We bid farewell to Archbishop Burke at his last official event in St Louis at Kenrick the other day. His homily and his words to the seminarians after Mass brought tears to my eyes. I don’t think many people realize how much he cared about the people of the archdiocese, how much he prayed for them, and how hard he worked. It was very hard to see him go, and I don’t think I will ever really know how much of an influence he had on me. Though he was not my own bishop, I studied in his archdiocese, and he always took great paternal interest in and care for the seminarians here.

Thank you, Your Excellency, for everything.

“Quantum potes, tantum aude.”

Well, I can’t donate blood for a year because on one trip to Puerto Vallarta from Guadalajara, our bus went through the very tip of a yellow area on the map that the Red Cross people showed me. I thought for sure that the indigenous village, if anything, would get me blacklisted.

Sanguis vetatus, by the way.

I’ve had a good last week for productivity. I’ve finished (or improved greatly) several personal writing projects and done some work on a few websites that I run for others. It’s true that I haven’t blogged much. Maybe I can improve that when I get back to school. Certainly, once I get those Mexico photos, it’ll be game-over as far as the blog’s concerned.

Also, I translated some responsa ad dubia for a friend of mine. Of course, I lost the file and had to start over at one point.

I really need to work on my thesis now…

Today is my mother’s birthday (also the optional memorial of the dedication of St. Mary Major, though the basilica is older than my mom). The occasion reminds me that I’ve used one’s mother’s birthday as an example before in a discussion about interpreting the Gospel for preaching.

Basically, my point was this: We need to avoid an approach that makes the stories in the Gospel generic. They’re not fables or fairy-tales. They contain archetypes, but they’re archetypal only secondarily. They are only exemplary because they are first concrete and unique occurrences in history.¹ When interpreting the Annunciation, for instance, we can’t let our preaching reduce it to a model of being called by God to do something that seems impossible or hard. Yes, it is a model, and the model applies to all of us, whereas none of us is going to be called to be the Mother of God. Nevertheless, it is first a unique event. The Annunciation is not only a species of the call-scene genus, it is more like the perfect form to which all other call-scenes are what they are by resemblance.

In a similar way, today is important to me not because it is an instance of “one’s mother’s birthday” but because it is my mom’s birthday.

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1 Have you ever wondered why the Bible includes things that seem completely irrelevant at times? Why, for instance, do we need to know that the slave’s name was Malchus? Because that’s how it happened. Those little lines are powerful connections with people and events, not concepts.

I got the “Windows Key” on my laptop to be used as a modifier key to get international characters in x.org.

¿Tienes sueño?

The pastor of the parish taught Ryan and me to play Dominoes last night. I think I understand how to play. We begin classes a week from today.

We arrived safely and punctually in Mexico City. I cannot emphasize enough how large this city is (Es una ciudad mas grande que todas las otras ciudades en la tierra.). I also cannot emphasize enough how bad the traffic is. The lines on the road mean nothing. The signs mean nothing. Nothing. It is an absolute free-for-all struggle for survival.

So far, it’s been great. We went to the cathedral, which is absolutely amazing, of course. On Friday, myself and three others leave for Guadalajara.

We have some photographs (Tenemos algunes photos.), and I’ll try to get them up when I can.

I just offered my first practice extraordinary form low Mass in our chapel this afternoon. It will take me some time to be graceful with all the gestures and to associate the gestures closely with the prayers. I’ve also got some memorizing to do!

When I’m in Mexico, I’ll probably practice the ordinary form of the Roman Rite Mass in Spanish. This year, it would be great to learn the roles of Subdeacon and Deacon at solemn high Mass as well.

I still have not received a call from a supervisor at ASUS. Of course, I’m leaving for Mexico tomorrow, so I doubt I’ll be able to make any progress until I get back. I may try to email them.

America magazine had a contest awhile ago to write an essay on the theme “the case for God.” I thought about entering it, but I had plenty of things that I was obliged to write, and I didn’t think my chances of winning were that good.

Now, if the theme is simply about proving God’s existence, that’s not exactly fresh. It’s been done. Also, once we come to know that God exists, what are we supposed to do? Walk away from the chalkboard, brush off our hands, and call it a day? The choice of legal vocabulary for the theme, however, seemed to me to imply something more than proving God’s existence; it seemed to presume God’s existence but without regarding his authority. It seemed to beg whether man needed God anymore. Not just atheism, but God-is-dead-and-we-killed-him nihilism.

My entry would have put the theme on trial, so to speak. Honestly, “the case for God”? Are we, his creatures, judges while the onus lies on God to prove himself to us? Read Job. How prideful can we be?

After debunking the theme, my essay would have gone on to discuss the time when God really was on trial and we really were the judges. Remember that? Even Pilate said, “I find no case against him.” God did die, and we killed him.

In the end, the essay would have been about our pride and God’s humility.

Cat-5’s name is now officially spelled with a hyphen.