Pages

Monday, March 31, 2008

Rosalind Moss at Saint George's

ACCORDING TO SAINT Louis Catholic, EWTN personality and lecturer Rosalind Moss, and her new religious order, are to move into the convent at Saint George Church in the Gardenville neighborhood of Affton, Missouri, my old hometown.  Affton is an unicorporated, inner-ring suburb of Saint Louis, and is home to four parishes.

Saint George Roman Catholic Church, in Affton, Missouri, USA - nave

Welcome to the neighborhood!

Fiat Mihi

BECAUSE MARCH 25TH occurred during the Octave of Easter, today we celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation.

Saint Louis Art Museum, in Saint Louis, Missouri - Annunciation.jpg
Dixit autem Maria: Ecce ancilla Domini: fiat mihi secundum verbum tuum.
And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord: be it done to me according to thy word.
 — Luke 1:38
Et Verbum caro factum est, et habitavit in nobis
And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us
John 1:14

Painting of the Annunciation at the Saint Louis Art Museum.
CAN ANYONE identify this unusual flower?

Ritz-Carlton Hotel, in Clayton, Missouri, USA - unusal white flower

Sunday, March 30, 2008

Low, or Divine Mercy Sunday

Saint Joseph Roman Catholic Church, in Chenoa, Illinois, USA - Divine Mercy.jpg

Painting of the Divine Mercy, at Saint Joseph Church, in Chenoa, Illinois. Photo taken on September 15th, 2007.
"The two rays denote Blood and Water. The pale ray stands for the Water which makes souls righteous. The red ray stands for the Blood which is the life of souls. These two rays issued forth from the very depths of My tender mercy when My agonized Heart was opened by a lance on the Cross."
 — diary of Saint Faustina

Saint Louis in the Year 2010

MIssouri History Museum, in Forest Park, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA - Drawing of Saint Louis of the Future

A FORECAST
LOOKING UP OLIVE STREET, ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A.D. 2010

An illustration dating from 1910, at the Missouri History Museum.

Saturday, March 29, 2008

Clarity is Needed

I'VE BEEN ATTEMPTING to study contemporary art theory and unfortunately, it is nearly unreadable.  (But I've been told that my own writing is also confused and unreadable, but that won't stop me.)

It is funny:  as you go back into the past, art theory becomes more understandable and common-sensical, and some of the original texts in the Greek language, I am told, are a delight to read and have remarkable clarity.  But even stranger still, the traditional theory handed down the from alien cultures of the Orient also seem to be quite understandable.  But not contemporary theory.

As far as I can tell, contemporary art theory is derived from the philosophy of 'post-structuralism' (dating from ca. 1968, also known as "the year the world ended"; or when Satan was unbound) which states that meaning is subjective and culturally and historically relative.  If this were true, then I would assume that I ought to understand the texts of that theory, having lived in approximately the same milieu as those theorists.  But I don't understand them and must rely on encyclopedia articles on the subject.  Likewise, I should not be able to construct a plausibly consistent meaning from ancient and foreign texts, but I can.

When a Chinese artist states that a painting of a tree must capture the essence of treeness, that the paintbrush must become an extension of the artist, or if a Hindu artist says that a painting must capture spiritual reality, I get it.  After all, it's all in Plato.  Likewise, the old Chinese parable of the artist who drew thousands of pictures of fish until he was able to do it well, makes good sense, and Aristotle would agree.  But when a postmodern philosopher states that "reality disappears underneath the interchangeability of signs" what are we to make of it?

But contemporary theory is, at its core, Marxist.  The theorists do not clearly state that their goal is to enslave the masses in a totalitarian State, and to eliminate their bourgeois opponents, for that would open them up to direct attack.  But bad art, derived and judged according to bad theory, is instead an indirect means of achieving this goal, by subverting the natural order of things.

We ought not be intimidated by the obscure jargon of contemporary academics, but rather try to get a clear understanding what they actually propose to do.  

