John Martignoni / Patrick Donahue
October 9, 2007
Transubstantiation



Flyer For Debate Download
Martignoni's First Affirmative Listen
Donahue's First Negative Listen
Martignoni's Second Affirmative Listen
Donahue's Second Negative Listen
Martignoni's Third Affirmative Listen
Donahue's Third Negative Listen
Martignoni's Closing Listen
Donahue's Closing Listen
Question and Answer Period Listen
POSTED BY on 12:03 AM under , ,
John Martignoni / Patrick Donahue
June 19, 2006
Sola Scriptura

Flyer For Debate Download
Donahue's First Affirmative Listen
Martignoni's First Negative Listen
Donahue's Second Affirmative Listen
Martignoni's Second Negative Listen
Donahue's Third Affirmative Listen
Martignoni's Third Negative Listen
Donahue's Closing Listen
Martignoni's Closing Listen
POSTED BY on 11:58 PM under , ,
John Martignoni / Patrick Donahue
February 13-14, 2004
Sola Scriptura

Errata Download

Speech 1 Martignoni and Speech 2 Donahue Download

Speech 3 Martignoni and Speech 4 Donahue Download

Speech 5 Martignoni and Speech 6 Donahue Download

Speech 7 Donahue and Speech 8 Martignoni Download

Speech 9 Donahue and Speech 10 Martignoni Download

Speech 11 Donahue and Speech 12 Martignoni Download
Thanks to Filipino Catholic for pointing me to the following (more debates to come):

John Martignoni / Patrick Donahue Debate
January 30, 2004
Original Sin / Infant Baptism


Flyer For Debate Download

Tape 1, Side 1 Download

Tape 1, Side 2 Download

Tape 2, Side 1 Download

Tape 2, Side 2 Download

Tape 3, Side 1 Download

Tape 3, Side 2 Download

Tape 4, Side 1 Download

Tape 4, Side 2 Download
POSTED BY on 11:58 AM under , , , ,
From revertconvert comes this gem:

As one holy woman said in 1994...

"Whatsoever You Do..."

(Click here for Spanish version.)

Speech of Mother Teresa of Calcutta to the National Prayer Breakfast,
Washington, DC,
February 3, 1994

Listen online to the audio of this talk or download it free in MP3 format.

On the last day, Jesus will say to those on His right hand,

"Come, enter the Kingdom. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was sick and you visited me." Then Jesus will turn to those on His left hand and say, "Depart from me because I was hungry and you did not feed me, I was thirsty and you did not give me drink, I was sick and you did not visit me." These will ask Him, "When did we see You hungry, or thirsty or sick and did not come to Your help?" And Jesus will answer them,

"Whatever you neglected to do unto one of the least of these, you neglected to do unto me!"

As we have gathered here to pray together, I think it will be beautiful if we begin with a prayer that expressed very well what Jesus wants us to do for the least. St. Francis of Assisi understood very well these words of Jesus and His life is very well expressed by a prayer. And this prayer, which we say every day after Holy Communion, always surprises me very much...

[Read the rest here.]


POSTED BY on 11:55 AM under ,
Here are some free MP3s brought to you by the New Liturgical Movement:

You will be interested in this page of settings of the Mass ordinary set to the proposed new English texts, for free download. The voice belongs to Aristotle Esguerra, performed for pedagogical clarity:

