Coffee Bowl Browsing

The Ten Commandments of Atheism. . .not one of these commandments contradicts or conflicts with Christian teaching.  In fact, most of them are rooted in the Christian moral tradition.

Law prof denied tenure b/c his students whined about his Socratic Method of teaching.   Those ninnies wouldn't last a week at U.D.

A list of organizations and individuals who have publicly supported the OWS movement:  Communists, Nazis, Black Panthers, B.O., Nancy Pelosi, Hugo Chavez, Louis Farrakhan, ad. nau.

Nothing and No One is safe in the Occupiers Squatter Camps:  deaf man raped.

Aight. . .two OWS links. . .now for a palette cleanser:  Cute Pug Puppy!

Dissecting a WaPo story on the new English translation of the Missal.  Lots to dissect.

Could a single Marine unit take down the Roman Empire?  Can't wait for the movie!  (Exit question:  will there be any aliens?)

B.O. cuts funding to Catholic groups fighting human trafficking.  No, B.O. doesn't support human trafficking.  This is about moving the Church further out of the public square.

Catholic Zombies!  Now they have gone too far. . .too far indeed.

Southerners are losing their manners.  Say it ain't so!  (NB.  Southern manners can often mask contempt, but polite contempt is better than open hostility, right?)

Wow.  Someone recruit this guy to run for U.S. President.  I'd almost be willing to amend the Constitution if he'd run.

This reminds me of that movie where all the good-looking 20-something's cheat death in a plane crash and then get killed off one by one via bizarre accidents. 

On booze and the distinction btw the correlation of facts and the cause of events.

These thieves must be Mississippi rednecks. . .

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New Assignment

As regular H.A. readers know, I am leaving Rome and heading back to the U.S. for reassignment.

I will be serving the Good Folks of St. Dominic's Church in New Orleans, LA as parochial vicar.

This assignment will be very good for my preaching. . .and very bad for my waistline.  Oy.

Leaving Rome on Dec. 7th.

Pray for us all, please!

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Bishops Cut $$$ for CCHD condoms

Credit where credit is due:  "The U.S. bishops' social justice arm has cut funding to a New York-based AIDS charity after the group was discovered to have lied about its adherence to Catholic teaching."

If I had to guess, I'd say that the bishops are honestly trying to purge CCHD of its dissident habits.  This whole scandal is probably a case of The Church Lagging Behind the Curve when it comes to staying current on rapidly evolving controversies.  

In other words, I doubt very seriously that the episcopal portion of the Catholic hierarchy in the U.S.  is conscious of the errors of the CCHD and supports these errors despite Church teaching.  It is more than likely that the bishops in charge are playing "catch-up," that is, they are scrambling to keep current with the problems, sifting through the various and sundry perspectives to get at the Truth of the Matter.   They must be bombarded with "facts" on a daily basis. 

The stability of the Church--though not her ultimate fate--rests on the shoulders of the bishops.  If you aren't praying/fasting/sacrificing for them, you should be! 

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Coffee Bowl Browsing

No "global warming" in the last 11 years.  Prepare for a flurry of excommunications from Pope Gore.

Explosion on Uranus!  (Skip the scat puns, please. . .) 

Childhood obesity is becoming a weapon in custody battles.  Poor kids.  Parents' divorcing, fighting, lawyers, and now the prospect of having to eat tofu hot dogs and sprouts.

Occupiers now targeting Catholic worship services. . .

"Erasing Hate". . .former Neo-Nazi endures 16mos. of intense pain to remove hateful tattoos from his face, neck, and hands. 

The "urban myth" of razors in your kids' Halloween candy. . .of course, if lefty icon, Bill Maher, had his way, your kids would get illegal drugs in their treats.


Vestigial human parts. . .sounds gross, probably is.

5 Things You Didn't Know About Edgar Allan Poe. . .coincidentally, EAP's critical nemesis was also one of Walt Whitman's earliest haters, describing Leaves of Grass as "a mass of stupid filth." 

A "mock" Halloween Zombie invasion in OH. . .yea, sure, it's all "fake."

31 weird facts. . .I can testify to the truth of no. 20. 

This is what happens when a woman doesn't listen to her husband. 

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Dogs of the Lord in Madrid!

Dominicans at World Youth Day 2011!  Fantastic video. . .



H/T:  Connor McDonough via Facebook

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All the Saints Mass Intention

Tomorrow is All Saints Day. . .I will be concelebrating Mass with the other friars of the priory. 

As always, I will keep H.A. readers in my prayers. . .tomorrow--most especially--I will offer my intentions for all my Book Benefactors.  Without your help I would've never made it this far in my studies!

God bless you all. . .Fr. Philip, OP

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Breaking 400!

WooHoo!  402!

My suffering is ended.  Thank you, folks. 

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Coffee Bowl Browsing

Proof that the Tea Party movement is racist, violent, etc.  A must read.  Really, read it.  

Don't be too quick to blame Muslim students at CUA for that ridiculous lawsuit.   Looks like the work of yet another media driven anti-Catholic bigot with a law degree and tenure.

USCCB doubles down on Sr. Johnson's book.   The Good Sister claims that the bishops never met with her.  Crdl. Wuerl says he offered to meet with her three times and she never responded.

The so-called "Arab Spring" is a real horror story for young women.  Remember. . .B.O.'s Smart Diplomacy got them there.  Caution:  the subject matter is a bit gruesome.

Home foreslocure law firm throws a homeless-themed Halloween party. . .stir the tar, fluff the feathers, boys!

How the concept of "experience" is used by modernist Catholics to undermine the Church.  We were fed bucketsful of "experience theology" when I was n seminary.

Deo gratis!  Catholic diocese loses its bid to purchase the Crystal Cathedral.  Maybe the next bishop of Orange will build a Catholic church for his cathedral.

Evangelical convert to the Church explains how the deformed Protestant concept of sola scriptura led him back to Rome.

My fav soup. . .can you throw in a side order of The Wailing of Their Women, please?

Surprisingly, these are not road signs here in Rome.  Though it does help explain Italian bureaucracy.

Hmmmm. . .maybe we should consider this sign for Sunday morning's "family Mass."  (ducks, runs)

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End my suffering

Aight. . .I've let this go now for a couple of weeks b/c I'm not one of those bloggers obsessed with traffic numbers and popularity (*coughcoughwheezecough*).  But I gotta bring this up. . .

Traffic for H.A. is pretty stable, hanging in there with about 420 views a day and 918 page views.  Not bad.  It's not Fr. Z. or Mark Shea level traffic, but I'm happy with that, considering we've been going at this for almost six years. 

So, what's bugging me?  That Follow Me number over there -----> 398.  It's been bouncing up and down for weeks now but never quite reaching 400. 

End my suffering, please. . .

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Picturing the Coffee Bowl

A faithful H.A. reader asks, "What is a coffee bowl?"

 The Coffee Bowl with which I Browse!

 

We have a large espresso machine in the refectory.  Though this might look like a large cappuccino, it is actually what the Italians sneeringly refer to as a "cafe Americano"--one part espresso and three parts steamed milk. 

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OCCUPY Coffee Bowl Browsing!

The OSW rap sheet. . .child prostitution, heroin dealing, rape, death threats, anti-Semitism, Nazis (no, real Neo-Nazis) marching in camo with guns, rioting, public masturbation, and on and on.

Some pigs are more equal than others:  OccupyLA's "Peoples' Assembly" (or whatever) suffers a coup over the central committee's fascist ways.  Heh.

No.  Jesus would NOT be among the OWS crowd. . .except maybe to convert them from their hypocrisy and licentiousness.  

OWS protesters meet the Real World:  "[OWS cooks are] angry about working 18-hour days to provide food for 'professional homeless' people and ex-cons masquerading as protesters."  Apparently, freeloading from people who work for a living is a Bad Thing.  Who knew?

A little philosophical history of the OWS movement:  Academic anarchist promotes chaos.

KKK Poo-Bah marches with OWS in Phoenix. . .Crickets solemnly chirp in the MSM.

OWS finance committee member "redistributes" $20,000 into her own account.

"Instead of hope and change, the Obama presidency has delivered decline and despair on a scale not seen in America since the dying days of the Carter administration."  And W. had his hand in this decline as well. 

The left's Official Propagandist is caught lying. . .again.   Seriously, he claimed he wasn't among the 1%.  He's worth $50m and he's "one of the 99%."  HA!

Well, the Great Unwashed of the OWS get one thing right. . .

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A question about Coffee Bowl Browsing

They say that curiosity kills the cat, but can it wound a blogging priest?  Let's see. . .

I'm curious:  Coffee Bowl Browsing is a mainstay of HancAquam.  Basically, it's nothing more than me "flipping through" the internet and grouching about the news.  Why "grouching"?  Well, the caffeine from the morning's coffee hasn't circulated yet!  That's my excuse anyway.  I always end CBB with a few humorous links. . .by then my Bowl O'Stimulants has done its job. 

So, here's the question:  thinking about the typical content of CBB, what do you find to be the most and least appealing topics covered?  Site Meter allows me to track "out clicks," so I have a pretty good idea about what folks find worthy of their time.

Also, include any other observations about CBB.  Format?  Length of entries?  Sources of news?  Special editions?

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A house becomes a temple

Hey, look!  A homily!  Remember those?

Ss. Simon and Jude

Fr. Philip Neri Powell, OP

Ss. Domenico e Sisto, Roma

We are no longer strangers and sojourners. We are fellow citizens with the holy ones. Members of the household of God. A family built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets. And Christ Jesus himself is the capstone. If this is all we were, if this were the sum total of what it means to be a follower of Christ, we could call it a blessing and spend our days giving thanks to God for adopting us as His children, for taking us in hand and giving us a holy place in His creation. But if who and what we are in Christ were to stop here. . .if we were to say, “It is enough that we are a family—thank you, Lord; it is enough that we are a happy community—praise Jesus”. . .if we were settle for this great blessing, we would be settling for something much less than all that the Father has to give us. Yes, we are citizens with the holy ones. Yes, we are brothers and sisters in the family of the Lord. Yes, we are a community of praise and thanksgiving. BUT we are also growing as a temple sacred in the Lord; we are being built together into a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. 

In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul describes who and what the church in Ephesus is AND he tells them who and what they can become. They are a household of the Lord built on the teachings of the apostles and the prophets; however, they are also becoming a temple, a dwelling-place for the Spirit of God. Our household is becoming a temple; our family is becoming a church. How does this happen? How do we move from being a household to being a temple, from being a family to being a church? Paul uses two key verbs: to grow and to build. To grow a plant, you first sow its seed; then, you nurture it; prune it; and harvest its fruit. If you plant wheat seed, you get wheat. If you plant rice, you get rice. A seed can only grow into what it was made to be. Wheat seed cannot become rice. If the Lord's household generously plants itself as the seed of His Word, we grow and grow and we become that which we were made to be: His Word made flesh. To build, we start with a well dug foundation—solid, concrete; then, we frame our structure—sturdy, durable; then, we protect it with a waterproof roof and make the inside welcoming, warm. If our building is to become a dwelling-place for the Lord, our foundation must be the apostles' teaching; our frame must be the Church's Tradition; and our roof will be the Holy Spirit of Pentecost, our protection against the hostile elements of the world. If we invite the Lord in; if we bring Him in with us to dwell among us and give Him the place of honor as Father and Lord, then our house will become a temple.

