The Pill's dark secrets

Valerie Nahmad, of the Chicago Tribune (registration required), writes a pretty biased, but nonetheless interesting article concerning one of the many side effects of the birth control pill: sexual dysfunction.

The exact cause is unknown and the issue is rarely discussed, but it is a medical fact that oral contraceptives can cause sexual dysfunction in women, often in the form of decreased libido, vaginal dryness and painful intercourse.

The issue has been studied only twice since the pill's appearance in American markets 40 years ago. Research is so insufficient that doctors do not know which pills are more likely to cause sexual dysfunction, which patients are more likely to suffer from it or how to best treat it. Doctors speculate that the effect is triggered by the pill's manipulation of various hormones, including testosterone, estrogen and progesterone, but they cannot say for sure.

Of course, this particular side effect is minor when compared to the fact that one of the safe-guard functions of the pill, should breakthrough ovulation occur, is to reduce the entrometrial lining in the uterus in order to prevent embryonic implantation, which basically results in an abortion when the embryo is then discarded (Some estimate that this occurs as many as 3 or 4 times per woman, per year) - and also when compared with the pill's potential risks for breast cancer and other problems, which is currently being studied, caused by the pill's manipulation of various hormones that basically force a woman's body to malfunction in its attempts to suppress ovulation. It is for this reason that the pill should not be considered medication, as though it was something that helps the body heal from some disease, unless you consider children a disease.

Nahmad also says this:

Indeed, there are several benefits to oral contraception, most notably its role in liberating women from pregnancy concerns.

When children are something people have to be liberated from, the future of our civilization is grim indeed. What did I say about considering children a disease?

I am so grateful and appreciative for the Catholic Church's beautiful teaching on human sexuality, which stand against the pervasive lies in our society and seeks to affirm the human dignity of both woman and man and the sacred, sacramental nature of the sexual act itself. The Church inspires me to speak up for truth and human dignity even when it's counter-cultural. For more information on approved methods of natural family planning, or to network with couples throughout the nation who practice it, contact the Couple-To-Couple League.

Thanks to Alicia at Fructus Ventris for the article link.

Meowlingual?


At first I thought this article was a joke! How in the world can you even measure the linguistic inferences of a cat? It's like translating baby noises into spoken English. I'll charge you half as much to tell you what your cat is saying. Feed me, go away, or, I don't care.

World Youth Day 2005

The official webpage for World Youth Day 2005, which will be in Cologne, Germany, is now online. Unfortunately the English version is still under construction. On a more interesting note, the Cathedral in Cologne is the place where tradition holds the remains of the three wise men are kept:

Has anybody taken the time to research this story? Who has been to Cologne?

Today's Epistle - Eph. 1:3-14

A reading from the Epistle of St. Paul to the Ephesians

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
who has blessed us in Christ
with every spiritual blessing in the heavens,
as he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world,
to be holy and without blemish before him.
In love he destined us for adoption to himself through Jesus Christ,
in accord with the favor of his will,
for the praise of the glory of his grace
that he granted us in the beloved.
In him we have redemption by his blood,
the forgiveness of transgressions,
in accord with the riches of his grace that he lavished upon us.
In all wisdom and insight, he has made known to us
the mystery of his will in accord with his favor
that he set forth in him as a plan for the fullness of times,
to sum up all things in Christ, in heaven and on earth.

In him we were also chosen,
destined in accord with the purpose of the One
who accomplishes all things according to the intention of his will,
so that we might exist for the praise of his glory,
we who first hoped in Christ.
In him you also, who have heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation, and have believed in him,
were sealed with the promised holy Spirit,
which is the first installment of our inheritance
toward redemption as God's possession, to the praise of his glory.

The Passion

Here is the infamous movie trailer for Mel Gibson's upcoming film, The Passion. The film will recount the last few hours of Jesus' life, with dialog being in two prevalent tongues of the day: Latin and Aramaic. Caution: The trailer is about 22 MB. You will have a better chance if you have a direct Internet connection.

Yes, it looks magnificent. I hadn't blogged on this before, and while I am looking forward to the movie's release, and while I also think that rightful criticism should wait until the film is out, I nevertheless think that those who have asked questions as to the possible anti-semitic tones in the script haven't been treated fairly by those who see them as somehow attacking the film. From what I have seen, a script was released, people saw it, and based on that and other things, they felt it important to ask some good questions regarding the nature of some of the elements in the script. From what I see, this amounts to nothing more than honest inquiry, which we as Christians should welcome in order to ensure that a film about Christ, albeit his last few hours, is as honestly and factually portrayed as possible. I disagree with those who feel that asking questions somehow constitutes an attack, even if those questions are challenging. If the story in the film is legitimately told, it should be strong enough to stand up to challenging questions, which we should have no problem asking. A sort of advocatus diaboli, if you will. I have seen very little honest answers given and a lot more hateful drivel than I care to see from Christians regarding the matter.

