Deo Gratia!

Joel Athanasius Snyder
Born February 23, 2005 at 12:04

For more pictures of our family, see The Snyders of Pohang.

Lenten Silence

Tomorrow is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent.

Here are two good articles for this penitential season:

All About Lent [link via Ruminations]

40 Ways to Improve Your Lent [link via Dappled Things]

This blog will go silent for the 40 days of Lent, although I might break the silence when our second child is born or if any other major events occur.

In the meantime, I'll be submitting news stories about Catholic Asia to Santificarnos in Spain, which will appear on the Santificarnos Crossblog.

May God bless you all with a holy and penitential Lent!

Happy Pancake Day!

Today is Shrove Tuesday, a.k.a. Pancake Day, Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras or fetter Dienstag, the last day of Shrovetide, a.k.a. Carnival.

Enjoy!

Happy Lunar New Year (설날)!

From SEOL - LUNAR NEW YEAR:

새해복 많이 받으세요!

"Height Wars" in Korea

From Companies, Gov'ts Compete to Build Tallest Buildings:

(Left) The 112-story 2nd Lotte World
in Jamsil, Seoul. A construction
permit for the skyscraper is currently
being sought.

(Right) The 107-story Busan Lotte World.
Construction of the structure will be
completed by 2008

Viva il Papa!

From Papa compare a finestra, "continuo a servire Chiesa":

Il Papa saluta e denedice i fedeli dalla finestra della stanza
al Policlinico Gemelli, in cui è ricoverato da mercoledì sera.

Please consider offering this Special Prayer for Pope John Paul II.

Lest We Forget

From Death toll in Asian tsunami disaster tops 295,000:

Indonesia: 242,347
Sri Lanka: 30,957
India: 16,389
Thailand: 5,393
Maldives: 82
Malaysia: 68
Myanmar: 61
Bangladesh: 2
Somalia: 298
Tanzania: 10
Kenya: 1

Total: 295,608

Homecoming

Dozens of Episcopalians Follow Leader into Catholic Church [link via The Catholic Spectator]

Why Not? Half the World's Catholics Live There.

A Latin American Pope?

A Cause for Alarm

Catholic report: Pope nearly died

A Book Review

From Darwin to Hitler: Evolutionary Ethics, Eugenics, and Racism in Germany

Sandro Magister's Latest

A Philosopher, a Mystic, and a Theologian Sound an Alarm for the Church

Chinese Catholic Traditionalists

Researching the post below this one, I came across Chinese Catholic: St. Francis Xavier Association, whose goal "is the promotion of the Traditional Roman Catholic Doctrine and Liturgy among all Chinese."

The site shows that Catholic Traditionalism is not limited to Europeans and their descendants. It includes this fantastic image:

Today is...

QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY, the Sunday before Lent.

The 1960s

The Caelum et Terra Blog today has A Good Word for the '60s:

It was a moment of grace that was quickly squashed by the devil.

Confucianism's Organic Social Order

Many Westerners residing in Korea, of all political peruassions, despise Confucianism. As radical individualists of the left or right, they fail to see the positive impact of this philosophy (it is not a religion) on the ordering of an organic society based on responsibility to others, much like the West had in the Age of Faith, albeit inferior due to the lack of Divine Revelation.

When it comes to Confucianism, Koreans are "more Catholic than the Pope," that is, Confucian culture is more readily seen here than in China. I once met a Chinese student of architecture here in Korea who told me that to learn some aspects of traditional Chinese culture, it is necessary to come to Korea.

Here's an example of Korean Confucian culture from Elders Chastise Themselves for Failings of the Young:

President of the National Academy of
Sciences Kim Tae-kil and the president
of Dongduk Women’s University, Sohn
Bong-ho, ask for forgiveness for their
role in causing the character defects of
the young generation, during a self-
castigating performance of senior
citizens at the Sejong Center for the
Performing Arts on Friday.

[For a positive appraisal of Confucianism from the excellent Traditionalist Conservatism Page, read Confucius Today.]

Korean Shantytowns of Yesteryear in Comic Art

From "제 그림엔 여전히 고바우가 숨어있어요":

▲ '고바우 영감' 김성환 화백의 작품 '판잣집 지붕들'. 이 그림 속에는
'고바우 영감'이 숨어 있다. ⓒ2005 김성환

[link via Antti Leppäsen of Hunjangûi karûch'im]

The Jesus Prayer...

in English, Greek, Russian, and Latin, from Edward Yong of In principio erat Verbum - Εν αρχη ην ο Λογος:

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner.

Κύριε Ιησού Χριστέ, Υιέ του Θεού, ελέησόν με τον αμαρτωλόν.

Господи Исусе Христе, Сыне Божий, помилуй мя грешнаго.

Domine Iesu Christe, Fili Dei, miserere mei, peccatorem.

I can't read the Russian, but it looks nice.

UPDATE: I like the way the Greek looks and sounds so much, I'm going to put it under the El Greco painting on the side bar. Here's the Fatima Prayer in Latin it replaces:

Domine Iesu, dimitte nobis debita nostra, salva nos ab igne inferiori, perduc in caelum omnes animas, praesertim eas, quae misericordiae tuae maxime indigent.

Fyodor Mikhailovich

Dostoevsky and Korean Writers

From a Receiving Church to a Giving Church

Newly Established "Catholic Seoul Mission" to Strive for the Mission to America

Celebration of the Holy Mass in Korea

Agenzia Fides has plenty of "pictures of pilgrim Church around the world" in its Indice delle fotografie di attualità. Here are some from "Corea" to give you an idea of what the "Celebrazione della Santa Messa" is like here:

From the number of women, this appears to be a daily mass. Their menfolk are at work.

Korean Saint (and Patron of this Blog) Honored in Florence

Solemn celebration of the Eucharist with Cardinals Ennio Antonelli and Silvano Piovanelli, in the presence of members of the Church in Korea, in a church in Empoli: a side chapel dedicated to Korea’s first Catholic priest Saint Andrew Kim Taegon, martyred in 1846 at the age of 25

The Papacy

Despite its ghoulish title, this piece from Foreign Policy is a pretty good read:

Job Description for the Next Pope

It addresses three areas of concern: Secularism, Islam, and Bioethics.

Good News from the UN

U.N. to protect N. Korean defectors: 1st-ever 'refugee' designation bars China from sending them back

A Great Catholic Convert

Malcolm Muggeridge: A Biography

A Bizarre Get-Well Message

Excerpts from would-be papal assassin Mehmet Ali Agca's letter to the Holy Father, quoted in Pope's assailant sends get-well wishes from jail in Turkey:

Dear Pope John Paul II, I and you suffer for the fulfillment of a divine universal plan... I thank you for having revealed on May 13, 2000 the third secret of Fatima.

Dear Pope, you must now confirm that we are at the end of the world. This is the last generation of humanity on Planet Earth. Only like this will God give you health and miraculous strength for the coming years.

In any case, I embrace you Karol Wojtyla. I give you my best wishes.

[For backbround, see THE MESSAGE OF FATIMA.]

[link to article via A conservative blog for peace

The Holy Father and Our Lady of Guadalupe

From Le Pape Va Mieux:

Une Mexicaine tient un portrait représentant
Jean Paul II en compagnie de la Vierge devant
l'hôpital romain où le pape se remet peu à peu
d'une grippe et de complications respiratoires.

Death of a Decent Man

Highlights from German Boxing Legend Max Schmeling Dies:

Max Schmeling, the heavyweight champion whose two fights with Joe Louis set off a propaganda war between the Nazi regime and the United States on the eve of World War II, died at 99....

Despite the picture of him in the United States as a tool of the Nazis, Schmeling had run-ins with the regime even before the first Louis fight.

Although he had lunched with Hitler and had long discussions with his propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels, Schmeling angered the Nazi bosses in 1935 by refusing to join the Nazi party, fire his Jewish-American manager, Joe Jacobs, and divorce Ondra, a Czech-born film star.

During the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Schmeling extracted a promise from Hitler that all U.S. athletes would be protected. He hid two Jewish boys in his Berlin apartment during Kristallnacht (the night of broken glass) in 1938, when the Nazis burned books in a central square and rampaged through the city, setting synagogues on fire. He reportedly used his influence to save Jewish friends from concentration camps....

In his final years, Schmeling spent three or four hours a day watching television in his home in Hollenstedt. He remained married to Ondra for 54 years until she died in 1987. The two, who met on the set of a film in which Schmeling appeared, married in 1932. The couple had no children.

"I had a happy marriage and a nice wife," Schmeling said in 1985. "I accomplished everything you can. What more can you want?"

Rest in peace.

A Chronicle of a Moribund Culture

Guide to 'Neurotica' Charts New Age of Anxiety

"Progress"

Nosce Te Ipsvm's Tracy Fennel today has some good things to say about The Cult of Progress.

Mrs. Marley Meets the Pope

The Ethiopian Orthodox Pope, that is, not the Supreme Pontiff of the Universal Church.

This photo comes from Ethiopian Royals Pay Respects at Bob Marley Tribute:

Ethiopian Orthodox Pope Abune Paulos speaks with Rita Marley (C),
as they look at paintings showing Rita's late husband, the reggae
singer Bob Marley, at an exhibition opened in Addis Ababa, February
1, 2005. The exhibition is part of a month long festivities held to
mark Bob Marley's 60th anniversary celebrations.

I've been a fan of Mr. Marley's music for about two decades now. I especially like his under-produced pre-1973 recordings. I guess I'm a traditionalist when it comes to Reggae music as well.

[link to article via Dappled Things' Father Jim Tucker, who correctly notes, as I documented in Robert Nesta Marley, O.M., that "[a]lthough most remember Marley as a Rastafarian, the singer in fact renounced Rastafarianism and was baptized into the Ethiopian Orthodox Church before his death"]

Gitmo

Re: Videos Show Guantanamo Prisoner Abuse

Pro dolorosa Eius passione, miserere nobis et totius mundi.
For the sake of His sorrowful Passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.

[link via A conservative blog for peace]

Scientific Research into Gender Differences...

Just too taboo to talk about [link via LewRockwell.com]

2004 Election

Poll: Catholics Favored Bush Over Kerry

Hojuje (戶主制)

South Korea seems to be on the brink of changing its family registration system, the Hojuje (戶主制), which has been critized by feminists and others in part because it recognizes male headship of the family.

I posted about this a while back (The Much-maligned Hojuje (戶主制)), to which commenter Adam Goldsmith and fellow Hojuje supporter added these wise words:

[The Hojuje has a] vital role in focusing attention on the stark fact that the family is the most basic unit of society, not the individual.

Here is some local coverage of this news:

Court rules 'hoju' unconstitutional

Current Family Registry System Incompatible With Constitution

Male-focused family registry system is not constitutional

Current Household Register System Will Be Repealed

Family Registry System Declared 'Unconformable to the Constitution'

Finally, here are some wise words from C.S. Lewis on male headship of the family, from CHRISTIAN MARRIAGE:

So much for the Christian doctrine about the permanence of marriage. Something else, even more unpopular, remains to be dealt with. Christian wives promise to obey their husbands. In Christian marriage the man is said to be the `head'. Two questions obviously arise here. (1) Why should there be a head at all - why not equality? (2) Why should it be the man?

(1) The need for some head follows from the idea that marriage is permanent. Of course, as long as the husband and wife are agreed, no question of a head need arise; and we may hope that this will be the normal state of affairs in a Christian marriage. But when there is a real disagreement, what is to happen? Talk it over, of course; but I am assuming they have done that and still failed to reach agreement. What do they do next? They cannot decide by a majority vote, for in a council of two there can be no majority. Surely, only one or other of two things can happen: either they must separate and go their own ways or else one or other of them must have a casting vote. If marriage is permanent, one or other party must, in the last resort, have the power of deciding the family policy. You cannot have a permanent association without a constitution.

(2) If there must be a head, why the man? Well, firstly, is there any very serious wish that it should be the woman? As I have said, I am not married myself, but as far as I can see, even a woman who wants to be the head of her own house does not usually admire the same state of things when she finds it going on next door. She is much more likely to say 'Poor Mr X! Why he allows that appalling woman to boss him about the way she does is more than I can imagine.' I do not think she is even very flattered if anyone mentions the fact of her own 'headship'. There must be something unnatural about the rule of wives over husbands, because the wives themselves are half ashamed of it and despise the husbands whom they rule. But there is also another reason; and here I speak quite frankly as a bachelor, because it is a reason you can see from outside even better than from inside. The relations of the family to the outer world -what might be called its foreign policy -must depend, in the last resort, upon the man, because he always ought to be, and usually is, much more just to the outsiders. A woman is primarily fighting for her own children and husband against the rest of the world. Naturally, almost, in a sense, rightly, their claims override, for her, all other claims. She is the special trustee of their interests. The function of the husband is to see that this natural preference of hers is not given its head. He has the last word in order to protect other people from the intense family patriotism of the wife. If anyone doubts this, let me ask a simple question. If your dog has bitten the child next door, or if your child has hurt the dog next door, which would you sooner have to deal with, the master of that house or the mistress? Or, if you are a married woman, let me ask you this question. Much as you admire your husband, would you not say that his chief failing is his tendency not to stick up for his rights and yours against the neighbours as vigorously as you would like? A bit of an Appeaser?

"Little Eichmans"

Quotes from Ward Churchill, subject of Catholic League says anti-Jewish and anti-Christian professor should be fired:

[T]hose who died in the World Trade Center bombing were ‘little Eichmans’ who deserved it.

[I]t may be that more 9/11s are necessary.

A Catholic Village in India Needs Our Prayers

Re: Christian Adivasi victims of violence and forced ‘re-conversions’ in Amravati

Please consider offering for the people of Rajura A Prayer for the Preservation of the Faith from Saint Clement Maria Hofbauer:

O my Redeemer, will that dreadful time ever come, when but few Christians shall be left who are inspired by the spirit of faith, that time when Thine anger shall be provoked and Thy protection shall be take away from us? Have our vices and our evil lives irrevocably moved Thy justice to take vengeance, perhaps this very day, upon Thy children? O Thou, the beginning and end of our faith, we conjure Thee, in the bitterness of our contrite and humbled hearts, not to suffer the fair light of faith to be extinguished in us. Remember Thy mercies of old, turn Thine eyes in mercy upon the vineyard planted by Thine own right hand, and watered by the sweat of the Apostles, by the precious blood of countless Martyrs and by the tears of so many sincere penitents, and made fruitful by the prayers of so many Confessors and innocent Virgins. O divine Mediator, look upon those zealous souls who raise their hearts to Thee and pray ceaselessly for the maintenance of that most precious gift of Thine, the true faith. We beseech Thee, O God of justice, to hold back the decree of our rejection, and to turn away Thine eyes from our vices and regard instead the adorable Blood shed upon the Cross, which purchased our salvation and daily intercedes for us upon our altars. Ah, keep us safe in the true Catholic and Roman faith. Let sickness afflict us, vexations waste us, misfortunes overwhelm us! But preserve in us Thy holy faith; for if we are rich with this precious gift, we shall gladly endure every sorrow, and nothing shall ever be able to change our happiness. On the other hand, without this great treasure of faith, our unhappiness would be unspeakable and without limit! O good Jesus, author of our faith, preserve it untainted within us; keep us safe in the bark of Peter, faithful and obedient to his successor and Thy Vicar here on earth, that so the unity of Holy Church may be maintained, holiness fostered, the Holy See protected in freedom, and the Church universal extended to the benefit of souls. O Jesus, author of our faith, humble and convert the enemies of Thy Church; grant true peace and concord to all Christian kings and princes and to all believers; strengthen and preserve us in Thy holy service, so that we may live in Thee and die in Thee. O Jesus, author of our faith, let me live for Thee and die for Thee. Amen.

Nepal

Royal takeover seen as pro-China, anti-West

Two Nations Separated by a Common Language

This fine example of British understatement and grace under pressure comes an account of the Battle of the Imjin on page 218 of The Korean War by Max Hastings:

A British officer at brigade HQ believed that the Americans did not understand until much too late how desperate was the predicamate of 29 Brigade: "When Tom told Corps that his position was 'a bit sticky,' they simply did not grasp that in British Army parlance, that meant 'critical.'

I had always thought that the phrase I used in the title of this post came from Mark Twain, but, according to Inside the American language, "this phrase doesn't seem to have been positively recorded in this form by anyone" and originates from three possible sources:

In The Canterville Ghost Oscar Wilde wrote:

"We have really everything in common with America nowadays except, of course, language."

In a 1951 book of quotations, and without attributing a source, George Bernard Shaw was credited with saying:

"England and America are two countries separated by the same language."

Even Dylan Thomas had his say in a radio talk in the early 50s:

"[European writers and scholars in America are] up against the barrier of a common language."

My wife once saw someone on Korean television explain that the key to British pronunciation was not moving the upper lip. It seems this person took the phrase "stiff upper lip" a bit too literally.

A Buddhist Nun, a Catholic Cardinal, and the Sanctity of Life

From Nun's aides tell cardinal she's too weak to talk:

Against a backdrop of growing concern over the deteriorating condition of a Buddhist nun, who is on a hunger strike to save the habitat of an amphibian, Cardinal Stephen Kim Sou-hwan tried yesterday to visit her, but was turned away.

Aides to the nun, known as the Venerable Jiyul, said the Catholic leader could not speak with her because her health had declined so much.

Instead, Cardinal Kim talked with Beomryun, a monk who is caring for Jiyul. "Isn't it urgent to treat her first?" asked the cardinal during the meeting at the headquarters of the Jungto Society, a Buddhist group, in Seocho, southern Seoul. Beomryun said, "That's not what she wants."

Before leaving, the cardinal said, "I hope that the government and Jiyul both realize that life holds important value." [my emphasis]

The words of His Eminence, highlighted above, illustrate the Catholic Weltanschauung vis-à-vis that of Buddhism exemplified by the Venerable Jiyul.

[For more, see Nun Jiyul hunger strike at 100-day mark.]

UPDATE: Jiyul ends hunger strike on 100th day: Government, Buddhist nun reach breakthrough in tunnel dispute

"The Mystery of Monogamy"

Central Asia: Researchers Say Polygamy Harmful to Regional Economies

Catholic Immigrants

Asian and Pacific Island Catholics share 'Harmony in Faith'

The Holy Father's Health

Pope on road to recovery, says Vatican

Pope thanks faithful for their “fervent prayers”

Media makes big deal of Pope's 'little fever'

Santificarnos and My Upcoming Lenten Silence

I was recently invited to become a member of Santificarnos, an excellent bilingual (English/Spanish) portal site dedicated to all things Catholic. I readily accepted the offer.

I'll be contributing news of Catholic interest from Asia, as I did with my first post: Unofficial Yantai Bishop Gao confirmed dead.

I'll continue to post important news stories there during the Lenten silence* (February 9th to March 27th) that I have planned for this blog. Let's face it, a lot of what I post here is about me. It is, after all, a personal blog, a digital soapbox. Lent, however, is about self-denial and reflection, things that are better done in private. Also, with my parents coming to visit and a new child on the way, I'll be pretty busy with family commitments.

Thus, the chance to blog at Santificarnos comes at an opportune time. As a part of a team, I will be able post hard news stories and offer comments only for clarification, not pontification as I do here.

* This idea, like so many other excellent ones, comes from Jeff Culbreath of El Camino Real.

Nostalgia for the Nunc Dimittis

Yesterday was Candlemas, also known as the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin or the Feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple. Yesterday's Gospel reading comes from Luke 2:22-40, which includes the Nunc Dimittis.

I grew up chanting this beautiful canticle after communion every Sunday at St. John's Lutheran Church - Orchard Park, NY, which was next door to my home. I never realized how catholic the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod was until becoming Catholic myself.

Here's the version I grew up with, which I found at Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church - San Luis Obispo, CA:

Lord, now lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace according to Thy word, For mine eyes have seen Thy Salvation: which Thou hast prepared before the face of all people, a Light to lighten the Gentiles and the Glory of Thy people Is - - - rael. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

"No Cause for Alarm"

The Holy Father, it seems, is doing better, Deo gratia, as evidenced by this report:

The Pope has a slight fever and took part in Mass

Robert Duncan of Santificarnos has extensive coverage of the media's coverage of the Pontiff's health in this post:

UPDATING: "No Cause for Alarm"; Pope 'Quite Well,' Spent Peaceful Night

Let Us Pray for the Holy Father

His condition might be worse than the media, or the Vatican for that matter, are letting on, as Serge of A conservative blog for peace reports here:

Pope gravely ill

A "Semi-Divine" Coup

From King of Nepal carries out a bloodless 'coup':

King Gyanendra of Nepal, worshipped by many of his subjects as semi-divine, cut off his mountainous nation from the outside world yesterday and all but restored its absolute monarchy.

