I finally read Spe Salvi. The following hit me like a ton of bricks ...

We can try to limit suffering, to fight against it, but we cannot eliminate it. It is when we attempt to avoid suffering by withdrawing from anything that might involve hurt, when we try to spare ourselves the effort and pain of pursuing truth, love, and goodness, that we drift into a life of emptiness, in which there may be almost no pain, but the dark sensation of meaninglessness and abandonment is all the greater. It is not by sidestepping or fleeing from suffering that we are healed, but rather by our capacity for accepting it, maturing through it and finding meaning through union with Christ, who suffered with infinite love.

I'll try to comment more tomorrow.

OK, OK so it doesn't follow that we are headed that way but this is certainly interesting ....

CWS has a summary here .... Historical argument favors Communion on the tongue

... concluding that the early Church quickly developed the practice in which lay people Communion on the tongue while kneeling. Only ordained ministers were allowed to touch the consecrated Host with their hands.

By the 6th century, Bishop Schneider writes, the Church had formed a consensus that Communion should be received on the tongue, of reverence for the Eucharistic Lord. Pope Gregory the Great chastised priests who resisted that consensus, and it was become an "almost universal practice" in the early Church, the author says.

Kneeling to receive Communion was also a pattern established early in Church history, Bishop Schneider reports. That posture, too, was seen as a means of expressing reverence for Jesus in the Eucharist, and "the most typical gesture of adoration is the biblical one of kneeling."

By administering Communion on the tongue, priests were able to foster greater devotion to the Eucharist; Bishop Schneider remarks that that form is "an impressive sign of the profession of faith the in the Real Presence."

He adds the argument that this form of distributing Communion can prevent accidents. The author cites St. Cyril of Jerusalem, who exhorted priests to use extra caution "so that no even a crumb of the Lord's Body could fall to the ground."

I had read this in my research on the early fathers years ago. While it is true, as some commenters have pointed out, that many accidents have occurred with people who DO receive on the tongue, these accidents would be virtually eliminated with altar rails and patens (which to my understanding should be used anyway). Also, in my experience altar rails seem much faster than the way one typically receives today which would reduce the need for extraordinary Eucharistic ministers.

See Te Deum laudamus!: Historical-Liturgical Notes on the Rite of the Eucharist by Bishop Athanasius Schneider.

Also a recent email to Fr. Z has prompted him to repost his PODCAzT about Communion in the hand.

John Henry Cardinal Newman To Be Beatified

As Opinionated Catholic said -- Good news for Brits and for converts.

John Henry Newman was born in 1801. As an Anglican priest, he led the Oxford Movement that sought to return the Church of England to its Catholic roots. His conversion to Catholicism in 1845 rocked Victorian England. After becoming an Oratorian priest, he was involved in the establishment of the Birmingham Oratory.

...

The Catholic Church has accepted as miraculous the cure of an American deacon’s crippling spinal disorder. The deacon, Jack Sullivan of Marshfield, Massachusetts, prayed for John Henry Newman’s intercession.

As someone who converted partially on the strength of his writings I say this is a most welcome "development". :)

In all of this mainstream papal coverage I have noticed three things.

1. The Pope can never do enough to please Americans. Americans as a whole think the world revolves around us. To the Pope we are one nation, with one set of problems. He cannot drop everything when genocide, AIDS and other problems combat a very real world outside of the US. Either he never does enough or he has his hands in things too much.

2. I should collect all of the articles with the statement "what the Vatican can learn from us" ... A bunch of people with limited experience in solving their own problems is going to tell the leader of a 2000 year old religion that is still around despite the botching of its own leadership at every step of the way how to go about stepping into the "real world". Be more liberal. Be more conservative. Be more democratic. Be this. Be that. Yeah, the timeless teachings of an increasingly wise Church will take deference to the whims of people who think their thoughts haven't been tried and found wanting in the past.

Catholics generally regard the survival and success of such a flawed institution as evidence of divine favor. The church has managed to outlive all of its scandals -- and all of its critics. (source)

or

The Catholic Church is the only thing which saves a man from the degrading slavery of being a child of his age. --GK Chesterton

3. The Pope is painted an arch-conservative bad guy when he speaks about abortion, stem cell research. He is an enlightened liberal that can teach Bush a thing or two when he speaks about peace, the Iraq war and environmentalism.

But for many, this most peculiar papacy still sets Catholics apart. The Pope, of all things, would seem to stand outside our common values as Americans. The Pope is what we’re not: regal, authoritative, indifferent to polling data, able to ask that we follow without giving us a vote on the issue.

Yes, he is all that. But we live in a time hungry for unity, hungry for clarity of purpose, hungry for the presence of God—the real presence of the divine. Americans are a people on pilgrimage, always searching, always willing to reinvent ourselves as we try to find out who we might become.

So maybe just for a few days, we might all pause before this man of God: human he is, on pilgrimage like the rest of us. Sure, I wish he’d make pulpits open to women, I wish he’d eliminate “only” from his love of the church he leads, I wish he’d spend more time with the poor and less with the rich. Full Circle: see point #2 I was making above

But he made me proud nonetheless. He brought a profound reminder of what it means to believe in a faith so grand and so humble too, a faith ultimately in nothing less than God’s love, God’s presence among us, God’s promise to be with us always.

