Fall quarter grades

It has occurred to me that the way I usually blog about my grades, with the course name and the letter grade next to it, is maybe a bit conceited and show-offy. So I will just say that my quarter GPA was 4.0, which raises my cumulative grade point from 3.7843 to 3.8143. Finally, the cumulative rose! After about a year of trying!

But I didn't get any A pluses, just As. Apparently Ohio University does not give them out; I kind of want to write to Scripps and ask them if students who want the "plus" have to tattoo "Thomas Hodson is God" on their foreheads or something. I would definitely never agree to do that since:

1. Tattoos are very nehhhhh for me
2. I don't know Mr. Hodson personally, but what little I do know doesn't make me wildly enthusiastic about him
3. Mr. Hodson may in fact be a very nice person, but the fact is, he is not divine. May he have many years as Director, anyway.

I hope everyone else did well. My magazine prof must have liked my cemetery piece. It kind of bothers me that I don't get to read what her comments were. Surely it wouldn't be out of line for me to drop by her office and ask to have a look-see?

The non-European history class turned out okay, too. (After I got a 78 or something on the midterm!) I think the professor felt bad about that test, because he wrote the final in such a way that it was rather on the level of paint-by-numbers. And he practically stuffed us with extra credit. Hurray for Korean movies!

Just awful

From the London Times:

A government agency is launching an inquiry into doctors’ reports that up to 50 babies a year are born alive after botched National Health Service abortions.

The investigation, by the Confidential Enquiry into Maternal and Child Health (CEMACH), comes amid growing unease among clinicians over a legal ambiguity that could see them being charged with infanticide...

...Doctors are increasingly uneasy about aborting babies who could be born alive. “If viability is the basis on which they set the 24-week limit for abortion, then the simplest answer is to change the law and reduce the upper limit to 18 weeks,” said Campbell, who last year published a book showing images of foetuses’ facial expressions and “walking” movements taken with a form of 3-D ultrasound.

Article.

This happens in America, too. In fact, it happens often enough that in 2000 the Congress passed the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, which stated that children who made it outside the womb could not simply be killed or left to die without medical care. The congressional testimony included horrible stories from nurses who witnessed botched abortions, where the newborn child was often simply left to die - Jill Stanek, Shelley Lowe etc. Of course, that didn't stop thirteen Democrats - and TWO REPUBLICANS - in the U.S. House from voting against the bill. It nevertheless passed, 380-15; the Senate later also approved the bill, 98-0.

The fact that this had to be addressed at all is sickening enough, I'd say.

My favorite icon

The Theotokos of Vladimir (also called "The Virgin of Vladimir."

For my less-theologically-minded readers: If you're not up on your Greek, "Theotokos" means "Mother of God." Eastern Catholics and Eastern Orthodox often refer to the Blessed Virgin this way.

This particular icon was supposedly painted by St. Luke and given as a gift to the Duke of Kiev in 1131. It found its way to the city of Vladimir, where the beautiful Assumption Cathedral was built to hold it; eventually it wound up in the Cathedral of the Dormition in Moscow. As you might imagine, the 1,000 year old image has suffered some damage over time. I read somewhere that, over the centuries, would-be restorers have repainted the icon many times over the years; only the faces of the Madonna and Christ remain original.

In my art class last quarter we studied the Vladimirskaya. The Virgin's eyes are so expressive of her sorrow that it's enough to induce sadness and guilt in any viewer with the slightest bit of sensitivity and conscience.




A closer look:

Plowing through my library

Over the last couple days I took advantage of my time in Hudson to sift through the two long bookshelves in the room I share (or shared, when we lived at home) with my sister. My parents always believed in keeping the children well-stocked with books, some of them a bit too sophisticated for good manners. For instance, I know for a fact that my fourth-grade teacher found it disturbing that at reading time I usually pulled out my well-worn copy of The Fountainhead.

Luckily for me, the only other Ayn Rand selection in our household was Atlas Shrugged. What can I say? There is nothing like a long, boring tirade from John Galt to cure a soul of any Objectivist leanings.

In pulling the books off the shelves, I was amused to find four copies of Edith Hamilton's Mythology, two of C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters, three of Louis Nizer's My Life in Court, a very fine edition of Quiller-Couch's Oxford Book of English Verse (and the 1970s Helen Gardner update) as well as two copies of All Quiet on the Western Front. Now we see where all of Mother and Daddy's money got to.

Anyway, among my many finds was one of those classics which well-bred people should always have handy but which one is never really obliged to read - Alexis de Toqueville's Democracy in America. An abridged version, I have to admit. As I was paging through those unread but no doubt very erudite pages, I noticed a few paragraphs that seemed pretty interesting:

... America is the most democratic country in the world, and it is at the same time (according to reports worthy of belief) the country in which the Roman Catholic religion makes most progress. At first sight, this is surprising...

...At the present time, more than in any preceding age, Roman Catholics are seen to lapse into infidelity, and Protestants to be converted to Roman Catholicism. If the Roman Catholic faith be considered within the pale of the Church, it would seem to be losing ground; without that pale, to be gaining it. Nor is this difficult of explanation. The men of our days are naturally little disposed to believe; but, as soon as they have any religion, they immediately find in themselves a latent instinct which urges them unconsciously towards Catholicism. Many of the doctrines and practices of the Romish Church astonish them; but they feel a secret admiration for its discipline, and its great unity attracts them. If Catholicism could at length withdraw itself from the political animosities to which it has given rise, I have hardly any doubt but that the spirit of the age which appears to be so opposed to it would become so favorable as to admit of its great and sudden advancement.

