The Baltimore Catechism

Love is purified, increased and perfected by suffering. This means not only bodily pain, but crosses of all kinds. God sends everyone all the sufferings they need on earth to cleanse, strengthen, and perfect their love. But most people waste their sufferings. They do not want them, complain about them and try to escape them in every manner possible, even by committing sin. (Baltimore Catechism No. 2 p. 90)

Our priest quotes the Baltimore Catechism quite often, always saying that there "is a lot of good stuff in there." I have begun thinking that I need to lay my hands on a copy and start reading. Then, after seeing the above quote, in a very good post by mum2twelve (yes, go read it!) my desire was solidified into decision. This sort of thing is too good to miss or just have doled out by others. I must obtain a copy and mine these treasures for myself.

I didn't expect to see so many versions though. Any advice? This is the version that looks most likely to me: Baltimore Catechism and Mass No. 3: The Text of the Official Revised Edition 1949 with Summarizations of Doctrine and Study Helps.

Get Your Mensa Hats On

Here's one for the numbers people ...

Our corner grocery prices its food according to the owner's whim. An apple costs 41¢, squash costs 48¢, and a zucchini costs 65¢. According to this system, how much will a tomato cost?

INVISI-SCRIPT ANSWER

51¢ (consonants are worth 7¢; vowels are worth 10¢)

Are They Just Toying With Me?

Moseying back over to the Catholic Blog Awards to see how everyone was doing, I was astounded to see that the Best Blog by a Woman voting was back up ...

... and Y'ALL!

Amy Welborn ... 33.1%
Happy Catholic ... 30.3%

I'm pretty sure this is a dream and when I wake up it will all be back to corrupted data again. But what a nice dream.

Just in case I'm actually awake ... GO VOTE!

An Honor to be Nominated ...

... never had as much meaning as it does now that the Best Blog by a Woman category is closed because the data was corrupted.

I was already over the moon because of the nomination.

And flying even higher because I was within 10 percentage points of Amy Welborn on Saturday. Now that is a real miracle and a real testimony to y'all as dedicated voters which I appreciate so much you don't know.

Now, let me exhort all to vote in Most Informative Blog ... which I must admit I think is an odd category for me to be in but ... what the heck. Who am I to question the nomination? I'm just gonna kiss the egg and go vote!

UPDATE
For all those who had ideas about how to improve the blog awards, and I saw some good ones out there (yes, Elena, I'm talking to you!), Josh has opened a forum for ideas which I think is an excellent idea.

In other news, a forum for the Catholic blog awards has been opened so that we can figure out a way to make them better for next year. One of the rules, however, will be that all suggestions be given in a spirit of charity and good will.

Knit But Not Wit!

I go in and out of knitting frenzies and can tell that I just now am getting ready to launch another. Mostly because I am done knitting that darned poncho (after knitting it once at about triple the size needed!). It was pretty short when I got done but after a good dunking and wet blocking when I PULLED it into shape ... it now looks as if it is drying in an acceptable length. Because this one is GONNA WORK! Or else!

I have never knit socks and for some reason am just dying to knit a pair ... double pointed needles and all! Preferably a striped pair (but I am thinking that would make it way too difficult so will stick to just getting through a pair of them). I have to swing by the yarn store for the double pointed needles and to get advice on the best sort of yarn and then can embark on this new adventure.

Also, I just LOVE knitting cables and want something that won't blow my brain (as I am afraid that the socks will do) so am going to begin knitting a cable sampler scarf.

It is very exciting to be picking out new yarn and looking at patterns.

The problem is that I have knit for years but never anything that was too difficult. So I am starting to ramp up and find challenges which is easy because knitting is so popular now. Before you'd have to struggle just to find patterns sometimes. It's crazy to see how many publications, fun yarns, etc. are out now.

I remember the teacher of a knitting class that I took long, long ago, said that there are two sorts of knitters. Those who give it all away and those who keep it. I give it all away. Not sure why. I just do.

I picked up a copy of Knit.1 which the girls just love. Rose is getting ready to embark on a new knitting adventure because a black sweater with a skull and crossbones on it caught her eye ... and tickled her funny bone. It would be her first venture into knitting something other than scarves or hats so would be challenging. She also was tickled by the interview with a screamo musician who crochets all his own beanie hats. Once on tour it was very cold and when wandering through the nearby Walmart looking for blankets one of the band's guitarists saw yarn and said that they should just make stuff to keep them warm. The guitarist bought a how-to knitting book, needles, and yarn while the subject of the interview bought the same for crochet. And he still crochets to this day. A great story.

I also picked up a copy of Cast On magazine which is the publication of The Knitting Guild Association. The publication had some very good basic articles about several subjects and I liked more of the patterns than I usually would from a knitting magazine. Also the organization sounded interesting with correspondence courses available. Has anyone got any experience with this group?

Greatness of Soul

Greatness of soul proves itself also in a willingness to forgive, in matters large and small, whether it be people close to us in our lives or far from us. It is not Christian to go about the world with a list of grievances in one's heart, cherishing rancorous thoughts and memories that shrink the spirit and make us incapable of the human and divine ideals to which our Lord is calling us. In the same way that God is always ready to forgive everyone everything, our capacity to forgive must have no limits. The number of times does not matter. The seriousness of the wrongs done is irrelevant, as is the status of the persons who were supposedly guilty of the offences. Nothing makes us like unto God so much as being always ready to forgive (St. John Chrysostom). On the Cross, Jesus did what he had taught: Father, forgive them, he prayed. And immediately he added the mitigating reason: for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34). those words show the greatness of soul of Christ's sacred Humanity.

In Conversation with God: Ordinary Time, Weeks 13-23)

I inadvertently kept reading yesterday and wound up on the commentary for Year C which gave me a wonderful reminder of how I am to be.

And why is it that we must so constantly be reminded of this? Why is it so easy to forget? It occurs to me that this is one of those times when it is better to be like a little child, as Jesus told us. Little children forgive readily and then forget all. It is only later that they learn to remember, hold grudges, and count the number of offenses.

That must be why the saints are ... well ... saints. We have example after example of times when they do not even take offense in the first place. They have achieved that desired state of being like a little child. God grant that I may be able to do the same someday.

We Are Now a Four Cell Phone Family

And this is kinda freakin' out Tom and me.

We always looked at those television ads for family calling plans and scoffed at the people who had all those cell phones. One more time, "never say never."

I have a cell phone which I rarely turn on but we've had it for years since the days when Hannah and Rose were altar servers. We wouldn't know exactly when to pick them up from serving weddings or funerals and ... what the heck, we traveled enough to think it was a good idea to have a cell phone for emergencies. Right? So that was the family cell phone with minutes bought only as we needed them.

Then Tom got one because he was out of the office enough traveling with his father's illness, visiting his mother often after his dad's death, press checks, meetings, etc. Face it, when you're a three-person office, you have to be able to get in touch with the main guy sometimes. So there you go.

Hannah began driving about month and a half ago. 'Nuff said there. Now if we could only get her to remember to always leave it on and turn the ringer back on. But that is par for the course.

And Rose? Why does she have a cell phone?

We bought a phone for Hannah but for some reason the system kept saying that they didn't have any phone numbers to give out. After two days of that Tom got exasperated and went out and got a different phone that had proprietary phone numbers and was able to start right away.

So then we had that extra phone but it had only been about $20. We meant to return it but kept forgetting. And then this weekend, Rose spent most of the day with friends at the movies and the mall. She refused my phone saying that friends would have cell phones. Except that she wrote the number down illegibly. And a different friend's father called who needed to get in touch with his child whose phone battery had run down. And Hannah had dropped them off but we had never been to this mall ... and got lost on the way there. And so on and so forth.

Rose, who was the only person in the entire family who really cared if she had a cell phone ... is now thrilled. Enough time had gone by that phone numbers were plentiful and Tom gave her that little phone. Now all we have to do is call her on it to make her happiness complete.

And we are one of those families where everyone is connected ... as long as Hannah and I each remember to turn ours on.

The only consolation is that we still only have one television. Using the roof antenna for reception. In the back room of the house. Which is only on when someone is watching something.

