"You know, Mom, we're just thinking about your immortal soul."

Hannah's words when she and Rose recovered from a fit of hearty laughter after hearing of the one-too-many compliments I received this week.

Ah, yes, sweet humility. Always delivered so well by those you love most. I can always count on the girls to keep my feet firmly on the ground.

Although, those very words left me feeling well satisfied. When your 19-year-old is reminding you to think of your immortal soul you get a feeling that you've done ok in her catechesis.

Dear Baby...

The baby-keeper-cause film of the year has been Bella, an earnest indie by University of Texas alum Alejandro Monteverde about a pregnant waitress (yes, another one) befriended by a soccer star. Bella has been endorsed by everyone from Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who wrote a "review" of the film, to Laura Bush. Here's guessing the same people won't be singing the praises of Juno. They certainly didn't give it up for Knocked Up. When I called Knocked Up a family movie in my review I was bombarded by e-mailers appalled at its partying and swearing. This just in: People who party and swear have families too. Sometimes they're even happy.

Read the rest here: Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News

Vognar makes a good point in his article from earlier this week in the Dallas Morning News. There are many movies this year involving unwanted pregnancies that variously and ultimately resolve the conflict with the baby being born. That is good news these days and perhaps a sign that the culture is every so slightly on the move for a change from "a woman's choice" being the vanguard phrase. A very good article and one that I recommend. I think registration is required but its free.

God, Are You Really Going to Pull This Off?

They Come Back Singing: Finding God With the Refugees
by Gary Smith, SJ
An African Journal

How can something be sad and glad at the same time? ... "All unhappiness," says Mrs. Quin, "as you live with it, becomes shot through with happiness; it cannot help it; and all happiness, I suppose, is shot through with unhappiness." ...

Rumer Godden,China Court

Although the above quote is from a different book entirely, it is the one that kept coming to me when I struggled with summarizing this book. In its simplest form it is a compilation of letters, journal entries, and scene-capturing essays by a Jesuit priest, Father Gary Smith, of his six years spent in Uganda ministering to the Sudanese refugees. As he is immersed in ministering to this pilgrim people who have suffered what seem unsurvivable hardships and sorrows, he also is lifted up by their complete trust in God's loving kindness. In a country where the people are displaced, every family has lost a minimum of two children, where the lack of three dollars can mean the difference between medicine and death, one does not expect to find perpetual joy in God's presence and plan for them. Yet it is always there. This also is a continual witness to Smith's own experience of God's loving kindness which he sees expressed through the people and through his own sufferings in this place of privation. Perhaps it is best expressed by Bishop Drandua one day in conversation.

... "I have been nourished by my position," he told me, "just as surely as the faithful are nourished by me. I believe that the Spirit is constantly renewing the church; it is a river which cannot be dammed. So the Spirit renews the bishops." He paused and added, "If they are open." His reflection was as powerful in its simplicity as it was in its theology. Drandua's conviction that the Spirit renews the church, now and forever, educated or uneducated, stands strong in its truth. Maybe that is the convert in me talking. God will not abandon the church and it will always grow, if not in numbers, then in the quality of love found in its members and in its capacity to be renewed and transformed by the Holy Spirit.

Just as Smith was, we are immersed in the people of Africa. I was personally touched by the fact that these people are from the Sudan. As I have mentioned before, a nearby parish has a ministry helping Sudanese refugees, and the local Central Market has a large number of them as workers. I especially feel connected because we have a lot of Sudanese refugees in our neighborhood working at the local grocery store. It thrills me to see them work their way up from grocery cart fetchers and bag boys to checkers. They invariably are the most considerate and careful workers (and this is in a store that is chock FULL of very good workers, believe it or not). I always go to one of them if I can and have struck up a friendship (superficial I admit) with several of them. They will wave me into their line or chide me for not being around lately. So as I read the book I could easily picture picture the people being like these fellows that I already know slightly. However, you do not need any personal connection to feel involved with the people in this book. Smith shows us their hearts and his as well.

