Birth Control and Osteoporosis

On her blog, my wife discusses the link between the usage of oral contraceptives and osteoporosis as documented by two studies published by Purdue University in 2001 and 2005 of women ages 18-30 as well as by a study published by Loyola Marymount University in 2007 of women ages 18-25 (published in the journal Osteoporosis International).

Two Kinds of Catholic Mysticism

Some thoughts by Taylor Marshall on Steven Ozment’s book The Age of Reform 1250-1550 – An Intellectual and Religious History of Late Medieval and Reformation Europe:

Chapter Three contrasts two general forms of Catholic mysticism. Ozment identifies these two “schools” as Christocentric mysticism and Theocentric mysticism. I prefer the terms Incarnational mysticism and Ontological mysticism, respectively.

Christocentric or Incarnational mysticism focuses on the humanity of Christ and by extension the role of the Blessed Mother. Christ is particularly experienced in the “glory of his humility”. It embraces suffering, humility, poverty, and sacrifice. It should come at no surprise that this Incarnational mysticism rejoices in the infancy of Christ and his crucifixion. The Franciscans are the first to come to mind: St Francis, St Bonaventure, St Antony, and more recently St Pio. St. Bernard of Clairvaux is another ideal exemplar of this incarnational mysticism. The holy Rosary and the Stations of the Cross are devotional examples of this incarnational piety.

The other kind of mysticism is the Theocentric or Ontological mysticism. This is the sort of mysticism that seeks union with God through an apophatic method – the via negativa. The writings of Pseudo-Dionysius and the late medieval German mystics come to mind. This method is found in the writings of the Carmelites, many Dominicans, and the Eastern Fathers. In the East, it transformed into the hesychast method and necessitated a distinction between the divine essence and divine energies (a distinction thoroughly rejected in the West). While the Incarnational mysticism is volitional, the Ontological is intellectualist with a strong desire to experience the beatific vision. While certainly not opposed to the Incarnation of Christ, this Ontological mysticism has had a tendency to spin out of control (e.g. Meister Eckhart). The spiritual goal is to transcend all created realities and find mystical union with God. The Dionysian “three ways” of purification, illumination, and contemplation are common, as are the concepts of nada and the “dark night of the soul”. St. John of the Cross, St Teresa of Avila, Julian of Norwich, and the author of the Cloud of Unknowing, stand out as examples.

It should go without saying that these two distinctions are somewhat artificial because they are typically combined by all the great mystics. It would be a grave mistake to conclude that St. John of the Cross was anti-incarnational or that St Bernard was not concerned with the Beatific Vision (after all, Dante imagines St. Bernard as his guide to the Beatific Vision).

White and black, young and old, rich and poor



In February of 1967, a tragic fire broke out on the top floor of the Walter Bragg Smith apartment building at 7 Clayton Street in downtown Montgomery, AL. The fire completely destroyed Dale's Penthouse, a well known restaurant and lounge on the top floor. The fire is etched into Montgomery's extremely turbulent and complicated history. 25 people lost their lives in the fire. Some escaped by diving down 11 floors to the street below. Others huddled at the back of the restaurant in a futile attempt to escape the smoke and flames. Those who survived managed to escape by crawling out of broken windows onto the 3-foot wide ledge surrounding the restaurant, which they used to make their way to the restaurant patio where they were later rescued by fire fighters (who, by the way, could not rely much on ladders).

The event of February 7th, 1967 is recalled in detail in a fairly recent article in the Montgomery Advertiser:

Dale's, a regular dining spot for businessmen and politicians, sat atop the Walter Bragg Smith apartment building at 7 Clayton St., two streets over from the newspaper office. Covering the tragedy on the 11th floor restaurant, some reporters experienced the worst story of their careers.

...The dead included former Alabama Public Service Commissioner Ed Pepper and his wife, as well as Rose Doane, Dale's hostess and the wife of then-Advertiser Sports Editor Jack Doane.

... Former Montgomery Fire Chief William C. McCord, who was a captain with the department in 1967, did talk about his experience.

"That was the worst night we ever had in the city of Montgomery," McCord, 74, said.

McCord who retired in 1995 after 43 years with the fire department, sat in his Eclectic home recently and spoke at length about the blaze, which broke out in the restaurant's cloakroom just before 10 p.m. Working out of the department's headquarters on Madison Street, McCord drove to the nearby restaurant expecting a small fire.

"When we got there, it didn't look nearly as bad as it was," McCord said. "But when we drove up, window panes and glass were falling onto our vehicle on Clayton Street."

Some of the people trapped in the restaurant had begun breaking windows in the dining area, which overlooked Clayton, in an effort to escape the smoke and flames. McCord said their actions, while saving some lives, helped fuel the fire.

"When that fresh air got in there, it was like someone turned a blowtorch on it," McCord said. Because of the cloakroom's location near the elevators and the restaurant's only stairwell, employees and patrons had few options for escape.

After trying unsuccessfully to extinguish the fire himself, Dale's chef, Jesse Williams, ran down to the 10th floor, got the elevator and managed to carry two loads of people down from the penthouse before the elevator stopped working. Williams and several firefighters who had gone up in a second elevator had to slide down the elevator cables to escape the 11th floor.

Another group of people, including [Montgomery physician Dr. J.J. Kirschenfeld and his wife], escaped by climbing out through the broken windows onto the three-foot-wide ledge outside the restaurant. They walked around the building through freezing winds to the outdoor patio, where the fire department later rescued them.

Those remaining inside died of asphyxiation, a fire department report said. The majority of the bodies recovered were burned beyond recognition. Eager to escape the fire on the other side of the restaurant, the victims had fled into the office -- which had no exit. That's where McCord's men found them.

"It was a mass of humanity," McCord said. "They were piled on top of each other. White and black, young and old, rich and poor."

McCord said the number of dead would have been significantly smaller if not for the fact that a stairwell that went up to the 10th floor was not extended when Dale's was added on to the top of the building. The stairs on the 10th floor were under the office area where more than a dozen of the victims were found.

The fire that destroyed Dale's Penthouse had a significant impact in how building fires would be handled nationwide:

"News of this fire went out all over America," McCord said. "It put the teeth in the laws they have now."

