Author: SDG

Fair Trade

Were you wondering who is the hottest collectible personality in trading cards? Probably not, but you might be intrigued to learn that it is not Kobe Bryant or Johnny Damon, but a man who was a soccer player in his youth but found fame in another calling. Karol Wojtyla. Yep. A limited-edition trading card of Pope John Paul II recently sold for $8,100.

"Beckett Media, whose pricing guides are the acknowledged arbiters of value for collectible trading cards, said on Tuesday a limited-edition Pope John Paul II from the 2005 World Treasures line of card maker Topps has sold for $8,100.

"The Topps series includes other historical figures like Czar Paul I and King Frederick the Great, though their cards are trading for around $3,000. All the cards in the series have etchings of the figures’ autographs.

"In comparison, Beckett said, regular cards depicting Barry Bonds, who is contending for baseball’s all-time home run record, have never sold for more than $1,200."

Somehow, I think John Paul would be touched … and highly amused.

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RAINBOW SASHERS: National Day Of Disruption

Furious over the election of Pope Benedict XVI, whom they have venomously called a "liar" and an "aggressive homophobe," members of the so-called Rainbow Sash movement — a calls-itself-Catholic, pro-homosexual movement — are calling for their members to disrupt Catholic Masses around the United States on the Feast of Pentecost on Sunday, May 15:

"The Rainbow Sash Movement (RSM) with its supporters will be entering Cathedrals and parishes around the nation on Pentecost Sunday, May 15. We are inviting our supporters to join us, and wear the Rainbow Sash as a symbol of dignity and inclusion.

"We continue to call for public dialogue with Cardinal Francis George Vice President of the National Council of Catholic Bishops.

[…]

"We hope that our presence will also counter the lies that Pope Benedict XVI is promoting about our community. We are Catholic, and will raise our voices to speak to the truth of our lives from the pews. We will no longer be silent in the face of this injustice."

Actually, all they will succeed in doing is demonstrating their own irrelevance while profaning the Blessed Sacrament. Stories like this can make it a very difficult trial for orthodox Catholics who know they must separate contempt for the sin from contempt for the sinner.

GET THE RSM PRESS RELEASE.

GET LIFESITE.COM’S STORY.

Crying Carrots

Unlike Michael Schiavo, who actively sought to kill his disabled wife, Dr. Yacov Tabak fought for his wife’s life:

"Dr. Tabak couldn’t bear the term ‘vegetable’ when it was first presented to him, and since the Terry [sic] Schiavo ruling, says that some in the medical community have shown an ulterior, ugly side regarding this appellation. ‘There is a medical agenda with this term,’ Dr. Tabak contends. ‘It’s very difficult to get emotionally involved with a vegetable. To have a relationship with a carrot goes against human nature. But there is an underlying subtext here. If a person is a vegetable, he can be sliced up like a vegetable for a higher purpose. Perhaps for research, or for organ appropriation. His guardian can decide if he has the right to live or die. If value of life is now being determined by a subjective definition of quality of life, who’s to stop hospitals from having a mandatory tissue-type registry for ‘vegetables’ in case a person with a defined "better" quality of life needs an organ? This is a steep, slippery slope.’

[…]

"All the proof he needed came two days after Marsi [Tabak] opened her eyes for the first time. Shani Tabak, then 24, was at her mother’s side, speaking to her heart. ‘Mom,’ she said, ‘you have to get better. I can’t get married and stand under the chuppah without you.’

"And then Marsi began to cry.

"’Then I knew she was with us,’ says Yacov. ‘Her hearing was intact — the auditory nerves were apparently not injured. Her memory was intact, she knew who was speaking to her, and her emotions were intact. That was a pretty good inventory to start with. But our joy was limited by the sudden realization of the great danger Marsi was now in. The doctors could destroy her will to live. I went to her and said "Marsi, we know you can hear us, we are with you, we’re going to help you get well. Now, the doctors are going to say some pretty terrible things that you will hear, things like, ‘This patient is a vegetable and has no hope for recovery, we are going to suggest to the family that she be put away in a facility, she’ll be a vegetable for the rest of her life….’" Imagine if a person hears this and his cognition is intact. It’s like a person waking up and realizing he’s in a coffin and the lid is being nailed shut. He wants to shout, "I’m not dead yet!" but no sound comes out. Marsi was in such a state. For the first four months she suffered from cortical blindness, so she not only couldn’t move but couldn’t even see, and the outside world couldn’t hear her silent scream.’"

