Theresa Schindler, RIP

She is safe with Our Lord now. Other than that, words can not express ... :: simmers ::

In other, much less compelling news, I seem to have developed the habit of falling asleep in my Introduction to Fine Arts classes. True, we have only had two classes, and it is at 8 a.m, but I thought I saw the professor glaring at me, as though to say, "What, you don't find these wonderfully intricate theories about the nature and purpose of art to be just fascinating?" No ...

I just have to go to bed earlier. I was up 'till 2:30 Tuesday night, doing nothing in particular, and I got up at 7 for the class. I am not one of those people who can function on four-and-a-half hours of sleep, alas.

Confirmation is coming up super quick. I am going home tonight, and I have yet to pack, ick. Or pick a nice skirt to wear. Ohhhhh, I have way to much to do and not enough time to do it (nothing new for me, lol). Pray for me, the Schindler family, and for the repose of Mrs. Schiavo's soul.

La Vierge au Lys (The Virgin of the Lillies), 1899, by William Bouguereau. (Click the image for a larger version. It's such a lovely painting, it's worth seeing up close!)

Important Message from Fr. Pavone

March 28, 2005

Dear Friends,

The Terri Schiavo situation has brought a sad awareness to many of our fellow citizens about how heartless the culture of death is. Please be assured that no matter what happens in the next few days, we as a people of life will stand together and will, in God's strength, turn back this tide of evil and destruction. Many negotiations are still going on behind the scenes, and Priests for Life is doing everything possible. Moreover, we are in discussion with other leaders about plans for legislation that will prevent this kind of disaster from ever happening again, not only by directly protecting the vulnerable, but also by limiting the power of the courts.

Meanwhile, I would like to deliver your messages and good wishes in person to Terri's parents Bob and Mary, to her brother Bobby, and to her sister Suzanne. If you want to send them a greeting or a promise of prayers, just email Terri@priestsforlife.org and I will hand-deliver them every greeting you send.

On other matters, there is a new online poll on our web page www.priestsforlife.org. The question for April is, "Should the United States Congress exercise veto power over Supreme Court decisions?" As always, your opinion is welcome. And while you're there, stop in to see our products at www.priestsforlife.org/products

God bless you! Fr. Frank Pavone

Chihuahua Torments Postal Workers

"The little Chihuahua was 10-foot tall when he was on the street," said Florence Page of the Hobart Humane Society, which picked up the dog twice for running loose. "It's kind of comical, you know, but after a while it's not any more."

I bet. Read the rather amusing story here. This is what my grandfather, Opa, means when he says he only likes big dogs (St. Bernards, etc), because the little dogs are two "yappy." Sound familiar, Lyndsey? ;)

On a more serious note, I hope everybody got a chance to see on TV (or at least read online) the meditations for the Way of the Cross this year, which were penned by Cardinal Ratzinger. I was assigned the Stations of the Cross as a penance at my Confession last week, but I prayed them before the Cardinal's words were published, or else I probably would have used these prayers. They really do make good reading, though, and I highly recommend at least reading a couple of them (it doesn't take that long).

Personally, I particularly liked His Eminence's reflections for the fourth and ninth stations. Especially striking were some of his words written for the meditation on the ninth station: "How much filth there is in the Church, and even among those who, in the priesthood, ought to belong entirely to him! How much pride, how much self-complacency! What little respect we pay to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, where he waits for us, ready to raise us up whenever we fall!"

Fourth Station:

Jesus meets his Mother

V/. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi.
R/. Quia per sanctam crucem tuam redemisti mundum.

From the Gospel according to Luke 2:34-35,51

Simon blessed them and said to Mary his mother: "Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed." And his mother kept all these things in her heart.

MEDITATION

On Jesus' Way of the Cross, we also find Mary, his Mother. During his public life she had to step aside, to make place for the birth of Jesus' new family, the family of his disciples. She also had to hear the words: "Who is my mother and who are my brothers? ... Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is brother, and sister and mother" (Matthew 12:48-50). Now we see her as the Mother of Jesus, not only physically, but also in her heart. Even before she conceived him bodily, through her obedience she conceived him in her heart. It was said to Mary: "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son. He will be great and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David" (Luke 1:31ff.). And she would hear from the mouth of the elderly Simeon: "A sword will pierce through your own soul" (Luke 2:35). She would then recall the words of the prophets, words like these: "He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; he was like a lamb that is led to slaughter" (Isaiah 54:7). Now it all takes place. In her heart she had kept the words of the angel, spoken to her in the beginning: "Do not be afraid, Mary" (Luke 1:30). The disciples fled, yet she did not flee. She stayed there, with a Mother's courage, a Mother's fidelity, a Mother's goodness, and a faith which did not waver in the hour of darkness: "Blessed is she who believed" (Luke 1:45). "Nevertheless, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on earth?" (Luke 18:8). Yes, in this moment Jesus knows: he will find faith. In this hour, this is his great consolation.

PRAYER

Holy Mary, Mother of the Lord, you remained faithful when the disciples fled. Just as you believed the angels’ incredible message -- that you would become the Mother of the Most High, so too you believed at the hour of his greatest abasement. In this way, at the hour of the Cross, at the hour of the world's darkest night, you became the Mother of all believers, the Mother of the Church. We beg you: teach us to believe, and grant that our faith may bear fruit in courageous service and be the sign of a love ever ready to share suffering and to offer assistance ...


Ninth Station:

Jesus falls for the third time

V/. Adoramus te, Christe, et benedicimus tibi.
R/. Quia per sanctam crucem tuam redemisti mundum.

From the Book of Lamentations 3:27-32

It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth. Let him sit alone in silence when he has laid it on him; let him put his mouth in the dust -- there may yet be hope; let him give his cheek to the smiter, and be filled with insults. For the Lord will not cast off for ever, but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion, according to the abundance of his steadfast love.

MEDITATION

What can the third fall of Jesus under the Cross say to us? We have considered the fall of man in general, and the falling of many Christians away from Christ and into a godless secularism. Should we not also think of how much Christ suffers in his own Church? How often is the holy sacrament of his Presence abused, how often must he enter empty and evil hearts! How often do we celebrate only ourselves, without even realizing that he is there! How often is his Word twisted and misused! What little faith is present behind so many theories, so many empty words! How much filth there is in the Church, and even among those who, in the priesthood, ought to belong entirely to him! How much pride, how much self-complacency! What little respect we pay to the Sacrament of Reconciliation, where he waits for us, ready to raise us up whenever we fall! All this is present in his Passion. His betrayal by his disciples, their unworthy reception of his Body and Blood, is certainly the greatest suffering endured by the Redeemer; it pierces his heart. We can only call to him from the depths of our hearts: Kyrie eleison -- Lord, save us (cf. Matthew 8: 25).

PRAYER

Lord, your Church often seems like a boat about to sink, a boat taking in water on every side. In your field we see more weeds than wheat. The soiled garments and face of your Church throw us into confusion. Yet it is we ourselves who have soiled them! It is we who betray you time and time again, after all our lofty words and grand gestures. Have mercy on your Church; within her too, Adam continues to fall. When we fall, we drag you down to earth, and Satan laughs, for he hopes that you will not be able to rise from that fall; he hopes that being dragged down in the fall of your Church, you will remain prostrate and overpowered. But you will rise again. You stood up, you arose and you can also raise us up. Save and sanctify your Church. Save and sanctify us all ...

You can read all of Cardinal Ratzinger's meditations for the Stations of the Cross here at the webpage of ZENIT News Agency, which is where I got the above. Although we have entered the liturgical season of Easter - which lasts for several Sundays, and is a time of rejoicing and celebration -I think it always helps to keep in mind Our Lord's Passion.

