Good Luck With That

Israel's Ambassador To The Holy See Interviewed

Via Terrasanta:

Israel's ambassador to the Holy See, Mordechay Lewy, recently wrote an article in which he noted an "asymmetry" in Jewish-Christian dialogue: that Catholics are pursuing relations but too few Jewish representatives are committed to the cause. In an article for the Italian Jewish monthly magazine Pagine Ebraiche which was later reprinted in the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano, Ambassador Lewy called on Israelis to be more open to dialogue with Christians.

This week, the ambassador, who is an historian and expert in religious history, spoke with Terrasanta.net about this concern. He also discussed the reality of Jewish-Muslim dialogue, the Pope's recent visit to Rome's synagogue, and the current state of talks between the Holy See and Israel over the Fundamental Agreement.

Ambassador, why in your opinion are some Orthodox Jews so reticent about Catholic-Jewish dialogue? Is it because Jewish orthodoxy became less flexible after the Shoah?

There are many, many reasons, not only the Shoah. There are serious reasons why they do not participate. But in spite of those serious reasons, they should participate in order to take part in what I see as historical change.

How can their attitudes change?

First of all we need to start to reflect on this question. The more questions, the more reflection and then the end of this process might be change. It's a process; it won't be done today or tomorrow. This process has already started but we can probably try to accelerate it. It will remain a process but it won't be shared by all, also among Catholics it is not shared by all. It is a pious wish to have all Catholics follow Nostra Aetate but I know it is not the case.

Would you say there are elements in Judaism trying to thwart current dialogue?

No, not to stop it, they are simply not taking part in it, they are ignoring it, not thinking it is relevant for them. Those are the attitudes I think. It is not an expressed ‘anti'. It is an ignorance and indifference and, by the way, if you talk about dialogue it often means it in theological terms. I don't mean it in this sense, in terms of theological dialogue. I mean more in its existential dimension.

It's about focusing on what the two religions have in common?

You know, the very point that for 2000 years they saw each other as against the other is already something they already have in common. Instead of looking at each other as opponents, they could see each other as being next to each other.

Could confronting secularism be the issue that brings the two religions closer together?

It's always said the secularist spirit might lead religious to join together - the idea that because of relativism, we see each other as being closer. That might be so, but you're talking with a secularist. I do not belong to the religious sector... But I understand this argument of the secular spirit and normal people who do not normally feel themselves religious and therefore feel all of a sudden in the same camp. I see the historical change coming now because I do recognize that Nostra Aetate is a bold step to seek understanding and this should be met and also fully understood on our side. There are still inhibitions preventing full recognition and we are working on removing those inhibitions, step by step.

Is there a fear of conversion to Christianity?

There is a fear. It is a traumatic fear that exists. I remember Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik [a seminal figure of modern orthodox Judaism] was asked by Cardinal Willebrands in the 1960s, in view of the coming discussions around Nostra Aetate which was then not yet drafted: "What do you think about the conversion of Jews?" He [Soloveitchik] said it was absolutely mandatory to make a signal that it is not conceived any more as a goal because the Jews will consider it as a second Holocaust. So it's very touchy. Not every polemic today is only for the sake of conducting polemics: there are Jews who really understand it as a threat. I think it's unjustified but still, they think like that. So we have to consider it and cope with it.

Is there formal dialogue between Judaism or the State of Israel and Islam?

Yes, but it's a difficult one, it's not easy to find partners. A first condition of dialogue is that you're not cutting the other person's throat. If you have only those people who think like that, you have to ask: is the dialogue viable at all?

So it's no where near close to the level of Catholic-Jewish dialogue.

No, but you know what, for religious people, Islam is less prohibitive than Christianity. You would be surprised. I think the iconoclastic approach of Islam, which is about not favouring images, is something which the Orthodox Jew immediately feels he can associate with. He can relate to it. Almost even the kosher / halal food regulations are another dimension on which they can relate, even if it's not really the same. When it comes to pork, yes, but not when it comes to wine or seafood. They eat seafood, we don't.

Does the State of Israel seriously look on Jewish-Muslim dialogue as a possible pathway to peace?

Yes, it's very much favoured, if it is possible. We do participate if we are allowed, even within trilateral dialogue frameworks. But sometimes we have problems, for example with the Saudis. On all Saudi initiatives, which are very welcome, they will always look at the passports of the rabbis. For them, they could be Jewish, but if they have Israeli passports they would be seen as ‘undesired participants'. They won't accept Israeli rabbis with Israeli passports.

