Views of a new Catholic in an old world on the joy and inexhaustible meaning found in the Faith
My youngest son has a Living Wax Museum assignment due for his 5th grade class tomorrow. He decided that he would be General George S. Patton, Jr. He’s been working on learning all he can about Patton, but what follows was in none of the books he checked out. I first shared it on the blog back on Jan 20, 2011. What did General Patton think when it came to the subject of prayer? Plenty. So here is the story again, from the archives… [Read more...]
This Sunday in the United States is when we celebrate our mothers. Though it’s a secular holiday, it’s one of the best ones on the calendar. I want to wish a Happy Mothers Day to all of the mothers out there. Mom…we couldn’t have done anything without you!
The portrait above is by Mary Cassatt and is entitled Breakfast in Bed. I have very fond memories of being cuddled by my mother and of seeing my wife cuddle my children like this (before they grew into bean stalks!) as well. To help celebrate this life giving vocation, I found these thoughts on the importance of motherhood from one of my favorite Catholic authors to share with you as well. Once again, G.K. Chesterton, the Apostle of Common Sense, hits the nail right on the head. [Read more...]
The folks over at Sojourners don’t have a comment policy. They have gone one better and have adopted a Comment Covenant instead. And the neat thing is that they have also provided the Biblical passages to back up their reasoning.
It’s a clearcut case of faith+reason= AWESOME. Take a look, [Read more...]
From St. Paul’s letter to the Romans (13:8,10),
Avoid getting into debt, except the debt of mutual love. If you love your fellow men you have carried out your obligations. Love is the one thing that cannot hurt your neighbor; that is why it is the answer to every one of the commandments.
Nassim Nicholas Taleb, author of the books Fooled By Randomness and The Black Swan, once said the following about fasting:
The reason fasting in its various forms is not practiced as the best medicine is because industry has not (yet) managed to make a profit from it. Try to generalize this very, very simple point to other substractive treatments and you will understand what we got ourselves into with modernity.
You’re about to be proved wrong, Taleb. [Read more...]
What the Obama Administration doesn’t seem to understand is a truth that needs only to be uttered in the calmest and softest of whispers. The Church will never support the HHS Mandate, because the Church can never knowingly commit a sin.
Though She is chock full of sinners (100% certified, grade-A sinners, by the way), with low-end mucky-mucks like me (surely one of the greatest of them) spilling over her gunwales, She herself is supernaturally free from the stain of sin. And that’s not something that Joe Six-Pack just made up to make himself feel better, either. It’s a supernatural truth that needs no banging of gongs or clashing of cymbals to precede it. [Read more...]
about something that is larger than themselves is, they get really, selflessly, creative. For example, a reader made an Excel Spreadsheet plotting the growth of signatures on the White House petition so far. Seriously, that lands right up there in the “People are Awesome” department, don’t you think?. Then, he took the spreadsheet and made the following graph out of it, [Read more...]
Do you have a Facebook account? If so, you should join, and share, this group today:
Stand with the US Bishops against the HHS. While you’re at it, go sign the petition to the White House too.
That is all.
One of the characteristics of the Catholic Church that appealed to me right away was that not only does the Church teach the importance of strategy, but she also recognizes the importance of tactics. And like the Marine Corps, the Church Militant produces field manuals teaching and relating the effective use of both strategy and tactics. All of which are based on her actual experience gained in fighting, and winning, spiritual wars. [Read more...]
Once again, I heartily endorse the wisdom of the Founding Fathers and their radical concept of separation of powers. Huzzah!
All nine justices of the Supreme Court ruled on Monday that police officers violated the Fourth Amendment rule against unreasonable search and seizure when they attached a GPS device to a suspect’s car and tracked it for 28 days without a warrant. But the court was split down the middle on the reasoning. Four justices focused on the physical trespass that occurred when the police attached the device, four focused on the violation of the suspect’s “reasonable expectation of privacy,” and the final justice, Sonia Sotomayor, endorsed both theories.
Go read the rest. Now, if the Justices would turn their attentions back to the question of the constitutionality of the Patriot Act, the Founders would stop rolling over in their graves.
UPDATE: A friend of mine sends: “Here’s the full text of the ruling for super-nerds,” to which I’ll add for all you sea-lawyers.
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