November 2002 Archives

On one of the mailing lists I operate, a lady asked members to help her give some guidance to her sister who sometimes attends Lutheran services, but does not know why a Catholic should not seek to receive Holy Communion there. Here's what I wrote:

The Holy Eucharist is at the heart of the Church. It is, in the words of the Second Vatican Council, the "source and summit" of Christian life. It's the most important act of Christian life -- to be present at Holy Mass where our Lord comes in the Sacrament of the Eucharist; and also to receive Him in the Sacrament.

The Eucharist is what gives unity to the Catholic Church. Let me explain this for a minute.

The Church exists in dioceses all over the world, and they form one fellowship, one community. They are one in faith and one in the sacraments. That is: a Catholic from one diocese is free to receive the sacraments in any other Catholic diocese. This is not something completely automatic. It happens because the bishop of your diocese and the bishops of all the other dioceses, including the Pope in Rome, all agree to be in one community together.

The theological word for this agreement is: being in communion. These bishops all agree that they are willing to celebrate Mass together, and share the sacraments together. The highest degree possible of Church unity is in celebrating the Eucharist together. So in the Catholic Church, we hold the same Catholic Faith together, and we share the seven Sacraments, including the Sacrament of Christ's Body and Blood. Unity in Faith and unity in the Sacraments go together.

Sadly, there are divisions among Christians; there are Christians who do not hold or teach all the doctrines of the Faith that the Catholic Church holds and teaches, and they do not fully recognize the authority that God entrusts to the Catholic Church. They are not in agreement with the Catholic Church on these very important matters, so we have to acknowledge that full unity in faith does not exist yet. Without unity in faith, sacramental sharing would be a pretense: it would portray a unity that really does not exist yet.

That Christians are disunited and cannot share the Eucharist and the other sacraments is a cause of pain to us and to other Christians. We should let that pain motivate us in our efforts to bring the Christian communities together in one faith and one love, before one Holy Table of the Lord. The Church works to increase unity by engaging in dialogue with representatives of the other Christian communities and churches. When unity in faith is achieved, then full unity in sacramental sharing will follow.

On the bookshelf

When Mormons Call by Isaiah Bennet. It's the most concise dissection of Mormon beliefs and missionary practices I have ever read. Bennet was a Catholic priest who renounced the faith to become Mormon then returned to the Church after two years. The inside perspective is unique, but I have to ask - what was he thinking? What kind of formation did Bennet have as a seminarian that he would become an apostate? And are those actual Mormons in the picture?

Archbishop's blessing averts lava flow

Search Catholic Light!

I hijacked some code from Aristotle Esquerra's blog, Confessions of an Accidental Choir Director, to allow our readers to search Catholic Light with Google. In addition to our heartfelt thanks, we've added a link to his excellent blog on the left. Aristotle focuses mainly on music and liturgy and he's linked to some great resources for those of us who are sick of dueling banjos at Mass.

Ave Maris Stella

I'm looking for a good translation of "Ave Maris Stella." All the English translations I've find rhyme, which is a sure sign that they aren't entirely accurate!

Ave Maris Stella
Dei Mater alma,
atque semper Virgo
felix cæli porta.
Sumens illud Ave
Gabriélis ore,
funda nos in pace,
mutans Evæ nomen.

Solve vincla reis,
profer lumen cæcis,
mala nostra pelle,
bona cuncta posce.

Monstra te esse Matrem :
sumat per te preces
qui, pro nobis natus,
tulit esse tuus.

Virgo singuláris,
inter omnes mitis,
nos culpis solútos,
mites fac et castos.

Vitam præsta puram,
iter para tutum,
ut vidéntes Jesum,
semper collætémur.

Sit laus Deo Patri,
summo Christo decus,
Spirítui Sancto,
tribus honor unus.

Amen.

A much talked about tell-all on marriage

An article in the Washington Times by Janice Shaw Crouse on the inspiring story of Mort and Millie Kondracke's struggle with Parkinson's disease. Mort writes:

"I decided that my career was now secondary as the purpose of my life. I did not know what helping Millie fight Parkinson's might involve, and I did not want to know. I was afraid that if I had a forecast of how bad things could become I might shrink from the ordeal. I figured I would simply deal with whatever happened, as it happened. This has become my philosophy of life: Do the best you can playing the hand you are dealt, and ask God's help every single step of the way."

Five Things for Which I'm Grateful

This being Thanksgiving, I thought I would follow up on the idea of posting things for which I am thankful:

1) The Blessed Mother said "Let it be done to me according to Thy word."
2) My wife and daughter
3) St. Benedict and Western Monasticism
4) Belgian Monastic Ale
5) Jeb, the only politician I respect more than George W., is my Governor.

Canonpalooza -- Kicking it up in Mississippi

A blessed Thanksgiving folks! Just to let everyone know, our family is headed to Biloxi, Mississippi next week for a regional canon law convention. It is a pretty full schedule, but Tuesday night is open and if any of you living in the area are available and want to get together, I would love to do so. Please email and let's see if we cannot get a group of us together.

Talking on Water

I was fascinated by "Talking on Water" in the Washington Times today. It's an article on Christian ministry on the coast of Maine. How different life is there! It's show me we have a lot to be thankful for as Catholics.

taking this opportunity to say, once again, we have a problem here that would be totally solved by reception on the tounge. Ahem.)

So, brilliant readers of this blog, please help me! What should I do if I see this occur again? And, if I do go up to get a priest or minister during Communion, how do I do that? I would be very hesitant to disrupt the Mass. Help!

Oh, and have a lovely Thanksgiving!

Look at the Cranky Professor's new digs!

He's got his own domain name and is publishing with Movable Type. Are you selling email addresses @crankyprofessor.com to other cranky professors?

Mixed-sex friendships and marital trouble

Jeff Culbreath, a frequent commentator on this blog who was born in the same city as my parents, had some things to say about mixed-sex friendships in comments attached to a previous post. He doesn't think they're a good idea in general, saying that they can "take an inappropriate turn" and they "makes for really wimpy and effeminate men." I always respect his intelligent comments, but I respectfully disagree.

Intra-sexual friendships are most likely to take the wrong road if you're in the wrong setting. When I say I'm friends with females I work with, I mean that I talk to them on a personal level, and if they happen to be at a work-related gathering I won't run away screaming. I wouldn't go out to dinner with them at a cozy restaurant. I wouldn't go out one-on-one for drinks after work. But I will talk to them about their lives, their views on the world, and my own life and views. The kind of things friends talk about.

I can't see anything sinful in that, nor do I think it would lead to something sordid. I would not hold myself up as the ultimate moral exemplar, but I've got a good marriage and a healthy family life, and I'm not afraid to talk about my faith with others. Should I refrain from giving a good, positive manifestation -- or something like it -- of Catholic family life? Most of my friends are Catholic, and I don't have that much opportunity to give a personal witness of the Faith outside of work. It would be hard to do that without talking to my non-male co-workers.

For myself [clearing throat, puffing up chest], I can say having women around hasn't made me effeminate yet. If women in the workplace makes the environment less masculine, that's not necessarily bad. I don't think an all-female or all-male environment is completely healthy, except in a limited number of settings. (Convents, monasteries, and schools are some of those settings.) The worst tendencies of each sex comes out when there is too much testosterone or estrogen concentrated in a small space.

Your thoughts?

Victoria's Secret…revealed at last!

The year was 1989. Manuel Noriega had declared war on the United States. The Schultz brothers were breaking girls' hearts at Mt. Vernon High School. Guns 'n' Roses destroyed hotels around North America. Women wore jackets with padded shoulders, making them look like linebackers with breasts. And the Victoria's Secret catalog began to arrive at the Johnson household.

I don't know how my mom got on Victoria's mailing list, but every few weeks the publication would come in the mail, and I would flip through it. Throughout the '70s and '80s, correct women wore mannish clothes, at least in professional settings. Throughout my schooling, educators tried to tell us that boys and girls were exactly alike except for a few minor anatomical differences, which we knew was utter rubbish. Still, this was before the feminists decided to immolate themselves on the pyre of Bill Clinton's disordered sexuality, and their sex-neutral propaganda still held sway.

At the time, I thought the idea of Victoria's Secret was a positive development. Here was a chain of stores that sold unabashedly feminine clothes and toiletries. The name evoked 19th-century England, and you could read into that what you liked -- whether it was supposed to lend a rarefied air to what was primarily an underwear store, or to suggest that if a woman looks proper outside, underneath her clothes she might be sporting less inhibited attire.

It did not escape my adolescent attention that many of the women were attractive. Nay, they were beautiful: soft, feminine features with womanly bodies. They were leagues away from the sullen walking sticks who populate the wider fashion world. There was an erotic element to the catalog, to be sure -- we are, as mentioned above, talking about underwear -- but it was one element among many. Everything about the models, from their hair to their poses to their warm but not quite beckoning smiles, suggested elegance and class. It was an affirmation of the uniqueness of feminine sexuality without prurience, which is a tricky thing.

Yesterday, after getting back from a brief trip, I discovered that my wife is now on the Victoria's Secret mailing list. (Why not? We're already getting about 47 Christmas catalogs a day.) It confirmed my suspicion that Victoria's secret is that she runs a prostitution ring. The first sign was the change in the stores' decor a few years ago. Whereas they used to employ darker hues and subtle lighting, they switched to a style that can only be described as "New Orleans bordello," with bright halogen lights and bold colors. They now sell outer clothes and underwear, and their television commercials are as frequent as they are frightening. (They are a multi-billion-dollar corporation. Was Dennis Miller the only person available?)

Worst of all, they have given themselves over to crassness. The classy models have been dismissed; in their place is a legion of Barbie dolls. All of the bodies are improbably skinny in most places and ludicrously generous in others. Cheekbones and hipbones are prominent. The implicit sales pitch has changed from "Buy our products, and you'll feel like a woman," to "Buy our products, and men will want to have sex with you the moment they see you." I guess the public's taste must be skewed toward trashy women, because that's what the company has embraced.

Personally, I find the whole transformation repulsive. I'm not being a church lady here -- I find the female form attractive, and I'd be lying if I said I could look chastely for a long period of time at pretty girls in their knickers. Even the old Victoria's Secret catalog wasn't something a Christian man should have been perusing. (In my defense, I didn't take my Christianity very seriously until well after 1989.) Nevertheless, it's disappointing that yet another corporation has resorted to the lowest-common-denominator approach. There is nothing wrong with eroticism per se, but when it is a brightly lit invitation to lust, it deserves our scorn. On a professional level, too, it's unworthy of respect, for it takes real intelligence to be subtle, but anyone can be blatantly sexual. You have to wonder how long such a company will survive.

Ah, well. There's always the Land's End catalog.

My Wife Sings Like an Angel
I have to brag about my wife for a minute. She sounded great in the Mozart concert last night, as she does each Sunday. Her voice has a wonderful warmth and presence that is so moving. It's not a "was that a mosquito that just flew by my ear sound" but rather a 5 course french meal with all it's sophistication and complexity, and ultimate enjoyment.

What a gift and a blessing. We met in the choir too so that's another good reason for singles to join up!

Christmas Eve Liturgy

I'm slipping in a few things at Christmas Eve that are meant to deal with the Marty Haugen "Mass of Creation" factor.

1. We're going to do two chants in English - A Child Is Born In Bethlehem (Puer Natus) and another I can't remember.
2. We're doing the Victoria "O Magnum Mysterium" during Preparation of the Gifts.
3. A Cantor will sing the Christmas Proclamation at the beginning of Mass.

We'll be doing all the sacred Christmas Carols we normally do, so there will be plenty of familiarity for the congregation. We do the Haugen because of it's universality in the US Church. It's not the greatest but it does increase the chances that people will sing the eucharistic acclamations.

Tidbit from the GIRM

"The blessing of children or infants should not be encouraged while distributing communion. Children and infants are blessed with the full assembly at the end of Mass."

This makes perfect sense, but also makes perfectly sensible people get a little perturbed. After all, who doesn't want their baby to be blessed by a priest?
The solution: meet up with the priest in the Narthex and get the blessing after Mass.

And it only took 13 years for church officials in the U.S. to notice.

Once upon a time in the land of Bosnia-Herzegovina, in a peaceful little town called Medjugorje (where they manufactured hand grenades during the recent war), some teenage would-be seers claimed that Our Lady said -- among many other things -- that their own parish priest Jozo Zovko, OFM, was already a saint.

An endorsement like that is pretty good at boosting your reputation as a writer, speaker, and retreat master. Probably Fr. Zovko's high point came when Martin Sheen portrayed him in the Medjugorje movie. I know: Sheen's been involved with as many religious bombs as Osama, so maybe that's not much of a high point.

Later on, the news about Fr. Zovko was not quite so good: in 1989 his faculties to hear confessions were lifted after several women pilgrims accused him of sexual assault. He persisted in hearing confessions and, it appears, ended up suspended. Medjugorje supporters engaged in some obfuscation and some full-strength denial about it all, but finally in 2002 the news has reached America through official channels: as the WashPost reports, this week the Archdiocese of Washington scotched Fr. Zovko's plan to speak at the National Shrine after getting official word of the suspension from the Diocese of Mostar.

