Musings of a Catholic Convert

It would appear that Brett Favre has been traded to the New York Jets.  According to Yahoo Sports, The Green Bay Packers traded Quarterback Brett Favre to the New York Jets for a draft pick, 2 llamas, and an unopened bag of Funyuns.  Whether or not cash was involved in the trade is unclear at this point.  What I do know is that there is still no happy ending apparent in the debacle that surrounds Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers.  

What do I think?  I think Favre should have stayed retired.  If he didn't want to retire, he shouldn't have retired.  Players retiring then coming back rarely, if ever, turns out well.  If there is going to be a comeback, let's put David Hasselhoff back in KITT and revive Knight Rider.  Enough of this Mustang KITT.  Let's put the Hoff back in the sweet ride, eh?  

Montana as a 49er or as a Chief?

Rice as a 49er or as a Raider?

Ryan Leaf, maybe you need to come back to the NFL.  I mean, you did so well.  Let's just let everybody come back in.  Retirement means nothing in sports.  Brett Favre can retire in 2009 (again) as a Jet.  Then, if he's unhappy, he can unretire and see if he can get picked up by somebody else.  Oh, and good luck in the AFC East.  Enjoy playing the Patriots twice this season.  

This has not been pretty and it's not over.  Pride comes before a fall, and there is enough pride out there to cause a whole lot of falling. 

I am a fan of burritos, and I've enjoyed sampling the offerings at several Memphis area establishments.  Now, let me tell you, it's hard to go wrong with a burrito.  It's just not something you can really mess up too badly.  I've had my favorites.  In fact, my favorite burrito USED TO BE the big burritos from Guadalajara near the corner of Mendenhall and Winchester.  Sunday, the title's changed hands.  My new favorite burrito comes from. . .

steady . . .

wait for it, boys . . .

almost there . . .

Burma Shave. . .

Did you even get that?

Okay.  Before I tell you about Burma Shave, let me tell you that my favorite burrito can be purchased at Su Casa in Collierville, TN.  Muy delicioso!  For the same price as my big honkin' burrito at Guadalajara, I can get a bigger burrito with rice and beans on the side.  AND this one has white cheese sauce on it as well.  I had to eat it with a fork, but I did not mind.  Something so delicous was made to savor.  I didn't even finish the whole thing, and was forced (in shame) to take a portion home in a box for later.  

DID I MENTION IT WAS DELICIOUS?  FULL OF PEPPERS, ONIONS, GRILLED STEAK, GRILLED TOMATOES, MAYBE EVEN A PINCH OF CINNAMON. MMMMMMM.

Great place to take the family to eat.  I heartily recommend the place.

I don't know whether or not you have been able to log in to the Codex Sinaiticus online or not, but this morning I was able to get in and look through the texts.  Folks, you need to prepare your minds to be blown.  As my friends and coworkers know, I am a language nerd.  I was one of those geeks who wandered around campus flipping vocabulary index cards all the time.  Seriously, why waste precious time listening to music or talking on a cell phone when you could be further absorbing vocabulary?  You have to walk to class, you might as well make good use of the walk time.  Note to new students: this does not work quite so well with a textbook and highlighter pen.  You will just have to take my word on that one.  

Back to the Codex Sinaiticus.  The tool is set up beautifully.  There are two types of lighting you can use to view the text.  One is a bright light that eliminates all the waves and shadows on the page so you can read the text more clearly.  The other view allows you to see the waves and shadows.  The text is more difficult to make out, but being able to zoom in and look at the page offers amazing insight into the work of a copyist.  You can see wax marks on some pages.  You can see the patterns of the fading ink.  You can see the ruling marks made by the copyists so that columns and rows were neat and orderly.  Looking over the pen marks, you can see the painstaking detail that went into copying.  This isn't shorthand we're looking at, this is good copy work that took a long time to complete.

Next to the manuscript window is another window that shows the text as it has been transposed to mixed case Greek, with the words separated and verses noted to correspond to the biblical passage.  Textual variants are highlighted and hyperlinked.  A click highlights the clicked word in the transposition and the manuscript.  Rolling over the variant also shows you what the variant is and to what it is being compared (for example, the addition of "kai", usually meaning "and" or "but", to the beginning of Mark 1:5.).  

Below the transposition box is a translation box.  This portion is not yet working, but it would appear that we will have the ability to see translation into multiple languages.  This will be interesting to see once it is up and running.  The site masters of the Codex Sinaiticus online are quick to point out that all texts will not be translated.  This makes sense to me.  They are not trying to create another translation here.

This morning has been wonderful for me.  I've been able to play around with the Codex Sinaiticus online for free.  I was able to look at the texts (I spent most of my time in the Gospel of Mark).  And I got a feel for how this site will work.  Now I have to get my books and vocabulary cards out and start refreshing my memory. 

You're going to have issues getting onto the manuscript page until they solve their bandwidth issues.  Right now they can only have 100,000 concurrent visitors.  The good news is that the rest of the site loads fast and provides excellent insights into the Codex, albeit from a non-Catholic source.  It is interesting to note, however, that this text, along with Codex Vaticanus, help show the canonical tradition of our Old Testament as we have it and not as the Protestants changed it after the 16th century (or the Jews of the 3rd century).  The LXX (Septuagint) version of the Old Testament is still being used, which, and you can argue textual variations all you want, contained the Deuterocanonical books.  This codex also shows us some other texts that were in use in the early Church, but which were not part of the canon.

I really want to get in there and use that tool.  We have to remember though that this is one of the biggest things to hit the internet since my blog began back in 2003.  Give it a few weeks and traffic should slow enough to give a glimpse.  As for me, this browser window will remain open all day as I work, so that I might get a peek into the text and the embedded tools.

In just two days, men and women will have the opportunity to view one of the oldest surviving manuscripts of the New Testament canon.  Codex Sinaiticus is going to be made available online (http://www.codexsinaiticus.org/) through a joint effort by the various international bodies who currently house and protect the manuscripts.  These manuscripts, discovered by Constantine Tischendorff in the 1800s, were separated after the discovery and have been preserved in multiple locations (for varying reasons, some of which are unclear).  Only now, will these be able to be viewed in their entirety.  

Codex Sinaiticus (marked in NT apparati by the Hebrew א (Aleph), as well as "S" in some books) is one of the oldest surviving Bible manuscripts we have, particularly of the New Testament, although many portions of the Old Testament (LXX aka Septuagint) and some extra biblical literature (ex. Shepherd of Hermas, Epistle of Barnabas) is also included in the find.  The manuscript is written in Greek Uncials (think ALLCAPS).  This copy dates to the mid fourth century (330-350 AD) and is only slightly younger than Codex Vaticanus.  

I for one am extremely excited about the opportunity to view such a rare text as Sinaiticus without having to travel to Leipzig, the British Library, The Russian National Library, or Sinai.  The tools I have seen which will be used for navigation look to be top notch.  My brain feels like it is salivating at the thought of approaching this wonderful piece of history and sacred Tradition.

Look at the web prototype!  Ain't it cool?

Tonight, I'm home working some laundry, and I say to myself, "Self, maybe you can watch a movie.  Let's see what's available on Pay-Per-View."  I had heard about the last Rambo film and had an expectation of explosions and gun battles akin to a John Woo film.  I also had in my mind every "rescue people from jungle captors" film I've ever seen.  I could never have predicted what I would see, nor what would my reaction be.  After what seemed to me like only about 20 minutes, I had turned off the video, fallen to the ground, and sobbed like I have not done in years.   Why? 

If you haven't seen the movie, I first need to tell you that I cannot reccomend it.  Even for a callous and desensitized person such as myself, this movie went beyond even my limits for depictions of violence.  Yet, it was this depiction that caused me to weep.  I need to explain the premise for the movie.  The setting is Burma, home to yet another civil war and mass genocide.  Rambo is supposed to help get some missionaries to a remote village to give aid, only to be involved in a rescue mission after things turn sour.  Not only did the movie discuss the violence and abuse occuring in these lands, it showed it.  I will not tell you of the images I saw, but they are burned into my mind and my heart, not because the images were so dramatically displayed, but because this is what is really happening in nations like this all around the world.  

