Lent Tomorrow...

I'm sure you don't need a reminder... but I thought I'd offer some encouragement.

Lent is a time of renewal, and a time during which many graces are poured out upon those souls who are open to them. The sacrifices and 'giving up' of something are not to be understood in a negative light—rather, you are giving praise to God and showing him that you are His. Lent is a time for humility and prayer.

Try to spend a few minutes in prayer in your day that you would normally waste doing something insignificant. Say a decade of the rosary for the unborn or for another worthy cause. In all that you do, remember that Christ has died for us, and that we should strive to deepen our faith in Him through acts of charity, penance and prayer.

Lastly, remember these Lenten regulations for Catholics:

• Abstinence from meats is to be observed by all Catholics 14 years old and older on Ash Wednesday and on all the Fridays of Lent.
• Fasting is to be observed on Ash Wednesday by all Catholics who are 18 years of age but not yet 59. Those who are bound by this may take only one full meal. Two smaller meals are permitted if necessary to maintain strength according to one’s needs, but eating solid foods between meals is not permitted.
• The special paschal fast and abstinence are prescribed for Good Friday and encouraged for Holy Saturday.
• In the spirit of Lent, the faithful will not lightly excuse themselves from these obligations.

Sepia Photograph of the Seminary

Last week, there was a partly cloudy day that offered a beautiful sky against which I shot a few pictures of the Seminary's tower with my digital camera. Using some techniques I've picked up on from Shutterbug magazine and other sources, I converted the image to sepia using Adobe Photoshop. I thought I'd share the image with you (it's one of my favorite pictures that I've ever taken!):

I think it is awesome to live in a beautiful building that is now more than seventy years old. Our Seminary's main chapel is also very picturesque, offering a simplicity that draws the eye immediately towards the sanctuary and Tabernacle. See pictures of it on my Seminary Website Pictures page.

Couch Potatoes 2006 - Final Posting

As I promised earlier, I will tell you more about Couch Potatoes. I have posted pictures from Saturday Night's show (pictures taken by my father—thanks, Dad!), in addition to the ones from Friday night.

Every showing (one on Friday night, two on Saturday) had something new in store for the audience, and I liked it that way. Each night, the acts would have minor variations—not necessarily making them better or worse, but making them different. This made watching the show three times (or, in my case, listening—I was the sound mixer) enjoyable.

There was a great sampling of dance, music and dialogue. We had an act with a tap dancer, an act with glow-in-the-dark juggling, two musical acts (a bluegrass band and the Priestie Boyz), and many very humorous acts with a blend of dialogue, music and fun. One of my favorites (I'm still laughing when I simply hear the recording) was the 'I've Come to Marry the Princess' routine that was performed very well by two of our theologians. Another skit that was quite humorous was 'Chorus Stultorum,' in which a group of seminarians sang lyrics from popular oldies to chant tones (a feature song was 'Jailhouse Rock'!).

Technically, I had a slip up here and there each night with the sound (a microphone unplugged, power accidentally switched off for a few moments, a moment of feedback), but nothing too noticable... (although I do think I gave the crowd a scare during that moment of feedback!). This year, Kenrick Light and Magic (our 'tech crew' of sorts) has a new logo, modeled slightly after Industrial Light and Magic's logo:

In my opinion, the Variety Show is a wonderful way for the whole Seminary community to come together and to invite people from outside the Seminary to come in and visit (in addition to our annual Open House, our monthly Solemn Evening Prayer, and a few other events).

If you'd like to see some of what I'm talking about, check out the pictures!

Microsoft's Packaging Design

A link to this video was sent to me today, and, at the last part of the video, I had to ask myself, "Is that really a fake? It looks so much like a Microsoft product!" Microsoft has some of the most cluttered product packaging designs in the industry; look at the Windows XP SP2 retail packaging, if you need an example. The video is quite humorous, if you have about three minutes to spare.

Couch Potatoes Pictures Posted - More to Come...

Click here to see the pictures taken by my sister at the Friday night showing of Couch Potatoes. Stay tuned—more to come soon!

