Ordination Date

Does anyone know of a good, reliable, free and easy to use coundown clock that I could use here to countdown the days, minutes, seconds till my ordination?  Let me know in the comments or e-mail me at padredana@hotmail.com.

What Is Perfection?

Ever since the words "be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect" came forth from the Savior's lips we have been debating what he meant.  Here is a great quote from Cardinal Newman about what perfection consists in.

"It is the saying of holy men that, if we wish to be perfect, we have nothing more to do than to perform the ordinary duties of the day well. A short road to perfec­tion-short, not because it easy, but because pertinent and intelligible. There are no short ways to perfection, but there are sure ones.

I think this is an instruction which may be of great practical use to persons like ourselves. It is easy to have vague ideas what perfection is, which serve well enough to talk about, when we do not intend to aim at it; but as soon as a person really desires and sets about seeking it himself, he is dissatisfied with anything but what is tangible and clear, and constitutes some sort of direction towards the practice of it.

We must bear in mind what is meant by perfection. It does not mean any extraordinary service, anything out of the way, or especially heroic-not all have the opportu­nity of heroic acts, of sufferings-but it means what the word perfection ordinarily means. By perfect we mean that which has no flaw in it, that which is complete, that which is consistent, that which is sound - we mean the opposite to imperfect. As we know well what imperfec­tion in religious service means, we know by the contrast what is meant by perfection.

He, then, is perfect who does the work of the day perfectly, and we need not go beyond this to seek for perfection. You need not go out of the round of the day.

I insist on this because I think it will simplify our views,' and fix our exertions on a definite aim. If you ask me what you are to do in order to be perfect, I say, first-Do not lie in bed beyond the due time of rising; give your first thoughts to God; make a good visit to the Blessed Sacrament; say the Angelus devoutly; eat and drink to God's glory; say the Rosary well; be recollected; keep out bad thoughts; make your evening meditation well; examine yourself daily; go to bed in good time, and you are already perfect." - John Henry Cardinal Newman.

Quote compliments of Sed Contra.

Christian Guide to Small Arms

For those of you who think Christianity and guns don't mix there is this amusing little website.

Back To School

Well folks, I'm back at it.  Break was wonderful, I actually feel refreshed and ready to make it through the next two weeks of class before Christmas Break.

Roe Challenge Moves to Supreme Court

Experts, Groups, and Attorneys Needed for Friend of Court Briefs

Roe v Wade is headed back to the Supreme Court. The Justice Foundation will file a writ of certiorari on or before January 17, 2005 asking the Court to hear Norma McCorvey's Rule 60 motion to reverse Roe v. Wade. But a hearing is not guaranteed. Friend of the court briefs will be needed to support the petition for a hearing.

The Justice Foundation, which is representing McCorvey, is willing to help match groups and individuals with an interest in filing briefs in support of this writ with attorneys and academics who will assist in writing the briefs. Also needed are attorneys licensed to practice before the Supreme Court willing to file the briefs on behalf of these individuals or groups.

Groups and individuals have an interest in presenting to the Court arguments regarding how abortion has injured women and society are also needed. The Justice Foundation will help match you with attorneys who will help prepare and file your brief.

Groups or individuals needed include:

a.. Women hurt by abortion.
b.. Victims of domestic violence related to abortion and/or directors or counselors at agencies serving victims of domestic violence
c.. Former abortion providers.
d.. Physicians, psychologists, and other professionals who have treated women injured by abortion.
e.. Pregnancy care centers.

If you are an attorney able to file Supreme Court briefs, an attorney or academic willing to help draft briefs, or an individual or group that wishes to be represented by a brief, please contact the Justice Foundation at (210) 614-7157.

Women interested in filing Friends of the Court forms should go to this link.

Learn more about this case here.

Thanks to Mark Shea for the story.

I've Been Waiting For A List...

...of the various "Ratherisms" that you could hear from Dan Rather on election night.  Thanks to Ruminations for the list.

"Do you hear that knocking...President Bush's re-election is at the door."

"His lead is as thin as turnip soup."

"This race is humming along like Ray Charles."

"This race is hotter than a Times Square Rolex."

"Ohio becomes like a sauna for the two candidates. All they can do is wait and sweat."

"One's reminded of that old saying, 'Don't taunt the alligator until after you've crossed the creek.'"

"Bush is sweeping through the South like a big wheel through a cotton field."

"No question now that Kerry's rapidly reaching the point where he's got his back to the wall, his shirttails on fire and the bill collector's at the door."

(To Joe Lockhart) "What about Michigan? It's been out there for a long time. Is that making your fingernails sweat?"

"This presidential race has been crackling like a hickory fire for at least the last hour and a half."

"We keep talking about Ohio if you've been tuning in and out or you put the baby to bed or you went to pop the cap on an adult, or otherwise, beverage..."

"We used to say if a frog had side pockets, he'd carry a handgun."

"In southern states they beat him like a rented mule."

"If you try to read the tea leaves before the cup is done you can get yourself burned."

"We had a slight hitch in our giddy up, but we corrected that."

"In some ways, George Bush's lead is as thin as November ice."

"You look at the map and say it's all a big Bush victory. But this is one time when your Mother is right, looks can be deceiving."

"John Kerry's moon has just moved behind a cloud, as far as Florida is concerned."

The election is "closer than Lassie and Timmy"

"Keep in mind they are teetotally meetmortally convinced they have Ohio won."

"Vice President Dick Cheney would not have flown all the way out there (Hawaii) overnight and put that lei around his neck and sort of hula-danced, if you will, unless he thought there was a chance of carrying that out there."

"You can almost hear the GOP (deep breathing sound). We're getting within maybe smelling distance."

"We don't know what to do. We don't know whether to wind a watch or bark at the moon."

On how the results are affecting strategists: "It's one reason so many of them drink a lot."

Break Begins Today...

After my one and only class today Thanksgiving break begins, and it will last until Sunday night.  Since I was just home a week and half ago I will be staying here in St. Louis so I can get some work done, which there is much of.  I have a history paper to write, a series of ten moral questions for my Social Ethics class, come up with six questions for my Masters degree comprehensive exam, so there is plenty to do.  On top of all that I will have to get in some rest...it is a break after all.

Blogging may be slow over the next couple of days...but then again maybe not...it depends on how much I decide to put off my school work.  Procrastination...a seminarians best friend.

Absolutely Ridiculous

"ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland public school students are free to thank anyone they want while learning about the 17th century celebration of Thanksgiving  — as long as it's not God.

And that is how it should be, administrators say.

Young students across the state read stories about the Pilgrims and Native Americans, simulate Mayflower voyages, hold mock feasts and learn about the famous meal that temporarily allied two very different groups.

But what teachers don't mention when they describe the feast is that the Pilgrims not only thanked the Native Americans for their peaceful three-day indulgence, but repeatedly thanked God.

"We teach about Thanksgiving from a purely historical perspective, not from a religious perspective," said Charles Ridgell, St. Mary's County Public Schools curriculum and instruction director.

Teaching about a secular Thanksgiving counters the holiday's original premise as stated by George Washington in his Thanksgiving Day proclamation: "It is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor."

Such omissions also deny the Pilgrims' religious fervor in the celebration of Thanksgiving, as related by Harry Hornblower, an archaeologist who spent years researching the history of the holiday.

According to the Web site Plimoth.org, dedicated to Hornblower's research, the Pilgrims "fell upon their knees and blessed the God of heaven who had brought them over the vast and furious ocean.""

"School administrators need to get a backbone," said Joel Whitehead, president and lawyer at the Rutherford Institute, a constitutional rights defense organization. "We are in real danger of throwing out cultural heritage in our country if we don't know what Thanksgiving is really about."

Amen!  "School administrators need to get a backbone!"  It's about time someone said that.

Read the whole article here.

This Must Be One Heck Of A Church

It's almost as bad as the Virgin Mary grilled cheese sandwich.

St. Louis Review Publishes Article About Catholic Blogs...

...and they interviewed me.  There isn't a picture of me in the online edition, but in the actual paper addition there is a nice color picture of me working on my blog.  Here is an excerpt from the article:

"Rev. Mr. Dana Christensen was just looking for a way to keep in touch with his family back in South Dakota.

Christensen, a transitional deacon at Queen of All Saints Parish in Oakville and fourth-year theology student at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in Shrewsbury, set up in late August an online journal, or Web log — better known in technology slang as a "blog."

It was a way, he said, for "people back home to keep up with what was going on with my life," Christensen said.

But what he didn’t realize was how popular it would become.

"It sort of evolved into more about saying what was on my mind, or things that were in the news," he said. "It just sort of evolved as a way for people to discuss various topics — and there are some pretty heated discussions. It’s a lot of fun."

Many recent entries on his site have been about issues surrounding the presidential election. Two entries about a group of Kenrick-Glennon seminarians’ pro-life witness at a John Kerry rally last month garnered more than 10,000 hits to his site for a few days. Right now, he gets an average of 400 visits each day.

The popularity of online blogs has increasingly become a way for Catholics here to communicate their thoughts on various issues. Several other Kenrick-Glennon seminarians also have their own online blogs.

But perhaps most importantly, blogs can afford the opportunity for evangelization, Christensen said.

Pope John Paul II has repeatedly spoken about the importance of the Internet as a way for Catholics to spread the Gospel message. In his 2002 World Communications Day message, the pope said: "For the Church the new world of cyberspace is a summons to the great adventure of using its potential to proclaim the Gospel message. This challenge is at the heart of what it means at the beginning of the millennium to follow the Lord’s command to ‘put out into the deep.’"

"A lot of apologetics goes on my web log," Christensen said. "People are asking questions such as ‘Why do Catholics do this?’ It gives me and others who read the blog (an opportunity) to respond to that — and hopefully through that, people will be educated and inspired."

Because writing blog entries requires him to keep up on current events, Christensen said, "it helps keep me sharp — especially with some of the conversations that go on through the comment boxes.

"There’s one guy who reads my blog — he’s an atheist — and he’s very critical of the Church. So to have these ongoing dialogues keeps me theologically sharp."

Read the whole article here.

Researchers Call on Congress To Do Something About Porn Addiction

"Internet pornography is corrupting children and hooking adults into an addiction that threatens their jobs and families, a panel of anti-porn advocates told the hearing organized by Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., chairman of the Commerce subcommittee on science.

Brownback, a father of five, said when he was a boy, the typical kid's exposure was limited to occasional peeks at dirty magazines illicitly obtained by a buddy.

Now, he said, pornography seems pervasive. Children run across it while researching homework on the Internet. Vulgar ads arrive unexpectedly by e-mail. Some of his middle-age male friends limit their time alone in hotel rooms to avoid the temptation of graphic pay-per-view movies, Brownback said.

Mary Anne Layden, co-director of a sexual trauma program at the University of Pennsylvania, said pornography's effect on the brain mirrors addiction to heroin or crack cocaine. She told of one patient, a business executive, who arrived at his office at 9 a.m. each day, logged onto Internet porn sites, and didn't log off until 5 p.m.

Layden called for billboards and bus ads warning people to avoid pornography, strip clubs and prostitutes."

Read the whole article here.

Lets pray that we as a country will do something about this scourge on society.

Congratulations To The Bishops of The United States

For having the courage to do what is right.

Apparently the Rainbow Sash folks showed up at the plenary session Mass at the Basilica of The National Shrine in Washington DC and tried to recieve communion and were denied.  It's good to see the Bishops as a whole enforcing the universal law of the Church.

Of course, many people who do not understand the Church's belief will call it homophobia, but it's not.  Rather it is out of love for them that we deny them Holy Communion, because as St. Paul warns, receiving communion in the state of mortal sin would be "eating and drinking unto damnation,"  and we do not want to see them damned.

The Faith of President Bush

From The Weight of Glory:

Nestled into the obscurity of a Catholic church bulletin in Manhattan, you'll find this story:

September 12, 2004
From the Pastor
As summer draws to a close, it seems that we have had very little of a lull in these weeks. Many of our parishioners have been on vacation, but a great many stayed in the city and were joined by an increasing number of tourists and visitors. The season reached a high point on Thursday, September 2, with a visit to our parish by the President of the United States, his father the former President, and their First Ladies. They joined me for some quite time in the rectory followed by a prayer service in the church. The president is a man of sincere prayer and was intent on a holy hour of meditation. As this was to be private, no media or photographers and no public announcements were allowed until the actual day. The Presidents were joined in our church afterward by other officials including the President's advisors, members of the Cabinet and Congress, the Governor and Mayor and former Mayor. It was not easy to maintain privacy with central Manhattan closed to traffic, hundreds of Secret Service and security and armed guards on the church roof, but such is the protection required in these days of terrorism and confused people.

