Blog

It's 10:22 a.m. Eastern Time right now, and I'm finally getting a little bored (thus I have taken out my laptop and am blogging again. I tried reading Augustine's On Free Choice and the Will, but after about ten pages, my brain was a little too tired to comprehend all the data in the pages (that's what happens when you've been on a bus for fourteen hours with many talkative high-schoolers (and seminarians!), with little sleep).

It's been snowing much harder now; a large storm has found it's way to the roads we are driving on (supposedly there are 6-8" of snow in some Midwestern locales!). I have said a prayer for our caravan's continued safety, and I hope all the rest of the pro-lifers are having a safe journey as well.

I'm working on posting more pictures from today (Saturday), but don't have very many so far. I do have a picture of the heavy snow that has been falling around where we are (somewhere in Pennsylvania):

Hello everyone! Right now, I'm on the road somewhere in Ohio (even though I am posting the entry on Saturday afternoon in D.C.), and there are about two inches of snow on the ground. I slept for about five and one-half hours, but can't seem to fall asleep anymore (I'm not too fond of sleeping on buses...). Right now, it's 6:00 a.m. St. Louis time, 7:00 a.m. in Washington, D.C. -- the sun is not yet up in either place!

Here's the bus I'm traveling on:

Our bus prayed evening prayer and a rosary, watched American Idol (the St. Louis audition show - ick!), screened Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, then prayed night prayer and proceeded to take a stab at sleeping. After four bus-riding 18-hour trips, you'd think I'd have it nailed... but, no, I was aching quite a bit when I arose; these seats aren't the most comfortable in the world ;-) .

FYI to all readers: I'll be leaving for Washington, D.C. in two days (Friday). I am travelling (via bus) to the annual March For Life -- the 32nd one, to be exact -- to take a stand for all the babies who have been negatively affected (by that, I mean killed) by our culture's general disrespect for the unborn, made more popular by the infamous Roe vs. Wade judicial decision in 1972 (although, it turns out, the "Roe" in the aforementioned case has since turned Pro-Life).

For your benefit, I will be taking pictures of all the sights while in D.C., and I will be able to post them daily (possibly along with a blog topic), since (I recently discovered), the hotel I'm residing in will have free wireless access! Please pray that all those who are journeying to D.C. this weekend may arrive safely, and for our march to show the nation the importance of a renewed respect for life.

I leave you with a picture from last year's March for Life:

Recently a friend of mine has found herself suffering unfavorable circumstances, and I ask all my readers to pray for her, even if it be a simple, short prayer. As I was praying communal evening prayer in the college Chapel, I noticed a relevant scripture passage (1 Peter 5:7-11), and I thought I would share it with everyone:

I don't normally take these quizzes, but "I just had to know!" I don't know if I should be proud or not...

Make sure you know what your SPID (if you're using ISDN) or your MAC ID (if you're not) is before taking the quiz. (Or am I bluffing?).

I am sure bishop Basile Georges Casmoussa thanks everyone for any prayers and support!

From Reuters.co.uk:

"VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Iraqi Catholic archbishop of Mosul who was kidnapped at gunpoint on Monday was freed today and said no ransom had been paid.

Archbishop Basile Georges Casmoussa, 66, said on Tuesday he hoped his ordeal would not be seen as an attack on the Church in the predominantly Muslim nation.

The Vatican, which had condemned the abduction as an "act of terrorism", welcomed his release and said Pope John Paul "thanked God for the happy ending".

Casmoussa told Vatican Radio he had been treated well during his one day in captivity.

"As soon as they found out I was a bishop, their attitude changed ... I think that my abduction was a coincidence. In recent times, there have been numerous kidnappings around here," Casmoussa said.

"Based on the conversations I had with them (the kidnappers), it didn't appear to me that they wanted to strike at the Church as such."