Sunday, September 30, 2012
Pope's Sunday Angelus: Catholic elements can exist outside of the Church; wealth should be used for good; an appeal for peace in the Congo...
VATICAN Pope: There may be something Catholic, even outside the Catholic Church - Asia News: Christians should not be jealous of the good that is done outside of the Catholic Church. Instead, the good that is done by the various ecclesial realities within the Church should be respected and appreciated. Using wealth "in solidarity and for the common good, ensuring equality and morality, at all levels." Appeal for refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo. Tomorrow the Pope returns to the Vatican.
'Another Nigeria': Islamists attack children at Anglican church in Kenya
BBC News - Deadly Kenya grenade attack hits children in church: One child has been killed and six critically hurt, the Red Cross says, in a grenade attack on a church's Sunday school in the Kenya capital, Nairobi.
The attacker targeted St Polycarp's church on Juja Road.
A police spokesman said they suspected sympathisers of Somalia's al-Shabab Islamist militants were to blame.
The attacker targeted St Polycarp's church on Juja Road.
A police spokesman said they suspected sympathisers of Somalia's al-Shabab Islamist militants were to blame.
Saturday, September 29, 2012
My appointment as Bishop of Tyler started with a phone call from the Nuncio two weeks ago...
RunFatherRun: It all started with a phone callSTRICKLAND: On Friday, September 14, at about 9:30 am I was in my office and the phone rang. I answered as I usually tend to “Fr. Joe” and on the other end of the line a rather soft accented voice said “Is this Msgr. Joseph Strickland?” I said yes and my mind began to race! I have to admit I cannot accurately tell you what the Nuncio said next but the gist of it was that he Archbishop Vigano was calling on behalf of the Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI to inform me that the Holy Father was asking me to be Bishop of Tyler. The Nuncio simply said “do you accept”. After a pause during which I was attempting to restart my heart, untie my tongue and unscramble my brain all at the same time I must have said something resembling “yes”!
Msgr. Joseph Strickland named hometown bishop of Tyler, Texas...
Whispers in the Loggia: Tyler, Rejoice – “Father Joe” Named Hometown BishopPALMO: Before all else, four words: How. Sweet. It. Is.
In a rare Saturday nod for the Stateside church, at Roman Noon the Pope named Msgr Joseph Strickland, 53 – the beloved vicar-general, longtime former Cathedral rector, judicial vicar and “running priest” of Tyler – as the fourth bishop of his home-church, East Texas’ 80,000-member “little diocese that could.”
In a rare Saturday nod for the Stateside church, at Roman Noon the Pope named Msgr Joseph Strickland, 53 – the beloved vicar-general, longtime former Cathedral rector, judicial vicar and “running priest” of Tyler – as the fourth bishop of his home-church, East Texas’ 80,000-member “little diocese that could.”
27 cowboy slang terms for things you eat and drink...
27 Cowboy Slang Terms for Things You Eat and Drink - Mental Floss: If your bread wallet is empty and you need to line the flue, knight the ribbons and mosey to a beanery. Your cookie-pusher will know what you mean when you order any of these 27 cowboy food and drink items.
For centuries, this has been the time of year to honor the angels...
Feast of Angels | Fr. Z's Blog – What Does The Prayer Really Say?ZUHLSDORF: In the older Roman calendar today is the Feast of the Dedication of St. Michael the Archangel, which refers to a basilica dedicated in his honor. This has been the time of year to honor angels for a long time in the Roman Church. The ancient Veronese Sacramentary has an entry...
Catholic League's William Donohue turned away from controversial New York art exhibit...
Catholic Leader William Donohue Turned Away at Exhibit He Deemed Offensive - NYTimes.com: On Thursday night, William Donohue, the president of the Catholic League, held a news conference outside an art gallery in Midtown Manhattan to denounce one of the works of art on display there: a 1987 photograph of a crucifix immersed in a jar of urine. But, when Mr. Donohue tried to enter the exhibition, the gallery would not allow him in, he said in a blog post on Friday.
Thank God for the HHS mandate...
Thank God for the HHS Mandate |Blogs | NCRegister.comWARNER: That's right. We should all thank God for it. Not because it is good for people (it's horrible), but because it is an opportunity. A huge opportunity. One where we've already begun to see the fruits.
Every attack on Christianity — every attack on Truth — is an opportunity.
It's an opportunity to respond with Love. It's an opportunity to point out error and to teach Truth. It's a chance to talk about something that would never have been a part of the conversation. It's a chance to become holier than we were when we woke up this morning.
Every attack on Christianity — every attack on Truth — is an opportunity.
It's an opportunity to respond with Love. It's an opportunity to point out error and to teach Truth. It's a chance to talk about something that would never have been a part of the conversation. It's a chance to become holier than we were when we woke up this morning.
Peter Kreeft: "Twelve things you should know about the angels..."
Insight Scoop | The Ignatius Press Blog: "Twelve things to know about angels" by Peter Kreeft: As today is the Feast of of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, archangels, here is a popular post years I am "recycling" for those who missed it before. It is an excerpt from Angels (and Demons): What Do We Really About Them?
Working for the wrong kingdom, as seen in a car commercial...
Working for the Wrong Kingdom as Seen in a Car Commercial | Archdiocese of WashingtonPOPE: There’s an old saying that goes, When you’re climbing the ladder of success, make sure it is leaning up against the right wall. For it sometimes happen that we spend a lot of time working on things that not only do not help us, they even hinder or harm us.
Jesus speaks to the danger of trying to serve two masters. But most of us go on trying. Somehow we think that the world will reward us. But if there are any rewards from the world, they do not last. Frankly, the what the world does most is to take from us. We slave for its meager rewards and in the end we lose even that.
Jesus speaks to the danger of trying to serve two masters. But most of us go on trying. Somehow we think that the world will reward us. But if there are any rewards from the world, they do not last. Frankly, the what the world does most is to take from us. We slave for its meager rewards and in the end we lose even that.
Video: "Can the Gospels be Trusted?" A debate at the University of Boulder...
"Can the Gospels be Trusted?", A Debate in Boulder, Colorado | OneBillionStories.com: The fourth annual Great Debate, held at the University of Colorado and sponsored by the Aquinas Institute for Catholic Thought. The two debaters discussed the following topic, “Can the Gospels be Trusted?”
Vatican court rejects some evidence as trial of Pope's butler begins...
Vatican court rejects some evidence as trial of pope's butler begins - NYPOST.com: A Vatican tribunal has thrown out some evidence gathered in the investigation of the pope's butler, who is accused of stealing the pope's papers and passing them off to a journalist in the worst security breach in the Vatican's recent history.
The court also decided Saturday during the first hearing of the case to separate the trial of the butler, Paolo Gabriele, and that of his co-defendant, a Vatican computer expert.
The court also decided Saturday during the first hearing of the case to separate the trial of the butler, Paolo Gabriele, and that of his co-defendant, a Vatican computer expert.
Friday, September 28, 2012
Vatican newspaper calls 'Wife of Jesus' papyrus a 'clumsy forgery', cites expert analysis
Gospel of Jesus' wife fragment is a fake, Vatican says | Reuters: An ancient papyrus fragment which a Harvard scholar says contains the first recorded mention that Jesus may have had a wife is a fake, the Vatican said on Friday.
Mary’s witness to her perpetual virginity...
Mary’s Witness to Her Perpetual Virginity |Blogs | NCRegister.comSHEA: The astonishing thing about Mary is that she’s astonished. For she is a woman betrothed. She knows about the birds and the bees. Yet she reacts with amazement at the news that she, a woman betrothed, will bear a son. Notice that the angel does not even say “You are pregnant”...
To belong to Christ: Reflections on the upcoming Sunday readings...
To Belong to Christ: Reflections on the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time | St. Paul Center For Biblical TheologyHAHN: Today’s Gospel begins with a scene that recalls a similar moment in the history of Israel, the episode recalled in today’s First Reading. The seventy elders who receive God’s Spirit through Moses prefigure the ministry of the apostles.
Like Joshua in the First Reading, John makes the mistake of presuming that only a select few are inspired and entrusted to carry out God’s plans.
Like Joshua in the First Reading, John makes the mistake of presuming that only a select few are inspired and entrusted to carry out God’s plans.
Ben Stein: "I am telling you, these do not feel like normal days. They feel like latter days..."
The American Spectator : Something Is Wrong: Don't look now, but Islam is becoming the MSM's official religion of America.
Now, it's not just that no one bats an eye at the amazing truth that the United States is beaming TV ads all over Pakistan apologizing for a derogatory Internet trailer for a nonexistent movie demeaning the being that Muslims call "The Prophet Mohammed." No one in the MSM even slightly hints that doing the kowtow in the same country that sheltered Osama bin Laden to a group that reveled in, delighted in the terrorism against American civilians and still provides the framework for the terrorist Haqqani network, might be humiliating and an insult to the memory of the great Americans who were murdered just last week in Libya.
Now, it's not just that no one bats an eye at the amazing truth that the United States is beaming TV ads all over Pakistan apologizing for a derogatory Internet trailer for a nonexistent movie demeaning the being that Muslims call "The Prophet Mohammed." No one in the MSM even slightly hints that doing the kowtow in the same country that sheltered Osama bin Laden to a group that reveled in, delighted in the terrorism against American civilians and still provides the framework for the terrorist Haqqani network, might be humiliating and an insult to the memory of the great Americans who were murdered just last week in Libya.
Indiana Jones is now available on Blu-ray...
Indiana Jones: The Complete Adventures on Blu-rayGREYDANUS: The greatest action-adventure movie of all time is now available on Blu-ray. For now, of course, you can’t just buy Raiders of the Lost Ark; you have to get the 5-disc boxed set “Indiana Jones: The Complete Adventures.” It isn’t really “complete,” if you count Indy’s small-screen adventures, but does include all four feature films, painstakingly restored for hi-def, from the untouchable classic Raiders to the disposable latter-day fourquel Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, with the fifth disc entirely devoted to bonus features.
Another look at Grant Desme, who left the Oakland A's to join the Norbertines...
From prospect to priest: Grant Desme leaves the A's, becomes a monk and tries to find his peace - Yahoo! Sports: On the morning Grant Desme ceased to exist, he was at peace. He spent years searching for serenity, convinced it was coming soon, next, now. It never did. Life was a blaring stereo, and he had become numb to its noise. The sound finally abated when he arrived here. He believed God muted it.
How you can go from worrier to warrior...
Tired Of Worrying? Here's A Suggestion... | Following The TruthZIMAK: Sure, we’ve all heard the Bible verse and sang the words at Mass, but how often can we say that we live our lives according to this principal? Like many other people, I claim to have faith and believe that God can do miracles…until one of my family members gets a serious illness or I don’t know how I’ll pay the monthly bills. Sadly, when these events occur my faith sometimes goes “out the window” and I do something completely useless...
Christian growth in the heart of Islam; Kazakhstan; and the butler's trial...
Christian growth in the heart of Islam; Kazakhstan; and the butler's trial | National Catholic ReporterALLEN: Media theorists like to talk about the power of a "narrative," meaning a storyline that's often more influential than reality in shaping perceptions. For instance, violent crime rates in the United States are at historic lows, yet popular psychology, shaped by Quentin Tarantino and "CSI," remains gripped by a narrative of pervasive danger.
Pope Benedict XVI recently returned from his fourth trip to the Middle East, where there's a strong Christian narrative these days: decline and possible extinction. Given the steep drop in the native Christian population, some fear the region will soon be a "spiritual Disneyland," full of holy sites but empty of flesh-and-blood believers.
