Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Awash in narcissism

One of my Google Alerts took me to Anecdotal Evidence, a blog which bills itself as being "about the intersection of books and life." 

In a recent post blogger Patrick Krup shares this letter from a friend:

I'd been pondering the general topic [of tradition] since I sat near a group of women in a Starbucks one day a couple of weeks ago and was forced to listen to them discuss why the Catholic church was moronic for not ordaining women.

Not being Catholic myself, I didn't have much stake in the argument but I was astonished by their blithe assumption that the tradition of the Church was utterly without value and further, that their own opinions deserved equal weight with those of, say, Augustine of Hippo or Aquinas.

I wish I could have recorded it, so I could play it back for anyone who doubts that we're awash in narcissism. It was jaw-dropping. Maybe this is what comes of too much democracy.

Patrick's unnamed (and non-Catholic!) friend had managed to put his or her finger on the reason I feel so irritated by priestess wannabes and their supporters:  they totally deny the importance and value of Tradition in the Catholic Church.  The only things that matter to them are their desires and their feelings.  What the Church has done for 2,000 years - and why she has done it - they dismiss as utterly irrelevant.

"Awash in narcissism" is a perfect description of these people.

3 comments:

Jim Sheflin, Jr. said...

Methinks the current POTUS is also awash, along with his admin. I'd take even a little false humility once in awhile.

This includes the arrogance of some Catholic Bishops. Humility, a virtue in shorter supply than Communion rails. Ah, to kneel at the Communion rail - what a wonderful humble experience.

Nerina said...

I got a little nervous, Mike, when the letter writer wrote about "Catholic women meeting at Starbucks." In fact, a group of my friends and I often meet at Starbucks though our conversation usually turns to the dire state of things in our diocese. We cannot be accused of advocating for women's ordination. Quite the oppposite. I'm sure many of Starbucks' customers would find us quite out of date when it comes to the Church.

Gen said...

Amazing. Absolutely amazing.

Thanks, Mike, for sharing this little gem of sanity.