Yesterday I posted a Facebook meme with a quote from a saint. Today, I read a meme that means well, but is skewed and wrong. I'm not addressing, of course, the protection of innocent life. We may never murder an innocent baby. But the rest of the meme is head-shakingly wrong.
I know a lot of people hate Facebook and social media in general; and I tend to agree. Having said that, though, I just watched with a smile the first steps of my niece's youngest child, and I delight in keeping up at least a little with far-flung relatives and friends. Facebook makes that possible and it truly is a gift of family.
We came home yesterday to see our Camp Kreitzer sign obliterated by attack using an almost full bottle of sweet tea as the weapon. The sign has graced our property for close to twenty years and always gave me a little thrill when we returned home from a trip. It seemed to say, "Camp Kreitzer is still here and all is well."
Our mailbox has occasionally suffered the slings and arrows of vandalism, but never the sign. And it seemed to me to be a metaphor about what's happening to our country. Senseless vandalism by those most responsible for caring for her. Of course, in that case, we ourselves would be the vandals. We would throw the bottles and fling the door wide open and invite invaders into our home to wreck the place.
I admit that's a bit of a stretch, but it really made me sad to think that someone probably took delight in destroying something lovely for no reason at all.
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| Larry's dad took a terrible two-story fall from a scaffold while painting the house. He spent months in the hospital, but Larry's Mom made sure he kept up with new babies! |
We’ve been visiting family in Wheeling the past few days to celebrate a bridal shower for one of our granddaughters, a lovely event. So many aunts, cousins, and friends reunited for a delightful afternoon. At our stage in life, reunions occur mainly at weddings and funerals.
Our entire weekend was focused on family including departed family members who have gone before us. While we were visiting at my brother-in-law's house, he brought out a large box filled with photos and memorabilia. How many memories of my husband’s family filled that box.
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| Abraham expels Hagar and Ishmael |
How can we understand what's happening in the Middle East? The conflict has raged since the enmity between Sarah and Hagar. Their sons and grandsons, and great grandsons through the centuries continue the conflict from one generation to the next until the horror of today's killing, killing, killing!
Remember Benghazi! During the Jihadist attack, special forces were told to "stand down." And so the ambassador and other Americans died, including several agents who defied the stand down order. Their courage is described in the book and movie, 13 Hours. While Obama went to bed for his beauty sleep before a fundraiser, real Americans responded to the threat with courage and selfless love.
It's been a really (and I do mean really) hot summer...which offers a great opportunity. Go out and sit in the sun for five or ten minutes on one of the days when the thermostat approaches 100 degrees and reflect on hell. You really, really don't want to go there! After that, return to the air conditioned house or apartment and thank God for inspiring men to invent all kinds of wonderful things to make our lives easier and more pleasant.
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| Our crosses are a lot smaller and lighter than Christ's. May we carry our crosses with courage and even joy. |
YOUR CROSS
The Everlasting God has in His Wisdom foreseen from eternity the cross that He now presents to you as a gift from his inmost Heart. This cross that He now sends you He has considered with His all-knowing eyes, understood with His divine mind, tested with His wise justice, warmed with loving arms and weighed with His own hands to see that it be not one inch too large and not one ounce too heavy for you. He has blessed it with His holy name, anointed it with His consolation, taken one last glance at you and your courage, and then sent it to you from Heaven, a special greeting from God to you, an alms of the all-merciful love of God.
St. Francis de Sales
