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You Should Get a PhD in Liberal Arts (like political science, literature, or philosophy)

You're a great thinker and a true philosopher. You'd make a talented professor or writer.

What Advanced Degree Should You Get?

Via Doctor Laura

You Know You're a Catholic Nerd When ...

The biggest fight you've had with your boyfriend is about which one of you was praying the Apostles' creed wrong.

The Catholic Nerd Blog

Guilty as charged ... if you consider some of the arguments that happen in the comments boxes here.

Venial Sin

It is so easy to slip into the way of thinking that venial sin isn't that bad. True, it is not mortal sin, but it still is quite destructive and will erode our union with God in that "drip of water on rock" way.

Our Lord has called us to holiness for us to love with deeds. And on the approach we adopt towards deliberate venial sin will depend the progress we make in our interior life. For when we do not struggle to avoid venial sins or when there is not enough contrition for them, they damage the soul grievously. These venial sins make the soul insensitive to the inspirations and motions of the Holy Spirit. They weaken the life of grace and make the virtues more difficult to practice, and incline one towards mortal sin.

Many pious souls, says a present-day author [B. Baur, In Silence with God], are in an unfaithful state almost continuously as regards "little things;" they are impatient, hardly charitable in their thoughts, judgments and words, false in their conversations and attitudes, slow and lax in their piety; they don't control themselves and are excessively frivolous in their language, or treat the good name of their neighbor lightly. They know their own defects and infidelities, and perhaps even accuse themselves in confession; but they do not seriously repent of them, nor do they make use of the means to avoid them in the future. They do not realize that each one of these "imperfections" is like a leaden weight that drags them down. They do not realize that they are beginning to think in a purely human way and to work only for human reasons, or that they habitually resist the inspirations of grace and misuse them. The soul thus loses the splendor of its true beauty, and God is increasingly distanced from it. Little by little the soul loses contact with God: in him it does not see a loving and lovable Father to whom it should give itself with filial affection; something has been allowed to place itself between the two. This is the beginning of the road to lukewarmness.

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

Just as I Feared ... 50% Weird

(and it rhymes ... cool!)

You Are 50% Weird

Normal enough to know that you're weird... But too damn weird to do anything about it!

How Weird Are You?

Via "Not Nearly As Weird" Karen Hall.

I Won!

And I didn't even know there was a contest. I will finally get to find out if a pair of hand-knitted socks is like a hug for your feet.

Perhaps this will inspire me to get going on trying to knit a pair myself. I have the instructions but just have been too scattered to get it together to collect needles and yarn to get started.

Back to Basics: Vaccination Against Original Sin

This is probably the simplest explanation I've ever seen of how baptism fights original sin.

Catholicism sees original sin differently from actual sin, which is what a rational person does when she consciously, deliberately, and willingly disobeys God. Original sin is the natural inclination to sin.

For example, nobody is born with polio, measles, or chicken pox, but folds aren't born with any immunity to these diseases, either. A baby needs to be vaccinated, so the human body can produce its own antibodies and fight these diseases when it's exposed to them. Likewise, you can think of original sin as being born without any immunity or ability to internally fight sin. On the spiritual level, human beings, born without any resistance to sin, need a spiritual vaccination.

Baptism is to original sin what the polio vaccination is to the poliovirus. Baptism restores what should have been -- a spiritual resistance or immunity to sin and temptation. The first sin of the first parents, Adam and Eve, wounded human nature, and every one inherited that wounded nature from them. Baptism washes it away.

... And just as vaccinations are but a first step for a healthy physical life, Baptism is but a first step for a healthy spiritual life. Cultivating a good, healthy spiritual life means avoiding what's bad for your soul, such as sin and evil, and doing what's good for your soul -- prayer and works of mercy motivated by divine grace.

In addition to getting rid of original sin, Baptism also imparts or infuses sanctifying grace, a special free gift from God. Sanctifying grace makes the new Christian a child of God and applies the merits of Jesus Christ, his suffering and death for sins, to the new Christian personally, because the person being baptized is mentioned by name ...