Thank you, Holy Father. Amen. (source)

In the more Catholic coverage much ado has been made about the music at the mass in Washington. I have heard nothing but priases about the mass from people who were there despite their displeasure with the selections of music. I think it is important for us to realize that we have a long way to go when it comes to making liturgy better for the future. For the priests that were there, they got to concelbrate mass with the Pope. For the laity in attendance it will likely be a memorable experience they will never forget. Second, liberal Catholics are all up in arms that deacons and priests were in roles often performed by the laity at your average parish mass (altar servers, distribution of communion). Yeah, lets not encourage our seminarians who are making a huge sacrifice to pursue their vocation. Further ado was made of Kerry receiving communion. He likely received from a deacon without authority to do much about it. He also likely didn't know until Kerry was standing two inches from him who he was if he even knew at all. I am prone to give somebody here the benefit of the doubt. As for Kerry, Scripture has choice words for his situation:

Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. A person should examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are ill and infirm, and a considerable number are dying. If we discerned ourselves, we would not be under judgment; -- 1 Cor 11:27-31

I am not sure I want him receiving for his own sake much less for the scandal to Our Lord and His Church.

The Pope should come to America more often. It is truly an exercise in humility for all of us. After all he is a shepherd and he is here to teach us. I think rather than pontificate ourselves it might be time to listen.

Unless you are under a rock ... The Pope is in the states

Follow the coverage at American Papist

Pope Expresses Deep Shame Over Priests’ Sexual Abuse

Former Protestants and former Catholics

Steve Ray included a stat box from Christianity Today noting that 10% of Protestants are former Catholics. It also notes that 8% of Catholics are former Protestants. Its important to point that out. In most analysis of the situation everyone focused on the 10% number without giving much thought to the 8% number.

A Catholic Wind in the White House -- this is fascinating speculation that GWB may pull a Tony Blair when he leaves office. There is some traction to the speculation:

Moreover, people close to Bush say that he has professed a not-so-secret admiration for the church's discipline and is personally attracted to the breadth and unity of its teachings. A New York priest who has befriended the president said that Bush respects the way Catholicism starts at the foundation -- with the notion that the papacy is willed by God and that the pope is Peter's successor. "I think what fascinates him about Catholicism is its historical plausibility," says this priest. "He does appreciate the systematic theology of the church, its intellectual cogency and stability." The priest also says that Bush "is not unaware of how evangelicalism -- by comparison with Catholicism -- may seem more limited both theologically and historically."

Former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson, another evangelical with an affinity for Catholic teaching, says that the key to understanding Bush's domestic policy is to view it through the lens of Rome. Others go a step further.

Paul Weyrich, an architect of the religious right, detects in Bush shades of former British prime minister Tony Blair, who converted to Catholicism last year. "I think he is a secret believer," Weyrich says of Bush. Similarly, John DiIulio, Bush's first director of faith-based initiatives, has called the president a "closet Catholic." And he was only half-kidding.

I am with Mark Shea, on this ... I have hope that he will pull a Tony Blair and it wouldn't shock me if he did. I have speculated privately about this in the past. His brother, after all, is a convert and every once in a blue moon someone comes out with a rumor regarding it. I am not, however, going to put any great hope into it. Creative Minority Report is more skeptical.

All of that said, Opinionated Catholic links to an interview with Bush on EWTN that ends with something that certainly is interesting:

Mr. President, final question.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes, sir.
Q You said, famously, when you looked into Vladimir Putin's eyes you saw his soul.
THE PRESIDENT: Yes.
Q When you look into Benedict XVI's eyes what do you see?
THE PRESIDENT: God.
Q Good way to end the interview.
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, sir.
Q Thank you, sir. My pleasure.

Film at 11 ... Apparently this is a squeaky clean blog ...


Created by OnePlusYou

Hitler ... in German advertising?

A hat company has broken a German taboo by advertising its products using an image of Adolf Hitler.

Tuition-free Catholic schools

Of particular interest is the story of the Wichita, Kansas Catholic School System. With but 120,000 Catholics in the diocese Wichita maintains 39 Catholic schools. 36 of these are parish schools (including 34 elementary schools), one is a free-standing preschool, and four are Catholic high schools. According to the report, "What makes the Wichita system truly unusual in this day and age is the fact that all Wichita Catholic schools have eliminated tuition for Catholic students."

This would cause me to give serious consideration to send my kids to school.

on Slacker.com ... I haven't heard this in years. Late tonight I will try to post on how I have slacker set up. I have two Greasemonkey scripts and a special bookmark with a JavaScript open.window call that really improves the interface.

Yes, Greasemonkey is why you should use Firefox.

Interesting conversation over at Catholic Dads

My favorite:

“What’s this, then? The selfishly child-free yuppie mass?”

:)

I try to avoid using them because they are often used to let kids simply run around and for some parents to catch up on their weekly scoop. Besides, I have gotten MUCH better behavior out of my kids by taking them TO the main mass and using the back of the church rather than the cry room.

