faithmouse ... yet one more thing to keep me occupied during any given day



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The source of my inspiration ... the Atari 2600 I had as a child and this game:



The story begins ...



Well, you can guess that my telling of how this game works was a huge hit with my two little boys. Most parents draw from a wealth of stories that they heard as a child or ones they remember reading as children. For some reason, I draw a blank. I forget what order Goldilocks tried the porridge in. I mix up wolves in the three little pigs and Little Red Riding Hood stories. I am just a mess with classic stories. However, I am top notch with old school video game knowledge. I finally figured out that the key is to draw from where you have a STRENGTH of knowledge. I have vivid memories of 2600 classics like Yars Revenge, Space Invaders, Missle Command and, of course, Adventure. I am armed with epic tales from arcade classics like Crystal Castles and Arkanoid. I can conjure up numerous vivid story lines from 8-bit Nintendo staples like Super Mario Brothers, Metroid, Kid Icarus and The Legend of Zelda. The thing is, you see ... I finished all of those games, so I know the plots quite well.

Heh ... and my parents thought that game playing would never be of any use. Beee-oooong.

Catechism of the Catholic Church (1864)

1864 "Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven." There are no limits to the mercy of God, but anyone who deliberately refuses to accept his mercy by repenting, rejects the forgiveness of his sins and the salvation offered by the Holy Spirit. Such hardness of heart can lead to final impenitence and eternal loss.

Summa - Whether the sin against the Holy Ghost is the same as the sin committed through certain malice?

On the contrary, The Master says (Sent. ii, D, 43) that "to sin against the Holy Ghost is to take pleasure in the malice of sin for its own sake." Now this is to sin through certain malice. Therefore it seems that the sin committed through certain malice is the same as the sin against the Holy Ghost.

Summa - Whether it is fitting to distinguish six kinds of sin against the Holy Ghost?
Summa - Whether the sin against the Holy Ghost can be forgiven?
Summa - Whether a man can sin first of all against the Holy Ghost?

Catholic Encyclopedia - Holy Ghost (see section VIII)

St. Thomas, whom we may safely follow, gives a very good summary of opinions in II-II, Q. xiv. He says that blasphemy against the Holy Ghost was and may be explained in three ways.

• Sometimes, and in its most literal signification, it has been taken to mean the uttering of an insult against the Divine Spirit, applying the appellation either to the Holy Ghost or to all three Divine persons. This was the sin of the Pharisees, who spoke at first against "the Son of Man", criticizing the works and human ways of Jesus, accusing Him of loving good cheer and wine, of associating with the publicans, and who, later on, with undoubted bad faith, traduced His Divine works, the miracles which He wrought by virtue of His own Divinity.
• On the other hand, St. Augustine frequently explains blasphemy against the Holy Ghost to be final impenitence, perseverance till death in mortal sin. This impenitence is against the Holy Ghost, in the sense that it frustrates and is absolutely opposed to the remission of sins, and this remission is appropriated to the Holy Ghost, the mutual love of the Father and the Son. In this view, Jesus, in Matthew 12 and Mark 3 did not really accuse the Pharisees of blaspheming the Holy Ghost, He only warned them against the danger they were in of doing so.
• Finally, several Fathers, and after them, many scholastic theologians, apply the expression to all sins directly opposed to that quality which is, by appropriation, the characteristic quality of the Third Divine Person. Charity and goodness are especially attributed to the Holy Ghost, as power is to the Father and wisdom to the Son. Just, then, as they termed sins against the Father those that resulted from frailty, and sins against the Son those that sprang from ignorance, so the sins against the Holy Ghost are those that are committed from downright malice, either by despising or rejecting the inspirations and impulses which, having been stirred in man's soul by the Holy Ghost, would turn him away or deliver him from evil.

The CDF is not the Spanish Inquisition - remember "Inquisition" to most of the world is a grand persecution of innocent folks by the Catholic Church (see Catholic Answers on the Inquisition). Even Catholics casually using the above link CDF=Inquisition can be a dangerous way of causing others to see the pope in an unfair light. We must choose our words carefully.
The New Republic: Strict Construction - Go figure ... If the Catholic Church would become like the Episcopalians, they too would be losing members hand over fist. Contrary to this person, I DO know cradle Episcopalians who still remain in the church.
Pope More Popular in Poland Than Germany - Let us pray that as time passes Benedict XVI becomes as popular in Germany as John Paul II is in Poland. If that happens, it will mean that Germans are returning to the pews.
Greg Mockeridge, I. Shawn McElhinney on "Legitimate Diversity of Opinion" - A good read on political issues that are a matter of non-negotiable doctrine (abortion, same sex marriage) and those which are a matter of "legitimate diversity of opinion" (death penalty, war in Iraq)
Catholic Teens Attracted to Ancient Religious Practices - Young and Catholic ... Add this to the remarkable number of young people in Rome during the papal transition and their demonstrated zeal for the apostolic faith and I think we are starting to see the seedlings of the New Evangelization sprouting up. It gives me great hope for the future ...

I am currently reading the following ...



The back contains quotes like the following ...

Written to give lay Catholics a better understanding of the Eucharist ... in remarkably clear and straightforward language ...

(some of which is Latin mind you)

Well color me brain dead ....

It is an excellent book but it is one of those that is rather deep in certain areas. It honesly makes me feel less than intelligent. After all, I was excited that they had managed to dumb down a topic of such vital importance to lay Catholic to the likes of jolly folks like me. Apparently, however, I am not your average lay Catholic. I am not there yet, so to speak. I have found much in the way of theology to be that way. I can be honest about it. Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton was tough the first run through. I hear people recommend Orthodoxy and Everlasting Man like they are water. Here ... a dose of Everlasting Man will do you .... or make you feel like an idiot. Chesterton has a bigger brain than I have. I have to deal with this reality at some point. I read Orthodoxy and I get it now, but I had to read a lot of other things to get to where either of the books made much sense. The same can be said of some of John Henry Cardinal Newman's work. Don't get me wrong ... I love the man ... but I couldn't tell the difference between Arianism and Pelagianism two years ago ... and people were recommending that I read stuff filled with heresy names and LOTS of Christian history that I was completely ignorant of. That ignorance makes his Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine look like

...gop bork schnap wink dink dyang fyark ...

Yeah ... what he said.

Finally, St. Thomas Aquinas was in another world when he penned his Summa. People have to prepare to read that as well. At least I know I am in good company there. I have heard other highly intelligent folks remark that they had to prepare to read the Summa ... a little philosophy here and some basic theology books there, just to get the terminology down. Guess what. I haven't read it yet ... I am still reading other stuff to prepare for the day when I am one of those people who read the Summa and didn't feel so utterly intimidated that reading it would bear no fruit in my life other than frustration.

I would like to know that I am not alone in this whole feeling less than ... shall we say ... smart. I want to understand faster. I really do. I just have to realize that I really am like a baby armed with a plastic spoon staring down a gargantuan Maine lobster and I have a feeling that I am not as dumb as I really feel sometimes... I just need to read more and continue to grow.

They added a permanent 12th game ...

This virtually ensures that a meaningful college football playoff (see my plan for one) will NEVER happen at the 1-A level. I don't care that the non-BCS teams have no realistic chance to win the national championship. At least give them a MATHEMATICAL chance to win the national championship. That only happens when a playoff involving ALL CONFERENCE CHAMPIONS happens. This voodoo math they do now basically ensures they dole out token money to the small schools every once in a while. Gee thanks ... It is next to impossible for a good team like Utah was last season to schedule such that they have a real chance at a national title or BUILDING A PROGRAM TO GET TO THAT LEVEL. Their conference schedule makes that impossible. It isn't their fault their conference mates aren't all that great.

