So many Marys, so little time!

Today the Roman church commemorates the Feast of St Mary Magdalene. She was one of Christ's disciples and was at the cross when He died. She was also, according to the Gospel of Mark (16:9), the first to see Him after he had risen. Various traditions over the centuries have also identified her as the woman being stoned for committing adultery, and the woman who anointed Christ's feet and washed them with her hair. Far more vivid imaginations have claimed that she and Jesus married and had children. Or that she married James the Less "the brother of Jesus" (if not Jesus Himself). and that they and their descendents went to Britannia with Joseph of Arimethea.

But really? Some say she brought the Gospel to Gaul (France, mainly the southern part). After that, or maybe instead of that, she is said by some to have retired to Ephesus with Mary the Mother of Jesus, where she lived out her final days.

Radical feminists use her patronage to promote the ordination of women, or goddess worship, or tree-hugging, or whatever else they've been whining about lately.

There's no evidence that Mary ever married James the Less (who was the cousin of Jesus, as we understand the term), much less Jesus. Think that'll stop these gals? I think not.

Then again, what do I know? Especially when you can look it up in the 1914 Catholic Encyclopedia like everybody else. In referring to this text, it is worth mentioning hat both the "Latins" and the "Greeks" held different opinions about how which Mary is which and how many.

Modern biblical scholarship has tended to favor the Greek view. Don't ask me why. It's all Greek to me.

So, there was this woman named "Leather," see, and...

Michael Rose of Cruxnews has me rolling on the floor laughing again: "As if the moral problems with in-vitro fertilization were not enough, the head of England's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority is arguing for expanding access to lesbians and single women. She does so by arguing that fathers and fatherhood are not necessary."

And to top it off, her name is... Suzi Leather! This is too much!

(Did I mention she's really cute?)

A Midsummer Day's Dream

You know the saying; life is what happens when you make other plans. In my computer, my laptop, my PDA, my datebook -- are have notes or websites or other hen-scratchings, ideas and drafts for articles that should have made these pages by now.

But my son, just out of high school, has been getting used to the idea of being an adult, or at least functioning as one. He lives in a modest apartment with friends, taking up bed space in one corner of the "den" (We've all been there, right?) until he "gets it together," so to speak.

My car has been out of commission for the last two weeks, and while it's been relatively trouble-free over the three-plus years that I've had it, I was in two accidents within a few months of each other last fall (after a long hiatus of safety), and at 80K on the odometer, it's time to move on to something else. But first I have to wait for the insurance people to straighten things out.

Then there's my tax situation. Because matters in 2002 were a bit more complicated than usual, I have that and the previous year to (finally) settle to my Rich Uncle's satisfaction.

"Sal" was here earlier in the month, and we're trying to relocate her here. It's too early to get into the rest of that. Use your imagination.

After nearly fourteen years of living in basement apartments, I've been thinking maybe I should buy a house.

To top it all off, I'm switching antidepressant medications. This requires a period of adjustment.

But I keep up on all the stories that I've been covering. Some of you remember I was going to continue a series related to that Ave Maria thing entitled "How Then Shall We Live?" I'm still doing that. The next installment will be on economics, as reflected in the AMU curriculum, and as implemented in the vision for the campus and town. This is especially timely, given some local concerns, which are brought to my attention courtesy of the Cruxnews website. Your comments on the matter will be welcome in the interim, because we've got some ground to cover that is often new to so-called "conservatives" who assume good Catholics should always have to vote for a certain party -- if at all.

But do I complain? ME?? HAH!!! Fat chance!

This is the waning period, the necessary time in the desert, to find the oasis that contains the joys of life. This is the reason why the Epistles tell us to embrace our sufferings. That, and the other reasons. Meanwhile, I'm still gainfully employed. Even though I just found out I have to find another training vendor, and hurry to take advantage of this fiscal year's training funds, all because... oh, I don't wanna talk about it. Times like this are when I'm grateful to have earned the right to be called an "institution" in this agency. Is nearly twenty-four years long enough?

Finally, my sister Pat and her husband and stepson are going to be at the beach in Delaware starting this weekend. This means a ROAD TRIP for me and Paul. This time I'm the one riding shotgun. 'Bout time. Life with my son is a little more straightforward, now that I don't have to deal with his mother all that much; it's just me and him now. It's better that way.

And the days move forward; into the sunset, into the next season.

Enjoy the sun. Hit the beach. Or head for the mountains. And stay tuned...

Inspirational Message for the Day

Do you really want to be around 40 years from now when the country will be over run with tattooed wrinkled old ladies?

(Thanks to Ron L)

Dappling with "The Don"

Memo to Father James Tucker: It was Thomas Aquinas, not Augustine. And to be more precise, the Angelic Doctor considered the prospect of men cavorting with women to be a lesser evil than having no alternative but to cavort with... well, you know.

I hope to find his exact quotation later, and that it will be a bit more (ahem!) carefully nuanced (???) than the above.

While I was out...

"I coulda been a contender; I coulda been somebody!"

My kidney stone passed through the system sometime on Friday. Thanks to the prayers of my readers, and 1000 mg of naproxen per day, the process was not as painful as the last one. But I went in for a cat scan anyway, just so they could get a look at things. I should know by the weekend.

"Sal" is back from California, having nearly completed her mission out west, and being ready to move back here where she belongs. I took her out job-hunting yesterday. She's also looking to share a place with a group of nice Catholic girls in DC. You guys know any? Starting tonight, we've got a four-evening dance marathon, and I'm taking a break from zydeco on Friday, so "Sal" can get her inner salsa out of her system at the Latin dance club. What a gal!

Meanwhile, out in the world, Edwards joins Kerry on the Democratic ticket. In making the announcement, they admit to having "better hair" than their Republican opponents. He could be serious. After all, Clinton had much better hair than Nixon. You see a pattern here?

More news at this post as the day develops, and my second cup of coffee kicks in.