Quote of the Day

"About Jesus Christ and the Church, I simply know they're just one thing, and we shouldn't complicate the matter."

— St. Joan of Arc at her trial. Today is her feast day.

The Daily News has a nice follow-up story on the restoration of the Sacred Heart statue.

Quote of the Day

"The object of life is the maturity of the soul, and you reflect that maturity of the soul when you allow others to be more important than you."

— Chuck Colson in his lecture last night at Socrates in the City, according to my notes.

Quote of the Day

Forsan et haec olim meminisse iuvabit.

"Perhaps, one day, even this will seem pleasant to remember." — Virgil

Quote of the Day

"In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love."

— Mother Teresa

Manly Quote of the Day

From Art Carey's review of Harvey C. Mansfield's Manliness:

"The big flaw in Mansfield's argument is that he fails to distinguish between manly style and manly substance.

"Manly style is a guy who drives a Jeep; manly substance is a guy who can fix it. Manly style is Ronald Reagan playing soldier in war movies; manly substance is Jimmy Stewart, who actually flew numerous bomber missions. Manly style is seeming and appearing; manly substance is being and doing.

"There are people who look extremely manly, but are not. And people who don't look manly, but are. T.O., with his bulging muscles and chiseled torso, is a cartoon of exaggerated masculinity. On the football field, he certainly exhibits confidence in the face of risk. But because of his constant carping, his vanity and self-absorption, he is anything but manly.

"Fred Rogers, with his silly puppets and cardigan sweaters, was at the opposite end of the spectrum from Russell Crowe, Jesse Ventura and The Arnold. But he was confident of his belief in the power of love, and he had the courage to extend respect and appreciation to all, despite the risk of ridicule. The moral force of Rogers this soft, gentle man was fearsome.

"Indeed, a manly man can be a gentleman -- 'a manly man with polish and perfection,' Mansfield writes, gentle 'out of policy, not weakness.'"

A producer from CNN called the News today to inquire about the Jesus statue. Please pray that God accomplishes whatever is His will to accomplish with regard to the statue. For all I know, His will may have been accomplished already; still, if He's planning to do something more, prayer will help. My hope is that this visual reminder of Jesus' love — and of people's desire to "give Jesus a hand" — will touch more hearts. Thanks!

Jesus Makes News

Last Tuesday, a Daily News editor noticed a curious sight as he left work.

He was long familiar with the large statue of Jesus displaying his Sacred Heart that stood on the same block as the newspaper's headquarters. The statue, which looks almost directly at the national headquarters of Planned Parenthood across the street, had lost its right hand to vandalism. On this day, however, the editor saw that the statue was now surrounded by a metal frame — in preparation for its repair and for the installation of protective glass to prevent future vandalism.

I learned about the editor's discovery the following day, when I arrived at work and was asked by another editor if I could come up with a good headline for a story about Jesus under glass.

My jaw dropped. I had to explain that it was a surprise to be asked about the statue's renovation, since I was one of the locals and parishioners who had donated for the effort. (None of my senior colleagues had read my blog for a while.)

The story is in today's News (with a fine headline from the copy desk). I'm delighted and really overwhelmed that it's there. Being immersed in Catholic culture, it never would have occurred to me that people might be surprised to learn that vandalism is causing some churches to encase their statues. To me, the statue's important simply because it's beautiful and moving, providing comfort and inspiration to the faithful who pass by. But whatever the reason, just to have a picture of Jesus with his Sacred Heart in the country's sixth largest newspaper is wonderful. Look and it today and be blessed — see His face looking at you off the page know that He loves you.

Because of how this story happened, I am convinced more than ever that I need to trust God and not worry so much when media events like the "Da Vinci Code" give people a distorted image of Jesus. When He wants to get His true face into the news, He does.

UPDATE: The statue was featured on New York's Channel 5 news today at 5, 6, and 10 p.m. A reporter interviewed the pastor of the Church of St. Michael, which owns the statue (it stands near the entrance to a convent on the church grounds) and the craftsman who's repairing the hand. People really seem to be touched by this story of a church whose people wanted to give a hand to this statue that symbolizes Jesus' love and mercy.

