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Monday, February 24, 2025

Monday Morning Musing: Into the Great Loneliness

Jesus the Comforter by August Andreas Jerndorff (25 January 1846 – 28 July 1906)

More and more these days, I think about the great loneliness. That's my description of the time after the death of a spouse. I'll be 78 next month and Larry will turn 80 in May. None of our parents lived to be 90. My dad died at 67, my mom at 83. Larry's dad died just short of his 86th birthday, his mom at 79. My mom outlived my dad; Larry's dad outlived his mom. Of course, no one knows except God the length of our days, but for sure the great loneliness is coming for one of us. I confess it frightens me to think of being the surviving spouse in the desert of grief.

Sunday, February 23, 2025

Sunday Meditation: It's the Lord's Day; How Will You Keep It?

Every Sunday is a little Christmas and a little Easter. How will we keep it holy?

Do you remember the description of Scrooge at the end of A Christmas Carol? He was a man who "knew how to keep Christmas," something he learned from the three ghosts. Perhaps we need three ghosts today to help us "keep" Sunday: the Ghost of Sunday Past, the Ghost of Sunday Present, and the Ghost of Sunday Future. If those ghosts visited us today what would those visits look like?

Saturday, February 22, 2025

Question for the Day: Are You Lost in the Cosmos?

Currently I'm reading Walker Percy's Lost in the Cosmos: the Last Self Help Book. I was intrigued to find out that it's one of philosopher Peter Kreeft's favorite books. Percy is a favorite of mine as well. His novels, in my opinion, fit the description "southern writers weird" -- like Flannery O'Connor. Percy didn't like to think of himself as a southern writer and, in fact, parodied the tradition through the character, Sam Yerger, in The Moviegoer. Nevertheless, I can never separate him from the southern genre.

Friday, February 21, 2025

Well, well, well -- The USCCB is suing the Trump Administration because they cut off the gravy train!

You will never hear the term "illegal alien" from the U.S. bishops. Every law breaker violating our borders is a poor "refugee" and we must "welcome the stranger." But don't expect them to be welcomed into the bishops residence or the chancery. 

Thursday, February 20, 2025

Thought for the day: What a difference one letter makes!

Reading The Imitation of Christ this morning, I came across this:

My God and my all! What more can I have and what more can I desire than You? O sweet and delightful Word! Sweet to him who loves the Word and not the world, nor those things that are in the world.

Wednesday, February 19, 2025

As Lent approaches, a meditation from Fr. Tom Collins

WHY JESUS HAD TO UNDERGO THE AGONIES OF HIS PASSION 


One of the most harsh yet central teachings of Christianity is that, in order to save us, Jesus had to undergo all the torments of His Passion and Death (Lk 24:26).

Over the centuries, many have pointed out that, since Jesus is God, He could have redeemed us merely by shedding one drop of His Precious Blood. According to this perspective, it could be asserted that we were actually saved the day of His circumcision, when the first drops of His Blood were shed. But this is not what the Gospel proclaims, but rather Christ crucified.

A similar misunderstanding is that Jesus had to endure His Passion and Death in order to appease the just wrath of His Father, Who was infinitely offended by human sinfulness. This requires viewing God the Father as one, who severely punishes his children when they disobey his commands.  But this is not in harmony with the fact that God the Father so loved the world, even before we repented, that He sent His only Son to live among us and to lay down His life for our salvation. Thus all who believe in Him and are born of water and the Spirit in Baptism are able to share in eternal life with Him (Jn 3:16).  Thus it is that Jesus did not lay down His life for us to appease the Father, but rather to please Him (cf., Matt 3:17, 17:5; Mk 1:11; Lk 3:22).

The Age of Unreason and Unruly Passions!

We live in an age of unreason. Even our language reflects it. People often express their "thoughts" by saying, "I feel that...." In fact, I once watched a street interview where a young woman said that only feelings are real. Gosh, what a statement! If you feel angry enough to murder someone, should you do it?

God gave us feelings. Why? From my perspective, feelings are an important part of being human. Think of a mother with her newborn nestled in her arms asleep. She is overwhelmed with feelings of love. Those feelings inspire her to nurture and protect that innocent bundle she's cuddling. Often feelings of attraction lead us to a dating situation. If our feelings take over, fornication or adultery may be the next step. If reason controls those feelings, the next step will be a journey of exploration. Who is this person that attracts me? Do we share the same faith, the same values? What obstacles are there to the relationship growing from attraction into love, courtship, and marriage? 

Monday, February 17, 2025

J.D. Vance Tells It Like It Is with Courtesy and Respect


Free speech is under assault. We saw it big time during COVID with anyone disagreeing with Dr. Science.  Reputable scientists who disagreed with Big Pharma and their shills were demonized and accused of spreading "misinformation." Of course, the ones actually doing that were Fauci and his allies. 

Sunday, February 16, 2025

Sunday Meditation: I Choose Happiness and Gratitude!

If you're a regular reader, you know how much I like The Epoch Times. I think it's the best and most reliable newspaper on the market. I particularly like the Life and Tradition section. Two articles from the Jan 29-Feb 4th issue were not only worth reading, but worth passing on.

The first was "The Key to a Happy Life: Gratitude very quickly leads to joy." It began with the story of man with a medical condition that required a long stay in a nursing facility. When he was shown to his tiny, rather drab and cheerless room, very like a monk's cell, he didn't succumb to gloom but turned to the nurse and said, "I love it!" He chose happiness.

 The other article was Why We Still Need Mister Rogers. I think Fred Rogers was one of the happiest men to ever live. I have his quote about kindness (above) hanging in our family room, a gift from one of our children. Change the word "success" to "happiness" and you have an important part of the equation: gratitude + kindness = happiness!

Saturday, February 15, 2025

Psychological Bioterrorism is being used to manipulate and control us! WAKE UP!

Take the red pill and stop letting the liars and fear mongers manipulate you!

I received an email today from Dr. Robert Malone promoting his book on psychological bioterrorism. It included chapter 3 of the book which I'm copying here for your information. It's pretty obvious that we've all been victims of the health fear-mongers. COVID provided a clear demonstration that the entire world can be manipulated using fear. It wasn't the first time, but it certainly was a widespread, hysteria-provoking operation!