Would you like to share any brief reflections on the Pope's recent visit to Rome's synagogue?

Well it was good, it should have been understood by all, but some had reservations and I think the press contributed to this dramatisation which was not well placed in my mind. Of course [the visit] was disputed in the Italian community, also in the Roman, but more in the Italian community. I think we have a clear cut orientation in Israel and so we were very keen to show it, as was seen in the dialogue that followed at the Vatican with the rabbis, and the massive presence of the delegation from Israel.

Also the vice premier coming here and honouring the event. So I think it was very good. I don't know of any event where the Pope who has been invited and was then rebuked [by the President of the Italian Jewish Community]. So it was an event which had to happen and those who questioned it probably could speak like that because they didn't have to assume responsibility, they were not inviting bodies. The invitation came from the Roman community not the Italian one.

Has there been any progress in the bilateral commission on the Fundamental Agreement?

Yes there are some things cooking and let's hope for the best. It's difficult, but there are creative minds pushing ideas here and there. I cannot reveal them, I'm sorry, but there is hopefully a grain of hope in the sense that some creative ideas are being exchanged.

New Koran Book-Infidel's Guide

Robert Spencer:

My new book, The Complete Infidel's Guide to the Koran, is coming September 21 from Regnery Publishing.

What they're saying about the new book:

"Unlike most of today’s self-styled experts, Robert Spencer won’t tell you that ‘slay the idolaters wherever you find them’ really means ‘love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.’ In The Complete Infidel’s Guide to the Koran, Spencer shows once again that he is America’s most informed, fearless, and compelling voice on modern jihadism, insisting that we come to grips with the words behind the ideology that fuels international terror.” — Andrew C. McCarthy, senior fellow at the National Review Institute and author of Willful Blindness: A Memoir of the Jihad.

"Meticulous, comprehensive, indispensable. ‘I read the Koran so you don’t have to,’ Spencer writes—but even for those of us who have read the Koran, this is a richly illuminating work.” — Bruce Bawer, author of Surrender: Appeasing Islam, Sacrificing Freedom and While Europe Slept.

Marian Muslim Connection

Archbishop Fulton Sheen's 1952 analysis of Muslims and the Mother of our Lord:

XAVERIAN MISSIONS
of the Xaverian Missionary Fathers
Vol. 1, No. 2
May, 1952

There are 374 million Moslems in the world. These followers of Mohammed believe in God, but they do not believe in Christ as the Son of God. To them, Our Lord was only a prophet announcing Mohammed, as we believe Isaiah was only a prophet announcing Our Lord. For a Moslem to become a Christian is to him like a Christian becoming a Jew. For that reason, conversion of the Moslems is very slow and extremely difficult.

We have a theory about their conversion, and that is that the Revelations of Our Lady at Fatima portends the conversion of the Moslems. Here is the evidence.

1) The Moslems have a strong devotion to the Blessed Mother. As the Koran, which is the Bible of the Moslems, puts it: " O, Mary, Thou hast been chosen and purified and elected above all women of the world." They believe both in her Immaculate Conception and the Virgin Birth. She is the real Lady SAYYIDH of Paradise. Iranian women love to have a statue of her in their homes.

2) Mohammed had a daughter, Fatima, whom he intensely loved. After her death, Mohammed wrote these lines to her: "You will be the most blessed lady SAYYIDH of all women in Paradise, after Mary."

I believe the Blessed Virgin chose to be known as Our Lady of Fatima as a pledge and sign of hope to the Moslem people, and as an assurance that they, who show her so much respect, will one day accept her Divine Son. This explains why she chose the town of Fatima.

Supporting evidence for this view is the historical fact that the Moslems occupied Portugal for centuries. When they were finally driven out, the last chief in the locality where the appearance of Our Lady took place had a beautiful daughter by the name of Fatima.

A Catholic boy fell in love with her, and she not only stayed behind when the Moslems left, but embraced the Faith and became a Catholic.

Her young husband changed the name of the town where he married this last Moslem lady in Portugal, to Fatima. Thus, the very place where Our Lady of Fatima appeared in 1917 has an historical connection with Fatima, the daughter of Mohammed.

A final evidence of the relation of Fatima to the Moslems is the enthusiastic reception which the Moslems, in Africa and India and elsewhere, gave to the pilgrim statue of Our Lady of Fatima. Moslems attended church services in honor of Our Lady of Fatima; they allowed religious processions and even prayers before mosques. In Mozambique, the Moslems (who had been unconvertible) began to be Christian as soon as the Statue of Our Lady of Fatima was erected.

Missionaries in the future will more and more see that their apostolate among the Moslems will be successful in the measure that they give them Our Lady of Fatima.

Mary is the advent of Christ. She brings Christ to people before Christ is born, as she brought the unborn Christ to Elizabeth.

May our missionaries in the Moslem countries more and more see that if they can increase the Moslem devotion to Mary, then she will bring them to her Divine Son. We cannot bring them to Christ, but she can. Through Mary to Jesus...this is the key that can open Moslems' eyes to the fullness of the revelation of God in whom they already believe.

Hat Tip: Orbis Catholicvs

For more information click here.

Muslim Papal Assassin to Convert

In Defense of the Bishop of Rome

As always, Christopher @ Pope Benedict in Israel has the most cogent analysis and responses to the daily, inane and counter-factual vitriol spewed against His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI.

Rachel Adams quoting Jonathan Tobin at The Weekly Standard:

“Like it or not, Israel and the Church are on the same side of a clash of civilizations in which radical Islam is a deadly threat to both Jews and Christians. Rather than bashing the Pope, Israelis and Jews need to embrace him as a friend, best as they can.”

She goes on to further quote Tobin by denoting that Israeli anger is misplaced, notwithstanding the comparisons of speeches made by John Paul II & Benedict XVI, at Yad Vashem.

Ultimately, she contends that "if there are apologies still to be made to the survivors of the Nazi extermination machine, why not demand them of the memory of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, so beloved of American Jews, who sat for years with the full knowledge of the catastrophe that was befalling the Jews of Europe, doing his damndest to keep them from trying to save themselves by reaching our shores."

"Broader Purpose of Dialogue is to Discover the Truth"

Source: Apostleship of Prayer

For those who perpetually and maliciously continue to alter, manipulate, denigrate & lambaste the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, you would do well to, at a modicum, either read, in its entirety His remarks, (this is why I reprint, as much as possible entire discourses here) or at least have a cursory glance at his record both as the Supreme Pontiff and as Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.

Bishop of Rome's Day in Jordan

Hat Tip: Rome Reports

Pope Tells Muslims "Embrace Reason"

UPDATE 1:

Incorrigible Muslim leaders wanted another "official" apology from Pope Benedict XVI and they did not get one...

What a surprise, they are quite perturbed, to say the least!

Can we, at least, have 1 official apology for the last 1400 years of Islamo-Fascism and the untold murder & enslavement of Catholic, Christian and Jewish men and women???

Complete wrap up of today's events can be found here.


Pope Benedict XVI is greeted by a Muslim sheikh upon his arrival at Queen Alia International airport in Amman yesterday. He spoke at a Jordanian mosque today. (REUTERS/Ali Jarekji)

NCRegister's post of full text of Pope's discourse to Islamic leaders in Amman:

Discourse of Pope Benedict XVI at the Al-Hussein Bin Talal Mosque in Amman, Jordan.

May 9th, 2009

Your Royal Highness,

Your Excellencies,

Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is a source of great joy for me to meet with you this morning in this magnificent setting. I wish to thank Prince Ghazi Bin Muhammed Bin Talal for his kind words of welcome. Your Royal Highness’s numerous initiatives to promote inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue and exchanges are appreciated by the people of the Hashemite Kingdom and they are widely respected by the international community. I know that these efforts receive the active support of other members of the Royal Family as well as the nation’s government, and find ample resonance in the many initiatives of collaboration among Jordanians. For all this, I wish to express my own heartfelt admiration.

Places of worship, like this splendid Al-Hussein Bin Talal mosque named after the revered late King, stand out like jewels across the earth’s surface. From the ancient to the modern, the magnificent to the humble, they all point to the divine, to the Transcendent One, to the Almighty. And through the centuries these sanctuaries have drawn men and women into their sacred space to pause, to pray, to acknowledge the presence of the Almighty, and to recognize that we are all his creatures.

For this reason we cannot fail to be concerned that today, with increasing insistency, some maintain that religion fails in its claim to be, by nature, a builder of unity and harmony, an expression of communion between persons and with God. Indeed some assert that religion is necessarily a cause of division in our world; and so they argue that the less attention given to religion in the public sphere the better. Certainly, the contradiction of tensions and divisions between the followers of different religious traditions, sadly, cannot be denied.

