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Let us sit upon the ground and tell sad stories of the death of a Republic.
Three words:
Low. Information. Voters.
Over at the Charles Carroll Society (on the Distributist side of the river, but… hey!) I saw this video:
The signers probably both vote and breed low information children.
Those of you who think that a dedicated group of ideologues couldn’t rapidly take these USA down a truly evil path… think again.
Some people quote the phrase “He who sings, prays twice!” and they (wrongly) attribute it to St. Augustine of Hippo. The phrase does not appear in anything we have of Augustine.
Also, it would be better if you said “He who sings well, prays twice.”
What Augustine actually said was: “cantare amantis est… singing belongs to one who loves”.
It can be argued that singing (well or not) is very much a matter of the heart.
I found this story, sent by a priestly reader, pretty interesting:
Choir singers ‘synchronise their heartbeats’
By Rebecca MorelleChoir singers not only harmonise their voices, they also synchronise their heartbeats, a study suggests.
Researchers in Sweden monitored the heart rates of singers as they performed a variety of choral works.
They found that as the members sang in unison, their pulses began to speed up and slow down at the same rate.
Writing in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, the scientists believe the synchrony occurs because the singers coordinate their breathing.
Dr Bjorn Vickhoff, from the Sahlgrenska Academy at Gothenburg University in Sweden, said: “The pulse goes down when you exhale and when you inhale it goes up.
“So when you are singing, you are singing on the air when you are exhaling so the heart rate would go down. And between the phrases you have to inhale and the pulse will go up.
“If this is so then heart rate would follow the structure of the song or the phrases, and this is what we measured and this is what we confirmed.”
Sing from the heart
The scientists studied 15 choir members as they performed different types of songs.
When you exhale you activate the vagus nerve… [one of the 10 cranial nerves! “On old olympus towering tops…”] that goes form the brain stem to the heart”
They found that the more structured the work, the more the singers’ heart rates increased or decreased together.
Slow chants, for example, produced the most synchrony. [Schola cantorum anyone?]
The researchers also found that choral singing had the overall effect of slowing the heart rate.
This, they said, was another effect of the controlled breathing.
Dr Vickhoff explained: “When you exhale you activate the vagus nerve, we think, that goes from the brain stem to the heart. And when that is activated the heart beats slower.”
The researchers now want to investigate whether singing could have an impact on our health.
“There have been studies on yoga breathing, which is very close to this, and also on guided breathing and they have seen long-terms effects on blood pressure… and they have seen that you can bring down your blood pressure.
“We speculate that it is possible singing could also be beneficial.”
Gregorian Chant can synchronize our worship. The Fathers of the Second Vatican Council mandated that Gregorian Chant have the first place among all choices of sacred liturgical music.
It can synchronize the Church’s own worship and, thus, her own beating heart.
I saw this at These Stone Walls, the blog for Fr. Gordon MacCrae, in prison serving time for a crime he more than likely did not commit.
The post is longish, but here is the first part:
The International Criminal Court Has Dismissed SNAP’s Last Gasp
[…]
The headline was “The Hague Tosses SNAP’s Nutty Lawsuit Against the Vatican, SNAP’s Latest P.R. Stunt Exposed.” The Hague is the seat of government of the Netherlands, and the base of the International Court of Justice. It took almost two years, but the International Criminal Court has rejected a 2011 attempt to prosecute the Pope and the Vatican with a charge of “crimes against humanity.” The petition was brought by SNAP – the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests. SNAP was aided and abetted in the petition by the radically left-leaning Center for Constitutional Rights based in New York.
In rejecting the petition last month, the International Criminal Court ruled that SNAP’s claims do not “appear to fall within the jurisdiction of the court” which accepts only cases reflecting “the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole, namely genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes.” In other words, as The Media Report’s David F. Pierre pointed out, the ICC is not a place to air shameless publicity stunts.
[…]
Shameless. Publicity. Stunts.
What I want to know is whether or not SNAP will again protest at the upcoming LCWR meeting in Orlando.
There is a lot of information in the longish post. You might check it out.
This is a public service announcement.
People are writing to me for news of Fr. Byers, author of the blog Holy Souls Hermitage.
Father, with permission of his superiors, is – as I understand – living as a hermit. He prays especially for priests, for which I am grateful.
Recently Father’s blog “went dark”, in that now a sign-in page appears rather than the main page of his blog.
People are writing panicky notes to me asking what is going on with him.
I don’t know.
But, hey! The guy is a hermit, right? He was building his own dwelling, right? He is dedicated to a life of prayer and penance, right? Maybe he is busy doing what he does, right? Maybe he is being more hermit-like right now, right?
Maybe we should be patient and let Father have some space, right?
In the meantime, your Earth’s yellow Sun does not conferred psychic powers on me. I cannot tell you what is going on.
On a personal note: I understand why people are concerned. Were for some reason my blog were to go dark or I suddenly and inexplicably stopped posting, I hope someone would worry about, and pray for, me and even ask around. Priests, even when in contact with lots of people, are often amazingly alone.
So, say a prayer each day for Fr. Byers and be patient.
We now return to our regularly scheduled programming.
The combox is closed.
More ALCU hijinx, from the site of site of KPEL radio:
ACLU Of Louisiana Voices Opposition To Potential Lafayette Flags Ordinance
LAFAYETTE, La. (KPEL) — The executive director of Louisiana’s chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union is cautioning against a proposed ordinance that could limit what types of flags could be flown on government-owned flagpoles.
The comments come after controversy surrounding a gay pride flag that was flown at Girard Park in Lafayette shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the Defense of Marriage Act.
Lafayette City-Parish councilman Andy Naquin is considering an ordinance that would only allow the U.S. flag, the Louisiana state flag, and the City of Lafayette flag to be flown on government flagpoles. However, Naquin also indicated to the Daily Advertiser that he might consider certain exceptions, such as the flying of the Mardi Gras flag.
[…]
The ACLU jumps in when it is a matter of a “gay pride” flag. Let’s not limit what flags can be flown!
Would the ACLU have jumped in were it a matter of the “Stars and Bars”? The Confederate “battle flag”?
It is hard to deny that the Confederate flag is still pretty popular in some places, probably a lot more popular than a rainbow flag that symbolizes aberrant sexual appetites.
Would the ACLU defend the flying of the Stars and Bars in Louisiana?
As it turns out, NOPE. They argued, in Louisiana, that the “battle flag” wounds people of color.
Here is some news for the ACLU, having invasive, militant homosexuality crammed down our throats offends people of heterosexuality.
I see deer as a) supper and gloves, or b) lethal motorist pests, or c) rats with hooves.
Deer invade urban areas and they can be dangerous. Hit a deer on the interstate with your car at 65 mph sometime and see what happens.
Here is a video which underscores the point for those who think they are soooo cuuuuute.
Starts out sort of cute, this video does. Then it goes south.
As you watch the doe and the dog sweetly frolic together, in your mind’s eye substitute that dog with your toddler.
Reason #4 for an adequate hunting season.
And, just for kicks, Reason #73678102 for Summorum Pontificum.
From a reader:
My question is about the requirements for the Chancellor of a diocese. Some people have told me that the Chancellor is supposed to always be a priest. Is this correct? (Our diocese has had a woman Chancellor for decades.)
The chancellor is the chief notary of a diocese. The law requires that a chancellor (and any notary) must be of unimpaired reputation and above all suspicion” (can. 483).
That is it!
I am pretty sure that if the matter being notarized involves the reputation of a priest, the notary must be a priest.
Many diocesan bishops have added other responsibilities (in addition to that of being the chief notary) on the shoulders of the chancellor. These responsibilities (e.g., processing requests for dispensation, advising the bishop, drawing up statutes or other decrees) are technically not essential to the role of a chancellor. The default duty of a chancellor is to provide proof that the bishop did sign something. Of course if a bishop asks the chancellor to do X, the chancellor is probably going to salute and do X.
It’s not unbecoming for a layperson to be a chancellor. However, depending on the diocese, some lay chancellors have been given certain responsibilities that probably should be in the hands of a cleric.
UPDATE:
I should make it clear that my response to this question is not a tacit invitation for people to write about strange or bad situations where they are.
My “Ask Father Question Box” is not “The Wailing Wall”.
From Seattle Times. Here is how the secular press views the bone-head BS stupid move of the Catholic Health Ass.
When you hear the words Catholic Health Association you should start thinking:
And now the news:
Catholic hospitals accept birth control compromise
In a split with U.S. bishops, [The secular press sees it as it is.] a trade group for Catholic hospitals said Tuesday it can accept the Obama’s administration latest compromise on birth control coverage by religious employers.
By RACHEL ZOLL
AP Religion WriterNEW YORK —
In a split with U.S. bishops, [Remember the phrase: MAGISTERIUM OF NUNS.] a trade group for Catholic hospitals said Tuesday it can accept the Obama’s administration latest compromise on birth control coverage by religious employers.“We are pleased that our members now have an accommodation that will not require them to contract, provide, pay or refer for contraceptive coverage,” said the Catholic Health Association.
Under President Barack Obama’s health care law, most employers are required to cover birth control as a free preventive service for women workers. Churches and other houses of worship are fully exempt from the mandate. But religiously-affiliated hospitals, universities and social service groups are not.
The compromise, in a final regulation from the administration, attempts to create a buffer for these employers. It requires insurers or the health plan’s outside administrator to pay for birth control coverage, and creates a mechanism for reimbursing them.
However, U.S. Roman Catholic bishops are suing to overturn the entire requirement, saying it trespasses on freedom of religion.
Sister Mary Ann Walsh, a spokeswoman for the bishops, said the hospital association had notified the bishops’ conference about its stand late Monday.
Walsh said the bishops “did not contribute to the (group’s) analysis or the statement itself.” Catholic dioceses, charities and universities are among the plaintiffs in more than 60 lawsuits challenging the rule. The cases are expected to reach the Supreme Court.
[…]
The hospital trade group’s decision was first reported by the National Catholic Reporter.
Coincidence? The news is broken by the NSR?
That means that the ‘c’atholic Health Ass. wanted to break the news to the National Schismatic Reporter. Peas in a pod. No… better… fleas on a dog. No… that’s not quite it either.
This is another manifestation of the Magisterium of Nuns, wherein liberal women religious seek to place themselves over and against the teaching authority of the bishops.
Coat of Arms by D Burkart
A Daily Prayer for Priests
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