Worth a Thousand Words

Eiffel Tower at Sunset
taken by ParisDailyPhoto

It's First Friday ... Fasting and Praying for an End to Abortion

Ok, I realize this is a very late notice ... I actually remembered to do it, but forgot to blog it!

However, if you're joining in and forgot, just pick another day. Tomorrow's first Saturday which would be another lovely day to offer it up for all those who aren't here to enjoy the fall weather, watch football, and feel the love of their families and friends the way that we can.

It all began here in Dallas -- in our home town, where we raise our families, where we go to church, where we live, and love, and learn, and work.

We are three bloggers who also live in the Dallas area. We are deeply committed to ending abortion in this country. To that end, we have committed ourselves to the following: On each First Friday for the next eleven months, we will fast and pray before the Blessed Sacrament for an end to abortion. This year's commitment will culminate at the annual Dallas March for Life in January of 2009, where we will join our bishop and the faithful of this city in marching to the courthouse where Roe was originally argued.

Original Joint Announcement

In addition to unborn babies and their families, I will be including all those who work to end abortion, as well as the souls of those who work for abortion in my intentions. Also included will be solid catechesis for all Catholics as that is a key issue to most of the misunderstandings on both this issue and others in the secular world.

Zo's Aftermath Message ... Inspirational

Heavens, how I love this guy!

Worth a Thousand Words

The Fast Day Meal. 1731. Jean-Baptiste-Simeon Chardin. (From Olga's Art Gallery)

How Do We Step Back from Our Cultural Immersion and Recognize Evil?

What litmus test could you offer that would apply to all places and all times as a way for a person to look around themselves with completely clear eyes, piercing through even the thickest fog of self-delusion and widespread cultural acceptance, and see that they are surrounded by grave evil? Is there any simple way for a person to immediately undergo an earth-rocking paradigm shift in which they look up and realize that the world around them is not what they thought it was?

One thing that stands out in all these examples is that the victims of the widespread evil were categorized as something less than human. In fact, though the exact level and degree of evil that took place may vary, one thing that unites all of these practices as worthy of a place in the Human Depravity Hall of Fame is not only that innocent people were killed or enslaved, but that their humanity was taken away by the societies around them. The Nazis classified their victims as sub-human, less worthy of life than the better members of the race; wives were burned with their husbands because they were seen as nothing more than property; in the 90's in Rwanda the media fueled the genocide by assuring citizens over and over again that Tutsis were not fully human, referring to them as insects rather than people; the Romans accepted it as a matter of fact that baby girls inherently had fewer rights to live than baby boys; and in early America enslaved men, women and children were accepted by both government and society at large to be barely above livestock in their dignity and worth.

A simply fantastic piece by Jen at Conversion Diary. All prompted by a seemingly innocent photo. Do go read and ponder.

What We Are Now ... And What We Can Become

Many thanks to my friend Don for sending me this link ... the lucky guy, he was there to hear this homily given on the All Saints Vigil. It works today just as well as on that cusp of a feast day. This is the bit that hit me between the eyes, but, of course, do go read the whole thing.

Neither should not be discouraged by the stark contrast between what we are now and what the saints came to be. No saint ever began at the end. St. Augustine began with the prayer, “Lord, give me chastity, but not now.” St. Jerome was told by our Lord that he was more of a Ciceronian than a Christian. And St. Theresa of Avila was a lukewarm religious for 18 years.

No saint began in the ecstasy of love which they now experience. They all began only with the mustard seed of faith, and a clear call from God. With that, they simply acted in accordance with reason.

They made the only rational choice available to them. They simply believed what they knew to be the testimony of the Eternally Begotten Son of God.

They simply understood something every child understands: Truth himself cannot lie. And like a very small child, who has not yet learned how to doubt, who latches onto his Father’s finger, with all the force of his fragile fist, so did the saints grasp on to God and let Him lead them – and sometimes carry them - wherever He willed. They trusted him when He told them that this is a love story. They believed Him when He said, “I came that you might have life, and have it abundantly.” Having believed, they tasted. And having tasted, they fell in love.

We are surrounded by darkness, the darkness of atheistic nihilism and the culture of death, which proclaims that we came from nothing, and that we are going back to nothing, and that human life is ultimately meaningless, marriage is meaningless, everything is meaningless - and that the best we can do is seek some small pleasure or distraction in the passing trifles of this meaningless world, but, thanks be to God, this darkness has not overcome the light which shines within our souls.

