Penance and Reconciliation: The Tender Mercy of Our God

Tender mercy isn't the phrase that most people think of when they think of confessing sins, even if it does wind up with reconciliation with God. They are more worried about having to tell their sins to the priest.

Rarely have I read a more beautiful piece on penance and reconciliation than this Lenten pastoral letter by San Antonio Archbishop Gomez. It is comprehensive and yet has such a tender tone. I especially liked seeing his instructions to the priests that came at the end ... which should set anyone's fears at rest when coming to confession. This letter is in a pdf in your choice of Spanish or English here. Here is a sample but do go read it all.

14. I realize that such language about sin and judgment is rarely heard anymore. Under the influence of our highly secularized society, we have lost that lively awareness of what the Church’s tradition calls the “four last things”: death, judgment, hell, and heaven.14

But we are called to a mature faith, my brothers and sisters. We want to stand confidently before our Lord, with full assurance that we know his will for our lives (1 Cor. 14:20; Eph. 4:13; Col. 4:12). We must not let ourselves be confused or led astray by a culture that would have us avoid truths of the Gospel we might find challenging or uncomfortable.

15. It is true that our merciful Father has created each of us out of love and that he desires to make us holy and to live in communion and friendship with us, beginning in this world and continuing for all eternity in the world to come. This is the beautiful hope of our faith.

But our Lord made clear that evil and sin could thwart our path to heaven. He described sin as a kind of voluntary slavery (John 8:34) and warned that it could ruin us if we do not open ourselves to his Gospel (Luke 13:3, 5). He taught that we could freely choose to say “no” to God and to exclude ourselves from communion with him—even for all eternity.15 At the end of our lives, we will be judged by our love for God and for our neighbor.16

16. However, let us not reduce the Gospel to something negative. Jesus did not come only to warn us about the wages of sin. He came not to condemn the world but to save it (John 3:16–17). He wants every one to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim. 2:4). That is why he left us this powerful sacrament by which we are reconciled to God—so that none of us would be lost, so that all of us would come to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9).

Much thanks to David for putting me onto this letter.

What's Going On ...

... around our house.

HANNAH
Spring break begins next Friday and she'll be home! Woohoo! She recently went rock climbing outside on real rocks with some friends who were experienced climbers. And she survived. Which was my main concern. And she loved it so I guess I'd better get used to nagging her guardian angel to keep a closer eye on her when she's climbing.

ROSE
This has been tech week for the spring musical, L'il Abner. That means that anyone working on the musical makes it home at around 11:00 at the earliest. Add to that her U.S. history timeline due today and it makes one tired kid. Not to mention that Tom and I have been waiting up for her to get home (as is our custom until the kid is going to college) and so we're all rather tired.

We went to dress rehearsal on Wednesday and it confirmed my belief that comic strips shouldn't be made into musicals. It had some very funny parts and the kids all did a great job ... but the musical as a whole just doesn't hang together well.

Rose being gone all week resulted in me watching no television whatsoever since she'll want to see everything too. Good thing I didn't give it up for Lent. I didn't miss it a bit. You could have knocked me over with a feather when I realized that. So there's at least one thing that I'm detached from. Woohoo!

DARWIN-MANIA COMING TO DALLAS
I've been working and reworking the menu mentally for our visit from The Darwins! Not that I'm excited about it or anything .... so far I'm thinking Oven Fried Catfish, Mashed Potatoes, Jalapeno Spinach, Coleslaw, Potato Rolls and Chocolate Pie. The only part of that set in stone are the Potato Rolls because I made them earlier this week. Mmmm, Potato Rolls...

ALSO DROPPING IN
Rose will have a couple of friends spending the night on Friday so they can work on a group project all day Saturday ... before they all go off to work on Saturday night's musical. I'm the catering crew for that project.

As well, there is the likely possibility that our house will be overrun with various musical-working acquaintances next Thursday and Friday during the gap between when school ends and they have to show up for the evenings' performances. So many kids live far away that it is easier for them to find a friend's house to stay at ... and then they get fed also. We're close enough that we've provided the crash pad and catering in past years. Occasionally, they'll come by to sleep too. The only thing I have to know at this point is ... how many?

QUICK REVIEWS

• Earth Abides by George R. Stewart
  One of the more boring end-of-the-world stories I've read. Stewart was all caught up in the ecology of what happens if mankind succumbs to a disease that wipes out practically everyone. He writes about mankind as if they were animals with no real urges for religion, no creative spark if not pushed, and no incentive to better themselves. I found it especially unrealistic in the way that everyone responded to the emergency ... with good manners and leaving all the trappings of civilization in place to provide a living for the survivors.


• The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope
  A real swashbuckler with lots of adventure, a lively sense of humor, and an intriguing love story. Englishman Rudolf Rassendyll has a practically identical resemblance to the king of Ruritania which he discovers when accidentally meeting the king the day before his coronation. The King is kidnapped by Black Michael and Rassendyll must impersonate the King in the coronation ceremony in his romance with Princess Flavia. Highly enjoyable.


• Bumping into God in the Kitchen by Fr. Dominic Grassi
  A friend recently was suffering from a terrible sinus headache and asked her husband to get her a "sweet book" about the faith. I provided him with some gentle fiction only to discover later that her real desire was for nonfiction. If only I had received this book at the time. Grassi's book is a delightful blend of stories about growing up, food, friends and life ... and the lessons we can learn about our faith and God if we pay attention to little details along the way. It is simple and sweet but nevertheless kept me up until midnight last night as I just couldn't put it down until I finished it. Highly recommended.


• Not One Less
  This is a simple movie about a 13-year-old substitute teacher in a rural Chinese village. She is not the brightest teacher or even the most dedicated, however she definitely is the most determined. She is promised a bonus if none of the students leave the class by the time that the real teacher returns. When one boy steals away to the big city to support his starving family, she determinedly heads off after him. Watching this we know in advance that it is a hopeless task to find one unattached individual in a city, but the teacher has never been to the city and we see her working pluckily through every alternative she can find to get her student back. In the meantime, we are shown the plight of the young boy who is reduced to begging for food to survive. This is a simple and straight forward story and, yet, unexpectedly moving and insightful by the end. As an extra note: we were amazed to see in the credits that no actors were used. If someone portrayed a restaurant owner that is because they actually were a restaurant owner. It added another dimension to the movie when thinking back over it. Highly recommended.

Inherit the Mirth

These cards are hilarious ... check out Inherit the Mirth's store.

Poetry Thursday: Screwtape IV

Rose's summary of The Screwtape Letters in five poems. Today, the fourth poem.

Oh my dear Wormwood, you cretin, you fool!
Now he’s in love with the Enemy’s tool!

All is not lost you stumbling buffoon,
Though you must act quickly, no minute’s too soon.

Slumtrimpet tells me the girl’s got a side
That could give the patient spiritual pride.

Now that he’s chums with her family and friends
Make him think that he really blends.

He’s met his equals, the finest elite.
Around anyone else he feels incomplete.

He’ll feel that now he’s been born anew
Even though what they say he can barely construe.

So just do what I say and you’ll be in great shape.
Your affectionate uncle, Screwtape

Our Hunger for Unity

All human beings want unity and desire it from the bottom of their hearts. The need for unity is a hunger for the fullness of being. There is a need for unity at the heart not only of marriage, in which two people unite themselves to become one flesh, but also, in a different way, at the heart of the quest for material goods and new knowledge.

Why, then, is it so difficult to achieve unity, if everyone desires it so much? It is because we want unity, of course, but ... unity around our point of view. Our view seems so obvious, so reasonable, that we are astounded that others do not agree and instead insist on their point of view. We even carefully lay out the path for others to come where we are and join us. The problem is that the person in front of me is doing exactly the same thing to me. No unity will ever be achieved if we go about it this way; unity takes the opposite path.

