Santa Croce. . .

Unexpected discovery:  the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross, a.k.a. Opus Dei U.

Helpful signs for Santa Croce students. . .

A quick guide to the local fauna.

Advertising Opus Dei style!

At the Campo

A wide selection of coral jewelry available at the Campo.

Arciconfraternita S. Maria Dell'Orazione E Morte, (Confraternity of St Mary of the Oration and the Dead)Indirizzo:

A stone etching on the outside of the church above, a place to put donations for candles for the dead.





















Another etching with a slot for donations.

On to Campo de Fiori!

Fr. Benedict appears to be in a subjunctive mood for our outing.

The Largo Argentina. . .part of the ruins of Pompey's grand theater and market complex. 

Foundation of one of the temples in the Largo Argentina ruins. 

Church of St Barbara. . .this is supposed to be the site where the Senators murdered Julius Caesar on the steps of Pompey's new Senate House.

Market day at the Campo de Fiori.  This is where you wanna be if you like to cook with fresh ingredients.

The campo's notorious ex-Dominican friar and heretic, Giordano Bruno.

Coffee Bowl Browsing

Israelis are damned by the Left. . .no matter what they do.  So, they should ignore the predictable whining and moral equivocating and protect themselves. 

Why is planning for the pope's trip to the U.K. in Sept in such a mess?  Could it be that the "Spirit of Vatican Two Peace Bong Hipsters" the bishops' conference has running the show would rather the Ole Geezer just stay in Rome?

Oops. . .Elena Kagan's paper trail is exposing her to be anything but the Judicial Blank Slate B.O. is presenting her to be. 

Is it legal to videotape police officers while they are doing their job?  Yes, it is.  Just don't let your film making interfere with an arrest.  I think good cops would welcome the scrutiny b/c it helps them keep their depts. clean.

Climate Science's Bad Rep:  ". . .climate science is facing reputational meltdown similar to the Roman Catholic church's over allegations of child abuse and the British parliament's following the scandal over MPs' expenses."  Sorry.  Not buying the comparisons.  First, Catholics have always freely confessed that we are limited beings constantly struggling with sin and failure.  Second,  everyone expects politicians to be money-grubbing ego-maniacs.  However, Global Warming Cultists have been anything but humble in their preaching and unexpectedly greedy for tax dollars. 

Ten Strange Texts

More Legal Firearms = Less Violent Crime. . .so says the FBI. 

Unpacking and debunking some of the persistent myths dramatized in the new film, Agora.   I've seen the movie and it is exactly what we've come to expect from contemporary pagan portrayals of Christians in history.  Christians are anti-intellectual, anti-art/music, anti-science, anti-female, blahblahblah. 

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More Turista pics (links added)

Duh?  I think you know this one.

Constantin's Arch right next to the Coliseum.

The Capitoline Museums

Church & State: The V.E.M. and Basilica di Santa Maria in Ara coeli

Il Turista (links added)

I played tourist today. . .here are just a few of the pics I took:

Down the Salita del Grillo toward the via Cavour.  The wall on the right is one of the walls of Trajan's Market.

Vespasian's Forum of Peace.  They still use the inside of this structure for concerts.  To the right of this structure is the Basilica of Cosmas and Damian.

Guess. . .?

Part of the Old Roman Forum

Statue at the Capitoline Museums.

Trajan's Column with St Peter on top

Fishy Background

Who's that fishy in the window. . .of your laptop? One of the sample pics that came with the Window's OS.

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Yet more pics

Proof that I can clean my desk!

(NB.  This pic has been up for almost 12 hrs and I've not rec'd one appreciative comment from Scuba Becky, MightyMom, or my Lovely English Lady Friend!  What's a friar gotta do?  Mop the floor?!!)

University building for deans' offices and classrooms. 

Two Angelicum students heading off to take exams. . .

A few more pics

The Priory Chapel at the Angelicum

Pics from Angelicum's Eucharistic Adoration

Inside SS. Domenico e Sisto for Adoration after the 2010 annual Eucharistic Procession.

Nuns enough for ya?  Adoration after the Procession.

(Pic credit:  Fr. Benedict Croell, OP)

More Rome pics

 The Angelicum's courtyard. . .the trees on the right are orange trees.

The Angelicum's backyard. . .which is really an orchard:  orange, lemon, apple, pear, etc.

Rome Pics

I went down to the V.E.M. this morning to watch the National Day parades. . .but it was too crowded to see anything. 

So, I snapped a few pics.

This is La Chiesa dei Santi Domenico e Sisto. . .and the entrance to the Angelicum.  I had just missed getting our resident gypsy, Maria, in the pic.

Coffee Bowl Browsing

President Thin Skin:  "In Obama's eyes, he is always the aggrieved, always the violated, always the victim of some injustice."  What else could he think given that his entire career has been one long series of exceptions being made by guilty white liberals? 

Even Mother Nature is weary of his speechifying.

