Gaudete Semper

2003-09-03T00:48:00.000-06:00

Ka-boom

One year ago today...
I saw a car blow up in front of my apartment. (Fortunately, no one was injured.)

2003-09-02T13:42:00.000-06:00

Seen on the freeway

Two bumper stickers for the 44th President of the United States, Howard Dean.

2003-09-02T13:34:00.000-06:00

Early birds get earworms

A researcher at the University of Cincinnati named James Kellaris has coined the word "earworms" to describe those annoying songs you can't get out of your head. His survey came up with these culprits:

* The Kit Kat jingle
* "We Will Rock You"
* "Y.M.C.A."
* "It's a Small World"
* "Who Let the Dogs Out"
* The Chili's baby back ribs jingle

(Personal note: I once drove through Wyoming with Gordon Lightfoot's "Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald" running on continuous loop in my brain. Exquisitely painful.)

2003-08-30T22:21:00.000-06:00

Pigskin Pride

As college football season kicks off, I take pride in that my alma mater, Gonzaga, has been undefeated on the gridiron since 1941.

2003-08-30T14:39:00.000-06:00

Bikers need the Sacrament, too

Grace abounds at Harley-Davidson's 100th birthday bash in Milwaukee.

Far from raising hell, some groups of Harley-Davidson riders revved their engines to climb Holy Hill on Friday.

Their rumblings were a prophetic preparation for the 3,000 motorcyclists expected to come to the Roman Catholic shrine in Washington County Saturday for a 4 p.m. outdoor Mass that includes a homily by Milwaukee Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan and a blessing of bikes and riders.

"It's been incredible, the roar out in that parking lot. They've gone up in the tower and gone all through the church." said Father Cyril Guise, a Discalced Carmelite and director of the Holy Hill National Shrine of Mary, Help of Christians....

That group is expected to include two avid motorcyclists - Father John Schreiter, pastor of St. Bruno Parish in Dousman, and Father Bob Stiefvater, vocations director for the 10-county Milwaukee Catholic Archdiocese. Years ago, Stiefvater wrote a bike blessing that he still uses.

"In the Catholic tradition, we bless both people and objects," Stiefvater said. "Usually, you bless an object for a certain use, and so I always include in my blessing that the riders not only encounter Christ on the road by the beauty and the people they meet, but they also become Christ in the way they treat other drivers and riders, and respond to people in need."

2003-08-28T16:30:00.000-06:00

Utterly Worthless Facts of the Day

* Internet users in the Rocky Mountains are not big online news consumers, but users in the Midwest are.
* Users in New England and California are more likely to shop online.

2003-08-26T23:04:00.000-06:00

It's about time.

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- The Vatican has convened a meeting with church leaders from English-speaking countries to discuss and clarify questions about the translation of liturgical texts [including] the rationale and principal concerns of the 2001 Vatican instruction "Liturgiam Authenticam" ("The Authentic Liturgy"), on translating liturgical texts. The instruction underlined the Vatican's insistence on exact, more literal, translations and its own role in the process, including the right to make substantial changes before granting final approval.

I hope this meeting is productive. By productive, I mean putting the current dreadful English translations of the liturgy through a shredder. I am by no means an expert in Latin (unlike former Vice President Quayle, who proudly announced during a tour of Latin America that he had taken two years of the language), but even I can detect that the current translations of the Roman Missal are inaccurate and dumbed-down. This is no minor point. During the liturgy, we publicly proclaim what we, as the Church, believe. Fuzzy words lead to fuzzy (and wrongheaded) theology and prevent us from encountering the fullness of the Faith. I'm not asking for the Book of Common Prayer (although that would be nice). I just want liturgical texts to be clear, dignified, and unambiguous. Is that asking too much?

2003-08-26T22:48:00.000-06:00

Fiscal Policy 101

"The increasing federal deficit is the top risk facing the U.S. economy, although the threat is more a long-term than short-term concern," said Tim O'Neill, president of the National Association of Business Economists citing a survey of 194 members of his association. Among those surveyed, the deficit has surpassed worries about terrorism and military operations, O'Neill said.

[President] Bush has said his first priority is providing jobs for the 6.2 percent of the unemployed work force. "I'm more concerned about somebody finding a job than I am about numbers on paper," he said last Friday.

Umm, Mr. President, I hate to break this to you, but the deficit consists of real money; it's not some abstraction. I guess they didn't teach that at Harvard Business School.

2003-08-21T22:59:00.000-06:00

Stupid Thought of the Day

Today I was reminded, for some odd reason, of a TV commercial that ran in my youth (circa 1988). It featured two stoned hippies in front of a VW van and this edifying conversation:

"Man, is that Freedom Rock?"
"Yeah, man."
"Well, TURN IT UP, MAN!!"

Does anyone know what I'm talking about?

2003-08-21T22:53:00.000-06:00

Thought on the terrorist attack on the UN complex in Baghdad:

Apparently the UN spurned the use of American forces to protect the complex, reasoning that disassociating itself from the US would protect it from the terrorists' ire. That idea turned out to be tragically wrong, for this simple reason: the terrorist forces at work in Iraq and elsewhere are avowed enemies of civilization, and they attack the countries and institutions which best typify civilization. The United States is uniquely targeted because it is the preeminent power in the civilized world, but no one who believes in and promotes the rule of law and human rights is immune. In other words, the UN and France and Germany and others who think the war on terror is simply "an American thing" are woefully mistaken about the intentions of people -- whether they be Baathists or al-Qaida or both -- who blow up UNICEF offices. I hope they open their eyes to the true nature of the enemy who threatens us all.

2003-08-21T15:03:00.000-06:00

Reminds me of the Taliban

Chile’s bishops’ conference (CEC) has expressed its sadness at the public burning of a statue of the Virgin by a radical evangelical group.

The Tablet reports that the Warriors of David, a dissident Baptist group based in southern Chile, burned a statue of the Virgin of Carmen during a festival in the town of Alto Hospicio. They said the statue was an idol and that the festival was a pagan event.

The CEC’s secretary-general, Bishop Camilo Vial of Temuco, said the desecration was a sad day for the Church in Chile.

"A sacrilege like that touches us extremely deeply," he said. "But I have prayed that the Lord touches their hearts and I have forgiven them." The bishop said Chileans should be careful not to judge all evangelicals by the actions of a small minority.

"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34)

(Link courtesy of Nota Bene)

2003-08-19T00:18:00.000-06:00

"When you come to a fork in the road, take it." - Yogi Berra

This weblog is in a transitional phase at this time.

1) I am now connected to the 'Net through dial-up instead of broadband, which really stinks. It's like trading in my Honda Civic for a Model A.

2) Other things in my life -- which, to be honest, aren't good things -- are consuming much of my attention right now, leaving me with less time and, frankly, less motivation to cultivate my little online garden.

This blog isn't going away (dashing the hopes of many, I know), but I'll probably be posting less frequently.

2003-08-19T00:00:00.000-06:00

Have you ever noticed...

While waiting for a table at a restaurant last week, I noticed I was the only one who gave the hostess a surname when she asked the name of my party. Everyone else gave "Kim" or "Doug" or another first name. Am I just ridiculously formal, or is everyone else improperly informal? I need to turn to my spiritual advisor, Miss Manners, for help.

(Lame line I sometimes use -
Host/Hostess: And the name of your party tonight?
Me: Last I checked, I'm still a Republican)

2003-08-18T23:43:00.000-06:00

I was Zag, hear me roar

I scored a 54% on the "How Gonzaga-ite are you?" Quizie! What about you?

(Courtesy of Catholic, Musician, Student, in that order)

2003-08-17T20:14:00.000-06:00

TWENTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

My flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.

John 8:55

2003-08-11T11:14:00.000-06:00

We interrupt this blog for a special report...

This blog will be on hiatus for a few days.

2003-08-08T19:04:00.000-06:00

When the "good life" is not so good

Since 1975, Roper has been tracking how consumers define the good life. This year's findings were drawn from in-person interviews with 2,004 adults in February. Just 9 percent of those surveyed felt they had achieved the good life. This despite the fact that a majority of the respondents had the things they said constituted the good life -- a house, good health, a car and children (in that order)...Nonetheless, even with our need to get more, an overwhelming number of the people in the RoperASW survey said the good life means having good health (87 percent), free time (66 percent) and spiritual well-being (64 percent).

On the other hand, people placed owning a car ahead of having children and a well-paid, interesting job that contributes to the welfare of society. They ranked having a yard or lawn higher than a college education for their children and themselves.

Fifty-two percent of the respondents said a second car is essential to the good life, up from 30 percent in 1975. Forty-eight percent said a vacation home would be necessary, up from 19 percent 28 years ago.

Ranking cars ahead of children? There's a term for a culture that holds such values: a culture of death.

2003-08-07T01:17:00.000-06:00

She's an Open Book

Amy Welborn has moved her blog to Typepad, giving it a new name and a groovy new template. (The quote from what might be my favorite short story, Flannery O'Connor's "Temple of the Holy Ghost," is a nice touch.)

I found out about Typepad, which can best be described as Movable Type for Dummies, about a month ago, and received an e-mail from the service last week about its launch. I hate Blogger, and I'd really like to change the template of this blog since the current one, in my humble opinion, is as ugly as sin. It provides other nifty features, all at cost, of course. I'm considering it.

2003-08-07T01:07:00.000-06:00

Where love and charity prevail...

One angry Episcopalian writes to another angry Episcopalian.

...let me just say I do not recall ever reading a more ignorant, bigoted pile of [profanity] than your post in The Corner this morning. Please leave the Episcopal Church with all due haste. Closed-minded bigots with hearts are full of hatred like yourself are no longer welcome. Don't like it? Tough [same profanity]. However, I know a religious group who would be more than happy to have you: they're called al Quaida [sic]. Check 'em out. You already have so much in common!

