Wisdom from Benedict XVI

"One does not need great mental acuity to be aware of the many ways of rejecting Christ, even on our own doorstep. Often, Jesus is ignored, he is mocked and he is declared a king of the past who is not for today and certainly not for tomorrow. He is relegated to a storeroom of questions and persons one dare not mention publicly in a loud voice. If in the process of building the house of your life you encounter those who scorn the foundation on which you are building, do not be discouraged! A strong faith must endure tests. A living faith must always grow. Our faith in Jesus Christ, to be such, must frequently face others’ lack of faith."

from the address to young people at Blonie Park May 28, 2006.

Other news:

Use ProLifeSearch to search for things.  It uses the Google search engine, but just by searching, you are helping to donate to pro-life causes.

Mr. Yuk

Now there’s a man whose face is green that you ought to get to know.

He’ll warn you when danger’s coming fast or slow.

Get to know his face

in every single place.

Wouldn’t it be great if there was some sort of sticker you could put on bad Catholic books? Mr. Hetrodox…

When you see it you’ll know quick

there’s bad theology to make you spiritually sick.

Recognizing a grace

I’m going to link here to a post from Shannon Walsh’s blog:

Life and Death

Now, this post will be understood differently depending upon one’s faith perspective. It’s a bit like watching The Passion of The Christ. What does a death mean? And how about dying at 3 PM on Good Friday? Only those with faith can understand what Shannon is saying here. She recognizes the grace in the moment.

If you’ve ever seen the movie Sparrows (1926), you will no doubt remember a scene with Jesus in. It’s most memorable. Anyone seen it?

Bio of Shannon Walsh

Blasphemy abounds

It seems there is a lot of blasphemy lately against Jesus, in more and more public places, on TV screens, etc.

Such acts seem to come out of pride.  "I can get away with this…"

Well, for now, but God will not be mocked.  Always keep in mind that Jesus wins in the end, and the losing team will lose in the ultimate way, as the book of Revelation describes.

It seems a bit odd that we know the outcome of the "game" already, but yet still have to watch it happen.

Remember, there’s no doubt about who will win, but He has a way of appearing to lose, but only for a time…

On the turntable

A Benny Goodman LP from the ’50s.  The song:  Nice Work if You Can Get It.

I think I am being impacted by living in a rectory with priests in their 70s and 80s.

Still, the music has its own charm.

The school year is winding down at the Catholic school here.  Now I look at the school year from a different perspective–I watch it happen.

Something completely different

I had an interest in androids when I was growing up.  The fact that I knew the word at age 6 is something in itself.  There were lots of movies with androids in back then (I remember seeing Westworld on broadcast TV and getting quite frightened).

Well, the work to make androids is starting to progress somewhat.  I think if I ran into Repliee Q2 and I were a little kid, that would be really scary.

This page has info on the project, with videos listed at the bottom of the page.  The "Introduction of the Android Research" is in English and gives a good starting point.  The inventor is aware of the deeper questions this project poses.  Where will this lead?  One thing is for sure… you can’t program a free will.  No matter how "lifelike" androids get, they will never be beyond the limitations of the programs running to make them appear alive.  They are left with the appearance of life, and not the reality.

Matt Maher concert was great

Yes.  I was at the concert at St. Paul’s in Valparaiso, IN.  It included much audience participlation, and proceeds went toward a Jamacian mission trip.  Most importantly, God was glorified.  The church had the tabernacle in a room behind a sort of wall behind the altar, and a few of us went in and prayed after the concert.  While we could hear the noise from the church, it was muffled, and the little chapel was quite peaceful.

Matt Maher introduced a new song from Joshua Blakesley’s upcoming CD, which was quite soulful–Motown style. 

I strongly recommend seeing a Matt Maher concert if he comes to your area.  In fact, I think he should release a live performance DVD.

Life in Plano

Sorta quiet here.

Listening to Matt Maher’s new CD: Overflow.

This is no doubt his best yet. I like it better than the first, and definitely better than the second (which I like the least). Practically every song is a winner.

I like this entry on St. Anthanasius.

Also, here’s a good answer to an inquirer who disagrees with a number of Church teachings.