Honestly

After going to Confession, I thought about the fact that I sometimes stretch the truth to make stories interesting. It's one thing if it's obviously just a story, it's another when I'm presenting something as the truth, or I'm making myself look better or another person worse. Too often I go for the laugh or the "clever" comment at the expense of truth or fairness.

I realized that an early post had been less than honest. I went back and revised it.

I need to keep honesty in mind as I write, so that I don't have to go back to revise or apologize.

Pax et bonum

To The Moon, Alice. To The Moon

The other day, Vice President Mike Pence challenged  NASA to return astronauts to the moon by 2024 - earlier than NASA's stated goal of 2028.

This is one Trump administration proposal with which I fully agree.

Yes, I know we have needs on Earth, and our federal budget is deep in the red.

But the human spirit relishes exploration and lofty goals. I have long supported space exploration as one of those goals.

I dream of us traveling to Mars as well, though that is likely decades away. I hope to live long enough to see a human walk on Mars.

But for now, a trip to the moon is a worthy goal.

Maybe they can discover where Alice ended up.



Pax et bonum

Have Mercy On Me, God

I got to Confession today, and Father gave as a penance a Scripture verse to read and reflect on.

Today, it was Psalm 51. But in addition to reading it today, he suggested reading it again and again in the coming days, and to read other Scripture as well on a regular basis.. This makes sense as I keep stumbling over the same sins, and it would be good to focus on the Good Word than on temptation.

Have mercy on me, God, in accord with your merciful love;
in your abundant compassion blot out my transgressions.
Thoroughly wash away my guilt;
and from my sin cleanse me.
For I know my transgressions;
my sin is always before me.

Against you, you alone have I sinned;

I have done what is evil in your eyes
So that you are just in your word,
and without reproach in your judgment.
Behold, I was born in guilt,
in sin my mother conceived me.

Behold, you desire true sincerity;

and secretly you teach me wisdom.
Cleanse me with hyssop,* that I may be pure;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
You will let me hear gladness and joy;
the bones you have crushed will rejoice.

II

Turn away your face from my sins;

blot out all my iniquities.
A clean heart create for me, God;
renew within me a steadfast spirit.
Do not drive me from before your face,
nor take from me your holy spirit.
Restore to me the gladness of your salvation;
uphold me with a willing spirit.
I will teach the wicked your ways,
that sinners may return to you.
Rescue me from violent bloodshed, God, my saving God,
and my tongue will sing joyfully of your justice.

Lord, you will open my lips;

and my mouth will proclaim your praise.
For you do not desire sacrifice or I would give it;
a burnt offering you would not accept.
My sacrifice, O God, is a contrite spirit;
a contrite, humbled heart, O God, you will not scorn.

III

Treat Zion kindly according to your good will;

build up the walls of Jerusalem.
Then you will desire the sacrifices of the just,
burnt offering and whole offerings;
then they will offer up young bulls on your altar.

- I will try to add this Psalm to my daily prayers more often.

Pax et bonum

Mark Twain's Dead. Forget him.

Mark Twain's dead.

I realized a few years ago that that information is more than just a statement of fact.

I have been an English teacher for more than 20 years, including for a while in a junior/senior high school program for troubled youth. I kept trying to come up with ways to reach out to my students, hoping to encourage some of them to read more than the materials we were reading in class. That included independent and extra credit reading assignments, with all sorts of great books on recommended lists.

But I saw in many the same reactions to older book, books like Mark Twain's The Prince and the Pauper, Huckleberry Finn, and Tom Sawyer.

I saw how many reacted to the books. If one my students was looking at the books, and picked up something like  The Prince and the Pauper,  he'd ask what it was about. As soon as it came out that Twain (or others) were old-time authors and were now dead, the student would invariably put the book back on the shelf.

At almost every school where I have taught - even at the college-prep high school were I later taught - many students looked disdainfully on the classics. They would ask for more contemporary and popular books on those lists I gave out. Books by authors still writing, still alive.

Not old and dead authors.

Then it hit me. This was a kind of literary criticism. The fact that Twain and the others were dead apparently made their books one not worth reading.

Now I've encountered many kinds of literary criticism over the years - New Criticism, Feminist Criticism, Deconstructionism, Postmodernism, and more. Some of them are even as valid as this dead author one is.

Those criticism methods have rippled over the surface of the academic seas, lapping on the shores of educational institutions, leaving behinds all kinds of detritus.

There are further possibilities for this.

A friend of mine used to work at a group home for developmentally disabled adults. She took a group of them to see a production of Annie. When Annie meets President Roosevelt late in the show, the voice of one of the residents boomed from the balcony, "Franklin Roosevelt's dead. Forget him."

Theater and history dismissed in one critical masterstroke!

The Fifth Symphony? Beethoven's dead. Forget him.
The Thinker? Rodin's dead. Forget him.
Mona Lisa? Leonardo da Vinci's dead. Forget him.
"Mr. Tambourine Man"? Dylan's ... oh, wait, he's not dead. He just sings that way.

This whole "He's dead. Forget him" school of criticism could lead to a spate of articles in scholarly journals. It could lead to workshops and seminars in academic institutions across the country.

There's money to be made.

I can imagine Twain laughing about this. After all, if we are to reject books by dead writers, then the only works they would have been reading during his day would not have been ones by Shakespeare, or Chaucer, or Milton, but rather by living writers like Twain himself.

It might have helped him pay off his debts.

