Weekend Kneeler Jeopardy

After last week's toughie, here's more of a softball. Found it in a book I was browsing through at Barnes and Noble.

Category: Saints and sinners

This saint may be the only one with a notarized police record for nighttime brawling with an intent to inflict serious harm.

St. Alex says, please place your answer in the form of a question in the combox, and say a few Hail Marys while you wait for the answer to be revealed.

Demerits for using Google and other sneaky searches. Educated guesses are welcome and encouraged. Good luck!!

The first correct answer in the form of a question wins the highly coveted WKJ ribbon to display on your blog, cubicle or refrigerator door.

Weekend Kneeler Jeopardy

Looks like it's going to be a glorious weekend around here!!! Have a good one.

Category: Those little town blues

These three counties in the Empire State are named after Catholic monarchs.

St. Alex says, please place your answer in the form of a question in the combox, and say a few Hail Marys while you wait for the answer to be revealed.

Demerits for using Google and other sneaky searches. Educated guesses are welcome and encouraged. Good luck!!

The first correct answer in the form of a question wins the highly coveted WKJ ribbon to display on your blog, cubicle or refrigerator door.

I'll live with wrinkles

Abortion in U.S. a $1 billion industry: study
May 4th, 2010
By Rick DelVecchio

Abortion in the United States has become a $1 billion-a-year industry quietly fostered over 40 years by a climate that is allowing related, morally suspect commercial offshoots to develop in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and life sciences, a new study alleges.

The author, Vicki Evans, Respect Life coordinator for the Archdiocese of San Francisco's Office of Public Policy and Social Concerns, says the legal ethic of abortion has become a "pervasive cultural ethos of abortion, reaching far beyond the immediate abortion participants to tarnish the very industries originally intended to benefit humanity."

"Legal and widespread abortion has made possible a host of clandestine business practices that thrive under the radar of the American populace," Evans says in a synopsis of her 72-page study. "Regulation and transparency are often avoided because of ideological fears of limiting access to abortion or of inviting scrutiny by opposing ideological groups. Thus, the commercialization of human beings as commodities persists."

Evans says abortion and its offshoots represent exploitation of the weak and vulnerable -- "the worst brand of injustice."

Evans wrote her study, "Commercial Markets Created by Abortion: Profiting From the Fetal Distribution Chain," as her thesis for her licentiate in bioethics from the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical University in Rome. She recently graduated summa cum laude.

A certified public accountant, Evans used her financial background to follow the money trail in the abortion industry and related businesses.

“I wanted to come up with a body of knowledge that nobody else had thought of before,” she told Catholic San Francisco. “In following the money and seeing who gets paid for what and how much they get paid, and how unregulated these areas are, I found a lot of facts that a lot of people wouldn’t have noticed or wouldn’t have thought to look for.”

Among Evans' findings:

-- There were 1,787 abortion providers in the United States in 2005.

-- Planned Parenthood Federation of America’s abortion market share grew from 12% in 1997 to nearly 25% in 2008.

-- “PPFA presents a comprehensive case study on how business evolves to capitalize on changes in the law and the prevailing culture": During the 1990 through 2008 election cycles, the abortion industry made political contributions of $15.76 million. Of this amount, $12.61 million, or 80%, went to abortion-supportive Democrats running for office.

-- The predominant industries engaged in fetal tissue research are part of the emerging life-science industry: the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and biologics sectors. Commercial use of fetal tissue has historically revolved around the production of childhood vaccines but is now expanding into vaccines to treat flu, HIV and more.

-- The cosmetics industry, particularly the anti-aging market segment, is a beneficiary of the growth of abortion. From miracle creams and emulsions developed using fetal-cell technologies, to face lifts and cosmetic procedures injecting aborted fetal tissue to promote youth and vitality, this business sector has an “enormous and increasing demand” for fetal cells and organs."

-- A fetal parts industry could not have developed without a legal and protected abortion structure. Millions of fetuses that are by-products of abortion cannot technically be bought and sold, but a market does exist

Evans concludes with an appeal to the dignity of life over utiliitarian considerations.