Pope Benedict XVI recently returned from his fourth trip to the Middle East, where there's a strong Christian narrative these days: decline and possible extinction. Given the steep drop in the native Christian population, some fear the region will soon be a "spiritual Disneyland," full of holy sites but empty of flesh-and-blood believers.
Video: As they prepare for the Synod on the New Evangelization, three U.S. Church leaders talk vision and strategy...
Synod Fathers on the New Evangelization - YouTube: Previewing the Synod on the New Evangelization, three U.S. church leaders talk about reviving faith in a secular society.
A closer look at the "one in three" who will get an abortion...
Who are the "one in three?" |Blogs | NCRegister.comFISHER: According to Planned Parenthood's Guttmacher Institute, "One in three women will obtain an abortion before the age of 45."
This statistic is featured in a new pro-choice campaign, 1 in 3. The message is that abortion is so common, so widespread, that there should be no stigma attached to the procedure.� We should, they say, be working hard to ensure that the one in three women who get an abortion can do it easily, without fuss , and that they can talk about it openly, without shame.� The sheer numbers of women involved with abortion shows that abortion is here to stay -- and that it's no big deal.
This statistic is featured in a new pro-choice campaign, 1 in 3. The message is that abortion is so common, so widespread, that there should be no stigma attached to the procedure.� We should, they say, be working hard to ensure that the one in three women who get an abortion can do it easily, without fuss , and that they can talk about it openly, without shame.� The sheer numbers of women involved with abortion shows that abortion is here to stay -- and that it's no big deal.
These are not images of "problems." They're images of people. There are 27 million slaves in the world today...
Slavery Still Exists - Lisa Kristine - The Atlantic: It was 130 degrees when I was first introduced to the brick kilns of Nepal. In these severe temperatures, men, women, and children -- whole families, in fact -- were surrounded by a dense cloud of dust while mechanically stacking bricks on their heads, carrying them, 18 at a time, from the scorching kilns to trucks hundreds of yards away.
These are slaves. Deadened by monotony and exhaustion, they worked without speaking, repeating the same task 16 hours a day. They took no rest for food or water, no bathroom breaks -- although their dehydration suppressed their need to urinate.
These are slaves. Deadened by monotony and exhaustion, they worked without speaking, repeating the same task 16 hours a day. They took no rest for food or water, no bathroom breaks -- although their dehydration suppressed their need to urinate.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
The real St. Francis of Assisi was not a garden gnome...
New Advent: The real St. Francis of Assisi was not a garden gnome...RUTLER: On October 4, we shall give thanks for one of the best known and least known of all saints. Least known, that is, because Francis of Assisi was not a garden gnome, or a doe-eyed hippy skipping with animals and hugging trees. Garden gnomes do not bear the Stigmata of Christ's wounds.�
A vegetarian? He berated a friar for wanting to abstain from meat on a feast day and said that on Christmas he would “smear the wall with meat.”
A vegetarian? He berated a friar for wanting to abstain from meat on a feast day and said that on Christmas he would “smear the wall with meat.”
Can we have any influence on the standard with which God will judge us?
Can we have any influence on the standard with which God will judge us? | Archdiocese of WashingtonPOPE: In yesterday’s blog post, there was a reflection made on the fact that we will all, one day, answer to God. And that day, as Scripture repeatedly teaches, it is a day about which we should be sober. Sadly, there are many who give little thought to this truth, and some who outright scoff at it.
But with all that in mind, the question may arise for us, is there anything that we can do to have influence on the manner in which God will judge us, or on the standard he will use? Now here, we speak of the manner of God’s judgment, that is whether he will be strict or merciful. We do not refer here to the content. It is an obvious, and axiomatic truth, that God will judge our deeds. Hence, we should avoid grave sins and wickedness, and repent quickly when we commit such sins.
But with all that in mind, the question may arise for us, is there anything that we can do to have influence on the manner in which God will judge us, or on the standard he will use? Now here, we speak of the manner of God’s judgment, that is whether he will be strict or merciful. We do not refer here to the content. It is an obvious, and axiomatic truth, that God will judge our deeds. Hence, we should avoid grave sins and wickedness, and repent quickly when we commit such sins.
New comet discovered—may become "one of the brightest in history" in 2013...
New Comet Discovered—May Become "One of Brightest in History": If astronomers' early predictions hold true, the holidays next year may hold a glowing gift for stargazers—a superbright comet, just discovered streaking near Saturn.
Even with powerful telescopes, comet 2012 S1 (ISON) is now just a faint glow in the constellation Cancer. But the ball of ice and rocks might become visible to the naked eye for a few months in late 2013 and early 2014—perhaps outshining the moon, astronomers say.
Even with powerful telescopes, comet 2012 S1 (ISON) is now just a faint glow in the constellation Cancer. But the ball of ice and rocks might become visible to the naked eye for a few months in late 2013 and early 2014—perhaps outshining the moon, astronomers say.
Fr. Barron’s 8 recommended books for amateur philosophers...
Fr. Barron’s Recommended Books on Philosophy 101 | BrandonVogt.comVOGT: During my visit to Chicago, I had several good book conversations with Fr. Robert Barron. In one of them I asked him to recommend some introductory philosophy books for someone like me who has no formal training in philosophy but wants to dive deeper into it.
He offered many great titles. Since I didn't have a pen or paper around, I used my iPhone voice recorder to take them down. At the time, I wasn't planning on publishing the recording, but since I think others will enjoy Fr. Barron's suggestions, here it is...
He offered many great titles. Since I didn't have a pen or paper around, I used my iPhone voice recorder to take them down. At the time, I wasn't planning on publishing the recording, but since I think others will enjoy Fr. Barron's suggestions, here it is...
If you take up your Cross and follow Christ, you will be transformed beyond recognition...
Service and SacrificeLONGENECKER: Some time ago I received an email from an older Englishman who told me this story. He said, “When I started working at the bank in the 1960s, every Monday morning at the start of work my team leader would gather us in the conference room for a team meeting and he would close the meetings with this reminder, “Gentlemen, remember that your job here is simple. You are here to serve our customers and our shareholders. You are to good and wise stewards of their money. For this you will receive fair pay and benefits, but remember you are here to serve them, and not yourselves.” Then he would lead them in the Lord’s prayer.
Is there any hope left for true civility in our national conversation?
Eliminating Political Vitriol Online | CatholicMom.comHENDEY: As we prepare for the critical November elections, I find myself increasingly frustrated whenever I enter my social networking venues online. A trip to Facebook or Twitter these days often feels like a running of the gauntlet as I dodge nasty comments, unkind graphics, and attack oriented posts on both ends of the political spectrum.
Even if you think Glenn Beck is a morally bankrupt showman, his take on the Catholic Church is interesting...
Glenn Beck: “I Don’t Understand How Nancy Pelosi Can Say That She’s a Catholic” | Catholic ExchangeFINKE: Tuesday night’s Catholic Vote conference call with Glenn Beck and 144,000 or so of his biggest Catholic fans didn’t break much new ground.
Fans will not be surprised to hear that he talked about Dietrich Bonhoeffer (one of his heroes) or that he called for days of fasting and prayer for the nation. Even I know these are staples from listening to snippets of his radio show every few days.
Fans will not be surprised to hear that he talked about Dietrich Bonhoeffer (one of his heroes) or that he called for days of fasting and prayer for the nation. Even I know these are staples from listening to snippets of his radio show every few days.
Is it moral to comply with the HHS mandate?
Is it Moral to Comply with the HHS Mandate? | CatholicVote.orgJANETSMITH: If a person who provides material assistance to wrong doers is cooperating with evil then God would be the biggest cooperator of all. �After all, God gives human beings everything we have and He has certain knowledge that we will use it for evil, even knowledge of how each particular individual will use things to do evil. �Parents would be cooperators with evil since they supply their children with everything they have; yet who would say that parents are materially cooperating in all the wrongdoing their children may do?� If someone rescues a known criminal from drowning, one he knows will go on engaging in criminal activity once rescued, the rescuer is not guilty of material cooperation in the future wrong doing of the criminal.
An attempt to explain Christianity to atheists in a manner that might not freak them out...
An Attempt to Explain Christianity to Atheists In a Manner That Might Not Freak Them OutBARNES: Between being told that Christianity is a system of oppression, a complex way to justify burning with hatred over the existence of gay people, and a general failure of the human intellect, I begin to suspect that few people know why Christians exist at all. This is my attempt to explain why I am a Christian.
"Obama defectors" beware: 338,000 women voters targeted with pro-abortion push...
Wisc. Lt. Gov.: Women targeted as “Obama defectors” will be “mighty insulted” | COLORADO: NARAL has a national plan to target 338,000 women – some who may support Mitt Romney, based on the struggling economy – to instead help re-elect Pres. Obama by highlighting abortion and reproductive issues. NARAL calls them “Obama defectors.”
Catholic voting and the order of truths...
Shameless Popery: Catholic Voting and The Order of TruthsHESCHMEYER: A common mistake that Catholics make is assuming that every Catholic teaching carries equal weight, and that as the faithful, we are equally bound to follow everything that the pope or a bishop says. Related to this is the idea that a politician who goes against Church “teaching” on one issue, like supporting a particular social program, is equal to a politician who goes against another Church teaching, like the right of unborn children to live.
Today is the feast day of St. Vincent de Paul...
Feast of St. Vincent DePaul � The Gospel in the Digital AgeDOLAN: Recent statistics sadly remind that today the poor do need a champion.� Michael Powell, writing earlier this week in the New York Times “Gotham” blog, notes that while economic conditions have started to improve for some, there are still a shocking number of other people for whom poverty persists, if not worsens, and a recovery is nowhere in sight.�� The statistics are overwhelming.�� For instance, Powell notes that both The Bronx and Brooklyn have unemployment rates above 13 percent, and, he adds,� “Fully 21 percent [of New Yorkers] live below the poverty line; median income declined in nearly every group; 1.8 million New Yorkers now rely on food stamps.”
27 facts you probably didn't know...
Facts You Probably Didn't Know (27 pics) | Crack Two: The Moonwalk pre-dates Michael Jackson by at least 50 years, having been performed by James Brown, David Bowie, Dick Van Dyke, and Cab Calloway...
"Bureaucratization" vs. Evangelization...
Whispers in the Loggia: "Bureaucratization" vs. EvangelizationPALMO: With a packed October slate featuring several major papal initiatives focused far more on dynamic matters than institutional ones – the launch of a 13-month Year of Faith, a Synod of Bishops on the signature priority of Joseph Ratzinger's pontificate, the unprecedented joint canonization of two missionary daughters of the Americas and declaration of an earlier age's searing star as the fourth female Doctor of the Church – something seems to say the above offers a sneak preview into a line of thought likely to loom large over the coming weeks.
12 proposed U.S. states that didn't make the cut...
12 Proposed U.S. States That Didn’t Make the Cut - Mental Floss: After the Revolutionary War, it became common for states to gift their westernmost lands to the newly-founded (but broke) American government to repackage and sell to westbound pioneers. A conspiracy in North Carolina led to its western lands being sold to high-ranking members of the state government instead, then ceded to the U.S. Government under an agreement that ensured that those officials got a portion of the profits.
10 incredible and FREE resources for catechists...
Truth & CharityMURPHY: As a teacher in one of the few high schools in the country to have fully embraced the iPad in the classroom, I’m pretty keen on using technology and the internet in the classroom. Here are some of the awesome resources I’ve discovered over the last few years, including Amazing Catechists, Catholic Icing, Happy Saints, and Google Apps for Education...
Three cheers for the great sitcom 'Cheers', which celebrates its 30th anniversary this month...
