The Order of Brilliant Bloggers

This is a grassroots group of excellent bloggers dedicated to recognizing and sharing sites and posts of others in efforts to support great work. They have blog awards voting running from January 1-5.

I am surprised and pleased to say that Happy Catholic was nominated for the December's Best Spiritual Blogsite excellence award (thank you Miss Cellania!).

It is an interesting site as they evidently have awards for all categories on a monthly basis. Go by and check it out.

Weekend Joke

This may be a repeat but it's so good I just can't help myself.

A man in Topeka, Kansas, decided to write a book about churches around the country. He started by flying to San Francisco, and started working east from there. Going to a very large church, he began taking photographs and making notes.

In one church, he spotted a golden telephone on the vestibule wall, and was intrigued with a sign which read, "$10,000 per minute." Seeking out the pastor, he asked about the phone and the sign. The pastor answered that the golden phone is, in fact, a direct line to Heaven, and if he pays the price, he can talk directly to God. The man thanked the pastor and continued on his way.

As he continued to visit churches in Seattle, Salt Lake City, Denver, Chicago, Milwaukee, and around the United States, he found more such phones, with the same sign, and the same explanation from each pastor.

Finally, the man arrived in the lovely state of Georgia. Upon entering a church, behold: he saw the usual golden telephone. But THIS time, the sign read: "Calls: 25 cents"!

Fascinated, the man asked to speak with the pastor. "Reverend, I have been in cities all across the country and in each church I have found this golden telephone, and have been told it is a direct line to Heaven, and that I could use it to talk to God. But in 20 other churches, the cost was $10,000 per minute. Your sign says 25 cents per call Why is that?

The pastor, smiling benignly, replied: "My son, you're in the South now, it's a local call."

Background Music: The Seventh Day of Christmas

Image from Chant Art

TODAY IN LITURGICAL TIME

• Optional Memorial of St. Sylvester I, pope
  
• The Seventh Day of Christmas: reading, activity, and recipe.

ON MY HEART
Of your kindness, please pray for:

• Jeanette and family
• Gayla's mother (and Gayla)
  
• My dear friend, Stevie, and her new baby, Kate.
• Patty Sullivan's request
• TSO's aunt and his friend (check the asterisk)
  
• The souls in Purgatory, especially those who have no one to offer prayers for them.
  

WELL SAID!
(from my quote journal)

Do not look forward to what may happen tomorrow; the same everlasting Father who cares for you today will take care of you tomorrow and every day. Either He will shield you from suffering or He will give you unfailing strength to bear it. Be at peace, then, put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations, and say continually; "The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart has trusted in Him and I am helped. He is not only with me but in me and I in Him.

St. Francis de Sales

I'm Not Funny ... But I Know Who Is...

Tom at Disputations is taking it to the edge before 2006 (and maybe over). Check out his 3-D faith-mapping diagram.

Just looking at it hurts my head and Tom kindly gives us the necessary precautionary measures.

Julie:

Thanks for reminding me. Everyone: you'll need to get a pair of anaglyph stereo glasses (the kind with red and blue lenses) by Monday. To get the full effect, it would also help if you practiced blinking at 15 Hz.

You have been warned.

Plain Jane is All That

Just a Catholic band (yes, I said CATHOLIC ... heck I'd have settled for Christian) that totally rocks. Found by Darren. I think we're music soul-mates considering our mutual devotion to DC Talk.

Go check it out, along with some of the other great music he's turned up. Darren thoughtfully has posted samples of these bands (I also like Cheer Up Charlie, but Plain Jane rules.)

He's promising more tune samplings soon. I'm gonna hold him to it.

Blogging Around: The Really Long But Really Good Posts Edition

These are all very long and perhaps better printed out (which is what I did with them) but all are so very worth it.

MY 16-YEAR-OLD WENT TO IRAQ AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS T-SHIRT

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Maybe it was the time the taxi dumped him at the Iraq-Kuwait border, leaving him alone in the middle of the desert. Or when he drew a crowd at a Baghdad food stand after using an Arabic phrase book to order. Or the moment a Kuwaiti cab driver almost punched him in the face when he balked at the $100 fare.

But at some point, Farris Hassan, a 16-year-old from Florida, realized that traveling to Iraq by himself was not the safest thing he could have done with his Christmas vacation.

And he didn't even tell his parents.

Read the whole incredible story here. Via Michael Yon, who knows an incredible story when he sees one.

DID THE DEVIL MAKE YOU DO IT?
Here's how to tell if private revelation is from God or from that good imitator, the Devil. This is an excellent article.

THE ROMANS AND US
Are there lessons for America in examining the Roman empire?. Oh yeah. Check this out. Not the cursory article that we usually get fobbed off with when this subject arises.

IRAQ: TRUE OR FALSE?
Here is an indepth analysis of the myth versus the truth in our situation in Iraq right now.

CLEAR THINKING ABOUT SCIENCE, MEDIA, AND SPECULATION
Michael Crichton's speeches cover these subjects and more. I am not always a fan of Crichton the author, however am a huge fan of Crichton the speaker (based on the author who used to be an-honest-to-goodness scientist). Print them out and work your way through them.

HOW TO ORDER WINE ...
Without Looking Like An Asshole at Waiter Rant. Good advice for anyone who ever orders wine in a restaurant. While you're there check out the Bonus Tips for New Year's Eve.

It's the Little Things

That make life worth living, right? I'm so thankful for those little things that all add up to a big and happy life for me right now. Specifically right now...

• Rose wanting to fix dinner. She picks very different meals than I would. And it's fun to cook with her.
• Hannah's responsible use of her new freedom now that she has her license. She always calls to let us know what's up and has been early (!) for each deadline we've set.
• Tom using his laptop for work so that he could watch the Battlestar Galactica miniseries with us last night ... also his little sarcastic comments that let me know he was enjoying the show.
• Email conversations with friends, especially blogging pals, about nothing much ... but so much fun nonetheless.
• Pandora which provides my work music — jazz yesterday (Louis Armstrong "channel") and bluegrass today (The Boy Who Wouldn't Hoe Corn by Union Station "channel").
  

Just For the Record ... Limbo is Not Catholic Doctrine

And it never was.

I don't know why it keeps popping up. It was theological theory, nothing more. Never part of the Church's teachings.

So let's move along, there's nothing to see here ...

UPDATE
I thought that everyone had been as inundated as I had by mentions of Pope Benedict preparing to eliminate teaching about Limbo. Evidently not, so for those who hadn't seen the reason for this post, this'll help explain.

More 2006 Patron Saints

Over at A Catholic Life where Moneybags and his friend are valiantly trying to keep up with demand (over 60 requests so far) as people request special patron saints for the new year. I so appreciate what they are doing and want to extend my special thanks to them for this ministry.

In the meantime, Rose was chosen by Saint Peter of Verona. I'll be curious to see if there is a connection or if she's going to be exposed to something entirely new for 2006.

Holy Family

Image from Chant Art

Between Joseph and Mary there existed a holy affection, a spirit of service, and a mutual desire for each other's happiness. This is Jesus' family: sacred, holy, exemplary, a model of human virtues, ready to carry out God's will exactly. A Christian home must be an imitation of the house of Nazareth; a place where there is plenty of room for God so that He can be right at the centre of the love that members of the family have for one another.

In Conversation with God: Advent and Christmastide

I have a special fondness for the Holy Family thanks to this experience.

Favorite Posts Countdown IV

In which I point you to some of my favorite posts by other bloggers this year.

The Yarn Harlot
For "There is the Downside" in which she reminds us that our mothers actually had a good reason for those reminders about clean underwear...albeit not exactly the reason that any mothers I know would have imagined.

... I opened the door, put the tray on the ground and heard a little "Click" behind me. That was the door locking. I was locked in the hall. Was my room key in my pants pocket? Yes it was, however, that realization was of no use to me, because I was not wearing my pants.

In fact, all I was wearing was a bra and underpants.

(Not even good underpants. I should really try to do better.) This sick realization swept over me as I stood, pressed against the door to the room trying to pass my molecules through it to the other side.

Video meliora, proboque; Deteriora sequor
For "The Biblioholic's Bible" which tailors Biblical readings in a way that we book nuts can grasp.

....and he spent all his inheritance on cheap magazines and dissolute books. One day, while reading an Andrew Greeley novel, he thought to himself: "Even the servants of my father's house enjoy better reading material. I will go back and ask his forgiveness."

And before he was home his father walked to him, hugged him, and gave him a Faulkner first edition. His brother became jealous. "You've never given me a Faulkner first edition!" And his father said, "You are always with me, and all my books are yours."

The Curt Jester
For "Patron Saint of Bloggers" which illustrates how well humor can illuminate as well as entertain ... and which proposes St. Jerome as blogger patron as well as providing prayer card art.

... I would nominate ... St. Jerome who was a prodigious letter writer. His temperament was closely suited to many bloggers and he was definitely a pundit who let loose a good rant at times He had to fight his naturally cranky temperament and is now both a saint and a Doctor of the Church. This shows that there is also hope for most of us pundit type bloggers who have been know to show similar traits at times (or everyday).

Being that he was once a hermit this would fit the media perception of bloggers to at T. They already identify us as predominantly pajama-clad white males blogging from a basement; so cave blogging would be an good metaphor for them.

Don't stop at these excerpts. Go read all of these posts.

New Year's is Coming ... Favorite Movies

Yikes, I thought I posted this yesterday ... better late than never though.

Favorite Movies of 2005
(in no particular order ... some of these may be older movies but I saw them for the first time this year)

• Serenity


• Hitch


• Infernal Affairs


• Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of the Were-Rabbit


• Hero


• Payback


• Equilibrium


• Millions


• Spanglish

Background Music: The Sixth Day of Christmas

Image from Chant Art

TODAY IN LITURGICAL TIME

• Feast of the Holy Family (WOOHOO! This is one of my all-time faves.)
  
• The Sixth Day of Christmas: reading, activity, and recipe.

ON MY HEART
Of your kindness, please pray for:

• My parents' health
• Jeanette and family
• My dear friend, Stevie, and her new baby, Kate.
• The souls in Purgatory, especially those who have no one to offer prayers for them.
  

WELL SAID!
(from my quote journal)

The devil is no fool. He can get people feeling about heaven the way they ought to feel about hell. He can make them fear the means of graces the way they do not fear sin. And he does so, not by light but by obscurity, not by realities but shadows; not by clarity and substance, but by dreams and the creatures of psychosis. And men are so poor in intellect that a few cold chills down their spine will be enough to keep them from ever finding out the truth about everything. The devil does rob us of clarity by casting us about in shadows. But he fools us into thinking that the shadows are light. Our illumination is only illusory.

Thomas Merton

Gazing Into Her Crystal Ball

The Anchoress is making predictions for 2006. Some are more believable ...

9) Somebody’s gotta get serious with Iran. W will do it. Ungrateful Europe and leftists will curse him for it, while wiping their brows in relief before driving to their next Bush-bashing engagement.

... than others (at least I hope so!)

12) Rick Santorum will lose his bid for re-election. He will enter a seminary program for the permanent diaconate in the Catholic Church, and write books.

Hmmm, good idea. I am going to ponder predictions and get back to y'all.

It Ain't Necessarily So: Nuclear Power

So let's look at nuclear power in a new series of excerpts. Actually I have no idea if this information will upset anyone. Most of it didn't seem like anything earth shattering to me. However, I honestly didn't realize this ...

In 1979, Columbia Pictures released The China Syndrome, starring activist actress Jane Fonda... Two weeks later, there was a real nuclear accident, at Three Mile Island outside Harrisburg, Pennsylvania...

Not surprisingly, fact and fiction became blurred in the public mind, and today, few people seem to realize that disaster was averted and no one in the plant or the Three Mile Island neighborhood was hurt. There was a small release of radioactivity, but the average dose received by a nearby resident was nine millirems — far less than received in a chest X-ray...

Seven years later a Soviet reactor in Chernobyl, Ukraine, exploded and about fifty people died. There were no confirmed deaths outside the plant itself. Radioactivity spread to the immediate area, and there were reports of thyroid cancer. But there was also an iodine deficiency — a risk factor for thyroid cancer — in the area. Today, the background level of radioactivity at Chernobyl is lower than that emitted by the granite of Grand Central Station...

[Theodore Rockwell summarizing the latest findings from the UN's Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation] :
"Some people died from the original explosion, some from fire, and I don't doubt some died from radiation. But they were all inside the plant. So it was an industrial accident, and we have seen far worse. As to the general public, they checked for iodine in the thyroid, and sure enough they found 1,800 children with thyroid nodules. But that part of the world is iodine-deficient — they were already having a serious public-health problem. Two kids with thyroid nodules were brought in and they died. But it turns out they were nowhere near the radiation. A third child died of something else entirely. As to the 1,800 people, they did not correlate with radiation dose at all. Some high-dose kids had no nodules, some low-dose did have. So it's not at all clear that they were ever related to the radiation, and the chairman of the original UN committee doesn't think they are related."

The Politically Incorrect Guide to Science

Rod Dreher Likes It, He Really Likes It!

Brokeback Mountain, that is. This editorial with Rod Dreher endorsing Brokeback Mountain as a work of art was both surprising and also welcome (I like to see people who will find out for themselves if it seems indicated).

My friend Victor Morton turned me around. On his "Right-Wing Film Geek" blog (www.cinecon.blogspot.com), Victor wrote a long, impassioned post that said, in effect, Don't believe the 'Brokeback' hype, from either side! The film is good, not great, Victor argued, but what makes it worthwhile is its fidelity to the tragic truth of its characters, not its usefulness to anybody's cause.

Intrigued, I found on the Internet a link to the Annie Proulx short story on which the movie is based and was shocked by how good it was, especially at embodying the "concrete details of life that make actual the mystery of our position here on earth" – Catholic writer Flannery O'Connor's description of what true artistry does. Though director Ang Lee's tranquil style fails to capture the daemonic wildness of Ms. Proulx's version, I came away from the film thinking, this is not for everybody, but it really is a work of art.

Will I go see it? Nope. I don't like sad stories and I often don't care about "art." Do go read the entire editorial. Free registration is required but don't let that stop you.

UPDATE
Tom Kelley likes Rhonda Lugari's referral for this article so well that he urges me to put it on the main blog ... so here ya go!

Blogging Around: The Quick Version

KWANZA ... and just how much is wrong with this manufactured holiday. If you don't read another thing, check out Kathy Shaidle's Kwanza poem, "'Twas the night before Kwanzaa and all through the 'hood, Maulana Karenga was up to no good..." Brilliant.

THE BOOK OF DANIEL ... more criticism before seeing anything but an ad and summary. Yes, this has potential to be bad but, on the other hand, I don't know if acting as if Christians could not be "a drug-addicted Episcopal priest whose wife depends heavily on her mid-day martinis" is healthy either. How about, let's wait and see how they treat it all on the show? Hmmm?

NOT THE EFFECT THE DEMS OR PRESS INTENDED ... the Anchoress talks with her neighbor who is being driven out of the Democratic party by their actions.

MY CATHOLIC is having a fundraiser.

PAPA THROWS DOWN WITH NEOCATECHUMENALS ... I never heard of them before but the more I read the more I realized why the Pope was eliminating a large portion of its liturgical innovations. Via Recta Ratio.

Favorite Posts Countdown III

In which I point you to some of my favorite posts by other bloggers this year.

The Doctor is In
For "The Choice of Fools" in which he writes honestly and powerfully about the difference that age makes and the difference that God makes.