This is a good book for more than one reason. As with the best books of this sort this is both uplifting and thought provoking. Just this week in Scripture study, our priest reminded us that we are incredibly privileged compared to most of the world. We talked of the parable of the rich young man and thought of all the "things" we have and all the "things" we want. Inevitably I thought of this book as I was about halfway through at that point. I must hasten to add, Catholic theology points out that there is nothing wrong with "things" as long as we view them rightly in the big picture and are unattached. However, here we are shown a people who often have no "things," whose only earthly attachment possible is to the people around them who often taken by sickness and death, and who still praise God's goodness. The contrast with our lives is striking. We see much sadness but as Mrs. Quin says above, it always is shot through with happiness. It changes Smith's view of the world around him, raises him to God often, and if we read it with an open heart, will do the same for us.

This book will be out in February and I submit that it would make a superb Lenten reading devotional. We then can ponder wealth, attachments, love, faith, and service to those around us. I have a favorite chapter that I have received permission to excerpt which you can read here.

Loyola Press has another chapter available to read here.

Highly recommended.

Cross posted at Catholic Media Review.

Who should be the Grande Conservative Blogress Diva 2008?

We all know it is The Anchoress, right? She really, really wants to win so if you love The Anchoress like I love The Anchoress, go vote!

Faith, Reason, and the War Against Jihadism: A Call to Action by George Weigel

I am waiting for my copy to arrive and this review by The Curt Jester is just whetting my appetite. I like Wiegel's logic and writing style as a rule so this should be interesting. Go check it out.

The Anchoress hasn't finished but gives the first four chapters a solid thumbs-up.

... frankly, I am hoping that every presidential candidate, every prospective cabinet member and every serious journalist will read it.

She has some specifics from the books to share.

Now I really can't wait to get it.

Discerning Truth in Popular Culture

The bulletin insert from last week, obviously timed to coincide with the release of The Golden Compass.

How Do We Discern Truth in Popular Culture?

“It is not, then, that we hold the same opinions as others, but that all speak in imitation of ours. Among us these things can be heard and learned from persons who do not even know the forms of the letters, who are uneducated and barbarous in speech, though wise and believing in mind; some, indeed, even maimed and deprived of eyesight; so that you may understand that these things are not the effect of human wisdom, but are uttered by the power of God.”

St. Justin Martyr, The First Apology*

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

The Da Vinci Code. The Chronicles of Narnia. The Golden Compass.

These are just the latest in a long string of controversial works that often make Christians mount massive boycotts sight unseen. If the book or movie is for children the result is often that the works are forbidden, also sight unseen, by worried parents. This often has the result of making that forbidden fruit seem all the sweeter. An unintended consequence of such behavior is to confirm to the secular world that a Christian’s basic behavior is to condemn something.

Conversely, there always are plenty of “gurus” ready to direct our minds and take our money. Most recently this is evidenced by The Secret, which promises to reveal “the Law of Attraction” which has been passed on through the ages to make all our dreams come true. Promises such as these are often offered with the “Christian” label on them and just as often are swallowed hook, line, and sinker without a second thought.

We know that not everything good must be called “Christian” in order to have value, as St. Justin Martyr reminds us above. Essentially he is pointing out that, whatever the source, truth is from God who Himself is all Truth. St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, to name but a few, would not have been able to mine Greek philosophy for the nuggets of truth that contributed so richly to the bedrock of Catholic theological understanding if that were not the case.

Likewise, not everything presented in the secular world as “Christian” is always true. Where there is money to be made, there are people who will trade on good will to take hard earned dollars. Even when something is reliably “Christian” it does not necessarily contain the full truth that is found in our Catholic faith.

How do we discern what is harmful and what is not? There is one simple solution in both situations. We need to know our faith. We need to consider the world around us through the lens of that faith. If one is already in the habit of considering advertisements, television, movies, books, news, politics and more in a Catholic context, then assessing new material is a matter of course.

We must be educated, find trustworthy information, weigh opposing opinions, ask questions, and possibly review the actual material in question. Only then should we reject or accept stories and ideas, whether fully or in part. In short, it means taking responsibility and teaching our children to think and discern just as responsibly.
This can be quite a challenge. However, it is a challenge that is rewarded richly and that becomes easier and more enjoyable with time.

