Outside The Asylum

The Catholic Blogsphere- especially the right wing version- is all up in arms about Pope Francis washing the feet of two young women on Holy Thursday, one of whom wasn't even Catholic. I would like, on this Easter, for you to consider three basic items about this event: 1. The Washing of Feet, while ancient, is not a sacrament and it is not doctrine or dogma. The rubrics of the mass are discipline, and thus changeable to evangelize to a new generation- always have been. 2. These two young women, and the ten men that had the Pope wash their feet, are all in juvenile detention. They're there for a reason. One can assume that regardless of what they claim is their religion, they have significant problems following that religion. As such, they are in need of mercy, and conversion. The Pope showed them an act of mercy; may it lead to conversion of their hearts away from the evil that landed them where they are. 3. Finally, one of my favorite events from the life of Pope Joh...

I have been in a bit of despair since Obama's 2nd election.  Not as much because Obama was elected, I likely would have been as bad off if Romney had won- because it seemed to me that 98% of American Catholics had voted for evil- the lesser evil to be sure, as their consciences demanded, but evil all the same. It is time to pray for the whole world now. This video chronicles the events that are even now restoring my hope. CatholicVote.org :

Man Transforms Old TV Screen into 2000 Degree Fahrenheit Solar Death Ray That Can Melt Pennies | Inhabitat - Sustainable Design Innovation, Eco Architecture, Green Building : Here is one for Preppers to remember- > 32" TV screens from the 1970s and 1980s can make solar welders.

Humility Exemplified: What If God Was One of Us? : Had to reblog this.  Viva La Papa Francisco!

For those of you from Silverton- I think Jim Bruekner would approve. Vatican Reveals Recipes for Conclave Smoke - NYTimes.com :

A couple of weeks ago, I was wondering about the dual special setup of stoves in the Sistine Chapel. Making Smoke: Vatican Releases Its Secret Recipe : Found a good article on both the stoves and a bit of chemistry today. Turns out yes, the newer of the two stoves WAS fancy- multiple combustion chambers for premixed chemicals and electric igniters allowed the second stove to color the smoke from the older stove used to burn the ballots. Who ever said our church was not scientific?

The Modern Sexual “Martyr” I have long said that in secular culture, sex itself has become a sacrament.  Not the Catholic version, Matrimony, but *just sex*, including rape. The reason for contraception and abortion is that it enables use of this secular sacrament.  Too bad the secularists are doing it wrong- and because they're doing it wrong, we will in the end outbreed them.  It's just a matter of time.

Sword of Peter: Three Trees : The Three Trees of Marriage in the Orchard of Our Lord.