Peony Moss: May 2011 Archives

So this morning, a link comes over the Twitter - "Pope Benedict XVI reflects on life under Hitler's Nazi Party" - so I click over to check it out.

That was this morning. If you click over now, you won't read the same article I did. The version I read early this morning included the lines

"Joseph Ratzinger joined the Hitler Youth in 1941 when, according to him and his supporters, it became compulsory for all German boys."

According to him and his supporters? What is that supposed to imply?

Is Catholic Online implying that there is any doubt at all that by 1941, membership in the Hitler Youth was compulsory?

Is Catholic Online implying that "Joseph Ratzinger" and "his supporters" are trying to make excuses or cover something up?

I would have expected to find a snide little dig like that in something like the New York Times, but I was surprised, and more than a little disgusted, to find it on a Catholic website. So I posted the following comment:

The article states, "Joseph Ratzinger joined the Hitler Youth in 1941 when, according to him and his supporters, it became compulsory for all German boys."

I would like to know what "according to him and his supporters" is supposed to imply. It is a fact that membership in the Hitler Youth was compulsory for all boys and girls aged 10 and up. The Holocaust Research Project, in its page on the Hitler Youth, notes that after years of tightening penalties, "A new law [in Germany] was issued on March 25, 1939, conscripting any remaining holdouts into the organization [the Hitler Youth] amid warnings to parents that unless their children were enrolled they would be forcibly removed and placed in the custody of state run orphanages."

I went back later and found that my comment had been published. I also found that the sentence I had objected to was gone. However, there was no acknowledgement of my comment -- and no note that a correction had been made.

So:

Does Catholic Online really not know that it's customary to note when and how an article has been changed?

Why did Catholic Online even print it in the first place? The phrase doesn't appear in the AP accounts of the Pope's remarks. It does appear quite a bit on Google -- 398 hits -- including quite a few sites deeply hostile to the Church. Was it plagiarized? And does that Ratzi's-a-Rottweiler-Nazi disinformation really belong on a Catholic site?

Seriously, who wrote this? It's credited to "News Consortium"; does that mean it was written by someone who responded to this ad? Should Catholic Online be read in the same "consider the source" spirit as Wikipedia?

(And why is a video on Medjugore a "Featured Product"?) screenshot

memorial_day.jpg

Hallie Lord:

Scientists have long believed that when people experience stress, a hormonal cascade is triggered compelling the body to do one of two things: (1) stand and fight or (2) flee. New research out of UCLA shows that – for women, at least – it may not be quite that simple. As it turns out, there is an additional reaction that takes place within a woman’s body – the release of oxytocin – that buffers the fight or flight response and encourages her to tend to her children and gather with other women. Once she does this, even more oxytocin is released, further countering stress and producing a calming effect.

I realize this will surprise no one....

Linkage

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Lots and lots of linkage!

Here's how to get the free e-book: Promote the upcoming 21 Days of Prayer for Sons challenge -- on Twitter, Facebook, your blog, whatever -- and get a free e-book of Warrior Prayers: Praying the Word for Boys in the Areas They Need it Most.

Today is Armed Forces Day

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Yes, this is the Navy Hymn, but surely our gentlemen of the Navy will not object if I give the verses for all our services....

Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who biddest the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea!

O Christ, the Lord of hill and plain
O'er which our traffic runs amain,
by mountain pass or valley low,
Wherever Lord thy brethren go;
Protect them by Thy guardian hand
From every peril on the land.

Lord, guard and guide the men who fly
Though the great spaces in the sky.
Be with them always in the air,
In darkening storms or sunlight fair;
Oh, hear us when we lift our prayer,
For those in peril in the air!

Eternal Father, Lord of hosts,
Watch over the men who guard our coasts.
Protect them from the raging seas
And give them light and life and peace.
Grant them from Thy great throne above
The shield and shelter of Thy love.

Eternal Father, grant, we pray,
To all Marines, both night and day,
The courage, honor, strength, and skill
Their land to serve, thy law fulfill;
Be thou the shield forevermore
From every peril to the Corps.

