Caveat Lector

I've been contemplating on how to verify the "Truth," lately. And coincidently, I ran into another reminder this morning when the Rev. Rob Pollock, from Vancouver, Canada, called my attention to a posting I made on April 15th, "Jewish View of the Catholic Church,". That post consisted of an article Sam Miller had written where he quoted misinformation from the magazine Sojourners that had also quoted misinformation attributed to PA prof Philip Jenkins, who said he never said it.

What am I talking about? Specifically, this quote:

"10% of the Protestant ministers have been found guilty of pedophilia."

When you think about it, 10% is an awful lot! This definitely should have been verified. It shouldn't have slipped by me. Mea Culpa!


So with the help of the ...ah...internet, I've developed some personal criteria to help me evaluate information I read on the "net." I read a lot. And most of it is on a computer. And most of that is "anonymous," unlike academic research, publications, books, etc., that have already been evaluated by scholars et al. But when reading instant news reports, or opinion sites (Huffington Post, Drudge, etc.)there are no filters. And because anyone can have a site or blog, postings of differing quality, written by authors from a wide range of authority, (or not) are available equally. Excellent resources reside along those more dubious.

Caveat Lector!

Hence, the Five True Criteria from The One True Faith:
Authorship: Do I know the author? If not, research his authenticity. Is this article/posting/ opinion, reasonable and realistic?
Spin: Is the information presented balanced and thoughtful? This may involve researching who the author works for, his agenda and other postings and the comments that may have been solicited from the post.
References: Check out all the references given. These may not be true, or may have been retracted.
If it's too good to be true, don't use it: if it can't be verified, no matter how much you want it, don't use it.
Would it be a good use of my time: ok, this is my personal caveat. Would this information be worth a meditation? Would my reflection on this information be a good use of my time?

If I had done # 3, I would have come across the questions and corrections this article solicited. Caveat Lector is on my bulletin board.

BTW, h/t to the John Hopkin's University's Evaluating Internet Information, where I got the idea of having criteria.

Lord, increase my perseverance to adhere to my principles and your commandments. I also humbly ask your grace to discern good from evil. Grant also that my writings be hopeful and never hurtful to anyone because I dedicate my cyberministry to you. I ask this through Christ, our Lord. Amen

iPod Bible Study

Alan McCane, from the Wave Bible Study Team asked me to plug a new Bible study app--Wave Study Bible®--for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

The idea is to make Bible Study convenient to busy people. Imagine. You could do Bible Study while on a treadmill.

This is touted as a different Bible Study. Built for the average person and not the Biblical scholar, the Wave Study Bible makes it simple to integrate the Word into your daily life. They have various translations available also.

Poke around on their site and see if this study interests you.

Morning Exercise

When I opened the drapes this morning I noticed two young ladies running up the stairs, across the way. They ran up, but they walked down. Then they turned around and ran up again, and again, and again... I was curious so I started counting how many times they ran up.

I counted seventeen. And they were doing this before I even thought of counting.

Wowza! I'm impressed. And when they ran up, they often took two stairs at a time!

People are so health conscious nowadays. Everybody, it seems, belongs to a health club, is watching their diet, on a diet plan, and out walking or running. With all this attention to bodily health, it makes me wonder how much effort is put into their soul.

Wouldn't it be wicked awesome if people paid as much attention to their spiritual health, as they did to their physical health?

May Intentions

Have you ever prayed a Rosary in a group? Then maybe you heard at the end, "An Our Father, Hail Mary, and Glory Be, for the Intentions of the Holy Father"? This is because the Pope announces his special prayer intentions every month.

The Holy Father offers two intentions every month: a general and a particular. For May, BXVI's general intention is "That the shameful and monstrous commerce in human beings, which sadly involves millions of women and children, may be ended."

The Holy Father's particular intention is "That ordained ministers, religious women and men, and lay people involved in apostolic work may understand how to infuse missionary enthusiasm into the communities entrusted to their care."

"Exploitation of people and enthusiasm," remember that. Lord hear our prayer.

A Word of Hope

Prisoners Need Hope, Says Benedict XVI in the April 30, 2010 issue of Zenit. BXVI was talking about a new organization,the National Reinsertion and Work Agency, in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice and the Monsignor Francesco Di Vincenzo Institute of Human Promotion Foundation, to help prisoners and ex-convicts to join the community after serving their sentences.

