Thought for the Day

The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.
--Psalm 19:2

Know Your Enemies

Pope Benedict XVI recently concluded the Synod of Bishops on the Middle East, a special meeting that was convened by the Holy See to discuss resolution of conflict in the Holy Land. Their final document, issued Saturday, as well as the Synod itself, have been attacked in some quarters for promoting anti-Israeli sentiment.

You need to read my book, America's Back-Door Enemy: Unmasking the Unknown Terrorists, to understand why this is happening. There is a small group of people in the United States and Israel who have been completely passed over in the War on Terrorism. I found out who they are and what they are doing. Like Muslim terrorists, they are religious fanatics. However, they are more sophisticated, more powerful, better financed and more deadly than their Islamic counterparts. These unknown terrorists and their sponsors operate with impunity. They have no conscience and will stop at nothing to achieve their goals. And they are viciously attempting to destroy all hope for peace in the Middle East.

Well-researched and written in a clear, concise style, America's Back-Door Enemy lifts the lid on these heretofore anonymous enemies of the United States, Israel and the peoples of the Middle East.

Father Thomas Dubay, R.I.P.

On September 26, 2010, at the age of 89, Father Dubay passed on to his eternal reward. In my opinion, he was one of the greatest theologians this country has ever produced. He had the rare gift of being able to explain deep theological and spiritual matters in very clear and simple terms that the layman could understand. Not only that, but he was an amazingly prolific writer and speaker who wrote more than a dozen books on the spiritual life and recorded hundreds of television programs during his twenty-five years on EWTN. Most importantly, however, I have recently come to realize that Father Dubay was a holy man. Saint Thomas Aquinas wrote: "If a man be good and holy, let him pray for us; if he be learned too, then let him teach us." Father Dubay was a great teacher because he believed and lived what he taught.

May he rest in peace.

Tinkering with my Blog a Bit

I've been making a few little changes to my blog lately: deleting some page elements, adding some new ones, cleaning things up a bit. I have a few more changes in mind as well, some of which I mention below and others that you'll just have to watch for in the next few weeks and months. The goals of these changes to Justin's Corner are: 1st, to give this blog a more uniformly and distinctly Catholic feel; 2nd, to make it a more presentable, interesting, reader-friendly and enjoyable place; and 3rd, to integrate it more into the rapidly exploding social networking sphere.

One improvement in line with goal 3 is that you can now access my Twitter page directly from this page--just click the "Follow Me On Twitter" button beneath my profile. Also, from now on every post will have a "share" button at the bottom to facilitate sharing of the posts among the various social networking websites. I'll be linking more to Twitter from my blog and vice versa. Also, I plan to get into YouTube in the near future and post videos on the blog that catch my interest (and which has to do with both goals 2 and 3).

In addition, I have an announcement to make here of a major change in blog protocol. Starting today and for the next thirty days, I will lift all restrictions on who can comment on my blog posts. Up until now I have only allowed registered users to post comments. From today until November 14, 2010, I will allow comments from anyone on the Internet, including anonymous users. This is just an experiment to see how many comments I get drifting in from the vast ocean of the World Wide Web. Depending on the results of this "open-mic" experiment, I may decide to continue allowing comments from anyone after November 14, or I may revert to the more restrictive system. Either way, I will continue to monitor all comments and will delete anything inappropriate or offensive.

Also, by the end of this year I'll be switching to a new template. This will give Justin's Corner a whole new look that will express the theme of the blog better.

So stay tuned!

Want to Take a Tour of Noah's Ark?

Now you can!

NOAH'S ARK - THIS IS EXTRAORDINARY!!!



Working Replica of Noah's Ark opened In SCHAGEN, Netherlands .
Man Builds Noah's Ark to the exact scale given in the Bible.



The massive central door in the side of Noah's Ark was opened and the first crowd of curious townsfolk beheld the wonder. This replica of the biblical Ark was built by Dutch Creationist Johan Huibers as a testament to his faith in the literal truth of the Bible.



