Thought of the day

What was said here

Thought of the day

Some do not realize how much they contribute to my daily cross...it's heavy enough as it is :)

Thought of the day

I love both Popes, but reading Francis through Benedict XVI isn't working...how about reading Francis through Paul VI .....now it all makes sense :)

Thought of the day

For in His grace, all things are possible, perhaps situations one never thought about being in, but God knows exactly what He's doing, even when it seems like He doesn't.

On reason, cause and it's proper use

In the teaching of physics for however long it's been, each year I gain various insights on different subjects...

In the beginning, we always teach kinematics and dynamics. Kinematics is the study of motion without regards to cause, and Dynamics is the study of motion with regards to cause. 

The word aitia (αιτια) means cause, reason, or reason which is worthy of punishment

Ex 9, 18 Behold I will cause it to rain tomorrow at this same hour, an exceeding great hail: such as hath not been in Egypt from the day that it was founded, until this present time.

In this situation, God is the reason for the rain that will happen on the next day. That is to say that He is the agent of motion that is giving the visual effect. 

In Dynamics (δυνα-force)....we study the motion with regards to different causes

generally, we call these causes forces (a push or a pull on a body)...

All of these causes have an agent through which they can happen. Whether it be a rope, our own hands, various machines, or even God can act as an agent through which the cause happens. 

However, in our understanding of the earth, our existence is real, and so truly we can be causes or agents in things that happen in the universe. Tis one of the gifts of free will, that we can freely participate in the actions of the universe...thus it's appropriate to say:

• I threw the ball at the tree
• You jumped on top of a truck
• She hit the ball out of the park
• We pulled the wagon
• They caused rotation of the glider.

What I find interesting on this is that we get to participate in the very act that God did himself....what we do is called pro-creation for a reason. It's a participation in the creation of the universe that God created for our use. 

The greek word for create is δημιουργία (recognize part of this word, the same word for force is involved)...so really something to think about creation might more literally be translated as to force by nothing. that is to say ex nihil....

Continuing thoughts later as the computer is about to die soon...:)

Dr Potillor, perhaps so....

As I'm sure many of you know that my view on glorified pieces of paper (aka college degrees) is a rather slim one. Pieces of paper do not tell what you know, but rather that one can put up with a liberal establishment long enough to get your name printed on a piece of paper :)

That said, If I was ever to pursue a Ph.D....it'd be either at this school or this one

And some have asked, why in the world would I go to Belarus for my Ph.D? Well, allow me answer

1) Because the easy way wouldn't be fun

My mother always said about me that I do things the hard way....that I never liked shortcuts, alas that's still true...(Mom's wish is that I went to Notre Dame)...thought about it....but Notre Dame is probably not very Catholic now is it?....I mean there's always the other Notre Dame University....

2) The following pictures

3) The research topic

Since I keep it in my mind to do 1 physics problem per day to keep my mind occupied, my love of optics is coming back, and I'm realizing there were some topics that I thought about doing, (but I ended up doing something different, maybe now is the time to pick up the topic....

Do pray for me though...First to actually talk with the profs about their research :)

Thought of the day

Faith should be seen in every action, gesture and word

Thought of the day

To seek popularity for its own sake is wrong. Stand up for what is right, because it is right, not because you wish to be popular...if you make enemies along the way so be it.

Apparently, we're getting Pope Francis wrong....ooooor maybe, just maybe, he's doing things to promote this image?

There was an article that I read in first things, claiming that we're getting things wrong about Pope Francis: Alas, I think I should respond...

1. Francis is anti-Benedict XVI

Just because someone "likes" or "respects" someone, doesn't mean they share the same viewpoints on issues of the day. If you want an example of this how about the friendship of Fr Hans Küng and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI...they were classmates and are friends, but the two have completely different viewpoints of the Church.

I most certainly think Pope Francis respects Emeritus Benedict XVI, but I most certainly do not thik that there's an automatic implication that he agrees with everything that Emeritus has said and done...and if that isn't obvious, let me help :)

• The immediate change to the Papal Inauguration ceremony changing the public obedience of every cardinal to just a few....(while it could have very well been a practical matter)...there was a reason that Emeritus Pope Benedict XVI changed the ceremonial back to the original form...clearly he had seen the massive disobedience and wanted to restore public acknowledgement of every one's obedience to the Holy Father. 
• For not being a Liturgist, you'd think he'd leave things to the MC and resign himself to the rubrics of Holy Mother Church...not quite so much: the deliberate disobeying of the rubrics on Holy Thursday (and don't make any excuses for him being in a prison, he knows better)...being the Pope is not merely being another Bishop amongst Bishops, but the vicar of Christ....if he really agreed with the Emeritus Pope on matters Liturgical, he wouldn't have touched ANYTHING! (I thought we had reached Papal Liturgical Lows under JPII...until this image...

