U.K. scientists develop "The Pill" for men
Now we men can finally be liberated!

Yes I am joking. The Today Show reported this this morning. Here are a few of the reasons they gave that show how wonderful it will be.

• It will be great for men who want to experience pleasure without pregnancy. (That's great, because after all there's no reason for them to go together is there?)

• Women will not have to bear the burden of all the responsibility. (Do you think that maybe, since man and woman are both necessary, they could share the responsibility?)

• It can be taken just before a date. (I forgot that taking someone on a date is what makes you able to have sex with them.)

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.

You've probably seen this already but if not...

A breastfeeding mother was kicked off a Delta flight, because she would not cover her child with a blanket. As a husband of a breastfeeding mother, this seems pretty ridiculous. I particularly like this quote from Yahoo! News: "doesn't she know those things are for selling beer and cars? Any other public use is obviously obscene."

Some people have started a petition to be sent to Delta and to Congress to pass the Breastfeeding Promotion Act, which amends the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to protect breastfeeding mothers.

The Amazing Cooking Priest!



A good priest friend of mine (he concelebrated at my wedding) from the Baltimore area is starting a show on PBS called "Grace Before Meals." He is an excellent cook, and the theme of the show is him going to families' homes and cooking dinner with them as a family. His purpose is to get people back to the family dinner table. Judging from the trailer on the website, it will be a cooking/family dynamics reality show. I don't know where you will be able to see it, but certainly check it out.

What can you really say?

This is wonderful...

• Colorado Voters Pass Gay Marriage Ban, Reject Gay Benefits
• Tennessee Voters OK Amendment Banning Gay Marriage
• Wisconsin Voters Approve Amendment Banning Gay Marriage
• Gay Marriage Amendment Passes in Virginia
• South Carolina Voters Reject Gay Marriage
• Idaho voters approve gay marriage ban
• South Dakota also (good here, bad later)
  

...but a lot is not so nice:

• Arizonans reject gay marriage ban
• South Dakota Voters Reject Abortion Ban
• Oregon voters defeat a parental notification proposal
• California voters defeat a parental notification proposal

These last ones really make me the most upset. They rejected the law that minors have to notify parents before an abortion. Unless something changed that I didn't know about, minors can't vote! These are the parents saying, "I don't care if my daughter gets an abortion, and I don't even want to know." What are people thinking!?

Prayers please.

My grandmother is in the process of dying and likely will not make it through tonight. She is 95, and my family has lived with her my whole life. Please keep her and my mother's family in your prayers tonight especially. I will keep you posted.

"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

Birth control is bad for your body!? Who would have guessed!?

I am continually baffled by the fact that people can't figure out that when you make your body stop doing what it is supposed to do, that is bad. Consider this:

"I sure feel good today. Will you hit me in the head so I have a headache?" - Ridiculous

"My blood pressure sure is good today. I better go get mad about something." - Ridiculous

"I sure do enjoy the use of my limbs. Would you break my arm, so I don't have to enjoy this any more?" - Ridiculous

"My fertility sure is working well today. I better do something to stop it." - Acceptable.

Why is that acceptable? Is there any other bodily function that when it is working right, we take medicine to make it stop working so well? I can't think of one. Why is this one area where so many people discard the best option and immediately go for second best? How often do you hear anyone promoting safer cigarettes? "Who could possibly consider not smoking at all? That would be way too hard." You don't hear that too much, but we definitely do hear it about sex. Abstinence is way too hard. We should promote something that is less effective rather than waste our time on it. I pray that some day the world will stop accepting mediocrity and start striving for the perfection that Christ modeled for us.

__________


This is a slide from an NFP talk I have seen. It outlines the side-effects of the various methods of regulating births. Click for larger size:

The world just keeps getting more wonderful!

The only problem now is which to choose: beer or wine?

And the best part is that this only reminds us how wonderful the married life is, because when we turn to the Word that our gracious God has given us, we remember:

“Wine and music please the soul, but better than either, conjugal love.” – Sirach 40:20

Why baseball?