The king, believed by some Nepalis to be an incarnation of Vishnu, the Hindu god, declared a state of emergency, put senior government figures under arrest and suspended key civil liberties.

Catholicism and Our American Individualism

From today's Caelum et Terra Discussion Group come these words written by Ed Willock in a 1955 edition of the magazine Integrity:

American commentators and journalists dealing with the social message of the Pope, have headlines his condemnations of isms which we choose to regard as foreign, while at the same time they have ignored or reduced to fine print his judicious criticism of rugged individualism. Although our native brand of individualism has lost much of its ruggedness since 1929, it still continues to be normal operating procedure in the social area. It is still general policy for each citizen to seek assiduously after what he considers to be his own, while the general welfare is left pretty much to government agencies. ..We still teach our children to “excel” and to compete. We generally admire ambition and diligence when exercised in one’s own behalf, but the same zeal exercised in a group “cause” without immediate profit to the individual, is regarded with scorn.

The philosophy of individualism is far too simple, far too lacking in nuances of personal relations to cope with demands of community. The individualist’s repertoire of social maneuvers is pretty much limited to two strategic moves. The first and most cultivated maneuver is: “Mind your own business.” This solves almost any social crisis the individualist may come upon. The second (reserved for desperate situations) is called upon only when the individualist inadvertently and in disregard of his first tenet has become involved. It is usually expressed simply: “I quit!” The individualist, like Napoleon, always plans his retreat before he becomes engaged. He generally treasures his “rain-check,” gives lengthy consideration to the “resale value” of anything he contracts to buy....

If a confirmed individualist in an excess of enthusiasm plunges into a group activity, more than likely he will find himself unable to swim. To be truly a “social being” requires a magnanimity and a generosity of spirit that the individualist finds utterly foreign. The basic difficulty is that the individualist has been schooled in the shrewd tactic of forever defending and preserving his sovereignty. Community demands that this sovereignty be sacrificed. The group as a whole will only grow in effectiveness and prestige to the degree that each member sacrifices his own autonomy. Such a sacrifice is inconceivable for the individualist. That is why family life (the simplest community) gradually becomes anemic in a society of individualists.

Red Chinese Repression Extends to the Dead

From Unofficial Yantai Bishop Gao confirmed dead

Mgr John Gao Kexian, unofficial Bishop of Yantai died in the evening of January 24 2005 in a hospital in the city of Bingzhou (Shandong). He had been in prison for the previous five years.

His body was cremated and buried the day following his death in the presence of police officers. No relative or faithful were allowed to attend the event. The Bishop died without any religious comforts and his body was not blessed. [emphasis mine]

Bishop Gao, Requiéscat in pace.

N.B.: "Unofficial" here means not belonging to the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association. The Roman Catholic Church is underground. Red China does not recognize Vatican-appointed bishops.

[For more in the situation of the Catholic Church in Red China, see The Cardinal Kung Foundation.]

Lord in Thy Mercy, Hear Our Prayer

Pope John Paul II rushed to hospital; ‘Larynx spasm’ briefly cut off pontiff’s breathing [link via The Catholic Spectator]

Potentially Big News North of the DMZ

Could the Dear Leader's days be numbered? This might explain the removal of Kim Jong-il's portraits a few months back:

North Korean media airs Kim power transfer to sons, grandsons

North seen readying succession

UPDATE: Chairman Kim’s dissolving kingdom [link via GI Korea]

Korean Art

From Woodblock Prints Bloom:

Get Well Soon

Flu forces pope to skip audiences for first time in more than a year

Jenkins Speaks

Deserter Jenkins calls Kim Jong-il 'evil man'

Humor

From Catholic Jokes :

Two men considering a religious vocation were having a conversation. "What is similar about the Jesuit and Dominican Orders? " the one asked.