It is an enormous blessing to be a loving community of believers; to be an international family vowed to justice and peace. How much more of a blessing is it to be a living, breathing temple for the Lord? How much more is it to be one in whom the Spirit of God dwells? And to be one among many and more who can lay claim to having been built up from an apostolic foundation and grown from the seed of His Word?

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Coffee Bowl Browsing (Catholic Edition)

Jesus would be an atheist:  latest idiotic blather from anti-Christian celeb Dawkins.   Make no mistake. . .Dawkins is an anti-Christian bigot not simply an atheist. 

Archbishop Gomez on the erosion of religious liberty in the U.S.  One of the lessons here:  Catholic charities shouldn't take state money.

Sacked Aussie bishop throws a tantrum 'cause his episcopal colleagues support the Holy Father.  Note the usual screeching about "not being heard," "not being consulted," ad. nau. 

Save us from "justice and peace" documents, O Lord!  Good analysis.

Yet another failure of the "Spirit of Vatican Two."  How can you be "comfortable in the faith" but uncomfortable with Church teaching?  This works only if you are a Protestant.  Thus, the failure.

Fr. Z. has more on the recently published "peace and justice" paper.  Apparently, the lay Italian economist responsible for the "world authority" nonsense is a socialist.  Big surprise.

Yup:  "The Church has magisterially stated, again and again throughout history, that she does not and cannot offer particular, concrete solutions to political, social or economic problems."

WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU?!  One of my fav scary prank videos.

You'll be glad to have one of these when you run out of ammo during the Zombie Apocalypse. 

Speaking of the Zombie Apocalypse. . .It's Begun!!!

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TV tech exposes Occupy London charade

And yet more fraud from the Occupy _____ Movement.  This time it's Occupy London.

A Telegraph TV crew used thermal imaging tech to demonstrate that only about one in ten of the tents pitched outside St. Paul's Cathedral were occupied overnight. 

From the article:

On Monday the revelation was described as a "charade" and pressure was growing on the church and other authorities to evict the camp.

"It is like a phantom camp – a big charade," said Matthew Richardson, a Corporation of London councillor, who is calling for action to be taken. 

NB.  the TV folks are quickly surrounded by Occupy goons and escorted away from the empty tens.

Best comment on the Telegraph blog:  "Tents have rights too!"  HA! 

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Coffee Bowl Browsing

The true poverty of the OWS protesters isn't financial. . .

OWS isn't even close to being the "99%". . ."[OWS] doesn't represent unemployed America and is not ideologically diverse. Rather, it comprises an unrepresentative segment of the electorate that believes in radical redistribution of wealth, civil disobedience and, in some instances, violence."

80 Tory Members of Parliament rebel against Cameron's love affair with the E.U.  Good on them! 

Right Diagnosis, Deadly Cure.  . .a critique of the recently published document on money and morals by the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.  My thoughts exactly. 

Another critique of the feckless document. . .

Another WIN for B.O.'s "smart diplomacy":  terrorist pensions to be paid from U.S. aid money.

Finally!  Local gov't takes the Coming Zombie Apocalypse seriously.

"Liberal suicide":  on the long, slow decline of the once-great Episcopal Church.  NB.  the E.C. is now what the Catholic Left wants the RCC to become. 

Most Transparent Administration Evah!  B.O. proposes rule changes to the Freedom of Info Act that will allow bureaucrats to lie about the existence of public records.

The Spirit of Vatican Two Peace Bong Catholic Community gets a new pastor.  When will he have time to reload???

Happy with Puppy Yoda the Force is not.

Ummm, yea. . .I don't think we'll be needing your babysitting services any longer.

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Vatican Wants One World Government!!!

OMG!!!  The Pope says that ALL Catholics must support a One World Government!!!

@#$%!!!  The Vatican wants just One Bank for the Whole World!!!!

WHAT!?!?  Benedict XVI supports the Occupy Wall St protesters!!!

Deep breath.  One more time.  Now, OK. . .so, if any of your friends, family, co-religionists have expressed any of the above or some version of one of the above, sit them down, give them a beer, let them catch their breath, and ask them a simple question:  have you actually read the recently published document on economics and finance that has upset you so?

Betcha they will say, "Um, no."  Good.  Get them a copy and give them about 30 mins. to read all 18 pgs.  Once they are finished, roll up a newspaper and swatch them briskly across the nose three times while saying in a firm voice, "Bad, bad Catholic!  Bad Catholic!  You never believe a word that the media say about the Church! Never!"

If they are sufficiently contrite and promise to never do it again, make the following points about the document:

1).  The document was NOT written by "The Vatican" or "The Pope."  It's a product of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace.  Not the Secretary of State.  Not the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.  Not the Congregation for Bishops.  A pontifical council.  In terms of magisterial authority, that's somewhere near a Christmas postcard from your pastor.  'Nuff said.

2).  The document says nothing new about economics or economic theory nor does it promote one model of economics over any other.  The focus is placed squarely on the current difficulties in the monetary market, arguing that some sort of international control needs to be established over these transactions so that we might avoid another global bank collapse.  There is a pointed critique of what the document labels "economic liberalism and utilitarian thinking," that is, unregulated free market capitalism.  This is nothing new either.  The Church has been suspicious of unfettered capitalism since at least the mid-nineteenth century.  