• While he did publish Lumen Fidei...(and outside of his additions, I liked it)...quite frankly that was the logical thing for him to do, there was a finished encyclical, it only made sense to publish it....in particular in the Year of the Faith, and if he didn't publish it, there would have been an incompleteness to the Year of Faith...It would make no logical sense to change the substance of the Emeritus' work while he's alive, and could easily make Pope Francis' life a living nightmare (he wouldn't; not in the person of the Emeritus Pope, but possibilities are there)
• I tend to think if the world likes someone, that the particular someone is doing something wrong. To seek popularity for the sake of popularity is horrible. I most certainly know that the Pope has no control over how the media portrays him, but he DOES have control over what HE says and does....there is such a thing as speaking too much, I think the recording of the daily homilies is a BAD idea....too much can be brought into them....

2. Pope Francis is not a culture warrior

Perhaps, as good intentioned as it is to not usurp the local Bishop in their own battles, sometimes it is necessary to use the big sticks and speak on these particular things. He's certainly spoken as Archbishop of Buenos Aires, I'll concede that point, but that said, an address intended for universal audiences has not been done....It doesn't mean it's a bad thing, it simply means that as far as public pronouncements on these issues, we should expect less of them. 

In other words, the fight is with us, and we are supposed to do the fighting for these particular issues and policy changes....probably as it should be, but it's nice to know that we have support from the Holy Father :D.

3. Pope Francis is a "Social Justice" Pope

Well, let's be honest, he's talked a lot about it, from the type of cars we drive, to not forgetting the hungry, or the immigrants. I'm not going to dismiss them, but I will say these are matters of prudential judgement...on which people can disagree. 

• I have zero idea why we're trying to be "popular" or with it, the Church is the Church, and she will always be hated, let's just get over that right away. The car that one drives, while the "image" may be tarnished, if the car serves the mission, why bash it? 
• Certainly we are to feed the hungry as this one of the works of mercy, but it does not say how to do such....Should the government do this? Should private organizations? Should we as individuals? there can be disagreement on how to do this. 
• A nation has a right to secure its borders. A nation should also be friendly to those that come seeking a better life, but to those that do not follow the laws? What should we do? We can't award them amnesty for breaking the law....bottom line, laws are to be followed, otherwise they are to be changed to better suit the situations at hand. 

The fact that Cardinal Mahony rejoiced at his election...tells me just about everything I need to know...

4. Pope Francis will be more generous towards dissenters...

On this I agree on, Pope Francis has called for obedience several times during this pontificate, and I think he will continue to do this. That said, all the wrong people are rejoicing...and that makes me sick to my stomach....I'm starting to think that this pope is our chastisement as a Church....Let me be wrong, please :)

5. Pope Francis loves the world

Well, to be fair, he's an extrovert, and needs to be with people (extroverts give me headaches as a rule :p, (so yes, that means JPII gave me a fair amount of headaches too))...so that has something to do with it....the others:

• Visiting the prison...On HOLY THURSDAY...he could have went the day before,  another day, but not on the date of the Institution of the Holy Eucharist and the Priesthood
• Giving his security team headaches....He's no longer the no-name Bishop of an unknown diocese...being the Pope means there will be a giant target on your back....don't let your death be accidental...I mean goodness, we want you alive Holy Father...:)
• The constant photo ops, it is one thing to kiss babies, previous Popes have done so too, but it's constant to the point of annoyance...it's probably my own introverted, I get sick of people weakness :)...
• All of the liberal cardinals, and all of the media love him...which probably means something....You can tell a lot about a person by who praises them, and who crucifies them...

To be fair, he may not be all of these things, but the images don't help, and sometimes, his words don't help either...God have mercy on me a sinner, for I have sinned without numbeer. 

And some may say, oh you miss Pope Benedict XVI, and to that, I say darn straight I do...Emeritus Pope shares my personality type. (ISTJ)...And I related to the Emeritus extremely well...and I do not have the same warmth for Pope Francis...I do have the same love, as he's the vicar f Christ and we do owe him obedience...

To be fair, he may not be all of these things, but the images don't help, and sometimes, his words don't help either...God have mercy on me a sinner, for I have sinned without numbeer. 

Thought of the day

Know that your worth is not proportionate to likes on a facebook page

on WYD and a few other things

a. Apparently, there's some kind of World Youth Day going on in Brazil...

