Clinging to the Barque of Peter

Upstate New York rejoices.  Today it was made known to me that Pope Benedict will canonize two saints with ties to upstate.  First is Kateri Tekakwitha, also known as Lily of the Mohawks.  She served as an example to all Christians among the Mohawks by choosing to undergo tribulations by her own people than to turn her back on the true God.

Image via Wikipedia

Also to be canonized is Blessed Marianne Cope.  She became a Franciscan sister in Syracuse, NY.  That group recently merged with a group in Buffalo.  She was assigned to work with St. Damien de Vuester in Molokai.

Image via Wikipedia

So, what can these two women who spanned a continent teach us?  Well, I will gladly take this to prayer and if I glean anything, I might let you know.  I mean, I have become a very infrequent writer at my own blog!

Image via Wikipedia

So, New Hampshire has an interesting bill in its state legislature…an effort to repeal an earlier law.  I guess the folks up there have decided to follow their own beat and attempt to rescind a “gay marriage” [sic] law. We need to pray for this movement in NH so it can set precedent for other movements various states.  Here’s looking at you, Iowa.

So, I read about a hometown-region legislator.  I post this for two reasons which sum up to one….Poor catechesis.

1) Not attending Mass except for grave reason.  If I’m too sick to go to Mass, then I know I’m for given that one.  However, mowing my lawn is not a grave reason.  I can mow the lawn at another time.  So can you.  So can anyone else.

And the second:

As on the gay marriage issue. On one hand, he does not personally favor same-sex marriage, but as a trial attorney he says he does not want to deny to gays legal rights that heterosexual couples enjoy. “You don’t want to think as a Catholic senator,” he said.

Well, yes, I do want you to think as a Catholic, sir.  It’s this thinking that has led to that “personally opposed but” horsefeathers which was started all the way with that Catholic president Kennedy.  If this is really your attitude, sir, then perhaps you should let the California situation clear up before deciding for New York.  Perhaps we all should read Lumen gentium, especially its fifth chapter.

No, not spiritual!  Sorry, Rich, if you thought this would be something along those lines.

A small town near THE state park in Western NY is undergoing a regentrification of sorts.  Makes me want to visit the village when I visit my parents.

Two items did I hear or read about today.

1) The canonization of six.  The more famous of these include St. André Bessette and St. Mary MacKillop.  The former is well know in Canada and the northeastern parts of the United States.  The latter is well known throughout Australia and is gaining prominence throughout the world.  Also included in the group was a Polish priest, and Spanish and Italian nuns.  That list is found near the bottom of the link provided.

2) Benoît Mandelbrot has died.  He is most famous for the Mandelbrot set.  His last name actually means “almond bread.”  He was a Holocaust survivor.  With the Mandelbrot set, he opened a new branch of mathematics that many non-mathematicians consider to be beautiful: fractals.  This branch examines repeated patterns on different scales.  Natural examples of fractals include ferns and clouds.

I saw the first miner in Chile come out from the mines alive and well. May this continue throughout the next few days.

UPDATE: In less than 24 hours, all have been brought out.  Muchisimas gracias

I’ve been silent from this blog for one major reason.

I made 41 pillowcases for this.  I might have made a few more, but I miscut!

The Crescat was to go to Rome.  She announced she is unable to because of  this:

She will not admit it, but since the group below got word she would be coming, they decided to use their powers to stop her:

Dear Canada:

Thank you for winning some gold medals this year. It pleases me that people from your fine land can hear your national anthem without cringing, as I did at the opening ceremonies of the Olympics. Your national anthem is strong and simple. By wining gold at your Olympics, you have redeemed the rendition of your national anthem from a week ago.

Snow is on the ground in each state of the US. Link to come.

Well, I’m watching the Super Bowl and the Tim Tebow commercial that caused a stir was third in the list. It really wasn’t “in-your-face I’m pro-life.” Now that I saw it, I want to know what the big stink is. OK, Maybe I don’t.

Today, I was out eating in St Charles when I heard, in the midst of the Christmas songs, a familiar melody. The verses were in a different order than usual, but it definitely was “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” YES! Advent songs during Advent.

The Senate did something right today!

It is with great sadness that I report the death of Richard Gladwell, host of With Heart and Voice.  I enjoyed his show when I was at home.  He was a true gentleman.  Let us pray for his soul.

When my grandmother died, his program played on my way back to work a piece that was played on NPR near Binghamton on my way home to attend the funeral.  I wrote him, and he was glad he could be of consolation during that time.  I listened also to his show when I was in college out of Maine Public Radio.

If you go here, you can see a video of the school I work at on the news. You can see me in one of the scenes. Click on “Church Rebuilt after Devastating Storms.”

I have returned from the desert. A great retreat. Today was an appropriate day for members of my order to renew our vows. Today is the feast of St James the Greater. The tradition states he went to Spain to evangelize. Unsuccessful, he felt defeated. Our Lady appeared before him and gave him a statue of herself holding her Son. My order celebrates with great devotion Our Lady of the Pillar.

During the Sotomayor hearings Day Three:

Sen. Coburn (R-OK):

As recently as six months ago, we now record fetal heartbeats at 14 days post-conception. We record fetal brainwaves at 39 days post- conception. And I don’t expect you to answer this, but I do expect you to pay attention to it as you contemplate these big issues is we have this schizophrenic rule of the law where we have defined death as the absence of those, but we refuse to define life as the presence of those.

Check out the word-cloud here. Now highlight:

So, what it makes me think of is a baby in utero.
Cool, eh.

St. Paul wrote thrice on homosexuality.  They are below:

1 Corinthians 6:9: “Do you not know that the unjust will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor homosexuals nor sodomites … will inherit the kingdom of God.”

1 Timothy 1:10: “… law is meant not for a righteous person but for the lawless and unruly … the unchaste, practicing homosexuals, kidnapers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is opposed to sound teaching.”

Romans 1:26-27: “Therefore, God handed them over to degrading passions. Their females exchanged natural relations for unnatural, and the males likewise gave up natural relations with females and burned with lust for one another. Males did shameful things with males and thus received in their own persons the due penalty for their perversity.”

Now, I know some people think that St. Paul didn’t know what he spoke of.   Well, if you are up for graphic details, you may visit here and see an image of a Roman coin circa. 22-37 AD which depicts two men in ungentlemanly conduct.  I think this confirms that St. Paul knew that homosexuality was present in the Roman Empire, and apparently it was common enough for it to be on a coin.

God bless archaeology for supporting Biblical truth!