Sources on Medieval Art

A NOTE from Catholic illustrator, Daniel Mitsui:
Dear friends, aquaintences and fellow bloggers:

I recently finished a new webpage about the Biblia Pauperum and the Speculum Humanae Salvationis, two of the most important books of the late Middle Ages. These books are indispensable for interpreting the typological juxtapositions in late mediaeval art. The webpage includes a description of the books and their significance by my favorite art historian Emile Mâle, and all of the typological pages from a representative example of each book. My hope is that this webpage will be useful as a reference for both students of sacred art and its creators. These two books helped to maintain a theologically rich iconography through the intellectual poverty of the waning Middle Ages; perhaps they can instruct us in iconoclastic modernity as well. I put a fair amount of effort into this project; please take a look.

[
http://danielmitsui.tripod.com/aaaaa/speculum.html]

I have also added to my website excerpts from the writings of Theophilus the Priest and Denis of Fourna on sacred art, as well as the complete text of a 9th or 10th century Latin poem by Hucbald of St Amand written in praise of bald men; every word in the poem begins with the letter C.

These can all be found at [
http://danielmitsui.tripod.com/aaaaa/index.html], along with hard-to-find writings by Emile Mâle, A.W.N. Pugin, and the complete text of an English translation of the third book of the Rationale Divinorum Officorum of Durandus of Mende, explaining the symbolism of the sacred vestments.

All of this is part of an ongoing effort to bring some of the magnificent symbolism of the Middle Ages back into the contemporary Catholic consciousness. My next webpages, currently in progress, will concern the liturgical poetry (hymns and sequences) of Adam of St. Victor.

Kind regards and Happy Easter,

Daniel Mitsui

Dan is a prominent young iconodule, who has made significant and serious intellectual contributions to the cause of a Medieval artistic revival.

Friday, March 28, 2008

Photo of the High Altar and Baldachin at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis

Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis, in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA - large view of high altar 4

This is the high altar of the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis, decorated for Easter. Photo taken on Wednesday, during a guided tour, which is why blurry people are at the bottom right.

This image is originally six by three feet in size and is a composite of 75 separate photographs. Clicking the image will take you to Flickr, and there you can select "ALL SIZES" to see the original large image. You can clearly see individual mosaic tiles. The image is somewhat flawed, and needs retouching, but I hope that everyone otherwise enjoys it!

I have an even larger image, showing the entire sanctuary, and part of the main dome and transepts, but it is four times larger than this photo, and Flickr won't let me upload it.
ALL DREAMS are strange, and those peculiar images dissolve quickly after waking.  But upon getting up this morning, one dream-time phrase stuck with me:
"Pray with love."
How often do I forget this?

Liturgical Latin Classes Start This Weekend

Learn Liturgical Latin at Saint Francis de Sales Oratory!

Spaces are still open for the class starting this Saturday, March 29th, at 4:00 p.m.

To register, call Jon Roché at the Oratory, at (314) 771-3100. Cost is $165, payable by check at the first class.

Classes will be held at the old de Sales High School. (Enter from the back entrance in the courtyard; through the tunnel from the church.)

2647 Ohio Avenue
Saint Louis, MO 63118


The textbook used will be Latin Grammar by Scanlon and Scanlon. This book covers the Latin used in the traditional or 'Extraordinary Form' of the Mass and Breviary, and includes a complete glossary of the words used in the liturgy and the Vulgate Gospels. It can be purchased here from Amazon.com:



Students may also want to purchase the optional textbook, Primer of Ecclesiastical Latin by Collins, also available through Amazon:

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

MIssouri History Museum, in Forest Park, Saint Louis, Missouri, USA - statue of Thomas Jefferson panorama

This image of the statue of Thomas Jefferson, at the Missouri History Museum in Saint Louis, is a proof-of-concept test of generating very large images from multiple photographs. This image is a mosaic of 38 hand-held photos: the final image is nearly 400 times larger in area than what is displayed here.

Jefferson (1743–1826) was the 3rd President of the United States, and the philosophy of Jeffersonian Democracy, idealizing the republican virtues of the yeoman farmer, remains vibrant in American political thinking today. He was very much a man of the Enlightenment, often contradictory, and is both inspiring and highly problematic for American Catholics.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Video of the Gloria at Saint Francis de Sales Oratory, Easter Vigil Mass



Gloria in Excelsis Deo starts at about 1:25.


Gloria in excélsis Deo
Et in terra pax homínibus bonae voluntátis.
Laudámus te.
Benedícimus te.
Adorámus te.
Glorificámus te.
Grátias ágimus tibi propter magnam glóriam tuam,
Dómine Deus, Rex cæléstis, Deus Pater omnípotens.
Dómine Fili unigénite, Jesu Christe.
Dómine Deus, Agnus Dei, Fílius Patris.
Qui tollis peccáta mundi, miserére nobis.
Qui tollis peccáta mundi, súscipe deprecatiónem nostram.
Qui sedes ad déxteram Patris, miserére nobis.
Quóniam tu solus Sanctus.
Tu solus Dóminus,
Tu solus Altíssimus, Jesu Christe,
Cum Sancto Spíritu in glória Dei Patris. Amen.


Glory to God in the highest.
And on earth peace to men of good will.
We praise Thee.
We bless Thee.
We adore Thee.
We glorify Thee.
We give thanks to Thee for Thy great Glory.
O Lord God, heavenly King, God the Father almighty.
O Lord the only-begotten Son, Jesus Christ.
O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father.
Thou who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
Thou who takest away the sins of the world, receive our prayer.
Thou who sittest at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us.
For Thou only art Holy.
Thou only art the Lord.
Thou only, O Jesus Christ, art Most High.
With the Holy Ghost, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Surrexit enim, sicut dixit!

For He is risen, as He said!

Saint Francis de Sales Oratory, in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA - statue of the Resurrected Christ, after the Easter Vigil Mass

(Statue of the Resurrected Christ, taken last night at Saint Francis de Sales Oratory, after the Easter Vigil Mass.)

Saturday, March 22, 2008

Saint John Nepomuk Chapel, in Saint Louis, Missouri - Christ in the sepulcher 2

Christ in the Sepulcher.
(Photo taken last year at Saint John Nepomuk, in Saint Louis.)

Terræmotus

Saint Francis de Sales Oratory, in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA - high altar after "terrae motus" on Good Friday

High altar at Saint Francis de Sales Oratory after the terræmotus — earthquake — at the end of the Good Friday liturgy.  The clergy knocks over the candlesticks as seen here, while the altar boys bang on the choir stalls and the organ plays its deepest, rumbling note.
Et ecce velum templi scissum est in duas partes a summo usque deorsum: et terra mota est, et petræ scissæ sunt.

And behold the veil of the temple was rent in two from the top even to the bottom: and the earth quaked and the rocks were rent.
Matthew 27:51

Friday, March 21, 2008

Saint Francis de Sales Oratory, in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA - procession on Holy Thursday

Procession of the Blessed Sacrament to the Altar of Repose following Holy Thursday Mass at Saint Francis de Sales Oratory. Note that the processional crucifix is shouded; the Lenten fast is extended even to our senses during Passiontide.

Thursday, March 20, 2008

BY THIS TIME tomorrow, the street sign seen below will be overtopped by three feet of water. In 48 hours, it will be covered by an additional ten feet of water.

Flooded park, in Valley Park, Missouri, USA

At this time, residents of Valley Park and other communities in the lower valley of the Meramec River are evacuating the area.

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Easter at the Oratory


(Click for a larger version.)




