How Can Tony Blair be a Catholic?

Or so asks a commentator in the English Press (as seen in the link above). The questions are fair enough, except for one thing- they are based on Blair's behavior and actions from before his official conversion. If Blair continues his anti-Catholic positions now that he has converted, then criticism of him is fair... but only when that happens.

Pakistan

Unstable? Corrupt? Anti-democratic?

Why is ANY of this news. Assassinations are horrid; but, let's be honest, the country is a basket case.

How the Coaches Voted

The BCS championship game should be between two of the following three teams: LSU, Oklahoma and USC. Ohio State, with its lousy non-conference scheduled coupled with a very weak Big 10 (for the second year in a row) does not deserve a shot.

I don't blame Frank Beamer of Va Tech for voting LSU first and his team second.

However, the following is a list of coaches that really need to have their heads examined:

Mike Belotti (Oregon): #1 Ohio State

Bret Bielema (Wisconsin): #1 Ohio State

Larry Blakeney (Troy): #1 Ohio State

Bobby "Senile" Bowden (FSU): #2 Ohio State, #8 Arizona State and #9 USC!!!!!

Tommy Bowden (Clemson): #1 Ohio State

The list goes on and on... the following are knuckleheads who voted for Ohio State either first or second:

Jeff Bower, Mack Brown, Bill "Fired" Callahan, Neil Callaway, Lloyd "Forced to Retire" Carr, Sylvester Croom, Bill Cubit, Mark Dantonio, Bill "Fired" Doba, Randy Edsall, Dennis "Forced to Resign" Franchione, Phillip Fulmer, Jeff Genyk, Jim Grobe, Steve Kragthorpe, Mike Leach, Rocky Long, Sonny "Forced to Retire" Lubbick, Bill Lynch, Doug Martin, Les Miles (setting up a patsy game with his LSU Tigers first, and the Buckeyes second), Shane Montgomery, Hal Mumme (Whoa there Hal! Hawaii #1 and OSU #2????), Joe Novak, Houston "See y'all later" Nutt, Tom O'Brien, George "Liar" O'Leary, Gary Patterson, Chris Petersen, Mark Richt, Mike Riley, Rich Rodriguez, Greg Schiano, Howard "Should be retired" Schnellenberger, Mark Snyder, Frank Solich, Rick Stockstill, Bob Stoops (OK #1 and OSU #2), Jeff Tedford, Joe Tiller, Bob Toledo, Dick Tomey, Jim Tressel (well, you can't blame him), Charlie Weiss, Tyrone Willingham, and Ron Zook.

Now, I have to give some credit to the following (whose names appear above):

Neil Callaway's 2-5: GA, LSU, USC OK.

Tedford, Doba and Willingham had USC second.

Tressel's 2-4: LSU, USC and OK.

And for the coaches who appear to have some sense:

Art Briles (Houston to Baylor) #1 LSU and #2 OK

Butch Davis (North Carolina): #1 LSU and #2 USC.

Joe Glenn (Wyoming): #1 LSU and #2 OK.

Steve Superior (So. Carolina): #1 OK and #2 LSU

Tommy Tuberville (Auburn): #1 LSU and #2 OK.

Fire the Tournament

USC v. Illinois??????

The White Coats should be flogged.

Politics as Usual

I know I have been very delinquent in my postings. Part of the reason is that with three little ones and much reduced internet access at my workplace (they block all blogs out of paranoia), I have don't have much time to post. However, for the three of you who care what I think, I will try to be more diligent once the primaries and caucuses begin.

Although I was hoping that Fred Thompson would light a spark on the GOP side, he simply has not, and I have no reason to back off my very early endorsement of Mitt Romney. This does not mean that I cannot be swayed. I have no fire in the belly, so to speak right now (Turducken not included) for any of the candidates.

But they are all better than Obama, Billary, and Hair Model.

If you have not read The Looming Tower yet, get on it!

Turducken

Turdon't... At least don't buy into the hype. We had it tonight since Granny is leaving for two months holiday in Australia tomorrow, so a traditional Thanksgiving was out of the question.

