Luke 23:50-56



Now there was a good and righteous man named Joseph, who, though a member of the council, had not agreed to their plan and action. He came from the Jewish town of Arimathea, and he was waiting expectantly for the kingdom of God. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then he took it down, wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid it in a rock-hewn tomb where no one had ever been laid. It was the day of Preparation, and the sabbath was beginning. The women who had come with him from Galilee followed, and they saw the tomb and how his body was laid. Then they returned, and prepared spices and ointments.



On the sabbath they rested according to the commandment.





His memorial in the Roman calendar is on 17 March and is overshadowed by that for St. Patrick. But the Eastern Orthodox and Anglican Calendars observe the memorial of St. Joseph of Arimathea today.



Legend says that it was Joseph of Arimathea who carried the Gospel to Britain, bringing the Holy Grail with him. William Blake wrote on another of the legends that surrounds him. The hymn whose music by Charles H. H. Parry is called "Jerusalem" is set to Blake's words and "the lyr­ics may refer to folk­lore that says Je­sus vis­it­ed Bri­tain as a teen­ag­er with Jo­seph of Ar­i­ma­thea, who was said to be a dis­tant rel­a­tive and had a stake in Cor­nish tin mines."



Here is the hymn: And Did Those Feet In Ancient Time

"The enormous skyscrapers, silent and cold, seemed speechless before the human and divine drama taking place at their base," --that is, the Stations of the Cross.



"This city, like many others, needs to find a soul again," he added. "Now it knows where to seek it."



Father Federico Lombardi of Vatican Radio in a vivid description of a lingering image from World Youth Day 2002 in Toronto.

"The 20th century often tried ... to build the city of man without reference to [Christ]," he said on Saturday night at the candlelight vigil. "It ended by actually building that city against man! Christians know that it is not possible to reject or ignore God without demeaning man."



In The Evening of His Life He Warns Us



Father Raymond J. de Souza reflects in Canada's National Post on the ministry of Pope John Paul II at World Youth Day 2002 in Toronto.

The feast of the great St. Ignatius of Loyola, founder of the Society of Jesus and author of the Spiritual Exercises. Heroic model. Miles Christi.



And that last has been in my mind. Miles Christi. Soldier of Christ. What we're called to be and to do. The armor that, gracious and faithful, God provides us. The Bible Study Hour over the last few days has broadcast Dr. James Montgomery Boice preaching on Ephesians 6



Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places].

Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints.



Here is a link to Reginald Heber's great hymn The Son of God Goes Forth To War

And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee.



Dennis Prager ponders the words of Genesis 12:3 and considers whether we haven't seen them ratified in our own day.

Did some browsing at Paulo Ordoveza's site. It's good to have him back after his brief hiatus. I hadn't checked in to his photolog since the record of the squirrel attack outside the U.S. Supreme Court building. But take a look at Mossy Wall and at Sanctuary. He's doing good work.

Flirting is a sign that romance involves more than meaningless recreational sex—that despite the avalanche of condoms in schools and the decades of seminars attempting to eradicate shame and embarrassment, human beings still remain human beings with God-given instincts.



Mark Gauvreau Judge at Breakpoint wonders whether there's been a rebirth of romance and sees Signs of Life.

Just saw the nice post that Jamie Bevill had yesterday:



My old pastor always ended his benediction with the beginning of the following verse and I like to dwell on it from time to time. I find it stirs up peace and helps my soul to rest.



BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS,

and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him;

and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be.

Amen. [Rev. 1.7]





A moving text and the vision of a wonderful promise. It's the basis of the great hymn Lo, He Comes, With Clouds Descending. Go and add your voice.

How controversial are you? Federal judicial nominees who have been approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee and thus are now awaiting approval by the full Senate will soon learn the answer to that question. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle moments ago stated on the floor of the Senate that he saw no reason why all noncontroversial federal judicial nominees who have made it through the Judiciary Committee could not have confirmation votes before the full Senate by the end of next week.



From Howard J. Bashman of Buchanan Ingersoll P.C. at his blog on appellate courts and activity: How Appealing.

U.S. Representative Dan Burton, chairman of the House Government Reform Committee, is so disgusted with the abuses committed in the name of the FBI's war on the Mafia that he filed a bill yesterday to remove the name of legendary FBI director J. Edgar Hoover from the bureau headquarters in Washington. ### Story from The Boston Globe



The bill has several co-sponsors from both parties and it's not clear if there is still somewhere (inside or outside the Bureau) a J. Edgar Hoover constituency that would mobilize in defense of his record and reputation. What was uncovered by Congressman Burton's committee regarding innocent men who languished in prison so that FBI operations and sources wouldn't be compromised has been deeply unsettling. And it's not the only stain on the record.

The publication of What Would Jesus Eat? The Ultimate Program for Eating Well, Feeling Great, and Living Longer (Nelson, 2002) signals, I hope, the end of our latest enchantment with imitating Christ. The recent fad began 13 years ago with Holland, Michigan, teenagers wearing WWJD (What Would Jesus Do) bracelets to remind themselves to seek Christ's direction before every decision. All well and good up to a point, and with this book, that point has been exceeded.



So writes Mark Galli in Christianity Today, declaring: The Christian life is not a game of Simon says. He explains Why I Don't Imitate Christ



Link from Mute Troubadour, antiphons of a street monk.

The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico was proclaimed on this date in 1952. Fifty years of affiliation with the United States of America under that status. Fifty years is an anniversary usually well-marked. Am I alone in thinking it should have been cause for some celebration? It seems to be primarily contentious.

Karl Kohlhase very kindly sent me a copy of his new CD, and I've listened to it several times, taking enjoyment and strength and fellowship from his writing and performance. The CD is called Through the Dark and the final song He Died For Me is still in my mind as I'm writing this, plaintive in imagining the cost and rich in its humble gratitude. Visit Karl's site, and sample his work.



Karl's also posted hymns and choral works and settings that you're free to use with your choir. Fine work and good news.

Utah is celebrating Pioneer Day.



Completing a treacherous thousand-mile exodus, an ill and exhausted Brigham Young and fellow members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints arrived in Utah's Great Salt Lake Valley on July 24, 1847.

Set upon by robbers. An encounter with brutality. Reported by Kurt Brobeck. Please remember Paul Lindsley in prayer.

Click on Astronomy Picture of the Day at right. Today's shouldn't be missed. You're standing on top of Mt. Everest. And you're offered a panoramic view.



Ps 90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou [art] God.

In the Rite of Marriage from the 1962 Missal, there is this beautiful and evocative passage:



May this yoke that she is taking on herself be one of love and peace. May she be faithful and chaste, marrying in Christ, and may she always imitate the holy women: may she be the beloved of her husband, as was Rachel; wise, as was Rebecca; long-lived and loyal, as was Sara.



I think of the passage from time to time, but it's been in my mind today because Genesis 24 has been in my mind. The first appearance of Rebecca.



And the damsel [was] very fair to look upon, a virgin, neither had any man known her: and she went down to the well, and filled her pitcher, and came up.

And the servant ran to meet her, and said, Let me, I pray thee, drink a little water of thy pitcher.

And she said, Drink, my lord: and she hasted, and let down her pitcher upon her hand, and gave him drink.

And when she had done giving him drink, she said, I will draw [water] for thy camels also, until they have done drinking.

And she hasted, and emptied her pitcher into the trough, and ran again unto the well to draw [water], and drew for all his camels.



Now this is an extraordinary thing, more extraordinary than this child of his century usually stops to realize. But this morning I was prodded to think about it. Eliezer, servant and emissary of Abraham, had brought ten camels on this journey to seek a wife for Isaac. Commentaries on the chapter suggest that ten camels would consume some 140 gallons of water. Ten camels needing to be attended to. 140 gallons needing to be drawn from the well. 140 gallons needing to be carried to the trough. Think of the calendar of qualities she displays.



Physical strength. Selflessness. Generosity. Practicality. Cheerfulness. Wisdom.



Holy woman and matriarch. Rebecca.