Wednesday, March 19, Wednesday of Holy Week
7:30 a.m. Confessions
8:00 a.m. Mass
No Noon Mass
6:00 p.m. Confessions
6:30 p.m. Mass

Triduum Sacrum

Thursday, March 20, Holy Thursday
5:30 p.m. Confessions
6:30 p.m. Solemn High Mass, Procession to the Repository
Followed by Adoration at the Repository until Midnight

Friday, March 21, Good Friday
8:00 a.m. Stations of the Cross and Confessions
2:00 p.m.-6:30 p.m. Confessions
3:00 p.m. Liturgy of the Passion and Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ
Followed by Adoration at the Holy Sepulcher until 8:00 p.m.

Saturday, March 22, Holy Saturday
8:00 p.m. Confessions
9:00 p.m. Easter Vigil, Solemn High Mass
At the End of the Vigil Blessing of Easter Food: Bread, Eggs…

"Mikhail Gorbachev admits he is a Christian"

SEE THE ARTICLE Mikhail Gorbachev admits he is a Christian:
Mikhail Gorbachev, the last Communist leader of the Soviet Union, has acknowledged his Christian faith for the first time, paying a surprise visit to pray at the tomb of St Francis of Assisi...

Mr Gorbachev's surprise visit confirmed decades of rumours that, although he was forced to publicly pronounce himself an atheist, he was in fact a Christian, and casts a meeting with Pope John Paul II in 1989 in a new light...

Ronald Reagan, the former United States president, allegedly told his close aides on a number of occasions that he felt his opponent during the Cold War was a "closet believer".....
 Found at Catholic Church Conservation.

To those of us who remember the fall of the Communist states in Eastern Europe, the collapse of this once seemingly invincible system has always been somewhat a mystery.

Major Flooding

NEAR RECORD FLOODING is forecast by the National Weather Service along the Meramec River, which is in the Saint Louis area. 



The severity of the flood along this river will exceed that of the Great Flood of 1993.  Prayers are needed for those whose homes, businesses, and land will be inundated by this flood.

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Photos of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, in New Melle, Missouri

HERE ARE PHOTOS of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, in New Melle, Missouri. The parish is about 44 road miles west of downtown Saint Louis, Missouri, in western Saint Charles County.

Immaculate Heart of Mary Roman Catholic Church, in New Melle, Missouri, USA - Saint Joseph Chapel (old church) exterior

The parish's old church is now a chapel.  According to the parish history:
On June 24, 1945, in the presence of twenty-five people, ground was broken by Father William Pezold, the Pastor of Saint Joseph Parish in Cottleville. The cornerstone, of what is now St. Joseph Chapel, was placed on August 26, 1945, by Monsignor (later Bishop) Leo Steck, with the Most Reverend John J. Glennon, Archbishop of St. Louis, presiding. It was Archbishop Glennon who designated the parish to be named "Immaculate Heart of Mary", the first parish in the Archdiocese with that title. The parish was comprised of about twenty families at that time. Several of the "charter members", and many of the children of these families, are still members of the parish.

The blessing and dedication of the church took place on Sunday, December 9, 1945....
Mass is offered in this chapel Monday through Friday at 8:00 a.m. followed by the Rosary, and Eucharistic Adoration is here from Monday at 8:30 a.m. through Friday at 2:00 p.m.

The village of New Melle is named after Melle in Lower Saxony, Germany.  According to the 2000 federal census, nearly half of New Melle's residents claim German ancestry.   According to Goodspeed's History of 1882:
It is located in the midst of a rich farming country, in Callaway township, eight miles from the Wabash, St. Louis and Pacific railway, and twelve miles from the Missouri river. Samuel F. Cunningham, a Virginian, located near the present site of the village in 1834, but the town was not laid out until 1848. Ernst Bannerman was the first settler on the town site of New Melle, arriving there in 1840. Henry Hardach came about the same time, and yet resides near the town. Franz Henry Porter secured the government grant for the land upon which the town is built, erected the first house and practically laid out the place. He died soon after 1848, leaving a large family, many of whom still reside in New Melle and vicinity. Conrad Weinrich, who yet resides there, passed through the place in 1837, but did not locate permanently until 1851. He is now the oldest living resident.

