Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into the abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you. Friedrich Neitzsche I’ve seen a lot of memes that are dissing the frequent comments politicians often make proclaiming that the victims of violence are in their “thoughts and prayers.” The import of the memes is that “thoughts are prayers” are not enough. We need action. I agree.... Read more
“I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and earth; and in Jesus Christ, His only Son Our Lord, Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into Hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into Heaven, and sits at the right hand of God, the Father almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit,... Read more
I’m a cardiac rehab retread. My doc decided to send me back through rehab in hopes it’ll mend all my torn and worn spots. They tell me that about 10% of the people who go through cardiac rehab need another round. To be honest, I feel blessed that it’s available to me. I’m also hopeful about the good it will do me. When I showed up for my assessment, the staff greeted me like a long lost buddy. Then we... Read more
“I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.” St Thomas Thomas was one of Jesus’ handpicked Apostles. He reacted to stories of Jesus’ resurrection with sanity. He didn’t believe it. And he told the people he regarded as fantasists that he didn’t believe it as adamantly as he could. Thomas was a first century Jew living in a conquered Roman... Read more
Dorothy Day is a Catholic for our day and all days. Jesus said, “If you have done it to the least of these, you have done it to Me.” From The New Yorker: Day’s Catholic Worker Movement would serve the poor in more than two hundred communities. Under her guidance, it would also develop a curiously dichotomous political agenda, taking prophetic stands against racial segregation, nuclear warfare, the draft, and armed conflict around the world, while opposing abortion, birth... Read more
St Basil the Great, defender of the Church and martyr, From The Divine Liturgy of St Basil: “Free those who are held captive by unclean spirits; sail with those who sail; travel with those who travel; defend the widows; protect the orphans; liberate the captives; heal the sick. “Remember, Lord, those who are in mines, in exile, in harsh labor, and those in every kind of affliction, necessity, or distress; those who entreat your loving kindness; those who love us... Read more
The moral underpinning of the pro life movement has nothing to do with punishing women. It is an affirmation of the simple and obvious fact that the right of human beings to be alive without fear of being murdered is the basic human right. No one has the right to kill another human being for any reason other than self-defense. Self defense is itself limited to situations where the threat is real and imminent, something a reasonable person would see... Read more
When you learn to sit at table with your Judas, you’ll understand the love of Christ. From a meme I saw on Facebook. Forgiveness can be the most difficult demand that Jesus makes of us. Sitting at table with your Judas, with someone close and intimate who has betrayed you, is difficult, I’m sure, although I don’t know much about it. I haven’t been through the betrayals that happen during a divorce, haven’t experienced the back-stabbing that some relatives... Read more
Holy Week opened today as it is does each year, with palms. Churches distribute palms, and worshippers process into the church. Mothers everywhere whisper “Stop that!” to the horseplay that results. We were Episcopalians back in the early 1990s, but the mass was the same. My little boys had to be reminded that the palms were not swords. It was always a challenge to keep them walking in line into the church and then to deal with the squirming, poking,... Read more
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