We're not going to talk about the two VCRs and DVD player. The three computers. The three iPods and a Shuffle. The scanner. The wireless connection. Or the four cell phones.

4th Sunday of Saint Joseph

Presentation in the Temple

JOYS AND SORROWS - I

To think about the life of Saint Joseph is to discover a life full of joys and sorrows. the Lord teaches us through the life of the Holy Patriarch that true happiness is never far from the Cross. If we bear that suffering and trial with supernatural spirit, we will soon be rewarded with clarity and peace. With Christ at our side, sorrows turn into joys.

[First Sorrow and Joy]

When Mary his mother had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. (Matt 1:18) Joseph ... loved Mary with a pure and deep human love. Yet he felt obliged by his upright conscience to follow the Mosaic law in this regrettable situation. In order to protect Mary from public shame, Joseph decided to put her aside privately. This was a most painful test for both Joseph and Mary.

Just as his sorrow was great, so was Joseph's joy immeasurable when at last he was shown the ways of God's Providence ...

We can learn from Joseph's first sorrow and joy that the Lord will always enlighten those who seek him with a clean heart. God's light can shine through the most perplexing situations imaginable.

[Second Sorrow and Joy]

And it came to pass while they were there, that the days for her to be delivered were fulfilled. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger... (Luke 2:6-7)

We can imagine Joseph going from door to door in search of shelter and hospitality for his pregnant wife ... What must this terrible experience have been like for Saint Joseph? What were his feelings at the sight of his weary wife, her clothing travel-stained and every feature proclaiming her utter exhaustion? ...

All of this anxiety and suffering was quickly forgotten from the moment Mary held the Son of God in her arms. Saint Joseph realized that the Son of God was now his son as well. He kissed and worshipped him...

This alternating sorrow and joy should teach us that serving God is worth the effort, even though we will encounter difficulties, and perhaps poverty and pain.

[Third Sorrow and Joy]

And when eight days were fulfilled for his circumcision, his name was called Jesus, the name given him by the angel before he was conceived in the womb. (Luke 2:21) ... The actual ceremony was sometimes performed by the father.

... The name Jesus means Savior; it had been chosen by God himself and communicated through the message of the angel ... It was the desire of the Holy Trinity that the Son should commence his salvific mission on earth in suffering. It would seem fitting that Joseph was the one to inaugurate the mystery of the Redemption by shedding the first drops of his Son's holy blood. This blood would yield its full effect in the awful context of the Passion. The Child who cried upon the receipt of his name had thereupon begun his work of salvation.

Saint Joseph ... was well versed in the Scriptures and he knew, if only in an imperfect way, that there would come a day when his Son would have to shed his blood even to the last drop. Joseph was filled with joy to carry the child in his arms and call him Jesus ...

[Fourth Sorrow and Joy]

And when the days of her purification were fulfilled according to the Law of Moses, they took him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord. (Luke 2:22) ... When Joseph heard the prophecy of Simeon, surely a sword must have pierced his heart as well.

On that day in the Temple Joseph and Mary were given a more profound insight into the mystery of the Redemption which their Son would bring to completion. Saint Joseph was now able to understand a little better. He made this suffering his own...

Alongside this pain there was, of course, the joy of the impending universal redemption.

In Conversation with God, Vol. 6: Special Feasts: January to June

Are We There Yet?

No, mon, not yet.

You still got to kiss the egg ...
vote for this little Jamaican bobsled in
Best Blog by a Woman and
Most Informative Blog categories.

You can vote once every 24 hours.

Let's show those Swiss what we're made of!

My All Time Favorite Super Bowl Commercial

Still as funny as when I first saw it. Via The View from the Foothills.

On the Flip Side: Another Top 5 List

Switching around from yesterday, this was a tougher category somehow.

Top 5 Movies with Dramatic Actors in Comedic Roles

1. Dustin Hoffman - Tootsie
2. Tommy Lee Jones - Men in Black
3. Sigorney Weaver - Galaxy Quest
4. Jack Nicholson - Mars Attack
5. Mel Gibson - What Women Want

So c'mon. Drop those lists in the comments box.

A Day (or Two) Late ...

... and probably more than a dollar short. But I couldn't get Blogger to work yesterday afternoon when I came into possession of these graphics. And I hate to see them go to waste.

The story is practically dead but these make me laugh anyway so here they are. (Click on photos for larger view.)

Seen all over the blogosphere.

Thanks to Bill for sending me this one!

Damn Straight!

If Catholic bloggers complain about their awards now, one can only imagine what it's gonna be like at the General Judgement. Sheesh, hope St. Peter's got big ear plugs. And, one is afraid to imagine what kind of witness they are providing in the mean time; mean being the byword.

luminous miseries

I see some people who are having fun with the Catholic Blog Awards ... and some who aren't, which is a crying shame considering that we are all Catholic. Perhaps these awards are good on a second level as a annual litmus test for our own humility.

Anyway, enough heavy thoughts about all that.

Der Tomissar is totally hilarious with this whole thing.

College Catholic weighs in on the whole Catholic blog awards subject with great wit.

And Rick Lugari came back from his blogging hiatus to make me laugh out loud with his endorsements. I was especially touched by our Holy Father's endorsement of Happy Catholic. Go check it out, y'all!

Let's not forget that this is taking up precious bandwidth for cybercatholics.com. If you feel so moved, please note the Paypal link at the top of the awards page where you can help with the costs.

Now, don't go have so much fun that everyone forgets to kiss the egg! C'mon. You can vote once every 24 hours ... so what are you waiting for? Help this little Jamaican bobsled make a decent showing in the Best Blog by a Woman and Most Informative Blog categories. Go vote!

Are We Brave Enough to Ask for Humility?

If we want to build up our Christian life we must have a great desire of developing in ourselves the virtue of humility, pleading with Our Lord for it and facing up to our subterfuges and failings in this area while trying by our actions to root our self-love. Humility produces countless fruits and is linked with all the other virtues. It is associated in a special way with cheerfulness, fortitude, chastity, sincerity, simplicity, affability, and magnamity. A humble person has a special gift for friendship and, because of this, for being apostolic. Without humility there is no chance of living a life full of charity, the theological virtue prerequisite for being an apostle and a friend.

To become more humble, we have to be ready to accept the humiliation of finding victory elusive in our struggle to conquer our defects, and of being reminded of our weaknesses day by day. Often when we examine our conscience, especially on those occasions when we can do it more thoroughly, we can ask questions like these: have I managed to offer Our Lord in expiation the very sorrow I feel for having offended him so many times? Have I offered him the shame of all my inner embarrassment and humiliation at seeing how little progress I make along the path of virtue? (J. Escriva, The Forge) Then there are the humiliations inflicted on us by others — the ones we were not expecting or the ones that seem unfair or downright unjust. Do we bear these well for Our Lord's sake?

If we are searching for the firm rock of Our Lord's own humility in order to build on it, we are bound to find countless opportunities every day. We can try talking about ourselves only when it is really necessary — and not so much even then. We can be grateful for the little good turns people do for us. Keeping in mind that we deserve nothing, we can thank God for the countless benefits we receive. We can decide to make the world a more pleasant place for those who come in contact with us throughout the day. And what about those useless thoughts that revolve around ourselves? They can be cut off at the start. We should not miss any chance of lending a hand at home with the family, or at work, or anywhere else we may be. Instead of trying to be too independent we can allow ourselves to be helped, or we can ask for advice. If we are very sincere with ourselves we shall ask Our Lord to stop us finding excuses to explain away our sins and failings, those things that humiliate us and for which we sometimes have to ask other people's forgiveness. All of this is done with God's help and with the help of spiritual direction, which is only another way of coming into contact with him.

Fixing our gaze on Christ, we can have enough humility to admit our mistakes and set about putting them right...

In Conversation with God: Ordinary Time, Weeks 13-23)

Guilty as charged.

Part of my problem is that when I ask for humility, knowing that it is so very good for me, the Lord answers practically instantly. And humility is not easy to bear. It hurts. It stings. It cuts deep and can be hard to forget.

