The God of Surprises

Speaking of Football Players..

My favorite part, talking about his son..."He's been alive for 9 months, and now he's finally out of the womb".

You Can't Fix Stupid

Washington D.C., Oct 28, 2018 / 01:00 pm (CNA).- The number of Americans who claim to be witches has increased dramatically over the past 30 years.

An estimated 1 to 1.5 million people say they practice Wicca or paganism, a rise from an estimated 8,000 Wiccans in 1990, and 340,000 in 2008.

In 2014, a Pew Research Center survey found about 0.4 percent of Americans identify themselves Pagan or Wiccan, a significant increase over prior years.

If accurate, the Pew data would suggest that there are more self-identified "witches" in the United States than members of some mainline Protestant denominations. For example, according to 2017 figures, there are 1.4 million practicing Presbyterians in the United States.

Wicca is a form of modern pagan witchcraft begun in the 1940s and 1950s in the United Kingdom. Those who practice Wicca often refer to themselves as “witches.” People who practice other forms of witchcraft may not identify with the "Wiccan" or "pagan" label, meaning that the number of self-identified witches in the United States might actually be higher than reported.

 

We Should All Memorize This!

I wish the Pope asked every Church to play this instead of read his letter.

Drop Kick Me, Jesus, Through the Goalposts of Life

Toronto, Ohio, Jun 18, 2018 / 03:26 am (CNA).- Every single vocation story is different, but Sr. Rita Clare (Anne) Yoches is probably one of the more unusual.
Sr. Rita Clare, who this month will profess final vows with the Franciscan Sisters T.O.R. of Penance of the Sorrowful Mother, was a four-time national champion professional football player.prior to entering the convent.
Yes, that’s American football. (She was a fullback.) Nowadays, the only football Yoches is playing is the annual two-hand touch game she organizes with the 38 T.O.R. sisters she lives with in Toronto, Ohio.
Although she was raised Catholic and attended Catholic schools, Yoches said she never once considered becoming a nun. Her family attended Mass each Sunday, but that was about it in terms of her faith life. A talented athlete, Yoches earned a full basketball scholarship to the University of Detroit-Mercy, where she played for four years.
After college, she began her football career in 2003 after a successful tryout with the Detroit Demolition, a now-defunct women’s professional team. She left the team in 2006, and in March of 2007, the former self-described party girl experienced a calling to enter religious life. She ended her relationship with her boyfriend, and entered the Franciscans shortly after.

Looks Like I'm Not Confessing About Jimmy Hoffa

Father Z has some thoughts....


I was sent the link to a short film that, apparently, won and award at the International Catholic Film Festival in 2017.
Fail.
It starts with some good point.  Never mind that the priest is not wearing a purple stole: validity of absolution doesn’t depend on a stole or its color.  Fluctus in simpulo.  There are some good moments in the short.
That said, there are some disturbing elements in this film.
I know that it is a short film and that short means that not every possible angle can be resolved.
The priest lies to the guy, a couple of times, in telling the penitent that he didn’t commit murder.  However, even if “murder” isn’t quite the right technical term for what happened, even if the lie that the priest told was true, the guy would still have committed a horrible sin, several, in fact.
As to the penance, it isn’t always possible to “compensate” a victim.  However, giving something to someone who is not the victim doesn’t strictly satisfy justice.   There is a twist in this case, but that remains.
What I am afraid happened here is that sentimentality trumped reason and, once again, we saw the exaltation of false mercy which betrays truth.  A “mercy” which is apart from the truth is no mercy at all.
Moreover, the film seems to make the the point of the priest’s mercy, rather than God’s mercy.   It is, essentially, about the priest, not God.

I'm pretty sure that this wasn't murder, but I am not a lawyer.  Doesn't murder require premeditation? Lying to make someone feel better is bad, especially coming from a priest in confession.

The Bosco Chocolate Drink Mix Feast of St. John Bosco

 The Patron Saint of Magicians!

Find the Popes in the Pizza

 Pope Pius XII was Pope when I was born!


“Find the Pope in the Pizza” from George Nimeh on Vimeo.

World Ends Tomorrow...Poor People Hardest Hit

Pope Francis, who has a strong belief in the science of climate change, called upon world leaders on Wednesday to "listen to the cry of the Earth and the cry of the poor, who suffer most because of the unbalanced ecology." 




