Transitus...

Shortly after 7PM little Therese died this very same evening in 1897. I was working tonight and forgot.

She died much like Our Lord, suffocating in great agony; the weeks and days leading up to her death, St. Therese suffered an ineffable darkness, "the trial of Faith". Neither her own words, nor those of any other living person, can describe what it was like to share so intimately her Beloved's death. Not even her sisters could comprehend it.

Therese is little, and yet great. Nevertheless she is always little...very, very little. I sometimes lament she has been declared a Doctor of the Church, resulting in many academics, intellectuals, and masters of theology and spirituality making a science of her "little way." Many times they miss. They miss her "littleness" - her insignificance...

The only great theologian or mystic that I know of who best writes of her life is St. John of the Cross, the writer whose works Therese's spirituality most perfectly embodies. John of the Cross was a little soul as well.

And the person who most closely lived Little Therese's "little way" was even more little and insignificant that herself - Blessed Teresa of Calcutta.

Happy feast day little God-Mother!

Contemplating death...

Did you ever have a recurring dream? Today's reading from Mass seemed like that to me.

The responsorial psalm is the same as Thursday's;

"Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart." Psalm 90

The first reading from Ecclesiastes speaks to man's end..."Vanity of vanities!"

While our Lord warns his disciples, "Pay attention...the Son of Man is to be handed over to men." Luke 9, 43.

The disciples "were afraid to ask him about this saying." I believe this betrays a human fear of death, and therefore, something akin to a denial of death.

Few of us are prepared for death. We may think we are, yet I'm pretty certain we are afraid of it. I used to boast I had no fear of it. That is also a sort of denial...a vanity.

St. Joseph, patron of a happy death, pray for us now and at the hour of ours.

Working on the Gift Catalog

Painting: Detail from "Milagro" by T. Nelson.

It's a "greeting card" style painting I did of the phenomena of people seeing images of Mary in water stained walls and other things - I like the patina.

I might be using a scumbled and diffused version in our gift catalog - as a page bckground.

I'm busy doing the catalog - so blogging will be light.

Vanitas

Painting by Chris Beaumont, 1988

"Vanity of vanities! All things are vanity!" Ecclesiastes 1

Our first reading from Mass today. Later in the reading, "All speech is labored, there is nothing one can say."

In the responsorial psalm we pray, "Teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart."

The Holy Spirit tells us about Herod in today's gospel, "And he kept trying to see him." Jesus. Yet out of curiosity.

In Magnificat, the commentary from Josef Pieper discusses curiositas in reference to custody of the eyes. Blogging in all of it's forms is a vanity.

"All speech is labored; there is nothing one can say. The eye is not satisfied with seeing nor is the ear satisfied with hearing." Ecclesiastes.

O Lord, teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain wisdom of heart.

On Spirit Daily, Brown had a post linked to a kid's video inside St. Peter's at Rome that showed a ghostly figure near the high altar. Curious. It struck me however, as indicative of how some people seek signs and wonders and apparitions and revelations to nourish and instruct their faith, while missing the presence of Jesus; in the Eucharist, in the Church, in the Scriptures. This in addition to not heeding the authentic Teaching Magisterium of the Church. In this, we all can be a little like Herod at times.

In Memoriam

September 28

Albino Luciani 1912-1978

The Servant of God, Pope John Paul I



Holy Father, pray for us, now and at the hour of our death. Amen

"Falsehood I hate and abhor" Psalm 119

Giovanni Bellini: "Allegory of Deceit"

Having grown up in an atmosphere of dishonesty and pretense, the product of alcoholic parents, since earliest childhood I decided two things, to always be honest, and not to care about status - oh, and there was a third - never to marry. (I never wanted to repeat the errors of my parents.) Today's first reading reminded me of this, "Two things I ask of you, deny them not to me before I die: Put falsehood and lying far from me, give me neither poverty or riches; provide me only with the food I need; lest being full, I deny you, or being in want, I steal, and profane the name of my God." -Proverbs

In my efforts to be honest I have often lacked tact. Once the owner of the company I worked for had me look at some artwork from a gentleman we both knew. He is a very good, devout man, the father of a priest. The piece he was showing us was by another very devout woman, a holy picture they hoped we would print and sell. When I looked at it I just said, "Oh, that's nice." Then they asked if I thought we could sell it.

I answered, "No, it is badly drawn." I then constructively pointed out the defects, the lack of artistic merit, while going on to explain how sometimes, in our devotion, we are convinced God wants a commercial endeavor to prosper. I explained that could certainly be his will - but not at such an incomplete stage. One has to be able to market it. (And of course, one has to have talent for the enterprise.)

I always get myself in trouble for my candor - even more so when I attempt to couch it in humor - which few people understand. I just hate deceit...except when it's jocose. (That is, when a statement is obviously absurd, ironic, or just ridiculous. I'm prone to do this in arguments or serious conversations that are going no place. I say something so ridiculous one couldn't possibly believe it. It's funny in a dumb way, and it breaks the tension - usually, or at least allows me to leave on a "high note" like George, from "Seinfeld.")

Today, I ask the Lord once again, "Put falsehood and lying far from me." And again, "Remove from me the way of falsehood, and favor me with your law."

I KNOW!

Pictured:
An extraordinary minister of the Eucharist.


Don Marco, my friend from Rome is in the U.S. for a time. He must be helping out at various parish liturgies and has come to see how the American Catholic church operates. (He is currently chaplain to a community of Benedictine nuns.) In his latest post, he does not say where a recent experience of Eucharistic ministers occurred, but it spurred him to write about it. You have got to read it on his blog "Vultus Christi". Many of us know all of this already and yet have had to live with it for decades - it's nice to read a fresh take on the matter however. Good job Don Marco!

(When I left the novitiate at the Trappists, one of the most difficult adjustments for me were the liturgical goings on in the various parishes I attended Mass.)

Devil on my shoulder?

Pictured: Botero - "Self-Portrait On My First Communion Day."

I was told that I probably had the devil on my shoulder when I wrote critically about the dress company selling modest dresses. The now unnamed website feels their clothes are fashionable, yet modest, for girls. I've been told numerous times the post was not nice. (Check out "Fashion Week...") The fellow who showed the line to me also said he wished he had not. So do I.

A few days ago I was told I'm going to purgatory for thousands of years for the Warhol post. Others say hell.

So let them sell "Little House on the Prairie" fashions - if they believe in it, how does my opinion count? So what?

I also covered the woman's breast on the Warhol photo for that post.

Inquisition anyone?

St's Cosmas and Damien

The Holy Helpers.

The two physician saints are depicted here in one of their most famous posthumous miracles. They replaced the diseased leg of a man with the leg of another man who had died. It was obviously from a man of color. Hence, the worlds first leg transplant...probably not so astonishing for self-sufficient moderns, who have become accustomed to transplant surgeries. If you are going in for a transplant, I think I would pray to these two saints if I were you. If you're waiting for a transplant, all the more reason to invoke their assistance.

Go to Don Marco's site, "Vultus Christi" for everything you want to know about these two saints.

