Luscious!

I don't read the blog being parodied but this is funny anyway. Thanks to Jay for the heads up!

AND the B Team has a wanted poster out for that Lisper ...

Want the Scoop on the Consistory?

American Papist has more links than anyone knew existed about it. I meant to post this earlier but forgot. So there's no time like the present for going over there to catch up.

Some Favorite Podcasts

Chris tells me that he's getting ready to dip his toes in the podcast ocean. I told him that I'd pass along a few of my favorites to help him get started.

These can all be found at iTunes. (Nothing Catholic as that isn't his interest ... check my sidebar under "They Like to Talk - Podcasts" for those.)

MOVIE REVIEWS
Mark Kermode Film Reviews
He's British, witty, irreverent, brilliant and overall great fun. It's nice to hear a viewpoint from outside America as well. An ongoing, amusing game is played with real-time listeners in which they email or phone in a cryptic one-liner movie description which Kermode guesses. Weekly.

Cinecast
Two Chicago movie lovers review current releases as well as have a top five list on different themes. They also usually have an ongoing series which continues for several weeks and allows them to cover great classic movies. Past series have included westerns and overlooked auteurs. The current series is musicals. This show has added a lot of titles to my "must rent" list. I tend to skip listening to readers' responses on this one. Twice weekly.

TELEVISION
Lost
Normally I wouldn't give two hoots about a podcast covering a television show. However, the executive producers are so hilarious when recapping the previous show and the answering questions that it is worth it just to hear them joke around (if you are a diehard Lost fan ... otherwise probably not). Weekly when a new show is airing.

TRAVEL
iPod Traveller
Cheeky Opal and travel guru Nick have great chemistry, wit, and style in this show highlighting European budget travel. Rather than just give basic info about a place, they usually also have interesting travel experiences which is what makes this interesting even if you have no immediate prospects to get to Europe (such as is the case for many of us in America). Weekly.

DRINK
Wine for Newbies
This is a really good basic primer for those who don't know much about wine. Bill Wilson's style is quite formal but don't let that put you off. He has a winning enthusiasm and desire to help newbies really understand wine. No set time for new podcasts.

SCIENCE
This Week in Science -- The Kickass Science Podcast
First of all, this has the best theme song of any podcast I've heard. Kirsten and Justin cover the latest in science news. Occasionally they may interview an author or scientist which I may or may not listen to depending on my interest. Kirsten is a PhD candidate in neuroscience and is very good at giving practical explanations of why stories matter. Justin is laid back and irreverent ("rather like a game show host" as Sigorney Weaver said to Bill Murray in Ghostbusters). It all comes together to make ... well, "kickass science." Weekly.

ANIMATION
The Animation Podcast
Animator Clay Kaytis airs interviews with some of the major animation talent of our time. So far he has had only animators who have worked with Disney one way or another but they have all been fascinating. I advise beginning with the oldest podcasts as it is interesting to see how these animators' paths have crossed at one time or another. No set time for new podcasts.

The Battle of the Reviews

Scott at Nehring the Edge and I have been battling some time over the movie "Millions." He felt it was a commercial laden, banal film. I absolutely loved it.

He has posted my review, which appeared originally at Spero News, and provided a link for his.

Who is right? You be the judge.

As an aside, if you haven't been reading his blog please do give it a try. I agree with Scott much more often than not and find his sharp wit words delightful.

Back to Basics: The Seven Sacraments

You know, I never thought of this correspondence, but it does make sense.

Why do Catholics have seven sacraments? Why not more or less? The easy answer is that Jesus instituted all seven. In the 13th century, however, philosopher St. Thomas Aquinas pointed out that seven stages of human development occur in the realm of nature, so it makes sense that God created the sacraments to correspond with each of those events. It's not that God had to make seven sacraments, Aquinas said, but it's reasonable to have seven:

• We are born: Baptism


• We are fed: Holy Eucharist


• We grow: Confirmation


• We need healing: Penance


• We recover: Anointing of the Sick


• We need family: Matrimony


• We need leaders: Holy Orders

Catholicism for Dummies by John Trigilio

Jesus, Mary and Joseph in Nazareth

At school he [Jesus] was taught Scripture, first the books of Moses, then the rest of the Old Testament, and some of the great commentaries of Israel's scholars. In this matter, as always when we try to picture to ourselves what was actually happening, we are almost giddy at the thought of the boy Jesus reading the Old Testament, learning what it had to tell of the Messiah, of himself in fact. It is hard to think that he did not discuss it with his Mother: children do, naturally. And Joseph, the man of the house, would have been listening to such Scripture commentary from those two as man has never heard, listening and making his own contribution.