Montgomery Fire Chief John McKee agreed.

"What the Dale's fire did was bring national attention to high-rise fires," McKee said.

McKee and Assistant Chief William Davis said the national codes and standards became stricter, in turn making local laws tighter. Buildings were required to have a certain number of exits and changes were made in the requirements for sprinklers, the number of occupants allowed in a building and numerous other aspects of construction.

"That fire had a huge impact on the way high-rise fires are handled," Davis said. "It changed things across the country."

Here is the apartment building, which is now known as "Capitol Towers", today facing Clayton Street, and you can see more clearly where the penthouse patio is located.

I find the event interesting and fascinating -- not only because of the tragic fire itself, but also because of the way it seemed to blur Montgomery's very obvious and clear racial and class divisions, if only for a brief time, during the very turbulent decade of the 1960's. As described by Montgomery's former Fire Chief William McCord, "It was a mass of humanity... They were piled on top of each other. White and black, young and old, rich and poor."

Back in town...

We just returned from a trip to Montgomery, AL to visit family. It dipped down pretty low in temperature while we were there, but we were able to see some interesting things around the city and surrounding area, including the F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald Museum, which is located in a house rented by the couple for a time during the 1930's in the Old Cloverdale area of Montgomery (not too far from Huntingdon College). Zelda Sayre Fitzgerald's family home in Montgomery was unfortunately demolished several years ago. We also paid a visit to Tuskegee University, as I had never visited the campus before.

This was my second visit back home since becoming Catholic. It's amazing how one's perspective can change... Things take on new meaning. I'll write more soon!

Lord, Receive My Spirit...

Today is the Feast of St. Stephen the First Martyr. His martyrdom is recorded in Acts 6:8-7:60:

And Stephen, full of grace and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. Then some of those who belonged to the synagogue of the Freedmen (as it was called), and of the Cyre'nians, and of the Alexandrians, and of those from Cili'cia and Asia, arose and disputed with Stephen. But they could not withstand the wisdom and the Spirit with which he spoke. Then they secretly instigated men, who said, "We have heard him speak blasphemous words against Moses and God." And they stirred up the people and the elders and the scribes, and they came upon him and seized him and brought him before the council, and set up false witnesses who said, "This man never ceases to speak words against this holy place and the law; for we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place, and will change the customs which Moses delivered to us." And gazing at him, all who sat in the council saw that his face was like the face of an angel...

But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God; and he said, "Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing at the right hand of God." But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together upon him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him; and the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. And as they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." And he knelt down and cried with a loud voice, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

St. Stephen, pray for us.

In Nativitate Domini

From the Office of Readings.

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! O Magnum Mysterium!

Celebrate the profundity of this day and this season. Embrace the sacraments, particularly regular confession. Go to Mass. Honor your marriage. Pray. Love one another. If you are angry or resentful, let it go. Lay down your pride. Pick up the Cross. Eat, drink, and make merry (in moderation), but in so doing, remember God's blessings. Thank God for His grace.

The Word has become Flesh. He dwells among us.

O magnum mysterium et admirabile sacramentum
ut animalia viderent Dominum natum
iacentem in praesepio.
Natum vidimus et chorus angelorum
collaudantes Dominum. Alleluia

O great mystery and wonderful sacrament,
that beasts should see the newborn Lord
lying in a manger.
The newborn we have seen and a chorus of angels
praising the Lord. Alleluia

Quem vidistis pastores?
Dicite, annunciate nobis quis apparuit?
Natum vidimus et chorus angelorum
collaudantes Dominum. Alleluia

Whom have you seen, shepherds?
Speak, tell us who has appeared?
The newborn we have seen and a chorus of angels
praising the Lord. Alleluia

O admirabile commercium:
creator generis humani,
animatum corpus sumens
de virgine nasci dignatus est;
et, precedens homo sine semine,
largitus est nobis suam Deitatem.

O wonderful gift:
the creator of the human race,
taking our flesh upon him,
deigns to be born of a virgin;
and, coming forth without seed of man,
bestows his Divinity upon us.

il bambino! il bambino!

791st Anniversary of the Order of Preachers



From the Dominican Province of St. Joseph Vocations blog:

On this day, December 22, in the year 1216, His Holiness Pope Honorius III gave official approval to the creation of the Order of Preachers to St. Dominic. It is somehow fitting in this season in which we look forward to the birth of Our Savior, we celebrate as well the birth of our Order. The anniversary is still celebrated in the Order, but impeded liturgically because of the primacy of these days before Christmas.

From the Moniales, OP blog:

For 10 years, St. Dominic preached against the heretics in southern France—sometimes with a few companions but often alone. Slowly, a radically new order began taking shape. Why radical? Because unlike other orders this new Order of Preachers would combine the apostolic life of the Apostles with mendicant itinerancy while at the same time having the monastic elements of silence, prayer, sung Divine Office, study and community life. It took 2 Popes and 4 Bulls for St. Dominic to get full approval of the Order of Preachers.

Even the name was radical. We might not think so today but in St. Dominic's time it was, for the office of Preaching belongs properly to the Bishop and his priests share in this office. What St. Dominic wanted was that his men (who would be ordained to the priesthood) receive the office of Preaching by reason of belonging to the Order. Both Innocent the IV and Honorious III trusted St. Dominic and knew him to be a man on fire for God and a man in whom the Holy Spirit acted powerfully. So, on December 22, 1216 the Order of Preachers was born.

St. Dominic, pray for us!

Ukraine is game to you?!

I believe this scene from Seinfeld is one of the best scenes in Television.



Throughout the episode, Kramer and Newman are engaged in an epic battle against each other in a mad game of Risk, the game of world domination. They take the game so seriously, they don't trust leaving the board with one when the other is not around. The game so distracts Kramer, that he doesn't notice his car being impounded, and when he Jerry alerts him, Kramer insists that he and Newman continue the game on the subway on their way to retrieve the car. On the subway, they are put into a real-life encounter with a foreign national -- a situation which, unlike the game, they simply brush off and end up getting a rude awakening to real world international relations... And it's funny... :)

Tony Blair now a Catholic

I don't typically post about things like this, but the affairs of England, my long lost homeland, and of all Englishmen in general, hopelessly fascinate me. According to CNN.

