Monday, April 07, 2008

Favorite Churches Meme

Fr. Longenecker has listed his 10 favorite churches. I assume that to properly participate in this meme you'd have to have actually been to all of the churches you list. Fr. Longenecker didn't tag me, but here's my list in no particular order:
St. Joseph's / Shrine of St. Katharine Drexel, Columbia, VA


Bishop Emeritus Walter F. Sullivan blessed the new grotto
featuring a statue of St. Katharine Drexel with two children
at St. Joseph’s/Shrine of St. Katharine Drexel in Columbia, Virginia
on December 17, 2006. Image Source: The Catholic Virginian.

This was the first parish I attended as a Catholic. It is also the parish where my 2 sons were baptized. You can read about the historical importance of this small parish here.


St. Mary, Mother of the Redeemer, Norwalk, OH


Image Source: Alex Fries

This is my parish church. My 2 daughters were baptized here.


Cathedral of Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, Toledo, OH


Image Source: Toledo Museum of Art

From the Rosary Cathedral website:
The Diocese of Toledo is not a century old and yet for well over forty years of its history, the cathedral or chair of its bishops has sat in this, Our Lady, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary Cathedral, as a sign of the presence of the shepherd-servant of Christ’s people in northwestern Ohio. The Cathedral, a masterpiece of art and a monument of immigrant faith, most recently experienced a new birth as the mother church of Toledo in its renewal and renovation according to the directives of the Second Vatican Council. In 1979, Bishop John Donovan, our fifth shepherd, re-dedicated the altar (now brought forward to the people) amid a grateful throng who prayed, praised, and applauded with great gusto on the evening of September 18, opening a fresh chapter in diocesan history. As the mother church of the over 131 parishes of our diocese, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary, leads the way as a twentieth century, renovated house of worship, while remaining an American-Medieval Cathedral of Spanish Plateresque style—an album of art; a sacred site; a story of faith in stone, paint, precious metal, glass, and wood.

Mission San Jose, San Antonio, TX

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From Wikipedia:
Mission San José y San Miguel de Aguayo was established in 1720. Located at 6519 San Jose Drive, it was designated the San Jose Mission National Historic Site in 1941. The historic site was administratively listed on the National Register on October 15, 1966. Mission San Jose was founded by Father Antonio Margil de Jesús.

Shrine of Our Lady of Walsingham - Slipper Chapel, Little Walsingham, Norfolk, England



Image Source: First 3 photos from Official Shrine Site of Our Lady of Walsingham (by permission); Photo of image of Our Lady in Slipper Chapel by Catholic Mom of 10

In 1934, the English Bishops named the Slipper Chapel the Roman Catholic National Shrine of Our Lady. The Slipper Chapel's first Mass since the Reformation was celebrated there on August 15, 1934, and on September 8, 1938, the Shrine was re-consecrated by the local Bishop. The most important image in the Chapel is the Statue of Our Lady of Walsingham.


St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle


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This chapel, constructed by Henry III in the early 13th century, and dedicated to St. Edward the Confessor, underwent a radical overhaul during the 14th century reign of Edward III, and was rededicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, St. George - England's patron saint, to whom the king had personal devotion, and St. Edward the Confessor. St. George's Chapel is most recently famous as the site of the "Service of Prayer and Dedication" following the Marriage of HRH The Prince of Wales (a.k.a. Charles) and HRH The Duchess of Cornwall (a.k.a Camilla).


Gloucester Cathedral, Gloucester, England

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Famous for its beautiful cloisters - used to film some of the school scenes in the Harry Potter movies - and its collection of Green Men, Gloucester Cathedral is probably my favorite amongst the Cathedrals and churches we visited while in England. We arrived early in the morning, so we had the run of the place for a while. The kids loved running around the vast expanse and listening to the reverberation of their voices. Wonderful gift shop - we spent waaaaay too much money here. Just outside the Cathedral Close, through a medieval arched gateway, sits the site of the house of the Tailor of Gloucester, made famous in Beatrix Potter's tale of the same name.


King's College Chapel, Cambridge, England



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It took over 100 years and 6 kings to build King's College Chapel. Begun by Henry VI in 1446, it was finally completed by Henry VIII in 1547. The chapel has a marvelous vault ceiling, which is unsupported by any columns, having only the external walls as means of support. King's College Chapel is probably most famous for the King's College Choir, which perfoms Choral Evensong daily during term at Cambridge and performs the world-renowned Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols on Christmas Eve.


Catholic Church of Our Lady and St. Finnan, Glenfinnan, Scotland

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The following is from a news article from Historic Scotland describing a Historic Scotland grant the church has received:
This is a Roman Catholic Church built by E W Pugin in 1873 in an area distinguished by its strong post-Reformation RC presence. It contributes by its setting to the sensitive and important wider visual and historical landscape of Glenfinnan. Architecturally, it is a competent work by a nationally known firm of architects and is B-listed. Within a dominantly Presbyterian Scotland, Catholic survival/17th century missionary driven revival were important elements in Lochaber’s historical development. In this context, the building of the church and the choice of site has great cultural resonance. Glenfinnan, at the head of Loch Sheil, was the place where Prince Charles Edward Stuart raised his standard in 1745 – representative of the Catholic Stuart claim to the throne. The church is set on a high knoll and overlooks the Glenfinnan Monument which commemorates the event.
This church is the only church in the U.K. with a monument to Prince Charles Edward Stuart (Bonnie Prince Charlie).


Dunkeld Cathedral, Dunkeld, Scotland

Image Source: The copyright on this image is owned by Alison Stamp and is licensed for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 license. This file is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.0 License (cc-by-sa-2.0). In short: you are free to share and make derivative works of the file under the conditions that you appropriately attribute it, and that you distribute it under this or a similar cc-by-sa license.

From Wikipedia:
Dunkeld Cathedral stands on the north bank of the River Tay in Dunkeld, Perth and Kinross, Scotland. Built in square-stone style of predominantly gray sandstone, the cathedral proper was begun in 1260 and completed in 1501. It stands on the site of the former Culdee Monastery of Dunkeld, stones from which can be seen as an irregular reddish streak in the eastern gable.

Because of the long construction period, the cathedral shows mixed architecture. Gothic and Norman elements are intermingled throughout the structure. Although partly in ruins, the cathedral is in regular use today and is open to the public. A small museum offers a collection of relics from monastic and Medieval times.

Relics of Saint Columba, including his bones, were said to have been kept at Dunkeld until the Reformation, at which time they were removed to Ireland. Some believe there are still undiscovered Columban relics buried within the cathedral grounds.

The original monastery at Dunkeld dated from the sixth or early seventh century, founded after an expedition of Saint Columba to the Land of Alba. It was at first a simple collection of wattle huts. During the ninth century Caustantín mac Fergusa constructed a more substantial monastery of reddish sandstone and declared Dunkeld the Primacy (center) of the faith in Alba.
Tag: Anyone else interested in doing this.

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Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Another Book-Related Meme

Just a day after my lamenting how notoriously bad I am at completing and passing along blog memes, Fr. Longenecker tags me with a meme regarding "must read" books and authors:
Three non-fiction books everyone (at least every Catholic) should read
1. Jesus of Nazareth by Pope Benedict XVI - I'm currently reading it, and highly recommend this study of the life of Christ authored by Christ's Vicar.
2. Witness to Hope by George Weigel - The definitive biography of Pope John Paul the Great.
3. Letters to a Young Catholic by George Weigel - Experiencing Catholicism as a "sense of being".
(Honorable mention: The Confessions of St. Augustine)

Three books of fiction everyone should read
1. The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien - In my opinion, the greatest work of fiction in the 20th Century.
2. The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame - You don't have to be a child to appreciate the beauty of this magnificent and poetic work. Then again, maybe you do (at least at heart).
3. Great Expectations by Charles Dickens - Heartbreaking, yet hopeful.
(Honorable mention: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain)

Three authors everyone should read
1. J.R.R.Tolkien
2. Charles Dickens
3. G.K. Chesterton

Three books no one should read
I've only read one book in my life that I would recommend that NO ONE should EVER read under ANY circumstances, and that's The Amityville Horror. I read that book years ago as a student (it was inexplicably among the books offered for sale through my Jr. High School and I stupidly purchased it), and Satan used that book to haunt my dreams for months.


I tag the Darwins, Jean, and Tertium Quid.

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Tuesday, May 08, 2007

Movie Meme

Jean from Catholic Fire has tagged me with the movie meme.

The rules are:

- Go to IMDB.com and look up 10 of your favourite movies.
- Post five (5) official IMDB "Plot Keywords" for these 10 picks.
- Have your friends guess the movie titles.
- Then tag three people.

1) Good Versus Evil, Sacrifice, Whipping, Independent Film, Controversial
2) Historical, Revenge, Tragic Hero, Public Execution, Freedom
3) Historical, Political, Religion, Catholic, Conscience
4) 19th Century, Romance, England, Opposites Attract, Based On Novel
5) Sword And Sorcery, Bravery, Compassion, Friendship, Sacrifice
6) Biographical, Independence, Political, 1920s, Character Name In Title
7) Cold War, US Navy, Salesman, Culture Clash, Independent Film
8) Murderess, San Francisco California, Scottish Wedding, Actor Playing Multiple Roles, Meat Cleaver
9) Army Life, Voyeur, Mud Wrestling, Recreational Vehicle, Blockbuster
10) WWII, Nazi, Yugoslavia, Dam Busting, Sequel

I tag the following three people:
Anita at V for Victory,
Tony at Catholic Pillow Fight,
and Michael at For the Greater Glory (who should be studying rather than answering memes).

