What's wrong with snark?

I'm sure most of the readers of my blog have come across articles on the internet that rely heavily on the use of snark. This includes a number of popular Catholic blogs. Snark is a combination of the words snide and remark and has become a common vehicle used to get a writer's point across to his or her readers. It's sarcastic and at times humorous.

Or it's supposed to be humorous. Very often snark fails on Catholic blogs because it steps out of the terrain of mild sarcasm and treads into the territory of mockery. Mockery has no place on a christian blog. Catholic writers who are liberal in their use of snark may claim that they are using it for good purpose but their comboxes tell the real story:  it's offensive to a large portion of the Catholic population. It repels others away from the Faith instead of drawing them in.

Mockery treats others with derision; it's contemptuous, not humorous.

In the Catholic blogosphere I've seen this derision, thinly veiled as snark, take down entire subgroups of the Catholic population. In many cases the writer has a valid point but the point gets lost in the midst of the "trash talk". It's like trying to find a gem in a garbage heap. The gem may be there but it's so covered with muck that it has become unrecognizable to the readers.

I'm all for writers who are blunt but honest. Peter Kreeft is a good example of a writer who cuts to the chase and tells it like it is. But this is not snark. As shocking as his words may sometimes be you can see the truth in them. They are acceptable because of the charity behind them. Snark has a peculiar kind of dishonesty behind it that says "I care more about how many readers I get than whether the readers see the truth of my words." You can smell its pharisaic qualities a mile off.

So what is so wrong with too much snark?

It promotes an "us against them mentality"
It promotes group evil  (For an example of group evil we need only look at the crowd mocking Jesus on the   cross. People get caught up in it.)

And most of all...

...it harms those who are already wounded, the very ones we want to help.

Last Chance to Vote for These Stone Walls

Today and tomorrow are the final days for voting at About.com. Your vote can make a difference! Please vote for These Stone Walls here.

Why?

Check out What Evil Sorcery is This?

 But most of all... because he deserves it.

God Bless Pope Francis!

We have a new pope!

Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio is now our 266th pope!

God bless Pope Francis I !!!!

White Smoke!!!

We have a new pope!! Don't know who it is yet though!!

Don't Forget to Vote

Don't forget to vote for "These Stone Walls" at About.com's 2013 Reader's Choice Awards. A win would make the online Catholic community (and hopefully my diocese!) stand up, take note and perhaps help pave the way for a new trial for Fr. Gordon MacRae.

Black Smoke - No Pope

The smoke rising from the Sistine Chapel was black... so no pope yet. I doubt anyone really expected white smoke on the first day anyway. Still, I can't wait to find out who our next pope will be!

Conclave to Begin on Tuesday

You can read about it here!

A Big Thank You

Grace has no boundaries. Grace abounds in a loving heart. Grace can reach out from across the world and touch the heart of another.

Thank you, Sue. 

Thank you for being you.
      
                                         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Can I Roll My Eyes Too?

A conversation between Michaela and Randy that I overheard yesterday:

"Peanut, eat your carrots. You want to have good eyesight don't you? Bunnies eat carrots and I bet you'll never see a bunny with glasses."

Michaela rolls her eyes. "Daddy, I've never seen a bird with glasses either but that doesn't mean I'm gonna eat worms."

                                   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Smell the Rotting Souls"

Some of you may have read this article by Dr. Peter Kreeft already but today is the first time I've seen it: The Winning Strategy. As you may know, I'm quite fond of people who are blunt-spoken and very few are as straightforward and blunt as Dr. Kreeft. He tells it like it is and, in a world obsessed with being politically correct, I appreciate not having to wrestle with too much "fluff" to get to the meat of an article. No worries with Dr. Kreeft; you won't get pandering here.

In his article The Winning Strategy, Dr. Kreeft says something that really caught me off guard because I have become so used to people tiptoeing around the issue of sin, softening the blows in order to please the crowds (who do not want their comfort disturbed by something as ugly as sin or the eternal loss of souls).

"I don’t mean merely that Western civilization will die. That’s a piece of trivia. I mean eternal souls will die. Billions of Ramons and Vladamirs and Janes and Tiffanies will go to Hell. That’s what’s at stake in this war: not just whether America will become a banana republic, or whether we’ll forget Shakespeare, or even whether some nuclear terrorist will incinerate half of humanity, but whether our children and our children’s children will see God forever. That’s what’s at stake in “Hollywood versus America.” That’s why we must wake up and smell the rotting souls. Knowing we are at war is the first requirement for winning it". - See more at: http://www.integratedcatholiclife.org/2011/01/kreeft-the-winning-strategy/#sthash.yrBdPAos.dpuf

You can't state things much more bluntly than this, can you? And Dr. Kreeft is right. We need to understand that we are in the midst of the greatest spiritual war in the history of humanity.

And the "casualties" of this war could be our children.

Yes, Dr. Kreeft, it's time for America to wake up and smell the rotting souls.

Praying for a Cardinal

If you'd like to adopt a cardinal to pray for as the College of Cardinals meets to elect a new pope in the coming weeks you can do so here.  I will be offering prayers for His Eminence Philippe Cardinal Barbarin , Archbishop of Lyon, France. A big "thank you" to Karinann and Nancy for letting me know about this opportunity to offer extra prayers and sacrifices for a specific cardinal along with my prayers for the Conclave.

This Makes No Sense

I just finished reading a powerful post written by Fr. Gordon MacRae called Giving Up Resentment  for Lent: Calisthenics for your Soul and couldn't help but think that not only is it my own Church (even sadder...his too) that treats Fr. MacRae in such a dehumanizing manner ...it's my own diocese.

Why can't they at least listen to what he has to say? How will it hurt them to simply hear him? Especially with all the new evidence that has come to light in this particular case. Isn't "visit the imprisoned" one of the Corporal Works of Mercy?

On a brighter note, Fr. MacRae's blog is a finalist for Best Catholic Blog at About.com. If you'd like to vote for These Stone Walls please click here. You can vote once every 24 hours.

Thanks!

We Have Eyes to See

We have the eyes to see and the heart to know that things have gone terribly wrong in our world today. Terribly, terribly, wrong.  I would be a fool if I ignored what is staring me right in the face. On the one hand, God would consider me worst than foolish if I deliberately ignored the signs around me. On the other hand, the world would consider me a fool for believing and writing about the dangerous times we live in.

Given the choice, I choose to be a fool in the eyes of the world and to step out in faith and warn people that the time for mercy is now and that we would do well to use it wisely.

This is not about apparitions, false apparitions, seers, prophets, false prophets...though many of these are out there. This is about seeing what is right in front of us and acknowledging the truth of it before God. He has been warning us in many ways for at least a century now. While many may be able to overlook what people say about our times, can we really ignore what's clear as a bell and right before our very own eyes?

I'm going to say something that won't make me very popular:

Those who are ignoring these signs are the foolish ones.

Here are words of warning from a very wise man who clearly saw what was going on:

"We are now standing in the face of the greatest historical confrontation humanity has gone through. I do not think that wide circles of the American society or wide circles of the Christian community realize this fully. We are now facing the final confrontation between the Church and the anti-Church, of the Gospel and the anti-Gospel. This confrontation lies within the plans of divine providence. It is a trial which the whole Church . . . must take up."  
                                                                 Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul II didn't speak these words simply to hear the sound of his own voice, he understood the terrible gravity of our times.

And so should we.

Because, seriously folks, I think it's going to get worse before it gets better.

The Dark Corners of Our Hearts

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons

Indeed, the word of God is living and effective, sharper than any two-edged sword, penetrating even between soul and spirit, joints and marrow, and able to discern reflections and thoughts of the heart. No creature is concealed from him, but everything is naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must render an account."   Heb. 4:12,13

Purification. A word that sets me trembling if I'm being honest. I like it... but hate it. I'm glad God cares enough about us to do this for us... though I have to admit that it is painful at times. Especially when He is dredging up muck from the past, the "stuff" that you are unaware is deeply hindering you and keeping you from progressing spiritually.

It goes something like this:

God will pour light on certain unconscious behavior patterns, you begin to realize WHY you have been acting in certain ways for most of your life and you wonder "why wasn't this obvious to me" before now.

Everything becomes clear as a bell. It was hidden from you until now.

And it's a long, slow process. Most of the time, at least.

Years ago, when God first began to do this work in me, I was very resistant to it because I didn't understand what was going on. Was I really relating to others through the lens of the past? Through the scars of my upbringing?

Yes, I was. Still am no doubt. Everyone does this to some degree or another. There are no perfect families and everyone has wounds that they hide and behaviors they use to cover them or to protect themselves.  We just aren't aware of them.

Until the Holy Spirit makes us aware of them.

Even though some of these behaviors began as coping devices and may have been crucial to our survival growing up, not only are they no longer needed but they are detrimental to our spiritual health. If we refuse to let them go, our spiritual growth seems to come to a grinding halt. I've been "stuck" more than once due to my refusal to see. It's hard at times because these are unconscious habits so when they are brought to your attention by the Holy Spirit your first response is often: "Say what?? What do you mean I'm defensive? I'm not defensive!" (Lol. This is just an example...uhm...I think.)

Many of these less than lovely traits have to do with the way we relate to others and they need to be healed so we can love well.

Whenever I am going through a time of purification and I sense a lot of resistance on my part I turn to Mother Mary in prayer. I've found that Our Lady is a great, great help during these times. She sweetens even the most painful processes.

Her "ways are pleasant ways and all her paths are peace".

Trust

                                                 Head faith = believing in God

                                         
                                                    Heart faith = believing God
                                                            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

                  
                          By love can God be got and held, by thought and knowledge never 
                                                (From The Cloud of Unknowing)