The blog at Credo brings some interesting historical facts about America’s Thanksgiving celebrations to light:

The history books will tell you that the first Thanksgiving was celebrated by the pilgrims in 1621. Not true.

An interesting bit of trivia is that the first American Thanksgiving was actually celebrated on September 8, 1565 in St. Augustine, Florida. The Native Americans and Spanish settlers held a feast and the Holy Mass was offered.

A second similar “Thanksgiving” celebration occurred on American soil on April 30, 1598 in Texas when Don Juan de Oñate declared a day of Thanksgiving to be commemorated by the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

The Catholic origins of Thanksgiving don’t stop there.

Read the full article, “Is “Thanksgiving” Catholic?” by Taylor Marshall (and thanks to Opinionated Catholic for binging this gem to my attention on his blog).

National Geographic has an interesting article, explaining that “The remains of an ancient gate have pinpointed the location of the biblical city Sha’arayim” — the city mentioned in 1 Samuel 17:52 during the account of David’s battle with Goliath. Interesting. Thanks to the Practicing Catholic for bringing it to my attention in her post.

This article on Yahoo! News indicates that Religion May Help Extend Your Life.

Priests for Life issued the following press release today…

Latest Medical Breakthrough Further Validates Pro-Life Support for Adult Stem Cell Research Says Dr. Alveda King

November 24, 2008

Atlanta, GA – Dr. Alveda King, Pastoral Associate of Priests for Life and niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., said today that reports on the successful transplant of a windpipe grown from a patient’s own stem cells demonstrate the need for public and, perhaps, media education on stem cell research.

“It’s striking to me that almost every time I read about a new medical breakthrough using stem cells, I have to search well into the story before there’s mention that the stem cells were derived from adult humans or umbilical cords, not embryos,” said Dr. King. “Based on the news coverage of stem cell research I’ve read, it’s no surprise that the public, including some news reporters, are confused about stem cell experimentation.”

“Stem cell research using cells taken from adults or umbilical cords has resulted in over 70 successful medical treatments, the latest being an organ transplant,” added Dr. King. “Years of stem cell research using techniques that kill embryonic humans have led to nothing but dead ends because of tissue rejection and tumor growth. Absolutely all of the medical breakthroughs in stem cell research have come from using cells derived from sources other than human embryos. How many people know this? Further, how many people know that the pro-life movement has always endorsed this type of non-deadly stem cell research?”

“I respectfully call on the news media to accurately and truthfully distinguish between adult/umbilical stem cell research and embryonic stem cell experiments,” concluded Dr. King. “I also hope that the media will make clear that the pro-life movement enthusiastically supports stem cell research that does no harm to anyone, research that continues to blaze a path of new cures and treatments almost daily.”

Priests for Life is the nation’s largest Catholic pro-life organization dedicated to ending abortion and euthanasia. For more information, visit www.priestsforlife.org.

In follow up to yesterday’s post, here is a link to the full statement of the President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA). In part it states:

The fundamental good is life itself, a gift from God and our parents. A good state protects the lives of all. Legal protection for those members of the human family waiting to be born in this country was removed when the Supreme Court decided Roe vs. Wade in 1973. This was bad law. The danger the Bishops see at this moment is that a bad court decision will be enshrined in bad legislation that is more radical than the 1973 Supreme Court decision itself.

…

The recent election was principally decided out of concern for the economy, for the loss of jobs and homes and financial security for families, here and around the world. If the election is misinterpreted ideologically as a referendum on abortion, the unity desired by President-elect Obama and all Americans at this moment of crisis will be impossible to achieve. Abortion kills not only unborn children; it destroys constitutional order and the common good, which is assured only when the life of every human being is legally protected.

Earlier this week, Cardinal Francis George, the Archbishop of Chicago, spoke out against Barack Obama’s position on abortion. According to one news report, the Cardinal said  that all Americans should “rejoice” that a country that once tolerated slavery had elected a black man as the 44th President of the United States. The article went on to say that the Cardinal “notched up the pressure on the pro-choice President-Elect by comparing the treatment of the unborn today with that of black slaves in pre-Civil War America.” Cardinal George said:

If the Supreme Court’s Dred Scott decision, that African Americans were other people’s property and somehow less than persons, were still settled constitutional law, Mr Obama would not be President of the United States

Today, as was the case 150 years ago, common ground cannot be found by destroying the common good. The common good can never be adequately incarnated in any society when those waiting to be born can be legally killed at choice.

Check out the full article on Catholic.org.

My family and I attend St. Catherine of Siena Catholic Church, so when I was in our local Catholic bookstore recently, I picked up a coin featuring an image of that saint. St. Catherine is the patron saint of several causes, including firefighters, nurses, sick people, and a few other things as well.

Based on the typo on the coin I bought (see the picture), I think we can adopt her as the patron saint of Toyota minivan drivers as well (Sienna, as opposed to Siena).

An online resource explains patron saints for us:

Patron saints are chosen as special protectors or guardians over areas of life. These areas can include occupations, illnesses, churches, countries, causes — anything that is important to us…

Recently, the popes have named patron saints but patrons can be chosen by other individuals or groups as well.

So I’m unofficially naming St. Catherine of “Sienna” as the patron saint of minivan drivers, especially of Toyota Sienna drivers. My family drives a Sienna, as do quite a few other parishioners and parents who bring their kids to our parish school. Every time we get behind the wheel, we can reflect on her life and ask her to pray for us!

Thomas Peters has launched a video blog (or “vlog”) American Papist News, which has two pilot episodes available for viewing. It is describes as “an upbeat week-in-review of news, politics, and culture, along with commentary and interviews, all from a uniquely Catholic perspective.”

View the pilots below or at on the AmP News site: