Fr. Paul Scalia On "The Seven Deadly Sins"

Here is an audio series that every Catholic simply MUST listen to. This is doubly true if your Catholic education in the vices and the virtues stopped after CCD or Catholic school. The speaker is Fr. Paul Scalia (son of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia). In this series (starting with a session on the Natural Law), Fr. Scalia-- using Sacred Scripture, the writings of the Saints (especially St. Thomas Aquinas), Dante's Divine Comedy, and a good measure of laugh-out-loud humor--explains the Deadly Sins, their origin and cause, and how to combat them. Download and listen to these exceptional talks for yourselves and pass them on to your teen and adult children, other loved ones and friends, and basically all those who need a clear refresher of these important truths of the Faith:

The Natural Law
The Seven Deadly Sins

Source: Institute of Catholic Culture

The Ant and The Grasshopper: An Aesop's Fable Retold for Modern America

THE ANT & THE GRASSHOPPER (TRADITIONAL VERSION)

The ant works hard in the withering heat all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter. The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.

Come winter, the ant is warm and well fed. The grasshopper has no food or shelter, so he dies out in the cold.

The End.

[MORAL OF THE STORY: Be responsible for yourself.]

* * * * *

THE ANT & THE GRASSHOPPER (MODERN VERSION)

The ant works hard in the withering heat and the rain all summer long, building his house and laying up supplies for the winter.The grasshopper thinks the ant is a fool and laughs and dances and plays the summer away.

When winter comes, the shivering grasshopper calls a press conference and demands to know why the ant should be allowed to be warm and well fed while he is cold and starving.

CBS, NBC , PBS, CNN, and ABC show up to provide pictures of the shivering grasshopper next to a video of the ant in his comfortable home with a table filled with food.

America is stunned by the sharp contrast. How can this be, that in a country of such wealth, this poor grasshopper is allowed to suffer so? Kermit the Frog appears on Oprah with the grasshopper and everybody cries when they sing, “It's Not Easy Being Green . . .”

ACORN stages a demonstration in front of the ant's house where the news stations film the group singing, “We shall overcome.” Then the Rev. Al Sharpton has the group kneel down to pray to God for the grasshopper's sake.

Dear Leader condemns the ant and blames President Bush, President Reagan, Christopher Columbus, and the Pope for the grasshopper's plight.

Nancy Pelosi & Harry Reid exclaim in an interview with Larry King that the ant has gotten rich off the back of the grasshopper, and both call for an immediate tax hike on the ant to make him pay his fair share.

Finally, the EEOC drafts the Economic Equity & Anti-Grasshopper Act retroactive to the beginning of the summer.

The ant is fined for failing to hire a proportionate number of green bugs and, having nothing left to pay his retroactive taxes, his home is confiscated by the Government Green Czar and given to the grasshopper. The story ends as we see the grasshopper and his free-loading friends finishing up the last bits of the ant’s food while the government house he is in, which, as you recall, just happens to be the ant's old house, crumbles around them because the grasshopper doesn't maintain it.

The ant has disappeared in the snow, never to be seen again.

The grasshopper is found dead in a drug related incident, and the house, now abandoned, is taken over by a gang of spiders who terrorize the ramshackle, once prosperous and once peaceful, neighborhood.

As this scenario is repeated over and over in community after community, he entire Nation collapses, dragging the rest of the free world with it.

The End.

[MORAL OF THE STORY: Be careful how you vote in 2010 and 2012.]

Author unknown.

(HT to Patrick Madrid)

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

In addition to being the birthday of my sweet, smart, beautiful wife Carol, today is the Feastday of St. Patrick. Most people aren't caught by surprise by this fact, since it's impossible to be unaware of the increased number of green retail decorations and Guiness advertisements this time of year, and many, many people are happy to call themselves Irish for a day, if for nothing else, as an excuse to eat corned beef and cabbage and slightly more beer than usual.

Many lose sight of the fact (if they ever knew in the first place) that St. Patrick was a real saint, and quite a famous and colorful one at that.

Patrick was born around 385 in Scotland, probably Kilpatrick. His parents were Calpurnius and Conchessa, who were Romans living in Britian in charge of the colonies. As a boy of fourteen or so, he was captured during a raiding party and taken to Ireland as a slave to herd and tend sheep. Ireland at this time was a land of Druids and pagans. He learned the language and practices of the people who held him. During his captivity, he turned to God in prayer. He wrote

"The love of God and his fear grew in me more and more, as did the faith, and my soul was rosed, so that, in a single day, I have said as many as a hundred and in the night, nearly the same."

Patrick's captivity lasted until he was twenty, when he escaped after having a dream from God in which he was told to leave Ireland by going to the coast. There he found some sailors who took him back to Britian, where he reunited with his family. He had another dream in which the people of Ireland were calling out to him "We beg you, holy youth, to come and walk among us once more." He began his studies for the priesthood. He was ordained by St. Germanus, the Bishop of Auxerre, whom he had studied under for years.

Later, Patrick was ordained a bishop, and was sent to take the Gospel to Ireland. He arrived in Ireland March 25, 433, at Slane. One legend says that he met a chieftain of one of the tribes, who tried to kill Patrick. Patrick converted Dichu (the chieftain) after he was unable to move his arm until he became friendly to Patrick.

Patrick began preaching the Gospel throughout Ireland, converting many. He and his disciples preached and converted thousands and began building churches all over the country. Kings, their families, and entire kingdoms converted to Christianity when hearing Patrick's message.
Patrick by now had many disciples, among them Beningnus, Auxilius, Iserninus, and Fiaac, (all later canonized as well).

Patrick preached and converted all of Ireland for 40 years. He worked many miracles and wrote of his love for God in Confessions. After years of living in poverty, traveling and enduring much suffering he died March 17, 461. He died at Saul, where he had built the first church.

One of the most famous and beloved prayers in the world is called The Breastplate of St. Patrick. Here it is in it's entirety:

I bind unto myself today

the strong name of the Trinity,

by invocation of the same,

the Three in One and One in Three.

I bind this day to me for ever,

by power of faith, Christ's Incarnation;

His baptism in the Jordan River;

his death on cross for my salvation;

his bursting from the spiced tomb;

his riding up the heavenly way;

his coming at the day of doom;

I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself the power

of the great love of the Cherubim;

the sweet 'Well done' in judgment hour;

the service of the Seraphim,

confessors' faith, Apostles' word,

the Patriarchs' prayers, the Prophets' scrolls,

all good deeds done unto the Lord,

and purity of virgin souls.

I bind unto myself today

the virtues of the starlit heaven,

the glorious sun's life-giving ray,

the whiteness of the moon at even,

the flashing of the lightning free,

the whirling wind's tempestuous shocks,

the stable earth, the deep salt sea,

around the old eternal rocks.

I bind unto myself today

the power of God to hold and lead,

his eye to watch, his might to stay,

his ear to hearken to my need.

The wisdom of my God to teach,

his hand to guide, his shield to ward,

the word of God to give me speech,

his heavenly host to be my guard.

