Homer meets Dr. Strangelove

Just one of my favorite Simpson's clips. Not sure why...


Radiant cool, Crazy nightmares, Zen New Jersey nowhere, ...How now brown bureaucrat?

Prayer before Holy Mass

... from St. Thomas Aquinas

Almighty and ever-living God,

I approach the sacrament
of Your only-begotten Son
Our Lord Jesus Christ,
I come sick to the doctor of life,
unclean to the fountain of mercy,
blind to the radiance of eternal light,
and poor and needy to the Lord
of heaven and earth.

Lord, in your great generosity,
heal my sickness,
wash away my defilement,
enlighten my blindness, enrich my poverty,
and clothe my nakedness.
May I receive the bread of angels,
the King of kings and Lord of lords,
with humble reverence,
with the purity and faith,
the repentance and love,
and the determined purpose
that will help to bring me to salvation.
May I receive the sacrament
of the Lord's Body and Blood,
and its reality and power.

Kind God,
may I receive the Body
of Your only-begotten Son,
our Lord Jesus Christ,
born from the womb of the Virgin Mary,
and so be received into His mystical body
and numbered among His members.

Loving Father,
as on my earthly pilgrimage
I now receive Your beloved Son
under the veil of a sacrament,
may I one day see him face to face in glory,
who lives and reigns with You for ever.

Amen.

Tiller and Life

The murder of late-term abortionist Dr. George Tiller by an assassin with a history of mental heath problems was certainly a horror; what is also a horror is that Dr. Tiller is being labeled a "hero" and a "martyr" for some noble cause. It has also been suggested that the pro-life movement, and pro-life groups, should be hunted down as domestic terror organizations. Then there is all the just plain weird logic, like this:

LeRoy Carhart, a Nebraska abortionist and the plaintiff in Gonzales v. Carhart, the 2007 U.S. Supreme Court case that upheld the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban, offered a description of late-term abortion, "It's very much a three day, four day, even five day procedure. And in our procedure, after the first day, the fetus is no longer alive. So it's really a miscarriage of a stillborn fetus."

Uh, sure. Carl Olson has the best response to this:

Yeah, right. And poisoning your boss's drink leads to a "preemptive involuntary heart failure", shoving your spouse over a cliff results in "inconvenient gravitationally-motivated brain function cessation," and firing an 8-gauge shotgun into the mailman's belly brings about an unfortunate case of "shell shock" (more accurately, "pellet shock" or "shot shock"). Empty, deadly words.

Yep.

Teaching Children to Pray

... from an Eastern Orthodox perspective, from Adventures of an Orthodox Mom. Well worth a read, even for Catholics!

I remembered that in the back of the book Wounded By Love by Elder Porphyrios, there was a fantastic section on the upbringing of children. I opened the book to that section and that is when I read this,

Pray and then speak. That’s what to do with your children. If you are constantly lecturing them, you’ll become tiresome and when they grow up they’ll feel a kind of oppression. Prefer prayer and speak to them through prayer. Speak to God and God will speak to their hearts. That is, you shouldn’t give guidance to your children with a voice that they hear with their ears. You may do this too, but above all you should speak to God about your children. Say, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, give Your light to my children. I entrust them to You. You gave them to me, but I am weak and unable to guide them, so, please, illuminate them.’ And God will speak to them and they will say to themselves, ‘Oh dear, I shouldn’t have upset Mummy by doing that!’ And with the grace of God this will come from their heart.” He also said, “It is not sufficient for the parents to be devout. They mustn’t oppress the children to make them good by force. We may repel our children from Christ when we pursue the things of our religion with egotism.

You know the saying “the truth hurts”? Well, I’m sure in some cases it does but in this case it never felt so good.

Read the whole post. H/T Byzantine, Texas.

On Pentecost

I hope y'all had a blessed Feast of Pentecost! This is usually the final Sunday for the choir at our parish (of whom my wife is a member) before they take their abnormally long summer break. The liturgy also included a small orchestra working with the choir.

Our parish also welcomed into the Catholic family today an 87 year old woman through baptism, confirmation, and first eucharist. As was reiterated today, and is certainly true, Our Lord never ceases to call us home to the sacraments, even after a full length of life as that - and surely she will have plenty more! And I still pray for those who have left the church, as I have had the blessing to see some of them return.

Now, on to the reflection. From St. Irenaeus of Lyons (2nd century) from Against Heresies (featured in today's Office of Readings):

When the Lord told his disciples to go and teach all nations and to baptize them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, he conferred on them the power of giving men new life in God. He had promised through the prophets that in these last days he would pour out his Spirit on his servants and handmaids, and that they would prophesy. So when the Son of God became the Son of Man, the Spirit also descended upon him, becoming accustomed in this way to dwelling with the human race, to living in men and to inhabiting God’s creation. The Spirit accomplished the Father’s will in men who had grown old in sin, and gave them new life in Christ.

