Happy New Year!

This evening, of course, is the eventide of the first Sunday of Advent, the first Sunday of the new liturgical year. We try to make it special in the Klein household, with the lighting of the Advent wreath. Rosemary had squirreled away a few rose-colored candles that she found on sale at a dollar store, so we were set as far as the Gaudete Sunday candle was concerned, but she had to sneak off to Bunn to purchase three violet candles for the other Sundays. Small-town Bunn isn't exactly North Carolina's shopping meca, so this year burgundy will have to do. Cyprian, when he learned that Gaudete Sunday was the Sunday marking particularly joyful celebration, remarked that he would have been happier if we had populated the wreath with Rosemary's stockpile of rose candles.

So, the evening concluded with the lighting of the Advent wreath, with the honors conducted by the eldest son, Cyprian. This was followed by "Creator of the Stars of Night" and Compline. Then we processed into the bedroom with one candle, where we prayed the rosary. This has been our special Advent routine the past few years. I'd like to say that the added prayer and reverence is what makes it so popular, but I think its popularity has more to do with the boys' pyromaniacal tendencies.

Of course, the long weekend began on Wednesday evening, with of our friends, the Gormans, together with their three children. It was a full household for Thanksgiving--exactly as it should be.

Here is the table setting sans people. We adults ate from the heirloom china-ware that my grandpa gave us a few years ago. Note the mostly correct table setting for the adults!

Cum populo, apart from the Gorman's littlest, who was more content on the floor chewing on toys.

Clement and me. "I like meat," quoth Clement.

Clement might like meat, but not so much as Ryan. The turkey the Gormans brought was a twenty-five pound monster from an Amish farmer near where they live!

In honorem D. N. Iesu Christi, Universorum Regis

The Feast of Christ the King, with the feasting beginning early, as we'll be heading to 2 p.m. Spanish Mass at the Cathedral followed by the baptism of the baby of a friend.

Quoth Cyprian: "That's a big drumstick!"

Quoth Clement: "I think we should have seven pigs next time so that we can blow up bladder balls every day!"

Quoth Cletus: "Rarr... Rarr.."

Quoth Rosemary: "Don't forget to pour the juices over the top so that it doesn't dry out."

Musings on the Extraordinary Synod on the Family, the Removal of Cardinal Burke

Those who pay attention to Church things know that a large number of bishops from around the world were recently meeting in Rome. In Church-speak, it was an "extraordinary synod," extraordinary not in the sense that it was "marvelous" or "spectacular" but in the more ordinary sense that it was but a prelude to the "ordinary synod," that is, the meeting of bishops that sends its suggestions to the pope, who then publishes a document. Last month's synod was extraordinary in the first sense of the word, though, I would aver, because of the amount of attention it garnered, even among those who, unlike myself, don't ordinarily pay attention to Church things.

The Extraordinary Synod's focus was on the family, and it garnered extraordinary attention primarily because of the suggestion of Cardinal Walter Kasper that the Church modify her practice of denying Holy Communion to divorced and civilly remarried Catholics. The age-old teaching of the Church is that Catholics in second marriages cannot receive the Eucharist because their earlier marriages are indissoluble. It follows that those who get married civilly a second time are committing adultery against their spouse from their first marriage, even if their civil marriage has been dissolved in the eyes of the State through a divorce proceeding. In the eyes of the Church, the person must also seek a declaration of nullity--in other words, an annulment--which is the Church's juridical decision that there was some impediment to the couple giving their consent in the first place. In a speech last year, however, Cardinal Kasper argued that people who attempted to marry a second time without seeking an annulment need a second chance, alluding to the Orthodox Church's toleration of second marriages as a practice for the Catholic Church to emulate. After Pope Francis himself spoke up in appreciation of Cardinal Kasper's emphasis on mercy and forgiveness, some writers--Catholic and secular alike--began to suggest that the Church might actually change her teaching on marriage.

This is, of course, deeply troubling to those of us who understand the role of the Church as the faithful proclamation of the deposit of faith entrusted to her. The Church's traditional denial of the Eucharist to those in second marriages is based in Christ's own teaching about marriage--"Whoever divorces his wife and marries another commits adultery against her; and if she divorces her husband and marries another, she commits adultery" (Mark 10:11-12)--and St. Paul's teaching regarding reception of the Eucharist--"Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord" (1 Corinthians 11:27). But let me emphasize that I am not accusing Cardinal Kasper or for that matter Pope Francis, who lauded Cardinal Kasper's speech, of deliberate unfaithfulness to the perennial teachings of the Church. Cardinal Kasper, for his part, insists that he is advocating for a change in pastoral practice, not a change in the unchangeable deposit of faith. And Pope Francis, for his part, is the guardian of that deposit of faith and the successor of St. Peter, the rock on whom Christ built his Church, promising that "the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18).

So, I stand with Pope Francis, trusting that the Holy Spirit will guide him through the ever stormier waters of a secular world at odds with the Gospel message. That having been said, I've read enough history to know that the Church has often stood at the brink of doctrinal or pastoral shipwreck and that sometimes it's only because people, prompted by the Holy Spirit, have chosen to speak up with force and conviction that the Church has stayed true to her evangelical mission and purpose. St. Catherine of Siena's strong words to Pope Gregory XI is the first example to come to mind, but history is full of worse popes than Gregory and worse situations than a timid French pope who preferred to live in the relative safety of Avignon rather than return to Rome.

I am encouraged, in any case, that Pope Francis himself called for an open discussion of these matters leading up to the synod. And I was heartened by the example of Cardinal Raymond Burke, who, together with four other cardinals, published a collection of essays last month called Remaining in the Truth of Christ. Therein, these cardinals take a strong stance against Cardinal Kasper's proposals, noting, for example, that the cardinal misrepresents the Orthodox practice of tolerating second marriages, misuses his patristic sources, and thoroughly misunderstands the Church's annulment process. It is not at all as the media have presented it: Cardinal Kasper is the sympathetic, merciful pastor while Cardinal Burke is the cold-hearted, legalistic judge. Rather, Cardinal Burke and the other authors argue that true mercy, and true charity, must be grounded in truth. True forgiveness entails true repentance. As one writer has put it, if a penitent comes to the confessional, confesses his sin, and says that he is perfectly happy living in his sin, then the priest would fail in his duty if he were to pat the sinner on the back, assuring him that everything is all right and sending him on his way. Essential to penitence is being penitent, and resolving to amend one's life. How could the Church, pastorally speaking, both hold that marriage is indissoluble and at the same time pat those in second marriages on the back, affirming them in their situation? It doesn't seem very pastoral to me, insofar as the true pastor calls his flock to live their lives according to the truth.

It is not surprising, therefore, that many faithful Catholics, including myself, have observed the synod from afar with particular trepidation, even if we trust that the gates of the netherworld will not prevail. How is it that Pope Francis praised Cardinal Kasper when the German cardinal's proposals seem so clearly at odds both with Church teaching and with solid pastoral practice? It was particularly distressing to watch as Cardinal Kasper continued to give interviews to the media during the synod, and as other distressing proposals came to light in the interim document, most notably the suggestion that there was something to praise in the love and devotion that homosexuals have for each other their relationships. As the head of the Polish bishops' conference wrote about the synod, he had thought that he was coming to Rome in order to find ways to foster and strengthen Christian marriages in response to the challenges of a rapidly secularizing society. Instead, he found attempts to accommodate the teachings of the Church to the spirit of the age. The African bishops were particularly outspoken, pointing out that marriage and family life are vibrant and strong on their continent. Why, they asked, aren't the bishops doing more to resist the spirit of the age? My mouth was agape, in fact, as I read of Cardinal Kasper's patronizing, Euro-elitist remark to a journalist that "nobody is listening" to the African bishops at the synod.

Cardinal Kasper's unguarded remark seems to have been a last straw. Pope Francis proceeded to add several more bishops to the document drafting committee, including Cardinal Napier from South Africa. Shortly thereafter, several second-hand accounts have another outspoken cardinal--Cardinal Pell of Australia--standing up to speak when it was announced that the summaries of the various language groups discussions would be kept secret. Cardinal Pell said that, given the publicity of everything else, the world needed to know where the bishops stood. Some accounts state that the cardinal's microphone was turned off but that he stubbornly raised his voice and continued to speak, with his remarks being met with sustained, approving applause from frustrated bishops who detected manipulation of the synod proceedings by a small cadre of bishops who favored change.

The language group summaries, which were almost universally critical of the interim report, were indeed published, as Cardinal Pell insisted that they be, and the final document for the pope's consideration did not contain any of the controversial propositions. That having been said, the whole charade leaves an intensely bad taste in my mouth. Yes, I'm aware that the earliest Church synods and councils were contentious, but still, to have bishops seemingly so inured to the spirit of the age that they feel pastoral compromise is the best way to evangelize is deeply troubling. I can't pretend not to have seen it on full display on the local level over the years--schools I've attended that are Catholic in name only, parishes I've belonged to that water down their CCD programs, priests I've known who avoid controversial topics. What is the famous observation about water following the path of least resistance? It's definitely true of fallen human nature as well, and history clearly demonstrates that bishops, for all the special guidance that the Holy Spirit provides, are as human as anybody else.

Which leads me to related musings on Cardinal Burke, who last weekend was removed from his position as Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura--the Vatican's equivalent of the Supreme Court--and given the honorific title of Cardinal Patron to the Knights of Malta. Given Pope Francis's praise for Cardinal Kasper, some observers have detected in this move a demotion, perhaps even a punishment for Cardinal Burke's outspokenness. Cardinal Burke is only 66 years old, and it is very rare for a cardinal to be left without a fulltime position at such a young age, either heading a major archdiocese or serving in the Roman Curia. Other observers, however, note that no Prefect of the Apostolic Signatura in recent years has served more than one term in office and Cardinal Burke had completed more than a full term, having served in that capacity since 2008. Personally, I think the latter group of observers is rather naive. Could the Vatican really be so tone-deaf as not to recognize that Cardinal Burke's departure from the Apostolic Signature at this particular juncture would be interpreted as a repudiation of his point of view? But then again, maybe I'm naive in thinking that the Vatican, which has a legendary reputation for tone-deafness, would have picked up on this.

The fact is that I have the utmost respect for Cardinal Burke, and particularly for his pastor's heart. He was the Bishop of La Crosse, Wisconsin, when I was a seminarian there after high school. Even after I left the seminary, and after he left to become Archbishop of St. Louis, he would often return to La Crosse for events at the Shrine to Our Lady of Guadalupe that he founded. I would see him frequently in my capacity writing for the diocesan newspaper, and every time we met he would greet me warmly, grasping my hands and smiling; he would ask not only how I was, together with my growing family, but he would also inquire about one of my younger brothers, who happened to have served Mass for him many years before. The man has an amazing memory, and I am guessing that the list of people he prays for by name must be thousands of names long.

Thus, I don't know how to express adequately the distress I feel in reading in the media about the cold-hearted, legalistic Cardinal Burke who stands, frowning, with arms crossed, to block the way of a sympathetic, pastoral Cardinal Kasper. I feel this is a terrible injustice not only Cardinal Burke's person and character, but infinitely more so to the notion that true mercy and charity are always grounded in truth and justice. What the removal of Cardinal Burke from the Apostolic Signatura accomplishes, besides giving pause to those who have vigorously resisted Cardinal Kasper's proposals, is to clear the way for a rash, ill considered reform of the annulment process that would, in the estimation of some prominent canonists, significantly water it down, making it less thorough (in technical terms, removing the requirement that a case be examined by a Court of Second Instance). I don't think I've bought into the conspiracy theories overly much in concluding that somebody had a hand in the non-reconfirmation of Cardinal Burke as Prefect. It's certainly the case that many people of Cardinal Kasper's persuasion--and there are many--are relieved to see him gone.

My hope and prayer, in any case, is that Cardinal Burke keeps preaching the truth in charity in whatever capacity he can. Inspired by his example, in the lead-up to the ordinary synod on the family I'll be doing my best, in my own small way, to follow suit.

Boys!

Home after getting all stitched up.

I was getting a load of laundry out of the washer. I hear the two older boys race past the bathroom door, a moment later a loud smack and then child crying. Clement came into the bathroom holding his hands to his forehead. Blood was seeping between his fingers, so I quickly grabbed a wash cloth and pressed it to his head. Putting him on the couch and laying him down I took a peek. It was fascinatingly gross. He apparently hit the edge of the coffee table and it made nice inch or more slice. It was deep enough to see layers of tissue. Cyprian commented, " you can see his skull." Yeah, I like to try and fix most things if I can, but decided this time we might need to have stitches.

So Clement had seven stitches. Now instead of bringing him back in to have the stitches removed we decided to try ourselves. Franz last night with sterilized scissors and tweezers removed the stitches. There were a few tears. But as I held the flashlight and squeezed Clement's hand it was successfully done. Clement is one brave boy!

Daddy the doctor!

All the stitches gone!

The perfect age!

November 8th my husband celebrated his 33rd birthday. According to him and Thomas Aquinas it is the best age.

The little boys let us sleep a little bit later than usual. I made breakfast from the fruits of Kleinshire. Consisting of our home cured bacon, eggs from our hens, and tomatoes from our garden. It was quite tasty. I also made Franz coffee, don't ask me if I made it right. I don't drink coffee so I have to guess how much to grind and throw in the French press. I made myself a nice pot of tea.

After our lovely breakfast I headed out to pick up a free table from someone and get a few things I needed from the store. Cletus came with me while Cyprian and Clement worked out in the garage with Franz.

I got home from errands just after noon. I suggested we should try the Common Grounds shop for lunch. It is down the road less than two miles from us in Bunn. We have talked about checking it out, having been told it is a nice spot. So, Franz pumped all the tires on the bikes and the trailer. Franz hauled Cyprian and Clement in the trailer while Cletus sat in the toddler seat on my bike. It was a beautiful day cool, clear, with beautiful fall colors.

The Common Grounds is run by a sweet older couple. Well at least the guy is really nice. His wife was not there while we were. They do a lot of fun community things such as karaoke, dart tournaments, hosting gatherings, bands playing music, etc. The set up is cozy and inviting. There is a whole table of toys and a shelf full of board games. Franz and Cyprian learned how to play connect four. Yes, Franz has never played before. He and I faced off and I have to admit he did beat me twice, though I won more games. We ordered the boys hot dogs and ourselves sandwiches. We also got one big peach smoothie and Franz ordered himself a Chai latte. After enjoying our lunch and games we headed back home. Actually, we raced back taking the loop that leads home. Franz led the whole way till the very end. I made a sneaky pass and won the race:')

At home, I got Cletus ready for a nap and tried to rest. Between older boys coming to me to ask me questions and baby Klein being active I had to settle for just trying to relax a bit. Since Cletus was napping I was able to hang laundry and spend a bit of time outside watching animals and hanging with the boys. I collected eggs too.

Then it was time to to start making Franz's birthday dinner. I started by grinding gold'n'white flour. I had a dozen fresh eggs from our hens sitting on the counter to make homemade Angel food.

Angel food cake: Taking a dozen eggs I separated the whites into a mixing bowl. I saved the yolks to fry up for breakfast. Then I whipped up the egg whites with half a cup of organic sugar, putting in some vanilla and almond extract. I also put just over a tsp. of cream of tartar. In a separate bowl was mixed one and a fourth cup of flour with just over a cup of sugar and a dash of salt. After the egg white mixture was beaten to the point where it formed nice peaks. I folded in the flour mixture. Lastly I put the batter in a greased angel food cake pan. I used coconut oil. It was suppose to bake at 350 for 40 minutes or so. Clement was the lucky fellow who got to lick the spoon. Cletus was still asleep and Cyprian was outside with Franz

Now I did this, and halfway through the baking we had a power surge or something that made the power go out in the house for a moment. We have an electric stove. So when the power came back on I thought I turned the oven on. Cletus also woke up at this point due to Clement screaming in terror when the light went off on him in the bathroom. So, I got Cletus and Clement and set them up at the table with paper and washable markers. They were going to make cards for Daddy. I started making my pizza dough. Warm water, yeast, organic sugar, I let it sit a bit. Then adding salt, garlic powder, onion flakes, Italian seasoning, and olive oil. I mixed it all together. Flour was added and kneaded in till a nice dough consistency formed. The big ball of dough was tossed into a bowl covered and left to sit on the warm stove for an hour for raising. Cyprian came in from outside and went to work on his card for Daddy.

I had gotten to this point with the dough mixed and sitting on top of the warm stove. I kept checking the cake and thinking man it is not turning golden on top like it should. It rose beautifully, but still was not finishing. Then it dawned on me. Yep, I thought I had turned the stove back on after the outage, but I had only turned on the stove temperature and had forgotten to press start. Ooops! So a half hour after the outage I turned the stove back on, which at this point was only at 160 degrees temperature.

