Metamorphosis (Formerly Bible Catholic)

Saint Dominic's involvement in the Rosary that we know and love today is not without some controversy. The tradition is that St. Dominic had experienced a vision of Mary, Mother of Jesus, and in this vision she encouraged recitation of the Rosary. In almost every large Catholic church to this day, there is an image of Mary handing a pair of rosaries to St. Dominic.  According to Pope Saint Pius V, writing in 1569, St. Dominic, by the early 13th century, began to promote the recitation of "the Rosary, or Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary" in order to combat the Albigensian heresy. "This same method St. Dominic propagated...Christ's faithful, inflamed by these prayers, began immediately to be changed into new men. The darkness of heresy began to be dispelled, and the light of the Catholic Faith to be revealed." Saint Dominic and other Dominican friars were involved in the promotion and development of the Rosary as we know it today: Meditation upon Gospel

Mi última blog. Voy a regresar a los EEUU en menos de 24 horas. Voy a seguir para mantener a los amigos que he hecho en mis pensamientos y oraciones. Hoy me reuniré con mi profesora de español para revisar ... ¡todo!

Hoy es mi último sábado de Guatemala. Esta mañana otros dos estudiantes y yo vamos a hacer algo de senderismo y observación de aves. Voy a tratar de usar más de tiempo presente en la conversación de hoy. ¡Es difícil! Today is my last Saturday in Guatemala. This morning two other students and I are going to do some hiking and bird watching. I will try to use more than the present tense in conversing today. It's hard!

I could stay in Antigua another month--easily. It's a nice little city. An easy place to live if you have the financial means-a few dollars goes a long way here. Much harder for the Guatemalans who work very hard for ever Quetzal they earn, which is worth 1/7th of a dollar. It's also an easy city within which to be a Priest. Most folks here love Priests. They treat us very well. It is refreshing to see crowded churches and full adoration chapels. Podría quedarme en Antigua otro mes - fácilmente. Es una pequeña ciudad agradable. Un lugar fácil para vivir si usted tiene los medios financieros. Unos pocos dólares compra mucho aquí. Es mucho más difícil para los guatemaltecos que trabajan muy duro para siempre Quetzal que ganan, que vale 1/7 de un dólar. También es una ciudad fácil de ser un sacerdote. La mayoría de la gente aquí les encanta Sacerdotes. Nos tratan muy bien. Es refrescante ver capillas e iglesias llenas de personas todas las horas cada día.

Estoy en el punto medio de mi segunda semana en Guatemala. Guatemala es un país hermoso con un montón de grandes personas y la historia natural. El español está saliendo bien. Yo estoy hablando más que cuando llegué por primera vez. Además, mi vocabulario y la gramática se ha expandido. Las personas son casi, sin excepción, agradables. Es muy fácil hablar con extraños en Antigua. La mayoría son pacientes con lento aprendizaje como yo. La comida es muy fresca aquí. Hay muchas fincas circa de Antigua, aunque también muchas pobres. La vida silvestre aquí es diferente y bastante abundante. Es notable la cantidad de vegetación, en la ciudad y granjas y bosques tambien. ¡Otra noticia en uno o dos diás! I am at the halfway point of my second week in Guatemala. Guatemala is a beautiful country with a lot of great people and natural history. The Spanish is coming along well. Albeit slowly. But I am definitely speaking more than when I first arrived. Also, my vocabulary and grammar has expan

        In one of his most controversial paragraphs, Pope Francis writes, "A very solid scientific consensus indicates that we are presently witnessing a disturbing warming of the climatic system...even if a scientifically determinable cause cannot be assigned to each particular phenomenon."        It's necessary to pause right there for a moment. The Pope stated, "a scientifically determinable cause" for every particular instance of identifiable climate change cannot be determined. Therefore, it would be erroneous to argue that Pope Francis is endorsing every proposed political solution to perceived climate change. Pope Francis does clearly say that humanity is "called to recognize the need for  changes of lifestyle, production and consumption , in order to combat this warming or at least the human causes which produce or aggravate it." (No. 23, emphasis added)         But  rather than taking sides in a politically partisan debate, Francis is comm

        Pope Francis has been wrongly characterized by some as a luddite or a socialist. But Francis is neither of these things. Francis does not see capitalism itself as the problem but rather, unbridled capitalism. It is this raw form of capitalism which exploits people and societies for fleeting economic gains that the pope excoriates. (No. 51-52, 106, 128) According to Francis, there is a widespread delusion "of infinite or unlimited growth, which proves so attractive to economists, financiers and experts in technology. It is based on the lie that there is an infinite supply of the earth’s goods, and this leads to the planet being squeezed dry beyond every limit." (No. 106)         Francis does not see science and technology as the problem, but rather a kind of scientism, the refusal to admit there are other ways of arriving at truth--i.e. religion and philosophy--to the realm of fantasy, as a problem. Pope Francis refers to the dangers of turning science and technolog

Fue una muy buena primera semana. Estudié duro. Concelebré dos Misas. Tuve un examen completo de este viernes con base en el material de la primera semana. Y yo pasé. Acabo de empezar mi segunda semana en Antigua este fin de semana. Que hice? Después de un largo concelebré Misa con una gran multitud de esta mañana, me decidí a estudiar español en la calle. Así que por cerca de cinco horas me puse mi minúscula española a la prueba. Hablando con la gente común. La gente en Antigua, Guatemala son en su mayoría bastante agradable. Hablan español relativamente despacio y con claridad. Y son muy educados. Ahora estoy listo para estudiar un poco más. It was a very good first week. I studied hard. I concelebrated two Masses. I had a comprehensive exam on Friday based upon the first week's material. And I passed.  I just began my second week in Antigua this weekend. What did I do? After I concelebrated a lengthy Mass with a standing-room only crowd this morning, I decided to study S

      In my previous reflection on Pope Francis' encyclical about caring for the planet earth as our common home, I focused upon the importance of the Genesis accounts of Creation to the Pope's thesis.  Fundamental truths that transcend the literary forms of the first few chapters of Genesis include: Human beings are comprised of the same matter as the earth. Our mortal fates are intertwined with the fate of the earth: "we breathe her air and we receive life and refreshment from her waters," the Pope writes. God proclaimed the universe He created, including every human being, as "very good." (Gen 1:31) Moreover, every man and woman is created out of love and made in God’s image and likeness (cf. Gen 1:26).  And because of this, the Biblical truth is that every human being has "immense dignity" and is "not just something, but someone."               We ascertain the value, beauty, and dignity of Creation from revealed, meta

Yo estoy cansado. Hoy, yo completé mi cuarto día de clases. Mañana es un examen. Gramática. Es imposible aprender un idioma sin gramática. Créeme. ¡ Yo tengo que estudiar! I'm tired. My sixth day in Guatemala and my fourth day of classes. And I have an exam tomorrow morning.  Note: It's impossible to learn a language without grammar.  I have to study.

Tercer día de instrucción Español. Cientos de verbos y conjugaciones para memorizar. Siete horas por día en el aula. Por lo menos dos horas al día las tereas. Me duele el cerebro. Third day of Spanish classes. I have hundreds of verbs and conjugation tables to memorize. Seven hours per day in the classroom and at least two hours per day of homework. My brain hurts.

Mi primer día de clases fue riguroso. Esto es como el Boot Camp de Español. Esta noche me concelebró una misa en la clase despues de La Merced. La Fiesta de San Pedro y San Pablo. El celebrante principal, Padre Eddy, me dio muchas partes de la Misa que decir. Mi anfitriona es una cocinera fabulosa. Después de la cena, mi anfitriona y algunos otros huéspedes de la casa vieron Volcán Fuego arrojan lava. Estoy asistiendo a un estudio bíblico español esta noche. ¡Más práctica! My first day of school was rigorous. This is like Spanish boot camp. Tonight I concelebrated a Mass at La Merced despues class. La Fiesta de San Pedro y San Pablo. The main celebrant, Padre Eddy, gave me many parts of the Mass to say.  My hosting family cooked a great meal. After dinner, my hosts and some house guests watched Volcán Fuego spew lava.  I am attending a Spanish Bible study tonight. ¡More practice!

Dos observaciones: Hay más diversidad económica en L'Antigua de lo que esperaba. He visto algunos casos extremos de pobreza. Pero también hay signos de prosperidad. Antigua está llena de pequeñas empresas y tiendas. Los lugareños son muy cortés. Yo Misa concelebrada en la actualidad Española. El pastor me presentó a la gente. Muchas personas me dieron la bienvenida después de la Misa. La Misa fue solamente una habitación permanente. Tienen misas casi cada hora sobre la hora el domingo. Señor, ayúdanos a desear para conformar nuestra vida a tus caminos. Two observations: There is more economic diversity in L'Antigua than I expected. I've seen some extreme cases of poverty. But there are also signs of prosperity. Antigua is full of small businesses and stores. Locals are very courteous. I concelebrated Mass in Spanish today. The pastor introduced me and many people welcomed me after Mass. Mass was standing room only. They have Masses almost every hour on the hour on S

My first day in Guatemala. Filippe, who works for the language school, met me in the city of Guatemala. He took me to L'Antigua and introduced me to the family I'm living with. Vinicio and Delia and her family are very nice.  They introduced me to some neighbors, including the pastor of the church nearby. La Merced (Mercy)is the nearby Catholic Church. It looks like a Spanish cathedral.

Mi primer día en Guatemala.  Filippe, que trabaja para la escuela de idiomas, me recibió en la ciudad de Guatemala. Él me llevó a L'Antigua y me presentó a la familia estoy viviendo con.  Vinicio y Delia y su familia son muy agradables. Se me presentó a algunos vecinos, incluyendo el pastor de la iglesia cerca.  La Merced es la Iglesia Católica y es cerca. Se parece a una catedral Española.

Llegué en Antigua, Guatemala.  I have arrived in L'Antigua, Guatemala.

Sábado por la mañana: estoy practicando Español en el aeropuerto. Para el beneficio de los lectores ingleses que estoy ofreciendo esta traducción: For the benefit of English readers I am offering this translation:  For the next 27 days I will speak only Spanish.  Saturday morning: I am practicing Spanish in the airport.

Clothes for wearing Clothes for giving away Breviary (both English and Spanish) Bible (bilingual edition) Small Mass kit Sketch pad Pens and pencils Medicine Passport Am I forgetting anything? Los productos que estoy trayendo a Guatemala: Ropa para que me ponga Ropa para regalar Breviario (Inglés y Español) Biblia (edición bilingüe) Kit Misa Pequeño Cuaderno de dibujo Plumas y lápices Medicina Pasaporte ¿Estoy olvidando algo?

       A recent newspaper column made the comment, regarding the Pope's new encyclical, "Francis knows how to direct the spotlight." With respect to the encyclical, Laudato Si', I would instead point out that Pope Francis puts the spotlight on the question: What is the Lord's will for us?--with respect for this earthly home He has entrusted us with, and with respect to the human nature He has given us?        For insight in answering this question, Francis, no doubt guided by the Holy Spirit, looks to Scripture, Tradition, and the Magisterium. Hopefully, this fact doesn't come as a surprise to Catholics. But a non-Catholic reader of the Pope's lengthy encyclical might overlook this point.       The many Scriptural references made by Pope Francis are worth highlighting. But for this article, I will focus on Genesis. Francis notes that in Genesis, God reveals to us that we are comprised of the "dust of the earth (cf. Gen 2:7); our very bodies are ma

A few days ago, a popular conservative radio host referred to the Pope's new encyclical as "a Marxist rant."  However, in his encyclical, Laudato Si' , Pope Francis repeatedly refers to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He also quotes from all four Gospels, as well as the books of Genesis, Exodus, Wisdom, and 1 Corinthians. The Pope quotes various regional Bishops conferences including, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops, the 5th General Conference of Latin American and Caribbean Bishops, the Bishops' Conference of the Philippines, the Bolivian Bishops' Conference, the German Bishops' Conference, and the Bishops of the Patagonia-Comahue Region of Argentina. Pope Francis cites the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, the Catechism of the Catholic Church, and the writings of Pope Benedict. He refers to Mary, the Woman, “clothed in the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a cr