As for me, Steinbeck and Hemingway and Bradbury and Dickens and Dostoyevsky are all dead, so maybe if I ever finish my novel or my poetry collection they will sell and people might actually read them.

Or, at the least,  people may even read these blog posts.

God willing, I still have a couple of decades left before I officially become a dead author.

Pax et bonum

The Muelller Report

The report of Robert Mueller
drained Democratic faces of color.
All their impeachment dreams
are coming apart at the seams.

Pax et bonum

Stand Out For Life 3/23/19

As we have been doing every month for the past year, pro-lifers in Rochester gathered on March 23 at Planned Parenthood for the latest Stand Out For Life. Despite the cold and wind, between 90 and 100 of us prayed, sang, and listened to speakers.

Next month, when the weather is warmer, maybe even more will show up.

Love will end abortion.

Pax et bonum

So ... who founded your church?

CHURCH -- YEAR -- FOUNDER - PLACE

Catholic -- 33 -- Jesus Christ - Jerusalem
Orthodox -- 1054 -- Schismatic Catholic Bishops - Constantinople
Lutheran -- 1517 -- Martin Luther - Germany
Anabaptist -- 1521 -- Nicholas Storch & Thomas Munzer - Germany
Anglican -- 1534 -- Henry VII - England
Mennonites -- 1536 -- Menno Simons - Switzerland
Calvinist -- 1555 -- John Calvin - Switzerland
Presbyterian -- 1560 -- John Knox - Scotland
Congregational -- 1582 -- Robert Brown - Holland
Baptist -- 1609 -- John Smyth - Amsterdam
Dutch Reformed -- 1628 -- Michaelis Jones - New York
Congregationalist -- 1648 -- Pilgrims and Puritans - Massachusetts
Quakers -- 1649 -- George Fox - England
Amish -- 1693 -- Jacob Amman - France
Freemasons -- 1717 -- Masons from four lodges - London
Methodist -- 1739 -- John & Charles Wesley - England
Unitarian -- 1774 -- Theophilus Lindey - London
Methodist Episcopal -- 1784 -- 60 Preachers - Baltimore, MD
Episcopalian -- 1789 -- Samuel Seabury - American Colonies
United Brethren -- 1800 -- Philip Otterbein & Martin Boehn - Maryland
Disciples of Christ -- 1827 -- Thomas & Alexander Campbell - Kentucky
Mormon -- 1830 -- Joseph Smith - Palmyra, New York
Methodist Protestant -- 1830 -- Methodists - United States
Church of Christ -- 1836 -- Warren Stone & Alexander Campbell - Kentucky
Seventh Day Adventist -- 1844 -- Ellen White - Washington, NH
Salvation Army -- 1865 -- William Booth - London
Holiness -- 1867 -- Methodists - United States
Jehovah's Witnesses -- 1874 -- Charles Taze Russell - Pennsylvania
Christian Science -- 1879 -- Mary Baker Eddy - Boston
Church of God in Christ -- 1895 -- Various churches of God - Arkansas
Church of Nazarene -- 1850-1900 -- Various religious bodies - Pilot Point, TX
Assemblies of God -- 1914 -- Pentecostalism - Hot Springs, AZ
Four-square Gospel -- 1917 -- Aimee Semple McPherson - Los Angeles, CA
United Church of Christ -- 1961 -- Reformed and Congregationalist - Philadelphia, PA
Calvary Chapel -- 1965 -- Chuck Smith - Costa Mesa, CA
United Methodist -- 1968 -- Methodist and United Brethren - Dallas, TX
Harvest Christian -- 1972 -- Greg Laurie - Riverside, CA
Saddleback -- 1982 -- Rick Warren - California

Pax et bonum

Coffee Is Good For Your Soul

If Jesus had come down to save us today rather than 2000 years ago, I’d have some advice for him when it comes to the Eucharist.

The bread/host is fine, but forget the wine.

Go with coffee.

Yeah, I know, there's all sorts of symbolic and cultural value to wine. And I don't mean to be sacrilegious. But consider what coffee brings to the altar - um, table.

Many churches already run on coffee – coffee hours, coffee for meetings, coffee for the staff, etc.

Heck, at some churches, coffee (with donuts or cookies) is about as close as they get to the Eucharist.

I admit I’m acting out of self-interest here.

I'm not a big fan of wine, but I do love coffee.

I drink 4-6 cups of it a day. When I was reporter/editor, and there was a steady supply, I drank 12 or more cups a day.

I know. The health conscious are all blanching at this point. But I've never had any obvious adverse effects (other than the color of my teeth). In fact, some people think I'm so laid back that they wonder what I would be like if I didn't drink coffee. Probably be comatose, they think.

Actually, I have given up coffee at various times. A couple of times it was for Lent. But I didn't go through withdrawals or become prone to suddenly falling asleep in public places.

Besides, I think coffee is spiritual.

It stirs the soul - or at least wakes it up. Dervishes used to drink a lot of it to help them in achieve their ecstasies. There have been some multi-cup days I understand what they experienced.

It may not look like blood the way that wine does – hence losing some of the visual symbolism - but many people will attest that coffee is the lifeblood of creativity.

It certainly was when I was working on deadline.

It is also true that there’s been a long history of praise – and debate – about the spiritual values of coffee.

Mormons won’t drink it. Some Protestants eschew it.

In the 16th century, priests tried to get Pope Clement VIII to ban coffee, calling it "the devil's drink." They linked it to the Muslims. Clement tasted it first, then declared, "Why, this Satan's drink is so delicious, that it would be a pity to let the infidels have exclusive use of it. We shall cheat Satan by baptizing it."

