To drive the cold winter away ...

“Is barking up the wrong tree really that much worse than barking up the correct tree? They both seem like a huge waste of time to me.”

-- “Weird Al” Yankovic

I'm off work all this week, and while I'm not following the blogosphere as closely as usual, I thought I'd jot down a few things.

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Readers will note that there has been little of topical interest here lately. When even a guy like the American Papist takes a holiday, it's time to do the same. This clip of the Holy Father being accosted at a procession for Christmas Midnight Mass is the latest thing author Thomas Peters reported. That was last Friday. Watch for someone in a red shirt at 00:40. From everything that's been reported, security officials have dealt with this woman before.

One can imagine the role the Apostles took on for themselves, when Our Lord would be surrounded by people wanting something -- a miracle, or just to have their problems solved. His Vicar is no less prevailed upon. "If only I could touch the hem of his garment, I would be healed." (Matthew 9:21)

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The Postal Service has announced that it will release a first class stamp in the coming year, to honor Mother Teresa. I'll be sure to stock up.

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The President and his family did not go to church for Christmas this year, and it is not clear that they will be attending church regularly during his tenure. Some have taken him to task, citing his obligation to set a proper example. This would come as a surprise to most Presidents in our history. According to Wikipedia: "Most presidents have been formal members of a particular church or religious body, and a specific affiliation can be assigned to every president from Garfield on. For many earlier presidents, however, formal church membership was forestalled until they left office; and in several cases a president never joined any church." In terms of actual stated belief, and formal affiliation notwithstanding, three of the four whose images appearing on Mount Rushmore -- Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln -- might be more accurately described as Deists. The point is, and aside from failing to convert to the One True Faith that is Catholicism -- hey, this is supposed to be a Catholic blog, right? I'm just sayin' -- the critics don't have cause for complaint.

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I'm reluctant to travel by commercial air for the foreseeable future. The way it is now, some idiot can stuff his underwear for explosives, and then millions of us can face the prospect of being inspected there. What's next, one hundred percent cavity searches? Do you know what it's like to have a complete stranger go through your personal things without a warrant? What if he damages something, is he responsible? I'll bet if members of Congress had to go through this, we'd see a few changes made.

We'll see what tomorrow brings, won't we?
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