We got the one that was stuffed with cornbread dressing. Salt lick dressing is more like it; and, it is spicy. I don't think it is a bad idea, but it certainly did not live up to its billing. I hope when we get around to the crab cakes we will be happier.

Bad Coaching

He is a great recruiter, but I really question his ability to check his ego and make good decisions especially when he has a lousy DC and an OC who doesn't seem to know how to manage the clock and timeouts (which has been a problem ever since Pete got hired).

Holt has to go.

Brandon boy has to go.

And Pete needs to listen to Kenny Rogers and know when to hold them, know when to fold them...

And I am writing this with 33 seconds left.

Happy Birthday Packers

On this date in 1919 newswriter George Whitney Calhoun named the Green Bay team the Packers.

And to celebrate, they whacked the Giants!

Sign up!

Move On Dot Kill Us

Click on the above andjudge for yourself!

If you build it, they won't come

It is time to build a "wall" along the entire Mexican border. It should be patrolled by the U.S. Armed Forces including gunships (helicopters). Here is another reason why.

E pluribus unum NOT!

Click on the headline... 'nuff said!

Seattle's Tourists... or Terrorists?

Hey they are. Click on the title above for more.

Winning the War is the Answer

I've got my own Cafe Press Shop!

Are you sick and tired of the "War is not the answer" crowd? Then buy, buy, buy!

Here is the image:

This and that

Barry Bonds should get into the Hall of Fame about 20+ years after Pete Rose.

Why is it that the only people in the Church who are concerned that the return of the Mass in Latin will be divisive are the liberals who have been shoving divisive "innovations" down our throats for the last 30 years or so?

It has been unseasonably cool the last couple of days. Darn that global cooling!

Should we call China's bluff? It is threatening to tank the dollar by dumping their holdings of dollars (in various forms) that might cause a recession in the United States. The threat is a result of our demand for a fair revaluation of the yuan. But the elephant in the room is that if the Chinese put us into a recession, they will lose money since we are their number one buyer of Chinese goods. Perhaps we could offset part of any recession by increasing military sales to Taiwann and allowing Japan to have a full fledged army assuming they purchase their equipment from us.

Happy Anniversary

Thanks for seven great years, Teresa! No itch here (well, except for that spot off my left should blade that I cannot reach!).

Love,
Matthew

Wake up ADL!

I don't know what is worse: the whining uninformed ADL or the liberal press that runs to it to present an "informed" counter view on the release of the Latin Mass from jurisdictional jail.

The whining ADL complains that the Good Friday service in the Latin Rite contains a prayer for the conversion of Jews. In the first place, there is nothing wrong with praying for the conversion of anyone who is not Catholic regardless of their fatih. Secondly, Pope Benedict XVI has gone out of his way (and, due to the reaction of the nuts at the ADL, without good reason it turns out) to explicitly disallow any part of the older version of the Latin rite during the Easter Triduum which obviously includes Good Friday!

"Art. 2 In Masses celebrated without the people, each Catholic priest of the Latin rite, whether secular or regular, may use the Roman Missal published by Bl. Pope John XXIII in 1962, or the Roman Missal promulgated by Pope Paul VI in 1970, and may do so on any day with the exception of the Easter Triduum."

Now why the AP would go to someone who is not in the Church and rely on him to tell the world what Catholic theology is beyond comprehension unless one believes, as I do, that the press is biased against the Church.

Heaven help us!

Yes, but...

Pope Benedict writes, "The most sure guarantee that the Missal of Paul VI can unite parish communities and be loved by them consists in its being celebrated with great reverence in harmony with the liturgical directives. This will bring out the spiritual richness and the theological depth of this Missal."

Yes, but what is to be done with the priests, bishops, and liturgists who continue to refuse the liturgical directives? That is what has gotten us into this mess in the first place.

The hippie bishops who generally are afraid of a split in the church should be more concerned with the charismatics.

And from the Hermeneutic of Continuity:

It's Better in Latin

Tomorrow is the day! I hope that the release lives up to the hype. Please note that I am not against the vernacular, just the banal liturgy and music that have "evolved" in a Protestant manner over the last 30+years.

It's Been Awhile

I'm sorry that I haven't been blathering lately. The folks at the district office have decided that all blogs are evil and will cause damage to the children of the Covina Valley school district. Thus, my pre-school and lunchtime missives have been killed off. That, of course, is not all bad, but what is bad is that I cannot read commentary from good sources for current events for my social studies students.

One thing of importance that my wife and I have done is opt-out our children from the evil Virtus/TAT program that is being shoved down the throat of parents in the Achdiocese of the child molester protector (Roger Mahony for the rest of you). Even the Catholic Medical Association has come out against it claiming that it damages the children.

But what the heck, since the majority of the stockholders of the group that produces Virtus/TAT programs are church dioceses and archdioceses, what's a little damage when there is a buck to be made?

Straw Poll

Time to Go?

President Bush has stated that the United States of America will leave Iraq if we are asked. Borrowing for Dennis Prager, it is time to organize a plebiscite in Iraq that allows the people of that country to make that decision.

In the meantime, the Congress should provide full funding through a plebscite date (September 1). This would allow the Iraqi's to see whether or not real progress has been made by thier government as well as with the Surge. If the Iraqi's vote to have us leave, then the Congress should renew funding with a timeline for withdrawal that the President should sign. If the Iraqi's vote for us to stay, Congress should provide full-funding, and the Democrats should SHUT UP!

Latin Laughter

I stole this one from romancatholicblog.com.

Welcome Sylvia!

Born May 19 at 12:08 a.m.

Backbone for Roger

Will Cardinal Mahony finally stop coddling the pro-abortion politicians in this state and his arch-diocese (including visitors like Senator John Kerry) now that the Pope appears to be taking a harder line along the lines of ex-communication.

I doubt it!

Tommy Thompson

One of the great things about looking at candidates this early is that you have time to change your mind. Although I haven't jumped off the Mitt bandwagon, former Wisconsin governor Tommy Thompson looked and sounded good after the debate last week.

For more on him, click here. Also, to take a look at all the candidates, and potential candidates, for both parties, check out this site which will also allow you to search other candidates in other races.

The Problem with Penner

There has been some discussion locally about the decision of Mike Penner, Los Angeles Times sports writer, to become Christine Daniels. In his own words Mr. Penner tries to explain his decision.

Moral issues aside, two points bug me about all this. 1) After reading his article, there was a distinct feeling that this was a selfish person. With his new name choice, he has decided to insult and forget the family that brought him into the world as he is forgoing the family name. Additionally, why not "Michelle"? Perhaps there are some hard feelings either now or in the past between Mike and his parents, but the lack of comment on the issue is glaring.

2) Later during the day on which the article was published, I learned from Air America (yes, the liberal station) that Mr. Penner is also married (and, now going through a divorce). Where is the public apology to his wife?

So long as he remains silent on these issues, he will continue to be seen as a selfish individual regaradless of what a surgical knife does to his genetalia.

Rosie's outta here!

I guess the folks at The View finally got tired of the nut job as she is to leave the program at the end of the season in June.

A Step in the Right-Moral Direction

The Supreme Court finally got one RIGHT!

Will They Still Come?

In yesterday's Los Angeles Times, Shannon O'Neil (a political science professor at Columbia) wrote that the United States will have a major employment problem in the future because of the changing demographics in Mexico. Mexicans are no longer having large families; rather, they are now having children at a rate just above the replacement rate.

Interesting, but written in the dark. In yesterday's Wall Street Journal, David Luhnow reports that Mexico's oil production is dropping in a rather alarming manner due to the fact that Mexico is simply running out of oil. Given the fact that the revenue from oil is the number one source of income for Mexico, the country will need to find other sources of income or increase there current sources. According to a recent video on migration and geography that I showed in my class, (available at learner.org) the money sent back to Mexico from migrants is the fourth largest source of revenue for Mexico behind oil, tourism and agriculture.