Luke says that the Spirit came down on the disciples at Pentecost, after the Lord’s ascension, with power to open the gates of life to all nations and to make known to them the new covenant. So it was that men of every language joined in singing one song of praise to God, and scattered tribes, restored to unity by the Spirit, were offered to the Father as the first fruits of all the nations.

This was why the Lord had promised to send the Advocate: he was to prepare us as an offering to God. Like dry flour, which cannot become one lump of dough, one loaf of bread, without moisture, we who are many could not become one in Christ Jesus without the water that comes down from heaven. And like parched ground, which yields no harvest unless it receives moisture, we who were once like a waterless tree could never have lived and borne fruit without this abundant rainfall from above. Through the baptism that liberates us from change and decay we have become one in body; through the Spirit we have become one in soul.

The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of God came down upon the Lord, and the Lord in turn gave this Spirit to his Church, sending the Advocate from heaven into all the world into which, according to his own words, the devil too had been cast down like lightning. If we are not to be scorched and made unfruitful, we need the dew of God. Since we have our accuser, we need an Advocate as well. And so the Lord in his pity for man, who had fallen into the hands of brigands, having himself bound up his wounds and left for his care two coins bearing the royal image, entrusted him to the Holy Spirit. Now, through the Spirit, the image and inscription of the Father and the Son have been given to us, and it is our duty to use the coin committed to our charge and make it yield a rich profit for the Lord.

I love that!! Especially this part:

Like dry flour, which cannot become one lump of dough, one loaf of bread, without moisture, we who are many could not become one in Christ Jesus without the water that comes down from heaven. And like parched ground, which yields no harvest unless it receives moisture, we who were once like a waterless tree could never have lived and borne fruit without this abundant rainfall from above. Through the baptism that liberates us from change and decay we have become one in body; through the Spirit we have become one in soul.

Thanks be to God.

Around the house...

When it comes to worrying about all of the troubles in the world, nothing helps more than taking care of business around the house. I've been trying to tackle the lawn, which has started growing again now that the climate is warmer and more moist. The grass is not too easy to keep up with, and you gotta keep it under control before it takes over everything.

I also spent some time during the past week figuring out what to do with my old Pentium 133MHz machine. I've had this machine for many years, since through college. I decided to get a cheap wireless card for it and update the operating system, and this would allow me to stash it somewhere in the house, out of the way, as a headless box.

About 9 years ago, I installed an old distribution of Redhat Linux for it, but this time, I figured I would install something with an extremely low footprint so that I could play with it and add to it as I saw fit. I eventually decided on Damn Small Linux, based on Debian. The basic footprint of DSL is around 50MB even with xwindows and some useful apps. Installing it was a breeze, and the wireless card worked with very little effort. I've now got it stashed in a hidden location, accessible only via ssh. Linux can truly transform an otherwise useless machine. Now, I've got to figure out something useful for it to do!

Obama and Notre Dame

So I managed to catch Obama's commencement speech at Notre Dame last Sunday. I opposed this speech and joined many friends and Notre Dame alumni in signing a petition opposing it. I would have opposed it had it even been a pro-abortion Republican like Giuliani or the Governator. Part of me still wanted to give Fr. Jenkins the benefit of the doubt and hear what was actually said, so I tuned in. I was pleased to see Fr. Jenkins lay out some distinctions by making it clear that Notre Dame did not support Obama's policies on abortion and embryonic stem-cell research. Yet, Jenkins still gave Obama a platform and a profound honor, and Obama used it.

The man gives a good speech. Personally, however, we found it patronizing and insulting. Instead of being about the graduating class, it focused primarily on his usual campaign rhetoric surrounding abortion -- no doubt due to all of the fervor that has been generated over the last few weeks and months. He spoke about subjects that have been of great interest to me in the past: The struggle to find common ground, and the movement led by Cardinal Bernardin of Chicago, as well as reducing abortions. Yet, as I thought about it, I simply did not buy Obama's desire to reach common ground on abortion. When has he done this?

We also have to be very careful about what we mean by common ground. When it comes to injustice and threats to human life, common ground cannot and should not be reduced to an excuse to simply agree to disagree. While at times, you have to work incrementally with people with whom you disagree, no group can be expected to cede moral ground. The Civil Rights movement never ever ceded moral ground on the simple fact that racism was wrong. We cannot cede moral ground on the evil of genocide in the world. And here, we are seeking to protect the civil rights of the unborn, effectively what amounts to a genocide. Fundamentally, what Obama has done in his first 100 days in office has furthered the mission of this genocide. This is not a caricature. Is he really interested in common ground? Or is he paying the same lip service to us as he pays to Planned Parenthood?

He also invited everyone to join him on reducing abortions, including this in his mission of common ground. Yes, I'm for that. That's one of the reasons I support groups such as Feminists for Life and other groups. Catholic groups have been doing this for many years. Providing aide for women who seek to carry their children to term, adoptions, important health care, etc. Yet, we've been doing this for years against strong opposition from folks Obama openly supports, namely Planned Parenthood, NOW, and NARAL, which audaciously referred to Feminists for Life as anti-choice. Yet, the whole mission of Feminists for Life is to provide an array of real choices for women. And, abortion proponents have been publically telling us about their desire to reduce abortions for years. Their actions often demonstrate otherwise, as they oppose even the most simple, common-sense restrictions, including parental notification laws and ultrasound requirements. Obama's words don't go hand-in-hand with his actions, as he has sought to throw more government money at abortion, particularly abroad. How does one reduce abortions by making them more easily available at taxpayers' expense? Obama has surrounded himself with abortion proponents at even the highest levels of government. I'm waiting to see what happens with regard to conscience protection for doctors.

As I watched the speech, I felt the same as I felt while listening to his speeches on the campaign trail. You almost feel foolish for believing what he says for five minutes until you realize the reality of the situation. That said, I am quite happy to hear Obama go against his campaign promise to Planned Parenthood and say that passing the deadly Freedom of Choice Act was not his highest legislative priority. Yet, it appears that the Act is moving through in pieces.

Father Barron on "Angels and Demons"

A very good review. Just one quibble: I think it is disputed that Copernicus was himself a priest, although he had a very close relationship with the Catholic Church throughout his life. I have read some references that indicate that he might have been a Third Order Dominican.

Mary and the Order of Preachers

Friday was the Feast of the Patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary over the entire Order of Preachers, according to the Dominican Liturgical calendar.

From the Commentary on the Constitutions of the Order of Preachers by Bl. Humbert of Romans, who was the fifth master of the Order:

From the events surrounding the beginning of our Order many reasons can be adduced why the Blessed Virgin Mary herself may be considered the special patroness of our Order. From what I have heard with my own ears and from the many accounts in the 'Lives of the Brethren', it seems that she is our special Mother, bringing forth, advancing and defending the Order whose purpose is to praise, to bless and to preach her Son.

From the Miracles of St. Dominic as narrated by Sr. Cecilia:

Suddenly [Dominic] was caught up in spirit before God and saw the Lord and the Blessed Virgin sitting at his right. It seemed to Blessed Dominic that Our Lady was wearing a cloak the color of sapphire.

As Blessed Dominic looked around, he could see religious of all the orders but his own before the throne of God. He began to weep bitterly and stood apart, not daring to approach the Lord and his Mother. Then Our Lady motioned for him to come near. But he would not dare, until the Lord himself also called him.

Blessed Dominic cast himself down before them weeping bitterly. The Lord told him to rise, and when he did, asked him, "Why are you weeping so?" "I am weeping because I see all the other orders here but no sign of my own." The Lord said to him, "Do you want to see your Order?" and he answered, "Yes, Lord." Then the Blessed Virgin opened the cloak she was wearing and spread it out before Blessed Dominic, to whom it seemed cast enough to cover the entire heaven, and under it he saw a large multitude of the brethren.

Then prostrating himself, Blessed Dominic gave thanks to God and to Blessed Mary his Mother.

It has often been said that Dominic had the gift of tears. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners.

Fact Checking: Angels & Demons

Steve Greydanus has some fact-checking on Dan Brown's book. Yes, like The DaVinci Code, "it's only fiction". Yet, I still run across folks who think it's more fact than fiction. Angels & Demons seems to be more silly, in my opinion. The old "Catholic Church vs. Science" lie. Yet we have priests like Clavius, Mendel, Grimaldi, LeMaitre, and other Catholics like Copernicus and, yes, even Galileo himself, who say: "No, not quite."

Fires in Santa Barbara

Another terrible fire in Santa Barbara right now. The "Jesusita Fire" is only 10% contained tonight. I know several people who have evacuated, one having to spend the night in a Red Cross shelter. Please pray for relief for this fire!

