Thought on Auburn Game at Halftime

Coach Tuberville has this habit it appears of not to really care if they win Bowl Games or not. Installing a whole new offensive scheme and giving the players not even two weeks to game it is insane. Also Lou Holtz is correct in what he just said. QB Brandon Cox is the not the mobile QB to do this scheme. Current mood Frustrated.

Clemson 7 Auburn 3 at the half

Happy New Year and Thoughts On Bowl Games

I have been soaking up all the College Football I can get today. I love Bowl season and for that reason I suppose I have never been a playoff fan for college ball.

I am glad Bama won last night

I am glad that Fresno beat GA Tech

I have 20 Dollars on this Kentucky Game and how they are playing right now is driving me to distraction.

I am glad Cal got it together and beat Air Force. I would have loved Air Force in some ways to win however that would have hurt me in my Bowl Pick em Contest

I am anxious to watch the Clemson/Auburn Game tonight. I am really amazed that so many people think Clemson will win. I think Auburn handles them nicely but we shall see.

I so wish I was in New Orleans. I am hearing that the Hawaii fans are having a blast down there. I normally root for all SEC teams. However I shall be rooting for Hawaii and the WAC tomorrow night.

Anyway more later. Also one other thing:

Tomorrow is a HOLY DAY OF OBLIGATION- GET TO MASS. I shall post on that after midnight!!

Huckabee Beats Out Pope Benedict

At least as to news stories on Catholic News Services.

I just posted the full text of a interesting article that was just released from Catholic Online News. You can see it here at BREAKING: Governor Huckabee Addresses Anti-Catholicism and Abortion

It has been noted by Huckabee supporters that many people wish to argue that the Huckabee supporters are all Evangelical. Thus setting up , in a very clever way, a feeling that if one is not of this faith tradition you are oddball for supporting Huckabee. One person on the Corner blog responded to this last week:

Huckareaders [Ramesh Ponnuru]
Here is a very representative example of the response from Huckabites to my latest article:
Bro, you need not be an evangelical to appreciate and support Huckabee's candidacy ... what, you think his issues only appeal to evangelicals? For your sake and the future of the party, I hope you don't. What is so appealing about him is that he is speaking to the concerns, and fears even, that many people are experiencing in a global economy.
And for God's sake, in case you are so inclined, leave the floating cross/bookcase alone ...
And another:
The only problem with the thesis of your column is that you are wrong.
Many other people other than evangelicals are listening to Huckabee. We listen because he is not part of the "crowd."
You make a huge mistake if you think this election will be business as usual. Or that illegal immigration will swing your way.
(I have no idea what that last bit means.)
I didn't mind the Huckabee Christmas ad: I'm a keep-Mass-in-Christmas kind of guy, myself. As for why I think that non-evangelicals don't find Huckabee very appealing, it is a hunch about the way he has been campaigning combined with the polling data I have seen. Anyone who has recent data on this question, send it in.

12/27 05:22 PM

As the article noted the Huckabee Interview was the most read article in the HISTORY OF CATHOLIC ONLINE. Catholic Online is one of the Major Catholic News Services. Thus meaning that in a way Huckabee beat out the Pope and stories on the "Latin Mass". That indicates to me a lot of linking and emailing of that article going on and thus interest by serious Mass Going Catholics. A vote that went to Bush in 04.

BREAKING: Governor Huckabee Addresses Anti-Catholicism

Just Checking in. I find this very significant:

BREAKING: Governor Huckabee Addresses Anti-Catholicism and AbortionBy Deacon Keith Fournier12/29/2007Catholic Online (http://www.catholic.org/)Following our first interview with Governor Mike Huckabee there was an intimation of anti-catholicism by several pundits and commentators. We asked the Governor directly about this and about another issue of importance to our Catholic Online readers and viewers.LOS ANGELES (Catholic Online) - We set forth below the questions asked by Catholic Online and the candidates responses.

DEACON KEITH FOURNIER: “Governor Huckabee, on December 18, 2007 Catholic Online issued a challenge to all of the candidates running for the President in 2008, in both major political parties, asking each of them to answer a series of questions of particular concern to Catholics. We promised that their response, or lack of response, would be made known to all of our readers and viewers. Governor, you were gracious enough to give us an exclusive interview. In that interview you answered each of our questions, thoroughly, thoughtfully and forthrightly.

Just days from now, the first real contest of the Presidential Primary season, the important Iowa caucus, will be underway. In a Primary schedule that has become compacted by changes in dates, Iowa results loom quite large. And, the 2008 election contest which was once considered a “lock”, has become a real “horse race”, voters are truly paying attention.

Your interview with Catholic Online is one the highest read stories in our history.

However, shortly after its publication, you spoke at a Church in Texas, on a Sunday morning. Of course, there is nothing unusual about that. What caught the attention of many of our readers and viewers was a concern that the Pastor of the Church has written some material that insults the Catholic Church and has been labeled by some as anti-Catholic. Our readers understand that you, like all of the candidates, are running for the Presidency.

In other words, we know that you seek to govern the whole Nation and, of course, you must reach out to all Americans. However, there has, unfortunately, been a history of anti-Catholicism in this Nation that we all love. Your campaign quickly noted the presence of Catholics in many of the top positions of your campaign staff.However, the issue and the concern raised by your visit, has not gone away. Would you comment upon your visit and on your views concerning Catholics in America?

GOVERNOR HUCKABEE: “I am invited to speak at thousands of diverse venues each year. My willingness to address a group says nothing about whether or not I agree with every tenet, policy or belief espoused by a group. To be honest, I have never thought about having “a view” about Catholics in America. Rather, I have enjoyed strong, personal relationships with many Catholics over the years and I would hate to think about my life without those relationships having been there.

