They Love Us, They Love Us Not

Your magazine rocks

I am so impressed with your magazine. My name is Chris Padgett and I am with a Christian band called Scarecrow and Tinmen. (You did an article on us once.) Traveling as much as we do it is fantastic to pick up your magazine and be ministered to and challenged regularly. Thanks.
Chris Padgett, via email

We need more

Thank you very much for the copies [of Envoy] you are sending to our diocese.
Unfortunately we cannot provide Envoy to all our eighty-seven catechists. They would need it, because many Christian denominations are trying to get our faithful out of our communities, and so there is a great need of apologetics. You could help us to have all the articles in e-mail or on the Internet, and we should copy those we need for the catechists.
Fr. Saverio Taffari Vicar General, via email

Raising the standard

“Oh, and Mr. Stoddard? Better check your sources more carefully next time. — The Editor.” Was it really necessary to include this triumphant remark in the editor’s comments regarding a letter from Mr. Hugh Stoddard and included in the January/February 2000 issue? I think its sarcasm and lack of charity are unworthy of your usually high standards.
Maureen Normann, via email

Turning the tides

No sooner do I send e-mail wondering where the heck my Envoy was, [and] then it shows up in the mail the very next day. Thanks for this great magazine. It is giving me more confidence to stand up for my Catholic faith. Hey, with all the problems over homosexuality especially causing disarray in the Methodist church, could we have more articles on how we might fight against the swelling tide of support from the pro-homosexual camp? The article on how to counter these arguments from a natural law standpoint (from the premiere issue) was somewhat heady and vague in some ways. Please help us come up with some other arguments to persuade pro-homosexual people that this is just as much of a sin as adultery with heterosexuals, etc. Thanks!
Dan Frachey, via email

It's a question of respect

I am a retired Catholic priest. I totally respect the apologetic ministry you are doing through your Envoy Magazine. I don’t question your intentions, but with due respect for you, I have to show my total disagreement with the way your magazine presented the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist in your last issue (Jan/Feb 2000). The front page and the cover article display photos of the (supposedly) consecrated Bread, which I consider inappropriate, irreverent, and uncalled for. Even the titles you use are questionable.

And on page 49, you use a Monstrance, which — though it is only a material object to expose the Blessed Sacrament — has become a very clear instrument for us Catholics to worship His Divine Presence. I find totally unacceptable to use such an object as a commercial “motif.” I was a teenager when I was caught in the terrible turmoil of our civil war in Spain. I became aware of the devilish desecration made of the Most Blessed Sacrament. It was dangerous for me the few times I was able to receive Holy Communion from an underground priest. The early martyrs of our faith had to use the lex arcana to protect from pagan abuses the celebration of their Eucharistic liturgies. I think we have lost some of their faith and reverence.
Finally, I would kindly ask you to give me a quotation from the apostolic writings or from the early Fathers of the Church, mentioning when they used the word “Mass” to name the most sacred Gift the Lord left to us, what they called the “Eucharist” or “the Lord’s Supper” or “the Breaking of the Bread.” The Lord Jesus and His apostles “never said Mass.”
Reverend, via email

Who’s on first?

The author of the article, Steve Ray, states the traditional dating of the Gospels, i.e., that St. Matthew was first in time. Ray gives several reasons, in addition to tradition, for placing the Gospel according to St. Matthew first in time. I am sure Ray is aware that there are many biblical scholars who think that the Gospel of St. Mark was first in time. Indeed the New American Bible in its introduction to the Gospel of St. Matthew places St. Mark’s version first in time.
Personally, I do not think the case for Mark as first in time is ironclad. One critical piece of evidence used to substantiate Mark as first is the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70. Certainly Matthew wrote after the Temple’s destruction; however, there is no irrefutable evidence that Mark did not write after the destruction of the Temple also, even though the incident is not reported in his version.

Who was first or second does not undermine the authenticity of either Mark or Matthew; however, it is an interesting thing to speculate upon. I still would vote for Matthew as first in time, but I would not “bet the farm.” I hope that sometime you will address this controversy in Envoy.
Brian Kavanagh, San Francisco, CA

Tourette’s

Yesterday, I received Envoy in the mail. I looked forward to reading all the fine articles. Then I started to read Jim Moore’s “Toast Wonderful Time of the Year.” I was very upset with your friend’s comment about “who grew up in a tougher neighborhood in the same town, and he doesn’t remember such Tourette’s-like use of vulgarity either.” Your friend’s statement undermines all that the Tourette Syndrome Association (TSA) stands for. From the National Headquarters of TSA: Is obscene language (corprolia) a typical symptom of TS? Answer: “Definitely not. The fact is that cursing, uttering obscenities, and ethnic slurs are manifested by fewer than 15% of people with TS. Too often, however, the media seize upon this symptom for its sensational effect.”
The TSA has local chapters all across the U.S.A. and around the world. We have symposiums for doctors, teachers, schools, and families. In our local chapters, we support many families.
I think you could have left the word “Tourette” out. You could have worded it differently but had the same point without using a group of people’s condition as an example.
Mrs. Teresa Ferrerra, Grand Prairie, TX
Surf’s up!