This seems to make reference to what would later happen at the Second Vatican Council, when the Church noted that the time for monarchies had passed and the democratic form of government was best for humanity.

De Toqueville goes on to make this rather prophetic statement:

...I am inclined to believe that ... our posterity will tend more and more to a division into only two parts - some relinquishing Christianity entirely, and others returning to the Church of Rome.

This is eerily true today. Mainline Christianity is on the wane, with its adherents for the most part being lost to either secularism or more apostolic faiths - although, so far there seem to be three divisions rather than two: Those who relinquish Christianity, those who return to Rome, and those who embrace the evangelical movement. Of course one imagines that eventually the three will devolve into the two De Toqueville posits.

He also makes this comment:

Although the Christians of America are divided into a multitude of sects, they all look upon their religion in the same light. This applies to Roman Catholicism as well as to the other forms of belief. There are no Romish priests who show less taste for the minute individual observances, for extraordinary or peculiar means of salvation, or who cling more to the spirit, and less to the letter, of the law, than the Roman Catholic priests of the United States. Nowhere is that doctrine of the Church which prohibits the worship reserved to God alone from being offered to the saints, more clearly inculcated or more generally followed. Yet the Roman Catholics of America are very submissive and very sincere...

Ehhhhh ... You see, I agree with the first part of his analysis, but somehow I fear that some parts of the Church in America have "grown" out of the "submissive and very sincere" label. Alas, would that it were not so.

Muffled congratulations

I am employed! At least, for Christmas break.

I am going to be an "Engraver" at some mysterious little outfit in Twinsburg called GQ Enterprises. That is, I will engrave names and other information on those disgusting "PERSONALIZED!" items one sees advertised in stores like Things Remembered and catalogues like Lillian Vernon. (Shudder. One downside to having a permanent mailing address is that one begins to receive the dreaded Lillian Vernon Christmas catalogue with its endless pages of grotesque novelty items (e.g. "Home is Where the Mom Is" throw pillows) and its photograph of Ms. Vernon - you know, the picture where she weirdly looks younger every year?)

I got the job through Kelly Services, of course. I start on Tuesday and I work through December 21 or thereabouts. It pays $8.50 an hour, but if I don't call off the entire time, I get a 50 cent raise for every hour I work. The hours are 4-10 pm, Monday through Friday; that should keep me busy while still offering me plenty of sleep-in time. I was going to see about working with my friend Shannon at our friendly local Panera; alas, I was seduced by the higher wages. Hopefully the job isn't too mind-bending or stressful. No customer interaction (I don't think) so that's better, for everybody ;)

I initially thought I was going to have to do gift wrapping. Gift wrapping! Anyone who has ever received a "wrapped" gift from me knows the proportions of that potential disaster. Thank goodness, the general public will be spared my "talents."

So, if you open up your personalized and engraved Golf Ball Picture Frame/Clock on Christmas Day and find your name misspelled, you know who to send you angry e-mails to!

I bow to the power of the meme

Caught it from A Little Flower Garden:

Three names I go by:
1.Margaret 2.Maggie 3.Maggles

Three screen names I have had:
Maggyie, Primrosse ... that's it, I think!

Three physical things I like about myself:
1. My eyes 2. Small hands 3. Fairly well-arranged teeth

Three physical things I don't like about myself:
1.Gross feet 2. Ski-jump nose 3. Biiiig mouth

Three parts of my heritage:
1. Irish 2. Austrian 3. Romanian

Three things that scare me:
1. Large, mean dogs 2. Dying in a state of mortal sin 3. Failing a final exam

Three of my everyday essentials:
1.Prayer 2. The internet 3. the Rosary (Okay, not every day ... but who's perfect?)

Three of my favorite musical artists:
1. Mozart 2. Ace of Base (Go ahead and laugh!) 3. Johnny Cash

Three of my favorite songs:
1.Mozart's Requiem 2.It's a Beautiful Life 3. Hurt (by Cash)

Three things I want/have in a relationship:
1.Love 2. Trust 3. Security

Three physical things about the opposite sex that appeal to me: I have to keep the three things my sister picked:
1.Boys in uniform 2.Boys in ties and cufflinks 3.Boys with a Rosary in their pockets

Three of my favorite hobbies:
1.Reading 2.Writing 3.Pursuing numerous nerdy Catholic activities.

Three things I want to do really badly right now:
1. Satisfy my terrible morbidity and visit Jack Chick's site. (People like him really do still exist!) 2. Go wolf down some of my mother's freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies 3. Go through my blogroll for the fourth time today

Three careers I've considered:
1.Journalist 2. Psychologist 3. Lawyer. I would say "nun" except it's not a career - it's a calling.

Three Places I want to vacation:
1.Rome 2. Lourdes 3. England

Three kids names I like:
1.Alice 2. John 3. Margaret Mary

Three things I want to do before I die:
1.Figure out my vocation 2.Meet the Holy Father 3. Make a good confession (not that I haven't before, it's just certainly something I'd like to do right before I die!)

Three ways that I am stereotypically a girl:
1.Very studious 2. Very quiet 3. Like to wear skirts

Three ways that I am stereotypically a boy: 1. I can be messy when I eat 2. Am kind of a hopeless cook 3. Enjoy watching most sports

Three celeb crushes:
I am still very fond of Colin Firth. Rather over Orlando Bloom, I'm afraid :( Other than that, I haven't been keeping up with who's new...