The blessed Pope, John Paul I

I read with joy that the Holy Father's cause is progressing well. He was like a shooting star, having reigned for only a month. He humbly combined his predecessor's names to become the first pope in history with a double name. By this act he demonstrated to the world and the Church that the Vatican Council was indeed an authentic council and the papacy would continue the reforms initiated there. John Paul II proved likewise.

Such a short reign, marked by extraordinary humility and charity - you see this in his face. Pray for us John Paul I as we prepare for the anniversary of your death, pray for unity within the Church. (JPI's anniversary of death is September 28 - he died in 1978.)

Here is the article:

"Rome, Sep. 25 (CWNews.com) - The diocesan investigation into the cause for beatification of Pope John Paul I is nearing its conclusion, 28 years after the death of "the smiling Pope."

Thursday, September 28 will mark the anniversary of the sudden death of Pope John Paul I, who had succeeded Pope Paul VI just 33 days earlier. According to an official responsible for the cause, the diocesan inquiry will come to an end within a few more weeks.

Ordinarily, the local investigation of a cause for beatification begins in the diocese where the candidate died. But in this case, for a variety of reasons-- including the fact that Pope John Paul I had spent so little time as Bishop of Rome-- the inquiry was begun in the Belluno diocese, where Albino Luciani was born in 1912. According to Msgr. Giorgio Lise, a vice-postulator for the cause, the diocesan inquiry is likely to conclude by the feast of St. Martin, the patron of the Belluno diocese, on November 11." [snip] continued

Too funny!

Liza Minnelli - LOL!

I don't believe there has been anyone more amusing since Tammy Faye Baker.

The judge in the civil case brought against Liza by her soon to be ex-husband David Gest, with his claims of spousal abuse - naming Minnelli as the perpetrator, has now ruled in Liza's favor. He threw the case out. The divorce may now proceed.

Michael Jackson introduced the two, and he and Elizabeth Taylor were maids of honor at their wedding. It so should be made into a movie or something.

Go here if you're at all interested.

St. Sergius of Radonezh

Monk and mystic - friend of animals.


My favorite saint from the Russian calendar. He founded, if my memory serves me, the famous Monastery of the Holy Trinity near Moscow, along with a couple of others as well. He had frequent apparitions of the Mother of God, lived the ascetic life most perfectly, and had the animals of the forest, including bears, eating out of his hands. He is like the St. Francis of the Russian Orthodox Church. September 25 is his feast day. He died in 1392.


Viit here for details on his life.

"There you go again." - Ronald Reagan

I thought of that quote from Reagan after reading about Mel Gibson's criticism of the war in Iraq. A war no one wants, or likes, but is connected to the war on terrorism, just as much as the war against Nazi Germany and Japan were connected in the mid 20th century.

I find it curious that Mel is so vocal about the "human sacrifice" our Country is committing by sending our young men to fight in Iraq, and connecting that to the Mayan cult of human sacrifice. This country has been committing human sacrifice for decades with the legalization of abortion. Gibson knows that. I did not see it mentioned in the news reports I read of him promoting this new movie of his, nor in his calling for a new movie against the war.

One just cannot help but wonder, now that Disney will release his film, "Apocalypto," if Mel isn't doing some PR work on his own to overcome the scandal in a teapot he created with his drunken remarks about Jews a few months back. Hollywood is overwhelmingly against Bush and the war, is he playing into their hands looking for reconciliation? Or is he just promoting his film? Here is a snip of the article concerning his latest statements:

"LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Mel Gibson has returned to the spotlight to promote his upcoming movie "Apocalypto," and to criticize the war in Iraq, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Almost two months after he railed against Jews when he was arrested for driving drunk in Malibu, the actor made a surprise appearance Friday at Fantastic Fest, an event in Austin, Texas, devoted to new science fiction, horror and fantasy films, the trade paper said in its Monday edition.

He presented a work-in-progress screening of his Mayan adventure tale, and then took questions. About one-third of the full house gathered for the film gave him a standing ovation. The film is scheduled for a December 8 release via Disney.

In describing its portrait of a civilization in decline, Gibson said, "The precursors to a civilization that's going under are the same, time and time again," drawing parallels between the Mayan civilization on the brink of collapse and America's present situation. "What's human sacrifice," he asked, "if not sending guys off to Iraq for no reason?"" [snip]

Never trust Hollywood. Perhaps one other sign of our decline is that the public is so willing to esteem the opinion of entertainers over those more qualified voices who have long warned of 'the death of the West'. It should be obvious to every thinking person that our civilization has been in decline for quite some time, since the legalization of abortion, to be sure. The war is less a sign of the decline as it is an effort to salvage, and maybe protect what is left. The signs of our decline are manifold; first and foremost is the acceptance and promotion of infanticide/abortion, child pornography, along with the sexual exploitation and abuse of children, our open-ended consideration of euthanasia, rape, murder, drug and alcohol abuse, prescription drugs for the depression epidemic in our country, divorce, illegitimate children, domestic abuse, homosexuality, and so on. The list is a long one. Not to mention the trash that comes out of Hollywood - some of it Gibson's.

Katherine Hepburn said it best when in an interview, after being asked what she thought of the Hollywood film community, "Pigs. They are all pigs."

This modesty thing...

It's taking on a life of it's own!

My post on Warhol, with the picture from "The Factory" drew a few comments - via email. Some people were concerned about the nudity. One of the characters has a breast exposed. As an artist - an old one now - I don't eroticize or objectify the human body. I'll admit for a time I avoided life studies in my youth because I had - I was late teens, early twenties. I had to get over it - impure thoughts emanate from the heart. To be sure, pornography, along with our adolescent, obsessive-compulsive sexualized culture influences that, while at the same time ensnares the passions. Pornography, soft or hard core, has destroyed our sensibilities. My recent posts and the emails I received have raised the question however, why is the female breast eroticized? Are men's pecs eroticized? I just don't get it.

Throughout the history of art the human body has been celebrated for it's beauty. We have lovely images of the Madonna nursing the Infant Jesus. This one attributed to Da Vinci is particularly tender, chaste, and lovely...yet they all are. I do not even object to a mother nursing in public - it is so not a sexual act. To think so is diabolical, anti-woman, anti-child, -anti-life. Being a prude is not a virtue.

A man who works in our warehouse once shielded his eyes from a metal bas-relief of a similar image of the Madonna. I don't get it. I have had customers complain of an antique retablo of the Virgin of the Milk we have for sale - a classic Ecuadorian image of devotion. Another person complained of an image we sold of a detail of the Sistine Chapel of one of the allegorical figures nursing a child.

It has got to be the exaggerated American fixation on the breasts of women, the larger the better. There are even restaurants named after them. Radio talk shows, shock jocks, continually talk about them. It is totally absurd. It's offensive to women. While some women go in for breast enhancement surgery, falling for the vain joy men are attracted to. Regardless of the morality involved, it is just dumb, teenage, adolescent - stupid. Ah! Dorky! (Now the word fits!)

It is such a strange culture we live in. I don't think I'll know where to look anymore when speaking to women, especially those who wear printed t-shirts or medals hanging over their breasts, or low cut dresses. C'mon guys - grow up - she ain't yo' mama!


