𝕮𝖚𝖗𝖙 𝕵𝖊𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗

Retired Navy Chief, Catholic convert from atheism, geek, programmer, headbanger, and Mac switcher, Curt Jester blogger, book lover of theology and SF.

[Alan Cornett @alancornett]

The good folks at Realtor DOT com
Seem to be channeling their inner Henry VIII:

[Amy Welborn @amywelborn2]

Read it. Doing a podcast on it tomorrow. There's big missing pieces, but I have to work out what they are. It should have been 2 docs, not one - 1/4 of it is on war and international relations, with very little reference to AI, which was odd to me. Best insight was basically, "you want transhumanism? We have the best transhumanism, thanks to the Incarnation, etc."

[𝕮𝖚𝖗𝖙 𝕵𝖊𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗 @CurtJester]

That awkward moment when your priest asks veterans to standup on Memorial Day and you are pretty sure you are not a dead veteran.

[Carl E. Olson @carleolson]

My thanks to all of you who responded to my short but urgent request yesterday. I deeply appreciate it. And I know that your prayers were answered.

Many of you know that our middle child, Gavin (now 21), almost died from cancer in the summer/fall of 2024, having been given about a 40-50% of survival with aggressive chemo. Since his full recovery in October of that year, he has been working long hours (as a cook). I had not seen him for a few months, but we had a lengthy text conversation three days ago.

Yesterday morning, I got a call: Gavin and a friend had been in a very serious one-car accident in Eugene. His friend, the driver, was killed instantly. (Please pray for his soul; it's a horrific situation.) Some who saw the aftermath have stated in FB posts how shocked they were that anyone survived the wreck, as the car drove directly into a large tree just off the freeway.

Gavin suffered a broken vertebra, a badly broken left hand, several deep bruises, and a brain bleed. Thankfully, the bleed appears to be "minor". Yesterday afternoon/evening, he underwent about six hours of surgery for his back and hand. Both surgeries were deemed successful by the doctors.

My wife and I visited Gavin today, and it was heartbreaking. Of course, we're deeply relieved that he's alive. But to see him, once again, in a hospital bed, broken and bruised and in pain, was tough, to say the least. Because he was sedated, he was not very lucid, but we spent some time with him and told him that we loved him.

It appears that he will make a strong physical recovery. But our deeper concern is for his spiritual and emotional well-being. These are the sort of events that can impact and shape one's life in a variety of ways. Please keep him in your prayers if you are able, and I will provide updates. God bless you all.

[𝕮𝖚𝖗𝖙 𝕵𝖊𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗 @CurtJester]

Ascension Thursday Rant Minus the Rant, by @CurtJester https://t.co/i7Se9avnEt

[National Catholic Register @NCRegister]

A beautiful #AshWednesday story from Msgr. James Shea: "A couple of years ago, I was on a flight on Ash Wednesday, and the stewardess came back to me and knelt down in the aisle where I was sitting, and she began to cry. She said, 'I wasn't able to go to mass today on Ash Wednesday because I'm working morning till night, Father. Would you happen to have any ashes?' I couldn't believe it. I had a little vial of ashes in the overhead compartment up on top, and I'm not like Father Boy Scout, I'm not usually prepared in that way, but I had some ashes, and so I said yes, I do, and I took them down, and I imposed ashes upon her while she knelt there. By the end of the flight, the two other stewardesses, one of the pilots, and more than half of the plane had followed her and had knelt down in the aisle to receive ashes. This is the hope with which we live, and it's latent in people, it only needs to be activated by our witness."

#ashwednesday #catholic

[𝕮𝖚𝖗𝖙 𝕵𝖊𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗 @CurtJester]

Be my Sts Cyril and Methodius

[𝕮𝖚𝖗𝖙 𝕵𝖊𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗 @CurtJester]

Reading Tobit where Tobit had left a large sum of money to someone in the town of Rages in Media. I thought "Rages in Media" is a fine pundit site name. It would take some ability to pull off and there might not be ten talents who could do so. It would at least take some gall.

[𝕮𝖚𝖗𝖙 𝕵𝖊𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗 @CurtJester]

Unlike the Apostles, those who cause schism become fissures of men.

[𝕮𝖚𝖗𝖙 𝕵𝖊𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗 @CurtJester]

https://t.co/n4sWBnANfj

[Carl E. Olson @carleolson]

From my short but fun @cworldreport interview with the wonderful Dale Ahlquist about his new @IgnatiusPress book:

CWR: Why did you feel another autobiography of Chesterton was necessary?

Ahlquist: Maybe “worthwhile” is a better word than “necessary.” Nobody complains that Rembrandt painted more than one self-portrait.

CWR: But you point out that some people are “disappointed,” as it were, by Chesterton’s original autobiography.

Ahlquist: Well, there is the repeated criticism that he showed notable neglect of the main character in that book. It seems it was easy for him to write about anything other than himself.

CWR: So you, in effect, found a way to get him to talk about himself.

Ahlquist: Rather, I snuck up on him and caught him talking about himself while he was talking about everything else.

CWR: Will readers find anything new in this book?

Ahlquist: They will find new stuff from Chesterton that they’ve never read before. I make it a point to draw primarily from his uncollected writings. Most of the material that comprises this volume has not been seen for over a century.

CWR: What are some of the surprises?

Ahlquist: I’ll give you a doubly disappointing answer. First, the most surprising, even astonishing thing about Chesterton is how utterly consistent he is. He simply does not contradict himself; he only confirms himself. So in that sense, he says nothing new, even if he says the same thing in a new way. But that is one reason people enjoy reading him and keep reading him. They want more of the same. However, there are some surprises in this book–but I’m not going to give away any of them!

CWR: Not even one little one?

Ahlquist: Okay, Chesterton once met Bram Stoker, the author of Dracula. I’ll bet no one knew that.

[Amy Welborn @amywelborn2]

I went to Mass at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart at the University of Notre Dame this evening.

I only observed (at times, because you know, I'm supposed to be praying and I WAS) one Communion line, but I cannot tell you how many young people knelt to receive Communion. It was A LOT.

And even if they didn't kneel, most received on the tongue, not on the hand.

The mindset that determines that this devotion merits an immediate re-education camp...is beyond me.

[Leah Libresco Sargeant @LeahLibresco]

.@PillarCatholic is pledging to “to pay 75% of all employee family adoption costs and of the costs for all fertility treatment undertaken in accord with the doctrine of the Church.”

And is asking dioceses/Catholic businesses to do the same for their employees.

[𝕮𝖚𝖗𝖙 𝕵𝖊𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗 @CurtJester]

The Spiritual Life, by @CurtJester https://t.co/IcY1J4Svh2

[Matt Swaim @mattswaim]

Rock meets Roll

[𝕮𝖚𝖗𝖙 𝕵𝖊𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗 @CurtJester]

Being today is a Memorial for Saint Hildegard, I think she should be the patron saint of worthwhile streaming series. The patron saint of Bingen.

[𝕮𝖚𝖗𝖙 𝕵𝖊𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗 @CurtJester]

"And there was again war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number, and he also was descended from the giants." 1 Chron 20:6

Suspect the extra digits, scribal error in the city of Ai (הָעַי)

[𝕮𝖚𝖗𝖙 𝕵𝖊𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗 @CurtJester]

Today would be a good day to pray for St. Frassati to intercede for the conversion of young adults. That they may give in to Pier pressure.

[𝕮𝖚𝖗𝖙 𝕵𝖊𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗 @CurtJester]

Sometimes, when I think about the movie "Groundhog Day," I wonder what skills I would pursue if I had that much time to do so.

Then I wonder if perhaps I would have a lot of time to develop them if I stopped doomscrolling.

I guess I will never know. Oh, did you hear about ....

[𝕮𝖚𝖗𝖙 𝕵𝖊𝖘𝖙𝖊𝖗 @CurtJester]

What is your distance from Jesus on the Cross?, by @CurtJester https://t.co/LH7q0cOHpO