Wednesday, March 31, 2004

SINKING LOWER BY THE DAY

God help me, I am beginning to really dislike this man more and more by the minute. If this is true, he will have managed to sink lower than even I imagined he'd be able to. I don't know who's more out of touch: Kerry, his advisors, or for me for crying out loud.

The Kerry campaign was said to be surprised at the coverage their candidate received for attending Mass while on vacation in Idaho. "You saw conservatives all up in arms that he was receiving communion, when most American Catholics do the same thing and live a life very similar to the senator's: divorced, pro-choice, etcetera," says the Kerry adviser. "It just highlights how out of touch the right wing is with America, and we can play to that."

To that end, according to other sources inside the Kerry camp, aides are attempting to identify a Catholic diocese, and perhaps even a specific priest and church, where Kerry could attend a Mass with reporters present, and be turned away at the altar attempting to receive communion.

Kerry's situation should be no different. But Kerry and his staff are apparently willing to use the Catholic Church as a political wedge, and hope that some politically conservative priest will be willing to take the bait.

Monday, March 29, 2004

IF I WERE THE DEVIL
By Paul Harvey


I would gain control of the most powerful nation in the world;
I would delude their minds into thinking that they had come from man's effort, instead of God's blessings;
I would promote an attitude of loving things and using people, instead of the other way around;
I would dupe entire states into relying on gambling for their state revenue;
I would convince people that character is not an issue when it comes to leadership;
I would make it legal to kill unborn babies;
I would make it socially acceptable to take one's own life, and invent machines to make it convenient; I would cheapen human life as much as possible so that the life of animals are valued more than human beings;
I would take God out of the schools, where even the mention of His name was grounds for a lawsuit; I would come up with drugs that sedate the mind and target the young, and I would get sports heroes to advertise them;
I would get control of the media, so that every night I could pollute the mind of every family member with my agenda;
I would attack the family, the backbone of any nation.
I would make divorce acceptable and easy, even fashionable. If the family crumbles, so does the nation;
I would compel people to express their most depraved fantasies on canvas and movie screens, and call it art; I would convince the world that people are born homosexuals, and that their lifestyles should be accepted;
I would convince the people that right and wrong are determined by a few who call themselves authorities and refer to their agenda as politically correct;
I would persuade people that the church is irrelevant and out of date, and the Bible is for the naive;
I would dull the minds of Christians, and make them believe that prayer is not important, and that faithfulness and obedience are optional; Hmmm...

I guess if I were the devil, I'd leave things pretty much the way they are.

EXTREMISM OVERREACTS

For Colbert, 48, speaking out was a matter of conscience. The Cambridge freelance writer, reached at home by phone yesterday, said he went to Canton after a friend told him about the video.

"It was the most contemptuous, vile, slanderous piece of political propaganda that I have ever seen in a Roman Catholic church," he said. "What they said was so scandalous, I felt out of the gospel values I hold dear, I had to bear witness to the truth of my own life."


Goodness! What's going on? What is this awful, vile piece of filth that was shown at St. John the Evangelist? Nothing sacreligious, that's for sure. Unless, of course, you have a political agenda.

While I'm not an advocate of showing videos of any kind during or just after Mass, I do understand their being used. We have done the same at my parish, usually a short message from our bishop, or from various committees bringing our large parish up to date on inter-parish projects.

But I have to ask the "offended" gentleman from this article a few questions:

1. How can you be a devout Catholic? Being a devout Catholic means abiding by the WHOLE of our faith. It does not mean being a 'cafeteria Catholic' and just picking and choosing which tenets to abide by.

2. You mention the 'gospel values you hold dear'. What, Mr. Colbert, might those values be specifically?

This man hears of the video, drives out of his way to attend a parish of which he is not a member, and then raises a stink over it? Nope...no agenda there. Looks like he's getting his 15 minutes of fame.

OPEN SEASON ON CATHOLICS IN BOSTON

Oh, to be young and gay in Boston in the spring!
Or is that Catholic and gay in Boston....er....nope.
How about, gay in Boston and oppressed by Catholics....um....no.
Gay in Boston and offended by a millenia's worth of how marriage is defined when it doesn't fit your agenda and feelings?

BINGO!!!

Same-sex supporters knock Catholic stance

WITH LIBERTY AND COMFORT FOR ALL

Mike Adams got called into his superior's office because some co-workers were "uncomfortable" about Mike's national columns. In response, he creates his own list of things that make HIM feel uncomfortable. I like the idea. Since the administration has established the precident that states if you are uncomfortable by the actions of a co-worker, why not fight back and make the same complaints? Ummmmmm....oh yeah, because my complaints might not be as PC as your complainsts. Your level of "uncomfyness" is much higher than my own.

Plus, this is all COMPLETELY silly, don't you think?

*Then there are all the times that the name Jesus Christ has been used as a form of profanity in the office. That makes me feel uncomfortable. By the way, I am especially offended by the phrase “Jesus F***ing Christ!” I mean, no one ever says “Mo-F***ing-Hammed!” or “F***ing Buddha!,” do they?

*Then there was the time that a gay activist in our department suggested that I switch to bi-sexuality in order to double my chances of finding a suitable “partner.” That made me feel uncomfortable and she knew it. After I started to blush, she asked, “What’s the matter, are you a little homophobic?” So what if I don’t think you can change your sexual orientation as easily as your underwear? Is that so wrong? Do I really have a phobia?

*And how about the time that a faculty member called another faculty member a “mother f***er” in one of our meetings? That was before he said that he should have climbed over the desk and “slapped the s*** out of him.” These sociologists need to start getting along with one another if they plan to build a Utopian society. Plus, it makes me feel really uncomfortable to hear about these threats of violence in the workplace.

#13

1 Titanic $600,788,188 1997
2 Star Wars $460,998,007 1977
3 E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial $435,110,554 1982
4 Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace $431,088,301 1999
5 Spider-Man $403,706,375 2002
6 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King $374,601,000 2003
7 Jurassic Park $357,067,947 1993
8 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers $341,786,758 2002
9 Finding Nemo $339,714,978 2003
10 Forrest Gump $329,694,499 1994
11 The Lion King $328,541,776 1994
12 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone $317,575,550 2001
13 The Passion of the Christ $315,020,000 2004
14 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring $314,776,170 2001
15 Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones $310,676,740 2002

John Kerry: 0 for 2?

How assuming of him. As if he'll be elected president in the first place. Of course, this also assumes that he is recognizable as a Catholic, given the fact that he does not adhere to a lot of the Church's teachings.

Perhaps the headline is correct. He will be neither of them.

United States Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry has advised church officials against telling American politicians what to do in context to their public life, Time magazine reports in New York.

"People in Rome are becoming more and more aware that there's a problem of John Kerry and a political scandal with his apparent profession of his Catholic faith and some of stances, particular abortion," Kerry said, while responding to a statement of a Vatican official to the Time magazine.

"I don't think it complicates things at all," he said, "We have separation of church and state in this country. As John Kennedy said very clearly 'I will be a president who happens to be Catholic, not a Catholic president'."

Friday, March 26, 2004

SICK DAY

I spent all night last night awake and not able to sleep due to the shakes and chills that hit me around 8pm Thursday night. Therefore I did not go to work today, nor was I able to prop myself up long enough at my desk to do any blogging. My apologies. But a 7 day run of shakes, fever and aches began much in the same way last November, and I didn't want to take that chance again. Hence, a day of rest. I also took the opportunity to sit on my couch under my blanket and watch my recently purchased DVD "The Ten Commandments", which I had never before seen. It was remarkable, and perhaps when I'm less dizzy sitting at my keyboard I'll have some thoughts on it.

I am also trying to find the time to enable a comments function that will enable readers to comment on each posting. A nice interactive feature that I hope to have in place soon.

So off to bed I go. But not before saying a rosary for our friends John and Ellen who are one of the couples leading an Engaged Encounter retreat this weekend at Our Lady of Good Counsel retreat center. Janell and I are the prayer couple for John and Ellen, who are pros at leading these weekends. We will be giving our first weekend in November, and are currently writing our talks.

Meanwhile...before I go...

THE SECOND COMING OF 'LIFE OF BRIAN'

A bit of levity...

The makers of "Life of Brian" have just decided to re-release the film in the theaters next month. They're betting that at least some of the 45 million or so of us who have seen the deadly serious "The Passion of the Christ" might be ready for a little religious satire on the big screen.

Thursday, March 25, 2004

MUST READ OF THE DAY

The Catholic Sun Online carries a great article for this Lenten season by Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted, on how to handle the "I'm a Catholic (insert occupation here) but" comments flippantly tossed about. Some examples:

“ I am a Catholic businessman but I don’t let the Church influence what I do at the office or in the boardroom;” but Jesus says (Mt 7:21), “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.”