As the boy grew older, the talk would be freer. A time would come when he must be told that Joseph was not his father in the way of nature. Is it fanciful to think that his Mother told him not only of her own virginal conceiving but of God's message about the child herself? They were a living family, not a set piece. They were not three figures in a ritual, cataleptically rigid in their muteness about the things that matters most, elaborately pretending that they were just like anybody else, each wondering how much the others knew! A loving family shares everything -- shares knowledge, shares thoughts and wondering. In the beginning Mary pondered in her heart: she would have discussed her pondering first with her husband, then with the boy, as he grew toward manhood.

If family life means anything at all, the story of God's message would have been gone over again and again: "The Holy Spirit shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee. And therefore the Holy which shall be born of thee shall be called Son of God." Did those words lead sooner or later into discussion of the Trinity? I cannot pretend to know. I can only record my own feeling that it would have been strange if they did not. Mary was not just a convenience, to get him born, Joseph not just a convenience to keep the neighbors from talking. They were the two people closest to God-made-man. If they come to talk of the Trinity or of Jesus' Godhead, we need not assume that they used the terminology the Church has slowly hammered out -- Jesus had his own luminous experience of these truths and may have conveyed their reality more luminously than the Fathers of Chalcedon could have dreamed -- or even comprehended! If only one knew --!

To Know Christ Jesus by Frank Sheed

Possible Eucharistic Miracle in Dallas? UPDATED

It was quite odd to see this along with the fact that they are waiting on Bishop Grahmann to make a ruling. Isn't this sort of thing really supposed to just happen in Italy? Via The Crescat.

UPDATE
It isn't a miracle ... get the scoop at Spero News. No shock there as the circumstances alone were fairly strange.

Well, I Know I Like to Watch ...

You Should Be a Film Writer

You don't just create compelling stories, you see them as clearly as a movie in your mind. You have a knack for details and dialogue. You can really make a character come to life. Chances are, you enjoy creating all types of stories. The joy is in the storytelling. And nothing would please you more than millions of people seeing your story on the big screen!

What Type of Writer Should You Be?

Via a favorite screenwriter of mine, Karen Hall, who is tantalizing us with the tale of being galvanized into action on her newest book. Hurry up, Karen, I wanna read it!

More About That Episode in the Temple

As to the scene in the Temple [when young Jesus was found with the teachers], the amazement probably did not spread much beyond the group actually present: it would have been a nine days' wonder for a handful of people. Nazareth, one imagines, never heard of it. The boy's schoolteacher would have been mildly surprised if some such account as Luke gives had reached him, and would certainly have dismissed it as exaggerated.

Of one thing we can be fairly sure -- the boy never staged a repetition of the incident in school. If he had, the master would probably have decided that it was high time to flog some humility into him, a masters have done to brilliant boys in all ages. But Jesus did nothing so spectacular, in school or out of it. We cannot remind ourselves too often how startled his townspeople were when his public mission began. It is clear that the thirty years in Nazareth contained nothing to prepare them either for his miracles or for the incomparable power of his mind.

To Know Christ Jesus by Frank Sheed

Episode in the Temple

We have got into the way, some of us, of thinking that the twelve-year-old Jesus was teaching some of the most learned men of Israel. But that is not what Saint Luke says. What was happening was an example of a daily custom in the Temple. Groups would gather round a rabbi, and ask him questions, on theology or morals or ritual. He would give them the benefit of his learning, which would usually be very considerable learning. As part of his teaching, he would put questions to them. It was in one such group that his parents found Jesus.

He was not teaching the doctors, he was "hearing them and asking them questions." It is clear that he was answering the questions put by the learned men who conducted the group: but we must realize that they were not searchers after truth asking him to enlighten them, but teachers using questions as part of their teaching method. His replies must have been brilliant, at any rate for a boy: because Luke tells us that all who heard him "were astonished at his wisdom and his answers" -- and the Greek verb used is a great deal stronger than our word "astonished," they were quite "taken out of themselves!" ...

Mary and Joseph wondered too, and once again the Greek verb is stronger than the English: it was if they had a sort of electric shock. Why? Not, one imagines, because his answers were brilliant. Most probably what startled, almost stunned them,was to see him showing his brilliance.

To Know Christ Jesus by Frank Sheed

A Couple of Literary Notes

NOTE THE FIRST
On Rose's recommendation, I began Uncle Tom's Cabin yesterday and have been surprised to find myself riveted ... to the point where I was propping it open to read while making lunch or washing dishes. I'm in the early stages, needless to say, but let me just say this. All this talk about Uncle Tom and not one person has ever mentioned Aunt Chloe? Well, knock me over with a feather! I only had time to read that she is the cook at the big house and that may be all there is to her information, but still ... it never occurred to me that Uncle Tom might be married.