  • Kyrie XVI (English) PDF | MP3
  • Kyrie XVIII (English) PDF | MP3
  • Kyrie Simplex II (English) PDF | MP3
  • Kyrie Simplex IIIa (English) PDF | MP3
  • Kyrie Simplex IIIb (English) PDF | MP3
  • Kyrie Simplex IV (English) PDF | MP3
  • Kyrie Simplex Va (English) PDF | MP3
  • Kyrie Simplex Vb (English) PDF | MP3
  • Gloria XI (English) PDF | MP3
  • Gloria XII (English) PDF | MP3
  • Gloria XIII (English) PDF | MP3
  • Gloria XV (English) PDF | MP3
  • Gloria Mozarabica (English) PDF | MP3
  • Credo VII (English) PDF | MP3
  • Credo Ambrosiano (English) PDF | MP3
  • Sanctus I (English) PDF | MP3
  • Sanctus IV (English) PDF | MP3
  • Sanctus X (English) PDF | MP3
  • Sanctus XIII (English) PDF | MP3
  • Sanctus XV (English) PDF | MP3
  • Sanctus XVI (English) PDF | MP3
  • Sanctus ad libitum I (English) PDF | MP3
  • Sanctus Ambrosiano (English) PDF | MP3
  • Agnus Dei IV (English) PDF | MP3
  • Agnus Dei X (English) PDF | MP3
  • Agnus Dei XI (English) PDF | MP3
  • Agnus Dei XIV (English) PDF | MP3
  • Agnus Dei ad libitum II (English) PDF | MP3
  • Agnus Dei Simplex III (English) PDF | MP3
  • Agnus Dei Simplex IV (English) PDF | MP3
  • Agnus Dei Simplex V (English) PDF | MP3
POSTED BY on 9:07 PM under ,
Although I've posted stuff of hers before, it's certainly been long enough that it's worth being reminded of the following (thanks Terence!):
Might I suggest adding the links of Maggie Gallagher's media appearances (page found here): http://www.marriagedebate.com/archives/archives_mg.php

She is a great speaker and frames the debate in a manner only a sociologist could

Mrs. Gallagher is a faithful Catholic and President of the Institute of Marriage and Public Policy.
Here are some things you can find by clicking through the links:

Will Same-Sex Marriage Hurt America?

Maggie Gallagher, Institute for Marriage and Public Policy
Jonathan Rauch, Senior Writer and Columnist, National Journal

University of Washington
3/9/2005

From ISI's Cicero's Podium: A Great Issues Debate Series.

RM

MP3



Same-Sex Marriage and the Laws Maggie Gallagher · April 13, 2004
A nationally syndicated columnist, author of The Case for Marriage, and a leader in the fight to preserve traditional marriage, Maggie Gallagher gives her views, and some sociological evidence, for why traditional marriage between a man and a woman ought to be maintained.

Maggie Gallagher. · 1:35'39"
High (128 kbps) | Medium (64 kbps) | Low (32 kbps)


POSTED BY on 9:03 PM under ,
Vanessa wrote in with the following:
Good morning!!
I would like to share with you that the 3 Irish Priests (a new vocal holiday sensation) are streaming their Christmas album for free on this website: http://www.iheartmusic.com/cc-common/mfeatures/thepriestsOD

Please enjoy and share for the holiday season! :)
Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Thanks, Vanessa! Back at ya'!
POSTED BY on 11:03 PM under ,
Why am I just now finding out about this?!? Go to the host site for the first 22 hours of lectures:
Lectures in Dominican History - Part 23



Lectures in Dominican history given in 1986 to Dominican friars of the Province of St. Joseph by Fr. John Frederick Hinnebusch, O.P. of the Dominican House of Studies, Washington, D.C. Lecture 23. Audio, 61 min.

In Lecture 23 Fr. Hinnebusch discusses the sources for Dominican History in the 18th and 19th centuries, new editions of the Dominican constitutions, Dominican legislation and governance, the Masters General, Gallicanism, the Hapsburgs and the Dominicans, the French Revolution, and the development of the Dominican Order in the modern period. mp3 format

POSTED BY on 10:58 PM under
...and because I think it's really funny. I don't know anything about the hosting folks, but I do know that this is intentionally bad...so don't feel bad laughing at how horrible it is. Without further ado:

The most popular article in Burnside history is “The Abominable ‘O Holy Night’”, in which I speculated on the origins of an internet sensation. What you’re about to hear is a rendition of the great Christmas hymn so immaculate in its broken beauty as to render any listener helpless. I first heard this recording through The Sneeze, the best blog on the world wide web.

A few weeks ago, I was mysteriously contacted by Steve M. (last name withheld for privacy’s sake). Steve M. claimed he was the composer and singer behind the track. [Read the rest here.]