"It can be confirmed that Tony Blair has been received into full communion with the Catholic Church by Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor," the head of the church in England and Wales, the church said in a statement.

"I'm very glad to welcome Tony Blair into the Catholic Church," the statement quoted Murphy-O'Connor as saying.

"For a long time he's been a regular worshipper at Mass with his family and in recent months he's been following a program of formation for his reception into full communion. Our prayers are with him, his family and his wife at this joyful moment in their journey of faith together," Murphy-O'Connor said.

Please pray for Blair and for converts in general. Zadok has some other questions, but it sounds like he has come a long way and that he has made the careful decision to go "further up and further in", as it were. And this is the next step on an incredible journey with God.

Now, if only the Queen and the entire Royal Family would come home...

For me life is Christ

If you have met Christ, live Christ, live with Christ! Proclaim it in the first person, as genuine testimony: "For me life is Christ." That is true liberation: to proclaim Jesus free of ties, present in men and women, transformed, made new creatures. Why instead at times does our testimony seem to be in vain? Because we present Jesus without the full seductive power of his person, without revealing the treasures of the sublime ideal inherent in following him; and because we are not always successful in demonstrating conviction, translated into living terms, regarding the extaordinary value of the gift of ourselves to the ecclesial cause we serve.

Brothers and sisters: it is important that men see in us dispensers of the mysteries of God, credible witnesses of his presence in the world. We frequently remember that God, when he calls us, asks for not only one part of our person but all our person and all our vital energies, so that we may announce to men the joy and peace of a new life in Christ, and guide them to a meeting with him. So let it be our first concern to seek the Lord, and, once we have met him, to observe where and how he lives, by being with him all day. Being with him, in a special way, in the Eucharist, where Christ gives himself to us; and in prayer, through which we give ourselves to him. The Eucharist must be performed and extended into our daily actions as a "sacrifice of praise." In prayer, in the trusting contact with God our Father, we can discern better where our strengths and weaknesses are, because the Spirit comes to our aid. The same Spirit speaks to us and slowly immerses us in the divine mysteries, in God's design of love for humanity, which he realizes through our willingness to serve him.

Pope John Paul II, January 26, 1979

I hope that you are challenged by these words. Let us use this Advent wisely...

When Two Worlds Collide

Trite Christmas carols like this are permitted in this context.



For your Advent meditations...

Lego Robots

Legos have certainly come a long way since I was a child. Check this out.


"LEGO MINDSTORMS NXT"

Create the smartest, strongest and most advanced LEGO® robot ever, in as few as 30 minutes! The new NXT Intelligent Brick, your robot's "brain," features a powerful 32-bit microprocessor and more memory, plus support for USB 2.0, Bluetooth and more!

A highly versatile palette of LEGO TECHNIC® elements combines with state-of-the-art ultrasonic, sound, light and touch sensors in the next generation of intuitive robotics. With included Quick-Start guide, easy-to-use software and step-by-step building instructions, beginners and experts alike can create humanoid, vehicle and animal robots that obey every command!

Improved light sensors can detect different colors and intensities, while the new sound sensor enables robots to respond to sound patterns and tones. Robots can really "feel" with improved touch sensors, while ultrasonic "eyes" measure distance and movement.

Programming software is now available for both PC and Macintosh, plus with Bluetooth support, you can even command your robot from your mobile phone!

32-bit microprocessor, plus I can control my lego creations from my mobile phone? The future really is now. Too bad the price tag is about $250.00!

Biblia Clerus: Yeah baby!

A new web resource published by the Holy See's Congregation for the Clergy: Biblia Clerus:

This program offers Sacred Scripture, its interpretation in light of Sacred Tradition and the teachings of the Magisterium, with appropriate theological commentary and exegesis.
The downloadable version allows you to connect Sacred Scripture to the complete works of many Doctors of the Church, Councils, Encyclicals, teachings of the Popes, Catechisms, as well as commentaries from secular literature, etc.

Based on a few experiments, the cross-reference mechanism is functional, but it could be a little more precise in my opinion. I'm sure it'll improve once folks begin using it.

Sacrificial themes in the early Martyrs

In Ch. 50 of his Apologeticus, Tertullian famously acknowledged the following with regard to the early Christian martyrs:

Plures efficimur quotiens metimur a vobis; semen est sanguis Christianorum

"The more often we are mown down by you, the more in number we grow; the blood of Christians is seed". And indeed it was true and is true today. The witness offered by these Christians who shed their blood for their faith, in one way or another, bears testimony to others concerning the extraordinary power of faith and the power of God's grace to save. Indeed, it is from this that the word martyr derives. And consequently, the Church grows from this witness. The blood of the martyrs is seed.

Many have pointed out that many of the heroic stories of the early martyrs are also related as tales of sacrifice -- sacrifices that are linked to the one sacrifice of Christ, our High Priest, offered in thanksgiving for the benefit of the whole Church. Thus, in view of identifying with a eucharistic sacrifice, their sacrifice is judged acceptable and life giving, not merely for the one being martyred, but indeed for the present and future Church still remaining, if not only for the witness it confirms.

The Martyrdom of Polycarp records a very famous example in Ch. 14 concerning the execution of St. Polycarp, bishop of Smyrna, in the 2nd century. As he was being prepared for execution on a pyre, Polycarp is said to have offered a sacrificial prayer of thanksgiving to God the Father. It is a eucharistic prayer in every sense, which even concludes with a doxology:

And when [Polycarp] placed his hands behind his back and was tied, he was like an exceptional ram taken from a great flock for a sacrifice, prepared as a whole burnt offering that is acceptable to God. Looking up into heaven he said:

Lord God Almighty, Father of your beloved and blessed child Jesus Christ, through whom we have received knowledge of you, the God of angels, of powers, and of all creation, and of every race of the upright who live before you. I bless you for making me worthy of this day and hour, that I may receive a share among the number of the martyrs in the cup of your Christ, unto the resurrection of eternal life in both soul and body in the immortality of the Holy Spirit. Among them may I be received before you today as a sacrifice that is rich and acceptable, just as you prepared and revealed in advance and now fulfilled -- the true God who does not lie. For this reason and for all things I praise you, I bless you, I glorify you through the eternal and heavenly high priest Jesus Christ, your beloved child, through whom be glory to you, with him and the Holy Spirit, both now and for the ages to come. Amen.

