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).

I Hate It When This Happens! (Friday Funnies)

Cut it OUT! Sheeeeeeeeeeesh! Now I have to install a cloaking device. Do you have any idea how much that will cost?! I'm going to take that out of your allowance Boy Wonder.

A Message on Mortgage Debt from the World

Just a quick note to parish finance committees from Joe Six-Pack, Catholic layman (in the world, but not of the world). The chart above shows the interest rate on the 10-Year U.S. Treasury Note from 1962 until the present. See the dot on the chart in July 2001? That is just for your reference.  The 10 Year Treasury is a bench mark for mortgage rates. If at all possible, it's probably a great time to refinance parish debt. Or your own mortgage if you can (and haven't already).

That is all.

For Thoughts On Fame by Hilaire Belloc

On Fame, from This And That and the Other

Fame is that repute among men which gives us pleasure. It needs much repetition, but also that repetition honorable. Of all things desired Fame least fulfills the desire for it; for if Fame is to be very great a man must be dead before it is more than a shoot; he therefore has not the enjoyment of it (as it would seem).

Because Takashi Nagai Could Give Such A Speech

The other day, I posted about a movie being made about the life of Dr. Takashi Nagai. Today, I want to share with you a speech he gave. Keep in mind that he had lost his wife, almost all of his students, and many of his colleagues when "the Bomb" was dropped on Nagasaki. And his lesson to us all was to share Our Lord's new commandment: love one another. 

For Thoughts On Being a Christian by the "Chinese Chesterton"

  

All wisdom is from the Lord God, and hath been always with him, and is before all time. —Sirach 1:1

I came across the following thoughts in my friend John C.H. Wu's book The Interior Carmel: The Threefold Way of Love. Author Frank Sheed called John, a Benedictine Oblate, "the Chinese Chesterton." The following selection may help you understand why.

10 Reasons Why I Won't Publish Your Uncharitable Comments UPDATED

Another ironic sign. 

"Dear Frank,

I wrote a comment on your blog and you didn't publish it. May I ask why? I didn't use any curse words or anything. What gives?"

For Stuff My Abba Macarius Says About Discerning True Christians

A while back, I introduced everyone to my patron, St. Macarius the Great. He has some great homilies that help to prepare Christians for the trials and tribulations that we will encounter along this narrow path. What's that? You don't need to hear anything from a desert father about the inner struggle in the life of the Christian? Don't delude yourself.

To Find Peacefulness of Soul, Be Confident in the Mercy of the Lord

What follows are a few thoughts on Christian peace of the soul by my friend John C.H. Wu. They are from the chapter in his book "The Interior Carmel" that reflect upon the beatitude "blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God." How soon we forget this calling of ours! Not only our vocation as peacemakers, but our destiny to become the adopted children of God.

Quote of the Week

The real trouble with this world of ours is not that it is an unreasonable world, nor even that it is a reasonable one. The commonest kind of trouble is that it is nearly reasonable, but not quite. Life is not an illogicality; yet it is a trap for logicians. It looks just a little more mathematical and regular than it is; its exactitude is obvious, but its inexactitude is hidden; its wildness lies in wait. —G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy, Chapter V.

Thoughts on the Economy, Catholic and Not

Ok, class. Today's lesson is on a little thing called "regression to the mean." That's a fancy way of saying that when something gets out of whack, you know, like when one thing shoots for the stars while everything else is holding steady, see, well, it will move back to where it belongs. And usually suddenly. Like a bursting bubble, which by now everyone with a pulse and a 401k is familiar with. Right?

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!

Because the Case for Marian Devotion is Iron-Clad

On the cusp of the Feast of the Assumption, it's a good time for a little Mariology. What follows are thoughts of John C.H. Wu on Our Lady and the Catholic Church. This is from the epilogue of his book Beyond East and West. To me this is one of the best answers to the question "Why do Catholics venerate Mary and why is this important?" Think of that as an essay question on a final exam that you must answer in 700 words (or less) and see if you can top my friend John. I personally don't think you can (I know I can't!).

An Appeal For the Horn of Africa, In Free Verse (Updated)

For I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and you took me in.

I hear that you lost a few coins yesterday in the maelstrom.
I am sorry for your loss.
Perhaps you follow the financial markets too closely.
Or the latest budget crisis.
Or political football contests.

Thoughts On New Media And Evangelization

I'm not a "new media" expert.
But to me,
"New Media" is old media
without editors,
without barriers,
without bosses.

The Suffering Church: Scandal

This is the final part of a three part series. Some folks thought I was skating on thin ice by mentioning heresy yesterday. What now? Surely, Frank, you didn't join the Catholic Church because of scandal? No. But at the same time, it didn't deter me much either. You know the old line, right? Hate the sin, but love the sinner. Well the Church is chock full of sinners, and it couldn't be otherwise.

For "Ghetto Catholicism?" Not Hardly.

The thoughts I share with you now were originally published in 1961, and in English in 1963. Yet today, to this humble reader at least, they seem prophetic. Taken from the first chapter of the first volume of the title you see below, Fr. Karl Rahner, SJ, explains why in the Post Christian world of today, opting for the ghettoization of the Church is a non-starter.

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.

Because of the Protestant Reformers Beliefs On Mary

Another Marian post as we are ten days from the Feast of the Assumption. This one was first published back in December of last year.

Back when I first joined YIMCatholic, I was going to write posts about my conversion. I hammered out seven posts in pretty rapid succession and then, I stopped writing them until recently.

Many of my posts now are simply my observations of the world which are colored through the lens of a convert to Catholicism. It would be difficult for them not to be. Other posts I've written are of the "look what I just found!" variety, and the "I want to share this with you" type. Call them the discovery posts if you will.

From the Treasure Chest: A Primer on Natural Law

My friend John C.H. Wu was a highly regarded jurist and professor of law. He had a close friendship with Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes of the U.S. Supreme Court. It turns out that one of the reasons he converted to the Catholic Faith was that the Church embraces what is know as the Natural Law. The same goes for his friend Dom Lou Tseng-Tsiang.