. While it almost certain that in accordance with Valerian's order, Lawrence, along with Sixtus and all other members of the Roman clergy who arrested and executed, was decapitated, the legend of him being roasted on a gridiron persists. Part of this legend is Lawrence taunting his Roman executioners by telling them they could turn him over because he was done on one side.

The Basilica of Saint Lawrence Outside the Walls is one of five papal basilicas in Rome. The basilica stands on the site of Saint Lawrence's grave, where the Emperor Constantine built a small oratory early in the fourth century. Later, during that same century, Pope Damasus I, who had served as a deacon at the original oratory, restored and/or rebuilt this edifice. Pope Pelagius II built a church on the site in the 580s.

Most recently, the basilica was bombed in 1943 during World War II and rebuilt by 1948. Five popes are buried in San Lorenzo fuori le mura, the most of recent of whom is Pope Pius IX (a.k.a., Pio Nono), who called and presided over the First Vatican Ecumenical Council in 1870. He died in 1878.

"Child of God sitting in the sun, giving peace of mind"

As one might imagine, over the past few weeks there has been an explosion of articles about the religious overtones and undertones of the music of Black Sabbath and, to a greater degree, of Ozzy Osbourne’s solo career. Dr. David Bonagura's "A Rocker and a Doctor Meet in Birmingham," which I read on Catholic Culture, is one of the best I've read. I love the juxtaposition of Newman and Osbourne. I also love using juxtapose!

Saint John Henry Newman

I’d like to dig a little deeper, not to rebut but to contextualize.

The first Sabbath song Bonagura mentions is 'After Forever’. This is a track off their third studio album, Master of Reality. As was the case with many of the band’s songs, the lyrics for ‘After Forever’ were composed by Geezer Butler, the band's bassist. Many of Butler’s Sabbath lyrics were deeply influenced by his Catholicism. Ozzy’s Mom was Catholic. While he was raised largely unchurched, he recalled fondly memories he had of Anglican Sunday School when very young.

Bob Daisely wrote almost all the lyrics to 'I Don't Know,' with Ozzy adding the lyrics, "You have to believe in foolish miracles." In other words, he sang someone else's words. It was Butler who also wrote the lyrics to 'Paranoid,' which was produced as a "3-minute filler."

Randy Rhoades, who in his brief career with Ozzy’s original band, which ended with his early accidental death, was one of the greatest guitarists of all-time, was described by his brother as "a devout Lutheran." Rhoades funeral was held at First Lutheran Church of Burbank, CA, which is a Missouri Synod church.

I think the short article, which is not intended as a deep dive, is very good in what in communicates: “The Catholic Church has honored Newman in the hope that men and women experiencing the turmoil that Ozzy lived may overcome it with the aid of the saint’s assured writings.” I have to mention that I would belong to the Church were it not for the writings of this saint and soon-to-be Doctor of the Church.

As to the mundane assertion made by Ozzy, of course one doesn't have to go to church in order to believe in God. Christians go to Church because they believe God took human flesh in the person of Jesus Christ. One observation is in order, it’s easier to follow a god of one’s making, a god who shares all of one’s views, suc a belief or nothing of the believer.

Writing about faithful critics of the Church, meaning ones who are in the Church, theologian Karl Rahner, s/he

knows that the Church, ultimately, is not merely a … religious organization satisfying people’s needs but … the community which believes that Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen one, is God’s irrevocable promise to us. Of what great importance is angers with pastors, bishops, possibly even the papacy, when one knows that in this Church … as nowhere else, in life and death, one can hold on to Jesus, the trusted witness of the eternal God

Our traditio, then, is Black Sabbath's "Spiral Architect" of their fifth studio album, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath album.

Don't be fooled

Readings: Eccl 1:2.2:21-23; Ps 90:3-6.12-14.17; Col 3:1-5.9-11; Luke 12:13-21

What I love about the period the Church spends in Ordinary Time between Corpus Christi and Advent is reading in a semi-continuous way through whichever of the Synoptic Gospels is the focus of that year. Being in Year C of the Sunday Lectionary, we are reading through the Gospel According to Saint Luke. In chapter nine, verse fifty-one, which marks the end of the Lord's Galilean ministry, Jesus "resolutely" determines that He is going to Jerusalem. And so, Luke takes us on a journey with Jesus and His disciples.

This journey narrative is the heart of the Luke's Gospel. Being harmonized with our reading from Ecclesiastes, today's Gospel sets forth the foolishness of making one's life about the acquisition of riches. Often, the pursuit of riches starts with the idea that attaining a certain level of wealth equals security. This then easily morphs into the acquisition and hoarding of wealth for it's own sake. It can even lead to the realization that wealth is a source of power.

Jesus and Qoheleth (the preacher of Ecclesiastes) both demonstrate in rather down-to-earth terms that security does not and cannot come from wealth. Qoheleth simply points out that acquiring is wealth is stressful. It eats up all your bandwidth and even deprives you of sleep. All for what? To leave all that you've spent your life in the service of to someone else? Ecclesiastes is likely the most existential book in all of Sacred Scripture.

Jesus mines this same vein. The self-satisfied man who has accumulated so much wealth that he needs to construct bigger barns in which to store it so that he can relax and enjoy himself will die the very night he sets forth his plan. Talk about futility! Apart from noting that Jesus'culture was not primarily a cash culture, like ours, the point of these two readings doesn't require much gloss or explanation. Sure, we can tell more updated stories but the moral remains the same.