I can judge a film based on its plot, cinematography, music, and character development when it is released. But if a script is put in front of me (however that happens), and if what I read prompts me to ask some questions as to what will be in the final release, why should my questions be met with hostility and not with charity?

Exhortatio Ante Matrimonium

Fr. Jim over at Dappled Things has been bogging on and off about the wonders, beauties, and intricacies of Catholic marriage. One such post today concerns the exhortation that had been given at marriages prior to the Second Vatican Council, which I agree is quite beautiful:

Dear friends in Christ: As you know, you are about to enter into a union which is most sacred and most serious, a union which was established by God Himself. By it, He gave to man a share in the greatest work of creation, the work of the continuation of the human race. And in this way He sanctified human love and enabled man and woman to help each other live as children of God, by sharing a common life under His fatherly care.

Because God Himself is thus its author, marriage is of its very nature a holy institution, requiring of those who enter into it a complete and unreserved giving of self. But Christ our Lord added to the holiness of marriage an even deeper meaning and a higher beauty. He referred to the love of marriage to describe His own love for His Church, that is, for the People of God whom He redeemed by His own blood. And so He gave to Christians a new vision of what married life ought to be, a life of self-sacrificing love like His own. It is for this reason that His Apostle, St Paul, clearly states that marriage is now and for all time to be considered a great mystery, intimately bound up with the supernatural union of Christ and the Church, which union is also to be its pattern.

This union is most serious, because it will bind you together for life in a relationship so close and so intimate, that it will profoundly influence your whole future. That future, with its hopes and disappointments, its successes and failures, its pleasures and its pains, its joys and its sorrows, is hidden from your eyes. You know that these elements are mingled in every life, and are to be expected in your own. And so, not knowing what is before you, you take each other for better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death.

Truly, then, these words are most serious. It is a beautiful tribute to your undoubted faith in each other, that, recognizing their full import, you are nevertheless so willing and ready to pronounce them. And because these words involve such solemn obligations, it is most fitting that you rest the security of your wedded life upon the great principle of self-sacrifice. And so you begin your married life by the voluntary and complete surrender of your individual lives in the interest of that deeper and wider life which you are to have in common. Henceforth you belong entirely to each other; you will be one in mind, one in heart, and one in affections. And whatever sacrifices you may hereafter be required to make to preserve this common life, always make them generously. Sacrifice is usually difficult and irksome. Only love can make it easy; and perfect love can make it a joy. We are willing to give in proportion as we love. And when love is perfect, sacrifice is complete. God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son; and the Son so loved us that He gave Himself for our salvation. "Greater love than this no man hath, that a man lay down his life for his friends."

No greater blessing can come to your married life than pure conjugal love, loyal and true to the end. May, then, this love with which you join your hands and hearts today, never fail, but grow deeper and stronger as the years go on. And if true love and the unselfish spirit of perfect sacrifice guide your every action, you can expect the greatest measure of earthly happiness that may be allotted to man in this vale of tears. The rest is in the hands of God. Nor will God be wanting to your needs; He will pledge you the life-long support of His graces in the Holy Sacrament which you are now going to receive.

Catholicity in Liturgical Diversity

I really enjoyed Bill's post concerning catholicity. It's one of the reasons why I love this Church so much!

Today, the languages of liturgy are many. In the diocese of Galveston-Houston, masses are celebrated in Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, Korean, Polish, French, Czech, Igbo, and other languages. The Eastern Churches are well represented by Ukrainian, Ruthenian, Syro-Malabar, Maronite, and Syro-Malankara. There is an Anglican Use parish, where the Gospel is proclaimed and lived in the cadences of the olde King's English.

I'm still itching to see an Anglican Use liturgy! But the thing that I love the most is that in this catholicity there is also unity, not necessarily uniformity. Regardless of where I attend it, the mass is still the mass, and Jesus is still Jesus, and that I can receive Him into my being in His very Body and Blood is awesome.

Cardinal Arinze at the Cathedral

It looks like Cardinal Francis Arinze, himself a Nigerian native, will be celebrating a mass for the Igbo Nigerian community in Los Angeles at the new Los Angeles Cathedral on July 20th at 3pm. I wish I could get down to the Cathedral for the mass, but I don't think I will be able to. They will also be dedicating a chapel to Bl. Michael Iwene Tansi at St. Cecilia's Catholic Church in Los Angeles the day before. Back in 1998, I interned at the Chancery of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and got to spend time with a lot of priests and seminarians involved with the Missions office. In particular, I lived with a Nigerian seminarian who introduced me to the customs of the Igbo community there. I remember most fondly the Igbo Mass of Thanksgiving at St. Cecilia's he invited me to, which was one of the most memorable experiences I have ever had. Following that mass, there was a celebration. At that time, I was also blessed to sit next to a Claretian missionary from Nigeria who took time to explain to me the significance of everything that was done.