The ark is 150 cubits long, 30 cubits high and 20 cubits wide. That's two-thirds the length of a football field and as high as a three-story house.



Life-sized models of giraffes, elephants, lions, crocodiles, zebras, bison and other animals greet visitors as they arrive in the main hold.



A contractor by trade, Huibers built the ark of cedar and pine. Biblical scholars debate exactly what the wood used by Noah would have been.

Huibers did the work mostly with his own hands, using modern tools and with occasional help from his son Roy. Construction began in May 2005. On the uncovered top deck .... not quite ready in time for the opening .... will come a petting zoo, with baby lambs and chickens, and goats, and one camel.



Visitors on the first day were stunned.

'It's beyond comprehension', said Mary Louise Starosciak, who happened to be bicycling by with her husband while on vacation when they saw the ark looming over the local landscape.



'I knew the story of Noah, but I had no idea the boat would have been so big! ' There is enough space near the keel for a 50-seat film theater where kids can watch a video that tells the story of Noah and his ark. Huibers, a Christian man, said he hopes the project will renew interest in Christianity in the Netherlands, where church going has fallen dramatically in the past 50 years.



Now that I am old and gray....give me the time to tell this new generation (and their children too) about all of Your mighty miracles.
Psalm 71:18


In the midst of so much negative news here is a positive story about a devout Christian man wanting to share the story of Noah with this and the next generation hoping he will bring their faith alive. Amazing isn't it?

------------------------------
Yes, it's wonderful to see someone like this undertaking such a project for the greater glory of God. The above story and pictures are making the rounds of the email sphere, and apparently generating a lot of interest. A friend dropped them into my email box, and I decided to share them with my readers who may not have seen the story yet.

By the way, I am a "Catholic Creationist," who also believes in the literal truth of Genesis chapters 1 through 11 in accordance with the Fathers of the Church and traditional Catholic theology. It is my fervent wish to help revive this rich theological doctrine of creation which, as former Cardinal Ratzinger has lamented, has been all but lost in our time. Its revival and rediscovery will enrich our Catholic faith, greatly advance ecumenism and lay the foundation for a correct modern science. It will also give great honor to God our Heavenly Father, the Creator and Origin of all things.

I've Just Joined Twitter...

...so that I could join millions of other Americans in sending an important message to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Click here to read the message.

A Miracle of God's Grace: Papal Visit to UK

Pope Benedict XVI's historic visit to the UK unleashed a torrent of graces on that country, the effects of which will be felt for years to come.

After alighting at Edinburgh Airport on Thursday, September 16, the first day of his visit, the pope traveled via popemobile to Holyroodhouse Palace for his meeting with the Queen. This was followed by a lunch with Scottish bishops. More than 100,000 Scots--including many schoolchildren--lined the streets along his route, joyfully cheering the Holy Father.

That joyful atmosphere persisted into the evening, when Pope Benedict celebrated Mass at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow. A huge crowd of up to 100,000 people filled the venue to participate in this event. In his homily, the pontiff discussed the need for evangelization of culture and the vital importance of faith in society. The latter theme was addressed especially to the UK government and general public throughout his visit.

On Friday, Pope Benedict made history when he became the first pope to set foot in Westminster Hall. This large, handsome building erected in the 1300s has housed England's highest law court for some 700 years. It was here that Saint Thomas More was condemned to death in 1535 for refusing to acknowledge Henry VIII as head of the Church in England. Inside this historic place, Pope Benedict delivered a masterful speech to the nation's political representatives, intelligentsia, diplomats and religious leaders. He challenged them to examine the basis of their society and noted that faith and reason, Church and state need each other and should work together for the good of civilization.

