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Harpsichord Mania!



Our parish church recently acquired a harpsichord for use in our daily mass chapel (chapel pictured above). A perfect way to compliment the large pipe organ that will soon be installed in the sanctuary of the main church.

Before now, I had never even seen a harpsichord in person. Last sunday morning after mass, my wife and I made our way over to the chapel. There it was, covered-up, sitting innocently in the corner. We lifted off the cover, and behold! I pecked a few keys, filling the room with that classic sound... and we thought, "that's a harpsichord all right!" I suppose the cover was meant to keep away prying eyes and fingers such as ours... but we will treat it with the utmost respect it deserves!

Blog Awards?!

I appreciate those of you who read my thoughts on this blog. But please don't nominate this blog for the "Catholic Blog Awards". As I said last year, I'm not in competition with anyone. I don't blog for ratings or awards, and I don't need an award to know that some readers enjoy reading me and other readers don't.

I know the creators and participants are sincere and don't mean harm, but I believe the blog awards are meaningless. Blogs reflect the personalities of those who write for them, and they're all pretty different; folks have different reasons for reading them. Why must one be better (or "best") than another blog?

I can't let this go without a little social analysis. In my mind, this is only a reflection of the American "award culture" craze, where we feel we have to compete to earn recognition to give some extra value to our work. Is there no value in doing something just for the sake of doing it? And so these awards end up being little more than mere popularity contests. Perhaps it won't be long before there are awards for whomever has the most awards (or like the Awardies). I guess I'm in the minority, but I'll continue to read plenty awardless blogs. In fact, I get rather tired of all of the campaigning some blogs due to win favor.

Unexpected Result...

You know the Bible 98%!

 

Wow! You are awesome! You are a true Biblical scholar, not just a hearer but a personal reader! The books, the characters, the events, the verses - you know it all! You are fantastic!

Ultimate Bible Quiz
Create MySpace Quizzes

As in, I had to make a few educated guesses... plus, it won't tell you which ones ya got wrong...

Katie Short refutes Cheryl Rollings in letter

From the California Catholic Daily:

On Jan. 22, the Ventura County Star published an opinion piece by Cheryl Rollings, president and chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood of Santa Barbara, Ventura and San Luis Obispo Counties Inc., entitled ?Reproductive rights must be protected.? Catherine Short, legal director of the Life Legal Defense Foundation, responded to the item with a letter to the editor challenging Rollings? data. An edited version of Short?s letter was published by the Star on Jan. 25. California Catholic Daily has obtained a copy of Short?s original letter, and publishes it below in its entirety.

Read more.

Cheryl Rollings cites made up statistics and complains about Bush's appointment to oversee Title X, the federal family planning program. Katie Short responds to this:

Ms. Rollings says Bush?s pick opposes the wishes of voters who ?do not want lawmakers to intrude into our personal and private medical decisions.? Wait, hit the playback button. People don?t want government ?intrusion? in a taxpayer-financed program? Ms. Rollings, you?re right. The federal government should not be in the family planning business, intruding in people?s private medical decisions. So let?s eliminate the Title X program altogether, and pull the rug right out from under Bush and his interfering, ?anti-choice? appointee.

Brava!

Giant Holy Water Stoup?

In the comment boxes on a recent discussion on a popular Catholic blog, there was some reaction to a recently built church that included a rather large baptismal font. One of the folks responded that she believed the purpose of the large baptismal font was to act as a "giant holy water stoup", since it was also placed near the main entrance of the church. If you want to get technical, the font can be thought of as a "stoup", but the font itself has a very important meaning, being the location where baptism is actually celebrated. I recall the discussion from Built of Living Stones, emphasis mine:

The baptismal font and its location reflect the Christian's journey through the waters of baptism to the altar... Through the waters of baptism the faithful enter the life of Christ. For this reason the font should be visible and accessible to all who enter the church building...

Water is the key symbol of baptism and the focal point of the font. In this water believers die to sin and are reborn to new life in Christ. In designing the font and the iconography in the baptismal area, the parish will want to consider the traditional symbolism that has been the inspiration for the font's design throughout history. The font is a symbol of both tomb and womb; its power is the power of the triumphant cross; and baptism sets the Christian on the path to the life that will never end, the "eighth day" of eternity where Christ's reign of peace and justice is celebrated...

The font should be large enough to supply ample water for the baptism of both adults and infants. Since baptism in Catholic churches may take place by immersion in the water, or by infusion (pouring), fonts that permit all forms of baptismal practice are encouraged.

Preferences aside, large fonts like the one discussed probably enable easier baptism of adults by immersion or pouring, and also serve as prominent symbols, reminders of baptism for the faithful (of tomb and womb), which is why they are also typically (but not always) placed near the primary entrance of a church and oriented in the direction of the altar. The little stoups next to doors came much later!

Texas Rally for Life in Austin

We just got back from the Texas Rally for Life in Austin, TX. We went with a large group of folks from all walks and ages; We were late going due to bad weather in Houston, but we arrived just in time and in beautiful weather for the march, which led everyone to the capitol building for the rally. The rally was very good. Fr. Frank Pavone of Priests for Life was there to speak, as was Bishop Gregory Aymond of the Diocese of Austin and a number of others. Our own Archbishop DiNardo was there as well from Houston! We were also happy to see Democrats For Life present in full force.