However, is it not also the case that often it is the ideological manipulation of religion, sometimes for political ends, that is the real catalyst for tension and division, and at times even violence in society? In the face of this situation, where the opponents of religion seek not simply to silence its voice but to replace it with their own, the need for believers to be true to their principles and beliefs is felt all the more keenly.

Muslims and Christians, precisely because of the burden of our common history so often marked by misunderstanding, must today strive to be known and recognized as worshippers of God faithful to prayer, eager to uphold and live by the Almighty’s decrees, merciful and compassionate, consistent in bearing witness to all that is true and good, and ever mindful of the common origin and dignity of all human persons, who remain at the apex of God’s creative design for the world and for history.

The resolve of Jordanian educators and religious and civic leaders to ensure that the public face of religion reflects its true nature is praiseworthy. The example of individuals and communities, together with the provision of courses and programmes, manifest the constructive contribution of religion to the educational, cultural, social and other charitable sectors of your civic society. Some of this spirit I have been able to sample at first hand.

Yesterday, I experienced the renowned educational and rehabilitation work of the Our Lady of Peace Centre where Christians and Muslims are transforming the lives of entire families, by assisting them to ensure that their disabled children take up their rightful place in society. Earlier this morning, I blessed the foundation stone of Madaba University where young Muslim and Christian adults will side by side receive the benefits of a tertiary education, enabling them to contribute justly to the social and economic development of their nation. Of great merit too are the numerous initiatives of inter-religious dialogue supported by the Royal Family and the diplomatic community and sometimes undertaken in conjunction with the Pontifical Council for Inter-religious Dialogue. These include the ongoing work of the Royal Institutes for Inter-faith studies and for Islamic Thought, the Amman Message of 2004, the Amman Interfaith Message of 2005, and the more recent Common Word letter which echoed a theme consonant with my first encyclical: the unbreakable bond between love of God and love of neighbour, and the fundamental contradiction of resorting to violence or exclusion in the name of God (cf. Deus Caritas Est, 16).

Such initiatives clearly lead to greater reciprocal knowledge, and they foster a growing respect both for what we hold in common and for what we understand differently. Thus, they should prompt Christians and Muslims to probe even more deeply the essential relationship between God and his world so that together we may strive to ensure that society resonates in harmony with the divine order. In this regard, the co-operation found here in Jordan sets an encouraging and persuasive example for the region, and indeed the world, of the positive, creative contribution which religion can and must make to civic society.

Distinguished friends, today I wish to refer to a task which I have addressed on a number of occasions and which I firmly believe Christians and Muslims can embrace, particularly through our respective contributions to learning and scholarship, and public service. That task is the challenge to cultivate for the good, in the context of faith and truth, the vast potential of human reason.

Christians in fact describe God, among other ways, as creative Reason, which orders and guides the world. And God endows us with the capacity to participate in his reason and thus to act in accordance with what is good. Muslims worship God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, who has spoken to humanity. And as believers in the one God we know that human reason is itself God’s gift and that it soars to its highest plane when suffused with the light of God’s truth. In fact, when human reason humbly allows itself to be purified by faith, it is far from weakened; rather, it is strengthened to resist presumption and to reach beyond its own limitations.

In this way, human reason is emboldened to pursue its noble purpose of serving mankind, giving expression to our deepest common aspirations and extending, rather than manipulating or confining, public debate. Thus, genuine adherence to religion – far from narrowing our minds – widens the horizon of human understanding. It protects civil society from the excesses of the unbridled ego which tend to absolutize the finite and eclipse the infinite; it ensures that freedom is exercised hand in hand with truth, and it adorns culture with insights concerning all that is true, good and beautiful.

This understanding of reason, which continually draws the human mind beyond itself in the quest for the Absolute, poses a challenge; it contains a sense of both hope and caution. Together, Christians and Muslims are impelled to seek all that is just and right. We are bound to step beyond our particular interests and to encourage others, civil servants and leaders in particular, to do likewise in order to embrace the profound satisfaction of serving the common good, even at personal cost. And we are reminded that because it is our common human dignity which gives rise to universal human rights, they hold equally for every man and woman, irrespective of his or her religious, social or ethnic group. In this regard, we must note that the right of religious freedom extends beyond the question of worship and includes the right – especially of minorities – to fair access to the employment market and other spheres of civic life.

