Papal Lenten Message

Made public today was the 2008 Lenten Message of the Holy Father Benedict XVI. The text, dated 30 October 2007, has as its title a verse from St. Paul's Second Letter to the Corinthians: "Christ made Himself poor for you".

Extracts from the Message are given below:

"Each year, Lent offers us a providential opportunity to deepen the meaning and value of our Christian lives, and it stimulates us to rediscover the mercy of God so that we, in turn, become more merciful toward our brothers and sisters. In the Lenten period, the Church makes it her duty to propose some specific tasks that accompany the faithful concretely in this process of interior renewal: these are prayer, fasting and almsgiving. For this year's Lenten Message, I wish to spend some time reflecting on the practice of almsgiving, which represents a specific way to assist those in need and, at the same time, an exercise in self-denial to free us from attachment to worldly goods. The force of attraction to material riches and just how categorical our decision must be not to make of them an idol, Jesus confirms in a resolute way: 'You cannot serve God and mammon'.

"Almsgiving helps us to overcome this constant temptation, teaching us to respond to our neighbour's needs and to share with others whatever we possess through divine goodness. This is the aim of the special collections in favour of the poor, which are promoted during Lent in many parts of the world. In this way, inward cleansing is accompanied by a gesture of ecclesial communion, mirroring what already took place in the early Church.

"According to the teaching of the Gospel, we are not owners but rather administrators of the goods we possess: these, then, are not to be considered as our exclusive possession, but means through which the Lord calls each one of us to act as a steward of His providence for our neighbour".

"In the Gospel, Jesus explicitly admonishes the one who possesses and uses earthly riches only for self. ... In those countries whose population is majority Christian, the call to share is even more urgent, since their responsibility toward the many who suffer poverty and abandonment is even greater. To come to their aid is a duty of justice even prior to being an act of charity.

"The Gospel highlights a typical feature of Christian almsgiving: it must be hidden. ... This understanding, dear brothers and sisters, must accompany every gesture of help to our neighbour, avoiding that it becomes a means to make ourselves the centre of attention".

"In today's world of images, attentive vigilance is required, since this temptation is great. Almsgiving, according to the Gospel, is not mere philanthropy: rather it is a concrete expression of charity, a theological virtue that demands interior conversion to love of God and neighbour, in imitation of Jesus Christ".

"In inviting us to consider almsgiving with a more profound gaze that transcends the purely material dimension, Scripture teaches us that there is more joy in giving than in receiving. ... Every time when, for love of God, we share our goods with our neighbour in need, we discover that the fullness of life comes from love and all is returned to us as a blessing in the form of peace, inner satisfaction and joy".

"What is more: St. Peter includes among the spiritual fruits of almsgiving the forgiveness of sins. ... As the Lenten liturgy frequently repeats, God offers to us sinners the possibility of being forgiven. The fact of sharing what we possess with the poor disposes us to receive such a gift".

"Almsgiving teaches us the generosity of love. ... In this regard, all the more significant is the Gospel story of the widow who, out of poverty, cast into the Temple treasury 'all she had to live on'".

We find this moving passage inserted in the description of the days that immediately precede Jesus' passion and death, who, as St. Paul writes, made Himself poor to enrich us out of His poverty; He gave His entire Self for us. Lent, also through the practice of almsgiving, inspires us to follow His example. In His school, we can learn to make of our lives a total gift; imitating Him, we are able to make ourselves available, not so much in giving part of what we possess, but our very selves. Cannot the entire Gospel be summarised perhaps in the one commandment of love? The Lenten practice of almsgiving thus become a means to deepen our Christian vocation. In gratuitously offering himself, the Christian bears witness that it is love and not material richness that determines the laws of his existence, Love, then, gives almsgiving its true value; it inspires various forms of giving, according to the possibilities and conditions of each person".

VIS

Here is the complete message:



MESSAGE OF HIS HOLINESS
BENEDICT XVI
FOR LENT 2008


“Christ made Himself poor for you” (2 Cor 8,9)

Dear Brothers and Sisters!


1. Each year, Lent offers us a providential opportunity to deepen the meaning and value of our Christian lives, and it stimulates us to rediscover the mercy of God so that we, in turn, become more merciful toward our brothers and sisters. In the Lenten period, the Church makes it her duty to propose some specific tasks that accompany the faithful concretely in this process of interior renewal: these are prayer, fasting and almsgiving. For this year’s Lenten Message, I wish to spend some time reflecting on the practice of almsgiving, which represents a specific way to assist those in need and, at the same time, an exercise in self-denial to free us from attachment to worldly goods. The force of attraction to material riches and just how categorical our decision must be not to make of them an idol, Jesus confirms in a resolute way: “You cannot serve God and mammon” (Lk 16,13). Almsgiving helps us to overcome this constant temptation, teaching us to respond to our neighbor’s needs and to share with others whatever we possess through divine goodness. This is the aim of the special collections in favor of the poor, which are promoted during Lent in many parts of the world. In this way, inward cleansing is accompanied by a gesture of ecclesial communion, mirroring what already took place in the early Church. In his Letters, Saint Paul speaks of this in regard to the collection for the Jerusalem community (cf. 2 Cor 8-9; Rm 15, 25-27).


2. According to the teaching of the Gospel, we are not owners but rather administrators of the goods we possess: these, then, are not to be considered as our exclusive possession, but means through which the Lord calls each one of us to act as a steward of His providence for our neighbor. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us, material goods bear a social value, according to the principle of their universal destination (cf. n. 2404)

In the Gospel, Jesus explicitly admonishes the one who possesses and uses earthly riches only for self. In the face of the multitudes, who, lacking everything, suffer hunger, the words of Saint John acquire the tone of a ringing rebuke: “How does God’s love abide in anyone who has the world’s goods and sees a brother or sister in need and yet refuses to help?” (1 Jn 3,17). In those countries whose population is majority Christian, the call to share is even more urgent, since their responsibility toward the many who suffer poverty and abandonment is even greater. To come to their aid is a duty of justice even prior to being an act of charity.


3. The Gospel highlights a typical feature of Christian almsgiving: it must be hidden: “Do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,” Jesus asserts, “so that your alms may be done in secret” (Mt 6,3-4). Just a short while before, He said not to boast of one’s own good works so as not to risk being deprived of the heavenly reward (cf. Mt 6,1-2). The disciple is to be concerned with God’s greater glory. Jesus warns: “In this way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven” (Mt 5,16). Everything, then, must be done for God’s glory and not our own. This understanding, dear brothers and sisters, must accompany every gesture of help to our neighbor, avoiding that it becomes a means to make ourselves the center of attention. If, in accomplishing a good deed, we do not have as our goal God’s glory and the real well being of our brothers and sisters, looking rather for a return of personal interest or simply of applause, we place ourselves outside of the Gospel vision. In today’s world of images, attentive vigilance is required, since this temptation is great. Almsgiving, according to the Gospel, is not mere philanthropy: rather it is a concrete expression of charity, a theological virtue that demands interior conversion to love of God and neighbor, in imitation of Jesus Christ, who, dying on the cross, gave His entire self for us. How could we not thank God for the many people who silently, far from the gaze of the media world, fulfill, with this spirit, generous actions in support of one’s neighbor in difficulty? There is little use in giving one’s personal goods to others if it leads to a heart puffed up in vainglory: for this reason, the one, who knows that God “sees in secret” and in secret will reward, does not seek human recognition for works of mercy.


4. In inviting us to consider almsgiving with a more profound gaze that transcends the purely material dimension, Scripture teaches us that there is more joy in giving than in receiving (cf. Acts 20,35). When we do things out of love, we express the truth of our being; indeed, we have been created not for ourselves but for God and our brothers and sisters (cf. 2 Cor 5,15). Every time when, for love of God, we share our goods with our neighbor in need, we discover that the fullness of life comes from love and all is returned to us as a blessing in the form of peace, inner satisfaction and joy. Our Father in heaven rewards our almsgiving with His joy. What is more: Saint Peter includes among the spiritual fruits of almsgiving the forgiveness of sins: “Charity,” he writes, “covers a multitude of sins” (1 Pt 4,8). As the Lenten liturgy frequently repeats, God offers to us sinners the possibility of being forgiven. The fact of sharing with the poor what we possess disposes us to receive such a gift. In this moment, my thought turns to those who realize the weight of the evil they have committed and, precisely for this reason, feel far from God, fearful and almost incapable of turning to Him. By drawing close to others through almsgiving, we draw close to God; it can become an instrument for authentic conversion and reconciliation with Him and our brothers.


5. Almsgiving teaches us the generosity of love. Saint Joseph Benedict Cottolengo forthrightly recommends: “Never keep an account of the coins you give, since this is what I always say: if, in giving alms, the left hand is not to know what the right hand is doing, then the right hand, too, should not know what it does itself” (Detti e pensieri, Edilibri, n. 201). In this regard, all the more significant is the Gospel story of the widow who, out of her poverty, cast into the Temple treasury “all she had to live on” (Mk 12,44). Her tiny and insignificant coin becomes an eloquent symbol: this widow gives to God not out of her abundance, not so much what she has, but what she is. Her entire self.

We find this moving passage inserted in the description of the days that immediately precede Jesus’ passion and death, who, as Saint Paul writes, made Himself poor to enrich us out of His poverty (cf. 2 Cor 8,9); He gave His entire self for us. Lent, also through the practice of almsgiving, inspires us to follow His example. In His school, we can learn to make of our lives a total gift; imitating Him, we are able to make ourselves available, not so much in giving a part of what we possess, but our very selves. Cannot the entire Gospel be summarized perhaps in the one commandment of love? The Lenten practice of almsgiving thus becomes a means to deepen our Christian vocation. In gratuitously offering himself, the Christian bears witness that it is love and not material richness that determines the laws of his existence. Love, then, gives almsgiving its value; it inspires various forms of giving, according to the possibilities and conditions of each person.


6. Dear brothers and sisters, Lent invites us to “train ourselves” spiritually, also through the practice of almsgiving, in order to grow in charity and recognize in the poor Christ Himself. In the Acts of the Apostles, we read that the Apostle Peter said to the cripple who was begging alms at the Temple gate: “I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, walk” (Acts 3,6). In giving alms, we offer something material, a sign of the greater gift that we can impart to others through the announcement and witness of Christ, in whose name is found true life. Let this time, then, be marked by a personal and community effort of attachment to Christ in order that we may be witnesses of His love. May Mary, Mother and faithful Servant of the Lord, help believers to enter the “spiritual battle” of Lent, armed with prayer, fasting and the practice of almsgiving, so as to arrive at the celebration of the Easter Feasts, renewed in spirit. With these wishes, I willingly impart to all my Apostolic Blessing.

From the Vatican, 30 October 2007


BENEDICTUS PP. XVI

The TLM and the Human Desire for Mystery

Fr. David Lewis Stokes has done it again! This time the article is on the Extraordinary (Tridentine) Mass.

Excerpts from the Providence Journal:

In a New York Times story about the renewed interest in the Latin (or Tridentine) Mass (“Latin Mass Draws Interest After Easing of Restrictions,” Nov. 10), a professor at the Weston Jesuit School of Theology offered an intriguing caveat. Referring to the enthusiasts for the “old” mass, the Rev. John F. Baldovin commented, “A lot of them think this is the way to go, back to the future, because it is really going to revive Catholicism. You can produce a Tridentine mass, but can’t reproduce the world it came from.” Since this quotation concludes the article, many readers may imagine Father Baldovin’s words to be the final say.

In some ways he’s right.

[...]

But I wonder whether nostalgia is the only explanation for the fascination with the Latin Mass. I wonder whether this fascination might not be a part of a much larger cultural trend: our modern hunger for mystery. I mean by mystery our encounter with what is “other” — what Rudolph Otto called the mysterium tremendum, the numinous. That “other” which provokes in us both terror and fascination: the sense of the holy.

[...]

Unfortunately, the last few centuries in the West have not been fond of mystery, especially the century just ended. And in the 1960s two things in particular coincided to try to banish the numinous altogether... To be religious is another way to be a nice person...

Second, the reduction of religion to moralism found an unwitting ally in those committees that sought to “reform” religious worship — to simplify the language, to return to some imagined primitive idea of how-it-used-to-be, to stress the communal nature of church or synagogue. All good ideas, perhaps. But in our drive to make modern worship demotic, we forgot several things.

The human response to the numinous can never be the work of a committee. Poetry can never be pre-programmed. Like making love, rites and rituals demand time, attention and humility. Moreover, even if we could dismantle or alter a mystery, we risk sawing off the very limb on which we’re sitting...

[...]

And so we return to Fr. Bladovin’s caveat. True enough, restoration of the Latin Mass is not going to revitalize the Catholic Church in America.
But those who dismiss the renewed fascination with the Latin Mass simply as a matter of nostalgia or of curiosity would do well to consider. Whatever the motives of these seekers, their actions remind us that there just might be more things in heaven and earth than were ever dreamt of by a liturgical committee.

Read the complete article here.

Saint Thomas Aquinas

Today is the feast of one of my favorite saints, St. Thomas Aquinas. Thomas, the eighth of nine children, was born 1225 into a noble family.

The youngest son of a noble family was traditionally given to the Church, so Thomas was brought to the Benedictine Abbey of Monte Cassino, most likely with the hope that he would eventually become the Abbot there. However, war broke out in 1240 and the Abbey was closed. Thomas went to study and the University of Naples. In Naples, Thomas Aquinas encountered two things which changed the course of his life and Catholicism: the writings of Aristotle, and the Dominicans.
The Order of Preachers had opened a friary in Naples in 1231. Although there were only two friars living there at the time Thomas was there, one had a profound influence on Thomas. John of San Guiliano, introduced Domincan prayer, study and preaching to Thomas.

Although Thomas felt called to the Dominicans, his family had other plans. They thought it a mendicant's life was beneath him and desired for him to enter the Benedictines and eventually become the Abbot of Monte Cassino. After discovering that he had joined the Dominicans, his father kidnapped Thomas and locked him up, hoping the would change his mind. While under house arrest, Thomas studied the Sentences of Peter Lombard (another driving force in Thomas' writings) and helped his sister discern a vocation to the Benedictines. As a sort of final test, his brothers brought a prostitute to Thomas. Thomas did not succumb to temptation, but kept her at bay by brandishing a flaming stick and burning a cross on the wall.

Finally, his family realized that there was nothing they could do to prevent Thomas from following his vocation.

In this case, Thomas family desired for Thomas to choose his vocation based on what would bring honor, wealth, and prestige rather than what would give honor, praise, and glory to God. Yes, to be the Abbot of Monte Cassino could be the fulfilment of one's true vocation, but not if one's sights were on the externals. How often do we decide what God must want from us or others rather than letting Him tell us Himself? Many times, what God asks of us is not what we want or what we think should be, but He has His reasons. In addition, as the story of St. Thomas Aquinas shows, God has ways of making the events which prevent His plans from becoming realized way of furthering and deepening his will.

In the end, few remember the name of the Benedictine who became the Abbot of Monte Cassino, but St. Thomas Aquinas has become a driving force is Catholic theology. All this from a man who summed up his immense contributions to the faith and study of theology as "straw".

When one reads the Summa Theologiae or sings one of the five beautiful hymns which Thomas wrote, the thought enters the mind, "How can he have thought this was straw? This is extraordinary!" Yes, it is and I am sure that Thomas knew what an immense contribution he made, but he had seen something better. He had seen a glimpse of the things yet to come. What a comfort! How spectacular must the presence of God be, if it makes the works of St. Thomas seem like straw.

Below is one of the hymns which St. Thomas wrote, Adoro Te Devote. I have posted the Latin first and the English translation below. Yes, if the prayer in verse seven is granted even partially everything in the world will seem like straw.

Adoro te devote, latens Deitas,
Quae sub his figuris vere latitas;
Tibi se cor meum totum subiicit,
Quia te contemplans, totum deficit.

Visus, tactus, gustus in te fallitur,
Sed auditu solo tuto creditur;
Credo quidquid dixit Dei Filius,
Nil hoc verbo veritatis verius.

In Cruce latebat sola Deitas.
At hic latet simul et humanitas:
Ambo tamen credens, atgue confitens,
Peto quod petivit latro paenitens.

Plagas, sicut Thomas, non intueor,
Deum tamen meum te confiteor:
Fac me tibi semper magis credere,
In te spem habere, te diligere.

O memoriale mortis Domini,
Panis vivus vitam praestans homini:
Praesta meae menti de te vivere,
Et te illi semper dulce sapere.

Pie pellicane Iesu Domine,
Me immundum munda tuo Sanguine:
Cuius una stilla salvum facere
Totum mundum quit ab omni scelere.

Iesu, quem velatum nunc aspicio,
Oro, fiat illud, quod tam sitio,
Ut te revelata cernens facie,
Visu sim beatus tuae gloriae. Amen.

and the translation by E. Caswall

O Godhead hid, devoutly I adore Thee,
Who truly art within the forms before me;
To Thee my heart I bow with bended knee,
As failing quite in contemplating Thee.

Sight, touch, and taste in Thee are each deceived;
The ear alone most safely is believed:
I believe all the Son of God has spoken,
Than Truth's own word there is no truer token.

God only on the Cross lay hid from view;
But here lies hid at once the Manhood too:
And I, in both professing my belief,
Make the same prayer as the repentant thief.

Thy wounds, as Thomas saw, I do not see;
Yet Thee confess my Lord and God to be:
Make me believe Thee ever more and more;
In Thee my hope, in Thee my love to store.

O thou Memorial of our Lord's own dying!
O Bread that living art and vivifying!
Make ever Thou my soul on Thee to live;
Ever a taste of Heavenly sweetness give.

O loving Pelican! O Jesu, Lord!
Unclean I am, but cleanse me in Thy Blood;
Of which a single drop, for sinners spilt,
Is ransom for a world's entire guilt.

Jesu! Whom for the present veil'd I see,
What I so thirst for, O vouchsafe to me:
That I may see Thy countenance unfolding,
And may be blest Thy glory in beholding. Amen.

Portuguese Kale Soup

I don't post recipes here, and I seldom give my recipes out, but when a blogger like Amy Welborn asks, well, I am more than happy to oblige.

So, here is is my recipe for Portuguese Kale Soup. One thing to keep in mind is that this recipe has been handed down through many generations of large families. If you follow this recipe perfectly, you will get a lot of soup. Enough to feed a family of 10.