Meanwhile, a load of people plan to descend upon Isla Vista (near UC Santa Barbara) this weekend for "Floatopia 2", which folks worry will put a massive burden on the region's firefighting resources. "Floatopia" is an event where drunken kids, mostly from out of town, take over an Isla Vista beach and float out over the water in a drunken frenzy, leaving behind injuries and an ocean and beach full of half-empty beer cans. The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisor passed an urgency ordinance banning alcohol consumption, but most people don't think it will have an effect. What will happen? The last "Floatopia" drew over 12,000 people.

Hopkins and Haecceity

We had a very interesting discussion in our Catholic reading group a few days ago. The subject of this session was the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins. I would like to thank Ben, in particular, for sharing Hopkins' As Kingfishers Catch Fire with the group:

As kingfishers catch fire, dragonflies draw flame;
As tumbled over rim in roundy wells
Stones ring; like each tucked string tells, each hung bell's
Bow swung finds tongue to fling out broad its name;
Each mortal thing does one thing and the same:
Deals out that being indoors each one dwells;
Selves - goes itself; myself it speaks and spells,
Crying What I do is me: for that I came.

I say more: the just man justices;
Keeps grace: that keeps all his goings graces;
Acts in God's eye what in God's eye he is--
Christ. For Christ plays in ten thousand places,
Lovely in limbs, and lovely in eyes not his
To the Father through the features of men's faces.

The poem illustrates quite nicely the influence Bl. John Duns Scotus had on Hopkins' theology, particularly concerning the concept of haecceity -- that which pertains to the haecceitas, or thisness, of a person or object, that identifies it as being individual or distinct from other things. God made us as human beings, but he made each one of us, and all living creatures, unique. This would better explain some terms Hopkins identified: inscape and instress, which are described here in more detail:

By "inscape" he means the unified complex of characteristics that give each thing its uniqueness and that differentiate it from other things, and by "instress" he means either the force of being which holds the inscape together or the impulse from the inscape which carries it whole into the mind of the beholder...

The concept of inscape shares much with Wordsworth's "spots of time," Emerson's "moments," and Joyce's "epiphanies," showing it to be a characteristically Romantic and post-Romantic idea. But Hopkins' "inscape" is also fundamentally religious: a glimpse of the inscape of a thing shows us why God created it. "Each mortal thing does one thing and the same:/ . . myself it speaks and spells,/ Crying What I do is me: for that I came."

You see this generally reflected in Hopkins' poetry. He writes about this bird, this tree, this person, rather than about birds, or trees, or people in general. Exquisite.

Why Aquinas Matters Today

In three points, from Catholic News Service in an interview with Dominican Father Thomas Joseph White of the Pontifical Faculty of the Immaculate Conception in DC:

The first, I would say, is Aquinas' insistence on the harmony of faith and reason...

The second point is that for Aquinas the creation reflects the mystery of the wisdom of God. If we look off into the creation, we see a beautiful, existent world that is good, that is orderly and that bespeaks the wisdom of God...

The third point, I would say, is that for Aquinas there is a very profound emphasis on the primacy of grace for all of our works that lead to union with God. God is not only the source from whom we all come, but he is the ultimate term or endpoint toward whom we are all returning. How do we return to God? For Aquinas, by grace...

Read the whole thing.

Swine Flu

Cardinal DiNardo has requested that churches suspend distribution of Holy Communion from the chalice until more is known about the Swine Flu (H1N1) problem. That seems prudent, considering we don't truly know the scope, scale, or intensity of the problem just yet, in spite of the media's intent to sensationalize the issue. The media seems to have forgotten that the common influenza virus kills thousands of people every year in the United States, yet it seems more intent on exploiting the unknown with regard to this virus. As far as I can see right now, prevention seems to revolve around common sense habits: wash your hands before you eat! cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze! etc.

This isn't the first time we've faced a "swine flu" alarm in this country. Check out these ads from 1976 urging people to get swine flu vaccinations:

Get the message?

Aquinas on Implicit Baptism of Desire

Taylor Marshall discusses Aquinas' articulation of an implicit baptism of desire:

Last Monday I was fascinated to learn that Saint Thomas Aquinas had articulated a doctrine of implicit baptism of desire.

As stated above (1, ad 2; 68, 2) man receives the forgiveness of sins before Baptism in so far as he has Baptism of desire, explicitly or implicitly [there are the key words]; and yet when he actually receives Baptism, he receives a fuller remission, as to the remission of the entire punishment. So also before Baptism Cornelius and others like him receive grace and virtues through their faith in Christ and their desire for Baptism, implicit or explicit: but afterwards when baptized, they receive a yet greater fullness of grace and virtues. Hence in Psalm 22:2, "He hath brought me up on the water of refreshment," a gloss says: "He has brought us up by an increase of virtue and good deeds in Baptism. Yet catechumens who die without baptism can be saved but only as through fire. That is, they are absolved of eternal punishment, not temporal punishment."