3). The "world authority" proposed in the document is placed within the context of all the usual Catholic caveats about human dignity, morality, respect for cultural and national traditions, the authority of the nation-state, subsidiarity, etc., etc.  In other words, Global Governance advocates will dismiss this proposal out of hand.  It's too religious/ethical and not nearly powerful enough. Oh, and there won't be enough opportunities for politicians to steal us all blind. 

4).  Yes, Church-haters and Prog Catholics will cover themselves with this document and proclaim a divine victory for the Occupy Wall St. type non-sense.   Nothing we can do about that.  Just don't be pulled into the whole Benedict Is Calling For A One World Bank framing of the issue.   

Bottomline:  a little note from a minor curial department expressing the opinions of some Italian economist. 

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Coffee Bowl Browsing

Conspiracy theorists will love this. . .the lesson for high school/college students is more obvious:  don't trust the internet as an accurate source for your research.

Speaking of editing history. . .WaPo scrubs its hit piece of Mario Rubio. 

The racist history of gun control. . .Gun control advocates dismiss this history as irrelevant to current efforts to control access to guns.  Fine.  But gun control still has racial (if not racist) consequences.

The Workers' Paradise of OWS is starting to fuss and fight over $$$.  This is what happens when bong-induced undergrad philosophizing collides with the realities of human nature.

Some loon burns a bible during the Papal Mass in Rome.  I bet it was a Protestant version.

Wow.  More "smart diplomacy" from B.O. & The Amateurs:  Billions of American dollars spent, thousands of American lives ended. . .and the prez of Afghanistan promises to ally with Pakistan in a war against. . .America!  

What are the whiners in the OWS movement really "raging" against?

Speaking of OWS whiners. . .here's one.  (NB. strong language) 

Cathy rants about classes in "yoga, the enneagram, tai-chi, labyrinth, channeling, reiki and other New Age" stuff being taught in Catholic parishes.  Rant on, sister!

Steve Jobs goes to heaven. . .and gets his wish.

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Coffee Bowl Browsing (73% Funny Edition)

A report on the upcoming inter-religious meeting in Assisi.  The Vatican is going out of its way to avoid anything that even looks like syncretism. 

OWS creating another failed Socialist Paradise in Zuccotti Park. . .be sure and read the New York magazine piece about the growing fascism of the Occupy Elite.

And check out this post on how the Occupy Baltimore camps are bickering over sexual harassment, internal violence and dissident, and whether or not Occupiers should involve the police.

A Shakespeare Insult Kit. . .read this, you goatish elf-skinned flap dragon!

A visual depiction of the definition of the phrase, "impending doom."

It's like a horizontal bungee. . .I'd try it.

Normally, I'd say that this is a false dilemma. . .but it's So Right.

Objects on the rear-view mirror may appear more simian than they really are. . .or not.

Philosoraptor asks a really good question. . .of course, he's making a Wittgensteinian assumption about the relationship btw language and thought.

Stare Dad on the proper way to parent during those sibling rivalry years.

Good advice. . .from GOD.

Yikes. . .creepy.

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Occupy Movement --> Lord of the Flies

From the Oakland Tribune (h/t: Verum Serum):

[. . .]

One Oakland police officer, who asked to remain anonymous for reasons of police protocol, described the scene in tent city as akin to a scene from "Lord of the Flies." And, indeed, the on-the-fly rule-making can often veer into an oppressive, anarchic mood.

Journalists are routinely shooed away and told off by angry residents. One Oakland police supervisor said that the participants first appeared to him as "freethinking activists" but have since devolved into something more sinister. He said it was "interesting for a group that claims to be against current civilization and rules to set up a far more oppressive society than our own."

[. . .]

Anyone who's paid the least bit of attention to the current state of leftist politics in America will not be surprised to learn that these free-thinking, free-love, anti-capitalists are swifly turning into run-of-the-mill fascists.

The lesson to be learned here is quite simple:  no civilization can be absolutely tolerant and expect to survive beyond a generation.

Certain ideas and behaviors produce and nurture a free civilization and some ideas and behaviors inevitably cause its destruction.

These OWS protests are only possible within the political framework of a western, liberal democracy that has been built and maintained by some form of free-market capitalism.

Note:

--the abundant use of technology in the protests (corporations) and the decidedly middle-class fashion sense of the occupiers, including their pricey accessories. . .

--the charitable contributions of food and money to the protesters (someone had to own it before it could be given to them). . .

--the protesters depend of the lawful behavior of those who oppose the OWS ideology, or have just been inconvenienced by their antics. . .

--the protesters rely almost entirely on a western, liberal, democratic sense of what is right and wrong within their occupations zones. . .

--the restraint shown by business-owners, the police, politicians, and the media in criticizing their goals (whatever those are). . .

The fact that these occupation zones are becoming hotbeds of criminality and reactionary fascism should be a bleak warning to all of us who hope to thrive in free society.   

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Coffee Bowl Browsing

Which presidential candidate is wholly owned by Wall St.?  

While the rest of the country suffers economically, gov't salaries place D.C. at the top of the heap.

The Noose of Diversity and Tolerance tightens around the Church's neck.

Looks like the adults are in charge in Greece. . .maybe they could lend the U.S. a few politicians.

Back when protests really meant something.   

What happens when we let Oprah direct the Zombie Apocalypse?  The Walking Dead.

For a really brainy Zombie movie, check out Pontypool.   French post-structuralist linguistic theory has never been this creepy!

Comparison chart for various editions of the new English Missal.  Most of the illustrations are beautiful!  The Liturgical Press editions' pics leave much to be desired.  Can you say, "1973."

Some OWS protesters are a little miffed that their fellow protesters won't get off their rear-ends and help clean up.  Apparently, these Nazi Clean Freaks don't understand the psychology of the dependent class.

