Two Hours of Snow

This is the view from my kitchen window after two hours worth of snow.

No Touchdown Jesus for me :(

Such a sad day (not) the mega church across the street merged with the Solid Rock megachurch (home of the touchdown Jesus) but they won't be putting a matching statue out front.

So for your enjoyment I'll post Heywood Banks' "Big Butter Jesus" instead. You may want to cover your keyboard.

Joe Nuxhall: July 30, 1928 - November 15, 2007

Eternal rest, grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.

Texas Style Deposition

WARNING: Some Offensive Language

It should be an interesting Christmas...

Dear Sweet Sara

You are on my mind most of all, you having the Lord’s church a man made religion. Please take time to think about your soul.

Your friend seems nice, think, find out if he had a scriptural right for a divorce, you may get mad at me if you do I’ll love you and pray for you. Your mom had her heard broke. Your dad too.

If your friend has a right to remarry I will gladly accept it, but not you leaving the Lord’s church and joining a Catholic religion.

Grandmother

So that's what I found in the mail yesterday from my CoC grandmother--the one I wasn't allowed to tell I'm Catholic. I don't know how she found out, but I have my suspicions.

After 24 hours to reflect, I'm not really upset. In fact, in a way I'm relieved that I don't have to pretend to be something I'm not when I'm around the family.

This should make for an interesting Christmas though. I wouldn't be surprised if there's some sort of CoC intervention staged. Even more unfortunate is the fact that the friend she speaks about will be there and is likely to face the inquisition also.

There won't be any changing my mind though. I know that my decision to convert was the right one. I've never felt more at peace with any decision in my life and so many changes have happened in the last year that only further convince me I made the right choice.

I suppose if she's going to pray for me I can return the favor and add her to my intentions for my hour of adoration.

Do you ever think....

...that sometimes God is giving you a divine slap upside the head? I have a post in the works about this but I'm still trying to get my thoughts together enough to give a good idea of what I mean but without revealing too many personal details.

Tucker v. State (412 P.2d 970)

Damn! There's a corpse in my living room again!

Clam, This One's for You

Just to make you happy, Kasia :P

Kasia has been asking me where I've been. I've been somewhat busy so here's the Cliffs Notes version:

A little over two weeks ago I checked my work voicemail first thing in the morning to find out that our small, closely held corporation had been acquired by a large multi-national corporation. Needless to say there was some anxiety caused by that announcement. So far, it appears that the new owners do not plan on making any changes to the structure of my company and my job is as safe as it ever is.

We also finally got the good news at work that we're finally being allowed to hire another person. We've been understaffed for the last year or so.

Fall semester is almost at an end and I'm really glad I decided to be lazy and take only Evidence and Antitrust. Next semester will be back to the punishing schedule of three classes.

I've also started a regular adoration hour. I spend an hour every Saturday morning with Our Lord and it is the best thing I've ever done. The peace that comes from that hour is priceless.

Of course, I also think God is using that hour to give me the occasional spiritual slap upside the head :-)

On a personal front things are also going very well, but that's not something I'm going to discuss here.

New Blog

Fr. Rob Jack has started his own blog. I'm adding him to the blogroll and you should check it out.

October 13, 1917

Fr. Ignacio Lorenco (Alburitel, 11 miles away):

I was only nine years old at this time, and I went to the local village school. At about midday we were surprised by the shouts and cries of some men and women who were passing in the street in front of the school. The teacher, a good, pious woman, though nervous and impressionable, was the first to run into the road, with the children after her.

Outside, the people were shouting and weeping and pointing to the sun, ignoring the agitated questions of the schoolmistress. It was the great Miracle, which one could see quite distinctly from the top of the hill where my village was situated---the Miracle of the sun, accompanied by all its extraordinary phenomena.

I feel incapable of describing what I saw and felt. I looked fixedly at the sun, which seemed pale and did not hurt the eyes. Looking like a ball of snow revolving on itself, it suddenly seemed to come down in a zigzag, menacing the earth. Terrified, I ran and hid myself among the people, who were weeping and expecting the end of the world at any moment.

Near us was an unbeliever who had spent the morning mocking at the simpletons who had gone off to Fátima just to see an ordinary girl. He now seemed to be paralyzed, his eyes fixed on the sun. Afterwards he trembled from head to foot and lifting up his arms fell on his knees in the mud, crying out to our Lady.

Meanwhile the people continued to cry out and to weep, asking God to pardon their sins. We all ran to the two chapels in the village, which were soon filled to overflowing. During those long moments of the solar prodigy, objects around us turned all the colors of the rainbow. We saw ourselves blue, yellow, red, etc. All these strange phenomena increased the fears of the people. After about ten minutes the sun, now dull and pallid, returned to its place. When the people realized that the danger was over, there was an explosion of joy, and everyone joined in thanksgiving and praise to our Lady.

Litany to Our Lady of Fatima

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for our dear country.
Our Lady of Fatima, sanctify our clergy.
Our Lady of Fatima, make our Catholics more fervent.
Our Lady of Fatima, guide and inspire those who govern us.
Our Lady of Fatima, cure the sick who confide in thee.
Our Lady of Fatima, console the sorrowful who trust in thee.
Our Lady of Fatima, help those who invoke your aid.
Our Lady of Fatima, deliver us from all dangers.
Our Lady of Fatima, help us to resist temptation.
Our Lady of Fatima, obtain for us all that we lovingly ask of thee.
Our Lady of Fatima, help those who are dear to us.
Our Lady of Fatima, bring back to the right road our erring brothers.
Our Lady of Fatima, give us back our ancient fervor.
Our Lady of Fatima, obtain for us pardon of our manifold sins and offenses.
Our Lady of Fatima, bring all men to the feet of thy Divine Child.
Our Lady of Fatima, obtain peace for the world.

O Mary conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.
Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us now and at the hour of our death. Amen.


Let Us Pray:
O God of infinite goodness and mercy, fill our hearts with a great confidence in Thy dear Mother, whom we invoke under the title of Our Lady of the Rosary and our Lady of Fatima, and grant us by her powerful intercession all the graces, spiritual and temporal, which we need.
Through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Q: How many Catholics does it take to change a light bulb?

A: Nun

I've Been Banned!

I was listed a a banned blog by the SoV2 parish two months ago and I didn't know it!

Feast of the Nativity of Mary

Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy; hail our life, our sweetness and our hope. To you do we cry, poor banished children of Eve. To you do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this valley of tears. Turn then, most gracious Advocate, your eyes of mercy toward us. And after this our exile show unto us the blessed fruit of your womb, Jesus. O clement, O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.


Prayer Source: Enchiridion of Indulgences , June 29, 1968

Points to Consider

III. OFFENSES AGAINST TRUTH

2475 Christ's disciples have "put on the new man, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness."274 By "putting away falsehood," they are to "put away all malice and all guile and insincerity and envy and all slander."275

2476 False witness and perjury. When it is made publicly, a statement contrary to the truth takes on a particular gravity. In court it becomes false witness.276 When it is under oath, it is perjury. Acts such as these contribute to condemnation of the innocent, exoneration of the guilty, or the increased punishment of the accused.277 They gravely compromise the exercise of justice and the fairness of judicial decisions.

2477 Respect for the reputation of persons forbids every attitude and word likely to cause them unjust injury.278 He becomes guilty:

- of rash judgment who, even tacitly, assumes as true, without sufficient foundation, the moral fault of a neighbor;

- of detraction who, without objectively valid reason, discloses another's faults and failings to persons who did not know them;279

- of calumny who, by remarks contrary to the truth, harms the reputation of others and gives occasion for false judgments concerning them.

2478 To avoid rash judgment, everyone should be careful to interpret insofar as possible his neighbor's thoughts, words, and deeds in a favorable way:


Every good Christian ought to be more ready to give a favorable interpretation to another's statement than to condemn it. But if he cannot do so, let him ask how the other understands it. And if the latter understands it badly, let the former correct him with love. If that does not suffice, let the Christian try all suitable ways to bring the other to a correct interpretation so that he may be saved.280
2479 Detraction and calumny destroy the reputation and honor of one's neighbor. Honor is the social witness given to human dignity, and everyone enjoys a natural right to the honor of his name and reputation and to respect. Thus, detraction and calumny offend against the virtues of justice and charity.

