tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39040472023-10-12T09:26:27.773-04:00Patrick MadridJust another guy with a blog. No big whoop.Patrick Madridhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03598837498250851797noreply@blogger.comBlogger966125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3904047.post-75584768678788793882011-02-14T13:23:00.001-05:002011-03-04T15:25:24.299-05:00patrickmadrid.com is the new home for this blog<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.patrickmadrid.com/" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="314" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M5KNKE2Eewc/TVlklY0LipI/AAAAAAAACkM/ERFVLJ3JvzQ/s640/New_PM_site.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">At the urging of a priest friend of mine, Father Bud, I first launched this little blog back on <a href="http://patrickmadrid.blogspot.com/2008/11/hello-everyone-and-father-bud.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><b>November 8th, 2008</b></span></a>, and had no idea whether my musings here would be of any interest to anyone other than myself. In the two years since it launched, I've been gladdened and grateful to discover that a number of you have found it interesting and useful. Thank you! Thank you for reading and subscribing to this blog, thank you for your excellent and thought-provoking comments, even when they took issue with something I said here. I appreciate all of you very much.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And as a small way of showing my appreciation (not to mention as a way to keep up with the times), I've had had a completely new patrickmadrid.com site designed, which now includes everything under one roof: the blog, info on my books, a new forum, seminar info, pictures, etc. I really hope you will like it. If you do, please be sure to do two things: 1) book mark it, and 2) subscribe to my blog feed using the sign-up box just below the nav bar on the right side.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This will be my last post here on this blogger platform. I hope you'll all migrate over to the new blog and continue reading and commenting. My sincere thanks to all of you -- and to Father Bud!</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://patrickmadrid.blogspot.com</div>Patrick Madridhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03598837498250851797noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3904047.post-36989034471694295542011-02-08T11:28:00.000-05:002011-02-08T11:28:09.385-05:00An all-new PatrickMadrid.com coming soon<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I'm happy to report that the completely new and improved patrickmadrid.com website, which we've been working on assiduously for the past month, is nearly ready to go live — hopefully, within the next couple of days. I think you'll like the new look and feel of this version of the site. There's quite a bit more for you now, including past articles I've written, a picture gallery, a new and much-improved discussion forum, a slew of audio and video digital downloads, my speaking event calendar, and more. Best of all, everything will now be under one roof: This blog, for example, will no longer be located on a separate site but will be contained within patrickmadrid.com. Which means that very soon you'll need to update your feed from this site to the new one. We'll make that as easy as possible with a sign-up box on the new site. I'm planning to leave this version of the blog up and available for awhile to give my visitors and feed subscribers ample time to get the new feed installed on their readers (Google, Feedburner, etc.).</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Assuming that the new site will go live in the next few days, I most likely won't be posting any additional blog posts here, but will be adding them to the new site. I'm looking forward to unveiling it! And once it’s up and running, please do feel free to send me any constructive criticism, requests, or suggestions you might have regarding how we can make it as user-friendly and helpful to you as possible. I very much appreciate your feedback. Thanks, and God bless you all! </span><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://patrickmadrid.blogspot.com</div>Patrick Madridhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03598837498250851797noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3904047.post-43854956262644080162011-02-04T10:22:00.001-05:002011-02-04T10:25:23.666-05:00I can totally picture my grandson, Blaise, doing this<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: "Cambria","serif"; font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ascii-theme-font: major-latin; mso-hansi-theme-font: major-latin;">And for that matter, I can totally picture my son, Jon (Blaise's dad), doing his part, like the dad in this commercial.</span></span></div><br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/R55e-uHQna0?rel=0" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://patrickmadrid.blogspot.com</div>Patrick Madridhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03598837498250851797noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3904047.post-61104014050985194232011-02-03T08:30:00.001-05:002011-02-03T08:31:34.559-05:00Behold how much the world has changed in just 15 years<span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">“What</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">is</span></i></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">the Internet, anyway?” a clueless Bryant Gumbel asks his equally clueless co-hosts on the “Today” show, <i>way</i> back in 1994. I can't blame him, though. When I first heard of the Internet, about that same time, I couldn't make sense out of it either. Karl Keating had been reading up on it in some BBS-related techie magazine he subscribed to and was trying to explain it to me over lunch one day.</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
I remember him saying that he thought the Internet could potentially become a big thing, as long as enough people started using it. In fact, he had the foresight to be the first to register the domain name (“what's</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><i><span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">that</span></i></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">?” I remember asking him) catholic.com. That was back in late 1993 or early 1994. You know, back in the days when very few people could decipher what @ stood for in a mysterious term such as violence@nbc.ge.com. </span></span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-family: Cambria, serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></span></div><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/JUs7iG1mNjI?rel=0" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://patrickmadrid.blogspot.com</div>Patrick Madridhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03598837498250851797noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3904047.post-35445140448709343072011-02-02T14:38:00.031-05:002011-02-03T00:09:58.332-05:00Letting go of someone I never knew<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NzM2oX8JzJY/TUmx3--cdjI/AAAAAAAACkE/BkI4pf6EqWo/s1600/letting_go.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_NzM2oX8JzJY/TUmx3--cdjI/AAAAAAAACkE/BkI4pf6EqWo/s320/letting_go.jpg" width="314" /></span></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"></span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">I had an oddly poignant experience on Twitter yesterday — I know, the last place you’d ever expect to encounter something poignant.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"> </span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">I was going through the list of people I follow and was removing those who are just trying to sell something, as well as all the self-proclaimed “marketing gurus,” “life coaches,” and political pundits. Just part of the necessary pruning and cleaning one occasionally must do in the world of social media platforms. Nothing new there.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><u1:p></u1:p> </span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">But in the midst of this utterly banal chore, I came to the Twitter profile of Ginger, a Catholic woman whose profile picture I only vaguely remembered seeing before and whose posts I hadn't seen in quite awhile. Opening her profile, I saw that her last several posts were from mid 2009 and were about her rapid decline from lung cancer. In one, she expressed how hard it was for her to deal with the shock of having just been diagnosed by her physician as “terminal.” A few posts later, her comment stream just . . . ended.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">Nothing more.</span></span><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="color: black; font-size: 18pt;"> </span></span><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">I Googled her name and saw that she died that summer, not long after her last post, mourned, no doubt, by many grief-stricken family and friends. She was only 41.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><u1:p></u1:p> </span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">This brought back the sad memory of another Catholic woman I knew quite well and very much admired — a vibrant and vital young wife and mother of just 44 — who also died of lung cancer in September of that same year. A pang of melancholy rose up in me at that still-painful remembrance.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><u1:p></u1:p> </span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">Gazing at Ginger’s picture, the mouse cursor poised over the “unfollow” button in her profile, I was moved by the realization that, even though she had died some time ago and I would therefore never see any further posts from her, still . . . by pressing “unfollow,” I would be, in a certain sense, letting go of her. It seemed strange that it should occur to me that way — after all, I never knew her personally. I was only aware of her existence through Twitter — a dim and superficial awareness of someone, to be sure. But still, there had been the slightest of connections there, albeit nothing more than pixels on a screen.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><u1:p></u1:p> </span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">In that moment, an image from the movie Titanic arose in my mind; the one in which Rose is lying on a piece of floating debris holding on with one hand to the now dead Jack, almost entirely submerged in the frigid water. As she lets go of his hand, he sinks slowly into oblivion. True, those two were illicit lovers. In Ginger's case, well, she was someone I had ever even met or spoken to before, much less known personally. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><u1:p></u1:p> </span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">And yet, for a few brief, uncanny moments, my mind was pervaded by that poignant image of Rose letting go of Jack’s hand. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><u1:p></u1:p> <div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">I pressed “unfollow,” and in so doing said a kind of electronic “goodbye” to a sister in Christ I never knew, except through the medium of an ephemeral, tenuous, and insignificant collection of pixels on my computer screen. And then, I said a prayer for the repose of her soul.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">How strange, it seems to me, and how perfectly fitting at the same time, that the Lord makes use of even something as casual and (seemingly) inconsequential as Twitter to remind the members of His Body of their connection to each other.<o:p></o:p></span></div><u1:p></u1:p> <div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><br />
</div><div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 13.5pt;">Eternal rest grant unto her, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon her. May she rest in peace. Amen. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://patrickmadrid.blogspot.com</div>Patrick Madridhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03598837498250851797noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3904047.post-68386973502615455062011-01-27T19:26:00.004-05:002011-01-27T19:29:36.233-05:00I gotta git me one of theseI am so putting this on my<a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/PG881V58SGFK/ref=wl_web"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><b> Amazon wish list</b></span></a>. Anyone? Anyone?<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="youtube-player" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/7-KczCp0OQ4?rel=0" title="YouTube video player" type="text/html" width="640"></iframe><br />
<br />
