The New Beginning

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Photos: Prince William, Pt. 2

Britain's Prince William (2nd row R) is pictured with fellow graduates, his father Prince Charles (seated C), and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (seated 5th R), after his graduation ceremony at RAF Cranwell central England April 11, 2008. William received his Royal Air Force wings from Prince Charles on Friday. William, the fourth successive generation of the monarchy to become an RAF pilot, learned to fly on his four-month attachment.

REUTERS/Paul Ellis/Pool (BRITAIN)

Britain's Prince William (standing R) is pictured with fellow graduates, his father Prince Charles (seated C), and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (seated 3rd R), after his graduation ceremony at RAF Cranwell central England April 11, 2008. William received his Royal Air Force wings from Prince Charles on Friday. William, the fourth successive generation of the monarchy to become an RAF pilot, learned to fly on his four-month attachment.

REUTERS/Paul Ellis/Pool (BRITAIN)

Britain's Prince William (R) receives his wings from his father Prince Charles at RAF Cranwell, central England April 11, 2008. William, watched by his girlfriend Kate Middleton, received his Royal Air Force wings from Prince Charles on Friday. William, the fourth successive generation of the monarchy to become an RAF pilot, learned to fly on his four-month attachment.

REUTERS/Paul Ellis/Pool (BRITAIN)

Britain's Prince William (R) smiles as he receives his wings from his father Prince Charles at RAF Cranwell, central England April 11, 2008. REUTERS/Michael Dunlea/Pool

Britain's Prince William (L) smiles as he walks with his girlfriend Kate Middleton at RAF Cranwell, central England April 11, 2008. William received his Royal Air Force wings from Prince Charles on Friday. William, the fourth successive generation of the monarchy to become an RAF pilot, learned to fly on his four-month attachment.

REUTERS/Michael Dunlea/Pool (BRITAIN)

Britain's Prince William, left, walks with his girlfriend Kate Middleton after his graduation ceremony at RAF Cranwell, in Cranwell, England on April 11, 2008. Prince William was presented with his ceremonial pilot's wings Friday by his father Prince Charles, as he graduated as a military pilot and followed in the footsteps of a host of his royal ancestors. The young prince's girlfriend Kate Middleton and his father's wife, Camilla, watched on as William passed out with his class of colleagues.

(AP Photo/Paul Ellis, Pool)

Britain's Prince Charles, center, accompanied by his wife Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, left, talk to his son Prince William, right, after he graduated from the Royal Air Force College at the RAF Cranwell, in Cranwell, northern England, Friday April 11, 2008. The royals pose in front of a RAF airplane which Prince Charles was trained to fly in 1969.

(AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

REUTERS/Paul Ellis/Pool (BRITAIN)

Britain's Prince William poses for the photographers after he graduated from the Royal Air Force College at the RAF Cranwell, in Cranwell, northern England, Friday April 11, 2008. Prince William was presented with his ceremonial pilot's wings Friday by his father Prince Charles, as he graduated as a military pilot and followed in the footsteps of a host of his royal ancestors.

(AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

Britain's Prince William, watches a RAF plane, which his father was trained to fly in 1969, after he graduated from the Royal Air Force College at the RAF Cranwell, in Cranwell, northern England, Friday April 11, 2008. Prince William was presented with his ceremonial pilot's wings Friday by his father Prince Charles, as he graduated as a military pilot and followed in the footsteps of a host of his royal ancestors.

(AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis)

Photos: Prince William, Pt. 1

In this image released by Britain's Ministry of Defence on Friday April 11 2008 Prince William is seen during a training session at RAF Shawbury in Feb 2008. The Prince - an officer in the Household Cavalry regiment - has been following a 'bespoke' shortened course that has included time flying fast propeller planes and helicopters and will receive his RAF 'wings' from his father the Prince of Wales at a graduation ceremony on Friday April 11 2008. Later in the year the second-in-line to the throne will spend time with the Navy.

(AP Photo/ Sgt Graham Sparks, MOD HO)

In this image released by Britain's Ministry of Defence on Friday April 11 2008 Prince William is seen at the controls of a Tucano training aircraft over the Lake District, during a flight from RAF Linton-On-Ouse on Feb 18 2008. The Prince - an officer in the Household Cavalry regiment - has been following a 'bespoke' shortened course that has included time flying fast propeller planes and helicopters and will receive his RAF 'wings' from his father the Prince of Wales at a graduation ceremony on Friday April 11 2008. Later in the year the second-in-line to the throne will spend time with the Navy.

(AP Photo/ Cpl Scott Robertson, MOD HO)

In this image released by Britain's Ministry of Defence on Friday April 11 2008 Prince William is seen at the controls of a Tucano training aircraft over the Lake District, during a flight from RAF Linton-On-Ouse on Feb 18 2008. The Prince - an officer in the Household Cavalry regiment - has been following a 'bespoke' shortened course that has included time flying fast propeller planes and helicopters and will receive his RAF 'wings' from his father the Prince of Wales at a graduation ceremony Friday April 11 2008. Later in the year the second-in-line to the throne will spend time with the Navy.

