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.