Catholic and Enjoying It!

First Contact

2009-11-23T13:39:00.000-08:00

Close Encounters of the Redneck Kind from Marc Bullard on Vimeo.

H/T: Mike Flynn

The Gift of Knowledge

2009-11-23T11:14:00.000-08:00

In which we continue looking at the Sanctifying Gifts of Confirmation.

Marcel LeJeune

2009-11-23T11:00:00.000-08:00

has some thoughts about Advent.

A reader has a message for my toadies, suckups, and lackeys:

2009-11-23T10:15:00.000-08:00

Every minion shall contact their local library and request the purchase of Mary, Mother of the Son! All three volumes! No shortcuts!

He knows whereof he speaks. He just three copies into circulation in the King County Library system here in Seattle (for which I thank him!). Far be it from me to hinder this sort of initative, pluck and drive!

Meantime, what with Advent and Christmas coming, I think it only meet and right for me to remind you that this trilogy is the well-nigh perfect gift for the person in your life who needs a Christmas gift that is actually ordered toward keeping both Christ and Mass in Christmas.

Another Argument Against Euthanasia

2009-11-23T10:13:00.000-08:00

Don't shoot into that apparently empty box. There might be somebody in there.

Calvinist TRVTH

2009-11-23T09:57:00.000-08:00

Oh, those wacky Calvinists. Here's some enthuasiast for the Diagrams Over Real Life Approach to Christianity asking the musical question, "Was Jesus a Calvinist?" (because Jesus would totally have benefited from Calvin's superior diagrams of the gospel).

(Hint: only a crazy Catholic would ever say, "Was Jesus a Thomist?" He can't be wholly contained in human systems of philosphy or theology, dude. Jesus was no more a Calvinist than he was a Whig, a Thomist, or a Platonist. He is himself--the Truth--and all our little systems of order are attempts to approximate him, not containers which can encompass the Infinite Majesty. It is the mark of the madness of Calvinism that it would try to enlist the Son of God as a sort of partisan of the cramped spiritual theorizing of Calvin.

Speaking of weird partisanship, here's yet another Calvinist sitting in the peanut gallery and cheering on the atheists because they happen to be quarreling with Catholics. Better that God be blasphemed than that any slight pettiness of the 16th Century quarrel be abandoned for one second. We must have our priorities!

Prayers answered

2009-11-23T09:50:00.000-08:00

My reader writes:

Good news; they got the dog back! The father put up a reward for its return and someone contacted them so they went and picked up the dog. My mom's friend suspects this was all some kind of scam; steal a dog then collect the reward. Sounds possible, but the girl is just glad to have her Sesame back.

Thank you for your prayers for them and my brother-in-law. If I hear anything about his situation I'll let you know. God bless.

The god Mammon sez

2009-11-23T09:45:00.000-08:00

"Happy Whatever. Just spend a lot of money and feed me!"

I sure am glad God has chosen us to export this message of liberation through Mammon and Hedonism to the world. So much better than all those silly scruples about God that the third world savages obsess about.

Hey You!

2009-11-23T09:43:00.000-08:00

Sign the Manhattan Declaration!

On the other hand....

2009-11-23T09:38:00.000-08:00

I gotta give Palin full props for this. My sole caveat is "This makes her a great role model for the culture of life. It does not automatically anoint her as having what it takes to be Prez."

Michael Coren...

2009-11-23T09:35:00.000-08:00

on the chaos represented by the Right's fascination with fluffballs like Palin and Prejean.

The Thing that Used to Be Conservatism reels on like a headless chicken.

Scratch an Atheist

2009-11-23T09:30:00.000-08:00

find a fundamentalist.

Guy who doesn't know how to read books written for grownups does standard high school sophomore analysis of Genesis vs. Darwin. As though Genesis is a bad science text.

Somebody claims to have found "Jesus Nazarene"...

2009-11-23T09:13:00.000-08:00

written on the Shroud of Turin. Color me skeptical (even though I still think the Shroud is probably authentic).

Priest Who Criticized Islam Murdered

2009-11-23T09:11:00.000-08:00

Fortunately, he was just a Christian, so he totally had it coming. Move along. Nothing to see here.

Absolutely Nothing New Happens Since February 2007

2009-11-23T09:06:00.000-08:00

But a Kennedy suddenly decides to make a big deal about it in November 2009. Compliant media compliantly complies with the narcissitic martyrdom narrative of a rich man.

Hate Studies

2009-11-23T08:49:00.000-08:00

When ideologues want to demonize opponents, they always use the word "we" to mean "they". So, for instance, here's an academic who wants to study the phenomenon of "hatred". He's not sure what "hate" is, but he is quite sure that "we" are full of it. And by "we" he means, "Some people seem to hate President Obama. Some hate Muslims. Some hate homosexuals." Unless this academic hails from the pool of Talk Radio devotees, I'm pretty sure that when he says "we", he mean "those tacky people over there". His tribe, of course, is immune from the phenomenon of hatred.

And, come on, "the Journal of Hate Studies"? Give thou me a break.

Prayer Request

2009-11-23T08:46:00.000-08:00

Please ask your readers to pray for Miranda, age 9, baptised in the Russian Orthodox Church, to remain a Christian in spirit throughout her life, and please pray for her atheist Russian Communist grandparents to convert, according to their limited lights, to faith in the Holy Spirit.

Father, hear our prayer through your Son Jesus Christ. Mother Mary, pray for these people that the Father's will be done in their lives.

The Dude's Got a Point

2009-11-23T08:41:00.000-08:00

Thirty years is about the limit of the GOP blathering that abortion is the central moral issue of our time while, you know, doing as little as they possibly can about it while still exploiting it as a vote-getting tool.

I think no small part of the reason they keep guys like Ron Paul marginalized as lunatics is because the GOP would have no idea what to do with a candidate who really meant to end abortion by taking actual concrete steps to do so. The GOP has made it abundantly clear that they have no intention of doing anything by talk and exploit the hopes of pro-life suckers who believe they care about them and their concerns.

Climate Change Enthusiasts Always Seem to be...

2009-11-23T08:37:00.000-08:00

Big Enthusiasts for culling the herd, not of gigantic carbon-producing countries, but of countries with what they deem to be way too many brown-skinned or almond eyed folk.

Here's a typical "World Ending: Women, Minorities Hardest Hit" SWPL appeal for still more herd culling among the inferior orders.

Climate change: is there anything it can't justify?

Good Stuff for Catholic College Students

2009-11-23T08:08:00.000-08:00

I’m writing from FOCUS, The Fellowship of Catholic University Students, to let you know that our National Conference is coming up on December 30, 2009 – January 3, 2010, and to see if you would be willing to help us spread the word! The conference is FOCUS’s largest outreach event in two years. We had 3000 young people attend the 2008 National Conference in Grapevine, TX, and we expect to have close to 5000 this year in Orlando.

Check thou it out! FOCUS does great work!

Mostly Gone Next Week

2009-11-20T21:16:00.000-08:00

Between Thanksgiving, family parties, errands, and huge work project, I'll mostly be gone next week. I will check in now and then to post links to a couple of pieces of mine that will be published next week but that'll be about it.

Just so's you know.

A reader writes

2009-11-20T21:14:00.000-08:00

Could you please post these two prayer requests? First, my brother-in-law has been out of work for a long time and is very depressed. Please pray that he gets a job and for his depression; we're all very concerned about him.

Second, my mom's friend's granddaughter's pet dog was stolen Wednesday night from their front yard. A neighbor's surveillance camera caught footage the suspects running away - two adults and a little girl, believe it or not. They posted it on YouTube.

The owner is very upset and stayed out of school the last two days over it. Please pray for the family and the safe return of their pet. Thank you.

Father, hear our pray for these people through your Son Jesus Christ. Amen. Mother Mary, pray for them!

Very Good News!

2009-11-20T11:51:00.000-08:00

Steve Greydanus gets noticed by the MSM. The more sane Catholic voices in the pop culture media, the better! Congrats, Steve!

You Know Sully's Gone Round the Bend

2009-11-20T11:44:00.000-08:00

...when even Tom Tomorrow is standing back in amazement at his overwrought obsession with Palin.

A reader sends along this tweet from TT:

Exclusive footage of Andrew Sullivan researching his Palin posts.

Hokey Smokes!

2009-11-20T11:21:00.000-08:00

This...

happened about ten feet from where Luke, Sire of the Cuteness, works downtown. He writes:

News crews were floating around all day, asking us if we had security cameras in the alley. We don't, but I guess someone did. Pretty scary!!

I'm still trying to figure out what's so scary about news crews or security cameras, but I'm sure I'll get to the bottom of it.