For more than a decade, I marched side-by-side with Catholic Bishops in Arkansas’ annual March for Life. Throughout my years as Lieutenant Governor and Governor, I enjoyed a very close relationship with leaders and members of the Catholic Church in Arkansas. My pro-life record is largely the result of this close working relationship. My relationships with Catholics predated my entry into politics.

When I was pastoring a Baptist church in Texarkana, I had the opportunity to work closely with the Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word at the St. Michael Hospital near my church. I was always welcomed warmly by the sisters when I visited the sick.

As a pastor, I held joint services with my neighboring Catholic congregation, was invited to speak in Catholic churches for special services, and had regular breakfast meetings with the Bishop of the Arkansas Diocese, Bishop Peter Sartain, now in Illinois. Those early years of ministry showed me the value of working with caring people whether or not every one of our religious tenets line up exactly. In short, if I held any animosity toward Catholics, I don't think Justice Scalia would have ever taken me up on my invitations to go duck hunting.

As I mentioned before, many of my top-level staff and closest advisors are Catholic, including my national campaign manager, national campaign director, my policy advisor and my campaign’s chief operating officer.

DEACON FOURNIER: Governor, you have expressed your long term position on what most Catholics consider the fundamental human rights issue of our age, the dignity of every human life from conception to natural death, in these words: “I support and have always supported passage of a constitutional amendment to protect the right to life. As President, I will fight for passage of this amendment. My convictions regarding the sanctity of life have always been clear and consistent, without equivocation or wavering.” Does your position in opposition to abortion admit of any exceptions?

GOVERNOR HUCKABEE: “First, let me say I have appreciated that Catholics led in the pro-life issue and were firm on this even before the Baptists. Before the Baptists really started taking a strong position on the sanctity of life, I was a part of an organization called "Southern Baptists for Life" which was launched to move our denomination to a more consistent pro-life position. In regard to exceptions, experience has shown that health of the mother exceptions are so broad that they result in ‘carte blanche’ abortion on demand. Consequently, I do not support an exception in those terms. Abortion proponents point to exceptions and worst-case scenarios as a way to defend abortion on demand.

DEACON FOURNIER: "Thank you for taking the time out of a busy schedule to speak with us once again. Blessed Christmas to you and your family and Happy New Year"

IT appears that GOvernor Huckabee has a very significant and friendly voice and ally in the major US Online Catholic Press

Off To Mississippi

After a few hours sleep I am off to the Magnola State. My mothers side of the family is all getting together to celebrate Christmas. Blogging will resume either Sunday night or Monday

Pope rejects ideology for its own sake

I was very impressed by this article. Partly because it appeared in the secular press.

AT midnight mass in St Peter's, Benedict XVI conjured in his sermon with an image from the writings of Gregory of Nyssa, of the whole universe torn and disfigured by sin."What," the Pope wondered, "would he say if he could see the state of the world today, through the abuse of energy and its selfish and reckless exploitation? Anselm of Canterbury, in an almost prophetic way, once described a vision of what we witness today in a polluted world whose future is at risk."
At first blush, it seems as though he's talking about global warming. That's certainly the way Ian Fisher, the Fairfax stringer in Rome, framed his story about the event and construed those passing remarks in a sermon mainly devoted to the incarnation. "Benedict has spoken out increasingly about environmental concerns and the Vatican has purchased carbon offsets, credits to compensate for carbon dioxide emissions created by the energy consumed in the world's smallest state, Vatican City," Fisher's report said.
There are three problems with such a gloss. The first is that the line about selfish and reckless abuse of energy might be no more than a reference to the First World's consumption of dwindling oil reserves. The second is that the idea of a polluted world whose future is at risk could just as well be interpreted as an allusion to acid rain, contaminated waterways, general environmental degradation and the problem of nuclear proliferation.
The third and most conclusive objection is that we already know what Benedict thinks about global warming. He made a telling intervention during the Bali conference earlier this month, releasing a message prepared for World Peace Day fully three weeks earlier than scheduled just to emphasise the point. Whether some Vatican bureaucrat - who probably got the project under way in the dying days of the previous reign - has bought some tokenistic carbon credits is neither here nor there. What matters is what the Pope himself says.
He warned that "any solutions to global warming must be based on firm evidence and not dubious ideology ... Fears over man-made emissions melting the ice caps and causing a wave of unprecedented disaster are nothing more than scaremongering. While some concerns may be valid, it is vital that the international community bases its policies on science rather than the dogma of the environmentalist movement ... Humanity today is rightly concerned about the ecological balance of tomorrow. It is important for assessments in this regard to be carried out prudently in dialogue with experts and people of wisdom, uninhibited by ideological pressure to draw hasty conclusions."
It cannot have escaped the Pope's attention that carbon dioxide continues to build in the atmosphere but the mean planetary temperature hasn't increased significantly for nearly nine years. Similar misgivings about how well the greenhouse theory fits the available facts informed the views of his leading local representative, Cardinal George Pell. In February this year Pell wrote a column calling for caution over exaggerated claims of severe global warming. He said he is "deeply sceptical about man-made catastrophic global warming, but still open to further evidence. What we are seeing from the doomsayers is an induced dose of mild hysteria, semi-religious if you like, but dangerously close to superstition. I would be surprised if industrial pollution and carbon emissions had no effect at all, but enough is enough."