Ingredients:
18 cups of water
1 1/2 lbs or more of beef shank center cut meat (with bone)
2 cans of red kidney beans
1 small cabbage
1 large bunch of kale or collard greens (I use collards)
5 large potatoes
1 lb chourico or linguica sausage (2 links of chourico or 1 link of linguica)
3 tsp black pepper
1 tbs salt
1 tsp salt

Directions:
Place water in 8 qt pan
add beef shank
heat to boiling and let simmer for 1 1/2 hours

Peel potatoes and cut into small cubes
chop cabbage and kale into pieces small enough to eat

add kidney beans, salt, kale, cabbage, potatoes, chourico, salt and pepper to the water and beef shank.

Let boil for 1/2 an hour. Longer if potatoes are still hard.

If you want to make traditional Holy Ghost Soup add pieces of portuguese bread (Italian bread also works well for this) to the soup and flavor the soup with a sprig of mint. Don't leave the sprig in the soup because the flavor will become strong quickly.

Note: Portuguese Holy Ghost soup is traditionally served in parish halls following the final (Mordomia) Holy Ghost crowning which I will write about at another time.

Another note: I realize that most of you live in areas where Chourico and Linguica are not easily available. I don't know how you survive, but you don't have do be deprived any longer.

You can purchase this wonderful sausage here:



I know that 5 lbs might seem like a lot, but there are so many uses. Chourico can be boiled with potatoes for a delicious sausage meal, it can also be ground and fried with onions and green peppers for a wonderful sandwich filling. I also bake chourico and cook chourico with my roast beef. Chourico is also my favorite pizza topping. In essence, there are very few recipes that can't be made tasier with a little chourico.

Portuguese Medical Association Supports Life

Sometimes things happen which make me proud of my heritage. This is one of them.

From LifeSiteNews.com

The Portuguese Medical Association, defying threats by the socialist government's health minister to begin criminal proceedings against it, has re-elected its president, Pedro Nunes, who has defied the government's order to change the Association's ethical code to allow abortion.

In his victory speech, Nunes promised to maintain the independence of the Medical Association from the government, signaling his resolve to preserve the association's ethical code.

The Association does not "have to do the work of the government nor the work of the opposition," said Nunes, and added that his organization should not fear to criticize what it believes to be worthy of criticism. "Doctors are on the side of the Portuguese," he said.

The Portuguese code of ethics states that "doctors must maintain respect for human life from its beginning", and "the practice of abortion or euthanasia constitutes a grave ethical failure".

Following the government's decision to decriminalize all first-trimester abortions in 2007, socialist health minister Antonio Correia de Campos ordered the Medical Association to eliminate the prohibition against abortion from its ethical code in October. He was supported by the Portuguese Attorney General, who had issued a legal opinion condemning the passages.

However, Nunes refused, insisting that it was an internal matter, and that the government had no authority to intervene in the affairs of the Association. Although Correia claimed he was filing a criminal complaint in November, no action has yet been taken against the group.

The group's presidential election was seen as a referendum on the abortion issue, because Nunes was the only candidate who promised from the beginning to maintain the ethical code. His main rival, Miguel Leão, wanted to change to code to comply with the government's demands.

The issue of the ethical code made the recent elections the most intense and bitter in memory. Although Nunes' pro-abortion rival garnered the most votes in the first round, the January 17th runoff between Leão and Nunes resulted in Leão's resounding defeat, 56 to 44 percent.

Nunes' current term will last until 2010.

A Mother, A Father, and an Unborn Baby

As I am sure you all know, today is the 35th anniversary of the tragedy called Roe vs. Wade. I will commemorate the anniversary here by telling my story.

4 years ago, on January 13th I got wonderful news. After many years of infertility, my husband and I were going to have a baby. Our joy was indescribable, but like the road to conception, the path of this pregnancy would take us through trials I never imagined.

My first ultrasound was scheduled for February 3rd. I had no idea what to expect, but I didn't think I would see much on the little screen. I was wrong! Only 4 week and 4 days after conception, the ultrasound tech pointed out all the parts of this tiny human, arms, legs, face, heart. I watched arms and legs move and saw a tiny heart beating and pumping blood though this beautiful human being. My husband and I were in awe and when we got into the car he began to cry. I asked him why and his response was, "It's a baby. How can anyone have an abortion and kill a little baby like that". We sat in the car together and wept for all the children like the one growing within me that the world has lost. It didn't take much to see that it was a baby.

A little over two weeks later, at 7 weeks after conception I had another ultrasound. This machine wasn't as good as the other machine, so the images weren't as clear, but it was still clear to my husband and I. This was a human! Still, I had no idea the twists and turns which were in store for me.

I refused most of the prenatal tests which I was pressured to allow because I didn't want to be placed in a position where I was tempted to make a decision that I didn't want to make. That may sound dumb, but I knew that if there was something wrong, I would be pressured by family, friends and society in general to abort. To me not having to make the decision meant I couldn't make the wrong choice. Despite my best efforts, God had other plans.

17 weeks after conception, I had another ultrasound. This time there was no doubt. I watched him smile, purse his lips, and even scratch his head. This was when I discovered that this beautiful child was a boy. We named him immediately. A few days later we got devastating news: I needed to get a special ultrasound because there was a kidney deformity. I scheduled an appointment with the perinatologist and had another ultrasound. Once again I saw JP's beautiful features on the screen. Then we met with the doctor. He explained what was wrong and that it could correct itself or could be surgically repaired after birth, or even in utero if necessary. Then she began to tell us that this was a marker for Down Syndrome. She presented all sorts of statistics, then handed my pamphlets on abortion. "I'm going to step out while you decide what you want to do", she said. My husband and I just looked at each other, we both knew this baby was going to be born.

When the doctor returned we told her that we were not aborting. She said, "We can do it right now. You don't even have to come back. Let me explain to procedure to you and I'll give you a few more minutes." I said, "No, I am not getting an abortion". Then she said, Well, take the papers home, look them over, and call me back. Take your time, you don't have to decide today". My husband stood up, threw the pamphlets on the desk and said, "What part of this don't you get? No abortion! We already told you no. Don't ask us again. We aren't killing our baby!"

The doctor didn't get it because she repeated, "I understand that is how you feel now, but you can always change your mind." He said, "Don't worry we won't and we won't be back" and we stormed out of the office. The doctor and the staff seemed puzzled. I wondered how many people they had pressured into abortions they didn't want to have.

The craziest part of the story is that there was only a 5% chance of Down Syndrome. 5% chance! That means there was a 95% chance of everything being just fine.

JP was born 18 weeks later, and he was very sick. However, it didn't have anything to do with either Down Syndrome or his kidneys. It turned out that he had neither problem. JP was very sick because an overdose of Pitocin which was given to speed labor. JP was born without a heartbeat. The doctors worked frantically to resuscitate him. Ironic that they used the word resuscitation because that implies admission that he had been alive prior to birth. There was no ontological change which occurred during the birth process except the change from alive to dead and alive again. It was a traumatic week as I watched this little boy suffer attached to machines which kept him alive, countless tests, and simply being separated from him.

He survived everything without any damage. He is a beautiful, perfect, intelligent three year old who is sitting next to me right now trying to add to this post. I could have missed out on playing with trucks, sloppy kisses, tight hugs, and muddy shoes if I had listened to that doctor who was completely wrong both morally and medically.

Archdiocese Gets Chancery for $100

Wow, this blew me away. It's great news for the Archdiocese of Boston.

From the Boston Globe:

Thomas J. Flatley, the self-made billionaire who has been unloading a portion of his real estate empire, has sold to the Archdiocese of Boston for less than $100 a property with an assessed value of $14 million that will become the church's new administrative headquarters.

The archdiocese is now renovating the 140,000-square-foot office building, which sits alongside Interstate 93, and is planning to move 250 to 300 employees from Brighton and several other sites into the Braintree office park sometime this summer.

The archdiocese announced last May that it was planning to move into the Braintree building, at 66 Brooks Drive, but declined to reveal the details. The Globe pieced together a picture of the transaction from filings with the Norfolk County Registry of Deeds, the secretary of state's office, and the Braintree assessor's office.

According to the documents, a company controlled by Flatley sold the property in November for less than $100 to a company established that same day by the archdiocesan chancellor, James P. McDonough. Two days later, the McDonough-controlled company sold the property, again for less than $100, to the archdiocese.

Neither the archdiocese nor Flatley would respond to questions about the transaction, nor would they say whether there were any other elements to the deal. But, in response to an inquiry by the Globe, the archdiocese issued a statement from Cardinal Sean P. O'Malley saying that Flatley "has long exemplified a strong commitment to supporting the good works of the archdiocese."

"We are blessed for all he has done to help build up our local church," O'Malley said. "He made it possible for us to select the new location for our pastoral center and we are grateful to him as we make plans to move in the months ahead."

Flatley, whose net worth is estimated at $1.3 billion by Forbes magazine, has been a significant donor to the archdiocese for years. His foundation, which has reported more than $200 million in assets, gave $913,000 to the archdiocese in 2006, and has given millions to Catholic organizations over the years.

The archdiocese declined to say how much it will spend renovating the Braintree building, but said "the cost to complete the renovations and upgrades are reasonable, given the size of the building."

The archdiocese said it will disclose the costs in its annual financial report in 2009, and that the money will come from the proceeds of the sale of the archdiocese's Brighton property to Boston College.

(...)

O'Malley will have a suite of offices on the top floor of the new building, with a sweeping view of the Blue Hill Cemetery, but will also maintain an office at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston's South End. The Cathedral is considered the spiritual seat of the archdiocese, and O'Malley lives and sometimes works at its rectory.

The archdiocese is hoping to retire the word "chancery," often used to describe the church headquarters, and begin calling it the "pastoral center."

