About Funky Dung
Who is Funky Dung?
29-year-old grad student in Intelligent Systems (A.I.) at the University of Pittsburgh. I consider myself to be politically moderate and independent and somewhere between a traditional and neo-traditional Catholic.
I was raised Lutheran, spent a number of years as an agnostic, and joined the Catholic Church at the 2000 Easter Vigil.
Why Funky Dung?
I haven't been asked this question nearly as many times as you or I might expect. Funky Dung is a reference to an obscure Pink Floyd song. On the album Atom Heart Mother, there is a track called Atom Heart Mother Suite. It's broken up into movements, like a symphony, and one of the movements is called Funky Dung. I picked that nickname a long time ago (while I was still in high school I think), shortly after getting an internet connection for the first time. To me it means "cool/neat/groovy/spiffy stuff/crap/shiznit", as in "That's some cool stuff, dude!"
Whence Ales Rarus?
I used to enjoy making people guess what this means, but I've decided to relent and make it known to all. Ales Rarus is a Latin play on words. "Avis rarus" means "a rare bird" and carries similar meaning to "an odd fellow". "Ales" is another Latin word for bird that carries connotations of omens, signs of the times, and/or augery. If you want to get technical, both "avis" and "ales" are feminine (requiring "rara", but they can be made masculine in poetry (which tends to breaks lots of rules). I decided I'd rather have a masculine name in Latin. ;) Yeah, I'm a nerd. So what? :-P
Wherefore blog?
It is my intention to "teach in order to lead others to faith" by being always "on the lookout for occasions of announcing Christ by word, either to unbelievers . . . or to the faithful" through the "use of the communications media". I also act knowing that I "have the right and even at times a duty to manifest to the sacred pastors [my] opinion on matters which pertain to the good of the Church, and [I] have a right to make [my] opinion known to the other Christian faithful, with due regard to the integrity of faith and morals and reverence toward [my and their] pastors, and with consideration for the common good and the dignity of persons." (adapted from CCC 904-907)
Statement of Faith
I have been baptized and confirmed in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I, therefore, renounce Satan; I renounce all his works; I renounce all his allurements.
I hold and profess all that is contained in the Apostles' Creed, the Niceno- Constantinopolitan Creed, and the Athanasian Creed.
Having been buried with Christ unto death and raised up with him unto a new life, I promise to live no longer for myself or for that world which is the enemy of God but for him who died for me and rose again, serving God, my heavenly Father, faithfully and unto death in the holy Catholic Church.
I am obedient to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. That is, I promote and defend authentic Catholic Teaching and Faith in union with Christ and His Church and in union with the Holy Father, the Bishop of Rome, the Successor of St. Peter.
Thanks be unto Thee, O my God, for all Thy infinite goodness, and, especially, for the love Thou hast shown unto me at my Confirmation. I Give Thee thanks that Thou didst then send down Thy Holy Spirit unto my soul with all His gifts and graces.
May He take full possession of me for ever.
May His divine unction cause my face to shine.
May His heavenly wisdom reign in my heart.
May His understanding enlighten my darkness.
May His counsel guide me.
May His knowledge instruct me.
May His piety make me fervent.
May His divine fear keep me from all evil.
Drive from my soul, O Lord, all that may defile it.
Give me grace to be Thy faithful soldier, that having fought the good fight of faith, I may be brought to the crown of everlasting life, through the merits of Thy dearly beloved Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Behind the Curtain: an Interview With Funky Dung (Thursday, March 03, 2005)
I try to avoid most memes that make their way 'round the blogosphere (We really do need a better name, don't
we?), but some are worth participating in. Take for instance the "interview game" that's the talk o'
the 'sphere. I think it's a great way to get to know the people in neighborhood. Who are the people in your
neighborhood? In your neighborhod? In your neigh-bor-hoo-ood...*smack* Sorry, Sesame Street flashback.
Anyhow, I saw Jeff "Curt Jester"
Miller's answers and figured since he's a regular reader of mine he'd be a good interviewer. Without
further ado, here are my answers to his questions.
1. Being that your pseudonym Funky Dung was chosen from a Pink Floyd track on Atom Heart Mother, what is you
favorite Pink Floyd song and why?