Couch Potatoes - A Success! Two More Shows Left

Thank you to all who supported the Seminary at the Couch Potatoes: Twice Baked show last night, and welcome to anyone who will be coming today. The Friday night show was completely sold out, and the Saturday shows are almost sold out already (if you need tickets, arrive early)!

I don't have much time right now, but I'll be sure to post some of the many pictures I have within the next two days, as well as a more detailed account of the show. The picture below is from Fr. Edward Richard's bluegrass band (which sounded awesome!):

Letter to Senator Jim Talent

This is the body of the letter I sent to Senator Jim Talent, concerning his withdrawal of support for the Senate bill banning human cloning:

Dear Senator Talent,

As one of the youth of 'Generation Y' who has witnessed firsthand many of the problems of America's 'Culture of Death,' I implore you to reconsider your withdrawal of support for the Human Cloning Prohibition Act, SB 658.

It is of utmost importance that we uphold the dignity of all human life, from conception to natural death, and the importance of family, in our war against the pro-death policies that are sometimes made in our nation.

From what I have seen, even 'Altered Nuclear Transfer' cloning creates a human life, then ends it, even if only for a very miniscule amount of time. I do not pretend to know everything about science and cloning, but I think many doctors and scientists are not revealing the full truth about 'ANT' technology, much as they did with 'Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer,' which I believe has been exposed as full-fledged human cloning.

I am 20 years old, and I voted for you in the previous election, hoping you would be an honest, pro-life politician, and so far, you have been. But I will be watching closely to see whether or not my votes have been well spent. Please know that I am praying for your success and for the success of all pro-life politicians. Our nation needs more wonderful and faithful Catholic leaders!

Sincerely,
Jeff Geerling

New "Death Roe" Survivor Website

I recieved some information about a new website that is being built right now (and may be finished by the time you read this), called " DeathRoe.com." The site will feature testamonials, forums, and pro-life group information, and is based on the theme of 'Roe vs. Wade Survivors' (i.e. those in generation Y who were not killed by abortion).

It looks like an interesting idea... I hope it will be finished sooner, rather than later!

Sen. Talent Withdraws Opposition to Human Cloning

In the past few weeks, the story of Missouri Senator Jim Talent's withdrawal of support from a bill that he cosponsored, the "Human Cloning Prohibition Act" (SB 658), has been spreading amongst various media outlets. Today I received an 'Action Alert' from the Archdiocesan Respect Life Apostolate, asking for people to ask Sen. Talent to reinstate his support of the human cloning ban.

Read more about this issue on the Missouri Catholic Conference website.

Here's Senator Talent's contact information:

Washington, DC Office:
493 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202-224-6154
Fax: 202-228-1518
http://talent.senate.gov/Contact/default.cfm

South Dakota Passes Bill to Ban Certain Abortions

From Reuters:

South Dakota became the first U.S. state to pass a law banning abortion in virtually all cases, with the intention of forcing the Supreme Court to reconsider its 1973 decision legalizing the procedure.

The law, which would punish doctors who perform the operation with a five-year prison term and a $5,000 fine, awaits the signature of Republican Gov. Michael Rounds and people on both sides of the issue say he is unlikely to veto it. ( Read more...).

This is very good news, but it is only a small step towards a culture that respects life. Planned Parenthood has already pledged to fight this bill, and the bill doesn't put an outright ban on abortion—when a mother's life is in danger, abortion is still allowed. We must work to help people see the value in human life, and to uphold that value. Overturning unjust laws is only part of the package.

Many life issues in our nation today—abortion, euthenasia, cloning, 'somatic-cell nuclear transfer' (another name for cloning)—stem from a disregard for human life. Many people say that infants, the elderly and mentally handicapped people are 'marginal' or even 'not' humans, but they are wrong. We must show them that, with strong arguments grounded in a deep faith.

Two More Links

I've posted two more links on my sidebar:

CatholicBlogs.com - I haven't used it much yet, but it looks very promising. There are blog-searching capabilities (over 700 Catholic blogs are already indexed!), and you can set up RSS feeds based upon your searches. This website is run by the same group that runs MyCatholic.com, an excellent online portal that I use from time to time to catch up on daily Catholic happenings.

A Catholic Life - A blog I'm surprised I haven't seen before. There's a ton of great information here, from a man still discerning his vocation in life. Check it out!

[Edit: I just noticed my archives weren't working at all! I had accidentally screwed up the template pages last night... but it's fixed now.]

Thank You - For Prayers... and Votes!

I would like to thank you for all your prayers for my mother over the past months. She has had a long struggle with her health, and she just received news from her doctor that her bone marrow cancer is in remission. She has told me many times how thankful she is for everyone's prayers. She still has some struggles, and appreciates prayers for her to overcome these, but the greatest struggle, cancer, is in remission now!

I also thank all of the people who amassed 112 votes for my blog! I was surprised and thrilled my blog was even nominated for the 'Best Blog by a Seminarian' award of the Catholic Blog Awards this year... and I never expected to get more than a few votes! I'd also like to formally congratulate Kevin Muniz, who's blog The Heart of a Seminarian placed 2nd in the same category.

Archbishop's Retreat Pictures (UPDATED)

UPDATE: I have posted pictures from the retreat. Also, check out Jesuit Mark Mossa's blog, You Duped Me Lord, the latest addition to my Seminarian blogroll.

Yesterday I was quite sick from a flu virus that has been going around. This morning, I felt well enough to take a few pictures of the Archbishop's retreat, as well as a few pictures of the group of retreatants (and a few other people) after Mass and Sunday Brunch.

Archbishop's Retreat This Weekend

The Archbishop's Retreat at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary is being held this weekend, and there is a record number of participants this year (close to 40!). Unfortunately, due to bad weather the Archbishop hasn't been able to fly into town yet, so we're hoping (and I'm sure he is, also!) that he can make it early tomorrow.

In other news, the hot water is not working throughout the Seminary, and that makes for quick, but uncomfortable, showers—especially when it's 18° outside! Maybe God is welcoming the visitors to the Seminary with a special kind of penance! We also had our first real practice for the variety show (which will be performed next weekend), and it's looking pretty good so far.

Priestie Boyz - Progress on Recordings

I've posted some preview clips of songs the Priestie Boyz are working on right now. The songs sound great, and I've been working on making ready for mastering (then duplicating on CDs!) during my spare time. We won't be recording any more of the vocals or a few lead guitar parts until after Couch Potatoes (our annual variety show at the Seminary), because we need some practice for the show, but we hope to finish the album very soon!

WooHoo! RSS Feed Fixed!

After a few months of scratching my head as to why my RSS Feed was not working properly (dates would range from January to December in one day!), I finally found the offending line of source code in my RSS template file in Thingamablog. It turns out I wasn't specifying the 'format' for the date and time in the .xml template file.

I replaced this:

<pubDate><$EntryDateTime$></pubDate>

with this:

<pubDate><$EntryDateTime format="RFC822"$></pubDate>

Now that that's solved, some people may ask, "What is RSS? Why would I want to use it?" Well, read this (xml.com) for more info.

In other news, I've been working on and off for about a month on the Priestie Boyz' recordings (doing the mixing and fx in GarageBand), and I have to say, these songs sound AWESOME! I can't wait until we get more vocals recorded so I can finalize tracks and send them off to be mastered...

"Rime of the Ancient Hacker" (OSx86 Project)

I don't normally write about happenings in the computer world, but I found it quite humorous that Apple put a message to would-be hackers of it's OSX operating system in verse inside a file deep in the system. You can read the poem on the OSx86 Project's website (I'm still waiting to see if anyone can get Windows running on their new Macs; I know a few people that would be more than happy to dump their PCs if this were possible!).

Valentine's Day is Over, But...

I found an interesting post on another Catholic Blog Award page by Seminarian Mark Mossas, entitled " Thoughts for Valentine's Day," concerning the Vagina Monologues (which, by the way, was allowed to be shown at Saint Louis University again this year).

Read more of my writings on this topic here (Notre Dame President Restricts 'Monologues'), here ('V-Day' is Quickly Approaching) and here (Protest V***** Monologues on Campuses).