2480 Every word or attitude is forbidden which by flattery, adulation, or complaisance encourages and confirms another in malicious acts and perverse conduct. Adulation is a grave fault if it makes one an accomplice in another's vices or grave sins. Neither the desire to be of service nor friendship justifies duplicitous speech. Adulation is a venial sin when it only seeks to be agreeable, to avoid evil, to meet a need, or to obtain legitimate advantages.

2481 Boasting or bragging is an offense against truth. So is irony aimed at disparaging someone by maliciously caricaturing some aspect of his behavior.

2482 "A lie consists in speaking a falsehood with the intention of deceiving."281 The Lord denounces lying as the work of the devil: "You are of your father the devil, . . . there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies."282

2483 Lying is the most direct offense against the truth. To lie is to speak or act against the truth in order to lead someone into error. By injuring man's relation to truth and to his neighbor, a lie offends against the fundamental relation of man and of his word to the Lord.

2484 The gravity of a lie is measured against the nature of the truth it deforms, the circumstances, the intentions of the one who lies, and the harm suffered by its victims. If a lie in itself only constitutes a venial sin, it becomes mortal when it does grave injury to the virtues of justice and charity.

2485 By its very nature, lying is to be condemned. It is a profanation of speech, whereas the purpose of speech is to communicate known truth to others. The deliberate intention of leading a neighbor into error by saying things contrary to the truth constitutes a failure in justice and charity. The culpability is greater when the intention of deceiving entails the risk of deadly consequences for those who are led astray.

2486 Since it violates the virtue of truthfulness, a lie does real violence to another. It affects his ability to know, which is a condition of every judgment and decision. It contains the seed of discord and all consequent evils. Lying is destructive of society; it undermines trust among men and tears apart the fabric of social relationships.

2487 Every offense committed against justice and truth entails the duty of reparation, even if its author has been forgiven. When it is impossible publicly to make reparation for a wrong, it must be made secretly. If someone who has suffered harm cannot be directly compensated, he must be given moral satisfaction in the name of charity. This duty of reparation also concerns offenses against another's reputation. This reparation, moral and sometimes material, must be evaluated in terms of the extent of the damage inflicted. It obliges in conscience.

From the Catechism. After reading some recent comments in the Catholic Blogosphere I thought some could use a reminder (and I do not exclude myself from this) of the teachings of Holy Mother Church with regard to truth and not jumping to rash judgment.

Y'all invested a hell of a lot of money to learn how to split hairs, so let's split some hairs!

It's too late to start praying once the Devil shows up.

Go and sin no more.

Red Mass 2007

Mark your calendars:

Friday, Sept 14, 2007
4:30pm
St. Xavier Church, 607 Sycamore St, Cincinnati
Sponsored by the St. Thomas More Society of Greater Cincinnati

Featured Speaker: Chief Justice Thomas Moyer, Ohio Supreme Court

You Are: 0% Dog, 100% Cat

You are are almost exactly like a cat. You're intelligent, independent, and set on getting your way. And there's no way you're going to fetch a paper for anyone!

Are You More Cat or Dog?

Your Birthdate: September 30

You have the type of personality that people either love or hate. You're opinionated, dramatic, intense, and very outspoken. And some people can't get enough of you - they're totally addicted. Others, well, they wish you were a little more reserved. Your strength: Your flair Your weakness: If you think it, you say it Your power color: Scarlet red Your power symbol: Inverted triangle Your power month: March

What Does Your Birth Date Mean?

Bits of Wit and Wisdom from Evidence Class...

There's some damn good law on Law & Order!

Suddenly God couldn't come to the trial because the Pope wouldn't let him! *

*Speaking of the Fourth Lateran Council in 1215 which forbade clergy from participating in blessings etc during the trial by ordeal.

Yesterday...

I continued my campaign of annihilation against the colony of invading arachnids that have taken up residence on my front stoop.

The indiscriminate bombing campaign (aka the broom) left them homeless but they regrouped and began rebuilding their settlement. It was time for a second attempt.

