more on the "liberation" of women

If they are liberated, why do they still feel guilt?

I am going to go out on a limb and say men or the Church are at the root of all this "leftover" guilt. Whadayathink?

Or perhaps "Our hearts are restless until they rest in the, O Lord"?

Cramming the God shaped hole full of the sex shaped culture doesn't fill the hole.

Numbers game

D.F. Oliveria has a great article on the numbers game in the Abortion polls the media uses.

If that link doesn't work, go through his blog link and click on the link there. Blog viewers get a pass on the registration.

Can Call To Action/VOTF explain this?

Seems that Mass attendance in Boston has risen eventhough parishes are closing. At the same time though, the Catholic population dropped. Not that we hope that anyone take the peril of anyone leaving the Church, but perhaps the pruning is becoming evident. Those that have left the Church in teaching should be honest enough to leave in body.

Afterall, if you don't believe in the Eucharist, Mass is just a gathering of people.

Papal intentions for April

I think I will join Pope Benedict in his April intentions. "That the Church in China may carry out its evangelizing mission serenely and in full freedom."

Free debate on MP3

Janet Smith debates Charles Curran on Contraception in mp3 format. From AmericanPapist.

tip to the Curt Jester

Modern definitions

From World of Quotes

The modern definition of 'racist' is someone who is winning an argument with a liberal.

tip to relapsed catholic

Worried about homeschool kids

I just had a conversation the other day in the office with two co-workers regarding homeschooling. One mom was lamenting the excessive work her daughter had to do to get around the WASL, Washington's standardized testing.

Of course I got some of the typical questions about socialization and dealing with difficult kids.. I like the answers given over at the Bonny Glen. I usually let them know that with 5 siblings, our kids have plenty of interaction with difficult personalities, and how to interact and share. And if that isn't enough, many of the families we hang out with have lots of kids. So it only takes a few families to equal a small army of kids. (and there are difficult personalities too, occasionally from my kids) But at least when the situation arises, I am there to instruct my child how it should be handled or to discipline if need be.

Liturgical answers for Lent

Here are a couple articles from Zenit on the Liturgy.

Question 1: Is it proper to have holy water receptacles empty from Ash Wednesday on, through all of Lent?

Answer 1: The Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments recently responded to a similar question (3/14/03: Prot. N. 569/00/L) giving a clear answer: "This Dicastery is able to respond that the removing of Holy Water from the fonts during the season of Lent is not permitted, in particular, for two reasons: "

1. The liturgical legislation in force does not foresee this innovation, which in addition to being 'praeter legem' is contrary to a balanced understanding of the season of Lent, which though truly being a season of penance, is also a season rich in the symbolism of water and baptism, constantly evoked in liturgical texts. "

2. The encouragement of the Church that the faithful avail themselves frequently of the sacraments is to be understood to apply also to the season of Lent. The 'fast' and 'abstinence' which the faithful embrace in this season does not extend to abstaining from the sacraments or sacramentals of the Church. "The practice of the Church has been to empty the Holy Water fonts on the days of the Sacred Triduum in preparation of the blessing of the water at the Easter Vigil, and it corresponds to those days on which the Eucharist is not celebrated (i.e., Good Friday and Holy Saturday)."


Question-4: For the adoration of the cross on Good Friday, can we use a crucifix (with Jesus' body on it) or should we look for a plain cross?

A-4: The use of the crucifix, a cross with the figure of Christ crucified, is obligatory for the Good Friday celebrations of the Adoration of the Cross. This is made clear by the rubrics which, in one form of the rite, describe how this cross may be progressively unveiled, showing first the top of the cross but not the face, then the right arm, and finally the entire body. After this celebration on Good Friday afternoon, and until the Easter Vigil, Catholics genuflect before the crucifix; they would not do so before a simple cross.

This liturgical situation is different from the pious practice of the Way of the Cross, where widespread custom prefers the use of a simple cross rather than a crucifix.

And for more liturgical texts, you can check out http://www.catholicliturgy.com/

Something to consider

Pat Buchanan has a point.

Christianity does not seem to be faring much better in that other new democracy, Iraq. Under Saddam, Christians practiced their faith in peace and security. But, three years after liberation, their churches are being bombed, and Christian families are being threatened with massacres. They are fleeing to Syria, the new Christian sanctuary.