With the St. Louis Cardinals, and the baseball playoffs being a common theme in my posts of late, you may be wondering why someone would care so much about something like baseball, when there are so many important things to worry about. To baseball people, it is next to impossible to explain why they like the game so much. Believe me. I tried last year to answer this exact question for my school's yearbook. I would like to share a paragraph from Ken Burns' book Baseball: An Illustrated History, which is a companion to his Baseball documentary. To me, this statement is a glimpse of the tip of the iceberg:

“The historian Arthur Schlesinger, Jr. has remarked that we suffer today from 'too much pluribus and not enough unum.' Few things survive in these cynical days to remind us of the Union from which so many of our personal and collective blessings flow, and it is hard not to wonder, in an age when the present moment consumes and overshadows all else – our bright past and our dim unknown future – what finally does endure? What encodes and stores the genetic material of our civilization – passing down to the next generation the best of us, what we hope will mutate into betterness for our children and our posterity? Baseball provides one answer. Nothing in our daily life offers more of the comfort of continuity, the generational connection of belonging to a vast and complicated American family, the powerful sense of home, the freedom from time's constraints, and the great gift of accumulated memory than does our National Pastime.”

World Series Champs!



The Cardinals have won their first world series in 24 years, which also happens to be the first in my lifetime! I am sure that everyone is just as excited as I am!

The Stem Cell Debate in Missouri.



Michael J. Fox has been all over the news lately for promoting a candidate from Missouri who is promoting embryonic stem cell research, but there is another ad that hopefully will be drawing just as much attention in the very near future.

Jim Caviezel (Catholic), Everybody Loves Raymond's Patricia Heaton (Catholic) St. Louis Cardinals pitcher Jeff Suppan (Catholic), St. Louis Rams Super Bowl winning quarterback Kurt Warner (raised Catholic), and Kansas City Royals player Mike Sweeney (Check out his sweet Catholic website!) are in another ad speaking against embryonic research. You can see it here.

I had seen Heaton on the cover of Catholic Digest before, and obviously Caviezel is sincere in his faith, but I didn't know this about the others. Personally I think this is pretty impressive. Kudos to them!

BTW, Suppan pitched for the Cardinals last night, and they won. God is definitely on our side!

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!

What if Noah was here today?

In the year 2006, the Lord came unto Noah, who was now living in the United States, and said, "Once again, the earth has become wicked and over-populated, and I see the end of all flesh before me. Build another Ark and save 2 of every living thing along with a few good humans."

He gave Noah the blueprints, saying, "You have 6 months to build the Ark before I will start the unending rain for 40 days and 40 nights."

Six months later, the Lord looked down and saw Noah weeping in his yard - but no Ark. "Noah!" He roared, "I'm about to start the rain! Where is the Ark?"

"Forgive me, Lord," begged Noah, "but things have changed. I needed a building permit. I've been arguing with the inspector about the need for a sprinkler system. My neighbors claim that I've violated the neighborhood zoning laws by building the Ark in my yard and exceeding the height limitations. We had to go to the Development Appeal Board for a decision.

Then the Department of Transportation demanded a bond be posted for the future costs of moving power lines and other overhead obstructions, to clear the passage for the Ark's move to the sea. I told them that the sea would be coming to us, but they would hear nothing of it.

Getting the wood was another problem. There's a ban on cutting local trees in order to save the spotted owl. I tried to convince the environmentalists that I needed the wood to save the owls - but no go!

When I started gathering the animals, an animal rights group sued me. They insisted that I was confining wild animals against their will. They argued the accommodation was too restrictive, and it was cruel and inhumane to put so many animals in a confined space.

Then the EPA ruled that I couldn't build the Ark until they'd conducted an environmental impact study on your proposed flood.

I'm still trying to resolve a complaint with the Human Rights Commission on how many minorities I'm supposed to hire for my building crew. Immigration and Naturalization is checking the green-card status of most of the people who want to work. The trades unions say I can't use my sons. They insist I have to hire only Union workers with Ark-building experience.

To make matters worse, the IRS seized all my assets, claiming I'm trying to leave the country illegally with endangered species.

So, forgive me, Lord, but it would take at least 10 years for me to finish this Ark."

Suddenly the skies cleared, the sun began to shine, and a rainbow stretched across the sky. Noah looked up in wonder and asked, "You mean you're not going to destroy the world?"

"No," said the Lord. "The government beat me to it."

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.

GO CARDINALS!!!



I told you on opening day that you needed to root, root, root, and aren't you glad you did. While the rest of the world gets more and more wrapped up in football, I will be paying attention to a real sport!

Follow them through the World Series on the blog of one of the Cardinals outfielders, John Rodriguez.

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.