Of course, the goal is to get to where we can offer it to God and not mind at all. I am quite a long way away from achieving that goal which means that I have to ask for humility all the more. But because it hurts, that calls for courage ... or, as I often must do, for asking God to forgive my fear of the very thing I am asking for. The only thing that makes it possible for me to want such a thing is that I have been there before and seen the fruit it bears and the good it does me. Which helps make me brave.

Lord, keep us close to you. Make us humble. Amen.

Comic Actors in Dramatic Roles

Listening to the most recent installment of a favorite movie review podcast (occasional bad language warning for those who care ), I loved their Top 5 list idea this week. So I'm stealing it.

Top 5 Movies with Comedic Actors in Dramatic Roles

1. Bill Murray - Lost In Translation
2. Tom Hanks - Apollo 13
   
3. Jim Carrey - The Truman Show
4. Adam Sandler - Spanglish
5. Robin Williams - Good Morning, Vietnam

Honorable Mentions

1. Steve Martin - The Spanish Prisoner
2. Michael Keaton - Batman

A Couple of Good Causes

FUNDRAISING FOR POOR CLARES
Get the scoop at To Jesus Through Mary. Via Moneybags.

BRING CATHOLIC RADIO TO NORTH TEXAS
Answer the poll in the top right hand corner at Guadalupe Radio Network.

Are We Smart Yet?

More Mensa ... and I will just admit up front that this one flummoxed me (that's right, I said flummoxed!).

Jake walks into a store, picks up an object and says, "How much is 1?" The clerk says $1.00. Jakes says, "Okay, here's $3.00. I'll take 111."

What is he buying?

Cool Runnings

Tom said it best (he always does).
When it comes to the Catholic Blog Awards,
Happy Catholic is the Jamaican bobsled team.
The mere fact that somehow I slipped in is a miracle.

But that doesn't mean we can't give the Swiss a run for their money.
So, c'mon ... kiss the egg!

(And if you don't know what that means
then hie thee to a rental store and catch up on Cool Runnings)

Catholic Blog Awards Voting

Ok, y'all shouldn't have but I'm awfully happy that you did ... Happy Catholic is nominated for both Best Informative Blog and for Best Blog by a Woman.

Now, Open Book is also in both of those and is usually a runaway winner but just to be nominated is so fantastic! *kissing hands to everybody*

And we certainly can give Amy a run for the money, right? Voting is allowed once every 24 hours so I feel no compunction this year in urging everybody to vote early and vote often.

As for the other categories, many of them have more than one of my favorite blogs nominated so I am going to have to give this some deep thought. However, I will urge all at this point to vote also for The Anchoress in Best Political Blog.

Remember, it's all for fun ...

A Few Details About the Catholic Blog Awards

For those who have questions about how the nominations work or if the award voting will be actually happening, Dom has the scoop. The best part of his post? His advice to lighten up. After all, if these aren't fun then there's no point.

Divisions in Christianity

I have a real weakness for the most basic of books sometimes. Even when you think you know it all (and I definitely don't but anyway) you can always learn a bit of something new. Now I already knew this but as I recently was quite shocked (really, really stunned actually) to see on two different blogs there were commenters questioning the historical accuracy of the fact that the Catholic Church was the original Christian church. I mean, even when I didn't believe in God at all, I knew that much.

So when I saw this I thought I'd pop it in here because it is a very good and succinct explanation, even though it is highly unlikely that either of those two commenters read this blog.

There were no major divisions among Christianity until AD 1054, when the Orthodox and Catholic Churches parted company. Until then, for a thousand years there had been one Christian church, with the bishop of Rome (also known as the pope) as patriarch of the West and the other bishops of Jerusalem, Antioch, Alexandria, and finally Constantinople as fellow partiarchs of the East. The schism between the (Greek) Orthodox and the (Roman) Catholics later subdivided into the Russian and Greek Orthodox churches in the East (AD 1448) and the Catholic and the Protestant churches in the West (since the Reformation in AD 1517). Before the schism of the eleventh century, the terms "Catholic" and "Christian" were often used synonymously by believers in both the East and the West because "catholic" merely meant "universal" (from the Greek word katholikos).

Women in the Bible For Dummies

Whew!

More Mensa

Find the word that fits the definitions below when it's: (1) a whole word and (2) divided into two words.

1. Whole word: pained expression
2. Two words: (a) severe (b) star performer
   

Fellini Would Have Been Proud

We caught the end of the opening ceremonies in Turin ... our minds were boggled. I guess that opening ceremonies are the Olympic funnybone. Although they sure know how to light a torch with style ... once the poor thing finally gets there.

Without a Doubt

If there is someone on your blogroll who makes your world a better place just because that person exists and who you would not have met (in real life or not) without the internet, then post this same sentence on your blog.

Not just someone but many, many "ones" who have enriched my life both through their blog and through coming to visit mine. Via TO who is one of them.

A Little Poem for Advertising Agencies

When a client proves refractory,
Show a picture of his factory.
If the boss still moans and sighs,
Make his logo twice the size.
But only in the direst cases
Ever show the clients' faces.

Attributed to David Ogilvy

Brought to mind by a client who wanted his bio on his website because "his customers" were complaining. Right. His customers ... what an ego.

Podcast Spotlight

CATHOLIC MORMON PODCAST
I ignored this podcast at first, thinking that anyone who thought there was such a thing as a Catholic Mormon was very, very confused. Luckily, I later saw a description and gave it a try. Rob was a cradle Catholic who had fallen away from the Church. Sarah was a devout Mormon. They met, fell in love and knew they needed to resolve their religious differences. Searching for the truth they spent alternate weekends at RCIA and with Mormon missionaries for a year. At the end of it all, Rob was back in the Church and Sarah was undecided. It took another year of RCIA for her to feel that Catholic was the way to go.

This podcast is done for those who may be on a similar path, no matter what the religions at odds among mixed religion couples. Rob and Sarah take turns talking about different aspects of the world's largest Christian religion (Catholicism) and the world's fastest growing religion (Mormonism). They have an easy going and personable style.

I have found it very informative about the Mormon faith. They have been generally accurate about Catholicism (just off on a few details that have been relatively minor so far) so I think they probably are at least that accurate about the Mormon faith as well.

If you have questions about either faith, or how they relate to each other, this is a great place to start getting some answers.

The Hobbit from Rudy

Did anyone else watch My Name is Earl last night and see Randy talking about the hobbit from Rudy? I wish I could remember the whole line because it was truly hilarious.

You know until that moment I never twigged to the fact that Sean Astin was Rudy. I knew, of course, that he was Sam in the Lord of the Rings and that he's now in 24. It is great to see him playing such a different role and showing his range. I was never a huge fan of Rudy but can't believe I forgot who the main actor was.

In Praise of Ordinary Time

"According to the Catholic liturgical calendar," she explained, "all the days of the year that are not Lent, Easter, Advent, or Christmas are called Ordinary Time. So here we are: Easter is over and Christmas is still a long way off. I guess you could say that this is the time in which we're meant to feel that we have all the time in the world."

... Ordinary Time is all those days you do not remember when you look back on your life. Unless, of course, the Virgin Mary came to visit in the middle of it and everything was changed: before and after; then and now; past, present, and future.

Our Lady of the Lost and Foundby Diane Schoemperlen

Are we all snuggling up to our Ordinary Time? That makes it really more special than ordinary, doesn't it?

I like Louise's remark that in other places round the world they are busy anticipating carnival, the celebration of good things before turning to austerity. Time enough for Lent when Lent is upon us (a little prep perhaps the week before is not a bad thing but three weeks ahead?) I'll go for enjoying what I have now. Just in case the Virgin Mary comes to visit and I might miss it by looking ahead too far.

UPDATE:
Yowsa! Barb nails it in the comments ... now why didn't I think of this? That Lent is, in itself, a time of preparation.

I guess the question is, how do we prepare for a Time of Preparation?

Why prepare? Why not just jump in, quiet down and let God show us where He wants us to go during this Lent? What if you come up with some Really Great Spiritual Practice on, say, the Second Sunday of Lent? Do you say it's too late to employ it now, because Lent is underway? Or do you embrace the fact that the Holy Spirit just turned on a lightbulb in your soul?

