Strongest Hurricane Ever

Takes forecasters by surprise...most thought it wouldn't go above a Cat. 3...

From the Sun Sentinel:

Hurricane Wilma's sustained winds reached 175 mph and its pressure dropped as
low as 882 mb this morning, making it the strongest Category 5 hurricane on
record with a projected path that crosses southern Florida from west to east.

"This is the lowest pressure on record for a hurricane in the Atlantic
Basin," the National Hurricane Center said in a statement..

Synod on the Eucharist

John Allen discusses the propositions coming out of the Synod, and they are rather unremarkable. While the discussions have been forthright, it seems when all is said and done the Synod as a whole can think of nothing pastorally that might solve the problems that exist. I give you the two quotes that Allen gives to sum up all of this...From John Allen at NCR:

One synod participant told NCR on Tuesday morning that in his view, the propositions "faithfully reflect the discussion on the synod floor."

Another participant, however, expressed dissatisfaction. "I wonder why in the hell they brought us here and put us through all this," he said Oct. 18, "to say absolutely nothing more than what has been painfully said for decades."

This participant expressed hope that since Benedict XVI listened to most of the discussions, he might come up with more innovative responses to some of the pastoral problems identified in the synod.

Feast of St. Luke

From Luke, from The holy Bible, Revised Standard version:

Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things which
have been accomplished among us, just as they were delivered to us by those who
from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word, it seemed good
to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an
orderly account for you, most excellent The-oph'ilus, that you may know the
truth concerning the things of which you have been informed.

Luke 1:1-4

Objective Reporting???

Notice how the statue is referred to as an "idol". If you have a second you might want to drop the suburban Chicago news an email that'll point out that Catholics do not worship statues or idols but God alone!

See A visit from Our Lady:

A visit from Our Lady
Statue of Virgin Mary: Local parish is host to 33-foot idol for 2 weeks

Update (10-19-05): Has been corrected, thanks to all those who wrote and complained!

Michael Rose on the "Lavendar Mafia" in the Church

From the Dallas Morning News:

It is not enough to point to the recent John Jay College study that found most of the victims of clergy abuse since 1950 were adolescent boys. Revelations concerning seminary life in recent decades have given sufficient impetus to pursue an extensive evaluation of the institutions that train and educate future priests, especially when it comes to the issue of homosexuality.

Several years ago, Father Donald Cozzens, then rector of a Cleveland seminary, wrote that many seminary faculties included a disproportionate number of homosexuals. In his book, The Changing Face of the Priesthood, he commented that "straight men in a predominantly or significantly gay environment commonly experience self doubt."

In my own study of seminary life over the past three decades, I have found that many heterosexual men give up their seminary studies precisely for this reason, leaving behind a student body gradually swollen with homosexuals. I'm not talking about the presence of a few gay-oriented men who want to live chastely, but rather the institutionalization of a gay subculture that has earned some seminaries nicknames such as the Pink Palace, Notre Flame, and Theological Closet.

A Tale of Two Teams

When Urban Meyer turned down an opportunity to interview at the University of Notre Dame last year and Notre Dame ended up with Charlie Weis it seemed as though Notre Dame had lost out on the best coach available.

Now Meyer's Gators have two losses and Weis's Irish also have two losses, but does anyone out there think that it is a wash as to who has their team headed in the right direction?

Meyer inherited a very talented team that played very good but was incredibly inconsistent...beating a top ranked team one week, losing to an unranked team the next.

Weis inherited a team that, well, just looked horrible all of the time.

Now Weis has taken his group of misfits and made them into contenders even in defeat. Meyer has taken his talented team and forced an offensive scheme that, well, makes them look horrible even when they win.

Its to early to tell how all of this will play out, but I'm guessing the Irish fans are pretty happy that they got Weis--Gator fans are starting to wonder why Steve Spurrier isn't back with them and Urban isn't still with the Mountain West Conference.

Feast of St. Ignatius of Antioch

And a famous quote...From the Office of Readings:

I am writing to all the churches to let it be known that I will gladly die for God if only you do not stand in my way. I plead with you: show me no untimely kindness. Let me be food for the wild beasts, for they are my way to God. I am God’s wheat and shall be ground by their teeth so that I may become Christ’s pure bread. Pray to Christ for me that the animals will be the means of making me a sacrificial victim for God.

No earthly pleasures, no kingdoms of this world can benefit me in any way. I prefer death in Christ Jesus to power over the farthest limits of the earth. He who died in place of us is the one object of my quest. He who rose for our sakes is my one desire.