Granted, the woman in the Factory photo is not nursing,
however the image remains innocuous - it is emblematic of the decadence, albeit adolescent, of the Warhol milieu. As it stands, it is art - not pornography, no more than Caravaggio's painting of the Madonna of the Rosary with an old man sucking the breast of a maid - shown here. (Oh! Maybe this breast thing isn't just a 20th century American male thing?)




It's just a breast. Learn to think of it as a feeding tube if it's so troubling. This extraordinary self consciousness of women about their breasts, influenced, in part by men's lust, keeps many back from even inspecting them for breast cancer or going for mammograms, things that could save their lives. Guys, get over the obsession.

Dr. Seuss

He invented the word 'nerd'. I never knew that. I didn't like Dr. Seuss as a kid because I early on developed a taste for fine art, therefore cartoons held no fascination for me. I always read the stories of saints and rarely anything else - well maybe Greek mythology and Grimm's Fairy Tales - but that is about it.

Now as an adult I like Dr. Seuss and the Simpson's.

So he invented 'nerd'. What is the origin of the word 'dork'? I'll look that up. What if it says, 'Terry Nelson'?

Our Lady of Ransom

Or, Our Lady of Mercy.

Today's feast of Our Lady is primarily celebrated in South American countries and in Spain. It is the titular feast of the order of friars known as the Mercedarians, founded by St. Peter Nolasco. St. Raymond Nonnatus was also a member of this order, founded to ransom Catholic slaves held captive by Muslims.

Unlike today, when there is no bargaining with terrorists, in those days ransom would be paid to free those held captive. St. Raymond exchanged himself for such and was enslaved for a time. The Saracens pierced his lips with a padlock to prevent him from speaking about the Catholic faith. He himself was later ransomed by his fellow Mercedarians.

Things do not seem to have changed much with Muslim-Christian relations have they? The Holy Father meets with Muslim leaders tomorrow. Let's pray Our Lady to guide this meeting.

During the English persecutions under the reign of Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, devotion to Our Lady of Ransom took on greater fervor in the hopes of bringing the Church of England back into "Our Lady's Dowry".

In our day, aside from the continued threats of terrorism, our culture is faced with many other moral afflictions, such as addictions to vice and various obsessive-compulsive disorders. Our Lady of Ransom would seem to be the title one could implore Our Lady to obtain freedom from those sins that ensnare us.

Sunday supplement on modest fashions...

There are modest fashions available. Check the web. A woman can find modest fashions that do not look like Pollyanna or some gypsy fortune teller. I found them.

1st photo: Ralph Lauren, Spring 2006

But if someone is serious about modest fashions, go into design. Study fashion design - go to school. Educate your taste. Go back to the earlier designers; Chanel, Balenciaga, Dior, Givenchy, Blass, and research what was classic in their designs and update it. Fashion is nothing but older looks updated and recycled. Be creative. What I have seen on modesty fashion sites is awful.

I have some photos here of modest fashions. Is the skirt too short? Lengthen it. The neckline too low? Wear a shell or a scarf. There is nothing wrong with these clothes. The mistake many women and girls make is they go after trend instead of classics - or sometimes worse, they go after "cute" - only babies and little kids are cute. There is no reason to look dowdy. If you don't have taste, get advice. If you can't afford designer, learn to sew. But don't dress like a frump.




2nd photo: Ralph Laren, Fall 2006

Could she be any more covered?













3rd photo: Ralph Lauren, Fall 2006

What could be more modest except maybe a burka?














4th photo: Balenciaga, Spring 2006.


This dress is modest, simple,
clean, no silly frillies.
(Lengthen the skirt if it's too short.)



There are indeed modest styles out there - search the web. Granted, the above examples may be for women instead of girls, but they are examples. Ray, of Stella Borealis found this site from Regnum Christi - not exactly high fashion, but it's contemporary, and as I told him, it doesn't look like "Little House On The Prairie".

It must be Fashion Week on Abbey-Roads...

Actually - it's "Glamorama" week at Dayton's-Marshall Fields - oops! Macy's now. At least Macy's continued "Glamorama" - a Dayton invention carried over when they acquired Marshall Fields. (I hate Macy's - never liked the store, not even in "Miracle on 34th Street", much less in "Auntie Mame" - those are old movies for you toddlers. And professionally speaking, the NYC flagship store was never done well and couldn't hold a candle to Dayton's in it's golden age with Andrew Markopolous - I was there!)

Anyway, a co-worker whom I respect, whose sister worked for - I believe - Calvin Klein in NYC and whose mother looks like a jet-set fashionista, (Neither would endorse these designs.) approached me with the idea of selling modest fashions in our Store. He directed me to his friends website. This site and the other I will refer to both look so 1950's and dated, it's hard to imagine they would attract anyone under 70 years old.

This white dress photo is representative of the fashions they offer - made in Vietnam - by who? For how much money Kathy Lee? It looks like 'farmer in the dell' clothing. I know modest clothes are hard to come by, but I'd rather have my wife or daughter go vintage than buy clothes that look like this. These are not fashionable clothes. If a young girl or young woman were to wear these she would look like the late Queen Mother from the British Royal Family.

Anyway - there is no way we will be selling or promoting clothes like these anytime soon. We stop at chapel veils.

Another co-worker, well a couple of them, also like this site "She Maketh Herself Coverings" - the site is so lame I can't bring myself to post any photos. Looking at these sites makes me think of my friends who joined a community called Hutterite Bretheren - I always asked them, "Do you have to wear those outfits?" I mean it's bad enough that they left the Church to join a Protestant group, but the clothes...

I think some Catholics must be headed in that direction as well. They claim to be offering fashionable clothes, but fashionable when?

Well, I did it, I told my co-worker I'd at least mention the website on my blog - I deleted the name out of respect for the proprietors. (I hope he doesn't make his wife dress like this! Gosh! It's just creepy! I'm going to our Christmas party just to talk to his mother and find out what's up with him - and I'll still be able to leave before the dinner.)

"Usually one must go to a bowling alley to meet a woman of your stature." - John Gielgud, "Arthur"

The "Drive Time Divas" on 107 FM, Lori and Julia, daily at 3-6PM.

Yeah, I listen to the show - I discovered it by accident while driving home one night about a year ago. Lori sounded to me like the "Cat Lady" from a bit on KQ. I listened because it was like overhearing women's conversation in a powder room. I was curious - is that really what women talk about? (Men often want to know, since they usually can't figure out what they just said.) Sometimes it's pretty funny - LOL funny.

Niether woman is very intelligent - probably good business women, but they are not that bright. They continually mispronounce and misuse words, that are obviously "too big for them". Lori really does believe she is a diva, sort of a fashion expert. I don't know if it was Lori or Julia who sold shoes at Dayton's in Downtown St. Paul, always one of the "B" stores of the corporation. St. Paul has never been remarkable for many fashionable divas as far as I can remember. The girls are indeed very "St. Paul" so that could be another tag line for them after the John Gielgud quote. (Actually Lori is from the Duluth-Superior area - and she does like to bowl, in fact she is on a league.)