On Saturday, no fewer than 200,000 well-wishers turned out in the streets of London, waving to the Holy Father as he journeyed from one destination to another. That evening, some 100,000 individuals participated in a prayer vigil with Pope Benedict in Hyde Park in preparation for Cardinal Newman's beatification the following day. The BBC News reported that during his address to the assembled throng, the pontiff remarked that he was happy to see many young people in attendance. The resulting cheers temporarily interrupted his speech.

The major highlight of the pope's visit to England was the long-awaited beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman, a famous nineteenth-century Oxford scholar and Anglican priest who converted to Catholicism. Blessed Newman's search for truth and his discovery of it in the Catholic Church points the way for modern Anglicans who desire to return to full communion with Rome. Indeed, many Anglicans are already taking advantage of Pope Benedict's apostolic constitution directed to them, which lays down a set of basic guidelines for their reunion with the Catholic Church. Blessed Newman's heavenly intercession will certainly be pivotal in advancing the cause of Christian unity in his native England.

At the Mass of Beatification on Sunday morning, September 19, the Gospel reading was proclaimed by Deacon Jack Sullivan, a native of the United States who was miraculously healed of a severe back problem through the intercession of Cardinal Newman. This was the type of physical cure which the Church had been awaiting for decades in order to beatify Newman.

A memorable papal departure ceremony took place around six that evening at Birmingham Airport. In his farewell address to the pontiff, UK Prime Minister David Cameron was exceptionally kind and gracious, referring to the visit as "an incredibly moving four days for our country." He stated that His Holiness had posed "searching questions...about our society and how we treat ourselves and each other," and declared: "You have really challenged the whole country to sit up and think."

Such candid words, spoken in a spirit of goodwill by the head of government of a radically secularist European country, are a source of hope. They indicate an openness to the Pope's message and a willingness to do some serious national self-examination. More broadly, they also suggest that the dictatorship of relativism across Western Europe may be less secure than is often thought.

A good deal of negative publicity and virile attacks on Pope Benedict XVI in the British press preceding his visit to the UK had raised fears among many observers, including myself, that the papal visit would be a disaster for the Pope and the Church. Yet it was a great success. As it turns out, the media had focused undue attention on shrill voices of bigotry and hatred aimed at our Holy Father and the Catholic Church, which were representative only of an isolated minority of the British population. Supporters of the Pope far outnumbered protestors on the streets throughout his stay in the UK, with signs reading "We Love Our German Shepherd" visible among the crowds.

British security and police forces really had their act together for the papal visit, ensuring the safety and mobility of our Holy Father throughout his tour. Enclosed in his bulletproof popemobile and surrounded by a fleet of armed security vehicles, the Pope was smoothly whisked from one place to another, with an occasional last-minute detour in his route or slight delay in his arrival at an event to throw off any possible conspirators. Moreover, the government consistently treated the Holy Father with respect during his visit, refraining from attacks on His Holiness or the Catholic Church.

Furthermore, the weather for the pope's visit was as if scripted for the event. London fog retreated and sunny skies prevailed the first two days. On Sunday morning, just before the beatification Mass for Cardinal Newman, a rainbow framed the papal platform. Thick clouds heralded the Pope's departure.

Divine Providence was obviously arranging the details of Pope Benedict XVI's historic state visit to the United Kingdom. The visit was a resounding success, not just because all the details went well, but because the Vicar of Christ achieved his most important goal: reaching the hearts of the people of England and Scotland with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Even the British press and government have had to acknowledge that the Pope's visit was a "triumph." I would like to call it a miracle of God's grace. The seeds planted by the visible head of Christ's Church on earth will surely sprout under the influence of the Holy Spirit in the coming years, bringing a new springtime for Christianity to the historic island of Great Britain.

Copyright © 2010 by Justin Soutar. All rights reserved. This article may not be reproduced without the written permission of the author.

ElectionWatch: More Republican Victories

On September 14, more new names and faces burst onto the rapidly changing American political scene. The following Republican candidates who represent the American people were nominated to, and are now officially running for, public office in the United States:

• In Delaware, Christine O'Donnell for the U.S. Senate. (Note that the Senate seat for which O'Donnell is competing was formerly occupied by current U.S. Vice President Joe Biden.)