Let the little ones come to me ... - Jesus

IMHO people are more tolerant of wiggly children than parents might think. Nothing gives me greater hope than to have a little old lady walk up to me and tell me my kids were great when I thought they were difficult. Fact is, when I am standing in the back with the baby while my wife has the other three, I cannot hear them at all. To us they sound like jets flying over at 500 feet but to the people around us, they really are not nearly as loud. Over the years I have learned better what IS worthy of correction, leaving or whatnot. Its more than you initially think when you have your first child in mass.

I have seen exceptions to the compassion I typically hear but the way I see it the fault for that lies in Catholics antagonistic towards children failing to understand the plight of those of us who have children. They can have their pious frowns and their slightly imperfect masses. My children will be in mass.

Our hardest child at mass is 14 months old. The rest may ask to go to the bathroom more than I would like but they are generally well behaved. After all, we made it through an Easter Vigil service with all four (ages 6,4,3 and 1). For once I felt triumphant as a parent -- never fear, God always keeps me humble. My children really are getting it about mass.

This is a reminder for me to start using the Knights of Columbus CCC because it contains links to referenced documents.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church

Good stuff ...

The rice shortage and the folly of blaming the Catholic Church -- from the Philippines.

I'll be honest. I read this because the word "folly" was in the title. I am glad I did.

When you demand that the Church change its doctrine so that the dreaded increase in population might be curbed, you are working with the assumption that doctrine is something akin to a political platform or policy that can be changed when it meets with too much popular resistance. This is not the case. The Church proclaims a message that it gratefully receives as a gift. ... Of course all this is anathema to a nation that lives by surveys and makes decisions about national life by counting noses.

One approach to Catholic doctrine on artificial means of contraception is to see it as the proscription of the manipulation of another human being to suit one’s fancy. ... It effects physiological changes so that one can have sex when one wills. (**1) This is putting it as directly as the argument necessitates. If we are so averse to other forms of manipulation, so insistent—often to the point of absurdity—about politically correct and gender-balanced speech, why can we be so tolerant of manipulation of this kind?

Five more points for using the word anathema. Of course, the better argument against the complicity of the Church in population and other related problems was succinctly summarized in an article discussing the Vatican's involvement in the AIDS crisis in Africa.

Two doubtful ideas run through all these criticisms. The first is basically this: African Catholics are so devout that if they have sex outside of marriage, dally with prostitutes or take a third wife, they will piously refrain from using condoms because the Great White Father told them not to. Ms. Toynbee darkly invokes "the Vatican's deeper power... its personal authority over 1.3 billion worshippers, which is strongest over the poorest, most helpless devotees."

But she can't have it both ways: these benighted dark-skinned Catholics can't be both too goody-two-shoes to use condoms and too wicked to resist temptation. Journalist Brendan O'Neill -- who describes himself as an ex-Catholic who has jettisoned Catholic teaching on sexual morality -- sums up this patronising argument in the on-line journal Spiked: "The only reason you could believe the fantastically simplistic idea that Vatican edict = AIDS in Africa is if you consider Africans to be little more than automatons... who do as they are told" (8).

- from "Was Karol Wojtyla the Greatest Mass Murderer of the 20th Century?" no longer hosted online ... the way back machine has it here..

**1 see also ABC and the division of sex from marriage
For a basic "natural law" understanding of this teaching see Why is the Catholic Church obsessed with sex?

My wife and I went to Another Broken Egg with the kids yesterday. There was a 15 minute wait so we stayed outside to let the kids get a little energy out. While we were out there they were playing some songs from the 60's. One of them was a song I had never heard except as a sample in another song --

The 60's song was "Blue on Blue" by Bobby Vinton (1962) which I had only heard in "So Easy" by Röyksopp. I spent a good part of the afternoon scanning my favorites from Bent, Four Tet and Wagon Christ thinking they were the ones responsible for the new version. I hadn't listened to Röyksopp in a few months so I was pretty sure they were not the ones who used the sample. I found it on this samples database BUT they cited the Gals and Pals version (1967) (which was a remake of the Bobby Vinton version). Very cool site if you listen to a lot of electronic music.

In the end, I gained an appreciation for both the Bobby Vinton and the Röyksopp version. Now try getting that sample out of your head :)

and its boring. In fact its SUPER boring. - Gabriel

I walked from the kitchen towards the stairs and I could hear what sounded like national morning news. Out of the mouths of babes.

... in our homeschooling group. It seems to be coming up everywhere as it often does.

Fr. Z has a good take:

To be clear, I maintain that there is no longer any obligation under the Church’s law for this, but I think it is a good custom that recommends itself for various reasons.

Jimmy Akin provides this good entry regarding the old canon law (1917) and the new canon law (1983). It summarizes the case against it being a requirement.

Obviously the main sources FOR veiling are the following

1917 Canon Law, 1 Cor 11.

The main case against it being a requirement is 1983 Canon Law abrogating 1917 Canon law and a recent (relatively - 1976 IS recent in Church terms) authoritative CDF document with emphasis on that particular verse in 1 Cor.

