I am sick today ...ugh ...

Anyway, some reading

Through And Through A compelling work of fiction about a priest and a quite unusual confession.

National Review: Idle Speculation - AIDS, condoms, and the Catholic Church.

A good point from Mark Shea on the whole "Isn't it just fiction?" retort from Da Vinci Code supporters

I proposed a fictional film in which all the homosexuals in the world were engaged in a vast conspiracy to destroy Western Civilization.

"That would be offensive."

No duh.

The *only* time people fall for this notion that a fictional story which goes out of its way to malign and defame a billion people is "just fiction" is when it bashes Christians. The only time such people believe it will have absolutely no effect on what people think is with the Da Vinci Code. Try making a modern fictional film in which blacks are all watermelon-eating Stepin Fetchit dunces, or Jews are all conniving lechers and you will (rightly) get a storm of protest because these lies are pernicious and do real damage. But declare Christians the suckers of a 2000 year old Vatican conspiracy of murder and lies in the service of "the greatest coverup of all time", blaspheme Jesus and call all Christians fools for believing in him: that's just fiction.

Randall Terry, founder of Operation Rescue, converts to Catholicism

Science is on the side of attachment parenting

She argues that the practice common in Britain of training children to sleep alone from a few weeks old is harmful because any separation from parents increases the flow of stress hormones such as cortisol.

Her findings are based on advances in scientific understanding over the past 20 years of how children’s brains develop, and on studies using scans to analyse how they react in particular circumstances.

For example, a neurological study three years ago showed that a child separated from a parent experienced similar brain activity to one in physical pain.

Catholic England: Pugin, Newman, the new Catholic aristocracy and classical liturgics

What we pass on to our children A response to common criticism that if you have too many kids you will not be able to afford college for all of them

It is clear then from this chapter that Jesus was teaching us to be ready and what to do with our time here on earth. He was saying that the time and talent we have been given is for serving each other here on earth.

That's not to say that education isn't important, or even helpful in pursuing those goals, but rather that as parents, our main goal for our time with our children is to teach them to be ready to meet Jesus, to develop their talents in a way that will be pleasing to God, and to live a life that gives Him glory. Anything else, is just extra.

The race is towards Christ, not worldly success.