Aimless Praise (Or, Why Reducing God to Feelings is Silly)

Howdy, y’all! So, as you all know, I just got back from a trip to Steubenville West, which is a really awesome youth conference held in my home state of Arizona. If you want to hear my thoughts of my conference experience, please go check out the post that I made about it on Unpleasant Accents. It’s totally worth the read. 🙂 But that’s not what I want to talk about today. Today, we’re going to talk about Praise and Worship music, feelings-based Christianity, and that most important aspect of Christianity- The Eucharist! 

At Steubenville West, we had a lot of time for praise and worship, but the most powerful time for that happened on Friday and Saturday night, when we mixed P&W music with Eucharistic Adoration. For those of you who don’t know what that is, it’s when the Eucharist (which Catholics believe is truly the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ) is put into a special container called a monstrance and that monstrance is placed somewhere where all the people can adore and worship Christ in it. It’s an intense and usually emotional event.

From Steubenville West last year- you see the monstrance, the worship and love on the faces of the people there? That’s what Adoration on Steubie looks like.

A common non-Christian rebuttal for Christianity is that we’re just praying to someone imaginary, something that makes us feel good, a supernatural teddy bear. And when you see this video, you should be able to see why they think that.

What are they singing to? Why do they have such intense expressions? Any Christian could easily tell you that they’re singing to and out of love for God. But that love appears aimless, shown as it is by a vague look to the sky and upraising of arms. God is an abstraction, or at best a feeling. You know you’re doing praise and worship right when your feelings tell you that you’ve connected with God, when you get that spiritual high, amiright? And that isn’t entirely false. But shouldn’t our praise and our worship be based on something more?

I guess what hit me strongest about adoration at Steubenville West was that we were singing that exact song, and yes our arms were raised (4600+ arms is a lot of limbs) but instead of being raised vaguely to the ceiling, every arm was pointed toward the Eucharist. Every person had oriented their bodies directly toward Christ, and took their worship right along with them. Instead of singing words to the empty air, every voice crooned a love song right to the physical Body of Christ. Instead of being swept away by intense feelings, every thought and emotion was intensely directed toward the meeting of creation and Creator. The praise and worship, instead of being an end in and of itself, was directed towards the Eucharist, towards Christ.

I’m going to just skip over all the usual arguments for/against P&W in church, and just say that all music, regardless of what instruments are being used, should be focused toward Christ, not toward making the listeners feel good or feel “spiritual.” Feelings don’t matter as much as recognizing and adoring Christ. And you can do that whether you’re crying tears of joy or sitting silent as a stone with your eyes on the monstrance. What all those people who say that we’re just Christians because it makes us feel good don’t realize is that real Christianity isn’t about feelings.  The feelings are just tools to help us grow closer to God, not gods themselves. You can adore God and recognize Him without feeling anything at all. And the easiest way to do that is to recognize Him in the Eucharist. Sure, He is there at Passion Conferences and in the soul of every person… but He is really, physically, perfectly present in the Bread and Wine in every Tabernacle and monstrance the world over. Learn to worship Him there, whether with music or silence, and it won’t even matter what you feel or if you feel nothing at all. But stop treating feelings as the measure of knowing God. He’s so, so, so much bigger than those.

Love to all!

-Tani

The Tale Of The Tacky Twits Who Took Tani’s Tome

So today, while checking notifications here, I found that some little cretin had copy-pasted my entire post about Creationism and reason into their own blog without so much as a by-your-leave. The page Christians Anonymous has taken my blog post, and appears to have taken many other blog posts from other great Christian bloggers, as well. This is the epitome of tackiness. I don’t mind people sharing my stuff. But for the love of Pete, ask me if you can, before running off and posting it on your own site!

So my best friend and fellow blog warrior Evelyn, in trying to cheer me up about this, began to tell a tale of all the other tacky things that this person probably does. So in the interest of shaming this writer and anyone else who thinks that sharing without permission is a good thing to do, and because we love Weird Al Yankovic around here… I present to you a list of all the other tacky things you could be doing that are less idiotic than plagiarism.