Another objection [to a male-only priesthood] is based upon the transitory character that one claims to see today in some of the prescriptions of Saint Paul concerning women, and upon the difficulties that some aspects of his teaching raise in this regard. But it must be noted that these ordinances, probably inspired by the customs of the period, concern scarcely more than disciplinary practices of minor importance, such as the obligation imposed upon women to wear a veil on the head (1 Cor 11:2-6); such requirements no longer have a normative value. However, the Apostle's forbidding of women "to speak" in the assemblies (cf. 1 Cor 14:34-35; 1 Tim 2: 12) is of a different nature, and exegetes define its meaning in this way: Paul in no way opposes the right, which he elsewhere recognizes as possessed by women, to prophesy in the assembly (cf. 1 Cor 11:5); the prohibition solely concerns the official function of teaching in the Christian assembly. For Saint Paul this prescription is bound up with the divine plan of creation (cf. 1 Cor 11:7; Gen 2:18-24): it would be difficult to see in it the expression of a cultural fact [Inter insignores 4].(source)

Tempers fly with people insisting it is a current requirement for Catholic women to veil at mass. Others in the antagonistic fray claim it is a bad thing that should be prohibited. The two are not mutually exclusive. One can appreciate the practice all the while knowing that women are not damning their souls to hell when they don't veil. I think verbage like saying its prideful NOT to veil (because its biblical) is about as useful as saying that it is prideful TO veil (that whole self-righteousness, letting people see you while you pray bit) ... It usually gets there in due time. By then the discussion is out of control, neither side budges and everyone comes away hurt.

My opinion ... I think the case for the practice is quite good. I think the case for it being a requirement is next to impossible to hold. Why it can't be left at that is beyond me.

I finally got some negative feedback on my homeschooling negatives post just as I predicted:

... it could get picked up by homeschooling apologists, misinterpreted, unread and commented on in a vitriolic manner.

I won't respond point by point because I don't have the time. My response was as follows:

As the author of the homeschooling negatives copied in above I wanted to point something out that was excluded...

"Second this list doesn't apply to all homeschooling families but individual items certainly can apply to some. In at least one case the "negative" seems to apply to all (#4)."

Taken out of context they might paint an unrealistically challenging environment that no sane person could operate under. Furthermore I responded to my own list in a different post showing how we deal with them.

People like to criticize homeschoolers as if they are all incapable of pointing out negative aspects in the particular environment they are in. I have never met someone who is convinced that there are no negatives regarding homeschooling so I decided to collect and enumerate them for the masses. I left the discovery of positives of homeschooling and negatives of public/private schooling as an exercise for the reader. There are plenty of resources there.

The retorts to my negatives from personal experience or pointing out single examples doesn't take them away from some families who experience them. For example the response to #2 (talented athletes -- football mostly) pointed out a basketball player. Basketball has an AAU circuit where schools are not necessary. Find me a football player and I would think your criticism of my #2 more valid. As it is, it is not a valid critique of the football example and certainly not "completely untrue". Even if you could find a football player that doesn't mean the point is undeniably refuted. It could easily be true that in one state an environment IS available for him to compete. The next state over it might not be possible at all. Consider though, this is not a negative for the vast majority of homeschooling families. Its a moot point for most of us.

Whether the negatives are merely perceived or actual, the effect they have on those experiencing them are real and could possibly include depression or other side-effects that could make a parent unfit to homeschool for a particular time frame.

The main gist of my post was to point out that homeschoolers take these challenges into consideration. They by and large WANT to know what they are getting themselves into. I don't think pointing out challenges, calling them negatives and posting them for the world to see is a bad thing. I also don't think we have to pretend that homeschooling is always a bed of roses. For some of us -- dare I say most of us -- it isn't.

Of course the rewards for our sacrifices, I would argue, are certainly worth it.

The defense against all manner of negatives regarding homeschooling from some proponents is certainly a detraction in the minds of most. Its like the posts are not read at all. That fact in itself leads people to believe that homeschoolers are incapable of handling criticism. That is a negative perspective that transparent discussion about homeschooling would go a long way towards defeating.

UPDATE: Ha! Apparently my response was given a thumbs down.
UPDATE II: In the last 500 visits I have been searched using the following terms

8	homeschooling negatives
8	negative aspects of homeschooling
7	negatives of homeschooling
3	negative aspects of
2	homeschooling negative
2	negative homeschooling
2	negative homeschooling experience?
2	homeschool negative
2	negative about homeschooling]
2	homeschool negatives
2	homeschool negative aspects
1	negatives on homeschooling]
1	negative aspects to homeschooling
1	negatives about homeschooling
1	negative points homeschooling issue
1	negative of homeschooling
1	negative homeschool survey

46 hits on the negative homeschooling topic.

Posted this elsewhere on the web ...

... in New Orleans. It was kind of spur of the moment because we were down there and it happened to coincide with a weekend my wife and I were taking.

I know some around here have been telling me to go ...

WOW! is the short version. I may try to put my words together at some point but I wanted to let others here know that I made the high mass ... and it was beautiful.

Pardon the randomness of my thoughts ... I skip around a good bit ...

A previous TLM I went to was beautiful but suffered from some issues. The music was third rate -- I cannot say it any other way. The people in the pew around me were staring at my wife I presume because her head covering wasn't acceptable to them. Whatever it was, our mere presence in their comfortable world was a little unsettling. Also the participation was only partial. Some people knelt and stood at the right time .. others did not. It just left a bad taste in my mouth ... The resulting conversation I had with my wife was far from positive. I chalked it up to the people and not the mass itself.

At St. Patricks I got the feeling the community itself was a little more warm. Nobody was bothering to roll their eyes at us.

First off, Latin is a gorgeous language and its not that hard to follow even if you don't know much of it. Still, I got lost at times and found myself buried in the little red book having felt ripped off that I missed what the comments to the right were telling me I would have seen if I had looked forward instead.

The mass, having been sung, really appealed to me because I love music. This priest could carry a tune. It made a huge impression on me. The choir was obviously trained and they didn't allow just anyone in it. The one thing I took away that I think every novus ordo mass would benefit from is simply to step away from the peacenik campfire tunes and return to some more traditional music -- you know, the kind even secular music departments find themselves drooling over. Its simply better and I don't see how people can see it otherwise. Haugen and Haas will likely not be around in 50 years much less 500. Also, it makes a profound difference to have a choir WITHOUT people who cannot hit a note to save their lives. I don't think its all that wrong for choirs to tell people they cannot sing. (I realize that necessity often requires compromise -- this church was fortunate to not have that)

I also really like the incense, the vestments. The little things -- like the small bow every time the name of Jesus was uttered during the gospel. Everything is meaningful. I also prefer altar rails and receiving on the tongue. There is no difficulty there. Its just one LESS thing for my mind to wander off about ...

A lot of it was no different than what I saw the last time. There is a huge comfort, provided you get to know the mass, that it doesn't have so many aspects which can be modified to the taste of priests, liturgists and whatnot. I cannot tell you how the symbolism emphasizes certain aspects of the mass that are important. You simply cannot miss it. If they didn't speak a single word you would know that it is right and wonderful to WORSHIP the Eucharist.

It also helps when the church is beautiful ...



There are some other pictures here that I think they took at an unfortunate time of day. If they had done it earlier in the morning it would have captured things a LOT better.

It was fitting that I read Liberal pastor rethinks the Tridentine mass before this weekend.

Says Fr. Kerper, "The old Missal's rubrical mic­romanagement made me feel like a mere machine, devoid of personality; but, I wondered, is that really so bad? I actually felt liberated from a persistent need to perform, to engage, to be forever a friendly celebrant.... I suddenly recognized the (Tridentine) rite's ingenious ability to shrink the priest.... I was...dwarfed by the high altar.... I felt intense loneliness. As I moved along, however, I also heard the absolute silence behind me, 450 people of all ages praying, all bound mysteriously to the words I uttered.... I gazed at the Sacrament and (experienced) an inexplicable feeling of solidarity with the multitude behind me." Beautiful.

Not because I am a liberal ;) but because I really do think that even those most dead set against it could see the beauty if they only allowed their hearts to be open.

I have been listening to classical masses this week at home.

U.S. FORECLOSURE ACTIVITY INCREASES 75 PERCENT IN 2007

Louisiana is 41st in foreclosures per capita. For once I am proud to say "good to see Louisiana at the bottom of the heap".

Removed referenced picture for performance issues -- please click the link.

Spanking Raises Chances of Risky, Deviant Sexual Behavior

I want to point out some positives and deficiencies I perceive with this study ...

First off, the statistical difference is not small (5% of those who were not spanked had X behavior as an adult vs. 25% that were spanked) .. That is a 5-to-1 increase which is statistically significant all other things being equal. Here is my problem with it. In the non-spank group the percentage of those suffering from physical abuse is likely close to 0%. If the parents are not spanking, they certainly are not beating .. The spank group is the ONLY group where physical abuse can occur so its not exactly comparing apples and apples.

What I would like to see is if there is a correlation between frequency of spankings, strong physical abuse and sexual deviance. I suspect greater abuse is more the cause. Still this is an interesting study. I consider it evidence and continue to add it to the wealth of evidence I have read for each case ... (at some point I should present all of that here for peer review :) )

I think its important to point out that 90% of people in jail were spanked not because it is a good statistic but because I think that number likely mirrors society as a whole. The key thing I take from it is that there are people in jail who were spanked and those who were not meaning that other factors outside of spanking are more likely to be the cause than spanking or not.

The Church is not likely to come out one way or the other and I think that is a wise position ... Trust me, I have looked into this extensively from a Bible/Magisterium/Lives of the saints perspective and a statistical/science perspective. St Margaret of Scotland spanked her kids and I want to say most of them were saints. St. John Bosco advised against spanking. The argument for spanking from Proverbs, Sirach 20 is strong (quite frankly I think the metaphorical rod interpretation is weak in light of Sirach 20). The argument that things changed with baptism, grace and the NT citing the way Christ dealt with revoking the penalties of the law vs. "go and sin no more" and the "do not provoke your child to anger", millstone verses are compelling in favor of no-spank (or at a minimum infrequent spanking). The Church, in the end, leaves it up to the wisdom of parents -- you know, the ones God gave the kids to.

I think the danger for parents who spank is to consider it the only tool for rearing. I think the danger for people who don't is to fall into a completely permissive method of parenting (and yes I understand one can discipline children without spanking them). I know I have wavered from one side to the other and have made BOTH mistakes. Parents who hang the tag of good parent on whether or not someone spanks their kids is missing out on the significant effort required in other areas of parenting that go into the whole of rearing a child to responsible adulthood. I cannot tell you how many times I have been criticized for not spanking my kids in circumstances and been told how wrong I was when I did spank my kids in different circumstances. You can't win in the eyes of others.

I think the danger for everyone is to lay heavy burdens on parents by telling them their kids are going to hell if they do or don't do this, that or the other. Its a good way to drive a parent having a hard time adjusting to life with children to suicide. I have heard it said more than once ... and who loses there?

Well -- really -- my employer got me an iPhone ...

All in all I like it ...

Pros

Intuitive and clean interface
Does most things I want it to do. It makes calls. It plays mp3s. I can check Gmail on it. I can read Google Reader on it.
Seems stable (at least with a weeks "compliant" use -- see unlocking below)

Cons

If you are dialing up a number that is going to require you to enter a number afterwards (like an extension) you have to click the numberpad button AFTER dialing to get back there ...
Doesn't have a Flash plugin.

It won't allow you to install third party apps without "unlocking" it. This doesn't bother me that much. I am not planning on using a device that size in place of my laptop. It also has a built-in camera which I would be tempted to slam except that I used it to take 130+ pictures of a family visit to Afton Villa in St. Francisville. We forgot our regular digital camera. The photos are not great but they captured some moments that would have been lost otherwise.

I have managed to work around some of the clunky cons for my purposes (streaming audio, instant messaging) ... Meebo.com handles the instant messaging flawlessly. Orb.com allows me to stream content from a Windows machine which allows me to listen to my Yahoo Music content remotely. Its KIND of slow so I am not thrilled with the solution but one can say it DOES work. It sometimes misses small blocks of the songs. I may try the Orb 1.0 interface and see if that resolves the issue. I have heard people have had problems with 2.0. -- I know using a Windows middleman is not a true Mac die hard solution BUT I am not a Mac die hard. I am a realist that needs to use the iPhone.

Jott + Google Calendar + any phone - I am using this as my primary calendar because its real time. I do not have to sync my phone to keep it up to date. I make a phone call to Jott

Jott: "Who do you want to Jott?"
Me: "Google Calendar"
Jott: "Google Calendar. Is that correct?"
Me: "Yes"
Jott: (beep)
Me: "Call St. Francisville Chamber of Commerce at 9:30 am Wednesday"

Within three minutes it is on my schedule and usually spelled right (the example above is real). No sync required. In fact, I have removed all appointments on the Calendar application on the phone itself. I simply don't like it. Google Calendar has every option I need. I can sync with Outlook now using Google Calendar Sync.

First off a late Happy Easter to everyone!

Matt 18:2-4 He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven."

written Easter Sunday 2008

Today my wife and I took the kids to the park to fly their kite. It was easy to get the kite into the air as it was quite windy today. Each of my children had multiple opportunities to display their kite flying skills.

Unfortunately, disaster struck. Our oldest son flew the kite into a tree. The boys ran to me and asked me to do something about it. I fought valiantly like a fisherman hauling in his catch and finally the string broke. I told the boys that it was over. The kite was stuck in the tree and we would never be able to get it down. They both looked down and moped with me for a moment ... As we were walking away from our lost kite my four year old son asked me "Daddy can you pray that God would get the kite down" ... With little faith, I responded to his request, knowing that the kite was as much a part of that tree as the trunk. "Dear God, please help the kite to find its way out of the tree." My two boys responded ... "Amen" ...

Time passed and we went from slide to swing. At least an hour passed. All the while the kite was staring at us from across the park some thirty feet off the ground, stuck in its fixed branch fate. Finally my youngest son asked to go to the bathroom. Being as this is a park and the bathrooms are none too clean I figured I could be of much assistance. Also I did not want to leave my son alone anywhere in the park ... Yes, dad to the bathroom is a must. Afterwards my son wanted to get a drink of water, which at the park means he wants to spend time filling up the water fountain to the point it overflows onto the grass and THEN get a drink. After spending some quality time at the water fountain we started to head back over to the slides. Meanwhile my wife was headed towards the swings so we slightly diverted that way to meet her. I took a glance over at our poor stuck kite. Just as I looked I noticed it shift slightly up the branch in a way more favorable to catching the wind. I walked towards my wife to tell her that the kite moved some and maybe, just maybe it might come down. I turned back to look and it lifted off the branch and started sailing across the park.

I took off towards it and met it landing towards the ground. After a little maintenance, I handed it to the kids. I overheard the two boys. My four year old exclaimed "you know, we prayed to God and He came through." My six year old responded "Yeah, after all He is risen from the dead" ...

Matt 18:10 See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.

Everyone have a blessed Holy Week ...

This time of year is always the busiest for my blog. I get 5-10 times more traffic this week than other week in the year. If you are looking for my Easter Vigil Experience you can find it in my conversion story. It is also linked on the right and in this blog entry.

If you would like to post comments, leave them here.

My brother was in to visit from frigid Alaska

My brother Joe came to visit this weekend which was a good reason for my family to get together. It was good to see him. It was also good to see the rest of my family including my nephews and neice. I found out one of my nephews wife is expecting as well. News is exciting in our family!