“Natural law dictates that there is something exceptional about man,” she writes. “The commercialization of human beings as commodities is contrary to the law written in his heart. The moral law does indeed have a bearing on the just ordering of society. When morality is excluded from a civil society, the weak and vulnerable are easily exploited for the benefit of the strong and powerful. This is the worst brand of injustice. It deserves to be brought to light.”

Text of Vicki Evans' thesis on abortion industry
May 8th, 2010
ATHENAEUM PONTIFICIUM REGINA APOSTOLORUM
Faculty of Bioethics
"Commercial Markets Created by Abortion: Profiting from the Fetal Distribution Chain"

(The text at this link ends abruptly...anyone know where the rest is?)

Rock of ages

Cleft into innumerable bits


The older I get the more I understand that since I've been a Catholic all my life, not necessarily always a good or practicing Catholic mind you, but raised and surrounded by Catholics and constantly confirming my belief in the Church as an adult, I realize that I cannot fully see things from any other perspective, specifically relating to my in-laws. It's hard to put my finger on it; I will never have the perspective of a non-Catholic.

To sum it up, since faith and reason are united in Truth, why don't my in-laws move in my direction? Why, quite recently, would a close relation proudly proclaim his desire to leave the Church to become a Lutheran pastor? Why would he think, telling me a Catholic from beginning and to hopeful end, I would react with anything but sadness?

It seems my relative considers himself a "cultural Catholic" because he's never been the practicing sort. But, he's still a Catholic, which places him in an entirely different category than the rest. I've prayed for my proverbial big ol' snow-covered dung hill of Lutheran in-laws, but even though I can't completely understand how they can turn off (or have killed as Father Corapi would warn) the nudgings that I'm certain they receive from their consciences, I expected more from this particular relative -- a move towards Rome instead of away.

Not until I started reading Karl Keating's, Catholicism and Fundamentalism - The Attack on Romanism by Bible Christians*, did I understand more clearly why this in-law's revelation, despite us not being extremely close, so disturbed me. It was the feeling of betrayal, the sense of loss, and the sadness.

What few practicing Catholics can imagine is that they might chuck Catholicism for something like fundamentalism, to which they are not drawn at all. Still, they know that people of their acquaintance, people from their own parishes, have made the transition, and are seemingly none the worse for wear. These former Catholics function the same way on the job, and shop at the same malls. They seem largely unchanged by their newfound faith.

Despite that, their conversion is taken as a betrayal because it is a denial. A change to Eastern Orthodoxy or Anglo-Catholicism is more an adjustment than a real switch; even becoming a lapsed Catholic makes sense, since it is a matter of letting spiritual indolence take control. But fundamentalism? To embrace it is to reject Catholicism outright, because fundamentalism does not just modify, but discards, the sacramental and liturgical core of Catholicism. One might as well subscribe to an obscure Eastern cult. To most Catholics, that would be just as sensible.

My in-law told me he would "always appreciate his (soon-to-be discarded) Catholic Faith." To me this is completely nonsensical and there's not even a good analogy for it. Possibly, "I will always appreciate the medicine that saves me from illness but I choose not to refill the prescription?"

But it didn't stop there.

"God is calling me to be a Lutheran pastor and I'm going to bring people to Jesus. You have to appreciate that God is calling me to do this."

Further, the notion that we, as a collective of Christians, have to evangelize others against "Islam."

Since this was all a shot across the bow, I was totally unprepared. As Karl Keating also said, knowing how to argue is just as important as knowing what to argue. I think I failed on both counts. However, I didn't stay on the ropes.

On the Islam point, I explained that Mohammedism and Protestantism were both heresies and talked about how the Pope is meant to be a bridge builder. (I didn't mention that if all of united Christendom didn't eliminate the heresy of Mohammedism centuries ago, why would he think that a bunch of disparate Christians would fare any better today.)

I also told him that I completely disagreed with his desire to leave the Church and that God would never lead him away from the fullness of Truth. To the comment meant to get some concession out of me about "appreciating" his path, I told him I didn't have to appreciate anyone leaving the Church. As his in-law and fellow Christian I would love him and always pray for him, but in no way did I appreciate this endeavor.