(Warning: Mild language ahead. This is the result of a long rant between two teenage girls who think that stealing is a sin and any page that calls itself Christian should know that. )

… wear socks with birkenstocks.

… go into stores and read entire magazines without buying them.
… go to busy restaurants and order complicated dishes and then bitch at the waiters, then leave religious tracts as tips.

… return books to the library a week after theyre due and leave chocolate stains on the page.
… eat all the free samples at costco.
… go to makeup stores and open all the products, try them, then put them back, and leave greasy lotion all over everything. Greasy lotion with a headache-inducing scent of chemical lavender.

… wear booty shorts with a muffin top and obsess over the kardashians.
… think you look good in the romper that gives you a camel toe.

 

… and show a lot of sideboob at the same time.
… try to pull off gladiator sandals but it just makes your legs look like sausages.
… scream at your kids in walmart.
… talk about marital infidelities in the checkout line while buying frozen fried food.
…. go home and call their kids’ teachers and bitch about bad grades that the kids probably deserved.
… watch house hunters for five hours while they eat birthday cake ice cream, and they’ll talk about how unreasonable the realtor is being.

I suppose it’s also somewhat tacky to reply like this. But hey. They started it.

Love to all non-plagiarizing friends.

-Tani

DIY Infinity-Style Chapel Veils!

Hey guys! So, as most of you know, I ascribe to the ancient tradition of veiling in mass. 

I started about four years ago, all on my own. I just randomly decided that I liked the look of lacy mantillas in mass, and so I got one and wore it. Eventually, my mom and sister Isabel joined me in wearing mantilla veils to mass. Only one problem- veils are such a niche market, that it’s very hard to find good ones in Vail, Arizona. You can buy online, but you can’t be sure if the color will be flattering to your outfits, coloring, and face shape. For the fashion-conscious Catholic teenager, this is a big deal, obviously. Then, last year, my mother gave me what’s called an infinity veil! If you’re familiar with the concept of an infinity scarf, it’s pretty much the same thing (a loop of fabric, pretty much) but made out of lace. I loved it instantly, but I thought “hey! I bet I could make something like this!”

Well, readers, after months of trial and error (and I’m sure more months to come, as we perfect the technique even more!) my family and I have learned how to make infinity veils! And, because Jesus loves it when we share, we have decided to give you guys the exclusive how-to, right here on Surrender the Brownies!

What You Need:

• A piece of lace 72″ long by 19″ wide for a double loop, or 36″ by 19″ for a single loop. You can use stiff or stretchy lace. Stiff is easier to sew, but stretchy is more comfortable and stays on your head better. It’s up to you. We used both for this tutorial.
• fine embroidery or quilting thread in a color that matches your lace. We used white quilters thread in 30 wt. You can use normal thread, but quilters thread is more heavy duty, and if you have small children who will be tugging on your veil, you’ll appreciate the strength! 
• toilet paper or tissues
• needles and pins
• sewing machine that can make a scalloped stitch
• small sewing scissors

Step One: Prepping your lace

Cut your lace to the desired specifications, if you have not already done so. If you have stretchy lace, be aware that it is very hard to make a straight cut, so take it slow. You should be left with a piece of lace that has one factory finished edge (if your lace is scalloped, this is the scalloped edge!) and one unfinished, or selvage, edge. To this selvage side, pin toilet or tissue paper, extending the paper a bit beyond the selvage edge. Do not worry if it’s even, it doesn’t matter at all, you’ll be taking the paper off later anyway. Go from one end to the other.

Keep hydrated. This is thirsty work.

 

Step Two: Sew ‘er up!

Set your machine up with thread according to the manual’s direction. Then, choose a scalloped stitch, again according to manufacturers direction. The scalloped stitch will hold the lace better than a straight stitch, even when trimmed.

