"I have been blessed by God. And if I'm blessed, there is one reason and one reason only, and that is to help others."

Take a guess as to who the above quote is from.

While you are at it, guess who painted the picture below.



Unless you guessed a 12 year old girl from Illinois, you would be wrong. Meet Akiane. She did both. Akiane is a 12 year old who began drawing when she was 4, and painting at 6. She claims that her paintings are visions from God that she then puts onto canvas. Her story is a bit much for me to even try to put into words. The best thing I can do for you is tell you to watch her CNN interview, and then explore her website. She is remarkable.

Christian values in the movies.

Here is an interview with Barbara Nicolosi about Christian values in the movies, about which she is one of the foremost authorities. The whole article is great, from the perspective of a parent there is one thing about her father that particularly resonated with me:

"My father’s theory was that if you exposed children to beautiful things, they would lose their taste for barbarism."

What a beautiful theory. I think I agree with this pretty strongly. Too often I think we worry about what we shouldn't watch rather than focus on what we should watch. The same is true for adults also. I know the more I watch good movies and listen to good music, the less taste I have for the mediocre.

Groom of Ecclesia.



When people would ask a seminarian friend of mine if he was dating anyone he would answer, "Yes. Her name is Ecclesia." His name is Kim Schreck from the Archdiocese of Pittsburgh, and he has a website that could be interesting to anyone considering the priesthood. He is attending the Pontifical North American College in Rome, and was ordained a deacon in October. He will be ordained to the priesthood this summer in Pittsburgh. Check it out and maybe send him an email to say you are praying for him.

Joseph is the man!

I got to see the Nativity Story last night. It was not without its questionable moments – it seemed like the filmmakers did not believe that Mary was without sin – but it was certainly not lacking in truth, beauty, and, goodness.

There was one part in the movie that I honestly have never really considered in the way that the movie opened to me, and that is the faith of Joseph. My favorite part of the movie was seeing the reaction that the people of Nazareth had to Mary being pregnant out of wedlock. The part that I had never considered was that when Joseph decided to accept Mary, he was also accepting that people would think he was the father of the child and also guilty of premarital sex. We know that Joseph is only the adoptive father of Jesus, but the people of Nazareth didn’t. They went from thinking that Mary was unchaste to thinking that Joseph was too. Joseph had to give his “fiat” to that ridicule also. To me, this was beautiful. It showed Joseph’s great love for his wife, for Jesus, and above all for his God. This love and dedication of Joseph was very strong throughout the rest of the movie also. To me it is the organizing structure for telling the whole story, and I found it to be a very interesting and moving perspective.

I expected this movie to be very devoted to Mary and Jesus, and to portray them in the glory that they deserve. I was not expecting the same focus on Joseph, but I was very pleased with it. Seeing his example in this way is a great source of strength for myself, and I feel it would be for any husband and father.

Why did God bother with penguins anyway?

My wife and I watched March of the Penguins this weekend, and I thought it was very good. If you haven’t seen it, it is about the 70 mile journey emperor penguins make each year to breed. I doubt that this was its purpose, but it is a good analogy for the self-sacrifice that is required in marriage to have a family.

One question that I asked though is, why did God even create these penguins? If God has a purpose for all he does (which he does), then what is his purpose for penguins? There they are, living in what is seemingly the most uninhabitable climate on the planet, and I can’t see any way in which human life would be worse if they were not there. Buy yet God has a plan for having them there. I am sure a biologist would be appalled and have a wonderful explanation for their existence, but until they send me a nasty email, I guess I’ll be in the dark.

An answer that I have come up with though, helps me to understand and appreciate the providence of our God. Say that there was a couple struggling to adjust to married life. Maybe they are trying to balance how to raise a child and build a family and not go crazy. Now say this couple watched this movie, and it fostered a renewed dedication to family and service to each other. Wouldn’t that be all the reason God would need to put penguins on this earth? When I consider God’s abounding love for each and every one of us, I think that sounds reasonable. I believe God would go to the ends of the earth to improve the life of any individual he has ever created. After all he would have died on the Cross to save even one of us. In that perspective, creating a bunch of penguins just to help one person, doesn’t seem that extreme at all.

Awesome Catholic art blog.

I came across Smallpax yesterday in an image search for St. Lawrence. It is a group of mostly (if not all) Catholic artists, many (if not all) being professional. They post their sketches in various levels of completeness and seriousness. What attracted me most to them is that their devotional art is far from cheesy. Check it out. They haven't posted anything in a while, but I emailed one of the artists, and he said he would be posting again soon. In the meantime, check out their old posts. Here are a few samples, that I hope they don't mind me sharing here:

Our Lady of La Leche



St. Lawrence



St. Anthony



St. Therese

"Dad, why is it hard to share?"

My brother and his family are in town for Thanksgiving. He has a 5 year old daughter and 3 and 1 year old boys. The older of two boys, being at an age where more responsibility for his actions is required of him, has to give of himself quite a bit to the 1 year old. A couple days ago, he asked a very profound question that I am sure all of us ask often.

The 3 year old looked at my brother and said, "Dad, it's hard to share. Why is it hard to share?" So my brother went into a long discourse about the trials of sin and a catechesis on the 7 deadly sins, and... Well he didn't exactly say that, but that is of course the answer. It is hard to share, because we are tainted by sin.

Any one of us could ask the same question any day of our life: "Dad, why is it hard to give of ourselves?" It is hard to give, because we wish we could think only of ourselves. I don't know about you, but I sure am glad that we have a God who thought only of us. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, so that we might not die, but might have eternal life."

We actually do care about others!

The news this morning reported that we now have 3 options for Iraq, "Go Big," "Go Long" and "Go Home." Of course there are people who find fault with all 3 of these, which of course there is. However, I was impressed with the fault that they pointed out for "Go Home."

The news reported that if we bring all the troops home, we run the risk of abandoning the people of Iraq to all out civil war. Even though it would save more Americans, it would leave the people of Iraq extremely vulnerable. I see in this that there is at least some understanding of communio in everybody. Even some of our politicians and media recognize that we have some responsibility for others. To me this really is a sign of the beauty of God, even in the middle of war.

Heaven is for everyone. Christ is for everyone. When we abandon those in the rest of the world, we are abandoning Christ in them. Last week we celebrated the feast of St. Martin of Tours, who gave his cloak to a beggar and later saw Christ wearing the same cloak. We must remember that every person, either Iraqi or American, Muslim of Christian is simply Christ in disguise.

"Science Can't Explain It All, Says Benedict XVI"

This heading from yesterday's ZENIT news wrapup reminded me of a great article about the relationship between Science and Theology. It was written by Eric Cornell. Cornell won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 2001. This article is adapted from a speech that he gave for his induction into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, so I would say it is pretty credible from the scientific standpoint as well as the religious side. The title; Why is the Sky Blue?: What Was God Thinking? Science Can't Tell

Interesting observation on Sunday's Gospel.
Mark 10:46-52

Every Thursday in my Scripture class we read the Gospel for the upcoming Sunday, and attempt to reflect on it. I do this as a way to get them to pay more attention to the mass. A student today made an interesting observation that I had never really considered.

The student pointed out that the way Jesus' followers rebuke Bartimaeus is almost exactly the way that the Pharisees rebuke Jesus. It is a reminder to "remove the plank from our own eye." We can get so wrapped up in our own righteousness that we are oblivious when we begin to act like those we think are less than worthy. We constantly need to remind ourselves that we are not so great that we don't need help in our own journey to Christ.

Humility is always calling!

The Beauty of the Struggle.

CBS Sunday Morning ran a segment this morning about Dean Karnazes, the Ultramarathon Man. Dean is currently running 50 marathons in 50 days in all 50 states. He is doing this with the mission of kindling a desire for physical activity in those who see him, and as I watched this article he made a very interesting and very Catholic point.

Dean stated that we [Americans] have become too comfortable in our lifestyles and our lives. He said we need to struggle a little bit to be truly happy. He said he feels the best when he must confront the struggle and the suffering of his marathons. Gee, have we ever heard anything like this before?

The redemptive power of suffering; what a wonderful lesson! Christ has shown us that suffering is a part of life, and rather than being someone that causes resentment for this world, is something that allows us to encounter the divine. In our suffering we realize the limitations of this world and yearn for the next. I always find it amazing when lessons like this pop up in popular culture, and people are amazed by them, because they are so "revolutionary." "Revolutionary" meaning not what we are used to. Thank you Dean Karnazes for reminded us of one of Christ's beautiful lessons which we so often overlook.

"The Big Guy's got quite a paint brush."

That quote from The Truman Show set the tone for my day today. It was very foggy as I drove to work this morning, and as I topped a small hill I got a face full of the sun rising over a mountain, only you couldn't see the mountain because of the fog. All I saw was an amazingly beautiful top half of the sun illuminating all the fog and making the sky glow. I wish I had had my camera, because I can't really describe it, but my point is not about the sun. My point is about God.

Sometime over the course of four years in college, I was given the blessing of understanding the transcendentals of truth, beauty, and goodness, and I am ever grateful for it. I find myself constantly being touched by these three things, and today was a plethora of beauty (and yes I know what a "plethora" is).

I love the skies here in rural Arkansas where there is no pollution. I love the Jazz Ensemble at my school, because they are excellent. I love to soak up the beauty of my wife and my son. I love all of these because the God who lovingly created them is exceedingly good. Amen! Alleluia!
"The Church teaches that the one true God, our Creator and Lord, can be known with certainty from his works, by the natural light of human reason." - CCC 47.

The Misunderstood Apostle: Judas.

Pope Benedict XVI concluded his Wednesday audience lectures on the twelve Apostles yesterday with who else, Judas. This is very interesting to me, because I have always thought (and attempted, often vainly, to explain to others) that I we should be careful about judging Judas. After all someone had to do it.

