The Seminarian

I found these two Youtube videos the other day. I am pretty sure that its the same video but Youtube broke it in two. Its a video about a new seminarian, Reynaldo, apparently played by a group of Saint Meinrad seminarians. Its called appropriately, "The Seminarian". Its a bit fuzzy but there are some great parts, such as the excorcism class in which the seminarians take turns role playing a demon in a possessed person. The second part isn't as funny, but its worth it to see the one seminarian show up to class wearing a jack o'lantern costume and no one thinks anything of it.
Enjoy:

New blog: Idaho Catholic

I discovered a brand new blog today called Idaho Catholic. Two of his total three posts so far are about the Diocese of Boise. I like his opinions and I highly recommend this budding new blog.

Coeur D'Alene Diocese

This is the first part of a series I am beginning. I will still post on other issues and my usual stuff but I will try to post once a week on different arguments for a second diocese in Idaho.


Idaho is a large state (larger than 37 others), but the faithful only have one bishop. He is in Boise, of course. Which means he must travel all over the state to try and meet the needs of his flock. This takes him to far away parts of the state in the east and north.
While Eastern Idaho has an interstate and other highways to facilitate his travel, Northern Idaho has only one highway connecting it to the rest of the state. There will never be another highway since on either side of the existing highway is federal wilderness land. The road is slow, often narrow and dangerous. It is a trip that can only be scheduled a few times a year, unless the diocese pays to constantly fly the bishop. Bishop Michael Driscoll is a good bishop but, to better meet the needs of the Catholic population in Idaho it would seem logical to have another diocese in Northern Idaho, based in Coeur D'Alene.
Couer D'Alene and the surrounding towns still inside Idaho comprise well over one hundred thousand people. Kootenai County's population density is only surpassed by Ada County (Boise), according to a population density map by the Census Bureau. Its a thriving city that is growing at an incredible rate (an estimated 14% since 2000) along with the surrounding towns.
Moreover, the counties of Northern Idaho (Idaho County and all counties north of it) have a very significant portion of Idaho's population. Idaho has 1.466 million people by the US Census's 2006 estimate and 307, 300 live in Northern Idaho according to that same estimate. That makes about 1 in 5 Idahoans.
A new bishropic will only become more probable and more needed as time goes on and the population of North Idaho swells.

Snoring Scholar Carnival

The Catholic Carnival is up this week at Snoring Scholar.

Mary Poem

I had been trying to think of something to post for a couple of days, when for no reason I thought of Edgar Allen Poe's poem, "Hymn":

At morn–at noon–at twilight dim-
Maria! thou hast heard my hymn!
In joy and woe–in good and ill-
Mother of God, be with me still!
When the hours flew brightly by,
And not a cloud obscured the sky,
My soul, lest it should truant be,
Thy grace did guide to thine and thee;
Now, when storms of Fate o'ercast
Darkly my Present and my Past,
Let my Future radiant shine
With sweet hopes of thee and thine!

It inspired me to write my own poem about Mary. Its a prayer. It came to me this morning after I first woke.

Mother of God, Mother of mine
Plead for us to thine Son divine
Your heart was pierced with Seven Sorrows
Joy now forever, with Sharon's Rose
You, Mother, are every Christian's aid
Mother of God, You the Lord's handmaid
Plead for us for mercy from Your Son
Now and when our lives here are done.


And to finish off the post here is a link to Marian poetry by Thomas Merton.

Baby

I don't post many personal things, so most readers of my on and off blog probably haven't heard about my recent marriage (Feb17) or my wife's pregnancy (due Dec28). That's right, I am gonna be a father!
We are both blessed and overjoyed at having a child come into our life together. As great as it is now I can only imagine how great it will be once our child is born.
Btw, I have already posted pics of my lovely wife.

The newest Catholic Carnival is up at Living Catholicism.

Father Fath

Congratulations to newly ordained Father Robert Fath!!
He is the first home grown priest for the Diocese of Fairbanks.

Shekels and Fish

I know that I haven't posted in a while and I left no explanation and I do that fairly often. I apologize. Life is busy and blogging has to take a backseat.
I have been reading through the Gospels lately and I came across a passage I found very interesting. The tax collectors were asking Peter if Jesus and His followers pay the temple tax:

And when they were come to Capharnaum, they that received the didrachmas, came to Peter and said to him: Doth not your master pay the didrachmas? He said: Yes. And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented him, saying: What is thy opinion, Simon? The kings of the earth, of whom do they receive tribute or custom? of their own children, or of strangers? And he said: Of strangers. Jesus said to him: Then the children are free. But that we may not scandalize them, go to the sea, and cast in a hook: and that fish which shall first come up, take: and when thou hast opened its mouth, thou shalt find a stater: take that, and give it to them for me and thee.

First of all I would like to note that our first pope was speaking in Jesus' name while He was still alive according to this passage. I just thought that I would throw that out there.
However, the part I find interesting is the shekel in the fishes mouth. I am sure there is some significance to Peter finding a shekel in a fishes mouth. Otherwise why wouldn't Jesus just hand him a shekel?
The Lord of Heaven and Earth, the God of all Creation could surely have just pulled a shekel out of thin air. Maybe it was supper time anyways.

Belated Pentecost Post

OK, so I know that I am six days late on this post, but here it goes.
I am sure that many have wondered about my blog's somewhat cryptic name: 50 Days After. It is named for Pentecost, the birthday of the Church. Hence, of course, the pentecost pic on the right hand side. Even though I started my blog on a different day, Pentecost is like another birthday since it is the namesake of the blog.
I would also just like to add an amusing story about the Pentecost mass that I attended. I was out of town for the weekend in Anchorage, so I went to Holy Family Cathedral. As part of the reading, Jesus said "Peace be with you". As soon as the priest read this part of the Gospel reading a woman two pews in front of me responded back, "And also with you". I chuckled because we've all been there.