Oldie but goodie

A Franciscan and Jesuit were debating which order was the greatest. They talked and talked but they just couldn't settle the argument. So, they decided to ask for a sign from God. This is what they received in a note that came falling down from heaven:

My sons,

Please stop bickering about such trivial matters.

Sincerely,
God, O.P.

(For the uninitiated, the letters O.P. stand for "Order of Preachers," another name for the Dominicans.)

Ha! In some ways I suspect that it's true! St. Thomas Aquinas was a Dominican, after all, and we all know who God's Favorite Theologian is, right? ;) Just kidding.
No offense to any Franciscans or Jebbies out there ... Or anyway, no offense to any good Franciscans or Jebbies ... ;)

Favorite what?

So, there's this parish in California - Corpus Christi Parish - that has an online survey that attempts to categorize where people fall on the political spectrum within the Catholic Church.

Of the possible choices - Traditionalist, Neo Traditionalist, Liberal, Progressive, and Alienated, I came out a Neo Traditionalist. According to their profile, I think Vatican II was ok but I wish liberals would stop pushing the envelope, John Paul is my favorite pope and "Gift of Finest Wheat" is my favorite hymn.

What can I say? They got it right as far as how I feel about Vatican II, and John Paul is at least ONE of my favorite popes - there's also Pope St. Gregory the Great and our current Holy Father, after all! I also feel much fondness for Pope St. Pius V, since his feast day is on my birthday, April 30. Pius V is a very un-PC Pope; in the 16th century, he was the Holy Father whose forces beat back the seemingly-unstoppable Muslim invaders at the Battle of Lepanto, thus saving Christian Europe. The Battle of Lepanto was also where Cervantes fought bravely and lost the use of his left arm years before he wrote Don Quixote.

He (Pius, not Cervantes!) was also in charge of implementing the reforms of the Council of Trent, much as John Paul had the job of implementing the authentic interpretation of the Second Vatican Council. (If you ever want to drive a liberal Catholic up the wall, make lots of references to the Council of Trent, as well as "the authentic Vatican II." Of course, in order to be properly annoyed, they would have to be a liberal Catholic who actually knows the history of the Church, and those are pretty rare ;)

However, they are totally wrong about "Gift of Finest Wheat." I hate "Gift of Finest Wheat." With a passion. I suppose it is better than "On Eagle's Wings" or "Here I Am, Lord," but frankly, the very most vile output from Eminem is preferable to "Here I Am, Lord." This is because rap music uses spoken words, not singing, and thus does not involve inane melodic lines. As far as hymns go, I love English hymns of the "Holy God We Praise Thy Name," type, as well as Latin hymns like Pange Lingua Gloriosi, the Salve Regina, and the Magnificat. Gregorian Chant is wonderful. I love, love going to Immaculate Conception on Sundays because the Gregorian Chant is practically professional quality and absolutely transports you beyond time. You can feel the centuries melting away. Long live the Missa de Angelis. Sometimes I wonder if it's the chant or the Tridentine rite itself that is so enchanting to people. I hope it's not impious to say that; of course, the Mass is what matters ...

You can hear browse some Gregorian chant music here.

You can take the survey (I am going to have to make a post on how stupid it is to apply political categories to the Church) here. The parish offering it is in California, so you can imagine what their most popular categories are ;)

Hat tip to LA Catholic.

Papa Says, Drive Safely!

Pope Urges Motorists to Be Careful

... Benedict made the appeal in his noontime blessing to thousands of tourists and faithful gathered under a scorching sun in St. Peter's Square ...

Benedict wished everyone a good "well-earned" rest, but he said he also wanted to make an appeal for "prudence" for those who will be traveling.

"Unfortunately, every day and in particular on weekends, there are accidents with so many human lives tragically cut short, with half of the victims among the young," he said. "In past years, much has been done to prevent such tragic events, but more can and must be done with more effort by everyone.

"We must fight absent-mindedness and superficiality, which in an instant can ruin one's future and the future of others," he said. "Life is precious and unique: It must always be respected and protected, including with correct and prudent behavior on the roads."

Link.

LOL, I know, Papa! It's funny how much he sounds like my real father. Whenever I drive to the city my dad says, "Be careful, pleeeeaase, Maggie!" I guess I can always try harder to be a safer driver. I drove all around this weekend - and I even drove with one of my friends in the car, and there were no accidents! (Ahem ... near misses, yes ... no actual smash-ups ... ;)

Shannon, is this the book you've got?

One of my favorites from Cardinal Ratzinger, now Benedict XVI:

A New Song For the Lord

This book is one of my favorites. I thought I would post an excerpt, which I found at the Off the Record blog:

People are often uncomfortable with the truth; it is probably the best guide to selflessness and true freedom. Let us take the example of Pilate. He knows very well that this accused Jesus is innocent and that according to the law he should acquit him. He wants to do this, too. But then this truth comes into conflict with his position; it threatens to cause him trouble or even the loss of his job. Unrest could occur; he could appear in an unfavourable light before the emperor, and so on. So he chooses rather to sacrifice the truth, which does not scream or defend itself, even though its betrayal leaves him with a dull sense of failure.

This situation is repeated in history again and again. Let us recall just one positive example: St Thomas More. How natural it appeared to concede supremacy over the Church to the king! There is no explicit dogma that clearly forbade this. All the bishops had already done it -- why should he, the layman, risk his life and cast his family into ruin? Even if he did not want to save his own neck, ought he not, when considering the hierarchy of values, at least give his family priority over his stubborn insistence on his conscience? Such cases show macroscopically, so to speak, what happens again and again in our lives in miniature. I could get myself out of trouble if I made a small concession to the untruth. Or the other way around: accepting the consequences of the truth would cause me immense trouble. How often does that happen? And how often do we fail!

The situation St Thomas More had to face is constantly present when translated into everyday life. Lots of people say that, so why shouldn't I as well? Why should I disturb the peace of the group? Why should I make a fool of myself? Isn't the peace of the community more important than my know-it-all attitude? As a result, group conformity turns into a tyranny opposing the truth.

George Bernanos, who was haunted by the mystery of the priestly vocation and the tragedies of its failure, dramatically portrayed this danger in the character of Bishop Expelette in L'imposture. This popular bishop had been an academic; he is educated and kind and always knows how to say just what fits the situation and what the educated expect from a bishop in this position: "The courage of this shrewd priest, however, deceives no one but himself. His intellectual cowardice is immense ... No one is less lovable than one who only lives to be loved. Such souls, so clever as to change according to the taste of each and every one, are only mirrors." In his analysis Bernanos gets to the bottom of this failure: "'I belong to my times', he repeats, and this with the expression of a man who is testifying on behalf of himself ... But he has never taken into account that each time he says this he denies the eternal character which was imprinted on him."

This passage is also very telling:

"I do not hesitate to claim that the lack of truth is the major disease of our age. Success and results have outstripped the truth everywhere. Renouncing the truth and escaping into group conformity are only apparently a way to peace. Such types of communion are built on sand. The pain of truth is the condition for real communion. It has to be accepted day in and day out. Only in truth's humble patience do we mature from the inside and become free from ourselves and for God."

The book was published in 1997, but I think we can expect this theme to be showing up during the course of Benedict's papacy!

I got a job

Hurray!

According to Kelly Services, I am going to be working for Allstate Insurance again. Probably doing the same job. I have to go in for a drug test tomorrow at 8 am; time to start going heavy on the liquids, he he!