I don’t know what else he did, but I think this one action makes him worthy of a sainthood investigation.

Certainly coffee has had plenty of supporters.

The 18th century philosopher Sir James MacKintosh said, "The powers of a man's mind are directly proportional to the quantity of coffee he drank."

Ah. I drink therefore I think.

And Sheik Abd-al-Kadir said, “No one can understand the truth until he drinks of coffee's frothy goodness.”

Can’t argue against the pursuit of the truth.

Isak Dinesen declared in 1934, "Coffee, according to the women of Denmark, is to the body what the Word of the Lord is to the soul."

Always did like Denmark.

Some of our good Catholic women might want to consider the words of Stephanie Piro: “’Behind every successful woman is a substantial amount of coffee.”

As for dietary concerns, Alex Levine said, "Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar, and fat."

Begorrah!

Yes, coffee seems the right drink for these troubled times.

As Alexander King suggested, “Actually, this seems to be the basic need of the human heart in nearly every great crisis - a good hot cup of coffee.”

Amen.

So coffee would be a worthy choice for Jesus to make these days.

Alas, though. He already came.

Wine got the nod.

At least we can come home from Mass with the taste of wine in our mouths, put on Sebastian Bach’s “The Coffee Cantata,” and clean our palates with a cup of coffee.

Or two.

Pax et bonum

BLUE HAIR

Pax et bonum

The Mueller Fiasco

So, the Mueller report is in and while it has not been made public yet, it has called for no further indictments.

In other words, no charges involving illegal activities with Russians by Donald Trump and his campaign.

It remains to be seen if there are any accusations of activities that are not illegal, but which might be improper.

But given what's come out so far, I suspect there will be nothing of any substance there.

I'm sure Trump haters will try to stretch some point to attack him, but will they have any credibility left?

The way things are going, it looks as if Trump may just get reelected.

Pax et bonum

Note to Readers (Trinities)

Note to Readers:

Today's his broken Thursday

over

after

out the guilty

than nuclear

of the of

she within

pull Rodney

island that foremothers

in

to

 Pax et bonum

Vacant eyes

evening twilight -
girl leaves abortion clinic
with vacant eyes

Pax et bonum

Hope this doesn't offend any Druids

I know that I shall never see

a poem as lovely as a tree,

and so I scribble gleefully

my poems on paper from that tree.

 

Pax et bonum

A Patron Saint for College Basketball?

This is a season of great fervor and devotion among many American Catholics.

I mean, of course, the NCAA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament.

You see people who’ve never glanced at the Bible religiously studying publications describing team records, rosters and history, and, of course, betting lines, as they prepare their bracket sheets. (Though you might catch their interest if they heard there’s an Old Testament book called Numbers.)

They knowingly debate the implications of such minutia as shooting percentages on Friday night games that start at 9:09, a sprained pinkie on the hand of the third guard off the bench, and the color of the coach’s tie with all the passion of CNN and MSNBC talking heads going after President Trump.

Why, more money is passed in basketball pools than in parish bingo halls.

Now I must admit that I have been party to March Madness. Just don’t tell my Irish Catholic forebears that for many years I’ve rooted for a team known as the Orangemen.

But this year, most of the teams I'm interested in did not make the tournament or were eliminated early on (Syracuse, sniff), so I have time to reflect on all this from a Catholic perspective.

I sense a potential teaching moment.

The Church has a history of making use of pagan events and trappings for religious purposes – Christmas is a perfect example. Why not college basketball?

Of course, it would be helpful in our mission to Catholicize college hoops if some Catholic schools would compete more consistently and successfully for the national championship.
Heck, even those Orangemen once won a title.

Lacking current Catholic holy hoop heroes, however, I immediately thought of the Catholic all-star team: the patron saints.

We have patron saints for everything from paratroopers (St. Michael) to dysentery sufferers (St. Matrona).

I consulted a couple of lists of patron saints to see if we have one for college basketball.

I found patron saints for various sports-type activities, including skiers and mountaineers (St. Bernard of Menthon), skaters (St. Lidwina), hunters (St. Hubert), and archers (St. Sebastian), St. Sebastian even doubles up as the patron saint of athletes in general.

But I found no saint to intercede specifically for basketball players.

I then considered some prospects.

There’s St. Antony the Abbot, for example, the patron saint of basket makers.

Given the number of teams that have shooting problems, St. Stephen, the patron saint of bricklayers, also seemed like a possibility.

Then it hit me: St. Joseph of Cupertino.

For those not familiar with St. Joseph, he was a Franciscan who reportedly had the ability to levitate. There were more than 70 recorded instances of him soaring into the air. The most remarkable report was about a time he supposedly flew 70 yards, lifted a heavy cross that ten men had been unable to lift into place, and jammed it home.

Wow.

Think of St. Joseph on defense, hovering above the rim to swat away opponents’ shots.

Imagine him on offense, soaring aloft to take passes from teammates and then dropping the ball through the basket.

So what if he never actually touched a basketball during his lifetime. Historical accuracy has never stopped hagiographers before.

Why, we could create holy cards depicting St. Joseph with a hoop above his head instead of a halo.

There could be St. Joseph posters, tee-shirts, and medals.

And just think of the proselytizing possibilities if we could get some good Catholic lads asking the saint’s intercession before games and thanking him on national television for victories.

As Dick Vitale, that evangelist of college basketball, might say, “It’s a slam dunk, baby!”

