Okay, I have pretty much finished my Federal taxes (I misplaced an 1099-INT, but it won't make a measurable difference). No good news-but no bad news either, as expected. The state taxes should be a breeze from here on out.

I have not read Deus Caritas Est yet, and I have tried not to read too many of the commentaries appearing all over the place because I just want to form my own impressions.

We had a good weekend, some good friends were over on Saturday. I have been having alot of trouble with my knee (an old basketball injury which flares up occasionally) for several weeks. I have even used a cane for a few days. But Saturday we got a football game going with the boys, and although I was hobbled (this is my excuse for our team being slaughtered) I tried not to let my knee interfere too much with the game. Lo and behold, on Sunday (and continuing this morning) my knee is better than it has been in several weeks. Usually playing through my knee problems is countrer-productive, but not this time.

Got my Winter 2006 copy of Catholic Mens Quarterly this weekend. I have mentioned CMQ before as a good read. They are about to expand the magazine by about 50%, but are holding yearly subscription prices the same for a limited time...

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...Oremus pro invicem!

The lone hen left of the new batch laid her first egg. The hens from last year haven't started laying again yet-those who haven't hit the pot already.

33 days an no baby rabbits. I thought this was supposed to be easy...

No rabbits....Special offer at Requiem Press is up. Why they go together is discussed at my other blog.

Check out Mark Shea's discussion of 'Crunchy Cons' (That's a book I'd like to read). Also note at the top his request for prayers at CE experiences some financial speed-bumps.

Back to the taxes...

Taxes...

It is that time again. I have to do inventory, taxes, etc. I do them myself still at this point. Hopefully it won't take more than a day or so to get them completed, but you never know around here. I may be scarce, but then again, I may check in to maintain sanity...

No signs of baby rabbits yet-I'm beginning to wonder...

Look for a special buy at Requiem Press starting tomorrow through February, to get that cash flow going....

That's all for now folks!

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...Oremus pro invicem!

'Leven cent cotton...

Here's a verse from a current favorite folk song we've been singing here at Bethany- from the "Fireside Book of American Folk Songs" a Christmas present to the kids....

'Leven cent cotton, forty cent meat
How in the world can a poor man eat?
Praying for the sunshine, cause it'll rain,
Things gettin worse, drivin all insane.

Built a nice barn, painted it brown

Lighten' come along an burnt it all down..

No use talkin' any man's beat

With 'leven cent cotton and forty cent meat.

Was loaned the book "Children of Winter-how the classroom is murdering the innocence of your child" by James Demers. It is not a new book (published in 1993). I am about half-way through. The first part is very confusing to me. It seemed the author was trying to say something, but seems unable to spit it out. It was often unclear how the examples he cites illustrate the point he seems to be trying to make. The second part is much more straightforward. While the author is making the case for all of North America, it is clear he writes mostly from his own experience in Canada during the Sixties and Seventies. Nothing new here: sex education-even in the Catholic schools. I'm not sure the sex-ed entered as many Catholic schools in the US during this time (we are doing it now in a nonsensical response to 'the scandal'). Another reason to homeschool...

My blog turning into a book review-first "Restoration..." and now this.

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I thought I was a failure at breeding rabbits, but the jury is still out. For some reason I thought we mated the first doe on Christmas Eve and thus her pregnancy should have ended today or at least the signs of preparation (her pulling her fur out) should have started. But looking back in my blog entries this morning, I happily noted in early January that the mating took place on the 26th of December. Thus I have a couple more days to see....and found another benefit of blogging.

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Good to see some more activity at Hallowed Ground -with the comments open!

Below somewhere in my post on Catholic Resettlement, Zach suggests I may enough thoughts to write a book. Certainly I think there are enough examples of (what I defined as) planned and unplanned "Catholic Resettlements" which are at least in the first generation, or failed in the first generation to do an interesting study. I think a Master's thesis may be the right venue for this.

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Final note this morning, "Catholic Laity..." from Requiem Press is still getting media play here and there. This time at the National Center for the Laity-online here. Check it out.

Also, I may have mentioned this a few days ago, but we have announced a couple of our upcoming books over at my other blog. I will repeat it here because readership is steadier (and greater) here at Bethune Catholic.