Not the most charitable, probably not the most efficacious, but not completely milque-toast. If God wants me to do any apologetics, He's going to have to provide all of it for me, every last drop.




*This is not to equate Lutherans with fundamentalists

Photo translation from Bulgarian (so it said): This is not a dung-hill. Violators will be fined

New Blog

Amentior, it's like a box of chocolates, you never know what you're gonna get.

After the Weekend Kneeler Jeopardy

Somehow the days are getting away from me. Didn't have a chance to come up with a Jeopardy question last Friday, so am sneaking one in today.

Category: The Heavens

Established in 1891, the Vatican Observatory was involved in "more than four decades astronomical research, which included a prominent international program to map the whole sky, was carried out in the shadow of St. Peter's, but it eventually became obvious that the urban growth of the Eternal City was brightening the sky to such an extent that the fainter stars could no longer be studied." Because of this, during the 1930s, it was moved to this present location.

St. Alex says, please place your answer in the form of a question in the combox, and say a few Hail Marys while you wait for the answer to be revealed.

Demerits for using Google and other sneaky searches. Educated guesses are welcome and encouraged. Good luck!!

The first correct answer in the form of a question wins the highly coveted WKJ ribbon to display on your blog, cubicle or refrigerator door.

Existentialism

The ramblings of a six year old after he watched the DVD of The Land Before Time.

"How can there be a land before time? The earth didn't exist before time."

I'm in over my head with him.

4th of July Weekend Kneeler Jeopardy

Hope you are all having a wonderful 4th of July weekend. Sorry this is a bit late. The WKJ question this weekend should be about American history, but the best I can do right now...British History.

Category: British Steel

This English king, crowned while returning from Crusade, had at least two well-known nick-names. One of them similar to the nick-name of Charles Martel (see prior WKJ question for a hint). This king dealt with rebellion of his barons and expelled Jews from his realm.

You need to provide the king's name and his two well known nick-names

St. Alex says, please place your answer in the form of a question in the combox, and say a few Hail Marys for this last week of the Year for Priests while you wait for the answer to be revealed.

Demerits for using Google and other sneaky searches. Educated guesses are welcome and encouraged. Good luck!!

The first correct answer in the form of a question wins the highly coveted WKJ ribbon to display on your blog, cubicle or refrigerator door.

All Seasons

I just finished watching A Man for All Seasons, about the conflict between St. Thomas More and Henry VIII. It was a good movie to watch while sick in bed. The kids even sat and watched it with me.

As you know, Sir Thomas More refused to swear an oath to King Henry’s supremacy in England over the Church and to the validity of his divorce and remarriage.

Some of the lines from the movie stuck with me...

Speaking to his beloved daughter, Meg, as she pleads with him to take the oath to save his life:

Listen, Meg, God made the angels to show Him splendor, as He made animals for innocence and plants for their simplicity. But Man He made to serve Him wittily, in the tangle of his mind. If He suffers us to come to such a case that there is no escaping, then we may stand to our tackle as best we can, and, yes, Meg, then we can clamor like champions, if we have the spittle for it. But it's God's part, not our own, to bring ourselves to such a pass. Our natural business lies in escaping. If I can take the oath, I will.

And, to his biographer and son-in-law-to-be:

William Roper: So, now you give the Devil the benefit of law!
Sir Thomas More: Yes! What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?
William Roper: Yes, I'd cut down every law in England to do that!
Sir Thomas More: Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned 'round on you, where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country is planted thick with laws, from coast to coast, Man's laws, not God's! And if you cut them down, and you're just the man to do it, do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I'd give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety's sake!

St. Thomas More is a saint I really like but then don't totally understand. I recently read More's Utopia, which wobbles back and forth between communistic ideas and a criticism of the same. I'd like to think I knew where More stood, but the questions will have to remain until I can reread the book or my kids get old enough to explain it to me.

Done with VBS Weekend Kneeler Jeopardy

Have a good weekend everyone!!

Category: Unintended consequences

It wasn't until the late 18th century that this country was significantly exposed to Catholicism. A group, which later included three priests, none of them missionaries tasked to preach, settled here and Catholicism began to spread. Currently, slightly over a quarter of this country's population is Catholic.

St. Alex says, please place your answer in the form of a question in the combox, and say a few Hail Marys for this last week of the Year for Priests while you wait for the answer to be revealed.

Demerits for using Google and other sneaky searches. Educated guesses are welcome and encouraged. Good luck!!

The first correct answer in the form of a question wins the highly coveted WKJ ribbon to display on your blog, cubicle or refrigerator door.

Half way there

Sister joked this morning when she saw me that I returned for another day of Vacation Bible School.

Here's our crew.

With it being so hot this week, I'm glad I'm not in a habit. One upside, this year they have special snacks for the teachers. I think it's meant as a bribe. No animal crackers for this gal.

Same time next year

I was talking with my brother-in-law's mother over the weekend and somehow the topic of First Communion came up. Next year my son, God-willing, will receive his First Holy Communion. She mentioned that when she was growing up all the neighbor ladies would take turns bringing a ham baked in bread to the family of the First Communicant. I had never heard of it before. The best I can tell, it's an Eastern European thing. I think I may make one of these next Spring.

Both my Irish and German sides didn't have any First Communion traditions that were handed down to my generation. Heck, no photos even exist of my First Communion. That's what happens when you're at the tail-end of almost 60 first cousins...handed down dress, no glow-in-the-dark rosaries as gifts, no ham and no photos.

Smatterings on Monday

With Vacation Bible School this week, things will be pretty busy and blog posts limited. Add to that music and guitar lessons for my son, along with meetings nearly every night this week. I hope to at least limp across the finish line on Friday.

This weekend we were at a high school graduation. Of course, the kids were off playing with the small group of other kids that were there.

We had been there about an hour when the new little playmate of my daughter's came running up to me. She was very intent on talking to me. Her reaction was beginning to make me wonder if my daughter had been mean to her.

"Are you her Mommy?" she demanded, pointing to my daughter. I told her I was. "Does she live just with you?"

I gently had to explain to this little four year-old, who obviously lived with only her mother, that my daughter did live with both parents and even her brother. Then I didn't know what more to say, since with kids, you answer the question and don't expound on things as you risk confusing them or harming their innocence. In this case, the already not-so-innocent awareness of a four year-old.

Word of the day

Panegyric/panegyrist

pan·e·gyr·ic (pn-jrk, -jrk)
n.
1. A formal eulogistic composition intended as a public compliment.
2. Elaborate praise or laudation; an encomium.

Used in a sentence:

"Illness and unceasing anxiety had seen to her losing all that; and we can safely neglect all panegyric in that direction, even the observation of foreign envoys; for each panegyrist had an axe to grind."
~Hilaire Belloc, Elizabeth, Creature of Circumstance

Unrelated, however, I liked Belloc's lament in the above book about the decline of English prose and language:

"On the other hand, more and more of us now possess a familiar acquaintance with the glorious German tongue in which it is possible to converse with animals."

I thought it was that Victorian charmer, Dr. Dolittle, who spoke with animals.

Snark off.

Just browsing

Had an appointment today. Usual babysitters (ie: aunts) were out of town, so I had to take the kids with me. Ah, fun. But, they weren't too disruptive.

Once the appointment was over, the kids and I walked next door to an independent children's bookseller. My daughter walked in and said, "It's all a kids' section!!!!" Off she ran squealing.

The thrill for me wore off rather quickly when I found...

No, not the Tarot set for kids or a Ouija board, but...

Product Description
Lily is 9. Her sister Daisy is 1. And she's no ordinary baby. Somehow, when she was born, something went rather wrong... and now Daisy is a Witch Baby. Nobody knows this but Lily - she's the only one who can see when Daisy makes the fridge float in the air, or turns people into slugs, or summons up her very stinky dog Waywoof...

About the Author
DG is the author and illustrator of many books for children, such as No Matter What and the Pure Dead series, which includes Pure Dead Magic and Pure Dead Wicked.

Isn't that special? A whole series where "something went rather wrong."

Weekend Kneeler Jeopardy

Chris got the last one way too quickly, so here's another. Have a great weekend everyone!

