Spring Photos - University of Virginia Pavilion Gardens, April 2011

Happy 5th Birthday, Mary Virginia !!!

Look how gray my hair has gotten in 5 years! But that's NOT Mary Virginia's fault. No, that honor goes to her baby sister, the inappropriately named Grace.

;-)

Catholic Dads Get Makeovers, Too

Check out the makeover that Catholic Dads has undergone. Great work by Rob Kaiser!

Washington Post Profile of Catholic Father of 6 Running for Congress

The Washington Post has a profile of Real World alum (and husband of Real World alumna Rachel Campos-Duffy), Sean Duffy, who is running for the congressional seat in Wisconsin being vacated by David Obey: "Will Sean Duffy of 'The Real World' be picked to serve in the House?"

... Duffy minimizes the effect that "The Real World" has had on his political career. On the campaign trail, he plays up the outlines of his life now, which is much more sedate. He is a champion lumberjack, and at one point he held the world-record time for pole climbing. He and Rachel, who has been a recurring guest host of "The View" and recently wrote a book about being a happy stay-at-home mom, have six children. In the beginning, the run for Congress was a protest against big government and Washington excesses, he said.

"Most people told me I was crazy," said Duffy, a self-described "pro-life, pro-traditional-marriage, pro-gun, pro-Second Amendment" candidate in a district that President Obama won by 14 points and that has consistently backed Obey.

Against big odds, Duffy had a few good turns -- including lots of national ink when Sarah Palin endorsed him on the anniversary of the passage of the $787 billion federal stimulus package, of which Obey was the lead author. The lumberjack looked prescient rather than crazy when Obey decided last month not to run for reelection, saying he was "bone tired." Now Duffy finds himself in a race rated by political arbiters as a tossup...

Here's Duffy's campaign website, if you're interested in making a contribution.


Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Rachel Campos-Duffy: "Have We Become Too Casual? Why I Dress My Kids Up for Church"

Catholic Father of 6 Running for Congress Accused by Opponent of Being "Too Busy" With Kids to be Effective Representative

Rachel Campos Duffy: A Real Housewife of Wisconsin

Rachel Living in the Real World; The View Hags, Not So Much [UPDATED]

Blown Calls and a Lesson in Grace and Charity [UPDATED]

I originally added this as an update to my previous post on the subject, but I think it deserves a post all its own.

Joe Posnanski writes the best thing I've read about the perfect-game-that-should've-been at Sports Illustrated:

... There was something beautiful lost in the Jim Joyce fiasco, something that I hope I remember for as long as I remember the blown call. Yes, it’s hard to think about beautiful things when you have just watched one of the most absurd injustices in the history of baseball. But I’m a father of two young kids. And fathers find themselves looking for lessons. And there was something beautiful in the Jim Joyce fiasco.

[...]

And in that moment when he had a perfect game so unfairly taken away from him, he smiled. In the interview after the game, he simply said that he wasn’t sure about the call but he was proud of his game. When told afterward that Joyce felt terrible about the missed call, Galarraga said that he wanted to go tell Joyce not to worry about it, that people make mistakes.

Galarraga pitched a perfect game on Wednesday night in Detroit. I’ll always believe that. I think most baseball fans will always believe that. But, more than anything, it seems that Galarraga will always believe it. The way he handled himself after the game, well, that was something better than perfection. Dallas Braden’s perfect game was thrilling. Roy Halladay’s perfect game was art. But Armando’s Galarraga’s perfect game was a lesson in grace.

And when my young daughters ask, “Why didn’t he get mad and scream about how he was robbed?” I think I will tell them this: I don’t know for sure, but I think it’s because Armando Galarraga understands something that is very hard to understand, something we all struggle with, something I hope you will learn as you grow older: In the end, nobody’s perfect. We just do the best we can.

Armando Galarraga certainly taught me something about responding with grace and charity. It's a lesson I should have already learned by now, but it's one that I hope I never forget.


UPDATE
“A terrible story that just keeps getting better and better.”