Three people I would like to see post this meme:

I think I will let this meme die a natural death with me ;) Unless any of my readers wants to do it! If so, be my guest!

Ah, the royal cape

As you can see, it was a cold and windy day in St. Peter's Square on Wednesday.

This is Papa and ... I know I've seen this particular episcopal specimen before. ::Kicks self::



Papa gets some help from his private secretary



Papa imparts the Apostolic blessing

Let the media distortions begin

Check out the lovely headline. It practically breathes: "Another missive from the nasty, elderly celibate men." Super, super objective. Way to be, AP!

Vatican Closes Door on Gay Seminarians

By NICOLE WINFIELD, Associated Press Writer

VATICAN CITY - The Vatican is toughening its stand against gay candidates for the priesthood, specifying in a new document that even men with "transitory" homosexual tendencies must overcome their urges for at least three years before entering the clergy.

A long-awaited "Instruction," due to be released next week, was posted Tuesday on the Internet by the Italian Catholic news agency Adista. A church official who has read the document confirmed its authenticity; he asked that his name not be used because the piece has not been published by the Vatican.

Conservative Roman Catholics who have decried the "gay subculture" in seminaries will likely applaud the policy because it clarifies what the Vatican expects of seminarians and their administrators.

You can read the full story here.

I noticed that while the article quotes one gay activist and one critic of the Vatican's stand, the writer forgot to get a quote from any of the "Conservative Roman Catholics... likley to applaud the policy." They must have accidentally left out the famous NYT online copy editing gaffe, "Need some quote from supporter." ;)

Judging from my personal experiences during my few recent ill-spent years of studying under the professional journalists at Scripps, I have to say that I doubt that Ms. Winfield deliberately left out "some quote from supporter." In the heat of the deadline moment, it probably didn't occur to her that there are actually people who, you know, actually admire the Pope, and stuff. Because the vast majority of the people she works with (and for) don't.

Contrary to popular conservative belief, most journalists do have a high-level commitment to objectivity. They don't write ridiculously-biased articles like this one out of malice (although some do). It's just that when you, a salmon, inhabit a tiny corner of the ocean occupied entirely by other salmon, who swim like salmon, think like salmon, and spawn like salmon, you don't often get the idea that somewhere out there in that big blue sea there could be... Tuna. Some of whom would make fantastic sources.

To finish with my painful aquatic metaphor: This AP article is pretty fishy. And it smells like it, too.

Pilgrims at the Basilica of St. Francis in Assisi

(On a rather foggy day)



My sister blogs about Papa's recent reining-in of the Franciscans in St. Francis' hometown.

Don Camillo!

One of my strange little interests is "The Little World of Don Camillo" books by Giovanni Guareschi. First published in the early 50s, they have since gone out of print. However, they are wonderful and were quite popular, and actually, several movies were made out of the books. Basically, the series is about an Italian priest, Don Camillo, and his rivalry with a local Communist, Peppone. Of course, Don Camillo adheres strongly to the Catholic doctrine that comes down strongly against socialism; Peppone, while still showing up at Mass, having his baby baptized, and generally going in halfway with the Church, insists that "the People's Revolution is at hand!" etc. He has quite a strong following in the little town on the Po River, and sometimes the local Party can get a little bit out of hand in challenging religion. The priest, however, has Christ Himself for an active advisor, and of course, being an Italian, he responds to the Communists with great vigor ...

From Crime and Punishment:

...It was on Easter morning that Don Camillo had found a colossal chocolate egg tied up with a red silk ribbon on his doorstep. On closer inspection, it turned out to be a formidable egg that resembled chocolate but was actually a two-hundred-pound bomb shorn of its pins and painted a nice rich brown. The donor was not hard to guess, for there was a card attached which read "Happy Eester" and its receipt had been carefully planned. The church square thronged with people all eyeing Don Camillo and enjoying his discomfort.

Don Camillo kicked the egg which, naturally, remained immovable.

"It's pretty heavy!" someone shouted.

"Needs a bomb-removal squad!" suggested another voice.

"Try blessing it and see if it doesn't walk off of its own accord!" cried a third voice.

Don Camillo turned pale and his knees began to tremble. Then he bent down and with his immense hands grasped the bomb by its extremities.

"Lord!" whispered Don Camillo desperately.

"Heave ho! Don Camillo," replied a quiet voice that came from the high altar.

Slowly and implacably Don Camillo straightened his back with the enormous mass of iron in his hands. He stood for a moment contemplating the crowd and then set out. He left the church square and step by step, slow and inexorable as fate, crossed the big Square. The crowd followed in silence, amazed. On reaching the far end of the Square, opposite the Party headquarters, he stopped. And the crowd stopped, too.

"Lord," whispered Don Camillo desperately.

"Heave ho! Don Camillo," came a rather anxious voice from the now distant high altar of the church.

Don Camillo collected himself, then with one sudden movement brought the great weight up to his chest. Another effort and the bomb began slowly to rise higher, watched by the now frightened crowd.

One moment the bomb was poised above Don Camillo's head, the next it lay on the ground exactly in front of the Party headquarters.

Don Camillo looked at the crowd: "Returned to sender," he observed in a loud voice. "Easter is spelled with an A. Correct and redeliver."

The crowd made way for him, and Don Camillo returned triumphantly to the rectory...

Full story.

Wrapped it up

My finals are finally over. I am fairly confident I got As on three of them; my feature writing assigment could go either way ... ehhh ...