Contemplating the Trinity: The Path to Abundant Christian Life by Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa

Zombies, Zombies Everywhere ...

... and not a brain in sight!

I've never been a real zombie fan. Too much blood and guts everywhere (literally). However, these two examples are too good to pass up.

SHAUN OF THE DEAD
Shaun and his best friend are a couple of slackers. A good evening is one that ends at the pub and every evening ends at the pub. Shaun's girlfriend is less than pleased with this lack of initiative, especially after celebrating their third anniversary ... at the pub. She breaks up with Shaun who is so distraught that he doesn't notice all there is a zombie epidemic all around them. This leads to some hilarious scenes, such as when Shaun and his friend first encounter zombies and think they are drunks. Shaun takes the lead in rescuing his mum and ex-girlfriend to take them to the safest place he can think of ... the pub. I was anxious to see this from the first moment I heard the premise, yet put it off for fear of the "R" rating (for zombie violence ... yes, that's actually what it says). There is plenty of warning for any such scenes and much of it is so fake that it doesn't matter. The directors are really good at combining our awareness that this is a zombie movie with Shaun's general cluelessness to provide many very funny jump scenes as well. HC rating: nine thumbs up!

WORLD WAR Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks

It goes by many names: “The Crisis,” “The Dark Years,” “The WalkingPlague,” as well as newer and more “hip” titles such as “World War Z” or “Z War One.” I personally dislike this last moniker as it implies an inevitable “Z War Two.” For me, it will always be “The Zombie War,” and while many may protest the scientific accuracy of the word zombie, they will be hard-pressed to discover a more globally accepted term for the creatures that almost caused our extinction. Zombie remains a devastating word, unrivaled in its power to conjure up so many memories or emotions, and it is these memories, and emotions, that are the subject of this book.

This record of the greatest conflict in human history owes its genesis to a much smaller, much more personal conflict between me and the chairperson of the United Nation’s Postwar Commission Report. My initialwork for the Commission could be described as nothing short of a labor of love. My travel stipend, my security access, my battery of translators, both human and electronic, as well as my small, but nearly priceless voice-activated transcription “pal” (the greatest gift the world’s slowest typist could ask for), all spoke to the respect and value my work was afforded on this project. So, needless to say, it came as a shock when I found almost half of that work deleted from the report’s final edition. ...

World War Z (WWZ) is the book that began the zombie invasion of publishing. You may thank or curse Max Brooks, depending on your feeling about the genre. Actually, WWZ is the follow-up to Brooks' 2003 book, The Zombie Survival Guide. Where that book was a twist on more practical manuals, however, WWZ is a much more serious novel than one might expect.

In this "future history" a reporter travels the world to interview key individuals who fought in the zombie wars after a virus surfaces that sweeps over populations in an epidemic, leaving huge numbers of zombies roaming the earth. The clever premise provides much food for thought about how individuals and governments respond to unexpected emergencies ... or fail to respond. Brooks uses this vehicle not only to tell an excellent story but to skewer both governmental policies and lambast the powerful who take advantage of any situation for their own gain. This is a real page turner that resulted in many late nights as I watched civilization collapse and wondered what was found that allowed victory over the zombie hordes.

First Friday is This Week

Just a reminder for anyone who is joining us in our prayer and fasting for an end to abortion.

Rafting the Tiber has a First Friday introduction and First Friday Devotional Prayers to the Sacred Heart of Jesus for anyone who is interested. A great resource whether or not you are joining in this effort so check it out.

New Blogs

I was saddened by the news that Catholic Ragemonkey is closing up shop.

Obviously they can never be replaced, but to help salve the pain here are a few new blogs.

• Catholic Art
• Under the Poetree
• RECONnecting to the TRUTH

Also, here's a worthwhile looking charity ... check it out.

I am a fellow Catholic living in Southern California and I recently came upon your blog. I'm writing to you because over the past year or so I have created and now manage a not-for-profit website that helps people find local charities that accept clothing donations. Here is a link to the site... Make sure to read the "About Us" section as it describes the inspiration behind the site.

"The cross is not negotiable, sweetheart..."

Mother Angelica's Little Book of Life Lessons and Everyday Spirituality by Raymond Arroyo

The apostles were dodos, dummies. But all the smart people in the world at the time wouldn't take chances. That is the same problem we have today. The world is looking for intellectuals and the Lord is looking for dummies. That's why I'm here.

Mother Angelica is known for her down-to-earth common sense. Flipping through this little book of excerpts and sayings I was not immediately taken with what I saw. Frankly, it seemed too basic, too ordinary, to be of much interest.

When I turned to the beginning and began to read it as a regular book, however, all the quotes began to hang together and a surprisingly coherent message arose that was not at all ordinary. Partially, this is due to Raymond Arroyo's groupings of these various sayings and insights into categories such as Eternal Perspectives, Living in the Present Moment, Everyday Holiness, Overcoming Faults, and so on. Most of the message, naturally, comes from Mother Angelica's single mindedness in understanding of how to find God's will and live it in everyday life.

As I read quote after quote, I was drawn into a great appreciation for the concept of living in the present moment which is one of the main themes of Mother Angelica's teachings. Drawn from the work of Brother Lawrence, this has become a central way that she practices living God's will ...

We have to ask God: What are You calling me to do now, in this Present Moment? Not yesterday or tomorrow, but right now. God's will is manifested to us in the duties and experiences of the Present Moment. We have only to accept them and try to be like Jesus in them.

I have seen this concept before but never in such practical applications as given in this book. It is something that I found myself remembering throughout the weekend as I was caught up in an angry memory or dreaming of something that I needed to do in a day or two. The present moment would pop into my mind and I'd shake myself and move on. It is rare to find quotations that can help improve my life at all, much less so quickly.

Naturally, there is more in this little book than the concept of the present moment and most readers will find something of value. Part of Mother Angelica's charm is the afore mentioned practicality. I appreciated knowing that despite her faith in God (and all she has accomplished as a result), Mother Angelica is never far from the Maalox bottle that soothes her nervous stomach. Reading about her impatient nature and quick temper, I felt more than a twinge of recognition as well as reinforcement that we can reach for the highest goals if we step out on faith.

This week's daily quotes will be coming from this book.

Highly recommended.

Radio Days

I'm going to be interviewed on "The Catholic Guy," hosted by Lino Rulli, to discuss Happy Catholic live around 5:00 ET (which is 4:00 to me). It airs on The Catholic Channel on Sirius Satellite Radio, 159.

I think they have a blogger a day on there ... now if only I had it so I could hear what some of my favorite bloggers sound like!

However, I ask you ladies ... he bemoans his lack of a girl friend and then grows a Fu Manchu mustache. So which is cuter? Hmmm?



I vote for ... pre Fu Manchu. But I'm not in the market ... eligible girls, speak up!

What is Better Than Prayer and Fasting?

Of the three marks of Lent — prayer, fasting and almsgiving — almsgiving is surely the most neglected.

And yet, in the only place where the Bible brings all three together, the inspired author puts the emphasis firmly on the last: “Prayer and fasting are good, but better than either is almsgiving accompanied by righteousness … It is better to give alms than to store up gold; for almsgiving saves one from death and expiates every sin. Those who regularly give alms shall enjoy a full life” (Tob 12:8-9).

Why is almsgiving better than prayer and fasting? Because it is prayer, and it involves fasting. Almsgiving is a form of prayer because it is “giving to God” — and not mere philanthropy. It is a form of fasting because it demands sacrificial giving — not just giving something, but giving up something, giving till it hurts.

Ouch.

Busted.

By Mike Aquilina of all people.

I give a lot of time. Does that count?

Go read it all. Excellent as is everything that Mike writes.

Love for Sinners

A new blog dedicated exclusively to finding ways to live out Christ's command:

"Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you....If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same." - Luke 6:27-33:

Excellent timing I'd say. Jeremy is looking for others who would like to contribute posts. His email is on the blog. Check it out.