Also, anyone else who is interested in this meme.

Can anyone identify these? A hint - I've discussed most of these before on this blog. All but #6 and #7 should be fairly identifiable without much effort.


UPDATE
Here's what's been filled in so far:

1. Passion of the Christ
2. Braveheart
3. A Man for All Seasons
4. Pride & Prejudice
5. Lord of the Rings
6.
7.
8. So I Married an Axe Murderer
9. Stripes (I'll go ahead and fill this one in, even though the person who identified it second-guessed himself on it)
10.

That leaves what I would have considered the 3 most difficult movies on my list to identify. If no one guesses by tomorrow morning, I'll give additional clues in the form of words that SHOULD have been key words in the IMBD database but were not.


UPDATE #2 (9 May 2007)
All but one have been identified:

1. Passion of the Christ
2. Braveheart
3. A Man for All Seasons
4. Pride & Prejudice
5. Lord of the Rings
6. Michael Collins - the clue I was going to add if Cath hadn't guessed it was "Horribly Miscast Actresses Doing Awful Irish Accents"
7.
8. So I Married an Axe Murderer
9. Stripes (I'll go ahead and fill this one in, even though the person who identified it second-guessed himself on it)
10. Force 10 from Navarone - the clue I was going to add if Bob the Ape hadn't gotten it was "Indiana Jones and Appollo Creed join forces with a couple of Brits (one of whom is the same guy that Jaws ate) to kill Nazis and blow stuff up"

That leaves what I consider the most difficult to identify because it's fairly obscure. Here are some additional clues about # 7 in the form of words that SHOULD have been key words in the IMBD database but were not:

Spanish Hotties (or Catalan Hotties to be more specific), The "Ugly American", The "AFL/CIA"


UPDATE #3 (9 May 2007)
All 10 movies have now been identified:

1. Passion of the Christ
2. Braveheart
3. A Man for All Seasons
4. Pride & Prejudice
5. Lord of the Rings
6. Michael Collins
7. Barcelona
8. So I Married an Axe Murderer
9. Stripes
10. Force 10 from Navarone

Kudos to The Unseen Blogger for coming up with #7.

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Friday, March 16, 2007

6 Weird Things Meme

Both GOP Soccer Mom and Jean have tagged me for a "6 Weird Things About Me" meme. I'm sure there are way more than 6 things about me that are weird. Nonetheless, this is going to take some thought.

My blogging will be light Friday and over the weekend, so it may be the first of next week before I have something posted on this. I'm sure you're just sitting on the edge of your seats in anticipation.

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Friday, January 26, 2007

Well Met

Mrs. Darwin has (sorta) tagged me with a meme that I'm not about to touch. Instead, I'll take the politically correct way out:
Who are the five Catholic (or Christian) bloggers whom you would most like to meet in person, but have not (yet)?
I'm not going to name a top 5 of bloggers I'd like to meet, because I would like to meet ALL of the bloggers on my blogroll*.

There. Was that politically correct enough?

Hey, here's an idea for a meme:
Name the Catholic (or Christian) bloggers that you have personally met.
I've named the ones I've met below. Everyone who reads this can consider themselves tagged.



* I've already met Rich Leonardi, Joanna Bogle, Fr. Dwight Longenecker, Boethius, and Fr. David Nuss, which isn't to say that I wouldn't want to see them all again.

And I'm not sure, but I think I spoke with
Fr. Tim Finigan during my pilgrimage to Walsingham in September 2005. A priest commented favorably on my Cardinal Ratzinger Fan Club t-shirt that I was wearing, and said he had a pro-Ratzinger bumper sticker on his car. I could swear he looked like Fr. Finigan. Just in case that wasn't him, I'll leave him in the list of the bloggers I'd still most like to meet.


UPDATE (27 January)
Fr. Finigan has written in to confirm that it WAS he that I met that day in Walsingham. Cool.

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Sunday, January 21, 2007

Catholic Culture Meme

Jean of Catholic Fire tagged me with the following meme:
Name a Catholic book that you want to share so much that you keep giving away copies:
Letters to a Young Catholic by George Weigel

Name a work of religious art you'd like to live with:
Black Madonna of Czestochowa

Name your favorite Catholic artist:
(tie) Fra Angelico and el Greco

Name a work of Catholic fiction which has penetrated your real life:
The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien

Name your favorite Catholic Musicians - male & female:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart & Hildegard of Bingen

Name your favorite musical:
"Les Miserables"

Name a punch line that always makes you laugh:
"Yeah, it's deep, too."

I tag the following five people:
Paul, Caveman, Joee, Fr. Longenecker, Carolina Cannonball

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