Pepsi/Abortion Link

Remember how I discussed the fetal cells used by a company Senomyx to develop better flavors? I don't think I ever shared with you the response I got from various companies.

My message to Kraft, and the response following:

You say you are "working hard to make a delicious difference around the world". Why does that include partnering with Senomyx, whose food additives were developed from the human embryonic kidney cells of an electively aborted baby?

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

Thank you for taking the time to contact Kraft Foods. We understand and appreciate your concerns regarding Kraft and its affiliation with Senomyx.

Our highest priority is the safety and quality of our products and the safety of our consumers. All of the flavors we use are approved and deemed safe for food use by regulatory agencies, including the FDA. Our collaboration with Senomyx is to discover novel ingredients that positively impact food flavors, similar to what already is being widely used in foods and beverages today.

Kim McMiller

Associate Director, Consumer Relations

~~TLXEA_22055279~~N

Emmaus Challenge

I saw this on a friend's feed on facebook:
Emmaus Challenge: A Holy Hour Each Week of June 2011

All of us were created to be in relationship. 

To know and be known, 

to love and be loved, 

to serve and be served... 

Not only were we made to know, love, and serve God... He initiates that first... He wants to know, love, & serve us!

My life was dramatically changed when I encountered Jesus Christ and one of the things that has deepened that relationship is spending time with Jesus in Adoration, being with him truly present in the Blessed Sacrament. So many people I know have had the same experience. 

I believe that God wants this summer of 2011 to be a pivotal summer. A summer of true freedom. Christ is the one who came, comes, and desires to come to set us truly free.

Therefore, I propose to you the Emmaus Challenge: 

What is EC (Emmaus Challenge): The challenge is simple, each week in June to spend at least one hour in prayer in front of the Blessed Sacrament (preferably in Adoration, but if Adoration is not available in your area - spending an hour with Jesus present in the Tabernacle at a Catholic Church near you). It would be sweet to get 2011 people to join us in the EC; invite your friends, family, and youth groups!

Why "EC": No you don't get extra credit for going, but on the Road to Emmaus Jesus walked and talked with a few disciples and they recognized it was Jesus when He "broke the bread", in the Eucharist the Lord comes to meet with us as He did 2000 years ago in Emmaus. Let's let him set our "hearts burning within us"

Why June? June is the month set aside to reignite a devotion in our lives to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. His Heart is truly beating for us in the Blessed Sacrament.

St. Jose Maria Escriva said, "Remember when you approach the tabernacle, that He has been waiting for you for twenty centuries".

"Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you" James 4:8

So, I am going to try this out. In a bit of providence, a friend texted me this morning and asked if I could do her holy hour (at the 24/7 Adoration Chapel) tomorrow. I don't think you can get a clearer sign than that, unless God Himself called. If you're on facebook, I encourage you to RSVP for this event and to share it with your friends.

New Blog Out

You know Micah Murphy, the guy that's doing the Anima Christi series for me? (Speaking of which, I'll have a new post on that on Friday.) Well, he's got a new blog called Fiat Men. Go give him some love.

Toothy Tuesdays

Toothy Tuesdays: It's kind of like Balderdash.

The twentieth word is one that I think fits how the President operates: tergiversation (noun). That's all the hint you get, no cheating!

Memorial Day

U.S. Flag flying over the veteran's cemetery

Don't forget to fly your flag, especially today. In case you need some help, here are two links to get you started:
How to Fly the American Flag

United States Flag Code

Row of flags and graves at the veterans' cemetery

A busy day ahead for my family. Mass, followed by cleaning up my brother S's gravestone (annual family tradition) who died when he was 3; then getting ready for an indoor picnic at the church by where my mom is buried (everyone will see the gravestone installed); then a later afternoon trip to the Veterans' Cemetery to pay honor and respect to an uncle - P - shot down in Vietnam (his body was recently recovered and sent home).

Sky over the cemetery

Memorial Day has always been a strange day for my family. Since I was a kid, I remember going to the local Catholic cemetery for Mass, followed by visiting my brother's grave and cleaning it up. Since we didn't have a body or a grave to visit for my uncle, we always visited S - who died a year before P was shot down (then another brother was born the year after that).

I've always wondered about those years and how they affected my family - not only my parents, but my siblings too. So much sorrow, so much joy. My mom never 'got over' losing one of her children. Until the day she died, it grieved her. My dad almost never speaks of it. My siblings who were old enough at the time, have guilt over it. It has always cast a shadow over my family. I wonder, often, if that's because my parents were never really encouraged to talk about S, and my grandma didn't want to talk about P, so they didn't have an 'outlet' for grief.

Sunday Feast

The focus every Sunday is to feast with my family, to truly make Sundays a day of rest; which means to refrain from the internet and other technology as much as I can. I'm going to be putting up the previous Wednesday's general audience with Pope Benedict XVI, and I encourage you to read and to study. What are you reading today? What are you talking about this morning?

General Audience of Pope Benedict XVI on Patriarch Jacob: 

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In our catechesis on Christian prayer, we now turn to the biblical account of the Patriarch Jacob’s struggle with God at the ford of the Jabbok (cf. Gen 32:23-33). This mysterious encounter takes place at night, when Jacob is alone and unarmed; the identity of his assailant and the winner of the contest is not at first clear. Jacob is wounded and must reveal his name to his rival, suggesting his defeat, yet he receives a new name – Israel – and is given a blessing. At daybreak Jacob recognizes that his opponent is God; limping from his wound, he now crosses the ford. The Church’s spiritual tradition has seen in this story a symbol of prayer as a faith-filled struggle which takes place at times in darkness, calls for perseverance, and is crowned by interior renewal and God’s blessing. This struggle demands our unremitting effort, yet ends by surrender to God’s mercy and gift. At daybreak, Jacob called the place of his struggle Peniel, which means “face of God”, for he said: “I have seen God face to face, and yet my life is preserved” (Gen 32:30).