However, I'm glad to finally be heading home, although home is a lot more emotionally stressful than school. In some ways, coming back to Athens in six weeks will be like returning to an oasis of normalcy and peace ;) Still, I really miss my folks and my kid brothers. Home has its own "normal," too, which has a particular charm for me. I had Fridays off this quarter, so I was intending to come home more often on weekends. Alas, things kept coming up, and then my work schedule started to interfere...

Of course, I hope all the semester system people are madly jealous of the quarter system freaks ;) I really don't mind studying into June, if I get a long Christmas holiday! Of course, I say that now, whereas in May I will commence whining about how Ohio is being its typically backward self and should get into line behind the sem-schedule schools.

I said adieu and Merry Christmas to my priest at Mass yesterday. I know that in the old calandar, yesterday was just the last Sunday in Ordinary Time, but ... I kind of like the way it is now, finishing up with the white vestements and the Roman Canon of the Feast of Christ the King. Maybe it has to do with the fact that it's always my last Sunday in Athens. Maybe I just get sick of the Second Eucharstic Prayer from other Sundays. I don't know if the old way was more theologically accurate, which would make a difference. But I like the "new" arrangement, for sure!

Ah well ... now I've got to get ... Packing! Yes, I let it go until the last minute. You would be disappointed if I didn't, wouldn't you?

Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church

Church on the campus of Loyola University, New Orleans:






From Neworleanschurches.com

I am such a goof

If you have ever read Shakespeare's Macbeth you know that the pitiable title character murdered the king of Scotland, Duncan, while His Majesty slept in Macbeth's own home.

What you might not know is that the king's son, Malcolm, survived, took the throne himself, and married a young Saxon princess named ... Margaret! Now, guess who this particular Margaret was.

St. Margaret, Queen of Scotland, my patron saint!

Yes, Macbeth's foul deed did away with my patroness' father-in-law. More reason to really dislike the little usurper, even if in some spots I feel sorry for him.

I can't believe I forgot to mark my patron saint's feast day! Finals week is really destroying me, urgh ...

Anyway, St. Margaret's memorial is celebrated on November 16. She is the patron saint of Scotland (duh), Queens, large families, learning, and ... Me! Well-known for her love and care for the poor, Margaret originally wanted to be a nun but consented to marrying Malcolm. They had eight children. She spread Christianity throughout the kingdom and also reformed her husband and his friends, who were somewhat boorish; by the time Margaret died (an event she accurately predicted) she left behind her a refined, glittering court.

St. Margaret, Queen of Scotland, whose name I bear, pray for me and all those dear to me!

Hat tip to A Penitent Blogger.

Finding that niche

Well, the quarter is winding down, and I can say I learned quite a bit. My Magazine Journalism class was particularly helpful. If you remember, at the beginning of the school year I announced that the writing course was going to be this quarter's Class From Hell. And it certainly was. I think I have a good shot at an A, however, depending on how the professor reacts to my final piece, which I turned in on Monday, along with my groaning, sleep-deprived classmates. The girl who sits next to me had been working on hers a few hours before the nine am class, sigh.

Anyway, in this class I learned that:

1. I do have some writing talent, but it is a very middling, vanilla, we're-going-to-Steak-n'-Shake-for-dinner, not-Ruby-Tuesday's, but-you-should-still-be-grateful-to-be-going-out-to-eat kind of talent. This is unfortunate, since although journalism is my "major" and history is my "specialization," magazine journalism is my "focus." You see, the journalism major has several different "tracks" that students can choose from, where they eventually expect to make their careers. For instance, a philosophy major might have a focus of "academia" or "unemployed."

What I'm saying is, as Martin Luther was good at being a monk, so I am good at magazine writing. Ahhhh, well, I take it back, it's not quite that bad ;)

2. I hate, hate, hate the reporting aspect of journalism (again, not a good sign, eh?) I find that the writing part is quite fun, even if it does induce late-night cold sweats about the grammar (try not to announce your incompetence!) and the lead (get the reader!) and the narrative structure (keep the reader!) and this phrase or that phrase and the lackluster transitions and how that part could have been so much better if you just switched the graphs and ...

3. Magazines are so specialized. Basically, sayeth the Scripps School Career Experts, the thing to do is to develop an interest in an arcane and utterly strange subject, such as cows and meat-packing, and then get a job writing for Meat Processing Magazine or something. Yes, there really is a periodical called Meat Processing Magazine. It is "a monthly magazine serving the meat, poultry and seafood processing interests at the management level" and has special issues focusing on the Top 200 Processors and Rising Stars in the industry. Niche, niche, niche! All would-be magazine writers, find your niche!

Given my eating habits, perhaps my faculty advisor would recommend that I shoot to become the editor of Professional Candy Buyer, "the only candy trade journal to primarily focus on buying, merchandising and marketing candy." Then, I, like this lady, will be able to write editorials about the importance of making contacts with the decision-makers at candy companies and the many opportunities for networking at the Candy Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

Wouldn't that be your dream job? Unless, of course, candy-making is like hot dog-making, in which case, it would sort of spoil sweets for you, FOREVER. Since I am not planning on actually getting a job in the press, there is no risk for me!

That miniseries coming up on CBS

Papa got to see a preview of it today! (Ha, the Paul VI Hall makes for a pretty large movie theatre, doesn't it)

VATICAN CITY, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Pope Benedict and Oscar winner Jon Voight attended a special screening on Thursday of a television mini-series in which Voight plays the late Pope John Paul...

...Many people in the large hall cried openly during some of the most moving and vivid scenes, including when the Pope was rushed to hospital after an assassination attempt in 1981 and when the Pontiff was on his deathbed last April...

