"Where are you going, my father, without your son? Where are you going, holy pontiff, without your deacon? Never did you offer a sacrifice without my serving  you at the altar. In what way have I displeased you?”

St. Lawrence probably couldn't contain his weeping as he followed his beloved leader, Pope Sixtus, to his martyrdom.  In an attempt to console his faithful servant, Pope Sixtus prophesied, "I am not abandoning you, my son; a more difficult trial and a more glorious victory are reserved for you; in three days you will follow me."

Indeed, after angering the Prefect of Rome by amassing the Church's "treasure" of poor, virgin and infirm Christians, St. Lawrence was martyred on an iron grill, burned alive for his unwavering faith and ineffable love of Christ in the needy.  He was infamously quoted as saying, "Turn me over - I'm done on this side!" as he joyously suffered unspeakable pain for love of God.

Let us all stop a moment and say a prayer for our Permenant Deacons... those discerning the call, those in formation, and those serving (past and presently).  May we continually be thankful for their service to the Church.

In other news...

Next, this site attempts to utilize Our Most Blessed Mother as a means for their end.  *Shakes head*  This is mortifyingly wrong.  Again, if Christ had wanted women as priests, I assure you, Our Lady would've been first in line, well ahead of St. Peter!  But again, folks seem to have difficulty understanding that men and women are called for different purposes.  We are equal in dignity, but we have NOT been created to do the same things.  We've been created to compliment one another, and the job of a priest is one of those things men have been created for.  The Blessed Mother understood her place as the Ark of the New Covenant.  She brought forth Christ not through her own power, but through the power of the Holy Spirit!  She accepted His Gift through her fiat, she did not consecrate her womb in order to manifest the Presence of Christ within her!  

Also, this "one priesthood" nonsense is exactly that... nonsense.  There are two types of priesthoods recognized by the Catholic Church (not counting the Priesthood of Christ).  One is the ministerial priesthood - which is the familiar clergy of priests and bishops we know and love.  The second is the "common" (or, ironically, the "Royal") priesthood that each of us is a part of through Baptism.  The two serve VASTLY different functions and one cannot exist without the other since they both exist to SERVE each other.  

To put it simply, all apple trees are trees, but not all trees are apple trees, right?  The same is true of Ministerial Priests.  They all belong to the Royal Priesthood through Baptism, but not all royal priests are ministerial.  To claim otherwise is simply fallacious.  Utilizing a tiny seed of truth to start your garden of lies will inevitably turn into a jungle of folly. 

I'd like to say, firstly, that I'm practicing the virtues of patience and charity with this post.  I'm going to ask that the Holy Spirit keep my tongue in check as I speak of the foolishness of these men and women who seek the ordination of women into the priesthood of the Catholic Church.

The New York Times ran this article a few days ago.

Let me start off this by explaining the rationalization some make for female priests...

1.  Severe shortage of priests in general
2.  Desire among some women to become priests
3.  Women priests prove that the Church isn't "sexist"
4.  Women priests would make up for abuses perpetrated by the male clergy

Going one at a time, yes, we are a little short on priests it seems.  That being said, ordaining women would NOT solve the problem.  It might - at best - be a temporary bandaid, but the lack of priests is symptomatic of a much larger problem.  It's the same problem that is causing the erosion of our parishes, lack of other religious (sisters and brothers), Catholic schools closing by the hundreds, and a general disillusionment with the Catholic Church.  The problem, simply put, is a lack of true faith formation.  How can we expect to have a wonderful supply of wonderful priests if we don't teach our children what the faith is all about?  

To the majority of children, faith, at most, is something practiced on Sunday during an hour of Mass, and maybe an hour in school.  It's not something publicly practiced at home through family prayer, and it's certainly not something spoken about to friends or other family members. 

As for the second reason - the desire of some women to become priests - I answer with a basic question of my own... what of the men who have a similarly strong desire to become mothers?  There are certainly men who wished to be able to carry a child to term, and even nurse their own children.  Even though science has made plenty of strides with biology and physiology, this desire will forever remain just that... a desire. 

So while I'm sure there are plenty of women who have this sincere desire (St. Therese was one of them!), Jesus did not consecrate women into the Priesthood and as such, gave no authority to the Church to do so either.  In fact, if Jesus wanted to consecrate women into the Priesthood, don't you think He'd've chosen His Most Blessed Mother as first in line - even before St. Peter, himself???

God has His reasons for not initiating women into the Priesthood, and as such, the Church cannot go against His Example.  It's not about being sexist (point number three).  It's about the example Jesus left for the Early Church through His Own Actions.  There were NO WOMEN priests, and as a result, we can recognize none today.  Men and women, though equal, have been given different sets of gifts and uses.  Consecration is simply one that belongs solely to men the same as carrying life to term is one that belongs solely to women.

Rationalization 4 is a fallacy, pure and simple.  There is a rise in female abuse against children, and we're all familiar with Mary Kay Letourneau... maybe even Debra LaFave!  The accusation that only men are responsible for crimes against children is readily proven wrong, and such a foolish belief may even endanger children by creating such a false sense of security.

Pope John Paul II made it pretty clear in his Aposotlic letter, Ordinatotio Sacerdotalis.  As such, this issue has been laid to rest.  Unfortunately, there are those who are angry that the Church didn't bend to their beliefs and desires and still seek to push the issue.  They are mistaken in their quest since regardless of their arguments, the Church will not (and truly CANNOT) change its teaching on this.

My query again, then, is why do they continue attempting to alter a religion they don't agree with?  Why not just find a religion that suits your belief system instead of attempting to force another into your line of thinking?  *Shakes head* 

Sad, really.  These folks are running around thinking they're Catholic when, in reality, they are trying to destroy the very thing they think they're out to save.  Prayers are needed for them.  Lots and lots of prayers.