December 13, 2005
"You Can Live if it Costs Me Nothing"
One might ask why the death of over one million babies a year commands far less attention than the death of a score of death row inmates.
And that's easy: Because it's easy on us. And it's all about us after all.
To be against the death penalty costs me - and society - nothing. "Tookie" Williams wasn't going to get out of jail. He wasn't going to kill again. And the cost of his trials and appeals far exceeded the cost of feeding and clothing him at state expense. This was easy. The protestors knew that neither their behavior or money was on the line. And so they ignore the innocent million and have a media circus over the guilty few. By all means let's end the death penalty, but let's not kid ourselves where the real problem lies.
To be against abortion costs. It costs men who want sex without consequences because if abortion were prohibited women would be less likely to take chances. It costs the young mother who has to deal with nine months of pregnancy followed by either years of care or the unnatural pain of separation in the form of an adoption. Homes for unwed mothers cost. Foster care costs. Yet abortion is far more expensive. It robs the woman of her conscience and her peace of mind, having to always live with the knowledge that she killed her own child. And most of all it costs a person their entire life.
Protestors outside courtrooms who think that holding candle-lit vigils are effective are fooling themselves because we see that it costs them little. So too the blogger who posts this post, because this costs me nothing. People are only influenced by the example of someone's privation for another, which is why Christ had to come to earth and die. The lack of that example - of our example - is why over a million children who live in a geographically dangerous place called the 'womb' are killed.
One might ask why the death of over one million babies a year commands far less attention than the death of a score of death row inmates.
And that's easy: Because it's easy on us. And it's all about us after all.
To be against the death penalty costs me - and society - nothing. "Tookie" Williams wasn't going to get out of jail. He wasn't going to kill again. And the cost of his trials and appeals far exceeded the cost of feeding and clothing him at state expense. This was easy. The protestors knew that neither their behavior or money was on the line. And so they ignore the innocent million and have a media circus over the guilty few. By all means let's end the death penalty, but let's not kid ourselves where the real problem lies.
To be against abortion costs. It costs men who want sex without consequences because if abortion were prohibited women would be less likely to take chances. It costs the young mother who has to deal with nine months of pregnancy followed by either years of care or the unnatural pain of separation in the form of an adoption. Homes for unwed mothers cost. Foster care costs. Yet abortion is far more expensive. It robs the woman of her conscience and her peace of mind, having to always live with the knowledge that she killed her own child. And most of all it costs a person their entire life.
Protestors outside courtrooms who think that holding candle-lit vigils are effective are fooling themselves because we see that it costs them little. So too the blogger who posts this post, because this costs me nothing. People are only influenced by the example of someone's privation for another, which is why Christ had to come to earth and die. The lack of that example - of our example - is why over a million children who live in a geographically dangerous place called the 'womb' are killed.
December 12, 2005
Gift Book Buyin' Blues
I buy a book for you, but then I want it too,
Said I buy a book for you, but thens I want it too.I got the book-buyin' bluesI read a book I have, but you'll need it for your lav.
Two for you and one for me,
I got the book-buyin' blues.
I read a book I have and ya know you'll need it for your lav.
(That's lavatory, man)I got de book-buyin' bluesI get home late one evenin'
One for you and two for me,
I got dem book-buyin' blues....
and our Visa bill is max'd,
she tells me no more books
so I play this mournful sax...I got de book-buyin' blues
One for you and one for me,
I got dem book-buyin' blues....
From the Weekend's Reading
John Updike writes shrewdly of a character wooing his wife in a short story called, appropriately enough, "Wife-Wooing":
John Updike writes shrewdly of a character wooing his wife in a short story called, appropriately enough, "Wife-Wooing":
There is no more praise of my heroism in fetching Sunday supper, saving you labor. Cunning, you sense, and sense that I sense your knowledge, that I had hoped to hoard your energy toward a more primal spending. We sense everything between us, every ripple, existent and nonexistent; it is tiring. Courting a wife takes tenfold the strength of winning an ignorant girl...
I lie against your filmy convex back. You read sideways, a sleepy trick. I see the page through the fringe of your hair, sharp and white as a wedge of crystal. Suddenly it slips. The book has slipped from your hand. You are asleep. Oh, cunning trick, cunning. In the darkness I consider...
[The next evening] I am taken by surprise...when at the meaningful hour of ten you come with a kiss of toothpaste to me moist and girlish and quick; an expected gift is not worth giving.
Jesus Yes, But Hold the Miracles
Amy writes about a Harper's article portraying a man who's lost his faith. She asks why those who don't believe in Christ feel the need to fabricate a version that is so banal and contra-historical?
It's a good question. What's in it for them? And why is it so predictable that Harper's would publish an article like this? Why is it unthinkable that they would publish an article promoting faith in Christ?
Perhaps because if Christ performed miracles then He has power. If He has power, then he might have power over us. It's in the interest of stridently secular publications to weaken faith in a powerful Christ because that has political ramifications, which, in the absence of God, is all they've got. Undermining Christian faith is a way to eliminate an argument in the public square, therefore having one less voice (that of Christ) to contend with. If God offers only fortune cookie bromides then it would seem we're in control.
Amy writes about a Harper's article portraying a man who's lost his faith. She asks why those who don't believe in Christ feel the need to fabricate a version that is so banal and contra-historical?
It's a good question. What's in it for them? And why is it so predictable that Harper's would publish an article like this? Why is it unthinkable that they would publish an article promoting faith in Christ?
Perhaps because if Christ performed miracles then He has power. If He has power, then he might have power over us. It's in the interest of stridently secular publications to weaken faith in a powerful Christ because that has political ramifications, which, in the absence of God, is all they've got. Undermining Christian faith is a way to eliminate an argument in the public square, therefore having one less voice (that of Christ) to contend with. If God offers only fortune cookie bromides then it would seem we're in control.
Interesting Posts
Post from Amy regarding church services on Christmas.
Also, contrarian Tom objects to the theology behind the Narnia tales, saying that the Trinitarian aspect is lost, Aslan's death afforded only natural (not eternal) life, and there appeared to be no reason for the lion's incarnation. Explanatory posts here, here, and here.
Post from Amy regarding church services on Christmas.
Also, contrarian Tom objects to the theology behind the Narnia tales, saying that the Trinitarian aspect is lost, Aslan's death afforded only natural (not eternal) life, and there appeared to be no reason for the lion's incarnation. Explanatory posts here, here, and here.
A PSA for Swisher Sweet Smokers
I'm always surprised at being surprised. Afterwards I ask myself how to have not been surprised, as if surprise is something you can anticipate. But that's sort of oxymoronic. But there it was. I was driving home from work like any other night, smoking a cigar while listening to the cheerful Irish chunes. A little bit o' heaven.
A few minutes later I notice an odor, like someone's burning leaves. I check the ash tray and there's nothing happening there. I figure it's coming from outside. I open the window a little wider, sniffing. Next thing I know my eyes are burning and the darkened car is filled with smoke. Dang nab, the car's afire! She could blow! Scottie what'll I do? How long can I ride 'er?
And yet why isn't there any smoke coming out the hood? It appeared to be coming from the steering wheel column.
I opened the window even wider but the smoke became heavier so I pulled over and took the keys out of the ignition. I try several times to call the local Ford dealer, to see what they think it might be (low on steering wheel fluid cause this?). Meanwhile the cab of the truck continues to huff and puff.
They tell me to bring her in and so I reluctantly re-enter. By this time it's not too bad. Two minutes and I'm at the dealership getting out of the truck when I notice...a pile of ash...a nearly burnt-up CD...
Yes a cigar ember hit some paper and the rest was history. Embarrassing.
I'm always surprised at being surprised. Afterwards I ask myself how to have not been surprised, as if surprise is something you can anticipate. But that's sort of oxymoronic. But there it was. I was driving home from work like any other night, smoking a cigar while listening to the cheerful Irish chunes. A little bit o' heaven.
A few minutes later I notice an odor, like someone's burning leaves. I check the ash tray and there's nothing happening there. I figure it's coming from outside. I open the window a little wider, sniffing. Next thing I know my eyes are burning and the darkened car is filled with smoke. Dang nab, the car's afire! She could blow! Scottie what'll I do? How long can I ride 'er?