<object classid="clsid:D27CDB6E-AE6D-11cf-96B8-444553540000" codebase="http://download.macromedia.com/pub/shockwave/cabs/flash/swflash.cab#version=9,0,47,0" height="412" id="flashObj" width="486"><param name="movie" value="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1" /><param name="bgcolor" value="#FFFFFF" /><param name="flashVars" value="videoId=764163544001&playerID=2227271001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAAAADqBmN8~,Yo4S_rZKGX0rYg6XsV7i3F9IB8jNBoiY&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" /><param name="base" value="http://admin.brightcove.com" /><param name="seamlesstabbing" value="false" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="swLiveConnect" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://c.brightcove.com/services/viewer/federated_f9?isVid=1" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" flashVars="videoId=764163544001&playerID=2227271001&playerKey=AQ~~,AAAAADqBmN8~,Yo4S_rZKGX0rYg6XsV7i3F9IB8jNBoiY&domain=embed&dynamicStreaming=true" base="http://admin.brightcove.com" name="flashObj" width="486" height="412" seamlesstabbing="false" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullScreen="true" swLiveConnect="true" allowScriptAccess="always" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/shockwave/download/index.cgi?P1_Prod_Version=ShockwaveFlash"></embed></object><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://patrickmadrid.blogspot.com</div>Patrick Madridhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03598837498250851797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3904047.post-8463841583605737182011-01-26T22:09:00.000-05:002011-01-26T22:09:00.714-05:00"Beat him out of recognizable shape."<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-size: medium;">Here's a list of actual English subtitles from actual Hong Kong Kung Fu Movies, sent to me the other day by an e-mail pal.* These are the results of the original Chinese dialogue being rendered — or rather, beaten out of recognizable shape — into English:</span><br />
<blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">1. "I am damn unsatisfied to be killed in this way."</span></span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">2. "Fatty, you with your thick face have hurt my instep."</span></span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">3. "Gun wounds again?"</span></span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">4. "Same old rules: no eyes, no groin."</span></span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">5. "A normal person wouldn't steal pituitaries."</span></span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">6. "I'll burn you into a barbecue chicken!"</span></span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">7. "Who gave you the nerve to get killed here?"</span></span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">8. "Quiet or I'll blow your throat up."</span></span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">9. "You always use violence. I should've ordered glutinous rice chicken!"</span></span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">10. "I'll fire aimlessly if you don't come out!"</span></span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">11. "You daring lousy guy!"</span></span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">12. "I got knife scars more than the number of your leg's hair!"</span></span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">13. "Beware! Your bones are going to be disconnected."</span></span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">14. "How can you use my intestines as a gift?"</span></span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">15. "The bullets inside are very hot. Why do I feel so cold?"</span></span></blockquote><blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px;">16. "Beat him out of recognizable shape."</span></span></blockquote><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-size: medium;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="-webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 2px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 2px; font-size: medium;">* I received that e-mail in October, 1997, and ran this list in the issue of Envoy Magazine that was just going to print shortly afterward. Anyway, I ran across it again just now and, even a dozen years later, it still evoked a chortle.</span><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://patrickmadrid.blogspot.com</div>Patrick Madridhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03598837498250851797noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3904047.post-7295267918606789972011-01-26T16:40:00.003-05:002011-01-26T16:43:02.488-05:00Join me in San Antonio, February 18th & 19th<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><a href="http://www.archsa.org/evangelization/documents/apologetics_seminar_2011_flyer&registration.pdf"><img border="0" height="309" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NzM2oX8JzJY/TUCUufVA53I/AAAAAAAACj8/LE87mfnG9Uw/s320/Big_Boots.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If you're anywhere near San Antonio, Texas, next month, I hope you'll be able to attend the Archdiocesan-sponsored seminar series I will be presenting there at Blessed Sacrament Parish on Oblate Drive. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.archsa.org/evangelization/documents/apologetics_seminar_2011_flyer&registration.pdf"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">This website </span></a></b>has more details, and you can also call <b>210-734-1990</b> for directions. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I'll be speaking on the following topics:</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>• Answers to Lies Society Tells You</i></span><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">• The Godless Delusion: How to Respond to Atheist’s Claims</span></i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">• The Bible and the Catholic Church: A Marriage Made in Heaven</span></i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">• The Case for Christ: His Existence, Resurrection, and Divinity</span></i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">• How to Explain the Sacraments to Someone Who Doesn’t Believe in Them</span></i><br />
<i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">• Stump the Apologist: An Open-Forum Q&A Workshop</span></i><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Bring your friends! I'd love to meet you in person. See you there.</span></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://patrickmadrid.blogspot.com</div>Patrick Madridhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03598837498250851797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3904047.post-83641018592127382852011-01-17T15:56:00.002-05:002011-01-17T16:04:09.232-05:00Just cuz you're paranoid, doesn't mean they're not talking about you<object height="385" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/64aTVG5PF38?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/64aTVG5PF38?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://patrickmadrid.blogspot.com</div>Patrick Madridhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03598837498250851797noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3904047.post-26022395277580134232011-01-15T12:04:00.027-05:002011-01-17T12:10:07.522-05:00The National Catholic Register's “About Us” section is about to change<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NzM2oX8JzJY/TTHtCzWqrmI/AAAAAAAACi4/_bnREMcKL14/s1600/ncr.gif" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NzM2oX8JzJY/TTHtCzWqrmI/AAAAAAAACi4/_bnREMcKL14/s1600/ncr.gif" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">For years, the Legion of Christ has emphasized that being involved in the media is an “integral” aspect of its (once) ever-expanding mission. This thinking was borne out in the Legion’s 1995 acquisition of the </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://www.ncregister.com/">National Catholic Register</a> </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">and </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Twin Circle</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> magazine (whose name was changed to </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><a href="http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/">Catholic Faith & Family</a></i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">). Its in-house media arm, Circle Media, was established that same year to administer these two publications as well as publish books, promote Internet ventures such as Catholic.net, and the like. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">But these days, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">since the sordid double-life of the organization's </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">founder, Fr. Marcial Maciel, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">came to light in 2009, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">the prevailing winds are no longer blowing in a favorable direction for the Legion or its closely intertwined lay affiliate, <a href="http://www.regnumchristi.org/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Regnum Christi</span></a>. Many young American Legionary priests have abandoned the order, most having transitioned into diocesan ministry. Thousands of disheartened and disillusioned lay members of Regnum Christi have likewise bolted. Donations to the Legion are down. Vocations are down. There are indications that both are, in fact, </span><i style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">way, way</i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> down, which would explain why the Legion's already determined belt-tightening has recently moved into high gear. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It would appear that the belt has become a tourniquet.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The Legion's U.S. publishing entity, <a href="http://www.circlemedia.com/">Circle Media</a>, is now kaput. Its abrupt disappearance fits the ongoing pattern of retrenchment taking place within the once far-flung and powerful network of Legionary owned and operated ventures. True, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://circlepress.org/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Circle Press</span></a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">, the Legion's book-publishing subsidiary of Circle Media, still has an Internet presence, but that seems to be only because, with a load of inventory still sitting on the shelves and needing to be depleted, it makes good sense to try to sell the remaining product for as long as possible. Prices for their books have been slashed dramatically, some down to just $2.00. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Over the last two years, waves of layoffs have hit the lay employees of the organization's many lay apostolates and business ventures. The wide-swinging layoff scythe has whickered remorselessly through the ranks of the Legion's in-house lay staffers. The order's real assets are also being downsized. Once-important properties in the Legion's American holdings are being sold off. I am told that enrollment at their Center Harbor, New Hampshire, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.legionariesofchrist.org/eng/articulos/categoria.phtml?lc=se-241_ca-984_ci-801&width=1360&height=768">apostolic school for boys</a></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> (grades 7-12) has been steadily dwindling. Three of my own sons attended that school in the 1990s, back when enrollment was booming and a splendid new dorm-gym complex was constructed to accommodate the ever-increasing number of boys who felt a call to become Legionary priests.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Now, however, at least one grade at the once thriving school is comprised of fewer than five students. I can only assume that if enrollment there continues to dry up, the Legion will be forced to do one of three previously unthinkable things: either 1) sell the school outright or 2) import students from other countries, such as Mexico, in order to keep the place operational or 3) convert the facility from a school to a retreat house or something of the sort. It's unclear whether the same diminution in enrollment has affected other Legionary seminaries, but time will tell.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">In the meantime, the cost-cutting scythe will swing twice more in a few days. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The next two strategic pieces on the Legionary chessboard to be eliminated are the<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"> <i><a href="http://www.ncregister.com/">National Catholic Register</a></i> </span>and <a href="http://www.faithandfamilylive.com/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><i>Faith & Family</i> Magazine</span></a>. As will be announced in the next few days, both publications have been sold by the Legion and will be changing hands soon. Out of respect for the<i> </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i>Register's </i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">new owner, I won't name names — you'll know who it is soon enough — but</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I can tell you that the new owner is an organization run by good and dedicated people who are thoroughly Catholic and certain to ensure that the paper is faithfully Catholic and journalistically excellent. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Personally, I am very pleased at this new chapter in the <i>Register</i>'s saga. And as for <i>Faith & Family</i>, well, it has always been an exceedingly beautiful publication, perhaps <i>the </i>most lush and elegant Catholic periodical around on the American scene. (And I'm biased in this regard, as I publish <a href="http://www.envoymagazine.com/"><i>Envoy </i>Magazine</a>, which I think looks pretty good, too).</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You'll be hearing the official news of these changes in the next couple of days. I have high hopes for both publications and encourage all of you to subscribe to them as a vote of confidence for their new circumstances and their new owners. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://patrickmadrid.blogspot.com</div>Patrick Madridhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03598837498250851797noreply@blogger.com28tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3904047.post-11248717291896215672011-01-15T12:01:00.003-05:002011-01-15T12:05:25.259-05:00Something to be aware of: the possibility of impending food shortages<object height="385" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ob-ubrC2RnU?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Ob-ubrC2RnU?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://patrickmadrid.blogspot.com</div>Patrick Madridhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03598837498250851797noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3904047.post-8790714941477947722011-01-11T18:42:00.001-05:002011-01-11T18:43:54.437-05:00Think about it . . .<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This FOTC bit has long been a favorite of mine. I watched it again just now and thought . . . hey, there may still be some folks out there who need to hear this message. </span><br />
