The Order of Brilliant Bloggers

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

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

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

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

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

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

Julie:

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

You have been warned.

Plain Jane is All That

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

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

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

It's the Little Things

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

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

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

And it never was.

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

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

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

More 2006 Patron Saints

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

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

New Year's is Coming ... Favorite Movies

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

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

• Serenity


• Hitch


• Infernal Affairs


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


• Hero


• Payback


• Equilibrium


• Millions


• Spanglish

Gazing Into Her Crystal Ball

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

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

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

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

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

It Ain't Necessarily So: Nuclear Power

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

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

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

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

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

The Politically Incorrect Guide to Science

Rod Dreher Likes It, He Really Likes It!

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

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

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

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

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

Getcha Saints Right Here!

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

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

My Catholic Reflections

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

New Year's is Coming ... Favorite Fiction

Favorite Fiction of 2005
(in no particular order)

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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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

I'm Laughing Already

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Could this matchup be any more perfect?

Well, yes it could.

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

Source

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

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

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

Prayer to Saint Vitus

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

Read more about Saint Vitus here.

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

New Year's is Coming ...

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

Favorite Nonfiction of 2005
(in no particular order)

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


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


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


• The Politically Incorrect Guide to Science
  by Tom Bethell
  


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


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


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

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

Christmas Blessings

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

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

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

Wow.

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

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

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

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

You know what that means, right?

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

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

I am more grateful than I can say.

Thanks be to God for prayers answered.

C'Mere, You Big Lug

Photo Source

KING KONG

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

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

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

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

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

HC rating: 9 Thumbs Up!

Defending the Faith: Instructing the Ignorant

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

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

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

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

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

Finishing Up Global Warming

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

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

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

It All Depends on Where You Stick That Thermometer

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

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

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

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

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

The Politically Incorrect Guide to Science

UPDATE:

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