A side benefit is that you will have some fascinating conversations with your children or friends that may be broader and deeper than ever before. This not only educates us but adds to the richness and interest of everyday life. You can’t lose!

Our faith does not reject stories and ideas simply because of so called code words like “magic.” Our faith does not embrace hollow promises which come without the basic truth of Christ. God has given us Christ and the truth, the Church and her teachings, and our hearts and minds to use in His service. Let us put them all to good use in discerning true from false in popular culture.

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

* St. Justin Martyr’s First Apology was written around 155 A.D. in Rome to the emperor as a defense of Christianity.

Our Lady of Guadalupe

MEMORIAL

The Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Juan Diego on Tepayac hill near Mexico City on the 9th of December 1531 to ask for the construction of a church there in her honour. After the miraculous cure of his uncle, Bernardo, this Indian peasant brought to his Bishop some roses that he received from Our Lady as a sign of her request. As the flowers fell from his cloak to the ground before the astonished Prelate, the image of the blessed virgin, which is venerated in the Basilica of Guadalupe to this day, was miraculously impressed on the simple garment before their eyes.

In Conversation With God Vol 7: Feast Days, July-December

What has always fascinated me is the symbolism of the image that was on the cloak. TSO says:

One of the interesting things about the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe is its teaching potential. Though she looks glorified, with stars and rays of sun coming from her as was predicted in Rev. 12, she is no goddess. Her hands are folded in supplication, her posture indicating that she is interceding for us at the throne of the God.

Indeed, he is right. There is so much in that image that speaks to Catholic hearts through symbolism.

However, there is much more to Our Lady of Guadalupe's image than that. As with all good Catholic images there is abundant symbolism that was specifically designed to speak to the hearts of the people to whom she brought her message ... the Aztecs. I remember when our priest put out a flyer about this and I was just knocked out at how meaningful every single thing in the image is. I really like this explanation.

The miraculous image produced on the apron or tilma of Blessed Juan Diego is rich in symbolism. The aureole or luminous light surrounding the Lady is reminiscent of the "woman clothed with the sun" of Rev. 12:1. The light is also a sign of the power of God who has sanctified and blessed the one who appears. The rays of the sun would also be recognized by the native people as a symbol of their highest god, Huitzilopochtli. Thus, the lady comes forth hiding but not extinguishing the power of the sun. She is now going to announce the God who is greater than their sun god.

The Lady is standing upon the moon. Again, the symbolism is that of the woman of Rev. 12:1 who has the "moon under her feet". The moon for the Meso-Americans was the god of the night. By standing on the moon, she shows that she is more powerful than the god of darkness. However, in Christian iconography the crescent moon under the Madonna's feet is usually a symbol of her perpetual virginity, and sometimes it can refer to her Immaculate Conception or Assumption.

The eyes of Our lady of Guadalupe are looking down with humility and compassion. This was a sign to the native people that she was not a god since in their iconography the gods stare straight ahead with their eyes wide open. We can only imagine how tenderly her eyes looked upon Blessed Juan Diego when she said: " Do not be troubled or weighed down with grief -- Am I not here who am your Mother?"

The angel supporting the Lady testifies to her royalty. To the Meso-American Indians only kings, queens and other dignitaries would be carried on the shoulders of someone. The angel is transporting the Lady to the people as a sign that a new age has come.

The mantle of the Lady is blue-green or turquoise. To the native people, this was the color of the gods and of royalty. It was also the color of the natural forces of life and fecundity. In Christian art, blue is symbolic of eternity and immortality. In Judaism, it was the color of the robe of the high priest. The limbus or gold border of her mantle is another sign of nobility.

The stars on the Lady's mantle shows that she comes from heaven. She comes as the Queen of Heaven but with the eyes of a humble and loving mother. The stars also are a sign of the supernatural character of the image. The research of Fr. Mario Rojas Sanchez and Dr. Juan Homero Hernandez Illescas of Mexico (published in 1983) shows that the stars on the Lady's mantle in the image are exactly as the stars of the winter solstice appeared before dawn on the morning of December 12, 1531.

The color of the Madonna's dress is rose or pale-red. Some have interpreted this as the color of dawn symbolizing the beginning of a new era. Others point to the red as a sign of martyrdom for the faith and divine love.