STh III, q. 69, a. 4.

The perplexing thing is that Saint Thomas Aquinas believes that baptism by desire only remits eternal punishment and not the temporal punishment due to sins.

Read the whole thing (and the comments).

Moniales and the Master of the Order

Today, the Dominican Nuns of Summit, New Jersey were visited by the Master of the Order, Fr. Carlos Azpiroz Costa, O.P., who for us is the current successor of St. Dominic. They describe the visit with photos.

The octave day of new birth

Today we celebrate Divine Mercy Sunday, which is also the Sunday of the Octave of Easter. This morning's Office of Readings presents to us words from St. Augustine's Eighth Sermon in octava Paschae given to the newly baptized:

I speak to you who have just been reborn in baptism, my little children in Christ... [Baptism] is a sacrament of new life which begins here and now with the forgiveness of all past sins, and will be brought to completion in the resurrection of the dead. You have been buried with Christ by baptism into death in order that, as Christ has risen from the dead, you also may walk in newness of life...

This is the octave day of your new birth. Today is fulfilled in you the sign of faith that was prefigured in the Old Testament by the circumcision of the flesh on the eight day after birth. When the Lord rose from the dead, he put off the mortality of the flesh; his risen body was still the same body, but it was no longer subject to death. By his resurrection he consecrated Sunday, or the Lord's day. Though the third after his passion, this day is the eighth after the Sabbath, and thus also the first day of the week.

And so your own hope of resurrection, though not yet realized, is sure and certain, because you have received the sacrament or sign of this reality, and have been given the pledge of the Spirit.

This is an octave. Augustine here demonstrates the great significance of the number eight as a sign of redemption and new life as well as resurrection, as our own resurrection is secured by Christ's, in whose body we are incorporated by way of our baptism by water and the Spirit. Baptism into Christ is thus intrinsically linked to resurrection.

It is not uncommon to find baptismal fonts that are octagonal in shape for this very reason, as we find in the ancient baptistery in Milan where St. Augustine himself was likely baptized:


As Augustine also references, the number eight also applies to why the Church observes the Lord's Day, Sunday, as the eighth day, a day of new creation and birth in Christ, which, as Augustine writes, will be brought to completion in the resurrection of the dead. The work of Redemption is of greater significance and splendor than that of the first Creation, as the Catechism points out (CCC 349):

But for us a new day has dawned: the day of Christ's Resurrection. The seventh day completes the first creation. The eighth day begins the new creation. Thus, the work of creation culminates in the greater work of redemption. The first creation finds its meaning and its summit in the new creation in Christ, the splendour of which surpasses that of the first creation.

And a blessed Pascha to my Eastern Orthodox readers!

Patriarch Kirill washes feet

Couldn't think of a good title, but the post is interesting. Byzantine, Texas links to an article describing Patriarch Kirill of Moscow performing the rite of the washing of the feet at the conclusion of the (Orthodox) Holy Thursday Divine Liturgy at the Annunciation Cathedral in Moscow.

“In our tumultuous and troubled times, when man is susceptible to various afflictions and temptations,” the Patriarch continued, “we must especially come running to Christ’s Chalice and reverently eat of the Body and Blood of the Savior for our salvation.” Today’s celebration, in the words of the Patriarch, is an invitation for us to live an active liturgical life, not as observers, but as participants...

The Patriarch then related that, in performing the rite of the washing of the feet, he had “performed an action prescribed for us by our Holy Fathers.”

“In imitation of the Savior, the Patriarch today washed the feet of priests who symbolized the twelve Apostles,” said His All-Holiness, emphasizing that this rite helps us to understand the depths of the humility of Christ, Who became man in order to save us.

Read the whole thing.

Christ is risen!

He is risen, indeed!


We just returned from visiting family in Montgomery, Alabama. For this trip, we flew in and out of Birmingham, which is about 1.5 hrs north. Perhaps next time we'll be able to make a pilgrimage to EWTN and the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament.

Up until this year, our Easter experience had always involved the magnificent Easter Vigil on Saturday night. This year, however, we went in the morning -- my wife and I going to the Catholic church near my family's home, and my family, of course, going to their Baptist church down the street. But we reunited afterward for the requisite Easter feast! The local Catholic church was quite diverse, and we felt quite comfortable there. The liturgy was done very well, and of course, the Mass was awesome as it always is.

We explored the countryside a bit and a lot more of the city.

