I love Journalists

Here is a nuanced, informed version of the Galileo "affair" in an article about finding some of the remains of his body.

Galileo, who died in 1642, was condemned by the Vatican for saying the Earth revolved around the Sun. Church teaching at the time held that the Earth was the center of the universe. In the early 1990s, Pope John Paul II rehabilitated him, saying the church had erred.

Episcopal Wall of Honor

Episcopal Signers of the Manhattan Declaration.

• Most Rev. Charles J. Chaput Archbishop, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Denver, CO
• Most Rev. Salvatore Joseph Cordileone Bishop, Roman Catholic Diocese of Oakland, CA
• Most Rev. Timothy Dolan Archbishop, Roman Catholic Diocese of New York, NY
• Most Rev. Joseph E. Kurtz Archbishop, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Louisville, KY
• Most Rev. Richard J. Malone Bishop, Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland, ME
• Most Rev. John J. Myers Archbishop, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Newark, NJ
• Most Rev. Joseph F. Naumann Archbishop, Roman Catholic Diocese of Kansas City, KS
• Most Rev. John Nienstedt Archbishop, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, MN
• Most Rev. Thomas J. Olmsted Bishop, Roman Catholic Diocese of Phoenix, AZ
• Most Rev. Michael J. Sheridan Bishop, Roman Catholic Diocese of Colorado Springs, CO
• Most Rev. Donald W. Wuerl Archbishop, Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington, D.C.
• Most Rev. David A. Zubik Bishop, Roman Catholic Diocese of Pittsburgh, PA

I'm going to assume that a couple of bishops who weren't on the list that I would expect to have been didn't get the memo in time.

St. Francis's comment on Twitter, Facebook, Blogger, etc.

"Blessed (is) the servant, who when he speaks, does not reveal all his own (thoughts) in view of (some) reward, and is not swift to speak (cf. Prov. 29:20), but wisely weighs what he ought to speak and answer. · Woe to him religious, who does not retain in his heart (Lk 2:19.51) the good things, which the Lord shows him, and does not show them to others through work, but who in view of (some) gain desires rather to show them to men with words. · He himself receives "his wage" (cf. Mt 6:2; 6:16) and (his) hearers bring back little fruit." Admonition 21.

Bravery and heroism

I have begun a wonderful novel by Lucy Beckett (Ignatius Press), whom I met at the Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture conference this weekend. It is about the life of a man named Max who grows up in East Prussia during the period between the two world wars. His father is seeking to imbue him with a Prussian love for the glory of war. His tutor is a Jew who has fled Alsace-Lorraine because of the French persecution of the Jews.

When Max is eight he has a conversation with his tutor about the events which precipitated World War I, which had just started. They were discussing the Serbian youth who had plotted to kill Archduke Ferdinand. In this conversation Dr. Mendel makes a very useful distinction between bravery and nobility.

"So are they good, like heroes are good? Or bad, like murderers are bad?"
"They are murderers, not heroes. They thought what they were doing was brave, which it was. They also thought it was noble, which it was not. Some Serbs may think them heroes for a while, but they will be wrong. The lives they have given up [because they will be executed] would have been more use to Serbia than their deaths will be."

Then the possibility that they are martyrs is discussed.

"But they could still be heroes when they're dead? Like martyrs?"
"A martyr is a witness to the truth. Whether Bosnia is part of Serbia or part of the Empire is not a matter of truth, but a matter of politics. Politics is about power, not about truth. And now nearly all of Europe is at war because of these foolish boys."

Terrorists, no matter what side they are on or how just their cause, have lost all understanding of these distinctions. Islamic terrorists may be brave, because they've overcome fear and danger, but they are not heroes. We need to be clear and direct about this, and about any contemporary or historical act of terrorism. Bravery and a just cause does not make you a hero if you engage in ignoble acts.

I think this also applies to those who would promote a totalitarian state. Terrorists and totalitarians are cut from the same cloth. The difference is that one has the reins of state in hand, and the other does not. Neither is consistent with the Catholic faith. That is why Guy Fawkes and his co-conspirators were not genuinely representative of the Catholic religion. Nor are those who commit acts of murder in the name of the pro life movement.

I think it interesting, by the way, that some of the earlier instances of both errors appeared in England--Fawkes and Cromwell.

I also think that burning figures of Fawkes in effigy doesn't rise much above the ignobility of Fawkes himself.

