St. Raymond Nonnatus held the office of Ransomer (title given to the monk sent into the lands subject to the Moors to arrange for the ransom of prisoners) for the Mercedarian order (on order founded by St. Peter Nolasco dedicated to ransoming Christian slaves from the infidel Moors) the priest in charge of the monetary sums to free Christians who were enslaved by the "peace loving" Muslims. He was concerned with freeing these Christian slaves from the chains of their infidel captors, but his greater concern was their spiritual well-being and the conversion of their Mahometan captors. This Muslim proselytizing did not set will with the Moorish governor and St. Raymond was condemned to be impaled by thrusting a stake upward through his nether regions. Slave owners who benefited from his ransom however convinced the governor to spare his life and only subject him to a cruel running the gauntlet. Undaunted by such corporal punishment, St. Raymond went back to preaching the good news to the infidel slave masters. Now even more enraged and his attempts to convert his Muslim brethren, the governor had him captured again, his lips bored through with a red hot iron and a metal padlock placed through the holes in order to keep his mouth shut. The governor Mussulman governor himself held the key and only gave it to his captors when St. Raymond had to eat. He remained in prison a full eight months in this condition, until St. Peter Nolasco paid his ransom.
Southern Decadence Festival This Weekend in Nude Orleans
This Labor Day Weekend the annual Southern Decadence Sodomy Festival is going on in New Orleans. I am not going to link to the site because I am sure there are some foul images on it. Anyhow, homosexuals from all over the nation and the world get together for a big orgy in the French Quarter. This is why I am not going to New Orleans this Labor Day weekend.
Kim Jong Il must be ruthless because you usually don’t get to head up a country when you look that freaky. He’s like the Buddy Holly of the Pan-Pacific Rim. Weird hair -- like a Chia-Dictator. I hope if they eventually blow that head off, somebody has the good sense to put it in a jar and bring it back home, because I know I’d pay a nickel to see that up close in a tent.
Yes, I know everyone's been posting it, so I am going to join the crowd. I burst out laughing yesterday when I read his letter in my latest issue of Crisis, then had to go back one more time to make sure I read it correctly. What a riot.
SPARE THE MEAT, SPOIL THE GOSPEL
I was delighted to read the Manichaean ramblings of Danel Paden, director of the Catholic Vegetarian Society ("Letters," June 2003). It confirmed my theory that fanaticism in Western society alternates between nudism and vegetarianism, both of which contradict the order of grace.
As an optimist, I happily trust that Paden confines his extreme commitments to vegetarianism.
Taste is one thing; it is another thing to condemn meat eating as "evil" and permissible only "in rare and unfortunate circumstances." Paden disagrees with no less an authority than God, Who forbids us to call any edible unworthy (Mark 7: 18-19), and Who enjoins St Peter to eat pork chops and lobster in one of my favorite revelations (Acts 10: 9-16). Does the Catholic Vegetarian Society think that our Lord was wrong to have served up fish to the 5,000, or should He have refrained from eating the Passover Lamb? When He rose from the dead and appeared in the Upper Room, He did not ask for a bowl of Cheerios, nor did He whip up a meatless omelette on the shore of Galilee.
Man was made to eat flesh (Genesis 1: 26-31; 9: 1-6), with the exception of human flesh. I stand on record against cannibalism, whether it be inflicted upon the Mbuti Pygmies by the Congolese Army or on larger people by a maniac in Milwaukee. But I am also grateful that the benevolent father in the parable did not welcome his prodigal son home with a bowl of radishes.
Vegetarians assume an unedifying posture of detachment from the sufferings of vegetables that are mashed, stewed, diced, and shredded. In expensive restaurants, cherries are publicly burned in brandy to the applause of diners. It is not uncommon for people to submerge olives in iced gin and twist the peels of lemons. Be indignant, vegetarian, but not so selectively indignant that the bleat of the lamb and the plaintive moo of the cow drown out the whine of our brother the bean and the quiet sigh of the cauliflower.
Vegetables have reactive impulses. Were we to confine our diet to creatures that lacked sense and do not even respond to light, we could only eat liturgists and liberal Democrats.
Today is the Memorial of the Beheading of John the Baptist
No John the Baptist was not a hydra, but quite a number of cities throught the world claim to have the relic of his severed head, including Amiens, Nemours, St-Jean d'Angeli (all in France), Damascus, and Rome.
St. Augustine tells of how his mother once confessed to him her early struggle with an inordinate love of wine before her conversion, “As Thine handmaid related to me, her son--there had stolen upon her a love of wine. For when she, as being a sober maiden, was as usual bidden by her parents to draw wine from the cask, the vessel being held under the opening, before she poured the wine into the bottle, she would wet the tips of her lips with a little, for more than that her inclination refused. For this she did not from any craving for drink, but out of the overflowing buoyancy of her time of life, which bubbles up with sportiveness, and is, in youthful spirits, wont to be repressed by the gravity of elders. And so unto that little, adding daily littles (for "he that contemneth small things shall fall by little and little"), she contracted such a habit as, to drink off eagerly her little cup nearly full of wine… For the maidservant who used to accompany her to the cellar, falling out, as it happens, with her little mistress, when she was alone with her, cast in her teeth this vice, with very bitter insult, calling her a "wine-bibber." Stung by this taunt, she perceived her foulness, and immediately condemned and renounced it.”
I am working on a talk on homosexuality for tomorrow and I am in need of a couple of quotes from saints who come after Aquinas (preferably counter-reformation and later) on homosexuality. Can anyone help?
An Evening with Ann Coulter
Thursday, September 4, 2003
6:00-8:00 P.M.
(at the home of a friend in Manhattan)
Please join Fr. George W. Rutler and the Friends of the Church of Our Saviour
for a very special evening of cocktails and conversation with Ann Coulter.
Guests will receive an autographed copy of Ann's current bestseller,
Treason: Liberal Treachery from the Cold War to the War on Terrorism
Contribution: $250 per person.
All contributions will go to the Church of Our Saviour Restoration Fund
for the repair of the endangered roof of this architecturally important building.
(Checks may be made payable to Church of Our Saviour Restoration Fund;
contributions are fully tax-deductible under IRS code 501(c)(3).)
Committee:
Dorothy McCartney Karen Furey
For further information, contact:
Dorothy McCartney
(212) 849-2802 / e-mail: dmccartney@nationalreview.com
(If you are not able to be with us but would like to send a contribution,
we would be most grateful. Checks may be sent to:
Rev. George W. Rutler, Church of Our Saviour, 59 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10016.)
I haven't been keeping up with it, but from what I understand Mark Shea has been having a go at it with some traditionalists who are opposed to the Holy Father's Theology of the Body. Being a fairly conservative priest with rad-trad friends and a degree fromt he JPII Institute in Rome, I get quote a lot of this. What I find is that most of them have never really read the Pope;s teaching and really don't understand what it is about. Specifically being a rather developed answer to Manichaeism (the nail in the coffin I think) through a presentation of an "adequate anthropology." I think a lot of people think all it as to do with is sex, and this couldn't be further from the truth. Although I think he has since modified his position, I am sure some of the well-intentioned work of Christopher West has led to this perception. If understood and explained properly, it is powerful stuff and really helps to clear up a lot of confusion couples have about marriage and sex, in particular contraception.
Here is my music recommendation of the month and I am sure it will be on my Top 10 for the year. This duo's well produced album would certainly be classified alt country. Both memebers (male and female) have exceptional voices and they harmonies are lovely. There are tinges of Christian references throughout the lyrics too. A fine driving album, or one to just listen to and relax.
On page 77 of George Weigel's book The Courage to be Catholic he mentions that seminarians who had any sort of devotional life were at one time labeled "POD" - pious and over devotional. This is a phrase that Mr. Weigel picked up from the seminarians in Rome, who used that term as a badege of honor, as a way to describe a variety of pious devotions (mind you, the faculty at the North American College never labeled us "POD" and did everything in their power to encourage devotions).
PODding out on the Memorial of St. Louis, Roi de France
Today on the memorial of St. Louis, my mission parish celebrated its patronal feast. We had a mass this evening with a good attendace of about 150 people. It all went well especially when everyone had the chance to venerate the relic of St. Louis after the homily - even the little kids were kissing the relic and making the sign of the cross. Then after mass most of the folks stayed to venerate the relic and pray at the statue of St. Louis to intercede for the parish and community. After the mass we went ot the hall and had a big meal. Delicious.