We also believe. ...

It is for this reason that we pester and nag those we know who do not believe. It is not because we are right ... it is because, being in love, we want the whole world to be in love as we are. We want that joy and love to be a part of the lives of those who we, in turn, love so much. Having found a good thing, indeed the best of all possible things, we want to pass it on ...

Worth a Thousand Words

Daydreamin'
taken by Hey Jules

A Deadly Irony

I didn't watch any election returns, opting to catch up on a past episode of Chuck. The one thing that I can celebrate is that Obama's election and the hard-fought campaign show how far our country has come in looking at a person for who they are ... and not what color they are. That is worth celebrating. However, in my mind, it is not enough to give me any sort of "happy" feeling. I see it as being more of a concrete acknowledgment of something that has been practiced in much of America for a long time already, at least among those people that I know.

At any rate, I didn't see the scene that so many did of the family onstage during the acceptance speech. However, Historical Christian sums up both what we can celebrate and the deadly irony that we can lament. Here's a bit and then please do go read it all.

... There was one moment that really stuck me, that seemed a powerful symbol of what could perhaps be a truly new era: when both families joined Obama on the stage. And there stood a mix of black and white people, an interracial group now comprising the first families of the nation.

And it wasn’t the white, but the black family that was the First Family, with the white family in support.

What a wonderful image. On the pure level of image, all politics aside, it did give one tiny, faint part of me joy. As I’ve written on this blog before, I hate racism, and I love black people. I want to see them succeed, and excel. On that level, in one very small part of me, I am happy.

But there were also the painful ironies of the night. The first black President – who is radically pro-abortion, when the black community is disproportionally affected by abortion, far more black babies aborted than any other race. ...

Of Bread and Circuses and the Church Militant

I am a Christian, and indeed a Roman Catholic, so that I do not expect "history" to be anything but a long defeat -- though it contains (and in a legend may contain more clearly and movingly) some samples or glimpses of final victory.

J.R.R. Tolkien

More than ever today I am reminded of our society's resemblance to first century Rome. The masses have spoken and overwhelmingly plumped for bread and circuses over harder issues of life. So be it. We have seen grandiose promises. Now there are no excuses for not delivering.

Not for nothing are Christians on earth called the Church Militant. Ours is a warrior's lot, albeit that of a warrior who changes things through personal actions versus slinging arrows (or hard words). Time for us to remember that and toughen up.

Personally, I feel a sense of relief that the election is over and that we know quite clearly what we face. I also feel a sense of emotional emptiness. Some of that also may be the fact that I discovered a couple of days ago that my mother is experiencing kidney failure (reports vary on the extremity of this condition). As well, we continually struggle, as do many, with money and all that jazz.

Whatevah. That's the point of our faith is it not? God is with us always and everywhere and the point of our lives is not to have everything always go our way. Life isn't all sunshine and lollipops and the evidence is all around us. As Paul reminds us:

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has similarly been tested in every way, yet without sin. So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.

Hebrews 4:15-16

Also, as a friend of mine reminded me this morning, we have the words of Blessed Julian of Norwich:

All will be well, all will be well, all manner of things will be well.

We have learned much during the campaign. Foremost in my mind:

• Our bishops hopefully will remember this wake up call that the disgracefully poor catechesis of the American faithful has led to a wrongly ordered set of priorities.
  
• I was stunned at the weak excuses and self-justification grasped by some friends who loudly profess faithful Catholicism, in order to justify votes. They were helped with both hands in this by expert logic twisters like Douglas Kmiec but most of them are smart enough to see the faults, had they cared to dig deep enough to try to find the real truth. Likewise, I was reminded just how little logic most people use ... and it is very sad to realize this about friends. However, we are all human and none of us perfect. It is for me to remember this and not be stunned when I am reminded of it.

This morning I inadvertently turned to the wrong week of my In Conversation with God devotional and found the perfect commentary for those feeling overwhelmed at the struggle ahead to maintain the culture of life.

... We can find it difficult to understand many of the things the Lord permits in our life -- pain, sickness, economic ruin, unemployment, the death of a loved one ... Yet God's plans are ordered to our eternal happiness. Our mind can barely make out the most immediate of realities. Shouldn't we put our trust in the Lord, in his loving Providence? Are we to trust the Lord only when things are going our way? We are in God's hands. We could never find a safer refuge. The day will come at the end of our life when the Lord will explain his ways to us, down to even the most insignificant occurrences.