There were only a handful of counter protesters. One group of 3 or 4 people held up a homemade sign that read, "Abortion is neat". I kept thinking that I would've liked to have a discussion with them in greater depth about the implications of their sign, but nobody was in discussion mode. I do wish some pro-lifers would give more thought to their off-the-cuff responses and reactions to antagonisms like this, but we're human.

One of the speakers at the rally was an African American woman who talked of her experience of being forced to the abortion clinic at age 14 by her father and mother to undergo a partial-birth abortion. After labor was induced, everyone discovered she was pregnant with twins! What they gave her to induce labor made her very sick, and one nurse responded to her complaints by telling her, "You should've thought about that before you opened your legs!" The nurse held her down with a pillow through most of the procedure, but she was able to see her twins, recovered from her body and scooped into a trash bag. Thousands of women like this woman are finding one another and coming forward to tell folks -- Roe V Wade doesn't empower women. It destroys them.

March 3: Archdiocesan Men's Conference

If you're a Catholic man in the Houston area, you're invited to a Lenten day of spirituality for men at St. Theresa Catholic Church in Sugar Land, sponsored by the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. It's free! Details from the website:

Saturday, March 3

9:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Starting in the Parish Hall

St. Theresa's Catholic Church
115 Seventh Street
Sugar Land, TX 77478

A time to reflect on who you are as a Christian man and what God is calling you to be. Catholic men will share their stories of how they seek to be faithful to God and to their responsibilities as husbands, fathers, friends and in the workplace....

Doors open at 8:15 a.m. We'll begin at 9:00 with speakers, have a time of prayer before the Blessed Sacrament (with opportunity to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation) and conclude with the celebration of the Eucharist.

Speakers include Archbishop Daniel DiNardo and Houston's own Jim ("Mattress Mack") McIngvale. Did I mention it's free? Go here to register!

Scooby Doo and the Mystery of the Texan Earthquake

So this morning a few minutes after midnight, we were greatly disturbed by what felt and sounded like an earthquake, which shook the house. Coming from California, this was a surprise to me -- an earthquake in Texas?! It's not impossible, however it is very unlikely. We weren't sure what it was; a bomb, maybe? Thunder? Well, this morning I discovered that my "earthquake" was actually caused by an exploding house 10-15 miles away in Missouri City! See Woman Survives House Explosion. Fortunately, it looks like nobody was seriously injured. If we felt it that far away, I can't even imagine what the house's next door neighbors experienced!

Poor Journalism from Santa Maria Times

The Santa Maria Times, of Santa Maria, California, ran an article today entitled, "Both sides of abortion rally support," written by Emily Welly. But does the article really examine "both sides"? Let me reproduce the article in two sections in case the article is lost. Here is the first part of the article:

Monday marked the 34th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in America, and in Santa Maria, the landmark ruling was remembered by supporters on both sides of the controversial debate.

One group marked the anniversary by holding a candlelight vigil Monday night in front of Planned Parenthood, 415 E. Chapel St.

?On this day we are out to remind people of the importance of Roe v. Wade,? said Nancy Jones of Planned Parenthood, noting that many women today - anyone under 34, in fact - has never known a world without abortion being a legally recognized choice.

?That's what gave women the choice over their reproductive care,? she said. ?It's extremely important that those of us who believe strongly (in choice) stand up.?

Such candlelight vigils have been held in this location on the anniversary of the ruling for at least the past 10 years, Jones said.

The group that gathered Monday night included Planned Parenthood employees and members of the Pro-Choice Coalition of Santa Barbara County. Also in attendance, according to Jones, were members of the American Association of University Women and members of the League of Women Voters. Participants included both Democrats and Republicans, she added.

A group of Santa Marians from the other side of the abortion debate took to the streets Sunday afternoon, the eve of the anniversary, to voice their views.

Marchers from several Santa Maria-area Catholic schools carried banners with right-to-life messages at a rally that began at Santa Maria City Hall and finished across the street from Planned Parenthood.

The first section is spent touting the strength of support for Planned Parenthood. Opponents at the rally aren't even granted an interview. But in a desperate attempt to balance things out, the article goes on:

Their message was echoed Monday in the nation's capital, where President Bush told thousands of abortion foes he shares their goal of seeing ?the day when every child is welcomed in life and protected into law.?

Bush also signaled his unchanged opposition to a key goal of the Democrats who now control Congress: broadening embryonic stem-cell research.

?Our challenge is to make sure that science serves the cause of humanity instead of the other way around,? the president said in a telephone call piped over loudspeakers to a Washington rally of abortion opponents.

?I have made clear to the Congress, we must pursue medical advances in the name of life, not at the expense of it.?

Bush calls the rally each year, usually from distant locations. This year, he extended his weekend stay at the Camp David presidential retreat in the Maryland mountains to phone the participants from there.

Bush last year vetoed a bill bolstering embryonic stem cell research that advocates say shows promise for numerous medical cures. Earlier this month, the House passed such a bill again, though by a margin short of what would be required to overturn another veto from the president.

With abortion foes in a more defensive posture now that Democrats have gained control of Capitol Hill, Bush urged them to do more than look toward legislative victories.

?We've all got to remember that a true culture of life cannot be built by changing laws alone. We've all got to work hard to change hearts,? he said.

?The sanctity of life is written in the life of all men and women. And so I think, go forth with confidence that a cause rooted in human dignity and appealing to the best instincts of our citizens cannot fail.?