Catholic Father of 6 Running for Congress Accused by Opponent of Being "Too Busy" With Kids to be Effective Representative

American Papist has the details.

I wouldn't be surprised to see the Democrats in Wisconsin try this tactic against Sean Duffy, also a young Catholic father of 6 children. (Duffy needs to update his campaign website - his wife, Rachel, just had their 6th child a little over a month ago.)

Tradition, Authority, Religion, and Constitutional Jurisprudence

A fairly interesting discussion from yesterday at The American Catholic, in case you're interested.

Happy 4th Birthday, Mary Virginia!

Those Little-Known "Theologians" Who Teach Us the Most About God

In a guest spot at Creative Minority Report, Marcel Lejeune of Mary's Aggies writes on the theologians who have had the most influence on him:

... Now, for the top five. These are names you may not recognize, but they have taught me more about God than anybody else.

They are – Kyra, Dominic, Olivia, Anna, and Elise – in no particular order. They are, of course, my kids (yes, 4 of 5 are girls – blessed am I among women).

I can’t think of anyone else who has helped me learn more about God than these kids who range from 10 to 2 years in age. They are the most insightful little monkeys you ever met. I offer three examples...

[More]

The Catholic Report Has Been Retired

Dave Hartline has announced that the 4-year run of The Catholic Report has come to an end.

Dave and his wife have just received a new arrival named Thomas Patrick - a much more important time commitment that cuts into the hours and hours of research necessary to put together a daily Catholic news report. However, Dave will still be doing some periodic blogging at The American Catholic and Per Christum, and will continue to write columns for The Catholic Times and occasional articles for Rome's Zenit News,

Best wishes to Dave and his growing family. He and The Catholic Report will definitely be missed.

Catholic Dads Has Moved

I have been remiss in only now directing readers of this blog to the new location of the Catholic Dads blog. Check out the fantastic new digs.

Some Recent Family Photos

New Arrivals

Congratulations are in order for 2 very good friends of this blog on the newest additions to their families.

Congrats to 1st-time daddy, Paul, on the arrival of Bernadette Lily Zummo:

Born early in the morning of February 19, 2009.

Mom and baby are doing fine. Daddy is very tired. Actually, all are tired.

Childbirth is awesome.

And all the best to 6-time daddy, Rich, on the birth of David Joseph Leonardi:

5:36 pm EST, 24 February 2009
8lbs., 1oz.; 22"
Hands like catcher's mitts

"Best Feeling You'll Ever Have in Your Life ... Just Become a Parent and You'll Find Out Why"

(Hat tip: HotAir via Creative Minority Report)

Michael Dubruiel, Rest in Peace [UPDATED]

Michael Dubruiel, the husband of Amy Welborn, passed away yesterday. This is tragic. Please pray for Amy and her family, especially her little boys who will be missing their daddy terribly.

Requiescat in pace.


UPDATE
Danielle Bean has started a collection for Amy and her family at the Faith & Family blog:

... I have heard from so many of you expressing a deep desire to help the family in some tangible way during their time of loss. I’ve set up a Paypal button to collect donations that will be sent to Amy, to help cover the costs of Michael’s funeral and any other expenses she might be encountering at this time...

[More]

UPDATE #2
Please buy this book, royalties from which go toward the Dubruiel children's college funds.


UPDATE #3
Amy has posted the text of Michael's poignant last column that he wrote for the diocesan newspaper.

Newsworthy Dads: Another Catholic in the House

From the Fathers for Good website put out by the Knights of Columbus:

Another Catholic in the House

As a surprise victor in the congressional district that includes New Orleans, Anh Joseph Cao is the “man of the hour” in the current news cycle. Yet with his strong family values and Catholic faith, which he learned before escaping as a boy from war-torn Vietnam, he could also be a candidate for “father of the year.”

After all, he knows that his role as father will last long after the media glare fades and he settles with his family in the nation’s capital as a first-term congressman from Louisiana in the U.S. House of Representatives.

