Catholic and Enjoying It!

Finally...

2009-11-09T11:49:00.000-08:00

I just wanted to give some shout outs to the good folks in Denver who had me out to speak this past weekend. In particular, I want to extend thanks to Frank Indiano, who made it all happen, as well as James Cavanagh and the wonderful folks who made the Theology on Tap at Brauns such huge fun! Also, thanks to St. Mary's in Littleton!

Speaking of speaking, I'll be doing it again this week and weekend, first here in Seattle and second in Manassas, VA. Here's the scoop:

November 12 7:00 PM St. Mark's Parish, Shoreline, WA. Topic: The Faith Once Given: Exploring the Creed. A Trinity Formation Resources Presentation.

November 13-14 Sacred Heart Church, Manassas, VA. Topics: 101 Reasons Not To Be Catholic, By What Authority, Incarnation Evangelism, Participation in the Divine Nature. Contact: Alexis Sailer.

Don't miss it if you can!

Prayer Request

2009-11-09T11:02:00.000-08:00

A reader writes:

This little baby is having heart surgery right this minute. Tons of people all over the world are praying for him already, but maybe we can get some Catholics on board?

Father, hear our prayer for this child's complete healing through your Son Jesus Christ. Mother Mary and St. Luke, pray for him and for his doctors and caregivers, as well as all those who love him.

We Need More Osman Danquahs

2009-11-09T10:34:00.000-08:00

Fewer Gen. Caseys would be good too.

Because you can never get enough Japanese Practical Jokes

2009-11-09T10:27:00.001-08:00

If you can read French, a translation would be handy in the combox

2009-11-09T10:14:00.001-08:00

A Canadian reader writes:

I came across this article at an excellent Québec' website called "Point de Bascule" (tipping point). The column is about religious conversions in Kosovo and since it's in french, I'll do a quick resumé.

The article states that in 2008 hundreds of Kosovar Muslims began converting to the Roman Catholic faith. It cites one Kosovar, Ismet Sopi, as saying that for the first time in his life none of the 32 members of his family will be observing Ramadan. He has officially converted to Roman Catholicism and drives 25 miles to mass every Sunday.The majority of Albanians were forcibly converted to Islam by the Ottomans, but they never forgot what their real faith was. They are now rediscovering it and reconverting to it. Sopi was Roman Catholic at home, but in public was always careful to behave like a pious Muslim. The article finishes with a quote from a Mr Muhamet Mala, a professor of religious history from Pristina, in which he states that; "50 to 60 % of Albanians are emotionally attached to Roman Catholicism and with the Ottomans now gone for nearly a century they are beginning to reveal their true religious convictions."

It'll be interesting to see where this trend leads over the next few years. If I stumble across more info ( this article is from Sept. 30th 2008), I will certainly forward it to you.

Good to hear!

A reader writes

2009-11-09T10:11:00.000-08:00

One of my brother seminarians has left the seminary and he's in pretty bad shape. I know he could use a ton of prayers. Thanks.

Father, hear our prayer for your son through Christ our Lord. Amen. Mother Mary, pray for him and obtain for him the grace to soldier on toward the Light of Christ.

Exuberantly in love with Jesus

2009-11-09T09:55:00.000-08:00

A 400 year old Spanish Poor Clare community that is bulging at the seams. The reason: A joyful loved relationship with Jesus.

Lovely story!

We Converts...

2009-11-09T09:45:00.000-08:00

...can be annoying. And not always in a good way.

Okay, I'm a Total Believer Now

2009-11-09T09:34:00.001-08:00

The Large Hadron Collider's attempts to find the God Particle have fallen upon a series of unlikely catastophes which have prompted some physicists to speculate that the creation of a Higg-Boson particle is so much in violation of the laws of nature that it is sending waves back through time to prevent itself from being created.

There was a time when I would have said this was science fiction. But after the latest catastrophe, in which a bird dropped a baguette on the contraption and crashed the whole contraption again, I believe.

The only possible explanation is that the Future is guarding its turf.

But they did nothing because...

2009-11-09T09:11:00.000-08:00

there is no more horrible evil in the universe than profiling. Innocent Americans must simply be expected to watch their children die in perfectly preventable bloodbaths in order to protect Muslims from the horror of profiling.

Meanwhile, as media Talking Hairdos furrow their brows and wonder whether Islam had anything to do with this most recent act of carnage, Hasan's imam drops ever-so-subtle clues that there *might* be a connection here:

Nidal Hassan [sic] is a hero. He is a man of conscience who could not bear living the contradiction of being a Muslim and serving in an army that is fighting against his own people. This is a contradiction that many Muslims brush aside and just pretend that it doesn’t exist. Any decent Muslim cannot live, understanding properly his duties towards his Creator and his fellow Muslims, and yet serve as a US soldier. The US is leading the war against terrorism which in reality is a war against Islam. Its army is directly invading two Muslim countries and indirectly occupying the rest through its stooges.

Nidal opened fire on soldiers who were on their way to be deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. How can there be any dispute about the virtue of what he has done? In fact the only way a Muslim could Islamically justify serving as a soldier in the US army is if his intention is to follow the footsteps of men like Nidal.

The heroic act of brother Nidal also shows the dilemma of the Muslim American community. Increasingly they are being cornered into taking stances that would either make them betray Islam or betray their nation. Many amongst them are choosing the former. The Muslim organizations in America came out in a pitiful chorus condemning Nidal’s operation.The fact that fighting against the US army is an Islamic duty today cannot be disputed. No scholar with a grain of Islamic knowledge can defy the clear cut proofs that Muslims today have the right -rather the duty- to fight against American tyranny. Nidal has killed soldiers who were about to be deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan in order to kill Muslims. The American Muslims who condemned his actions have committed treason against the Muslim Ummah and have fallen into hypocrisy.

