Holy Noise, Kiddo Blessings, and Liturgical Gripes

Life has been good the past few days. Much illumined. It's interesting that such a momentous occasion, such a significant shift in our life should feel so organic, so natural, as if our family could be no other way. I remember the days before Katherine's birth, of course, but it seems to be a mere cerebral memory, no longer connected to the earthy, organic communion that overwhelms and establishes as normal. The moment our little one began to cry, having been pulled from the womb of my beloved, we moved seamlessly from three to four...

But of course we are four, my whole body tells me; how could we be anything else?

The four of us, then, begin to harmonize, with cries and songs and very peculiar mealtime blessings all converging at once. For example, our two year-old now asks the blessing (in the way only super-sincere two year-olds can do) in the name of the "Fahduur, Shun, an' Hody Britches." She then says, "Tank 'oo, Gaaad, for corn, milk, an' mokey cheez" (that last one was "macaroni and cheese," for those of you without toddlers). New, also, is the Texas twang showing up in her speech; her toddler independence demands that she tells us "No, I'm going to do it"; it comes out, however, (and here you'll have to superimpose your idea of a Texas accent on it) as, "No, m'DOOO 'nit!" Ask her, "Sweetheart, y'done with dinner?" and you'll get a "Yup." Tell her to bring something to you, and you'll hear an "Oh-kiiiie." (rhymes with "pie.")

Imagine all that, punctuated by the beautiful, bleating cries of our newborn, and you'll have an idea of the joyful cacophony that fills our house. Fr. Stephen has a recent post about real communion that is worth the read; the above is our communion w/each other, and I'm so grateful for it.

Now, not to put a damper on all the above gushing--I really don't have a dog in this particular fight, though we did just make the news regarding similar liturgical "atrocities"--but I am quite baffled as to the outrage things like this provoke:

Pope's easing on Latin rites sparks outcry

"Jewish leaders and community groups criticised Pope Benedict XVI strongly yesterday after the head of the Roman Catholic Church formally removed restrictions on celebrating an old form of the Latin Mass which includes prayers calling for the Jews to 'be delivered from their darkness' and converted to Catholicism...the older rite's prayers calling on God to 'lift the veil from the eyes' of the Jews and end 'the blindness of that people so that they may acknowledge the light of your truth, which is Christ' have sparked outrage. 'We are extremely disappointed and deeply offended that nearly 40 years after the Vatican rightly removed insulting anti-Jewish language from the Good Friday Mass, it would now permit Catholics to utter such hurtful and insulting words by praying for Jews to be converted,' said Abraham Foxman, the [Anti-Defamation League]'s national director, in Rome."

How horrible...prayer, of all things, by members of a particular religious group, which correspond to the beliefs of that particular group, for the voluntary conversion of a certain group of people...never mind the spirit in which it was given...Κυριε, ελεησον ημας....

(Read the whole article here.)

Hope y'all had a great Lord's Day.