Against the demon snares of sin,

the vice that gives temptation force,

the natural lusts that war within,

the hostile men that mar my course;

or few or many, far or nigh,

in every place and in all hours

against their fierce hostility,

I bind to me these holy powers.

Against all Satan's spells and wiles,

against false words of heresy,

against the knowledge that defiles,

against the heart's idolatry,

against the wizard's evil craft,

against the death-wound and the burning

the choking wave and the poisoned shaft,

protect me, Christ, till thy returning.

Christ be with me, Christ within me,

Christ behind me, Christ before me,

Christ beside me, Christ to win me,

Christ to comfort and restore me,

Christ beneath me, Christ above me,

Christ in quiet, Christ in danger,

Christ in hearts of all that love me,

Christ in mouth of friend and stranger.

I bind unto myself the name,

the strong name of the Trinity;

by invocation of the same.

The Three in One, and One in Three,

of whom all nature hath creation,

Eternal Father, Spirit, Word:

Praise to the Lord of my salvation,

salvation is of Christ the Lord.
Amen.

Have a blessed St. Paddy's Day. As the Irish say, God love you.

St. Augustine on the Meaning of Christmas

On this Christmas Eve, I just wanted to share these thoughts, from a sermon by Saint Augustine found in the Office of Readings for today's Divine Office. It concerns the taking on of human flesh by Jesus, the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity---which, of course is the REAL point of this whole Christmas thing anyway.

Truth has arisen from the earth and justice has looked down from heaven

Awake, mankind! For your sake God has become man. Awake, you who sleep, rise up from the dead, and Christ will enlighten you. I tell you again: for your sake, God became man.

You would have suffered eternal death, had he not been born in time. Never would you have been freed from sinful flesh, had he not taken on himself the likeness of sinful flesh. You would have suffered everlasting unhappiness, had it not been for this mercy. You would never have returned to life, had he not shared your death. You would have been lost if he had not hastened ‘to your aid. You would have perished, had he not come.

Let us then joyfully celebrate the coming of our salvation and redemption. Let us celebrate the festive day on which he who is the great and eternal day came from the great and endless day of eternity into our own short day of time.

He has become our justice, our sanctification, our redemption, so that, as it is written: Let him who glories glory in the Lord.

Truth, then, has arisen from the earth: Christ who said, I am the Truth, was born of the Virgin. And justice looked down from heaven: because believing in this new-born child, man is justified not by himself but by God.

Truth has arisen from the earth: because the Word was made flesh. And justice looked down from heaven: because every good gift and every perfect gift is from above.

Truth has arisen from the earth: flesh from Mary. And justice looked down from heaven: for man can receive nothing unless it has been given him from heaven.

Justified by faith, let us be at peace with God: for justice and peace have embraced one another. Through our Lord Jesus Christ: for Truth has arisen from the earth. Through whom we have access to that grace in which we stand, and our boast is in our hope of God’s glory. He does not say: “of our glory,” but of God’s glory: for justice has not come out of us but has looked down from heaven. Therefore he who glories, let him glory, not in himself, but in the Lord.

For this reason, when our Lord was born of the Virgin, the message of the angelic voices was: Glory to God in the highest, and peace to men of good will.

For how could there be peace on earth unless Truth has arisen from the earth, that is, unless Christ were born of our flesh? And he is our peace who made the two into one: that we might be men of good will, sweetly linked by the bond of unity.

Let us then rejoice in this grace, so that our glorying may bear witness to our good conscience by which we glory, not in ourselves, but in the Lord. That is why Scripture says: He is my glory, the one who lifts up my head. For what greater grace could God have made to dawn on us than to make his only Son become the son of man, so that a son of man might in his turn become son of God?

Ask if this were merited; ask for its reason, for its justification, and see whether you will find any other answer but sheer grace.

Concluding Prayer
Hurry, Lord Jesus, do not delay.
We put our trust in your loving kindness:
may your coming bring us consolation and support.
You live and reign with God the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever.
Amen.

.

Find more reflections here.

Pope Benedict on "Faith in Progress"

First, a confession: I've had a copy of Pope Benedict's second encyclical, Spe Salvi (Latin for "Saved In Hope"), on my nightstand largely unread since I bought it shortly after it's release in November of 2007. It wasn't due to lack of interest, of course. My nightstand, at any given time, is normally groaning under the weight of several stacks of new books, books I want to reread, magazines and printouts of articles I've downloaded and printed out from the Internet. It's only since I've self-imposed a moratorium on buying myself new books that the top of the nightstand has begun the see the light of day.

Anyway, I've finally been able to begin seriously reading this (when I first got it I did do a perfunctionary scan). It's not an especially arduous or voluminous work (my copy is 105 pages), but like most worthwhile reads, it is one that takes a while to read if you want to do it justice by pondering and praying over it, and mining the text for nuggets of insight. As one might surmise from the title, the topic is about the Christian virtue of Hope (which is distinct from our common use of the word hope, as in "I hope my team wins the game"). The Pope's first encyclical, Caritas in Veritate, you may recall, was about the Christian virtue of love (or, "charity").

I'm around page 51 of Spes Salvi now, and Pope Benedict is in the midst of a discussion about the virtue of Hope, and it's relation to the virtue of Faith ("Transformation of Christian Faith-Hope"). This discussion revolves around the contemporary meaning of the word "progress" and how it relates to authentic Christian Hope. Here is a passage, from section 22 of the encyclical, which I found striking:

First we must ask ourselves: what does “progress” really mean; what does it promise and what does it not promise? In the nineteenth century, faith in progress was already subject to critique. In the twentieth century, Theodor W. Adorno formulated the problem of faith in progress quite drastically: he said that progress, seen accurately, is progress from the sling to the atom bomb. Now this is certainly an aspect of progress that must not be concealed. To put it another way: the ambiguity of progress becomes evident. Without doubt, it offers new possibilities for good, but it also opens up appalling possibilities for evil—possibilities that formerly did not exist. We have all witnessed the way in which progress, in the wrong hands, can become and has indeed become a terrifying progress in evil. If technical progress is not matched by corresponding progress in man's ethical formation, in man's inner growth (cf. Eph 3:16; 2 Cor 4:16), then it is not progress at all, but a threat for man and for the world. (Emphasis added)

The idea of the incompatibility of man's technical progress with his ethical progress is not original to the Holy Father, of course. Many people in the last century (including, most famously perhaps, Albert Einstien speaking specifically about atomic weapons) have lamented that we have have put the tools of mental giants in the hands of moral midgets. What struck me (albeit not for the first time) was the characterization of "progress" as something a person might tend to put their faith in, i.e. as a type of religion.

On his final studio album, Double Fantasy, the late John Lennon had a very nice song about his young son Shaun called Beautiful Boy. One of the lines in the song goes something like this:

Before you go to sleep, say a little prayer:
"Every day, in every way, it's getting better and better."