Alternative narratives to the "Evil Israeli Soldiers Slaughter Innocent Peace Activists" meme being pushed by the lefty media.  Some commentary on this P.R. disaster.  Predictable condemnations of Israel.

What if the euro/E.U. collapses?  What would it mean for the U.S.? 

Oops!  An inconvenient truth about the anti-illegal immigrant law in AZ. . .CA citizens support it.

Licensing journalists?  An idea that only Big Brother could love.  Watch the MSM fall all over themselves loving this idea.

A hole to the center of the Earth?  Is this the doorway through which the Apocalyptic Hordes of Zombies will shamble? 

Yea, that was my reaction too!

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What's a friar to wear?

Question:  Just curious, is there any regulation regarding what Dominican friars wear under the habit? 

Answer:  Nope.  The specifics of the habit itself are spelled out in the constitution, but what we wear underneath the habit is not.  I wear shorts and a tee-shirt (even in winter) b/c of my tendency to overheat.  I've seen jeans, black dress pants, PJ's, undertunics, khakis, clerics.  Traditionally, we wear white socks and black shoes.  However, you will see friars wearing everything from sandals to cowboy boots.  By tradition, the habit is not to be decorated with pins, buttons, etc.  Dominican bishops may wear the habit with their pectoral cross over the capuce.  In Europe, you will sometimes see friars wearing the black skull cap.  Jewelry is not forbidden, but you rarely see anything too conspicuous.  Younger friars have taken to wearing a simple metal band on their left ring finger as a sign of consecration.  Earrings would be frowned on!  Before 1968, friars had to have permission to wear a beard.  Since I'm headed back to Texas in a few weeks, I may test the waters on wearing a pistol on my belt. . .   ;-)

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Rosaries for the novices

Generous benefactors have offered the purchase rosaries for our novices as simple profession gifts. . .

Can anyone suggest a good place in the U.S. to buy nice but not outrageously expensive rosaries to be worn with the OP habit, i.e., sturdy, fifteen decades?  

Is there a Dominican monastery in the U.S. that makes rosaries?  It would be a double gift if the rosaries could be purchased from our own nuns!

Mille grazie!

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Coffee Bowl Browsing

Check out the new theology blog run by Sean DeWitt (a former student of mine) and Paul Bechter.  Sean and Paul are seminarians at Holy Trinity Seminary in Irving, TX. 

Finally!  That preachy-leftist courtroom drama, Law and Order, is being canceled. 

Is B.O.'s dream dead?  "The new world order as envisioned by Obama in January 2009 was, I think, supposed to look something like the following: A social-democratic America would come to emulate the successful welfare states in the European Union."  Unfortunately, for Obama, the E.U. experiment in socio-economic engineering has failed miserably.  The one economic truth that wealth-redistributionists can't quite seem to grasp is that in order to give The Many the wealth of The Few, The Few have to be able to generate wealth.  But redistributive economic policies discourage wealth generation.  No wealth, no redistribution.

Thoughts on our legal drinking age.  I was 19 when the age was raised to 21.  I think 21 is too high.  When U.D. students come to Rome for a semester in their sophomore year, they are legally old enough to drink in Italy.  They seem to handle it quite well. 

Peggy Noonan:  "The president, in my view, continues to govern in a way that suggests he is chronically detached from the central and immediate concerns of his countrymen." 

The New Atheists make a lot of ideological hay with the Church's handling of Copernicus and Galileo.  Mark Shea helps us with some of the myths.  I would also recommend the book, Galileo Goes to Jail and Other Myths about Science and Religion.  This is a serious academic anthology published by Harvard Univ Press but written for an educated general audience.

If you are Catholic and subscribe to TIME Magazine. . .it's probably time to cancel your subscription.  Yet another hit piece on the Holy Father. 

Bill introduced in Congress to repeal ObamaCare.  Will the GOP leadership screw this up?  Probably.

University faculty unions?  Academic faculties harbor some of the most pampered do-nothings in the universe!  Why would they need to unionize?  Prediction for fifty years out:  the only place students will be able to get a serious liberal arts education will be small, independent Catholic colleges. 

Proof that Big Nanny Statism can be thwarted. 

Dissecting the Sestak/White House job offer scandal. . .crime and cover-up?

Italian police arrest notorious gay activist priest on charges of child sex abuse.

"I'm spiritual but not religious" is relativistic nonsense disguised as profundity. 

This sad, then funny, then sad again. . .

Grand Unification Theory of Cutlery. . .I hope Burger King doesn't see this.

Sesame Street goes emo. . .

Kids answer the tough questions about romance, marriage, and parenthood.

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Clarification on my K.C. post

There seems to be some confusion about my recent post on the Knights of Columbus controversy.  So, let's make sure my thoughts are clear. . .

The Knights of Columbus helped me pay for my novitiate medical insurance.  They contributed to several service projects I organized while at U.D.  I have a great deal of respect and admiration for the Knights and their work. 

I was asked by readers to respond to a very particular question:  given the K.C.'s policy on not allowing local/state chapters to expel members who take public stands against Church teaching, should we consider resigning?

My answer was and still is:  sure, consider it. . .but stay on and fight as long as your conscience allows it.  In no way does my answer indicate a lack of respect for the Knights or an ignorance of the tremendous good that they do. 

However, if the K.C. policy is morally wrong, no amount of good work will make it right.  IOW, appeals to their long tradition of public service and dedication to the Church are irrelevant to the question of whether or not local and state chapters should be allowed to expel Knights who oppose Church teaching in ways that cause scandal. 


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The Knights of Columbus: to stay or go?

Dr. Jeff Mirus has it exactly right on the Knights of Columbus controversy:

It may be true that the first step toward a just social order is clear Catholic teaching by the clergy. But the second step is the day’s own trouble for the laity, the application of Catholic teaching in all the concrete dimensions of daily life. It is laymen who are expected to draw the lines that may not be crossed—not in terms of what the Church teaches, but in terms of the proper response when that teaching is ignored and our culture is subverted by those who participate in social and political life. It is laymen who are called to make it clear that if you want to be honored in our circles, you cannot campaign against what we stand for. And if you do, you will be corrected. And if you refuse correction, you will no longer be able to enjoy our company, our camaraderie, our sympathy and our support. 

The whole article is here.  I am especially impressed by Dr. Mirus' emphasis on the responsibility of the laity in defending Church teaching.

I would emphasis one essential flaw in the KC's defense of their policy:  critics of the policy are not asking the KC's to conduct investigations into the beliefs of every Knight in order to determine whether or not he is orthodox.  The problem comes when Knights who are also public figures take stands against Church teaching.  A Knight is a pro-abortion state governor not only risks his immortal soul by supporting abortion, he risks being held eternally responsible for those who may be lead to believe that since a Knight is pro-abortion, abortion must an acceptable practice in the eyes of the Church.

Whether or not any individual Knight should resign in protest against this policy boils down to a prudential judgment:  will my resignation bring about a change in the policy?  My choice would be to stay and fight.  Work to change the policy through normal channels.  There's always the chance that this will become a losing battle.  Then you would have to make another judgment:  am I giving my consent to the policy by remaining? 

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When theologians play at being scientists (and vice-versa)

The two links below will take you to proof that the relationship between science and religion--when improperly understood--can lead to confusion in both science and religion.  

Belief in divine creation is not the same as "intelligent design."  The Intelligent Design Movement attempts to change the nature of normal science in order to account for divine creation, all the while claiming that this change is true to the nature of normal science. (H/T:  Mark Shea)

A physicist corrects Jebbie theologian's confusion regarding quantum physics and transubstantiation. When theologians play at being scientists, like making the latest discoveries in physics foundational to theological discourse, they risk undermining the whole point of theology and making science into God.  (H/T:  Curt Jester)

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St. Philip Neri: the Roman Socrates

 Your One Stop Spot for All Things St. Philip Neri. . .

Basic biographical/historical info. . .NB. the entry under "Political Activity"

My favorite modern biography of Philip:  The Fire of Joy

St Philip Romolo Neri

A maxim a day keeps the Devil away!  Philip Neri sayings for everyday of the year.

EWTN: Philip Neri

Patron Saint Index with lots of links

Saint of the Day: Philip Neri, saint and joker

The Toronto Oratory

The London Oratory, Brompton

At Catholic Fire: Philip Neri, humorous saint

. . .and the Chiesa Nuova, Philip Neri's church in Rome. Only in Rome can you call a 16th century church a "new church"! Philip is buried in a side chapel there. I've visited frequently, asking for a better sense of humor for dealing with the enemies of the Church.

And today is my 46th birthday. My mother denies it, refusing to believe that she has a 46 year old son!  Though she did tell me on the phone recently that I am starting to look my age. 

I am often asked why a Dominican would choose "Philip Neri" as his religious name. I wish there were some mystical, mysterious story to tell. There isn't. When I was going through RCIA, my pastor urged us all to take confirmation names. He suggested that we look at the saints honored on our birthdays for inspiration. He reasoned that picking a name from a saint celebrated on our birthday would help us to remember to imitate that saint. I picked "Philip Neri" for no other reason than that May 26th is his feast day. When I joined the Order, we were told we could use a religious name. One of the brothers asked me my confirmation name and suggested that I make it my religious name. With just a little research into Philip Neri's life, I found quite a lot I wanted to imitate!  

Though I cringe when my name is shortened to "Fr. Phil," there is one diminutive of the great saint's name I don't mind. . .Philip's closest friends used "Pippo" as a term of endearment for him.  Here's an article by the French Oratorian, Fr. Louis Bouyer that includes a couple of funny stories about the saint.

Philip knew many of the great Dominicans of his day. He was a renowned preacher and confessor. He worked tirelessly among the spiritually defeated youths of Rome. He was a practical joker and an outrageous spiritual director. When he died, an autopsy revealed that his heart had grown too big for this body. An apt description of this saint of Christ's joy! Philip was canonized along with Theresa of Avila and Ignatius of Loyola.

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