As we resume the normal pace of parish life, we note that 2005 will be the 50th anniversary of the chartering of the parish. In preparation, there are some worthy and exciting projects in store about which I will soon be writing. No parish responsible to Christ can be satisfied with itself as an enclosed "community" nor should its chief efforts be spent on the social entertainments of ourselves, although these are harmless and even helpful in due proportion. Our chief efforts must be in catechesis, spiritual formation, and evangelization. In such a time of challenge and growth, we should consider words written by Abraham Lincoln in 1863 and which I had the privilege of reading to our two presidential visitors and their guests:

"We have been the recipients of the choices bounties of Heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth and power as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which has preserved us in peace and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us, and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us. It behooves us, then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins and to pray for clemency and forgiveness."

- Father Rutler

It's good to know we have a leader who prays. Let's remember to keep him in our prayers as well.

Holy Smokes! Kerry Takes Back His Concession??!!??

The flip-flopping continues, check it out here.

Upcoming Paper

I have to write a paper (15 pages) on some interesting topic in the area of the Sacrament of Penance, Annointing of the Sick, or the Funeral Rites.  Any ideas?

Export A Liberal Today!

Here is a fun little article by Stephen Moore at NRO about the current rise in requests for visa's, citizenship applications, and political assylum applications in for Canada and France. 

Mr. Moore says "It would also appear, then, that the party that preaches tolerance as the preeminent virtue just can't tolerate one thing: conservatives. (This is especially true when conservatives control the instruments of political power.) Well, I respect that. When you get a fanny-whupping like the Left got on Election Day — when every one of your core values (tax hikes on the rich, abortion on demand, government-run health care, reparation payments for slavery, one-world government, polygamy) has been rejected by your bigoted and narrow-minded fellow citizens — it's cowardly to stick around.

I mean, really: How can any self-respecting blue-state liberal Democrat possibly stomach four more years of Republican rule in America (which, for many of the MTV Rock the Vote Generation-Xers, must seem like consecutive life sentences)? Do liberals really want the Darth Vader of American politics, Karl Rove, to rub their noses in it for another four-year term? Can they fathom being governed by red-state conservative Republicans, who, if the New York Times is right, have such low I.Q.s that it's hard to believe we ever managed to get toilet trained?

Liberals of America, unite! Leave this horrid and wicked and irredeemable backwater! Why not create a workers' paradise off the shores of France? You can all speak French, allow Janet Jackson to show both her breasts, create a cradle-to-grave welfare state, drink Starbucks lattes, read the New York Times every day, scramble the satellite signal for Fox News, and worship your new leader, Michael Moore! Hell, we'll throw in Harvard and the whole faculty! It's a gift. Here's an added incentive: You will never have to take the war on terrorism to the terrorists; they will almost certainly bring it right to your doorstep. "

He also provides a plan to help liberals pay for their trip if they can't afford it.

It's worth a read...check it out here.

Bumper-Sticker

I saw this bumper sticker the other day.  I just thought I would share...

An Interesting Conversation

When a group of seminarians held a pro-life witness at the post debate Kerry Rally in St. Louis we photographed by this gentleman, who is a seminarian for the United Church of Christ.  There is an interesting conversation being held on his blog about how so called Christians can justify their pro-choice position (this gentleman is pro-choice). 

Check out the conversation and add our two cents.  You can find it here.

Great Post On The Media Hype About The Scandal As Bishops Meet in DC

A few excerpts from the excellent post authored by the SoDakMonk:

"The US Bishops are having their meeting these days.  And the Legacy Media, still sore over statements of US Bishops that may have cost Kerry the Catholic vote, are starting to retaliate....The news item quotes a couple of the "usual suspects", Cozzens and Sipe, on their totally unsupported claims that 30 to 50% of priests are gay.  It also drops a few stats about abuse cases without context.  If this had appeared in the Washington Post, I would not have been surprised.  So I guess liberals have no monopoly on anti-clericalism.  Let's look at some facts regarding these claims.

    The 4,392 priests accused of abuse represent less than 4% of the 110,000+ priests who served in 188 dioceses over 50 years.

    Of those 4,392 priests accused, about one third of the accusations were never substantiated.  Have you ever heard of innocent until proven guilty? (But I guess that doesn't apply to priests.) This means less than 3% had a substantiated accusation against them.

   Look at the time distribution of the abuse reports. You see they are centered on a certain generation ordained in the 1960's.  This is the same generation that gave us the likes of Cozzens and Sipe. Notice the last bar on the graph covers 20+ years, not ten like the others.  The problem has been dealt with. Some just don't want to admit it because it gives them political leverage. 

Cozzens and Sipe are well known liberal dissenters from church teachings on sexual morals.  They have axes to grind against the Church, and against the latest generation of priests. Sipe in particular is in favor of various sexual perversions.  Look at the books he has written and you can see he has a disordered view of sex.  Cozzens is a member of the "sour grapes" generation, looking back in bitterness. They tried to protestantize the Church and failed.

    The only scientific study of priests and sexuality done recently was the LA Times survey of a year or two ago, reporting that 9% to 15% of priests could be considered homosexual.  This depends on how the term is defined.  This is higher than the general population, something anecdotally noticed in ministers of all denominations.  It is nowhere near the absurd figures claimed by Sipe or Cozzens."

Read the whole post here.

Great post Padre...keep up the good work.

USCCB Elects New President

And the winner is...Bishop William S. Skylstad of Spokane, Washington. 

The New York Times puts it this way:

"... Battles within the church over the sexual abuse scandal and the church's role in American politics added an element of tension to this year's selection, and he won with just over 50 percent of the vote instead of the customary 70 or 80 percent, according to people involved in the meeting of the bishops in Washington, D.C.

Prominent conservative Catholics said they had lobbied the bishops to pass over Bishop Skylstad, pushing for one of a group of younger, more conservative bishops, including Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Denver, Bishop Donald W. Wuerl of Pittsburgh, and Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan of Milwaukee.

Many Catholic conservatives and a handful of bishops argue that church officials should more forcefully insist that Catholic teachings on the fundamental importance of opposing abortion and same-sex marriage should guide Catholic voters and public officials. They had hoped to elevate one of the bishops who helped lead their charge in the last election."

Let us keep him in our prayers as he takes on this daunting task.  God knows he will need strength and courage to confront the culture of death head on...that is if he has the guts to do it.

Episcopal Ordination

Here are some pictures from the Episcopal Ordination of Msgr. Thomas Gullickson, a priest of my diocese (Sioux Falls, South Dakota).  I was priveleged to be one of the deacons for the ceremony at which Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, Foreign Minister of the Vatican presided.  It was by far the most beautiful liturgy that I have ever experienced in South Dakota.  It was an emotional experience for everyone. 

The pictures below are excellent, and they really show off the beauty of our Cathedral in Sioux Falls.

For more pictures click here, and for an article from the local Sioiux Falls newspaper, The Argus Leader, click here.

Slow Blogging

Sorry for the slow blogging over the past week or so.  It has been quite busy, and will continue to be so until Monday when I hope to be back at regular blogging speed.

I'll Be In The Air Today

I am travelling home to South Dakota today for the funeral of a great uncle.   While I am am home I will also be one of the deacons for the ordination of Archbishop Elect Thomas Gullickson who will be ordained in Sioux Falls on November 11 as well my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary.

I will post again tomorrow.  Pray for safe travel.

New Links on The Left

I added a permanent link under "links" to my reports on what happened to me and the other seminarians at the Kerry Rally.  If you haven't read it yet I highly recommend it.

In Honor of God's (Albeit Small) Victory Over Death:

This is the day the Lord hath made;
He calls the hours His own;
Let Heav'n rejoice, let earth be glad,
And praise surround the throne.

Today He rose and left the dead,
And Satan's empire fell;
Today the saints His triumphs spread,
And all His wonders tell.

Hosanna to th'anointed King,
To David's holy Son;
Help us, O Lord; descend and bring
Salvation from Thy throne.

Blest be the Lord, Who comes to men
With messages of grace;
Who comes in God His Father's Name,
To save our sinful race.

Hosanna in the highest strains
The Church on earth can raise;
The highest heav'ns, in which He reigns,
Shall give Him nobler praise.

Compliments of Catholic Kerry Watch.

America Has Spoken...

...and overwhelmingly said that we do not want gay marriage.  Praise the Lord.  There is hope.

Life Triumphs over Death!!!

On the national level Kerry concedes to Bush.

In South Dakota Thune defeats Daschle.

Thanks be to God for both victories. 

Another Funny Video...

click here to watch it in Windows Media , Real Player or Quicktime.

Absolutely Hilarious

Find it here...make sure you watch it to the end.