The Deacon's Bench - September, 2008

Haiti Update

We received an e-mail from Nick Kocmich, Director of the Norwich Haitian Ministries charity through whom we channel our support for St. Thérèse in Lilavois, in which he told us that Lilavois was spared major destruction from the last three hurricanes that have hit Haiti.

Life still remains difficult for them, however. A soup can full of rice sells for $1.40, when rice can be found. That is more than a day’s pay for the average Haitian. We’ll have a special collection in October if you wish to help offset the dramatic rise in food costs in Haiti. As always, please keep them in your prayers.

Of Other Matters
One of my non-Catholic friends and I were talking about the upcoming election, and he asked me if I thought there was really such a thing as “the Catholic vote.” I asked him what he was getting at and he said that he thought the Church instructed Catholics how to vote.

I told him that the Church doesn’t do that, but he wasn’t convinced. He was disturbed because he thought that there should be ‘separation of church and state’, but that there really wasn’t. I did a bit of research in the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church and the next time we met we read a bit of it together.

I showed him where it says: “The political commitment of Catholics is often placed in the context of the ‘autonomy’ of the State, that is, the distinction between the political and religious spheres….Catholic moral doctrine … clearly rejects the prospects of an autonomy that is understood as independence from the moral law….the church’s Magisterium [teaching authority] does not wish to exercise political power or eliminate the freedom of opinion of Catholics regarding contingent questions. Instead, it intends – as is its proper function – to instruct and illuminate the consciences of the faithful….It is a question of the lay Catholic’s duty to be morally coherent, found within one’s conscience, which is one and indivisible.”(no. 571).

He said that he’d never heard this, and asked to borrow the book for a while. I don’t know how our conversation will unfold over the next few weeks. If my friend were your friend, how would your conversation go?

Deacon Tim’s Emergency Recipe #4 (Bagna Cauda)
1 can anchovies
1 reasonable amount of garlic
1 stick butter
Celery stalks
Bread

1. Check your insurance coverage, cholesterol level and blood pressure
2. If you still want to make this, then:
a. Throw the butter into a pot and heat it slowly until it melts.
b. Chop up the garlic and toss it in.
c. Throw the anchovies in.
d. Mix it all up and warm it until the anchovies disintegrate.
e. Eat it. Use the celery as if it were spoon or something like that, and the bread as if it were a bib/plate/.