The gold-encircled cross brooch under the neck of the Lady's robe is a symbol of sanctity.

The girdle or bow around her waist is a sign of her virginity, but it also has several other meanings. The bow appears as a four-petaled flower. To the native Indians this was the nahui ollin, the flower of the sun, a symbol of plenitude. The cross-shaped flower was also connected with the cross-sticks which produce fire. For them, this was the symbol of fecundity and new life. The high position of the bow and the slight swelling of the abdomen show that the Lady is "with child". According to Dr. Carlos Fernandez Del Castillo, a leading Mexican obstetrician, the Lady appears almost ready to give birth with the infant head down resting vertically. This would further solidify her identification with the woman of Rev. 12 who is about to give birth.

Source

You can read about this apparition of Our Lady in more depth here.

Some more about conditions in Mexico at the time Our Lady appeared as well as a prayer for abortion victims can be read at Ave Maria. She also provides a link to further symbolic information as well as details about the images seen in Mary's eyes.

UPDATE
The Curt Jester has some myth-busters about this apparition, which he hastens to assure us he does regard as a miraculous event. However, it is a good reminder that it is just too tempting sometimes to make a miraculous thing even better by embellishing ... tch, tch, tch.

Speaking of Pop Culture

Rev. Lovejoy: Wait a minute! That sounds like rock and/or roll.

The Simpsons

Sympathy for the Devil is Abp. Chaput's header for his review of The Golden Compass.

Nice...

Now I've got that bluesy-rock sound rollin' round in my head for the drive home.

Again. Nice...

Thanks Abp! (No wonder I love that guy!)

The Story So Far: The Golden Compass and The Bishops

For anyone who is new to this situation, which I have been watching with some bemusement since The Golden Compass debuted last week, here's the scoop.

First...
... the USCCB (a.k.a. Catholic Bishops) prints a "rave review" of The Golden Compass. Which I actually don't have a problem with as long as they also note the moral complexity, ambiguity, and problems inherent in the movie (which they didn't ... yep, it's Brokeback Mountain all over again ...).

Then ...
... New Line sees the review, does a "chop shop" on the wording, rearranging it to make it really strong and puts out an ad.


Next ...
... many pithy and ironic comments are made by many observant bloggers (go team!), et al and the ad is pulled.

Meanwhile ...
... much complaining and questioning is done to the USCCB by practically everybody reading their movie review.

(A Word from the Fringe)
A side commentary: I am not sure who is reading those reviews ... I haven't for years as they are not usually even decent movie reviews. Certainly there is not what I would call good moral guidance often available which is what I would expect from Catholic bishops. If I have a question on that front I turn to either Decent Films where Steven Greydanus is primo or to Christianity Today reviews (an evangelical publication ... I think ... which is doing the job that the bishops should be doing).

Back to the story ...
... so now the USCCB has pulled the review altogether.

Without comment.

Which is a comment in itself.

For more info and links ...
... this story is all over the place, but I enjoy this story by Christian movie critic Jeffrey Overstreet because he has the outsider's point of view. He's also got a link to the Google cache of the original USCCB movie review if you want to take a look.

I'm ... Speechless ...

... and we know that's pretty rare.

The Anchoress completely stunned me with this very kind post. Talk about a wonderful gift. Christmas has come early. (I'm also pretty flattered that her little brother Thom stops by ... I hear he's got high standards.)

Thank you so much, Anchoress!

(Now, if you'll excuse me I'm going to go reread that post and figure out how to live up to it!)

Let It Snow Baby, Let It Reindeer

What's a partridge?
And what's a pear tree?
I don't know so please don't ask me
But I can bet those are terrible gifts to get.

Refrain for The 12 Days of Christmas

Rose just got Reliant K's Christmas album and I have to say it is not bad, not bad at all. Of course, this is also coming from a family where Ringo Starr's Christmas album is consistently in the top 5 on the CD player at this time of year...

The Twist in This Adventure-Thriller is Catholicism

The Secret Cardinal by Tom Grace

After distributing the bread of the Eucharist, Yin offered the wine, reenacting a ritual that originated with the Passover Seder Jesus shared with his closest friends on the eve of his crucifixion. The simple act brought Yin and his congregants into communion with a billion other Roman Catholics around the world and with God.