Those who wanted Jesus dead (i.e. the devil) were afraid of what they had to do. They knew that Jesus' followers would not be too keen on their plans, so they needed a scapegoat. They needed someone to do their dirty work, and Judas fit the bill. Had there been someone else around, they might have chosen that person. And after all, Judas had help. The Holy Father points out that the Gospels "insist on another aspect." John tells us that "the devil had already induced Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over" (John 13:2), and he even goes on to say that "after he took the morsel, Satan entered him" (John 13:27).

This point really stuck out to me after seeing the Passion of the Christ. It was very, for lack of a better word, freaky to me and seemingly the rest of the theater when the demon shrieked at Judas. How clearly could any of us have been thinking if that is what we were up against? In the face of that kind of torment, anyone would have serious difficulty making an important decision. We are lucky though. Most of our important decisions do not regard the life and death of a loved one, let alone God himself. Judas did not have this comfort. What would we have done in this situation? Who can say.

The Holy Father reminds us that Judas' betrayal "led to the death of Jesus who transformed this tremendous torment into a space of salvific love and in self-giving to the Father." "In fact, when we think of the negative role Judas played, we must frame it in the higher way with which God disposed the events."

God's plan is not our plan. God can save us, especially when we cannot save ourselves.

Happy Feast Day!



Today is my son's first feast day. Today, please keep his life and vocation in your prayers.

St. Isaac Jogues - Pray for us!

It's a small world after all!

My wife gets a Catholic parenting magazine from Our Sunday Visitor, and when her issue came this past Saturday, there was another copy sticking to it. When I looked at the name and address on the second issue, I immediately noticed that it belonged to the mother of one of my students. Now this might not seem like much of shock at a local parish school, but seeing that my school is a boarding school, and the other family lives an hour away in a town of 80,000 people, it was a little more striking.

It is amazing to me how small the world of the Catholic Church is. Things like this actually seem to happen fairly often. People say that we can be connected to anyone on the planet within six degrees, but I think it has to be even closer in the Church.

They have the Diocese on computers now! Finally!

I am sure that as you read this everyone will run through a long list of comments regarding the behind-the-times nature of us hicks out here in the backwoods of Arkansas, but the Diocese of Little Rock finally has an official website. Can you believe it? I mean Al Gore only invented the internet about 30 years ago!

Check it out.

Thank you Pope John Paul!

I caught a few seconds of the Today Show the other day, and one of the stories they were covering was a preacher who is getting recognition for what he is teaching about faith and sexuality. They said that it was "very frank" talk about sex, love, and life. One of their comments particularly struck me though.

Lester Holt said that the things the preacher has been saying are things that you "wouldn't normally expect to hear from the pulpit" (paraphrased). My first reaction to this was "why wouldn't you expect to hear about sex from the pulpit?", and then it hit me: not everyone knows the great blessing that was given to us by Pope John Paul, Theology of the Body.

What a blessing it is that we live in the time of a pope with such a dynamic and beautiful vision of human sexuality, who not only beheld the vision, but put it into words for all to hear. I had the great privilege of getting married during this era of Theology of the Body, and I am eternally grateful to our great and glorious God for making us in his image this way, and for giving us such a great shepherd to show us the way to live it.

Thank you.

Awesome Christian music. Jimmy Needham.

My biggest complain about Christian music has always been that most Christian artists are not as talented as their secular counterparts. The discovery of Air1 radio has shown me that that is not always the case, however, if you have never been convinced, I want to recommend Jimmy Needham.

I heard a song of his (Lost at Sea) yesterday and thought it was amazing. A lot of the most musically talented Christian groups (Lifehouse, Switchfoot, etc.) are not distinctly Christian in their lyrics. Well Jimmy Needham is blatantly Christian and blatantly freakin’ awesome on the guitar! Check out some of his songs on his myspace music page.

If you like music, this is worth your time.
If you like Christ, this is worth your time.
If you like both, you can’t miss!

Similarities in the Saints

Each day in my class I write the names of the day's saints from Lives of the Saints volumes I and II on the board. Something that I have always noticed is that the saints who share a feast day very often have some remarkable similarities (I am not even talking about those who are grouped together on the calendar).

For example, last week St. Augustine and St. Moses the Black shared August 28, and both lived lives of terrible debauchery before turning to Christ. Today St. Rosalia and St. Ida are both descendants of Charlemagne although from the 12th and 9th centuries respectively.

It always makes me wonder if there is anything more to it in God's plan.

These are starting to pile up now...

Another piece today from the WSJ about the declining birth rates around the world. This is an economist's view on the problem, and I think he really misses the ball on the root cause - a fundamental shift in the view of the human person from one of dignity to one of utility. When children are viewed through the lens of economic utility instead of a gift from God, it's a whole new ball game with totally different rules. And I'd have to say that the world is losing at its own game.

Here's the article, and the comments by some that read it, pretty interesting.
Last WSJ article post.
Procreate and Dominate Post.

Let me know what you think.