It appears that the best possibility for an increase in revenue for Mexico is to increase funds coming back from migrant workers in the United States.

We shall find the answer in the future.

No Dentist Left Behind

My sister and fellow teacher, Molly, forwarded this to me over the weekend.


No Dentist Left Behind

My dentist is great! He sends me reminders so I don't forget checkups. He
uses the latest techniques based on research. He never hurts me, and I've
got all my teeth.

When I ran into him the other day, I was eager to see if he'd heard about
the new state program. I knew he'd think it was great.

"Did you hear about the new state program to measure effectiveness of
dentists with their young patients?" I said.

"No," he said. He didn't seem too thrilled. "How will they do that?"

"It's quite simple," I said. "They will just count the number of cavities
each patient has at age 10, 14, and 18 and average that to determine a
dentist's rating. Dentists will be rated as excellent, good, average, below
average, and unsatisfactory.. That way parents will know which are the best
dentists. The plan will also encourage the less effective dentists to get
better," I said. "Poor dentists who don't improve could lose their licenses
to practice."

"That's terrible," he said.

"What? That's not a good attitude," I said. "Don't you think we should try
to improve children's dental health in this state?"

"Sure I do," he said, "but that's not a fair way to determine who is
practicing good dentistry."

"Why not?" I said. "It makes perfect sense to me."

"Well, it's so obvious," he said. "Don't you see that dentists don't all
work with the same clientele, and that much depends on things we can't
control? For example, I work in a rural area with a high percentage
of patients from deprived homes, while some of my colleagues work in upper
middle-class neighborhoods. Many of the parents I work with don't bring
their children to see me until there is some kind of
problem, and I don't get to do much preventive work. Also, many of the
parents I serve let their kids eat way too much candy from an early age,
unlike more educated parents who understand the relationship
between sugar and decay. To top it all off, so many of my clients have well
water which is untreated and has no fluoride in it. Do you have any idea how
much difference early use of fluoride can make?"

"It sounds like you're making excuses," I said. "I can't believe that you,
my dentist, would be so defensive. After all, you do a great job, and you
needn't fear a little accountability."

"I am not being defensive!" he said. "My best patients are as good as
anyone's, my work is as good as anyone's, but my average cavity count is
going to be higher than a lot of other dentists because I chose
to work where I am needed most."

"Don't' get touchy," I said.

"Touchy?" he said. His face had turned red, and from the way he was
clenching and unclenching his jaws, I was afraid he was going to damage his
teeth. "Try furious! In a system like this, I will end up being rated
average, below average, or worse. The few educated patients I have who see
these ratings may believe this so-called rating is an actual measure of my
ability and proficiency as a dentist. They may leave me, and I'll be left with only the
most needy patients. And my cavity average score will get even worse. On top
of that, how will I attract good dental hygienists and
other excellent dentists to my practice if it is labeled below average?"

"I think you are overreacting," I said. "'Complaining, excuse-making and
stonewalling won't improve dental health'... I am quoting from a leading member of the DOC," I
noted.

"What's the DOC?" he asked.

"It's the Dental Oversight Committee," I said, "a group made up of mostly
lay persons to make sure dentistry in this state gets improved"

"Spare me," he said, "I can't believe this. Reasonable people won't buy it,"
he said hopefully.

The program sounded reasonable to me, so I asked, "How else would you
measure good dentistry?"

"Come watch me work," he said. "Observe my processes."

"That's too complicated, expensive and time- consuming," I said. "Cavities
are the bottom line, and you can't argue with the bottom line. It's an
absolute measure."

"That's what I'm afraid my parents and prospective patients will think. This
can't be happening," he said despairingly.

"Now, now," I said, "don't despair. The state will help you some."

"How?" he asked.

If you receive a poor rating, they'll send a dentist who is rated excellent
to help straighten you out," I said brightly.

"You mean," he said, "they'll send a dentist with a wealthy clientele to
show me how to work on severe juvenile dental problems with which I have
probably had much more experience? BIG HELP!"