“My family is the center of my life. I could not live without my wife and two daughters,” said the 41-year-old Cao in an exclusive Fathers for Good telephone interview. [The "C" in his last name is pronounced as "G"]

He was married in 2001 to Hieu “Kate” Hoang, and they have two daughters, Sophia (age 5) and Betsy (age 4).

The most memorable event of his fatherhood was the birth of his daughters, he said.

“To watch them grow into beautiful girls has been the joy of my life,” he said. “I enjoy coming home to my wife, and reading to my daughters and teaching them piano.”

Late Election

In an election delayed more than a month due to the effects of Hurricane Gustav, Cao defeated incumbent William Jefferson, who was hampered by corruption allegations but still outspent his opponent by a wide margin. Cao, the first Vietnamese-American to be elected to Congress, is also the first Republican to win Louisiana’s 2nd District since 1890.

A man who has been through much tougher battles than a congressional election, Cao is taking his newfound celebrity in stride, keeping his message simple.

“My mission in office will be to rebuild the 2nd Congressional District which was ravaged by Hurricane Katrina and where many parts still need help,” he said.

Cao’s own home filled with eight feet of water during the 2005 storm, yet he and his family rebuilt and returned, only to be hit again by Gustav this past September, when more than a foot of water rolled into his house while he was serving as a delegate to the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis.

These are just two incidents in a personal history marked by struggles against tough odds.

In 1975, as the Southern capital of Saigon fell to the North Vietnamese, the 8-year-old Cao was separated from his parents and escaped with two siblings and an aunt, who pulled them aboard a U.S. military airplane.

He landed in Guam and later settled with relatives in the United States. His father, a South Vietnamese army officer, was imprisoned for eight years but was reunited with his family in the United States in 1991.

From the time he arrived here, Joseph Cao’s life has been a true American success story, written with hard work and intelligence. He learned English, settled in Houston, Texas, graduated from Baylor University and entered the Jesuits in hope of becoming a priest.

“I wanted to become a missionary and serve the people of God,” he explained.

He traveled as a Jesuit novice to many poor parts of the world, earned a master’s degree in philosophy at Fordham University in New York City, and in 1995 began teaching at Loyola, the Jesuit University in New Orleans. Soon afterward, he discerned that God was calling him to another mission field, and he left the Jesuit community.

He earned a law degree in 2000 from Loyola University and has served in New Orleans as an attorney and a community advocate.

Through all the challenges, his Catholic faith has been a rock of stability.

“My faith has been the center of my life all these years,” Cao said. “I go to church almost every day to discern what God is calling me to do with my life.”

Right now, Mr. Cao goes to Washington, as a Republican reformer.

Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
I Didn't Know That ...

Young Faithful Catholics Jump into Political Ring

Jesuits Produce a Great Political Candidate

Passage of Down Syndrome Bill Inspired by Trig Palin and Heroic Catholic Dad

In the October 12-18 issue of National Catholic Register, Leticia Velasquez of the blog causa nostrae laetitiae has written an excellent piece on the passage of Sen. Brownback's Down Syndrome legislation:

... Enter two farmers, one from Kansas, and another from Virginia. Their confluence of compassion, combined with the star power of one special baby, has resulted in a minor miracle: a unanimous vote in the Senate with the approval of the Prenatally and Postnatally Diagnosed Conditions Awareness Act (S. 1810) on Sept. 23.

***
Suddenly, fate took a stunning turn when Sarah Palin rocketed into the national spotlight this month, her son Trig in her arms. He was a tranquil baby who now put a face on Down syndrome. America was completely smitten by the image of big sister Piper, who, while cradling Trig during her mother’s convention speech, licked her hand and smoothed down her little brother’s hair. Trig was the focus of affection in America, and again, parents of children with Down syndrome felt our hopes rise: Our bill might be approved.