Saint of the Week

JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA



Memorial: March 29

Patron of Coffin-bearers, Funeral Directors, Undertakers

All that is known for certain concerning him is derived from the canonical Gospels. He was born at Arimathea -- hence his surname -- "a city of Judea" (Luke, xxiii, 51), which is very likely identical with Ramatha, the birthplace of the Prophet Samuel, although several scholars prefer to identify it with the town of Ramleh. He was a wealthy Israelite (Matt., xxvii, 57), "a good and a just man" (Luke, xxiii, 50), "who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God" (Mark, xv, 43). He is also called by St. Mark and by St. Luke a bouleutes, literally, "a senator", whereby is meant a member of the Sanhedrin or supreme council of the Jews. He was a disciple of Jesus, probably ever since Christ's first preaching in Judea (John, ii, 23), but he did not declare himself as such "for fear of the Jews" (John, xix, 38). On account of this secret allegiance to Jesus, he did not consent to His condemnation by the Sanhedrin (Luke, xxiii, 51), and was most likely absent from the meeting which sentenced Jesus to death (cf. Mark, xiv, 64).

The Crucifixion of the Master quickened Joseph's faith and love, and suggested to him that he should provide for Christ's burial before the Sabbath began. Unmindful therefore of all personal danger, a danger which was indeed considerable under the circumstances, he boldly requested from Pilate the Body of Jesus, and was successful in his request (Mark, xv, 43-45). Once in possession of this sacred treasure, he -- together with Nicodemus, whom his courage had likewise emboldened, and who brought abundant spices -- wrapped up Christ's Body in fine linen and grave bands, laid it in his own tomb, new and yet unused, and hewn out of a rock in a neighbouring garden, and withdrew after rolling a great stone to the opening of the sepulchre (Matt., xxvii, 59, 60; Mark, xv, 46; Luke, xxiii, 53; John, xix, 38-42). Thus was fulfilled Isaiah's prediction that the grave of the Messias would be with a rich man (Is., liii, 9). The Greek Church celebrates the feast of Joseph of Arimathea on 31 July, and the Roman Church on 17 March. The additional details which are found concerning him in the apocryphal "Acta Pilati", are unworthy of credence. Likewise fabulous is the legend which tells of his coming to Gaul A.D. 63, and thence to Great Britain, where he is supposed to have founded the earliest Christian oratory at Glastonbury. Finally, the story of the translation of the body of Joseph of Arimathea from Jerusalem to Moyenmonstre (Diocese of Toul) originated late and is unreliable.

From the Catholic Encyclopedia on New Advent.

I have a strong dislike for schoolwork.

My classes started today, bright and early at 8 a.m. Interdisciplinary Arts was the early class; it seems like it will be pretty easy. Except there's a group project/presentation. And I know exactly zippo about art! Psychology also seems like it will be fairly simple. Tomorrow I have to go to my Infogathering class and lab, and my Public Speaking course. Both of them are going to beat me senseless, I am fairly sure ... I just need to keep in mind that this quarter is obviously going to be a lot easier than last quarter.

I have to figure out when to do an internship. Geez, it is making me nervous/scared. I don't know why. I just know it is going to be hard and will require interaction with professionals. And it's so competitive! Oh well. I will survive!

Confirmation is on Saturday. More to be nervous about ... but happy, too :)

Giggle

Forhead Shavecu from Albinoblacksheep.com. Ohhhh, 'tis very funny. "Courtney, get my gun!"

What a nice Easter

I got my parents and my little brother, Andy, to go to Mass with me at Immaculate Conception. It was a lovely, lovely Mass!

On Saturday I met up with Katie for about an hour at the Caribou Coffee Shop. It was super to see her and the yummy hot cocoa was pretty good, too, lol. Then later that day I went with Shannon to the Easter Vigil at the Anglican church. It is a very interesting church - they just broke off from the Episcopal Church on account of the recent consecration of Gene Robinson, an active homosexual; therefore, they hold services in a converted barn. It was really very wonderful, though, and very homey! And anyway it doesn't matter if they have a fancy building, if their goal is to avoid teaching heresy.

The rector was also very kind; Shannon was very flattering when she introduced me, lol. It was fairly close to a Catholic Mass, although some things were turned around. And some parts were missing - but that's probably on account of it being the Easter Vigil. The ordo is different for the Catholic church, too, during the Triduum.

All in all it was a lovely Easter. Now I've got to get back to work ... ew ...

It all goes so fast

Spring Break is almost over. I think the fact that it occurred during Holy Week might have something to do with how speedy it seems to have gone - Mother and I are always rushing off to Mass. Last Sunday we went to Palm Sunday at the Cathedral up in Cleveland; on Wednesday we went to the 9 AM daily Mass at St. Mary's. I got to meet Fr. Ference, and all of Mother's little friends. Fr. Ference was very nice, but I felt strange trying to make conversation with all those ladies; they were all older than me, but I felt like I was supposed to be "on the same level with them" - you know, call them by their first names, etc. How awkward. Ehhh.

We didn't go on Maundy Thursday (hurray for college visits to Cincinnati!) but we did go to the service on Good Friday. It was quite well-done; although Fr. Kordas was there, Fr. Ference was the presider. His homily was on the nuptial meaning of the Sacrifice of the Cross. He even mixed in a little Latin when discussing the consummation on the Cross of the marriage between the Bride (the Church) and the Bridegroom (Our Lord) - "consummatum est!" ("It is finished."

He also told a story about how Fr. Kordas saw, in a Gothic-architectural-style church, a picture on the wall of a man and woman in bed together. What on earth is this!? thought Fr. Kordas to himself. But then he realized: That is the Bride and the Bridegroom, the Church and Her Lord.

There were also a couple Latin hymns. The cross we venerated did not have a corpus; and the altar servers (boys and girls) were wearing odd black cassock-type garb. But other than that ... Well, it wasn't a Solemn High Tridentine Mass, but as I said, it was quite well-done.

Wonderful Meditation on Our Lord

From Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam

Eucharistic Whisperings - After Having Sinned

I have scarcely courage enough to appear before You, I am so sadly disfigured! My poor soul is all stained - what a plight for me to bein!

But, O my Savior, it is just because I feel how great is my misery, just because I see how much I am at fault, that I am urged on more mightily still by the sweet necessity of being in Your presence. Death, more than anything else, teaches me how necessary life really is. And You are my life, O loving Jesus!

Yes, I have sinned; I have proven myself a thankless creature. So many times and so often have You filled my soul with rapture in Holy Communion ... And I? ... I went away and tried to satisfy my hunger with miserable husks, with poisonous fruits.

After the pure and holy joys of the Supper Chamber, I gave thanks by preparing for You the pains of Golgotha! You enclosed me so lovingly in Your arms .... And I? ... I gave You the kiss of Judas.

And yet ... despite my sins, I feel the need of coming here to You, of drawing near the tabernacle, the witness of so many promises, so many sweet vows of truest love, to You, for, after all, I cannot but feel that I still love You.

I am indeed burdened with guilt, but from now on, help me to be all Yours, my Jesus.

Two things are made manifest to me here: one is Your perfection, Divine Savior; the other is my unworthiness. What a contrast! But, at the same time, what light for my understanding! And when I compare my heart with Yours - a twofold world; one of divine beauties, and another of human imperfections.

I simply must cast a glance at opposites such as these, if I wish to know better the Love I have so sorely injured, if I wish to realize the enormity of the sins I have committed.

Therefore, my Jesus, let me stay a little while with You here; here before You in the tabernacle, let me learn the sad state of my soul, hideously wounded by the ugliness of sin.

Adapted from Eucharistic Whisperings, Winfrid Herbst,SDS, The Society of the Divine Saviour, 1929

La Vierge aux Anges (also known as "The Virgin with Angels" or "The Song of the Angels") by William Bouguereau.

I bought a print of this for Betsy. It's still hanging over her bed at home. :: Thou shalt not steal, Maggie ::: ... especially not gifts!

Drum roll ...