Plans to remove the representation of Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson, from the reverse of the nickel coin are closer to being blocked. The United States House of Representatives on Monday passed by voice vote the bill sponsored by the Virginia delegation led by Rep. Eric Cantor that would preserve the current design of the coin. The bill now moves to the United States Senate, where the legislation is sponsored by Virginia Sen. George Allen.



The plan put forward last month by the United States Mint had been to change the reverse design to one commemorating the Bicentennial of the Louisiana Purchase and the Expedition led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark.



Under Rep. Cantor's legislation, the Congress would recognize the alternative reverse design --- depicting an American Indian and an eagle facing westward --- for the years 2003, 2004, and 2005. The original design of Felix Schlag, unchanged since the Jefferson nickel replaced the buffalo nickel in 1938, would resume as permanent in 2006.



The buffalo nickel, designed by James Earle Fraser, was minted from 1913-1938. The design was designated for use on a silver dollar coin in 2000, and the coin was released last year to mark the Smithsonian Institution's new National Museum of the American Indian.

You've been waiting years to have this in front of you. The Man of Steel. The first issue. June 1938. Action Comics, No. 1

Sometime around noon today, I will be prostrate on the floor of the historic limestone Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Kingston, Ont.



Raymond J. De Souza writes of his ordination and explains Why I Will Lie Prostrate Today. From Saturday's edition of Canada's National Post.



And visit Mark Cameron's site for Te Deum Laudamus, his account of the ordination and first Mass of his friend.

Well, here's some good news on the recognition of religious freedom in a decision from the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The three judge panel ruled 2-1 that the rights of Jonathan Davy, pursuing studies in Pastoral Ministries at Northwest College in Kirkland, Washington, were violated by the provisions of a 1969 state law. He was stripped of his scholarship under the terms of that law, and the revocation of the scholarship was upheld at trial court level. But now:



This appeal challenges Washington law that denies a state-funded "Promise Scholarship" to students who are qualified for it by virtue of high school grades, family income, and attendance at an accredited college in the state, solely because the student decides to pursue a degree in theology.



Here's the text of the decision.



Also, spurred in part by public disgust at their ruling in the Pledge of Allegiance case, efforts to split the huge Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals have been revived.

That last post took us from Front Royal to Vienna and back. John Schultz was writing on Saturday about a trip to Waynesboro for his father-in-law's birthday, with his father-in-law coming from Charlottesville. Reminded me of my UVA years. Lots of Old Dominion references. Let me recommend another. Get a feel for life in southwest Virginia. Visit Goose Creek for some Fragments From Floyd (Virginia). Good reflections and some great pictures.

John Bell at Notes From A Hillside Farm stays up later than usual to go on a road trip to Vienna. Virginia, that is. Jammin' Java. Read his report on a night of music by Bill Mallonee. Here's an excerpt:



Mallonee is also a Christian, which puts him in a kind of pop-music no-man's land. He is too interesting and honest for CCM (that is, the Contemporary Christian Music industry) and too concerned with sin and redemption to ever fit into a corporate music marketing niche. It makes it tough for him, but it means the rest of us can see a world class artist in a small club for what you would pay to park at a bigger venue.



Good thoughts on good music.

The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore, designed by Benjamin Henry Latrobe, the architect of the United States Capitol, at the request of the first bishop of the United States, His Excellency Archbishop John Carroll, is undergoing extensive renovation. A great and important building. A worthy cause. Contribute to the work if you can.

Today's the anniversary of the great day of technological achievement in 1969, the fulfillment of years of labor and centuries of dreams.



MAN ON THE MOON!

Publicity surrounding release and distribution of Constantin Costa-Gavras's film Amen, a work said to have been inspired by Rolf Hochhuth's 1962 play The Deputy, has faded. That surely means another season of mendacious attacks on Pope Pius XII of gracious memory will soon be here.



Here's a voice in defense. John Laughland talks to the Jesuit Peter Gumpel, who has personal memory and professional knowledge of the man and the period. From the current issue of The Spectator.



Pius the Hero.

The Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts announced yesterday that Harvey Pollack of the Philadelphia '76ers, Mr. Stats, is the recipient of the 2002 John Bunn Award for a lifetime of contributions to the game. He's been associated with the NBA from its beginning in 1946 and has been a keeper of the records and statistics of basketball for more than 60 years.



"Over the years, Pollack either wholly invented or became the first to chart such intrinsic game information as: minutes played, assists, steals, turnovers, blocked shots, and offensive and defensive rebounds. He coined the term "triple-double," to describe the accomplishment of a player who reaches double figures during a game in three categories."



Pollack was on hand for Wilt Chamberlain's 100-point game in Hershey in 1962, just as during his career he's seen him play in Philadelphia for Overbrook High, the Warriors and the '76ers, and continues to defend him as the greatest player in the history of the game.

John Paul Jones, a founder of the United States Navy, died on this date in 1792. Hero of the great naval victory won by his ship Bon Homme Richard over the British frigate HMS Serapis, it was during that battle that he thundered his response to the British surrender demand "Have you struck your Colors?"



"Struck, sir? I have not yet begun to fight."



He is entombed in the crypt of the "Cathedral of the Navy," the Chapel at the United States Naval Academy in Annapolis.



Here is a link to The Navy Hymn, Eternal Father, Strong To Save

The memorial envisioned as Plaza, Square, Triangle, Garden, Park, Promenade. Here are the site plans and descriptions of the World Trade Center Memorial proposals. Submitted to the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey and announced on Tuesday.

It's the best search engine available for most general queries, and it continues to refine its definitions and expand its capabilities. But any search engine has its negatives, and there are some things about Google that are worth remembering. Duncan Wilcox writes on Google's Integrity.

Jim Hart, James Cordrey, John Bell, Brian Davis. All fans of Bill Mallonee and Vigilantes of Love. And not the first time to be mentioned here.



Seems like an influential voice in blogdom, and not without reason. Is he lurking on other sites as well?

The blessings available from innovative and life-affirming uses of technology. Mark Baard writes on those who Blog To Cope With Alzheimer's Fog.



"Seniors in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, with mild to moderate memory loss, are writing Web logs to help them make sense of their daily lives. And the activity, they say, is slowing the onset of their symptoms.



........



AD has no known cure, and there is no proof that blogging, or any other form of cognitive exercise, can stem its progress. But AD bloggers say their journals have greatly improved their quality of life, by helping them to recall tasks completed and milestones passed. "

We celebrate the Feast of Saint Bonaventure, the Seraphic Doctor, on July 15. Here is his prayer.



Pierce, O most sweet Lord Jesus, my inmost soul with the most joyous and healthful wound of Thy love, and with true, calm and most holy apostolic charity, that my soul may ever languish and melt with entire love and longing for Thee, may yearn for Thee and for thy courts, may long to be dissolved and to be with Thee. Grant that my soul may hunger after Thee, the Bread of Angels, the refreshment of holy souls, our daily and supersubstantial bread, having all sweetness and savor and every delightful taste. May my heart ever hunger after and feed upon Thee, Whom the angels desire to look upon, and may my inmost soul be filled with the sweetness of Thy savor; may it ever thirst for Thee, the fountain of life, the fountain of widsom and knowledge, the fountain of eternal light, the torrent of pleasure, the fulness of the house of God; may it ever compass Thee, seek Thee, find Thee, run to Thee, come up to Thee, meditate on Thee, speak of Thee, and do all for the praise and glory of Thy name, with humility and discretion, with love and delight, with ease and affection, with perseverence to the end; and be Thou alone ever my hope, my entire confidence, my riches, my delight, my pleasure, my joy, my rest and tranquility, my peace, my sweetness, my food, my refreshment, my refuge, my help, my wisdom, my portion, my possession, my treasure; in Whom may my mind and my heart be ever fixed and firm and rooted immovably. Amen.



In The Lord's Atoning Grief

Rev. John Keble, theologian, teacher and poet, priest of the Church of England, preached the Assize Sermon at St. Mary's Church, Oxford, on July 14, 1833.



Keble gave his sermon the title National Apostasy and took as his text 1 Samuel 12:23: As for me, God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you: but I will teach you the good and the right way.



