May 28, 2006
Break
Well, since I can't seem to keep this thing updated regularly, if anyone is even still reading, I am going to take a break, or I should say continue my break from blogging. If I feel inspiried and believe that I will keep it updated regularly, then I will start again, until then, God Bless...
Posted by cr3do1 at 02:19 PM | Comments (0)
May 15, 2006
Summer
The academic year and come to another close, and summer is upon us. I have now completed three full years in the Seminary and only have five remaining. It is amazing how the time flies.
My summer plans include working in my Parish, a trip to Fatima and Santiago, reading a lot, and whatever else might come up.
The Diocese of Youngstown is still awaiting a new Bishop. Hopefully the Congregation of Bishops in Rome and the Holy Father is using this time to choose a good, holy, orthodox Bishop to lead the Church of Youngstown. I imagine that American Appointments have to be coming up any day now, so, hopefully then.
Posted by cr3do1 at 09:31 AM | Comments (0)
April 16, 2006
Laudetur Jesus Christus...
Non est hic, surrexit enim sictut dixit. - He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. - The Holy Gospel According to Saint Matthew 28:5
Happy Easter!
Posted by cr3do1 at 02:01 PM | Comments (0)
March 04, 2006
Philosophy paper on Friendship
I typically do not do this, but here is a paper I wrote for a Philosophy class. The topic is Friendship and Aristotle
Posted by cr3do1 at 07:47 PM | Comments (0)
That time of year
Well, I guess it is that time of year. Half the school was sick the past two days with the flu, and for the first time in my time here, they acctually had to cancel classes because of it. I, for the most part have avoided the flu, but my neck is killing me right now for some reason. Hopefully it is just a strain.
It is also that time of year for Mid Terms. How exciting. Granted a very beyond on my reading, I hope I can pull through and do well on my exams. I am not worried about any of them except my Philosophy ones, which just so happen to be the most important ones. Grrrreat!
Nothing else is really going on. Just studying and helping others recover.
This weekend is our Mid Term Break, and this year a few of us are going to be traveling down to Alabama to EWTN and the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament. I have a friend who entered the Franciscan Missionaries of the Eternal Word last year, so it will be nice to visit with him. This will be my second trip to Alabama. I am also looking forward to Easter Break in just a short month, I can't wait to go home. I love Holy Week. Since Easter is a little later this month, only three weeks after Easter Summer Break begins. How time is flying, 3 years almost complete.
DOY is still waiting on a Bishop, it will be a year in just three weeks or so. I hope that Pope Benedict will appoint a Bishop soon, maybe we can have a Bishop-Elect by Easter.
Pax et Bonum.
Posted by cr3do1 at 07:36 PM | Comments (1)
January 19, 2006
Philosophy
Well, this is shaping up to be another late night, I am not sure why I do this to myself, but I guess some things just happen.
So, we are currently talking about Emotivism in Philosophy of Virtue. This theory, which olds that our morality and philosophy can be based on our emotions, was the precursor to moral relativism where it does not matter what you believe, unless of course it is that there is object truths. The question we are trying to answer is where did philosophy go wrong and lead to so many errors.
It is my personal belief that philosophy went wrong as soon as it started to view the ancients and medieval philosophers as quacks and create a "fresh beginning". As soon as you cut yourself off from the roots, everything goes to hell. This is all started in the Seventeenth to Eighteenth Century. If you have no grounding, or reject it, then you have nothing and you go off into outer space. So thus, we can define when human life begins and when it ends, we can define marriage in whatever way we please, the ends most certainly justify the means. The list could go on. It is no wonder why the Twentieth Century was so bloody when one simply looks at the philosophy that was circulating around for the past two hundred years. I have no doubt again that the philosophy of the day predisposed the Twentieth Century to be the bloodiest.
People laugh at philosophy, people think they can fool with it, but people seldom realize its importance. These questions we dabble with today, what is human life especially, are all questions Hitler, Stalin, and Mao dabbled with. The targets may have changed, but the question remains every so relevant.
There is hope, however. Many philosophers today are again rooting themselves in the Ancient and Medieval philosophies and applying them to today. They are finding the errors in the Modern Philosophers and looking to the past to correct them. This will be a very long process, but it is a process that is vital to human dignity and to the world.
Posted by cr3do1 at 11:40 PM | Comments (0)
January 07, 2006
Update...
Well, I leave to return to the Seminary tommorrow. We will be on retreat all week, so posting will be non-existent.
We had a nice dinner at my house tonight, everything was good...
Also, for some reason my side bar keeps disappearing, I will try to get to the bottom of it...