"In calling the new location the pastoral center, we are demonstrating in a real and tangible manner our commitment to the people of God, here in the archdiocese, as we continue in our work to heal and rebuild our local church," the archdiocese's vicar general, the Rev. Richard M. Erikson, said in a statement. (...)

Read the complete article here.

It didn't make sense to me to sell the chancery building and pay rent for a building, but this changes everything. I don't know Mr. Flatley's intentions in doing this, but I am grateful for his generosity.

Ad Orientum Baptisms?

I am quite ambivalent on the issue of whether the priest should celebrate Mass facing the people or facing with the people. I think there are good arguments for and against both, and I have done very little study on either liturgical posture but there is one document which keeps reverberating in my mind whenever this debate surfaces.

It is a passage from the Mystagogical Catechesis of St. Cyril of Jerusalem which dates back to approximately 347 A.D. In the catechesis on the Rites Before Baptism, Cyril writes:

However, thou art bidden with arm outstretched to say to him as though actually present "I renounce thee, Satan". I wish to say, wherefore ye stand facing to the west; for it is necessary. Since the west is the region of sensible darkness and he being darkness, has his dominion also in darkness, ye therefore, looking with a symbolical meaning towards the west, renounce that dark and gloomy potentate.

Cyril then continues by describing the meaning of the each line of the renunciation of sins. Afterwards, he writes:

When therefore thou renouncest Satan, utterly breaking all covenant with him, that ancient league with hell, there is opened to thee the paradise of God, which He planted toward the east, whence for his transgression our first father was exiled; and symbolical of this was our turning from the west to the east, the place to light. Then thou wert told to say, "I believe in the Father, and in the Son, and in the Holy Ghost, and in one Baptism of repentance."

Imagine my shock when I first read this. Cyril of Jerusalem's Mystagogical Catechesis rocked my Liturgical understanding. I still don't know if I think Mass should be celebrated ad orientum, but I will tell you that I think baptisms should.

I recommend the Mystagogical Catechesis, especially the one on baptism, of which I am most familiar. I haven't read the one on the Eucharist yet, but I am sure it is just as good. In fact, I wrote a term paper based on the Mystagogical Catechesis which compared the use of Chrism as he describes and to how it is used in the modern rite and ended up concluding the we don't use nearly enough Chrism. That wasn't the paper I set out to write, but the evidence was irrefutable.

Ad Orientum Unites

One of the best descriptions of Ad Orientum that I have heard came from an unlikely source: a moderate priest. I wouldn't classify him as a liberal, but he certainly isn't a conservative. Here is what he wrote on a message board. Emphasis mine.

Respectfully, it seems that the proponents of both sides of this discussion have missed an important point. The priest standing at the altar in the position prescribed by the 1962 Roman Missal is not "turning his back of the people", but "standing with the people in prayer". When he says, "Te igitur, clementissime Pater ... rogamus, ac petimus, uti accepta habeas et benedicas haec + dona, haec + munera, haec + sancta sacrificia" illibata ... " [We therefore humbly pray and beseech you, most merciful Father ... to accept and bless these + gifts, these + presents, this holy and unblemished Victim ..." he is not speaking in some form of the royal We", but uniting himself with the members of the congregation in the normal grammatical first person plural: We, not Me!

On the other hand, the priest who stands behind the altar facing the congreation, is, by his stance, separating himself from the people for whom he is celebrating the Eucharist, not uniting himself with them.

Interesting thought! The priest who faces the congregation from behind the altar is separating himself from the congregation while the priest who faces the same direction as the congregation is uniting himself with them. Now, I know he wasn't the first person to make this distinction, but I thought he was the perfect source to highlight since he isn't the typical person to make a comment like this.

For more from Fr. John, check out his blog: Bear Witness to the Light.

Meaning of Catholic Education

This morning in the Vatican, the Pope received participants in the plenary assembly of the Congregation for Catholic Education, to whom he said: "It is highly appropriate that, in our own day, we should reflect on how to render this apostolic task of the ecclesial community incisive and effective", a task "entrusted to Catholic universities and, in particular, to ecclesiastical faculties".

The Holy Father then referred to reforms in the ecclesiastical study of philosophy, reforms that "will not fail to highlight the metaphysical and sapiential dimensions of philosophy". He also mentioned the possibility of "examining the suitability of reforming the 1979 Apostolic Constitution 'Sapientia christina', ... the 'magna charta' of ecclesiastical faculties which serves as the basis upon which to formulate criteria to assess the quality of those institutions, an assessment required by the Bologna Process of which the Holy See has been a member since 2003.

"The ecclesiastical disciplines", he added, "especially theology, are today subjected to new interrogations in a world tempted, on the one hand, by a rationalism which follows a false idea of freedom unfettered by any religious references and, on the other, by various forms of fundamentalism which, with their incitement to violence and fanaticism, falsify the true essence of religion ".

Faced with the educational crisis, Benedict XVI proceeded, "schools must ask themselves about the mission they are called to undertake in the modern social environment". Catholic schools, "though open to everyone and respecting the identity of each, cannot but present their own educational, human and Christian perspective". In this context, he said, they face a new challenge, that of "the coming together of religions and cultures in the joint search for truth". This means, on the one hand, "not excluding anyone in the name of their cultural or religious background", and on the other "not stopping at the mere recognition" of this cultural or religious difference.

The Pope went on to refer to another theme being examined by the plenary assembly, that of reforming the document "Ratio fundamentalis institutionis sacerdotalis" for seminaries, issued in 1970 and updated in 1985. Any reform, said the Pope, "will have to highlight the importance of the proper correlation between the various dimensions of priestly formation in the perspective of Church-communion, following the indications of Vatican Council II. ... The formation of future priests must, furthermore, offer them guidance and help to enter into dialogue with contemporary culture.

"Human and cultural formation must, then, be significantly reinforced and sustained also with the help of modern sciences, because certain destabilising social factors that exist in the world today (such as the situation of separated families, the educational crisis, widespread violence, etc.), render new generations fragile".

The Pope concluded his talk by highlighting the need for "adequate formation in spiritual life so as to make Christian communities, particularly in parishes, ever more aware of their vocation, and capable of providing adequate responses to questions of spirituality, especially as posed by the young. For this to happen, the Church must not lack qualified and responsible apostles and evangelisers".

VIS

Msgr. Champlin Goes Through Death to Life

From the Diocese of Syracuse:

Msgr. Joseph Champlin, one of the most beloved priests in the history of the Diocese of Syracuse, died on Thursday, January 17, 2008. He was 77 years of age. Msgr. Champlin had been battling a rare form of cancer called Waldenstrom’s Disease.

Father Joseph Champlin was born on May 11, 1930 and educated in the public schools of New York State before graduating from Phillips Academy at Andover, Massachusetts in 1947. After studying at Yale and Notre Dame, he began and continued his journey to the priesthood at seminaries in Rochester, New York. He was ordained February 2, 1956, for the diocese of Syracuse and during 50 years of priestly ministry, Father Champlin has served as pastor in three parishes within his diocese, including rector of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception from 1995-2005. Currently, semi-retired, he was the sacramental priest at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church in Warners, New York.

From 1968-1971 he served as Associate Director in the Liturgy Secretariat for the National Conference of Catholic Bishops. Father Champlin edited for the American Bishops Faithful to Each Other Forever: “A Catholic Handbook of Pastoral Help for Marriage Preparation.”

Father Champlin has traveled more than two million miles here and abroad during these years lecturing on liturgical and pastoral matters as well as conducting retreats for priests and missions for parishes.

Father Champlin is most remembered for his prolific writings and his frequent lectures. He has written 50 books with over twenty million copies of his publications in print. For many years, he authored a weekly column on the liturgy and worship distributed by the NC News Service and has also appeared in about a dozen videos and made numerous television appearances. His most popular volume is Together for Life in both English and Spanish, now with over nine million copies in circulation (Ave Maria Press/Liguori).

Father Champlin has lectured widely on stewardship and sacrificial giving with a manual, Grateful Caretakers of God’s Many Gifts, including attractive companion fliers “Grateful Giving” and “Taking a Step” (Liturgical Press). In addition, Liturgical Press published a booklet by Father Champlin called: A Way of Life, “Four small group faith sharing sessions on Stewardship, Sacrificial Giving, or Grateful Caretaking.”

In November, 2003, Ave Maria Press released Slow Down: “Five Minute Reflections to De-Stress Your Days” – a compilation of 101 radio spots broadcast locally. In 2004, Alba House published From Time to Eternity and Back, a personalized account of his struggle with Waldenstrom’s Disease, a rare form of bone marrow cancer.

Two books, The Breaking of the Bread: “An Updated Handbook for Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion” and The Eucharist: A Mystery of Faith, were released by Paulist Press in the fall of 2004.

He completed a thorough update of What It Means to be Catholic (St. Anthony Messenger Press). In addition, a sequel to Slow Down entitled Take Five, Preparing for Eternity: “A Catholic Handbook for End of Life Concerns” and a Beginners Guide for Reading the Bible (Ave Maria Press). Catholic Book Publishing issued in 2006, A Catholic Perspective on the Purpose Driven Life. Three of his works have been published by Liguori in Spanish: El Via Crucis Con el Papa Juan Pablo II (Stations of the Cross with Pope John Paul II), De la muerte a la vida (From Death to Life) and Juntos Para Toda La Vida (Together For Life with Rite of Marriage cards as well). The last book has consistently been at the top of best selling Catholic Spanish books list. Scheduled for 2008 is “A Process for Parish Evangelization” a practical and detailed process with accompanying materials (St. Anthony Messenger Press).