Keble called the nation to repentance and to recognition of the Church as the prophetic voice of God and not a mere establishment pillar and human institution.



Keble's sermon is considered the beginning of the Oxford Movement, of which he remained a central figure.





Blest Are The Pure In Heart

Heard a recommendation of Morality in Media's site on the problem of pornography, Obscenity Crimes. Information, legal strategies, resources for parents, help for pornography's victims and addicts.

Paulo Ordoveza links to Are You a Nerd?



I'm grateful to Paulo for several recent things, among them his sharing some edifying moments with Isaiah 53. It's a blessing when the eyes of our heart are opened in that way. And good to share the experience.

Preparing to observe the memorial on Sunday, July 14, for the remarkable and inspiring young woman Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha, known as "The Lily of the Mohawks."

It's a stressful and worrying time in John Butler's life. Please remember his family in prayer.



He's also been doing some interesting blogging at OK Calvin on, among other things, Oklahoma legal statutes regarding blasphemy, Sunday observance, etc., some of which date from territorial days. A very different world.

We celebrate today the feast of St. Benedict, father of western monasticism and one of the patrons of Europe. The example, organization and Rule of Saint Benedict make him one of the towering figures in the history and development of Western Civilization.



The Order of Saint Benedict has through the almost 1500 years since the founding of The Abbey of Monte Cassino provided a home for men and women alive with what Dom Jean Leclercq O.S.B. described as The Love of Learning and the Desire for God.

Amy Welborn notes that "some evangelicals are beginning to question the morality of artificial contraception" and links to a story in the Washington Times and the influential book Open Embrace by Sam and Bethany Torode.



The topic is being extensively treated elsewhere as well. Dennis Rainey and Bob Lepine at Family Life Today have just begun a series that will run through Friday 7/19 on A Biblical Approach To Family Planning . Their guests on the shows will include Sam and Bethany Torode.

Fox News examines the livestock at American Sundog Miniature Cattle, considers the breed's historical progression in the United States from zoos to commercial farms and thinks "tiny cows could be the next big thing in household animal companions."

The Toronto Star takes a look at how some new technologies are being used by certain outlaw groups.



Biker Gangs Putting Web To Deadly Use

John Calvin, humanist, lawyer, theologian, was born on this date in 1509.



Here are the words, attributed to him in the original French, and a link to the music, of the hymn I Greet Thee, Who My Sure Redeemer Art.



I greet Thee, who my sure Redeemer art,

My only trust and Savior of my heart,

Who pain didst undergo for my poor sake;

I pray Thee from our hearts all cares to take.



Thou art the King of mercy and of grace,

Reigning omnipotent in every place;

So come, O King, and our whole being sway;

Shine on us with the light of Thy pure day.



Thou art the life, by which alone we live,

And all our substance and our strength receive;

Sustain us by Thy faith and by Thy power,

And give us strength in every trying hour.



Thou hast the true and perfect gentleness,

No harshness hast Thou and no bitterness;

O grant to us the grace we find in Thee,

That we may dwell in perfect unity.



Our hope is in no other save in Thee;

Our faith is built upon Thy promise free;

Lord, give us peace, and make us calm and sure,

That in Thy strength we evermore endure.

Patrick Ruffini has a very good analysis (A Home Run For Moral Clarity) of President Bush's speech on the spate of white-collar crime revelations and the likely political impact of the issue. Also check his post from yesterday containing a draft from the next edition of Michael Barone's great and indispensable series. Here'e Patrick's intro:



A MAP OF BLOGGERVILLE It has come to my attention that the folks over at National Journal are planning to run a special chapter on Bloggerville in the 2004 Almanac of American Politics (a/k/a "the Bible") which is due out next year. Rants was able to obtain an early draft. I understand it relies heavily on the spatial mapping power of TouchGraph's Google Browser.

Italian officers crush online 'festival of blasphemy'



The Web sites, created in Italy but with ISPs in California and DC, mixed religious and pornographic imagery and had attracted 12 million hits in their two years of operation.

Philip Paul Bliss was born on this date in 1838 in Clearfield, Pennsylvania. His music is now better known than his name and life, and he's perhaps best remembered as the author of the music Ville de Havre for Horatio Spafford's great hymn It Is Well With My Soul.



Bliss died, with his wife, in tragic circumstances when the bridge at Ashtabula, Ohio collapsed under their train on December 29, 1876. A cenotaph was dedicated to their memory in the cemetery at Rome, Pennsylvania on July 17, 1877 and their home there is now the site of the Gospel Songwriters Museum.



Here are the words, and a link to the music, of Bliss's hymn on the text of Hebrews 12:14: Without holiness no one will see the Lord.



More Holiness Give Me



More holiness give me, more strivings within.

More patience in suffering, more sorrow for sin.

More faith in my Savior, more sense of His care.

More joy in His service, more purpose in prayer.



More gratitude give me, more trust in the Lord.

More zeal for His glory, more hope in His Word.

More tears for His sorrows, more pain at His grief.

More meekness in trial, more praise for relief.



More purity give me, more strength to o’ercome,

More freedom from earth-stains, more longings for home.

More fit for the kingdom, more useful I’d be,

More blessèd and holy, more, Savior, like Thee.

John Bell at Notes From A Hillside Farm links to two very different views of terrorism. Here's the first paragraph from the story in Gulf News Online:



"Martyrdom by Palestinian men and women is part of intifada, which serves their struggle against Israeli atrocities and cannot be separated from their liberation movement, said a visiting official of the Orthodox Church in occupied Jerusalem and the Holy Land."



And here the opening sentence from a BBC News story about an iconographer's work in western Romania.



"Osama Bin Laden has been depicted in a Romanian church fresco - riding a plane to Hell."



In the immediately preceding post endorsing Telford Work and his remarks on the stagnation of the Islamic world, Bell adds an assertion "that Islam is a fundamentally parasitic faith" and defends the point.

Here's a report on a study arguing that, because of its high silicon content, Beer Builds Strong Bones, and that the mineral may be a key in preventing osteoporosis and other bone disease. Yet another reason, if you're near Scranton and Wilkes-Barre, for you to visit my brother-in-law's Lion Brewery.

Dr. James Montgomery Boice was born on July 7, 1938 and, had he lived, would on Sunday still be only 64. Dr. Boice died June 15, 2000, eight weeks after a diagnosis of liver cancer.



It remains edifying and instructive to think of his prodigious accomplishments and exemplary ministry, at Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, a pulpit he held for thirty years, at The Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals, as Chairman of the International Council on Biblical Inerrrancy, as founder of City Center Academy, as author, with composer Dr. Paul S. Jones, of Hymns For A Modern Reformation, and as expository preacher on the Bible Study Hour.



His legacy is of a life well lived, ever mindful of the Great Commission and the daily labors that give it flesh in the world. It's a rich blessing to have his deep mind and generous heart still available to us in his taped preaching on the daily broadcasts of the Bible Study Hour. I've had intermittent contact with the program and with Dr. Boice's teaching through a fair amount of time, and, for the last couple of years, it's been part of the ritual habit of my weekdays, a source of daily instruction and encouragement.



I am deeply in the debt of Dr. Boice for the gift of his learning and ministry. Thinking of him now, I thank God.





Here is what I seem to remember was among Dr. Boice's favorite hymns. AND CAN IT BE THAT I SHOULD GAIN?



Acts 16:26



"Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody's chains came loose."

Ran into an acquaintance yesterday who left earlier today for the AIDS 2002 Conference in Barcelona. He's been involved for some time, as an officer of Siloam Ministries in Philadelphia, in ministry to those living with HIV/AIDS.



There are now estimated to be 40 million people infected with the virus, 2 million of whom will die in the next two years from HIV/AIDS and its complications. Please keep them and those who share their suffering and hope, and those who minister to them in the name of Christ Jesus, in your prayers.

Bill Keller's article in early May in The New York Times, Is The Pope Catholic, caused quite a stir among Christian, particularly Roman Catholic, bloggers. He published another last weekend, on his wife's abortion, that added to the considerable pain and dismay. The redoubtable and erudite Rev. George William Rutler writes about both articles now with passion and concern, and ponders some implications. Fr. Rutler's article begins with this paragraph:



On May 4 the former managing editor of The New York Times, Bill Keller, wrote an op-ed essay on the scandals in the Catholic Church entitled Is the Pope Catholic? Mr. Keller scratched out a diatribe so bitter that many were embarrassed for him. Calling himself a "collapsed Catholic" and not just a "lapsed Catholic," he incoherently attacked doctrine and even stooped to mock the Pope's illness.



Father Rutler is a priest of the Archdiocese of New York and pastor of the Church of Our Saviour in Manhattan.

The second Synod of Orange convened on this date in 529. The forces of orthodoxy were led by Caesarius of Arles and the synod upheld the views of Saint Augustine on grace and free will against lingering Pelagian and semi-Pelagian beliefs.



The arguments, of course, are still with us.

The University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology presents Write Like An Egyptian, which will transcribe "your name in hieroglyphs, the way an Egyptian scribe might have written it."

From the Office of the Architect of the United States Capitol, a description of John Trumbull's painting The Declaration of Independence.



The first painting that Trumbull completed for the Rotunda shows the signing of the Declaration of Independence in what is now called Independence Hall, Philadelphia, on July 4, 1776. The painting features the committee that drafted the Declaration of Independence--John Adams, Robert Sherman, Thomas Jefferson (presenting the document), and Benjamin Franklin--standing before John Hancock, the President of the Continental Congress. The painting includes portraits of 42 of the 56 signers and 5 other patriots. The artist sketched the individuals and the room from life.



America, America

God shed His grace on thee

And crown thy good with brotherhood

From sea to shining sea.

It's a day for Number Theory.



Bruce Schechter of the New York Times reported yesterday on a recent meeting of more than a hundred of the world's leading mathematicians at an unusual conference at The Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences of New York University.



Organized by the American Institute of Mathematics and funded by the Courant Institute and the National Science Foundation, the topic of the conference was the Riemann Hypothesis.

Here and there, some among the blogging brethren let us know, among other things about themselves, to how many places they carry Pi. Brings to mind the old cheer from MIT:



"...cosine, tangent, secant, sine!

3.14159!

square root, integral, u dv!

slipstick, slide rule, MIT!



logarithm, logarithm, Tech, Tech, Tech!"



But it's another occasion to consider also the mystery and glory of numbers, e.g, of Pi. Archimedes of Syracuse seems to have done the first calculations of Pi's value, but here's Gottfried Leibniz's formula for a particular way of expressing it:



Pi/4 = 1/1 - 1/3 + 1/5 - 1/7 + 1/9 - 1/11 + 1/13 ........



Think of that infinite series. The symmetry of it, the beauty.



And the fact that the ratio of the circumference to the diameter of a circle is constant (Pi), as is its area to the square of its radius, has been known for so long that the first source of the knowledge is untraceable.



Think of the internal relations of those measurements of every circle and sphere. The symmetry of it, and the beauty. Because it's of Him, and to His glory.



The God Of Nature And Of Grace



Psalm 19:1 "The heavens declare the glory of God.”

Right Makes Might, an address originally delivered by Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., Archbishop of Denver, at a meeting last summer, is reprinted this month in Touchstone Magazine.



Archbishop Chaput meditates on the sanctity of life and four current problems confronting attempts to proclaim and defend it. He writes on what he describes as our inability to reason, our inability to remember, our inability to imagine and hope, and our inability to live real freedom.



Cogent and still timely.

Today is the traditional date in the Roman Calendar for the feast of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary to her cousin Elizabeth, chronicled in Luke 1: 39-56. The modern Roman Calendar, as well as the modern Anglican and Lutheran calendars, observes the feast on 31 May, as the culmination of the month dedicated to Mary.



Gerard Serafin posted a fine memorial and tribute on 31 May, which you can revisit here.



Mary's visit is the occasion, of course, of one of the loveliest things in all of literature, her response to Elizabeth's greeting, the Magnificat. Mary's words have been set to music by composers of genius down through the centuries, with pride of place going to Johann Sebastian Bach. I have a recording of that work coupled with the Te Deum of Anton Bruckner. But here is a path to a setting by John Rutter, another version of the Magnificat with a wide and appreciative audience.