Of course, the *real* problem facing us is Inquisitors who lived 500 years ago. And don't forget those Guy Fawkes conspirators and the monstrous cabal of Christian theocrats who are just about to impose The Handmaid's Tale on NY, LA, and DC.

Way to Go, God and Cardinal Newman!

2009-11-09T06:22:00.000-08:00

Spectacular healing obtained through Newman's intercession.

I always wonder why materialists just turn a blind eye to such things. The responses always seem to be stuff like "Unless everybody everywhere is healed of every ailment, then this is not a miracle" or "I'm not looking" or "The Amazing Randi debunked this thing over here, so that thing over there can be ignored" or "When something inexplicable like this happens in response to prayer, I will invoke Really Big Numbers and declare that something weird was bound to happen somewhere, sometime and then swallow this strange event up in a miasma of statistical odds." Anything besides consider the possibility of You Know Who.

Why the Health Care Bill Will Ultimately be DOA

2009-11-09T06:21:00.000-08:00

with or without Stupak Amendment.

All the Dems have to do is give up their sole core commitment: zeal for the sacrament of abortion.

But sin makes you stupid and they will kill the bill before backing down on their most cherished sin.

A reader writes:

2009-11-09T06:20:00.000-08:00

I've lost a bit a respect for Notre Dame University lately as I know many people have. But just now as I was watching a bit of the ND vs.
Navy football game, they ran a most awesome commercial. Not just a commercial, but more like a 3 minute long super promotional recruiting commercial. It was all about the adult stem cell research they're doing using zebra fish to try and restore vision to individuals going blind or already there, amongst other applications. It stated specifically and explicitly how they use adult stem cells versus embryonic ones, which, as a Catholic University, they are very strongly against. I don't know if this will wind up on YouTube soon, but I was really happy to see it.
At least there are some people there with their heads screwed on properly. Just wanted to let you know.

Good to hear!

Prochoice zealot upset...

2009-11-09T06:19:00.000-08:00

because Catholics are allowed a say in democratic process.

Similarly, gay marriage advocates are now expressing their disgust with the idea that people should be allowed a say in how we order the common good. Democracy, we consistently discover, is overrated when lefties don't get their way.

Catholics are dead. Protestants are stupid

2009-11-09T06:18:00.000-08:00

Sherry Weddell takes a look at some of the cartoons Christians believe about each other.

Speaking of Good Causes

2009-11-09T06:17:00.000-08:00

Belmont Abbey College is doing its bit to resist the Culture of Death. They could use your support.

Here's a worthy cause

2009-11-09T06:16:00.000-08:00

The UN Petition for the Unborn.

They need a million signatures post haste, so please pass it on.

I love it when God answers prayers the way we hoped

2009-11-09T06:15:00.000-08:00

A reader writes:

Several weeks ago I wrote with a prayer request for my sister-in-law, who had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She has since undergone a successful surgery (none of her vital organs were affected at all) and is responding very well to chemotherapy. Now she is back home with her husband and 4 boys and requires no follow up other than occasional blood tests. Thank you for posting my prayer request. I hope you and your readers will now join my family in prayers of thanksgiving!

Thanks be to God the Father through our Lord Jesus Christ!

They're All About Hope and Change, Doncha Know

2009-11-09T06:14:00.000-08:00

The US Supreme Court on Wednesday is set to consider an unusual question: Do Americans who have been framed by unscrupulous prosecutors for crimes they did not commit have a right to sue the prosecutors when the fraud is finally exposed?

According to the Obama administration, the answer is no.

Solicitor General Elena Kagan argues in a friend of the court brief that local, state, and federal prosecutors must enjoy absolute immunity from citizen lawsuits – even when they sent innocent men to prison for life by fabricating incriminating evidence and hiding exculpatory evidence.

Cuz our New Ruling Classes are all about justice for the little guy.

Blobs of tissue...

2009-11-09T06:13:00.000-08:00

...turn out to be a lot smarter than we've been taught to think.

Athos...

2009-11-09T06:12:00.000-08:00

...could really use our prayers!

Father, grant your son healing and courage in this hard time through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Mother Mary, St. Luke, and St. Peregrine, hear our prayers for him and all who love him and care for him and obtain healing for him through Jesus Christ, the Great Physician!

Kind of Cool

2009-11-09T06:11:00.000-08:00

Here's some vintage anti-Catholic agitprop from the good old days. Not only is it sort of charmingly retro, but it also provides me with the perfect excuse to open fire on a roomful of innocent people if I want to, and then get a sympathetic portrayal as a victim who "snapped" people didn't respect my religion.

Oh. Wait. That only works for butchers who kill for Islam. We've got that pesky, "Love your enemies" and "Turn the other cheek" thing in our tradition that makes it clear we can't spread the Faith by violence.

Legatus Does a Piece on the New Age...

2009-11-09T06:10:00.000-08:00

...and there's a little bit of an interview with yours truly, as well as some actual interesting people like Moira Noonand and Fr. Mitch Pacwa.

Prochoice zealot tries...

2009-11-09T06:09:00.000-08:00

...to sell you the Brooklyn Bridge.

Meanwhile, in the Post-Christian Britain...

2009-11-09T06:08:00.000-08:00

the theologically illiterate booboisie do their bit to demonstrate to future generations how the English made themselves ripe for Islamic cultural domination and, eventually imposition of sharia.

This is how empires, including ours, end.