DarwinCatholic + Dallas = One Very Happy Catholic

Woohoo!

The Darwins are planning a trip to Dallas for the weekend after next ... and we get to meet them ... and feed them ... and ply them with Tom's margaritas!

This is gonna be so much fun!

Giving Up, Adding On, ... or Both?

Catholic School Student: Sister Hill? I really like going to church. Does that mean I can give it up for Lent?

Peggy: Well, now... I don't think God would like that very much, but you've caught him in a loophole. Good for you!

King of the Hill

Ok, time to 'fess up. Who's doing what for Lent? I'll go first ... like St. Therese of Lisieux, I want it all (though, let's face it, this all isn't exactly like when she reached into that toy basket).

Giving up: sweets. (As Laura H. said, "Does it sting?" Yes, thanks for asking, it does and it certainly will.)

Adding on: Regular prayer times using Magnificat. So we're talkin' 4 times a day. Once upon a time, I used to do this and it was quite fruitful. Why did I quit? I don't know ... but it's time to get back into the habit of making time for those regular conversations with God.

A Little of Both: More silence in my life. Which involves pulling back from some things (not so many podcasts maybe, no using the computer on the weekends and less in the evenings) and deliberately adding times with less noise.

Prayer: The Basics

In prayer we talk to God, and He talks to us. As in any relationship, this conversation takes many forms. Think of all the ways a husband and wife communicate: formal marriage vows, casual chat, winks across a crowded room, affectionate caresses, and phrases they never tire of repeating ...

... When we look at all prayer as conversation, it can change the way we go about it. Thinking of prayer as conversation can help us also to overcome obstacles — such as distractions, dryness, inability to focus — because all these things also come up in human conversation.

A simply fantastic article about prayer by Mike Aquilina. He approaches everything so clearly that, whatever our individual problems may be in approaching this conversation with God, we can see our way clearly (or at least I can see the path better now!).

We Have a Word For It ... and Thank Goodness

St. Paul, Minnesota

Before it acquired its present name, this city was called Pig's Eye, after a well-known local trader named Pierre "Pig's Eye" Parrant. It was later named St. Paul after the church of the same name, erected onthe site by Father Lucian Galtier in 1841.

The Word Origin Calendar

Talk about dodging a bullet. Thank heavens Fr. Galtier came along and gave the proud Pig's Eye-ians a new name to call home...

Are We Ready for The Year of the Pig?

From Shanghai Daily Photo.

Slashfood offers this quick recap for this Chinese year.

Everyone knows it's the Year of the Pig, but did you also know that it's the year of the golden pig? The Pig (sometimes referred to as "boar") is a symbol of sincerity, honesty, and patience -- an all around "nice" person. We won't go into all the deep details behind Chinese astrology, but we will say that because the year of the Golden Pig only comes every 600 years, it's pretty special -- we're talking about the difference between plain old pork and Nueske bacon! People are expecting prosperity in Year 4704, and anyone born this year is sure to be wealthy in the future.

Glimpsing Glory Through Art

I've always had this sense that there is another language I once knew, a joy that was mine before I was born. When I get a glimpse of that glory through art, I can feel the memory of it pressing against the back of my mind, and the longing for that peace and resolution wells up inside me. I can't quite grasp it. I can't speak my native language. Not yet ... but I'm learning.

If I do the difficult thing and pull myself away from art that is merely entertaining and start searching for those currents of truth that reside within beauty and mystery, I will be drawn off the path of familiarity and comfort. The reality of God is not bound to a particular earthly language, country or style. His spirit can speak through anything. But He is far more likely to be encountered in those things that are excellent rather than shoddy, particular rather than general, authentic rather than derivative. I will find myself investigating art and expression that never played for audiences in this country -- art that waits overlooked on the shelves of foreign and independent films at the video store. And I will be changed, concerns with cares and disciplines that make no sense to Hollywood movie publicists.

It could be a lonely road. But it's a road that leads farther up, farther in, to greater majesty and transforming truth.

Through a Screen Darkly by Jeffrey Overstreet

Not exactly what you'd expect from a book about movies is it?

I never thought about my passion for movies as a passion for art. However, I have learned from reading Overstreet's reviews over the years that he can pull your thinking to a new place. I have never forgotten that it was his review of Hero that made me even consider watching it. His ability to communicate some of the intangible qualities in that movie, now one of my favorites, was what made me eager to read his book.

This is a masterful work by a noted film critic about bringing a spirit of discernment to the world of film. Overstreet invites us to consider how film as an art form affects one's soul and ultimately can be a work of God, even when it may go against what many define as "Christian."

This is the first book I ever read of this sort and I have to say that it remains a big influence in my movie viewing. I will never forget the sense of shock I felt upon reading that Finding Nemo had a deeper message. An excellent work that helps us learn discernment in our daily lives toward any sort of story telling. I can't recommend it highly enough.

Catholic Blog Award Results

And the results are in!

Hearty congratulations to all those who won!

Happy Catholic didn't win anything and that matches perfectly with my expectations. (I definitely should add here that, a la Sally Fields, it is perfectly lovely to be nominated ... that is like an award in itself!)

It is interesting to see that a wide open field still resulted in the usual suspects generally winning. Tom and I were wondering if "splitting the vote" between so many blogs in each category would have that result. Evidently so.

However, we got to look at a wide variety of blogs in St. Blog's Parish and that's definitely a good thing ... so I would say we are all winners on that score.

Announcement: It Started Here. Let It End Here.

A Joint Statement

By Catholic bloggers of the Dallas area

Is there a phrase more infamous than "Roe versus Wade"?

The principal people involved in this most infamous legal case were from Dallas. "Roe" is a pseudonym for Dallas resident Norma McCorvey. Henry Wade was the Dallas district attorney who filed the original charges in the case.

It all began here in Dallas - in our home town, where we raise our families, where we go to church, where we live, and love, and learn, and work.

We are three bloggers who also live in the Dallas area. We are deeply committed to ending abortion in this country. To that end, we have committed ourselves to the following: On each First Friday for the next eleven months, we will fast and pray before the Blessed Sacrament for an end to abortion. This will culminate at the annual Dallas March for Life in January of 2008, where we will join our bishop and the faithful of this city in marching to the courthouse where Roe was originally argued.

We ask anyone reading these words to join us. Fast and pray with us each First Friday, no matter how far removed you are from Dallas. Spend some time in Eucharistic adoration, and implore Christ to end this curse. We especially ask other Dallas area bloggers and residents to join us, at least in spirit. If you would rather not fast, then pray for those of us that do.

We will not win this battle in the courts. We will not win this battle in the media. We will not win this battle in any earthly way. We will only win through prayer, fasting, and devotion to Christ.

It started here. Let it end here.

Jesus, we trust in you.

Mark Windsor - Rafting the Tiber
Julie D. - Happy Catholic
Laura H. - ... and if not ...
------------------------------
Dallas bloggers also joining the battle:

• Delta - Est puzzlementem
• The Summa Mamas
• Catholic Pro-Life Committee of North Texas
• Wheelbarrow Manor
  

I wanted to mention that this is Mike Windsor's inspiration and I appreciate him contacting me about it.

They Have a Word for It ... And We Don't

Bilita Mpash (Bantu)
This denotes blissful dreams. In English, we have nightmares but no word for waking feeling happy. In Bantu, the word is further defines as a "lengendary, blissful state where all is forgiven and forgotten." The Afro-American equivalent for bilita mpash is "beluthathatchee," believed to be traced to Afro-American slang from its Bantu roots.

The New Book of Lists: The Original Compendium of Curious Information

I had one of these dreams just last week. The sort of dream that whenever I remembered it during the day I hugged it to myself and felt ... yes ... blissful is the right word. Sadly, I have much more experience with nightmares. Bilita mpash are few and far between ... and the more treasured because of it.

