And they say Catholics don't read their Bibles

You know the Bible 98%!

Wow! You are awesome! You are a true Biblical scholar, not just a hearer but a personal reader! The books, the characters, the events, the verses - you know it all! You are fantastic!

Ultimate Bible Quiz
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I had to guess on a couple of questions - especially the "order" questions. Which comes first, Chronicles or Kings? Think, think, think.

Then again, some of the questions would be pretty easy for a Catholic to get. "What was Jesus' first miracle? Did Jesus say, 'Behold your mother!' from the Cross?"

UPDATE: I found this very interesting quiz on my friend Shannon's blog.

Your Political Profile:

Overall: 60% Conservative, 40% Liberal

Social Issues: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal

Personal Responsibility: 75% Conservative, 25% Liberal

Fiscal Issues: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

Ethics: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

Defense and Crime: 50% Conservative, 50% Liberal

How Liberal Or Conservative Are You?

This quiz is more accurately titled "How Republican are you?" One of the True/False questions - "The only social responsibility of a company should be to deliver a profit to its shareholders" - is a good example. Conservative philosophy is not necessarily entirely identifiable with laissez-faire capitalism, although the Republican party is.

I was also annoyed by the capital punishment question - "Is the death penalty appropriate in select cases, or is it a violation of human rights?" I will always maintain that exercising great caution and reluctance in imposing capital punishment is more in line with core conservative principles than the "try 'em and fry 'em" mentality, which really puts too much power in the hands of the government. Government is best which governs least :)

I am therefore against the death penalty in most situations, but I had to pick "appropriate in select cases" because capital punishment IS appropriate in select cases - perhaps rarely. But ultimately, the state does have the moral right to execute criminals.

And the death penalty is NOT a violation of human rights - except when it is imposed for political or genocidal purposes. The death penalty is not intrinsically evil. Not by a long shot.

UPDATE #2: I just noticed that 50/50 on the Ethics section. How did that happen?

Some photos

My trip to DC for the March for Life was quite a saga, involving a terrible snow-storm, the Robert Byrd Appalachian Highway, a hard-working 12-seater van named Edmund and saber-toothed cows.

And that was before we got anywhere near Washington.

Shannon, Kate, Carissa, Andrew... and that's Edmund in the back, looking good



The sanctuary of the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, where the Vigil Mass for Life took place on Sunday night



Ceiling shot - incredible, huh?



At the rally on the Mall. There were tens of thousands of marchers, and this was as close to the Capitol building as we could get!



Kate carried a sign with a great quote from Mother Teresa:



I'll have more later. We were in the car for about twenty-four hours, all told, so I'm still very much in "recovery" mode. It was an incredible experience and I'd love to go again next year.

So where've I been?

Sick as a dog, mostly. However, I am pleased to report that the miracle known as antibiotics has finally proven effective. I didn't even have to beat a prescription out of my physician this time! He wrote it out all on his own after casting one horrified glance at my nose, out of which copious amounts of... stuff was flowing.

Blogging will again have to take a break because I am preparing to leave for the March for Life in Washington. This will be my first time back to the capital since my sister left DC to enter the Sister Servants of the Eternal Word. I am going with my friends from Catholic Student Outreach, and my good friend Shannon is joining us! Please pray that we travel safely and that the March goes well!

Um, no

Senor Chavez commits a faux pas at his inauguration:

From the AP:

His right hand raised, Chavez declared: "Fatherland, socialism or death — I swear it," invoking the Cuban leader's famous call to arms.

Chavez also alluded to Jesus, saying: "I swear by Christ — the greatest socialist in history."

Article.

Please note: Jesus was not a socialist. Nor was He a Whig, as we have already established.

So, who is learning more about the Providence of God?

Meeee. I'm learning more about the Providence of God.

So, today I am back in Athens, spinning my wheels while trying to get a hold of a professor who previously agreed to write me a letter of recommendation for graduate school (I am just going to apply and see what happens). The situation has been getting complicated, what with e-mails lost and the deadline ticking ever closer.

Additionally, I meant to go to daily Mass today at St. Paul's, but, as I am sadly not in the proper spiritual state to receive the Holy Eucharist, I talked myself into a lie: "If I can't receive Communion, then it's not worth going!" Untrue, untrue, untrue. It is always beneficial to be there for the Sacrifice, to be in the Presence of the Lord even when we can not receive Him under the appearances of bread and wine.

In all respects, I was feeling quite blah.

But then - just by happenstance - I ran into my good friend Kate, from Catholic Student Outreach. She took me up to her apartment and made me a delicious lunch of grilled turkey and baby carrots and told me about how there is a van going to the March for Life later this month! It was wonderful and very comforting.

I also ran into my friend Nicole Franz, from The Post. She, too, was searching out a letter of recommendation, but she was hoping to get it from Jeff Smith, the copy chief at The Post. We're all on "the hunt" this time of year ;)

And now, things seem to be working out with my professor. At the retreat last quarter, I tried hard to think about the ways the Holy Spirit has been active in my life. Some instances were obvious - my reconversion, for instance - but others were more difficult to remember: Often the Holy Spirit is very subtle. But I can really see his work today. I am very blessed.

The archbishop resigns

This is a really sad story.

A certain number of Polish priests betrayed the Church and their country by collaborating with the Communists back in the Cold War days (other Eastern European countries had similar problems, as the Reds made everything from student visas to ordinary passports subject to "agreements" to spy for the state). John Paul II himself was informed on by clergy in the Vatican - his status as one of the world's most celebrated anti-communists made him an obvious target. It's estimated that between 85-90 percent of Polish Roman Catholic priests resisted collaboration. That leaves, unfortunately, 10-15 percent who succumbed to the threats and demands of the oppressors.

There has been some reluctance to deal with that baggage.It's hard to imagine one's bishop or pastor as an informer or a spy, and most people would prefer to treat the past as a bad dream from which Poland and its people have thankfully awakened.

The generations that lived before the fall of the Iron Curtain are still with us, however, and so we ocassionally endure sad episodes like these:

WARSAW, Poland -- Warsaw's new archbishop resigned Sunday amid a scandal over his involvement with the communist-era secret police that has shaken the deeply Roman Catholic homeland of the late Pope John Paul II.

Stanislaw Wielgus announced his decision at the capital's St. John's Cathedral, which was packed with worshippers gathered for a Mass that was to have marked his formal installation. The congregation included President Lech Kaczynski.

A forlorn-looking Wielgus read from a letter to Pope Benedict XVI in which he offered his resignation "after reflecting deeply and assessing my personal situation."

Though Kaczynski and some others applauded, many in the church and a large crowd packed outside in the rain shouted, "We welcome you," "Stay with us," and "No, No!"

Dressed in a resplendent golden miter and robes, Wielgus, 67, made his brief announcement less than an hour after Poland's church said in a statement that he had resigned. Full article.

It remains to be seen whether the Archbishop Wielgus was entirely truthful with the Holy Father about the extent of his collaboration when his appointment to Warsaw was being vetted. He additionally "stepped in it" by lying repeatedly to the press about his involvement with the secret police, only to have a Church commission blow his cover.

Archbishop Wielgus does seem sincerely contrite, and I doubt that his collaboration was malicious. More likely his transgressions were clumsy and ill-considered attempts to overcome the onerous obstacles that were routinely placed in the way of clergy and citizens alike. Although a high position in the hierarchy is probably not appropriate for someone with his record, I hope that the Polish people are able to forgive the archbishop for his weaknesses, which we all suffer from in one way or another.

UPDATE: Apparently, Papa (and the rest of the Vatican, for that matter) didn't know, according to Cardinal Re, who runs the "bishop appointment" side of things.