Friday, May 15th, 2009
Daily Archive
Blessed Andrew Abellon (1375-1450)
Posted by Fr. Aquinas on 15 May 2009 | Tagged as: Dominican Saints, Liturgical Feasts
My life is at the service of the Gospel;
God has given me this gift of his grace, alleluia.
From the Dominican Ordo:
Blessed Andrew was born in 1375 at Saint Maximin, France, and received the habit at the priory of St. Mary Magdalen there. He was outstanding for his teaching, for his preaching throughout Provence, and for his zeal in restoring regular observance. In addition he exercised his talents as an artist in many of the Dominican churches of southern France. He died at Aix-en-Provence on May 15, 1450.
Click here for more on the life of Blessed Andrew.
God of all truth,
you chose Blessed Andrew to preach the gospel of peace
and to promote the regular life.
by the help of his prayers
may we devote ourselves to proclaiming the faith
and bearing the yoke of Christ with fidelty.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.
Blessed Giles of Portugal (1184-1265)
Posted by Fr. Aquinas on 15 May 2009 | Tagged as: Dominican Saints, Liturgical Feasts
God’s word is alive; it strikes to the heart.
It pierces more surely than a two-edged sword, alleluia.
From the Dominican Ordo:
Blessed Giles was born at Vouzella, near Coimbra, Portugal, about the year 1184. Although destined for a church career by his father, Giles was more attracted by medicine which he studied and taught through the intervention of the Blessed Virgin. He entered the newly-founded Order of Preachers at Valencia around 1224 and became a celebrated preacher and an able superior. Noted for his humble service to his brethren, he died at Santarem on May 14, 1265.
Click here, here, and here for more on the life of Blessed Giles, including several rumors and legends that still cling to his memory.
Merciful God,
you drew Blessed Giles back
to a life of justice and holiness.
Draw us away from our sins
and lead us to the fullness of freedom and life.
We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, forever and ever. Amen.
Word to Life – May 15, 2009
Posted by Fr. Aquinas on 15 May 2009 | Tagged as: Word to Life
Click below to hear this afternoon’s discussion of the readings for the Sixth Sunday of Easter. Joining me on the air were Fr. Dominic Legge, OP, and Fr. Paul Keller, OP.
“Word to Life” airs live every Friday afternoon at 1:00 PM Eastern on The Catholic Channel, Sirius 159 and XM 117.
Gallup Poll: Majority is “Pro-Life”
Posted by Fr. Aquinas on 15 May 2009 | Tagged as: Miscellaneous
Earlier today, Gallup released it’s latest “Pro-Life/Pro-Choice” poll. For the first time since Gallup debuted the poll in 1995, a majority of respondents labeled themselves “Pro-Life.”
Advocates on both sides of the issue will debate the merits of this poll, but the graph above seems to confirm one thing—when abortion becomes an issue of national political interest, opinions tilt “Pro-Life.”
For example, look at the two most significant shifts to the “Pro-Life” stance. They occur between 1995 and 1998, and again between 2008 and 2009. In the first instance, abortion became a national issue when Congress passed two separate laws banning partial-birth abortion (in 1995 and 1997), both of which were vetoed by President Clinton. As you will remember, the debate was fierce, but in the end few could deny the barbarity of the procedure. In the second instance, last year’s presidential campaign again brought abortion into the national spotlight, and this exposure has continued since Inauguration Day as significant shifts have taken place in executive policy regarding abortion. Currently, national attention is focused on the use of public funds for the procedure, as well as on the uncertain future of conscience protections now enjoyed by medical professionals who object to abortion. In both cases, prolonged national attention seems to have caused measurable shifts in the public’s attitudes toward abortion.
Also worth noting is the first time to two lines of the graph intersect. In the middle of 2001, the poll registered an equal number of respondents on each side of the issue. At the time, the nation was engaged in a prolonged debate over the use of embryonic stem cells in medical experimentation, and whether public funds should be used for such research. Again, it seems that when the dignity of human life becomes a national issue, significant though not overwhelming shifts take place in public opinion toward the defense of life.
Of course, a poll is just a poll. But trends are read by both sides to help determine future action. And in this regard, the Pro-Life cause has reason to hope and to continue its important witness.
The New York Times Review of “Angels and Demons”
Posted by Fr. Aquinas on 15 May 2009 | Tagged as: Miscellaneous
Today’s New York Times features A. O Scott’s review of “Angels and Demons” (posted below). Brilliantly written and highly entertaining, Scott confirms what many have already concluded. Enjoy.
Holy Mystery! Mayhem at the Vatican
By A. O. SCOTT
Published: May 15, 2009
Since “Angels & Demons” takes place mainly in the Vatican, and is festooned with the rites and ornaments of Roman Catholicism, I might as well begin with a confession. I have not read the novel by Dan Brown on which this film (directed, like its predecessor, “The Da Vinci Code,” by Ron Howard) is based. I have come to believe that to do so would be a sin against my faith, not in the Church of Rome but in the English language, a noble and beleaguered institution against which Mr. Brown practices vile and unspeakable blasphemy.
And it was partly, perhaps, because I chose to remain innocent of the book that I was able to enjoy “Angels & Demons” more than “The Da Vinci Code,” which opened almost exactly three years ago to an international critical hissy fit and global box office rapture. (The novel “Angels & Demons “was published three years before “The Da Vinci Code.”)
This movie, without being particularly good, is nonetheless far less hysterical than “Da Vinci.” Its preposterous narrative, efficiently rendered by the blue-chip screenwriting team of Akiva Goldsman and David Koepp, unfolds with the locomotive elegance of a Tintin comic or an episode of “Murder, She Wrote.” Mr. Howard’s direction combines the visual charm of mass-produced postcards with the mental stimulation of an easy Monday crossword puzzle. It could be worse.
The only people likely to be offended by “Angels & Demons” are those who persist in their adherence to the fading dogma that popular entertainment should earn its acclaim through excellence and originality. It is therefore not surprising that the public reaction so far has been notably calm. Theological hyperventilation has been minimal, and Columbia Pictures has not been accused of falsifying the history or corrupting the morals of Western civilization.