Pax et bonum

A Democrat Asked Me to Break the Law.

A Democratic county legislator came to our door the other day. My wife is still a registered Democrat - she's been meaning to change her party enrollment for years given the direction of that party, but hasn't gotten around to it. The legislator at the door was running for reelection (or to force a primary), and needed signatures on his petition.

I answered the door, and he asked if she could come to the door to sign it for him. I explained that she was in the other room holding the dog (who doesn't like when strangers come to the door). He said I could take the petition to her and have her sign it.

Wait a minute. Election laws in our state require the person getting the signatures to witness the signing, and to declare he has done so. But in this case, he would be lying. Moreover, I could have just gone into another room and signed it myself, forging her signature.

So when he asked me to take it to her and get her to sign it, I said, "That would be against the law."

He looked surprised at my response, then he caught himself. I wasn't sure if he'd simply forgotten the law, or just didn't care about following it. He mumbled a quick thanks, gave me his card and some campaign literature, and left.

I was reminded of a situation that took place decades ago. I was 17, volunteering, along with several of my fellow high school students, on a Democratic Presidential candidate's campaign. The local campaign chairman offered to drive my fellow high school students and me to another city where we could be registered to vote despite the fact that we were underage. Even at 17 I knew that would be dishonest, so I turned him down. My fellow underage volunteers also declined.

As for the more recent incident, it's sad that an officeholder, someone representing my area, would be so willing to violate the law - whether it was out of ignorance, or out of contempt for the law.

He will not be getting our vote.

And I might be reporting him to the Board of Elections.

Pax et bonum

Silly quotes

Here's a few amusing quotations.

If flying I so safe, why do they call the airport the terminal?

I don't approve of political jokes. Too many of them get elected.

Every day I beat my own previous record for the number of consecutive days I've stayed alive.

Snowmen fall from Heaven unassembled.

I live in my own little world. But it's okay: They know me here.

Pax et bonum

The Franciscan Crown Rosary Comes To Our Fraternity

At our Fraternity Council Meeting Saturday, we voted to say the Franciscan Crown Rosary at our May 3 Fraternity meeting.

I was given a Franciscan Crown Rosary years ago, but I have never used it, and, to be honest, was not too familiar with how to use it.

The Franciscan Crown Rosary, or as it is also known, the Rosary of the Seven Joys, has seven decades instead of the traditional five. Each decade focuses on a particular joy from the life of Mary. The Seven Joys are:

1) The Annunciation
2) The Visitation
3) The Birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ
4) The Adoration of the Magi
5) The Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple
6) The Appearance of Christ to Mary after the Resurrection
7) The Assumption and Coronation of Mary as Queen of Heaven 

You pray it  little differently than the regular Rosary. You start by stating the first Mystery and then praying one Our Father and ten Hail Marys while meditating upon it. This same procedure is then followed for the other six Mysteries. In a regular Rosary we add the Glory Be and the Fatima Prayer at the end of each decade, but with The Franciscan Crown Rosary these are not required. At the end of the Franciscan Crown Rosary you generally add two Hail Marys in honor of the 72 years that Our Lady is said to have lived on earth, and one Our Father and Hail Mary for the intentions of the Pope. 

Apparently the Crown Rosary can be traced back to the early 15th century. There was a pious young man who had a devotion of adorning a statue of Mary with a crown of flowers that he had woven. But then he entered the Franciscans Order, and for some reason he was no longer able to continue this devotion. He considered leaving religious life and returning to the world, but Our Lady reportedly appeared to him and convinced him not to leave the order. She told him that instead of  adorning her statue as he used to do he should honor her in a different way. Instead of a crown of flowers, he was to weave a crown of prayers, and these prayers could be offered at any moment. She then taught him the Rosary of the Seven Joys, adding that these prayers would not only form a more acceptable crown, but they would also yield graces for himself and others. 

This devotion soon spread over the entire Franciscan Order and was officially established in 1422.

I have noticed that a number of Fraternities pray the Franciscan Crown Rosary. And in May 2019, it will spread to our Fraternity.

Pax et bonum

Discoveries

Checking some files from a file cabinet we are cleaning out I came across some poems, short stories, drafts and story notes, and even the start of a novel. Some of these pieces date back to high school - with notes from a teacher on two of the stories that he wanted them for our school's literary annual!

One of the stories was a children's story I wrote in college - "The Angel Fish and the Sea Horse." I thought it had been lost. It needs revising, but it still works.

I was surprised at some of the "colorful" language I used in a couple of the pieces I wrote as a college freshman. I don't remember using some of those words in everyday speech; I think it was me trying to sound more "sophisticated." As stories, they seem salvageable - with some cleaning up.

I wonder what other treasures are buried in files and boxes?

Pax et bonum

Some New Scifaiku

first contact -
learning humans are just an
early prototype

alien banquet -
host's toothy smile reveals bits
of missing crewman

at Milky Way's core
finding the crumpled blueprints
for Earth's creation

I'll submit these to see if they can get published!

Pax et bonum

Published Poems List

A while back I began to compile a list of all the poems I've published as an adult. The list excludes some published in my high school and college publications. Some of the poems were published multiple times - in magazines, then in anthologies, for example. More than 100 published (a couple of them in multiple publications).