Most sincerely,
[Name] Episcopalian

2003-08-06T02:53:00.000-06:00

FEAST OF THE TRANSFIGURATION OF THE LORD

He was transfigured before them, and his garments became glistening...

Mark 9:3

2003-08-06T02:11:00.000-06:00

Paulus PP. VI, Requiescat in Pace

Today is the 25th anniversary of the death of Pope Paul VI.

For the Church, evangelizing means bringing the Good News into all the strata of humanity, and through its influence transforming humanity from within and making it new; 'Now I am making the whole of creation new' (Revelation 21:5).
- Pope Paul VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi

During a broadcast of a Yankees game, Phil Rizzuto was informed about the pope's death and remarked, "Well, that kind of puts the damper on even a Yankee win."

2003-08-05T22:45:00.000-06:00

"Suddenly I'm down in Herald Square..."

A ray of light on a dreary day.

Today I heard a song I hadn't heard in a while, my nominee for the best song of the '90s --
"Bad Reputation," by Freedy Johnston. Bittersweet.

2003-08-05T22:33:00.000-06:00

"The mystery of God's will"

A brave priest in Denver

On Wednesday the 69-year-old [John] O'Shea stepped carefully to the altar at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception to say Mass....O'Shea is tackling his first week back on the job since suffering a massive heart attack June 9 - two days after his ordination - quickly followed by the discovery of a brain tumor.

Later Wednesday, O'Shea was scheduled to start six weeks of radiation and chemotherapy. The malignancy was only partially removed during a recent surgery.

"They got as much as they could," said his daughter, Mary O'Shea, who spoke on her father's behalf after Mass. "Its all in God's hands"....

For those who wonder how fate could take such an unfortunate turn, Bishop Jose Gomez had an answer: "It's partly the mystery of God's will," he said after the Mass. O'Shea's illness is a lesson "that shows us that it's impossible to control life as we would like."

2003-08-04T04:15:00.000-06:00

St. John Vianney (The Cure of Ars), Memorial

O that my people would listen to me,
that Israel would walk in my ways!

Psalm 81:13

2003-08-04T03:41:00.000-06:00

Please Disregard This Blogspot Ad, Installment X

"Lesbian and Gay Radio"

It's Here, It's Queer, It's On!

Circuit Candy features some of the nation's top circuit DJs and the hard-bodied sounds of the gay circuit scene.

2003-08-04T03:27:00.000-06:00

I'll resist the puns

Interesting way to advance the New Evangelization in Wisconsin. (Links courtesy of Amy Welborn)

KENOSHA - When last we looked in on the intrepid Father Dom [Roscioli], he had just made a divinely inspired pitch to his actor pal Paul Newman: Why not include WISCOMPOST, the absolute best concoction of cranberry smush and duck poop ever conceived by mortal man, in the product line of Mr. Newman's own food company, Newman's Own?....

"Yuk," however, replied the philistines at Newman's Own, failing to grasp the obvious brilliance of Father Dom's offer. Father Dom, rejected but hardly dejected, was preparing to do a Novena when the phone rang. It was a big-shooter from Newman's Own who had just been handed a fax from Paul Newman. It said, simply, "Help Father Dom with his s---." And it was signed, simply but persuasively, "Paul."

Link to Father Dom's Duck's Doo Compost

2003-08-04T03:11:00.000-06:00

Prayer for Science & Technology

Pope John Paul II's general prayer intention for August:

"That researchers in scientific and technological fields may welcome the Church's incessant calls to make wise and responsible use of the successes they have attained."

2003-08-04T02:47:00.000-06:00

NIMBY Pamby

New churches find that they're not welcome in suburban Colorado.

In the southeast Denver suburb of Foxfield, an angry neighbor allegedly smacked a churchgoer in the mouth outside the rectory of a Catholic church the town didn't want.

These battles are popping up across the country as several factors collide: Little neighborhood churches with white steeples have been replaced by large regional church campuses; local governments have imposed tighter restrictions on religious buildings; neighborhood groups have mobilized to halt growth; and a new federal law has given churches a potent weapon to help push projects through....

"Parks, schools and churches used to be a blessing," said J.D. Holt, administrative pastor at Church of the Rock in Castle Rock, which faces opposition to its plan to build a 75,000-square-foot church near the Meadows subdivision. "Now, it's a whole new mentality: 'I move here, now don't let anyone else in"'....

"We live in an increasingly secular society," [Monsignor Ed Buelt] said. "Although we hold ourselves to be religious people, we have in many respects privatized our religious expression. So there's a conflict that comes about, especially when it involves large institutions like the Roman Catholic Church and large evangelical churches."

Most of the residents of these suburbs and subdivisions are from out of state, who want to close the entrance gate to newcomers just after they've waltzed through it themselves. (If that sounds harsh, it's because I'm a native Coloradan, a most rare species.)

2003-08-03T01:08:00.000-06:00

EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger"

John 6:24

2003-08-03T01:04:00.000-06:00

In Paradisum deducant te angeli;
In tuo adventu suscipiant te Martyres
Et perducant te in civitatem sanctam Jerusalem.
Chorus angelorum te sucipiat,
Et cum Lazaro quondam paupere
Aeternam habeas requiem.

Requiem aeternam dona ei, Domine;
et lux perpetua luceat ei.

Requiescat in pace.

Amen.

For JT

2003-08-02T18:39:00.000-06:00

Randall Simon is not invited

On Saturday, August 9, Milwaukee will proudly host the 4th Annual 5K Run/Walk World Famous Sausage Race

How it all began...

According to Sausage lore, as it has been passed down from grill to grill through generations of summer tailgaters, there were four Sausages who lived at Miller Park (and formerly County Stadium) by the names of the Polish Sausage, the Bratwurst, the Hot Dog and the Italian Sausage. Every home game, these four Sausages tested their true flavor by racing each other in the middle of the 6th inning. To the delight of fans, young and old, the Sausages raced and raced to the question, "Which One Will Win Today?" One day a fan said, "I Bet I Could Beat Those Sausages in a 5K Road Race!" The Polish Sausage overheard this excited fan and replied "Why Not Let Them Try? We Could Have a Road Race at Our 'Haus,' the Klement's Sausage Haus!" Thus, the Sausages pulled together an excellent team of Sausage Specialists who cooked up the 5K Run and Walk Sausage Race.

Presented by St. Michael Hospital Sports Medicine Center, the race benefits Brewers Charities.

2003-08-02T18:02:00.000-06:00

Good Morning

At 6:50 a.m., I saw the following ad on the back of a city bus:

"WHO'S YOUR DADDY?
99.9% Accurate Paternity Testing"

2003-08-02T02:47:00.000-06:00

Stupid and Repugnant

I can't say I've ever posted something on this weblog when I was genuinely angry. Indignant, yes, but not angry. Until NOW.

Waukesha - Convinced that American racism played a role in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Waukesha County [Wisc.] activists are planning a major new effort to promote racial and ethnic harmony.

The kickoff date: the second anniversary of the day of horror....

Organizers say the connection to terrorism is simple: If Americans were more tolerant of racial and ethnic minorities, we would not evoke hostility abroad and would not have been attacked Sept. 11, 2001, by Islamic extremists from the Middle East.

"Some of the reasons it happened are our arrogance and our ignorance," said Mary Baer, co-chairwoman of the Waukesha County Diversity Task Force. "We need to understand the world; we need to accept the world."

Maybe I'm missing something here, but I do believe that Islamic Fundamentalism doesn't think multiculturalism is so peachy keen. The Taliban and al-Qaeda aren't big fans of "racial and ethnic harmony"; they're interested in killing infidels. What else motivated them to attack the most diverse nation in history on September 11, 2001?

Look, if these folks wish to spout stuff and nonsense about diversity, fine, but they shouldn't appropriate a national and personal tragedy and manipulate it for the advancement of their political agenda. What they're doing is grotesque.

The Waukesha School District is a participant. The erosion of my confidence (which is nearing nil) in the public school system continues unabated.

2003-08-01T20:55:00.000-06:00

Kerry and the Vatican

BOSTON -- Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry scolded the Vatican Friday for saying Catholic politicians like himself have a "moral duty" to oppose laws granting legal rights to gay couples.

"I believe in the church and I care about it enormously," said the Massachusetts senator. "But I think that it's important to not have the church instructing politicians. That is an inappropriate crossing of the line in America."

What does Sen. John F. Kerry mean by this? Is he saying that politicians are exempt from moral instruction? (That might explain a lot.) Or is he implying, like another JFK from Massachusetts did, that his faith plays a negligible role in the exercise of his political vocation? Or that he really doesn't believe in what the Church teaches in the first place? All three interpretations are troubling.

2003-08-01T20:21:00.000-06:00

Hooray for the Diocese of Baker

Bend, OR (LifeNews.com) -- In what is becoming a more common practice across the United States, a Catholic diocese in Oregon is refusing to let a pro-abortion elected official use one of its churches to promote politics.

In this case, the Baker Diocese in Bend, Oregon, has refused to allow pro-abortion Gov. Ted Kulongoski (D-OR) to use a church for a private political speech because of his position on abortion.

Kulongoski was scheduled to speak before a fundraising dinner of the Truman Club at the Holy Trinity church in Sunriver. The event has been rescheduled at a private home. The Truman club is an offshoot of the county Democratic Party.

"His beliefs don't square with Catholic teaching and certainly made an appearance at a Catholic church very problematic," Father James Logan, chancellor of the Diocese of Baker, told the Bend Bulletin.

That's putting it mildly.

2003-08-01T00:06:00.000-06:00

Kind of makes tithing difficult, though

Attempt at Diversity in Shreveport, La

Greenwood Acres Full Gospel Baptist Church will pay white people to attend services during August to increase the diversity of its congregation.