“ I am a Catholic politician but I don’t let my Catholicism impact on how I vote or what legislation I promote;” but Jesus says (Mt 7:26-27), “Everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined.”

“ I am a Catholic physician but I don’t let my faith mold my decisions regarding abortion, contraception, or other medical practices;” but Jesus says Mt 5:37), “Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’ Anything more is from the evil one.”

Lent is the time to kick the “Catholic but...” out of our own daily lives. It is the time to expunge rationalization from our minds and to root out compromise from our hearts. Lent is the time to say a determined “No” to the temptation to water down our faith for personal gain. It is the time to say a much larger “Yes” to Jesus and His Gospel of Life. Lent is the time for Totus Tuus, the time to renew our commitment to love God with all our mind and heart and strength.



Rating in Movies Do Matter

While this does not come as a surprise to me, I was having my doubts. Encouraging news to be sure, and the Washington Times article provides insight into the mindset in Hollywood that causes the continued mass production of violent, nihlistic films.

The audience has spoken: An annual study of the moral content in Hollywood movies has found that films flaunting sex, nudity, violence, foul language and criminal behavior do not resonate in America.

They simply don't sell.

In an analysis of American box-office receipts for 250 movies released last year, the Christian Film & Television Commission (CFTVC) found that films that stressed "strong moral content" made an average $92,546,413 — six times the revenue of those that focused on "immoral, negative content."



Meanwhile, TPOTC Tops $300 Million

...and it's not even Palm Sunday yet.


It Looks Like a Greenhouse to Me

Ava Maria University announced its new designs for the church to be built on its new campus. Michael Rose, who wrote Ugly As Sin in which he chronicled the "modernization" of Catholic parishes post-Vatican II, is of an opinion that I find myself in agreement with. Look and decide for yourself.

It looks like a Catholic version of the Crystal Cathedral to me...or a very elaborate greenhouse.

The Lord's Gym?

I'm not quite sure what to make of this. The owner of the gym makes some good points, but still...I dunno.

Looking for a little worship in your workout? At a Florida gym with plans to become a nationwide chain, you can get fit and get God simultaneously.

At the Lord's Gym (search) in Clermont, Fla., faith is just as important as form, and exercise classes include gospel spinning, "praisercise" and "yo-god," all done to new-agey Christian music.

The gym's Christian theme isn't hard to find in the décor. According to Men's Fitness, "a wall by the Stairmasters is covered with a floor-to-ceiling mural of 'Daniel in the Lion's Den' ... the steps are each inscribed with a different line from John 3:16 ... and the juice bar sells smoothies with names like 'Land of Milk and Honey,' 'John the Baptist' and 'Joseph's Surprise,' in two sizes -- David and Goliath."

The Next In Line...

Reported at the end of Ross MacKenzie's latest column is this tidbit:

Homosexuality has riven Roman Catholicism and key Protestant denominations, such as the Presbyterians and Episcopalians. Now it's the Methodists' turn. A jury of fellow ministers has found a practicing Washington state lesbian - living with another woman for eight years and "married" this month - not guilty of violating the church's ban on "self-avowed, practicing homosexuals" in the clergy. So, in yet another mainline denomination, Scriptural admonition yields once more to a phony inclusiveness and right reason takes a gadarene plunge.

BUMPER STICKER OF THE WEEK

'Coincidence is when God chooses to remain anonymous'

THE SOLEMNITY OF THE ANNUNCIATION

The Solemnity of the Annunciation celebrates the coming of the Angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary to announce to her the special mission God had chosen for her in being the mother of His only son. We are continually reminded of the importance of this feast to our salvation in various devotional prayers. Two examples that highlight the importance of this feast are the joyous mysteries of the Rosary and the Angelus.

The feast of the Annunciation began to be celebrated on this day during the fourth and fifth centuries, soon after the date for celebrating Christmas was universalized throughout the Church. This feast celebrates the Incarnation of the Second Person of the Trinity and the salvation of all mankind. This point of our salvation was deeply discussed by many of the Church fathers, to explain it to the faithful and to show the deep love God has for us. Some of the Church fathers who wrote on this were St. Athanasius, St. Gregory of Nyssa and St. Augustine.

The Angelus is a devotion which commemorates the Incarnation of
Christ. This devotion grew out of a Franciscan practice of praying the
Hail Mary in honor of the Incarnation. The Angelus is recited at
morning, at noon, and at evening.

The Angelus

V. The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.
R. And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.
Hail Mary, etc.

V. Behold the handmaid of the Lord.
R. Be it done unto me according to thy word.
Hail Mary, etc.

V. And the Word was made Flesh.
R. And dwelt among us.
Hail Mary, etc.

V. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God.
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

LET US PRAY
Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts, that we to whom the Incarnation of Christ Thy Son was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection. Through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Wednesday, March 24, 2004

William Nikolas

We in our little circle of friends are celebrating with tears of joy the news of a new arrival. Russ & Carleen have emailed us from Russia that the adoption of their new son was made official yesterday. They will be flying back this coming Sunday, their little family having increased by one. The "one" being bouncing blue-eyed baby Nikolas, renamed William Nikolas, who will turn one in May.

We have agonized with them as the endless trials of infertility have gone on through the years. Russ & Carleen are in their early 30s, and have remained faithful to the Church's teaching in the areas of fertility achieved through artificial insemination, etc. About 6 weeks ago, after over a year of waiting, they received word that they needed to fly to Russia to meet a possible candidate for adoption. They flew home a week later, knowing that in 2-8 weeks they could be called to return and hopefully adopt little Nikolas. That call came two weeks ago, and they have been there for the past 10 days.

It is impossible to relate the emotions we feel at home. For several years they were my wife and I's support partners as we went through our own trials with infertility. They grieved with us when we lost Nathan to miscarriage, and we felt the awkwardness of their having to be happy for us when we conceived Jonah last year, yet privately mourning and questioning their own inabilities to conceive. We know...we've been there.

But they were also the first couple to greet Jonah upon his birth, with wide open smiles of joy. They were there for us during the first two weeks of Jonah's life, as he struggled within the hospital's NICU with a mystery virus that almost claimed his life. Russ made us his famous lasagna, which I liked so much I sheepishly asked him to make another pan once Jonah was recovered and home from the NICU. Russ, in fact, is Jonah's godfather.

We understand completely Carleen's assertion that "for the first five days we are home: NO VISITORS!!!" We couldn't agree more. But we, and so many others, anxiously await the chance for hugs, handshakes, and coos from the newest member of their family....and ours.

Welcome to the family, William Nikolas! I'll be visiting your home with a lasagna on Day 6.

INTERNATIONAL TPOTC NEWS

From Barbara Nicolosi's Church of the Masses blog:

Mexico - The Passion of the Christ made $5.2 million in Mexico in its opening weekend. This makes it the second biggest debut in Mexico after only Spiderman. Note that this opening was despite the fact that the movie was illegal for anyone under 18.

Brazil - Opening this weekend on 472 screens, the movie made $1.8 million which is the seventh biggest opening in Brazilian history.

Chile - $668,000 on 42 screens which is the biggest opening of any movie ever there according to FOX which is distributing the film in Latin America

Columbia - $606,000 on 114 screens for the third biggest opening ever behind Spidey and ROTK

Altogether, TPOTC made $10.2 million in nine Latin countries. Notes FOX exec VP Paul Hanneman, "Those numbers are astronomical."

Germany - opened second with $2.3 million behind Brother Bear

Catholics in Politics

The American Spectator's Washington Prowler contains this item today about the presumed nominee on the Democratic ticket for President. As a Catholic, I am growing very tired of politicians wanting God out of the public arena, but during elections sprouting up like spring flowers at every church in America, speaking from the pulpit in most of them, and if Catholic, making a big showing at Mass. In this article a Kerry staffer even ADMITS it was a photo-op for pity's sake. Only confirming what the rest of us have suspected and known for years.

So much for Kerry Catholicism. On Sunday, John Kerry showed up for the 10:30 Mass at Our Lady of the Snows Catholic Church at 10:41 a.m. (The church had roped off two pews for the VIP.) Adding further insult, Kerry arrived noisily, fully outfitted for skiing, not dressed for a religious service. Compounding the insult -- this time to all Catholics in good standings -- Kerry received the sacrament of Holy Eucharist, even though he's not considered to be a Catholic in good standing.

"It was just a media-op," says a Kerry advance staffer. "We set it up with some reporters that we knew were going to be there."

Kerry, who claims to be a practicing Roman Catholic (though lately he's been playing up his partial Jewishness), has consistently voted in support of abortion as both a state politician in Massachusetts and in his time in Washington. He has also spoken in support of euthanasia. He has stated that he disagrees with the Catholic position in both areas.