Cheers Oral History - GQ October 2012: Movies TV: GQ: On September 30, 1982, NBC premiered a new sitcom called Cheers, a smartly written show about a bar owned by a retired relief pitcher named Sam Malone. Created by director James Burrows and writer-producers Glen and Les Charles, Cheers would become the last blast of pre-irony prime-time. There was no callous snark, no deconstructive riffs, and only a handful of time-stamped pop-culture references. For the most part, people sat around a bar and talked.
Someday you will die, and your decisions will be forever fixed...
A brief meditation on the truth that we will all answer to God. | Archdiocese of WashingtonPOPE: The Church is right to prophetically summon us all to repentance. For how awful that any of us should die in our arrogance and remain forever rebellious.
How sad it is that there are so many who, though the voice of God echoes in their heart, though his laws are evidenced in what he is made in the created order, and though the prophetic voice of the Church sounds in their ears, still they stubbornly refuse to hear any of these voices. They suppress the truth about God for a lie.
And while many assert that they will answer to no one, the truth is we will all answer to God. Yes, we will render an account for what we have done.
How sad it is that there are so many who, though the voice of God echoes in their heart, though his laws are evidenced in what he is made in the created order, and though the prophetic voice of the Church sounds in their ears, still they stubbornly refuse to hear any of these voices. They suppress the truth about God for a lie.
And while many assert that they will answer to no one, the truth is we will all answer to God. Yes, we will render an account for what we have done.
Uruguay lawmakers vote 50-49 to legalize abortion...
Uruguay lawmakers vote to legalize abortion | Fox News: �Legislators have voted in Uruguay by a razor-thin margin to legalize abortion.
In Latin America, where the majority of people are Catholic, no country except Cuba has made abortions accessible to all women during the first trimester of pregnancy.
The vote in Uruguay's Chamber of Deputies was 50-49 just before midnight Tuesday after several lawmakers on each side of the debate said they could not in good conscience go along with their parties, and allowed substitutes to vote in their stead.
In Latin America, where the majority of people are Catholic, no country except Cuba has made abortions accessible to all women during the first trimester of pregnancy.
The vote in Uruguay's Chamber of Deputies was 50-49 just before midnight Tuesday after several lawmakers on each side of the debate said they could not in good conscience go along with their parties, and allowed substitutes to vote in their stead.
Poll: Obama surges ahead among Catholic voters
Poll: Obama surges ahead among Catholic voters - The Washington Post: President Obama’s support among Catholic voters has surged since June, according to a new poll, despite a summer that included the Catholic bishops’ religious freedom campaign and the naming of Rep. Paul Ryan, a Catholic, as the GOP’s vice-presidential candidate.
Everything I really need to know, I learned by screwing up horribly...
Everything I Really Need to Know, I Learned By Screwing Up Horribly |Blogs | NCRegister.comFISHER: The other day, I was talking to someone who was planning to get married.� She wasn't even engaged yet, but was thinking ahead, and was looking for some reading materials.� She wanted to learn everything she could, so she would do it right when the time finally came.
I admire this in the same way I admire people who climb Mount Everest -- thinking, Holy cow, good for you!� But are you sure we're the same species?
Because the truth is, there are some things that you can't really prepare for.� The only way you can learn how to do them is to mess them up horribly, and then make several course corrections, and expect to continue doing that for the rest of your life.
I admire this in the same way I admire people who climb Mount Everest -- thinking, Holy cow, good for you!� But are you sure we're the same species?
Because the truth is, there are some things that you can't really prepare for.� The only way you can learn how to do them is to mess them up horribly, and then make several course corrections, and expect to continue doing that for the rest of your life.
Are the German bishops just greedy?
Are the German Bishops Just Greedy? |Blogs | NCRegister.comAKIN: That's certainly the impression you would get from some discussing a recent decree issued by the German bishops' conference.
It's being characterized as a "pay to pray" policy, whereby the Church will deny you the sacraments if you don't give it money.
One news source headlined the story...
It's being characterized as a "pay to pray" policy, whereby the Church will deny you the sacraments if you don't give it money.
One news source headlined the story...
A canonical gloss on Archbishop John Myers’ letter on marriage...
A canonical gloss on Abp. John Myers’ letter on marriage � In the Light of the LawEDPETERS: Abp. John Myers of Newark NJ is a pastor and his recent document on marriage is a pastoral exercise. But Myers is also a lawyer and, even in a pastoral statement, he writes with the care (though without most of the technical trappings) that one expects from a good canonist. For now I limit myself to remarks on just one passage of his letter; as it happens, this passage is attracting disproportionate attention from the secular press.
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
Must-read: The dangers of spiritual glamor (complete with a creepy Ouija board story)...
The dangers of spiritual glamor (complete with a creepy Ouija board story) : Conversion DiaryFULWILER: Right before the New Year during my sophomore year of high school, my best friend and I got out her old Ouija board. As she smoothed away the dust with the palm of her hand and placed the board on the floor in front of us, she recounted to me with great emphasis a series rules I was supposed to follow, like saying “break” before you take your hands off the planchette. There would be something real going on here, she insisted, and so it was important to approach this activity with respect.
This video of a 1958 nuclear water bomb is simply astonishing...
Water bomb | Bad Astronomy | Discover Magazine: The awesome power and energy released is difficult to wrap your head around. Think on this: a cubic meter of water weighs a ton. Now imagine taking a single cubic meter of water and lifting it, say, 100 meters in the air, accelerating it to several hundred kilometers per hour.
Now look again at that plume. How many cubic meters of water were are in it? Even being conservative I’d say it was in the millions, meaning millions of tons of water blasted upward and outward by the force of the explosion. It’s terrifying. And mind you, the test shown was for a relatively small blast: about an 8 or 9 kiloton yield (the equivalent of 8-9 thousand tons of TNT), whereas big nukes are capable of 20 megatons, over a thousand times the explosive yield shown.
Now look again at that plume. How many cubic meters of water were are in it? Even being conservative I’d say it was in the millions, meaning millions of tons of water blasted upward and outward by the force of the explosion. It’s terrifying. And mind you, the test shown was for a relatively small blast: about an 8 or 9 kiloton yield (the equivalent of 8-9 thousand tons of TNT), whereas big nukes are capable of 20 megatons, over a thousand times the explosive yield shown.
Newark's Archbishop John Meyers teaches about marriage, warns about danger of receiving Communion while rejecting Church teaching...
Library : When Two Become One: A Pastoral Teaching on the Definition, Purpose and Sanctity of Marriage - Catholic Culture: Marriage is as old as humankind. From the beginning, God created the human race in his own image and likeness; male and female he created them (cf. Gen 1:27). Sexual difference and complementarity have been present from the beginning as part of God’s creative plan. Equal in dignity but complementary in their sexual difference, men and women who are called to marriage are intended to form one-flesh unions: “Therefore a man leaves his father and his mother and clings to his wife, and they become one flesh” (Gen 2:24). Thus, marriage can be seen as the “primordial sacrament” predating the Fall and surviving original sin.
Seeking intellectual stimulation? Forget politics. Try sports radio instead...
The End of Debate As We Know It? | The Gregorian Blog | The Gregorian Institute at Benedictine CollegeMULHOLLAND: What does it mean that the two sides are so divided that they longer see the same reality? It means this:� Politics in 2012 is no longer a disagreement between practical viewpoints, but theoretical ones. The disagreement may be more fundamental than it has ever been in our nation’s history. It is not a disagreement about how government is to serve mankind, but a disagreement about what the purpose of mankind is, and what the purpose of government is.
In order to debate something, in order to have a constructive discussion of any kind, we must go back to our last point of agreement and take things from there.� Nowadays, we have to go back much further than either side seems willing to.
In order to debate something, in order to have a constructive discussion of any kind, we must go back to our last point of agreement and take things from there.� Nowadays, we have to go back much further than either side seems willing to.
The feast of Sts. Cosmas and Damian...
Fr. Robert Barron's Word On Fire - Spirituality: The Feast of Saints Cosmas and DamianFERENCE: I was born in 1976, the same year the film “The Omen” was released. My parents decided to name me Damian, not knowing that Damien was the name of the boy-demon in the popular movie. It could have been worse — my dad actually wanted to name me Fabian, but thankfully my mom would have none of it. (Fabian Ference would have been too much. And Father Fabian Ference? Yikes!) Needless to say, you can imagine that I got my share of demon and devil jokes as a kid. And to this day many folks still find “Father Damian” to be a contradiction of sorts.�
If you are in the state of grace, you are indwelt by the Holy Trinity. Here are 5 things to help you understand this mystery...
Pursued by Truth: Photography, Light & DivinizationNOBLE: I know very little about photography but one of my friends said this to me recently and it has changed the way that I take pictures. Now, I look for the right light, and take pictures over and over, contorting myself into strange positions until the object I am photographing is illuminated just right. One day recently, as I did my strange little photographic light dance around a small clump of moss, I thought about the application of this lesson to my spiritual life.
Even if Harvard ends up accepting the "Wife of Jesus" paper, truthiness will have eclipsed the truth...
Harvard Rejecting “Jesus’ Wife” but Truthiness is Served – UPDATESSCALIA: When the New York Times published this piece and kicked off the whole breathless week of speculation that “Jesus had a wife!” I was surprised.
I thought it odd that the Times would report on a story as potentially huge as this, without first making sure that a credible academic imprimatur accompanied it.
Now, it seems such an imprimatur is being denied; it is being reliably “rumored” that Harvard’s Theological Review has rejected the conjectures of Professor Karen L. King
I thought it odd that the Times would report on a story as potentially huge as this, without first making sure that a credible academic imprimatur accompanied it.
Now, it seems such an imprimatur is being denied; it is being reliably “rumored” that Harvard’s Theological Review has rejected the conjectures of Professor Karen L. King
On this date in 1983, Lt. Col. Stanislav Petrov single-handedly (with the help of Our Lady of Fatima) prevented nuclear war...
On This Date in 1983, Stanislav Petrov Single-Handedly Prevented Nuclear War - Mental Floss: On September 26, 1983, the world came very close to nuclear war. Shortly after midnight, alarms inside Serpukhov-15—a bunker in Moscow where the Soviet Union monitored its satellites over the United States—began to go off. The satellites had detected the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile from a base in the United States. Then the system reported that five missiles had been launched and were heading toward the Soviet Union from the U.S.
You should always try to make friends with LOLs (little old ladies) who pray a lot...
Truth & CharityMURPHY: Beads swinging from her hands, Our Lady of Everything pinned to her shirt, a Magnificat in her oversized plaid purse, this LOL is putting the rest of us to shame getting ready for the afterlife.� You know the one I’m talking about.� Her whole life revolves around two things: making sure she’s prepared for eternity, and making sure the thermostat in the Perpetual Adoration Chapel is permanently set to 95 degrees. She’ll ask your intentions and then pray for you in seven different languages.� Her prayers are answered before she opens her mouth.
The Democratic platform supports intrinsic evil. The Republican platform does not...
New Advent: The Democratic platform supports intrinsic evil. The Republican platform does not...PAPROCKI: Much attention was given at the Democratic National Convention held recently in Charlotte, N.C., to the fact that all references to God had been purged from the draft version of the party platform. After outcries of protest from outside as well as within the Democratic Party, the sentence with the same reference to God used in 2008 was restored
What does it mean to be our brother’s keeper?
What does it mean to be our brother’s keeper? - The Arlington Catholic HeraldCURTIS: Some years ago our family took a financial/lifestyle tumble that landed us in territory I hadn't seen since I was a little girl — a territory where you no longer own a home, where you turn the heat to 60 and forget the AC, where new clothes and fast food are no longer options, where you use odds-and-ends stamps to make postage. A territory where you are finally dependent — at least for a while — on the compassion of others to get you through.