A reporter with a sharper eye for coded messages could have found one at least that was unmistakable in the text of the sermon and within the rest of the liturgy half a dozen actions that spoke far louder than words.
The Pope has long been concerned about the place of Gregorian chant, which after the Second Vatican Council has been more honoured in the breach than in the observance, even in Rome. He said: "According to the Fathers, part of the angels' Christmas song is that now angels and men can sing together and in this way the beauty of the universe is expressed in the beauty of the song of praise. Liturgical song - still according to the Fathers - possesses its own peculiar dignity through the fact that it is sung together with the celestial choirs."
On the face of it, this is a scholarly account of the Patristic view of what inspired plainchant and why it should continue to command attention. Another way of putting it would be to say that earthly worship and its distinctive music is both modelled on and hopes to prefigure the celestial liturgy. These lines serve to encapsulate a distinctive theology of beauty, most recently articulated by Hans Urs von Balthasar. It's also a signal that the Pope will be setting much higher standards in the selection and performance of church music, not least in St Peter's Basilica. The Sistine Chapel Choir, which has been going to the dogs for at least a decade and sang dismally on the night, has been put on notice. Its conductor, who has a marked preference for saccharine ecclesiastical pop, is widely reported to be departing in the next few months. Plainchant and polyphony are back in a big way, which is welcome news for everyone who loves fine music, regardless of whether or not they subscribe to any form of religion.
Recently there was another involuntary departure, that of John Paul II's favourite master of ceremonies, Piero Marini. He is a passionate advocate of modern liturgical style and music, and presided over a lot of gimmicky papal mega-masses designed to ingratiate the young. Another unrelated Marini, Monsignor Guido, has been appointed to replace him and the first midnight mass offered on his watch, broadcast to a potential audience of more than a billion Catholics and consciously offered as world's best practice, at every turn stressed continuity with tradition rather than novelty for its own sake.

Mindful of the fact that this is a column for the general reader, I'll try to locate some of the main changes, using themes in the culture wars as points of reference. A few weeks ago Franco Zeffirelli, an elderly film director, was asked to consult to the Holy See on aspects of media management.(NOTE THIS HAS BEEN DENIED) A man of the Left, at least in cultural terms, he rashly interpreted his brief as giving the Pope an image makeover and began by publicly criticising "his too sumptuous attire and trappings" and recommending the "noble simplicity" that was de rigueur after Vatican II. As an exercise in media management, it left a lot to be desired.

The first thing most viewers of the Christmas ceremonies would have noticed is that John Paul's faux-democratic armchair, which might well have graced a gentleman's library but looked ridiculous in a basilica, has gone. At mass and later in the loggia, Benedict sat on seats that were unmistakably thrones, and gilded ones at that, designed for his predecessors. He may have disdained the papal tiara, but he's quite comfortable with the symbols of presidential authority. Another indication of how much store the Pope and his master of ceremonies set by Zeffirelli's fashion tips was the papal headware. Until the 1960s, popes and bishops routinely wore a mitre decorated with jewels on major feasts. Benedict has restored the tradition, wearing during Christmas two different examples of the mitra pretiosa inherited from earlier popes, along with some of their elaborately embroidered vestments. It drives the so-called progressives to distraction, but like any sensible bishop he unapologetically dons his best to celebrate the birth of a king's son, let alone to greet the Prince of Peace. This is a pope who's meekly put up with a lot in his time and has now resolved never to wear liturgical polyester again.
I could - but won't - list the number of times when the Pope, celebrating the new rite, bowed or made symbolic gestures found in the Gloria, the Creed and the Preface in the old rite which the new rubrics seemed to have suppressed. Suffice it to say that all over the world people will have seen Catholicism's supreme lawgiver setting precedents he knows will be followed. Having restored the old rite to equal standing with the new, he obviously hopes that its more measured approach will inform the way the new rite is celebrated from now on. The choice to use a Latin version of the newer form of mass once again highlights the Pope's emphasis on continuity with tradition, rather than rupture, and his view that Latin remains something of a universal lingua franca.
Last but not least, there has been a long-running dispute over the most appropriate means of receiving communion, whether on the tongue or in the hand. Though to hostile observers this will seem an argument over nothing, at its core is the question of whether communion in the hand risks subverting a sense of the real presence and promotes the modernist misconception that mass is merely a community meal.

The Pope has often said that sudden changes in what is allowed in church are needlessly disruptive and distressing. Catholic viewers will have noted on Christmas Eve that distribution in the hand was permitted, particularly with all those cantankerous, grabby older nuns who project the attitude that it's their God-given right. However, everyone in the queue that was privileged to be given communion by the Pope received the host on the tongue, no doubt by prior arrangement. Pluralism still prevails perforce but it's safe to say there's now an officially preferred method of communicating. The modernist conventions ushered in after VaticanII, which seemed so well entrenched even three years ago, are falling like ninepins.

Iowa Trappists expand casket factory

I thought this was a cool article here at Iowa Trappists expand casket factory due to increased demand. We find among other interesting tidbits that they are the "official casket of the University of Notre Dame".

Here is their web site.

A Meditation on The Feast of Innocents

TOday is the Feast of the Holy Innocents. I thought Fighting Irish Thomas had a good post here that is worth reading as we remember them on this day here at The Blood of the Young Innocents .

Iraqis Hope to Restore Patristic-era church

Tip of the hat to Way of the Fathers blog for this very interesting and important article Ancient church awaits restoration in Iraq desert.