Sen. Brownback, feeling the energy, took to the floor of the Senate in a bold move to extract his bill from an omnibus one weighted with pork, by requesting a unanimous vote. He had a silent ally: Thomas Vander Woude, a Virginia farmer, devout Catholic, and 66-year-old father of seven. Just a few days before, Tom saw his beloved 20-year-old son Joseph fall into a sewer, where he struggled to breathe, immersed in filth. Without hesitating, Tom dove into the sewer, holding his son’s head up so he could be rescued, sacrificing his life for a young man whom 90% of expectant parents reject; Josie has Down syndrome. Sen. Brownback told Tom’s extraordinary story in his speech.

Thomas Vander Woude’s mighty expression of fatherly love, combined with Sarah Palin’s gentle example of motherly love — refusing to abort a child whose birth complicated her career as governor of Alaska — brought this once forsaken little bill to victory in the Senate.

[Read the whole thing]

Very well done, Leticia!



Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Cardinal O'Malley: Trig Palin the "Star" of This Year's Political Conventions

Senate Passes Brownback's Down Syndrome Bill

Michael Gerson: "Trig's Breakthrough" [UPDATED]

Sen. Kennedy Joins Sen. Brownback on Pro-Life Legislation

EWTN Podcast Series on "St. Thomas More: Faithful Statesman"

(Hat tip: Julie D. at Happy Catholic)


Fr. C. John McCloskey and Dr. Gerard Wegemer discuss the dramatic life and visit the literary works of St. Thomas More, the Patron Saint of Statesmen and politicians.

Episode 1
The career of Thomas More is examined for the numerous instances in which he displayed the virtues which distinguished him as a model for others in public and political life.

Episode 2
The biographical accounts of the life of Thomas More by Erasmus and William Roper are examined for the distinguishing characteristics which cause him to be viewed as a model for others in public and political life.

Episode 3
The immense capacity of Thomas More for friendship is probed, with special attention to his relationships with Erasmus, King Henry VIII and Antonio Buonvisi.

Episode 4
Thomas More is likened to Socrates in his lifelong pursuit of truth and death for fidelity to his ideals.

Episode 5
Thomas More had a splendid education himself and saw to it that his children had the same. He sees it as the search for truth and a means to acquire character.

Episode 6
The literary career of Thomas More is examined for its brilliance, ranking him with Socrates, Cato and Cicero. Shakespeare was profoundly influenced by Thomas More.

Episode 7
Thomas More’s statesmanship relies on unchanging philosophic and theological principles, including the conviction that human beings are created free.

Episode 8
Thomas More believes that the Church ought to be free from the state’s control, allowed to exercise free speech. Thomas More was even praised by Henry VII for his rule of obeying God and conscience first, then one’s king.

Episode 9
When Thomas More cannot condone Henry the VIII’s actions of making himself the head of the Church in England and marrying someone other than his wife, he resigns and is unlawfully imprisoned.

Episode 10
Separated from his family, Thomas More lives in difficult conditions in the Bell Tower of the Tower of London for the last 16 months of his life. He writes moving literary works as he prepares for execution. His moving farewell to his daughter Meg is captured in a famous painting. He comforts those who ought to have comforted him.

Episode 11
In his time in the Tower of London awaiting execution, Thomas More writes moving meditations on the Agony of Christ in the Garden.

Episode 12
Educated at Oxford, he studies Greek with Erasmus. More courageously insists on priorities and decides which way of life to take.

Episode 13
Thomas More is an example for any man and father of a family. Over and above his qualities as friend and humorist, Holbein chooses to portray More’s fidelity to conscience as he paints the saint’s portrait. Thomas More Societies abound in England today.

NOTE: These downloads will be available at EWTN for only 30 days.

Knights of Columbus Launches "Fathers for Good"

From ChristianNewsWire via Catholic Online:

QUEBEC CITY (Christian Newswire) - The Knights of Columbus - the world's largest Catholic men's organization - will launch a major new initiative called "Fathers for Good" at the opening session of its annual convention on Tuesday, August 5th. The new program is a 21st Century evolution of the organization's long tradition of building better marriages and stronger families. A special website for the initiative, www.fathersforgood.org, will launch on the same day.

