When my son was a toddler, he went through an angry stage. He would step out into the yard, where friendly butterflies kissed the sweet faces of daisies dancing in the golden sunshine. And he would growl, “It is NOT a bootiful day.”
Another time, he was having a temper tantrum in the car. We tried to distract him: “Look at the pretty trees! Oh, look at the cows! Look at the water!” and he would answer us, “I don’t yike the cows. I don’t yike the water. It’s stupid water. There’s no such FING as water!”
He’s much happier now. But I think of that stage from time to time when I run across a certain type of Catholic. There are frankly heretical movements, like these fellows, who apparently translate “Gospel” as “Bad News.” Here we are in a post-Incarnational world, the gates of heaven are flung open, our Savior is here—and they’re basically growling, “There’s no such FING as grace. And it is NOT a bootiful world.”
You don’t have to be a tinfoil-hatted schismatic to talk this way. There was, for instance, the commenter who responded to my “buy your priest a beer” post. Signing himself “Fr. John,” he growled,
I’m sorry but many of us do not drink Beer. Wine was the drink of Jesus and is therefore my drink of choice (in moderation). Beer and the modern way of drinking it (out of the bottle ) is just a bit vulgar. I just can’t see Jesus and the disciples hoisting a bottle of beer. If you want to make your priest happy then go to confession on a regular schedule and give up beer for Lent and donate the money to the poor. Too much beer is not healthy for you and it is the reason that many men cannot look down and see their feet. How much money have you spent on beer lately?
First of all, I think it’s worthwhile to note—o, just in a very general way—that, on the Internet, anyone at all can claim to be a priest.
Second, I believe with all my heart that, if beer had been present in 1st-century Israel, Peter would have been all over it.
And third:
Jesus answered, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast.” (Luke 5:34-35)
It’s all about the timing. There is a time for fasting, and then there is a time for celebrating—for cutting loose—for cracking open a cold one, and even for being a little bit vulgar. A priest is an honored guest. He may not be acting in persona Christi when he’s chatting in your living room, but still, in some small way, the bridegroom is there.
There was some debate about cutting loose last Friday, which was the Feast of the Annunciation. The Annunciation “trumps” a Friday in Lent, and so eating meat is etymologically appropriate (and delicious) way to celebrate the Incarnation. When one woman mentioned her carnivorous plans on Facebook, a friend immediately urged her instead to “take the high road”—i.e., don’t eat meat just because you can. Stop cutting yourself so much slack. Don’t lean on a technicality—fast!
On the other hand: What was the Incarnation about? Taking the high road? I say it’s the ultimate example of Someone taking the low road, becoming a man. We don’t have to celebrate the Incarnation with a steak—but to refuse to acknowledge it at all, because we’re too busy fasting? That doesn’t sound like piety to me. That sounds like pure pride.
You may think that in these licentious times, we hardly need to be urged to have a good time, to celebrate. I can’t be the only one who struggles hourly with sins of the flesh: The whole western world is like that. But if we’re too attached to the flesh, the remedy isn’t to persuade ourselves that the flesh is evil. That’s a heresy—some say the very one that caused Lucifer to rebel against God before Man was made. “God just wants us to enjoy ourselves” is false; but “God never wants us to enjoy ourselves” is just as false. It’s all about the timing, as Jesus said:
The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me (Matt 26:11).
It’s not just an oversight that the Church gives us little oases of pleasure—whether it’s having a beer on a Sunday in Lent, or a juicy burger on a feast day, or just saying “yes, please” to the grace that God pours out in rivers all year long. In the liturgical year, there are times for fasting and times for rejoicing; and the same is true in a lifetime. We’re supposed to learn when to fast, when to deny ourselves, when to be detached. And, just as importantly, we’re supposed to learn when to rejoice.
The whole point of penance is to prepare ourselves, so let’s not get so enamored of the preparations that we don’t notice the guest when He arrives. Even in the middle of Lent, it’s fitting and good to acknowledge a bootiful day.
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Thanks for always striking a blow against the type of Catholic that thinks the central insight of Christianity is “You’re doing it wrong.”
FWIW, I wouldn’t be so quick as “Father” to think there was no beer in Israel in Christ’s time.
http://www.wheatandweeds.com/2010/09/now-we-know-theyre-chosen-people.html
I heartily agree there is such a “fing” as grace and beauty all of Abba’s good gifts. Unfortunately their is also such a “fing” as sin, and Sin and evil and the devil. If we all pray and live for an increase in the former and a decrease in the latter then “everyfing” will hopefully work out the way Abba intends.
Bootiful Post!!
