Indiana Jones: Lose

You heard it here first: it turns out the movie was wrong. Ethiopia has the Ark of the Covenant, and tomorrow's the big unveiling.

It's been a long time since it was misplaced--the Babylonians stormed into Jerusalem in 586 BC and ruined the temple, but what happened to the ark was a mystery. Now the Orthodox Patriarch of Ethiopia, perhaps having seen the reruns of Indiana Jones, wants to set the record straight.

Corresponding to Jewish legends that the ark disappeared into Ethiopia via Egypt 2,600 years ago, the Patriarch announced earlier this month to Italian news agency ADNKRONOS that his church has had custody of the Ark up till today. And so tomorrow, June 26, ADNKRONOS confirms, "Il mondo conoscerà l'Arca dell'Alleanza". Which is Italian for, "The world will know the Ark of the Covenant." Just don't ask what their name means.

All this, of course, barring a lawsuit from the Indiana Jones franchise.

Is the Abortion Debate Over?

Here's a great article by the same name coming from Micah Watson: looking at how the discussion has developed in the last 30 years, he gives a very clear summary of the main points of the argument.

Sign Right Up

If you've been puzzling over what to put up on the sign out in front of your church this week, puzzle no more:

1.  Give God what's right -- not what's left.

2.  Man's way leads to a hopeless end! -- God's way leads to an endless hope.

3.  A lot of kneeling will keep you in good standing.

4.  He who kneels before God can stand before anyone.

5.  Don't put a question mark where God puts a period.

6.  Don't wait for six strong men to take you to church.

7.  Church: prayer-conditioned.

8.  Plan ahead -- It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark.

9.  Many want to serve God, but only in an advisory position.

10.  Truth decay? Brush up on your Bible.

11.  Worry: the darkroom where negatives develop.

12.  Give Satan an inch & he'll be a ruler.

13.  Be fishers of men -- you catch them, He'll clean them.

14.  God doesn't call the qualified, He qualifies the called.

Happy New Year!

The Solemnity of the Sacred Heart yesterday kicked off the new Year of the Priesthood, proclaimed by Pope Benedict XVI on Tuesday. Tuesday was also the The year also commemorates the 150th birthday of the Curé d'Ars, Saint John Vianney, patron saint of parish priests and newly made patron of this upcoming year. Of course, all things cool have web pages, so click over for footage and updates. The year was "meant to deepen the commitment of all priests to interior renewal", writes Pope Benedict. This renewal corresponds to "the new springtime which the Spirit is now bringing about in the Church".

"The priest is not a priest for himself, he is a priest for you.” Saint John Mary Vianney

The Lost Files: The Temple of Karnak

Thebes didn’t have just one temple, of course.  And the temples they did have kept getting expanded and enlarged by pharaohs who realized that bigger was better.

Definitely bigger.

Witness Karnak, the sprawling temple complex just north of the temple of Luxor.  Remodeled and tinkered with for over 1,300 years, it has a lot of carved rocks left behind today.

Like these guys by today’s entrance:

Unfortunately, what you can’t see from these photos is the scale: these columns are absolutely massive—with diameters of over three meters, they are over 21 meters—almost 70 feet—tall.

They also had the tallest obelisks in Egypt there:

The tallest currently in Egypt, I should say.  I learned that all of Egypt’s tallest obelisks are in Rome.  I thought I’d seen these things somewhere before.

Father Severhino and I spent hours hours wandering through the vast complex.  You get thirsty after a while.

Enough to lose your head, it seems:

Though the place was named Karnak, I didn’t see any cars anywhere.  Or anyone who had a knack for one, as far as I could tell.  There sure were plenty of names lying around though, or at least carved into the rocks.  Using bugs and such as symbols.  So that you would never forget who these people were.

The Lost Files: The Temple of Luxor

One of the misleading elements of a blog is that it gives the impression of keeping one up-to-date on the adventures and escapades of the blogger, which could very well be the case, except when the blogger is a slacker.

Like myself.

In such a case archives of photos and events build up that should be posted, but instead languish away in obscurity. In an attempt to (begin to) rectify this egregious delinquency, witness the beginning of ‘The Lost Files’.

Beginning with April’s trip to Egypt. Based on what was posted, you’d never know we got past the pyramids. Two of us, however, remained in Cairo as the rest of our group bussed back to Israel. Going first to celebrate Mass with the Missionaries of Charity, they told us about the Franciscans in Luxor, which was our next destination.

Far up the Nile River in the heart of Egypt, Luxor was once the capital of ancient Egyptian, known then as Thebes. Taking the night train that followed the Nile, Father Severhino and I arrived in the city at dawn, which today boasts the most extensive temple complexes of the ancient pharaohs, as well as many of their tombs.

Our early arrival gave us a view of the main temple in the morning sunlight.

Going right in, we had the site virtually to ourselves.

Not counting guys like this, of course.

One of the most spectacular things of walking through the ancient ruins was the sheer magnitude of the scale. Everything was so massive.

Our research confirmed: there remains the remembrance of those who walked like an Egyptian.

All in all, it was a monumental site:

With much to ponder (so we sphinx).

Spending two nights in town (more photos yet), we were able to get to know the Franciscans and meet the Catholic community, as well as celebrate Mass for the sisters who ran a grade school. Definitely an experience worth chronicling.

Back to School

I know this is a very long quote, but it's a selection worth reading in its entirety: Pope Benedict's answer to a child last Saturday who asked how we can help proclaim the Gospel. Benedict, ever the teacher, highlighted several points:

First of all, prayer. Prayer is a reality: God listens to us, and when we pray, God enters into our lives, he becomes present among us, active. Prayer is a very important thing, which can change the world, because it makes the power of God present. And it is important to help each other to pray: we pray together in the liturgy, we pray together in the family. And here I would say that it is important to begin the day with a little prayer, and also to end the day with a little prayer: remembering our parents in prayer. Pray before lunch, before dinner, and on the occasion of the common celebration on Sunday. A Sunday without the Mass, the great common prayer of the Church, is not a real Sunday: the heart of Sunday is missing, and with it the light of the week. And you can also help others – especially when there are no prayers at home, when prayer is unknown – you can teach others to pray: pray with others and introduce them to communion with God.

Next, listening, which means really learning what Jesus tells us. Moreover, knowing the Sacred Scripture, the Bible. In the story of Jesus, we come to know the face of God, we learn what God is like. It is important to know Jesus deeply, personally. This is how he enters into our lives, and, through our lives, enters into the world.

And also sharing, not wanting things for ourselves alone, but for all; sharing with others. And if we see another who may be in need, who is less fortunate, we must help him and in this way make the love of God present without big words, in our little personal world, which is part of the big world. And in this way we become a family together, where each respects the other: bearing with the other in his uniqueness, even accepting those we don't like, not letting anyone be marginalized, but helping him to be part of the community. All of this simply means living in this big family of the Church, in this big missionary family.

Living the essential points like sharing, knowing Jesus, prayer, listening to each other, and solidarity is a missionary activity, because it helps the Gospel to become a reality in our world.

Ha Ushpizin

You may never have had visitors quite like these--this 2004 film set in Jerusalem takes you into the celebration of Succoth, traditionally a time for welcoming guests. A riveting glimpse into a faith and prayer of Orthodox Judaism, this whimsical yet moving holiday story is well worth your time.

A group of us sat down to watch it last night, and in addition to the fun of seeing local streets on film, Ha Ushpizin also left you with music running through your head.

This clip isn't a trailer, but the song from the closing credits--here remixed with clips from the film:

The refrain--'For You are Holy, and Your Name is Holy"