Introducing the 'Lenoir-Rhyne Onion'

For some laughs and good fun, check out the Lenoir-Rhyne Onion.

Climatologist: global warming 'greatest deception in history of science'

Timothy Ball, "Global Warming: The Cold, Hard Facts?" (Canada Free Press, February 5, 2006), argues that global warming is not due to human contribution of carbon dioxide. One quotation is particularly amusing:

"It is a cold fact: the Global Cooling presents humankind with the most important social, political, and adaptive challenge we have had to deal with for ten thousand years. Your stake in the decisions we make concerning it is of ultimate importance; the survival of ourselves, our children, our species," wrote Lowell Ponte in 1976.

How's the weather outside where you are?

Faith, Hope and Love with a Blue Blanket!

I have it on good authority from a seminarian of the Diocese of Charlotte currently in formation at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia, that Linus grew up to be a priest.

"Of course Linus grew up to be a priest," he said. "If I have not given you the complete story, just let me know."

It was yesterday (February 5th) when he emailed me that. After emailing my reply that I was eagerly awaiting the complete details about Fr. Linus, the reply was waiting in my 'in' box for me this morning from Philadelphia.

The rest of the story about Linus comes from a conversation the seminarian had with a group of eighth graders. The conversation was supposed to be theological, and it was; but it also revealed to story about Linus. Here is how the story goes:

I mentioned the image of Snoopy on [a] poster, and asked them if they were familiar with the characters in the series. When they agreed, and looked at me strangely because this guy in a clerical collar was asking about a cartoon, I began questioning them. “Who is Charlie Brown’s best friend?” I asked. When one responded “Linus,” I asked if they knew what vocation Linus chose in life. When the said nothing, but looked attentively, I revealed my theory: “Linus grew up to be a priest!”

Being met with some laughter, I began to ask questions that directly relate to theology. “What are the three theological virtues?” I inquired, and, with a little help from his friends, one young man answered, “faith, hope, and love.” I agreed, and then told them that I could demonstrate that Linus typifies these three virtues. Beginning with hope, I asked the class what hope was, and if they knew in which episode Linus showed a great degree of hope. After giving a few hints, one young lady exclaimed, “The Great Pumpkin!” Confirming that answer, I clarified for some of the class that she had correctly identified an example of the virtue of hope. Moving to love, I asked the class how Linus treated his best friend, Charlie Brown and his younger sister, Sally. After a moment of discussion, we settled on the fact that Linus showed love in his relationships with others. A few of the students mentioned specific instances of this virtuous behavior. As an aside, I mentioned that Sally was always declaring her love for Linus but that he was always, in a loving way, rejecting her overtures. He was obviously called to celibacy.

We then moved to the virtue of faith, and I asked if anyone could tell me an episode where Linus showed faith. One young woman raised her hand and said, “the Christmas episode.” It is Linus who proclaims the gospel at Christmas, sharing the faith of the Church. One final aspect of his priestly vocation was the blanket he carries. I asked if they knew what color the blanket was. Most responded, with some enthusiasm, “Blue.” “Who is represented by blue?” I asked. “Mary” they responded. I agreed, and informed them that devotion to the Blessed Mother was important in the life of every Catholic, and essential in the life of a priest. We concluded with a review of the virtues, the examples we saw of them, and a mention Marian devotion.

Incidentally, please note the fine print below stating that this story is copyrighted and used by permission of the author.

[Acknowledgments: the story above, "Faith, Hope, and Love with a Blue Blanket!" is by Benjamin Adam Roberts (copyright © 2005 Benjamin Adam Roberts), and reproduced here by kind permission of the author.]

The "Decadent Path to Christ"

As a follow-up on our post, "The surprising stories of converts . . ." (Musings, Wednesday, January 31, 2007), we offer the following fascinating quotation from Joseph Pearce's Literary Giants, Literary Catholics:

"Baudelaire, Verlaine, Huysmans, Beardsley, Johnson, and Dowson had all followed the 'Decadent Path to Christ', repenting of their sins and embracing the loving forgiveness to be found in Mother Church." (p. 77)

I hadn't known about Baudelaire, which came as a bit of a surprise. One can't help think of others, too, of course -- such as Oscar Wilde whose deathbed conversion, after he had authored the penitent De Profundis in Redding Gaol for his homosexual scandal, and again relapsed and run back to his homosexual lover, Lord Alfred Douglas ('Bosie'), we hope, may have landed him in Purgatory by the back door and the skin of his teeth. But many of those mentioned by Pearce, too -- perhaps most notably Huysmans -- were notoriously degenerate before seeing the light and turning to Christ and Mother Church. One's mind turns, as well, to the tremendous ironies of the history of Redemption in the Gospels, to how even the very genealogy of our Savior includes the names of those who were once prostitutes, murderers and adulterers -- now washed clean by the blood of Him whose ancestral line they feign to honor. The Lord has amazing grace . . . and a sense of humor.

Pope: Faith-Reason Split is "Schizophrenia"

I love this word smithing -- the Holy Father's penchant for distilling things down to their most memorable drop of lucid brilliance. Just as his earlier expression, a "dictatorship of relativism," offered a dead-on nut-shell description of the regnant value-orientation of the contemporary imperial West, so here his reference to "schizophrenia" aptly describes the disjointed way in which the vast majority of western individuals relate values to facts, mind to body, the spiritual to the material, religion to science, the sacred to the secular, faith to reason in their comportment toward the world.

"The modern development of the sciences brings countless positive effects, which must always be acknowledged," the Pope acknowledges. But he he also goes on to point out: "At the same time, however, it must be admitted that the tendency to consider true only that which can be experienced constitutes a limitation for human reason and produces a terrible schizophrenia, evident to all, because of which rationalism and materialism, and hypertechnology and unbridled instincts, coexist."

The Holy Father made these comments on January 28, 2007, before reciting the Angelus with the thousands gathered in St. Peter's Square, on the calendar day that normally would be the liturgical memorial of St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), "a great doctor of the Church." Naturally, he referenced his predecessor, John Paul II's Encyclical, Fides et Ratio, on the relationship between 'faith' and 'reason'. Benedict has billed the healing of the cultural "schizophrenia" that separates faith from reason as one of today's most important challenges. See Pope: Faith-Reason Split Is "Schizophrenia" (ZENIT, 1/28/07)

Of related interest:

By the way, one the profoundest and best, if seemingly unlikely, sources from which you may find a solution to this schizophrenic vision is the integrating sacramental vision of the world offered by Thomas Howard in his book, which I cannot recommend highly enough, Chance or the Dance: A Critique of Modern Secularism. It is a book that deserves to be read on many different levels -- enjoyed, savored, contemplated, and carefully studied.

How to Pray the Rosary

The Catholic Company has posted a How to Pray the Rosary information page. Anyone unfamiliar with the Rosary, will appreciate its information on The Basics of the Rosary | The Prayers of the Rosary | The Mysteries of the Rosary | Joyful Mysteries | Sorrowful Mysteries | Glorious Mysteries | Luminous Mysteries | Rosary FAQs | How to Pray the Rosary Handout - PDF | as well as their full selection of Rosaries.

NOR celebrates 30th anniversary

Dale Vree, "Our 30th Anniversary" (Editorial, NOR, February 2007). NOR was born in February of 1977. Originally it was an Anglo-Catholic publication, but broke from its Episcopalian affiliation and became Roman Catholic in 1983. In the transition, NOR helped bring many Episcopalians into the Catholic Church but also lost many subscibers -- some 3,400 -- and nearly went bankrupt. Many people wanted to buy or control the magazine, but NOR turned down their offers. Ever controversial, NOR has managed, by the grace of God, says Vree, both to maintain its independence and to survive, despite the frequently rocky road it has thus far traversed.

Congratulations, Dale, to you and your family -- and best wishes for many more years to come!

Attacks on Jews in UK hits record high

'Wave of hatred' warning as attacks on Jews hits record high (Daily Mail, February 1, 2007).

Bishop supports Communion ban for pro-abort pols

In an interview in the nation's capital, the Most Reverend Paul S. Coakley, Bishop of Salina, KS, Denying Communion to Obstinate Pro-Abortion Catholic Politicians "in many cases becomes the right decision and the only choice" (Lifesite, Jan. 31, 2007).