Anyway, last evening they were at "Uber Baby", a maternity store not far from my house in South Minneapolis. Lori said she was wearing a pregnant styrofoam stomach. The jokes came around to Halloween, she said she was going as a pregnant nun and Julia could be the priest who got her pregnant. The jokes got worse, as is usual. Lori's been married about 4 times before and obviously has been a pretty sexually active chick. Their conversation always devolves into the type of sexual conversation that one would be more apt to hear amongst adolescents in a locker room. I flip the station when it gets that bad. (The evening before Lori was talking about big cucumbers.)

Lori and Julia seem to be rather typical of some modern working women - not the executives, rather more the office types in their cubicals - or at least their large audience may be tempted to think they typify these types; they are pro-choice, pro-gay, pro-promiscuous, self absorbed, narcissistic - gosh, what else? Julia is the Catholic one, she went to St. Gregory's in St. Paul as a child, now however, I think she probably attends St. Ambrose in Woodbury. I'm fairly certain she does not know her faith all that well.

As you might have guessed, I'm growing weary of their mindless banter...but I'll be back now and again for a laugh on the drive home.

St. Pio

The priest with the stigmata.

I painted this icon of Padre Pio several years ago, before he had been beatified. It now resides in the exquisite "Winter Chapel" attached to the Church of St. Louis, King of France in St. Paul, Minnesota. It hangs across from the confessional. It is a chapel filled with fine art and architectural detail, so I am honored that it was chosen for the space.

I painted it one day after a vivid dream the night before, a dream that seemed more like a vision. In the dream, I was in Moscow's Red Square and entered the cathedral of St. Basil. When I looked up, the dome exploded off, and there was Padre, in the sky in this pose, blessing the world, the sky behind him all aflame, red and golden.

I never expected him to be canonized in my lifetime. It seemed only very traditional and pious Catholics continued to pay any attention to him after his death. I more or less hid my devotion lest I be considered one of these people. Priests and monks I knew were suspicious of Padre Pio, his charismata, his seemingly pre-Vatican II spirituality, as well as his chapel veiled followers. I never told anyone when I went to his tomb to venerate his relics, which was a great grace for me. Since my early childhood I had always hoped to visit him, but it was only after his death that I was able.

Then John Paul II declared this man a saint, the man other popes were suspicious of and who preferred silenced and out of the way, which his bishop and superiors did for a time. As a saint, held forth for the entire Church to venerate, he has become a figure open for all Christians to revere, with the example and witness of his life to instruct and guide the faithful in the way of holiness. He was something of a prophet, holding on to the solid traditions of the Roman Catholic faith, the very same sacred traditions being renewed in our day.

Pray for us St. Pio, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. Amen.

[Prints of the icon may be obtained from Bridge Building Images.]

Andrew Warhola

Photo edited/censored
for nudity.

Did anyone but me watch the PBS documentary by Ken Burns on Andy? What a trip...down memory lane.

I have always liked his art. From the illustrations of shoes for ads, to the silk screened images of celebrities, to the films. Once in a conversation, Fr. Welzbacher told me he felt Picasso was diabolical. I never asked him about Warhol.

Watching the piece on PBS I was struck how diabolical Andy's life was. The decadence of the factory, his odd, voyeuristic sexuality, and the strange assortment of low-life personalities he gathered around him. To think I invited him to one of my parties - what does that say about me? (He told me on the phone that he couldn't make it, but would send someone if I paid their expenses.)

So what did I like about him? In the late '60's and early '70's he was iconic. He influenced marketing, art, and the 'revolution'. I have always appreciated his innovation. I also often thought he was putting everyone on - playing with society and watching everyone make a fool of themselves. He was an observer. He was a documentarian. While seeming to be the antithesis of culture and high society, he craved to be a part of it, the superstar of it all - and of course he achieved that. In fact, he invented the term superstar.

Although he never did drugs, and remained pretty much asexual, the pop star sub-culture he created was steeped in it. He documented that - hence the attraction and strange validation his admirers and fans experienced. Looking back with this documentary I was impressed with how very sad and decadent the life of Andy was. I felt 'dirty' watching it.

Yet his work (and he was a hard and prodigious worker) holds a legitimate place in the history of art. He created - and through his creations, changed a culture - or at least, contributed to it's change. He broke through barriers with an anarchist's fervor. He documented our decline into depravity and amoral behavior. He reflected the narcissism and consumerism of the culture in his art. His art did nothing to elevate the human spirit, rather it denigrated it, or more precisely, brought the superficiality and decay of our society to our attention. In the end, he achieved what he set out to do, he became famous - not for 5 or 15 minutes, but forever - or as long as art exists. His work, in my opinion, is and remains art. I still like him for what was authentic in him and his work.

Did you realize he kept his mother in a house next door to his and attended Mass on an almost daily basis? He was very complex - a trait he exploited in himself and others.

Who Knew?

Who knew about Our Lady of Lasjas in Colombia?

In Spanish las lajas means “the rocks.” This image was imprinted on the rocks of a gorge above the Guaitara River in Colombia near the border of Ecuador. It has the singular characteristic of having been painted by Angels. The image is situated inside a cave very high in the mountains, and was completely unknown until it was discovered in the mid-18th century by an Indian.

Our Lady of Las Lajas. The picture penetrates the rock miraculously. It is not painted, but mysteriously imprinted in the rock. The colors are not applied in a surface layer of paint or other material, but penetrate deep into the rock. No one knows how the work was done. Certainly it has no natural geological cause. I have never heard of any case where nature reproduced human faces with such perfection.




The image represents a noble Lady from an uncertain period, most probably 16th- or 17th- century Spain. How such a picture came to be in that cave unnoticed by anyone remains a mystery. These circumstances seem to indicate that it is an akeropita image – akeropita in Greek means not made by human hands, id est, painted by the Angels. How can the beauty of this image be described? I will comment on two aspects: the colors and the persons. (Read on here.)










The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Las Lajas was built high in mountains of Colombia. The Sanctuary entrance, which leads to the cave with the miraculous image of Our Lady of Las Lajas.

Let It Be

My all time favorite album, the anthem for my life, as it were - Abbey Road - hence the name of the blog. If you ever saw my painting of the same title and understood it with the 'soundtrack' of Abbey Road - you would pretty much know me. Although you would also have to include cuts from other albums, such as Let It Be to understand it all. On second thought - you would be really confused.

At any rate, I am so busy at work that I'm not able to devote much time to blogging. I'm also in a "so what?" kind of mood. Hence "let it be" comes to mind. I'm on a break, so blogging will be light.

However, I'm having fun digging up stuff for our "Faithful Facts" spot on our new website at work. We need a new name for it because it will be more than just facts. Plus the new blog for Leaflet needs some design and I don't know if our experts know that. The 'Facts' page should be good though - if they download it correctly.

Two people at work had comments about the Brother Roger post - they don't understand why things developed as they did in his life while no one bothered to clarify his union with the Church. I thought, why does everything have to be a controversy? "So what?" I said. "Let it be."

I'm kind of burnt.

Roger of Taize

Convert?

Brother Roger of Taize was murdered by an insane woman not long after Pope John Paul II's death. A mild controversy arose at the Pope's funeral when Brother Roger received Holy Communion at the funeral Mass from none other than Cardinal Ratzinger, now Benedict XVI. Though a public action, I assumed there must have been some understanding or dispensation to allow a Protestant monk to communicate. It later turned out, after Roger's death, that he had, quite awhile back, come into union with the Roman Catholic Church.

That news was not surprising to me since the religious of Taize, though Protestant, seem to be very close to the Catholic Church, which is apparent by their embrace of monastic life. Brother Roger was undoubtedly a man of deep prayer and spirituality. After his death Pope Benedict spoke of him as being in heaven.

Catholic News has an article clarifying the nature of his entering into communion with the Catholic Church. His confreres at Taize insist it was not a conversion, but an entering into union with the Church, therefore he had no need of repudiating his Protestant heritage. Here is a portion of that article:

"The ecumenical Community of Taize issued a statement last week denying its founder, the late Brother Roger Schutz, underwent a “conversion” to the Catholic faith, saying instead he entered “progressively into a full communion with the faith of the Catholic Church without a ‘conversion’ that would imply a break with his origins.”

The statement denies a story in the French newspaper “Le Monde,” which the Taize Community said was based on a rumor spread “by Catholic traditionalist circles” and that “misrepresents his true intentions and defames his memory.”

The Taize leaders point out that the Bishop Emeritus of Autun, Raymond Seguy, has clarified his statements to Le Monde, telling France Presse: "I did not say that Brother Roger abjured Protestantism, but he showed that he subscribed fully to the Catholic faith."

“From a Protestant background, Brother Roger undertook a step that was without precedent since the Reformation: entering progressively into a full communion with the faith of the Catholic Church without a ‘conversion’ that would imply a break with his origins,” the statement notes.

It goes on to explain that in 1972, “the bishop of Autun at the time, Armand Le Bourgeois, simply gave him Communion for the first time, without requiring any other profession of faith from him besides the creed recited during the Eucharist, which is held in common by all Christians. Several witnesses were present and can attest to this.” [snip] "Taize leaders deny “conversion” of Brother Roger to Catholic faith" CNA

This news in itself will renew the controversy surrounding Roger, yet it explains why the monk of Taize was able to receive Communion at the Holy Father's funeral. His union with Rome may have been kept quiet for pastoral reasons, known only to those involved. It is my understanding that dispensations and special circumstances allow for many things in the Church, hence the union of Br. Roger of Taize with Rome may have been considered private. Despite the fact one's profession of faith is a public witness. It's another difficulty to understand, isn't it? Then again, it could be his brothers at Taize were not pleased with Roger's choice and seek to downplay the union with Rome thing. Perhaps it is better left to heaven to figure out.

"Who do people say that I am?"

Jesus asked his disciples this question, while it continues to reverberate throughout the ages and comes down to each individual soul to answer. Jesus knew what people thought of him, he knows what people think of him. He was calling forth a confession of faith, he was calling those who believed in him to be confessors. In the first reading for Mass this morning Paul discusses the various parts of the mystical body of Christ; Apostles, prophets, teachers, and so on. Ultimately all are called to be confessors.

Immediately upon waking this morning Our Lord's words echoed in my heart, "Who do people say I am?" I recalled the words scrawled upon that defaced picture of Pope Benedict XVI calling Christ a "monkey upon a cross." As a Catholic I felt a sharp pain in my soul, that Jesus is yet mocked and rejected. I think it was a grace I experienced, feeling perhaps the pain that love is not loved. I felt no anger, no need to retaliate, no desire for Catholics to riot and threaten extermination of Muslims, nor any desire to deface an image of Mohammad, not even the most remote desire to burn a mosque or spit upon the next Islamic women I see all wrapped up in a burka.

Neither did I feel any need or desire to dialogue or debate the tenets of opposing views of religious belief. Instead I silently gazed upon an image of the Holy Face this morning. It seems to me that the Church has long been experiencing the passion of it's Master, and now she is mounting the hill of crucifixion, amidst the crowds clamoring for her execution. It is the terrifying and purifying dark night of the soul, or so it seems to me. It is almost overwhelmingly sad that love is not loved.

I don't want the Holy Father to go to Turkey in November, but I suspect he will. Perhaps he will be safe, perhaps not. If he goes, I shall be reminded of St. Ignatius of Antioch, who, fearless of the martyrdom that awaited him in Rome, protested to those who would attempt to stop him and prevent his going, to leave him free to make the journey. He wrote, to paraphrase his own words, asking that they 'not stand in the way of his martyrdom, that he might be ground by the teeth of lions, such as the wheat prepared for the Eucharist.' (Another of my 'free-base' quotes.)

From now on, we all must be confessors of Jesus Christ. Pray for the Holy Father.

Also on September 19 - The Feast of Our Lady of La Salette

An approved apparition with spurious secrets...

There are supposedly secrets from this apparition that foretell incredible and apocalyptic scenarios of doom - that many conspiracy theorists believe to be true and currently developing in our times. None of these can be authenticated. Conspiracy theorists and apocalypse enthusiasts promulgate the unauthenticated secrets. The seers themselves have a morbid atmosphere surrounding their lives. There is little to attract me to these strange events.

Websites such as Michael Brown's "Spirit Daily" often quote from the unofficial secrets. The entire event is obscured nowadays by unsubstantiated purported revelations concerning the original apparitions. The apparitions seemed to concern France in a particular manner, with an extension to the entire world.

Nevertheless the events at La Salette have been surrounded by controversy since, especially because of questions concerning the veracity and stability of one of the seers, Melanie. (It should be noted that a secret was given to Pius IX but it was never revealed to the public, although a secret has been retrieved from the Vatican archives in the past decade. That said, the older sensational version of the secret, reported as being the same one given to the Pope, carries no verifiable credence. Go here for an excerpt from that secret, it has been around for so many decades, many think it is official.)

Church approval of the apparitions has nonetheless been granted, as well as devotion to the Virgin of La Salette.

Go here and here for a factual account of the apparitions. Then go here for what seem to be official statements refuting the veracity of the later secret. Finally, go here for the text of the secret released by the Vatican archives and published by Rene Laurentin, once again it differs from the others in circulation. It is all very confusing to say the least.

You make my blood boil!

The feast of St. Januarius.

Always a fun event in Naples - people flock there to see if the saint's blood liquefies. It is hard for non-'Napolidons' to understand. If the blood liquefies miraculously, then no disasters are in the offing - if it does not liquefy, watch out.

Today it is more restrained in the Cathedral and people applaud when the 'miraculo' occurrs. In times past it could get rather dicey. St. John Joseph of the Cross once lost his cane in the crowd, but miraculously called it back across the Cathedral, to the great excitement of those gathered. (Eat your heart out Harry Potter!)