Category: In"vestments"

This garment dates back to the Greeks and Romans and was supposed to have been worn, in an early form, by Jesus and his apostles because it was identified with philosophers and teachers. During the fourth century, on the Eve of Sts. Peter and Paul, this newly woven garment was "taken to the Basilica of St. Peter and laid upon the tomb of that apostle to rest above his body for the night: from whom it was supposed to have contracted a share of apostolic authority." It was in the fifth century that this garment became primarily associated with ecclesiastical authority.

St. Alex says, please place your answer in the form of a question in the combox, and say a few Hail Marys for this last week of the Year for Priests while you wait for the answer to be revealed.

Demerits for using Google and other sneaky searches. Educated guesses are welcome and encouraged. Good luck!!

The first correct answer in the form of a question wins the highly coveted WKJ ribbon to display on your blog, cubicle or refrigerator door.

Category: Can you spare a dime?

This group set up an early banking system across Europe. They allowed non-members to deposit money with them, issuing letters of credit. Travellers could visit a facility belonging to this group in their home country, depositing their deeds and valuables. They were then given a letter which would describe their holdings. While traveling, they could present the letter along the way, to "withdraw" funds from their account. This kept the travellers safe since they were not carrying valuables.

St. Alex says, please place your answer in the form of a question in the combox, and say a few Hail Marys for this last week of the Year for Priests while you wait for the answer to be revealed.

Demerits for using Google and other sneaky searches. Educated guesses are welcome and encouraged. Good luck!!

The first correct answer in the form of a question wins the highly coveted WKJ ribbon to display on your blog, cubicle or refrigerator door.

Thanks, Vincenzo, for the updated design:

Becket

I used to work with a guy whose ancestry included St. Thomas Becket. I saw the movie the other day at the library and was tempted to check it out...for the third time. Have never made it through the whole thing. Instead, I reserved a copy of A Man for All Seasons on St. Thomas More, which I have never seen.


Reliquary Casket with Scenes from the Martyrdom of Saint Thomas Becket
Source: Reliquary Casket with Scenes from the Martyrdom of Saint Thomas Becket [English or German] (17.190.520) Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History The Metropolitan Museum of Art

This precious silver box was created to contain a relic of the martyred English saint Thomas Becket. Saint Thomas was the archbishop of Canterbury from 1162 to 1170, and he is perhaps best known for his struggles with King Henry II of England over the separation between the rights of the monarch and the rights of the church. Thomas was killed by four knights of Henry's court in Canterbury Cathedral at twilight on December 29, 1170.

The long sides of the reliquary display a brief narrative of the saint's martyrdom. On one side, the lower rectangular panel shows the four knights assaulting Thomas, while on the triangular lid above, an angel makes a sign of blessing over the event. On the other side, the lower panel shows Thomas's body lying in state, while above, an angel cradles a small child, the symbol of the saint's soul as it rises to heaven. This reliquary is dated to the years immediately following Thomas's canonization in 1173, making it one of the earliest objects commemorating his sainthood.


The martyrdom of St Thomas from the St Thomas Altarpiece commissioned in 1424, from Meister Francke by the Guild of English Merchants in Hamburg.


Stained glass of St. Thomas Becket, Canterbury Cathedral.

Stuff

Just put up a new post. Haven't posted in a few days since I couldn't get on the internet...or things were so slow I didn't have the patience to spend an hour to post a few sentences. Still experiencing problems...bear with me!

Why Bene?

Statue of Pope Benedict XV, "The great Pope of the world tragedy...the benefactor of all people, irrespective of nationality or religion," in the courtyard of the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, Istanbul, placed there by the Turks due to the Pope's peace efforts during WWI.

In listening to the EPIC CDs, I learned a little bit about why Pope Benedict XVI chose the name Benedict, which he alluded to when he was chosen as Pope:

Filled with sentiments of awe and thanksgiving, I wish to speak of why I chose the name Benedict. Firstly, I remember Pope Benedict XV, that courageous prophet of peace, who guided the Church through turbulent times of war. In his footsteps I place my ministry in the service of reconciliation and harmony between peoples. Additionally, I recall Saint Benedict of Nursia, co-patron of Europe, whose life evokes the Christian roots of Europe. I ask him to help us all to hold firm to the centrality of Christ in our Christian life: May Christ always take first place in our thoughts and actions!

