God has been in Christian Nationalism conversations and Project 2025. If you could read my mind, you might conclude that God is on the ballot this November. As the election approaches, my anxiety has grown. I have been vigorously writing letters to voters in swing states, with the help of an organization called Vote Forward. I stop myself and realize that I cannot do anything else but pray, write my letters, and use my one vote. God will not abandon... Read more
The Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise proposes to erase American citizens. They wish to eliminate language about them in government documents. As a predominately white and male organization, the Heritage Foundation wants to make decisions about the LGBTQ+ community, people of color, women who think equal pay for equal work is reasonable, and women who want to make decisions about their bodies. This is an excerpt from Project 2025. The next conservative President must make... Read more
Two musicians named Bob have blessed us, the local Catholic community, for decades. The first Bob is partly retired after years of leading congregants in song. The second Bob recently passed away. I do not think I encountered musicians as talented as the Bobs until I moved to the West Coast. An exception might be St. Augustine’s Gospel Choir in Washington, DC, but comparing a musician who cantors to a choir is unfair. Both Bobs were refreshingly open to different... Read more
Part of my concern about the upcoming presidential elections is that some, not all, Republicans seem stuck in a world that I do not think exists. I Have Higher Expectations for Elected Officials My first sense of the unreal world occurred during the Obama administration. Congressional leaders such as Mitch McConnell did not want to cooperate with Barrack Obama and thus tried to block many initiatives he had. I remember thinking, “Are these adults still in middle school?” When McConnell... Read more
J.D. Vance has suggested that all women should be mothers. Once these women reach menopause, their role is to help raise their grandchildren. First, there are multiple reasons why women are not mothers. Second, childbearing is a sensitive issue. Does Vance believe God has revealed to him the vocation of half the world’s people? God Calls Women in Varied Ways J.D. Vance may have had an epiphany when he had children, and his wife became a mother. For some reason,... Read more
Immigrants, illegal and legal, are subject to misinformation and mistreatment. God wants people to treat immigrants or aliens with respect. In the Exodus, God acts to free the Israelites after the Egyptians enslaved them when they were aliens. The Old Testament teaches that God’s followers must respect and help vulnerable people: the widow, the orphan, and the alien. God reminds his people that they were once immigrants. Immigration descendants comprise a large percentage of Americans today. Unless one is of... Read more
I have not been writing lately because my siblings and I recently moved my mother into Memory Care and prepared her home for sale. We saw her early stages of dementia progress though are unsure if she has Alzheimer’s or another form of dementia. We hoped to spare her a spinal tap to determine which form. What is the Right Thing to Do? I struggle to make decisions related to loved ones. Can I afford to fly across the country... Read more
The Supreme Court heard arguments from the Justice Department and Joseph Fischer’s legal team today, April 16. Should the Department of Justice have charged Fischer for his participation in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021? I believe that when an event occurs for the first time, it is not the time to narrow the interpretation of a law or ruling Note that I have no legal background and relied on the Washington Post’s excellent coverage to... Read more
Sr. Peg’s passing surprised me! She was such a force for good who continued serving far beyond retirement age that she almost seemed immortal. As I searched for her obituary, I found that her twin, Sr. Mary Pat, had also died a few weeks before as had another sister, Sr. Jude. A fellow parishioner, Stan, had also passed away. The religious women were champions of social justice. These women and that man are moral giants in my mind. I feel... Read more
Lent is a time of preparation for Easter and includes fasting, praying, and giving alms. I hope to improve next year. I realize that Jesus did not just die for those who wholeheartedly embrace Lent, but also for those who fail Lent. The Lenten Season and Easter Catholics spend the Lenten season in a variety of ways. Some focus on fasting and then give their subsequent savings to people who need it. Others rededicate themselves to prayer, spending more time... Read more
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