Supreme Knight Carl A. Anderson will announce the fatherhood initiative during his annual report at the 126th annual Supreme Council convention, being held this year in Quebec City, Canada. The Supreme Knight's report, and other portions of the convention, will be carried live on Catholic television networks in the U.S. and Canada, including the Eternal Word Television Network, Salt & Light Television and Catholic TV.

"Fatherhood is a gift, a privilege and a responsibility," Anderson says in a special video message on the Fathers for Good website. "The way in which we accept this gift, acknowledge this privilege and act upon this responsibility will determine the ways in which we will build up the good of our families and our communities."

"By being faithful to our calling as husbands and fathers," Anderson notes, "we are ultimately being faithful to ourselves."

***
The theme for the launch of the website is "A Father's Identity," which offers men resources on how to build a strong, loving and confident identity in a culture that often does not value fatherhood or masculine virtues. The theme of the site will be updated regularly, based on the votes for the next topic which visitors to the site will be able to cast.

[More]

Bishop Blair: "Think Parent"

Toledo Bishop Leonard P. Blair writes in the August issue of The Catholic Chronicle:

"Think Parent"

Written by Leonard P. Blair, Bishop of Toledo
Friday, 01 August 2008

... At one point I was asked what we as a church should be doing to minister to our young people. My immediate response was simply this: The most fundamental thing we can do for our young people is to support their parents! Today, more than ever, the church needs to educate and help parents in their God-given responsibility to raise their children.

Youth programs in the diocese and parishes are extremely important. Catholic schools and after-school religious education are essential. However, as the church has always taught, as studies show and as common sense dictates, parents are the single greatest influence on their children...

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that "the right and the duty of parents to educate their children are primordial and inalienable." (no. 2221)

***
The "primordial and inalienable" rights of parents are being undermined by a society that increasingly demeans and diminishes their role. Government, too, is more and more coercing a redefinition of the very meaning of parents contrary to the divine institution of marriage between one man and one woman.

***
Parenthood is not created or defined by the state, but by God. It is biological parents — not schools, government, child advocates or even churches — who have a divinely conferred and graced responsibility to raise their children. There is certainly an important place for step-parents, adoptive parents, foster parents or others who have been given legal custody of a child for compelling reasons. These "parent figures," however, do not take away from the fundamental reality of biological parents.

Last year, on Sept. 14, I joined a number of other religious leaders in northwestern Ohio in signing a covenant concerning parents. We committed ourselves ìto developing ways and means of honoring and supporting parents in their sacred role as we declare the year 2009 the "Year of the Parent." ...

[Read the whole thing]

(emphasis added)

My Comments:
I know I say it over and over again, but I am so thankful for our Bishop who uses his monthly column in the Diocesan newspaper to catechize the faithful, encourage and promote the family, and communicate timeless Catholic truths.


Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Bishop Blair: "The Church Militant"

Bishop Blair Composed Holy Spirit Novena

Bishop Blair: "Reflecting on Pope Benedict and the Seeds of Hope"

Bishop Blair: "Come Holy Spirit"

Bishop Blair: "Truly Grave Moral Reasons" and "Serious Moral Soul-Searching" Before "Could Be Morally Permissible" to Vote for Pro-Abortion Candidate

Bishop Blair: "Lent 2008: ‘Lord, Teach Us to Pray’ "

Bishop Blair: "The World is Not Enough"

Bishop Blair: "Peace on Earth, in Communities, Homes"

Bishop Blair Urges Toledo-Area Catholics to Reject Domestic-Partner Registry

Bishop Blair: "Listening to Our Mother"

"How a Shepherd Speaks"

Bishop Blair: "A Dialogue of Truth and Love"

Bishop Blair: "Upholding the Bond of Love" (Part 3)

Bishop Blair: "Upholding the Bond of Love" (Part 2)

Bishop Blair: "Upholding the Bond of Love"

Bishop Blair: "The Gospel of Life Revisited"

Bishop Blair: "Building Your House on a Rock"

Meeting the Bishop - After Action Report

Bishop Blair Teaches: "And With Your Spirit"

Bishop Blair: "What God Joins Together"