It was after seeing a village razed, after the missionaries had arrived, that I could not take any more.  I fell to my knees and buried my face in my hands.  I just cried out to God for mercy - mercy for those innocent men, women, and children who are the victims of brutality.  They are not combatants in a military conflict.  They are civilians.  Yet, they are the targets, kept "in check" through fear, death, and torture.  My heart goes out to these places, most of which I can't even show you on a map, and which you won't see on the news.  Sure, there are some "high profile" places that we know about such as Darfur, but the problems are not limited to those persons.

Here in the United States, we are so very very blessed.  Not only do we have great wealth compared to the rest of the world, but we are safe.  We do not have to worry about a military group invading our homes in the middle of the night to take our lives, to imprison us, or to torture us.  We do not have to worry about being singled out as a cultural or religious group to be lined up and exterminated.  And yet, we whine and complain about being misrepresented, about not having an official prayer in schools.  As a descendant of Irish immigrants and as a Catholic, I see how people were mistreated and discriminated against.  I have read in the history books about the ethnic ghettos and the employment postings stating "No Irish.  No Catholics."  But they weren't being dragged from their homes and killed.  They were disliked, maybe even hated, but they weren't murdered.  Not here.  So when I read about the horrible things happening outside these United States, I cry, especially for the children.  I pray for their protection.  I beg for an end to the madness of war and destruction, of torture and abuse, and I ask God to bring it about quickly.

And I want to mention something else while I'm thinking about it.  This sort of persecution and devastation takes place in the Philippines and in the nations of Africa, and Asia, and yet these lands send missionaries to us.  They send missionaries to US.  We who have it so good and so privledged are in such dire need of the Gospel in our lives that other nations, even those marred by war, send men and women to our lands.  What makes it even more sad is that we have a church building on almost every street corner in some towns.  Why is it that Americans just don't get it?  Could it be that we think we do have it?  Could it be that most Americans consider themselves just religious enough to "slip by"?  Slip by what?  Do they even realize the reality of their own sin?  Do they realize their need for a savior?  Do they know how to receive salvation, and what it means to have a relationship with God?  Or have they created a religion to suit their needs, not too intrusive, but just enough to make them think they're where they need to be.  Just enough to give them a warm fuzzy feeling, but not enough to make them want to change their lives, any more than lip service anyway.

So let's pray.  Pray for a lot of things, but let's stop praying for all our petty wants and spend what little time we give to God praying for the salvation of souls, for the changing of hearts, for peace, for love.  Let's pray that our hearts, minds, actions, and wallets would be open to do whatever it takes to help bring about peace and the spread of the gospel.  They need our prayers, they need our support, and, when God calls us, our presence and actions to help in His name.  God grant that we would be obedient children.  God have mercy on us all. 

So, in one sense I can say I wasted five bucks, because I paid for a movie I didn't finish.  But that five bucks also did a lot to remind me of how lucky I am to be where I am and to weep and pray for the men, women and children who face death every hour of every day.

The Packers are doing the right thing by hanging on to Brett Favre's contract.  Listen, he has 3 years left on his contract, with about $39 million dollars involved.  Why on earth would they want to throw that away on what appears to be "an itch" to give football another try?  

Let's look at it another way.  Why would the Green Bay Packers want to give away the rights to a franchise quarterback like Brett Favre to have him possibly face them on the field?  Why would Brett Favre essentially throw away his allegiance to the Packers organization who have been so good to him since picking him up from Atlanta?  Is it worth it?  Is it worth one more unknown season playing for God only knows who?  You wanna talk about a tarnished image of a legend?  Brett Favre, if he moves forward and fights for this release, is going to tarnish his image in a bad bad way.

In the past few days since it was announced that Brett Favre had requested a release from the Packers, I've read reactions from all over.  Packers fans are upset to say the very least.  Football fans are upset too.  Listen, you look at an icon like Brett Favre and you think Green Bay.  You think of clutch play and an iron will.  What do you think now?  Money grubber?  Traitor?  Chasing a feeling?  Mid-life crisis?  Really, are you thinking anything happy is going to come out of this situation now that it has begun?   I sure don't.  I think just asking has put him, his family, his reputation, his teammates, his city, and everything else attached to him at great risk.  Time will tell just how tarnished he will become, and how well he fares as a player after his 1st retirement will not be a factor.

