Blog Archives - ROBERT E DUNN

crucifixion date

12/30/2021

I have referred to the date of the Crucifixion before. Jimmy Akin is a serious Catholic writer who has done the research and fixed the date: April 3, 33.

I lose interest when someone throws Bible verses or platitudes at me. It means they have memorized a quote and been told what it means, or they have copied something. No serious thinking going on.

I am more interested in someone who has undergone a serious trial.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincent_R._Capodanno

caiaphas

12/29/2021

Israel
Caiaphas was high priest from 18 to 37 and is best known for the trial of Jesus. Romans governed Judea through a procurator, Pontius Pilate from 26/27 to 36/37, and appointed the high priest directly, causing the officeholder to be seen as a Roman puppet.

China
“Since 2018, the government has imprisoned uncompliant priests and removed crosses from churches. Recently, the Chinese authorities egregiously edited the Bible to “reflect socialist values,” leaving a new generation of believers exposed to a version of the sacred text that has been filtered through an authoritarian lens. An educational curriculum written and distributed by government agencies even recast the Gospel of John to say that Christ claimed to be a sinner and was guilty of murder.

“The Chinese authorities see technology as the next frontier of totalitarianism. They are investing billions to develop and deploy new machinery such as facial recognition, data collection, and tracking software to establish a full-blown surveillance state. In fact, just before re-negotiations with the Holy See began this year, hackers working for the Chinese government infiltrated the Vatican’s computer networks in what The New York Times called “an apparent espionage effort.”

USA Today, David Curry, Opinion contributors, Oct 10, 2020 [edited to shorten]
https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2020/10/10/china-and-christianity-vatican-deal-china-allows-persecution-column/5899207002/

diary of a country priest

12/28/2021

Diary of a Country Priest, 1951 French film, English subtitles, almost two hours long, not the Sound of Music. Best film I have ever seen for the screenwriting alone. There is an unexpected ending for a refined intellect. The man who played the priest of Torcy was a psychiatrist in real life. I noticed that no one locked doors in 1951.

There is no such animal as an ex-priest. This little bit of knowledge will assist you in understanding the surprise ending. I am not giving away the surprise by saying that I know of an incident that happened in New York City, in which a street sweeper witnessed an accident. A woman was hit by a car and lay dying in the street. He rushed to her side and gave her absolution.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Diary+of+a+Parish+Priest+Movie&&view=detail&mid=06239159F37C0FFFBFA906239159F37C0FFFBFA9&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3DDiary%2Bof%2Ba%2BParish%2BPriest%2BMovie%26Form%3DVDRSCL%26%3D0

more advice

12/28/2021

phone wreck

12/27/2021

Husband’s call:
“Honey it’s me. I don’t want to alarm you, but I was hit by a car as I was leaving the office. Paula brought me to the hospital. They have checked me over and done some tests and x-rays. The blow to my head was severe. Fortunately, it did not cause any serious internal injury. However, I have three broken ribs, a compound fracture in the left leg, and they think they might have to amputate my right foot.”

Wife’s Response:
“Who is Paula?”

writeth quickly

12/27/2021

Excerpt from Sunday’s Gradual, Ps. 44, 3, 2. “My heart hath uttered a good word. I speak my works to the King: my tongue is the pen of a scrivener that writeth quickly.” Lofty advice about dedication to purpose. Right? As soon as I finished making this entry, an inconceivable coincidence occurred. I heard a bing telling me that a message had arrived in my email. I checked. The questioner on Quora asked, “How do I write a book in one year?” Answer: “You glue your ass to a chair and write one page a day.” Bible or Quora, Bible or Quora, Bible … or … Quora!

christmas

12/26/2021

The three above the main altar are Peter, Stephen, our namesake, and John, from left to right, and the European rosary plaques on the wall behind the nativity are 400 years old. The 10 plaques were carved out of a log sliced into six-inch-thick pieces.

christmas bells

12/23/2021

I heard the bells on Christmas Day
Their old, familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet
The words repeat
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along
The unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!
And in despair I bowed my head;
“There is no peace on earth,” I said;
“For hate is strong,
And mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good-will to men!”
Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men.

Longfellow

bra - WHAT RELIGION IS it?

12/23/2021

A man walked into the lady’s department, and, with his head hung low, said to the woman behind the counter, “I’d like to buy a bra for my wife.”

“What type of bra?” asked the clerk.

“Type?” inquired the man, “there’s more than one type?”

“Look around,” said the saleslady, as she showed him a sea of bras in every shape, size, color, and material imaginable. “Actually, even with all of this variety, there are only four types of bras to choose from.”

Relieved, the man asked about the types.

The saleslady replied, “There are the Catholic, Salvation Army, Presbyterian, and Baptist types. Which one would you prefer?”

Now totally befuddled, the man asked about the differences.

The saleslady responded, “It is all really quite simple. The Catholic type supports the masses; the Salvation Army type lifts the fallen; the Presbyterian type keeps them staunch and upright; and the Baptist type makes mountains out of molehills. Oh, and have you ever wondered why A, B, C, D, DD, E, F, G, and H are the letters used to define bra sizes? If you have, but you couldn’t figure out what the letters stand for, it is about time you became informed!

“{A} Almost Boobs. {B} Barely there. {C} Can’t Complain. {D} Dang! {DD} Double dang! {E} Enormous! {F} Fake. {G} Get a Reduction. {H} Help me, I’ve fallen, and I can’t get up!