John Paul II and the Pater Noster

For you John Paul II and Latin fans out there, Nancy Carpenter Brown links to this video.

Retaining one's innocence in a depraved world

A question for conversation: how does one retain one's innocence (purity of heart, as the Catechism calls it) while at the same time becoming aware of the world as it really is (pretty dark). This is a helpful discussion for parents of teenage children. It is a perennial question in our home school group.

Collect of St. Martin of Tours

I am continually amazed at the inexplicable manner that ICEL translates the collects in the liturgy. Half the time I can't even detect a real ideological principle behind it. They just seem to have delighted in scrambling concepts around. Today's feast is no exception. I'm going to provide the Latin, then my translation, then the ICEL English. Someone explain to me why they changed it. I'm not saying the essential meaning was lost, but there is something lost.

Latin:

Deus, qui in beato Martino episcopo sive per vitam sive per mortem magnificatus es, innova gratiae tuae mirabilia in cordibus nostris, ut neque mors neque vita separare nos possit a caritate tua. Per Dominum....

This isn't difficult Latin. My literal translation:

[O] God, who has been exalted in blessed Martin, both though [his] life and through [his] death, renew in our hearts the wonders of your grace, that neither death nor life may separate us from your love. Through Our Lord....

Now ICEL (with my parenthetical comments:

Father [I understand why they do this, but it irks me nonetheless], by his life and death
[blessed?] Martin of Tours offered you worship and praise [in switching to the active voice, the focus on God is somewhat mitigated. also, it really doesn't say anything in the Latin about worship or praise].
Renew in our hearts [so far so good] the power of your love [okay, so what is wrong with the word "grace," and where did "mirabilia" go, and why is love put here, since it clearly belongs later--this last move distances the prayer somewhat from Romans 8, which is the obvious reference],
so that neither death nor life [okay] may separate us from you.
Grant this...

I just don't think the modification and paraphrasing helps us understand the prayer better.

Wow!

You rarely see this direct a communication by a bishop to a politician. You know, the issues are not as muddy as most people seem to think.

Interview on Drew Marianin on Capital Punishment

I was on Drew Mariani (Relevant Radio) last Friday for about 30 minutes to talk about the death penalty. the interview can be heard here. Click on "hour 2" and go about 12 minutes and 30 seconds into the program. The first part is Drew's own reflections on the impending execution of the D.C. sniper. He, not surprisingly, accepts the Church's position.

New Tractarians

My son at ND has helped start a student organization the purpose of which is to "promote an educational and intellectual atmosphere [at the university] permeated with the Truth of the Gospel and the highest regard for the teachings of the Church." They meet once a week for dinner to discuss topics related to genuine Catholic higher education. Here is their blog: New Tractarians. Both my sons are members of the group.

Not everyone has given up on Notre Dame!

Our Lady of the Holy Rosary

Funny how the English translation of things sometimes misses the mark. In the English office the description of the feast says, "The celebration of this day invites all to meditate...." The Latin uses the word "incitat," which means something more like the English cognate "incite." According to the online Latin Dictionary and Grammar Aid, http://www.archives.nd.edu/cgi-bin/lookup.pl?stem=incit&ending=o, "incito" means, "to put into rapid motion, urge on, hasten." This seem stronger to me than "invites." Are the translators afraid of enthusiasm?

The Divine Office

When I came down from my shower this morning my eight year old boy was praying Morning Prayer using the Christian Prayer book I bought when I was a senior in college. My eleven year old daughter will often come down in the morning and ask whether I've prayed yet and whether she can join me. My college kids quote from the office on their Facebook pages.  Oddly, and without much encouragement on our part, all our children love to pray the office (except the four-year old).   

I am very happy about this.  It makes me realize how much what we hand on to our kids is informal and, in a sense, unintentional.  My kids appear to have notice, whether consciously or not, that the office is my favorite form of prayer and that my wife loves to pray it as well.  

The  daily prayer of a Christian should be biblical (esp. the Psalms) and ecclesial.  I also believe in devotions, but the best of these (like the Rosary) is also biblical and ecclesial (strong ecclesiastical approbation, even if not the official prayer of the Church).  Litanies fall in this category, and the Angelus.  As I've mentioned before, I always take a Bible to Eucharist Adoration. Note: I don't think that Bible reading should be the focus of adoration, contemplation of the Face of Jesus should be, but the Bible can help us move into contemplation.  The Word helps us see the Word. 

Oh.  I like to sing praise songs.