The second replied, "Well, they were both founded by Spaniards -- St. Dominic for the Dominicans, and St. Ignatius of Loyola for the Jesuits. They were also both founded to combat heresy -- the Dominicans to fight the Albigensians, and the Jesuits to fight the Protestants."

"What is different about the Jesuit and Dominican Orders?"

"Met any Albigensians lately?"

---

A man walked up to a Franciscan and Jesuit and asked, "How many novenas must you say to get a Mercedes Benz?"

The Franciscan asked, "What's a Mercedes Benz?"

The Jesuit asked, "What's a novena?"

---

A Catholic boy and a Jewish boy were talking and the Catholic boy said, "My priest knows more than your rabbi." The Jewish boy said, "Of course he does, you tell him everything."

---

Q. Why can't Anglicans play chess?

A. Because they can't tell a Bishop from a Queen.

---

There are 3 fundamental truths about religion: Jews don't recognize Jesus as the Son of God, Protestants don't recognize the Pope as the Vicar of Christ, and Baptists don't recognize each other at the bar on Saturday nights.

My Medieval Personality

Here are my results from the Your Medieval Personality Type quiz:

You are a "nervous" Melancholic, with an abundance of black bile. Melancholics are characterized by the element of Earth, the season of Autumn, middle-aged adulthood, the color blue, and the characteristics of "Cold" and "Dry." Famous Melancholics include St. John of the Cross, St. John the Divine, St. Francis, and St. Catherine of Siena.

If you were living in the Age of Faith, perfect career choices for you would be contemplative religious, theologian, artist, or writer.

Those medievals, of course, must have known something. Here are some accurate descriptions of my darker side:

The melancholic by committing sin falls into the most terrible distress of mind, because in the depth of his heart he is, more than those of other temperaments, filled with a longing desire for God, with a keen perception of the malice and consequences of sin. The consciousness of being separated from God by mortal sin has a crushing effect upon him. If he falls into grievous sin, it is hard for him to rise again, because confession, in which he is bound to humiliate himself deeply, is so hard for him. He is also in great danger of falling back into sin; because by his continual brooding over the sins committed he causes new temptations to arise. When tempted he indulges in sentimental moods, thus increasing the danger and the strength of temptations. To remain in a state of sin or even occasionally to relapse into sin may cause him a profound and lasting sadness, and rob him gradually of confidence in God and in himself. He says to himself: "I have not the strength to rise again and God does not help me either by His grace, for He does not love me but wants to damn me." This fatal condition can easily assume the proportion of despair....

He sees everything from the dark side. He is peevish, always draws attention to the serious side of affairs, complains regularly about the perversion of people, bad times, downfall of morals, etc. His motto is: things grow worse all along. Offenses, mishaps, obstacles he always considers much worse than they really are. The consequence is often excessive sadness, unfounded vexation about others, brooding for weeks and weeks on account of real or imaginary insults. Melancholic persons who give way to this disposition to look at everything through a dark glass, gradually become pessimists, that is, persons who always expect a bad result; hypochondriacs, that is, persons who complain continually of insignificant ailments and constantly fear grave sickness; misanthropes, that is, persons who suffer from fear and hatred of men.

Here are full descriptions all four personality types:

Melancholic

Phlegmatic

Sanguine

Choleric

[link to quiz via fellow Melancholic Meredith at Basia me, Catholicum sum]

My Hometown Bishop and My Homestate Senator Hitlery Hillary

Bishop Pulls Sponsorship of Canisius Event [link via The Catholic Spectator]

SSPX Korea

Jason Choi of Musings of an orthodox Korean Catholic... writes about a recent experience of his in Seoul with very good photo documentation: Tridentine at SSPX chapel.

Refugees

North Korean defectors treated 'worse than pigs'

Fashion

From Modernized `Hanbok' Retain Essence of Tradition:

I own two modernized hanboks and a traditional one my mother-in-law bought me for my wedding. They are quite comfortable and look sharp. Still, I prefer the Western suit.

Diaspora

"Last Jew" in Kabul finds Muslim friend to share synagogue

The Vicar of Christ

From Pope Loses Battle With Peace-Symbol Dove: