Tradicat

 + JMJ      I came across an article "Managing the Complicated vs the Complex" and thought that it presented an interesting perspective on people. A complicated system is one in which there is usually a predictable outcome by knowing the starting conditions.  A complex system in which the same conditions can produce different outcomes, depending on "interactions of the elements in the system." People are unpredictable because they are complex, not complicated, people are non-linear. For example, normally we would assume that a person will take actions that are best for them. However, I have been witness to a person who took actions that weren't best for them, but were the worst possible from someone else.  This doesn't make sense, but people aren't always predictable, they're complex. Another example is Catholicam,  I know I come back to this exchange from about a decade ago, but it is useful ( see link Cognitive Dissonance ). Rationally, Catholicam ...

 + JMJ  A Reblog from May: Managing Personal Finances By Royal Canadian Mint (via Wikpedia), Fair use, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?curid=35281220 Intro Decades ago I was introduced to a financial manager and agreed to sit down and look at my finances. We met in my one bedroom apartment and his first question was:  "How are you managing your debt?" My answer caught him by surprised: "Aggressively!!!" He was so impressed by this response that he passed it on to your colleagues back at the office. He then asked if I had a budget and I produced a Hilroy 20.3 x 12.7cm accounting ledger and we went through my budget. He noticed that my budget came up in the red and I explained that I was paid weekly and budgeted monthly, which meant that I had a buffer. I think that my attitude towards money comes from observing life as the youngest of five and comparing it to the lives of my schoolmates.  We lived modestly, we didn't have a usable car until I was 13 and used...

 + JMJ  I may have had a subsequent bout of covid this past week.  Why do I think that?  Well my mom, who I visited last week, developed symptoms at the same time as I did. At first I thought my allergies had upped their game as I was having difficulty breathing and a long cough. Now I'm not so sure.  What I do know is that my mom has covid and whatever I had made it difficult to breathe.  Not a sensation that I wish to repeat. Now to stir the pot ... This article ( Ivermectin for COVID-19: Final Nail in the Coffin ) popped up in one my news feeds and I thought I would give it a read.  While I have friends who took Ivermectin and believe it helped them with Covid or even prevented it, I typically find the studies that show a lack of significant response reliable and the belief that Ivermectrin prevented covid as being hard to prove. Jumping back to the root of the Ivermectin story, the  medscape article notes the following:  Ivermectin, a wi...

+ JMJ    This is what I read today when I opened the Imitation of Christ and He and I. Nature labours for her own interest, and considers what gain she may reap from another. But grace considers not what may be advantageous and profitable to herself, but rather what may be profitable to many (1 Cor X 33) Source: Imitation of Christ Book III Chapter 54 Interiour Consolation Nature and Grace 33 As I also in all things please all men, not seeking that which is profitable to myself, but to many, that they may be saved. (1 Cor X 33) Source: http://catholicbible.online/side_by_side/NT/1_Cor/ch_10 February 26 - Visiting: Don't speak when you should be silent. And don't keep silence when you should speak. Source: He and I by Gabrielle Bossis Part 2pg 147  It causes me to think that when I just do my duty according to my state in life, it seems more rewarding in a quiet sort of way. P^3

 + JMJ   By Lilrizz - Personal Photo, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=16381754 NTS: Journal July 14, 2022  A number of factors conspired to make me decide to spend more time golfing this year.  Stress relief was the major factor.  Getting up early in the morning for a 7am tee-time is, frankly, great.  I was able to beat the heat of the day (which was gruelling this summer) and take a two hour 'walk' to exercise and disconnect from the issues causing my stress levels to increase. On one of these 'walks' I realised that golf has some analogies for life: You don't hold life in your hands, it sits there waiting for you to do something, while all the external variables continue to shift. You need to pay attention to a lot of subtle variables to make a good shot and even then the wind and other hazards (ie. bunker) can suddenly change and make a great shot into a good shot (which I would be happy with) and a good shot into a bad one. You are ...

 + JMJ For the purpose of this article, the schola (link) is those who sing the propers at Mass.  Meaning the Introite, Gradual, Alleluia, Tract, Sequence, Offertory, Communion in Gregorian Chant at Mass.  It is obvious that the Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Agnus Dei and Ite Missa Est can and are sung in response to the priest or cantor. The controversy has been over whether women can sing as a schola or there can be mixed scholas who sing the propers.  Nota Bene: I've heard mixed scholas and I find it un-balanced and offensive to my ears.  However, that it more a cultural and aesthetic perspective than a rule.  In fact, it may have its origins in some 'rules' that I received in my formative years as a member of a schola specifically: For singing the propers, if there are sufficient men capable of singing, then they should do so. Women's only scholas are legit. Mixed scholas are to be avoided.  I've been wondering if these 'rules' have any basis in actual de...

 + JMJ  Uncertainty is a part of life, we just don't think of it much until we are surprised by something out of the ordinary. For example, most of us don't think twice about driving a car or other vehicle.  However, the increase in speed brings with it the increase impact if there is an accident.  Only the suicidal or homicidal leave their homes with the intention to have a car 'accident'.  First a definition: Risk is uncertainty that matters.  Anything else are just worries. In the Catholic Life, uncertainty matters if it creates an impact on your ability to achieve your Catholic Vision, Mission, Goals and Objectives ( see Part 3 of this Series - Strategic Planning ). At the top of the strategy is dying in a state of grace.  This matters greatly! For example, entering a place that is an occasion of sin is definitely a risk. The next thing to consider is the likelihood of the risk occurring and its impact. In risk management we typically plot these on...

 + JMJ  So, CMTV hasn't posted anything of note about the SSPX of late.  They were all over any scandal for a while, but as I suspected, if nothing real turned up they would move on to someone else. Lately, it's been an FSSP priest who has been accused of various sins.   Anyway, a couple of articles popped up in my regular search: A Mad, Rad, Trad Problem: In short - they lie, defame and smear. From Sacrifice to Meal: Changing emphasis changes purpose. Of course, if they are talking about Trads, they are going to put in some jabs about the SSPX.   First, I find the accusation that Trads 'lie, defame and smear' a little odd.  It brings to mind the old adage of when you point your finger at someone remember that there are 3 fingers pointed back at you.   CMTV had fallen off my radar for years until they started talking about people that I knew in St. Mary's So, for the fun of it, here's what was said about the SSPX in their Mad podcast: Th...

 + JMJ  In the confusion created by the Catholic Church withdrawal from the moral life of nations, we have errors on both sides.  The Church has been here before and the principles of social doctrine are clear. Respect your superiors, even the bad / evil ones, not because of what they do, but because of the authority that they have received from God. P^3 Courtesy SSPX.com https://www.vatican.va/content/pius-x/it/motu_proprio/documents/hf_p-x_motu-proprio_19031218_fin-dalla-prima.html While Rerum Novarum is considered the definitive document on Social Doctrine and workers, Pope St. Pius X was not silent on the subject: To follow up on a previous post, “ Labor Day: What Should Catholics Think? ,” which surveyed Pope Leo XIII’s great social encyclical, Rerum Novarum , we present an overview of Pope St. Pius X’s 1903 motu proprio, Fin Dalla Prima Nostra . Recently reprinted in the July/August issue of The Angelus , this compact but illuminating document takes as its c...