I don't blame the Packers for moving on.  It had to be done.  They begged and begged poor tired Brett to give them one more season.  He said no.  Okay then, the decision has been made and they have to move on.  Oh, wait, I think I want to play now.  Listen, draft strategy, off season planning, personnel shifts, and everything else that coaches and owners must do to prepare for a season have been going on since February.  The die have been cast.  Decisions have been made.  The team is moving forward.  If Brett is even taken back on the active roster, it shouldn't be as a starter.  Aaron has been patient (as patient as can be expected anyway) and the job has been given to him.  If Brett's itch is still there, he'll have to scratch it from the bench.  There comes a point in time where someone else has to take over as field general.  2008-2009 is going to have to be that season.  

I don't see this fiasco ending any time soon.  In my opinion, the most likely scenarios in this battle of wills look like this:

- Brett Favre decides retirement is the way he wants to go

- Brett Favre fights for a release, and goes to play for someone like Chicago for a season or two before deciding retirement is the way he wants to go (meanwhile, all Brett Favre #4 steakhouses are burnt to the ground)

- Brett Favre decides to accept a lesser role at Green Bay as a team player for this season, then bows out quietly in 2009, deciding retirement is the way he wants to go.

I'll keep watching ESPN to see what happens.  Let me tell you something else though, speaking as a Colts fan.  When Peyton Manning decides to retire, he had better not try to pull a stunt like this.   

There are many ways to properly celebrate the independence of these United States, but probably the best known, and most fun, is to blow stuff up.

Behold!

 

 4th of July, Southern Style: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Our new year-round RCIA is still trucking along, with a new Catechumenate period beginning tonight.  It will be interesting to see how the dynamic changes, if at all, as part of our group heads into the Catechumenate.  I still like very much the idea of having something available year round to assist men and women at the various places along their journey.  This flexibility seems to be helping, especially to inquirers who appear in March, April, or May.  As we continue to tweak and improve the system, I'm looking forward to see how things develop.  

I'm still a big fan of the year-round Precatechumenate.  If we are later able to add additional team, this will likely be a reality as well.  God grant that our RCIA team will grow as He continues to entrust us with men and women exploring the Church and the Christian Faith.

Let me tell you something, brother.  I am so very very proud of Archbishop Raymond Burke of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, Missouri.  The Holy Father has appointed him as prefect of the supreme tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura.  It's almost as if he's been made the chief justice of the supreme court, except this is the Church's court and it won't try to legislate abortion and invalid marriages.  Archbishop Burke is an expert on canon law, but more than that he is an OUTSTANDING man of God.  Not once has he backed down from the high standards of orthodoxy and virtue that our bishops are called to uphold.  His committment to the truth of the Gospel and its continuing relevance made him the target of controversy, yet he handled each situation with humility and charity.  I am a big fan of Archbishop Burke and I wish him well in his new endeavor.  

I wonder now who will be appointed to the Archdiocese of St. Louis.  Has anyone been named yet?   

In case you wanted to know what the Apostolic Signatura is, I copied this information from the Vatican website.

