=====================================
The following morning I drove up the Interstate to Hanceville and The Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament, located in a remote section of the state. Once I got off the main highway, I began to travel down rural roads and county routes, passing fields with cows & horse ranches, the occasional home (some new, some old, some buildings being dilapidated barns). The remoteness and the richness of the greenery begins to prepare me as I make a final turn down a long yet simple stretch of roadway.
Horses grazing in the distance. White fences lining the road, leading toward the Shrine ahead. And I’m struck by the shear expanse in front of me as I crest the last hill. 380 acres of isolated farmland - 19 acres of which are behind the Monastery, sectioned off by a wall for the cloistered nuns in residence.
It’s mid-morning on a Wednesday. I park the rental car in the lot (which is purposely some distance away from the Shrine), and gradually make my way past two monuments of “The 10 Commandments” and “The Beatitudes,” behind which is a copper sculpture of Mary the Mother of God, gleaming in a polished green patina.
Then, some distance further ahead, is the wide Piazza paved in a herringbone pattern. Used for outdoor processions, and can hold up to 30,000 people. The Church at the far eastern end of the expanse.
At the west end of the piazza is Castle San Miguel - the gift shop and conference room facilities, built in a 13th century architectural design. Inside, by the east and west entrances, are tall statues of St. Michael the Archangel and St. Joan of Arc. Also in the foyer, just outside the gift shop entrance, are various tapestries, medieval manuscripts, and full-sized suits of armor (calling to mind the spiritual armor of God as enunciated in the books of Isaiah and Ephesians).
Just outside Castle San Miguel, towards the south, is a modest doorway leading into a mound in the field. Inside is the Crèche - an approx. ½-scale Nativity Scene open year-round for contemplation of the birth of Christ. A modest chapel-like setting with six small pews in front of the glass-enclosed scene. A large stone slab floor, with adobe-like walls and low ceiling. Two opposing stained glass windows with flickering wall lamps beside. Holy Water founts in the corners. And in front of the Nativity Scene is a kneeler and two banks of offertory candles to be lit by those who come with prayers and special intentions. Sacred Music gently plays from a hidden speaker system.
Back towards the piazza, in the center is the El Nino sculpture (the Monument of the Divine Child Jesus). Engraved in the steps leading up to it is a quote from Isaiah 11:6 “and a little Child shall lead them.” Behind this scuplture is the front of the church with a Romanesque/Gothic façade, and off to the side towards the back is the Bell Tower.
Atop the church you’ll notice a cross with its top piece missing. It was not like that originally. A severe storm damaged and sheared off the upper portion of that cross. But Mother Angelica chose not to have it repaired. The Tau Cross (tau is Greek for the letter “T”) was preferred by St. Francis of Assisi, using it as the signature of his writing. And being that EWTN and the monastery houses the Franciscans and the Poor Clares (St. Clare also being from Assisi), they decided to keep the damaged cross as it is.
Above the doors are the Three Rosettes (or seals). One with the Greek letter Alpha, another with the Greek letter Omega, and center one with a Latin inscription which says, “Let us adore for all Eternity the Most Blessed Sacrament!”
Leading up to the front of the church are The Seven Steps (symbolic of the seven days of creation, the seven sacraments, and the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit).
These steps lead you up to the two huge central doors called the Great Doors, made of bronze (adorned in great detail with the images of the Seven Joys of Mary on the left, and the Seven Sorrows of Mary on the right) reminding you that his Mother was there at every moment of our Lord’s life (from His conception to His ascension):
The Seven Joys
- The Annunciation
- The Visitation
- The Nativity
- The Adoration of the Magi
- The Finding of [the young] Jesus in the Temple
- The Rejoice of the Resurrection
- The Assumption & Coronation (Revelations 12)
The Seven Sorrows
- The Prophecy of Simeon (Luke 2:25-35)
- The Flight into Egypt (Matthew 2:13-18)
- The Loss of [the young] Jesus in the Temple
- Meeting Jesus on the Way to Calvary
- Jesus Dies on the Cross
- Jesus Taken Down from the Cross
- Jesus Laid in the Tomb
On either side of these main doors are the two bronze Minor Doors (topped with the images of the two patrons of the resident orders - Sts. Francis and Clare of Assisi).
I entered the building through a side door to the left, and headed down a long hallway towards the staircase to the Lower Church. In the antechamber of the Lower Church is a full-sized photographic replica of the Shroud of Turin, in tall vertical backlit display cases. Both the front and the back, side by side. And the full-sized photographic negatives against opposing walls. Even though it’s a photographic copy, it’s a rare opportunity to see this cloth up close and personal. [more Shroud links here]
Even after the suspect carbon dating that was done on the Shroud some years ago, more scientific data accumulates (from the weave of the fabric, to the types of pollen found on the cloth, to the scientific discrepancies with the carbon dating process that was used). And its authenticity becomes less and less suspect. The Shroud has never been a required article of faith (literally or figuratively) within the Catholic Church, but its beauty as well as its mystery continues to inspire, and summons reverence. Witnessing the extent and severity of the wounds as it is faintly depicted on the cloth is breathtaking.
And between these displays are replicas of the types of implements used at the time of Christ to flog, torture and crucify our Lord - including an arm-length sized whip with small dumbbell-shaped weights at the ends of the lashes, the large crucifying nails, and a crown of thorns.
=====================================
Sunday, June 18, 2006
Saturday, June 17, 2006
A Personal Spiritual Journey (Part 4 of 8)...
=================================
As throughout portions of my trip up to this point, a certain amount of anxiety had once again taken residence. The recurring unsettledness of soul. Part of it is due to the fact that I’m in a new environment in a distant and remote location. Part of it is the nagging remains of my introverted past. Part of it may be the certain uneasiness about the state of things in my life at the moment, I guess.
The first morning in an Alabama hotel room, I’m woken by the echoing sound of a woodpecker pecking away on a tree. (What is it with these birds early in the morning?) After getting washed and dressed, I go to grab a bite to eat at the local I-Hop. At a small table on the opposite side of the dining area is a group of five older gentlemen going through a bible study. I make a mental note that it’s not 6:30 in the morning. (Inside joke. My Wednesday morning bible study group meets at 6:30 in the morning.... ugh!... I'm NOT a morning person.)
From there I drive a few miles down the highway and make my way to EWTN just outside of Birmingham. As throughout portions of my trip up to that point, a certain amount of anxiety had once again taken residence. A new environment in a distant and remote location. The recurring unsettledness of soul that generally creeps up every now and then.
I arrived at EWTN in time for the 9:30 mass at the Chapel. A sloping A-frame structure, with a modestly-sized interior – enough pews for maybe 60 or 70 people. The chapel split in half with a reredos behind the altar, behind which another set of pews (once used for the Poor Clare nuns when they were in residence, and now used for the general public on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation). The ceiling constructed of curved slats of dark wood beams following the slope of the frame. Against the back of the church are large panels of windows - depicting angels playing musical instruments etched in frosted glass. Atop the reredos, behind the altar, is a monstrance containing the Blessed Sacrament. And, once I enter the chapel, the anxiety slowly begins to melt away.
After mass I walked the grounds and spent some time by an outdoor shrine in the shape of a covered-V with an altar, a crucifix, and stained glass windows in the two walls (the place is used on occasion for outdoor ceremonies and holy rosaries). Between this place and the chapel is a railing-enclosed grotto with small angel statues amongst the greenery, flowers and jagged rock formations. While here and in the little gift shop, I had the opportunity to meet and talk with several other pilgrims visiting from Indiana (members of the Legion of Mary) and Louisiana. We talked about where we all were from, the reasons for coming on pilgrimage, the state of the Church in general and of our parishes in particular. Genuinely wonderful people.
Later, I went through a tour of the impressive yet cramped facilities where they showed you all the inner workings of the network - uplinks, downlinks, production house, editing stations, control rooms, taping rooms, archives, monitors, international feeds, graphics, sets, backdrops. On site are 9 satellite dishes of various sizes (7 of which are currently in use) - all adorned with star-shaped lightning deflectors. And the studios where many of their programs are aired or taped.
The tour guide pointed out handwritten inscriptions atop the door jams of several of the building entrances. The inscription read 20+C+M+B+06. It’s a Polish blessing from the celebration of the Epiphany at the beginning of the year. It stands for the year 2006, and in between the year are the initials of the Three Wise Men or Magi who brought gifts to the Infant Jesus (each symbol separated by the sign of the cross). And I thought of Skip (a Pole - just like our late Pope John Paul II - who was a member of my parish and my Wednesday morning men’s bible study group, and who passed away suddenly late last year).
Afterwards, I stopped by a creek on the northern edge of the property, and paused for some quiet reflection and contemplation as the stream trickled over the layers of rock. And then... the rain came.
One quick note about the weather. It’s the south. It’s springtime. So when they say “there’s a 20% chance of rain” it doesn’t mean that’s the “odds” of it raining on a particular day. It means that for 20% of the day it will rain. Sometimes quite suddenly, and quite fiercely, with thunder & lightning never experienced before. Fast moving clouds the forever shift eastward at a high clip. And the landscape is very green, tons of tall trees in these deep, jagged crags and gorges of rocky canyons.
After leaving briefly for an early dinner, I returned to EWTN to be in the audience for a taping of Fr. Mitch Pacwa’s TV program, “Threshold of Hope” (which airs on Tuesday nights). It’s a series that goes through the encyclicals of the late Pope John Paul II paragraph by paragraph, and Fr. Pacwa was early into the apostolic letter entitled, “Familiaris Consortio” – an exhortation on the family as a communion of persons. Fr. Pacwa’s a very personable and likeable fellow, and he walks into the studio wearing traditional casual priestly garb: black slacks, black shirt, white collar... and black cowboy boots, a white cowboy hat, and a big grin.
Before the beginning of the taping of the episode, and also halfway through the taping during the break, we in the audience were able to talk with Father and ask some questions. And I was lucky enough to be one of the people to ask a question on camera in the second half of the program. (Episode#181) After the taping, I had the chance to shake his hand and tell him how much I’ve enjoyed watching his programs.
I headed back to the hotel where I was staying, several miles down the highway, and was able to watch that exact episode aired on EWTN later that evening. It was very surreal watching myself on TV asking a question I had just got done asking only two hours earlier.
=================================
As throughout portions of my trip up to this point, a certain amount of anxiety had once again taken residence. The recurring unsettledness of soul. Part of it is due to the fact that I’m in a new environment in a distant and remote location. Part of it is the nagging remains of my introverted past. Part of it may be the certain uneasiness about the state of things in my life at the moment, I guess.
The first morning in an Alabama hotel room, I’m woken by the echoing sound of a woodpecker pecking away on a tree. (What is it with these birds early in the morning?) After getting washed and dressed, I go to grab a bite to eat at the local I-Hop. At a small table on the opposite side of the dining area is a group of five older gentlemen going through a bible study. I make a mental note that it’s not 6:30 in the morning. (Inside joke. My Wednesday morning bible study group meets at 6:30 in the morning.... ugh!... I'm NOT a morning person.)
From there I drive a few miles down the highway and make my way to EWTN just outside of Birmingham. As throughout portions of my trip up to that point, a certain amount of anxiety had once again taken residence. A new environment in a distant and remote location. The recurring unsettledness of soul that generally creeps up every now and then.
I arrived at EWTN in time for the 9:30 mass at the Chapel. A sloping A-frame structure, with a modestly-sized interior – enough pews for maybe 60 or 70 people. The chapel split in half with a reredos behind the altar, behind which another set of pews (once used for the Poor Clare nuns when they were in residence, and now used for the general public on Sundays and Holy Days of Obligation). The ceiling constructed of curved slats of dark wood beams following the slope of the frame. Against the back of the church are large panels of windows - depicting angels playing musical instruments etched in frosted glass. Atop the reredos, behind the altar, is a monstrance containing the Blessed Sacrament. And, once I enter the chapel, the anxiety slowly begins to melt away.
After mass I walked the grounds and spent some time by an outdoor shrine in the shape of a covered-V with an altar, a crucifix, and stained glass windows in the two walls (the place is used on occasion for outdoor ceremonies and holy rosaries). Between this place and the chapel is a railing-enclosed grotto with small angel statues amongst the greenery, flowers and jagged rock formations. While here and in the little gift shop, I had the opportunity to meet and talk with several other pilgrims visiting from Indiana (members of the Legion of Mary) and Louisiana. We talked about where we all were from, the reasons for coming on pilgrimage, the state of the Church in general and of our parishes in particular. Genuinely wonderful people.
Later, I went through a tour of the impressive yet cramped facilities where they showed you all the inner workings of the network - uplinks, downlinks, production house, editing stations, control rooms, taping rooms, archives, monitors, international feeds, graphics, sets, backdrops. On site are 9 satellite dishes of various sizes (7 of which are currently in use) - all adorned with star-shaped lightning deflectors. And the studios where many of their programs are aired or taped.
The tour guide pointed out handwritten inscriptions atop the door jams of several of the building entrances. The inscription read 20+C+M+B+06. It’s a Polish blessing from the celebration of the Epiphany at the beginning of the year. It stands for the year 2006, and in between the year are the initials of the Three Wise Men or Magi who brought gifts to the Infant Jesus (each symbol separated by the sign of the cross). And I thought of Skip (a Pole - just like our late Pope John Paul II - who was a member of my parish and my Wednesday morning men’s bible study group, and who passed away suddenly late last year).
Afterwards, I stopped by a creek on the northern edge of the property, and paused for some quiet reflection and contemplation as the stream trickled over the layers of rock. And then... the rain came.
One quick note about the weather. It’s the south. It’s springtime. So when they say “there’s a 20% chance of rain” it doesn’t mean that’s the “odds” of it raining on a particular day. It means that for 20% of the day it will rain. Sometimes quite suddenly, and quite fiercely, with thunder & lightning never experienced before. Fast moving clouds the forever shift eastward at a high clip. And the landscape is very green, tons of tall trees in these deep, jagged crags and gorges of rocky canyons.
After leaving briefly for an early dinner, I returned to EWTN to be in the audience for a taping of Fr. Mitch Pacwa’s TV program, “Threshold of Hope” (which airs on Tuesday nights). It’s a series that goes through the encyclicals of the late Pope John Paul II paragraph by paragraph, and Fr. Pacwa was early into the apostolic letter entitled, “Familiaris Consortio” – an exhortation on the family as a communion of persons. Fr. Pacwa’s a very personable and likeable fellow, and he walks into the studio wearing traditional casual priestly garb: black slacks, black shirt, white collar... and black cowboy boots, a white cowboy hat, and a big grin.
Before the beginning of the taping of the episode, and also halfway through the taping during the break, we in the audience were able to talk with Father and ask some questions. And I was lucky enough to be one of the people to ask a question on camera in the second half of the program. (Episode#181) After the taping, I had the chance to shake his hand and tell him how much I’ve enjoyed watching his programs.
I headed back to the hotel where I was staying, several miles down the highway, and was able to watch that exact episode aired on EWTN later that evening. It was very surreal watching myself on TV asking a question I had just got done asking only two hours earlier.
=================================
Friday, June 16, 2006
A Personal Spiritual Journey (Part 3 of 8)...
=========================================
So, why take a plane to Alabama? Well, I wouldn’t normally just wake up one day and say, “Hey! I think I’ll go spend a couple days in Alabamy!” Nothing wrong with the place, as far as I know. But it’s not usually a place that most people think of when they choose to take a mini-vacation.
I stumbled upon EWTN (the Catholic cable network) about four years ago when my local cable company started airing the channel (I watch it now via DishTV satellite - channel 261. You can also get it on DirectTV - channel 422). Just about anyone who’s watched some of the programming on the network, especially the replays of Mother Angelica’s own programs, can’t help but be drawn in by God’s love and grace (as well as Mother Angelica’s spunk, wit, frankness and gentle care & genuine concern).
Here's a very brief summary which can be better gleaned from Raymond Arroyo’s absolutely fascinating new biography entitled, “Mother Angelica: The Remarkable Story of a Nun, Her Nerve and a Network of Miracles.” (A book I highly, highly recommend – giving an inspiring, thrilling yet unvarnished telling of her life and the monastery and network she founded. And the book can be purchased at just about any bookstore, including amazon.com, or directly from EWTNs website). It’s better than a bunch Dan Brown novels, and much more edifying.
In 1961, she left her Ohio convent to found Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Irondale, Alabama, to fulfill a promise to the Lord to build a monastery in the Deep South. Having bought 15 acres of land near Birmingham, Alabama, for $13,000, the small cloister raised money by making and selling fishing lures. Through the 60s and 70s, Mother Angelica would teach bible classes, print mini-books, give talks and speeches, and make appearances on TV.
In 1978 she confronts a local station manager where she was filming a series, upset that the network was going to air a blasphemous movie. So she decides to start her own TV network (after all, how hard could it be, right?). In 1980 she orders a satellite dish - a HUGE satellite dish – and applies for an FCC license. In 1981 she receives permission from Rome to carry out her television work, and later receives a blessing from Pope John Paul II. (I found it amusing that she ordered the dish and applied for the license first, and then got the okay and the blessing from the Vatican.)
Mother Angelica and the monastery were already in serious debt due to the acquisition of expense equipment and construction, when on March 8, 1981, the unassembled 33’-diameter satellite dish arrived – with the truck driver needing to collect $600,000 as a required down payment. She didn’t have the money. She went to the chapel and prayed to Jesus while the driver waited outside. Then divine providence kicked in. A phone call from a man on his yacht in the Bahamas who had been reading one of Mother’s mini-books and wanted to make a donation… for $600,000! She asked if he could wire the money right then and there. And he did.
On August 15, 1981, they flipped the switch, broadcasting only 4 hours a day into just 60,000 homes in the U.S. This fledgling network was being run out of a monastery garage turned into a makeshift studio in an Alabama backwater by 12 cloistered nuns with no television experience, $200 in their pockets, a belief in God's Providence, and the generous donations of any viewers who happened to stumble upon their broadcast while flipping the channels.
Today, 25 years later, ETWNs reach is astounding. Broadcasting 24-hours a day, 7-days a week with 80% original programming, feeding into 125 million TV homes reaching over half a billion people in over 100 countries worldwide. It has become the largest non-profit cable network in the world. In addition to television (via cable and satellite TV), there are over 180 million radio listeners (via AM/FM, Sirius Satellite - channel 160, and shortwave). The website has over 600 million viewers, disseminating news and information, Church documents, Scripture readings, prayers, devotions, instruction, as well as podcasts and streaming audio & video of many of their programs.
It is now a $2.25 million/month operation with approx. 300 employees (200 of which are in the Birmingham, AL, area). No commercials. No obnoxious telethons or fundraising campaigns like PBS or other non-profit networks. Just a simple plea by Mother Angelica and others to “remember us between your gas and electric bill.” And only two or three times in its 25 year history have they ever been in a position to make an urgent plea for donations from its viewers when the budget got really tight. The entire network, by the way, has never operated under the standard budget/business model. Relying solely on prayers, divine providence, the voluntary donations of its viewers, and any profits from the sales of various items from their religious catalog (e.g., books, videos, statues, etc.).
Some of their wonderful, inspiring and informative programs include: The World Over (a weekly news and interview program hosted by Raymond Arroyo, the author of the Mother Angelica biography), The Journey Home (hosted by Marcus Grodi, where each week he interviews people regarding their journey back to the faith as converts or reverts), Life on the Rock (geared towards young adults, hosted by Frs. Francis and Mark, MFVA), The Threshold of Hope (where Fr. Mitch Pacwa goes through some of Pope John Paul II's encyclicals, point by point), Fr. Corapi and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, programs with Scott Hahn, commentary by Fr. Richard Neuhaus, rebroadcasts of Mother Angelica Live programs, plus daily mass and rosaries, programs on Church History, the early Church Fathers and the Saints, news and events from the Vatican, and many, many others - all authentically Catholic.
Their mission? Quoting from the website:
So, why go to Alabama? Well, given the growth in my Catholic faith over the years, and given the fact that I studied film, theater and television when I was in college way back when, let’s just say I felt the need to come and visit EWTN – to see it up close and personal. And to come to experience the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament situated an hour north of the network - another story in its own right.
=========================================
So, why take a plane to Alabama? Well, I wouldn’t normally just wake up one day and say, “Hey! I think I’ll go spend a couple days in Alabamy!” Nothing wrong with the place, as far as I know. But it’s not usually a place that most people think of when they choose to take a mini-vacation.
I stumbled upon EWTN (the Catholic cable network) about four years ago when my local cable company started airing the channel (I watch it now via DishTV satellite - channel 261. You can also get it on DirectTV - channel 422). Just about anyone who’s watched some of the programming on the network, especially the replays of Mother Angelica’s own programs, can’t help but be drawn in by God’s love and grace (as well as Mother Angelica’s spunk, wit, frankness and gentle care & genuine concern).
Here's a very brief summary which can be better gleaned from Raymond Arroyo’s absolutely fascinating new biography entitled, “Mother Angelica: The Remarkable Story of a Nun, Her Nerve and a Network of Miracles.” (A book I highly, highly recommend – giving an inspiring, thrilling yet unvarnished telling of her life and the monastery and network she founded. And the book can be purchased at just about any bookstore, including amazon.com, or directly from EWTNs website). It’s better than a bunch Dan Brown novels, and much more edifying.
In 1961, she left her Ohio convent to found Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in Irondale, Alabama, to fulfill a promise to the Lord to build a monastery in the Deep South. Having bought 15 acres of land near Birmingham, Alabama, for $13,000, the small cloister raised money by making and selling fishing lures. Through the 60s and 70s, Mother Angelica would teach bible classes, print mini-books, give talks and speeches, and make appearances on TV.
In 1978 she confronts a local station manager where she was filming a series, upset that the network was going to air a blasphemous movie. So she decides to start her own TV network (after all, how hard could it be, right?). In 1980 she orders a satellite dish - a HUGE satellite dish – and applies for an FCC license. In 1981 she receives permission from Rome to carry out her television work, and later receives a blessing from Pope John Paul II. (I found it amusing that she ordered the dish and applied for the license first, and then got the okay and the blessing from the Vatican.)
Mother Angelica and the monastery were already in serious debt due to the acquisition of expense equipment and construction, when on March 8, 1981, the unassembled 33’-diameter satellite dish arrived – with the truck driver needing to collect $600,000 as a required down payment. She didn’t have the money. She went to the chapel and prayed to Jesus while the driver waited outside. Then divine providence kicked in. A phone call from a man on his yacht in the Bahamas who had been reading one of Mother’s mini-books and wanted to make a donation… for $600,000! She asked if he could wire the money right then and there. And he did.
On August 15, 1981, they flipped the switch, broadcasting only 4 hours a day into just 60,000 homes in the U.S. This fledgling network was being run out of a monastery garage turned into a makeshift studio in an Alabama backwater by 12 cloistered nuns with no television experience, $200 in their pockets, a belief in God's Providence, and the generous donations of any viewers who happened to stumble upon their broadcast while flipping the channels.
Today, 25 years later, ETWNs reach is astounding. Broadcasting 24-hours a day, 7-days a week with 80% original programming, feeding into 125 million TV homes reaching over half a billion people in over 100 countries worldwide. It has become the largest non-profit cable network in the world. In addition to television (via cable and satellite TV), there are over 180 million radio listeners (via AM/FM, Sirius Satellite - channel 160, and shortwave). The website has over 600 million viewers, disseminating news and information, Church documents, Scripture readings, prayers, devotions, instruction, as well as podcasts and streaming audio & video of many of their programs.
It is now a $2.25 million/month operation with approx. 300 employees (200 of which are in the Birmingham, AL, area). No commercials. No obnoxious telethons or fundraising campaigns like PBS or other non-profit networks. Just a simple plea by Mother Angelica and others to “remember us between your gas and electric bill.” And only two or three times in its 25 year history have they ever been in a position to make an urgent plea for donations from its viewers when the budget got really tight. The entire network, by the way, has never operated under the standard budget/business model. Relying solely on prayers, divine providence, the voluntary donations of its viewers, and any profits from the sales of various items from their religious catalog (e.g., books, videos, statues, etc.).
Some of their wonderful, inspiring and informative programs include: The World Over (a weekly news and interview program hosted by Raymond Arroyo, the author of the Mother Angelica biography), The Journey Home (hosted by Marcus Grodi, where each week he interviews people regarding their journey back to the faith as converts or reverts), Life on the Rock (geared towards young adults, hosted by Frs. Francis and Mark, MFVA), The Threshold of Hope (where Fr. Mitch Pacwa goes through some of Pope John Paul II's encyclicals, point by point), Fr. Corapi and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, programs with Scott Hahn, commentary by Fr. Richard Neuhaus, rebroadcasts of Mother Angelica Live programs, plus daily mass and rosaries, programs on Church History, the early Church Fathers and the Saints, news and events from the Vatican, and many, many others - all authentically Catholic.
Their mission? Quoting from the website:
“EWTN Global Catholic Network is dedicated to teaching the truth as defined by the Magisterium of the Roman Catholic Church. In keeping with the Holy Father’s call for a New Evangelization, EWTNs mission is to communicate the teachings and the beauty of the Catholic Church and to help people grow in their love and understanding of God and His infinite mercy.”
So, why go to Alabama? Well, given the growth in my Catholic faith over the years, and given the fact that I studied film, theater and television when I was in college way back when, let’s just say I felt the need to come and visit EWTN – to see it up close and personal. And to come to experience the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament situated an hour north of the network - another story in its own right.
=========================================
Thursday, June 15, 2006
A Personal Spiritual Journey (Part 2 of 8)...
=========================================
The following evening I had the chance to catch up with a handful of old friends, some of whom I hadn’t seen for several years. Buddies from my college years. Good friends who I try to keep in touch with on a semi-regular basis. We toss out old war stories from bygone days, commiserate about our jobs, tiptoe through some political topics then quickly change subjects when things get out of hand, pop out the family photos in jammed wallets. And then it happens. The inquisition followed by the sincere advice.
Confused?
Let me tell you about what I call “The cross of singlehood” - it's not a big cross, in comparison to others. But it is one that tends to get heavier as you get older.
It's as though there can only be these options: married, about to be married, a priest, or gay. As if single life is not a valid option. Certainly not once you hit your 30s. So then you get that look where they wonder if there’s something wrong with you. Or there’s that look of sympathy and concern. Then the unsolicited advice comes forth. Here are some of the variations on the theme:
Even if I did "get in the game" (and believe me, I do), given my current economic situation, I can’t afford to be in a relationship right now. And if I make the mistake of mentioning that, then that opens up yet another series of inquisitions and recommendations. (*sigh*)
“A time to weep and a time to laugh… a time to speak and a time to be silent.” ~ Ecclesiastes 3
I know people mean well. It’s all well-intentioned. But, it’s not like these topics (especially these topics - relationships, finances, career, health) aren’t already on my mind… every day. God and I have had many a conversation about these and several other topics in my life over the years. I’ve learned, over time, that there’s a reason for things being the way they are in my life right now. It’s not easy. It’s not perfect. I certainly still stumble through some of my daily struggles. I realize that there’s still some more growing to do.
“A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly. A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.” ~ Proverbs 14:29-30
And things once again begin to pierce the heart when in the course of just three days I find out that, my oldest brother is about to get engaged again very soon. His daughter (my goddaughter & niece) gets engaged. I’d already known for well over a month that my godson/nephew also got engaged. And then everyone in the family finds out at once that another niece is pregnant… again… for the third time. So, within the next two years, there’ll be three weddings in the family, and I’ll become a “grand-uncle” for the fifth time. And I'm joyful. Sincerely joyful. But somewhere tucked in that deeply hidden place inside of me?