I am bemused, you see–bemused to be told at my age that I do not know what I clearly do know, that I cannot ascertain the knowledge–or more precisely, the power–that has transformed my life.... You say you have prayed and those prayers were not answered; I too have prayed–years on end–to a God I once served but who in mercy left me to suffer the consequences of a life driven by self-will and self-satisfaction. Hollow prayers, desperate prayers, prayers a fool’s cry for help to a now-empty universe. A God I once understood completely proved completely inscrutable, hopelessly distant, His ear–if He existed at all–turned elsewhere, His eye on more worthy subjects. Have you then seen–in an hour unimaginably dark–that same God you never knew reach down with gentle hands and unspeakable love, to scoop up this poor refuse and restore him to a life and hope he could never have imagined?

Luminous Miseries
For "Bead by Bead" which has a heartfelt meditation about the rosary, to which Owen became devoted as he worked his way toward leaving his job as a Protestant minister and launched himself across the Tiber.

The fact of the rosary is this, it is not work but rather I rest in the rhythm of the Hail Marys, focusing on the meaning and prayer intention of the specific mystery from the life of Christ and his Mother, it is a realization that causes me to laugh that I ever thought that Catholics work for their salvation, in the sense that Protestants so often accuse Catholics of working for their salvation. In the rosary ours is to be obedient while God does the work of answering the prayer yes, but arguably more importantly as we rest in the rosary God does a work in us. I gave myself over early in faith to the idea that a central point of the rosary is seeing God's Son through Mary's eyes because she is our greatest example as devoted Christian.

Don't stop at these excerpts. Go read all of these posts.

Background Music: The Fifth Day of Christmas

Image from Chant Art

TODAY IN LITURGICAL TIME

• Optional Memorial of St. Thomas Becket, bishop and martyr
  See also this entry in the Catholic Encyclopedia
• The Fifth Day of Christmas: reading, activity, and recipe.

ON MY HEART
Of your kindness, please pray for:

• My parents' health
• Gayla's peace and her mother-in-law's healing
• My dear friend, Stevie, and her new baby, Kate (newborn with RSV, a respiratory ailment. Although they caught it very early and gave her medication a couple of days ago, one of the most common problems is with this aliment is dehydration because she can't nurse as much as she should because she has trouble breathing, and she is indeed dehydrated).
• The souls in Purgatory, especially those who have no one to offer prayers for them.
  

WELL SAID!
(from my quote journal)

There are those who hate Christianity and call their hatred an all-embracing love for all religion.

G. K. Chesterton

Getcha Saints Right Here!

Actually, not right here, but over at A Catholic Life there is a new post with more saints' selections of people to be special patrons for in 2006.

If you have requested a saint and don't see your name there, Moneybags' friend is struggling to keep up with the unexpected demand. This is when we all have to practice that patience that is such a virtue, right?

My Catholic Reflections

Darren just started up a few days ago but already has an interesting place set up. Drop by and welcome him to St. Blog's Parish.

More "Best Of's"

The Catholic Carnival is featuring bloggers' favorite posts in Catholic Carnival LXI: The Best of 2005. I saw some great ones that I remembered from past carnivals and also have one of mine in there too. Which one? Go see!

Blogger Spotlight

CHURCH OF THE TRAIN WRECK

Please, O Lord, help me get off my ass and get my soul in motion.

This is the prayer of the Church of the Train Wreck. Haven't we all prayed that at one point or another?

Tom has long been a fan of Chip Taylor's music and recently discovered his website. It is not properly a blog but actually a spot for podcasts.

Taylor was a musician who later made his living as a professional gambler. He realized that he was never more miserable and resolved to change his life. It worked so well that he has put together this site to help others do the same.

There is a system to help effect change, there are inspirational stories and music, and it is very laid back. If you swing by there, take a look at the photo. Remind you of anybody? Perhaps Jon Voight? (his brother) Another brother is a top vulcanologist. And then there is Chip Taylor whose music I really like. What a talented family.

I thought that this would be a good spot to highlight when so many people are making New Year's resolutions (not me ... I am constantly making resolutions ... no need for a special time of year!). When listening to the introduction I mentally went through the steps as he explained them. I came out of it feeling pretty darned good about my life. I have things I want to change, as does anyone, but there isn't a train wreck and that made me realize just how blessed my life has been.

A few of the basics are also available in print, including the introduction. Let me get you started and then you can go either listen or read the rest.

Hi, this is Chip Taylor. In a little while I'm going to tell you about an amazing thing that happened to me years ago that changed my life for the better. Over the years I have told that story upon occasion, particularly when I thought it might do somebody some good. And over time, the simple event that changed my life has helped many others as well...

First let me say that this meeting place is in no way meant to replace churches or houses of other faiths. However, it is here to help those who need to get back on track toward the fulfillment of their goals in life. And along the way, we'll listen to some music that might help remind us of the beauty and depth of the human spirit.

At The Church of The Train Wreck we don't have pastors or ministers — we have challengers — these are folks who invite you to get off your ass to do something to better your existence...

Feast of the Holy Innocents, martyrs

Duccio di Buoninsegna. Maesta (front, predella): The Massacre of the Innocents.

Nor must we forget that our greatest happiness and our most authentic good are not always those which we dream of and long for. It is difficult for us to see things in their true perspective: we can only take in a very small part of complete reality. We only see the tiny piece of reality that is here, in front of us. We are inclined to feel that earthly existence is the only real one and often consider our time on earth to be the period in which all our longings for perfect happiness ought to be fulfilled.

There is anguish for us, twenty centuries later, in thinking of the slain babies and their parents. for the babies the agony was soon over; in the next world they would come to know whoom they had died to save and for all eternity would have that glory. For the parents, the pain would have lasted longer; but at death they too must have found that there was a special sense in which God was in their debt, as he had never been indebted to any. They and their children were the only ones who ever agonized in order to save God's life ... (F. J. Sheed, To Know Christ Jesus)

In Conversation with God: Advent and Christmastide

Favorite Posts Countdown II

In which I point you to some of my favorite posts by other bloggers this year.

Kobayashi Maru
He shared with us the struggle his brother, Ed, made to fight recurring leukemia. It is a quietly powerful and moving story, one that I am not ashamed to say moved me to tears. The link goes to the next-to-the-last post. At the bottom of the post were links to previous posts. (Here is the link to his eulogy.) I advise going to the beginning and reading this journey of love and faith.

Last night we toasted to Ed's life, circled 'round the bed. His wife put a drop of his favorite single malt scotch (The Macallan) on his lips. At that, he raised the corner of his mouth in the way he always did when he grinned mischievously, then moved his tongue side-to-side to indicate he was there with us, enjoying the moment - and the whisky. That was a huge effort on his part, but there was no ambiguity. He was still there - a small, low pilot light.

Sigmund, Carl and Alfred
"The Fight for Your Soul" puts into sharp focus the reason that religion scares so many but why it is also so very vital to our welfare. Short, to the point, and inspirational.

In fact, the awe we experience is a manifestation of human dignity. We see and understand ourselves to be a part of a greater scheme. We understand ourselves to be a part of the masterpiece that is Creation. We- each of us, have a starring role in the play of life- Creation. It is an unfolding drama, comedy and musical- with our best efforts and intentions a part of the script. We are not meant to ad lib our way through life. We are obligated and meant to make Creation an even more magnificent expression that It is, and we each of us have lead role in doing just that.

Don't stop at these excerpts. Go read all of these posts.

New Year's is Coming ... Favorite Fiction

Favorite Fiction of 2005
(in no particular order)

• Anansi Boys : A Novel by Neil Gaiman
  The best thing he's written since Neverwhere and that's saying something. About the sons of one of my favorite "tricksters" ... Anansi the Spider.


• Magic Street by Orson Scott Card
  I'll never look at A Midsummers Night Dream the same way again.


• Valley of Bones by Michael Gruber
  We all remember how excited I was by this book right?


• Tropic of Night by Michael Gruber
  The precursor to Valley of Bones and just as excellent (and complicated) but with a major voodoo emphasis instead of Catholicism. However, the theme of mercy is still very much emphasized. I found it to be very "Christian" under everything.


• Home to Harmony by Philip Gulley
  Like the stories from A Prairie Home Companion but better and told from a Quaker minister's point of view. Very cozy.


• Sunshine by Robin McKinley
  Baking, vampires, a quest ...


• Our Lady of the Lost and Found: A Novel by Diane Schoemperlen
  A writer who lives a quiet life walks into her living room one day to find Mary (yes, the Blessed Virgin) standing in her living room with a suitcase. She needs a vacation to rest up before May begins with all the celebrations devoted to Mary. I think of this as a story of what Mary does in "ordinary time."


• Corpse de Ballet : A Nine Muses Mystery: Terpsichore by Ellen Pall
  More depth than the average mystery and a fascinating look behind the scenes developing a ballet.

Background Music: The Fourth Day of Christmas

Image from Chant Art

TODAY IN LITURGICAL TIME

• Feast of the Holy Innocents, martyrs
• The Fourth Day of Christmas: reading, activity, and recipe.

ON MY HEART
Of your kindness, please pray for:

• My parents' health
  
• Gayla's peace and her mother-in-law's healing
• John Stivala's surgery
  
• Sister Margaret Langsett, who has been diagnosed with a small cancerous growth on the side of her vocal chord. "She will meet with the radiologist on December 20 and will begin radiation therapy on Friday, December 23. She and the doctors are optimistic. Sister Margaret is a strong and faith-filled woman who has kept her sense of humor during this time uncertainty."
• Carol Carmichael. "She is in the hospital with congestive heart failure, very serious pneumonia, and today suffered a massive stroke. Please pray for her and her family."
• Natalie Bitto, who must undergo surgery to have her thyroid removed. "It is suspected that she has some form of cancer. Please pray for a total and complete healing for her. She is very young with a young child and husband."
• Julie O's prayer intentions

THANKS BE TO GOD FOR PRAYERS ANSWERED
Hector's daughter's improvement.

WELL SAID!
(from my quote journal)

Trying to understand spiritual truth through the intellect means increase of self. Men search for God and find Him unknowable ... But: He is known through the heart, not through philosophy. The only way for us to understand the infinite God is by becoming infinite and that is impossible. He must become finite and He is so in Jesus.

Sundar Singh (Hindu Sadhu who converted to Christianity)

I'm Laughing Already

There is a custom among us of drawing by lot, on New Year's Day, special Patrons for ourselves for the whole year. In the morning during meditation, there arose within me a secret desire that the Eucharistic Jesus be my special Patron for this year also, as in the past. But, hiding this desire from my Beloved, I spoke to Him about everything else but that. When we came to refectory for breakfast, we blessed ourselves and began drawing our patrons. When I approached the holy cards on which the names of the patrons were written, without hesitation I took one, but I didn't read the name immediately as I wanted to mortify myself for a few minutes. Suddenly, I heard a voice in my soul: "I am your patron. Read." I looked at once at the inscription and read, "Patron for the Year 1935 - the Most Blessed Eucharist." My heart leapt with joy, and I slipped quietly away from the sisters and went for a short visit before the Blessed Sacrament, where I poured out my heart. But Jesus sweetly admonished me that I should be at that moment together with the sisters. I went immediately in obedience to the rule.

Excerpt from Divine Mercy in My Soul, the Diary of St. Faustina"

This was part of an email received by Moneybags at A Catholic Life that spoke of choosing a saint at random to be your patron for the year ... or actually of letting the saint choose you. Moneybags then offered to let others have their patron for the year "chosen" as well.

I was intrigued by this idea since my experience with any of my favorite saints definitely has been of them making themselves known to me, rather than the other way around.

I looked at this as a way to have God match us up ... to let this saint show me things that I need to learn. So I asked Moneybags to have the emailer pull a saint's name. Then I asked God to send me the saint he wanted me to get to know over the year.

It was definitely with a feeling of amazement that I read that the saint that chose me was Saint Vitus. The patron saint of comedians.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. God has quite a sense of humor.

Could this matchup be any more perfect?

Well, yes it could.

Saint Vitus is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, who, as a group, are especially venerated in France and Germany. The Holy Helpers were believed to possess especially efficacious intercessory power. The relics of Vitus are said to possess many healing properties, especially when epileptics prayed before them.

Source

I never heard of the Fourteen Holy Helpers until last year when Yurodivi's wife was diagnosed with cancer and he alerted us to them as intercessors. To see them brought up again like that, so seemingly at random, got my Spidey senses tingling.

I believe Saint Vitus was sent to be my special patron this year.

A year spent with a saint who brings laughter and good will. Sounds good to me.

Prayer to Saint Vitus

Dear Vitus, the one thing we are certain about is that you died a martyr's death. In early times, churches were dedicated to you in important places. In the Middle Ages, your intercession obtained cures from epilepsy so that this disease came to be called "Saint Vitus' Dance". Inspire comedians to make people dance with laughter and so bear goodwill toward one another. Amen.

Read more about Saint Vitus here.

Moneybags is happy to pass on the request for your special patron of saint for 2006. All you have to do is hop over there and leave a comment.

Tagged!

Lee tagged me with the Liturgical Year Meme which, working ahead of the need (love it when I can do that), I have already done. I am reprinting it below.

In honor of the Blessed Trinity, we:

1. Write three things that we're grateful to God for in this past liturgical year.

1. My happy, happy, happy marriage (renewed in August by the marriage retreat)
2. The girls are both doing so well with school and friends.
3. All the fun I have blogging here with y'all.

2. Write three ways in which we hope to improve our relationship with God in this coming liturgical year.

1. Consistently pray in the morning and evenings (same as HF's but that's my constant struggle.
2. Bring the marriage retreat to our parish and, thereby, serve Him more than usual
3. Lectio divina (sacred reading that is also meditation) using the Bible

3. Pass this on to three other bloggers.

If you like it then help yourself!

Favorite Posts Countdown

In which I point you to some of my favorite posts by other bloggers this year.

Rick Lugari at De Civitate Dei
For "My 10 Greatest Influences" in which he did what none of us thought about by naming Satan as his number one influence. Talk about an attention getter! We were all going for the "good" influences but Rick had the big picture and went for all the influences that got him where he is today. In the process he practically gave us his conversion story and "let us in" much more than I have seen to date. An excellent and riveting post.

1. Satan. I’m terribly sorry to say that, but it’s true. Not that I am desiring to pay the evil-bastard any homage, but my life story is full of bad decisions, immoral actions, flawed thinking, etc. to which Satan’s influence played a big role. Because I had bought into his lies and acted upon them, I am still affected by him to this day. Fortunately I understand the process and usually recognize his influence, but it doesn’t mean that particular temptations aren’t persistently difficult for me to ward off. I was raised Catholic, but fell away at 18 years old. Part of the reason was that I was alienated with the leftists politics which was so prevalent among the clergy at the time, but truth be told I used that as more of an excuse to do ‘my will’ which had more to do with partying and acting upon concupiscence.

The Anchoress
For "Listen" a truly memorable post about what she learned after doctors said that she is losing her hearing. And for what we all learn along with her.

“Ma…what have you told me, all my life? God always uses the imperfect - the weak and humble and broken things to strengthen and build up and heal the world.”

“I’ve never said that!” I sobbed.

“You say it all the time!” Buster laughed. “You point it out all the time! About King David, St. Peter, St. Bernadette, John Paul II, Terri Schiavo, President Bush, heck, even the Agnus Dei, the Lamb of God was first made weak, humbled and broken…”

“Well, I’m not any of them!”

“No, you’re not,” he agreed, smiling as he got out of the car and walked around. Leaning in to give me a kiss, he said, “you’re not any of them, and you don’t have their greatness, you’re just an insignificant woman in a small suburban town…but in your little world, your broken little self can be used for something good, if you let Him use it. Maybe you should stop complaining and listen. Maybe all that silence in your future is so that you can hear something else.”

