A Gilbert Moment

The fifth grader I am tutoring is reading, Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher by Bruce Coville.

The dedication reads:

"For Jane.

Believing in dragons is easy. Jane believes in people - an act of love that takes considerably more imagination."

I thought that was a very Chestertonian thing to say.

Another sign the Apocalypse is upon us.

I can sometimes understand the campaing for Responsible Drinking from those who do not understand what drinking is about or from those who don't drink in their own neighborhood,- "...It is quite a mistake to suppose that, when a man desires an alcoholic drink, he necessarily desires alcohol." GKC

BUT RESPONSIBLE SNAKING?!?!

This is what Mars is saying and with a straight face no less:

Responsible snacking

To offer consumer more choice we developed Mars RED. Mars RED is a viable great tasting option for consumers looking for a lower fat treat (Mars RED is 50% less fat than the average leading chocolate bar brands).

King Size is made two pieces - one for now and one for later.

We’re developing packaging to encourage chocolate lovers to snack wisely.

This initiative is being strongly opposed by the American Federation of Fourth Graders. “First we get Happy Meals with apple slices and now you’re making our candy smaller?”

Said my daughter, the local AFFG chairperson, “There’s something wrong with you people! There’s something wrong with your whole fascist machine!”

Once again they confuse reasonable with responsible.

For those of you who thought the bishops would be snookered again or that they might back down on their fight with the current occupant:

A letter from Archbishop Schnurr: response to Obama’s mandate ‘accommodation’

February 13, 2012

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Despite the so-called “accommodation” announced by President Obama on Friday, the mandates from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services regarding insurance coverage for abortion-inducing drugs, sterilization, and contraception still do not adequately and clearly protect the freedom of conscience of employers and their employees.

Although the announcement claims now to exempt religious employers by placing the onus of coverage for these services on insurers, many of the details remain unsettlingly murky. For instance, many religious organizations – including the Archdiocese of Cincinnati and its agencies – are self-insured, which apparently means that they would still have to pay for services they find immoral. (emphasis added) Secondly, it is unclear how insurers can be forced to cover these services for “free” while not passing on the cost to the insured. This could still violate the conscience rights of many employees who do not want to be forced to provide objectionable services for others, such as through their premium payments.

The Catholic Church, along with many other religious leaders, is reiterating its firm position that the freedom to follow one’s conscience and to have access to health care are both fundamental human rights. We will not be forced into a position of choosing between the two. We are open to conversation and dialogue with the Administration to find solutions. However, one course of action which would provide a permanent resolution would be the passage of the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act (HR 1179 and S 1467). We renew our call for people of faith to stand up for religious liberty and urge Congress to pass this comprehensive legislation.

CALL TO ACTION: Contact your U.S. Representative and Senators by e-mail, phone, or FAX letter:

Call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121, or call your Members’ local offices.

Send your email to Congress through www.usccb.org/conscience.

Additional contact information can be found on Members’ web sites at www.house.gov and www.senate.gov.

MESSAGE: “Please co-sponsor the Respect for Rights of Conscience Act (H.R. 1179, S. 1467) and help enact it into law. The Obama Administration’s decision to require even religious institutions to provide coverage of sterilization and contraceptives, including drugs that can cause an abortion, makes passage of this measure especially urgent. Please ensure that the rights of conscience of all participants in our nation’s health care system are respected.”

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Most Reverend Dennis M. Schnurr

Notre Dame finally sees the Long Con

When Obama received his honorary degree at Notre Dame's May 17, 2009, commencement, he vowed to respect the conscience rights of those who believe abortion is wrong.

“Let's honor the conscience of those who disagree with abortion, and draft a sensible conscience clause, and make sure that all of our health care policies are grounded not only in sound science, but also in clear ethics, as well as respect for the equality of women,” said Obama. “Those are things we can do.”

Oh How they loved him then. "See," they said, "he ain't so bad."

