Have you ever noticed that many — perhaps most — angels in artwork are female? Why is this?

In the Bible, only three angels are mentioned by name and they are all masculine names: Raphael (Tobit 3:17,5:4 and elsewhere in that book), Gabriel (Daniel 8:6,9:21; Luke 1:19,26) and Michael (Jude 9; Revelation 12:7). Even angels who aren’t named are referred to using the male pronoun “he,” such as in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19:1ff. and in the account of the empty tomb in Matthew 28:2-4.

So I have to wonder what inspired artists through the ages to paint or sculpt female angels so frequently, almost to the exclusion of male angels.

Anyone with answers or speculations out there, let me know your thoughts.

Yesterday was the start of Advent, the beginning of the Catholic liturgical year (at least for us Westerners). So, tell everyone Happy New Year this week. Sure, you’ll get strange looks, but that can make life interesting.

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.

Taylor Marshall offers his list of the “Top Ten Things to do for a Catholic Halloween” on his blog Canterbury Tales. (Thanks to JH at Opinionated Catholic for this link.) I found Taylor’s points interesting and refreshing:

There are many Christians who have written off Halloween as some sort of diabolical black mass. It’s the vigil of a Christian holy day: All Hallows’ Eve or All Saints Eve. Has it been corrupted by our culture and consumer market? You bet. However, Christmas has also been derailed by the culture. Does that mean that we’re going hand over Christmas? No way! Same goes for Halloween. The Church does not surrender what rightfully belongs to her - she wins it back!

I’ve been exposed to some people who want to do away with celebrating Halloween entirely. And while I understand their concerns, I don’t share them. I think that Halloween, in general, is a harmless party where kids can dress in costumes, have a little fun, and get free candy.

Have fun out there and stay out of trouble!

Apparently there was a good religious showing at the 27th Great American Beer Festival, including brews from The Lost Abbey of San Marcos, Calif., “where the tap handle is a Celtic cross and the legacy of beer-brewing monks endures. Standing under a banner promising “Inspired beers for Saints and Sinners Alike,” proprietor and former altar boy Tomme Arthur had a confession: He’s using God to sell some beer.” Check it out on FOXNews.com.

Stephen Kent of the Catholic News Service raised some great points in his recent column, published in the Georgia Bulletin. The word “Change” has been overused and poorly defined in recent political contexts. He writes:

It seems that what is sought is not so much change but conversion, a turning to something that enhances personal integrity and the good of the community.

Spiritual writers use a Greek word—“metanoia”—to denote a change of mind, a reorientation, a fundamental transformation of outlook, of a vision of the world and of self, and a new way of loving others and God.

There is some evidence that this desire for “metanoia” exists even if it is not yet recognized as such.

The column cites a pollster who thinks that “more and more Americans are rejecting the traditional American dream, which has been expressed in material terms, in terms of acquiring, and are moving toward wanting to lead a more genuine life, one that’s more fulfilling.”

Kent notes that this realization that materialistic pursuits don’t lead to true happiness is “what Catholic social teaching has said for years…A merger of spirituality and economy may be more than just change—it could be a conversion. Why settle for change when we could have conversion?”

A diary is going on display in a Jerusalem museum this weekend. But it’s not your typical diary. It was written by Ilan Ramon, the Israeli astronaut who perished in the Columbia explosion in 2003. The document survived the explosion and a 37-mile fall to earth. It seems like an amazing series of coincidental events, until you learn this detail: the diary landed in a field near a town named Palestine (Palestine, Texas, to be exact). Coincidence or Providence? I’m not sure, but it makes me curious enough to want to read the diary.

An Associated Press story provides the details and quotes the museum curator as saying, “It’s almost a miracle that it survived — it’s incredible.” There is “no rational explanation” for how it was recovered when most of the shuttle was not, he said.

The AP story mentions that many of the pages “contain personal information which Ramon’s wife did not wish to make public.” The story reports, “Two pages will be displayed. One contains notes written by Ramon, and the other is a copy of the Kiddush prayer, a blessing over wine that Jews recite on the Sabbath. Zalmona said Ramon copied the prayer into his diary so he could recite it on the space shuttle and have the blessing broadcast to Earth.”

Today marks the 30th anniversary of the death of Pope John Paul I.

Born in northern Italy on October 17, 1912, Albino Luciani was elected pope on August 26, 1978. He was the first pope to take a double name. He explained in his Angelus that he took the name to honor his two immediate predecessors, John XXIII and Paul VI.

The 65-year-old pope is reported to have had a heart attack while sitting in bed on September 28, 1978. His 33-day papacy is one of the shortest reigns in history and also resulted in 1978 being the most recent Year of the Three Popes (which has happened a dozen times).