Jet-Lagged but Eager

Very attentive pilgrims

Today we went to the Basilica of the Annunciation to meditate on a few things.

We considered three points:

1. Our Lady welcomed the Archangel Gabriel here with perfect humility.
2. God became man in our Lady’s womb right here.
3. He lived most of His human life here–His hidden life, the life He has shared with every human being.

Introduction to John 6

Like all the chapters of all the gospels, the sixth chapter of John proclaims that the Messiah has come, and it is Jesus.

Moses

It will help us to understand this chapter if we recall some of the great deeds the Lord did through His prophet Moses in ancient times. Through Moses, the Lord taught His people a lot about how to hope for the Messiah—about how to hope for freedom and salvation.

Let us recall the Exodus of the Israelites. By the power of God, Moses brought plagues upon the Egyptian slave-masters. Then he parted the Red Sea and led the people across it. Later, Moses turned the desert rock into a spring of water.

Moses also demonstrated the power of God when he brought the Law down from Mt. Sinai and then consecrated the people in a covenant of obedience to it.

Pastoral Charity

In his letters, St. Peter referred to the fact that his job was to remind his people of things they had already learned. They learned them when they first embraced the Catholic faith.

St. Peter also promised to make sure that there would be someone else to remind them after he had died (II Peter 1:15).

There is an unbroken succession of Popes from St. Peter to Benedict XVI. The succession from one pope to the next began with the fatherly love of the first Pope for his people…

…Please say a little prayer for me. The Archbishop has asked me to come to his office this afternoon. I am afraid he might do something rash, like entrust one of his parishes to me.

Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and lead the Israelites out of Egypt?” (Exodus 3:11)

…I am working on a new special-edition Bests list, to be published soon. In the meantime, here is an extra:

Best Bobby Darin song:

Roger Grand Slam + Outlook Answered

Federer beat Robin Soderling in less than two hours. Now Roger has won all four Grand Slam tournaments.

At one point during the NBC broadcast, Ted Robinson asked John McEnroe to comment: “Federer and Tiger Woods have struck up a friendship. This would be Federer’s fourteenth major title. Woods has won fourteen majors…”

McEnroe: “Let’s not bring golf into this.”

…Meanwhile, Orlando’s Rashard Lewis is sporting a Moses beard for the NBA Finals.

The Game 1 blow-out was a hiccup. Game 2 went to overtime. Very tough loss for the Magic.

…This morning I read an essay in favor of legal abortion.

Here is the reasoning, as I would summarize it: It is unfair to condemn a pregnant woman for being pregnant. The anti-abortion position involves judging the woman for sin. Therefore, the generous-hearted thing to do is to offer abortion as a way out of a shameful situation.

This would make sense, if…

1. The pro-life position really were a matter of hypocritical moralizing against the mother, and if

2. There were no innocent third party involved in an abortion.

But…

1. The pro-life position is NOT based on a moral judgment of the mother.

A woman can become pregnant by commiting a sin, or without commiting a sin. Whether or not the mother committed a sin when she became pregnant is a separate matter, and that matter really is private. It is the one part of the whole thing that really is “between a woman and her priest/minister/etc.”

2. There IS an innocent third party involved in an abortion (who gets killed).

Fornication is wrong, sure enough. Shouldn’t happen.

But I am not against abortion because fornication is wrong. I think abortion should be illegal because it involves killing an innocent human being.

Holy Week

Who made this week holy?

We human beings do not have the authority to consecrate a week.

Human authorities can designate federal holidays, Cherry Blossom festivals, tax-due dates, and such things. But no government can make a week—or even a day—holy.

It is not easy for us human beings even to know when Holy Week is. Sometimes it starts in March, sometimes in April. The ancient Romans invented the months. But Holy Week is more primordial than the months.

God made Holy Week. He sanctified this particular week not once, not twice, but three times.

The Lord first sanctified this week when He made the world. Holy Week is when God originally created everything.

Then He sanctified this week again when He led His people out of slavery. This is the week when the angel of death passed over the homes of the Israelites. It is the week when Moses led them out of Egypt, and the Red Sea parted before them.

Finally, the Lord came in the flesh and sanctified this week a third time.

He went to Jerusalem to offer His life as a sacrifice. He consecrated this week forever by sprinkling it with His own Blood.

Sinai

Here is a dramatic painting by El Greco of the mountain where Moses fasted and prayed for forty days.

…Meanwhile, who could have predicted that…

West Virginia would handily beat Pitt? Villanova would beat Marquette? Syracuse would beat UConn after SIX overtimes? The Big East tournament is up for grabs.

And today, Virginia Tech almost beat UNC!

more about "NCAA – Men", posted with vodpod

(Quite a long highlight reel–the game was over 3 1/2 hours!)

Snow Day Report

Now that baseball spring training has begun, we can report on Moses beards in the Major Leagues.

Manny Ramirez has one.

By the way, is there a chance that Manny Ramirez and Corey Glover of Living Colour are actually the same person?

[Only click to play if you are looking for a serious rock-out with an ambivalent Arsenio Hall studio audience.]

John Paul II on Pharaoh’s Cruelty

Exodus is a good book of the Bible for spiritual reading during Lent.

The American Thomas More?

John Salmons

Discussion Question #1: Are the Georgetown Hoyas the most disappointing ballclub in the nation this season?

President and Bulls fan Barack Obama was at the Verizon Center this evening, as was Moses-beard-wearing Bull John Salmons.

Both were disappointed. The Wizards managed to beat the Bulls by 23 points. (Not a typo.) Let’s hope the President comes to more Wizards games!

…Not long ago, the Bishop of Wilimington, Delaware, sent his people a pastoral letter about Abraham Lincoln. The title of the letter is a quote from President Lincoln’s first inaugural address. The quote concludes with the famous phrase, “the better angels of our nature.”

Musings on Mark 6, the Martyrs of Japan, Etc.

A faithful reader has a nomination for best scene from “Prince of Egypt.” It is pretty cool.

Another faithful reader asked me what I thought about the “Bishop Williamson affair.” The prelate in question is also known as the Dinoscopus. (You can read an eloquent letter if you click the link.)

I already spilled a little ink on this business. It looks like our Holy Father may not have written the letter I wished he would.

If he didn’t write it, I certainly don’t hold it against him. He knows better than I do. No one’s job is more demanding than the Pope’s.

That said, “being media-savvy” is not really part of the Pope’s job.

Above all, the Pope has to be a prayerful, obedient priest–obedient to the sacred inheritance that he has received. Secondly, the Pope has to try to be a loving father to ALL his children.