Stabat mater dolorosa
juxta Crucem lacrimosa,
dum pendebat Filius.

Cuius animam gementem,
contristatam et dolentem
pertransivit gladius.

Happy patronal feastday to the Congregation of Holy Cross!

Yesterday Rep. Joe Wilson heckled President Obama during the president’s speech before Congress on his purposed health care reform.  The representative shouted, “You lie!” when the president spoke about his plan not supplying health care to illegal immigrants.  Other congressmen booed, Pelosi looked shocked, Biden shook his head, both parties condemned the outburst, and Rep. Wilson issued a statement of apology after the speech.

One thing that has always annoyed me about the way politics is done in this country is that when the president appears before Congress, regardless of who the president is, Congress treats the president like some sort of conquering emperor.  This is why the State of the Union address riles me up every year.  When the president enters the House of Representatives he is treated like a king.

I am a fan of the way the British Parliament functions in regard to the relationship between the prime minister and the rest of Parliament.  Once a week, the members of the House of Commons get a question and answer session with the prime minister.  He isn’t treated like some emperor.  If a member of Parliament had shouted a comment similar to that of Rep. Wilson, I doubt such an outburst would have been met with condemnation from all sides.  Rather, I would expect some people to yell out, “hear, hear” whilst others might boo.

In the culture of Congress, when there is debate, the representatives and senators take their turns at the microphone making their speeches.  They have allotted amounts of time, and only one person has the floor at any one time.  I think this can stifle dialogue and debate.  Parliament, on the other hand, allows for others to speak out during a speech, within limits of course.

Now, one might argue that the prime minister is not like the Queen of England.  Granted, he is not head of state as is the queen.  But, when the queen comes before the House of Commons, she must ask permission to enter, and, if I remember correctly, the first time she asks at the door, the door is closed on her and she is denied entrance.  This is to remind her that she is not all-powerful.

The president of the United States is somewhat of a combination between the roles of the queen and the prime minister.  The president is head of state like the queen, and he is the head of the executive branch of the government like the prime minister.  Perhaps in the United States we should adopt similar customs to those of Great Britain in allowing Congress to have Q&A sessions with the president on a regular basis as well as not treat him like an emperor but as he is: the president.

We may find this odd, but most people are perfectly willing to accept Mitt Romney as a political leader.  Romney, a Mormon, has said that he accepts all the beliefs of Mormonism.  This would include, then, the belief that if he leads a good Mormon life, Romney will become a god of his own planet.

This is amazing!  This LEGO robot uses a light sensor to scan in a suduko puzzle, then it solves the puzzle, and finally it writes in the answers.

Bishop D’Arcy has written an excellent article in America Magazine about the events at Notre Dame that have placed her relationship with the Church in crisis.

http://www.americamagazine.org/content/article.cfm?article_id=11840

To the tune of “By All Your Saints Still Striving”:

We thank You Lord for Lawrence,
Who did Your holy will.
Because he was a Christian,
They put him on the grill.
He was a holy deacon;
The martyr’s crown he won:
“It’s time to flip me over
For on this side I’m done.”

An excellent article by a friend:

http://www.thedcwriteup.com/2009/08/reinventing-popes/

A little while back Mark Shea did a two-part interview with ZENIT about his new book, Mary, Mother of the Son.  This book is geared toward Protestants who are squeamish about Catholic devotion to Mary.  It is intended to dispel the myths surrounding Mary.

“Mark Shea: Mariology from A-Z”
Part 1: http://www.zenit.org/article-26473?l=english
Part 2: http://www.zenit.org/article-26481?l=english

Here is a good article from ZENIT about the possible beatification of G. K. Chesterton:
http://www.zenit.org/article-26454?l=english

One rarely reads pages that speak of faith, conversion and doctrine that are so clear and incisive, while being free of every sentimental or moralistic excess. This comes from Chesterton’s attentive reading of reality; he knew that the most harmful consequence of de-Christianization has not been the grave ethical straying but rather the straying of reason, synthesized in this critique of his: The modern world has suffered a mental fall much greater than the moral one.

Faced to this reality, Chesterton chose Catholicism, and affirms that there are at least 10,000 reasons to justify this choice, every one of them valid and well-founded, but able to be boiled down to one reason: That Catholicism is true. The responsibility and the task of the Church then consist in this: In the courage to believe, in the first place, and therefore to denounce the paths that lead to nothingness or destruction, to a blind wall or a prejudice. An undoubtedly holy work, and the holiness of Gilbert Chesterton, which I hope the Church will recognize, already shines and sparkles before the world.

Take note, everyone.  The following is banned from any marriage I witness: