Intro To Historical Trivia 1. When you have no other ideas of what to write about in your blog you can always write about historical trivia. You can tweet short or blog long about it. Historical Trivia is a way to remember the interesting tidbits of life without having to invest too much time you may not have into reading about it but yet giving you fascinating highlights you can reflect on and inspiration to find out more if your... Read more
A few years ago I wrote this… I want to know the people who are in my immediate neighborhood. In this case I’m talking about the virtual neighborhood where I blog at Catholic Bard. I took a look around and decided to look up a little something about all my neighbors who have a different world view then I do. Were just one voice in the middle of a sea of voices. So, I think it’s important to know who... Read more
America’s Attitude towards immigrants and the poor in 1883 From Wikipedia: “The New Colossus” is a sonnet by American poet Emma Lazarus (1849–1887). She wrote the poem in 1883 to raise money for the construction of a pedestal for the Statue of Liberty (Liberty Enlightening the World). In 1903, the poem was cast onto a bronze plaque and mounted inside the pedestal’s lower level. Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame, With conquering limbs astride from land to land; Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall... Read more
The summer of 1985 were the transition months of my life from 7th to 8th grade. It was another summer of fun in my middle school years. It was a time to hang out with my friends, go to the summer program at the Wenham playground filled with activities and games, shoot down waterslides, go to Canobie Lake Park with the other altar boys and go to the movies. 10 summers previous the summer blockbuster movie season had begun with... Read more
Truth expressed harshly is not truth but a mere spattering of facts. Facts that don’t penetrate the head or the heart. Truth is meant to be taken into a person’s soul and in order for it to be effectively transmitted in must be expressed charitably and in clarity. It will then most likely express truths twin sister Beauty. Beauty will illuminate truth to the point that both Truth and Beauty together will produce goodness. Truth, Beauty and Goodness will help... Read more
In honor of the Sacred Heart, here is a selection from the Public Domain work The Heart of the Gospel and The Heart of Revelation by Father Francis Patrick Donnelly, SJ, (1911/1917) What Devotion Really Is In discussing devotion to the Sacred Heart there is especial need of remembering what devotion really is and how it may exist without great feeling or many devotional practices. The devotions of the Church have all enriched her emotional language, but none perhaps more so than... Read more
Muslims, Jews and Christians may not agree on who God is or how to govern countries, but they can agree that a good story well told is worth listening to. With all the strife, turmoil and unpleasantness permeating the news, its good to step back and escape to another world to experience a good well told story. Cinema provides that escape. And the movies of the early 80’s are great examples of that kind of escape. The movies that Gen-xers’s ... Read more
We all have stress in our lives. The news of the world can come crashing in on us and weigh our brains down with anxiety and woe. Sometimes people feel the need to get away and escape into another world. TV is all fun and good but sometimes you just want to leave the house and sit in a darkened room with complete strangers and watch a big screen spectacle while eating popcorn, Reeces Pieces and drinking a Coke. Movies... Read more
Dreams are weird. They never make sense. Not usually. But sometimes they do. I think I figured out where one of my more interesting dreams came from. Several months back I woke up from a dream wondering ‘Why Did I Dream About That?” In the dream I was in Galveston Texas with my wife. Kristin and I were in a gift shop and I picked out a sweatshirt for $35.00. We went walking around town and I asked her, “do... Read more
I’m Catholic and the pope is the leader of the Catholic Church. I’m an American and the president is the leader of our nation. Back in the 19th century the reigning pontiff and the reigning president had this to say about the unity of the church and the unity of the nation. June 16, 1846 – The Papal conclave of 1846 elects Pope Pius IX, beginning the longest reign in the history of the papacy. Inter Multiplices Pleading for Unity of Spirit Pope BI.... Read more
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