Emily Welly can be reached at 739-2220 or ewelly@santamariatimes.com

There is one glaring problem with this second section. The text is lifted verbatim from an AP wire news story that ran yesterday. Here is the same AP article from CNN for comparison. Meanwhile 20,000 people marched in San Francisco over the weekend, as part of the West Coast March for Life, calling for an end to abortion and for society to meet the real needs of women. Yet the Santa Maria Times apparently just wants to run its token "Roe V. Wade anniversary" article of the year by interviewing one side and slapping that together with some other article. I wonder how much effort that took?

Abortion and African Americans

It's been no secret that Planned Parenthood has targeted minority communities, particularly African American communities, for decades. No question most clinics are located in more poverty stricken areas of town. PP's founder, eugenicist Margaret Sanger, referred to African Americans and other minorities as "human weeds" and "reckless breeders", and according to Woman's Body, Woman's Right: A Social History of Birth Control in America, by Linda Gordon, Sanger once said, "We do not want word to go out that we want to exterminate the Negro population... if it ever occurs to any of their more rebellious members." That was back when PP was all about birth control, before they considered providing abortion.

But in fact, since the 1970's nothing has done more to harm African Americans than abortion. According to blackgenocide.com:

In America today, almost as many African-American children are aborted as are born [3 out of 5 pregnancies]. A black baby is three times more likely to be murdered in the womb than a white baby. Since 1973, abortion has reduced the black population by over 25 percent. Twice as many African-Americans have died from abortion than have died from AIDS, accidents, violent crimes, cancer, and heart disease combined. Every three days, more African-Americans are killed by abortion than have been killed by the Ku Klux Klan in its entire history. Planned Parenthood operates the nation's largest chain of abortion clinics and almost 80 percent of its facilities are located in minority neighborhoods. About 13 percent of American women are black, but they submit to over 35 percent of the abortions.

What exists now is a negative birthrate among African Americans. If this rate continues, there will be no way for the African American community to replenish itself in future years. Are you listening, Barack Obama?

Abortion, no more

Check out this article from the UCSB Daily Nexus. UCSB's campus Planned Parenthood club (aka "VOX") had a quaint little rally in Isla Vista over the weekend, apparently visited by "a few students scattered throughout the park." Apparently one of the signs read, "Not Every Ejaculation Deserves A Name". That's right, your unwanted child is really just the result of a wasted sperm. Speaking at the rally was the pastor of Trinity Episcopal Church from downtown Santa Barbara, the Rev. Mark Asman, who extolled the virtue of legal genocide. Rev. Asman represents "Clergy for Choice" and also sits on the board of Planned Parenthood in Santa Barbara.

Planned Parenthood doesn't get it. After so many years, they continue to spew the same euphemistic lies about "reproductive freedom" and "healthy choice", etc... Here is another example of the same tired rhetoric. It's silly because we know the lies already; we're intimately familiar with them now. We know better. There is nothing "safe" about abortion; abortion clinics aren't even medically regulated. Most abortionists don't even have hospital admitting privileges should they need to admit a woman for care. And there is nothing "pro-woman" about abortion. Asking a woman to cut out her own child from her womb and toss it aside like trash is a woman-centered solution? Asking a woman to destroy the fruit of her own natural gift of fertility. The early American feminists certainly never believed that lie. They fought against it. They knew that abortion did not help women; it destroyed them. Abortion was a sign that society had failed to meet their needs - that women were being wronged.

When a man steals to satisfy hunger, we may safely conclude that there is something wrong in society - so when a woman destroys the life of her unborn child, it is an evidence that either by education or circumstances she has been greatly wronged.

Mattie Brinkerhoff, early feminist, writing in The Revolution, 4(9):138-9 September 2, 1869

Alice Paul, author of the original Equal Rights Amendment, referred to abortion as the "ultimate exploitation of women". Yet we're supposed to listen to modern feminists who say that abortion is the "ultimate emancipation of women"?

Of course, the answer does not only mean eliminating abortion. It means providing real options for women. Real opportunities, particularly in education and employment. No woman should ever have to feel that having a child and completing an education, or having a career, are mutually exclusive. We also need to be about challenging men to be responsible, honest men. It's a big job. But women deserve better than the BS solution society has given them.

Who am I to speak about abortion? My peers and I are survivors. We were born in the years since our mothers were granted the "right" by our national government to have us killed. Today, much of my own generation is dead. Over 47 million brothers and sisters since 1973. Yet, my mother chose life. Life liberates.

The Decameron Web

Speaking of Giovanni Boccaccio, check out the Decameron Web, "a growing hypermedia archive of materials dedicated to Boccaccio's masterpiece," courtesy of the Brown University Department of Italian Studies.

The Decameron has elicited throughout the centuries fundamental discussions on the nature of narrative art, on the tenets of medieval versus modern morality, on the social and educational value of any form of artistic and literary expression. A true encyclopedia of early modern life and a summa of late medieval culture, the Decameron is also a universal repertory of perennially human situations and dilemmas: it is the perfect subject for an experiment in a new form of scholarly and pedagogical communication aimed at renewing a living dialogue between a distant past and our present.

Pope Joan Movie??

Yes, my friends, it's coming in 2008. About.com says this:

There has never been any real evidence of a woman pope, but that hasn't stopped some folks from insisting it must have happened. Now a film is in the works, based on the novel Pope Joan by Donna Woolfolk Cross. It may make for a great movie, especially if you pay no attention to historical errors and misrepresentations (which, in my view, is the only way to watch most historical films).

Apparently the failure of The DaVinci Code isn't enough to stop the anti-Catholic movie machine from churning out more... I'm not sure it surprises me, since the story of the mythical Joan makes for quite a tale of cover-up and conspiracy, and with a woman in the center of it all -- it must be true! But "It's only a movie!", other people will say.

