Life as a Newly Ordained Priest

People often ask me what it is like being newly ordained, and if any weird or unusual happens to me more than before I was ordained. Well, yes... once in a while something out of the ordinary does happen. People are afraid to curse around me when I am in my collar; some people are even afraid to curse around my wife; random people wave to me; Latinos tip their caps to you as you walk by; people just come up to me and start telling me about their problems; people ask relationship questions as well as theological questions; I do not have to pay for parking many times at garages and such; non-church going casual acquaintences ask me to do their weddings (actually, that happened even when I was in seminary); I get asked about doing baptisms and such for people not in my parish; and I could go on. It is quite interesting, and a real blessing when these random encounters or experiences open the door for a serious conversation about Jesus Christ, sin and repentance.

By far, though, the craziest thing was when I was in Shreveport once at a business meeting, and a colleague found out that I was preparing for ordination (this was while I was still a postulant, obviously). So he asked me what he should about a localized recurrent apparition (a ghost) of an old lady that was haunting his house. He described the situation to me in great detail - it seemed to be a a completely benign ghost that didn't do too much except "appear" here and there, freaking people out when it did so. As he is telling me this I am saying to myself, "Uhhh, here's what you should do: MOVE!" But I figured he didn't want to hear that, so instead I advised him, as it was apparently not malevalent or causing any real problems, to completely ignore it as much as possible, and under no circumstances ever try to communicate or make contact with it as that is forbidden in the scriptures. I then told him that if he was still freaked out about the whole thing he could call a priest over to bless his home. So far I have not had anything top that.

New Alb

I just received from Wippells in England this gorgeous traditional alb that I bought with some ordination gift money... just imagine me wearing it as opposed to a broad. The picture really doesn't do it justice - it is quite extrodinary. The amount of lace is just right. It seems to me that every Anglican cleric should have at least one item of vesture from Wippells.

Collegial Episocpate: The Anglican Way

My in-laws were asked by a Roman Catholic friend what some of the differences between RCs and Anglicans were, and specifically if we Anglicans "followed the pope." I explained to them that the one of the major differences between the two traditions is that, while we acknowledge the Bishop of Rome as being a true bishop, and as having perhaps a position of special honor among the bishops of the world, we do not acknowledge him to have universal jurisdiction over the other bishops of the world and the whole church. The Roman Catholic episcopate is "top down", whereas in the Orthodox and Anglican tradition it is collegial. This developed historically, as there was only one patriarchal see in the west (Rome), and the rest were in the east. So one can naturally see how a top-down system developed in the west.

In recent years we have seen some of the problems seemingly associated with a collegial episcopate - especially within Anglicanism. Some bishops and bishops' conferences, instead of acting "collegially", and considering how their acts and decisions affect the larger church, have acted unilaterally, promoting in some cases heresy and schism (as in ECUSA). During these times many orthodox Anglicans lament that they do not have a central authority figure like the pope to keep the wackos in line, or get rid of them when they promote heresy.

If we think this way, we would do well to realize that just because a few bishops have been promoting heresy and sin in recent decades, and have not been disciplined for this, that does not mean that the teaching of a truly the collegial episcopate is wrong. It means that the bishops are not living up to the true meaning of collegiality, not following their vows, and so on. It is like saying, as many people do, that mandatory priestly celibacy in the RC tradition is "wrong" because vocations are low right now, or because there was a pedophilia scandal. Well, even if there was some connection to these current problems within the RC world and mandatory priestly celibacy, that does not mean that the teaching of the church in that area is necessarily wrong. Correlation does not imply causlity. The same is true for the teaching of the collegial episcopate. The collegial episcopate is supported by both scripture and tradition, and it is one of the great marks of our tradition and that of the eastern orthodox.

Lower than...

I love it when I hear a new phrase used to describe how low a particular parish is. Some of my favorites have to do with snakes: "That place is lower than snakes' hips." Or, "That place is lower than a snake's belly." Or, "It's snake-belly low." Those are pretty good. But my favorite so far was used by the rector of my home parish to describe some church he had visited once way back when... I asked him about the churchmanship at this place and he growled, "That place is so low you have to crawl in."

New Faces, Old Religion

Today I had the distinict pleasure of being treated to lunch by my spiritual director, the Rev'd Fr. Charles McClean, SSC. Also joining us was a friend who is in the aspirant program for the ECUSA, and the Rev'd Fr. Jason Catania, SSC, who is the new rector of Mt. Calvary Church, Baltimore, MD. As my spiritual director put it, Fr. Catania is "...of the old school." A true anglo-catholic, devoted to the "faith once delivered to the saints." He is bringing about liturgical change to Mt. Calvary. As he put it, "the last vestiges of the new religion are being swept away." The missal is back on all of the altars. The altar cards up. The traditional positions of the sacred ministers have been restored as prescribed in Ritual Notes. The preparation and the Last Gospel have been restored. And soon, the sub-deacon will be in a humeral veil, and so forth. It is wonderful to see. Mt. Calvary definitely went through a phase of liturgical revision, not as bad as some historically anglo-catholic parishes, but it was there. Now all of that will be gone. What will be left of it? (NOTE: I am into liturgical revision, by the way... as long as it is revising the crappy "novus ordo" liturgy... revising it back to the way it should be - to the missal.) Fr. Catania is also a trained, and degreed musician, so I am sure that the already great music at Mt. Calvary will only get better under his leadership. It was also nice to be able to connect my friend with him and Fr. McClean, as they will be able to help him navigate through the process of being ordained in the ECUSA. So all in all, it was a great day. Clergy lunches , by the way, are one of the best parts about being ordained. Sitting around and talking "shop talk" is absolutely wonderful. In closing, I exhort us to say a prayer for Fr. Catania's ministry at Mt. Calvary, Baltimore - one of the great, flagship anglo-catholic parishes in America; to pray for the ministry of my spiritual director, a great man of God and a holy, devout priest; to pray for my friend as he explores a priestly vocation; and lastly, to pray for me and my humble ministry as a priest of the APA (bringing traditional anglo-catholicism to the 'burbs).

Altar Cards & Fiddlebacks

A clergy colleague made an interesting point about why priests should consider wearing fiddleback chasubles and keeping altar cards on the altar. They send an immediate message about what your parish is all about: the orthodox, traditional Christian faith. Plus, one never sees women "priests" in fiddleback chasubles.

The Very Right Reverend

The APA has absorbed a number of smaller continuing Anglican jurisdictions over the years, each one coming with a bishop or two. The deal is that the bishop gets to keep his title and dress, but not function as a bishop by doing confirmations, ordinations, etc. unless, of course, previous arrangements have been made. Overall the policy seems to work very well. But sometimes it can make for some unusual titles. For example, Bp. Grundorf recently announced the formation of a deanery in this region of the country. I believe it consists of MD, DE, and DC. And the "dean" in charge of it is a bishop from a jurisdiction that merged with us a couple of years back. So that makes him "The Very Rt. Rev." A.B. He gave me a call the other day and we were joking about it. He'll make a good dean in part because he has a great sense of humor!

Motorcycle for Sale - BMW R1100R

I am selling my 1999 BMW R1100R motorcycle (my dream bike). The mileage is about 39K. Motorcycling is a great hobby, and this is a fantastic bike. It really makes heads turn. It has a really smooth ride, and it is very stable and roadworthy. If anyone out there happens to be interested in it please let me know. Here's what it comes with:

1100 CCs
BMW Saddlebags
BMW Aeroflow Windshield
New Metzler Tires
Two Piece Adjustable Saddle
Throttle Lock
Heated Grips
Full Heated Body Suit (socks, pants, jacket, and gloves)
Techllusion Fuel Injection Kit (fixes surging problem)
Maintainence Free Battery
Torque Wrench
Oil Filter Change Tool
BMW Tool Kit

I suppose as an Anglican I should be riding a Triumph, or and old BSA or Norton, but alas, I wanted a bike that was reliable!

A Couple More Pics

Here's one of me and Fr. Chad Jones, SSC, sub-dean of the cathedral in Oviedo, and longtime friend and mentor. Also one of me and Fr. Ray Unterburger, the rector of St. Alban's, Joppa - also an important mentor and friend. And one of me and my wife after my first mass on Low Sunday. I am vested in red because Bp. Grundorf was doing confirmations that day and receiving new members.

Ordination Pictures

Here are some pictures from after my ordination. Unlike many modernistic, novus ordo churches, we do not permit photography during the liturgy, so I don't have any of the "holy huddle", or anything like that. The chasuble I am wearing was purchased in Rome on me and my wife's honeymoon back in October. The custom fiddleback ones that I am having made are not ready yet (won't be ready till July). There are more photos, but I won't flood the internet with them. The first one is of me giving my first blessing to Bp. Grundorf. The group photo consists the clergy of the parish, as well as clergy from various APA and REC parishes. Also represented were clergy from FiFNA. All in all it was a great time. Like other newly ordained priests, I find that the most amazing part about it is offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. It is a truly profound, and beautiful experience. To think that God uses me, a sinful mortal, to make the one, "...full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction for the sins of the whole world..." present on the altar for the salvation of the world is awesome and humbling. I pray that God will help me to be a faithful priest, and dedicated servant for Him and for His people.

Ordination Charge

If you go to the Philorthodox blog you can read the charge I was given at my ordination by the Rev'd Fr. Chandler Holder Jones, SSC, who is sub-dean of our cathedral in Oviedo, Florida. I hope to have some pictures and thoughts posted soon!

Hip Hop Prayer Book

I found this Hip Hop prayer book while looking up 1940 Hymnals on the Church Publishing website. Looks pretty goofy to me. Here is how it translates Psalm 23:

Psalm 23 as adapted by Ryan Kearse
The Lord is all that, I need for nothing.
He allows me to chill.
He keeps me from being heated
and allows me to breathe easy.
He guides my life so that
I can represent and give
shouts out in his Name.
And even though I walk through
the Hood of death,
I don't back down
for you have my back.
The fact that you have me covered
allows me to chill.
He provides me with back-up
in front of my player-haters
and I know that I am a baller
and life will be phat.
I fall back in the Lord's crib
for the rest of my life.

God or the Girl?

There is a really interesting new mini-series on the A & E Network called God or the Girl about four men considering entering Roman Catholic seminary to become priests. As a graduate from a Roman Catholic seminary I find this series quite fascinating. They played two episodes last night, and have two more on tonight. Its just a two-day thing from what the website says, so try to catch it tonight if you can. It is very respectable, doesn't make a mockery of the Roman Church by any strech of the imagination, and is entertaining and educational. The National Conference of Catholic Bishops screened the episodes and have okayed it (of course, this is the same body whose film review arm said the movie Brokeback Mountain was a good film, but I digress). Anyway, I highly recommend this series.

There are so many things to say about the programs I saw last night. Here's a few general observations: Only one of the guys actually has a girlfriend. All but one are rather young.... too young and inexperienced to be making this kind of decision, in my judgment. They are all from pretty conservative dioceses/areas (Arlington, Scranton, etc.). Two, I think, went right out of high school to the minor seminary, so they already have some "seminary" experience.

If you have seen the show, here is my take on the guys. The two that I think should not be priests are Joe, who has major commitment issues and still hasn't found himself despite being 28 years old, and Steve, who seems to be exceedingly vain. The other two guys, I think, could be good priests. Dan is hyped about serving God and the church and already lives in a community of devoutly Roman Catholic religious men, and Mike (the one with the girlfriend) is very level-headed and sensitive... though his spiritual director seems to have some sort of Vulcan mind control over him. Of the four, Dan and Steve seem to have the worst case of "Messiah Complex" (i.e. I will be the savior of the Catholic Church and tell everyone what to believe and how to live). I suppose that is due to their age, though. Hearing it reminded me of an admonition given by one of my seminary professors (a very holy man): he said to make sure that we worked out our own salvation in fear and trembling, and thought about our vocation that way, before worrying about trying to save everyone else.

It is really sad that their denomination makes them have to choose between God and "the girl". Fr. Taylor Marshall asked a while back on his blog what good things Anglicanism has to offer the rest of christendom. One of those good things, though I don't know if it was mentioned, was the option for clergy to marry. The natural desire for men to be with women, both physically, emotionally, and spiritually, should not be denied, or set in opposition to serving in the ordained ministry. That opposition is neither biblical nor patristic. Anyway, this should be an interesting show to follow over the next few days, or for however long it stays on.

U2 Masses

Here is a link to an AP story on U2 masses that some ECUSA parishes are having. These are services where they use music by the rock group U2 for the liturgy. I think some churches have a cover band play the music, while others just spin the CD. U2 has granted there permission for churches to use their music in this way. Many of their songs have a Christian, or generalized religious, or other socially redeeming theme to them. There are even books out on using U2 songs to help write sermons. Now, I like U2, and I even have a few of their CDs on my I-Pod, but I don't think their music is suitable for the corporate worship of the church. The rock and roll medium is too simplistic, market-driven, and transitory to be used for the public worship of the eternal, Triune God of the universe. The banal words to most rock and roll songs draw attention mainly to themselves, and so the song and the group becomes the point of everything... not God. Further, rock and roll music is emotionally driven. The way many popular rock songs are composed (if one can use that word) causes people listening to them to be whipped into an emotional frenzy, clouding reason and intellect. Public Christian worship consists in large part of a perfect balance between reason and emotion. The ECUSA parishes that are doing this have reported that large numbers of young people have been drawn out to the services. But do they continue to come back? Do services that use this type of music have enough spiritual depth to sustain these apparant "conversions"? I doubt it. More important, do the churches holding these services really teach the Christian faith at all, with its great themes of creation, fall, and redemption? If not, then I don't care what kind of music you have playing, people will not come to the church. If there is no spiritual need for salvation, as many mainline churches seem to teach, then why go to church at all?

Baptisms Down

A news link on New Oxford Review reports that baptisms are declining in many churches... from the Southern Baptists to the Roman Catholics. One of the main reasons this is happening, acccording to the article, is because of interfaith marriage: people marry outside of their Christian tradition - or even outside of the Church - and decide to let their kids get baptized when they feel the time is right. They let it be their childrens' choice. Hmmm, I wonder if they would take one of their sons and say, "Well, let's not raise him as a boy or a girl. When he is old enough he can make his own decision as to which sex he wants to be." Or, "Let's not raise little Johnny to be financially secure and responsible, but instead we'll let him decide if he wants to be poor or middle class." That's what these parents are doing with the grace of God in baptism. They are robbing their children of it. If there is friction about whether or not the child should be baptized, then the couple should not be getting married in the first place. Christians should not marry unbelievers (or even "nominal" Christians) anyway - even as the children of Israel were forbidden to intermarry with the Canaanites. Too many churches do not teach what the scriptures teach in this area, and the world and the Church is worse off for it. In the evangelical/baptist world, I suspect one of the reasons for the downward trend in baptism has something to do with the whole "getting saved" theology. Why get baptized when you don't need it to get "saved". Since their faith is not incarnational, or even anti-incarnational, they see no need for sacraments. The Christian faith is mere assent to certain intellectual propositions, and living a morally upstanding life.

N.T. Wright and Jackson Pollock

Lately I have been reading The New Testament and the People of God by N.T. Wright. The beginning section of the book deals with hermeneutics. One of the problems people face in reading texts these days is whether or not a text actually refers to anything real. In reading a story about some event, can it actually convey anything truthful about the event, or does it only tell us only what the author is thinking about? Indeed, some are of the opinion that a story/text really tells us about the mind of author, and nothing more, and so they look for clues in the book to find out about the author's personal life. Wright basically says that this idea is a bunch of bunk.
There is an interesting connection here to art history and art interpretation. Some people think that in looking at an artist's work they can somehow find out about his or her personal belief system, or discover what philosophy he or she followed. Theories like that make for interesting reading at times, but it must be remembered that they are always, in the end, merely speculation and theories. With that in mind, Jackson Pollock is a favorite whipping boy of people like Francis Schaffer. They say that his art shows how meaningless he thought life and the world was. But I don't think his work can be written off that easily. His drip paintings are extremely beautiful (you really have to go see one in person), and are wonderful studies in formless painting. They ought to be apprciated for what they are, and not used as a jumping-off point for mindless speculation about his personal life. The same thing is true with reading the NT. It is meant to be read for what it is.

NOR Subscription

Special thanks to St. George the Orthodox, who comments on the blog, for getting me a subscription to the New Oxford Review! Thinking of leaving Anglicanism for the wonderful majesty, uniformity in faith and liturgy, and orthodoxy and traditionalism of Rome? Better subscribe to this magazine first. Rome "ain't all its cracked up to be." I think I might buy myself the Book "Papal Sins" as a little companion piece to this fine magazine.

Passion de Jeanne d'Arc

Tonight we have a post-confirmation age youth activity. This is my kind of activity: we are going to watch the classic silent film "Passion de Jeanne d'Arc", by Carl Dreyer. This movie has quite a history. Dreyer was urged to make all sorts of changes to the film so the public would like it better. He did so, but they lost their edge, and the film flopped. Meanwhile, the few original prints remaining were lost to various fires. But in 1982, an orginal print was found in the closet of an Oslo insane asylum. It was restored, and a fantastic soundtrack was composed by Einhorn (Voices of Light). The restored orginial with the new soundtrack is absolutely amazing.

The acting is great. It is amazing how you know exactly what is going on, and what the people are saying and thinking even if there are no subtitles. They do it all through their expert facial expressions and gestures. The close-ups and camara angles are astounding and dramatic. It shows how silly most modern movies are, and how studios prefer to use technology, cgi, and special effects instead of the skills of the actor or actress (and the director of photography too, for that matter). If you have never watched a silent film, I recommend this one, as it is a good introduction to the genre.

I hope they like it. There are a few who I think will definitely enjoy it. Not sure about the others. Either way, it will be a great film to see, and a good teaching tool. When I was a kid I hated youth group... with all of the goofy games, the guitar-strumming "kumba ya" music, and all the rest of it. I loved church, and I loved hymns, but I disliked the silliness associated with the youth group. Something like this would have been right up my alley.

My First Mass

It turns out that my first Holy Eucharist will be celebrated the day after my ordination. As that day is a Sunday, and the bishop will be present for confirmations, my first mass will be celebrated in his presence at the main parish mass. Nothing like a little pressure on a guy! At least it won't be a solemn high. Also, my wife will be among those being confirmed that day, so that will add to the pressure as well. Once that is done, I will have to do more masses. For the rector tells me that it is customary that a new priest celebrate three votive masses on the first three ferial days after his ordination: one for the Holy Spirit, one in honor of Our Lady, and one Requiem (for departed family members). So I guess I need to plan those sometime soon.

Private Interpretation and Authority

I am working on my sermon for Palm Sunday. The rector lets me preach several times a month, which is great practice, and I am honored to be allowed to preach on such an important day. Sometimes sermon prep can be very difficult, especially when the passage of scripture appointed for the day is cryptic. Interpreting these passages properly is tricky and requires lots of thought, study, and reflection. I use a variety of commentaries to help me in interpreting these passages, as well as to get ideas on how to approach them.

All of this got me thinking about corporate vs. private interpretation of the scriptures. Over on the fundamentalist Roman Catholic blog, Pontifications, they often talk about private interpretation the scriptures, and how that is one of "problems" associated with Protestantism. In the Roman Church, it is the Magesterium that interprets the scriptures in a way that is normative for the life of the Church, whereas individual Protestants (supposedly) just blindly read the Bible and make it say whatever they want. Often those who harp on this issue believe that the various moral and social challenges facing the Church and other "ecclesial entities" today have come about directly because of the sin of "private interpretation". Honestly, though, I think that is over simplifying the situation. And the more I think about it, the less difference I see between the two camps. The Roman Catholic Church interprets scripture in the same way that other churches do. They use the same tools and techniques, and read the same commentaries, and look at the same documents from the Tradition, as everyone else does. They do not have a secret "stash" of biblical commentaries known only to them.

The main difference would appear to be the magesterium. The magesterium of the Church really acts as the "referee" in the game. And while it is the bishops that form the magesterium of the Church, they clearly depend on the work of biblical scholars, theologians, and other experts to help them make their official decisions and pronouncements. So, in actual fact, the Roman Catholic magesterium is not as authoritarian in these areas as people think. Put another way, they do not just sit around and spout off opinions and interpretations, but very carefully listen the experts, pray, read, and study, just like everyone else. In the end they simply rubber stamp what has been a long, rational, and reflective process. And while I believe that the pontiff could theorectically just announce a particular interpretation of a passage as being "the one true interpretation for all time and space", it would obviously be highly unusual for that to occur. The magesterium also has the responsibility to make sure Roman Catholic clergy adhere to these teachings and decisions. This difference (the role of the magesterium in scriputre interpretation) is very enticing to certain people, and causes many to convert to Roman Catholicism. But is there even this difference between Roman Catholics and Protestants?

All churches have a magesterium - that is to say, a body that decides what is or is not normative for the life of the Church in terms of scriptural interpretation and doctrine. Is there no authority in Protestantism? Or in Anglicanism? Don't tell Bp. Bennison, or Bp. Shaw, or Bp. Ilhoff that. They will laugh right in your face. Of course they have authority, and as we all know, they exercise it very well! Do ECUSA bishops not interpret the scriptures in a way that is normative for their church? Of course they do! Those (ECUSA) bishops and there colleagues have and do interpret the scriptures in a way that is normative for the life of their church. In both ways, protestant denominations are the same as Rome. Even extremely Protestant traditions/denominations, such as Presbyterians, do not allow a minister to get up and say and teach whatever he wants to say and teach. He must conform to the received tradition of his church. There is authority, and authoritative scripture interpretation, in every church. Ultimately one must choose which church's authority and teaching to submit himself to.