“Quite simple. Right?”

great filter

12/22/2021

Mitochondrial Mary and her Son? Merry Christmas.

musk-babylon bee interview

12/22/2021

Funny, brilliant, moderate-conservative, moral, capitalist, Elon talks about his beginnings, getting punched in the nose, Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink, Artificial Intelligence, entropy, and aliens. He mentions The Great Filter, which is a great ten-minute video on YouTube. Elon has seven children and would like to talk to Cleopatra. The interview got 215,000 views in one day.

Pope says I Am Divisive

12/21/2021

“… [1962 Missal adherents are] characterised by a rejection not only of the liturgical reform, but of the Vatican Council II itself, claiming, with unfounded and unsustainable assertions, that it betrayed the Tradition and the ‘true Church’.” Christopher Lamb lifted the quote from the pope’s letter to bishops accompanying his Motu Proprio Traditionis Custodes.

Mr. Lamb’s article, titled, Pope issues restrictions on ‘divisive’ Old Rite, can be found in the 7-16-21 issue of The Tablet, The International Catholic News Weekly.

While Lamb’s report is on a decree issued in July 2021, and the latest decree was issued in December 2021, the only difference between the two decrees is that the December decree is more specific and more debilitating.

The pope has made the claim that I am divisive. I have not charged anyone with being divisive, and none of us are guilty of rejecting Vatican II. I attended the Modern Mass for 50 years. I am not divisive, and anyone who says that, regardless of who he is, is unworthy of my obedience.

pregnant

12/20/2021

A man spoke frantically into the phone, “My wife is pregnant, and her contractions are only two minutes apart.”

“Is this her first child?” the doctor asked.

“No! This is her husband!”

Gemütlich

12/20/2021

For Josef, my Austrian friend and tutor: The man will be a gemütlich host, welcoming all his guests warmly on Christmas Day. Cheerful!

san francisco Glens

12/18/2021

Thaze attends a Catholic school in San Francisco, and his older brother is friends with Altan, one of my students who attends a different Catholic school and also plays with the Glens, and so do two of my grandnephews. All these boys are excellent students and athletes, and they are socially aware.

quantum meruit

12/17/2021

This is a Latin phrase meaning “what one has earned”. In the context of contract law, it means “reasonable value of services”. What does it mean in terms of the Catholic faith? Is there a zero measurement of what one has earned? Null is a merit, or, at least, not a demerit under the 7th Commandment.

Have I stolen or accepted stolen goods?
Have I cheated anyone of what I owe him or her?
Am I lazy? Do I waste time at work or school?
Do I gamble excessively?
Do I share what I have with poor people and the Church according to my means?
Have I copied or used pirated material: videos, music, software?

credit – Newman Center on confession

cornet

12/16/2021

No valves. Just pipes. One commenter said, “The Sound of Civilization Arriving.”

fibonacci 2

12/16/2021

From Tom Schulenburg, Quora contributor, 12-16-21

Why is the shape of an elephant related to Fibonacci numbers?

Starting with 1, 2, etcetera, the Fibonacci sequence is derived from adding the two previous terms to create the next term - (1+2) = 3, (2+3) = 5, (3+5) = 8, and so on.

As the sequence progresses, the ratio of two terms (term2/term1) becomes consistent at about 1.618034. This is known as the golden ratio. As nature would have it, this is a ratio that appears frequently in many forms - the spiral of a snail shell, the petals on a flower, the shape of a hurricane, to name a few.

The same ratio can be seen in the elephant’s trunk when curled up.

NICK GARBUTT / NATURE PICTURE LIBRARY/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY

virginity

12/15/2021

Augustine (A.D. 354-430) breathlessly wrote that Christ emerged from His mother’s womb, the bridal chamber. The words of a canto are Non horruisti Virginis uterum. Thou didst not abhor the Virgin’s womb. (and it was left intact, as were the walls of the Upper Room)

quora sequence

12/14/2021

The nth term of a sequence is 7n – 5. What is the 86th term in the sequence?
All you need to do is put 86 in the place of n in your formula.
So, the 86th term is 7 × 86 – 5 = 602 − 5 = 597.

negatives

12/14/2021

What does (−2)² mean?
Answered by a seventeen-year-old boy on Quora: 4. One thing to note, (−2)² is not the same as −2². We can write −2² as −(2²) which becomes −(4) = −4.

driving

12/14/2021

A seventeen-year-old boy had just passed his driving test and inquired of his father as to when they could discuss use of the car.

The father offered his son the following deal.

“You bring your grades up from a C to a B average, study your Bible a little, and get your hair cut. Then we will talk about the car.”

The boy thought about that for a moment, decided he’d settle for the offer, and they agreed on it.

Six weeks later his father said, “Son, you've brought your grades up, and I've observed that you have been studying your Bible, but I’m disappointed you haven’t had your hair cut.”

The boy said, “You know, Dad, I've been thinking about that, and I’ve noticed in my studies of the Bible that Moses had long hair, Samson had long hair, John the Baptist had long hair, and there’s even strong evidence that Jesus had long hair.”

Got to love Dad’s reply: “Did you also notice they all walked everywhere they went?”

my students' unaminous opinion on closures

12/14/2021

bear surprise

12/12/2021

Monrovia butts up against the San Gabriel Mountains. I encountered a gold black bear in Kings Canyon National Park. It was 10 feet away. We eyed each other and went on our merry way.

update on gregory

12/12/2021

I asked Gregory’s mother how many times he serves as an altar boy at Mass each week: three to four times. She said that Gregory attends daily Mass even when he is not serving. Shortly after his first Communion, he said he wanted to go to Mass every day. Since then, he has missed Mass only once, and that was due to illness. What amazing dedication and love of the Mass for an eight-year-old!