"There you go again," I said. "You aren't acting professionally at all."

"You don't get it," he said. "Doing this would be like grading schools and
teachers on an average score made on a test of children's progress with no
regard to influences outside the school, the home, the community served and stuff like that.
Why would they do something so unfair to dentists? No one would ever think of doing that to schools."

I just shook my head sadly, but he had brightened. "I'm going to write my
representatives and senators," he said. "I'll use the school analogy. Surely
they will see the point."

He walked off with that look of hope mixed with fear and suppressed anger
that I, a teacher, see in the mirror so often lately.

Marquette is anti-Catholic

Click on the post's title. If you have yahoos like this on "tenure" (dissenting ex-priests who have links on their official Catholic University website) then your school is not Catholic.

If you have children, don't send them to Marquette.

If you went to Marquette or have sent them money in the past, stop.

I guess "shame, shame on ol' Notre Dame'" needs to be extended around Lake Michigan on the highway to the northwest. Of course, it has a "Jesuit identity."

And they used to be the Warriors (now the Golden Calves... err Eagles"!.

Methodist Showdown Averted

The the conspiracy of liberal Jesuits, Georgetown has "defeated" Vanderbilt, thus preventing a showdown between two schools who were originally founded with strong Methodist ties (Vandy v. USC) assuming the Trojans can hold on to their half-time lead.

The G-Town player TRAVELLED before hitting the game winning shot.

What a crock!

Mahony's "Mass"

Click on the title above... and stop giving money to the Archdiocese, or to your parish unless you earmark it for parish use only.

BTW: the mass was invalid based on what Rohr said and not prayed.

Sean Hannity - Bad Catholic

For those of you who think I only point out bad liberal Catholics, Sean Hannity is now on my radar screen. There are others who are more eloquent and influential than I on this issue, so click here to get a good priest's take (as well as a bad one listed at the bottom of the same page) on Mr. Hannity's anti-life stance.

Here is the good Father's take on his appearance on thew show.

Well, done Fr. E!

FS Bob on the Republican Presidential Candidates

It appears that one of my readers cannot post replies anymore. Anyway, here it is (via e-mail):

I too support Romney, but I am also a pragmatist.  I want a Republican in office.  Therefore I support the Republican candidate.  If, however, McCain is the nominee, this would create a serious concern that the process has gone seriously wrong.  Regardless of what liberals believe or profess to believe, there is a serious fight between good and evil for which many in this country do not have to sacrifice.  As a result, this country borders on the free love experiment of the '60's.  Back then though the military was supported by a draft.
Romney presents an interesting case of someone who won the governship in a definite blue state.  Despite being surrounded by the left, he was able to reform the government and left it in better shape than when he started.  I believe he can do it again with the Fed.  I am also a strong supported of Guiliani.  He is a case of not getting everything you want, but you still get a lot of good things.
 
FS Bob

Segregation - The Gay Way?

Hat tip to Fr. Toborowsky for his mentioning this article on his website. It seems that heterosexual couples are moving into the predominantly gay Castro district of the city of San Francisco. Many gays are disturbed that their community is being invaded.

Segregation anyone?

Benedict v. Mahony

Pope Benedict tabbed the very conservative Cardinal Biffi to give the annual Lenten retreat lecture. Cardinal Biffi focused on the fact that the anti-Christ and his minions walk amongst us, and their work can be identified in their "liberal" approach to religion.

At his annual train wRECk conference, Cardinal Mahony, once again, brought out the loonies whose speeches would seem to identify them as those who adhere to the anti-Christ message identified by Cardinal Biffi. (Note: you'll have to scroll down a bit to get to past former speakers to this years list in the linked .pdf file.)

I strongly urge you to protest Mahony's blatantly anti-Catholic message by not giving a single penny to Together in Mission. Rather, give it directly to the poor (as my wife and I are in the process of doing by helping out loyal Catholics in Samoa), or give money to the Bishop Appeal's Fund in other areas of the country that have a loyal catholic bishop as their leader (a couple are permanently linked in the sidebar to the left of this post.)

