Great Quotes X

When television viewers these days see the typical sociologist on their screen, adopting a predictably provocative position on some controversial issue, their most common response is not belief but wonder at how someone with views so divergent from ordinary intelligence ever got a job at a university in the first place.

Keith Windschuttle, The Killing of History

Feast of the Nativity

Merry Christmas!

Morning Prayer for December 18

From the Reading

It is now the hour for you to wake from sleep, for our salvation is closer than when we first accepted the faith. The night is far spent; the day draws near. Let us cast off deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. - Romans 13:11-12

Firefox rocks!

I just installed Firefox. I am used to waiting five or six minutes for each page to load. Firefox is like internet explorer on amphetamines! I love it!

Asia is not just a continent

You were just using me,

There is no one you can use now!

Avery Cardinal Dulles, SJ, dead at 90

The theologian passed away today.

Requiescat in pace.

Flagrant Commercialism

Buy my books! Buy my books! Buy my books! Buy my books! Buy my books! Buy my books! Buy my books! Buy my books! Buy my books! Buy my books! Buy my books! Buy my books!
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Buy my books! Buy my books! Buy my books! Buy my books! Buy my books! Buy my books! Buy my books! Buy my books! Buy my books! Buy my books! Buy my books! Buy my books!
Buy my books! Buy my books! Buy my books! Buy my books! Buy my books! Buy my books! Buy my books! Buy my books! Buy my books! Buy my books! Buy my books! Buy my books!

LMAO

GOP hopes rise, Dems hit rough patch

It's not even inauguration day and they are already falling apart. I predicted that they would destroy themselves during the first two years of the new administration, but even I didn't think they would start so early!

From Evening Prayer I, Second Sunday of Advent

The Reading

May the God of Peace make you perfect in holiness. May He preserve you whole and entire, spirit, soul and body, irreproachable at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

He who calls us is trutworthy, therefore he will do it. (1 Thess 5:23-24)

from The Intercessions

Free us from the tyranny of change and decay.

2012

Romney - No

Huckabee - Maybe

Thompson - No (But he's great on Law and Order. Go get 'em DA Branch!)

Palin - Maybe

Guiliani - No

Jindal - Yes (for Vice-President only. He's still gonna be really young.)

Crist - No

Gingrich - No

Did I forget anyone?

Rest in Peace, Alexei II

Patriarch of Russian Orthodox Church dies.

Depressing!

New post here.

First Sunday of Advent

Rejoice!

Rejoice!

Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel!

Obama may delay tax-cut rollback for wealthy

LOL

Things That Annoy Me III

Today's old people.

When I was a kid, and I met an old man, there were some typical attributes of which I could be fairly certain.

He was probably a war vet, either WWII or Korea. His politics were likely conservative, but in those days that didn't automatically mean Republican. He wore his hair a certain way - usually not a crew cut but neither was it very long. It was likely he smoked and said all sorts of unpolitically correct things, either as jokes or because he just didn't give a rat's ass for what anyone thought about what he said. He liked beer, Sinatra and sports on television.

Nowadays, when I meet "an old person" (now someone separated from me by just one generation rather than two), the encounter is altogether different.

Grandma might have a mohawk (I'm not kidding. I once had a parent/teacher conference with mohawk-grandma). Then there is biker-grandpa, who just did a little time for a little weed. My favorites are the AC/DC parents, still wearing their concert T-shirts, sporting their Nazareth tattoos and their "accident" child ("We don't understand why our daughter is so troubled!" Oh boy, if only I could have been honest.)

I wonder what it is like for my kids. For me, old people were always stodgy curmudgeons who wanted me to watch my manners and keep quiet. Now, they are scary, unpredictable creeps who want to have cybersex or sell you dope. Now it's the older generation that seems loose, leaving me to look like an old man before his time, telling the kids to mind their p's and q's.

Great Quotes IX

The inadequate and biased transmission of news, and the profitable dissemination of nonsense, barred the general public from any intelligent or concerted participation in politics, and made democracy impossible.

- Will Durant, on newspapers of the 17th century, in The Age of Reason Begins

Sound familiar?

Things That Annoy Me II

Motion Activated Towel Dispensers

Was it really so difficult to crank them out? And why do I have to humiliate myself by waving at a machine in return for paper towels?

Greatest Rock Song Ever

Okay, it's definitely in the top three, anyway. The Rolling Stones' Honky Tonk Women can conceivably compete for the title, as can Led Zeppelin's In My Time of Dying. These are fairly non-partisan statements for me. I am neither a Kansas nor a Stones fan. I don't have any of their albums. Led Zeppelin, on the other hand, is one of my favorites and I have their entire collection.

Now, if you want to suggest some others, let's get the rules clear. Candidate songs must be rock and roll, but that is wide-category. I would, personally, even include the Cure or Country Joe and the Fish. But, it is inappropriate to elect a song merely because you like it. For instance, I love Pink Floyd and have almost all their albums. But I wouldn't even include them in my top five. To be "up there", a song has to have something special that elevates it beyond the group by which it is performed (and Pink Floyd, much as I love them, are always Pink Floyd and their songs are always their songs.)

Now, look at Kansas' Carry On. This song has an energy and a spirit that simply takes it right out of Steve Walsh's and Keri Livgren's hands. Honky Tonk Women is also a good example. There is a guitar lick in that song which is of divine (or diabolic) origin. I refuse to believe that a human composed it without aid. Of course, Zeppelin never wrote any of their great songs, as dozens of impoverished black blues singers could attest, were they still with us.

So, that said, don't nominate a Kiss song. Kiss is rock, sure, but it's a gimmick. No Kiss song has any class. Same goes for hundreds of bands. I will tolerate the candidacy of Warren Zevon's Werewolves of London, though I would never nominate it myself. However, there will be no waxing poetic about his death. Warren Zevon's death (requiescat in pace) was not poetic. Johnny Cash dying - that's poetic. Warren Zevon just died. Stop acting like he was Lord Byron lost at sea and get over it.

I always vote for the loser

First time I vote for a Republican and he loses. The only time I remember voting for a winner was Clinton in 1996. People should pay me to vote for their enemies.