Before I leave you this morning I would like to acknowledge in a special way the presence among us of His Beatitude Emmanuel III Delly, Patriarch of Baghdad, whom I greet most warmly. His presence brings to mind the people of neighbouring Iraq many of whom have found welcome refuge here in Jordan. The international community’s efforts to promote peace and reconciliation, together with those of the local leaders, must continue in order to bear fruit in the lives of Iraqis. I wish to express my appreciation for all those who are assisting in the endeavors to deepen trust and to rebuild the institutions and infrastructure essential to the well-being of that society. And once again, I urge diplomats and the international community they represent together with local political and religious leaders to do everything possible to ensure the ancient Christian community of that noble land its fundamental right to peaceful coexistence with their fellow citizens.

Distinguished friends, I trust that the sentiments I have expressed today will leave us with renewed hope for the future. Our love and duty before the Almighty is expressed not only in our worship but also in our love and concern for children and young people – your families – and for all Jordanians. It is for them that you labor and it is they who motivate you to place the good of every human person at the heart of institutions, laws and the workings of society.

May reason, ennobled and humbled by the grandeur of God’s truth, continue to shape the life and institutions of this nation, in order that families may flourish and that all may live in peace, contributing to and drawing upon the culture that unifies this great Kingdom!*

*Emphasis added

Pilgrim of Peace

Source: Apostleship of Prayer



Source: Vatican You Tube

Mullahs Murder Innocent Girl, Again

Hat Tip: Vlad Tepes

How many times do we have to go down this road with the insidious adherents of the Cult of Muhammad which represents death, destruction and utter barbarism...

Pope Challenges Muslims on Violence

"Genuine religion thus widens the horizon of human understanding and stands at the base of any authentically human culture. It rejects all forms of violence and totalitarianism: not only on principles of faith, but also of right reason." Pope Benedict XVI

In his March 19th meeting with Cameroon Muslims, Benedict XVI went on to display, as NCRegister's Tom McFeeley asserts, an "intellectual fearlessness: Remember how his comments in 2005 in Regensburg, Bavaria — noting that Islam may be prone to committing violence in the name of religion because Islam appears to conceive of God as being beyond reason — incited waves of violent protest in Islamic countries? And how those comments incited waves of unfounded criticism from Western commentators that Benedict had unjustly criticized the Islamic religion?"

Read entire original article & commentary here.

Hat Tip: GateWay Pundit

Assorted Catholic news

Reuters reports that the Holy See will soon have a You Tube channel:

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican will soon have its own channel on the video sharing site YouTube where the Catholic faithful or the curious will be able to see Pope Benedict or Church events, a Vatican source said on Saturday.

The details of the accord are due to be presented on Friday at a news conference attended by Vatican officials as well as Henrique de Castro, managing director of media solutions for Google, which owns YouTube.

The initiative will involve Google, the Vatican Television Center and Vatican Radio.

It will mark the Vatican's deepest plunge into new media. The Vatican opened up its website, www.vatican.va, in 1995.

Furthermore, The Patriarch of Lisbon, Cardinal Jose Policarpo warned Portuguese women to be wary of entering into marriages with Islamic men:

(CNA)- The Patriarch of Lisbon, Cardinal Jose Policarpo, warned the women of Portugal this Wednesday of the problems that can arise from marriage with Portuguese men of the Muslim faith.

During an interview with Portuguese Radio and Television, Cardinal Policarpo addressed the thorny issue of growing Muslim immigration on the Iberian peninsula and the resulting increase in mixed marriages.

“I suggest caution with love. Think twice before marrying a Muslim, think about it seriously,” he said, adding such unions invite a host of problems that “not even Allah knows where they will end.”

Read entire article here.

Lastly, read Frances Cardinal George's letter, as head of the USCCB, to President-elect Barack Obama here. (Hat Tip: Culture War)

Father Neuhaus, Rest in Peace

Fr. Richard John Neuhaus, 1936-2009
Father Neuhaus has gone to be with the Lord,via First Things:

Fr. Richard John Neuhaus slipped away today, January 8, shortly before 10 o’clock, at the age of seventy-two. He never recovered from the weakness that sent him to the hospital the day after Christmas, caused by a series of side effects from the cancer he was suffering. He lost consciousness Tuesday evening after a collapse in his heart rate, and the next day, in the company of friends, he died.

My tears are not for him—for he knew, all his life, that his Redeemer lives, and he has now been gathered by the Lord in whom he trusted.

I weep, rather for all the rest of us. As a priest, as a writer, as a public leader in so many struggles, and as a friend, no one can take his place. The fabric of life has been torn by his death, and it will not be repaired, for those of us who knew him, until that time when everything is mended and all our tears are wiped away.

