Saturday morning hangover.

Catching up on the week.
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Boy!  Was I depressed yesterday.  I realized all of my paintings for the creche at church are too big - although I'm not convinced they still won't work.  (I got the proper measurements after I began work - so it is my own fault.)  My first thought was to remove the canvas from the stretchers and size them down - but then much would be lost.  I tell myself they are not great art - just backgrounds, but then I remind myself I spent a lot on the canvas/stretcher (gallery type) and it wouldn't be wise to just throw the stretchers away... long story short - I can't bring myself to do it.  I don't want to wreck them.  So I bought smaller canvases to redo all of the paintings on - which means I will be rushed.  I am so against tension, rushing, stress, etc. during the holidays - so against it.  I'll do my best however.  Everything will work out.  (This is why I do not like to commissions however... )
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The Cardinal makes no apologies.
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The Spanish Cardinal clarified his statement regarding homosexuals going to hell.  Turns out he was misquoted, however his explanation probably will not satisfy the sensitivities of homosexual activists who continually assault the Catholic Church demanding a change in moral teaching:
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The cardinal, however, said in a statement sent to ZENIT on Thursday that his words were taken out of context. The cardinal said he was referencing the Bible, specifically St. Paul's Letter to the Romans, 1:26-27, which says (in part), "Males did shameful things with males and thus received in their own persons the due penalty for their perversity."

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"This is what the Word of God says, it isn't what I said," Cardinal Lozano Barragán affirmed. "Now, I have never said that a particular homosexual cannot be saved, because he can be saved."

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"Many times one is not a homosexual through one's own fault; it all depends on one's education and environment," the prelate clarified.
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Cardinal Lozano Barragán reiterated the Church's teaching on grave sin: "The only thing I can say is that for grave fault to exist, in addition to needing grave matter, one needs full knowledge and full consent: Where one of those three conditions is lacking, there is no grave fault."

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Above all, the cardinal stressed that he is not the one who judges people, since God is. - Zenit
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BTW - The Vatican never did rebuke the Cardinal's remarks - they simply offered clarified teaching.  See here. 
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Sarah's coming to Minneapolis - keep your moose indoors.
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No kidding.  To promote her book.  I am continually amazed that people are impressed with this woman and her politics.
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“I disagree with the Obama administration on that,” the former Alaska governor told interviewer Barbara Walters.  (The Obama administration’s opposition to Israeli expansion of Jewish settlements in the West Bank.)  “I believe that the Jewish settlements should be allowed to be expanded upon because the population of Israel is going to grow. More and more Jewish people will be flocking to Israel in the days and weeks and months ahead. And I don’t think that the Obama administration has any right to tell Israel that the Jewish settlements cannot expand.” - Source
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It is obvious Mrs. Palin thinks Armageddon is coming.  The woman is pro-life, and as a good mother, she didn't abort a down syndrome child - all very good.  She's a nice lady.  Her work for pro-life causes, and especially to stem the tide of aborting special needs kids - excellent.  Yet her politics are way too millenial/millenarianist to run for any office.  
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I think she's an opportunist as well.  The woman quit her job as Governor and now insists on being addressed as Governor - that's one of the things she requires the press to do when they interview her.  Like any good Evangelical-Prosperity-Gospel devote, the lady is making real money now.  Good for her.
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Connection between USCCB and gay rights activist sparks controversy.
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Well, she's just a lesbian - see, I don't take women seriously.  (Kidding... kind of.)  But anyway - I wasn't paying much attention to this one because it sounded like an outing event, or the result of a witch hunt in the USCCB, connected to their Campaign for Human Development fund scandal - I never, ever contributed BTW - I always give to direct service providers - that I know and trust.
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Anyway, so a lesbian woman is a consultant to the USCCB - they say she isn't really a consultant - but they say a lot of different things which don't make sense.  Like I said - I paid no attention to the story - my lawyer is a lesbian - so what - if they know their field and do a good job - let them.  Yet the situation with Mary Kay Henry probably does call for some attention, if only for this reason:
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Henry, the international executive vice president for the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) was recently named one of the nation's "Top 25 Women in Healthcare" for 2009 by Modern Healthcare. Her biography at the SEIU website explains that “Her faith and values as a practicing Roman Catholic led her to pursue union organizing as a vocation.”
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“Mary Kay is also active in the fight for immigration reform and gay and lesbian rights. She is a founding member of SEIU's gay and lesbian Lavender Caucus,” her description continues.
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According to SEIU, “The Lavender Caucus is the Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/ Transgender (L/G/B/T) Caucus of the Service Employees International Union whose purpose is to facilitate open and respectful communication between the L/G/B/T community and the labor movement.”
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SEIU also supports reproductive rights for women. - Source
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"We got heretics right here in River City!"  (Sarah Palin wink.)
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Here comes Sinter Klaus!
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BTW.  Tomorrow is St. Nicholas day - my tree goes up.  Did you Catholic-Puritan people know that the Pope suggests the European custom of setting up the home creche the day after the feast of the Immaculate Conception?  (I know!  It's still Advent!)
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Have a nice day.
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Photo:  Christmas tree scene from Angels and Demons.