This lyric is not merely a reflection of hopeful sentiment; it reflects a worldview popular in the 1970's that you can will positive thoughts into a situation and it will actually make those positive things happen (this is also a premise of the recent New Age book, The Secret, promoted by Oprah Winfrey). In the 19th century among some Christian groups there was a popular doctrine called post-millenialism. Very simply put: looking around at a relatively peaceful time with a great flowering of literary and technological marvels (this was the so called "Gilded Age" of the Industrial Revolution) Christian post-millenialists believed that man would progress and society would improve in a fairly linear manner eventually reaching the point that mankind would reach such a perfected level, it would precipitate (and presumably flow into) the Second Coming of Jesus. After the horrors of two World Wars, the sheen on this particular view dulled quickly, and hardly any mainstream Christians believe it today.

While today you won't find many post-millenialists around, and pop-spiritual fads like The Secret are only taken seriously by the spiritually immature and the flakey, there is an underlying (and I believe pervasive) belief in our culture in the "spirituality of progress." How I would describe it would be as the assumption that most people seem to hold that, since man has progressed in his technological achievements (and they seem to us to be most impressive), the fact that he has devised these things by rational means is de facto license to apply them at will without adherance to objective moral norms.

There are a number of examples I could mention but let me give just one: stem cell research. There is no denying that the technology behind this procedure is truly amazing and that the potential benefits for saving and improving lives is probably immeasurable at this point. However there are numerous ethical problems when the issue of embryonic stem cells is thrown into the mix. These cells, as you may know, are created by fertilizing an egg in a laboratory so that a human embryo is created. The stem cells are then extracted and the embryo is discarded---a clinical euphemism for: a human baby is created, it's useful parts harvested, and then he or she is killed and thrown away.

Apart from the fact that embryonic stem cells are as yet unproven in curing or treating anything (in contrast to adult stem cell and even placental cells which have displayed remarkable promise), what is the moral dilemna here? Is this the killing of an innocent human life, or is it not? If it is, can it be justified in appealing to a "higher good"? And more to the point of the present argument: Just because we are able to do something, does that make it moral to do so?

I would say, generally speaking and apart from any one issue, that every situation having arguable moral implications is worthy serious examination in the light of objective moral norms (what constitutes "objective moral norms" is concurrently under attack in our culture and itself may have to be clarified before one makes a decision. Unbelievably, many people if pressed, cannot articulate a defined set of objective norms). The most basic norm, of course, is the protection of human life -- especially innocent human life. When man arrives at an acheivement that touches upon this most basic of human rights, the default position should always be to do what is objectively moral; to not do evil in the name of good, and at all times to choose life. Then, perhaps we can reach the point that "everyday, in every way, things are getting better and better..."

December 12: Our Lady of Guadalupe

Today is the feastday of Our Lady of Guadalupe which celebrates the occurence of a series of apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary to the poor Indian peasant, Juan Diego, in the year 1531 just outside Mexico City. On the last visit, she left a miraculous image of herself on the humble cloak--or tilma--of Juan Diego, an image that is still visible today. Here is a link to a website that tells the whole story, as well as amazing scientific facts about the image on the tilma of Juan Diego.

This Feastday is extremely important to Catholics of Latin American heritage. Devotion to OLG is also strong in other places such the Philippines. Just this morning, I arrived at our local parish for my usual Saturday morning men's group meeting, and the parking lot was packed with cars at 6:30 A.M.--it was a Mass for the Spanish speaking community for today's feastday. We had our meeting in a small side chapel, but we could hear the celebration going on next door in the main church--joyful singing, clapping and lots of cool mariachi music.

Many years ago, I was extremely blessed to be able to visit the basilica of Guadalupe in Mexico City and see the image close up, although I didn't appreciate it at the time. This was before my religious conversion and I was visiting the city as a tourist solely to have a good time and to see the many sights, the visit to the basilica (at the time) being just a side trip. I distinctly remember, however, reprobate heathen though I was at the time, being deeply impressed and affected. I can't help thinking now that God used this visit to eventually bring me close to him. There are other episodes in my earlier life that, in retrospect, also seem to have blessed me and prepared me (such when I first saw Pope John Paul II on Guam--but that's another story).

One thing that often annoys me is to see Our Lady's beautiful image in places that don't seem to give her honor. If you see it on a gang-banger's car or t-shirt or tatooed on his back or arm, you can't help but wonder how much of the religious significance of the image is impressed on the wearer. It's a fact that the image is in the minds of many of my fellow Mexican-Americans is as much (or more) a cultural icon as it it is religious.

I say it annoys me rather than angers me because I also know that there is a lot religious ignorance and at the same time good intention involved here. If these particular folks (most of them young men and women) weren't brought up with a good religious education, whose fault is that? Shouldn't those of us who know and love the Faith be doing more to bring the fullness of the truths of that Faith to those who desperately need to hear it?

******************************************************

UPTATE: The blog Whispers in the Logia has uploaded videos of several Guadalupe celebrations going on around the country. You can view the site here.

Encouragement For Christians During Tough Times

From St. Paul of the Cross:

"Now that the enemies of your soul have gathered about you, the time has come when God wants you to fight, trusting not in yourself but entrusting everything to him. Observe the spirits of the world, the flesh and the devil but never lose heart. Have courage and be of stout heart knowing that with Jesus Christ you shall have no need to fear. You have no need to tremble before anybody.

The cross is the way to paradise, but only when it is borne willingly. For now, rest sweetly in the company of your beloved spouse, Jesus. Never worry about hell. Never worry about anything in this world. Never worry about your own flesh but have no doubt that the Lord will allow you to be tempted. He will never abandon you , even though interiorly, in the inferior part of your soul, it may seem you are abandoned . . . "

(HT to Patrick Madrid)

Christmas is Coming: But Don't Neglect The Advent Season!

In case you missed it, yesterday (Sunday) was the First Sunday of Advent. I kind of had these grandiose ideas of putting up a profound and inspiring post for the beginning of the liturgical season of Advent but, what with the Thanksgiving traveling and all, I'm reduced to giving kind of a reminder/slash/roundup of all the resources that are available for the spiritually conscientious Christian to fruitfully prepare for the pinnacle of this season of preparation, Christmas Day (Advent isn't only a Catholic practice, by the way. Lutherans, Anglicans and many other Christians also observe some form of it).

I suspect that most of us aren't really clear on the significance of this special time in the Church's worship calender. Most of us are already stressing out about a single day at the end of December, the day of Christmas (now less than a month away). Oh sure, those of us who are regular or semi-regular communicants or church-goers are aware of something called Advent -- we see the purple and rose vestments and candles, the change in the emphasis of the prayers, readings and hymns -- but most of us might see it as just so much background clutter to distract us from the real work of preparing ourselves and our families for Christmas -- i.e., the shopping, cooking, eating, socializing and traveling business that leaves us worn out and broke (and, all to often, spiritually empty).

