All Our Questions Answered ...

... in this clever AbeBooks campaign. Check out the other titles. You're sure to find one to tickle your funny bone.

Happy Birthday, Dear Rose!

Source

I can't believe I forgot to put up a cake for Rose's birthday today. My only excuse is that I was busy shopping and I think that we'll all agree remembering birthday gifts is much more important than a photo of a cake!

What would we do without our sweet, smart, funny, clever Rose? I don't want to even think about it. I am simply grateful that God picked us out to be her parents. She is sweet 17 today.

We'll be going to Royal Thai as her choice for a birthday dinner. Mmmm, mmmm, good! She chose a cake I've never made so we'll see how it turns out. Yellow cake, cherry filling, marshmallow frosting. It is a cake designed more for a President's Day celebration but since she's been studying like crazy for her AP History test and we've been talking about presidents all week ... I suppose it seemed like the right choice this year.

We'll let you know how it tastes!

What are those 10 Prayers?

The ones that God always say yes to ... I've been asked and luckily Disputations just put them up so I didn't have to hunt them down.

1. God, show me that You exist.
2. God, make me an instrument.
3. Gos, outdo me in generosity.
4. God, get me through this suffering.
5. God, forgive me.
6. Give me peace.
7. God, give me courage.
8. God, give me wisdom.
9. God, bring good out of this bad situation.
10. God, lead me to my destiny.

Next Up: "R" Rating for Eating a Cheeseburger

Cheeseburgers are so unhealthy, you know. Just like smoking ...

The Motion Picture Association of America announced Thursday that smoking will be considered when rating movies and "depictions that glamorize smoking or movies that feature pervasive smoking outside of an historic or other mitigating context may receive a higher rating."

Smoking will become a factor in decisions by the Classification and Rating Administration, along with sex, violence, language, nudity, drug abuse and other elements.

"There is broad awareness of smoking as a unique public health concern due to nicotine's highly addictive nature, and no parent wants their child to take up the habit," MPAA Chief Executive Dan Glickman said. "The appropriate response of the rating system is to give more information to parents on this issue."

Source

Yeah, yeah, to get the obligatory comments out of the way, I don't approve of teens smoking, yadda, yadda, yadda.

But an "R" rating for smoking? This from the esteemed board that gave Spanglish a PG-13 rating so that when we were watching it with Rose we were treated to an unmistakable scene of Adam Sandler and Tea Leoni having sex.

Give me a freakin' break.

Give Me Peace

... this prayer -- God, give me peace" -- is a little bit different. God will say yes to it all right, but the rapidity and clarity of his response are going to depend a lot more on your relationship with God. ...

Is God still going to say yes to this prayer? You bet he is! But he's going to do it on his terms. He's not in the business of helping people live in denial. His "peace" is not some magical, divine anesthesia administered simply to make you feel good. It's the real thing. It's deep. It's lasting. It's wonderful. That's why when you ask him for peace, he's not just going to give you a Band-Aid when what you really need are stitches. He's not just going to help you cover up the problem, when what you really need is to treat it. God's going to give you peace, but he's going to do it by helping you restructure, rearrange, and rebuild your life so that it fits into hisperfect plan. And that may take some doing.

You see, the kind of peace we're talking about goes way beyond mere emotions. It has to do with being in union with God. Ultimately, that's the definition of true peace. It's the awareness that, no matter what else may be happening around you, everything is going to be okay, because you're doing what God wants you to do. ...

On the other hand, if you're "wrong" with God, it will be impossible for you to have a peaceful life, no matter how hard you try. Why? Because God is the source of peace. If you're in rebellion against him, then you're going to be in rebellion against peace itself. It makes sense that your days are going to be filled with chaos, stress, worry, and anxiety. They have to be. Deliberate sin, by definition, excludes peace. Therefore, eliminating the stress in your life depends, in large part, on how successful you are in eliminating any big conflicts you have with God.

Ten Prayers God Always Says Yes To: Divine Answers to Life's Most Difficult Problems
by Anthony DeStefano

Dear Elliot ...

I have never seen "blessed are they that mourn" so beautifully illustrated as in 99 Balloons, the "diary" of a family's love and joy taken in their baby who proclaimed God's presence without ever uttering a word. (Much thanks to Bridget for pointing to this video.)

This was the perfect counterpoint to the low I felt after reading the jubilant editorials about "progress for women's health" in the Dallas Morning News acclaiming Mexico City's legislation of the right to abortion.

I have a feeling that my First Friday sacrifice will be going on for more than a year, because the U.S. is just one step in a world wide struggle which is going on in the spiritual world as well as through visible legislation and courts. Moloch does not give up easily. You know what? Bring it. St. Michael, defend us and pray for us ...

Gone Haulin'

Haulin' Hannah and her stuff back from A&M. Hard to believe she is done with her freshman year! Strange to think of her being home for months and months. But a GOOD kinda strange!

See y'all on Thursday!

Loving Zeke

An extraordinary story, documented by the Kansas City Star, about a family whose whole goal was to love and welcome the little one who would die soon after birth. Via The Anchoress.

Show Me You Exist

... when we lift our minds and hearts in humility and say to God: "Please show me that you exist. ... Give me some sign that you are really up there somewhere" he is only too happy to respond -- sometimes with a speed that can astound us. ...

No matter how God decides to answer this prayer, your reaction is going to be "How in the world did that happen? How could this possibly have come about? It just doesn't make sense. I didn't plan it. I didn't do any work. I didn't make any phone calls. I didn't do anything." There will be a growing conviction in your mind and in your heart that there must have been some other force at work. And more important, there will be a growing conviction of the presence of this force.

This is a critical point to understand. The wonder that you'll feel when this prayer is answered will not be the same as what you feel when you experience an ordinary, everyday "coincidence." Everyone has experienced coincidences and weird occurrences in their life. This will not be like them. This will be a direct experience of God's grace, and, as such, it will piont directly to the one who is behind it -- God.

Ten Prayers God Always Says Yes To: Divine Answers to Life's Most Difficult Problems
by Anthony DeStefano

Yep. That's pretty much how it was for me.

A Closer Look at Sacramentum Caritatis

I have to admit that when I read Sacramentum Caritatis, I did it as more of a "duty" than anything else. Consequently, I zipped through it, marked it off my list and moved on.

Shame on me.

Our church began something new this week ... the first of a series of weekly excerpts that made me read slowly, think carefully, and realize the beauty and truth-packed goodness of this document. I'm not sure if anyone else read it but I certainly was glad that I was forced to take another look. I am going to put the excerpt up here and share with y'all as well. (And yes I typed this ... that is how much I love y'all!).

Loving Us to “The end”

The sacrament of charity (1), the Holy Eucharist is the gift that Jesus Christ makes of himself, thus revealing to us God’s infinite love for every man and woman. This wondrous sacrament makes manifest that “greater” love which led him to “lay down his life for his friends” (Jn 15:13). Jesus did indeed love them “to the end” (Jn 13:1). In those words the Evangelist introduces Christ’s act of immense humility: before dying for us on the Cross, he tied a towel around himself and washed the feet of his disciples. In the same way, Jesus continues, in the sacrament of the Eucharist, to love us “to the end,” even to offering us his body and his blood. What amazement must the Apostles have felt in witnessing what the Lord did and said during that Supper! What wonder must the eucharistic mystery also awaken in our own hearts!

-------------------------------------------------------

The reverent and tender words above call us to reflect on the Eucharist as Jesus’ eternal love for us in this offering of his body and his blood.

We might expect to find this sort of inspirational commentary in a devotional. What a surprise, then, to find that this is the introductory paragraph of Pope Benedict’s recently released report on the bishops’ synod on the Eucharist held in 2005. Or as it is more formally titled:

POST-SYNODAL
APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION
SACRAMENTUM CARITATIS*
[Sacrament of Charity]
OF THE HOLY FATHER
BENEDICT XVI
TO THE BISHOPS, CLERGY,
CONSECRATED PERSONS
AND THE LAY FAITHFUL
ON THE EUCHARIST
AS THE SOURCE AND SUMMIT
OF THE CHURCH’S LIFE AND MISSION

As formidable as that title sounds, this introductory paragraph shows us that we are being given an intimate look into how Pope Benedict and the bishops reflect upon the Eucharist itself. As the Holy Father says, further into the exhortation:

... I wish here to endorse the wishes expressed by the Synod Fathers (11) by encouraging the Christian people to deepen their understanding of the relationship between the eucharistic mystery, the liturgical action, and the new spiritual worship which derives from the Eucharist as the sacrament of charity. Consequently, I wish to set the present Exhortation alongside my first Encyclical Letter, Deus Caritas Est,** in which I frequently mentioned the sacrament of the Eucharist and stressed its relationship to Christian love, both of God and of neighbour: “God incarnate draws us all to himself. We can thus understand how agape*** also became a term for the Eucharist: there God’s own agape comes to us bodily, in order to continue his work in us and through us” (12).

That is much more what could be expected as an introduction and yet it comes five paragraphs into the exhortation. Clearly Pope Benedict wishes to first plunge us into the heart of the matter which is the complete and self-sacrificing love of Jesus for each of us through the Eucharist. Which is exactly as we should wish also.

(1) Cf. Saint Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theologiae III, q. 73, a. 3.
(11) Cf. Propositio 1.
(12) No. 14: AAS 98 (2006), 229.

* Sacrament of Charity. (Caritatis, meaning “charity,” is from Latin and translates in this case as “Christian love..”)
** God Is Love.
*** Agape is from the Greek and was used by the early Christians to refer to the self-sacrificing love of God for humanity, which they were committed to reciprocating and practicing towards God and among one another. One example of this is found in Matthew 22:37-41, when Jesus was asked what was the greatest commandment and answered “’Love (agape) the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love (agape) your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

This is the first of a series of weekly excerpts from Pope Benedict XVI’s Apostolic Exhortation Sacramentum Caritatis. You are encouraged to read the entire document. The Vatican link to that document as well as to Pope Benedict’s first encyclical can be found on the website, www.stthomasaquinas.org.

Siggy and the Butterbell

He went a-Googlin' and found ... this!

Red Beans and Ricely Yours*

Louis-Armstrong.com

The New Orleans Jazz Festival is going on right now and that works out thematically with music and conversation in our household over the last couple of weeks. Rose's innovative English teacher (the one that had the movie assignment about Heroes, Anti-Heroes, and Underdogs) wanted them to examine how one thing leads to another. They have been examining that in literature and he wanted them to look at it through music.

There was a list of artists to choose from whether by genre or decade. Each student had to choose one to write a paper about and also work with a group to put together a presentation featuring six artists. Five had to be from the provided list and one could be added by the group. Rose absolutely loves jazz and chose Louis Armstrong for her paper. They wound up discussing Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and Glenn Miller (the addition because there was no "big band/swing" artist which was the commercial element of the genre). Admittedly Sinatra and Davis aren't really jazz but the list was deficient in that area (at least from our point of view, but then when are we ever happy with a list?).

So we have been getting a lot about Louis Armstrong's life. I already loved him but now also respect him immensely. As for Sinatra, I had a somewhat tarnished view of his life so it was nice to hear of his devotion to his children, immense charity (he gave away around a million dollars in his life ... when asked why, he said something like, "I keep throwing it out there and God keeps giving it back..."), and so on.

Rose's love of jazz began years ago when she heard the Smithsonian set, The Jazz Singers 1919-1994, that I got for Tom one year. The older and scratchier ... the more authentic ... the more she loved it. She had plenty to draw on for her report and we heard plenty of jazz around the house all week.

Consequently, I can't get Jazzola out of my head; a very early song that is a favorite of ours ... and very catchy too...

Come, jazzers, gather 'round,Photo of Jim Europe
Jazz lovers from every town,
I've got something that I'd like to introduce you to,
It's new!
It's got a funny name
That's sure to win its fame;
With your kind attention
I will mention
Its many charms to you:

They call it "Jazzola!"
Nobody knows its origination,
Jazzola!
It's just a dance full of syncopation,
And if you crave a new sensation,
Come with me,
You will see,
Strange sights from the land of harmony!
Old folks and young folks cry for Jazzola!
It's like a tonic, take it with each meal;
How good you'll feel!
My old granddad heard the news,
Dropped his cane for dancing shoes!
The whole world's going crazy 'bout Jazzola!

Just take your sweetie sweetPhoto of Noble Sissle
Out for a jazzy treat,
And she'll love you like she never did before;
What's more,
No need of fine wine,
You'll have a much better time,
Get those jazz musicians,
Choice positions
To play it o'er and o'er!

Just ask for "Jazzola!"
Nobody knows its origination,
Jazzola!
It's just a dance full of syncopation,
And if you crave a new sensation,
Come with me,
You will see,
Strange sights from the land of harmony!
Old folks and young folks cry for Jazzola!
It's like a tonic, take it with each meal;
How grand you'll feel!
Old men who are out of step
Find Jazzola gives them pep;
The whole world's going crazy 'bout Jazzola!

Jazzola!
Nobody knows its origination,
Jazzola!
It's just a dance full of syncopation,
And if you crave a new sensation,
Come with me,
You will see,
Strange sights from the land of harmony!
Old folks and young folks cry for Jazzola!
It's like a tonic, take it with each meal;
How good you'll feel!
Old men who are out of step
Find Jazzola gives them pep;
The whole world's going crazy 'bout Jazzola!

J-A-Z-Z-O-L-A, Jazzola!

New Orleans Jazz - Art Knowledge News

* How Louis Armstrong signed letters.

"Of course, if you give a beggar a dollar they call you a chump."

Ever since I saw this photo at Barcelona Photoblog I have had the feeling that I'd soon be reposting my soap-box speech about giving to the poor.

Then today I read:

• Internet Monk asks (rhetorically one assumes since he then goes on to answer his own question): “Question: “Should I give money to people on the street who ask for it?” You know it isn't a good sign when someone ends up apologetically with "I know I sound like Scrooge ..."
• Today at the Mission sees his point but does not agree.

As for me, St. John Vianney said it in a nutshell.

There are those who say to the poor that they seem to look to be in such good health: "You are so lazy! You could work. You are young. You have strong arms."

You don't know that it is God's pleasure for this poor person to go to you and ask for a handout. You show yourself as speaking against the will of God.

There are some who say: "Oh, how badly he uses it!" May he do whatever he wants with it! The poor will be judged on the use they have made of their alms, and you will be judged on the very alms that you could have given but haven't.

For the long version (that would be how I say it), you can read Welcome to My Soap Box.

(Before making any comments contrary to St. John Vianney's, I request that you read my post linked to above to see how I came to my position on this subject. Thanks!)

LOST: When Shamans Can't Perform

Here's what I want to know.

Why is Locke so danged freaked out that when Ben keeps mocking him for not being able to kill his father, that he can't think of the real reason that a perfectly decent man wouldn't do that ... because he's better than The Others, than Ben, and they've devolved into Ben's little cult.

Try throwing that in his face! Whether true or not, at least it gives him a moral superiority edge.

But no ... they didn't do that.

They turned Locke into a wuss.

I also have to say that Rose LOCKED (ha!) it ... she figured out practically instantly that Locke's father was the con artist that ruined his parents' lives and Sawyer's as well.

Also, how stupid Locke's father, the original Sawyer, was. He just couldn't keep his big mouth shut, could he? Just had to show Sawyer how he could keep pushing those buttons. Of course, then his button got pushed ... forever.

It's First Friday!

Time to cowboy up for the littlest victims.

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.

A Joint Statement

Dorothy Day and the Little Flower

For those who don't know, St. Therese of Lisieux's promise to send roses as a sign of her intercession from heaven led to the affectionate nickname, the "Little Flower." It also reflects her devotion to the little way (that we cannot all do great deeds but all can be holy in the little things in our lives). The flower that she sends most often as a sign are roses.

But the psalmist also says, "In death there is no one that is mindful of thee." So it made me happy that I could be with my mother the last few weeks of her life, and for the last ten days at her bedside daily and hourly. ...

One morning I prayed to the Little Flower, whose picture is over the foot of my bed, that she would especially look after my mother. I reminded her of her own grief at her father's long dying. That night Julia Porcelli brought me some dried blessed roses. The next day, a friend brought a tiny bouquet with lace paper about it made up of roses and carnations, and my mother greeted it with a smile and held it in her hands a few times that afternoon.

A week later, when I went to Poughkeepsie to visit my three aunts, one of whome is a Catholic, and to go with them to offer up a Mass of thanksgiving for my mother's most peaceful death, we came out of St. Peter's Church that misty morning to be greeted by a brilliant roes in the garden next to the church. And when we arrived home for breakfast, there was a bouquet telegraphed to us from Florida, and in the center of the fall flowers were two lovely roses. The Little Flower was prompt and generous indeed in her message.

I wrote the account because I like to show my gratitude by telling others of such favors. Perhaps, too, it may comfort others who have sore and lonely hearts over the approaching death of a near one. "Life is changed, not taken away," and what a glorious change in these sad times, after a long and valiant death.

On Pilgrimage by Dorothy Day

Tornado Sirens Should Only Be Sounded if There is a Tornado.

Not that you'd think this is something we'd need to tell the City. But there you go. High winds, nope. Dark skies and driving rain. Nope. Even hail. Nope.

It is a tornado siren!

That makes two storms in the past three weeks where some idiot has sounded the siren ... with no tornado being sighted within earshot. Last night a tornado wasn't even on the weathermen's minds.

This Kansas gal is mighty tired of bolting for the safest spot in the house when whoever-it-is jumps the gun.

Enough with crying wolf, already!

Reminder: Tomorrow is First Friday

Time to those of us who are joined in this commitment to fast and pray for an end to abortion. Get ready to cowboy up, y'all.

Reading: 5 Practical Skills

As a voracious reader it never occurred to me that a guideline to reading would be necessary. Even when there was that great series of ads about reading that featured tips about reading, I read someone's guidelines about skimming (maybe it was Bill Cosby?) and already was way ahead of them on the technique.

However, for those to whom reading doesn't come quite as easily, there now is a very handy guide from Nick Senger at Literary Compass called ROMAN Reading: 5 Practical Skills for Transforming Your Life through Literature. This is a free e-book that can be downloaded as a pdf. It is simply but attractively formatted and has some very good ideas to improve reading habits. (Ok, I will probably never do the outlining idea, but it is an idea worth knowing about should one be doing a more serious study of a book than I tend toward).

He also has set up a blog devoted to ROMAN Reading that is worth checking out.

Here is a bit of one of the tips ... and yes, I already did everything in here but I had to figure it out for myself. You have this handy guide to help you along.

Here are five ways to improve marking in books:

1. Use a pen, not a highlighter. You can't write words or sentences with a highlighter, they're too thick. As I mentioned in ROMAN Reading, my preferred pen is the green Sanford Uniball with the microfine point.
2. Use the white spaces. Those empty spaces on the title pages and at the beginning and end of chapters are perfect for recording notes, outlines, summaries and various thoughts about what you're reading.
3. Use symbols and shortcuts. Try using an exclamation mark (!), asterisk (*) or question mark (?) in the margin to save time.
4. Mark entire paragraphs with brackets. If you want to mark an entire paragraph, don't underline the whole thing, just draw a bracket or a set of vertical lines along the side. That way you can still circle certain words or phrases within the paragraph.
   
5. Don't overmark! One reason to mark a book is to be able to find things again. If the entire book ends up being green, you've defeated the purpose.

Just Because I Love These Two Photos ...

That Jules took.