Bishop Fred Caldwell said he will pay $5 per hour for Sunday services and $10 an hour for the Thursday service. The idea came to him during his sermon Sunday.

"Our churches are too segregated, and the Lord never intended for that to happen. It's time for something radical."

The good bishop's heart is in the right place, but do you really want to attract congregants who show up just to pocket some cash? I admit that it does sound like a good way to lure starving graduate students.

2003-07-31T00:31:00.000-06:00

St. Ignatius Loyola, Memorial

Entrance Antiphon
At the name of Jesus every knee must bend, in heaven, on earth, and under the earth; every tongue should proclaim to the glory of God the Father: Jesus Christ is Lord. (Phil 2:10-11)

Take, Lord, and receive all my liberty,
my memory, understanding, and my entire will.
All I have and call my own.
Whatever I have or hold, you have given me.
I restore it all to you and surrender it wholly
to be governed by your will.
Give me only your love and grace
and I am rich enough and ask for nothing more.

- St. Ignatius, from the end of the Spiritual Exercises

2003-07-31T00:06:00.000-06:00

Bumper Sticker Theology 101

Seen on the road: (from Christianity Today)

Jesus loves you,
but I'm his favorite.

Where am I going and
why am I in this
handbasket?

What part of
"Thou Shalt Not"
didn't you understand?

My Karma ran over
your Dogma.

Lord, save me from
your followers.

Midwives help people out. (Alicia @ Fructus Ventris agrees)

My favorite message actually doesn't come from a bumper sticker but from an old country music song:

"Dropkick me, Jesus, through the goal-posts of life"

2003-07-30T23:53:00.000-06:00

Why I opposed President Bush's Faith-Based Initiative

BALTIMORE (CNS) -- Maryland Catholic officials oppose a measure that would affect the hiring policies of faith-based groups that contract with the state. Del. Samuel "Sandy" Rosenberg said he is reintroducing a bill that would prohibit religiously affiliated employers from "discriminating on the basis of sexual orientation, genetic information or disability." He said faith-based groups should be subject to the same laws as other employers. But leaders of the Maryland Catholic Conference, the public policy arm of the state's Catholic bishops, warn that Rosenberg's bill would have a devastating effect on Catholic social services agencies, forcing them to choose between violating the church's moral teachings or forfeiting their ability to do business with the state.

Methinks Catholic Charities and all religious organizations would be better off if they stopped accepting funding from the state. Catholic Charities is not just a social service arm of Catholic Church, Inc.; it's supposed to be an extension of the Church's mission of heralding the Kingdom of God. Entanglement with government promotes bureaucracy (I've experienced that firsthand) and threatens the integrity of any religious charity. Here's a radical idea: How about asking Catholics in Maryland to sacrifice and donate to Catholic Charities and other agencies, freeing them from begging on the steps of the capitol in Annapolis?

2003-07-30T21:34:00.000-06:00

The Silent Majority

Troublemakers in Long Island.

A Catholic bishop in Long Island, N.Y., who once served as the top deputy to former Boston Cardinal Bernard Law, is under fire from a lay organization.

Voice of the Faithful of Long Island, a group that seeks church reform in light of recent clergy abuse scandals, is demanding Bishop William Murphy's resignation, claiming that his service under Law from 1993 to 2001 has tainted his moral authority.

But the national Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights has rushed to the bishop's defense, maintaining his innocence and characterizing the Voice of the Faithful's efforts as "despicable" and a "demagogic attempt to silence" Murphy.

The story essentially pits the protestations of one tiny interest group in the Church against the protestations of another tiny interest group in the Church. I use the phrase "interest group" because VOTF and the Catholic League, as far as I can tell, are not about nourishing a particular charism and serving the People of God, but rather advancing their own ideological interests. Funny how the few who shout the loudest get the headlines while the vast majority of the faithful are never heard from. That's how it goes, for as George Eliot reminds us at the end of Middlemarch, "the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs."

2003-07-30T20:57:00.000-06:00

Summa Contra Seabiscuit

Allan Barra of the Wall Street Journal disputes the alleged importance of racehorse Seabiscuit in 1930s America.

It's a common fallacy for popular historians to confuse something that entertains people with something that actually touches their lives. Seabiscuit was certainly a hero during the Depression, but was he the hero of the Depression? Thumb through any number of books on the 1930s and on sports heroes from that decade, and you're likely to find much more on Jesse Owens and his spectacular victories at the 1936 Berlin Olympics than about any racehorse.

Flip through the newspapers of most major league cities in the late '30s, and the focus seems to be on Hank Greenberg (whose assault on Babe Ruth's seasonal record of 60 home runs was followed daily), Bob Feller (the 19-year-old strikeout king), and, of course, Joe DiMaggio (whose Yankees, by October 1938, were about to win their third-straight World Series, sweeping the Chicago Cubs in four games). Much more than on horse racing....

It's difficult to believe that even Seabiscuit's greatest race generated more headlines or inspired more people than Joe Louis's June 22, 1938, heavyweight championship rematch with Max Schmeling, Adolf Hitler's chosen representative of the Master Race. (Schmeling had beaten Lewis in their previous bout two years earlier.) The Louis-Schmeling fight was an event of international importance, which dominated the sports pages of at least two continents for months before the bout....I don't know of any precise way to measure the popularity of Seabiscuit vs. that of Joe Louis, but I'm fairly certain that, late in 1938, millions of American boys weren't fantasizing about growing up to be racehorses.

2003-07-29T23:28:00.000-06:00

Bernie says, "Drink Responsibly"

Bernie Brewer, the mascot for the local baseball club, gets his 15 minutes of Internet fame. (FYI, I deliberately manipulated the answers to get this result. Don't send someone to cart me away to rehab.)

The Brewers Drunk
You are a closet alcoholic. You love to get all pumped up and take dives into vats of beer. You probably have cheesy facial hair as well.
You probably thank Anhuesier-Busch alot as well.

What Baseball Mascot are You?
brought to you by Quizilla

Nonsense. Bernie only drinks Miller.

(Link courtesy of Gospel M*I*N*E*F*I*E*L*D)

2003-07-29T22:47:00.000-06:00

Another dispatch from the "Liturgy Wars"

Wow. This NYT article linked by Amy Welborn has inspired 100 comments, some of them quite passionate, on her blog.

The Rev. John A. Perricone, an erudite Roman Catholic priest who uses Latin phrases and refers to T.S. Eliot in conversation, is known nationally as leading proponent of the centuries-old Latin Mass, which was banished in favor of a more accessible service by the Second Vatican Council in the 1960's.

This month, Father Perricone was called from his academic post as a professor of philosophy at St. Francis College in Brooklyn and assigned here as administrator of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, a working-class parish not far from Newark.

So far, the match has not gone well.

A group of parishioners is enraged that in their view, the priest is imposing on them aspects of the traditional Latin Mass, called the Tridentine Mass after the Council of Trent in the 16th century. Today, nearly three-dozen parishioners — some carrying signs denouncing the priest ("Get Rid of John Perricone Now," read one) — picketed Our Lady of Mount Carmel before and after the 10:30 a.m. service, which drew nearly 200 people. The Archdiocese of Newark, seeking to quiet the gathering storm, sent its spokesman, James Goodness, to speak to reporters, who had been alerted to the protest by Father Perricone's opponents.

Ah, I see the "liturgy wars" are alive and well. Just about every conceivable viewpoint is represented in the comments, so I'll just add a few personal thoughts.

When I lived in New York, I often attended daily Mass, as well as the occasional Sunday Tridentine Mass at St. Agnes, right by Grand Central Station, and Fr. Perricone was occasionally the presider. His homilies are laser-sharp, and he has a formidable intellect. He heads an apostolate, Christifideles, centered around the revival of the Latin Mass. He is also, shall we say, a tad bit eccentric. In his cassock and intricate vestments, he looks like a pre-VII priest out of central casting. I personally admired him, but I can see how he can be off-putting to some, which is why I wonder why on earth he was assigned to a working-class parish in New Jersey. The details are in question (we are talking about a report from the Times, after all), but pastoral insensitivity is probably one factor in this mess. I think all parties would benefit if the good father retreated to the academy and St. Agnes, where his gifts are more profitably employed.

As for Fr. Perricone's use of the rubrics, I'll wait for the storm to blow over before I address that.

2003-07-29T00:46:00.000-06:00

That's what I call Executive Privilege

Those listening to the weekly program Bidze-Nduan (Bury the Fire) on the state radio station of the small West African country of Equatorial Guinea heard it call President Teodoro Obiang Nguema "the country's God," according to the BBC, The Star of South Africa, and other news reports....

Nguema, the broadcast said, is "in permanent contact with the Almighty," and "like God in heaven. He has all power over men and things…. He can decide to kill without anyone calling him to account and without going to hell because it is God himself, with whom he is in permanent contact, who gives him this strength."

2003-07-28T01:06:00.000-06:00

----------, pray for us bloggers

St. Blog's is the nickname for the online community of Catholic bloggers. One obvious problem: There is no actual Saint Blog. Contemplating this discrepancy, I came up with this idea:

Wouldn't it be neat if St. Blog's adopted an actual saint/blessed as its patron? St. Isidore of Seville is a proposed patron of the Internet. Perhaps there is a saint who would make an appropriate patron for blogging. When Blogger crashes, or our comments boxes disappear, or our permalinks don't work, we can pray to our patron for help.

Suggestions?

2003-07-28T01:00:00.000-06:00

Catholicism As Window-Dressing in Quebec

(Link courtesy of Relapsed Catholic)

Mr. [Bernard] Cantin, a defrocked Catholic priest, is the founder of Le Nouveau Penser, an officially recognized religious organization with 32 pastors whose main business is weddings.