I saw the French film Man on a Train today in the theatre. I was hoping for something much better than what I saw. It is about two men who happen to meet and as they get to know each other they begin to envy each others lives while they hate their own. My problem was I didn't envy either of them nor did I become interested in them as characters, not even at the end of the movie. Overall, the film tried to hard to be deep. My grade: C+.
On Saturday, Raymond cut the grass and asked for liver for lunch, which Mary obliged. His heart gave out later that day. In the days that followed, Mary tried to remain stoic but her heart, too, finally gave out at Raymond's funeral on Tuesday.
St. Bartholomew has the worst death of all the apostles - he was skinned alive. Often you will see him depicted holding his flayed skin (in the Sistine Chapel, Michelangelo depicted the glorified apostle's skin bearing his own visage). The above image is my favorite however, with all of his skin removed in what appears to be a "red suit." Not surprisingly, he is the patron saint of leather workers.
Wesley Willis, schizophrenic street person turned rock star died yesterday. Wesley Willis was the author of such classics as "Rock and Roll McDonalds" and "Cut the Mullet." Rock on Wesley.
Alright, I am up for sending this around. I don't know how to do it? Would a fax work - we could each sign it and then fax it around till we get a bunch of signatures? What if it gets lost on the way? I guess it shouldn't be that hard to write up either. Maybe something like this...
We, the undersigned priests of the Roman Catholic Church, declare that we value our celibacy as an integral part of our sacerdotal identity and for the eschatological witness it gives to the world. We believe that this noble tradition of mandatory celibacy for priests in the Latin Church should be preserved and fostered and that acceptance of optional clerical celibacy should rejected.
I finally got fed up with going to the viedo store to rent movies and them never having what I want (and always having tons of copis of straight-to-video crap and all of the Hollywood blockbusters) that I joined Netflix. How it will be delivering the movies is to be see, but man do they have a selection! These are the first three movies I am getting:
One of the greatest inventions of all time is Lactose Free Milk (and Lactaid pills). I always have a carton in my fridge since I am very lactose intolerant. But what disturbs me about Lactaid is the new little logo they have. This one, of a man dancing with a cow.
I understand that they are trying to say - that milk and me are one again, that we can "cow"laborate. It just seems unnatural. Then again Lactose free milk might be considered unnatural by some. Not as unnatural as soy milk though.
I'm sure everyone has heard about the Milwaukee priests who petitioned for optional clerical celibacy. Well, a priest friend of mine came up with a great idea to counter this - pass around a petition for priests who are in favor of maintaining the practice of priestly celibacy. Can we do this over the internet? Any ideas, especially from you Fathers out there? I am quite sure we can get more than 160 signatures.
What exoctic instrument of penance is St. Rose wielding in this icon?
St. Rose was dedicated to a life of penance and mortification from the earliest age. As a young girl known for her radiant natural beauty, in order to avoid the sin of vanity she rubbed pepper and lye in her face to ruin her complexion so she would not appear attractive. Besides suffering from the invisible stigmata, wearing a metal crown of thorns on her head, and chains around her waste, in order to deprive herself of sleep she would knot her hair around a nail in the wall and hang there suspended so that her feet would dangle just above the floor in order to cause the greatest amount of discomfort.
Is anyone out there talking about the right of a state to erect a monument to the ten commandements, especially in a State Building, without intereference from the federal government? Do we live still live in the United States of America, or is it just America? Isn't this hoe our nation was created?
Marsha Stevens seems to be the Amy Grant of Lesbian Christian Music. You can check out photos of her and her lesbian lover here. Take a look at her pastor too. It appears that they will all be travelling to Vermont next week for Marsha and her lover's civil marriage. They want you to join them for their "holy vows". Just click here.
On a similar note, of straight men who dress like women and sing Christian music, Christian glam rock super group Stryper is getting back together for a tour. Rock on.
Pius X, like so many men of his time, had the occasional fancy to use powdered tobacco, otherwise known as snuff (St. Padre Pio was also fond of this form of tobacco). One day his personal physicians in an effort to inform him of health problems stemming from the use of snuff reminded him that his predecessor Leo XIII gave up his snuff habit towards the end of his life, Pope St. Pius replied, “Come back and see me again when I am ninety-three, that’s when I’ll give it up!”
Thanks to the ever intrepid folks at Holy Whapping you can learn about arguably one of the best bits of Christian esoterica - St. Christopher, Marytr and member of the Dog-head race. I guess he would be the patron of dogs and travellers. Anyhow, read that they have to say in this post.
Many of you know that my blog begin last summer, but most do know know the uber-history of whence the blog came. It is actually a hybrid of sorts. First, back at the North American College I was the purveyor of a bulletin board which came to be known as "The Fourth Convent Board" where I posted articles and oddities for the edification and amusement of the seminarian populace. During my time there the board grew in size and in influence. Second, starting in 1998 I ran a now defunct web page called Sibley's Saintly Salmagundi where I displayed my novice web designing skills and crafted a page dedicated to my favorite saints. But then came blogging and it allowed me to have the best of both worlds - so thus came into being A Saintly Salmagundi.
This is my favorite statue of St. Bernard, and arguably my favorite statue of all time. It can be found in the beautiful Romanesque church in Vezelay, France. St. Bernard holds a sword high in the air while he preaches the Second Crusade in the Church during Easter in the 12th century. I want one of these for my church.
Father Guido Sarducci will be campaigning against the Terminator for governor of California, along with nearly 200 other candidates in the recall election for Gov. Gray Davis on Oct. 7.
Comedian Don Novello, now 60, who grew up in Lorain and graduated from Lorain High School in 1961, played the chain-smoking priest, Father Guido Sarducci, on ''Saturday Night Live'' -- a character he created in the 1970s.
Novello, who lives in San Anselmo, near San Francisco, filed his intentions to run for governor with the Marin County Board of Elections on Saturday, the last day to file, a spokesman at its board of elections said yesterday.
Did you know that Novello was banned from Vatican City State when he was removed from St. Peter's Basilica for impersonating a priest?
A SOUTH London priest has admitted dancing in the middle of a Formula One track as Grand Prix drivers rocketed past at 200mph. Speeding drivers including British star David Coulthard were forced to take evasive action when Neil Horan ran on to Silverstone dressed as an Irish dancer. Millions of racing fans watched on television as the priest avoided security and strolled on armed with a placard carrying a religious slogan.
Here is a brief bio. From this article it seems he has made a habit of doing his little dance. It seems it was in protest to the war in Iraq.
Using the Yo-God God Detector, we don't need to rely on odd turnips or other natural events as a way for God to communicate with us. It gives Him a straightforward way to let us know he exists — He simply has to move the dial. Once hundreds or thousands of us ask in unison with the Yo-God God Detector, maybe God will respond.
Petrified Crucifix Corpus Made of Cardiac Tissue Found in St. Clare's Heart
During her life as an Augustinian nun, St. Clare would often pray that Jesus might plant his blessed cross in her heart. She lived out the rest of her existence as an exemplary bride of Christ, and after her death, when they exhumed her body they found it to be incorrupt and perfectly preserved. What’s more when they opened her heart for relics, they found, formed in the cardiac tissue imprints of the instruments of our Lord’s most dolorous passion – including a tiny crucifix about the size of a thumb in the middle! Even more amazing, when they opened her gall bladder three tiny stones were found that all weighed the same together, as they each did individually! It was seen as a tiny image of the Most Blessed Trinity.
This book, written by Tuesday Lobsang Rampa, purported to be Rampa's autobiographical tale of his study and mastery of Tibetan Buddhism. Rampa claimed to have been born into a wealthy Tibetan family, to have studied in Lhasa to become a lama, and then to have undergone an operation that opened up the "third eye" in the middle of his forehead, thus giving him psychic powers.
Please feel free to Read more about Fr. Rampa at this site. You can buy his book here.
A group of Chilean homosexuals celebrate the Assumption by burning Vatican Flags to express their disdain the Vatican's rejection of same sex marriages. Now imagine a group gathering to burn the Rainbow Flag in protest of the gay movement. You'd be in prison now for a hate crime.
The folks at ULC will be happy to ordain you online. While you are there you can buy a ministry kit, get your sins absolved along with a plenary indulgence and even become a monk.
Somehow someone linked from this page to mine, so I clicked on it to find this man lamenting the fact that Christian women in Africa are showing their breasts in church.
What in hell is the name of this latest style? I had occasion recently to ask a woman of God that when the ladies go to the tailors to make such tops, how do they describe that kind of dress they want made, to the tailor? Do they say, "Make for me a blouse that will show my breasts"?
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Ever delving into the depths of internet strangeness, today we stumble upon folks who call themselves Theriantropes - these are people who believe in Theriantropy, the abilty for humans to become different types of animals (most seem to become werewolves or were-something-or-others). Here is my favorite Theriantrope:
Choose from a wide variety of spells the CAA trained witches and warlocks will cast on your behalf. Complimentary with each order the CAA will also make some of your money disappear.
Thanks to one of my faithful readers who has discovered for me a new wellspring of nuttiness. I will be taking large quaffs at the freakshow fountain and sharing the riches with you my faithful readers. Here is the first sip. Get a load of this picture:
Without looking at the tag, can anyone guess who it is?
Update: KH wins the purple cookie. It is freakshow central L. Ron Hubbard. Oh, and here is a picture of Xenu, the alien warlord who brought us all into existence.
Say "Xenu, the Alien Warlord" three times quickly.
Pope Pius XII at Proclamation of the Dogma of the Assumption
"For which reason, after we have poured forth prayers of supplication again and again to God, and have invoked the light of the Spirit of Truth, for the glory of Almighty God who has lavished his special affection upon the Virgin Mary, for the honor of her Son, the immortal King of the Ages and the Victor over sin and death, for the increase of the glory of that same august Mother, and for the joy and exultation of the entire Church; by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own authority, we pronounce, declare, and define it to be a divinely revealed dogma: that the Immaculate Mother of God, the ever Virgin Mary, having completed the course of her earthly life, was assumed body and soul into heavenly glory."
(Pius XII Munificentissimus Deus #44; 1 November 1950).
Welcome to the Goddess 2000 Project where their motto is "A Goddess on Every Block!" This site abounds with nuttiness. Here is their mission statement:
The ~Goddess 2000 Project~ is a healing Community Event that seeks to include all branches of the Earth Spirit, Goddess, Pagan, Dianic, Wiccan, Asatru, Yoruba, Heathen, Indigenous Spiritualities, and other Earth honoring folks.
Whatever our own individual Paths, we have come together here to Celebrate the return of the Goddess, focusing on our shared beliefs, not our differences.
Ratzinger writes “the guilt which goes on because of me is part of me. Reaching as it does deep into me, it is part of my perfect abandonment to time, whereby human beings really do continue to suffer on my account and which, therefore, still affects me." For the Christian guilt is bondage to time, therefore, in some way, sin and the guilt of our sin weighs us to this world. This "view" of guilt and sin in time helps us to understand a bit better the doctrine of purgatory. “Purgatory,” Ratzinger says is, “still unresolved guilt, a suffering which continues to radiate out because of guilt. Purgatory means, then, suffering to the end that one has left behind on earth." For him, Purgatory exists outside of time, and thus is not so much a "place" but a "state." It is a state of purification in Christ Jesus.
But the same thing holds true for our virtuous, moral deeds, just in reverse. "Whereas guilt is bondage to time, the freedom of love, conversely, is openness for time." Good moral deeds, vivified by love (agape) in a way transcend this world, and thus have merit in heaven. They can be said to truly "participate in eternity." This comes as a result of the Incarnation and the Paschal Mystery - the eternal has entered into history. This salvific reality has great ramifications for us as Christians, and our lives of virtue. And if it hold true for us, then even more so will it hold true for the person who was closest to Jesus, who loved him more on earth and in addition, never sinned against God or against anyone in her life on earth. This is of course, the Blessed Virgin Mary.