• In New York, Carl Paladino for state governor.

These candidates join a slew of Republican Senate nominees, most of whom are now leading in the polls:

• Marco Rubio in Florida
• Sharron Angle in Nevada
• Rand Paul in Kentucky
• Ken Buck in Colorado
• Joe Miller in Alaska

I hate to spoil the upbeat attitude of our ElectionWatch coverage with a sour note, but integrity and respect for the truth demand that I do so briefly. Note that a few of the Republican nominees present serious objections for the conscientious voter. For example, I would definitely not vote for Linda McMahon in Connecticut because, although an outsider to Washington, D.C., she is pro-abortion and represents values I disagree with. A few other of the Republican nominees, although definite improvements over the Democratic incumbents they are challenging, do have some drawbacks. For example, Kelly Ayotte, who narrowly won the Republican Senate nomination in New Hampshire, is pro-life but favors allowing abortion in cases of rape or incest. By contrast, Ovide Lamontagne, who narrowly lost nomination, is pro-life "without exception." I would have preferred to see the latter win this Senate nomination. Nonetheless, despite these exceptions, the overall political trend we are witnessing in the United States is a positive one.

Many of the Republican candidates now running for U.S. House and Senate seats, including those named at the top of this post, are outsiders to Washington, D.C., which is quite refreshing. More importantly than that, however, is what they stand for and the quality of their character. Collectively derided as the "Tea Party" and dubbed "right-wing extremists" in the major media, this remarkable group of individuals actually represents the main stream of the American people--a people who are utterly disappointed with the broken promises of the corrupt Obama administration. These new candidates are pro-life, they stand for limited government, and they favor tax cuts to help reinvigorate the economy. Political outsiders, they represent a rising new generation of God-fearing, conscientious statesmen and women who are devoted to public service and determined to make things right in Washington. This historic movement is the Republican Revolution of 2010.

Praised be God, who exalts the humble.

ElectionWatch -- Focus on Ohio

As our nation prepares to vote in the upcoming general elections on November 2, 2010, certain states stand to gain or lose more than others. Ohio will be an interesting state to watch because of the multiple races underway there. In addition to electing all twenty of their representatives to Congress, residents of the Buckeye State will be choosing a new senator and casting their ballots for governor. Right now Ohio has two senators, Republican George Voinovich elected in 2004 and Democrat Sherrod Brown elected in 2006. The state's governor, Democrat Ted Strickland, was also elected in 2006. Given the current mood of the nation, it's likely that Ohioans will pick another Republican to fill the Senate seat left by Voinovich. In fact, polls show Republican Senate candidate Rob Portman with a clear lead over the Democratic contender, outgoing lieutenant governor Lee Fisher.

Even more significant, however, would be a Republican takeover of the state's governorship. Strickland is running for a second term with lots of money, political experience and support among his age group; however, he has several strikes against him. He is pro-abortion and has failed to cut taxes during the worst economic recession in 40 years. Strickland faces a good challenge from pro-life Republican candidate John Kasich. Both gubernatorial candidates have picked women as their running mates for lieutenant governor: Strickland has chosen Yvette Brown, while Kasich has selected Mary Taylor, the current state auditor. I don't know anything about Brown, but Taylor appears to be pro-life and is also an advocate for homeschooling.

Another reason why Ohio will be an interesting state to watch on election night is that it serves as a barometer of the country as a whole. Unlike most states, Ohio's population is split pretty evenly between Republicans and Democrats, city and country folk. As Ohio goes, so goes the nation. A recent poll of registered voters in the Buckeye State showed the needle tipped way over to the Republican side there, with 75 percent of Republicans determined to vote compared to 56 percent of Democrats. It looks like a powerful storm is brewing for Democratic politicians in Washington. If Republicans take over Ohio, including the governorship, it will spell definite bad news for the Obama administration in 2012.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to our Blessed Mother.

I'm Registered to Vote...

...How about you? If your voter registration status for the upcoming election is in doubt, find it out. If you're already registered, good for you. If not, get on the rolls. Most states have deadlines for voter registration prior to an election. This upcoming election will be important, especially for the unborn and for our economy. Be sure to participate in it.

"The very least a loyal son of his country can do is to cast his vote for good men." --Father F. X. Lasance, The Young Man's Guide, p. 446

Mother Teresa's 100th Birthday

Today is the one hundredth anniversary of the birth of Mother Teresa. Her powerful witness of Christ's love for the poorest of the poor has touched the hearts of all people of good will throughout the world.

Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, pray for us.

ElectionWatch Update: 3 Updates

August 11, 2010: Four Republican outsiders to Washington, D.C. have now been nominated to the U.S. Senate: Ken Buck in Colorado, Rand Paul in Kentucky, Marco Rubio in Florida and Sharron Angle in Nevada.

August 17, 2010: In a Reuters/Ipsos poll of likely Kentucky voters, Republican Senate candidate Rand Paul led his Democratic opponent Jack Conway 45 percent to 40 percent.

August 25, 2010: In Alaska, polls showed Republican Senate candidate Joe Miller holding a slight lead over incumbent Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski. Miller has the support of Sarah Palin.

Also in Arizona, longtime Republican Senator John McCain has been nominated for a fifth term. He had lost the 2008 presidential election to Barack Obama.

Perseid Meteor Shower Was Awesome!

A couple weeks ago, I read in Astronomy magazine's e-newsletter that the Perseid meteor shower was going to peak on August 12. In all my previous attempts to observe meteor showers, I'd met with bad luck. However, I decided to go out and give the Perseids a try, since I had a mostly clear sky the evening of the predicted peak.

In one hour, I saw six meteors zip across the sky quick as a flash, all radiating from the direction of the constellation Perseus. Five of them left vapor trails in their wake that lingered for up to a second. Four of them were as bright or brighter than the planet Jupiter. In addition to these bright and fast meteors, I observed at least ten of the slower, dimmer kind track across the sky. It was like the sky was crawling with meteors. There were periods in which I couldn't go for more than a minute or two without seeing one. It was great fun!

Praise God for a thrilling celestial fireworks show.

News Flash: Quadruple Solar Flare!

On August 1, 2010, American astronomers observed the sun emit a series of four large coronal mass ejections. A coronal mass ejection, also known as a "solar flare," is a powerful eruption of electromagnetic energy from the surface of the sun into the outermost layer of the sun called the corona. It looks like a series of gigantic fountains of fire issuing from the entire surface of the sun. The largest coronal mass ejection may have a temperature of up to 4 million degrees Fahrenheit and extend more than one billion miles from the solar surface into space.

These eruptions are associated with sunspots, magnetically polarized regions of the sun's surface that are ironically cooler than the surrounding surface area, often having temperatures of only 10,000 degrees F. A coronal mass ejection sends a concentrated stream of electromagnetically charged particles into space that can travel for many millions of miles. When these particles collide with earth, they interact with the planet's magnetic field in the exosphere --the outermost layer of earth's atmosphere -- high above the north and south poles, generating beautiful displays of colored lights in the polar night skies known in the Northern Hemisphere as the aurora borealis, or northern lights. A large solar flare may even cause the northern lights to be seen at temperate mid-northern latitudes, although the display will be significantly dimmer and more subtle here.

Such bursts of solar energy are a regular feature of the sun, but every so often an unusually powerful burst will occur. NASA's Solar Dymanics Observatory, a spacecraft launched to study the sun, recorded four such bursts on August 1. These coronal mass ejections, traveling at speeds of over 1 million miles per hour, reached the earth three days later on the evening of August 4. The result was a spectacular aurora borealis display over earth's northern polar regions. The show extended as far south as the 45th parallel of latitude, and was seen by people in the northern United States.