In our prayers, let us ask the Lord to help us as we fight the good fight of faith, and to bless us as we long to see his face.

A Picture of Today

I stopped to take this picture today. It was a lovely day, today, if a bit breezy and cool. Lots of fun talking and catching up. Hope your weekend is going well also.

Another Poll

After taking suggestions (with the help of Julie D. at Happy Catholic!) for the next books to pick up and read, I've started a poll. Please vote for your pick, under St. Francis of Assisi on the right-hand side. The top 2 choices are the ones I'll go for.

Your choices:
Render Unto Caesar
Jesus of Nazareth
Story of a Soul
Mere Christianity
The Cost of Discipleship
The Crucified Rabbi
The Wonder of Guadelupe
The Journey of Peace
The Best Short Stories of Fyodor Dostoevsky

I'll leave the poll open for a week.

Can't Sleep

Here's what I've StumbleUpon'd tonight:



Yes, I'm a Harry Potter fan.

I've recently discovered Bruno Mars:


The part where he pushes the guy's face is hilarious.

I admit, I was bored until the end of this:


Oh, I can see my cat doing that. Dingbat.

New shaving techniques.

Honestly, I think every building should have this.

I posted something like this on facebook:


All I can say, in response to the clothes and dance moves in this next video is "What the firetruck?"


Even the gangsters are hipsters now? Shame, shame, shame.

My daughter just woke up and told me that I have to go to sleep because it's nighttime. So, I'm going to try.

Gonna Be Quiet

This weekend, I have family coming into town, so it'll be quiet around here. I have a few posts coming up on animals in the Bible (you'll see, it's gonna be great!), Memorial Day, why life is miserable, and catching up on the "Our Father" series. May you all have a wonderful weekend. Don't forget to check in on Memorial Day (Monday) for a post honoring our fallen soldiers.

If you are new here

Welcome to my place! Here's my introductory post to this blog, though I no longer work at a parish, instead I am at home with my two kiddos.

I have a couple of ongoing series:
Our Father series - reflections on the Our Father
Drink Thursday series - I talk about people I'd like to sit down and drink with
Toothy Tuesday series - It's kinda like Balderdash, based on the book "The Lexicon" by William F. Buckley, Jr.
Anima Christi series - reflections on the Anima Christi prayer, guest posted by Micah Murphy

Along with a few ongoing posts:
Nightline - I love watching Nightline, and these posts are about me ranting about their stories
Remember Jesus Christ by Fr. Cantalamessa - reflections on this book
Open Tabs - I clear out all my tabs across my browser.

My all-time top ten posts:
Drink Thursday - Mark Shea
Drink Thursday - favorite drinks
Being a Fan - about the "Dark Tower" series by Stephen King
Decisions - I need help decided which book to read next
Cannibalism - about companies' disgusting practices
The Lying Game - about the Live Action lying scandal
Secrecy - art and beauty
Drink Thursday - inaugural edition
TradeMark Catholic Stationery - an order I placed with this company
Sexiness - what makes a person sexy?

A Domino Effect ("Us")

"Us" ("Our Father" series)

This stands in contrast to the radical individualism that is now so prevalent in our country — an individualism that stems, in part, from the concept of “me & God,” where salvation is seen as basically a private issue between the individual and God. For Catholics, salvation is not an individual issue; it’s about “us,” the collective Church Militant. At every Mass, we pray with each other and for each other, and then — at the end — we are sent forth, just like the Apostles on their initial mission.

...

I’m grateful that Jen gave me the word “us” for this series because it has made me that much more aware of my stubborn individualism and—even worse—my selfish pride. Like a child, I am way too guilty of an “I can do it myself!” attitude—and of a Lucifer-like arrogance that says I don’t need Him and certainly I don’t need you. Yet God continually asks me to forget myself (or, at least, move past her) and keeps reminding me (again and again) that there’s strength—great strength—in numbers.

This reflection reminds me of the reflection I gave for the first word, "Our":

When I think of the "our" part, I think of how sad some Protestants have it. No, really. I don't mean to pick on them, (okay, I do), but the relationship I have with Jesus isn't just about having a 'personal' relationship with Jesus. It is, but it is so much more. My relationship with Jesus also involves the church I go to, the diocese I belong to, and the world-wide church I am a part of. This is why it bothers me when people say, "I can just pray at home, or by myself in the mountains - for I know God is there."

We are again reminded that salvation isn't just about my own. I do have to worry about the others I'm supposed to help along the way.


When I read the biography of St. Rose of Lima many years ago, I was struck by how she was mentored by two others that also became saints: St. Turibius of Mongrovejo and St. Martin de Porres. When we strive for holiness, we cause a domino effect of holiness around us. Conversely, when we do not strive for holiness, we also cause a different kind of domino effect around us - we, in a way, infect others with our lethargy, our nihilism, and dare I say, our sins.


When we stand together, against a force that threatens us, is when I think we are at our strongest as Catholics. As more laws and policies are passed that threatens our status as free to worship Catholics, may we keep standing together, praying together, and helping each other get to heaven. 

Drink Thursdays

It's called "Drink Thursdays", in which I talk about a person that I'd like to sit down and have a drink with, and why. And because I'm Catholic, damnit, and we're not Puritans. Here's the introductory post.

Today's guest is a person whose comedy routine I don't always 'get', but someone who is a hard worker, by all accounts, and someone who is unapologetically pro-American. In a time where more and more Americans feel like they are dirt or looked down upon because they love this country, this comedian is out there telling Americans to be proud of their country.

A Service Fit for Buddy Jesus

Okay, I know this article is supposed to be 'satirical', but still, it's mighty uncomfortable to realize the arrow hits a little too close to target in regards to my former parish. Okay, not uncomfortable to me, because I rolled my eyes whenever I had to go to Mass there, but still. 

