http://www.optionc.net christian, catholic, conservative in the deep south Tue, 02 Dec 2008 11:00:43 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en 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 ... http://www.optionc.net/2008/12/what%e2%80%99s-up-with-all-the-female-angels/ 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. http://www.optionc.net/2008/12/happy-new-year/ 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 ... http://www.optionc.net/2008/11/catholic-roots-of-thanksgiving/ 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 ... http://www.optionc.net/2008/11/david-and-goliath-city-possibly-found/ This article on Yahoo! News indicates that Religion May Help Extend Your Life. http://www.optionc.net/2008/11/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 ... http://www.optionc.net/2008/11/latest-medical-breakthrough-further-validates-pro-life-support-for-adult-stem-cell-research-says-dr-alveda-king/ 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 ... http://www.optionc.net/2008/11/a-good-state-protects-the-lives-of-all/ 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 ... http://www.optionc.net/2008/11/chicagos-cardinal-george-challenges-obama-on-abortion/ 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 ... http://www.optionc.net/2008/11/the-patron-saint-of-minivan-drivers/ 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 ... http://www.optionc.net/2008/11/american-papist-news-pilot-episodes/