Because coronal mass ejections occur at irregular intervals, astronomers cannot predict their occurrence. However, a large solar flare is an event typically observed by astronomers once
every one and a half years. Previous such events occurred in 2008, 2005 and 2003.

When you hear about a large solar flare in the news, check the night sky in the days following the event to see if you can see an auroral display. Be sure to observe from a location with a dark sky and an unobstructed northern horizon.

I myself have seen the aurora borealis on two separate occasions from my home in Ohio. The first was in October 2003, when I saw a green glow above the horizon and observed subtle red curtains of light waving high in the northern sky. My second sighting was of an even more subtle event in May 2005, when I merely noticed that the usual yellowish-white glow of distant city lights bore a greenish tinge. Although neither show was spectacular compared to the displays visible in polar regions, I was thrilled to be able to see them because of their rarity at midnorthern latitudes and because they were the first two times I ever witnessed the aurora borealis. I missed out on seeing the most recent extraordinary auroral event because I did not live far enough north to see it, but I will keep my eye open for future such events.

Copyright © 2010 by Justin Soutar. All rights reserved. This article may not be reproduced without the written permission of the author.

I do enjoy coin collecting, but...

...not at the price the Danbury Mint is asking. They want $20.00 for a single roll of twelve uncirculated America the Beautiful state quarters. That's $1.67 apiece or more than six times the face value of the coins. The U.S. Mint is issuing five of these state quarters a year, and the Danbury Mint would like to sell me a roll of twelve quarters for each state, every year as soon as they come out until the whole series is minted. If I accepted this offer and agreed to stick with the program (I could bow out at any time), I would end up spending a total of $1,000.00 plus shipping and handling for the privilege of owning fifty gleaming state quarter rolls, plus a bonus quarter in a resealable capsule for each state and a nice box to keep them in. The question I have to ask is: Would this really be worth it? Not for me. At that price, I don't want thirteen brand-new quarters from each state. I'd rather just get one quarter from each state. The Danbury Mint wants to sell me twelve apiece so they can make a fortune on this series.

Some might say that this is a sought-after coin series and I should get in on the ground floor. All the same, I can't bring myself to pay $100.00 for $15.00 worth of coins. It may also be true that the market value of these limited edition coins will skyrocket twenty or thirty years from now. Nonetheless, even if my collection were to go up ten times in value and I were to sell it for that much, I would not earn much more than the Danbury Mint originally charged me for it. Bottom line: This is a great deal for the Danbury Mint and a ripoff for customers. If I want a roll of these shiny new quarters, I can get it at face value from the bank.

By the way, I haven't even collected all fifty of the recent state quarter series yet, which is my favorite American coin series.

Americans Unhappy with Dems on Economy

With midterm Congress- ional elections just over three months away, American dissatisfaction with the triple-blue Democratic administration they elected to Washington in 2008 persists and continues to grow. On Tuesday, July 27, Reuters-Ipsos released a survey showing significant disapproval of Democrats' efforts to revive the troubled economy. Americans rightly consider the economy an issue of major importance and believe that the administration of President Barack Obama has not adequately addressed it. According to the survey, 67 percent of respondents said that President Obama hasn't done enough to create jobs.

The reason why this administration has not adequately addressed our nation's economic woes is that President Obama and many of the Democrats in Congress are the pawns of special interests. They only pretend to care about the American people. That's why they spent $868 billion dollars to bail out the big banks instead of punishing them for irresponsible lending. That's why we have a war in Afghanistan still going on nine years later. That's why we have a vast new government bureaucracy including abortion "coverage" to help take care of our health, and new taxes for those who don't want to be a part of it. That's also why we don't have real tax cuts for working families and small businesses and major cuts in federal spending--measures that would help the American people to rebuild the economy on a solid foundation. The corruption runs deep. It is also why Americans are unhappy with the Dems on almost every issue, not just the economy.