Hoping a I hadn't ruined the cake, I started cutting up toppings for the two pizzas I was making for supper. I chopped up some bacon I had fried up from breakfast, onions, and black olives. From our garden I chopped green bell peppers, hot peppers, and tomatoes. I then shredded mild and sharp cheddar goat cheese from Wisconsin. Once all the toppings were ready I spread the pizza dough out on pizza stones I went to put my pizza sauce on the crust and threw a bunch all over Clement and myself. No joke, Franz had to carry Clement to the tub while I wiped sauce off the table, chairs, floor, and shoes that happened to be right there. Amazingly I didn't lose it. After desaucing things. I carefully poured pizza sauce onto the crust and spread it. Then I made one pizza for the kids which excluded peppers, and onions. Franz and my pizza had the works. The cake came out of the oven smelling great and having not sunk too much considering the long drawn out baking process. I then proceeded to make an improvised frosting recipe. I used coconut oil with just a pat of butter, whipping it up with regular organic sugar, and adding a bit of vanilla and almond extract. Lastly a dash of goat milk. I kept it in the fridge after thoroughly blending it, to keep till I frosted the cake after supper

First fire in our fireplace!

While I was making the pizza Franz started a fire in the fireplace. This is the first we have used our fireplace. It is a mighty .pleasant thing to have a fireplace! He used wood he had cut up from a tree that had fallen on our fence. The boys were all ecstatic over the fire. So while Franz and the boys were sitting and enjoying the fire I finished up supper preparations and set the table.

Enjoying the fire

Pizza party!

Bonfire!

Quick, put out the fire before the house burns down!

The food smelled so good. It tasted even better. Franz had a fancy bottle of wine. I enjoyed a small cup. But mostly I drank sparkling water. The boys had milk. Once all were satisfied. I got the cake ready. 33 candles is a lot! We lit the small bonfire and we all sang Happy Birthday. We all had cake with vanilla ice cream and strawberries and blueberries, I had taken out of the freezer. Franz opened his present from me and the boys, which was a gun cleaning kit. Yes, I am definitely a country girl and like practical gifts given and received. The boys each gave their card they had made.

Birthday boy with his cake:')

Every gun owner should take care of their gun.

Cyprian's card for Daddy. Notice some pizza sauce....

Clement's card for Daddy. Notice he has a C and d for him and Daddy:')

Cletus's card for Daddy. He is an artist!

Feeling full I went and got bath water for the boys. I took Cletus first as the two older boys were still finishing up. I was undressing Cletus and had just taken off his cloth diaper when I realized he was about to poop. I tried to get him on the toilet but was not fast enough. So our bath mat had to go in the laundry. I washed up Cletus and let him play a bit. I took him out and sent Cyprian and Clement to wash with stern instructions that there was to be no splashing because of Clement's stitches. Amazingly they listened. I got Cletus in his footsie pj's and he played with Daddy by the fireplace. I went and washed Cyprian's hair then sent him out to Franz to get his footsie pj's. I then very carefully washed Clement's hair. After Clement was dressed in pj's, I brushed the boys teeth while Franz put food away.

Then Franz hauled boys on his back crawling on all fours to the bedroom. We eventually got boys into bed and prayed our family rosary. By the end Franz was falling asleep. We headed out of the room after blessing each boy and tucking them in. Cletus was the only one still awake but soon fell asleep.

I was feeling tired too. Instead of cleaning the whole kitchen I stacked the dirty supper dishes into the sink, wiped the stove, table, high chair, and counters down. Then swept the floor. I did not wash dishes which is something I rarely leave, but alas I am not perfect and it was good enough for me to just have all straightened up.

Franz watched the news and fell asleep in his recliner. I watched tv for awhile. Then finally decided that we should head to bed.

It was a beautiful family day overall. Franz even whispered sleepily how much he enjoyed the day and thanked me. I was not able to sleep very well due to baby Klein deciding that it was party time for him/her now that all was quiet. I was very happy and content though and decided to enjoy the active little ones acrobatics while I tried to find a comfortable position to rest.

I love God, my husband, and my boys. It was a blessing to celebrate Franz's birthday in a very family oriented way.