To be perfectly honest, I've always found attempts to "make things relevant" rather revolting, because they do not let the truth or the beauty of the subject at hand do the attracting. To paraphrase Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI "The Truth itself is attractive" ...The Truth doesn't need to be relevant for today, the Truth always is, and does not change...while we certainly don't need sour faced saints...and we certainly need saints in today's culture, I think that the culture needs to conform to the Trth, not the other way around.

b. Speaking of our Liturgically emancipated Pontiff (his words not mine)

I don't dare tune in for the Liturgies that are being celebrated at WYD....The Liturgy  is a given, not something to be "emancipated" from...without the Worship that is due unto God correctly, everything else falls out of order....Kyrie eleison....

c. Also some kind of rioting has been happening too

Rioting makes anyone, and those who support them look like incompetent fools..and that's being kind. It is one thing to disagree with something that goes on in society whether it be a trial verdict, an action done by corrupt cops, or various other things, it is another to destroy public property...Display disgust, but in an orderly and peaceful fashion, please! I'm not going to lie, I have been embarrassed by the actions of the riots that have taken place by people...it sickens me.

d. First world problems

When payday is next week, and one needs to be in California this week :)

Pax Vobis

Thought of the day

I believe and profess that this....

Thought of the day

One is free to disagree with the verdict, but riots make you look like idiots :)

Thought of the day

The size of a man can be measured by his sweet tooth, and his love (or lack there of) of kitties. So look at this picture and smile :D

Picture of Contessina :)

Thought of the day

It is absolutely pathetic when the real crimes are being hidden from the public eye, and people that are innocent are being crucified upside down.

Thought of the day

If I'm going to commit a crime, I'm most certainly not going to call the cops. Effectively that'd be saying "here i'm going to commit a crime, please come arrest me." If any criminal did that they'd deserve to go on America's dumbest criminals...

Thought of the day

The tendency to react with emotion, leads to illogical conclusions...avoid it at all costs.

On the various reactions that I have seen from the Zimmerman trial

I was hoping to only write one entry and be done with this topic, but alas, the stupidity of the human race prevails once again, and I thus must come out and educate those that are reacting out of emotion and not reason. Allow me to help all of you :D

Not guilty: means the evidence that was presented in the court was not enough to convict the person of the crimes that were charged against them....It does NOT justify an end, nor does it mean that a person may be completely innocent. Is it possible for a jury to come to a wrong conclusion? Yes, but all things being equal, this is what a not guilty verdict means...lawyer friends of mine: Digi, Mariana, and Kit, can assist me if I'm in the wrong.

No, the death of Trayvon is not in vain because of a not guilty verdict, it means, the evidence that the prosecution presented (you know, Travyvon's Lawyers, the guys prosecuting Zimmerman) did not demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt, that Zimmerman had committed murder or manslaughter.

Beyond a reasonable doubt, perhaps it seems subjective in a sense, but perhaps it is not the case. Beyond a reasonable doubt means that the evidence that is presented in court must show that the charges are justified. If for any reason they do not connect to the charges, the logical conclusion must be to acquit the person of the charges that are filed against them.

It saddens me to see everyone react on an emotional level to these situations. Is it too much to ask people to use logic, and take their biases and leave them and measure things based upon what is known.

Should Trayvon have died that night? Of course not, the death of anyone is tragic, No one should be rejoicing in the death of this person. Indeed people should be in charity praying for his soul and for his family as well, the loss of a loved one (regardless of criminal record) is a painful thing for anyone.

Did Zimmerman have a right to be suspicious of Trayvon? Absolutely, if there is someone that you don't recognize in the neighborhood, regardless of their background, one will probably be suspicious of them at least until you get to know them, or they come around often enough and are not a bother.

Should Trayvon have kept a low profile because of his criminal past? Absolutely, if one is constantly in trouble with the law, one ought to try and not get in trouble, and keep to themselves, and not do anything to attract attention to themselves.

Should Zimmerman have kept following? Absolutely not, once Trayvon was out of sight...Turn around and go back...

Should Trayvon have come back in the direction of Zimmerman afterwards? Absolutely not, if some one's following you, you go away, to a point where you can't be found, or where you're at a safe distance, or a populated area with people as to cause a distraction.

Did Zimmerman have a right to defend himself at the altercation? Absolutely, there's no need to take a beating if one can defend oneself. This can even mean a gun if the situation calls for it...As I recall, Trayvon died from the injuries, not directly at the scene.

That is to say BOTH SIDES did something wrong, again as we say, the ends do not justify the means, no one needed to die that night...since intent could not be shown from the evidence that was presented, the logical conclusion was to reach a not guilty verdict.

