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How airplanes conquered Antarctica…
In 1928, the bullet-shaped aircraft that Wilkins and his co-pilot Carl Ben Eielson flew was the cutting-edge craft of its day. Their Lockheed Vega was designed by Jack Northrop, who later founded the Northrop Corporation, famous for the B-2 Stealth Bomber. Earlier in the year, in another Vega, the two pilots had become the first to cross the Arctic Ocean from Alaska to Svalbard, Norway. On the opposite side of the world, the explorers raced above the Antarctic Peninsula. In just 20 minutes, the Vega covered 40 miles (65km), a distance that would have taken months to traverse on foot. After nearly 4.5 hours, with half his fuel spent, Wilkins opened a hatch, dropped a proclamation (a flag and document) claiming the land for King George V of Great Britain, and reluctantly turned back. In the ...
The tale of ‘Tiffany’…
[embedded content] It starts in the year 300, with Eusebius… Join Our Telegram Group : Salvation & Prosperity
Pope’s Sunday Angelus: ‘Find time for silence with the Gospel every day’…
Speaking from the window of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, the pope told the pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square that spending time in silence with the Gospel is like “medicine” for one’s spiritual life. “Every day a little silence and listening, fewer useless words, and more of the Word of God,” Pope Francis recommended. He said that it is a good thing to turn to the Lord with prayer requests, but above all, it is important to listen to the Lord. “Jesus asks this of us. In the Gospel when they ask Him what is the first commandment, he answers: ‘Hear, O Israel.’ Then he adds … ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart … and your neighbor as yourself” (Mk 12:28-31). But first of all, he says, ‘Hear, O Israel,’” the pope explained. Pope Francis said t...
Rivalry between judge, prosecutor underlies surreal twist in Vatican trial…
ROME – Although trials are supposed to be about the impartial administration of justice, anyone who’s ever watched “Law and Order” knows they’re really about a catfight among the various parties. The system is called “adversarial” precisely because the idea is that such a vigorous contest will, eventually, result in justice. By that standard, let no one say that the Vatican’s current “trial of the century,” featuring fraud and embezzlement charges against a cardinal and nine others over the purchase of real estate in London by the Secretariat of State with money from “Peter’s Pence”, doesn’t deliver. At the core of the trial is a showdown between the presiding judge and a prosecutor, both prominent legal figures on the Roman scene, who last butted heads in a long-running court battle over ...
Catholics deserve better homilies. Here are my top 5 tips for fellow preachers…..
Earlier this week Vincent Mary Carrasco, O.F.M.Cap., tweeted out a question that lit up Catholic Twitter about something that thankfully had nothing to do with religious exemptions from Covid vaccines or the Latin Mass: This semester I’m taking a class on preaching. Out of curiosity, what are some of your pet peeves when hearing someone preach? — Br Vince Mary OFM 🧢 (@BrVinMary) August 23, 2021 He got a ton of insightful responses. There were some hilarious ones, too. “Don’t use balloons, helium or otherwise,” wrote one respondent. “No balloons please.” Said another: “Don’t tell me to turn to the person next to me and say something. Ever.” I have my own pet peeves, like children used as props in homilies (especially babies at the Midnight Mass—I get the instinct, bu...
Why have you stayed Catholic? Read the crowdsourced answers…..
A Catholic entrepreneur recently told me that when a company starts to lose existing customers, many try to survey these lost customers to learn why they no left; and that he believes this is the wrong strategy. He said the better strategy is to ask why your most loyal customers continue to buy your products and then build on these strengths as well as the things that differentiate you. Then he said something profound – he believes the Catholic Church ought to apply this strategy to how we evangelize. We aren’t going to “fix” all our problems and magically make ourselves a more attractive religious option for modern people. There are too many issues and we have too little sway over the direction of a billion-person organization. But, we can do a better job of putting our strengths ou...
