Catholicae Testudines

Random Pope Benedict XVI Fact

I can't say that I've ever set up a personal ad, but apparently you get good results, like successors to St. Peter for children.

Making the blog rounds now is the story that Pope Benedict's parents met through a personal ad his father put out. Here's the story. Here's the ad.

“Middle-ranking civil servant, single, Catholic, 43, immaculate past, from the country, is looking for a good Catholic, pure girl who can cook well, tackle all household chores, with a talent for sewing and homemaking with a view to marriage as soon as possible. Fortune desirable but not a precondition”

Hat tip to Jimmy for the story.

I'm glad they filled that niche

Suppose you're a patriotic Russian, and a member of the Russian Orthodox Church to boot.  Now suppose you've been tasked to load up you nukes and defend fatherland from the likes of well, Americans like us.  I assure you we won't make that an easy task.  Now suppose you're wondering who the heck you should pray to, well the Russian Orthodox Church just named a new saint for just such occasions.

Although this has me wondering what Rome thinks of Orthodox saints (proclaimed after the split of course).  And this picture has me hoping that if Rome comes up with such a patron saint for the west, I hope they pick a guy who doesn't wear so much makeup.

It's the Little Things in Lent

Suppose you had a Professor that asked that you turn in a two page paper.  And suppose when that paper was due you didn't turn one in saying, "I only spend my time on dissertation length papers, a two pager is really beneath me.  I'll do the assignment when it's worth my while."  What would be the Professor's reply?  Surely he'd laugh and then flunk you.  I mean, haven't you read the story of Naaman?

Which brings me to the other day at work when I mentioned that I couldn't join in on the party platter sub because it was a Friday in Lent.  One of my Catholic co-worker's response, "If I eat meat it doesn't change my faith."  Well sure it doesn't change her faith, mostly because she doesn't have any.  The problem (and I encounter this regularly every Lent) is that people think of Jesus as some warm fuzzy guy who doesn't care all that much what you do, as long as you're a good person.  They forget, "That servant who knew his master's will but did not make preparations nor act in accord with his will shall be beaten severely;" and that Jesus said "I have come to set the earth on fire, and how I wish it were already blazing!" (Lk 12: 47 & 49)

Well I don't blame them because I forget those lines too.  Perhaps the only difference between us is that I sometimes remember and they've somehow explained away their faith (usually expending far more effort getting rid of their faith then I expend in building mine).  So during this last week of Lent please pray for those who have forgotten their faith. That hopefully they can begin again with the small things sometime soon.

Useful references for the College aged

Jimmy Akin has posted some particularly useful articles in the past few weeks on topics that are especially relevent for people our age.  First, he covers the legal and moral (part 2) aspects of copying music.  Then he has two great answers for a question I've been asked a lot, "What about cohabitation without conjugal relations?"  See part one here and part two here.  Something that people don't often think about is that scandal is a very serious sin.  I've often said to people that if you really care for a person, then you really ought to care for that person's reputation.  This includes taking reasonable measures to make sure that people don't get the wrong idea.  This is why the section on scandal in The Catechism is under the heading, "Respect for the souls of others."  And we are told, "Anyone who uses the power at his disposal in such a way that it leads others to do wrong becomes guilty of scandal and responsible for the evil that he has directly or indirectly encouraged.  'Temptations to sin are sure to come; but woe to him by whom they come!'"

The Word from Rome

http://www.nationalcatholicreporter.org/word/

This column, updated weekly is perhaps the best bit of journalism out there for keeping track of what's going on in the Vatican.  The author John Allen seems to understand how the Vatican works.  The problem with most news coverage of the Vatican is that American reporters tend to think that the Vatican operates just like Washington, but happens to have a different geography.  This is most definately not the case.  Most amusing are the articles in WashPost, US News, Newsweek, etc. that I've been reading since '94 talking about the Pope's successor.  The truth is that nobody knows who the Pope's successor is going to be.  I wonder how many people would have suspected that a Polish Cardinal would be the next Pope back in '78, but journalists keep guessing.  My favorite is when I read an article talking about the election of a new pope that's African or South American.  Usually the article talks at length about the modern American value of diversity as being important in such a selection.  Somehow I don't think diversity is something the Holy Spirit or the College of Cardinals cares all that much about.

A Happy Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God

Today is the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, a Holy Day of Obligation.  Unless you live in a diocese like mine, where if the Holy Day falls on a Saturday or Monday the obligation to attend mass and abstain from work is lifted.  If for some reason you were unable to attend today's mass might I suggest that you pray the today's liturgy of the hours instead?

Two writings that I've found edifying this morning and pass along to you are a letter from St. Athanasius and chapter 5 of The Glories of Mary by St. Alphonsus Ligouri.  St. Athanasius's reminds us that Jesus took our human nature from Mary, and St. Alphonsus reminds us of the necessity ("not absolutely, but morally") of the intercession of Mary for our salvation.  Both points are intertwined naturally for Mary's submission to the will of God is necessary for our salvation.  Thus, just as Christ's sacrifice for the salvation of sins continues to save for all time so too Mary's intercession continues to be salvific.

Not to single out France,

Although they do seem to be at the forefront of the great slow European apostasy.

Right now I am looking at a copy of the publicity brochure for Memorial Chapel at the University of Maryland. "Honoring the past, building a brighter future." A "bright"-er future they mean, maybe. In case you don't know, UMD is officially-unofficially very secular humanist/atheist. If Catholic colleges have largely gone over to the secular agenda, how much more so is a public one going to (not that this is intrinsically inevitable - it's just a sign of our depraved culture).

Suppose you were a Martian reading this brochure, who didn't know what the word "chapel" meant. Would you be able to guess that it is a building dedicated to the worship of God? You would learn that it is "a center for student programming" (like the student union), that it hosts "a wide scope of lectures and symposia (like the lecture halls), and "a musical center" (like CSPAC). You would get the impression that it is just a multipurpose meeting hall.

There are some hints buried in the text, like that it is a place where people have their wedding, or sometimes listen to Gospel music, but the closest it gets to actually acknowledging the existence of religion is to say that it is a place where "students can celebrate their faith traditions." The most prominent place goes to totally secular things, like concerts, lectures, Greek fraternity rites, and the like. "Members of the University of Maryland family often come back to the Chapel for a variety of important reasons, including the joyous exchange of wedding vows. Others make use of the Chapel's serene setting for introspective thoughts" [my emphasis]. That's the closest they get to talking about God or prayer. It has been suggested to me that if they do not wish to acknowledge the purpose of a church building, the glory of God and the salvation of souls, we should sue them and force them to rename it something more accurate, like the Memorial Steepled House of Introspective Thought.

Actually, if we didn't use the place for daily and Sunday Mass and Eucharistic adoration (there are some Protestants on Sunday, too), it would stand practically vacant, little more than a decoration of the campus, a spiritual safety blanket for those who don't want to deal with the harsh reality of open atheism.

Feast of the Guardian Angels

I owe mine, many times over, and that's just counting the times I know about. They don't rub it in when they keep you from death or serious injury (again) or help you avoid an occasion of sin (again). When you realize how much superior they are by nature to us and how humbly they place themselves at our service, you simply must be grateful. But how to do something more concrete than words alone to express it to them? Most of the ways we show gratitude to people don't really seem applicable to a spirit. However, what would please them more than any of those things would be for us to become more holy, and (somewhat more immediate) to devoutly attend Mass and receive communion. So that's what I did today. Not that I don't go to Mass every other day, too (if at all possible), but I don't think that makes it less special.

Now, in case your angelology is deficient, barring infused knowledge and tutoring from your guardian himself, who better to learn from than the Angelic Doctor (scroll down a bit).

Cool

Fr. J. C. Maximilian talks about "the rest of the week."

P.S. "Stick to the script"..."banter is for game show hosts"...that's great

Maryland is a Cruel Mistress

I've been going the process of starting a company in the state of Maryland. One of the things that I found out in my research is that we have the worst laws with respect to the already bad idea of mandated health coverage. Basically if I decide to have a company and pay for my employees' health insurance, by law I need to also pay for their contraceptives and abortificants. So I guess this means I won't be offering health insurance. I'll just pay my employees extra so that they can go out and find their own health insurance. In the meantime I'll have to go find some Catholic-friendly health insurance for myself.