“Inclusiveness” Fad Has Worn Off
Regarding “Balancing Act” (May 1999): I must confess that at first I wanted “inclusive” language. But now the fad has worn off. Now the only women in my circle of friends who care about it are either bitter, barren, or are employed in the chancery office.
The rest of the women I know — and all are mothers, wives, or widows — have passed through the fad and are tired of it. We don’t need it and we don’t want it. We understand very well that “all men” means all of us. When a lector reads in an inclusive manner, we see her as simply silly.
Too bad the bishops are hearing only from those in their offices, most of who must really be out of touch with those in the pews.
Ann Peacock
Fremont, California
Never Change a Direct Quote
Most of us in the pews are not biblical scholars with knowledge of Greek, Hebrew, and Aramaic. Trying to follow the readings at Mass from last year’s missal is like a trying to see everything in a three-ring circus simultaneously (“Balancing Act,” May 1999). The lectors and priests seem to be reading from a lesbian Lectionary. They have taken “men” out of the readings if it’s in a good connotation, but then have added “men” in evil connotations. On the third Sunday of Easter, Acts quotes Peter as saying to the crowd that “you even used pagans to crucify and kill him.” The word “pagans” has now been changed to “lawless men.”
As a retired newspaper editor, I often think about the greatest commandment of journalism: “You never change a quote.” Now, the translators have Christ and the apostles saying all sorts of things they never intended to say. I’m expecting the next translation: “Brothers, sisters, and you with nose rings.”
Robert A. Brothers
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Human Faces, Women’s Hair
Am I the only one who notices that when you insist on translating the Hebrew word adam and the Greek word anthropos as “human being,” you imply that women aren’t human (“Balancing Act,” May 1999)?
The Douay translation put “Adam” and “a woman” together in “the paradise of pleasure” in Genesis 2:22. The New American Bible puts “the man” and “a woman” in “the garden of Eden.” “Inclusive language” translations put “the human being” and “a woman” there. And in Revelation 9:7-8 in the 1970 New American Bible, the “locusts” are described as having “faces like men’s faces, but they had hair like women’s hair.” In the 1986 revision of the NAB, “their faces were like human faces, and they had hair like women’s hair.”
Don Schenk
Allentown, Pennsylvania
James Akin replies: As much as I oppose gender revisionism, I have to confess that Acts 2:23 and Revelation 9:7-8 do not seem to have been changed based on considerations of political correctness, but literalness.
In Acts, “lawless men” is a more literal translation than “pagans.” In Greek, the word is “lawless” (anomos). To make that “pagans,” one has to infer that the law being talked about is the Mosaic Law (which may or may not fully capture what Peter had in mind) and then paraphrase from there.
In Revelation, the Greek does not have the forceful male/female contrast that the 1970 NAB did (“men’s faces”/”women’s hair”). The word underlying “men” in 9:7 (anthropos) is not gender-specific, just as the English word “humans” is not. In most passages, it is better to translate anthropos as “man,” especially when there is a possible Christological interpretation. But when we are talking about demon-locust, that is not the case, and by so closely juxtaposing the terms “men” and “women,” the 1970 NAB suggested that the locust were symbolically hermaphroditic, which is not indicated in the Greek.
God Uses the Beauty of Music
Others may have stumbled a bit at the title of Eric Johnson’s moving conversion story (“I Was Converted by Mozart,” May 1999), but not me. I had a similar experience with music moving me closer to God and his Church.
I was a fallen-away Catholic for many years, but had a childhood friend who always bugged me in subtle ways about not practicing my faith. One day when I was visiting her she had a record on the stereo of the most beautiful, heart-breaking music I had ever heard. I asked her what it was.
“It’s Gorecki,” she said. “An ode to Mary.” I sat there and let the music wash over me as the words from my childhood came back to me unbidden: “To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning, and weeping in this valley of tears.” It was the beginning of my journey back into full communion with the Catholic Church.
God indeed uses the beauty of music to move us closer to him. The artists like Mozart and Gorecki he inspires to write such music are like the saints who have given us great prayers to pray. They themselves are gifts from God.
Gregory Blanchard
Ponca City, Oklahoma
Greetings from Rome
Thank you for Dwight Longenecker’s article on the first epistle of Peter (“Treating the Old First-Pontiff Phobia,” May 1999). It addresses several issues raised with me by a Fundamentalist friend that I’m afraid I didn’t do a very good job responding to. For instance, the clues to Peter’s residence in Rome are far more intriguing than if he’d started off his epistle, “Greetings from Rome.”
If the Bible is important, then God wants us to go through it with a fine-tooth comb. If we do, he’ll reward us with insights and information not available to the casual reader.
Mary Elizabeth Messinger
Port Arthur, Texas
Pray for These Poor, Misguided Souls
Fr. Mitch Pacwa treads just this side of uncharity in his amusing take on “progressive” Catholics (“Eh . . . What’s Up, Pope?” May 1999). But in his wonderful advice at the end — to be about God’s business and in essence to ignore, like Pope John Paul II, the silliness of “progressive” Catholics — Fr. Pacwa leaves out the key element: to pray for these poor, misguided souls. They recognize the truth of the Catholic Church or they wouldn’t be agitating for change; they’d simply leave and start their own church. Pray that that God-given recognition of truth may find its answer in the deposit of faith, already so perfect, that through their hubris they seek to change.
Dominic Tulio
Peoria, Illinois
What’s the Appeal?
It’s a question that puzzles me every time the subject of Mormonism comes up: Why would such a wacky religion be so attractive to so many seemingly intelligent, moral people? Your article “What You Need to Know About Mormons (But They Probably Won’t Tell You)” (May 1999) is just the latest example. I know several friends who have been seduced by Mormonism and other weird “religions” like Elizabeth Clare Prophet’s Church Universal and Triumphant and its various “ascended masters.” The ironic thing is, they can’t understand how I can believe in something “magical” like transubstantiation.
Jim Howell
Yreka, California
Editor’s reply: There are many reasons, emotional and otherwise, people are led astray by these groups. See this month’s conversion story (page 42) for one person’s account of what “appeal” Mormonism held for him.
Russell Is a New Creation
Joe Oka finds it hard to feel bad for Russell Ford’s religious persecutions in prison (“Letters,” May 1999) when Russ does not tell us what he and the other murderers, rapists, burglars, robbers, and drug dealers are doing to make amends to their victims.
It is not Russell Ford who is being persecuted in an Alabama prison, but Christ in him. We are one body in Christ, and we who serve him are all his family in the new and everlasting covenant. Indifference to the suffering of any Christian is indifference to the suffering of Christ on the cross.
Moreover, the Russell Ford who committed the crime for which he was imprisoned died a decade ago. Baptized into Christ’s redemptive death on the cross while in prison, Russell has been washed in the blood of the Lamb and is a new creation. I am a Catholic, I believe that, and I act on it.
Even so, Russell Ford is making amends for harm done by the person he was. He prays for those whom he hurt. Prayer has real power. I am a Catholic, and I believe that too, and I act on it.
May I suggest that Joe Oka get a copy of Russell Ford’s excellent book, The Missionary’s Catechism. It has a preface by Karl Keating. It’s available from Magnificat Institute Press at (800) 370-8201. Joe could learn a little about Russ, and a whole lot about the Church he serves.
Marty Barrack
Hardy, Arizona
What Could Be More Precious?
After reading Joe Oka’s letter in the May 1999 issue, I feel I must come to the defense of Russell Ford. I suspect that Mr. Ford, rather than wishing for sympathy, realizes it is a greater privilege to be among those whom our Lord has chosen to suffer religious persecution for him. “Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad for your reward is great in heaven” (Matt. 5:11-12).
Regarding the prisoners making amends to their victims: What could be more precious than the prayers and sacrifices of the repentant convicts offered up to God for the victims and their families? I think we are putting ourselves in a dangerous position if we would withhold our forgiveness and mercy from these men whom God has favored with such tremendous graces. What great love for God and zeal for the salvation of souls he has given to Mr. Ford! Let us praise God for drawing these souls into his loving embrace.
I look forward with joy to the day when I can praise God eternally in the blessed company of Russell Ford, his convict converts, and all the holy angels and saints.
Laurel Dennison
British Columbia, Canada
Our Lord Says to Visit Those in Prison, Not Kick Them
My first reaction to Joe Oka was to blow him off as another good-n-dumb who watches too much TV. But after saying the rosary and several other prayers, I realized that Mr. Oka is just another poor soul who’s been misled and lied to by politicians and perhaps needs only enlightening.
When I came to prison in 1970, there were 1250 inmates living in a concrete building designed to house 650. They slept on the floor of the bathroom or anywhere they could. The mattress was an armful of cotton in a sack that had been urinated on many times. There was no hot water in the winter, no panes on the windows, no blankets. Rats and mice were unafraid of humans. Cockroaches were everywhere — the beds, the clothes, the food. There were no lights, only bare wires.
We cut cane or picked cotton from 6 a.m. until 4 p.m. For lunch we had greens that were brought straight from the garden into the pot and cooked until they were mushy. Each serving held a spoonful of mud and bugs. Hogshead stew was common — made with real hogs’ heads, beaten with a hammer, put into a pot, and served. If you like hog snout, and ears with hair still attached, then an Alabama prison is where you should be. Our favorite was the fish on Fridays, until we learned that the Oriental characters on the box it came in said, “Not for human consumption.”
The beds were (and still are) twelve to fifteen inches apart and, since we have no say as to who sleeps next to us, we get used to the smell of the ones who do. Radios went full blast twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, each on a different station. Now it’s TV, which is paid for by the inmates. Hollering and horseplay have taken the place of the stabbings and rapes and killings. But robberies, fighting, homosexual acts, and masturbation are rampant.
If Mr. Oka would check his local law library he’d find that those convicted of a crime in this country are sentenced to confinement, which consists of a loss of freedom and certain — but not all — constitutional rights. We are instructed by the Bible to obey authority. This Russ Ford is doing; he’s doing his time.
During Russ’s confinement he has become a Catholic. Since becoming a Catholic he has written many articles on apologetics for This Rock and others. He has started a prison apostolate. He has catechized well over a hundred inmates, of whom seventy to eighty have been baptized into the Church. Of these only one has returned to prison. The state wishes it had a record like that!
If Mr. Oka would open his Bible he’d find that our Lord says to visit those in prison, not kick them. Mr. Oka’s letter could have been addressed to St. Paul a few years ago, or even to Moses if he’d been caught — both were murderers. Russ isn’t a murderer.
Russ Ford is my godfather, and it took someone as dedicated to our Lord and his Church as Russ is to even get me to consider Christianity. And to think I’ve been a Catholic since 1995 and even teach catechism!
Mr. Oka did not list any reparations for his sins, so why would he ask anyone else to make theirs public? Perhaps Mr. Oka should read a good catechism. I suggest The Missionary’s Catechism by Russell Ford.
Carl Monroe
Clio, Alabama
Ironic Coins
I was reading an article in the March 1999 “Dragnet” section about the British Commonwealth’s “grubby little secret” of the strict prohibition of British monarchs from marrying Catholics, who current comprise some ten percent of the British population.
When I was growing up in the England of the 1920s and ’30s, the percentage of Catholics was nearer three percent. Back then the British coin currency bore the abbreviation “Fid. Def.” (see above). It stood for ” Fidei Defensor, ” Latin for “defender of the faith.” (When the coinage was changed in the 1970s it was shortened to “F.D.”)
In 1517 Martin Luther tacked his ninety-five theses on the door of the Wittenburg church, thus starting the Protestant Reformation. In 1521 Pope Leo X excommunicated Luther and later that year granted King Henry VIII of England the title “Fidei Defensor” for his defense of the seven sacraments against Luther. Even after Henry VIII was himself excommunicated and severed all ties with Rome, he decided to keep the title, which has been handed down to his successors. To me this is even more ironic in the view of the behavior of the current royal family.
Phil Fillingham
Monroe, New York
Unfortunate and Most Confusing
A troubled parishioner occasioned my taking several hours trying to restore understanding and peace that was shaken by the article “The Ten Most Common Liturgical Abuses” in your January 1999 issue. While my sentiments are with the author in many points, he puts a heavy load on laity saying its up to them to worry about these things and even to correct their priests. In my own diocese of Sioux Falls I believe most of these abuses are minimal or non-existent in the first place.
Nonetheless, I couldn’t help but think of Paul’s having to deal with those who “are upsetting whole families by their teachings” (Titus 1:11) as I tried to help my troubled parishioner. From abuse one, I had to explain I’m not illicitly changing texts when during the year I at times use the approved Children’s Lectionary. That same Children’s Lectionary allows a (lay) adult to give a talk or reflection if needed, contrary to what abuse four would seem to demand. Abuse six seems to be more editorial than informational as it critiques the U.S. bishops asking for communion in the hand. That is the approved norm to be allowed in the U.S., so why raise worries in peoples’ minds? (I refer back to St. Cyril’s Mystagogical Lecture V from the A.D. 300s referring to “making your left hand a throne for the right and cupping your palm, so receive the Body of Christ” [21].) Also in abuse six, the critique on Eucharistic ministers says only “unusually large number of people” warrants this. “Large numbers” is what it actually says in This Holy and Living Sacrifice (29), or making distribution “unduly prolonged” (24).
With me being one priest with no other priests, deacons, or even religious to assist me in three parishes over twenty miles apart, the extraordinary ministers are a true blessing. “They are not supposed to assist at all when a priest is in attendance” is a sentence in abuse six that was unfortunate and most confusing.
I think it would be most helpful to both liturgical critics as well as those in the pews to reflect that there are many priests who are doing their level best in the face of a daunting maze of demands.
Fr. Jim Friedrich
Herreid, South Dakota
Keep Charity First
This Rock has been tackling some controversial subjects without the necessary huge dose of charity to make the information palatable. Several recent issues have included hard-hitting, super-intellectual, or internal, potentially scandalous topics that have made the magazines unfitting for me to pass on to certain family members and non-Catholic or non-practicing Catholic friends.
An example is the recent correspondence about holding hands during the Our Father in Mass. I felt This Rock was harsh and made final judgment on the issue perhaps prematurely. I admit I personally think holding hands can be very distracting from prayer. But we who work in the trenches with Catholics of all backgrounds appreciate more tact and love.
All the knowledge of right and wrong means nothing without love to guide it. I hope This Rock will always keep charity. God bless you and thank you for the sacrifices you make for our Lord’s work.
Name Withheld
Powerful Hand-Me-Downs
I am a Protestant preacher’s kid who by God’s grace came home to Rome in 1997. A stack of old This Rocks I brought home from the library’s free bin helped push me toward this decision. I was convinced of the singular position in God’s economy held by the Catholic Church, and I knew I must make myself obedient to it, leaving behind the Protestant church I was born into. I don’t believe a person could regularly read your magazine with a true desire to learn and remain unconvinced of the truth of the faith.
In 1998 I passed my collection of Rocks on to my aunt, who was seeking the Lord’s direction concerning the Catholic Church. After thirty-four years as an ordained minister in the Foursquare Church, she was received into our wonderful, secure Catholic faith this past Easter vigil.
In addition, my husband allowed our three youngest children to enter and receive First Communion over the last two years. One stack of hand-me-down magazines did powerful work in our family.
If only I could get my husband to read This Rock! His resistance would be history, I’m sure. Keep up the excellent work.
Judy Johnson
Morongo Valley, California
Prague Is Not in Hungary
In the “Dragnet” section of the May 1999 issue you overlooked a geographical mistake in the article on the relics of St. Luke. It said that “the skull kept at St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague, Hungary, was that of Luke.”
I can assure you that Prague is in the Czech Republic (formerly Czechoslovakia). I lived my first twenty-seven years in a town only forty miles from Prague, a beautiful city with rich history. In the Cathedral of St. Vitus there are, besides the skull of St. Luke, relics of St. John of Nepomuk, the saint of the seal of confession, relics of St. Wenceslaus (“Good King” Wenceslaus), and the skull of St. Adalbert (Vojtech), the second bishop of Prague, born in 956 in central Bohemia. Two years ago we commemorated the millennium of his martyrdom.
The cathedral is part of the “castle” complex that includes the president’s residence, the Parliament, and the archbishop’s palace. A short walk away is the church of Our Lady of Victory with the shrine of the Infant Jesus of Prague, well known worldwide.
Peter Pohorsky
Grass Valley, California
For a Modest Fee, Your Wish Could Come True
I love all Christians, but I am zealously Catholic and at every opportunity promote the Church that Jesus started. Your publication has really blessed me and has helped several Protestants I know see the light. After all, protesting went out in the 1960s. They need to come home to Mother Church. I sure wish I could get every back issue of This Rock!
Carl Kuty
Huntsville, Texas