But, in fact, the Advent season is a time of (potentially) great spiritual growth and graces. It is something akin to the liturgical season of Lent (though not as penitential in tone) with it's Great Theme being the work of preparing our hearts for the coming of Christ. This is done on three levels: (1) Where we look with God's chosen people in the Old Testament toward the first coming of the Messiah, a coming that was fulfilled in Jesus Christ; (2) As we look forward to Christ's continuous coming into our lives every day as Lord and Savior; and (3) As we look forward in joyful hope to Jesus' Second Coming either at the end of time, or at the end of each of our earthly lives (whichever comes first). Advent is all about being a season of anticipation and fulfilment. Religiously speaking, in a very real sense, Christmas has very little meaning without Advent, any more than a trip to Disneyland is arguably less meaningful without the giddy air of expectation leading up to it.

Over at the blog of First Things, Joseph Bottum writes the essay that I would have liked to have written, The End of Advent. It is absolutely worth the read.

Having said all that, it's not to late to get into the spirit of things and start celebrating Advent now. As in today.

For more information about the origins of Advent, I'd recommend viewing this very informative post over at the Canterbury Tales blog, Top 10 Things to Know About Advent.

For information about Advent traditions you can celebrate with your family to make the season more spiritually fruitful (and fun), please see the article Catholic Traditions for Advent and Christmas.

A number of excellent resources for Advent can be found at Don Schwager's web page, Readings and Prayers for Advent.

A good way to prepare during Advent is to meditate on the daily Scripture readings from the Mass. You can find those at the website of the U.S. bishops. If you want to listen to some wonderful daily reflections on these readings, they can also be found at the bishop's site, or by downloading or subscribing to the daily Food For the Journey podcast by Sr. Ann Shields at Renewal Ministries.

I'll be posting more resources (and perhaps reflections) all through Advent. In the meantime, find a way to make this the most blessed, peaceful and spiritually fruitful Advent ever for you and yours, and be prepared to meet Our Lord with authentic joy on Christmas Day.

"Viva Cristo Rey!" -- The Martyrdom of Blessed Miguel Agustin Pro

Today, November 23, is the Feast Day (on the liturgical calendar of the Catholic Church) of Blessed Miguel Pro.

The life of Father Miguel Agustin Pro, a Catholic priest, had been as heroic as would be his martyrdom because of his love and faith in Jesus Christ. In losing his life for the sake of Christ, he exchanged his earthly life in hopes of attaining eternal life with God.

I. Blessed Miguel Pro's Life And Work

Born in Mexico, January 13, 1891, Miguel Pro grew up in a large family with six brothers and sisters. Inspired by two of his sisters who entered the religious life, Miguel at the age of twenty, prayed to God in order to learn what God's will was for his own life. Because of his great love for God, and his desire to follow His will, Miguel entered the Jesuit order at the Hacienda El Llano so that he might devote his life to the service of God.

Under the terror of the Mexican regime of the time of Calles' and Obergon's rule, came years of political and religious persecution. During this period, the Pro family suffered great great financial and personal hardship. Meanwhile, Miguel and the other novices of the Jesuit order were also under severe threat of persecution, as Catholic priests and religious were among the targets of the Mexican government reign of terror. After a raid of the religious' house, their superiors ordered Miguel and the other novices to escape from Mexico. Miguel's travels took him to diverse countries such as the U.S., Grenada, and eventually Belgium where he was ordained a priest on August 21, 1925. Even though his family could not be physically present at his ordination ceremony, Father Pro was spiritually present with them; blessing their individual photographs one by one.

Even though he sought to make his internal and physical turmoil hidden from those around him, Father Pro suffered great emotional pain over the constant worry he felt over his family and the physical pain which was caused by stomach troubles. Those around him even noted that at the times he felt the most pain; physical or emotional, that he would seem the most cheerful. Father Pro's physical health weakened despite several operations. In hopes of helping Father Pro to regain his health, his superiors granted his wish to return home to Mexico to be nearer to his family. Little did his superiors realise the extent of the trouble that the Church in Mexico faced.

.
In 1926, Father Pro returned to Mexico during the height of political terror; at a time in which the Catholic Church faced great opposition as a result of constitutional amendments and legislation which severely restricted public worship. Any Catholic priest who would dare to continue to serve the sacraments such as communion, baptism, confession, confirmation and marriage risked persecution, torture, arrest and even execution!

And so began Father Pro's adventure for God, evading police in any way possible in order that he might minister to the physical and spiritual needs of all people which included the poor, the rich, workers, laborers, business and even Socialists and Communists (who were often openly hostile to Catholic priests and the Church).Traveling via bicycle, and donning disguises such as that of a mechanic, a servant and even that of a cultured man of the world, he was able to carry out his duties for his people such as administering the sacraments and attending to the needs of people. In the spirit of Paul, the apostle, he literally became all things to all people for the sake of Christ. He won souls for Christ through prayer, humor and also through physical and spiritual aid.

While the solders and the police had their guns and rifles, Father Pro had the greatest of all weapons as he had once stated in reference to the crucifix: "Here is my weapon. With it along, I have no fear of anyone."

II. Father Pro's Martyrdom

"I am ready to give my life for souls, but I want nothing for myself. All that I want is to lead them to God. If I kept anything for myself, I should be a thief, infamous; I should no longer be a priest."

In November 1927, Father Pro, along with his brother Humberto, became the scapegoat for an assassination attempt on the corrupt future president. The government authorities linked the Pro brothers to the crime through an old used car that had belonged to one of the brothers. Even though the authorities were well aware of the fact that the brothers were innocent, they were both guilty for being Catholic priests. Because priests were considered to be enemies of the regime, the government had an ulterior motive for convicting Miguel and his brother. Without due process or trial, the brothers were condemned to die. Innocent of any crime, they were only guilty of being Catholic priests.

On the morning of November 23, 1927, Father Pro was led from his cell to the location of his execution. It did not matter to the police and soldiers that beyond the wall, within earshot, a man was shouting that he had in his hands a stay of execution that would free the brothers. The shouts were ignored and Father Pro was lead to his death. As they did so, one of the policemen responsible for his capture asked for his forgiveness which Father Pro freely gave. Just minutes before he was to be executed, Father Pro asked to be able to pray as a last request. During this short amount of time, he kneeled upon the hard, uncomfortable ground, near the bullet riddled wall where he would soon be executed. In submission to God's will, he accepted his fate, stood up, stretched his arms out wide in the shape of the cross in preparation for his death. After forgiving his executors, and as the squad raised its weapons, Father Pro shouted in a clear and loud voice : "Viva Cristo Rey!" (Which means "Long live Christ the King" in Spanish.) With humility and bravery, Father Pro met his martyrdom.

On September 25, 1988, Father Pro was beatified by Pope John Paul II. His feastday is November 23.

Source.

The Saints and the Beatitudes

This Sunday, November 1st, is celebrated as the Solemnity of All Saints in the Catholic liturgical calendar. It's one of my favorite feast days because it always calls to mind the great diversity of spirituality that is present in the Church. There's literally a Saint for every person's taste. If you are the intellectual type, we have great Saint-geniuses like Thomas Aquinas and Sr. Theresa Benedicta of the Cross (St. Edith Stein). If you prefer deeply mystical Saints, there is St. John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila. If the Saints that had more active apostolates are your thing, you can draw inspiration from Mother Teresa or St. Vincent de Paul.

Fr. Robert Barron, in his homily for All Saints Day, brings up the interesting idea that we should not only foster a devotion to those Saints to whom we feel an affinity, but we should try to get closer to others who we aren't particularly attracted to--or even feel an aversion to. For example, if you think that St. Therese of Liseuix was a little too sweet and girlish, perhaps you need to get to know her better. And if you can't get into St. Padre Pio because you think he is a little strange, all the more reason you should learn about him and even ask his intercession. The idea is that, since all of the canonized Saints have some kind of valid spirituality, perhaps these saints possess that facet of spiritualty that may be lacking in our own lives. In our daily lives, aren't we called to love those that we are not naturally attracted to (Matthew 5:43-48)? Perhaps this is a way of growing in that virtue.

At any rate, in honor of all of the Saints, those holy friends of God who have finished the good fight before us and are now cheering us to heavenly victory (Hebrews 12:1-2), here is the Litany of the Saints.

Also, the Gospel reading for this Sunday is Matthew 5:1-12, which features the Beatitudes. You can go to my weekly Bible Study discussing this and the other Sunday readings here. Also linked below is the best series of articles I know of on the Beatitudes. It is from the Rosary Light and Life page which maintains an on-line newsletter chock-full of high quality articles on just about every Catholic theological or spiritual subject you can think of. I highly recommend it!

The Beatitudes, Part one

The Beatitudes, Part two

The Beatitudes, Part three

The Beatitudes, Part four

The Beatitudes, Part five

The Beatitudes, Part six

The Beatitudes, Part seven

Throw Yourself Into the Fray!

One of the daily Mass readings for today is from chapter 8 of Paul's letter to the Romans. Here is the text:

[18] I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. [19] For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God;[20] for the creation was subjected to futility, not of its own will but by the will of him who subjected it in hope; [21] because the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to decay and obtain the glorious liberty of the children of God. [22] We know that the whole creation has been groaning in travail together until now;[23] and not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. [24] For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? [25] But if we hope for what we do not see,we wait for it in patience.

The Navarre Bible Commentary's note on verse 18 (highlighted above) is an awesome quote by St. Cyprian, which I thought I would share:

18. “Who is there then”, St Cyprian comments, “who will not strive to attain so great a glory, by making himself God’s friend, to rejoice immediately with Christ, to receive the divine rewards after the pains and sufferings of this life? If it is glorious for soldiers of this world to return to their fatherland victorious after defeatingthe enemy, how much greater and more pleasing glory will there not be, once thedevil is overcome, to return victorious to heaven [...]; to bear with one the trophies of victory [...]; to sit at God’s side when he comes to judge, to be a co-heir with Christ, to be made equal to the angels and to enjoy with the Patriarchs, with the Apostles and with the Prophets the possession of the Kingdom of heaven [...]. A spirit secure in these supernatural thoughts stays strong and firm, and is unmoved by the attacks of demons and the threats of this world, a spirit strengthened by a solid and confident faith in the future [...]. It leaves here with dignityand confidence, rejoicing in one moment to close its eyes which looked on men and the world, and to see God and Christ! [...]. These are the thoughts the mind should have, this is how it ought to reflect, night and day. If persecution finds God’s soldier prepared in this manner, there will be no power capable of overcoming a spirit so equipped for the struggle” (”Epist. ad Fortunatum”, 13).

Why We All Aren't Speaking Arabic: The Battle of Lepanto

This October was the 438th anniversary of an almost forgotten yet crucial battle in the defense of western civilization called the battle of Lepanto.

In 1571, The Turkish Ottoman empire was the superpower of the day. On land, the armies of the Turks, powered by slave soldiers known as Janisaries and with advanced weaponry and artillery carved its way through the Slovaks and eventually would reach the gates of Vienna. On the sea, Turkish galleys, powered by captured Christian slaves devastated mercantile commerce and raided coastal cities throughout the Mediterranean. Europe meanwhile remained divided and at war over territory and religion. Spain, the leading European power had recently overcome the Moors in the Reconquista and was expanding into the Americas. Venice was the commercial capital of Europe and held a monopoly over Mediterranean trade. From the papal states, Pope Pius V ruled as spiritual head over the Catholic nations of Europe, but it was threatened by the Protestant Reformation. In France, conflicts were breaking out, Britain was still a poor backward country that had become the cradle of Protestantism and waged piratical war against the Spanish and Portuguese trade in the new World.

What the Pope dreaded more was the spread of Islam by the sword over Europe. Over thirty years ago, Turkey laid siege to Malta and was narrowly driven back by an army of Crusader Knights and peasants. The stories of atrocities committed by the Turks ran shock waves throughout Europe. In 1570, the island of Cyprus was under siege by the Turks and would eventually fall 10 months later. Its commander, the Venetian Marcantonio Bragadino made a truce with the Turks for safe conduct of his army away from Cyprus when defeat was imminent. Marcantonio Bragadino however was unaware of the Islamic doctrine of Al-Taqyat, or lying for Allah. The Muslims violated the truce as soon as the gates opened, and the army of Greek and Venetian defenders were captured.

Michael Novak, esteemed historian and theologian documented what had happened afterwards. Bragadino was tied to a pole stripped naked and his nose and ears were cut off and he was humiliated in various other ways. In the end he was skinned alive. His skin was then stuffed with hay and kept in the sultan's quarters as a trophy. The Turks then slaughtered many of the inhabitants, forcing the rest to convert to Islam. The men were taken to be slaves on galleys, the women and children taken away to be slaves in the harem. The old and weak were killed.

Emboldened, the Ottomans repeated this in Greece and elsewhere. Pope Pius V had attempted to unite Europe against the Turks by forming a Holy League. Time and time again he failed but with the fall of Cyprus and increased attacks the League began to come about. In addition to this, spies had uncovered a ghastly plot by the Turkish Armada lead by Ali-Pasha to invade Italy. With the help of Don Juan of Austria, the son of the Holy Roman Emperor who would be destined to lead the attack, the League came together. The Holy League consisted of Spain, Venice, Savoy, Sicily, Malta and Genoa with the Vatican as head of the alliance. Admiral Marcantonio Colona was commissioned by the Pope to command the fleet. Colona had been a veteran of the war in Cyprus and was one of the few to escape. He was ordered by the Pope to set up an armada in the name of the Cross. This was to be a holy war; war to save Europe from the clutches of Islamic imperialism.

Don Juan and many of his men spent much of the night before battle in prayer. The fate of their civilization, they knew, depended on their good fortune on the morrow. The uncertainties of the changing winds and choppy seas, and the speed of the two onrushing lines of ships rapidly closing on each other, would erupt in unpredictable havoc. The odds against the Christians in ships were something like 350 ships to 250. But the Christians had a secret weapon.

In Venice and elsewhere, new innovations in naval warfare were being constructed. Among these was the Gallease, a new galley warship that was large with mounted swivel cannons. Its height made it resistant to boarding and its new cannons made it devastating. The Turks, though outnumbering the Holy League 3 to 1 could not keep up with the European mode of invention.

In the end, Don Juan and Colona organized 206 galleys and 6 galleases. This fleet of the Christian alliance was manned by 12,920 sailors. In addition, it carried almost 28,000 fighting troops: 10,000 Spanish regular infantry of excellent quality, 7,000 German and 6,000 Italian mercenaries, and 5,000 Venetian soldiers. Also, Venetian oarsmen were mainly free citizens and were able to bear arms adding to the fighting power of their ship, whereas slaves and convicts were used to row many of the galleys in other Holy League squadrons. Don Juan had also promised the galley rowers who were criminals their freedom if they succeeded.

The Ottomans armada consisted of 222 war galleys, 56 galleys, and some smaller vessels. The Turks had skilled and experienced crews of sailors, but were somewhat deficient in the number of their elite corps of Janissaries. They made up for it with 13,000 sailors and 34,000 soldiers. The slaves below were mainly Christian prisoners of war, some from the recent conquest of Cyprus. An important and arguably decisive advantage for the Christians was their numerical superiority in guns and cannons aboard their ships. It is estimated the Christians had 1,815 guns, while the Turks had only 750 with insufficient ammunition. They instead trusted on bowmen.

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Note: Few historians mention that just before the departure, Philip II (King of Spain) presented Don Juan with a picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe which she had caused to be miraculously imprinted on the cloak of the Indian peasant Juan Diego in Mexico 40 years before. Don Juan placed the picture in the chapel of the admiral-vessel, asking for Mary's protection of his expedition.

The Holy fleet departed from the Greek Island of Corfu and made its way to the Gulf of Lepanto. Ali Pasha was very confident of victory and brought with him his entire fortune including his Harem. The two forces met on October 7th 1571. Don Juan began by sailing his Gallease at full speed towards the heart of the Ottoman armada, breaking it in half. The other gallease' were placed in the front and used to attack the enemy galleys, sinking two initially. The vast majority of fighting however involved boarding other ships. Witnesses stated that the sea was blood red from the fighting. there were also dead bodies and turbans floating in the water. One of the biggest advantages to the outnumbered Christians was the christian slaves aboards the Turkish galleys. Sensing their chance for freedom, most of them joined the fighting, using their chains as weapons.

During the course of the battle, the Ottoman commander's ship was boarded and the Spanish tercios from 3 galleys and the Turkish janissaries from seven galleys fought on the deck of the Sultana. Twice the Spanish were repelled with great loss, but at the third attempt, with reinforcements, they prevailed. Ali Pasha was killed and beheaded, against the wishes of Don Juan. However, when his head was displayed on a pike from the Spanish flagship, it contributed greatly to the destruction of Turkish morale. Even after the battle had clearly turned against the Turks, groups of Janissaries still kept fighting with all they had. It is said that at some point the Janissaries ran out of weapons and started throwing oranges and lemons at their Christian adversaries, leading to awkward scenes of laughter among the general misery of battle.

The battle concluded around 4 pm. The Turkish fleet suffered the loss of about 210 ships of which 117 galleys, 10 galliots and three fustas were captured and in good enough condition for the Christians to keep. On the Christian side 20 galleys were destroyed and 30 were damaged so seriously that they had to be scuttled. One Venetian galley was the only prize kept by the Turks; all others were abandoned by them and recaptured. The Holy League had suffered around 7,500 soldiers, sailors and rowers dead, but freed about as many Christian prisoners. Turkish casualties were around 25,000, and at least 3,500 were captured.

The engagement was a crushing defeat for the Ottomans, who had not lost a major naval battle since the fifteenth century. To half of Christendom, this event encouraged hope for the downfall of Islam which they regarded as the "Enemy of the Christian." Indeed, the Empire lost all but 30 of its ships and as many as 30,000 men, and some Western historians have held it to be the most decisive naval battle anywhere on the globe since the Battle of Actium of 31BC.

The Ottomans ships were easily replaced, yet it proved much harder to man them, since so many experienced sailors, oarsmen and soldiers had been lost. Especially critical was the loss of most of the Empire's composite bowmen and jannisaries which, far beyond ship rams and early firearms were the Ottoman's main embarked weapon. Historian John Keegan notes that the losses in this highly specialised class of warrior were irreplaceable in a generation, and in fact represented the death of a living tradition for the Ottomans. Convicts also replaced Christians in the galleys.

In Europe, news of the victory was met with great jubilation. Throughout Europe, church bells tolled and there were great celebrations. The victory had been greater than any had hoped for.

Following the battle there were plans by the Vatican to invade Turkey herself, unfortunately, the nations of the Holy League once again began to fight amongst each other and plans were abandoned. After Lepanto the Holy League and other nations and alliances fought further wars and conflicts against Islamic Turkey. Some were victories, some defeats.

Efforts by archeologists to uncover the remains of the battle of Lepanto have unfortunately met with disappointment. The area where much of the battle was fought has receeded. The coast has moved outward. Much of the battleground is now farm land. Other coastal sites have been disturbed over the centuries by Greek fishing trollers, athough some wrecks were found by German and Spanish Archeologists.

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, the man who would later write Don Quixote participated in the battle of Lepanto. He lost an arm in the battle and was captured by Algerian corsairs years later where he spent 5 years as a slave before being ransomed. The events of Don Quixote such as the freeing of galley slaves were inspired by Lepanto.

As news of the great victory of October 7 reached shore, church bells rang all over the cities and countryside of Europe. For months, Pius V [who was canonized a saint in 1712] had urged Catholics to say the daily rosary on behalf of the morale and good fortune of the Christian forces, and above all, a successful outcome to the highly risky preemptive strike against the Turkish fleets. Thereafter, he declared that October 7 would be celebrated as the feast of "Mary, Queen of Victory." A later pope added the title "Queen of the Holy Rosary" in honor of the laity's favorite form of prayer. All over the Italian peninsula, great paintings were commissioned--whole galleries were dedicated--to honoring the classic scenes of that epic battle. The air of Europe that October tasted of liberties preserved. The record of the celebrations lives on in glorious paintings by Titian, Tintoretto, and many others.

[Slightly edited for spelling and grammar; Source: Free Republic, Catholic Caucus, Daily Mass Readings, October 15, 2009]

To see historian Michael Novak's much more comprehensive (and fascinating) article on this, click here. Novak notes that the Muslims went on to suffer a decisive (at the time) defeat in Europe at Vienna on September 11, 1683. He ends his article with these words:

Still, it should surprise no one that the date chosen to bring the new resurgence of modern Muslim ambition to the whole world's attention was also September 11, 318 years after 1683. The announcement came in the vivid orange bursts of blossoming flame and dark black smoke from two of the tallest towers of the West's financial capital. Muslim memory runs very deep, and so does the Muslim imperative to conquer the world for Allah, not just by force of arms but by conversion to Islam. The West has always refused to give this long and deeply rooted Muslim threat against the West's own soul the sustained attention it requires.