I am never going to be able to incorporate this word into my vocabulary because I can't say it ... but I'll remember that there is a word for those great dreams.

"Reading" on the Road

Addison asks:

.... on a personal note, i am looking for some books on tape/CD/Ipod for all of my long car rides with no one but St. Chris to talk to (and we do get to talking) but i rarely find anything other than mysteries, grisham, king, clancey. I really want to find something worthwhile to "read" any recomendations?

Check out my sidebar in the Blogroll under "Tell Me a Story" for lots of free options.

Specifically I'd recommend Librivox for everything from Dickens to Twain to Kipling ... and more.

Also check Podiobooks. Try Seventh Son (book 1), Earthcore, or Shadow Magic for books that I've enjoyed. Although those are more along the lines of the popular books you mentioned.

Not a book, but thoroughly enjoyable is the Black Jack Justice series from Decoder Ring Theater. I don't care for the Red Panda episodes but Black Jack Justice is a "noir-style" production that is really humorous. Rose even listens ... so give it a try.

And, have a good trip!

Sheez, I Go One Day Without Reminding People to Kiss the Egg ...

... and look what happens.

We get The Curt Jester's negative campaign (reminding us of just how sidesplittingly funny he really is) ... well, I was never going to be the funniest blog anyway. Way too many truly funny blogs out there.

Then, we've got Father Joe who has managed to get both the Pope and the devil (oh, that reverse psychology!) stumping the vote for him. Though I'll never be nominated in the "clergy blog" category ... so all I have to mourn there is that he got the biggest names out pushing his vote. It is pretty clear that he should have been in the funniest blog category as well ...

Where does all that leave me?


If you don't kiss da egg now, mon, you're kissing my chances goodbye!

Just a day left (voting ends at noon on Friday) and then I'll quit flogging the vote. Now that's something to be grateful for, right? In your joy and gratitude, go vote, and then I'll shaddup!

Waffling? Have Some Stephen Colbert Ice Cream

"I'm not afraid to say it. Dessert has a well-known liberal agenda. What I hope to do with this ice cream is bring some balance back to the freezer case."

Stephen Colbert

The vanilla ice cream will have fudge-covered waffle cone pieces and caramel. Via Slashfood.

Poetry Thursday: Screwtape II

Rose's summary of The Screwtape Letters in five poems. Today, the second poem.

Oh my dear Wormwood, what you say is naïve.
A war doesn’t hurt but helps people believe!

Now they have causes for which they can fight
And the Enemy doesn’t care if they’re right.

“As long as they try.” That’s what He’ll say.
So take great care how you catch your prey.

Make him fear for the future and long for the past
And not in the least, though it comes last

Make him hate the Germans with such a passion
That it goes far beyond whatever’s in fashion

Most of his friends hate ideas not the man.
They’ll help out an injured German if they can.

Let it not be for him but for woman and child
That his pure beliefs are so horribly defiled.

It it’s his own enemy he must forgive,
But he only hates so the weak can live.

So just do what I say and you’ll be in great shape.
Your affectionate uncle, Screwtape

True Love

Thanks to Alex for this.

A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, "What does love mean?" The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined.
--------------
"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore.

So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love."
Rebecca- age 8
--------------
"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth."
Billy - age 4
--------------
"Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other."
Karl - age 5
--------------
"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs."
Chrissy - age 6
--------------
"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired."
Terri - age 4
--------------
"Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK."
Danny - age 7
--------------
"Love is when you kiss all the time. Then when you get tired of kissing, you still want to be together and you talk more.

My Mommy and Daddy are like that. They look gross when they kiss"
Emily - age 8
--------------
"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen."
Bobby - age 7
--------------
"If you want to learn to love better, you should start with a friend who you hate,"
Nikka - age 6
--------------
"Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it every day."
Noelle - age 7
--------------
"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well."
Tommy - age 6
--------------
"During my piano recital, I was on a stage and I was scared. I looked at all the people watching me and saw my daddy waving and smiling.

He was the only one doing that. I wasn't scared anymore."
Cindy - age 8
--------------
"My mommy loves me more than anybody
You don't see anyone else kissing me to sleep at night."
Clare - age 6
--------------
"Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken."
Elaine-age 5
--------------
"Love is when Mommy sees Daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Brad Pitt."
Chris - age 7
--------------
"Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day."
Mary Ann - age 4
--------------
"I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones."
Lauren - age 4
--------------
"When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you." (what an image)
Karen - age 7
--------------
"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget."
Jessica - age 8
--------------
And the final one -- Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge.

The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child.

The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife.

Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.

When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said,

"Nothing, I just helped him cry"

Valentine's Day: Do You Have the Proper Software Installed?

Thanks to Marcia for this one.

Tech Support: Yes, ... how can I help you?

Customer: Well, after much consideration, I've decided to install Love. Can you guide me though the process?

Tech Support: Yes. I can help you. Are you ready to proceed?

Customer: Well, I'm not very technical, but I think I'm ready. What do I do first?

Tech Support: The first step is to open your Heart. Have you located your Heart?

Customer: Yes, but there are several other programs running now. Is it okay to install Love while they are running?

Tech Support: What programs are running ?

Customer: Let's see, I have Past Hurt, Low Self-Esteem, Grudge and Resentment running right now.

Tech Support: No problem, Love will gradually erase Past Hurt from your current operating system. It may remain in your permanent memory but it will no longer disrupt other programs. Love will eventually override Low Self-Esteem with a module of its own called High Self-Esteem. However, you have to completely turn off Grudge and Resentment. Those programs prevent Love from being properly installed. Can you turn those off ?

Customer: I don't know how to turn them off. Can you tell me how?

Tech Support: With pleasure. Go to your start menu and invoke Forgiveness. Do this as many times as necessary until Grudge and Resentment have been completely erased.

Customer: Okay, done! Love has started installing itself. Is that normal?

Tech Support: Yes, but remember that you have only the base program. You need to begin connecting to other Hearts in order to get the upgrades.

Customer: Oops! I have an error message already. It says, "Error - Program not run on external components ." What should I do?

Tech Support: Don't worry. It means that the Love program is set up to run on Internal Hearts, but has not yet been run on your Heart. In non-technical terms, it simply means you have to Love yourself before you can Love others.

Customer: So, what should I do?

Tech Support: Pull down Self-Acceptance; then click on the following files: Forgive-Self; Realize Your Worth; and Acknowledge your Limitations.

Customer: Okay, done.

Tech Support: Now, copy them to the "My Heart" directory. The system will overwrite any conflicting files and begin patching faulty programming. Also, you need to delete Verbose Self- Criticism from all directories and empty your Recycle Bin to make sure it is completely gone and never comes back.

Customer: Got it. Hey! My heart is filling up with new files. Smile is playing on my monitor and Peace and Contentment are copying themselves all over My Heart. Is this normal?

Tech Support: Sometimes. For others it takes awhile, but eventually everything gets it at the proper time. So Love is installed and running. One more thing before we hang up. Love is Freeware. Be sure to give it and its various modules to everyone you meet. They will in turn share it with others and return some cool modules back to you.

Customer: Thank you, God.

Best Sports Movies?

I've seen people around the blogosphere saying that Hoosiers is the best sports movie ever.

I haven't seen a lot of sports movies. I knew it had Gene Hackman so that gave the "best sports movie ever" some more credibility. I knew it was about basketball in Indiana, which I discovered from watching the movie is like saying it is about football in Texas.

We were underwhelmed.

It was a fine movie with some good moments. However, it was merely "fine." Not "great." Certainly not "best sports movie ever."

Now, I am slightly hampered in recommending the "best sports movie ever" by the fact that, as I said, I haven't seen tons of sports movies. For instance, sometime I will get around to watching Cinderella Man. Not being a Russell Crowe fan, that may take a while. Also, there are lots of movies that showed up under IMDB's sports movie list which we didn't think were really about the sports as much as other things.

However, we were able to come up with this list of movies that if not "the best ever" certainly were enjoyed more in our household than Hoosiers.

1. Miracle
   American underdogs beating the Russian hockey kings in the Olympics ... it don't get much better than that.
   


2. Friday Night Lights
   Texas, football, Billy Bob Thornton ... 'nuff said.
   


3. Remember the Titans
   football, overcoming segregation, Denzel Washington, killer soundtrack ... once more, 'nuff said.
   


4. Seabiscuit
   the little horse that could ... and Toby Maguire too.
   


5. Shaolin Soccer
   a strange but funny blend of soccer, shaolin kung fu, and pop culture references ... all with hilariously bad translations every so often.
   


6. Rocky
   I have to tell you? It's Rocky. Period.

And While You're Out There ...

... cruising around St. Blogs' ... don't forget to ... (yes, you know what I'm going to say don't you?) ...

C'mon, say it with me...

You still got to go kiss the egg ... for this little Jamaican bobsled.

We Have a Word For It ... And Here's Why

TIT FOR TAT

This phrase was generated from the original uses of the two key words, "tit" and "tat," both meaning "a light hit." The reference was to retaliation, as in replying to a hit by hitting back.

The Word Origin Calendar

HPV Vaccine: Medical Cost versus Benefit Modeling

This was too good to leave in my comments box. Thanks to the commenter for leaving this comprehensive information which is a post in itself.

In medical cost vs. benefit modeling (which strongly informs national medical public policy making and far too strongly informs the medical policies of HMOs), the most critical component is a value called "cost per life year gained."

If the cost per life year gained is under $50,000, that is generally considered a decent investment by US medical policy makers. If "cost per life year" gained is over $100,000, that is generally considered a wasteful medical policy because that money could surely be put to much better use elsewhere. Yes, this is cruel and heartless to some degree, but wide scale medical cost allocations do need to be made and, more relevantly, are continually made using these cost plus risk vs. benefit analyses. Think HMOs. Now consider why pap smears, blood tests and urine tests aren't recommended every month for everyone. Testing monthly could definitely save more than a few lives, and there is no measurable associated medical risk. But the cost would be astronomical versus the benefit over the entire US population when comparing these monthly tests to other therapies, procedures and medicines.

Now on to GARDASIL. By the time you pay doctors a small fee to inventory and deliver GARDASIL in three doses, you are talking about paying about $500 for this vaccine. And because even in the best case scenario GARDASIL can confer protection against only 70% of cervical cancer cases, GARDASIL cannot ever obsolete the HPV screening test that today is a major component of most US women's annually recommended pap smears. These tests screen for 36 nasty strains of HPV, while GARDASIL confers protection against just four strains of HPV.

Now let's consider GARDASIL's best case scenario at the moment -- about $500 per vaccine, 100% lifetime protection against all four HPV strains (we currently have no evidence for any protection over five years), and no risk of any medical complications for any subset of the population (Merck's GARADSIL studies were too small and short to make this determination for adults, these studies used potentially dangerous alum injections as their "placebo control" and GARDASIL was hardly even tested on little kids). Now, using these best case scenario assumptions for GARDASIL, let's compare the projected situation of a woman who gets a yearly HPV screening test starting at age 18 to a woman who gets a yearly HPV screening test starting at age 18 plus the three GARDASIL injections at age 11 to 12. Even if you include all of the potential medical cost savings from the projected reduction in genital wart and HPV dysplasia removal procedures and expensive cervical cancer procedures, medicines and therapies plus all of the indirect medical costs associated with all these ailments and net all of these savings against GARDASIL's costs, the best case numbers for these analyses come out to well over $200,000 per life year gained -- no matter how far the hopeful pro-GARDASIL assumptions that underpin these projections are tweaked in GARDASIL's favor.

Several studies have been done, and they have been published in several prestigious medical journals:

http://dx.doi.org/10.1001/jama.290.6.781
http://tinyurl.com/2ovy95
http://tinyurl.com/2tbuma

None of these studies even so much as consider a strategy of GARDASIL plus a regimen of annual HPV screenings starting at age 18 to be worth mentioning (except to note how ridiculously expensive this would be compared to other currently recommended life extending procedures, medicines and therapies) because the cost per life year gained is simply far too high. What these studies instead show is that a regimen of GARDASIL plus delayed (to age 21, 22, 23, 25 or 27) biennial or triennial HPV screening tests may -- depending on what hopeful assumptions about GARDASIL's long term efficacy and risks are used -- hopefully result in a modest cost per life year savings compared to annual HPV screening tests starting at age 18.

If you don't believe me about this, just ask any responsible OB-GYN or medical model expert. Now, why do I think all of this is problematic?

1) Nobody is coming clean (except to the small segment of the US population that understands medical modeling) that the push for widespread mandatory HPV vaccination is based on assuming that we can use the partial protection against cervical cancer that these vaccines hopefully confer for hopefully a long, long time period to back off from recommending annual HPV screening tests starting at age 18 -- in order to save money, not lives.

2) Even in the best case scenario, the net effect is to give billions in tax dollars to Merck so HMOs and PPOs can save billions on HPV screening tests in the future.

3) These studies don't consider any potential costs associated with any potential GARDASIL risks. Even the slightest direct or indirect medical costs associated with any potential GARDASIL risks increase the cost per life year gained TREMENDOUSLY and can even easily change the entire analysis to cost per life year lost. Remember that unlike most medicines and therapies, vaccines are administered to a huge number of otherwise healthy people -- and, at least in this case, 99.99% of whom would never contract cervical cancer even without its protection.

4) These studies don't take in account the fact that better and more regular HPV screening tests have reduced the US cervical cancer rate by about 25% a decade over the last three decades and that there is no reason to believe that this trend would not continue in the future, especially if we used a small portion of the money we are planning on spending on GARDASIL to promote free annual HPV screening tests for all low income uninsured US women.

5) The studies assume that any constant cervical cancer death rate (rather than the downward trending cervical cancer death rate we have today) that results in a reduced cost per life year gained equates to sound medical public policy.

As I said before, if any of you don't believe me about this, please simply ask your OB-GYN how the $500 cost of GARDASIL can be justified on a cost per life year gained basis if we don't delay the onset of HPV screening tests and back off from annual HPV screening tests to biennial or triennial HPV screening tests.

The recommendations are already in: http://tinyurl.com/33p9q6

The USPSTF strongly recommends ... beginning screening within 3 years of onset of sexual activity or age 21 (whichever comes first) and screening at least every 3 years ...

We Finally Watched House from a Couple of Weeks Ago

I was curious to see exactly what was said by everyone because I'd seen people swearing off the show due to the pro-abortion stance, which, to be honest, is only to be expected these days in medical shows.

We were both pleased and disappointed.

We were pleased by the fact that while House was spouting his nihilistic viewpoints forged by suffering, there was a counterpoint of showing that life, however worthless it might seem to someone else, is always sacred. While House was doing his best to be "compassionate" in his own warped view by bludgeoning the girl into aligning with his idea of what was best, Cameron listened to the homeless man's desire to have his death mean something. Even though she didn't agree with what he thought about how to make sure he was remembered (by dying naturally, pain and all), she honored his wishes and his life by sitting with him until the end. The tenderness with which she cared for his body afterwards was well shown. She cared. He had mattered even if in the eyes of the world he was meaningless. He was a human being and he had mattered even if, as he told her, he had no family, friends, or job. His life was sacred.