POSTED BY on 9:34 PM under
Would someone with more time on their hands than me please give some of the Father Elder Sermons a listen and let the rest of us know the orthodoxy level? I'm concerned because I came on his site through a neo-Trad and I'm not sure how faithful to the post-V2 Church they are. Since I've never heard of him I figured this would be the fastest way to get feedback. Some of the lectures have very interesting titles I'd sure like to do some linking...

Please leave any comments/concerns/etc. in the combox. Grazie!
POSTED BY on 9:31 PM under
I have no idea what they could be debating, but here ya' go:

Laurence Gonzaga versus Dr. Robert Harvey

The Da Vinci Code Debate

Part1-Harvey vs Gonzaga Debate 0728...

Part2-Harvey vs Gonzaga Debate 0728...

Part3-Harvey vs Gonzaga Debate 0728...

Part4-Harvey vs Gonzaga Debate 0728...

Part5-Harvey vs Gonzaga Debate 0728...

Part6-Harvey vs Gonzaga Debate 0728...

Part7-Harvey vs Gonzaga Debate 0728...

Part8-Harvey vsGonzaga Debate 0728...
POSTED BY on 9:28 PM under ,

This shouldn't be news to anyone who comes here, but maybe you could print it out and give it to your friend who doesn't accept "religious arguments" about (1) research which kills embryonic humans and (2) abortion. You know the one. Oh, and did I mention it's from First Things?

Get the White Paper (in .pdf format) entitled "When Does Human Life Begin?"
POSTED BY on 9:40 PM under

Do you know? Well...do ya'?

Listen in MP3 format ( app. 50 meg) MP3 Archive

Resource Special "Where We Got The Bible"

POSTED BY on 9:36 PM under

Here's the EWTN series by the author of the book. I gave the book a listen a couple years ago and it was exceedingly interesting -- you'd never believe the things you never knew.

Check out the series by Prof. Thomas Woods here.
POSTED BY on 8:38 PM under

Excellent news!

EWTN has now converted their audio archives, including the most recent programs, to MP3 format! They've finally dumped the (objectively evil) RealAudio format!

W00T!

Here's a link to the goodies -- enjoy!
POSTED BY on 10:38 PM under , , , ,

These talks have been a long time coming. A reader wrote me some time ago and asked if I would host some MP3s. I told her that I didn't host things (I only link) but I would be happy to link if/when she could find a host site. Well...she did. Here are the fruits of her labor, hosted by ProEcclesia.


Recordings of four Retreats by the English Jesuit Fr. Bernard Basset S.J.
These next four collections were donated by Janet Selby of Newark, Ohio. They download as separate .mp3 tracks relating to the cassettes on which they were recorded.
Fr.Basset S.J. A Parliament of Saints:
1A Without which you will not see The Lord - Hebrews 12
1B If the Prophet had commanded you - 2 Kings 5
2A Light from light - the Nicene Creed
2B Go down to the potter's house - Jeremiah 18
3A Look, there is the lamb of God - John 1
3B I will obey your statutes - Psalm 119
4A A stranger in your own house - Utopia, Thomas More
4B We have become a spectacle - 1 Corinthians 4

ps1A.mp3
ps1B.mp3
ps2A.mp3
ps2B.mp3
ps3A.mp3
ps3B.mp3
ps4A.mp3
ps4B.mp3
Fr.Basset S.J. A Week-end with Cardinal Newman:
1A Welcome to our Retreat
1B One step enough for me
2A Can you speak the language?
2B Garbage in - garbage out
3A See but One in All Things
3B Keeping up with the Joneses
4A Conscience makes cowards of us all
4B The long search
5A Most sure in all His ways
5B The humiliation of the Eternal Son
6A Next witness please
6B Put away the things of a child
7A Growth the only evidence of life
7B Show me the way to go home

cn1A.mp3
cn1B.mp3
cn2A.mp3
cn2B.mp3
cn3A.mp3
cn3B.mp3
cn4A.mp3
cn4B.mp3
cn5A.mp3
cn5B.mp3
cn6A.mp3
cn6B.mp3
cn7A.mp3
cn7B.mp3
Fr.Basset S.J. A Week-end with St. Sir Thomas More:
1A How to make the Thomas More Retreat - new school of thought
1B All the world's a stage
2A He was his own master
2B A stranger in his own house
3A Wonder is the basis of worship
3B Here I sit
4A The King's good servant - but God's first (part 1)
4B The King's good servant - but God's first (part 2).


tm1A.mp3
tm1B.mp3
tm2A.mp3
tm2B.mp3
tm3A.mp3
tm3B.mp3
tm4A.mp3
tm4B.mp3

Fr.Basset S.J. From the bicentennial to the tricentennial - Beginnings of the Faith in the New World :
1A An Englishman reflects on the American bicentennial
1B Collapse of Catholicism in England - Faith of St Thomas
2A From London to Chesapeake Bay
2B Why an indian Emporer changed his name to Charlie
3A Priests on horseback - to Mass by rowing boat
3B Two bishops in the same boat (ecumenism)
4A Mother Seton - the first American saint
4B A boy called John Carroll


nw1A.mp3
nw1B.mp3
nw2A.mp3
nw2B.mp3
nw3A.mp3
nw3B.mp3
nw4A.mp3
nw4B.mp3
POSTED BY on 9:44 PM under ,
Even though Advent is just starting, here's a piece from Holy Week last:

Mary, the Bread of Life, and the Mystery of Holy Saturday

This meditation was given during the Triduum retreat for the RCIA Hollywood program:

text version

MP3 audio version (11 minutes)
POSTED BY on 9:39 PM under
Karen Hall pointed me to the following post (with free audio at the end):
The Hollywood Project
There's an initiative underway to provide a comprehensive pastoral plan for the Church in Hollywood. Currently headed up by Fr. Don Woznicki, a priest of the archdiocese of Chicago, this plan could significantly re-shape the forms of ministry and support that the Church provides to the entertainment industry. From the mission statement:
The Hollywood Project is a five-phase plan to establish a dedicated, committed, and resourceful presence of the universal Church in Los Angeles, California, to support the people of the entertainment industry in their special calling to bring truth, beauty, and goodness to the human race.
I've known Fr. Don since 2002. He was the catalyst behind Cardinal George's invitation for Barbara Nicolosi to bring the the Act One: Writing for Hollywood program to Chicago that year. I attended that program, which ultimately led me to move to Hollywood a year later to pursue an interest in screenwriting and to serve in various pastoral outreaches, including a Theology of the Body study group and the RCIA Hollywood program.

At any rate, after many months of preliminary planning, there's information about The Hollywood Project online. There's a blog, a Facebook group, and I've also posted an audio podcast from a recent presentation Fr. Don gave at Saint Victor's Catholic Church in West Hollywood:



I encourage you to support this spiritual endeavor at the service of artists here in Los Angeles.
POSTED BY on 9:17 PM under
Pat Madrid is an inspiring guy despite his reserved manner. In addition to his ceaseless work in other areas, he also puts out Envoy Magazine. On his site you can buy some of Dr. Kreeft's lectures that I can't find elsewhere - Envoy E-Store Peter Kreeft Link.

Also...

If you're looking to support a good man doing good work (and maybe learn something in the process), you can buy some of Pat Madrid's mp3s here.

Finally...

I got the following e-mail:

Hey Everybody!

Big News from the Envoy Institute! The Envoy Institute is a project of my pal Patrick Madrid and the great orthodox Catholic college, Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina. Both deserve your support! The first thing is that I’m doing some work for them which is a good thing, second is a great offer for all you Catholic web blasters and bloggers out there.

Such a deal! Below are the codes for Website/Blog banners, one vertical and one horizontal. The banner acts as a live, clickable, hyperlink to exciting events at Envoy. Choose the one that fits best on your site, post it and let us know, and you will receive a free subscription to Envoy magazine if you are in the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii. If you are are elsewhere in the world you will receive a free subscription to the PDF version of Envoy sent to you by email.

Here’s how it works: The 1-year subscription is predicated on leaving one of our banners up on the main page of your site/blog (the more prominently displayed the better, of course) for a year. We will be happy to renew that subscription if you will renew running a banner for another year, etc.

Don’t delay! From time to time you will receive new timely banners to help support the great work of Envoy and the Envoy Institute in modern day and much needed Catholic apologetics and evangelization! Remember Pat Madrid is the guy who said Pete Vere’s fez was nifty!

Please spread the word around the world, that means you in the UK, New Zealand, Oz (Australia), and the Philippines! Everywhere in the English speaking world.

See it on my site (the banner, not the fez), at http://johnmallon.net

I do ask that if you do place the banner (and who wouldn’t?) that you drop me an email to ensure you get your subscription with a link and so we can admire it! Obviously, you are welcome to post more than one banner if you would like to help us. It would also be great if you added a text link to Envoy Magazine (www.envoymagazine.com <http://www.envoymagazine.com> ) and/or the Envoy Institute (www.envoyinstitute.net <http://www.envoyinstitute.net> ) in the text links section of your site or blog

God bless & Thanks!
John Mallon

Here’s the code:

Vertical:

|a href="http://www.envoyinstitute.net/"> src="http://www.envoymagazine.com/banners/summerconf_vert.gif
" alt="Summer Conference" width="220" height="350" border="0">



Horizontal:

|a href="http://www.envoyinstitute.net/">http://www.envoymagazine.com/banners/summerconf_bannerad728.gif" alt="Summer Conference DVDs" width="728" height="90" border="0">
...oh, and you'll need to replace the "|" symbol with "<" and ">" (depending on if it's at the start or end, respectively, of the segment of code). I had to replace the carrots to get the code to display correctly. If that doesn't work, go here and get the code for the EnvoyInstitute banners.
POSTED BY on 9:56 PM under

The following MP3s are from the good folks at St. Martha's in Kingwood, TX. If you're looking for more Advent audio, do check out my Advent tag.


Advent & Sacramentals

mp3

Linda Sarman




Advent of the Messiah by Jeff Crandall

1 - The Messiah in the Old Testament

mp3

Jeff Crandall

12/03/06

2 - The First Coming

mp3

Jeff Crandall

12/04/06

3a - The Second Coming

mp3

Jeff Crandall

12/05/06

3b - The Second Coming

mp3

Jeff Crandall

12/05/06

4 - The Perpetual Coming

mp3

Jeff Crandall

12/06/06



POSTED BY on 8:31 PM under
Just a quick thought...

National security is kinda' important.

Energy independence is kinda' important.

Greenhouse gas emission control is kinda' important.

Capitalism is kinda' important for Americans who still believe in this whole 'America' concept.

Why not combine all of the above and double whatever bailout package the automakers are asking for on the contingent basis that they put on the road an affordable plug-in hybrid capable of getting 60+ miles on electric alone by 2010? If they fail, we liquidate them...which leaves them in the same position they'd be in a month from now if we did nothing.

That way there's still no such thing as a free lunch in America, aspiring socialists notwithstanding, and we can still move forward on a few of the things Americans actually wanted out of B. Hussein Obama.
Found at the Catholic Answers Forums:

These talks are part of a lecture series delivered by Fr. Joseph Shetler, STL, the associate pastor of St. Joseph Cathedral, and Mr. Spencer Allen, the principal of the parish school. These talks present an overview of the various teachings and practices of the Catholic faith.

  1. Scripture and Tradition (Mr. Allen)
    Where the Bible comes from and how we know it's true, and the other way God has revealed Himself to mankind.

  2. Basics of Catholic Theology (Fr. Shetler)
    How Catholics talk about faith and morals, theological terms and categories, what theology is and what its sources are.

  3. Infallibility of the Church and Papacy (Mr. Allen and Fr. Shetler)
    What it means and what it doesn't mean to be infallible, who is infallible, when, and how.

  4. Responding to Scandal (Mr. Allen and Fr. Shetler)
    The Crusades, the Inquisition, the Galileo case, and Pius XII and the Nazis; how to respond to challenges like these.

  5. Original Sin and Original Justice (Mr. Allen and Fr. Shetler)
    How our first parents were created, what the fall means, and how it affects all of us.

  6. Priesthood (Fr. Shetler)
    What priesthood is in general, the nature of the Christian priesthood, and why it is reserved to men.

  7. Baptism and Salvation (Mr. Allen and Fr. Shetler)
    What Baptism is, where it comes from, what it accomplishes, and why it is necessary.

  8. Grace, Faith and Works, and Salvation (Mr. Allen)
    How Protestants and Catholics believe very different things about how we are saved and what being saved really means.

  9. Theology of the Body (Mr. Allen)
    How our understanding our understanding of how God created us can bring us to a greater understanding of God, himself, as well as help us to connect more fully with the body of Christ.

  10. Eucharist and the Sacrifice of the Mass (Mr. Allen and Fr. Shetler)
    What transubstantiation is, why its important, and how to understand it properly.

  11. Basics of Morality and Sexual Ethics (Mr. Allen and Fr. Shetler)
    What constitutes the morality of a human act, different kinds of sin, and how sexual ethics fits into these basics of Catholic moral thought.

  12. Penance, Confession, and Indulgences (Mr. Allen)
    Why confession to a priest is necessary for the remission of sins, and how penance helps to prepare us for eternal glory.

  13. Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory (Mr. Allen and Fr. Shetler)
    What happens when we die: death, the particular jugdment, heaven, hell, purgatory, and the general judgment.
POSTED BY on 7:54 PM under , , ,
You know the drill...this one's from Librivox.org:

Most Eugenists are Euphemists. I mean merely that short words startle them, while long words soothe them. And they are utterly incapable of translating the one into the other, however obviously they mean the same thing. Say to them “The persuasive and even coercive powers of the citizen should enable him to make sure that the burden of longevity in the previous generation does not become disproportionate and intolerable, especially to the females”; say this to them and they will sway slightly to and fro like babies sent to sleep in cradles. Say to them “Murder your mother,” and they sit up quite suddenly. Yet the two sentences, in cold logic, are exactly the same.”

POSTED BY on 7:47 PM under
Well...not at Yale, exactly. But from Yale, certainly!

D Mac at CMR points out the following:
Perhaps you remember the name Donald Kagan, a tenured professor at Yale and one of the nation's leading authorities on ancient Greek history. Once a liberal democrat, he became something of a neocon celebrity at Yale in the 1990s by daring to argue that western civilization had something to offer a university. Well, now his introductory course on Ancient Greece is available for free on line here on the Yale University web site. There are courses by other professors there as well and I can't vouch for any of them, but Kagan's courses are worth checking out. You don't get to be Sterling Professor at Yale, winner of the National Humanities Medal and have one of the most popular classes for 25 years without doing something right.
POSTED BY on 8:54 PM under
So someone in the comboxes is confused. He seems to think that a Catholic can support so-called gay marriage. Well...he can't. To do so with knowledge of the error makes you a heretic. 'Nuff said for Catholics. Don't believe me? Ask a bishop. Heck, ask the US Conference of Catholic Bishops. If you think this is a teaching which we can take it upon ourselves to "correct" then you don't know jack about Catholicism. If it's that important to you, you'd better learn.

Ok. I could have posted that in the combox. Why take up a post? Because we need to do more than just put forth religious arguments. Most of the folks ranting about this don't care what religious arguments are out there. Most of the folks ranting about this are so damaged they don't care about God at all. Ahh...there but for the grace of God go I. It's important to remember that without God's grace we wouldn't care either. But I digress.

So what's the secular argument against so-called same-sex marriage?

I'm glad you asked.

We'll start with a brief recitation of why marriage was recognized by the government to begin with. It wasn't about love and it wasn't about religion. It was about controlling how baby-making activity takes place.

Let me 'splain. Men and women are going to have sex whether the government is involved or not. That's just how we're wired. Call it evolutionary instinct if it makes you feel better. Now...there are two ways for people to go about having sex. The first way is for a guy to irresponsibly dip his wick in whatever pot he finds. That makes for lots of single moms and fatherless kids. As it turns out, every study done on the subject shows conclusively that this is really bad for everyone involved, psychologically, sociologically and epidemiologically. The second way is for the man and woman (or several women, for that matter - but there are different reasons why that's bad) to have sex in a committed, life-long relationship. This provides stability for the mother and a male/female role-model set for the child. It also keeps men and women living longer, happier, more productive lives. (BTW, prolonged exclusive relationships have not been shown to have a similar effect with same sex folks. Not sure why.) Again, every study ever done bears out that life-long heterosexual marriage is optimal for everyone involved in all cases except severe abuse.

Query: does the government have an interest in encouraging the optimal situation above to happen?

Answer: Yup.

As a result, the government started recognizing - in fact, incentivizing, and at great expense - marriage between heterosexuals. Are some infertile? Sure. But odds are that one of the two is fertile and as long as that's typical (which it is) this still encourages baby-making activity occuring in a responsible way.

Enter same sex marriage arguments, stage left.

First, a negative argument:

What's the government interest in same-sex unions? We've seen what it is in heterosexual marriage - making sure procreatively ordered sex happens in a responsible way. What's the government interest in what's basically mutual masturbation? I just don't see one. At the very least, I don't see an interest more significant than the interest in the relationship between my brothers and me.

Until someone gives me a logical reason to the contrary, I'm inclined to think my tax dollars should not be spent incentivizing something the government has no interest in. You gays want to shack up? I'm not going to stop you. You gays want to proclaim youselves indesoluably joined at the Online Church of Babalouay? Hey, it's a free country. Want me to make sure you're entitled to your lover's social security payment after he dies? Um...no. Same goes for a tax break. Same goes for instant citizenship. As a taxpayer concerned about my tax dollars, that just doesn't make sense. Call me when there's a reason beyond two people liking one another and maybe then I'll give you access to my pocketbook. Besides, any fool who's been married longer than the honeymoon can tell you that marriage is definitely not linked to liking the other person!

Second, a positive argument:

The government should strengthen marriage between a man and a woman, not reduce it to the level of an ordinary contract. Would a good step be eliminating no-fault divorce? You betcha'! I'm all for it. In fact, I'd favor a one-shot marriage measure that would say (absent abuse charges being pressed or a time-limited annullment) if you divorce you never get government recognition of your marriage again. I'd say we need that as well as an even stronger incentive package for married folks - something like a drop in tax rate of 5% for every 10 years married. But the strengthing plan isn't in front of us -- the not weakening marriage plan is.

With the skyrocketted divorce rate and the associated societal harm (insert innumerable studies here), I hardly think I have to defend why the government should be encouraging a return to a stronger view of marriage. At the very least, refusing to recognize same sex so-called marriages on the grounds that they're not procreative might just remind some folks why the government started recognizing marriage to begin with. And that might just avoid a demographic winter, which is sort of a good thing for a society to desire.

So yeah, I think Prop 8 came out the right way and if a Catholic disagrees they're not using their thinking cap.

Now there are plenty of other arguments to be had in this area, like the simple fact that same sex so-called marriage is not a "right" - if it were, where would it come from? God? The Constitution? The simple fact of your humanity, a fact most of you find insufficient to grant the weakest of us freedom from being dismembered or burned to death with saline in the womb? And then there's the argument about what my kids get taught in public school -- "It's not enough that you tolerate," as Mark Shea says, "You. MUST. Accept!"

...But again I digress...

What I mean to say is that there are other arguments that I'm not going into because I don't really think we need to (and I've gone on long enough already). What we need to do is present secular arguments for the secular audience. Meet them where they're at. To those under the law and whatnot. And so far we haven't done it...which is why, despite winning a few battles, we're losing the war.
POSTED BY on 8:48 PM under ,
My friend Jonathan sent in the following:

On Thursday, November 13, over 100 people gathered at St. Vincent Ferrer to hear Professor Stephen Barr deliver the parish’s second annual St. Albert’s Day Lecture. His topic was “Modern Physics and Ancient Faith.” The lecture was excellent in both content and delivery. Prof. Barr argued, among other things, that 20th-century discoveries in physics have overturned, seemingly definitively, the materialist assumptions that shaped scientific thinking throughout the bulk of the modern period. It is this materialist understanding of science, and not science itself, that is often at odds with religion. In his talk, Prof. Barr identified the figures and topics instrumental to this recent change of fortune for materialism.