Palm Sunday

The Gospel of John 12:1-18 (RSV)

Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Laz'arus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. There they made him a supper; Martha served, and Laz'arus was one of those at table with him. Mary took a pound of costly ointment of pure nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the fragrance of the ointment.

But Judas Iscariot, one of his disciples (he who was to betray him), said, "Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?" This he said, not that he cared for the poor but because he was a thief, and as he had the money box he used to take what was put into it.

Jesus said, "Let her alone, let her keep it for the day of my burial. The poor you always have with you, but you do not always have me."

When the great crowd of the Jews learned that he was there, they came, not only on account of Jesus but also to see Laz'arus, whom he had raised from the dead. So the chief priests planned to put Laz'arus also to death, because on account of him many of the Jews were going away and believing in Jesus. The next day a great crowd who had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!" And Jesus found a young ass and sat upon it; as it is written, "Fear not, daughter of Zion; behold, your king is coming, sitting on an ass's colt!"

His disciples did not understand this at first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that this had been written of him and had been done to him. The crowd that had been with him when he called Laz'arus out of the tomb and raised him from the dead bore witness. The reason why the crowd went to meet him was that they heard he had done this sign.

Going forward...

I first received the sacraments of the Church on Saturday, March 29th, 1997 at my home parish of St. Louis de Montfort in Santa Maria, California. I was 18 years old then, but 'twas only yesterday, really. Now I'm 30, and I'm so very happy to be home.

Laudetur Iesus Christus!

Jane Wyman: Lay Dominican

When my pastor told me this morning that he had read that Jane Wyman (ex-wife of President Ronald Reagan) was a Third Order Dominican, I had to look it up myself. She was a convert to the Catholic Church and never remarried after the break-up of her last marriage. Sure enough, she made her profession as a Lay Dominican later in her life and was involved in several charitable causes related to the Church and to the Order. She was buried in the habit of the Order after she died in her sleep in 2007.

Houston Prayer Vigil Friday Evening

Planned Parenthood is having its national convention here in Houston this weekend. From TexasFamilies.org:

Not only is Planned Parenthood in the process of remodeling what will be the largest abortion center in the Western Hemisphere here in Houston, but they are also having their national convention here the last week of March!

That means hundreds of Planned Parenthood employees from around the country will be here in Houston.

On Friday March 27th, Planned Parenthood will have their 2009 Gala and Annual Awards ceremony at the George R. Brown Convention Center. They will be honoring Hillary Clinton.

Don't stay home on Friday, March 27th! We need you to join us in a prayer vigil on the sidewalk across the street from the George R. Brown.

The group will gather in the parking lot on Jackson which is directly behind Annunciation Catholic Church at 1618 Texas Ave. at 6:00 PM and walk in a procession. Pro-lifers from every denomination are invited and encouraged to participate.

The Solemnity of the Annunciation

Today, the Dominican Supplement to the Liturgy of the Hours points us to a reading from our dearest sister, Catherine of Siena:

You, O Mary, have been made a book in which our rule is written today. In you today is written the eternal Father’s wisdom; in you today our human strength and freedom are revealed...

O Mary, I see this Word given to you, living in you yet not separated from the Father–just as the word one has in one’s mind does not leave one’s heart or become separated from it even through that word is externalized and communicated to others. In these things our human dignity is revealed–that God should have done such and so great things for us.

And even more in you, O Mary, our human strength and freedom are today revealed, for after the deliberation of such and so great a council, the angel was sent to you to announce to you the mystery of the divine counsel and to seek to know your will, and God’s Son did not come down into your womb until you had given your will’s consent. He waited at the door of your will for you to open to him; for he wanted to come into you, but he would never have entered unless you had opened to him, saying, “Here I am, God’s servant; let it be done to me as you have said.”

The eternal Godhead, O Mary, was knocking at your door, but unless you had opened that door of your will God would not have taken flesh in you. Blush, my soul, when you see that today God has become your relative in Mary. Today you have been shown that even though you were made without your help, you will not be saved without your help.

O Mary, My tenderest love! In you is written the Word, from whom we have the teaching of life. You are the tablet that sets this teaching before us.

Fiat mihi secundum Verbum tuum.

Les Misérables

The Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) in Houston, a local musical theatre production company, is presenting Les Misérables for the first time, and only until April 5th. We had been thinking about going with my reading group, but it doesn't look like it's going to happen. Anyone been?

Ullamaliztli

I suspect that if Football were like the Aztec game of Ullamaliztli, in which the losing team was sacrificed to the gods, then there wouldn't be as much interest in Football anymore. Or perhaps I am wrong?

Our Lady in Mexico City

Fr. Robert Barron describes his reaction to first seeing the image of Our Lady of Guadalupe and reflects on the power that image has had through the years.