Nonetheless, four centuries after Lepanto, three centuries after Vienna, today in most of the capitals of once-Christian Europe, there are more Muslims attending services in mosques on Fridays, than Christians at worship on Sundays. In some ways, the pluralism of the West is a blessing, even an advantage to the West--and yet its profoundest historical weakness lies in its own divided spirit. The ultimate issue between Islam and the West is not military force. It is the depth of intellect and engagement. In matters of the spirit, we seem always to become tongue-tied, as if lacking in spirited confidence. We do not insist on presenting better arguments in recognition of the inalienable rights to human liberty that our totalitarian opponents deny. Mere secular force will not do, when the fundamental battle is spiritual. Thus, the same movie seems to be played over and over.

That is the historical record, it seems, at least in regard to October 7, 1571, and September 11-12, 1683, after Lepanto, and after Vienna.

Why The Original "The Wizard of Oz" Would Never Be Released Today

The family all sat down last night to watch the newly re-mastered version of the 1939 classic MGM movie "The Wizard of Oz." When I was a kid, the film came on television once a year around Christmas time and was always a big deal. This was in the days before YouTube, satellite, cable, Blu-Ray, DVD or even VCR and if you missed it that once a year, you had to wait until the next time they showed it. Out of luck, kid; see you next year.

Anyway we all thoroughly enjoyed it as we always do. The picture and sound quality were, of course, much improved, but we mostly just delighted in the usual things that make it worth watching again and again - the wonderful music, the slightly over-the-top performances, the comic timing, and the heart-touching overall message: there's no place like home.

It's common to hear (mostly older) people say "They sure don't make movies like they used to," and that's inarguably true. But why is that? Has society or our tastes --even in so-called "family films" --become more 'sophisticated' (i.e. 'cynical')? Have our tastes become more 'adult' (i.e. crude and vulgar, with the mocking of innocence and idealism)? Do we prefer more 'realism' in our media (i.e. explicit sex and gratuitous violence)?

Perhaps so; but must it be so for us as individuals? Just because the prevailing culture has evolved (or devolved) in this way, do we just lower ourselves and conform our characters to it by lowering them as well? Or, maybe we are living uneasily within our culture, but we still just throw up our hands in defeat, roll over, and go with the flow. Any dead fish can float downstream, but it takes a live fish to swim against the current.

Anyway, here are the top ten reasons why the original 'The Wizard of Oz" would not be produced and released in theaters today:

1. No profanity or cruel insults between characters.

2. No nudity (not even skin tight clothes or exposed cleavage!).

3. No sexual situations, even implied.

4. No bathroom humor.

5. No political correctness (there were 'people of color' but they were green).

6. The characters evidently embraced tradtional family values; at any rate they did not mock them.

7. No gratuitous violence.

8. Adult Males were not portrayed as hopeless idiots in contrast to women and children who always know better.

9. Religion was not bashed. In fact Auntie Em proclaimed herself a 'Christian woman' (GASP!)

10. No huge financial killing was evidently envisioned in the form of merchandising and endless sequels and spin-offs.

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Despite all these shortcomings, this film has been a beloved classic for 70 years. Will people 70 years from now be able to say the same thing about the last movie you saw in a theater?

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(For more thoughts on "The Wizard of Oz," see Deal Hudson's blog, found here.)

So Much To Blog, So Little Time

Sorry about the paucity of new blogs this week. I'm working on a brand new presentation for this week's Beginning Apologetics series I'm teaching, and it's taking all my time. Hopefully next week-end things'll be less crazy.

The classes themselves are going well. We started out with about 40 folks ten weeks ago, and are now down to about 20 faithful souls. There is usually some attrition in every religious exercise of this sort (think the parable of the sower, Luke 8:4-15), but this class has stayed strong. There are a LOT of great folks attending with good hearts and sharp minds, and I really enjoy their questions and participation. I'll be glad to be taking a breather after the last class (in two weeks), but I know I'll be looking to get started on something else.

Just The Facts, Ma'am!

Sgt. Joe Friday of "Dragnet" fame schools President Obama in this video.

Today is the Feast Day of Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

HT to my friend Leslie for the reminder.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta, the tiny woman recognized throughout the world for her work among the poorest of the poor, was beatified October 19, 2003. Among those present were hundreds of Missionaries of Charity, the Order she founded in 1950 as a diocesan religious community. Today the congregation also includes contemplative sisters and brothers and an order of priests.

Speaking in a strained, weary voice at the beatification Mass, Pope John Paul II declared her blessed, prompting waves of applause before the 300,000 pilgrims in St. Peter's Square. In his homily, read by an aide for the aging pope, the Holy Father called Mother Teresa “one of the most relevant personalities of our age” and “an icon of the Good Samaritan.” Her life, he said, was “a bold proclamation of the gospel.”

Mother Teresa's beatification, just over six years after her death, was part of an expedited process put into effect by Pope John Paul II. Like so many others around the world, he found her love for the Eucharist, for prayer and for the poor a model for all to emulate.
Born to Albanian parents in what is now Skopje, Macedonia (then part of the Ottoman Empire), Gonxha (Agnes) Bojaxhiu was the youngest of the three children who survived. For a time, the family lived comfortably, and her father's construction business thrived. But life changed overnight following his unexpected death.

During her years in public school Agnes participated in a Catholic sodality and showed a strong interest in the foreign missions. At age 18 she entered the Loreto Sisters of Dublin. It was 1928 when she said goodbye to her mother for the final time and made her way to a new land and a new life. The following year she was sent to the Loreto novitiate in Darjeeling, India. There she chose the name Teresa and prepared for a life of service. She was assigned to a high school for girls in Calcutta, where she taught history and geography to the daughters of the wealthy. But she could not escape the realities around her—the poverty, the suffering, the overwhelming numbers of destitute people.

In 1946, while riding a train to Darjeeling to make a retreat, Sister Teresa heard what she later explained as “a call within a call. The message was clear. I was to leave the convent and help the poor while living among them.” She also heard a call to give up her life with the Sisters of Loreto and, instead, to “follow Christ into the slums to serve him among the poorest of the poor.”
After receiving permission to leave Loreto, establish a new religious community and undertake her new work, she took a nursing course for several months. She returned to Calcutta, where she lived in the slums and opened a school for poor children. Dressed in a white sari and sandals (the ordinary dress of an Indian woman) she soon began getting to know her neighbors—especially the poor and sick—and getting to know their needs through visits.

The work was exhausting, but she was not alone for long. Volunteers who came to join her in the work, some of them former students, became the core of the Missionaries of Charity. Other helped by donating food, clothing, supplies, the use of buildings. In 1952 the city of Calcutta gave Mother Teresa a former hostel, which became a home for the dying and the destitute. As the Order expanded, services were also offered to orphans, abandoned children, alcoholics, the aging and street people.

For the next four decades Mother Teresa worked tirelessly on behalf of the poor. Her love knew no bounds. Nor did her energy, as she crisscrossed the globe pleading for support and inviting others to see the face of Jesus in the poorest of the poor. In 1979 she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. On September 5, 1997, God called her home.