In America when one is acquitted of a crime, one can't be charged again for the same crime. This situation is called double jeopardy. It's basically to prevent an abuse of the system, where if one doesn't get a verdict that one likes, one can keep charging until a conviction is brought...But of course since the law does not matter to the "administration" in charge....they will find a way around this....

I'll repeat what I said in the beginning, a not guilty verdict means that the evidence did not prove the charges that were filed...It does not imply that a person is completely innocent from wrong doing?

Because I know someone would probably think of this, let's talk about the OJ case. In the OJ case, there was tampering with the evidence, which lead to the acquittal. Ironically, the same thing happened in this case, but not in the way that you'd expect. The media (MSNBC) edited the tapes of what happened to fix the narrative of the story...but this time around the correct conclusion was reached based upon the objective evidence that was there...

This shouldn't even be a story, or even news, but happened, so prayers for everyone involved..

Now I hope we're all able to screw our heads on straight and not react out of malice and emtoion to a particular narrative just because we want to interject our own strifes and struggles in with various situations that happen around the country....

Kyrie eleison, Pax Vobis

The George Zimmerman Trial

I haven't been following the trial closely, but have been paying attention. The verdict of not guilty was found: It's a good thing.

It is the job of the prosecution to prove their case beyond a reasonable doubt. They did not do this, therefore the verdict of not guilty is the only logical conclusion to be reached. Whether Zimmerman or Trayvon was in the right, we'll probably never know because none of us were at the crime scene......

But here's what we do know:

1. MSNBC edited the tapes to fit a particular narrative
2. From the visual evidence Zimmerman was not the agressor
3. The appeal to emotion for the jurors did not work
4. Trayvon has had trouble with the law in the past

As a physicist and mathematician, I am glad that the jury judged based upon the evidence that was presented in court, weighed both side's arguments and came to a solid conclusion. I'm glad that none of them bowed to the altar of political correctness and caved in just to fit a story to a  narrative. 

I think everyone in this trial is going to either need the witness protection program, or asylum to another country...It's going to get ugly....prayers for everyone involved.

I'm absolutely sick of the race wars, and reverse racism that goes on by some (not all) in the black community. Why are we not up in arms when we take one of our own due to gang violence? Why are we not up in arms, when we see the breakdown of the family in the black community? Why are we not up in arms over abortion, which claims more black babies than all other groups? Why is it that when it's only someone of a different ethnicity that we get up in arms about violence in our communities? 

We need to stop living in the past, and get on with our lives. 

I'll say it again, I do not know who was in the wrong, or who was in the right, and to be perfectly honest, I do not care who was or who wasn't. But based upon what was presented, a not guilty verdict was the only logical conclusion to reach...This case should not have been filed, or lesser charges should have been brought....It's a sad day for everyone. 

Thought of the Day

The Church will never win any popularity contests, we really need to stop trying to win them.

Thought of the day

It doesn't seem to make sense to have Eastern parishes under Latin Bishops, wouldn't it make more sense for the Eastern parishes to be under the closest Eastern Rite Bishop?

Thought of the day

I believe the vast majority of people are conservative in their nature. Change sucks. It's just that few act on this interior conviction....

New background

Hopefully the new background makes it easier to read my posts :)....Thanks for reading

Thought of the day

Poor Msgr Marini, I'm sure he had nothing to do with this ferula: This puts a brand new meaning on the words "Liturgical Purgatory"...If I was Orthodox, I'd be laughing.

Thought of the day

If time was not ordered, the Liturgical calendar would be pointless

So I hear 2 Popes will get canonized and there was an encyclical

a. On the official canonizations Pope JPII, and John XIII

I'm afraid this is going to be used by those that subscribe to the hermeneutic of rupture to justify virtually anything (in particular JPII). So thus, if you see lots of Koran kissing, and Assisi meetings in repeat....As I've stated before, I do believe that JPII is a saintly person, I simply think not enough time has passed between his death for the cult of personality behind him to subsist and his life be looked at from an objective point of view....Fortunately as Catholics we have a variety of intercessors, it is not necessary to use all of them....St Tatyana, ora pro nobis

As for Pope John XIII, I wasn't around then...I have nothing to say.

b. The encyclical released on Faith

I will give commentary at a later time, outside the additions, so far from what I've read, I like it.

Thought of the day

There is a reason that different charisms exist in the Church...there cannot be an imposition of charisms on the Church Universal by anyone. That is to say, we're not called to use our gifts in the same way in each situation.

Thought of the day

Someone once said never let anyone take advantage of your patience....

Thought of the day

Guilt is letting your ego get in the way of the mercy of God.