Rape, assault, theft, gun-toting felons, racism, riots, indecent exposure, media fraud, Trust Fund Baby freak-outs. . .yea, this is a perfectly sane political movement.

B.O. energy dept. caught editing its press releases from months ago.  Why?  To cover up its ties to yet another failed eco-trendy solar power company, SunPower. 

Costs for Public School Students vs. State Prisoners in MN. . .yea, but the prisoners don't have to suffer with teachers' unions.

Pope Vader?  No, more like Patriarch Vader of Upper East Bogsolvania.

This is what joy looks like. . .(Link deleted)

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Anti-Catholic thugs in Rome

Here's a video of thugs in Rome smashing a statue of the BVM.   I can't tell where he gets the statute from.  Doesn't look like a Church, but it could any one of a number of side chapels or shrines. 

It looks like some in the crowd chase the guy down, but it's hard to tell.

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Coffee Bowl Browsing

Witches vs. Zombies!  A no contest fight in my mind.

Coalition of charity and minority groups pressure the L.A. teachers' union for change.  This should be interesting.

Yet another reason to dismantle the U.N.:  the hierarchy of the Church of Global Warming caught hiding evidence of their scheming. 

The gates of hell shall not prevail:  persecution of the U.S. Church?

On docility and obedience:  how "magisterial minimalism" hardens the heart.

OWS protesters stealing from one another. . .well, how does one "steal" from another when everything belongs to everyone equally?  NB.  one protester had her $5,500 Macbook stolen!  

On the economic ignorance of those who would solve our economic problems. . .

Fortunately, your average American voter isn't buying what OWS is selling.

400 allegations of sexual abuse at religious schools in the U.K. . .but it's OK b/c they are Muslim schools.  Expect wide media coverage. . .

The Arrestables at the OWS protests. . .apparently, organizers pick and choose among the protesters who will be arrested that day.  Geez, this whole thing is One Big Theater Performance.

That's one way to dry your dogs. . .

Terrorists are starting to specialize.

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Ceci n'cest pas une sign. . .(UPDATED)

Gotta love a little postmodernist political irony. . .

The caption on the pic above reads, "This is not a sign."  This refers to Rene Magritte's (in)famous painting of a tobacco pipe, La trahison des images.  

The sign in the top pic seems to be a snarky comment on the shapeless and impotent rage of the Occupy Wall St. protesters. . .a bit of too-clever mockery maybe?

The picture of the sign and its Margrittesque caption seems to be a wry comment on the careful media manipulation of OWS's public image.  The message from the media to us is:  "You are not seeing what you are seeing.  Let us show you what you are seeing."

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Coffee Bowl Browsing

Bipartisan support for Occupy Wall St. . .both the Communists and the Nazis give their seal of approval to the OWS!  They must be so proud.

And now B.O. is signing on to the Temper Tantrum.  How much longer 'til we can get the adults back in charge?

Leaked emails reveal that MSM "journalists" are colluding with the Occupy Wall St protesters to craft a positive media message.   So much for this being a Grassroots Uprising.

OWS video star is a Columbia Univ grad student with a trust fund.  NB.  the video is funny, but the language is NSFW.

The Pope goes mobile!

Catholics Do Not Worship Idols; Or, The Bible Does Not Forbid the Use of Images.

Speaking of "these hands were made for chalices not calluses". . .

You'll want one too. . .when the Zombies start to roam.

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Leaving Mass early. . .or not.

 

When you decide to leave Mass early, be sure and run in a zig-zag pattern.

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Roman riots. . .

"Rioting" in Rome is like professional wrestling in the U.S. . .fake but still dangerous.  

How is it fake?  You have to keep in mind that Italy is a wholly owned subsidiarity of labor unions.  So, when the transit workers' unions "riot," they are met by the public safety workers' union (i.e. the cops). In some ways this is a good arrangement b/c the violence btw Rioters and Cops tends to be relatively low-key.  Watch a few videos of recent Roman riots and notice that the cops go out of their way not to get too rough.  The same courtesy is extended from the other side. Usually you get some tear gas, a few night-stick injuries, some minors cuts. . .nothing too serious.  Back in Dec. 2010 it was obvious from news video that neither the protesters nor the cops were much interested in a clash.  Both sides advanced and retreated when necessary to avoid excessive violence (02:00).

Despite the unspoken agreement not to let the violence get too serious, individuals and radical groups do cross the line and people get genuinely hurt and even killed.  Yesterday's violence in Rome is an example of this.  An otherwise routine Saturday protest was infiltrated by the so-called Black Bloc Guerrillas (those guys in the black masks and helmets).  This group's only purpose is property destruction.  Burn a few cars, break a few windows, dump garbage on the street.  Yesterday some of them got inside St John Lateran and made some noise.  They broke a statue of the Blessed Mother outside (00:30).  I doubt that they set out to kill anyone, but burning cars in the street often has unintended consequences.  

Professional wrestlers in the U.S. often get hurt and sometimes even killed.  But the whole performance is carefully choreographed and managed.  Before the manifestazioni take place, notices are placed in all the major newspapers letting folks know when and where things will likely get rough.  Lists of potentially stalled bus and metro lines are published.  The police are out early to block streets and corral pedestrians.  Helicopters are sent up to watch over the protests.  Media types are given notice so they can get their pics and vids for the news.  It's all very civilized. 

So, what's my point?  Protests and riots in Rome are a form of public performance art.  A distraction that sometimes gets a little out of hand.  They do not express a general unhappiness with the State nor do they lead to fundamental political change. 

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A preacher's sloth?

Q:  Father, why no homilies lately?

