I’m not really into decontextualized quotemining of the Old Testament to find out what Christians are supposed to believe, but I’ve met many Christians who are. For example they like to quote Leviticus 18:22: “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.” To them, I would like to submit two verses from that same lovely and lilting King James translation of that same book of Leviticus in the very same Bible, which are extremely relevant today.... Read more
When Jesus saw His mother standing there, He said “Woman, behold thy son.” He said to the Beloved Disciple, “Behold thy mother.” And from that moment, the disciple took her into his home. In the beginning, when God created the Heavens and the Earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.... Read more
 I saw a video today, of an attempted suicide. That isn’t what I was supposed to see. The video’s captions told me I was watching a hero save a man’s life. It was shown on one of those public facebook news feeds that promise to bring you good, encouraging news bites all the time, stories of rescued animals and happy adopted children. This video showed cloudy black and white surveillance footage of a train station that could have been... Read more
 Well, it’s as humble as I get anyway. Hi folks, I’ll be back with poetry and prayer and rants in a moment. This is just your periodic reminder that Steel Magnificat is almost entirely reader supported, and my family and I live on tips. Right now we’re rounding the bend to the last month of winter with a very high utility bill thanks to the extreme cold in January. As a matter of fact, we paid all we have... Read more
 Rosie was excited to tell me what she learned in her Eastern Catholic catechism class. They’re learning about Confession lately, and though she’s a little young for her first reconciliation, she’s going to classes this year and probably going to receive the sacrament next year. “If a priest EVER tells anyone’s confession,” Rosie said gravely, “He can NEVER be a priest AGAIN.” “That’s true,” I said solemnly. “Confession is totally secret and the priest is never allowed to tell... Read more
I caught the last bus home from Wal Mart. It was quite dark, it was bitter cold, and I was exhausted. I’d bought too much to carry, as usual. I’d tried to save time by going to the self-checkout and stuffing my jumble of cloth bags myself. There was a box of fresh strawberries, stuffed at a bad angle near the top of the mess. That was the first thing to spill when I grabbed all but one bag handle,... Read more
Dismas had not lived a good life. He had lived the worst of lives. When he had his moment of clarity and repentance at the very end, he said that what was done to him was just. This hideous end– a Roman crucifixion, hung up naked with metal spikes through the feet and wrists to suffocate in agony over hours or days– this he felt to be a just punishment, for what he’d been in his life. That’s how bad... Read more
A reader and a friend had a request for me, earlier today: “Are we going to get one of your hilariously sarcastic takedowns of the proposed box-of-CRAP-in-lieu-of-SNAP program? Pretty please?” Now I like to be obliging to reader requests, but I don’t think I can be funny about this. I’m told that the so-called Harvest Box will contain nothing that resembles a harvest, but rather peanut butter, powdered milk, canned meat and other shelf-stable processed foods. No effort will be... Read more
It is now just after midnight, Eastern Daylight Time, on February Sixteenth. That means that, somewhere in Florida, seventeen different families have just finished their first full day of never seeing a loved one again. Sixteen more families are waiting in hospitals to see if their loved ones recover. Their shooter, Nikolas Cruz, was arrested without incident and has confessed. I’m told this is either the eighth or the eighteenth school shooting in this country, depending on how you define... Read more
It may have come to your attention that today is Ash Wednesday, and also Valentine’s Day. The internet thinks this is pretty funny. I’ve seen a lot of fun suggestions for combined Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day cards. I’ve also seen a secular low-fat recipe company try to be true to the spirit of both days by suggesting intimate and romantic lobster tacos to make for your abstaining date out of healthful lobster-flavored surimi fish protein. People are confused. Of... Read more
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