Ten years ago, Father Champlin founded the Guardian Angel Society, a non-profit effort to assist children in the Central New York area from diverse below poverty level homes with their education. During that decade the Society has raised $2 million, distributed $1.5 million and aided over 150 youngsters to have a better chance at life. Seven of those graduates are now studying at prestigious colleges including Clarkson, Georgetown, Notre Dame and Syracuse University.

He also appears frequently on Sirius Satellite Radio at 6:40 a.m. on Tuesday mornings.

Funeral arrangements are as follows:
Calling hours: Tuesday, January 22, 3:00-7:00pm
Vigil Service: Tuesday January 22, 7:00pm
Funeral Mass: Wednesday, January 23, 10:30am
All are in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception

Please note: Father Champlin's remains will not be present for the Calling Hours or Funeral. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that it is a "noble and meritorious act" (#2296) for persons to donate their entire bodies to science or to a medical school for use by students studying to become physicians. Msgr. Champlin made that choice and donated his body to Upstate Medical Center. However, this process requires the body to be transferred immediately after death to the medical institution. Consequently, having his body and an open casket, present for the funeral service, traditional for priests, clearly was not possible.

For more information, contact Danielle E. Cummings, Assistant Chancellor/Director of Communications at 315.470.1476.

What's Intent Got to Do With It?

I was reading an article about Archbishop Burke of St. Louis and his order that Catholic schools in the Archdiocese remove the His Dark Materials (The Golden Compass) series from the schools.

That is not what this post is about. At the end of the article, there is a quote which proved how confused the commenter is about faith and morality:

The Reverend Bruce McCoy, of Canaan Baptist Church in Oakville, said the controversy really just comes down to what the writer's intent was.

While I have no doubt that Philip Pullman intended to use the trilogy to subvert the faith of young children, in all honesty, intent has very little to do with it. One is not permitted to commit evil even if he has a good intention.

Image this: A drunk driver kills a family, but the judge lets him off because he didn't intend to kill anyone. When's the last time this happened and if it did would it be right?

Here is another one: A company uses cheap foreign labor to manufacture children's products resulting in the death of several infants. They didn't intend to kill or hurt anyone.

Ready to let them off the hook? I didn't think so.

I don't care what Mr. Pullman's intent was. The only thing that really matters is the outcome. His books have the potential to harm the faith of young children whose "GPS system" is just being set. I want my children's "GPS" to be set to heaven. Where Pullman intends to set it isn't the issue, the issue is where he sets it to.

Rev. McCoy sounds like a typical relativistic Christian. There is no good or evil, it all depends on intentions and circumstance. Well, I am here to tell him and everyone else who will listen that that point of view is BULL!

Jesus Christ said in Matthew 18:6:

‘If any of you put a stumbling-block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea.

That is more than enough for me.

St. Augustine - Part 2

Continuing the catechesis he began last week on the subject of St. Augustine, in today's general audience, held in the Paul VI Hall, the Pope considered the final years in the life of that Doctor of the Church.

The Holy Father highlighted how, four years before his death, St. Augustine had appointed a successor, Heraclius, as bishop of Hippo, because he "wished to dedicate the years that remained to him to a more profound study of Holy Scripture".

"What followed were four years of extraordinary intellectual activity" during which time the saint also "intervened to promote peace in the African provinces which were being assailed by barbarian tribes from the south", said the Pope. He then quoted St. Augustine's own words - "it is a higher glory to stay war itself with a word, than to slay men with the sword, and to procure or maintain peace by peace, not by war" - and highlighted how the siege of Hippo by the Vandals in 429 brought great suffering to the saint.

"Though he was old and tired, Augustine remained at the breach, comforting himself and others with prayer and meditation on the mysterious designs of Providence. ... If, indeed, the world grows old, Christ is ever young, and so I invite you: 'Do not refuse to be rejuvenated with Christ, Who tells you not to fear as 'your youth will be renewed like that of the eagle'," said Pope Benedict quoting from the sermons of Augustine. "Hence Christians must not be dejected but make every effort to help those in need", he added.

After recalling how "Augustine's house-monastery used to open its doors to welcome his colleagues in the episcopate who came asking for hospitality", the Holy Father noted that the Doctor of the Church, finally free of commitments, took advantage of his time "to dedicate himself with greater intensity to prayer. He used to say that no-one, bishop, religious or lay person, however irreproachable their behaviour, could face death without adequate penance, and it was for this reason that he continually and tearfully repeated the penitential psalms which he had so often recited with his people".

The bishop of Hippo died on 28 August 430, said the Pope, "at some uncertain date his body was transferred to Sardinia and thence, around 725, to the basilica of San Pietro in Ciel d'Oro in Pavia, where it rests today".

"We discover him 'living' in his writings", said Pope Benedict. "When I read the works of St. Augustine, I do not get the impression that here is a man who died more or less 1600 years ago, rather that he is man of today, a friend, a contemporary who speaks to me, to us, with his fresh and topical faith".

In the saint's works, "we see the permanent relevance of his faith, of the faith that comes from Christ, the eternal Word incarnate, Son of God and Son of man. And we see", the Holy Father concluded, "that this is not yesterday's faith, even though it was preached yesterday, it is today's because Christ really is - yesterday, today and forever - the Way, the Truth and the Life. Thus St. Augustine encourages us to entrust ourselves to this ever-living Christ and so find the path of life".
VIS

The Apostles - A Book Review

I finally finished "The Apostles". It's an awesome book that I recommend for everyone to read. It is written in a way that is very easy to read, yet it is filled with great insight and interesting details. While it is not groundbreaking and does not introduce anything new, unlike so many modern works, it introduces traditional teaching about the apostles and the early church in a simple way without being watered down.

Here is a quote which deserves to be repeated over and over again.

The saints have not 'fallen from Heaven'. They are people like us, who also have complicated problems.
Holiness does not consist of never having erred or sinned. Holiness increases the capacity for conversion, for repentance, for willingness to start again, and, especially for reconciliation and forgiveness.

An even greater passage appears in the ninth chapter "Peter the Apostle". Pope Benedict explains the subtle message behind John 21:15. That blew me away as I read the page over and over. I'll make you read the book for that one, though. Let me just say that much is lost in the translation we hear at Mass and I now feel cheated because of it. I hope that someday I will hear a homily based on the real text.

St. Augustine the Tireless

Benedict XVI dedicated his catechesis during today's general audience, held in the Vatican's Paul VI Hall, to St. Augustine, bishop of Hippo, "a man of passion and of faith, of exalted intelligence and of tireless pastoral activity", he said.

The Pope made it clear that he intended to dedicate this catechesis to St. Augustine's biography, leaving the saint's numerous works to be considered in coming weeks. It could be affirmed, said the Holy Father, that "all the threads of Latin Christian literature lead to Hippo" and that "many of the subsequent developments in Christianity, and in Western culture itself, lead out from this city of Roman Africa where St. Augustine was bishop from 395 to 430".

The author of the "Confessions", that "extraordinary spiritual autobiography ... with its great concern for the mystery of the self, for the mystery of God hidden in the self", was born in Tagaste in the year 354, the son of Patricius and of St. Monica. His mother educated him in the Christian faith, which the saint would later abandon despite his persistent interest in the figure of Christ.

Augustine studied rhetoric and grammar, a subject he went on to teach. While in Carthage, he read Cicero's "Hortensius" because although he had abandoned the practices of the Church he still always sought the truth. The book "awoke in him the love of wisdom", but "being convinced that without Jesus it is not possible to discover the truth", and as "Hortensius" contained no mention of Christ, he began to read Sacred Scripture.

However his encounter with the Bible left him disappointed, not only because of the poor Latin style of the translations, but also because "the content matter itself did not satisfy him. In the biblical accounts of wars and other human vicissitudes, he did not find that exalted philosophy," or "that splendour of the search for truth which characterises it", said the Pope.

Yet Augustine did not want to live without God and continued to seek "a religion that responded to his desire to find truth ... and to draw close to Jesus". For this reason he was attracted by Manichaeism, the followers of which claimed that theirs was a "completely rational religion". Their dualist morality attracted the future bishop of Hippo who was convinced he had found the right fusion between "rationality, search for truth, and love for Jesus Christ"; yet Manichaeism proved incapable of resolving the saint's doubts.

When Augustine moved to Milan he began to frequent the sermons of Ambrose, as a way of improving his own rhetoric. The bishop of Milan taught "a typological interpretation of the Old Testament, as the road that leads to Jesus Christ". Thus it was that Augustine "discovered the key to understanding the beauty, and even the philosophical profundity, of the Old Testament, and he came to understand all the unity of the mystery of Christ in history, and the synthesis between philosophy, rationality and faith in the Logos, in Christ the eternal Word made flesh".

Augustine converted to Christianity on 15 August 386, "the end of a long and painful interior journey", and was baptised on 24 April 387. Ordained a priest in 391 following his return to Africa, he became a bishop four years later. "In his tireless pastoral commitment", said the Pope, "he was an exemplary bishop, ... he supported the poor, ... concerned himself with the formation of the clergy and the organisation of monasteries and convents", and in a very short space of time became "one of the most important exponents of Christianity of that time".

"The bishop of Hippo", the Holy Father went on, "exercised a huge influence in his guidance of the Catholic Church in Roman Africa" and stood up against "tenacious and disruptive religious movements and heresies such as Manichaeism, Donatism and Pelagianism".

