Non Tasarmi, Fratello!

“Wherever the Catholic sun doth shine, There’s always laughter and good red wine. At least I’ve always found it so. Benedicamus Domino!” Hillaire Belloc

Thursday, June 28, 2007

Dr. Wacker is ALIVE!

 
Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Feast of St. Cyril of Alexander

 


St. Cyril is a Bishop and a Doctor of the Church. He got in a major slap down with Nestorius (patriarch of Constantinople) around 420AD when Nestorius claimed that since Jesus was divine, then Mary couldn't be his mother and therefore should not be given the title "theotokis" - it means "God-bearer". Cyril won that one.


Cyril's uncle was Theopholis, who was patriarch of Alexandria. Thomas Theopholis (a successful thistle sifter), while sifting a sieve full of unsifted thistle, thrust three thousand thistle through the thick of his thumb.

Where is the sieve of unsifted thistle that Thomas Theopholis the thistle sifter sifted?

I don't know.
Posted by Picasa

Monday, June 25, 2007

St. Sosipater

This is how I felt when I found out that today is the Feast Day of St. Sosipater.

Labels:

The WHO Received WHAT?

 


The first line of this article says,"Pope Benedict XVI will impose the pallium on new metropolitan archbishops in a ceremony at St. Peter's basilica on June 29, the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, the Vatican liturgical office has confirmed. "

Metropolitan? From the Catholic Encyclopedia:
"An archbishop or metropolitan, in the present sense of the term, is a bishop who governs a diocese strictly his own, while he presides at the same time over the bishops of a well-defined district composed of simple dioceses but not of provinces."

Pallium? From the article:

"The pallium is a liturgical vestment symbolizing the authority of a metropolitan archbishop. A white woolen strip decorated by six black crosses, it is worn across the shoulders, outside the chasuable. It is worn only my archbishops, and only on formal liturgical occasions.

The vestment is made from wool that is shorn from lambs that are blessed by the Pope, in another ancient Roman tradition, on the feast of St. Agnes, January 21. These vestments are stored in the Vatican basilica until the feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, when the new metropolitan archbishops travel to Rome to receive them, in a ceremony that accents the communion between these prelates and the Holy See."
Posted by Picasa

Stupid Catholic Tricks

It appears that the Democrats are reaching out to Catholics, starting with the ones who think minimum wage is an important theological issue.

Check out this line:

"Catholic Democrats in Congress are introducing legislation to reduce demand for abortion, a top issue for the Roman Catholic Church."

Oh REALLY? The Catholic Church wants to REDUCE DEMAND for abortions? And all these years I thought the Church wanted to END abortion! Silly me!

And this:

"Catholics also tend to be less observant than evangelicals and so are less likely to tow the church line politically. "

To the editor: TOE the line, not TOW it.

Friday, June 22, 2007

Monty Python and the HOLY GRAIL

They forgot to look in the basement!

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Feast Day of St. Aloysius Gonzaga

 


You may know this guy because of a good basketball school named after him. But he is ALSO the Patron Saint of Youth.

The frescoe painting is by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, one of the last "Grand Manner" fresco painters of the Venetian republic.
Posted by Picasa

Labels: ,

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Rules of the Road

 
Posted by Picasa


VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Thou shall not drive under the influence of alcohol. Thou shall respect speed limits. Thou shall not consider a car an object of personal glorification or use it as a place of sin.

Clean Your Room!

 


Because you never know what you will find!
Posted by Picasa

Sunday, June 17, 2007

St. Joan of Arc

 


Here's an interesting story about her from Smithsonian magazine. I always assumed she was from a place called Arc, but D'Arc was her father's last name.

The statue is located at the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris.
Posted by Picasa

Saturday, June 16, 2007

Feast day of St. John Francis Regis

He's the patron saint of lacemakers. According to this, "His gravity increased with his years".

That can be said for most of us, but he lived long before "The South Beach Diet".

Labels:

Friday, June 15, 2007

Ask Sister Mary Martha

 


I don't know if Sister Mary Martha is really a nun, but she should be. Her motto: "Life is tough. Nuns are tougher. If you need advice, ask Sister Mary Martha. Just don't expect any sympathy."

Today's question was from a woman who wanted to get a tatoo of a scapular. What did Sister Mary Martha say? This:

"So let me get this straight. You're going to tattoo a scapular onto yourself, thus skirting the even minimal act of wearing one and the awareness of being deserving of heaven that might bring. You're going to run down to Inky's Tattoo Barn and burn one into your flesh like you're at the Lazy "C" Catholic Ranch and forget about it, except for questioning eyes at the beach. "What are they staring at?" you'll think to yourself. "Oh yeah, my scapular tattoo!" Then you'll dance off in your string bikini.

How happy this must make Our Blessed Mother! All mothers love it when their children run out and get a tattoo, after all. The Blessed Mother, the very symbol of purity, must be overjoyed.

The real question here is, should you really not deserve heaven in the final wash, how is God going to get that thing off of you? Because He is going to get it off you.

A scapular, by the way, is worn both front and back, so getting it off you stands to be really gruesome.

My advice: Don't do it. If you insist on doodling on the library book that is your body, just scribble " WWJD" on there. Maybe it will remind you not to get any more tattoos."
Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

My Friend, St. Augustine

 


You can be his friend, too. Just go to his MySpace page and tell him!
Posted by Picasa

Labels:

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Feast of Pope Leo III

 


Oh sure...he's a saint. But did he have an elephant, like Leo X? No, he did NOT!

He's buried at St. Peter's in Rome, along with Leo the I, II, and IV. There have been 13 Popes named Leo, and I don't know where all of them are buried. Look it up yourself.
Posted by Picasa

Labels:

Sunday, June 10, 2007

The Loaves and the Fishes

 



Only two fish to feed the multitudes?

No problem!
Posted by Picasa

Saturday, June 09, 2007

The Pink Sisters

 


The Holy Spirit Adoration Sisters are "a cloistered-contemplative missionary Congregation, living in community, whose members are entirely dedicated to the contemplative life in the service of perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Thus we offer intercessory prayer for the needs of all. The rose color of our habits, which we wear in honor of the Holy Spirit, symbolizes our dedication to the Third Person of the Blessed Trinity. Evangelization and the sanctification of priests are particularly remembered in our life of prayer, which includes the singing of the Liturgy of the Hours (Divine Office) in choir."

If you'd care to join them, they have a convent in St. Louis!

Although we won't get around to it until Sunday, the traditional observance of Corpus Christi is the Thursday after Trinity Sunday. If you want to get a jump on things, you can go here.

Class..what's the thing used to display the Eucharistic Host called? That's right! It's a monstrance. You'll see one tomorrow at Mass, and I will ask you what it's called. So be ready.

Labels:

Cuttin' the Rug for God

This gives me an idea for next year's PSR class.

Wednesday, June 06, 2007

Feast of St. Norbert

Speaking of lightning, today is the feast of St. Norbert.

"A sudden flash of lightning split the dark and his horse bucked, throwing Norbert to the ground....When he awoke his first words were, "Lord, what do you want me to do?" -- the same words Saul spoke on the road to Damascus. In response Norbert heard in his heart, "Turn from evil and do good. Seek peace and pursue it."

Labels:

Lightning Strikes Rudy

Presidential candidate Rudy Guiliani explains why, even though he claims to be a Catholic, he won't do anything to stop abortion. The result?

Lightning strikes and messes up the sound. Makes you think, doesn't it?

The debate was held at a Catholic school!

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

200!

The previous entry was the 200th for this site! That would make this post number 201...

Feast of Saint Boniface of Mainz

 


St. Boniface (675 AD-754 AD) was called Winfrith until Pope Gregory II changed it and sent him off to convert the heathens in what is now Germany. To abet the conversions, he chopped down the giant oak of Geismar, a tree dedicated to Thor. The tree fell in the shape of a cross.


Sometimes faith can be a tricky thing:

"One day in 754 while he was awaiting some confirmands, an enemy band attacked his camp. Although his companions wanted to fight, Boniface told them to trust in God and to welcome death for the faith. All of them were martyred."

St. Boniface is buried in the cathedral in Fulda. He's the patron saint of Germany.
Posted by Picasa

Labels: ,