Wow. That's a tuffy. It's hard to pick out a single favorite. Pink Floyd isn't really a band known for
singles. They mostly did album rock and my appreciation of them is mostly of a gestalt nature. If I had to
pick one, though, it'd be "Comfortably Numb". I get chills up my spine every time I hear it and if
it's been long enough since the last time, I get midty-eyed. I really don't know why. That's a rather
unsatisfying answer for an interview, so here are the lyrics to a Rush song. It's not their best piece of music,
but the lyrics describe me pretty well.
New World Man
He's a rebel and a runner
He's a signal turning green
He's a restless young romantic
Wants to run the big machine
He's got a problem with his poisons
But you know he'll find a cure
He's cleaning up his systems
To keep his nature pure
Learning to match the beat of the old world man
Learning to catch the heat of the third world man
He's got to make his own mistakes
And learn to mend the mess he makes
He's old enough to know what's right
But young enough not to choose it
He's noble enough to win the world
But weak enough to lose it ---
He's a new world man...
He's a radio receiver
Tuned to factories and farms
He's a writer and arranger
And a young boy bearing arms
He's got a problem with his power
With weapons on patrol
He's got to walk a fine line
And keep his self-control
Trying to save the day for the old world man
Trying to pave the way for the third world man
He's not concerned with yesterday
He knows constant change is here today
He's noble enough to know what's right
But weak enough not to choose it
He's wise enough to win the world
But fool enough to lose it ---
He's a new world man...
2. What do you consider your most important turning point from agnosticism to the Catholic Church.
At some point in '99, I started attending RCIA at the Pittsburgh Oratory. I mostly went to ask a lot of
obnoxious Protestant questions. Or at least that's what I told myself. I think deep down I wanted desperately
to have faith again. At that point I think I'd decided that if any variety of Christianity had the Truth, the
Catholic Church did. Protestantism's wholesale rejection of 1500 years of tradition didn't sit well with me,
even as a former Lutheran.
During class one week, Sister Bernadette Young (who runs the program) passed out thin booklet called "
Handbook for Today's Catholic". One paragraph
in that book spoke to me and I nearly cried as I read it.
"A person who is seeking deeper insight into reality may sometimes have doubts, even about God himself.
Such doubts do not necessarily indicate lack of faith. They may be just the opposite - a sign of growing faith.
Faith is alive and dynamic. It seeks, through grace, to penetrate into the very mystery of God. If a
particular doctrine of faith no longer 'makes sense' to a person, the person should go right on seeking. To
know what a doctrine says is one thing. To gain insight into its meaning through the gift of understanding is
something else. When in doubt, 'Seek and you will find.' The person who seeks y reading, discussing,
thinking, or praying eventually sees the light. The person who talks to God even when God is 'not there' is
alive with faith."
At the end of class I told Sr. Bernadette that I wanted to enter the Church at the next Easter vigil.
3. If you were a tree what kind of, oh sorry about that .. what is the PODest thing you have ever
done?
I set up
WikiIndex, a clearinghouse for reviews
of theological books, good, bad, and ugly. It has a long way to go, but it'll be cool when it's finished. :)
4. What is your favorite quote from Venerable John Henry Newman?
"Ten thousand difficulties do not make one doubt."
5. If you could ban one hymn from existence, what would it be?
That's a tough one. As a member of
the Society for a Moratorium on the Music of
Marty Haugen and David Haas, there are obviously a lot of songs that grate on my nerves. If I had to pick
one, though, I'd probably pick
"Sing
of the Lord's Goodness" by Ernie Sands.
About the arms-crossed-over-the-chest thingy: A number of people who actually want Communion do that down here, all of them Italian-Americans. Once I gave a pious lady who did that a blessing, and she said, “Oh, but Father, can’t I receive Communion?” (I don’t remember ever having paid attention to what Italians did in Rome.) I’ve also been told that Eastern Rite Christians do the same thing with their arms. Anyway.
Can you agree with both? For example, while I agree with Jeff about the blessing at the end, I do expect all our children to accompany us to the front…the older ones – who still haven´t had first communion – stand beside us, with their arms crossed across their chests, and we genuflect when the host is raised to us, they do too. we seek to instill proper behaviour in our children by modelling. And while they are going forward with us, it´s not for a blessing. That´s not to say that a priest hasn´t here and there blessed them, but it was sort of as if an afterthought, and he knew we weren´t bringing them forward for that purpose, since they are a bit behind us. Anyway, just adding a few thoughts
Er, given the rather massive differences between Catholic and Presbyterian understandings of the Eucharist, it’s not surprising that there are such big differences between Catholic and Presbyterian guidelines for admittance to Communion.
F.D.: Thanks for linking the post. You seem interested, so I will share some more thoughts. First, please understand that this topic is not a matter of doctrine and should not be used to judge anyone’s “orthodoxy”. I never intended that at all. Your comment here stated: “I would consider the priests who gave me the advice … to be thoroughly orthodox and exemplary. They’re not the type to speak or act on opposition to Church law.” Please don’t think ill of or doubt those priests. That’s not what I am trying to say. In the realm of things, the topic of my post is far down on the list of importance. The Church is not suffering because some priests give blessings at Holy Communion. My position that blessings in the line for Holy Communion are inappropriate stems from identifying the goal for that part of the Holy Mass. That particular moment of the Holy Mass is the summit where all focus should be on Holy Communion and, for those in a state of grace, its worthy reception. Quite simply we can say, the Sacred Liturgy never envisions that other things are going on with that line. That’s all I mean by my position. In addition, doing other things in the line (my giving blessings) could be, it seems to me, counterproductive to the focus that should be placed on the Holy Eucharist (in other words, my priestly blessing in no way replaces reception of Holy Communion). I am always happy to bless children and other non-communicants, simply not at that moment in Mass. After Mass seems the more appropriate time to seek an individual blessing. Notice, too, I am not saying we shouldn’t give blessings for the various rites of RCIA (which, no doubt, you recall well) or other rites incorporated into Mass. However, none of those rites are ever placed within the reception of Holy Communion, but usually follow the homily. While I certainly encourage spiritual communions, that usually means one remains in his pew in prayer, uniting himself to the sacrifice and in prayer expressing his desire to receive Holy Communion (not the priest’s blessing). Finally, it should be noted that the whole reason I even posted on this matter is because inviting non-communicants to come up in a line designed for reception of the Sacrament, invites some misunderstandings, confusion, sacrilege, and hurt feelings. And, when it is all said and done, when the line is for the reception of Holy Communion, should I really have to be worrying about who is who and why they are there?
Fr. Hamilton,
Thank you for coming here and clarifying your points. 🙂 I think the most convincing statement you made was “inviting non-communicants to come up in a line designed for reception of the Sacrament, invites some misunderstandings, confusion, sacrilege, and hurt feelings”. I’m curious what you’d think about a particular occasion of blessing. At least half of the people who attended my wedding were not Catholic. Rather than leave them sitting in the pews, stewing in their bitterness toward the Church (that’s not an exaggeration for some of them), we decided to invite them to receive a blessing. They indicated that they wouldn’t be be taking communion by crossing their arms across their chests. Do you think this was an appropriate choice?
I participated in an Eastern Rite (Ukrainian) wedding this summer and can confirm that they do indeed receive communion that way. There is a key difference, though. The Body floats in the Blood and is fed to the communicants from a spoon.
If you read through the comments the post has generated, he explains himself a little more on that point.
My over-all thought is that I agree with Father Hamilton… and that it’s not necessarily discouraging someone from seeking a blessing, but rather encouraging them to seek one at an appropriate time.
F.D.: I certainly understand the specific decision made in the wedding scenario. Again, this isn't dogma. A decision for or against blessings at Holy Communion can be tolerated. I personally would shy away from it – even in the scenario you mention – opting rather to announce before Holy Communion about the sad reality of divisions among Christians and encouraging non-communicants (as well as communicants) to pray for Christian unity. However, please understand, I would consider the practice if I could sense (along with the couple who know the audience so well) that non-communicants would take offense at remaining in the pews.
Thanks for the comments. It’s especially cool to see people “delurking”. I have a lot of respect for Jeff and Fr. Jim’s blogs and it’s exciting to know they read mine. 🙂
Getting back to the topic, are there specific canonical injunctions against communion blessings? I’d be interested to know the bases for deeming them inappropriate. This is quite a startling revelation for me. When I was just beginning to investigate the Catholic Church, and continuing through my time in RCIA, I was not only invited but encouraged to seek such blessings. I would consider the priests who gave me the advice (fathers of the Pittsburgh Oratory) to be thoroughly orthodox and exemplary. They’re not the type to speak or act on opposition to Church law.
There is also always a blessing given at the end of the Mass so there is no valid reason for someone to receive a blessing in the Communion line.
Well, this is one of the reasons I’m Presbyterian! Anyone who accepts Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior is welcome at our table.
Solves the problem quite nicely, I think.