As for the many bowling-pin shaped bishops and cardinals, one might fervently wish they could achieve better health for themselves.
A yoga routine is something you develop for yourself. The teacher can only be a guide. Only you can know your own body. Get acquainted with your own body. Be free from pain. Stop cancer.
Practice getting down to the floor once a day if you expect to be able to do that at age 99. Use it or lose it. If you just sit in your easy chair in front of the TV you will turn into a couch potato.
Turn off the TV and get acquainted with your own mind.
“The Bible never gives us a prescription to free our mind.” Nothing could be further from the truth. There is every indication that the little discrepancies throughout the Bible and the math in it (Sower’s Sevens) were designed to jar your mind and get you thinking and learning how to think. Contemplation of these sorts of things does bring a peaceful mind. The Bible is a spiritual exercise.
What is your interpretation of the 2-finger hand sign that Jesus is very often shown making in paintings? Is this a hand hold used in yoga? Perhaps the healing that Jesus did involved teaching yoga movements to improve health. This tradition of yoga healing survives in art but not in the “dogmas” preached by rotund Vaticanites.
https://iconreader.wordpress.com/2011/05/26/what-does-this-hand-gesture-mean-in-icons/
Interesting, but that picture shows the pinky finger slipped out. The gesture I am thinking of has both the pinky and ring finger gripped by the thumb with the first two fingers straight. And who is to say if it is a “blessing,” a sign of “the 2 greatest commandments,” or yoga? More recent interpretation — “V for victory.” I’ve never seen a priest do that gesture. Salvador Dali’s Sacrament of the Last Supper has a modified gesture with the thumb pointing out.
Artists copy themes and scenes; for example, the nativity. Also, you can see the evolution of Mary Priest over many centuries as the concept falls out of favor. There is a tradition in art of showing Jesus making a hand gesture. How far back the tradition goes is . . . unknown. I’m certainly not the first person to ask if Jesus used yoga in his healing. In the first century herbs, yoga, and being sympathetic would have been standard medical care. Oh and of course a miracle is always helpful.
You make a blanket statement that the Jesus stories don’t explain gestures. Did Jesus say anything while he broke the bread with his hands at the Last Supper? What words did Jesus say when he healed with his hands?
May 5, 2016
http://ncronline.org/news/spirituality/yoga-makes-me-better-catholic
Violet writes 
What is holding it together is the sales pitch that it is the one “true” religion. But the historical Jesus, a Jew, is not honored by what has been developed in his name.
May 10, 2016
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Interesting points, Pro, and thanks. Perhaps you don’t realize that in Catholic school we were constantly told that the celibate way of life is the superior way. It is not just on Sunday that children are misled this way. At the very least it causes confusion and guilt.
Brides and grooms in liturgy would most likely make for gender-specific roles in liturgy with the female roles eventually being less valued. And having heterosexual sex as the focus of liturgy would not be appealing to homosexuals, asexuals, and those no longer starry-eyed and “in love” and knowing that sex is just sex, not something one does with a god or goddess.
There was good cause for reforming the ancient Bride and Groom as their relationship was incestuous, the tradition was associated with temple prostitution and self-castration, and most likely, given that what survives today has symbolic cannibalism as part of the rite, there was human sacrifice as its detractors claimed. The solution was reform, not brutality from genocidal armies following the supposed directives of their Yahweh as described in the Hebrew Bible.
I do realize that the Bride and Groom were being diminished, not endorsed, by the NT writers, which makes it all the more strange that Vaticanites [still cling to this bride and groom idea, and] deny the possibility of women priests because, they say, Jesus is the Bridegroom and only a male can play that role.
I agree the Vaticanites are an extension of the Roman Empire, but they could also be derived from the Galli. They have little in common with Jesus who preached servant leadership.
May 11, 2016
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http://ncronline.org/blogs/just-catholic/playing-catholic-woman-card
Pro, thanks for that. I am so happy that you are willing to discuss this period of history as it is critical to our understanding of where we’ve been and where we should be going. The topic of the article above should not be discussed in a vacuum. Christianity was a reform of the tradition of the dying young Lord and his Mother/Bride, but these other forces that you write about drove the reform to extremes of asceticism and patriarchy and empire-building.
Did the invention of metallurgy bring about these male militia/gangs who played follow the lead and who went about sticking knives and spears into people in order to raid their granaries and other food stores? Riane Eisler in The Chalice and The Blade (if I recall correctly — it’s been a while since I read it) says that every so often there is a sort of pressure that builds up and males just go berserk and start going on rampages making wars and destroying civilization — pretty scary. I guess I like what you are saying better, that this is learned behavior?? that was perfected maybe in Greece.
There was a concerted effort to change the myths to diminish the Goddess. So Athena was birthed from the head of Zeus. Eve was birthed from the rib of Adam and duped by her own symbol of wisdom, the snake. The Marys are fragmentations of Her, and the Divine Virgin Mother was demoted to village maiden. Now it is time to be remembering and restoring women’s status.
Well, that is interesting that wiki/Cybele places the Galli priests (who self-castrated and who dressed like women) in Rome even during the Christian era. But I don’t expect NCR will be publishing on the Goddess, the Galli, the Talpiot tomb of Jesus, or my Sower’s Sevens.
The indoctrination that the nuns engaged in to make the little girls want to become nuns was shameful. At age 9, I became convinced I wanted to become a nun as I liked their “Cinderella” long skirts and was fascinated by their clinking over-sized rosary beads. Pray for vocations we were taught. They didn’t wait for God to send them vocations; they started with the young ones to make them want to be celibate. That way the nuns ensured their own support in old age. I didn’t become a nun but one of my best friends at that time is now the head of that order. I bet the little altar boys are told that they can become “ontologically superior” if they will become priests. I wonder how the Galli entrapped the young?
I don’t understand when some people say they agree to women priests but only if they are celibate. How can celibacy be a prerequisite for being a priest?
May 12, 2016
Link https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cybele
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http://ncronline.org/blogs/francis-chronicles/francis-comic-strip-227
I guess there is no chance that the comic strip Francis will make Gabriella a deacon or cardinal since she is not Catholic. Maybe in addition to advising the group of 8 on poverty, Gabriella could take the lead on drafting a universal “Theology of Women.”
May 12, 2016
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http://ncronline.org/news/vatican/francis-create-commission-study-female-deacons-catholic-church
http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20160512/pope-francis-says-he-will-study-possibility-of-female-deacons
Well here I am with my freaky feminine genius that allows me to look at life with true eyes .. .. .. men cannot look at it so and my way of seeing problems, of seeing whatever, is totally … different than men. Oh my oh my and that is why “it is important for women to be there.” Well silly me I am just so flattered that the Holy Father has told me I must be “complementary” to all men since I have some quality they all lack evidently. Is this insulting to men? No because men know it is code for girls have cooties. And women deacons — just study it some more and study it some more. Instead maybe read the book, “Ordained Women in the Early Church; A Documentary History,” by Madigan and Osiek, 2005. The Catholic Biblical Quarterly is quoted on the back cover, “Finally, readers have a single compendium in English of the evidence that women did hold church office as deacon, presbyter, and bishop, not simply as spouses of male officeholders and not in hεrεtical sects but in their own right and in the Catholic Church.”
May 12, 2016
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From Latin ovum ‘egg.’ Well maybe I do hatch ideas in my ovaries?? But where do male geniuses hatch their ideas?
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Elsewhere on NCR is the transcript of the nuns’ questions, “In the church there is the office of the permanent diaconate, but it is open only to married and non-married men. What impedes the church from including women among permanent deacons, just as it happened in the early church? Why not construct an official commission that might study the question?” I would assume the Pope was answering the question asked.