EVEN WORSE ... They are allowing a 1-AA game to count towards bowl eligibility every season. To most folks this seems like nothing but my alma mater has to have 5 home games against 1-A teams and this takes away scheduling opportunities ... BIG TIME. The way it was headed, some BCS teams were going to HAVE to go on the road to non-BCS teams at least occasionally because everyone had to have 5 home games and scheduling game payouts were getting pricey because teams were refusing to be pimped out for 3 massacre games every season because they HAD TO HAVE A FIFTH HOME GAME. For once I thought the NCAA did something right ...

Adding in this 1-AA makes it even harder for non-BCS teams to pay the bills because now there is exactly ZERO incentive for Texas A&M, Oklahoma State or Miami to head over to Shreveport to play Louisiana Tech. Now they can just add, Montana, McNeese State or some other school that is LIKELY (not certainly by any means) even easier to beat and STILL get to count the win towards bowl eligibility. Louisiana Tech, however, still has to find 5th home games every season. Now, if people really wanted to they could CHOOSE teams they did not want in 1-A and simply agree never to schedule them and they would HAVE TO MOVE DOWN BECAUSE THEY COULDN'T GET THE FIFTH HOME GAMES SCHEDULED. Anyone else smell a rat?

OK rant over ... I don't know how I can get excited about the future of college football. College basketball anyone?

I still love football ... When does the NFL start?

Sun
Drive to Beaumont
Life Teen mass at St. Anne in Beaumont -- see my musings on the topic of Life Teen

Mon
Mall ... always a fun place for the kids on a dreary day
What about Bob? is still a very funny movie

Tue
Drive to Galveston
visit St. Marys Cathedral - visit the tour page
eat at Rainforest Cafe ... comfort children every 12 minutes when the thunderstorm comes
visit beach .. comfort children every 12 seconds when the waves come
Drive to Brenham
notice number of doughnut shops in west Houston ... comfort children every 12 miles when the traffic comes
take bite of worst doughnuts ever after passing unusual number of doughnut shops and settling for gas station doughnuts ... kids thought they were great

Wed
visit St. Marys in Brenham - WAY impressed with their web site BTW
visit althletic complex / park on outskirts of Brenham
visit Blue Bell / tour ... listen to oldest son charm the pants off the adults on the tour
notice two doughnut shops in town of 15,000 ... rest in room
get the usual stares while eating dinner at Casa Ole in Brenham
miss out on great outdoor adventure and fun at the Blue Bell outdoor aquatic complex ... because it opens next month
hot tub at hotel

Thu
visit Poor Clare nuns or rather, visit their sign indicating they open in 2 hours .... stare at miniature horses through fence
drive through Chappell Hill, Texas
listen to youngest son rant on about windmills
get doughnuts that are actually worth eating

Sensing boom in Texas doughnut industry. Becoming convinced that Texas is seriously rebelling since the lo-carb craze has fizzled

Fri (plan)
Our Lady of Sorrows in China Texas
Astros baseball

Pat Buchanan: Behind the rage at Benedict XVI

Why do they not simply say: "The church is wrong, the church is out of touch, the church is yesterday. I'm gone."

Answer: Deep in their hearts, they fear the church is right. They are unsettled because they fear that when the church says it has been given by Christ custody of the truths about how men must live to reach eternal life, it is right. When liberal Catholics say people have been "hurt" by Catholic teachings, what they are saying is that their consciences are hurting.

I had a professor in college that detested Buchanan. Its easy to hate the man when you are worried sick he might be right.

It's Not Ratzinger That's Showing Nazi Tendencies "Is the West on a slippery slope? No sir. It's a superhighway."

Orthodox Dioceses Produce Five Times the Vocations as Progressive Ones

The Holy Spirit gave us a plan for vocations. Next time your diocese has a big meeting to pow wow about this problem, introduce the following and see how it goes over.