I got my grades in the good old (ha) AOL e-mail today. I was pretty nervous about it, especially economics. Here they are:

PRINCIPLES OF MACROECON: A-

NORTHERN RENAISSANCE: A

NEWS WRITING: A

INTRO TO SOCIOLOGY: A

So, not quite a 4.0 GPA, which is what I was hoping for. Specifically, it's a 3.917 GPA, which brings my cumulative up to 3.742. Argh. That's what I hate about cumulatives, once you bring them down even a little it's impossible to get them back up :( At least I didn't go in the wrong direction this time!

I am really hoping that spring quarter is not so mind-numbing. Watch, I'll use the "easy" factor as an excuse to slack off even more, and I'll wind up with a lower grade point average than when I have "hard" courses ;)

Good Resource

Via Bettnet.com

A CATHOLIC GUIDE TO END-OF-LIFE DECISIONS

Don't let what's happening to Terri Schiavo happen to you. Mrs. Schiavo is a Catholic, but you don't see that being taken into account by any of the authorities. Apparently, even if you clearly adhere to a belief system, you still have to spell everything out for the people in charge (lest they simply decide to do whatever they feel is right). As you would for a toddler ... grrrr.

Drama

Tonight I went with Shanana to the bi-weekly School Board Meeting. It was in the library of Hudson High School, and it was verrrry strange to be back in that building. Adding to the creep out factor was that my French teacher, Madame Eitel, was there. I don't think she recognized me.

The meeting itself was pretty harsh. The topic - at least of the "Public Comments" -was the principal, Roger Howard, of course, and how he should be rehired. People were maaaaaad. One fellow even walked toward the table where the board members were sitting, and the security guy jumped up and made him sit back down. There was plenty of shouting, and after the "public comments" section of the meeting was over, about 3/4 of the people in attendance left. I stuck around for about five minutes more, but I remembered about Mother and so I said good-bye to Shannon and came home.

On several lockers I saw signs: "I support Mr. Howard!" and I also saw a flier for the new "Save Our Schools" organization. I think maybe some people are freaking out at a slightly too-high pitch. I'm just not used to seeing entire organizations formed for the purpose of saving someone's job ;) Personally, from all I have heard, Mr. Howard is popular with both students and their parents, and also with the teachers. Which would normally raise red flags with me, especially in Hudson (the spoiled kiddies like this guy? And their enabling parents? He he he) but I haven't seen anything at all that shows that that's true in this case.

It's just that almost everyone likes him. The only ones unimpressed are the superintendent, and, apparently, the school board. It sucks, but I don't think any of us can do anything about the situation, since "the board has spoken," fine autocrats that they are. All you can do is vote them out in November, I'm afraid :(

Ugh, Ugh, Bleh

Well, today I managed to sleep until 11:30, which means that I missed Mass and the opportunity to drive to Cleveland for the noon Tridentine (blast). I set the alarm and everything, but then I shut it off, like the genius I am. So now I am going to have to drag myself downtown for the 5:30 Mass at the Cathedral (ugh). I hope what's-his-name isn't the celebrant. Who behaves like (and seems to be)a modernist jerk?

The worst part is that it will be dark by the time I leave, and I haven't driven anywhere in ... Quite a while. It all comes from not having a car at college. So I'm sure the people on I-480 will enjoy my unpracticed driving. Mother might come with me - she gets off work at 3:30ish, and usually she's too tired to do anything but sort of lie there and recover. But I really don't want to go up there alone, I'll probably get in an accident or something. Maybe I'll make Dad take me ... Except he probably won't want to go. Whine whine whine.

Other than that, Spring Break has felt really strange so far: Not much happening, not much connection to the "real world." I am enjoying the sleeping in, however, mmmm, bed.

Saint of the Week

"Since I began to love, love has never forsaken me. It has ever grown to its own fullness within my innermost heart." St. Catherine, a mystic, was also a writer; her works include the spiritual classics On Purgation and Purgatory and The Spiritual Dialogue.



St. Catherine of Genoa


"Caterina of Genoa" "The Apostle of Purgatory"


1447 - 1510


Patroness of Brides,
Victims of Adultery and Infidelity,
People Ridiculed for Their Piety

... St. Catherine's parents were Jacopo Fieschi and Francesca di Negro, both of illustrious Italian birth. Two popes -- Innocent IV and Adrian V -- had been of the Fieschi family, and Jacopo himself became Viceroy of Naples. Catherine is described as an extraordinarily holy child, highly gifted in the way of prayer, and with a wonderful love of Christ's Passion and of penitential practices; but, also, as having been a most quiet, simple, and exceedingly obedient girl. When about thirteen, she wished to enter the convent, but the nuns to whom her confessor applied having refused her on account of her youth, she appears to have put the idea aside without any further attempt. At sixteen, she was married by her parents' wish to a young Genoese nobleman, Giuliano Adorno. The marriage turned out wretchedly; Giuliano proved faithless, violent-tempered, and a spendthrift. And made the life of his wife a misery. Details are scanty, but it seems at least clear that Catherine spent the first five years of her marriage in silent, melancholy submission to her husband; and that she then, for another five, turned a little to the world for consolation in her troubles. The distractions she took were most innocent; nevertheless, destined as she was for an extraordinary life, they had the effect in her case of producing lukewarmness, the end of which was such intense weariness and depression that she prayed earnestly for a return of her old fervour. Then, just ten years after her marriage, came the event of her life, in answer to her prayer. She went one day, full of melancholy, to a convent in Genoa where she had a sister, a nun. The latter advised her to go to confession to the nuns' confessor, and Catherine agreed. No sooner, however, had she knelt down in the confessional than a ray of Divine light pierced her soul, and in one moment manifested her own sinfulness and the Love of God with equal clearness. The revelation was so overwhelming that she lost consciousness and fell into a kind of ecstasy, for a space during which the confessor happened to be called away. When he returned, Catherine could only murmur that she would put off her confession, and go home quickly.

From the moment of that sudden vision of herself and God, the saint's interior state seems never to have changed, save by varying in intensity and being accompanied by more or less severe penance, according to what she saw required of her by the Holy Spirit Who guided her incessantly. No one could describe it except herself; but she does so, minutely, in her writings, from which may here be made one short extract: -- "[The souls in Purgatory] see all things, not in themselves, nor by themselves, but as they are in God, on whom they are more intent than on their own sufferings. . . . For the least vision they have of God overbalances all woes and all joys that can be conceived. Yet their joy in God does by no means abate their pain. . . . This process of purification to which I see the souls in Purgatory subjected, I feel within myself." (Treatise on Purgatory, xvi, xvii.) For about twenty-five years, Catherine, though frequently making confessions, was unable to open her mind for direction to anyone; but towards the end of her life a Father Marabotti was appointed to be her spiritual guide. To him she explained her states, past and present, in full, and he compiled the "Memoirs" above referred to from his intimate personal knowledge of her. Of the saint's outward life, after this great change, her biographies practically tell us but two facts: that she at last converted her husband who died penitent in 1497; and that both before and after his death -- though more entirely after it -- she gave herself to the care of the sick in the great Hospital of Genoa, where she eventually became manager and treasurer. She died worn out with labours of body and soul, and consumed, even physically, by the fires of Divine love within her. She was beatified in 1675 by Clement X, but not canonized till 1737, by Clement XII. Meantime, her writings had been examined by the Holy Office and pronounced to contain doctrine that would be enough, in itself, to prove her sanctity ...

The article can be seen in its entirety in The Catholic Encyclopedia.

"La Vierge, L'Enfant Jesus et Saint Jean Baptiste" by William Bouguereau, my all-time favorite painter. Wellll, maybe he's in a tie with Jan Van Eyck. All I can say is I loathe most "modern" - that is, abstract art - if for no other reason that I believe art has an ontological purpose beyond itself - ars gratia artis, noooo. MGM can take a good running leap ... ;) I doubt anyone is in the mood for a rant on the nature and purpose of art and beauty, or my somewhat embittered mutterings about the utilitarian, warehouse-like "Catholic churches" we are fond of building nowadays (grr) so I am clamming up ...