Your response to Justin in the latest edition of Envoy (Volume 4.3) while being honest was, I feel, incomplete. Some of Justin’s personal concerns were about the “flashiness” over advertising and lack of “substance” within the pages of your magazine. I do not necessarily agree with him but I feel like if he is wanting a “more with less” style of apologetics magazine maybe you should have pointed him in the direction of This Rock, the magazine published by Catholic Answers and founded by Karl Keating. I’m not trying to make you lose subscriptions to your distinguished competition. I’m just trying to help Justin out here. I currently subscribe to both Envoy and This Rock and see the need for both styles of apologetics. Envoy seems to me to be geared towards our culture’s remote control clicker mentality. This Rock seems to be geared more towards folks who want to dig just a little deeper. Again, I’m fine with both and recommend them to all types of people who want to learn more about our Catholic faith. God bless all that you do for the Kingdom.
Kevin Lents, Loogootee, IN

The Editor responds:

Thanks for the suggestion, Kevin. As it happens, Justin is a subscriber to This Rock, something he mentioned in his letter to us. Also, I can vouch for This Rock being a solid publication, one I heartily recommend (yes, even to Envoy readers!). I co-founded This Rock with Karl, way back in 1990, when we turned our existing “Catholic Answers” newsletter into a full-blown magazine. This Rock and Envoy are quite different in the style, format, and tone with which each approaches its subject matter. But they’re also both great resources (if I can be forgiven for saying so about Envoy), and they complement each other by giving the reader different sets of “vitamins and minerals.”

Angel sightings reported

Though every issue of Envoy from the very first issue has been a blessing to me, it seems that certain issues become more of a favorite than others. The latest issue (volume 4.3) falls into that category.

All the articles and “I Have a Question” are particularly good. I got much meat out of the article on angels and on the one on the ouija board.
Did you know that there are people who can often see angels? I can. I was taught by a former druid who is now a Roman Catholic. The easiest place to see them is during Mass. At one particular Mass during Advent I saw several. Two of them were huge, one nearly as tall as the ceiling of the apse (about fifteen feet), the other about twelve feet tall with arms outstretched to completely engulf the area behind the altar. Almost anyone can see them if they learn how.
I’m sixty-seven now, and I pray that God will give me many more years during which to learn more of Him, and to serve Him and His marvelous creations. I thank Envoy for much aid in that endeavor.
As a side note, in the Ouija Board article the term “Beelzebul” is mentioned. It’s Canaanite for “Lord of heaven.” Jesus mentioned the term which the Jews of His day used to belittle that Canaanite god, “Beelzebub,” which means “Lord of the flies.” See, Jesus did have a sense of humor.
Frederick Brown, via email

Holy wit

I wonder if I’m the only one who’s noticed a rather alarming trend in letters to the editor. I speak of those who are annoyed by the “flashy graphics” and “brassy humor” that are among Envoy’s trademarks. Let me say how I got into reading Envoy. My mother bought the subscription. One of the cover photos caught my eye (it was the caption “Being Catholic Is Not Enough” under a picture of a nun wearing a look of surprise) and I thought, “Ah! An interesting-looking Catholic magazine! Wow!” So I flipped through it, ignoring pretty much everything except the humor page. Shame on me. A couple of issues later, I noticed an article about something I’d been thinking about a lot (tarot cards and horoscopes). It provided all the answers I had been looking for. In a frenzy, I gathered up all the old issues I could find and plowed my way through every single page. So, it really was the “flashy” graphics that got me into Envoy in the first place.

I think this is the case for a lot of people. That’s why secular magazines are so popular; they have bright pictures on the cover (sometimes barely dressed women also, which is something I assume you’ll stay away from). It looks interesting and fun to read. Looks are important; we humans are very visual creatures. Something usually has to appeal to the eyes before it can appeal to the mind, and I think Envoy’s graphics appeal to a lot of people who wouldn’t be reading Catholic material otherwise.

Now I have to confess to something. The humor is the main reason I keep reading Envoy. I love laughing — it’s fun and therapeutic, and it burns calories. Besides, who wouldn’t want to learn apologetics and be entertained at the same time? Who wants to read an article that simply plops blunt facts onto the table and explains them in a “this means this and that means that” fashion? I admit that sounds a little shallow, but hey, one attracts more flies with honey. I use a lot of humor when talking to non-Catholic friends. It relieves tension. I doubt one can find very many people who actually hate laughing. In fact, laughing puts people in a brighter mood, in which case they might be more open to what the article is saying than before. On a final note, I’ll mention that my favorite feature of Envoy is Fr. Wilson’s column. I dearly hope that the day he loses his sense of humor is the day the sky will fall smack on my head.
Sarah F., via email

Envoy editors accused of being “snippy & defensive”

In the latest issue of Envoy [i.e. issue 4.3] which I received in the last few days, I was dismayed at the responses of the editor(s) to people who wrote to criticize different aspects/articles of the magazine. The snippy, defensive tone of these responses surprised me. Admittedly, the people who wrote to the editors sounded like “cranks,” to put it bluntly. The responses, though, made me a little uncomfortable. I like the snappy, wiseacre tone to the magazine as much as anyone, but I think it doesn’t belong on the letters to the editor page.
Marianne Floyd, via e-mail

The Editor responds:
I’m sorely tempted to lash out at you with a snippy, defensive retort to your letter, but I don’t want to come across as snippy and defensive. Snappy? Yes. Snippy? Never. So there. (Hmmmph.)


Envoy — in every room of the house

I just received my second issue of Envoy, and I love it. Even the letters are entertaining as you are not afraid to print missives from disgruntled readers as well as enthusiastic fans. Please keep up the excellent magazine. As a revert [to Catholicism] I really need the information, encouragement, and laughs. My husband and I are reworking our budget to make room for more giving, so watch your snail-mailbox for a check from us. You are already in our prayers (and on our table, our nightstand, the kitchen counter, and even the bathroom as we can’t put your magazine down). God bless your work!
Suzanne Andrews, Hellertown, PA

Express yourself! What do you think about what you read in Envoy? Love it? Hate it?
We want to know.
Please send your comments to:

Editor, Envoy Magazine
P.O. Box 640, Granville, OH 43023
email: comments@envoymagazine.com

You can also visit our website and submit your comments for the whole world to see:
www.envoymagazine.com

e