We were displeased not so much by House's pro-abortion message (to be expected and he has said as much before on the show) but as by the girl's lack of defense. If she truly was a student of comparative religion one would have expected she would have examined her faith along the way in the light of what she learned about other beliefs. Therefore, we would have thought that she might muster up a slightly better defense theologically. Certainly in such an environment one would have expected that she would have had to defend her faith against all comers. Let's get real. That's how it is these days, especially in college.

However, on one level it rang quite true for me in terms of the unexamined faith of someone who never has been put to a hard test in life up to that point. The oft-repeated phrases that haven't been given sufficient thought ("life is sacred") suddenly have hard meaning put against them as a measure. These tests of faith come when we are vulnerable and often mistakes are made along the way, especially if we put our faith in someone who is a weak reed. Certainly there is not much more of a weak reed than House to lean on. In that context, her choice became logical ... quite regrettable as this was the writers' chance to be truly counter-cultural ... but logical. And logic and reason what House was pushing all along ...

In the end, it came down to supposed success for getting her to "talk about it so she can heal." However, the irony is that House himself, while bowing to the pressure of doing this and succeeding, pointed out that there is no panacea in "talking about it." He did and it helped him not a whit.

Obviously the writers were more interested in putting pressure on House to delve deeper and connect with someone despite the fact that he resisted the entire time. Yet, I still find it interesting that while House was pressuring the girl to discard an unborn life, they took the time to deliberately show the counterpoint that life is sacred.

Actual Worship Faux Pas

From The Curt Jester's continuation of Ironic Catholic's list comes these two comments from plantlady in the comments box that were just too funny not to pull out and share.

I volunteer at a facility for the elderly. The following are true happenings in its chapel:

1. If you ride your electrified scooter up the aisle to receive Holy Communion, remember to brake BEFORE you reach the priest. (A lady actually drove into Father, who lost his footing and quickly handed me the chalice so he wouldn't drop it!)

2. Remember to put on underwear. (As an elderly gentleman returned from receiving Communion, his pants fell down. Of course, he bent over to pull them up. After Mass, Father remarked that that was the first time he had ever been mooned on Easter!)

A Brief Reflection on Jeremiah 17:7-8

In Scripture study we look at the Mass readings for the upcoming Sunday. The first reading was from Jeremiah:

5

Thus says the LORD: Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings, who seeks his strength in flesh, whose heart turns away from the LORD.

6

He is like a barren bush in the desert that enjoys no change of season, But stands in a lava waste, a salt and empty earth.

7

Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose hope is the LORD.

8

He is like a tree planted beside the waters that stretches out its roots to the stream: It fears not the heat when it comes, its leaves stay green; In the year of drought it shows no distress, but still bears fruit.

Source

It occurred to me, reading over verses 7-8, God does not promise us that life will be easy if we trust in Him. The heat will come. The year of drought will come. What God promises is that we will flourish despite hardships. That He will be with us.

A simple realization, I know. Those verses from Jeremiah just seemed so real to me. Because that is truly what life is like. That is the difference that having God makes.

Poetry Thursday: Screwtape I

Rose's summary of The Screwtape Letters in five poems. Today, the first poem.

Oh my dear Wormwood, how can it be true?
The patient’s a Christian all because of you!

Now listen quite closely to the advice I give,
Devoutly religious is no way to live.

Make him look at his neighbor, not at the priest.
Make him wonder why her shirt is creased.

He knows for a fact that the woman’s a sinner.
Why she was the topic of yesterday’s dinner!

And if she really is as bad as they say,
Why, your task is so simple, it’s mere child’s play!

Never let him consider that he’s just the same,
For he knows deep down he’s never to blame.

So just do what I say and you’ll be in great shape.
Your affectionate uncle, Screwtape

They Have a Word for It ... And We Don't

Sekken

There is a Japanese word, "sekken", I would like to understand better. It is used to name the otherwise nameless social consensus, that is held to control Japanese public life...

A Japanese friend, who is irreverent towards her own culture, explained “sekken” to be the power that moves a large school of fish this way and that, as if they were a single organism. It is “the power that can move the entire school into the astute fisherman’s net”. She experienced it once herself, in a small way, when she wrote something controversial that happened to be true. She found herself in the position of the lone fish, who has somehow missed the tribal instruction to turn a sharp left.

David Warren

Worship Faux Pas

Ironic Catholic has a hilarious list (funny because it's true!) of worship faux pas and how to avoid them. My favorite:

4. If you come to Mass tired, don't slump disrespectfully. Depend on the skills that got you through high school. At least hold your head in your hands in such a way that you look reverential.

Tom's favorite:

10. When all else fails, remember the secret Catholic motto: "I can sing quieter than you can sing."

My contribution would be: If you are kneeling in prayer avoid breathing down the neck of the person in the pew in front of you (discreet throat clearing is allowed so the person knows you're there and might lean forward slightly.)

This has spread like wildfire so be sure to check IC's comments boxes for other good additions, as well as her links at the end of the post to other bloggers who have taken up the list.

Three Things I Learned When Debating the HPV Vaccine Issue

1.

Essentially this issue boils down to whether you trust the government to have your best interests at heart in protecting you and your family.

I was stunned at how many people have such a great trust in this that they were willing to wave aside a possible money trail between Gov. Perry and Merck. I am not. People are people, profit is profit, and corruption is ever with us, sadly enough. Shouldn't the "smoke" be investigated to see if it is a dust cloud or a real fire before we put our children's health in the mix? I say yes.

I have discovered that I do not trust the FDA not to be influenced by pressures that may not include my family's best interests. Vioxx. Fen-phen. Rezulin. Remember those? I do.

I do not trust Gov. Perry to not be pandering to some special interests group or interested in money. I do not trust him to care more about my children's health ... or mine ... than I do. Or even as much as I do.

So there you go.

2.

We are a nation of the fearful. I had heard that before but it never struck home as these conversations made it do. We have forgotten how hard life can really be and really is for people in most other places in the world. We have it easier than any generation in history and we spend all our time being afraid ... of suffering, of disease, of death.

Is natural to be afraid of those things. Our desire for the quick fix, the safe bet, the sure thing has led us to stop thinking for ourselves and often simply parrot the ideology of either the Pilgrims or the Park Rangers (mentioned in Right to Be Wrong, linked to below). We are trading our freedoms at an alarming rate for governmental promises of protection and safeguards. Our ancestors would have laughed at us. They would be right to do so.

3.

I was reminded that the principles written about in The Right to Be Wrong apply to all facets of life today and not simply with religion. It has been a pleasure to debate various items with the courteous, reasonable people even as they have disagreed with me over the last day. It has made me think, made me investigate the issue more deeply, and made me examine the other point of view.

That old phrase, "agree to disagree" has never had more meaning. I can respect them while still not agreeing with them. In short, the people with whom I have been disagreeing have the right to be wrong. And I appreciate them respecting my right to be wrong too.

Real Transformation

Her [Edith Stein's] contemplative practice led to her firm belief in the traditional Christian doctrine of deification. If we are not being transformed along the way, she was convinced, then all our preaching and service is in vain. She was careful to point out the difference between "leading the self-satisfied existence of the 'good Catholic' who 'does his duty,' ' reads the right newspaper,' and 'votes correctly' -- and then does just as he pleases" and becoming a new man in Christ. The beginning of real transformation precipitates a difficult but lifesaving crisis: "If, up to now, a person has been more or less contented with himself, the time for that is over. He will do what he can to change the unpleasant things he finds in himself, but he will discover quite a bit that can't be called beautiful and yet will be nearly impossible to change. As a result he will slowly become small and humble, increasingly patient and tolerant toward the specks in his brothers' eyes."

By Way of Grace: Moving from Faithfulness to Holiness
by Paula Huston

This really hits the mark for me in terms of forcing our dependence of God and also being able to see ourselves for who we really are.

Bleg - God's Ball of Yarn

I'm trying to find a post that I thought I had bookmarked but obviously didn't ... the blogger wrote not too long ago about their mother (or mother in law) knitting ... and ended with a reflection about God's ball of yarn.