May 12, 2016
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In this example, each person may be either male or female. Odds of getting a male baby are 1 in 2. Odds of getting a female baby 1 in 2. Odds of getting 12 boys in a row 1 in 2^12 or as he says 0.0002. Anyone who can read this is a candidate for Sower’s Sevens. Odds of Jesus picking 12 men? Sower’s Sevens show that the names and appellations of the apostles fit a number pattern. So not likely there were 12 as the names are likely a numerical construction.
May 12, 2016
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http://ncronline.org/blogs/ncr-today/vatican-downplays-expectations-women-deacons-uisg-president-expresses-hope-decision
I don’t think what Lombardi said changes anything. Of course we cannot know what the commission will produce. Probably they will produce what they are commanded to produce.
What no one here seems to realize is that in order to review the history of women deacons, one must also review the history of women presbyters as the ancient terminology is murky and it is difficult to know which is which and what the roles were, at least that is my impression from skimming through some of the history (Madigan and Osiek 2005). So the Pope has just authorized a study of the history of women presbyters also.
There does not seem to be much point to the Pope forming a commission to study women deacons unless he is open to the idea of women deacons. But the Pope said also that women “have to be complementary” (previous article at http://ncronline.org/news/vatican/francis-create-commission-study-female-deacons-catholic-church ). So what is a “complementary deacon”? Somehow I get the idea that if women deacons are permitted, they will have gender-specific roles — gender apartheid.
Thanks Joshua for reporting on all this. You are doing wonderfully !!!
May 14, 2016
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Oh that is so sad. I said a prayer for you and opened my Daily Word to find a comforting thought to share: ‘God says, you need have no fear for I am your eternal and everlasting refuge.’
Daily Word July 16, 2014
May 14, 2016
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Hi Phyllis, When Raymond says “Really” he means it sarcastically “really??” He is the one who introduced me to Madigan and Osiek. But he paid too much for it. Thanks for your leadership.
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Awesome, Monica. Applause !!! The past may hold useful lessons, but maybe not. I do feel that the Pope and his minions want me to be less than I am. These guys think that women are not even the same species as them. They want women to be corralled, not Spirit-led. If Catholics let these guys invent the future it will be a bizarre future with complementary “deaconesses.”
May 15, 2016
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According to the Joshua McElwee article May 12, “Francis said that it is a ‘theological/liturgical’ issue of whether women can give the homily at Mass . . . . that during the Mass the priest is serving ‘in persona Christi’ and is therefore the person to give the homily.” But Canon 767 section 1 says a priest or deacon may give the homily. How is a woman going to be a deacon if she cannot give a homily? Clearly the solution is to institute “complementary deaconesses,” each [woman having been] diminished by her “feminine genius” and therefore not capable of reading the Gospel or preaching at Mass. Or maybe Catholics could learn that The Christ is its members, not just one man. That all Christians are supposed to follow Jesus, not just those who like to think of themselves as ‘in persona.’
Link to May 12 article
http://ncronline.org/news/vatican/francis-create-commission-study-female-deacons-catholic-church
can. 767.1
http://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/_P2J.HTM
May 17, 2016
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Of course it is ridiculous and the governing structure is utterly rudderless.
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Jesus said (Lk 9:14) to have the people sit down in groups of about 50 each — and did this structuring facilitate some sort of solution? I’ll bet the people were not all facing forward like in pews, but maybe talking to each other, and the result was sharing of loaves and fishes. But just having bishops sit down in Synods doesn’t accomplish anything.
May 17, 2016
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Are there accessible bathrooms, sitting areas for those with wheelchairs or walkers (other than pews with tripping kneelers), captions for hearing impaired, handicap parking, ministers to bring communion to the special sitting area so elderly are not knocked over or falling over trying to get communion, pick-up areas for cars, ramps for access. So many of the parishioners are elderly but not accommodated at all in the church. Don’t expect a priest to bring communion to the home bound. Hope you’re feeling better.
May 17, 2016
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thanks, Sierra. I don’t have much hope for this commission that is supposedly coming; after all, when the Synod considered the Family, they did not allow women to vote. Beyond ridiculous. And what do these leader-appointees produce without women?
