Links of Interest

A few things I've have come across in the past few days, which I wanted to share with you all.

The Manhattan Declaration
A comprehensive and eloquent statement of the Christian position on abortion, gay marriage and religious liberty. I have been searching for a long time for something like this, which articulates the Christian position with both compassion and conviction. I'd like to carry around a pocket-sized version and memorize it.

Terrorism That's Personal
Please only click this link when you are away from your children and have prayerfully asked God to be with you in the viewing of it. This is a photo essay (hat tip to Feminine Genius) of women in the Middle East who have had acid thrown on them as an act of domestic violence. The article has links to similar stories, such as the famous New York Times article about the girls attacked with acid by men trying to stop them from going to school, and a woman in Asia who was burned by her husband after they divorced.

Most Reverend Jerome Listeki named Archbishop of Milwaukee
This is the priest who presided over our marriage and baptized our firstborn. He has been a family friend for many years and a blessing to all of us who know him. His intelligence, compassion, charisma and humility is unparalleled. Although I am more than happy with the wonderful Shepherd that God has given Denver, I still feel a bit of envy for Milwaukee!

Daily Readings of the Catholic Church
I've been missing Daily Mass since I decided to stop going last September. I found my temper was approaching Def Con 5 and that the frustration of trying to keep both kids upright and relatively quiet FAR exceeded any graces I might be receiving from the Eucharist. But I really missed knowing what was going on with the daily readings and the rhythm of the Church's liturgical year. So I found this link, which has the daily readings, and put it on my Toolbar at the top of my homepage. It's easy to click it, the readings don't take more than a few minutes out of my day, and it's so nice to be reminded of God's word. Happily, I think I'm going to start going back a couple times a week. I've had people at Church come up and invite me back, going out of their way to assure me that they've never been bothered by my children's antics and I should ignore anyone who tries to tell me they (or I) aren't welcome. It wasn't so much that as it was my own impatience with their antics, but it is very nice to know that we've been missed. I'm taking it as God inviting us back, and that's not an invitation you turn down!

David Crowder Band "How He Loves"
One of my favorite songs, and probably the best refrain to have constantly stuck in your head as you go about your day!!!