[A little anecdote, my friend's 'pazzi' mother, who was my brother's mother-in-law, used to tell people "va Napola!" when she was angry, this was a substitute for telling them to "go to hell". Matter of fact, my friend Roberto's parents said the same thing - I guess you didn't have to confess that. I even used it somewhat successfully when I was in the monastery. It's all in the vocal inflection, the tone, to totally devastate the person you're pissed at. At any rate, it just goes to show you Napoli is not exactly a paradise.]

You have to understand that people from this region of Italy are a little excitable. I grew up in an Italian neighborhood populated with people from Benevento. These are the Italians that are often stereotyped. They are very colorful.

It's a fun day in Napoli, just watch your pocketbook if you visit.

Oh! And the Saint? Bishop and martyr - see, he was beheaded - not by Muslims though. (Brief biography on Wikipedia.)

Non-Catholics have trouble understanding relics of saints - I don't at all - but I do wonder about the blood boiling thing. I really do believe it's most likely a miracle, but I don't grasp the point of it. I would have liked to see John Joseph's cane floating over everyone's head though. It just proves that Catholics are pretty fun people, and God has a sense of humor. Since He is supposedly the same God as Allah, maybe He will give Muslims a sense of humor for Christmas.

My Space - or is it?

A note of caution to bloggers.

We all know about MySpace.com and how predators prey on unsuspecting kids. What about adults?

I have a friend, not religious at all, who responded to an ad for a horoscope. (Why? I have no idea - but people do look for spirituality in the strangest places.) He of course had to give out his birthday, place of birth, full name and current address. He did. Now he is being billed for multiple readings that he never requested and is fighting it out with a collection agency. Nevertheless, he gave out very personal information - information that could easily lead to identity theft.

I also got an email from a suspicious person - with whom I am only acquainted - in the form of a 'meme'. Bloggers know all about this stuff, right? This particular 'meme' wanted to know things like, "Name five places you have lived before this address." Along with other leading questions. A red flag went up. What if this person was trying to get personal information about me, or worse, trying to steal my identity? (Lest I sound totally nuts I should explain this person in question has a reputation of dishonesty - or so I am told. He also does not blog - he sent the 'meme' via email. It was wierd.)

I thought about my blogging as well as my profile on the blog - do I reveal too much? (I might sometimes about others.)

Perhaps it is paranoid to worry about such things, yet in our day and age, one cannot be too careful. I think it best to err on the side of caution- or at least be aware. Be careful about how much personal information you give away, there may be an identity thief lurking. I'm told all it takes is a full name, birth date, and current or past address.

18 September; St. Joseph of Cupertino

Today is the feast day of one of my favorite saints, Joseph of Cupertino, Franciscan priest and mystic.

When I lived in Assisi I was permitted to make an 8 day retreat in the solitude of his newly renovated apartments at the Sacred Convent. It was in these apartments that St. Joseph had been 'imprisoned' because of the extraordinary mystical phenomena that surrounded him. He was kept in solitude to keep him away from the curious who flocked to him because of the gift of levitation, for which he is best known. I had a friar who acted as my 'Martha" in the solitude of my retreat, bringing me food and drink and celebrating Mass for me in the saint's oratory. It was a memorable experience for my life. Immediately afterwards, on the feast of the Stigmata, I was professed in the third order of St. Francis at the tomb of our Holy Father in the crypt of the Basilica.

Presented is a brief biography of St. Joseph:

"St. Joseph of Cupertino in prayer, he was called "the Flying Friar" because of his frequent levitations St. Joseph of Cupertino (1603-1668) was an Italian mystic whose life is a wonderful combination of a complete lack of natural capacity and an extraordinary supernatural efficiency.

He lacked every natural gift. He was incapable of passing a test, maintaining a conversation, taking care of a house, or even touching a dish without breaking it. He was called Brother Ass by his companions in the monastery.

He was born on June 17, 1603 into a family of poor artisans. Because of his father?s debts, he was born in a shed behind the house, which was in the hands of bailiffs. He was sickly and often at death?s door during his childhood, and at age seven he developed a gangrenous ulcer which was later cured by a religious man. He was always despised by his companions who called him a fool. Even his mother wearied of him and repudiated him for his lack of any human value. Later, when he entered the religious life, he faced worse difficulties. The Capuchins received him as a lay brother but his ineptitude and abstraction made him unbearable for the other religious. Often he was taken in ecstasy and, oblivious of what he was doing, he would drop the food or break the dishes and trays. As a penance, bits of broken plates were fastened to his habit as a humiliation and reminder not to do the same again. But he could not change. He could not even be trusted with serving the bread because he would forget the difference between the white and brown breads. Finally, considering that he was good for nothing, the religious took his habit and expelled him from the monastery.

Later, he declared that having the habit taken from him was the greatest suffering of his life and that it was as if his skin had been torn from his body. When he left the monastery he had lost part of his lay clothes. He was without a hat, boots, or stockings, and his coat was moth-eaten and worn. He presented such a sorry sight that when he passed a stable down the lane, dogs rushed out on him and tore his apparel to worse tatters. He escaped and continued along the road, but soon came upon some shepherds, who thought he was a miscreant and were about to give him a beating, when one of their number had pity on him and persuaded them to let him go free." [snip] Read the conclusion here.

St. Joseph of Cupertino pray for me for the grace of conversion; and pray for us now and at the hour of our death. Amen.

An apology without guile...

And no 'spin'.

Today Holy Father did indeed apologize for offending Muslim sensibilities; that after the Vatican and every other intelligent source clearly stated his speech was in opposition to violence, especially religiously motivated violence, or jihad, and not against Islam.

He humbly apologized without taking back what he said, which ought to be considered within the context of his speech.

This was clear from the beginning, although media and Muslim leaders exploited the one sensational comment in his speech, rather, I should say, it was not at all sensational, albeit sensationalized. Resulting in this distorted image of the Holy Father, churches burned, a nun killed, the Holy Father burned in effigy, and demands for the Pope's death, as well as calling for attacks upon the Vatican. All by the people of the religion of peace, so misunderstood by the western world.

This is the translation of the writing on the profaned image of the Pope:

The script in red calls for the Pope’s beheading. The rest of the translation:

"Swine and servant of the cross, worships a monkey on a cross, hateful evil man, stoned Satan, may Allah curse him, blood-sucking vampire." (Thanks to Z)

Islam denies that Jesus is God, they say he was a prophet, like Mohamed - yet they venerate Mohamed as greater than Jesus Christ. The 'religion' is anti-Christian in its very essence. From the time of Mohamed they have won converts by the sword, those they did not kill became slaves. Today In Darfur Christians are being killed and deprived of their homeland by an Islamic government. Christians around the Muslim world have been consistently persecuted up to our own day. Bin Laden and his thugs want the west, the entire world, to convert to Islam. In WWII Islam was an ally to Hitler. Where do they get off claiming to be offended while insisting they are a religion of peace?

Nevertheless, they have a long memory - I believe they are out to reclaim whatever they lost in medieval times - they will use the Pope's words as a battle cry for years to come. They will exploit every irrational angle they can to retaliate and yet justify their crimes by blaming it on some Dutch cartoons, and the innocent words of an intellectual Pope.