In the face of every setback, of every failure, of every incomprehensible event and blatant injustice, we should reflect on those consoling words of the Lord: What I am doing you do not know now, but afterward you will understand. [Said to Peter when he asks why Jesus is washing his feet.] Then there will be no resentment or sorrow. ... If what happens to us is good, God wants it for us. If it is bad, He does not want it for us, but allows it to happen because He respects man's freedom and the order of nature; in such unlikely circumstances it is nonetheless in God's power to obtain good and advantage for the soul -- even bringing it out of evil itself. (F. Suarez, The Afterlife)

... The Lord will also show us how to view our problems with objectivity. We should take care to see things as they really are. We should not invent problems because of a lack of humility or an over-active imagination. There are many times when a contradiction can be born quietly without making a big issue of it and allowing it to develop into some kind of Greek tragedy.

So onward Christian soldiers. Let us pray. Let us fast. Let us go into the world and make a difference in our own lives, families, and work. That is the leaven the first century Christians brought to the Roman empire that changed the world. They put their faith in the concrete reality of Christ's promises and the example of his life.

We are no less than they. Onward.

"Let the world see. That's America!"

A co-worker and I went to the diner we love, for lunch. It was festooned with American flags and the old guy at the cash register was wearing a flags [on his clothes]: “Didja see all the people lined up to vote this morning?,” he said, beaming. “That’s America. No matter who wins. Let the world see. That’s America!”

The Anchoress's brother Thom's anecdote reminds us of what cuts through the lines of party and issues, red and blue. When we have record numbers of voters, we all win.

The Anchoress also takes the long view which I think is good for everyone to remember.

No matter what happens in this election, take the long view - look further than today, and understand that everything we think, all of our instincts and our imaginative scenarios are limited, because our understanding is always limited. Which is why it is always so good to pray as Solomon did, “Lord, give me an understanding heart.”

An excellent piece about God's will, the world, and our lack of understanding.

Thank You Early Voters!

While 40-50% of Dallasites waited in line up to 4 hours in order to vote early (up from the usual 20%), I was able to stroll right in, vote, and leave in 5 minutes.

There is definitely something to be said for everything in it's appointed time!

Worth a Thousand Words

Blanche Scott [between 1910 and 1915] (from the Library of Congress photos on Flickr)

Prayer After An Election

From the USCCB.

God of all nations,
Father of the human family,
we give you thanks for the freedom we exercise and the many blessings of democracy we enjoy in these United States of America.

We ask for your protection and guidance for all who devote themselves to the common good, working for justice and peace at home and around the world.

We lift up all our duly elected leaders and public servants, those who will serve us as president, as legislators and judges, those in the military and law enforcement.

Heal us from our differences and unite us, O Lord, with a common purpose, dedication, and commitment to achieve liberty and justice in the years ahead for all people, and especially those who are most vulnerable in our midst.

Amen.

Prayer Before An Election

From the USCCB.

Lord God,
as the election approaches,
we seek to better understand the issues and concerns that confront our city, state, and country,
and how the Gospel compels us to respond as faithful citizens in our community.

We ask for eyes that are free from blindness
so that we might see each other as brothers and sisters,
one and equal in dignity,
especially those who are victims of abuse and violence, deceit and poverty.

We ask for ears that will hear the cries of children unborn and those abandoned,
men and women oppressed because of race or creed, religion or gender.
We ask for minds and hearts that are open to hearing the voice of leaders who will bring us closer to your Kingdom.

We pray for discernment
so that we may choose leaders who hear your Word,
live your love,
and keep in the ways of your truth
as they follow in the steps of Jesus and his Apostles
and guide us to your Kingdom of justice and peace.

We ask this in the name of your Son Jesus Christ and through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Amen.

I would like also to direct any Catholic undecided voters to these guides to inform their consciences and order their priorities.

Worth a Thousand Words

The Entrance to the Fountain of Pomona, Known as Fontanone, at the Villa d'Este in Tivoli. 1760. Red chalk. Jean-Honoré Fragonard. (From Olga's Art Gallery)

What Would Jesus Do?

Over the weekend I received a long email from a gentleman deploring the desire to use legislation in stopping abortion. He began by talking about higher brain function and then went on a long and winding road that moseyed by gay marriage along the way and wound up postulating that Jesus would not support changing abortion laws.

I will admit that along the way I began wondering if Jesus felt as tired when faced with the Pharisees' and Sadduecees' little legal puzzles as I did upon looking at all the logical constructs that this gentleman mustered in support of his view.