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(Nod to Ut Unum Sint for the link.)

Caritas Et Veritas

Some years ago I read a children’s biography of St. Dominic (1170-1221) that included mention of a dream that Dominic was said to have been granted by God. In the weeks since Pope Benedict’s election, I have been reminded of the story of that dream and have been pondering it again.

In his dream, Dominic saw Jesus, furious and ready to hurl spears toward the earth as punishment for the wickedness of mankind that he was witnessing. The Blessed Virgin approached Jesus and begged him to have mercy on mankind. “My Son,” she said, “I have two witnesses who will convert them.” Jesus glanced at her and asked, “Who are they?” She replied, “Love and truth,” and brought forward two men. Dominic recognized one to be him. The other man he did not recognize until he later met St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226). St. Francis of Assisi was the embodiment of love; St. Dominic was the embodiment of truth.

Francis, known for his love of all mankind and for all creation, is beloved throughout the world, even by non-Catholics. And yet he is often misunderstood. The popular image of him is of a pantheistic nature-devotee, whose idea of love might be summed up as “Don’t worry, be happy.” Such an image couldn’t be further from the truth. Francis, often called the Catholic Man, was highly devoted to the Eucharist, to the Blessed Virgin, and the love he displayed for his neighbor was grounded upon his devotion to God (not the other way around). He was the Catholic Man in the universal sense because his love for all mankind was all-encompassing, but he was also the Catholic Man in the particular sense. He was an exemplary Catholic.

Dominic, when remembered today, is usually seen as a grim figure who fought heretics, was involved in the Inquisition, and who founded an order that would give the world the Grand Inquisitor Torquemada (1420-1498). Generally forgotten is a love for the poor that compelled him to sell his own hand-annotated books, his willingness to stay up all night talking to a heretic to show the heretic through reason the error of his ways, his love for the Blessed Virgin that inspired his order to promote the rosary in his name.

In other words, Francis and Dominic are often seen as caricatures of their true selves, molded to fit the biases of the individual.

What does this have to do with Pope Benedict’s election? It occurs to me that we are seeing a similar phenomenon with John Paul II and Benedict XVI. John Paul, especially in the halcyon glow surrounding his eulogies, is popularly thought of in much the same way as Francis of Assisi. John Paul reached out to men and women around the world, emphasizing to them the beauty and goodness of love and brotherhood. Indeed, his motto was a declaration of love, Totus tuus (“Totally yours”). But John Paul also firmly upheld Catholic doctrine, especially on matters of life and death and on the dignity of the human person.

Benedict, on the other hand, is seen as the spiritual incarnation of Dominic; an inquisitor, ready to crack down on the heretics. After all, his motto is an assertion of truth, Cooperatores veritatis (“Fellow workers in the truth”). We keep having to be reminded by those who know him personally that Benedict is a gentle person, a good listener, genuinely interested in the ideas of others. They report that his love of his priesthood is profound and his reverence during celebrations of the liturgy transparent.

Although, to the best of my knowledge, Dominic’s dream is a pious legend attached to the saint, I think it may contain something we should consider. If Dominic’s time was in such sad shape that Love and Truth needed embodiment to convert humanity, how much more desperate is our own time?

Perhaps John Paul’s mission was, in part, to gather mankind around the See of Peter – much as Jesus gathered a large crowd of followers – so that they may listen to truth as expounded by Benedict. Indeed, the truth Benedict expounds will likely be the hard sayings of the faith; and, as Jesus had to confront his apostles after the large crowds left him in disgust over the doctrine of the Eucharist, Benedict may also be forced to ask of us Christ’s question “Will you also go away?” (cf. John 6:67).

How appropriate it then becomes when we remember that this papal transition has taken place in the Year of the Eucharist.

Speak, Lord

Remember those billboards with pithy comments attributed to God, such as "Keep using my name in vain, I’ll make rush hour longer"? Well, God is speaking again and a new series of billboards capture his comments:

"One nation under me."

