The Sheepcat

By the Tickling of My Ears, Something from the Full Gospel Veers

A Baltimore Archdiocesan bishop apparently tickled the ears of some same-sex couples. The Baltimore Sun reports:

Joey Causin, 34, drove from Hagerstown with his partner of two years for the Mass. "I came to feel validated, that we are acceptable," he said. "I mean, I know that. But it helps to see it objectively." Hearing from such a high-ranking church official of unconditional love - "that we are here to love and be loved, that it's not for us to judge" - was a welcome surprise, Causin said. "Part of my soul needs that," he said. "It's the reason I go to church. It's food for the soul."

David Morrison responds:

These comments leave a distinct impression that here were two people who may have walked away from Mass with either an expectation that the Church was moving toward changing its position on homosexual acts or that, even worse, the whole reason the Church exists is to validate us no matter how we might be living and that seeking to follow Christ more closely, to live in ways that are worthy of our calling in Him is just not important.

Yes, we are loved unconditionally. No, God does not will for us to stay stuck in our sins. I should probably follow David's example and reserve definitive judgment until a more complete story emerges, but if the "food for the soul" Mr. Causin heard was anything like most of the sermons I heard over the course of seven years at Metropolitan Community Church, it's spiritual junk food. The prophet Isaiah warned,

Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.
Give ear and come to me;
hear me, that your soul may live. (55:2-3)

Touchstone Magazine - Mere Comments: Preaching, Good and Bad

Hmm! I haven't been exposed to much Catholic preaching, but I've heard my share of good, bad, and indifferent Protestant preaching. When it is good it is very, very good, and when it is bad it is awful!
Update: And what the heck is that last bit supposed to mean? "And when it was indifferent, it was really really indifferent?" Forget I said that. I was in a hurry and wasn't thinking. I'll say something sensible about preaching some other time.

Link: Touchstone Magazine - Mere Comments: Preaching, Good and Bad.

The timid, petty moralizing I have encountered at the several dozen masses I have attended, and of which I hear Catholic friends complain—especially when they have been exposed to good Protestant preaching—appears to be the regular and expected fare. Perhaps Catholics could adduce yet another claim for the truth of their faith—that only in the True Church could God’s sheep survive on such thin pasturage. I say this without prejudice or animus to the Catholic Church. For God’s sake, brethren, do something about the preaching.

Via Amy Welborn.

Update: A Conservative rabbi sends this related joke, which I'm sure could be adapted for any number of denominations:

How do we know God loves the Conservative movement more than the other Jewish denominations?
Well, the Reform have dynamic, visionary, charismatic rabbis and energized lay leaders, and the Orthodox have dynamic, visionary, charismatic rabbis and committed, energized lay leaders--so the fact that the Conservative movement survives at all must be due to Divine Providence!