More important than the history of female deacons and presbyters is the history of the development of the insidious idea “in persona Christi” which is clericalism at its worst, where the priest is supposedly like a Jesus-impersonator. This is the Vatican’s main argument against women priests, that women do not image a man (Jesus). I will guess this “in persona Christi” idea is a fairly recent invention. Idolatrous, too. Women can image the Christ of which we are all — male and female — members.
May 18, 2016
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Blessings of community and sharing were multiplied and the “Kin~dom” came into focus, if only for a short time.
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The insidious idea of “in persona Christi” is a recent invention is my guess. It is clericalism. It is idolatry.
The 1891 Baltimore Catechism does not have “in persona Christi” (http://www.baltimore-catechism.com). Wiki history (https://enDOTwikipedia.org/wiki/In_persona_Christi) does not have it prior to 1947. I have no recollection of such in Catholic high school. Yet these days, every “traditionalist” has the term on the tip of the tongue. It is not tradition as far as I know.
It is contrary to the Bible where all of us — male and female — are members of the Christ (with Jesus as the head), and there are not “Christ-impersonators” among us. More important than the history of deacons is the history of this teaching of “in persona Christi” because it is this teaching that the Vaticanites are relying on to deny ordination to women. Who invented “in persona Christi”? Jesus was servant-leader, not self-important, not clericalized.
Baltimore catechism
http://www.baltimore-catechism.com/
May 18, 2016
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This page has a list of women priest communities, but there are other types of Catholic apostolic communities also, and I don’t recall the others
http://www.romancatholicwomenpriests.org/worshippingcommunity.htm
May 18, 2016
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Yes, that is the link I have in my comment (“1947” is Pius XII).
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Thank you, THANK YOU !!! !!! dear Jamie. A superb article by you !!! You are such a blessing to us.
I had noticed some quotes from the Pope in that same meeting which make it clear he has no intention of making female deacons, not unless they are complementary “deaconesses.” We need to look closely at Vaticanite terminology such as “in persona Christi.” It is just a theory. It is clericalism. And it is a fairly recent invention. It is a fad. It is what they base their misogynistic treatment of women on. But all of us — male and female — are members of the Christ and there are no special “Christ-impersonators” among us as “Christ the head.” Amazing to read all this ‘in persona Christi’ stuff in some Vatican II documents and the Catechism. How did this fad suddenly become Catholic belief? Not the sense of the faithful in my book, but clericalism. Awful clericalism.
Catechism: 796, 875, 1142, 1348, 1547, 1548, 1563, 1566, 1591. Vatican II: LG 10, 21, 28, 37; SC 7, 33; AG 39; PO 2.
May 19, 2016
http://ncronline.org/blogs/grace-margins/its-time-be-honest-about-pope-francis-and-women
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There may be reciprocal personalities in a marriage. However, don’t extrapolate to make all women different from all men. Not all women think alike. Rather than saying a woman supposedly lacks some quality that all men have, perhaps we should instead say that all persons should practice mutuality and find unity. Your marriage experience is irrelevant to me and the issue at hand. Or maybe like Francis, you think that biology is the basis for everything.
May 19, 2016
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He is talking about male/female and Mars/Venus and he is talking just like the Pope, trying to divide the world into two unequal camps. Many people here won’t ever get it. They start out by learning girls wear pink and boys wear blue, and what the Pope says is true to their way of thinking. It is sexism. No two people are alike. Women don’t all think alike. And this is the umpteenth time I’ve heard that “my marriage is thus and so, and so therefore, all women are like my wife.” What wife would agree that she is just like all other women?
May 19, 2016
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Except Simon the Cananean (from Canaan?) who was not the same as Simon the Zealot, unless you object to 14 names for 12 apostles, just as there were 14 names for 12 tribes. Not likely there were 12 apostles as the names and appellations form a numerical construction with a rare factor identical to Ezekiel temple measurements when Sower’s Sevens emerge. ‘The Lost Gospel’ speculates that Jesus could not marry a Jewish woman because of the circumstances of his illegitimacy and therefore Mary Magdalene was not Jewish. So there you have another Gentile.