The words, though, have their own music and can stand alone.



My soul doth magnify the Lord,

And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.

For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.

For he that is mighty hath done great things for me; and holy is his name.

And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.

He hath shown strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.

He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.

He hath come to the help of his servant Israel, for he hath remembered his promise of mercy;

The promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his children for ever.

James Cordrey at Threshing Floor posts with insight on new releases from Bill Mallonee. His group Vigilantes of Love is no more and of the new solo CD Fetal Position, Mallonee writes: "What's this all about? darkly surreal, acoustic-neo-psychedelic-folk... robert frost and flannery o'conner meet william faulkner in syd barret's sandbox while neil young plays with the train set ..."

How many magazines can be described as indispensable? Commentary, published by the American Jewish Committee, month after month, year after year, comes as close as any. Victor Davis Hanson wrote the current issue's feature article Our Enemies, the Saudis. Hanson is better on the war and current strategic questions than almost any other analyst.



And music criticism, whether classical, opera or jazz, American standards or musical theater. No one writing today has a breadth of knowledge and appreciative insight to surpass Terry Teachout. This issue: "Neither a demigod nor a vulgar crowd-pleaser, the maestro was just the greatest of conductors." Toscanini Lives

Did you find a book with a BookCrossing label?



It's being likened to messages in bottles. "People are leaving books in public places for strangers to find and then tracking the book's fate online." It's predominantly an American phenomenon, but it's also occurring here and there in other countries and the tracking web site -- Bookcrossing.com -- is now "the nation's fourth most popular online reading site."



This story is from San Francisco.

The longest undefended border in the world. The longest undefended border in the history of the world. A shared continent and a heritage of freedom. A general unity of standards and principles. A mutual benefit and blessing. Happy Canada Day!



The National Anthem - L'hymne national

O Canada - Ô Canada





O Canada!

Our home and native land!

True patriot love in all thy sons command.

With glowing hearts we see thee rise,

The True North strong and free!

From far and wide, O Canada,

We stand on guard for thee.

God keep our land glorious and free!

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee.





Ô Canada! Terre de nos aïeux,

Ton front est ceint de fleurons glorieux!

Car ton bras sait porter l'épée,

Il sait porter la croix!

Ton histoire est une épopée

Des plus brillants exploits.

Et ta valeur, de foi trempée,

Protégera nos foyers et nos droits,

Protégera nos foyers et nos droits.





We salute her patrons:

Our Lady of the Cape, Saint Mary of the Hurons.

Saint Joseph, Saint Anne de Beaupre, Saint George, Saint Isaac Jogues, Saint Jean de Breboeuf.

The brethren in the East mark this day as the feast of Saints Cosmas and Damian, a feast that the Roman calendar keeps on September 26. But July 1 is also the memorial for the Franciscan "Founder of California," Blessed Junipero Serra (1713-1784), beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1988.



This remarkable priest, pioneer and explorer is one of two men chosen by the people of the State of California to be memorialized as their representatives in Statuary Hall in the United States Capitol.

Rep. J.C. Watts of Oklahoma announced today that he won't seek reelection for another term in Congress. Distinguished as a United States Representative and in several other fields and an admirable part of American public life for almost a quarter century, he'll be greatly missed.

The Secret Lives of Numbers. Using results from one of the popular search engines, this interactive program surveys the "popularity" of integers 0 to 100,000 and the connections where they occur: 451, e.g., in Fahrenheit 451, the title of the novel by Ray Bradbury and, of course, the temperature at which paper burns.

Kairos describes A Chain of Events. His own experience as a pilot colors a detailed knowledge of the results of the investigation of Air Florida Flight 90's crash into the Potomac 20 years ago. The post is an interesting treatment and becomes more so as he suggests an analogy with The Situation and how best to proceed.



Mention of Flight 90 also always brings to mind both "the man in the water" and Lenny Skutnick, the heroes of the rescue. Always worth remembering.