I have no idea what those numbers mean. I just know they make a nice stitch that looks pretty.

When that’s done, you can start sewing the selvage, toilet-papered side. Take it slow, don’t rush, or the threads in the lace will gather and may cause knots in your thread. Not fun, and very time-consuming to fix. Remove pins as you go, try to keep your line straight, though that is not all that important- this side will be buried in folds of lace when worn, and will be all but unnoticeable.

 

 

Step Three: Remove toilet paper and trim the selvage edge.

This part should be easy to figure out. When you are completely done with sewing the selvage edge, gently remove the tissue, moistening it with water if necessary to make it easier to remove. When that’s done, take your sewing scissors and ever so carefully, trim the selvage edge around the outside of the scallops. This part is very time consuming, and it’s not totally necessary, but it really makes the veil look more professional.

The selvage edge, post-trim

Step Four: Sew the loop.

So now you have a lovely piece of lace, and all that’s left is to make it into an infinity veil! Start by arranging the 19″ edges like so, folding roughly in half with the bottom half protruding under the top by about a centimeter (the edge may not be entirely straight, so exact measurements don’t matter overly much, but make it protrude roughly a centimeter and you’re good! 

Now, fold the protruding edge over the top edge, like folding the top flap of an envelope. Then, fold it again. You should be left with something like this. 

Pin!

Now, you can do this part on a machine if you’d like, but it’s easier to hand-sew it. Work along the fold as evenly as you can, using a hemming stitch. Finish and knot your thread, and you’re done!

 Step Five: Look fabulous!

 

So there you have it!

Love to all!

-Tani

Science, Faith, and St. Augustine: On Christianity, Creationism, and the Importance of Reason in the Spiritual Life

Time for my second controversial opinion this week! I’m on a roll. Or I would be, if the earth wasn’t flat. Which brings me to the topic of today’s post!

Science!

Which I’m sure made some of you cheer and some of you shrink back like hermit crabs into your shells, hissing softly “but Tani! We thought you were a Christian! Christians can’t believe in science, it disproves faith! WHY ARE YOU SUCH A HERETIC?” The answer is, of course, that I am a Christian but I’m not a heretic, that Christians can and should look to the rules of physics and the natural world, and that science and faith are anything but opposites. Sadly, though, there’s a false dichotomy in the world today between science and faith. Many Christians look to the bible alone for the source of all knowledge and ignore the natural world in favor of faith. Many people also see Christianity as backwards and foolish, and that turns them off from the good and beautiful things that Christianity has to say about non-scientific things like heaven, love, mercy, and hope. Let’s turn real quick to St. Augustine of Hippo, a really smart guy who lived from 354-430 AD, and is one of the Fathers of the Church.

“”Usually, even a non-Christian knows something about the earth, the heavens, and the other elements of this world, about the motion and orbit of the stars and even their size and relative positions, about the predictable eclipses of the sun and moon, the cycles of the years and the seasons, about the kinds of animals, shrubs, stones, and so forth, and this knowledge he holds to as being certain from reason and experience. Now, it is a disgraceful and dangerous thing for an infidel to hear a Christian, presumably giving the meaning of Holy Scripture, talking nonsense on these topics; and we should take all means to prevent such an embarrassing situation, in which people show up vast ignorance in a Christian and laugh it to scorn. The shame is not so much that an ignorant individual is derided, but that people outside the household of faith think our sacred writers held such opinions, and, to the great loss of those for whose salvation we toil, the writers of our Scripture are criticized and rejected as unlearned men. If they find a Christian mistaken in a field which they themselves know well and hear him maintaining his foolish opinions about our books, how are they going to believe those books in matters concerning the resurrection of the dead, the hope of eternal life, and the kingdom of heaven, when they think their pages are full of falsehoods and on facts which they themselves have learnt from experience and the light of reason? Reckless and incompetent expounders of Holy Scripture bring untold trouble and sorrow on their wiser brethren when they are caught in one of their mischievous false opinions and are taken to task by those who are not bound by the authority of our sacred books. For then, to defend their utterly foolish and obviously untrue statements, they will try to call upon Holy Scripture for proof and even recite from memory many passages which they think support their position, although they understand neither what they say nor the things about which they make assertion.”  (Genesi Ad Litteram, I, xix, 39.)