Back in Santa Barbara

Well after a busy week in Dallas, I have returned to Santa Barbara - at least for the week. From one soap-opera city to another. Dallas is fun, but it's good to be back in 75 degree weather :) We worked hard to get our software release out by our Friday afternoon deadline. I was working in Dallas with the hardware, and my co-worker, Ken, was working in Hong Kong packaging the release. All of these timezones make teamwork very interesting! I was impressed with how well we are all able to work together to accomplish some pretty amazing things. A week from this Tuesday I fly out again to Pittsburgh for the week.

Business trips

I work for Texas Instruments, and as I've said, things have been very busy lately. And tomorrow, I leave for Dallas to the TI "mother-ship" for the week. I'll be back the following week, only to be flying out to Pittsburgh the week after that. :) I've never been as far East as Pittsburgh, so even if it's for business, it should still be fun.

I will blog when I return from Dallas and before the second trip.

New Comments System

I know that there are no perfect comment systems, but enetation has been acting miserably the last few weeks. So I switched to Haloscan, which seems to be more reliable. I sorry to say that previous comments were unfortunately reset :(

Jesus Christ the Apple Tree

The tree of life my soul hath seen,
Laden with fruit and always green:
The trees of nature fruitless be
Compared with Christ the apple tree.

His beauty doth all things excel:
By faith I know, but ne'er can tell
The glory which I now can see
In Jesus Christ the apple tree.

For happiness I long have sought,
And pleasure dearly I have bought:
I missed of all; but now I see
'Tis found in Christ the apple tree.

I'm weary with my former toil,
Here I will sit and rest awhile:
Under the shadow I will be,
Of Jesus Christ the apple tree.

This fruit doth make my soul to thrive,
It keeps my dying faith alive;
Which makes my soul in haste to be
With Jesus Christ the apple tree.

-from the collection of Joshua Smith, 1784

Bring on the genetically engineered she-males?

This article is mind blowing:

Dr. Norbert Gleicher of the Foundation for Reproductive Medicine in Chicago and a colleague injected male cells into female embryos in research which they believe could lead to better treatments or cures for single gene disorders.

...Their work also sparked outrage from abortion opponents who described it as run-away science. "This is gross manipulation of human life," said Nuala Scarisbrick of British anti-abortion charity Life.

Would something like this ever become accepted in our society? God help us.

To be or not to be Goth

I was reflecting a little on my experience in high school. Most kids tend to hover around a group mentality where fundamentally it is the group that sets the standards of what is popular, fashionable, or unpopular. Kids form cliques and go through phases and in the end, God willing, they become adults. As they grow, they learn to build a moral compass rooted in an informed conscience by which they can judge things for themselves instead of looking toward the group for all of their answers. The ways in which some kids accomplish this has always interested me. Particularly these phases. My half-sister went through a big KISS phase in the 80s. It was around everything she did. She wanted to look like them, act like them, and be them as she embraced their music. She eventually grew out of it as she matured. Other kids idolize zealots like Marylin Manson. And others find themselves embracing groups and behaviors that many of us might deem bizarre.

Depending on what they are, subcultures are an interesting study. Sometimes they aren't as obvious as we think. The Goth subculture is one in particular that has fascinated me. Right now I am not going to focus on the religious ramifications of Goths, per se, but the sociological. I knew a few growing up. Typically I guess its a phase, but I always wonder, what brings it on? I could characterize the Goths whom I knew as living in some sort of bottomless, communal depression. My friends tried to portray themselves as deep and unknowable. They rebelled against anything society deemed good or sacred. They wanted to be deep because they felt they were living in a shallow culture. And therefore whatever society said was good was no longer interesting - coupled with an overwhelming desire to be different. This brings me to my point. In knowing the Goths that I knew, it was the Goth attitude that seemed more shallow to me. In a way, it was a sort of fundamentalism. Instead of recognizing the many diverse and opposing elements that make up a human society where human beings live, they rejected everything and invented their own society in a way. But they could not escape the fact that anything they could invent would always have been fundamentally rooted in the very society they were trying to obscure. That's what makes Goth satires like Goth Talk on Saturday Night Life so hilarious.

Our lair is located along a dark and sinister route, enshouded by weeping willows, a block and a half from the Pizza Hut. I am Circe Nightshade, and with me is Azrael Abyss, the Prince of Sorrow. Azrael had to work late last night at CinnaBuns, in the mall.

It's also what makes it very juvenile, which explains why being Goth is a phase that a person usually outgrows.

So what about the religious ramifications? Many of the Goths I knew rejected religion - well, they rejected the image of it put forth by society, and they did so very often superficially. But didn't I say that sometimes subcultures aren't as obvious as we might think? Case in point is xnetgoth.com:

...you will encounter a worldwide community of Goths and other outcasts that have one thing in common: The Christian faith. This is no ordinary website, it is made up of those who walk in the shadows cast by the Light of the world.

