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While listening to a ’62 reminisce over Christmas dinner about the spirited traditions and rustic lifestyle he had known at Dartmouth, I couldn’t help but share in some of his nostalgia. It was saddening to appreciate that while Dartmouth has made great strides, it has also thrown away much of what made it special. In 1993, Dartmouth ended a more than century-old tradition in which graduating seniors would smash long clay pipes on the stump of the old pine tree in the BEMA. The custom, based on the smokers’ habit of breaking off part of the pipe’s stem after it...

(kreuz.net, Benin) Bishop Pascal N’Koué (51) of Natitingou in Benin has led his old Mass already since October 2003 in his Diocese. That can be read in his report on the third anniversary of the historical Motu Proprio 'Summorum Pontificum'.

Some few generations ago, men in America as well as Europe themselves actually slaughtered live pigs, ducks, hens and calves for Christmas by their own hand. Or, at least, their local butcher did so for them. Today, even the inhabitants of India, once an extremely poor nation, buy their meat pre-packed and wrapped up in plastic at local supermarkets. Sweden is no exception to the rule, but at least we Scandinavians get in touch with our inner Viking eating habits once a year. The article from www.thelocal.se: "Does anybody actually eat pig's feet? Why do Swedes think of porridge as...

The Christmas story retuned... enjoy ! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-4y5mK_o9E&feature=player_embedded

Iraqi women recently competed in the Miss Baghdad beauty pageant - an event that was on hold for nearly 30 years during years of war and Ba'ath Party rule.

I'm fair puckled! Another day. Another reason to deny my Scottish heritage. From the Telegraph, London (so it must be politely explained): The Scottish Tartans Authority has decreed that refusing to put on underwear beneath a kilt is "childish and unhygienic". It also warned that "going commando" flies in the face of decency. Tartans Authority director Brian Wilton said kilt wearers should have the "common sense" to realise they should wear underwear beneath their country's national dress. He said "The idea that you are not a real Scot unless you are bare under your kilt should be thrown into the...

CHAPTER I. DEFINITION. – EVERY PERSON HAS SOME SPECIAL VOCATION. Q. What is a vocation?A. A call from God to some state of life. Q. Which are the principal states of life?A. Matrimony, virginity, the religious state, and the priesthood. Q. Has every person a vocation?A. Yes; God gives a special vocation to each person. Q. How is this doctrine proved?A. St Paul says: “Every one hath his proper gift from God; one after this manner, and another after that. . . . As the Lord hath distributed to every one, as God hath called every one, so let him...

The Meal Table Is Frequently Little More than a Night Table in Front of a Magnificent AltarA German Bishop has sharply criticized the post-conciliar liturgical reform. One wanted to tear out the altar --- and horribly degraded it. [kreuz.net] The Liturgy must be recovered as the "holy life's blood" of the Church. Bishop Emeritus Klaus Dick (82) of Cologne explained most recently in a lecture in Cologne. On Friday the Cologne 'Domradio' (Cathedral Radio) recording of the presentation. It consists most substantially from citations -- predominantly from Pope Benedict XVI.

Does Purgatory Deny the Sufficiency of Christ's Sacrifice? by: Matt Slick According to the Handbook for Today's Catholic, page 47, "If you die in the love of God but possess any stains of sin, such stains are cleansed away in a purifying process called Purgatory. These stains of sin are primarily the temporal punishment due to venial or mortal sins already forgiven but for which sufficient penance was not done during your lifetime." The Catholic Catechism, paragraph 1030, says that Purgatory is for "All who die in God's grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their...

Three years after 'Summuorum Pontificum' the German traditionalists are still outdistanced by the Society of Saint Pius X which is by far the best. [kreuz.net] In Germany there are 133 locations, at which the Old Mass is celebrated. The website 'paixliturgique.at' reported on the numbers, which have been published by the organization 'Pro Missa Tridentina'. 58 locations are only celebrated during the week -- without Sundays. That is 43 percent of all the official listed possibilities for participating in the Old Liturgy.

DOVER, N.H. – In 1632, John Tuttle arrived from England to a settlement near the Maine-New Hampshire border, using a small land grant from King Charles I to start a farm. Eleven generations and 378 years later, his field-weary descendants — arthritic from picking fruits and vegetables and battered by competition from supermarkets and pick-it-yourself farms — are selling their spread, which is among the oldest continuously operated family farms in America.