And yet why isn't there any smoke coming out the hood? It appeared to be coming from the steering wheel column.
I opened the window even wider but the smoke became heavier so I pulled over and took the keys out of the ignition. I try several times to call the local Ford dealer, to see what they think it might be (low on steering wheel fluid cause this?). Meanwhile the cab of the truck continues to huff and puff.
They tell me to bring her in and so I reluctantly re-enter. By this time it's not too bad. Two minutes and I'm at the dealership getting out of the truck when I notice...a pile of ash...a nearly burnt-up CD...
Yes a cigar ember hit some paper and the rest was history. Embarrassing.
December 11, 2005
From It's an Odd World Dep't
Many retail stores are avoiding the C-word (Christmas) even though the bulk of their clientele are Christians. Meanwhile the local stripjoint on Cleveland Ave., whose clientele is presumably not primarily composed of devout Christians, advertises a VIP Christmas (not holiday) party tonight. Purveyers of porn apparently desire the imprimatur of respectability, while the respectable desire the imprimatur of secularity.
Many retail stores are avoiding the C-word (Christmas) even though the bulk of their clientele are Christians. Meanwhile the local stripjoint on Cleveland Ave., whose clientele is presumably not primarily composed of devout Christians, advertises a VIP Christmas (not holiday) party tonight. Purveyers of porn apparently desire the imprimatur of respectability, while the respectable desire the imprimatur of secularity.
Genesis and Gravity and Original Sin
There was a line in John Allen's book about how some at the Vatican were surprised that Americans were surprised by the priest abuse scandal: "What, many Vatican officials wondered, is the revelation? Are Americans just discovering in 2002 that priests too are marred by Original Sin?"
Original sin is difficult to understand in light of the regeneration of Baptism. The effects linger though the sin is cured? And then an analogy occured. In Genesis, after the Fall, the effects of Adam's sin lingered but God did not forsake them. Adam and Eve recognized they were naked, i.e. vulnerable. Before the Fall they thought themselves to be invulnerable for they walked with God and obeyed God and we are invulnerable when we are with God. But when they sinned they immediately understood they were vulnerable to death. But when God clothed them in leather (I'm trying hard to avoid a Ricardo Montalban reference here), he made them less vulnerable to the elements. And though life was hard, the garment and toil required for food allowed them a physical life where an immediate physical death was justified. Similarly we are clothed by God in Baptism and given a chance at eternal life that would otherwise be unattainable. We are also made less vulnerable to the earthly elements of Satan and death.
I recall someone saying that if gravity were intermittent we would complain about it constantly. It weighs us down and makes movement harder. And yet no one complains about it because it's a given, a constant. (And without struggling against gravity our muscles atrophy.) Similarly original sin is for us a given. It is part of the climate like gravity.
There was a line in John Allen's book about how some at the Vatican were surprised that Americans were surprised by the priest abuse scandal: "What, many Vatican officials wondered, is the revelation? Are Americans just discovering in 2002 that priests too are marred by Original Sin?"
Original sin is difficult to understand in light of the regeneration of Baptism. The effects linger though the sin is cured? And then an analogy occured. In Genesis, after the Fall, the effects of Adam's sin lingered but God did not forsake them. Adam and Eve recognized they were naked, i.e. vulnerable. Before the Fall they thought themselves to be invulnerable for they walked with God and obeyed God and we are invulnerable when we are with God. But when they sinned they immediately understood they were vulnerable to death. But when God clothed them in leather (I'm trying hard to avoid a Ricardo Montalban reference here), he made them less vulnerable to the elements. And though life was hard, the garment and toil required for food allowed them a physical life where an immediate physical death was justified. Similarly we are clothed by God in Baptism and given a chance at eternal life that would otherwise be unattainable. We are also made less vulnerable to the earthly elements of Satan and death.
I recall someone saying that if gravity were intermittent we would complain about it constantly. It weighs us down and makes movement harder. And yet no one complains about it because it's a given, a constant. (And without struggling against gravity our muscles atrophy.) Similarly original sin is for us a given. It is part of the climate like gravity.
The Other Definition of Holy
Somewhere in my early religious ed I recall the word "holy" meaning "set apart". It's only of late that I've learned it also means the slightly different (rimshot!) connotation of "other" or "different". And occasionally I catch glimpse of just how other other can be.
I think I was ten or eleven days into my career when I put up a sign in my cubical that said, "Only 10,282 days till retirement!". That sentiment is pretty much antithetical to Christ's view of his mission in saving souls. Jesus wasn't clicking off days until he could get back to his "real life" with the Father. St. Alphonsus Liguori writes:
Somewhere in my early religious ed I recall the word "holy" meaning "set apart". It's only of late that I've learned it also means the slightly different (rimshot!) connotation of "other" or "different". And occasionally I catch glimpse of just how other other can be.
I think I was ten or eleven days into my career when I put up a sign in my cubical that said, "Only 10,282 days till retirement!". That sentiment is pretty much antithetical to Christ's view of his mission in saving souls. Jesus wasn't clicking off days until he could get back to his "real life" with the Father. St. Alphonsus Liguori writes:
The love of Jesus Christ for human beings was so great that it made him long for the hour of his death so that he might show the tenderness of his love for them. During his life, he said, "There is a baptism with which I must be baptized, and how great is my anguish until it is accomplished!" (Lk 12:40).St. Térèse of Lisieux wrote that she would "spend Heaven doing good upon the earth". Very other. (I was thinking more along the lines of heading for the beer tent.) And country crooner Patty Loveless recorded a song that illustrates another aspect of God's otherness - his willingness to constantly let us try again:
Who keeps on trusting you
When you been cheating
Spending your nights on the town
Who keeps on saying
That she still wants you
When you're through runnin' around
Who keeps on lovin' you
When you been lyin'
Sayin' things that ain't what they seem...
Well God does
But I don't
God will
But I won't
And that's the difference
Between God and me
December 09, 2005
I really shouldn't...
...be reading this. It defines the phrase "guilty pleasure". It's the sort of book you don't want to give to those more or less pious than yourself, which tends to narrow the field. I had resisted buying it for several months because I thought the book would be too jejune and sophomoric for me. What did Emerson say about knowing thyself?
...be reading this. It defines the phrase "guilty pleasure". It's the sort of book you don't want to give to those more or less pious than yourself, which tends to narrow the field. I had resisted buying it for several months because I thought the book would be too jejune and sophomoric for me. What did Emerson say about knowing thyself?
On the Carmelite Order: "The order's initials are O.C.D. That's Providence, not coincidence."
On John of the Cross: "John doesn't even address the soul steeped in worldliness and struggling with ordinary sins; he assumes that his readers are already pious, devout and perfectly orthodox. Having narrowed his audience down to a sliver, he proceeds to warn them of all the further dangers they'll face on the road to God..."
On St. Joseph: "the Rodney Dangerfield of saints"
Regarding Our Lady of Guadalupe feast: "The religious dogmas of the Aztecs were so dark and pessimistic, they make the Left Behind books seem appealing."
Dec. 9 - Archbishop Fulton Sheen
The great evangelist died twenty-six years ago today. From the Archbishop Sheen Foundation website:
The great evangelist died twenty-six years ago today. From the Archbishop Sheen Foundation website:
Only God can bring about the canonization of a saint. As St. Anthony of Padua once put it, “Saints are like the stars: they shine when God wants them to!” Every newly canonized saint is a great gift of grace to the Catholic Church and the world. But God wants us to ask Him for this grace. This is why all the prayers petitioning Almighty God to raise His servant, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, to the honor of the altar become a powerful spiritual force that will move the Heart of God to grant the fervent request of His People.Intercessory prayer:
Eternal Father, You alone grant us every blessing in Heaven and on earth, through the redemptive mission of Your Divine Son, Jesus Christ, by the working of the Holy Spirit.
If it be according to Your Will, Eternal Father, glorify Your servant, Archbishop Fulton John Sheen, by granting the favor I now request through his prayerful intercession (mention your request here). I make this prayer confidently in Jesus' Name, through the merits of His Passion, Death and Resurrection. Amen.
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