As an aside, have you ever wondered why we have a gender neutral reference to brothers and sisters (siblings) but not for nieces and nephews? ... neichews? ... And what about a gender specific designator for cousin? Gotta love English.

My brother and his girlfriend also came by today and gave all four of my children shirts from Alaska. I think my kids would freak out in a place that cold! I made sure to introduce my brother to my latest time wasting diversion, Slacker.com. I even got him to help me put together a station of things he likes.

We will homeschool next year

In our family news I want to note that we have DECIDED to homeschool next school year. We have enrolled Benjamin with St. Thomas Aquinas Academy because we like the classical curriculum and we really want to ensure we are doing justice to our child by educating him at home. Thus I personally like someone external to us being in on the whole process (besides the local homeschooling group). For those concerned about our decision to homeschool I have taken great care to enumerate our reasons and the known negatives of homeschooling. We are not making this decision rashly.

For my family members reading this on Facebook ... Tell your parents to get on Facebook or they risk aging faster. Also Keep in touch will ya!

How Christians came to accept the Sexual Revolution

There are some fascinating items in this article. I have included a hand full here which are particularly interesting regarding NFP.

A (Vatican) ruling in 1853 declared that such a use of periodic abstinence was not immoral. The question flared up again, and in 1880 the same ruling was repeated.

...

In 1855 W. Tyler Smith, a member of the Royal College of Physicians in London wrote detailed anatomical observations of the vagina, the cervix, the cervical os, and cervical mucus.viii He noted that cervical mucus affords a vehicle for sperm transport and that the most fertile time of the cycle appeared to be when cervical mucus was at its most fluid state.

...

In 1877 Dr. Mary Putnam Jacobi discovered the postovulation upward shift in temperatures ... but it was not until 1926 that a Dutch gynecologist, Theodore Hendrik van de Velde, finally realized that the approximately mid-cycle temperature rise was caused by ovulation.

... (and an important summary)

The points I wish to assert are 1) that God had revealed, in the loose sense of the word, the two most important factors in contemporary systematic natural family planning well before Margaret Sanger instigated the American culture wars and 2) that the Catholic Church had accepted the principle of using systematic NFP even before the discovery of these two crucial factors in modern fertility awareness.

And one stands ...

The article also shows how the systematic breakdown of marriage from denying it a sacrament, to allowing divorce in difficult circumstances eventually degraded to mutual consent divorce, contraception, consensual sex amongst any two (or more) willing persons. The logic behind abortion also follows the same reasoning as it is necessary for our addiction to "free (from consequence) sex". The slope continues (polygamy, polyandry, rape and incest are still illegal) ...

Plenty of others had way better things to say about them as well ...

Paulos Faraj Rahho

Toby has a touching and thoughtful entry on the Parousians blog regarding the tragic death of Paulos Faraj Rahho, the Chaldean Catholic Archbishop of Mosul in Iraq. See He Has Finished the Race

"New" 7 deadly sins

Also, everyone was talking about the "New" seven deadly sins earlier this week. I would be remiss in my duty in leaving out something mentioning this. The fact is, it should have been a non-story. "The media incorrectly interpreted this application to the social sphere as an update of the Church's seven deadly sins." There are no new deadly sins. Consider these new ones social sins. They are:

1. genetic modification
2. human experimentations
3. polluting the environment
4. social injustice
5. causing poverty
6. financial gluttony
7. taking drugs

And they are rooted in the existing deadly sins. I won't go any more in depth than that. The big deal is that the press blew it. I know. Its shocking. The real question is when is the press going to issue corrections to the literally thousands of articles that went out misrepresenting the addition of new deadly sins? I won't hold my breath.

It happens on occasion ... Today the link was to my Easter Vigil Experience ... but there are no comments. No feedback. No links back to anti-Catholic sites seething with rage over the content. No links back to Catholic sites beaming with approval... nothing. I am left to guess what the conversation is about.

Admit it bloggers .. you really want to know what else was in that email don't you :)

I think pride is something I need to work on.

I have read around this big Internet of ours and my opinion here is certainly contrary ... I figured I would offer it anyway ...

Last night my wife and I watched "The Pursuit of Happyness". Above were the comments I read from average Internet reviewers before watching the movie. The acting was good -- dare I say excellent. It was an enjoyable movie in terms of things happening in the story. I thought it was a tad bit too intense but I could live with that. At the end I came away only feeling sorry for the child. The father (Chris) did not impress me much at all which was, I presume, the supposed inspiring part of the film I read so much about. Certainly there were some good aspects of the father displayed in the movie. You got the sense he sacrificed for his son. You get the sense he cared about education. There is no doubt he loved his son and his work ethic was very much to be admired. Furthermore it highlighted to me the plight of the poor. The poor are often making moral decisions at a level a little beyond that of the average Joe. Still this movie suffered from MANY problems that I would like to delve into. First, I think the screen play had issues in the way it tried to compress a more complicated story into a short time frame. It was a little unbelievable how readily the mother left. Ladies, run this through your mind: Your husband is failing to bring home the bacon. You are behind on bills. You are working double shifts for four months. You have a big tax debt and you could get evicted at any moment. Your husband is looking to take a non-paying position for six months with odds astronomically stacked against him of retaining a paying position. You are leaving the relationship for possibly unspecified other reasons. Do you leave your child behind in that situation? I cannot think of a single employed woman that would. She knows the courts would side with an employed mom over an unemployed dad. To me this was a major flaw in the plot and (from what I have read) did not convey what actually happened in the real life version of this story. Still beyond the screenplay issues we have the real gist of my issue with the movie -- modern day mantras and moral issues.