Facebook and "Ambient Awareness"

Over the last few weeks, I have been heavily moderating my experience with Facebook. I have been doing it in order to give myself a sort-of Lenten reflection on social networking and digital intimacy: is it really a positive experience, or is it a meaningless distraction? This type of thing isn't new to me. My friends and I grew up with dial-up bulletin board systems (even ran my own for a while) and chat-boards (I'm not talking about Prodigy or AOL) long before blogs became popular.

Facebook is a strange beast. Before really getting into it, I had really come to question the worth of the micro-blogging phenomenon supported by networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter in which one is encouraged to post brief messages concerning the unimportant minutiae of one's daily life. Yet, I found myself also strangely addicted to it. Clive Thompson of the New York Times asked the same question in an article published last September, "Brave New World of Digital Intimacy":

In essence, Facebook users didn’t think they wanted constant, up-to-the-minute updates on what other people are doing. Yet when they experienced this sort of omnipresent knowledge, they found it intriguing and addictive. Why?

Why, indeed? And what does one do with all of that knowledge?

Social scientists have a name for this sort of incessant online contact. They call it “ambient awareness.” It is, they say, very much like being physically near someone and picking up on his mood through the little things he does — body language, sighs, stray comments — out of the corner of your eye. Facebook is no longer alone in offering this sort of interaction online. In the last year, there has been a boom in tools for “microblogging”: posting frequent tiny updates on what you’re doing. The phenomenon is quite different from what we normally think of as blogging, because a blog post is usually a written piece, sometimes quite long: a statement of opinion, a story, an analysis. But these new updates are something different. They’re far shorter, far more frequent and less carefully considered.

Yes, far, far less carefully considered. Writing a blog post takes some time, reflection, and analysis (not including those blogs prone to constant axe-grinding, which I make a point of avoiding and encourage others to do so as well). On the other hand, micro-blogging takes no time at all. I quickly saw how easily the most reasonable people post not only about the meaningless details of the day, but also their many erratic frustrations with the people and events of their life and life in general, including politics and religion. One friend proclaims, "The pope is an idiot!" Another proclaims, "Obama is an idiot!" And another, "Palin is an idiot!" It wears on a person after a while.

I myself have been tempted to vent my frustrations in ways I am not always comfortable doing on my blog, particularly recently with the efforts of the Obama Administration to destroy protections on human life. I began to see a picture of myself emerging in which I saw myself as a particularly negative person, prone to outburst, lacking reflection and balance. I am not a hot-headed reactionary, yet I began to understand that this must be how others were beginning to see me, particularly those with whom I did not maintain close contact, something Facebook was designed to remedy. That was my first indication that something was amiss. It also seemed to encourage people to develop erratic opinions about things they really knew nothing about, leading to the temptation to be deliberately provocative and incendiary.

But why the fascination over people's minute-by-minute reports? Thompson continues:

For many people — particularly anyone over the age of 30 — the idea of describing your blow-by-blow activities in such detail is absurd. Why would you subject your friends to your daily minutiae? And conversely, how much of their trivia can you absorb? The growth of ambient intimacy can seem like modern narcissism taken to a new, supermetabolic extreme — the ultimate expression of a generation of celebrity-addled youths who believe their every utterance is fascinating and ought to be shared with the world. Twitter, in particular, has been the subject of nearly relentless scorn since it went online. “Who really cares what I am doing, every hour of the day?” wondered Alex Beam, a Boston Globe columnist, in an essay about Twitter last month. “Even I don’t care.”

Indeed, many of the people I interviewed, who are among the most avid users of these “awareness” tools, admit that at first they couldn’t figure out why anybody would want to do this.

"Modern narcissism". I like that description. Posting my opinions gave me a sense of value, as though the details about what I ate for lunch that day were really that interesting. But it adds up:

Each little update — each individual bit of social information — is insignificant on its own, even supremely mundane. But taken together, over time, the little snippets coalesce into a surprisingly sophisticated portrait of your friends’ and family members’ lives, like thousands of dots making a pointillist painting. This was never before possible, because in the real world, no friend would bother to call you up and detail the sandwiches she was eating. The ambient information becomes like “a type of E.S.P.,” as [Ben] Haley described it to me, an invisible dimension floating over everyday life.

And that's just it. People's lives unfold before you like a soap opera. You gain a sense of control even as a silent observer, privy to intimate life details people feel compelled to share. It seems to me that this can be good, but it can also be bad. And what are we to make of the distinction between real "friendship" and "Facebook friends", which for some, seems to be more of a popularity contest than about maintaining solid relationships with other people?