Having drifted away from the Catholic Church, a growing number of Quebecers are turning to groups like Mr. Cantin's when they decide to marry. Mr. Cantin, 65, has six weddings scheduled this weekend. By the end of the year, Nouveau Penser ministers will have conducted 1,100, up from about 400 five years ago. A similar group, known as FSEV, married 1,300 couples last year, compared with just 30 when it began in 1994.

Unlike Catholic priests, who will only celebrate weddings inside a church, these groups bring the wedding to the bride and groom. And they welcome couples who would be shunned by the Church, such as non-Christians, divorcés, even the Hells Angels....

People coming to him "are basically spiritual people but they don't want dogmatic things and judgment and being lectured to," he said. Couples that have been living together for 10 years before deciding to marry find it ridiculous that the Church insists on marriage-preparation courses. People whose first marriages have ended in divorce are hurt when they are told they cannot remarry.

But he said his clients, still reluctant to completely break with Catholic traditions that go back generations, like the fact he is a former priest and can dress the part.

That's rather sad. Couples turn to this charlatan who "can dress the part" and are oblivious to the beauty and richness of the faith. It's like owning a finely bound copy of Shakespeare's collected works and, while admiring its exterior beauty, never bothering to open it and take a look at King Lear.

2003-07-28T00:27:00.000-06:00

"Dear Santa, all I want for Christmas is..."

The Dubya talking action figure. (Link courtesy of A Saintly Salmagundi)

Mr. Bush looks awfully stern. Might scare youngsters.

Our 43rd president is the first in a line of "Toypresidents." You can vote for the president you want to see all dolled up next. I cast my vote for Franklin Pierce.

2003-07-27T23:51:00.000-06:00

Cool New Blog

Make a pilgrimmage to the Shrine of the Holy Whapping, where four self-professed "Catholic Nerds" at Notre Dame reflect on faith and culture. Any blog that provides links to forgotten NYC subways, the Liturgy of the Hours, and Casablanca is of significant merit. Gives me confidence in the youth.

2003-07-27T23:02:00.000-06:00

Howard Dean? Never heard of him.

Perhaps this will prevent Attorney General Ashcroft from hounding me.

Threat rating: zero. Excellent work - you demonstrate all the qualities of patriotism that will make America even greater under Bush.
USA no.1!!!

What threat to the Bush administration are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

(Link courtesy of And Then?)

2003-07-27T02:22:00.000-06:00

SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted.

John 6:11

2003-07-27T02:18:00.000-06:00

"Freedom Is Not Free"

An armistice ended the Korean War 50 years ago today.

"OUR NATION HONORS HER SONS AND DAUGHTERS WHO ANSWERED THE CALL TO DEFEND A COUNTRY THEY NEVER KNEW AND A PEOPLE THEY NEVER MET."
- Inscription on the Korean War Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.

2003-07-27T01:39:00.000-06:00

Mr. Baseball

Baseball doesn't play well on television. TV makes reality taste funny, and the small screen distorts the game. It constricts the fan's vision -- "Where are the outfielders shaded? What kind of lead is the baserunner taking?" -- and imagination. One of the great joys of baseball is turning on the radio in the car, at the office, in the kitchen, in the garden, and "watching" games unfold in the mind. For me, baseball on the radio is the soundtrack of summer.

Since arriving in Milwaukee a year ago, I've had the pleasure of hearing Bob Uecker broadcast Brewers games on the radio. A Milwaukee native and former big league catcher of meager skill (''I signed with the Milwaukee Braves for $3,000. That bothered my dad at the time because he didn't have that kind of dough. But he eventually scraped it up.''), Uecker is most famous for his appearances in Miller Lite commercials and his role as announcer Harry Doyle in those sophomoric Major League flicks. He has been behind the microphone as the "Voice of the Milwaukee Brewers" for 33 years, earning the laughter and affection of Wisconsinites. His distinctive voice informs and entertains, making yet another Brewers loss tolerable. Last week during a 11-2 drubbing by the Reds, "Ueck" told us how he knocked the guy who played Ralph Mouth on "Happy Days" on his keister during a celebrity softball game at old County Stadium. "I would have done the same thing to Joanie, too."

Today Bob Uecker will receive the Ford C. Frick Award for broadcast excellence and will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. Congratulations, Ueck.

2003-07-26T19:57:00.000-06:00

Sts. Joachim and Anne, Memorial

Entrance Antiphon
Praised be Joachim and Anne for the child they bore. The Lord gave them the blessing of all the nations.

2003-07-26T02:51:00.000-06:00

I don't care what people say, cohabitation is here to stay

Pastoral advice from Rabbi Gerald L. Zelizer of Neve Shalom, a Conservative congregation in New Jersey.

Cohabitation is here to stay and on the increase, whether we like it or not.

Clergy members, therefore, should move beyond the moral condemnation of cohabitation to more practical approaches (emphases added). We should encourage those who choose cohabitation to restrict their relationship to someone they intend to marry. That will maximize their chance for an eventual, successful marriage.

At the same time, clergy members should build on the many existing programs in churches and synagogues designed to deepen the stability of marriage. This would allow us to adjust to the reality of cohabitation before marriage in a manner that will fortify fidelity and stability in marriage.

Hmm, moral exhortation is impractical. If that's the case, why bother to enter the clergy? Do something more practical, like sell ice cream.

Given the higher rate of divorce among couples who live together before marriage, it is actually more practical to admonish couples to marry before cohabitating. It also has the added advantage of being the right thing to do.

2003-07-26T02:49:00.000-06:00

For the two of you out there who care...

Remember my newfangled blog on the Colorado Rockies? (The baseball team, not the geological phenomenon.) I just put it out of its misery. Requiescat en pace.

It actually wasn't that bad, and, if I do say so myself, it was occasionally perceptive. I'm most proud of coining "The Gabe White Paradigm." It was fatally flawed, however, in two respects.

1) It's difficult to closely follow a team that plays its home games 1,000 miles away.
2) The Rockies are cursed with the same problems every year: pitching woes & an inability to score on the road. Fans don't need a blog to remind them of that.

I wasn't really happy with the results, so, like the French, I shamefully surrender.

To quote one of my favorite philosophers, Casey Stengel:

"You win some, you lose some, and some days you're rained out."

2003-07-25T01:10:00.000-06:00

FEAST OF SAINT JAMES

"You will drink my cup."

Matthew 20:23

2003-07-24T23:58:00.000-06:00

Humanae Vitae - 35 Years Later

"But the Church, which interprets natural law through its unchanging doctrine, reminds men and women that the teachings based on natural law must be obeyed, and teaches that it is necessary that each and every conjugal act remain ordained to the procreating of human life....The doctrine which the Magisterium of the Church has often explicated is this: There is an unbreakable connection between the unitive meaning and the procreative meaning of the conjugal act, and both are inherent in the conjugal act. This connection was established by God and cannot be broken by man through his own volition" (Pope Paul VI, Humanae Vitae, 11, 12).

Today marks the 35th anniversary of the promulgation of Humanae Vitae, Pope Paul VI's encyclical reiterating the Church's teaching that contraception is intrinsically wrong. It is, I believe, a prophetic document.

I recently thought to myself that technology has done some peculiar things to the nature of human reproduction. It is now possible to have babies without sex (via in vitro fertilization) and sex without babies (via artificial contraception). The two have become unlinked, all to the detriment of conjugal love.

Humanae Vitae is best read through the prism of Pope John Paul II's "Theology of the Body." The Holy Father emphasizes that our embodied selves are made by God for self-donation, giving of ourselves for others, mirroring the communion of love that exists among the three Divine Persons of the Trinity. In marriage, a man and a woman give of themselves in the most profound way, literally giving to the other his/her own body. Through sexual love, husband and wife bodily manifest the sacrament of marriage and the openness to creating life. These "unitive" and "procreative" meanings of spousal love are indivisible. Contraception separates one from the other, engendering a "contraceptive mentality" which reduces human sexuality merely to a vehicle of individual pleasure.

Since the introduction of "the pill" in the 1960s, society has undergone a "sexual revolution" predicated on individual fulfillment. I suspect it hasn't increased the sum of human happiness one bit because that aim is absolutely contrary to our created nature. The wreckage is all around us -- divorce, disease, unhappiness. Humanae Vitae points to a different way, a way, I pray, we will have the courage to follow.

Some good links are

Humane Vitae - Paul VI's encyclical
theologyofthebody.net - Resources on John Paul II's "Theology of the Body"
Couple to Couple League - Information for married couples on Natural Family Planning

2003-07-24T23:29:00.000-06:00

St. Thomas Aquinas, ora pro nobis

Trouble at St. James Elementary School in the Archdiocese of Chicago. (Link courtesy of Maine Catholic and Beyond)

For the first time in 137 years, St. James is without any Sisters of Mercy, the result of a dispute between Father Linton and the school's veteran principal, Sister Jayne Daly....

At the end of last month, Sister Jayne stepped down rather than sign a new contract agreeing to Father Linton's attempts to exert control over certain matters at the school, in particular its list of private donors. The school's finance director, the only other Sister of Mercy on staff, followed Sister Jayne out the door....

About 250 students in preschool through eighth grade come from throughout the area--but mostly the South Side--to attend St. James. Nearly all are African American. A scholarship program enables students from nearby CHA projects to attend by defraying most of the $2,900 annual tuition.

Many St. James students go on to the best Catholic high schools. A St. James student won a national science contest last year....

Sister Margaret [Lyons] said the main disagreement between Sister Jayne and Father Linton involved his efforts to make her turn over the names of donors who sponsor students for scholarships.

Sister Margaret said she started the scholarship program herself in 1985 with the help of her brother, then pastor of a North Shore parish. She said the program with the North Shore donors was launched with the promise that donations be kept anonymous so that donors would not receive additional fund-raising solicitations from the church.

Sister Jayne felt she had an ethical obligation to keep that promise, Sister Margaret said.

But Father Linton, who came to St. James last year, added several "terms of understanding" into the principal's contract for the coming school year, including a requirement she give him the donors' names.

When Sister Jayne did not agree to the additional terms, her contract was not renewed, Sister Margaret said.

The archdiocese is backing Father Linton.

2003-07-24T22:35:00.000-06:00

Prayer of Jabez: Sign of Contradiction?

Amy Welborn goes to the Christian Booksellers Assocation convention.

[W]hat is problematic about the CBA market (and probably about some aspects of the more liturgical church markets as well, but not so much) is the cravenness and obviousness of so much of it. Sure, if people are into music of a certain style, it makes perfect sense for Christians to set their own words to that style of music. What else are we supposed to do? But there is something else at work in all of this and it is the profit motive, pure and simple. Publishers are businesses, so they want to profit, they want to make what is going to sell...so they will follow the secular trends, baptize them, repackage them and put them in stores to be played on your stereo or worn on your toe....[T]here is something about the relationship between supposed evangelism, a reflexive adaptation of secular pop culture and social trends, and commerce that adds up to something less than organic, something less than an innocent and solidly-grounded fulfillment of the Great Commission.

I would add that there is much about popular culture that is not just incompatible, but decidedly antithetical to the message of the gospel. It's not just that most of the items peddled at the CBA convention are junk. (Parodying the entire Bible squeezed onto a 24"x36" poster is way too easy.) The consumerist ethos dominating our society celebrates acquisitiveness and hampers the deferral of gratification, both of which are inimical to a life of discipleship. Christians are called to be "signs of contradiction," leaven in a culture marked by shallowness and vulgarity. It's hard to contradict the culture when you're trying to ape it.

2003-07-24T19:59:00.000-06:00

Oremus

Michael, the young son of blogger Sean Gallagher, is recovering from pneumonia.

But we'd ask you to continue to pray. Pray for him in his recovery. He's very weak right now, not even able to pull himself up to his feet to walk. He's also lost a lot of weight. But, more importantly, please pray for the many patients at Riley who were there long before Michael arrived and who will surely be there long after his homecoming. Your continued prayers will be much appreciated.

2003-07-24T19:49:00.000-06:00

Happy Blogday!

Jeff Miller @ The Curt Jester celebrates his first anniversary of blogging.

2003-07-24T19:41:00.000-06:00

It was 20 years ago today...

The Pine Tar Game

2003-07-23T19:32:00.000-06:00

Does this make him a neocon?

"It is incontestable that on the day I left office, there were unaccounted-for stocks of biological and chemical weapons [in Iraq]."
- Former President Bill Clinton on last night's "Larry King Live."

2003-07-23T19:24:00.000-06:00

And you think you have a mean boss?

But at least one man voiced disappointment that Uday [Hussein], who ran much of Iraq's media and sport with a heavy hand, had been killed. "I don't want him dead. I want to torture him first," said Alaa Hamed, who was a producer at Uday's television station. He said Uday beat him with electrical cables when he made mistakes.

2003-07-22T23:50:00.000-06:00

Public Art Takes a Great Fall

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) It might take all the king's horses and all the king's men to solve a crime in Colorado Springs.

Somebody took a 200-pound, 3-foot-tall statue of Humpty Dumpty from his perch on a downtown street. The statue, valued at $20,000, was reported missing early Saturday.

"The world knows it's hot," said Dave Kosley, spokesman for the Downtown Partnership, which served as curator for an outdoor art program. "I don't see that anyone who has it would feel comfortable displaying it in their front room or back yard. It's probably in a frathouse bar."

$20,000 for that hideous work? I don't approve of violating the seventh commandment, but my sensible reaction is to mutter, "Good riddance." (The statue reminds me a bit of W.C. Fields.)

2003-07-22T05:44:00.000-06:00

UPDATE: Convert to Convent

Our friend Katy Zeitler needs only $9,800 to pay off her college debt and enter the Nashville Dominicans.

2003-07-22T05:29:00.000-06:00

Capitalism Unleashed

Proving that you learn something new at St. Blog's every day, I recently discovered Mighty Barrister merchandise. No joke. Via cafepress.com, you can purchase Mighty Barrister shirts, mousepads, mugs, and stickers.

Perhaps someday this blog will go commercial. Just imagine buying your kid sister a cool Gaudete Semper T-shirt. Take the Gaudete Semper travel mug to work and impress your boss with how much company time you're stealing from him by going online. I'm thinking of expanding the product line to frisbees, umbrellas, dog dishes. Maybe we'll get product placement deals for TV shows and movies. You can see Tom Hanks chug down a cold one in a nifty Gaudete Semper beer stein. Or Jennifer Aniston in slinky Gaudete Semper negligee. The possibilies are endless.

2003-07-22T05:15:00.000-06:00

"Why I'm Sanguine"

Andrew Sullivan makes my point better than I could.

My liberal readers have just about had it with me on the Africa-Uranium story. They think I'm deliberately ignoring it; in denial about the collapse of the occupation of Iraq; and still swooning for Dubya. Well, they might be right about the third. But the reason I'm unmoved by this story is that I can't see why it matters. Intelligence is always a somewhat dubious enterprise. There is little certainty, only grades of uncertainty. No one - left, right or center, European or American, Democrat or Republican - believed that Saddam had come clean about his WMD ambitions in the months before the war. Does anyone today? That refusal is the entire reason for the war. Not our intelligence - his refusal. The notion that a single minor piece of evidence which is still defended by British spooks somehow undermines the case for war against Saddam is just loopy. Should we investigate to see where our intelligence might have failed? You bet. Should we worry, as one letter writer today does, that our credibility has been tarnished? Absolutely. Did the Bush administration "lie" about the intelligence it received? There is no evidence whatever that the president deliberately misled the American people. If he had one fault, it was veering on the side of caution when faced with Saddam's record in a post-9/11 world. Count me as someone who is glad he didn't veer toward complacency instead.

2003-07-22T05:04:00.000-06:00

Proving that Catholics can be just as flaky...

London, Jul. 21 (CWNews.com) - An Irish priest yesterday risked his life to disrupt the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in an attempt to protest against Britain's part in the war on Iraq.

Dress in a kilt and tam-o'shanter (traditional Scottish headwear) Father Neil Horan raced across the track as Formula One cars hurtled past at speeds of up to 200 mph.

Millions watched on live TV as the 56-year-old priest ran on to the track carrying a carrier bag and a banner declaring "Read the Bible. The Bible is always right" as drivers swerved to avoid him....

A friend of Father Horan told the Independent newspaper: "He's basically a very nice man who firmly believes in his own interpretation of the Bible. He has his own way of spreading that message."

I never understood why putting oneself in danger is supposed to evoke feelings of solidarity on the part of another. Let's take hunger strikes, for example. Whatever the justness of the cause, am I supposed to be motivated to support it because some guy is starving himself to death? Furthermore, am I supposed to feel guilty about not supporting that cause if the protester dies? Such actions are self-absorbed and shamefully manipulative. Stop them.

2003-07-22T04:36:00.000-06:00

One Argument Against e-mail

Here are excerpts from an e-mail I recently received from a fellow named Clive Campbell. How on earth did he get my address?

Awake through the fulfillment of these biblical prophecies for 2003--i.e., the specific outcomes (mentioned below) of the sixth Arab-Israeli war! These will likely come about in the failure of the road map to peace and/or war with Syria:

1. Israel will possess Syrian land all the way past Damascus! (Includes a link from Arabic News, always an unbiased source.)

2. Israel will wrongly drive the Palestinians into Jordan. (Reveals Prime Minister Sharon's secret plan. If it's so secret, how come these people know about it? Also says the operation will commence on the day war with Iraq breaks out. Oops. Can't get them all right.)

3. Israel will viciously possess Jordanian land east of the Jordan River (Gilead) and burn the bones of King Abdullah II to lime. This may mean a nuclear attack on Amman, but I hope not. (I hope not, too.)

BOOK SUGGESTION: MESSIAH: 2030

[In addition to being a prophetic book, Messiah: 2030 claims that Genesis 1:3ff. indicates that God gradually moved the earth to its present orbit from a more distant orbit from 3970 to 3966 BC (i.e., the creation "week" was seven years long)--this better explains the ice ages and supports the gap theory (without evolution): that "God created the heavens" probably 14 billion years ago "and the earth" 4.5 billion years ago, but no vegetation until "day" (year) three (3968 BC) and that He likely tilted the earth's axis at the Fall. It further claims that Eden was at the site of Jerusalem, supported by biblical arguments and oldest village settlements at Abu Ghosh (Adam, Eve and Seth) and oldest city at Jericho (Cain).] (Interesting exegesis. Why do creationists come up with these elaborate theories to explain this stuff? Admit the findings of modern science or stick with the good ole' 7 days.)

In the context of these texts, Messiah: 2030 also claims that the Bible prophesied the fall of the WTC towers and provides a meaning for it, that the Bible prophesies the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will erupt into a sixth Arab-Israeli war (with specific outcomes!) and be over in 2003, that the third temple will be finished in Jerusalem about 2020, and that the Antichrist will come out of the ten-nation CIS.

After the sixth Arab-Israeli war is over in 2003 (Only 5 months left!), Israel will have twenty years of peace and preaching, before the Rapture in 2023. This is the time that the job of preaching the gospel "to every nation and tribe and tongue and people" (Rev. 14:6) will be finished.

Nice to know this inside information. For those of you placing bets in Vegas on the date of the Rapture, put it all on 2023, then watch the money roll in!