Hot Air Al

Gore's mansion uses over $1000 per month in electricity. People, please, stop giving this cretin any respect!

Musical Torture

If you simply are tired of the sappy music played in your church, you may want to join the petition to ban the awful noise as my wife and I have.

Here is one of the parodies (sung to "Here I am, Lord") you can find on the site:

Here I Am, Lord, Where Are You, Lord?

See the Blessed Sacrament
where the tabernacle went
in that little alcove there off to the side.
When folks come into the nave,
they don't know how to behave:
should they genuflect or not?
They can't decide.

Here I am, Lord. Where are You, Lord?
Are You in that niche way over there?
Once You were, Lord, front and center.
Now I cannot see You anywhere.

The Traditionalist Mass

The quote below is from an interview that can be found here with a Domincian Abbot in New Mexico:


But is the traditionalist world so important that the Holy Father should risk his pontificate by giving them a motu proprio?

Abbot: Jesus Christ, when talking about the Good Shepherd and the lost sheep, spoke about leaving the ninety-nine in order to seek out the one. We are talking about one percent. But we are also talking about the very vocation of the Good Shepherd. It is interesting to note that some Bishops speak about the Traditionalists as a “drop in the ocean.” As a matter of fact, the traditionalist world constitute a little over one percent of the Catholic Population. How Christ-like indeed it would be to offer a gesture of pastoral love in the form of a motu proprio!

Play by the Rules

The yellow flag rule in NASCAR is in effect for the safety of drivers. Why wasn't it put out after the last crash on Sunday? Weren't their drivers behind the crash who were in potential danger? The answer, of course, is "yes."

Shame on NASCAR.

A Sensible Man

Oh, Al Gore, will you now attack the great Cardinal of Sydney, Australia?

My guess is that Cardinal Pell will not be at any one of nut-job's backed global warming concerts!

Click here for Pell's latest common sense post. Remember, that there is a direct link to his Archdiocese on the left hand side of this page.

Now what, Roger?

Cardinal Mahony's consistently soft stance has failed once again to prevent an allegedly Catholic politician from further promote the culture of death. California Speaker Fabian Nunez is now fully on board with assisted suicide for the terminally ill under the belief that pain and suffering need to be eliminated even if it means hastening death.

Tell that to the crucified Christ.

Sick of Marriage

This last Sunday was World Day for the Sick and the World Day of Marriage in the Catholic Church. Am I the only to notice the odd combination?

Two Down

The other Edwards' knucklehead has resigned.

One down

The Edwards campaign has accepted the resignation of one bigot, who, by the way, simply blames one Catholic for harassing her... but, alas, it wasn't me!

My Letter to John Edwards

I just sent this one off via his website's e-mail program:

Dear Mr. Edwards:

Your disgusting decision to stand by the bigots on your staff is probably causing John F. Kennedy to spin in his grave.

As a teacher in a mixed school (ethnicity, religion, etc.) I teach about tolerance. I can only point to your recent example as the type of intolerance that still exists in society that needs to be eradicated.

Shake Your Booty!

Cardinal Mahony is at it again. The annual train wreck conference is upon us - check out the disastorous schedule of some of the events at the Cafeteria is Closed blog.

I only hope that the person in charge of music at my parish doesn't go. The "hymn" selections chosen now often (but to be fair, not always) are so insipid that I just want to get into the fetal position. I was thinking along those lines last Sunday as the congregation sang the goofy gathering song that seems to get sung at so many L.A. parishes these days. While the song celebrates the fact that we have gathered to celebrate our togetherness, I was quietly going in a different direction as I mentally recited the entrance antiphon for the day which was entirely more appropriate:

Come, let us worship the Lord. Let us bow down in the presence of our maker, for he is the Lord our God.

Of course this antiphon goes against the Mahony mandate that we, the congregation, should turn and welcome the "presider" as as he saunters down the aisle. My wife and I face forward toward the tabernacle, and this past week's antiphon seems to point that maybe that is what we should all be doing.