One of the initial problems I had with the movie was that it perpetrated the great myth that we can do anything we set our minds to. That is only true within reason and within the gifts given to us by God -- I guess this is what play-by-play guys refer to as the ever nebulous "playing within himself". It was clear during the movie that the main character was good with numbers. The broker he spoke with early in the movie indicated that you needed to be good with numbers to pursue that career path. In that sense it echoed with reality as did the statement he made to his son about him not being good at sports. In a sense it implied that he understood his limits. But then he follows that with "Never let anyone tell you that you can't". Millions in America heard "I can do ANYTHING I put my mind to" which is exactly what our current "affirm always" society is good at conveying. Without understanding ones own limits this idea can have serious consequences. Combatting this error is precisely why I like Simon on American Idol. People need a rude wake-up call yet they have been told their entire lives that they can. The most difficult thing to watch on that show is the number of people who are told "whats for" who continue rant that if they work hard enough -- tone deaf or not -- they WILL be somebody famous. Meanwhile millions of us sit at home with jaws agape and a very clear realization that living in reality is not so bad after all. It is the perfect public skewering of the "I can do anything I want" mentality. I hope American Idol stays on the air for decades for that very reason alone. Consider further that thousands, if not millions of little boys want to play in the NFL. Are only the ones who "will it" the most the ones who end up on NFL rosters or does it have anything to do with natural physical ability COMBINED with a great work ethic? Certainly "hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard" but at that level, without the talent, hard work is not going to be enough. Thats precisely why Rudy never started for Notre Dame. You couldn't fault Rudy for hard work but he simply did not have the talent. The sky was not the limit. A common theme in both movies is that persistence pays off -- a good theme when one understands their limitations and strengths (good with numbers) and pursues excellence within that framework.

Another bigger problem I had with "The Pursuit of Happyness" were the lapses in moral judgment used to achieve an end. Chris lied about needing to go to the same place in the taxi and then got stuck with a bill that forced him to choose between feeding his family and paying a legitimate debt (granted his culpability is lesser in that instance because of the extremity of the circumstance but I digress). The poor decision was getting into the cab. That end was to land the job. He further told a lie to the CEO of Pac Bell in order to get into the 49ers game. That lie apparently paid big dividends because in the story he closed many Pac Bell accounts. Most of those contacts he made at that game. This end justifies the means morality is rampant in our society and misguided. For my lefty readers, its how torture is often justified, for my more right wing crowd its how handing out condoms in poor countries is justified. Moral ambiguity ... Scripture has choice words for those who follow it ... they get what they deserve. (Rom 3:8)

The movie also perpetrated the myth that we all should pursue WEALTH and that happiness is found there. If all men were millionaires, millionaires would be poor. Jesus tells us that the poor will always be with us (Matt 26:11). He further tells us that the path for those who are wealthy is very narrow (Matt 19:24).

Finally, I could argue that he needlessly subjected his child to homelessness because he was too good for a regular job. I won't because one could counter that the economy was THAT bad during that time frame and this opportunity may have been his only path at providing for his son. I think that unlikely but the point can be made. There was a scene where President Reagan was on TV discussing the horror of the early 80's economy and presumably that was the purpose of that scene. Still the decision to pursue that career path in the framework of the movie indicated that he took what could have been life or death risks involving not only himself but his child. What if he HADN'T gotten the job? What if he HADN'T been able to sell any more bone density scanners? Would that have been enough to have him doing the kind of menial work his wife was willing to do to support the family? Its easy to look at a story and say "but he got the job". Yes, 59 other people were working their tails off as well. Maybe they didn't have the motivation to feed a family behind them, but all it takes is ONE to work harder, have better contacts or lie his way just a little better than our hero and the story ends with a father and child starving in the gutter. Of course the story that ends on the way to a multi-million dollar fortune is better on the movie screen. It gives people a false hope -- a hope in the world and its promises. "Tell the rich in the present age not to be proud and not to rely on so uncertain a thing as wealth but rather on God, who richly provides us with all things for our enjoyment." (1 Tim 6:17, see also Psalm 127:2)

There is hope and it is only real in He who gives it ... “Spe Salvi facti sumus”—in hope we were saved. (Rom 8:24)

This is timely - True happiness comes from hoping in God, despite adversity, Pope observes

If you have been recently struggling in the normal collegiate sports -- football, basketball etc. -- then at LEAST win the stuff your area is somewhat known for. :)

Louisiana Tech's Justin Jacobs cut his way to a first-place finish, becoming the first student lumberjack to qualify for the Collegiate Championship this June.

Louisiana Tech finishes fifth nationally in the 2007 BoatU.S. National Collegiate Bass Fishing Championship, Sept. 27-29