One blogger suggested that people are over-reacting, feeding paranoia and dissension by speculating that further, and perhaps more disastrous violence will occur as a result of what the Holy Father said and how Islam will distort his words and use them to their advantage. I don't think it's an unreasonable assumption to expect escalation of violence and terror as a result. What must be made clear however, the Holy Father did not start it - Islamic leaders are simply 'cashing in' if you will.

Some of us who are 'older' remember the chant from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, as well as Kent State, "The whole world is watching!" That is happening today, the whole world is watching this cultural idiocy of Islamic over-reaction, unreasonableness, and hyper-sensitivity. It's absolutely incredible to behold.

St. Agnes

Changes

After a rough, tiring week at work I was actually able to resume my Sunday schedule of vigils and attending the 1st Mass at 6:30AM at St. Agnes. Not that it has been so long that I attend this Mass, but I have been sleeping in until 4:30AM and not spending enough time in prayer before my trek over there. (The main reason I don't go to St. Augustine's for the trid Mass is because it is so late in the day, 11:30AM.)

Anyway, Fr. Ubel wrote a nice farewell of sorts, in today's bulletin, to Fr. Welzbacher. Surprising to most who know me, he was the real draw for me to St. Agnes. His homilies were fantastic, and his Pastor's Page brilliant, and he is a great confessor. He's a very sophisticated man, intellectual, and even rather suave, always dapper in his hats and hunter green plaid lined outerwear. Yet he is deeply spiritual and charitable as well, always a priest, often a mentor to others. Not me of course, I only have made his acquaintance. Nevertheless, I shall miss him. He will be at St. John's on the Eastside of St. Paul after a couple of weeks off. That was my parish when I was little - I made my first Communion there when Fr. Decourcey was pastor, and his assistant was a Fr. Roach - not the Roach however. I don't want to go back there - I have never liked the Eastside.

So there are just small changes appearing at St. Agnes. They will come in bits and drabs, slowly and reasonably, as is normal for a parish in transition. The first I noticed is that the bells are not tolled in the wee hours on Sunday, although I heard them on Saturday at 8AM, so they work. The second, Fr. Ubel announced the cancellation of the 5:15PM Mass on Tuesdays and Thursdays because there is now only two resident priests at the church. However they will continue to have the evening Mass on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, while retaining the daily 6AM and 8AM every day. That is good.

The other thing I noticed is that the Masses are not as long. I like it because it affords me a longer period of thanksgiving after Mass.

The only thing I don't like is the priests are younger than me now. I don't like being an old man. Monsignor made everyone feel young. Oh well.

Feast of the Sacred Stigmata of St. Francis of Assisi

Today's feast, once celebrated universally as an optional memorial, is now observed primarily by Franciscans. This feast had been permitted to enliven the hearts of men with the flame of love and devotion, as the prayer of the Mass for the day says;

Lord Jesus Christ,who reproduced in the flesh of the most blessed Francis, the sacred marks of your own sufferings, so that in a world grown cold our hearts might be filled with burning love of you, graciously enable us by his merits and prayers to bear the cross without faltering and to bring forth worthy fruits of penitence: You who are God, living and reigning with God the Father, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, for ever and ever. Amen



Here is an account of the event in the life of St. Francis.

From the Legenda Minor of St. Bonaventure (de Stigmatibus sacris, 1-4; ed. Quaracchi, 1941; pgg. 202-204)

"Two years before Francis, the faithful servant of Christ, gave his soul back to God, he was alone on the top of Mt. Alverna. There he had begun a fast of forty days in honor of the archangel Michael and was immersed more deeply than usual in the delights of heavenly contemplation. His soul became aglow with the ardor of fervent longing for heaven as he experienced within himself the operations of grace.

As he was drawn aloft through ardent longing for God one morning near the feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, and was praying on the mountainside, he saw what appeared as a seraph with six bright wings gleaming like a fire descending from the heights of heaven. As this figure approached in swift flight and came near the man of God it appeared not only winged but also crucified. The sight of it amazed Francis and his soul experienced joy mingled with pain. He was delighted with the sight of Christ appearing to him so graciously and intimately and yet the awe-inspiring vision of Christ nailed to the cross aroused in his soul a joy of compassionate love.
When the vision vanished after a mysterious and intimate conversation it left Francis aglow with seraphic love in his soul.

Externally, however, it left marks on his body like those of the Crucified as if the impression of a seal had been left on heated wax. The figures of the nails appeared immediately on his hands and feet. The heads of the nails were inside his hands but on top of his feet with their points extending through to the opposite side. His right side too showed a blood-red wound as if it had been pierced by a lance, and blood flowed frequently from it." [snip]

St. Francis of Assisi is the first recorded individual to have received the gift of the stigmata. Since his time other saints have received similar graces, one, St. Catherine of Siena prayed that her stigmata would remain invisible, which it did almost immediately.

God alone is the source of authentic stigmata, which is an external manifestation of the most ardent love and longing for God resulting in the spiritual wound of love in the heart. Teresa of Avila discusses this in her writing, Interior Castle; Sixth Mansion. This wound of love, that many believe St. Therese of Lisieux also experienced, effects an intense love for the cross, penetrating to an intimate degree the spiritual will, hence it can emanate from God alone. It is a source of ecstatic joy, simultaneously delightful while excruciatingly painful. (Free-base quote from Garrigou-Lagrange)

Francis de Sales, a third order Franciscan, defends the veracity of St. Francis' stigmata as something altogether spiritual in these words;

"Love has wonderful power to sharpen the imagination, so that it may penetrate even to the exterior. Yet the love which was within St. Francis of Assisi simply could not produce the openings in the flesh on the exterior. That is why the burning seraphim, coming to its help, darted at the saint rays of such penetrating light that it actually pierced the flesh with the exterior wounds of the Crucified which love had interiorly imprinted upon the soul." (Treatise On the Love of God.)

In The Living Flame of Love, John of the Cross says such signs of God's love and lofty graces are often given to founders of religious orders in proportion to their legacy and to carry on the original charism. He writes;

"Few persons have reached such heights. some have, however; especially those whose virtue and spirit was to be diffused among their children. For God accords to founders, with respect to the first fruits of the spirit, wealth and value commensurate with the greater or lesser following they will have in their doctrine and spirituality." (Living Flame)

May the entire Franciscan order, even unfaithful third order members such as myself, be inflamed today with a double portion of the spirit of our holy father St. Francis of Assisi.

There is going to be spin...

The Vatican has spin doctors too.

(Pictured, Hitler and his Grand Mullah ally.)

Even though the Pope was not attacking Islam but citing a quote from history - a very apt quote for our times - there is going to be a lot of diplomatic spin on the entire affair. From now on Benedict XVI will be obliged to speak in veiled terms, as Pius XII was obliged to do in WWII.

I think we know what the Holy Father was saying. I think we know what the Muslims are doing - it is so obvious by their irrational rants, demonstrations, riots, and now attacks upon Palestinian Churches.

Pray for the Holy Father that he doesn't listen to his curia.

So, hey, ya can't talk about Islam?

A Muslim Burlesque - sorry! Burka-esque!

