Walt Whitman's Poem On Columbus Day

Ignatian spirituality tries to find God in all things. Many take issue with that premise, especially when stuck knee deep in the mire of day-to-day problems. I don't claim to be Ignatian in my outlook (nor Franciscan, Benedictine, etc) on events or things. As a Catholic, I'm a little bit of all of those charisms, and more. But I do believe God works through the secular, just as I have faith that all things work for the good.

Quote of the Week

Steve Jobs on having children:

"It’s 10,000 times better than anything I’ve ever done.”

On having his biography commissioned:

For the Faith of Andrea Doria at Lepanto

—Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary  

When I was a kid, I really enjoyed reading history. Usually, I wasn't reading the history that I was supposed to be reading in the classroom.  I really didn't do that well in school until I served two hitches in the Marines and then decided to get out and go to college. Grade school and high school? Homework, schmomework!

To Pray for Rihanna and the Farmer

Rihanna showing too much skin? So says an Irish farmer. Around his neck of the woods he's known as "the Christian." Rihanna & Co. wanted to shoot a music video on his property, and he agreed until he saw how scantily clad she was. Here's the scoop,

A Brief U.S. History of Corporate Whining

Heh. Before you get your dander up, turn red in the face trying to scare me with the facts of the imminent demise of all that is right and true about the American Way, I've got one word for Corporate America: quitcherbellyachin'.

Steve Jobs, Requiescat in Pace

Just heard the news and said a prayer for his soul, and for his family who will grieve his passing. He fought illness for a long time, yet never turned inward with his visionary gifts. Back in the summer, I happened upon this video of the commencement speech he gave at Stanford University.

Take a look,

For Pro-Life Thoughts Inspired By A Food Critic

I unwittingly came across one of the best Pro-Life articles I’ve ever read (via the mainstream media) in the latest on-line edition of Time magazine. The funny thing is, the author probably didn't realize that is what he was writing about. But that’s the wonderful way unintended graces work themselves out. You write one thing, and I see another, which in a nutshell is why sola scriptura is nonsense (but that's a post for another day).

For All the Saints: Francis of Assisi, Deacon

It's the feast of St. Francis of Assisi today, in case you didn't notice. True story: My grandfather was a Catholic and his name was Francis too, and he was named after the fellow you'll be reading about below. As it happens, that is also how I came to be named, but the Catholic connotation of that Christian name lay dormant for some great length time. My grandfather died, see, when I was a wee tot and my memories of him bear no mark of his (and now my) religion at all.

Good News: Flights Booked for Nagasaki!

Ian Higgins writes about the progress being made on completing the film All That Remains, (thanks to the generosity of readers like you).

Flights are now booked for Nagasaki! We’ll be flying out on November 22nd and arrive on the 23rd. In the meantime we’ve got plenty to organise as it’s going to be pretty full on when we get there with all the interviews and location shots we want to get. Meanwhile, we’ll be releasing the trailer for the animated short, 26 Martyrs in a couple of weeks so keep looking for that!

Ziggy Stardust + SRV = An Awesome Near Miss (Music for Mondays)

I've always liked David Bowie, even when I couldn't stand to look at him at times. The Ziggy Stardust look was interesting, no? But man, Space Oddity is great, and so is Suffragette City, We Could Be Heroes, Jean Genie and lots, lots more. Bowie was looking for a new sound in the early 1980's and he stumbled upon a blues guitarist who caught his ear at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1982. Stevie, needing to eat, signed on with Bowie and cut the album, though later he opted out of touring to promote it.

Breaking: Minor Miracle(s) at Casa del Weathers

So there I was, just reading the morning paper after breakfast while sipping a cup of coffee when my daughter and my youngest son came tumbling down the stairs to share with me some miraculous news. My daughter's report went something like this:

For All the Saints: Thérèse of Lisieux, The Sincere Lover of Christ

The Little Flower lying on her bed of thorns

It's hard to believe that a year has gone by, but it's the Little Flower's Feast Day again. This time last year, I shared a post in which Thérèse was likened to, and bettered, both Confucius and Lao Tzu. And now, as then, I turn to thoughts on her penned by my friend John C.H. Wu.