A:  Licensed philosophers don't write homilies.  Heh.  Just kidding.  Since I left Blackfriars I haven't been the principal celebrant at Mass.  We have about 70 friars here at the Angelicum.  I never preside at the conventual Mass b/c it's in Italian.  And the English Mass schedule is well-stocked with American and Indian priests.  Sooooo. . .until I get back to the US and start presiding again. . .

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Coffee Bowl Browsing

B.O.'s A.B.C. Rule:  Anybody But Catholics.  B.O. won't give the bishops' a grant to fight human trafficking.  Why?  Because the bishops refuse to sacrifice a few kids to Moloch, of course.

Tea Partiers feed and clean up after themselves.  Occupy Wall St. Circus relies on food handouts and government sanitation workers.  Says a lot.

10 Things Every Catholic Ought to Know. . .and be able to explain at a moment's notice.

The de-Italianization of the Vatican's Bishop Factory.  Well, that explains why episcopal appointments have been happening so quickly lately.

Credit where credit is due:  PBS airs Fr. Robert Barron's series, Catholicism.  This will be a serious, faithful presentation of the faith.

Marxist prof a little shocked when students push back against her ridiculous claims about the Tea Party.  Watch the vid all the way to the end and hear how our Betters treat opposition.

Why are so many professional politicians rallying to the Occupy Wall St. Circus?  "Everything they believe in has failed, so they are turning nihilistic."   Once you dump the possibility of knowing objective truth, nihilism is only other option.

Meanwhile in Boston:  the Lefty Circus spits on a uniformed female Coast Guard officer and forces the cancellation of a small business food drive.  Yup, just like those Tea Party nutcases.

Ummmm. . .OK. . .uhhhhhh. . .I dunno. . .sorry, this is just wrong.

This will take three seconds to process:  one Mississippi, two Mississippi, three Mississippi.  There it is!

400 uh?  I'm behind by 399. . .'nuff said. 

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There's probably no Dawkins. . .

What's Dawkins afraid of. . .my guess:  a face-to-face beating by a professional philosopher who has demonstrated again and again that Dawkins knows diddly about Christian theology, logic, or common courtesy. 

From the article:

Something is afoot in Oxford. The Christians are fighting back. To herald the 'Reasonable Faith Tour' with William Lane Craig, Oxford's buses are carrying the slogan: There's Probably No Dawkins. Now Stop Worrying and Enjoy Oct 25th at the Sheldonian Theatre.

The advertising campaign follows Richard Dawkins' refusal to debate the existence of God with philosopher William Lane Craig as he visits the UK this month. He has an open invitation to debate Professor Craig at Oxford's Sheldonian Theatre on 25th October. The Oxford bus campaign echoes the 2009 London atheist bus advertisements: 'There's Probably No God. Now Stop Worrying And Enjoy Your Life.' 

[. . .]

Dr Dawkins preaches the need to seek truth, question everything, and to not become duped by emotions or wishful thinking... yet he has used his website (the "clear-thinking oasis") to hurl ad hominem attacks at 'Dr' Craig (as he calls him, on the rare occasion that he acknowledges his title), complaining that his ideas are 'unpleasant'. This was the precise strategy he used against His Grace a few years ago, labelling His Grace 'nasty' (quoted in the 'honours and citations'). Academic responses and counter-arguments? Zero.

Dr Dawkins' hypocrisy is pure and undiluted.

Read the whole thing.


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Coffee Bowl Browsing

America's Educational System Presents:  Entitled Narcissist.   This guy is what happens when we abandon the western tradition of rational-critical thinking and replace it with the idol of self-esteem.

Dems embarrassed by B.O.'s rather authentic imitation of W.'s "war criminal" record?  Don't you need a conscience before you can be embarrassed? 

Why do teens leave the Church?  None of these reason is all that surprising.  All we can do is teach and preach the gospel with the mind and body of the apostolic Church and let the Spirit do His job.

Two US dioceses move toward not offering the Precious Blood at communion.  Not sure what I think of this; I mean, I understand that Christ is fully presence in the host, but I'm not sure that the reasons being given for withholding the Chalice are convincing.

Killing children for money.  No, it's not a story about abortion. . .it's about another form of human sacrifice for $$$.

Pretty lights. . .oooooooooo. . .

This is what happens when you wait until after the Zombie Apocalypse to get married.  Told ya.

I'd need one of these alarm clocks. . .if I didn't already leap out of bed at 4.30am all perky and bright.

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Lefty Hypocrisy or Suicidal Tendencies?

Limo Liberals who support the Occupy Wall St Circus:

#1 Yoko Ono Net Worth - $500 million.

#2 Russell Simmons Net Worth - $325 million

#3 Roseanne Barr Net Worth - $80 million*

#4 Deepak Chopra Net Worth - $80 million

#5 Kanye West Net Worth - $70 million

#6 Alec Baldwin Net Worth - $65 million

#7 Susan Sarandon Net Worth - $50 million

#8 Michael Moore Net Worth - $50 million

#9 Tim Robbins Net Worth - $50 million

#10 Nancy Pelosi Net Worth - $35.5 million

* The linked article notes that Barr publicly called for the execution of all those worth more than $100 million.  Now we know why she set the beheading limit where she did.

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Calvin gets it right. . .

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Coffee Bowl Browsing

A postmodern version of Nero fiddling while Rome burns?  E.U. nannies ban children from blowing up balloons.  Europe is sliding into the abyss and E.U. bureaucrats are legislating who can and can't inflate a party favor.  

Lawyers who wrote memo arguing that B.O. has the authority to kill an American citizen w/o trial are the same lawyers who blasted Bush for doing the same thing. 

Hypocrisy Alert:  "Why Isn’t the Working Families Party Paying Its Employees a Living Wage?"  NB.  The WFP is one of the many lefty groups currently "occupying Wall St." 

Though not as prominent or loud as the Pelvic Dissidents, there is an increasingly worrisome rise in the number and volume of those who place Real Catholic Folk Heroes above the magisterium.

Occupy the Vatican?  Fordham "theologian" calls for protests against the Church.  I say, "Go For It!"  It's just the nail the Church needs to seal the coffin of the Professional Ecclesial Left.

“They expect everything, everything for free, nothing to pay."  Of course they do.  Making them pay for stuff does violence to their self-esteem.   Wards of the State don't pay.  Sheesh.

Coptic Christian martyrs in Egypt.  "Arab Spring" not such a great thing for Christ's own.

Another Episcopal parish escapes the suicidal destruction of the Anglican Communion.  Welcome!

Server's down. . .achhhkkkk. . .sunlight!!!

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Greatest American Catholic Intellectuals

The Georgian Institute at Benedictine College in KS posts a useful list:  "10 Greatest American Catholic Intellectuals."  I've added links to each for more information.

Orestes Brownson (1803–1876)

John Courtney Murray (1904-1967)

John Senior (1923-1999)
 
Avery Dulles (1918-2008)

James Schall (1928-)

Ralph McInerny (1929-2010)

Richard John Neuhaus (1936-2009)

Mary Anne Glendon (1938-)
 
George Weigel (1951-)

Robert P. George (1955-)

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Calling all nerdy Thomists. . .

I need a little help with a question about Aquinas' definition of truth in the Summa.

In my thesis I used what I thought was the definition of truth given by Thomas in the Summa: "Veritas logica est adaequatio intellectus et rei" (ST.I.21.2).  Because I had seen this definition quoted in Maritain, Lonergan, the Catholic Encyclopedia, and the recent Davies/Leftow translation of the Prima pars, and a couple of other places, I didn't check the Latin text of the Summa to verify it (mea culpa!).  

One of my inquisitors. . .ermmmm. . .I mean, examiners pointed out that this definition never appears in the Summa.  The problem is the addition of the word logica in the definition quoted above. 

Any ideas/suggestions/explanations out there about how the word logica got inserted into these sources?

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Coffee Bowl Browsing (OccupyHancAquam Edition)

OccupyWallStreet:  "anarchists for Big Government."  Heh.

On creating your own dragons to slay:  Challenge violent Islamic hegemony?  Too dangerous.  "Better to create a dragon that can only be slain with performance-art zombie metaphors.”

Occupiers & Tea Partiers:  "Scrape off the 31 different kinds of Marxist mold growing on the surface of the 99 Percenters, hose off the stench of urine, bong water, and failure, and you’ll find a complaint that many Tea Partiers can appreciate. . ."

Boston officials (all Dems) let Occupiers occupy their city w/o permits.  Not so much when the Tea Partiers were in town.

"Down with evil corporations," he wrote on his iPhone while balancing a Starbucks' venti latte on his Edie Bauer backpack.

Good morning!

Don't ask.   Just accept it and move on.

Hairy Captain Picard cradles a log.  No, seriously.

Rockin' goats.

She saw the whole thing!  And now she can't unsee it.

I can actually smell this picture.

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Editing as propaganda

Under the title, "Cops beating people up at occupy wall street," the blog masters of the protesters' site posts an interesting video:

What you don't see in the video above is what happened about few seconds before the cops start waling on people. Here's the unedited video:

Can you tell the difference?

Just in case: in the top vid we see Evil Corporate Stooges assaulting poor peace-loving citizens. In the unedited video we see these same peace-loving citizens counting down and then rushing the police en masse.

Wonder why the OccupyWallStreet folks edited out that part? Hmmmmm. . .




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DoneDOneDoNEdOnE!!!!!!

I passed.  One word:  "Hallelujah"





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Finished (almost)

Finished the first part of the license exam!

My topic:  the metaphysical constitution of finite being. 

 Piece of cake.  Finite cake, that is.

Tomorrow is the presentation and defense of the thesis and an exam on my topics outlines.

Then. . .(drumroll, please!). . .I.WILL.NEVER.HAVE.TO.TAKE.ANOTHER.TEST.IN.MY.LIFE.

Never.

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Coffee Bowl Browsing

Palin isn't running. . .Deo gratis!  I like most of the things that make the Barracuda the whipping-girl of the MSM, but I can't imagine her as Prez.  I was cheering for the Fat Man. . .but he's out too.

R.I.P. Steve Jobs.  I remember the day in 1987 when Ole Miss got 50 Mac 512K's for our brand spanking new Writing Center--one of the first such centers in the U.S.  Unfortunately, we used our Mac's for Evil by teaching writing according to the Marxist theories of Pablo Freire.

A point by point response to the Occupy Wall St. demands.  His basic point is that these Rainbow-Unicorn delusionists utterly fail to understand human nature.  It looks to me like they want everyone in the U.S. to become subsidized full-time university undergrads majoring in Peace Studies. 

CCHD is still funding dubious lefty "community organizing" groups that explicitly oppose Catholic teaching.  Remember this when the plate comes around in November.

The Dallas Charter used as a tool of vengeance.  For all practical purposes, that's what it was designed to do.

The Mass is an infinitely malleable celebration designed by each succeeding generation of Catholics to satisfy contemporary needs. . .until we get it the way we want it then it's a fixed, unalterable text.

Ah, the ambitions of youth. . .

This is funny.  I don't know why.

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A few questions. . .

Lots of questions from y'all about the No-Philosophy-Doctorate-for-Fr-Philip News.  

Most of these questions are some version of:  where will you be assigned?  Don't know yet. Suggestions?