And, due to the makeup of my family, it’s up to me and me alone to be able to carry on the family name. In a tearful conversation with my dad, I reassure him that it’s pressure that has never been placed on me by others. It’s only pressure, and longing, and insecurity that I’ve placed on myself.
And I recall an incident several years ago, in a late night moment of deep despair and anguish regarding that persistent void in my life, when God spoke to me in a powerfully silent voice – saying, “Patience, Michael… patience.” I trusted Him then with that message, and I have to continue to trust Him.
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” ~ 2 Peter 3:9
And I’m reminded of Zachariah who (in Luke 1) doubted the angel who informed him that his wife Elizabeth (both in their old age) would bring forth a son. And because he doubted, the angel took away his ability to speak for the next nine months. (I’m sure Lizzy didn’t quite mind that so much. Zach, I bet, was probably a bit miffed.)
Or, in Genesis 15, Abram and Sarai who (also in their old age) laughed at the direct word from God Himself who told them that generations will spring forth from them. And, in doubting His word, they decided to take matters into their own hands. And really screwed things up by having Abram sleep with a mistress.
So, not wanting to make any rash decisions in this area, and not wanting to lose my voice, I learn to be patient. And I continue to work on the parts of my nature that still needs honing and smoothing and refining. And I begin to understand that the verses in 1 Corinthians 13 (“Love is patient. Love is kind.”) are not just meant to be read at weddings for married couples. It’s also a message for single people, too.
On Mother’s Day I went with my Dad to go to mass at my old parish. And one of those negative remnants from my past creeps up again. My mind replays certain scenes from my childhood years as we drive past the old grade school. Times when some of the kids were cruel, while others tried as best as they could to avoid their own moments of intimidation or humiliation at the hands of fellow students. Or, in some cases, from certain teachers who dispensed their own form of humiliation or indifference. Of course, not all of the teachers were like that. And not every day was filled with fear or shame. But emotional wounds at a young age cut deep and take longer to heal. Yet, I’ve learned to reconcile. I’ve learned to focus on the many more positive and joyful moments of my youth. And I’ve learn to forgive.
“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” ~ Luke 23:34
As my dad and I walk into the church one of those strange little humourous memories bubbled up from my brain. Although the church has been rearranged slightly, the glazed yellow and brown bricks, and the small, draw-chained stained glass windows brings back more memories – including the morning masses before classes started on the First Friday of each month, and a church full of us school kids hoping that the priest starts the Eucharistic Prayer with “Lord, you are hold indeed…” or at least “Father, you are holy indeed…” because if you heard him say the word “indeed” you knew that it was one of the two short Eucharistic Prayers, which meant you had a whole 60 seconds less time having to kneel in the pews. Little did I know then that that is one of the oldest Eucharistic Prayers in the Church, dating back to the early 200s.
Sitting next to my dad during mass, the current pastor gave his homily on the day’s Gospel reading from John 15.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener... Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing... If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you” ~ John 15:1-10
Father Tully called this the “if” clause - a clause that many of us tend to skip over. If you abide in me, if you remain in me, then whatever we ask will be given to us. We tend to concentrate on what we want, as if we think we know what’s best for us. After all, we’re adults, don’t you know? We become bombarded from all angles with massive amounts of information and distraction and conflicting messages, confusing us. At times, convincing us that this is important, and that is acceptable. This is necessary, and do that and you’ll be fulfilled.
“Meaningless! Utter meaningless! ... All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing... [all] a chasing of the wind.” ~ Ecclesiastes 1:2,8,14
Lost in the cacophony you begin to lose sight of Jesus’ words, “If you abide in me.” It’s a daily challenge trying to remain in Him. It’s a struggle to maintain the abidance. The outer forces of the world and the inner forces of our souls tug and pull and keep us unsettled, when all we really want is peace. Inner peace. St. Paul in his letter to the Philippians entices us with what he calls “a secret.”
“I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” ~ Philippians 4:11-13
And what is that secret to real contentment versus fleeting complacency? His profoundly simple solution is just several verses earlier in the chapter.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” ~ Philippians 4:6-7
After mass my dad and I went back to the cemetery together one more time, bringing flowers for Mother's Day. Then the following morning, before leaving to catch my flight, just like my mom used to do, he takes out her old, small jar of holy oil, blesses my forehead and prays for my safe journey. And I head to the airport to catch my flight for a 2-day pilgrimage to EWTN, the global Catholic cable network, and the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament.
“Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked? When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his future.” ~ Ecclesiastes 7:13-14
=========================================
The following evening I had the chance to catch up with a handful of old friends, some of whom I hadn’t seen for several years. Buddies from my college years. Good friends who I try to keep in touch with on a semi-regular basis. We toss out old war stories from bygone days, commiserate about our jobs, tiptoe through some political topics then quickly change subjects when things get out of hand, pop out the family photos in jammed wallets. And then it happens. The inquisition followed by the sincere advice.
Confused?
Let me tell you about what I call “The cross of singlehood” - it's not a big cross, in comparison to others. But it is one that tends to get heavier as you get older.
Are you married?
(no)
Are you seeing someone?
(no)
Have I got just the girl for you!
(blind date?... ummm, no thank you)
Are you gay?
(NO!)
Are you a priest?
(no)
It's as though there can only be these options: married, about to be married, a priest, or gay. As if single life is not a valid option. Certainly not once you hit your 30s. So then you get that look where they wonder if there’s something wrong with you. Or there’s that look of sympathy and concern. Then the unsolicited advice comes forth. Here are some of the variations on the theme:
Try those on-line dating services?
(and pay someone lots of money to meet someone thru cyberspace?)
How about church functions?
*stare*
The old standbys: night clubs & bars
(you’re kidding me, right? I’m 42, not 22.)
Have you tried speed dating?
(you mean those frantic, five minute, assembly-line race to the finish dating stunts?)
Someone at work?
(nope, small company, no single women)
Just bump into a woman’s shopping cart at the supermarket or strike up a conversation with someone at a book store.
*covering eyes*
You deserve to have someone!
(yes, I do)
You’re such a nice guy!
(gee, thanks for telling me… by the way, the descriptive “nice” is considered a 4-letter word kiss of death for single people everywhere.)
You know, you really should consider the priesthood.
(umm, it’s not my calling)
Are you sure???
*stern look* (yes, I’m sure!)
You need to get in the game.
(as though I'm to prepare for a football match, with shoulder pads and a helmet.)
Even if I did "get in the game" (and believe me, I do), given my current economic situation, I can’t afford to be in a relationship right now. And if I make the mistake of mentioning that, then that opens up yet another series of inquisitions and recommendations. (*sigh*)
“A time to weep and a time to laugh… a time to speak and a time to be silent.” ~ Ecclesiastes 3
I know people mean well. It’s all well-intentioned. But, it’s not like these topics (especially these topics - relationships, finances, career, health) aren’t already on my mind… every day. God and I have had many a conversation about these and several other topics in my life over the years. I’ve learned, over time, that there’s a reason for things being the way they are in my life right now. It’s not easy. It’s not perfect. I certainly still stumble through some of my daily struggles. I realize that there’s still some more growing to do.
“A patient man has great understanding, but a quick-tempered man displays folly. A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.” ~ Proverbs 14:29-30
And things once again begin to pierce the heart when in the course of just three days I find out that, my oldest brother is about to get engaged again very soon. His daughter (my goddaughter & niece) gets engaged. I’d already known for well over a month that my godson/nephew also got engaged. And then everyone in the family finds out at once that another niece is pregnant… again… for the third time. So, within the next two years, there’ll be three weddings in the family, and I’ll become a “grand-uncle” for the fifth time. And I'm joyful. Sincerely joyful. But somewhere tucked in that deeply hidden place inside of me?
And, due to the makeup of my family, it’s up to me and me alone to be able to carry on the family name. In a tearful conversation with my dad, I reassure him that it’s pressure that has never been placed on me by others. It’s only pressure, and longing, and insecurity that I’ve placed on myself.
And I recall an incident several years ago, in a late night moment of deep despair and anguish regarding that persistent void in my life, when God spoke to me in a powerfully silent voice – saying, “Patience, Michael… patience.” I trusted Him then with that message, and I have to continue to trust Him.
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” ~ 2 Peter 3:9
And I’m reminded of Zachariah who (in Luke 1) doubted the angel who informed him that his wife Elizabeth (both in their old age) would bring forth a son. And because he doubted, the angel took away his ability to speak for the next nine months. (I’m sure Lizzy didn’t quite mind that so much. Zach, I bet, was probably a bit miffed.)
Or, in Genesis 15, Abram and Sarai who (also in their old age) laughed at the direct word from God Himself who told them that generations will spring forth from them. And, in doubting His word, they decided to take matters into their own hands. And really screwed things up by having Abram sleep with a mistress.
So, not wanting to make any rash decisions in this area, and not wanting to lose my voice, I learn to be patient. And I continue to work on the parts of my nature that still needs honing and smoothing and refining. And I begin to understand that the verses in 1 Corinthians 13 (“Love is patient. Love is kind.”) are not just meant to be read at weddings for married couples. It’s also a message for single people, too.
On Mother’s Day I went with my Dad to go to mass at my old parish. And one of those negative remnants from my past creeps up again. My mind replays certain scenes from my childhood years as we drive past the old grade school. Times when some of the kids were cruel, while others tried as best as they could to avoid their own moments of intimidation or humiliation at the hands of fellow students. Or, in some cases, from certain teachers who dispensed their own form of humiliation or indifference. Of course, not all of the teachers were like that. And not every day was filled with fear or shame. But emotional wounds at a young age cut deep and take longer to heal. Yet, I’ve learned to reconcile. I’ve learned to focus on the many more positive and joyful moments of my youth. And I’ve learn to forgive.
“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” ~ Luke 23:34
As my dad and I walk into the church one of those strange little humourous memories bubbled up from my brain. Although the church has been rearranged slightly, the glazed yellow and brown bricks, and the small, draw-chained stained glass windows brings back more memories – including the morning masses before classes started on the First Friday of each month, and a church full of us school kids hoping that the priest starts the Eucharistic Prayer with “Lord, you are hold indeed…” or at least “Father, you are holy indeed…” because if you heard him say the word “indeed” you knew that it was one of the two short Eucharistic Prayers, which meant you had a whole 60 seconds less time having to kneel in the pews. Little did I know then that that is one of the oldest Eucharistic Prayers in the Church, dating back to the early 200s.
Sitting next to my dad during mass, the current pastor gave his homily on the day’s Gospel reading from John 15.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener... Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing... If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you” ~ John 15:1-10
Father Tully called this the “if” clause - a clause that many of us tend to skip over. If you abide in me, if you remain in me, then whatever we ask will be given to us. We tend to concentrate on what we want, as if we think we know what’s best for us. After all, we’re adults, don’t you know? We become bombarded from all angles with massive amounts of information and distraction and conflicting messages, confusing us. At times, convincing us that this is important, and that is acceptable. This is necessary, and do that and you’ll be fulfilled.
“Meaningless! Utter meaningless! ... All things are wearisome, more than one can say. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing... [all] a chasing of the wind.” ~ Ecclesiastes 1:2,8,14
Lost in the cacophony you begin to lose sight of Jesus’ words, “If you abide in me.” It’s a daily challenge trying to remain in Him. It’s a struggle to maintain the abidance. The outer forces of the world and the inner forces of our souls tug and pull and keep us unsettled, when all we really want is peace. Inner peace. St. Paul in his letter to the Philippians entices us with what he calls “a secret.”
“I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” ~ Philippians 4:11-13
And what is that secret to real contentment versus fleeting complacency? His profoundly simple solution is just several verses earlier in the chapter.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” ~ Philippians 4:6-7
After mass my dad and I went back to the cemetery together one more time, bringing flowers for Mother's Day. Then the following morning, before leaving to catch my flight, just like my mom used to do, he takes out her old, small jar of holy oil, blesses my forehead and prays for my safe journey. And I head to the airport to catch my flight for a 2-day pilgrimage to EWTN, the global Catholic cable network, and the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament.
“Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked? When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, a man cannot discover anything about his future.” ~ Ecclesiastes 7:13-14
=========================================
Wednesday, June 14, 2006
A Personal Spiritual Journey (Part 1 of 8)...
What is about to follow is the finished product of a talk I will be giving on June 24th in front of a small number of fellow parishioners (mainly from my bible study groups) at my local church. Well, not in the church... just in one of the rooms in the hall across the parking lot.
It incorporates some of my personal thoughts, experiences and reflections while visiting my family and friends back east (last month), and during my pilgrimage to EWTN (the Global Catholic Network) & The Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament at Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in the outskirts of Birmingham, Alabama.
I will be quoting extensively from a number of sources including, of course, the bible, sermons from St. Francis de Sales, excerpts and summations of information from EWTN's websites and Raymond Arroyo's biography on Mother Angelica (who founded the network and monastery 25 years ago), as well as notes from a talk given by Franciscan Brother Leo while visiting the Shrine in Hanceville, AL.
The first third of the talk gets a bit personal, so be gentle yet patient because there is a method to the madness. When I get to portions describing the Shrine and it's surroundings, I'll do the best I can to supply appropriate links to on-line pictures (I didn't have a camera with me, and I'm using a large picture book during my presentation to better show the folks attending on the 24th).
All that being said... I give you Part 1.
(UPDATE NOTE: What follows is a much more extended version designed more for posting in this blog. The actual talk will necessarily be trimmed, slightly rearranged and altered in some parts. I will be editing as necessary (both for the talk as well as in the posts).
===========================================
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.” ~ Isaiah 43:18
“So do not worry… but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
~ Matthew 6:31-35
There are a number of quotes that I have taped on different items in different places around my apartment. Some biblical, some secular. Some have been there for so long I forget that they’re there. But on occasion I’ll stop and read one of them - each one on a certain topic or for a specific reminder. One quote – attributed to American journalist and author, Fulton Oursler, who wrote the book “The Greatest Story Ever Told” (which was later made into a famous motion picture) – is on the monitor of my computer. It says:
“We crucify ourselves between two thieves: regret for yesterday, and fear of tomorrow.” ~ Fulton Oursler
I found myself once again facing my past. This has happened quite often. I’ll dwell on some distant memory, whether it’s centered on some happy occasion, a mournful event, or maybe a specific offense. And the mind begins to rewind and replay the events over and over; rehashing and rearguing until I turn over in bed for the umpteenth time and stare at the clock. 2:30 AM. Yes. Insomnia has reared its ugly head once again.
It’s gotten somewhat better over the years. The more recent day-to-day stuff still nags in the back of my brain at times. Maybe something happened at work, or a certain hot-button social or political issue is in the news, and that’ll spin between my ears. But, with regard to the things of the past, the older I get the easier it is to let things go. To forgive myself of things I’d done or hadn’t done, or things I’d said or hadn’t said. To forgive others of the same. To ask our Lord for forgiveness. To put things in proper perspective.
Nowadays, it seems that my brain has traded in most of the old hang-ups of the past for things which have not yet come to fruition. The future is where it’s at. It’s not a new bag of worries, but it seems to have gotten much bigger as my old satchel filled with bygone days has shrunk. If only I could have as much peace about present and future things as I do now with my past.
“Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.” ~ Psalm 116:7
It’s early in the morning. Very early. Dawn has yet to break. I lay in my old bed, 3000 miles east, in the bedroom of my youth. I’m trying to recover from jetlag, but the body clock is on autopilot. The clock on the wall ticks loudly each second, relentlessly. Through the window is heard the chirping of countless baby birds screaming for their tummies to be filled. And the parent birds are ceaseless in their search for worms to feed their young. The young cry out for comfort. And the parent obliges, taking care and taking watch.
It’d been a little over a year since I last visited my home town. And it’s been four years since my Mom had passed after many years of dialysis due to kidney failure. I don’t get the chance to fly back east that often. When I have, I’ve gone to the cemetery with my Dad – the last time in poor weather. But this day, in a few more hours, it will be the very first time that I will be at her grave site… alone.
While lying in bed, my mind must have drifted through a myriad of thoughts before I realized that the birds stopped chirping, and they were replaced with the plaintiff hoot of a lone owl. Woot woo-hoo! Hoo! Who! Who am I? Who was I yesterday? Who am I today? Who will I be tomorrow? Am I on the right path in life? What does the future hold for me? Will my career change? Will my income improve? Will I shake off some of my bad habits? Will I ever be married, have children of my own to feed and comfort like those early morning sparrows? When will that void in my life finally be filled?
What it ultimately comes down to is this: What do I continually search for, yet cannot quite seem to find? What do we continually search for, yet cannot quite seem to find? These questions are not new. People have been asking these same questions throughout the history of our existence. And Jesus, in His sermon on the mount, gives us a challenging response:
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?...
“Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”
“...And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” ~ Matthew 6:25-30
Those last five words can be jolting. “O you of little faith.” How much faith is enough? I’ve gone through a circuitous route with my own faith, having been raised in the Catholic faith, then strayed at times through my 20s during a period when I took issue with God regarding certain aspects of my lift at the time (even though, in hindsight, I was blind to other areas in which He had worked His divine providence, and healing, and mercy). In my 30s I slowly felt the yearning for that something other, and gradually and meticulously found my way back to the faith of my youth.
Each person goes though his or her own spiritual journey. And when you think you’ve reached a summit you wonder why things still aren’t quite going as planned. Questions still remain unanswered. Daily struggles still persist. And you say to yourself, “Isn’t my level of faith enough?”
“A man’s mind plans his way, but the Lord determines his steps.” ~ Proverbs 16:9
There’s an old phrase that goes, “God loves you right where you are. But He loves you too much to let you stay there.”
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” ~ Proverbs 3:5-6
I arrived at the cemetery later that morning, carrying with me the specially-made rosary I had given my mother as a going-away gift twelve years earlier. I know that she had said the rosary on these same beads at least three times a week (while going through her dialysis treatments) from that point forward until the last days of her life. Some of those fervent prayers, I’m sure, were said for me while I lived my life on the opposite side of the country.
There’s a story about this rosary. My mom told me about an incident that happened only once while she was saying the rosary in the dialysis unit while the machines cleansed her blood 3 hours a day, 3 days a week. She said that on this particular day she noticed that one of the decades started to give a certain glow. An orangey glow. Oddly enough, it was on the only section of beads which were artificial (the white ones); real moonstone being too fragile to make into beads. All of the other beads are authentic stones: red jasper, jade, aventurine, tiger eye, amber, and the “Our Father” beads made of bloodstone (green jasper with flecks of red jasper - a stone with a medieval legend that the flecks of red represent the blood of Christ fallen onto the green field of the crucifixion). Given her poor eye sight due to her medical condition, she pointed out the glow to someone else in the dialysis unit. And that person saw it too. Another person casually brushed it off as being caused by the glare from the sunlight through the window. That didn’t sway my mom. Yet, it never occurred again. No matter how much my mother tried to get those beads to glow.
After my mom had passed, my dad gave this rosary back to me knowing that mom wanted me to have it. Just a few days after returning to California after her funeral, I was in my apartment. I pulled out the rosary, thinking about her. And there was the glow… on the same set of beads. And, given that my Confirmation name is Thomas, I turned away from the living room window to shield the incoming sunlight from the beads. The orange glow still remained. And I knew that she was there, and that she was looking down from heaven.
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
… a time to be born and a time to die.” ~ Ecclesiastes 3
Back at the cemetery, now four years later, I walked up to the gravestone with her name engraved into its rose-colored marble surface. The sun shining brilliantly. I took out the rosary from my pocket. I’ve had many conversations in my head with my mom these last few years. I’ve shed many tears during the last days of her life and since her passing. After several years, I’ve been able to move forward. There may be times when I’ll be driving down the road or sitting in a room with my thoughts, and my eyes will begin to well up. But, here at her grave site I find that I have no more tears to shed. Not even any words to say. Just a whole bunch of happy memories like an 8mm film projector flicking images against the back of my brain. And the Joyful Mysteries on the rosary to say in honor of her life.
While fingering the beads in prayer (through the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Birth of Jesus, and the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple) I think back - imagining the joy my own parents had when I and my brothers and sisters, one by one, came forth as gifts from God. And I thought of the countless infants throughout history who came forth into the expectant and loving arms of caring parents. And I also contemplate the countless millions who never took their first breath because of abortion throughout the world.
And through the final decade of the rosary on the Finding of the young Jesus in the Temple, and I think back to the various travels I’ve taken, and the worries that parents naturally go through, hoping that their child is okay when He flees the nest. And I think back to my return to my faith after straying for some years. A return that I know is due in no small part to mom’s constant prayers.
And I’m thankful for being given such loving and faithful parents; a mother and father who knew suffering and sacrifice intimately. And an extended family (siblings, nieces & nephews, aunts & uncles) that through all of our faults and foibles and peculiarities (myself included), is full of love, passion, care, and faith. It’s not that hard to count my blessings and realize that in many ways my cup overfloweth. How easy it is, when things are going badly, that we become blinded to these blessings.
Before I leave the cemetery, I bury a locket of hair; the six-inch remains of my once-long hair (it used to be much longer some years back). I called it the remains of my mild Samson complex. She always said that if I ever cut my hair she wanted to have it. And I wanted to keep my promise. It was time.
“A time to keep and a time to throw away.” ~ Ecclesiastes 3
===========================================
It incorporates some of my personal thoughts, experiences and reflections while visiting my family and friends back east (last month), and during my pilgrimage to EWTN (the Global Catholic Network) & The Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament at Our Lady of the Angels Monastery in the outskirts of Birmingham, Alabama.
I will be quoting extensively from a number of sources including, of course, the bible, sermons from St. Francis de Sales, excerpts and summations of information from EWTN's websites and Raymond Arroyo's biography on Mother Angelica (who founded the network and monastery 25 years ago), as well as notes from a talk given by Franciscan Brother Leo while visiting the Shrine in Hanceville, AL.
The first third of the talk gets a bit personal, so be gentle yet patient because there is a method to the madness. When I get to portions describing the Shrine and it's surroundings, I'll do the best I can to supply appropriate links to on-line pictures (I didn't have a camera with me, and I'm using a large picture book during my presentation to better show the folks attending on the 24th).
All that being said... I give you Part 1.
(UPDATE NOTE: What follows is a much more extended version designed more for posting in this blog. The actual talk will necessarily be trimmed, slightly rearranged and altered in some parts. I will be editing as necessary (both for the talk as well as in the posts).
===========================================
“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.” ~ Isaiah 43:18
“So do not worry… but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
~ Matthew 6:31-35
There are a number of quotes that I have taped on different items in different places around my apartment. Some biblical, some secular. Some have been there for so long I forget that they’re there. But on occasion I’ll stop and read one of them - each one on a certain topic or for a specific reminder. One quote – attributed to American journalist and author, Fulton Oursler, who wrote the book “The Greatest Story Ever Told” (which was later made into a famous motion picture) – is on the monitor of my computer. It says:
“We crucify ourselves between two thieves: regret for yesterday, and fear of tomorrow.” ~ Fulton Oursler
I found myself once again facing my past. This has happened quite often. I’ll dwell on some distant memory, whether it’s centered on some happy occasion, a mournful event, or maybe a specific offense. And the mind begins to rewind and replay the events over and over; rehashing and rearguing until I turn over in bed for the umpteenth time and stare at the clock. 2:30 AM. Yes. Insomnia has reared its ugly head once again.
It’s gotten somewhat better over the years. The more recent day-to-day stuff still nags in the back of my brain at times. Maybe something happened at work, or a certain hot-button social or political issue is in the news, and that’ll spin between my ears. But, with regard to the things of the past, the older I get the easier it is to let things go. To forgive myself of things I’d done or hadn’t done, or things I’d said or hadn’t said. To forgive others of the same. To ask our Lord for forgiveness. To put things in proper perspective.
Nowadays, it seems that my brain has traded in most of the old hang-ups of the past for things which have not yet come to fruition. The future is where it’s at. It’s not a new bag of worries, but it seems to have gotten much bigger as my old satchel filled with bygone days has shrunk. If only I could have as much peace about present and future things as I do now with my past.
“Be at rest once more, O my soul, for the Lord has been good to you.” ~ Psalm 116:7
It’s early in the morning. Very early. Dawn has yet to break. I lay in my old bed, 3000 miles east, in the bedroom of my youth. I’m trying to recover from jetlag, but the body clock is on autopilot. The clock on the wall ticks loudly each second, relentlessly. Through the window is heard the chirping of countless baby birds screaming for their tummies to be filled. And the parent birds are ceaseless in their search for worms to feed their young. The young cry out for comfort. And the parent obliges, taking care and taking watch.
It’d been a little over a year since I last visited my home town. And it’s been four years since my Mom had passed after many years of dialysis due to kidney failure. I don’t get the chance to fly back east that often. When I have, I’ve gone to the cemetery with my Dad – the last time in poor weather. But this day, in a few more hours, it will be the very first time that I will be at her grave site… alone.
While lying in bed, my mind must have drifted through a myriad of thoughts before I realized that the birds stopped chirping, and they were replaced with the plaintiff hoot of a lone owl. Woot woo-hoo! Hoo! Who! Who am I? Who was I yesterday? Who am I today? Who will I be tomorrow? Am I on the right path in life? What does the future hold for me? Will my career change? Will my income improve? Will I shake off some of my bad habits? Will I ever be married, have children of my own to feed and comfort like those early morning sparrows? When will that void in my life finally be filled?
What it ultimately comes down to is this: What do I continually search for, yet cannot quite seem to find? What do we continually search for, yet cannot quite seem to find? These questions are not new. People have been asking these same questions throughout the history of our existence. And Jesus, in His sermon on the mount, gives us a challenging response:
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?...
“Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”
“...And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” ~ Matthew 6:25-30
Those last five words can be jolting. “O you of little faith.” How much faith is enough? I’ve gone through a circuitous route with my own faith, having been raised in the Catholic faith, then strayed at times through my 20s during a period when I took issue with God regarding certain aspects of my lift at the time (even though, in hindsight, I was blind to other areas in which He had worked His divine providence, and healing, and mercy). In my 30s I slowly felt the yearning for that something other, and gradually and meticulously found my way back to the faith of my youth.
Each person goes though his or her own spiritual journey. And when you think you’ve reached a summit you wonder why things still aren’t quite going as planned. Questions still remain unanswered. Daily struggles still persist. And you say to yourself, “Isn’t my level of faith enough?”
“A man’s mind plans his way, but the Lord determines his steps.” ~ Proverbs 16:9
There’s an old phrase that goes, “God loves you right where you are. But He loves you too much to let you stay there.”
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” ~ Proverbs 3:5-6
I arrived at the cemetery later that morning, carrying with me the specially-made rosary I had given my mother as a going-away gift twelve years earlier. I know that she had said the rosary on these same beads at least three times a week (while going through her dialysis treatments) from that point forward until the last days of her life. Some of those fervent prayers, I’m sure, were said for me while I lived my life on the opposite side of the country.
There’s a story about this rosary. My mom told me about an incident that happened only once while she was saying the rosary in the dialysis unit while the machines cleansed her blood 3 hours a day, 3 days a week. She said that on this particular day she noticed that one of the decades started to give a certain glow. An orangey glow. Oddly enough, it was on the only section of beads which were artificial (the white ones); real moonstone being too fragile to make into beads. All of the other beads are authentic stones: red jasper, jade, aventurine, tiger eye, amber, and the “Our Father” beads made of bloodstone (green jasper with flecks of red jasper - a stone with a medieval legend that the flecks of red represent the blood of Christ fallen onto the green field of the crucifixion). Given her poor eye sight due to her medical condition, she pointed out the glow to someone else in the dialysis unit. And that person saw it too. Another person casually brushed it off as being caused by the glare from the sunlight through the window. That didn’t sway my mom. Yet, it never occurred again. No matter how much my mother tried to get those beads to glow.
After my mom had passed, my dad gave this rosary back to me knowing that mom wanted me to have it. Just a few days after returning to California after her funeral, I was in my apartment. I pulled out the rosary, thinking about her. And there was the glow… on the same set of beads. And, given that my Confirmation name is Thomas, I turned away from the living room window to shield the incoming sunlight from the beads. The orange glow still remained. And I knew that she was there, and that she was looking down from heaven.
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
… a time to be born and a time to die.” ~ Ecclesiastes 3
Back at the cemetery, now four years later, I walked up to the gravestone with her name engraved into its rose-colored marble surface. The sun shining brilliantly. I took out the rosary from my pocket. I’ve had many conversations in my head with my mom these last few years. I’ve shed many tears during the last days of her life and since her passing. After several years, I’ve been able to move forward. There may be times when I’ll be driving down the road or sitting in a room with my thoughts, and my eyes will begin to well up. But, here at her grave site I find that I have no more tears to shed. Not even any words to say. Just a whole bunch of happy memories like an 8mm film projector flicking images against the back of my brain. And the Joyful Mysteries on the rosary to say in honor of her life.
While fingering the beads in prayer (through the Annunciation, the Visitation, the Birth of Jesus, and the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple) I think back - imagining the joy my own parents had when I and my brothers and sisters, one by one, came forth as gifts from God. And I thought of the countless infants throughout history who came forth into the expectant and loving arms of caring parents. And I also contemplate the countless millions who never took their first breath because of abortion throughout the world.
And through the final decade of the rosary on the Finding of the young Jesus in the Temple, and I think back to the various travels I’ve taken, and the worries that parents naturally go through, hoping that their child is okay when He flees the nest. And I think back to my return to my faith after straying for some years. A return that I know is due in no small part to mom’s constant prayers.
And I’m thankful for being given such loving and faithful parents; a mother and father who knew suffering and sacrifice intimately. And an extended family (siblings, nieces & nephews, aunts & uncles) that through all of our faults and foibles and peculiarities (myself included), is full of love, passion, care, and faith. It’s not that hard to count my blessings and realize that in many ways my cup overfloweth. How easy it is, when things are going badly, that we become blinded to these blessings.
Before I leave the cemetery, I bury a locket of hair; the six-inch remains of my once-long hair (it used to be much longer some years back). I called it the remains of my mild Samson complex. She always said that if I ever cut my hair she wanted to have it. And I wanted to keep my promise. It was time.
“A time to keep and a time to throw away.” ~ Ecclesiastes 3
===========================================
Friday, June 09, 2006
A series of new posts coming very soon...
I'm almost done with a finished first draft of the talk I'll be giving on June 24th in front of a small group of fellow Catholic bible studiers at my local parish. As I stated in a previous post, it will encompass some personal reflections regarding my experiences visiting family and friends back east. It will then dovetail into detailed information about my 2-day pilgrimage at EWTN and the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Alabama - interlacing it with excerpts from scripture, sermons from St. Francis de Sales, and several other resources, including excerpts from a talk given by one of the Franciscan brothers at the shrine.
Soon, I will begin to post the text of the talk in sectioned parts as a work in progress. I'll try to supply links when necessary. It'll be somewhat difficult to translate parts of the latter half of the talk since I will be displaying photos from a large picture book showing details of the Shrine. So, I'll have to briefly describe each photo in this blog if I can't find suitable web linkable photographs.
Key word... patience.
Soon, I will begin to post the text of the talk in sectioned parts as a work in progress. I'll try to supply links when necessary. It'll be somewhat difficult to translate parts of the latter half of the talk since I will be displaying photos from a large picture book showing details of the Shrine. So, I'll have to briefly describe each photo in this blog if I can't find suitable web linkable photographs.
Key word... patience.
Monday, May 29, 2006
The Church moves forward on several fronts...
First, per Jimmy Akin, The US Bishops are moving forward (per instruction and insistence from the Vatican) to make accurate English translations of the Liturgy. Some of the current translations in use since the 60s aren't quite up to snuff. 'Tis about time.
Next, via EWTN, Pope B-16 is urging strong reform in the religious orders. 'Tis about time.
Third, another step forward in the potential reunion of the Eastern Church with the Western Church (Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox). This is very promising.
Finally, via First Things, the Guardian (UK) printed a story about a potential medical breakthrough. In several cases, patients who were considered to be in "a permanent vegetative state" have briefly re-awakened after being given doses of the commonly prescribed sleep aid Zolpidem (also known by the name Ambien). In a few of these cases, the patients were able to fully communicate with their loved ones for several hours before returning to their previously unconscious state. Score another one for the Culture of Life vs. the Culture of Death.
Next, via EWTN, Pope B-16 is urging strong reform in the religious orders. 'Tis about time.
Third, another step forward in the potential reunion of the Eastern Church with the Western Church (Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox). This is very promising.
Finally, via First Things, the Guardian (UK) printed a story about a potential medical breakthrough. In several cases, patients who were considered to be in "a permanent vegetative state" have briefly re-awakened after being given doses of the commonly prescribed sleep aid Zolpidem (also known by the name Ambien). In a few of these cases, the patients were able to fully communicate with their loved ones for several hours before returning to their previously unconscious state. Score another one for the Culture of Life vs. the Culture of Death.
Monday, May 22, 2006
I'm back...
Thou hast returned!
I'll be posting in the upcoming days/weeks regarding my experiences visiting family and friends back east, as well as my thoughts and reflections on my time spent in Alabama (visiting EWTN and the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament).
In the meantime, here's my obligatory "DaVinci Code" post (seems everyone needs to post at least one these days):
The reason why I've never felt the need to read "The DaVinci Code" novel nor see the movie is the same reason why I haven't ever gotten the urge to peruse any of the "Left Behind" books/films. Why in heaven's name would I ever bother with third rate fiction based on seriously flawed theology???
*sigh*
I'll be posting in the upcoming days/weeks regarding my experiences visiting family and friends back east, as well as my thoughts and reflections on my time spent in Alabama (visiting EWTN and the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament).
In the meantime, here's my obligatory "DaVinci Code" post (seems everyone needs to post at least one these days):
The reason why I've never felt the need to read "The DaVinci Code" novel nor see the movie is the same reason why I haven't ever gotten the urge to peruse any of the "Left Behind" books/films. Why in heaven's name would I ever bother with third rate fiction based on seriously flawed theology???
*sigh*
Saturday, May 06, 2006
Another stroll along the Tri-Annual Ventura Artwalk...
Last weekend, I attended – a better phrase would be “strolled and perused” – the tri-annual Artwalk in downtown Ventura, CA. Three times a year Main Street and the surrounding downtown corridor becomes a showcase for the arts during a Saturday afternoon and evening. Anywhere from 60 to 80 local businesses – shops, restaurants, galleries, museums and studios – will display the works of various local and regional artists (mostly paintings and sculptures in various forms of media).
You pick up a free map, you grab a cup of coffee, and you scan the listings on the map. You circle a handful of “must-see” locations, leaving the option to see other locations by chance and tickled fancy. And you go for a stroll throughout the downtown area. Some locations are a bit out of the way, so you drive to those places first – usually at the far ends of the district.
I always check out several places at the far western end of town, including Pacific Stoneworks (always intriguing), Stoneworks Studio (always quirky), and the new Bell Art Factory where 25 artists are in residence.
At Pacific Stoneworks I met up with artists Scott & Pat Wynn (husband & wife). What a wonderful couple who were so affable and unpretentious. We ended up chatting for almost an hour on varied topics and experiences. Scott’s been painting for only four years and does simple oil landscapes. Pat's forte is small scale watercolors. Also displayed in the studio was the works of artist Tiger Huang – pencil, pen and charcoal drawings & sketches.
At Bell Art Factory, there were quite a few varied art works on display. What struck me the most was a series of paintings by Susan Cook. Dreamy and sepia-toned in appearance, her paintings can be seen here at her website.
There were two photographers who have an incredible eye: Robert Fields and Dan Holmes. Click on their names to link to their respective websites to view their beautiful visions captured on film.
You can spend several hours just walking around downtown, as many others do, poking your head into a trinket shop here, a clothing shop there, a restaurant across the street, an alley or nook with hidden treasures. Finally, before leaving downtown, I’ll visit two places on the map which I always make sure to visit: the small Buenaventura Art Galley at the corner of Thompson and Santa Clara, and another small studio/gallery on the opposite corner.
Some of Norman Kirk’s watercolors were on display at the former. He’s well known in these parts, and his paintings are masterful slices of life.
Across the street, Lee Hodges has her mixes media pieces on display at her studio. These works are strikingly spiritual and powerful when viewed in person. Viewing them on the computer does not do them justice. They’re mixtures of painting and collage in what she terms “The Cross Series.” Her website better describes her approach to each piece in the series. You can stare at one of her paintings and become lost in the mood and message it attempts to convey, always discovering something new or hidden. Deeply, deeply spiritual in a quiet and introspective way.
One piece which I saw displayed at the previous Artwalk event, entitled “Time of Decision” (here) really moved me in profound ways. Again, the website image does not compare to viewing it in person. It’s now on display in a studio in New Mexico. If I was independently wealthy I’d buy it without hesitation.
I’ve met Lee both times at her studio, and we always chat for a bit and discuss her works. Also displayed at her studio are various wood and marble sculptures by reclusive artist Mitch Mays. I have no link for you to click and view, but his religiously themed pieces are inspiring – including a life-sized wood sculpture of the hands of God and Adam taken from Michelangelo’s “The Creation” fresco in the Sistine Chapel.
Enjoy the links above and see for yourself the beauty, skill, power and grace of the various artists and their works of art.
P.S. This is will be last post for awhile as I’m heading off to visit family in a few days.
You pick up a free map, you grab a cup of coffee, and you scan the listings on the map. You circle a handful of “must-see” locations, leaving the option to see other locations by chance and tickled fancy. And you go for a stroll throughout the downtown area. Some locations are a bit out of the way, so you drive to those places first – usually at the far ends of the district.
I always check out several places at the far western end of town, including Pacific Stoneworks (always intriguing), Stoneworks Studio (always quirky), and the new Bell Art Factory where 25 artists are in residence.
At Pacific Stoneworks I met up with artists Scott & Pat Wynn (husband & wife). What a wonderful couple who were so affable and unpretentious. We ended up chatting for almost an hour on varied topics and experiences. Scott’s been painting for only four years and does simple oil landscapes. Pat's forte is small scale watercolors. Also displayed in the studio was the works of artist Tiger Huang – pencil, pen and charcoal drawings & sketches.
At Bell Art Factory, there were quite a few varied art works on display. What struck me the most was a series of paintings by Susan Cook. Dreamy and sepia-toned in appearance, her paintings can be seen here at her website.
There were two photographers who have an incredible eye: Robert Fields and Dan Holmes. Click on their names to link to their respective websites to view their beautiful visions captured on film.
You can spend several hours just walking around downtown, as many others do, poking your head into a trinket shop here, a clothing shop there, a restaurant across the street, an alley or nook with hidden treasures. Finally, before leaving downtown, I’ll visit two places on the map which I always make sure to visit: the small Buenaventura Art Galley at the corner of Thompson and Santa Clara, and another small studio/gallery on the opposite corner.
Some of Norman Kirk’s watercolors were on display at the former. He’s well known in these parts, and his paintings are masterful slices of life.
Across the street, Lee Hodges has her mixes media pieces on display at her studio. These works are strikingly spiritual and powerful when viewed in person. Viewing them on the computer does not do them justice. They’re mixtures of painting and collage in what she terms “The Cross Series.” Her website better describes her approach to each piece in the series. You can stare at one of her paintings and become lost in the mood and message it attempts to convey, always discovering something new or hidden. Deeply, deeply spiritual in a quiet and introspective way.
One piece which I saw displayed at the previous Artwalk event, entitled “Time of Decision” (here) really moved me in profound ways. Again, the website image does not compare to viewing it in person. It’s now on display in a studio in New Mexico. If I was independently wealthy I’d buy it without hesitation.
I’ve met Lee both times at her studio, and we always chat for a bit and discuss her works. Also displayed at her studio are various wood and marble sculptures by reclusive artist Mitch Mays. I have no link for you to click and view, but his religiously themed pieces are inspiring – including a life-sized wood sculpture of the hands of God and Adam taken from Michelangelo’s “The Creation” fresco in the Sistine Chapel.
Enjoy the links above and see for yourself the beauty, skill, power and grace of the various artists and their works of art.
P.S. This is will be last post for awhile as I’m heading off to visit family in a few days.
Monday, May 01, 2006
On Sheep, Wolves and Sheepdogs (and Shepherds, too)
I received a copy of the following via e-mail from one of my Bible Study buddies. It’s a fascinating read, but I wanted to verify the source before posting it here. Apparently, this has been posted in several places over the last year or so. I’m unsure as to whether or not the exchange between General Dula and the U. of Washington student is legit (though, I would suspect that it is given that it mentions Dula by name). But the lengthy article which Dula then quotes is legit. It’s a journal article written by retired LTC Dave Grossman (apparently along with Loren Christensen). The title of the article is listed on Grossman’s website under the publications section. With the background established, I hope that you will read the following and contemplate what Grossman has to say. It certainly needs to be said, and often repeated as a reminder in today's post-9/11 society.
I have a nephew who is a police officer, an old family friend whom we call “uncle” who’s a retired police officer, a brother who’s an EMT with his wife who’s an ER nurse. I have a brother-in-law who’s a Vietnam vet, several uncles who fought in WWII. And, of course, my Dad who served in the Navy during WWII and who was there at the Battle of Iwo Jima. Needless to say, I am well aware of the Sheepdogs in our midst.
If I were to add anything to this fine article it would be that Grossman left out one additional (and crucial) piece of this sobering parable of a commentary. And that is the role of the Shepherd. Our ultimate Shepherd is Jesus Christ, and He charges His disciples (from St. Peter and the Apostles all the way down to JPII & B16 and all of the priests and religious to the present day) to continue in this precious and important role as Shepherds of His Flock. For it is these Shepherds who watch over us, tend to our spiritual needs, nourish us with the Word of God and with the Eucharist, continue in their missionary work of feeding, clothing, tending to the sick and brokenhearted, and fervently praying while guiding us on our spiritual path.
So, to all of our Sheepdogs ~ thank you for your selfless service and sacrifice in diligently protecting us from those wolves in the physical realm.
To all of our faithful Shepherds ~ thank you for your selfless service and sacrifice in the name of God, protecting us from the wolves in the spiritual realm.
To all of you Sheep ~ WAKE THE FRELL UP!!!
And to all of you Wolves out there ~ our Sheepdogs will sniff you out and hunt you down ceaselessly. And our Shepherd, Jesus Christ, will prevail. You can count on it!
---------------------------------------
In brief, Jill Edwards, a junior math major at the University of Washington, and a member of the UW student senate, opposed a memorial to UW grad "Pappy" Boyington. Boyington was a U.S. Marine aviator who earned the Medal of Honor in World War II. Edwards said that she didn't think it was appropriate to honor a person who killed other people. She also said that a member of the Marine Corps was NOT an example of the sort of person the University of Washington wanted to produce.
What follows is Gen. Dula's letter to the University of Washington student senate leader. Read and comprehend what is being said and decide if you want to be a "sheep".
To: Edwards, Jill (student, UW)
Subject: Sheep, Wolves and Sheepdogs
Miss Edwards, I read of your 'student activity' regarding the proposed memorial to Col Greg Boyington, USMC and a Medal of Honor winner. I suspect you will receive a bellyful of angry e-mails from conservative folks like me. You may be too young to appreciate fully the sacrifices of generations of servicemen and servicewomen on whose shoulders you and your fellow students stand. I forgive you for the untutored ways of youth and your naiveté.
It may be that you are, simply, a sheep. There's no dishonor in being a sheep - - as long as you know and accept what you are. Please take a couple of minutes to read the following. And be grateful for the thousands - millions - of American sheepdogs who permit you the freedom to express even bad ideas.
Brett Dula
Sheepdog, retired
---------------------------------------
ON SHEEP, WOLVES, AND SHEEPDOGS
By LTC (RET.) Dave Grossman, RANGER, Ph.D., author of "On Killing."
Honor never grows old, and honor rejoices the heart of age. It does so because honor is, finally, about defending those noble and worthy things that deserve defending, even if it comes at a high cost. In our time, that may mean social disapproval, public scorn, hardship, persecution, or as always, even death itself. The question remains: What is worth defending? What is worth dying for? What is worth living for? – William J. Bennett – in a lecture to the United States Naval Academy November 24, 1997
One Vietnam veteran, an old retired colonel, once said this to me: "Most of the people in our society are sheep. They are kind, gentle, productive creatures who can only hurt one another by accident." This is true. Remember, the murder rate is six per 100,000 per year, and the aggravated assault rate is four per 1,000 per year. What this means is that the vast majority of Americans are not inclined to hurt one another.
Some estimates say that two million Americans are victims of violent crimes every year, a tragic, staggering number, perhaps an all-time record rate of violent crime. But there are almost 300 million Americans, which means that the odds of being a victim of violent crime is considerably less than one in a hundred on any given year. Furthermore, since many violent crimes are committed by repeat offenders, the actual number of violent citizens is considerably less than two million.
Thus there is a paradox, and we must grasp both ends of the situation: We may well be in the most violent times in history, but violence is still remarkably rare. This is because most citizens are kind, decent people who are not capable of hurting each other, except by accident or under extreme provocation. They are sheep.
I mean nothing negative by calling them sheep. To me, it is like the pretty, blue robin's egg. Inside it is soft and gooey but someday it will grow into something wonderful. But the egg cannot survive without its hard blue shell.
Police officers, soldiers, and other warriors are like that shell, and someday the civilization they protect will grow into something wonderful. For now, though, they need warriors to protect them from the predators.
"Then there are the wolves," the old war veteran said, "and the wolves feed on the sheep without mercy." Do you believe there are wolves out there who will feed on the flock without mercy? You better believe it. There are evil men in this world and they are capable of evil deeds. The moment you forget that or pretend it is not so, you become a sheep. There is no safety in denial.
"Then there are sheepdogs," he went on, "and I'm a sheepdog. I live to protect the flock and confront the wolf."
If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive citizen, a sheep. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath, a wolf.
But what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your fellow citizens? What do you have then? A sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking the hero's path. Someone who can walk into the heart of darkness, into the universal human phobia, and walk out unscathed
Let me expand on this old soldier's excellent model of the sheep, wolves, and sheepdogs. We know that the sheep live in denial, that is what makes them sheep. They do not want to believe that there is evil in the world. They can accept the fact that fires can happen, which is why they want fire extinguishers, fire sprinklers, fire alarms and fire exits throughout their kids' schools.
But many of them are outraged at the idea of putting an armed police officer in their kid's school. Our children are thousands of times more likely to be killed or seriously injured by school violence than fire, but the sheep's only response to the possibility of violence is denial. The idea of someone coming to kill or harm their child is just too hard, and so they chose the path of denial.
The sheep generally do not like the sheepdog. He looks a lot like the wolf. He has fangs and the capacity for violence. The difference, though, is that the sheepdog must not, can not and will not ever harm the sheep. Any sheep dog who intentionally harms the lowliest little lamb will be punished and removed. The world cannot work any other way, at least not in a representative democracy or a republic such as ours.
Still, the sheepdog disturbs the sheep. He is a constant reminder that there are wolves in the land. They would prefer that he didn't tell them where to go, or give them traffic tickets, or stand at the ready in our airports, in camouflage fatigues, holding an M-16. The sheep would much rather have the sheepdog cash in his fangs, spray paint himself white, and go, "Baa." Until the wolf shows up. Then the entire flock tries desperately to hide behind one lonely sheepdog.
The students, the victims, at Columbine High School were big, tough high school students, and under ordinary circumstances they would not have had the time of day for a police officer. They were not bad kids; they just had nothing to say to a cop. When the school was under attack, however, and SWAT teams were clearing the rooms and hallways, the officers had to physically peel those clinging, sobbing kids off of them. This is how the little lambs feel about their sheepdog when the wolf is at the door.
Look at what happened after September 11, 2001 when the wolf pounded hard on the door. Remember how America, more than ever before, felt differently about their law enforcement officers and military personnel? Remember how many times you heard the word hero?
Understand that there is nothing morally superior about being a sheepdog; it is just what you choose to be. Also understand that a sheepdog is a funny critter: He is always sniffing around out on the perimeter, checking the breeze, barking at things that go bump in the night, and yearning for a righteous battle. That is, the young sheepdogs yearn for a righteous battle. The old sheepdogs are a little older and wiser, but they move to the sound of the guns when needed, right along with the young ones.
Here is how the sheep and the sheepdog think differently. The sheep pretend the wolf will never come, but the sheepdog lives for that day. After the attacks on September 11, 2001, most of the sheep, that is, most citizens in America said, "Thank God I wasn't on one of those planes." The sheepdogs, the warriors, said, "Dear God, I wish I could have been on one of those planes. Maybe I could have made a difference." When you are truly transformed into a warrior and have truly invested yourself into warriorhood, you want to be there. You want to be able to make a difference.
There is nothing morally superior about the sheepdog, the warrior, but he does have one real advantage. Only one. And that is that he is able to survive and thrive in an environment that destroys 98 percent of the population.
There was research conducted a few years ago with individuals convicted of violent crimes. These cons were in prison for serious, predatory crimes of violence: assaults, murders and killing law enforcement officers. The vast majority said that they specifically targeted victims by body language: Slumped walk, passive behavior and lack of awareness. They chose their victims like big cats do in Africa, when they select one out of the herd that is least able to protect itself.
Some people may be destined to be sheep and others might be genetically primed to be wolves or sheepdogs. But I believe that most people can choose which one they want to be, and I'm proud to say that more and more Americans are choosing to become sheepdogs.
Seven months after the attack on September 11, 2001, Todd Beamer was honored in his hometown of Cranbury, New Jersey. Todd, as you recall, was the man on Flight 93 over Pennsylvania who called on his cell phone to alert an operator from United Airlines about the hijacking. When he learned of the other three passenger planes that had been used as weapons, Todd dropped his phone and uttered the words, "Let's roll," which authorities believe was a signal to the other passengers to confront the terrorist hijackers. In one hour, a transformation occurred among the passengers – athletes, business people and parents – from sheep to sheepdogs and together they fought the wolves, ultimately saving an unknown number of lives on the ground.
There is no safety for honest men except by believing all possible evil of evil men. – Edmund Burke
Here is the point I like to emphasize, especially to the thousands of police officers and soldiers I speak to each year. In nature the sheep, real sheep, are born as sheep. Sheepdogs are born that way, and so are wolves. They didn't have a choice. But you are not a critter. As a human being, you can be whatever you want to be. It is a conscious, moral decision.
If you want to be a sheep, then you can be a sheep and that is okay, but you must understand the price you pay. When the wolf comes, you and your loved ones are going to die if there is not a sheepdog there to protect you. If you want to be a wolf, you can be one, but the sheepdogs are going to hunt you down and you will never have rest, safety, trust or love. But if you want to be a sheepdog and walk the warrior's path, then you must make a conscious and moral decision every day to dedicate, equip and prepare yourself to thrive in that toxic, corrosive moment when the wolf comes knocking at the door.
For example, many officers carry their weapons in church. They are well concealed in ankle holsters, shoulder holsters or inside-the-belt holsters tucked into the small of their backs. Anytime you go to some form of religious service, there is a very good chance that a police officer in your congregation is carrying. You will never know if there is such an individual in your place of worship, until the wolf appears to massacre you and your loved ones.
I was training a group of police officers in Texas, and during the break, one officer asked his friend if he carried his weapon in church. The other cop replied, "I will never be caught without my gun in church." I asked why he felt so strongly about this, and he told me about a cop he knew who was at a church massacre in Ft. Worth, Texas in 1999. In that incident, a mentally deranged individual came into the church and opened fire, gunning down fourteen people. He said that officer believed he could have saved every life that day if he had been carrying his gun. His own son was shot, and all he could do was throw himself on the boy's body and wait to die. That cop looked me in the eye and said, "Do you have any idea how hard it would be to live with yourself after that?"
Some individuals would be horrified if they knew this police officer was carrying a weapon in church. They might call him paranoid and would probably scorn him. Yet these same individuals would be enraged and would call for "heads to roll" if they found out that the airbags in their cars were defective, or that the fire extinguisher and fire sprinklers in their kids' school did not work. They can accept the fact that fires and traffic accidents can happen and that there must be safeguards against them.
Their only response to the wolf, though, is denial, and all too often their response to the sheepdog is scorn and disdain. But the sheepdog quietly asks himself, "Do you have any idea how hard it would be to live with yourself if your loved ones were attacked and killed, and you had to stand there helplessly because you were unprepared for that day?"
It is denial that turns people into sheep. Sheep are psychologically destroyed by combat because their only defense is denial, which is counterproductive and destructive, resulting in fear, helplessness and horror when the wolf shows up.
Denial kills you twice. It kills you once, at your moment of truth when you are not physically prepared: you didn't bring your gun, you didn't train. Your only defense was wishful thinking. Hope is not a strategy. Denial kills you a second time because even if you do physically survive, you are psychologically shattered by your fear, helplessness and horror at your moment of truth.
Gavin de Becker puts it like this in Fear Less, his superb post-9/11 book, which should be required reading for anyone trying to come to terms with our current world situation: "...denial can be seductive, but it has an insidious side effect. For all the peace of mind deniers think they get by saying it isn't so, the fall they take when faced with new violence is all the more unsettling."
Denial is a save-now-pay-later scheme, a contract written entirely in small print, for in the long run, the denying person knows the truth on some level. And so the warrior must strive to confront denial in all aspects of his life, and prepare himself for the day when evil comes.
If you are warrior who is legally authorized to carry a weapon and you step outside without that weapon, then you become a sheep, pretending that the bad man will not come today. No one can be "on" 24/7, for a lifetime. Everyone needs down time. But if you are authorized to carry a weapon, and you walk outside without it, just take a deep breath, and say this to yourself..."Baa."
This business of being a sheep or a sheep dog is not a yes-no dichotomy. It is not an all-or-nothing, either-or choice. It is a matter of degrees, a continuum. On one end is an abject, head-in-the-sand-sheep and on the other end is the ultimate warrior. Few people exist completely on one end or the other.
Most of us live somewhere in between. Since 9-11 almost everyone in America took a step up that continuum, away from denial. The sheep took a few steps toward accepting and appreciating their warriors, and the warriors started taking their job more seriously. The degree to which you move up that continuum, away from sheephood and denial, is the degree to which you and your loved ones will survive, physically and psychologically at your moment of truth.
---------------------------------------
I have a nephew who is a police officer, an old family friend whom we call “uncle” who’s a retired police officer, a brother who’s an EMT with his wife who’s an ER nurse. I have a brother-in-law who’s a Vietnam vet, several uncles who fought in WWII. And, of course, my Dad who served in the Navy during WWII and who was there at the Battle of Iwo Jima. Needless to say, I am well aware of the Sheepdogs in our midst.
If I were to add anything to this fine article it would be that Grossman left out one additional (and crucial) piece of this sobering parable of a commentary. And that is the role of the Shepherd. Our ultimate Shepherd is Jesus Christ, and He charges His disciples (from St. Peter and the Apostles all the way down to JPII & B16 and all of the priests and religious to the present day) to continue in this precious and important role as Shepherds of His Flock. For it is these Shepherds who watch over us, tend to our spiritual needs, nourish us with the Word of God and with the Eucharist, continue in their missionary work of feeding, clothing, tending to the sick and brokenhearted, and fervently praying while guiding us on our spiritual path.
So, to all of our Sheepdogs ~ thank you for your selfless service and sacrifice in diligently protecting us from those wolves in the physical realm.
To all of our faithful Shepherds ~ thank you for your selfless service and sacrifice in the name of God, protecting us from the wolves in the spiritual realm.
To all of you Sheep ~ WAKE THE FRELL UP!!!
And to all of you Wolves out there ~ our Sheepdogs will sniff you out and hunt you down ceaselessly. And our Shepherd, Jesus Christ, will prevail. You can count on it!
Sunday, April 30, 2006
Flying to Philly soon, and then to ......Alabamy (yeap!)
Yeap! I'm heading back to Philly for several days this month, to visit family and a bunch of old friends. From there I'll be briefly visiting the Charlotte, NC, airport on my way to......................... Birmingham, Alabama!
"Why Alabama?" you may ask.
Well, it's sort of a spiritual pilgrimage/retreat. The great and vibrant Catholic cable network, EWTN, is just outside of Birmingham (in Irondale, AL). And the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament (the cloister/monastry where Mother Angelica - the founder of the network - resides is just north of the network in Hanceville).
Both places have pilgrimage tours of the grounds, the shrines, the network itself, plus I'll be in the audience for Fr. Mitch Pacwa's TV series, "Threshold of Hope" on the evening of May 16th. In that series, Fr. Pacwa systematically goes through the late Pope John Paul II's encyclicals. I'm hoping to also snag a ticket to get into the Wednesday evening broadcast of "EWTN Live". If not, then I'll probably spend the early part of that day in Hanceville, then head back to Birmingham to check out a museum before flying back to L.A. on the 18th.
Anywayz... for about 10 days mid-month I'll be away from internet action.
"Why Alabama?" you may ask.
Well, it's sort of a spiritual pilgrimage/retreat. The great and vibrant Catholic cable network, EWTN, is just outside of Birmingham (in Irondale, AL). And the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament (the cloister/monastry where Mother Angelica - the founder of the network - resides is just north of the network in Hanceville).
Both places have pilgrimage tours of the grounds, the shrines, the network itself, plus I'll be in the audience for Fr. Mitch Pacwa's TV series, "Threshold of Hope" on the evening of May 16th. In that series, Fr. Pacwa systematically goes through the late Pope John Paul II's encyclicals. I'm hoping to also snag a ticket to get into the Wednesday evening broadcast of "EWTN Live". If not, then I'll probably spend the early part of that day in Hanceville, then head back to Birmingham to check out a museum before flying back to L.A. on the 18th.
Anywayz... for about 10 days mid-month I'll be away from internet action.
So... you say you're giving 110%, huh?
I got this from a friend, and I laughed my a** off. The whole "I gave it 110%" phrase has always been one of my pet peeves. So, without further ado...
----------------
What makes 100%? What does it mean to give MORE than 100%? Ever wonder about those people who say they are giving more than 100%? We have all been to those meetings where someone wants you to give over 100%. How about achieving 103%? What makes up 100% in life?
Here's a little mathematical formula that might help you answer these questions:
If:
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z is represented as:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26.
Then:
K-N-O-W-L-E-D-G-E
11+14+15+23+12+5+4+7+5 = 96%
and
H-A-R-D-W-O-R-K
8+1+18+4+23+15+18+11 = 98%
But,
A-T-T-I-T-U-D-E
1+20+20+9+20+21+4+5 = 100%
And,
B-U-L-L-S-H-I-T
2+21+12+12+19+8+9+20 = 103%
AND, look how far ass kissing will take you.
A-S-S-K-I-S-S-I-N-G
1+19+19+11+9+19+19+9+14+7 = 118%
So, one can conclude with mathematical certainty that while Knowledge and Hard Work will get you close, and Attitude will get you there, it's the Bullshit and Ass Kissing that will put you over the top.
----------------
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
File this under: "Quid Pro Quo"
Polipundit has a comment from one of its readers on the illegal immigration issue here. Tongue in cheek, of course... but oh, so dead-on target. (heh!)
Meanwhile, I've updated my blog roll to the right. Feel free to enlighten yourself by reading them regularly.
Also, two movies I will definitely want to see in the theaters over the next two weeks:
"United 93" and "The Lost City"
Meanwhile, I've updated my blog roll to the right. Feel free to enlighten yourself by reading them regularly.
Also, two movies I will definitely want to see in the theaters over the next two weeks:
"United 93" and "The Lost City"
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Charlatan in the Church...
Unfortunately, there are some in my local parish who praise this guy and his writings . His name is Fr. Richard Rohr. I've read some of his writings, and listened to a set of his audio CDs. There was a period in my life when I strayed a bit from my Catholic upbringing into the New Age arena, though I never went off the deep end. And, since then, I've returned to the Catholic Church and her teachings. Because of my spiritual diversion, I'm well-tuned to abhorrent spirituality. Red flags started waving when I read some of Rohr's "words of wisdom." Granted, there are some decent nuggets of Catholic theology in his writings, but you sometimes have to dig through quite a bit of questionable stuff to get to it. Upon hearing him speak via his audio tapes/CDs, I got (in my opinion) a certain picture of the type of person he reminds me of - a charlatan. I know that sounds harsh, but if you read or listen to some of his stuff with a clear set of eyes you may be able to discern this. If you want a recent summation of this guy's teachings and affiliations, read this to get a clearer picture.
The OSV Interview with Archbishop Chaput...
(Hat-tip to Hugh Hewitt)
Here is an indepth interview with Archbishop Charles Chaput (Denver Diocese), covering the issue of the abuse scandal within the Church inside the U.S.
You can also find more tough yet fair and impartial commentary by Fr. Richard Neuhaus in past issues of First Things.
Here is an indepth interview with Archbishop Charles Chaput (Denver Diocese), covering the issue of the abuse scandal within the Church inside the U.S.
You can also find more tough yet fair and impartial commentary by Fr. Richard Neuhaus in past issues of First Things.
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Another bit of immigration info...
From Redstate, here's an interesting excerpt quoting Rush (yeah, that Rush):
It goes on to list some suggested solutions to the illegal immigration issue here in the US. Some interesting points are made, though I don't agree with abolishing the minimum wage (as quite a few comments also iterate).
Ironically... in Mexico immigrants [meaning those who immigrate to Mexico] are not allowed individual property rights, must speak Spanish, must have job skills, have no right to vote or run for office, and have no right to government welfare programs. Immigrants must also invest in the country in an amount equal to forty thousand times the daily minimum wage. Further, immigrants are not allowed to protest the government.
It goes on to list some suggested solutions to the illegal immigration issue here in the US. Some interesting points are made, though I don't agree with abolishing the minimum wage (as quite a few comments also iterate).
Sunday, April 02, 2006
UCLA vs. Florida??? (ugh!)
The only way the NCAA Championship Game match-up could've gotten any worse than tomorrow's UCLA vs Florida (the team that defeated my beloved Villanova Wildcats) is a match-up of Georgetown vs any Bobby-Knight-coached team. (ugh...... UGH!...... groan)
I'm begrudgingly rooting for Florida.
I'm begrudgingly rooting for Florida.
On the issue of border security and illegal immigration...
Here are several links to some great reads on the subject at hand - dealing with legal vs. illegal, guest worker programs, border security, the type of jobs and who will or won't do them, etc. etc. etc.
Polipundit has a post on border security here. They also have another post on the subject here.
Rich Lowry at NRO tackles the topic of "jobs that Americans won't do" here.
The Buffalo News has a story on problems with the guest worker projects of the past.
The Washington Times has an in-depth article here on the ratios and the positions of an overwhelming majority of Americans.
And RWN has a detailed 13-point compendium on the variously related issues here.
Polipundit has a post on border security here. They also have another post on the subject here.
Rich Lowry at NRO tackles the topic of "jobs that Americans won't do" here.
The Buffalo News has a story on problems with the guest worker projects of the past.
The Washington Times has an in-depth article here on the ratios and the positions of an overwhelming majority of Americans.
And RWN has a detailed 13-point compendium on the variously related issues here.
Saturday, March 25, 2006
Chomsky - Thy Name is "Hypocrite"
Hat Tip to American Thinker for two great recent reads (here and here) on the infamous Noam Chomsky, his convoluted theories, and his blatant hypocrisy. While the second commentary shakes down one of Chomsky's theories, the first commentary links to an article in Canada's National Post which exposes the man for doing what he criticizes others of doing:
Read the entire revealing article here.
The iconic MIT linguist and left-wing activist frequently has lashed out against the “massive use of tax havens to shift the burden to the general population and away from the rich,” and criticized the concentration of wealth in “trusts” by the wealthiest 1%. He says the U.S. tax code is rigged with “complicated devices for ensuring that the poor—like 80% of the population—pay off the rich.”
But trusts can’t be all bad. After all, Chomsky, with a net worth north of US$2-million, decided to create one for himself. A few years back he went to Boston’s venerable white-shoe law firm, Palmer and Dodge, and, with the help of a tax attorney specializing in “income-tax planning,” set up an irrevocable trust to protect his assets from Uncle Sam. [...]
Over the years, Chomsky has been particularly critical of private property rights, which he considers simply a tool of the rich, of no benefit to ordinary people. "When property rights are granted to power and privilege, it can be expected to be harmful to most," Chomsky wrote on a discussion board for the Washington Post. Intellectual property rights are equally despicable, apparently. According to Chomsky, for example, drug companies who have spent hundreds of millions of dollars developing drugs shouldn't have ownership rights to patents. Intellectual property rights, he argues, "have to do with protectionism."
Protectionism is a bad thing -- especially when it relates to other people.
But when it comes to Chomsky's own published work, this advocate of open intellectual property suddenly becomes very selfish. It would not be advisable to download the audio from one of his speeches without paying the fee, warns his record company, Alternative Tentacles. (Did Andrei Sakharov have a licensing agreement with a record company?) And when it comes to his articles, you'd better keep your hands off. [...]
Chomsky has even gone the extra mile to protect the copyright to some of his material by transferring ownership to his children. Profits from those works will thus be taxed at his children's lower rate. He also thereby extends the length of time that the family is able to hold onto the copyright and protect his intellectual assets.[...]
Read the entire revealing article here.
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
What I'm currently reading (or attempting to)...
I'm smack-dab in the middle of three vastly different books.
The first is a dog-earred copy of "Shadow Divers" by Robert Kurson (non-fiction) lent to me by my Dad. It's a fascinating telling of the discovery of a WW-II German U-boat found off the coast of New Jersey by a group of deep sea divers. I'm about a third of the way through the book, and it's gripping reading. Chapter by chapter, Kurson describes the dangerous details of wreck diving, the backgrounds of the individuals involved, their histories amongst each other, and the research necessary to help uncover the mystery that's over 230 feet below the surface of the Atlantic - all while carrying his readers along the journey of this incredible discovery. Two of the main divers, John Chatterton and Richard Kohler, can be seen on their History Channel series, "Deep Sea Detectives."
The second book (another non-fiction) is Tom Standage's "The History of the World in 6 Glasses." He approaches history in the light of six important libations (three alcoholic, three caffeinated) and their affect on civilizations. He starts with beer, then wine, and then on to spirits - describing how they were discovered or invented, and how each changed the course of history. He then picks up a glass of tea, continues with coffee, and then concludes with cola. I've soberly read the alcohol section and am ready to express my way through the caffeine chapters. The book starts off a little dry (no pun intended), and his constant usage of BCE and CE as historical tags are a bit forced. He short-changed the "spirits" section - he concentrates on brandy, rum and whiskey, but barely touches on rye and bourbon, and gives no mention of vodka, gin, tequila, saki, nor the monks of the Middles Ages. It's an interesting read, nonetheless.
The third book (more non-fiction) is the "The Sermons of St. Francis de Sales - for Lent." I'm a couple chapters behind on this one, but this 400-year-old compilation of instruction by this holy Saint is filled with nuggets of truth that gets savored in the mind. Good reading for this time of the season. I've underlined certain passages from his sermons on Faith and on Eternal Happiness. I'm sure I'll be doing more of that as I continue to read.
The first is a dog-earred copy of "Shadow Divers" by Robert Kurson (non-fiction) lent to me by my Dad. It's a fascinating telling of the discovery of a WW-II German U-boat found off the coast of New Jersey by a group of deep sea divers. I'm about a third of the way through the book, and it's gripping reading. Chapter by chapter, Kurson describes the dangerous details of wreck diving, the backgrounds of the individuals involved, their histories amongst each other, and the research necessary to help uncover the mystery that's over 230 feet below the surface of the Atlantic - all while carrying his readers along the journey of this incredible discovery. Two of the main divers, John Chatterton and Richard Kohler, can be seen on their History Channel series, "Deep Sea Detectives."
The second book (another non-fiction) is Tom Standage's "The History of the World in 6 Glasses." He approaches history in the light of six important libations (three alcoholic, three caffeinated) and their affect on civilizations. He starts with beer, then wine, and then on to spirits - describing how they were discovered or invented, and how each changed the course of history. He then picks up a glass of tea, continues with coffee, and then concludes with cola. I've soberly read the alcohol section and am ready to express my way through the caffeine chapters. The book starts off a little dry (no pun intended), and his constant usage of BCE and CE as historical tags are a bit forced. He short-changed the "spirits" section - he concentrates on brandy, rum and whiskey, but barely touches on rye and bourbon, and gives no mention of vodka, gin, tequila, saki, nor the monks of the Middles Ages. It's an interesting read, nonetheless.
The third book (more non-fiction) is the "The Sermons of St. Francis de Sales - for Lent." I'm a couple chapters behind on this one, but this 400-year-old compilation of instruction by this holy Saint is filled with nuggets of truth that gets savored in the mind. Good reading for this time of the season. I've underlined certain passages from his sermons on Faith and on Eternal Happiness. I'm sure I'll be doing more of that as I continue to read.
Monday, March 20, 2006
I've finally settled on a name for my guitar...
~ FABIENNE ~
She's long, tanned, curvaceous, sleek, sexy, and tempermental ~ like a French model.
She's a single-cut semi-hollow Canvas-CSC70 electric with a gorgeous brown sunburst maple body. Maple neck with rosewood fretboard and custom bow-tie mother-of-pearl position markers. And two black Alnico5 humbucker pickups with black hardware.
A picture of the model design can be found here.
A picture of the color of the model can be seen here.
After occasionally picking and plunking on her, I think I'll finally start taking real lessons sometime after I get my tax refund check.
She's long, tanned, curvaceous, sleek, sexy, and tempermental ~ like a French model.
She's a single-cut semi-hollow Canvas-CSC70 electric with a gorgeous brown sunburst maple body. Maple neck with rosewood fretboard and custom bow-tie mother-of-pearl position markers. And two black Alnico5 humbucker pickups with black hardware.
A picture of the model design can be found here.
A picture of the color of the model can be seen here.
After occasionally picking and plunking on her, I think I'll finally start taking real lessons sometime after I get my tax refund check.
Perusing recently bought CDs...
Had a $50 gift certificate from Amazon.com and decided to buy some CDs with it. Picked up an interesting collection of stuff. Nothing brand new, though.
I picked up Vertical Horizon's "Live Stages" CD which is a live performance before they made it big with their more rocking/electrified sound. They were a bit more of a folky duo before they broke out into the mainstream. It's an interesting collection, and their opening track ("The Man Who Would Be Santa") is an awesome tribute to Dad's everywhere. Other tunes of note are "On the Sea," "Falling Down," "Heart in Hand" and a 12-minute jam of "Wash Away."
I also bought Duncan Sheik's "Daylight" CD. It's really grown on me. I've always liked parts of his debut CD with the hit "Barely Breathing", and this one (his third release) is well done. "Good Morning," "Half Life," "Such Reveries," "Start Again" and "What's On Her Mind" are all great tracks. He does tend to be a bit too maudlin and self-absorbed with his occasional sparseness, though. Plus, politically he's an idiot (a frelling Noam Chomsky-ite fer cryin' out loud). But I'm able to overlook those shortcomings in order to enjoy some nice tunes.
Got Better Than Ezra's latest, "Before The Robots." I still need to listen to this one a few more times to make a judgement, but so far I'm a tad disappointed. They had two great first CDs ("Deluxe" and "Friction Baby"), but then somehow went off the rails. This fifth release gets them back on course, but barely so. I think they've lost their touch.
Art Garfunkle's "Everything Waits To Be Noticed" (from 2003) is a surprise. It's kinda like a long-lost Simon & Garfunkle record, and Art wrote some of the material (a first for him). His voice is angelic as ever, though his vocals sometimes get lost in the mix with two other singers. Perfect for those quite moments to relax and to dream.
I also had to get Steve Winwood's 1980 classic, "Arc of a Diver." Four great slices of music are on the CD: "Arc of a Diver," "Slowdown Sundown," "While You See A Chance," and "Night Train." Still holds up after 25 years, though that classic early-80s Prophet-5 keyboard sound is now a bit dated.
My brother sent me a copy of Burton Cummings' "Up Close and Alone" - a live CD from 1996, with just Burton and a piano. INCREDIBLE! This guy still has his chops, vocally. He performs some of his popular and a few obscure solo tunes, as well as the main hits from his former band, "The Guess Who." "Laughing," "Undo," "These Eyes," "Stand Tall," "Timeless Love"... it's a treasure-trove of one of the great rock voices of the 60s and 70s.
I picked up Vertical Horizon's "Live Stages" CD which is a live performance before they made it big with their more rocking/electrified sound. They were a bit more of a folky duo before they broke out into the mainstream. It's an interesting collection, and their opening track ("The Man Who Would Be Santa") is an awesome tribute to Dad's everywhere. Other tunes of note are "On the Sea," "Falling Down," "Heart in Hand" and a 12-minute jam of "Wash Away."
I also bought Duncan Sheik's "Daylight" CD. It's really grown on me. I've always liked parts of his debut CD with the hit "Barely Breathing", and this one (his third release) is well done. "Good Morning," "Half Life," "Such Reveries," "Start Again" and "What's On Her Mind" are all great tracks. He does tend to be a bit too maudlin and self-absorbed with his occasional sparseness, though. Plus, politically he's an idiot (a frelling Noam Chomsky-ite fer cryin' out loud). But I'm able to overlook those shortcomings in order to enjoy some nice tunes.
Got Better Than Ezra's latest, "Before The Robots." I still need to listen to this one a few more times to make a judgement, but so far I'm a tad disappointed. They had two great first CDs ("Deluxe" and "Friction Baby"), but then somehow went off the rails. This fifth release gets them back on course, but barely so. I think they've lost their touch.
Art Garfunkle's "Everything Waits To Be Noticed" (from 2003) is a surprise. It's kinda like a long-lost Simon & Garfunkle record, and Art wrote some of the material (a first for him). His voice is angelic as ever, though his vocals sometimes get lost in the mix with two other singers. Perfect for those quite moments to relax and to dream.
I also had to get Steve Winwood's 1980 classic, "Arc of a Diver." Four great slices of music are on the CD: "Arc of a Diver," "Slowdown Sundown," "While You See A Chance," and "Night Train." Still holds up after 25 years, though that classic early-80s Prophet-5 keyboard sound is now a bit dated.
My brother sent me a copy of Burton Cummings' "Up Close and Alone" - a live CD from 1996, with just Burton and a piano. INCREDIBLE! This guy still has his chops, vocally. He performs some of his popular and a few obscure solo tunes, as well as the main hits from his former band, "The Guess Who." "Laughing," "Undo," "These Eyes," "Stand Tall," "Timeless Love"... it's a treasure-trove of one of the great rock voices of the 60s and 70s.
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
MARCH MADNESS TIME!!!!!!!!!
Okay... I've got my brackets finally filled out... How about you?
I have a couple first round toss-ups:
Georgetown vs. Northern Iowa
Seton Hall vs. Wichita State
The two “favorites’ in these games don’t impress me, especially against who they’re playing in the first round.
My 1st Round upsets:
#9 Bucknell over #8 Arkansas
#9 UAB over #8 Kentucky
#10 NC State over #7 Cal
#11 San Diego State over #6 Indiana
#12 Utah State over #5 Washington
MY SWEET 16 (* advances to Elite Eight):
*UConn beats Illinois
(UConn is too complete a team, here)
*North Carolina beats Tennessee
(Tennessee is playing waaaaaaay over their heads)
*Villanova beats Nevada!!!
(Nevada’s big man inside will knock off BC in 2nd Round)
*Florida beats Ohio State
(Florida is young, but has strong defense, while Ohio State has no perimeter shooting)
* Pitt beats Memphis
(Pitt is huge, and they have a deep bench, while Memphis is young with no perimeter shooting)
* Gonzaga beats Marquette
(by a fuzzy mustache whisker)
* Texas beats West Virginia
(Texas has big, big D; WVa is only a 2-man team that's scored above 71 pts only twice in last 15 games)
* LSU beats George Washington (or Duke beats LSU)
(LSU is young but with the best rebounding in nation, if they play GW. If Duke gets past GW in the 2nd Round, they’ll handle LSU)
My FINAL FOUR:
UConn vs Villanova
Pitt vs Duke/LSU
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME:
VILLANOVA BEATS DUKE/LSU
Remember... you heard it here first!
I have a couple first round toss-ups:
Georgetown vs. Northern Iowa
Seton Hall vs. Wichita State
The two “favorites’ in these games don’t impress me, especially against who they’re playing in the first round.
My 1st Round upsets:
#9 Bucknell over #8 Arkansas
#9 UAB over #8 Kentucky
#10 NC State over #7 Cal
#11 San Diego State over #6 Indiana
#12 Utah State over #5 Washington
MY SWEET 16 (* advances to Elite Eight):
*UConn beats Illinois
(UConn is too complete a team, here)
*North Carolina beats Tennessee
(Tennessee is playing waaaaaaay over their heads)
*Villanova beats Nevada!!!
(Nevada’s big man inside will knock off BC in 2nd Round)
*Florida beats Ohio State
(Florida is young, but has strong defense, while Ohio State has no perimeter shooting)
* Pitt beats Memphis
(Pitt is huge, and they have a deep bench, while Memphis is young with no perimeter shooting)
* Gonzaga beats Marquette
(by a fuzzy mustache whisker)
* Texas beats West Virginia
(Texas has big, big D; WVa is only a 2-man team that's scored above 71 pts only twice in last 15 games)
* LSU beats George Washington (or Duke beats LSU)
(LSU is young but with the best rebounding in nation, if they play GW. If Duke gets past GW in the 2nd Round, they’ll handle LSU)
My FINAL FOUR:
UConn vs Villanova
Pitt vs Duke/LSU
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME:
VILLANOVA BEATS DUKE/LSU
Remember... you heard it here first!
Regarding all of this "The Duh!-Vinci Code" nuttiness...
I'm just waiting for the movie to come out, and then all the people who've read the novel and think it's "all just so believable, don't you know" will witness the flurry of convoluted ideas and conspiracies swirling around in their heads suddenly thrown right up there on the big screen for all to see. And it will appear so truly absurd (just like the film "National Treasure") that most people won't help but laugh and realize that the whole theory is nothing but a lame joke.
Sunday, March 12, 2006
On immigration... (something Cardinal Mahony should review)
From Jimmy Akin:
The subject of immigration is heating up. With the presence of more than ten million people illegally in the United States--or three percent of the total population--many citizens are concerned enough that we seem to be building toward a breaking point on this subject.
As a result of all the news stories on this topic, I've had requests to explain the Church's teaching in this area.
Sometimes folks receive the impression that Church teaching requires essentially an open-border policy where people can come into a country with no restraints, but this is not true. If you read the actual Church documents on the subject, they contain important qualifiers that are often dropped out of the discussion when presented by some individuals.
Here is what the Catechism of the Catholic Church has to say:
I've highlighted three important qualifiers that are often dropped out in this discussion.
The first recognizes that there is a limit to the number of immigrants that a nation can absorb. Common sense tells you this: No nation can absorb an unlimited number of immigrants...
The second qualifier that I have highlighted recognizes the state's right to set legal requirements that must be met for immigration...
The third qualifier that I have highlighted reflects the duty of immigrants to respect the laws of the nation to which they are immigrating...
... Of course, what the Catechism has to say cannot in such a brief space represent all that moral theology would have to say about this topic.
For example, this passage of the Catechism does not mention another humanitarian endeavor that is incumbent on prosperous nations, which is teaching underdeveloped nations how to grow economically so that all of their citizens may benefit and not just the lucky few who can immigrate.
Since the latter humanitarian endeavor cures the problem at the source, it is the one that would be preferred by moral theology. Orderly, regulated immigration is a stopgap for cases in which this doesn't work, but the goal must be primarily to help other nations shake off the problems (such as corruption and legal barriers to starting and maintaining businesses) that keep their populations in poverty..."
Full details here.
The subject of immigration is heating up. With the presence of more than ten million people illegally in the United States--or three percent of the total population--many citizens are concerned enough that we seem to be building toward a breaking point on this subject.
As a result of all the news stories on this topic, I've had requests to explain the Church's teaching in this area.
Sometimes folks receive the impression that Church teaching requires essentially an open-border policy where people can come into a country with no restraints, but this is not true. If you read the actual Church documents on the subject, they contain important qualifiers that are often dropped out of the discussion when presented by some individuals.
Here is what the Catechism of the Catholic Church has to say:
2241 The more prosperous nations are obliged, to the extent they are able, to welcome the foreigner in search of the security and the means of livelihood which he cannot find in his country of origin. Public authorities should see to it that the natural right is respected that places a guest under the protection of those who receive him.
Political authorities, for the sake of the common good for which they are responsible, may make the exercise of the right to immigrate subject to various juridical conditions, especially with regard to the immigrants' duties toward their country of adoption. Immigrants are obliged to respect with gratitude the material and spiritual heritage of the country that receives them, to obey its laws and to assist in carrying civic burdens.
I've highlighted three important qualifiers that are often dropped out in this discussion.
The first recognizes that there is a limit to the number of immigrants that a nation can absorb. Common sense tells you this: No nation can absorb an unlimited number of immigrants...
The second qualifier that I have highlighted recognizes the state's right to set legal requirements that must be met for immigration...
The third qualifier that I have highlighted reflects the duty of immigrants to respect the laws of the nation to which they are immigrating...
... Of course, what the Catechism has to say cannot in such a brief space represent all that moral theology would have to say about this topic.
For example, this passage of the Catechism does not mention another humanitarian endeavor that is incumbent on prosperous nations, which is teaching underdeveloped nations how to grow economically so that all of their citizens may benefit and not just the lucky few who can immigrate.
Since the latter humanitarian endeavor cures the problem at the source, it is the one that would be preferred by moral theology. Orderly, regulated immigration is a stopgap for cases in which this doesn't work, but the goal must be primarily to help other nations shake off the problems (such as corruption and legal barriers to starting and maintaining businesses) that keep their populations in poverty..."
Full details here.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)