Our neoconservatives are, of course, anxious to "liberate" and "democratize" Syria, too. If they succeed, God help the Christians there. No one else will.

If democracy means anything, it means rule by the people, i.e., rule by the majority. We Americans add that liberal democracy also means the minority has rights no majority may violate: freedom of speech, of the press, of assembly, of religion.

And a Islamic democracy means death for Christians.

Tip to Mark Shea

We may find out why

Bush chose Alito and Roberts for the Supreme Court. There is no question they are pro-life, but the knock on them may be that they are pro-establishment. We may find out as the Supreme court weighs Bush's Guantanamo tribunals.

Interestingly enough, Roberts has "excused himself because he was previously on a U.S. appeals court panel that ruled against Hamdan."

That may tip the court against the establishment in this case.

New Muslim Chick Tracts

Or perhaps the Muslim 72 Virgin Chick Tracts, or the Muslim Jack-em up and tax the infidels Tracts.

Whatever the title, The Curt Jester does a great parody.

Instant classic

Ironic Catholic, part of the B-team of Catholic bloggers, has a three part series on St. Augustine's interview with Oprah.

Part I
Part II
Part III

tip to the Curt Jester

Eloquent and Catholic

As the Jester points out, this is not the typical fair for diocesan spokesman. This one elaborates with facts and reasons.

The question:

Should liberals leave Catholic Church?

The Answer:
They already have.

I disagree with the basic premise of this article. They focus on the rules and regulations, conservative and liberal, controversy and moments. They completely miss the point that the Church can't change moral teachings. It doesn't have the authority to contradict what God has handed down. Not that anyone does, but most of us are better at fooling ourselves than not. That is why Jesus gave us a Church that wouldn't change and corrupt under the influence of fallen human nature.

But their final line is right on the money.

The church in Rome thinks in centuries, not in news cycles. It isn't budging.
Will liberals in America ever get the message?

A good way of putting it

Kathy at relapsed catholic adds this eloquent statement to the whole Abdul Rahman mess.

"In a more culturally confident age, the British in India were faced with the practice of 'suttee' -- the tradition of burning widows on the funeral pyres of their husbands.

"Gen. Sir Charles Napier was impeccably multicultural: 'You say that it is your custom to burn widows."

"Very well. We also have a custom: When men burn a woman alive, we tie a rope around their necks, and we hang them. Build your funeral pyre; beside it, my carpenters will build a gallows. You may follow your custom. And then we will follow ours.'"

Again, freedom is a decidedly Christian notion. Non-Christians and especially anti-Christians can not, and will not grasp it fully.

Another case of too many dollars and not enough sense

It drives me nuts when people think that someone is really smart just because they are a star, or in this case, was married to one.

Heather Mills McCartney thinks milk is evil, causes cancer and should be banned.

Dr Justine Butler, of the foundation, said: "The hormone content of cows' milk is not what it was 100 years ago. Perhaps this is why breast cancer has risen 80 per cent since 1971."

Of course, they wouldn't think of questioning the hormone content of popular contraception methods.

tip to relapsed catholic

Cardinal with a comeback

In Rome, media finds Boston cardinal wields wicked sense of humor
Cardinal O'Malley got his red hat last Friday, but the elevation didn't suppress his humor.

Here on neutral ground in the Eternal City, the cardinal could breathe freely and crack jokes about the handiness of now having the new red robes if he were called to go hunting with U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney.

Ouch.

At a press conference after the consistory, he told reporters, "Nobody can doubt my sports affiliation now," and, lifting his hem, added, "I have Red Sox."

Oh yeah, and remember, these guys are out of touch with today's world.

Amazing decoder found

The Ox Files reveals that an amazing device has been found that will clear up much of the mubo-jumbo we hear in today's dissent filled world.

The Enigma machine, used by dissenting groups to code their communiqués and public statements, is commonly known as the D-Enigma.

My submission:
Original coded Message:
“...the second greatest commandment!”

Same message after decoding by the D-Enigma machine:
“I can ignore whatever the Church says; because, I like me.”

Buy a lego, mock a terrorist?