I remember when I was a student at the university, I went into the sacristy of our university parish to prepare for mass that day (as a liturgical minister) only to come upon a copy of Cross' Pope Joan, just laying around. I don't know who put it there. One of the lectors said to me, "It's a pretty good book; a little on the heretical side, but really good!"

I think one of the best accounts of the story of Joan is handed down to us by the infamous Giovanni Boccaccio (of Decameron fame) from his Renaissance work, Famous Women, written in Latin. Boccaccio asserts that Joan was an Englishwoman, but I think Cross asserts she was German (at least in the movie). Boccaccio says many things about the story in his book, but I thought that this excerpt was most interesting (in both Latin and English)

Iohannes, esto vir nomine videatur, sexu tamen femina fuit... Que tamen non verita ascendere Piscatoris cathedram et sacra ministeria omnia, nulli mulierum a christiana religione concessum, tractare agere et aliis exhibere, apostolatus culmen aliquibus annis obtinuit Christique vicariatum femina gessit in terris. Sane ex alto Deus, plebi sue misertus, tam insignem locum teneri, tanto presideri populo tanque infausto errore decipi a femina passus non est et illam indebita audentem nec sinentem suis in manibus liquit.

Roughly translated (from Virginia Brown's translation),

From her name John would seem to be a man, but she was nevertheless a woman... She was not afraid to mount the Fisherman's throne, to perform all the sacred offices, and to administer them to others, something that the Christian religion does not permit any woman to do. For a few years she occupied the highest apostolate and a woman acted as Vicar of Christ on earth. Then from on high God took pity on his people. He did not suffer a woman to hold so eminent an office, govern so great a people, and deceive them with so inauspicious a misapprehension. He abandoned to her own devices [hands] this person who boldly persisted in doing what should not have been done.

Notice the point of view from which Boccaccio writes this. He writes it almost as though it were a biblical story, using biblical imagery to convey the wittiness of evil, the foolishness of man, and the justice of God. Virginia Brown's translation of the Latin doesn't emphasize this as much, but what I found interesting is right where he begins to describe the action God took. He starts by saying, in Latin,

Sane ex alto Deus... passus non est...
(Sensibly, God, from on high, did not suffer [allow]...)

In Boccaccio's account, Joan duped the Church and fooled the people, and it was God who essentially struck her down (God, ex alto, no less!). Later on, when He describes Joan becoming pregnant, Boccaccio exclaims,

O scelus indignum, o invicta patientia Dei!
(O shameful crime, o how invincible is God's patience!).

And after she gives birth in public, Boccaccio writes, using more biblical imagery,

Et hinc a patribus in tenebras exteriores abiecta, cum fetu misella abiit.
(And hence, she was cast into the outer darkness by the fathers, and the wretched woman went away with her child).

And how does Donna Woolfolk Cross write the tale? Is Joan turned into some sort of feminist heroine of her day, following her true vocation from God, all the while persecuted by an evil institution?

Harrius Potter Et Camera Secretorum



Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, the second Harry Potter book in the series, is now available in Latin. Check it out at amazon.com. The first book, Harrius Potter et Philosophi Lapis, was released a few years ago, along with the Ancient Greek and Irish Gaelic translations.

Peculiar...

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Most Noble and Honourable Alan the Clement of Featherstonehaugh St Fanshaw Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

Respect Life Mass

This morning, we headed to downtown Houston to participate in the annual diocesan Respect Life Mass at Annunciation Catholic Church, celebrated by our archbishop, Daniel DiNardo. Very good. Several other pro-life events will be taking place over the next couple of weeks surrounding the anniversary of the infamous Roe Vs. Wade decision. These events are necessary to renew our spirit and strengthen our resolve to fight for life and respect for human dignity, especially that of the unborn and of women.

Before mass began, we heard a very moving testimony from the father of two aborted children. It was a good message for men, in particular, to hear. Men aren't absent from the issue of abortion. To paraphrase his message, whenever there is an abortion, there's a man in the equation somewhere. A true man does not sit back or otherwise encourage the death of his own child, for whatever excuse. A true man loves and respects women and children and works to protect them and walk with them, as hard as it is. Therefore, to say that abortion is solely a women's issue is horribly wrong. That's fundamentally why the early feminists opposed abortion - abortion was the best way a man could cast aside responsibility for his actions at the expense of everyone around him, most especially the woman he impregnated and their child.

Home Wizard

Those of you who own homes, especially those who are new at this game, check out:

Home Wizard Interactive Home Maintenance Guide

Recommended by home inspectors. Useful information on basic home and yard maintenance, including an automatic email reminder service to remind you of the all of the various things that need to be done throughout the year. We'll try it and see how it goes!

Quincey P. Morris, an American from Texas

In the course of my reading of Bram Stoker's Dracula, I couldn't go without commenting on a character whom I feel is one of the most interesting in all literature: Mr. Quincey P. Morris, the great world traveler, loyal friend, suitor to Miss Lucy Westenra, and homegrown Texan. Okay, I'm sure many of you will immediately think of more interesting literary characters, but it's fascinating to me to find such a well polished, distinguished, and uniquely Texan gentleman in late 19th century England, whose sole pleasure was to seek the heart of the wildly flirtatious Lucy, only to find himself bound by loyalty to her and to his friends to battle the infamous vampire Count (with the aide of his trusty bowie knife); and, in so doing, ultimately to give his life.

