Catholic Science: No Fear

Another great post from The Deeps of Time.

(Re)discovering the Mass

A great post by a fallen-away Catholic who rediscovered the Mass by asking questions about how the first Christians worshiped:

As a happily free range Christian I became really interested in the Jewishness of Christianity and wanted to learn more. As a consequence of this, I held a couple of Seder meals.
During the preparations for the second one (only in 2008) I was thinking alot about how very 'liturgical' the Jewish year was...

Turning this over in my mind got me thinking about church. What exactly did they do, those first Jewish Christians when they got together to 'do church'?

The more I pondered it, and the more I observed the Jewish traditions, the more inconceivable it seemed to me that the first Christians simply gathered together for a rousing rendition of the first century equivalent of Shine Jesus Shine and then listened to an 'excellent talk'.

Read the rest here.

When consumption masquerades as communion

Some interesting thoughts from Cosmos - Liturgy - Sex about the connection of sacrifice and consumption, and how it's all redeemed in the Mass. An excerpt:

The Genesis imagery of the fall indicates that the instead of achieving communion through this act of total-self gift, [Adam and Eve] instead chose consumption. I would argue that whatever the act of rebellion might have actually been, the choice of the consumption imagery is significant. It suggests that consumption -- communion on man's terms rather than God’s terms -- is to be a perennial problem. In fact, consumption now often masquerades as communion. I believe that this is the anthropology behind what we know as "comfort foods" which are standard recourse for many of us, particularly when we have trouble with relationships of communion.

Read the rest here.

Does Social Networking Kill the Author Mystique?

Some interesting thoughts.

via Aspiring Author

It looks Photoshopped, but it's not

Some interesting images.

The reason behind the joy

Another great post from Betty Duffy. An excerpt:

Where platitudes are concerned, I dislike them because Jesus is not just the reason we celebrate the season, he’s the reason for my entire life. I don't like the idea that I have to cue up warm fuzzy Advent and Christmas feelings simply because I've pressed the pause button on my crazy life. It so rarely works and then I feel disappointed.

Read the rest here.

Scientists spot nearby 'super-Earth'

Neat article. It reminded me of Mark Shea's thought-provoking article from a while back about whether the discovery of alien life would be a problem for the Christian faith.

Secrets from the bottom of the sea

Deep-sea mission in the Gulf of Oman reveals stunning new details behind mystery sinking of World War II Nazi submarine.

For America's Santas, It's Hard to Be Jolly With the Tales They're Hearing

An interesting but sad Wall Street Journal article about how this year kids are asking Santas for things like shoes, eyeglasses and a job for daddy.

Quote to ponder

"Why should we defend ourselves when we are misunderstood and misjudged? Let us leave that aside. Let us not say anything. It is so sweet to let others judge us in any way they like. O blessed silence, which gives so much peace to the soul!"

-St Therese of Lisieux

Can you name the corporate logo?

Kinda fun, but also kinda scary how many I got right.

via Rocks in My Dryer

Gifts for her

For those of you who don't follow my other blog, last week I posted some gift ideas for women.

View the universe in different wavelengths

Wow, very cool!

Random book title generator

Amusing.

Want to go into space?

Just fill out this form and pay the $200,000 fee!

Winter as a time of reflection

Some great thoughts from the Political Housewyf:

As we work through Advent, the season is darkening in the Northern Hemisphere. We are approaching not only Christmas, but the darkest night of the year...Summer is lovely, but we can’t keep up that pace forever. Winter forces us to stop, to wait. In our modern world, we turn up the heat, put on extra clothes, and head out to work: winter, summer, rain, shine, whatever. For most of human history, however, winter meant staying at home, scraping by on what you had harvested over the summer, thinking about the year past, and planning for the year to come.

Read the rest here.

Thoughtful homemade gift ideas

Some great ideas here.

Taking a closer look at Dubai's economic crisis

An interesting article talking about how most people assumed that Dubai's meteoric rise to world prominence was funded by oil money; turns out, it was funded mostly by taking on debt.

"We are the needy"

A beautiful post.

An interesting look at Catholic teen subculture

Inspiring.

New theories about the cause of Jane Austen's death

Interesting.