Under church law, Kerry's very public support of abortion disqualifies him from the sacraments. He is not known to be a regular Mass attendee. In fact, some Roman Catholics in Boston have in the past pressed for the bishops there to excommunicate Kerry for his refusal to accept Catholic doctrine and canon law.

Sen. Tom Daschle is finding himself in a similar position in South Dakota, where the bishop there has been rumored for months to be mulling excommunicating Daschle for his liberal positions on abortion.


Part Two
On the other hand, I also agree with the fact that just because you are a devout, practicing Catholic or Christian, you should not enter into the political arena. In fact, Mrs. Jeff and I are attending a "meet and greet" with a local candidate for Congress who also is Catholic and was recently endorsed by the Nebraska Right To Life organization over other Republicans who are more prominent in the state legislature. It will be an interesting campaign locally as well as nationally to be sure.

Do Statues and Images Equal Idolatry?

Patrick Madrid answers the question today in his usual humerous AND reverent manner, and I would encourage anyone, Catholic or non-Catholic who struggles with this issue to take five minutes and read it.

When I arrived one evening at a suburban Chicago parish to conduct an apologetics seminar, I noticed a life-sized statue of Our Lady of Fatima on the rectory lawn. Kneeling before that statue were three smaller statues of Lucia, Francisco, and Jacinta – the children to whom Our Lady appeared. Their statues were kneeling in prayer, heads bowed before the larger statue.

Turning to my colleague in the car, I joked, “What a great religion Catholicism is! Not only can we worship statues, but our statues can worship statues.” We chuckled at the absurdity of the thought.

When I mentioned this incident during the seminar, the Catholics in the audience laughed at the notion of statues worshipping statues and the nonsense of humans worshipping statues, but some of the Protestants in attendance weren’t laughing. They looked puzzled. The reason, as I discovered during the Q&A session, was that some of them actually believed that Catholics do worship statues.

Mel to do a 'Prequel?'

Newsmax.com is reporting that he hasn't ruled it out. I think many of us are hoping that he would. I picked up a DVD of the 25th anniversary of The Jesus Film last week, which is a 3 hour movie on the life of Christ as depicted in the Gospel of Luke. It has been shown to billions around the world for evangelizaton quite effectively. My thoughts are that it will make for a nice "prequel" each Lent before watching the DVD of The Passion of the Christ when it's released. But a sequel by Mel? Vunderbar!

When action star Mel Gibson and his production firm, Icon, produced "The Passion of the Christ," they planned on making only that religious-themed movie - and then move on to other motion picture projects.

But they never dreamed of the film's controversy - and runaway success. It could turn out to be one of the biggest blockbuster movies of all time!

Recently we chatted with a source close to Icon and Mel, and asked, "When is the prequel coming out?"

Our friend did not dismiss the idea, and said that because of the success of "The Passion," nothing was off the table.

A prequel would be a powerful film. No doubt James Caviezel, who has won raves for his role as Jesus in "The Passion," would be a huge draw.

And the prequel would answer critics who say that Gibson's "Passion" focuses only on the violence of Jesus' death, and not on his life and teachings.

Gibson himself has already stated that he is interested in religious-based movies.

In an interview on Sean Hannity's top-rated radio show, Gibson told the host: "There's some wonderful stories ... particularly from the Old Testament. I think that some of those stories are just remarkable and astounding in ... just the level of heroism and human nature and what they can tell us about ourselves."

And the producer of "The Passion of the Christ" has one story in mind, he told Hannity.

"The story that's always fired my imagination ... is the Book of Maccabees.

"It's about Antiochus, the king who set up his religion in the Temple, and forced them all to deny the true God and worship at his feet and worship false gods," Gibson explained. "This Maccabee family stood up, and they made war, they stuck by their guns, and they came out winning. It's like a Western."

According to Reuters, the Maccabees led a three-year war, some 200 years before the birth of Jesus, against Antiochus, a king who forced the Jews to worship false gods. The war led to the liberation of Jerusalem and rededication of the Temple that is celebrated in the Hanukkah holiday.

Gibson's interest in Jewish history failed to impress "Passion" critic Abe Foxman, the Anti-Defamation League's National Director.

He said he would not want Gibson to depict the Jewish people in film.


I also find the Maccabees intriguing as a movie project. Would Mel in this instance gain the support of the Jews, but lose the support of the evangelicals who have helped drive the success of TPOTC? The two books of Maccabees are found in the Catholic bible, but not in Protestant bibles. It will be interesting to see where Mr. Gibson goes from here.

One way to solve the whole gay-marriage issue...

Is the way that a county in Oregon handled it.

In a new twist in the battle over same-sex marriage roiling the United States, a county in Oregon has banned all marriages -- gay and heterosexual -- until the state decides who can and who cannot wed.

I'm kidding of course. It's beyond me how you can allow something that is illegal to go on, but when called on the carpet for it, just decide to not allow the legal marriages either under the guise of equal protection.

Tuesday, March 23, 2004

What's going on in my home state?

Something wicked this way comes in South Dakota. I'm flabbergasted by this.

National Right to Life Joins Pro-Abortion Groups to Stop Passage of South Dakota Abortion Ban

But here is part of the answer. Once again, it appears to be a health-exception issue.

Elk Grove School District v. Newdow
or, more appropriately,
People of the U.S. v. The Almighty God


The athiest is having his day in the Supreme Court soon.

Will tomorrow’s America be built upon the standards set forth by a Higher Power, or will we allow fickle human desire to dictate policy?

My eyes are closed. I'm scared to look.

The Closed Mind that is on The Left

A few illustrations make this point. First, Dennis Prager writes at Townhall.com today:

...it has become more and more apparent that the most closed-minded people in American and European society today are not the religious but the secular, not the Right but the Left. The majority of even fundamentalist Christians and Orthodox Jews are exposed to far more secular thought and behavior than the secular are exposed to religious thought and behavior. Virtually all religious Christians and Jews study secular subjects, have been taught by secular teachers, read secular books, and watch secular films and secular television. Virtually no secular people have studied religious subjects, been taught by religious teachers, or read religious books, let alone watched religious films or television, neither of which exists in any number.

Meanwhile, in yesterday's "Best of the Web" at OpinionJournal.com reports that:

The AllahPundit blog publishes an e-mail form a New York reader who went out to counterprotest:

Some of the peace marchers tended toward violence and they did not like it one little bit that we crashed their whacked out party. Unfortunately, some in our group were attacked, actually a couple of times. I didn't know that peace marchers would think to "put a bullet in your head," but I guess that's how uninformed I am about peace. . . .

At one point things got really pretty dicey as one of my fellow protest warriors was being choked right there in the middle of the street and the NYPD came in and rescued us! They corralled us into a bull pen sort of place and protected us from the peace marchers . . . Then, they assigned a scooter brigade to guard us while we expressed our right of free speech. My poor sainted husband, who I talked into coming with me was being shoved and screamed at by the ANSWER security squad (brown shirts) and he remarked that we have free speech in the U.S. to which the goon screamed in return "there is no [expletive] free speech." I think this would come as a surprise to the thousands of police officers that were assigned to this march in order for people to exercise their right to assembly and free speech.

While in the police bullpen one of the big wig officers came up to me and said under his breath "I can't say this in public but we love you guys, we wish you would turn out more often." I told him the problem was that we have jobs and therefore our time is somewhat limited.


Both of these make the point that has been becoming increasingly obvious the past several years. David Horowitz has been demonstrating this through his speaking engagements, books, and ads that he has covered at his e-zine FrontPageMag.com. But it's not just Horowitz. Several persons on the right AND the left have been pointing this out more and more ever since Dr. Allan Bloom's 1988 book "The Closing of the American Mind" which I read as a junior in college. I am getting very tired of this double-standard.

And finally...

To witness the pictures NOT shown to you of the "peaceful" protesters, take a look at this site. I'm glad I looked BEFORE I left for my lunch today.

A Story About Two 'Hanks'.
A Story About Forgiveness.


This is long, but because I have been a Hank, and have Hanks that I need to seek forgiveness from, the past two days entries from MountainWings.com touched me deep.

I’m Sorry Hank
===========
I’m sorry Hank.

Hank Smith was a boy in my elementary school class.

I was ten years old.

It’s been nearly 40 years ago.

I’m sorry Hank.

What did I do that was so terrible to Hank nearly 40 years ago?

I was a part of a group who taunted Hank.
We made fun of him.
We teased him.

Why?

Because Hank was overweight.

At the time, I simply followed the crowd. It was the cool thing to do. Everyone else did it, why not me too?

I had very little knowledge of hurting others feelings or the lifelong damage such a thing could do.

I was ignorant, but still I participated in the damage.