In responce to his recent power play the faculty now says: “This is a grave violation of religious freedom and cannot stand. It is an insult to the intelligence of Catholics, Protestants, Eastern Orthodox Christians, Jews, Muslims, and other people of faith and conscience to imagine that they will accept an assault on their religious liberty if only it is covered up by a cheap accounting trick.”

Just keep swimming. Just keep swimming.

Why They Hate Us So.

The Current Resident seems to have backed down on his insistance that Catholic groups provide contraception and abortion service free of charge in their health insurance. He is now saying that the insurance companies will have to pay for it. So if a Church provides insurance to its employees in a policy from X company than X company HAS TO provide this coverage. He still gets what he wants.

Obama's new plan is analogous to having a father take $50 out of his wallet and put it in his wife's purse to pay for their son to attend a rap concert he doesn't want junior to attend.

NOW HERE THIS: The current resident has no Constitutional authority to mandate that Churches do anything! So now he looks like he is respectful of the Churches concerns with this compromise BUT he has no constitutional authority to mandate that insurance companies provide a service at a price he dictates.

As many hail this compromise we lose sight of the fact that he is acting outside the powers of the president and that day by day we lose bits of our freedoms. Which is what he wants any way. As my football coach used to say. "By the yard its hard. By the inch its a cinch."

Please understand if he gets away with overstepping in this there is no reason he can't over step where ever he wants when ever he wants.

It looks like he is retreating from his attack on the Catholic Church but he will be back because as Father Barron stated the great enemy to liberal totalitarians is the Catholic Church.

Happy Birthday Chuck

We are celebrating this today in no small part of what Uncle Gilbert did with his book Charles Dickens: A Critical Study (1906).

A very awkward sentence indeed.

Wrong Again White Boy

What was I thinking?!?

The Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation apologized for cutting off funding from Planned Parenthood.

Yes that's right APOLOGIZED.

"Screw the facts, the statistics, and screw the body count. We are sorry. Please continue to send your money don't worry about how we spend it. And we really need to be loved by Mayor Bloomberg and his friends. Really we won't make the mistake of being right again."

and the walls begin to crumble

And so it begins: The Komen Foundation no longer is sending money to Planned Parenthood. Of course they are not doing this because of the documented connection between breast cancer and abortion or that PP does not provide mammograms, which Komen admits, but because PP is under investagation for financial misconduct. (Shocked I say Shocked!)

A spokeswoman for the the Komen Foundation, Leslie Aun, explained that the cutoff was a result of the charity's newly-adopted criteria barring grants to organizations that are under investigation by local, state, or federal authorities.

They need that rule because common sense is too diiiiiiifficult to understand.

the March

Those in the red caps is our group

It’s been said that the reason the Government Media Complex does not cover the March for Life is that, “Since it happens each year it is not news.” I would like purpose that since it does happen every year makes it news.” and here is another good reason why they stay away. Also the numbers that go is growing. Last year it was estimated that 400,000 people were there this year they are saying it is close to a half million. I don't know if that is true but I do know that we filled our bus this year and when we tried to take a break at a truck stop outside of DC we were told that there was no room for our bus. None of that has happened before.

I took my youth group to The March for Life in DC again this year. Yes it rained, it was cold, and we were tired from the red eye bus trip, but they knew why they were there why they had to be there. A couple of my kids smiled when one of the politicians said, "If only we had a republican president and control over both houses we could end this!" These kids knew the history. We had that and still nothing was done. Most of the Marchers know that the ruling class has no intention of seriously battling Planned Parenthood, NARAL and the like, they are learning what Chesterton meant when he said “....Hope means hoping when everything seems hopeless.” It is easy to feel discouraged and that the situation won't change. However many of us are encouraged. We can't expect someone else to do the heavy lifting for us anymore. Maybe this is an inadvertent positive change the current occupant gave us.

When he says stuff like this, “I remain committed to protecting a woman’s right to choose and this fundamental constitutional right.” we know he is full of crap.

New Year's

by Dana Gioia

Let other mornings honor the miraculous.

Eternity has festivals enough.

This is the feast of our mortality,

The most mundane and human holiday.

On other days we misinterpret time,

Pretending that we live the present moment.

But can this blur, this smudgy in-between,

This tiny fissure where the future drips

Into the past, this flyspeck we call now

Be our true habitat? The present is

The leaky palm of water that we skim

From the swift, silent river slipping by.

The new year always brings us what we want

Simply by bringing us along—to see

A calendar with every day uncrossed,

A field of snow without a single footprint.

A Chesterton Buffet

I was reading a recently published collection of the best Chesterton essays when I thought of a local Chinese restaurant.

I wasn't thinking of Chesterton's dining habits. Indeed, I have doubts that Chesterton ever ate what we think of as Chinese food - though I don't know that for certain. Maybe he did enjoy an egg roll or some chow mein at some point.

The restaurant in question serves meals, but the bulk of its business is its buffet. It has four rows of various Chinese and non-Chinese foods - pizza?? - with heated pans and heat lights. Most diners just grab plates and wander up and down the rows taking a little bit of this and a little bit of that, though there are always some individuals who grab a lot of this and a lot of that until their plates are piled so high one wonders how much of the food will actually make it to their tables.

Once while eating in this restaurant I began to reflect on differing styles of enjoying a buffet of this sort. I observed some people who would go to one row, fill their plates from that row only, and then head back to their seats to eat. When they finished their first plate they would then go back and load up from the second row, and so on, in order until they had visited each row. Did some of them methodically take a little bit of everything? Perhaps.

Then there are those who circulated among the rows, taking this from this row and that from that row. When they went back, they continued the pattern. Perhaps they had favorites and only ate those foods. Perhaps they were afraid to try new things. Or perhaps they were like me, vegetarians who avoid meat dishes.

Recalling this restaurant got me to musing about reading styles when approaching collections of any sort.

There are some people who seem to enjoy by sampling pieces in various sections of the book. Perhaps they seek out particular topics or writers, or maybe they just trust to luck and read whatever they come to that captures their interest.

There are some collections that lend themselves to this sort of sampling.

Then there are those people who methodically work their way through the collection from preface to index.

There are some collections that lend themselves to this approach.

Both methods have their pluses and minuses.

The sampling method ensures that one will enjoy what one reads for such readers tend to gravitate toward those things for which they already have an interest.

But in doing so, such readers might miss out on gems that just didn't happen to catch their attention.

The methodical readers take in everything the collection contains, good and bad, and thus might have a complete understanding of the organizing principle behind the collection, and along the way perhaps discover unknown treasures and nuggets of information they might otherwise never have encountered.

On the other hand, they might also run into a patch of less interesting pieces that might lead them to stop reading.

When it comes to Chesterton, either approach is acceptable. You can just plunge in and sample as the spirit moves you. Or you can work your way through from beginning to end, knowing that because it is Chesterton there won't be any less interesting pieces to get you questioning whether or not to go on.

When it comes to the restaurant - and many collections - I tend to be a sampler.

With this collection of Chesterton, I'm going the cover-to-cover route.

Either way works well when accompanied by a nice cup of tea.

Two books to enjoy

I've been busy with school work - and the sickness that now has me on antibiotics. But I did manage to squeeze in some good reading.

First up was Exiles, by Ron Hansen, and interesting account of Fr. Gerard Manley Hopkins and the five nuns that became the inspiration for his poem, "The Wreck of the Deutschland." I've always enjoyed historical "fiction," and this gave me some insights into his life. Good read.

I also just finished (while sitting in the doctor's waiting room) The Man Who Invented Christmas, by Les Standiford. It's an account of Dickens' writing A Christmas Carol, and the effects it had on his career and how the book helped to revive the celebration of Christmas. Also a good read - especially for fans of Dickens and Christmas (like me).

Two thumbs up.

Now, back to those Chesterton essays.

Christmas Books

Every Christmas, relatives and friends gift me with books.

Some of the books are ones I've indicated in not always subtle ways that I want. This year, for example there was one particular book (involving Chesterton, I might add) that I really wanted. When a catalog from a well-known Catholic publisher arrived, I searched through it until I found the title, folded the catalog open to the right page, circled the book several times, and sang some Christmas carols with an earnest smile.

I got that book.

Other times people give me books based upon my particular interests. Chesterton, St. Francis of Assisi, poetry, and Dickens are among the interests addressed this year.

Some people knowing my quirky sense of humor give me books they think I will find amusing. This year, a relative who moved to Utah, a state that, to be honest, has never been of the slightest interest to me, although I do like Marie Osmond's version of a Dada poem, sent me a book about Utah curiosities. I've already discovered one story in it about a woman who uses cow pies - yes, those "pies" - to make clocks, and picture and mirror frames.

A keeper.

The books end up either next to my bed in the pile of books to be read, or outside the "reading room."

This year's additions:

In Defense of Sanity: The Best Essays of G.K. Chesterton. Circles and Christmas Carols do work.

The Road to Assisi: The Essential Biography of St. Francis by Paul Sabatier. Chesterton's biography is the essential one, in my opinion, but this modern examination of his life looks like it has much to offer.

Surpassing Pleasure by John Slater. A contemporary Cistercian poet: I can't wait to test those verbal waters.

Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats by T. S. Eliot. I'd actually read many of these poems long ago and enjoyed them, so it's wonderful to have them before me again. Plus, it's nice to be reminded that Eliot didn't always write as if he had spiritual heartburn.

How to Do Everything (From the Man Who Should Know) by Red Green. Red Green is a Canadian comedian who is an acquired taste, and a taste that I acquired long ago.

The Man Who Invented Christmas by Les Standiford. A book that examines how Dickens helped to save Christmas from those who would downplay the celebration of it, and, in the process, apparently saved his own career. I've always loved Dickens and his Christmas tales, so this should be an intriguing read.

Utah Curiosities by Brandon Griggs. Cow pies. Need I say more?

Much reading to do.

Oh joy.

I've been remiss: Merry Christmas

Happy Feast of St. Stephen.

I realized today I had not posted here in about three months. Chesterton deserves better than that!

This Christmas I gave a copy of Chesterton's Irish impressions to an Irish friend. And then (after some not so subtle hinting on my part), on Christmas morning my dear bride presented me with a copy of In Defense of Sanity: The Best Essays of G. K. Chesterton.

It's wonderful to find some of may favorite essays - "A Piece of Chalk," "What I Found in My Pocket," "On Lying in Bed," "Cheese," and more - all in one place. And there are many other essays I haven't read yet conveniently waiting for me.

I just have to finish Ron Hansen's Exiles, and then I dig into this treasure trove.

As for my Chesterton endeavors, I'll be sending in to Gilbert a batch of clerihews my students wrote, and scribbling a few more of my own. Plus, I've decided to give a more prominent role to the Chesterton-based character in that novel I've been writing forever.

Tally ho!

St Bernard on All Saints Days day

"Why should our praise and glorification, or even the celebration of this feast day mean anything to the saints? What do they care about earthly honors when their heavenly Father honors them by fulfilling the faithful promise of the Son? What does our commendation mean to them? The saints have no need of honor from us; neither does our devotion add the slightest thing to what is theirs. Clearly, if we venerate their memory, it serves us, not them. But I tell you, when I think of them, I feel myself inflamed by a tremendous yearning.

Calling the saints to mind inspires, or rather arouses in us, above all else, a longing to enjoy their company, so desirable in itself. We long to share in the citizenship of heaven, to dwell with the spirits of the blessed, to join the assembly of patriarchs, the ranks of the prophets, the council of apostles, the great host of martyrs, the noble company of confessors and the choir of virgins. In short, we long to be united in happiness with all the saints. But our dispositions change. The Church of all the first followers of Christ awaits us, but we do nothing about it. The saints want us to be with them, and we are indifferent. The souls of the just await us, and we ignore them.

Come, brothers, let us at length spur ourselves on. We must rise again with Christ, we must seek the world which is above and set our mind on the things of heaven. Let us long for those who are longing for us, hasten to those who are waiting for us, and ask those who look for our coming to intercede for us. We should not only want to be with the saints, we should also hope to possess their happiness. While we desire to be in their company, we must also earnestly seek to share in their glory. Do not imagine that there is anything harmful in such an ambition as this; there is no danger in setting our hearts on such glory.

When we commemorate the saints we are inflamed with another yearning: that Christ our life may also appear to us as he appeared to them and that we may one day share in his glory. Until then we see him, not as he is, but as he became for our sake. He is our head, crowned, not with glory, but with the thorns of our sins. As members of that head, crowned with thorns, we should be ashamed to live in luxury; his purple robes are a mockery rather than an honor. When Christ comes again, his death shall no longer be proclaimed, and we shall know that we also have died, and that our life is hidden with him. The glorious head of the Church will appear and his glorified members will shine in splendor with him, when he forms this lowly body anew into such glory as belongs to himself, its head.

Therefore, we should aim at attaining this glory with a wholehearted and prudent desire. That we may rightly hope and strive for such blessedness, we must above all seek the prayers of the saints. Thus, what is beyond our own powers to obtain will be granted through their intercession."

"Holiness is not about what you do but with how much love you do it."

Do not seek to be like the Saints - seek what they sought.

In case you were wondering if Catholics were Hard Core or not - wonder no more

And this is not the only one

good reminder for All Souls day and yes it is only the living that scare me.

After a year of research and preparation, the giant screen film JERUSALEM advanced into production with an unprecedented aerial shoot throughout Israel and the West Bank. Scheduled for worldwide release in 2013, the film will take audiences on a spectacular tour of the Holy Land and the city once believed to lie at the center of the world.

From Chesterton's The New Jerusalem:

"As I tried to explain this eccentric sentiment to myself, I was conscious of another which at once completed and contradicted it. It was not only like a memory of Rye, it was mixed with a memory of the Mount St. Michael, which stands among the sands of Normandy on the other side of the narrow seas. The first part of the sensation is that the traveller, as he walks the stony streets between the walls, feels that he is inside a fortress. But it is the paradox of such a place that, while he feels in a sense that he is in a prison, he also feels that he is on a precipice. The sense of being uplifted, and set on a high place, comes to him through the smallest cranny, or most accidental crack in rock or stone; it comes to him especially through those long narrow windows in the walls of the old fortifications; those slits in the stone through which the medieval archers used their bows and the medieval artists used their eyes, with even greater success. Those green glimpses of fields far below or of flats far away, which delight us and yet make us dizzy (by being both near and far) when seen through the windows of Memling, can often be seen from the walls of Jerusalem. Then I remembered that in the same strips of medieval landscape could be seen always, here and there, a steep hill crowned with a city of towers. And I knew I had the mystical and double pleasure of seeing such a hill and standing on it. A city that is set upon a hill cannot be hid; but it is more strange when the hill cannot anywhere be hid, even from the citizen in the city."

In contrast to this common perception of capitalism, Chesterton defines it as, "that economic condition in which there is a class of capitalists, roughly recognizable and relatively small, in whose possession so much of the capital is concentrated as to necessitate a very large majority of the citizens serving those capitalists for a wage."

"The present problem of capitalist concentration is not a question of law but of criminal law, not to mention criminal lunacy."

"Now what is the matter with the financial world is that it is a great deal too full of imagination, in the sense of fiction."

Roll Over Bethoveen

Happy 85th birthday Chuck

Steve Jobs was adopted. His life, passion, and vision inspired many. God our Father, Your power brings us to birth, Your providence guides our lives, and by Your command we return to dust