Discussion Q’s for the Weekend

The next Virginia Attorney General?

(Click through to the links if you need more information.)

1. Is Shaq actually a LIABILITY for the Cavaliers?

2. Is it okay for a Christian to go trick-or-treating on Halloween?

3. Is Ken Cuccinelli a bigot because he said that homosexual acts are intrinsically wrong? Or do good people oppose same-sex marriage?

4. Is this, or is this not, the best motto a person could have:

I life would wish, and that I might
Waste it for you, like taper-light.

(from the Prologue of “Pericles, Prince of Tyre,” by Wm. Shakespeare)

5. Is Kelly Clarkson just about the most awesome pop singer out there?

Greetings and Goodbyes

So you are saying: “Now the Cavaliers have a lock on the 2010 title.” You are saying the LeBron-Shaq juggernaut will be unbeatable.

I defy these auguries.

Preacher predicts: The Wizards will be a better team than the Cavs in 2009-10…

…Click here for a priest-blog far superior to this pathetic endeavor. The reason it is a better blog is because the blogger is a better priest…

Father Tom King, S.J. 1929-2009

…In 1999, The Hoya newspaper declared that Fr. Tom King, S.J. was Georgetown University’s “Man of the Century.”

He was an irrepressible man of zeal and love. He alone kept Georgetown from falling off the Barque of Peter. He lived in a state of perpetual suspension between heaven and earth.

He is the first Catholic priest I ever spoke with in my life. If it weren’t for him, I would probably still be waiting tables for a living.

Rest in peace, Father King! I will never forget you. Please pray for your unworthy spiritual sons!

…Here is my sermon bidding farewell to the year of St. Paul:

Prognostication Club

Look, I am not trying to gloat when I point this out:

I predicted that the Magic would beat the Cavaliers back on April 16 (scroll down if you click through)!

I am not gloating. I am simply joining ranks with my man Charles Barkley. Last week, he also predicted the dethronement of King James.

As you can see below, my fellow prognosticator took a lot of abuse. He was humble and understated. He stuck to his guns:

Pass the Twinkies, brother! We are one game away from utter vindication!

Pope Benedict’s Teachings, et al

I prepared an eight-page thematic synthesis of the homilies and talks our Holy Father gave during his visit to the United States last year.

If you would like to read the synthesis, click here.

…At his funeral, Fr. Bill Finch–known to many as a gruff, intimidating man–was called a “peep.” This reminded me that:

You know your pretensions to being an art connoisseur are phony when your favorite 20th-century American painting is reduced to this:

Kevin Garnett

…Meanwhile, I just heard that my man K.G. may not play in the NBA post-season. A knee injury has plagued him all year.

This is a bitter disappointment for Preacher.

Garnett was my hero last June, when he and the Celtics put the then-hated Kobe Bryant in his place.

(Since then, Kobe became my man when he went to China.)

No Garnett means a tough May and June for Preacher.

…Though perhaps Dwight Howard could be this year’s hero.

If the Magic meet the Cavaliers, Howard could clean LeBron’s clock. Which would be sweet! We shall see…

Sweet Christmas Revenge

Gilbert's back

LeBron and the Cavs edged out the Wiz on Christmas Day. But that was then. This is now. Wizards/Zephyrs 109, King James’ Cavaliers 101!

Nonetheless, Preacher’s team at this point is the Caps. Ice hockey is a great sport. The Caps are good. Plus, they are funny.

Pretty soon it will be NHL play-off time.

Before then, they will play the NCAA Final Four in a football stadium. Bad idea–the football stadium thing, I mean.

If Michigan State doesn’t win, I hope Villanova wins.

Meanwhile, perhaps you are looking for a peaceful, quiet spot for meditation on the great mystery of life. I have been reading Annie Dillard’s For the Time Being, which occasions a great deal of reflection. I also read a book by Joseph Pieper I want to tell you about, but that is going to have to wait until after Easter…

Anyway, one of the best quiet spots is: the courtyard of the Freer Gallery on the Mall in Washington.

Here is a beautiful work of art that hangs in the Freer Gallery:

Breakfast in the Loggia by John Singer Sargent