The Mass is the Mass is the Mass, but a church is not always a Church.

14. Community Center

Rather than describing your parish as a Church, adopt the practice of naming yourself simply a “community” (e.g. Holy Spirit Community). Evangelical Christians anxious to disassociate themselves from anything too closely resembling any kind of traditional Church – and bearing such names as Hosanna, The Vine, The Door, The River, Joy Center, or Tree of Life, will especially welcome this change.

13. Move the Music to the Front

Make music the focal point of Mass. Place the musicians as close to front and center as possible. Eschew the choir in place of a band. Situate a drum set right within the sanctuary, specifically implement this step in conjunction with Step #1 for full impact. Make the music as banal and silly, and self-centered as possible. Applause - for songs meant for God - is mandatory.

12. No More Smells and Bells

Bells, clappers, Holy Water, candles, incense…. It’s all rather archaic isn’t it? Throwbacks to a medieval Church, really. Incense is incredibly insensitive to those with allergies. The bells are insensitive to those who are noise intolerant. The use of so many candles is neither earth- nor bee-friendly. Holy Water places an incredible demand upon our clean water supply. Just do without.

11. Ditch the Artwork

Remove the Church’s artwork. It’s expensive to begin with and costly to maintain. Rather than putting money into keeping up the Church’s artwork, statuary, stained-glass windows, altars and altar-wear, simply jettison it. Give the money to the poor, and embrace a low-maintenance, all-white worship space that isn’t at all discernable from most non-Catholic worship spaces.

10. Remove the Stations of the Cross

Remove the Stations of the Cross, if possible. They, along with the Crucifix, only remind the parishioners of sacrifice, suffering, and death. If it’s impossible to remove the Stations, find a set done in an abstract art style so that people won’t even know what it is that they are looking at. Even better… find a wealthy donor who can provide your Community Center with a Resurrecifix, rather than a Crucifix. Remove any last semblance of the “suffering servant.” It’s just too scandalous, especially for small children.

9. Scrap the Kneelers

While you’re at it, remove the kneelers. They’re hard on the knees. They’re probably old, the vinyl is cracking, and they likely need to be replaced. We’re a “Resurrection People,” so we can stand instead of kneeling. Once they’ve been gone for a few years, no one will even recognize that they are gone or why they were used in the first place.

8. Favor the Horizontal over the Vertical

Overemphasize the horizontal relationship between parishioners rather than the vertical relationship between the individual and God. There are many ways to do this, but perhaps one of the most effective is to create worship spaces that more closely resemble theaters or warehouses than Churches. Situate the pews in-the-round so that parishioners can look at one another, rather than focusing their attention on what’s taking place on the altar.

Toothy Tuesdays Answer

The word was fustian (adjective).

The guesses were:
Patrick Button said: Hmmm. This is tough. My guess: Obstinate.


The correct answer is: overblown; pompous; wordy.

The only thing we can reasonably do isn't, at this point, fustian retaliation. (Courtesy of The Lexicon by William F. Buckley Jr.)

A Must Read Today

Julia Holcomb tells her side of the abortion story that Steven Tyler from Aerosmith talked about (and that was buzzed about). It is an incredibly moving story, about tragedy and how our parents shape our lives so vitally, and also about choices and owning up to them. A snippet:

I was moved to another part of the hospital and a different doctor performed the abortion. It was a horrible nightmare I will never forget.  I was traumatized by the experience.  My baby had one defender in life; me, and I caved in to pressure because of fear of rejection and the unknown future.  I wish I could go back and be given that chance again, to say no to the abortion one last time.  I wish with all my heart I could have watched that baby live his life and grow to be a man. 

The doctor did not explain what the procedure would be like. Steven watched when the doctor punctured my uterus with a large needle. Then I was taken to a room to wait for the contractions.  Steven sat beside me in the hospital until it was over.  When the nurse would leave the room he was snorting cocaine on the table beside my bed.  He even offered some to me once, but I just turned away, sick inside. Steven, high on cocaine, was emotionally detached, witnessing the procedure but cut off from the normal reaction and feelings of horror you would expect.  At the time I was shocked and hurt by his behavior.

But I know now that on an unconscious level, he must have been traumatized witnessing the death of his first-born son in such a horrific and direct way. Steven watched the baby come out and he told me later, when we were in New Hampshire, that it had been born alive and allowed to die.  (I was not allowed to see the baby when it was delivered.) Steven told me later that it had been a boy and that he now felt terrible guilt and a sense of dread over what he had done.  I did not know that such a thing could be legal.  I could not imagine a world where a tiny baby could be born alive and tossed aside as worthless without ever seeing his mother’s face.

Toothy Tuesdays

Toothy Tuesdays: It's kind of like Balderdash.

The nineteenth word fustian (adjective). No cheating and good luck!

Oh just forget it.

I'm a crank. I still think it's not a classy thing to do, but what should I care? Answer: I shouldn't.

I'm Irritated

Warning: what you are about to read will likely tick you off or have you cheering, or scratching me off your 'to read' list. Oh well. Go rant on your own blog about ignorant pissants like me, then. Now then: 

Last night a large tornado tore into Joplin, MO.

A church was destroyed. The priest is, I hear, safe.

You might say a prayer for the priest and parishioners as they rebuild.

Sometimes a set back like this can result in a blessing.

Brick by brick.

Seriously? Last reports are that over 165 people are dead, and let's thank God that a church  - a spiritual home to many people - is destroyed and hopefully they will rebuild in a manner you see fit? Not only do people have to deal with their actual homes being destroyed, family and friends dead, dying, or missing; they also have to deal with the fact that their spiritual home, a place that has served as spiritual consolation in the past is also destroyed. Oh, and by the way, there was a school attached too.