Two bold and true responses to the dangers of gender ideology…
The push to substitute “gender identity” or “gender expression” for biological sex has enormous ramifications in terms of law, education, economy, health, medicine, safety, sports, language and culture, as well as in terms of basic anthropology, human dignity, human rights, marriage and family, motherhood and fatherhood, and the cause of women, men, and especially children. For that reason, Pope Francis has repeatedly, courageously and emphatically spoken out. He has done so not just out of love for the truth, but consistent with his pastoral prioritization for those on the peripheries of existence, especially those who bear the difficult cross of feeling trapped in the biological reality of a body discordant with their psychological self-identification. While emphatically encouragin...
Living well on earth and entering Heaven: The 19 types of judgment…
Making judgments is a privilege of persons only. A privilege that is necessary, both to live well on earth and to enter Heaven. There are at least nineteen different kinds of judgment that we should distinguish. I’m sorry I could not find a twentieth, to match the number of digits on our fingers and toes. But nineteen does match the digits of Frodo Baggins, one of my heroes. (I’m sure you remember Frodo of the Nine Fingers, and Gollum of the Eleven.) The importance of the topic wisely assigned to me—judgment—is obvious. For one thing, making judgments is a privilege of persons only. For another thing it is necessary, both to live well on earth and to enter Heaven. I will say one thing about each of these nineteen kinds of judgments. It may not be the most important or m...
Contradicting Past Statements, Biden Says He Doesn’t Believe Life Begins at Conception…
At the 2012 vice presidential debate against Republican nominee Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., Biden stated plainly that he believed life began at conception. WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden, D, said on Friday, Sept. 3, that he does not believe life begins at conception – contradicting his previous statements on when life begins. Biden answered a reporter’s question on abortion on Friday, after addressing the August jobs numbers at the White House. “I respect those who believe life begins at the moment of conception,” Biden said. “I don’t agree, but I respect that. I’m not going to impose that on people.” “I have been and continue to be a strong supporter of Roe v Wade, number one…I respect them, those who believe life begins at the moment of conception and all, I respect that...
Where sin abounds, grace abounds — even in the world of heavy metal…
These rock musicians have come to Christ through some of the least likely ways. Though the news didn’t receive the coverage that Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watt’s death did, Joey Jordison, the lead drummer of the heavy metal band Slipknot as well as guitarist for the horror punk band Murderdolls, died last month. He was 46. The vagaries of the heavy metal subgenres are obscurely pretentious and unintelligible to the rest of humanity. But each name is designed to solicit, horror, fear, foreboding and disgust. Some examples include: death metal, stoner metal, goth metal, horror metal, hard alternative metal, black metal, power metal, industrial metal and trash metal. They all are nihilistic and obsessed with death, suffering and pain — perfect for disaffected teenagers. But ironically, h...
In new interview, Pope Francis speaks about Cardinal Becciu scandal, China deal, euthanasia, abortion, Afghanistan, and the Traditional Latin Mass…
VATICAN CITY — Pope Francis addressed the Vatican financial scandals in a sit-down radio interview that aired Wednesday, saying he hoped that Cardinal Angelo Becciu would be found innocent. “I hope with all my heart that he is innocent. Besides, he was a collaborator of mine and helped me a lot. He is a person whom I have a certain esteem as a person, that is to say that my wish is that he turns out well. … In any case, justice will decide,” the Pope told Carlos Herrera, a journalist at Spain’s COPE radio station. Cardinal Becciu is one of 10 defendants in the Vatican’s largest trial for financial crimes in the modern era, after the Pope changed the norms to allow cardinals to be tried by lay judges. Cardinal Becciu is accused of embezzlement and abuse of office, but vehemently denies any ...
Did Napoleon Bonaparte actually exist? Let’s look at the evidence with a historical-critical eye…..
Ah, Napoleon. People can’t get enough of this guy. The man. The myth. The legend. Actually scratch that first part. Was Napoleon really a man? You might think that’s a crazy question. It’s taken for granted that Napoleon existed. But this very circumstance draws attention away from the credibility question. We often are likely to accept insufficient evidence and ignore flaws in the evidence when things go unquestioned. Flaws in supposedly uncontroversial ideas have been overlooked in the past, such as flaws in the idea that the Earth is flat. History books may tell us one thing, but increasing numbers of independent researchers are questioning whether Napoleon existed at all. Yes, you heard that right. Let that sink in. Video version – Please subscribe! Who was Napoleon? So wha...