Don't stop at these excerpts. Go read all of these posts.

New Year's is Coming ...

... and that means it's time for those delightful "best of" lists. Hey, it amused me to make them so their purpose has been served. If it amuses anyone to read them, well it is doubly served.

Favorite Nonfiction of 2005
(in no particular order)

• Under the Overpass : A Journey of Faith on the Streets of America
  by Mike Yankoski


• The New Anti-Catholicism: The Last Acceptable Prejudice
  by Philip Jenkins
  


• Salt of the Earth: The Church at the End of the Millennium
  by Peter Seewalt and Cardinal Ratzinger
  


• The Politically Incorrect Guide to Science
  by Tom Bethell
  


• The Words We Pray: Discovering the Richness of Traditional Catholic Prayers
  by Amy Welborn
  


• Aristotle for Everybody: Difficult Thought Made Easy
  by Mortimer J. Adler
  


• The Right to Be Wrong: Ending the Culture War Over Religion in America
  by Kevin Seamus Hasson

Cookbooks and food writing will be covered in a separate post.

Background Music: Third Day of Christmas

Image from Chant Art

TODAY IN LITURGICAL TIME

• Feast of St. John, apostle and evangelist
• The Third Day of Christmas: reading, activity, and recipe.

ON MY HEART
Of your kindness, please pray for:

• Gayla's peace
• John Stivala's surgery
  
• Barb's family's loss of their Uncle Stanley.
  
• Dawn Kenward and her family who are awaiting news about cancer results
  
• Sister Margaret Langsett, who has been diagnosed with a small cancerous growth on the side of her vocal chord. "She will meet with the radiologist on December 20 and will begin radiation therapy on Friday, December 23. She and the doctors are optimistic. Sister Margaret is a strong and faith-filled woman who has kept her sense of humor during this time uncertainty."
• Carol Carmichael. "She is in the hospital with congestive heart failure, very serious pneumonia, and today suffered a massive stroke. Please pray for her and her family."
• Natalie Bitto, who must undergo surgery to have her thyroid removed. "It is suspected that she has some form of cancer. Please pray for a total and complete healing for her. She is very young with a young child and husband."
• Julie O's prayer intentions

THANKS BE TO GOD FOR PRAYERS ANSWERED
Hector's daughter's improvement.

WELL SAID!
(from my quote journal)

When a soldier in a battle is wounded or has to give ground a little, no one is so demanding or so ignorant of military matters as to think that this is a crime. Only those who do not fight are not wounded; those who charge the enemy with the greatest spirit are the ones who receive the most blows.

St. John Chrysostom

John, Apostle and Evangelist

Correggio. John the Evangelist (detail).

For John, as for everyone else, his vocation gave a new meaning even to the most ordinary things. The whole of life is affected by Our Lord's plans for each one of us ...

John's whole life was centred on His Lord and Master; in his faithfulness to Jesus he found the meaning of his life. He put up no resistance of any kind to His call; he was found on Calvary when all the others had disappeared. This is what our life, too, has to be like, because even though Our Lord calls some people in a special way, all his preaching comprises a vocation, an invitation to follow him into a new life whose secret he possesses: if any man would come after me ... (Matt 16:24)

Our Lord has chosen all of us -- some of us with a specific vocation -- to follow him, to imitate him and to carry on in the world the work of his Redemption. And from all of us he expects a joyful and unshakeable faithfulness like St. John's -- even in the most difficult moments.

In Conversation with God: Advent and Christmastide

Defending the Faith: Friendly Fire

Peter Kreeft has called for an ecumenical front of believers (of all sorts) against unbelief and secularism. By that, Kreeft does not mean Catholics should become religious indifferentists, holding one religion as good as another. Nor does he suggest we should never argue with those who disagree. He does so himself in his various books of apologetics. He means we should unite as far as we can, without compromising our commitment to the truth. Unfortunately, some Catholic apologists have not heeded Kreeft's ecumenical call to arms. By indiscriminately machine-gunning everyone in sight, including would-be allies, some overly aggressive apologists unwittingly weaken our side of the ... effort. In this spiritual battle, we cannot afford casualties lost to friendly fire.

How Not to Share Your Faith:
The Seven Deadly Sins of Apologetics
by Mark Brumley

It's Boxing Day in Britain

Check it out at Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen.

Christmas Blessings

We all got wonderful gifts and had a delicious meal (if I say so myself) with our loved ones. Tom's brother drove his mom to Dallas so we made rather more merry than usual with large family gatherings three nights in a row. Totally fun.

However, God trumped it all (as it should be) at Christmas Mass.

Advent had been really rich for me and had been building toward a Christmas Day climax of which I was totally unaware. I felt such joy at the promise of the Messiah being fulfilled, such as I have never felt before. For me that means tears and we must have been quite a lachrymose looking trio with me, my sister-in-law tearing up thinking of her recently sick grandmother, and my mother-in-law shedding tears of joy thinking of how my deceased father-in-law would have loved seeing three of his sons attending the Mass together. Because, lo and behold, to my great surprise when we had extended the Christmas Mass invitation to two of Tom's brothers everyone present accepted. (Only Tom and one other of his four brothers are still in the Church, and these two were some of the fallen-away).

Wow.

Our deacon's homily was as if tailor-made to speak to them ... really outstanding (and he's always good). I could feel the Holy Spirit flowing. What an experience.

Simultaneously, in the face of the glory and joy of the incarnation of the Word made flesh, I also was humbling myself and offering myself as his servant (once again ... wouldn't it be nice if I didn't have to keep revisiting and just stayed humble?). Knowing how I am when actually faced with that whole servant thing, I told him to trample all over my feelings and objections and just get me doing what he wanted. To use me as his servant.

After Mass, the deacon asked me to wait for a second and then offered me an opportunity to volunteer for something. Well, you can't say that God is a slacker, can you? He gets right down to business.

It is a ministry that I have been campaigning about to both our priest and deacon for some time. However, it also is one that I frankly didn't think I'd have any sort of input about. I have spent the past couple of years praying for this ministry to happen in obedience to what they told me (with a little pestering on side, just to keep my hand in, ya know!). It is also not in a form that I ever would have expected.

You know what that means, right?

It's got God's fingerprints all over it. Exciting! And intimidating also. I'll be contacting someone tomorrow about getting involved.

Because, for the moment at least (and as long as I can hang onto it), I am His humble servant.

I am more grateful than I can say.

Thanks be to God for prayers answered.

St. Stephen - The First Martyr

Image from Chant Art

We have only just celebrated the birth of our Lord and already the liturgy presents us with the feast of the first person to give his life for this Baby who has been born. Yesterday we wrapped Christ in swaddling clothes; today, he clothes Stephen with the garment of immortality. Yesterday, a narrow manger cradled the baby Christ; today, the infinite heaven has received Stephen in triumph. (St. Fulgentius, Sermon 3)

The Church wants to make us realize that the Cross is always very close to Jesus and his followers. As he struggles for perfect righteousness - sanctity - in this world, the Christian will meet perfect situations and attacks by the enemies of God. Our Lord has warned us: If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you ... Remember the word that I said to you; a servant is not greater than his master: If they persecuted me they will persecute you. (John 15:18-20) Since the very beginning of the Church this prophecy has been fulfilled. And in our days too, if we really follow Our Lord, we are going to suffer difficulties and persecutions in one way or another and of different kinds. Every age is an age of martyrdom, St. Augustine tells us. Don't say that Christians are not suffering persecution; the Apostle's words are always true ...: All who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. (2 Tim 3:12) All, he says, with no one being excluded or exempted. If you want to test the truth of this saying, you have only to begin to lead a pious life and you will see what good reason he had for saying this. (St. Augustine, Sermon 6, 2)

In Conversation with God: Advent and Christmastide

That Curt Jester Thinks of Everything

I got up this morning and realized those Advent candles might still be burning away on my sidebar.

Nope. Because The Curt Jester is right on top of things, taking care of us all with a touch of beauty that echoes the season.

Thanks, Jeff, for sharing your graphics gifts with us all!

Let's Go For a Miracle on This One

That's what knowing The Anchoress has taught me. Always go for the miracle. Storm heaven. Hector's daughter was struck down with illness on Christmas Eve and they have been at the hospital with her ever since.

It is likely that she has viral encephalitis. She is in a very serious state. Although her body is sedated, her brain activity is as if she is still having seizures. She may be here for 10 days or so. There is a possibility of permanent damage.

I can tell that it will be a bit more difficult to sing "joy to the world", and all the happy songs. Although deep down I know that I'm joyous we have Christ in the world, because he gives us spiritual comfort in times like this. We are never alone. In the chapel I looked up and saw Christ on the crucifix. We still have it easy compared to Mary and Jesus' friends and relatives.

I love you all and we are thankful for your prayers.

He's updating her condition in the comments boxes so drop in there for the latest news. And pray!

Update: A Merry Christmas Indeed! Praise the Lord for His mercy and goodness.

Background Music: The Second Day of Christmas

Image from Chant Art

TODAY IN LITURGICAL TIME
Feast of St. Stephen, first martyr

ON MY HEART
Of your kindness, please pray for:

• Hector's daughter who is seriously ill and hospitalized, and for the medical team and the family.
• Barb's family's loss of their Uncle Stanley.
  
• Dawn Kenward and her family who are awaiting news about cancer results ("the pathologist said ... from what he 'saw' he said we are probably looking at a very advanced case of lymphoma.")
• DarwinCatholic family
• Owen's struggle with the dragon

THANKS BE TO GOD FOR PRAYERS ANSWERED
My amazing experience at Mass yesterday.

WELL SAID!
(from my quote journal)

God is over all things,
under all things,
outside all,
within, but not enclosed
without, but not excluded,
above, but not raised up,
below, but now depressed,
wholly above, presiding,
wholly without, embracing,
wholly within, filling.

Hildevert of Lavardin

Welcome Lord Jesus!

Image from Chant Art

For a child is born to us, a son is given us;
upon his shoulder dominion rests.
They name him Wonder-Counselor, God-Hero,
Father-Forever, Prince of Peace.
His dominion is vast and forever peaceful,
From David's throne, and over his kingdom,
which he confirms and sustains
By judgment and justice, both now and forever.
The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this!

Isaiah 9:5-6

Thanks be to God!

May He bless you richly and may we recognize the blessings He sends us. Merry Christmas!

Note: I have been richly blessed by reading through the different Mass readings for Christmas. If you are not acquainted with them you may be interested in seeing what readings the Church has for different times of the day during Christmas.

Nativity of the Lord (Christmas)

At the Vigil Mass

Mass at Midnight

Mass at Dawn

Mass During the Day

A Couple More Things

At Spero News my article with some alternative Christmas movie suggestions, as well as a couple for New Year's.

Holiday eating tips and some joyful anticipation can be found at Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen.

Also, check out the sidebar quotes here and at the cooking blog. I can only use these once a year!

And now I'm outta here!

C'Mere, You Big Lug

Photo Source

KING KONG

The original King Kong is one of my favorite movies of all time so Peter Jackson and I have that in common. I was predisposed to like it merely because I knew Jackson was such a fan. And I did. In fact, we all did.

Jackson kept things moving along so well that it really didn't seem like three hours, although partway through all the monster fighting on the island I was ready for things to move along more quickly. Tip to the squeamish: when they show the guys who fell off the log? If you don't like bugs, then don't look ... no matter what. (This was my strategy and it worked well.)

The regular movie critics have pretty much covered it all ... you'll either like it or hate it.

We especially enjoyed the character development which the first movie lacked. It gave all the characters much more reason for what they did later on. Jack Black was particularly good as the megalomaniac who was going to make that movie come hell or high water ... or giant gorillas.

This King Kong is the most sympathetic yet and I had tears running down my cheeks at his ending (as always I'm usually rooting for him to take down the planes and hop a steamer back to Skull Island). However, Rose put it nicely for all of us when she said that it would have been nice if Jackson had made a little further delination between Ann Darrow's love for King Kong as a pal rather than as something more. As it was, we felt that poor Jack was getting King Kong's leftovers.

HC rating: 9 Thumbs Up!

Weekend Jokes: Christmas Edition

What do elves learn in school?
[The Elf-abet!]

What was so good about the neurotic doll the girl was given for Christmas?
[It was already wound up.]

Did you hear that one of Santa's reindeer now works for Proctor and Gambel?
[Its true, Comet cleans sinks!]

Mom, can I have a dog for Christmas?
[No, you can have turkey like everyone else.]

What nationality is Santa Claus?
[North Polish.]

What do you call a cat on the beach at Christmastime?
[Sandy Claws!]

What kind of bird can write?
[A PENguin.]

If Santa bought a vacation house on the South Pole would he be bi-polar?
[contributed by Jeff Miller]

Background Music: Christmas Eve

TODAY IN LITURGICAL TIME
Saturday of the Fourth Week of Advent

The entire liturgy of Christmas Eve is consecrated to the anticipation of the certain and sure arrival of the Savior: "Today you shall know that the Lord shall come and tomorrow you shall see His glory" (Invitatory of Matins for the Vigil of the Nativity). Throughout Advent we have seen how the preparation for Jesus' coming became more and more precise. Isaiah, John the Baptist and the Virgin Mother appeared throughout the season announcing and foretelling the coming of the King. We learn today that Christ according to His human nature is born at Bethlehem of the House of David of the Virgin Mary, and that according to His divine nature He is conceived of the Spirit of holiness, the Son of God and the Second Person of the Trinity.

• Advent Calendar with a memory, a link, and something special for each day
• Advent Reflections for every day

ON MY HEART
Of your kindness, please pray for:

• Hector's daughter who is seriously ill and hospitalized, and for the medical team and the family.
  
• Dawn Kenward and her family who are awaiting news about cancer results ("the pathologist said ... from what he 'saw' he said we are probably looking at a very advanced case of lymphoma.")
• DarwinCatholic family
• Owen's struggle with the dragon
• Christians in the Middle East, China, and wherever celebrating Christmas brings them in harm's way because of their love of Christ.
  

A WORD FROM OUR SPONSOR
(from my quote journal)

My son, when you come to serve the LORD, prepare yourself for trials.
Be sincere of heart and steadfast, undisturbed in time of adversity.
Cling to him, forsake him not; thus will your future be great.
Accept whatever befalls you, in crushing misfortune be patient;
For in fire gold is tested, and worthy men in the crucible of humiliation.
Trust God and he will help you; make straight your ways and hope in him.

Sirach 2:1-6, NAB

Night and Day You are the One

There are two kinds of people in the world:

Morning People and Night People

Morning People leap out of bed at daybreak and are raring to go, then they close up shop by 8 p.m. Night People are just getting warmed up by sundown, do their best work after midnight, then sleep until noon.

Don't take Morning People on late night dates -- they'll doze off. Brisk morning walks and elegant breakfasts are more their style.

Don't serve Night People breakfast in bed. They shine at dinner parties. They love late-night movies and midnight lovemaking.

1001 Ways to Be Romantic

I suppose we both edge toward Morning People more than Night People. Really, we are both middle-of-the-day people.

An Early Christmas Gift For Y'all!

Watch this from SNL ... Chronic of Narnia Rap. You also can download it free from iTunes.

So very funny. We all were dying laughing.

In a Stunning Lack of Originality ...

... I pause here to tell you that blogging will be light from here on out until after Christmas.

I'll still have something daily and will be popping in to check comments and dropping around the blogosphere to extend season's greetings to everyone ... but I've got a LOT going on. Everyone is coming over for Christmas dinner which will be delightful but requires a certain amount of prep work.