Giving Jesus a Hand

Jesus towers 12 feet high over 33th Street between 9th and 10th avenues in midtown Manhattan.

He graces the back entrance of the Church of St. Michael, not far from the entrance to the St. Michael Academy.



To Jesus' east, across the street, is the back of the Farley post office, Penn Station, and Madison Square Garden.

Carved on the wall behind him is Matthew 11:28: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

It's a comforting verse for the thousands of people who pass by every day, including people who work for the Associated Press, WNET/Channel 13, and the Daily News.

I've passed by that statue five days a week for the past 13 months as I've gone to work.Every day, I would feel bad that vandals had cut off its hand, and I would wish there were something I could do.

Today, I snapped these photos for a "before" picture. Tomorrow, work begins at last to give the statue of Jesus and his Sacred Heart a new hand. The workers will also repair other parts of the statue that are in disrepair, and they will put protective glass around the statue to thwart would-be vandals. Parishioners and people who work in the area, including myself, donated the money for the work so that the statue would continue to provide its comforting witness.

Directly across the street is a billboard from a Jewish organization. Although its object is different than that of the Sacred Heart statue, its message is strangely congruent: "Ask the Rabbi."

'Chaste' Taste

Earlier this week, my editor at my publisher, W Publishing Group/Thomas Nelson, sent me the front cover of my first book, due in December:

I love it. I really can't get over how good it looks.

I had steeled myself for a chick-lit type of cover with a corny caricature, juvenile candy colors, and the title written in a dainty script typeface. Instead, the publisher's gone for a classy, mature, introspective look, with just a hint of playful irony. It reflects the book's tone, which is the most that I could ask for. What's more, it looks like something that one wouldn't be embarrassed to be caught reading on a bus.

I am so, so happy and excited that this is going to be the cover of my book; it makes the book's publication, though still far away, seem that much more real to me.

* * *

One of the things that I write about in my book is the different stages that one goes through as a single woman working at chastity. The stages go in waves; one can feel confident and secure for a while, and then dip down into loneliness and a sense of lack. I believe that the worst of the loneliness gets less severe over time, but it's important not to deny one's longings for love and companionship.

Our rational nature as human beings makes us resist paradox, yet the acceptance and even embrace of paradoxes is necessary for spiritual maturity. I take issue with those who boast that a single person who has any desire for marriage can nonetheless feel fulfilled in the same way that a married person can feel fulfilled. For me, as a single woman, the paradox of being chaste is that it is nothing and it is everything. It is nothing, in that it is not good for man to be alone. Marital love is one of the greatest things that a person can experience, and it has no direct equivalent. But being chaste is also everything, in that it enables me to see, on a day-to-day basis, what beauty there is in being incomplete.

None of us are ever complete. To be complete is to lack any upward striving, any need to grow. The rubber plant on my table as I type this is complete in that it doesn't have any obviously broken leaves or stems. But to consider it complete, in the sense that it contains within itself everything it ever needs, would kill it. It can't go on living without growing; that's not in its nature. It's the same for me, and that's where chastity enables me to pursue my spiritual goals in a way that I couldn't before I was chaste.

Before I began to work at chastity, I tried to fill the empty space in my heart and soul with things that would never fill it. Now, I work prayerfully to overcome my fear of having that empty space. As I do, I find that, as painful as it can be sometimes, I need it there.

One of my favorite Bible verses is in Psalm 37:

"Trust in the Lord, and do good;
Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
Delight yourself also in the Lord,
And He shall give you the desires of your heart."

I see the instruction to "feed on His faithfulness" as meaning that I should look to God for my spiritual food. To do this, I must be hungry. Chastity acknowledges this spiritual hunger, and so opens me up to God's blessing.

That's part of the thrill of the chaste. For the rest, the book will be available for pre-order on Amazon in a few months. I know a chaste person shouldn't use this phrase, but why not: I can't wait.

License to Kill

By The Raving Atheist

The cure for speech you don't like, the ACLU is fond of saying, is more speech. But when the message is "choose life," the organization may well believe that less is more. It's appealing to the Supreme Court to make sure those frightening words don't deface Tennessee license plates. Ostensibly, the complaint is that the state has violated the First Amendment by discriminating against the vehicular expression of pro-choice views -- but it’s clear from the way the group is pursuing the case that its stance has more to do with a love of abortion than a love of expression.

