tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914939.post112844503882148557..comments2023-10-04T01:27:24.003-07:00Comments on Versus Populum: Feat of St. FrancisDwight P.http://www.blogger.com/profile/15849665963994688905noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914939.post-1131110280683383122005-11-04T05:18:00.000-08:002005-11-04T05:18:00.000-08:00Thanks for offering this great service to learn ab...Thanks for offering this great service to learn about xox lingerie. I have a website about <A HREF="http://www.powerhousewarehouse.com" REL="nofollow">xox lingerie</A> which makes me very interested in what you have going here. I think I am going to start up my own blog so I can spread the news! Thanks you are offering this great service!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914939.post-1128609955390118222005-10-06T07:45:00.000-07:002005-10-06T07:45:00.000-07:00I caught "feat" only after I published, but I deci...I caught "feat" only after I published, but I decided to leave it -- with all its irony and ambiguity. (Freudian slips, anyone?)<BR/><BR/>I share your understanding of blessing, which is why I am so frustrated by the ELCA's folderol about same-sex blessings: It doesn't get at the key question of whether or why or why not Scripture and Tradition allow us to go forth.<BR/><BR/>Thanks for your thoughts.<BR/><BR/>Some day I'll get to the "Feat of St. Chip."Dwight P.https://www.blogger.com/profile/15849665963994688905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7914939.post-1128608291434210092005-10-06T07:18:00.000-07:002005-10-06T07:18:00.000-07:00The "feat" of St. Francis, I thought, was the stig...The "feat" of St. Francis, I thought, was the stigmata. :)<BR/><BR/>But on a more serious note, a "blessing" or a "benediction" is an authoritative statement by the Church about God's favor. It is not a pious individual's wish.<BR/><BR/>Biblically, the story that leaps to mind is the blessing that Jacob asked for after wrestling with "the angel." The blessing carried the authority of God - indeed, many if not most biblical interpreters suggest that Jacob was wrestling with God himself.<BR/><BR/>The idea that an individual pastor or congregation can "bless" anything on their own, therefore, is quite a leap. When I give the benediction on Sunday, it is not me that is blessing, it is "Almighty God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." It comes directly from the conferring of the power of the keys to the Church. <BR/><BR/>A pastor friend once said to me, "Do you really want to know the kinds of things I bless in my church?" Isn't that an awfully proprietoral view of ministry and a magical view of blessing?<BR/><BR/>Blessing the animals, to get back to St. Francis, seems possible as an authoritative statement from God, especially exemplified in the life of Francis, about the goodness of the creation. It too quickly can become saccharine-sweet. As anyone who has had to refuse the participation of a pet in a "marriage blessing" ceremony can attest, people get weird about their pets. (Full disclosure: we are pet-less, but we have three kids. I frankly don't think there's enough room.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com