Saint Blaise

I should be the first to admit that I had forgotten that tomorrow is Saint Blaise's Feast Day. I remember how when I was young we always went to church for the blessing of the throats. It's not mentioned in the bulletin of my chruch either (I went to a different one last week as can be seen in the post below on language). It wasn't in the bulletin of the church in San Dimas.

Another fine tradition and spiritual experience bites the dust in the Mahonified church of Los Angeles.

How sad.

Name that Language!

The Janauary 28 edition of the Holy Name of Mary Parish bulletin (not yet published on the site) is, well, amazing for very one reason: it demonstrates how ignorant many have become of the official language of the Church (it's Latin in case your are one of the ignorant). In the article Liturgy/Music Corner that appears on page 7, the author feels the need to add the following explanation about the words (in Latin) to the Agnus Dei: "Please note that when we sing Agnus Dei we are NOT singing in Spanish" (emphasis in the original).

If you get around to actually reading the piece, I am that the violations of the GIRM will astound you, but the bit about Latin and Spanish was shocking. I actually laughed out loud prior to Mass while reading it. If you have ever had to suffer through a "Mass" at this parish I have empathy for you. If you are a parishonier, you have my sympathy. Get out while you still have your faith!

My New Favorite Blog

Keeping with the the theme of the day!

Hand Holding at Mass

From Catholic Answers in April of '06:

ORIGINS OF HAND-HOLDING

The current issue of the "Adoremus Bulletin" says this in response to a query from a priest in the Bronx:

"No gesture for the people during the Lord's Prayer is mentioned in the official documents. The late liturgist Fr. Robert Hovda promoted holding hands during this prayer, a practice he said originated in Alcoholics Anonymous. Some 'charismatic' groups took up the practice."

My long-time sense had been that hand-holding at the Our Father was an intrusion from charismaticism, but I had not been aware of the possible connection with AA. If this is the real origin of the practice, it makes it doubly odd: first, because hand-holding intrudes a false air of chumminess into the Mass (and undercuts the immediately-following sign of peace), and second, because modifications to liturgical rites ought to arise organically and not be borrowed from secular self-help groups.

Periodically, on "Catholic Answers Live" I am asked about hand-holding during Mass and explain that it is contrary to the rubrics. Usually I get follow-up e-mails from people who say, "But it's my favorite part of the Mass" or "We hold hands as a family, and it makes us feel closer."

About the latter I think, "It's good to feel close as a family, but you can hold hands at home or at the mall. The Mass has a formal structure that should be respected. That means you forgo certain things that you might do on the outside."

About the former comment I think, "If this is the high point of the Mass for you, you need to take Remedial Mass 101. The Mass is not a social event. It is the re-presentation of the sacrifice of Calvary, and it is the loftiest form of prayer. It should be attended with appropriate solemnity."


From Zenit/EWTN comes more detail that it simply is not allowed since it has not been correctly approved by the bishops and the Holy See (and, no, it hasn't been as of the writing of this post even though the info at Zenit is a few years old).

So STOP IT already!!!!!!!

Spanking, Iraq and the Surge

Democrat California legislator Sally Lieber is introducing legislation that would outlaw spanking in the state arguing that it is tantamount to child abuse. Her rationale is a prime example of what is wrong with the far-left Democrats - any form of physical behavior (except for abortion) that might even be remotely considered aggressive or violent is inherently wrong. Thus, it should come as no shock that many of the same knuckleheads on the left are against the so-called Surge in Iraq even though it appears that it is already making a positive impact in Iraq prior to its implementation.

Toynbee argued that great civilizations die from suicide generally as a result of its lack of will; or, rather, great civilizations eventually die because they no longer have the will to use force when necessary in order to ensure its survival. Spanking, at the most basic level, is an example of how a parent can use force to discipline a child and teach that child the difference between right and wrong. Do all children who disobey need to be spanked? No, and not all confrontations with hostile competitors on the world stage need to be resolved with force either. However, it is clear that the use of force needs to be an option if needed, and it can only be an option if the nation has the will to use it.

