Imagining life in a nunnery

"Hie thee to a nunnery"??? Well, just IMAGINE, SISTERS ... Imagine a religious vocation as a serious possibility. Here is a beautifully-made video about women who have decided to enter the consecrated religious life, with some great footage from the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist.


[Hat tip to Zach. M.]

Pro-Lifer on a Buffalo

[Hat tip to Zach M.]

Polluters and contraceptive users

Tim Worstall, "Women on Contraceptive Pill Should Pay $1,500 a Year More Tax" (Forbes, June 3, 2012).

The intrepid Zachary Mabee comments:

This is an interesting argument:

(i) Polluters should pay some sort of tax for the environmental harm they cause;

(ii) Women using artificial contraceptives are polluters (whose pollution has led, many think, to sex-change mutations among fish populations, as well as hormonal imbalance among average citizens who drink tap water);

So: Women who take artificial contraceptives should, as polluters, pay taxes for the environmental harm they cause.

Thoughts or comments?

"Vatican Diary: That sin of Sodom which cries out to heaven"

In case you missed it, Sandro Magister recently announced that the CDF has reprinted as-is the 1986 letter on homosexuality, just as various governments are legalizing gay unions.

The fat is in the fire, and here too are the commentaries of Ratzinger and Cardinal Giacomo Biffi.

[Hat tip to J.M.]

Dewey Defeats Truman!

Don Walker, in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, today: "The Drudge Report this afternoon breathlessly reports that exit polls from Tuesday's recall election show Gov. Scott Walker holding his seat. One problem, though. He provides no information to suggest that.... Republical and Democratic sources in Wisconsin told the Journal Sentinel that the numbers used by the Drudge Report are wrong."

For those of you in Rio Lina, Harry S. Truman defeated Thomas E. Dewey in the U.S. Presidential election of Nov. 3, 1948, despite the embarrassingly inaccurate banner headline on the front page of the Chicago Tribune.

Quotes to compare and contrast?

• "[We are witnessing a] great movement of apostasy being organized in every country for the establishment of a one-world Church which shall have neither dogmas, nor hierarchy; neither discipline for the mind, nor curb for the passions ...."
  
  "Here we have, founded by Catholics, an interdenominational association that is to work for the reform of civilization, an undertaking which is above all religious in character, for there is not true civilization without a moral civilization, and no true moral civilization without the true religion: it is a proven truth, a historical fact.... But stranger still, alarming and saddening at the same time, are the audacity and frivolity of men who call themselves Catholics and dream of reshaping society unders such conditions, and of establishing on earth, over and beyond the pale of the Catholic Church, 'the reign of love and justice' .... What are they going to produce? What is to come out of this collaboration? A mere verbal and chimerical construction, in which we see, glowing in a jumble, and in seductive confusion, the words of Liberty, Justice, Fraternity, Love, Equality, and human exaltation, all resting upon an ill-understood human dignity. It will be a tumultuous agitation, sterile for the end proposed, but which will benefit the less-Utopian exploiters of the people. Yes, we can truly say that the Sillon, its eyes fixed ona chimera, brings Socialism in its train." (Pope St. Pius X, "Our Apostolic Mandate," apostolic letter to the French Bishops on the Sillon Movement in France, August 15, 1910).
  
  
• "We are conscious of the urgent need to confront together responsibly and courageously the problems and challenges of our modern world (i.e., poverty, racism, environmental pollution, materialism , war and proliferation of arms , globalization, Aids , lack of medical care , breakdown of family and community , marginalization of women and children ,etc.); to work together to affirm human dignity as the source of human rights and their corresponding duties , in the struggle for justice and peace for all; to create a new spiritual consciousness for all humanity in accordance with the religious traditions so that the principle of respect for freedom of religion and freedom of conscience may prevail. We are convinced that our religious traditions have the necessary resources to overcome the fragmentations which we observe in the world and foster mutual friendship and respect between peoples...." ("Final Declaration of the Inter-religious Assembly" of October, 1999, at the Vatican in commemoration of the inter-religious colloquy at Assisi in October, 1986. Compare "Final Declaration of the Participants in the Symposium on 'Spiritual Resources of the Religions for Peace'," organized by The Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue in Rome, January 16-18, 2003)

Photographers' Rights Disappear in a Flash

Not long ago, I would have said "Unbelievable!" Anymore, nothing surprises me. Not even THIS.

We used to be government of laws, not men. Today that has been turned exactly on its head. We have a government of arbitrary whim, where even "law" means nothing more than the will of whoever happens to be at the levers of political power.