Ah well. It wasn't that bad last year, although they gave us such horrible hours. Five o'clock in the morning! Terrible, terrible. Maybe this time they'll let me work like a normal human being, lol! I'm also keeping my fingers crossed that I won't have to come in on Sundays. That would really stink. I can't think of any decent Saturday vigil Masses. Blehhhhh.

On Sunday Betsy and I went to our friend Shannon's church, the Hudson Anglican Fellowship. Nooo, we didn't miss our Sunday obligation, see the post below for where we went to Mass the night before! Anyway, it is a really lovely, very friendly community, and they worship in a converted barn. That is just a temporary, of course, until they get their new building.

Now, it's important to note that these Christians are Anglicans, not Episcopalians, or as they are sometimes jokingly called, Episcopagans ;) The Anglican Communion technically has within its ranks the Episcopalians, which is sort of the American version of the Church of England. However, the vast majority of the Anglican Communion does not approve of the terrible things that the Americans and Canadians have been doing - blessing gay marriages, consecrating practicing homosexual bishops, etc. - and so there has been a definite movement of many away from the Episcopal church and toward the Anglican expression of Christianity. While of course it would be preferable for everyone to come home to Rome (yeah, check out the Anglican Usage here!) I would still strongly suggest that any Episcopalians who aren't ready to swim the Tiber check out groups like the Hudson Anglican Fellowship, who will not feed you homosexual propaganda as part of the Gospel. You can read about the Hudson group here.

A Human Skull

That's what I got to see yesterday at the Cathedral. Betsy and I went to Cleveland for Confession and Mass; we were there very early and so after Confession we spent time praying and reciting the Rosary, etc. We were sitting there in the pew - the Cathedral was rather dimly lit, as it was still quite a while before Mass and the acolytes had not even been out to light the candles, let alone the lamps - and this fellow, a sort of janitor person who was going over the marble floors with a mop, came up and introduced himself. He was a foreigner (from the Dominican Republic) and he wanted to know if we were nuns. Ha! See, I already look like a nun ;) Although obviously he assumed we were of the non-habited variety.

Anyway, he was very friendly. He asked us questions about where we were from and what orders we were interested in. And he also said, "Come with me! I'll show you where we keep the relics of St. Christina and the bodies of our bishops." Then he led us around the Cathedral, unlocked the gates of the Cathedral crypt, and took us in. He must have been in some kind of official position, I guess, if he was given the keys to the crypt!

When we went into the crypt, we saw where some of the bishops of the diocese are buried (they are entombed in marble, mausoleum-type graves). The crypt bears the coat of arms of the late James Cardinal Hickey, who was bishop of Cleveland for a few years and was later made the Cardinal Achbishop of Washington, D.C. by John Paul. (He died earlier this year.)

Our guide also took us into the crypt chapel - the Resurrection chapel - where we saw the bones and skull of St. Christina, who was martyred in Rome in the 3rd century. The bones were arranged with her skull on top of them in a glass case beneath the altar. They were a gift from Pope Pius XI in 1928, who was friends with the then-bishop of Cleveland. You can read about St. Christina here.

I know non-Catholics think the whole relics thing is a bit creepy, but I think it's cool. It's a tradition that's 2,000 years old. The people who are freaked out are, historically speaking, the weird ones :)

So that was pretty special! As far as I know, the crypt is otherwise very carefully kept locked up, besides when the bishop or a priest or someone official wants to go in. See, it pays to go to Church early, he he he.

Here are some pictures I got off of the diocesan website. This is the Cathedral:



And here is a picture of the Resurrection Chapel. If you look at the altar, you can see Christina's relics - the skull and bones.



And here is St. Christina, close up:



It was very moving and awe-inspiring to actually be there, in front of the relics of a martyr who lived and died almost two thousand years ago.

Cincinnati

I forgot to mention that on Thursday I went with my mother and father and my brothers to Cincinnati, to see St. Francis Xavier University. I did not see much of the university, as I got no sleep the night before. I napped the whole time. Betsy wanted me to go, to demand to know whether or not their theology professors had the mandatum. So I guess I failed in my duty there. Then again, it would just be a "making a point" question, since it's pretty obvious that most of the FXU profs would not be caught dead within a large radius of a mandatum. It's a Jesuit university, after all.

On the way home we were trapped in a ten-mile, snail's-pace traffic jam. In fact, there were periods when no one moved at all. Some of the people in the cars ahead of us got out of their vehicles, disappeared into the cornfields beside the highway, and, I assume, enjoyed a little bit of a bathroom break before climbing back out and strolling around on the pavement some more. Of course, when we finally began to move again, the kids who were still in the cornfield had to run back pretty fast!

My mother is one of those people who always strikes up conversation with other folks, be it in grocery store lines or at movie theatres. So, she thoroughly enjoyed sticking her head out the window and having conversations with truckers. Besides embarrassing, this actually turned out to be pretty useful, since the truckers had radios and were able to tell us what was causing the jam and how long we could expect to wait. The first trucker told us that the traffic stretched back ten miles long; the second one informed us that the cause was simply rubber-necking. Rubber-necking!

A large truck had somehow jumped the concrete barrier and collided with another truck. This was all on the other side of the highway. Of course, there were no problems on the westbound side at all; those drivers are evidently more mature than the ones we were traveling alongside. Everyone was slowing down to get a good look at the carnage.

And here's the worst part: When we eventually got past the crash site, we slowed down and looked, too. My dad got out his digital camera to take pictures - before we realized how horrible the accident was. Sometimes I don't think my father is entirely "all right in the head," however, he's not a creep who would photograph the place where someone had just died.

And we were pretty sure that a trucker had died. We saw the cab of one of the trucks being loaded up to be carted away, and it was utterly smashed to pieces. The engine was pushed all the way to the back. My dad didn't think anyone could survive that; I would definitely agree. It was such a sobering sight. Everyone got very quiet for a while.

All in all, though, I would say it was an ok trip, although I slept almost the entire time! And I don't think Andy is going to go to Xavier. Ah well. I know my mother appreciated my coming. I aim to please.

Yay, Papa!

Pope Benedict XVI Chastises Europe in Book

By NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated Press Writer

ROME - Pope Benedict XVI rails against Europe (yeah, "rails," real objective, Ms. Winfield) in his first book published since becoming pope, chastising a culture that he says excludes God from life and allows innocent lives - the unborn - to be taken from God through legalized abortion.

"The Europe of Benedict: In the crisis of cultures" was written when the pope was still Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the Vatican's guardian of doctrine, and serves as a strong indication of issues that will be priorities in his pontificate ...

... Ratzinger takes as a starting point the decision of European Union leaders to exclude a reference to Europe's Christian roots from the preamble of the proposed EU constitution, whose future remains uncertain following its rejection by French and Dutch voters in recent referendums.

... "Europe has developed a culture which, in a way never before known to humanity, excludes God from public conscience, either by being denied or by judging his existence to be uncertain and thus belonging to subjective choices, something irrelevant for public life," Benedict writes ...

... Looking at current culture in Europe, Ratzinger acknowledges it would be easy to resign oneself to the fact that abortion is a legal right in much of Europe. But he concludes that there is no such thing as a "little homicide" and that when man loses the respect for life, "inevitably he ends by losing his own identity."

He criticizes parents who think their rights to freedom trump the rights of the unborn child, saying "they become blind to the right to life of another, of the youngest and weakest who don't have a voice."

"Accepting that the rights of the weakest can be violated, means that you accept also that the right of force prevails over the force of rights," he writes ...

If you read the entire article, which you can find here, you will discover that the "Benedict" in the title "The Europe of Benedict" refers to St. Benedict, whose monastic order, the Benedictines, were hugely instrumental in preserving European culture when the continent fell under the Dark Ages - art, classical era philosophy and texts, some of which may have otherwise been lost to us forever, including works by Tacitus, Seneca, Varro, Frontinus, and Juvenal. According to Papa, Europe needs more people like Benedict who will rescue western culture, which the Holy Father believes to be dying. I agree with him.

Incidentally, I wonder when the AP will get around to mentioning to its scribes that it is good form to at least attempt to hide one's bias when one does any reporting. They have been doing the Mean Old Celibate Man routine with the Catholic Church for quite a while. I remember how it always seemed that whenever there was an "unsuitable" bit of news to report about John Paul II, they would headline it with something like "Old Crank Scolds Public About the Sacred Right to Choose" and accompany it with an extremely unflattering photograph of the pontiff. I see that their headlining talents have not improved.

I just can't decide

If he had to meet the so-called Benedictines profiled here, would Papa give them

this look



or this look?



Hmmmm. Tough call. In the lower picture, it looks like he's actually trying to keep a straight face, which I think Papa Benedict would try to do if he were dealing with nuns. Even if they were Eucharistic Sundance Circle "nuns."

Hat tip to the Angry Twins!

Now HERE'S a bishop!

Today is the Feast day of both St. Thomas More and St. John Fisher.

Now, everyone knows the story of Thomas More. A brilliant scholar and author, he rose rapidly under King Henry VIII's favor to become chancellor of England. After Henry developed a lust for the young (and fertile) Anne Boleyn, he attempted to obtain an annulment from his middle-aged and now barren wife, Catherine of Aragon. The Pope refused to grant the annulment; the king therefore decided to break from Rome and declare himself the head of the "Church of England." This new church would divorce him from Catherine, marry him to Anne, and over the years assist him in his many other divorces and remarriages. Thomas More could not, in conscience, agree with this act, and resigned.

Although (as with many of Henry's marriages) his liaison with Anne was destined to end in a beheading, in the heady days of Henry's schism, he wanted to make sure that any children resulting from the union would be considered the "true" heirs to the throne, as opposed to the daughter, Mary, he had with Catherine. He also wanted to make sure all of his subjects would submit to him as head of the new church. Therefore, he ordered that all Englishmen swear an oath accepting the "Act of Succession."

Among those who refused to swear the oath were Thomas More, Bishop John Fisher of Rochester, and Mary. Henry intended to have his eighteen-year-old daughter killed, but was dissuaded; he did in fact have Thomas More and John Fisher executed. What makes John Fisher's case particularly tragic was that he was the lone bishop in all of England who remained faithful to the Church and did not stab the Holy Father in the back.

All the rest showed a horrible tendency to alter their creed depending on what was convenient and caused them the least trouble. Sound familiar? We need more bishops like John Fisher and less like Thomas Cranmer, who was once upon a time the Catholic Archbishop of Canterbury; in his pursuit of power, he betrayed the Church and decided to help Henry with his split. In the process, he managed to really gut the Anglican sacramental system. Cranmer hated the sacraments, and so he saw no need to ensure a sacramentally valid priesthood. Unfortunately, we have many cowards in the Catholic episcopate who are often too afraid of getting into trouble or being politically incorrect. Unlike John Fisher, they are not brave enough to stand up for the truth. I guess I should be more charitable and simply say that they are weak men. The way all of us are weak.

Now, any day is a great day to duel with a Cafeteria Catholic, and especially the feast days of martyrs, and even more especially the feast of Sts. Thomas More and John Fisher! Thomas More is not the patron saint of politicians for no reason. His story is the perfect antidote to an attack of wish-washy-itis.

Case in point: One of my favorite movies is A Man for All Seasons, which was made in 1966 with Paul Scofield. This is one of the rare times when I and the Academy agree, as that year's Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Screenplay, and others all went to this movie. One of my favorite lines in the film comes when More is talking to Cardinal Wolsey, who is trying to get him to ignore his conscience and apply pressure to Rome to grant the annulment, for the sake of keeping stability for England. St. Thomas replies thus:

I think that when statesmen forsake their own private conscience for the sake of their public duties, they lead their country by a short route to chaos.

I'd love to tell that to ... Ahem ... John Kerry or any other limp-wristed pol who calls himself a Catholic and says that "I'm personally opposed to abortion/euthanasia/gay marriage/etc, but I can't use my own private conscience to impose laws on people."

My other favorite bit is in the last scene, when the following lines are exchanged:

Sir Thomas More: I am commanded by the king to be brief, and since I am the king's obedient subject, brief I will be. I die His Majesty's good servant, but God's first.

[to executioner, handing him his wages] I forgive you, right readily. Be not afraid of your office: you send me to God.

Archbishop Cranmer: You're very sure of that, Sir Thomas?

Sir Thomas More: He will not refuse one who is so blithe to go to Him.

St. Thomas More, ora pro nobis; St. John Fisher, ora pro nobis.

Gas

That's what I may be selling this summer.

Specifically, I'm applying for a job at our local Fuel Mart. I don't know if my mother ate something funny this weekend, but she came home from a milk run with an application. She said the manager was "desperate" for help. Sure enough, when I stopped the next morning to get gas for the trip to Cleveland for Mass, there was a sign saying "Urgent! Help needed! Day and evening shifts!" By the way, aren't we so efficient, getting milk at 6 pm on Saturday night and then going at 10:30 the next morning for gas? ;)

It was a Low Mass, by the way. The Choir Master was having a minor operation, and the fill-in happened to be on vacation. Mother started getting restless - we had a "guest" homily from a Maryknoll priest, who suggested that without a donation to the Maryknoll missions we would not have much to say to Jesus at our particular judgment - so we skipped out after the Consecration. I felt bad about that, but it's preferable to having Mom building up steam in the pews. I was particularly disappointed because it was the Benedictine monk celebrating the Mass, and he is an excellent homilist. Alas, this was the weekend in which every parish in the diocese gets a visit from a missionary priest. I only wish it hadn't been a Maryknoll priest. They don't have a very good reputation ... There are certainly some good Maryknollers, of course, and they were wonderful in the old days, but I think nowadays there is a bit more emphasis on providing social services and a lot less on helping along conversions. That's just my impression, anyway.

Well, let's see if I get this Fuel Mart job. I dropped the application off today, and the manager said she would call me back. If she doesn't by the end of the week, I'm calling Kelly Services and signing up with them. There is noooo way I am going to chase after a gas station job, no sirree. Pride is bad, pride is bad, pride is bad, and yet ... Fuel Mart! Ick!

Countdown to liftoff

Sometimes Papa looks like he's getting ready to fly away!



Up, up, and awaaaaay!

Happy Father's Day!

For Father's Day, I thought I would give you an excerpt of an address - "The Eucharist, the Bishop and Spiritual Fatherhood" by His Excellency, Samuel Aquila, Bishop of the Diocese of Fargo. Aquila is supposed to be a wonderful bishop, and it certainly shines through in these words. The entire address is wonderful, and I strongly suggest you read it alllll - you can see it here in PDF format or here in HTML.

I probably stumbled on this on some blog a while back. I would give a hat tip, but I don't remember which blog it was!

These couple paragraphs speak so eloquently of the spiritual fatherhood of priests and bishops. I actually got a little weepy, myself, at the end. Aw, you all know what a softie I am :)

Here ya go!

During my 30-day retreat, one of the great graces I received was a prayer which came about through a conversation with Saint Joseph. During the prayer, he encouraged me to see everything through the eyes of the Father. I received that encouragement in my heart and responded with a “yes”, not knowing the fruit it would bear. A consistent prayer for me throughout the retreat as I entered into prayer, or read scriptures, and one that even continues today is “Father help me to see all through your eyes and with your heart.” Throughout the retreat as I surrendered seeing with my eyes, which tended to be blind and self-seeking, to seeing with the eyes of the Father, I experienced the love of the Father in ways I never thought possible (See Office of Readings Wednesday 3rdweek of Lent). I experienced the omnipotent and eternal love of the Father which I came to understand as only a pinhead of the vastness of his love for me. Through that interior experience, I now know that it is in seeing with the eyes of the Father that I can best be a father for those I serve as bishop—and this came to light for me at the end of the retreat.

All through the course of the retreat I did not preach nor was I the main celebrant at any of the Masses. For me as a bishop this was a great sacrifice and one that gave me a deep appreciation for the role of the bishop. We usually celebrated Mass with over 100 seminarians and the other priests and deacons who were participating in the 30-day retreat. After we finished the retreat I was the main celebrant and preached the homily. During the homily I referred to the seminarians and priests there as “my dearest sons” urging them to deeper desire for union with the heart of the Trinity, with the God who is love (1 Jn 4, 16). Aware of the spiritual fatherhood of bishops, I have used those words in homilies for ordinations and the Chrism Masses with my priests. They are said with love, but I never have realized the possible impact of them.

After the Mass some of the seminarians came up to me and thanked me for referring to them as sons. Through those simple words they sensed the love of the Father. A priest, who was on the 30-day retreat with me, was quietly weeping and asked to speak to me. He came from a diocese that has been rocked by the sexual abuse scandal. He told me how over the last few years he had grown to not trust bishops, to resent them, and he was angry with bishops especially for the way they treated priests. When he had seen me on the first day of the retreat and found out that I was a bishop, he immediately transferred his deep feelings of anger, betrayal and resentment onto me. He prayed during the retreat, wondering why these feelings were so strongly planted in his heart. Then it struck him, he felt so deeply because in his heart he understood that I represented the spiritual father that had abandoned and betrayed him. He then went on to say that he experienced healing by watching me during the retreat and then hearing me call the seminarians and priests during the homily “my dear sons.” He wept with compunction and joy for he experienced the love of a bishop as father. I was overwhelmed, for the Father had responded to my prayer, “to see all through the eyes of the Father,” in ways unknown to me and healed the wounded heart of a priest. I could only lift up my heart in deep wondrous gratitude to the Father, “from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named (Eph 3, 14).”

Take me out to the ballgame

This afternoon, la famille and I went to the Indians game up in Cleveland. They were playing the Arizona Diamondbacks, and we won, 3 to 1! I do believe this is the first time I have been at a game that they won. Ha, the curse must be wearing off ;)

After the game, there was a very spectacular fireworks show. Mother has to work on the Fourth of July, so these are basically our fireworks for the year.

Also, this brings the Indians winning streak to eight games. I have no idea where they are in terms of their division; I haven't followed Cleveland, or baseball in general, since ... Well, for a few years. And this game did not enlighten me, since I was distracted by other pressing concerns. I did notice that every single Indians player looked to be about fourteen. You know you're getting grown up when the ballplayers are only a couple years older than you :)

The plans for Europe this Christmas have gotten slightly more concrete. Just slightly. There is a lot that could derail it. For instance, I really don't know if Mother can handle a whole foreign continent. And can the continent handle Mother? Hmmmm ;) I kind of doubt it ...

One word

Can't guess what it is?

See if you can after you read this brief story from the Washington Post

The End of Europe

By Robert J. Samuelson

Europe as we know it is slowly going out of business. Since French and Dutch voters rejected the proposed constitution of the European Union, we've heard countless theories as to why: the unreality of trying to forge 25 E.U. countries into a United States of Europe; fear of ceding excessive power to Brussels, the E.U. capital; and an irrational backlash against globalization. Whatever their truth, these theories miss a larger reality: Unless Europe reverses two trends -- low birthrates and meager economic growth -- it faces a bleak future of rising domestic discontent and falling global power. Actually, that future has already arrived ...

... It's hard to be a great power if your population is shriveling. Europe's birthrates have dropped well below the replacement rate of 2.1 children for each woman of childbearing age. For Western Europe as a whole, the rate is 1.5. It's 1.4 in Germany and 1.3 in Italy. In a century -- if these rates continue -- there won't be many Germans in Germany or Italians in Italy. Even assuming some increase in birthrates and continued immigration, Western Europe's population grows dramatically grayer, projects the U.S. Census Bureau. Now about one-sixth of the population is 65 and older. By 2030 that would be one-fourth, and by 2050 almost one-third ...

... A few countries (Britain, Ireland, the Netherlands) have acted, and there are differences between Eastern and Western Europe. But in general Europe is immobilized by its problems. This is the classic dilemma of democracy: Too many people benefit from the status quo to change it; but the status quo isn't sustainable. Even modest efforts in France and Germany to curb social benefits have triggered backlashes. Many Europeans -- maybe most -- live in a state of delusion. Believing things should continue as before, they see almost any change as menacing. In reality, the new E.U. constitution wasn't radical; neither adoption nor rejection would much alter everyday life. But it symbolized change and thereby became a lightning rod for many sources of discontent (over immigration in Holland, poor economic growth in France).

All this is bad for Europe -- and the United States. A weak European economy is one reason that the world economy is shaky and so dependent on American growth. Preoccupied with divisions at home, Europe is history's has-been. It isn't a strong American ally, not simply because it disagrees with some U.S. policies but also because it doesn't want to make the commitments required of a strong ally. Unwilling to address their genuine problems, Europeans become more reflexively critical of America. This gives the impression that they're active on the world stage, even as they're quietly acquiescing in their own decline.

So what's our one little mystery word?

C-O-N-T-R-A-C-E-P-T-I-O-N.

Obvious, eh.

Ohhhh, us stupid Catholics with our "Divorcing sex from its most profound purpose - creating new life - is damaging for individuals and bad for civilization!" schluck!

We should really get with the times.

/Sarcasm, in case I haven't laid it on thick enough.

Hat tip to AMDG.

Papa on a cell

This pilgrim handed Benedict a cell phone, and Papa was very happy to talk for a while!

I wonder what kind of cell-phone conversation you could have with the Supreme Pontiff. I personally would have been freaking out. What if you had trouble understanding that adorable German accent? And wouldn't it be horrible if you were having a nice chat and suddenly you started losing bars? "Uh oh, Holiness, you're breaking up!" I am sure, however, that for his own communications the Holy Father uses Verizon wireless, with its annoying "Can you hear me now?" commercials. So that never happens to him ... ;)

That's not the only thing Papa did at his Wednesday audience. If you read the story I linked above, you will find out that he also modeled a firefighter's helmet for the crowd; if you want to see a pic of that, you can go to my sister's blog, here.

Papa really seems to be enjoying his Wednesday audiences!

Graaaaaades

PUBLIC SPEAKING: A

INTRO TO FINE ARTS: A

INFO GATHERING: A

GENERAL PSY: A

Term Undergraduate: 4.0
Accumulative Undergraduate: 3.784

Hurray! Can anyone tell me if they recalculate Cumulative GPA each quarter? Because that doesn't seem to be moving very much. Grrrr. Maggie is frustrated with her Perpetually 3.7ish cumulative.

Antonio de Pereda

Spanish Baroque era painter (17th century).

"St. Anthony and the Christ Child" - isn't it beautiful? Above is just a detail of the painting, click the pic to see the full size version.