Oh Joy joy joy

I'm back in Hudson, having survived the onslaught of History, Econ, Newswriting, and Sociology. The easiest test, by far, was Sociology. I was the first one done; I really couldn't believe that that was considered "college-level" work. Oh well. Maybe the prof was just going easy on us ... I couldn't be bothered to study the night before. I looked over my notes, and it all seemed so easy, and my bed looked so niiiice. LOL.

My father drove me home; he didn't get into Athens until four o'clock, so we were back by nine. My mother and the dog were very pleased to see me, the boys ignored me as usual, he he. The rest of the evening was comprised of dad yelling at mom about the bills. Home, sweet home ;)

I think I can, I think I can

Said the little blue engine. I think it was the little blue engine. Argh, even one's ability to recall precocious literature from one's infancy becomes depleted when one chooses to devote an entire day to studying for an economics final. Nnnnnn, nnnn, bad decision for sanity, good decision for grades. I will hang my honors diploma proudly from the padded walls of my cell!

Perhaps it is only another symptom of my rapid slide into madness, but I found this little thing particularly amusing : "ps, I'll find my frog". (Click the image that comes up to advance to the next one) I particularly liked the spoof of the Drudge Report. I also discovered that it helped to kill a large portion of my study time. Which was an act of charity on its part. Now I am ascribing personal acts to mildly amusing webpages. ::: walks off, babbling to self about how pretty the little green window elves are today :::

Keep Praying

Lawmakers ready to save Schiavo
Reach deal setting up vote in Florida Legislature

Key members of the Florida House and Senate reached a deal yesterday on a bill to prevent Terri Schiavo from being allowed to starve to death under a court order requested by her estranged husband.

For the second time in less than two years, the state lawmakers are prepared to intervene in the case of the brain-damaged woman, who requires a feeding tube to keep her alive.

The proposed legislation would prevent caretakers of a person in a "persistent vegetative state" from withholding food and water in the absence of a written directive.

... Terri Schiavo is not hooked up to any machines, but she requires the small feeding tube for nourishment and hydration. She collapsed under disputed circumstances Feb. 25, 1990, suffering severe brain damage when her heart stopped momentarily. Michael Schiavo attributes the collapse to an eating disorder, but the Schindlers strongly suspect he tried to strangle her.

The Schindlers have pleaded with Michael Schiavo to divorce their daughter, pointing out he has been living with another woman for 10 years, with whom he has two children.

Lawmakers said legal counsel for Gov. Jeb Bush helped shaped the new legislation, and they expect the governor to sign it, the Florida Sun-Sentinel reported.

The rest from World Net Daily.

Yaaaay

TIME MAGAZINE COVER STORY

Hail, Mary

She was there at the Cross. Yet Protestants seldom talk about the mother of Jesus at Easter, or at most other times. But they are starting to now

By David Van Biema

Had the Rev. Brian Maguire hit on the idea 30 years ago, he might have found himself facing some very annoyed congregants. Four hundred fifty years ago, someone professing similar notions might even have been hanged.

The 35-year-old pastor’s brainstorm concerned a scheduling conflict on the day of the Annunciation. The holiday, which celebrates Mary’s learning from the angel Gabriel that she will give birth to the Messiah, always falls on March 25, precisely nine months before Christmas. But this year the 25th is also Good Friday, when Christians somberly recall that same Messiah’s Crucifixion.

Roman Catholicism, which traditionally observes both dates, has rules for this eventuality: Catholics worldwide will mark the Annunciation on April 4 this year. But Maguire is not Catholic; he is the pastor of Westminster Presbyterian Church in Xenia, Ohio. And in light of what he calls “a beautiful, poetic opportunity,” he says that rather than preach on Jesus alone this Good Friday, he will bring in Mary as well. “If you have Jesus’ entrance and exit on the same day,” Maguire explains, “she should play a part in that—because she was the first and last disciple to reach out during his life.”

There is an elegance to this plan; Maguire, who attended Princeton Theological Seminary, is no theological naïf. But until quite recently, his decision to pair the gravest day on the Christian calendar with a Marian celebration would have struck most of his fellow Protestants as peculiar, if not doctrinally perverse. For roughly 300 years until the 1900s, Protestants, while granting Mary her indisputable place as the mother of Jesus, regarded any additional enthusiasm as tantamount to “Mariolatry,” the alleged (and allegedly nonbiblical) elevation of the Virgin to a status approaching Christ’s that some understood as a cause of their initial breaking with Catholicism. Even as open hostility largely abated in the U.S., some taboos prevailed. Beverly Gaventa, a professor of New Testament literature at Princeton, has portrayed Mary as the victim of “a Protestant conspiracy of silence: theologically, liturgically and devotionally.” Most Protestants (excluding some high-church Episcopalians) can identify with the experience of Kathleen Norris, an author who has written of her upbringing, “We dragged Mary out at Christmas ... and ... packed her safely in the crèche box for the rest of the year. We ... denied [her] place in Christian tradition and were disdainful of the reverence displayed for her, so public and emotional, by Catholics.”

But things have begun to change, and not just among theologians.

Read the story.

Miami Sucks

Ha ha. The championship game was against Buffalo. But I just had to say it.

Ohio rallies to win MAC tourney

CLEVELAND - Leon Williams doesn’t recall particulars of his other game-winning shot against some high school a few years ago. He’ll remember every nanosecond of this one.

So will Ohio’s fans.

Williams dropped in a putback in the final second as the Bobcats, down by 19 points in the second half, rallied for an 80-79 overtime win against Buffalo in the Mid-American Conference championship on Saturday night.

Read all about it.

Fa la la la la

Oh wait, this isn't Christmastide, it's LENT. Argh.

This last night I went to Mass with Leslie, and it was quite nice in spite of the guitar-playing-woman-who-can-not-carry-a-note-and-company who provided the music. Sigh, they are probably good people who have good hearts and just want to do something for the Lord. But St. Augustine's saying is technically "He who sings well, prays twice," not simply "He who sings, prays twice." I could also swear that the music belonged on a Josh Groban CD. And one of the hymns had about the same melody as the theme from the Apollo 13 soundtrack. I did like that movie ... Ehhhh ... But the homily was very good. The priest went over the four ways Christ is present at the Mass: In the Word proclaimed, in the faithful who are assembled, in the priest, who acts in Christ's name, and "above all" (he said) "really and truly present in the Eucharist." He expanded on that a bit. I was also pleased when I heard him refer to the Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion as Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion, and not as Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist. He knows his stuff, lol.

I'm going again at 9 tomorrow; I won't be back at St. Paul's for another four Sundays, so I might as well get another listen to that organ they've got.

Also, later, Jimmy, Lyndsey, Lauren and I went uptown to get ice cream. This in spite of the massive Paper of Death staring me in the face. It was 'licious ice cream (Peanut butter with chocolate chips) but now I've got to kill myself to get back on schedule. Kill, kill, kill. Oh Spring Break, come quickly, lest I die ...

Saint of the Week

Yay for St. Paddy's Day!




(5th century)

FEAST DAY: MARCH 17

Patron Saint of Ireland,
Archdioceses of Boston and New York,
Invoked against snakes


Kidnapped from the British mainland around age 16, and shipped to Ireland as a slave. Sent to the mountains as a shepherd, he spent his time in prayer. After six years of this life, he received had a dream in which he a command to return to Britain; seeing it as a sign, he escaped. Studied in continental monasteries. Priest. Bishop. Sent by Pope Saint Celestine to evangelize England, then Ireland, during which his chariot driver was Saint Odran, and Saint Jarlath was one of his spiritual students. In 33 years he effectively converted the Ireland. In the Middle Ages Ireland became known as the Land of Saints, and during the Dark Ages its monasteries were the great repositories of learning in Europe, all a consequence of Patrick's ministry.

"I came to the Irish people to preach the Gospel and endure the taunts of unbelievers, putting up with reproaches about my earthly pilgrimage, suffering many persecutions, even bondage, and losing my birthright of freedom for the benefit of others.