When he sent up the "Amen" and finished the prayer, the men in charge of the fire touched it off. And as a great flame blazoned forth we beheld a marvel -- we to whom it was granted to see, who have also been preserved to report the events to the others. For the fire, taking on the appearance of a vaulted room, like a boat's sail filled with the wind, formed a wall around the martyr's body. And he was in the center, not like burning flesh but like baking bread...

The reference to bread is also not unique. Mike Aquilina is quick to remind us that St. Ignatius of Antioch referred to himself as bread when, in his letter to the Romans, he asked the Church to petition Christ that he be found to be an acceptable sacrifice.

I am writing to all the churches and giving instruction to all, that I am willingly dying for God... Allow me to be bread for the wild beasts; through them I am able to attain to God. I am the wheat of God and am ground by the teeth of the wild beasts, that I may be found to be the pure bread of Christ... Petition Christ on my behalf, that I may be found a sacrifice through these instruments of God.

Praised be Jesus Christ, our High Priest.

The Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary

A Hymn to the Virgin

To one that is so fare and bright
     Velut maris stella
Brighter than the day is light,
     Parens et puella:
I cry to thee to turn to me:
Lady, pray thy Son for me,
     Tam pia,
That I may come to thee.
     Maria!

In sorrow, counsel thou art best,
     Felix fecundata:
For all the weary thou art rest,
     Mater honorata:
Beseech him in thy mildest mood,
Who for us did shed his blood
     In cruce
That we may come to him
     In luce

All this world was forlorn
     Eva peccatrice,
Till our Savior Lord was born
     De te genetrice.
With thy Ave sin went away
Dark night went and in came day
     Salutis:
The well of healing sprang from thee
     Virtutis.

Lady, flower of everything
     Rosa sine spina
Thou bore Jesu, heaven's King
     Gratia divina:
Of all I say thou bore the prize,
Lady, Queen of paradise
     Electa:
Maiden mild, mother
     Es Effecta.

This little hymn, c. 1300, is macaronic, partly in Latin and partly in English, like many of the carols of the medieval English Church. The English composer Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) composed a beautiful piece based on this particular hymn at the age of 17. It is one of my favorites. Britten's composition is written for two choirs, a large one singing the English verses, and a smaller one for the Latin.

The freedom to take a stand

Is there more to the religious freedom we enjoy in this country than merely the freedom to shut up?

It is not true that there is opposition between being a good Catholic and serving civil society faithfully. In the same way there is no reason why the Church and the State should clash when they proceed with the lawful exercise of their respective authorities, in fulfillment of the mission God has entrusted to them.

Those who affirm the contrary are liars, yes, liars! They are the same people who honour a false liberty, and ask us Catholics “to do them the favour” of going back to the catacombs.

-St. Josemaría Escrivá, #301 from The Furrow

The Catholic Music Shop

Check out www.catholicmusicshop.com. Courtesy of the New Liturgical Movement. From the press release:

In the old days, if you wanted to hear a choir from another town, you hopped on your donkey and went on a trip. Nowadays, you surf the internet to find a CD or MP3.

Venturing into the repertoire of sacred music that spans nearly two millennia can be quite intimidating, so Diana and Mike Silva have just opened the online Catholic Music Shop (www.catholicmusicshop.com) as a guide. Shoppers can browse categories such as Gregorian Chant, Polyphony, Masses, Liturgical Year and the Blessed Virgin Mary. There’s even a complete section for the novice listener.

“If you go to Amazon.com and type in ‘Gregorian chant,’ you’ll come up with over 1,300 CD’s. It can be overwhelming. Because we know the musical tradition of the Church, and because we’re familiar with the ensembles, we’re able to direct our customers to the high quality performances and recordings,” Diana Silva explained.

The Catholic Music Shop is owned and operated by Diana and Mike Silva, a couple uniquely qualified to offer the treasury of the Church’s sacred music online. Mike, a computer programmer by trade, is also President and Founder of Voci del Tesoro, which operates the highest-ranking Live 365 internet choral music broadcast, www.choraltreasure.org. Choral Treasure plays online (streaming) commercial-free music of the Catholic tradition, and has listeners in over 120 countries. Diana Silva, who co-founded and directed the Voci del Tesoro professional choir, was also the Founding Chair of the Department of Sacred Music at Ave Maria University, where she directed the AMU Choirs, taught Choral Conducting, Voice and served as Director of Liturgical Music. She and Mike also organize advanced courses in Gregorian chant every summer at St. Pierre Abbey in Solesmes , France .

The online shop offers mostly CD’s, but also some DVD’s and books as well, and each selection is hand-picked. Catholic Music Shop is an Amazon affiliate, so payment and shipping are automatically handled by Amazon.com, and all the prices are the same as one would pay at Amazon.

“The ‘shelves’ are stocked for Advent and Christmas, and we are adding to our inventory in each category daily,” said Mike Silva.

It brings things together very nicely.

Welcome, Cardinal DiNardo!



Oh, to be in Rome! We watched coverage of most of the consistory today. Fr. Z. comments on a recent interview with DiNardo.

My pastor flew to Rome last Sunday afternoon. And by chance, earlier in the week, we happened to see him on television in the company of our archbishop outside of Gammarelli's in Rome.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Catholic & Orthodox meeting in Ravenna: Agreements and Questions

Presented here is the first document adopted by the Joint International Commission for the Theological Dialogue between the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church from their talks last month in Ravenna, Italy. It should be noted that representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate were not present.