Iraqis determined to restore ancient Al-Aqiser church - 1,500 years old - to past glory.
AIN TAMUR, Iraq - No-one celebrated Christmas in Al-Aqiser church on Tuesday, for what many consider to be the oldest eastern Christian house of worship lies in ruins in a windswept Iraqi desert.
But 1,500 years ago, the first eastern Christians knelt and prayed in this barren land, their faces turned towards Jerusalem.
The remains of Al-Aqiser church lie in the windswept sand dunes of Ain Tamur, around 70 kilometres (40 miles) southwest of the Shiite shrine city of Karbala, forgotten by most.
But some Iraqis are determined to restore the ancient edifice to its past glory.
"It is a place of worship, a church, and without doubt, the oldest church of the East," said Hussein Yasser, the head of the antiquities department of the province of Karbala.
"According to our research, it was build 120 years before the emergence of Islam in the region," Yasser said.
In time, Karbala overshadowed it and became a key Muslim Shiite pilgrimage destination, while across the region Christian communities began to recede.
Deserted by its worshippers, Al-Aqiser slowly sank into the sands and would have been totally forgotten had it not been for a team of Iraqi archeologists who stumbled on its ruins in the 1970s.
The foundations of the church jut out of the desert, forming a perfect rectangle 75 metres (yards) long by 15 metres wide.
The nave is clearly visible as well as the central part around the altar where masses were celebrated.
"The church was built facing Jerusalem," said Yasser, who has been struggling since 1993 to attract funds and interest to restore the church and carry out excavations in the area.
His efforts were briefly rewarded some years ago when the authorities agreed to finance a brief excavation that lasted six months.
The work revealed an archway which he believes probably belonged to an underground crypt, bearing inscriptions in Syriac -- the language spoken by the first Christians.
"I am sure there is a city underneath the sand," said Yasser, a Shiite Muslim.
"Even then the city was known as Ain Tamur and stood at a major trading junction between Persia, the Arabian peninsula and the Roman empire," he added.
"There used to be a vast lake. People made their livelihood from fishing," he said, adding that the site was more archeologically, than religiously, significant.
A sand embankment indicates the location of the outer walls that protected the church, and Yasser is convinced that the uneven terrain that surrounds the church hides a wealth of archeological evidence.
"There are certainly houses beneath it all, and inside I am sure we can find cooking utensils, inscriptions," he said.
In the past Catholic Chaldeans, the largest single Christian denomination in Iraq who follow an eastern rite but recognise the Pope in Rome, used to pray in Al-Aqiser on Christmas Day but the faithful have not returned in a long time.
The church "is part of out country's memory, part of the great civilisation that the Iraqis have built and it must be saved," said Yasser.
Ain Tamur police chief Mahfoud al-Tamimi said he agreed that Al-Aqiser must be saved.
"The church does not belong to the Christians only or to the Muslims. It belongs to the world," Tamimi said.
"The world must help us save it," he said, calling for the church to be added to UNESCO's world heritage site list.

I so agree. This seems like something we should all get behind

Louisiana ExPat Columnist Helps Get a Louisiana Guy to Come Home

Go see Capt. Crunchy gets results.
Perhaps Mr Dreher will leave the big city of Dallas and come work for the Adovcate, The Shreveport Times, or the Daily Town Talk. Well we can dream :)

Wow I just Love This 1962 Missal -Part II

A few days ago I was ranting on about my Christmas Present at Wow I just Love This 1962 Missal . I am talking about The Daily Missal 1962 from Baronius Press.

As I mentioned this Missal has lot of stuff not related to extraordinary form of the Latin Rite Liturgy. I was looking at the back part of the missal and discovered something great. That is a Proper of Feasts for Saints that are honored in England, Wales, and Scotland.

Now what struck me was this. Why in Heavens name do I not know so many of these great Saints that are a part of our Catholic Patrimony? I am assuming that many of this pre reformation saints are part of the current American Anglican calender.It is sort of odd that as a Country birthed from Mother England that we do not know them more as Catholics. Perhaps this all deals with the waves of immigration.

There is also many Reformation Catholic Saints that I was not aware of. Now one would think that in Louisiana some of these Saints would be more well known. Especially since the Cajuns got here because they would not take a similar Oath of Supremacy Clause. Perhaps the French just didn't like the English whether they were Catholic or not.

I should note that my Church in North Louisiana is an exception. It's name is St Margarets. Who was Queen and Patron of Scotland and whose Feast day is celebrated on Nov 16th. Bishop Greco who established this Church knew what he was doing. I am in a very Protestant area of Louisiana. However many of the descendants here are from Scot/Irish stock. I think I will make more of a effort to have our Parish to pray to St Margaret and ask her to send the descendants of her former subjects to our RCIA class

Co-chair of Romney's Florida campaign endorses Huckabee

Goodness it is like a sinking ship.
Huckabee picked up a surprise endorsement standing on a podium at Orlando Executive Airport.
Former state Sen. Dick Langley, who had been a co-chair of Romney's Florida campaign, ripped a Romney sticker off his lapel and replaced it with one of Huckabee's.
"I just couldn't figure out where Mitt stood," Langley said to applause from the crowd. "I had to have somebody that I could know where he stood, with the right values for this country and for a future for this country.

Full story here.

Huckabee supports refrain from gloating. Governor Romney should be lauded for putting his hat in the political race. We should now be positioning our selves to get Romney supporters on the Huckabee bandwagaon.

A New York TImes Reporter Gets Huckabee and His Success

One more Huckabee post for the night. Of course the night is about to end in a hour :).

I was struck by this NYT Blog piece called Mitt and Mike: A Tale of Two States.

I am often amazed that conservative pundits and left pundits don't get Huckabee. They don't get his appeal. I think much of that comes from the lack of understanding of Arkansas itself. That is quite something in itself. One would think after 8 years of Bill Clinton people would have a more sophisticated view of the politics, culture, and diversity of Arkansas.

I am from Louisiana but live very close to the Arkansas line. The diversity of Arkansas even in the southern regions is something. In many ways it mirrors North Louisiana. A region that even many South Louisiana politicians wrongly think after all these years is one monolithic cultural and political blob. Of course nothing could be further from the truth.

On the whole it draws an interesting comparison between Romney and Huckabee and I think it is right on. For Republicans that want to win in 08 I think they should read the whole thing. However let me post this part:

Arkansas’ legacy is, if anything, the opposite. When a single, backwoods state produces legendary orators like William Fulbright, Dale Bumpers, David Pryor and, of course, Bill Clinton, you have to ask yourself what’s in those hog lots and whether it’s contagious. I expect it has more to do with simple geography. Perfectly situated between the Mississippi and the Missouri, Arkansas, like war-time Belgium, is a small strip of land besieged by the ideologies of its neighbors: farm-belt progressivism, Southern conservatism, Western anti-establishmentism. It takes a powerful gift to negotiate and subdue these disparate cultural strains, and that gift is the ability to tell a riveting story. Huckabee may not be the intellectual equal of some of his predecessors, but he comes from a long line of instinctive and emotive politicians who know how to make an argument stick.

Let me add to that a very dynamic and progressive business culture in the northwestern part of the state. It is not easy being Governor of Arkansas. The fact that Huckabee could speak and indeed unite these different groups and strains of political thought is significant. That is as important as his ability to "tell a story".

Senator Brownback Calls Huckabee "authentic conservative"

I found this very significant article online. Brownback not surprised by Huckabee's surge.

Before I decided to support Governor Huckabee, I was torn between him and Brownback and McCain. In the end it came down between Brownback and Huckabee and I chose Huckabee.

I have the greatest repect in the world for Senator Brownback. I should also add that many Catholics and espcially converts too note of his run. Brownback like Huckabee is a man that had appeal to both Catholics and Evangelicals of a political conservative and moderate mindset . This article should be circulated. Especially to Catholic voters.


Former Republican presidential candidate Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) is commending former GOP rival Mike Huckabee for his rise in the polls, calling him "an authentic conservative."

Brownback says his short-lived bid for the White House was a "fantastic experience" that allowed to him to get to know the country better and realize again that "you cannot micromanage America and you shouldn't try." He says time on the campaign trail re-instilled his belief that America needs to "rebuild the family," which he argues is "hurting."
While still in the race, Brownback was competing aggressively with former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee for the support of social conservatives. But Huckabee's surging poll numbers do not surprise the Kansas Republican. Brownback says when he first entered the race he had trouble with name recognition. "When I first announced I was running and people were saying, you know, 'what's that guy's name again, Brownback?' You know they would do that on Huckabee, too. 'Hucklebee, Huckle-what?'" he says.
However, he says he did see a need for a strong, authentic conservative, and he says he knew the electorate was out there that could vote in a candidate like that. Brownback says Huckabee's challenge after securing the social conservative base is to build support among economic conservatives, which he believes will be a more difficult task for the former Arkansas governor. Brownback, who has endorsed fellow Senator John McCain (R-Arizona), expects the GOP race to remain fluid through at least January.
When asked about Huckabee's controversial Christmas ad, which allegedly features a "floating cross," Brownback said all he saw was a bookshelf. He says people need to get over it, and that he does not feel Huckabee was trying to send a subliminal message in order to impose his evangelical Christian beliefs on Americans.
However, Bill Donohue of the Catholic League argues that the Huckabee ad was intended to "give the appearance of the cross" and was inappropriately "injecting religion into politics."

Troops Celebrate Christmas In Saddam's Old Palace

The Pink Flamingo has such a good link here. This article also points out that WOT is truly a global mission.
Listening from the second floor was Sgt. 1st Class Rodrigo Fernandez, who formerly was stationed with the Military Police unit on Fort Huachuca.To him it was the music wafting up from the first floor that was enjoyable.And, what was the best was the Royal Tonga Marine Choir, who sang a number of songs, all a cappella (which means unaccompanied by musical instruments), under the direction of Cpl. Steve Mikaele.“Tonga is 99.9 percent Christian,” he said of the Pacific island kingdom.Singing is a Polynesian tradition, he said.“We sing in church, everywhere,” Mikaele said.Some consider the Tonga singers to be the “Welsh of the Pacific.” People from Wales are also noted for their vocal capabilities.The choir had three top tenors and a strong bass section and ended their part of the service, after singing a half-dozen songs in their native language, by performing “The Little Drummer Boy,” in English. Tonga was once part of the British Empire and is a member of the Commonwealth.The Tonga Royal Marine Choir brought the audience to its feet in a long standing ovation when they were done.These marines provide security and other services at Camp Victory.

Louisiana Catholic Blogger Roundup For Dec 27

The Louisiana Catholic Blogsphere as I thought is not posting a lot this week. Christmas week is a busy time to say the least. However this is the roundup for today

Catholic Underground, the Louisiana Catholic Podcast to the World, has their new episode up here at CU Special: Lessons and Antiphons. They also have their shownotes for the episode here at Lessons and Antiphons 2007 Shownotes

Alive and Young has a post up called March for Life: Help for Teens

Maudie in Mandeville has a post of a political nature up called Maudie's 'Fair Tax and 7th grade math'

Footprints on the Fridge has a post up called Is it still Christmas?

We end with the Brown Pelican Society has two links up today.
TODAY'S GOSPEL AND MEDITATION - Eager Heart
TODAY'S SAINT - St. John the Apostle

Latin Mass Unites not Divides- A real Life Example

I was really struck by an article in the California Catholic Daily.That is “This proves that prayer does work”-Return of traditional Latin Mass brings harmony to once deeply divided parish.

I think many people including Pope Benedict realized this. In the end this is the expression of Latin Rite Liturgy under two forms. I can't help but note that there have been several articles like this recently from Priest of a more "liberal" bent that see this in the proper understanding. That is a pastoral need of a part of their congregation.

I shall quote the article in full.

A stormy and divisive two years at St. Mary’s by the Sea in Huntington Beach appears to be coming to an end now that Bishop Tod Brown has approved the return of the Tridentine Latin Mass to the Orange County parish. Today marks the fourth consecutive Sunday that a traditional noon Mass in Latin has been celebrated at St. Mary’s by Norbertine priests from nearby St. Michael’s Abbey.

Turnout has been near capacity. Since the 2004 retirement of Fr. Daniel Johnson as pastor of St. Mary’s by the Sea, the parish has been mired in a very public controversy that drew attention in the secular press. Traditionally-minded parishioners found themselves at loggerheads with their bishop after he withdrew his indult for the Tridentine Mass upon Fr. Johnson’s retirement. But after Pope Benedict XVI issued his Motu Proprio, Summorum Pontificum, in July allowing more widespread celebration of the Latin Mass used by the Church for centuries, an unexpected sense of harmony has returned to the once deeply divided parish. St. Mary’s parishioner Ann Erwin says the traditional Latin Mass had been scheduled to resume in September, but was delayed because parish administrator Fr. Martin Tran was sent to Vietnam to teach at a seminary for two months.

“The bishop decided that, rather than start without him, we would wait for the first Sunday of Advent,” she explained. A rumor that the parish might use readings from the Novus Ordo Mass in the celebration of the Latin Mass brought consternation from some traditionalists, but the rumor proved to be false, Erwin said. “We are using the readings from the 1962 Missal. Una Voce, they are loaning us our Mass booklets until we get our own, and translations of the Propers for each Sunday.” Parishioner Rachel Turicchi said the traditional Latin Mass was sorely missed. “We are extremely blessed that the Holy Father came out with the edict that all priests could celebrate this Mass,” she said. “It’s also great for the young people who haven’t grown up with it to know that there was another Mass in the history of the Church.”

Fr. Tran, who at one time appeared to be acting as Bishop Brown’s enforcer by denouncing kneeling at Mass, is now learning the older rite. Turicchi said she is not surprised: “I think that this proves that prayer does work.” Associate pastor, Fr. Eamon Mackin, is learning the traditional rite as well. Many parishioners left St. Mary’s when the indult was lifted in 2004, a lot of them going to the unauthorized chapel Our Lady Help of Christians in Garden Grove. One of those who left was Charles Erpenbeck, but he’s now back at St. Mary’s. “Fr. Johnson always told me it was better to stay with Rome,” he said. “I thought for a while that maybe I knew better than he did, but Our Lady Help of Christians just wasn’t attached to Rome. As much as I may not like the bishop, that’s the hierarchy that the Church has. And from a financial point of view, it’s meant a lot to the parish in terms of revenue.” High Mass is sung every Sunday at St. Mary’s by the Sea, except on the last Sunday of each month, when a Low Mass is celebrated.

Reconciliation and meeting the pastoral needs of the Body of Christ. I think this is a article that stands in nice contracts to the National Catholic Reporter Editorial I posted earlier today. THe Body of Christ no longer divided on the local level. Is that something we should not celebrate?

So Bush Was Right In the Stem Cell Debate?

The Stem Cell debate in this country was often framed as politics getting in the way of science. In a way that is true but not in the way that it was proclaimed. The politics were often "look at George Bush pandering to the religious idiots" etc etc. Many bloggers spent a good couple of years just trying to clarify that Bush and others were not against all forms of Stem cell research.

Vox Nova has a great piece and and link to a must read article at the post “Stem Cells and the President”. I often state that conservatives of all stripes have not appreciated Bush as they should. They have gotten 75 percent of what they wanted and loudly proclaimed that as insufficient. President Bush here took a hard stance that was not popular with some and he was lampooned . However I expect many conservative critics of Bush will let this go and become a footnote in history without saluting Bush on his courage. There were others but as the article points out it was not always the Republican congress. Here is an excerpt:
Democrats sought to use the stem-cell issue to their advantage, and succeeded. Over the next years, to spectacular fundraising effect, the party would tout its vehement opposition to Bush’s policy. In 2006, a close Senate race in Missouri tilted decisively toward the Democrats after the airing of an emotionally affecting television advertisement featuring the actor Michael J. Fox, who suffers from Parkinson’s disease and who attacked the Republican candidate for his retrograde position on the matter. That victory in Missouri was a key factor in the Democratic takeover of the Senate from the GOP in November. When Democratic Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi assumed control of the House of Representatives in early 2007, she declared that undoing the Bush policy was one of her top priorities.
For their part, Republicans have mostly remained in a defensive crouch on the issue, and have tried to avoid discussing it at all. But Bush himself has never wavered, and last year he even used the first two vetoes of his tenure to repel congressional attempts to override the policy.
And then, in November 2007, something remarkable happened. Two of the world’s leading scientific journals, Cell and Science, published findings from researchers in the United States and Japan demonstrating a technique that allows, without the destruction of human embryos, the creation of stem cells identical to those taken from human embryos. The significance of the innovation was undeniable. George Daly, a researcher at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute, called it “just a spectacular, spectacular advance. It will change everyone’s thinking about the field.” Ian Wilmut, the Scottish researcher who became famous for his role in cloning Dolly the sheep a decade ago, told the Daily Telegraph he would no longer pursue cloning to produce stem cells, making use instead of this new and wholly uncontroversial method.