In the novel, Lucy describes one of the more memorable scenes involving Quincey in a letter to Mina Murray. In particular, Lucy is describing how she received Quincey's marriage proposal, the 2nd marriage proposal received that day, which she of course refused in anticipation of the 3rd marriage proposal later that day, which was offered by Quincey's good friend, Arthur Holmwood.

He is such a nice fellow, an American from Texas, and he looks so young and so fresh that it seems almost impossible that he has been to so many places and has had such adventures... Mr. Quincey P. Morris found me alone... I must tell you beforehand that Mr. Morris doesn't always speak slang -- that is to say, he never does so to strangers or before them, for he is really well educated and has exquisite manners -- but he found out that it amused me to hear him talk American slang, and whenever I was present, and there was no one to be shocked, he said such funny things... Well, Mr. Morris sat down beside me and looked as happy and jolly as he could, but I could see all the same that he was very nervous. He took my hand in his, and said ever so sweetly:

Miss Lucy, I know I ain't good enough to regulate the fixin's of your little shoes, but I guess if you wait till you find a man that is you will go join them seven young women with the lamps when you quit. Won't you just hitch up alongside of me and let us go down the long road together, driving in double harness?

Well, he did look so good-humoured and so jolly that it didn't seem half so hard to refuse him as it did poor Dr. Seward, so I said, as lightly as I could, that I did not know anything of hitching, and that I wasn't broken to harness at all yet.

Poor Quincey, how could someone refuse such a marriage proposal as that? Well, in my opinion, he was better off without Lucy! I'm sure I'll write more about Quincey another time.

La Chapelle Royale

La Chapelle Royale du Château de Versailles, France

The Execution & other thoughts

I haven't had much time to collect my thoughts, but I want to jot some thoughts down. I support Church teaching regarding capital punishment, and in this context I also agree with the thoughts of our late holy father, Pope John Paul II, particularly in his encyclical Evangelium Vitae. His thoughts concerning the prudence of the death penalty are also recorded in our current Catechism. The Catechism discusses the death penalty in the general context of the larger section: Respect for Human Life. Of course, this isn't accidental. Paragraph 2266-2267:

2266 The State's effort to contain the spread of behaviors injurious to human rights and the fundamental rules of civil coexistence corresponds to the requirement of watching over the common good. Legitimate public authority has the right and duty to inflict penalties commensurate with the gravity of the crime. The primary scope of the penalty is to redress the disorder caused by the offense. When his punishment is voluntarily accepted by the offender, it takes on the value of expiation. Moreover, punishment, in addition to preserving public order and the safety of persons, has a medicinal scope: as far as possible it should contribute to the correction of the offender.

The traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude, presupposing full ascertainment of the identity and responsibility of the offender, recourse to the death penalty, when this is the only practicable way to defend the lives of human beings effectively against the aggressor. [From Evangelium Vitae:]"If, instead, bloodless means are sufficient to defend against the aggressor and to protect the safety of persons, public authority should limit itself to such means, because they better correspond to the concrete conditions of the common good and are more in conformity to the dignity of the human person. Today, in fact, given the means at the State's disposal to effectively repress crime by rendering inoffensive the one who has committed it, without depriving him definitively of the possibility of redeeming himself, cases of absolute necessity for suppression of the offender 'today ... are very rare, if not practically non-existent.'"

I agree with all of this. Actually, there is a lot packed into those few lines, and much to consider. As a citizen of the United States, I want to mention that I oppose the modern application of the death penalty in this country and would like to see it abolished. Because of the apparently general decrease in the value of life, I tend toward the position that the modern use of the death penalty is more likely an offense to human dignity rather than an affirmation of it. This is not because I think there are no circumstances that warrant it in theory, but because I feel it may be of no practical use today. I am not sure I'm convinced that, as a punishment, it is necessarily "just" in every case, and I don't believe it is necessary to protect society or deter crime, as perhaps it once was. In most cases, at least to me, it seems overly anti-climactic for a society that has grown more adapted to it and perhaps takes it for granted. And of course, there are looming questions of misapplication. That being said, the Church clearly acknowledges the authority of civil authorities to impose it, that in some circumstances it may be considered "just", and I recognize that Catholics disagree with me in good conscience about abolishing it in this country.

I have struggled with my opinion regarding the Iraqi execution of Saddam. I think that executing Saddam may have been one of those rare cases that most likely did serve the best interests of the world and Iraq. He clearly had enormous influence among Iraqis and terrorists alike, both in Iraq and all over the world. However, I'm not ready to say that I know what Iraq should've done. It wasn't my decision to make; it was theirs. I recognize that. However, I can't rejoice in it. It was tragic, and why shouldn't it be? Perhaps not because it wasn't just, but tragic perhaps because it's sad that human beings, sinners, with limited understanding, have to be put in a situation to judge whether another sinner's death may be necessary for some "greater good" of society or for some punishment that appears "just". Just as in some cases, war may be necessary and even just - that doesn't mean war isn't any less hell.

