Right into the lions den! Being in San Francisco would absolutely make me mourn.

Merry Christmas!

I wish they would make a special page for these, because not all of the links work anymore. Jill Bevilacqua has done some wonderful things, including radio dramas on St. Paul and St. Francis of Assissi that I have heard. It would be nice if they would fill out the productions with more actors in the Old Time Radio style, but that would be expensive. Highly effective, though. If you are interested in how radio drama can serve the Church, check out episodes from the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement's popular Ave Maria radio program, which was broadcast from 1939-1969. The Friars are making them available on the internet here: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/fr-bob-warren These shows were recorded in New York by professional actors and their 40-part Life of Christ is especially masterful. Their website is here: http://www.atonementfriars.org/ Hopefully they will make these available on CD, but they are free to download currently from Fr. Bob's Blog Talk Radio page. God bless!

Wow, heartening news for once! We definitely should be appreciative when people do the right thing.

Hey now, that's not quite what I wanted to hear. Chicago is getting a little too close for comfort there. On a serious note, I've been going through a fallow time here spiritually and it's always nice to check in for inspiration.

"Coyotes hunt by sending a small female or youngster inside a fenced area to lure a cat or other small animal into a chase, then lead the small animal outside the fence where the pack of coyotes will be waiting to attack. " Yikes, clever rascals! It really surprises me that they can be so cunning. I'm glad I live in the Midwest- cars and people are hazards enough for cats.

They could have us as allies, on this and many issues, and they obstinately refuse. We could tip support well over 50% and well into consensus, but they won't have it. They'd rather stick a finger in our eye and doing it alone, so the whole souffle is likely to collapse. Then in 2 years they can demagogue the issue and talk about what a crisis our health are system is, how gosh-darn immoral it is that so many are without coverage (right and right)& how they really really want to give free and unlimited Supercalifragilistic health care to everyone (but, shh, they refuse to make the compromises that would make that happen). Then, the election cycle after that, repeat... ad infinitum. It's dispiriting. I've given up on politics. I pray. I take care of those near me. I try to live a Christian life. The political system is a tangled, infernal mess.

Happy 4th, and happy birthday, Muffin!

>He spoke about the importance of prayer and charity to Padre Pio, and contrasted the ever present "risks of activism and of secularization".< I'm glad the Pope made this point, but then, I'm always happy when the Pope speaks. I think that as Catholics our primary and most important responses to the state of the world should be to pray devoutly, cultivate holiness, and develop a loving and faithful relationship with God. Devotion and personal holiness should always come first; politics and activism are secondary matters. Politics, especially, is an uncertain thing and it is often difficult to apply the Gospel message to it, beyond the obvious life issues. Pray, pray, pray, and be ever faithful! We are told not merely to have faith in God's existence, but to have faith that he always seeks the best for us, that he has numbered even the hairs of our heads and will provide for us, as he does even for the flowers of the field.

"You have shown me the way to Ars, I will show you the way to heaven". How beautiful, thank you for this! Truly God works all things for good :-) I pray for vocations, I pray for priests, and I pray with the Pope for an increased attention to the sacrament of penance. The Cure d'Ars gave a mighty example of what regeneration looks like and how it can be brought about: through everyday preaching, exhortation, prayer and priestly diligence: http://www.zenit.org/article-26211?l=english

The diet change sounds promising. You might have her back to her spry old self in no time, though I suspect you'd miss the "lap-cat" phase :-) My cat never showed any interest in movies, but a movie did help me bond with her. When a girlfriend brought me this little ball of fluff that her mom had found shivering in a ditch I didn't know quite what to make her (Whiskey, that is). I'd never had a cat and always considered myself a dog person, so I spent the first few days adjusting to this beautiful little creature and being a little puzzled about just how I really was supposed to feel about my sudden house-guest. Then one night I made the mistake of staying up to watch The Shining. That did it; every time I closed my eyes I saw those two pale little girls and got the shivers. Suddenly I wanted Whiskey near more than anything, and just as suddenly she was there, purring and playful. I slept that night on the living room floor so Whiskey could curl up nearby (she was too small to make the leap up my bed at that time). That was the first glimmering of the bonding process for me. Love began to replace responsibility, and I am definitely not a dog-person anymore. :-) Thanks for sparking a trip down memory lane!