“The Widow’s Walk,” Democrat and Chronicle, 10/13/80
“Duke,” Logos, Winter 1982, and City Newspaper, 12/11/1986
“On Listening to Allen Ginsberg,” The Quill, May 1984
“summer funeral,” A Harvest of Haiku, 1995
“my old cat sleeps,” A Harvest of Haiku, 1995
“a late summer rain,” A Harvest of Haiku, 1995
“thrushes gather grapes,” A Harvest of Haiku, 1995
“a lone hawk circles,” A Harvest of Haiku, 1995
“in the window seat,” A Harvest of Haiku, 1995
“cat prints in the snow,” A Harvest of Haiku, 1995
“Una One, Una Two,” Hazmat Review 2004
“Demanding, driven, sure to vex,” Washington Post, June 11, 2004
“April morning –,” bottle rockets, Volume 7 Number 2, 2006
“leaving the vet’s,” bottle rockets, Volume 7 Number 2, 2006
“animal carcass,” bottle rockets, Volume 7 Number 2, 2006
“your coffee cup," bottle rockets, Volume 8 Number 1, 2006
“Creative Solution,” Weird Tales, August/September 2006
“August sun,” Haiku and Other Short Poems (Rochester Area Haiku Group), 2006
“foggy morning,” Haiku and Other Short Poems (Rochester Area Haiku Group), 2006
“in a magazine,” Haiku and Other Short Poems (Rochester Area Haiku Group), 2006
“a break in the clouds,” Haiku and Other Short Poems (Rochester Area Haiku Group), 2006
“When talking with Socrates,” Gilbert Magazine, January/February 2007
“Herman Melville,” Gilbert Magazine, April/May 2007
“I don’t know if Rudyard Kipling,” Gilbert Magazine, April/May 2007
“Jean Paul Sartre,” Gilbert Magazine, April/May 2007
“Fidel Castro,” Gilbert Magazine, April/May 2007
“TV’s Dr. House,” Gilbert Magazine, April/May 2007
“St. Francis of Assisi,” Gilbert Magazine, April/May 2007
“Condoleeza Rice,” Gilbert Magazine, June/July 2007
(29)
“In those woods, Robert Frost” Gilbert Magazine, April/May 2009.
“When Siddhartha Gautama,” Gilbert Magazine, July/August 2009
“Albert Einstein,” Gilbert Magazine, September 2009
“Lot's wife,” Gilbert Magazine, March/April 2011
“In his early life Thomas Merton,” Gilbert Magazine, March/April 2011
“Vladimir Kosma Zworykin,” Gilbert Magazine, March/April 2011
“e (cummings) e,” Gilbert Magazine, March/April 2011
“Anne Rice,” Gilbert Magazine, March/April 2011
“Prolific Stephen King,” Gilbert Magazine, March/April 2011

“President James Polk” Gilbert Magazine, May/June 2011

“Clear summer night” Five Seasons (anthology) 2013

(40)
“Just before dawn” frogpond, 37:1 Winter 2014
“winter moonlight,” Modern Haiku 45:2 2014
“Crescent moon,” Modern Haiku 45:2 2014  
“hospital window” Brass Bell, July 2014
“Crescent moon” Brass Bell, October 2014
“Mother’s rosary,” Frogpond Autumn 2014
“just before dawn,” “winter moonlight,” clear summer night,” “April morning,” “animal carcass,” “your coffee cup,” mother’s rosary” last ginkgo leaf (anthology) 2015
“Father’s Day,” last ginkgo leaf (anthology) 2015
“Mother’s rosary,” Raven’s Bread May 2016
“Abbey chapel” Raven’s Bread May 2016
“Falling leaves” Raven’s Bread May 2016
“Charles Bukowski” Gilbert January/February 2017
“Robot’s valentine” Scifaikuest, February 2017
“Supernova” Scifaikuest – online – February 2017
“Vladimir Putin” Gilbert (March/April) 2017
“A somber Marquis de Sade” Gilbert May/June 2017
“One of the aims of ISIS” Gilbert May/June 2017
"When he was young St. Polycarp" Gilbert May/June 2017
"When Alexander Pope" Gilbert May/June 2017
(60) 
"Dr. Mary Gatter" Gilbert May/June 2017
"Steven Wright" Gilbert May/June 2017 

“G. K. Chesterton” Gilbert Nov/Dec 2017

“There was a side of J. R. R. Tolkien” Gilbert Nov/Dec 2017

 “Achilles” Gilbert Nov/Dec 2017

“Irascible St. Jerome” Gilbert Nov/Dec 2017

“After that day in Moriah, young Isaac” Gilbert Nov/Dec 2017

“Napoleon Bonaparte” Gilbert Nov/Dec 2017

“Mother’s rosary” in the anthology They Gave us Life – 2017

“winter moonlight” on down the road (HSA Anthology) 2017

“lawn mower” Four Hundred and Two Snails (HSA Anthology) 2018
“Life form” (cinquain) in Scifaikuest May 2018
“on the thirteenth green” in Frogpond 41:2 – Spring/Summer 2018
"Methuselah" Gilbert! July/August 2018
“Saintly King Henry,” St. Thomas Aquinas,” “Fred Rogers,” “Tron,” “St. Dominic,” and “Paolo Uccello” Gilbert November/December 2018
“Evangelista Torricelli” Gilbert January/February 2019
“on the asteroid” Scifaikuest February 2019
“trying to recall” Skifaikuest February 2019
"When he was young St. Polycarp" Gilbert! May/June 2019
"When Alexander Pope" Gilbert! May/June 2019
"Steven Wright" Gilbert! May/June 2019
"At Nicaea, St. Nicholas" Gilbert! May/June 2019
"Titus Oates" Gilbert! May/June 2019
 "Jackson Pollock" Gilbert! May/June 2019

