Many thanks to Nutmeg over at Life in a Nutshell for adding me to her blog roll!
I hope any visitors from that site find this equally enjoyable (even if I don’t have cute kids to write about. 
).
There are archives, topic break-downs…feel free to explore!
But just for the weekend. I’m going on a silent retreat sponsored by the Diocesan Council of Catholic Women at the St. Therese center nearby. It should be very interesting, especially since I’ve never been on a silent retreat before. I am very much looking forward to it–Lord knows (literally) I could use some time for reflection and such. I will post thoughts and maybe pictures of the site when I get back.
Have a great weekend!
From Rick Santorum, the original sponsor of the PBA ban back in the (gulp) Clinton Era:
“This is a great victory for humanity in this country. For the first time
in over 35 years, the Supreme Court balanced the interests of the two
individuals directly involved in an abortion and found for the interest of
the innocent child who is asking for the most basic of rights - no, not the
right to life, for other procedures will still be available to kill the baby
if the mother so chooses. We only asked on behalf of these children that
they be extended the right to be treated humanely and with dignity. Granted
this is a very small step, but it is the first step away from a society that
looks at the life of an unwanted, unborn child as nothing more than a
problem that needs to be disposed of, and the first step toward a society
that respects and values all human life, wanted and unwanted, healthy and
sick, rich and poor, black, brown and white, able and disabled for what they
are - unique gifts from the Almighty to be welcomed and loved.”
I love this man.
From Church of the Masses:
The Supreme Court made a first giant leap towards restoring fundamental constitutional liberties, by allowing the States to outlaw the practice of pulling everything but the nostrils of a full term infant out of its mother’s womb (can’t have the nostrils out, because if the thing breathes then “Shazam!” it’s a U.S. citizen!), puncturing its head with scissors, and sucking out its brain so that its skull can be collapsed in an abortion.
It is a sad proof of the current level of crazed narcissistic frenzy as the norm in our country, that it has taken nearly a decade of debate to make this happen. (But wait! We can’t talk about this now! We need to talk about why a 23 year old Virgina Tech student lost such respect for human life that he gunned down 30 of his fellow students!?!)
Killing one’s own children is the age old sign of a society that has moved from worshipping the good God to worshipping the devil.
And Rod at Crunchy HQ: (emphasis mine)
For the first time in, I dunno, two years, I’m feeling good about my 2004 vote for Bush. Because that meant John Roberts and Samuel Alito on SCOTUS. Which in turn meant today’s major pro-life victory: SCOTUS upheld the federal ban on partial-birth abortion by a 5-4 majority. Anthony Kennedy (!) joined the majority.
I like what Doug Johnson of National Right to Life had to say: “Finally, it is illegal in America to mostly deliver a premature infant before puncturing her skull and removing her brain, which is what a partial-birth abortion is.” It is rare that we take one step backward from barbarism in this culture, but today we did. Thanks SCOTUS. Thank you, President Bush.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04 /18/AR2007041800710.html?hpid=topnews
Note from my mom: The MSN said things like “the procedure empties the contents of the skull.” Um, we peons call that the “Brain”. But we can’t say that on TV! People might actually agree that this procedure should be banned!
I love John Roberts. And Sam Alito. (I’ve always loved Scalia and Thomas) And even Kennedy is getting my love today. It’s about time someone (OK, 5 someones) realized that this procedure is a horrendous thing to do. I mean, the baby is alive. It can survive on its own. You’ve practically delivered it. And then you kill it. In some places (logical places) this is called “infanticide.” It’s not something civilized people support.
The other great thing? There’s no appeal. I mean this is it. No crazy legislature can change the rules, because SCOTUS has spoken (like the Great Oz.)
This is how MSNBC has it:
Skull destroyed in procedure
The procedure at issue involves partially removing the fetus intact from a woman’s uterus, then crushing or cutting its skull to complete the abortion.
So yeah, like I said…giving birth, and then crushing its skull. Gee, that sounds “medically necessary.” And humane.
And CNN, of course, has some real gems: (emphasis mine)
The Supreme Court on Wednesday upheld a law that banned a type of late-term abortion, a ruling that could portend enormous social, legal and political implications for the divisive issue.
The sharply divided 5-4 ruling could prove historic. It sends a possible signal of the court’s willingness, under Chief Justice John Roberts, to someday revisit the basic right to abortion guaranteed in the 1973 Roe v. Wade case.
Um, there is no basic right to abortion in the Constitution. Shall we re-read the 14th Amendment? Hmmm? I don’t care if Berger saw The Wizard of Oz in those penumbras, they ain’t there. I’m not a constitutional lawyer but I took enough Con Law in college to know the difference between what’s actually in the Constitution as opposed to what we wish was in the Constitution.
It’s the pope’s 80th birthday! Happy birthday, il papa, and may you have many more!
He was having a Mozart, etc. concert performed in his honor. Sounds like a nice birthday gift to me.
is apparently a very devout guy. Sounds good to me:
is at hand, according to Fr. Z:
The Italian daily Il Tempo has published an unsigned article claiming in the headline that the Motu Proprio will be issued next Monday, 16 April, after the celebration for the Holy Father’s 80th Birthday.
Here is the article from Il Tempo in my translation (emphasis mine):
The long-awaited Motu Proprio next Monday
Mass in Latin: Tradition returnsThe long-awaited papal “Motu Proprio” on the recovery of the pre-Conciliar Mass in the Latin has been ready for a while, but its publication, foreseen at first for before Easter, will slide instead for after 16 April (slitterà a dopo il 16 aprile), the day of the 80th Birthday of Benedict XVI. So indicate reliable sources in the Vatican. The document, written by the Pope himself, will restore the possibility of celebrating the Mass in Latin with the Tridentine Rite. That is not to say that this Rite is forbidden: but there are so many and so complex burocratic obstacles and approvals to obtain from local bishops that most of the faithful to whom it would be a pleasure to return to the feel of things as established by the Council of Trent, that they give up. The Motu Proprio – according to the previews that have surfaced in the last months – would permit the celebration of Mass in an almost automatic way, if it is requested by a certain number of people. The Tridentine Mass in Latin is the only one accepted by the followers of the deceased schismatic [sic] Bishop Marcel Lefevbre and the pontifical document would without question reopen the way for a repair of the break that occured in the ‘80s of the last century. The French bishops, guided by their president Jean Pierre Ricard, aren’t hiding a certain discomfort in the face of losing control over their liturgical capital, still burning in France, the following of the Lefebvrite community of St. Pius X is strong. There are many French priests who refuse to celebrate in Latin. Specifically to smooth the perplexity of the episcopacy on that side of the Alps, the publication of the Motu Proprio was delayed several times. On the other hand is evident that the return of a spirituality more closely connected to the millennial tradition of the Church is one of the central point of this Pontificate: even in the post-Synodal Exhortation on the Eucharist a greater use of Latin and of Gregorian chant was wished for.
Tuesday, 10 April 2007
I will point out something important.
The headline says 16 April. The body of the article suggest that it may be after 16 April. There is a slight hedge here.
However, I think we are getting somewhere.
Notice too that the article falls into the trap of focusing mostly in the language and Gregorian chant. The newer form of Mass can be celebrated in Latin and with Gregorian chant.
However, the – let’s call it what it is – brainwashing is now nearly so complete that no matter how many times and how clearly people who actually know something may write or say it, the common perception is (myopically) that “Latin Mass” = “pre-Conciliar Mass”.
This myopic view is damaging to everyone.
Remember: this is not about winning. This is about the good of the Church. Getting this right requires that we understand where all the pieces fit and what their functions are.
Latin, chant, all the trimmings, the two rites – these things are are all intertwined.