"Life is short. Eternity isn’t."

"If you must curse, use your own name!"

GET THE STORY.

(Nod to Katie Allison Granju for the link.)

I read in the recent coverage of Benedict XVI’s election — it was either Time or Newsweek, but I don’t have the issues in front of me — that Theodore Cdl. McCarrick of Washington said, probably with heavy irony, that the cardinals knew that Cdl. Ratzinger was the favorite when they read it in the newspapers. He figured that the Holy Spirit could speak through newspapers.

Looks like the Holy Spirit speaks through billboards, too.

Off The Road Again

Okay, I had already thought of my post title for this story before I read it in the article, so I’m going to use it anyway.

"Singer Willie Nelson’s name is off the road again.

"A state legislator had proposed naming a 49-mile stretch of Texas Highway 130 being built around Austin in Nelson’s honor.

"But two Republican senators, Steve Odgen of Bryan and Jeff Wentworth of San Antonio, said they didn’t want Nelson’s name on the road that crosses their districts, citing the musician’s fondness for drinking and smoking, and active campaigning for Democratic candidates."

GET THE STORY.

Call me cynical, but I doubt Willie Nelson’s personal habits would have mattered enough to State Senators Ogden and Wentworth to go to the trouble of blocking the proposal if Nelson had had a record of "active campaigning" for Republican candidates.  Of course, it’s also true that State Sen. Gonzalo Barrientos (D-Austin) might not have introduced the bill in the first place if it weren’t for that "active campaigning" for Democratic candidates.

Like I said, call me cynical.

GERMAN YAHOOS: No Homeschooling!

In the People’s Republic of Germany, homeschooling is illegal and parents face fines, imprisonment, lawsuits, state harrassment, and the possible loss of their children for the crime of seeking to educate their children themselves.

"A German mom has been sent to jail for six days and fined $115 US because she and her husband insist on home schooling their children, reports ASSIST News Service.

"Home schooling is illegal in Germany. Parents are obliged to send their children to state-registered schools. Parents may not educate their children at home, even for reasons of faith or conscience. Despite this, about 500 German children are home schooled.

"The jailed mom and her husband belong to a Baptist church. They regard religious instruction at school as too liberal and object to the sex-education program.

"Since October, seven other parents in Paderborn County have refused to send their children to public school for religious and ethical reasons. They have been fined $190 US each. The authorities have even threatened the parents, saying they could be taken to court or lose custody of their children if they do not comply with the law. "

GET THE STORY.

If you’re a homeschooler, you can keep an eye on the legal issues surrounding homeschooling at the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA). It wouldn’t surprise me if the public-school establishment in the United States were looking abroad for anti-homeschooling laws that they could import.

To Coin A Dollar

…yet again.

Say what you like about the American spirit, one adjective that must describe it is persistent. Despite two failed attempts to interest Americans in the dollar coin, Congress is prepared to give the idea another stab. But will the third time charm? Given its history, I’d only be willing to bet a dollar coin.

"The recent history of the dollar coin in the United States is not a proud one.

"In 1979, the Treasury Department introduced the Susan B. Anthony dollar, and produced nearly one billion of them between 1979 and 1981.

"The Carter administration promoted it with a vengeance, calling it ‘the dollar of the future.’

"They hyped its cost-savings — metal lasts much longer than paper, so you don’t need to mint as often as you print.

"They hyped its subject — Anthony was the first woman (if you don’t count Lady Liberty) to appear on U.S. money since the early 19th century.

"They even hyped its design — the 11-sided polygon (a hendecagon) was meant to mark a clear difference between the coin and all others.

"Despite the fanfare, the public hated it. The Anthony dollar quickly became another quaint relic of the Seventies, like the AMC Pacer.

"In 1999, Treasury made another attempt at a dollar coin. This time, it honored the Shoshone woman who helped guide Lewis and Clark across the West.

"Boosters again made arguments about cost-savings and historical import. Americans again responded with vast national indifference.

"Three years after its introduction, a General Accounting Office poll found that 97 percent of American had not used the coin within the past month, and that 74 percent could not remember ever using one."

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