On Immigration
As long as Latin Americans make about 5% of the average U.S. wage we will have illegal immigration, which begs the question:
Why is Mexico poor, given their abundant natural resources (like oil)? The succession of corrupt governments is surely a big part of the cause; how much are the people culpable for their governments? Surely somewhat. Yet I know that I have little to do with having the government we have, given that I didn't arrange my birth in a country with brilliant Founding Fathers and technologically efficient national zeitgeist.
And does the infusion of U.S. dollars into the Mexican economy (via illegal immigrants who send money home) hurt Mexico in the long run by ignoring the root problem? Again, I don't know...
On Lay vs Religious
Is it, though, in some sense "easier" to be holy as a vowed religious than as a secular layperson? I think that might be an ill-formed question. Holiness isn't a quality amenable to statistical analysis. We become holy only be responding to God's grace, which is as present on a city street as in a rural cloister. Personally, I think I have a much better chance of becoming a saint -- and, for that matter, of helping others to become saints -- living in the world than in a monastery. And "personally" is the only real way to speak of holiness. -- Disputations
I found this very interesting. It is reasonable and persuasive. Yet should we not mark Christ's words that Martha had chosen the better way? Does not the religious life, with its constant prayer, its constant access to the sacraments, to trained spiritual directors, et all not make a difference? But God is not bound by those things. Certainly our experience screams that the religious life confers not so much advantage as we might romantically think - Thomas Merton paints a picture in his journals of his fellow monks as, well, not quite completed Christians. No surprise there.
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