We are Americans. We are free to, as Wesley said, think and let think. We are also our government. Did you get that last? America is governed by the people. As Lincoln phrased it, we have a “government of the people, by the people and for the people.” He ended that phrase by saying “should not perish.” That government of the people, by the people and for the people should not perish. Lincoln first said that at the dedication... Read more
Never stop praying for anyone. Every person on this earth is made in the Image and Likeness of God, and every single one of them is welcome at His table. All they have to do is say “yes” to Jesus and then follow Him. The most unlikely people have found their way to Christ, St Paul persecuted Christians, participated in the murder of St Stephen, and was actually on his way to imprison and kill the Christians in Damascus when... Read more
My 94-year-old mother has developed a sore on the lower part of her back. I think it’s from a combination of sitting in a wheelchair for long hours and not eating. She simply isn’t getting enough protein to build tissue. Mama struggled with weight all her life. When she was my age, she weighed well over 200 pounds. Today, she weighs 92 pounds, and that’s with both her nurses and me doing all we can to get her to... Read more
I just published a post which made it clear that I am not going to allow the bishops to vote me in the upcoming elections. I also said that we have the votes to overturn Roe on the Supreme Court. While it is true that we do have the votes, it is also true that the Court has sent mixed signals about abortion since Kavanaugh was confirmed. I’ve been queasy about some of the more outlandish “pro life” bills that... Read more
There’s more to being a legislator than casting votes. Most of the things you do require conversations with other legislators. It can be difficult to catch other legislators to talk to them because everyone is pin-balling between meetings, events and what-not. The best time to have a convo is often while you’re on the House floor together, debating and voting on bills. That requires getting up from your desk and walking around the floor. It also means that you... Read more
This video is from a while back, but I think it’s worth watching and thinking about again. The Holy Father’s compassion for the little boy who was crying and grieving for his recently deceased father is touching to see. The question child asks the Pope is one that a lot of us have grappled with. Do the people we love who have rejected Christ in this life have any hope of salvation in the next life? I know that the... Read more
And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea. Jesus Christ. Bless their hearts. The border patrol agents who have been tasked with separating children from their families are doing things that neither time nor political Yakkity-yak will erase from their hearts and minds. They are inflicting deep wounds on their own souls by obeying the... Read more
Victims of sexual assault of any sort, but victims of incest when they were children in particular, are more often disbelieved than not. I’ve heard stories from adult children of respected members of my church whose parent “disbelieved” them when they tried to get help from being repeatedly sexually assaulted by a father, brother or uncle. I have friends who experienced the same thing. I don’t think this “disbelief” is actually disbelief. I think it’s self protection. It’s easier to... Read more
Pope Francis began the New Year with that rarest of all things: A sermon condemning violence against women. I’ve been sitting in pews for many years now. In all that time, I’ve only heard one sermon saying that rape is a sin, and I caused that one. We live in a society in which so-called “christian” religious leaders vie to outdo each other in their praise and fealty to a political demagogue who talks about women like they’re dirt and... Read more
She’s black. She’s American. I honestly saw her marriage to Prince Harry as a big win-win for Britain. Not only would she have pumped up their tourist trade, but she was a natural to help them build their economy going forward from Brexit. The UK is losing trading partners with Brexit. But they have a natural place to go to build the kind of powerful trading alliances that harken back to the British Empire. That place is the British... Read more
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