What mercy beyond measure that God should choose to be one of us, and to become utterly helpless, dependent upon His frail, fallible creatures. O great mystery, and wonderful sacrament, that animals should see the new-born Lord, lying in a manger! Blessed is the Virgin whose womb was worthy to bear Christ the Lord. Alleluia! Read more
There is no doubt that ever since St. Francis of Assisi himself, the Franciscan tradition has held a great reverence to the Nativity of Christ. St. Francis of Assisi s said to have brought about a great revival in the celebration of the Nativity. While the legend of St. Anthony of Padua holding the child Jesus is often reflected in the statues of St. Anthony, some legends surrounding St. Francis of Assisi suggest he, too, had a special encounter with... Read more
From: The Paradise of the Fathers Sayings: Once three brothers came to visit an old man in Scetis and one of them said to him, “Abba, I have committed to memory the Old and New Testaments.” And the old man answered, “You have filled the air with words.” The second one said to him, “I have written out the Old and New Testaments with my own hands.” He said, “And you have filled the window-ledge with manuscripts.” Then the third... Read more
As most are probably aware, Bishop Olmsted has revoked the status of catholic to a hospital in Arizona. (This is a continuation of the situation addressed here.) In particular, I want to draw attention to a statement in his press release. It also was clear that the exceptional cases, mentioned in ERD #47, were not met, that is, that there was not a cancerous uterus or other grave malady that might justify an indirect and unintended termination of the life... Read more
When are you going to stand up and act to stop the rape of the working class? When are you going to yell and scream for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act? When are you going to start demanding that we raise taxes on the rich in order to feed and house and provide for the poor, the aged, the weak? When are you going to insist on single payer health care? When are you going to demand that... Read more
Part XII The artist – a prophet, whether true or false, Is taken up to heights unknown. His heart beats, a quick pulse, In ecstasy, his spirit flown. The experience ends, on earth again, The artist records what he has seen. “Follow me, let us begin,” He cries out, “to the light, a distant beam” Shall we follow, or do we wallow In the mire of everyday boredom? Is he a man of God, so hallow Or living in the... Read more
Here is a short video from Catholic Vote (the people who endorsed Sharon Angle). It is basically a top ten list, the “top 10 reasons for hope in 2010”. Good title, lousy content. Check the list for yourself. You will find a mix of insignificant, and offensive. It’s basically a view into the mind of the right-wing American Catholic bubble, which is a fully contained subset of the broader American right-wing bubble. I’ll give a quick run down after the jump. (more…) Read more
Last Thursday, the House defeated SB 987, the “International Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act of 2010″ sometimes referred to as the “Child Protection Marriage Act.” The bill had passed the Senate on December 14 with unanimous consent (i.e., no-one present objected, so no vote was taken). The bill garnered 245 votes, but was brought up under special rules requiring a 2/3 majority, or 290 votes. Nevertheless, the bills backers were stunned. The blog at Foreign Policy contains a... Read more
Here is a wonderful version of Et incarnatus est, from Mozart’s Great Mass in C, with John Eliot Gardiner as conductor and Barbara Bonney as soloist: Compare this to another outstanding rendition, with Leonard Bernstein and Arleen Auger: Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In