From this we are able to better grasp the inner connection between the dogma’s of Mary’s freedom from sin and Assumption into Heaven. Mary is fully in the Father’s house, since no guilt came forth from her to make people suffer. So Mary was assumed into heaven and did not have to suffer purgatory. "Mary was assumed because she had no sin or guilt to tie her to the earth and time. Truly, this world could not hold her." "Just as the glorious resurrection of Christ was an essential part and the final sign of this victory (over sin and death), so that struggle which was common to the Blessed Virgin and her divine Son should be brought to a close by the glorification of her virginal body." For these reasons we believe that the promises our Lord has given to each of us of sharing eternal life, including a resurrection of the body, were fulfilled in Mary. As the Catechism says, "The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin is a singular participation in her Son's resurrection and an anticipation of the resurrection of other Christians: 'In giving birth you kept your virginity; in your Dormition you did not leave the world, O Mother of God, but were joined to the source of Life. You conceived the living God and, by your prayers, will deliver our souls from death.'"
As we approach the Solemnity of the Assumption, I encourage everyone to have a devotion to the Dormition of Our Lady (as it is more commonly known by our Eastern Bretheren). I like to do that particular Marian devotion right after lunch, especially if during lunch I practiced a devotion to The Wedding of Cana.
It was Pope Leo XIII who stopped the castration of male singers for the Sistine choir at the onset of his pontificate (a practice based in the interpretation of the Pauline passage that women were not to speak in church, and thus to get the higher ranges in sacred music young men were often castrated. This also occured in the operatic profession. Moreschi was the last castrato at the Cappella Sistina from 1883-1913 as the conductor since 1898. This is a recording of Moreschi singing, but what it is most noted for is the fact that it is the first time a Pope's voice has been recorded (Pope Leo recited the prayer on the last track). Later in his pontificate, Leo banned i castrati all together.
I finished reading Bedini's book about Pope Leo X's prize white elephant named Hanno. I love reading obscure ecclesiastical history, so for that you can't beat this book. Here is my favorite section from the book:
A passionate devotee of the hunt, [Leo X] insisted on assisting at a simulation of the chase to demonstrate the cheetah's prowess. A number of small live animals were brought and let loose in the [Vatican] garden among the beds of flowers, and the pontiff watched with obvious enjoyment each time the carnivorous beast chased its prey and hurled itself fiercley upon it and tore it apart
For the past 200 years Americans have been told that biblical teaching forbids the drinking of alcoholic beverages. But does it?
In this greatly revised and expanded version of his controversial book, The Christian and Alcoholic Beverages, Kenneth Gentry takes a thorough look at the issue, concluding that Scripture allows wine to be consumed both for health and pleasure—but in moderation.
By careful lexical, exegetical and theological examination, God Gave Wine demonstrates from the Bible the error of those who demand either prohibition or abstention. With the backdrop of Psalm 104:14-15, Gentry shows that wine is God’s blessing to man.
The last day in New Orleans and first full in Chicago were spent visiting museums.
First the Confederate Museum (this was not in Chicago, but New Orleans). Stationed in the beautiful Memorial Hall, the museum houses a nice collection fo Confederate memorabilia. The curators there are also very knowledgable and friendly.
Next door is the National D-Day Museum. I've been there before (plus, I have been to the beaches Normandy itself) but it is such a fine museum. It gives me the frisons everytime I go.
Above is a picture of my favorite New Orleans Church - Immaculate Conception on Baronne. This site has plenty of pictures of all of the Crecent City's beautiful churches.
The second day of our vacation began with a pilgrimage to the Shrine of Bl. Francis Xavier Seelos. They have his relics in a very POD reliquary, unfortunately he his not under the altar. We did say mass at the glorious high altar in the Church of St. Mary's Assumption (needless to say, even though Bl. Seelos would have said mass on that altar, no one has offered the Holy Sacrifice there for awhile). After mass we tourned the museum and then went to the gift shop. They have all sorts of nice items there to purchase. I got some holy cards, images and relics for my church.
posted by Fr. Sibley |
Wednesday, August 13, 2003 | link
RC at Catholic Light tells the story of my new favorite title for Our Lady - Exterminator of Heresies:
Before Leo XIII's papacy, his predecessor had issued the famous "Syllabus of Errors", a wide-ranging list of doctrinal errors Catholics were to shun, and Bp. Pecci had contributed to the document's draft. For better or worse, the Pope didn't adopt his suggestion for the document's title: "Mary, Exterminator of Heresies".