We have started to set our schedule for book releases for 2006-07. Here is a partial preview, I expect to have a couple more surprises in the next week or so:

Spring Release: "Giving Up Stealing For Lent" by Brother Charles Madden OFM Conv. (You may recognize him from his popular book on Freemasonery published by TAN books.)

January 2007 Release: "America's Drug Deal-Abortion, Vaccines, & Corruption" by Jameson Taylor. Check out his website here.

That's all for now, from Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...Oremus pro invicem!

Columbia, SC ... Saturday

We took our CCD class and some of their younger siblings (along with our family) to the March for Life and Rally at the state capital on Saturday. Suzanne Schindler Vitadamo, sister of Terry Schiavo, was the keynote speaker at the rally. She was not overly emotional herself, nor did she try to incite the crowd of about 500 to emotion for emotions sake. She quietly told the facts, made proposals to protect ourselves and our family. She had some harsh words for Bishop Lynch and a few of the priests in her sister's diocese who either sided with Terry's husband or had a 'hands-off' policy. But she used the words of John Paul the Great to show the true teaching of the Church concerning food and hydration. She was the best speaker they have had in Columbia for several years at least.

For the first time in a few years also, it didn't feel like a President Bush rally. This aspect has upset me in the past, but this year no mention of the President at all. Last year for example, even the signs they were handing out said "Thank-you President Bush" on the back. This year, as I said, no mention of him. (Perhaps out of respect for Suzanne Schindler Vitadamo-while Gov. Bush and President Bush did some things initially to try to save Terry's life, when it came down to the end, they stood by and did nothing.)

The crowd was smaller this year than in the past, (it was overcast, and rained off-and-on during the morning-but not during the rally itself). We will talk to our CCD class on Wednesday to get their impressions and to discuss these issues some more.

On the homefront, we should have baby rabbits any day now, if we did everything properly....

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...Oremus pro invicem!

Quick notes: forgot to mention yesterday that I have (finally) done a little updating on the blog links and the regular links. If you read my other blog yeterday, you may recognize the first link under "Other Sites" on the right-Americas Drug Deal. Now off to Columbia for the March for Life....

Catholic Re-settlement

As readers of Bethune Catholic know, I have just finished John Senior's classic-"The Restoration of Christian Culture". He says many things which are worthy of discussion: TV, music, reading, talking, community, family, the Eucharist, Our Lady.... and the list goes on.

In the past 10 years or so I have seen and been part of many discussions on forming Catholic communities. There are various names and models for this: Catholic re-settlement, Catholic ghetto's, agrarian communiites. etc. People have deliberately tried to make these work (with very mixed success) and in other cases, the community just happened (again with mixed success.)

A single post outlining all I have learned (or think I have) over the years on the subject would be too lengthy (to read and to time consuming to write). But here are a couple of thoughts for anyone planning such an endeavor:

1. If you somehow form a community of 'like-minded' people, the community needs to work towards some level of self-sufficiency. I mean that all the men can't be leaving the community every day for work. They need to find employment in or very near the community-or being working towards that goal. Part of the community that makes it so, is that everything is right there. It is not a suburb where all the men leave to work in the city everyday. This is how the culture started breaking the family down to begin with. (Note I am not talking specifically about self-sufficiency for its own sake)

2. If it is an agrarian community, note that the American model is flawed. In America we want to put our house right smack dab in the middle of our 40 acres (keep the neighbors at arms-length and stake out the property lines.). While good fences may make good neighbors, the neighbors should be close enough that community really exists-so culture can flourish. If you look at those places in Europe today and yesterday where Catholic culture flourished, you will note that often these farming families all lived in the village in close proximity. The fields they owned and worked were outside the village. They lived together.

3. One big problem with the "planned" community, is that it takes more than a generation, maybe 2-5 generations, to really make it work. This is because the natural community is the family, and their most natural support is the extended family (not simply a "like-minded" friend). These resettlements (whether planned or unplanned) don't usually include (at least initially) extended family. This makes the community growth rocky. (You can ditch a friend - even like-minded one, but it is hard to ditch Uncle Haryy). But I would imagine that if they can stick it out a few generations (which means that most of the children remain in the community as do their children), then there is a real shot at making this succeed as the extended family will now be there also.

Just like H. Belloc (am I quoting John Senior's quoting of Belloc correctly?) said that it takes a year to make a farmer into a city boy, but it takes several generations to make a city-boy into a farmer. (I am living proof that it certainly takes more than a year. I can't even keep my chickens safe from my own dogs.)

Just some thoughts...Some may ask how my choices for our family in the past few years correlate to these goals listed above. That is another long story....

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...Oremus pro invicem!

PS-Have some announcements concerning Requiem Press on my other blog today!

Restoration of Christian Culture can only come through personal devotion and consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary!

Sorry for the lack of posts and lack of response to comments below. They are coming. I am just up against a couple critical deadlines.

Probably the last quote from "The Restoration... " as I am nearing the end.

"But the mystery of the incarnation resides in the hypostatic union of those two natures in one person, and it follows that every cell in Christ's body, each cell of the Eucharist, is a multiplied division of the original cell of hers (Our Lady-jc) still living on in these forms."

Something to meditate on....

I have noticed that Mr. Culbreath of Hallowed Ground has been making appearances in comment boxes around the parish. His posts have been fairly sparse of late, but his latest on "Conflict of Visions" is worth reading, although I might quibble with him on parts of the last paragraph. My real bone to pick with Mr. Culbreath is that due to his lack of posts, (and lack of comment box), my readership has suffered by a measureable amount.

I need to update my blog-link list on the sidebar. Several of the blogs listed have changed their location or their name, or both during the Christmas season necessitating an update on my part. Plus there may be some new ones to add and a few I don't visit much any more to take away...

I am up against the wall today with an editorial deadline, but I have some good things (in my opinion anyway) to post. Some exciting news concerning upcoming offerings from RequiemPress which I can finally speak about and some thoughts on 'Catholic re-setttlement' in light of my reading of "The Restoration... " Stay tuned if you have patience.

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...Oremus pro invicem!

More TV Smashing...

I am nearing the end of "The Restoration..." How about these gems:

"An agnostic university exactly imitates Lucifer in his fall... ", and

"Secular education is not only incomplete but contrary to both God and nature; it is sacrilegeous and unscientific. "

In a post some time ago, (oh yes, here it is), I expounded some of my thoughts about education.

Smash the TV, Toss the stereo, and ...

He saves "the best wine for last!-sell the car and learn to walk again." Yes I am still reading "The Restoration of Christian Culture" by John Senior.

I don't agree with everything in his book, but his thrust is something I wholeheartedly endorse. And he is not afraid of saying hard things, like 'smash the TV for instance' (and yes he says it more than once or twice), or:

The third degree (of prayer) is for those in the married state (or single life) who offer a tithe of their time for prayer-about two and one-half hours per day-with eight hours for work, eight hours for sleep the remaining five and a half for recreation with the family.

Everyone will say it can't be done. That is what I meant when I said that the first thing said about prayer is that we don't have time for it....Every layman owes his tithe of time-two and one-half hours per day. (emphasis added).

This recalls for me John Paul's passage in Novo Millennio Ineunte: “it would be wrong to think that ordinary Christians can be content with a shallow prayer that is unable to fill their whole life.”

I am well past the half-way point in "Restoration". I am certainly enjoying the read-because it sparks so many thoughts, and because it spawns so many ideas; it is almost like having a conversation with a like-minded friend. Although I know that there are a few in our house who are eyeing me with suspicion and concern as I go around chanting, "Smash the TV! Toss the stereo!". However, to get serious, the more things we have, the more time and money we have to spend maintaining and using them. And thus for each thing we have, we must at some level determine how this thing helps or hinders our pilgrimage. I have heard it said that the typical man in biblical and medieval times had more leisure time than we do today. Their needs were satisfied locally and their lives and holdings more simple. And leisure? The purpose of leisure is not to veg in front of the TV, but to spend time developing your spiritual life and relationships-to read, to sing, to talk about the eternal things. We are so tired from maintaining our materialistic lives that in our leisure we have only the energy to collapse on the couch...

Speaking of TV, we don't have cable or satellite, and we live so far out that it is a major production to get any meaningful picture on the tube normally. This is okay with us. Mostly we use the TV to watch videos. Friday night we watched one of my favorites and a classic, "Lives of a Bengal Lancer" starring Gary Cooper and Franchot Tone. It is a good drama with a balance of action, good dialog and humor. (One thing I noticed some years ago is that most recent dramas on the big screen don't think humor has a place in a drama, but this is so wrong as our human dramas always are laced with humor. The movie makers in the 30's knew this.) The main characters are fallen men, but they each learn lessons and act on them.

I have a bad knee which normally is just an occasional hazard, but occasionally is difficult to walk on and carries some small pain. Saturday my knee had been acting up, so I was trying to take it easy with my chores. I went out to simply board up a broken window in our feed house when a dead pine tree came down in the goat/dog pen due to the high winds. The tree broke off near the base and leaned into another tree, so it didn't come down all the way. So I got out the axe and took the tree down the rest of the way. Just as I was finishing up this, the beem which secures the roof (simply a heavy duty tarp) over our rabbits snapped in two (also wind related). S0 I had to replace this. By the time I finished this (oh yes, I spent a little time turning the compost which was long over due) I realized there was no taking it easy today.

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...Oremus pro invicem!

Just noticed the excerpt from Russell Shaw's "Catholic Laity in the Mission of the Church" (December issue of crisis Magazine) is now available online - here . Pass it around...

Mentioned this on my other blog a few days ago: here is one take on the crisis Magazine article.

More "Restoration" and other tidbits...

Others ... atempting to construct an artificial universe ... an earthly Paradise in which there are no death and taxes-and this is what technology has tried and bitterly failed to do; after five hundred years of spectacular success, it has reduced our lives to nothing but death and taxes!"

The poet chanted of the Grecian urn, "Thou still unravished bride of quietness..." For us there is neither quiet or bride; our girls are rendered unravishable by sex education in elementary school. If future generations exist and think of us at all, they will say, digging in our ruins, "This was a people who lived unconsummated lives."

...We can an must turn back the clock to the right time. The only way out of the current crisis of inflation, energy, and all the rest is to simplify....whether as freemen or slaves, we shall have to return to poverty. The choice is only whether it will be the desparate destitution of the slave state or the healthy frugality of what Chaucer called "glad poverty."

So many quotable gems like the ones above from John Senior's "Restoration of Christian Culture". Get used to them as I think the next week or so, this blog will sport one or more every day as I work through it.

Once again, my graduate school alma mater is making notorious news (at least for Catholics). This article lists the "Catholic" colleges hosting the V-monologues this year. Unfortunately, John Carroll U in Cleveland is there once again. Pray...

Van is in the shop once again, so will be sticking close to the small holding today.

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...Oremus pro invicem!

This just in: over at my other blog we have our first guest blogger talking about their vocation. Take a look...

Restoration...

Smash the TV; toss the stereo!

Buy a piano and restore music to your home. "Music is the food of love."

Okay, I am continuing to delve into The Restoration of Christian Culture by John Senior, so those who have read it already may want to stay away from here for a couple weeks as I report on my reading and add my own two cents...

At Bethany we are great believers in homegrown music (we haven't and probably won't throw out the stereo...at least yet.) I think C.S. Lewis one time said something about our life in eternity, whether it be in Heaven or Hell will be simply a continuation of our life on earth. In this vein, one of my thoughts (I am sure its not original) is that if we don't practice on earth what we will be doing in Heaven, then we won't get there. (We can't just listen to or watch others do it.) Primarily, in Heaven we will love and accept love. But another thing we will be doing is singing. Thus we must sing here as a warm-up you might say.

This past summer the kids checked out a book from the library called "The Fireside Book of Folk Songs". They renewed it several times. All summer we were learning and singing a variety of songs as a family. It was fun for everyone and brought us closer together. For Christmas, two of the few gifts Mrs. Curley and I actually bought for the family was a second hand copy of this book and its companion, "The Fireside Book of American Folk Songs". Both have proved to be great investments so far. We have had great fun singing some of the old-time spirituals and taking parts. Now while I don't recommend some of these old-time spirituals for the Liturgy, by themselves they can be great songs.

There is something deeply spritual about singing and singing together that draws people together and grows the love and harmony among those. Whatever strife the family may be struggling through, a good sing-along together inevitiably restores joy and peace to Bethany.

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...Oremus pro invicem!

A little update on our small holding...

We have planted some spinach and turnips in the winter garden. The soil in the garden looks and feels much richer this year. Last years' fertilizer, compost, and rabbit manure probably all contribute.

We mated our first rabbits on December 26th. So if successful, we should have some new livestock around the 26th of January. Stay tuned...

Not much to say...

Its not really that I don't have much to say, its just that I can't find the words-is this writer's cramp or blogger's cramp? For instance there has been some discussion at the new Corpus Meum and at Hallowed Ground on distributism and Catholic re-settlement. I have some comments to make on these and other topics, but just am having trouble translating my thoughts onto paper (screen as it were). Maybe I haven't had enough quiet time-or maybe this is why some bloggers take sabbaticals or blog-fasts as they say.

Here's something I found very interesting. An excerpt:

This has put Catholic laymen and laywomen in the awkward and unaccustomed position of simply begging. We are seeing the emergence of "lay mendicants." While there is a long tradition of mendicant religious orders, this is an odd experience for lay people, especially men, who have been in the business world. One could become a millionaire honorably manufacturing bottle caps, but one can work just as hard trying to explain or defend the Gospel of Salvation and barely stay above the poverty line. Perhaps this is as it should be, but it can be hard on the nerves of those with the strongest faith.

I must say that the generosity shown to my family by friends and strangers this past 6-9 months as we have struggled to get Requiem Press on its own feet has been inspiring-especially since this outpouring has been spontaneous. In Furrow (St. Josemaria Escriva) I have been reading recently about "generosity". I am humbled by the generosity shown to us these months and suddenly realize how much I have been lacking all these years.

There are two commentaries on the Liturgy I would like to excerpt or comment on. I haven't determined whether either are on-line yet. Maybe in a few days....

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...Oremus pro invicem!

Saturday notes...

Found out that I will not have jury duty next week. I got a call this morning saying I wouldn't be needed. I wonder if it had to do with how I answered the questionaire? Mixed blessing, I was looking forward to something perhaps interesting and a stipend. But I have plenty to do around here, so it is for the best.

Spent most of the day plumbing-clogged drains which were more complicated than draino. But we got the job done. Now for some fun...

First Friday Mass this morning, followed by breakfast in the parish hall and then back to the church for a "pro-life" rosary. I really enjoy First Fridays at St. Catherines. It is truly a blessing to be able to say the rosary with other families

I noticed that Pope Benedict XVI celebrated the Epiphany today. I had thought the feast was moved to Sunday for the universal Church, not just for the United States.... (any info on this?)

Here's another gem, this time from the Curie d'Ars:

An undertaking to be pleasing to God must have three conditions: It must be sincere, selfless, and perservering.

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...Oremus pro invicem!

A Quick Thought...

"Those who are nearest are the first to be heard. That is why you must get close to God and be intent on becoming a saint." - St. Josemaria Escriva (#648 Furrow)

A friend loaned me their copy of "The Restoration of Christian Culture" by John Senior (Roman Catholic Books). I have heard of it, seen it quoted, and now am looking forward to reading it. (Actually I couldn't wait and started it last night...)

This interview with John Allen on his new book about Opus Dei is getting alot of play around St. Blogs. The particular section getting the most comments is this one:

At the same time, I think we're still far too divided. Perhaps the more sociologically accurate thing to say is that we've got multiple, co-existing "catholicisms". When you look around at the Catholic scene, you see that you've got your traditionalist-liturgical Catholics, your social justice Catholics, your charismatic Catholics, your neo-conservative, intellectual Catholics, your Church reform Catholics, and others. They all speak their own language, go to their own meetings, read their own publications, think their own thoughts. If they ever pop their head up above the walls to look at somebody in another circle, it's often not with a genuine interest in the thought of the other. It's with what you might call a "hermeneutic of suspicion". "I'm not really sure where this person is coming from and I'm not really sure if we're on the same team."

It's tragic that American Catholics spent the first part of the 20th century crawling out of the ghetto imposed on us by a hostile Protestant majority, but that now we've constructed our own ghettos. They're defined not by denominational boundaries, but by ideological ones. This isn't just distasteful on an aesthetic level, but ecclesiologically it's deeply unsatisfactory. We're supposed to be a community of communities—that's what communio ecclesiology is, to which John Paul II and Benedict XVI have been so valiantly trying to call us.