O Trinity of love and power!
Our family shield in danger's hour;
From rock and tempest, fire and foe,
Protect us wheresoever we go;
Thus evermore shall rise to Thee
Glad hymns of praise from land and sea.

Lord, guard and guide the men who fly
And those who on the ocean ply;
Be with our troops upon the land,
And all who for their country stand:
Be with these guardians day and night
And may their trust be in they might.

One of the signs of the genuineness of inspirations, especially extraordinary ones, is peace and tranquility of heart in those who receive them, since the Holy Spirit is indeed powerful, but with a strength that is gentle, mild and peaceful...

On the contrary, the evil spirit is turbulent, bitter and restless. Those who follow his hellish suggestions in the belief that they are heavenly inspirations can usually be recognized because they are unsettled, headstrong and haughty. Under the pretext of zeal, they silence everyone and find fault with everything...In the name of zeal for God's honor they indulge in the passion of self-love.

-- T.L.G. Book 8, Ch. 12; O. V, pp. 100-101

spotted here

William Deresiewicz:

A graduate student at the time, I was as arrogant as they come and didn't think there was much anyone could teach me about life—especially not Jane Austen, the godmother of chick-lit. Imagine my surprise when she taught me not just how to grow up, but how to be a man.

Like so many guys, I thought a good conversation meant holding forth about all the supposedly important things I knew: books, history, politics. But I wasn't just aggressively sure of myself. I was also oblivious to the feelings of the people around me, a bulldozer stuck in overdrive.

In fact, I was a lot like Emma, the heroine of that first Austen novel I read—was forced to read, actually, because I thought her fiction sounded trivial and boring.

Via Joe Carter at First Things, whose Carter's Theorem states "that all complex behavior of advanced mammals can be explained by reference to the novels of Jane Austen."

From EWTN News:

“Motherhood is woman's crowning glory,” said Sister Joseph Andrew Bogdanowicz, OP, “whether it is physical, spiritual, or both.”

Sr. Joseph Andrew is the vocations director for the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Despite her calling to the celibate life, she sees her vocation, and the vocations of other religious sisters, as truly motherly.

“It is through the consecration of my vows that all the spaces inside my heart are available and ready to be filled with the sons and daughters God sends me.”

The “spaces” refer to what Blessed John Paul II called the “feminine genius” in which a woman “carries a space inside her for the other.” This, according to Sr. Joseph Andrew, is woman's greatest gift.

Happy Mother's Day!

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...to all mommies out there, whether sleepy or wide-awake.

And a special hug to the mommies out there who lost little ones to miscarriage or infant death this past year -- and to those who would like to be mommies.

May your day be filled with flowers, chocolate, and love. Even if you have to discreetly purchase your own chocolate, as I did.

Gave the heave-ho to V1 rockets as a “doodlebug nudger”.

Via suburban banshee, who adds,

I’d never heard of this, but of course my dad had. What they did was fly up to the V1, flip it up and over by nudging the V1′s wings with their wingtip, and thus screw up the V1′s gyroscopic guidance. The doodlebug nudger would fly away, and the V1 would fly right into the ground.

A few weeks ago, Jennifer Fulwiler had a great article at the Register about the spiritual attacks converts may face. I promptly forwarded it to one of my favorite catechists; she commented that she'd also received it from two other people, and she would be SURE to tell her catechumens about it.

Dear Monsignor Pope, who contributes to the Archdiocese of Washington's blog, also saw that article::

I must say, this article caused me to pause and repent. For I, who know better, have not made it a practice to speak to my Neophytes and Newly Received about this. That has to change. And I also need to extend longer care to those who have newly entered the Church.

I once read a book on the spiritual life in which the author warned that any attempt to grow in love of God could lead to spiritual attack. (Maybe someday I'll remember which book it was.) So whether we're new converts or old-timers who are trying to step it up a little -- we need to be ready.

Now, have I experienced this myself? I truly don't know -- I'd have to think about it. What about you?

...now she's on Twitter @PeonyMoss.


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