Source: AmericanCatholic.org

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There are so many to choose from, but here are some of my favorite quotes from Mother Teresa:

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Even the rich are hungry for love, for being cared for, for being wanted, for having someone to call their own.

Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat.

Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do... but how much love we put in that action.

Jesus said love one another. He didn't say love the whole world.

In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love.

If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one.

It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish.

I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much.

Take My Duh Vinci Code -- Please!

Da Vinci Code author 'most donated'

His new novel is tipped to set new global sales records - but Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown's works have been revealed as the books most likely to be offloaded to secondhand shops.
Brown has been named the "most donated" author in a survey of the nation's Oxfam shops as people discard his bestsellers.

But there is some comfort for both the charity and the author, whose much-anticipated book The Lost Symbol is released next month. He is also the second most sought-after writer at Oxfam shops.

Topping the best-seller list at the 700 branches is Ian Rankin, known for his hugely popular Inspector Rebus series.

Rankin is also the third most donated author. He said: "It's always good for an author to know that their books are popular. With Oxfam, it's also heartening to realise that each book donated and bought is helping such a worthwhile organisation."

The publishing world is currently gearing up for a sales frenzy with the release of Brown's fifth novel on September 15. An e-book version will be released simultaneously and the book has an initial English language print run of 6.5 million copies globally.

The Da Vinci Code has the distinction of being the biggest selling paperback of all time in the UK, and Brown has sold more than 11.7 million copies of his books since he was first published in 2003.

I've noticed this myself, how in used bookstores there is a preponderance of these books that people have offloaded. Gee, if it was such a great book, wouldn't you think people would want to hang on to it?

I didn't have this problem, of course, since, not wanting to put money into Dan Brown's pocket, I simply borrowed it from the library. As it was, the book was so eye-rollingly badly written I was still tempted to ask for my money back.

Tattoo Me?

What is the Catholic perspective on "gettin' a 'tat"?

Catholic apologist Patrick Madrid, over on his blog site has resurrected an old Envoy Magazine article on the topic of body art called Tattoo You?

My personal take is that this is an area that is one that is mostly a matter of taste rather than morality (unless, of course, the tattoos have immoral subject matter or the piercings are tied in to perverted sexual activity. The less said about that the better.) While not passing judgement on any one who has tattoos or piercings, I would never get one myself. In my opinion, unless one belongs to some traditional native culture or even a modern cultural sub-group (like bikers, Marines, sailors or circus tattoed ladies) which have always used tattoos as a rite of passage or a symbol of group identity, the practice strikes me (again, personally) as vain and a little juvenile. And when it comes to my fellow males, especially, body art and piercings just seems --well, effeminate. Somewhat akin to the 18th century fad of wearing a powdered wig, except without the lice. This might be news to those guys who think (even subconsciously) that getting a tatto makes them tough but, honestly, how tough could it be if you have a bunch of pre-teen girls getting them left and right?

Farewell To An Unsung Hero

This week the firefighting community of the greater Phoenix area said farewell to one of our own. Salt River Battalion Chief and Fire Marshal Frank Molina was a 20 year fire service veteran who was a major figure here in the Valley of the Sun, especially in the Fire Prevention profession. Not only did he work diligently (even through his illness) to make the community a safer place for all, he was simply one of the nicest, most knowledgable and most helpful guys most of us ever had the honor to work with.

A blogger in the local paper had a very nice write-up on him:

The funeral procession brought our office to a standstill.
Fire truck after fire truck passed. There were ambulances, waves of flashing lights. Virtually every Valley fire department was represented.
The procession took about 10 minutes to pass.
As the audience multiplied at my second-story window, so did the questions. Who died? Was it someone killed in the line of duty? Someone we'd all recognize? What did we miss?
After checking the obits and making some calls, we learned the procession was in honor of Frank Molina, a long-time battalion chief and fire marshal for the Salt River-Pima Maricopa Indian Community. He died last Monday of cancer at the all-too-young age of 41.
I didn't know Molina, but apparently, a lot of folks did. He was a 20-year fire veteran who spent more than half of his career at Salt River. He was well respected around the Valley for his emergency management and fire prevention efforts, and about 1,000 people were expected to attend his funeral today at St. Timothy's Catholic Church in Mesa.
Despite an attention-getting procession down Baseline Road, it's possible that Molina won't make the 5 o'clock news. Heroes pass away every day, but sadly, we only seem to cover the ones who die in burning buildings or during high-stakes pursuits.
But I know of at least a dozen folks who were mesmerized, at least for a few minutes, by who could possibly be in that hearse. Must have been a great man, I heard one say.
Yep. And he's not alone.
There are countless Frank Molinas out there, great men and women who spend their lives helping others. Not because they expect any big procession out of it, but because they feel it's the right thing to do.

http://www.azcentral.com/members/Blog/JoannaAllhands/58871

God speed, Frank. We'll miss you big guy.

Characters of the Reformation

Now that I'm on vacation, I finally got a chance to crack open a book that's been sitting on my nightstand for about a year (and I do mean literally crack open, since this book came wrapped tightly in plastic shrink-wrap so that it was impossible to peek inside and get a preview without damaging the "newness" of it.). Anyway, when I finally did open it this week, I was disappointed to see that it covered, not the ususal Continental Reformation figures like Luther, Calvin and Zwingli, but exclusively characters of the English Reformation -- Henry VIII, Elizabeth I, Mary Tudor, Thomas Cromwell, etc, etc. My disappointment quickly waned, however, once I started reading the book, and I have scarcely been able to put it down since. Hilaire Belloc has long been one of my favorite writers and the accounts he gives of these historical figures is just fascinating. Here is the Product Description from the publisher:

Perhaps the most fascinating book ever written by this great Catholic historian. Here in bold, living colors Belloc sketches the destructive results of the greed, lust, weakness, tenacity, blindness, fear and indecision of 23 famous men and women of the Protestant Reformation period, analyzing their strengths, mistakes, motives and deeds which changed the course of history. Belloc cites Anne Boleyn, not the weak-willed Henry VIII as the "pivot figure" of the English Reformation, for it was her iron will to be Queen which started the movement. He describes Cromwell, the monastery looter and destroyer, as "the true creator of the English Reformation." He shows how the crafty William Cecil accomplished the task of "digging up the Catholic Faith by the roots" and "crushing out the Mass from English soil." Belloc also highlights the fatal error of Cardinal Richelieu in putting France before Catholicism and thus torpedoing Europe's last great chance of keeping Christendom united. Belloc warns that this breakup of Christendom may still destroy our Christian civilization. Even those who think they do not like history will be unable to put this book down. Brings history vividly to life!

Belloc's main thesis in this book is that, if the English Reformation had failed -- and it had every opportunity to do so -- Protestantism as a movement would have quickly died out. Once England went Protestant and placed it's newly found naval and trading power behind it, it could not help but quickly aid in the spread of Protestant influence.

Of course Belloc writes as a Catholic, so not all will agree with his analysis of history, but it is a refreshing counterbalance to other versions of this history we are used to hearing, first in school, and as foisted upon us by the popular media, especially in such laughable movies as "Elizabeth."