As Democrats in D.C. continue losing support and momentum, Republicans are gaining it. The Reuters-Ipsos poll indicated that 46 percent of Americans plan to vote Republican this November, compared to 44 percent who intend to vote Democratic. Furthermore, nearly three-fourths of Republicans (72 percent) said they are certain to vote in November, compared to less than half of Democrats.

Republican candidates for U.S. House and Senate seats appear increasingly likely to score major victories this fall. May those who win election go on to win the trust, respect and approval of their constituents through faithful public service for many years to come.

Caritas in Veritate--1st Anniversary

July 7 was the first anniversary of the release of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI's third encyclical, Caritas in Veritate (Charity in Truth). In this landmark document, our Holy Father discusses globalization and its accompanying economic and social issues in the brilliant light of Catholic teaching. At the center of his discussion is the human person, redeemed by Christ. The Pope explains that God calls each man and woman to develop himself or herself fully in every aspect--spiritually, culturally, educationally, socially, economically, and so forth--and that this individual development takes place within the shared context of the family, the Church, the nation and international society. This exchange involves not merely relationships of rights and duties, points out the pontiff, but also relationships of gratuitousness, mercy and communion. In other words, human development is not built simply on justice, on doing your job and fulfilling your religious, social and political obligations, but it is also built on charity, on freely going out of your way to do good things for other people, for the Church, for your country and for your fellowmen in other countries. Moreover, this development must be built on truth, which together with charity unites human beings into a true family of God. Into this discussion the Pope brings the "economy of gift." Human life and all creation are free gifts out of love from God, who is the source of all charity and truth. He calls us to freely answer this love with gifts of love for him and for our neighbor. To the extent that we share God's love with others, we contribute to "integral human development," which is God's Will for the human race. Part of this development is science, in which man discovers more about the good things God has made, and technology, in which he eases life's burdens, making it more worthy of man. Science, technology, economics, politics and all other fields must serve the true good of the human person and of all humanity, not the selfish interests of individuals and small groups, or else they run the risk of causing great damage to human development and interpersonal relations. With jewel-like clarity Pope Benedict shows how this all fits together and makes sense.

I cannot say enough about this outstanding encyclical. It is a priceless gift to the Church and humanity, and I have only given a poor summary of its rich contents here. I am planning to write more articles about it in the near future. In the meantime, if you like you can check out a piece I've already written about it entitled A New Vision of Globalization, which is in the list of published articles in my blog sidebar.

Umm...Where Did June Go?

I had a busy month. Tending my garden, finishing up my second book, and some other projects consumed my time, leaving less important pursuits such as blogging aside. And then in the middle of the month, my computer crashed, and I learned a few things. I'd like to tell this story in detail, in case my experience can be helpful to others.