Ecclesiological and Canonical Consequences of the Sacramental Nature of the Church. Ecclesial Communion, Conciliarity and Authority

The agreement is nothing really that new, but it is nonetheless a good and substantial document and a significant step toward unity. In particular, it concerns the nature of Communion, Conciliarity and Primacy, and Authority. The agreements and questions concerning the primacy of the bishop of Rome and the nature of that primacy and authority are also summarized. I encourage you to read the whole of the document, but here is a snippet:

40. During the first millennium, the universal communion of the Churches in the ordinary course of events was maintained through fraternal relations between the bishops. These relations, among the bishops themselves, between the bishops and their respective protoi, and also among the protoi themselves in the canonical order (taxis) witnessed by the ancient Church, nourished and consolidated ecclesial communion. History records the consultations, letters and appeals to major sees, especially to that of Rome, which vividly express the solidarity that koinônia creates. Canonical provisions such as the inclusion of the names of the bishops of the principal sees in the diptychs and the communication of the profession of faith to the other patriarchs on the occasion of elections, are concrete expressions of koinônia.

41. Both sides agree that this canonical taxis was recognised by all in the era of the undivided Church. Further, they agree that Rome, as the Church that “presides in love” according to the phrase of St Ignatius of Antioch (To the Romans, Prologue), occupied the first place in the taxis, and that the bishop of Rome was therefore the protos among the patriarchs. They disagree, however, on the interpretation of the historical evidence from this era regarding the prerogatives of the bishop of Rome as protos, a matter that was already understood in different ways in the first millennium.

42. Conciliarity at the universal level, exercised in the ecumenical councils, implies an active role of the bishop of Rome, as protos of the bishops of the major sees, in the consensus of the assembled bishops. Although the bishop of Rome did not convene the ecumenical councils of the early centuries and never personally presided over them, he nevertheless was closely involved in the process of decision-making by the councils.

43. Primacy and conciliarity are mutually interdependent. That is why primacy at the different levels of the life of the Church, local, regional and universal, must always be considered in the context of conciliarity, and conciliarity likewise in the context of primacy.

Concerning primacy at the different levels, we wish to affirm the following points:

1. Primacy at all levels is a practice firmly grounded in the canonical tradition of the Church.
2. While the fact of primacy at the universal level is accepted by both East and West, there are differences of understanding with regard to the manner in which it is to be exercised, and also with regard to its scriptural and theological foundations.

44. In the history of the East and of the West, at least until the ninth century, a series of prerogatives was recognised, always in the context of conciliarity, according to the conditions of the times, for the protos or kephale at each of the established ecclesiastical levels: locally, for the bishop as protos of his diocese with regard to his presbyters and people; regionally, for the protos of each metropolis with regard to the bishops of his province, and for the protos of each of the five patriarchates, with regard to the metropolitans of each circumscription; and universally, for the bishop of Rome as protos among the patriarchs. This distinction of levels does not diminish the sacramental equality of every bishop or the catholicity of each local Church.

45. It remains for the question of the role of the bishop of Rome in the communion of all the Churches to be studied in greater depth. What is the specific function of the bishop of the “first see” in an ecclesiology of koinônia and in view of what we have said on conciliarity and authority in the present text? How should the teaching of the first and second Vatican councils on the universal primacy be understood and lived in the light of the ecclesial practice of the first millennium? These are crucial questions for our dialogue and for our hopes of restoring full communion between us.

Yes, and it is an interesting study with some very diverse opinions, particularly among the Orthodox. Eastern Orthodox theologian Olivier Clément admitted as much several years ago and went on to argue:

The primacy of honor-- which, we should note, is granted to the Pope by all the Orthodox churches-- must inevitably convey to the Patriarch of Rome some measure of power as well, even if it is only the power of presiding.

Clément lays out many of the substantial, but not insurmountable, obstacles involved in the discussion in his book, You Are Peter: An Orthodox Reflection on the Exercise of Papal Primacy, as I noted in my very brief review. The book was authored as a response to John Paul II's encyclical, Ut Unum Sint.

The commission's document concludes:

We, the members of the Joint International Commission for the Theological Dialogue between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, are convinced that the above statement on ecclesial communion, conciliarity and authority represents positive and significant progress in our dialogue, and that it provides a firm basis for future discussion of the question of primacy at the universal level in the Church. We are conscious that many difficult questions remain to be clarified, but we hope that, sustained by the prayer of Jesus “That they may all be one … so that the world may believe” (Jn 17, 21), and in obedience to the Holy Spirit, we can build upon the agreement already reached. Reaffirming and confessing “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Eph 4, 5), we give glory to God the Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who has gathered us together.

Absolutely, and Amen! Please continue to pray for Christian Unity, particularly among the apostolic churches!

Thanks, Fr. Z.

On Blog Names...

When I created this blog back in 2003, I left it open so that I could change its name freely if ever I so desired. Funny thing is, the more I blog, the more I find deeper meaning in the title I chose.

Now, I'm told that I am a fairly consistent person, not prone to acting on impulse or making rash decisions about important things. Thus, I never struggled much with finding a consistent voice, or with constantly reinventing my blog identity. And my blog has never been particularly controversial (as in, I am neither an angry Catholic nor an angry Protestant), and so naturally I don't have throngs of angry readers or nasty comments.

In the course of these years, I have unpacked the depth of my blog title in the various (and all encompassing) subjects of my various posts. Ultimately, I believe this has reflected something important, not just concerning my personality, but also concerning my spiritual life.

Ad Altare Dei is taken from the the fuller verse, Introibo ad altare dei (English: I will go to the altar of God), which is taken from Psalm 43:

Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause
against an ungodly people;
from deceitful and unjust men
deliver me!

For thou art the God in whom I take refuge;
why hast thou cast me off?
Why go I mourning
because of the oppression of the enemy?

Oh send out thy light and thy truth;
let them lead me,
let them bring me to thy holy hill
and to thy dwelling!

Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God my exceeding joy;
and I will praise thee with the lyre,
O God, my God.

Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my help and my God.

Of course, this particular part of Psalm 43 is recalled during the start of the Traditional Latin Mass during the prayers at the foot of the Altar.

I chose the title originally because it stuck out as something meaningful, many Catholics were familiar with it, and it was in Latin. Pretty shallow. Of course, a few people (wrongfully) assumed that my choosing this particular title meant that I despised the "Novus Ordo" missae, which was and is most certainly not the case.