Cleveland diocese faces suit

Parishioners allege bishop allowed financial officers to divert $2 million

-Associated Press

CLEVELAND - A lawsuit filed by 36 members of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Cleveland accuses Bishop Anthony M. Pilla of allowing three financial officers to divert about $2 million in diocesan funds to their private businesses.

The parishioners ask for the diocese to be reimbursed by the officers in the lawsuit filed Monday in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court by attorney Santiago Feliciano Jr., former director of the Cleveland diocese's legal office.

The lawsuit accuses Joseph H. Smith, former chief financial officer of the diocese, of diverting more than $678,000; Thomas J. Kelley, director of the Catholic Cemetery Association for the diocese, of improperly taking more than $331,000; and Anton Zgoznik, assistant treasurer of the diocese, of taking $1 million ...

Oh, Anthony, Anthony! It would not surprise me if this turns out to be true, and that makes me so sad, because I really do love my Bishop as a father. But let's just say that I do not have a very high opinion of his leadership. At all. He stinks.

Link. (Hat tip to Ad Majorem Dei Gloraim)
username: nobody@bugmenot.com
Password: leavemealone
(Couresy of bugmenot.com)

FYI when you read this: "Signora Wild Boar" is not the woman's real name, obviously, it's probably a very apt description.

Blown clean away by a brush with Benedict

KATIE GRANT


...At the altar, all was chaos. An archbishop appeared, clearly trying to instruct a gaggle of confused altar servers on papal etiquette. An organ gave a few blasts, then choked. The white papal chair was moved hither and thither. And all the while, wave upon wave of priests, all in black cassocks and carrying neatly pressed surplices over their arms, materialised as if from nowhere. You couldn't believe how many. The crowd swelled and swelled. Now children in cheap Daz-white first communion dresses, papal knights in swirling cloaks or tabards, Catholic dignitaries and red-sashed cardinals began to jostle for position on serried rows of chairs.

Lots of pieces of the jigsaw got into the wrong place. Nuns got a rosary going, to which people bellowed their responses while talking on their mobiles. The police chewed gum, making no attempt to impose order or to rescue unwitting passers-by swept into the throng, never to escape. I couldn't help remarking to myself, with the cynicism of the detached observer, that all this bedlam and plastic piety was not at all British.

Then, quietly, the door of St John Lateran opened and something extraordinary happened. As the tops of the halberds carried by the Swiss Guard swam into view, every bit of cynicism and detachment deserted me. I found myself breathless.

The halberds moved forwards and, suddenly, the Pope was before us. He himself made nothing of his entry, but, as one, we swayed towards him. Tears streamed down the cheeks of the rottweiler nun, and, to my enormous surprise, down my own. Here was the living successor of St Peter, the guardian of the spirit at the heart of all Rome's gilded worldly treasures. Here was the Holy Father. When people clapped, I willingly joined in.

Astounded at my reaction, I expected it to pass. It did not. During the entire lengthy mass, with its mainly commonplace liturgy and dodgy singing, I remained moved in a way I did not find at all comfortable. I wanted my detachment back, but I couldn't find it.

And it did not end there. As it was Corpus Christi, when mass was over, the Pope, holding aloft the monstrance containing the blessed sacrament, came slowly down the steps to get into an open-topped Popemobile, a prie-dieu protected by a golden canopy settled on its flat-back. He was very close and looked very serious.
Then Signora Wild Boar called out his name - "Benedetto!" - and as he turned to acknowledge us, his face lightened and he smiled a smile of delighted sweetness before raising his arm to indicate that the blessed sacrament was more worthy of our attention. If Signora Wild Boar had not been quite so bristly, I'd have kissed her ...

... And this feeling of refreshment seems to have remained. I did many things in Rome and saw many sights. But even though I visited countless magnificent churches, an amphitheatre or two and several impossibly fashionable shops, the thing that remains sharpest is my chance encounter with an elderly man sporting bright white hair and the fisherman's ring. Pope Benedict XVI may not be blessed with the charisma of his predecessor, but my goodness, he still packs an Almighty punch.

Read the whole great article from The Scotsman.

Guess what day it is?

It's the Feast of St. Anthony!

Yay!

Yesterday I lit a candle at his shrine in Immaculate Conception. I kind of forgot it was his feast today. I'm glad I remembered. :)

Here's a fun game

It's called, "Rewrite (and Mock) the Moronic AFP Article." (May whatever pathetic and brief career I make for myself in journalism never find me in the employ of Agence France-Presse.)

Here we go! My improvements (and commentary) are in italics.

Their headline: Women in bid to become ordained
More accurate headline: Women in bid to become excommunicated

Nine women, including one Canadian and one American, plan to defy the Vatican and become the first female Roman Catholic priests and deacons ordained in North America.

Nine women, including one Canadian and one American, plan to defy the Vatican and play pretend with pretty vestments, "bishops" and "ordination" vows.

Organisers consider the location for the ceremony international waters between the United States and Canada where no diocese has jurisdiction and thus cannot interfere.

As a poster on The Curt Jester noted, it's too bad the Pope, as Universal Pastor, has spiritual jurisdiction over every square foot of the Earth.

"I only have my faith and my hope and what the global scene says to me that I believe it's time to take this step," said former nun Michele Birch-Conery, 65, who was ordained as a deacon last year in Europe.

"I only have my ego and my pride and my close attentiveness to whatever the popular culture is telling me that I believe it's time to try to get Benedict to reach for the bell, book and candle," said former nun Michele Birch-Conery, 65, who dressed up and played at being ordained a deacon last year in Europe.

She will be the first Canadian woman to be ordained as a priest next month.

"It is an immensely wounding part in our Catholic history to block women's ecclesiastical participation in orders. I think people have been closed to a deeper, fuller expression of their faith by having, in the hierarchy and levels of authority and decision-making, a male-only church," she said.

She will become the first Canadian woman to try to fraudulently pass herself off as a Catholic priest next month.

"It is extremely distressing to me that two-thousand-years worth of teaching, tradition, and doctrine have failed to accommodate my personal opinions. I think people have been closed to a deeper, fuller expression of their faith by having, in the hierarchy and levels of authority and decision-making, people with whom I disagree."

Fourteen women have already been ordained in similar river ceremonies in Europe in recent years and 65 others are planning to join their ranks soon.

Fourteen ladies have already dressed up in pretty vestments and play-acted the ordination rite in similar river ceremonies in Europe in recent years and 65 others want to join in the make-believe fun.

But, two of the women, Christine Mayr-Lumetzberger of Austria and Gisela Forster of Germany, were later secretly ordained as bishops by their male counterparts in the Roman Catholic church, insists Birch-Conery.

The two women bishops will perform the St Lawrence ordinations.

But, two of the women, Christine Mayr-Lumetzberger of Austria and Gisela Forster of Germany, later also played "episcopal ordination," with male counterparts in the Roman Catholic Church secretly pretending to be "Ordaining Bishops," insists Birch-Conery.

The two fake women bishops will perform the pretend St. Lawrence ordinations.

"This doesn't conform to the Catholic faith. Church teachings are clear: only men can be ordained," said Monseigneur Serge Poitras of the Apostolic Nunciature in Ottawa, noting that the former Pope John Paul II addressed the issue in 1994.

"People can do what they want. We don't have an army. We won't chase after them. All we can do is deplore such challenges to church doctrine and set the record straight," he said.

About 220 people will attend the ceremony and banquet aboard the boat which usually ferries tourists around the picturesque Thousand Islands on the St Lawrence River.

Some of the women are divorced, others married. Celibacy or sexual orientation is not considered, but years of religious study is a prerequisite, Birch-Conery said.

Some of the women keening over their frustrated lust for power are divorced, others married. Celibacy or sexual orientation is not considered, but years of studying made-up feminist twaddle masquerading as serious theology is a prerequisite, Birch-Conery said.

Once ordained, the women will not lead a flock or perform liturgies, but Birch-Conery has already been invited to talk about her faith with several small groups.

"We know we may be discredited. But, levels of faith expression have opened for me that I didn't have before. It's a calling for me," she said.

"We'll just have to see if this leads to change."

After their make-believe ordinations, the women will not lead a flock or pretend to conduct liturgies, but Birch-Conery has already been invited to share her heresy with several small, gullible groups.

"We know people might point out that we are full of crap, as it is physically impossible to ordain a woman to the priesthood. But, levels of ego-satisfaction have opened for me that I didn't have before. It's a calling for me, me, me, me."

"We'll just have to see if this leads to me getting official recognition for what I want."

And so ends the tour-de-farce that is the AFP article. You can read it here, Bugmenot username: fleepnbeeb, password: sheep.

In another article, Birch-Conery says that "We could be called to the gay and lesbian community here on the island. They might call me to do a blessing or marriage. I probably could become a marriage commissioner for British Columbia."

I bet you could, lady. I bet you could.

The reason these little "misunderstandings" happen is that no one studies metaphysics anymore. These people evidently think that conferring the sacraments is some kind of magic trick or something. Valid matter? Valid form? Who cares when you can have a wizard say the special ordination spell!

Hat tip to the Curt Jester for the link.

Howard Dean, Gaffe Machine

The DNC Chair has been having troublesome episodes of ... rhetorical excess? I would say "has lately been having" except, if he's putting his foot in his mouth, what else is new?

However, in past days the good doctor has been turning out gems at a rate that must be making the De Beers people jealous.

Behold:

On taking time during the work day to wait in poll lines:

"Well, Republicans, I guess, can do that, because a lot of them have never made an honest living in their lives."

On Republican Congressman Tom Delay:

"I think Tom DeLay ought to go back to Houston, where he can serve his jail sentence down there."

On the composition of the GOP:

"The Republicans are not very friendly to different kinds of people ... a pretty monolithic party. They all behave the same. They all look the same. It's pretty much a white Christian party."

What is super-funny about that last comment is that Chairman Dean's GOP counterpart - - the chairman of the Republican National Committee - happens to be a Jew.

What can I say? I would not be surprised if I Googled and found reports that on the day Dr. Dean was made DNC chair, Karl Rove was seen jumping up and down shouting "Christmas the whole year round! Christmas the whole year round!"

Link.

Back home at last

Well, I just got through with my first full day at home. Of course, it has only been two weeks since I was here last, so it's not so much of a readjustment. The big readjustment will come when I finally start unpacking. Yes, are you surprised, I have yet to crack open even one suitcase? I am most definitely not looking forward to lugging them up the steps ... Ow ...

My final exams went well, or at least, as well as can be expected. My Introduction to Fine Arts exam was the worst. My psychology and public speaking and my annotated bibliography were all fine, however, so maybe it will all balance out. I'm hoping for a 4.0 this quarter, but I think that IART is going to drag me down :(

Before I left school, Lyndsey and Lauren came by to meet my mother. I bet they found that interesting! ;) I was very pleased that there were no deaths. My dorm room got a clean bill of health from the RA who inspected it, although honestly he didn't seem to care very much, one way or the other. I got thirty bucks back for my books at College Book Store. They're usually very fair, if somewhat psychotic about what books they will buy back and what they make you take home to burn for heat.

Back in Hudson means back to Immaculate Conception, although I am thinking about trying the early, early Mass at St. Mary's. Just to see if they do a little bit less damage to the liturgy, since I suspect that 8:30 is a bit too early for the Insane Liturgist Posse to be up and about ;)

Benedict Condemns Gay Marriage

St. John Lateran, where the Holy Father spoke

ROME -- Pope Benedict XVI, in his first clear pronouncement on homosexual "marriages" since his election, yesterday condemned same-sex unions as fake and "expressions of anarchic freedom" that threatened the future of the family.

The pope, who was elected in April, also condemned divorce, artificial birth
control, trial marriages and free-style unions, saying all of those practices were dangerous for the family.

"Today's various forms of dissolution of marriage, free unions, trial marriages as well as the pseudo-matrimonies between people of the same sex, are instead expressions of anarchic freedom which falsely tries to pass itself off as the true liberation of man," he said.

Benedict spoke to families at Rome's Basilica of St. John Lateran on an issue that has become highly contentious around the world, particularly in Europe and the United States.

In April, parliament in traditionally Catholic Spain gave initial approval to a law legalizing homosexual "marriage." It is widely expected to be approved by the Senate and become law.

Homosexual "marriages" are already legal in several European countries.

However, just last week, California's Assembly killed off a bill that would have allowed homosexual "marriage" in the most populous U.S. state.

The pope, who headed the Vatican's doctrinal department for more than two decades before his elevation to the papacy, said "pseudo freedoms" such as homosexual "marriages" were based on what he called the "banalization of the human body" and of man himself.

Benedict also spoke of the family's vital role for the future of society, reading his 14-page speech in a steady, professorial manner while seated at a writing table.

"Matrimony and the family are not, in reality, a casual sociological construction or the fruit of specific historic and economic situations," he said.

Aurelio Mancuso, president of Arcigay, Italy's largest homosexual rights group, said the pope was incorrect because "gay unions are no threat to heterosexual marriages."

The 78-year-old pope's wide-ranging speech, interrupted by applause several times, touched on themes such as human sexuality and freedom. It showed his background as one of the Roman Catholic Church's leading theologians.

"The greatest expression of freedom is not the search for pleasure," he said, adding that society seemed to want to tear down the moral goal posts he said were needed for its future.

"Today, a particularly insidious obstacle to [moral] education is the overwhelming presence in our society and culture of a type of relativism that recognizes nothing as definitive," he said.

Link.

Yay for Anglicans with backbone!

Anglican bishops in Africa who are refusing millions of dollars from liberal American Episcopal sources to protest homosexual clergy say the price of their protest has been higher than they thought.

"To be honest, there is not enough money for the needs we have in Rwanda after the [1994] genocide," said Rwandan Bishop John Rucyahana of the Diocese of Shyira, "but if money is being used to disgrace the Gospel, then we don't need it."

Read the entire article

If it was not against the laws of God, Man, and Nature, I would like to do some selective cloning here ;)

I am an adult at last!

Wow! I'm just about all grown up, I'm going to have an apartment next year! Finally! I am one of the Overlord Adults! Oh wait, perhaps that won't quite work, since I am utterly, completely, and hopelessly naive about the world, like a three-year-old. Hmmm ...

I said I would blog on what the new apartment is like for next year, so here we go! It is a very nice apartment complex for students, off-campus, but not too far. There is a bus service that runs during the week. I am going to be on my own in terms of getting to Sunday Mass; but oh well! It is about a mile away from St. Paul's, so it won't kill me (although I hope on hot days it doesn't make me all sweaty). I wonder what it will be like in winter ... Slippery? ... hmmm ...

The good news is that the bus comes before 8 on weekdays, so I shouldn't have any trouble getting to daily Mass. I am not going to go the first Monday of school, however, because I'm not sure how long Father takes with it, and I have a class at 9:10.

We went in to see the model apartment, again, this week; the rooms are very nice - much bigger than my cave in Lincoln Hall, where I live in now. There is also a kitchen area with a refrigerator and clothes washer and dryer, as well as a dishwasher and a few pots and pans and a toaster and that kind of thing. The little "family room" area is also very well furnished, but I think we might be putting some of the furniture in storage. Overall, it is a very nice place; you can see the website here.