Catholicism for Dummies by John Trigilio

66% Genuine!

Bass (66% dark & bitter, 33% working class, 66% genuine)

It's a testament to Bass Ale, and therefore to YOU, that when I went to look for ads for Bass, all I found was this. An ad from 1937. Bass is legit, and if your scores are true, so are you. I tip my glass to that. Personality-wise, you have refined tastes (after all, Bass is kind of expensive), but you know how to savor what you get. Your personality isn't exactly bubbly, but you're well-liked by your close circle of friends. Your sense of humor is rather dark, but that's just another way to say sophisticated, right? Cheers.

Link: The If You Were A Beer Test.

Via that half pint o' Guiness, The Anchoress.

Mensa for the Numbers People

Find the six-digit number in which the first digit is one more than the second, the third and fourth digits are the sum of the first and second, the fifth digit is two less than the fourth, the sixth digit is two less than the fifth, and the sum of the fifth and sixth digits equals the second. The sum of all the digits is 33.

I don't know about y'all but my brain melted just typing this monster.

UPDATE: we have a winner (I am amazed by her mental powers ... "math brained" doesn't begin to describe it) so don't go into the comments box if you're still figuring it out.

You'll Be a Man, My Son

If

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;
If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with triumph and disaster
And treat those two imposters just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breath a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!
Rudyard Kipling

In a society all too eager to point out any masculine gender differences as something bad, to be blamed on men, just who will teach our boys to be men?

That is the question posed by Mary Jacobs in her Dallas Morning News editorial. Ms. Jacobs who loves the qualities that makes her son different from her daughter is reading The Minds of Boys by Michael Gurian. It sounds like a book that I would read also if I had a son to raise.

Women have always attempted to rein in boys' reckless impulses, Mr. Gurian says, but feminism made maleness inherently defective. Think of two fictional icons of American boyhood, Huck Finn and Tom Sawyer. The Widow Douglas may have attempted to civilize them with starched collars and good table manners, but Mr. Gurian says, "If Huck and Tom were alive today, they'd probably be diagnosed with a conduct disorder and put on Ritalin."

The answer to that question is that real men are quietly teaching their sons in spite of society's message. In a post that dovetails nicely with this editorial, Joel at On the Other Foot had his sons in mind when he wrote this wonderful piece about what a man is and what a man does. Here's a bit but do go read the entire thing. It is not to be missed.

As a man, you are stronger physically than women. You are also bigger than they are and hence intimidating to them, if only on a subconscious level. Never loom over them, never yell at them, never treat them as though they were men. (On the other side of the coin, don't condescend to them either. They're small, not dumb.) Bear in mind that you have all the equipment and strength necessary at any moment to overpower and violate any woman. It's therefore vital that you conduct yourself in a way that makes obvious that you not only wouldn't do something like that, but you'd step in front of a bullet or a grizzly bear to keep her safe. This isn't something you say out loud, but an attitude that stays in the back of your mind.

Lucky sons to have such a wise father. And, Joel's wife, Christina, at Confessions of a Hot Carmel Sundae, shows what a difference it makes to be married to such a man.

My lessons in the qualities that make a man came from Tom's mother who never forgot that her husband and her five sons were men, different from women, and rightfully so. Her small asides here and there about these men in her life were touchstones for me, who really had soaked up all the propaganda that was handed out by society when I went to college. My often surprised rejoinders to her insightful comments would lead to a five or ten minute conversation about what men were like and how to support them in being themselves. I am lucky to have had that input from a wise woman who loved her men and helped me to appreciate the innate manliness in my husband.

Many are not so lucky. We can only hope that the pendulum is beginning to swing back to the middle and that once again manliness will be appreciated in our society.

UPDATE
This also can be found at Spero News.

Back to Basics: Original Sin and Our Original Parents

I love it when science corroborates Scripture.

More than make connections and relationships, Baptism also washes away original sin, the sin of the original parents of the whole human race: Adam and Eve. The Book of Genesis (1:26-27) says that God created man in his own image and likeness, male and female. The first man was called Adam, and the first women, the wife of Adam, was called Eve. They were the prototype man and woman, and their sin affected all men and women after them. And the Bible says that their sin was disobedience.

Even secular science today uses the name Eve to refer to the first human woman -- the first homo sapien. We want to mention that avowed atheist scientists from Oxford University in England have identified seven ancestral matriarchal groups from which all Europeans appear to have descended. Every European, according to the study, can trace his evolutionary history back to the seven ancestral mother groups, also referred to as the Seven Daughters of Eve. This corroborates the discovery of biochemists Allan Wilson and Vincent Sarich of the University of California at Berkley who've shown that every man and woman on earth, past, present, and future, can be traced genetically to one human woman.

Catholicism for Dummies by John Trigilio

Celebrating the Basic Catholic: My Husband

I think the truest value of various debates I have become involved in within St. Blog's Parish (wearing scapulars, whether Jesus went to school, where does that comma go in what St. Thomas Aquinas wrote, and many more such issues) ... has been to make me appreciate my husband even more.

He is what I suppose many people would call the most basic sort of Catholic ... loves the Church because of the truth (though he says that most people would not call his trust in the Church "love"), follows the rules because they are there for his good, and simply lives his faith better than any other person I have ever known. (He says that he always thought he was a "Catholic Neanderthal." Wrong.)

It might bother many people because Tom doesn't say novenas, say the rosary, wear a scapular or do any other overt signs of devotion. He has a quiet, basic faith that expresses itself every so often but mostly stays hidden.

And he doesn't talk, talk, talk about it. Hardly ever. He just lives it.

I mention this to him. He looks at me and says, "Isn't that what we are supposed to do?"

What a testimony that is to me time and again. When we are asked to give for some worthy cause and I am ready to cheap out, Tom will look at me and remind me of how much we have been given and that we should pass it on. Then he will name an amount that makes me gasp. Sometimes, very rarely, he will say something like, "Isn't this what that story about burying the talents is all about?"

Tom applies thoroughly practical thinking and a dispassionate view of "the big picture" in answering questions like the ones that people in the blogosphere will argue over for days. In one or two sentences he can bring things into a perspective that has been totally lost by people who spill tons of ink (or bytes) on issues. And then ... wait for it ... he lets people make up their own minds.

This is hugely important, and in my view, is one of the key ways that he "lives his faith" to the greatest degree. He trusts the person to think for themselves and make their own decisions. This, largely, is how we also deal with each other in our marriage. One or the other of us will bring something up (oh, let's say what we already know ... I usually am bringing the things up) and we will discuss it and then we will let it drop for each to consider in their own way. He doesn't push me to do things his way and (believe it or not) I don't push him to do things my way. We trust each other to be honest in our considerations and our responses.

It is amazingly effective. And after a day in the blogosphere what a relief it is.

Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord

Bartolomo Esteban Murillo. Annunciation.
c.1660-65. Oil on canvas. Museo del Prado, Madrid, Spain. (Source)

On today's feast the Church celebrates the mystery of the Incarnation and, at the same time, the vocation of Our Lady. It was her faithful response to the angel's message, her fiat, that began the work of redemption...

The setting of this feast day, March 25th, corresponds to Christmas. In addition, there is ancient tradition that the creation of the world and the commencement and conclusion of the Redemption all happened to coincide at the vernal equinox.

The Incarnation should have a pronounced and dramatic on our life. This event is the central moment of human history. Without Christ, life has no meaning. Christ the Redeemer "fully reveals man to himself" (Encyclical, Redemptor Hominis). It is only through Christ that we will come to comprehend our inner self and everything that matters most to us: the hidden value of pain and of work well done, the authentic peace and joy which surpass natural feelings and life's uncertainties, the delightful prospect of our supernatural reward in our eternal homeland...

The human testimony of the Son of God teaches us that all earthly realities ought to be loved and offered up to Heaven. Christ has transformed the human condition into a pathway to God. Consequently, the Christian's struggle for perfection takes on a profoundly positive character. This struggle has nothing to do with snuffing out one's humanity so that the divine might shine out instead. Sanctity does not necessitate total separation from worldly affairs. For it is not human nature that opposes God's will, but sin and the effects of original sin which have so badly damaged our souls. Our struggle to become like Christ brings with it a life-long battle against whatsoever degrades our humanity -- egoism, envy, sensuality, a critical spirit ...

In the same way as the humanity of Christ is not effaced by his dignity, so it is that through the Incarnation the human condition preserves its integrity and finds its final end.

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

The Vocation of Our Lady

Vittore Carpaccio. Annunciation.
1504. Canvas. 127 x 139 cm. Galleria Franchetti in the Ca d'Oro, Venice. (Source)

In the oldest Christian calendars, this Solemnity [The Annunciation of the Lord] is referred to as a feast of the Lord. Nevertheless, the texts do make special reference to Our Lady. For many centuries this has been considered a Marian feast. The Church has traditionally held that there is a close connection between Eve, the mother of mankind, and Mary, the new Eve, Mother of redeemed humanity.

The messenger greets Mary as "full of grace;" he calls her this as if it were her real name. He does not call her by her proper earthly name "Myriam" (Mary), but by this new name: "Full of grace." What does this name mean? Why does the archangel address the Virgin of Nazareth in this way?

In the language of the Bible "grace" means a special gift, which according to the New Testament has its source precisely in the Trinitarian life of God himself, of God who is love (cf I John 4:8) [John Paul II, Redemptoris Mater]. Mary is called "full of grace" because this name expresses her true being. Whenever God changes a person's name or gives him or her an extra one, He destines him or her to something new, or reveals to that person his or her true mission in the history of salvation. Mary is called "full of grace," most highly favored, because of her divine Motherhood.

The angel's announcement revealed to Mary her task in the world, the key to her whole existence. The Annunciation was for her a most perfect light that filled the whole of her life and made her fully aware of her exceptional role in the history of mankind. Mary is definitively introduced into the mystery of Christ through this event. (John Paul II, loc cit) ...

Mary's reply fiat, is rather more final than a simple "yes." It is the complete surrender of her will to what God wanted of her at that moment, and for the whole of her life. This fiat will reach its culmination on Calvary, when standing beside the Cross, she offers herself up with her son.

The "yes" that God asks of each one of us, whatever our path in life may be, lasts for the whole of our lives. Sometimes it will be our reply to small occurrences, at other times to larger, more important events. It will be our reply to each call that God makes and which leads successively to the next. Our "yes" to Jesus leads us not to think too much about ourselves. It should lead us to keep our hearts alert so that we may be attentive to the voice of God, who tells us who belong to him which is the path He has traced out for us. As we lovingly respond to his call we should see how our freedom and God's Will mingle in perfect harmony.

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

Are Mormons Christian?

Twice within the last couple of days I have come read posts by Mormons (or members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, aka LDS) angrily declaring that they are Christians because of their belief in Jesus and that they do not appreciate being told otherwise.

I know that one of the main reasons for this conflict is that both groups are using one word "Christian" to define two radically different beliefs about Jesus. For example, LDS believe God the Father and God the Son have physical bodies and that the Holy Ghost is a spirit who as yet does not have a body. When one considers how different just this nugget of information is from the theology of the Trinity, it is easy to see where problems in understanding one another begin.

I wrote asking for the scoop to several ex-LDS who are either Catholic now or quite close to being confirmed at Easter.

All wrote back with good links and saying basically the same thing in different ways. However, Defensor Veritatis has just posted a piece about that very subject so I will send anyone interested to Brad's place.

UPDATE
My friend (and devout LDS) Garry has a good and comprehensive comment about all this for any who are interested.

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