The next is:  what happened?  Nothing happened.  After reporting in to my Provincial and Regent and asking them for some clarification on my Roman Mission, they decided to call me home.  I think they miss me.  :-)

A couple of you asked whether or not I will get to teach philosophy.  Very likely.  There are a number of places where this could happen.  In fact, not doing the PhD probably makes it more likely that I will end up teaching philosophy somewhere.  Ph.L.'s are cheaper to hire than Ph.D.'s.

So, you're still gonna need all those philosophy books, uh?  Yup. 

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Coffee Bowl Browsing (Sorta-cranky Edition)

Heh.  Even their "revolutions" are market-tested, campaigned, and financed.  No wonder no one takes any of this leftist dribble seriously.

Their reality-challenged "demands."  It's about what you'd expect from a generation whose members were incubated as Wards of the State and graduated into the warm, comfy totalitarianism of the academic alter-verse.

A letter to the Brats in Manhattan:  "You know what [real working folks] don't worry about, ever? Smashing patriarchy and capitalism."

More on the dramatic decline in violent crime in Chicago after gun ban is ruled unconstitutional. 

Fast & Furious Lying:  Oh my, AG Holder lied to Congress about selling guns to Mexican drug cartels.  Gov't officials lying???  What's next?  Cheerleaders cheering?  Firefighters fighting fires?

Anti-Catholic Nannies in Canada fine a Catholic group for celebrating Mass.  It's the Frog in Boiler of Cold Water, folks.  Feel the water getting hotter.

Military archbishop rules out same-sex weddings at West Point's Catholic chapel.  Prediction:  some Pentagon bureaucrat is going to pull an arcane administrative rule out of his. . .ermmm. . .nose and close the chapel.

B.O. waives penalities against countries who use children as soldiers.  Still waiting for Leftist Outrage™.

First World Problems:  a fat tax in Denmark.

Pumpkin carving ideas. . .

Jim Jones' cult was a "social gospel" project.  The "Peoples' Temple" was actually a communist front.  Learn something new everyday. . .

LOTS of creepy Wikipages. . .

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Thanks. . .

Thanks to Jenny K. and D.J. for the Kindle Books!

I am well stocked for the months ahead.  Be assured of my prayers. . .

God bless, Fr. Philip, OP


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Arrivederci Roma!

I rec'd news yesterday morning that I am to finish the philosophy license and return to the U.S. for reassignment.

IOW, no philosophy Ph.D. for me. 

I wasn't expecting this bit of news at all.  There are a number of reasons for this change. . .let's just say that I am needed at home.

I am not at all unhappy about this change.  From the beginning I've been deeply ambivalent about starting another doctorate at 47 y.o. and about my ability and commitment to complete the work required.  I've been more or less a full-time student since 1982, and I am tired of taking exams, writing papers, etc. . . I know, I know:  Dominicans are always students. . .but Dominicans are not always enrolled as students in an academic institution. 

No word yet on where I will be assigned or what I will be doing.  Please pray for my provincial, Fr. Chris as he discerns our needs and how I can help meet them.

God bless, Fr. Philip

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On being cranky, flying monkeys, and mashed toes. . .

I've been in an uber-cranky mood all day. . .more on this later. . .

And then I saw this on facebook:

 And laughed so hard I smashed my toe on the underside of the desk. 

Not cranky anymore. . .but my toe hurts.


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Coffee BOWL Browsing

Headline you'll never see:  When He Was a Democrat, Perry Owned Ranch Named with a Racial Slur.  Yea, doesn't really fit the narrative.

TX Dems defend Perry.  Oddly, I never heard much about Perry one way or the other when I was in TX.  By design, TX's governor is relatively weak.

Don't visit this site if you think gov't is the solution to all of our problems.  

Looks like all those "Occupy _____" protests are really just fronts for public-sector unions. 

U.N. economist on Climate Change:  “One has to free oneself from the illusion that international climate policy is environmental policy.  This has almost nothing to do with environmental policy anymore. . .one must say clearly that we redistribute de facto the world’s wealth by climate policy.”

 

Pics and video of B.O. marching with black supremacist group, the New Black Panthers, in 2007.  Imagine Bush or Perry or Newt marching with the KKK. . .

Did Jesus die for the Klingons?  "Christians, in particular, might take the news [of the existence of extraterrestrial life] hardest, because the Christian belief system does not easily allow for other intelligent beings in the universe. . ."  This is nonsense.  There is nothing in Christian doctrine that precludes the existence of extraterrestrial life, or their inclusion in salvation history.

Hysterical predictions of local pols prove to be. . .well. . .hysterical.  Dramatic drop in Chicago's violent crime rate after the Supremes overturn the city's gun ban. 

Feds inflate census figures for same-sex couples by 160%.  Now, why would they do that?

May Catholic get piercings, tattoos, etc.?  Generally speaking, I think tattoos are a bad idea for Catholics.  This is not a hill I'm willing to die on.  Piercings--other than ear piercings--also strike me as a bad idea.  Not gonna die on this hill either.  Discuss.

Great story on America's only pontifical seminary:  the Josephinum.

The Procrastinator's Creed!  Nos. 4 and 11 are my personal favs.

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Prayer request

Just a quick note to say THANKS for the travel prayers and the exam prayers. . .

I realize how many HA readers keep me in their daily prayers. . .as I pray daily for y'all!

When (and if) I pass the license exams, I will be poised to start the PhD.  What happens after that is a mystery.

Please add an intention to your prayers for me:  to know what I must do and for the strength to do it.  

NB.  That sounds cryptic, I know. . .there's nothing strange or monumental going on.  Just normal stuff.  

Mille grazie and God bless. . .Fr. Philip

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