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Friday, December 09, 2005
Thursday, December 08, 2005
First Snow of the Season
Today was the first snow of the season. We got a few inches. Here are little birds in my backyard at the feeder.
Don Ho Gets Stem Cell Treatment
Hawaiian singer Don Ho is recovering from a stem cell treatment for his heart condition.
What I didn't hear on the television was that this treatment was with adult stem cells taken from his own body. See this article: http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/story.asp?section=Music&storyId=1127430 from the Associated Press.
He was not treated with embryonic stem cells, which are harvested from a killed human in an eary stage of development.
There is a big push to legalize embryonic stem cell treatment. See my article Stem Cell Television Commercials on the Air in Missouri. This is an attempt by the Culture of Death to devalue human life, for the sake of getting public money and for normalizing abortion and euthanasia.
What I didn't hear on the television was that this treatment was with adult stem cells taken from his own body. See this article: http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/story.asp?section=Music&storyId=1127430 from the Associated Press.
He was not treated with embryonic stem cells, which are harvested from a killed human in an eary stage of development.
There is a big push to legalize embryonic stem cell treatment. See my article Stem Cell Television Commercials on the Air in Missouri. This is an attempt by the Culture of Death to devalue human life, for the sake of getting public money and for normalizing abortion and euthanasia.
Wednesday, December 07, 2005
Photos of the Church of the Holy Martyrs of Japan, in Japan, Missouri
The little village of Japan came into considerable publicity after the Japanese attacked us at Pearl Harbor [December 7th, 1941], and some Missourians began an agitation to change its name. It turned out that few of its inhabitants were aware of its connection with the enemy country, for down there the name is customarily pronounced as "JAY-pan" or "JAY-puhn,"...with the accent on the first syllable. The patriotic zeal of the agitators was further checked when the history of the name was brought to light. The village was actually named, not for the country at all, but for the old Catholic Church there which has been in existence for more than a century. The "Church of the Holy Martyrs of Japan," to give its title in full, was named for the twenty-six priests and lay brothers of Spanish, Portuguese, and Japanese blood who were crucified for their faith on Feb. 5, 1597, in the great persecution that almost wiped out Japanese Christianity for the next three hundred years. When the pastor told its heroic story, the community decided to keep its name, which commemorated not only the savagery of the Japanese persecutors, but also the Japanese capacity for becoming saints and martyrs.—Robert L. Ramsay, Our Storehouse of Missouri Place Names
A painting of the martyrs inside of the church. The martyrs' feast day is held on February 6th, as the Memorial of Saint Paul Miki and Companions. Franciscans, Jesuits, and laymen were among the martyrs, who were crucified on the "Holy Mountain" overlooking Nagasaki. That area remained a center of Christianity for centuries, often practiced in secret. Nagasaki's cathedral was the target upon which an atomic bomb was dropped, ending World War II. The spread of Christianity is slow and difficult in Asia, because the deep-rooted fear of interfering with someone's karma makes the practice of charity difficult.
Here is Holy Martyrs of Japan Parish in Japan, Missouri. As these photos were taken, a couple was starting to decorate the exterior for Advent; to be included in the decorations were a large wreath for the church and a Nativity display.
The interior of the church is beautifully decorated and is in contrast to the plain exterior. The room is bathed in a yellow glow from the side windows. At the top of the sanctuary is a stained glass window, facing south.
The stained glass window.
The sunlight from the window falling on the floor. I would guess that this sunbeam will hit the medallion on the floor on or about the feast day of the church.
The Holy Family. "God's Grace in a Country Place".
The church is set among the tall native pines of the Ozarks.
The church address is:
8244 Hwy. AE
Sullivan, MO 63080
It is located about 66 highway miles southwest of downtown Saint Louis.
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
New Orders
Religious orders come and go, and for the past 40 years mainly the latter. If an order outlives its usefulness or forgets its mission, then it is best to let it go. But there are new orders and associations being founded these days, with new missions.
The purpose of a religious order is to increase the holiness of its members by serving God and man. Prayer—mainly the Divine Office and the Mass—is a primary means of doing the former and either intercessory prayer or secular service do the latter. The big religious orders that did the bulk of that secular service, mainly education and healthcare, are in serious trouble these days; the educators seem to be ignorant of Christianity, while the hospital orders are looking very sick. But many of the new fast-growing orders and associations seem to be contemplative, and are often based on the traditional Latin liturgy; this is a good start; a sick mind cannot be educated in right reason, and healing the soul is the first step in healing the body. This makes much sense: people no longer pray for themselves, so instead these new brothers and sisters have to pray for them.
Natural disasters seem to be multiplying, and often it seems that governments and agencies are at least somewhat incompetent in reacting to these. This could be a field of service for a new kind religious order, one that has disciplined members who can evacuate people from harm's way, and perform search-and-rescue missions and first aid in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. The months following a disaster is the time for the work of Catholic Charities and similar organizations: helping people find housing, finding homes for orphans, and such forth, in a mainly bureaucratic fashion. But in the proximity of disaster, special training and equipment are needed, and critically, a special kind of person. This would be similar to the type of service offered by the Red Cross, but at a much lower cost. The American Red Cross has an overhead of 75% or more; a Catholic religious order would instead have dedicated brothers doing the work with little overhead cost.
An order like this would have some similarities to the old military orders of the middle ages, for this kind of disaster service would be similar to military life: as is often said, there will be long periods of boredom punctuated by moments of extreme terror. The members would have to have constant training, be willing to act under a moment's notice, and they will have to be obedient to superiors. Physical fitness and ability to withstand physical hardship would be unique requirements of this kind of order.
This kind of religious order would perhaps appeal to a different kind of person than would be attracted to a contemplative order, and also there would be a great need for secular members. A small core of members under permanent vows could make up the administration of the order and would oversee the daily operation, while a large number of secular members would do the bulk of the effort in times of disaster. A secular member could be bound to one weekend a month and two weeks a year—just like the National Guard—at the order's charterhouse for training and building community, and then go as needed to serve in an emergency.
Since a Christian has the duty to serve others out of charity, costs could be kept low. Needed supplies could be obtained by 'pledges in advance' from companies who are willing to donate transportation and material at an unspecified time in the future: as needed, when needed, also out of charity.
The purpose of a religious order is to increase the holiness of its members by serving God and man. Prayer—mainly the Divine Office and the Mass—is a primary means of doing the former and either intercessory prayer or secular service do the latter. The big religious orders that did the bulk of that secular service, mainly education and healthcare, are in serious trouble these days; the educators seem to be ignorant of Christianity, while the hospital orders are looking very sick. But many of the new fast-growing orders and associations seem to be contemplative, and are often based on the traditional Latin liturgy; this is a good start; a sick mind cannot be educated in right reason, and healing the soul is the first step in healing the body. This makes much sense: people no longer pray for themselves, so instead these new brothers and sisters have to pray for them.
Natural disasters seem to be multiplying, and often it seems that governments and agencies are at least somewhat incompetent in reacting to these. This could be a field of service for a new kind religious order, one that has disciplined members who can evacuate people from harm's way, and perform search-and-rescue missions and first aid in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. The months following a disaster is the time for the work of Catholic Charities and similar organizations: helping people find housing, finding homes for orphans, and such forth, in a mainly bureaucratic fashion. But in the proximity of disaster, special training and equipment are needed, and critically, a special kind of person. This would be similar to the type of service offered by the Red Cross, but at a much lower cost. The American Red Cross has an overhead of 75% or more; a Catholic religious order would instead have dedicated brothers doing the work with little overhead cost.
An order like this would have some similarities to the old military orders of the middle ages, for this kind of disaster service would be similar to military life: as is often said, there will be long periods of boredom punctuated by moments of extreme terror. The members would have to have constant training, be willing to act under a moment's notice, and they will have to be obedient to superiors. Physical fitness and ability to withstand physical hardship would be unique requirements of this kind of order.
This kind of religious order would perhaps appeal to a different kind of person than would be attracted to a contemplative order, and also there would be a great need for secular members. A small core of members under permanent vows could make up the administration of the order and would oversee the daily operation, while a large number of secular members would do the bulk of the effort in times of disaster. A secular member could be bound to one weekend a month and two weeks a year—just like the National Guard—at the order's charterhouse for training and building community, and then go as needed to serve in an emergency.
Since a Christian has the duty to serve others out of charity, costs could be kept low. Needed supplies could be obtained by 'pledges in advance' from companies who are willing to donate transportation and material at an unspecified time in the future: as needed, when needed, also out of charity.
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