Wednesday, September 30, 2015

X-Files Cigarette Smoking Man - and Planned Parenthood



So, Cecile Richards, you have a supply of human tissue.

I know some people who could use such a supply.

There'll be generous compensation.

We'll call it a handling fee.

Just don't ask questions.

And don't answer any.

At least not honestly.

Care for a cigarette?

Pax et bonum

Sunday, September 27, 2015

Open the Eyes of My Heart


There are certain songs I enjoy singing. "Tie Me Kangaroo Down, Sport," the first song that actually caught my attention on the radio (yes, I'm that old), "Bottle of Wine," (sots in my family?), "Never Ending Song of Love" are three of them. I sometimes sing them as I walk or drive, just for the pleasure of singing them.

There are others, but lately one that I've been singing is "Open the Eyes of My Heart" by Paul Baloche.

The lyrics are simple and repetitive. The tune is not hard; it suits my range. But for me anyway it is  also moving - this is a song I feel as if I'm praying as I sing.

There are multiple covers of the song - it seems to touch other people too. My favorite is the Randy Travis one. My own version is similar to his.


Sadly, he later faced all sorts of problems, including a massive stroke that, for now, has incapacitated him and rendered him incapable of performing. Say a prayer for him.

Here are the lyrics as Michael W. Smith performed the song.

"Open The Eyes Of My Heart"

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord
Open the eyes of my heart
I want to see You
I want to see You

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord
Open the eyes of my heart
I want to see You
I want to see You

To see You high and lifted up
Shinin' in the light of Your glory
Pour out Your power and love
As we sing holy, holy, holy

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord
Open the eyes of my heart
I want to see You
I want to see You

Open the eyes of my heart, Lord
Open the eyes of my heart
I want to see You
I want to see You

To see You high and lifted up
Shinin' in the light of Your glory
Pour out Your power and love
As we sing holy, holy, holy

[Repeat two more times]

Holy, holy, holy
We cry holy, holy, holy
You are holy, holy, holy
I want to see you

Holy, holy, holy
Holy, holy, holy
You are holy, holy, holy
I want to see you

Holy, holy, holy
Holy, holy, holy
Holy, holy, holy,
I want to see you

This is one of the songs I played for the opening of the local 40 Days for Life campaign. I prayed that the hearts of everyone connected with abortion might have their hearts opened - within the  industry, the victims, even the protesters that they will be loving and compassionate.

Pax et bonum

Saturday, September 26, 2015

Great Rochester Chesterton Conference


The local G. K Chesterton Society sponsored their 12th annual Chesterton Conference today.

The theme was "More than Magic," and the speakers were Dale Ahlquist, the President of the American Chesterton Society; Kevin O'Brien, of Theater of the Word Incorporated; Joseph Pearce, a prolific author; and James Warren, a professional magician.

The "magic" they addressed was of fairy stories as truth as explored by Chesterton in the "Ethics of Elfland" from Orthodoxy.

Ahlquist spoke about "A Citizen of Fairyand." O'Brien spoke as J.R.R.R. Tolkien "On Fairy Stories." Pearce talked about Chesterton's influence on Tolkien and C.S. Lewis and their ideas about faith and fairy tales. Finally, Warren performed some magic, and addressed the subject of "A Magician in Elfland."

Great time. Good talks and performances. Good people in the audience, leading to some wonderful conversations.

And O'Brien tipped me off about a possible Santa gig next year! Amazing.  

Pax et bonum

Don't cry for me - Boehner clerihew



When it comes to tears John Boehner
is no refrainer.
Although a manly feller
he loses it over "Old Yeller."

Pax et bonum

Sunday, September 20, 2015

A Dalek as Pope? Hmmm



An amusing bit of satire, with a Dalek as pope.

I can just hear - "Excommunicate! Find the Doctor of the Church! Excommunicate!"

Pax et bonum

Saturday, September 19, 2015

As a Bills fan




There are those who say Tom Brady,
though talented, is shady.
I don't know about that;
he just leaves me flat.

Pax et bonum

What if Planned Parenthood Were Defunded?



Pax et bonum

Donald Trump is the Ugly American


As I watch the Donald Trump campaign I grow increasingly nervous.

To me, he represents all that is the worst in American politics - and I fear that American voters will either again will buy the flash and show and give us a Trump disaster in the White House, or will turn to the Democrats and give us further moral decay.

Optimistic, eh?

When I think of Trump, the phrase "Ugly American" comes to mind. And I don't mean ugly in the way he implied Carly Fiorina looked. ("Oh, I didn't mean her face, I mean her persona.")

I'm referring to the 1950s political novel in which Americans  were portrayed as loud, insensitive, ostentatious, pretentious, arrogant, socially isolated by choice, and so on.

Sound like Trump?

In the novel, the Americans' boorishness repels others in other lands, leading them to turn to, at that time, the communists. Who will the offended turn to today? The big foe in the media now seems to be radical Islam, though I suspect rampant secularization and selfishness are bigger threats.

Trump is tapping into a stream of American politics that is not new. Loud show, brass bands, fireworks, Nativism, xenophobia, bigotry, and so on. His brand of boorishness is exaggerated due to the constant media coverage, true, but he is certainly playing to all that is ignorant and crowd-pleasing in the underbelly of the American character.

The sad thing is that so many people who know him personally say he is kind and generous. He is obviously intelligent, though I sense intellectually ignorant and lazy. I think he's been trapped by the need for attention and what he thinks will get him that attention.

My hope is that the Trump show will burn out as people begin to get bored - or as he continues to make offensive statements (or fails to make reasonable responses, as with a recent Muslim comment he seemed accept). The voters will, hopefully, pick more reasonable, responsible candidates and we will have real choice in 2016.

Then again, the voters fell for Obama. Twice. Hey, at least the Nobel Prize folks are finally beginning to admit that maybe giving him the Peace Prize simply for not being Bush was a mistake.

Right now, though, all I can do is speak out - and then shake my head as voters seem to like show without substance.

Pax et bonum

Saturday, September 12, 2015

A pro-life song


Four years ago I was asked to provide music for the kick-off of our local 40 Days For Life campaign. I searched for songs to play - I recall doing "Open The Eyes of My Heart" and a modified version of "We Shall Overcome." But I wanted a pro-life song.

I checked out a few, found some interesting ones, but none fit my style. So I wrote one of my own, "3 a.m."

I played it that one time. After, I kept thinking I should record it, maybe even make a video, so I would remember it. Never did.

Flash forward.

A week ago I got an e-mail from the local 40 Days organizer. The music for the upcoming kickoff on September 22 had fallen through - could I help with 15 minutes worth?

I said yes, then searched for some songs, including that one I wrote.

After looking back through a bunch of computer files, I finally found the lyrics. But I hadn't written down the chords.

I sort of remembered the tune, and what key it was in, so I recreated the song as best I could.

We'll see.

Here are the lyrics as I recorded them back then - I may modify as I practice.


3 a.m.

Another night

She’s haunted by

A baby’s cry

 

In the night

No way to hide

From the emptiness

She feels inside

 

And all those things

she’ d believed

she now knows

she’d been deceived

 

With a choice

she’s now a mother

who will never

hold her child.

 

He turns a page

He turns away

The words get lost

In what he can’t say

 

He’d shown support

He’d gone along

Despite a feeling

That it was wrong

 

He resents the loss

And that on that day

Society said he

really had no say

 

Without a choice

He’s now a father

Who will never

Hold his child

 

We were too young

We were afraid

We were too poor

The time was wrong

It was just a choice

It wasn’t human

It was just cells

It wasn’t alive

It couldn’t feel

It was just a choice

It was just a choice

It was just a choice

 

Safe within

His mother’s womb

But when she chose

It spelled his doom

 

He tried to flee

When death came near

He tried to scream

No one could hear

 

Now he rests

In God’s love

He’s forgiven but

Laments from above

 

Because of choice

They’re now parents

Who will never

Hold their child

 
We were too young

We were afraid

We were too poor

The time was wrong

It was just a choice

It wasn’t human

It was just cells

It wasn’t alive

It couldn’t feel

It was just a choice

It was just a choice

It was just a choice

 
 
He’s not a choice

He’s a child

Who will never

Be held. 

 
Okay, not the greatest song, but I can sing it. The version of "We Shall Overcome" is back. Others? Maybe "Open the Eyes of My Heart" again. Leaning toward "Go Make a Difference." "Amazing Grace"? "Christ Be Our Light"? "Prayer of St. Francis"?
 
I can play them all, so I can pull it off.
 
Got some thinking and planning and timing to do.
 
Pax et bonum

Monday, September 7, 2015

Must have been something I said


I've been blocked by another person on Twitter.

This time by a local conservative radio talk show host.

Last week, that host made an on-air comment about Pope Francis and the issue of refugees. The fellow in question is a Mormon, and is not always accurate when he talks about the Catholic Church, as was the case here. Sometimes the comments are based on common misconceptions and misinformation, and even ignorance. I'd step into the same trap if I tried to comment on Mormonism.

I called his show, then wrote to offer some information to help dispel his misinformation. He then in response made a crack about Pope Pius and the Jews. The old myth of Catholic inaction during the Holocaust, a myth begun by the Soviets and their fellow travelers to try to undermine the Church, and then promulgated by a willing media.

I responded.

He ignored me.

I sent more information.

He ignored me.

I sent links to sources.

He ignored me.

I also sent more information about Pope Francis and Middle Eastern refugees.

He ignored me.

Then Pope Francis called for Catholic parishes and institutions and parishes - including Vatican ones - to take in refugee, completely refuting his original point. I sent him a link to the news.

He blocked me.

Now, I had been polite, but my repeated responses may have begun to annoy him. I'll acknowledge that I am at heart a long-distance runner. In chess, in war games, in debates, I plod on and on and on, gradually wearing down my opponents, or driving them from the field.

Of course, it could also be that he realized that maybe he was wrong, and he did not want to admit it or be reminded about it.

Whatever the case, he fled the field. He blocked me.

I am always looking at my style of arguing to see if I'm being unfair or sarcastic and superior  or if my style is ultimately counterproductive. After all, if I so annoy people they shut me out that reduces the chances that they might have their eyes and hearts opened. As a Franciscan I constantly try to evaluate if I've been too violent or unloving in what I do and say.

I'm getting better, but I am not where I need to be.

But as for now, I'm blocked.

Good thing I believe in the power of prayer. If I can't reach him, maybe God will.

Pax et bonum

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Perceptions


I was taking part in a discussion about Catholic school experiences. My fellow discussers were telling "horror" stories and generally mocking their experiences. I was pointing out all the positive experiences and effects my 12 years of Catholic schooling had given me.

It hit me that our differing perceptions were in their own ways true, but that our "truths" were formed by what we chose to remember.

As I put it elsewhere: One thing I've learned is that how we perceive something depends in large part on how we choose to perceive it.

I thought of St. Francis and lepers.

When he was young, he abhorred lepers, as did many people in his society. They were ugly, deformed, diseased. They had open wounds. They were missing body parts. They were believed to be highly contagious. There were often dirty and smelled. They were treated as outcasts, as vile sinners.

But when he learned to look with the eyes of faith, he saw Christ in them. They were beautiful. They were to be loved.

The lepers had not changed. Francis did.

In the same way, saints over the years perceived the beauty in others the world often regarded negatively. Mother Teresa. Catherine Doherty. Dorothy Day. Father Damian. Peter Claver.

I think of so many good people today who run homeless shelters, health clinics, hospices, who work with the physically and mentally and spiritually ill.

These holy people are not blind. They see the sicknesses, the deformities, the sins. But they choose to focus on what is good and beautiful.

They choose to focus on Jesus in others.

I pray that I might find the strength to choose to see what they see.

Pax et bonum