I began to find Ad Altare Dei, and indeed the whole of Psalm 43, increasingly meaningful and applicable to the growth of my spiritual life. I began to see it as something that reflected my whole journey as a follower of Christ, including my participation in the sacramental life of the Catholic Church. My life is thus a continual turning toward Christ, who stands as both High Priest and as Victim, to Christ who offers and is offered at God's holy altar. It is also therefore a turning away from sin. This is what conversion means. I am also strengthened by that grace that springs forth from that most sacred place.

So then, just as a priest quotes Psalm 43, Introibo ad altare Dei, when standing at the foot of the Altar, so this prayer has become not only the prayer of my blog, but the prayer of my life. And my understanding of my life, my mission, and my apostolate continues to unfold before me.

Only One Left

From MSNBC:

LONDON - Barbara West Dainton, believed to be one of the last two survivors from the sinking of the Titanic in 1912, has died in England at age 96.

Dainton died Oct. 16 at a nursing home in Camborne, England, according to Peter Visick, a distant relative. Her funeral was held Monday at Truro Cathedral, Visick said Thursday.

Elizabeth Gladys "Millvina" Dean of Southampton, England, who was 2 months old at the time of the Titanic sinking, is now the disaster's only remaining survivor, according to the Titanic Historical Society.

The last American survivor, Lillian Gertrud Asplund, died in Massachusetts last year at age 99.

Dainton, born in Bournemouth in southern England in 1911, was too young to remember the night when the huge liner hit an iceberg and sank in the Atlantic in April 1912, killing 1,500 people, including her father, Edwy Arthur West.

He waved farewell as the lifeboat carrying Barbara; her mother, Ada; and her sister, Constance, was lowered into the ocean, according to Karen Kamuda of the Titanic Historical Society in Indian Orchard, Mass. His body was never identified.

Tri-cornered hat tip to Modern Commentaries.

Comet 17P/Holmes

Has anyone been able to get a good look at Comet 17P/Holmes?

Here's a photo taken from Westmont's Carroll Observatory, using the observatory's Keck Telescope:

Interesting things...



Seeing odd things around town. I have been seeing a real, honest-to-goodness DeLorean cruising around town. I saw it for the first time a few weeks ago. I was on my way home from a bible study at my parish, and I ended up right behind it, not far from the old Sugar mill... I saw it again just last week on my way to the parish... it cruised right past me. Maybe it's not so odd -- just that I've never seen a time machine up close before! ;) Give me a break, I'm a child of the 80s.

A few weeks ago, I was eating lunch at a local Indian restaurant with some co-workers. As we got up to leave, at least 20 old ladies dressed in purple dresses and hats walked in for lunch. It was a Mayberry meets Twilight Zone moment...

Parish attacked before Mass in Palmdale

From California Catholic Daily:

A pistol-wielding man screaming “there’s going to be a killing” stormed into St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Palmdale before a Sunday afternoon Mass on Nov. 4, kicking the pastor and knocking him to the ground, according to press reports.

“As I walked in, he had gotten to the choir area and became very aggressive," Msgr. Stephen Downes, St. Mary’s pastor, told the Los Angeles Daily News. "He hit a male choir member on the side of the head, then a maintenance man tackled him to the ground. Other choir members held him down."

A sheriff’s deputy told the Daily News that when law enforcement agents arrived at the church and subdued the suspect, they found a pistol hidden in his waistband. “It was cocked and ready to go,” Deputy Daryl Bonsall told the newspaper.

"He (the suspect) punched the pastor, knocked him down and kicked him,” Lt. Cory Kennedy told the Antelope Valley Press. “I think my deputies arriving and these people stopped a bad situation from happening. I think he had some real bad intentions.”

According to news accounts, the man repeatedly cursed, shouted that there is no God and made unspecified “anti-Catholic” statements.

Deputies arrested Claude Sricchia, 65, of Acton. He was charged with assault, making terrorist threats, and carrying a concealed weapon.

Following the incident, a shaken Msgr. Downes celebrated the 5:30 p.m. Mass a little later than scheduled. The Antelope Valley Press said about 400 parishioners were in attendance when the melee occurred.

Sricchia, who allegedly had been drinking, is not a member of the parish, and had to be identified by fingerprints since he refused to identify himself, sheriff’s officials told the press.

I remember Msgr. Stephen Downes fairly well. He served as pastor of my parish in Santa Barbara for several years before moving on.

The Liturgy of the Temple

The work of Simon "the Just", the high priest, son of Onias, in the temple and the people gathered around him worshiping God. It is recorded in Sirach 50:5-21:

How glorious [Simon, the high priest] was when the people gathered round him as he came out of the inner sanctuary [from behind the veil]!

Like the morning star among the clouds,
like the moon when it is full;
like the sun shining upon the temple of the Most High,
and like the rainbow gleaming in glorious clouds;
like roses in the days of the first fruits,
like lilies by a spring of water,
like a green shoot on Lebanon on a summer day;
like fire and incense in the censer,
like a vessel of hammered gold adorned with all kinds of precious stones;
like an olive tree putting forth its fruit,
and like a cypress towering in the clouds.

When he put on his glorious robe and clothed himself with superb perfection and went up to the holy altar, he made the court of the sanctuary glorious. And when he received the portions from the hands of the priests, as he stood by the hearth of the altar with a garland of brethren around him, he was like a young cedar on Lebanon; and they surrounded him like the trunks of palm trees, all the sons of Aaron in their splendor with the Lord's offering in their hands, before the whole congregation of Israel.

Finishing the service at the altars, and arranging the offering to the Most High, the Almighty, he reached out his hand to the cup and poured a libation of the blood of the grape; he poured it out at the foot of the altar, a pleasing odor to the Most High, the King of all. Then the sons of Aaron shouted, they sounded the trumpets of hammered work, they made a great noise to be heard for remembrance before the Most High.

Then all the people together made haste and fell to the ground upon their faces to worship their Lord, the Almighty, God Most High. And the singers praised him with their voices in sweet and full-toned melody. And the people besought the Lord Most High in prayer before him who is merciful, till the order of worship of the Lord was ended; so they completed his service.

Then Simon came down, and lifted up his hands over the whole congregation of the sons of Israel, to pronounce the blessing of the Lord with his lips, and to glory in his name; and they bowed down in worship a second time, to receive the blessing from the Most High.