The town does a thriving trade, being supplied with all the necessary stores and a mill. Its location is high and dry, and consequently healthy. The rich prairie soil to the north-east and north-west of the town, has brought to the vicinity a class of well-to-do farmers, whose presence guarantees to New Melle a prosperous career. There are two churches here; the town has the best of school facilities, and its people are a cordial and hospitable community.
Immaculate Heart of Mary Roman Catholic Church, in New Melle, Missouri, USA - new church exterior

The new church is adjacent to the old chapel.  According to the parish history,
In 1997, a Capital Campaign was launched to build a new church to accommodate our growing parish family. On December 16, 2001, ground was broken for the new church, and active construction started on January 2, 2002. Our new Church was dedicated on May 4, 2003.
Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary is analogous to the devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and is to inspire in us Mary's love for her son.  Mary's Immaculate Heart is often portrayed in art being pierced by a sword (see Luke 2:35).

Address:
26 West Highway D
New Melle, Missouri  63365

Monday, March 17, 2008

Lovely day for a Guinness



If this were not Holy Week, this would be the Feast of Saint Patrick, one of the patrons of Ireland. On Saint Patrick's Day, it is customary to drink Irish beer, such as Guinness. The famous Guinness 'Zoo' advertisements, such as the one shown here, were the brainchild of Dorothy Sayers, who is also credited for the slogan "It pays to advertise".  Sayers was a prominent Christian writer, defender of the faith, and a friend of C. S. Lewis and the Inklings writer's group.  She was also a proponent of classical education.

A pint of Guinness would go very well with Dorothy's essay, The Mind of the Maker.

Saturday, March 15, 2008

The True, the Good, and the Beautiful

If you pursue beauty, you will probably be poor.
If you live a good life, you will likely be mocked and ridiculed.
If you speak the truth, you will most certainly be persecuted.


But beauty pleases the senses; goodness pleases the will; and truth pleases the intellect, and all three are attributes of God — but His ways are not our ways.

Three Orthodox Churches

Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Church, in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA - exterior

Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Church, in Saint Louis, Missouri

Saints Cyril and Methody Orthodox Church, in Granite City, Illinois, USA - exterior

Saints Cyril and Methody Orthodox Church, in Granite City, Illinois

Nativity of Virgin Mary Eastern Orthodox Church, in Madison, Illinois, USA - exterior

Nativity of the Virgin Mary Eastern Orthodox Church, in Madison, Illinois

Friday, March 14, 2008

Photos of Immaculate Conception Church, in East Saint Louis, Illinois

HERE ARE PHOTOS of Immaculate Conception (Lithuanian) Church, in East Saint Louis, Illinois.   The church is located 4-½ road miles east of downtown Saint Louis, Missouri, in Saint Clair County, and is a parish of the Diocese of Belleville (Dioecesis Bellevillensis).

Immaculate Conception (Lithuanian) Roman Catholic Church, in East Saint Louis, Illinois, USA - exterior 1

This church, dating from 1956, is noted for its Lithuanian folk interior and exterior.

By the end of the 19th century, East Saint Louis was a prosperous industrial city attracting many immigrants from Eastern Europe.  At first having a mainly male congregation, the parish built its first church in 1897.  In the wake of the Second World War, Lithuanians fleeing Communist occupation of their country continued immigration to East Saint Louis.  Prosperity continued through the 1950s until industry started closing down, leaving the city in sharp decline, from which it is only starting to recover.

Immaculate Conception (Lithuanian) Roman Catholic Church, in East Saint Louis, Illinois, USA - spire

Immaculate Conception (Lithuanian) Roman Catholic Church, in East Saint Louis, Illinois, USA - cornerstone

IMMACULATE CONCEPTION CHURCH
Š. P. MARIJOS NEKALTO PRASIDĖJIMO
BAŽNYČIA
PIUS XII POPE
MOST REV. ALBERT R. ZUROWESTE D.D.
BISHOP OF BELLEVILLE
REV. DR. ANTONY L. DEKSNYS
PASTOR

J MULOKAS ARCHITECT

LITHUANIAN PARISH FOUNDED 1895
FIRST CHURCH BUILT 1897
ENLARGED 1928
DESTROYED BY FIRE 1943
CHURCH REBUILT 1956

Immaculate Conception (Lithuanian) Roman Catholic Church, in East Saint Louis, Illinois, USA - sign

Mass time:

Upcoming events at the Oratory

 From Saint Francis de Sales Oratory:


 

Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest

Saint Francis de Sales Oratory

2653 Ohio Avenue

Saint Louis, Missouri 63118

www.institute-christ-king.org

314-771-3100

 

 

March 14, 2008                                                                                                                                                                                               

 

 

Email newsletter contains information about:

Holy Week and Easter Masses and devotions

 

 

 Dear Faithful and Friends of St. Francis de Sales Oratory,

 

My prayers and blessings to you as we enter the holiest of weeks in the liturgical year. After a rigorous and penitential Lent, we now look forward to the re-enactment of the central mystery of our faith: our redemption. I invite you to participate fully in the spirit of this Holy Week by attending as many of the Masses and devotions as you are able. By immersing yourselves in these liturgical rites you will be accompanying Our Lord as He shares His last supper and His own precious Body and Blood with us, as He endures His painful torture and death, and finally as He triumphs over death to bring us our own hope of everlasting life with Him. As St. Paul says, “If Christ be not risen, our faith is in vain.”

           

 

 

May our Divine Savior bless you abundantly this Easter with a stronger faith, a more joyful hope, and a more ardent love for Him.

 

            Yours devotedly in Christ,

 

            Fr. Karl W. Lenhardt

            Episcopal Delegate/Rector/Vice Provincial

 

 

                               

The following is our schedule for Holy Week services:

 

Holy Week:

 

SUNDAY, MARCH 18, PALM SUNDAY

7:30 a.m.-11:30 a.m. Confessions

8:00 a.m. Low Mass

9:30 a.m. Blessing of Palms and Procession

    and High Mass


Monday, March 17, Monday of Holy Week

7:30 a.m. Confessions

8:00 a.m. Mass

6:00 p.m. Confessions

6:30 p.m. Mass


Tuesday, March 18, Tuesday of Holy Week

7:30 a.m. Confessions

8:00 a.m. Mass

6:00 p.m. Confessions

6:30 p.m. Mass at the Altar of Our Mother of Perpetual Help


Wednesday, March 19, Wednesday of Holy Week

7:30 a.m. Confessions

8:00 a.m. Mass

No Noon Mass

6:00 p.m. Confessions

6:30 p.m. Mass

 

Triduum Sacrum


Thursday, March 20, Holy Thursday

5:30 p.m. Confessions

6:30 p.m. Solemn High Mass, Procession to the Repository

Followed by Adoration at the Repository until Midnight


Friday, March 21, Good Friday

8:00 a.m. Stations of the Cross and Confessions

2:00 p.m.-6:30 p.m. Confessions

3:00 p.m. Liturgy of the Passion and Death of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Followed by Adoration at the Holy Sepulcher until 8:00 p.m.


Saturday, March 22, Holy Saturday

8:00 p.m. Confessions

9:00 p.m. Easter Vigil, Solemn High Mass

At the End of the Vigil Blessing of Easter Food: Bread, Eggs…


Sunday, March 23, Easter Sunday

8:00 a.m.   Low Mass with organ

10:00 a.m. Solemn High Mass

 

 

Mr. Jon R. T. Roche`

Administrative Assistant

Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest

St. Francis de Sales Oratory

2653 Ohio Avenue

Saint Louis, Missouri 63118

314. 771. 3100 p

314. 771. 3295 f

www.institute-christ-king.org

 

'Abp. Burke's excommunication of the "women priests"'

SEE THE ARTICLE Abp. Burke's excommunication of the "women priests" by Dr. Ed Peters.

In another article, Dr. Peters states that the word "defrocking" used in the secular media is incorrect: "degradation" is the correct term for dismissal from the clerical state, while the post-Vatican II term "laicization" is falling out of favor.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Christian in Name Only

MEDIA CELEBRITY Oprah Winfrey supports presidential candidate Barack Hussein Obama, and it now appears that both are followers of New Age religion despite calling themselves 'Christian'.  See the article: Editorial: The Springtime of the Left: The Spiritual Revival of Eckhart, Oprah and Obama, over at LifeSiteNews.com:
Both Oprah and Obama claim to be Christians. But in both cases this is a farce, for neither of them believes that Christ is the incarnate God (except, perhaps, in the sense that we are all in some way God), and neither of them believes that there is an objective, external truth to which they must wholly submit.

The official slogan for Oprah's online class on Tolle's book is "prepare to be awakened." Her whole spirituality is focused on this ambiguous notion of "awakening" to one's spiritual potential. Note this passage from Obama's book, in which he describes the "spirituality" of his mother, a woman of no professed religion, who would (as Obama proudly tells us in his book) alternately attend Christian churches, Buddhist temples, Chinese New Year celebrations, Shinto shrines, and ancient Hawaiian burial sites. "For all her professed secularism," writes Obama, "my mother was in many ways the most spiritually awakened person that I've ever know."

An even cursory reading of the chapter on his Christian faith in Obama's book demonstrates that Obama has never seriously attempted to submit to the doctrines of Christianity, but rather chose to embrace the religion largely for utilitarian reasons, and as but one way amongst many to quench his thirst for some form of a spiritual life. Oprah, on the other hand, has explicitly stated that Christianity is but one way amongst many, presumably equal ways to God.

"Kidnapped Iraqi archbishop is dead"

SEE THE ARTICLE Kidnapped Iraqi archbishop is dead, at Catholic World News:
Archbishop Bishop Paulos Faraj Raho of Mosul, the Iraqi prelate who was kidnapped by gunmen on February 29, is dead.

The kidnappers of the Chaldean Catholic archbishop, who had been demanding a heavy ransom, told Church officials that the archbishop was dead, AsiaNews reports. The kidnappers reportedly gave instructions on how Church officials could recover the archbishop's body.
Francis Park, in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA - Saint Gabriel Archangel Church at night

Saint Gabriel the Archangel Church, in Saint Louis.

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Saint Francis de Sales Oratory, in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA - exterior door

Side door, at Saint Francis de Sales Oratory, in Saint Louis, Missouri

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Thank You

Dana,

Thank you very much for the books; they are excellent!

Monday, March 10, 2008

SAINT LOUIS CATHOLIC interviews Rosalind Moss, who is to form a new women's religious order in Saint Louis.

Click here for the interview.
Moss growing on log, at Powder Valley Conservation Nature Center, in Kirkwood, Missouri, USA

In winter, when most of life remains hidden — and dark, overcast skies give us only minimal color — some very few green plants thrive, even in the bitter cold. Moss here grows on an old log in this photo taken back in February. We need to only wait a few weeks for Spring to burst forth!
"There is relatively little difference between the anesthetized patient on the operating table and the aesthetically unaware television or film viewer.  Both persons can do very little about what is happening to them.  All they can do is to trust us, to trust our skills, our good judgement, and above all, our good intentions. Obviously, the surgeon who cuts into human beings with his scalpel, and we, who cut into human beings with highly charged, keenly calculated aesthetic energy, have an equally grave responsibility toward them.  That is why [this theory of aesthetics] stresses the close relationship between aesthetics and ethics, between ethical skill and moral purpose.

"For a mass-communicator, who daily influences millions of unsuspecting people, acceptance of such responsibility is a major job prerequisite.  Skill alone is not enough.  First and foremost, he must bring to his job a genuine concern for his fellow human beings.  He must want to make his fellowmen more aware of themselves and their surroundings.  He must love them."
— Herbert Zettl (1973)