18Dec/090
Capital Punishment?
Tweet ThisIllinois Review asks: How many does it take to deserve the death penalty? (discussing a man who killed 11 women.)
With all due respect to the families of the victims, and understanding that this is a horrible tragedy brought upon them by this man's evil actions...
I believe the answer is: "No death penalty."
The efforts of the state to curb the spread of behavior harmful to people's rights and to the basic rules of civil society correspond to the requirement of safeguarding the common good. Legitimate public authority has the right and the duty to inflict punishment proportionate to the gravity of the offense. Punishment has the primary aim of redressing the disorder introduced by the offense. When it is willingly accepted by the guilty party, it assumes the value of expiation. Punishment then, in addition to defending public order and protecting people's safety, has a medicinal purpose: as far as possible, it must contribute to the correction of the guilty party.
Assuming that the guilty party's identity and responsibility have been fully determined, the traditional teaching of the Church does not exclude recourse to the death penalty, if this is the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor.
If, however, non-lethal means are sufficient to defend and protect people's safety from the aggressor, authority will limit itself to such means, as these are more in keeping with the concrete conditions of the common good and more in conformity with the dignity of the human person.Today, in fact, as a consequence of the possibilities which the state has for effectively preventing crime, by rendering one who has committed an offense incapable of doing harm--without definitively taking away from him the possibility of redeeming himself--the cases in which the execution of the offender is an absolute necessity "are very rare, if not practically non-existent."
I can't imagine the pain of losing a family member so brutally at someone else's hands. But I know that as a society, the death penalty is not "the only possible way of effectively defending human lives against the unjust aggressor."
That's my 2 cents.
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18Dec/090
Movie Review: Avatar
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I loved the movie Avatar. I was lucky to see it this evening, courtesy of my company (Adobe products were used very heavily in the production of the film. Read more here.)
Okay, so maybe it was because I loved the Smurfs growing up. And Blue Man Group in my young adulthood.
Or maybe it was just because I haven't seen a movie in the theater since National Treasure. Yes, in 2004.
No, it was simply that it was a great movie, well-executed. It had the right blend of heroism, nature, action, economics, and spirituality for my taste.
I'll be clear up front, though... I did NOT see it in 3D. I saw it in good old, standard wide screen. And it was great even in that format.
Avatar is an epic new version of Joseph Campbell's oft-told Monomyth, set on a distant planet in the future, where there's something the planet has that mankind wants, that can only be gotten by forcibly moving an indigenous culture. Written & directed by James Cameron, it's his first feature film since Titanic in 1997. As Suzanne says, "with the money that made, it's not like he needed to make another movie since then."
It's such a strong telling of the Monolyth, using new technology (some of which was invented by Cameron himself), you might consider this the Star Wars of this generation.
The fact that the story is so common didn't distract me, or cause me to anticipate more than I participated. In this case, though, you find yourself rooting against the hero's humanity, in a weird twist that turns your worldview on end, for a brief time.
I appreciated the clever parallels that some might interpret between the film and U.S. intervention in Iraq. And I was able to overlook the few moments when the film seemed to be trying to make a green / "Save the earth" jab.
Most of all, though, I appreciated that the people representing the tie to the natural and divine became the people our hero chose to evolve toward, in favor of the "evil" of unbridled human-centered endeavor. And I was able to overlook the occasional jab at religion, on behalf of science.
I give it two thumbs-up and a great recommendation. The "divine" in the film doesn't reflect the truths of a Christian world view by any stretch of the imagination, but it does reflect the goodness, truth, and justice that revelation teaches us about God. That's just a caveat to my recommendation, acknowledging that you'll want to approach the film with an open mind and a mature spirituality.
I took my friend Phil to see it with me, and we both enjoyed it. I invited Phil when Suzanne had no interest in seeing it, and now I'm trying to talk her into going to see it with me. Our first movie together since 2004. 