Orthodox teaching (especially about the role of virgins and virginity in the Church) +
Perpetual adoration (especially with teens being encouraged to spend time in front of the Blessed Sacrament) =
Vocations

China arrests 7 priests of underground Church As the new springtime comes upon us do not think that Satan's claws will remain as retracted as they have.
Musings of a Pertinacious Papist: Benedict XVI, Benedict XV, and St. Benedict
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam: The “Reform of the Reform” Has Already Begun
Ebay Boycott Over Auctions of Catholic Communion Hosts - Been there. Done that. So should you.
Happy Catholic: Oh, How I Love Archbishop Chaput

I am on vacation ... Blogging is therapeutic for me, so you are lucky to be getting something out of me while I relax. I will post something about our vacation in the future.

We visited here:

and here:

Catholics in the Public Square: Democrats reveal plan to reduce abortions Adherants of the Republican religion cry foul. --- Call me skeptical, as I read elsewhere that this is a plan by a small contingent of Democrats called "Democrats for Life of America" that is in no way based in reality and has virtually no chance of going anywhere. Not in todays secular Democratic party. However, it points out what disgruntled Republican supporters have known for a long time. In the fight for life doing less than perfect is doing SOMETHING. I could care less if Republicans continue to promise the world. Actions speak louder than words. How many pro-life judges have the Republicans forced through confirmation hearings that have been held up by Planned Parenthood sell-out Democrats? What legal incentives have arisen to save lives from abortion? What attempts have been made to create an ammendment to the constitution to stop abortion? Radical measures ... we need them. Lives are being lost every day. More children die by noon on any given day than are executed in our legal system all year. If a small faction of Democrats can start a movement to make people sit up and notice, then that is a battle I would hope that the politically shrewd Republicans encourage. You already have Democrats WILLING to do this. There are Democrats who have noticed the redness creeping into their poll results. They are fighting for their political lives because of the pro-life issue. This is an opportunity to make a difference and I don't care whose idea it is.

I can think of few things I would rather spend my tax dollars on than saving lives.

Now are Republicans too afraid to actually do something about this? Some theorize that if the Democrats would cave on this issue then Republicans would lose a giant segment of their voters who hold on strongly because of this ONE issue. Are Republicans REALLY serious about reducing abortions? We hopefully will see. I am glad to see Democrats moving to make Republicans play their hand even if their chances of getting it done are slim and none. Its about time somebody is at least saying they are going to do something. I never would have thought I would be cheering on Democrats to actually be the ones to start saving lives on the abortion front. Go ...errrr ... blue?!?!?!

Uganda is example in fight to stop spread of AIDS - This is a Catholic blog. You get one guess as to how they did it.

NEWSFLASH: The Pope Is Still Catholic - man imagine that. While I am at it, there will never be women priests and homosexual acts will always be sinful. Whew that felt good to say. "The gates of hell will not prevail"

For 2000 years the Church has made a habit of carrying the same teachings on. I suggest looking at (shameless plug) the earlychurchfathers.org ECF chart for some examples. Why would anyone think that when the whims of yesterday couldn't seem to shake the Church, todays will?

Silly Rabbit ...

DCF = Steve Ray's Defenders of the Catholic Faith

ManSpider215
TABBY
weunice (me)
Ransom / CarolinaBlue / Cardinal Fang
peachsummer
alyssa
The young fogey
Pythia
me3rd
Blondie
CJE
Obi Wan Kenobi
Legatus and Jimbo
anawim
David Chiang
OliveGlory (many/group)
David Hopkins
Ruthann Zaroff
Pro Ecclesia Dei
and of course
Steve Ray

I will add RSS feeds later and create an OPML file and TRY to keep it up to date ...

Yesterday life happened, as it usually does, and I ended up going to a Life Teen mass at 6pm. I have to admit that I DREAD going to Life Teen masses. Usually I leave a Life Teen mass having witnessed some gross abuse that has taken place, like priests inviting kids up behind the altar and holding hands with them during parts of the Eucharistic prayer.

Yesterday was different ... I could see the vision behind Life Teen and I came away with a favorable yet guarded opinion of Life Teen.

