Matthew Coffin at Big C Catholics interviews Julie Davis of Happy Catholic for his June’s Blog of Note. Been a fan of all of Julie’s endeavors and so am always happy to see interviews such as this.

With the great Christopher Lee’s passing last Sunday I point to Thomas L. McDonald’s post Christopher Lee’s Best Movie. He echoes my own feelings as another kid raised on monster movies and related fandom.

Steven D. Greydanus IKEA Church and “The Godfather” is well-worth reading. His take is especially interesting as someone who does not identify as a liturgical traditionalist.

Entropy Academy a book by Alison Bernhof.

Entropy, the second law of thermodynamics, happens. It steals our time, brings chaos into our homes, and spreads the myth that chaos and education are mutually exclusive. Far from it!

Entropy Academy reveals how you can train your home (even a messy one) to do half your teaching, while much of the other half can be taught “Entropy style”—in the natural process of everyday life.

Marvel at the specialization of birds’ feet through your kitchen window. Recognize the musical eras as you drive. Watch logic and Venn diagrams become crystal clear in a box of random buttons. Use raisins to introduce your kindergartener to algebra. Let the pages of Entropy Academy show how, with a minimal outlay of time and money, you can leave much of the teaching to the house while you relax with a cup of tea.

Those who are currently homeschooling, considering it, or simply wish to be more involved in their child’s (or grandchild’s) education will find much to encourage, amuse, and inspire them in this account of the inner life of a highly unusual, unabashedly idiosyncratic family. Building on “Entropy style” foundations, the Bernhoft children’s successes have ranged from Stanford Phi Beta Kappa, Ivy League and aspiring Ph.D., to the son with Down’s Syndrome who is one of the best-known and most popular residents of Ojai, California, the small town the author calls home.

New video from Ascension Press for young men considering the priesthood

• I Will Follow

Along with a preview of their upcoming video Altaration: The Myster of the Mass Revealed

• Altaration

Here is an interview of Dawn Eden from Matt C. Abbott. Dawn has recently released a Catholic version of her book “Thrill of the Chaste.”

An excerpt:

Dawn Eden: For several years, I had been wanting to revise The Thrill of the Chaste, because my understanding of chastity – especially its relationship to Christian joy – had deepened since I became a Catholic. I especially wanted to make the book accessible to men, as the first edition was directed at women, and many male readers had told me they needed a book like it for them.

When I wrote the original edition of The Thrill of the Chaste in 2005, I was Protestant – having converted as an adult from Judaism – and was preparing to enter the Church. My life before my conversion to Christianity was pretty typical for an unmarried rock journalist from New York City, so my new walk forced me to make some serious changes.

Initially, it was hard for me to discern how living chastely could be compatible with Christian joy. I looked for a book to guide me, but all I could find were books on teen purity – which were not exactly relevant for a 31-year-old woman.

That is why, after a few years of learning how to find meaning and happiness in my new way of life, I wrote The Thrill of the Chaste. It is the kind of book I wished had been there when I needed it.

Today, having been Catholic for nine years, I can hardly believe that I managed to be joyfully chaste without the benefit of Confirmation, the Eucharist, Confession, and the whole life of the Church.

Being a member of the Mystical Body of Christ, and receiving Jesus’ own Body and Blood in the Eucharist, has given me a deeper understanding of the meaning of being embodied. I see more clearly how chastity enables one to love fully in each relationship, in the way that is appropriate to the type of relationship and to one’s state of life.

Chastity is not just for singles; in marriage, it enables couples to grow together in freely willed, total, faithful, and fruitful love. For that reason, I wanted to make the new Catholic edition of The Thrill of the Chaste relevant for men and women, whether they are discerning marriage or a celibate vocation, and that is what I have done.

Maureen aka suburbanbanshee posts Worst Vatican Translation Yet at # Over the Rhine and Into the Tiber

On October 27th, Pope Francis addressed the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and talked about evolution as one of God’s probable methods of Creation. News reports in English had the Pope saying, “God is not a divine being.”

What the Pope actually said was, “….Dio non è un demiurgo….” which is the Italian for “God is not a demiurge.”

In heretical Gnostic theology, the creator of the material universe was an evil or depressed lesser being called the Demiurge [Builder] who was often identified with Satan, whereas God was a higher being (or beings, or eight beings, or….) who never wanted matter created at all. Christian Gnostics justified this term (like many others they used) because it was used once in the Bible in Hebrews 11:10 – “For [Abraham] looked for a city that has foundations, the Architect and Builder of which is God.” (Of course St. Paul didn’t mean it like they meant it.)

So yeah, maybe some of you will believe me now about the pathetic inaccuracy of the current Vatican English translations.

I do have to wonder if the English translator is a native English speaker or not since there have been so many egregious translations. Is there even a team that cross-checks translatons? I would not be surprised at all to find out there isn’t.

Her primary blog is Aliens in This World which covers a cornucopia of topics and has been a long-time favorite of mine.