Category Archives: Pop Culture

If & when I get around to listening to/seeing the latest music and movies, I might jot down some reflections on the truth, beauty, and morality of them from a Catholic perspective

When Holy Week Doesn’t Feel So Holy

Posted on March 28, 2013 by Mary| 7 Comments

no_facebook

My wonderful husband had the fantastic idea of getting off of Facebook for good this past weekend.  Because we’re in the newlywed phase where we still do basically everything together, I of course followed suit (besides, we had decided a while ago that we didn’t want to have Facebook for too long after we were married.  Our first married Holy Week seemed like a good exit time).

Come to find out, logging off could not have come at a better time, as I had forgotten that in God’s all-knowing wisdom, He ordained it that the Supreme Court would be hearing arguments on same sex marriage during HOLY WEEK.  #areyoukiddingme

Of course, my exit from Facebook didn’t completely spare me entry into the social media frenzy that this week’s events created, because somewhere someone decided to share a post I wrote a while ago on the topic.  (But seriously, who doesn’t like waking up to 13 emails of hate-filled comments calling you names for not buying into the popular opinion of the day?  You gotta love tolerance.)

Well, tomorrow it’s the Church’s turn to put on the color red—not in the name of some political ideology of the day— but for the blood that was shed by Our Savior over 2,000 years ago.

On trial before Pilate, Jesus didn’t take to prideful defense of the truth that he knew was on his side.  He didn’t turn to insulting or sarcastic remarks (though surely many could have been made).  He wasn’t interested in proving himself right.  His only aim was to love, and he showed that love through shedding his blood for us.

I won’t pretend to know why God decided to place the Supreme Court events of this week during Holy Week, in which our eyes are supposed to be fixed on Jesus’ Passion and Death.  Maybe it’s all just one big coincidence.  But maybe—just maybe— God is reminding us what true victory looks like.  Salvation history tells us that true victory is won through the cross.

Let’s enter into the mystery of Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection over these next three days.  What better way than to participate in the Paschal Triduum?

Crucifixion

mary-sig

Posted in Pop Culture, You & God

In Defense of “Christian Music”

Posted on March 11, 2013 by Mary| 2 Comments

A few weeks back, Marc over at Bad Catholic wrote a great little piece about so-called “Christian Music” (in typical Bad Catholic form, the post is entitled, “5 Reasons to Kill Christian Music,” I certainly recommend a read).

In it, he made the point that labeling a music genre “Christian” reduces Christianity into a modifying adjective, when in fact Christianity is reality. Amen to that.

Marc’s post made a lot of good points (and I am certainly happy that more and more Christians are standing up and saying that a Gospel-themed message is no excuse for poor art).  Still…I was raised on Christian music. I grew up listening to radio stations like K-Love. So I feel somewhat compelled to write a defense of the music that so defined my adolescence, and the music I still often enjoy listening to.

It seems to me that a lot of people view the “Christian music” genre as some sort of sneaky attempt to fool people into thinking that we Christians can be just as cool as the rest of the “rock ‘n roll” scene. But this was never the way it was presented to me; or at least it was never the way that I viewed Christian music. Growing up, I listened to music that was specifically about my faith because I enjoyed celebrating my faith. I like Jesus! And goshdarnit, sometimes I enjoy singing about that fact. Specifically.

I also like eternal truths that transcend music genres. I like the theme of longing for something greater than ourselves. I like the theme of recognizing our fallen state and confessing our faults in humility. I like the theme of unconditional love. All of these are undeniably Christian themes and all of these are undeniably found in so-called “secular” music.

My point is that this doesn’t have to be a question of either Christian music or mainstream-music-with-Christian-themes. Embrace the wisdom and beauty of “both/and.” As a child, I mostly listened to music that fell within the “Christian” genre. As I grew up, I still listened to that music, but like any young adult I branched out a little as well. What I love is that I’ve often found truth and beauty in both (even though both sides have definitely had their share of awful music).

So let’s not destroy Christian music. Let’s just destroy bad music. If it’s not promoting the truth and/or it’s not beautiful, it’s not befitting of our dignity as children of God.

mary-sig

Posted in Pop Culture

Horoscopes, Ouija Boards, and Other New-Age No-No’s

Posted on January 31, 2013 by Mary| 3 Comments

For all our talk of being a culture originally rooted in Christianity, the fact is that from the time we’re very young, it’s pretty commonplace to be exposed to a lot of pagan practices.  We go to slumber parties where someone thinks it’s a fun idea to pull out the Ouija board and/or have a séance.  We grow up and go to parties where someone thought it would be a fun idea to hire a palm reader.  Horoscopes are in the newspapers and magazines we read, and tarot cards are sold at the local bookstore.

