The Little Way

Check out this website devoted to St. Therese of Lisieux and Carmelite spirituality: www.thelittleway.com, run by a catholic bookstore in Salinas California called Corpus Christi Book+Store (also an associated blog).

The Testament of King St. Louis IX

... From a spiritual testament by King Saint Louis IX to his son, courtesy of Canterbury Tales.

My dearest son, my first instruction is that you should love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your strength. Without this there is no salvation. Keep yourself, my son, from everything that you know displeases God, that is to say, from every mortal sin. You should permit yourself to be tormented by every kind of martyrdom before you would allow yourself to commit a mortal sin.

If the Lord has permitted you to have some trial, bear it willingly and with gratitude, considering that it has happened for your good and that perhaps you well deserved it. If the Lord bestows upon you any kind of prosperity, thank him humbly and see that you become no worse for it, either though vain pride or anything else, because you ought not to oppose God or offend him in the matter of his gifts.

Be kindhearted to the poor, the unfortunate and the afflicted. Give them as much help and consolation oas you can. Thank God for all the benefits he has bestowed upon you, that you may be worthy to receive greater. Always side with the poor rather than with the rich, until you are certain of the truth.

Be devout and obedient to our mother the Church of Rome and the Supreme Pontiff as your spiritual father.

In conclusion, dearest son, I give you every blessing that a loving father can give a sons. May the three Persons of the Holy Trinity and all the saints protect you from every evil. And may the Lord give you the grace to do his will so that he may be served and honored through you, that in the next life we may together come to see him, love him and praise him unceasingly. Amen.

L'Absinthe

by Edgar Degas



I don't know what it is about this painting that fascinates me... perhaps its the woman's melancholy expression, or the full glass of cloudy absinthe sitting in front of her.

From Wikipedia:

Painted in 1876, it depicts two figures, a woman and man, who sit in the center and right of this painting, respectively. The man, wearing a hat, looks right, off the canvas, while the woman, dressed formally and also wearing a hat, stares vacantly downward. A glass filled with the titular greenish liquid, absinthe, sits before her. The woman in the painting is the actress Ellen Andrée, the man Marcellin Desboutin, painter, engraver and, at the same time, celebrated Bohemian character. The café where they are taking their refreshment is the Café de la Nouvelle-Athènes in Paris. n its first showing in 1876 it was panned by critics, who called it ugly and disgusting. It was put into storage until an 1892 exhibit where it was booed off the easel.

It was shown again in 1893 in England, this time titled "L'Absinthe" where it sparked controversy. The persons represented in the painting were considered by English critics to be shockingly degraded and uncouth...

Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary (belated)

Rerum Supremo in Vertice...

You are given your place,
O Virgin, O Queen,
at creation's highest point;
enriched abundantly are you
with beauty of every kind.

Amidst all the rest of created things
you shine forth
as the finest of God's works,
for it was your destiny to bear a Son:
a Son, but also the very One who created you.

Just as Christ was king,
purpled, blood-stained
on that exalted tree,
so are you, sharer in his suffering,
the mother of all who live.

Adorned with praises so high,
look upon us who rejoice in you;
in your joy, accept the proclaiming song
that we pour forth gladly unto you.

To the Father, and to the Advocate blest,
and to the Son be great glory given;
they have enclothed you
with a garment of grace
most wondrous to behold.
Amen.

Regina Caeli, ora pro nobis...

I wasn't aborted...

Petitioning for Life, by Julia Gorin. From the WSJ OpinionJournal:

The Web site of Ms. Magazine--yes, it still exists--is calling on readers to sign a petition: "I have had an abortion. I publicly join the millions of women in the United States who have had an abortion in demanding a repeal of laws that restrict women's reproductive freedom."

Well, so much for the right to privacy. If Ms. readers hadn't had so many abortions, there might be more Ms. readers. As for the rest of us, here's a petition we could all sign: "I wasn't aborted."

Having narrowly escaped being aborted, I'd be the first in line.

On the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary

Christina and I attended mass this evening at our parish in Sugar Land to celebrate the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Lots of chant, song, and incense, and of course, a powerful message concerning the role of Mary in bringing us toward Christ and to the salvation God offers through His grace. The Marian dogmas tell us volumes about Christ. That is where their fundamental foundation lies, but we also have a relationship with her as we do with the whole Church in heaven and on earth. Our pastor underscored the fundamental point: We worship God alone, and we honor Mary precisely because Christ honored Mary, and Christ says to us as he said to John, Behold your mother (John 19:27). I like this meditation by St. Josemaría Escrivá:

The Catholic faith sees Mary as a sign of God's special love. God calls us his friends; his grace acts in us, winning us from sin, enabling us to reflect in some way the features of Christ, even though we are still wretched dirt. We are not stranded people whom God has promised to save. His salvation is already at work in us. In our relationship to God, we are not blind men yearning for light and crying in anguished darkness. We are children who know our Father loves us.

Mary tells us about this warmth and security. That's why her name goes straight to our heart. Our relationship with our own mother may show us how to treat Mary, the Lady of the Sweet Name. We have to love God with the same heart with which we love our parents, our brothers and sisters, the other members of our family, our friends. And we must love Mary with that same heart, too.

- St. Josemaría Escrivá, from Christ is Passing By, 142

The Body Worlds Horror

Neda Ulaby of NPR discusses the controversy over the Body Worlds exhibits in science museums around the country. Note also this story about the pregnant woman display. LifeSite also discusses it. The exhibit is currently "on display" here at the Museum of Natural Science in Houston. ... what Bill said...

I remember my fascination when a close doctor friend of mine took me to the cadaver room of the medical school he was attending at the time -- after the students had finished their dissection of the bodies. Aside from the remains of the corpses, do you know what filled the room? Bouquets of roses and assortments of flowers, thank-you cards, lengthy letters written by the medical students themselves to honor the dignity of the lives of those who had donated their bodies so that they could learn. The remains would then be later deposited in a respectful way, not put on public display for money. Quite different from what I see here -- bodies of questionable origin, put on public display and posed in ridiculous forms, as folks pay thousands of dollars to have a look before they go about their lives. No respect. No honor. It is honorable to show respect to the dead and to the remains of the dead, and it is a corporal work of mercy to bury the dead.

Is Dogma So Constraining?

Not at all! Dogma is progressive.

In its moral relativism, the culture in which we live despises the notion of religious dogma. Those of us who happen to profess dogma are labeled as closed-minded buffoons who are incapable of real thought and honest inquiry. For those who have no desire to learn or strive to believe anything, or develop a real, working understanding of their religious faith, this might be true. But the actual principle of dogma is nothing of the sort!

Dogma is actually a progressive method. It enables progressive thought. If human beings have any hope of growing or evolving in any way in the pursuit of truth, we have to be dogmatic about things - in fact, it's inherent in our brains that this is so. And so one isn't so shocked to find that all real, academic disciplines, including mathematics, philosophy, and all fields of science, are dogmatic by nature. It allows one to build upon the proven conclusions of one's predecessors... to ask, learn, and teach succeeding generations to enable them to go even further.

Dogma is healthy to a thinking brain. It is essential to real education. The great Catholic intellectual G.K. Chesterton summed it up best in Ch.4 of What's Wrong With the World:

It is quaint that people talk of separating dogma from education. Dogma is actually the only thing that cannot be separated from education. It is education. A teacher who is not dogmatic is simply a teacher who is not teaching.

And so why shouldn't Christ's Church also employ dogma to teach succeeding generations important truths about God? In paragraph 89, the Catechism of the Catholic Church says:

Dogmas are lights along the path of faith; they illuminate it and make it secure. Conversely, if our life is upright, our intellect and heart will be open to welcome the light shed by the dogmas of faith.

In our case, the Church's proven conclusions are actually fruits of the Spirit that allow Christians of succeeding generations to better understand the fullness of God's revelation given in the person of Jesus Christ. God does this because left by ourselves, we would merely screw everything up and prevent others from understanding Him. Thus, we can understand things and speak about God today in ways that were very difficult for earlier Christian communities to grasp and articulate -- yet what we know today is organically rooted in what they were given by Christ. This is because real learning builds on itself. If every generation had to start from scratch, where would we be? Dogma therefore elucidates truth.

It may be, as the Catechism implies, that those who say that dogma only obscures truth merely don't like what it is that dogma actually brings to light -- namely that Christianity is more than just a shallow, flighty "I'm okay, you're okay" emotionalism. That we are indeed a sinful people who are called to reject sin, repent, and walk rightly with God and each other in a REAL relationship. But these same dogmas also teach us that God loves us, is merciful with us, and freely gives us everything we need to know Him, love Him, and walk uprightly with Him.

Jesus in Cowboy Boots and Other News

I had to start this off with one of those oddities of life that could only be found in Texas. If you're ever near Paris, TX, stop on over at Evergreen Cemetery to view the very interesting grave statue known to the locals as Jesus in Cowboy Boots. Nice snakeskins! Actually, I don't think anybody knows who is supposed to be depicted in the statue... just a guy in boots leaning on a cross I guess. The melancholy cowboy... but I wonder what the magdalene conspiracy folks are saying about this!

On our way to Houston, we stopped to spend a couple days on San Antonio's famous RiverWalk. A most excellent time! We visited the ancient Cathedral of San Fernando, strolled the city, and saw the Alamo, of course. And we recommend the Hotel Contessa on the RiverWalk and also Las Ramblas, the Spanish restaurant located downstairs. Good eatin'! Also, be sure to check out the riverwalk... especially at night.

Things are settling down here since we moved in. We've almost completed our unpacking, and we've got some new furniture on the way. I went back to work after my timeoff this week, and I love it! I will be working with some really interesting technology (compilers - programming language translation), and I'm on a great team with some great people whom I look forward to getting to know.

And just to know, it wasn't too long ago that our new home town of Sugar Land, TX was named the #3 best place to live in the nation by CNNMoney magazine. We really like living here as one can find just about everything within 15 minutes of our house, including tons of stores and restaurants, and a couple of very large movie theaters. And if you want a lot more culture and the arts, it's only a very swift 30 minutes into the city of Houston where you can find museums as well as the infamous theater district. We're planning on seeing Mozart's Don Giovanni there in the Fall.

We're also happy to be in the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston. Our new parish of St. Theresa's in Sugar Land is very solid, and we're not TOO far from the Anglican Use parish of Our Lady of Walsingham! About two weeks ago we attended one of the Cafe Catholica young adult events sponsored by the archdiocese. We were quite impressed not only to see more than 300 young adults there, but also to see that their ages were quite spread out. Prior to going, we were a little concerned that we would be the oldest ones there (as happens frequently in California groups). But we saw many young adults with their spouses and even their children there, all coming together to demonstrate their love of the Church and their interest to learn about it and each other. We also met the speaker, auxiliary bishop Joe Vasquez, for the first time.

Just last weekend, we took a little trip down to Galveston Island to visit the beach and to see some sights. It was good to see the ocean again, but it was rather crowded. This time, we have a busy weekend planned... and tonight, Shakespeare in the park!

If you're ever in the area and can stand the heat, drop me a line!

Hello from Houston

Just a quick note to let everyone know that the wedding went well, and we are now settling into our home here in the Houston area. I will certainly blog more soon about all of the details! :)

Another year, another...

... birthday. 28 today. Am I really that old??

On a related note, I will be taking a little blogging break for a while. Lots of things coming up -- our wedding, our move, job transfer, etc, etc...

Anyway, for now, so long, and thanks for all the fish!

The Mystery of His Will

to sum up all things in Christ...

From the letter of St. Paul to the Church of Ephesus (1:3-14):

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.

Just in case you needed a reminder...

Guillaume DuFay and Weddings



The preparations for the big day are winding up. In the midst of buying a house and planning a wedding, it is so easy to get lost in various details. One of the more fun things about planning for the big day has been the nuptial mass.

In particular, our friend, the inimitable Prof. Alejandro Enrique Planchart, has assembled a small choir, which he will direct, to sing for us a 15th century polyphonic mass setting, namely the Missa Sine Nomine, composed by Guillaume DuFay (the fellow on the left in the picture above). As I have learned, DuFay originally composed this mass for another wedding, that of Carlo Malatesta da Pesaro to Vittoria Colonna di Lorenzo (niece of Pope Martin V) at Rimini on July 24th, 1423. The musical setting itself is very short, about 15-16 minutes total. For the presentation of flowers to the Blessed Virgin, the choir will sing DuFay's very short Ave Regina Caelorum.

Since the mass falls coincidentally on the Feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist, we desired that our nuptials be celebrated within the context of this great feast, with its images of divine vocation, birth, and fruitfulness. Therefore, we will be using the proper for the day, and our choir will chant the Introit, etc. To quote the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 49:1-6):

The LORD called me from birth, from my mother's womb he gave me my name.

Now let's just hope things go off without a hitch (yeah, right). Sacred polyphony has contributed a great deal to our spiritual growth, and it has rooted us in a very meaningful connection with our Roman Catholic heritage. Therefore, we had hoped to include it in our celebration, but without pretense or ostentation. We're hoping to have a great celebration of prayer and feasting with our family and friends on this day.

Moving to Houston

Wow, sorry it has been so long since my last posting spree. The truth is, to use the standard excuse, I haven't had any time. But I do have exciting news.

First of all, I want to announce that in less than two months, my soon-to-be wife and I will be moving to the Houston, TX area. I timed the blog announcement to correspond with the formal announcement of my job transfer within the company in which I work (TI). We also recently submitted an offer on a house in Sugar Land, and after some negotiation, our offer was accepted, and so now we enter the critical period. It's all very new for us, so we are doing what we can! Please pray for us!

We are very excited about the move. Speaking for myself, after having been a Californian for the last 19 years, I know that I will miss California. I know that I will miss being involved in ministry with my community and local church. I am looking forward to new career opportunities and opportunities for ministry, as God directs. Please pray that we are open to new challenges.

Moving to the South is somewhat of a homecoming for me -- I'm originally from Alabama and have family scattered throughout the South. However, it will be a huge change for my fiancee, Christina, because she is 100% California born-and-raised.

And we will not forget the Santa Maria tri-tip. Never, never ever ever!

Love One Another

From today's Gospel reading

This is my commandment: love one another as I love you.

There is so much that can be said about this -- 2000 years, and of course, our recent encyclical! But on the basic level, you know, being the human being that I am, I sometimes think about how much of a challenge it is even to love those who get on my nerves. Grrr... But now I think of the little reflection (#174) from The Way, written by St. Josemaría Escrivá, founder of Opus Dei:

Don't say: 'That person gets on my nerves.' Think: 'That person sanctifies me.'

And suddenly things come into focus. God works in our everyday lives and in our ordinary relationships with everybody we know. Each and every one of our relationships has meaning. This one is worth a million. Thanks.

Opus Dei and Corporal Mortification (and Poseidon)

Fr. Michael Barrett, a priest of Opus Dei and director of the Holy Cross Chapel and Catholic Resource Center in Houston, TX, responds to The Da Vinci Code's portrayal of Opus Dei and its views on Corporal Mortification:

The Da Vinci Code's bloody depictions of mortification are grotesque exaggerations that have nothing to do with reality. Obviously the movie makers were looking for shock value, and the real use of the cilice and discipline would have been too tame. In reality, they cause a fairly low level of discomfort comparable to fasting. There is no blood, no injury, nothing to harm a person's health, nothing traumatic. If it caused any harm, the Church would not allow it.

Fr. Barrett is a good man. When I first saw the trailer for The Da Vinci Code, I had to laugh - Particularly when it showed the Opus Dei Albino Monk literally ripping a cilice from his flesh and beating himself senseless with a discipline. Yeah, right.

Bill Cork offers some views on the film itself. I went to the movies too, but being a fan of large ships and disaster flicks, I couldn't resist the urge to see Poseidon. I liked the special effects and some decent action sequences, but I still prefer the 70's classic. :)

To Texas

Going to Houston, TX for the rest of the week. Will write more later!

St. Joseph, pray for us!

Well, it is actually true...

I grew up on grits, fried chicken, black-eyed peas, fried okra, turnip greens, and corn bread, but it's been going on 20 years since I last lived in the South.

Displaced Southerner You are 79% true Southern!

You're pretty Southern, but something is keeping you from being a true Southern Belle or Gentleman. Maybe you've moved, or maybe your parents were Yankees and brought you up without ever taking you fishing or hunting or to Memaw's for chicken and black-eyed peas. You know your Southern facts and culture, but that literature still escapes you. And when you order tea at a restaurant, you expect it to come "unsweet." Yikes. Next time you have the chance, visit a classic Southern downtown area and spend an afternoon just soaking it in... Montgomery, Birmingham, Jackson, Natchez, Memphis, Charleston, Atlanta, or even New Orleans!

Link: The Southern-ness Test written by gwennykate. Thanks to DonJim.

Television: NotSoClever tricks

I've seen all of these happen, and if you've been a fairly regular watcher of television over the last 10 or 20 years, you probably have too... If you really think about it, TV is ridiculous! (duh!) ;)

Chuck Cunningham syndrome:

Chuck Cunningham syndrome is a term of criticism, applied when a regular character (ie: main character, supporting character, recurring character) in a television series is removed with little or no explanation.

The term derives from the Chuck Cunningham character in the American series Happy Days. Chuck, the oldest of the three children in the Cunningham family, initially appeared in the episode "Love and the Happy Days" (in the show Love, American Style), which served as the pilot for what became the Happy Days series. However, in Happy Days Chuck appeared as a superfluous character (usually on his way to basketball practice). He was written out of the series at the beginning of the second season with the explanation that he was going to college. After the second season, he was never mentioned again; subsequent episodes referred to the Cunninghams as having two, rather than three, children.

Jumping the shark:

Jumping the shark is a metaphor that has been used by US TV critics and fans since the 1990s to denote the tipping point at which a TV series is deemed to have passed its peak. Once a show has "jumped the shark," fans sense a noticeable decline in quality or feel the show has undergone too many changes to retain its original charm.

The phrase was popularized by Jon Hein on his website jumptheshark.com. It alludes to a scene in the TV series Happy Days when the popular character Fonzie, on water skis, literally jumps over a shark.

Cousin Oliver:

Cousin Oliver is a jargon used by TV critics when the creators of a TV show decide that the addition of a cute child actor to the cast will improve the ratings of the show, or as a replacement for child cast members that have grown up since the show started.

Fonzie Syndrome:

Fonzie syndrome is a phenomenon on TV programs in which a character that had originally been a one-off character or a supporting cast member becomes a/the central and/or most popular character on the show. The term comes from the American sitcom Happy Days, in which the character of Arthur "The Fonz" Fonzarelli (played by Henry Winkler) started out as a minor, fringe character but quickly evolved into the focal point of the series.

Retcon:

Retroactive continuity is the adding of new information to "historical" material, or deliberately changing previously established facts in a work of serial fiction. The change itself is referred to as a "retcon", and the act of writing and publishing a retcon is called "retconning".

Marriage as being caught up in God's Love

From the Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World (Gaudium et Spes) from the Second Vatican Council (paragraph 48)

Husband and wife, by the covenant of marriage, are no longer two, but one flesh. By their intimate union of persons and of actions they give mutual help and service to each other, experience the meaning of the unity, and gain an ever deeper understanding of it day by day. This intimate union in the mutual self-giving of two persons, as well as the good of the children, demands full fidelity from both, and an indissoluble unity between them. Christ the Lord has abundantly blessed this richly complex love, which springs from the divine source of love and is founded on the model of his union with the Church.

In earlier times God met his people in a covenant of love and fidelity. So now the Savior of mankind, the Bridegroom of the Church, meets Christian husbands and wives in the sacrament of matrimony. Further, he remains with them in order that, as he loved the Church and gave himself up for her, so husband and wife may, in mutual self-giving, love each other with perpetual fidelity.

True married love is caught up into God's love; it is guided and enriched by the redeeming power of Christ and the saving action of the Church, in order that the partners may be effectively led to God and receive help and strength in the sublime responsibility of parenthood. Christian partners are therefore strengthened, and as it were consecrated, by a special sacrament for the duties and the dignity of their state. By the power of this sacrament they fulfill their obligations to each other and to their family and are filled with the spirit of Christ. This spirit pervades their whole lives with faith, hope and love. Thus they promote their own perfection and each other's sanctification, and so contribute together to the greater glory of God.

So it is crucial and important that the Church recognizes in marriage a sacrament through which God bestows grace through the couple for their mutual sanctification and ultimate salvation. God, in freely sharing grace, invites us to participate in His very divine life, redeeming us and raising us out of the pit of our sinfulness. And we know that God is Love, and that through marriage, God's invitation also includes the unique opportunity to participate in His very nature which is His continual act of wanting to love, the result of which is the creation of new life. Thus, by His grace in marriage, we are given insight into the very Creation of the universe, and the Creator's will for you and for me. We are then, in a sense, made co-creators with God.

RIP Fr. Anthony

Fr. Anthony Peter Runtz, CJ

Funeral Mass was celebrated April 17 at St. Louis de Montfort Church, Santa Maria, for Josephite Father Anthony Peter Runtz, 78, who died April 11.

Born in New York City of English-Irish parents and educated in England, he served in the British Army signal corps before entering the seminary. He completed his seminary studies at College Melle in Belgium and was ordained in 1958 at Weybridge, Surrey, England. From 1960-64, he was housemaster of St. George College, Weybridge, and from 1964-67, he taught religion and industrial arts at Pius X-St. Matthias High School in Downey while obtaining a master's degree in teaching from Loyola University.

Father Runtz served as an associate pastor at several Santa Barbara Region parishes, including St. Mary of the Assumption and St. Louis de Montfort (Santa Maria), San Roque (Santa Barbara) and Sacred Heart (Ventura). While pastor of St. Louis de Montfort in the '70s, the parish doubled in size from 800 to 1,600 families.

A talented woodworker, he produced cabinetry and furniture for the St. Louis de Montfort rectory, parish hall and church as well as for the Sisquoc chapel, St. Anthony's Church in Los Alamos and St. Mary's in Santa Maria. Burial took place at the Josephite plot of Santa Maria Cemetery on April 18.

Requiescat in pace...

Universal Indult Confusion

I don't get it. If the Holy Father were to grant wider permission for the mass celebrated according to the 1962 Roman Missal without serious consensus among the bishops, it would really surprise me. Would the pope really want to circumvent the authority of the local bishop to regulate the liturgy in his own diocese? Okay, okay, before you cry, Bring on the circumvention!, let's examine the principle of doing this. We live in an era in which the prevailing belief in many circles about bishops still seems to be that they should function merely as papal administrators and nothing more. Both Benedict XVI and his predecessor, John Paul II, have often emphasized the teaching of the Second Vatican Council with respect to the proper role of bishops as a college to counteract this erroneous belief. While the pope certainly has the authority to grant wider permission, it doesn't seem likely that he believes it to be prudent at this juncture to do so without such a consensus among his brother bishops. So it also may be a while before Rome and the SSPX are really able to join hands and sing Kum Ba Yah.

But what about the confusion a move like this would cause in the larger church? With Sacrosanctum Concilium, the Second Vatican Council spoke rightly of liturgical reform. Can the church soundly educate the faithful around the world that giving every priest permission to celebrate the liturgy according to the 1962 Roman Missal does not mean that it wasn't actually in need of reform? Can it fight the perception that there would not be two coexisting missals, one previously in need of reform, and one that identifies itself as the fruit of that reform?

Of course, if you prefer the Tridentine mass, perhaps you don't care one way or the other. But I think you should. Yes, yes, I understand the need for true liturgical reform, and I am not necessarily an opponent of the Tridentine mass and can sometimes be seen at Cardinal Mahony's weekly indult in Ventura, CA. Yet how can I not see this through the lens of what the Second Vatican Council taught? Somehow I don't see a universal indult solving any of the real liturgical or ecclesiological problems we are faced with today. Or maybe I am all wrong..? It wouldn't be the first time.

Bishop Ratko Peric on Medjugorje

John Allen also reports on the skepticism of Medjugorje within the Church, including an excerpt from an interview with Bishop Ratko Peric of Mostar-Duvno to his diocesan newspaper, Crkva na kamenu:

Some newspapers have written that this Pope visited Medjugorje incognito while he was a cardinal and that he is preparing to recognize Medjugorje as a shrine, etc. Did you touch upon this topic?

[Bishop Ratko Peric responds:]
We did, and I wrote to and spoke with the Holy Father on it. He only laughed surprisingly. Regarding the events of Medjugorje our position is well known: not a single proof exists that these events concern supernatural apparitions and revelations. Therefore from the church's perspective no pilgrimages are allowed which would attribute any authenticity to these alleged apparitions.

The Holy Father told me: "We at the Congregation [for the Doctrine of the Faith] always asked ourselves, how can any believer accept as authentic apparitions that occur every day and for so many years? Are they still occurring every day?"

I responded: "Every day, Holy Father, to one of the [visionaries] in Boston, to another near Milan and still another in Krehin Gradac (Herzegovina), and everything is done under the protocol of 'apparitions of Medjugorje'. Up till now there have been about 35,000 'apparitions' and there is no end in sight!"

... The numerous absurd messages, insincerities, falsehoods and disobedience associated with the events and "apparitions" of Medjugorje from the very outset, all disprove any claims of authenticity. Much pressure has been made to force the recognition of the authenticity of private revelations, yet not through convincing arguments based upon the truth, but through the self-praise of personal conversions and by statements such as one "feels good". How can this ever be taken as proof of the authenticity of apparitions?

... Finally the Holy Father said: "We at the congregation felt that priests should be of service to those faithful who seek Confession and Holy Communion, leaving out the question of the authenticity of the apparitions."

While I don't doubt that people can experience renewed faith and even miracles in their journeys to Medjugorje and other places around the world, I have been quite skeptical about the veracity of the alleged apparitions at Medjugorje. In 2004, Bishop Ratko Peric also published a full report of the history and recent goings-on at Medjugorje, reaffirming his opposition to the movement there:

The Church, from the local to supreme level, from the beginning to this very day, has clearly and constantly repeated: Non constat de supernaturalitate! No to pilgrimages that would ascribe a supernatural nature to the apparitions, no shrine of the Madonna, no authentic messages nor revelations, no true visions!

When one compares in greater detail Medjugorje to other approved apparitions, such as those that occurred at Fatima and Lourdes, many inconsistencies and problems arise.

Rethinking Opus Dei

An interesting story about Opus Dei in the world from John Allen's latest Word From Rome report:

A numerary of Opus Dei, meaning a celibate who lives full-time in an Opus Dei center, was elected to the [Italian] national Senate ... from the center-left.

As such, Senator-elect Paola Binetti, 63, defies the image of a monolithic hard-right political climate within Opus Dei.

To be sure, when it comes to "culture of life" issues, Binetti yields to no one in her defense of "Catholic" positions. A medical doctor, university professor, and former president of the "Association for Science and Life," Binetti helped spearhead last summer's campaign against the in-vitro fertilization referendum. She has also irritated fellow members of Prodi's coalition by her dogmatic opposition to changes to Italy's restrictive law on abortion.

Yet on most other issues, Binetti's agenda skews to the secular political left. She campaigned for policies favoring "the poorest and the most excluded," greater levels of social development, expanded health care for the most vulnerable families, the emergence of a strong Europe capable of defending peace in global affairs, and a clear option for the Third World, especially Africa, in favor of "reducing unacceptable inequalities."

Historically, Opus Dei has had a profile as conservative and male-dominated. Irony of ironies, Binetti's victory means that two of the most visible Opus Dei politicians in the world -- Binetti in Italy, and Ruth Kelly, the Minister of Education in England -- are now women who belong to center-left parties.

Pascha

Had a great Holy Week leading up to Easter. I attended the Easter Vigil in Santa Maria last night with my fiancee at the church at which I was baptized and confirmed 9 years ago -- the church where we'll also celebrate our marriage in a few months.

I wish I had been able to attend the Chrism mass at the Cathedral in Los Angeles this year. The Tidings has published some pictures.

Colonel Homer



Lurleen Lumpkin: [chuckles] Oh Homer, you're just a big sack of sugar.
Homer Simpson: Hey! [thinks on it] You did say 'sugar', right?

From Colonel Homer, episode #55.

Irenaeus and the Cainites

Just one more comment about the Gospel of Judas.

Kudos to those news organizations who have researched the early patristic witness of the Gospel of Judas and the heresy of Gnosticism. One of the best witnesses is 2nd century bishop, St. Irenaeus of Lyons, who devoted much of his writing to exposing the early Gnostic sects. In Book I, Chapter 31 of his work Against Heresies, Irenaeus explicitly discusses the Gnostic Cainites and specifically mentions their fictional Gospel of Judas:

1. Others again declare that Cain derived his being from the Power above, and acknowledge that Esau, Korah, the Sodomites, and all such persons, are related to themselves. On this account, they add, they have been assailed by the Creator, yet no one of them has suffered injury... They declare that Judas the traitor was thoroughly acquainted with these things, and that he alone, knowing the truth as no others did, accomplished the mystery of the betrayal; by him all things, both earthly and heavenly, were thus thrown into confusion. They produce a fictitious history of this kind, which they style the Gospel of Judas.

So it's old news. Perhaps it's not for those modern day Gnostics looking for some hidden, secret knowledge to believe in, which might explain the success of The DaVinci Code, Holy Blood, Holy Grail, etc...

For more information on Gnosticism, you could check out the Wikipedia article.

Gnostic Gospel of Judas

*giggle* Does the mainstream media really expect us to believe that a Gnostic text written over a century or more after the death of Christ is an authentic witness to the life of Judas, Christ, or anyone? *knocking on media's head* Hello, anybody home? Anybody remember the Gnostic heresy and its plethora of spurious documents that we've already known about for ages of ages??? In other words, it would benefit the media to learn a little about the history of the Scriptures and the early church! The only thing being suppressed here is foolishness, folks...

This is my favorite line showing the ridiculousness of the Gnostic "Gospel" of Thomas, a text which the media loves to rave about now and then as somehow threatening the teaching of the Church:

Simon Peter said to him, "Let Mary leave us, for women are not worthy of life." Jesus said, "I myself shall lead her in order to make her male, so that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For every woman who will make herself male will enter the kingdom of heaven."

Hello, McFly!! We should be grateful we have the New Testament Canon we have and the authority of the Church that recognized its inspiration.

That is all.

The Myth of Hitler's Pope


Pope Pius XII

The Myth of Hitler?s Pope: An Interview with Rabbi David G. Dalin, courtesy of the new Society That Thinks Pope Pius XII Rules blog.

(Photo courtesy of Sr. Margherita Marchione)

Wednesday: Day of Prayer and Fasting for Immigration Reform

Cardinal Mahony Designates Wednesday, April 5, As Special Day Of Prayer & Fasting For Just And Humane Immigration Reform

I encourage all Catholics to attend Mass this Wednesday to pray for just and humane immigration reform legislation. I will celebrate the 12:10 PM Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels on that day, and will also observe a special fast. Even if you cannot attend Mass in your parish, I invite you to spend some time in prayer for our legislators, for the achievement of just and human immigration reform, and for those among us who will be most affected by it.

I think that this is a cause worth praying about, whether you fully agree with Cardinal Mahony's thinking on this issue or not. I've seen people act as though the Cardinal is nuts for "making such a big deal" over this. Unlike other parts of the country, Southern California is a home for many, many, many immigrants, both documented and undocumented. It is right that the Cardinal should be concerned for their welfare and dignity. To assert, as some Catholics have (!!), that the Cardinal's interest is merely to secure support and a "few extra pesos in the collection basket" is, in my opinion, ridiculous and insulting.

It's here

The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, which I preordered last September, arrived today. :) Complete with beautiful art, Latin prayers, not to mention a summarization of our Catechism in Q&A format.

1. What is the plan of God for man?

God, infinitely perfect and blessed in himself, in a plan of sheer goodness freely created man to make him share in his own blessed life. In the fullness of time, God the Father sent his Son as the Redeemer and Savior of mankind, fallen into sin, thus calling all into his Church and, through the work of the Holy Spirit, making them adopted children and heirs of his eternal happiness.

Cardinal Mahony to Kids: Stay in school tomorrow!

News release

There have been further rumors that a possible school boycott would be held on Friday, March 31st. As one who is deeply engaged in the overall efforts to have Congress pass just and humane immigration reform legislation, I am urging all students in the greater Los Angeles area to stay in school tomorrow. I am urging all parents to speak with their sons and daughters this evening and in the morning impressing upon them the need for to remain in school and not on the streets.

Doctor Who

Has anyone been watching the new Doctor Who series on the Sci-Fi channel? I never followed the older series, but I find this one interesting... kinda creative...

RIP Dan Curtis

Dan Curtis, producer of America's first gothic television soap opera, Dark Shadows, died last Monday. I wasn't a fan of everything he produced, but I have been a fan of Dark Shadows for years -- both the 1960's series with Jonathan Frid and 1990's series with Ben Cross -- primarily for its creative storylines and its borrowing of themes present in a wide array of literature. In fact, my first online BBS nickname was Barnabas Collins.

May he rest in peace...

Sympto-Thermal neatness...

Last Sunday, my fiancee and I attended our class in Natural Family Planning (NFP) in Paso Robles offered by the Couple-to-Couple League (CCL). We started the day off on the way up with the Divine Liturgy at St. Anne's Byzantine Catholic (Ruthenian) Church in San Luis Obispo, which is always a treat. St. Anne's is an Eastern Catholic parish in full communion with the Bishop of Rome.

But this is really cool... A woman's natural fertility cycle is really something to behold. It is certainly counter-cultural to appreciate it as a man. It should really be required learning for any man, if only to be educated about how wonderfully and intricately made we human beings are, especially women.

The class we attended was actually a condensed, intensive course focusing on the Sympto-Thermal method of NFP, charting and chart interpretation, and other pertinent information to help couples get started with NFP. Couples can then approach other related topics, such how future pregnancy and menopause affect the fertility cycle, at their own pace. Being a part of CCL also means that we can get private consultation and help in interpreting our charts if we ever need it in the future. We knew a fair amount about NFP going into the course, but after walking through everything with other couples, charting no longer seems so daunting, and we are itching to get started charting this week! This'll give us a few months experience in charting before we are actually married. So cool! Thank goodness we have free long-distance on our cell phone plan.