2003-07-22T04:08:00.000-06:00

"The Catholic Church's Regime Change"

A brief review of David Gibson's The Coming Catholic Church: How the Faithful Are Shaping a New American Catholicism appears @ Christianity Today's Books & Culture. Mr. Gibson subscribes to the predictable progressive view of what the future of American Catholicism entails: an empowered laity emancipating the priesthood from the shackles of celibacy and the exclusion of women from its ranks (Rome will be interested to hear that) and assuming a larger role in managing the affairs of the Church. Reviewer Eugene McCarraher expresses some doubts.

I would also challenge the standard liberal faith in that darling "laity." One question that remains unanswered—and even unasked—is a simple but (I'd wager) disconcerting one: "Who are these people?" My view (based on my own research and on recent studies of religious culture such as Michael Budde and Robert Brimlow's brilliant Christianity Incorporated) is that "the laity" turn out to be the very upper-middle-class Catholics whose therapeutic, consumerist ethos Gibson derides....Would lay power really augur an epoch of openness and honesty? Under cover of shibboleths like "revolution from below," might Catholics be trading one managerialist culture for another—one which, given Gibson's generational observations, may be even less informed and coherent than its predecessor? My own answers to these questions would not be reassuring, and Gibson's book does little to assuage my fear that, without a theology and practice that upholds a "sign of contradiction" to the venality of American culture, the victory of the laity will be as pyrrhic as it is inexorable.

I worked at a parish that was essentially controlled by its lay members, and it was a madhouse. They ran one pastor out though public protests, hatched conspiracies at the Presbyterian church down the street, hampered the current pastor's ability to lead, withheld donations at a whim, and complained when the 11 a.m. Mass ran too long because it interfered with reservations for brunch. They were (surprise!) mostly upper-middle-class folk with a managerial outlook. (They also have established a VOTF chapter at the parish.) I sense people like Mr. Gibson think the laity are exempted from the effects of Original Sin and can only usher in goodness and light. I have my doubts.

2003-07-20T18:30:00.000-06:00

SIXTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

He had great compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and he began to teach them many things.

Mark 6:34

2003-07-18T01:36:00.000-06:00

A Remarkable Speech

British Prime Minister Tony Blair addressed a Joint Session of Congress yesterday.

Members of Congress, if this seems a long way from the threat of terror and weapons of mass destruction, it is only to say again that the world security cannot be protected without the world's heart being one. So America must listen as well as lead. But, members of Congress, don't ever apologize for your values.

Tell the world why you're proud of America. Tell them when the Star-Spangled Banner starts, Americans get to their feet, Hispanics, Irish, Italians, Central Europeans, East Europeans, Jews, Muslims, white, Asian, black, those who go back to the early settlers and those whose English is the same as some New York cab drivers I've dealt with, but whose sons and daughters could run for this Congress.

Tell them why Americans, one and all, stand upright and respectful. Not because some state official told them to, but because whatever race, color, class or creed they are, being American means being free. That's why they're proud....

And what you can bequeath to this anxious world is the light of liberty.

That is what this struggle against terrorist groups or states is about. We're not fighting for domination. We're not fighting for an American world, though we want a world in which America is at ease. We're not fighting for Christianity, but against religious fanaticism of all kinds.

And this is not a war of civilizations, because each civilization has a unique capacity to enrich the stock of human heritage.

We are fighting for the inalienable right of humankind -- black or white, Christian or not, left, right or a million different -- to be free, free to raise a family in love and hope, free to earn a living and be rewarded by your efforts, free not to bend your knee to any man in fear, free to be you so long as being you does not impair the freedom of others.

That's what we're fighting for. And it's a battle worth fighting.

And I know it's hard on America, and in some small corner of this vast country, out in Nevada or Idaho or these places I've never been to, but always wanted to go. I know out there there's a guy getting on with his life, perfectly happily, minding his own business, saying to you, the political leaders of this country, 'Why me? And why us? And why America?'

And the only answer is, 'Because destiny put you in this place in history, in this moment in time, and the task is yours to do.'

2003-07-18T01:12:00.000-06:00

New Link

The recently ordained Fr. Todd Reitmeyer's A Son Becomes a Father, complete with special effects.

2003-07-18T00:26:00.000-06:00

Stupid Website of the Day

Click on the image to view Jerry's message of hope and inclusion as he does battle against elitists who think Middle America is populated with "slack-jawed yokels, hicks, weirdos, pervs and whatnot."

Nearly all of Middle America was awash in red on the 2000 election map. Here's a syllogism:

1) Middle America is populated with normal folks.

2) Middle America voted for Bush.

Ergo, normal folks voted for Bush.

(BTW, my sister's boyfriend once took Jerry Springer's ticket at a movie theater in Cincinnati. I guess that means I'm only two degrees of separation from the presumptive junior senator from Ohio. Fills me with pride.)

2003-07-18T00:00:00.000-06:00

Relief is spelled C-L-I-C-K H-E-R-E

From Christianity Today's Weblog.

Tired of the millions of links to stories of church battles about homosexuality? Click here to skip past 'em all.

2003-07-17T11:00:00.000-06:00

Deo Gratias!

On Tuesday, Fr. Bryce Sibley @ A Saintly Salmagundi celebrated the third anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and for ever. (Hebrews 13:8)

"I am convinced that priests should have no fear of being 'outside time,' because the human 'today' of every priest is part and parcel of the 'today' of Christ the Redeemer. The greatest kind of fulfillment for any priest at any time is to find in daily life his priestly 'today' in the 'today' of Christ."

Pope John Paul II, Gift and Mystery

2003-07-17T10:51:00.000-06:00

I am not a geek!!

And I have the results from The Geek Test to prove it.

7.69231% - Poser

2003-07-17T10:31:00.000-06:00

'A bruised reed you shall not break'

Good work in Milwaukee by Prison Fellowship Ministries.

The basic thought behind Prison Fellowship is to have inmates begin to think about taking on the responsibility for reshaping their lives with help from their mentors, Stackpole said.

But it's also a two-way street for mentors.

"Our bruised-reed logo symbolizes a verse in Isaiah which says, 'A bruised reed you shall not break, a smoldering wick, you shall not stuff out and in faithfulness you will bring forth justice.' It talks about the Savior redeeming us," Stackpole said.

"That doesn't just say what Prison Fellowship believes. It says what I am. I know I'm a bruised reed. When you go about it with that aspect of looking at your own life and the people who helped you, then the Lord wants us to act as that agent of reconciliation in someone else's life."

2003-07-17T10:10:00.000-06:00

War, Prayer, and the Catechism

From the Corpus Christi Caller-Times

Cynthia Gonzalez, a Catholic, carries a picture of her son Joshua in uniform and a prayer card written during the Korean conflict. Joel Garcia, also a Catholic, carries with him the memories of fighting in the trenches of the very same war.

Gonzalez prays for her son every day. Garcia doesn't think the church should.

"The Catechism says that we can only fight a war that is just," he said. "So far, no one has been able to tell me that this is a just war. By asking us to pray for soldiers, we are saying we support what they are doing. We hear all this talk about how they are heroes, but we never mention that they are over there killing people."

Praying for the safety of American soldiers has nothing to do with supporting a war that may or may not be just. Mr. Garcia is extrapolating teachings out of the Catechism that just aren't there.

[Bishop Edmond] Carmody said the Catholic Church's position on the war is clear.

"War is always a sign of failure and should always be the last resort," he said.

But, he said, once the United States was committed to war, the church was committed to praying for all who might be involved or affected - the president, the troops and their families and the people of the Middle East. Carmody said the church will continue to pray and Garcia is entitled not to.

"He is entitled to his freedom of speech and belief," he said.

He's not, however, entitled to misrepresent the Church's teaching on the matter.

A final thought from Ms. Gonzalez:

"We would not have the freedom to practice our religion . . . or he would not have the freedom to say those things or even to pray if we didn't have a military to protect it."

I don't think al-Qaeda is a big supporter of the First Amendment.

2003-07-17T09:53:00.000-06:00

"Sometimes I wish God would give me a Holy Ghost machine gun"

Benny Hinn shows up in my hometown.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Hank Hanegraaff of the Christian Research Institute, a California-based group that monitored Hinn's ministry, calls Hinn a false prophet.

Hanegraaff's book, "Counterfeit Revival," criticizes Hinn, saying he "drags Christ's name through the mud."

Hanegraaff and other critics keep a record of the claims Hinn makes at his crusades and on his television show - that Fidel Castro would die in the mid-1990s; that all gays would be killed by fire by 1995; that Jesus would appear on the platform with Hinn at one of his crusades.

Hinn lashes out against such criticism. He once said, "Sometimes I wish God would give me a Holy Ghost machine gun. I blow your head off!"

"Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep's clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits." (Mt 7:15-16)

2003-07-16T10:02:00.000-06:00

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, Optional Memorial

Seeing his mother, and the disciple whom he loved standing near, Jesus said to his mother, ‘Woman, behold, your son!’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Behold, your mother!’

John 19:26-27

Happy feast day to Steven Riddle, member of the Third Order of Carmel, @ Flos Carmeli and Kathy the Carmelite @ Gospel M*I*N*E*F*I*E*L*D.

2003-07-16T09:46:00.000-06:00

One Thumb Up

New St. Blog's parishioner Chris @ Maine Catholic and Beyond, prompted by Mel Gibson's film on Christ's passion, asked

What are your favorite films where Catholicism plays a central role?

Hmmm, favorite films. One of my favorite movies is A Man for All Seasons, Robert Bolt's treatment of Thomas More, but it focuses on More, not his faith. (One of the misleading features about the play/movie is that it portrays More as a man who could not violate his conscience -- "a man with an adamantine sense of his own self," Bolt writes -- while neglecting that which formed his conscience.) I really liked The Mission, with Jeremy Irons as the Jesuit missionary and Robert De Niro as the reformed slave trader. The opening scence, in which a missionary is martyred by being tied to a cross and sent plunging over falls, is mesmerizing. The Song of Bernadette is inspiring in its portrayal of Bernadette Soubirous and the Virgin Mary's appearance at Lourdes. The other film that comes to mind is The Exorcist, which is often thought of as an anti-Catholic film. Quite the contrary. (Eminent movie critic Joe Bob Briggs pointed out, "You know this movie's still banned on video in England? You know Billy Graham made SERMONS against this movie? Which is strange, because the Catholic Church cooperated all the way on it. Catholics love it. Catholics love gloomy stuff. Makes em happy.") The book the movie sprang from was based on a true story involving a possessed 14-year old boy and Jesuits from Georgetown and St. Louis University. (Jesuits from Georgetown cooperated with the filming.) Once you get past the histrionics and Linda Blair's green pea soup vomit, you see a story about the reality of Satan and evil and Christ's ultimate victory over them. Powerful.

2003-07-15T10:38:00.000-06:00

Signs of the Times

Reading the NY Times on a hazy summer morning, sipping my Starbucks vanilla Frapuccino.

"NORTH KOREA SAYS IT HAS MATERIAL FOR ATOM BOMBS"
American intelligence isn't sure that's the case, but intelligence, as we are discovering, is as much art as science. President Bush said nuclear (or as the president pronounces it, "nuculer") weapons on the Korean peninsula "will not be tolerated." Given that diplomacy is going nowhere (I don't think diplomacy works so well with Stalinist tyrannies headed by megalomaniacal weirdos) and a military strike could produce a bloodbath, they may have to be tolerated. We're in a world of hurt.

"Shifting Gears, White House Shoves Back on Bush Claim"
It seems Democrats are making a mountain out of a molehill (Bush's credibility on one line in one speech) while ignoring Pikes Peak -- concerns about the reliability of American intelligence on Iraq before the war and the Administration's use of that intelligence. I still assert, not quite 3 months after the war's end, that it's too early to draw many conclusions, but this is a worry. "The (media) coverage is probably less than it should be," Bryce Nelson, a journalism professor at USC, says about the story. Gee, I guess leading off the network newscasts for several days and making the front page of the Times isn't enough. As the kids say, "Whatever."

"Architect and Developer Clash Over Plans for Trade Center Site"
WTC developer Larry Silverstein obviously wants to rebuild all the office space he lost on 9/11/2001 and get tenants back. (Although I suspect many of them who have gone to Midtown and Jersey aren't coming back.) He owns the lease from the Port Authority. The WTC site, though, isn't just a prime piece of commercial property. Because of its significance -- nearly 3,000 lives lost on a clear September morning on an attack on American soil -- it in a very real sense belongs to the nation. As the details between Mr. Silverstein and the architect Daniel Libeskind are haggled over, I hope that is never forgotten.

"For Icon of Youthful Beauty, Age Is Issue as He Nears 500"
Conflict over how to clean Michelangelo's "David" in Florence. Both sides have mustered scientific evidence to back their claims. Einstein said we have more to fear from bad politics than bad science. Einstein, who knew better, should have added that bad politics frequently enlists bad science.

"Bill Keller, Columnist, Is Selected As the Times's Executive Editor"
I wish Mr. Keller well, because this paper became an embarrassment under predecessor Howell Raines. The obvious liberal bias, the goofy crusades like female membership at Augusta, and the Blair fiasco point to a paper in crisis.

"In Los Angeles, Skid Row Resists an Upgrade"
Urban renewal v. urbanites. A sad story of homelessness, mental illness, drug abuse, and life's vicissitudes. The rights of individuals v. the right for a community to improve its quality of life. A troubling tale.

"Bush Seems to Favor Sending a Modest Force to Liberia"
I am certainly one who advocates the use of American military force to advance humanitarian ends. Samantha Powers in her recent book A Problem from Hell reports on the disgraceful American response in the 1990s to genocide in Rwanda and ethinic cleansing in Bosnia. My only concern is that the US deployment to Liberia will be a token force, unable to keep the peace. For that matter, will there be peace to keep? Given how our resources are stretched in Iraq, which I argue involves, unlike Liberia, serious national interests, I'm not sure if this is an effective use of military power.

"On Bastille Day, Far Away but Fervently French"
I didn't know France still has an outpost in the New World. St.-Pierre and Miquelon Islands, a tiny archipelago on the tip of Newfoundland, is still a French possession. I say it's time to liberate them!

"Arafat and Abbas Agree On Roles in the Peace Effort"
Apparently Yasir Arafat is guaranteed "continued influence over negotiations with Israel and over Palestinian security forces." That further casts doubt in my mind about the Palestinians' sincerity about forging peaceful co-existence with Israel.

"G.I. Killed and 6 Are Wounded in Ambush"
I'll save comments for a later post on postwar Iraq.

"India Decides Not to Send Troops to Iraq Now"
How about a "coalition of the unwilling"?

"No-Show Equals No Vote, Irate N.A.A.C.P. Hosts Say"
"You now have become persona non grata," NAACP president Kweisi Mfume said about missing Democratic candidates Lieberman, Gephardt, and Kucinich.

The NAACP was once a great and valuable organization which is now an anachronism. When the debates were over voting rights, school segregation, unequal access to public accomodations and the like, it is arguable that the NAACP once spoke for African-Americans. With great diversity now within black America, with issues of class more important than race, I don't think that can be said anymore. Mr. Mfume reminds me of an old-time ward boss trying to muster the votes to his side. Like those old bosses, I suspect the NAACP will fade into history.

"House Names 8 to Negotiate on Medicare Bill"
The Bush Administration will accomplish something the Clinton Administration couldn't do: The largest expansion of the federal government's role in health care since Medicare and Medicaid were passed as part of Lyndon Johnson's Great Society in the 1960s. I actually favor a prescription drug benefit (every time I hear someone complain about "socialized medicine," I want to say, "So, you want to take away Grandpa's Medicare?"), except I have no idea how to pay for it. Senate Republicans have given up on trying to route beneficiaries into private plans, which means costs will skyrocket and Medicare will go bankrupt a lot sooner.

"Group is Suing Over Petititons to Recall Gray Davis"
I think Governor Davis is incompetent, but didn't voters just reelect him, albeit with absolutely no enthusiasm, last November? This isn't a parliamentary democracy with no confidence votes; elections here are scheduled at regular intervals. The recall provision was part of the great wave of Progressive reforms that washed over California early last century, and, like many Progressive reforms of government (its advocates were dubbed "goo-goos" for "good government" advocates), it's a bad idea. Reminds me of a Chesterton axiom: "The business of Progressives is to go on making mistakes. The business of the Conservatives is to prevent the mistakes from being corrected."

"First Stop, Straphaning; Next Stop, Hanging Ten"
Human interest story on surfers who take their boards on the subway (F train to A train to shuttle) to catch the waves at Rockaway beach. The Beach Boys never sang about the Rockaways and for good reason.

Op-Ed pages
Except for Bill Safire and Tom Friedman, I never read the Times Op-Ed pages, unless I want a good laugh reading whatever absurdity Maureen Dowd has come up with. (That's why the Times doesn't need comic strips.)

Now on to the important stuff -- the sports section.

2003-07-15T07:08:00.000-06:00

God's Secretaries

A short but illuminating review of Adam Nicolson's God's Secretaries: The Making of the King James Bible by Alan Jacobs, a professor of English at Wheaton, appeared in last week's The Weekly Standard. It provides fascinating details on the characters in Jacobean England who managed to produce what is arguably the most monumental work in the Mother Tongue, relating Nicolson's thesis that the KJV could have only emerged in that culture. "It is because people like [that] flourished in the first decade of the seventeenth century -- and do not now -- that the greatest translation of the Bible could be made then, and cannot now," Nicolson writes.

Before we lament an age which has produced the NAB, NIV, and NRSV, keep in mind that Jacobean England was a tumultuous place. The battles over religion were still simmering; the English Civil War was on the horizon. Some Puritans who didn't much care for the Church of England's Romish overtones would soon bolt for Massachusetts. (I wonder what they would think about the Mass. Supreme Court's upcoming decision on gay marriage?) They were, to quote the ancient Chinese curse, interesting times.

2003-07-14T02:49:00.000-06:00

Bl. Kateri Tekakwitha, Memorial

Entrance Antiphon
Let us rejoice and shout for joy, because the Lord of all things has favored this holy and glorious virgin with his love.

2003-07-14T02:39:00.000-06:00

Ad Multos Annos!

Belated Happy Birthday to Donna Marie Lewis @ Quenta Narwenion.

2003-07-14T02:15:00.000-06:00

Cap'n Crunchy Con

Rod Dreher in The Corner mentioned a book he's writing on "crunchy conservatives." As far as I can make of it, it's more of a sensibility ("Picking up organic vegetables in your National Review tote bag.") than an ideology, but it makes these points:

* Modern conservatism, and the Republican Party in particular, are wedded to the bad idea that what's good for Wall Street is good for the country.
* Mass-consumer culture is profoundly anti-conservative because it's the enemy of beauty, tradition, and family.
* Other Republicans make fun of the "crunchy cons" and are mean to them.

As for the last point, that's just whining. (I guess Mr. Dreher is upset because other Republicans won't let him join in any reindeer games.) And I distinctly dislike the moniker because it conjures a granola and Grateful Dead culture -- the breathless search for "authenticity" -- I hold in contempt.

As for the first two points, I've been arguing them for years. Like other conservative thinkers of the past (esp. Burke & Kirk), I accept the free market as the most efficient economic system for producing and allocating goods and services but despise what is now called "libertarianism" because it elevates the market into a philosophy. Capitalism is, to steal a phrase from Trotsky, a permanent revolution. It has given us Eminem, tract housing, Taco Bell, SUVs, and the FOX nework. I'm supposed to laud that?

