Fallon, Francis, and Things I Liked and Didn't

The world we live in, with its constant communication, is hard to slow down enough sometimes to figure out what's going on. This past week was no different, with lots of new and exciting things happening, and lots of craziness out there as usual. As a way to hope to comment on it, I want to start presenting my weekly lists of things that happened and what I thought about them. Or, as often happens, maybe this will be the only one I do. Oh well; here's some things I either liked or didn't like, and no I won't tell you which is which.

1. Pope Francis this past week made 19 new cardinals. That's exciting enough, but his words were even more brilliant: "The Church needs your courage, to proclaim the Gospel at all times, both in season and out of season, and to bear witness to the truth." The Pope here presents a call to the leaders of the Church that all members of the faithful, and in a powerful way those who guide us need to hear: the world needs us to be bold, so let's be bold. You can read all about everything he said here: CNA Report
2. When Pope Francis made the new cardinals on Saturday, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI came to the ceremony. I'm just going to put a picture here and take a break while my whole being is happier than it was before because I got to see Benny

   

   Image Via Washington Post

3. Jimmy Fallon took over the Tonight Show this past week, so he's been relatively buzzing around all sorts of media. In an interview, though, he became very popular with Catholics around the country as he said some very interesting things about his Catholic upbringing and his own faith background. You can read the interview here: Jimmy Fallon on his Catholicism. I'll admit, it's a super interesting interview where he talks about his desire to be a priest (however misguiding the idea that he saw the priest as the main performer was, but apparently that's not important here), and how some of the ways that the Mass was celebrated the last time he visited scared him away. If he actually went to a Mass where people were throwing frisbees (please don't let that be true), then I can see why he has problems. Where I have a problem, though, is that this interview immediately became popular with the crowd who said things along the lines of: see, if we just stuck to the Tridentine Mass (aka "Latin Mass") then people like Fallon would've never drifted away. Now, as I have already admitted, throwing frisbees and holding hands the whole Mass and the other things he didn't like might've been way over the top - but please don't disregard the authentic worship in the form of the Mass most common in the Church today. The problem is the hearts of the people and whether or not they truly enter into worship, not the specific form of the Mass said. Please leave it at that. Also, Jimmy, come home; we've got all the same traditions you are looking for, not to mention the authentic living presence of God. 
4. Some friends of mine made a website recently devoted to the Catechism of the Catholic Church and people authentically living in a community based around that Catechism. Their idea is that the Catechism is not appreciated enough (certainly true) and that people actually reading it and understanding it would be a great step forward in our Church and our world. Check out Reverb Culture: http://www.reverbculture.com/
5. In an article that got me all excited because I can't explain enough how much I agree, Relevant Magazine posted something right before the Oscars on "Why Christians Should Engage Non-Christian Art." If you've ever fallen into the mindset of secular and Christian being at arms with each other, please go read this: Why Christians Should Engage Secular Art
6. In the Youtube Video that has sent the world into shock, Pope Francis recorded a message on his friends' iPhone to be delivered to a Protestant gathering of Charismatic Leaders: Here's that video. There is something profoundly cool about what he did there: the Pope spoke openly to leaders of other major denominations and spoke of forgiveness and a renewed unity. This is really great. We want unity at all costs. Before we freak out too much, though, let's remember this: unity cannot come at the loss of doctrine. I know I sound like an over-the-top fanatic for Catholicism who isn't willing to actually work for unity, but I couldn't help myself from thinking that as I watched this video. One of the men in the video, Tony Palmer, says "doctrine will be dealt with in heaven, glory unites us." While Christ's kingdom does truly begin through the glory of His showing Himself to us now, we must remember, as a good friend of mine texted me, that "truly, for us, doctrine IS glory. Doctrine is Christ." As Catholics, we must strive for unity, remembering all the time that our doctrine is not a man-made interpretation of what Christ said, but the very body of Christ alive in the Church, striving not to achieve unity at any costs, but rather to achieve unity by helping unite everyone in the whole world to the fullness of who Christ is.
7. As a bonus, I will now add a parody of Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines that is aptly called Church Signs. #Churchsigns http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FCRzjRxmvgI

So, what were some major story lines that I missed?