Can anyone help me out with that? Thanks!

Undeserved Love

Undeserved love also brings with it the possibility of being shamed. From the great chasm that lies between what we are and what those who love us think we are rises up a fruitful and challenging embarrassment, especially when it is they who glimpse our true calling long before we ourselves can see it. The German philosopher Nicolai Hartmann says that someone who is loved this way is "pushed beyond himself." In this sense, love becomes a clarion call to transformation -- the transformation of human nature made possible through the sacrifice of Christ.

This aspect of love -- that it urges us to be better than we are, to grow into what God intended us to be -- explains how the person who loves us most can also be our best critic. It is because he or she wants our life to be truly good. Thus, the true lover forgives rather than excuses our human failings. The distinction is an important one. In excusing, he pretends that something bad did not happen after all. In forgiving, he affirms that it did indeed happen and that he hopes and prays we will come to recognize this fact and repent.

By Way of Grace: Moving from Faithfulness to Holiness
by Paula Huston

I never thought of that concept before ... that someone who is undeservedly loved is pushed beyond himself. But that is exactly what God does with us. Fascinating ... and humbling.

I Never Thought I'd Be a Conscientious Objecter

Updated resources below.

*Alliance Teacher: And now, everyone can enjoy enlightenment and the comfort of true civilization....

Pupil: Why were the Independents even fighting us? Why weren't they looking to be more civilized?

Alliance Teacher: So with so much social and medical advances we can bring to the Independents, why would they fight so hard against us?

River: We meddle.

Alliance Teacher: River?

River: People don't like to be meddled with. We tell them what to do, what to think. Don't run. Don't walk. We're in their homes and in their heads and we haven't the right. We're meddlesome.

Alliance Teacher: River, we're not telling people what to think. We're just trying to show them how. (Stabs River in the forehead with pen)

Serenity

In my cowardly way I always was secretly relieved that my girls were too old for me to have to worry about what to do when I heard about certain vaccines for children that were made using aborted babies (ugh!).

However, here comes a different vaccine with different issues attached ... that requires us to take a stand.

AUSTIN – Gov. Rick Perry – usually a hero to social conservatives – surprised many of them Friday by making Texas the first state to mandate a vaccine for sixth-grade girls to prevent a sexually transmitted infection that leads to most kinds of cervical cancer.

Dallas Morning News (free registration required)

It so happens that not too long ago I had printed out Catholic Medical Weekly's evenhanded and informative article about this virus. I even read various portions aloud to Tom and Rose, with this being the money quote for us. (I have edited the layout to make it easier to read.)

Why isn’t it a swell idea?

First. The vaccine does not remove the need for Pap smears nor will it do anything for a lady already infected.

Second, it doesn’t do anything about other sexually transmitted diseases, although it’s easy to imagine a 12 year old (remember, that’s the target audience) who thinks it does. For that matter, I can easily imagine a 20 year old who might think it does, but that’s neither here nor there.

Thirdly, there are concerns that the FDA has "fast-tracked" licensure of Gardasil, without adequate study of its safety in little girls.[5]

Fourth, and most importantly, no one knows what effect universal vaccination of 9 year olds might have on adolescent tendency to have sex. However, the data of the past forty years of social experimentation suggest that it would tend to increase sexual activity. That’s been the outcome of all the other experiments on early immersion of young children into the fetid world of “sex ed” and teenage contraception, and there’s no reason this should have a different effect.

Regarding the morality of the vaccine itself, its manufacture does not involve aborted babies[6]. So the moral problems attached to, say varicella or rubella vaccines do not apply here.

HPV is a sexually transmitted disease. You don’t get it if the person next to you coughs, and you don’t get it from a water fountain or a toilet seat. Requiring HPV immunizations for young girls (and that is what ACIP “recommendations” amount to: requirements) is, in my view, no different from requiring that all school age girls be put on contraception....

I encourage anyone with daughters to go read the full article as it gives very good information about the vaccine and the issues involved. No matter what your thoughts on the main issues it is important to be fully informed when you make decisions about this vaccine.

It is important to keep in mind also, that although this vaccine is being trumpeted as the answer to avoiding cervical cancer, it is vital to recognize what it really does. The vaccine may reduce the incidence of infection with the HPV virus and does not necessarily prevent cervical cancer.

I have had grave misgivings from the time that the FDA changed policies to allow fast tracking of drug clearances and this just seems to prove my point. Our society at this time seems to be governed by knee-jerk reactions and policy mandates made based on public opinion and incomplete research. I object on those grounds, much less on those outlined in CMW's article.

I am not sure whether this requirement will be imposed as a retroactive measure on girls over the age of 12 such as my own high school and college age daughters. Governor Perry does allow an "out" for objectors.

In his executive order, Mr. Perry said girls must receive the human papillomavirus vaccine before school starts in September 2008. While noting that parents may opt out of the vaccine for conscience or religious reasons, he said it "provides us with an incredible opportunity to effectively target and prevent cervical cancer."

Dallas Morning News

Talking about the legislation yesterday, I told Rose that I do object. Without missing a beat she said, "I don't need you to object. I object on my own behalf. They can forget it." (A proud mom moment there.) I will be sending article links on to Hannah so she can see the facts behind the spin.

* I knew I was missing some TV quote to set this whole post off ... and just couldn't think of which one. Thanks to Tim for stepping up on this one!

UPDATE - way more than you wanted to know about what I was thinking

A good friend challenged me on some of the material and also was surprised that one of the reasons I didn't like the idea of the vaccine was the possibility of the effect on adolescents' tendency to have sex (as mentioned in the excerpt above).

I guess I should have qualified it more ... mostly because I hear through Hannah and Rose how much misinformation they are told by friends "is absolutely true" and most of the time it is about half-true if that.

So I looked at this and thought of the girls who come into their freshman year of high school pregnant because "everybody knows" that you can't get pregnant when you're on the pill or using condoms or without full penetration ... or whatever the myth is that they've been told. And this just looked like a silver bullet for people to start saying that it works on all STDs.

Another objection of mine is the money trail from Merck to Perry mentioned in the DMN article, but I didn't get into that ...

It also annoys the heck out of me that one of Perry's main justifications was "but I talked to my wife about it" .... does she think with her ovaries? And is he unable to think on this issue because he doesn't have any? Sheez! (Don't blame me, I voted for "one tough grandma!")

Also I guess that I was responding to my extreme dislike recently of having a "nanny" government mentality everywhere. Cities than ban transfats, people who want to ban smoking in all public places in Texas, etc. I just saw this as one more thing that "the man" is sticking to us. It comes down to trusting us to make intelligent decisions ourselves ... OR letting us choose how to go to hell in our own way.

Talking to the girls about "the old days" when I was growing up I also have seen the contrast between "live-and-let-live" back then and an extremely narrow-minded, intolerant judgement meted out by individuals and governments. So I react to that as well ...

However, I didn't feel like writing about it that way. Lazy ya know.

Actually it was good that my friend pushed me on this because I went looking for more information and found 10 things you might not know about Gardasil (see Other Resources above for the link). Interesting if for no other reason than giving us other questions to ask ... and I'd never have found it if not for my friend making me smarten up! Good on her!