(AP Photo/ Cpl Scott Robertson, MOD HO)

In this image released by Britain's Ministry of Defence on Friday April 11 2008 Prince William is seen at the controls of a Tucano training aircraft preparing for a flight from RAF Linton-On-Ouse on Feb 18 2008. The Prince - an officer in the Household Cavalry regiment - has been following a 'bespoke' shortened course that has included time flying fast propeller planes and helicopters and will receive his RAF 'wings' from his father the Prince of Wales at a graduation ceremony later on Friday April 11 2008. Later in the year the second-in-line to the throne will spend time with the Navy. (AP Photo/ Sgt Graham Sparks, MOD HO)

Friday, April 11, 2008

Pope Benedict XVI takes a group photo with Cistercian monks in Heiligenkreuz monastery in Heiligenkreuz, Lower Austria in 2007. The monks from a 12th century monastery just outside Vienna have secured a lucrative recording contract with Universal Music, the label for pop stars such as Amy Winehouse and Eminem, a record executive said Wednesday.

(AFP/File/Janek Skarzynski)

post on the abbey and cd; more photos of the Holy Father's visit last year at the official website for the abbey

Some reflections by Anthony Esolen after visiting TAC

The Lonely Libertarian

Richard Wall, A Hegelian at Gettysburg: Woodrow Wilson and the Perfect Union

Richard Wall, A Hegelian at Gettysburg: Woodrow Wilson and the Perfect Union

via CHT

Zenit: Rome's Exorcist Gives Inside Look at Devil

Rome's Exorcist Gives Inside Look at Devil,
Urges Separating Possession From Psychiatric Problems

ROME, APRIL 11, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Some of the mystery surrounding the devil and exorcism is being unveiled in a television and Internet report series, detailing the work of the exorcist of the Diocese of Rome.

Society of St. Paul Father Gabriele Amorth, Rome's exorcist for the past 21 years and a specialist in the figure of Mary, explained in the first edition of the series how he performs exorcisms.

"I go to one of Rome's churches, to a parish that is closed during the day," he said. "There is Mass in the morning and then the church is closed. There I perform the difficult exorcisms. I always work with seven to 10 people who help me, and use a small bed. Sometimes we need to tie people down or simply subdue them."

With Christ, the priest said, it is possible to overcome the devil: "The exorcist acts in the name of Jesus and with the strength that comes from Jesus."

Is he real?

The first question Father Amorth addressed in the report is if the devil exists: "I respond with the words of John Paul II, who was once asked this question: 'Your Holiness, I find many bishop who don't believe in the devil.' And John Paul II responded: 'One who doesn't believe in the devil doesn't believe in the Gospel.'

"The devil is an angel, and therefore, a pure spirit created good by God and who perverted himself because he rebelled against God. Therefore, he maintains all the characteristics proper of a pure spirit, such as a very large intelligence, immensely bigger than ours."

The devil is pleased by the way he is generally represented -- with wings and a tail, horns, as a bat, etc. -- because these images make him seem ridiculous and help people to believe that he does not exist, the exorcist reported.

Medical or spiritual

Father Amorth suggested that diabolic problems be separated from psychiatric ones; and to do so an exorcist is needed in every diocese to help in discernment.

"Normally when a person experiences these conflicts and problems, the first thing he does is see a doctor and psychiatrist," he said. "It is very difficult to distinguish the devil's action from a psychological problem. The person goes to a psychiatrist and after years of therapy obtains no result.

"Then he begins to suspect that the problem is not a natural one and goes to a conjurer from whom he obtains even greater harm. This is what normally happens. At this point, it is possible that someone more experienced in these matters suggests an exorcist."

Our Lady

The exorcist confirmed that Satan's great foe is the Virgin Mary.

He explained: "On one occasion an exorcist friend of mine asked the devil what most hurts him about Our Lady, what most annoys him. He responded, 'That she is the purest of all creatures and that I am the filthiest; that she is the most obedient of all creatures and that I am the most rebellious; that she is the one who committed no sin and thus always conquers me.'"

Father Amorth affirmed that on some occasions, God forces the Prince of Lies to tell the truth, however, the devil's main struggle is to make man fall into sin.

"To lead man towards evil is to make him fall into sin; this is the devil's preferred activity and we are all subject to it from our birth until our death."

According to Father Amorth, Mary is a key figure in the fight against the devil's tricks, especially since she herself was tempted: "Mariology is my field and I have often been asked if Mary was tempted by the devil. Definitely. When? From her birth until her death. But she always triumphed."

Parts of the weekly reports, transmitted in eight languages, can be viewed at H2oNews.

Article on Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy

via NOR: Faithful Canadian Catholic College Thrives amidst Difficulties

Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy - Home

Leslie Cheung and '80s Cantopop

Elisa Chan and Leslie Cheung - Fall in Love - 陳潔靈張國榮誰令你心痴

The Japanese original:
Akiko Kobayashi - Koi ni Ochite - Fall in Love - 小林明子恋におちて

1985名曲-小林明子　恋に落ちて　Akiko Kobayashi

徳永英明 - 恋におちて

徳永英明－恋におちて -Fall in Love-

只怕不再遇上 - 張國榮 & 陳潔靈 (LIVE on TV 1984)

張國榮風繼續吹

張國榮&林憶蓮 - From Now On

張國榮 - 當愛已成往事『霸王別姬』主題曲

Leslie Cheung - Maggie Cheung
Leslie Cheung / Anita Mui
Kenny Bee - Cherie Cheung

I don't think this is from the 80s, but the 90s, but it's ok.
Anita Mui "Years Flowing Like Water" "似水流年"

Liza Wong song

Leslie Cheung 1998 星空下的倾情1/16

1993 哥哥与曼玉谈导演梦

钟楚红专访谈哥哥

Leslie Cheung: Hong Kong Star 1/3 (Documentary) Arte 2007

Leslie Cheung: Hong Kong Star 2/3 (Documentary) Arte 2007

Leslie Cheung: Hong Kong Star 3/3 (Documentary) Arte 2007

A Chinese Ghost Story MV

anita mui - roman tam tribute performance 2003

张国荣30年演绎生涯回顾(娱乐直播)

张国荣与梅艳芳：相隔十七年的《缘份》

In Memory of Leslie Cheung 1956-2003 Part 1

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Bill McKibben, Where Have All the Joiners Gone?

via The Western Confucian:
Where Have All the Joiners Gone?
A declaration of dependence
by Bill McKibben

One, of course, is that the era of cheap fossil fuel may be coming to an end, either because we run out or because we take global warming seriously and seriously cut back. Either way, the massive, invisible, industrialized methods we’ve come to rely on for feeding and clothing and fueling our lives may start to break down.

And the other problem is that we may break down. We weren’t designed to be this distant from our neighbors—we descend from apes who spend most of the day grooming each other for the practical purpose of removing lice and for the even more practical purpose of building the deep bonds that give their lives security and meaning. The economic life of Homo sapiens has always been about that kind of contact—until now, until us. Research has shown that when we live on car-filled streets, our number of close friends drops by half. We eat half the meals we used to with friends, family, neighbors. Forget about the flax-swingler; our clothes come through the ether from the mysterious geography of Lands’ End. We don’t need each other anymore, and that’s the saddest thing we’ve done—sadder even than the scourge of climate change, which at least is anonymous and impersonal.

Aristotle talks about the three different kinds of friendship. While some may argue that the Aristotelian friendship-based-on-advantage is the same as his civic friendship, I think civic friendship, while not identical to the friendship based on the good that exists between close friends, is close to it--a participation in it, shall we say, if the general moral state of the community is good.

Tim Madigan gives a summary of the three different types of friendship as delineated by Aristotle:

In Book VIII of his Nichomachean Ethics, Aristotle categorizes three different types of friendship: friendships of utility, friendships of pleasure, and friendships of the good. Friendships of utility are those where people are on cordial terms primarily because each person benefits from the other in some way. Business partnerships, relationships among co-workers, and classmate connections are examples. Friendships of pleasure are those where individuals seek out each other’s company because of the joy it brings. Passionate love affairs, people associating with each other due to belonging to the same hobby organization, and fishing buddies fall into this category. Most important of all are friendships of the good. These are friendships based upon mutual respect, admiration for each other’s virtues, and a strong desire to aid and assist the other person because one recognizes their essential goodness.

The first two types of friendship are relatively fragile. When the purpose for which the relationship is formed somehow changes, then these friendships tend to end. For instance, if the business partnership is dissolved, or if you take another job, or graduate from school, it is more than likely that no ties will be maintained with the former friend of utility. Likewise, once the love affair cools, or you take up a new hobby or give up fishing, the friends of pleasure will go their own ways.

It seems an obvious fact of life that friendship between citizens in a political community begins and often ends at friendship-based-on-advantage. But might it not be possible for such friendships to progress to a higher stage? Or, if the citizens already have some measure of virtue, their association is already a participation in the friendship of the good and much more than friendship-based-on-advantage, even if their interpersonal contact is limited mostly to commercial transactions. So what happens if friendship-based-on-advantage is eliminated? The opportunity for it to progress beyond that is also eliminated, unless one consciously makes an attempt to seek out his neighbors and to share his life with them in some way. But we've grown accustomed to turning inward and isolating ourselves from others, until we feel lonely and desperate enough to seek out the comfort of one (or a few). How impoverished are our lives are, with respect to having friendship with a variety of people (though the levels and intensity of the friendships will naturally differ).

It seems to me that it would be easier to become friends (at some level) in a faithful Catholic society, with people from different groups and classes since there would be a common reference point (God) and hence a common foundation for the virtues and for morality. Having a common intellectual life (based on the development and exercise of the speculative intellectual virtues) may be important for intimate friendships among academics and thinkers, but it is not necessary for the highest form of friendship, which is friendship based on the moral virtues. Or in Salesian terms--the highest friendship possible is that which exists between those who are united in God.

Also, if one does not expand one's friendships to include those that are not fully 'voluntary,' there is a danger that they may be come too self-centered. Let me explain--some of our friends are close friends we keep after a long time of discernment and testing. Those who are vicious, we do not become intimate friends with, though we may be charitable towards them. And so our intimate friendships are fully 'voluntary' in this way--we choose who becomes our intimate friends and so on. But with respect to civic friendship and less intimate friendships, we do not choose those friends--those people are 'given' to us, and part of our moral development involves accepting them (while not excusing vice or sin) and getting along and co-operating with them in a friendly manner.

We can hold up religious communities and monasteries as an example of how community works (though this might be a surprise to those who are too secularized and cannot understand that the religious life is a challenge to live a life of charity, including love of neighbor, and not a turning away from neighbor). In such communities one must learn how to exercise charity towards all, and have some measure of friendship with all, even if one is annoyed with the minor quirks and such of some members. With this example perhaps we can understand that friendship is an extension of charity and is rooted in the love of God, not in the love of self.

Friendships between men and women cannot cross a certain line

Someone wrote this in response to "Bromance" at Dr. Helen's blog:

I really do not believe that females are capable of bonding in the way males are. I do believe that a male and female can bond together in a way that males, and females, cannot. But that is another phenomenon, because it is primarily sexual. It's also more glorious because it brings forth new life.

I really don't have many true friends. But the very few men whom I do consider true friends have my unconditional love, as I do theirs. In a time of need or crisis, there is no sacrifice I would not make for any of them, because I know each of them would do the same for me.

I would not extend the same courtesy to any woman I know or have met, because it goes without saying she wouldn't do the same for me.

Perhaps there is some bitterness at work here. I think he may be going too far to say that women don't have close friendships with other women--there are probably some women I know who would dispute this using their own lives as an example. And I think that the last line is true, not because all women hate men or just use them, but because they reserve that sort of intimacy with someone of the other sex for their husband. In general men and women cannot be that close, and last week I was thinking of the friendship between St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane de Chantal. (Which I had used before as an example of a friendship that can exist between a man and a woman.) Would it be accurate to say that their friendship was not a peer-friendship? But the friendship that exists between a spiritual director and his charge, or between a spiritual father and his spiritual child?

The nieces have been sick the past few days; today niece #1 had a runny nose, but no temperature.

After lunch: "I'm tired. I want to go to bed." My mom found her in bed lying down praying.
"K-- are you praying?"
"Yes."

My mom often asks her about her dreams and if she sees our Lord or the Blessed Mother.
"Who did you dream of last night?"
"Jesus."
"What did he say?"
"Kylee I love you. You're good."
"Did he give you a hug?"
"No, He kiss me."
"Where? On the cheek?"
"On the mouth."

Mama Mary was wearing pink this time, Jesus was wearing brown.
"Mama Mary has socks. Angels have socks too."

"Angels are working"
"What are they doing"
"They help Mama Mary to sew the shoes."
"What clothes are the angels are wearing?"
"Pink."
"Does Jesus have a crown?"
"No. I told you. Jesus never has a crown. Only Mama Mary has a crown."

She knows how to write M. Seems to know her letters already, but only through her toy 'computer'. When she is presented with letters on the paper, they are less familiar. (Example of trained recognition through stimulus-response-reward?)

So what happened with her hand?
"Po po. Don't worry. Kylee's fine."

The Fall trailer at Apple

here

Ron Paul questions Petraeus and Crocker:

via LRC blog

When Higher Education Isn’t

By R.R. Reno

A discussion of Education's End by Anthony T. Kronman (Yale University Press)

Fort Sumter

source of picture file and info on the painting

Ft. Sumter, 1861, National Archives (source of image file)

The Attack on Fort Sumter (April 12-13, 1861)
On April 10, 1861, Brig. Gen. Beauregard, in command of the provisional Confederate forces at Charleston, South Carolina, demanded the surrender of the Union garrison of Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor.
The above link includes official reports from officers involved.

Dr. Clyde Wilson responding to a piece written in the American Conservative by Dr. Andrew Bacevich:

"Mr. Andrew Bacevich (in the March 14 issue) makes some perceptive and wholesomely moral observations on "The Living Room War." However, he spoils it all when he starts out by likening Ft. Sumter to Pearl Harbor and 9/11. The last two were massive sneak attacks by foreign enemies. The firing on Fort Sumter was preceded by a gentlemanly warning and was completely bloodless. It would not have happened at all if Lincoln had not dissimulated about re-enforcements and had a hostile fleet just outside. Nor does Lincoln's call for 75,000 troops after the fall of Fort Sumter at all resemble American unity and determination after Pearl Harbor. To begin with, the call for troops was illegal, and the 75,000 was either mistaken or deceptive since the conquest of the Southern people and destruction of their state governments eventually required over a million men. Further more, its immediate effect was to drive four more states out of the Union and require immediate military occupation to forestall the secession of three others. And despite a temporary upsurge of militancy after Sumter, Lincoln's government never had the degree of support in the North for its actions that characterized the public in the two more recent events. Several hundred thousand men evaded the draft by various means, many others were enlisted by cash bonuses, public speakers and newspapers had to be suppressed, and a fourth of the army had to be recruited abroad. When this kind of folklore is invoked, putting Southerners in the basket with Tojo and Ben Laden, we despair of the possibility of collaboration with nationalist conservatives.

Clyde Wilson
Columbia SC"

Thomas Di Lorenzo:

That’s a nice turn of phrase, but it is contradicted by reams of evidence. In "Lincoln and the First Shot" (in Reassessing the Presidency, edited by John Denson), John Denson painstakingly shows how Lincoln maneuvered the Confederates into firing the first shot at Fort Sumter. Northern newspapers all recognized this at the time, but Winik seems to know nothing at all about it. As the Providence Daily Post wrote on April 13, 1861, "Mr. Lincoln saw an opportunity to inaugurate civil war without appearing in the character of an aggressor" by reprovisioning Fort Sumter. On the day before that the Jersey City American Statesman wrote that "This unarmed vessel, it is well understood, is a mere decoy to draw the first fire from the people of the South." Lincoln’s personal secretaries, John Nicolay and John Hay, clearly stated after the war that Lincoln successfully duped the Confederates into firing on Fort Sumter. And as Shelby Foote wrote in The Civil War, "Lincoln had maneuvered [the Confederates] into the position of having either to back down on their threats or else to fire the first shot of the war."
After Fort Sumter Lincoln wrote to his naval commander Gustavus Fox thanking him for his assistance in drawing the first shot.

Fort Sumter National Monument (U.S. National Park Service)

Is Costco a Big Box Store?

Costco is said to be a much better employer than WalMart/Sam's Club (in which I had never stepped foot was until I temporarily moved to Virginia), but is it nonetheless still a big-box store? Does it still have an adverse impact on local economies? Probably not--I don't think Costco appears except in communities that have already lost self-sufficiency and most of its locally-owned businesses, if it had any to begin with.

While families can probably shop at Costco with a cleaner conscience than if they did at Walmart (and what middle-class family in the Bay Area doesn't have a Costco membership?), is saving a buck here and there all that matters? (I don't think the sale of Costco pizza along with everything else is enough to justify its existence, even though it is a good bargain-$9.99 for an 18" pizza, with a choice of pepperoni, vegetarian, and supreme as toppings.)

It may be true that many families just cannot afford to shop regularly at farmers' markets for locally-grown food. But before we make look for an easy excuse to justify our current shopping choices, shouldn't we look a little bit closer at the consequences of maintaining our current political economic arrangements? What are the hidden and not-so-hidden costs that are incurred and the injustices committed to make it possible to for us to buy things so cheaply?

The Costco Challenge: An Alternative to Wal-Martization? (July 5 ...
Wal-Mart vs. Costco
Rivalry between Wal-Mart, Costco also extends to national politics ...
How Costco Became the Anti-Wal-Mart - New York Times
Costco: The 'anti-Wal-Mart' - MSN Money
How Costco Became the Anti-Wal-Mart
Costco: The Only Company Wal-Mart Fears

At Rebellion, Mike Tuggle draws our attention to The Big Box Swindle by Stacy Mitchell, which discusses the negative impact of big-box stores and large retail and service chains on local communities at all levels (from the environment to the political realm).

The Hometown Advantage
New Rules Project
Institute for Self-Reliance

Once again, the website for Local Harvest:
Local Harvest / Farmers Markets / Family Farms / CSA / Organic Food

Zenit: Pope's Address to Participants of Salesian General Chapter

Pope's Address to Participants of Salesian General Chapter

"Don Bosco Is a Shining Example of a Life Marked by Apostolic Zeal"

VATICAN CITY, APRIL 10, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Here is a Vatican translation of the address Benedict XVI gave March 31 upon receiving in audience the participants of the 26th General Chapter of the Congregation of Don Bosco.

* * *

Your Eminence,  Dear Members of the General Chapter of the Salesian Congregation,  I am pleased to meet you today as your Chapter is now reaching its conclusion. I first of all thank Fr Pascual Chávez Villanueva, Rector Major, for the sentiments he has expressed on behalf of you all, confirming the Congregation's will to work with the Church and for the Church always, in full harmony with the Successor of Peter. I thank him too for the generous service he has carried out in the past six years and offer him my good wishes for his recent renewal in office. I also greet the members of the new General Council who will help the Rector Major in his task of animation and in the governance of your whole Congregation.  In the Message I addressed to the Rector Major at the beginning of the Chapter, and through him to you, the Chapter Members, I expressed certain expectations that the Church has of you Salesians and I also offered several ideas for the progress of your Congregation. Today, I intend to take up again and examine some of these recommendations in the light of the work you are doing.  Your 26th Chapter is being celebrated in a period of great social, economic and political change, of heightened ethical, cultural and environmental problems and unresolved conflicts between races and nations. Moreover, in our time, communication between peoples is more intense, there are new opportunities for knowledge and dialogue and a livelier exchange on the spiritual values that give meaning to life.  In particular, the appeals young people make to us and especially their questions about the fundamental problems are linked to their intense longing for a full life, authentic love and constructive freedom. They are situations that test the Church and her ability to proclaim Christ's Gospel today with its promise full of hope.  I therefore warmly hope that the entire Salesian Congregation, thanks to the results of your General Chapter, may live with renewed dynamism and fervour the mission for which, through the maternal intervention of Mary, Help of Christians, the Holy Spirit brought it into being in the Church. I want today to encourage you and all Salesians to continue on the path of this mission in full fidelity to your original charism, already in the context of the upcoming second centenary of Don Bosco's birth.  With the theme "Give me souls, take away all else", your General Chapter's aim was to revive apostolic zeal in every Salesian and throughout the Congregation. This will help give Salesians a better defined profile so that they may become increasingly aware of their identity as people consecrated "for the glory of God" and increasingly on fire with pastoral zeal "for the salvation of souls".
Strong religious vocations

Don Bosco wanted the choice of consecrated life to guarantee the continuity of his charism in the Church. Today too, the Salesian movement can only grow in fidelity to its charism if a strong and vital nucleus of consecrated people continues to form its core.  Thus, in order to strengthen the identity of the Congregation as a whole your first commitment consists in reinforcing the vocation of each Salesian so that he may live in full fidelity to his call to the consecrated life.  The entire Congregation must strive to be ceaselessly "a living memorial of Jesus' way of living and acting as the Incarnate Word in relation to the Father and in relation to the brethren" (Vita Consecrata, n. 22). May Christ be the centre of your lives!

It is necessary to let oneself be seized by him and to start out afresh from him always. May everything else be counted "as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus" and as "refuse, in order that I may gain Christ" (Phil 3: 8). It is here that ardent love for the Lord Jesus is born, the aspiration to identify oneself with him, assuming his sentiments and way of life, trusting abandonment in the Father and dedication to the evangelizing mission that must characterize every Salesian: he must feel chosen to follow the obedient, poor and chaste Christ in conformity with Don Bosco's teaching and example. The secularization process gaining ground in contemporary culture unfortunately does not spare even communities of consecrated life. For this reason it is necessary to watch over forms and lifestyles that risk weakening Gospel witness as well as rendering pastoral action ineffective and the vocational response fragile.

I therefore ask you to help your confreres preserve and revive their faithfulness to the call. Jesus' prayer to the Father before his Passion, asking that he keep in his name all the disciples that he had given him and that none of them be lost (cf. Jn 17: 11-12), is particularly appropriate for vocations of special consecration. "The spiritual life must therefore have first place in the programme" of your Congregation (Vita Consecrata, n. 93).  May the Word of God and the Liturgy be sources of Salesian spirituality! In particular, may lectio divina, practised daily by every Salesian, and the Eucharist celebrated every day in the community, nourish and support Salesian spirituality! From this will be born the authentic spirituality of apostolic dedication and ecclesial communion.

The flourishing of your Congregation will be guaranteed by fidelity to the Gospel lived "sine glossa" and to your Rule of Life, particularly an austere way of life and Gospel poverty practised consistently, with faithful love for the Church and the generous gift of yourselves to youth, especially the neediest and most disadvantaged. Don Bosco is a shining example of a life marked by apostolic zeal, lived at the service of the Church in the Congregation and in the Salesian Family. At the school of St Joseph Cafasso, your Founder learned to make his own the motto "Give me souls, take away all else", as the synthesis of a model of pastoral action inspired by the figure and spirituality of St Francis de Sales.  This model fits into the horizon of the absolute primacy of God's love, a love that succeeds in shaping passionate personalities eager to contribute to Christ's mission to set the whole earth ablaze with the fire of his love (cf. Lk 12: 49).

Precious good of souls

Besides the ardour of God's love, another characteristic of the Salesian model is awareness of the inestimable value of "souls". This perception by contrast generates an acute sense of sin and its devastating consequences in time and in eternity. The apostle is called to cooperate with the Saviour's redeeming action in order that no one be lost. "Saving souls", precisely as St Peter said, was thus Don Bosco's raison d'être. His immediate successor, Bl. Michele Rua, summed up the life of your beloved Father and Founder in these words: "He did not give way, he did not speak, did not turn his hand to any task that did not aim at the salvation of young people.... He truly had only their souls at heart". This is what Bl. Michele Rua said of Don Bosco.

Today, it is also urgently necessary to nourish this passion in every Salesian's heart. Thus, he will not hesitate to venture daringly into the most difficult milieus of evangelizing action for young people, especially for those who are materially and spiritually the poorest. He will have the patience and courage even to propose to young people that they live in total dedication in consecrated life. He will have an open mind in order to identify the new needs of young people and listen to their prayers for help, possibly leaving to others areas that have already been consolidated by pastoral interventions.

For this reason the Salesian will face the totalizing demands of the mission with a simple, poor and austere life, sharing the living conditions of the poorest of the poor, and will have the joy of giving more to those who have received less in their lives.  May his apostolic enthusiasm become so contagious that others also catch it. The Salesian thus becomes a champion of what the apostolate means, helping first of all young people to know and love the Lord Jesus, to let themselves be fascinated by him, to cultivate evangelizing commitment, to love their own peers, to be apostles to other young people like St Dominic Savio, Bl. Laura Vicuña and Bl. Zepherin Namuncurà and the five young Blessed Martyrs of the Oratory of Poznan. Dear Salesians, may you be committed to forming lay people with apostolic hearts, inviting them all to walk in the holiness of life that develops courageous disciples and authentic apostles.
The challenges of educating

In the Message I addressed to the Rector Major at the beginning of your General Chapter, I wished to present in spirit to all Salesians the Letter I recently sent to the faithful of Rome concerning the anxiety about what I called a great educational emergency.  "Educating has never been an easy undertaking and seems to be becoming increasingly difficult today; thus, many parents and teachers are tempted to give up their task and do not even succeed in understanding what the mission entrusted to them truly is. Indeed, too many uncertainties, too many doubts are circulating in our society and our culture, too many distorted images are transmitted by the media. "It thus becomes difficult to propose to the new generations something valid and reliable, rules of conduct and worthwhile objectives to which to devote one's life" (Address at the Presentation of a Letter on "The Urgent Task of Education", 23 February 2008; L'Osservatore Romano English edition, 5 March, p. 5).

Actually, the most serious aspect of the educational crisis is the sense of discouragement that overcomes many educators, parents and teachers in particular as they face the difficulties of their task today. I therefore wrote in the Letter cited: "The soul of education, as of the whole of life, can only be a dependable hope. Today, our hope is threatened on many sides and we even risk becoming, like the ancient pagans, people "having no hope and without God in the world', as the Apostle Paul wrote to the Christians of Ephesus (Eph 2: 12).

"What may be the deepest difficulty for a true educational endeavour consists precisely in this: the fact that at the root of the crisis of education lies a crisis of trust in life", which is basically nothing other than distrust in the God who called us to life.  In the education of youth it is extremely important that the family play an active role. Families frequently have difficulty in facing the challenges of education; they are often unable to make their own contribution or are absent.

The special tenderness and commitment to young people that are characteristic of Don Bosco's charism must be expressed in an equal commitment to the involvement and formation of families.

Your youth ministry, therefore, must be decisively open to family ministry. Caring for families does not mean taking people away from work for young people; on the contrary, it means making it more permanent and effective.  I thus encourage you to deepen the forms of this commitment on which you have set out; this will prove advantageous to the education and evangelization of the young.  In the face of these multiple tasks, your Congregation must assure its members in particular a sound formation.

The Church urgently needs people with a solid and profound faith, an up-dated cultural training, genuine human sensitivity and a strong pastoral sense. She needs consecrated people who devote their lives to being on these boundaries. Only in this way will it be possible to evangelize effectively, proclaiming the God of Jesus Christ and thus the joy of life.

Your Congregation must therefore devote itself to this formative commitment as one of its priorities. It must continue to take great pains in training its members without being satisfied with mediocrity, overcoming the difficulties of vocational weakness, encouraging solid spiritual guidance and guaranteeing educational and pastoral quality in continuing formation.

I conclude by thanking God for the presence of your charism at the service of the Church. I encourage you in achieving the goals that your General Chapter will propose to the entire Congregation. I assure you of my prayers for the implementation of what the Spirit will suggest to you for the good of youth, families and all the lay people involved in the spirit and mission of Don Bosco. With these sentiments and as a pledge of abundant heavenly gifts, I now impart my Apostolic Blessing to you all.

© Copyright 2008 -- Libreria Editrice Vaticana

wiki on SDB
Salesians Eastern Province USA
Salesian Youth Ministry Eastern Province of the United States
Don Bosco West
Don Bosco
CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: The Salesian Society
Stay with Don Bosco
Salesians of Don Bosco - Office of Vocations
Salesians in Europe
Salesians of Don Bosco UK
Salesian Missions Online

Zenit: Holy See on Urban Growth

Holy See on Urban Growth

"Problems Emerge With the Birth of Mega Cities"

NEW YORK, APRIL 10, 2008 (Zenit.org).- Here is the address given Wednesday by Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the Holy See's permanent observer to the United Nations, at the Economic and Social Council's 41st session of the Commission on Population and Development.

The meeting discussed world population monitoring, focusing on population distribution, urbanization, internal migration and development.

* * *

Mr. Chairman,

This session of the Commission on Population and Development comes at this historic juncture when, for the first time in history, the number of urban inhabitants will surpass the number of people living in rural areas. This session therefore calls on us to reflect on this phenomenon and take stock of the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.

The urbanization of world populations provides new opportunities for economic growth. With access to higher wages and better social services such as education, health, transportation, communications, safe water supplies and sanitation, migrants from rural to urban settings are more likely to advance their personal and social development.

When addressing the issues of migration and development, we must place the needs and concerns of peoples first. Placing the human person at the service of economic or environmental considerations creates the inhuman effect of treating people as objects rather than subjects. Migration and the urbanization of societies should not be purely measured in terms of their economic impact. In finding ways to address the serious challenges posed by massive internal and transnational migrations, let us not forget that at the heart of this phenomenon is the human person. Thus we must also address the reasons why people move, the sacrifices they make, the anguish and the hopes that accompany migrants. Migration often places great strain on migrants, as they leave behind families and friends, socio-cultural and spiritual networks.

As the secretary-general’s report rightly illustrates, while urbanization has created better opportunities for individuals and their families, the move from agricultural settings to urban centers also create myriad challenges. Indeed, new environmental, social and economic problems emerge with the birth of mega cities.