Yesterday, I resorted to genocide (a la Raid.) I have yet to see a return of the colony so the chemical warfare appears to have been successful. We shall see though.

What Art Movement Are You?

You Are Impressionism

You think the world is quite beautiful, especially if you look at it in new and interesting ways. You tend to focus on color and movement in art. For you, seeing the big picture is much more important than recording every little detail. You can find inspiration anywhere... especially from nature.

What Art Movement Are You?

Clam--you'd better watch out!

You Are a Grilled Cheese Sandwich

You are a traditional person with very simple tastes. In your opinion, the best things in life are free, easy, and fun. You totally go with the flow. And you enjoy every minute of it! Your best friend: The Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich Your mortal enemy: The Ham Sandwich

What Kind of Sandwich Are You?

Updates

I updated my Holy Blogs of Obligation to include a blog by a young fellow Ohioan (we'll just overlook that he's from Cleveland, he really can't help it) and a fellow CoC-er who is preparing to swim the Tiber. He's also one of my (two) faithful readers. :) Check out his blog, Y Taith Cristnogol.

How Smart Are You?

Am-I-Dumb.com - Are you dumb?

Anti-Catholicism and the (Campbellite) Churches of Christ

Recent developments on the ex-CoC* Support board have me thinking about anti-Catholicism in the (Campbellite*) Churches of Christ.

Here's my theory--anti-Catholicism is so ingrained in the churches of Christ that even after they leave, many people still do not realize how much of a hold the anti-Catholic rhetoric holds over them.

I grew up in a CoC where regular sermons were preached regarding the evils of Catholicism: praying to statues, worshipping Mary, believing you can work your way into Heaven, you can sin all week and go to confession on Saturday and it's all good, etc. I'm sure others can add to the list, but those are the biggies. I know I believed it all when i was still CoC. After study and meditation though I realized that I had been horribly mislead by the CoC preachers and Sunday school teachers. I'm sure they meant well and thought they were saving me from certain sinfulness, but it delayed my conversion for a long time because I didn't want to be Catholic. I didn't want to believe that all those awful things I'd heard about Catholics weren't really true.

What I've observed on the ex-CoC board is that even among those who have left, there is still an underlying anti-Catholicism. There's an attitude of "I don't know what I believe, but it's not anything like Catholicism" (thanks Stephanie!) I don't even think some realize they're doing it. Others though, are deliberately baiting Catholics. Even among the ex-ers, it's still not okay to be Catholic. The comments on the board have ranged from telling us we're sheep who can't think for ourselves and who couldn't hack it in the real world to calling our belief in tradition "unbiblical garbage."

I would ask all CoC members and ex-members to think about their attitudes. Why do you get upset that Catholics don't believe in Sola Scriptura? Why do you feel the need to make a barbed comment when the question/comment could easily be phrased in non-inflammatory terms?

I'm not really surprised that there is anti-Catholicism in the CoC. After all, Alexander Campbell himself wasn't a big fan of Catholics. See here.

*I use the terms Campbellite and CoC to distinguish the particular branch of restoration movement church of Christ. This is done purely for clarity purposes as the Catholic Church also refers to herself as the Church of Christ.

We interrupt your regularly scheduled progam...

News Flash - The Pope Really IS Catholic

We now return to regularly scheduled programming.

Move along folks there's nothing to see here. I don't get why people are surprised that the Pope claims the Catholic Church possesses the fullness of the faith. Would you expect anything less? He's the leader of the Catholic Church!

They're ALL Good Homilies, Father.

So Fr. Jan's Sunday homily got me thinking (I'm assuming that's what they're all supposed to do :) ) I'm pretty sure my train of thought arising out of the homily is slightly different from the point he wanted to get across though.

(Just for the record, I was listening and I got the point. There's no place for ego and selfishness when it comes to matters of faith.)

What got me thinking though was when Fr. Jan was talking about how the priesthood is not a good vocation for someone who desires to see results from their labors. He commented that the most he usually hears is "Nice homily, Father" after mass. Here's where that comment has taken me --

It seems to me as if most people tend to only see the negative about someone or something. It's so easy to point out what someone's doing "wrong." As a result, we don't stop to take the time to point out what they did well or what we appreciated. I think with priests and other clergy the good they do is taken even more for granted because that's what they're "supposed" to do.