The Pontiff stated, "This project is all the more valuable in the present moment of difficulty of the prison world that has such need of hope and, hence, of the Gospel."
The agency is currently working in Catania, Sicily, to give a group of 12 prisoners an education in human, spiritual and professional topics. Salvatore Martinez, national president of the movement, stated that this project "represents an original operative prototype dedicated to the prison world." He explained that it is a "social system" that incorporates "four invariables:" family, church, culture and work. Martinez added that the agency is a "placement agency" that operates throughout the national territory in order to create ways of humanization and human redemption, professional formation and work reinsertion, through "personalized supervision" and operating as a "business incubator."

You can't help but see my "cloistered brothers" in this article. They are "hope" itself, in a very dark place. In fact, my brother, Dennis wrote a book called A Word About Hope, about my "cloistered brothers." It's free. It's on the net and downloadable.

Gestational Diabetes

My baby who's having a baby has been diagnosed with gestational diabetes. I'm worried and I request prayers for her and her baby.

I've been doing a little research on gestational diabetes and found out that it is high blood sugar. She had no symptoms, yet the test was so high that it's definitive. No second test is needed. She's had no symptoms. And then there's concern about the health of the baby. But all tests so far say the baby is doing well.

Luckily she's a bit of a health nut and eats right. That alone is puzzling because she watches her calories and nutrients as a matter of course, pregnant or not. As for regular exercise, well she majored in exercise physiology. For cryin out loud, she's a doctor herself!


I suppose every pregnancy is different and her doctor and dietitian will create a diet just for her. She's also anemic so she's probably be given different vitamins. I hope she won't need insulin therapy.

I also read that women with gestational diabetes usually have large babies, which may mean trauma to my daughter and grand-daughter, or even a c-section.


And then when she's born she has to be monitored for low blood sugar. And mothers with gestational diabetes have an increased risk for high blood pressure during pregnancy.
There is a slightly increased risk of the baby dying when the mother has untreated gestational diabetes. Yikes! This is where I stopped reading.

I'm praying instead. It's in your hands, Lord.

Jesus' Personality Type

My "cloistered brothers" and I are still working on the Enneagram, in Study Group. You have to know the nine personality types to understand this post. Tonight we looked at Jesus, according to the Enneagram.

Jesus is the perfect balance of all types. He is the best of each, a healthy balance. Let's take a look:

(1) Jesus was a Reformer, Idealist, Teacher, Crusader, Moralist, Perfectionist, Prophet & Organizer. Everywhere in the New Testament, Jesus taught and healed. Think of him in the Temple at twelve, the Sermon on the Mount, preaching the Kingdom of God.

(2) Jesus was a Helper, Altruist, Lover, Caretaker, Pleaser, Enabler, Mentor, and a Special Friend. Again, think of Jesus healing, caring for Lazarus, and anyone who asked. He had to be pretty special to have followers.

(3) Jesus was an Achiever, Motivator, a Role Model, Communicator and a Paragon. Jesus certainly was a role model in his non violent behavior. Even Jesus turning over the tables in the temple was a controlled behavior. He did enough to make a point, not enough to get arrested.

(4) Jesus was an Individual, an Artist, a Tragic Victim, a Special One. He certainly was an Individual and led the crowd, not part of the crowd. He was a Special One and a Tragic Victim on the Cross.

(5) He was an Investigator, Thinker, Innovator, Observer, Specialist, and an Expert. Think of Jesus noticing the woman who touched his garment, Zacheus, a Samaritan woman, etc. He questioned the rabbis.

(6) The Loyalist, Guardian, True Believer, Traditionalist, Stalwart, and even a Troubleshooter. Jesus was a loyal Jew. He was loyal to His Father, even unto death. As a loyal Jew, he was a Traditionalist.

(7) Jesus was an Enthusiast, Generalist, Multi-Tasker, Connoisseur, and an Energizer. One of my "cloister brothers" joked that Jesus was a Connoisseur because He saved the best wine for last. ;-)

(8) Jesus was a Challenger, Protector, Provider, a Leader, a Maverick, and a Rock. Jesus challenged the Pharisees. He protected the adultress. He was trustworthy like a rock, yet He was different like a Maverick.

(9) Jesus was a Peacemaker, Healer, Optimist, Reconciler, Comforter, and Nobody Special. Jesus humbled Himself to become Man. He preached peaced and healed the sick. He comforted us all by offering us Eternal Life.

Amen.