Grocery shopping (there's a butterflied leg of lamb with my name on it just waiting to be marinated for Christmas Day grilling ... yes we ARE in the South, can ya tell?), sugar cookie decorating, grocery shopping, gift wrapping, grocery shopping, Mexican food with Tom's family (his mom is coming to town, YAY!), cooking, gift wrapping, cooking, prepping for Hannah's friends to gather here before going to Midnight Mass (because I'm pretty sure they're gonna want to eat ... that is a constant in the teenage universe, is it not?), and more ...

... including finally going to see King Kong this afternoon!

Also if I can get it together (probably not before Christmas) I like the idea of keeping the 12 days of Christmas somehow ... so I'll be putting up ideas on that later ... as well as my lists of favorite books, movies, etc. from 2005. So there will be much more happening next week.

And now ... off to the grocery store!

UPDATE:
OH, the LINES!!!! The Central Market parking lot was like the mall with not one space open and people snarling over who got the next free space. All 20 checkout lines were open.

On the other hand, I did go through the store with Bono's double (yes, Jules, read it and weep). I must have run into him five times (and managed not to drool too much). He even had an exotic accent ... I think he was from East Texas! ha!

Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen

You can find a terrific looking recipe for Christmas morning.

It Takes Two Kinds: the Great Window Debate

There are two kinds of people in the world:

People Who Sleep With the Windows Open
and People Who Sleep With the Windows Closed

The serious point here is this: It's not about being right or wrong. It's about working things through, compromising, appreciating each other's quirks, and laughing a lot. (And on the practical side, an electric blanket with dual controls just might be a relation-saving gift!)

1001 Ways to Be Romantic

I like the windows open and Tom likes them closed. Lucky for him that we live near a busy street so we don't have to debate this issue, especially on cold nights. Those windows stay closed.

Defending the Faith: Instructing the Ignorant

Another source of confusion about allies and enemies is a misunderstanding of the Church's teaching on invincible ignorance and non-Catholics. Some apologists ... think that once Catholicism has been explained to the intelligent Protestant, for instance, he can no longer be invincibly ignorant of it. If he remains a Protestant, he cannot be saved. His remaining a Protestant in such a situation only proves to some apologists that he is not a good man. He is, they think, an enemy, not an ally, of truth.

We should be clear: those who hold this view do not deny that non-Catholics can be saved. They simply think that reasonable non-Catholics who have heard the case for the Catholic Church can no longer be invincibly ignorant. If such a non-Catholic fails to convert, it must be because he is, in his heart of hearts, stubbornly opposing the truth, and, therefore, stubbornly opposing God himself...

The trouble with this scenario is that it does not accurately represent Catholic teaching about ignorance and culpability. Invincible ignorance does not mean one is merely ignorant, through no fault of his own, of what the Catholic Church teaches; it means one is ignorant of its truth -- of the fact that it is true -- through no fault of his own ... after all is said and done, after the Catholic apologist has framed the best arguments he can and after the Protestant has investigated Catholicism honestly and to the best of his ability, the Protestant may still (erroneously and mysteriously, perhaps) think that Catholicism is false or less than completely true. If the Protestant were to become Catholic under those circumstances, he would be embracing what he thinks is untrue. And that would amount to sin, not salvation for him.

How Not to Share Your Faith:
The Seven Deadly Sins of Apologetics
by Mark Brumley

Again we see the great tribute paid to conscience. If someone is following theirs truly even if they don't agree with you, then they have the right to be wrong (as, indeed, we should have in their eyes).

Background Music: Dec. 23

TODAY IN LITURGICAL TIME
Optional Memorial of St. John of Kanty, priest

O Antiphon: O Emmanuel
Best commentaries I've found on the O Antiphons are at Comtemplare aliis Tradere. Also check out Fire, Salt, and Light.

• Advent Calendar with a memory, a link, and something special for each day
• Advent Reflections for every day

ON MY HEART
Of your kindness, please pray for:

• Dawn Kenward and her family who are awaiting news about cancer results ("the pathologist said ... from what he 'saw' he said we are probably looking at a very advanced case of lymphoma.")
• DarwinCatholic family
• Owen's struggle with the dragon
• The conversion of souls with a special intention for my parents

WELL SAID!
(from my quote journal)

Be faithful in little things, for in them your strength lies.

Mother Teresa

Just a Little Too Showy?

One of the funniest answers I've read to the Christmas meme comes from Fra. Lawrence (who I still can't help thinking of as Paul Lew).

Decorations on the outside of your house? No thanks, we're English!

Blogging Around: Advent and Christmastide

CHRIST, BE OUR LIGHT
Nathan has a great post about God choosing December 25 as Christmas. Why? Because of the connection with light ... not to steal a celebration for Christianity from the other religions that already had noticed the return to light at that time of year but to show the One True Light at a time everyone could understand. And also ...

... as a sign that there were not many covenants, but One Covenant, which would finds its fulfillment on the Cross when Christ would reconcile all things to himself so that God might be all in all.

CAN YOU FEEL IT?
Today at the Mission has a post that I just can't shake out of my head and I hope that rhymes with kerouac won't mind that I post this excerpt which is the heart of his post.

It's Christmas at the Mission.

Can you feel it? Can you feel the aching need for the advent of Christ, feel it deep down in the soles of your feet, deep down in the heart of the warm, snug suburban night? Can you feel the longing of a world gone mad, wandering lost and alone, unable to makes sense of anything, unable to function, unable to cope, unable to redeem itself? Can you see the madness of it all? Come Lord Jesus - oh please, Lord Jesus - come. In glory and power and honour and majesty come. And Lord, if you're coming tonight, if your coming to our little dark corner of the world tonight, bring it, Lord. Bring it on. Bring it all.

Cause we're lost without you.

WHY WE NEED ADVENT

Some of my Evangelical friends have wondered to me, via email, what the purpose is, of the Liturgical Year - why we Catholics, and others, put so much stock in"ritualistic" sorts of things, like Advent, and its trappings - the purple vestments, the Advent wreaths and such. "Jesus came once for all, he doesn't keep coming," one lady wrote to me - "Christmas is a wonderful remembrance, but why do you need a whole Advent season?"

I can only answer by saying -- look at what I wrote last year, and what I have written this year -- Christ is constant, but our lives are not...

The Anchoress answers her friends' questions eloquently and beautifully. Go read it all. She may be best known for her political posts but these are the ones I love best, where she lets the passion for her faith and her love of Christ spring forth.

CATHOLICS IN THE KITCHEN

• SFO Mom is baking some cookies that have a half cup of bourbon in them ... oh, and they also bring back wonderful memories.
• The Anchoress is making some butter cookies using a recipe that includes mashed hard-boiled egg yolks. I've never seen a recipe like that but it has a venerable history.
• Kalanna from Mere Catholics is over at Mere Cooking with a Breakfast Casserole that would be dandy for Christmas morning.

It's Amazing What Some Bloggers Care About

And it all depends on what you blog about also. A little commentary over at Meanwhile Back in the Kitchen.

Finishing Up Global Warming

I grow weary of this subject and I bet everyone else has also, so I will merely recommend that anyone with a remotely open mind go read this excellent speech by Michael Crichton who, I have been told by a reliable source, started to write a book about the dangers of global warming and ... well ... wound up with this speech.

A book recommended by the Politically Incorrect Guide is "Global Warming's Unfinished Debate" by S. Fred Singer; Oakland, CA: Independent Institute, 1999.

Next up, probably after Christmas ... nuclear power! I can't wait to see the comments boxes on that one.

Christmas is Coming ...

So it's the perfect time to do this meme which I picked up from Jean at Catholic Fire and then got tagged for by Rick Lugari.

Hot Chocolate or apple cider? Hot chocolate.

Turkey or Ham? Grilled leg of lamb please!

Do you get a Fake or Real you cut it yourself Christmas tree? Sadly, our tree is artificial because of a severe shortage one year. I looooove the real ones best.

Decorations on the outside of your house? Oh yeah!

Snowball fights or sledding? Snowball fights!

Do you enjoy going downtown shopping? Nope.

Favorite Christmas song? Favorite "real" Christmas song - It Came Upon a Midnight Clear. Favorite "fun" Christmas song - Jingle Bell Rock

How do you feel about Christmas movies? Love 'em! My favorite is A Christmas Carol with the best version being Alastair Sim's portrayal in 1951. If you haven't seen this one then you're missing out.

When is it too early to start listening to Christmas music? Before Thanksgiving.

Stockings before or after presents? Always before.

Carolers, do you or do you not watch and listen to them? We never have any carolers ... but I would listen if we did.

Go to someone else's house or they come to you? They come to me (until my girls grow up and have little ones ... in which case I will go to them).

Do you read the Christmas Story? No.

What do you do after presents and dinner? Play with our toys!

What is your favorite holiday smell? Pine trees.

Ice skating or walking around the mall? The walking, definitely the walking!

Do you open a present or presents on Christmas Eve, or wait until Christmas day? One gift on Christmas Eve and then everything else early Christmas morning

Favorite Christmas memory? The year my sister and I thought that we heard reindeer bells outside. That was very exciting and proof for those other dopey kids who were spreading false rumors about Santa's nonexistence.

Favorite part about winter? Taking a walk in the cold and then rushing inside to warm up.

Ever been kissed under mistletoe? No.

Want to join in? I won't name anyone because we're all probably very busy right now ... but let me know if you pick it up.

Notes on Mark: The Deaf and Dumb Man

MARK 7:32-33
I like the point that is made here about the deaf and dumb man being a symbol for us ... isn't that so often the way? We just don't "get it" until God opens our eyes and our heart.

Sacred Scripture quite often shows the laying on of hands as a gesture indicating the transfer of power or blessing (cf. Gen 48:11; 2 Kings 5:11; Lk 3:13). Everyone knows that saliva can help heal minor cuts. In the language of Revelation fingers symbolized powerful divine action (cf. Ex 8:19; Ps 8:4; Lk 11:20). So Jesus uses signs which suit in some way the effect he wants to achieve, though we can see from the text that the effect -- the instantaneous cure of the deaf and dumb man -- far exceeds the sign used.

In the miracle of the deaf and dumb man we can see a symbol of the way God acts on souls: for us to believe, God must first open our heart so we can listen to his word. Then, like the Apostles, we too can proclaim the magnalia Dei, the mighty works of God (cf. Acts 2:11). In the Church's liturgy (cf. the hymn Veni Creator) the Holy Spirit is compared to the finger of the right hand of God the Father (Digitus paternae dexerae). The Consoler produces in our souls, in the supernatural order, effects comparable to those which Christ produces in the body of the deaf and dumb man.

Navarre Bible: St. Mark

Background Music: Dec. 22

TODAY IN LITURGICAL TIME
Thursday of the Fourth Week of Advent

O Antiphon: O King of the Gentiles
Best commentaries I've found on the O Antiphons are at Comtemplare aliis Tradere. Also check out Fire, Salt, and Light.

• Advent Calendar with a memory, a link, and something special for each day
• Advent Reflections for every day

ON MY HEART
Of your kindness, please pray for:

• Owen's struggle with the dragon
  
• The conversion of souls with a special intention for my parents

THANKS BE TO GOD FOR PRAYERS ANSWERED
The Anchoress' benign tumor
(A lot of people were pulling for her ... read about SC&A's payoff to God on this matter.)

WELL SAID!
(from my quote journal)

When a man is in a state of sin, he has no sense of sin. A man dives into the water. On his head are lakhs of maunds of water but he does not feel their weight at all. But on coming out of the water if he lifts a vesselful of water he thoroughly understands how heavy the water is. In the same way, when a man is sunk in sin he has no sense of sin, but once he is delivered he is conscious of the least sin.

Sundar Singh, a Hindu Sadhu who converted to Christianity

Blogging Around

HEAR THE O ANTIPHONS
The Anchoress has links to some quite lovely sung versions, as well as a wonderful meditation of her own, as only she can do it.

CPF'S VIRTUAL CHRISTMAS GIFTS
The Catholic Packer Fan gives some loyal readers (among them yours truly) their gifts. I got a lump of coal. Great idea though I may not have time to pull this off before Christmas. However, as mine is largely a Catholic crowd, perhaps I'll give out Epiphany gifts!

LIVING IN KAMINA

Relaxing on a woven mat, I pop another roasted peanut in my mouth. The breeze is gentle but still strong enough for the kids running barefoot in the sand to keep their hand-made kites high in the air. Some of the younger girls cuddle up next to me. They are enjoying salted lemons - much too sour for me. From the churchyard across the way, I can hear the youth choir practicing. I can't help but think they sound like the Grateful Dead.

What it's like to live at a mission in Democratic Republic of Congo.

My Papa, He's Stylin'

I really love that Pope Benedict is bringing back those old styles.

Here we see the entire ensemble, including his delightful and evidently traditional red shoes.

Christmas is Coming ...

I heartily agree with this list from Slashfood. Even in a moment of "gotta get a last minute gift" desperation, do not give this to some hapless recipient.

Bottom Five Food Gifts

1. Giant peanut butter cookies with M&Ms baked in.
   Such a nice, colorful idea. But by the time they're given, the cookies are hard and stale and the pretty candy coating of the M&Ms have begun to shatter...


2. Any homemade goodie that includes storebought breakfast cereal.
   I love me a Rice Krispies treat as much as the next woman, but I'm highly suspect of the home kitchens that make these marshmallow-encrusted bar snacks...


3. Any prepackaged food gift presented in a mug, then wrapped in cellophane.
   I think this is where candy goes when it's been rejected by the food bank for being years past its expiration date...


4. Whitman's Samplers or Russell Stover chocolates.
   Boxes of these inscrutable chocolates were the stuff of dreams when I was six. I longed for the Whitman's Sampler four-pack. Now I'm an adult and I have standards...


5. Honey-roasted peanuts.
   Remember when these were a delicacy? The snack everyone crowded around at family parties? Now they're more high-fructose than honey and we have better things to do...

A Different Kind of Carol

Ideal fourteenth-century courtiers were expected not only to be good listeners and critics of music and song but to be performers as well, as proficient in singing as in dancing. In fact, if they were dancing a "carol" they would actually sing at the same time as they danced. It must have been a charming scene, with courtiers moving about the hall in what we would nowadays think of as a "country dance" -- singing together, perhaps sometimes the men taking one part and sometimes the ladies. In the days before amplified music, the "carol" must have been as rousing as it got.

Who Murdered Chaucer? A Medieval Mystery
by Terry Jones

I really am charmed by the picture this makes in my mind's eye of the men and women moving through the dance figures singing back and forth. It adds a liveliness to those ancient days that I hadn't imagined before.

By the way, the author of this book is Terry Jones from Monty Python's Flying Circus. He went on to become something of an expert in medieval history.

It All Depends on Where You Stick That Thermometer

According to the most reliable summaries of the earth's surface temperatures for the whole globe, which go back no further than 1861, there was a warming period in the first half of the twentieth century, lasting from about 1910 to 1940. That was followed by a cooling period from 1940 to 1975. Since 1975, we have experienced a slight warming trend. The three periods combined give us a surface temperature increase of perhaps one degree Fahrenheit for the entire twentieth century.

But there is a problem. Satellite measurements of atmospheric temperatures do not agree with these surface readings. Satellite measurements began only in 1979, and they have shown no significant increase for atmospheric temperature in the last century. Balloon readings did show an abrupt, one-time increase in 1976-1977. Since then, however, those temperatures seem to have stabilized.

Environmentalists believe that the twentieth-century warming was caused by human activity, primarily the burning of fossil fuels...

The [Greenhouse] effect itself is not disputed by scientists, but whether man-made carbon-dioxide emissions have been sufficient to cause measurable global temperature increase over the last thirty years is a matter of fierce debate ...