Prayer request

A reader forwarded to us a prayer request from a third party, a gentleman who reports the following:

My wife and I just found out today from our doctor that our new baby (due in mid-April) has developed a heart tumor. The doctors have said that the baby has a 50/50 chance of survival, and they very well may need to schedule an early labor so that a surgery can be performed quickly.... Your prayers will be much appreciated.

He also states although they have not yet learned the gender of the baby, which they should know by next week, they have chosen the prospective names of "Felicity" for a girl and "Justin" for a boy, and solicit the intercession of St. Justin and St. Felicity for the safety of their child.

'Mummy's boys' unfit to stay wed, says Rome

A London Telegraph article by Nick Pisa carries the headline, 'Mummy's boys' unfit to stay wed, says Rome (Telegraph.co.uk, January 29, 2007).

Judges on the Roman Rota, the top Catholic tribunal in the Vatican, agreed for an undisclosed number of marriages to be annulled on such grounds, according to a review of the judicial year.

They ruled that the "overbearing influence of a mother or father meant that the psychological autonomy needed for marriage was lacking".

On the other hand, the article also reported that Pope Benedict XVI appealed to judges on the panel not to grant annulments freely and said: "Marriage is not a legal structure that human desire can manipulate at its will." Furthermore, the statistics from the last year are of note:

According to the statistics released for 2005, the judges approved just 67 marriage annulments after looking at 1,637 cases. Appeals for marriage annulments were increasing and that, although they arrived from 27 countries, the largest number, 127, came from Italy.

The surprising stories of converts . . .

Being a convert myself, I am ceaselessly amazed at the diverse backgrounds and paths from which our Lord draws converts to His Church. Some of you may have taken a look at my list of "Notable Catholic Converts" linked -- along with my other blogs -- in the sidebar of this blog. I keep updating this list occasionally, including not only 'notable' converts, but ordinary 'pew peasants' like myself (I will be happy to list any of you who email me your name, basic biographical information, religous background, and year of reception into the Church).

My most recent discoveries (not yet added to the list -- this takes a little time), include R.R. Reno (2005), Ola Tjørhom (2003), Randall Terry (2006), Orestes A. Brownson (1844), Henry G. Graham (author of Where We Got the Bible; no date yet, but I'm guessing ca. 1905-10), David Mills (senior Editor of Touchstone magazine; no date yet, but I'm guessing 2001 or 2002), and E.F. Schumacher (author of Small Is Beautiful; no date, but I'm guessing 1972, from this delightful piece by Charles Fager, "Small Is Beautiful, and So Is Rome: Surprising Faith of E.F. Schumacher" Religion-Online).

I have information from at least two or three of you that I have not yet posted online, for which I ask your indulgence: I promise it will appear in due time.

The stories, as I say, are ceaselessly amazing, inspiring, humbling, edifying, and very often surprising. "No news is good news," they say; but that's because the news media generally pander to our basest and most prurient appetites (another reason I am happy to have lived without television for the past 30 years). The news media manage to fill up their daily quota of alloted time and space (including human mental space) with much that is simply depressing -- about the latest killings in Iraq, terrorist bombings, murders, rapes, global warming, dystopic forcasts, etc. As important as these events may be, this myopic focus forms in the human mind an exceedingly distorted picture of the world. It shows us nothing of the wonder of a child's hour spent on a playground flying a kite, or a son's camping trip with his Boy Scout troop, or the experience of creating your first successful Tiramisu and sharing it with family and friends. Even on the religion front, there is plenty of good news in the world, though it's not often bound to make headlines (one rare exception is Chuck Colson's recent article, "Christian Comeback in Europe" on the revival of Christianity in the postmodern, secularist Netherlands). But if you want some really great stories to balance the horror of what Herbert Marcuse used to call telenewsmagspeak, try reading the stories of converts, which, like the classic stories of Saints, not only offer balance, but put things in eternity's perspective.