NOTE THE SECOND
I really love it when Rose sums up these classics for me. She has just begun Madame Bovary. Having read only about 20 pages she told me, "So far the book is only about Charles Bovary."

I said, "That's Madame Bovary's husband?"

She waggled her eyebrows, "He's the loser she runs away from later."

Short. Sweet. To the point.

Hilarious.

Public Service Announcement

ASSISTED LIVING

This movie is the newest recipient of The Coma Award, replacing Schultze Gets the Blues, which while an amazing waste of our time, did not depress us to the point of tears ... and partway through this dreary indie movie I was actually at that point.

The movie distributors obviously knew that this view of a slacker working in a nursing home was a problem as the trailer lied to us by putting together the only two minutes worth of humorous, upbeat footage in the entire piece. The acting is so bad that Tom actually thought it was a documentary for much of the movie, the plot is miniscule, the pace that of a snail, and the only reason we could think that it got any awards was so that the award givers could fool themselves into not feeling shallow.

No wonder everyone loved The Station Agent so much. They'd been watching movies like this one.

Two good things about this movie:

1. It is only 73 minutes long.
2. I now appreciate Deacon Tom and all those who give loving care in a nursing home even more than I did before.

HC rating: * Worse than Godfather III.

More Mensa

To give us "wordies" another chance after most of us failed so spectacularly at the last Mensa word puzzle, here's a little something to get our brains revved up for Monday.

What three words, formed from different arrangements of the same six letters, can be used to complete the sentences below?

The posters were all on one theme: protect our ______. The campaign was meant to ______ an awareness and be somewhat ____ than scare tactics.

UPDATE
Go ahead and put answers in the comments box. If you are still thinking and don't want to know the answers ... stay out until you're ready to know all. You have been warned!

Remembering Terri

Today is the one-year anniversary of when Terri Schaivo's feeding tube was removed. She was not the first and, sadly, not the last to be murdered with the assistance of the courts. Let us keep her in our minds and hearts as we pray and work against this evil.

Blogs for Terri requests:

Bloggers, please join with us over the next 13-days and write about Terri's life and death, honoring her memory by making the argument for why lives like hers should be protected, respected, and loved.

Kiss Me, I'm 45% Irish ...

... actually, that might be just about accurate.

You're 45% Irish

You're probably less Irish than you think you are... But you're still more Irish than most.

How Irish Are You?

Via Alabama Improper.

When German Eyes Are Smiling...

We now interupt the Irish festivities to show this endearing photo of Papa,
shamelessly ripped off from American Papist.

Ok, as you were ... back to all things Irish.

On Seeking Out Mortification and Penance, Part II

As I promised yesterday, here is a follow up reading about the opportunities mortification in our ordinary daily routines.

... It has to mean serving the person one does not get on well with, expecting nothing in return. This is the best way of giving one's life for others, in an effective and hidden way which is hardly noticed, and which enables us to tackle that egoism of ours which deprives us of joy...

To serve others requires mortification, a continuing realisation of the presence of God, and a forgetting of self. On occasion, this spirit of sacrifice will clash with the mentality of those who think only of themselves. For us Christians it is our pride and our dignity. For in this way we are imitating Christ, and in thus serving willingly, out of love, many human and supernatural virtues are brought into play. This dignity is expressed in readiness to serve, in keeping with the example of Christ, who "came not to be served but to serve." If in the light of this attitude of Christ, "being a king" is truly possible only by "being a servant," then "being a servant" also demands so much spiritual maturity that it must really be described as "being a king." In order to be able to serve others worthily and effectively, we must be able to master ourselves, in order to be able to possess the virtues that make this mastery possible (John Paul II, Redemptor hominis, 21).

Lent and Eastertide (In Conversation with God, Vol. 2)

On Seeking Out Mortification and Penance

Sacrifice and offering you do not want; but ears open to obedience you gave me. Holocausts and sin-offerings you do not require;

So I said, "Here I am; your commands for me are written in the scroll.

To do your will is my delight; my God, your law is in my heart!"

Psalm 40:7-9

When the words "mortification" and "penance" come up everyone tends to imagine taking on all sorts of additional, dreadful struggles and sacrifices offered to God. Of course, this is terribly unappealing. Who would want such a thing? However, God knows our hearts. How could doing his will be our delight if the mere words awaken such feelings? This is not to say that penances and mortifications are things that make us dance and sing necessarily but I wonder if they are not necessarily as difficult as we may tend to think.

As our priest reminded us this week in our prayer group, the real key is to look at our intentions. Personally, my life offers more than enough opportunities for mortification and penance just in trying to be a good person in my regular routine.

It is helpful for me to think of penance and mortification as the way they are specifically practiced during Lent. Penance is the "giving up" and mortification is the "adding on." It would be nice to think that I am so sweet and cheerful and self-sacrificing that when I have to give up my plans in order that I instead may accommodate someone else's needs I do not let out an exasperated sigh which makes the person wish they never asked. Or that I will notice that the trash is full and add on taking it out to my evening activities, instead of nagging someone else to do it.

It would be nice. However, I am sorry to report that it does not happen on a very regular basis.

Perhaps that is why the great saints perform penances and mortifications that often stagger our minds. They already have chipped beneath the rough surface to find the diamond below. They are diamonds that need polishing by different methods, although some of those methods (such as living on top of tall pillars) seem dubious to our eyes. However, that is between them and God.

As for me ... well, I still am working on the rough surface, hoping to see a glint of the gem beneath. It takes slow, steady, methodical work and that is supplied by many opportunities sent my way every day. I have noticed that when I do have the right intentions, when I remember these are daily opportunities to serve God and smooth another edge, I do have a joyful heart.

Today, I offer a reading about penance that inspires me. Tomorrow I will offer one about mortification.

We practice a spirit of penance and of sacrifice in our daily lives, in the ordinary events of the day, without having to wait for extraordinary occasions. Penance is fulfilling exactly the timetable you have fixed for yourself, even though your body resists or your mind tries to avoid it by dreaming up useless fantasies. Penance is getting up on time and also not leaving for later, without any real reason, that particular job that you find harder or most difficult to do.

Penance is knowing how to reconcile your duties to God, to others and to yourself, by making demands on yourself so that you find enough time for each of your tasks. You are practicing penance when you lovingly keep to your schedule of prayer, despite feeling worn out, listless or cold.

Penance means being very charitable at all times moving towards those around you, starting with the members of your own family. It is to be full of tenderness and kindness towards the suffering, the sick and the infirm. It is to give patient answers to people who are boring and annoying. It means interrupting our work or changing our plans, when circumstances make this necessary, above all when the just and rightful needs of others are involved.

Penance consists in putting up good-humouredly with the thousand and one little pinpricks of each day; in not abandoning your job, although you have momentarily lost the enthusiasm with which you started it; in eating gladly whatever is served, without being fussy.

For parents and, in general, for those whose work involves supervision or teaching, penance is to correct whenever it is necessary. This should be done bearing in mind the type of fault committed and the situation of the person who needs to be so helped, not letting oneself be swayed by subjective viewpoints, which are often cowardly and sentimental.

A spirit of penance keeps us from becoming too attached to the vast imaginative blueprints we have made for our future projects, where we have already foreseen our master strokes and brilliant successes. What joy we give to God when we are happy to lay aside our third-rate painting efforts and let him put in the features and colours of his choice! (J. Escriva, Friends of God)

Lent and Eastertide (In Conversation with God, Vol. 2)

RC Mommy says it a lot better (and quicker).

Catholic Trivia: Cassock

Before the Reformation secular clergy wore cassocks buttoned from the waist up and tied with a belt. From the waist down they were open and unbuttoned, like the garb of the boys of Christ's Hospital to this day. This was the true Sarum cassock and is distinct from the double-breasted form which is usually so-called. Moreover, it is more than likely that these cassocks were blue in colour. Bishop Richard Challoner's cassock at Allen Hall Seminary, although of eighteenth-century vintage, retains the Sarum blue colour, with red cuffs, piping and buttons to show his rank. Challoner continued the Sarum tradition, and so this seems reliable evidence.

Purple as the colour for Bishops has only been in vogue since the sixteenth century. The change took place because Pope Pius V (1566-72), being a Dominican, stuck to white. The Cardinals then changed to a papal scarlet, and the Bishops adopted the "sacred purple." However, the original colours in each case are retained in the stripe on the cord of the pectoral cross. The papal soutane was granted to the English Catholic clergy by Pope Pius IX who, when the English clerics asked what cassock they should wear, declared, "Like mine, but black."

Catholic Trivia

Mama T and In This House of Brede

Book #9: In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden. The classic, classic story of life in a cloistered monastery, told via the story of Philippa Talbot, a widow and late in life vocation. The book very gently puts to rest any preconceptions about cloistered nuns being "otherworldly" or "hothouse flowers". This is our book club selection for this month, and the discussion should be wonderful. If you have never read this, go NOW, buy and read! It's that good.

This great review will make The Anchoress happy also as she and I bonded long ago over our mutual love of this book. Check out the rest of Mama T's Big Ol' Book Update. I am going to have to read something by Rafael Sabatini now. She had me at Samuel Shellabarger as regular readers of this blog know ...