But what did Pope Benedict XV do exactly?

He spoke out against facism, national socialism and communism -- having people be subjected to the whim of the State. He also spoke out way back then, during our grandfather's or great-grandfather's time, against relativism and modernism.

During the war, the Great War, his pontificate had three principles on how the Vatican would relate to the world.

1. Perfect neutrality, which meant that he wasn't publicly picking sides but didn't mean he didn't make a stand. His first encyclical, Ad Beatissimi Apostolorum, is so relevant that it could've been written by the current pontiff, being at the same time strong, pastoral, sympathetic and heralding, in part, much the same message that we heard from Our Lady at Fatima (which occurred while he was Pope). Here's one of several paragraphs that caught my eye:

Once the plastic minds of children have been moulded by godless schools, and the ideas of the inexperienced masses have been formed by a bad daily or periodical press, and when by means of all the other influences which direct public opinion, there has been instilled into the minds of men that most pernicious error that man must not hope for a state of eternal happiness; but that it is here, here below, that he is to be happy in the enjoyment of wealth and honour and pleasure: what wonder that those men whose very nature was made for happiness should with all the energy which impels them to seek that very good, break down whatever delays or impedes their obtaining it. And as these goods are not equally divided amongst men, and as it is the duty of authority in the State to prevent the freedom enjoyed by the individual from going beyond its due limits and invading what belongs to another, it comes to pass that public authority is hated, and the envy of the unfortunate is inflamed against the more fortunate. Thus the struggle of one class of citizen against another bursts forth, the one trying by every means to obtain and to take what they want to have, the other endeavouring to hold and to increase what they possess.

2. Extend charity to all. Pope Benedict XV arranged for prisoner exchanges and created a Vatican bureau to help prisoners of war, similar to what the Red Cross does today by being a go-between for military personnel and their families. He passed out financial aid during the war, according to EPIC, 5M Lira from the Vatican, along with over 30M Lira that was donated to the Church. Reportedly, he gave away so much money that the Vatican was broke and had to go into debt to pay for his funeral.

3. Constant call for peace. He also called for reduction of arms, spoke against particular weapons like poison gas, and against the deportation of workers. He also wrote another encyclical on peace and Christian reconciliation, Pacem, Dei Munus Pulcherrimum, saying peace should be granted without reparations.

He was also the Pope that canonized St. Joan of Arc during "the suicide of Europe," which is how he referred to the war, providing the Church and the world a great saintly example during such a devastating period.

Woodrow Wilson also incorporated some of Pope Benedict's ideas into his "Fourteen Points."

In light of this, I can begin to understand Pope Benedict XVI's recent encyclicals a little more clearly (he's has an incredible intellect) and why he has been much more pastoral and not heavy-handed during his pontificate, like so many thought he would be.

Above us only sky

Eternal Father, I offer Thee the Most Precious Blood of Thy Divine Son, Jesus, in union with the masses said throughout the world today, for all the holy souls in Purgatory, for sinners everywhere, for sinners in the universal church, those in my own home and within my family. Amen.
~Prayer of St. Gertrude the Great

Last month I attended the funeral Mass for a cousin once-removed. The family recently sent out thank you cards, along with returning the money from "the envelopes," because they weren't "familiar with the custom."

The custom of giving money to have Masses said for the repose of the deceased's soul.

What a mess.

Nobody expects....

the Spanish Inquisition.



Am reading up on the real Inquisition while sitting in my comfy chair. William Walsh's, Characters of the Inquisition. All I know so far, I learned from Monty Python.

Close enough

Even though it's the Memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary, I finally got back my retouched icon, Our Lady of Mount Carmel. It's beautiful and I'm happy to have it home after a long absence.

It's a completely rainy and over-cast day, plus I have a dark Craftsman-style home with no bright lights, so the photo is very poor. The icon is quite large, about 24" x 19", and is a very generous gift from a priest friend.

It really has brightened up this gloomy day!

(Update: Photo has been enhanced by the wizard, Vincenzo.)

Poodles, terriers, whatever...

My 4 year-old daughter thinks the neighbor owns a sheep. Try arguing with a kid.