The denial is pretty thick, though: a priest who recently hosted a Zovko event told the Boston Herald that "he believed Zovko's suspension only prevented him from public prayer within Bosnia." I guess when somebody does a really good job of "tickling your ears" (2 Tim. 4:3), it's hard to give it up.

Extreme Christmas Poetry

And now for something completely different....

'TWAS THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS
by Pete Vere

'Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the Church,
Not a layman was stirring, for long was their search.
The rosaries were hung by their fingers with speed,
In hopes that St. Nicholas would soon intercede.

The chapel was empty right down to the pew,
Shedding light on the abuses since Vatican II;
And mamma's little yawn, over at St. Herman,
Had just woken up from a long boring sermon,

When out in press there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the sackcloth and wiped off the ash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below,
When who to my wondering eyes should show up,
But St. Nicholas flanked by a brother bishop.

For accompanying the jolly red elf from Alaska,
Was Fabian Bruskewitz of Lincoln, Nebraska
More rapid than eagles his anathemas came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and denounced them by name;

"Out Lefebvrites, call-to-action and all ye freemasons!
Or behold the wrath of my excommunications!
Outside the Church, you modernists fall!
Now dash away! dash away! dash away all!"

He was dressed like a bishop, from mitre to crook,
His presence commanded, the modernists shook;
But the rest of laity flocked to his side,
And joyful and happy, they in unison cried:

"His eyes -- how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
How blessed we are will a full seminary!
And listen to the orthodoxy come through his teeth,
While the incense encircles his head like a wreath."

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all his parishes with orthodox perk,
Yet I heard him exclaim, as he went to his rest,
"Merry Christmas to all, Ite Missae est."

I got your GIRM formation right here

Roman Missal Formational Materials are provided online by the US Bishops Committee on the Liturgy.

The interesting thing about many of the directives in the GIRM is they are crystal clear. The who, what, when, where and why of liturgy is encapsulated in a document that is both comprehensive and comprehensible. This kind of information makes a grass-roots effort at liturgical reform possible, and it speaks to the fact that there's a tremendous amount of willful ignorance and/or ongoing intent to remake the liturgy into something that it shouldn't be.

I'm blessed to live in a diocese where complying with the General Instruction and related directives is a priority. We have a pastor, associate and liturgy committee that are all on board. I know not everyone is, and I know that fighting the good fight can be tough when you have a crazy pastor, a renegade nun or a crunchy pastoral council.

Here's some quick advice:
Pick your battles. I would say that clearly defining the role and actions of the Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist is more important than getting people to stop holding hands during the Our Father.
Get up to speed by reading up on the GIRM and related documents.
Pray and practice charity or else we have GIRM warfare instead of reform.

That's all for now. God bless.

In case you are not getting enough email...

I highly recommend Jeff Cavin's and Mark Shea's "Words of Encouragement" daily email. You can view it online and subscribe to it via that link.

Help for an RCIA candidate

Please offer any suggestions you might have for this reader in the comments!

I came upon your blog e-mail today - quite timely. I would like some suggestions from my Catholic on-line friends. I have dismissal with our RCIA candidates this weekend. I have been "forewarned" that one of the gals wants to discuss Baptism. Background - she is in her early 30's and has been raised a Jehovah Witness. She is very concerned about Baptism, or actually any other rite that calls for her to come forward in the sanctuary. In her church - to be called forward was an admonition. People "came forward" to repent and there was deep shame involved. If she does, indeed, continue toward entering the church she wants to be Baptized privately - which in my understanding is contrary to the reason for the sacrament - that, plus being washed clean of origial sin, Community, proclamaiton, etc...those are what I would like to stress. She is an injured lamb - hurt badly by her former association with church. Any suggestions on a way to gently bring her to an understanding about going in front of others in a good way?

Consciousness qua consciousness

I've been thinking about consciousness lately, specifically as it relates to the body-soul relationship. What I don't get is that our souls, being immaterial, exist outside of time, yet we experience time in a linear fashion. Also, it seems to me that what we call "consciousness" is the nexus of our body and soul: when we go to sleep or get hit on the head, we lose consciousness; when that happens, our souls don't cease to exist,
but we are no longer aware of ourselves. Doesn't that offer proof of the connection between our bodies and our souls? I'm sure a materialist would say that's proof that the "mind" doesn't exist independent from our brain.

Somebody out there can give me some philosophical reading on this subject, I'm sure.

Why D.C. will never be a state, reason #253

If this doesn't catch your eye, no headline will:

Pulse Felt in Body in D.C. Morgue. A District woman believed to be dead was placed in a body bag by a team from the D.C. medical examiner's office, taken to the morgue and put in a refrigerated box until an investigator -- who was called to officially declare her dead -- found a pulse....

Deborah Wilson, 49, was found Friday morning in her bedroom at the Museum Square apartments, 401 K St. NW, apparently suffering from cardiac arrest. But what happened between the 911 call and four hours later when Wilson was finally pronounced dead remains in dispute, according to interviews and internal District records....

The medical examiner's team arrived at 1:30 p.m., found police and two family members, and Wilson "on her knees like she was praying," according to a source on the scene.

When the body was removed from the bed, "she sighed and she moaned," the source said. The supervisor from the medical examiner's office heard the noises and said, "It's just aspirations. No big deal," the source said.

Most of you reading this probably don't live in Washington, so you don't know how many things around here defy satire. Did you know, though, that many people living in Washington want D.C. to be a state? Yep, an 83-square-mile state. Nobody outside of the city takes it seriously, but if it ever becomes a national issue, be very afraid. The government of 265 million people will be held hostage by a few hundred thousand D.C. voters, many of whom have a tenuous grasp of reality.

If you're curious about what the other 252 reasons for why D.C. will never be a state, reasons #1-200 are "Marion Barry." My friend Chris Wavrin gives a few others:

#201: Rats
#202: No parking
#203: Rats
#204: No Guns
#205: Rats

Feel free to some lighthearted things to that list -- "can't plow snow off the streets," "potholes," "a foster care system that assigns innocent kids to violent people who kill them," "a police force that solves fewer than half of the murders every year," etc.

Mary McGrouchy, Irish-Catholic bore

It's not nice to pick on the elderly, yet I figure if you write a political column in one of the world's most important papers, you're open to criticism. Mary McGrory's writings occupy space in the Washington Post twice a week, and her biography says, "McGrory earned a national reputation in 1954 for her coverage of the McCarthy hearings for the Washington Star newspaper." The Star died 21 years ago. Unfortunately, the column lives on like a zombie.

Like a zombie, it's also searching for some brains. If you're looking for a generic, liberal, Irish-Catholic viewpoint, you could do no better than McGrory's opinions. She is as predictable as a Swiss train, displaying no evidence of critical thinking before she spouts whatever the liberal line is today. She will eventually end up like Art Buchwald, who is 137 years old and can barely string 50 words together, his best years having expired several decades ago.

Judging by her most recent column, she's well on her way. I used to skip her columns for several years, but now I enjoy the grotesque phrases and dubious factoids. Here are some gems, all from the same column:

• Strange electoral metaphors: "Were it not for [Powell], our soldiers might even now be going door to door in downtown Baghdad conducting a lethal canvass."

• "At its heart is an account of Powell's victory over the hard-breathing hawks...." When we think of hawks, do we think of them breathing hard?

• "...getting only brief sit-downs at which Condoleezza Rice, the warrior-queen of national security, was in attendance...." I wonder if she ever referred to Janet Reno -- responsible for the killing of almost as many Americans as Saddam Hussein -- as a "warrior queen." And didn't any editors see that calling a black woman a "warrior queen" has racial overtones?

• "Powell might have cited the folly of picking a fight with a radioactive lunatic before we finish the crusade against terrorism...." Saddam Hussein literally gives off radiological emissions? Now that is something we didn't know.

• "Bill Clinton, whose name is never mentioned without a sneer in the Oval Office...." I'm guessing Ms. McGrory hasn't been sitting in on many White House meetings these days, so how did she find this out?

George Weigel referred to her in a recent satire as "Mary McGrouchy," and that's about right. Although the Post has a reputation for liberalism, and it's fair to say their perspective is left-of-center, their bias has notably lessened in the last couple of years. Their coverage of the war in Afghanistan was nothing short of superb, and they have spoken out strongly in favor of the war on terror, while dissenting from some of President Bush's policies. They even endorsed three Republicans for Virginia's congressional delegation this year. Their opinion page includes the liberals like the frequently interesting William Raspberry and the occasionally interesting Richard Cohen, as well as stellar conservatives such as George Will (who got his national reputation largely from the Post) and Michael Kelly, who for my money is one of the best columnists working today.

I work for Washington's other newspaper, so I shouldn't offer the Post any advice, but they'd do well to dump MM in favor of some younger, more coherent liberal. She's becoming more of an embarrassment every week.

Liturgy

There's a big push in the Arlington Diocese right now to get liturical practices in line with the new General Instruction to the Roman Missal (GIRM). I'm all in favor of that as it speaks to the "why" and "how" we worship God at Mass and ultimately makes the liturgy Christocentric rather than a celebration of man. At my parish on the first Sunday of Advent there will be several things that change to conform to the GIRM: no more blessing of infants during the distribution of communion (all are blessed at the end of Mass), no more Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist in the entrance procession, more uniformity and emphasis on gestures and posture, and more.

I was at the liturgy planning meeting for the parish when we discussed this - it struck me that in most U.S. parishes, there's never been that kind of a meeting. We had all reviewed the new GIRM and been to several workshops/seminars on the content. The liturgy director had created a list of changes we needed to discuss, and the consensus from pastor all the way down was that we need to "follow the rules." Not because they are rules, but because we understood and wanted to live by the theological implications of the guidelines that are in the new General Instruction.

I'd be curious to know if this is happening anywhere else. It's a perfect time for an candid, honest and open review of our liturgical practices in the U.S. I don't have to repeat that the liturgical mayhem of the last 30 years that has been caused by innovations and ignorance is not a good thing.

Remember my other blog?

Care and Feeding of a Catholic Church Choir is now back in action. My brother Steve told me somehow the link ended up in a Catholic magazine next to Mark Shea, Amy Welborn, Gerard Serafin, etc. I am both flattered and embarassed because until this morning, I hadn't updated Care and Feeding since August.

Granted, this contradicts our traditional Catholic notion of chivalry within courtship, but my tribunal experience has hardened me to the point where, given our present cultural expectations, I believe a little adjustment to the custom of courtship is warranted. Basically guys were originally expected to pay the girl's way because this offered the girl an opportunity to assess the guy as a potential provider. Unfortunately, our culture has now degenerated to the point where instant gratification may be purchased. If a girl pays her own way, and among teens experiencing dating for the first time there is no reason why she should not, a guy is less likely to expect something in return.

On the other hand, a girl should never pay a guy's way unless it is an exception. If he never has money, either because he has not earned it or because he cannot resist spending it, then he's a bum.

Weekend Movie Guide

Well, we saw 'The Ring' this weekend. It has a few gaping plot holes, but is well balanced by good acting and a few very interesting twists and turns. The ending sets up a difficult moral question which is left unanswered (although you are left pretty sure what answer the protagonists are going to give); kind of a well-crafted version of that infamous B-movie teaser: 'The End?'

I can't imagine a better horror movie than 'The Exorcist', though, since it was based on a true story and even has a tape from the real exorcism used in the movie! Catholics everywhere have to resist the urge to do the Wave when the Exorcist shows up at the afflicted girl's house. Now, I'm not saying they should show this at teen retreats, but the clear distinction between good and evil is refreshing compared to the confusing and terrifying world of seemingly unstoppable horror in 'The Ring'... during the entire movie I kept wondering why in the world no one went and got a priest. Well, during the parts when I was actually looking at the sceen, that is. Maybe I missed him.

Minding our own business

I was reading about a single male politician whose political enemies have insinuated that he "prefers the company of men," as Marge says. I'm not going to repeat the man's name. For discussion's sake, let's say he is homosexual, but does not practice it. Who cares? What possible business is that of ours? I do not buy the idea that homosexuality is wholly genetic, but I do believe that some if not most homosexuals do not choose their orientation. I can't imagine what it must be like to be exclusively attracted to your own sex, and wishing that were not the case. It's not fair to add to the burdens of those who are struggling.

It seems cruel in the extreme to speculate about people's sexual appetites, and though I've been guilty of that in the past, I'll keep such thoughts to myself now. If someone is militantly gay, and pushing other people to embrace the dark and dangerous gay lifestyle, that's one thing -- they ought to be answered charitably. But if someone is bearing that cross in private, then we should pray for them and be quietly awed at their courage.

Pete Vere Taus one on over at Envoy Encore...

...in response to my post on the Tau Cross below. I bought one at the giftshop of the Franciscan Monastery in DC this week. I've been getting some questions about it from various people since I started wearing it. It is a rich and powerful symbol. I will have to add Pete's thoughts to my explanation of it:

To those who are outside the fullness of Truth, the way we live our lives is often our greatest testimony. For this reason, we should be doers of the word, and not preachers only. And this, I feel, pretty much sums up the spirituality of the Tau cross and why it serves as an important reminder to Catholic apologists.

Thanks, Pete!

Tax money at work in Maryland

According to the Washington Times, the Montgomery County Board of Education has voted in favor of a pilot program to teach 10th graders how to use condoms and "discuss homosexuality and other non-traditional lifestyles."

There are any number of serious problems with the very concept of condom ed in the schools. First, there's the question of whether public schools ought to be in the business of teaching minors how to engage in sex. To the extent that government schools have a legitimate or useful role in this area, it ought to be focused on discouraging sexual activity until marriage and alerting students to the health dangers that can result from sexually transmitted diseases.

I am complete agreement with the editors of the Times. It is absurd that a public school is teaching minors how to engage in sex. If I ever have children, and given my social calendar of late that is highly unlikely, I won't be sending them to public school. This program is immoral for sure, but I think it should be criminal.

Priest and Prostitute Found Dead in Local Strip Joint

I just about choked when I first saw this headline in a local paper a few years' ago. Not a lot of details were available in the first report, but I knew this would only add to the crisis which the local church was suffering through as a result of another priest who had recently been accused of sexual misconduct with a minor. As I read the story, my heart dropped even lower when the name of the elderly priest was revealed. I knew him, or at least I thought I did. He had come across as a man devoted to the Blessed Mother and the Holy Eucharist -- a priest of deep piety and solid orthodoxy who took to heart the spiritual welfare of each member of his inner-city flock. What the heck had he been doing with a prostitute in a so-called adult entertainment parlour?

I shook my head in disgust, especially as I recalled his numerous denunciations of prostitution and pornography. Heck, he was probably the most outspoken priest in the diocese when it came to these two subjects. Needless to say, the diocese was confused over the incident and did not wish to comment until more details became available. Those who knew him within the local church were extremely disappointed. The secular media, of course, was having a feeding frenzy given this whole affair, and made a few snide remarks about the fact Father was wearing his Roman collar at the time.

As more details became available, it turned out that this priest had a secret life few of us within the local church knew about. He was more well known among the local prostitution and "adult entertainment" scene than most us expected. In fact, he had spent countless late nights and early mornings, and thousands of dollars, with numerous local prostitutes and "adult entertainers" that nobody within mainstream society knew about. This all came to the forefront in the police investigation as reported by the local media.

Yet what is even more interesting is that not one person came forward to accuse the priest of having violated his vow of celibacy. In fact, most of the former prostitutes and adult entertainers who credited Father's interventions for getting them off the streets and back into mainstream society, also reported that as far as displays of affection were concerned, Father was always good for a hug but otherwise he would never allow one to go past the collar. And thus the situation was also a little confusing to them, because Father always took precautions not to put himself in situations where he might even raise suspicions of having violated his vow of celibacy.

So what happened the night Father died? According to those who were present, as the media later reported about a month later at the bottom of page 47, a prostitute who also doubled as an adult entertainer was, through Father's intervention, on the verge of leaving her past behind her. Someone who had made a lot of money exploiting her was not happy with the situation, and drugged her alcoholic beverage. She began to overdose and someone called an ambulance. However, in her dying moments, the woman wanted to see Father. Someone called him and told him that she was dying. He was somewhat relunctant to come to scene, and asked if he could meet her at the hospital instead, but acquiesced when told she was going quick. So despite the circumstances, his advanced age and the bitter cold outside, he immediately rushed over and began to administer the annointing of sick. He finished just before the ambulance arrived, paused to catch his breath, and went into cardiac arrest. So the ambulance ended up taking him to the hospital as well. Both priest and prostitute were DOA.

Truth is often stranger than fiction, which in this situation comes as a relief. Father was a good priest in life, and I'm glad his name was cleared in death. Yet I still wonder what it is about the situation that initially made me want to think the worst, before all the other information became available? Have we come to a point where we automatically suspect the worst of our priests?

Floating tabernacles

Did you know that the U.S. Department of Defense treats the Eucharist like a military secret? It's true: if they cannot be secured by a priest-chaplain, consecrated hosts are kept with the sensitive materials in the ship or unit's safe, along with things like battle plans and cryptographic codes. The safe is usually protected by armed sentries who, under many circumstances, can legally use deadly force to protect its valuable contents. That means when you see a Navy vessel with a Catholic chaplain, you're watching a huge, floating tabernacle. St. John Chrysostom had a vision during Mass of angels standing guard over the Eucharist; I rather like the idea of an aircraft carrier protecting the Body and Blood of Christ.

The Defense Department doesn't officially recognize the doctrine of transubstantiation, but it does respect the deepest beliefs of Catholic servicemen and makes proper accommodations. We should realize that collectively, we can have an effect on people even when they don't share our beliefs. Surely when little pieces of (apparent) bread are treated with such reverence, it makes non-Catholics think about it for a moment.

The Tau Cross

This coat of arms has been the symbol of the Franciscan for many centuries. The image of the two crossed arms, each with a nail wound in the hand, represent both Christ and St. Francis who received the Stigmata (the wounds of Christ) in his body two years before he died.

"For even while he [Francis] lived among men,
he imitated angelic purity
so that he was held up as an example
for those who would be perfect followers of Christ.
We are led to hold this firmly and devoutly
because of his ministry
to call men to weep and mourn,
to shave their heads, and to put on sackcloth,
and to mark with a Tau
the foreheads of men who moan and grieve,
signing them with the cross of penance
and clothing them with his habit,
which is in the form of a cross".

St. Bonaventure, The Life of St. Francis, Prologue n.2 from E. Cousins (trans.) Bonaventure: The Soul's Journey into God, The Tree of Life, The Life of St. Francis, Paulist Press, New York, 1978.

Man of steel

American Catholic bishops are "not realistic because (they've) never seen what is the result of absolute disregard of human rights...They've never seen it; they don't know what the hell they're talking about."

Who is this guy, and where does he get off talking about the bishops like that? None other than retired Archbishop Philip Hannan of New Orleans, speaking about the bishops' views on attacking Iraq. The prelate is a former WWII chaplain who has a dim view of totalitarians such as Saddam Hussein.

Lots of people say that the USCCB is liberal, but that misses the mark. The USCCB almost invariably prefers the "nice" option when coming to any decision (with the honorable exception of the U.S. attacking al Qaeda in Afghanistan). So it won't come out (ha!) and say that homosexuality is sinful when talking about the pastoral care of homosexually-oriented people, and it won't condemn politicians in the thrall of the culture of death. Heck, it took them 27 years after Roe vs. Wade to make a statement saying that abortion should be the primary consideration for Catholic voters. If they had done that in the 1970s, it could have changed the course of history, and the Democrats might not have become the party of abortion. But that wouldn't have been "nice."

May God grant us bishops whose hearts are filled with charity and a holy zeal for justice. May God grant us a legion of Archbishop Hannans.

Pittsburgh, that is. A Capuchin friend is taking his permanent vows as a friar there on Saturday, so join me in praying for the Brothers. Since their first profession of vows in '99, they've been pursuing their studies in Washington and in due course, they'll make fine ministers of the Gospel.

Update: The profession ceremony Saturday was a beautiful event which I will always remember. For one thing, it's the first time I've ever heard tenor sax as a liturgical music instrument. I had no idea Kenny G. was an influence on Franciscanism. Sigh.

Shall we not gloat?

Since I left right before the election, I didn't get a chance to say much about the results. Needless to say, I'm pleased -- though anyone who thinks the Democrats will get the message is going to be disappointed. They will not abandon their pro-abortion stand or any other distinctive position; the election of Rep. Pelosi as house minority leader is a harbinger of the left-wing tack they're going to take. Look, abortion is one of the reasons the Democratic Party exists today -- and just because it hurts them nationally and in certain states doesn't mean they're going to abandon it or go soft.

Political parties subsist on votes, money, and energy. The hard-line pro-abortion politics of the Democrats brings votes in the northeast and in major cities. It attracts money from upper-middle-class citizens, especially women, and they contribute tons of energy as well. Guns are an analogous issue for the Republicans. Even if gun control is temporarily a popular issue, as it is after a gun-related mass murder, it makes no sense for the Republicans to abandon their strong support for the second amendment. They'd lose the energy of committed activists, as well as people who support gun rights but don't belong to the NRA or make political contributions. They would jeopardize their ascendance in the Midwest, South, and West. That's why the Republicans might support a weak gun-control measure like the Brady Bill, so they can appear "moderate" to weakly committed voters, but they wouldn't support a gun-registration bill or a ban on handguns.

That being said, it would make a lot of sense if the Democrats ran someone who was truly moderate on the Dems' signature issues. Let's say the candidate supported a ban on partial-birth abortion and sex-selection abortions, plus he favored parental consent for minors, but was "pro-choice" under other circumstances. He might strongly affirm the second amendment, but say that cheap handguns have no place in our society; he'd favor expanding IRA accounts but would leave Social Security alone; he would favor raising taxes on the "most fortunate Americans" but not "working Americans"; etc.

The candidate I'm describing would stand a strong chance of winning in the general election. A charismatic, truly moderate Democrat would give Republicans a lot of trouble in 2004, but it won't happen because of the primary process. In order to get the nomination in the first place, a candidate has to convince his own party that he represents them. The people who vote in primaries are the ones who would walk through fire to support their party, and the Democratic faithful are probably going to remain enraged until those primaries happen in 14 months. They can't believe that they've been trounced by the barely articulate boob in the White House, and they're going to want an old-fashioned tax-and-spend big-government social liberal as their candidate, or the closest thing they can find. They aren't hungry enough for victory to swallow their principles, as they were for Bill Clinton in 1992 and '96. Given all that, they have to run a pro-abortion liberal next time around. Count on it.

I read that President Bush said that although Republicans were victorious last week, "This is no time to gloat." I agree that gloating is low-class and probably sinful, so that means it's never a good time to gloat. I promise I won't do it. However, after seeing the humiliation on the faces of Tom Daschle and Terry McAuliffe, I have to ask: if now isn't a good time to gloat, then what is?

Eric is back

I have returned from active duty with the Marines a day early. I can't say where we were because the mission is still ongoing, but I can report that everything went quite well. Once again, I am convinced that it would be really scary to fight against the Corps, which is great because it means the mere threat of sending in the Marines is often enough to keep violent men in check.

Sola Scriptura

Thanks for your help with my Catholic apologetics emergency this week! Here's a tidbit that seemed to get at least one point across. Sola Sciptura detached from tradition and the teaching authority of the Church is not "Scripture alone." It is rather "what I think Scripture means alone." Clearly there is no scriptural basis for that!

The Elephant in the Democrat's Voting Booth

As the only Canadian on Catholic Light, here's where I more or less stand on various political issues:

Pro gun control
Pro state subsidized post secondary education
Anti capital punishment
Pro social safety net
Pro socialized healthcare
Pro immigration

Now given my stand on various political issues, which party do you think I would have more or less voted for in the last election if I happened to be an American citizen? If you guessed the GOP, you are correct.

Basically, I feel strongly on all the aforementioned issues, but not as strongly as I feel on the abortion issue. For me, the pro-life issue trumps all other issues when I enter the voting station, and most important among the pro-life issues is seeing abortion (the pre-meditated butchering of children in the womb) brought to an end. Looks like I'm not the only one who feels this way. Kristen Day, the head of Democrats for Life, writes the following excellent political reflection on how the Abortion Stance Hurts Dems.

After Rod Dreher wondered what on Earth the USCCB could be spending its $53M budget on, Amy Welborn offered a tongue-in-cheek explanation:

$20 million to make sure Ex Corde Ecclesiae isn't enforced.
$20 million to delay implementation of Rome-mandated liturgical norms and translations
$10 million to hunt out unauthorized citations from the New American Bible
$2 million to hotels for biannual meetings and
$1 million for security to keep the hoi polloi away from bishops during said meetings.

1. Organizations funded must not be church-run.
2. Grants must not provide direct services to people in need: rather, they are used for organizational purposes.

Over the years protests from conservatives have led to increasing restrictions on the program; and if the hard Left is squawking, they must be an improvement. Under new management, CCHD has started honoring the new restrictions, at least when a violation is brought to its attention. Still, I doubt I'll ever be willing to give a red cent to CCHD.

Some help please

I'm discussing Papal infallibility with a friend. He just slammed me with this URL. It looks like complete garbage, but I have to refute it in a credible way.

Also this piece on papal infallibility and sola scriptura.

Thanks!

In the comments to his post below, Sal asked for an ICEL-style version of the Latin hymn text he quoted. So, with apologies to Isaac Watts:

(Tune: "O God, our help in ages past")

O Sovereign God, all good and strong,
In need we hear you say:
"I do not judge you for your faults,
I'm OK, you're OK."

AUGUSTA, Ga. - Wal-Mart employees thought the soft voice phoning bomb threats might be that of a woman.

But after three evacuations over the past week, police said they traced a fourth call to an 11-year-old boy.

The fourth-grader may have been upset after store managers moved his mother to the night shift, Richmond County Sheriff's Maj. Ken Autry said Tuesday.

The suspect - weighing about 70 pounds and less than 4 feet tall - was brought in by his mother for questioning.

"He looked like a 6-year-old," Autry said. "He didn't look like your typical person for making bomb threats."

Wal-Mart spokesman Ian DeZalia said the evacuations were a major inconvenience. As for the age of the suspect: "It's sad."

Authorities reported the boy to juvenile authorities, but he is too young to be charged with a crime.

These folks in Baghdad are probably relieved, for the moment:

Some Latin help, please

Who can help me with a translation of this? Thanks!

Sanctus fortis, Sanctus Deus,
De profundis oro te,
Miserere, Judex meus,
Parce mihi, Domine.

(Here's an prayer for the grace of a good death; it dates back to at least 1823, when Pope Leo XII approved it and enriched it with an indulgence.)

I. We offer to the most holy Trinity the merits of Jesus Christ, in thanksgiving for the precious blood which Jesus shed in the Garden for us; and by his merits we beseech the divine majesty to grant us the pardon of all our sins.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father.

II. We offer to the most holy Trinity the merits of Jesus Christ, in thanksgiving for his most precious death endured on the cross for us; and by his merits we beseech the divine majesty to free us from the punishment due to our sins.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father.

III. We offer to the most holy Trinity the merits of Jesus Christ, in thanksgiving for his unspeakable charity, by which he descended from heaven to earth to take upon himself our flesh, and to suffer and die for us on the cross; and by his merits we beseech the divine majesty to bring our souls to the glory of heaven after our death.
Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be to the Father.

Christmas Music Mayhem

Several years back, before I started conducting at my parish, the choir had in their repertoire a Caribbean tune called "The Virgin Mary Had A Baby Boy" (note to liturgists: having a suburban DC parish sing Caribbean tunes is not a good example of inculturation.) The piece starts with a baritone solo, and he stood in front of the microphone and sang: "The Virgin Mary Had a Baby GIRL."

The congregation roared and giggled thru the entire Mass. And he never lived it down.

Left field and left-of-center

In today's Washington Times, Tony Blankley writes on Nancy Pelosi. aspirant for House Minority Leader. When asked if she was a liberal,

Mrs. Pelosi's feeble response has been, "When people describe me as a liberal I always say, 'Well, I guess you could describe an Italian American grandmother that way.' " She could hardly duck the liberal appellation. She has called herself "a Democrat in the New Deal tradition." Sixty years ago that would make her a liberal. Today it makes her a reactionary liberal. She has a 100 percent liberal voting record. On her Web site she includes amongst "Her favorite photos" pictures of her discussing U.S. policy on Tibet with Richard Gere, her in a Cesar Chavez Day Parade, and her attending the opening of the San Francisco Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Community Center.

She opposes prayer in school, reducing the marriage penalty and repealing the death tax. She is in favor of implementing the Kyoto Protocol (it lost in a Senate vote 96-0). Not only did she vote against the Iraqi war-authorization, but a decade ago she opposed the Persian Gulf War with the following explanation: "While we are greatly concerned about the loss of life from combat in the Persian Gulf War, environmental consequences of the war are as important . . ." Not too many Americans will share her equal concern for the dislocated dirt and the dead GI at the bottom of a bomb crater.

On NRO, Stanley Kurtz writes about a a gruesome possibility:

The Democrats are in trouble. I'll get to that in a bit. But first, consider the following scenario, wherein the Democrats take back the Senate within months. Step one is Mary Landrieu's successful defense of her Senate seat on December 7. Step two: Lincoln Chafee and John McCain simultaneously become Democrats next January, moving the Senate back to a 51/49 Democrat majority (with Jeffords still supporting the Democrats).

Would McCain switch for any other reason than to position himself for a run for the White House in 2004? It seems not. As I said, it is a gruesome possibility.

Remember our veterans, living and dead

It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have this far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us ... that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to the cause for which they gave their last full measure of devotion. - Abraham Lincoln

Jesus Freaks?

Has anyone out there read "Jesus Freaks" by DC Talk?

National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton

Yesterday I paid a visit to the Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first American-born Saint. It has a remarkable sculpture and mosaic of the Agony in the Garden. The scene is depicted in a circular room around the sculpture of our Lord accepting the will of the Father in the cup of suffering the angel is presenting Him. You may click on the thumbnails to see the full-size images.

This photo was taken at the moment of consecration through the door of the Basilica

The Granholm Situation -- State Which State is a State

Owing to the fact my parents are down for a visit, I'm a little behind on things. But I wanted to reply to the following piece posted by Greg Popcak over on HMS Blog. Basically, it concerns the petition prepared by the St. Joseph Foundation for those who would like to see Governor-Elect Granholm in Michigan placed under interdict for her reported tolerance with regard to the act of butchering innocent children in the womb.

Chuck Wilson is one of most honest people I have ever worked with, and his integrity and orthodoxy is beyond reproach. I support both him and the St. Joseph Foundation, as they render a valuable service to the Church. One of Chuck's strengths is that he is very open to (and listens to) contrary opinions when controversial issues arise, and thus I feel comfortable voicing my reservations about this initiative which, to be honest, I would love to support if in my opinion the following canonical technicality was not involved.

Basically, from what I recall from canonical tradition, each state making up the United States of America is considered a state under canon law, and not merely some minor political division like a province in Canada. The Governor is thus considered the head of state.

Now canon 1401 specifically states: "The Church has its own an exclusive right to judge: 1* cases which refer to matters which are spiritual or linked to the spiritual; 2* the violation of ecclesiastical laws and whatever contains an element of sin, to determine guilt and impose ecclesiastical penalties." This is pretty self-explanatory, however, a problem arises when we look at canon 1405 which specifically states: "$1. In the cases mentioned in canon 1401, the Roman Pontiff alone has the right to judge: 1* Heads of State."

In short, by the time Cardinal Maida could get the canonical machinery going, Granholm will have likely been sworn in as Governor of Michigan. This mean she will be head of state and the Archdiocese of Detroit will lack absolute competency to hear the case, since it would be reserved to the Holy Father alone. I hate it when these types of procedural techinicalities get in the way, but I that's unfortunately the case. Therefore, albeit a long-shot, it would be best to take this one to Rome from the start.

Envoy Encore

We've added a linked to our blogging brethren over at Envoy Magazine. Now, Pete, I know you write for both Envoy and Catholic Light. Just remember who bought 1.7 million copies of Schism!

Divine Doctorate

Below, Rich raises the question about the Doctor of Divinity degree which almost all bishops seem to possess. Hense the initials "D.D." after their name. As far as I know, within the context of the Catholic Church, this is completely an honorary degree that is given to all bishops sometime between their appointment and episcopal consecration. At least within the Catholic context, I have never come across an earned "Doctor of Divinity" and I don't know of any Pontifical University that offers a DD programme.

My guess is that besides tradition, there is some sort of connection between the DD and canon 378, par. 1, no. 5 which states: "To be a suitable candidate for the episcopate, a person must: hold a doctorate or at least a licentiate in sacred Scripture, theology or canon law, from an institute of higher studies approved by the Apostolic See, or at least be well versed in these disciplines."

Traditionally, this hasn't been as much a problem in Europe, where the state managed the Church's property, so basically a bishop could be a good Pastor who was educated in the Sacred Sciences. However, in America, with the separation between Church and State, this didn't lead to the best results because theologians and academics were often poor business managers. So even as early as the 1900's Rome was complaining that among the American bishops, the skills of a banker were often more important than the skills of a pastor and theologian.

Burning issue of the day

The Kairos Guy says dogs don't belong in the workplace. What say you, John?

Bp. O'Donnell retires in Lafayette

The Most Rev. Edward O'Donnell, bishop of Lafayette (Louisiana), burdened with health troubles at the age of 71, has resigned his office and announced the appointment of his successor, the Most Rev. Michael Jarrell, at present bishop of Houma-Thibodaux.

For most writers in Catholic blogdom, Bp. O'Donnell's most notable mark on the world was a dubious one as a censor of Catholic literature. He caved in to the demands of uninformed protestors and banned Flannery O'Connor's writings from his schools because some of her characters used racially offensive words. He silenced Fr. Bryce Sibley's witty blog for six months after a complaint from some offended seminary apparatchik. I'm sure the bishop has many good qualities, but from the outside, he didn't appear to be a Profile in Courage. In any case, he's stepping down now, which is a good enough penance for dissing Flannery O'Connor; I wish Bp. O'Donnell a happy and holy retirement.

A detail about the new bishop leads me to pose a question for my canonist co-blogger:
Hey, Pete, Is Pope JP II giving bishops the third degree?

It sounds like a good idea, doesn't it? Perhaps a new approach for getting to the root of the abuse scandals?

But, no, the "third degree" I'm asking about is not an interrogation in the manner of Monty Python's cardinals, but an academic doctorate. The Houma diocese's biographical note on Bp. Jarrell says:

A native of Opelousas, LA, Bishop Michael Jarrell was born May 15, 1940. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Philosophy (1962) and a Master of Arts in Philosophy (1963) both from Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. He has been granted a Doctor of Divinity degree by Pope John Paul II. Bishop Jarrell was ordained a priest for the Diocese of Lafayette in 1967. He was appointed Second Bishop of Houma-Thibodaux on Dec. 29, 1992. His ordination to the episcopacy and installation took place March 4, 1993.

Is the degree in some sense honorary? Here in the States, that particular degree seems to be granted mostly by Protestant div schools, so when a bishop carries it, the effect is only a slight honor, as if to say : here's a bishop who does not have one of the well-known degrees in theology (STD), canon law (JCD), or a civilly-recognized degree (PhD).

Is it granted in order to make the bishop comply with canon 378? That provision requires that a suitable candidate for the order of bishops must

hold a doctorate or at least a licentiate in sacred Scripture, theology or canon law, from an institute of higher studies approved by the Apostolic See, or at least be well versed in these disciplines.

I hope somebody knowledgeable will clear up this mystery soon, before anti-Catholics begin to reproach the Pope as running a diploma mill like that of Frederick Buechner's character Leo Bebb.

Way to go, St. Joe!

Funny that John got that recycled email from St. Joseph Communications, because I just did some impulse buying at the Catholic Shop. One of the several things I spent my hard-earned cash on was a set of tapes about Mary from presentations by Jesse Romero. I can't find the link to them on the website so they must have been discontinued. Mr. Romero is excellent. I have never heard such a concise presentation of the Biblical basis of the Catholic Church's teachings on Mary. I thought I had a better-than-average understanding of Marian doctrine with regard to the Bible. I was sorely mistaken. Now I've got some more ammo for my mere Christian brethern at work. That's great, too, because we just hired a Baptist minister.

Say it ain't so, St. Joe!

I just got an e-mail from St. Joseph Communications, a publisher of Catholic tapes & CDs.
Subject: Special Christmas Offer
First Line: With only a few weeks left until Our Lord's birthday, there is still time to get the gift that will inspire all to a deeper understanding and devotion to this Holy Season.

Do you have any special offers for Advent? Do you have reservations about recycling marketing material from 12/05/01? I thought I had to go to Target to get deals on Christmas items!

The remarks of this DJ in Florida are utterly deplorable. I guess hate is ok as long as he is the source of it, not the object of it.

Blogspot interruptions

It seems over the last few days blogspot.com have been intermittently unavailable. We're looking to move Catholic Light to its own site as soon as we can all agree how, when and where. Be patient, please. We want to read us just as much as you do!

Ethics in China

Regarding the Three Gorges Dam Project in China:
"Earlier this week China's official news agency reported that the Three Gorges Dam project has been free of graft and embezzlement since its launch in 1993."

Maybe that should go on a plaque or something...

Post-election poetry night on Catholic Light

I saw Pete's post below and couldn't resist. I wrote this some time after the 2000 election. I was hoping to make a children's book for adults. I didn't get very far. Add stanzas in the comments if you wish!

The very hungry democrat

Pay your taxes – I need the cash!
I can’t have too much in my stash

Congress sits with knife and fork
Don’t trim the fat - just pass the pork!

Another program sounds delicious
Count on me being meretricious

Poor Bill is gone, but Hill’s still here
2004 we will not fear

We’re safe - Riady copped a plea!
He could have hurt the DNC

Surely he was no man’s fool
But China needs a brand new tool

Too bad for Bush, I wanted Gore
Now I have to bank offshore

I’m on your side, don’t call me wacky -
I brought the suit on big tobaccy!

With sophistry I do disarm
I'll subsidize your llama farm

I welcome souls through borders free
You can’t speak English? Vote for me!

I’ll save the earth and hug the trees
Put out that cigar, if you please.

I’ll clean the water then clear the air
What’s a billion here or there?

Don’t ask me who keeps the books
Where the cash goes no one looks

You can’t deny my bleeding heart
So unlike Strom, that mean old fart!

I’ll spend your bread on this and that
I’m the very hungry democrat!

music of that depth. I'm just pointing out that it has been done.

Of course, hearing Dame Kiri would be enjoyable if all she were doing was humming to herself around the house...