Pope Benedict recalled how "Augustine entrusted himself to God every day, until the end of his life", and how shortly before his death "he asked for the penitential psalms to be written in large letters and hung on the wall so he could see and read them from his bed". The bishop died on 28 August 430.

VIS

A Note of Thanks

As many of you have noticed, I have added several links to Amazon.com on my sidebar. When you enter Amazon through the links on my blog and place an order, you will be helping me out. Through the Amazon Affilates program, I will recieve a small portion of the purchase price of the items you buy.

Please keep that in mind and buy lots of stuff. ;-)

Welcoming 2008 and Giving Thanks for 2007

Traditionally the Te Deum Laudamus is sung in thanksgiving on the last day of the year. A plenary induldgence (under the normal conditions) is granted to anyone who recites or sings this prayer publicly today.

Te Deum laudamus: te Dominum confitemur.
Te aeternum Patrem omnis terra veneratur.
Tibi omnes Angeli; tibi Caeli et universae Potestates;
Tibi Cherubim et Seraphim incessabili voce proclamant:
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth.
Pleni sunt caeli et terra maiestatis gloriae tuae.
Te gloriosus Apostolorum chorus,
Te Prophetarum laudabilis numerus,
Te Martyrum candidatus laudat exercitus.
Te per orbem terrarum sancta confitetur Ecclesia,
Patrem immensae maiestatis:
Venerandum tuum verum et unicum Filium;
Sanctum quoque Paraclitum Spiritum.
Tu Rex gloriae, Christe.
Tu Patris sempiternus es Filius.
Tu ad liberandum suscepturus hominem, non horruisti Virginis uterum.
Tu, devicto mortis aculeo, aperuisti credentibus regna caelorum.
Tu ad dexteram Dei sedes, in gloria Patris.
Iudex crederis esse venturus.
Te ergo quaesumus, tuis famulis subveni: quos pretioso sanguine redemisti.
Aeterna fac cum sanctis tuis in gloria numerari.
V. Salvum fac populum tuum, Domine, et benedic hereditati tuae.
R. Et rege eos, et extolle illos usque in aeternum.
V. Per singulos dies benedicimus te.
R. Et laudamus nomen tuum in saeculum, et in saeculum saeculi.
V. Dignare, Domine, die isto sine peccato nos custodire.
R. Miserere nostri, Domine, miserere nostri.
V. Fiat misericordia tua, Domine, super nos, quemadmodum speravimus in te.
R. In te, Domine, speravi: non confundar in aeternum.


O GOD, we praise Thee: we acknowledge Thee to be the Lord.
Everlasting Father, all the earth doth worship Thee.
To Thee all the Angels, the Heavens and all the Powers,
all the Cherubim and Seraphim, unceasingly proclaim:
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts!
Heaven and earth are full of the Majesty of Thy glory.
The glorious choir of the Apostles,
the wonderful company of Prophets,
the white-robed army of Martyrs, praise Thee.
Holy Church throughout the world doth acknowledge Thee:
the Father of infinite Majesty;
Thy adorable, true and only Son;
and the Holy Spirit, the Comforter.
O Christ, Thou art the King of glory!
Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father.
Thou, having taken it upon Thyself to deliver man, didst not disdain the Virgin's womb.
Thou overcame the sting of death and hast opened to believers the Kingdom of Heaven.
Thou sitest at the right hand of God, in the glory of the Father.
We believe that Thou shalt come to be our Judge.
We beseech Thee, therefore, to help Thy servants whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy Precious Blood.
Make them to be numbered with Thy Saints in everlasting glory.
V. Save Thy people, O Lord, and bless Thine inheritance!
R. Govern them, and raise them up forever.
V. Every day we thank Thee.
R. And we praise Thy Name forever, yea, forever and ever.
V. O Lord, deign to keep us from sin this day.
R. Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us.
V. Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, for we have hoped in Thee.
R. O Lord, in Thee I have hoped; let me never be put to shame.

Happy New Year! May you all have a blessed and joyful 2008!

To my readers!

Merry Christmas!

When the angels went away from them to heaven,
the shepherds said to one another,
"Let us go, then, to Bethlehem
to see this thing that has taken place,
which the Lord has made known to us."
So they went in haste and found Mary and Joseph,
and the infant lying in the manger.
When they saw this,
they made known the message
that had been told them about this child.
All who heard it were amazed
by what had been told them by the shepherds.
And Mary kept all these things,
reflecting on them in her heart.
Then the shepherds returned,
glorifying and praising God
for all they had heard and seen,
just as it had been told to them.

Luke 2:15-20

Williams, Heresy, and the Media

It seems that the Telegraph article on the Anglican Archbishop Rowan Williams is the to story on every blog I see.

Here is my take: I have read the article and the interview transcript and Archbishop Williams' comments were clearly taken out of context. I am not saying that he did not say things that are heinous and clearly against Christian belief. Strangely, enough the media is taking perfectly acceptable statements and making them outrageous and ignoring the outrageous statements.

Below I will analyze the article with the transcript.
Article - Italics
Transcript - Bold
My comments - Red

The Archbishop of Canterbury said yesterday that the Christmas story of the Three Wise Men was nothing but a 'legend'.

Dr Rowan Williams has claimed there was little evidence that the Magi even existed and there was certainly nothing to prove there were three of them or that they were kings

SM And the wise men with the gold, frankincense, and Myrrh - with one of the wise men normally being black and the other two being white, for some reason?

ABC Well Matthew's gospel doesn't tell us that there were three of them, doesn't tell us they were kings, doesn't tell us where they came from, it says they're astrologers, wise men, priests from somewhere outside the Roman Empire. That's all we're really told so, yes, 'the three kings with the one from Africa' - that's legend; it works quite well as legend.

SM But would they have been there?

ABC Not with the shepherds, they wouldn't. So if you've got shepherds on one side and three kings on the other, there's a bit of conflation going on.

As you can see he never said that the Magi didn't exist. He merely said that there is no proof that there were three or what race they were or where they were from. The fact is that the Scriptures only way they were from the east and that they brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Everything else is tradition and legend which may or may not be true.

As for the shepherds and the magi being there together, there is nothing the Scriptures to tell us that they were there together. In fact, there is much in the Scriptures which can lead us to believe that they magi came much later. In fact, there is no proof in the Scriptures that Jesus was even still in Bethlehem when the magi came. The Gospel of Matthew even says that they found Jesus and Mary in a house, not in a stable. The shepherds appear the the Gospel of Luke and do arrive at a stable.

Yes, it is possible that the events occured simultaneously, but on this count I have to agree with the Archbishop.

Also, here is the quote that was used in the article:

Dr Williams said: "Matthew's gospel says they are astrologers, wise men, priests from somewhere outside the Roman Empire, that's all we're really told. It works quite well as legend."

Again, taken out of context. He wasn't saying that the magi were legend, but that the way we imagine them is legend.

The Archbishop went on to dispel other details of the Christmas story, adding that there were probably no asses or oxen in the stable.

SM So we're panning out now'; shepherds? They're with their sheep and the oxes and asses?

ABC Pass on the oxes and asses; they don't figure very strongly in the gospels, so I can live without the ox and asses.

Well, oxen and donkeys aren't mentioned in the Scriptures. They entered the story because we assume the stable was being used to house animals. I doubt the shepherds brought them because we all know that shepherds keep sheep, not cattle.

He argued that Christmas cards which showed the Virgin Mary cradling the baby Jesus, flanked by shepherds and wise men, were misleading. As for the scenes that depicted snow falling in Bethlehem, the Archbishop said the chance of this was "very unlikely".

In a final blow to the traditional nativity story, Dr Williams concluded that Jesus was probably not born in December at all. He said: "Christmas was when it was because it fitted well with the winter festival."

SM And pulling back further - snow on the ground?

ABC Very unlikely I think; it can be pretty damn cold in Bethlehem at this time of the year, but we don't know that it was this time of year because again the Gospels don't tell us what time of year it was; Christmas is the time it is because it fitted very well with the winter festival.

Misleading or not it doesn't really make a difference. Bethlehem doesn't really get snow. No, there wouldn't have been snow on the ground. That is a European invention. As for when Jesus was actually born, we have no clue. The truth is that it doesn't really matter. If we are focused on celebrating his birth on the exact day, we are missing the point of the celebration.

Here is more of the transcripts that didn't make the article.

SM It comes round every year that we're not being Christian enough or people don't know where Bethlehem is, people have never heard of Mary and so on, so this is a sort of an almost a tradition of Christmas, isn't it really. But I wonder, if people have got a traditional religious Christmas card in front of them, I just want to go through it, Archbishop, to find out how much of it you think is true and crucial to the believing in Christmas. So start with … the baby Jesus in a manger; historically and factually true?

ABC I should think so; the Gospel tells us he was born outside the main house, probably because it was overcrowded because it was pilgrimage time or census time; whatever; yes; he's born in poor circumstances, slightly out of the ordinary.

Well, he got that part right.

SM The Virgin Mary next door to him?

ABC We know his mother's name was Mary, that's one of the things all the gospels agree about, and the two gospels that tell the story have the story of the virgin birth and that's something I'm committed to as part of what I've inherited.

SM You were a prominent part of a Spectator survey in the current issue which headlined' Do you believe in the virgin birth?' there are some people in this survey who would say they were Christian who don't have a problem if you don't believe in the Virgin birth;' how important it is it to believe in that bit?

ABC I don't want to set it as a kind of hurdle that people have to get over before they, you know, be signed up;, but I think quite a few people that as time goes on, they get a sense, a deeper sense of what the virgin birth is about. I would say that of myself. About thirty years ago I might have said I wasn't too fussed about it - now I see it much more as dovetailing with the rest of what I believe about the story and yes.

Ok, he gets off track here. The Virgin birth is one of the few things about the birth of Christ that is confirmed by Scripture. It is important because it proves the parentage of Jesus. Jesus is the Son of God, not the son of Joseph or any other man. Belief in the Virgin Birth is essential.

SM Christopher Hitchens and many others make the point that isn't the translation for young woman rather than virgin? Does it have to be seen as virgin; might it be a mistranslation?

ABC It is… well, what's happening there one of the gospels quotes a prophecy that a virgin will conceive a child. Now the original Hebrew doesn't have the word virgin, it's just a young woman, but that's the prophecy that's quoted from the Old Testament in support of the story which is, in any case, about a birth without a human father, so it's not that it rests on mistranslation; St Matthew's gone to his Greek version of the bible and said "Oh, 'virgin'; sounds like the story I know," and put it in.

No, that is not what the Scriptures say. When the angel Gabriel visits Mary she clearly states that she is a virgin.

SM So you've got the Virgin Mary, Jesus: Joseph?

ABC Joseph, yes, again, the Gospels are pretty consistent that that's his father's name;

Ok, we are back on track again.

SM Just as a side issue on the kings and the wise bit; do you have a problem with astrologers being seen as wise men; there'd be many people in your church who would think, actually, astrology is bunk and should be exposed as bunk and the idea of saying that they are wise is somewhat farcical.?

ABC Well I 'm inclined to agree that astrology is bunk but you're dealing there with a world in which people watched the stars in order to get a sort of heads up on significant matters and astrologers were quite a growth industry; people who were respected and had a kind of professional technical skill and were respected as such., the thing here if course is what's the skill about? Well it's all bringing them to Jesus; it's not about fortune telling or telling the future, it's about a skill of watching the universe which leads them inexorably towards this event, so I don't think it's a justification of astrology.

Again, he does very well here. Although we do not believe in astrology and the Jewish people were not supposed to consult diviners, they often did so anyway. The Romans were heavily involved in astrology and divination. Yes, astrologers were considered wise men.

SM So if we're pulling back even further then, is there a star above the place where the child is?

ABC Don't know; I mean Matthew talks about the star rising, about the star standing still; we know stars don't behave quite like that, that the wise men should have seen something which triggered a recognition of something significant was going on; some constellation, there are various scientific theories about what it might have been at around that time and they followed that trek; that makes sense to me.

Maybe it was a star, maybe it was something else that looked like a star. Maybe it was a giant flying candle. Maybe it was an angel. Maybe it was something else. My question is: "so what?" There was something in the sky that lead the way. That alone makes it miraculous. As for stars not behaving that way, if the fact that stars don't behave that way causes us to not believe it was a star what will happen to our faith when we ponder the Virgin Birth, the miracles of Christ, not to mention the Ressurection, Ascension, and Pentecost. Let's look at all the things that don't work that way: babies are not concieved without intercourse, the sick are not instantly healed, dead people don't come spontaneously back to life, people don't float up to heaven, tongues of fire don't come into houses and rest upon people's heads. Seriously, if you can't believe that a star led the magi to Jesus, what can you believe.

I am so glad that archbishop scruffy isn't Catholic.

Ow Ow Ow Merry Christmas

This week has already been incredibly difficult, but it has just gotten worse. JP and I went grocery shopping and as I was putting him into his car seat I felt a pop in my back. The pain was so intense that I almost ended up on the ground. I got him strapped in and hobbled into the drivers seat.

I am moving very slowly right now and am in some of the worst pain I can remember. I always seem to get hurt right around Christmas and Easter. Last I broke my toe last Easter, the Christmas before I sprained my ankle, I even had the cross from the top of the Sanctus bells go through my lip during Holy Week. So far, none of these injuries have kept me from my liturgical duties, and I hope I will be as lucky this time.

Pray! Please pray.

The Justice of God

In today's general audience, the last of 2007, celebrated in the Paul VI Hall, the Pope spoke on the subject of Christmas.

"If, on the one hand, Christmas is a commemoration of the incredible prodigy of the birth of the only-begotten Son of God from the Virgin Mary in the grotto of Bethlehem," said the Pope, "on the other, it also exhorts us to wait, vigilant and prayerful, for our own Redeemer, Who on the last day 'will come to judge the living and the dead'."

"Perhaps today," the Pope added in off-the-cuff remarks, "we faithful truly believe in the Judge; we all expect justice. We see so many injustices in the world, ... and we expect justice. ... We hope that whoever comes can bring justice. In this context we pray to Jesus Christ to come as a Judge. ... The Lord knows how to come into the world and create justice."

"Hoping for justice in the Christian sense means ... that we too begin to live under the eyes of the Judge, ... creating justice in our own lives. ... In this way we can open the world to the coming of the Son and prepare our hearts to welcome the Lord Who comes."

Returning to his prepared text, Benedict XVI said: "He Who was generated by the Father in eternity became a man in history thanks to the Virgin Mother. The true Son of God is also a true Son of man. Today, in our secularized world, these concepts do not seem to count for very much. People prefer to ignore them or to consider them superfluous to life, advancing the pretext that they are so far distant as to be practically untranslatable into convincing and significant words.

"Moreover," he added, "we have formed a view of tolerance and pluralism such that to believe that Truth has been effectively manifested appears to constitute an attack on tolerance and the freedom of man. If, however, truth is cancelled, is man not a being deprived of meaning? Do we not force ourselves and the world into a meaningless relativism?"

He continued: "How important it is, then, for us to reinforce the mystery of salvation which the celebration of Christ's Nativity brings. In Bethlehem the Light that illuminates our lives was revealed to the world; we were shown the Way that leads us to the fullness of our humanity. If we do not recognize that God was made man, what sense does it have to celebrate Christmas? We Christians must reaffirm with profound and heartfelt conviction the truth of Christ's nativity, in order to bear witness before everyone of the unique gift which brings wealth not just to us, but to everyone.

"From here," the Holy Father added, "arises the duty of evangelization, which is the communication of the 'eu-angelion,' the 'good news.' This was underlined in the recent document from the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith 'Doctrinal Note on some aspects of evangelization,' which I wish to present for your reflection and your individual and joint perusal."

"In these days leading up to Christmas," said Pope Benedict, "the Church prays more intensely for the realization of hopes of peace and salvation, of which the world today still has such urgent need. Let us ask God for violence to be defeated with the strength of love, for contrasts to give way to reconciliation, for the desire to dominate to be transformed into a desire for forgiveness, justice and peace. May the wishes for goodness and love that we exchange over these days reach all areas of our daily lives."

"May the message of solidarity and acceptance which arises from Christmas," the Pope concluded, "contribute to creating a more profound awareness of old and new forms of poverty, and of the common good in which everyone is called to participate."

According to a note published today by the Prefecture of the Pontifical Household, a total of 624,100 people participated in the 44 general audiences celebrated by Benedict XVI during the course of 2007.

VIS

Joseph and Chico

Thanks to the wonderful people at Ignatius Press, Joseph and Chico will be available in America. I am ordering on for me...errr...for JP today. Unfortunately, it won't be available until March.

The forward of this children's book was written by the Pope's personal secretary, Monsignor Georg Ganswein. The book tells the story of Pope Benedict's life from his birth to his election to the papacy through the eyes of his next door neighbor's cat, Chico. Chico is a real cat who used to take up residence in the Holy Father's house in Pentling when he was home from Rome.

Extreme Makeover: Pope Edition

The quote recently appeared in the London Telegraph: "'Benedict still comes across as quite cold, which is a problem in his job.'" Who said it? None other than the film director Franco Zeffirelli of Jesus of Nazareth fame.

Several things are quite wrong with that quote.

1. No matter how you dress him up or try to change his image, those who hate Pope Benedict will continue to hate him because it isn't really an image problem. It's an obedience problem.
2. Maybe part of the problem is the people who continue to call Pope Benedict XVI "Pope Ratzinger".
3. Papal robes are too opulent and flashy? Which ones? He can't possibly mean the white simar and zuchetto. Oh! He means the chasubles? Well, they aren't really papal robes. The as the vestments of the Mass which are proper to any priest. As for opulent and flashy, I guess we should get rid of the gold chalices too and start using ceramic. Oh, I forget...been there and done that...it didn't work. I guess selling the Pieta will be next on Franco's list.
4. No matter how Pope Benedict looks on TV and in pictures he is very warm in person. I am saying this as someone who has stood face to face with him. Cold is not only of the words I would use to describe him.
5. Franco says that he "is in continual contact with his [Pope Benedict] inner circle". So am I. So what? Some may be impressed with that, I am not.
6. The best line is at the end where he says that he "has directed holy ceremonies at the Vatican in the past". Hmmm, could that have been where the Liturgical ballerinas came from? Just asking.

Franco does have a point that Pope Benedict's personality doesn't always translate well onto film, but seriously so we want a Pope or a movie star. I think that after 26 years of the pontificate of Pope John Paul II, we have forgotten that there is more to the papacy than a friendly face and a well timed joke. Yes, we live in the age of the instant media, but I think people intelligent enough to realize that what a pope does and says is what is really important.