SUPREMO TRIBUNALE DELLA SEGNATURA APOSTOLICA  
 

Nel sec. XIII i Sommi Pontefici si servirono di officiali relatori (referendarii) per preparare la firma (signatura) delle suppliche e delle commissioni di cause di iustitia o di gratia agli uditori (cardinales auditores e cappellani auditores). Esiste un ufficio stabile della Segnatura da quando Eugenio IV (1471-84) demandò ai referendari stessi la firma di certe suppliche. La divisione di questa Segnatura, chiamata gratiae et commissionum sotto Sisto IV (1471-84), in due dicasteri era cominciata sotto Alessandro VI (4 magg. 1493) e fu compiuta da Giulio II (1503-13). Dalla fine del sec. XV ci sono dei Cardinali prefetti alle due Segnature, delle quali la Signatura iustitiae si trasformò in un vero tribunale. Il numero crescente dei referendari utriusque signaturae condusse in prassi alla formazione del gremio ristretto dei votantes, costituito da Alessandro VII (13 lu. 1659) in un collegio proprio da integrare sempre con i referendari semplici, i quali avevano soltanto voto consultivo. Con la creazione delle Congregazioni e con la crescente competenza della Rota e della Camera - le quali non avevano bisogno di commissioni speciali del Pontefice - le funzioni della Segnatura diminuirono, e diventò un tribunale anzitutto di cassazione (anche per le cause civili dello Stato pontificio: Regolamento del 10 nov. 1834 di Gregorio XVI). La Signatura gratiae, trasformata da Sisto V (22 genn. 1588) in una Congregazione, perdeva la sua importanza con lo sviluppo della Dataria, alla quale dai tempi di Clemente IX (1667-69) e nel sec. XVII passarono quasi tutte le concessioni di grazie.

San Pio X ricostituì (Cost. Sapienti Consilio e Lex propria S. R. Rotae et Signaturae Ap., 29 giu. 1909) una unica Segnatura Apostolica come Supremo Tribunale, trasformandola in un consesso di 6 Cardinali, dei quali uno fungeva da Prefetto. Ma col C.I.C. del 1917 il numero degli E.mi Membri della Segnatura è stato reso illimitato. Benedetto XV ricostituì il collegio dei votanti e quello dei referendari come organi consultivi del Tribunale (Chirogr. 28 giu. 1915).

Le competenze attuali del Supremo Tribunale della Segnatura Apostolica sono stabilite nella Costituzione Apostolica Pastor Bonus, del 28 giu. 1988, art. 121-125.

Per quanto riguarda la potestà strettamente giudiziaria la Segnatura Apostolica giudica: le querele di nullità, le richieste di restitutio in integrum contro le sentenze rotali; i ricorsi nelle cause sullo stato delle persone, che la Rota Romana rifiutò di ammettere a nuovo esame; le cause contro gli Uditori della Rota Romana per atti posti durante l’esercizio delle loro funzioni; i conflitti di competenza di cui al can. 1416. Quale Tribunale contenzioso-amministrativo dirime: le contese sorte per un atto di potestà amministrativa ecclesiastica, ad esso legittimamente deferite; in questi casi, oltre al giudizio di illegittimità, esso può anche giudicare, qualora il ricorrente lo chieda, circa la riparazione dei danni recati con l’atto illegittimo; le altre controversie amministrative ad esso deferite dal Romano Pontefice o dai dicasteri della Cura Romana; e il conflitto di competenza tra gli stessi dicasteri. In virtù della potestà amministrativa riguardante il foro giudiziario ad essa spetta: vigilare sulla retta amministrazione della giustizia; prorogare la competenza dei tribunali; promuovere ed approvare l’erezione dei tribunali di cui ai cann. 1423 e 1439. Altre attribuzioni le derivano dall’ordinamento giuridico dello Stato della Città del Vaticano e da taluni concordati (vedi ad es. Concordato con l’Italia art. 34, Concordato con il Portogallo art. 25, Concordato con la Repubblica Dominicana art. 16).

Il Supremo Tribunale della Segnatura Apostolica consta di E.mi Cardinali ed Ecc.mi Arcivescovi e Vescovi nominati dal Santo Padre. Uno dei Cardinali funge da Prefetto, e si giova dell’aiuto del Segretario.

Essa procede secondo la Legge Propria.

La funzione dei consultori è svolta dai votanti e referendari, le cui facoltà e privilegi furono determinati dalla Cost. Ap. Ad incrementum del 15 ag. 1934, poi modificata dalle Normae speciales Signaturae Apostolicae approvate da Paolo VI il 23 mar. 1968.

Did I mention they only had an Italian explanation online?  According to Catholic-Hierarchy.org, it functions as the supreme tribunal and also ensures that justice in the Church is correctly administered.  But if you know Italian, you can read the full description above.  Go ahead, Khira.

Huge congratulations, Archbishop Burke!  We're sad to see you go, but we are happy to see a good man such as yourself being appointed to such a excellent post of leadership.  I know you will do well and bring even greater honor to our Lord in your service there.