Well as if I needed another reason to buy legos. (with 5 boys, and legos being about the only toy not made in China) I guess in the wisdom of the UN, with Denmark being racist and all, legos are now a symbol of racism.

What does that make me if I buy food and oil from the same store? A corrupt beaurocrat?

PS, beware, some legos are being made in China too. I think I will stockpile this year for future presents.

A movie to look forward too.

A movie worth seeing? Sophie Scholl sounds like a winner to me. Real courage and Christianity in action. The real kicker here is the director is an avowed atheist.

tip to Mark Shea

Spammers not welcome

Thought I would try my hand at spoofing a cartoon. DFO at Huckleberries is having lots of trouble with spam on his blog.

Two items

Both about kids. One gives hope. The other is about those who don't really care.

Is it just me, or isn't that the point?

Its not what they do

Chuck Colson on Townhall brings up a good point about Jason McElwain and respect for ALL life.

McElwain is the autistic boy who got a chance to play basketball on the last game of the season and hit 6 3's in 4 minutes. It was a very touching moment for those who have seen the video tape of it. Colson is hoping for more.

Not more fame for Jason McElwain, but for people to realize something. There is something more important that what someone does.

the most important lessons we can learn from kids like Jason: What makes their lives worth celebrating is not what they do; it’s who they are. For me, what really mattered most was the love and respect shown to Jason by both his teammates and the crowd.

We know Jason as the autistic boy that hit 6 3's. Obiviously his teammates and the crowd knew him much better. They were ecstatic when he got put in the game! They knew him and how much it would mean just to play. The coach hoped he could make a shot. Not for the team, but for Jason. Everyone was rewarded that day. And that is how it should be. We are more than what we do.

We were watching the TV show "Miracle Workers" the other night. It a charitable show and not afraid of people expressing their faith. The stories are touching, but I noticed a misguided sentiment in one of the families. They wanted their daughter to be cured of Tourette Syndrome. But the main reason they wanted the cure was so she could be productive in society. Obviously they wanted her not to suffer also, they weren't cold hard communists; but they kept repeating that they wanted her to go to school, hold a job, take care of herself....

They defined her as what she could or couldn't do. I was amazed at what she did even while suffering from tourettes. Her determination and will to carry on was amazing. I agree with Colson on how the crowd and teamates treated McElwain. To me that is what respecting life is about.

It's a model for how all life should be treated, and anything less is missing the point altogether.

tip to DFO

Top ten documents Fr. McBrien won't plagiarize

The Jester gives us the Top Ten documents Fr. McBrien won't plagiarize while reporting on McBrien's latest brush with plagiarism.

Nailing the boomers

The Anchoress finds that Chesterton nailed it on the boomers long before they were born.

The aged younger generation never knew why it knocked at the door; and the truth is that it only knocked at the door because it was shut. It had nothing to say; it had no message; it had no convictions to impart to anybody…. for he never had any conviction except that he was young, and that is not a conviction that strengthens with years.”

tip to Closed Cafeteria

If you build it

As the saying goes, "If you build it, they will come." In today's high tech world, that translates into "If you store it, Caesar will want it." as Google has to give up search info to the Department of Justice. Incidentally this is regarding the DOJ building a case against child porn. A pretty easy target to start the slippery slope as no one is going to defend their constitutional right to kiddie porn.

Although the Justice Department said it doesn't want any personal information now, the victory would likely encourage far more invasive requests in the future, said University of Connecticut law professor Paul Schiff Berman, who specializes in Internet law.

"The erosion of privacy tends to happen incrementally," Berman said. "While no one intrusion may seem that big, over the course of the next decade or two, you might end up in a place as a society where you never thought you would be."

Ironically enough, Google is posturing as fighting for your privacy rights.

Cooperating with the government "is a slippery slope and it's a path we shouldn't go down," Google co-founder Sergey Brin told industry analysts earlier this month.

Pretty interesting stance for a company that makes money off indexing and distributing your information. And a company that recently agreed to censorship by the Communist government in China.

Missed another one

I missed another novena to St. Joseph. I sure wish The Curt Jester would get his production team going on the eNovena machine.

More liturgical straight talk

As a non-musical person, I have been a bit perplexed by some of the discussions regarding modern music. I happen to like the song, Here I am Lord, and it truly helped me dig deeper in my conversion of heart.

But most people I trust don't trust the St. Louis Jesuits or the Haugen/Haus music that fills our "Journey Songbooks" in the parish. But at White Around the Collar has cleared up some of the difficulties in this post.
1. Some are theological objectionable. (I can see that in many.) They are all about ME. How I feel and what I want. Here I Am is a bit that way. The Liturgy is about praising God, not ourselves. Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me? A little bit full of ourselves, not?

2. Much is based in pop music or culture and that has no place in the Sacred Liturgy.

3. Much is unsingable. Maybe that is the problem, I am not musically challenged after all. It is just bad music! Well, not quite, but I will have to take his word for it. And I do notice lots of people not singing some of the songs.

Stepping up

The Curt Jester has a great post on bishops in the US that are stepping up to the plate as shepherds.
One strikes close to home in action if not in a geographical sense. Bishop Robert Finn of KC, Missouri has issued a memo about the innovation of removing the holy water during Lent. Our parish goes for the "desert" appeal, but according to Bishop Finn, this is against the custom of the Church.

While this is a worthy thought, it is not in conformity with the discipline of the Church. The Church’s long-standing custom has been for the fonts to be dry only from Holy Thursday until the Easter Vigil.

Bishop Finn asks that all parishes observe the customary practice of empty fonts from Holy Thursday until the end of the Easter Vigil rather than the innovative practice of dry fonts for the entire duration of Lent.

Of course we aren't in the KC diocese, but interestingly, a fellow parishioner asked me about it this last week. I am happy to know now.

And Bishop Slattery of Tulsa is doing his part to catechize the laity regarding proper ligurgy. (even going so far as to recommend reading Sacrosanctum Concilium) Our parish would do well to mind this shepherd also.

/aside/ I found some of his articles in his diocesan paper, the Eastern Oklahoma Catholic. The articles are in PDF format, but I am going to be reading them more thoroughly. (two of them on page 3 here and here)

I love it when bishops talk liturgy.

Thoughts on Worker bees

Steve over at the Fifth Column has an interesting rant on worker bees.

Since we must conceed that Roe v. Wade has determined that a child is not created at the time of conception, men's roles are changing. Men don't have any say if the blob of tissue lives or dies, so lets carry this thought on.

Men don't get pregnant. Men don't create children. Men simply provide sperm. They provide one-half of a set of blueprints. The woman provides not only the other half, but the building site, the construction materials, she oversees the project, and she can destroy the whole thing anytime she wants. The man has got nothing to do with it. The existence of a child is not his responsibility - he has no choice, he's done nothing to create responsibility except have sex, and we already know that the decision to have sex is not a decision to have children, nor does it create a child.

So, men have nothing to do with creating the child? It is merely an act of the will of the woman when she really wants a child. Got it.

If you really believe that men don't have a right to a voice simply because they don't get pregnant, then you darn well ought to support the demolition of existing child support laws. After all, as you say, this child-creation business has nothing to do with men.

Whoa, that isn't the direction we were headed.

In both cases, the child exists only because the woman decides to allow it to exist.

Ahh, yes. every child, a wanted child. BUT if the man doesn't want "it", it looks like he is off the hook!

Newly discovered cross reshapes Christianity

localhost, March 7 (NAP) Experts have begun to unearthed evidence that the "traditional" cross embraced by Christians may not resemble the real cross that Jesus bore. This new archeological find has yet to be confirmed by the Vatican, but already many Catholics are embracing this new cross.

WeAreChurch has released a statement confirming their support of this find: "It confirms Our beliefs all along, the 'traditional' cross was incompatible with the Jesus We know. How could he have embraced the Second Greatest Commandment from such a lofty perch? This cross shows a much more personal JC."



"The relative size of the horizontal bar [to the vertical beam] affirms our belief in the personal Jesus. And not having to deal with that vertical part until We are nice and comfy with ourselves, that, that is a biggie for Us."

More is sure to come as this historic dig continues.

We "can only wish he had stayed around longer."

I am not much of a baseball fan anymore. I grew up listening to the Twins on the radio with my dad. I listened to both World Championships in 87 and 91, but the strike in the 90s turned me off and I really haven't been back.