For the most part, all of this is usually just presented as harmless fun.  The majority of people who take part in these practices aren’t exactly taking them seriously.  We post horoscopes to our Facebook page “for fun.”  We get our palms read at the party, “for fun.” Of course, we’re “too smart” to take all of this seriously, so there’s no harm done…right?

Actually, Satan would love for you to believe this—that all of this stuff is just harmless fun, when in reality you’re opening yourself up to a lot of evil.  The Catechism teaches this:

2116 All forms of divination are to be rejected: recourse to Satan or demons, conjuring up the dead or other practices falsely supposed to “unveil” the future. Consulting horoscopes, astrology, palm reading, interpretation of omens and lots, the phenomena of clairvoyance, and recourse to mediums all conceal a desire for power over time, history, and, in the last analysis, other human beings, as well as a wish to conciliate hidden powers. They contradict the honor, respect, and loving fear that we owe to God alone.

Now, I know some people read this and may say, “well I’m not doing it out of a ‘desire for power over time,’ I’m just having a little fun.  God won’t hold that against me, right?”  The truth is that this mindset is dangerous in itself.  Horoscopes, Ouija boards, and fortunetellers all seek to consult “powers” and “spirits” that are not of God.  This isn’t something to mess around with or to not take seriously.  On the contrary, this is something to take very seriously.  The question is: Whose side do you want to be on?

As sons and daughters of Christ, we need not fear the devil.  But if we’re going to mess around in the devil’s playground, we’re no longer behaving as sons and daughters of Christ.  And in doing so, we’re putting ourselves in a lot of danger by believing that we as mere human beings have any real power over the devil apart from Christ.

When people find out that this stuff is actually sinful, many times they freak out.  Remember that in order to commit a grave sin, you have to know that you’re committing a sin.  However, in this case I’d still recommend going to confession, not because God is angry with you, but because opening yourself up to these practices—knowingly or unknowingly—can have serious consequences.  The grace of absolution is powerful, and it sends demons fleeing.

So stop posting those horoscopes to your Facebook!  And if you see your friends doing it (especially your Christian friends), charitably let them know that they’re putting themselves and their friends in danger.

mary-sig

Posted in Pop Culture, Stuff Catholics Do

Ask Mary: Is Reading/Seeing Les Miserables a Sin?

Posted on January 8, 2013 by Mary| 10 Comments

Question:

I recently came across this post
(http://canonlawmadeeasy.com/2011/03/21/index-of-forbidden-books/) by a canon lawyer talking about the history of the Vatican’s list of banned books. I was very surprised to see Victor Hugo’s Les
Miserables mentioned. I was planning on reading it before seeing the
upcoming movie adaptation, but I do not want to do so if it is a sin.
From everything I know about the book, it is not anti-Catholic or
Christian. I think one of the main characters is even a pious bishop.
So I am confused.

Answer:

Once upon a time there was a family.  This family was, like a lot of families, made up of a Father, a Mother, and many children.  Also like most families, in this family the Father and Mother set rules for their children.  Some rules were more serious than others.  It was expected that the children would be present for family meals, that they would do their part to keep the household in good order, and that they would obey certain rules of conduct (respect others, don’t lie, etc.).  And like most families, if anyone failed in their responsibilities, it was expected that they would apologize and try to make amends.

The Church has many titles.  Body of Christ, Bride of Christ, etc.  It would be a misunderstanding to say that one of these titles is “more correct” than the others, because they are all true.  However, one of my favorite titles of the Church is that of a loving Mother.

Let me paint a picture for you.  It’s the period of the “Enlightenment.” Books are circulating.  People are talking.  Ideas are spreading.  None of this is bad in itself; in fact it all sounds pretty good.  But the Church is in the wake of the Protestant Reformation.  Picture a Mother who has just seen a number of her children taken from her home, led away by someone claiming that what she was telling her children all those years was wrong.  The mother still has children at home, but she’s understandably worried that they too will get swept away by false teachings.  It’s time to set some rules.

I’ve written in the past that when I was younger, I wasn’t allowed to read certain books, see certain movies, or watch certain TV shows.  What I’ve tried to convey (how successfully I did so is up for discussion) is that it wasn’t necessarily that my family thought these books or movies or TV shows were completely evil, or that we judged those families even in our faith community that took a different stance on certain books, movies, or television shows.  It was simply that my parents saw that a certain book or movie could have potential to lead me or one of my siblings away from the truth and/or even into sin in some cases.  For this reason, they put limits on the content that I was allowed to consume—like most parents do.

In a similar way, there was a time in Church history when the Church attempted to guard her children from false teachings or questionable doctrines by limiting their access to certain materials.  The Index of forbidden books was created in 1559, and was constantly being updated and revised (as would be expected, given that new books were being published regularly) until Pope Paul VI abolished it in 1966.  The link you provided does a good job of explaining what the Index was and why we don’t have it now.

