What do you think of our last issue?

Maybe this can become a regular feature, but I'm running this specific post about our RNC coverage issue. We had to rely on Catholic News Service's coverage since we couldn't attend the convention in person. The early reviews are mixed in that some appreciate the life focus of many stories, and others are upset and accusing the Catholic Church of forcing its members to vote for one party (which it's not).

So... your thoughts are appreciated.

'Taste of the Cathedral' winning chili recipe

Congrats to Holy Family Parish in Leadville, which won the chili cookoff (judge's vote) at the inaugural "Taste of the Cathedral" festival Sept. 13 at St. Mary's Cathedral in downtown Colorado Springs. Here's the winning recipe, as conjured by its chef, Michael Holmquist:

Leadville Miner’s Chili
Holy Family Parish

This dark and brooding chili is meant to be satisfying and comforting even after the hardest day’s work.

3 Tbs olive oil
2 onions thinly sliced and roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
1 lb chili meat (like hamburger only in a thicker grind)
¾ lb stew meat
1 (14 ½ oz) can diced tomatoes drained
1 (14.5 oz) can dark beer such as Guinness
1½ c strong coffee
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste
2 cups beef stock
2 Tbs mild chili rojo (In the Mexican food aisle)
1 Tbs ground cumin
1 Tbs cocoa powder
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp kosher salt
4 (15 oz) cans kidney beans drained and rinsed
3 jalapeno peppers seeded and chopped

Heat 2 Tbs oil in 6 qt pot over medium-high heat. Sear stew meat, remove from pan. Cook hamburger and add minced garlic.

Meanwhile, in large frying pan heat 1 Tbs oil on medium-low heat. Add onions and stir occasionally. Monitor heat between low and medium-low to slowly cook and caramelize, but do not burn or brown too quickly. This process should take about an hour.

Deglaze pot with dark beer bring back to a boil add meat back to pot and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add spices, coffee, tomatoes and two cans kidney beans. Continue to simmer over low heat while onions cook.

Once onions are caramelized and are a deep amber color, add to meat/bean mixture. Deglaze the frying pan with beef stock and boil over medium-high heat until reduced to about ¾ cup of liquid, add to meat/bean mixture. Stir in can of tomato paste and remaining beans.

Add jalapeno peppers right before serving add additional salt to taste. Chili can be eaten right away but is best the next day when the flavors have had a chance to blend and morph together.
The natural sugars in the onions should sweeten this chili, but if not, 1-2 Tbs brown sugar can be added.

Keeping track of our seminarians

The Diocese of Colorado Springs' vocations office has launched a nice, new Web site, FuturePriest.com to attract more vocations to the diocese. In addition, seminarian John Stearns has his own blog chronicling his first year of studies at Kenrick Seminary in St. Louis.

A Heroic Father

My brother-in-law sent this moving story to me tonight about a Nokesville, Va., man who saved his son from drowning in a septic tank but ended up drowning himself. The son, Joseph, has Down syndrome and could not make his way out of the high water level after he fell through the cover to the tank, so Thomas Vander Woude jumped in and held up his son until help arrived. By the time rescue workers pulled both of them out, the father was unconscious and was declared dead at the hospital. The son is in critical condition.

My sister Christine and her husband, Mark, who just moved to Colorado from nearby Gainesville, Va., last month, attended the same parish and often saw the son, Joseph, serving Mass on Sundays. Mark mentioned to me that Arlington Bishop Thomas Loverde is celebrating the funeral Mass with 13 priests, one of which is Thomas' eldest son. This story is picking up attention from the national media.

Should anyone feel moved to do so, notes of condolence can be sent to:

Holy Trinity Parish

C/O VanderWoude Family

8213 Linton Hall Road

Gainesville, VA 20155

Listen to St. Mary's High School football online

I received an email from Angie Gerber at St. Mary's High School this morning. The football team's game at Florence tonight will be carried live by Star Country (KSTY 104.5 FM) in Canon City. The game will also stream live online at Network1Sports.

The pregame starts at 6:30, and kickoff is set for 7 p.m. Go to this link and click on the "LISTEN LIVE" tab on the left.

Fr. Tad recap and raffle winner

I just want to thank everyone who made the trek to Jack Quinn's Pub last night for the talk by Father Tad Pacholczyk on "Making Sense of Bioethics." We had close to 110 people there, which filled out the upstairs room nicely and hopefully made the accomodating serving staff happy. Father Tad's talk was great and held everyone's attention for nearly two hours despite some early audio issues. Unfortunately, I missed a stipulation in the contract that says I cannot record it for public dissemination, so I do not have it available for streaming on the Web site. You can hear the first half of the presentation on a DVD he sells through the National Catholic Bioethics Center called "Cutting Through the Spin" (bulk order discounts available on this link). As for the Q&A... I will try to type out a transcript at some point over the next week or so and post on the Herald site.

Also, the winner of the raffle for a dinner for four at Antonio's Italian Restaurant is Dan Spadaro. Congratulations.

What do you think of our DNC coverage?

Assistant Editor Jim Myers covered the Democratic National Convention for the Herald and Catholic News Service (our national wire) and we ran a portion of his stories in our latest issue, which comes out tomorrow.

We went back and forth about whether or not we should even cover this, but in the end we decided that it is in our backyard and it would be a challenge to cover it using our Herald lense. There are more stories on our Web site than appeared in the paper. We tried to have a balance of stories, although the issue of abortion obviously came up more often than others because the party platform supports the choice to abort an infant in the womb.

So... what did you think of our coverage?

WYD 2008: Awesome video recap

It's hard to believe we're nearly six weeks removed from our return from World Youth Day in Sydney, but lest we get too busy and forget about that incredible time, pilgrim Andre Papineau of St. Paul Parish put together a great 8-minute video recap (of photo stills) that really gives you a good idea of what the trip was like.

We've embedded a YouTube version here, but for a higher-quality version, click here.

Detaching from material possessions

My family was the victim of a crime this week, as a criminal(s) broke into our garage and stole a bunch of personal and professional items out of our vehicles in the middle of the night.

My wife Kate and I were wallowing in our self pity when I remembered what Father Paul Wicker, pastor of Holy Apostles Parish in Colorado Springs, went through last November. He walked in on several men robbing his house, and they absconded with computer and photo equipment. There was no forced entry into our main house, thank the Lord.

We featured an article on Father Wicker's experience in the March 21, 2008 issue of The Colorado Catholic Herald detailing the event and the subsequent neighborhood watch program that Father Wicker started with Kevin Goos, senior pastor of the neighboring Mountain View Wesleyan Church. What struck me from speaking with Father Wicker was his thoughts on material goods. Sure, he missed his photos and mementos, but it wasn't the end of the world.

Here's what he said:

"It's just one more experience of detachment of things of this world."

That has stuck with me since I interviewed him, and it is a lesson for all of us when these kinds of things happen. Let's be grateful for our families and the many blessings that each of us has.