What I'm trying to say is that, while Dreher's explorations of conservatism's deeper, philosophical roots are commendable, his attempt to equate it with a lifestyle is misguided and strikes me as superficial. Or, to put it another way, I'm a Burkean who doesn't wear Birkenstocks.

2003-07-14T01:08:00.000-06:00

Gridiron Guesses

I rarely think about football before the season starts, but I saw the pro football annuals at Borders this weekend and took a peek inside them. I read the previews for the Denver Broncos; the concensus is that they'll finish 2nd in the AFC West behind Oakland. Too many unanswerable questions, such as:

* Will Jake Plummer live up to his potential, hitherto unrealized?
* Will Ed McCaffrey stay healthy?
* Will the offensive line hold up?
* Will Clinton Portis duplicate his rookie campaign?
* Will they improve their pass rush?
* Will the secondary completely self-destruct? (We're talking to you, Deltha O'Neil)

After a Monday Night Football game in the '70s in which Denver fumbled six times, a distraught Broncos fan shot himself and wrote in his suicide note, "I can't take the Broncos fumbling anymore." We Broncos fans take these things seriously.

2003-07-14T00:14:00.000-06:00

"Larger than Life"

I just discovered this reflection on Archbishop Timothy Dolan from Fr. Jim Tucker @ Dappled Things. It was made upon Dolan's appointment to the See of Milwaukee (6/25/2002) .

Larger than Life -- That's what the lucky people in Milwaukee will think of their new archbishop. Some people have been asking what he's like, so I thought it might be good to post some personal reflections.

My four years in major theology were all under Msgr Dolan, and his personality and spirit colored the whole seminary. He's a man of the Church, gregarious, faithful, and robustly devout. He would often speak to us about the person of St Peter -- Peter in the scriptures and Peter down the hill at the Vatican -- and it was the Apostle Peter that he himself most resembled.

He was perfectly comfortable slapping the backs of visiting cardinals and wining and dining the steady stream of big-wigs who came to visit, but the blue-collar man from Missouri was always just below the surface. His job as rector of the American College required diplomacy and carefully measured gestures, but his personal style was always to the point, concrete, and often quite blunt. His thoughtfulness and care for details impressed me, and he had a way of remembering the most obscure facts about people.

Monsignor Dolan was a complete character, and so he was a natural target when seminarians did skits imitating the faculty or when a guy wanted to try his hand at impersonation. There was Dolan pacing the halls, a cigar in one hand and his rosary in the other. There was Dolan hammering home the points of his rector's conferences (the stuff of his recent book), mopping the copious sweat from his ruddy face, his abundant belly straining against the purple buttons of his soutane. There was Dolan in his sweatsuit on a Sunday morning, scrounging around the corridor kitchens for any fresh pancakes or leftover cornetti. There was Dolan rallying the troops in his superb preaching style, "Duc in altum! Set out into the deep, as the Lord told His first priests. Our hearts are His, gentlemen, and His alone: if you can't give yourself completely over to the service of the Lord, well, this isn't the kind of life for you, and it's probably time for you to take a trip to the trunk room."

We were very fortunate to have him as our rector. The faithful of Milwaukee are very fortunate to have him as their bishop.

2003-07-12T23:35:00.000-06:00

FIFTEENTH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME

And he called to him the twelve and began to send them out.

Mark 6:7

2003-07-12T20:22:00.000-06:00

Chronicles from the Culture of Death:
"Pro-infanticide prof awarded ethics prize"

A controversial professor who advocates killing the disabled up to 28 days after birth, has been honored with an international ethics award.

Peter Singer, professor of bioethics at Princeton University, has been given the 2003 World Technology Award for Ethics by the World Technology Network....

When Singer was hired by Princeton in 1999, a group calling itself Princeton Students Against Infanticide issued a petition in protest, charging the Australian professor "denies the intrinsic moral worth of an entire class of human beings – newborn children."

"His assertion of the appropriateness of killing some humans based on others' decision concerning the "quality" of their lives should strike fear into everyone who cherishes equality and honors human life," the petition said.

2003-07-12T18:46:00.000-06:00

24 Years Ago Today

The worst promotion in baseball history:

Disco Demolition Night at Chicago's Comiskey Park.

The last days of disco were fast approaching and popular Chicago DJ Steve Dahl had an idea; why not tap into all the anti-disco sentiment out there by staging a "Disco Demolition Night" at a major-league ballpark? Mike Veeck, director of promotions for the White Sox, thought it was a great plan and announced that any fan who showed up with a disco record would get into the game for 98 cents. The records would be tossed into a dumpster and destroyed between games in a doubleheader....

Unfortunately, this particular scheme was a little too successful; upwards of 50,000 fans showed up for the game, mostly male and mostly drunk. Another 15,000 or so milled around outside the stadium, burning effigies of John Travolta and trying to sneak into the game. The crowd spent the first game chanting ... whizzing records onto the field and throwing firecrackers at the opposing team.

When the records were blown up by Dahl with a fireworks bomb, the crowd went [berserk]. Several thousand members of Dahl’s self-styled "Insane Coho Lips Antidisco Army" ran onto the diamond, ripped up the pitcher’s mound, started a bonfire in centerfield, tore down sections of the fence in the bullpen and sprayed sections of the crowd with the hose used to dampen the field. After almost half an hour of complete chaos the riot police showed up and restored order, but the field was completely wrecked and the Sox were forced to forfeit the second game. Newspaper columnists called the event "sickening" and "an unmitigated horror"....All in all, it was the worst idea for a baseball promotion since Cleveland’s "10 Cent Beer Night" in 1974....

2003-07-12T17:44:00.000-06:00

Milwaukee Brewers: Pagans

Okay, I promised not to post anything more on "Weinergate." But a new blog, Maine Catholic and Beyond, provides a tantalizing hypothesis about Randall Simon's motivation. Hint: He was on a mission from God.

[W]as Simon on a secret mission from the Vatican?....In the July issue of Catholic Digest, writer Julie Rattey writes in an article that the early Catholic Church renounced sausage because it was a favorite dish at the Roman pagan festival Lupercalia. Christian Roman Emperor Constantine banned his subjects from eating it in the fourth century. So many people were sneaking sausage behind the backs of authorities that the ban eventually was repealed though.

He may have gotten slapped with a fine from major league baseball, but maybe Randall Simon got a few indulgences from the Church over his sausage whacking.

That might also explain why the Brewers are so rotten.

2003-07-12T17:10:00.000-06:00

The Automatic Bad Movie Trailer Generator

So, you always wanted to be a Hollywood hotshot, eh?

You've always wanted to wheel and deal and make blockbuster films, but you don't want to compromise your artistic integrity or creative control?

Well we've got the answer, here at Zander & Leland Productions Ltd.:
The Automatic Bad Movie Trailer Generator.

Now, you too, can be the brains behind this summer's smash hits without any sweat on your part whatsoever!

(Link courtesy of Jeff Miller @ The Curt Jester)

For the curious, my flick was Homeboys in Outer Space: The Movie, featuring Keith Olbermann.

2003-07-12T03:31:00.000-06:00

Stupid Website of the Day

2003-07-12T02:35:00.000-06:00

Chronicles from the Culture of Death:
"Woman accused of selling son to buy OxyContin"

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A mother has been arrested on charges of trying to sell her 2-year-old son for $500 so she could buy OxyContin.

Brianna Marie Burns, 23, of Craigsville, could get up to five years in prison if convicted of selling a child.

Burns’ grandmother contacted authorities after Burns allegedly offered the child for $250. An undercover officer wired the grandmother and provided her with $500, according to police documents.

Burns was arrested Monday immediately after receiving the money and signing custody of the child over to her grandmother. Burns was being held on $102,500 bond.

In a nation where 1.5 million lives are lost to abortion each year, where children are welcomed only when the parents find it convenient, should this casual treatment of a child as something disposable be a surprise?

2003-07-12T02:20:00.000-06:00

Democracy in America

Fellow Republicans:

Are you looking for a choice, not an echo? Now you have one.

(Link courtesy of Catholic Light)

2003-07-12T01:55:00.000-06:00

Please Disregard This Blogspot Ad, Installment IX

Excommunicated

John Shelby Spong's Weekly Column A New Christianity for a New World
[Y]ou can sign up to receive the best of John Shelby Spong's incisive, unabashed, invigorating, original and true insight every week.

What does "Excommunicated" mean? As far as I know, Bishop Spong has had no such action taken against him. Can Episcopalians even be excommunicated? Who would do it? The archbishop of Canterbury does not have the same jurisdiction as the pope. To use the term in its true ecclesiological significance, Spong has excommunicated himself through his pronouncements. To think, the bishop actually wants me to pay him to read his musings.

“…Spong provides enlightened reading for people who no longer believe in the God of Sunday school and are looking for something else to give their lives meaning.” - The San Francisco Chronicle

I agree that Spong is offering something else. It cannot properly be labeled "Christianity" as understood as, to quote C.S. Lewis from the Preface to Mere Christianity, "the belief that has been common to nearly all Christians at all times." Spong denies the virgin birth. He denies the Incarnation. He denies the Atonement. He denies the bodily resurrection. He denies the claims of the Bible. He even casts doubts on theism. Bishop Spong is free to espouse his beliefs, but they shouldn't be confused with essential Christian belief. He is, to use the word technically, a heretic. And a proud one at that.

At least Episcopalians in the Diocese of Newark no longer have to suffer him as their shepherd. New Jersey has suffered enough.

2003-07-11T04:53:00.000-06:00

St. Benedict, Memorial

Entrance Antiphon
The Lord is my inheritance and my cup; he alone will give me my reward. The measuring line has marked a lovely place for me; my inheritance is my great delight. (Ps 15:5-6)