Prof. Barr’s conclusions suggest that the 20th century has actually opened the door, not closed it, to a more sympathetic reading among scientists of the medieval claim made famous by St. Albert and his student St. Thomas, that there can exist no contradiction between the truth of science and the truth of revelation. To be sure, at any given time it may not be clear as to how all of the points of faith and science intersect, but both the scientist and the theologian can proceed with confidence knowing that what is genuinely true in one realm of study is equally true for the other.

Copies of Prof. Barr’s book, Modern Physics and Ancient Faith, may be purchased here.

In addition to his book, Prof. Barr has written numerous articles on faith and science, many of which have been published in First Things. Click here for a listing of these articles.

Below you can listen to Prof. Barr’s address in full. The first clip contains the audio of the lecture itself, and the second includes the Q & A session held afterwards.

icon for podpress 2008 St. Albert's Day Lecture: Hide Player | Play in Popup | Download (106)

icon for podpress Questions at St. Albert's Day Lecture: Hide Player | Play in Popup | Download (37)
POSTED BY on 9:10 PM under
I wanted to let you folks know my wife and I are currently developing CatholicBaby v3.0. Any and all prayers are welcome/appreciated. I put a baby-tracker widget on the left sidebar with the relevant info.

POSTED BY on 9:05 PM under ,
For those wishing to pray the Divine Office, but hate doing it alone, do I have a site for you!

www.divineoffice.org. Get the daily podcast, professionally done.
POSTED BY on 8:53 PM under
From Danielle Bean:

Please go visit Elizabeth Foss’s blog to learn about a family in need — a well-known, generous, large, newly Catholic family, in fact.

If anyone can give the Curtises a warm welcome from the Catholic Church, it’s people like you who read this blog. Please go read all about it. And help in any way you can.

After this Sunday's readings on the talents, you might give it a second thought. This is important in a way you don't find every day.
POSTED BY on 7:52 PM under ,
With so many things to complain about in our society, one thing about which I'm grateful (and hopeful!) is the fidelity and missionary zeal of young priests. Here's an example. A poster sent this in:

Father Chris acts as a simple catechist and gives a basic easy to understand background on the bible in the line of catholic tradition. Father Chris does not include heavy theology but he gives the reader a grasp on the bible by talking about the truth of the bible, the bible as necessary for salvation and the origins of the bible, he also gives sensible tips on someone beginning to read the bible.

Longer bio:
Father Walsh is the 5th of 6 children born to John and Joan (Ramsey) Walsh. He worshipped and attended elementary school at St. Joseph Church, Downingtown. He graduated from Bishop Shanahan High School in West Chester in 1987. He studied at Temple University and received a B.A. in Sociology in 1991.< style=""> There he supervised a program for conduct disordered adolescent males and served on their Behavior Management Team. During this time he was actively involved with Youth Ministry at St. Joseph Church in Downingtown.

He entered St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in September of 1993 to begin studies for the Roman Catholic Priesthood. Throughout his years in the seminary he had a wide variety of pastoral internship experiences that included inner city and suburban parishes, an urban high school, a hospital chaplaincy, a residence for the physically disabled and extensive work with the Missionaries of Charity in the South Bronx of New York City. Father Chris was ordained by Anthony Cardinal Bevilacqua on May 15, 1999.

Our Lady of Ransom Parish in Northeast Philadelphia was Father’s first parochial assignment. During his 5 years he worked extensively to develop the liturgical and devotional life of the parish. In addition, he devoted a great deal of time to Adult Faith Formation, seeking to implement the vision of the U.S. Bishops in their document Were not our Hearts Burning within Us. In June of 2004 Justin Cardinal Rigali assigned Father Walsh to serve as School Minister of Archbishop Wood Catholic High School and in June of 2008 named him the 8th Pastor of St. Raymond of Penafort Parish in the Northwest section of Philadelphia.

Father Chris’ experience with retreats began early in his priesthood. In addition to a variety of days of recollection and weekend retreats at the parish level and regional level, Father has preached retreats to the IHM Sisters and the Missionaries of Charity throughout the Northeast of the United States. He received training in the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius of Loyola at the Jesuit Center at Wernerville

Get the first podcast on the brand-new blog here.

BTW, if any of you do website design, their parish website is in a bad way and I'm pretty sure they'd appreciate the support.

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