Whoa baby! Where did you FIND those people?? UFO’s, Benedict XVI Heresies? That is a paranoid’s paradise.
And… nice post. And we had meat and gave up all of our penances on the FEAST of the Annunciation.
English martyr st.John Kemble was 80 when sentenced to death. Before execution he had finished his prayers, smoked a pipe and had a drink.
When st.Francis was on his deathbed, he sent for Jacoba of Settesoli, asking her to come and to bring some things for his burial ... and “those sweets you always gave me when I was ill in Rome”.
Obviously neither st.Francis nor priest-martyr knew nothing about penance :-)))
A few years ago, the Austrians figured out that drinking beer (in moderation, I would think) increases longevity, in a way similar to red wine. Moderation, balance, and timing are all important. Timing, as you said. Moderation, because too much of any good thing isn’t good. And balance - because in the case of beer especially, one would want to be in a routine of regular exercise and eating well, or else the benefits of beer might be canceled out by the caloric effects.
As for Jesus not knowing beer, Wikipedia (not completely reliable, but not bad either) notes that beer making was common up to 5000 years ago in Syria and Babylonia and Egypt. And then it says, “Beer drinking accessories, such as mugs, have also been found in Israel, and date back to nearly 2000 BC.” Centuries later, Catholic monasteries would become centers of beer production. Any culture that makes bread also has beer of some kind.
So I think it highly improbable that Jesus never had a beer, though Scripture is silent on the issue. Granted, modern bottles weren’t available. But that doesn’t mean that friends never bought the Priest Forever a beer now and then.
I love your heart, and this post. You have gained a reader for life! “Lord save us from sour faced saints!” -St. Theresa of Avila
A friend of mine was talking with me at work and mentioned that he knew people who insisted one should “take the high road,” as you put it. I told him, “the law of the Church makes an exception. It’s not a sin to eat meat or otherwise celebrate this Friday. If someone wants to continue abstaining, that’s fine with me, but he should keep it to himself.” It’s nothing but pride that makes a person feel the need to correct others who aren’t even doing anything wrong to begin with. Like St. John Bosco said, “do as you like, only do not sin.” There’s a wide variety of ways to celebrate and honor our faith as Catholics without sinning. I refuse to listen to the idle talk of those who judge others by their own standard of holiness and Catholic piety (indeed, I live in Louisiana, and I went to a Mardi Gras parade, a clean one, not a Bourbon Street one. Some people said that was wrong of me, that I should’ve stayed home and started penance because it was almost Lent…but it wasn’t Lent yet! Praise God for the opportunity to praise Him!). What did St. teresa of Avila say? Something about, “Deliver us, O Lord, from sour-faced saints!”
My sweet husband brought the priests a six pack of Guinness on St. Patrick’s Day. In his own words they were “totally stoked”!
Lent doesn’t stop Feast Days. I would say it makes them more poignant. :)
Simcha - You and your commenters here will love this if you haven’t heard about it yet: http://diaryofaparttimemonk.wordpress.com/
Guess all those Trappist monks bewing the best beer ever (Chimay) are going straight to Hell, aren’t they? ;-)
I once bought a priest Kwak beer (Belgian) on the feast of St. Dymphna (unlike St. Patrick, she is Irish, but was martyred in Belgium). The gift was not acknowledged.
Hey what about St Arnulf who became a bishop he was a beer brewer and advised people to drink beer not water.“He believed that the polluted water caused illness, while the boiled and processed water used for beer was a safer alternative. According to legend he ended a plague when he submerged his crucifix into a brew kettle and persuaded people to drink only beer from that “blessed” kettle. He is reported to have said, “From man’s sweat and God’s love, beer came into the world.”..” see http://gatekeepkey.org/ArnulfSaint_599.htm Great post Simcha!
I thought about it, but there really isn’t any better way to simply celebrate the Incarnation than eating meat! The Incarnation is all about God made flesh! For that, I totally agree with you - we should celebrate! Thanks for a wonderful post - its easy to fall into scrupulosity when the rest of the world is so loose around you, but the real happiness is found right in the middle where we’re supposed to be!
Ahh..the joys of angry toddlers. Actually, his comments remind me very much of dealing with atheists I know. “I don’ WIKE Jesus, I don’ WIKE his rules, I don’t WIKE the Bible, I don’ WIKE His Good News - There’s no such FING as God!”
Ironically when I read sites (as the one you linked) and comment from Traditionalist Sedevacantist ‘Catholics’ (TSC) they read a lot like what a protestant would write.
The difference is that while a protestant will try to hammer Sola Scriptura, taking bible verses out of context, TSCs try to do the same taking pre-vatican II writings out of context (and treating all of them as they were dogmatic delcarations, which is often not the case).