First, the music was halfway decent. It was rock music, which I am generally opposed to in mass, but since it was there it might as well be good.
Second, it was PACKED and the kids were INVOLVED.
Third, it was lightly charismatic, as in raising of hands during some of the songs. See my diatribe on the proper inclusion of charismatic phenomenon in the mass. This mass fit my criteria.
Fourth, there seemed to be regular attendees who were NOT teenagers.
Fifth, there were no visible abuses in the liturgy and the teaching was in line with the Magesterium.

These are all good signs ...

In the sense it was presented yesterday, I can see where Life Teen is intended to get youth interested in the mass in a culture that is very hostile to teenagers. In that way I applaud what is trying to be done. I think that the goal, however, needs to be to get kids interested in liturgy that is more ordered towards heaven and this is where I think Life Teen falls a little short. I think it is important to meet people where they are. Life Teen does that. One has to worry however, if what we are really doing is creating adults who want to relive the glories of their youth, which in the future might include attending mass with mostly teenagers or leaving the Church altogether to find "lively" services in a Protestant church.

Another thing that I think Life Teen creates a problem with is getting worked up about songs throughout the liturgy and then having the Eucharistic prayers seem almost dull in comparison. Sure, good catechesis solves that problem and maybe I am underestimating what teenagers know about what is happening on the altar. The focus of Catholic worship is the Eucharist. Without the understanding of what is most important in mass, teenagers can grow accustomed to mass being like everything else in this world. A place to feel good, and not necessarily to pursue holiness.

Also, priests ... you can give deep homilies to kids. They won't bite and they will likely appreciate your affirmation that their intellect is up to the level that you typically associate with mature adults. I encounter Catholic teenagers online all the time. They read Aquinas, Newman, Ratzinger ... they want the good stuff too.

Non-Catholic blogs

The blog post referenced above reminds me of why I love to spend time with apologists. They have the stomach. They can deal with the hatred. Most of us can't. The Church is too precious to us to spend day in and day out watching people say mean and hateful things about it. We want to deflect the burden of the questions we hear all the time to someone who not only has answers but who specializes in giving GOOD answers. Sometimes I try to mediate between those with the good answers and others ... which works for a while but the whole process gets tiring. When I see someone trot out an astronomical claim that 9 million people were killed by the Catholic Church during the Inquisition, I have to ask myself why such absurd numbers in and of themselves are not enough to get people thinking ... "man, this sounds absurd ..." Why did it seem so obvious to me that there are lies about the Church out there? To me the response to "Catholics chained their bibles in the churches" seems obvious ... They were worth the equivalent of a mortgage today. It isn't obvious to some ...

When people talk and write that way, they aren't looking for answers, they are looking for confirmation.

That is about what it boils down to. My wife always tells me that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Sometimes apologetics seems that way. Truth be told, small groups of people see the absurdity every time a public discussion happens, even if it seems like what you are doing is insanity. The work seems thankless ... but I, for one, can thank many apologists for my being Catholic. I saw the hatred towards the Church and the logical arguments that were being ignored just because the opponent couldn't fathom even the possibility of being wrong on the matter.

So thanks to the members of DCF, Coming Home Network, Marcus Grodi, Dave Armstrong, Rosalind Moss, Kristine Franklin, Karl Keating, Jimmy Akin, John Henry Cardinal Newman, G. K. Chesterton ... and on and on.

Kudos to anawim on DCF ... I am using this as an exuse to test something.

The new pope is being called, among other things, a Rottweiler. I checked the AKC. Here's what they describe:

Quote:

The Rottweiler is basically a calm, confident and courageous dog with a self-assured aloofness that does not lend itself to immediate and indiscriminate friendships. A Rottweiler is self-confident and responds quietly and with a wait-and-see attitude to influences in his environment. He has an inherent desire to protect home and family, and is an intelligent dog of extreme hardness and adaptability with a strong willingness to work, making him especially suited as a companion, guardian and general all-purpose dog.