Yin had prayed in beautiful churches, but nowhere did he feel closer to the Creator than with those clinging to their faith against immense hardship. It was in ministering to his endangered flock that Yin truly fulfilled his calling as a priest and became, in the words of Saint Francis of Assisi, a channel of Christ's peace.

"This is the blood of Christ," Yin said reverently as he offered the blood to a boy just old enough to make his first communion.

The boy bowed his head respectfully and replied, "Amen," but barely allowed the scorching liquid to touch his lips. Yin suppressed a smile.

As Yin took the glass from the boy, he heard a metallic sound, the bolts on a heavy door pulling open. It was a sound he knew well, but not from this place.

"Wake up, old man," a voice barked.

Light flooded in and the sacramental scene faded, erased from his mind's eye by the intrusion. In an instant, the clandestine mass withdrew into his precious trove of memories. ...

A thick steel door and a small air vent were the only suggestion of a world outside the cell. In a tamper-proof fixture recessed into the ceiling, a lone dim bulb provided the only illumination to reach Yin's eyes in thirty years. He had long ago lost all sense of day and night, and of the larger passages of time--temporal disorientation being but one of the techniques employed against prisoners like Yin.

"I said wake up!"

Thus we are introduced to Chinese Cardinal Yin, not known to the world as such because Pope Leo XIV has named him a cardinal in pectore (in his heart, in secret) to keep the Chinese from killing him. As it becomes evident that diplomatic measures to free Yin have permanently failed, the aging pope sends ex-Navy Seal Nolan Kilkenny to extract Cardinal Yin from China and bring him to Rome. This sets off a race against time across Asia which is set against the action in Rome where forces inside the Vatican itself are working to discover the cardinal's identity and reveal it to the Chinese.

I like this sort of thriller which tends to be straight forward between good and bad guys, full of action, and in praise of the dedicated military man's prowess. Recent books I've enjoyed of this genre include Empire by Orson Scott Card and Karl's Last Flight by Basil Sands. I hadn't come across Tom Grace's books before but this book is singularly of interest to Catholics who also enjoy the genre. Grace became aware of the struggle between the church and the Chinese government when he read a transcript of Sen. Joseph Lieberman's tribute on the death of Cardinal Ignatius Kung Pin-Mei. This sparked Grace's further investigation into the situation which in turn led to this book. Not only is there the action of rescuing the Cardinal, but of a papal conclave which has a mole in its midst leaking news about Yin's escape.

Of course, I not only appreciated the adventure but the Catholic flavah' throughout. Y'all will too.

Dear Rose: Congratulations!

Upon the recommendation of the Columbia College Chicago Trustee Award Committee, I am pleased to tell you that because of your exceptional academic achievement you have been selected to receive a 2008 Trustee Award. The amount of your reward is $2,500 for the Fall semester and $2,500 for the Spring semester ...

Exciting, eh?

We sure are excited ... and proud, very proud, needless to say.

This part is exciting also:

Renewable up to four years

Back Seat Riot ... I'd Buy It

And not just because I know Max's mom. The song's good and I like the vid ... the contrast between the goofy boys that they are and the talented musicians that they morph into. Check it out.

My Three Sons Saints

On Advent Eve The Pious Sodality of Church Ladies began assigning "patron" saints for the liturgical year of 2008. This is a special chance to get a new look at a need either in your own life or of the Church's. They explain:

2008 is going to be a year of great changes for many people. Some will get married, others will discover more fully the meaning of their religious or sacerdotal vows. Many people will face major life changes. Therefore, this year each recipient will recieve two patron saints who were spiritual companions, in keeping with St Thomas More's wise counsel about knowing a man by the company he keeps.

My special saints are: Sts. Thomas Aquinas, Bonaventure, & Louis

Pray for orthodoxy of Catholic universities

"Grant me, O Lord my God, a mind to know you, a heart to seek you, wisdom to find you, conduct pleasing to you, faithful perseverance in waiting for you, and a hope of finally embracing you." [Aquinas]

Now that's a good idea and one I never would have thought of, although extremely apt for my interests. In addition, I have never felt especially close to St. Thomas Aquinas (though always appreciating his many gifts), I know only slightly of St. Bonaventure, and know virtually nothing of St. Louis (though I believe I just heard a quick synopsis of his life on a history podcast). So this is a good opportunity to get better acquainted with three of my "big brothers" in the cloud of witnesses.

You can ask for saints in their comments boxes. I believe they are still graciously passing them out.

A side benefit of this is that I discovered a fascinating blog, Around the Year with the Von Trapp Family. This is what the Church Ladies referenced in terms of the "saint of the year" idea. The concept behind the blog is this:

In 1955, Maria Augusta Trapp—the real Maria portrayed in The Sound of Music—wrote a book celebrating the customs and seasons of the Catholic Church’s liturgical year. Such customs, she wrote, are “an expression of a deeply Catholic feeling, and they have grown out of times and from people who found it natural to carry over their beliefs into the forms of everyday life.”

Her aim in writing was to help “make Catholic home life more warm and expressive of our religion, and above all [to] bring children and parents closer together.”

Unfortunately, Around the Year with the Trapp Family is no longer in print, and copies are expensive and hard to find. The entire text is available in document form at EWTN’s library.

In this blog, we will bring you selections from Maria’s book in accordance with the current liturgical feasts and seasons. We will also excerpt from her other books when appropriate to the liturgical season. We encourage you to share your own faith-filled customs in the comments sections of each post.

This is something that I know many are interested in and there are many interesting posts about Advent. So hurry on over and check it out.

Many thanks to the Church Ladies for my special saints of 2008!

I Don't Think I'm a RadyTrad ...

... but still am proud to be listed on the banned list at Spirit of Vatican 2 (a tongue-in-cheek blog y'all will like).

Chuck Norris's Favorite Facts ...

Looking up the Chuck Norris facts list for a friend who hadn't heard of it, I see that Chuck himself has chosen his favorite lines which, natch, I put below.

(I was reminded of the list by the Mike Huckabee ad and if you missed that go look right now ... we'll wait ...)

• When the Boogeyman goes to sleep every night, he checks his closet for Chuck Norris.


• Chuck Norris doesn't read books. He stares them down until he gets the information he wants.


• There is no theory of evolution. Just a list of creatures Chuck Norris has allowed to live.


• Outer space exists because it's afraid to be on the same planet with Chuck Norris.
• Chuck Norris does not sleep. He waits.


• Chuck Norris is currently suing NBC, claiming Law and Order are trademarked names for his left and right legs.


• Chuck Norris is the reason why Waldo is hiding.


• Chuck Norris counted to infinity - twice.


• There is no chin behind Chuck Norris’ beard. There is only another fist.


• When Chuck Norris does a pushup, he isn’t lifting himself up, he’s pushing the Earth down.


• Chuck Norris is so fast, he can run around the world and punch himself in the back of the head.


• Chuck Norris’ hand is the only hand that can beat a Royal Flush.


• Chuck Norris can lead a horse to water AND make it drink.


• Chuck Norris doesn’t wear a watch, HE decides what time it is.


• Chuck Norris gave Mona Lisa that smile.


• Chuck Norris can slam a revolving door.


• Chuck Norris does not get frostbite. Chuck Norris bites frost


• Remember the Soviet Union? They decided to quit after watching a DeltaForce marathon on Satellite TV.


• Contrary to popular belief, America is not a democracy, it is a Chucktatorship.

What Everyone Knows ... Turns Out to Be False Once Again

John C. Wright's investigations show him that there is more to Christian dogma than can be found in our "reasonable" philosophy.

It has always struck me as unjust in the Christian dogma that virtuous pagans are consigned to hellfire. Nothing could be more obviously an affront to reason than to condemn a man for eternity to punishment when the means of salvation were not and could not be known to him, and to call it just.

I discovered just today that this is not the Christian dogma at all.

M Francis writes and tells me this:

"…the Church always recognized something called "Baptism by Desire." The neo-Platonists like Augustine were much taken by the life and death of Socrates and saw in it a pagan parallel to the life of Christ - both unjustly executed by authorities for preaching virtue. Hence: the "naturally Christian man," Homo christianis naturalis, iirc. They supposed that, not having known Christ, the "virtuous pagans" would not receive the beatific vision complete but, being virtuous, a "limb" of heaven was reserved for them: a place of perfect natural happiness. This became "limbo" in common speech.

The Roman Catholic position can be summed up in Art. 1260 of the Catechism:"Since Christ died for all, and since all men are in fact called to one and the same destiny, which is divine, we must hold that the Holy Spirit offers to all the possibility of being made partakers, in a way known to God, of the Paschal mystery."

I also came across this quote by Billy Graham (actually, I came across John Derbyshire quoting David Aikman's biography of the great preacher):

“I used to think that pagans in far-off countries were lost — were going to hell — if they did not have the gospel of Jesus Christ preached to them. I no longer believe that. I believe there are other ways of recognizing the existence of God — through nature for instance — and plenty of other opportunities, therefore, of saying yes to God.”

... Ever since my conversion, I found the same thing over and over again: that the illogical or unfair parts of the Christian Dogma I was being asked to accept on faith, upon closer inspection, turn out to say, not what the world told me the Church said, but something more like what natural reason and supernatural love would be likely to say. If the Roman Catholics and the Southern Baptist Billy Graham agree on a point, it is safe to say it is a mainstream Christian teaching.

For those of you who think faith is some sort of willful blindness or deliberate affection for absurdity, please consider instead the cases like this: imagine that, more that once, you found your unaided opinion, the act of resting only on what you know yourself turned out, upon inspection, to be nothing more than finding a popular prejudice lodged in your mouth, something "everyone knows" but no one, not even you, actually checked.

Everyone knows the Church is the enemy of science, right? Look at the trial of Galileo! But then you read a history book or two, and it turns out that the Galileo affair was not about geocentrism, it was about Galileo insulting the Pope. ...

Everyone knows the Church is the enemy of law and justice! Look at the Spanish Inquisition! But it turns out the Inquisition was smaller than reported, handled with more legal safeguards, and was the actions of a national church operating independently, and sometimes in opposition to, the ecumenical episcopate. ...

Go read it all. I know well how he feels having gone through the same period of discovery myself. I was flabbergasted at some of the things that "everyone knows" (including me) that turned out to be dead wrong once I actually consulted the facts about Christian dogma.

An Inspirational Story Acts as Hinge for Two Truths

This inspirational story of a young Muslim woman who is converting to Catholicism is making the rounds and with good reason. She is attracted to Jesus because of the mercy he shows, and by extension, through the mercy she has seen U.S. medical personnel demonstrate by treating wounded enemies. (The story is reported by a journalist in Iraq who spent time with Fr. Bautista, found via Deacon Greg.)

As Fr. Bautista continued speaking with us, he described the fascinating story of a young Muslim woman who was entering the Church under his guidance through the RCIA process. Her story was moving. While working with Americans, this woman, who must remain anonymous, was touched deeply when she realized that the U.S. medical personnel not only treated wounded Americans and Iraqi civilians, but also treated wounded enemy combatants, including one who was known for having killed U.S. Marines. As she put it, “This cannot happen with us.”

This dramatic extension of mercy even to enemy soldiers caused her to take the next cautious step. She asked Father Bautista to “tell me more about Jesus.” As Father described Jesus and his life in the Gospels, one thing stood out among the rest for the Muslim woman he called “Fatima” (not her real name) and that was how kindly Jesus had related to, as she put it, “the two Mary’s.” Fatima was moved to see how Jesus deeply loved Mary, his mother, who was sinless, but also how Jesus deeply loved Mary Magdalene, who was “a great sinner.” As these discussions continued, Fatima reached a point where she said to Father Bautista, “I want to become a Christian.”

Since Father Bautista sees himself as a chaplain for all troops, not just Catholics, he decided to introduce Fatima to other chaplains from Protestant and Orthodox backgrounds. After some time had passed, Fatima returned to Father Bautista and said, “I want to become a Catholic like you.” When Father asked her the reason for her decision, she said, “You were the only one who told me about the other Christians, so you left me free to decide for myself. That’s how I knew this was the right decision.”

As their catechetical lessons developed over time, Fatima’s family discovered her plan and was warned sternly by her father that if she continued on this path, she would be disowned by the entire family and would never have contact with them again. At this point, Father Bautista became concerned for Fatima’s well-being and cautioned her to look carefully at the consequences of her decision and to think seriously before continuing her path into the Church.

Fatima paused for a moment and then looking intently at Father Bautista asked, “Do you give up so easily on Jesus?” The question took Father aback for a moment, but then he thought, “This is incredible; this Muslim woman is already bearing witness to me about how important my own faith is!”

Read the whole story here.

This morning, catching up from a missed day of devotional reading, that story was instantly called to mind when I read this quote and thought of how the demonstration of mercy beyond plain justice moved Fatima to ask, "tell me more about Jesus."

We should meditate on the life of Jesus because Jesus is a summary and compendium of the story of the divine mercy ... Many other scenes of the Gospel also make a deep impact on us, such as his forgiveness for the woman taken in adultery, the parables -- the prodigal so,, the lost sheep, the pardoned debtor -- and the raising to life of the son of the widow at Naim. How many reasons based on justice could Christ have found to work as great a wonder as this last one! The only son of that poor widow had died -- he who gave meaning to her life, he who would help her in her old age. Jesus did not perform His miracle out of justice, but out of compassion, because his heart was moved by the spectacle of human suffering.

St. Josemaria Escriva, quoted in In Conversation with God:
Daily Meditations, Vol. One: Advent and Christmastide

I was moved again to think of Fatima and her attraction to the truth when reading an email this morning with a press release for an upcoming book about interacting with Islam.

I am thrilled to bring your attention to a new book, Faith, Reason, and the War Against Jihadism by George Weigel, a Catholic theologian and Distinguished Senior Fellow of Washington's Ethics and Public Policy Center. In his bold manifesto, Weigel calls all Americans to confront and recognize the religious passions that fuel Islamic Jihadism. Weigel claims that, in order to do this, we must begin to:

1. Realize that the great human questions, including the great questions of public life, are ultimately theological
2. Demonstrate acknowledgment that the greatest achievements of the West are works of spiritual grace
3. Retire the idea that Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are the three Abrahamic faiths
4. Stop trying not to offend. Truth-telling is the essential prerequisite to genuine inter-religious dialogue
5. Try to bring about a non-violent regime change by engaging with the Iranian people, NOT their oppressors ...

Reading "stop trying not to offend" instantly recalled Fatima's question, "“Do you give up so easily on Jesus?” I will be curious to see what the book says. I found it interesting that I so well understood the chaplain's back-pedaling in an attempt to keep "Fatima" safe. He had forgotten what many of us have, here in the West. Speaking the truth may offend the hearer, even if done in charity and kindness. However, as long as we truly are speaking with charity and kindness then it is not a service to backpedal, but a grave disservice to the hearer. What they do with the truth is then up to them.

An Avowed Tim Burton Hater Swoons Over Sweeney Todd

All my life I've loved -- worshipped -- what Stephen Sondheim's music can do for the human heart. Blend this with a tragic, grand guignol metaphor about how we're all caught up with some issue of the past -- needing on some level to pay the world back for the hurt and the woundings. Add to this Burton's exquisite visual panache and precision, the drop-dead beautiful, near monochromatic color, the ravishing production design and...pardon me for sounding like a pushover, but this movie pushes over.

At times it melted me like a candle. I was lifted, moved. I was never not aroused. Every frame is a painting.

Johnny Depp is fantastic as the Demon Barber of Fleet Street -- he has to be a Best Actor candidate as of this moment. It grieves me to admit this, but bully-boy David Poland predicted that Depp's Todd would be a major contender early last year. Helena Bonham Carter can't sing very well but she's great anyway. Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall, Jamie Campbell Bower (a major new arrival), Jayne Wisener, Sascha Baron Cohen...everyone fills the bill.

That doesn't sound like someone who has been disappointed in Burton's films for a long, long time, but Jeffrey Overstreet on whose blog I saw the link, assures us this is so. Read the whole review and get ready ...