Saturday, April 30, 2011
Friday, April 29, 2011
Sculpture of Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Unveiled at Ave Maria University
From NaplesNews
Two Ave Maria students sing during the unveiling of the Annunciation sculpture on the face of the Oratory. After three years of planning and hundreds of hours of sculpting by artist Marton Varo, Ave Maria University's Oratory revealed it's new facade to hundreds of people on March 25, 2011. The project from inception to fruition took nearly 3 years and more than 3 million dollars to achieve. It is the first project to be undertaken by the Ave Maria Foundation for the arts completely funded by private donations. The relief depicts the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 120 tons of Carrara marble hand selected from Cava Michelangelo, the same quarry Michelangelo used to acquire his marble for his most important works. Once the project began Marton made several trips back and forth from Italy to Ave Maria carving portions of the relief in both places. The smaller five pieces were carved in Italy while the larger stones measuring 210 cm x 230 cm were carved at Ave Maria, making the largest blocks almost 7 1/2 feet tall. Manuel Martinez/Staff
Two Ave Maria students sing during the unveiling of the Annunciation sculpture on the face of the Oratory. After three years of planning and hundreds of hours of sculpting by artist Marton Varo, Ave Maria University's Oratory revealed it's new facade to hundreds of people on March 25, 2011. The project from inception to fruition took nearly 3 years and more than 3 million dollars to achieve. It is the first project to be undertaken by the Ave Maria Foundation for the arts completely funded by private donations. The relief depicts the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in 120 tons of Carrara marble hand selected from Cava Michelangelo, the same quarry Michelangelo used to acquire his marble for his most important works. Once the project began Marton made several trips back and forth from Italy to Ave Maria carving portions of the relief in both places. The smaller five pieces were carved in Italy while the larger stones measuring 210 cm x 230 cm were carved at Ave Maria, making the largest blocks almost 7 1/2 feet tall. Manuel Martinez/Staff
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Pope John Paul II - His Life and Legacy
Here is one of my favorite church songs.
Please check out
Jesus tells us, The Holy Spirit who the Father will sent you in my name will teach you everything and Long live the charismatics, Pope John Paul
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Prohibition un-Catholic?
Jeffrey Tucker has written an article called Prohibition is un-Catholic which is a good read with regards to the "war on drugs" and prohibition in both past and present. This was so well written that it has persuaded me to change my position on the "war on drugs" at least to some extent. I think I may be becoming more libertarian. It is self-evident that the "war on drugs" is failing and quite pathetically. It is my opinion that one of the keys to its failure is the porous border which under the constitution should be a requirement to be secured. I believe that the prohibition against drugs is doing more harm than good. But, I do have mixed feelings regarding the prohibition of the hard core drugs.
Tucker uses some writings of Rev. James M. Gillis to show how prohibition on alcohol during from 1920 -1933 really hurt the temperance movement and to show how prohibition is un-Catholic.
"It is my own conviction that the prohibition law was the greatest blow ever given to the temperance movement. Before prohibition, the people at large were becoming more and more sober. Total abstinence had become the practice, not of a few, but of millions. There was an enormous increase in temperance in America, in the period of fifty years preceding the passing of the Eighteenth Amendment to the National Constitution. Then the attitude of multitudes changed. Under the Volstead Law, drinking became a popular sport. The passage of the law was a psychological blunder, and a moral calamity. It is for this reason, first of all, that I regret the prohibition law.
"We must come back to the original and only true plan for improving the world -- education, exhortation, moral suasion. "Slow methods!" say the impetuous "drys." Yes, but every moral agency must work slowly. It does, perhaps, seem ridiculous to attempt the moral and spiritual regeneration of mankind by the infinitely tedious method of addressing the individual, converting him, and keep him right. But that was the method of Christ. "Preach to every creature," was His commission to the Apostles. Only when the individual is convinced, can you be sure of his conversion.
"The process of conversion is long and slow. Anyone who attempts labor-saving devices in dealing with the volatile spirit of man, will fail. There are no "short cuts" in the moral world. Impatient and impetuous persons cannot, not will not, see that self-evident fact. Consequently such persons have always produced disaster in place of reform. The only way to make the country sober is to persuade individual citizens , one by one, to be sober. . . . Prohibitionists do not even see the enormous and unescapable fact that prohibition is a failure. "None are so blind as those who will not see." "
You can read the entire article here.
Tucker uses some writings of Rev. James M. Gillis to show how prohibition on alcohol during from 1920 -1933 really hurt the temperance movement and to show how prohibition is un-Catholic.
"It is my own conviction that the prohibition law was the greatest blow ever given to the temperance movement. Before prohibition, the people at large were becoming more and more sober. Total abstinence had become the practice, not of a few, but of millions. There was an enormous increase in temperance in America, in the period of fifty years preceding the passing of the Eighteenth Amendment to the National Constitution. Then the attitude of multitudes changed. Under the Volstead Law, drinking became a popular sport. The passage of the law was a psychological blunder, and a moral calamity. It is for this reason, first of all, that I regret the prohibition law.
"We must come back to the original and only true plan for improving the world -- education, exhortation, moral suasion. "Slow methods!" say the impetuous "drys." Yes, but every moral agency must work slowly. It does, perhaps, seem ridiculous to attempt the moral and spiritual regeneration of mankind by the infinitely tedious method of addressing the individual, converting him, and keep him right. But that was the method of Christ. "Preach to every creature," was His commission to the Apostles. Only when the individual is convinced, can you be sure of his conversion.
"The process of conversion is long and slow. Anyone who attempts labor-saving devices in dealing with the volatile spirit of man, will fail. There are no "short cuts" in the moral world. Impatient and impetuous persons cannot, not will not, see that self-evident fact. Consequently such persons have always produced disaster in place of reform. The only way to make the country sober is to persuade individual citizens , one by one, to be sober. . . . Prohibitionists do not even see the enormous and unescapable fact that prohibition is a failure. "None are so blind as those who will not see." "
You can read the entire article here.
Sunday, April 24, 2011
Happy Easter! - Jesus is Risen
Fr. Jonathan Morris gives his Easter Sunday message.
This is one of my favorite hymns. Here is "Jesus Christ is Risen Today"
This is beautiful!
This is one of my favorite hymns. Here is "Jesus Christ is Risen Today"
This is beautiful!
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