<br />
<object height="385" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/TLEK0UZH4cs?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/TLEK0UZH4cs?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://patrickmadrid.blogspot.com</div>Patrick Madridhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03598837498250851797noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3904047.post-2052626722963880382011-01-11T18:06:00.003-05:002011-01-11T18:06:55.529-05:00Dramatic video of today's tsunami-like flooding in Australia<object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/kYUpkPTcqPY?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/kYUpkPTcqPY?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://patrickmadrid.blogspot.com</div>Patrick Madridhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03598837498250851797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3904047.post-13045535577396652262011-01-11T17:33:00.000-05:002011-01-11T17:33:09.471-05:00"Kill the Cathlics!"<div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ocregister.com/news/police-283611-church-incident.html"><img border="0" src="http://images.onset.freedom.com/ocregister/article/levh9l-levh5301.graffiti.011310.bbc.jpg" /></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://patrickmadrid.blogspot.com</div>Patrick Madridhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03598837498250851797noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3904047.post-28126659666324049482011-01-07T14:06:00.001-05:002011-01-07T14:06:28.947-05:00Something to keep in mind<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NzM2oX8JzJY/TSdjxKzOyQI/AAAAAAAACi0/oij8H_mTADM/s1600/Lincoln_shades.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NzM2oX8JzJY/TSdjxKzOyQI/AAAAAAAACi0/oij8H_mTADM/s320/Lincoln_shades.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><h3 class="UIIntentionalStory_Message" data-ft="{"type":"msg"}" style="color: #333333; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="UIStory_Message"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">“The problem with Internet quotations is that many of them are not genuine.” — Abraham Lincoln</span></span></h3><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://patrickmadrid.blogspot.com</div>Patrick Madridhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03598837498250851797noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3904047.post-48789584997459977022011-01-07T13:51:00.000-05:002011-01-07T13:51:22.217-05:00Far out, man<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">Tune in, turn on, and click the image . . .</span><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://inoyan.narod.ru/kaleidoskop.swf" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NzM2oX8JzJY/TSdgTZ_8R4I/AAAAAAAACiw/RI84o1jUE90/s400/far_out.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://patrickmadrid.blogspot.com</div>Patrick Madridhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03598837498250851797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3904047.post-47325015424495245562011-01-06T10:20:00.020-05:002011-01-07T08:37:40.537-05:00How to Start a Movement<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><object height="326" width="446"><param name="movie" value="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"/><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><param name="bgColor" value="#ffffff"></param><param name="flashvars" value="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/dynamic/DerekSivers_2010U-medium.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/DerekSivers-2010U.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=814&introDuration=15330&adDuration=4000&postAdDuration=830&adKeys=talk=derek_sivers_how_to_start_a_movement;year=2010;theme=the_creative_spark;event=TED2010;&preAdTag=tconf.ted/embed;tile=1;sz=512x288;" /><embed src="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf" pluginspace="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" bgColor="#ffffff" width="446" height="326" allowFullScreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" flashvars="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/dynamic/DerekSivers_2010U-medium.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/DerekSivers-2010U.embed_thumbnail.jpg&vw=432&vh=240&ap=0&ti=814&introDuration=15330&adDuration=4000&postAdDuration=830&adKeys=talk=derek_sivers_how_to_start_a_movement;year=2010;theme=the_creative_spark;event=TED2010;"></embed></object></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The psychology of leadership and followership, explained here in just three minutes, rings true. As I watched this, I thought about great movements, started by a lone man or woman, that have accomplished great good for many people. Examples that come to mind are St. Ignatius of Loyola — the Society of Jesus, Blessed Mother Teresa — the Missionaries of Charity, and St. Benedict of Nursia — the Benedictine Order. Of course, there are many other great founders of Catholic religious orders who are rightly included in this category (St. Francis, St. Dominic, etc.).</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">But it's also true that "lone nuts," as the video presenter Derek Sivers says, can effectively start movements, too, by getting enough people to follow them until a tipping point occurs and the "movement" gains enough momentum to become a force. Sometimes, they are bad and destructive and, amazingly, sometimes they can be good and beneficial</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> A notable example of a leader who left a path of some good but also a great deal of destruction and misery in his wake would be <a href="http://patrickmadrid.blogspot.com/search?q=maciel"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Fr. Marcial Maciel</span></a>, founder of the Legionaries of Christ. Pope Benedict recently branded Maciel a "false prophet," which seems to be an apt description of his devious, squandered life. As for the religious order he founded and the lay movement associated with it, we've seen many of his former followers walk away from them, shaking their heads in bewilderment, sadness, and disgust. Many more who feel that way, from what I've been hearing lately, are poised to walk away soon. Personally, I think they should, given what we now know about what Fr. Macial hath wrought and how he went about wroughting (and rotting) it.