[Hat tip to E. Echeverria]

Ban on sex selective abortion gains momentum

Steven W. Mosher, "Legislation Banning Sex Selective Abortion Gains Momentum" (Population Research Institute, June 4, 2012, Weely Briefing).

[Hat tip to E.E.]

Magisterium of Nuns denounces Rome

I'm sure you've all read or heard about the CDF NOTIFICATION about Sr. Margaret Farley’s dreadful book denouncing all the things praised by Rome and praising all the things denounced by Rome concerning the pelvic issues. (Why is it always the pelvic issues??)

You may have even heard about Fr. James Martin, SJ (whose recent Twitter campaign demonstrates that he sides with the Magisterium of Nuns rather than CDF in the matter of the LCWR) has in the Jesuit-run America Magazine come out with a full-throated defense of Sr. Farley and her ideas.

Then, of course, there was and is (and hopefully nevermore shall be) the LCWR, that subset of the Magisterium of Nuns, planning how not to obey Rome.

Which leads to Fr. Z's request to bloggers about the the phrase “Magisterium of Nuns” (WDTPRS, June 4, 2012). What can you do?

Related: "Catholic feminist admits the CDF is right about wayward Sisters" (Catholic World Report, May 23, 2012).

[Hat tip to J.M. for last link.]

Trinity Sunday and philosophy: God is not a solitude

The problem of the One and the Many resolved: it was a false problem from the beginning.

James Weldon Johnson's classic poem, "The Creation" (from God's Trombones, 1927) may have been clever; but it got it all wrong when it came to God:

And God stepped out on space,
And he looked around and said:
I'm lonely -
I'll make me a world.

* * * * * * *

Then God walked around,
And God looked around
On all that he had made.
He looked at his sun,
And he looked at his moon,
And he looked at his little stars;
He looked on his world
With all its living things,
And God said: I'm lonely still.


... Till he thought: I'll make me a man!

So God had to create Adam and Eve because He was lonely?? For fellowship?? Please. Poetic maybe; but bad theology. How could God be God if He needed anything?

Msgr. Robert Sokolowski does better: he speaks of the distinction between Creator and 'everything' as "the Christian distinction," different from any distinction between individual creatures:

When we turn away from the world or from the whole and turn toward God, toward the other term of the distinction that comes to light in Christian belief, we begin to appreciate the strangeness of the distinction itself. In the distinctions that occur normally within the setting of the world, each term distinguished is what it is precisely by not being that which it is distinguishable from. Its being is established partially by its otherness, and therefore its being depends on its distinction from others." (The God of Faith and Reason, p. 32)

This is elucidated by Ilse Nina Bulhof and Laurens ten Kate in Flight of the Gods: Philosophical Perspectives on Negative Theology, p. 105, n. 13, as follows:

Sokolowski shows that this is an implication of Anselm's formula which states that God is "id quo nihil maius cogitari possit" (that than which nothing greater can be thought). We could formulate this implication as follows: (God plus the world, the creatures) is not 'greater' than God alone. Or: (God plus the world, the creatures) cannot be understood as greater than God alone. The contingency and gratuity of the being of creatures cannot be formulated more sharply; of God it says that He is "nullo alio indigens" (in need of no one or nothing else) and that He must be "benevolens" (benevolent) because He created without needing to do so. (The God of Faith, 6-10, emphasis added).

שמע ישראל: ה 'אלוהינו ה' אחד: "Hear, O Israel: the Lord is our God, the Lord is One" (Deuteronomy 6:4; Mark 12:29). "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost" (Matthew 28:19). One God. Three Persons. Not lonely. A self-sufficient divine fellowship of Three Persons in One God. Absolutely free, overflowing in love, generosity, and grace.

Extraordinary Community News

Tridentine Community News (June 3, 2012):

First Saturday Mass Poll

Now that First Friday Masses have begun at St. Josaphat, we are trying to determine whether there is demand for a First Saturday Mass, and if so, at what time. A poll form is included in this week’s St. Josaphat Latin/English Propers Handout; please fill it out and return it in the collection basket, or mail it in to the parish office. The deadline for submissions is June 17, 2012.

Pentecost Terminology

As with so much in the Church, there is meaning behind things we take for granted. A perfect example is the nomenclature for the season of Pentecost:

The term “Pentecost” refers to 50 days, specifically 50 days after Easter. Lent was the period of 40 days prior to Easter; the Ascension took place 40 days after Easter, and Pentecost ten days after the Ascension. Pentecost is sometimes referred to as “mini-Easter”, because of its significance as the Feast of a Member of the Holy Trinity descending upon mankind. Appropriately, Alleluias persist in the Antiphons of the Mass, as Paschaltide officially lasts until the Saturday after Pentecost.

