Safe Haven

Mark Shea has it covered. That Dennett guy is obviously up to something. It seems like people are just choosing for themselves more. [The Catholic Church wins that every time.--ed.] That's what I was thinking. [Evangelicals are growing.--ed.] Yeah, Dukeman and his cronies pointed that out. Those dudes make great Catholics. Two words about polling, too: Jimmy Carter. Just do what we do.

That was a TV movie? Sheesh. They don't make 'em like that anymore. No wonder Hepburn didn't win another Oscar; they don't do that for TV. If they did...yeah. I'm sure someone somewhere thinks Katharine Hepburn is overrated, but that person is obviously insane. [You like Tom Cruise. Why should anyone care what you think about acting?--ed.] I love Tom Cruise. He's the most absurdly underrated actor of all time, and nobody realizes it, because 1. He's been obscenely successful financially; 2. he's kind of a weirdo in some ways; and 3. he's also been a sex symbol, and people don't actually think you can be good at acting if you are sexy. It's still easier for guys, but it's still true. Why do I think Tom is so good? He's never in the way. Whether he's carrying an action flick, or playing something of a second fiddle to an older/better actor ( Rain Man , Days of Thunder ), he does what he does. I haven't even seen Born on the Fo...

If you did the morning prayer in the Liturgy of the Hours this morning, there was that long litany from Daniel, where everything in the universe blesses the Lord. It reminded me of little kids when they pray, thanking God for everything they can think of. Maybe when someone frustrates me, and calls me names, they really just need to be with God, and sent there with a hug from Mom. Past all the big words, the pride and whatever else, we're just little kids. God willing, that's all we will ever be. Kinda resets my morning. How about yours?

I think we're seeing a trend of more active First Ladies. Especially with Democrats, that's to be expected. That bothers people, and we have a much longer tradition of cramming your pie-hole, and reading books to schoolkids. Fair enough. And I would never say that anyone who dares to speak publicly about some issue is beyond criticism, depending on how important that is. Doesn't it seem though that the criticism of Mrs. Obama largely falls in the category of "absurdly over-the-top"? She can't say anything, ever, without it being flagged as part of the great Obama Communist Takeover. Now, I would agree that the president does many things to further this perception. But for Heaven's sake, I can see why Michelle Obama might even say something like, "For the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country." That was some time ago, granted. We have a great basis  of a great society in the principles of our nation, in her Constitution, in the...

Unlike the fictional Ray Kinsella, who kidnaps Terrence Mann (in the book "Shoeless Joe," he's J.D. Salinger) in order to take him to the A's-Red Sox game, God isn't trying to trick us. It's a simple question, really: "Who are you?" Every test in life is a chance to answer that question. We get scared or stressed out at times, and so we do things we normally wouldn't, or so we would hope. Weakness is one thing; identity is quite another. The final judgment is nothing more than the question becoming a statement: "Who You Are." And it'll be final, with no appeals.

SOMETHING IS EATING COMMENTS! I did read them. In fact, my reply is right where you intended to leave yours. The Westminster Confession of Faith is not infallible, obviously. It never claimed to be. And it is not consonant with the teachings of holy mother Church, so in those respects, it cannot be true. I do, however, accord it the respect of being the confessional standard for the balance of the English-speaking Reformed world, even if its authority is "derivative" (and that's not a principled distinction, anyway). However, I do believe that men ought not content themselves with a general repentance, but to repent of particular sins particularly. That's Catholic truth, if I ever heard it. And so, you put this chapter together with XI--read it real close--and then go, "Wut?" because it's a dilemma. If the Father can't see our sin, per chapter XI, he can't mete out consequences for failure to persevere in XV. I think antinomianism is the mo...

This year marks 22 years since Counting Crows debuted their iconic debut album, August And Everything After. I bought it when I was 13, but it still holds up so well. If Rolling Stone sneers that you tried to create something iconic and failed, it means you succeeded. "Every time she sneezes, I believe it's love, and O Lord, I'm not ready for this sort of thing."

I have a friend who is leaving. He goes in obedience, for the sake of the gospel. He isn't simply the son of his parents, the one who hitchhiked/went on pilgrimage across Europe, the one whose infectious joy spreads like wildfire, the one who has distinguished himself academically as a leader among the learned. He is also ontologically changed by having received the sacrament of Holy Orders. He is a figure of Christ among us. In this way, it sounds absurd to say he is my friend. He has given much more to me than I to him, and in an all-too-brief time. And yet, because we share the hope of eternal life, professing the faith of the Apostles, animated by the Holy Spirit's gift of supernatural charity, we are friends indeed, in the deepest possible sense. "There's a loyalty that's deeper than mere sentiment, and a music higher than the songs that I can sing," sang another friend, and he's right. Benson gave us Fr. Percy, and the troubled Fr. Francis to sho...