What is it to do the work of God?

All Souls Day

The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God. Wisdom 3:1-9:

But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and no torment will ever touch them. In the eyes of the foolish they seemed to have died, and their departure was thought to be an affliction, and their going from us to be their destruction; but they are at peace.

For though in the sight of men they were punished, their hope is full of immortality. Having been disciplined a little, they will receive great good, because God tested them and found them worthy of himself; like gold in the furnace he tried them, and like a sacrificial burnt offering he accepted them. In the time of their visitation they will shine forth, and will run like sparks through the stubble. They will govern nations and rule over peoples, and the Lord will reign over them for ever.

Those who trust in him will understand truth, and the faithful will abide with him in love, because grace and mercy are upon his elect, and he watches over his holy ones.

May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

All Souls Day: Solemn Requiem Mass

This Friday, November 2nd, 7:30pm at St. Theresa Catholic Church in Sugar Land.

A requiem mass celebrated in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite, with the traditional chants of the Mass for the Dead. This is not a concert (as I thought it was a few months back), but a time of prayer for the souls of the deceased.

Earlier that day, a low mass will be celebrated according to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite (aka Traditional Latin Mass) at 12:10pm.

Oh, and rumor has it that there will be black vestments used... Could it be true? ;)

The Treasury of Merit in Early Jewish and Christian Tradition

Mike Aquilina is very happy to announce that the third volume of Letter and Spirit, the annual journal of Catholic Biblical Theology, is available, featuring contributions by Cardinals Avery Dulles and Christoph Schonborn, Michael Waldstein, Romanus Cessario, David Fagerberg, and Scott Hahn. Titled The Hermeneutic of Continuity: Christ, Kingdom, and Creation, this volume also features an essay by Gary Anderson of Notre Dame, which, as Aquilina notes, examines the notion of the Treasury of Merit in Early Jewish and Christian Tradition. Looks like an interesting read.

Fire Fighters and Secret Societies

Please pray for those affected by the terrible fires in California. We have friends and family in the San Diego area who have had to evacuate.

On a lighter note, Jimmy Akin uses this opportunity to refer to the peculiar instructions given by the second century emperor Trajan to Pliny the Younger about having fire departments:

Pliny to Trajan:

A desolating fire broke out in Nicomedia, and destroyed a number of private houses, and two public buildings -- the almshouse and the temple of Isis -- although a road ran between them. The fire was allowed to spread farther than it need, first owing to the violent wind; second, to the laziness of the citizens, it being generally agreed they stood idly by without moving, and simply watched the conflagration. Besides there was not a single public fire engine or bucket in the place, and not one solitary appliance for mastering a fire. However, these will be provided upon orders I have already given. But, Sire, I would have you consider whether you think a fire company of about 150 men ought not to be formed? I will take care that no one not a genuine fireman shall be admitted, and that the guild should not misapply the charter granted it. Again there would be no trouble in keeping an eye on so small a body.

Trajan to Pliny:

You have formed the idea of a possible fire company at Nicomedia on the model of various others already existing; but remember that the province of Bithynia, and especially city-states like Nicomedia, are the prey of factions. Give them the name we may, and however good be the reasons for organization, such associations will soon degenerate into dangerous secret societies. It is better policy to provide fire apparatus, and to encourage property holders to make use of them, and if need comes, press the crowd which collects into the same service.

In spite of his concern about certain city-states being the prey of factions, Trajan is long dead.

Daniel Cardinal DiNardo Fan Club

If you are on Facebook, be sure to check out the Daniel Cardinal DiNardo Fan Club Facebook Group. It is so refreshing to see so many young adults excited for our archbishop, Daniel DiNardo, and so many seem to have a personal story concerning how DiNardo has impacted their life and why they respect him as their (now) Cardinal Archbishop.

Receiving the news from Rome concerning his elevation, DiNardo stated the following:

I am deeply grateful to the Holy Father for his kindness in appointing me and for his trust in allowing me to be placed in the College of Cardinals. May I immediately add that it is also very humbling and surprising! I promise him my fullest communion, loyalty and obedience.

And we are very honored to be a part of this communion with our archbishop, who stands as a vicar and legate of Christ for our local church of Galveston-Houston (Catechism 894, 1560). But let us not pretend that our archbishop is not human as we are. He stands as successor to the Apostles, who, as we know, were also very human. Therefore, let us remember to pray for him constantly, for wisdom and strength, giving thanks to God for grace and for life in Christ. Let us also ask God for humility and for the softening of hearts.

My pastor has been asked to organize a diocesan pilgrimage to Rome next month for the consistory. There are a lot of folks going! Because the consistory is happening over Thanksgiving weekend, we will, of course, be watching it from Houston with our family.

Catholics and Mennonites

Courtesy of the Vatican Information Service:

Today in the Vatican, the Pope received a delegation from the Mennonite World Conference, a group which has recently expressed the desire to meet the Pope and to visit some of the dicasteries of the Holy See. This is the Mennonite Conference's first visit to Rome.

"The Mennonites are part of the Anabaptist tradition of the Reformation," explains a communique issued by the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity. "To use a modern term, the Mennonites could be described today as pacifists. For their views on Baptism which, they feel, should be administered only to people capable of making autonomous decisions, they were subject ... to persecution in both Protestant and Catholic countries." In 1986 and 2002, the leaders of the Mennonite World Conference accepted John Paul II's invitation to participate in the meetings for peace in Assisi.

"In the ecumenical spirit of recent times, we have begun to have contacts with each other after centuries of isolation," the Pope told the Mennonite leaders in his English-language talk. "Since it is Christ Himself who calls us to seek Christian unity, it is entirely right and fitting that Mennonites and Catholics have entered into dialogue in order to understand the reasons for the conflict that arose between us in the sixteenth century. To understand is to take the first step towards healing."

"Mennonites are well known for their strong Christian witness to peace in the name of the Gospel, and here, despite centuries of division, the dialogue report 'Called Together to be Peacemakers' has shown that we hold many convictions in common. We both emphasize that our work for peace is rooted in Jesus Christ."

Catholics and Mennonites "both understand that 'reconciliation, non violence, and active peacemaking belong to the heart of the Gospel.' Our continuing search for the unity of the Lord's disciples is of the utmost importance. Our witness will remain impaired as long as the world sees our divisions."

The Pope concluded his address by expressing the hope that the visit "will be another step towards mutual understanding and reconciliation."

I've encountered a number of Amish and Mennonite families in the farm country of central Indiana, where I have family. In fact, the Mennonites operate a number of fine country restaurants out there that are unequaled in both hospitality and deliciousness.

Imitation Catholic or Illusion?

It is no secret that some Protestant churches at times employ somewhat questionable methods in order to attract Catholics into their congregations. This has been more prevalent within the last 10 years, and there has been a particular focus on Hispanic communities. The idea is to transplant various Catholic terminology and devotional practices into a Protestant setting. Sometimes, folks can't even tell that they're not at a Catholic church (which I'll discuss in a minute).

For example, check out what is available at St. Paul's (Episcopal) Cathedral in San Diego. They advertise a weekly Misa en Español, which heads up their Hispanic Ministry. They explain:

The Cathedral celebrates Holy Communion in Spanish on Sundays and, throughout the year, Hispanic events such as Día de los Muertos, Posadas, and the Serenade for Our Lady of Guadalupe. We also offer First Communions and Quinceañeras. Spanish-speaking staff and clergy are available to answer questions about these and the other components of our rich Hispanic Ministry.

They also have an Our Lady of Guadalupe Art Program.

The Misa en Español notice reminds me of a picture I snapped during a visit to Houston in 2004. Holy Cross Lutheran Church (ELCA) and their large outdoor banner advertising their own weekly Misa en Español:



Some Protestant communities even set up statues of the Virgin and hang banners of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

I'm sure we can agree that what these groups have done is misleading. But aside from that, it underscores a major problem that exists within today's Church. The problem concerns the popularity of devotional practices and poor catechesis. All these Protestant groups have done is adopt external Catholic practices. They obviously (perhaps with some exceptions) haven't completely adopted our theology. If they haven't done this, why is merely adopting the external trappings of Catholic piety, albeit piety imbued with cultural significance, effective in attracting Catholics into their congregations?

Apart from the divine liturgy, popular devotional practices can aide in the development of a healthy spiritual life, but unless these practices are rooted in, flow from, and lead us to an active life of grace and repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, particularly as brought forth in the liturgical life of the Church, what do they communicate? They are rendered empty insofar as growing as a disciple of Jesus Christ is concerned. The point here is that for many folks, there is no consideration for this. And if folks don't understand what makes Christianity real, then why should they remain Catholics anyway?

The US Bishops stressed this back in 2003. Quoting Pope Pius XII, they explained that the purpose of popular devotional practices in the life of the Church is:

to attract and direct our souls to God, purifying them from their sins, encouraging them to practice virtue and, finally, stimulating them to advance along the path of sincere piety by accustoming them to meditate on the eternal truths and disposing them better to contemplate the mysteries of the human and divine natures of Christ.

But when the environment for the practice of devotional practices becomes disoriented, things can become unhealthy and dangerous, as the Bishops also stress by quoting Pope Paul VI:

Popular religiosity of course certainly has its limits. It is often subject to penetration by many distortions of religion and even superstitions. It frequently remains at the level of forms of worship not involving a true acceptance by faith. It can even lead to the creation of sects and endanger the true ecclesial community.

This is not to say that there is no place for popular devotions. In fact, when in a properly oriented environment, devotions can serve as a vehicle for solid teaching and religious practice. As Pope Paul VI asserted:

[Popular religiosity] is well oriented, above all by a pedagogy of evangelization, it is rich in values. It manifests a thirst for God which only the simple and poor can know. It makes people capable of generosity and sacrifice even to the point of heroism, when it is a question of manifesting belief. It involves an acute awareness of profound attributes of God: fatherhood, providence, loving and constant presence. It engenders interior attitudes rarely observed to the same degree elsewhere: patience, the sense of the Cross in daily life, detachment, openness to others, devotion. . . . When it is well oriented, this popular religiosity can be more and more for multitudes of our people a true encounter with God in Jesus Christ.

So what then is the key in maintaining a properly oriented environment? The Bishops assert that devotions must be oriented toward Christ. Devotional practices, even laudable practices, that become disassociated from the life of the Church and the teachings of Christ, are disoriented. Quoting the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the bishops say:

The criterion for the truth and value of a private revelation is therefore its orientation to Christ himself. When it leads us away from him, when it becomes independent of him or even presents itself as another and better plan of salvation, more important than the Gospel, then it certainly does not come from the Holy Spirit, who guides us more deeply into the Gospel and not away from it.

They continue:

Similarly, although not every popular devotion has its origin in a private revelation, every popular devotion must likewise be in conformity with the faith of the Church based on public Revelation and must ultimately be centered on Christ.

They assert that the responsibility falls on everyone to ensure that popular devotions are faithful to church teaching, and bishops (assisted by priests and deacons), in particular. The fact that some devotional practices can be used to lead folks away from the Church proves that, in some cases, they have become disoriented. Let's admit that and, following our Lord's example, work to change the environment.

Hail, O Cross, Our Only Hope

O crux ave spes unica
hoc passionis tempore
auge piis justitiam
reisque dona veniam

Archbishop DiNardo named Cardinal Designate

John Allen reports... here is the complete list... The Archdiocese responds here.

We're very happy about this... I expected this might happen, seeing as how there has been speculation about a Cardinal in the American South for quite some time. But as John Allen observes, the pick indicates that the pope recognizes "the shifting center of the Catholic population in the United States from the East Coast to the Southwest."

Personally speaking, DiNardo is a very approachable pastor. My wife and I have run into him several times (even randomly); times which have given us opportunities for discussions with him. I also appreciate that he is a patristics scholar, having earned his license in patristics at the Pontifical University Augustinianum in Rome. It's not uncommon, even in general conversation, to hear him quote the early Church fathers or hear him quote the Gospel in Greek and then translate it for you.

Please use this opportunity to pray for Archbishop DiNardo and continue to do so...