Some hand missals refer to Pentecost as “Whitsunday” and the Pentecost Octave as Whitsuntide. The term is derived from “White Sunday” and refers to the fact that Baptisms have traditionally been performed on this day; newly Baptized traditionally wear white.

Red vestments are used to symbolize the fire of the Holy Ghost. Roses are often found on the altar, as rose petals symbolize the tongues of fire that descended upon the Apostles at the first Pentecost.

The Ordinary Form calendar may have done away with the Octave of Pentecost, but those of us who follow the Extraordinary Form still enjoy that Octave. Many European countries still treat Pentecost Monday as a public holiday. It is of more than minor interest that the USA Anglican Ordinariate has recently decided to restore the Octave of Pentecost to its own calendar.

Thanks to Fr. Peter Hrytsyk for much of the above info.

The CMAA Sacred Music Colloquium

Two major liturgical conferences which emphasize the Extraordinary Form will be held over the next several weeks. While neither is local, both promise to be fascinating events well worth a trip:

From Monday, June 25 – Sunday, July 1, the annual Sacred Music Colloquium of the Church Music Association of America will be held in Salt Lake City, Utah. Over just a few years, this has developed into the largest conference on traditional Sacred Music held in North America. Several readers of this column have attended in the past, some multiple times. One of the organizers is the CMAA’s well-known Jeffrey Tucker, perhaps this generation’s most avid promoter of the restoration of traditional music and the singing of the Propers in the Ordinary Form. One of the speakers is former Windsor Tridentine Mass music director Matthew Meloche, who will be addressing how to overcome challenges faced in suburban parishes. The overall theme, as always, is practical education in Gregorian Chant and sacred polyphony. You do not need to have musical experience in order to attend; tracks for people of all levels of expertise are offered.

The conference agenda and registration information are available at www.musicasacra.com/colloquium. Several well-produced videos about previous Colloquia may be viewed at www.ccwatershed.org/cmaa.

The Fota Liturgical Conference

Readers may recall that for many years, the premier series of liturgical conferences in Europe were those offered by C.I.E.L. Curiously, apart from some modest conferences put on by the U.K. branch of C.I.E.L., no international conferences have been held for several years. A market tends to fill its own vacancies, however, so in their stead have come the Fota Liturgical Conferences, held in Cork, Ireland. Fota is the name of an island near Cork which is well-known as the home of a wildlife park.

This year’s Fota Conference runs from Saturday, July 7 – Monday, July 9. Raymond Cardinal Burke heads the list of speakers and celebrants, one of whom will be Fr. Daniel Jones, a professor from Detroit’s Sacred Heart Seminary. A list of talks, liturgies and sacred music is available at: http://en.gloria.tv/?media=286247 and a registration form is available at: http://en.gloria.tv/?media=282876.

Volunteers Needed to Set Up for Corpus Christi

This Thursday’s outdoor Corpus Christi procession after Mass at St. Josaphat will involve the traditional stops for adoration at four altars. Volunteers are needed to help set up and take down these four outdoor altars. If you would like to help, please contact Mary Miller via phone, text, or email at (954) 599-3468 or maryelmiller@hotmail.com.

Tridentine Masses This Coming Week

Mon. 06/04 7:00 PM: Low Mass at St. Josaphat (St. Francis Caracciolo, Confessor)

Tue. 06/05 7:00 PM: Low Mass at Assumption-Windsor (St. Boniface, Bishop & Martyr)

Thu. 06/07 7:00 PM: High Mass at St. Josaphat (Corpus Christi) [Procession to follow Mass, outdoors if weather permits]

Please note the two separate Feasts being celebrated next Sunday:
Sun. 06/10 9:30 AM: High Mass at St. Josaphat (Second Sunday After Pentecost)

Sun. 06/10 2:00 PM: High Mass at Assumption-Windsor (External Solemnity of Corpus Christi) [Procession to follow Mass, outdoors if weather permits]

"I will go in unto the Altar of God
To God, Who giveth joy to my youth" [Comments? Please e-mail tridnews@stjosaphatchurch.org. Previous columns are available at www.stjosaphatchurch.org. This edition of Tridentine Community News, with minor editions, is from the St. Josaphat bulletin insert for June 3, 2012. Hat tip to A.B.]

Ramen Girl: a review

Ramen Girlmay be a Grade B flick, but if you've spent any time in Japan or know the language, there are compensations that make this film a lot of fun. The premise is totally contrived, as well as the scenes where the ramen miraculously induces giddy joy or hysterical weeping; and the idea of an American girl who can't speak a word of Japanese apprenticing herself to a Japanese ramen chef who can't speak a word of English is beyond unrealistic -- just as the dialogue in which the girl speaks English and the Japanese ramen chef speaks Japanese, each talking past the uncomprehending other.

What made the movie interesting for me was this: if you understand the language, the harsh, derogatory condescending language of the ramen chef is a dead-on ringer for a particular Japanese character type, and those who recognize it will be highly amused. There are multiple levels of discourse in Japanese depending on whom you're addressing and how respectful or disrespectful you're choosing to be, just as there probably are in any language -- only, in Japanese these are very highly nuanced. The language used in criticism of the American girl is about as bog-low as you can get. This is also reflected in the harsh comportment of the chef toward the girl.

The business about her not being able to capture the damashi or tamashi (魂), or interior spirit of authentic Japanese ramen broth is a bit of a comical stretch, especially when she only finally succeeds by adding her heartfelt tears to the ramen broth, but the manner in which the chef's brusque and harsh demeanor masks an interior and barely-expressed affection for the girl is also on target for the Japanese male, who is typically as incapable of expressing tender emotions as the Teutonic Northern European. There was an attempt at a touching moment toward the end, which almost succeeded.

Another interesting moment was when the ramen master was judging between the dishes of two competing ramen houses, and the suspense builds as he samples the noodles and the broth. A far better Japanese classic along these lines, and one a bit less fanciful but no less entertaining, is the brilliant film, Tampopostarring Ken Watanabe, which I recommend to any interested readers. The scene where the aged connoisseur demonstrates how to properly eat a bowl of ramen is worth the whole movie.

A run at pinning "liberalism" down

I can't believe I missed this one by Mike Liccione, "Pinning 'liberalism' down" (Sacramentum Vitae, February 13, 2012). He's not concerned, he says, with the liberalism of John or the New Deal, which coincided in ways with what Robert Bellah calls an American "civil religion." Rather, he's concerned with "The Thing that Used to Be Liberalism," which, he says has grown scarier and scarier over the last several decades.

On matters of domestic policy, says Liccione, today's "liberals" are actually authoritarian about everything except sex. About sex, they are as laissez-faire as anyone could be. Ah, there it is again: as Peter Kreeft once said (in A Refutation of Moral Relativism),our contemporary society is more moralistic than ever about everything except "the pelvic issues." Liccione provides a provocative and extensive review of the issues in light of current politics.

A book I would recommend highly for a review of "liberalism" with respect to political economy is Christopher Ferrara's The Church and the Libertarian: A Defense of Catholic Teaching on Man, Economy and State. Here one finds sorted out in marvelous detail the shifting meanings of "liberalism" from Lockean "liberalism" to contemporary Democratic "liberalism." The focus of the book, however, is on the Austrian tradition of "liberalism" stemming from Ludwig von Mises, Murray Rothbard, Lew Rockwell, et al., and it's alliance with sectors of contemporary Republican "conservatism" and incompatibility with Catholic Social Teaching at critical points. Well worth reading.

[Hat tip to J.M.]

The lighter side of inhaling

BEST ["TRUE"] LAWYER STORY OF THE YEAR

This took place in Charlotte, North Carolina. A lawyer purchased a box of very rare and expensive cigars, then insured them against, among other things, fire. Within a month, having smoked his entire stockpile of these great cigars, the lawyer filed a claim against the insurance company.

In his claim, the lawyer stated the cigars were lost 'in a series of small fires.' The insurance company refused to pay, citing the obvious reason, that the man had consumed the cigars in the normal fashion. The lawyer sued - and WON! (Stay with me.) Delivering the ruling, the judge agreed with the insurance company that the claim was frivolous.

The judge stated nevertheless, that the lawyer held a policy from the company, in which it had warranted that the cigars were insurable and also guaranteed that it would insure them against fire, without defining what is considered to be unacceptable 'fire' and was obligated to pay the claim.

Rather than endure lengthy and costly appeal process, the insurance company accepted the ruling and paid $15,000 to the lawyer for his loss of the cigars that perished in the 'fires'.

NOW FOR THE BEST PART... After the lawyer cashed the check, the insurance company had him arrested on 24 counts of ARSON!!! With his own insurance claim and testimony from the previous case being used against him, the lawyer was convicted of intentionally burning his insured property and was sentenced to 24 months in jail and a $24,000 fine.

This true story won First Place in last year's Criminal Lawyers Award contest.

[Hat tip to J.S.]

IMAX fly over of Jerusalem, Holy Land

A spectacular aerial tour of the Holy Land. Enlarge your screen, and enjoy.
[Hat tip to Rose Farrugia]