[Emphasis added by moi for, you know, emphasis.]

Now, I know that that was long, but I’m going to give you a sec to read it thoroughly. So if you just skimmed, here’s your cue to scroll back up and read every line. It’s OK. I can wait.

We good? OK, let’s dissect this. St. Augustine never says, notice, that believing in pure scriptural faith is wrong. What he does say is wrong, however, is presenting all that as factual. Really, if it’s not a matter of faith or morals, you’re good to go with believing your own thing. You want to believe Jesus had blonde hair? OK, fine, whatever… evidence from the area and time in which He lived would say He probably did not, but it really doesn’t matter much, in the end. The most popular belief is, of course, that the earth is only a few thousand years old and was created in six literal days. But even believing that isn’t wrong! The problem comes when you try and pass those personal beliefs off as dogmatic. Because you know what? The world that we’re trying to convert has some pretty insurmountably huge defenses against young earth “creationism” ideology. And against blonde Jesus ideology, but let’s just skip over that one.

But Tani, you cry from the comfortable pink confines of your shells, the Bible isn’t a personal belief! It’s the total and complete word of God! We should listen to every word!

Well, yeah, but also no. To quote my mom, and therefore paraphrase Galileo, “the Bible tells us how to go to heaven, not how the heavens go.” The Bible, especially the book of Genesis, is full of allegories and parables. Does that make the Bible less true? Of course not. But it does mean we should be very careful about taking everything literally. We should read it not only through the lens of faith, but also through the lens of reason. To add in another quote, “He that speaketh against his own reason speaks against his own conscience, and therefore it is certain that no man serves God with a good conscience who serves him against his reason.” (Jeremy Taylor) God gave us the amazing gifts of reason and rationalization, of curiosity and intelligence. To ignore all of those things is, to an extent, to ignore God! What is our faith even worth if it stands opposed to our reason?

And when faith and reason work together, it becomes even easier to see God in the workings of the universe. Take the story of Adam and Eve, for instance. We all believe that there was once a single man and a single woman and from them came all the people on earth, right? Well guess what! Science proves that! A study at the University of California, Berkeley, revealed the existence of “Mitochondrial Eve,” a woman living between 99,000 and 200,000 years ago in Africa, from whom all people on the planet today are descended. Pretty cool, right? And that’s something you could tell people who question the validity of all human beings coming from a single pair.

There are lots of things the Bible can tell us that science can’t, of course. It tells us that man was created perfect and then lost that perfection through pride. It tells the love story of God, reaching down to earth through the years until finally He sent Himself to mend the bond between earth and heaven. It tells us that that selfsame God left us His body and blood in the form of the Eucharist. It tells us of the hope of the resurrection and the courage of the early martyrs. It tells us not only how to live a good life, but why to give a good life.

Science can’t tell us any of that, obviously. But science can tell us how fast light travels (670, 616, 629 miles per hour), and how long it takes light from a star to hit our eyes (several thousand years, depending!) It tells us about our human bodies, beautiful gifts from God, and how to fix them when they’re hurt. It tells us that there was nothing and then suddenly, there was everything (fun fact! The guy who promulgated the idea of the “big bang,” Georges Lemaître, was a Catholic priest!) It tells us that the earth roiled and boiled, a shapeless mass in the darkness, a few billion years ago, until somehow it knitted together. It tells us that life suddenly and vibrantly came into existence, and grew and flourished. New species appeared (either being suddenly brought into being by God or by evolving from previous models that were brought into existence by God) and old ones died out, and slowly, the animals and trees and people we know and love today all came into being. None of that is at all against the Bible. In fact, it’s pretty easy to see God’s hand in all of it! It’s not that I lack faith because I refuse to believe in a young earth where dinosaurs and humans lived in peace. It’s more that my faith is strong because I can support it with history, logic, and the overarching term of “science.” And with that, I can more easily combat enemies of the faith when they attack us with facts on the age of the earth, diamonds, and dinosaurs. If anything, I am a true creationist, because I see the creator in His servants of science and faith.