The surface data itself suggests that man-made carbon dioxide has not been sufficient to increase global temperatures. Consider the period 1940-1975, a time of considerable fossil fuel consumption. Coal-fired plants emitted smoke and fumes without any Green party or environmental ministers to restrain them. Yet the Earth cooled slightly. Also, if manmade global warming is real, atmospheric as well as surface temperatures should have steadily increased. This has not happened. Increases were recorded only in the late 1970s, but these were probably caused by a solar anomaly, not by anything man was doing.

The Politically Incorrect Guide to Science

UPDATE:

General global warming thinking would be that the warming of the troposphere (red) results in the stratosphere (blue) being cooler. However, several times on the chart both are warming (like the summer of 1997).

Background Music: Dec. 21

TODAY IN LITURGICAL TIME
Optional Memorial of St. Peter Canisius, priest and doctor

O Antiphon: O Radiant Dawn
Best commentaries I've found on the O Antiphons are at Comtemplare aliis Tradere

• Advent Calendar with a memory, a link, and something special for each day
• Advent Reflections for every day

ON MY HEART
Of your kindness, please pray for:

• T's eyesight to return after surgery
• Matthew's recovery from mono
  
• KM's foot surgery
• The conversion of souls with a special intention for my parents

WELL SAID!
(from my quote journal)

The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook.

William James

Wild Things

Check out the trailer for Apocalypto, Mel Gibson's next movie. Now, if only I understood Mayan symbolism I'd have a fighting chance. Via Looking Closer Journal.

As Advent Winds to an End

Unconditional love, borne out in such humility - displaced, swaddled and kept in a food bin (and what food!) lived in obscurity, broken in basest humiliation and pain - this is no God who stands apart, but one who enters in unabashedly, who wallows in our humanity and then transcends it, promising the same transcendence to all of us - the ability to rise above, be renewed, be restored, be Eternal -- and still, we too often stand aloof in pride, unpiercable. Perhaps God knew that only the cry of a vulnerable babe would get our attention.

The Anchoress has a poetic and beautiful post about this last week of Advent. Somehow she is able to touch on what I have felt during the entire Advent season.

Every time I go to Mass and think about Christmas coming somehow I have been transfixed by the Crucifix. I can't take my eyes off of it, thinking of Jesus preparing to come all those many years ago, to humble himself unbelievably from true and almighty God to humble, tiny, helpless baby ... so that he could offer himself as a sacrifice in our stead, for our sin. Has there ever been such a love?

No wonder I can hardly comprehend it but keep turning it over and over in my mind. I can feel my heart, my soul really, literally swelling with love and gratitude every time I think of it.

It has been a good Advent season for me.

Blogging Around: Heartfelt Things

WHY I FIGHT
Remarks by Rabbi Daniel Lapin at The National Press Club about why he fights for Christmas. Via Tony at Catholic Pillow Fight.

THE WAR IN HEAVEN
Steven Riddle at Flos Carmeli reminds us that the battle in heaven is already won but our fight continues.

Spiritual combat is something few of us are really prepared for. I may think I'm ready. But what I'm ready for is to resist the temptations I can readily identify--not those that creep up on me in a blind moment. I'm ready to fight what I know to be the enemy not the disguised one, the event that takes me by surprise.

COLOR BLINDNESS
Quoth the Maven discovers a friend is color blind and turns her thoughts to heavenly discoveries.

It made me think how very very glorious it will be for him when he reaches heaven and actually sees real color! I can just see him wandering around, for several years at least, saying "This is what indigo looks like? This is hot pink? And what about this? Is this burnt umber?"

But we all have areas of blindness -- things we just don't get. Like how I don't get the great Russian authors. Will I finally figure out what makes them so great when I have a chance to maybe hear or read them in the original language?

And what other blindnesses, I have to wonder, will be revealed when we hit heaven? ...

LISTENING FOR THE LORD
The Catholic Packer Fan learns just how great his father's faith really is. This one really touched me, thinking of this frail gentleman in the nursing home knowing that God still has a direction and purpose for his life. Would that I have faith as great under similar circumstances.

CATHOLIC CARNIVAL
Being held this week at Our Word and Welcome to It.

Blogger Meeting Photos

Left to right: Tom and psyguy

Left to right: Happy Catholic and epiphany

If I'd have remembered photos would be taken I'd have spruced up a bit!

Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen...

... you can find a recipe for Chocolate Mint Filled Cookies (oh, so very good!) and get the scoop on Makar Sankrat/Pongal(yeah, I never heard of it either ...).

Christmas is Coming ...

The Perfect Gift ... One That Keeps on Giving

A Midwestern farmer named Dan West was ladling out rations of milk to hungry children during the Spanish Civil War when it hit him.

“These children don’t need a cup, they need a cow.”

West, who was serving as a Church of the Brethren relief worker, was forced to decide who would receive the limited rations and who wouldn’t – literally, who would live and who would die. This kind of aid, he knew, would never be enough.

So West returned home to form Heifers for Relief, dedicated to ending hunger permanently by providing families with livestock and training so that they “could be spared the indignity of depending on others to feed their children.”

In 1944, the first shipment of 17 heifers left York, Pennsylvania, for Puerto Rico, going to families whose malnourished children had never even tasted milk. Learn about the cowboys who brought cows and kids together.

Why heifers? These are young cows that haven’t yet given birth – making them perfect not only for supplying a continued source of milk, but also for supplying a continued source of support. That’s because each family receiving a heifer agrees to “pass on the gift” and donate the female offspring to another family, so that the gift of food is never-ending.

This simple idea of giving families a source of food rather than short-term relief caught on and has continued for almost 60 years. As a result, millions of families in 115 countries are experiencing better health, more income and the joy of helping others.

Heifer International is my favorite charity. You can buy a gift as inexpensive as a share of a pig for $10 or splurge on an entire water buffalo. Take a look. Perfect for last minute gifts or for the person who already has everything. Just give a donation in their name.

Well Said!

[on dryness in prayer]
... what kept me going was the rhythm of a disciplined prayer life. This I believe, is the wisdom of the "Sunday obligation," the obligation of the clergy to pray the Office and the rosary ... Once again, Holy Mother Church provides the means to carry us through the dry spells if only we'd listen. But then, if we are only listening to our feelings, listening to ourselves, how can we hear the wisdom of the church and her saints? How can we hear God if the one we worship is in fact our very own selves?

Contemplata aliis Tradere
(from my quote journal)

Defending the Faith: Ecumenism

Some apologists have trouble here because when it comes to dialogue with non-Catholic Christians, they have only half of the equation. These apologists rightly want to present Catholic truth as the fullness of the Christian faith, but they do not necessarily know how to discuss their faith with non-Catholic Christians without entering into full-blown apologetical arguments. They may be great when it comes to arguments, but they seem to be lost when it comes to ecumenism. Among other things, ecumenism means stressing (and valuing) what we Christians have in common, as well as discussing our differences. Both elements are needed if we are to attain the full unity Christ wills for his followers. And both elements have a role to play in the Church's mission...

According to Vatican II's Decree on Ecumenism, Unitatis Redintegratio, Catholics must make "every effort to eliminate words, judgments, and actions which do not correspond to the condition of separated brethren with truth and fairness and so make mutual relations between them more difficult." Yet how often do we hear Catholic apologists mischaracterize Protestant theology or fail to distinguish among the various Protestant positions on certain subjects? Often, the underlying attitude is this: since the Catholic Church is ultimately right and Protestantism of whatever stripe is ultimately wrong, what does it matter if the Catholic apologist confuses Reformed doctrine with Methodism, or Baptist beliefs with Presbyterianism? Who can keep straight all the varieties of Protestantism anyway? But difficult or not, correctly representing non-Catholic beliefs is part of the Church's ecumenical teaching.

How Not to Share Your Faith:
The Seven Deadly Sins of Apologetics
by Mark Brumley

I honestly cannot think of a way to insult someone more than to say, "Oh whatever. You Protestants are all alike anyway. Because you're wrong!" Gee whiz. Way to be charitable! Of course, it would be so very nice to say that I have never encountered that lack of understanding (which I prefer to think of as charity) from Protestants. Sadly I can't. How can you properly discuss anything with someone unless you understand their point of view also? Or are at least willing to let them explain it to you?

Background Music

TODAY IN LITURGICAL TIME
Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Advent

"Come, lead the captives from their prison." With the key of His almighty power, the Redeemer has opened the prison in which poor, sinful man was languishing in darkness and in the shadow of death.

Key of David, come and deliver the captives from their prison. The Church wishes that by the practice of virtue we should free ourselves from sin and unfaithfulness. She asks God that He may spare us from punishment, deliver us from His wrath, from an evil death, and from hell. The Church prays that God may free us from a heart that clings to the world, from a spirit that is pleased with worldliness, from a human respect that degrades us...

O Antiphon: O Key of David

• Advent Calendar with a memory, a link, and something special for each day
• Advent Reflections for every day

ON MY HEART
Of your kindness, please pray for:

• TP's outpatient surgery today, as well as her mom's strep throat.
  
• T's eyesight to return after surgery
• Karla and Tony ... their future happiness
• KM's foot surgery
• The conversion of souls with a special intention for my parents
  

Since We're Talkin' Iraq ... Kind Of

Yet there was Jim Lehrer on the NewsHour earlier this month earnestly asking Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld about the 10 Americans killed that day. It is hard to imagine anybody in any previous war asking any such question of anyone responsible for fighting a war.

We have lost more men than that in our most overwhelming and one-sided victories in previous wars. During an aerial battle over the Mariana Islands in World War II, Americans shot down hundreds of Japanese planes while losing about 30 of their own.

If the media of that era had been reporting the way the media report today, all we would have heard about would have been that more than two dozen Americans were killed that day.

Neither our troops nor the terrorists are in Iraq just to be killed. Both have objectives. But any objectives we achieve get short shrift in the mainstream media, if they are mentioned at all.

A great editorial about lack of good news from Iraq and the media's role. Read the whole thing here (free registration required).

Cindy Sheehan, Mr. Post, and Me

Actually, there is very little of me in this post at all, except for this introduction which I realize is very long (so perhaps there's more than just a little of me in here).

Rose said, "Look who Rolling Stone picked as their "Maverick of the Year" and held the magazine up to show us a closeup of Cindy Sheehan, her face twisted in sorrow.

*collective eye roll from everyone in the house*

I haven't said much about Cindy Sheehan here because I really haven't much to say except that I feel great pity for her. I believe she is unbalanced by her sorrow and being taken advantage (by the media if nothing else). As I was expounding on that for the umpteenth time, Rose burst out, "Even Mr. Post doesn't like her ... and he's a liberal!" (Bishop Lynch is a conservative bastion and the "liberal" teachers all are well known.)

She then pulled this editorial from the school newspaper and began to read it aloud. At that moment her ride showed up and after she left, I was so interested that I continued reading it aloud to Tom.

Cindy Sheehan And I

Hmm. This is exasperating. Frustrating. Infuriating. Maddening.

Cindy Sheehan and I.

I have read a good bit on her, since that is what I do. I read a good bit in a good bit of publications about a good bit of people and a good bit of subjects. I am an American intellectual with the academic pedigree to anchor it, the didactic curiosity to sustain it and the confidence to flaunt it.

We have next to nothing in common, Cindy Sheehan and I. She is from the West. I am from the East. She is a woman. I am a man. She likes wine. I like beer. She appears to be unemployed. I work a million hours a week. She has bad hair. I have no hair. She alludes to the "treasonous deviltry" of the right and the "conniving greed" and "commercial manipulation" by the Jews to cause this war. I encourage sober evaluation of Conservative reasoning and teach the historically justified trepidation of the Jews. And yet, due mostly to the irresponsible promotion of her by the media and the carelessness for which most Americans cultivate their judgments, we are the same.

Exactly the same, Cindy Sheehan and I.

You see, Cindy Sheehan and I oppose the war in Iraq. She has been presented by the mainstream media as the symbol of the anti-war movement by lending ridiculous amounts of air and print time to her funky, contrived protest in Crawford in which she demanded the politically impossible: a face to face talk with our Commander in Chief about why her son was killed in the conflict. So we have formed an invisible and yet impenetrable bond with each other, Cindy Sheehan and I.

Because of her of the war eventually ends with me being defensive and dismissive about Cindy Sheehan and her neo-hippie polemics about why we are in error for waging this conflict. I do not have the space allotted in this forum to properly elucidate the salient arguments, be they ultimately right or wrong, that provide the ballast for my opposition.

But trust me on this one -- or come by any time at the end of Heritage Hall and we can advocate our contentions in person -- I have absolutely lucid, rational, informed and intellectually honest rationale.

Cindy Sheehan does not.

I can trace, for instance, in whatever detail you desire, the complex, serpentine path of Al Qaeda commencing with the Afghanistan resistance to the Soviet Union invasion in the late seventies, to last weeks arrest in Bali of 4 money launderers in a second tier sleeper cell supported by a convoluted terrorist network of shady operatives like Butheiana al-Haj Saleh and Rafkik Bashar al-Semak.

Cindy Sheehan can not.

I can tell you the dynamics and peculiarly American reluctance to embrace Imperialism that has led us through a long trail of disappointments that includes the Post-Spanish War Philippine revolution, to complications in the artificial construction of sovereign countries in post-WWI Europe, to systematic flaws in Cold-War Domino Theory initiatives like the Bay of Pigs and Vietnam, to the precarious and dicey nation-building effort in Iraq today.

Cindy Sheehan can not.

I can effortlessly engage in lively and multi-faceted discussions on a variety of levels about the ramifications of our dependency on crude oil. I can highlight the diverse commentaries of Thomas Friedman, David Broeder, Noam Chomsky and George Will as to the critical element of oil in the ultimate outcomes of our goals and aspirations as the leader of the free world.

Cindy Sheehan can not.

If, by this stage of this rant you have attained the glazed over look of the typical American consumer of journalism, than you have confirmed my claims.

And yet Cindy Sheehan, because of the media's obsession with her honestly motivated but ultimately trite, goofy mission, and the determination of Americans to insist on cursory analysis, she has become the talisman of the anti-war movement. Preposterous.

Is the media wagging the electorate? Is the government wagging the media that is wagging the electorate? Is the pedestrian American, groomed on a steady and relentless diet of 60 second sound bites on the occasional evening news, wagging the media who is wagging the government?

That my friends, I do not know. But guess what? Neither does Cindy Sheehan.

Hmm.

I suppose, than, in the end, we do have something in common after all, Cindy Sheehan and I..

Mr. Post is another of the excellent teachers Hannah has been fortunate enough to have at Bishop Lynch. He teaches U.S. Government and is a tough grader. As mentioned above, he's a known liberal (quelle horreur!) and this makes the kids wary when they take his class. Hannah also found him to be intelligent, humorous, and extremely fair.

The Anchoress has often reminded us of her liberal friends with whom she does not agree often, but with whom she is still friends regardless.

Mr. Post's editorial reminds me of this and also makes me think of my very good friend, Toby, who is one of the few liberal leaners with whom I can have a rational conversation about politics and religion without either of us going for the throat. We respect each other's beliefs, intelligence, and ability to reason ... even if we also believe that the other person is generally wrong. (Ahhh, but we all have the right to be wrong about politics as well as religion, do we not?)

This is a truly rare quality. I am lucky to find it in Toby. Hannah is lucky to have seen her teacher exhibit it so consistently. And I feel lucky to pass this editorial on to y'all, even though I do not agree with Mr. Post about the war in Iraq. Should we ever discuss it (Heaven forfend ... I have the distinct notion he'd argue circles around me), I somehow feel that he and I would have much more in common than Cindy Sheehan has with either one of us.

