Never to pay attention to the vessel in which I send you my grace … all (your) attention should be concentrated on responding to My grace as faithfully as possible. Jesus, speaking to Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska I am writing this post for people who sometimes feel alienated from the Church because of its indifference to them and their suffering. I am writing it for the victims of sexual abuse and rape, of discrimination and prejudice; for the ignored, the despised... Read more
One of the many pleasures of these years of infirmity and advancing age is the gift of time. Convalescence from cancer, heart attacks, strokes and the like is a slow process that involves doing things that are difficult and that I don’t like such as exercise, changed diet, and forbearance on the one hand, and long, fallow days of learning a new normal, and a new way to structure my life and living on the other hand. I can’t do... Read more
“I deem deplorable the practice of so-called surrogate motherhood, which represents a grave violation of the dignity of the woman and the child, based on the exploitation of situations of the mother’s material needs,” he said. “A child is always a gift and never the basis of a commercial contract.” Pope Francis Last January, Pope Francis labeled surrogate pregnancy “deplorable” and called for a worldwide ban on the practice. He called it the “commercialization” of pregnancy. When I was... Read more
Women are raped, murdered, mutilated, sold as slaves, forced into marriage, forced to submit to sex, forced to bear children, denied education, medical care and individual freedoms. Denying women and girls basic civil and human rights is regarded is regarded as righteousness all around the globe … all simply because they are female. I passed a law back in 2009 making it a crime to perform what is known as Female Genital Mutilation (FMG) in Oklahoma. It’s not easy, passing... Read more
It’s been 4 months since everything changed. I woke up. It was around 3 am. I got up and had no sense of balance. I toppled over like a doll. I hit the bureau beside the bed and caught myself with my hands. My arms and hands were working fine, but I had absolutely no sense of balance. I wasn’t dizzy. I’ve been massively dizzy in the past from inner ear problems caused by allergies. This wasn’t that. The room... Read more
So … what of the Palestinians? I recently wrote a post discussing the sudden onslaught of violent anti-semitism facing American Jews within the context of American far left and far right politics. But when you’re dealing with people, each side always has another side. Long, drawn out historic injustices always seem to become absolutely serpentine in their complexities. The current situation is a horror movie that the whole world is watching. Israel was attacked. The war truly is forced upon... Read more
I have read comments by Jewish people expressing their dismay that the far left has switched into rabid anti-semitism in such an addlepated one-step fashion. These Jewish people thought they were part of the far left, that these newly-minted anti-semites were their friends. Then … snap! … their “friends” are backing people who call for the annihilation of Jews. I have heard from other Jewish people who say that they are afraid to wear their Star of David jewelry. They are afraid... Read more
Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, has called for Christians worldwide to join together in a day of fasting, abstinence and prayer for peace and reconciliation in the Holy Land. This is the same Cardinal Pierbattista who offered to give himself as a hostage to Hamas in exchange for the kidnapped Israeli children. Our Holy Father, Pope Francis has echoed this call. You don’t have to be Orthodox Catholic or Roman Catholic to join this. You can be... Read more
“I am ready for an exchange, anything, if this can lead to freedom, to bring the children home. No problem. There is total willingness on my part,” Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Patriarch of Jerusalem, has offered to exchange himself for the child hostages Hamas is holding. Cardinal Pierbattista is the leader of the Latin Rite Catholics in Israel and Gaza. Christians are a minority in Gaza. While many of them are Orthodox and Roman Catholic, there are... Read more
Americans can be proud of the way President Biden has handled both the war in Ukraine and the current crisis in the Middle East. Franklin Roosevelt said “America is the arsenal of democracy.” That is true. We have been the arsenal of democracy for many decades. President Biden’s response to the ruthless invasion of Ukraine by Putin and the bloody attack on Israeli civilians last weekend has been to continue that role. He healed our damaged alliances with NATO and... Read more
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