But more to your question (and as the link says), the fact that the Index has been abolished doesn’t mean everything on it is automatically A-OK and 100% moral or in line with the truth.  As with everything, we need to practice individual prudential judgment.

As for Les Miserables, I must confess that I have never read it (and have not yet seen the film), and so I cannot speak in great detail.  What I have heard from those who have read it is that it’s a story of redemption, conversion and of hope in times of great trial: all very Christian themes.  The link suggests that it was perhaps included in the Index because “it called into question both the need to respect lawful authorities and the laws themselves, and the consequent need to obey them.”  Perhaps during this time in history the Church saw a number of her children struggling with this, and thought it best for them to avoid it.  Perhaps even today a person that may really struggle with the need to obey and respect just law should avoid reading material that they may be tempted to use as justification for sinful action.  Again, the need for prudential judgment is key.

Ideas matter.  This is why it’s extremely important for anyone who creates anything (which, when you really think about it, includes all of us) to pray constantly that we are doing the work of God.  Is it a sin for you to read or to see Les Miserables?  I highly doubt it.  It is certainly not a sin to read a book on the Index of forbidden books simply because it was once included in the Index.

I hope that answers your question, and I sincerely hope no one read this as my condemning Les Miserables.

mary-sig

Posted in Ask Mary, Pop Culture

Life, Marriage, and Religious Liberty: Why You Should Care

Posted on January 3, 2013 by Mary| 7 Comments

Life, Marriage, and Religious Liberty. 

If these aren’t already in your daily prayer intentions, then consider this post a letter to you from me.

Life
This month marks 40 years of legalized abortion in the US.  And around this time every year, a flurry of voices (especially in the Catholic world) take the opportunity to talk about the right to life, and what we can all do to help.  This year, Time Magazine has entered into the discussion, acknowledging what we’ve been saying for years: The tide is turning.

 

Still, 40 years is too long a time; and the battle is not won yet (at least not this side of heaven).  Pray for the end of abortion.

Marriage

Last November, a number of states moved in the direction of redefining marriage.  I’d like to share an important quote from the first two pages of a book I am reading, entitled, “What is Marriage?  Man and Woman: A Defense” 

“What we have come to call the gay marriage debate is not directly about homosexuality, but about marriage: It is not about whom to let marry, but about what marriage is….

The conjugal view of marriage…is a vision of marriage as a bodily as well as an emotional and spiritual bond, distinguished thus by its comprehensiveness, which is, like all love, effusive: flowing out into the wide sharing of family life and ahead to lifelong fidelity.  In marriage, so understood, the world rests its hope and finds ultimate renewal.

A second, revisionist view has informed the marriage policy reforms in the last several decades.  It is a vision of marriage as, in essence, a loving emotional bond, one distinguished by its intensity—a bond that needn’t point beyond the partners, in which fidelity is ultimately subject to one’s own desires.  In marriage, so understood, partners seek emotional fulfillment, and remain as long as they find it.”

If you’re picking up what I’m putting down, then perhaps you realize that the reality “dream wedding” shows that we watch on TV— whether they depict the marriages of same-sex or opposite-sex couples— almost exclusively propose the revisionist view of marriage described above.  What we are feeding ourselves in the culture is that marriage is merely an emotional bond distinguished only by its intensity, in which fidelity is subjective, and one that is expected to last only as long as each partner feels emotionally fulfilled.

But that’s not what marriage is.  At least, that’s not what it’s supposed to be.  This is why the answer to any of the threats on marriage we face in our culture is not simply to rail against the false idea put forward, but to propose and to strengthen the reality of true marriage and family life.  Pray for married couples and all families.

Religious Liberty

In the background of all of this in the United States is a serious threat to our first freedom: the right to religious liberty.

The HHS Mandate,… requires almost all employers, including Catholic employers, to pay for employees’ contraception, sterilization, and abortifacient drugs regardless of conscientious objections.

To give an example, beginning this month, the Christian owners of Hobby Lobby are facing serious daily fines for refusing to comply.  Pray for the right to freely practice our faith.  Pray that the HHS Mandate is overturned.

No seriously, the Bishops have asked us all to pray and fast. 

In fact they’ve asked five things of us, in an approved pastoral strategy beginning on the feast of the Holy Family (last Sunday), until the feast of Christ the King (November 24th).  

  1. Monthly Eucharistic Holy Hour
  2. Daily Rosary
  3. Prayers of the Faithful
  4. Abstain from Meat
  5. Fortnight for Freedom

I will be writing a more detailed post on how to participate in each of these, but for now you can check out this link to the bishops’ website for more information. 

On the bright side, we know the ending to this story:  

“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:5)

Posted in Pop Culture, Stuff Catholics Do