But one of the most pressing and painful consequences of rapid urbanization is the increasing number of people living in urban slums. As recently as 2005 over 840 million people around the world lived in such conditions. Lacking in almost everything, these individuals can lose their sense of self-worth and inherent dignity. They become trapped in a vicious cycle of extreme poverty and marginalization. They squat on state or other people’s properties. They feel powerless to demand even the most basic public services. Children are not in schools, but in waste dumpsites eking out a living from scavenging. Policy makers and civil society actors must put these people and their concerns among the priorities in their decision-making.

While urbanization provides a net growth in terms of economic development, we must not lose sight of the daunting challenges that rural communities face, particularly those in developing countries. If we are to achieve the MDGs by 2015, greater concern must be given to those communities, in which approximately 675 million still lack access to safe drinking water and two billion live without access to basic sanitation. National and international policies would do well to ensure that rural communities have access to higher quality and more accessible social services.

Mr. Chairman,

For its part, the Holy See and its institutions remain committed to addressing the concerns of all migrants and to finding ways to collaborate with all, in order to ensure a proper balance between the just concerns of state and those of individual human beings. Helping migrants meet their basic needs does not only aid their transition and help keep families together. It is also a positive way to encourage them to become productive, responsible, law-abiding and contributors to the common good of the society.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Master Gardener programs

Abbaye Notre Dame de Fontgombault

Motherhouse of Clear Creek monastery, Our Lady of the Annunciation. (Fr. Neuhaus writes about his visit to Clear Creek.)

It has no website, unlike Le Barroux. Some information pages:
Abbaye Notre Dame de Fontgombault
L'Abbaye Notre Dame de fontgombault

CD Universe has some of their cds.

Via the Hermeneutic of Continuity, Vocation-Station: Abbaye Notre Dame de Fontgombault, which has a promo video for a new DVD on the abbey.

Another shorter video (another excerpt, I believe): Abbaye Notre Dame de Fontgombault - Video - Catholic Online (alt)

originally started: 2/13/07, 5:40 PM

Related Links:
Congregation of Solesmes (from the website for SAINT BENEDICT ABBEY)
Bénédictins
The Order of Saint Benedict (OSB). Index. Information about ...
CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: The Benedictine Order
Oblates of the Order of Saint Benedict. Index OSB.

More on Clear Creek--
on raising sheep @ Clear Creek: Faithful Shepherds Share Flock Wisdom by Tim King from the March ...
Echoes of Creation -- blogger whose interest includes Clear Creek
Tulsa World: A vision appearing
Blog by-the-Sea: Solesmes in America
Notes of a Thirsty Scribe: visiting Clear Creek monastery
Standing on My Head: Clear Creek Monastery
The Curt Jester: Clear Creek Monastery
Thomas Gordon Smith Architects
Andrew Cusack: A Monastery Rises in Oklahoma
Our Lady of Clear Creek

Ordinations Sacerdotale de prêtres de la Fraternité Saint Vincent Ferrier et de l'Institut de la Sainte Croix de Riaumont conférées par Mgr Wolfgang Haas
le 29 juin 2006 à Fontgombault

FSSP retreat in France

abbaye notre dame de sénanque

+ LATINMASS.ORG +

OSB. The Medal of Saint Benedict, description, history and effects
Patterson: The Medal of Benedict (frames)
CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Medal of Saint Benedict
The Jubilee Medal of St. Benedict

Benedictine College-Catholic College,Liberal Arts College ...
Order of Saint Benedict (OSB) Website Store
One Monk of the Order of Saint Benedict
The Subiaco Congregation of the Order of St. Benedict
St. Benedict Abbey - Still River, Massachusetts
Saint Meinrad :: Monastery

International Cistercian site (strict observance)
International Cistercian site (common observance)

CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Ecclesiastical Abbreviations

Misc:
What is the origin of parole and palabra? Cognates with parler and hablar? = 'what is spoken'? What explains the disappearance of cognates of verbum from French and Spanish?

According to the American Heritage Dictionary:

French, promise, word, from Vulgar Latin ^*paraula, from Latin parabola, discourse. See parable.

From the entry for parable:

Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin parabola, from Greek parabol, from paraballein, to compare : para-, beside; see para–¹ + ballein, to throw; see g^wel- in Appendix I.

The New Beginning

Saturday, April 12, 2008

Photos: Prince William, Pt. 2

Photos: Prince William, Pt. 1

Friday, April 11, 2008

Some reflections by Anthony Esolen after visiting TAC

Richard Wall, A Hegelian at Gettysburg: Woodrow Wilson and the Perfect Union

Zenit: Rome's Exorcist Gives Inside Look at Devil

Article on Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Academy

Leslie Cheung and '80s Cantopop

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Bill McKibben, Where Have All the Joiners Gone?

Friendships between men and women cannot cross a certain line

The Fall trailer at Apple

Fort Sumter

Is Costco a Big Box Store?

Zenit: Pope's Address to Participants of Salesian General Chapter

Zenit: Holy See on Urban Growth

Master Gardener programs

Abbaye Notre Dame de Fontgombault

Copyright Notice

About Me