Women's Ordination and the Double Standard

I was surprised to see this headline on CNN.com yesterday, “Catholic Church defends male-only priesthood”. Apparently, certain groups, that have little or no understanding of Catholic doctrine, are planning billboards and protests in favor of women’s ordination during the Pope’s visit to London.

The Catholic Church has been defending this position for 2,000 years, which makes this headline that more absurd and amusing. It is typical of CNN and the rest of the mainstream media to try to dig up anything to portray the Church in a negative light in hopes of boosting their ratings. This next line from the article further displays the reporter’s ignorance of the Church’s history:

“It's rare for the Catholic Church to defend its fundamental positions in this way.”

I guess countless teachings and statements by bishops and Popes through the centuries, including public documents by Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI in which they said they do not have the authority to ordain women, doesn’t matter for this reporter. This next quote from Fr. Wang in the article must have gotten the feminists and other liberals really upset.

The bottom line is that Jesus chose 12 men - and no women - to be his apostles, Wang argues.


The choice was "deliberate and significant, not just for that first period of history, but for every age," Wang says.


Men and women are equal in Christianity, he continues, but "this does not mean that our sexual identity as men and women is interchangeable. Gender is not just an accident."

I was actually surprised to see that CNN had the guts to publish these lines. Thank you Fr. Wang for having the courage to defend our faith in this article.

Inspirational Words From an American Hero

I want to share this truly remarkable Father's prayer written by American war hero General Douglas MacArthur. I also posted below, after the prayer, an inspirational quote from General MacArthur about his view of fatherhood.

I was so impressed by these words, that I am thinking about making them a permanent fixture on this blog. MacArthur's eloquent prayer and statements capture the truth of real fatherhood. I hope and pray that more men have seen these words and have been moved by them as I have to always strive to be a better man not for our own sake, but because of the examples we are giving to our sons and daughters.

A Father's Prayer
by General Douglas MacArthur
 
Build me a son, O Lord, who will be strong enough
To know when he is weak and brave enough to face himself when he is afraid;
One who will be proud and unbending in honest defeat,
And humble, and gentle in victory.

Build me a son whose wishes will not take the place of deeds;
A son who will know Thee – and that to know himself is the foundation stone of knowledge.
Lead him, I pray, not in the path of ease and comfort, but under the stress and spur of difficulties and challenge. Here, let him learn to stand up in the storm; here let him learn compassion for those that fail.

Build me a son whose heart will be clear, whose goal will be high, a son who will master himself before he seeks to master other men, one who will reach into the future, yet never forget the past.

And after all these things are his, add, I pray, enough of a sense of humor, so that he may always be serious, yet never take himself too seriously. Give him humility, so that he may always remember the simplicity of true greatness, the open mind of true wisdom, and the meekness of true strength.

Then I, his father, will dare to whisper, "I have not lived in vain."

(This reflection was written by General MacArthur, during his early days in the Philippines during the Pacific War, and was left as a spiritual legacy to his son Arthur. Made public after the general’s death in 1964.)


"By profession, I am a soldier and take pride in that fact. But I am prouder – infinitely prouder – to be a father. A soldier destroys in order to build; the father only builds, never destroys. The one has the potentiality of death; the other embodies creation and life. And while the hordes of death are mighty, the battalions of life are mightier still. It is my hope that my son, when I am gone, will remember me not from the battle field but in the home repeating with him our simple daily prayer, 'Our Father who art in Heaven.'  "- General Douglas MacArthur about being a father to his son Arthur.

Marriage and Manhood

The video below and the related post which can be found here are by Msgr. Charles Pope of the Archdiocese of Washington. He delivers a powerful and very direct message of how a real man should approach his marriage. The video is Msgr. Pope's sermon on marriage and manhood. He doesn't pull any punches when he describes the difference between a "boy" and a "man" in terms of how they approach relationships and their treatment of women. The post I linked to above is titled "Three Sayings About Marriage". In this piece, Msgr. Pope shares some of his advice on marriage that he has used in pre-cana settings. Again, he goes into the topic of real men and marriage with strong words such as this:

Boys run around and play the field, but a man looks for a wife and, finding her, leaves his parents and clings to her. This is what a man does. He works hard to preserve union with his wife. He seeks to understand her needs and to provide, to be affectionate, affirming and encouraging. He confirms her authority over the children and teaches them to respect her. Too many men today are passive husbands and fathers. But the Scriptures place on the man the first obligation to cling to his wife.

The video and posting contain timeless words of advice that many men in today's culture need to focus on more often. In a society already mired in the epidemic of divorce and now facing the threat of gay marriage, reminders of how real men should view marriage are needed now more than ever.

What We As Dads Need to Protect Our Kids From

For quite some time now, there has been a fascination with vampires in the media. What was once a symbol of evil has become the object of obsession by teens and even some adults. The stuff of nightmares has now become the stuff of dreams and infatuation. In my opinion, it is a sad commentary on society when a vampire, once regarded as the consummate villain, is now heralded as a hero and a role model. It appears as if the once black and white concepts of good and evil are now blended together into one shade of gray.

As a parent, I find it extremely disturbing that this is being marketed so heavily to children as well. The Twilight saga has become the hottest selling brand in books, movies, and even toys. You can't walk very far without seeing some piece of merchandise with Edward or Bella's face on it. My wife and I had made up our mind long ago that we didn't want our kids getting wrapped up in this unhealthy craze. My oldest daughter, who is, 9 had already come home and told us that some of her friends and even a cousin had seen the first movie and read the book. Now I realize that it is the responsibility of parents to decide what their children read or view, and that these books and movies are intended for a more mature audience. But our jobs as parents becomes increasingly more difficult when the marketing executives behind this series intentionally market a PG-13 movies to young children well below the age of 13 in the form of toys and even fast food children's meals.

Recently, I was disgusted when I visited a local Burger King with my wife and three children, all under the age of 10. As usual we ordered the BK Kid's Meal for my daughters and my son. That's when we noticed that Twilight was being promoted on the Kid's Meal. My wife and I were repulsed that a PG-13 movie about vampires and the occult is being purposely pushed to children. (Take a look at the photo to the left. It is from a Burger King promotion advertising the Kid's Meal toys from Twilight. ) My wife asked if there was any other toys available besides Twilight, and the teen clerk at the counter said no. She was then in disbelief when my wife told her to throw out the Twilight toys because we thought they were inappropriate for our kids.

I know some people think we may be overreacting when it comes to this movie. But my point is why in the world would anyone think it is a good idea to market to small children a PG-13 movie about vampires and werewolves? What was running through the mind of Burger King executives when they thought this was a good idea? Lets look at the facts here. First, as I have said repeatedly, this is a PG-13 movie. How many 13 year olds actually go into Burger King and order Kids Meals? I am willing to bet very few. The overwhelming majority of consumers of Kid's Meals are well below the age of 13. In other words, this was no oversight by anyone at BK or the movie studio. This was a blatant attempt to sacrifice the innocence of our young children at the altar of the almighty dollar. Good job BK, that's why I have been urging other parents to avoid you at all costs.

Never Ever Give Up In Life

This is a powerful video that I came across on the Anchoress blog. It contains a awesome message about not only perseverance, but of what it means to be a father and God's awesome love for us. Please watch this beautiful video and then read the Anchoress' post at the link above on saving the world by saving fatherhood.

8 Tips for Catholic Men

Yesterday I came across this powerful article by Randy Hain, "8 Tips for Catholic Men".  It is one of the some of best advice that all Catholic men should here. I was so impressed by these 8 tips that I felt compelled to share them here. Please click on the link above to read the entire piece. It is well worth your time.

While all 8 tips are very much needed by all of us, three really stood out for me:

 #3 - Become passionate about the Eucharist - What more can I say about this that Mr. Hain didn't already say? However I will add that you will become more like the Master by spending more time with the Master.

#4 - Go To Reconciliation more Frequently - One of the biggest problems facing the Church and society is the loss of a sense of sin which causes too many of us to ignore this wonderful sacrament and the powerful graces God bestows on us through reconciliation.

#8 - Be Courageous -  I will end by quoting Mr. Hain's explanation of this as it is just too good to pass up:

Christians are meant to stand out, not blend in.  Blending in speaks to conforming and making sacrifices so our faith becomes part of the mainstream…and we need to fight it!  We live in difficult, trying times.  Families are under attack, our children are at risk, many people are blind to the need to respect and value all life and atheists are one of the fastest growing groups in the world.  We have an opportunity to be beacons of light and good examples of Christ’s redeeming love.  We will be judged one day on the fruits of our apostolate and hope to hear Jesus say the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”  

Why We Need Strong Fathers

Let's face facts. Families and especially fatherhood in this society is under constant attack. In the recent gay marriage case in California the judge actually called traditional families as "artifacts of the past" and discriminatory. In other words, this judge feels a gay woman could easily replace the influence of a good father when it comes to raising a child. Besides this, there is the usual garbage on television where fathers are portrayed as juvenille dolts who are irresponsible and constantly scheming. Watch any episode of nearly any sitcom on TV today and you won't be able to deny this. Then there was this article in the Atlantic by Pamela Paul called "Are Fathers Necessary ?"

Yes you read the title correctly, this woman actually questions whether we as fathers are even needed. If you had the stomach for it and took the time to read the rest of that ridiculous article, the writer even went so far as to quote 2009 research data compiled by Judith Stacey and Timothy Biblarz of the University of Southern California. This statistical data claims lesbians are more effective parents than heterosexual father. Now, before I go any further, Stacey and Biblarz were quoted in this 2001 article admitting that most studies on gay parenting are flawed and inaccurate because the scholars behind them do not want their research used against the push for gay marriage and gay adoption.

Claiming that "few respectable scholars today oppose [same-sex] parenting," Stacey and Biblarz suggest that most scholars fear that highlighting the differences will be used by opponents of homosexual parenting and marriage to oppose gay adoption and gay marriage.

Welcome

Welcome to Iron Works - a Catholic blog. Please click on the link "About this Blog" on the left for more details about me and this blog. I welcome all comments, questions and suggestions. I will be writing about a variety of topics and issues, mostly dealing with those that involve what it means to be a Catholic man in these challenging times.  I may get passionate about certain issues in my posts. My goal here is not to attack or use this blog as a weapon, but also not to sacrifice the truth for the sake of political correctness. I do not claim to speak on behalf of the Church or anyone else, just myself.

I hope you enjoy this blog and I look foward to reading your comments.