A Catholic pays a visit to a Russian Orthodox church in Beijing...
“Christ is in Our Midst”: Catholic World Report: Sunday morning in China’s capital city is not unlike most other days: Beijing’s more than 20 million inhabitants bustle through congested sidewalks, cars compete almost hopelessly for space on crowded roads, and hazy grey skies loom heavily over the city landscape, punctuated by soaring cranes marking new constructions.
Quiz: Since 1960, only 11 sitcoms have stayed on the air for 250 episodes. Can you name them?
Name the 11 Sitcoms That Lasted 250 Episodes (Since 1960) Online Quiz - Mental Floss: A handful of 1950s sitcoms, including The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and The Danny Thomas Show, ran for more than 250 episodes. But since the 1960 season premiered, only 11 U.S. half-hour sitcoms have managed that feat. Given three minutes, can you name all 11 half-hour U.S. sitcoms since 1960 that stayed on the air for 250 episodes or more? Prove it!
The real answer to this puzzle: Get in the state of grace and stay there until you die...
The Devil’s Game | Futility Closet: Ms. C dies and goes to hell, where the devil offers a game of chance. If she plays today, she has a 1/2 chance of winning; if she plays tomorrow, the chance will be 2/3; and so on. If she wins, she can go to heaven, but if she loses she must stay in hell forever. When should she play?
There's a big difference between "senseless violence" and cold-blooded murder...
It Is Not Senseless Violence, Mr. President |Blogs | NCRegister.comPATARCHBOLD: We hear these phrases all the time, so much so that we don't even think about what it means anymore. We hear "senseless violence" and "senseless tragedy" so often that we pay no mind.
I wish for you to pay some mind.
When I hear these phrases "senseless violence" and "senseless tragedy" I immediately think of circumstances in which they might be appropriate. When a tornado devastates a small Midwest town calling it a "senseless tragedy" seems appropriate. Likewise, when some person with obvious mental illness opens indiscriminate fire on an unsuspecting crowd, calling the act "senseless violence" seems appropriate as the culprit who perpetrated the violence had no logical end.
I wish for you to pay some mind.
When I hear these phrases "senseless violence" and "senseless tragedy" I immediately think of circumstances in which they might be appropriate. When a tornado devastates a small Midwest town calling it a "senseless tragedy" seems appropriate. Likewise, when some person with obvious mental illness opens indiscriminate fire on an unsuspecting crowd, calling the act "senseless violence" seems appropriate as the culprit who perpetrated the violence had no logical end.
It all looked so normal. Like any other busy street downtown. Except for us...
Conspicuous: An Afternoon for Life | CatholicMom.comMATENAER: I wondered what we looked like from the third floor.� Surely the sight of five Catholic priests in clerics, three young women, and one seminarian clad in a black cassock whipping in the bitter fall Canadian wind would catch someone’s attention, someone’s heart.
We stood on the sidewalk opposite of the abortion clinic, pulled out our rosaries, and began the Sorrowful Mysteries.� The beads felt cold and hard in my already-frozen fingers.� I again looked up at the third floor of the building that had been claimed by the abortionist.
We stood on the sidewalk opposite of the abortion clinic, pulled out our rosaries, and began the Sorrowful Mysteries.� The beads felt cold and hard in my already-frozen fingers.� I again looked up at the third floor of the building that had been claimed by the abortionist.
Replacement refs and the formation of conscience...
Replacement Refs and Formation of Conscience | The Gregorian Blog | The Gregorian Institute at Benedictine College: The NFL is having referee problems� — and they sound a lot like the problems many consciences are having.
In August, a labor dispute robbed the NFL of the benefit of the officiating experience of the NFL Referees Association. The NFL’s replacement referees have been bumbling calls for three weeks, from walking off 11-yard penalties to slowing the pace of the game down to paint drying. �
In August, a labor dispute robbed the NFL of the benefit of the officiating experience of the NFL Referees Association. The NFL’s replacement referees have been bumbling calls for three weeks, from walking off 11-yard penalties to slowing the pace of the game down to paint drying. �
Dr. Scott Hahn: If you want to understand the Crucifixion of Jesus, you first have to understand this...
New Testament: Scarifice or Execution | St. Paul Center For Biblical Theology: Dr. Hahn explains why we call the Cross a sacrifice and the implications of Christ’s command to “Do this” at the Last Supper. Listen closely and you’ll never view the New Testament the same way again.
How Aristotle's 10 categories relate to transubstantiation...
How Aristotle's 10 Categories Relate to Eucharistic Transubstantiation ~ Canterbury Tales by Dr. Taylor MarshallMARSHALL: In the Catechism we learn that in the miracle of transubstantiation, the substances of bread and wine "transubstantiate" into the substance of Christ. What remains are the accidents. Here, accident refers to what is incidental and not essential.
Most catechized Catholics are able to explain that in the Eucharist, the substance of bread and wine become the substance of Christ, yet the incidental features of bread and wine (color, taste, smell, weight, size, etc.) remain.
Most catechized Catholics are able to explain that in the Eucharist, the substance of bread and wine become the substance of Christ, yet the incidental features of bread and wine (color, taste, smell, weight, size, etc.) remain.
What you need to know about the upcoming Year of Faith...
Getting a head start to the Year of FaithSAMMONS: During a “Year of Faith,” the Church refocuses its energies toward both these aspects: the content of the faith and the consequences of accepting and living that faith. In 1967, Pope Paul VI called a Year of Faith to commemorate the 19th centenary of the martyrdom of Sts. Peter and Paul. He wished at that time, just a few years after Vatican II, for the Church to make “an authentic and sincere profession of the same faith” held by those two great apostles.�
Where is our Catholic Yom Kippur?
Where is Our Catholic Yom Kippur? � The Gospel in the Digital AgeDOLAN: We Catholics in New York enjoy the “high holy days” of our Jewish neighbors, and are inspired by the seriousness and sincerity with which they approach their feasts.� Join me in wishing them God’s blessings on their special days!
They began their observance last week with Roshashana, the Jewish New Year, and will conclude evening and tomorrow with Yom Kippur, the great Day of Atonement.
The message of their celebrations, if I understand it correctly, is one of spiritual renewal, fresh starts, and repentance. Our Jewish friends pray, fast, reflect, resolve, ask God to forgive their sins as they repent, and start anew with festive meals and gatherings with family and friends!
They began their observance last week with Roshashana, the Jewish New Year, and will conclude evening and tomorrow with Yom Kippur, the great Day of Atonement.
The message of their celebrations, if I understand it correctly, is one of spiritual renewal, fresh starts, and repentance. Our Jewish friends pray, fast, reflect, resolve, ask God to forgive their sins as they repent, and start anew with festive meals and gatherings with family and friends!
A doctor's ministry, bridging science and spirit...
A Doctor’s Ministry, Bridging Science and Spirit - NYTimes.com: Forty years ago, long before the recent afternoon when Dr. Joseph Dutkowsky knelt at the warped feet of his 4-year-old patient, he was a small-town teenager approaching his Catholic confirmation and needing to select a patron saint. He made an unlikely choice, a newly canonized figure, St. Martin de Porres, the illegitimate child of a former black slave in 16th-century Peru.
Did the authors of the New Testament know they were writing Sacred Scripture?
Did the Authors of the New Testament Know They Were Writing Scripture? |Blogs | NCRegister.comAKIN: Today we often think of a particular book as Scripture based on whether it is in the Bible. If it is in the Bible, it's Scripture. If it's not in the Bible, it's not Scripture.
This may be a practical test for us today, but it's not the way the New Testament authors thought of Scripture. Back when they lived, there was no book called "the Bible." Instead, there were a collection of books, which were originally written on scrolls, that they thought of as Scripture.
Only the invention of new forms of publishing technology allowed these to be put together as the single volume that we now call "the Bible."
This may be a practical test for us today, but it's not the way the New Testament authors thought of Scripture. Back when they lived, there was no book called "the Bible." Instead, there were a collection of books, which were originally written on scrolls, that they thought of as Scripture.
Only the invention of new forms of publishing technology allowed these to be put together as the single volume that we now call "the Bible."
Explore the Seven Seas, and six of the ocean's most incredible living coral reefs, with Google Maps...
Dive into the Great Barrier Reef with the first underwater panoramas in Google Maps | Official Google Blog: Today we’re adding the very first underwater panoramic images to Google Maps, the next step in our quest to provide people with the most comprehensive, accurate and usable map of the world. With these vibrant and stunning photos you don’t have to be a scuba diver—or even know how to swim—to explore and experience six of the ocean’s most incredible living coral reefs. Now, anyone can become the next virtual Jacques Cousteau and dive with sea turtles, fish and manta rays in Australia, the Philippines and Hawaii.
"Gay marriage" is an expression of soft totalitarianism. Conscientious voters will keep this in mind on November 6...
GEORGE WEIGEL COLUMNWEIGEL: A state that asserts the authority to redefine “marriage” has stepped beyond the boundaries of its competence. And if that boundary-crossing is set in constitutional or legal concrete, it opens up a Pandora's box of undesirable results. For if the state can decree that two men or two women can make a “marriage,” why not one man and two women? Two women and two men? These are not paranoid fantasies; the case for polyandry and polygamy is now being mounted in prestigious law journals.
He has put the timeless in our hearts...
He has Put the Timeless in Our Hearts | Archdiocese of WashingtonPOPE: Somewhere in our hearts is something that the world cannot, and did not give us. It is something nowhere evident in the world, and yet, though not perceiving it, we know it. This passage from Ecclesiastes calls it “the timeless.” We also often refer to it as eternity, or even, infinity.
But where did this come from? The world is finite. Time here is serial. Things have a beginning, a middle and an end. We do not experience anything here of the timeless. Rather everything is governed by the steady ticking of the clock of time. Things begin and end. Every verb we speak is time-based, rooted at some point in time, but never able to break free of time. Everything is rooted in chronological time. But somewhere in our hearts we can grasp the timeless. It is hard to put in words for we know it deeply. But, we do know it.
But where did this come from? The world is finite. Time here is serial. Things have a beginning, a middle and an end. We do not experience anything here of the timeless. Rather everything is governed by the steady ticking of the clock of time. Things begin and end. Every verb we speak is time-based, rooted at some point in time, but never able to break free of time. Everything is rooted in chronological time. But somewhere in our hearts we can grasp the timeless. It is hard to put in words for we know it deeply. But, we do know it.
If men don't have the right to oppose abortion...
If Men Don't Have a Right to Oppose Abortion… |Blogs | NCRegister.comFULWILER: I would like to issue a call for pro-choice feminists to reject the intellectual dishonesty that currently plagues their worldview, and accept that the fact that they cannot simultaneously hold the views that 1) men cannot oppose abortion because they'll never know what it's like to be pregnant, and that 2) a person who has never known what it's like to be disabled can decide for a disabled person that he or she would be better off dead.
One of the two has to go.
One of the two has to go.
Pope's Wednesday Audience: "Liturgy is the action of God and man" in which "God Himself teaches us to pray"
New Advent: Pope's Wednesday Audience: "Liturgy is the action of God and man" in which "God Himself teaches us to pray": In recent months we have made a journey in the light of the Word of God, to learn to pray in a more authentic way by looking at some great figures in the Old Testament, the Psalms, the Letters of St. Paul and the Book of Revelation, but also looking at unique and fundamental experience of Jesus in his relationship with the Heavenly Father. In fact, only in Christ, is man enabled to unite himself to God with the depth and intimacy of a child before a father who loves him, only in Him can we turn in all truth to God and lovingly call Him "Abba! Father!"
Tuesday, September 25, 2012
Dr. Alice von Hildebrand's plea to confused Catholics...