Two Sundays ago Fr. Tom LaHood of duplicate commenting fame who was a classmate of mine in Rome and I went over two New Orleans (not Nude Orleans) for a day and a half before we took off for Chicago. Fr. LaHood had never seen New Orleans. So we got a hotel and roamed around the Quarter for a bit seeing the churches, shops, and straying away from Bourbon Street. The highlight of the day was eating dinner at Brennan's in the Quarter. We had Oysters Rockefeller, the Filet Stanley (filet topped with a fresh mushroom and red wine sauce and served with a sauteed banana and tangy horseradish sauce. It was delicious)and Banana's Foster for dessert.
I am a big John Krakauer fan so it was with great excitement that I picked up and read (or actually listened to) his new book Under the Banner of Heaven. As well written as Into the Wild, this new book explores the roots of Mormon Fundamentalism. It is a chilling read not only for the description of the brutal murders it tells about, but for the creepy origins of the Mormon faith. What I learned fromt he book actually came in handy during my vacation when I approached two Mormon missionaries infront of the Sears Tower in Chicago and began questioning them about polygamy and peepstones. For once in my life I saw Mormons who didn't know what to say. But the book because it is a good read, informative, and will help you to evangelize the Latter Day Saints.
This cannot be for real. It has to be a hoax. Here is the description of the site and project:
The Shower of Stoles is a collection of hundreds of liturgical stoles from gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons from twenty-one denominations in five countries. Each stole contains the story of a GLBT person who is active in the life and leadership of their faith community in some way: minister, elder, deacon, teacher, missionary, musician, administrator or active layperson.
This extraordinary collection celebrates the gifts of GLBT persons who serve God in countless ways, while also lifting up those who have been excluded from service because of their sexual orientation or gender identity.
The collection is displayed in hundreds of locations each year as a witness to the Shower of Stoles mission:
“To end ecclesiastical discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people of faith. "
Some of you awhile back expressed a desire to hear a Lenten mission talk I delivered on tithing. Well, we finally have it on-line. You have two formats to choose from (although the RealAudio files sound better). Thanks to Victor Lams for digitizing and hosting them.
When the Rev. Steven R. Randall learned that his denomination had consented to the first openly homosexual bishop in mainline Protestantism, he decided he could no longer trust the Episcopal Church and its leaders. Mr. Randall, 52, received a standing ovation yesterday after telling his 200-member congregation at St. Timothy's Episcopal Church here that he would no longer obey his bishop nor would his congregation send its monthly $5,000 pledge to the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland.
I am back from vacation and attempting to get back into the swing of things. My commentary on what I did will come intermittently intersperesed with other posts.
I'll be leaving today for a week or so to go on vacation. I'l be going to visit some friends in Chicago and then off to the JPII and Aquinas Conference at Ave Maria College. I'm looking forward to hearing some fine lectures, especially getting to hear and visit with my old professor Fr. Charles Morerod. You can read one of his articles in French here.
Father Stefano Gorzegno had taken about 50 children, aged 12 to 16, from the town of Bojano to Termoli, on the Adriatic coast, for a day trip on Wednesday. When a group of the children were caught in a strong undercurrent, Father Gorzegno, 44, jumped into sea, still clad in his cassock, and managed to pull all seven children from the water, but then collapsed.
Sister Esther pulled out a puppet by the name of Witch Hazel. In her customary shriek, Witch Hazel told the children to never, ever wash their hands, because dirty hands would make them sick and then they would have to go to the hospital.
During his episcopacy, St. Alphonsus was known for his rather direct pastoral style, especially in dealing with errant clergy. There was a priest in his diocese who had been causing problems in his parish by not being faithful to his duties as pastor so Bishop Ligouri summoned him to the Episcopal residence. Before the cleric could arrive our saint placed a crucifix on the step of the main entrance to his home. The priest arrived and knocked on the door, the Bishop answered the door and beckoned the priest to enter. The priest however vacillated wondering what a crucifix was doing on the doorstep and not wanting to step on it upon entering the house. Upon viewing the pastor’s hesitation, St. Alphonsus spoke to him saying, “Father, you have no problem stepping all over our crucified Lord in your parish, why do you hesitate now?”
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