Have you seen pictures of the inside? Do you know for a fact that it was ugly inside too? My parish is 'ugly' outside, but the inside is actually pretty well-done. And actually when I go to Mass, less important to me is the 'ugliness' next to the reverence shown to Jesus in the Eucharist by the priest - a priest who strives to do right and has fantastic homilies (no, not everything is correct, but as you say brick by brick). Plus the fact that the Eucharist is in a Tabernacle up front is a good thing in my book.

But no, because on the outside looks like a 70s church (gee, such a surprise since the first church was infested with termites and they rebuilt in 1967), let's thank God that a destructive tornado came to destroy it and oh, by the way, kill a lot of people, destroy properties, and leave a path of devastation in its wake.

Gah - the comments are even worse. "I don't mean to make light of their suffering." Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.............

Crabby Alert! indeed.

Oh, and spare me the commentary about how churches should be beautiful inside and out. You won't get any argument from me. It's one thing to know that and renovate a church accordingly - even if you can't renovate the outside; it's another thing entirely to say that a tornado destroying spiritual home for many people is a blessing - especially when the tornado just f'ng happened and they are still finding bodies.

(Here's their last Sunday's bulletin (pdf). Note the page on "Emergency Plan." I hope their parishioners followed it.)

Oh Dear, Angelina

What has happened to you? Pictures from the Daily Mail:

Look at her knee cap....

And her arms....

Girl, you gotta eat! And maybe go to therapy.

Your Wish Is My Command ("Give")

"Give" ("Our Father" series)

The interesting thing to me is that at this point in the prayer we have now abandoned the subjunctive tense for the imperative: Give is not a wish or desire, it’s a command. Jesus teaches us to instruct God to give because, as the Catechism states, “it glorifies our Father by acknowledging how good he is, beyond all goodness” (CCC 2828).

To give a command implies that you expect the request to be done – often in a timely fashion. And so when we command that God give us our daily bread, we fully expect Him to actually give it to us.

And give He does.

What I thought of when I read this reflection is how often we treat God as "God the Genie", whom we bellow at to manifest any number of wishes that we throw at Him.

"Lord, if you get me an 'A' on this test, I'll start going to Mass."

"Lord, if you get me outta this jam, I'll start praying all the time."

"Lord, if you help me get this job, I'll never take your name in vain again."

Some New Additions

To the blog roll:

Blowing San #1 - I enjoy Subvet's blog a lot, and he's more articulate than I am. LOL.

Books of Adam - a hilarious, sorta NSFW blog. The illustrations kill me.

Plus, I deleted a couple off that either never update or were irritating me with some liberal bullshit.

Sunday Feast & Chinese Catholics

The focus every Sunday is to feast with my family, to truly make Sundays a day of rest; which means to refrain from the internet and other technology as much as I can. I'm going to be putting up the previous Wednesday's general audience with Pope Benedict XVI, and I encourage you to read and to study. What are you reading today? What are you talking about this morning?

I'm off early this morning to go to an out of town Mass, celebrated by one of my favorite priests! 

General Audience of Pope Benedict XVI catechesis on prayer:

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Continuing our catechesis on Christian prayer, we now turn to sacred Scripture and its witness to the dialogue between God and man in history, a dialogue culminating in Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh. We can begin with the prayer with which Abraham, the father of all believers (cf. Rom 4), implores God not to destroy the sinful city of Sodom (cf. Gen 18). Abraham’s prayer of intercession appeals to God’s justice, begging him not to destroy the innocent with the guilty. But it also appeals to God’s mercy, which is capable of transforming evil into good through forgiveness and reconciliation. God does not desire the death of the sinner but his conversion and liberation from sin. In reply to Abraham’s prayer, God is willing to spare Sodom if ten righteous men can be found there. Later, through the prophet Jeremiah, he promises to pardon Jerusalem if one just man can be found (cf. Jer 5:1). In the end, God himself becomes that Just Man, in the mystery of the Incarnation. Christ’s prayer of intercession on the Cross brings salvation to the world. Through him, let us pray with unfailing trust in God’s merciful love for all mankind, conscious that our prayers will be heard and answered.

Just another reason to stop watching TV

RealChoice: Bozell Column: ABC's Partial-Birth Hero:

On the M...: "Bozell Column: ABC's Partial-Birth Hero : On the May 12 episode of ABC’s 'Private Practice,' Dr. Addison Montgomery (played by actress Kate..."

BTW, I'd really recommend buying Primetime Propaganda: How the Left Took Over Your TV, when it comes out. Although, if you want to keep watching TV with those rose-tinted glasses on, maybe not.

Acting Unjustly

The tendency toward spiritualizing Envy extends far beyond the bedroom. It's common for Catholics who've climbed free of gross materialism and tried to cultivate a Christlike love for the poor, to lurch without even noticing it into a slow, burning resentment for the 'rich'. It's easy to snipe at the leftist academic who rants about his old classmates from college who chose to be stockbrokers, then shows up at class reunions wearing his Sunday worst so he can scoff at their snazzy suits. More insidious, and more to our point, is the dark temptation that drives initially well-meaning Catholics - often addled by the unprincipled and silly social justice documents churned out by hapless prelates - to set themselves up in judgment over others. Which is, as I seem to recall, one of the few things Christ specifically told us not to do (Mt 7:1). 


We never know, really - unless he is running for president - how much of someone's income he gives to charity. Nor can we tell whether the posh person in the next pew (whose Italian suit distracts us all through the Canon) is wearing clothes he bought for work, which he needs to live out his vocation. Is it any of our business if someone who has worked hard and saved his money buys a house that's larger than we think he needs? What possible spiritual good can come from dwelling on such questions or congratulating ourselves for our relative penury? At best, this kind of thinking tempts us to the deadly sin of Envy. At worst, it can lead us to act unjustly - on a small scale, by loathing our neighbor whose only sin was to succeed, and on a large scale, by adopting coercive politics that claim, in the name of justice, the right to confiscate other people's money. I've known souls who started by trying to cultivate a Franciscan love of the poor and even of the freedom St. Francis found in "Lady Poverty," who ended up hating wealth and then the wealthy. From a holy, ascetic aversion to the snares of worldliness, they stumbled into a dark, malicious resentment of the consolations enjoyed by others. Caressing their moral superiority muscle in solitary ecstasy, they're having far more fun than the hapless golf players over at the country club, whom now they hate. 

Decisions

I need help deciding what book to start on next. I have finished two this week.

All these books you see are ones that I haven't read yet. Help me decide. Pick your top two you think I should read next. If you have read any of the following books, let me know how you liked it (for good or for bad). Here's the list (in no particular order):

Mark Twain: A Life, by Ron Powers
Because They Hate: A Survivor of Islamic Terror Warns America, by Brigitte Gabriel
St. Thomas Aquinas/St. Francis of Assisi, by Chesterton
Blaze, by Richard Bachman
The Cost of "Choice": Women Evaluate the Impact of Abortion, edited by Erika Bachiochi

Eternally Stupid

I was looking over photos, that the Anchoress had linked to, of Depression Era - but they are color photos. As I was perusing them, I began to think of how "we" look at ages past. In a way, we often view ages past as being in black and white.

This could have been taken near my grandparents' place.

Think about it.

Anytime before our own lifetimes, really, we view as being 'less than,' 'dumber,' 'less cultured.' Remember that silly movie, Pleasantville, where the main characters are transported into a black and white world, and they cause that world to turn color (by the introduction of sexuality)? Don't "we" do the same? We view ages past through a black and white spectrum that sees only backwardness. The age-old (literally) complaint: "Oh Dad! Oh Mom! We know so much better now!"

But the previous generation, and the one before it, and so on, did the exact same thing; especially as it concerned the family and home life. Growing your own garden and canning your own vegetables? So passe! The 'in' thing is to buy already processed food! Breastfeeding your baby? How peasant-like! The best food is one that's scientifically made up! (Or like the doctor told my mom with her first baby, "Don't breastfeed your baby. The best thing to do is to go to the store and get ice cold milk and feed that to your baby.")  Reading with your family? So uncultured! The best education is watching TV! Teaching your children at home? How will they ever socialize? Best send them away to school!

Drink Thursdays

It's called "Drink Thursdays", in which I talk about a person that I'd like to sit down and have a drink with, and why. And because I'm Catholic, damnit, and we're not Puritans. Here's the introductory post.

Today's guest is an actress that I have admired for her poise during hard times, the films she's been in, and her classy demeanor. She was also married to a past "Drink Thursdays" guest. Plus, she reminds me of a high-school friend.

A nun's prayer

This is taped next to my computer monitor, and I read it often enough to remind me of some hard truths in life, mainly, it's not about me.

It reads:

17th Century Nun's Prayer


Lord, Thou knowest better than I know myself that I am growing older and will some day be old. Keep me from the fatal habit of thinking I must say something on every subject and on every occasion. Release me from craving to straighten out everybody's affairs. Make me thoughtful but not moody; helpful but not bossy. With my vast store of wisdom, it seems a pity not to use it all, but Thou knowest Lord that I want a few friends at the end.
     Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details; give me wings to get to the point. Seal my lips on my aches and pains. They are increasing, and love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by. I dare not ask for grace enough to enjoy the tales of others' pains, but help me to endure them with patience.
     I dare not ask for improved memory, but for a growing humility and a lessing cocksureness when my memory seems to clash with the memories of others. Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally I may be mistaken. Keep me reasonably sweet; I do not want to be a Saint - some of them are so hard to live with - but a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the devil. Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places, and talents in unexpected people. And, give me, O Lord, the grace to tell them so. AMEN.

The title of this prayer is traditional. The source is unknown. 

The Litany of Reality

At the end of The Bad Catholics Guide to the Seven Deadly Sins, John Zmirak gives an activity to combat 'full-on Envy'.

"Instead, you need to redirect your will from a deep-seated malice that aims to drag down your fellow man to suffering in this life and damnation in the next. ... Since Envy begins with invidious comparisons between your gifts or good fortune and someone else's, it might help to focus your mind not on that other's guys' merits and debits, but on your own."

• "I do not deserve to exist." No, really. If you disagree, come up with five good reasons right now why you in particular (as opposed to anyone else) had a right to be created out of nothing, maintained in existence by the incessant attention of an omnipotent deity, and protected from falling into Hell for any one of the mortal sins you've committed since the age of reason.

• "I didn't deserve to be born in a country with working toilets." (Assuming, of course, that you were. If you're reading this book in North Korea, please skip to the next bullet point.) The orderly, fundamentally prosperous society in which most of us live really is the sediment left behind by millions of people working hard and postponing gratification, playing by complex civic rules, and risking their lives in combat. If some of those people accumulated wealth, they did so largely by offering goods and services to their fellow citizens, who paid for the stuff because they wanted it. What private wealth some people leave to their children is nothing compared to the social health our ancestors stored up for us. We (and certainly you) did nothing to earn it. If Envy goads you to tear it down, you're acting like a spoiled kid who pees in the public pool. 

• "I really haven't worked as hard as a lot of people." For instance, a large swathe of the folks whose possessions or achievements send you into occasional fits of resentment. If you need to, do some research on the years of schooling, arduous work schedules, and truncated personal lives that add up to wealth and advancement in our post-Edenic world. Remember all the time you spent pursuing your artsy hobbies (or playing online computer games) while the 'elites' you're so angry at were spending their twenties grinding their way through WestLaw or Wharton.

• "God only gave me a few talents, while He gave other people more." If your answer to that stark reality is to take your meager stash and go bury it out back - for instance, by pouring your energy into Envy - remember what He has in store for you. If I might quote the Bible verse best loved by Republicans: "For the one who has will be given more, and he will have more than enough. But the one who does not have, even what he has will be taken from him" (Mt 25:29).

• "It's not up to me to judge what other people deserve. There's probably some good reason, which I'll never find out this side of the grave." On Judgment Day, those sinners who really have abused the gifts God gave them will suffer a worse fate than even you could cook up for them. How would you like to join them in the Lake of Fire? No? Then stop confessing other people's sins and focus on your own.

Believe it or not, working through this set of sobering facts will help your soul to grow, not shrink.

(excerpted from The Bad Catholics Guide to the Seven Deadly Sins, which you should go buy right now, already!)

Be Careful Out There

Remember how I told you about being nervous scared of dying? Now here's another reason to be nervous scared: Five Wishes Bullshit. (It's cached because I couldn't find the original article.)

There is a section in this document that asks a future patient the following: “If I wish to omit life-support treatment, I write this limitation in the space below,” which is very dangerous.  The problem with this request is that most of us are not such good doctors as to be able to give such directives.  As a result, it would be possible for us to die based on poor care that we authorized in the first place.  We never can know when new procedures or cures maybe discovered, which if used, could give us years of a productive life.  Finally, it is possible that a poor and ambiguous sentence or two in this document could be used by a hospital to force us out so that the hospital can have the bed for another patient.

Go read it all, if you want to make important decisions about your health. 

Toothy Tuesdays Answer

Well, you all sure are smarter than I am! 


Our eighteenth word was verisimilitude (noun). 


The guesses were:
Archaeology cat: truthfulness, or something along those lines.


Puff the Magic Dragon: the appearance of truth


Tally Marx: Being an appearance of truth.


The definition: Authenticity; the appearance of being the genuine article. 


Fidel explained, his voice now conversational, "The repitition? 'A most terrible, a most horrible accident?' As a writer, I would not engage in such crude repetitions. But here, it give verisimilitude to the heat with which I am speaking." (Courtesy of The Lexicon by William F. Buckley Jr.)


Next week, I'll just have to make it harder. 

Toothy Tuesdays

The eighteenth word is verisimilitude (noun). Wow! Long word. I expect some good guesses.

Haven against Despair ("Heaven")

*Repost*

"Heaven" (Our Father series)

This connection is also made for us by Fr. Groeschel in his wonderful little book After This Life.

His advice is that we should NEVER think about death without thinking also about the eternal life which we call heaven, and vice versa.  “These two mysteries,” he writes, “are each halves of the same whole, they are two sides to the same coin” (p. 85). It is only heaven that gives us hope to face the un-faceable…the unjustifiable violation mentioned by Tolkien. Heaven and the hope it offers is our most powerful weapon against the fear and reality of death. Do we regularly ponder how powerful a weapon it is…this Hope of Heaven?

In typing this post up, I almost typed 'haven'. But that's really not so far off, is it? Where God resides is our haven against the despair and stink of death.

Something that has been on my mind since my mom's death is how some of my family members reacted. Some were so emotional and over the top - and now looking back, those were the ones who don't really have a faith, they have nothing to hope for.

Hold Yer Horses

So, scientists don't know what 96% of the universe is made of, yet they can claim definitively that there is no God and no heaven?

Hmmmmm.

Poor in Spirit

"For most of us, Generosity means consistently, day in and out, doing just a little bit more than the minimum - working a little harder on an article, grating fresh cheese into the souffle instead of shaking it from a can, putting flowers on the table, wearing makeup for one's husband, spending extra time on the yard work or the exercises bike to please one's wife... It's humdrum stuff that's typically the hardest to do consistently, but these small sacrifices of self - usually done not for strangers but family members, colleagues, or customers - make the difference between a society of civic virtue, trust and excellence...and the shabby, dreary, litigious nest of snakes we call 'the real world'!"
(The Bad Catholics Guide to the Seven Deadly Sins, by John Zmirak)

I am very poor in my generosity of spirit. This is a hard admission to make because I like to think of myself as a generous person, yet I realized that I can be, for lack of a better word, chintzy - stingy - with where and how I choose to be generous. It always as to be on my terms, my choosing. How perfectly dreadful that I am lacking in such regard!

Perspective ("In")

*Repost*

"In" ("Our Father" series)

But perhaps more profitably, we can think of God being “in” heaven in the sense that Augustine speaks of. God is in heaven in that heaven is the full and consuming experience of God. Heaven is not a place, nor is God contained or limited by any thing. He is not “in” heaven the way a cat can be in the freezer. Rather, He is in heaven in that it is through the full communion with God for which we are intended that we truly find God.

It's paragraphs like these that make my head hurt greatly. Because I 'yam what I yam', when I think of the word 'in', I think of a definite, concrete place. I mean, I feel kinda reminded of that whole Clinton, "it depends on what the definition of 'is' is".

But I can think about being with God. I can think of being in communion with Him, of being in the presence of absolute Love. I can hope that my loved ones, who have gone before me, are in communion with Him also, giving and receiving that absolute Love, to be consumed by that Love. I know I've said it before, that Heaven and Hell are 'in' the same place - it's just that for those in Heaven, God's love is a balm, is joy, is like the heat of a warm fire on a cold day; whereas in Hell, it is a burning, scorching, painful thing to behold.  It's all a matter of perspective.

Scary phrases

You know how people say the scariest phrase to hear is: "I'm from the government and I'm here to help."?

Nowadays, I think it should be: "I'm from the news/media/Hollywood and I'm here to do a story/write a screenplay."

Run!!!!!!!!

Millions of Men are Asshats!

"And so am I" declares Sandra Bullock's ex-husband.

Okay, maybe he didn't quite say that, but that's how it sounded to me - a justification for his behavior. "I cheated on my wife. So what? So do millions of other men."

"And now that I've cheated on my wife, got divorced and am hooked up with another chick, I'm blabbing all because life just isn't fair and I'm a little punk who can't keep his mouth shut. I must proclaim to the world how my life has just sucked, even though I've been afforded opportunities few have had in their lifetime despite getting into lots of trouble with the law." (This may or may not be a direct quote.)

Please take the poll

I'd like to know how the readership of my blog skews: more male or more female. The poll is right under St. Francis of Assisi. You have until next Sunday. Thanks! :-)

The Golden Touch ("As It Is")

"As it is" ("Our Father" series)

Once we taste heaven through the Mass and the saints, then we bend our attention to earth. Note the direction of Jesus’ prayer. In the “Our Father”, it is the earth that is slowly being transformed into heaven, not the other way around. As much as we desire to be “lifted up” to heaven, this prayer actually encourages us to pull heaven downward.

This means that we must parade heaven’s banner toward the hellish gates of our world, the ones that Jesus says will eventually crumble. Then, we extend our golden touch. To the hell of hunger our hands bring relief; to the hell of loneliness our touch brings community; to the hell of abuse our arms bring rescue.  We plant beauty in worn down tires, proclaim grace on filthy walls, and redeem symbols of death. We drift to the margins, die to ourselves, and lift the boots of sin, seeking to make “all things new” as they are in heaven.

Ultimately, though, the “as it is” is aimed at us. In heaven we’ll all be saints, but the “as it is” begs God to make us saints now. So as we pray these words, may we become saints on earth, as in heaven. And may we harness the power of Midas, transforming the dull into the divine. Just as Midas’ touch brought forth gold, so may our touch bring forth heaven.

Sunday Feast

The focus every Sunday is to feast with my family, to truly make Sundays a day of rest; which means to refrain from the internet and other technology as much as I can. I'm going to be putting up the previous Wednesday's general audience with Pope Benedict XVI, and I encourage you to read and to study. 

What are you reading today? What are you talking about this morning?

General Audience of Pope Benedict XVI continuing on prayer:

Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In our catechesis on Christian prayer, we have seen how prayer is part of the universal human experience. Our own age, marked by secularism, rationalism and an apparent eclipse of God, is showing signs of a renewed religious sense and a recognition of the inadequacy of a purely horizontal, material vision of life. Man is made in the image of God; a desire for God is present in every heart and man in some way knows that he is capable of speaking to God in prayer. Saint Thomas Aquinas tells us that prayer is the expression of our desire for God, a desire which is itself God’s gift. Prayer is first and foremost a matter of the heart, where we experience God’s call and our dependence on his help to transcend our limitations and sinfulness. The posture of kneeling at prayer expresses this acknowledgment of our need and our openness to God’s gift of himself in a mysterious encounter of friendship.

Let us resolve to pray more frequently, to listen in the silence of our hearts to God’s voice, and to grow in union with the God who has revealed himself in Jesus Christ, with the One who is infinite Love.

Earthy

And speaking of Jesus' Humanity, Zmirak's writing reminds me of something else: the difference of Catholicism. Who said Catholicism is earthy? Well, they're right! Do we really imagine Our Lord never getting His hands dirty? I can't imagine that, knowing what His 'job' was and what St. Joseph did for a living.

Instead of rejecting this earthiness as Protestants do (it's too Papist) or as intellectuals do (it's beneath them), we revel in it. Well, that's perhaps not the correct phrasing. We recognize the earthiness of Jesus, and yet we give proper recognition to His Divinity.

Edit: I just want to add that I know all Protestants aren't like this, but some do shun away from any mention of Jesus having a human side.

Sighhhhhhhhhhhh

"Patience as a Virtue involves rather more than the old 'wince and wait' that we learn while counting the long, long seconds it takes traffic lights to change or other people's lips to finish moving so we can speak.
     "Preachers have classically called us to look to Christ - specifically, to His monumental patience during His Passion. The Creator of the universe who really did have absolute command over legions of angels, endured long hours of mockery, spitting, betrayal, abandonment, torture, and finally execution at the hands of His wretched creations.
     "Our Lord was able to put up with ordinary life as the Messiah and His atrociously cruel death only because He knew of its redemptive purpose. We can suffer with many indignities if our eyes stay on the prize; He made us that way.
     "As Christians, we know that our Purpose also has senses - five of them. Our Lord slogged through most of the same quagmires we do. He shambled through squalidly crowded city streets in search of decent falafel, and He put up with tedious questions from learned idiots about the minutiae of legal disputes. (Did He ever change diapers? With all those cousins, I bet He did.) And amid it all, He made wine, cured the sick, multiplied loaves and fishes, and saved the world. He may not have always suffered with a smile - but then, that would have been creepy. The Patience of Christ was fully human, which mean that it had limits. For instance, He had no time at all for liturgical abuses.
     "But I digress."
(The Bad Catholics Guide to the Seven Deadly Sins, John Zmirak)

AROC

If you don't know what that stands for, it's Anal-Retentive, Obsessive-Compulsive.

I'm so AROC that I clean the inside of my garbage can.

I cannot stand cleaning days. Vacuuming, Laundry, Folding, Sorting, Dishes, Sweeping, Scrubbing...ugh.

Drink Thursdays (Re-Post)

Since Blogger ate my first version, here it is again (sorry for weird formatting, I found this through google cache):


It's called "Drink Thursdays", in which I talk about a person that I'd like to sit down and have a drink with, and why. And because I'm Catholic, damnit, and we're not Puritans. Here's the introductory post.

I've enjoyed today's guest's comedy for a long time. Yes, he is very colorful in his language. There's no doubt about that. But he has been shaped by his life, and his experiences and come out a really hilarious guy. I can't imagine what he's gone through in his life; if I had been him, I would have gotten drunk a long time ago and never stopped getting drunk. 