Yes you read it right - Christian Goths, walking in the shadows of the Light of the world. Yeah, it makes little sense, but hey. Reading through some of the discussions, I can see right away that this is a different type of Goth than those whom I knew growing up. Cynicism largely characterized those whom I knew, but what characterizes these Goths is optimism. They have come farther than the Goths that I knew. These Goths actually realize that sure, society can be shallow, but it is given a depth because it is redeemable. What, then, is the point? If it amounts to being different, okay - which shows that this, too, is a phase. I will not say that every person at that website is a Christian., but the mere existence of such a site is interesting, n'est-ce pas?

Vatican Museums

Vatican Museums is now online at the Vatican website, click here to enter.

Thanks to Dappled Things for the link.

The King's good servant, but God's First



Today is also typically the feast day of St. Thomas More, though as many bloggers have noted, it is superceded by the feast of Corpus Christi. Seeing as how Thomas More has become one of my dearest friends in Heaven, I thought I should mention something about him. I am of English descent myself, and so I enjoy reading about the history of England, particularly about the history of the Church of England, especially the pre-"Reformation" Church. Thomas More figures in that history significantly as an honorable statesman and lawyer as well as Lord Chancellor of England. When the Pope refused to grant Henry VIII a divorce from Catherine, which the Pope considered to be a valid marriage, in order that he could marry Anne Boleyn, Henry decided to assume authority for himself. More was imprisoned because he refused to swear to the Oath of Supremacy, which acknowledged the King's new title as Supreme Head of the Church in England, thereby contradicting the jurisdictional authority of the Bishop of Rome. More was later found guilty of high treason and lost his life, due largely to false testimony against him.

It should be noted that when most people, particularly textbooks, try to tell the story of why the Church would not grant Henry the divorce, they often paint the Church as some sort of monolithic structure which, on a whim of its own design, decided not to yield to Henry's desires. In truth, modern historians know precious little about Canon Law and what is meant by the validity or the invalidity of marriages. In truth, there were valid reasons for which the Church did not grant Henry a divorce. Henry had argued that his marriage to Catherine was null because he had married his brother's widow, which was a violation of the Levitical command (Leviticus 18:16), which would mean that his marriage was unlawful and therefore a divorce could be procured. However, historians often fail to note that the Pope proved that Henry's marriage to Catherine was indeed lawful because her marriage to Henry's brother was never consummated. Henry's brother was sickly and died early. There was also an exception to Leviticus given in Deuteronomy 25:5. That is why the Pope gave Henry the dispensation allowing him to marry Catherine in the first place. Therefore, a divorce could not be procured, evidence which Henry apparently chose to ignore.

St. Thomas More is my friend because I look to him as a role model and ask for his prayers for me. If you are interested in learning more about him and reading some of his short and long works, please visit the luminarium website, which is chock full of information.

St. Thomas More, pray for us.

Corpus Christi

John 6:56-59

In illo tempore: Dixit Iesus turbis Iudaeorum: Caro mea vere est cibus, et sanguis meus vere est potus. Qui manducat carnem, et bibit meum sanguinem, in me manet, et ego in illo. Sicut misit me vivens Pater, et ego vivo propter Patrem: et qui manducat me, et ipse vivet propter me. Hic est panis, qui de caelo descendit. Non sicut manducaverunt patres vestri manna, et mortui sunt. Qui manducat hunc panem, vivet in aeternum.

What is the role of Campus Ministry?

Bill Cork has an interesting report concerning studies done on campus ministry. Overall, I agree with Bill's assessment, particularly this:

Is [campus ministry] supported by finances, qualified and stable personnel, a diocesan-coordinated outreach, and collaboration with other diocesan offices? Or is it handed over to people who would prefer to work as "lone rangers," advancing their own agenda, with no oversight by the local bishop? The Code of Canon Law says (Can. 813):

The diocesan bishop is to have earnest pastoral care for students, even by erecting a parish or at least by designating priests stably for this, and is to make provision that at universities, even non-Catholic ones, there are Catholic university centers which give assistance, especially spiritual assistance, to youth.

As I look at this, it affirms that campus ministry is an extension of the bishop's pastoral office. Consequently, campus ministry needs to be a diocesan commitment. I think each bishop should appoint a diocesan director of campus ministry who can ensure that campus ministry truly represents the bishop's vision and is fully connected to the local Church.

As many of you know, in my archdiocese (Los Angeles), we currently have no director or diocesan office for campus ministry, which is a sad shame, in my opinion, since campus ministry should be considered part of the Church's major mission, particularly the local Church, and I thought that it was. But interestingly, some campus ministries don't want to be seen that way. What bothered me about the Newman Center I was at for almost seven years was that our Cardinal, the Pope, or any figure of authority within the Church, was often looked upon with either apathy, distrust, or plain disdain anyway. The Newman center didn't care about being a part of the local Church, an extension of the Bishop's duties. Instead, they prided themselves on how individual they were and on how far away they were from the Cathedral in Los Angeles, ground zero as it were. It was an attitude that I increasingly found difficult to digest, among other things, so I eventually felt called to leave and join a nearby parish staffed by diocesan priests! I still lead the Eucharistic Adoration and Prayer Group with a friend of mine at the newman center, however, at least for a while.

Faire is the heaven

Faire is the heaven, where happy soules have place,
In full enjoyment of felicitie,
Whence they doe still behold the glorious face
Of the divine eternall Majestie.

Yet farre more faire be those bright Cherubins,
Which all with golden wings are overdight,
And those eternall burning Seraphins,
Which from their faces dart out fiery light:
Yet fairer than they both, and much more bright
Be th'Angels and Archangels, which attend
On Gods owne person, without rest or end.

These then in faire each other farre excelling,
As to the Highest they approach more neare,
Yet is that Highest farre beyond all telling,
Fairer than all the rest which there appeare,
Though all their beauties joynd together were;
How then can mortalle tongue hope to expresse
The image of such endlesse perfectnesse?

... from Edmund Spenser, from An Hymne of Heavenly Beautie, c1596.

Bad day for Roe

Looks like Norma McCorvey's request for a new trial was declined.

I hope this isn't the end of this. Sarah Weddington, who represented McCorvey in the original trial, apparently had this to say:

Those who filed it got publicity, but the publicity actually has been very helpful for those of us who believe the government should not be involved.

However, Weddington already got the government involved when she went to court, in the original case, to give national genocide legal protection. But when those in the abortion industry fight against "government involvement," they are fighting in particular to prevent the government from imposing medical regulations on abortion clinics, another reason why abortion clinics are some of the most medically unsafe and unregulated "medical" facilities in the nation.

There is nothing stable or reliable when it comes to abortion. It's a shady business indeed.

When does life begin?

An honest question, the answer to which many Americans give a variety of answers. Of course, most Christians like myself will say life begins at conception. Others will say it begins at birth. And still, some will argue that it begins sometime between the two. Various responses have been given throughout history. We often lacked scientific knowledge about what occurs during conception and gestation. Even the Church's understanding has deepend on the subject, often benefitting from the findings of the scientific community with regard to biology and human development at the embryonic and fetal levels.

Several years ago, I attended a pretty good lecture that attempted to show evidence for the contention that life begins at conception by tracing backward some of the common arguments given for when life began, beginning with birth. I found the same discussion outlined by Dr. Thomas Miller at this website, which I will quote below:

1.) Life Begins at Birth

To equate birth with the commencement of human life is to ignore totally a huge body of medical information that has been available for most of this century that concerns itself with what is happening to the child in the womb prior to birth. If labor is chemically induced a week before the mother would have gone into labor naturally, does the child become human a week sooner than it would have otherwise? ... Common scientific technology now records that activity and growth in detail. It is ludicrous to imply, as this definition does, that the activity in the womb is irrelevant and that there is no life until birth.

Further, if birth defines life, then the whole field of fetal surgery makes no sense. For over a decade fetal surgery has been used to treat various problems of unborn children. The child is taken out of the mother's womb, the defect is repaired, and the child is then returned to the womb to complete his or her development in preparation for birth. Operations on unborn children have been performed as early as twelve weeks. Inherent in these surgical procedures is the understanding that the unborn child is a full fledged human being. Birth has nothing to do with humanness or when a human life begins.

2.) Life Begins at Viability

[Viability is] the term used to indicate when the unborn child potentially is capable of living outside the mother's womb, with or without life support technology. The time during a pregnancy at which a child reaches viability has changed dramatically over the past twenty years. The increasing sophistication of technology has been a significant factor in the change. But our enhanced understanding of fetal development and what is required to promote that development coupled with the capability of medical personnel to provide the necessary support services are also important factors which enable premature babies to develop to a point where they have a reasonable chance of living without support at earlier and earlier ages.

Twenty years ago babies had a reasonable chance of survival by 30 weeks. Today, babies born at 20 weeks have survived. Thus viability is greatly influenced by the sophistication of medical support services available as well as by the ability to implement them. It has nothing to do with humanness or when a human life begins. [AP- in 20 years could a testtube child be able to develop ex-utero in a lab with everything it needs to develop? Would this then not be a human being?]

3.) Life Begins at Quickening

[Quickening is] a term which describes a woman's first sense of movement in her womb during her pregnancy. Some women have been known to sense such movement as early as three months into the pregnancy. Most women perceive movement sometime between four and four and one half months. But the perception of such movement by some women has been delayed as long as six to seven months. It is influenced by such factors as the sensitivity of the mother to her pregnant state, the activity of the unborn child (which can vary greatly from one child to another), the relative body weight of the pregnant mother and her own level of activity.

With the assistance of ultrasound a woman can observe the active child she may not yet be able to feel. Quickening is a matter of sensation and has nothing to do with defining humanness or when a human life begins.

4.) Life begins when the criteria of the Harvard Medical School are met

The most important thing to be said about this definition is that the criteria have been taken out of the context in which they were originally intended. They were developed in an effort to define brain death in order to provide guidance in determining when a human being may be declared dead. They were not intended to define humanness.

In the 1960s a committee at Harvard Medical School developed the four criteria to define when the brain was truly alive. The criteria consisted of:

1. response to external stimuli, such as pinching to elicit pain;
2. the presence of deep reflex action, such as what happens when a doctor takes a reflex hammer and taps the knee;
3. the ability to breathe and move spontaneously, and
4. the presence of brain wave activity as demonstrated on an electroencephalogram (EEG).

The presence of even one of the four criteria is sufficient to establish brain life. Reflex and response to external stimuli have been shown just a few weeks after conception. But the criteria assume the presence of a human being to whom they are being applied. The Harvard Criteria simply provide a gauge to ascertain the functioning of the brain. They do not determine humanness or when a life begins.

5.) Life begins at Conception

Conception is that moment when a woman's egg is fertilized by a man's sperm. The result of this union of two cells is one unique cell known as the zygote. This single cell contains all the ingredients necessary for growth, development, and differentiation into the organ systems of a human adult. The zygote of each human being is distinctly different from every other human being. ... The zygote... is totally self sufficient and independent in terms of its ability to develop into an adult human being. It needs no more than a proper environment of oxygen and nutrients to develop its recognizable human parts: head, arms, legs, and the various organs. The zygote is not potential human life, but actual human life. It will never develop into a dog, cat, or any other creature. Its destiny is to become an adult human being for human life is what it is.

A hymn to the Virgin

I ran across a most beautiful piece composed by the late Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) entitled, A Hymn to the Virgin. He composed it at the age of 17. The composition is based on the ancient hymn, c. 1300, which is macaronic, partly in Latin and partly in English, like many of the carols of the medieval English Church. Britten's composition is written for two choirs, a large one singing the English verses, and a smaller one for the Latin:

A Hymn to the Virgin

Of one that is so fare and bright
     Velut maris stella (like a star of the sea)
Brighter than the day is light,
     Parens et puella: (mother and maiden)
I cry to thee, thou see to me,
Lady, pray thy Son for me,
     Tam pia, (thou holy one)
That I may come to thee.
     Maria! (Mary)
All this world was forlorn
     Eva peccatrice, (through Eve the sinner)
Till our Lord was y-born
     De te genetrice. (of thee, the mother)
With ave it went away
Darkest night, and comes the day
     Salutis: (of salvation)
The well springeth out of thee
     Virtutis. (of virtue)
Lady, flower of everything
     Rosa sine spina (rose without a thorn)
Thou bare Jesu, heaven's King
     Gratia divina: (by divine grace)
Of all thou bear'st the prize,
Lady, queen of paradise
     Electa: (chosen one)
Maid mild, mother es
     Effecta. (you are proved)

The Ossuary

I kinda figured the media jumped the gun on this one before much study could really be done. Now there looks to be solid evidence that the inscription on the ossuary is a forgery. Christians the world over looked to it as proof of Jesus' existence, and not a few fundamentalists used it to try to shoot down one of the oldest verifiable dogmas of our faith - that Mary was a perpetual virgin and did not have children, other than Jesus. Though I never really considered the ossuary to be a threat to that belief, and in fact, it turned into an excellent opportunity to learn more about the Eastern understanding of Mary's virginity.

Is the abortion tide swaying?

Word on the street is that Norma McCorvey (Jane Roe of the infamous Roe v. Wade decision), is now suing to have the decision reversed. In the years since the decision, McCorvey became pro-life, a Christian and, just a few years ago, entered the Catholic Church. About two years ago, she came out to Santa Barbara to give a lecture in Isla Vista, ground zero in partytown USA. I wasn't actually able to attend, but I heard mixed reviews from some of my Catholic friends who attended. But either way, if it is true that she is pushing this, then she has my prayerful support. Word also is that she has affidavits from as many as 1000 women who are willing to testify as to how they have been hurt, not helped, by abortions they've had, together with scientific evidence as to its harmful effects, 5400 total pages of evidence.

NOW and NARAL Pro-Choice America will probably try to pass McCorvey off as being "brainwashed by religious zealots." They don't even favor dialogue on the subject, as any attempt at dialogue means yielding power to "anti-choice special interest groups." But if they are so sure as to the positive effects of abortion, what are they so afraid of? I believe they are afraid of women actually being educated about the truly destructive force of abortion, and this is further evidence of how the modern feminist movement as perverted the true feminism of our American fore-mothers. Why can't there be continuing, open discussion on abortion? 30 years ago was a long time - why can't we open a new study, using all that we know today about fetology and health care, to determine not only how abortion affects women but also study the scientific evidence for when life actually begins. NOW and NARAL would never favor such a move. If they really cared about what's best for women, they should be in favor of such measures. But by opposing it they only show that their true motiviation is money, power, and control. Now I ask you - who is it that desires to keep women ignorant here?

Much of the abortion industry today is built upon the premise that "life begins at birth," and at no time prior should a baby be considered "living." But I certainly don't know of anyone today who honestly believes, or would admit to believing, that "life begins at birth." Such an argument has been shown by science to be utterly rediculous.

On This Day, a Quarter of a Century Ago...

I was born. After a busy weekend, I took the day off to relax :)

What X-Men character are you?


You are Professor X!

You are a very effective teacher, and you are very
committed to those who learn from you. You put
your all into everything you do, to some extent
because you fear failure more than anything
else. You are always seeking self-improvement,
even in areas where there is nothing you can do
to improve.


Which X-Men character are you most like?
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French and Latin

Just the other day, I was thinking back to when I first got interested in studying Latin. I was sitting in my second year French class during my sophomore year in high school. Various members of the class had been complaining about how difficult it was to agree adjective endings with the nouns they modify. Mr. Miles, our illustrious French teacher, was quick to point out, "You know, you have it pretty good. You should be happy to study French! Be thankful you aren't learning Latin - you wouldn't survive!." Then, on the chalk board, he began to illustrate 1st and 2nd declension adjectives:

There are three genders in Latin: masculine, feminine, and neuter, for both singular and plural number, and there are different case endings depending on what type of noun you want to use. If your noun is a subject (nominative), your adjective would have any one of these endings depending on the gender and number: -us, -a, -um, -i, -ae, -a. But if your noun is an indirect object (dative), the endings are different: -o, -ae, -o, -is, -is, -is. Yet, if your noun is a direct object (accusative), the endings become: -um, -am, -um, -os, -as, -a. Yes, that's right, the same ending for accusative masculine is used for the nominative neuter! What if your noun has a genitive case? -i, -ae, -i, -orum, -arum, -orum. And there aren't any silly rules to remember these endings - you just know them! And here you are learning French where the only ending agreement you have to know is gender and number!

The class just sat there with their mouths hanging open, me included. My interest was sparked at that moment. Yet, I continued to study French throughout high school and at the university. I was always curious, though, why French and other romance languages were so much simpler than the original Latin. The evolution is very interesting.

One of the things that puzzled me was how and when romance languages, which are derived from Latin, took on definite articles (like the word the in English). In French, definite articles include le and la, referring to masculine and feminine nouns, respectively - and similarly in Spanish, el and la. Strictly speaking, Latin lacks definite articles. But apparently these definite articles came out of the more common usage of the latin demonstrative pronouns ille (masculine), and illa (feminine), which mean that or this.

There were, of course, many other simplifications that we find in romance languages, such as a less advanced case system as well as an easier construction of complex tenses. The relaxed case system came as the result of grammar changes that were bsaically the result of phonetic changes. Ending consonants were less frequently used which blurred the distinction between the nominative, accusative, and ablative cases. The genitive case was completely replaced by usage of the preposition de, while the dative case was completely replaced by usage of the preposition ad.

Bof!

Mystery of Nihil Obstat

Okay, so I took what I considered to be an educated guess about the true identity of the elusive Nihil Obstat, and as Kathryn Lively notes, I was mistaken. I'll keep my day job, but hey, it's fun ain't it? :)

The Miraculous Communion of St. Catherine of Siena



Artist: Domenico Beccafumi
Date: about 1513 - 1515

...from the Getty Center collection:

This small panel depicts an episode from the life of the Dominican tertiary and mystic, Saint Catherine of Siena. Upon arriving at church late one day because of her difficulty walking, Saint Catherine was dissuaded by her companions from taking communion because they knew her ensuing ecstasy would last for several hours. She concurred but prayed for God's help in receiving the Eucharist. Miraculously, an angel took a piece of the consecrated host and gave it to the saint. Celebrating Mass at a side altar, her confessor looked around with concern for the missing piece of the host. Neither he nor the others could see the miracle, so their expressions reflect bewilderment.

Dominica Pentecostes

Sequentia
Veni, Sancte Spiritus, et emitte caelitus lucis tuae radium
Veni, pater pauperum, veni, dator munerum, veni, lumen cordium.
Consolator optime, dulcis hospes animae, dulce refrigerium.
In labore requies, in aestu temperies, in fletu solacium.
O lux beatissima, reple cordis intima turorum, fidelium.
Sine tuo numine, nihil est in homine, nihil est innoxium.
Lava quod est sordidum, riga quod est aridum, sana quod est saucium.
Flecte quod est rigidum, fove quod est frigidum, rege quod est devium.
Da tuis fidelibus, in te confidentibus, sacrum septenarium.
Da virtutis meritum, da salutis exitum, da perenne gaudium. Amen.
Alleluia.