But when Kirby Puckett (Rest in Peace) retired in 96, it just struck me as odd. A true team player and hero on the field, I couldn't grasp why he had to retire early and goons like Albert Belle kept on succeeding. Despite some off-field problems, he was a hero on the field. (it is well we all recognize the difference and our own struggle with the fall of Adam.) He could have left Minnesota like so many rising stars did. But he took less to stay and that cemented him as a good guy in my book.

"I wore one uniform in my career, and I'm proud to say that," Puckett once said. "As a kid growing up in Chicago, people thought I'd never do anything. I've always tried to play the game the right way. I thought I did pretty good with the talent that I have."

His heroics in the world series didn't hurt either.

Puckett's signature performance came in Game 6 of the 1991 World Series against Atlanta. After telling anyone who would listen before the game that he would lead the Twins to victory that night at the Metrodome, he made a leaping catch against the fence and then hit a game-ending homer in the 11th inning to force a seventh game.

John Smoltz of the Braves lost the game seven 1-0 the next night. And he pretty much sums up how I feel about Puckett.

"If we had to lose and if one person basically was the reason -- you never want to lose -- but you didn't mind it being Kirby Puckett. When he made the catch and when he hit the home run you could tell the whole thing had turned," Smoltz said.

"His name just seemed to be synonymous with being a superstar," the Braves pitcher added. "It's not supposed to happen like this."

Goodbye Puck, you will be missed.

Only the good die young.

Kirby Puckett, Rest in Peace.

Not always a perfect man, but truly a legend in my mind. Small town hero that stayed small town. May God have mercy on his soul.

To arms!

Amateur Catholic has sparked an inner calling of mine. If nothing else sums up my blogging career, B-TEAM it is.














I have a sneaking suspission that Jeff just wants to set a record for the most blogs maintained by one person.

Clarification on the Ave Maria town

Sounds like the AP story got a bit carried away, piecing together comments from Monaghan and making assumptions that his hopes and desires would be enforced by law.

Monaghan and the other leaders of this seem to be setting the record straight on what they said and what their plans are for the town that will grow around the Ave Maria university.

"We'll control what we can control. We won't do anything illegal," Monaghan told The News-Press on Feb. 19 at the official kickoff of the campus construction....

"We can't restrict people's conduct by ordinance. This is a section of Collier County, and we are going to have Collier County ordinances, Collier County schools and so on," said Nick Healy, university president, who also was in the New York contingent.

Looks like the ACLU will have to put away their double-barrel shotgun and live with the fact that there are Christians and even Catholics that want to live according to their faith.

Carried at a "religious" store near you?

The Jester has two wonderful products for your Cathol-ease. These items should be stock at your parish religious counter and will help you out of many a bind.

Facts just get in the way of our profits

Remember the contraceptive slogan, every child a wanted child. Seems that doesn't hold up.

a survey of 2000 abortion statistics by the Guttmacher Institute itself, which showed that 54% of abortions involved "women who were using contraceptives in the month they became pregnant."

Contraceptive users are much more likely to accept abortion should their method fail. NFP users? For the most part, they realize they had a part in making the baby, it wasn't an "accident" that she got pregnant.

Ughh!

I think I would have rather had some of the Jester's Iconoclast Vanilla rather than the garbage they served up last night at our parish Mardi Gras. Last year they put on a fun night of beads and mask making supplemented by what they originally meant. Then some ice cream with lots of toppings.

So the kids were fired up and ready to go this year. Although the 3 oldest were starting Lent early due to Adam's fallen nature, I took the 3 wee ones and walked in a few minutes late. I guess I must have missed the joyful celebration part. We witnessed speaker after speaker telling short tales about the poor and downtrodden of the world.

I guess the social justice component is better hear than at the Ash Wednesday Mass like a few years ago, but I can't say as the kids enjoyed the "Mardi Gras." And after laying on the guilt for being free and wealthier that 98% of the world, they served ice cream with all the toppings!

My take: I have no problem hearing about the poor. That partly what Lent is about. (other than the Social Justice crowd seems to be more affluent than many.) But that is what LENT is about. The Mardi Gras is a last hurrah, using up the fat and flesh meats before the fast. Ice cream fits the celebration. Social Justice has 40 days to ply their wares. And they shouldn't be mixed.