Other resources to check - updated:

• Catholic Mom has been addressing this issue for some time.
• American Papist is doing full coverage as well with many links to different resources.
• Dr. Melissa Clouthier has another look at this issue and also brings good questions to mind.
• A letter to the editor in our newspaper this morning brought up the fact that thalomide was thought perfectly safe and, therefore, was prescribed to women for morning sickness ... an uncomfortable situation to be sure but one that most people can get through on their own while just feeling terrible. The now-infamous result was to mutate the next generation in a terrible way. Tom points out that this was a problem was visited upon British children but not Americans because the FDA was still testing the drug ... back in their cautious days for which I am thankful. An interesting comparison to be sure.
• Rev. Thomas Euteneuer has a good column about this issue. (Thanks to Georgette for this ... I still miss her blog.)
• 10 things You Might Not Know About Gardasil looks into the HPV vaccine for a whole slew of different reasons and backs up their questions with info from Merck and the FDA.
• I really don't think of myself as being part of the "religious right" (which I realize may make some laugh, especially with a blog name like Happy Catholic). However, having excerpted something which mentions a possible increase of sexual activity for minors seems to have put that particular topic top of mind for most readers, despite the other more pressing misgivings mentioned in this post and the update above. My attention was politely directed to a post which discusses the fact that mandatory vaccination requirements allow availability to the less fortunate and keep costs down. I would have found this more convincing had there been more facts to back up the basic premises and less time spent lambasting those with which the author took umbrage, namely the abstinence movement and the religious right. However, be that as it may, the core arguments are valid for those who believe the vaccine is safe and you can read it for yourself here: Rejecting Vaccine "Choice". (If anyone can provide me with a post but that has some solid documentation and less polemics to sort through ... let me know and I'll put it here ...)
• Medical Cost versus Benefit Modeling: from a commenter comes excellent, unemotional information about how to evaluate this vaccine ... and links to recommendations already made in professional medical journals.
  

Faith is Hard

Only then did I discover the truth: religious faith is not comforting, as atheists so often accuse, but hard. Hence, its status as a virtue. In order to keep it, we must nourish it and protect it; otherwise it will be blown away by the changing winds of fashion. More, we must never forget that this virtue is a theological one, which means that it comes through grace. Sometimes keeping faith means nothing more than clinging with the desperate need of a trusting child.

By Way of Grace: Moving from Faithfulness to Holiness
by Paula Huston

Amen to that! I never had characterized it to myself in that way until reading this passage. I was raised with the understanding that religious believers were clinging to false hope because they couldn't take real life, they needed the easy answers. On the other side of the equation, as it were, I know that living one's faith is a challenge that never ends ... luckily it is an interesting, exciting ride ... even when one is not having the best of times it is never boring.

Catholic Blog Award Nominations

Don't forget the nominations begin Sunday and are open through Friday.

This is a great way to recognize your favorite blogs. I know I have a long list that I'll be nominating. The categories are much more to the point this year, so take a look and see who you think fits them best.

The A&M Report

Hannah is up to all kinds of things these days. Her classes are easier than last semester (thank Heavens!) and so she's able to plan a trip to Austin to see a concert, start thinking about how many hours of work she needs to log on a summer job to earn the money for a 4-week trip to do field research with bats next year, get in lots of rock climbing at the MSC ... and all kinds of other interesting things.

Dearest to my heart is the fact that she was chosen Chaplain of the Christian sorority she joined last semester. I'm not sure what else the position entails but it includes running a Bible study. She didn't have anything available to specifically study the Bible but she did have that old reliable Mere Christianity to hand.

Who better than C.S. Lewis to start a discussion of the cardinal virtues? She was really surprised because no one had ever heard of cardinal virtues. "I didn't remember what they were," she said, "but I did know that they existed!"

Inevitably, after she read the excerpt containing this unknown concept to the girls, the question arose, "Is this a Catholic book?"

She was thankful to be able to assure them that C.S. Lewis wasn't Catholic.

Subsequently a good and interesting discussion was had by all.

Why Did You Revert or Convert?

That's the question that Open Book asked and the comments are worth the time taken to read them. I am printing these out to read at my leisure but answers range from "my iPod!" to John Paul II (yes I saw you in there Bender!) to the Eucharist (which is my personal reason). I love getting to see all the ways that God reaches out to pull people to the Church.

And I see that Baptists asking questions have a lot of Catholic converts/reverts to their credit also. Interesting.

Via A Quiet Catholic.

Resting in God

"In meditating," he [St. Francis de Sales] says, "we as it were count the divine perfections which we find in a mystery, but in contemplating, we sum up their total." The contemplative gaze is a holistic one, and one steeped in love. We are in the presence of God, and like human lovers who "are content, sometimes, with being near or within sight of the person they love without speaking to her, and without even distinctly thinking of her," we simply rest in God's nearness.

This contemplative repose is easily disrupted if we become overly aware of ourselves, a special temptation in modern times. People who "voluntarily forsake [the state of contemplative repose] to note their own behaviour within, and to examine whether they are really in content, disquieting themselves to discern whether their tranquility is really tranquil, and their quietude quiet," soon become distracted.

Rather than maintaining their focus on God, they "employ their understanding in reasoning upon the feelings they have; as a bride who should keep her attention on her wedding ring without looking upon the bridegroom who gave it to her. There is a great difference ... between being occupied with God who gives us the contentment, and being busied with the contentment which God gives us." We must stop studying our emotional reactions as though we were involved in a scientific experiment if we are ever to meet God as he is. Though honest self-awareness is critically important to the spiritual life, contemplation only happens when we learn to set aside self-study in order to lose ourselves in God.

By Way of Grace: Moving from Faithfulness to Holiness
by Paula Huston

I agree that this is quite a challenge in modern times where, as a people, we tend to analyze everything up to and including ourselves. However, it is a part of "letting go" in general to just push those inclinations aside when it comes to prayer.

Around the House

Rose and Kill Hannah
She came belting in from Kung Fu last Tuesday with her eyes alight and aquiver with excitement. "Kill Hannah is having a concert on Friday and there are 11 tickets left!"

Ah, Kill Hannah, every girl's androgynous dream band!

Her good friend Anna got two of those last 11 tickets and also managed to sweet talk her parents into letting her attend. The only thing they were worried about was the same thing that we were ... the trip downtown and back. Tom will be driving them down and picking them up later. And I might just go along to keep him company. It will mean a late night. But it's worth it to see Rose all revved up like that.

To Ruin that Voice in Your Head ...
... at least if you're like me and have mental "voices" to go with the bloggers you read.

I'm going to be interviewed on "The Catholic Guy," hosted by Lino Rulli, to discuss Happy Catholic live around 5:00 ET (which is 4:00 to me). It airs on The Catholic Channel on Sirius Satellite Radio, 159.

For those of us who don't have Sirius or know anyone who does I am trying to find out if they have a download or some such thing.

Felting Question
Every time I see felting mentioned, a top-loading washer is always specified. What about us poor schmoes who have front-loading washers? Are we doomed to live felt-less forever? Or is there a technique that works as an alternative?

Craft 'N Pray
For those who were interested in that Craft 'N Pray time I mentioned long ago, it is finally time to get it going. We'll be meeting on the second Saturday of the February, from 2-4 in the afternoon at my house. If you live in Dallas and are interested email me and I'll give you the details (julie @ glyphnet . com). [If you don't get a response in a day or so, it is safe to assume that my spam filter ate your email. In that case, leave me a comment with your email and I'll contact you.]

Perpetua & Felicity Book Club
As long as I have the Craft 'N Pray notice above I might as well throw in our little Catholic women's book club too ... we meet on the third Monday of each month from 8-10 p.m. at my house. We're beginning Triumph: The Power and Glory of the Catholic Church by H.W. Crocker III. Nothing like reading a history of the Catholic Church during Lent, eh?

I see that I didn't actually review this book but piggybacked on a review of Mama T's and that link is dead for some reason. Suffice it to say that this was one of my favorite books of 2004. Crocker is hilarious (or snarky as Mama T says) and I liked the fact that he made no attempt to hide his partisanship ... especially obvious when talking about Martin Luther ... maybe because I agreed with him. It was refreshing to find a history that didn't stop and back up every few steps to apologize for the non-correctness of our forebears. I remember that I was so caught up in it that I read this in about a week. I'm looking forward to rereading it.

Again, if you're interested email me for information.