So what about the Vatican's statement regarding the execution of Saddam? Their response seems perfectly consistent with what I would expect. Did nobody cringe when Pope John Paul II appealed to President Bush for the life of convicted mass murderer Timothy McVeigh, or when the pope publicly opposed the war in Iraq? I don't see any repudiation of the Church's actual teaching, but I do see a shift in the way the Church engages these important issues with the modern world, a world that seems to devalue basic human dignity in each succeeding generation. And so the Church has clearly taken a radical position on what constitutes prudence when seeking to apply the death penalty. It is radical to insist that even notorious murderers have a basic, innate human dignity. Of course, this means that human dignity is of immense value. What I see seems perfectly in line with what the Church said about its attempts to engage the modern world with the Gospel in Gaudium et Spes from the Second Vatican Council. I am quite frankly puzzled why a few bloggers find the Vatican's statement and leanings so troubling. What few answers I have received from these bloggers have been less than satisfactory, and the more I attempt to probe this question, the more questions I have. Again, from Gaudium et Spes:

Therefore, this sacred synod, proclaiming the noble destiny of man and championing the Godlike seed which has been sown in him, offers to mankind the honest assistance of the Church in fostering that brotherhood of all men which corresponds to this destiny of theirs. Inspired by no earthly ambition, the Church seeks but a solitary goal: to carry forward the work of Christ under the lead of the befriending Spirit...

To carry out such a task, the Church has always had the duty of scrutinizing the signs of the times and of interpreting them in the light of the Gospel. Thus, in language intelligible to each generation, she can respond to the perennial questions which men ask about this present life and the life to come, and about the relationship of the one to the other. We must therefore recognize and understand the world in which we live, its explanations, its longings, and its often dramatic characteristics.

Man's questions about this present life and the life to come remaining perennial, and Church teaching remaining consistent, do we really expect the Church to engage the world in the same fashion it did 500 years ago?

Pray for grandmother

Tonight, I found out that my paternal grandmother suffered a massive stroke this morning near her home in Indiana, with internal bleeding in her brain. She's alive, but she's in grave condition. Please pray for her!

R.I.P. Gerald Ford

Happy New Year

We just returned home from spending the weekend with family in Abilene, TX. We chose to take a shortcut from Houston using Texas' many intersecting highways, passing through many interesting small towns. But what we thought was the most direct route turned out to be a fairly long, 7-hr drive, longer than we expected -- which is saying a lot since my family and I have crossed Texas end-to-end by car many, many times over the last 28 years. We had no illusions about the size of Texas, but next time, we'll contemplate taking the less direct, but still slightly faster and more efficient interstate system!

However, it was a fun trip. We spent the early evening of New Years Eve watching a showing of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes on the original film at the restored 1930's Paramount Theater in downtown Abilene, and then we spent the rest of the night watching the Twilight Zone marathon with family. And yet, the trip was not without its frustrations... including a minor auto accident and an overflowing toilet in our hotel room. Grr... but such, at times, is life and sanctification. It was great to see family.

Traffic Waves

An interesting research article by Electrical Engineer William Beaty. Beaty spent a lot of time evaluating traffic flow in terms of fluid dynamics and came up with some interesting ideas concerning how just one car can dislodge a traffic jam. Be sure to check out the FAQ as well. Some if his observations are pretty obvious, while others are pretty insightful. If you spent a lot of time in traffic (hello, Houston!), check it out.

Merry Christmas

This year marks our first Christmas in Texas away from our respective families. We're making the best of it by cooking a plump goose this year.

Since becoming Catholic, Midnight Mass has been somewhat of an annual tradition for me, and my wife has joined me in me in this. We went last night and experienced an incredible midnight liturgy. My wife sings in our parish choir, and so last night I experienced the fruit of their many weeks of practice as they sang, as a choral prelude to the mass, Antonio Vivaldi's setting for the Magnificat, complete with chamber orchestra. The new, most dignified and awesome tabernacle in our newly renovated sanctuary was flanked by flowers, with the blessed sacrament now reserved there for the first time. The Christmas liturgy was magnificent. It's good to be home here in Texas.

I could go on and on, but let me just say that I was also pleased that, at the very beginning of the liturgy, our pastor chose to read from a sermon given by 5th century Pope St. Leo the Great on the meaning of Christmas, a reading also taken from today's Office of Readings, which I had only just read privately before the mass! Here is the text, and this is all I will say today:

Sermo 1 in Nativitate Domini, by Pope St. Leo the Great

Dearly beloved, today our Savior is born; let us rejoice. Sadness should have no place on the birthday of life. The fear of death has been swallowed up; life brings us joy with the promise of eternal happiness.

No one is shut out from this joy; all share the same reason for rejoicing. Our Lord, victor over sin and death, finding no man free from sin, came to free us all. Let the saint rejoice as he sees the palm of victory at hand. Let the sinner be glad as he receives the offer of forgiveness. Let the pagan take courage as he is summoned to life.

In the fullness of time, chosen in the unfathomable depths of God's wisdom, the Son of God took for himself our common humanity in order to reconcile it with its creator. He came to overthrow the devil, the origin of death, in that very nature by which he had overthrown mankind.

And so at the birth of our Lord the angels sing in joy: "Glory to God in the highest", and they proclaim, "peace to his people on earth" as they see the heavenly Jerusalem being built from all the nations of the world. When the angels on high are so exultant at this marvelous work of God's goodness, what joy should it not bring to the lowly hearts of men?

Beloved, let us give thanks to God the Father, through his Son, in the Holy Spirit, because in his great love for us he took pity on us, "and when we were dead in our sins he brought us to life with Christ", so that in him we might be a new creation. Let us throw off our old nature and all its ways and, as we have come to birth in Christ, let us renounce the works of the flesh.

Christian, remember your dignity, and now that you share in God's own nature, do not return by sin to your former base condition. Bear in mind who is your head and of whose body you are a member. Do not forget that you have been rescued from the power of darkness and brought into the light of God's kingdom.

