What I'm Reading Now

Someone asked me, based on the post below, what in fact I am reading right now:


This is a series of lectures that Soloviev gave that read like Scripture. Tolstoy and Dostevyesky attended the lectures. They are amazing!



Essentially a work of moral theology/philosophy packed with great insights. I quote from this work in my Lenten Meditation for the First Sunday of Lent here:

Solovyov posits two rules in this regard:
"Have God in you." (God wants to be in communion with us. He wants to fulfill the desire He has placed in our hearts for Him.)
"Regard everything in God's way."(And here Solovyov means "everything," even evil, of which he says:"We must regard evil in God's way, i.e. without being indifferent to it, we must rise above absolute opposition to it and allow it--when it does not proceed from us--as means of perfection, in so far as a greater good can be derived from it. (The Justification of the Good" )



I've read about half of this so far, which actually is great Lented reading because the first half deals with Prayer, Alsmgiving and Fasting--the prayer chapter is masterfully done using the Lord's prayer which I think shows the genius of Soloviev--for when the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray that is what he did and Soloviev shows how each petition of the Our Father teaches us how to pray to God.

All of Soloviev's writings make a great supplement to a modern writer who I've mentioned before on this blog, Fr. Tadeusz Dajczer. His: is a life changing book, read some of the comments on the Amazon page.

Cardinal Biffi's Talk on Soloviev

Currently, I'm reading three books by Vladimir Soloviev (is name is spelled differently in English in all three), this is a preliminary report on Cardinal Biffi's remarks, hopefully I'll find more posted later.

From Papa Ratzger Forum:

Today, it was that of the Russian philosopher Vladimir Sergeyevich Soloviev, who died on the threshold of the 20th century. It was a century whose viscissitudes and troubles he had prophesied, a century whose events and dominant ideologies contradicted all that was most relevant and original in his teachings.

The great theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar considered Soloviev's thinking "the most universal creative speculation of the modern era" and considered him on par with St. Thomas Aquinas.

Biffi recalled some of Soloviev's 'prophetic' visions, and said, that the prevalent attitudes today were farthest from Soloviev's vision of reality, even among Christians who work for and are acculturated to the Church.

He said these atttiudes ranged from selfish individualism to moral subjectivism, to pacifism and non-violence - confused with the Gospel ideals of peace and brotherhood - which leads to bowing down to the powerful, leaving the weak and the honest defenseless.

Of Soloviev, Biffi had written in a lecture celebrating the centenary of his birth: "A passionate defender of man, he was allergic to any philanthropy. He was an indefatigable apostle of peace, but an adversary of pacifism; advocate of unity among Christians but critical of any irenism; in love with nature but far from sharing today's ecological infatuation: in short, a friend of truth and an enemy of ideology. And today we have extreme need of men who can inspire and guide like Vladimir Soloviev."

The Pope's Lenten Retreat

By all accounts a great retreat. I would note that it seems taht Cardinal Biffi has really aimed this retreat at the pope, especially in the first conference where there seems to be a direct remark about what Cardinal Ratzinger had often said about the church being reduced to a "small flock." Read the summaries for your own mini-retreat.


How they are reporting about it in Italy....from the Papa Ratzinger Forum:

Here is a translation of how the Italian service of Vatican Radio reported on the first three meditations led by Cardinal Biffi:

• The existence of an invisible world, which implies the presence of divine creatures ignored and derided by the culture of positivist scientism,
• The need to convert hearts so they may consciously choose God rather than evil,
• And thus, in this context, the value of repentance with respect to the sense of sin, and the value of the life we live with the hope that there is something beyond rather than nothing -

These were some of the themes elaborated by Cardinal Giacomo Biffi, archbishop emeritus of Bologna, in the first three meditations he prepared for the Lenten spiritual exercises at the Vatican for the Pope and the Roman Curia. The exercises started yesterday afternoon at the Redemptoris Mater chapel of the Apostolic Palace.

Alessandro Caroli of Vatican Radio reports further:

By his very nature, man strives to conceive the existence of an 'invisible world', the hypothesis of 'another world' outside the perception of our senses, Biffi observed. To exclude prejudicially the existence of a beyond is an irrational attitude - because man, who is not omniscient, cannot presume to state with certainty what he can neither touch nor see, and and to exclude the idea of a beyond would mean, substantially, condemning himself to a life that has no sense. But even the believer, says Biffi, risks reducing the breadth of divine things to to the measure of his own misery. In summary, this was the premise for the first Lenten meditation proposed by Cardinal Biffi Sunday afternoon at the start of the annual Lenten retreat for the Pope and the Roman Curia. The sign that one takes the 'invisible world' seriously, he said,is if one takes the world of angels seriously. He stigmatized the mentality today for whom the hidden reality of angels is among the most derisive concepts, because that mentality is not inclined to think at all about 'higher things.' ['Things above' or 'Higher things' is the theme of this year's retreat.] But if one considers these 'higher realities', then, Cardinal Biffi says, the Christian will lose his fear that the Church is being reduced to a small flock compared to the forces that undermine it, because he will see the Church for what it is: part of a very crowded community that inhabits the space between earth and heaven.

In the two meditations on Monday morning, Cardinal Biffi dwelt on two aspects of the faith that call for particular reflection duting Lent; conversion - and therefore, the sense of sin and of redemptive repentance; and death itself as redemption. The liturgy of Lent, Biffi said, in the first of the Monday meditations, derives from a sentence that represents the opening of Jesus's public preaching, "Repent and believe in the Gospel." Therefore, he said, Lent is not the time for the believer to determine 'if' there is something he needs to change in himself, but rather 'what' he should change, or convert from a state of error to one of grace. And conversion - which is a change of direction in one's journey through life - starts from the heart, from internal repentance. If the disciple of Christ firmly renounces sin, it doesn't detract at all from the certainty of divine mercy, and authentic repentance will inevitably beer fruit in joy. Biffi noted that today, there is no sense of repentance because the sense of sin itself has been lost. But this is not really true, he said with some irony, because our era is marked by the continuous denunciation of wrongdoing in the media and public tribunals. Which means that the sense of sin exists, but a sense of the sins committed by others. Onthe contrary, he said, redemptive repentance lies in recognizing one's mistakes, because dissociating oneself from sin is in itself coming closer to God who is the antithesis of evil, and in doing so, we can better perceive the imminence of His kingdom.

Biffi's take-off for the third meditation was the imposition of ashes at the start of Lent - and the sentence that accompanies the rite ("Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return"). In a world that does not recognize the invisible world, he said, death is defeat. And a life which, according to that mentality, is destined to end in nothingness, also renders itself empty - because according to this vision, the most perverse existence and the most generous would both be rewarded smilarly, with nothingness. And so, that mentality almost denies death itself by not talking about it. The growing number of suicides, like the death of some teenagers who just came back from a discotheque [referring to some fresh news in Italy] are the tragic emblems of lives spent senselessly. But such a void, life without sense, is absurd for the human mind, Biffi said. And this is where the evangelical message makes a profound difference. The Christian does not censor the thought of death, he is not ashamed of feeling dismayed by the thought, because the Lord too felt all these apprehensions. Biffi said the ministers of the Church must be able to combat the conditioning that avoids a serious reflection on death. Man, he said, should be led to choose not between an unknown future and a present life of enjoyment, but between a life devoid of sense which ends in nothingness, or the hope of an event that will give us both a sense for our earthly life and a goal which is resurrection. The Resurrection of Christ is a reality that can be opposed to the ineluctable and experiential fact of death. And that is why, he said, ashes can never be dissociated from Easter. Ashes symbolize not so much what we will become, but what we could become if we do not open our hearts to the invisible world which encompasses the event of Salvation. And also, that life without God would be a flame that can only end in a handful of ashes.

An Inconvenient Truth for Al

Gore home's energy use: 20 times average

Titanic Stupidity

Mike Aquilina comments on Cameron's latest stupidity, while at the same time making mention of a short visit we had the other day. Mike's blog is an excellent resource as well as a timely place to check up on all things the early Fathers (and Mothers) of the Church.

The Future of the Catholic Church in the U.S.

Moving South...

For those who know their history, this is a case of "back to the future"--since the South was orignally a Catholic stronghold under the Spanish and French.

From The Daily Dispatch:

For every Boston, there is a Knoxville, Tenn. For every Philadelphia, there is a Savannah, Ga.

"The church is closing parishes in the Northeast, but Catholics are building them in the South and the Southwest," said Wagner. "We know that a lot of that is driven by immigration and population trends. ... So if you really want to know where Catholicism is alive and where it's struggling, you can't just look at membership statistics. You have to ask other questions."

New Padre Pio???

From Catholic News:

The British Daily Telegraph reports that like Padre Pio, who displayed stigmata for the last 50 years of his life, Br Elia, whose face, hands and feet appear covered in blood each Lent is revered by fans from the country's poorest to World Cup-winning footballer Francesco Totti.

Yesterday was supposed to be a chance for as many as 10,000 people, including visitors from Britain, to meet Br Elia, 45, at the headquarters of the Jesuit movement in Naples.

Now that Lent has begun, time is running out to see him before he takes to his bed over April to undergo his annual torment.Instead, his appearance was cancelled at the last minute by the Catholic Church, which is concerned about the rapid spread of Br Elia's fame.

The Vatican is reported to have asked Br Elia not to give interviews or to hold any public religious services until it has made up its mind on the veracity of his stigmata.

The Myth of Muslim Support for Terror

From The Christian Science Monitor:

Those who think that Muslim countries and pro-terrorist attitudes go hand-in-hand might be shocked by new polling research: Americans are more approving of terrorist attacks against civilians than any major Muslim country except for Nigeria.

The survey, conducted in December 2006 by the University of Maryland's prestigious Program on International Public Attitudes, shows that only 46 percent of Americans think that "bombing and other attacks intentionally aimed at civilians" are "never justified," while 24 percent believe these attacks are "often or sometimes justified."

Contrast those numbers with 2006 polling results from the world's most-populous Muslim countries – Indonesia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Nigeria. Terror Free Tomorrow, the organization I lead, found that 74 percent of respondents in Indonesia agreed that terrorist attacks are "never justified"; in Pakistan, that figure was 86 percent; in Bangladesh, 81 percent.

3,000 Celebrate 40th Anniversary of the Charismatic Renewal

In Detroit, from the Archdiocese of Detroit site:

Fr. Cantalamessa, 73, had his own Charismatic experience of being baptized in the Holy Spirit 30 years ago, and was appointed to his post with the Holy See in 1980 by Pope John Paul II, then reconfirmed in his position by Pope Benedict XVI.
He told the gathering the best way to prepare for a new Pentecost was to study the opening chapters of the Acts of the Apostles, in which the original Pentecost is described.
Traditional Western and Eastern depictions of that event at which the Holy Spirit descended on a rather sedate gathering of the Apostles do not seem to match the event as he understands it, Fr. Cantalamessa said.

More on the "Finding of Jesus' Tomb"

From the archeologist who oversaw the excavation of the tomb some twenty-seven years ago, as reported in Newsday:

But Bar-Ilan University Professor Amos Kloner, a Jerusalem archeologist who officially oversaw the work at the tomb in 1980 and has published detailed findings on its contents, dismissed the claims."It makes a great story for a TV film," he told The Jerusalem Post Saturday night.

"But it's impossible. It's nonsense," he said.

Now: Some Ponder If Jesus Could Be Cloned

Read my post yesterday on the Discovery Channel program and then of course my first question this morning when I read this was where are you going to get the DNA from? Their answer:

What if you found skin cells from Jesus on the Shroud of Turin or on a shard of the cross?Could you clone God?That's the question raised in three new books--"In His Image: Book One of the CloneChrist Trilogy" by James BeauSeigneur; "The Jesus Thief," by J.R. Lankford; and "Cloning Christ," by Peter Senese and Robert Geis.

The Latest Outrage--The Tomb of Jesus and Mary Magdalene?

Since the Discovery Channel is carrying this garbage, you might expect that their take on it would be the most outlandish. The tomb in question was discovered twenty-seven years ago and if it were anywhere near as spectacular as they are claiming in this piece you would be hearing about it on all the cable networks around the clock (it would bump Anna Nicole's lack of a tomb coverage), and the networks as well. So what we have is someone who is going to do a lot of conjecturing and in the end a lot of blaspheming for those of us who worship the Son of God.
One other note about this, what is the DNA they are matching the bodies to, something they got from the Shroud of Turin?

From the Discover Channel:

New scientific evidence, including DNA analysis conducted at one of the world's foremost molecular genetics laboratories, as well as studies by leading scholars, suggests a 2,000-year-old Jerusalem tomb could have once held the remains of Jesus of Nazareth and his family.
The findings also suggest that Jesus and Mary Magdalene might have produced a son named Judah.
The DNA findings, alongside statistical conclusions made about the artifacts — originally excavated in 1980 — open a potentially significant chapter in Biblical archaeological history.
A documentary presenting the evidence, "The Lost Tomb of Jesus," will premiere on the Discovery Channel on March 4 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. The documentary comes from executive producer James Cameron and director Simcha Jacobovici.

For an intelligent, quick overview of the Mary Magdalene saga, check out Amy's:

De-coding Mary Magdalene: Truth, Legend, And Lies

Book Review-Short Podcast

A short book review of Raymond Arroyo's latest book:

Lenten Meditation: First Sunday of Lent

At Lenten Meditations along with a podcast at the same site.

Podcast of the Daily Office of Readings here.

Daily Lenten Meditations in Book Form by me:

The Power of the Cross: Meditations for the Lenten Season

The Open Book/Annunciations Bestseller's List

Our Bestseller's List

What Books People who Read Amy's Open Book blog and Michael's Annunciation blog are Buying

February 2007 (2/24/2007)

1. The Power of the Cross: Meditations for the Lenten Season

2. The How-To Book of the Mass: Everything You Need to Know but No One Ever Taught You

3. The Gift of Faith

4. The Best American Catholic Short Stories: A Sheed & Ward Collection

5. Those Terrible Middle Ages: Debunking the Myths



Books that Spark the Most Interest (for this month so far):

1. The Power of the Cross: Meditations for the Lenten Season

2. Those Terrible Middle Ages: Debunking the Myths

3. The How-To Book of the Mass: Everything You Need to Know but No One Ever Taught You

4.*Inventing the Flat Earth: Columbus and Modern Historians

5.*Fire in the City: Savonarola and the Struggle for the Soul of Renaissance Florence

*People ultimately don't buy the book, (although a few people have since this list first appeared last week).

New Books that Show Strong Interest:

Rome 1300: On the Path of the Pilgrim

By Way of Grace: Moving from Faithfulness to Holiness

A Pocket Guide to the Meaning of Life by Peter Kreeft

Last Month's Bestsellers

January 2007

1. The Gift of Faith

2. When Children Became People: The Birth Of Childhood In Early Christianity

3. The Best American Catholic Short Stories: A Sheed & Ward Collection

4. God Alone Suffices

5. Behold, I stand at the Door and Knock

Today's Feast

A Story on the Men's Conference in Milwaukee

I'll be at the one in Cincinnati next Saturday signing books, along with Coach Danny Abramowicz at the Our Sunday Visitor booth...

From the Milwaukee Catholic Journal:

Following lunch, Danny Abramowicz, a former member of the New Orleans Saints (1967-1973) and the San Francisco 49ers (1973-1974) and special teams coach for the Chicago Bears and offensive coordinator for the Saints, also used sports metaphors to convey his message on the need for spiritual workouts.A spiritual workout, said Abramowicz, should begin with stretching out in prayer, developing the habit of prayer. Choose a regular time and find a place to pray, even if for five to 10 minutes a day, he said.

The second step in Abramowicz’s spiritual workout is jogging to Mass.

“If I told you that Jesus Christ was going to be at Lambeau Field or Miller Park today, we’d have a stampede of people trying to get there,” he said. “But guess what? Jesus Christ is going to be right here with us at Mass.”Why wouldn’t we go regularly to Mass, if we truly believe it is Jesus in the Eucharist?" He asked.

Q. Little Time to Read? A. Pocket Guides

Our Sunday Visitor is launching a series of pocket guides and I noticed this morning that one of them that will be released next month is already on the Catholic Bestseller's list on Amazon--namely the one written by Dr. Peter Kreeft. Here is the one by him and the others that will be coming out next month:

A Pocket Guide to the Meaning of Life by Peter Kreeft

A Pocket Guide to Purgatory by Patrick Madrid

A Pocket Guide to the Mass by Michael Dubruiel

And the one pocket guide that was released last year:

A Pocket Guide to Catholic Apologetics by Patrick Madrid

And this Fall they will release:

A Pocket Guide to Confession by Michael Dubruiel

Along with two others that still are being finalized by two very popular Catholics in the U.S.

Mepkin Abbey Counters PETA Accusations of Animal Cruelity

The Post and Courrier has the story. The Monk's website has a statement which in part reads:

It has always been Mepkin Abbey's purpose to provide the healthiest environment for our chickens, to treat them as one of God's precious creatures and to offer to consumers the best possible product for their health and enjoyment. That is precisely why we moved to the cage arrangement over 30 years ago, and why we have continued with it to the present. Cages provide hens protection from predators, soil-borne diseases, and diseases that are caused from walking in litter or waste.

We stand by our product and by the commitment we make to our customers as stated on the inner cover of our egg carton.

Bishop's Theory on Anna Nicole Smith

From the Wisconsin State Journal:

Bishop Robert Morlino says the legal circus being waged over Anna Nicole Smith can be laid at the steps of a state that "does not protect and reinforce the marriage bond and the true definition of marriage."

Morlino, the spiritual head of the quarter-million Christians in the Madison Catholic Diocese, wrote in Thursday's edition of the Catholic Herald that "when civil law opened the door to no-fault divorce and in- vitro fertilization, the civil law started down the slippery slope that led us to the present moment."

"Tinkering with the marriage bond and the definition of marriage empowers the courts to usurp decisions that belong to the traditional family and affords great wealth to eager litigators," the bishop continued. "The natural law is the guide both to freedom and to conscience in these very sensitive matters."

One of the many things I like about Morlino is his ability to make me look at the news in a way differently than I ordinarily would. And, as a columnist for his own newspaper, he certainly has as much right to capitalize on Anna Nicole as I do in this column.

He says he is "praying frequently for the respose and soul" of Smith, which, to be honest, makes him a far better man than I am.