“days after Christmas” A Moment’s Longing (HSA Anthology) 2019

“two moons” cinquain – Random Planets 2019

“alien banquet” horrorku Random Planets 2019

“mining rights sold” Random Planets 2019

“Geoffrey Chaucer” Gilbert May/June 2020

“Ayn Rand” Gilbert May/June 2020

“As a director, Ed Wood” Gilbert May/June 2020

“Alexa” Gilbert May/June 2020

“One of the sins of ISIS” Gilbert May/June 2020

“Elizabeth Warren” Gilbert May/June 2020

Pax et bonum

Some Scifaiku

Just got the February 2019 issue of Scifaikuest, which contained two of my scifaiku.

on the asteroid
slow dancing
in fading Earthlight

trying to recall
the species at the cantina -
pregnancy test 

Pax et bonum

The Vote for 16-Year-Olds?

I remember when the voting age changed to 18 back in the early 70s. There were good arguments for this - 18 was the legal age for many things, like getting married. And men were being drafted and fighting in Vietnam at that age.

Now there is a call to lower it to 16.

Nonsense.

Sixteen-year-olds are not mature enough. They are not well informed, and don't fully understand the implications and consequences of decisions. They are too easily swayed by emotions.  Just look at the reactions when their school team loses!

We do not mature until our 20s.

I remember when I was 16. I was politically aware, I was even volunteering with a Presidential campaign! But my judgment was not the best back then. I made stupid choices. I supported things that were popular, without thinking through consequences.

I think this is a ploy by the Democratic Party to increase their support, because they tend to support issues that appeal on an emotional level - the kinds of things 16-year-olds might support.

Pax et bonum

In Praise of Pro-Life Donegal

Although it is not certain my people trace their roots to County Donegal, Ancestry says based on my DNA results there's a good chance that they do.
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In reading about Donegal in Wikipedia, I learned that the people have a reputation for  "conservative and contrarian." Yeah, that sounds like people with whom I might be connected. If you tell me to do something my instinct is to consider not doing it, or at least to raise objections.

And then I hit this line: "In 2018, Donegal was the only county in Ireland to vote against repealing the 8th Amendment, which banned access to abortion."

They voted pro-life! Bingo!

Pax et bonum

Wisdom from Leviticus

I've read the entire New Testament, but only parts of the Old Testament. This morning's readings were from Leviticus, one of the books I haven't entirely read. I certainly don't recall this passage, but it is still relevant these days.

Leviticus 19:1-2, 11-18

The LORD said to Moses,
"Speak to the whole assembly of the children of Israel and tell them:
Be holy, for I, the LORD, your God, am holy.

"You shall not steal.
You shall not lie or speak falsely to one another.
You shall not swear falsely by my name,
thus profaning the name of your God.
I am the LORD.

"You shall not defraud or rob your neighbor.
You shall not withhold overnight the wages of your day laborer.
You shall not curse the deaf,
or put a stumbling block in front of the blind,
but you shall fear your God.
I am the LORD.

"You shall not act dishonestly in rendering judgment.
Show neither partiality to the weak nor deference to the mighty,
but judge your fellow men justly.
You shall not go about spreading slander among your kin;
nor shall you stand by idly when your neighbor's life is at stake.
I am the LORD.

"You shall not bear hatred for your brother in your heart.
Though you may have to reprove him,
do not incur sin because of him.
Take no revenge and cherish no grudge against your fellow countrymen.
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
I am the LORD."

This last section especially seems good to remember is this current political and social environment.

Pax et bonum

A Donegal Lad?

According to Ancestry, my Irish roots may reach into Donegal, right on the border with Ulster. Given the Irish/Scottish back-and-forth in my family history, this is no surprise. .

At least there are some great bands/musicians from the area, including Altan.  



Pax et bonum

The Negative Effects of Pot Smoking

A reasoned look at the negative effects of pot smoking in verywellmind.

Pax et bonum

How the Smart Set Was Wrong About Trump and the Unborn

I didn't vote for Trump for a variety of reasons, though I did think he would be more pro-life when it came to abortion than Hillary, with her extremist pro-abortion views.

He has proven to be even more pro-life on abortion than I thought. Crisis Magazine has a piece about how he has proven some of his critics wrong.

How the Smart Set Was Wrong About Trump and the Unborn - Crisis Magazine: Trump recently took $60 million away from Planned Parenthood, the first president ever to do so. This and other unique pro-life initiatives of President Trump turned my mind to certain claims made by the pro-life Smart Set back in those crazy days of the 2016 campaign. In March 2016, a group of old and very …

Pax et bonum

Ray Kroc lost - and we won!

A pineapple sandwich vs. a fish sandwich???

According to an article in the National Catholic Register, a contest between Ray Kroc and one of his McDonald's franchise owners resulted in Kroc losing  - and us getting the Filet-O-Fish.

I will confess, I've been hankering for a Filet-O-Fish this Lent!

Pax et bonum

haiku in the tide

he wrote his haiku
on the wet sand at low tide
and then walked away

Pax et bonum

The Four Female Doctors of the Church

Women to remember.



Empowering Women in Holiness: The 4 Female Doctors of the Church | ChurchPOP:



What beautiful examples of holy women!





Pax et bonum

We Must be Scaring Planned Parenthood!

It's time for 40 Days for Life.

I was scheduled for my first shift this morning. But the other day I got an e-mail.

It seems the city - at the behest of Planned Parenthood I'm sure - imposed some new rules.