Honestly, I have no idea what Jesus would say to this gentleman. However, thinking of the model that Jesus presented of a pithy presentation, usually composed of Scripture, here is what occurred to me as I was reading the Gospel of Matthew this morning. It will have to suffice ...

Thus says the Lord, "You shall not kill.

Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.

See, upon the palms of my hands I have written your name ..."

Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.

(Sources Exodus 20:13, Isaiah 49:15-16 Matthew 25:45)

McCain on SNL: A True Maverick...a Republican Without Money

John McCain and Tina Fey ... truly hilarious.



Via Deacon Greg.

BTW, the little aside that Palin/Fey had with the camera was echoing what I have already thought, as undoubtedly have others.

Check out Roger Ebert's commentary on McCain and Fey on SNL which then goes on to assess Palin's star power. Here's a bit of it:

She didn't learn how to be a vice president during this campaign, but she learned how to be a star. Star power is real. It's celebrity that is fake. ...

Sarah Palin will never, ever, be another Marilyn Monroe. That's because she is an original, like Monroe was, and she plays Sarah Palin better than anyone else possibly could. Notice I didn't say, "plays herself." I don't think she does. From what we know from old tapes, she didn't even once talk like that. Nor did Norma Jean Baker ever talk like Marilyn Monroe. It's a matter of projecting yourself into a persona that vibrates with people. ...

That's why she's had that uncanny effect on people. Some voters like her so much they're voting for Palin, not President. In office, she might do better than Marilyn, who didn't have the hands-on executive experience, and couldn't look out of her house without bodyguards. If she is not elected, I think Americans will discover they want to keep her around.

We Should All Desire to Be Saints

I hadn't even remembered this train of thought from last year and was put in the surprising situation of enlightening ... myself! I repost it for today's feast of All Saints' Day for anyone else who is interested and also doesn't remember it!

Shortly after he converted to Catholicism in the late 1930s, Thomas Merton was walking the streets of New York with his friend, Robert Lax. Lax was Jewish, and he asked Merton what he wanted to be, now that he was Catholic.

“I don’t know,” Merton replied, adding simply that he wanted to be a good Catholic.

Lax stopped him in his tracks.

“What you should say,” he told him, “is that you want to be a saint!”

Merton was dumbfounded.

“How do you expect me to become a saint?,” Merton asked him.

Lax said: “All that is necessary to be a saint is to want to be one. Don’t you believe that God will make you what He created you to be, if you will consent to let him do it? All you have to do is desire it.”

Deacon Greg's homily

I read this earlier in the week. It really made an impression and kept returning to my mind.

Yes, the goal is to get to Heaven, but didn't I expect a stopover in Purgatory? Didn't everyone I talked to laugh somewhat about how long they'd be stuck there too?

It struck me that what this attitude reflects is not aiming for Heaven, but settling for Purgatory. We should be happy that Purgatory is there like the net under tightrope walkers, to catch us if we fall short. But we should be aiming for, and expecting, to achieve our greatest potential ... that for which God created each and every one of us. That with His grace and our cooperation we can each be a saint.

St. Teresa of Avila crossed my mind. St. John of the Cross. You know where I'm going with this right? Blessed Teresa of Calcutta (a.k.a. Mother Teresa). The dark night of the soul. I know that these saints thought it worthwhile but I'm not into signing up for that duty.

I then thought of my grandfather, Raymond. A wonderful man, always happy and cheerful, willing to work hard to help anyone who needed it ... an anonymous saint to the Church but one to all who knew him. No dark night of the soul there. Yet, I'm sure he skipped right over Purgatory. Would I be willing to follow his example? Of course.

I thought of my patron, Saint Martha (you know, of the "Mary has chosen the better part" story). The last time we see her serving is notably different from the first. Mary is washing Jesus' feet and Martha is mentioned as serving in the background. To me that says she has learned the lesson Jesus gave her about "the better part." Would I be willing to follow her example? Natch.

My glance fell on a book I recently received about Solanus Casey, a favorite of mine because he was a humble porter whose holiness shown through to the people of Detroit. Similar to St. John Vianney, another favorite of mine (yes, I have lots of favorites), in that both found studies difficult and consequently were not thought much of by their orders.

Of course, it was borne in upon me yet again that we have so many examples of all the different sorts of saints God makes to suit each time and place. Why I would feel that it necessarily requires a "dark night of the soul" I don't know ... how silly of me!