Posted by cr3do1 at 10:04 PM | Comments (1)
January 02, 2006
Notre Dame
Well, Notre Dame lost to Ohio State. Even though they lost, it was still a good season, and next year should be even better. I think Notre Dame has turned around for the better. Considering how bad they played tonight, OSU should have really beat them by more. I guess that is a testament to how good Notre Dame really is. If they would have came out and played, I am sure they would have won. I just look forward till next year...
Posted by cr3do1 at 09:26 PM | Comments (0)
December 31, 2005
Happy New Year
I will use my 100th Post to say Happy New Year and Merry Christmas on the Seventh Day in the Octave of Christmas...
Posted by cr3do1 at 04:39 PM | Comments (1)
December 29, 2005
Not much and Saint Louis
Not much is new today, just getting ready for the New Year. I have been doing some thinking though about that Polish Parish in Saint Louis which has gone renegade.
I keep reading about this Saint Louis Parish. I find it ironic that they are accusing the Archbishop there for wanting their parish for the money, but yet they won't give up their parish because of the money. They are allowing money to tear them away from Communion with the Church. If they were truly as faithful as they make it seem, they would place their faith in the Lord and bring themselves into communion with the Church by being faithful to her laws. Every other Church in the world is set up this way, why should they be exempt? Why should they receive promises no one else will be given? All because they are holding their Church hostage over money? The Polish People fought Communism in order to remain faithful to the Church, and these Americans are willing to let money tear them from the fold of the Church.
Maybe the Archbishop could have handled this differently, maybe, but the fault lays 100% on the Parishioners of this Parish. I applaud the Archbishop for his unwavering commitment to Church Law and Discipline. It is about time Bishops start to show Parishes that they are not independent businesses, but are subservient subjects of the Bishop. This case just blows my mind. It shows a complete lack of faith in God and the Church. (All this is my own observation and thoughts)
Well, that is my thoughts on that...
Posted by cr3do1 at 09:52 PM | Comments (0)
December 26, 2005
Feast of Saint Stephen
Well, the great Solemnity of Christmas has come and gone again (even though we are still in the Octave of Christmas). I did not get sick in the middle of Midnight Mass this year, which is a good thing. I stuck it out for 2 Vigil Masses, 1 Mass at Midnight, and 1 Mass during the Day. I only missed Mass at Dawn (these are all the different Christmas Masses for those who do not know). They were all nice, and I enjoy helping out at them. In between Masses I was at my Aunt's house, my Cousin's house, and last night I was at my Grandma's house. All fun times. It is nice to be with family, well I like it all the time, but especially at Christmas.
Tonight, the Diocese of Youngstown had its annual Seminarian Christmas Gathering. This year we had it with our Administrator since we are Bishopless. I am hoping for a new Bishop by the end January, that is if Pope Benedict keeps pumping US Bishops out at the rate he has been this past week and a half. It is always nice to see my brethren from other Seminaries and to get caught up on the latest with them.
For Christmas I got a guitar, the "In Conversation with God" book set, and some clothes. Not to mention numerous graces.
I was happy to see the Confession lines at many Churches around me to be an hour + long. I walked in the Cathedral and a Shrine near my Church and the line was so long I left. I wish we had those types of lines more often. The Graces of God were in abundance this year, and so many people responded to them.
Our Dear Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, celebrated his first Christmas as the Roman Pontiff. Here is an excerpt from his Homily at Midnight Mass in Saint Peter's Basilica:
But first, light means knowledge; it means truth, as contrasted with the darkness of falsehood and ignorance. Light gives us life, it shows us the way. But light, as a source of heat, also means love. Where there is love, light shines forth in the world; where there is hatred, the world remains in darkness. In the stable of Bethlehem there appeared the great light which the world awaits. In that Child lying in the stable, God has shown his glory – the glory of love, which gives itself away, stripping itself of all grandeur in order to guide us along the way of love. The light of Bethlehem has never been extinguished. In every age it has touched men and women, "it has shone around them". Wherever people put their faith in that Child, charity also sprang up – charity towards others, loving concern for the weak and the suffering, the grace of forgiveness. From Bethlehem a stream of light, love and truth spreads through the centuries. If we look to the Saints – from Paul and Augustine to Francis and Dominic, from Francis Xavier and Teresa of Avila to Mother Teresa of Calcutta – we see this flood of goodness, this path of light kindled ever anew by the mystery of Bethlehem, by that God who became a Child. In that Child, God countered the violence of this world with his own goodness. He calls us to follow that Child.
Love, in the true sense of the word, is the answer the problems of the world. God, in becoming man, showed us that selfless love. By imitating the Christ Child, we can help overcome the errors of this world. (for those waiting, this is the summary of my Fides et Ratio paper)
And yesterday, in his Urbi et Orbi message, the Pope had this to say:
A united humanity will be able to confront the many troubling problems of the present time: from the menace of terrorism to the humiliating poverty in which millions of human beings live, from the proliferation of weapons to the pandemics and the environmental destruction which threatens the future of our planet.
If the nations of this world would stop being so damn Hobbsian, and stop trying to out do the other, then maybe we can get somewhere in making the world a brighter place. I will never figure out why people and countries just can not cooperate with each other. Every country is not perfect, but each has something to offer to this world. Instead of making weapons to destroy it, we should start giving something back. I sound like a big crazy hippie, but I don't care. The major countries of this world are more concerned about making weapons to destroy this world, then in preserving. How is that benefiting mankind?
(All this stuff is supposed to relate to what the Holy Father had to say on Christmas)
My concluding thought of the day is that Pope Benedict XVI is a genius, but he needs to give Youngstown a Bishop. When he does that, he will be far superior to a genius. So much so, I don't even know the world for it. That is how smart he will be. LOL.
Merry Christmas and Happy Feast of Stephen!
Posted by cr3do1 at 09:52 PM | Comments (0)
December 24, 2005
Puer natus est nobis...
And there were in the same country shepherds watching and keeping the night watches over their flock. And behold an angel of the Lord stood by them and the brightness of God shone round about them: and they feared with a great fear. And the angel said to them: Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy that shall be to all the people: For, this day is born to you a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord, in the city of David. And this shall be a sign unto you. You shall find the infant wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly army, praising God and saying: Glory to God in the highest: and on earth peace to men of good will. - Luke 2:8-14
Posted by cr3do1 at 02:30 PM | Comments (0)
December 17, 2005
Happy Holidays
Now, I am not necessarily opposed to the Christmas greeting of "Happy Holidays", but this attempt by the Secular world to erase the word 'Christmas' is ridiculous. I can be pretty inclusive at times, and if combining all the holidays together helps bring others into the Spirit or whatever, so be it. Lets just say, I am not offended by it, even if I think it is over pushed at times. In the end, I will still say Merry Christmas. However, there is an attempt to erase Christmas all together. For example, the case with Wal-Mart, when they would have a Kwanzaa Section, and a Hannukah section, but the Christmas section was redirected to the Holiday section. I have also read reports about Barnes and Noble relabeling Christmas Music as Holiday Music, while maintaining the Hannukah section.
If it was not for Christ, and for the Catholic Church celebrating that Feast, then there would be no holiday. This would be just another month and another day. At the very least, people need to recognize the big hype is not about Hannukah or Kwanzaa or Ramadan, but the hype has always been over Christmas. Period. People need to just get over it and accept it for what it is. This super inclusiveness has gone too far, and in the end, it is going to hurt the retailers and others who fall into the same trap. This super inclusiveness has led to super exclusivness.
Posted by cr3do1 at 10:46 PM | Comments (0)
December 06, 2005
Soon and very soon...
An update is coming!
Posted by cr3do1 at 06:50 PM | Comments (0)
November 12, 2005
The Current State of Affairs
As we continue the study of Conceptual Thomism and Transcendental Thomism, I continue to see why things are the way they are in the Church today. Now, not only in the Church, but also in the world. Karl Rhaner really screwed things up when it comes to Theology. Although he did in the end stay within the Church, although only by a millimeter, his followers did not. Rhanarian philosophy and theology is now rampant throughout the world, and people now look to their experiences to determine what they believe or how they act.
I can see this in the John Kerry fiasco; I can see this in all these "Catholic" organizations challenging the authority of the Church. I understand why the pews are empty and why people no longer know or believe what the Church teaches. Everything has become relativised, from doctrine to the Mass. Deep down people do not want something that is relevant, they want something that will continue to challenge them and give them something. Human nature shows us that people get tired real quick of things which do not challenge them or present a mystery to them. Hopefully this will change in the next generation or so...
Posted by cr3do1 at 12:42 PM | Comments (0)
October 21, 2005
Once again...
So, after a few days or so of going strong, I have failed once again in keeping my blog up to date. Mea culpa.
Things have been going pretty well this Semester, I continue to grow in wisdom and age.
I have this really interesting philosophy course on Faith and Reason. I can finally see why the Church has gone through hell these past forty years after the close of the Second Vatican Council. Two differing theological ways of thinking came to collide, both with different philosophical and theological approaches. Both of course have their origin with Saint Thomas Aquinas, but not many have been as brilliant as he. I also understand why the Protestants and even the Orthodox have difficulties because of their philosophies. I see now that all theological problems are in the end a philosophical problem. The importance of a good philosophical grounding for Seminarians has now been made clear to me, and why the Church orders are proper and just. I almost wish I could go back two years and start all over again with this knowledge I have now, but things don't work like that.
The Synod in Rome should be wrapping up soon. I am anxiously awaiting the Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation to see what was decided. I hope good things result from this; it is just about that time in the Church when things should start to swing back to the way things should be.
I am currently on Mid-Term Break at home; it is nice to be away from a few days. I have some reading to catch up on, and it is sort of nice to be able to go and do things on my own. I would like on the next mid-term break to go down to the Shrine in Alabama, but we shall see if that works out.
I am looking forward to Thanksgiving and Christmas Vacation. I always enjoy that time of the year, it always seems holy, etc. I like it when everyone is together and I get to see family I haven't seen since the summer. It isn't that far off, maybe a Month or so.
After Thanksgiving, His Eminence Avery Cardinal Dulles, S.J. will be coming to the PCJ to give a talk on Vatican II. I am looking forward to it. This will be the second visit by a Prince of the Church to the Josephinum in my time there. The first was by His Eminence Theodore Cardinal McCarrick in the Spring of 2004. Cardinal Dulles is one of the brightest minds in the Church in America. It should be interesting.
The Diocese of Youngstown is still awaiting a new Bishop. I am not sure how long it will take. Some dioceses have been without a bishop for nearly two years. I hope this doesn't take that long, the Diocese needs a bishop.
Well, I am going to go and catch up on some reading. God Bless.
Posted by cr3do1 at 06:25 PM | Comments (1)
September 10, 2005
Chapel Renovations
Here is a picture of our Chapel now that it is complete...
Posted by cr3do1 at 05:49 PM | Comments (0)
August 18, 2005
Pope returns to native Germany
Pope Talks to Pilgrims at World Youth Day - Yahoo! News
The Holy Father, Benedict XVI, has returned to his native Germany to take part in World Youth Day there. Should be interesting, and tell us a lot about the youth and the Pope.
Posted by cr3do1 at 02:38 PM | Comments (0)
July 31, 2005
Loft
Although it is not 100% done, it is 95% done, and this is what it looks like so far...
If the picture doesn't show up, just go to:
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/cr3do84@sbcglobal.net/detail?.dir=443b&.dnm=eb07.jpg
Posted by cr3do1 at 02:17 PM | Comments (1)
July 28, 2005
Back to School Shopping
Unfortunately every good thing must come to an end, and today marks the beginning of the end. I went back to school shopping...
It is always a sad day in the world when these days come around, and you realize the world of reading boring things, papers, and tests is just around the corner. I am already contemplating and waiting for Christmas Break, you know it is bad when you aren't even in school yet and you are waiting for Christmas Break.
Like many before me, however, I shall persevere and conquer the mad professors. They may have won this battle, but the war is far from over...
Be sober, be watchful! For your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, goes about seeking someone to devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same suffering befalls your brethren all over the world... - 1 Peter 5:8-9
Posted by cr3do1 at 11:01 PM | Comments (1)
July 27, 2005
Computer Issues
So, I was having some serious computer related problems, and I could not figure out what was wrong. The CPU was over-heating, the system was very unstable, and it was moving much slower then I liked. So today, I figured I would finally use one of my extended warranty hoaxes that Electronic Stores and others convince you to buy.
So, they wanted me to leave my computer in some weird state for 24 hours, and I later decided this to be dumb advice, so I ignored it. The advice that seemed to work however was simply just blowing into the holes that provide cooling for the CPU. Since then, my computer has been working perfectly and hasn't even made a peep. This experience, although it took the extended warranty guy to tell me to blow in the holes, has only confirmed for me that these extended warranties are not worth it and I shall never buy them again. I spent $200 for them to tell me to blow into two holes... Hardly seems worthy it.
Every other solution they told me to try I either are did, or proved to be fruitless.
The moral of the story: these service plans stink!
Posted by cr3do1 at 09:09 PM | Comments (0)
July 21, 2005
Interview...
I forgot to say yesterday that my interview went well. The interview will be on August 21. For those in the Youngstown area, it will be on 570 WKBN at 7:30 AM, 1060 WILB at 9:30 (more of a Canton area station), and 1470 WLOA 10:30.
For those not in Youngstown, I will hopefully be getting a CD copy of the interview, and after August 21 I will post it here. (I will wait until after in case there is some law or something which says I can't do that). The 21 is acctually the day after I go back to school for the Orientation Team. So I won't even get to hear it live. All for the Greater Glory of God.
I would also like to correct myself from the Reletavist Clause, it was G.K. Chesteron, and not Saint Augustine, who said: "Right is right even if no one is doing it, and wrong it wrong even if everyone is doing it".
I have also since found out from a reliable source that 'Catholics' for a Free Choice is a one woman organization. I sort of suspected that since I have only ever seen one name associated with it, that of Francis Kissling. I have also found out that it is supported by Planned Parenthood. It is not a reform group, but clearly a group meant to undermine the Catholic Church.
God Bless.
Posted by cr3do1 at 03:51 PM | Comments (0)
July 18, 2005
World Youth Day 2005
The Pope will have a special meeting with Seminarians...
http://www.zenit.org/english/visualizza.phtml?sid=74413
I wish I was going to World Youth Day, but seeing the Pope once in a lifetime is something special let alone twice in a year. It would still be nice just to go to World Youth Day, I enjoyed the one in Toronto. Granted it wasn't perfect, but not much in life is...
If you are a Seminarian and going to World Youth Day, register here:
http://www.wjt2005-seminaristen.de/index_e.htm
Then get a letter from your Bishop attesting to that fact. Should be an awesome time!
Posted by cr3do1 at 10:06 PM | Comments (0)
July 17, 2005
The Black Madonna
In my Parish, there is a icon of Our Lady of Czestochowa. This is a picture of the entire sanctuary; you can see the icon to the right...
I always thought that it was just some icon that someone had bought for the Church. However, while I was reading the Youngstown Catholic Newspaper, the Exponent, this past Friday, there was an article about the icon in it.
Apparently, the icon is more then just an icon. The icon was created in 1981 in Poland, and hung near the original painting of Saint Luke in Jasna Gora. However, the Dominican Fathers became frightened for the safety of the painting and had it smuggled to Rome where they believed it would be safe. The Communist authorities struggled to have the painting returned, and once again the safety of the image was questioned. The Communists appealed to the Italian Government, but they declared that the icon was not under their jurisdiction but under the jurisdiction of the Holy See. It was now agreed that the Icon must go to the United States, where it would be to far for the Communists to reach.
The Icon had come to the attention of His Holiness, Servant of God, Pope John-Paul II. He said that the icon must go to a Polish Parish. He told this to a small group of Roman Catholics traveling in Rome from the Diocese of Youngstown in 1983. The morning that they were set to leave, they were told that they would have a secret private audience with the Pope, and were to bring their entire luggage with them. They would leave immediately after the audience. They were given the icon at the air port, and were told not to let it out of their sight. It was wrapped up and marked carpet. Traveling with the group was Father Grabowksi, Associate Pastor at my Parish at that time. He brought the icon to my Parish, a Polish Parish, informed the Pastor, and it was hung in my Parish ever since. It has been reframed, but everything else is original.
Rather exciting history if you ask me, all this history out of an icon I thought someone just bought out of a catalogue or something. Who would have guessed that John-Paul II had a hand in it coming to my Parish?
Posted by cr3do1 at 09:06 PM | Comments (0)
July 15, 2005
Cooking
I decided that I was going to make some speghetti sauce yesterday, and the whole thing ended up being a dinner for most of my family. My grandma and aunt came, and my cousins with their new baby too. Everyone else already ate. I acctually surpassed all of my own expectations. It ended up coming out pretty good. I even made salad, and funnetti cake (which I am the only one who eats since everyone else hates it). The entire night ended pretty well.
Now, I sit here and wait for the rain to start. I am begining to think it is never going to come... Tommorrow my best friend from High School is getting married. Should be fun...
Posted by cr3do1 at 10:54 PM | Comments (2)
July 13, 2005
Return to Blog World
Well, I think I am prepared to announce my return to the world of blogging. I put everything where I want it, and everything seems to be running smoothly so far. I am open to user feedback, if you see an error or something wrong, don't hesitate to let me know. For those of you wondering about Xanga, it is rather stupid to update two blogs, so my Xanga site is on auto re-direct here. We will see how long they let that go on for. Doing the redirect was the best compromise.
I would like to thank cyberCatholics.com for allowing me to have a blog here, and to the webmaster, Josh LeBlanc for always helping me get out of trouble. I ask the few readers that I have to consider supporting cyberCatholics, either monetarily and/or through prayer. cyberCatholics is providing an invaluable ministry to the world in its response to the call for a New Evangelization by Servant of God Pope John-Paul II!
Well, I believe that is all for now. God Bless!
Posted by cr3do1 at 12:25 AM | Comments (0)