A plea to confused Catholics - By Alice von Hildebrand: May I suggest that if abortions were no longer paid by “other people’s taxes”, quite a few people would think twice before having one. Money matters in our society, and if this barbarous practice was not covered by insurance, it is likely that fewer would be performed, and� that women would consider carrying the baby to term and give it up for adoption. We know that there� is such a high demand for babies that many are those who have to turn to foreign countries to find one...
‘The Jetsons’ turns 50: How the future looked in 1962...
‘The Jetsons’ Turns 50: How the Future Looked in 1962 | Techland | TIME.com: On Sunday, Sept. 23, 1962, Hanna-Barbera followed up its wildly successful prime-time cartoon The Flintstones with a new series about another family of a different era. TIME liked it. We said it was “silly and unpretentious, corny and clever, now and then quite funny.” But it flopped — or at least didn’t fare well enough to be renewed for a second season.
St. Raphael, the archangel with many hats...
St. Raphael: An Angel with Many Hats?SCHIFFER: On September 29, the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of the three Archangels who have been venerated throughout the history of the Church:
Michael, who defends the friends of God against Satan and all his evil angels;
Gabriel, chosen by the Creator to announce to Mary the mystery of the Incarnation; and
Raphael, the archangel who, in the book of Tobit, takes care of Tobias on his journey...
Michael, who defends the friends of God against Satan and all his evil angels;
Gabriel, chosen by the Creator to announce to Mary the mystery of the Incarnation; and
Raphael, the archangel who, in the book of Tobit, takes care of Tobias on his journey...
There are two kinds of conservatism. One is based on Catholic social teaching. The other is not...
The Conservative Mind - NYTimes.comBROOKS: When I joined the staff of National Review as a lowly associate in 1984, the magazine, and the conservative movement itself, was a fusion of two different mentalities. On the one side, there were the economic conservatives. These were people that anybody following contemporary Republican politics would be familiar with. They spent a lot of time worrying about the way government intrudes upon economic liberty. They upheld freedom as their highest political value. They admired risk-takers. They worried that excessive government would create a sclerotic nation with a dependent populace.
Sin is no match for the Spirit of God: Reflections on the upcoming Sunday readings...
The Sacred Page: Sin is No Match for the Spirit of God: The 26th Sunday in Ordinary TimeBERGSMA: In the Gospel, the Apostles encounter a man who identifies with Christ but "does not follow us," that is, he does not yet associate publicly with Jesus and the Apostles, who constitute the visible Church.� Jesus advocates a gracious approach toward such persons.� They are on his side; they will have a reward for what they do in Christ's name.� This incident is instructive still today, and has implications for how we deal with those who claim the name of Christ but "do not follow us," that is, are not part of the visible Church and do not acknowledge the authority of the successors of the Apostles.� Their good works should be encouraged, even as we work toward the visible unity of all who follow Christ (John 17:23).
The 35 most unusual McDonald's locations in the world...
The Most Unusual McDonald's Locations in the World: With over 33,000 restaurants serving nearly 68 million people in 119 countries every single day, McDonald’s is the hallmark of ubiquity [Source]. Since 1954, McDonald’s has spread across the globe to become one of the most recognized brands in the world.
With over 33,000 locations there will undoubtedly be storefronts and exteriors that are unique and unusual. From old conversions to modern builds, the face of McDonald’s restaurant can be quite varied and even representative of it’s city’s architecture/history.
On Flickr there is a comprehensive library of locations called McDonald’s Storefronts. Started in May of 2006, there are currently 11,866 photos and 1,058 members. It’s an incredible undertaking and quite fascinating to browse through. Below is a small collection of unusual McDonald’s locations around the world. If there are any glaring omissions, please let us know in the comments so we can add them to this list!
With over 33,000 locations there will undoubtedly be storefronts and exteriors that are unique and unusual. From old conversions to modern builds, the face of McDonald’s restaurant can be quite varied and even representative of it’s city’s architecture/history.
On Flickr there is a comprehensive library of locations called McDonald’s Storefronts. Started in May of 2006, there are currently 11,866 photos and 1,058 members. It’s an incredible undertaking and quite fascinating to browse through. Below is a small collection of unusual McDonald’s locations around the world. If there are any glaring omissions, please let us know in the comments so we can add them to this list!
"I always thought I wanted a big family, but..."
"I always thought I wanted a big family, but . . ." |Blogs | NCRegister.comFISHER: There are few things more discouraging than realizing that something you always wanted is not what you thought it would be -- especially when, all around you, there are other people doing what you're doing and (apparently) lovin' every minute of it.
I have lots of advice for moms like this.� I've written about it before -- most recently in "Escape from Babyland," where I reassure moms that these early days are just a stage.� Things are really tough when all the kids are little, but it's not as if adding to your family will just keep multiplying the work and stress.� Eventually the older kids will get old enough to be a genuine help, and you will escape from babyland -- you just have to hang in there and survive until it turns around.
I have lots of advice for moms like this.� I've written about it before -- most recently in "Escape from Babyland," where I reassure moms that these early days are just a stage.� Things are really tough when all the kids are little, but it's not as if adding to your family will just keep multiplying the work and stress.� Eventually the older kids will get old enough to be a genuine help, and you will escape from babyland -- you just have to hang in there and survive until it turns around.
What was Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen really like? His niece tells all...
My Uncle, Fulton Sheen: Catholic World Report: Pope Benedict XVI declared Archbishop Fulton Sheen (1895-1979) “venerable” on June 28, and the Illinois-native could soon become the first male American-born saint. A few generations back he was the face of the Catholic Church in America for many, employing his strong speaking ability, personal piety and learning, and modern media to win many converts to the Catholic faith.
Devil in the details: HHS mandate will give minors free contraception and sterilization
HHS mandate allows minors free contraception, sterilization :: Catholic News Agency (CNA): Minor children on their parents’ health care plans will have free coverage of sterilization and contraception, including abortion-causing drugs, under the controversial HHS mandate – and depending on the state, they can obtain access without parental consent.
"There is a Way, and it's the Truth": In England, a new call for conversions...
Whispers in the Loggia: "There Is A Way, and It's The Truth": In England, A Call For "Conversions"PALMO: While today brings the feast of the English Madonna, Our Lady of Walsingham, with this year's edition came an event that's been anticipated rather feverishly in UK church-circles: the ordination of Msgr Philip Egan as bishop of Portsmouth.
Until now vicar-general to the "star" prelate of Brit Catholicism's traditional crowd – 52 year-old Bishop Mark Davies of Shrewsbury (ordained in 2010) – the appointment of Egan, 56, has been heralded across the Pond as another sign of a shift in the philosophical composition of the English episcopate. (Possibly corroborating a Roman intent behind said theory, the Pope's selection was conspicuously announced on 11 July, St Benedict's Day.)
Until now vicar-general to the "star" prelate of Brit Catholicism's traditional crowd – 52 year-old Bishop Mark Davies of Shrewsbury (ordained in 2010) – the appointment of Egan, 56, has been heralded across the Pond as another sign of a shift in the philosophical composition of the English episcopate. (Possibly corroborating a Roman intent behind said theory, the Pope's selection was conspicuously announced on 11 July, St Benedict's Day.)
How nicknames can solidify the bonds between men...
Of Men and Nicknames | The Art of Manliness: What makes a good nickname? A nickname that will stick manages to distill down a story or a defining personal trait into one or two words. Bernard Rosenberg, who studied criminal gangs, noted how gang members would “size each other up, and then, put their findings in pithy nicknames–names which explain the man in a word–his weakness, his racket, how he works, or some peculiarity about him.” Anthropologist Anthony P. Cohen argues that, “The hallmark of the apt nickname is that deft touch of nuance, mocking humour, pungent wit, and droll equivocality.” Meeting these requirements and coming up with a good nickname isn’t easy, which is why the man who does so gets kudos from the others.
Here's what's wrong with the Republican and Democratic conventions...
New Advent: Here's what's wrong with the Republican and Democratic conventions...BARRON: I must confess that I'm not a big fan of the speeches given at national political conventions. Even the most banal observations are met with thunderous applause. I watched Bill Clinton's speech at the DNC and it was interrupted by ovations every twenty seconds. It was much longer than his notoriously long 1988 speech...
An amazing mind reader reveals the secret behind his 'gift'...
New Advent: An amazing mind reader reveals his 'gift'...: Dave is an extremely gifted clairvoyant who finds out specific financial information. This video reveals the magic behind the magic, making people aware of the fact that their entire life can be found online.
Monday, September 24, 2012
I went to a Rush concert last week. There is truly something special about this band...
The Imaginative Conservative: I Would Live It All Again: Rush in Concert, 2012BIRZER: It’s been more than a bit of a Rush extravaganza for the last several months even in the mainstream media.
The band is on tour right now, playing in venues as massive as they have for over thirty-five years. Drummer Neil Peart turned 60 last week. Relatively rare in progressive rock history, a novel has appeared this month that intentionally complements and further explores the world introduced in an album. That album, Clockwork Angels, has justly received rave reviews, and the most prestigious magazine in the business, PROG, awarded Rush with “album of the year” earlier this month. Last May, the Canadian Council of the Arts awarded the three members of Rush with its highest honors, including a medal and $25,000 a piece.
The band is on tour right now, playing in venues as massive as they have for over thirty-five years. Drummer Neil Peart turned 60 last week. Relatively rare in progressive rock history, a novel has appeared this month that intentionally complements and further explores the world introduced in an album. That album, Clockwork Angels, has justly received rave reviews, and the most prestigious magazine in the business, PROG, awarded Rush with “album of the year” earlier this month. Last May, the Canadian Council of the Arts awarded the three members of Rush with its highest honors, including a medal and $25,000 a piece.
Will many be saved? A look at an important new book by Ralph Martin...
Will Many Be Saved? A look at an important new book by Ralph Martin | Archdiocese of WashingtonPOPE: I was very pleased last week to get a copy of Ralph Martin’s new book ('Will Many Be Saved?').
As the title suggests Ralph Martin explores the modern struggles related to evangelization, showing how many of these difficulties are related to the flawed interpretation of The Second Vatican Council. Critical to the question is the understanding of the Council document Lumen Gentium, which deals with the possibility of those who have not explicitly accepted Christ, being saved.
As the title suggests Ralph Martin explores the modern struggles related to evangelization, showing how many of these difficulties are related to the flawed interpretation of The Second Vatican Council. Critical to the question is the understanding of the Council document Lumen Gentium, which deals with the possibility of those who have not explicitly accepted Christ, being saved.
Editing the soul out of Steubenville, Ohio...
Editing the soul out of Steubenville, OhioMATTINGLY: When a feature story dominates the Sunday front page of The Washington Post, you know that editors there have given the subject quite a bit of thought — to say the least. In our management-intensive era of newspapering, this means that the concept of the story survived several high-level planning meetings and, thus, the editors almost certainly considered its content more than significant — it’s symbolic.
The Catholic Left doesn’t have a monopoly on the Church’s social teaching...
Catholics and Campaign 2012 - George Weigel - National Review OnlineWEIGEL: The Sisters of Life were founded in 1991 by Cardinal John O’Connor and Mother Agnes Mary Donovan (a former Columbia psychology professor and clinician) as a new religious community of women dedicated to the defense of life at all stages and in all conditions. The Sisters of Life are wholly orthodox and wear the kind of modernized religious habit envisioned by the Second Vatican Council.
Here are 5 things I wish college students knew about voting...
What I Wish College Students Knew About Voting - FOCUS BlogKROUPA: You have the opportunity to participate in this call to live these words and to be a *Catholic* voting American. Let's turn the tide in this culture war and participate in elections this year, and commit ourselves to taking responsibility for our nation and our Church. No candidate is ever going to be 100% perfect, no democratic system is without its flaws.� There are plenty of distracting side arguments that we could probably split hairs over for an eternity, but we must be certain that there are certain issues that trump every other argument and we must be accountable to God for our ballots.� As Christians, we are called to shine light into the darkness of our culture and work with the world we live in, not and abandon it.
Cardinal Wuerl's three core elements of the New Evangelization...
3 Elements of The New Evangelization | The Practicing CatholicSCHMIDT: We were there — at the foot of the cross, at the empty tomb, in the upper room. We, as in the Catholic Church, were there. And only the Church can say this. She is the only tangible link to the resurrected Christ that exists today. The Church knows someone, who knew someone, who knew someone … who intimately knew Jesus. This is precisely why the Church matters. She brings us an invitation to Jesus Christ because the Church, his Bride, knows Him like no one else.
Abstinence before marriage is the only sure way to avoid pregnancy and disease...
Tragic and Misguided � The Gospel in the Digital AgeDOLAN: Did you see the disturbing stories in the newspaper yesterday?
The public schools of the City of New York have announced that they are providing so-called “emergency contraception” and long-term contraceptive injections to high school students as young as 14 years old. This policy of dispensing of powerful medicines to young women — without their parents’ knowledge and consent — is tragic and misguided.
The public schools of the City of New York have announced that they are providing so-called “emergency contraception” and long-term contraceptive injections to high school students as young as 14 years old. This policy of dispensing of powerful medicines to young women — without their parents’ knowledge and consent — is tragic and misguided.
Russell Kirk: Is it possible to have civilization without religion?
The Imaginative Conservative: Civilization without Religion?KIRK: Sobering voices tell us nowadays that the civilization in which we participate is not long for this world. Many countries have fallen under the domination of squalid oligarchs; other lands are reduced to anarchy. “Cultural revolution,” rejecting our patrimony of learning and manners, has done nearly as much mischief in the West as in the East, if less violently. Religious belief is attenuated at best, for many - or else converted, after being secularized, into an instrument for social transformation. Books give way to television and videos; universities, intellectually democratized, are sunk to the condition of centers for job-certification. An increasing proportion of the population, in America especially, is dehumanized by addiction to narcotics and insane sexuality.
Q&A: Why can't we spread cremated remains? And is it a mortal sin to skip Mass?
Reverence for remainsPOPE: There are important differences between the practices. First, relics usually involve small portions of the body, such as bone fragments to be reserved for veneration. Thus the entire body of a saint is not “scattered” throughout the world, or even scattered locally as with strewn ashes.�
Second, the relic of the saint is retained for veneration as a kind of physical and visual memory, whereas scattered ashes are spread in order to disappear and return to the elements. And while some may find this meaningful, the result is that any physical reminder of the person is lost.�
Third, with a relic, the physical presence of a small portion of the body is treated with reverence, much as a gravesite would be, and prayers are often said in its presence in acknowledgment of the given saint. In the case of scattered ashes, neither the ashes nor the place of their dispersal receive the same kind of veneration.�
Second, the relic of the saint is retained for veneration as a kind of physical and visual memory, whereas scattered ashes are spread in order to disappear and return to the elements. And while some may find this meaningful, the result is that any physical reminder of the person is lost.�
Third, with a relic, the physical presence of a small portion of the body is treated with reverence, much as a gravesite would be, and prayers are often said in its presence in acknowledgment of the given saint. In the case of scattered ashes, neither the ashes nor the place of their dispersal receive the same kind of veneration.�
From a former Protestant pastor (and new convert): "The Catholic claims are philosophically compelling, historically plausible, and biblically persuasive"...
I Fought the Church, and the Church Won - Called to CommunionSTELLMAN: I fought the Church, and the Church won. And what it did was beat me, but it didn’t draw me, entice me, or lure me by playing upon some deep, latent psychosis or desire on my part for something Protestantism just couldn’t provide. Catholicism went from being so obviously ridiculous that it wasn’t even worth bothering to oppose, to being something whose claims were so audacious that I couldn’t help opposing them. But what it never was, was attractive, and in many ways it still isn’t.
The new Catholic debate over the HHS mandate...
Ave Maria Philosophy - The New Catholic Debate Over the HHS MandateTRABBIC: My distinguished colleagues and friends Michael Pakaluk and Steven Long have recently opened a new chapter in the intra-Catholic debate over the Obama Administration’s HHS mandate and the moral implications of the responses� to it by employers, especially Catholic employers. I think that it is an important chapter since it raises issues that have not yet been appropriately dealt with.
But before commenting on their interventions, I would like to consider a little history…
But before commenting on their interventions, I would like to consider a little history…
The universe is fine-tuned to an unimaginable degree...
Intelligent Design - Utterly BrilliantSTEELE: Occasionally, I should give myself failing marks in terms of the exercise of my religion. Just maybe, this is the legacy of having been an atheist––old thoughts sneak in and rattle my extraordinarily diminutive pellet-brain. You see, I believe in God, love Jesus, and I’m blessed to have been given the gift of the Catholic Church. But, my confidence and trust in God sometimes wavers like candlelight in a mineshaft.
So how do I combat my vacillating faith? By, among many things, rereading books highlighting the scientific data that spectacularly points to God’s fingerprints whether it’s ribosomes––amazing cellular factories––or the anthropic cosmological principle.
So how do I combat my vacillating faith? By, among many things, rereading books highlighting the scientific data that spectacularly points to God’s fingerprints whether it’s ribosomes––amazing cellular factories––or the anthropic cosmological principle.
All throughout her life, Dorothy Day pursued a burning and limitless love...
Dorothy Day’s Dynamic Orthodoxy | First ThingsDOINO: Dorothy Day died in 1980, at the age of 83, and since then her legacy has only grown. She is best known as a youthful radical, Catholic convert, and pacifist, as well as the author of a classic autobiography, The Long Loneliness. She founded, with Peter Maurin, the Catholic Worker movement, including a paper of the same name, dedicated to serving the poor and oppressed, through nonviolence, and sponsoring “houses of hospitality” for that purpose. Today there are over 150 of them, in the United States, and abroad.
Are we each living in our own little world? A reflection on the increasing loss of shared experience...
Americans underestimate Protestant populationPOPE: The video at the bottom of the page is from Bill O’Reilly on Last Friday’s show. I do not post it as a political commentary, but as a social commentary. In it he wonders whether or not Americans are living increasingly in a world of their own.
I too have wondered this. When I was young, a teenager, there was something of the shared experience of three networks, and the UHF Channel, plus a PBS channel. Most of us kids listened to one radio station with a pop/rock format. And the basic TV shows that influenced us (for worse and sometimes for better) were pretty widely seen and known by everyone. Typical conversation on a Wednesday morning at school was the Tuesday evening episode of “Happy Days.” Not exactly edifying, but it was a shared experience.
I too have wondered this. When I was young, a teenager, there was something of the shared experience of three networks, and the UHF Channel, plus a PBS channel. Most of us kids listened to one radio station with a pop/rock format. And the basic TV shows that influenced us (for worse and sometimes for better) were pretty widely seen and known by everyone. Typical conversation on a Wednesday morning at school was the Tuesday evening episode of “Happy Days.” Not exactly edifying, but it was a shared experience.
Divine comedy: Brian Regan and the Holy Eucharist...
Truth & CharityANDREWSCIBA: I recall a time in my life when (way before I was tending to wild children) I would kneel in Mass during the Eucharistic prayer, blink, and the priest would sing, “Through Him, with Him, in Him…”� Admittedly, there are still times when I realize that I’m next in the communion line and I hurriedly askGodtopreparemyheart”Amen.”� This is, of course, unfortunate.� What greater or more important reality than the Eucharist is there that is so often not perceived?� How would a devotion to the Eucharist look in a person’s life?
Stop making stuff up: A completely new way of thinking for most Church musicians...
Catholic Music: It’s Time to Stop Making Stuff Up | Crisis MagazineTUCKER: Every weekend or so, some name composer of mainstream Catholic music is out and about giving a workshop in a parish somewhere. I’ve been to enough of these to pretty much know what they are going say in advance.
They stand in front of parish musicians and repeatedly tell them that the most important job is to engage the congregation to the point that people feel like singing, and that means catchy tunes and simple words.
They stand in front of parish musicians and repeatedly tell them that the most important job is to engage the congregation to the point that people feel like singing, and that means catchy tunes and simple words.
What else can 747s carry? Space Shuttles, laser cannons, and apocalyptic doomsday fortresses...
Space Shuttles, Lasers and Doomsday Bases: Amazing Payloads for 747s [Slide Show]: Scientific American Slideshows: NASA has two 747-100s, originally built for passenger service, used to carry space shuttles across the country. Whenever a shuttle mission was diverted by poor weather to a landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California, for instance, a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) would give the orbiter a piggyback ride back to Kennedy Space Center in Florida....
The virtual world is a world without memories...
The Virtual World Is a World Without Memories |Blogs | NCRegister.comFULWILER: On some random weekday last month I found myself driving in circles around our neighborhood. Most of the kids had fallen asleep in the car, and since our family does not seem to have that gene that allows some parents to transfer sleeping children from cars to beds without waking them, I decided to cruise around for a while to let them get a nap.
It was one of the last days of summer before the public schools began their Fall sessions, and kids were everywhere, enjoying their last few moments of summer.
It was one of the last days of summer before the public schools began their Fall sessions, and kids were everywhere, enjoying their last few moments of summer.
As the practice of the occult increases, so does the need for exorcists...
As Occult, New Age Practices Increase, so Does Need for Exorcists | Daily News | NCRegister.comDEFFNER: Evil has not fallen out of fashion. Exorcism is a rite developed — and promulgated — to meet a need that still exists, due to more people delving into New Age and occult practices.
And, yes, satanic worshippers are a reality.
“They come in the church and steal the Blessed Sacrament to use in a ‘black mass,’” explained Father Gary Thomas, pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Saratoga, Calif., and the exorcist for the Diocese of San Jose.
And, yes, satanic worshippers are a reality.
“They come in the church and steal the Blessed Sacrament to use in a ‘black mass,’” explained Father Gary Thomas, pastor of Sacred Heart Church in Saratoga, Calif., and the exorcist for the Diocese of San Jose.
Being a husband means...
Being a Husband Means… |Blogs | NCRegister.comMATTARCHBOLD: My wife and I recently celebrated our fiteenth anniversary. So I thought I'd share the sum total of my marital wisdom with you. Being a husband means shamelessly holding her pocketbook in public places while she tries something on. Redecorating your living room. For no apparent reason. And being told that your favorite outfit doesn't actually match. Not even close...
Indian Catholics upset at portrayal in new Bollywood film...
Catholics upset at portrayal in ‘Kamaal Dhamaal Malamaal’: Catholics have threatened to stop the screening of a forthcoming Hindi movie directed by Priyadarshan, ‘Kamaal Dhamaal Malamaal’ if certain scenes making a "disresptful portrayal" of the community and its priests are not deleted, an official said here Sunday.
A delegation of representatives of Catholic groups and a priest representing the Archdiocese of Bombay met and submitted a memorandum to Central Board of Film Certification chairperson Leela Samson Saturday.
A delegation of representatives of Catholic groups and a priest representing the Archdiocese of Bombay met and submitted a memorandum to Central Board of Film Certification chairperson Leela Samson Saturday.
It is a matter of historical and biblical fact that Mary was perpetually a virgin...