The culmination of all this thinking took place last night while I was waiting for the Vigil Mass to begin. I was saying the rosary (more about that in another post) and kept coming back to the subject of saints. I got a growing feeling of excitement and anticipation at the unknown future when we completely give ourselves over to God ... when we desire to become a saint. Nothing new here intellectually that's sure, but for me it is that sense of possibilities, of waiting for a surprise ... and that is always what we discover when God is involved.

I'm not settling any more. I'm aiming higher.

More Goodness on the Saints

• From my favorite Father Raniero Cantalamessa, preacher to the papal household's homily.

  One day, a saint, St. Symeon the New Theologian, had a mystical experience of God that was so strong he exclaimed to himself, "If paradise is no more than this, it is enough for me." But the voice of Christ told him, "You are very poor if you content yourself with this. The joy you have experienced in comparison to paradise is like the sky painted on paper in comparison to the real sky."



• Steven Riddle, reports a conversation he had with his son, Samuel, who had the benefit of spending time with a wise priest.

  ... I asked Sam what happened on the trip, where did they go?
  
  "To a cemetery."
  
  " A cemetery?" I asked.
  
  "Yes, and Father said that some people are afraid of cemeteries, but a cemetery wasn't a place to be afraid of. It was a place where the people you knew here started on their way to Jesus and that was a good thing." ...

• November is the month when we think of Purgatory and pray for all souls (whose day is tomorrow). Vultus Christi has an old prayer specifically for intercession for the souls in Purgatory. Thanks to Web for telling me about this one.


• Patrick O'Hannigan considers whether it is the main task of life to become heroic. This one doesn't start out about the saints but how can he help winding up there? This bit is going in my quote journal but go read it all.

  Turning again to a musical cue, as is my wont, I like to suppose that there's a reason that the saints go marching in. They do not shamble. They do not sneak. They do not sashay, crawl, clomp, duck walk, sidle, sprint, strut, shuffle, somersault, or slither. They've been through the boot camp of life on Earth, and they've fought the good fight. They answer to the King of Kings. It's going to show in how they present themselves.

• Isn't this gorgeous? There's more where that came from ... Recta Ratio.

Weekend Joke

Combining two of my favorite joke genres, Cajuns and ghosts, from the incomparable Miss Cellania.

This happened about a month ago just outside of Cocodrie, a little town in the bayou country of Louisiana, and while it sounds like an Alfred Hitchcock tale, it's real.

This out of state traveler was on the side of the road, hitchhiking on a real dark night in the middle of a thunderstorm. Time passed slowly and no cars went by. It was raining so hard he could hardly see his hand in front of his face. Suddenly he saw a car moving slowly, approaching and appearing ghostlike in the rain. It slowly and silently crept toward him and stopped.

Wanting a ride real bad the guy jumped into the car and closed the door; only then did he realize that there was nobody behind the wheel, and no sound of an engine to be heard over the rain. Again the car crept slowly forward and the guy was terrified, too scared to think of jumping out and running. The guy saw that the car was approaching a sharp curve and, still too scared to jump out, he started to pray and begging for his life; he was sure the ghost car would go off the road and in the bayou and he would surely drown!

But just before the curve a shadowy figure appeared at the driver's window and a hand reached in and turned the steering wheel, guiding the car safely around the bend. Then, just as silently, the hand disappeared through the window and the hitchhiker was alone again! Paralyzed with fear, the guy watched the hand reappear every time they reached a curve. Finally the guy, scared to near death, had all he could take and jumped out of the car and ran to town.

Wet and in shock, he went into a bar and voice quavering, ordered two shots of whiskey, then told everybody about his supernatural experience.

A silence enveloped and everybody got goose bumps when they realized the guy was telling the truth (and not just some drunk).

About half an hour later two guys walked into the bar and one says to the other, "Look Boudreaux, ders dat idiot that rode in our car when we wuz pushin it in the rain."

Email Notice

We had a huge server crash yesterday and among other major things, one thing that went down was email.

If you have sent me an email in the last week or so and had been waiting for an answer or to see a notice posted, etc., please be aware that it has been lost to me for good. If I answered since yesterday afternoon then I've got your communication.

Feel free to resend. I am getting emails now, but can't answer them from home for the time being. I'll probably set up another account but am waiting to see how things are going in picking through the wreckage.

I would like to ask for prayers in guiding Tom as he picks up all these pieces and puts them back together for our clients and our business. Thanks.