Pictured: Pro-Life Pumpkin - Awesome Activism Idea!

Are you planning on carving pumpkins this weekend? Well how about carving this:


From the American Life League:

There are many opportunities to be a voice for the voiceless, and most of those opportunities require us to go to a public place. But, on the eve of All Saints Day, the public comes to us!

So, make a pro-life jack-o-lantern and send your photos to us. Be sure to include your name, age and address in the e-mail, and we'll post the best ones on our home page!
It doesn't have to be anything fancy. It could be as intricate as the design here or as simple as the word "Pro-Life." Whatever your skill level, be creative and tell the world about the personhood of preborn babies!

Send your pro-life jack-o-lantern pictures to prolifepumpkin@all.org.

If you would like to duplicate this one, simply download the .pdf stencil and print it out. Tape the stencil to your pumpkin and, with a pointed object, like a small screwdriver, poke shallow holes along the perimeter of the image. With a paring knife, carefully cut out the areas shaded in black.

Way way way cool.

Papist Half-Time Report: Priest coach finishes regular football season 8-1

After watching Notre Dame lose (barely) and the patriots win (big) this weekend, but before tuning-in to the trouncing that the Chargers are going to get from the Broncos tonight, it's the right time for a papist football story.

AmP reader Douglas lets us know about a newly ordained Priest for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis who is the chaplain and an assistant coach at Cardinal Ritter High School which is the #1 ranked school in class 2A (for football that is).  

They just finished the regular season 8-1.  Father Hollowell is one heck of a coach it seems.

The local diocesan paper reports: Faith, football and a fatherly instinct: Father John Hollowell knows joy and passion as a priest, teacher and coach

Also: A football Friday in the life of Father John Hollowell.

Enchanting Pixar Video: Partly Cloudy

I found this absolutely mesmorizing. A real mid-week treat!

update: since I don't like the video automatically loading when you visit the site, please click here for it now.

I found the short on the Anchoress blog, who connects it to Caritas in Veritate! Very cool. 

Photo: "Pint-sized server a surprise at morning Mass"

This story is precious, especially so because I actually know the "pint-sized server" in question, or knew him back when he was a "holy terror in diapers", as I believe his mother (affectionately) used to called him:

"He was barely big enough to see over the altar as he assisted at morning Mass in the chapel at San Marco Church on Tuesday, but the smile on James "Jimmy" Gates, 8, was as tall as truth.

According to his mom, Kim, that smile's been a long time coming.

"He's been wanting to serve and wanting to serve," she said. "Yesterday, he asked Fr. Andrew (Malarz) and he told him he could.

That's all he's been talking about," Gates' mom explained through a beaming smile. "When we arrived this morning, we told Father David and next thing, Jimmy was putting on his alb."

From that point on, it was all quite, well, miraculous. Drawing on the scriptural passages — Paul's Letter to the Corinthians (8:1-9) and Matthew's Gospel (5:43-48) — the Rev. David Foley incorporated the theme of generosity and service while "the littlest angel" listened attentively from his perch on the altar." (Marco Island Florida)

...Do you know a little boy who wants to serve? If he's old enough and mature enough - let him! If not, use it as an incentive for him to be more attentive in Mass, and allow serving to become his reward for good behavior.

Plenty of vocations start this way, and plenty more lifetimes of attentiveness at Mass do as well.

"Baby Boom with Patriarch Promise to Personally Baptize Babies #3+"

I like ending the news week on a high note. It doesn't get much better than this:

The head of the Georgian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Ilia II, came up with an astonishingly successful incentive to counteract the country's plummeting birth rate.

He promised to personally baptize any baby born to parents of more than two children.

The BBC reported that the results have been, in the words of the Georgian Orthodox Church, "a miracle," with the country's birth rate increasing by nearly 20% during 2008 - a rate four times faster than the previous year.

While Georgia was under the domination of the former Soviet Union, the Orthodox religion was all but suppressed in the country, but now the BBC reports that the Patriarch plays a very influential role in Georgian society, with many seeing him as the most authoritative figure in their lives. (LifeSite)

Imagine if American Bishops made that same promise to families in their diocese?

DC Priest Chases Thief, Goes on to Lead Mass

Not your average pre-Sunday Mass prep:

Prior to celebrating mass Sunday morning, a Capitol Hill priest went on a couple of runs -- one for some exercise and one to catch a thief.

[let's jump into the story:] Rev. Bill Hegedusich asked the man not to run in the church and then noticed two bags of money were missing from the safe, which was unlocked because church officials were preparing for mass. Hegedusich had to act quickly, as the man was sprinting toward the door.

The priest chased the man through an alley and down the street. Knowing where the alley came out, Hegedusich tried to cut off the man.

Thinking the man could be armed, Hegedusich kept his distance and yelled that he just wanted the money back. The thief ditched one bag on North Carolina Avenue SE and continued running with the other, the Washington Post reported.

Hegedusich picked up the bag and headed back to the church, where he celebrated 11 a.m. Mass a few minutes late. (NBC Washington)

Good for Fr. Bill! The Thief only made off with about $65 because of his brave (and prudent) reaction.

Picture: New Cardinals (Awesome)

A treasure taken from the recently made-public LIFE magazine photo archives:

Cardinals prostrating in the Sistine Chapel. From The Far Sight 2.0 via NLM.

Awesome Video: Spanish 6-Foot High Incense "Boat"

This knocks my papist socks off (jump to about midway through if you are impatient):

It's called the Botafumeiro (literally, "the smoke boat"):

The Botafumeiro is a famous thurible found in the Santiago de Compostela Cathedral. Incense is burned in this swinging metal container, or "incensory".

The Santiago de Compostela Botafumeiro is one of the largest censers in the world, weighing [approx.] 80 kg and measuring 1.60 m in height. It is normally on exhibition in the library of the cathedral, but during certain important religious occasions it is brought to the floor of the cathedral and attached to ropes hung from the pulley mechanism.

Shovels are used to fill the Botafumeiro, or the Alcachofa, with about 40 kg of charcoal and incense. The thurible is tied to the rope with elaborate knots. The censer is pushed initially to start its motion. Eight red-robed tiraboleiros pull the ropes, producing increasingly large oscillations of the censer. The turible's swings almost reach the ceiling of the transept. The incensory can reach speeds of 68 km/h as it dispenses thick clouds of incense.

It costs about 250€ for each thurible "performance" at the cathedral. Although this is expensive, the swinging of the thurible is very popular with pilgrims, tourists and visitors.

The Botafumeiro produces large volumes of smoke. This is in accord with the well-known saying in religious circles, "More incense, less nonsense." [Wikipedia] Here is a video taken from the sacristy with it in motion:

Things have gone wrong, very wrong before:

One of the most renowned accidents took place during a visit of Princess Catherine of Aragon. She was on a journey to marry the heir to the English throne in 1499 and stopped by the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela. While it was being swung, the Botafumeiro flew out of the cathedral through the Platerias high window. No one was reported to have been injured on this occasion.

It's still awesome.

Taylor Marshall of Canterbury Tales echoes my sentiment:

As I said last year, one of the best things about being Catholic is being in communion not only with the Holy Father, but also with the Botafumeiro itself. Catholic brothers and sisters, if you ever become discouraged, just know that there is a incense thurible over six feet tall swinging around in a Saint James Compestella in Spain. No other religion would dare to have something so awesome.

Ph/t: Creative Minority Report.