Hey I Used to Go to School With That Guy

Now this is pretty amazing. Dave Beaumont was in my class (’78) when we both attended “Our Lady Queen of Angels” high school seminary in San Fernando, CA. I haven’t seen or heard from him since those long ago days, though I did hear from some classmates of ours that he had entered the Capuchin order.

And just now, I see Dave turn up in, of all places, the Washington Post as Fr. Dave Beaumont, O.F.M., Cap. I’m not surprised at all to learn that he’s a dedicated friar engaged in some wonderful, grueling, sacrificial, and quite dangerous work, ministering to his flock in rural northern Mexico — right in the heart of where the drug-related violence is raging. I doubt you’ll ever see this post, Dave, but you sure can count on my prayers for protection and guidance. May God reward you. Siempre adelante!

Tom Peterson of Catholics Come Home Talks With Fr. Ben

Many of you are familiar with the wonderful media outreach to fallen-away Catholics that has been conducted for several years by the good people at Catholics Come Home. Their television commercials, which air around the country on secular television stations and networks, have proven to be quite effective in helping many thousands of people come into, or back into, the Catholic Church.

Tom Peterson, the president and genius behind Catholics Come Home and Virtue Media was recently the host on Fr. Benedict Groeschel’s EWTN television program, “Sunday Night Live,” explaining the behind-the-scenes work of the apostolate. It’s well worth the watch.

Hey! I used to go to school with that guy

Now this is pretty amazing. Dave Beaumont was in my class (’78) when we both attended “Our Lady Queen of Angels” high school seminary in San Fernando, CA. I haven’t seen or heard from him since those long ago days, though I did hear from some classmates of ours that he had entered the Capuchin order. 


And just now, I see Dave turn up in, of all places, the Washington Post as Fr. Dave Beaumont, O.F.M., Cap.  I’m not surprised at all to learn that he’s a dedicated friar engaged in some wonderful, grueling, sacrificial, and quite dangerous work, ministering to his flock in rural northern Mexico — right in the heart of where the drug-related violence is raging. I doubt you’ll ever see this post, Dave, but you sure can count on my prayers for protection and guidance. May God reward you. Siempre adelante!

You can't always get what you want

My grandson Patrick was not happy today when my daughter Bridget and her husband Al broke the news to him that their new baby on the way is a little girl. As you can see, though, his kid brother Joey wasn’t the least bit bothered by the news. And neither were Nancy and I and the rest of the family!

Tom Peterson of "Catholics Come Home" talks with Fr. Benedict Groeschel

Many of you are familiar with the wonderful media outreach to fallen-away Catholics that has been conducted for several years by the good people at Catholics Come Home. Their television commercials, which air around the country on secular television stations and networks, have proven to be quite effective in helping many thousands of  people come into, or back into, the Catholic Church.


Tom Peterson, the president and genius behind Catholics Come Home and Virtue Media was recently the host on Fr. Benedict Groeschel’s EWTN television program, “Sunday Night Live,” explaining the behind-the-scenes work of the apostolate. It’s well worth the watch.

A Catholic College Girl's Lament

So, you think it’s safe to send your children to (at best) a nominally Catholic college or university? Think again. Meet Emmy Cecilia (her pen name), a young Catholic woman who made the uninformed and greatly regretted decision to enroll in a prestigious, four-year “Catholic” university out West. She explains what it’s like for a student who believes what the Church teaches to attend a school where practically no one else does, especially her professors, who seem bent on expunging any traces of Catholic orthodoxy in their students before they graduate. P.S. I should mention that I know this young woman personally, and I can vouch for her credibility, sincerity, and honesty.

Being at a CINO (Catholic in Name Only) college is hard and getting harder. I’m beginning to see certain assignments marked down. The tension between professors and certain students (myself included) is beginning to increase. My anxiety’s also beginning to get a lot worse. . . .

On Friday I was talking to another faithful Catholic and she was talking about leaving the school as soon as the semester was over… and she’s not the only one. Many of us who do not agree with the “teachings” that happen at that school are considering transferring elsewhere, even if it means losing this semester. I had the good fortune of meeting a former student and she said she left after a year because she went through the same that I went through with the professors . . . and she had the same professors, years ago, that I have now.

You can just imagine how bad things are. I don’t 100% regret going there only because it’s taught me a valuable lesson, but I wish I would’ve really looked at the school before even applying. I knew things were bad but I didn’t know the extent of it until I actually got there. I think I can withstand the abuse (and I feel like it is a form of abuse) for another semester or even until I graduate but I am not 100% sure. As I said, my anxiety is getting worse (so much worse) so I am really thinking about what to do. . . .

Understatement of the year: "This debate will be followed closely at the Turkish embassy."

As Europe slowly begins to wake up to the serious danger it faces, a gutsy Catholic member of the Austrian parliament, Ewald Stadler, adds a few choice words of his own. Please watch all five minutes of this amazing speech.

Courtesy of Eponymous Flower.

I'm not entirely sure what this means, but it made me chuckle

Their name is Luka

Did NASA Discover Life on One of Saturn's Moons?

Gawker reports:

NASA is holding a press conference on Thursday “to discuss an astrobiology finding.” Are they going to announce that they’ve found evidence of extraterrestrial life?

• A geobiologist who’s written about “geology and life on Mars”;
• an oceanographer who’s done extensive work on arsenic-based photosynthesis;
• a biologist examining Titan, the largest moon of Saturn, and its similarities to early Earth;
• and an ecologist investigating the “chemistry of environments where life evolves.”

(. . . continue reading)

A Catholic college girl's lament

So, you think it’s safe to send your children to (at best) a nominally Catholic college or university? Think again. Meet Emmy Cecilia (her pen name), a young Catholic woman who made the uninformed and greatly regretted decision to enroll in a prestigious, four-year “Catholic” university out West. She explains what it’s like for a student who believes what the Church teaches to attend a school where practically no one else does, especially her professors, who seem bent on expunging any traces of Catholic orthodoxy in their students before they graduate. P.S. I should mention that I know this young woman personally, and I can vouch for her credibility, sincerity, and honesty.

Heavenly Eye Candy: The latest images from the Hubble Telescope

These are simply ineffable. Whenever I see this kind picture of the heavenly bodies, I think of the biblical exclamation of awe and wonder:


“O Lord, our Lord, how majestic is thy name in all the earth! Thou whose glory above the heavens is chanted by the mouth of babes and infants, thou hast founded a bulwark because of thy foes,
to still the enemy and the avenger. When I look at thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast established; what is man that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man that thou dost care for him? Yet thou hast made him little less than God, and dost crown him with glory and honor. Thou hast given him dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet.”


(click here for more images, or click the stardust above)

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