Sounds o.k. to me. What's the problem?

ok ... so it took a little work to make look nice ... that said ... Firefox is AWESOME

Your must reads for today (and more from yesterday)

Predicted libellous liberal backlash against new Pope begins A solid summary of the nastiest flagellations going on in the press about the election of a man who stands for TRUTH.
Pontifications: Who wears the Halo of Hatred? - the backlash isn't limited to one group

Musings of an Expagan: Catholic Reaction - Lets Study - funny ... a must see
Why They Ran by Peggy Noonan - excellent ... a must read

Emotional Converts by Patty Bonds
UK: Shock! New Pope a Catholic
EBay moves to end Eucharist auction - but go read why ... Cancel your accounts with EBay, half.com and PayPal.

Why some matters of religious doctrine won’t change - someone in the press who gets it
Benedict's landslide the biggest in history - "no less than 90 and possibly 107 of the maximum 115 votes"

UPDATE: New Pope condemns Spain gay bill - "Pope Benedict XVI has responded firmly to the first challenge of his papacy by condemning a Spanish government bill allowing marriage between homosexuals." --- Europe matters to this Pope ... expect more of this

If the NYT had covered the Main Event - NICE parody ...

People I have met online started Catacombers which has a (forum)

Catacombers is a Catholic apostolate supporting Catholic artists in the creation of works that enhance faithfulness to the Church, its teachings and leadership, and reverence in Catholic liturgical worship. We wish to encourage our Catholic brethren attending and serving at standard Catholic parishes to use their time and talents to restore His House (per St. Francis of Assisi) making it more orthodox, liturgically sound, and respectful of the ancient ways of the Christian church.

Artists, writers and musicians: Please support this apostolate by getting involved.

See Land of the Free of the Land - Michael, if you are reading this, use trackback. It is a way cool feature and it makes people come read your blog. Not that anyone reads mine ... :)

This, for some reason, reminds me of a discussion that my wife got into with a friend of hers from eastern Europe. In the discussion she essentially said that America had no culture. One can clearly see, however, that it does. We have baseball, country music and a strong jazz heritage (and interestingly enough for the electronic music fan, we have Detroit and techno/house) just to name a few. That said, look what Europe does with some aspects of our culture. They tend to not be fond of baseball or football (not the soccer variety) ...but they have taken "house" and jazz to another level thus really assimilating it as part of a more global culture than something distinctly American. Nobody would really associate Detroit techno with America unless they just simply knew something about the history behind it. They would lump it in with things those weirdo Eurpoeans do ...

Country music is still all American though ... nobody outside of the US gets it.

Its like the cult of oblong meats in Germany and the legion of fancy skirts in Scotland ... we are hard pressed to "get it" over here but it is part of their culture and willl likely remain with those cultures for quite some time, if not forever.

I guess one could argue the point that at one time England wasn't England. It was also a place that people migrated to for some reason or another. Today it is England. Time will pass. Countries will change. Economies will change. Other places will become as enticing a place to be as the United States. People will move there. There will be a core however that remains in the United States. This has become and will continue to become America. No matter how global we become, culture still happens for odd reasons that happens to remain regional and national.

OK, for at least 5.5 months I won't have much of an excuse for not blogging on a fairly regular basis ... I finally have the home network set up so that gives me access to actually blog ... I won't reveal the embarassing situation with why it took me 2.5 hours to set up a simple router. All I have to say is DOLT!!!

OK, tonight I am going to be bringing home a DSL/router, which means I can ACTUALLY get online from home for the first time in months. I, of course, missed commenting quite possibly the most interesting month and a half of being Catholic that there has been in quite a while. Notice there is very little on Terry Schiavo, the death of JP2, the election of B16. It is all quite overwhelming for me to try and catch up on now ...

I do want to mention one quite extraordinary side effect of the events of recent weeks. EVERYONE has a take on the Catholic Church now. Fox News was virtually a 24-7 Catholic apologetics forum in the days following the death of John Paull II. Non-Catholics were calling EWTN in droves genuinely asking questions. People are curious about this Catholic thing and on more than one occasion the coverage given the Church has caused people to see the faith for what it REALLY is and not the caricature that is portrayed by so many intending on leading people away from the Church. I even heard on at least occasions of conversions based SOLELY on the coverage (an Anglican caller and a Baptist organist caller).

