Prepare for the Chastisement, Virginia. The Tyrants Reign!

Virginia elected the most evil slate in our history last November. Abigail Spanberger represents the farthest of the far left favoring abortion up to birth, enabling transgender "girls" the opportunity to rape and injure our daughters and granddaughters by allowing them in girls' bathrooms and locker rooms and to compete against them in sports, etc. You name a liberal cause, no matter how evil, and Spanberger supports it. Her Lieutenant governor is just as bad and Jay Jones, the Attorney General fantasizes about murdering his opponent and celebrating the death of his children. What a trio! And what does their election say about Virginia voters? Read the Old Testament about the infidelity of the Israelites and the condemnation of Yahweh. It's not a pretty picture.

The Screaming Toddler Tyrants are Pulling Up their Pampers!

The anti-ice events truly deserve the word "insurrection." The liberal maniacs are breaking laws with impunity. They dox ice agents, send them death threats, destroy property. They even attack people for driving cars that are the same model as ice vehicles. And now...  church invasions. Hey, it's freedom of speech for them. No freedom of assembly for you!

The Tragedy of Atheism: To Never Know the Love of God!

The fool hath said in his heart: There is no God, They are corrupt, and are become abominable in their ways: there is none that doth good, no not one. [Psalm 14:1]

Why I'm thinking about atheism this morning is a puzzle. I don't know anyone who proclaims belief in atheism, although I met a pro-life atheist when I was in prison during the 1992 Spring of Life in Buffalo. They held us for 24 days so the 100+ women got to know each other pretty well. I wonder if she's still an atheist almost 25 years later. I think I'll pray for her today and for all atheists. They don't really believe in no god. Their god's name is Chance or Evolution or Accident. They look at the complexity of the universe and reduce its order to the throw of the dice. Calling it foolish seems to me to be an understatement.

The Chickens Were Nervous This Morning!

The week has started off on an anxious note. The chickens were nervous this morning. A hawk lurking in the yard landed on the pool umbrella stand about 100 feet from the coop and stayed there for some time. No doubt he's hungry and thought breakfast chicken would be a good start to the day. Larry was opening up the coop when he saw him. 

We don't let the chicks out to free range until late afternoon because of predators. They roam the screened chicken yard during the day. Apparently their nerves upset them enough this morning that they ignored the treat Larry brought and hunkered down under the coop. 

The last time they were in the yard and a hawk came, I was looking out the window and immediately went out and chased him away. That day the chickens hid in the bushes not willing to risk being out in the open. I had a hard time coaxing them out and back into the coop even as Twilight descended. Fear of the hawk is the beginning of wisdom for a chicken.

Sunday Meditation: Whom Can You Trust? Start with the Holy Spirit!

The first gift of the Holy Spirit it wisdom. We all need it and the six others that accompany it: understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord. It's prudent to begin every venture with a prayer to the Holy Spirit for wisdom and guidance. And I offer this post today in that spirit -- seeking truth and praying for wisdom.

I shared this article by therapist Joshua Coleman today on my substack page. 

What Happens When Childhood Becomes the Explanation for Everything?

Coleman raises some questions that I think need to be asked about psychotherapy and its direction. I'm not saying there is no use for psychotherapy. A good holy practitioner can certainly be a help and support. I respected Dr. Ed Sheridan who died in 2022 who was a Catholic and daily communicant. Our pro-life community met with him on several occasions to discuss our approach to counseling moms in crisis. He was a wise and kind man. He was also a blessing to my own family during a challenging family crisis. 

When the Road Less Traveled Leads to the Abyss

I wrote the other day about re-reading People of the Lie by M. Scott Peck. I'm over halfway through the book now and I have to kind of shake my head to clear it. When I read it some 40 years ago I was still a bit naive and enthralled by men in white lab coats, although my pro-life activism had already dispelled the childish notion that all doctors were Albert Schweitzer.

Today, I'm reading the book with a more critical eye and, while I still find it useful, interesting, and thought-provoking; I'm much more aware of the flaws and my serious disagreements with Peck's philosophy and opinions. So here goes with a few:

• Peck was obviously Freudian in his approach to psychotherapy. Like Freud, most of his client examples go back to childhood assuming that almost all psychological problems are the result of parental abuse, neglect, and, as this book makes the case, actual parental evil. Freud believed that anything wrong with a person was the fault of upbringing, particularly problems with the mother. Many of Peck's cases exemplify this Freudian theory. Mom is a villain, in one case a spider. In several cases both parents are villains and I don't disagree, especially the case of the parents who gave their son a rifle for Christmas that his brother used to kill himself. That appears diabolical!

The Stripping Begins: From Christmas to Ordinary Time and Looking Forward to Lent

I always decorate the house for Christmas over weeks, not days. The stripping as the season nears the end also takes time. My first action this week was to gather up all the displayed Christmas cards, put a few of my favorites in a card album, and add the rest to my craft bin.

 Today I'm returning the dining room table to ordinary time. I love my Christmas placemats, but the twelve days they depict ended with Epiphany, so they are washed off and ready to go back in the Christmas drawer until next year. The fancy Christmas balls never go on the tree because of all the pins that tend to fall out. They add to the beauty of the table, but it's time to collect all the pins and bangles they've dropped, put them back on, and gently wrap and return them to their home in the tin until next year. The rich looking table cloth will come off next. I made it from a bolt of material a friend gave me after she had a chair reupholstered. I will spot clean it unless it needs a trip to the dry cleaners. And then the plain wood of the table will once again be relatively bare. All of this takes on a metaphorical meaning for me. The return to relative bareness reminds me that we should strip and bare our souls every time we enter the confessional.

Looking in the Window of the Church

If I weren't born a Catholic who learned the faith from the cradle thanks to my Catholic parents, I wonder what would have happened to me. Would I have come to the faith or would I still be wandering in the wilderness? I have many convert friends and each has a different story about what attracted them and led to their entry into the fullness of the faith. Many belonged to Christian denominations. Some left the Church and reverted later. What would my story be? If I were not born in the faith, raised in the faith, learned the faith in Catholic schools, married in the faith, raised our children in the faith...would I be a Catholic today? 

Imagining myself as an outsider looking in the window, I think what would have led to my conversion would be the sacrament of Confession. Of course, Jesus and the Eucharist are at the center, but think of the power of forgiveness. 

The Nature of Evil: A Social Disease or the Result of Original Sin?

Yesterday at coffee after Mass I was talking to someone about a difficult situation and asked if she was familiar with the book, People of the Lie by M. Scott Peck published in 1983. I read it years ago and decided to reread it which I've started. The first chapter, about a man who made a pact with the devil, got me thinking about the nature of evil. Christians have no difficulty recognizing the source of evil. While the secular world often wants to reduce it to environmental issues, bad parenting, trauma, psychological factors, etc. Christians go back to the source in the Garden of Evil when Adam and Eve freely chose to rebel against God and say "Yes!" to the devil. 

Have You Been Erased? Do You Erase Others?

I came across an article on substack by a divorced dad who described himself as "being erased" by his spouse. Actually, several divorced men I know have experienced that situation with their children turned against them by their bitter ex wives. Of course, I'm getting a one-sided picture of the situation, but, knowing these men, it's hard to believe they deserved the total annihilation of their role as dads.