"If I am worthy, I am ready also to give up my life, without hesitation and most willingly, for Christ's name. I want to spend myself for that country, even in death, if the Lord should grant me this favor.

"It is among that people that I want to wait for the promise made by him, who assuredly never tells a lie. He makes this promise in the Gospel: "They shall come from the east and west and sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." This is our faith: believers are to come from the whole world."

- from the Confession of Saint Patrick

From Catholic Forum.

Scary story from a Dutch hosptial

Linda, 53, said: "Before I knew it I had this tiny, beautiful baby girl looking up at me. After a quick cuddle, the nurses took her and I assumed they were going to clean, weigh and measure her and then bring her back.

"But 20 minutes later my husband was starting to get a bit impatient and when we asked where our daughter was we were told to forget about her.

"We couldn't quite believe what we were hearing so Geoff searched for Claire and found her in a room of dirty laundry, lying in a kidney dish.

"He went to get help but the nurse he found said he should leave Claire as she was brain-damaged and was close to death. But he had seen how responsive she had been with me and she was gasping for air and he demanded she was put in an incubator."

Despite the doctors' misgivings, Linda and Geoff were determined that Claire would survive.

Linda, who went on to have two more children Matthew and Julia, said: "For the first four months of her life, she was so small she slept in a fruit basket.

"She suffered a bit with ill health as a child, she was very anaemic, she had problems with her kidneys and for years her knees kept dislocating for no reason.

"But at 18, she went off to university to study business and management and if someone had told me 26 years ago, Claire would have gone on to be a university graduate I would never have believed it.

"I'm just so glad we trusted our instincts, otherwise Claire might not be the person she is now."

Source.

In the Netherlands, there is legal euthanaisa. Of the terminally ill. Not of newborns. Of course, that doesn't stop doctors from killing newborn babies whom they decide are "defective" in some way. Many of the doctors admit to doing this without even informing or asking the parents. They just say, "I'm sorry. Your little one didn't make it." Slippery slope? You bet there's a slippery slope.

Ohhhhhhh ugh

Tonight was a "special dinner" night at Shively Dining Hall. Special dinners mean the food is "better" and revolves around a theme. Or they just serve the food and make up a lame theme that doesn't really go. Like tonight was "Jimmy Buffet night" ... I think the only thing that was "Jimmy Buffet" was the music. "Wasting away again, in Margaritavilllllle ..." Argh.

Yesterday was a special dinner at Jefferson Dining Hall, and we went to that, too. The theme was very unmemorable, as exemplified by the fact that I can not remember it. All I remember is there was lots of healthy fruit (blah) and shrimp.

The line looked pretty bad for the Jimmy Buffet Dinner tonight, but it turned out to move pretty quickly. The real trick was finding seats for everybody. It's magic ...

I have decided that I dislike special dinners (MOST special dinners, anyway) because A) The food is not tons better B) The diners are stuffed in like sardines and C) I eat so much I get sick. Well, not every time, but I did tonight. Ahhhhh. Maybe if I lie down for a while ... oh wait, already napped for three hours today. Shoot :) Must write essays, must write essays ...

Another good article

Found it on Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam

The Exorcist Revisited

The echoes of 'wild, diabolical laughter' recall the St. Louis U. exorcism of 1949

By John M. McGuire
Of the Post-Dispatch
03/02/2005

This story was originally published April 17, 1988

EXORCIZO, te, immundissime spiritus, omnis incursio adversarii, omne phantasma, omnis legio.

(I cast thee out, thou unclean spirit, along with the least encroachment of the wicked enemy, and every phantom and diabolical legion.)

- From the Roman Ritual of the Catholic Church, its Rite of Exorcism

One night almost 40 years ago, when Verhagen Hall at St. Louis University was a residence for Jesuits, a priest just back from a year of study at Harvard University heard a diabolical laugh that froze his blood.

That evening, the young Jesuit had been saying his office - a priest's daily prayers - as he sat in his small room directly across from the old rectory at the back of St. Francis Xavier (College) Church. He was not 20 feet away from a rear window in the rectory, he recalled.

The old priests' house - which has since been razed and replaced with a newer building - was nestled between the creaky, wood-and-brick splendor of DuBourg Hall and its nearby 19th-century cousin, Verhagen, now home to the university's theological studies department.

''I heard this wild, idiotic, diabolical laughter,'' said the Rev. Lucius F. Cervantes, whose late brother, Alfonso Juan, was mayor of St. Louis. ''I hadn't heard a thing about the exorcism at the time. So I tried to find out what it was about. I looked toward the window from where the light was coming, but saw nothing.''

What he had heard was a 14-year-old boy from Mount Rainier, Md., a Washington suburb, who many believe was possessed or obsessed by demons.

In these nocturnal episodes (the boy's bizarre behavior occurred mostly at night), he would supposedly become incredibly strong, his body distorting and transforming, heels touching the back of his head, the body forming a loop - all reported by priests who were witnesses.

Curiously, during these convulsions, the doctors attending him could find no change in his pulse rate or blood pressure. The bed would shake violently. Obscene words and images appeared on his skin, in raised red welts, like bas reliefs.

''These brandings on the boy's skin - it happened as many as 30 times each day - were unquestionably paranormal,'' says William Peter Blatty, who wrote the novel ''The Exorcist,'' inspired by the incident. ''Some of the markings were on the back, and some were pictures, often lasting from three to four hours. All over the (official) diary were accounts of these brandings.''

...

Blatty recalled one of the strangest incidents in the official diary.

''One night, sitting on the bed beside the boy, Bowdern watched a tiny, nearly invisible pitchfork, or lines, move from under the boy's upper thigh all the way to the ankle,'' Blatty said. ''Droplets of blood occurred. Bowdern was only a foot away, and there were the usual four or five witnesses.''

The boy supposedly spat a foul substance at the priests who attended him, all the way across the room and with incredible accuracy. According to this account, the pea-soup vomit shown in the movie version of ''The Exorcist'' was not too far-fetched.

...

Halloran said he observed the streaks and arrows and words like ''hell'' that would rise on the child's skin. ''That happened a number of times. And it wasn't a case of taking a pin and scratching himself. It just appeared, and with quite a bit of pain.

''On Holy Thursday that year, this phenomenon started occurring as I was reading the prayers. 'Don't talk about it anymore, this hurts too much,' the kid said. The markings were most visible, and there were many obscenities. He was a nice little kid.''

...

It all supposedly began at the boy's home in suburban Washington in January 1949. In what exorcists call the infestation phase, the child's grandmother, who lived in a room above her grandson's bedroom, heard sounds like marching feet.

Then there were scratching noises, falling pictures and flying fruit, according to Walsh and Blatty. Later, as his condition worsened, the child's voice and behavior pattern changed, Walsh said.

''He had been a nice, well-behaved boy. They called in the family's minister; they were Lutheran. They just thought it was something weird; there's no mention of possession,'' Walsh said.

The minister thought a change of scenery would help the boy, and he took him to the parsonage. But his condition got worse. It was the Lutheran minister who suggested that the family consult a Catholic priest.

...

According to Walsh, the boy who was the object of the exorcism is now married and living in Omaha, and has been fine since the exorcism. He named his first child Michael, for the archangel, the scourge of demons. He works for an airline.

Is he a pilot? Walsh was asked. ''No, my word! I wouldn't want to fly with him.'' And he chuckled.

However, Halloran said he was under the impression that the boy became a doctor. There are other reports that the man changed his name and is still living in the Washington area. Walsh said the man reportedly recalled little or nothing of his ordeal.

According to these reports, the man is 54 and has converted to Catholicism, as did his entire family, save the grandmother who first reported her grandson's odd behavior. She remained a Lutheran until her death.

Read the whole article here.

Ohhh yes, this is true

You are Deb and you could drink whole milk if you
wanted.