Some background first: The problem the pro-choice lobby has with the various license plate cases that have cropped up is that it doesn't have a palatable counter-message to screw on to the bumper. "Choose Abortion" and "Choose Death" are non-starters. "Choose Choice" is meaninglessly redundant and "Pro-choice, Pro-Family" is risibly oxymoronic. So the strategy is to keep things quiet. Rather than trumpeting your own message, shut up your opponent.

This creates a dilemma for the ACLU, which has traditionally defended free speech as the supreme American value. It has supported the Nazis' right to march and the Ku Klux Klan's sponsorship of roadside beautification billboards. It may not agree with their objectives, but believes that Constitutional guarantees are absolutes. It champions the speech rights of its client rather than attacking the adversary's position.

Unless abortion is the topic. A pro-choice insurgency is gaining influence within the group and causing it to take some uncharacteristic positions. Last month, for example, the organization announced its support for a cynical bill selectively targeting allegedly "deceptive" advertising by crisis pregnancy clinics -- unconcerned, apparently, with the nation's largest abortion provider's use of the word "parenthood" in its name.

Outcry from civil libertarians within and without the ACLU brought about a quiet retreat. But its pro-choice colors have resurfaced in the Tennessee license plate controversy. Although the issue is allegedly just free speech, the organization's press release reveals that the litigation is being pursued by the group"s "Reproductive Freedom Project." The title of the release attacks the state's initiative as an "anti-choice License Plate Program." The text of the document several times characterizes the plates as anti-choice and claims that the proceeds from plate sales will go to "a private anti-choice organization called New Life Resources."

The ACLU knows better. New Life Resources does not engage in "anti-choice" activism over the legality of abortion, but provides financial assistance for pregnant women. The phrase "choose life" expresses Tennessee's moral preference for encouraging childbirth over abortion, a preference that the Supreme Court has repeatedly held a state may indulge through funding and other activities. Notably, despite the motives so clearly revealed in its media statements, the ACLU carefully avoided the disingenuous "anti-choice" characterization in its Supreme Court brief.

All this being said, it is entirely possible that Tennessee's program will be invalidated in its present form. The narrow issue in the case is whether the license plate expresses solely governmental speech -- which would be Constitutionally permissible -- or whether the participation of private groups in the program created a public forum. If the latter is the case the state would be required to choose between allowing pro-choice plates or shutting down its custom plate program completely.

I suspect the ACLU is hoping for the "no speech" outcome. When the issue arose in New York, identical except for the fact that it was the pro-life side seeking equal space on license plates, the organization did not jump in to raise its discrimination concerns. Not a word, even though the governor and the attorney general (who has in the past persecuted CPCs) opposed the suit on pure speech grounds -- arguing that words "choose life" were "patently offensive" and ridiculously insisting that road rage would result. Perhaps Judge Jacobs' suggestion at oral argument that ruling for the pro-life side would require the issuance of white supremacist and Klu Klux Klan plates might yet draw them in to that case. To represent the Klan and the supremacists, if nobody else.

The Church of Choice

Thanks to Saint Kansas for the tip on Doug Tennapel's animation "Liberals Have Values Too".

Food for Thought

By The Raving Atheist

Catholic philosopher G.K. Chesterton was a heavyweight -- intellectually speaking, of course. Here he offers some food for thought:

Gluttony is a great fault; but we do not necessarily dislike a glutton. We only dislike the glutton when he becomes a gourmet -- that is, we only dislike him when he not only wants the best for himself, but knows what is best for other people.

Atheist philosopher John Stuart Mill had similar thoughts about those who eat slop:

It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied. And if the fool, or the pig, are a different opinion, it is because they only know their own side of the question. The other party to the comparison knows both sides.

Neither man, then, subscribed to the common view that no one is ever in a position to decide what is best for anyone else. Both accepted the notion that some authorities are higher than others. The chief difference between the two is whether the highest authority of all is a man or a god. And I think we can all agree that the answer to that question is obvious to anyone who isn't a pig or a fool.