So should Christians be Creationists?

The answer is… sure. The Catholic Church never says you explicitly have to believe in one or the other, but lets you choose. If believing in a 5,000 year old planet gets you to heaven, believe in it all you want. If believing that the earth is billions of years old gets you to heaven, believe in that. But whatever you believe, stop playing science and faith against each other, and see them as the siblings they are! Use both in your search for God, and use both to aid others in their search. When we can appeal to all people with both faith and logic, then we can fulfill Christ’s call to convert the whole world.

(Which, BTW, I do not believe is flat. That was a joke. Don’t shoot me.)

Love to all!

-Tani

(Edited to fix some facts about the age of the earth, thanks to Damian for catching those! Also to capitalize all the iterations of the word “Bible,” some of which were forgetfully uncapitalized. Sorry, folks. 🙂 )

Why Mass “Ad Orientem” Makes Sense

OK, let’s have some controversy up in here!

Let me begin by saying that I am not a Rad Trad.

No, really. I mean, anyone who has been on this blog for longer than a year should know by now that I love Praise and Worship music, mass in the vernacular, Eucharistic Adoration, youth groups, and all the other accoutrements of modern Catholicism. But I also love veiling during mass and prayer, kneeling for communion, and Gregorian chant. In short, I’m a Catholic, a blend of new ritual and ancient tradition. But sometimes, in the faith,  those ancient traditions get glossed over or forgotten.

One of those traditions is mass Ad Orientem, literally “to the east,” where the priest and the people face the same direction for mass. I used to think this was an outdated and non-inclusive idea, with the priest having his back turned to the congregation. Was it not better for the priest to be seen, to offer sacrifice for them and above them?

Mass Ad Orientem

Thanks to my friend Michael, and the many tireless hours of arguing with me about this that he put in, I learned what this tradition actually meant. The priest is a leader, a father, the head of the congregation. Like Moses leading the Hebrews from Egypt, he goes on before us towards God. He’s one of us, facing towards heaven, offering sacrifice in our names, not toward our faces.

Though I am not saying that Versus Populum (towards the people) should be banned or that it’s evil (like some really out-there people have said) I am saying that people should know more about both styles of worship. Versus Populum, though it feels more inclusive, also feels more insular; the priest offering the sacrifice of the mass toward the people instead of with them.

Mass Versus Populum

Both Ad Orientem and Versus Populum masses can be very reverent and beautiful, and I’m not saying that one automatically is more reverent than the other independent of other variables such as music, the homily, and the reverence of the celebrant. But I do think that celebrating Ad Orientem would foster a deeper spirit of reverence, bring some of the richness of our tradition into our worship today.

I’m going to leave y’all with some memes, to really lighten up the post.

Love to all!

-Tani

Steubie Time Again!

Yep, here we are, round 3. As always, pray for me, I’ll be praying for you! Expect an awesome blog post when I get back!
Where am I going, you ask? Well, I’ll be going to the Steubenville West Youth Conference in Tucson, Arizona, this weekend! It’s one of many youth conferences put on every summer by the Franciscan University of Steubenville. Around 2,000 teens attend this particular conference, but roughly 50,000 attend conferences (in the US and now Canada!) overall. There’s going to be music, mass, talks from dynamic speakers, confession, food, and most importantly- Eucharistic Adoration! So pray for me, I will definitely be praying for you guys!
Love to all!
-Tani