We had had a buffer zone with yellow lines on the sidewalk on either side of the entrance to Planned Parenthood and its parking lot. But now we can't walk from one zone to the other directly. We have to cross the street - horizontally, not diagonally! - walk down the other side, then recross to the other buffer zone. We also can't prop signs against walls, building, poles, or trees, or even in the snow. And this morning, for the first time, a police car arrived in the parking lot to watch me as I - horrors - stood there holding a sign and saying a rosary. I've never had that happen before.

On a positive note, at least I was protected from assault by pro-choicers, as they are far more likely to commit acts of violence than I or other pro-lifers are.


The new rules make me think that the ongoing twice yearly 40 Days for Life campaigns, the monthly Stand Up for Life rallies, and the continuing presence of Sidewalk Advocates must be making the folks at Planned Parenthood nervous.

Maybe they see the writing on the wall - including the wall we can't lean a sign against.

Pax et bonum

A Litany for Lent

Litany for Lent

Lord Jesus, you have come to save us from our sins.
Lord, have mercy.

You fasted to encourage us to do penance.
Lord, have mercy.

You suffered temptation to give us strength.
Lord, have mercy.

You were transfigured to give us hope.
Lord, have mercy.

You suffered insults to bring us salvation.
Lord, have mercy.

You accepted death to bring us life with you.
Lord, have mercy.


(A nod to Happy Catholic for pointing this one out - it's originally from Catholic Doors.)

Pax et bonum

Maggie's Dreaming

 

Maggie’s dreaming
of chasing rabbits
or of frolicking with Mollie long gone
or of playing Dog and Master tag.

Maggie’s dreaming
of patrolling the yard to protect us from
bird-feeder-marauding squirrels
or garden-munching wood chucks
or bird-prowling neighbor’s cat.

Maggie’s dreaming
of barking full and loud at
strangers at the door
relatives at the door
the mailman at the mailbox
anyone walking by.

Maggie’s dreaming
of leaping high to catch snowballs
or of tug of wars with rope or a rubber chicken
or of madly dashing through the yard
leaping into the swimming pool
and then madly dashing about again
and again … and again …

Maggie’s dreaming
of long pre-dawn walks
sniffing everything that needs to sniffed
or of sitting proudly in the back seat
her hair and lips rippling in the open window wind.

Maggie’s dreaming
of her joints being flexible
again
or of her haunches being firm and full of spring
again
or of her eyes clear and sharp
again
or of her ears and nose keen
again.

Maggie’s dreaming
what may be her final dreams
and I watch her dreaming
wishing
this was
all a

dream.

 

 

(This is a poem I wrote in March 2009 about my beloved dog Maggie. Four months after I wrote this she fell, and had to be put to sleep. I still miss her.)
 

Pax et bonum

Why I Refuse to Buy Girl Scout Cookies

My daughters were in the Girl Scouts. I drove them to meetings, helped with cookie sales, joined them for Christmas caroling.

If they were young enough now, I would be opposing their participation, and I certainly would  not be involved.

The Girl Scouts have sold their soul to abortion advocates like Planned Parenthood. I've known this for years, but Elizabeth Johnston, The Activist Mommy, ably detailed this recently, reinforcing much of what I've found objectionable.

What a shame. My daughters had fun - too bad the girls involved today are being fed lies and spiritual poison. Were they young these days I'd support them being involved with a positive organization like the American Heritage Girls.

As for the cookies? Overpriced, and I'm trying to lose weight anyway.   

Pax et bonum

A Heavy Limerick

A young master baker named Bill
was proud of his portly wife Lill.
When she’d step on a scale
he’d remark without fail,
“Where there’s a weigh there’s a Will.”

Pax et bonum

A Celtic Prayer for Lent

You are God
Celtic oral tradition
(1st millennium)

You are the peace of all things calm
You are the place to hide from harm
You are the light that shines in dark
You are the heart's eternal spark
You are the door that's open wide
You are the guest who waits inside
You are the stranger at the door
You are the calling of the poor
You are my Lord and with me still
You are my love, keep me from ill
You are the light, the truth, the way
You are my Savior this very day.

Pax et bonum

Some old sonnets

Back in 1976, I decided to drop out of the college seminary I was in. I considered transferring to a different school, but by the time I left the seminary it was too late to do so for the fall semester. I opted to aim for a mid-year transfer.

Then I met a young lady. She was also an English major, was a gifted artist, and had at that point no boyfriend. So much for transferring.

Through a few casual conversations with her I discovered she was not interested in having a boyfriend at that time. That made her a challenge.

Given her love of older English literature - I was more of an American Literature person - I decided one approach was poetry. I was already a "poet" with a number of modern pieces under my belt, and even a few getting into print. I decided therefore to try to appeal to her through writing some classical, formal poetry. I settled on sonnets, and over a couple of months wrote eight of them which, of course, I shared with her.


Sonnet I
 
My love, she sets a poem before my eyes
to tell me what she closely holds inside

to say what lies behind her pain-filled sighs -

the shadows dark she tries so hard to hide.

Emotions flash like beacons from her face.

Her eyes, bright green, dart from my searching sight,

She parts, as if in a desperate race

to find a place to cry alone at night.

But then, a bird flies downward from the skies

and `lites upon the trees outside her room,

singing simple songs, sweet lullabies

with voice that intertwines like weaver's loom

The bird, a lark, a foolish bird I hear,

but by his song he tells us someone's near.

