Blog

After reading an article on ZDNet News, I felt obligated to post part of it here and comment on it.

From the article:

"The number of blogs and the use of blog readers rose rapidly last year--but a majority of Americans still do not know what a blog is.

A report by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, called the "State of Blogging," discovered that readership of Web blogs--essentially, Web-based diaries--spiked 58 percent last year, with 27 percent of Internet users, or 32 million people, saying that they read blogs. Twelve percent of people who read blogs also chose to post comments on them.

Blog creation is also growing. By the end of 2004, seven percent of U.S. adults, or more than 8 million people, had written a blog, according to the study.

...Blog creators tend to be young men who have broadband and are Internet veterans. Fifty-seven percent of bloggers are male.

Hmm... who does that sound like?

My mom noticed an editorial in the St. Louis Post Dispatch today, titled "It seems no calamity can stop spite or hatred", following typical mainstream media style in it's blatant and non-fact-checking bashing of the Catholic Church.

The article states, concerning foreign aid offered by Israel but refused by Sri Lanka:

In researching my previous post, I found a nugget in Robert Lockwood's Anti-Catholicism in American Culture:

"Another approach to discrediting the Church — and one in which the news media are quite culpable — involves distorting Church history or Church teachings, or giving disproportionate attention to actual or alleged misdeeds by individual Catholics.

It would seem that the age-old 'debate' over Pope Pius XII's actions is going to enter a new chapter in the next few weeks. Dawn Eden of The Dawn Patrol has alerted me to a new news story about a letter that somehow incriminates Pope Pius XII, making it seem that he ordered Jewish children who were helped by the Catholic Church during the Holocaust be detained from their families if they had been baptized.

The central issue, In My Humble Opinion, concerns certain groups' and individuals' anti-Catholic bias and vendetta against the Church. But, since this letter is the cause of much confusion and misinformation, I will analyze it as best I can.

For those of you who don't already know, January 1st is the Feast of Mary, Mother of God. Now, most dioceses in the United States do not require Catholics to attend Mass on this date this year (as a Holy Day of Obligation) because it falls on a Saturday; but in many other countries (and in New York, I'm told), today is a Holy Day of Obligation.

Anyways, I would just like to let everyone know what a wonderful blessing it was for me to be able to celebrate the New Year with a holy hour before the Lord during Eucharistic Adoration, then Mass at midnight (fireworks were present outside the chapel!), and finally a small celebration afterwards (complete with pretzels, chips and cheesecake!). I found this to be a wonderful way to kick off what I think will be the best year of my life so far.

May Mary intercede for us as we begin this New Year, and may we remember to thank our blessed virgin Mother on this day for her acceptance of God's Son into her womb over two millenia ago!

I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year: