The Uber Catholic

[mozier]

We all strive for and are committed to living life as a Roman Catholic Christian. Yet is there one person that you have known that could be called an “Uber” Catholic (Uber being the German word for Super)? Is there one person in your life who is more Roman Catholic than Roman Catholic, who could make the pope look like a flaming Protestant in comparison?

I once knew this one man, a fellow seminarian named O’Flynn. O’Flynn was not just Roman Catholic, he was Ultra IRISH Roman Catholic. He had an extreme devotion to the Blessed Virgin, firmly convinced that Our Lady of Cork was THE apparition, forget Fatima! He had a very deep distain for Protestants and barely tolerated Eastern-Rite Catholics, saying that he accepted them as Catholics, yet if they knew better they would embrace Roman Catholicism! Yes, I know many will be offended by this, but it was so funny when he said it. When a fellow seminarian was going over to study for the priesthood with the Ukrainian-Rite Catholics, O’Flynn actually begged him not to leave the Roman Catholic Church and study with “those people”!

He was uncompromising, hard as a rock, and green to the point of NEVER wearing orange. He may sound like a complete jerk, but he was just very, VERY Roman Catholic, from his devotion to Mary to his fluency in Latin and Gaelic, to his lighting of a candle next to his oversized portrait of Pope Pius XII. O’Flynn was THE Uber Catholic.

Anyone else know one?

 

[CarolAnnSFO]

mozier:

We all strive for and are committed to living life as a Roman Catholic Christian. Yet is there one person that you have known that could be called an “Uber” Catholic (Uber being the German word for Super)? Is there one person in your life who is more Roman Catholic than Roman Catholic, who could make the pope look like a flaming Protestant in comparison?

Nope – I don’t think anyone is more Catholic than the Pope. Anyone who thinks he/she is more Catholic than the Pope may have a huge ego problem, which I don’t think is a great Catholic trait.

mozier:

He had a very deep distain for Protestants and barely tolerated Eastern-Rite Catholics, saying that he accepted them as Catholics, yet if they knew better they would embrace Roman Catholicism!

“Disdain” and “barely tolerate”: more qualities I don’t think of as proper to Catholics. “If they knew better”: arrogance – really bad trait for a Catholic.

mozier:

He was uncompromising, hard as a rock, and green to the point of NEVER wearing orange. He may sound like a complete jerk, but he was just very, VERY Roman Catholic, from his devotion to Mary to his fluency in Latin and Gaelic, to his lighting of a candle next to his oversized portrait of Pope Pius XII. O’Flynn was THE Uber Catholic.

Without charity, the devotions don’t mean much.

1 Corinthians 13:1-7:

If I speak in human and angelic tongues but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal. And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, (love) is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.



Crazy Internet Junkies Society
Carrier of the Angelic Sparkles Sprinkle Bag

 

[Maranatha]

CarolAnnSFO:

Nope – I don’t think anyone is more Catholic than the Pope.

I find this phrase interesting. The Catholic Church has Sainted people who lived under Popes that were not sainted. Could we then say that these Saints were more Catholic than the Pope?

 

[mozier]

Carol Ann,

I was hoping that my thread would be lighthearted and would provoke people to fondly remember a person who was bit “too Catholic” to the point of harmless absurdity. I think you are taking it the wrong way.

 

[CarolAnnSFO]

mozier:

I find this phrase interesting. The Catholic Church has Sainted people who lived under Popes that were not sainted. Could we then say that these Saints were more Catholic than the Pope?

I was referring to our current Pope.

mozier:

I was hoping that my thread would be lighthearted and would provoke people to fondly remember a person who was bit “too Catholic” to the point of harmless absurdity. I think you are taking it the wrong way.

My apologies; I meant no offense.

Carry on, everyone!

**Crazy Internet Junkies Society
**Carrier of the Angelic Sparkles Sprinkle Bag

 

[WanderAimlessly]

This seems to be the position of many today. They think they know more than the Church (and sometimes God). It is not lmited to any one philosophical or theological position. It runs the gambit of all of them.

PF

 

[Dj_Roy_Albert]

mozier:

Is there one person in your life who is more Roman Catholic than Roman Catholic, who could make the pope look like a flaming Protestant in comparison?

Yes, his name is Daniel Ramirez. My father calls him “Dynamite Dan”, because of his zeal for the Lord. He’s has a heart of gold, but can sometimes be a pain.

He’s told certain nuns that they should put their habits back on & stop being so liberal. He’s questioned visiting priest for wearing collared shirts that were not black. I even went with him & some friends to visit our one time auxillary Bishop who is a bit liberal…I was almost afriad to go, almost.

I love my brother in Christ, but sometimes he can be a handful.

 

[Courtneyjo]

mozier:

I once knew this one man, a fellow seminarian named O’Flynn. O’Flynn was not just Roman Catholic, he was Ultra IRISH Roman Catholic. He had an extreme devotion to the Blessed Virgin, firmly convinced that Our Lady of Cork was THE apparition, forget Fatima!

I think you mean Our Lady of Knock. knock-shrine.ie/

 

[mozier]

Our Lady of Knock! That is the one! My apologies.

I can recall this one woman who was in a parish that I once attended back in my college days. She was seriously into these unapproved Marian apparitions and was always warning the pastor that Mary was VERY displeased with the Catholic Church as it was.

Well, one day she was caught in the sacristy by the pastor, “anointing” all of his vestments with olive oil! She explained that there was some Marian apparition out there that said that priests should have their sacred vestments anointed with the oil so that they will be preserved from attacks by the devil during mass! Needless to say, it took quite a while to get his vestments dry cleaned. I wonder if he sent her the bill.