Opus Dei, Knights of Columbus, and the New Catholicism

Today I was invited to join the Knights of Columbus. I refrained. What made me refrain, to be frank, was a concern that the group may have elements in their ritual that may not be fully Christian. I would need to explore more in order to make an informed decision.

What the invitation from the K of C does elicit in me, however, is a sober recognition that Catholicism is moving in new directions.

Gone are the days when the mass was in Latin, although Pope Benedict XVI did recently allow for the Latin mass to be spoken in each diocese.

Gone also are the days when the priesthood was nearly synonymous with Catholic leadership as now in 2007 lay groups such as the Knights of Columbus, the Coming Home Network (of which I am a member) and Opus Dei are all good representations.

To be Catholic means many things. First, to be Catholic means to be fully committed to the central beliefs of the "deposit of faith," such as belief in Jesus Christ's actual physical death on a cross, actual ascent into heaven, bodily Resurrection, the filling of the Holy Spirit in each Christian, the Nicene creed, the teaching authority of the Magisterium, and of course viewing the bishop at Rome as the head of the Church as he is the direct descendant from Peter. Second, to be Catholic means to believe in transubstantiation, that is the actual mysterious yet real transformation of the bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus Christ. Third, to be Catholic is to believe in the intercessory prayers of the saints, veneration of their relics, and prayers for the lost souls in purgatory.

Sadly, and one of my life's greatest frustrations is that most "nominal" Catholics, perhaps even a statistical majority of Catholics world-wide simply do not believe in these essentials of the Catholic Faith listed above. Perhaps a majority of world-wide Catholics do believe these essentials, but in the United States of America, if one were to actually openly discuss praying to saints, and praying for one's friends who might be in purgatory, sadly most "Catholic" Americans I know would likely refer you to a mental health specialist! For American Catholicism, outside of pockets of Catholic Orthodoxy, Freud, the man who labelled ALL religion as 'delusional' is the final arbiter of truth above Scripture, the Magisterium or even basic Catholic teaching. I often pray to various saints for their intercession (e.g. St. Francis, St. Anthony de Padua, St. Padre Pio, et al). I also have prayed to Jesus Christ for the quick release of many souls in purgatory.

I guess if you allow "Freudian modern psychology" to trump one's Catholic belief then such acts would be called 'delusional . . .'

So, the choice for the United States of America will be does one label faithful Catholics as 'delusional' (e.g. I have a Catholic friend who also prays regularly for saintly intercession from the likes of St. Therese of Lisieux http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=105) OR does one show respect for someone's religious beliefs, especially as they are Constitutionally protected in the First Amendment that states that Congress shall make no law prohibiting the free exercise of religion?

As for me and my house, to quote Joshua, the successor of Moses, we will serve the LORD.

Love in Jesus Christ,
Rob J. King, Catholic for American religious Constitutional Freedoms

The End of the Modern Nation State?

In an interesting sociological study called The McDonaldization of Society (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McDonaldization), the writer asserts that American society has become reconceptualized around the four key criteria of efficiency, calculability, predictability and control. In short, the standards that have worked for McDonald's fast-food restaurants are increasingly how American society itself is being reconceptualized.

There is much truth in this analysis. Corporate America, both positively and negatively, increasingly shapes entire segments of our society. From NFL sports teams sponsored by Coca-Cola to the U.S. Military being outfitted in snazzy new Army Combat Uniforms exclusively produced by one manufacturer to even public university systems being funded by corporations such as CVS pharmacies, our society is truly controlled by "Big Business." Whether Democrat or Republican, the question is not "whether or not" Big Business controls the votes, but rather which set of Corporations are in control. Big Tobacco is supported by the Republican side and Hollywood is controlled by the Democrat side. Starbuck's coffee is controlled by the liberals and gold investing is controlled by the conservatives.

What does this mean for the future of world history?

At one point, empires were ruled by sheer military force. Whether it was the Greeks (Alexander the Great), the Romans, or eventually the Islamic Turks, empires rose and fell based on sheer military might.

Fast forward several hundred years to the time of 1492. Christopher Columbus set sail for the New World, interested less in military conquest, and more in economic gain. The New World was conquered less through military force, but more through economic domination. The same, sadly, can also be said about Africa and its European colonizers.

But now, in 2007, the shift that began in the pre-Renaissance is now coming to its logical conclusion. We North Americans, Europeans, Chinese and Japanese conquer not through military power (just look at the mess in Iraq!), but instead through names such as Fuji film, BMW, Coca-Cola and Kentucky Fried Chicken (and yes, they actually eat KFC down in Capetown, South Africa, surprisingly enough!).

Will this McDonaldization of society eventually replace the Nation State?

Say, 300 years from now, will someone living in St. Petersburg, Florida no longer consider themselves to be "American" in the proper sense, but say, instead consider themselves to be "Starbuckian"??? Or perhaps, CVS-ian???

Only time will tell, but perhaps "Corporate America" will increasingly be less a question of whether or not to have it, but instead "Good" versus "bad" corporate America.

Blessings in Jesus,
Rob J. King, Starbuck's coffee drinker, Bob Marley-listener ;-) for Jesus of course . . .