Bitter-Sweet Laughter

Go take a look at my very funny friend's

Bitter Homeschooler's Wish List

at Shoved To Them.

Excommunicated by the Excommunicated!!!

I've been EXCOMMUNICATED by the lovely folks over at the Society of St. Leo I (SSLI).

I still say Fr. Chadwick LeJanvier (a.k.a. RadTradChad) looks just like Oliver Stone. You be the judge.

A Hymn for Father Tim

There is only ONE hymn I've ever truly hated --

Lord of the Dance.

Every time the children's choir (and for some reason it was mostly reserved for our younguns to sing this) would start belting this one out, my skin would crawl. I have to admit that it's rousing and made me want to do a Martin Short kinda dance down the aisle towards the altar, following some invisible and diabolical Pied Piper of bad liturgical making. For the longest time, I didn't confide my hatred of this song with others because I couldn't quite put my finger on the why of it.

Lord of the Dance

I danced in the morning when the world was begun
I danced in the Moon & the Stars & the Sun
I came down from Heaven & I danced on Earth
At Bethlehem I had my birth:
Chorus
Dance then, wherever you may be
I am the Lord of the Dance, said He!
And I'll lead you all, wherever you may be
And I'll lead you all in the Dance, said He!
I danced for the scribe & the pharisee
But they would not dance & they wouldn't follow me
I danced for fishermen, for James & John
They came with me & the Dance went on.
Chorus
I danced on the Sabbath & I cured the lame
The holy people said it was a shame!
They whipped & they stripped & they hung me high
And they left me there on a cross to die!
Chorus
I danced on a Friday when the sky turned black
It's hard to dance with the devil on your back
They buried my body & they thought I'd gone
But I am the Dance & I still go on!
Chorus
They cut me down and I leapt up high
I am the Life that'll never, never die!
I'll live in you if you'll live in Me
I am the Lord of the Dance, said He!
Chorus
Could it have been that I just couldn't (and didn't want to) imagine Our Lord crazily dancing around during His ministry and Passion? Or was it just that I'd always associated the Devil (or at least naughty leprechauns) with this sort of frenzy (you know, went down to Georgia, made deals with musicians at crossroads, and was always trying to keep his magically delicious Lucky Charms to himself)?
Then one day, I decided to look this song up and try to find out it's history. It turns out it was written by Sydney Carter in 1963. Here's a little taste of what this guy was thinking when he wrote this song:
'Partly inspired by Jesus, and partly by a statue of Shiva as Nataraja... as an adaptation of Joseph Brackett's "Simple Gifts", and a tribute to Shaker music. He later stated, "I did not think the churches would like it at all. I thought many people would find it pretty far flown, probably heretical and anyway dubiously Christian. But in fact people did sing it and, unknown to me, it touched a chord… Anyway, it's the sort of Christianity I believe in... I see Christ as the incarnation of the piper who is calling us. He dances that shape and pattern which is at the heart of our reality. By Christ I mean not only Jesus; in other times and places, other planets, there may be other Lords of the Dance. But Jesus is the one I know of first and best. I sing of the dancing pattern in the life and words of Jesus. Whether Jesus ever leaped in Galilee to the rhythm of a pipe or drum I do not know. We are told that David danced (and as an act of worship too), so it is not impossible. The fact that many Christians have regarded dancing as a bit ungodly (in a church, at any rate) does not mean that Jesus did. The Shakers didn't."'
_______________________
Okley dokley. I think I've heard enough, Mr. Carter. I say you pack your bags and take your heretical and creepy song and move on over to Fr. Tim's place. We just don't need your many gods on many planets kinda thing. Thank you very much.

BANNED!!!

Father Tim, you've made my day.

MEME

So, I'm sorta new to this blogging thingie and I want to make friends. Really, I do. When my real-time friend over at Shoved To Them sent me this thing called a MEME, I was excited. I didn't exactly know what a MEME was although I'd seen them being passed around like a stomach virus in a large homeschooling family. Seemed like a chain letter, only personalized. Well, being a Gen-Xer mother of a couple of Gen-Wikiers, I looked up MEME...
[it] comprises a theoretical unit of of cultural information, the building block of cultural evolution or diffusion that propagates from one mind to another analogously to the way in which a gene propagates from one organism to another as a unit of genetic information and of biological evolution.
What a funny little idea! How do these geeky academicians come up with this stuff? It's like they have nothing to do all day, just sitting around and typing on their computers, trying to impress people... ahem... well, anyway. Here you go...
1. Do you attend the Traditional Latin Mass or the Novus Ordo?
We assist at the TLM. We are blessed to have an independent chapel ministered fulltime by the FSSP.
2. If you attend the TLM, how far do you drive to get there?
It's 15 minutes away. As I said, we are very blessed.
3. If you had to apply a Catholic label to yourself, what would it be?
This kinda thing is very hard for me. I think most people would call me traditional but the traddies would probably call me a hippie.
4. Are you a comment junkie?
I think that might be the best part of reading and writing blogs.
5. Do you go back to read the comments on the blogs you’ve commented on?
Yep.
6. Have you ever left an anonymous comment on another blog?
Nope.
7. Which blogroll would you most like to be on?
It would appear that I just made it over at the SOV2. Yippee!!!
8. Which blog is the first one you check?
My #1 kid to make sure it's still pink and that creepy people aren't lurking... scary world we live in.
9. Have you met any other bloggers in person?
I think so.
10. What are you reading?
The Great Hunger -- It's about the Irish Potato Famine.
Bonus Question!
Has your site been banned by Spirit of Vatican II?
Just!!!
If it has, who do you think Father Tim really is?
The Curt Jester?

I tag:
Elena Maria Vidal
Fr. Chadwick LeJanvier, SSLI
Papa Sanctus Pius X