Catholic Blog Awards

In the midst of my busy week last week, I had completely forgotten about the Catholic Blog Awards. As it turns out, Matthew 12:37 was nominated for 'Best Blog by a Seminarian!' You can vote for your favorite Catholic blogs by going to their website. Best of luck to everyone else, especially my brother seminarian here at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary, Kevin Muniz!

Only two weeks until Couch Potatoes!

Notre Dame President Restricts 'Monologues'

From Catholic News Service:

NOTRE DAME, Ind. (CNS) – "The Vagina Monologues," performed for large audiences in theaters on the University of Notre Dame campus for the past four years, will be restricted to a classroom setting at the university this year.

Holy Cross Father John Jenkins, Notre Dame's new president, announced the change of venue for the play and also said he is seeking opinions from faculty, students and alumni about what events are appropriate to hold on campus. ( Read more...)

Will other Catholic universities (notably Saint Louis University) begin to see what the Monologues really promote and seek to preserve their own Catholic identities, as Notre Dame seems to be doing? We shall see.

In the meantime, I will pray that the administration at SLU will see the problems with the play and with many aspects of the 'V-Day' campaign.

Giving Blood Saves Lives

Earlier today decided to go to the local blood drive at St. Gabriel's parish. I know how important it is to give blood; my Mom and my sister would probably not be alive today if other generous souls had not decided to take a little time out of their weeks to give blood. So I went.

I am fearful of needles, and have fainted a few times when getting blood drawn, and I have never given blood before. So I was a little bit apprehensive of doing so upon arrival at the cafeteria at St. Gabriel's. But I built up my courage and told myself, "Well, you haven't fainted the past six times you've had blood draws—this can't be that bad... it's just a stick in the arm, and that's it!"

Well, as it turns out, I was wrong. I didn't know they also did a finger stick before the blood draw. I was unprepared for this, and when I had the finger stick, I was thinking, "Ooo. I didn't know about this part. Uh oh!" My brain started going into a small panic mode, and I felt a little light headed; the blood was drawn from the finger and my finger was bandaged, but a minute later I was feeling rather dizzy, and I was put on one of the stretchers.

So, to make a long story short, I wasn't able to give blood after all. But there's still time for a first time! I will be going back again soon, and I will make sure to psyche myself up about the finger prick... After all, giving blood saves lives!

Visit the Red Cross website to find out where you can give blood!

Beautiful Sunset and St. Louis

Last night a fellow seminarian (Charlie) and I went up to the top of the Seminary tower to capture a little of nature's beauty in the sunset. There as a layer of clouds that reflected the red sunset, as well as a section of blue, clear sky that incorporated shades of purple and green. I also took a quick picture of the city of St. Louis just after the sun went down.

ProLifeSearch.com - New Search Engine Powered by Google

I invite you to check out ProLifeSearch.com, a new filtered search engine for the web powered by Google. In addition to filtering search results using Google's 'SafeSearch' features (you can do the same with Google, but you first must turn it on in Google's 'preferences'), Pro Life Search will donate profits made through advertisements to many different Pro-Life organizations. You can read their blog or read their 'About ' page for even more info.

I especially like this quote from their About page:

Who is ProLifeSearch.com?
We’re a privately-held company in Chicago, Illinois, founded and managed by two guys who both try hard everyday to be the good Catholic boys their mothers always hoped they’d be.

Don't Sign a Life Away!

Do NOT sign the “Missouri Stem Cell Research and Cure Initiative” petitions being circulated around St. Louis. This proposal would place in the Missouri Constitution the right to conduct human cloning and kill human life at the earliest stage – the human embryo.

If signed by enough voters this proposal will be on the November 2006 election ballot. If passed, taxpayer money could be used to carry out this unethical research.

There is a better way – ethical research using adult stem cells that does not harm the human embryo Adult stem cells have successfully treated over 65 diseases including Parkinson’s disease, heart and stroke damage, cancer, spinal cord injury and sickle cell anemia in humans. Embryonic stem cells have not treated or cured a single disease even in laboratory animals.

Don’t be fooled into signing this petition!