In 2006 I purchased an HP Pavilion a1510n desktop computer with a 200 gigabyte hard drive for my work, which was mostly writing and a little AutoCAD drafting. It turned out to be a very reliable machine that met my expectations, serving me well for four years. I expected it to last about that length of time before going "kaput" and forcing me to buy a new PC. Well, I'd noticed over the past several months or so that it was taking longer to boot up when I turned it on every day. I knew that this was happening because I was adding more and more programs and files to the hard drive, but somehow it never dawned on me to do anything about it. I figured that with the 200 gigabyte hard drive I still had plenty of storage space. So one day last month, I unplugged my computer to protect it from possible damage by a severe thunderstorm. When I plugged it back in, it wouldn't boot up properly, but kept trying to restart itself over and over. I took it to a repair shop, hoping the motherboard or some lesser component was the culprit and I'd be able to recover my files from the hard drive. It turned out that the computer's hard drive had gone bad and that none of my files were retrievable. I lost more than 700 pictures, but thankfully I had nearly all of my important files backed up on CDs. I asked the technician how much it would be to replace the old hard drive with a new one of 167 to 200 gigabyte capacity and he quoted me $300.00. He recommended buying a new computer. I called HP and asked how much they would charge to put in a new hard drive, and they quoted me $500.00. I priced comparable PCs and found the new HP Pavilion p6550z for only $450.00. Buying a new computer looked like the thing to do, especially considering that I paid $600.00 four years ago for a computer with only half the capabilities of the latest model. But before forking over the cash, I decided to call one other repair shop I knew of further away with an excellent reputation and ask the technician there his price for installing a new 200-gigabyte hard drive. He said he could put a new one in in three hours for $150.00, or for just ten more dollars he could put in a 500-gigabyte hard drive, with a three-year warranty either way. Sold! I took my PC to his shop and he installed a new hard drive with 500 gigabytes. I ended up having to wait five and a half hours, but figured it was worth it to get my PC working again. I didn't want anything fancy, just the basic capabilities I needed for my work. When I returned home and set up the computer, I was quite pleased with the result--I found it not only worked, it ran faster and better than it ever did before. Within a day or so I had all my programs reinstalled and was back in business. The thing runs like a champ now with the new 500 gigabyte hard drive. It feels like having a new computer, and all for the fraction of the cost of a new computer.

I learned one valuable lesson from the technician at the first repair shop. He hinted that putting lots of pictures on a hard drive is a recipe for a crash, even if the drive seems to have a lot of space. I did have an awful lot of pictures on there, so that must have been a precipitating factor in the crash. From now on I will store most of my pictures on CDs rather than on the computer's hard drive. Another lesson I learned is that getting your old computer fixed--especially if it's just one component that's bad--can be preferable to buying a new computer. I'm quite happy with my repaired PC and look forward to using it for many additional years.

ElectionWatch 2010 Unveils Official Logo

Here is the official logo for ElectionWatch 2010, your trustworthy source for news and information about the Congressional election campaign. We will also be bringing you the full, state-by-state results of the U.S. House and Senate elections this coming November. So stay tuned!

Saint Justin

Today is the feast of Saint Justin, my patron saint. Justin was one of the earliest Fathers of the Church known for their writings on Church doctrine. Born around the year 100 in the Roman Empire, he was a Greek philosopher who converted to Christianity. He was arrested and summoned to trial for his faith by the pagan Roman emperor, who ordered him to provide information about the Christian religion. As a gifted intellectual and apologist, Justin explained and defended Church teaching and practice in a public court of law. His description of second-century Christian worship, which appears in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, portrays a ritual remarkably similar to today's Catholic Mass. For his adherence to his faith, Justin was martyred in the year 165. Saint Justin, pray for us!

I'm not sure why he is sometimes referred to as St. Justin Martyr. Perhaps it's to distinguish him from several other saints named Justin who lived around the same time, but were not martyred. In any case, he's one of my favorite saints and a patron of this blog.

Note: The word "apologist" comes from a Greek word apologia, meaning "speech." Justin wrote his speeches and delivered them in front of the emperor much as a defendant's attorney would at a modern trial.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend...

...And don't forget to check out America's Back-Door Enemy!

Quote of the Day

Agape, or selfless altruism, presents a major challenge for the evolutionist. It is quite frankly a scandal to reductionist reasoning. It cannot be accounted for by the drive of individual selfish genes to perpetuate themselves. Quite the contrary: it may lead humans to make sacrifices that lead to great personal suffering, injury, or death, without any evidence of benefit. And yet, if we carefully examine that inner voice we sometimes call conscience, the motivation to practice this kind of love exists within all of us, despite our frequent efforts to ignore it.
--Dr. Francis Collins, The Language of God, p. 27.

Thought for the Day

From the rising to the setting of the sun
is the Name of the Lord to be praised.
--Psalm 113:3

Thought for the Day

Prayer is not the breaking down of the reluctance of God; it is rather the opening of a door. "Behold, I stand at the door and knock." The latch is on our side and not his. Prayer opens that door.
--Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen