The senators, witnesses, and Judge Alito may want to spot-check their chairs before sitting down for the upcoming hearings. The oil they may find their seats won’t be Lemon Pledge.
"Insisting that God ‘certainly needs to be involved’ in the Supreme Court confirmation process, three Christian ministers today blessed the doors of the hearing room where Senate Judiciary Committee members will begin considering the nomination of Judge Samuel Alito on Monday.
"Capitol Hill police barred them from entering the room to continue what they called a consecration service. But in a bit of one-upsmanship, the three announced that they had let themselves in a day earlier, touching holy oil to the seats where Judge Alito, the senators, witnesses, Senate staffers and the press will sit, and praying for each of the 13 committee members by name.
"’We did adequately apply oil to all the seats,’ said the Rev. Rob Schenck, who identified himself as an evangelical Christian and as president of the National Clergy Council in Washington.
"Rev. Schenck called the consecration service the kick-off in a series of prayer meetings that will continue throughout the confirmation hearing."
Just another indication of the inherent Catholicity of human beings, even those who do not profess Catholicism. One wonders what the Evangelical Christian minister’s official position on the efficacy of sacramentals is, given his own crypto-sacramentalism.
I’d bet that the Rev. Schenck might be more open to the efficacy of sacraments than the average evangelical. His twin brother Paul, who had also been an evangelical minister, recently converted to the Catholic faith, and now works for Priests for Life.
Holy oil on the seats?
Did any of the senators vomit pea soup, or start spinning their heads around?
Oh, you saw Kennedy!
i dont get it. are they going to use their butts to think.
<<"i dont get it. are they going to use their butts to think.">>
No, but they’ll be talking out of them.
Despite Advocacy, Alito Is Not on Public’s Radar Screen
Until Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) gaveled the confirmation hearings f
Erm…can they do that? Won’t the ACLU go bonkers?
will it burn the butts of the bad guys?
This is a little childish. (the people’s response…)
My bad.
Michelle is right, the human longing for the redemption of the physical world (like sacramentals) will manifest itself one way or another.
It is something we share with our Creator.
There is something that troubles me, though…
Do we really allow people to go in and spread strange substances around the areas where our national leaders meet in large numbers?
Did they really pull that off? What if it had been a nerve toxin?
They probably should not have been allowed to do that. Just from a rational sense, what with all the anti-terrorist security measures it doesn’t really make sense.
I am wondering, since episcopal ministers are not validly ordained and are not technically in the clerical state, are their sacramentals valid? Or are they just oil?
It’s all well and good that Jesus said “leave alone those who do good in my name” but sacraments and sacramentals are different eh.
Annointing with oil is in the Bible, which is where they get it.
BTW, what is a definition of sacramental versus sacrament?
Another tidbit, the only reason that Lutheran theologydoesn’t call marriage, annointing the sick and holy orders is that grace of justification does not come through them, or there is no specific rite given in the NT for them.
That seems like an odd definition to me.