Update on Eric
Eric's wife got a letter yesterday from him - Eric's team is currently in Nassaryah and has been since about March 20th. He is with the 8th Battalion, 2nd Brigade. If you're watching MSNBC, the reporter that is embedded with their brigade is Kerry Sanders. He's part of the group that secured the hospital containing chemical warfare protection suits.
Keep praying that all our friends are safe, that this mission is successful and we can have peace.
From today:
The priest who hears confession, stressed John Paul II, must welcome the penitent, be thoughtful, warm and caring in his demeanor and "not be avaricious with his time."
He must also, said the Pope, use charity and
justice "in referring, without ideological variations, ... to the genuine
teachings of the Church."
For the record: computer hacking is a serious sin.
But, my sources tell me it's a only a venial sin if hackers put the U.S. flag on the Al-Jazeera Web site.
And a classic quote from the article: Al-Jazeera... is an unusually independent voice in the Arab world.
Huh?
Dye Pack Explodes in Robber's Pants
Thu Mar 27, 9:05 AM ET AP
COLUMBUS, Ohio - A bank robbery suspect learned a painful lesson: Never shove stolen money containing an explosive dye pack down your pants.
Shortly after the National City Bank downtown was robbed Thursday, police spotted John Gladney, 40, about a block away, walking strangely, in obvious pain.
Officers stopped Gladney and discovered he had been injured when the dye pack exploded near his groin, said Sgt. Brent Mull, police spokesman.
Gladney was charged with aggravated robbery.
Meanwhile, less than 100 miles from Key West
Cuba's Roman Catholic church condemns crackdown on dissidents
"We lament the inappropriate methods being used to arrest people for thinking and acting differently from the official ideology," a statement from the Conference of Cuban Catholic Bishops said.
At least 75 people have been arrested, many of them independent journalists, owners of libraries, and leaders of opposition political parties, according to the Cuban Commission on Human Rights and Reconciliation.
Dom B. take me to school
Seems as though my choice of words, "immoral war" is misguided. I'll need to take some time to digest the CWN article.
John,
...Just wanted to correct something you said. The Pope has never said
this is an immoral war. We have an analysis of the Pope's comments about the
war on Catholic World News web site and while he has said we should try to
avoid the war, he has never called it immoral since that would place a
burden on every Catholic to not only not participate in the war, but also to
not support it. That would have been a major step.
You need to be a subscriber to view. Dom - maybe we can get some of the points from you.
Today from JP II
WORK AND PRAY SO THAT THERE IS NO MORE WAR
VATICAN CITY, MAR 25, 2003 (VIS) - Made public today was a Message from the
Holy Father to military chaplains who are participating today and tomorrow
in a formation course on human rights in the Vatican, organized by the
Congregation for Bishops and the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.
"It is precisely when arms are unleashed," writes the Pope in the Message
dated March 24, "that the need becomes imperative for laws that make
military operations less inhuman. Throughout the centuries, awareness of a
similar need gradually grew, right up to the progressive formation of a real
and proper juridic 'corpus', defined as 'international human rights law.'
This 'corpus' has been able to develop thanks to the maturation of
principles inherent to the Christian message."
John Paul II emphasizes that the military chaplains must bear witness that
"even in the hardest of battles it is always possible, and therefore a duty,
to respect the dignity of the military adversary, the dignity of civilians,
and the indelible dignity of each human being involved in armed conflicts.
In this way, reconciliation necessary for the reestablishment of peace after
the conflict is favored."
After making reference to the present "difficult hour in history" due to
the outbreak of a new war, the Pope affirms that "thinking of the victims,
the destruction and the suffering caused by armed conflicts always causes
great concern and pain."
"It should be clear by now that war used as an instrument of resolution of
conflicts between states was rejected, even before the Charter of the United
Nations, by the conscience of the majority of humanity, except in the case
of defense against an aggressor. The vast contemporary movement in favor of
peace - which, according to Vatican Council II, is not reduced to a 'simple
absence of war' - demonstrates this conviction of men of every continent and
culture."
The Holy Father highlighted "the strength of different religions in
sustaining the search for peace is a reason for comfort and hope. In our
view of faith, peace, even if it is the result of political accords and
understanding among individuals and peoples, is a gift from God that we must
constantly invoke with prayer and penance. Without a conversion of the heart
there is no peace! Peace is only achieved through love! Right now we are all
asked to work and pray so that war disappears from the horizon of humanity."
What to say?
I've finally read Pete's posts and comments. Work and my choir have kept me very busy so I don't always read the blog every day.
I've refrained from posting because I still struggle with the war and the morality of it. On one side, I see a murderous tyrant who, unlike Fidel Castro, is not content with lording over his people and living out his twightlight in relative obscurity but rather one who active seeks the destruction of the West, the expansion of his regime and the construction of and use of weapons of mass destruction. Brutality and evil are personified in him.
(Side note: My biggest disappointment in recent months has been seeing Cardinals on diplomatic missions to the middle east. The likes of Tariq Aziz and Yasser Arafat are shown embracing and smiling with Princes of the Church. What sort of diplomatic campaign is the Church engaged in? What are the intended results? Does anyone really think that the likes of Saddam Hussein, Yasser Arafat and Osama bin Laden can be negotiated with? It's as if the mission is just a photo op for the tyrants and nothing more.)
On the other side is the horror of war. Regardless of our might, the precision of our weapons and the will of our people - innocents will die. Is Saddam to blame? Ultimately I believe he is. I believe the coalition is doing everything it can, even at greater risk to its own soldiers, to minimize the effects on the civilian population.
Still, the Pope has said this is an immoral war and that it should never have happened. All sides could have spent more time at the table and divised a way to contain the current Iraqi regime, if not overthrow it without war. So I'm afraid I can't support the war without some reservations - driven mainly by the words of the Pope.
And yet, I believe the ultimate cause is grave and the end will be just: the US will liberate the Iraqi people and as with Germany and Japan, will pours millions into rebuilding the nation. Eric, one of our fellow Catholic Light writers, is a Marine with a unit whose job is to oversee relations with the civilian population in areas the Allies are operating in. He'll probably be personally delivering food and water to Iraqi children. And his three children wait for him at home, too young to understand why he's gone or how important his mission is.
I'm sad to see Pete go, even for a while. I appreciate his insight and regret that he feels overwhelmed by events and opinions.
Now is the time for prayer and sacrifice.
Palestrina in the DC Area
Courtesy of David Alexander over at Man With Black Hat.
The Palestrina Choir...
...will present a concert on Sunday, March 23, at 3:00 p.m., at St Patrick's Catholic Church. The 17-voice a cappella choir, under the direction of Michael Harrison will perform a program entitled "Psalmi Ponitentiales." The program includes pieces by Renaissance composers Orland de Lassus, Alexander Utendal, and Jacobus Vaet. There is no admission charge; a donation is requested.
Recitation of the seven penitential psalms (6, 31, 37, 50, 101, 129, and 142) has been a part of Lenten worship since the time of Pope Innocent III (1198-1216). Polyphonic settings of these lengthy texts became popular in the latter part of the Renaissance, particularly among Netherlandish and German composers.
The Palestrina Choir was formed in 1986 to present rarely heard masterpieces of 16th-century liturgical music, with an emphasis on the works of Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina. In recent years the choir has also begun to give occasional presentations of music from later eras. The Palestrina Choir has been featured on WETA-FM's Music from Washington and NPR's Performance Today. The Washington Post has called the Palestrina Choir "one of the finest and most specialized choruses in the choral wonderland of metropolitan Washington."
St Patrick Church
10th and G Streets, NW
202-347-2713
Benjamin Smedberg, Director of Music & Organist
Chief Moose
Some of you may remember Chief Moose from the DC Sniper news conferences.
Today I found out that Chief Moose is also Major Moose.
I think there's a kid's show in here somewhere...
Major Moose Goes to Baghdad
Major Moose Cooks Saddam's Goose
Major Moose is on the Loose!
Major Moose Won't Settle for a Truce!
Diplomatic Failure?
If the US can pull this off, I'd say we've accomplished diplomacy in an area where it actually had a chance to be successful. The major challenge of international relations in the coming years will be dealing with the crazy, evil dictators who can't be trusted or negotiated with.
From Foxnews.com: Signs of Surrender
This might sound silly particularly with war pending, but Constitution Avenue is shutdown between 15th and 23rd streets in downtown DC. That means it's a traffic nightmare downtown. And this is going on 24 hours!
I'm waiting for the guy to either fall asleep or get temporarily crazy from the lack of sleep.
Shortly before dozing off in the seat of his John Deere tractor, Dwight Ware Watson is quoted as saying, "Watermelon daiper panorama! Winston Churchill melted around the crock pot! Drivers wanted!"
This Saturday is a Special Day
March 15th: International Eat an Animal for PETA Day
I think I need to take an animal out of my freezer tonight before I go to bed... or perhaps take my wife to a rib place... or make a big meatloaf with a hard boiled egg inside...
Some musical recommendations
O Nata Lux by Morten Lauridsen. There's a wonderful Robert Shaw recording of this. I assure you this piece is sung in heaven.