Elsewhere in scripture we read not that money is evil- in and of itself it is a neutral means of exchange- but that "the love of money is the root of all evils" (1 Tim 6:10). Our current cultural and political situation graphically shows us this every day. Instead of envying the very rich, we should take the lesson from today's scriptures to heart. Sadly, the typical Christian response to this very straightforward teaching often starts with "But". It isn't pleasant to be provoked.

I'll be honest, as I am in within a few years of retiring from my secular career, I find myself thinking about and worrying about money way too much. All too easily, no amount of money seems too much because I want to be safe and secure, to eat, drink, and be merry. Sometimes money seems a better bet than God- though I am not supposed to say that out loud let alone write it down. This isn't to say things like retirement planning, having some savings, etc. are evil things. It is to say that they can easily become all-consuming, crowding out what should really matter.

It is in our reading from Colossians that we find the cure for what ails us. Among those things we are to mortify (i.e., "Put to death") are "evil desire" and "the greed that is idolatry" (Colossians 3:5). Wealth is more often than not a wellspring of vice. As Jesus teaches in Saint Matthew's Gospel, what you value is not only where your heart is but it's what you place your hope in. Vanity is deadly. What Qoheleth means by "vanity" is futility. The pursuit of wealth, of pleasure, of power are all futile in the end.

The evil and deeply disturbing push towards transhumanism is a result of this. Death entered the world because we wanted (and still want) to usurp God and be masters of ourselves and of the world. Rather than trust in Christ's overcoming death by His Resurrection, we seek to overcome death through capital investment in technology. By means of these technologies, making ourselves machines, our consciousness reduced to a data set.

Theologically we insist that likeness to God is lost through sin and can be restored by grace but the image of God every person bears is ineradicable. When faced with the dystopia toward which we are hurling ourselves at warp speed, I wonder if there will come a point at which this supposed ineradicability needs to be called into question.

So, if today you hear God's voice in the proclamation of these scriptures, harden not your heart. Learn to number your days rightly so as to gain wisdom of heart. Don't forget, your days are numbered. Memento mori is an important spiritual practice.

"Either way it's okay..."

Friendships are interesting. No two are the same. These relationships are so varied, which is what makes them kind of amazing. At least for me, friendships are difficult to sustain over time. This often isn't the result of a lack of effort. Friendships are, in a word, fragile.

A lot of my Friday posts have become quite personal, which is something new for me. I hardly see my life as instructive for me, let alone anyone else. But my reason for "getting" personal is what I would describe as confessional, not pedagogical. This is somewhat reminiscent of "A dream and making sense of reality" from last December.

"I was going to text you tomorrow," replies a friend who months ago stopped texting (texting to stay in touch- part of the problem, no doubt). This is followed by, "Can I get back you later?" "Yeah sure," knowing this won't happen. After several of these kinds of exchanges it becomes apparent that this person really doesn't want to communicate anymore. A final text- "As you wish," thus offloading the issue back onto you.

Considered from a distance, it's a predictable trajectory. There's the the inevitable question, "What happened?" Honestly, it's usually not a question worth asking.

It's all okay. Almost nothing lasts forever. The world is a transitory place. I need to work on being grateful (graceful) for whatever fruit friendships bear while they last. I admit, this is very hard for me. I tend to hold on to things, to cling to them really, especially people and things I am fond of. Most of the time, the fruit of holding on too tightly is bitterness and resentment, being in a state of loss.

"Oh well" is a phrase I use a lot these days. I mean it when I say it both to myself and to others. Security is found in what lasts. Last night, I watched a short video by Ralph Martin. It's not about his recent firing from Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit. The title of his video is "Who Will Remember Us?" Watching this gave me solace.

Ralph's video made me think that perhaps I should replace "Oh well" with "It's alright." But a sincerely meant "It's alright." A lot of life, including spiritual life, is making peace with reality, being okay with what happens good, bad, or indifferent. Reality is rarely if ever how/what I want it to be. What's more no one else cares that reality doesn't bend to my desires. Even more, they don't have to and it's probably better that they don't. Getting to that sincerely felt "It's alright" is a struggle.

Martin is the founder and president of Renewal Ministries. Renewal is a Catholic charismatic organization. One overlooked feature of the charismatic renewal is the kind of simple teaching Martin's video contains. This amounts to an emphasis of not losing sight of the purpose of my life. Keeping my end ever in mind is what enables me to navigate my way through. I am reminded this morning of the medieval morality play The Summoning of Everyman (the link is to God's speech at the beginning of the play).

On a tangential note, in the end, Beatrices usually turn out to be Dulcineas.

It's August, if you can believe it! 1 August is the Memorial of Saint Alphonsus Ligori, who is a Doctor of the Church. He is primarily known for his teaching about the complexities of morality. Yesterday it was announced that Saint John Henry Newman is going to be made a Doctor of the Church. Without Newman, I would not be Catholic. Somewhere Muriel Spark, too, is smiling.

I would like to post a performance of Elgar's musical setting of Newman's "Dream of Gerontius" but a traditio lasting more than ninety minutes kind of violates the medium. So, as a tribute to my inabilty to take a more mature view of the transitoriness of life's vicissitude, I am going with Billy Joel's "Leave Me Alone." I choose it a bit tongue in cheek.