 *Bishop Fellay says the " Holy Father celebrates the old Mass privately" and that an italian Bishop has said he will leave the Church if he does.  He said this in a speech at the 2010 priestly ordinations.*(Kreuz.net) Pope Benedict XVI. And his secretary George Gaenswein celebrate the old Mass. This is according to the General Superior of the Society of Pius X, Bishop Bernard Fellay, in a speech in the 8th of July in the Brazilian city of Bahia.You can listen to the speech on the page '4shared.com' under user 'fbmvm'.

TOLEDO, Ohio, July 8, 2010 – The O’Connor family from northwestern Ohio prides itself on spirituality and hard work, while giving back to their community. Army Brig. Gen. John “Jack” O’Connor stands for a photo with his parents after his promotion to brigadier general at MacDill Air Force Base, near his parents’ home in Tampa, Fla. The O’Connors, natives of Toledo, Ohio, taught their children by example the importance of giving back to their community. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Brandon Babbitt  (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Army Brig. Gen. John “Jack” O’Connor, commanding general of Army Materiel Command...

Featured Term (selected at random):MOTIVES OF CREDIBILITY The rational grounds for accepting divine revelation in general, or of the divine establishment of the Catholic Church in particular. These grounds are also called the preambles of faith. They include the evidence from reason that God exists; that what he reveals is believable because he is all-wise and true; and that he did actually make a revelation because he performed and continues to perform verifiable miracles testifying to his having spoken. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

A Closer Look at the Peculiar Preamble to the Passover SederIt always helps to know what you're saying, especially if you want to get into the spirit of things. Most American Jews who attend a Passover Seder these days say the Haggadah in English, which makes sense if your Hebrew is rather limited. In ancient times, the common language, the lingua franca, in Israel and the surrounding countries was Aramaic. Nonetheless, the Haggadah was said in Hebrew, because most Jewish people understood it reasonably well even though they didn't speak it at home or on the street. And yet, the...

Catholic Biblical Apologetics Apologetics without apology! What does the Roman Catholic Church teach about ...? ... and why? This website surveys the origin and development of Roman Catholic Christianity from the period of the apostolic church, through the post-apostolic church and into the conciliar movement. Principal attention is paid to the biblical basis of both doctrine and dogma as well as the role of paradosis (i.e. handing on the truth) in the history of the Church. Particular attention is also paid to the hierarchical founding and succession of leadership throughout the centuries. This is a set of lecture notes...

Catholic Biblical Apologetics Apologetics without apology! What does the Roman Catholic Church teach about ...? ... and why? This website surveys the origin and development of Roman Catholic Christianity from the period of the apostolic church, through the post-apostolic church and into the conciliar movement. Principal attention is paid to the biblical basis of both doctrine and dogma as well as the role of paradosis (i.e. handing on the truth) in the history of the Church. Particular attention is also paid to the hierarchical founding and succession of leadership throughout the centuries. This is a set of lecture notes...

Catholic Biblical Apologetics Apologetics without apology! What does the Roman Catholic Church teach about ...? ... and why? This website surveys the origin and development of Roman Catholic Christianity from the period of the apostolic church, through the post-apostolic church and into the conciliar movement. Principal attention is paid to the biblical basis of both doctrine and dogma as well as the role of paradosis (i.e. handing on the truth) in the history of the Church. Particular attention is also paid to the hierarchical founding and succession of leadership throughout the centuries. This is a set of lecture notes...

Catholic Biblical Apologetics Apologetics without apology! What does the Roman Catholic Church teach about ...? ... and why? This website surveys the origin and development of Roman Catholic Christianity from the period of the apostolic church, through the post-apostolic church and into the conciliar movement. Principal attention is paid to the biblical basis of both doctrine and dogma as well as the role of paradosis (i.e. handing on the truth) in the history of the Church. Particular attention is also paid to the hierarchical founding and succession of leadership throughout the centuries. This is a set of lecture notes...

Catholic Biblical Apologetics Apologetics without apology! What does the Roman Catholic Church teach about ...? ... and why? This website surveys the origin and development of Roman Catholic Christianity from the period of the apostolic church, through the post-apostolic church and into the conciliar movement. Principal attention is paid to the biblical basis of both doctrine and dogma as well as the role of paradosis (i.e. handing on the truth) in the history of the Church. Particular attention is also paid to the hierarchical founding and succession of leadership throughout the centuries. This is a set of lecture notes...