Blogging Around: This 'N' That

IT'S ABOUT LOVE

To me this is not about rules, or "shoulds," this is about love. We are all in a journey of conversion of our hearts, we are all in a journey of holiness. As much as I love God, I am also weak. I need God's grace to continue in a journey of becoming more like Him, until I'll be able to "dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life."

A very nice post by Your Pastoral Coach about the value of confession.

ON CELEBRATING ALL TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS
Recta Ratio points us toward a previous post with twelve ideas to keep the spirit of the season in our homes until Epiphany.

NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL A SECRET SANTA

A Northboro man returned to the Westboro MBTA parking lot to find a rock in his car, but this was no act of vandalism.
A mysterious jilted lover left a stunning, three-stone engagement ring on the front seat in a box wrapped with a white bow.

Get the whole story here.

ADVENT READING
Dappled Things is up and running with fiction, poetry, photos, and essays.

STUDY SHOWS MEDIA LEANS TO LEFT

While the editorial page of The Wall Street Journal is conservative, the newspaper's news pages are liberal, even more liberal than The New York Times. The Drudge Report may have a right-wing reputation, but it leans left. Coverage by public television and radio is conservative compared to the rest of the mainstream media. Meanwhile, almost all major media outlets tilt to the left.

These are just a few of the surprising findings from a UCLA-led study, which is believed to be the first successful attempt at objectively quantifying bias in a range of media outlets and ranking them accordingly.

This isn't news to a whole bunch of us. Get the whole story here. Via What Is and What Never Should Be.

It Takes Two Kinds

There are two kinds of people in the world:

Left-Brained People and Right-Brained People

Left-Brained People tend to be logical and analytical. Right-Brained People tend to be emotional and intuitive. The current cultural stereotype is that men are logical and women are emotional. This is often -- but not nearly always -- true. Studies show that this generalization is true for about 60 percent of the people. The important lesson for lovers is to treat your loved one as an individual, not as a stereotype.

1001 Ways to Be Romantic

Gee, looking at this, I think that I am Whole-Brained because I recognize strong tendencies for all of those characteristics. Maybe I'll ask an expert. Oh, Tom ...

Hey, That's Right!

You scored as Sacrament model. Your model of the church is Sacrament. The church is the effective sign of the revelation that is the person of Jesus Christ. Christians are transformed by Christ and then become a beacon of Christ wherever they go. This model has a remarkable capacity for integrating other models of the church. Sacrament model 61% Institutional Model 56% Herald Model 50% Mystical Communion Model 39% Servant Model 11% What is your model of the church? [Dulles] created with QuizFarm.com

Via TO.

Geek Meet

What fun we had with epiphany and Minivan Dad (who when I checked his comments, despite claims to the contrary did not have PsyGuy as a handle)!

It was a true meeting of the geeks as we held down a table for three hours at a local Chinese restaurant chatting about sci-fi, Star Trek, the singularity concept as applied to science fiction (ok, that was AFTER they explained to me what the heck that was), families, faith, and, of course, blogging (good thing that restaurant wasn't very busy). And we still weren't done talking!

They are a delightful couple and we are so pleased to think that they swing through Dallas on a regular basis so we might get another chance to see them. epiphany took photos of all and I'll post them as soon as I get copies.

Nothing to Fear Except Fear Itself

Has it ever occurred to you how astonishing the culture of Western society really is? Industrialized nations provide their citizens with unprecedented safety, health, and comfort. Average life spans increased 50 percent in the last century. Yet modern people live in abject fear. They are afraid of strangers, disease, of crime, of the environment. They are afraid of the homes they live in, the food they eat, the technology that surrounds them. They are in a particular panic over things they can't even see -- germs, chemicals, additives, pollutants. They are timid, nervous, fretful, and depressed. And even more amazingly, they are convinced that the environment of the entire planet is being destroyed around them. Remarkable! Like the belief in witchcraft, it's an extraordinary delusion -- a global fantasy worthy of the Middle Ages. Everything is going to hell, and we must all live in fear.

Michael Crichton, State of Fear, quoted in
The Politically Incorrect Guide to Science

You know, that never had occurred to me, although I recognized it as soon as I read it. Remarkable indeed.

Why is this? Tom blames the media for their desire to sell with alarmist headlines and sound bytes. I agree although I also would include the experts who constantly are chiming in about the dire consequences of not following recommendations whether it is about child care, household products, the environment, or voting. Is it any wonder that we are so cynical about what "everybody knows" in our household?

Well Said!

Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.

Mother Teresa
(from my quote journal)

Background Music

TODAY IN LITURGICAL TIME
Monday of the Fourth Week of Advent

Today is the third of the O Antiphons. Christ the King, the Lord! Divine Wisdom, Adonai, the powerful God, is at the same time man with flesh and blood of the house of Jesse, the father of King David. Truly, the right of kingship has now passed from the house of David. The glory that once clothed the royal family has faded and withered, leaving only a blighted and withered root. But from this root is to spring a glorious blossom, the King of the world. "He shall rule from sea to sea and from the river unto the ends of the earth. Before Him the Ethiopians shall fall down and His enemies shall lick the ground. The kings of Tharsis and the islands shall offer presents: the kings of the Arabians and of Saba shall serve Him" (Ps. 71:8-11). To Him God has said, "Thou art My Son. . . . I will give Thee the Gentiles for Thy inheritance, and the utmost parts of the earth for Thy possession" (Ps. 2:7 f.).

O Antiphon: O Root of Jesse

• Advent Calendar with a memory, a link, and something special for each day
• Advent Reflections for every day

ON MY HEART
Of your kindness, please pray for:

• TP's outpatient surgery tomorrow, as well as her mom's strep throat.
  
• DarwinCatholic who is keeping vigil with his dying father.
• Gayla's husband's successful surgery and release from constant pain.
• All my blogging buddies, those whose blogs I read ... and, last but certainly NOT least, those who drop by here.
  

Notes on Mark: Table Scraps

MARK 7:24-30
I always was rather shocked by Jesus' apparent attitude toward this woman. For one thing I know that to call someone a dog in the Middle East is a great insult and for him to use it while turning down this poor woman's request is ... well just not the way I think of Jesus acting toward supplicants. Barclay provides the first good answer I have ever seen given to this episode, and one that is exactly in line with how Jesus usually acts. I especially like the idea that this actually turned into witty repartee where Jesus was just waiting for the woman to give the right answer so he could say yes. Sometimes, the truth is in the translation!

The story itself must be read with insight. The woman came asking Jesus' help for her daughter. His answer was that it was not right to take the children's bread and give it to the dogs...

The dog was not the well-loved guardian that it is today; more commonly it was a symbol of dishonor. To the Greek, the word dog meant a shameless and audacious woman it was used exactly with the connotation that we use the word bitch today. To the Jew it was equally a term of contempt. "Do not give the dogs what is holy." (Matthew 7:6; cp. Philippians 3:2; Revelation 22:15)...

No matter how you look at it, the term dog is an insult. How, then, are we to explain Jesus' use of it here?

1. He did not use the usual word; he used a diminutive word which described, not the wild dogs of the streets, but the little lap-dogs of the house. In Greek, diminutives are characteristically affectionate. Jesus took the sting out of the word.
2. Without a doubt his tone of voice made all the difference. The same word can be a deadly insult and an affectionate address, according to the tone of voice. We can call a man "an old rascal" in a voice of contempt or a voice of affection. Jesus' tone took all the poison out of the word.
3. In any event Jesus did not shut the door. First, he said, the children must be fed; but only first; there is meat left for the household pets. True, Israel had the first offer of the gospel, but only the first; there were others still to come. The woman was a Greek, and the Greeks had a gift of repartee; and she saw at once that Jesus was speaking with a smile. She knew that the door was swinging on its hinges. In those days people did not have either knives or forks or table-napkins. They ate with their hands; they wiped the soiled hands on chunks of bread and then flung the bread away and the house-dogs ate it. So the woman said, "I know the children are fed first, but can't I even get the scraps the children throw away?" And Jesus loved it. Here was a sunny faith that would not take no for an answer, here was a woman with the tragedy of an ill daughter at home and there was still light enough in her heart to reply with a smile. Her faith was tested and her faith was real, and her prayer was answered. Symbolically she stands for the Gentile world which so eagerly seized on the bread of heaven which the Jews rejected and threw away.

The Gospel of Mark
(The Daily Bible Series, rev. ed.)

Background Music

TODAY IN LITURGICAL TIME
Fourth Sunday of Advent

Today is the second of the O Antiphons, O Adonai (O Almighty God). As Moses approached the burning bush, so we approach the divine Savior in the form of a child in the crib, or in the form of the consecrated host, and falling down we adore Him. "Put off the shoes from thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground . . . I am who am." "Come with an outstretched arm to redeem us." This is the cry of the Church for the second coming of Christ on the last day. The return of the Savior brings us plentiful redemption.

O Antiphon: O Lord and Ruler

• Advent Calendar with a memory, a link, and something special for each day
• Advent Reflections for every day

ON MY HEART
Of your kindness, please pray for:

• DarwinCatholic who is keeping vigil with his dying father.
• Gayla's husband's successful surgery and release from constant pain.
• All my blogging buddies, those whose blogs I read ... and, last but certainly NOT least, those who drop by here.
  

Now, having signally failed in my mini-resolution to not turn on the computer on Sunday, I am now going to turn it OFF ... and go make cookies, watch a little football, go out to dinner with friends ... and generally take joy in the day that the Lord has made for us to worship him. Go enjoy your families and friends everyone. I'll be back tomorrow morning.

Makes Me Wish I Watched South Park

Speaking of Brokeback Mountain...

Cartman: No dude, independent films are those black and white hippie movies. They’re always about gay cowboys eating pudding.

Wenday: No they’re not. Independent films are produced outside the Hollywood system. They’re movies without all the glitz and glamour of Hollywood.

Cartman: Well, you show me one independent film that isn’t about gay cowboys eating pudding.

Via Minivan Mom.

In the News

As read in the Dallas Morning News this morning.

18'S NOT A CROWD
Inspirational story of a couple who believed it when the Bible says children are a joy sent from God. They have 16 children now, all their own.

EARTH TO INTELLECTUALS
Why do we keep paying attention to intellectuals when the track record on their predictions is so terrible? Good question and maybe that's why I tend to be so cynical about such things.

AOTHER REASON TO LOVE MORGAN FREEMAN

You're going to relegate my history to a month? I don't want a black history month. Black history is American history.

Morgan Freeman, decrying the idea as
"ridiculous" on CBS' 60 Minutes tonight.

HAPPY CATHOLIC TO MEET MINIVAN MOM AND DAD
Ok this wasn't in the newspaper but it's some of the most interesting news to come my way today. Tom and I are meeting epiphany and hubbie Minivan Dad at our favorite mom and pop Chinese place. I was a bit nervous but after talking for over half an hour to ephipany yesterday I think we're gonna do juuuuuust fine!

Weekend Joke

A mathematician, an accountant and an economist apply for the same job.

The interviewer calls in the mathematician and asks "What do two plus two equal?" The mathematician replies "Four." The interviewer asks "Four, exactly?" The mathematician looks at the interviewer incredulously and says "Yes, four, exactly."

Then the interviewer calls in the accountant and asks the same question "What do two plus two equal?" The accountant says "On average, four -- give or take ten percent, but on average, four."

Then the interviewer calls in the economist and poses the same question "What do two plus two equal?" The economist gets up, locks the door, closes the shade, sits down next to the interviewer and says "What do you want it to equal?"

Surprise! The Church is Not Homophobic Enough.

The USCCB review of Brokeback Mountain, the movie about two gay cowboys in 1935 Wyoming, raised a flap in the Catholic blogosphere as it seemed to be relatively positive despite the movie's focus on homosexuality. The majority of the problem is that they originally didn't give it the "Morally Offensive" rating that such subject matter obviously deserves when taken in context with Catholic teachings.

That has now been revised, albeit with disclaimers that put all misunderstandings off on the readers. Right. Whatever. Take this tip, y'all ... if the audience doesn't understand the message it is your fault for being bad communicators (or for tweaking your original assessment when the complaints started roaring in ... and don't think we can't tell the difference).

Others have taken issue with the fact that the review seems sympathetic to the movie. I think that the main problem is that the reviewer was trying to do double duty: looking at subject matter in relationship to Catholic teachings and also review the movie as a work of art.

Heads up guys. Don't. You won't satisfy anyone.

Too bad they didn't employ the same tactics as Christianity Today who handled the situation perfectly. They prefaced their review with the below explanation before going on to assess the movie's content based on it's value as a movie (not a morality play) ... which is what movie critics do, after all.

Editor's note: This film depicts a homosexual relationship, and includes a graphic sex scene between the two men. After much discussion, Christianity Today Movies has decided to review the film despite its controversial subject matter. It has been nominated for seven Golden Globe Awards and will certainly be an Oscar contender. The film is a hot topic of conversation around the nation, and we'd be remiss to simply ignore it. Part of our mission statement is "to inform and equip Christian moviegoers to make discerning choices" about what films you'll watch -- or won't watch. And this review, just like all of our reviews, certainly accomplishes that. As for the 3-star rating, that is only in reference to the quality of the filmmaking, the acting, the cinematography, etc. It is not a "recommendation" to see the film, nor is it a rating of the "moral acceptability" of the subject matter.

I don't know why the USCCB does movie reviews anyway. For one thing I never even remember to look at them, being seasoned in making my own assessment based on regular reviews. For another, it seems to me that we all are making our own judgments out in the big, bad world on everything else. They don't review books, music, television ... or any other cultural influences.

Bottom line: the USCCB should stick to what they know. (Admittedly that is up for questioning also considering some of the guidelines the USCCB hands down these days.) If they want to give the "view from the Church" about a movie's subject material vis-a-vis Church teachings, no problem. Otherwise, leave the movie reviews to those who know what they're doing.

UPDATE:
Jeffrey Overstreet weighs in with a link of his own to Jimmy Akins commentary on the review. Akins is comprehensive about what is wrong overall but I also like Overstreet's comment.

Since Harry Forbes took over as head of the film review responsibilities for the USCCB, the reviews have indeed declined in quality, depth, and insight. David DiCerto, the man who can pass up a bad pun, writes stronger reviews. But it boggles the mind to think that Steven D. Greydanus, the finest Catholic film critic on the Web, was passed over for this job in favor of Forbes. That's like passing up Roger Ebert and hiring Larry King.

I concur. If you haven't been to Greydanus' Decent Films Guide then you've been missing a top reviewer.

Background Music

TODAY IN LITURGICAL TIME
Saturday of the Third Week of Advent
Aunt C.B. reminds me of something that the liturgical calendar talks about (click through the link above) which is that the "O Antiphons" begin today. Learning something new again because I'm thinking, "Huh?" So I'll put a brief excerpt and link to the antiphon of the day.

December 17 marks the beginning of the O Antiphons, the seven jewels of our liturgy, dating back to the fourth century, one for each day until Christmas Eve. These antiphons address Christ with seven magnificent Messianic titles, based on the Old Testament prophecies and types of Christ. The Church recalls the variety of the ills of man before the coming of the Redeemer.

O Antiphon: Wisdom

How cool is that? Very! Paul Lew has got it goin' on with antiphons so go check out his last few posts for the indepth scoop. Recta Ratio is right on top of things with a Christmas Novena that links to these antiphons.

