Our country is awash in chaos and suffering. There is horror every time I read the news. Every time I check in with my friends online, another one is mourning a terrible loss. I can’t even fathom the suffering going on all around me. On top of it all– no Mass except on video, no Holy Communion, no Adoration chapel to cry in. I am trying to find hope wherever I can. I am trying to find God where... Read more
This morning I opened Twitter to check in on my friends; I ended up watching some short videos from Shirley Raines, who serves the homeless on Skid Row in Los Angeles, California. Ms. Raines records some of each of her visits to Skid Row, so that her donors can see what their money is funding. Earlier this week she showed her car full of Kool Aid juice boxes, because there were not enough water bottles for sale at the supermarket... Read more
It is better, they say, to light one candle, than curse the darkness. Better to do something to bring a little goodness into the world, than to curse a world of evil. I have been doing a bit of both. I woke up earlier than usual, on one of those soggy Steubenville days when it always seems to be twilight or just after dawn. The first thing I did was to check the death toll on the official map,... Read more
When I was a teenager, I was homeschooled in a deeply conservative, deeply pro-life homeschool group. Everyone had as many children as they could. I used to watch the parade of sixteen-passenger vans arriving at the old brick church downtown for daily Mass before our homeschool enrichment lessons, and I’d swell with pride. It was impressed on us in that homeschool group that pregnant women had to be careful. It wasn’t just abortion, the travesty of directly killing a baby,... Read more
The first time I forgot about the coronavirus, was yesterday. That was when I got up earlier than usual and did my social-distancing grocery run for milk and fresh meat. I went to Wal Mart instead of Kroger. I cheered to see regular chicken and beef in stock instead of nothing but sausage again. I grabbed a package of toilet paper even though we’re not quite out of toilet paper yet– the clerks were just unpacking a palette, and smiled... Read more
The homeless are still attempting to shelter-in-place on Skid Row. They cannot practice social distancing because they’re trapped in overcrowded tents. They don’t have plumbing to wash their hands. In fact, they don’t have water at all. Ms. Shirley Raines, the lady who was out in her car giving them hand sanitizer, vitamin C supplements, and sandwiches a few days ago, has been trying to find water bottles, but every store in Los Angeles is sold out due to... Read more
I went for a walk. The governor says we’re allowed to go for a walk, so I went. He said we could run necessary errands, so I did. My friends have been sending me a little money here and there, to scrounge gifts for the homeless at the Friendship Room, so I scrounge when I go on my social-distancing trips to the store. I’m told that it’s wise to go to the store only once a week, but we... Read more
This afternoon I came across an article by R. R. Reno, the supposedly pro-life editor of First Things magazine. I’ve had less and less to do with First Things the past several years, for a number of reasons, but I don’t recall them ever being as ridiculous as this article, entitled “Say No To Death’s Dominion.” This article is nothing but a scandalous, selfish, narcissistic whinge wherein Reno complains that he can’t enjoy himself in any way he likes during... Read more
I want to show you a video. This is Ms. Shirley Raines, who usually sets up a tent once a week on Skid Row and washes the homeless women’s hair with a portable beauty shop chair. She can’t do that during a pandemic. But when she heard that there were homeless people forced to shelter in place in their tents, she felt she couldn’t just abandoned them. Here’s what she did. She’s handing out bags of hand sanitizer, vitamin c... Read more
The COVID-19 rates are spiking all over the country, and it’s only going to get worse for some time. We are all terrified, understandably. Most everyone I know is sheltering in their homes and afraid. We’re all asking ourselves what we can do to protect ourselves and our families, and that’s good. We ought to do that of course. But I encourage everyone to also look at any possible way they can to help others– their neighbors, the local poor, their... Read more
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In