Here are a few informational links:

• St. Louis Respect Life Apostolate
• Missouri Catholic Conference
• Don't Sign a Life Away.org

First Snowfall of 2006

This morning, I woke up to a beatiful dusting of snow. Pictures can't do justice to the beauty of a fresh snowfall, but I thought I'd offer one anyway:

Also, Jeffery BeBeau of the blog Orate Fratres has posted a few pictures of different seminary chapels. As he says in his posting, "Seminary chapels always seem to be beautiful edifaces; they are designed to be the very heart of seminaries." I couldn't agree more! Check out his post here.

More Blog Updates...

I have added a new section, 'Top Posts,' on my sidebar, linking to some of my past blog posts that were best. I also changed the headlines for stories; instead of SHOUTING IN ALL CAPS, they are now quite tame, 'As a Normal Headline Should Be.' (I have been working on making my site a little more like the ideals outlined on this webpage).

Please pray for my mother, who has been having some back pain and leg pain recently, and for a brother seminarian, whose cousin has recently died.

Super Bowl Update (Edited)

EDIT: Well, the Steelers won 21-10, but that's okay–as long as the Rams didn't lose...

Some reflections on the Super Bowl (at halftime

• Best Commercial: The FedEx stone-age commercial (although the 'magic fridge' by Budweiser was also fairly funny...).
• Who will win: I still say the Seattle Seahawks (I know, they're losing 7-3... but they will dominate the 2nd half).
• The Halftime Show: I didn't know the point of this year's halftime show was to make it worse than last year's fiasco. Message to media people: The Rolling Stones are dead. They have stopped rolling—a long time ago. If you haven't seen the halftime show, don't watch it (for your own good).

One last observation: It seems that most companies think you need to put a 'token unrealistically attractive woman' in their commercials to make them funny. But, I imagine, the top three commercials (as rated by the public) will be ones without the token unrealistically attractive women.

New Vocations Blog by Sr. Eva-Maria

Sister Eva-Maria, FSGM, of Office of Youth Ministry fame, has recently started a new blog, Stewards of God's Mysteries, in which she discusses vocations to the priesthood. Check it out !

In other news, the priestie boyz have been practicing for Couch Potatoes (our annual Seminary variety show), and the Super Bowl is tonight (my bets are on Seattle - I've never been a fan of Pittsburgh).

You're the Man Now, Dog!

A few days ago, some Seminarians and I were watching Finding Forrester , and one of the Seminarians found this website. It amazes me that someone actually paid to register the domain www.yourthemannowdog.com, but it's amusing, nonetheless.

Reading "Deus Caritas Est" - Encyclical by Benedict XVI

I've started reading Pope Benedict XVI's first encyclical, Deus Cartias Est, and it is a very well-written, and very inspirational work! I am overjoyed that our new pope is continuing and developing some of the main issues approached in Pope John Paul II's papacy, especially love (what this encyclical's all about!).

From the second paragraph:

We have come to believe in God's love: in these words the Christian can express the fundamental decision of his life. Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction. ( Read more...)

The Pope begins his first encyclical outlining the basic fact of Christian life. I am glad he has done so, because many Catholics, especially so-called 'Cradle Catholics' (who have been baptized Catholic as babies), do not understand, or do not care to understand, why they have faith in Jesus Christ and are members of his Body on Earth (namely, the Church).

The answer, as Pope Benedict writes, is simply "love." Love gives us all we need to live. God's love is essential for all people, and we must be open and accepting of His love in all ways. So many people do not understand the simple (but most important) virtue of love. Hopefully this encyclical will be the light for many people to open up their faith lives to a whole new level of love (it is certainly helpful for me... and I haven't even finished reading it!).

Upon our foundational understanding and acceptance of God's love, our relationships with others are built and strengthened, and we are given the opportunity to pour out our love for others as Christ did for us on the cross. Unfortunately, for many people, 'love' is something simple—it is not united to God's love and becomes something animalistic. We must work to promote the true love of God, especially in our society and cultures.

'V-Day' is Quickly Approaching...

Let us work to not let college campuses (especially Catholic campuses) be poisoned yet again by the Vagina Monologues. Here's a good article (written by Dawn Eden of The Dawn Patrol) to read concerning 'V-Day' and the author of the Monologues. I wrote a bit more about this last year.

Catholic Blog Awards

Vote for your favorite Catholic Blogs here. That's all, for now.