Just because someone is doing their job doesn't mean that we can't take the time out to let them know how much we appreciate them.

So, Fr. Jan and priests everywhere--Thank you. You have a vocation that few are called to, so thank you for taking the time to be a pastor to your flock. Thank you for being there to celebrate mass even when it's obvious you don't feel well. Thank you for the well thought out homilies every week. You're there when we're sick, to bury our dead and baptise our babies. Without you we wouldn't have access to the sacraments. Without you I would have never found my way to the fullness of the faith after so many years of being "dead" to religion.

Thank you.

One of these days....

...when I am the benevolent dictator of this society I will make the popping and cracking of chewing gum a capital offense. Especially when said chewing gum is being popped and cracked eight hours a day, five days a week by my co-workers in adjacent cubicles.

What's Your Theological Worldview?

You scored as Roman Catholic, You are Roman Catholic. Church tradition and ecclesial authority are hugely important, and the most important part of worship for you is mass. As the Mother of God, Mary is important in your theology, and as the communion of saints includes the living and the dead, you can also ask the saints to intercede for you. Roman Catholic 96% Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan 75% Neo orthodox 71% Fundamentalist 46% Emergent/Postmodern 43% Reformed Evangelical 36% Classical Liberal 32% Modern Liberal 25% Charismatic/Pentecostal 25% What's your theological worldview? created with QuizFarm.com

June Devotion: Sacred Heart

Since the 16th century Catholic piety has assigned entire months to special devotions. The month of June is set apart for devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. "From among all the proofs of the infinite goodness of our Savior none stands out more prominently than the fact that, as the love of the faithful grew cold, He, Divine Love Itself, gave Himself to us to be honored by a very special devotion and that the rich treasury of the Church was thrown wide open in the interests of that devotion." These words of Pope Pius XI refer to the Sacred Heart Devotion, which in its present form dates from the revelations given to Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque in 1673-75.

The devotion consists in the divine worship of the human heart of Christ, which is united to His divinity and which is a symbol of His love for us. The aim of the devotion is to make our Lord king over our hearts by prompting them to return love to Him (especially through an act of consecration by which we offer to the Heart of Jesus both ourselves and all that belongs to us) and to make reparation for our ingratitude to God.

INVOCATION

O Heart of love, I put all my trust in Thee; for I fear all things from my own weakness, but I hope for all things from Thy goodness.
Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque

PRAYER TO THE SACRED HEART

Devotion to the Sacred Heart was the characteristic note of the piety of Saint Gertrude the Great (1256-1302), Benedictine nun and renowned mystic. She was, in fact, the first great exponent of devotion to the Sacred Heart. In our efforts to honor the Heart of Jesus we have this prayer as a model for our own:
Hail! O Sacred Heart of Jesus, living and quickening source of eternal life, infinite treasure of the Divinity, and burning furnace of divine love. Thou art my refuge and my sanctuary, 0 my amiable Savior. Consume my heart with that burning fire with which Thine is ever inflamed. Pour down on my soul those graces which flow from Thy love, and let my heart be so united with Thine, that our wills may be one, and mine in all things be conformed to Thine. May Thy divine will be equally the standard and rule of all my desires and of all my actions. Amen.
Saint Gertrude

FOR THE CHURCH

O most holy Heart of Jesus, shower Thy blessings in abundant measure upon Thy holy Church, upon the Supreme Pontiff and upon all the clergy; to the just grant perseverance; convert sinners; enlighten unbelievers; bless our relations, friends and benefactors; assist the dying; deliver the holy souls in purgatory; and extend over all hearts the sweet empire of Thy love. Amen.