But I drink skiiiiim :)

Which Napoleon Dynamite character are you?
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Deep Thoughts

I just got around to reading that little missive from Sara Grogg that caused sucha an uproar! and I have to admit that I don't find much wrong with it! :) In fact, in most ways I agree.

Some points:

1. Society has been completely desensitized to believe that everything is ok and nothing is bad as long as someone likes it. Even if a majority of people are offended by it, they are forced to be tolerant because it makes someone else feel good.

I think she is right about this. Ask most people about their conception of right and wrong, and it often comes down to not so much "Is this true? Is this right?" than "Am I comfortable with this?" She probably relates this to a loss of "Christian ethics," and I think that plays a role for many people, but it's not the whole picture. There are plenty of intelligent atheists and agnostics and pagans (Plato, anybody?) who realize and manage to coherently avoid the ethical bankruptcy of relativism. But many other "moderns" don't.

This is either because people are paralyzed by the idea of making definite distinctions, or because they are simply unmotivated to develop a method with which to evaluate truth or falsity, right or wrong. A nastier person than me would say, "Intellectually lazy." But I think in some respects it's not their fault. The culture itself is highly relativistic; ours is a society that loathes philosophy. You can't expect lots of people to drag themselves out of the (very comfortable) morass of their own volition.

You see this in the gay marriage debate a lot, on both sides. A lot of people are just freaked out by homosexuals (usually as a result of a lack of personal contact with them) and that's the extent of the depth of their position - when in fact there's a rich, very deep natural law argument against gay marriage that they never bother to investigate. Other than to say, "that ain't natural!" which isn't much of anything at all. And I have yet to read anything in support of gay marriage that does not devolve into a treatise on how people feel they should be allowed to get married and it hurts them that they can't, and it feels terrible so let's change the law! Singing: Feeeeelings, whoa whoa whoaaa feeeeeelings ... Hello? Does anybody care to think and use their brains to come up with an INTELLECTUAL ARGUMENT?(I feel a rant about the nature of philosophy coming on ... eck ... not now .. stifles self)

Point 2:

2. Society has completely taken away the concept of sex as something sacred. It used to be improper to talk about sex, and it was an experience only between you and your husband/wife. Marriage used to be a lifelong commitment. I think that it is really sad that very few people have anything that they're proud of anymore. Sex used to be something that you could give as a "gift" to your husband or wife. Now that everyone's doing it with whomever they want, whenever they want, sex has lost its meaning and significance. People have become selfish and very me-oriented. The mindset of today is that "anything and everything is acceptable as long as I get something out of it or it makes me feel good"

This "point" is a bit messier. I don't see why it should be considered "improper" to talk about sex. The crass, degrading, pornographic way of discussing sexuality is, of course, both disgusting and commonplace. But that doesn't mean that mature people shouldn't be allowed to discuss sex (I think that rules out most college students, lol).

She is correct, however, that sex is for the most part no longer considered something sacred. Rather than being a unique part of marriage intimately connected to the mystery of new life, it has become something casual and pedestrian. Again, some people might consider this the "Christian fundamentalist" position, but ironically, in the years before Christianity came to Europe, sex was, to the pagan societies, a sacred event due to its connection with the creation of new life, and it was even included in the pagan marriage ritual (ooo, imagine being a bridesmaid at one of those shindigs, lol ;)

I love how she refers to sex as a "gift" exchanged between husband and wife. I wonder if she is a closet Catholic or thinking of converting, (lol, probably NOT ;) because that way of looking at sexuality is an idea right out of Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body.

I think she is also onto something with her suggestion that people have become very "me-oriented." My connection, not hers: I think this has a lot to do with the rise of birth control and contraception. No one says, "I have a boyfriend/girlfriend husband/wife, and I want to use them and their body to obtain physical pleasure, as though the one I love was a cheap device from a porn store. However, I might make a child, which would involve "commitment," which obviously I am not interested in, since it isn't fun. So I'm going to wear a condom, swallow a pill, or do other nasty unnatural chemical things to my body to prevent it." What they do say is more along the lines of, "We're in love, but we're not married, we're not ready to have children blah blah ..." Of course, the Church teaches that sex is both procreative and unitive; that is, it's for producing children AND for the meaningful union between two people. But, as the Church also teaches, there's not much "meaning" to a union where one or both of the partners wants to deliberately prevent the creation of new life. When you actually analyze it intellectually, the reasons for contraception are incredibly narcissistic. The pursuit of personal pleasure is put above the other considerations (we're not ready to have children). I want it, my pleasure, it feels good to me, I-my-me-me-me.

Think about it: (and let me be a bit crude) What's the major sexual difference between humans and blow-up dolls? The major sexual difference between your significant other and a blow-up doll? Oh yeah. You and your significant other can create new life. Contraception, whether it comes in the form of rubber or medicine, reduces the other person to so much plastic. A sexual receptacle. Yeah, it was such a victory for women's rights that now men can sleep with as many girls as they like without worrying. It's a regular Sex-Objectopia. "Batter up, they're all on the pill!"

Point 3:

3. Obviously if you're only 20 years old, and you've already resorted to finding pleasure in something that is man-made, there is something wrong. It's sad to think that something that was created for the enjoyment and pleasure between two married people has been perverted into something that we can just joke about and have parties about.

Hmmm. I find "pleasure" in a lot of things that are man-made. Art, music, literature ... Snickers. LOL, and I'm not even kidding about that last one! ;) However, that's not what she means. She is talking about using sex toys to "spice up" intercourse. Again, I think her idea is correct: There is no need to take what is naturally a beautiful, enjoyable thing and introduce something artificial into it. Unless of course you are not actually interested in the meaningful union of bodies but rather, only the pleasure that accompanies it.

Well, that's my rant. I thought the "piece" was actually pretty mature, in that she did not dismiss sexuality as something "dirty" but nevertheless pointed out that it is meaningful and not something that ought to be casual - what's the really crude line from the movie - "Screwing is not like shaking hands." She probably went about communicating her ideas in the wrong way - she should have gotten permission, etc. Although she does have a right to free speech, and this is a public university. I hope I didn't offend anybody, and if I did, I'm sorry, I'm not judging anyone or anyone's conscience. These are just the thoughts trolling around my mad, mad brain :)

Silence Please

Apparently the back of Lincoln Hall, under my window, is the new designated area to have fights with friends and boyfriends. Fights which involve shouting, swearing, sobbing, squealing of tires and revving of engines, with the finale being the great storming-up-the-stairwell-weeping. I have to admit that I would probably enjoy this drama a little bit if it did not consistently happen at 3 o'clock in the morning. Ahhhh. I wonder if they realize that the screechy voices penetrate the brick two floors up. Probably not. ;)

I am tremendously behind on my final exams stuff. I got an A on that Thomas More paper that I whined about for six solid weeks, but the professor wrote "see me" below the grade. *Paranoia kicks in* Does he think I plagiarized, or something? It's-too-good-to-be-you? Hmmmm.

I finished up my confirmation classes. And I even brought up vocations in the last class. Finito! I have to give the priest at St. Mary's a call, however, to make sure he hasn't forgotten me or whatnot. Bleh. Nervous, nervous.

All in all I am really looking forward to this quarter (which has been the quarter from Hell) ending. The only Nasty Class I have for spring is Information Gathering, which is supposed to be a lot of work but pretty easy. La la la la.

I will also really enjoy the one week off for Spring Break, which is short enough that I will NOT be required to find a job! Hurray! I had to start all over with knitting that scarf for Betsy, so it will give me time to catch up :) This time I will not mess up so much ... It will be pretty ... yeahhhhhh ...

Deep Thoughts.

This post was a bit toooo long for my blog to take without going into Dinosaur Load Mode. Ergo it has been archived. Leave your comments on this post, though, since this is where it will eventually end up. It's complicated! Deal with it! Just kidding ;)

Update to below:

Here's a picture of one of the Golden Roses:



See also this article: Pope plans rare honour for Lourdes shrine

On the Golden Rose and being pretty in pink

"Pretty in pink", that was my priest today. Just kidding ;) Today is Laetare Sunday - the Leneten season is half over. So the priest's vestments changed, just for this one Sunday, to a joyful pink. Well, no, not exactly, no man is going to admit to wearing pink. The technical color is rose. Ahhhhh. The ones I saw this Sunday were sort of more hot pink than anything else, I have to admit, lol.

The day gets its name from the old entrance antiphon from the Latin mass - "Laetare Jerusalem" which translates to "Rejoice, O Jerusalem."

This is also the day when, long ago (they don't do it anymore), the Pope would bless the Golden Rose. The Golden Rose was a beautiful ornament (in the shape of a rose, obviously) that the Popes would send, blessed, as a gift to illustrious churches, kings, queens, princes, or princesses. I love being Catholic, mostly because it's the truth, but also because there are tons of cool things like this in our tradition! Leslie, I bet a gentleman from the Italian nobility might be able to find one for you ;)

Prior to the pontificate of Sixtus IV (1471-84) it consisted of a simple and single rose made of pure gold and slightly tinted with red. For greater embellishment, yet still retaining the mystical meaning, a ruby placed in the heart of the rose, and afterwards many precious gems set in the petals, were used instead of the red colouring of the gold. Pope Sixtus IV substituted in place of the single rose a thorny branch with leaves and many roses (a half-score and sometimes more), the largest of which sprang from the top of the branch and the smaller ones clustered naturally around it. In the centre of the principal rose was a tiny cup with a perforated cover, into which the pope, when he blessed the rose, poured the musk and balsam. The whole ornament was of pure gold. The Sixtine design has been maintained; but it has varied as to decoration, size, weight, and value. Originally it was little over six inches in height, and was easily carried in the left hand of the pope, whilst with his right he blessed the multitude through which he passed in procession from the church of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme (in Rome) to the Lateran Palace. Afterwards, and especially when a vase and large pedestal became part of the ornament, it required a robust cleric to carry it, who preceded the papal cross in the procession. The rose sent to Amelia of Brunswick, wife of Joseph I, afterwards emperor, by Innocent XI, weighed twenty pounds of gold. In height it was almost eighteen inches, and in form a bouquet; from the stem sprang three different branches which after many natural windings came together at the top, and supported the largest and principal rose in the midst of a beautiful cluster of leaves. The vase whence rises the shapely and elegant flower, as also the pedestal supporting the vase, varied as to material, weight, and form. In the beginning they were made of gold; but afterward of silver heavily gilt with gold. The pedestal was either triangular, quadrangular, or octangular, and was richly ornamented with various decorations and bassorilievos. In addition to the customary inscription, the coat of arms of the pope who had the ornament made, and that of him who blessed and conferred it, were engraved on the pedestal. Their value varied according to the munificence of the pontiffs or the economical circumstances of the times. Father Baldassari, S.J. (De Rosa Mediana, p. 190) says that the rose conferred about the year 1650 cost five hundred dollars. The two roses sent by Alexander VII were valued at eight and twelve hundred dollars respectively. Clement IX sent the Queen of France one costing twelve hundred dollars, the gold alone used weighing eight pounds. The workmanship on this rose was exceedingly fine, for which the artificer received three hundred dollars. Innocent IX caused eight and one-half pounds of gold to be formed into a rose, which was further embellished with many sapphires, costing in all fourteen hundred dollars. In the nineteenth century not a few of the roses cost two thousand dollars and more. The skill and workmanship of the papal artificers are something truly wonderful.

The custom of giving the rose supplanted the ancient practice of sending to Catholic rulers the Golden Keys from St. Peter's Confessional, a custom introduced either by St. Gregory II (716) or St. Gregory III (740). A certain analogy exists between the rose and the keys, inasmuch as both are of pure gold blessed and bestowed by the Vicar of Christ upon illustrious children of the Church, and further, both partake somewhat of the nature of a reliquary -- the rose containing musk and balsam, the keys filings from the Chair of St. Peter.

Read the whole thing from the Catholic Encyclopedia.

Click to see more about The Institute of Christ the King, Soverign Priest

They are another order that does the Latin Mass. Ah, beautiful.

VERY interesting

PIE JESU DOMINE, DONA EIS REQUIEM.

'Exorcist' priest dies in Wis.
The Associated Press
Published March 3, 2005

WAUWATOSA, Wis. -- The Rev. Walter H. Halloran, a priest who took part in an exorcism that spawned the book and movie "The Exorcist," has died at age 83.

He was the last living Jesuit who assisted in the exorcism in 1949 at a psychiatric unit in St. Louis. He died Tuesday night at a Jesuit retirement home in suburban Milwaukee.

Halloran was a 27-year-old Jesuit scholastic at Saint Louis University when a priest called him to the psychiatric wing at Alexian Brothers Hospital.

The Rev. William S. Bowdern was trying to help a 14-year-old boy who he believed was possessed by a demon, and he needed a strong man to help control the boy. A third Jesuit, the Rev. William Van Roo, also was there.

You can read the whole story here.

I guess this serves as just another reminder of the very, very real reality of the warfare bewteen men and the fallen angels.

What the Church teaches about artificially sustaining life

Just so nobody writes any "angry letters" (he he, just kidding ;) if, God forbid it, His Holiness has to be taken off a respirator or something ...

... A person may, but is not bound to, use extraordinary means - those means which primarily are not considered ordinary medical care or common medical treatments. These means do not offer reasonable hope of benefit and may be excessively burdensome to either the patient or the family. Factors to consider in determining whether a treatment is extraordinary include the type of treatment, the degree of complexity, the amount of risk involved, its cost and accessibility, and the state of the sick person and his resources. One would weigh the proportion of pain and suffering against the amount of good to be done. Granted, in our world today, however, exactly what constitutes extraordinary medical care becomes harder and harder to define. For instance, accepting an artificial heart is clearly experimental and would be extraordinary, whereas the usage of a respirator or ventilator is oftentimes standard procedure to aid the patient's recovery.

While the Church makes the distinction between ordinary and extraordinary means, it would not sanction any act of euthanasia. Euthanasia, literally translated as good death or easy death, is "an action or omission which of itself or by intention causes death, in order that all suffering may in this way be eliminated" (Declaration on Euthanasia). In other words, euthanasia involves the purposeful termination of life by a direct action, such as lethal injection, or by an omission, such as starvation or dehydration. Note that euthanasia is commonly known as "mercy killing": this term is most appropriate because the act involves an intentional killing, no matter how good the intention may be to alleviate suffering ...

However, euthanasia must be distinguished from the stopping of extraordinary means of health care or other aggressive medical treatment. The patient - or guardian in the case of an unconscious patient - has the right to reject outright or to discontinue those procedures which are extraordinary, no longer correspond to the real situation of the patient, do not offer a proportionate good, do not offer reasonable hope of benefit, impose excessive burdens on the patient and his family, or are simply "heroic." Such a decision is most appropriate when death is clearly imminent and inevitable. Here a person may refuse forms of treatment which at best provide a precarious and burdensome prolonging of life. In these cases, the person would place himself in God's hands and prepare to leave this life, while maintaining ordinary means of health care.

... Another friend of mine was dying of prostate cancer, which had metastasised throughout his body. When I saw him last in the hospital, he had gone into a coma and was being fed intravenously and was breathing with a respirator. His kidneys had failed. The doctors told the family that there was nothing more they could do and the situation was irreversible. At that point, the medical technology was not providing any hope of recovery or benefit, but rather was merely prolonging the death process. The family decided to turn-off the respirator, which had now become an extraordinary means, and minutes later my friend went to meet his Lord. This action was morally permissible and different from purposefully terminating life.

Keep in mind that in both of these cases, if someone had decided to give a lethal injection to the person, or to deny the person ordinary means of health care, like food and water, then that would have been a purposeful act of killing.