The thrust of Thompson's article seems to be that this type of intimacy is, at its root, good and is getting us back to what's really important about healthy relationships. I'm not yet sure about that. While Facebook is a very good means to keep folks updated on important items, easily share photos, and post links, it also provides a really good distraction from one's own life. Personally, I have found that by distancing myself from it, I have found myself more easily able to do constructive things, whether it be spending time with my wife, or immersing myself in prayer and study. I'll leave it there... for now.

The Slums of Hollywood

Speaking of slumdogs, I was thinking back to 1997 when the unrealistic, contrived, one-dimensional love story called "Titanic" was released. Remember all the hype about Leonardo DiCaprio growing up in the "slums of Hollywood" only to make it as a big moviestar? While I was working in Los Angeles during the summer of 1998, I went to visit a coworker friend of mine from the Archdiocesan chancery office who lived in the East Hollywood/Los Feliz area. Not Beverly Hills, but a pretty nice area -- better than a lot of places in Los Angeles. I later learned that the East Hollywood and Los Feliz area was the "slums of Hollywood" from which DiCaprio emerged. Real rags-to-riches story there.

Slumdog Millionaire

We rarely go to the movie theater nowadays, but after all of the raving about Slumdog Millionaire, we decided to go and check it out this afternoon. We enjoyed it very much. It does have a bit of violence, but I found it to be a good story with good characters. In a strange way, taken as a whole, it was also a fun film.

Of course, before the film started, we were treated to a teaser for Angels and Demons, the next Dan Brown flop, which will be sure to perpetuate more myths concerning the Church's relationship with scientific inquiry and other things. But beware - you may have to fight several albino Opus Dei "monks" that will stand in the way of your journey to truth!

On Language and Filioque

Reflections on the filioque and language from Fr. Hunwicke, courtesy of Josephus Flavius of Byzantine, Texas. Not a new argument, but something to keep in mind as we observe current developments with other groups:

I do not intend to explain what this is all about ab initio to those who do not already know the general outlines. Just to add some facts which those who do know may not be familiar with.

In 1995 the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of Christian Unity published a learned and interesting paper which suggested that a lack of correlation between the Greek (ekporeuesthai) and Latin (procedere) terms for "proceedeth" is part of the problem. ekporeuesthai refers to the origin of the Holy Spirit within the eternal and glorious economy of the Holy Trinity. And, since the Father is the Source (pege, aitia) of the being of the other two Persons, clearly the Spirit ekporeuetai from the Father alone. To suggest that he might ekporeuesthai from the Son as well is to posit two sources of Divinity and thus, in effect, to believe in two Gods.

Procedere, on the other hand, is a broader term. As well as sharing the meaning of ekporeuesthai, it also encompasses the Sending, within time, of the Spirit by the Son. When the Western Church was battling against Arianism, it seemed important to safeguard the full divinity of the Son by incorporating into the Creed His authentic Missio of the Spirit.

So you could argue that Filioque with ekporeuesthai is gravely erroneous because it is tantamount to polytheism, while procedere without the Filioque is dangerously suggestive of Arianism.

Read the rest of Fr. Hunwicke's reflection.

Sunday of Orthodoxy in Houston

Houston Orthodox priest Fr. Joseph Huneycutt (of the Houston blog ORTHODIXIE) has a report on his blog about the Sunday of Orthodoxy in Houston. Sunday of Orthodoxy Vespers was spent this year at Holy Forty Martyrs Mission (Antiochian Orthodox) here in Sugar Land.

Batman in Santa Barbara

One of the best scenes in motion picture history was filmed at Stearn's Wharf in Santa Barbara in the late 1960's:


"Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb!"

Your favorite "Lost" character?

Mine happens to be the age-defying Richard Alpert, the mysterious second-in-command of The Others:

Richard Alpert is an inhabitant of The Island and is the second-in-command of The Others, a group known to the DHARMA Initiative as the "Hostiles." From his first appearance in 1954 to current events on the Island, Richard perpetually appeared to be in his 30s or 40s (making him over 80 years old), though his hairstyle and manner of dress change depending on the circumstances on or off the Island.

Or, in the language of The Others (the "language of the enlightened"), Ricardus Alpert. He's the most comfortable in his own skin.

Called to Communion: Reformation meets Rome

Taylor Marshall reports on a new blog:

I've been in touch with a number of Catholics who were once Reformed and we've launched a new site that will examine Reformed/Calvinist theology from a Catholic point of view: Called to Communion. Obviously, our goal is to draw Reformed Christians toward the Catholic Church (ut unum sint), but we aim to avoid theological snobbery.

Check it out: Called to Communion.