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I can't claim Abraham as an ancestor. My ancestors very likely hadn't even heard of Abraham and Isaac until missionaries arrived, and I've mentioned that before. I have, however, learned a bit about our Lord's family history. That brings me to the Elijah cup my wife and I bought, some years back. Make that decades. My wife and I got it while in Minnesota's Twin Cities, for a brother-in-law's wedding, which puts it in the 1990s. Elijah's Cup in Context "Remember This Day...." Moses, Pharaoh — — The Late Bronze Age Collapse, George Washington, and Me Overheard While Getting Our Elijah's Cup Taking Traditions Seriously (More at A Catholic Citizen in America .) (How and why the Passover Seder began, What I think about Moses, academic fashions, and buying either a properly-prepared item or a cheap imitation.) (I know: this topic is related to Lent, not Advent. But it's what I came up with this week.)

I haven't researched it, but I'm guessing that 'animals are conscious' headlines peaked about two months back. " If Animals Are Conscious, What about Us? " Crawford Kilian, The Tyee (April 29, 2024) " Scientists push new paradigm of animal consciousness, saying even insects may be sentient " Evan Bush, NBC News (April 19, 2024) " It's 'irresponsible' to ignore widespread consciousness across animal world, dozens of scientists argue " Saul Elbein, The Hill (April 19, 2024) "Animal consciousness" makes more sense than some headlines suggest — so this week I'll be talking about new research, old ideas, and how I see being human. Science, Attitudes, and Conscious Animals "Unholy Trinity", "Heretics", Galileo — Folklore is Fine, But ... Conscious? A Better Term Would be "Sentient" Of Mice and Men and Little Albert Animals, People, and Paying Attention "Little Less T...

Advent doesn't start for another week, but my country's Christmas season is already off to a running start. I've mentioned Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, Buckster Bunny and "I Yust Go Nuts at Christmas" before. Maybe I will again, but not this week. This is another 'clip post': excerpts from stuff I’ve posted before.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (A quick pre-Advent review: Deborah, Barak, and Jael,wife of Heber; Judith and editors; examination of conscience. Also the Macy parade and Buckster Bunny.)

On his way back from World Youth Day in Lisbon, Pope Francis said that folks who aren't perfect can be Catholics. Since he was a tad more specific in how he expressed the idea, we got headlines like this: "Pope Francis restates Catholic Church is for everyone, including LGBTQ+ people" (ABC News). This week I'm taking a quick look at the news, and a longer look at why I'm okay with being Catholic. Pope Francis and the News Being Catholic — Two Millennia of Wildly Improbable Survival Definitions — Acting Like it Matters Happiness, Lust, Sin and Making Sense Wheat, Weeds, and What Pope Francis Said Not 'Just Us' Sodom, Gomorrah, and Lot's Guests — or — Evil is Not Nice Responsibility More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Pope Francis: the Catholic Church is for everyone, including LGBT. A quick look at news, a longer look at why acting like I am Catholic makes sense.)

This post should be online just after midnight, on the morning of Ash Wednesday Meanwhile, New Orleans will have almost six hours of their Mardi Gras left. There's a reason for that, and it's not that New Orleans Mardi Gras folks are ignoring Lent. A Catholic Citizen in America is on UTC time, Greenwich Mean Time's successor. Midnight, UTC, is 6:00 p.m. in New Orleans, Louisiana. 1 Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday: Meat, Cheese and New Orleans Lent: Pointing Myself Towards God Original Sin: Living With Consequences Wounded, But Still Basically Good The Bible, Very Briefly Goals: Short- and Long-Term Simple, Yes; Easy, No Looking Back at Lent 2022 More at A Catholic Citizen in America . (Mardi Gras, very briefly. The purpose of Lent. Original sin and consequences. The Bible, briefly. Goals, short and long term.)

(From Thomas Cole, via Museum of Fine Arts, Boston & Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.) ("Expulsion from the Garden of Eden," Thomas Cole. (1828)) We celebrated the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary this Wednesday. It's a big deal — a Holy Day of Obligation — because Mary is our Lord's mother. And because Mary is the only one of us born without original sin. Original sin is not the notion that humans are utterly depraved, bad to the core. We're still "very good" and made "in the image of God." More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

The University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research has learned that more than half of all Americans think evolution is real. Seems that 2016 was the tipping point. That's when my country, on average, decided to step into the late 19th century. Or stopped listening to Bible-thumpers. Or started learning about science. At any rate: More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

COVID-19, a coronavirus disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, is still spreading. Thousands have died. Nearly 900,000 have been infected. A great many more are affected, directly or indirectly. Some are behaving badly. We cannot cure this disease. We can only endure it, or die trying. That's the bad news. The good news, part of it, is that this isn't the 14th century. We've learned a bit since the Black Death was spreading across Eurasia. Quite a bit, actually. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

I'm a Christian. I take my faith seriously. That's why I think part of my job is evangelizing. Which doesn't necessarily mean I'm an evangelist. For some folks, an evangelist is someone like Saints Mark , Luke and John . "The Evangelist" often gets added to their name. Saint Matthew is an evangelist, too. So are Saints like Augustine of Hippo , Francis of Assisi , Francis Xavier and Thérèse of Lisieux . 1 "Evangelist" has quite a few meanings. Merriam-Webster says it's a Protestant minister or someone who enthusiastically advocates something. Oxforddictionaries.com adds "...the writer of one of the four Gospels...." I don't know about the 'enthusiastic' part, but I think sharing what I believe is a good idea. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Last week for World Communications Day, Pope Francis released a statement saying that “fake news” is as old as the Garden of Eden. He urged the faithful to share information responsibly. He said that the spread of fake news leads to an increase of arrogance and hatred. He’s right. The devil isn’t just the inventor of fake news. He hasn’t let up since that story in Genesis. He is and always will be the Father of Lies and yes, the Prince of Fake News too. To prove my point, take a look at some of his best (or worst, I suppose) headlines. THE NEW SUPERFOOD THAT GOD DOESN'T WANT YOU TO KNOW ABOUT!! Ah, yes. The First Fake News. Pope Francis talked about how this incident was so similar to what happens today. The devil used manipulation and fabrication of facts to confuse and trick Eve. She thought she was getting an easy way to find equal footing with God. Boy, was she in for a miserable surprise! CONTINUE READING 

I'm a Christian. So why, one might ask, am I not denouncing something most folks enjoy: like demon rum or Bingo? Or playing the Grinch for Halloween? Or enjoying a friendly pint with the boys, but adding my voice to the ensemble 'prophesying' the purported perils of fantasy and imagination? Or at least stalwartly refusing to learn anything we didn't know before the 18th century.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Which came first? The butterfly or the flower? And how did flowers happen at all? The question hasn't been answered yet, not quite. But scientists are closer to finding answers. Meanwhile, wondering whether chickens or eggs came first gives philosophers something to do. Aristotle came up with an answer. So did Anaximander, who figured thunder and lightning were natural events: not evidence of divine anger issues. I'll talk about those two, beetles, and Orlando Ferguson's flat Earth map. Also butterflies, flowers and why I think pursuing truth and seeking God work together. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

As a parent, I have a responsibility to imitate God’s loving guidance for my children. God, in His infinite perfection, is the Perfect Father, and parents have to model their child-rearing after Him. Consequently, the way we parent our children will have lasting effects on the way they perceive God. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become acutely aware of the similarities in how I talk to God and how I talk to my own dad. It’s amazing how my mind has categorized the two so closely. Now that puts a lot of pressure (as if we didn’t have enough already) on parents. I have wonderful parents who were exemplary models of God to my siblings and myself, but that is not a universal experience. I constantly remind myself of my need to be loving, just, kind, merciful, and forgiving to my children, lest I place a stumbling block in their path to God. One of the big perks of this responsibility is the ability to say, “Because I told you so.” .... Click to read the rest at "Messy Buns ...

This universe is bigger and older than some folks thought, a few centuries back. I don't mind, at all. Besides, it's hardly new information. We've known that we live in a big world for a long time. " 4 Indeed, before you the whole universe is as a grain from a balance, or a drop of morning dew come down upon the earth." ( Wisdom 11:22 ) If that bit from Wisdom doesn't sound familiar, I'm not surprised. It's not in the Bibles many Americans have. The one I read and study frequently is the unexpurgated version.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Everyone loves a good motivational quote. These little bite-sized mantras have the power to refocus our attention and push us to achieve before unreachable goals. I’ve got one from Winnie the Pooh hanging by my front door, one above my cabinets, one usually on my whiteboard, and one each on my laptop and cell phone wallpapers. Have you heard this one before? “If you want to be a miserable failure, just do what makes you happy.” Yes, you read that right. This opinion piece from a few weeks back  got me thinking. It boils down to the fact that while we often tell ourselves and our children to “just do what makes you happy in life”, if you really want to be successful, you need to put in the hard work, get out of bed when you don’t want to, and maybe turn off Netflix next time it asks, “are you still there” instead of continuing the binge of  Marvel’s Defenders . Keep reading here

Another gravitational wave observation gave scientists the best evidence yet about one aspect of merging stars. On August 17, 2017, folks with the LIGO/Virgo collaboration observed three clusters of gravitational waves. This time astronomers found an infrared, visible, and X-ray event near where the gravitational wave source. The August gravitational wave observation, GW170817, is the first one where astronomers found electromagnetic waves coming from the same spot. It's a very big deal. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

I think that God knows everything, including what I'll do for the rest of my life. I also think I have free will, deciding what I do for the rest of my life. I'm not, however, emulating the White Queen.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

The world didn't end last Saturday. That's nothing new, and neither is another fizzled End Times prediction. I'll be talking about how a current End Times prediction affected someone whose name is the same as the wannabe prophet's; but is an entertainer, not a doomsayer. I'll also take a look at the continuing, and serious, search for Planet 9; predictions involving close encounters of the cometary kind; and what we're learning about the outer Solar System.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Danae's odd view of Papal infallibility isn't accurate. ( July 30, 2017 ) But I'm not upset by Non Sequitur's 'Church of Danae,' particularly since I see the funny side of the cultural quirks Wiley Miller highlights. I do, however, occasionally use Danae's distinctive theology and Eddie's "Biblical Prophecies" as a contrast to my faith. I'm a Christian, and a Catholic. I have well-defined views on social and legal issues: but I am not conservative or liberal. I'm Catholic. That means acting as if Jesus, love, and people matter.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

I think pursuing knowledge and truth is a good idea. That's probably why Tennyson's "Ulysses" is one of my favorite poems. It's the source of my Google Plus tagline: "To follow knowledge like a sinking star, Beyond the utmost bound of human thought." ( March 26, 2017 ) I'll be talking about science, faith, and why I see no problem with admiring God's work. Also the Flat Earth Society's origin, and my own silly notion: a doughnut-shaped Earth. But first, an excerpt from Apollodorus that reminded me of the pottery metaphor in Genesis 2:7 : "...Prometheus moulded men out of water and earth and gave them also fire...." (Apollodorus, The Library, Book 1, 1.7.1 ; via The Theoi Classical Texts Library) Bible translations I grew up with often called the material in Genesis 2:7 "clay." The Hebrew the word is אדמה , adamah /adama. It means ground, land, or earth — dirt. I use the The New American Bible these days, wher...