...The four-hour mini-series will be broadcast on December 4 and December 7 in the United States on CBS, which is owned by Viacom Inc.

It had special approval from the Vatican. Some of the scenes were shot in the same rooms where the events actually took place, a rarity for films about the Vatican.

The audience applauded when an actor who played Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger -- the current pope's name before his election last April, appeared on the screen...

Full article.

Well, won't that be an interesting show to watch! If they've been working with the Holy See, I'm sure it will be an accurate and respectful program. Alas, I didn't get to see the previous biopic because it was on the Hallmark Channel, which we don't get on Basic Cable out here in Athens. Apparently, Hallmark got its highest ratings ever with that version. Jon Voight, I don't think I've ever seen any of his stuff ... can you tell I'm not much of a movie buff? ;)

From the Wednesday audience

The commentary was on Psalm 135, verses 10-26.

VATICAN CITY, NOV. 16, 2005 (Zenit.org)- Benedict XVI invited his listeners at the general audience to discover the love of God revealed in his works throughout history...

..."The Lord is, of course, transcendent as Creator and arbiter of being; but he is also close to his creatures, entering into space and time," the Holy Father said. "He does not stay far away, in the distant heaven. On the contrary, his presence among us reaches the summit in the Incarnation of Christ."

Quoting St. Cyprian, a third-century martyr, Benedict XVI added that the Son of God "was wounded to heal our wounds, he became a slave to lead us, who were slaves, to freedom. He accepted death to be able to offer immortality to mortals."

As usual, the entire papal commentary is quite good. I have read in several places - on my sister's blog, for instance - that Papa's crowds are much larger than even the late John Paul the Great's were. I suspect that's because, even though Papa is a very shy man, he speaks so eloquently that his teaching is quite magnetic.

It's an interesting contrast - his predecessor was so charismatic, and Benedict is supposed to be so quiet and retiring - yet he seems very successful in reaching the faithful, if only on the somewhat superficial Wednesday-audience-and-Sunday-Angelus level.

Alas, I have heard a little bit of bad news - Papa is fighting off a sore throat! His voice was a bit hoarse while speaking today, and twice his secretary handed him a throat drop. Of course, everybody gets a little under the weather every once in a while - but how inconvenient, to have a painful throat and be in a position that requires so much public speaking! Let us all pray for the Holy Father's strength and health, as well as for his personal intentions.

For Christmas

The girls and I are doing a gift exchange thingy for the Christmas holiday this year; sort of a Secret Santa arrangement where we each pick a list out of a pile. The main rule is we have to stay in the $20 or $25 to $30 dollar limit - no going over or under.

In case I don't get to print out my list, here are my choice bits:

Salt of the Earth (reaaaally want this one)
Death Comes for the Archbishop
Surprised by Truth
Milestones
Truth and Tolerance
Story of a Soul

As you can see, all I want for Christmas is ... books, books, books! Surprise, surprise, surprise. A couple of them are really, really cheap, like a buck a pop. Hint: If you get them used, you can get more! Ooo, more! Ha, I am so subtle/non-greedy. ;)

Oh, ho

Richard John Neuhuas writes on the First Things blog, On the Square:

Nobody has revealed the details, but Judith Miller declares herself “very satisfied” with the severance package she got from the New York Times. In an interview, she described herself as a “free woman.” Then there is this interesting line on what she means by that. She said she is free from the “convent of the New York Times, a convent with its own theology and its own catechism.” Who would have thought of the Times as a convent?

The image of the nun jumping to freedom over the convent wall was a staple in the heyday of anti-Catholic propaganda. Of course the nun almost never had the help of high-powered lawyers extracting a big severance deal from the convent.

Yes, who indeed would have thought as the Grey Lady as a convent? Certainly not me. If it were it would probably be like one of those LCWR orders with close to zero vocations and an aging readership, I mean, leadership and membership.

What a great game!

Speculative Catholic has come up with a great way to have a good time defending the faith, even if you are stuck dealing with a frothy fundie or similar. Obviously, no one minds debating a respectful and intelligent Protestant who nevertheless disagrees with the Catholic Church. However, if you discover that the other fellow is a rabid anti-Catholic Protestant, take out your handy-dandy Bingo card. Mark the squares every time you hear a formal logical fallacy (Traditions of men), vapid historical inaccuracy (Bible Reading Forbidden), or incredible distortion of what the Church actually teaches (Mass sacrifices Christ again and again).

My favorite has to be "Statue Worship." You can explain that having statues is like keeping photographs of family members and other people you love, and that Catholics don't worship them any more than Protestants worship the old black and whites of Grandma Betty they have in their photo albums. You can point out in the Bible where God actually commands the Israelites to create images to adorn the Tabernacle; you can point out the verse where Solomon decorated the walls of the temple; it makes no difference. You should give it up. All you can do is mark your square and anticipate screaming "Bingo!"

Check out the comments on Speculative's thread, they're quite good.



Found it via The Curt Jester.

Natch, natch, natch

So, today was second-to-last salad bar day. It was actually OK, simply because I didn't have to refill anything I couldn't recognize. All of our dining hall customers were monster ketchup-eaters, and I don't mind doing the ketchup, even though it's messy and results in my having to change my gloves about seven or eight times.

The machine we use to clock in and clock out is broken, so I've had to have student managers sign my time card for the last couple days. They weren't exactly surly, but I still get the idea that I'm not one of their favorite people. Alas. However, I think I am going to sign up for some hours for next quarter, simply because I need the money. And evening clean-up isn't that bad. So maybe I'll do that.

I just saw that I forgot to make a special post for Veteran's Day (shame on me!), so I'll steal from The Curt Jester, who posts the Navy Hymn - Eternal Father, Strong to Save - along with some verses for the other branches of the service, including my kid brother's - the Marines:

Eternal Father, grant, we pray
To all Marines, both night and day,
The courage, honor, strength, and skill
Their land to serve, Thy law fulfill;
Be Thou the shield forevermore
From every peril to the Corps.

Amen.

A little hope

This interview which Bernard Fellay recently gave to 30 Days seems to suggest a very warm atttitude toward Rome, much different from that put forward by some of the other bishops in the SSPX, Williamson, for instance. May it bear great fruit!

...Did you have occasion to repeat your conditions for shortening the time for a full rapprochement?

FELLAY: We don’t want to set the Holy Father previous conditions. It is not our intention to impose any diktat. That is not our position. We only say that if we want to build a bridge, we should necessarily think first of the piers that must support it...

...Are you satisfied with how the audience went?
FELLAY: It went well. Certainly it left a little bitterness in one’s mouth because there wasn’t time to say everything. But on the other hand that was impossible in a thirty-minute audience. One couldn’t expect more than what happened. It’s important that the Pope received us and it’s a good sign that he gave us all that time with benevolence. The atmosphere was tranquil, even though the existing problems did not remain unspoken...

... Monsignor Fellay, your critical stances on the ecumenicalism encouraged by the Holy See after Vatican Council II are known. But do you have contacts with other Churches or ecclesial communities?

FELLAY: There are contacts with Orthodox priests and bishops. It sometimes happens that they turn to us with sympathy because they consider us anti-Roman schismatics. We don’t like that at all. We are not schismatics and we care very greatly for the bond with Rome. And then there have been Orthodox bishops who have asked to belong to the Catholic Church through belonging to our Fraternity. To those I have always answered that they must address themselves to the Bishop of Rome, to the Pope. We are not and don’t want to be a parallel Church, and I am not an antipope!

The rest of the article is worth reading, too.

The most important thing he said: We don’t want to set the Holy Father previous conditions. It is not our intention to impose any diktat. That is not our position. This suggests a healthier understanding of the authority of the Bishop of Rome than one might hear from a lot of traditionalists. Hopefully this flexibility will translate into an end to the schism.

Creepy yet beautiful

From Wikipedia:

The Sedlec Ossuary is a small Christian chapel, located beneath the Cemetery Church of All Saints in Sedlec, a suburb of Kutná Hora in the Czech Republic. The ossuary contains approximately 40,000 human skeletons which have been artistically arranged to form decorations and furnishings for the chapel.

Henry, the abbot of the Cistercian monastery in Sedlec was sent to the Holy Land by King Otakar II of Bohemia in 1278. When he returned, he brought with him a small amount of earth he had removed from Golgotha and sprinkled it over the abbey cemetery. The word of this pious act soon spread and the cemetery in Sedlec became a desirable burial site throughout Central Europe. During the Black Death in the mid 14th century, and after the Hussite Wars in the early 15th century many thousands of people were buried there and the cemetery had to be greatly enlarged.

Around 1400 a Gothic church was built in the center of the cemetery with a vaulted upper level and a lower chapel to be used as an ossuary for the mass graves unearthed during construction, or simply slated for abolition to make room for new burials. After 1511 the task of exhuming skeletons and stacking their bones in the chapel was, according to legend, given to a half-blind monk of the order.

Rest of the article.

A church in Rome - Santa Maria della Concezione dei Cappuccini, or Our Lady of the Conception of the Capuchins, has a similar ossuary, made out of the bones of over 4,000 Capuchin friars collected between 1528 and 1870.

Read more about ossuaries, also called "bone boxes" - did you know that the ossuary of the high priest during the time of Christ, Caiaphas, has been discovered?

Waste time, panic

Panic, waste time, waste time, panic, panic

That is pretty much what my schedule has been this week. My schedule next week will probably be all panic, all the time - simply because I've left everything go until the last minute, again. I wonder if procrastination is simply a maturity issue.

I spent a little while yesterday trying to hunt down the caretaker of the West State Street cemetery. I don't even want an interview with him, I just want him to open his mouth so I can shove a quote into the story. I called the Athens Historical Society on the off-chance they might know, and they gave me a name and a number. Hurray! Alas, upon dialing it I discovered that the number was for the Mayor's office. The nice girl on the phone told me that Mr. Carey Gilkey is an electrician, a sort of an odd-jobs-man for the city, who is in and out all the time; if she sees him she will tell him to give me a ring.

Of course, I then called a couple of Gilkeys in the Athens COunty phone book. There is nothing I hate more than cold calling. I feel so rude saying, "Ah, you're not who I was looking for, sorry, wrong number!" But I had to do at least a couple of the more likely listings. "C" Gilkey turned out to be Connie Gilkey, blast. I also got a couple of disconnected numbers.

In a worst-case scenario, I will simply call the Athens Historical Society again and see if I can induce the secretary to tell me if lots of people use the cemetery for geneological purposes. I just want one quote! Just to satisfy my writing professor, who gave me her best Nasty Glare when discussing the neccesity of "live, not just secondary sources" the other day, gulp.

Finals also begin at the end of next week; I have two exams - one on Saturday and one on Monday. Then I get to come home - or, it's more accurate to say I'll get to come home when my father can swing by with the van. Since I'm not living in the dorms anymore, that could be a few days. The main thing right now is to produce, produce, produce! If I ace all of my projects/exams I will get As in all my classes, and that's what I'm going for. Ora pro me!

Pope to Bishops: Don't Water Down Church Teachings

VATICAN CITY, November 8, 2005 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In a meeting with Bishops from Austria Saturday, Pope Benedict XVI warned them against the false notion that church teachings should be watered down so as to prevent people from leaving the Church. "At times, those who direct this mission fear that people may move away if they are spoken to clearly," he said. "However," added the Pope, "experience has generally shown that the opposite happens. ... Catholic teaching presented incompletely is self- contradictory and cannot be fruitful in the long term."

...The Pope reminded the Bishops present of St. Paul's words in Ephesus: "I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God." The Pope said, "It is true that we must act delicately, but this must not prevent us from presenting the divine message clearly, even on those subjects that do not enjoy widespread approval, or that give rise to protest or even derision, especially in the field of the truth of faith and moral teaching."

Article.

Papa's right on the mark. Of course, it might be natural to think that whatever is easiest - including "easy religion" - would be most popular. But, who wants to devote their lives - or even a substantial amount of time - to a religion that's limp-wristed and makes no demands? Hardly anybody. Witness the current decline of the mainstream Protestant denominations and the rise of the evangelical movement ... although I have to admit, I see "easy" creeping in there, too, as it has in some quarters of the Catholic Church.

Oh my

From a level of hell composed entirely of sugar, I beam at thee! Meet Miss Sunbeam, an unnervingly rendered tot who will soon accompany us on a wonderful romp through the history of mankind's most popular carbohydrate-delivery system.

The year is 1949. Shall we begin?


Check out the very campy bread-industry comic book, "The Story of Bread" from the much-loved Institute of Official Cheer. The 21st-century commentary that accompanies the text is hilarious.

Especially examine the images of Miss Sunbeam and company. Who knew 1940s kids cartoons could be so creepy!

My commentary in italics

Catholic gay clergy policy 'helping Anglicans': US bishop

LONDON (AFP) - Gene Robinson, the world's first openly gay bishop, said that Pope Benedict XVI's attitude toward homosexuals might be boosting membership of the Anglican Church in the United States.

Yes, you know it's just Pope Benedict's personal, horrible attitude toward sodomy we're talking about, not 2,000 years of Christian teaching. Also makes use of a familiar strawman. Note to credulous press corps: The Church does not have some kind of nasty attitude toward homosexuals. She does not hate homosexuals. They are to be treated with compassion and welcomed as brothers and sisters in Christ. She does hate homosexual acts. Acts. Not persons. Acts. Not persons. Acts. Ad nauseum. You know, the old "love the sinner, hate the sin" bit. Ever hear of it?

"We are seeing so many Roman Catholics joining the (Anglican) church," said Robinson on a visit to London. "Pope (Joseph) Ratzinger (Benedict XVI) may be the best thing that ever happened to the (US) Episcopal Church."

I can't wait to see these statistics showing an explosion of growth for the Episcopal Church, USA, what with all the disaffected Catholics fleeing the arms of that barbarian, His Nazi-ness, I mean, His Holiness, the Pope. What's that? All the numbers show a sharp, continued decline in membership, service attendance, and donations for ECUSA? The situation is the same - actually much worse - in the heart of the Anglican communion, that is, England. As far as I know the only places showing Anglican growth (and it is explosive growth) are in the Global South, where all those dreadful, un-P.C. Anglican bishops live.

Robinson, whose appointment in 2003 as Bishop of New Hampshire has been deeply divisive for Anglican Christians around the world, added: "Let's keep our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters in our prayers".

I am glad when people pray for me, even if I disagree with them or find them extremely disagreeable (both apply to Robinson). After all, God loves Mr. Robinson just as much as He loves those who oppose the bishop - that's a fact that conservatives sometimes forget, much to our shame. He doesn't stop loving us even when we commit sins, such as, for instance, rejecting Christian ethics and willfully destroying a denomination. So, I'm glad Mr. Robinson is praying for us. It's what the fellow is probably praying for that gives me the willies.

"I cannot imagine how discouraging it would be to have a church hierarchy doing what it does.

"I find it so vile that they think they are going to end the child abuse scandal by throwing out homosexuals from seminaries. It is an act of violence that needs to be confronted."

Discouraging for whom, Mr. Robinson? You? Hurray.

As for "vile," most Christians* consider the homosexual act (ACT! NOT PERSON! ACT!) to be pretty vile. Declining to ordain those with a homosexual orientation will obviously not solve all the problems with regard to sexual abuse. If one looks at the data, however, one finds that the vast majority of cases were relationships not between men and children but between men and young men in the 14-19 age range... Ahem.

* of course, these Christians are nowhere near as sophisticated and cosmopolitan as Mr. Robinson & Co. They are backward and rather thick-headed, insignificant persons. Like that nonentity St. Paul, for instance.

The article continues with some stuff about how on Thursday the Archbishop of Canterbury had a cordial little meeting with Robinson, blah blah.

Sorry for the "ranting" tone. I have had a long day... And no sooner do I do my daily news-reading than I find this little gift. Maybe it would have been wiser and more concise to simply say, "Mr. Robinson should mind his own business." But "wise" choices do not always make for fun blogging, do they? ;)

The Starlight Night

Look at the stars! look, look up at the skies!
O look at all the fire-folk sitting in the air!
The bright boroughs, the circle-citadels there!
Down in dim woods the diamond delves! the elves’-eyes!
The grey lawns cold where gold, where quickgold lies!
Wind-beat whitebeam! airy abeles set on a flare!
Flake-doves sent floating forth at a farmyard scare!—
Ah well! it is all a purchase, all is a prize.
Buy then! bid then!—What?—Prayer, patience, aims, vows.
Look, look: a May-mess, like on orchard boughs!
Look! March-bloom, like on mealed-with-yellow sallows!
These are indeed the barn; withindoors house
The shocks. This piece-bright paling shuts the spouse
Christ home, Christ and his mother and all his hallows.