Things That Annoy Me

White guys that call me bro.

I am not your bro.

Black guys can call me bro, but not you.

Let's Go Vote

Employment Rollercoaster and Alleluia

Last Tuesday I was informed that I had been laid off from my part-time job cleaning offices. There just hasn't been enough tourism to justify my employment.

It meant the loss of about $800/month or basically 10K/year. That's big hit for a guy with a stagnant business and four kids, two of them in private school and a lot of taxes due the government. Basically, last night we had a big Halloween with lots of candy while I sat thinking that some very dark times were coming. The November house payment was suddenly in jeopardy.

Then, my boss called this afternoon and said that the company was going to go with four nights of work each week and he gave me all the nights. That's basically what I was working before, only now I will have to work during the week rather than the weekend, which is hard with having only a few hours of sleep before sending my wife and kids off while I watch the babies on schooldays. But...

I have discovered that there is one thing worse than cleaning offices and restrooms at one o' clock in the morning, and that is being unemployed! So, without further ado, I give thanks where thanks are due.

Te Deum laudamus: te Dominum confitemur.
Te aeternum Patrem omnis terra veneratur.
Tibi omnes Angeli; tibi caeli et universae Potestates;
Tibi Cherubim et Seraphim incessabili voce proclamant:
Sanctus, Sanctus, Sanctus, Dominus Deus Sabaoth.
Pleni sunt caeli et terra maiestatis gloriae tuae.
Te gloriosus Apostolorum chorus,
Te Prophetarum laudabilis numerus,
Te Martyrum candidatus laudat exercitus.
Te per orbem terrarum sancta confitetur Ecclesia,
Patrem immensae maiestatis:
Venerandum tuum verum et unicum Filium;
Sanctum quoque Paraclitum Spiritum.
Tu Rex gloriae, Christe.
Tu Patris sempiternus es Filius.
Tu ad liberandum suscepturus hominem, non horruisti Virginis uterum.
Tu, devicto mortis aculeo, aperuisti credentibus regna caelorum.
Tu ad dexteram Dei sedes, in gloria Patris.
Iudex crederis esse venturus.
Te ergo quaesumus, tuis famulis subveni: quos pretioso sanguine redemisti.
Aeterna fac cum sanctis tuis in gloria numerari.
V. Salvum fac populum tuum, Domine, et benedic hereditati tuae.
R. Et rege eos, et extolle illos usque in aeternum.
V. Per singulos dies benedicimus te.
R. Et laudamus nomen tuum in saeculum, et in saeculum saeculi.
V. Dignare, Domine, die isto sine peccato nos custodire.
R. Miserere nostri, Domine, miserere nostri.
V. Fiat misericordia tua, Domine, super nos, quemadmodum speravimus in te.
R. In te, Domine, speravi: non confundar in aeternum.

O God, we praise Thee, and acknowledge Thee to be the supreme Lord.Everlasting Father, all the earth worships Thee.All the Angels, the heavens and all angelic powers,All the Cherubim and Seraphim, continuously cry to Thee:Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of Hosts!Heaven and earth are full of the Majesty of Thy glory.The glorious choir of the Apostles,The wonderful company of Prophets,The white-robed army of Martyrs, praise Thee.Holy Church throughout the world acknowledges Thee:The Father of infinite Majesty;Thy adorable, true and only Son;Also the Holy Spirit, the Comforter.O Christ, Thou art the King of glory!Thou art the everlasting Son of the Father.When Thou tookest it upon Thyself to deliver man,Thou didst not disdain the Virgin's womb.Having overcome the sting of death, Thou opened the Kingdom of Heaven to all believers.Thou sitest at the right hand of God in the glory of the Father.We believe that Thou willst come to be our Judge.We, therefore, beg Thee to help Thy servants whom Thou hast redeemed with Thy Precious Blood.Let them be numbered with Thy Saints in everlasting glory.

V. Save Thy people, O Lord, and bless Thy inheritance!
R. Govern them, and raise them up forever.
V. Every day we thank Thee.
R. And we praise Thy Name forever, yes, forever and ever.
V. O Lord, deign to keep us from sin this day.
R. Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us.
V. Let Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, for we have hoped in Thee.
R. O Lord, in Thee I have put my trust; let me never be put to shame.

Happy Halloween!

Is This Supposed To Scare Us?

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. military conducted a successful strike into Syria on Sunday to kill a suspected al Qaeda facilitator, a U.S. official said Monday.

"We will not bow for America. No, No, No for America," reads a sign during a funeral in Syria on Monday.

The American official, who would not be identified but who has access to U.S. intelligence, identified the intended target of the attack as "Abu Ghadiya," an Iraqi whose family the official said has been active in smuggling money, weapons and foreign fighters across the Syrian border into Iraq.

Syrian foreign minister Waleed Mouallem disputed the explanation.

"This is lies from the United States," Mouallem said.

Earlier, Mouallem had said at a news conference in London, England, that the United States violated international law and Syrian sovereignty.

"Killing civilians in international law means terrorist aggression," he said. "We consider this criminal and terrorist aggression."

The U.S. official, who asked to remain anonymous because of the classified nature of the operation, also confirmed that U.S. helicopters and military special operations forces carried out the attack.

Further acts of aggression will not be tolerated, Mouallem said. "If they do it again, we will defend our territories," he said.

Oooh, I'm so scared! Look at me, I'm trembling!

Great Quotes VIII

Great Quotes VII

No one thought of letting the people rule; politics was - as always - a contest of minorities to determine which should rule the majority.

- Will Durant, The Age of Reason Begins

Night Office

My night job involves a lot of driving between the offices and restrooms I have to clean.

Initially, I was trying to get in evening prayer by taking a break in one of the offices and reading from my copy of the Liturgy of the Hours. But I realized that was really stealing from my boss, who isn't paying me to pray. So I started saying the rosary as I drive. At first, it was just the usual five decades of one set of mysteries. Now, I try to say all four sets of mysteries (Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful and Glorious).

Of course, with all that I am doing, I often lose track of just where I am. I am sure I don't get all the Hail Mary's in, or I say too many. But I figure this bootleg rosary is better than indulging my own wicked thoughts or listening to talk radio.