The entire article, by Fr. William Saunders at Catholic Exchange, is very informative and enlightening. I would recommend reading the rest.

Saint of the Week

Sts. Perpetua and Felicity

Feastday: March 7

A.D. 203

Patronesses of martyrs, times when children have died

Vibia Perpetua, a well-to-do young woman and mother, and Felicitas, a slave who gave birth to a child three days before suffering a martyr's death, were catechumens. Against such prospective converts the persecution of Septimius Severus was particularly severe. These two holy women suffered death on the seventh of March in Carthage. The Breviary relates the following touching episode:

Now the day had arrived when they were to be thrown to the wild beasts. Felicitas began to be sorrowful because she feared she would have to wait longer than her companions. For eight months she had been pregnant and therefore, according to Roman law, could not be executed before the birth of the child. But the prayers of her fellow sufferers hastened her time and she gave birth to a baby girl.
While she was suffering from the pains of childbirth, one of the guards called out to her, "If you are suffering so much now, what will you do when you are thrown to the wild beasts?" "Now I suffer," she answered, "but there Another will be in me, who will suffer for me, because I will suffer for Him." When she was in travail she had sorrow, but when she was set before the wild beasts she rejoiced" (Martyrology).

Finally, on the seventh of March, these heroic women were led into the amphitheatre and severely scourged. Then they were tossed about by an exceptionally wild cow, gored, and thrown to the ground. — The Church's Year of Grace, Pius Parsch

From Catholic Culture.

Congratulations

To the reader who found my blog by asking Yahoo, "why is it called salmonella?" You didn't get any answers from me, that's for sure. This blog comes up #11 on the search, as you can see. LOL. This just made my night.

Let it snow

I feel like bursting into an annoying song ... Oh wait, I will be considerate and keep my mouth shut. Yaaaaahhh.

It definitely IS snowing. Lots. Buckets. And wiiiiindy. Walking to class today, I kept getting eyefulls of snow blown in my face, not to mention almost losing my balance and gracefully flattening out on the brick walkway ;) Kat, I thought Bowling Green was supposed to be the Flat Place With Lots of Wind. Our precious Appalachian Foothills are supposed to protect us from such tragedy!

It WAS raining earlier in the week, but I guess the temperature dropped a few degrees and it all turned into the white stuff. No, Betsy, not cocaine, if you remember what we are discussing, it's snowwwwww. Just kidding, Betta! I do believe it is snowing tons in DC, so you probably have your own crazed weather people to worry about, without dealing with moi :)

I have started e-mailing for interviews with folks for my final Newswriting story. I miiiiight be calling into service some of my friends as sources. Just for "man on the street opinions" and that sort of thing. So if you consider yourself my friend (is my blog read by any of my obsessed, bitter enemies? Of which there are so many, he he he) consider yourself warned.

Great Newsweek Article

Posted on MSNBC.com:

'Precious' Suffering

The pope's condition is deteriorating, for all to see, and he's becoming a potent symbol for his message: that life is sacred, no matter how painful

By Christopher Dickey and Rod Nordland, Newsweek

Feb. 28 issue - The face in the window high above St. Peter's Square is small and distant and, even when viewed through a long lens, almost without expression. The voice quavers, just a few words breathed with excruciating effort, audible over loudspeakers, but only barely comprehensible. Few people can get close enough to Pope John Paul II to try to read the thoughts behind the mask of sickness on a Sunday morning, but some of those who have approached him say they've glimpsed the pain of a man with a vital mind, a man who has loved life enormously, trapped now in a body that brings him nothing but suffering. "You can see it in his eyes," says such a priest. "To be imprisoned like this must cause him tremendous agony."

And yet—because he is the leader of a billion Roman Catholics; because he is the first pontiff of the satellite and Internet age, reaching out to billions more, and because he is John Paul II, who has ruled the church for more than 26 years—in that public experience of suffering lies enormous power. And he knows it. More than 20 years ago, after recovering from the pistol shot that almost took his life in front of St. Peter's, John Paul declared that suffering, as such, is one of the most powerful messages in Christianity. "Human suffering evokes compassion," he wrote in 1984, "it also evokes respect, and in its own way it intimidates." In 1994, as age and infirmity began to incapacitate John Paul publicly, he told his followers he had heard God and was about to change the way he led the church. "I must lead her with suffering," he said. "The pope must suffer so that every family and the world should see that there is, I would say, a higher gospel: the gospel of suffering, with which one must prepare the future."

Now, to the frustration of some reformers in the church who would like to see the 84-year-old pontiff resign, John Paul's personal Calvary has become his most powerful message. Every tremor in his hands takes on meaning. (Although the Vatican has never officially confirmed the details of John Paul's principal afflictions, senior clerics admit privately that he has Parkinson's disease.) The spectacle of his condition crystallizes his ferocious attachment to life—the most central, coherent and consistent teaching of his papacy—whether that life is threatened in the womb by abortion, or in old age by euthanasia.

A sense of high drama about the pope's condition intensified when he was rushed to a hospital on Feb. 1, with complications from the flu. He is so frail that he nearly died, and he might well have slipped into a coma. Now, this week, a conference is being convened in Rome that's expected to recommend maintaining life support even for people in a "permanent vegetative state" without any discernible brain functions. Inevitably this raises questions about just how long the pontiff himself might be kept alive if he is ever reduced to such a condition. Yet the chances of John Paul's stepping down, or being removed, are slight.

Many Catholics see the pope's suffering as something like the agony of Jesus himself, and neither John Paul nor those around him discourage such comparisons. When asked a few years ago if he might consider resigning, John Paul reportedly asked, in reply, "Did Christ come down from the cross?" His close aides say that debate about his ability to administer the church, as if he were the CEO of a secular corporation, essentially misses the point. This pope is not doing a job, he is carrying out a divine mission, and his pain is at its core.

This exaltation of suffering may be difficult for many non-Catholics to understand. (Protestant crosses, typically, do not depict Jesus at all, much less in the death throes shown by Catholic crucifixes.) Mel Gibson's film "The Passion of the Christ" attempted to convey the power of suffering in a way that was graphic, accessible and not a little sensational. But suffering, scholars point out, is at the very core of the faith; it is the vital link between the human experience and that of Christ as savior. He was a suffering victim who seemed to have been defeated by the earthly powers of his time. But in his moment of apparent weakness and defeat, Christians see him as triumphant, dying for humanity's sins and opening the way to heaven.

"The cross is not just something you hang on the wall," says Father Justo Lacunza-Balda, a missionary and director of the Pontifical Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies. "Christianity is not born in a laboratory or a schoolroom; it's not conceived in an institute of higher learning. It's about suffering, torture, the experience of Christ on the cross." And it is about hope. In Africa, for instance, where the Catholic Church is growing faster than anywhere else in the world, the afflicted pope can be seen as "a living presence of the very essence of Christianity, which is the cross—and resurrection," says Lacunza-Balda. "He's not just an icon, he is the incarnation in his whole life of the message of Christ."

This is the first page, there's two more pages of it. The rest is a good read, too.

**Confetti, Loud Music, Parades**

My paper on Thomas More is done at last! It was a pretty bad paper, but I have reached the point of Not Caring. Now is the time for me to start freaking out about my final story for Newswriting class. Must get interviews, must get interviews ... However, I am going to try to not whine about it as much as I did the paper. Argh. I have used up all of my allotted Whine Time for the quarter.

My knitting project is coming along, although by the time my scarf is done winter will be over. Its poor quality and lack of timeliness will make it the perfect gift for Betsy. Just kidding :) It IS going to be a gift for her, but she is free to burn, cut up, or otherwise dispose of it. Since it is not the kind of thing you would bother to save for next winter, and you would look kind of strange wearing a scarf in spring ... Although maybe Leslie will be starting a new trend? ;)

Alas, everything seems to be speeding up. Too much to do, too little time. Same old story as before! However, next quarter will be better. Easy classes, easy classes. That's what I keep telling myself!