Catholic Tradition

Liberty of the Believer has some good points about the link between the Catholics and Tradition (with a capital “T.”)

For all her insistence on doctrinal accuracy concerning matters of faith and morals, [the Church] does not and never has frowned on the luxuriant growth of local customs, imaginative pieties and even legends as long as they do not crowd in upon the essence of her gospel . . .

. . . here in the West, Christians of every stripe sing “We Three Kings” every Christmas and give the names Gaspar, Melchior and Balthasar to the Magi (who number three only in legend). We find our souls nourished by Christmas trees, Advent candles and such sweet stories as “The Other Wise Man” or the Little Drummer Boy. And we find such legendry does no harm to the facts of the gospel. Rather, it is simply an example of the Christian’s perfectly human liberty to tell a good tale, coin a custom and dress out genuine history and theology in the homely cloth of our own woven imaginations . . .

. . . the Church draws a distinction between Tradition and traditions. Tradition (Big T) includes such unalterable items as the canon of Scripture (Scripture, after all, does not say what books constitute the canon so it falls to Tradition to say so), the Trinity, the Resurrection, the hypostatic union, the Real Presence in the Eucharist, the Immaculate Conception and other items of de fide, non-negotiable, dogmatic content.

But small “t” traditions are myriad, and arise not necessarily from the apostolic teaching which the bishops preserve, but from the heart and minds of a thousand cultures and tongues.

Bam

Miracles in Bam, but the devastation is just horrendous:

Rescuers pulled a girl out alive from the rubble of her caved-in house, and three men believed dead stirred in their white burial shrouds.

I wonder how many were actually buried alive.

The United States has, of course, been sending welcome relief services. MSN quotes one man as saying “When our own government cannot help, let the Great Satan help us.”

If you want to contribute, you can do so online.

Decrease the Surplus Population

Despite some disagreement over the cause of this trend, the news is heartening:

Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in its annual tally of birth statistics, announced that the teenage birthrate had declined 30 percent over 10 years to a historic low of 43 births per 1,000. African-American teenagers showed the sharpest declines, down more than 40 percent since 1991. For young black teenagers, from 15 to 17, the rate was half, to 40 births per 1,000 in 2002 from 83.6 per 1,000 in 1991 .

These declines, combined with a decrease in abortions among teenagers, points to a promising trend: fewer teenagers are becoming pregnant. According to the Alan Guttmacher Institute, in women 15 to 19, the pregnancy rate dropped from 11.5 per 1,000 in 1991 to 8.5 in 1999, the latest year with available statistics.

I would credit the abstinence movement, but that is (of course) just my humble Cathlo-conservative opinion.

Yes Yes Yes

South Park Republicans are true Republicans . . . They strongly believe in liberty, personal responsibility, limited government, and free markets . . . They are the millions of people of every age, race, sex, and religion that generally agree that government spending is usually not the best way to deal with the nation’s problems. Many of these individuals can tell you why Ayn Rand should displace some other authors in high school literature classes. They know firsthand from endless hours at the DMV, at the post office, and preparing income tax forms that government wastes time and money. They know a nation cannot tax its way to greatness . . .

I’m not a huge fan of the show, but I am a South Park Republican! Huzzah!

A New Menace

Beware the Evil Scottish Attack Squirrel of Death.

Courtesy of the enigmatic E. Nough.

My Sixth Sense

I see dead people.

Goodbye, Bob Hope, Fred Rogers and Katharine Hepburn.

A Religous Paradox

A weak faith requires a community to sustain it, but a strong faith acknowledges the necessity of a community.

Merry Christmas to all! And to all a good night . . .

Cracking the Christmas Code

better !pout !cry
better watchout
lpr why
santa claus town

cat /etc/passwd >list
ncheck list
ncheck list
cat list | grep naughty >nogiftlist
cat list | grep nice >giftlist
santa claus town

who | grep sleeping
who | grep awake
who | egrep ‘bad|good’
for (goodness sake)
{
be good
}

Thanks for this ultimate Christmas geekiness, Toly.

Top Five Sexiest LOTR Characters

1. Samwise Gamgee
Sam is – hands down – the sweetest, most worthy character in the entirety of Middle-Earth. Without his unwavering loyalty and assistance, Frodo Baggins would have failed in his mission to destroy the One Ring. When he hoists “Mr. Frodo” onto his shoulders to carry him the last few steps up Mount Doom, he truly proves his mettle and nobility. And when combined with the rumpled hair and soulful eyes of Sean Astin . . . yum.

2. Eomer, son of Eomund
I find the Riders of the Rohirrim to be – all-around – the finest specimens in the world of men: brave, noble, principled and loyal. As the alpha male in this pack, Eomer (as portrayed by Karl Urban) is clearly the most dashing of all. (Oh, to be Lothuriel!)

3. Theoden, King of Rohan
I will admit to not finding the King of Rohan to be anything remarkable when I read the books. Theoden was of noble birth and disposition, a unifying force for his people and the brave and respected leader of his men. But upon seeing the portrayal by Bernard Hill, with his subtleties and complexities, I began to see Theoden in a new light. Like his nephew, he embodies the qualities of honor and heightened principle that make the male species so attractive.

4. Faramir, son of Denethor
In contrast to Theoden, I found Faramir to be less sexy in the movie than I found him in the book. This is certainly not the fault of David Wenham, but the script. Still, enough of the uncorrupted and noble soul of Faramir remained in the cinematic rendition to make him a man to be desired.

5. Aragorn (a.k.a. Strider), King of Gondor
The King himself was a profound disappointment to me. I fell completely and helplessly in love with the literary Aragorn, a king in everything but pride. Unfortunately, I don’t much care for Viggo Mortensen‘s particular choice of soapbox, and that colours my entire view of the Aragorn of the screen. Still, I must include Strider, if only for the sake of sentiment. I would hate to think my heart was that fickle.

It Is As It Was

My excitement is rising to a fever pitch over The Passion of Christ.

The Pope liked it!!