Caelum et Terra takes the view: "Now, I think there are in fact very good reasons underlying a lot of this, chiefly the presence of so many people, including people in authority, in the Church who pretty obviously don't believe some of the core teachings. But it's gotten way out of hand."

Over at Amy Welborn's site there are 130 comments and counting.

I could comment on all this, but to what end? I believe Caelum et Terra has a great point (both that there are good reasons and that it is out of hand). Hopefully with respect to Opus Dei, Mr. Allen's book will take away some of the bigotry and suspicion in this case.

Hopefully more to come later-I have an appointment with Someone important....

Stories & Laughter & Culture

At the past few meals here at Bethany, the kids have been begging for stories about themselves from when they are little. Of course this has spawned their own tales-some of which are already known to Mrs. Curley and myself, and some of which are new revelations. Any time now I expect one of the kids will reveal something they have done which is not quite past the statute of limitations.....

This family storytelling is one of the joys of being in a big family. Some of these stories will be told over and over again as the years pass. One of my favorites recalled this morning:

A few days ago I posted about how Mrs. Curley and I used to go dancing every Thursday night. One of these times Mrs. Curley put on some new perfume. The kids were sitting around the kitchen table when Mrs. Curley entered. "Phe-ew, what's that smell?" says one unnamed boy. Mrs. Curley answers that it is her perfume-"doesn't it smell nice?". "Better watch out Ma," cautions another unnamed son, "with that stuff, the dogs will be after you!"

I know when the family of my youth gets together (now-a-days usually only for weddings or funerals) the laughter from our own childhood stories practically lifts lifts the roof off.

Some humorists have made a living off of the material that comes from their own families. The trick to making these stories make sense (and bring laughter) to an outsider is to be able to set up the culture of the family and to adequately introduce the personalities. No small task or else all of us would be humorists.

By chance (or maybe not) Requiem Press' next major release will be the recollections of the youngest of a family of 11 children growing up in Baltimore in the middle part of the 2oth century. Reading the adventures of his Irish-Catholic family brought back many memories of my own family.

This book (which won't be released for a few more months) is the first in a series of books which celebrate Catholic culture (now and then) that Requiem Press is committing to. I feel that building a new Catholic subculture (see this post at my other blog) is an important endeavor. Part of the subculture is poetry, literature, music which celebrates and explains the Catholic worldview-but in such a way that it also reaches out to the others and brings them into or connects them to the Catholic subculture; thus the subculture begins to influence the larger culture in positive ways.

We haven't abandoned publishing books pertaining to history-but have simply added to the mission. This movement has almost happened by chance (or maybe not). If you look at our last three new releases, each touches on Catholic culture. Mr. Meehan's "Two Towers-the de-Christianization of America and a Plan for Renewal" talks about how the "American/Protestant culture" infiltrated and influenced the Church (and Catholic culture) in America. "The Chapel Veil" makes the case for the revival on one particular expression of Catholic culture. "Catholic Laity in the Mission of the Church" has a long section on the need for a new Catholic subculture and its position at the service of evangelization. Each of these books has a historical aspect also (we are connected to the past). Thus it is fitting that Requiem Press move out in this direction.

There will be more about our plans here and on my other blog in the coming weeks.

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...Oremus pro invicem!

I expect posts will be more regular in the next few days and weeks as I get back to my regular schedule. Yes, the formal Christmas season has still a week to go, (our tree will remain up for a few weeks yet, we go Christmas carolling with our CCD class on Friday night to parish shut-ins, and we have yet to send out a few Chrismas greetings), but school is resuming for Mrs. Curley and the kids, as is my work.

This past week or so I haven't spent much time checking the other blogs I regularly stop by. But I did read this post over at Hallowed Ground. I was a little bit jealous as I would have liked to be in on those conversations.

An article I originally wrote for Catholic Men's Quarterly is appearing today at CatholicExchange. For today and tomorrow only (as it pertains to the article), we are running a special on "Witnessess to the Holy Mass" and "The Maccabees-Forgotten Heroes of Israel" over at RequiemPress.

Update: One more link: This article captured my interest as I have a son named Thomas Becket.

From Bethany, the small holding in Bethune...Oremus pro invicem!