 

Sonnet II

I smell the color of the wild red rose.
I taste the motion of each vibrant tone.
I feel the drifting fragrance that arose
but with the night, I am once more alone.
Each sense is now alive and longs to touch
The mind is turned aside only to view
The mirror knows the truth, it tells me much:
You see? My image hangs alone there too.
So in the silence of my room I lie
as in deep thoughts my mind is plunged tonight
This fire within calls out for me to try
to share again love's ever pure delight.
Thus with God's grace, I pray this comes to be,
that two again may be together free.
 Sonnet III

Why do you look at me with worried eyes
and trouble so your heart on my behalf?
Ask me no more questions if you are wise;
I'll never tell what makes me so distaff.
You see, I have this pain in me that's deep,
so deep that even love's sweet ways must fail.
I do not want your lovely eyes to weep
for me, thus to myself I'll keep my tale.
And so dear one for now you serve me well,
through smile and cheer and tender, loving touch
that fill me with joy, like a ringing bell,
praising God's great love in giving so much.
Therefore, my love, take now what I can give.
Hold it close that together we might live.

Sonnet IV

At Hermitage, the snow begins to fall

and blanket all like silence come behind
a storm. Night falls unseen, no sign at all

is given then by nature to my kind.

Instead, there comes to me a sense of calm

I feel the soft kiss of welcome sleep

so needed by my soul - a precious balm

to heal me of the ills I feel so deep.

Sweet dreams begin their dancing through my brain

and slowly draw me inward to their realm

where life is lived with no threat of pain

and ecstasies in waiting overwhelm.

There given me as light from one above

lies the healing gift that we call love.

Sonnet V

The dark clouds have moved to other skies
And so, tonight, I spy the moon above.

Her light, it shines so palely on my eyes

and from the face, there comes a hint of love.

But then, the clouds return this way again

to cut the light that brightened so my heart

which fills once again with lonely pain

to kill the hope that there had found a start.

Oh, cruel, cruel night, why is your realm like hell?

Why do you rule us with such a harsh hand?

Dear God, why now should I who loves so well

be driven from this haven where I stand?

And then, praise God, the clouds are forced away

and by His will, the moon comes back to stay.

Sonnet VI

With ``No,'' all the dreams are driven away.

With ``No,'' ends that hope which started to grow.

With ``No,'' there dawns another lifeless day.

And inside me, hollowness comes with, ``No.''

A curse, a swear, a foul malicious word.

An ugly dark sentry blocking the road.

A wolf, ready to pounce upon the herd.

Filled with venom, a cruel misshapen toad.

I have heard the word many times before,

I have spoken it, tasted it, felt it.

And I've come to know it means so much more

than it says - yet still feel as if just hit.

It's never been said quite this way, you see,

as when said by you who means so much to me.

Sonnet VII

The stage is set, let the actors begin

performing the roles they were meant to play.

The king of hearts, the heartless man of tin,

the fool who laughs when there's nothing to say.

A drum sounds offstage, and lo, here's the queen

making her entrance and drawing all eyes;

the king, the tin man, by all she is seen,

even by the fool who laughs now in sighs.

The last scene soon comes, the play is now through.

The actors all bow and exit the stage -

except for the queen, and silent now, too,

the fool, who died on this, the last page.

But laughing he died, for he saw the jest:

the play was for fools, and he was the best.

Sonnet VIII

If I were but a sailor to this shore

If I were but a questor in this land
then you would be my port of call, and more,
the golden fleece, so near now to my hand.
If this world were any smaller, and I
had a shorter road to tread, you would still
be the distant isle, the unconquered hill
the lone cloud drifting in the golden sky.
If I were a poet, I'd immortalize
the sweet sound of your name, and the secret
you can't contain, revealed now in your eyes
as at that time when they and mine first met.
But these fancies are mere frivolity;
let us desist, for you are here with me.

I can't attribute the relationship that developed to the sonnets, but they probably didn't hurt. We dated throughout college, but after graduation broke up. She later married a college friend of mine. I was happy for them both.

 

About seven years after I wrote those eight sonnets, I was teaching high school English, and one of the works we read in English 9 was Romeo and Juliet. I reacted to the play with two sonnets with a decidedly cynical edge.

 

Juliet at 39 (if the plan had worked)

When I spoke of sweet smelling roses, I

wasn't thinking of the thorns. Nor did

I think that roses could so swiftly die,

or that that sweetness could turn so rancid.

When I held you close that first time, hearing

dawn's herald, the lark, I wished it gone: in

my mind it was. Now I lie in bed fearing

it will not come, and you'll wake up again.

And when I lay within that tomb, for love

of you seemingly dead, I dreamt of our life

together. Now all my dreams are full of

tombs, and my hands reach again for a knife.

Oh churl! Your lips once so warm now seem so cold,

and the life in them, like me, has grown old.

Romeo's lament (if the plan had worked)

A feasting presence full of light? Ha! Now

all you do is feast. Your dancing shoes have

soles of lead; that lead, alas, I must allow

is you. I remember well how you gave

me your hand that first night in prayer:

that was a game. Now your hand is penance.

It holds me back. It crushes all the gayer

aspects of my soul and kills all romance.

And my good name, Oh, what you did to that!

For love of you - if I ever did - I

new named now must live for killing a cat

and a noble youth. I wish I could die.

The sweeter rest, I've learned, would now be mine

had I married not you, but Rosaline.
 

I haven't tried a sonnet since. Hmm. After 35 plus years maybe it's time to try again!
Pax et bonum