Alina by Arvo Part - as close to new age as you can get without being crap. Very relaxing combo of piano and strings. Comes in a cool light blue box.
That's all for now.
Two things from the Washington Post
Would you like a little glimpse of the mind of Fidel Castro and Saddam Hussien? Saddam's Tough to Persuade. Cuba Tried
Also - how's this for a summit of neighboring nations?
"Shut up, you minion, you agent, you monkey." and
"You are a liar and your grave awaits you."
When Lent doesn't make sense
At some point in your life - you've been there. Lent came early. The nights are still long, it's cold and gray, and it wasn't so long ago that Jesus was a little baby in the manger. "I'm not ready for Lent" - the sacrifice, the difficult scripture, the fasting - it just seems so grim. This has happened to me before because when I've had particularly difficult times getting the choir ready for Christmas and I'm just over the hump of learning all that music. Or work is hard and I drag myself home at night only to be too exasted to cook dinner. Lately, I've haven't found much peace in the prayer, fasting and almsgiving. I haven't found much peace period. It sounds a bit dark, but I feel as though God is taking me through a difficult time and I need to learn to be somewhat unhappy, uncomfortable, unsure and empty.
In that respect, I wasn't quite ready for Lent but was thrust directly into it. Still, I've been given the grace of being able to see the light, some light, at the end of the tunnel. So I can't characterize what I'm feeling as depression. It's more a realization that I have so far to go and that much of what I've been doing in my life is not journeying directly toward God but rather wandering. And this year, even though the journey is difficult, the path is true.
From the Become What You Are blog
Dear John,
As a Lenten reflection, the "Become What You Are" blog is beginning an exploration of our ever-present, unwanted, and mysterious life-long companion--Suffering.
We will be using the Holy Father's Apostolic Letter, Salvifici Doloris / On The Christian Meaning of Human Suffering, as a guide for our reflections.
Please stop by for a visit if the topic interests you.
Have a fruitful Lent!
David Reuter
CourtTV - where stars are born
"Hey! I know you! You're the woman who slipped on dog poop at Petsmart and got a jury trial!"
equaltime.blogspot.com
Re: Mercury and Fish - here's something from the U.S. Tuna Foundation
No one noticed Sean Hannity?
Sean Hannity, God bless him, was on Hannity and Colmes last night with a big smudge of ashes on his forehead. Thanks for reminding your viewers it was Ash Wednesday, Mr. H.
Thankful for: my dog
I know that sounds silly, but lots of great things can come from having a dog.
My dog's name is Eva (pronounced like "Ave" backwards) and she was selected by my wife from a group of stray pooches at the Fairfax animal shelter. She was 4 months old and needed a bath, steady food and a lot of training. The sign on her cage said she "fights over food" which usually means she's been a stray a while and is used to going hungry. We couldn't quite make out what the sign said until the lady at the desk said, "Hmm. She fights over food. Do you have any other animals?" We have two cats - the first few weeks were a bit of an adventure because she wasn't happy the cats got the run of the house and got food while she was in her crate.
I could write for hours about how great my dog is. But instead I'll write about the great things having her have taught me.
1. Consistency and discipline: dogs need walks. Dogs need training. Dogs need exercise. This forces you to do those things and be consistent. You can't be lazy and treat a dog well. Walks can be decent prayer time as well.
2. Conversation: dogs make for good conversation. Neighbors get sucked in to getting to know your dog sometimes before they get to know you. They force you to engage people and be cordial, if not open.
3. Companionship: dogs remind you how wonderful creation is and how good God is. Dogs remind Man of his need to care for creation.
4. Simplicity: Very simple things make dogs ecstatic. It's good to consider that you can find happiness in the simple things God sends your way.
5. Dogs sleep in: My dogs is not like my cats, who dance on my head at 5:30am because it's feeding time. Thank God for that.
This Lent
My wife always asks me what I'm giving up for Lent, knowing that I give something up. She prefers to add acts of charity and almsgiving rather than focus on the thing to give up. For me, beer and wine are on the Index of Forbidden Beverages at least until Easter. We're going to starting praying the rosary together in the evening before bed as well.
I'm also going to post some things I'm thankful for here during Lent. It seems to me I need to think about those things in the context of Lent and that may open me up to the grace of being more humble and receptive to God's will in my life.
Lent around St. Blogs
Fr. Jim Tucker: Ash Wednesday Homily.
Online Lenten Retreat - Day One
Books for Lent, brought to you by sortofnapping.com, Amy Welborn.
I'll stop now that I see she's done more research than I have!
