This week: A video primer on how a Pope is selected. Father Barron discusses Pope Benedict’s legacy. An overview of Lent from Father Pontifex. If God made a farmer on the 8th day, what did He do on the 9th? Putting the national debt into perspective. Another loyal pet story. Is Google a donkey killer?

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How do they choose a Pope? Here are the basics…

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Father Barron discusses the legacy of Pope Benedict XVI:

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Father Dusty Burns (a/k/a Pontifex) gives us an overview of the season of Lent:

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The best Superbowl ad pondered what God did on the 8th day…   “so God made a farmer“. SooperMexican has been wondering what God did on the 9th day and uncovered this little known fact:

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Many people fail to understand the magnitude of the national debt. This video puts it into perspective.

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A couple weeks ago I wrote about loyal pets who visit their owners’ graves daily. News now comes of Tommy, a German shepherd, who attended daily Mass with his now deceased owner – and still does. Read the story here.

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From the Convert Journal donkey desk: did Google kill this donkey? Their “street view” vehicles roam the planet, including in this case Botswana. In the first picture we see a happy donkey minding his own business. In the second, that same donkey – now deceased.

The pair of pictures and a ton of outrage appeared on social media sites. It turns out that Mr. Donkey is perfectly fine. The pictures were in reverse order. When he was on the ground, he was enjoying a “dust bath.” As the Google vehicle approached, he simply got up and walked away. A Google spokesman noted “Our Street View teams take the safety of people and donkeys very seriously.” We can all rest easier.

Some random thoughts or bits of information are worthy of sharing but don’t warrant their own full post. This idea was started by Jennifer Fulwiler at Conversion Diary to address this blogging need. So, some Fridays I too participate when I have accumulated 7 worthy items. Thank you Jen for hosting this project!

This week: The latest issue of New Evangelists Monthly is now out. A “compromise” on the HHS mandate attacking the free exercise of religion (ref: the first amendment to the US Constitution)? A surprisingly good Superbowl ad. The Vatican is digitizing the Apostolic Library. How one father taught his children about charity. Redefining marriage undermines its secular principles. High-speed video of a Horned Owl in flight.

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Issue #2, February 2013, of New Evangelists Monthly is now out! Over 50 faithful Catholic bloggers have contributed their very best pieces from January. This monthly “meta-magazine” showcases Catholicism from theology to family life and “everything in between.” Enjoy it now at NewEvangelists.org.

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Obama has compromised on his HHS mandate, right? You might think so if you causally listen to liberal mass media. The truth is, substantially, he has not and he will not. Your access to “free” contraceptives and abortifacients is more import to him than real health services (e.g. free mamograms).

Update: Matthew Franck has an excellent analysis on the Public Discourse blog – Deciding Who Gets Religious Freedom: The Latest HHS “Accommodation”.

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A surprisingly good Superbowl ad. So God made a farmer…

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The Vatican has begun to digitize the 80,000 manuscripts in the Apostolic Library. This will take some time…

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Your children are in a protective, insular cocoon. How do you teach them charity, loving all neighbors, when they are so blessed? This was one father’s answer:

I really like how he did this on his own – finding and filling a real need. This is instructive and inspirational in many ways.

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Dr. Jennifer Roback Morse explains how redefining marriage undermines 4 secular principles and the harm that directly results. This is a good piece to send to your secular friends.

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This is a Horned Owl, shot with a high-speed Photron Fastcam SA2 camera at 1000 frames per second.

Some random thoughts or bits of information are worthy of sharing but don’t warrant their own full post. This idea was started by Jennifer Fulwiler at Conversion Diary to address this blogging need. So, some Fridays I too participate when I have accumulated 7 worthy items. Thank you Jen for hosting this project!

This week: CNS video coverage of the 2013 March for Life. An abortion advocate says the child is “a life worth sacrificing” and another thanks God he was legally able to kill his. What’s the deal with Catholics and the Virgin Mary? Why can’t women be priests? Father Barron talks about sex. The overzealous evangelizer. Like a duck takes to water?

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The Catholic News Service has a good overview of the 2013 March for Life:

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Pro-abortion forces are more vocal than ever in the completely biased, hard-left mainstream media. What is new is their honesty. First, we have Mary Elizabeth Williams writing for Salon. She asks “what if abortion ends life?” She answers “If by some random fluke I learned today I was pregnant, you bet your ass I’d have an abortion. I’d have the World’s Greatest Abortion.” Then goes on to conclude “even if I still need to acknowledge my conviction that the fetus is indeed a life. A life worth sacrificing.” (Matt Barber looks at this here.)

Second, we have MSNBC’s Touré Neblett thanking God that abortion laws allowed him to kill his child. He said “I thank God and country that when I fell into a bad situation, abortion was there to save me and keep me on a path toward building a strong family I have now. And I pray that safety net stays in place.” (Ed Morrissey looks at this here.)

These examples are a new low. Always remember the simple truth…

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What’s the deal with Catholics and the Virgin Mary?

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Father Wojciech Giertych, theologian of the papal household, addresses the question “why not women priests?”

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Catholics and sex: Puritanical -or- you bet? (Answer: “you bet”!) I wrote about this two years ago in Family, sex, life. Father Barron dives deeper, speaking on Sex, Love and God:

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This is funny, but there is a very good point in it. It is not to not evangelize, but rather to do so when it will be receptive and in a manner that connects. “Real Men of Jesus” – the overzealous evangelizer:

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…like a duck takes to water! Well, not so much. These rescue ducks had never been in water. Time for their first swimming lesson…

Some random thoughts or bits of information are worthy of sharing but don’t warrant their own full post. This idea was started by Jennifer Fulwiler at Conversion Diary to address this blogging need. So, some Fridays I too participate when I have accumulated 7 worthy items. Thank you Jen for hosting this project!

This week: The story of another abortion survivor. Biased, pro-abortion media is a worldwide problem. The vocation story of a lost sheep. Altar boys. Progress correcting “spirit of Vatican II” inspired liturgical excesses. Dominican Fathers and Brothers explain the Divine Office. Some thoughts on gun control.

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Imre Téglásy, another abortion survivor and pro-life inspiration:

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Biased (extremely, extremely biased that is) media is not a problem unique to the US.

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“What man among you having a hundred sheep and losing one of them would not leave the ninety-nine in the desert and go after the lost one until he finds it? And when he does find it, he sets it on his shoulders with great joy and, upon his arrival home, he calls together his friends and neighbors and says to them, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ I tell you, in just the same way there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who have no need of repentance.”

Luke 15:4-7

A vocation story of a lost sheep and the meaning of suffering. Father John Nepil’s path to God.

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The point of altar boys is not for children to have some kind of opportunity to perform for the parish. It is not about them at all, but about the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and exposure to priestly vocations.

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The one disappointing thing about the Catholic Church is the glacial slow pace things are done. Usually. It seems that the “spirit of Vatican II” (i.e. changes not actually called for or approved by Vatican II) were made in the blink of an eye. Undoing that damage is taking much longer. There is alas, some movement on the liturgy.

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Dominican Fathers and Brothers (of the Western Province of the Order of Preachers, the Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus) explain the beauty and power of the Divine Office (Liturgy of the Hours).

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Is gun control the hot, new “flag burning” issue for congress? Traditionally, they distract attention from other things they are doing (e.g. killing religious liberty and otherwise expanding oppressive government).

We already have a ton of gun control. It impacts only the law abiding, reducing their ability to protect themselves and those they love. That is legitimate defense as described by the Catechism (CCC 2263 and 2264 – see also this piece).

Rational thought and having our priorities straight would be nice for a change. Then again, considering our collective national insanity, my expectations are very low.

Some random thoughts or bits of information are worthy of sharing but don’t warrant their own full post. This idea was started by Jennifer Fulwiler at Conversion Diary to address this blogging need. So, some Fridays I too participate when I have accumulated 7 worthy items. Thank you Jen for hosting this project!

This week: If only the president meant his empty words defending life. Would nudity defeat the March for Life media blackout? A touching story of life and love. Hollywood stars again enlighten us (mega-hypocrisy alert, as usual). Peter Kreeft explains where morality comes from. Episcopalians warmly embrace “gay marriage” at their National Cathedral. Father Barron’s Catholicism: The New Evangelization project now underway.

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I could not have said it better myself. Listen to our president. If only he meant those words…

Related: Tom Hoopes piece at CatholicVote.org: We Are the Civil Rights Movement Now.

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January 25th will again mark the annual media blackout of the March for Life rally. A half-million people march and the (blatantly biased, extremely liberal) mass media sees nothing. The march is always completely invisible! (With the possible exception of a handful of counter protesters.)

Matthew Archbold has an interesting tongue-in-cheek solution: Let’s March for Life Naked!!!.

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Newlyweds Jason and Marie Taylor soon knew great joy and great sadness. The parents of premature triplets share their experience on life and love:

Pick-up the story at LifeSiteNews.com.

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Hollywood stars, using their superior intellect, have made a video backing gun control. No surprise there, nor in their hypocrisy. Said same stars profit handsomely in the promotion of gun violence. Here is their video, enhanced with scenes from their “work” interspersed:

(This video is no longer available.)

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Prof. Peter Kreeft explains where morality can not come from and where it does:

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The Episcopal Washington National Cathedral welcomes “gay marriage,” effective immediately. Ironically, the church is also known as the “Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul.” I wonder what they would think about that (well, not really, I know what they would think).

The press release says “all weddings at the Cathedral are conducted as Christian marriages in which the couple commits to lifelong faithfulness, love, forbearance, and mutual comfort.” Apparently they have no idea what the sacrament of marriage is.

Fr. Jay Finelli (a/k/a iPadre) produced a podcast on family and marriage that is truly excellent. Listen to it here (starting around 8:15). Father also talks about this topic on his blog (here).

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Father Barron has a sequel to his excellent Catholicism Project. The new work is just getting started. It is called Catholicism: The New Evangelization:

Some random thoughts or bits of information are worthy of sharing but don’t warrant their own full post. This idea was started by Jennifer Fulwiler at Conversion Diary to address this blogging need. So, some Fridays I too participate when I have accumulated 7 worthy items. Thank you Jen for hosting this project!