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.

Because Life Goes On...

Acts of terror, wars, rumors of wars, budget crises, scary headlines, scandal, political vitriol, etc., etc. got you down? It's good to remember that life goes on. It is good to remember that for "the world,"

Because Words Matter...

Words differently arranged have a different meaning, and meanings differently arranged have different effects. —Blaise Pascal

Yesterday, I shared a post about catechizing the world. That "c" word is one I had never heard of before I was Catholic. It's a complicated sounding word that I probably could never get right during a spelling bee. But it doesn't have to be that fancy sounding,  because all it means is "sharing the Good News" and "teaching the Faith."

Because Love Went to Madrid, And Its Cup Runneth Over

May it find its way through to all the corners of the world. Thanks to Marc Barnes, you can see for yourself.

For the Verses on the YIMCatholic Bookshelf Icon

Patricia Cornell, proprietor of St. Theodosia's Icon Shop writes,

Postcards from WYD: Hey...I Know That "Kid!"

Remember I told you that Marc Barnes, aka "the Kid" , and blogger at BadCatholic, was in Madrid for World Youth Day? The proof is above. That photograph is one of 106 that Life Teen International has posted over on their Facebook page. Here's another with Marc and his buddies,

I Hear Guitars...And Lot's of Reverence.

The English version of the World Youth Day theme song...sing along!

For the Earth and Its Fullness...UPDATED!

I have no idea what kind of bird this is, where it is from, or who shot the photograph. I'd love to give credit for all three. But I do know Who created the bird. What a magnificent Artist!

Around the World in 3 Minutes: Move, Learn, Eat

One of my favorite lines from scripture concerns "the earth and its fullness." As a Catholic Christian, you should know that this broad, nay, "catholic" expression describing the world and its wonders is to be lived and experienced with joy by us all.

Thanks to Nicholas Kristof For These Courageous Thoughts

Floored. And pleasantly surprised. That what I was when I read the latest editorial by Nicolas Kristof in the New York Times. His Tweet was as follows,

Many evangelicals do great work, and it's reverse intolerance to mock their faith.

Have a look at the article:

Because Christ is In Every Book of the Bible

Interestingly, I missed this video (below) last week when Deacon Greg Kandra ran it over at his place. Maybe there is a reason for that. You see, earlier this week some friends of mine got into a discussion regarding books of the Bible.

Because the Church was Catholic at Pentecost

-Pentecost Sunday

We interrupt your regularly scheduled programming for a message brought to you by The Church Triumphant. Standby for a brief message from St. Jose Maria Escriva, live from the Communion of Saints...

The mystery of the holiness of the Church — that pristine light which can become obscured by the shadows of human baseness — rejects even the slightest thought of suspicion, of doubt about the beauty of our Mother.

From the Treasure Chest: The Catholic Religion and Art

I've got this hobby of finding electronic versions of great books about the Catholic Faith. I share this pastime with everyone who stops by here too, via the YIMCatholic Bookshelf. At last count, I've added 853(!) fully searchable volumes to the shelf so far. There's no cost to read or download them, and we're open 24 hours, 7 days a week.

Just the other day I found some books that were digitized from the collection of the Monastic Library of the Abbey of Gethsemani. Yes, the one in Kentucky where Fr. Louis was a monk and priest. They also spent some time on the shelves, and possibly still do, at the University of California in Berkeley. Who knew?

Because Blogging For Christ Is Like Being St. Philip

Above is a snapshot of the last 500 visitors to this space. If a picture is worth 1000 words, then this one is worth 1500. As such, I'll be brief. After baptizing the Ethopian eunuch, the Holy Spirit whisked Philip away to evangelize somewhere else. That is what it is like to be a Catholic working in the apostolate of St. Blogs.

For Vivaldi's Gloria

Last night I had the supreme privilege and pleasure of hearing our eldest son play with his chamber music ensemble a concert of Bach and Vivaldi at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Trenton, New Jersey. (Here they are performing in Florence several years ago. )  What moved me the most was when the children performed Vivaldi's Gloria, accompanying  the Absalom Jones Inspirational Choir.

Jesus Goes Mainstream, Classical Music Edition

Over the last several weeks here on Music for Mondays, I've been exploring Jesus in mainstream culture through music. So far I've covered pop hits from the 1960's and 70's, as well as the 1980's up through the early 2000's. Last week I took you back to the times of Spain shortly after the Protestant Reformation.

Yes, I'm zig-zagging all over the timeline. For this week, I'm moving forward a bit starting in 1723 with pieces by Bach, then to the mid 1700's with Handel (that's him in the portrait above) and ending in 1825 with something by Franz Schubert.

Thanks to Tomás Luis de Victoria: Singer, Composer, Priest

Over the past couple of weeks, I've been sharing musical selections from contemporary culture that are Christocentric. This week I wanted to take that same theme, but apply it to a much earlier era. While attempting to do so, I stumbled upon the works of Tomás Luis de Victoria.

Now, if I was from Spain, I would probably have learned of de Victoria in grammer school. I'm not from Spain, but I’m a Catholic now, see, so Christ’s whole world is open to me. Call it Jesus’s Big Back Yard, and come along with me to learn about one of our neighbors.

For the Royal Wedding Homily From Our Anglican Brethren

Feast of St. Catherine of Siena 

Photo: Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire

Even Joe Six-Pack, USMC can appreciate a wedding like this one. The pomp, the circumstance, the sacredness of the institution of marriage upheld. I mean, this is the wedding imagery of the Holy Scriptures brought to life for the world! What's not to like?

And did you hear the wedding homily? No? Given this morning to a world-wide audience by Dr. Richard Chartres, Anglican Bishop of London, it is simply smashing!

Have a look and see if you don't agree.

To Get To Know My Pope (Viva il Papa!)

First a confession. A confession perhaps someone who writes for a Catholic blog shouldn't make. But truth be told, until I read Light of the World, A Conversation with Peter Seewald, I didn't "get" our Pope.

I missed Pope John Paul II terribly, as if he were my father. I didn't understand Benedict. And though six years passed by since he took office, I really hadn't given him a chance.

So when a friend recommended I read this book, I thought to myself, "perhaps I can see what this man is all about."

Thanks to Johnny Cash for "Were You There?"

—Good Friday 

Johnny Cash and Jesus Christ share the initials "J.C." Johnny Cash is an adopted son of my home state of Tennessee. Johnny Cash wrote a novel called Man in White, which I read as I began my journey to the Catholic Church. It is the story of the conversion of St. Paul, and it was so good that I couldn't believe Johnny Cash wrote it.

More on that later, perhaps (and on Johnny's correspondence Bible school diploma), but for now I just want to share a song that Johnny and the Carter family shared with us all to close the episode of The Johnny Cash Show on September 6, 1969.