A highly educated individual cites a historical comment about Islam in an effort to make a statement upon the inappropriate of use of religion as an excuse for violence...

And he is burned in effigy and denounced throughout the Islamic world.

So tell me they are not a violent people.

Dutch cartoons lampooning Mohamed are one thing - but this?

Our Lady at Fatima was correct, "The Holy Father will have much to suffer."

We better get the Rosary Crusade started and Pope Benedict should not travel to Turkey - nor should he candy-coat what he said - someone has to speak the truth.

(Look how fanatical their protest is! Are these reasonable people?)



Sadly - they are going to react violently - that is their religion. Now, not only Americans, but Roman Catholics are definitely their targets.

The Truth Hurts!

Benedict's words got them angry...

My earlier post today about the Holy Father's comments concerning Islam was right on target. The truth hurts obviously. Muslim leaders are crying foul. I just hope the Pope - or his 'handlers' don't try to sugar coat what he stated. The facts stand for themselves and history testifies to his words. Here is the article:

"Muslim religious leaders have accused Pope Benedict XVI of quoting anti-Islamic remarks during a speech at a German university this week.

Questioning the concept of holy war, he quoted a 14th-Century Christian emperor who said Muhammad had brought the world only "evil and inhuman" things.A senior Pakistani Islamic scholar, Javed Ahmed Gamdi, said jihad was not about spreading Islam with the sword. (Is he brain dead or what? What the hell is happening in the world? What a pack of liars!)

Turkey's top religious official asked for an apology for the "hostile" words.

In Indian-administered Kashmir, police seized copies of newspapers which reported the Pope's comments to prevent any tension.

A Vatican spokesman, Father Frederico Lombardi, said he did not believe the Pope's comments were meant as a harsh criticism of Islam." [snip] BBC News

I'm concerned about the Holy Father's upcoming visit to Turkey however. Let us pray for his safety. The third secret of Fatima said the Pope was killed - we don't want this to happen to him. Pray!

Supermodel

My friend sent me a collection of photos of some fashion models. Rather thin models. Recently Spain has set up rules governing how thin the runway models may be for the fashion houses. Here is the article:


Sept. 10, 2006 — The organizers of Spain's fashion week in Madrid are rocking the fashion world after saying the standard for runway models is too skinny. Now, to walk on the Spanish catwalk, a model who is 5-feet-9-inches tall has to weigh at least 123 pounds.

In fashion centers such as New York, Paris and Milan, models have to be more than just thin to land on top runways. They have to be super thin. The average runway model is 5-feet-9-inches tall, and weighs just 110 pounds. [snip] Read more, link.


Interesting that Spain is so concerned about how skinny models are, yet approves gay marriage and abortion. (It is an in-trade decision - not legislative, yet it still shows the misplaced concerns of modern thought. Granted it is important to help women such as these, but the other blatant immorality endorsed by the West causes this voluntary starvation for money and fame to seem insignificant by comparison. Nevertheless, women subject themselves to all of this.)
















When a woman is as thin as these women, fertlity is usually no longer an issue...

Habemus Papam

Benedict XVI speaks on Islam.

From Time we have:

"This is indeed Benedict doing it on his own terms. Rather than tackling the challenge of fundamentalist terrorism with a pithy remark packaged for the 9/11 anniversary or reaching for a John Paul-inspired sweeping gesture, the professor Pope went digging into his books. He went so far as to quote a 14th century Byzantine emperor´s hostile view of Islam's founder. "The emperor comes to speak about the issue of jihad, holy war," the Pope said. "He said, I quote, 'Show me just what Muhammad brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached.'" Benedict added "I quote" twice to make it clear these were someone Else's words. Nevertheless this reference was undoubtedly the most provocative moment of a provocative lecture. In a sense, explicitly including the Muslim prophet by name, and citing the concept of jihad, was a flashing neon signal to the world that the soft-spoken Pope intends to make himself heard clearly on this defining tension of our times.

It is not the first time he has entered the fray. On his last trip to Germany, to Cologne for Catholic World Youth Day in August 2005, he told a group of Muslims that they have a responsibility to try to halt the violence carried out in the name of their religion. Even earlier on this trip to Bavaria, which ends Thursday, he seemed to refer to Islam's negative view of a Western society that has too little faith, and cited it as the cause for tensions." [snip]

(Gerald from The Cafeteria is Closed has an interesting post on the Holy Father's speech as well. Don't miss his great photo's of the Pope's visit to Barvaria either.)

It seems to me those in authority, including Bush, are now calling a spade a spade when it comes to Islamic fundamentalism. It's about time. AND - the reason Islam can make such headway into Western culture is indeed our lack of faith and morality, our rejection of God for secularist materialism. We better repent. Maybe our Holy Father will call for a Rosary crusade after all.

How would one go about petitioning him to do so?

Alrighty then!

Princeton Professor Peter Singer.

Every Sunday I see this lovely family ahead of me at Mass. The father holds one child throughout Mass and takes her to Communion with him and the priest gives her a blessing. She is so cute and sweet. I don't know if she has Downs-syndrome, or what, but she is disabled. For me she is an angel and I love looking at her. I have a fondness for disabled children and adults. I see such a purity in them - there is something about them that moves me to compunction - it is not pity for them however. I see something so valuable in them and a sign from God for all of us who do not have obvious disabilities. Their being invites us to a participation in the virtue of charity - the very life of God. The little girl I see is so fortunate to be loved the way she is - her family loves her and it is so obvious she is an important and active member of that family. It fills me with joy, for she is blessed.

Today on Lifesite News I came across this monstrous man. He advocates killing disabled children, at least he is honest in so far as he states there is no difference from killing an unborn foetus as opposed to killing an infant. How can a spokesman for the culture of death be so straightforward in such a belief? Because abortion is legal. The Nazis were pretty straightforwrd about this stuff too. Here is a snippet from the article:

Princeton Professor Singer: "And I repeat, I would kill Disabled Infants"

PRINCETON, September 12, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In a question and answer article published in the UK's Independent today, controversial Princeton University Professor Peter Singer repeats his notorious stand on the killing of disabled newborns. Asked, "Would you kill a disabled baby?", Singer responded, "Yes, if that was in the best interests of the baby and of the family as a whole."

People who oppose Singer's position have maintained that Singer is the logical extension of the culture of death and that society will eventually embrace his stance if there is no shift to the culture of life. Alex Schadenberg, Executive Director of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition commented to LifeSiteNews.com about Singer saying, "at least he's consistent." In fact, Singer himself uses the abortion debate to justify his murderous stance.

"Many people find this shocking," continued Singer, "yet they support a woman's right to have an abortion." Concluding his point, Singer said, "One point on which I agree with opponents of abortion is that, from the point of view of ethics rather than the law, there is no sharp distinction between the foetus and the newborn baby."

Singer's position, similar to the culture of death, is that there is no inherent dignity in man, there is no sanctity of human life. Man deserves no special treatment since, Singer rejects that man was created in the image and likeness of God. [snip] Lifesite News

I believe this guy teaches ethics. Scary, huh? The Netherlands already allows infanticide, it may well happen here.