26 Comments
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William Murphy's avatar

Thanks for a great podcast, Ed and JD. Who needs comedy programs when you can suggest new uses for Grindr - the luckless Father Burrill could have been using Grindr to find people so that he could spread the Gospel. As per Wayne's World, I think a load of monkeys just flew out of my butt.

I guess the next lawsuit will be a reverend gentleman suing a brothel for making their ladies of the night too enticing and thus ruining his promotion chances.

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Christopher Y's avatar

The first three minutes definitely had a mom and dad are fighting vibe.

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Fr. N. Romero's avatar

I actually laughed out loud at the end of the NPR bit.

"What's wrong, buddy?"

"Great. Well, it's Holy Week, Ed."

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Joe Witkowski's avatar

Regarding “attaining the episcopacy by deception”, I almost grateful in an obtuse sense that you did not identify Msgr. Burrill ‘s bishop who restored him to diocesan ministry as a parish pastor.

As a Wisconsin priest friend reminds me, that bishop was a “toady” - his words not mine - of a deceased archbishop of Newark NJ whose predecessor in Newark was McCarrick. Envisioning Burrill’s “what if” episcopal lineage (denied according to his current lawsuit) emanating out of Newark to LaCross should be cause for pause. It’s Holy Thursday so I pause.

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Joe Witkowski's avatar

Once the private/personal data of clerical Grindr users are turned over to the Chinese government by Grindr, are those clerics prima facie eliminated from consideration by the Chinese Communist party for appointments as prelates in China? 🤔

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Sue Korlan's avatar

Or perhaps since Grindr is used in non-public places in the Vatican perhaps use of this app explains the Chinese-Vatican deal.

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Paula's avatar

I agree about the ambivalent time-sense of the Triduum. Maybe not Good Friday so much, but it has always seemed like Holy Saturday may not actually even exist - it’s just sort of an odd pause between one breath and the next…

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Teresa's avatar

JD!! I am 99% sure I know who your Pillar reader athlete friend is and we miss him dearly in his former town!!!

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Ioanna's avatar

More of Ed's Irish accent please! 😂

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Matt Keough's avatar

It's mighty craic, don't ye know? 😂

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Cally C's avatar

To add to JD's point, there's also a reasonable lawsuit about what counts as anonymized data, and whether that aligns with users' expectation of what non-identifiable means. But yeah, a monsignor arguing he shoulda been a bishop, if it weren't for that meddling hookup app isn't the guy to make it.

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Sue Korlan's avatar

I actively disliked both The Passion of the Christ, due to all the blood and the unnecessary symbolism, and Calvary because the lay people in it seemed so unbelievable. If I am going to watch a film for Holy Week it will be Ben-Hur because it gives a good view of the Roman culture of the time.

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Sue Korlan's avatar

Or you could get a few guppies and an egg box in the water to protect the babies as they grow and have lots of small but pretty fish.

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JD Flynn's avatar

he should do that.

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Christopher David Preston's avatar

Maybe JD could find time during the holiday to write an Explainer for Ed on fish. It sounds as if it is badly needed ....

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Shane's avatar

The lawsuit strongly suggests a lack of repentance. The exposure gave him an opportunity to repent he might not otherwise have had. He seems to be placing greater value on his career than his soul This seems like a new occasion of scandal.

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Jack's avatar

I think the problem with a lot of religious films is that they seek to convey a point all too clearly. I think good filmmakers have a point but the point is not a sermon. The point of a film needs to be subtle and conveyed in such a way that you need to ponder the film to glean the meaning. And you will probably be off from the exact point of the filmmaker but that allows you to make the point your own.

So ironically the issue with a lot of religious films is the same issue with a lot of recent woke films, the point is all to clear and you can’t really interpret it through your own personal lens. Thus, Tolkien’s motivation to write in such a way that the meaning of LOTR resides in the freedom of the reader is all the more important in the medium of film.

P.S. “Apocalypto” Gibson’s film after “The Passion” is a masterpiece.

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LF Nowen's avatar

I like to think that part (by no means all) of what is going on on Holy Saturday is a redemption of the various sorts of temporal bewilderment that we experience - boredom, awkward moments when people are looking at one another not knowing what to say or what to do, forgetting what it was we actually set out to do and where to do it, waiting in line to renew car insurance, but having forgot your ‘everything device’ at home…

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Gillian's avatar

I have kept Betta fish in roughly the same way Ed has described caring for goldfish (bowl not tank, empty and clean the bowl once a... whenever I remember and have time..., though I use a mason jar, not a coffee cup, for their temporary sojourning) for over twenty years. I have horrified many young fish store employees with my care plan, but then I remind myself that I've possessed fish longer than they've possessed the power of language, and smile and nod and carry on.

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KP's avatar

That’s actually not a bad care plan for Bettas. They originated in rice paddies so they’re used to murky, shallow water and the males live a high octane life of aggression in that context. You do need to keep it kind of warm though. Northern winters are not their cup of tea.

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Matthew Knight's avatar

Best thing about Up Close and Personal, which Ed referenced at the beginning, was the absolute Celine Dion banger, “Because You Loved Me.” Should’ve ended the show with it.

https://youtu.be/f-b8i4aT3us?si=kzLC3fh9adsVElLy

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Fr. Curtis Seidel's avatar

I’d be curious to know what attendance/collection is like this Easter at Msgr. Burrill’s parish?

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