A PRAYER OF TRUST

O God, who didst in wondrous manner reveal to the virgin, Margaret Mary, the unsearchable riches of Thy Heart, grant that loving Thee, after her example, in all things and above all things, we may in Thy Heart find our abiding home.
Roman Missal

ACT OF LOVE

Reveal Thy Sacred Heart to me, O Jesus, and show me Its attractions. Unite me to It for ever. Grant that all my aspirations and all the beats of my heart, which cease not even while I sleep, may be a testimonial to Thee of my love for Thee and may say to Thee: Yes, Lord, I am all Thine;
pledge of my allegiance to Thee rests ever in my heart will never cease to be there. Do Thou accept the slight amount of good that I do and be graciously pleased to repair all m] wrong-doing; so that I may be able to bless Thee in time and in eternity. Amen.
Cardinal Merry del Val

MEMORARE TO THE SACRED HEART
Remember, O most sweet Jesus, that no one who has had recourse to Thy Sacred Heart, implored its help, or sought it mercy was ever abandoned. Encouraged with confidence, O tenderest of hearts, we present ourselves before Thee, crushes beneath the weight of our sins. In our misery, O Sacred Hear. of Jesus, despise not our simple prayers, but mercifully grant our requests.

Prayer Source: Prayer Book, The by Reverend John P. O'Connell, M.A., S.T.D. and Jex Martin, M.A., The Catholic Press, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, 1954

Novena to St. Therese of the Child Jesus

5 Day Novena to St. Theresa

O Little Therese of the Child Jesus, please
pick for me a rose from the heavenly gardens
and send it to me as a message of love.

O Little Flower of Jesus, ask God today to
grant the favors I now place with confidence
in your hands.....
(Mention specific request)

St. Therese, help me to always believe as you
did, in God's great love for me, so that I
might imitate your "Little Way" each day.
Amen.

More Catholic Than The Pope?

Apparently a group of House Democrats think so.

Now don't get me wrong. I'm a registered Democrat and a member of my county party's central committee. I think these politicians have a fundamental problem though--entitlement. They seem to feel they're entitled to take whatever actions they like when it comes to abortion and still be considered "good Catholics." I think it's time for these eighteen members of the house to rethink their priorities.

Are they going to serve God or man?

I'm a bad, bad, blogger!

I just realized I haven't posted since April! It's been pretty busy though. I had finals the first week of May. Then I had last week off and decided to enjoy my few days of freedom by working in my flower bed. Now I have to get into the summer routine as summer terms starts tomorrow. So much for free time! I have decided that I'm taking the second half of the summer off school. I need a sanity break!

Are you a tortured genius?

You Are 98% Tortured Genius

You totally fit the profile of a tortured genius. You're uniquely brilliant - and completely misunderstood. Not like you really want anyone to understand you anyway. You're pretty happy being an island.

Are You a Tortured Genius?

"A Chill Wind From Rome...."

The Legal and Catholic Blogspheres are abuzz with discussion of the Supreme Court's recent affirmation of the partial birth abortion ban.

A lot of the discussion is centering around whether the majority (all five of whom happen to be Catholic--Scalia, Roberts, Thomas, Alito and Kennedy) voted based on the law or voted based on religion.

I strongly suspect the majority vote was based more on the justices' theory of Constitutional interpretation much more than it was based on their religion. After all, it's not as if they did anything overly radical--they upheld a law that had been passed by Congress.

Sure, Alito, Roberts and Kennedy were dark horses but anyone who's ever read any opinions authored by Scalia or Thomas had to know how their vote would go. Neither of them sees a Constitutional right to an abortion.

What saddens me is that the discourse focuses on the justices' religion than it does on the state of our society. What kind of society legalizes infanticide? If you don't think it's infanticide, read the description of the procedure from the majority opinion.

Which Twentieth Century Pope Are You?

You are Pope St. Pius X. You'd rather be right than newfangled.

Monday Morning Quarterbacking

What is with the media and their Monday morning quarterbacking of the horrible events at Virginia Tech? No one was entirely sure what had gone on and the media were already criticizing university officials for their lockdown and slow notice to students. Have all these journalists forgotten their college days? Now, granted, my college days were in the dark ages (10 years ago) before everyone had cell phones and laptops, but I think this criticizing the Virginia Tech officials for what they did, didn't or shoulda done before the full story is even known is out of line.

My alma mater is roughly the same size and in the same type of setting as Virginia Tech. It took 20+ minutes to walk from one part of campus to the other. I can't imagine the university being able to get notice to all 20,000+ students had some tragedy occurred. As it was, there were riots on Court Street my freshman year, and I was even on Court Street when the events began to occur, but I didn't know there were riots until the next morning when my aunt in McAllen, TX called me and wanted to know why my school was being shown on CNN.

Sure we had campus police and I'm sure they had some kind of evacuation plan, but I'm also sure they never considered having to initialize it. They mostly dealt with underage drunks and thefts. I'm sure they never thought they'd have to deal with a gunman walking into a class building and opening fire. How would you even secure a classroom building?

What happened at Virginia Tech was horrible, but let the officials there deal with what needs to be done and don't armchair quarterback about an unprecedented situation.

Virginia Tech Shooting

Eternal rest, grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.

Stupid Files #1

File this under "Sin Makes You Stupid." I don't know what's worse, that my hometown breeds this kind of citizen or that city hall granted his group a permit to march through a predominantly-black area of the city. The same area of the city that was six year ago this month in full riot.

Apparently Cincinnati City Hall also makes you stupid.

Update: Well, apparently the march is temporarily off. Turns out the head of the loccal chapter has a warrant for his arrest. Imagine that.

It's the little things....

That I'm noticing most now that I'm an "official" Catholic. I put official in quotes because I'm starting to think I've always thought Catholic, even during my days as an evangelical, fundamentalist protestant :)

I realized this morning as I was putting on the beautiful, celtic cross my sponsor gave me at the vigil that I would have NEVER worn a cross during my CoC days. It just wasn't done during my days as an anti. I remember hearing screeds against cross-wearing from the pulpit. "If Jesus had been killed by guillotine or electric chair, would you wear that around your neck?"

Now I have the gold, celtic cross from my sponsor and a silver crucifix necklace blessed by my priest. My Scotch-Irish Presbyterian forefathers are probably turning in their graves at that!

Come to think of it, I guess I really shouldn't be surprised that my Scotch-Irish Presbyterian forebears turned Cambellite once they made it to Kentucky, should I?

Easter Vigil

Okay, Kasia. Here it is:

Vigil was wonderful. We had prayers with the pastor in the morning and we were all presented with a cross necklace our pastor blessed. After a mini-retreat we all went home to take naps!

Vigil started at 9pm, but we were there at 8:15 pm. Instead of being gathered around the fire while Fr. J processed out with the servers we waiting until the last possible minute to get outside because it was sooooo cold. We candidates were all dressed warmly, but the catechumens had shorts and t-shirts on underneath their "burlap sacks." We shivered through the blessing and lighting of the Paschal candle (which was at least 6 feet tall.) The pastor had recruited a few of the football players from the local Catholic high school to act as servers and to help with the candle. It took three big guys and a deacon to move it!

After the blessing and lighting of the candle, we all went back inside and the candle was brought in. We all lit our small candles while everyone processed in. Our parish did all nine readings--the first seven were done with only the light from the Paschal candle. When it came time to read the epistle only a few of the sanctuary lights were brought up.

After the readings and the homily, we went out into the gathering space for the baptism as we did the litany of the saints. The baptisms were highly emotional, I don't think there was a dry eye in the place. Our baptisms were done by immersion and if I recal correctly there were 7 of them.

We had almost an entire family come into the church--a mother, her school age son and her toddler daughter. The little girl was done last and as her mother was handing her to Fr. J she cried "nooooo!" Even Fr got a good laugh at that.

While our catechumens and pastor went to go get dried and changed, our parochial vicar led us in the renewal of our baptismal promises. We then went back into the church with lit candles and the choir sang some selections while we waiting for the pastor to come back out.

Then we candidates stood and were received into the church. We were then called by name to come to the front of the church for confirmation (there were about 10 of us.) Then there were three others who were also being confirmed and finally the newly baptised joined us now that they were dry and dressed in their albs.

Fr. J began by confirming the catechumens, then the three who were only being confirmed and finally the candidates. As we walked up to Fr. J, our sponsors handing Fr. H our cards with our confirmation name. I was the last person to be confirmed, by then Fr. J was just grinning from ear to ear.