New Blog

I have decided to start blogging about this new Depression we seem to be entering. Hopefully, it will be for naught and I can erase the blog when we all realize that these latest problems were just minor "corrections" and economic recovery and prosperity were always right around the corner.

The link is at the right. In the meantime, if you can spare a dime, have you noticed my books for sale? Have you seen my four kids? The books are good. I swear.

News Flash!

Liberation Theology sues Vox Nova for copyright infringement.

1972 or 1976?

This election reminds me of these two previous elections:

1972

The electorate had to choose between

the Nixon administration, which represented (rightly or wrongly) an unpopular war and a conservative morality that took no part in the counterculture movement and "free-love" revolution

or

challenger George McGovern, who was seen as leading (rightly or wrongly) a rambunctious crowd of hippies and defeatists.

Nixon was reelected, winning over 60% of the popular vote and in nearly all the states, by the famous "Silent Majority", who rejected the McGovern campaign's perceived defeatism and lack of respect for America.

1976

The electorate had to choose between

Incumbent Gerald Ford, who had replaced Nixon after the latter's scandalous second term was cut short by an impending impeachment

or

Former US Senator and Georgia governor Jimmy Carter.

The voters threw out the Republicans and elected Carter. After a few years in office, especially after the hostage crisis began, the public began to change it's mind aboout it's decision. They looked back over Carter's term and recalled his sad, serious face telling them time and again of one depressing event or another about which we could do little to stop : the oil crisis, the hostage crisis, Billy Carter ... :-)

More than anything, I think, the silent majority was disturbed by Carter philosophy, which seemed inward-looking, limiting and sad. Early in his term, Carter had said:

"We have learned that more is not necessarily better, that even our great nation has its recognized limits, and that we can neither answer all questions nor solve all problems."

In 1980, this did not contrast well with the red, white and blue hopefulness and high flown rhetoric of Ronald Reagan.

The only question I have is: is the silent majority (if it even exists) still patriotic and naturally conservative, or has the majority of the country converted to materialism and modernism? Is the core of the country still proud to be an American, or are we just a bunch of people who want free abortions, euthanasia and nationalized health care?

Vote No on Proposition 509!

I have been seeing a lot of posters and signs up lately for the different propositions we will be voting on in Arizona this November. I am only aware of the one about marriage (102). I guess I have some research to do between now and Election Day.

But what I would really like to do is add to the confusion! Each street corner seems recklessly ornamented with various signs and opinions (Vote Yes on Propositioin 102! Vote No on Proposition 201! And so on.) Wouldn't it be fun to add to the chatter? Something absurd?

It would be easy just to make up a sign, such as "Vote No on Proposition 509!" I am not aware of any such proposition and it would give me great glee to imagine all the people inquiring about it at their library or looking anxiously for it on the ballot on Election Day.

Better yet would be to photoshop the head of some celebrity and put it on the sign. And then have him say something absurd in defending his vote. I can see Chuck Norris' face and a bubble next to it with the following words:

"Vote NO on Proposition 509. A penguin can't be President!"

or maybe

"Vote NO on Propositiion 509. They're not putting hamsters in my damn tacos!"

I wonder if any of this is illegal?

Ember Friday

Today is Ember Friday. Ember days are traditonal days of fasting and prayer in the Western Church. Saturday is also an ember day.

Unless you do penance, you shall likewise perish - Luke 13:5

Ember Wednesday

Today is Ember Wednesday in September. Ember days are traditonal days of fasting and prayer in the Western Church. This Friday and Saturday are also ember days - those following the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross.

Unless you do penance, you shall likewise perish - Luke 13:5

The Tribe

Great Quotes VI

Bread is important, freedom is more important, but most important of all is unbroken fidelity and faithful adoration.

- Alfred Delp, S.J.

How can this be?

Let x equal the repeating decimal 0.99999999...

x = 0.9999999999999...

and 1000x = 999.9999999....

Then subtract x (or its equivalent 0.999999999...) from each side.

So

999x = 999

Thus x= 1.

?

Prayer Against Satan and the Rebellious Angels

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

PRAYER TO SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL

Most glorious Prince of the Heavenly Armies, Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in "our battle against principalities and powers, against the rulers of this world of darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places" (Eph., VI,12). Come to the assistance of men whom God has created to His likeness and whom He has redeemed at a great price from the tyranny of the devil. Holy Church venerates thee as her guardian and protector; to thee, the Lord has entrusted the souls of the redeemed to be led into heaven. Pray therefore the God of Peace to crush Satan beneath our feet, that he may no longer retain men captive and do injury to the Church. Offer our prayers to the Most High, that without delay they may draw His mercy down upon us; take hold of "the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and Satan", bind him that he may no longer seduce the nations" (Apoc. XX,2).

EXORCISM
In the Name of Jesus Christ, our God and Lord, strengthened by the intercession of the Immaculate Virgin Mary, Mother of God, of Blessed Michael the Archangel, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul and all the Saints, we confidently undertake to repulse the attacks and deceits of the devil.

PSALM 67: God arises; His enemies are scattered and those who hate Him flee before Him.As smoke is driven away, so are they driven; as wax melts before the fire, so the wicked perish at the presence of God.

V. Behold the Cross of the Lord, flee bands of enemies.R. He has conquered, the Lion of the tribe of Juda, the offspring of David.V. May thy mercy, Lord, descend upon us.R. As great as our hope in Thee.

[The crosses below indicate a blessing to be given if a priest recites the Exorcism; if a lay person recites it, they indicate the Sign of the Cross to be made silently by that person.]
We drive you from us, whoever you may be, unclean spirits, all satanic powers, all infernal invaders, all wicked legions, assemblies and sects; in the Name and by the power of Our Lord Jesus Christ,+ may you be snatched away and driven from the Church of God and from the souls made to the image and likeness of God and redeemed by the Precious Blood of the Divine Lamb. + Most cunning serpent, you shall no more dare to deceive the human race, persecute the Church, torment God's elect and sift them as wheat.+ The Most High God commands you,+ He with whom, in your great insolence, you still claim to be equal; "He who wants all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" (I Tim., II,4). God the Father commands you. + God the Son commands you. + God the Holy Ghost commands you. + Christ, God's Word made flesh, commands you; + He who to save our race outdone through your envy, "humbled Himself, becoming obedient even unto death" (Phil.,II,8); He who has built His Church on the firm rock and declared that the gates of hell shall not prevail against Her, because He will dwell with Her "all days even to the end of the world" (Mat.,XXVIII,20). The sacred Sign of the Cross commands you, + as does also the power of the mysteries of the Christian Faith. + The glorious Mother of God, the Virgin Mary, commands you. + The blood of the Martyrs and the pious intercession of all the Saints command you. + Thus, cursed dragon, and you, diabolical legions, we adjure you by the living God, + by the true God, + by the holy God, + by the God "who so loved the world that He gave up His only Son, that every soul believing in Him might not perish but have life everlasting" (St.John,III); stop deceiving human creatures and pouring out to them the poison of eternal damnation; stop harming the Church and hindering her liberty. Begone, Satan, inventor and master of all deceit, enemy of man's salvation. Give place to Christ in whom you have found none of your works; give place to the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church acquired by Christ at the price of His Blood. Stoop beneath the all-powerful Hand of God; tremble and flee when we invoke the Holy and terrible Name of Jesus, this Name which causes hell to tremble, this Name to which the Virtues, Powers and Dominations of heaven are humbly submissive, this Name which the Cherubim and Seraphim praise unceasingly repeating: Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord, the God of Armies.

V. O Lord, hear my prayer.

R. And let my cry come unto Thee.

V. May the Lord be with thee.

R. And with thy spirit.

Let us pray. - God of heaven, God of earth, God of Angels, God of Archangels, God of Patriarchs, God of Prophets, God of Apostles, God of Martyrs, God of Confessors, God of Virgins, God who has power to give life after death and rest after work, because there is no other God than Thee and there can be no other, for Thou art the Creator of all things, visible and invisible, of whose reign there shall be no end, we humbly prostrate ourselves before Thy glorious Majesty and we beseech Thee to deliver us by Thy power from all the tyranny of the infernal spirits, from their snares, their lies and their furious wickedness; deign, O Lord, to grant us Thy powerful protection and to keep us safe and sound. We beseech Thee through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

From the snares of the devil, deliver us, O Lord.
That Thy Church may serve Thee in peace and liberty, we beseech Thee in peace and liberty, we beseech Thee to hear us.
That Thou may crush down all enemies of Thy Church, we beseech Thee to hear us.

Why, O Lord, Why?

Why do I keep going there?

Is there something wrong with me?

Vox Nova

Great Quotes V

An exile now. O God, O God.
No one to help. I am alone.

-Medea, a play by Euripides

Now Praying For...

Me again!

Since hard times hit in the summer, I have had to work at a second job. For the last month I have been cleaning toilets at night on the weekends. I now have a chance to switch to a night auditor position and get up to forty hours. This would be a great boon to my family. I hope I am in your prayers.

Fading and Increasingly Incoherent Reflection on Mercy

A priest reminded me, after hearing my confession, that this life is a vale of tears.

I have always thought of God's mercy being distributed over this continuum of suffering, here and there, providing relief at crucial junctures, keeping us from completely losing hope: A job found just when the bank is about to foreclose, a sick child recovering after a long illness, a couple reunited with just enough love left to keep going into the unknown future. I never thought of it as an overflowing cup. I never thought of it as a horn of plenty. God's mercy, while always welcome, seemed like stale bread rationed meagerly amongst starving prisoners.

I realized, praying at mass last night, that someday I would see this cornucopia of mercy. Someday I will sit at a full table of salvation. Someday the last tear will be wiped away. My scars will no longer ache. I will never fear for my children again. I will be able to hear with both ears again. I will see with both eyes.

Someday, after I die, the greatest mercy will be revealed to me and given to me. At that point, the horizon will stretch out to eternity and there will be no suffering along the rest of my path. And my path will be everyone's path and the presence of so many people on this one narrow path will result in no jostling, no maneuvering for position, but only inexplicable harmony. And we will be ever filled with wonder that a greater joy, a greater harmony, waits always before us and all suffering is left behind for ever.

What a mystery this life is: seeming so momentous, so significant. Yet the greatest moment is always ahead. And the significance of our eternity is infinitely greater than even those moments of greatest inportance in life: birth, marriage, sex, victory, defeat, death.

Mercy, which seems to have been apportioned with such miserliness, will be revealed as infinite when all our sins of the past and all our fears for the future are erased and the present becomes an unceasing surfeit of joy and love.

I'm Lovin' This Race!

I was thinking about sitting this one out, or voting for Bob Barr. But this revived interest in John McCain for me. The thing I like most about it; he gambled. The man is seventy-two years old and he is still surprising us. I imagined he would go with the flow and pick Romney.

At first, I thought, what the Hell is McCain doing? This is his last shot and he goes for such a long shot? Then, as I became impressed with his choice and his willingness to reach WAY out and go against the grain (and get a pro-lifer and authentic conservative), I realized he wasn't going for disgruntled, pro-Hilary soccer Moms so much as he was rescuing those of us who were thnking about going for a third-party and draining support.

I am 100% for McCain now. I look forward to his leadership. Risky but brilliant.

OK, now I feel like this...

Or maybe this is how I feel...

Yup, this sums up how I feel right now...

New Catholic Church!

The picture shows a bishop of the new Reformed Catholic Church in Venezuela giving communion to his wife, a delicate young thing of 24.

I don't have to say a thing, do I?

Typical Post

Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah whine blah blah blah blah blah blah blah grumble blah blah blah blah blah Latin blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah weak attempt at philosophy blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah Novus Ordo blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah Catholic blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah liberal priest blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah angst blah blah blah blah blah blah whine blah blah blah blah prayer request blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah wandering ramble blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah Vatican II blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah more whining blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah half-hearted attempt at significant statement blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah !

Proud to be a non-dissenter and comformist!

“I believe and profess all that the holy Catholic Church teaches, believes and proclaims to be revealed by God.” In particular:

I affirm and believe the Church’s teaching about the inviolability of human life. In accord with that teaching I affirm that human life is sacred and must be protected and respected from the moment of conception until natural death. I affirm that I reject direct, intentional abortion and I do not recognize the legitimacy of anyone’s claim to a moral right to form their own conscience in this matter. I am not pro-choice. I further attest that I am not affiliated with, nor supportive of, any organization which supports, encourages, provides or otherwise endorses abortion or euthanasia. (cf. CCC 2270-2283)

I affirm and believe the Church’s teaching about the sinfulness of contraception. I affirm, in accord with the teachings of the Church that “every action which, whether in anticipation of the conjugal act, or in its accomplishment, or in the development of its natural consequences, proposes, whether as an end or as a means, to render procreation impossible” is intrinsically evil. (CCC 2370)

I affirm and believe that every person is called to chastity in accord with their present state of life and that it is only in marriage between man and woman that the intimacy of spouses becomes a sign and pledge of spiritual communion. (CCC 2337—2365) I accept the Church’s teaching that any extra-marital sexual relationships are gravely evil and that these include pre-marital relations, masturbation, fornication, the viewing of pornography and homosexual relations.

I affirm and believe the teaching of the Church about the evil of homosexual acts. I accept the formulation in the Catechism which states: “Basing itself on Sacred Scripture, which presents homosexual acts as acts of grave depravity, tradition has always declared that “homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.” They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.” (CCC 2357)

I affirm and believe all that the Church teaches about the Reality and Presence of Christ in the Most Holy Eucharist. Specifically I believe that Jesus is present Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity under each of the forms of bread and wine and that receiving either one is Communion with the whole Christ. I recognize that worship and adoration are appropriate, not only during Mass but also outside of Mass and that the Most Holy Eucharist must always be handled with the utmost care and devotion. (CCC 1373-1381)

I affirm and believe the teachings of the Church regarding Mary, Mother of Christ and Mother of the Church. I accept with the Church that it is fitting and proper to honor the Blessed Virgin with special devotion. (CCC 963-975)

I affirm and believe that it is possible for a person to choose to remain separated from God for all eternity and that “This state of definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed is called “hell.”” (CCC 1033)

I affirm and believe that those who die in God’s grace and friendship but are still imperfectly purified undergo additional purification so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joys of heaven. I affirm that the Church’s name for this final purification is Purgatory. (CCC 1030-1032)

I affirm and believe in One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church and embrace the teachings about that Church as enunciated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. (cf. CCC 748-962)
I affirm and believe that the Church teaches with God-given authority and that the promise of Christ to remain with His Church always, until the end of time is a reality. I further acknowledge that those teachings pronounced in a definitive manner, even though not as an infallible definition, are binding on the consciences of the faithful and are to be adhered to with religious assent. (CCC 892)

To these and to all the teaching of the Catholic Church I give my assent. I attest that I believe these things and, while I am aware of my own sinfulness and shortcomings, I strive in my beliefs and life style to conform to this Affirmation of Personal of Faith.

(Seen at the Anglo-Papist's place)

Fifth Situation

(Initial Post)

(First Situation)

(Second Situation)

(Third Situation)

(Fourth Situation)

An aviator agreed to load his plane with high explosives and run it straight into an enemy battleship. He would be blown into bits, but the battleship would be destroyed.

Fourth Situation

(See initial post here)
(See first situation here)

(See second situation here)

(See third situation here)

Two men are trapped in the debris of a hotel destroyed by a tornado. One finds that, if he pushes up on the beam pinning him to the ground, he an struggle out to safety. However, moving the beam would bring half the ceiling crashing down on his companion, who cannot be extracted. He feels justified in pushing up the beam.

Third Situation

(See initial post here)
(See First Situation here)
(See Second Situation here)

Seven sailors were proclaimed heroes of the Thetis submarine disaster because they had volunteered to let their bodies serve as buoys to guide rescuers to the sunken British submarine. Captain O'Hara was the first to volunteer to try to get through the escape chamber, though, because of the submarine's position, it was beleived a man would be drowned before he could get clear of the hull. If he got to the outer hatch before drowning, his body, floating to the surface with the notation of the Thetis' exact position tied to his wrist, would guide the rescue ships. Captain O'Hara got through; the next three were drowned before reaching the outside hatch.

Second Situation

(See initial post here)
(See first situation here)

A sailor in charge of a lifeboat deliberately rows away from several people still in the water. He knows that an attempt to take any more into the boat will result in its being overturned and in the death of most of those already in the boat.

First Situation

(See initial post here.)

A child is born blind and crippled. The doctor gives him poison to produce the good effect of removing a heavy burden from the parents and of preventing suffering to the child. The doctor claims that death, the bad effect, is permitted as a means of obtaining the good effect.

(My analysis in comments)

Moral Guidance

I am reading Moral Guidance, a book written in the 1940's by Jesuits and about-you guessed it- moral guidance. Besides being in deep need of moral guidance, I am also motivated to read it in order to sharpen my puny philosophical comprehension skills.

Early on in the text the author discusses the "two fold effect" -

"It is allowable to perform an act that will produce a good and a bad effect, provided (1) the good effect and not the evil effect is directly intended; (2) the action itself is good, or at least indifferent; (3) the good effect is not produced by means of the evil effect and (4) there is a proportionate reason for permitting the foreseen evil effect to occur."

There are actually long explanations of each of these four conditions given later, but I think this is enough for any interested party to help me apply this principle to a number of difficult situations presented by the authors. While they do examine some easily resolved situations at first, the Jesuit fathers leave a series of hard questions for the student (who was presumably a seminarian led by an older priest professor). I found the first one easy to analyze using the four conditions, but the four that followed I was ultimately unable to resolve to my own satisfaction. I shall present them here and, if you are feeling helpful, maybe you can help me out.

I shall begin with the first situation and my examination of it to give you the idea of what I am after.

Great Quotes IV

The opposite of ideology is mercy.

- The Ochlophobist

Can't Get This Out of My Head

Now Praying for...

My wife, who became an American citizen yesterday.

(And let's pray for the country while we're at it...)