Francis and Patriarch Bartholomew I, the head of the Orthodox Christian Church, will issue a joint message to commemorate the annual "World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation" on Friday, the Associated Press reported.
In 2015, the Pope designated Sept. 1 as "a precious opportunity to renew our personal participation in this vocation as custodians of creation," framing the preservation of the environment as a moral responsibility. 

Endorsed by "The Dude"

First Day of Hajj

 Today is the first day of the Islamic Hajj. Why?

The first day of the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca will be on Wednesday, August 30, 2017, as announced by Saudi Arabia's High Judicial Court.
In the Islamic calendar, Hajj begins every year on the 8th day of the Dhu al-Hijjah lunar month, and traditionally the length of lunar months is only confirmed after  moon sighting on the 29th day of the previous lunar month.
Since the moon was not seen on August 21, the first day of the Dhu al-Hijjah lunar month lunar will be August 23, and so Hajj should begin on August 30.
The High Judicial court in Saudi Arabia announces the dates for Hajj, and Eid-al-Adha after reviewing moon sighting reports.





 Sounds complicated. I'm glad we Catholics don't do stuff like that.....

In 325 AD the Council of Nicaea established that Easter would be held on the first Sunday after the first full moon occurring on or after the vernal equinox. From that point forward, the Easter date depended on the ecclesiastical approximation of March 21 for the vernal equinox.
Easter is delayed by 1 week if the full moon is on Sunday, which decreases the chances of it falling on the same day as the Jewish Passover. The council’s ruling is contrary to the Quartodecimans, a group of Christians who celebrated Easter on the day of the full moon, 14 days into the month.

Never mind.

The Passion of John the Baptist, August 29

Part of today's Gospel. From Mark 6: 22-29:

Herodias' own daughter came in and performed a dance that delighted Herod and his guests.
The king said to the girl,"Ask of me whatever you wish and I will grant it to you."
He even swore many things to her,"I will grant you whatever you ask of me, even to half of my kingdom."
She went out and said to her mother, "What shall I ask for?"
She replied, "The head of John the Baptist."
The girl hurried back to the king's presence and made her request,
"I want you to give me at once on a platter the head of John the Baptist."
The king was deeply distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests
he did not wish to break his word to her.
So he promptly dispatched an executioner with orders to bring back his head.
He went off and beheaded him in the prison.
He brought in the head on a platter and gave it to the girl.
The girl in turn gave it to her mother.
When his disciples heard about it,
they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

The overview:

Think of This Song the Next Time a Phone Rings During Mass

I got a new phone yesterday. I will be careful with it.

World Over

Again, the power to embed this video is deprived by Youtube (I assume), but this is worth watching to the very end, especially since Father Murray and Robert Royal land some roundhouse punches to our favorite Jesuit, Father Martin. It's worth waiting for!

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=phPHJDSvvmI&feature=youtu.be

I Don' t Care Who You Are ...That's Funny Right There

Make sure you wait for Pope Francis' cameo at the end....

October 25 - St. Crispin's Day

And Crispin Crispian shall ne'er go by,

From this day to the ending of the world,

But we in it shall be remember'd;

We few, we happy few, we band of brothers,

For he today that sheds his blood with me

Shall be my brother; be he ne'er so vile,

This day shall gentle his condition:

And gentlemen in England now a-bed

Shall think themselves accursed they were not here,

And hold their manhoods cheap whiles any speaks

That fought with us on Saint Crispin's day.

~ William Shakespeare (1564-1616)  (King Henry V, Act 4, Sc. 3) 

Thinking About Voting For A Democrat?

Think (really think) again.

Come Home, Catholics! We Will Save the Environment!

The latest campaign to bring back lapsed Catholics:



No mention of Jesus, the sacraments, eternal life...but we DEMAND SOCIAL JUSTICE! Oh...and DISCUSSIONS! About TOLERANCE!

The Passion of John the Baptist, August 29

Because this is one of my favorite things on YouTube:

And To Our Jewish Friends....

Chag sameach!

St. Michael the Archangel takes Wing

High atop Mont St. Michel in France is a gilded statue of St. Michael. It is being repaired and additional lightning rods attached top it. He was attached to a line to a helicopter and off he went!

I could not figure how to imbed the video, but it is worth watching!


This is another video from La Figaro in France. Really long annoying ads to start, but a fun view of the flying Michael!