A Bit About Knitting

Or, actually, the raw materials for knitting...

woolgathering\WOOL-gath-uh-ring\ (noun): indulgence in idle daydreaming

In Wales, woolgathering, or gwlana, was a social custom adopted to provide for poorer wives of laborers who did not have access to wool of their own to spin. It involved walking along hedgerows and stone walls and picking off wool that was left behind as the sheep had passed by. Later, after the custom was in little use, woolgathering was considered an unprofitable enterprise. Its practitioners were perceived to wander aimlessly and gained little for their efforts. Hence the association of woolgathering with your mind wandering aimlessly.

Merriam-Webster Dictionary

News You Don't Normally Hear From Iraq

From my brother. Thanks John!

Iraqi, U.S. troops aid flood victims in Iraq

February 6, 2006

TIKRIT, Iraq (Army News Service, Feb. 6, 2006) – Iraqi and U.S. Soldiers rescued dozens of people southeast of Mosul Saturday after powerful storms swept through northern Iraq, causing flooding along a Tigris River tributary.

Soldiers from the 3rd Battalion, 2nd Brigade, 2nd Iraqi Army Division used small boats and braved strong currents to rescue nearly 100 people stranded on small islands in the rain-swollen Great Zab River.

Two UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters from the 542nd Medical Company (Air Ambulance) responded to the Ninevah governor’s request for assistance and transported two men stranded on an island that the boats couldn’t reach because of the current. The MEDEVAC crews also dropped off food and drinking water.

Two OH-58 Kiowa helicopters searched the river’s course for additional victims, but none were found, officials said.

(Editor’s note: Information provided by the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) Public Affairs at FOB Speicher.)

A Little Mensa for the Rest of Us

For those of us who thrill to words instead of numbers ...

The names of five people are hidden in the sentence below. Can you find them? (The letters are in consecutive order.)

Really, a wanted man fleeing from the police who saw a police car looking for him would run and hide.

Answer in invisi-script:

Al, Ted, Lee, Carl, Nan (Lya is also acceptable.)

I'm Not a Football Expert But ...

... it sure seems to me as if Seattle should have won the Superbowl. There were possibly three and definitely two terrible calls by referees who should have been ashamed to be officiating at that game if that's the best they can do. Not that Seattle didn't blow it themselves a lot by dropping the ball so much.

As for the halftime show we were just plain bored, except when we were just plain horrified by Mick and the gang's time ravaged faces and physiques. Face it guys, old man wobbly arms happen to skinny people too ... you get old and your skin tone goes. Ugh!

Most of the commercials were terrible, especially the Pepsi ads. I know a lot of people liked the FedEx caveman ad but I didn't really care about it. My favorites were the Ameriquest ads (doctor with the defibrillators and the awkward airplane moment), the Clydesdale colt trying to pull the Budweiser wagon (yes, I'm sentimental), and the magic refrigerator. Best recycled idea were the working with monkeys (and jackasses) ads.

Quick Reviews

Potshot by Robert Parker: One of the Spenser books, the tough guy detective with the heart of a poet. I have read these books for years but had gotten rather tired of the style and so not picked any up for a while. Beginning where I left off, I am finding these a source of light and constant entertainment.

Not Enough Horses by Les Roberts: This is from an earlier series than the Milan Jacovich books I've been reading. I found this Hollywood detective story to be rather predictable. Since I usually read along without trying to solve the mystery it is unusual that I pick up on the murderer and motive halfway through ... but that is what happened with this one. Stick with the Jacovich stories.

Cooking for the Week : Leisurely Weekend Cooking for Easy Weekday Meals: Reteaching us that principle we have forgotten or perhaps never learned at our mothers' knees ... cook a big meal that has the components of different menus throughout the week. This small book looks quite promising and I am going to be following a week's worth of advice to see how it works. We were pleasantly surprised with Caramelized Onions and Carrots this weekend so I am interested to see how the rest of the recipes go together.

These are #13, 14, and 15 of books read in 2006.

Are You Ready to Rumble: Evolution (yes, again)

Darwinian evolution is plainly unavailing in this exercise or that era, since Darwinian evolution begins with self-replication, and self-replication is precisely what needs to be explained. But if Darwinian evolution is unavailing, so, too, is chemistry. The fronds comprise "a random ensemble of polynucleotide sequences" (emphasis added); but no principle of organic chemistry suggests that aimless encounters among nucleic acids must lead to a chain capable of self-replication.

If chemistry is unavailing and Darwin indisposed, what is left as a mechanism? The evolutionary biologist's finest friend: sheer dumb luck.

Was nature lucky? It depends on the payoff and the odds. The payoff is clear: an ancestral form of RNA capable of replication. Without that payoff, there is no life, and obviously, at some point, the payoff paid off. The question is the odds.

For the moment, no one knows how precisely to compute those odds, if only because within the laboratory, no one has conducted an experiment leading to a self-replicating ribozyme. But the minimum length or "sequence" that is needed for a contemporary ribozyme to undertake what the distinguished geochemist Gustaf Arrhenius calls "demonstrated ligase activity" is known. It is roughly 100 nucleotides.

Whereupon, just as one might expect, things blow up very quickly. As Arrhenius notes, there are 4¹⁰⁰ or roughly 10⁶⁰ nucleotide sequences that are 100 nucleotides in length. This is an unfathomably large number. It exceeds the number of atoms contained in the universe, as well as the age of the universe in seconds. If the odds in favor of self-replication are 1 in 10⁶⁰, no betting man would take them, no matter how attractive the payoff, and neither presumably would nature.

"Solace from the tyranny of nucleotide combinatorials," Arrhenius remarks in discussing this very point, "is sought in the feeling that strict sequence specificity may not be required through all the domains of a functional oligmer, thus making a large number of library items eligible for participation in the construction of the ultimate functional entity." Allow me to translate: why assume that self-replicating sequences are apt to be rare just because they are long? They might have been quite common.

They might well have been. And yet all experience is against it. Why should self-replicating RNA molecules have been common 3.6 billion years ago when they are impossible to discern under laboratory conditions today? No one, for that matter, has ever seen a ribozyme capable of any form of catalytic action that is not very specific in its sequence and thus unlike even closely related sequences. No one has ever seen a ribozyme able to undertake chemical action without a suite of enzymes in attendance. No one has ever seen anything like it.

The odds, then, are daunting; and when considered realistically, they are even worse than this already alarming account might suggest. The discovery of a single molecule with the power to initiate replication would hardly be sufficient to establish replication. What template would it replicate against? We need, in other words, at least two, causing the odds of their joint discovery to increase from 1 to 10⁶⁰ to 1 in 10¹²⁰. Those two sequences would have been needed in roughly the same place. And at the same time. And organized in such a way as to favor base pairing. And somehow held in place. And buffered against competing reactions. And productive enough so that their duplicates would not at once vanish in the soundless sea.

In contemplating the discovery by chance of two RNA sequences a mere 40 nucleotides in length, Joyce and Orgel concluded that the requisite "library" would require 10⁴⁸ possible sequences. Given the weight of RNA, they observed gloomily, the relevant sample space would exceed the mass of the earth. And this is the same Leslie Orgel, it will be remembered, who observed that "it was almost certain that there once was an RNA world."

To the accumulating agenda of assumptions, then, let us add two more: that without enzymes, nucleotides were somehow formed into chains, and that by means we cannot duplicate in the laboratory, a pre-biotic molecule discovered how to reproduce itself.

Just a snippet (that's how long this very long article is) from a Commentary magazine article that I found quite interesting, especially in terms of how difficult, nay impossible, it has been for scientists to pin down the origins of life.

Again, I will comment that I don't have any particular problem with evolutionary theory except for the part where complete chance and mutation are put forward as fact. In fact, this is a philosophical approach, very much like that of ID proponents. Neither is provable ... or has been to date at any rate as far as I know.

It is long but worth it if you are interested in the subject. Do go read the entire article.

UPDATE
I have had a heckuva time with those darned numbers.Thanks to Dr. Thursday for helping me and any errors are mine alone.

More Tough Guy Stuff

COLLISION BEND by Les Roberts

Another Milan Jacovich mystery has him detecting the murder of a local television news reporter at the behest of a former girlfriend in order to clear her current boyfriend. I guessed who done it but not how or why ... and it was another good page turner from Roberts. The series is recommended as a nice escape from reality following the tough detective with the heart of gold.

This is #12 of books read in 2006.

The Manolo, He Says What The Happy Catholic Is Thinking

Manolo says, undoubtedly, the world it would be the much more super fantastic place if the Manolo actually did have the police powers.

The first law to be strenuously enforced? One must dress appropriately for the occasion.

Under no conceivable circumstance should one wear the slogan-bearing t-shirt to the Statement of the Union Speech. And, if you are silly enough to do this, you deserve to be led out in shame to the Capitol Rotunda where the gay-but-fashion-challenged Fab Five they will publicly make you over into the ridiculous metrosexual. This they should do even if you are the woman.

Trust the Manolo, wearing the political t-shirt to the formal ceremonial event, it does nothing for your cause. Indeed, the trivality of such attire, it perhaps even undermines the seriousness of your position.

P.S. By the way, the Manolo he has already addressed the issue of what is the appropriate feetwear to wear to the ceremonial events.

Manolo

On another blog someone mentioned that if there are no rules on the dress code, then no one should have taken it upon themselves to make up their own ... because you can't fairly accuse someone for breaking a rule that doesn't exist.

When I read that I thought that anyone with half a brain (and this includes the Republican chick who was tossed also for t-shirt wear) knows that you dress formally for an occasion of this importance. This is what mothers have drilled into their children's heads for time immemorial. They are called "unspoken" rules because everyone knows them.

Yeah, those brazen t-shirt wearers should have been turned away at the door instead of later, when no doubt someone with all of his or her brain spotted what was going. But let's get real. Dressing down for the State of the Union Address is bad form no matter what your message.

As the Manolo wisely points out to us.

Bleg

From an email of a reader who wants to recommend a parish to someone ... I know we discussed this once before but can't for the life of me remember the answers or find the thread. Any help is appreciated.

Do you know any sensible solid good Catholic parishes in the North Dallas area?

There is, of course, my own church, St. Thomas Aquinas. I know that St. Anne's in Coppel is also good. Any others to recommend?

Are We Feeling Smart Yet?

Another Mensa puzzle ... for those who don't experience brain freeze at the sight of numbers.

Start with the number of Apostles in the Bible, subtract the cube of 2, add the number of Greek Fates, then add the number of the winds, in popular parlance.

What number do you get?

Answer below in clever, invisi-script (highlight with cursor to read).

11 (12 - 8 = 4 + 3 = 7 + 4)

Pope Benedict Explains Deus Caritas Est

Catholic Outsider has translated a letter that the Pope wrote for the readers of the Italian magazine “Famiglia Cristiana” explaining the encyclical.

Here we find two questions: Can’t the Church leave this service to so many other philanthropic organizations?

This is the answer: No, the Church cannot do that. She has to practice love for the neighbor also as a community, otherwise she will announce the God of love in an incomplete and insufficient way...

Really good ... and much easier to read than I found that encyclical, by the way. Go read it.

Free Will, the Theology of Prosperity and the Temptation of Jesus

You wouldn't think that our last prayer group meeting with Fr. L. would have covered such broad ground ... but then y'all don't know Fr. L. He's a wide ranging thinker.

There is no way I can do our discussion justice but I will put a few of the "holy 2x4" moments I had when we were talking about the upcoming readings for next Sunday.

Reading I
Jb 7:1-4, 6-7

Job spoke, saying:
Is not man's life on earth a drudgery?
Are not his days those of hirelings?
He is a slave who longs for the shade,
a hireling who waits for his wages.
So I have been assigned months of misery,
and troubled nights have been allotted to me.
If in bed I say, "When shall I arise?"
then the night drags on;
I am filled with restlessness until the dawn.
My days are swifter than a weaver's shuttle;
they come to an end without hope.
Remember that my life is like the wind;
I shall not see happiness again.

Of course, there was the obvious conversation about extreme depression that anyone would be likely to suffer when losing one's home, business, children, health ... and after having your friends come and beat on you for a while.

However, Fr. L. drew us into a discussion of free will and predestination after saying that the very short take on Job is "why do bad things happen to good people?" Is it random? Is it because God is smiting you? Does God have a plan for your life? If so, just how specifically does He work in our daily lives? Well, of course, there's no concrete, provable answer to that. It is all opinion and interpretation depending on many factors in each person's viewpoint.

I realized that one of the reasons I have never really taken to Job's story is that, in many ways, it is like reading a blog with too many arguing commenters. Everyone spends a lot of time fervently advancing their arguments but there often is no concrete answer because the question is too theoretical (or theological in the case of St. Blog's which quite often is the same thing). It is a lot of sound and fury signifying nothing. And that is basically what we are left with in the end of Job ... as life and God are mysteries that none of us can truly comprehend.

The big revelation for me was when Fr. L. pointed out that Job and his friends are, at least in part, arguing from the basis that all good things come from God who rewards you for your righteousness. So when those good things are taken away, you must have done something wrong. That is a way of thinking that is all too easy for any of us to fall into in daily life, much less when total disaster hits as it did for Job. What we forget is that all good things come from God and we are not owed any of them. Which all made for an interesting discussion.

Gospel
Mk 1:29-39

On leaving the synagogue
Jesus entered the house of Simon and Andrew with James and John.
Simon's mother-in-law lay sick with a fever.
They immediately told him about her.
He approached, grasped her hand, and helped her up.
Then the fever left her and she waited on them.

When it was evening, after sunset,
they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons.
The whole town was gathered at the door.
He cured many who were sick with various diseases,
and he drove out many demons,
not permitting them to speak because they knew him.

Rising very early before dawn, he left
and went off to a deserted place, where he prayed.
Simon and those who were with him pursued him
and on finding him said, "Everyone is looking for you."
He told them, "Let us go on to the nearby villages
that I may preach there also.
For this purpose have I come."
So he went into their synagogues,
preaching and driving out demons throughout the whole of Galilee.

A couple of things here. First, is the way this story fits the "miracle story" format (which I had never thought about ever). When Jesus heals someone it is instantaneous and absolute. Simon's MIL doesn't just start feeling a bit better. She hops up and starts working away serving everyone.

The big "aha" was when Fr. L. asked if anyone saw the possiblity of a "subtle temptation" of Jesus in this story. He pointed out that in St. Luke's gospel, after Jesus has been tempted in the desert, St. Luke says that the devil left him for a while. Which leads to the inference that Jesus was tempted more later.

Basically, without a solid grounding in prayer, in God's will for him, it would have been so easy for Jesus to go back with the disciples to the people of the town who were waiting for him as if he were a rock star. He could have settled down and been the "god" of the town and made everyone come to him. They'd have fed him, he'd have looked out for them. These are temptations which come from the human spirit just as easily as from the devil. It is a reflection of Jesus' wholly human nature to think about how that temptation would have been there for him.

But Jesus never settled. He never took the easy way out (as we know all too well). He always went to the people instead of making them find their ways to him.

All of the above leads to some big questions for our lives which are easy to keep mulling over through the rest of the week. How are we grounded? In what do we place our trust? What has to be taken away from us before we question God? Do we settle?

Just In Case Anyone Thought That Catholic Schooling Makes Kids Any Holier Than Anyone Else

This was prominently featured in the latest Bishop Lynch newsletter for parents and students.

CHANGES IN PROCEDURES FOR ADMITTANCE TO SCHOOL DANCES

The administration and staff of Bishop Lynch are very concerned that some students arrive at school dances under the influence of alcohol, posing a serious safety risk to themselves and to others. In an effort to ensure the safety and well-being of students, the following procedures will be instituted beginning with the upcoming Sadie Hawkins Dance, and will remain in effect for subsequent school sponsored dances:

1. Students must arrive to school dances by 9:00 PM in order to be admitted to the dance. Please note that this is a change from the previous time of 10:00. Students arriving after 9:00 pm will not be admitted to the dance.


2. Before admission to the dance, all students will be required to breathe into a portable breathalyzer. We do not wish to single out any particular student or group of students, and the only way to be fair to everyone is to test all students. The type of breathalyzer we are using will not require the students to place their mouths on the device; rather they will be breathing in close proximity to the device. Five breathalyzers will be in use at check in, and the time needed to test each student is approximately five seconds.


3. If a student tests positive indicating the consumption of alcohol, (1) the parent or guardian will be notified to come to the school and transport the student home; and (2) the student will be subject to consequences pursuant to the Bishop Lynch High School Student Handbook.

We have shared this information with students at school and we encourage you to discuss it with your student at home. We appreciate your support of our efforts to ensure the safety of all students and a positive environment for all at school dances.

It comes down to the parents y'all ... THE PARENTS! (i can't possibly scream that loud enough!)

Also, don't ya think that sometimes these Catholic school kids must be much, much stupider than other kids? Even waaaay back in my day it was a given that if kids were gonna drink, the last place to go was a school dance ... because they wouldn't turn a blind eye (as I have heard that some parents do).

Resource Spotlight: Gettin' Jiggy With It

MANDARIN DESIGN
This web and blog design studio generously shares tip after tip about how to personalize your blog or web site. You could spend hours looking through this site and, indeed, I have wasted my fair share of time here. Colors, type styles, drop caps, banners, pull quotes, and more are just a few of the things you can learn here. To be fair, I haven't really used any of their tips due to lack of time, however, don't let that stop you from showing more initiative than I have. Get in there and find the perfect way to show your personality.

Bonus: they have images you can use without permission.

Put Your Thinking Cap On

It's time for another round of guess the Mensa puzzle (provided by Rose's amazing Mensa Puzzle Calendar).

Charlie went out to buy some tools. He spent half of the original amount plus $10 for a drill, half of what was left plus $4 for a sander, then half of what was left plus $2, leaving him with $6.

How much did he start with?

I knew they were going to ask that question. I'll be lying down with a cool cloth on my head if anyone needs me...

HERE'S THE ANSWER
(in cleverly done "invisi-type" ... highlight it with your cursor to read ... rereading I discovered a typo so those who did the puzzle before I fixed it will have to add 16 to the final answer ... sorry!)

$100 ($50 + $10= $60, leaving $40; $20 = $4 = $24, leaving $16; $8 + $2 = $10, leaving $6)

OH ... get me some ice someone ...

'CUZ THAT BURNS!

I'm taking quite a beating on my admission of finding JPII's writing much easier to read than that of B-16.

Is there no one out there who joins me in this clearly more sane choice? No one who will come forward to defend the beleaguered Happy Catholic?

The really funny part of all this is that I much prefer Pope Benedict's personal style over that of John Paul II ... LOVE both of them ... but I just relate to B-16 more. Which I think is also opposite to many people's feelings.

Ah well ... there's gotta be someone who plays devil's advocate.

Bring it.

Update: I must stress this is all good natured mockery or astonishment at my lack of discernment.

2006 Catholic Blog Awards Nominations Are Open

It's time to nominate your favorite Catholic blogs for the 2006 Awards. I have several favorites that I've been waiting for some time to nominate.

Take a gander at the categories, think about your "must read" blogs and take a minute to nominate them. Being nominated is a real tribute and a nice way to give your favorite bloggers a pat on the back.

A complete list of nominees will be posted on Friday, February 3.

Voting for the categories will begin Tuesday, Feb. 7 at Noon CST and Continue through Feb. 13 at Noon CST.

Much thanks to Joshua R. LeBlanc of cyberCatholic.com for holding these awards.

I Finally Read Deus Caritas Est

Unlike many Catholic bloggers, I always have found John Paul II's writing to be much easier to read than Benedict XVI's. When I read the encyclical about the rosary, I sped through it and read it twice more just because I loved it so much. That set me upon a session of looking for other encyclicals to read, which was most enlightening.

There is just something about Benedict's style that leaves me feeling as if I have been reading a rather plodding textbook. This is not really a reflection on the Holy Father's writing as much as it displays my own tastes and lack of depth. I find that I really relate to his off the cuff comments so much more than his written reflections.

I was sorry to find that this encyclical was no exception.

It is definitely good, definitely much needed ... this look at divine love and it's manifestation within us and in our lives. However, mostly I struggled as I read it, and did not get interested until the very end when Benedict was talking about the saints and Mary. As much as I love B-16, obviously we don't "click" when he is in writing. Pity. But there you have it.

Here is a bit of something that did set me "on fire."

Mary is a woman of hope: only because she believes in God's promises and awaits the salvation of Israel, can the angel visit her and call her to the decisive service of these promises. Mary is a woman of faith: "Blessed are you who believed", Elizabeth says to her (cf. Lk 1:45). The Magnificat--a portrait, so to speak, of her soul--is entirely woven from threads of Holy Scripture, threads drawn from the Word of God. Here we see how completely at home Mary is with the Word of God, with ease she moves in and out of it. She speaks and thinks with the Word of God; the Word of God becomes her word, and her word issues from the Word of God. Here we see how her thoughts are attuned to the thoughts of God, how her will is one with the will of God. Since Mary is completely imbued with the Word of God, she is able to become the Mother of the Word Incarnate.

Deus Caritas Est

Call to Action for Australians

Louise at Purcell's Chicken Voluntary raises a clarion call to Australian politicians about the dangers of the RU486 abortion pill for women ... and gets politely fobbed off. If you're Australian this is the perfect time to join Louise in asking these politicians to look closer at the scientific evidence before making this dangerous drug available.

A Shallow Look at an Intriguing Future

DOWN AND OUT IN THE MAGIC KINGDOM by Cory Doctorow

Doctorow's got an interesting idea of where we are headed in the Bitchun Society ... backed up memories that can be dumped into newly cloned bodies so death is gone, money has been replaced by Whuffie which is based on how much others like you, and a Disney World where you can live full time. It makes an intriguing idea of the future but ultimately this fast pace, quick read comes to no conclusions about what all this technology does for the human condition. It has about as much depth as one of the rides at Disney World that is being fought over for much of the book.

HC grade: 2 out of 4 bookmarks.

This is #11 of books read in 2006.

So True

The Movie Of Your Life Is An Indie Flick

You do things your own way - and it's made for colorful times. Your life hasn't turned out how anyone expected, thank goodness! Your best movie matches: Clerks, Garden State, Napoleon Dynamite

If Your Life Was a Movie, What Genre Would It Be?

Via Psyguy.

The 24 DVD is Here! Woohoo!

At last! Thanks Julie O ... what a pal!

Now we can finally get started on that thing we really don't need ... another television show. But how can we resist? Because as we all know, Jack is the man!

UPDATE
Just finished a marathon session of the first four hours. I only have two things to say.

I know President Palmer. I would have voted for President Palmer. President Logan is no President Palmer. What a wuss!

And ... when Jack gets shot he must bleed in red, white, and blue. What a guy!

Bring It.

You Are a Warrior Soul

You're a strong person and sometimes seen as intimidating. You don't give up. You're committed and brave. Truly adventuresome, you are not afraid of going to battle. Extremely protective of loved ones, you root for the underdog. You are picky about details and rigorous in your methods. You also value honesty and fairness a great deal. You can be outspoken, intimidating, headstrong, and demanding. You're a hardliner who demands the best from themselves and others. Souls you are most compatible with: Old Soul and Peacemaker Soul

What Kind of Soul Are You?

Via Catholic Fire.

"Dude, is my face OK ? I think you melted it off."

Dewey Finn: God of Rock, thank you for this chance to kick ass. We are your humble servants. Please give us the power to blow people's minds with our high voltage rock. In your name we pray, amen.

Two stages with face melting rock and gut busting drum solos, a lounge with acoustic music ... something for everyone in the youth group when we went to The Door. Fashion tip ... if you want to blend, wear black.

Rose, who usually isn't interested in anything to do with a youth group, was along for this trip. We started in the acoustic lounge but when the other bands started up you could hear high voltage rock coming from outside. She said, "Every time the door opens it sound like two dogs fighting. I'm gonna like it." She was serious. And she was right, she did like it. They all did.

For my part, I had a really great time watching the kids. I have never seen so much black clothing and swatches of dyed and spiked hair in my life ... but they were all having a great time, in their disaffected way. My favorite band was the most original ... ska with a horn section (way to make all that band practice pay off, guys). Kind of a Green Day meets a marching band thing going on and it all wound up having a touch of Caribbean flavor.

It's a great idea and I salute the guy who made this happen. Every kid who went really liked it and the club was very discreetly run in a safe way. Every room had several people who were keeping an eye on things. When one band forgot where they were and let a bad word slip, they got a definite Look from Management which led to an immediate apology, "Woah, uhhh, sorry man..." Same thing for talking about a cigarette break. A Look was given. "Not that we'd smoke man. That is definitely uncool," stammered the unfortunate culprit.

I'd have no qualms about dropping Rose and a group of trustworthy friends off for an evening and picking them up later. It was worth a little face melting to find such a great place.

Doing the Texas Two-Step All Over St. Blog's

Erik compared the map of Texas to an oddly-cut Porterhouse steak, on a certain well-known Texan blog, and when Mama T didn't speak up ... he turned up the heat.

So she's making sure he gets the grand tour: Bob Wills, Greater Tuna, rattlesnakes, the Alamo (let us remove our hats and bow our heads for a moment of silence in tribute to those great Texas heroes), a real live Watermelon Thump, and barbecue. Sure makes a gal proud to be a Texan (even if an adopted one like me).

I'm not sure but I think I hear faint cries of "uncle" wafting on the breeze from California...

Word From Rome on the Encyclical

John Allen weighs in on Deus Caritas Est. After summing up the encyclical, he talks about what it tells us about Benedict XVI.

First, he will not, as some feared, lead the Catholic church to collapse in on itself and become preoccupied with its own internal business. One can hardly imagine a theme of more universal human concern than love.

Second, while he possesses vast erudition (in the first 20 pages of Deus Caritas Est, he manages to cite Nietzsche, Descartes, and Plato), Benedict expresses himself as a pastor. He treats a core theme of Christian faith, and for the most part uses terms that don't require a license in systematic theology to grasp. While history will remember John Paul II as a great evangelist, Benedict XVI may go down as the most classic example of a "teaching pope" in modern times.

Third, for all the talk about Benedict as an Augustinian pessimist, he actually believes there are still people in the world who can be influenced by unadorned argument, shorn of theatricality or grand symbolism. In its own way, it's a remarkably optimistic stance.

Fourth, Benedict grasps the old bit of wisdom about governing the Catholic church expressed by John XXIII, who once said, "I have to be pope both of those with their foot on the gas, and those with their foot on the brake." Deus Caritas Est reflects an obvious concern for balance. He warns Catholic charitable groups they must not forget about Christ, yet understands there are times when this faith must go unspoken, so charity workers don't give the appearance of "proselytism"; he stresses the "vertical dimension" of prayer and worship, yet also writes that "a Eucharist which does not pass over into the concrete practice of love is intrinsically fragmented."

Finally, the encyclical shows that Benedict's determination not to impose his personality upon the papacy will sometimes mean we don't get what some consider the "real" Ratzinger. One senior Vatican official, for example, told me that he felt Deus Caritas Est could have been a courageous encyclical on sexual morality, but the pope's collegial willingness to pick up the threads of a pre-existing document on charity prevented that. The reaction is analogous to frustrations that the pope is not moving fast enough to "shake up" the Curia, to reverse "business-as-usual" in the appointment of bishops, or to bring dissenting forces into line. For good or ill, his approach seems to be patient, gradual, and articulated in a "still, small voice" rather than bellowed from the rooftops.

For example, prior to the release of Deus Caritas Est, Benedict submitted his text to examination by Vatican doctrinal consultors, an act of humility that even Archbishop William Levada, the pope's successor at the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, admitted Jan. 25 that he found "a little bit surprising."

In an age when public figures normally distinguish themselves by shouting and showboating, it is a fascinating management style to watch.

And on the copyright issue.

... the most one can say is that from the very beginning, there have been two impulses in the church that often rest in uneasy tension. The first is the evangelical desire to give without asking anything in return, since that's the nature of grace; the second is the institutional reality that churches too have to pay the light bill. This appears to be one of those cases where the right balance is tough to strike.

Obviously, these are excerpts. The Word From Rome is always a good read and especially so this week. Check it out.

On the "Other Side"

From my inbox. Thanks Cyndie!

A sick man turned to his doctor, as he was preparing to leave the examination room and said, "Doctor, I am afraid to die. Tell me what lies on the other side."

Very quietly, the doctor said, "I don't know."

"You don't know? You, a Christian man, do not know what is on the other side?"

The doctor was holding the handle of the door; on the other side came a sound of scratching and whining, and as he opened the door, a dog sprang into the room and leaped on him with an eager show of gladness.

Turning to the patient, the doctor said, "Did you notice my dog? He's never been in this room before. He didn't know what was inside. He knew nothing except that his master was here, and when the door opened, he sprang in without fear. I know little of what is on the other side of death, but I do know one thing... I know my Master is there and that is enough."

Meanwhile, in the Rest of the Blogosphere...

While most Catholic bloggers are snuggling up to the Pope's encyclical, there is a big, wide world of blogging that cares little for such things.

The 2006 Bloggies weblog award nominees have been announced.

I'm familiar with Chocolate and Zucchini, Cooking Diva, Waiter Rant (notice any food-related trend here?) and a few others among the nominees. Awards nominations are a great way to check out some of the best among those other blogs out there, so swing by. Oh, and if you vote for Waiter Rant in the Best American Weblog category, it wouldn't hurt a bit. (my favorite among all those I've seen nominated)

A Delightful Book of Essays

PEOPLE I HAVE LOVED, KNOWN OR ADMIRED by Leo Rosten

I have posted a few excerpts from this book but they in no way are truly representative of the wide range of people that Leo Rosten wrote about. From dime-a-dance girls to I AM worshippers ("Arcturus, we greet thee!"), Groucho Marx to Leonardo, there is no end to the sorts of interesting personalities which fascinated Rosten enough to chronicle.

My personal favorites were both soldiers. Private Coby Clay could not be coerced to make his bed while in the Army because that was something that wasn't fitting for a grown man to do. Your mother should do it for you was his reasoning. Harry Miller's story is told first from the point of view of a small Japanese boy, encountering for the first time an American "warrior" for the first time. The soldier encouraged him to perfect his English and go to America, which became a goal that changed the boy's life. When Miller is tracked down by Rosten for his point of view it is simple and touching and quite perfectly American.

Much thanks to The Anchoress for recommending this.

This is #10 of books read in 2006.

UPDATE
The author of SC&A was kind enough to send me this link to wonderful article about Leo Rosten. Well worth reading, I am including this snippet because it tickles me.

Although it was also Rosten’s habit to ignore reviews, he was so touched by [Evelyn] Waugh’s interest in a work so foreign to everything that Waugh himself had written, that he wrote to thank him and invite Waugh and his wife to have tea with the Rostens in the flat they had taken temporarily in London. “I got back a postcard,” Rosten recently told this reporter. “The postcard read: ’From E.W. to L.R.: Alas, impossible. E.W.”’ I thought for a long time how one should answer so economical a communication. What I finally sent back to the man I consider one of the greatest writers of our time read like this: ’From L. R. to E. W. Quite. L. R.”’

The Anchoress on Confession

Finally, finding myself in an unfamiliar church during Confession hour I said, “this is it…” I poured it all out to a wonderful friar who listened intently and understood. He spoke consolingly for a few minutes, no big harangue (I know there are bad confessors out there, and shame on them, but I have always been blessed with good priests) and then he said, “Let this be an end…” It was precisely what I needed to hear.

We are body, mind and spirit. Confession - like other Catholic and Orthodox practices - serves not just the soul but the mind, and yes, even the body. Sometimes you need to physically hear it all - the sin, the consolation, the prayer, the absolution. I wonder, sometimes, if the “victim mentality” we have seen grow over the last few decades, and the dependence upon therapists haven’t grown so large, so quickly, simply because so few take understand or take advantage of the release and freedom that comes from the Sacrament of Confession, and the grace the sacrament provides in helping to avoid those sins in the future.

She's always good but this is brilliant. Go and read it all.

We Interrupt This Blog to Announce...

Quite a lot of troll activity sighted in the Happy Catholic vicinity this morning. Droppings are everywhere and I hope you haven't accidentally stepped in any before I got the place tidied up.

Thanks for your patience.

At Last ...

"The new phone book's here!"

Ummmm, I mean Pope Benedict's new encyclical is here. Print out, sit back and enjoy. As noted everywhere in St. Blog's parish.

If Only Everyone Were As Wise

It is a pleasure for me to salute [this] benefactor of our inhuman race:

J. Irwin Miller, chairman of the board of Cummins Engine Company, whom I watched in a television "talk" show as he patiently tried to explain his views to three condescending panelists, indubitable highbrows, who insisted on demolishing points Mr. Miller had not made, and persisted in ridiculing policies Mr. Miller had never propounded.

When he saw that he could not persuade the deep thinkers to desist from their eloquent irrelevances, the deadpan businessman finally cleared his throat and sighed, with exemplary kindness: "In my house, we all try to follow a rule I have once suggested to my children. The rule goes like this: "You can disagree with a man's position as much as you want -- after you have been able to state it, to his satisfaction."

I consider this dictum, which belongs in all anthologies of great quotations, the best statement ever made about the basic rule men of reason ought to follow during an argument...

People I have loved, known, or admired by Leo Rosten

I concur.

If Jack Bauer was gay, his name would be Chuck Norris.

Forget the Chuck Norris list, y'all. Jack Bauer rocks harder. But we knew that already, didn't we?

I couldn't pick a few favorites. I loved them all so have reprinted the entire list below from this comments box. Much thanks to The Anchoress for pointing me to this list. She totally rules ... the cloister, that is.

Some random facts about Jack Bauer:

1. If you wake up in the morning, it's because Jack Bauer spared your life.
2. If Jack Bauer was in a room with Hitler, Stalin, and Nina Meyers, and he had a gun with 2 bullets, he'd shoot Nina twice.
3. Upon hearing that he was played by Kiefer Sutherland, Jack Bauer killed Sutherland. Jack Bauer gets played by no man.
4. Jack Bauer's favorite color is severe terror alert red. His second favorite color is violet, but just because it sounds like violent.
5. Jack Bauer once forgot where he put his keys. He then spent the next half-hour torturing himself until he gave up the location of the keys.
6. Jack Bauer got Hellen Keller to talk.
7. Jack Bauer killed 93 people in just 4 days time. Wait, that is a real fact.
8. Jack Bauer was never addicted to heroin. Heroin was addicted to Jack Bauer.
9. 1.6 billion Chinese are angry with Jack Bauer. Sounds like a fair fight.
10. Superman wears Jack Bauer pajamas.
11. Jack Bauer doesn't miss. If he didn't hit you it's because he was shooting at another terrorist twelve miles away.
12. Let's get one thing straight, the only reason you are conscious right now is because Jack Bauer does not feel like carrying you.
13. When you open a can of whoop-ass, Jack Bauer jumps out.
14. If Jack says "I just want to talk to him/her" and that him/her is you -- well amigo, you're f****d.
15. Killing Jack Bauer doesn't make him dead. It just makes him angry.
16. When life gave Jack Bauer lemons, he used them to kill terrorists. Jack Bauer f*****g hates lemonade.
17. In grade school, a little boy punched Kimberly Bauer, and Kimberly ran home to tell her dad. That little boy's name? Stephen Hawking.
18. Jack Bauer does not sleep. The only rest he needs is what he gets when he's knocked out or temporarily killed.
19. No man has ever used the phrase, "Jack Bauer is a p***y" in a sentence and lived to tel-
20. In kindergarten, Jack Bauer killed a terrorist for Show and Tell.
21. Jack Bauer literally died for his country, and lived to tell about it.
22. As a child, Jack Bauer's first words were "There's no time!"
23. Jack Bauer's family threw him a surprise birthday party when he was a child. Once.
24. If you are still conscious, it is because Jack Bauer doesn"t want to carry you.
25. If you get 7 stars on your wanted level on Grand Theft Auto, Jack Bauer comes after you. You don't want to get 7 stars.
26. Guns don't kill people, Jack Bauer kills people.
27. Everytime Jack Bauer yells "NOW!" at the end of a sentence, a terrorist dies.
28. Jesus died and rose from the dead in 3 days. It took Jack Bauer less than an hour. And he's done it twice.
29. If you send someone to kill Jack Bauer, the only thing you accomplish is supplying him a fresh set of weapons to kill you with.
30. Jack Bauer could get off the Lost island in 24 hours.
31. If Jack Bauer was gay, his name would be Chuck Norris.
32. After arguing over what was the better show, 24 or Walker Texas Ranger, Chuck Norris went to attack Jack Bauer with his trademark roundhouse kick. Jack Bauer caught it.

UPDATE
Disputations throws down over Jack's coolness.

For this to work first you have to have a hero that anyone has heard of lately for this to work, so I think he may be at a slight disadvantage. Now, if we are going for old-timey heroes that never are outdated I'll take The Avengers.

But let's not fool ourselves ... Jack's the man.

FURTHER UPDATE
More Jack Bauer Facts. Thanks Buckley!

It's a Guy Thing

Hannah has been watching the second season of 24 on DVD over at her friend Michael's house. They watch with another friend, Addison, who lives across the street and Michael's older brothers and his father. She says that half the fun of watching it is seeing the guys' reactions to Jack Bauer's heroics. He pulls off some outrageous stunt and the air is full of, "Jack's the man!" They love Jack.

Michael was over tonight and I mentioned that I quit watching the second season after the episode featuring a chain saw and then a head in a bowling bag. He laughed, and said, "Oh that's because you don't have a house full of boys. We loved it!"

That was real revelation for me. It tied in exactly with watching Jurassic Park a couple of weeks ago (can you believe Rose had never seen it? We had to remedy that hole in her cultural education as soon as we heard it). Every time something gross happened the little girl was disgusted and the little boy loved it.

I'm not sure of the demographics watching the show but I'd bet it is definitely being enjoyed on two different levels. The women are enjoying the plot and action. As for the guys, they have that and Jack, the proto-hero, ratchets it up a notch.

I'm sure it must be equivalent to the way women reacted to Sydney Bristow in the first two seasons of Alias (these are the only good seasons). Tom would watch occasionally and complain about the giant plot holes. We didn't care. It was all about Sydney.

I like getting that little window into the guys' world. Thanks Jack. You are the man.

UPDATE
This tells much the same tale of Alias versus 24 differences.

Meanwhile, Back in the Kitchen...

... you can find a Cream Cheese and Jalapeno Tart recipe and a link to the winners of the 2005 Food Blog Awards. Check it out.

Daniel, We Hardly Knew Ye

Friday's fourth episode of The Book of Daniel went virtually unsponsored, forcing NBC to fill commercial breaks with a veritable festival of in-house promotions for attractions ranging from the Olympics to daytime soaps.

"The Mattress King has stepped up and he's going to sponsor the entire hour," Mr. Reilly cracked. "And God bless him."

The Book of Daniel, about a dysfunctional family headed by a Vicodin-addicted Episcopal priest, has drawn heavy fire from the American Family Association, which urged advertiser, station and viewer boycotts. After his press conference, Mr. Reilly said he didn't know if Book of Daniel would be back this Friday. Lack of advertiser support and diminishing audiences might well be a fatal combination, he said.

Dallas Morning News

Capitalism has spoken. And, I'm really ok with that.

Is it Hot in Here?

Or is it just him?

Thank you Lion Brand!

Thanks also to Terri for sending this choice photo my way!