In a way they are worse than protestants, becaause while protestants reject the papacy and its auhority completely (and in this way they are consistent even if in error), TSCs arbitrarily want to decide who should be Pope and who is not and arbitrarily decide what the MAgisterium should teach…
Well I am glad that 4 days after the Feast Day someone had the guts to say go ahead and eat meat. I heard the question asked for weeks prior to the Feast Day and there was not one priest, sister, brother, theologian, or Catholic commentator who would give a straight answer to that question. Why?
I’m a vegan and have given up other treats for Lent.
For all who think that eating animals is o.k. have a look at the treatment of God’s creatures on factory farms before you lick your lips and fingers after devouring the flesh from factory farmed animals.
Just another point for people to consider when speaking about compassion.
Youtube: cruelty on factory farms.
Please don’t be cowardly and pass this by without considering my point.
Back in the ‘60’s after a Sunday closing of Forty Hours devotion I happened to go to the cafeteria in the undercroft of the Church. There—to my utter amazement—was a crowd of priests having a rousing good time. And also to my amazement was a table loaded with bottles of liquor. I’m sure I spied beer as well. Since back then you could count on at least 20-30 outside priests for the procession and benediction it was obvious that more than the solemn closing drew such a crowd.
We all need to rejoice and celebrate when it’s appropriate and priests need to relax and have a good time as well. I think that’s the first time I ever saw a priest as something other than a minor deity and I’m happy that I witnessed the celebration.
Theresa,
It’s not what goes into a person that defiles them…
Beer & a steak, yum!
Hmmmm ... methinks that Fr. John might have been spoofing you ... as in humor ... eh?
For the Annunciation, we abstained and celebrated—I grilled delicious Ahi Tuna steaks and sauted scallops in butter mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Decadent and fish all in one!
For meditation: the Second Mystery of Light. The wedding feast at Cana. (John 2:1-11) Two things that we can learn from contemplating this:
1) Jesus does some things when requested by His Mother; and, 2) From the large quantity of wine He has provided, The Lord has no objection to people enjoying themselves, including the drinking of alcoholic beverages, under appropriate circumstances. (Drinking before driving would be inappropriate, e.g.)
TeaPot562
Theresa McK: if you are concerned about the horrendous conditions in which most factory-farmed animals live and die, buying meat from suppliers who raise and kill their animals humanely is a more effective way of bringing about change in farming practice. If you don’t buy meat, the beef farmer doesn’t care what you say or do. If you buy meat, then the beef farmer wants to know how to get you to buy his beef. If you are prepared to pay more in order to be sure that the animal had a decent life and death, then the farmer is going to be prepared to make sure the animal had a decent life and death.
For this reason I buy chicken only occasionally,for my resident very senior citizen and her false teeth, because where I live the only choice is uebercheap or SuperOrganicHandFedByPicturesqueGranny, and serve beef as often as possible (because, again where I live, beef cattle have a reasonable life, raised on grass, etc) - it’s expensive, so we eat a lot of vegetarian meals, eggs (free range) and herring (yeah, I know, they have a grim death, but even if I were happy to eat beans every day, my elderly flatmate would rebel!)
When we were attending an Eastern Rite Catholic Church, and following (or doing our best) to follow the eastern fasting rules, I remember talking to the priest about said fasting rules. He said that accepting hospitality always trumps fasting rules. If it’s a Friday, and you’re visiting a friend, and they make a lovely beef stew for dinner, you eat it and thank your friend. Accept it in the spirit it’s given.
There was a story the priest always told about how he was visiting with a catechumenate, and it happened to be a Wednesday (traditionally a meatless day for the Easterns). The catechumenate made burgers and homemade fries for dinner. The priest exclaimed over the lovely meal, said grace, and they enjoyed their dinner. Then the priest said, “Now, Bill, that was a delicious dinner. But just so you remember, next time…”
Love this post! I’ve heard the arguements framing the little pleasures in life as “sins” far too often. To be honest it sounds an awful lot like the apostles complaining about the woman who washed Jesus feet with perfume “wasting” money.
there are just a few too many who forget ‘joy’ is a virtue :-)
@Lethargic: it never actually occurred to me that it was a joke, but you could be right! I hope so. But that’s no fair—- I’M the funny one, I’M the funny one.
I also celebrated and abstained, with delicious grilled shrimp. My husband, who took me to a steak house, was a little disgusted.