As for the image problem, Franco, check out the audience stats. Pope Benedict XVI's crowds are blowing Pope John Paul II's numbers out of the water. Benedict is getting so many people that they very often they have to be separated into two groups.

Liturgical Catechesis

The other day I was lamenting the fact that I no longer had copies of a wonderful series on the Liturgy called "Living and Loving the Mass" that was published in our diocesan newspaper, The Anchor. The excellent series was written by Fr. Thomas Kocik and covered everything from the symbolism behind the vestments to what all the different postures mean. I remember distinctly that he called the vestments "the armor of the priest". I was thinking about calling to request copies, but I got some interesting news last night.

It had been published into a book! Living and Loving the Mass is now available from Zaccheus Press. Here is the info from the website.

Many Catholics attend Mass without fully understanding its meaning and purpose. This book was written to provide that understanding.

Author Father Thomas Kocik walks the reader through each part of the Mass, explaining the meaning of the prayers, the sacred vestments, the bodily gestures (such as bowing and genuflecting), and how each of these fit into the overall “drama” of the Mass.

He explains these things in a clear, easy-to-follow style. But there is real substance here as well: Fr. Kocik often discusses the history behind a particular prayer or gesture, and the Scriptural background as well. This is no dry textbook. He makes understanding the Mass an enjoyable journey. Although written for adults, high school students will enjoy it, too.

The Mass is a treasure-house of grace, but all too often the doors to this treasure-house remain closed through a lack of understanding. This book was written to open the doors — to help Catholics appreciate and embrace the transformative power of the Mass.

At $7.95 it is very affordable. Get yourself a stocking stuffer! You can order it here.

Things I Learned from St. Thomas Aquinas

Sadly, my semester of studying the Summa Theologiae and the other writings of St. Thomas Aquinas has come to an end. I submitted my term paper yesterday (via e-mail because of the snow storm). I learned many things during this semester, most of which I wasn't expecting.

1. I can talk about the senses of scripture and the powers of the soul at great length.
2. I know the difference between the image of God and the likeness of God.
3. I know much less than I think I know.
4. I can write a parody article of the Summa Theologiae.
5. The Holy Spirit tends to provide the inspiration to write intense papers on intense topics at the last minute.
6. The Trinity is a more difficult concept to understand that I even though it was.
7. The answer to any theological question can be found in the Summa, no matter how obscure.
8. Theology isn't about getting it right, it's about helping the Church get it right.
9. Even the best theologian gets it wrong once in a while.
10. Sometimes the best answer to a question is "I don't know".

Chaput on the Golden Compass

Archbishop Chaput of the Archdiocese of Denver wrote an excellent column in the Denver Catholic Register on the Golden Compass.

When the first Harry Potter movie arrived in theaters several years ago, many Catholic families had divided views about the film. Some enjoyed it as an innocent and intriguing fantasy. Others avoided it because of its emphasis on magic. But the screen adaptation of Philip Pullman’s book, “The Golden Compass,” which opened in Denver on Dec. 7, will likely produce far more agreement. No matter how one looks at it, “The Golden Compass” is a bad film. There’s just no nicer way to say it.
I saw it at an 8:30 evening showing on Dec. 8. The theater was largely deserted. That may be a trend. While “The Golden Compass,” released by New Line Cinema, ranked No. 1 in box office revenues on its opening weekend, it took in only a modest $26.1 million. The three “Ring Trilogy” movies grossed between $47 and $72 million on their respective opening weekends, and “The Chronicles of Narnia” had opening revenues of more than $65 million. In fact, secular critics have been less than kind to the movie, and for good reason. It’s long, complicated, and despite a very gifted supporting cast and wonderful special effects, the story is finally lifeless. Much of the movie takes place in the polar north, and the iciness of the setting is a perfect metaphor for the chilly, sterile spirit at the heart of the story. Anyone expecting a playful children’s fantasy would do well to look elsewhere. There is nothing remotely “playful” about this movie.

As many readers will already know, Philip Pullman is an atheist, and “The Golden Compass” — the first book in his trilogy “His Dark Materials” — is a calculated counter-story to Christian-based fantasies like “The Lord of the Rings” and “Narnia.” “The Golden Compass” takes place in a parallel world similar to earth, but dominated by a sinister quasi-religious authority known as the Magisterium. This powerful elite seeks to “protect” people — for their own good — by shielding them from scientific knowledge, represented by the movie’s mysterious cosmic dust and a truth-telling piece of technology called an “alethiometer” (or golden compass). More specifically, the Magisterium abducts young children and literally kills their souls, thereby extinguishing the spirit of free thought and inquiry.

The aggressively anti-religious, anti-Christian undercurrent in “The Golden Compass” is unmistakable and at times undisguised. The wicked Mrs. Coulter alludes approvingly to a fictional version of the doctrine of Original Sin. When a warrior Ice Bear — one of the heroes of the story — breaks into the local Magisterium headquarters to take back the armor stolen from him, the exterior walls of the evil building are covered with Eastern Christian icons. And for Catholics in our own world, of course, “Magisterium” refers to the teaching authority of the Church — hardly a literary coincidence. The idea that any Christian film critics could overlook or downplay these negative elements, as some have seemed to do, is simply baffling.

Strangest of all — and in striking contrast to the Harry Potter and Narnia stories — is the absence of joy or any real laughter in the movie. The talented child actress who plays the film’s leading role is hobbled by a character that is uniformly unpleasant, rebellious, belligerent and humorless; the kind of young person described by one of my parent friends as needing a “long time-out.”

Obviously, parents are the primary teachers of their children. They need to use their own best judgment about whether a film is suitable for their families. But I’ll certainly be encouraging my own friends to put their Christmas cash to better use. In fact, maybe the most cynical and insulting thing about “The Golden Compass” is that its makers would offer this cold, angry, anti-religious fable as “holiday fare” in the midst of a season built around the birth of Jesus Christ. That’s certainly worth a letter to the people at New Line Cinema. With two more books in the Pullman trilogy as possible sequels, it might be helpful if they heard from all of us.

Archbishop Flores Found

From the Houston Chronicle:

Retired Archbishop Patrick Flores, the long-serving leader of South Texas Catholics, was found safe early Wednesday more than 200 miles from the assisted living center where he was reported missing the day before.

Flores, 78, was disoriented and was driving the wrong way on an interstate shortly before he was found pumping gas at a convenience store in West Texas at about 3 a.m., Crockett County Sheriff Shane Fenton said.

The retired leader of the Archdiocese of San Antonio was reported missing Tuesday afternoon when he didn't return home from a shopping trip. Flores lives at the facility for retired priests who are in declining health. He has diabetes, difficulty with balance and a bad back — resulting from being roughed up when he was taken hostage by a distraught man in 2000, said the Rev. Ed Loch, the archdiocese archivist.

More than 12 hours after Flores was reported missing, a Crockett County sheriff's deputy responded to a report that a car was headed in the wrong direction on Interstate 10 near Ozona. The deputy then found Flores pumping gas, Fenton said.
"He seemed really disoriented and didn't know exactly where he was at," Fenton said.

Flores told the deputy he was trying to get home and didn't realize he had been driving the wrong way on the interstate.

When Crockett County deputies found that Flores had been reported missing, they called San Antonio police and a local Catholic priest. The archbishop was taken to a local church to wait for someone from San Antonio to pick him up and take him home, Fenton said.

"Nobody's hurt. It turned out lucky," he said.

Flores served as the archbishop for 25 years before retiring in 2005.

He was a bishop for 10 years before being named archbishop and was the first Mexican-American bishop named in the United States.

Flores gained a reputation as an advocate for immigrants and the poor. He was also an outspoken critic of abortion and state law that allows people to carry concealed weapons.

Please remember the Archbishop in your prayers.

Frosty the Christian Allegory

I don't know why I never noticed this before, but last night I was watching Frosty the Snowman with JP. He is obsessed with all those Claymation Christmas movies. Well, I hadn't actually sat and watched it with before, because while he was watching it I got a nice chance to catch up on house and school work, as well as work work.

By the time the movie ended I realized that the story was strangely familiar, but not only because it was my 30th time watching the movie. I realized that Frosty the Snowman was a Christological figure.

Think about it.

• Frosty is born at Christmas.
• Frosty gives his life to save Karen.
• Santa allows the cold wind (Holy Spirit) to come into the greenhouse and Frosty comes back to life.
• Frosty goes to the North Pole with Santa.
• Frosty promises to return

Sound familiar? Even a bit like the Incarnation, Crucifixion, Resurrection, Ascension, and Triumphal Return? Yeah, I thought so too.

I wonder if that was intentional, or accidental. I guess Frosty will have to be banned in schools next.

New Colors

I have tried to give the blog an Advent color theme. It' s just one more attempt to do anything other than write these essays. Gotta try to get a little rose in there for this weekend.

Website: Congregation for the Clergy

I have only looked at this briefly. Believe it or not, I am supposed to be writing three essays on the Summa Theologiae. Yeah, that's what I am doing.

Well, that was what I was doing until came across this new website for the Congregation of the Clergy. There are so many gems there that I really might need to turn off my internet access if I am going to get these written in time to turn in tomorrow.

Anyway, here is the link: Clerus.org

Ham for Chanakah

Continuing on today's theme of complete cluelessness, I give a H/T to First Things for finding these pictures from Nancy Kay Shapiro's Blog.

What's better than a Chanakah ham? Three Chanakah hams! What do you mean, it's not allowed.

Check out Nancy's blog for more pictures.