All of us have things that we wish we could change. We look back and say, “How could I have done that?” "What type of person was I?"

We all have those kinds of things in one area or another.

I was writing material for something that involved forgiveness, both forgiving others and asking for forgiveness for the wrong that we've done, when Hank’s face popped up before me.

I can still see him after all of those years.

I realized long ago the wrong that I had done.

I just have never asked for forgiveness.

I’m sorry Hank.
I didn’t know.
I didn’t feel.
I didn’t realize.

Oddly enough, I remember Hank vividly though it's unlikely that he remembers me. He no doubt remembers the jesting, but I was simply another face in the crowd.
Nearly 40 years ago, at West Manor Elementary School in Atlanta, I participated in hurting another human being.

I’m sorry Hank

...and I ask you for your forgiveness.

~A MountainWings Original~

Another Hank
============
A comment on the issue, “I’m Sorry Hank.”

I seldom respond to anything which comes into my mailbox. I read MountainWings daily and often forward it to friends. However, today's issue struck a chord to which I had to respond.

I am Hank. No, not the "real" Hank... just "another" Hank. I was not guilty of being overweight, or deformed, or needing glasses, or speaking another language. I was simply different.

In the small northern New England town where I was raised, I was different. My parents were educated, I spoke proper English, my father chose to opt-out of the usual men's activities, and I had seen and done things the other children had not. I had actually traveled all the way to southern New England. It sounds silly, but it was "big stuff" to kids.

Even though I was born in the state and moved to this town when I was under a year old, I was always reminded that I had no right to think of the state or the town as my "hometown." I was called a "foreigner" and "from far away."

I learned three things. "Different" and "wrong" are NOT synonyms, no matter how often they are used as such;

Always, question what someone wants if they say something nice to you;

...and I learned to fight, very well.

About 40 years later, a classmate began asking my mother to send me to her house on my next trip home. Honestly, I resisted. Finally I told my mother that I was simply too old for fist- fights. As mothers usually do, mine prevailed and I finally went to my classmate's home. Much to my amazement, she wanted to apologize.

She said she had been jealous. When we sat down and compared the list of things for which she was jealous of; each seeing it from the other's point of view, we ended up laughing hysterically at the ridiculousness of the situation... and shedding a few tears over the waste.

I was most amazed at how much the cruelty had hurt the perpetrator, as well as me.

Taunting hurts!

I want to go on record as a "Hank" to say that, although you may see yourself as a "faceless" part of the crowd, Hank remembers each of you, and probably what you said or did, and when it was done. He remembers your face. It is something that can only be cured with forgiveness... Hank's forgiveness, and yours of yourself. Go find Hank and apologize. It is more important than you will ever know, until you do it.

Please withhold my name... it is still a very small town.

~A MountainWings Original by a lady from a small town~

From The Mountain: I will try to find Hank, perhaps you should find those whom you have directly or indirectly injured and make amends.

Each of us, at one point or another, walks in the shoes of Hank. It happens to the privileged, the pretty, and the proper. When we are bruised, it makes us sensitive. A fresh wound causes us to question and draw back from even a gentle and sincere touch.

No matter how self-righteous we may think we are, each of us, at one point or another, has walked in the shoes of the taunter. When we taunt, it dulls our sense of touch and feeling.

Each set of feet requires healing from the bruises of that walk.

But they're sooooooo OLD Testament

Dear Grace answers a question asked by kids for generations:

Dear Grace, My son and I were discussing the importance of the Ten Commandments and how they are to be used as a guide. He says they are part of the Old Testament and therefore we need not focus that much on them. His attitude towards them is that they are just a lot of "Do Nots." Can you help me explain why God gave us these commandments and why they are still important for us today?

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Christ said, 'I am the Truth'; he did not say 'I am the custom.' St. Toribio

Today is St. Toribio Alfonso de Mogrovejo's feast day. Reading as I have of late about some of the abuses in the liturgy being performed and put upon the laity (which I will be writing about once I can find the time after finishing my taxes...have to render unto Caesar, ya know), this quote by St. Toribio brings me strength. We need more voices like this to be heard in today's times.

Lord, through the apostolic work of Saint Turibius and his unwavering love of truth, you helped your Church to grow. May your chosen people continue to grow in faith and holiness.

Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

Monday, March 22, 2004

Educating the Educators

I was discussing the subject of selecting Catholic schools, from elementary through universities, with a good friend of mine from Chicago only yesterday. Just because a school has Catholic roots, or the phrase "Catholic" in its name, does not mean I will not check it and its professors out thoroughly before ever recommending them, let alone sending my sons to them.

Case in point:

A professor of ethics and theology at the Catholic Marquette University is under fire for his pro-abortion activism and recently was the keynote speaker at an event for a Florida affiliate of the nation's largest abortion business.

Daniel Maguire, a former priest and professor of theological and cross-cultural ethics at the Jesuit college in Wisconsin, addressed a crowd of approximately 400 at a dinner celebrating the 10th anniversary of Barbara Zdravecky's term as executive director of Planned Parenthood of Southwest and Central Florida.


A former priest?

The anti-Passion movie

Brace yourselves for next year's release of The Da Vinci Code. It will be VERY interesting, and I suspect, not surprising at all to watch the media's reaction to this movie. I predict they will fall all over themselves fawning about the nuanced intellectual nature of this movie, which of course is based upon a book of fiction.

If you haven't read "The Da Vinci Code," or stories debunking it, you may want to skip to the next item, because its central argument, based on a millennium-old conspiracy theory that would turn Oliver Stone's head, is about to be revealed.

That theory, put forth in scholarly detail in a 1980s nonfiction book titled "Holy Blood, Holy Grail," contends that Christianity is a faith founded on misogyny and on the lie that Jesus was divine. It holds that Christ was not only mortal, but married - to Mary Magdalene, the disciple to his immediate right in Leonardo Da Vinci's "The Last Supper."

By the way, she was pregnant and Jesus' bloodline exists to this day.

If you like that notion, Brown's book has a million of 'em, and the genius of it is that they seem to make sense.


Ummm...yeah.

The Boiling Point

John Leo makes note of our culture war that is coming to a boil:

Christians are very much aware that they are increasingly held in contempt by so many in the elites and the arts community. This treatment is everywhere, and runs from anti-Christian plays and movies to dung-and-porn-covered madonnas and attempts to degrade Christians symbols and rituals, such as the ridiculous and swishy Jesus figures in gay parades. After a year-long campaign to destroy Gibson's movie before anybody had seen it, the New York Times ran a review of the film that compared "The Passion of the Christ" to a Simpsons episode. What are the odds that a Times reviewer would compare a serious black play to an episode of Amos and Andy?

Many Christians were clearly relieved that "The Passion of the Christ" wasn't yet another attempt to trample their values. In this context, the hundreds of millions of dollars that "The Passion of the Christ" is ringing up amount to a large cultural statement. The columnist Mark Steyn nicely jabbed at the elites this way: "All those liberal columnists who champion the necessity of brave transgressive artists when it comes to giving us a horny Jesus (The Last Temptation of Christ), a gay Jesus (the Broadway play Corpus Christi), or a Jesus floating in the artist's urine ("Piss Christ") have finally discovered a Jesus it would be grossly irresponsible to show to the public."

Sunday, March 21, 2004

A bit of housecleaning...

My apologies for not posting Saturday. We painted our upstairs living room and dining room on Saturday. Mrs. Jeff selected a color called "Only Yesterday"...very creamy. Mr. Jeff continues to dream of the day he gets to redecorate the one room he has charge of: the downstairs bathroom. "Red Sox Red" is the paint I'll be looking for. :)

Irony at the Box Office

Is it just me, or did anyone else notice the irony of The Passion of the Christ being knocked out of the #1 box office slot by Dawn of the Dead? After the resurrection...dawn of the dead? Nah...fuhgehtaboudit.

In other news, TPOTC obtained the dubios distinction of becoming the all-time #1 R-rated movie. It surpassed The Matrix Reloaded over the weekend, and has now grossed over $295 million.

Friday, March 19, 2004

Religion at Work

Interesting article from the New York Times today, and picked up by the Contra Costa Times of California. Having re-entered the office environment after almost five years in my own business working solo, I find this interesting.

Laura L. Nash, a senior research fellow at Harvard Business School who is an expert on workplace ministries, said their rise reflected the convergence of three trends: After recent corporate accounting scandals, business and religious leaders want to foster an ethical business climate; workers who put in long hours want meaning in their jobs; and, religious organizations want to extend their influence beyond weekly services.

Death and Consent

Chuck Colson's Breakpoint column today, asks a question we face more and more in today's culture of death society.

Once we stop believing in the sanctity of human life, or in the dignity of each person created in the image of God, or in an absolute moral law, how can we argue with an individual’s decision to throw away his own life? How can we ask the state to step in to protect his life, to save him from himself?

Three years ago in Germany, Armin Meiwes placed a personal ad on the Internet, seeking “a young, well-built man who wants to be eaten.”

That’s twisted all by itself, but it’s not the worst part of the story. The worst part is that someone answered the ad.

Gay marriage poll rigged

Mike Rosen of The Rocky Mountain News smelled something fishy going on, and did a little checking into the wording of polls in order to elicit a desired result.

Anytime I hear the results of a poll, one I favor or disfavor, I always want to know the question that was asked. As a political science major, I learned how the manipulation of words and questions is used to gain a desired end. It's used every day by the media and advertisers.

According to a March 10 editorial masquerading as a news story in The Washington Post, the paper's most recent poll found that a majority of Americans "reject(s) amending the U.S. Constitution to ban same-sex marriages in favor of allowing states to make their own laws." Having just seen a CBS News poll suggesting an entirely opposite public sentiment, my first reaction was to compare the wording of the respective questions. My suspicions were confirmed. The Post led respondents to its desired answer by manipulating the question.

CBS News straightforwardly asked: "Would you favor or oppose an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that would allow marriage only between a man and a woman?" By a wide margin, 59 percent favored such an amendment; 35 percent opposed it. The Washington Post put the question this way: "Would you support amending the U.S. Constitution to make it illegal for homosexual couples to get married anywhere in the U.S., or should each state make its own laws on homosexual marriage?" Worded that way, 43 percent favored an amendment; 54 percent opted for state laws.

Will TPOTC Inspire Other Religious Films?

Michael Medved thinks so.

For many years, some lonely dissenters (including this writer) have argued that leading studios could improve their bottom lines by ending their frequent bashing of Christian symbols and substance and launching new efforts to tap into the nation's resurgent religiosity. Gibson has put that theory into triumphal practice, and other idealistic movie moguls already have prepared to follow his lead.

Less than a week after the release of The Passion, a colorful ad covering two full pages appeared in USA TODAY and other national newspapers, announcing an ambitious film (scheduled for Christmas 2005) based on The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe written by the great Christian thinker, C.S. Lewis. The willingness of Walt Disney Pictures, newly partnered with Walden Media, to announce this undertaking so far in advance and in such splashy style surely relates to the astonishing ability of the Gibson film to draw wary moviegoers back to theaters.

Today is the Solemnity of Saint Joseph

Today, as we recall Saint Joseph, we pray with Saint Bernadine of Siena:

Remember us, Saint Joseph, and plead for us to your foster-child. Ask your most holy bride, the Virgin Mary, to look kindly upon us, since she is the mother of Him Who with the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns eternally. Amen.

Thursday, March 18, 2004

Bleeding Hearts

This bit of political-correctness-run-amok was run in today's "Best of the Web" on OpinionJournal.com:

First they came for ROTC, then they came for the Boy Scouts, and now . . . the Red Cross? Yup, the Associated Press reports from Monmouth, Ore., that gay-rights moonbats at Western Oregon University "have launched a drive to ban Red Cross blood drives on campus, claiming the donor screening process discriminates against gays":

The two students are particularly upset about a donor question that reads: "Are you a male who has had sex with another male since 1977, even once?"

The federal Food and Drug Administration, which regulates the Red Cross screening process, will not accept a donation from someone who answers 'yes' to the question, in order to help eliminate potentially HIV-tainted blood.

"By continuing to allow the Red Cross on our campus, the university is telling all the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender students that we don't care about you," said student senator Shauna Bates, who is co-sponsoring the legislation.

Doesn't everyone have an interest in a safe blood supply? If you cut a gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender student, does he not bleed?


These people are scary at how much they have let their ideology blind them to reality. Let me get this straight, Ms. Bates. The university's allowing the Red Cross to be on campus, collecting blood that will not only save the lives of others, but quite possibly your own (or your loved ones), indicates that it doesn't give a rip about you?

Remind me to come back to this quote at the end of the year. In an election year already stocked full of incredibly stupid quotes, hers is now in the lead.

Is This Me?

Rerun
You are Rerun!


Which Peanuts Character are You?
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Our Future?

Data from European demographers and statistical bureaus show that a majority of children in Sweden and Norway are now born out of wedlock, as are 60 percent of first-born children in Denmark. In socially liberal districts of Norway, where the idea of same-sex registered partnerships is widely accepted, marriage itself has almost entirely disappeared.

King & King? Same-sex Marriages in your school libraries

MarriageDebate.com's blog has this story from the AP today.

WILMINGTON, North Carolina (AP) -- The parents of an elementary school pupil are fuming over the book their daughter brought home from the school library: a children's story about a prince whose true love turns out to be another prince.

Michael Hartsell said he and his wife, Tonya, couldn't believe it when Prince Bertie, the leading character in "King & King," waves off a bevy of eligible princes before falling for Prince Lee.

The book ends with the princes marrying and sharing a kiss.

"I was flabbergasted," Hartsell said. "My child is not old enough to understand something like that, especially when it is not in our beliefs."

The 32-page book by Linda De Haan and Stern Nijland was published in March 2002 by Tricycle Press, the children's division of Ten Speed Press of Berkeley, California. A follow-up, "King & King & Family," was recently published.

The publisher's Web site lists the books as intended for readers age 6 and up.

Barbara Hawley, librarian and media coordinator at Freeman Elementary School, said the book has been on the library's shelves since early last year.

The Terrorist's 1st Big Win

Ann Coulter remains one of my favorite columnists, and in her latest column echoes what I said here just a few days ago...Spain surrendered last Sunday and the terrorists have their first victory.

After a terrorist attack by al-Qaida that left hundreds of their fellow countrymen dead, Spanish voters immediately voted to give the terrorists what they want – a socialist government that opposes America's war on terrorism. Al-Qaida has changed a government.

The New York Times called the Spanish election "an exercise in healthy democracy." And an ATM withdrawal with a gun to your head is a "routine banking transaction." Instead of vowing to fight the people who killed their fellow citizens, the Spanish decided to vote with al-Qaida on the war. A murdering terrorist organization said, "Jump!" and an entire country answered, "How high?"

Fifteen Year-Old Girl Dies After RU 486 Abortion in Detroit, Michigan

And it continues...

Meeting JPII

Jim Caviezel tells Peggy Noonan about his meeting with the Pope.

"I walked in and he just waved to me. It was in the Vatican, in a big room; I think it was the library. There were a lot of chambers that went in different places--a room off a room off a room, you know.

"He smiled and waved. There were four of us, me and my wife and my mother-in-law and father-in-law. My wife was right to my right. She kneeled first and she kissed his hand. I kneeled down and kissed his hand, and then we talked.

Continuing the Dumbing Down of Our Students

In the New York Observer, Terry Golway takes a look at his 4th grader's textbook.

Imagine, for example, explaining the Berlin Wall to a bunch of 10-year-olds without mentioning the Soviet Union, the United States or the word "oppression." Well, the non-judgmental authors of Exploring Our Land have managed that trick. They write that in 1945, "a group of countries" divided up Germany. "However, people kept trying to leave East Berlin." Why? The book doesn’t say. Besides, people move around all the time—what’s the big deal anyway? But 28 years later, the book informs young minds, "the people of East Germany changed their government … they decided to remove the boundary between East and West Berlin."

Freedom, oppression—whatever! It is curious that the authors would choose not to mention the depredations visited upon East Berlin—thus causing the pre-Wall flight—for they certainly pull no punches in describing the evils of slavery in America and of white resistance to the civil-rights movement. This is how it should be—which makes the bland, who-are-we-to-judge passage about the Berlin Wall all the more curious.

The book, incidentally, bears the imprimatur of a host of scholars associated with several religious and ethnic organizations, including the Council on Islamic Education, the periodical Hinduism Today, the Institute of Buddhist Studies and the East Asian Institute. This is very worthy indeed, but represents a certain kind of inclusion that most people would recognize as intellectually dishonest.


As a history major, and a lifelong student of the subject, nothing galls me more than the revisionism, and disdain we allow to be shown this very important subject. Yet we allow it to happen more and more each year.

'Passion' rising toward box-office history

Box-office prognosticators point out that few predictions about the filmhave proved accurate. Its success in the Bible Belt was expected, and Berney reports a strong showing in Houston, Dallas, and other Southern cities.

But no one expected "one of the highest-grossing theaters [to be] the AMC Empire in Manhattan," Berney said. "Urban areas, such as metro Detroit, are doing great.... There's a strong African American and Latino component" to the audience.


This article also contained a chart listing the top 10 grossing films of all time, for perspective as to how TPOTC ranks thus far.

All-time domestic blockbusters

Rank / Title / Gross (in millions) / Year of initial release

1. Titanic $600.8 1997
2. Star Wars $461.0 1977
3. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial $435.1 1982
4. Star Wars: The Phantom Menace $431.1 1999
5. Spider-Man $403.7 2002
6. Lord of the Rings: Return of the King $371.1* 2003
7. Jurassic Park $357.1 1993
8. Lord of the Rings: Two Towers $341.8 2002
9. Finding Nemo $339.7 2003
10. Forrest Gump $329.7 1994

* Gross as of Sunday.
Note: Figures are not adjusted for inflation.

A more complete list shows TPOTC currently at #22 all time...nestled between The Matrix Reloaded and Shrek.

200 million plus

The number of Americans with Internet access has topped 200 million, or nearly three-fourths of the US population older than two...

On Grace, Pain, and Evil

Steve Kellmeyer writes an informative article on the subject of God's grace.

How we respond to the natural goods and evils we meet every day influences how we decide to cooperate with the grace that dwells within us. The idea is this: no matter what comes our way, we will choose to cooperate with the power of grace within us; we will not choose to empty ourselves of it in despair.

God is the source of grace. We experience pain because the world is short on grace. If the world is the road to heaven, pain is one of the potholes, a possible impediment to reaching our destination if we hit it with the wrong attitude and/or use it wrongly. However, if at the moment we encounter pain, we remain open to the God Who is the source of grace, we become a pipeline. If we cooperate with the grace He places within us, He can use us as instruments to fill the potholes in the road. The world’s pain is lessened. Not only do we find ourselves on the road to heaven, but we have also helped make the road smoother for others to follow. Thus, like an athlete training for a marathon, a Christian can say “pain is good” only in reference to the pain he himself endures as part of the work he does with God as God goes about healing the world.

Today is...

Awkward Moments Day! How appropriate for some after quaffing too many green beers yesterday.

Wednesday, March 17, 2004

Dress-Up Jesus?

While I used to be easily offended, I've learned through the years to roll with the punches. But this truly warrants my disgust.

Urban Outfitters of King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, are selling a "Dress Up Jesus" doll. You can dress Jesus in different outfits such as a hula skirt, or a devil's outfit. Passing for what has to be in the poorest of tastes I've witnessed in quite some time, the company responded to an irate customer's email this way:

In an e-mail response to Gerry, the company said it doesn't sell the dress-up Jesus to provoke or offend people, but rather sells it to reflect a diversity of opinion among its customer base.

There is a photo slideshow linked to this story, and you can see the various outfits with which you can dress Jesus. Or, for those of you wanting to make a statement, you can hang different signs above his head on the cross. From "Hang In There, Baby!" to "TGIF." WHAT???

Ok. I need to get a grip and head to Old Chicago's for a calzone, a beer, and an Irish drinking song.

But I LOVE Oktoberfest!!!

I don't wear green on March 17th. Call me a killjoy...just never got into it.

Besides, I'm 25% Welsh, 25% Czech, 25% Norwegian, 25% Prussian. My great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather Lewis Walker came to Massachusetts in 1687 from Wales.

Catholic Schools: "We're not pretty, but we're good."

Although I'm not sure why the author of this article in The Portsmouth (Maine) Herald chose the title she did (Catholic school - it’s not what it used to be), but she nonetheless wrote a very positive and truthful piece about Catholic schools. I say truthful because I know of what I speak. My 8-year old Nolan is a 2nd grader at St. John's here in Lincoln and he loves it, as do we his parents...for many of the reasons cited in this article.

Sure there is a lot of fundraising (actually, I feel we could do more sometimes), but the involvement of the teachers, staff, parents and students is wonderful. We're gearing up for our school endowment dinner as well, and have a golf tournament coming up to raise funds (and have fun) as well.

A private Catholic school serving students in grades pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, the school is an educational gem, nestled unobtrusively among quiet, mostly residential Austin Street. The small school is stretching slightly at the seams, and some of the classrooms could use a paint job. There are only a few computers per grade. But Principal Janet DiNatale just tells parents, "We’re not pretty, but we’re good."

In hopes of raising funds for technology (including projectors and new computers) and establishing an endowment fund, the St. Patrick School Home and School Association will hold an auction on Friday, March 26 at the Portsmouth Country Club. Association President Steve Barns hopes to raise at least $10,000. And, according to Barnes, if they make a little more, they might even be able to expand the science lab and put a new sign out front.

Parental involvement in fundraising is crucial to the school’s operations. And the parents are willing to help. "I get calls every night with parents asking ‘what can I do?,’" says Barnes.

Meanwhile, there is no shortage of students and parents (Catholics and non-Catholics alike), who want to get their kids into the school. Spending an afternoon at St. Patrick, it’s not hard to see why.

The Most Bizarre Passion article yet

From the New Statesman, a leftist British publication. Just as I was posting this, it was removed from the free site, and now you have to subscribe. Too weird.

The violence is not only heavy-handed, it is unrealistic. I know this because I have been crucified myself. An enactment ritual has existed in the Philippines since 1961, and in August 2000 I was the first westerner to take part.

When I got back from The Passion of the Christ, I decided to watch the 15-minute film of my crucifixion, shot by Sarah Lucas, for the first time in more than a year. I saw myself lying down on my cross, holding out my hands, first one, then the other, to a Filipino I had never met, who bathed them in alcohol before pressing his thumb down in the centre of the palm, feeling again for the right point of entry. My arms were strapped to the bars with two ribbons of cloth on each side - presumably to prevent me from jerking them away, from tearing the nails loose. My feet were supported on a small platform of wood.

Obviously, I didn't die on the cross, which was disappointing. Under certain conditions, a great work of art is a kind of suicide, which is what I wanted mine to be. I have always wanted to have a significant death. I yearn to go out in a blaze of glory. But I can't. I'd even settle for a blaze of ignominy. Yet it seems even a cheap death is hard to come by.

More about Jim Caviezel's visit with the Pope

From Zenit.org:

"John Paul II is a very special man for a very special world. He is the Pope of Fatima," Caviezel said in reference to the explanation given by the Holy See to the so-called third secret of the Virgin confided to the three little Portuguese shepherds. "The Pope is a mystic. He loves Christ."

Much Ado About Nothing?

A nationwide survey conducted for the Institute for Jewish and Community Research finds that 83 percent of Americans familiar with the film say it's made them neither more nor less likely to blame today's Jews for Jesus' crucifixion.

Nine percent said Mel Gibson's film actually has made them less likely to blame today's Jews, while less than 2 percent said they're more likely to fault modern Jews or Jewish institutions.

Amy Strikes a Chord

Amy Welborn writes this morning about a song I've heard far too many times at morning Mass at St. John's. I never have cared for it. I always thought it sounded like something straight out of the flower-power era...turns out it was.

The Lord of the Dance
With all due respect to its composer, who just passed away......boy, do I cringe at this one.

I danced for the scribes and the Pharisees
They wouldn't dance, they wouldn't follow me
I danced for the fishermen James and John
They came with me so the dance went on
I lead you all in the dance, said he ...

I danced on the Sabbath and I cured the lame
The holy people said it was a shame
They ripped, they stripped, they hung me high
Left me there on the cross to die

...I danced on a Friday when the world turned black
It's hard to dance with the devil on your back
They buried my body, they thought I was gone
But I am the dance, and the dance goes on


Right up there with Let There Be Peace on Earth

Why? Why? Why?

The number's success stems from two elements. It has a lively, catchy tune, adapted from an air of the American Shaker movement. But the optimistic lines "I danced in the morning when the world begun/ and I danced in the moon and the stars and the sun" also contain a hint of paganism which, mixed with Christianity, makes it attractive to those of ambiguous religious beliefs or none at all.

Carter himself genially admitted that he had been partly inspired by the statue of Shiva which sat on his desk; and, whenever he was asked to resolve the contradiction, he would declare that he had never tried to do so.

However, he admitted to being as astonished as anyone by its success. "I did not think the churches would like it at all. I thought many people would find it pretty far flown, probably heretical and anyway dubiously Christian. But in fact people did sing it and, unknown to me, it touched a chord. . .

I Can Finally Drive!!!

My inner child is sixteen years old today

My inner child is sixteen years old!


Life's not fair! It's never been fair, but while
adults might just accept that, I know
something's gotta change. And it's gonna
change, just as soon as I become an adult and
get some power of my own.


How Old is Your Inner Child?
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The 'Virtue of Innocence'

From an actual exchange between teacher and student in Toronto:

“How many of you are ‘pro-choice’?” she asked her grade school pupils. Immediately, all hands shot up, except one. “Why are you not ‘pro-choice’?” the teacher queried her lone dissenter. “Because I am ‘pro-life’,” she said, with a confidence that seemed to belie her tender age of seven years. “And why are you ‘pro-life’?” the teacher continued. “Because my Mommy and Daddy are ‘pro-life’,” was the youngster’s firm reply.

But her stern examiner had not yet completed her line of inquiry. “Suppose your parents were morons?” “Then,” said the little girl, and quite emphatically, “I’d be ‘pro-choice.’”


Good for her! A question: Why in the world is this teacher introducing her personal ideology into her classroom instead of the basics of reading, writing and 'rithmatic?

Did the Shepherd of Hermas, in the second century, have any inkling into how prophetic he was when he uttered these words: “Be simple and guileless, and you will be as the children who know not the wickedness that ruins the life of men.”

And the culture war continues...

Who was St. Patrick?

Click here or here to learn more.

Why a shamrock?

Patrick used the shamrock to explain the Trinity, and has been associated with him and the Irish since that time.


Prayer for the Faithful by Saint Patrick
May the Strength of God guide us.
May the Power of God preserve us.
May the Wisdom of God instruct us.
May the Hand of God protect us.
May the Way of God direct us.
May the Shield of God defend us.
May the Angels of God guard us.
- Against the snares of the evil one.

May Christ be with us!
May Christ be before us!
May Christ be in us,
Christ be over all!

May Thy Grace, Lord,
Always be ours,
This day, O Lord, and forevermore. Amen.

Fruits of The Passion

My "Must Read of the Day"

Mark Shea has a very encouraging column today in which he shows the positive effects TPOTC has had on Catholics, Protestants, and others who have witnessed the film. He also points out the reality of how some people simply do not get it. "It" being the reasoning behind Christ's suffering the way He did for us unto death.

Things are taking place now which would have been unimaginable a generation ago. So, for instance:

• The head of a prominent Protestant television ministry said to a gathering of more than 500 hundred mostly Evangelical ministers who had just viewed The Passion of the Christ: "This film puts Christ back on our bare crosses."

• Multiplex theatres in some cities in the deeply Protestant Douth debuted the film on up to twenty screens at a time.

• A not-uncommon reaction of Evangelical women to the film is that Catholic reverence for Mary is starting to make sense. As one Evangelical woman summed things up: "I could relate to Mary watching her son die."

• Mel Gibson himself told Christianity Today: "I've been actually amazed at the way I would say the Evangelical audience has — hands down — responded to this film more than any other Christian group."

A Guide to the Passion: 100 Questions about The Passion of the Christ, published by Catholic Exchange and Ascension Press, has sold nearly 400,000 copies in the past month, making it the fastest-selling Catholic book in history.

What makes all this so amazing is that The Passion of the Christ is, with a full throat, a profoundly Marian and deeply Eucharistic proclamation of the gospel in a largely Protestant and even post-Protestant culture.

Happy St. Patrick's Day to our Readers!!
beannachtaí na féile Pádraig

May the road rise to meet you,
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
The rains fall soft upon your fields and,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Tuesday, March 16, 2004

77 Times

That's how many times Jesus says we are to forgive those who have sinned against us in today's Gospel reading. If you're like me, you are guilty sometimes of acting like an accountant and keep a mental "ledger" on the "accounts" of those around me: family, children, friends, co-workers, etc. But we have to throw away those accountant hats and ledgers, and instead be like the parent who never gives up loving and hoping for the child. Only in this way will our hearts be wide open enough to receive all of the forgiveness and understanding that we ourselves need.

Self-deification

Dennis Prager writes today that for many, it's the heart vs. the Bible when it comes to making moral decisions. He gives a few pertinent examples of the inherent dangers in this, using gay marriage, animal rights, and abortion as examples, and I find I agree. Images seen by the eyes are powerful things indeed, and do have an effect on our hearts. Savvy marketing and advertising execs have known this for years...and in this about-to-get-heated-election year, if you step back and watch, politicians know this too.

Which then leads into the whole "feeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeelings" debate. Don't even get me started on THAT one. :)

It is therefore frightening that hundreds of millions of people find no problem in acknowledging that their heart is the source of their values. Their heart knows better than thousands of years of accumulated wisdom; better than religions shaped by most of the finest thinkers of our civilization (and, to the believer, by God); and better than the book that has guided our society -- from the Founders of our uniquely successful society to the foes of slavery to the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and most of the leaders of the struggle for racial equality.

Windfall

I receive daily Mountain Wings posts in my email, and sometimes they are very good. I thought I'd share this one today.

Windfall
=========

A recent prayer request was the shortest prayer request that I can remember reading.

It consisted of one word.

"Windfall"

That was it. That was the entire prayer request.

I knew what they were asking, but I wonder if they knew.

The dictionary has two definitions for "windfall."
#1. A sudden, unexpected piece of good fortune or personal gain.
#2. Something, such as a ripened fruit, that has been blown down by the wind.

I am sure they "meant" definition number one, but the exact request could apply to either definition. They didn't specify.

I have learned my greatest lessons, gained my greatest wisdom and insight, had my horizons broadened the most, not by
definition number one but by definition number two.

When I am flying high with plenty of money and great success, the problem is remaining humble. No matter who you are, success can go to your head. Pride makes you ripe for a fall.

I've seen it in other men, and I've seen in myself.

Sometimes we need to fall to be able to truly rise.

The word spirit in scripture is "pneuma," it means breath or wind. That's why the word for breathing is respiration.

Sometimes we need the wind to make us fall so we won't be so high and mighty. So we understand we are not fully in charge.

What prayer did I pray?

I prayed for God to send the right windfall.

Sometimes the only way that we can realize some things is with a windfall.

Lent & Fasting

Have you ever been asked this question?

Someone approached me with a question about why we have Lent and also why we do not fast for the entire forty days. Could you please explain the message behind Lent and why we do not fast every single day of the forty days?

A new column from Dear Grace gives you the answers.

And speaking of The Passion...

Jim Caveizel meets JPII

TPOTC and Vote 2004
Mort Kondrake, a political columnist in Washington DC, writes an article about the possible effect of TPOTC on the upcoming presidential election. But he also cites this item of interest:

A Gallup poll on Tuesday showed that an astounding 11 percent of American adults had seen the film already — about 24 million people — and that an additional 65 percent planned to see it in a theater or on video. Seventy-seven percent had a favorable opinion of it based on what they'd seen or heard; 78 percent of those who've seen it said it had strengthened their religious faith; and 87 percent thought the violence appropriate for the message.

Conversion Stories Sought
Executive Producer Jody Eldred is producing an hour-long TV special to air this Easter featuring the many lives changed through the powerful film, The Passion of The Christ. The special titled Changed Lives: Miracles of The Passion will tell the incredible stories of lives changed by Jesus as a result of having seen The Passion of The Christ. The special will air on Easter, so there is very little time left. If you or someone you know has a conversion story that was made possible through this film, please contact Jody Eldred at once with the following information:

1. A sentence or two on what has happened — what's the story?
2. Contact information on the individual — (name, city, email, phone number).

If the story meets the need of the special, the individual will travel on location to film a segment on their testimony. The shooting has to be FINISHED by Friday, March 26.


The Dolorous Passion
And finally, the BBC reports that adjusted figures show that Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ has broken the US five-day box office record held by The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. But elsewhere in the article, it also says this about The Dolorous Passion of the Christ, by Anne Emmerich:

...a book Gibson used for the movie - The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ - has seen sales jump from 3,000 in 2002 to 17,000 this February alone.

You can also read this book online. Just be ready...it has 66 chapters and 330 pages.

Mother Teresa, on Lent

"Lent is a time when we relive the Passion of Christ. Let it not be just a time when our feelings are roused, but let it be a change that comes through cooperation with God's grace in real sacrifices of self."

Today is...

Lips Appreciation Day!!!

Monday, March 15, 2004

A Culture of Restraint & Responsibility

Suzanne Fields writes an encouraging article today.

The ranks of the "good girls" are growing. Teenage pregnancies are down, way down. The high rates recorded in the 1980s, peaking in 1990 at 116.9 of every thousand girls, have steadily declined. Among teenage girls between 15 to 19 years old in 2000, the rate was 83.6 per 1,000 girls. The good news reaches across all racial and ethnic groups in every one of the states.

Teenagers are changing the message for themselves, having overdosed on the culture of movies, music and television that plays to the lowest common denominator of irresponsible sex and vulgarity. The adolescents among us may be tired of imitating the bad behavior of adults. Teenage girls are sick of being labeled "ho's," "sluts" "skeezers" and "slides" by the mindless slang of rap music. They want self-respect. What's more astonishing is that increasing numbers of young men want the same thing.

Get a Grip, Gary

Continuing his meltdown in Boulder, Mr. Barnett stuck yet another foot in his mouth. Abe Lincoln had General McClellan...Coach Barnett has his own ineptness.

In one letter written one week before his Feb. 18 suspension, Barnett said Abraham Lincoln suffered eight election losses, twice failed in business and suffered a nervous breakdown before cementing his place in history as president.

"At times like this, I find it inspiring to look back through history and see people that have been knocked down or slipped along their journey and fought back and experienced great triumphs," Barnett wrote.

A Husband for Uncle Walter?

“I do think one of the factors was we were of different sexes. That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t have been happy to be married to several friends I had of the same sex. It just never came up in our particular relations.”

– Former CBS anchor Walter Cronkite, when asked why his marriage to Betsy Cronkite had lasted so long, as quoted in the March 2 San Francisco Chronicle.


Every two weeks, the Media Resource Center publishes its Notable Quotables, a favorite of mine showcasing the most recent inanities from our media. This was only one of several oddities from the latest issue.

A Victory for the Terrorists

I must admit to being a little disturbed at how quickly the Spaniards capitulated to the terrorists in yesterday's Spanish elections. By voting out the party in power, and electing a government that promises to withdraw support in Iraq, this sends a foreboding signal that elections of nations involved in the war on terrorism can be swayed by more terrorism.

So what happens in America this October or early November, when the choices between candidates has never been more clear? It will be a very interesting time...

10,000 per year

The sadness that is China.

What Mel Has Wrought

While TPOTC has now surpassed $264 million, and is set to become one of the biggest movies, if not the biggest, of all time, there's other interesting news about biblical movies.

On one hand, you have the Hollywood moguls thinking about doing biblical movies now in the wake of Mel's success. This NYTimes article has a lot of good information about the success of TPOTC.

The movie's box-office success has been chewed over in studio staff meetings and at pricey watering holes all over Hollywood, echoed in interviews with numerous executives in the last week. In marketing departments the film is regarded as pure genius; its director, Mel Gibson, is credited with stoking a controversy that yanked the film from the margins of the culture to center stage, presenting it as a must-see.

There is little doubt at the studios that the movie will affect decision making in the short and the long term. Some predict, as one result, a wave of New Testament-themed movies or more religious films in general.

"Will there really be scriptural pictures — Old Testament, New Testament?" asked Peter Guber, a producer who formerly ran Sony Pictures Entertainment. "The answer seemingly is probably so."


But Mr. Gibson himself is looking into other biblically themed movies as well. Of course, only he knows for sure what he's going to do after he finishes work on Mad Max 4, but a movie like this, done correctly, would do much to silence the cries of anti-Semiticism being thrown his way.

The first rumor is that the filmmaker intends to make a movie about the central characters of the holiday of Hanukkah, fighters called the Maccabees. Nearly 200 years before Jesus' birth, they rose against Israel's pagan occupiers and their Jewish allies. The rebels triumphed in a guerilla war, and the temple in Jerusalem was cleansed.

Which entity would you trust to make an honest biblical film?

Stealing The Code

So we find out that the anti-Catholic novelist isn't even original? How shocking from a man who claims as FACT all the premises in his book. Seems that the man misleading the millions of readers of his book (and movie that's in production) has a bit of a problem on his hands...

DAN Brown, the author of last year's best-selling "The Da Vinci Code," is nothing but a plagiarist, charges the author of two novels that are strikingly similar to Brown's.

Author Lewis Perdue is preparing to sue Brown for copyright infringement, claiming "The Da Vinci Code" is in large part stolen from his 1983 novel, "The Da Vinci Legacy" and its 1985 follow-up, "Daughter of God" - which were both recently optioned by "Survivor" creator Mark Burnett.

A representative for Brown's publisher, Random House, says, "The charges are without merit."

All three books are about a woman who stumbles onto a bizarre plot by the Catholic church to cover up evidence of a female messiah. Within that context, Perdue alleges very specific parallels.

According to documents prepared by John Olsson, head of the Forensic Linguistics Institute - who is helping Perdue prepare his case for free - in all three novels:

* The action is launched by the murder of an art expert who is found dying in his office, and who scribbles a clue in his own blood.

* The male hero, who knows the murdered expert, is accused of the killing.

* The clue left by the dead expert leads the hero and heroine to a painting on a wood panel whose title refers to the woman being worshipped in the novel.

* The curator in charge of the painting gives the heroine a gold key that opens a safe deposit box in a Zurich bank, which holds yet another container requiring a combination.

* Leonardo Da Vinci's notebook "Codex Leicester" is used to make a critical plot point. Strangely, both novelists make the same factual error about the famous work. Da Vinci wrote the book - now known as "Codex Hammer" - on 18 double-sided sheets of linen loose-leaf paper. Perdue and Brown both mistakenly state that it was written on parchment.

Sexual Abuse by Educators Is Scrutinized

I am not defending what some priests did, only citing an article on research that was mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act.

...despite the limitations of the existing research base, the scope of the problem appears to far exceed the priest abuse scandal in the Roman Catholic Church, said Charol Shakeshaft, the Hofstra University scholar who prepared the report.

The best data available suggest that nearly 10 percent of American students are targets of unwanted sexual attention by public school employees—ranging from sexual comments to rape—at some point during their school-age years, Ms. Shakeshaft said.

"So we think the Catholic Church has a problem?" she said.

Hello, Good Neighbor!
This of course, comes as a surprise to no one. :)





What lesser-known Simpsons character are you?

Brought to you by the good folks at sacwriters.com
.

Refuel, NCV
The Complete New Testament for Guys


This BibleMag is a totally cool new way for teen guys to read the Bible. Formatted like a sports or entertainment magazine, this New Testament Bible comes to life with relevant application. Based on the success of Revolve, and in response to tremendous customer feedback, this Bible is sure to be a hit!

Includes great topics like:

Inside Her Head: Real Girls Give Their Opinions
172 Lists: On Everything
Look Cool: Tips on Your Self
Dive In: How to Make Your Faith Real
240 Ways to Walk the Walk

Ewww....all I can say really. What's next? Snowboarding with St. Paul?

Another milestone for JPII

Yesterday John Paul, who marked the 25th anniversary of his election as pope on Oct. 16, passed Pope Leo XIII to become the third-longest-serving pontiff in the history of the Roman Catholic Church.

The Vatican lists St. Peter, the first pope, as serving from A.D. 30 to 64 or 67 — a total of either 34 or 37 years. Second on the longevity list is Pius IX, who served 31 years, seven months and 17 days until July 20, 1903.

The Pill's effect on Marriage

Donald Sensing has an interesting take on the demise of marriage, and how the pill began the process 40 years ago, NOT the law-breaking mayor of San Francisco last month.

When society decided--and we have decided, this fight is over--that society would no longer decide the legitimacy of sexual relations between particular men and women, weddings became basically symbolic rather than substantive, and have come for most couples the shortcut way to make the legal compact regarding property rights, inheritance and certain other regulatory benefits. But what weddings do not do any longer is give to a man and a woman society's permission to have sex and procreate.

Sex, childbearing and marriage now have no necessary connection to one another, because the biological connection between sex and childbearing is controllable. The fundamental basis for marriage has thus been technologically obviated. Pair that development with rampant, easy divorce without social stigma, and talk in 2004 of "saving marriage" is pretty specious. There's little there left to save. Men and women today who have successful, enduring marriages till death do them part do so in spite of society, not because of it.

Today's Holiday

The Ides of March.

Does anyone today even remember what the significance of that is I wonder?

For everyone else it IS "Act Happy Day" also. :)

Sunday, March 14, 2004

So very close...

The papers of former Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun, author of the infamous Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion, have been opened to the public. The New York Times, which was given first access to the materials, reports that the Roe decision almost fell until Justice Kennedy changed his mind and approached Blackmun with the idea to uphold parts of a pro-life law while keeping Roe's framework intact.

According to the Times, Blackmun feared the Roe decision would fall when the Court prepared to heard the case of Casey v. Planned Parenthood, which saw the abortion business take on a pro-life Pennsylvania law limiting abortions.

Then, a letter came to Blackmun from Justice Anthony Kennedy saying he had "welcome news."

Chief Justice William Rehnquist had assembled a group of five justices, including Kennedy, who were ready to overturn Roe. Justices Byron White, who dissented in Roe along with Rehnquist, Antonin Scalia, and Clarence Thomas joined Rehnquist in toppling the pro-abortion case.

The court had decided the Casey decision and Rehnquist was hard at work on writing the majority opinion. Then Kennedy backed out.

After meeting with Kennedy a short time later the Times reports, Blackmun grabbed a memo pad and wrote, "Roe sound."

Nothing in the Blackmun files reveals why Kennedy changed his mind.


I'd love to know what changed his mind...