Great Quote III

“There's no such thing as life without bloodshed. I think the notion that the species can be improved in some way, that everyone could live in harmony, is a really dangerous idea. Those who are afflicted with this notion are the first ones to give up their souls, their freedom. Your desire that it be that way will enslave you and make your life vacuous.”

-Cormac McCarthy, New York Times interview, 1992

Now praying for...

My wife, who will take the oath of citizenship on July 18th. It's been eleven long years...

Backsliding

I made the decision this last Lent to go back, full-time, to my parish, which celebrates mass in the ordinary form. After a long period of "discernment", I decided that I was going to have to tough it out, no matter how infantilized the mass was with guitars, hand-holding and bad music (and I will raise you up on Eagle's wings...). After all, I thought, the priests seem orthodox. As long as they preach the faith...

Then this, in last Sunday's homily, concerning the understanding of God's will:

"For instance, some question why we don't ordain women yet in the Catholic church. They need to understand that God may have a reason not to ordain women yet in the Catholic Church."

The emphases aren't mine. They were audible.

My two eldest children, twelve and ten, were with me.

So, this evening I am going to mass in the extraordinary form about 25 miles from here to think things over.

Great Quote II

What shall I say first? What shall I keep until the end? The gods have tried me in a thousand ways. But first my name: let that be known to you, and if I pull away from pitiless death, friendship will bind us, though my land lies far.

I am Laertes' son, Odysseus.

-Homer
The Odyssey

Great Quote I

All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one's heart have a common provenance in pain.

Their birth in grief and ashes.

-Cormac McCarthy
The Road

Epic of Gilgamesh - Preamble

Great literature tells us something about the struggles and concerns of the era in which it is written. It also speaks to us about issues which continue, perhaps indefinitely, to distress mankind. Even a work of pure fantasy, The Lord of the Rings trilogy (to the contrary of Professor Tolkien's denial about the use of allegory), is burdened with the tension between the agricultural and the industrial, the former in its last death throes as twentieth-century Western society became almost wholly industrialized. The great tales of Western civilization, even it's most ancient foundational stories, are no less concerned with the pre-occupations of the cultures from which they spring.

The Epic of Gilgamesh, almost certainly the oldest known story outside those contained in the earliest chapters of the book of Genesis, is fraught with the difficulties experienced in three different relationships: that between civilization and wilderness, that between man and his fellow man, and that between man and god.

Part One: Civilization vs. Wilderness - "Is it not burnt brick and good?"
Part Two: Gilgamesh and Enkidu - A Love Story
Part Three: Ancient Religion - Mortality and Fickle Gods

The Enuma Elish and Ancient Religions

The Enuma Elish is essentially the Babylonian Creation tale. It is probably based on a tale told by the Sumerians, who were the antecedent culture in Babylonia. This makes the story at least 5,000 years old, and it is probably much older. It may have acquired it’s formal structure during the rise of the first cities (1) but it is possible that the tale originates in our pre-civilization era, when people still lived in villages or even as roving bands of hunter-gatherers.

This creation story is not really a great book of Western Civilization, or of any civilization. Unlike the Iliad or Milton’s Paradise Lost, it does not continue to be read for entertainment by anyone, and is not found in complete form anywhere (The preceding can be considered as a just the initial requirement for a great book). While some books included on the reading list also suffer from lacunae or missing pages, such as Beowulf, their meaning is not greatly affected and, furthermore, they have continued in the popular imagination (or have re-emerged into the popular imagination in the case of Beowulf) in a way that the Enuma Elish has not.

What remains of the Enuma Elish is found on seven broken stone tablets discovered in 1849 near Mosul, Iraq (2). It is a story that little involves mankind, though there is a fragment which suggests that some of the battles between the gods (which the tale describes) took place after "the cities" had been established. The Enuma Elish is difficult to read, even in translation, because several sections of these tablets are missing(3). Thus one cannot summarize the story well, since no one is exactly sure of what is happening at a number of points, and it is not clear what causes lead to which effects and so on.

What is evident, and what is crucial for us in understanding the later stories that we will study, is that the story depicts a world dominated by gods who resemble men in the worst possible ways. The multiple gods of the ancients, be they Babylonian, Greek, Roman or Hindu, are described as a great inter-related (and incestuous) clan of deities, who spend most of their time in power struggles and petty bickering which often result in strife for mankind or the world in general. Indeed, the creation story told on these seven tablets is more a tale of divine war than it is of creation. Those accustomed to the sedate and orderly procession of the days of Creation in Judeo-Christian scriptures may be shocked, and perhaps a little disappointed, in the chaotic scenes described in the Enuma Elish.

The world begins, as in Genesis, with the waters dominating the scene. There is no name for anything else, just the awesome waters and the primeval gods. We are told that much time passes in this uncertainty at the beginning of all things.

Somehow, the gods come into conflict and an alliance is formed around the Great Mother of the gods, Tiamat, or Chaos, against the ascendant Marduk. Tiamat takes a new husband, Kingu, and gives him the "Tablets of Destiny". She also creates many monsters, such as dragons and scorpion-men, to fight battles for her. The meaning of all this is best left for the study of history and has little importance for our goal: an understanding of the literature of Western Civilization. Let it suffice to say that Marduk eventually wins and becomes the greatest among the gods.

The most significant information for our study is found in the depictions of the deities involved. In the West, we live in a society founded on an orderly concept of divinity. Judaism, the foundation for both Christianity and Islam, is a legalistic religion, which describes a god who is somewhat mysterious yet very regular and logical. He is also the greatest of the all "the gods" and completely in charge of the universe. Christianity, which began as a Jewish sect, later embraced Greek philosophy, in particular that of Aristotle, who sought to organize thought in a way never before attempted. The god of Islam is also a god of order and law. These three religions being the essential foundations of culture in the West, they have been the springboards for a viewpoint which sees an orderly, almost mechanistic deity, such as in Deism. And, though many in the West no longer follow any of these religions, they usually eschew religion in favor of science, which also presents an ordered and logical universe to its followers.

This orderliness was unthinkable to our ancestors. When we pick up the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Iliad and the Odyssey, we will read of multiple gods, ever in conflict, ever scheming and altering not only the physical world at a whim, but even breaking moral codes when it suits them. We shall see some examples of this in our first Great Book - the Epic of Gilgamesh.

Writing

People invented writing for economic purposes, possibly because transactions involving camels, cows and bushels of barley were becoming too numerous for a man to keep track of everything in his head (1).

This means to say something more than the modern mind might imagine. People today have a hard time remembering their own telephone numbers. Ancient man, and men in some societies today still possess these abilities, could keep track of incredible amounts of data simply by storing it in that moist computer we call the brain. To demonstrate, I need only point out that tales like the Iliad and the Odyssey (later featured here on this blog) were told by illiterates who memorized them (2). If ancient man was capable of such a feat, the complexity and amount of their economic dealings must have been considerable for writing to have been necessary.

Or, was it not an issue of data involved but rather a trust issue? Did it become too difficult to be sure that each man’s memory was correct when it came to remembering how many wagon wheels were promised in exchange last fall for this summer’s wheat crop? Was writing invented in order to keep everyone honest? It doesn’t matter much for our purposes here. But it may be of interest later on, when we come to more modern writings and we see that people begin to suspect that the written word has lost it’s certainty, and the signifier no longer has the same signified.

Regardless, the first writings we know of involve business. Writing was not invented to tell heroic stories or to express love in a poem. Ancient stories and poems, those known and unknown to us, probably existed long before writing, and existed alongside writing for some period of time before two things happened - sufficient written vocabulary came into existence and it was deemed useful, for whatever reason, to actually write the stories down.

Archaeologists have discovered tokens that were presumably used previous to the existence of writing(3). A wooden or stone token may signified a sheep, or ten sheep, or a hundred sheep. At some point, it became useful to make marks that looked like the tokens on tablets of stone or clay. Thus writing was most likely born (4). At some later time, there were enough words in the written vocabulary (presumably more than numbers and animal or crop names) to enable a man to actually record, in writing, a tale that was already known to people through oral traditions.

This transition, from business to literature, happened first in Southwest Asia (5), the place we know today as Mesopotamia, where the earliest cities, those of Sumer, were built. Amid the wreckage and ruins of this ancient civilization, we have uncovered tablets that tell of the heroes and deities whose tales entertained our ancestors.

The oldest story is called the Enuma Elish. These words are simply the first two words in the story, meaning "when on high..." in English. The next essay will concern this account of the beginning of the world and the gods who witnessed it.

Reading List

1. Enuma Elish
2. The Epic of Gilgamesh
3. The Iliad
4. The Odyssey
5. Greek Plays
6. Herodotus
7. Thucydides
8. Plato
9. Marcus Aurelius
10. Virgil
11. Plutarch
12. Tacitus
13. Augustine
14. Beowulf
15. Dante
16. Chaucer
17. Machiavelli
18. Rabelais
19. Shakespeare
20. Cervantes
21. Milton
22. Swift
23. Goethe
24. Melville
25. Tolstoy
26. Dostoevsky
27. Dickens
28. Stephen Crane
29. Joseph Conrad
30. James Joyce
31. Hemingway
32. Cormac McCarthy

Year One - Beginning August 16th, 2011

(Pre-Advent)
1. Genesis
2. Exodus
3. Josue
4. 1-2 Kings
5. Canticle of Canticles
6. 3-4 Kings
7. Tobias

(Advent)
8. Isaias
9. Abdias
10. Malachias

(Christmas)
11. St. Matthew

(Lent)
12. Job

(Easter)
13. Acts

(Pentecost)
14. Romans
15. Galatians
16. 1 Thessalonians
17. 2 Thessalonians
18. Hebrews
19. St. James
20. Apocalypse

Year Four - Beginning August 16th, 2010

(Pre-Advent)
1. Genesis
2. Deuteronomy
3. Wisdom
4. 1 Esdras
5. 2 Esdras
6. 1 Machabees
7. 2 Machabees

(Advent)
8. Daniel
9. Osee
10. Joel
11. Amos
12. Jonas
13. Micheas
14. Habacuc
15. Sophonias
16. Zacharias

(Christmas)
17. St. John

(Lent)
18. Job

(Easter)
19. Acts

(Pentecost)
20. 1 St. John
21. 2 St. John
22. 3 St. John
23. St. Jude
24. Apocalypse

Year Three - Beginning August 16th, 2009

(Pre-Advent)
1. Genesis
2. Numbers
3. Ruth
4. Ecclesiasticus
5. Ecclesiastes
6. Esther

(Advent)
7. Ezechiel
8. Nahum
9. Aggeus

(Christmas)
10. St. Luke

(Lent)
11. Job

(Easter)
12. Acts

(Pentecost)
13. 2 Corinthians
14. Philippians
15. Colossians
16. 1 Timothy
17. 2 Timothy
18. Hebrews
19. Apocalypse

Year Two - Beginning August 16th, 2008

(Pre-Advent)
1. Genesis
2. Leviticus
3. Judges
4. 1 Paralipomenon
5. Proverbs
6. 2 Paralipomenon
7. Judith

(Advent)
8. Jeremias
9. Lamentations
10.Baruch

(Christmas)
11. St. Mark

(Lent)
12. Job

(Easter)
13. Acts

(Pentecost)
14. 1 Corinthians
15. Ephesians
16. Titus
17. Philemon
18. Hebrews
19. 1 St. Peter
20. 2 St. Peter
21. Apocalypse

Four-Year Scripture Schedule

This schedule represents an attempt, not simply to "read the whole Bible", but to always read scripture.

Over the course of four years, the reader will read all the books of the Bible. Each "scriptural year" starts on August 16th with the Pre-Advent Schedule, which always begins with the book of Genesis. Other books are encountered on a rotational basis.

This schedule is aimed at use by working people, who may only be able to dedicate 30 to 60 minutes each day to strictly spiritual matters.

General Plan

I. Pre-Advent (August 16th to Saturday before Advent - approximately 105 days): Historical and Wisdom books from the Old Testament.

II. Advent (First Sunday of Advent until December 23rd - approximately 25 days): Prophecies from the Old Testament

III. Christmas (December 24th until the Tuesday before Lent - between 45 and 70 days): One gospel

IV. Lent (Ash Wednesday until Holy Saturday - 44 days): The Book of Job

V. Easter (Easter Sunday until the Saturday before Pentecost - 49 days): The Acts of the Apostles

VI. Pentecost (Pentecost Sunday until Assumption - approximately 90 days): A selection of New Testament books.

In viewing the four-year layout, notice that there are certain "rotations". The first two years are heavy with historical writings. In the third year, there is much less, though the book of Ecclesiasticus does begin a recapitulation of the patriarchs in it’s 44th chapter. Year four skips, over much history, directly to the return from exile, which the previous years overlook. The New Testament is also broken down - according to author and focus. Each year concludes with the Apocalypse of St. John. The Psalms will be prayed before and after each reading.

Year One
Year Two
Year Three
Year Four

Scripture Study: Year One

This schedule, covering the post-Pentecost section of a typical schedule, utilizes changes in format and style which should stay consistent throughout the four-years.

First, I have moved away from daily assignments, since this could only cause discouragement for a working Catholic with a family, who certainly couldn't manage to stay faithful to the schedule every day (Hey, not even I can do that, and I invented this crazy scheme!) Instead, I have divided the calendar into weeks, starting each week on a Sunday. Following the dates for each week comes a series of "assignments", which can be read at your leisure. It is possible to skip a day, if necessary, or do three in one day if you suddenly have time on your hands. Furthermore, I will only post once a week, showing links to all the assignments and adding links to helpful exegetical texts by the Fathers of the Church as the week goes by. This should also offer a more relaxed opportunity for discussion of various themes throughout the week, instead of forcing us to leave behind a juicy passage before we really get a chance to reflect on it.

More importantly, each assignment is preceded and succeeded by a psalm, which I have specifically chosen for its pertinence to the text offered. My intent is to turn these readings into prayers, rather than just reading assignments. Thus, I recommend that, instead of just plowing into the reading when you sit down, you should pause and make the sign of the cross (at the very least), before praying the psalm that precedes the reading assignment, which is given in bold print. The psalm which follows the assignment should be similarly treated.

May 11-17
Psalm 113, Acts 1, Psalm 67
Psalm 16, Acts 2, Psalm 110
Psalm 2, Acts 3-5, Psalm 115
Psalm 105, Acts 6-7, Psalm 106
Psalm 15, Acts 8, Psalm 48
Psalm 17, Acts 9, Psalm 30

May 18-24
Psalm 92, Acts 10, Psalm 84
Psalm 145, Acts 11, Psalm 138
Psalm 94, Acts 12, Psalm 123
Psalm 16, Acts 13-14, Psalm 89
Psalm 125, Acts 15, Psalm 133

May 25-31
Psalm 109, Acts 16, Psalm 30
Psalm 17, Acts 17, Psalm 144
Psalm 109, Acts 18, Psalm 98
Psalm 120, Acts 19, Psalm 27
Psalm 126, Acts 20, Psalm 134

June 1-7
Psalm 140, Acts 21-23, Psalm142
Psalm 58, Acts 24-26, Psalm 125
Psalm 100, Acts 27, Psalm 29
Psalm 121, Acts 28, Psalm 150

June 8-14
Psalm 38, Galatians 1, Psalm 65
Psalm 93, Galatians 2, Psalm 124
Psalm 73, Galatians 3-4, Psalm 47
Psalm 14, Galatians 5, Psalm 9
Psalm 108, Galatians 6, Psalm 72

June 15-21
Psalm13, 1 Thessalonians 1, Psalm 43
Psalm 141, 1 Thessalonians 2, Psalm 65
Psalm 63, 1 Thessalonians 3, Psalm 11
Psalm 14, 1 Thessalonians 4, Psalm 71
Psalm 70, 1 Thessalonians 5, Psalm 26

June 22-28
Psalm139, Titus 1, Psalm 52
Psalm 5, Titus 2, Psalm 3
Psalm 21, Titus 3, Psalm 15

June 29-July 5
Psalm 110, Hebrews 1, Psalm 45
Psalm 85, Hebrews 2, Psalm 128
Psalm 130, Hebrews 3, Psalm 126
Psalm 1, Hebrews 4, Psalm 95
Psalm 42, Hebrews 5, Psalm 43
Psalm 102, Hebrews 6, Psalm 97

July 6-12
Psalm 76, Hebrews 7, Psalm 110
Psalm 68, Hebrews 8, Psalm 79
Psalm 148, Hebrews 9, Psalm 132
Psalm 40, Hebrews 10, Psalm 110
Psalm 51, Hebrews 11, Psalm 66
Psalm10, Hebrews 12, Psalm 1
Psalm 65, Hebrews 13, Psalm 118

July 13-19
Psalm 143, James 1, Psalm 81
Psalm 133, James 2, Psalm 62
Psalm 52, James 3, Psalm 119
Psalm 73, James 4, Psalm 41
Psalm 101, James 5, Psalm 128

July 20-26
Psalm 140, Apocalypse 1-3, Psalm 2
Psalm 42, Apocalypse 4, Psalm 96
Psalm 102, Apocalypse 5, Psalm 92
Psalm 89, Apocalypse 6, Psalm 29

July 27-August 2
Psalm 7, Apocalypse 7, Psalm 47
Psalm 51, Apocalypse 8, Psalm
Psalm 5, Apocalypse 9, Psalm 8
Psalm 54, Apocalypse 10, Psalm 19
Psalm 67, Apocalypse 11, Psalm 59
Psalm 88, Apocalypse 12, Psalm 76

August 3-9
Psalm 57, Apocalypse 13, Psalm 70
Psalm 146, Apocalypse 14, Psalm 67
Psalm 3, Apocalypse 15, Psalm 123
Psalm 75, Apocalypse 16, Psalm 82
Psalm 23, Apocalypse 17-19, Psalm 9

August 10-15
Psalm 100, Apocalypse 20, Psalm 98
Psalm 145, Apocalypse 21, Psalm 122
Psalm 117, Apocalypse 22, Psalm150

End of Year One