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Anyway, it seems to me that the moral of this little video is that each of us should be consciously aware of at least three things:</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">1) Just because someone is out there doing something attractive, daring, and noteworthy is not in itself sufficient evidence that he or she is worthy of being followed by you or anyone else. Yes, it's certainly possible that he <i>is </i>worthy of a following, of course, and it's true that what he is beckoning others to join in with him to accomplish may also be an excellent and worthy cause. But it's just as possible that he isn't and neither is his cause. It's u</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">sually</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> more prudent to take a wait-and-see approach, especially when it's the Church's wait-and-see approach. In due time, the truth or error or admixture of both will come to light, sometimes shocking those who thought they had it pegged, only to discover that they were wrong. ("Signs-and-wonders" enthusiasts and devotées of unapproved alleged Marian apparitions should take special note of this. Just ask those unfortunates who avidly fell in with <span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><a href="http://www.ewtn.com/library/newage/mugabay.txt"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Veronica Lueken</span></a> </span>and fell for her false but widely believed [for a time] "apparitions" at Bayside, NY.)</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">2) Just because others — even many others — are flocking to a movement or an alleged apparition is not in itself evidence that the movement or alleged apparition is worthy of being followed. Even if everyone in the Catholic "in crowd" is jumping into the conga line behind some charismatic leader or alleged apparition "seer," don't let <i>that </i>suffice as proof that you should jump in too. It's not. That tendency to follow the crowd is known as falling for the fallacy of <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argumentum_ad_populum"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">argumentum ad populum</span></a></i>, and a lot of people get suckered into bad situations because they don't recognize that. In other words, fifty million Frenchmen <i>can</i> be wrong.</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And 3) If you are Catholic, don't forget that you already <i>are </i>a duly registered member of the One True Movement established by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself: the Catholic Church. The older I get, the more I've come to see that while sub-movements such as religious orders, lay apostolates, and other worthy groups are surely necessary, important, and helpful to the life of the Church, they should never become <i>substitutes </i>for the Church. They should never be allowed to morph into, as sometimes happens, a religion within a religion. Good, wise, and holy founders like St. Benedict and St. Ignatius would have been horrified at the thought of their movement becoming for some a substitute for the Church.The danger, it seems to me, is that we can forget, slowly and imperceptibly, that Jesus Christ is our leader and the "movement" He has called us into is the Catholic Church. The more consciously determined we can become to be spiritually and materially active <i>there, </i>in the Church — in our parishes and dioceses, united with the pastor and the bishop, most importantly — the better. Anything else, however good it may be, is purely secondary.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://patrickmadrid.blogspot.com</div>Patrick Madridhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03598837498250851797noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3904047.post-45178818321917169882011-01-06T08:22:00.000-05:002011-01-06T14:45:42.530-05:00I discuss "150 Bible Verses" with host Doug Keck on EWTN's "Bookmark" show<object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/XUNOeoUlYSM?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/XUNOeoUlYSM?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://patrickmadrid.blogspot.com</div>Patrick Madridhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03598837498250851797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3904047.post-58773358788485371282011-01-05T15:06:00.000-05:002011-01-05T15:06:09.516-05:00Dang<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">My kids’ Christmas gifts have all broken already. That’s what I get for buying them Waterford crystal.</span><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://patrickmadrid.blogspot.com</div>Patrick Madridhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03598837498250851797noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3904047.post-72684602295065703552011-01-05T00:06:00.001-05:002011-01-05T00:07:33.450-05:00I loved his music<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2011/1/4/1294172054704/Gerry-Rafferty-007.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="http://static.guim.co.uk/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2011/1/4/1294172054704/Gerry-Rafferty-007.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerry_Rafferty"><b>Gerry Rafferty</b></a>'s</span> distinctive voice is well-known to any radio-listening Westerner over the age of 40. With hits like "Stuck in the Middle With You" and the 1978 smash "Baker Street" (what a song), he contributed something important, if minor and intermittent, to the 1970s' music scene.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"> <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/jan/04/gerry-rafferty-dies-aged-63"><b>He died today</b></a></span> at just 63. May he rest in peace. May the Lord grant him pardon and peace, and may perpetual light shine upon him. </span><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://patrickmadrid.blogspot.com</div>Patrick Madridhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03598837498250851797noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3904047.post-5374313058224755172011-01-04T14:35:00.006-05:002011-01-04T15:01:33.259-05:00A primer on the difference between devotion and superstition<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here's the entire <a href="http://www.catholic.com/audio/2010/mp3/ca110103b.mp3"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><b>"Catholic Answers Live" show from yesterday</b></span></a>, January 3rd. One of the issues we covered in this show is the superstitious practice of burying a statue of St. Joseph in the yard of a house one is trying to sell. As you'll hear, I don't look at all favorably on that deplorable custom. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">One of the most intriguing calls came from a man named Larry, whom I assume is Catholic (or perhaps he's just "Catholic"). He argued that Catholic piety regarding reverence toward the Eucharist is "superstitious." You read that right. I've fielded thousands of Catholic-related questions over the years, but that one was among the most bizarre. Take a listen and please feel free to weigh in with your own thoughts on that or anything else we covered (or should have covered) in this show.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">P.S. The debate on religious images and the communion of saints that I had with Protestant apologist James White (which I reference in this show) is available<b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"> <a href="http://www.surprisedbytruth.com/shop/shopdisplayproducts.asp?id=16&cat=Debates"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">here</span></a></span></b>. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.catholic.com/audio/2011/mp3/ca110103b.mp3" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_NzM2oX8JzJY/TSN1CbqhHRI/AAAAAAAACis/oXw30rNeDJ8/s400/savage_chickens.jpg" width="386" /></span></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://patrickmadrid.blogspot.com</div>Patrick Madridhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03598837498250851797noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3904047.post-3417941052787353012011-01-03T11:49:00.003-05:002011-01-03T14:10:26.288-05:00Map of American English dialects<a href="http://www.aschmann.net/AmEng/#SmallMapCanada" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="340" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_NzM2oX8JzJY/TSH7rGs65kI/AAAAAAAACio/FLxOSJLKmpg/s400/dialect_map.png" width="400" /></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Being born and raised in Southern California and living most of my life there (we moved to Central Ohio in 1997), I always thought that the "California accent" was so mild and flat that it hardly qualified as one at all. I still think that, though now that we've been living in Ohio for nearly 14 years, when I hear a fellow Californian speak, it's distinctive enough for me to notice. Native Ohioans are a much different story. I can always tell when I'm speaking with someone who grew up here, especially when they say the words "boosh" (bush) and "poosh" (push). Another common one is that they say "Nerk a-HI-ya" for "Newark, Ohio." There are other noticeable idosyncracies, to be sure. And I have no doubt that we Californians sound kind of odd to them, as well. Without question, the rise of popular television programs broadcast coast-to-coast, as well as Hollywood movies, not to mention the great increase in transience that followed in the wake of President Eisenhower's Interstate construction initiative) contributed greatly to the general flattening of regional accents. We're quite far away from anything resembling a homogeneous American dialect -- I strongly doubt that such a thing could ever develop -- but it seems to me that the regional quirks in dialect are slowly becoming, if I may be forgiven for putting it this way, less pronounced.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://aschmann.net/AmEng/#LargeMap" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="clear: left; float: left; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></span></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://patrickmadrid.blogspot.com</div>Patrick Madridhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03598837498250851797noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3904047.post-43041493568886137012011-01-02T07:57:00.002-05:002011-01-02T07:57:52.670-05:00Costa Rican Leaf-Cutter Ants are ready for their close-up<object height="390" width="640"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/RH3KYBMpxOU&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/RH3KYBMpxOU&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="390"></embed></object><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://patrickmadrid.blogspot.com</div>Patrick Madridhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03598837498250851797noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3904047.post-36922231480776807472010-12-31T16:20:00.002-05:002010-12-31T16:37:07.712-05:00Do you know the early warning signs of a Catholic losing his Faith?<div class="separator" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="229" src="http://envoyinstitute.net/assets/images/footer_logo.png" width="320" /></div><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I do. I've seen them many times in many people over the past 25 years that I've worked in the field of Catholic apologetics and catechetics. They include:</span><br />
<br />
<ul><li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Apathy</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Lack of knowledge about Catholic teaching</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Lack of knowledge of how to explain, defend, and share his beliefs from the Bible</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Being bombarded with messages, arguments, and "come-to-our-church!" invitations from non-Catholic missionaries</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Uncertainty</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Doubt</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Difficult moral challenges and temptations</span></li>
<li><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Feeling a lack of love and acceptance by his fellow Catholics</span></li>
</ul><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">No doubt, you've seen these warning signs in Catholics (or former Catholics) you know. And I'm sure that, if you're like me, <u>you want to do something to help</u> — to show a Catholic who's teetering on the edge of abandoning the Faith that there are good, solid, compelling answers to the questions, doubts, temptations, and difficulties they may be facing.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Helping people in that situation is something very dear to my heart. That's why, nearly four years ago, I established the <a href="http://envoyinstitute.net/index.html">Envoy Institute of Belmont Abbey College</a> as a means of reaching out to Catholics of all ages, and especially younger Catholics in high school, college, and who are just starting out in life as a young adult. Our goal at the Envoy Institute is to help equip them <i>before</i> they run into doubts and difficulties with the knowledge and tools the need to remain strong in their love for Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church. Through <i>Envoy</i> Magazine, our conferences, summer apologetics camps, online materials, and more, we seek to teach Catholics how to explain their Faith more intelligently, defend it more charitably, and share it more effectively.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And you can be part of that outreach by becoming a member of the Envoy Institute. In addition to getting an automatic subscription to <a href="http://envoymagazine.com/"><i>Envoy </i>Magazine</a>, as well as a bunch of other excellent benefits and insider perks, you'll also gain the satisfaction of knowing that you are personally doing something positive for untold numbers of young Catholics who are in real danger of losing their Catholic Faith when they get to college or head out into the workforce for the first time. (Those are the two must vulnerable transition points, by the way, the two key life junctures where many Catholics lose their Faith.)</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You can get more information <a href="http://www.envoyinstitute.net/">here </a>about the Envoy Institute, who we are, what we do, and how you can join us as a sustaining member. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here are my goals as we head into 2011: </span><br />
<blockquote dir="ltr" style="margin-right: 0px;"><div><span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">135 members at $10 per month.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> We have 112 now, so we need another <strong>23</strong></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">100 members at $30 per month. We have 45 now, so need another <strong>55</strong></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">45 members at $50 per month. We have 18 now, so need another <strong>27</strong></span></div></blockquote><blockquote dir="ltr" style="margin-right: 0px;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We also need more one-time annual donors at higher levels:</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">We currently have 5 members at $1,200 annually, but we need 20</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">And I'm looking for 10 members who pledge $2500 annually. Are you one of them? </span></div></blockquote><blockquote dir="ltr" style="margin-right: 0px;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Of course, as you might expect in this touch economy, the Envoy Institute is running a deficit right now for 2010, based largely on the cost of printing and shipping over 80,000 copies of <i>Envoy </i>magazine FREE to thousands of college students around the country (on nearly 50 major college and university campuses!). We also have a deficit incurred by our first-annual apologetics summer camp, which was extremely well received and promises to expand quickly in 2011. If you'd like to help me expand our Envoy Institute camps other venues in the summer of 2011 and beyond, as well as provide student scholarships for young Catholics whose folks aren't in a position to send them to camp, you can do that and much more good by becoming a member of the Envoy Institute.</span></div></blockquote><blockquote dir="ltr" style="margin-right: 0px;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">Becoming a member of the Envoy Institute is simple and easy, and it helps us in our outreach to Catholic students — high school & college — and Catholic young adults. To enroll, please call Ms. Joan Bradley at 704-461-6009 or e-mail her at </span><a href="mailto:joanbradley@bac.edu" style="color: blue;">joanbradley@bac.edu</a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"> or visit </span><strong><a href="http://envoyinstitute.net/memberships.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">http://envoyinstitute.net/memberships.html</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;">.</span></strong></span></div></blockquote><blockquote dir="ltr" style="margin-right: 0px;"><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Thank you, God bless you, and Happy New Year!<a href="http://envoyinstitute.net/index.html">http://envoyinstitute.net/index.html</a></span></div></blockquote><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://patrickmadrid.blogspot.com</div>Patrick Madridhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03598837498250851797noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3904047.post-35539386864739208862010-12-30T14:20:00.000-05:002010-12-30T14:20:14.619-05:00The woman who inspired the iconic WWII "Rosie the Riveter" poster has died<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/photo/2010/12/30/PH2010123000379.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/photo/2010/12/30/PH2010123000379.jpg" width="248" /></span></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“Geraldine Doyle, 86, who as a 17-year-old factory worker became the inspiration for a popular World War II recruitment poster that evoked female power and independence under the slogan "We Can Do It!," died Dec. 26 at a hospice in Lansing, Mich.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“Her daughter, Stephanie Gregg, said the cause of death was complications from severe arthritis.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“For millions of Americans throughout the decades since World War II, the stunning brunette in the red and white polka-dot bandanna was Rosie the Riveter.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“Rosie's rolled-up sleeves and flexed right arm came to represent the newfound strength of the 18 million women who worked during the war and later made her a figure of the feminist movement.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“But the woman in the patriotic poster was never named Rosie, nor was she a riveter. All along it was Mrs. Doyle, who after graduating from high school in Ann Arbor, Mich., took a job at a metal factory, her family said.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“One day, a photographer representing United Press International came to her factory and captured Mrs. Doyle leaning over a piece of machinery and wearing a red and white polka-dot bandanna over her hair.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/513g33BEjEL._SS500_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/513g33BEjEL._SS500_.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“In early 1942, the Westinghouse Corp. commissioned artist J. Howard Miller to produce several morale-boosting posters to be displayed inside its buildings. The project was funded by the government as a way to motivate workers and perhaps recruit new ones for the war effort.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
“Smitten with the UPI photo, Miller reportedly was said to have decided to base one of his posters on the anonymous, slender metal worker, Mrs. Doyle. . . .” (<a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/29/AR2010122905336.html"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: blue;"><b>continue reading</b></span></a>)</span><div class="blogger-post-footer">http://patrickmadrid.blogspot.com</div>Patrick Madridhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03598837498250851797noreply@blogger.com1