Through the sacrament of baptism you have become a temple of the Holy Spirit. Do not drive away so great a guest by evil conduct and become again a slave to the devil, for your liberty was bought by the blood of Christ.

Merry Christmas to all.

It's the small realities...

From The Richness of Ordinary Life, a homily by St. Josemaría Escrivá.

... Certainly our goal is both lofty and difficult to attain. But please do not forget that people are not born holy. Holiness is forged through a constant interplay of God's grace and the correspondence of man. As one of the early Christian writers [St. Mark the Hermit] says, referring to union with God, "Everything that grows begins small. It is by constant and progressive feeding that it gradually grows big." So I say to you, if you want to become a thorough-going Christian -- and I know you are willing, even though you often find it difficult to conquer yourself or to keep climbing upwards with this poor body of ours -- then you will have to be very attentive to the minutest of details, for the holiness that our Lord demands of you is to be achieved by carrying out with love of God your work and your daily duties, and these will almost always consist of small realities.

Hayrides, Carols, and Lights

Every year about this time (as we are told), various folks in our neighborhood put together elaborate trailers and structures for their trucks for the sole purpose of hauling boatloads of screaming kids around the neighborhood at night, singing carols and looking at Christmas lights. Our neighborhood is pretty big, so each trip could last about an hour.

Some friends on our street built a pretty impressive little ride... complete with two generators mounted on the front of the truck, a blasting stereo system with speakers attached to the top of the cab, and a six foot long trailer filled with hay in tow -- all covered, and I mean covered, with Christmas lights. It was 80 degrees outside today, and the night air was cool and breezy - how could we not go along for a ride? It's not my usual gig, but it was spontaneous and fun. Frequently during our little journey around the neighborhood, we would pass other trucks with trailers, filled with kids.

California vs. Texas

Honor the Texas flag;
I pledge allegiance to thee,
Texas, one and indivisible.

That is the pledge of allegiance to the flag of Texas, and I am told that children are even taught this pledge in elementary school here along with the pledge of allegiance to the flag of the United States. And did you know that the lone star featured on the flag of California refers to Texas, which, like California, did once exist as an independent republic before it eventually became part of the United States.

On that note, I would like to draw your attention to a post written by my beautiful wife concerning some of our observations: California vs. Texas.

Most people wouldn't put Texas and California in the same sentence, unless noting how opposite they are supposed to be. I've lived in both states, and find that they have a few things in common:

1. Both were once part of Mexico
2. Both were independent republics before joining the US.
3. Both have fabulous historical sites reflecting items 1 & 2.
4. Both states are huge, geographically speaking.
5. Residents of each state think they live in the best of all possible places, not just on this planet, but possibly in the known universe. Ask them. Neither can fathom why anyone would want to live in the other state.

Texas, however takes its state pride to a slightly different level than California. Furniture stores in Texas often feature pieces with the Lone Star emblazoned proudly upon them. You don't see many Californians looking for furniture with the Bear on them. Texas even has its own pledge of allegiance... I did a Google search, to see if California has its own equivalent. All I got was references to news articles and court cases about people in California trying to ban the national Pledge of Allegiance because of the words "under God". A similar Google search for the Texas pledge got notably different results.

Ah, California... Ah, Texas.

Parish Mission with Scott and Kimberly Hahn

We just got back from an advent parish mission at our parish, which included mass this morning followed by speakers Dr. Scott and Kimberly Hahn... Very enriching... and standing room only. I'm sure that folks benefited very well from having such articulate speakers come to visit us and talk about the beautiful truths of our Catholic Faith.

I was pleased when Kimberly Hahn referred to the conciliar document Gaudium et Spes, from the Second Vatican Council, to underscore her point about the life giving nature of the marital union as being a union with the life creating power of God Himself; this God who is Love and pours out love (as Love can only do) in the creation of new life. Also the important fact that just as children benefit from the love and education given by their parents, parents also benefit from the love and education given to them every day by their children. Gaudium et Spes (paragraph 50) says it this way:

Marriage and conjugal love are by their nature ordained toward the begetting and educating of children. Children are really the supreme gift of marriage and contribute very substantially to the welfare of their parents. The God Himself Who said, "it is not good for man to be alone" (Gen. 2:18) and "Who made man from the beginning male and female" (Matt. 19:4), wishing to share with man a certain special participation in His own creative work, blessed male and female, saying: "Increase and multiply" (Gen. 1:28). Hence, while not making the other purposes of matrimony of less account, the true practice of conjugal love, and the whole meaning of the family life which results from it, have this aim: that the couple be ready with stout hearts to cooperate with the love of the Creator and the Savior. Who through them will enlarge and enrich His own family day by day.

Made in Santa Barbara

From the SB Independent, courtesy of Goleta pastor Billy Calderwood. All of these items (and there are many more) started in Santa Barbara, California:

-Earth Day
-Balance Bar
-Shortboard
-Motel 6
-Sex Wax
-Sambo's
-Big Dogs (clothing)
-Kinko's (in Isla Vista)
-Ranch Dressing
-Egg McMuffin

Although I dispute the assertion that Tri-Tip is a Santa Barbara invention. Santa Maria has held claim to that for lo these many years.

Maria, Gratia Plena

The Magnificent Event of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Through a singular grace of God, in view of the merits of her Son, Jesus Christ, Mary was preserved from the stain of original sin from the first moment of her presence in her mother's womb. This was to prepare her as a sinless vessel, the immaculate ark of the new and everlasting covenant, through which God would take human flesh upon Himself and be born as a human being, human like us in all things but sin.

It does not refer, as many Catholics have been erroneously taught, to the conception of Christ in Mary's womb, although it does anticipate that reality. And whatever special grace Mary has that others do not have is there because of God. Mary's sinlessness can only be a work of grace, of being perfected and made whole. For Mary, God did this at the moment of her conception, though she still had the freedom to cooperate with that grace. For the rest of us, however, God does this throughout our ordinary human lives, so that all who enter Heaven are perfect as God is perfect.

In mense autem sexto missus est angelus Gabriel a Deo in civitatem Galilaeae, cui nomen Nazareth, ad virginem desponsatam viro, cui nomen erat Ioseph de domo David, et nomen virginis Maria. Et ingressus ad eam dixit: "Ave, gratia plena, Dominus tecum". Ipsa autem turbata est in sermone eius et cogitabat qualis esset ista salutatio. Et ait angelus ei: "Ne timeas, Maria; invenisti enim gratiam apud Deum. Et ecce concipies in utero et paries filium et vocabis nomen eius Iesum. Hic erit magnus et Filius Altissimi vocabitur, et dabit illi Dominus Deus sedem David patris eius, et regnabit super domum Iacob in aeternum, et regni eius non erit finis". Luke 1:26-33

The angel Gabriel came down to her and said to her, "Hail, Full of Grace, the Lord is with you.... Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bare a son, and you will call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give him the seat of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and His Kingdom will have no end."

Through this we know that 1.) Mary was "full of grace", 2.) God chose her out of all the women of the world, and 3.) because she was to carry the Son of the Most High in her womb, God in the flesh.

Giving thanks and Richard Dawson

We've been pretty busy lately; we spent much of last week preparing for family visits during the Thanksgiving holiday, which we were very blessed to have so soon after moving out here to Texas. We spent a lot of time eating all the food we prepared and touring the city and surrounding areas.


Sometimes when I relax, I like to tune in to reruns of old Match Game episodes on Game Show Network. This show epitomizes all that was nutty about the 1970's, complete with groovy music, polyester fashions, historical trivia, and tacky attempts at humor. Gene Rayburn, my muse. But, if I see Richard Dawson kiss one more woman on the lips, I'll...

Two brothers...



Last week while in Turkey, Pope Benedict XVI spent a good amount of time with Patriarch Bartholomew I (Eastern Orthodox) of the very ancient and venerable city of Constantinople (Istanbul). It is certainly refreshing to see them together, like the two brothers Peter and Andrew. While it's clear that Benedict and Bartholomew aren't quite ready to join hands and sing Kum Ba Ya, one hopes that this visit will further dialog and strenghten the hope for future reconciliation between much of the Eastern Orthodox world and the Roman Catholic church... after 1000 years of schism. Ut unum sint...

Here they are giving a common blessing, courtesy of YouTube.com... Benedict pronounces the blessing in our cherished Latin, while Bartholomew pronounces the blessing in Greek.



This was only one of many memorable moments that occurred during this visit. Go here for more videos of the visit between Benedict and Bartholomew.

UPDATE: Joshua Treviño posts a very moving piece about his experience of the Patriarchal liturgy with Patriarch Bartholomew and Pope Benedict. Read it!

On the twofold coming of Christ

Taken from today's office of readings, by St. Cyril of Jerusalem.

We do not preach only one coming of Christ, but a second as well, much more glorious than the first. The first coming was marked by patience; the second will bring the crown of a divine kingdom.

In general, what relates to our Lord Jesus Christ has two aspects. There is a birth from God before all ages, and a birth from a virgin at the fullness of time. There is a hidden coming, like that of rain on fleece, and a coming before all eyes, still in the future. At the first coming he was wrapped in swaddling clothes in a manger. At his second coming he will be clothed in light as in a garment. In the first coming he endured the cross, despising the shame; in the second coming he will be in glory, escorted by an army of angels. We look then beyond the first coming and await the second. At the first coming we said: "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord." At the second we hall say it again; we shall go out with the angels to meet the Lord and cry out in adoration: "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord."

The Savior will not come to be judged again, but to judge those by whom he was judged. At his own judgment he was silent; then he will address those who committed the outrages against him when they crucified him and will remind them: "You did these things, and I was silent." His first coming was to fulfill his plan of love, to teach men by gentle persuasion. This time, whether men like it or not, they will be subjects of his kingdom by necessity. Malachi the prophet speaks of the two comings. "And the Lord whom you seek will come suddenly to his temple": that is one coming. Again he says of another coming: "Look, the Lord almighty will come, and who will endure the day of his entry, or who will sand in his sight? Because he comes like a refiner's fire, a fuller's herb, and he will sit refining and cleansing."

These two comings are also referred to by Paul in writing to Titus: "The grace of God the Savior has appeared to all men, instructing us to put aside impiety and worldly desires and live temperately, uprightly, and religiously in this present age, waiting for the joyful hope, the appearance of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ." Notice how he speaks of a first coming for which he gives thanks, and a second, the one we still await.

That is why the faith we profess has been handed on to you in these words: "He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end."

Our Lord Jesus Christ will therefore come from heaven. He will come at the end of the world, in glory, at the last day. For there will be an end to this world, and the created world will be made new.

Christ came first to be judged; When He comes again, He will come to judge us. As St. Cyril connects to the prophet Malachi, quoting him, he comes like a refiner's fire, a fuller's herb, and he will sit refining and cleansing... Christ, son of the living God, have mercy on us.