• Advent Calendar with a memory, a link, and something special for each day
• Advent Reflections for every day

LAST DAY OF WINTER EMBER DAYS
Information about Ember Days can be found here and here). I like Recta Ratio's take on Ember Days. Here he talks about Embertide during Advent and here he explains why Thursday is not a fast day. Now that is something I didn't know. I always was just thankful there was a break in the fasting. As always, I learn something new every day.

ON MY HEART
Of your kindness, please pray for:

• DarwinCatholic who is keeping vigil with his dying father.
• Adre-Anna and her family. Via On the Other Foot.
• Baby Nicholas and his family
• Baby Francesca and her family.
  
• P's peace and joy
• Oppressed Christians in the Middle East
• These poor souls massacred by their government.
  

WELL SAID!

When the innocent suffer, great good is let loose in the world, and souls, who wouldn't otherwise have gotten in, reach heaven.

Karen Torres
(from my quote journal)

Blogging Around: Some Catholic Things

OPUS DEI Q&A
John Allen summarizes what he's being asked on the media tour for his new book in The Word From Rome. Fascinating information and now that I have such a good summary of the book I don't have to read it (not having been particularly interested in the first place).

ADVENT READING
Dappled Things Literary Magazine will have the first issue ready for release on December 18 with Advent pieces. Check it out.

MANLY PRIESTS
Here is an excellent piece from Crisis Magazine about why our priests are fathers and men. Also check out this post by Nathan who notices, as I have also how many people are suddenly writing in support of that very thing ... and helping us see it from a different perspective, giving it weight. He has a good roundup of links as well as his own conclusions.

THE REAL PRESENCE IN THE EUCHARIST
Highly recommended for anyone struggling to understand the Catholic belief in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist is this piece by Upper Canada Catholic.

2005 Weblog Award Results

Find them here. None of my favorites won though The Anchoress came in second in the Best Conservative Blog category. It doesn't really matter as the true honor in any of these awards (IMO) is being nominated. Like a lot of the awards listings, this is a good source to check out the favorites in the blogsphere.

Brokeback Hogwarts

All it takes is a little creative editing and the right voiceover to remake Harry Potter into a new movie altogether.

This is just as hilarious as when The Shining trailer was redone as a romantic comedy.

Bird Flu and Percentages

When public officials talk about bird flu, they often quote a scary statistic: Half of all the people known to be infected with the virus have died. But scientists say that figure has little bearing on what's likely to happen in an actual pandemic.

In fact, flu experts have pretty much ignored the 50-percent figure when estimating how many people might die in a bird-flu pandemic. That's because such a high mortality rate goes against all of our experience with flu viruses, says Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

"We have never in our wildest dreams seen that in our history, where you have something that spreads rapidly throughout the world and kills 50 percent of the people," Fauci says. "Even with the infamous 1918 pandemic, we didn't even come close to a 50-percent mortality. It was more like 1.5 to 2 percent...

Tom caught this story on NPR and told me about it. Very interesting to hear the reasons that the 50% figure will be tossed around in the first place (other than the obvious, which is that it gets your attention and sells newspapers). Also, that 1.5 to 2 percent is of the people who contracted the flu in the first place.

Now millions still died in that 1918 pandemic and the bird flu is acting different than most flu's so there is no telling ... but this just goes along with the idea of keep it simple and dramatic that we saw in this quote.

Between things like this and the stem cell story from this morning the Politically Incorrect Guide to Science is looking more and more believable.

Christmas Is Coming...

Get outta my head, TSO!

Gift Book Buyin' Blues

I buy a book for you, but then I want it too,
Said I buy a book for you, but thens I want it too.

I got the book-buyin' blues
Two for you and one for me,
I got the book-buyin' blues.

I read a book I have, but you'll need it for your lav.
I read a book I have and ya know you'll need it for your lav.
(That's lavatory, man)

I got de book-buyin' blues
One for you and two for me,
I got dem book-buyin' blues....

I get home late one evenin'
and our Visa bill is max'd,
she tells me no more books
so I play this mournful sax...

I got de book-buyin' blues
One for you and one for me,
I got dem book-buyin' blues....

It Ain't Necessarily So: Stem Cells

SEOUL (Reuters) - Key parts of a landmark paper from South Korea's most renowned stem cell scientist were fabricated and the researcher is seeking to have the work withdrawn, a close collaborator told South Korean media on Thursday...

Roh told media nine of the 11 stem cell lines that were part of the tailored stem study paper were fabricated and the authenticity of the other two was questionable.

According to recent reports in South Korean media, some of the photographic images of the stem cells lines may have been manipulated to make it appear as if there were 11 separate lines.

Read the whole story

Skipping ahead a bit in the The Politically Incorrect Guide to Science, this quote seems prescient when taken into account with the happenings above.

For years it was not stem cells but gene therapy -- the idea of fixing a disease by mending broken DNA -- that seemed to be the ultimate expression of molecular medicine. Cures, we were told, lay just around the corner. Unfortunately, success turned out to be much harder to achieve in people than to diagram on a chalkboard ... Realization that the promised cures were years away finally burst the bubble. Today, a disappointingly small number of hardy investigators remain in what was once medicine's most highly anticipated new area of research.

Is this going to be the fate of embryonic stem cell science in five or ten years? I hope not, and yet it's also not very difficult to imagine this happening. Already newspapers are filled with extravagant claims of progress and cures. These reports belie the very slow rate of true scientific advancement. Add to this the explicit expectation of rapid clinical progress ... and you have a recipe for trouble.

David A. Shaywitz,
Harvard stem cell researcher,
Washington Post, April 29, 2005

UPDATE: Get Religion has a good story with links about the cloning superstar's "feet of clay."

A Word of Encouragement

Proverbs 10:4
A slack hand causes poverty,
but the hand of the diligent makes rich.

--------------------

People are often surprised to discover that a goodly portion of Scripture is devoted to common sense advice about business, child-rearing, and so forth. We have this notion that a truly spiritual book would not soil itself with attention to such mundane, workaday drudgery. But the fact is, God immersed himself in our mundane workaday world to the point of becoming a human being himself and enduring all the tedium and tiredness that came with being a day laborer and a Galilean peasant. In so doing, he blessed human work and desired that we be blessed through it. Like all human things, work can be pursued in one of two ways. We can -- as we so often do with money, sex, power -- treat it as an idol and devote our lives to it above all things, including above God himself. Such a choice to be a workaholic carries within it the seeds of its own judgment as many a miserable businessman will tell you on the way to divorce court or to his child's psychiatrist. The other way to regard work is to see it as sacramental and seek to honor God through it. Those who do this will not only work diligently, they will rest and worship God diligently too. For it is we, says Pope John Paul II, who dignify our work, not work that dignifies us.

Catholic Exchange

This is one of the reasons that Sirach is one of my favorite books of the Bible. Where else are you going to find little practical tidbits of advice like this, "See that there is no lattice in her room..." Yep, those Biblical writers ... they knew human nature.

Dialogue

For all these years I had thought of doubt and faith as mutually exclusive opposites. Also faith and reason, faith and despair, faith and fear. I had thought that as long as I still had doubt, I could not have faith. For all these years, I had assumed that god did not want to hear from me until I had resolved my doubts and vanquished my uncertainty.

But that Thursday night in April with the Virgin Mary sleeping in the room next door, it suddenly occurred to me that I was wrong. Maybe this endless internal monologue need not be a monologue at all. Maybe it was meant to be a dialogue. Perhaps, for all these years, I had not needed to be talking to myself. Perhaps, for all these years, I could have been talking to God. Perhaps that night, when I thought I was thinking, really I was praying.

Perhaps it was more important to ask these questions than to have all the answers. Perhaps God was just as interested in hearing about my doubts as anything else. I finally understood that just as, according to Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, a system is changed by the observer, so I, too, was being changed forever by asking the questions in the first place. I finally understood that my uncertainty and my doubt were gifts that made me the perfect candidate for faith.

Our Lady of the Lost and Found
by Diane Schoemperlen

Because the person who keeps questioning and looking will be answered in the end. Seek and ye shall find, knock and the door shall be opened. People who think that God expects certainty and perfect faith and therefore turn away don't understand that doubt and questions are the human condition. Good thing for us that God knows it. And He never gives up on us. Never.

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TODAY IN LITURGICAL TIME
Friday of the Third Week of Advent

Keeping watch is above all a matter of loving. We may have difficulties in keeping our love awake: selfishness, a lack of mortification and temperance always threaten to extinguish the flame that Our Lord lights time and again in our hearts. That is why we need constantly to revive the flame, to shake ourselves our of any repetitive routine, to struggle. St. Paul compares this watchfulness to the well-armed soldier on guard duty who does not allow himself to be taken by surprise (1 Cor 16:16).

In Conversation with God: Advent and Christmastide

• Advent Calendar with a memory, a link, and something special for each day
• Advent Reflections for every day

ON MY HEART
Of your kindness, please pray for:

• A little boy who is having open heart surgery: "Gabriel will be having his second surgery a week from Tuesday on the 20th. It is a 7-8 hour surgery with a 7-10 day recovery period in the hospital."
  
• P's peace and joy
• Oppressed Chinese Catholics
  

WELL SAID!

Chance is perhaps the pseudonym of God when he did not want to sign.

Anatole France
(from my quote journal)

The Vanish Inquisition

O brilliance, thy name is The Curt Jester who observes that Pope Benedict's most clever accomplishment yet is conducting an inquisition that is self-motivated.

Go read. And pay special attention to the last line of his post which is an excellent reminder for us all.

Blogging Around: 'Tis the Season

CHRISTMAS CAME FIRST IN ROME
In Calculating Christmas we are given the intriguing idea that Saturnalia a big Roman sun-oriented holiday came after Christmas as an attempt to subvert Christianity. Via Cacoethes Scribendi.

JOSE FELICIANO EAT YOUR HEART OUT
New lyrics for Feliz Navidad thanks to Mama T's McKid.

Police! No bad dogs!
Police! No bad dogs!

LIVING UP TO "A RELIGION OF PEACE"
Indonesian Muslim youths will be guarding Christian churches on Christmas. A heart felt thank you goes to these volunteers. Via On the Other Foot.

GIFTS FOR KIDS WHO COOK
A good list at Slashfood.

MMMMM, EGGNOG...
The Traveler's Lunchbox has what looks like a truly divine recipe to offer.

HAPPY SHAB-E YALDA!
What the heck is that? Find out at Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen.

Finally Caught Up with Veronica Mars

We finally got a chance to watch last week's show and I have to say Veronica Mars just keeps getting better and better. I don't know if it would be difficult to catch up with the plot at this point but I must recommend it again. Too bad they have it on opposite Lost but while there is a Christmas hiatus in the schedule it is a good time to give it a try.

I didn't realize how much I missed Wallace on the show until he showed up at Veronica's door on New Year's Eve.

And, of course, didn't we know the whole "baby" plot was going to play out as it did? Fiendishly clever, those writers.

Logan has never been more likable than when he was crying after watching the tape of his father and Lily. He and Veronica really should get back together. (Not that I have a soft spot for that witty bad boy or anything.)

Peddling Fear

Stanford climatologist Stephen Schneider, winner of a MacArthur Fellow "genius" award in 1992, was quoted as saying: "We have to offer up scary scenarios, make simplified, dramatic statements, and make little mention of any doubts we might have. This 'double ethical bind' we frequently find ourselves in cannot be solved by any formula. Each of us has to decide what the right balance is between being effective and being honest. I hope that means both."

Discover, October 1989, quoted in
The Politically Incorrect Guide to Science

This seems to me to be a rare moment of unguarded honesty in how much of science operates today. Perhaps something we should all keep in mind?

I Just Can't Put This Book Down

Garlic and Sapphires : The Secret Life of a Critic in Disguise by Ruth Reichl

I tried Reichl's first two memoirs attracted by the food writing connection but, let's face it, I just don't like the grittiness that comes with some memoirs and Reichl's were of that sort to me. This book, however, is nothing like that as Reichl is telling about her struggles to stay "under cover" as when it is announced she will be the next NY Times food critic her photo is plastered all over restaurant kitchens throughout the city. She also tells about her struggles to change the sorts of restaurants that the Times covers, including a hilarious recounting of her interview where she tried her hardest to be so outrageous that they wouldn't offer her the job. I am only partway through but this book is a great read for anyone interested in food writing ... or any writing.

Christmas is Coming

Image from Chant Art

SOMETHING OLD

I have always thought of Christmas time as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year, when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely.

Charles Dickens

SOMETHING NEW

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree
Thy beauty is so wanting

O Christmas tree, O Christmas tree
Your needles fall so halting

You fold your branches up too high,
Can't hang my lights up to the sky

O Christmas tree, O Christmas Tree,
It's time to make you lovely!

Holy Fool

Background Music

TODAY IN LITURGICAL TIME
Thursday of the Third Week of Advent

• Advent Calendar with a memory, a link, and something special for each day
• Advent Reflections for every day

ON MY HEART
Of your kindness, please pray for:

• The Anchoress' lumpectomy today
• My friend Nici's request: "Just over a week ago my cousin Amy, who lives in Charleston saw her boyfriend Nick off as he deployed for Columbia. He was a Navy helicopter pilot part of a special anti drug trafficing effort off the coast of Columbia. We found out yesterday morning that his helicopter went down into the Pacific and the crew has not been recovered. They are presumed dead. Nick had already become a part of the family, spending the last few years with us for the holidays. They had planned on getting engaged soon after he returned from his deployment. Please pray for my cousin Amy and for Nick's family. He was an exceptional young man and will be terribly missed."
  
• The souls of the students and others killed in the plane crash in Nigeria and the peace of their families.
• The soul of Mark Shea's father-in-law the peace of the family
• P's peace and joy

WELL SAID!

The Mass is not a staged drama at which we applaud the talent of the performers.

James V. Schall
(from my quote journal)

Defending the Faith and Contentiousness, IV

Previously on Happy Catholic ... part I.

You may ask, "What do you do when your opponent utters nonsense against Christ or the Church?" It is easier to say what you should not do. The general rule the Catholic Evidence Guild followed was never to make a joke at the expense of someone who offers a question or comment, even a hostile or foolish one. The best advice in that regard I ever personally received came from Karl Keating, who said, "Let your opponent's foolishness speak for itself. Your job is to present the truth as winsomely as possible." After all, what do you really accomplish in a battle of wits with a food. If you belittle or make jokes about him, it probably will reflect badly on your and your message...

... When Catholic apologists become contentious, their good sense sometimes disappears and too often with it, any consideration the non-Catholic might have given to the faith. Here the apologist would do well to remember 1 Peter 3:15 and 16. "Always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who calls you to account for the hope that is in you," Peter writes, adding, perhaps with the contentious apologist in mind, "yet do it with gentleness and reverence; and keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are abused, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame."

How Not to Share Your Faith:
The Seven Deadly Sins of Apologetics
by Mark Brumley

Catholic Carnival

I can't believe I forgot to post this ... well, better late than never, right? The Catholic Carnival is at Living Catholicism this week. Check it out for Advent and Spice ... and everything nice!

Resource Spotlight

CHANT ART

My work is to collect and archive the antique holy cards. Paper was expensive and precious over eighty years ago. Many people have neglected or discarded religious paper. Before it is lost forever, the images need to not only be shared, but also spared. Paper will not last. The older it is the more it has a chance to disintegrate. Time is running out for most antique paper. I hope I can do my part is saving at least, the artwork images. Modern technology is I am certain, a part God's plan to help not only with remembering the past, but in creating future possibilities that at this time we cannot imagine.

Read the whole inspirational Chant Art story here but suffice it to say that Julie Ann Brown is saving some gorgeous art. Chant art offers both copyrighted holy cards and royalty free downloadable art for very reasonable rates. Do stop by the site to see some of it. And I'll give you just a bit more here.

Let Me Just Say This About TX Drivers' License Requirements

Did you know that if you are teaching your child and have used a state approved course you can say you don't want your child to be tested? And they'll just hand over a license?

Now that doesn't seem right to me. It didn't to Tom either. We wanted Hannah to take the test with someone other than a fond parent driving (or one who was restraining screams ... that would be me).

However, the official said that their theory is that you have been driving with your child the entire time and would know if they are ready to drive or not. Well, yes, we do but what about the other parents? Like one of Hannah's friends whose father took her out three times and then tossed her the keys? This does not seem like a good policy to me.

When Tom said he wanted Hannah to take the test, they were dumbfounded. Were going to have to hunt someone down to do it. Warned him that she'd have to retake the entire course if she failed the test ... and that was what did it.

He barely made it through the unnecessary intricacies of that class paperwork as it was. The thought of having to do it again made all their other arguments suddenly take on a weight and rightness that they hadn't before.

We do know that she's a good driver. I just would have liked to have her prove it to someone beside me. It's that extra bit of insurance, of someone looking over our shoulders to make sure we didn't miss something.

Now we just have to pony up for the insurance. And that's gonna hurt.

Global Warming and Volatility

Yesterday's post, which was an excerpt of three bullet points about global warming from the Politically Incorrect Guide to Science, certainly set off some interesting comments. I appreciate everyone's civility in that exchange of ... I can't say ideas ... science beliefs might be the better term.

I think what I find more fascinating than anything else is how three little bullet points with no other details set off negative commentary that spoke as if they knew what the author's support for those points was ... without ever asking questions for further information or reading the book themselves to see if there was, perhaps, evidence that these people hadn't considered.

That, more than anything, showed me what ingrained beliefs we hold about these scientific theories. As I mentioned in my mini-review I know that stunned feeling at seeing "what everybody knows" challenged and I can empathize with the desire to do the best thing that motivates people on both sides.

Previously I was just going to post the provocative bullet points that lead each chapter (yes, I was "poking" to see what happened). However, I believe I will give a few more excerpts than I intended just to give a sample of where the author is coming from. I am not taking any of these theories up as causes to promote, although I do find the author's information to make sense in many cases. This is just because I found the information interesting and thought provoking. I am hoping that people will ask a few more questions and be a little inclined to consider the possibility that "what everybody knows" ain't necessarily so.

Think of health information and how often it changes. For example, I recently saw a study where scientists are now saying that the "glass a day" of wine may not be a good idea after all. This is after we have been told with surety that a glass a day is the way to good health and long life. And before that concept was promoted that we were told the sure way to health and long life was no alcohol at all. So I do not find it mind boggling that scientific theories about other disciplines could easily have led both scientists and the public astray.

If nothing else I certainly now appreciate the scientists who have gone on the record as having a different theory. It shows me how sure they must be of their theories to risk such ridicule from their peers. They are putting their professional reputations on the line. I am doing nothing more than risking becoming known as the "Flat Earth Catholic" or some other clever name.

The question is, are we open minded enough to explore the possibilities ... whether they turn up as dead ends or as valid theories?

Countdown to Christmas

Image from Chant Art

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store. What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more.

Dr. Seuss

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EMBER DAYS BEGIN TODAY
What are Ember Days? Karen Marie Knapp at From the Anchor Hold, which is where I first heard of this devotion, gives a clear, straight forward explanation.

The Ember Days are an ancient observance and devotion --- already in the fifth century they were well-known and described as being of apostolic origin.

The Ember Days are observed on the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday following St. Lucy's day (December 13), following Ash Wednesday, following Pentecost Sunday, and following the feast of the Triumph of the Cross (today, September 14th). Roughly at the turning of each season, we fast and abstain, and give alms, and pray, to thank God for sustaining us with the gifts of nature through the cycle of the seasons, to help us learn to use those gifts wisely and moderately, and to assist the needy.

We don't have to give up the Ember Days. We need them in some ways more than ever in our times, to remind us that our daily food doesn't really come from the supermarket --- it comes from our earth, from the hard work of farming people, from rain and sun and snow cover at the proper times, and from proper stewardship of the earth's goods by the proper use of the land and the water and the air.

So we pray, we fast, we do works of reparation and mercy. We remind ourselves that we depend on God --- not on Kraft, Nabisco, and General Mills; not on Sentry, Jewel, or Pick n Save --- to sustain us always.

(More info can be found here and here)

TODAY IN LITURGICAL TIME
Memorial of St. John of the Cross

ON MY HEART
Of your kindness, please pray for:

• T's healing of his eyes after his second surgery.
• Tammy's special intention
• P's peace and joy
  
• Hannah, who is taking her driver's license test today.

WELL SAID

We didn't create our children, nor do we own them. This is good news. We don't need to blame ourselves for all their problems nor should we claim for ourselves their successes.

Children are gifts from God. They are given to us so we can offer them a safe, loving place to grow to inner and outer freedom. They are like strangers who ask for hospitality, become good friends, and then leave again to continue their journey. They bring immense joy and immense sorrow precisely because they are gifts. And a good gift, as a proverb says, is "twice given." The gift we receive, we have to give again ... They do not belong to us. They belong to God, and one of the greatest acts of trust in God is letting our children make their own choices and find their way.

Henri Nouwen
(from my quote journal)

I first came across this quote at a time when it was immensely comforting to be reminded that, as another quote says, "God doesn't have any grandchildren."

Ordinary People in History

... Imagine all the chronologists making their lists and checking them twice. Imagine every single thing that has ever happened falling into place and staying there.

When I began to read about Mary after she left, I turned naturally enough to these chronologies. I already knew that she was reported to have made more than twenty thousand appearances in the past two hundred years. But I found that in these books she made few or no appearances at all. In a chronology of women's history, she was listed only five times, as having given birth to Jesus in 1 A.D., as having given rise to a cult-following by 1100, as having appeared to Juan Diego in Mexico in 1531, to Catherine Laboure in Paris in 1830, and to Bernadette Soubirous at Lourdes in 1858. She was not mentioned at all in any of the other books.

How can this omission be explained in light of the fact that Marian veneration has flourished around the world ever since her death in the first century? How is it that the most influential, inspirational, and significant woman in the history of the world is not accorded a single mention in most standard history books?

Despite having been thus rendered virtually invisible by most secular historians, Mary has not become a quaint and feeble anachronism. She has remained an important and ongoing part of history. Like most people, she has continued to exist as both a part or and apart from history.

Our Lady of the Lost and Found
by Diane Schoemperlen

Maybe that is why Catholics love Mary so much. In spite of being the Mother of God, the Immaculate Conception (which means that she was born without sin not that she didn't have a human father, by the way) ... in spite of her pure holiness, she was an ordinary woman in an ordinary time in history. She has been largely ignored by the historians just the way we all will be (no doubt). But she shows us how to live a holy life and she shows us her son. The historians don't care about that. It is hard to measure. But we care and that is a big part of why we love her.

You Know Dancer and Dasher and Prancer and Vixen ...

You Are Comet

A total daredevil, you're the reindeer with an edge! Why You're Naughty: You almost gave Santa a heart attack when you took him sky diving Why You're Nice: You always make sure the sleigh is going warp speed

Which of Santa's Reindeer Are You?

Via On the Other Foot.

Vulgarity Abounds at Urban Outfitters

*implied language alert*

Now this is not exactly news to anyone who has ever been to Urban Outfitters. However, Christmas shopping with the girls this weekend it seemed they had sunk to a new low. Everywhere I looked, literally in every part of the store, there were journals, notepads and cards cleverly titled "F*** You, From Your F*** Buddy." Eat your heart out Oscar Wilde. For variety these were interspersed with "Page a Day" calendars for "A Position a Day" that had a silhouette of a couple showing a position.

Interestingly, I didn't see one person in the crowded store examining these items ... ever. It was if they were invisible.

When we left the store, we were talking about this and wondering if Urban Outfitters is reflecting modern culture or trying to influence it. Our consensus was the latter. Hannah and Tom also thought that a buyer had made a big mistake on these items and that was why they were scattered throughout the store. That makes sense because I have never seen Urban Outfitters do that sort of embedding of a product before ... at least one that isn't an item of clothing.

As Hannah pointed out, Virgin Megastores often have much worse material but they are smart enough to keep it on the bookshelves or in the CD stacks rather than gratuitously sprinkling it everywhere to assault the average shopper. That used to be Urban Outfitters' tactic also. However, perhaps they can feel their edge slipping and are reacting to try to regain their "cool." As both girls pointed out, the store has degraded significantly since it first opened years ago in that location. Their assessment. The clothes have "uglified." On-sale discounts aren't as good as they used to be. The little odds and ends offered are fewer and unappealing.

Here's a marketing tip for Urban Outfitters:

If the merchandise isn't pulling them in, plastering "F*** You" all over the store sure ain't gonna do it.

Guess What: Global Warming

• Environmentalists not so long ago believed the earth was cooling.
• The earth surface temperature suggests that manmade greenhouse emissions have not been sufficient to increase global temperatures.
• The Kyoto Treaty, which bound signatories to reducing greenhouse emissions, would have caused a depression in the United States.

The Politically Incorrect Guide to Science

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TODAY IN LITURGICAL TIME
Memorial of St. Lucy, virgin and martyr
Another good source: Santa Lucia

ON MY HEART
Of your kindness, please pray for:

• Adre-Anna Jackson who disappeared on the way to school. Joel's sister-in-law is her teacher.
  
• Rev. JM and her work with the poor.
• Stephanie Ewell, the soul of her husband Stephen (32, suffered a massive stroke who last week suffered a major stroke in the middle of the night which left him brain dead. He is being pulled off of life support), and their 18 month old daughter (Leighton).
• Hannah, who will be taking her driver's license test this week (and for me as I am becoming anxious now that this is becoming reality).
• Rose, who is quite stressed out by approaching dance recital and finals.
• M'Lynn

WELL SAID

One of the saddest things a good Catholic friend said to me last week was that he did not pray as often as before because it did not make him feel good anymore and he was not getting anything out of it ... I told him that was an indication that he needed to pray all the more. All too often our consumerist mentalities reduce God to a commodity -- we "buy into" Him if it makes us feel good, if we can gain something from Him, if He or Church is "relevant" ... And yet, God, who is wholly Other, is God. He may not be reduced to a commodity, traded on feelings.

Contemplata aliis Tradere
(from my quote journal)

Blogging Around: December-ish Things

IT'S FUNNY BECAUSE IT'S TRUE.
Shopping Tips on Buying for Men from Jean at Catholic Fire. Both true and funny.

MAKING WAR NATURALLY.
The War on Flu from Slashfood. The focus here is on ginger, garlic, and other natural remedies. I like the descriptions of how these work (in a very military way).

HOW COLD IS IT?
Cold enough to... CowPi Journal has the story about where that monkey and those brass balls came from.

FRIENDS DON'T LET FRIENDS BAKE WITHOUT PARCHMENT PAPER.
All about parchment paper from Slashfood. I don't bake cookies without it.

GET SOME ICE CUZ THAT BURNS!
Overheard funny stuff: from DarwinCatholic and CowPi Journal.

A MIDNIGHT DREAM.
A great series by Lee Strong that finished up today. Pie, Chesterton, Santa, celebration, and the gifts of the spirit served up in four parts. Start here and read through the last few days about his adventure.

MIXED BAG
Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen has a joke you might have missed, some gift ideas, and a little myth-busting on holiday eating.

Background Music

On my heart ... of your kindness, please pray for:

• Rev. JM and her work with the poor.
• Stephanie Ewell, the soul of her husband Stephen (32, suffered a massive stroke who last week suffered a major stroke in the middle of the night which left him brain dead. He is being pulled off of life support), and their 18 month old daughter (Leighton).
• Hannah, who will be taking her driver's license test this week (and for me as I am becoming anxious now that this is becoming reality).
• Rose, who is quite stressed out by approaching dance recital and finals.
• M'Lynn

Holiday Spirits

If you're not reading Savage Chickens you're missing out. This guy is funny. (Posted by permission of Doug Savage.)

Merry Advent Everyone!

Deacon R's homily began by talking about all the Christmas stories in the news ... the mega-churches taking that Sunday off, the Christmas tree versus Holiday tree controversy, President Bush's holiday cards.

He then pointed out that Catholics don't really have this problem since we know that it isn't Christmas yet. "When someone says 'Merry Christmas' or 'Happy Holidays,'" he said, "just tell them, 'Merry Advent' or 'Happy Advent to you!'"

Perfect! Let's just rise above that fray by reminding everyone what liturgical season it really is.

Also, on the whole mega-churches staying home on Christmas Sunday, Tom pointed out that Catholics look at that as a "two-fer" ... because we'd normally be at church on Sunday plus Christmas as it is a Holy Day of Obligation. Now we can get two for the Mass time of one. It's the same for New Year's Day, which is a Holy Day of Obligation as well.

Just a couple more reasons we're "always happy to be Catholic!"

It Ain't Necessarily So

1,500 years ago, everybody "knew" that the earth was the center of the universe. 500 years ago, everybody "knew" that the earth was flat. And 15 minutes ago, you "knew" that humans were alone on this planet. Imagine what you'll "know" tomorrow.

Men in Black

THE POLITICALLY INCORRECT GUIDE TO SCIENCE
This interesting book looks at the effects of scientists becoming more politicized and how it has affected what "everybody knows."

I still remember a few years ago when I read the evolution had a few holes in it (for example that chart with the little horses becoming big horses is conjecture not based on fossil findings) ... it truly rocked my world's foundation because I thought it was rock solid, proven, and settled. The same thing happened a year or so later when reading about global warming. By the time I read an article disputing "common knowledge" about overpopulation I was more prepared.

However, this book takes on more than these subjects. For instance, the chapter about DDT rocked my world again. As well as the chapter about AIDS in Africa. The amount of conjecture that takes place with studies then done to support those findings is staggering. Also, the role of media in refusing to publicize conflicting studies is appalling. Often this happens even when the new studies are done by the original scientists as a follow up and published to refute or clarify earlier findings.

This sounds like a crank book, I admit. However, one of its strengths is that it is written by a journalist, not a scientist with a specific point to prove. It also serves more as an overview of these subjects, leading the reader to more indepth works on the various subjects if they are interested.

I encourage y'all to check this book out, if only to make us more aware that the government and general scientific consensus aren't always based on solid studies. The days when we can blindly accept scientific findings are gone thanks to the way science has abused our trust to get government funding. A healthy skepticism is called for and, if nothing else, this book helps remind us of that fact.

Naturally, I'll be posting interesting bits every so often.

The Music Revolution at Our House

Just in case you didn't stop by this weekend and read about Pandora I encourage you to go check it out.

Tom hooked up his laptop to our stereo speakers and we had various "stations" playing most of the weekend. A few of our channels ... Benny Goodman, Nina Simone, the Wallflowers, Jingle Bells (by Dean Martin) ... we are enjoying the heck out of this.

Our Lady of Guadalupe

MEMORIAL

The Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego on Tepayac hill near Mexico City on the 9th of December 1531 to ask for the construction of a church there in her honour. After the miraculous cure of his uncle, Bernardo, this Indian peasant brought to his Bishop some roses that he received from Our Lady as a sign of her request. As the flowers fell from his cloak to the ground before the astonished Prelate, the image of the blessed virgin, which is venerated in the Basilica of Guadalupe to this day, was miraculously impressed on the simple garment before their eyes.

What has always fascinated me is the symbolism of the image that was on the cloak. TSO says:

One of the interestin