INTERNATIONAL TPOTC NEWS Mexico – The Passion of the Christ made $5.2 million in Mexico in its opening weekend. This makes it the second biggest debut in Mexico after only Spiderman. Note that this opening was despite the fact that the movie was illegal for anyone under 18. Brazil – Opening this weekend on 472 screens, the movie made $1.8 million which is the seventh biggest opening in Brazilian history. Chile – $668,000 on 42 screens which is the biggest... Read more

[EDITORIAL NOTE: Rats… Here is the post again. Note that I have altered the part about the young woman who was chastened for genuflecting before Communion. It turns out that happened not at St. Charles, but recently at a church in Chicago. The young woman involved related the story to me while we were discussing the weird kneeling disorder going on here at St. Charles and in my horror, I thought she said it had just happened at Mass. I... Read more

DELETION INSANITY In a moment of editorial insanity, an overzealous assistant of mine accidentally deleted the post “GIRM WARFARE” about the no kneeling directives being enforced here in the church in Los Angeles. I apologise especially to those people who are being linked here from parts all over the blogosphere. We are going to try to recover the post and hopefully the 68 comments that had piled up around it. Stay tuned…. Read more

“WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?” Here’s a piece from Catholic News Service…. European church leaders mixed on ‘Passion’; Other Bishops Praise it By Jonathan Luxmoore WARSAW, Poland (CNS) — Church leaders in Eastern and Central Europe voiced mixed reactions to Mel Gibson’s “The Passion of the Christ,” while in Mexico and the Philippines bishops praised the movie. Warsaw Cardinal Jozef Glemp described the movie as a “great, decisive film” and predicted it would assist better knowledge and comprehension... Read more

EMILY MONDAY #49 Our lives are Swiss, – So Still – so cool — Till some odd afternoon The Alps neglect their curtains, and we look further o. ITALY stands on the other side! But like a guard between – the solemn Alps – The siren Alps forever intervene. Read more

REALLY TRYING TO LIMIT THE BLOG TO RELEVANT QUIZZES…REALLY which art movement are you? this quiz was made by Caitlin Read more

SORRY BLOGGING HAS BEEN LIGHT… …but I’m just back today from gallavanting on the East coast for a few days. I took a 6am flight out of DC which meant me getting up at 1am L.A. time. I am just typing here to keep myself awake for the 5pm Mass at St. Charles and then I am going to slither home and collapse. No Alias tonight for sure. A few tid-bits from my trip… – I had the honor again... Read more

HA! I swear I only took this quiz once. What can I say? You are Emily Dickinson! Not all that much isknown about Emily Dickinson, probably becauseshe holed herself up in her room and wrotepoetry. She didn’t have very many connectionswith the world outside her house, and herpoetry is very introspective andcompartmentalized. You need to get out more. Which famous poet are you? (pictures and many outcomes) brought to you by Quizilla Read more

EL ODIO LE HACE LOCO So, Mexican “officials” gave The Passion of the Christ an X-rating, as a way to suppress the film’s impact. Hmmmm… talk about an ‘estrategia suicida’. Yeah. that’s reeeeeeeeeal smart. And then maybe next week, just to nail it down in a coffin forever, why don’t you accuse the film of being anti-Semitic! [Cue Mexican Officials dancing around the State film office, shrieking with glee with mush gnashing of teeths] “HAHAHAHAHA!!!! YES, YES! TRIUMPH!! The dastardly... Read more

THE WORDS OF THE DAY FROM THE CHURCH WHICH IS IN HOLLYWOOD… Back to back quotes in today’s Hollywood Reporter: “Christian is the new gay. Maybe for the first time since Billy Graham started his Crusades, Christians are involved in something significant in pop culture.” — Jonathan Bock, Christian and PR guy to the studios “I don’t know where it’s going to fall. And quite frankly… you want to hear something? I don’t give a flying f**k!” — Mel Gibson,... Read more