-- By Fr. Gerard Manley Hopkins, S.J., 1844–1889

From Bartleby.

Tip for parents

When you wake up tomorrow and, much to your surprise, find yourself in Rome, I assume you'll immediately head off to the general papal audience in St. Peter's Square. In that case, be sure to dress your small daughter in traditional Bavarian garb. 'Cuz if you do ... And a certain German expatriate spots her ... You know how sentimental nostalgia works ...

Next quarter's schedule

I think I mentioned before that it's that time of year - class scheduling time!

I didn't get into all the classes I wanted. However, I think I am still on track to graduate two quarters (one and a half semesters) early.

Western Heritage: Medieval Legacy
1-2 MTWTh, Miriam Shadis

Non-Western History Since 1750
7-9 TTh, Phillip Cantrell

Graphics of Communication
8-9 am, 7-9 pm MTWThW, Thomas Hodges

Reporting Contemporary Issues
2-3:30 TTh, Marilyn Greenwald

16 credit hours. I was going to take Communication Law, but it filled up, grr! Hopefully this schedule will work to get me launched into my senior course work, however. I have this urge to run to Dr. Westfall, who is my faculty advisor, and beg to have it checked.

The feature on the cemetery is coming along nicely - I got a 29 out of 30 on the rough draft, and the professor was extremely easy on me with her corrections and suggestions. Of course during workshop my group of editors really ripped it apart. The line edits in particular were beastly - when criticism is actually written on the manuscript and your paragraphs are all scribbled out and scrawled on, it seem so much more... intense. Oh well, I'm too sensitive, especially about my writing. They probably weren't as harsh as I think they were :)

The papists are coming, the papists are coming!

Catholics could get majority on high court

By RACHEL ZOLL
AP RELIGION WRITER


More than two centuries of Protestant domination on the Supreme Court will end if Samuel Alito is confirmed as its next justice. For the first time in the nation's history, five Roman Catholics - a majority - would be on the high court...

...Alito, an appeals court judge, and his wife are members of Our Lady of the Blessed Sacrament Parish in Roseland, N.J., a suburban parish which referred inquiries about the judge to the Archdiocese of Newark. Archdiocesan spokesman Jim Goodness said Alito attends Mass weekly and his wife teaches religious education classes at Blessed Sacrament, where his children were confirmed. But Goodness would not comment on whether Alito volunteers for any church work.

Monsignor Thomas Gervasio, the new pastor at Our Lady of Sorrows/Saint Anthony's Parish in Hamilton, N.J., where Alito's mother Rose is a member, said she told him the judge was confirmed, served as a lector and was married in Our Lady of Sorrows. The judge attended public school and enrolled in church religious classes as a boy, Rose Alito told Gervasio.

Taking calls at her Hamilton home, where a small Virgin Mary statue sat on the mantle, the judge's 90-year-old mother asked Gervasio to "say some prayers for Sam" and declared of her son: "Of course, he's against abortion."

Two of the Catholics on the current court - Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas - are abortion foes. Scalia, whose son Paul is a priest, and Thomas are sometimes seen walking together to the court after attending Mass on holy days of obligation...

Article.

You know what's funny - after I heard about Justice Thomas's conversion to Catholicism, I always wondered if he and his ideological soulmate, Justice Scalia, went to Mass together during the week. Here's my answer, I guess! :)

A request from a fellow blogger

Eddie from To Jesus Through Mary asks us to join him in a novena for his mother:

Please join me in a 9 day novena of prayers of the most Holy Rosary seeking the intercession of Blessed Mother for my earthly mother; that she may come back to the faith. If you do not know how to pray the rosary you can learn by visiting this webpage; http://www.theholyrosary.org/

At the Beginning of the rosary, before the Apostles Creed please say this following prayer for the intention of this novena.

"Blessed Mother you have assured us in your apparations at Lourdes and Fatima that you will pray for our intentions especially as we pray the holy rosary. The Holy Rosary is a powerful prayer and in this nine day novena we pray for the end of abortion, for poor souls, for those in purgatory, especially those of priests and forgotten souls who have no one to pray for them. We pray for the Holy Father his intentions and his health, for the bishops and priests of the Catholic Church, for Holy Vocations into the Priesthood and Consecrated Life that young men will follow in the examples of their pastors, bishops, and our Holy Father, Benedict XVI. Finally we pray for your intentions Blessed Mother for those deep within our heart and for the special intention within this novena especially for Eddie's mother, that she will come to understand what the Catholic Church teaches and professes. To understand the joy that comes from the priesthood, to understand the real prescence of Christ, to attend church when she is able to we pray especially for her salvation and the accepceptance of whatever her son's vocation may be."

This novena will begin on the feast of All Saints Day; November First, and will conclude on November Ninth, the Feast of the Dedication of the Latern Basilica.

What a wonderful idea: Mobilizing a blogger army to storm the gates of Heaven with prayer :) And with the Rosary! The only more powerful prayer is the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. I sure will be praying, I hope some of my readers will, too!

Remember, it's a Holy Day of Obligation!

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