@Ted: I don’t think it’s a matter of Catholics not being courageous enough not to talk about it, so much as no one realizing what was going on until the actual day. I had no idea that the Anunciation trumped Friday until I heard it on Facebook on noon of the actual day. It’s also, of course, possible that there was a conspiracy to prevent you from enjoying a hamburger on that particular day. I hope you’ve had an extra one since then, to make up for it.
I guess Fr. John was rather embarrassed about that clip of Abp. Dolan on 60 Minutes, where he accepted a bottle of beer at an event and starting drinking on the spot. :-)
A close priest friend of mine tells a story of a parishioner who called him in a panic on Friday during Lent. She was distraught and was so upset. He asked her what was wrong and she said that she didn’t know what to do. He said, “Well, you have to tell me more.” Through choked-back tears she wailed, “Oh, Father, please forgive me but I just realized that I am eating a cheeseburger and its Friday in Lent. What should I do?” The priest emphatically replied, “FINISH THE CHEESEBURGER!” He told her that it would be more sinful to throw away perfectly good food. He reminded her that it wasn’t about the rules themselves, but about her intention and desire to offer a sacrifice for God. He therefore also told her to perform some other act of charity to make up for her small mistake! Knowing this animated priest, I can just hear him telling her to “finish the cheeseburger!!!” Hilarious!
I feel guilty that I haven’t given up beer for lent in a few years. In my house we adapted the practice of abstaining from meat on all Fridays several years ago, so when I texted my wife to tell her this was a Feast day so we don’t have to abstain she made tuna cascerole anyway…
Well said. I confess I served my family bean soup on Friday. Though I did add ham to it. It wasn’t much of a feast but I was too tired to do anything more.
Ha - well, nothing ruins a celebration like realizing that you have to cook twice. I didn’t know it was a meat day until midday, and it was the day before shopping day - so the kids had spaghetti with canned sauce, and my husband took me to a steak house!
I really wanted a celebratory feast; but with a newborn and still recovering from surgery I’m limited in what I can accomplish and the pantry was limited in what it could provide. Awesome that you were able to go out. I’d have gone that route but Dom was working too late.
It was kinda funny at our house. Along with the Annunciation, which our 7yo had been acting out for 2 weeks (he was Gabriel, I was Mary), we had a family reason to celebrate, so I asked dh to bring home steaks (he also brought some wine). Dd 16 walks into the kitchen after school and looks at me like I’d gone mad.
“Why are you cooking steak?” she asks “Aren’t we supposed to be FASTING?”. So I had to inform her that no, she didn’t have to fast on Lenten Fridays (except Good Friday, of course)and that it was a feast day anyway, so we didn’t even have to abstain.
She was particularly glad to see the steak!
Well here in Australia we can eat meat on the Friday’s in Lent except for Good Friday anyway. Many people do refrain from meat on Fridays but that is just their personal stringency or devotion.
Just so ya know, I had a 3 year old son who kind of fit the same description of your son at that age…he’s a priest now & lovin’ life!
Abigail Adams’ grandma told her daughter (Abigail’s mom) that “the wildest colts make the best horses’ once when Abigail was sent to Grandma’s house to give mom a break!
Another delightful post! I will make an extra effort today to see the bootiful in it. :)
@Athol—really? Meat on Lenten Fridays in Australia?!?? Yikes…
Yes and we only have 2 holy days of obiligation- christmas and Assumption plus Sundays.
What a wonderful blog to come across, and just when I needed it. As to the feast day, I was traveling with my family and 3 kids (the middle one is currently in the angry toddle stage). We were so distracted from being on the road for a week that I didn’t even realize it was Friday until after our stop at McDonald’s. :-( Unfortunately, I was also too distracted to realize it was a feast day, but I find the Holy Spirit whispering to me when I find out meat was “allowed” on the one day I just couldn’t have done any better.
On the topic of sour Catholics, I am actually dealing with a Catholic chaplain that is more interested in spreading the “Bad News” than the Good News and I really needed to see what you had written. More of the Holy Spirit’s whisperings. Thank you.
FINISH THE CHEESEBURGER!”
Ha!
He reminded her that it wasn’t about the rules themselves, but about her intention and desire to offer a sacrifice for God.
This was my understanding as well.
Katherine
I heard a wonderful sermonette a few years ago, that went something like this: “Honor the Lord of history by living the seasons of His Church. Celebrate the feasts and observe the solemnities. Get to know the saint of the day. In other words, attune yourself to the rhythm of the liturgical calendar.”
I don’t always remember to do this, but am always glad when I do.
@Chris Lynch
The liturgical calendar is one of the reasons I really LOVE being Catholic. It affords us the opportunity to orient our entire lives to the Church. Awesome!
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