Romney

I have included a link to the Hewitt blog which contains a letter signed by various representatives of pro-life groups in Massachussetts. Given Romeny's other fine conservative credentials that have been put into action during his tenure as governor of that state, it is time for conservatives to rally behind him so that McCain cannot and will not be the Republican candidate for president in 2008.

For those who are whining about Romney's stances from his previous run against ol' Teddy, please be advised that he has admitted his own shortcomings, and, like Ronald Reagan, fixed his ways.

Romney for President!

Final Top Ten

1) Florida
2) USC
3) LSU
4) OSU
5) Wisconsin
6) Boise State
7) Auburn
8) Louisville
9) Oklahoma
10) Cal
11) (in honor of the Big T1e1n) Michigan

Pathetic

The USC atheltic website seems to have missed the fact that its most recent placekicker is dead. Pathetic (as of 7:41 on Sunday night).

The First Nowell

Really... that is how the modernists spell it. In addition, the modernists keep taking our children away (well, not mine) for a childrens' liturgy whereby they miss the Creed and the part about being "one holy Catholic" etc. So much for ONE. My nightmare tells me that the childrens' liturgy goes something like this:



At least the priest in Poland got enough nerve to not be the next Archbishop of Warsaw.

There is still hope!

Vacation Musings

1) Under "The Vatican Isn't Always Right" Column (well, column 1 of that category), the soon to be installed Archbishop of Warsaw appears to have been a communist spy. Will the Vatican do the right thing and stop this installation? Given that Roger the Responsibility Dodger is still in charge in Los Angeles in spite of his blatant crimes, I doubt it.

2) In the second column under the same title, the Vatican's response to the righfull execution of Saddam Hussein is appaling in that the Vatican Cardinal and others (not the Pope) who initially popped off does not seem to understand either the reality of the situation or the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Let's see if Cardinal Martino can grasp the plain meaning of the following from the Catechism:

2267 Assuming that the guilty party's identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor.

If, however, non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people's safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such means, as these are more in keeping with the concrete conditions of the common good and more in conformity to the dignity of the human person.

Today, in fact, as a consequence of the possibilities which the state has for effectively preventing crime, by rendering one who has committed an offense incapable of doing harm - without definitely taking away from him the possibility of redeeming himself - the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity "are very rare, if not practically nonexistent."

Now, the question should be if the killing of Saddam was an absolute necessity. I would argue that the situation with Hussein was so grave, that his return would cause much greater damage given the fact that it is a real possibility given the civil war like situation in Iraq. If you thought Napoleon made a mess in his second stint as emperor of France, just imagine what Hussein would have been able to do. Also, given the widespread loyalty of Baathists to him, it is highly likely that many of the killing committed by Sunni Baathists were done in an attempt to further destabilize the situation so that the U.S. would pull out, and Hussein, backed by the Baathists of Syria, would return to his position of dictator and his murderous ways.

3) USC should have played Ohio state, and, no, not in Glendale, Arizona. It is about time to put the BCS to rest and get back to tradition. Given the fact that USC smoked Michigan in the second half of the Rose Bowl, I really would have liked to have seen the traditional Big Ten - Pac Ten matchup of champions.

4) Will someone please stop giving mediocre Notre Dame football teams big paydays? The Fleeing French gave no indication on the field during the regular season that they belonged in a game of the stature of the Sugar Bowl. LSU confirmed it. If we are to be stuck with the awful BCS, then it should be modified so that Notre Dame cannot go unless they have defeated at least one top ten team as ranked at the end of the regular season. Additionally, they need to have not lost more than one game. Some may call this overly harsh, but since ND refuses to join a conference (a move that would really expose its constant weakness), they should't be granted such an easy pass to any BCS game.

5) I still want Kiflin fired (and you can heave-ho the OL coach too). If SC cannot have a balanced attack, something is dreadfully wrong.