Get Lost

Getting Lost with Mary

This is the approach he suggested: Start by invoking the Holy Spirit. Then do a brief interior examination, asking the Spirit to show me what I’m feeling at that moment and how God may be speaking to me through that or through the current circumstances of my life. Then I invoke my imagination—invite Mary to be with me and ask her to sit next to me, or to hold my hand, or to put her arms around me as she prays with me and leads me to her Son. If I’m praying for someone else, I imagine that person joining us, too. And then I begin the rosary.

I'm re-posting this, but I don't remember my train of thought from the first time around....sigh. Suffice it to say, this resonates with me and my prayer life.

Ever Have One of Those Days?

Mrs. 2nd Lieutenant did and puts me to shame.

Today was one of those days.

One of those days where your kid watches too much tv because you're trying to get stuff done on very little sleep.

One of those days where you just can.not. stand. the baby whining one. more. minute.

One of those days where you are snappish and nasty and just hate yourself for how awful you are acting towards your loved ones.

Go read it all and be amazed at her willingness to embrace her vocation.

Ben Franklin is the Debbil!

I was reading through my tabs the other day and came across an article about Katy Perry's (a pop-singer in the U.S., if you're not aware) upbringing. And my initial thought was that the farther away from the Catholic Church, farther away from God?

“I didn’t have a childhood,” she tells the magazine, adding that she was not allowed to say things like “deviled eggs” or “Dirt Devil,” to listen to secular music or read any other books but the Bible.

By being so strict (and I would say fundamentalist) about the Bible and their interpretation of it, it seems like Ms. Perry's parents have driven her further away from God and into an interpretation of 'all paths are the same'.

“I’ve always been the kid who’s asked ‘Why?’ In my faith, you’re just supposed to have faith. But I was always like … why?” she says. “At this point, I’m just kind of a drifter. I’m open to possibility…. My sponge is so big and wide and I’m soaking everything up and my mind has been radically expanded. Just being around different cultures and people and their opinions and perspectives. Just looking into the sky."

Yes, it's entirely possible that Ms. Perry is exaggerating the situation, growing up. But it is kind of sad that by pushing such a strict interpretation of the Bible, her parents have driven her further away from faith in Christ that can actually save.

Whatever

I'm feeling frustrated today. So until (hopefully) Blogger restores my posts that are missing, I'll be MIA. Every time I go to my dashboard, I get ticked off.

BUT

Go pray a rosary today for peace, in honor of Our Lady of Fatima, who first appeared on this day in 1917. From the facebook group:

See, we're trying to get one million people praying the Rosary for the conversion of America and the whole world on this very important day. 

Because on May 13th, 1917, Our Lady told the three Fatima children to:

"Pray the Rosary every day to obtain peace for the world!"

Imagine how touched She will be to see us all praying the Rosary, all over the world, begging Her to save the world from so much sin, war, anxiety and hatred. 

It can happen, if we pray and trust in the power of Our Lady's Rosary.

So, please pray the Rosary on May 13th for the conversion of America and the world.

PS – There can be no peace in the world until we pray the Rosary and stop offending God, as Our Lady requested at Fatima. So please mark down ROSARY in big letters on your calendar for Friday, May 13th.

Toothy Tuesdays Answer

Our seventeenth word was gird (verb).

The guesses:
Archaeology Cat said: The first thing that came to mind was the phrase "gird your loins". LOL So something along the lines of to dress, to equip, I think. (If I'm wrong I'm blaming it on being distracted by the fact that my daughter is tangling herself in a laptop cord and trying to turn off the outlet for the other laptop)


The definition:
To prepare for a struggle, test of strength, or other action.


I cannot complain softly. My blood gets hot, my brow wet, I become unbearably and unconscionably sarcastic and bellicose; I am girded for a total showdown. (Courtesy of The Lexicon by William F. Buckley Jr.)

Toothy Tuesday

Our first Toothy Tuesday. If you are just joining us, I will post a word from The Lexicon, ask you to give your best guesses in the combox; then I will reveal the guesses and the correct answer the next morning.

The seventeenth word is gird (verb).

Be Well ("Body of Christ")

Guest Post by Micah Murphy of Fiat Men

 ...Corpus Christi, salva me...

Body of Christ, save me. In the last reflection, we considered how the soul gives life to the body. Let's think for a moment about that body. In the Soul of Christ, there was no stain of sin, original or actual. The Body of Christ, likewise, was healthful, and by His suffering for us, became a balm to heal our infirmities, the wounds caused by our sins.

The health of the Body of Christ directly relates to the salvation He brings by His suffering and death. In the Roman Empire, Latin speakers greeted each other with the word "salve" ("be well"). It became a standard in Roman letters to wish wellness and health (salus) on the recipient. By the time of St. Augustine's work as a bishop, he had applied a double-meaning to this greeting in his epistles, wishing his readers the salus Christi, the health of Christ, but also the salvation of Christ.

In Catholic theology, salvation is as much about getting heaven into us as it is about getting us into heaven. It is not just about having some sort of contract to get into heaven, but about the real state of our spiritual health. In the words Corpus Christi, salva me, we pray for that healthful state of salvation, rather than the unhealthy state of sin, by appealing to the Body of Christ in the Eucharist, in which exist all the health of the Risen Lord.

Manliness

I voted for Carter Littlepage Stevenson in the "Who Had the Best Civil War Facial Hair?" contest from the Smithsonian.

Dagum, this is some hard core facial hair.

IDGI

Here's what I don't get:

Dan Flavin, Untitled, 1964. Cool white fluorescent light, 96 × 21 × 3 1/2 in. (243.8 × 53.3 × 8.9 cm). Whitney Museum of American Art, New York; gift of Howard and Jean Lipman  71.214

© 2009 Stephen Flavin / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York

How is this art? No, really. What the heck is this supposed to represent? I must be too much of a dumb yokel to understand.