Since the death of JP2, Steve Ray's forum has been flooded with two groups. Catholics with re-ignited fervor for the faith and hit and run anti-Catholics who post the usual weak apologetic fare and head off with little or no substantial defense of their claims. It is the best of both worlds. You have reluctant Catholics who want to be excited about their faith watching arguments that have always haunted them get substantially answered. One can only hope that this gives them reason to follow the path where it leads; to understanding that the Catholic faith IS very much biblical, historical and logical. There are answers to the tough questions and there is little excuse for the new posters who choose to stay. They will get their answers from seasoned defenders of the faith.

Thats why I keep going back ... it used to be that Catholics knowing their faith was a novelty. It gets better and better every day. Soon it will be the norm. The "new springtime" that JP2 always spoke of could very well be realized in the pontificate of Benedict XVI. The rolling snowball is reaching avalanche proportions ...

Things you need to read today ...
The Curt Jester: Now with B16! - in his classic humorous style ... enjoy!!!
Crush the Benedict XVI was a Nazi sympathizer nonsense before it gets legs like so many lies about the Church and its leaders

comments later ... I must admit ... I am shocked, joyed and overwhelmed at what took place today. I am sure there are liberal Catholics everywhere wondering what their next step needs to be.

Apparently you can't even get to Cardinal Ratzinger Fan Club ... wonder why? :)

We watched the Incredibles last night. We all slept in our usual places and I came in to work knowing where I am going to be headed AFTER work.

Net damage ...
$500 cell phone bill
$600 gas bill
old house note AND rent for an apartment
$1200 in repairs to old house
moving, deposits etc ...

I will relay my story in a later post ... its been a bad month. I have much in the way of suffering to offer up ... Time for us to review redemptive suffering and why this facet of Catholicism answers one of the toughest questions posed to all religious.

Add the Eucharist to the List of Items Prohibited for Sale on EBay

Still super busy but I thought I would put this up real quick. Signatures coming in fast ... add yours to it.

Better yet ... back up your signature with ACTION ...

http://pages.ebay.com/help/account/clos ... unt.html#5 <-- if you have an ebay account, this is how you cancel it.

From Sherry Weddell of St. Catherine of Siena Institute shamelessly lifted from Mark Shea

From my research of the past week (while re-writing a portion of Making Disciples, Equipping Apostles;

I'd like to add this bit of reality about adult conversions to the US Church:

in 1960, the pre-Vatican II height: 145,000 adults entered

in 1975, the nadir: 75,000 adults centered

Under JPII, the trend has completely reversed itself. Since 1994:

23,000 more adults have entered the Church every year than did in 1960:

An average 163,000 adults every year between 1994 and 2003. That's 1.635 million adult converts in only ten years.

If adult converts to Catholicism from those 10 years alone were a denomination, we would be the 16th largest in America, right behind the Episcopalians and ahead of the Churches of Christ and the Greek Orthodox.

And I will make this prediction. This week of incredibly powerful coverage of the Pope's life, faith, impact and the endless interviews with believing Catholics is going to be the catalyst of the spiritual awakening of millions around the world. I'm betting on a significant jump in adult converts on Easter, 2006 and an increase in priestly and religious vocations in the next two years.

God bless you, John Paul the Great. We owe you so much!

--

Likely won't comment later due to time constraints but in short, I see the same thing happening and I totally agree with the prediction. The Holy Spirit is moving in a big way.

Screwtape Revisited With gratitude (and apologies) to C. S. Lewis.

OK, life has proven difficult on the personal front for about the last 3 days. We are in the process of selling our house and there is much that needs to be done before closing which is supposed to happen on March 30. Anyway, then closing on our new home isn't scheduled until April 26. That leaves us living it on the run.

Anyway, I will try to blog as time permits but it is going to be rough the next month or so.