Of related interest:

• Timothy Drake, ed., Richard John Neuhaus, Foreword, There We Stood, Here We Stand: Eleven Lutherans Rediscover Their Catholic Roots
• Richard John Neuhaus, Catholic Matters: Confusion, Controversy, And the Splendor of Truth
• Scott and Kimberly Hahn, Rome Sweet Home: Our Journey to Catholicism
• Scott Hahn, Catholic for a Reason: Scripture and the Mystery of the Family of God
• Scott Hahn, Catholic for a Reason II: Scripture and the Mystery of the Mother of God, Second Edition
• Patrick Madrid, ed., Surprised by Truth: 11 Converts Give the Biblical and Historical Reasons for Becoming Catholic
• Patrick Madrid, ed., Surprised By Truth 2: 15 Men and Women Give the Biblical and Historical Reasons For Becoming Catholic
• Patrick Madrid, ed., Surprised by Truth 3: 10 More Converts Explain the Biblical and Historical Reason for Becoming Catholic
• Mark Shea, By What Authority?: An Evangelical Discovers Catholic Tradition
• Thomas Howard, Lead, Kindly Light: My Journey To Rome
• Thomas Howard, Evangelical Is Not Enough: Worship of God in Liturgy and Sacrament
• Stephen K. Ray, Crossing the Tiber: Evangelical Protestants Discover the Historical Church
• David B. Currie, Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic
• Dave Armstrong, A Biblical Defense of Catholicism
• Louis Bouyer, The Spirit and Forms of Protestantism
• Robert Baram, ed., Spiritual Journeys: Twenty-Seven Personal Experiences
• G.K. Chesterton, The Catholic Church And Conversion
• Ronald A. Knox, A spiritual Aeneid
• Ronald A. Knox, The Church on Earth: The Nature and Authority of the Catholic Church, and the Place of the Pope Within It
• Dan O’Neill, The New Catholics: Contemporary Converts Tell Their Stories
• Sheldon Vanauken, Under the Mercy (sequel to A Severe Mercy)
• John Henry Cardinal Newman, Apologia Pro Vita Sua
• Peter Kreeft, Fundamentals of the Faith: Essays in Christian Apologetics
• Thomas Merton, The Seven Storey Mountain
• David Armstrong, ed., Malcolm Muggeridge’s Conversion Story

Martini vs. Pope over Euthanasia

For the former archbishop of Milan, the seriously ill person has at every moment the right to interrupt the care that keeps him alive. No, objects Bishop Elio Sgreccia, the president of the Pontifical Academy for Life in a January 23rd article in a major Milan newspaper. But the real clash is between Martini and the pope. See Sandro Magister's article, "Cardinal Martini and Euthanasia: When It Is Licit to Cut Life Short" (www.chiesa, January 30, 2007), for Martini's defection from the Church's public position over the case of Piergiorgio Welby, a seriously ill man who, at his own request, died at the hands of a doctor three days before Christmas. The case is said to have generated nearly as much public emotion as that surrounding the Terry Schiavo case in America.

William R. Farmer's critique of the Jesus Seminar

William R. Farmer, emeritus professor of the New Testament at Southern Methodist University and research scholar at the University of Dallas, is author of Part Two in the Crisis magazine series on the Jesus Seminar. He begins by posing -- and thetically answering -- a decisive question:

The Church canonized only four Gospels; however, Robert Funk, the leader of the Jesus Seminar, wants to add the Gospel of Thomas and the Sayings Gospel Q to our canon. This poses the question: Why did the Church canonize four Gospels and no more? The answer is that Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are the only Gospels that tell the story of "the flesh and blood martyrdom of the Son of God."

This is the question Farmer explores in detail in his critique of the Jesus Seminar, "Robert Funk & the Jesus Seminar" (Jesus Seminar Critically Examined, January 30, 2007). Farmer's recent publications include The Gospel of Jesus: The Pastoral Relevance of the Synoptic Problem (1994), Anti-Judaism and the Gospels (1999), and The Last Twelve Verses of Mark (Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series) (2005).

Thought of the evening (9:00pm)

. . . And thank the Lord
For the temporal sword,
And howling heretics too;
And whatever good things
Our Christendom brings,
But especially barley brew!

-- Hilaire Belloc (from Song of the Pelagian Heresy for the Strengthening of Men's Backs and the Very Robust Out-Thrusting of Doubtful Doctrine and the Uncertain Intellectual, also known as The Pelagian Drinking Song)

[Credit: "Catholic Humour - Bring on the Barley Brew!!!" (Where London Ends, Dec. 11, 2006)]