Wednesday, January 15, 2003

Speed Traps Anyone?



From The Ledger:



When I first arrived in Florida some twenty-six years ago I was warned of this speed trap. I never was ticketed because I went way under the speed limit through this town which I passed through a thousand times. But there was almost always some one pulled over usually from out of state.

Tuesday, January 14, 2003

Sad News from St. Meinrad



Father Cyril Vrablic has died.



I used to work with Father Cyril and always enjoyed him both personally and as a priest. Please remember him and his family in your prayers.
Other Template was too Messed Up



I had to change back to this template the other one was messing up too often.
What the Capuchins are putting in the Solanus Casey Center



From the NCTimes.net



Contreras' work is not easily confused with traditional church art, nor does it have stereotypical images of American Indians. There are no bows or feathers in his stylized pieces.



"Spirit of the Earth" will be installed at the new Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles this fall. The bronze piece has already been cast in a Mexican foundry.



"Sister Mother Earth" will be installed later this year at the Solanus Casey Center in Detroit. Contreras was putting the finishing touches on its design last week to prepare it for the foundry.





It is nice for the Capuchins to support the work of this fine artist. I just wonder why a Native American theme is the choice for an Irish friar? Ever since the Vatican II a certian group of religious in this country seem to prefer to pray to the four winds rather than the Judeo-Christian God. I have witnessed this time and time again and it mystifies me. When I go to American Indian sites in the U.S. and Canada I expect to find Native American art, but when I go to Roman Catholic churches I expect to find Catholic art--of Christian themes not of "mother earth" or "spirit earth."

Monday, January 13, 2003

Prep Sports pays better these days...



LeBron James is driving a Hummer



The Cleveland Plain Dealer reported that James, a senior at Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, was given the vehicle as an 18th birthday present by his mother, Gloria.



The SUV is outfitted with three televisions and a hookup for computer games. Gloria James obtained a bank loan to finance the purchase, the paper said, quoting anonymous sources close to the team.

Thursday, January 9, 2003

Jesus Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium



I've been reading this book for the past several days and just noticed the title. It is very deceptive. The book is written by a scholar who basically argues that Jesus was an apocalyptist who believed that God was about to intervene in history and turn everything upside down. Later when this didn't happen Jesus disciples wrote the gospels and cleaned up Jesus' works.



I'm reading it because he neatly gathers all of the references to the kingdom and parousia in one place. He argues to support his premise but it is amazing that as you read the passages you rediscover the part of the gospel that has been ignored for the last forty years and was responsible for people leaving everything to follow Jesus.

Wednesday, January 8, 2003

Mamie Mobley Till Dies



Mamie Mobley, 81, Dies; Son, Emmett Till, Slain in 1955



There may be some of you who are unfamiliar with the story of Emmet Till. Emmett was the fourteen year old son of a Chicago woman who went down to Mississipi to spend some time with his uncle in the summer of 1955. His mother had warned him that he had to be careful, but he was young and playful. He whistled a white woman, who later told her husband. The husband and his brother kidnapped Till from his uncle's house and three days later Emmet's body was found. He had been tortured and horribly beaten.



When Mamie came down for the funeral she insisted that the coffin remain open. For three days over 50,000 people filed past the coffin, as Mamie said most needed assistance to be carried away from it so great was the horror. JET magazine published the photo of Emmett's body on the cover of its magazine. The two men were tried and acquited by a jury of white people. Later they published their confession in LOOK magazine.



Till's death was one of them major flash points that led to the civil rights movement becoming a national movement. Mamie Till Mobley always kept her son's story in the forefront so that his death would not be in vain.