Then came the big moment--Eucharist. I've been sitting through mass for months and feeling so incredibly sorrowful during the Eucharist because I haven't been able to receive and I've so desperatly wanted to. I have to admit, I was a little teary as I came up to Fr. J to receive the body of Christ.

Afterwards we had a reception in the parish hall for the newly received and the rest of the parishoners.

On a side note--a friend of my family gave me a rosary blessed by Pope John XXIII the next day. It had belonged to a friend of hers who had it blessed when she was married in 1959. How cool is that?

That's the cliffs notes version of Vigil. When I get time I'm going to try to write up something more complete.

Okay, Kasia. Now it's your turn :)

Family--Gotta Love 'em

I just got to spend a wonderful afternoon with my dad's family. I'll spare you the details, but let me just say that they put the 'fun' in dysfunctional.

Holy Week Begins

I have successfully made my first confession and now will spend the next week preparing myself for Easter Vigil. I fully intend to make a post detailing my impressions and thoughts after the Vigil.

For me this is a time of anticipation and sadness. Anticipation that I will finally finish a journey that began almost 10 years ago. Sadness because I seriously doubt I will have any family in attendance. Mom says she'll be there, but I'm not confident enough in that to even bother having the formation office reserve seats.

Hyacinths

My hyacinths bloomed. Yay! I have the purple plus some fuschia and white, but the fuschia and white aren't looking too great after yesterday's storms.

The PFer are at it again...

They've apparently decided that the so-called "Knights of Columbus Oath" and some other spurious "Confession" Protestants are required to make are true and that the church just doesn't tell people about it anymore. Stephanie has a post here.

Coming Soon

I've taken up rosary making and will soon be posting photos. I am still thinking of ways to sell them. I'm undecided between selling them at The Rosary Shop or whether I'll see if I can work something out with the owner of the location Catholic bookstore (which just happens to be a block from my house.) These first will likely be donated for our garage sale for Batahuola, our parish twinning community in Nicaragua.

Ahhhh....

...A Friday night off. I haven't had one of those in a long time. Through some stroke of lucky my Constitutional Law class was moved from Friday to Tuesday, giving me a rare Friday night at home.

And the Drama Continues....

...over at the ex-CoC board. Apparently all of the Catholic posters are engaged in some sort of mass hysteria because we all feel the same way about the vibe we're feeling regarding believers. Some of the other regular posters are beginning to show their true colors, and it ain't pretty. I made the mistake of going over there and reading this week and it just reinforced my decision to leave.

Farewell and Goodnight

After being compared to a racist on the ex-CoC support board for having the unmitigated temerity to suggest that perhaps some of the skeptics tone down their bashing of Christianity I have decided to no longer post there.

I emailed the moderator today and asked that my account be deleted so that I will not have the temptation of posting there any more.

Penitential Rite

After today's penitential rite, I will gladly offer up the screaming pain in my knees I get from our nice padded kneelers. We had to kneel on the hard, cold, marble floor for close to 15 minutes while the congregation prayed the intercessions, the priest laid hands on each of the candidates and then said a blessing.

Ouch.

Constitutional Evil?

The Northern Kentucky Law Review hosted a symposium today at Cincinnati's National Underground Railroad Freedom Center. My Constitutional law professor was on one of the panels, so his students were "strongly encouraged" to attend (there will be a question on the final.)

I found the whole thing fairly interesting. The panelist opposite my professor was a professor from the University of Maryland named Mark Graber. Graber hypothesizes that the Dred Scott decision, one of the most reviled Supreme Court decisions, was decided rightly given the time and the state of the law at that time. While I'm not sure I can agree with him (I haven't read his book yet, so I'm not entirely clear on what all of his points are), he raises an interesting point.

(For non law-types, Dred Scott was decided in 1857 and held that African Americans had no right to sue in federal court and also held that the Missouri Compromise was unconstitutional.)

Evangelical Atheism

Recently the tone of the Ex-CoC board has become more and more negative towards those who espouse any religious belief system. Apparently, only the atheists are rational and logical.

The atheists insists on religious people not trying to push their viewpoint, but they don't see that they are trying to force everyone to agree with them.

Stephanie at La Vie Catholique has a good post regarding this.