What makes this article so interesting is that it is an inside account of what was going on in the White House. I was struck by this part-
If our meetings with scientists and advocates were memorable, our discussions of the moral issues were disturbing and haunting. One session involved the bioethicist LeRoy Walters from Georgetown University; another was with John Mendelsohn, the head of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Texas. During a meeting with several participants, the President laid out a series of moral challenges. For example, if an embryo was going to be destroyed anyway, was it not appropriate, perhaps even desirable, to use its stem cells to save other human lives? In response, one person asked whether, on the same grounds, it should not be considered equally acceptable to extract organs from a death-row inmate moments before his execution; after all, society had already decided that he had forfeited his right to live. Another suggested that federal funding might have the unintended consequence of creating financial incentives that would encourage the creation of frozen embryos in order to destroy them.
A few days later, I brought into the Oval Office my copy of Brave New World, Aldous Huxley’s 1932 anti-utopian novel, and as I read passages aloud imagining a future in which humans would be bred in hatcheries, a chill came over the room. “We’re tinkering with the boundaries of life here,” Bush said when I finished. “We’re on the edge of a cliff. And if we take a step off the cliff, there’s no going back. Perhaps we should only take one step at a time.”

Good Read!!!

National Catholic Reporter Slams Pope and his Views On Liturgy

Sigh!!! I would love to see the circulation numbers of the bastion of American liberal Catholicism. I bet since I became aware of this publication when I converted the numbers have been on a downward slide. Anyhow they slam the Pope which is no surprise in their latest Editorial.

Father Z has the article plus his great commentary at NCR: another editorial whine about Pope Benedict and liturgy

Benazir Bhutto Killed In Suicide Attack

I hate to say it but I thought this was just a matter of time. For over a year the forces of terror have started to realize the jig is up in Iraq. They have been slowly been their forces back into the Pakistan/Afghan region. The US largely unnoticed has been up ticking our efforts there.

AJ has the latest at Benazir Bhutto Killed In Suicide Attack.

Needless to say Pakistan is one of our number one priorities. A radical Govt with nuclear weapons is something I can not even imagine.

How One Person Can Make a Difference at Mass

I was very struck this story by "Et tu?" about her first Midnight Mass. Go see her entry Saving Christmas . OF course this attitude this stranger no doubt provides benefits out there in the world in a million ways.

Louisiana Catholic Update FOr Dec 26th

It is time to start the Louisiana Catholic Update again. Many Bloggers were busy so I put it in hiatus for the past few days because of the holidays.

Catholic Tube has updated since the 23rd but he has a real fun vid a few days ago I wish to highlight. GO see Men in Black which he describes here as :who ever said priests don’t have any fun!!! What a lie! Here is the promo video for our annual Men In Black basketball game. Priests, deacons and seminarians vs. high school students from different parishes in the Diocese.

From The Recamier like many bloggers has not been updating as much this week because of company. However she had a nice update here for Dec 24th. As usual she has ton of historical stuff. I thought this was interesting:
On this date in history, in 1777 Captain John Cook discovered the island of Kiritimati in the Pacific. (Cook had named it Christmas Island; Kiritimati is the Gilbertese spelling of Christmas, pronounced kee-rees-mass.) In 1818 the hymn “Stille Nacht” (”Silent Night”) was composed by Franz Xaver Gruber and Josef Mohr. (It is believed that the carol has been translated into over 300 languages and dialects around the world, and it is one of the most popular carols of all time. It is sometimes sung without musical accompaniment. Although written by Catholics, it is given special significance in Lutheranism.) And in 1914 on the front lines during World War I, English and German troops near Ypres, Belgium suspended hostilities during the “Christmas Truce”. (”Stille Nacht” (”Silent Night”) was sung simultaneously in English and German by the troops, as it was one of the few carols that soldiers on both sides of the front line knew.)

Catholic UnderGround that is the Louisiana Catholic based podcast has their Christmas message up

The Brown Pelican Society of course has their usual abundance of links and news we need to know. Since I am on my slow dial up computer today I will not post the individual links. But be sure to check them out today.

Full Circle has a entry on Adding Personal and Family content to Facebook

Cajun Cottage Under the Oaks first has a beautiful new header up. See her Christmas letter at My Christmas Letter . Check out her post My Christmas Prayers , A Quiet Christmas Eve, and lots of pics here at A Gibson Christmas.

Looking at the Birds and Considering the Lilies has a very nice Christmas post here at O magnum mysterium

Huckabee Goes Hunting In Iowa

Well it is the day after Christmas and Huckabee is out there on the "trail" in a very literal way. That is the hunting trail. He was out there Hunting early this morning. This is a amusing report of it from a reporters point of view.

The major thing that has surprised me is the lack of focus on the NRA and the gun issue on the campaign. I truly believe that this will be big. McCain is till battling his support and getting the Campaign Finance Reform bill through. SOmething anethama to the NRA and its supporters. Rudy for goddness sake ok suing Gun manufactors!! How in the heck will that play among gun owners. ROmeny will also have problems.

THe media often talks about the support of abortion by Romney and Rudy as being problems for many Conservatives. I agree with that to a certain extent. However in the SOuth and portions of the North and West the gun issue will be huge.

The "Club Against Huckabee" about to Spend More Money

Bryon York , who is one of the few that thinks the Club for Growth manic obession with Huckabee is odd, reports:

The Club Against Huckabee [Byron York]
Today the Club for Growth.net chipped in an additional $175,000 for anti-Huckabee TV ads in Iowa – bringing to $550,000 the total it has spent trying to stop Huckabee in just the last three weeks. (The Club also spent a good bit of money hitting Huckabee in the run-up to the Ames Straw Poll in August.) The new ad buy will run on broadcast TV and statewide cable in Iowa, and on cable in South Carolina.
12/26 02:51 PM

Of course the Club For Growth has been attacking Huckabee since he was not even a blip in the polls. The reason is a Arkansas Billionare that funds much of this is still upset over a spat they had when he was Governor. Hopefully the true reasons for the dLub for Growths distortions of Huckabee's record will be become more known nationwide soon.

Augustine Was Very Devoted To St Stephen

I have posted earlier Pope Benedict's thoughts on St Stephen who we honor today. The Way of the Fathers has a few thoughts on St Stephen from St Augustine.

The Pope's Day After Christmas Angelus

It is the day after Christmas and thus the day after quite a full busy days for the Pope and staff. However no taking the day off it appears and watching some ESPN sportscenter for the Holy Father. There was no Wednesday Genral Audience but the Pope did appear and talk on the Feast of St. Stephen which is today of course. Thanks to the Ratzinger Forum for the translation.

Dear brothers and sisters!
The day after Christmas, the liturgy celebrates the 'birth in heaven' of the first Christian martyr, St. Stephen. 'Filled with faith and the Holy Spirit' (Acts 6,5), he was chosen as a deacon by he community if Jerusalem, along with six other disciples who had a Greek education.

With the power given to him by God, Stephen performed many miracles and announced the Gospel in the synagogues with "inspired wisdom.' He was stoned at the gates of the city and died, like Jesus, invoking forgiveness for his executioners (Acts 7,59-60).

The profound link that united Christ to his first martyr Stephen was divine charity: the same love that made the Son of God strip himself and be obedient up to dying on the Cross (cfr Phil 2,6-8) later impelled the Apostles and other martyrs to give their life for the Gospel. It is necessary always to note this distinctive characteristic of Christian martyrdom: it is exclusively an act of love, for God and for men, including their persecutors. That is why today, in the Holy Mass, we prayed to the Lord to teach us to "love even our enemies as Stephen did, who, in dying, prayed for his persecutors" (Collect prayer).

How many sons and daughters of the Church, in the course of centuries, have followed his example! From the first persecutions in Jerusalem, to those of the Roman emperors, down to the ranks of martyrs in our time. In fact, it is not rare that even today, we get news from various parts of the world about missionaries, priests, bishops, religious and lay faithful, who are persecuted, imprisoned, tortured, deprived of freedom or prevented from exercising freedom because they are disciples of Christ and apostles of the Gospel. And some suffer and die because of their communion with the universal Church and loyalty to the Pope.

In the encyclical letter Spe salvi (cfr par. 37), recalling the experience of the Vietnamese martyr Paul Le Bao Thin, I note how suffering is transformed to joy through the strength of hope which comes from faith. The Christian martyr, like Christ, and through union with him, "accepts the Cross and death in his most intimate being, transforming these into an act of love. That which is brutal violence seen from the outside becomes interiorly an act of completely self-giving love. Thus, violence is transformed to love, and death to life" (Homily at Marienfeld, Cologne, Aug. 20, 2005).

The Christian martyr actualizes the victory of love over hate and death. Let us pray for those who suffer because of their loyalty to Christ and his Church. Most Holy Mary, Queen of Martyrs, help us to be credible witnesses for the Gospel, replying to our enemies with the disarming force of truth and charity.

In English, he said:

I greet all those present for today’s Angelus. On this Feast of Saint Stephen the Martyr, Christians throughout the world are reminded that those who stand firm with Christ to the end will be saved. Confident of our Lord’s love for us, may we always make a place for him in our hearts and in our lives. During these Christmas days, may God bless you with the saving power of his peace and love.

Note On the Louisiana Catholic Update

Since a good many Louisiana bloggers are out of town are very busy I have not done one this week. I might do one today but I know I will be doing one tomorrow as I shall be on a faster computer. Stay Tuned. I shall post a reminder to say a Chaplet and Rosary for Astonished Yet at Home(Toby) dad later today

Wow I just Love This 1962 Missal

My Pa Pa gave me some money for Christmas so I decided to buy a Roman Missa l(1962 ed). A strange purchase perhaps though because we have no extraordinary mass on the horizon in my Diocese. In fact at this point I am just hoping we get a Bishop soon.

However, I do wish to try to be active in having the older for effecting the "new" and who knows. It is likely I will be in a position to go to a Extraoridnary Form of the Mass on a regualar basis in the years to come. I also want to learn Church Latin.

First this is the book I "un wrapped" this morning. The Daily Missal 1962 from Baronius Press. It is as you can see very nice. I now realize that I shall get a lot more use out of this Missal than I realized. About 100 pages of the Missal before you even get to the Mass is just stuffed with all the traditional prayers of the Catholic faith. What is cool about this Missal is that those of course have been updated. We see this as to the indulgences that are mentioned. However some have been added. Like the additional mysteries of the Rosary. THe Chaplet of Divine Mercy etc etc. I love the section morning and evening prayers. However it's section on preparation and prayers for communion and confession are great. One wonders why I have not seen such a extensive selection in Missals I have for the regular form. So I intend to take this Missal with me to Mass with me on a regular basis.

Midnight Mass Held at Ground Zero One Last Time

This seems significant on many levels.

Another Reason TO Enjoy Christmas Time-Lent is Early This Year

I went to morning Christmas Mass this morning and was shocked when I started looking ahead in the Missal. LENT IS VERY EARLY THIS YEAR. Ash Wednesday is like Feb 6th!!! Which means we shall have a very early Easter.

I actually enjoy a early Lent. It seems that the partying and Feasting of Christmastime , followed up by a robust Mardi Gras season of feasting in quick succession is a great thing. Then you go smack dab into Lent not much over a month after Christmas when you think about it.

I think it will be a enjoyable year.

I am going to post this post another Blogger did called 12 Days of Christmas!. The fact that Lent comes so early this year reminds me not only to liturgically celebrate the 12 days but also keep the spirit in a secular way by "feasting" in my own way