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From a Reuters article:

Federal lawmakers reached an agreement on Saturday on a compromise bill to prolong the life of Terri Schiavo... House Majority Leader Tom DeLay said.

"We are confident that this compromise addresses everyone's concerns," DeLay, a Texas Republican, said at a news conference. "We are confident it will ... restore nutrition and hydration to Miss Schiavo."

Keep praying for Terri, her family, her husband (Michael), judge Greer, and everyone involved in this case!

There are still some details of the Senate version of the bill that may not be quite as good as the House version, but it just might be the key to returning Terri's chance for living her life a little longer—right now, every day is an important struggle. There's also a video (Windows Media) on 'Jackson's Junction' of Rep. Tom DeLay's announcement of the bill and details surrounding it. [And he also mentions Palm Sunday!]

There is now a great deal of news coverage on the Terri Schiavo story; as of 9:00 this morning, Google News cataloged over 1,600 stories in worldwide media concerning her plight. As of right now, it seems that she may be allowed to live for a short while longer. Every day is another victory, and we must continue to pray for Terri—a lot rides on her case. Can we let someone starve to death as many would have Terri do?

Michael Schiavo

As I promised, I am posting a few pictures from the German-Irish St. Patrick's Day Celebration/Competition at the Seminary.

The Germans (with whom I am affiliated) won in overall competition. We did not win the Volleyball match (to my great dismay), but we dominated the crab soccer game, the shower curtain flip and the Irish trivia (imagine that: Germans winning Irish trivia!).

It was, of course, all in good fun, and I look forward to possibly switching alliances next year. After the competitions, we finished the evening with evening prayer and a hearty German and Irish dinner (bratwursts, potatoes, clover-cookies, rice crispie treats and a green cake with mint-green ice cream).

I just wanted to wish everyone a happy feast of St. Joseph of Arimathea! For those not in-the-know, this is the Joseph mentioned in the Bible as having offered a tomb for Jesus and he also is rumored to be the caretaker of the Holy Grail after Jesus' death.

I think I might be missing some other feast today...

Oh, wait! I think I've found it! There's some Irish guy also... I'm thinking the color green... AH! St. Patrick. So that's why we're having 'German/Irish day' at the seminary. Oh, and that's why we're playing VOLLEYBALL! (In case you don't know, volleyball is my favorite sport—which I played throughout my life until recently).

Ah, the memories...

I'll be posting pictures sometime soon, so check back often!

From Catholic News Service:

"The success of Dan Brown's novel, "The Da Vinci Code," is the result of a marketing strategy playing on anti-Catholic sentiment, said Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone of Genoa, Italy.

The cardinal told Vatican Radio he was particularly concerned about the fact that the book, first published in Italian in 2004, now is available in paperback and is popular among high school students.

"There is an idea circulating in the schools that one must read this book to understand the dynamics of history and all the manipulations carried out by the church in the course of history," Cardinal Bertone told Vatican Radio March 15.

"This is truly sad and terrible," he said, explaining why he had scheduled a public discussion about the book in Genoa.

Cardinal Bertone said the most ridiculous premise in the novel is the Catholic Church's alleged "obliteration of the feminine aspect from the Gospel narratives and in the life of the church."

I'll let you decide. The Facts: Seen in the Seminary's hallways (outside the St. Charles Borremeo Oratory), St. Patrick (in a decidedly green vestment) was seen waving the German banner—with a small smile on his face, nonetheless!