Why Believe in the Perpetual Virginity of Mary? |Blogs | NCRegister.comSHEA: In talking about the meaning of the Perpetual Virginity of Mary and the whole nuptial side of Catholic Marian devotion, I wrote with the assumption that I was writing for a Catholic readership who took it for granted that Mary is, in fact, perpetually a virgin. However, as I survey the comboxes following that discussion, it is evident that a number of readers think that the Perpetual Virginity of Mary is not true and is, indeed, contrary to Scripture.� So as a followup, permit me to review, over the next few blog entries,� the evidence for the case that Mary was, as a matter of historical and biblical fact, perpetually a virgin.� The case for this is, in fact, very strong.
France prepares to ban the words 'mother' and 'father' from all legal documents under plans to legalize gay marriage...
x: France is set to ban the words 'mother' and 'father' from all official documents under controversial plans to legalise gay marriage.
The move which has outraged Catholics means only the word 'parents' would be used in identical marriage ceremonies for all heterosexual and same-sex couples.
The draft law states that 'marriage is a union of two people, of different or the same gender'.
Harvard, The New York Times, and The Da Vinci Code...
The Jesus Conspiracy - NYTimes.comDOUTHAT: It’s been six years since National Geographic revealed, amid much fanfare and discussion, the existence of a heretofore-unknown document that seemed to retell the New Testament narrative from the point of view of Judas Iscariot. That experience should have been a cautionary tale about the intersection of Biblical archaeology and media sensationalism: The first wave of coverage suggested that the document painted Judas as a misunderstood hero who was “only obeying his master’s wishes when he betrayed Jesus with a kiss,” but the evidence soon mounted that this sensationalistic claim relied on dubious translation decisions, and that the Judas in the fragmentary gospel might well actually be the embodiment of a Gnostic “king of demons” rather than Jesus’s most loyal friend.
Saturday Night Live lampoons the Hardheaded Undecided Voter myth...
New Advent: Saturday Night Live lampoons the Hardheaded Undecided myth...: What are the names of the two people running? Be specific...
North Vietnamese court convicts three Christian bloggers for spreading 'propaganda against the state'
Court sentences Christian bloggers - ucanews.com: The People’s Court in Ho Chi Minh City today passed sentence on three Christian bloggers in a case that has polarized the religious community and drawn international criticism.
Nguyen Van Hai and Marie Ta Phong Tan received sentences of 12 years and 10 years, respectively, with five additional years of house arrest, while Phan Thanh Hai received a four-year sentence and three years of house arrest.
Nguyen Van Hai and Marie Ta Phong Tan received sentences of 12 years and 10 years, respectively, with five additional years of house arrest, while Phan Thanh Hai received a four-year sentence and three years of house arrest.
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Are you ready to die today, or do you have unfinished business?
WDTPRS 25th Ordinary Sunday: Do you have unfinished business? | Fr. Z's Blog – What Does The Prayer Really Say?ZUHLSDORF: All of the Law is summed up in Jesus’ two-fold command of love of God and neighbor. The
first part of the two-fold law is about unconditional love of God. The second follows as its
consequence.
We must cultivate our different loves in their proper order. God comes first, always. Always.
A married person must love God more even than a spouse. We must never put any creature,
no matter how proximate to us in our hearts, closer than the God in whose image and likeness we are made. When this logical priority is properly in place, love of God and neighbor will not conflict or compete. Each love fuels the other, when love of God is first.
first part of the two-fold law is about unconditional love of God. The second follows as its
consequence.
We must cultivate our different loves in their proper order. God comes first, always. Always.
A married person must love God more even than a spouse. We must never put any creature,
no matter how proximate to us in our hearts, closer than the God in whose image and likeness we are made. When this logical priority is properly in place, love of God and neighbor will not conflict or compete. Each love fuels the other, when love of God is first.
Is plastic surgery immoral?
BIGGER BREASTS AND SMALLER NOSES: The Correction Continuum. Is Plastic Surgery Immoral?SCHIFFER: I was stuck in traffic one day, driving the 30 miles from my office to my home in Oakland County, when I realized that I had passed five—count ‘em, FIVE!—plastic surgery clinics along my route.� In the affluent communities north of Detroit, breast enhancements and “nose jobs” are de rigueur.
What’s worse, a Reuters report just out of Korea claims that students who have passed grueling college entrance exams are being rewarded by their parents with plastic surgery.� In Korea, the most popular cosmetic surgeries have the dual goals of “Westernizing” the nose (giving it an upward tilt) and making the eyes appear larger through double-lid surgery.� One hospital takes it to the next level with an advertised “combo package”:� If a student chooses to modify eyes and nose at the same time, the hospital offers the student’s mother a free Botox injection.
What’s worse, a Reuters report just out of Korea claims that students who have passed grueling college entrance exams are being rewarded by their parents with plastic surgery.� In Korea, the most popular cosmetic surgeries have the dual goals of “Westernizing” the nose (giving it an upward tilt) and making the eyes appear larger through double-lid surgery.� One hospital takes it to the next level with an advertised “combo package”:� If a student chooses to modify eyes and nose at the same time, the hospital offers the student’s mother a free Botox injection.
Explaining away the greatest miracle of Jesus' ministry...
Explaining Away the Greatest Miracle of Jesus' Ministry |Blogs | NCRegister.comAKIN: Of all the many miracles Jesus performed during his earthly ministry (that is, before his passion, death, and Resurrection), there is one that stands out: the feeding of the five thousands.
Unlike any other miracle from his ministry, this one is recorded in all four gospels is the feeding of the five thousand.
Unlike any other miracle from his ministry, this one is recorded in all four gospels is the feeding of the five thousand.
'The Odd Life of Timothy Green' lacks life...
Odd Life Lacks LifeNICOLOSI: Fear has reduced most family movies today to being a bit soft without characters suffering the real devastation that would provide a catharsis of fear and pity the way stories are supposed to.� Ours is a storytelling climate in which Old Yeller, never ever dying, would be “Senior” Yeller and Bambi’s mother would be presented in her golden years masticating genetically sweetened soft grass in a harmonious animal-human habitat at The Villages.�
Pope's Sunday Angelus: Human pride creates a 'deep interior distance' between God and man
Vatican Radio - Angelus: Full text: "In our journey through the Gospel of Mark, last Sunday we entered into the second half of the Gospel, the last journey towards Jerusalem and towards the culmination of Jesus’ mission..."
Many, many people have been entrusted to us. We will answer to God for how we serve them...
Picking the Low-hanging FruitBRAMWELL: History shows that tens of millions of U. S. Catholics have been missed or badly served over the years: the families who don’t go to Mass; the politicians with bad theology; the divorced who are not re-catechized; the religious congregations gone astray; the universities who have repudiated their Catholic foundations; the ideological activism in the U. S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ staff; dioceses using textbooks and courses that are not orthodox. The list is shameful – and long. This has happened at least for the last sixty years and, aside from some initiatives by individual clergy, the mess has grown without much comment let alone responsible action.
So THAT'S how that stuff works. Putting Velcro under the microscope...
Putting Velcro Under The Microscope | All That Is Interesting: A super-magnified look at Velcro. This could almost pass as an abstract painting...
Be careful. Some spiritual practices and 'prayer techniques' can harm your soul. Here's how to find the true God when you pray...
Beginning to Pray: How Do We Know To Whom We Are Praying?LILLES: Today, more than ever, we must ground our prayer in the truth. � Many techniques and methods made available in contemporary spirituality direct us towards either psychological comfort and the pursuits of psychic states. �In and of themselves, comfort and enlightenment are not bad. �But if we pursue these more than God, if we rest in experiences rather than in faith, we are vulnerable to dehumanizing deception. �God does not want us to compromise our integrity in our pursuit of Him and that is why He has revealed the truth to us - so that through prayer rooted in truth we might find a deeper integrity, a deeper foundation for our lives.
Suicide bomber strikes during Sunday Mass at a Catholic church in northern Nigeria...
Suicide bomber strikes Catholic church in north Nigeria; 2 killed, 45 injured - The Washington Post: A suicide car bomber attacked a Catholic church conducting Mass in northern Nigeria on Sunday, killing two people and wounding another 45 in a region under assault by a radical Islamist sect, officials said.
An Associated Press journalist heard the explosion after 9 a.m. Sunday in the city of Bauchi, which has seen a number of bombings and shootings blamed on the sect known as Boko Haram. The blast appeared to hit a parking lot alongside the St. John’s Catholic Church in the city.
An Associated Press journalist heard the explosion after 9 a.m. Sunday in the city of Bauchi, which has seen a number of bombings and shootings blamed on the sect known as Boko Haram. The blast appeared to hit a parking lot alongside the St. John’s Catholic Church in the city.
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Go read "The Boy They Couldn't Kill" in Sports Illustrated. It is far and away the best magazine story I've read all year...
The Boy They Couldn’t KillHEMINGWAY: There’s a lot to dig through here. And you really need to read it yourself for the full effect.
We get a sordid, horrifying and compelling account of how Cherica was murdered. And how her son survived. It’s riveting. The 911 call Cherica made after being mortally wounded is just amazing. Seventy minutes after she was shot, Chancellor Lee Adams was born via emergency C-section. Needless to say, he came very close to dying himself.
Carruth, somewhat inexplicably, engages in a legal battle for his son. I’m making a very long story short by putting it that way. Many tears, many dollars, many years were spent fighting for this boy.
We get a sordid, horrifying and compelling account of how Cherica was murdered. And how her son survived. It’s riveting. The 911 call Cherica made after being mortally wounded is just amazing. Seventy minutes after she was shot, Chancellor Lee Adams was born via emergency C-section. Needless to say, he came very close to dying himself.
Carruth, somewhat inexplicably, engages in a legal battle for his son. I’m making a very long story short by putting it that way. Many tears, many dollars, many years were spent fighting for this boy.
Pope tells French bishops defense of marriage is "not at all backward-looking but prophetic"...
Pope tells French bishops defense of marriage is prophetic :: Catholic News Agency (CNA): Against the backdrop of an effort to recognize “gay marriage” in France, Pope Benedict XVI told a group of French bishops that the truth about marriage and the family is vital to society and must be promoted in bold and creative ways.
A liberal activist is upset with the USCCB's appointment of Jonathan Reyes...
Amy Sullivan on Jonathan Reyes | Fr. Z's Blog – What Does The Prayer Really Say?ZUHLSDORF: We have seen Amy Sullivan before. Among other things, Amy Sullivan was a legislative assistant to pro-abortion Catholic, former Senator Tom Daschle (D-SD). �She is as politically partisan as you can get.
This time Sullivan, with The New Republic as her soap-box, has a little nutty in a piece called “The Catholic Bishops Move Even Further Away From Social Justice”.
This time Sullivan, with The New Republic as her soap-box, has a little nutty in a piece called “The Catholic Bishops Move Even Further Away From Social Justice”.
Media reports to the contrary, Chick-fil-A's official stance on marriage remains unchanged...
Chick-fil-A's stance on marriage remains unchanged :: Catholic News Agency (CNA): Despite claims that Chick-fil-A has ceased funding groups that support traditional marriage in hopes of expanding locations in Chicago, the restaurant has not released any definitive statement about who will or will not receive money.
15 tips to help you to pray better...
Aggie Catholics: 15 Tips To Help Your Prayer LifeLEJEUNE: I once asked a class of college students to rate their spiritual lives on a scale of 1 to 10. Most were very hard on themselves and gave themselves a 5 or less. I then asked "how would you describe your relationship with God?" and again, most were not very positive. These were devout and good Catholics.
Most of the comments from the class were about difficulties in prayer. Why do we have such difficulties? Simple - we are human. But, before I spell out some tips on how to overcome difficulties, we ought to talk about why we pray.
Most of the comments from the class were about difficulties in prayer. Why do we have such difficulties? Simple - we are human. But, before I spell out some tips on how to overcome difficulties, we ought to talk about why we pray.
How greed can mess with your mind...
How Greed messes with our mind as humorously Illustrated in two videos. | Archdiocese of WashingtonPOPE: There’s a great deal of hype about the new iPhone 5. And if we allow it, we can get all worked up in a frenzy and two things can happen. First, the phone that seemed fine yesterday, can now seem utterly pathetic and little better than an old clunker. It has to go. Secondly, greed can ignite,� and make us do dumb things like spend a lot of money, and wait on a long line.
The Pope has named some of his favorite bishops to the upcoming synod, and a few curiosities leap out...
Vatican Diary / The pope's favoritesMAGISTER: In recent days, another 36 names have been made public of churchmen whom Benedict XVI has called to be part of the thirteenth general assembly of the Synod of Bishops, which will be held from October 7-28 on the theme: "The new evangelization for the transmission of the Christian faith."
The names are those of 12 cardinals, 20 archbishops and bishops, 4 priests.
They will be added to the synod fathers elected by the episcopal conferences of the whole world and by the union of superiors general of the religious orders (who in any case must be approved by the Holy See and the official list of which has not yet been published), and also to the members of the assembly by right, like the secretary general of the synod and the dicastery heads of the Roman curia.
The names are those of 12 cardinals, 20 archbishops and bishops, 4 priests.
They will be added to the synod fathers elected by the episcopal conferences of the whole world and by the union of superiors general of the religious orders (who in any case must be approved by the Holy See and the official list of which has not yet been published), and also to the members of the assembly by right, like the secretary general of the synod and the dicastery heads of the Roman curia.
Looking for a new job? Here are six secrets to beat the job market...
Six Secrets To Beat the Job Market | The Business Desk with Paul Solman | PBS NewsHour | PBS: According to the U. S. Department of Labor, there are approximately 13 million people looking for work in America, and about 3.2 million vacant jobs. Even allowing that some of those 13 million are unskilled, unmotivated, or even lazy, that's a 4-to-1 ratio that gives a distinct advantage to employers trying to fill jobs.
But many employers call this hiring advantage "a talent shortage." They claim there are fewer qualified workers available nowadays, and that colleges are just not producing graduates with the skills that industry and business need.
But many employers call this hiring advantage "a talent shortage." They claim there are fewer qualified workers available nowadays, and that colleges are just not producing graduates with the skills that industry and business need.
When Space Shuttle Endeavor's astronauts received Holy Communion in space...
When Endeavor’s Astronauts Received the Eucharist in SpaceSCHIFFER: So here she is:� The space shuttle Endeavor, on the ground at Los Angeles International Airport on September 21, 2012, �after her final flight.� The shuttle, riding piggyback on a 747, touched down at LAX after a zigzag cruise over California.� She’ll spend a few weeks in the hangar, readying for her final ride aboard a trailer to the California Science Center.
7 ingenious hidden spy cameras...
7 Ingenious Hidden Spy Cameras - Mental Floss: There may be no more important tool of espionage than the camera. It’s ideal for blackmail, collecting information, stealing documents, and reconnaissance. Because the technology involved is relatively simple, it’s possible to insert a camera into just about anything—and throughout history, that’s just what spy agencies have done. Here are a few objects that have doubled as cameras.
German bishops: Catholics who opt out of Church tax cannot receive sacraments
German bishops: Catholics who formally leave Church cannot receive sacraments : News Headlines - Catholic Culture: The German Catholic bishops have announced that any Catholic who formally withdraws from the Church, by announcing a decision not to pay the “church tax,” will not be allowed the receive the sacraments or hold office in the Church.
With a formal canonical decree, which has been approved by the Vatican and takes effect September 24, the German bishops said that someone who formally removes himself from the Church commits “a grave offense,” and his action should be regarded as “a deliberate and willful alienation.” Such persons, the decree says, will not be allowed to receive the sacraments unless he is in danger of death. Nor can such individuals serve as godparents, members of parish councils, or officers in ecclesial organizations.
With a formal canonical decree, which has been approved by the Vatican and takes effect September 24, the German bishops said that someone who formally removes himself from the Church commits “a grave offense,” and his action should be regarded as “a deliberate and willful alienation.” Such persons, the decree says, will not be allowed to receive the sacraments unless he is in danger of death. Nor can such individuals serve as godparents, members of parish councils, or officers in ecclesial organizations.
Friday, September 21, 2012
Expert: "Wife of Jesus” fragment looks like a modern forgery...
Expert: “Jesus’s Wife” Fragment a Modern ForgeryMCDONALD: It may not be a smoking gun, but it’s Col. Mustard in the Conservatory. The awesome Dale Price turned up this story in the Guardian, which is based on this report by Francis Watson of Durham University, first shared by Mark Goodacre.
What’s the proof? The fragment appears to have been composed from pieces of other texts, primarily the Coptic Gospel of Thomas, and cobbled together by a modern forger unfamiliar with Coptic. In short, it’s a collage. And not a very good one.
What’s the proof? The fragment appears to have been composed from pieces of other texts, primarily the Coptic Gospel of Thomas, and cobbled together by a modern forger unfamiliar with Coptic. In short, it’s a collage. And not a very good one.
From the OC, the first word...
Whispers in the Loggia: From the OC, The First WordPALMO: According to a post on his blog, Bishop Vann will remain in California for several days before returning to Fort Worth, where he's lived in a simple suite in the 19th century rectory at St Patrick's Cathedral. With the Western transfer, the 700,000-member North Texas diocese loses its bishop to another assignment for the first time in its 42-year history. Likewise on the move, three of the Lone Star state's 14 local churches stand vacant – El Paso came open on the December shift of Bishop Armando Ochoa to SoCal's million-member Fresno church, while in its eastern corner, the diocese of Tyler has gone nearly 15 months since the Jesuit Alvaro Corrada del Rio was returned to his native Puerto Rico as bishop of Mayaguez.
Understanding diner lingo: 55 phrases to get you started...
Understanding Diner Lingo: 55 Phrases to Get You Started - Mental Floss: The origins of most diner phrases are shrouded in mystery or lost to history, and different regions and restaurants use different terminology for the same items, but this list should give you an idea of what’s going on when you hear your waitress screaming about wrecking two chicks on a raft.
Another 40 Days for Life...
Truth & CharitySHAUGHNESSY: We’re getting very close to the start of another 40 Days for Life campaign (the third one in my hometown of Shreveport, LA). If you are unfamiliar, the 40 Days campaign consists of prayer and fasting to end abortion; peaceful, prayerful vigils outside of local abortion clinics; and community outreach and education about pro-life issues. So why should you get involved in a local 40 Days campaign? Its website says it best...
Final volume of Pope Benedict's 'Jesus of Nazareth' to appear at Christmas...
Final Volume of Jesus of Nazareth to Appear at Christmas |Blogs | NCRegister.comPENTIN: The third and final volume of Pope Benedict XVI's book Jesus of Nazareth, which will focus on the figure of Jesus in the Gospel narratives of His infancy, will be published in Italy at Christmas, the Vatican announced today. It's not clear when the other language editions will reach bookstores, but it's likely to be around the same time.�
The Reading Room...
The Reading Room |Blogs | NCRegister.comFISHER: I'm sure that some of y'all are too refined to admit that you read on the toilet, but why? It's the quietest place in the house, at least until the dear ones figure out you're in there. Sure, the ambiance leaves something to be desired, but by gum, a place to sit down is a place to sit down.
Anyway, one of my happiest childhood memories was of the bathroom journal we used to keep.
Anyway, one of my happiest childhood memories was of the bathroom journal we used to keep.
Jesus communicates his revelation personally, through the love that is called “friendship”...
Band of Brothers | Daily News | NCRegister.comSHEA: The meeting of Mary and Elizabeth is fraught with the sense of “we few, we happy few.” Mary and Elizabeth know the delightful joy that, in a very minor key, we have experienced in a childhood friendship rooted in being “the only ones who know” about some delight: say, rock collecting or Doctor Who fandom or the music of Fleet Foxes.
God takes this natural sense of joy in finding somebody who shares our love for some small and secret thing and raises it in Mary and Elizabeth’s friendship to Christian friendship in their mutual love for Jesus. They are (with the unborn John the Baptist), quite literally, the only ones who know. They, above all, can say, “We few, we happy few.”
God takes this natural sense of joy in finding somebody who shares our love for some small and secret thing and raises it in Mary and Elizabeth’s friendship to Christian friendship in their mutual love for Jesus. They are (with the unborn John the Baptist), quite literally, the only ones who know. They, above all, can say, “We few, we happy few.”
The story of a father who sent his son's favorite toy train into the stratosphere...
New Advent: The story of a father who sent his son's favorite toy train into the stratosphere...: We sent my son's favorite train "Stanley" to space in a weather balloon with a HD camera and an old cell phone for GPS. He was recovered 27 miles away in a corn field and we got some great footage of the trip. This video documents the journey from liftoff to landing.�
My 4 year old and Stanley are inseparable like Calvin and Hobbes. He's been attached to him since he was two, and they play, sleep and do everything together. I animated Stanley's face with After Effects and Photoshop to bring him to life how I imagine my son sees him.�
My 4 year old and Stanley are inseparable like Calvin and Hobbes. He's been attached to him since he was two, and they play, sleep and do everything together. I animated Stanley's face with After Effects and Photoshop to bring him to life how I imagine my son sees him.�
What I learned aboard Amtrak Wolverine #351...
RIDING THE RAILS: What I Learned Aboard Amtrak Wolverine #351SCHIFFER: I consider myself an experienced traveler.� Over the past twenty years I’ve explored seven or eight countries, and all but a couple of the contiguous American states.� I’ve traveled at least twice by train:� once as a small child, when my grandmother took me to Toledo aboard the last steam train to provide service in Michigan; and once with my own children to Ann Arbor for a day of museums and adventure.
Do you lack patience? It may be a symptom of a deeper lack of hope...
Mothers: Bastions of Hope, Catalysts for Change | CatholicMom.comMATENAER: If I as a mother have no hope in my own children, this all is for naught.� If I don’t believe in their ability to mature, with grace, then who will?� And what a powerfully dangerous thought: what if I do hope in them?� What if I do hope that with God’s grace they will blossom into mature adults, mature children of God, thoughtful, capable, and reasonable individuals?� Bright points of light who’d willingly reject our culture in favor �of helping God’s kingdom on earth flourish?� In short, saints.� What could happen if I hoped in their sanctity?� I don’t know, but I suspect St. Monica does.
Latin was almost abandoned in the Church, but it's making a comeback...
New Advent: Latin was almost abandoned in the Church, but it's making a comeback...: Vatican Latin expert Msgr. Daniel Gallagher talks about the church's near-abandonment of the ancient language and the current renaissance in the study and use of Latin.
Pondering a 'rising tide' of threats to religious freedom...
Pondering a 'rising tide' of threats to religious freedom | National Catholic ReporterALLEN: Beyond any doubt, religious freedom has emerged as the premier social and political concern of the Catholic church in the early 21st century. Pope Benedict XVI offered confirmation as recently as last Saturday, during his trip to Lebanon.
Speaking to politicians, diplomats and religious leaders (including representatives of all four major branches of Islam in Lebanon -- Sunni, Shi'ite, Druze and Alawite), the pope insisted that "religious freedom is the basic right on which many others depend."
Speaking to politicians, diplomats and religious leaders (including representatives of all four major branches of Islam in Lebanon -- Sunni, Shi'ite, Druze and Alawite), the pope insisted that "religious freedom is the basic right on which many others depend."
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