May 19, 2016
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Did Jesus actually feed the crowd? John 6:13 explains yes, that all the extra pieces of bread that were gathered up at the end of the meal came originally from the loaves Jesus had. Did Jesus perform a miracle? I won’t say he didn’t. I feel impatient with people who cannot concede the possibility of miracles. But it is also interesting to contemplate that none of the four books allows us to see the loaves and fishes as they are multiplying. What effect does this have on the reader?
May 19, 2016
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I never saw that translation “won repute.” What are you reading? It’s not one of the 40 plus on Biblegateway.com. Even the NAB on the Vatican website has Junia [prominent among apostles]. Is that your own personal “translation”?
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I’m not sure what you are saying?? Both of us admit to the possibility of miracles in these cases – right?? The fragments of bread in baskets just means that after all the people had taken as much as they wanted to eat or could stuff into packs or pockets, some was left over, but if I recall correctly, no whole loaves remained. Since the six stories are woven around a very precise number set, it was perhaps more important for the coordinating author to get the numbers into the text precisely to produce the Sower’s Sevens rather than satisfy whatever concerns you have about the bread fragments. The stories don’t say the people shared bread but there is a lot the stories don’t say. It is the responsibility of the disciple to learn what is and is not there. Do you see a paradox that Jesus fed 5,000 but could not or would not do a miracle to increase his own supply? Among him and his followers there were only a few loaves and fishes. The Jesus group could have requested leftovers to restock their own supply.
May 19, 2016
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You did a lot of math. 2 fish at 8 x 18 x 4 = 1,152 cu in. 4 loaves at 24 x 10 x 10 = 9,600 cu in. Each of 5,000 persons gets 2 cubic inches of food ( (9,600 + 1,152)/5,000). That’s like 2 bites per person — but aren’t your loaves awfully big?? No fragments in that scenario unless each person only takes one bite. I think the sharing theory is that many had come out that day and forgot to pack food, but many were wise and had made ample provision for themselves — they had remembered to pack their lunch and dinner. When Jesus asked everyone to sit in groups, those with plenty of food were inspired by Jesus’ ideal of love of neighbor and shared with their neighbors. Sharing means the wise ones shared with those who had not planned ahead. The loaves and fishes stories could also mean that we should expect that God wants the best for us and will provide.
May 19, 2016
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2.15 cubic inches is 1 inch by 1 inch by 2 inches approximately. Two small bites. I think you have confirmed my notion that the Gospel stories are supposed to challenge us. You have taught me to look at these loaves and fishes stories from a different perspective — in terms of bites. I consider that a gift. How big were the baskets? Again, I don’t deny a miracle.
May 19, 2016
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I would definitely lose weight on only 2 bites a day.
Virgin births were a familiar theme to the people of that time, so the Gospel writer(s) wrote what was familiar to their readers. The point is not what Jesus could do, but what can you do? Jesus said, “You give them something to eat.” (Lk 9:13 (TNIV)) A similar multiplication of loaves story in 2 Kings 4:42-44 has Elisha telling a visitor to give to the people to eat. Were Elisha and Jesus kidding? Maybe it is up to you. Maybe your life will be extraordinary in some way. There are 6 loaves and fishes stories in the four books of the Gospel. In all but one (John), Jesus has the disciples distribute the food.
Compare Matthew 14:13-21; Mark 6:32-45; Luke 9:10-17; John 6: 1-17; compare Matthew 15:32-39; Mark 8:1-10; and compare Matthew 16:5-12; Mark 8:14-21; Luke 12:1; see also a similar story in 2 Kings 4:42-44.
May 19, 2016
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I’m not sure what is a “feminine characteristic” as you say. A love of baking cookies?? The press will keep on selling the Pope and his complementarianism and his “in persona Christi” stuff (both recent inventions) for as long as people keep on buying.
May 19, 2016
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