Think "Charity" and Act "Love" = Praying Without Ceasing

A Reflection on the High Priestly Prayer        -Feast of St. William of York 

Before I became a Catholic, the word contemplation meant something altogether different than it does to me today. Chalk that up to intellectual laziness because the definition has been sitting right there in the dictionary for all of those years before I woke up. Let me show you.

Here is how my handy-dandy Merriam Webster Dictionary defines the word,

For New Testament Geography I Wasn't Taught in RCIA

There will be no music post this morning folks, because I did music yesterday. Instead, I’m just going to share the map above which shows color-coded tracks of the missionary journeys of St. Paul. As the title to the post suggests, none of this was taught to me while I was in RCIA. I suspect that this is because it is more important to hear the Good News, than it is to learn New Testament geography.

Introducing Fr. Manuel de Zumaya, Composer-Priest (1678-1755)

I think I once heard someone famous claim that the Catholic Church could never produce artists of the caliber of a Beethoven, or Tchaikovsky. Maybe I heard them wrong, but I've been working at disproving that assertion lately. It all started when I learned that Vivaldi was a Catholic priest. And then I bumped into the beautiful polyphony of Fr. Tomás Luis de Victoria.

Of course, there have been beautiful composers of chants and polyphony since the Church began. Remember St. Romanus the Melodist? Awesome story, and amazingly beautiful music. Which brings me to this morning.

There I was just minding my own business, looking for some music to share with you, and somehow I stumbled upon another composer-priest story.

Art and Baseball? It's All A Part of God's Plan

A friend of mine shared the following essay with me recently. She knows I'm a baseball fan, but I'm not sure if she realizes I'm a newbie writer. Either way, it's a good little piece written by the fellow you see in the photograph here.

R.A. Dickey, New York Mets

I have been a baseball player for twenty-eight years, the last fifteen of which I have had the blessing of playing professionally.

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.

Because the Sexual Abuse Scandal is Like The Ribbon Creek Incident

-Feast of St. Charles Lwanga & Companions

All of you who have never heard of the Ribbon Creek Incident, say "aye!"

Now, all of you who remember those pesky SAT analogy questions that went like this,

apple is to tree, as fish is to _________. a) Christians; b) water; c) sharks; d) pole

say "aye!"

I hope when reading that expression, you went with "b" as your answer.

For Guerilla Catechesis Like This By Stephen Colbert

Ok, so I don't get to watch television much. I'm not saying I never watch television, but I rarely get to sit down and take in a show, you know, in its entirety. I'd rather be writing, or reading, or watching one of my children's ball games.

Today, though, I was reading Mark Shea's blog and saw this video clip of Stephen Colbert teaching a class on Free Will, Satan, Sin, and Hell, courtesy of an interview he was doing on his comedy show (the Colbert Report) with Professor Philip Zimbardo of Stanford University.

Dear YIMCatholic Readers...

-The Solemnity of the Ascension  

There is something about the month of June that brings about change. Palpable change, just like when the Spring season gives way physically to that of the Summer.

This time last year, I was a junior partner of this blog, having been aboard for a mere six months. Allison Salerno, was even more junior, having officially been brought aboard by Webster Bull at the end of March 2010. We were junior members of a new endeavor called Why I Am Catholic.

For the Faith and Courage of St. Justin Martyr

It's the first day of a new month on the calendar. Summer breezes are blowing, and the grass is green. In my neck of the woods, school is out and the pools are open. Some folks have already made trips to the beach to enjoy the sun and the sand. You know, to get away from it all.

Juxtaposed against the fantasy of a relaxing vacation to the sound track of the rolling surf, I present you with the trial of the Samaritan named Justin Martyr. What you are about to read took place in the year 165 AD. Let me do a little math in my head, hmm. Yes, about 132 years after Christ died.

Intermission

Some of my favorite songs while you wait patiently for a post.

The Motels, Suddenly, Last Summer.