"Live in a manner worthy of the call you have received."

I think yesterday's second reading is very poignant, for this story. How can someone with such a great talent make something as beautiful as The Passion of the Christ, and then fall this far? Well, as he showed us in that movie, he is not the Christ, but is the one driving the nail. What I pray for now is that as few people as possible will disavow the Passion, because of his mistakes. I know that some people will, but I pray that this does not weaken its effect in the hearts of many. Please pray for Mel and for the apostolate of his movie.

Citizen Kane

My wife and I watched Citizen Kane for the first time this weekend, and we both had the same reaction. How do people claim that this is the greatest movie ever? Can I get some help with this?

I realize that the story shows that the simple things in life are the ones we treasure, that family is greater than anything we can buy, but really, I just think that this movie was a lot of wasted time trying to give those simple points.

We're married!

On May 27th, my fiancee Meta became my wife Meta, and now we are living very happily in Buffalo, NY. It's called the "City of Good Neighbors," and it has certainly proved itself to be so. My beloved and I have enjoyed the hospitality of many neighbors, family and friends since we moved in, and I am sure that we will look back on our summer by Lake Erie as a time of great blessings.

I find myself to be so changed, and yet, still so very much the same person I was before we took our vows of lifelong fidelity. This ring on my finger, once so difficult to get used to, such an annoyance, has now become so comfortable I keep thinking I've lost it when it's right there on my finger. The Lord is indeed a good God, a God whose Mercy must always remember Justice, and whose Justice always remembers Mercy. He has been both Merciful and Just to me, but in this time of sweetness at the beginning of our lives together, Meta and I both think mostly of his Mercy.

Oh, the Internet is on computers now...

To all those who wondered why the headline of 40:20 said "two young newly married (not to each other) Catholic men," and yet only ever saw posts from one, well, I don't have a good answer. Call it a long honeymoon, or a lack of internet access, or something involving severely slothful behavior, or whatever you like, but now I hope to be back in the action. My thanks to Jason and those who have stayed with "us," and I hope that 40:20 will be here for a long time to come.

Our prayers are with you Cardinal George.



WGN's coverage of this has been excellent. The cancer of both Cardinal George and the Chicago mayor's wife were announced on the news last night. Cardinal George was the top story and got the first five minutes of the newscast compared to about a minute for the mayor's wife. Today they are having live coverage of how his surgery is going.

I think it is amazing how important the Catholic bishops are to their communities, and not just the Catholic community, but the whole area. I could be wrong, but it doesn't seem like you hear too much about the non-Catholic equivalents of the area. I think this, like the death of JPII, are just another way that God reaches out to the masses with great messages of hope, redemptive suffering, and his overabundant mercy and love.

Keep the Cardinal in your prayers and check WGN for updates today.

So I called the cops yesterday.

Yesterday I saw someone get of a vehicle who had an open beer can next to his seat, so when he got back in to drive away, I called the cops and told them which way he was headed.

I felt like I had a moral as well as civil responsibility to do this. I can't imagine how I would feel the rest of my life is someone (much less my wife or child) got killed by that driver, and I had not reported it. What do you think? Is there a moral obligation in situations like this?

Boys will be boys.

It's going to be so much fun to have a son. I'm not sure though if my wife it quite as ready though.

Wow, check out those bar stools!

Beautiful.

I am so glad that Bush has been consistent in standing against embryonic stem cell research, but what I can't figure out is why so many people are so adamant about developing it, when it is by far not the most promising areas of stem cell research.

If you Google "stem cell research" you get the National Institutes of Health page, and they state that adult cells have been used to treat "leukemia, lymphoma and several inherited blood disorders. The clinical potential of adult stem cells has also been demonstrated in the treatment of other human diseases that include diabetes and advanced kidney cancer." This is under the heading "Have human embryonic stem cells successfully treated any human diseases?" To this question they conveniently avoid answering "no" and give a long list of excuses why they haven't. Mostly they blame it on lack of funding.

Why should we waste our time and money pursuing a less promising route? I am currently painting a dresser for Isaac. When I went to the store the other day did I say, "I bet I could paint this with a broom. I think I'll buy this and try a method that might work." No, instead I just bought a paint brush. I wonder if some doctors and people are just too proud to admit that pro-lifers might just have it right?

Hear some new bands.

Some friends of mine from Franciscan University (household brothers for anyone who knows what that means) have a band that they are pretty proud of. Right now they are trying to get signed by a label, so here is a link to hear some of their music. If you like it, you can vote for them to be signed, and see more of them at their website. Enjoy!

Say hello to Isaac Maximilian!

I just thought I would share with you all his birth announcement. You should feel privileged, we haven't even sent it out to anyone yet!

The announcement was done by Melissa Claire Designs, and no this is not just because she told me I had to say that to post it. She is my sister-in-law, and if anyone has any need for announcements, invitations, etc., please check out her site.

I am proud of TV!

My wife and my mother-in-law have become obsessed with Fox's So You Think You Can Dance. It is the dancing equivalent to American Idol. Last night the main judge was giving a critique to one of the women, and I was very impressed with his comments. My biggest drawback from this show is the outfits (or lack thereof) that are somewhat expected from the women. In his critique of this contestant, the judge said that she should stop relying on her sex appeal. He pointed out that at the beginning, her dancing was based on emotion and beauty, but over the course of the show she has begun to use herself as an object in every dance. He told her she didn't need that.

I thought this was very impressive from a prime time show, that, I am sure, draws a fairly large part of their fan base because of this. I am constantly amazed at how many people "get it" when it comes to Truth, but don't realize that they get it.

A new reason to be mad at the way the world works.

I really truly very strongly dislike the mentality that only accepts planned pregnancies. This is probably not much of a shock to any of you. I am sure I don't need to explain how this is a defective lifestyle, or how it contributes to the evil of abortion, etc, etc. Today though I have a new gripe. Health insurance.

I have been doing some searching for a family health insurance plan, and I finally found one that I like. It has a low deductible, a good prescription plan, and so on, but, oh wait, you have to pay the extra $200 a month for maternity coverage, but they won't pay anything for maternity until you have had the plan for a year! If I could type in a scream I would.

Now why would an insurance company do this. Let's think about it. If my wife an I were on birth control, and therefore not open to unplanned pregnancies, and if on the outside chance pregnancy did happen we could turn to abortion, then I would not get maternity insurance until I was ready to get pregnant. Insurance companies won't make money if people only pay for insurance when they are actually going to use it. So in order to keep people from picking up maternity the month before they need it, those of us who are open to life at any time get the shaft.

I would never say that a pro-choice lifestyle is better, and I probably wouldn't even say that it is easier, but it is more convenient. When we look at our Catholic history though, has convenience ever been a sign of being on the right path? Was it convenient for Francis to sleep on a rock? Was it convenient for Thomas More to oppose the king? Was it convenient for Maximilian to be Polish during WWII? Was it convenient for Mary to be the mother of God? I think I can look at inconvenience as a sign of being on the right path.

Welcome Back!!!

Oh how we missed you!!

Blog Pool

Although I only got three guesses, TO was the only one who got reasonably close to guessing Isaac's stats. Congrats to you TO!

Catholic Encyclopedia Blog.

New Advent, the Catholic Encyclopedia, now has a blog. I am sure this will have great content.

If only we would cooperate.

So I was sitting up with little Isaac at about 3 the other night, and as I listened to him cry I said to him, "I'll give you everything that you need, if you will just cooperate." When I said this I realized that God must feel the same way. He will give us absolutely everything that we need, if only we would just cooperate with him. When we try to fight instead of listen to him and accept his help, we would all be in much better shape.