Gregory VII and Muslims

Chris over at the Veritas blog has an interesting comment about a recent piece over at Catholic and Enjoying It concerning an excerpt from the letter of Pope Gregory VII, pope from 1073-1085 AD, to the Muslim King Al-Nasir of Mauretania, which is this:

We and you must show in a special way to the other nations an example of this charity, for we believe and confess one God, although in different ways. Many of the Roman nobility, informed by us of this grace granted to you by God, greatly admire your goodness and virtues.

There are many who have, in recent years, accused our very own Pope John Paul II of indifferentism and universalism because of his friendly relations with Muslims, considering it more of a modern phenomenon. These individuals are simply mistaken. While understanding that the fullness of God's revelation was given in Jesus Christ, and the fullness of that revealed teaching subsisting within the Catholic Church, affirming all that is true and holy in non-Christian religions is, of course, consistent with Catholic teaching, as noted most specifically in the Vatican II document Nostra Aetate:

[The Church] regards with sincere reverence those ways of conduct and of life, those precepts and teachings which, though differing in many aspects from the ones she holds and sets forth, nonetheless often reflect a ray of that Truth which enlightens all men. Indeed, she proclaims, and ever must proclaim Christ "the way, the truth, and the life" (John 14:6), in whom men may find the fullness of religious life, in whom God has reconciled all things to Himself.

Nostra Aetate also quotes Gregory's letter:

[Muslims] adore the one God, living and subsisting in Himself; merciful and all-powerful, the Creator of heaven and earth...

Of course, as I am in most things that pertain to the historical teaching and practice of our faith, I am very interested in reading the whole of the letter from which this snip was taken, but I can't find it online right now.

Wayback to the Past

For a cool trip, check out the Wayback Machine!

From Minute Particulars:

If you haven't tried the Wayback Machine before, you're in for a treat. Like Google's cache feature, it can show you web pages as they were on a particular day in the past, a kind of snapshot of the Internet. Unlike Google's cache, the links on the page are also usually archived so it mimics what it would've have been like to visit the page and follow its links.

So, you can, for example, see a Yahoo News page from 1997, what Google looked like in 1998, or what the N.Y. Times webpage looked like on this date two years ago.

I even found my old web page. Far out, man!

A Victory For Life?

The partial birth abortion ban [CNN] recently passed in the House by a 282-139 vote. President Bush has promised to sign this into law if it reaches his desk, which looks probable at this point. Yet those supporting this form of murder have already warned that they will challenge it in court.

Ken Connor, president of the anti-abortion Family Research Council, said passage was indicative of "a tide that is running against Roe v. Wade, which will eventually be dismantled."

Bush hailed passage of the legislation, which he said "will help build a culture of life in America. I urge Congress to quickly resolve any differences and send me the final bill as soon as possible so that I can sign it into law."

President Bush is right about this, though it will not happen overnight.

The president -- unlike former President Clinton, who twice vetoed partial birth abortion bans -- had urged Congress in his State of the Union address in January to give him a bill he could sign.

The administration strongly believes the bill "is both morally imperative and constitutionally permissible," the White House said in a statement.

Reading this reminds me of someone I saw on CNN just the other night, arguing that this ban was anti-woman. The classic argument is given that keeping this procedure in place is pro-woman because it protects a woman's heath. First of all, abortion, by its very nature, is anti-woman, and this procedure even further demonstrates that. Secondly, this procedure is no better for a woman's health than actually giving birth. In fact, it is even more invasive and destructive, not just because of the fact that abortion clinics are some of the most medically unregulated facilities in the nation, but because partial-birth abortion involves partially giving birth to a late term, perfectly viable baby.

Truly this is a nation with no memory. American Feminism has historically been very pro-life, seeing all abortion as the worst form of oppression of women. These were the same women who fought for equal opportunity and the right to vote. It was only within the past 50 years that our culture has bought into the lie that abortion is liberating.

Susan B. Anthony said this about abortion in her publication The Revolution:

Guilty? Yes. No matter what the motive, love of ease, or a desire to save from suffering the unborn innocent, the woman is awfully guilty who commits the deed. It will burden her conscience in life, it will burden her soul in death; But oh, thrice guilty is he who drove her to the desperation which impelled her to the crime!

It is our culture that has blood on its hands because we have failed to provide opportunities to help women, faced with the choice, to not feel as though they have no choice.

Happy Blogversary

There have been many blogversaries lately, and I apologize for not recgonizing them all! Most recently is today's blogversary, Bill Cork at the Pro Deo et Patria blog. Last week it was Lane Core of the Blog from the Core.
And last Friday, Karen Marie Knapp's From the Anchor Hold.

Keep 'em bloggin!

What Matrix Persona Are You?
Hmm...


You are Neo, from "The Matrix." You
display a perfect fusion of heroism and
compassion.


What Matrix Persona Are You?
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