It is also on the first floor. This means A. We can play Dance Dance Revolution to our hearts' content, without worrying about annoying people below (or should I say, my roomies can, since I've mercifully never subjected them to my intense and embarrassing clumsiness, LOL) and B. For the first time ever in my life, I will not have to climb a flight of steps to get to my bedroom. Hurray!

Go figure

In California, a fourteen year old can not use a tanning machine without her mom's permission.

Similar restrictions apply to ear and body piercings, as well as tattoos.

But the same fourteen year old can get an abortion (um, major surgery?) without Mom or Dad ever knowing she's pregnant.

One day left! One day left!

Tomorrow is The Last Day. Not of the world, of the school year! I should really start packing and cleaning. Yah. That would be helpful.

I have been "thinking" a lot lately ... ooo, you know what that means! Disaster! LOL. No, I am not changing my major to philosophy, but I have been turning over in my mind the mantra one hears over and over again, especially in a university setting: "What is true for you is not true for me, it's all relative." Which I reject, of course.

What are the qualities of truth? It would be rather futile, not to mention exhausting, to try to list them all. However, I would like to expand on two characteristics of truth, which are in and of themselves interesting because they are seemingly contradictory:

First, truth is unitive. Anyone who has ever been involved in a great cause could tell you this. Those who fought for civil rights in the middle of the twentieth century, for instance, can relate the intense feeling of communion and close filial ties with others who were involved in the struggle. They experienced a union with their fellow men. They knew the justice of their cause; they knew that it was true and right. This effect can not be achieved in the lives of those who know they are working for a lie. In the Soviet Union, for example, there was very little true unity, especially in the higher Party ranks, Stalinist propaganda aside. Those in the Party knew full well that the "workers' revolution" was quite a farce, as the peasants starved and the elites lived comfortably. Stalin maintained obedience to his lie, not through the unitive enthusiasm of his underlings, but through the threat of violence and reprisal. This was his only weapon. It has been observed that many will die for a cause they believe to be true; few, if any, will freely give their lives for a cause they know to be a lie. Truth binds and unites men, both to each other and to truth itself.

Another chief characteristic of truth is that it is divisive. Hold on! Didn't I just get through talking about how truth unites? Yes, but it also divides, by its very definition. To say something is "true" is to automatically divide that which directly contradicts it into a separate category, that which is "false."

For a very simple example: If it is a true statement that my socks are white, then it is necessarily false that they are black. Or green, or yellow, or whatever. This is something that the moral relativists - "what is true for you is not true for me" - do not understand. A relativist might reply, "But what if your socks are checkered? Then both "The socks are black" or "The socks are white" would be true statements."

I would answer: No, this is not the case. In that situation, it would not be proper to say that the socks are either black OR white, but simply that "the socks are checkered." An inability to call things by their proper names, even when the proper name is obvious, is another unfortunate quality of postmodern society ...

The divisiveness of truth also has interesting religious implications (HA, you knew I would get around to this!) One sees in many people a denial of religion but an emphasis on spirituality. Often you will hear people say that their "spirituality" involves finding out "truths," but that there is no one "truth"; all beliefs are equal in terms of veracity. These "spiritual" people, suffice it to say, are not actually seeking the "truth," since they do not countenance the divisive element, which divides into true and false. Rather, it would be more appropriate to say that they are searching for "guideposts for being a good person" or "knowledge" or "transcendence" or a "profound spiritual peace." It would be ridiculous and arrogant for me to say, "Oh, you wicked, wicked people, trying to find transcendent experience and rules for being a good person!" Still, one should not confuse this with a search for truth.

I will finish by noting a concrete application of this dual nature of truth. Many Christians feel hurt by the Catholic Church's restriction of Holy Communion only to those who are both in full communion with the Church and free of mortal sin. After all, if one is baptized into Christ, shouldn't one share communion with all other Christians?

Unfortunately, Christianity has become quite fractured since the first rupture, about a thousand years ago, when unity between the western part of the Church and the eastern part was lost. The west, which retained allegiance to the successor to Peter, is the Catholic Church we know today; the east is the Orthodox Church of today. Of course, the Orthodox churches - Greek, Russian, etc. - are fully little "c" catholic (that is, "universal") churches; they have valid holy orders, they believe in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, they have all seven sacraments.

A more serious division came during the Reformation, out of which the Protestant "ecclesial communities" - Lutherans, Methodists, Anglicans, Baptists, Presbyterians etc - were birthed. Of course, one refers to them as churches in casual conversation; but one can not call them churches, technically, because of the sacramental deficiencies. Members of these communities can not be admitted to Holy Communion because there is no "unity in the truth," even with regard to what they would be receiving; I believe some very, very High Church Lutherans and Anglicans believe in the transubstantial Presence of the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of the Lord in what once was bread; most Lutherans, evangelical Anglicans, and other Protestants do not. Can you help me out here, Shannon, as far as the Anglicans go? I hear different things different places.

It is certainly not a personal thing, or a way of saying that the Holy Father doesn't love you, or that the Catholic Church considers you a bad person. There is a lot of ecumenical exchange, especially with evangelical "bible-based" Christians, who are great partners in the pro-life cause; and I can imagine why they would feel terrible that they can't receive the Sacrament along with their fellow Christians who are Catholic at the huge events like the Mass for Life, which is during the March for Life in Washington. But to ignore the important, fundamental differences between us would undermine the meaning of communion itself; it would create a false unity. True communion can come only among those in true unity, to those who "have no divisions among them" (see Corinthians 1:10). And true unity can only come through the truth, proclaimed and accepted by all who receive.

I love tying everything together at the end :)

Whew

I took my public speaking final exam today ... Or should I say, yesterday? Since it IS technically Tuesday.

I think it went pretty well, there were only a few questions I wasn't sure about. Only forty questions total - that certainly makes me nervous! Of course, it didn't take very long to complete, and for that, I should be grateful, since I need as much time as I can get to ... Study for more finals! My Introduction to Fine Arts final is on Wednesday, and my annotated bibliography is due then, too. I am not really concerned about IART, even though this test is on music, not exactly my forte. I went to class every single day, so I'm sure I got all the notes. Unless I drifted off in class ... That's a definite possibility, if you know me ... ;)

I forgot to mention (I forget a lot of things nowadays) that on Saturday, Lyndsey and Lauren and I went to Ruby Tuesday's for a last dining-out meal. It was very, very good; I had the chicken quesadilla. Imagine that! Me, passing up the chicken tenders for the Mexican-themed food! Anyway, we had a very friendly waitress, and I would say that the highlight of the evening came when she asked us to order drinks. Like I always do, I ordered water, and then I paused and uttered the immortal question: "Is the water free?" From the look on her face, the poor girl wanted to smack me upside the head. Okay, okay, water is free everywhere. But you can never be too careful ... And you all know how stingy I am! LOL, one fault among many.

Anyway, that was the running joke for the rest of the meal, as I exclaimed with glee over my free water when it came, and the waitress wished me luck in finding other free things, as she brought us the bill. The girls explained to her that I do not get out much. This is certainly true :)

Lauren was also very sweet on Monday and bought me a fudge ice cream bar when we all went to Dairy Queen after examining a model of our apartment for next year (I'll write about that later). Having spent all my cash, I was going to just wait in the hot, hot car while they got snackys (of course I couldn't stand the pulsating, throbbing heat after about thirty seconds, and I followed them in). However, Lauren so nicely bought me fudgey ice cream! I have nice friends!

I better get back to work. Ugh, say a prayer for me.

Benedict on the Eucharist

... God is not the great unknown, whom we can but dimly conceive. We need not fear, as heathen do, that he might be capricious and bloodthirsty or too far away and too great to hear men. He is there, and we always know where we can find him, where he allows himself to be found and is waiting for us. Today this should once more sink into our hearts: God is near. God knows us. God is waiting for us in Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament. Let us not leave him waiting in vain! Let us not, through distraction and lethargy, pass by the greatest and most important thing life offers us. We should let ourselves be reminded, by today's reading, of the wonderful mystery kept close within the walls of our churches. Let us not pass it heedlessly by. Let us take time, in the course of the week, in passing, to go in and spend a moment with the Lord who is so near. During the day our churches should not be allowed to be dead houses, standing empty and seemingly useless. Jesus Christ's invitation is always being proffered from them. This sacred proximity to us is always alive in them. It is always calling us and inviting us in. This is what is lovely about Catholic churches, that within them there is, as it were, always worship, because the eucharistic presence of the Lord dwells always within them.

And a second thing: let us never forget that Sunday is the Lord's day. It is not an arbitrary decision of the Church, requiring us to attend Mass on Sunday. This is never a duty laid upon us from without; it is the royal privilege of the Christian to share in paschal fellowship with the Lord, in the Paschal Mystery. The Lord has made the first day of the week his own day, on which he comes to us, on which he spreads the table for us and invites us to share with him. We can see, in the Old Testament passage at which we are looking, that the Israelites saw in the presence of God, not a burden, but the basis of their pride and their joy. And indeed the Sunday fellowship with the Lord is not a burden, but a grace, a gift, which lights up the whole week, and we would be cheating ourselves if we withdrew from it ...

From his book, God Is Near Us. Read the whole homily here.

Why study for finals

When you can procrastinate?

Old Favorites:

The Helicopter Game
Smack the Penguin
The Square Game

Some new stuff:
Hedgehog Slingshot Game (time-consuming)
Pulp Fiction, in 30 seconds, and re-enacted by bunnies!

Warning: Lots of violence and swearing, so watch at your own risk, oh ye with virgin ears!

Well, it went better than I thought it would

In case you were wondering, the speech I gave on the Humane Society on Thursday went okay. Or at least I thought it did. I was just focused on getting it over with. I think the Lord permits these little annoyances for good reason, the same way He permits other, far greater evils; still, it would be better if one could simply skate through life without any "Oh, I guess I gotta suck it up" moments.

Next week is final exams, I hope I can handle it! The "big" thing is going to be the annotated bibliography I have to write for my Information Gathering class. I also have to write a three page introduction and a two page conclusion. Huh? Definitely have no clue what to write about. Oh well, I'm sure I'll end up slapping something together. High quality, certainly, he he he.

I should mention that on Thursday night, I napped for about four hours - from 6:30 until 10. I am not sure if that actually qualifies as a "nap" since naps are supposed to be of short duration, aren't they?

Also on Thursday I was treated to the Great Faked Fall in the Shower by Lyndsey and Lauren, who love me soooo much that they concocted an elaborate plot by which to lure me over to Gamertsfelder Hall for a visit! ;) Of course, since I have the critical thinking skills of a small child, I fell for it. The story was basically that Lyndsey had fallen in the shower and split her head open, spilling blood eeeeverywhere and requiring a visit to the hospital. When I got over there, she was lying on their futon with an ice pack and a "bandage" on her head. It was really very convincing! He he he, eventually they 'fessed up and fed me yummy, yummy smores. Hurray! An evening with no serious injuries and much yum is always good!

They also had me drink a whole glass of tea. I have never had tea before, besides green tea; I have decided that I hate all tea and will never live in Great Britain, unless there is a sudden massive cultural change and they switch to having Afternoon Smore Time.

Mmmm, smores. Chocolate.

Congratulations

To a seminarian-blogger, Dana Christensen, who is being ordained to the priesthood today for the Diocese of Sioux Falls. In case you were wondering, he is one of the "Good Guys," by which I mean very orthodox, as are most of our seminarians nowadays! (Hurray!)

Here's a picture of him when he preached at this year's Christmas Novena at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary:



(As you can see, he is in the robes of an ordained Deacon, which is the last step before the priesthood)

Let's all pray for Fr. Christensen as he begins his priestly ministry.

Incidentally, his blog is called The Meandering Mind of a Seminarian, which obviously won't work anymore! I wonder what the new name will be! :)

The Real Meaning of Sex

The entire piece is very good, and I recommend reading it all at this link, from Touchstone Magazine. I'll just post an excerpt:

... There were about four or five men and two women, and they all looked to be in their twenties. As pro-lifers marched by, they chanted various things, like “Women’s liberation, we won’t go back.” Then they sang the following song, to the tune of “Jesus Loves the Little Children”:

Jesus should have been aborted
Mary wanted a career
Abortion is a woman’s right
So we won’t give up the fight
Until you Christian ** go away.

... Then a young man who had already passed by came back to say something. Maybe he’d just thought of it, or maybe he said it to his friends and they told him to go back. He walked up to the group, looking nervous, and said: “You guys don’t even know the real meaning of sex.”

He turned quickly and walked away.

It took the group a moment to register what he’d said, and then they began to laugh. A young man said, “Yeah, well, at least we’re having more of it than you are.” One of the women said, “What does that even mean?!?”

I wondered the same thing. What did he mean? What is the meaning of sex?

...

I don’t know that I can give a short answer to the question of what the “real meaning of sex” is. I speak from a generation that made a lot of mistakes, and when I see how badly we’ve equipped our children to make sense of their own lives and relationships, it looks pretty sad. I guess the clue I would draw is that nature shows us that sex is not just for reproduction but also for that deep human connection we hunger for. It’s designed to be part of healing the essential human condition of loneliness.

This is why Christians have always had an interest in how to handle sexuality. This deep human experience of alienation and loneliness, our difficulty in connecting with each other in love, is an aspect of the shattering of our relationship with God. It’s probably not an exaggeration to say that all religions recognize that there is something wrong in the universe, either with our relationship to God and each other, or in our perception of that relationship. We feel out of sync. Every religion tries to address that experienced disconnect by helping humans recover unity through prayer, meditation, serving the poor, or other means.

Christians believe that God took the initiative to repair the damage by coming to earth in human form. This means that he blessed and affirmed the human body, the body he made at the beginning of creation. He showed that it is possible for a human body to contain the presence of God.

In Christ we, too, can become “partakers of the divine nature,” as St. Peter says; we take on the presence of God like a coal takes on the illumination and warmth of fire. We live “in Christ” as St. Paul says, filled with the healing presence of God. Being bearers of God’s light means that we’re able to love each other and repair the tragic brokenness among the human race.

It is a sign, in fact a sacrament, of that union when two people unite with each other for a lifetime. We can’t love each other very well. We do so in spite of flaws and failures, continuing to offer active love no matter what. Offering this love changes the person who gives it, molding him or her into the image of God.

Receiving this love, even this imperfect love, changes the person who receives it, day by day restoring him to the likeness of God. From all we can see in nature, humans are designed to mate for a lifetime, so that even when you’re old and gray and nobody else in the world would find you sexy, you can still look over at a person who loves you just as much as he did when you were young.

Ohhhh

I am so nervous about my speech tomorrow! There is nothing for me to do except A. Pray and B. Think about the "Pulp Fiction" 30 second bunnies re-enactment coming June 3!

You can also read a brief interview with the bunnies' creator, here.

Yay, bunnies.