Funeral arrangements are still being planned; information about the funeral will be made public shortly. Please accept our thanks for all your prayers and good wishes.

In Deepest Sorrow,

Joseph Bottum
Editor
First Things

Father Neuhaus was selected by Time Magazine as one of the 25 Most Influential Evangelicals in America:

Bushism Made Catholic: When Bush met with journalists from religious publications last year, the living authority he cited most often was not a fellow Evangelical but a man he calls Father Richard, who, he explained, "helps me articulate these [religious] things." A senior Administration official confirms that Neuhaus "does have a fair amount of under-the-radar influence" on such policies as abortion, stem-cell research, cloning and the defense-of-marriage amendment.

Neuhaus, 68, is well-prepared for that role. As founder of the religion-and-policy journal First Things, he has for years articulated toughly conservative yet nuanced positions on a wide range of civic issues. A Lutheran turned Catholic priest, he can translate conservative Protestant arguments couched tightly in Scripture into Catholicism's broader language of moral reasoning, more accessible to a general public that does not regard chapter and verse as final proof. And there is one last reason for Bush to cherish Neuhaus, who has worked tirelessly to persuade conservative Catholics and Evangelicals to make common cause. It's called the conservative Catholic vote, and it played a key role last November.

Read profiles of this exceptionally gifted and learned priest here and here, as well his online archive of magnificently produced body of work here.

A man with a firm grasp of the true nature of Islam & the challenges ahead for the Western World he opined in '06:

To purify Islam by ridding it of the current rulers who are declared to be apostates and no better than infidels, to compel the submission of the Christian West (meaning mainly America), and to achieve eternal bliss by sacrificing one's life (if necessary, in suicide attacks)—these are the driving motivations behind Jihadism. Such is the appeal, not to the poor and disenfranchised of the 'Arab street' but to the brightest and best of the relatively well-educated and well-off of young Muslims, both at home and abroad, who are seething with resentment over centuries of what they view as humiliation by the West and are bent upon vengeance to the glory of God.

After September 11, First Things worried editorially about the meaning of an open-ended conflict and the applicability of just-war doctrine when it may be impossible to specify the meaning of victory. That is a continuing worry. Perhaps it is forever, or at least as far as we can see into the future, and the best we can hope for is containment of the threat. To clear our minds of cant and prepare for the future, we need a new but very different 'Letter X' such as that written by George Kennan in 1947, preparing us for the long contest with the Soviet Union.

Lastly, close to 9 years ago Father Neuhaus had written about the concept of death:

We are born to die. Not that death is the purpose of our being born, but we are born toward death, and in each of our lives the work of dying is already underway. The work of dying well is, in largest part, the work of living well. Most of us are at ease in discussing what makes for a good life, but we typically become tongue-tied and nervous when the discussion turns to a good death. As children of a culture radically, even religiously, devoted to youth and health, many find it incomprehensible, indeed offensive, that the word "good" should in any way be associated with death. Death, it is thought, is an unmitigated evil, the very antithesis of all that is good.

Death is to be warded off by exercise, by healthy habits, by medical advances. What cannot be halted can be delayed, and what cannot forever be delayed can be denied. But all our progress and all our protest notwithstanding, the mortality rate holds steady at 100 percent.

Death is the most everyday of everyday things. It is not simply that thousands of people die every day, that thousands will die this day, although that too is true. Death is the warp and woof of existence in the ordinary, the quotidian, the way things are. It is the horizon against which we get up in the morning and go to bed at night, and the next morning we awake to find the horizon has drawn closer. From the twelfth-century Enchiridion Leonis comes the nighttime prayer of children of all ages: "Now I lay me down to sleep, I pray thee Lord my soul to keep; if I should die before I wake, I pray thee Lord my soul to take." Every going to sleep is a little death, a rehearsal for the real thing.

Read entire piece here.

Hat Tip: Da Mihi Animas
Hat Tip: The Corner-NRO

HRH on the front lines

The British Patriot, Prince Harry, has, apparently, been serving God, Queen & Country over the last 2 months in Afghanistan! A Lieutenant in the Blues & Royals Regiment the Prince has been in Helmand Province fighting the dastardly Taliban thugs...

The battlefield air controller has been aiding in calling in airstrikes so that we can send more retrograde Muslims to meet Allah & gain their 72 virgins!!!

Godspeed your Royal Highness...