Epistula Contra Stravinskum - Letter against Stravinskas

   

Fr. Stravinskas

 

      In an apparent override of Natural law, common sense, and the Magisterium of the Church, Our Sunday Visitor has published an interview with the formerly respectable and orthodox Priest, Fr. Peter Stravinskas. After reading this article however, I will never again apply the glorious label of orthodoxy to this cleric.

           

      In this interview, which includes unsupportable claims, unidentified references to "The Church Fathers", and flat-out falsehoods, Fr. Stravinskas attempts to portray parents who choose to homeschool their children as "psychologically unhealthy", "anti-clerical", and, to top it all off "a church within a church". 

"Psychologically unhealthy Elitists"?

     
        I very much wonder where Father has gotten this information. Has he actually taken the time to get to know any of these "elitist" homeschooling families, or is he just towing the line of the  (FAILED) Catholic educational system? Having spent large amounts of time among both homeschooled students, and products of Catholic education, I must insist on the exact opposite of Father's surmise. In the company of homeschooled students, I have almost invariably found an honest quest for truth, the capacity for articulate discussion, and indeed, keen insights.
 
Father also laments the "dearth of vocations from home-school families". Once again, I am at a loss for the source of this wild generalization. Perhaps this "dearth" is due rather to the fact that homeschoolers make up only a minuscule portion of the Catholic population. Consequentially, they can hardly be expected to supply a similar volume of Priests as do other educational systems. I must ask though: If the Catholic school system is such an incubator for Vocations, why are we in the depths of the greatest vocational shortage in modern times?

Another aspect mentioned is that it is "academically nearly impossible" for homeschooling to succeed. This is perhaps the most unjustified and untenable claim of all. One needs only to look at various independent evaluations (Strengths of Their Own: Home Schoolers Across America - 1997.) to ascertain the truth. In fact, far from what some would like us to believe, homeschooling students routinely outperform their non-homeschooled counterparts in every subject. According to the 1997 study, homeschooled students, on average, score 37 percentile points higher on standardized testing, than do their counterparts in the public school system.
   
Father Stravinskas concludes with a condemnation of parents who "don’t want their children exposed to others whose families might not have the same values as theirs." Oh the humanity! Just imagine it, parents wanting to protect and safeguard their children's innocence, against the pervasive immorality and gross violations of moral propriety which engulf both the Catholic and public educational system. Why on earth would they not want their children exposed to heresy taught as catechism, chastity mocked, licentiousness excused, and other such indefensible failures of the system?
   
       In his reading of the Vatican document Gravissimum Educationis, which does indeed emphasize the importance of Catholic schools, Father seems to have missed the statements: "Since parents have given children their life, they are bound by the most serious obligation to educate their offspring and therefore must be recognized as the primary and principal educators", and "Parents who have the primary and inalienable right and duty to educate their children must enjoy true liberty in their choice of schools."
   
        Furthermore, the document states that: "The Church reminds parents of the duty that is theirs to arrange and even demand that their children be able to enjoy these aids and advance in their Christian formation to a degree that is abreast of their development in secular subjects"
     
       When confronted with the abject failure of religious education in the Catholic school system, does this not affirm and verify the right (and in some cases even the duty) of parents, to secure a better educational environment for their children?

Marching for Traditional Marriage

TFP Student Action





By the time the sun rose on the morning of May 15th, members of the American Society for the Defense of Tradition, Family and Property (TFP) were already at work, preparing for the day’s activities. Our vehicles were soon rolling to their destination: The heart of New York City – the Bronx. Our purpose: to join a march for traditional marriage organized by State Sen. Ruben Diaz (D-Bronx) and other pro-family leaders.


Under a light drizzle, we disembarked at 149th St and 3rd Ave and assembled the Holy Choirs of Angels Corps marching band. Invited to lead off the march, we positioned ourselves accordingly. Soon, thousands of traditional marriage supporters surged forward to the sound of God Bless America, holding signs that read: “Adam & Eve = Family,” and “Don’t Change Marriage.”

As the TFP band played stirring marches and patriotic music, people lined the streets and leaned out of windows to see the parade. Although a few passers-by were quite vocal in their opposition, the overall response was positive.


After marching the twelve blocks to the Bronx County Courthouse located on the Grand Concourse, a line-up of speakers addressed thousands of people from the court house steps, voicing their commitment to the cause of marriage. The national anthem was sung followed by a rendition of God Bless America by the TFP band. In his speech, Sen. Diaz mentioned how he had received death threats from pro-homosexual advocates for simply defending the institution of God-ordained marriage. Other speakers included Fr. Peter West, Associate Director of Priests for Life, and Brian Brown, President of the National Organization for Marriage.

Our banner, visible to the assembled thousands, boldly proclaimed: “God’s Marriage = One Man + One Woman.” Our flyer, 10 Reasons Why Homosexual “Marriage” is Harmful and Must Be Opposed, was very well received in both English and Spanish.

For the good of the family, let us continue to pray that more and more souls will stand up and peacefully oppose the homosexual agenda, especially in its latest effort to impose same-sex “marriage” on the state of New York.

Repulsive Drag Show at Jesuit Seattle University

TFP Student Action


After promoting Planned Parenthood internships on its web site, Seattle University has fallen even lower in its abandonment of St. Ignatius of Loyola.  According to the university’s student newspaper, The Spectator, a packed audience attended the 5th annual drag show in the Campion Ballroom on April 27.

The event was promoted by the pro-homosexual Triangle Club.  Promotional material told students that “It would be amazing if you showed up in drag” for the event, which featured “professional drag queens” (men dressed as women) and “student performers.”

Drag shows are a notorious symbol of moral depravity, part of the sexual revolution apparatus.  In these times, one might expect to find such things on the infamous stages of Broadway or the godless sets of Hollywood. But at a Catholic university?

What does “Catholic” signify to the administrators of Seattle University?  An empty title devoid of moral principles rather than a way of life instituted by Our Lord Himself?  What other conclusion can one draw in the face of this Jesuit university’s latest transgression against it’s Catholic identity?

Seattle University’s web site states: “The Jesuits are well-known and respected as educators.” Quite right, and justly so. But did they gain that reputation by the defiance of their Catholic identity, and the flaunting of immorality?  A resounding “No!” is the only answer! That reputation was gained through faithfulness and integrity, qualities quite lacking if current events are any sign.

One of the university’s aspirations for its student body is their “learning about making ethical choices in their lives.” One must wonder what sort of ethics it wishes its students to learn. Clearly not Catholic ones, since it has neatly swept them away, to clear the way for the “celebration of diversity.” 

If Seattle University wishes to live up to both its Jesuit tradition, and its Catholic identity, this is the time for them to show it by publically condemning the drag show event, apologizing for having allowed the scandal multiple times, and banishing it forever. 

Oh, yes, the promotion of Planned Parenthood internships must cease as well.

Voice your concern:

Fr. Stephen V. Sundborg, SJ
Seattle University, President
901 12th Ave.
Seattle, WA 98122-1090
Phone: 206-296-1891
E-mail: SUNDBORG@seattleu.edu

Tantum ergo Sacramentum

                                                                                                                                                                                

Pax Vobiscum.
   In any discourse or verbal engagement with Protestants, two issues always seem to take precedence in the conversation. Indeed these same two issues are the major targets of derision and ridicule by the perfidious. These two matters are the Holy Eucharist, and Sacramental confession.   It's quite easy to see why those two issues are at the forefront. For verily, they are the foundation upon which the Spiritual life is built. Before one can build steps of sanctity, to ascend to the realm of holiness, one must have a firm foundation to build on. For us Catholics, the Blessed Sacrament and the Confessional are the sand and gravel, which, when mixed with the cement of Devotion and surmounted by the flagstone of the Papacy, provide the only sure foundation for the ascension of the spirit. Why it is that Our Lord willed it thus, we shall never fully know, but a few reflections can be garnered from the Scriptures.

Why Christ came to earth the redeem us, we shall not know, this side of the Judgment. But the fact is that he did. Rather than, in His Omnipotence, saying the word, and restoring human nature, which was corrupted by the sin of Adam, He chose a different, and much more beautiful way. He chose, rather than simply cleansing our humanity, to make us partakers in his Divinity. In the words of Athanasius,  God became man, so that men might become God . He willed to unite Himself to the whole human race, not just in a spiritual sense, but in a physical, real sense. He wished for us, as the Body of Christ, to truly be that, both in our Christian way of living, but also in our very substance. That is why He said  He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath everlasting life . How true this is, because by eating of the flesh of God, we bring His divinity into us. With normal food, when we eat it, it becomes like us, we digest it, and it becomes part of our matter. With the Flesh of Christ, it is the opposite, by eating it, we become like it, instead of it becoming like us. When we eat the Flesh, we are indeed part of the Body of Christ, and as a result, our Salvation shall be given unto us. We become the Son of God, and how could the Son of God come up lacking in the Judgment?
I am no Theologian, but that is my own reflection as to the "Why"  of it. The factual nature of it requires little explanation, as it was so clearly enunciated by Our Lord, who said:  This is my Body, This is my Blood ... Those are powerful words, and not ones which are open to various interpretations. He said this *Is* my body. If the Lutherans were right, He might have said  This contains my body . If the Methodists were right, He might have said:  This represents my body . But He said neither. He said,  This is my Body...Take ye, and eat...and I will raise you up on the last day

    Regarding Confession, I think that the “Why” is a bit more understandable. For as God willed the ultimate redemption and absolution, the Crucifixion, to happen to a man, Our Lord Jesus Christ, so also he willed that the individual redemption of each one of us should be accomplished through a man. And indeed, it is the same man both times, for when the Priest is exercising his office, he is the Altar Christus, another Christ. As St. Paul says,  And I live, now not I; but Christ liveth in me . St. Paul, as a Priest, very well understood this, that it was not he who worked the sacraments, and administered Grace, but rather Christ through him.
We all require forgiveness for our Sins and Iniquities. It is true, God could have chosen against the institution of Sacramental Absolution. But he did not. He gave the strict imperative:  Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.  We have all sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God, but through all this, God has given us an easy recourse. We must simply confess, and show ourselves humble and contrite before Our Lord in His representative , the Priest and all of our Sin is forgiven. My friend, what a marvelous gift this is, to have our iniquities wiped away in the sight of the most high. Each and every confession is , in a way, a continuation of Our Lord's Passion, for the Passion paid the penalty for all of our Sins, for all time. But at the time of His passion, many sins were yet to be committed. The redemption that Our Lord bought for us , with his blood, is still going on. When we commit a sin, we must go to the Priest and confess so that Our Lord may take that sin from our soul and extinguish it with the redemptive grace of his Passion and Death. We must not expect Our Lord to reach into our souls and remove our sin, instead we must have the humility to prostrate ourselves before the Lord and show him our sins. Then, He will stretch out His Hand, filled with the redemptive grace, and erase them.
    What a sublime mystery, what an ineffable boon to humanity. Since these truly comprise the cornerstone of our faith, it is no wonder that enemies of our faith mock and attack them unceasingly. But rather than simply weathering the storm, we must take the initiative, and go forth among the unbelievers, and by Gods grace, bring them the truth. For really they want the truth. They long for the fulfillment that is the Catholic Faith, but they know not how to identify their need. So we must be forthright, and go bring the word of salvation to all nations. We cannot wait for them to come to us. We must be the new Apostles, and go forth, bringing word of Christ’s saving sacraments.