(If you're curious about Joseph Campbell's formula for the hero's journey, check out his book The Hero With a Thousand Faces. It's a good one. If you're nearby, you're welcome to borrow my copy.)
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18Dec/090
Look! It’s me! In the paper!
Tweet ThisThe diocesan paper, that is.
In this week's edition of the Catholic Times, there are a few special pages on the dedication of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Springfield (our diocesan cathedral) a few weeks ago. I'm in the picture of the crowd in front of the cathedral at the start of the liturgy.
Hey, look. It's me! In the brown jacket! With my back to the camera! And a green arrow hovering over my head!...
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16Dec/092
What is a soul?
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During bed time prayers tonight, Thomas asked me, "Dad, what's a soul?"
I was thrilled to have that question, although surprised to have it already. For those keeping score, Thomas is 4.
Admittedly, we were praying his favorite prayer: the prayer to St. Michael the Archangel. But still.
At any rate, I think I did pretty good. My description was something like this:
Our souls are the part of us that will live forever, and will hopefully go to Heaven to be with God and all the other good souls after we die.
We can't see our souls, but sometimes, I think we can feel them.
I feel mine when I feel how much I love you, or mommy, or Matthew, or Joseph, or other people. During those times, I think I can feel my soul right here [holding my hand over my heart.] It kind of feels warm. That's how I know it's there.
Our souls are the part of us that help us understand and know what is good and bad... and what is right and wrong. I also sometimes feel it when I know that I'm doing something that's right or good... something God would be happy that I'm doing.
Our souls are separate from our body, but they're part of our body... in fact, it's the part that God puts into our body to actually make us alive. When we leave our body behind, our soul is the part that goes back to God.
Leave it to a Thomas to ask this one. St. Thomas Aquinas, I'll be praying to you tonight for extra intercession for help in raising this one.
How do you think I did?
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12Dec/090
Gaudete! She said “yes!”
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Today is a special Sunday in the Church - the Third Sunday of Advent is known as "Gaudete" Sunday, from the first word of the Entrance Antiphon in its native Latin, "Gaudete", which means "Rejoice!"
Today is the day we light the third candle of the Advent wreath - the pink one amid the others, which are all purple.
Today is also quite special in our home, as it's the day 6 years ago on which I chose to ask Suzanne to be my wife, and it's the day 6 years ago on which she accepted my proposal.
I proposed after we had both received the Sacrament of Reconciliation, while we prayed before the Blessed Sacrament, before 10 PM Sunday Mass at St. Frances Xavier (SLU) College Church.
Here we are, 6 years later... blessed with five years of marriage, three wonderful boys, the blessing of being surrounded by numerous family and friends, good jobs, a nice home, an extended parish family, and so much more.
As the readings today instruct us, we rejoice always, shout for joy, and sing always. We are so blessed, so happy, and so full of thanks.
I've reposted our wedding site from 6 years ago, complete with both of our sides of the story of the proposal, and with the well-wishes that friends and family sent us back then. There are great memories there. Check it out!
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3Dec/090
Memorial of St. Francis Xavier
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Today is a special day in our household: the Memorial of St. Francis Xavier.
St. Francis Xavier was one of the founders of the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits.) He was a priest and missionary to Asia, the first Jesuit to do missionary work in India and Japan (notable to me, since my dad's mom came to the USA from Japan when she met my grandpa.) St. Francis Xavier was responsible for the formation of the first Christian communities in Japan and in China. He is considered by many to be "the greatest missionary since the time of the Apostles" and is a patron saint of Roman Catholic missionaries in foreign lands.
St. Francis Xavier College Church on the campus of St. Louis University is where God brought me back to the Church. It's where He rekindled my love for the Church. It's where I took Suzanne when we started dating, and where I proposed marriage to her on Gaudete Sunday, December 14, 2003.
St. Francis Xavier is the patron of our firstborn son's middle name: Xavier.
Read all about him on his Catholic Encyclopedia entry.
Happy feast day St. Francis Xavier! Happy feast day Thomas Xavier, my oldest son!
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2Dec/090
10 Red Balloons = $40,000 from Darpa
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So Darpa is putting 10 red balloons around the country. To whomever finds them all, they'll give $40,000.
"The contest, which takes place on Dec. 5, is being sponsored by Darpa, the Pentagon's research agency... The goal is to learn more about social behavior in computer networks and how large computer-connected teams use their resources and connections to compete."
They expect to get insights into crowdsourcing. I'm thinking they're more likely to get insights into Game Theory. No?
Apparently, according to the details, these won't be hard to find. They're 8-foot red weather balloons, will all be in the Continental U.S., and will be in fixed location on tether.
Saturday: I'll give $2,000 to each person who can send me one of these 10 balloons. Pending receipt of all 10 balloons.
Actually, it's going to be interesting to watch this as a flash-in-the-plan trending topic on Twitter.
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2Dec/090
The Dedication of a Cathedral
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This afternoon, I was honored and blessed to be able to attend the dedication of our Cathedral, the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Springfield, Illinois.
Never before in my almost 32 years of life can I remember being moved to tears so many times in the span of two hours and forty minutes.
It's funny... I don't usually cry at funerals... I just haven't in the past. I firmly believe in the Resurrection, and to me, a funeral is a joyful prayer for the soul into eternal life.
But I do cry at things that raise my thoughts and heart and soul to heaven. And today, I saw one of those things. For two hours and forty minutes that seemed to last just minutes. It went so quickly.
The Cathedral was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful. I remember a lot of visits to it from my youth and young adulthood, but never remember it glowing with such radiant beauty. I remember it being much darker. Today, it was bright, and golden. It honestly seemed golden.
And the liturgy was beautiful. The music was beautiful. The assembly of bishops, priests, deacons, religious and lay was awesome. The Spirit was there as we consecrated the church anew. Francis Cardinal George's Homily was fantastic, and deep, and inspirational.
And check out this prayer...
Here is reflected the mystery of the Church.
The Church is fruitful,
made holy by the blood of Christ;
a bride made radiant with his glory
a virgin splendid in the wholeness of her faith,
a mother blessed through the power of the Spirit.
The Church is holy, your chosen vineyard:
its branches envelop the world,
its tendrils, carried on the tree of the cross,
reach up to the kingdom of heaven.
The Church is favored,
the dwelling place of God on earth:
a temple built of living stones,
founded on the apostles
with Jesus Christ its corner stone.
The Church is exalted,
a city set on a mountain:
a beacon to the whole world,
bright with the glory of the Lamb,
and echoing the prayers of her saints.
(The Prayer of Dedication,
Rite of Dedication of a Church and an Altar)
I've posted a bunch of the photos I took here.
I've always set the Cathedral Basilica in St. Louis and the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. (my favorites, and the most beautiful) into their own category, and have considered the Cathedral of the Madeleine in Salt Lake City, UT and the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Nashville, TN as the most beautiful "non-basilica" cathedrals I had been in. But today, I left Springfield firmly believing that I live in the diocese with the most beautiful cathedral I've been in.
It was a day of history and memories for the people of our diocese. I only wish that Suzanne and the boys could've been there with me. But with just one ticket, I was proud and honored and blessed to represent our family. It is truly a day that I'll tell our sons about as they grow up and as I take them to the cathedral from time to time.
It was a day of God's blessings showered upon our diocese and its faithful. For today, we are truly thankful.
[Update 2: The State Journal-Register article and video on Springfield's ABC 20.]
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1Dec/090
Pope’s Prayer Intentions – December 2009
Tweet ThisGeneral Intention: That children may be respected and loved and never be the victims of exploitation in its various forms.
Mission Intention: That at Christmas the peoples of the earth may recognize in the Word Incarnate the light which illuminates every man and that the Nations may open their doors to Christ, the Saviour of the world.
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