What's Up, Doc? (Amy Coney Barrett)

Amy Coney Barret

was spotted chomping on a carrot.

Since she's an originalist, is it safe to assume,

she did so while wearing a Bugs Bunny costume?

Pax et bonum

Wonder What the Road Runner Thinks?

Wile E. Coyote

bit some Mexican peyote.

Suddenly convinced he was a stork, he went wild,

and delivered across the border child after child.

Pax et bonum

Better Use of Time

I was writing to my Fraternity today (a weekly newsletter I send out), and I recommended reading Franciscan-related materials.

Then I thought of my own reading. I have read some Francisca-related books over the years, but not with the frequency one would expect of a Secular Franciscan, especially one who is a "leader" in the Fraternity. I do read spiritual works, but I could read more, and I could focus what I'm reading to fit my vocation.

And then I thought about how much time I waste on watching pointless television shows and on social media - getting caught up in arguments, and not always being very Franciscan in my comments. 

I need to spend less time watching television and online, and more time writing or reading what would be good for me. 

I grabbed one of the Franciscan books off my shelf - Father Murray Bodo's Francis: The Journey and the Dream. I will begin that tonight.

Pax et bonum

40 Days for Life - Were You There? (from 10 years ago)

This is a post I ran 10 years ago on October 24 - 

Were you there?

I was.

Yesterday.

Outside Planned Parenthood, praying as part of 40 Days for Life.

Most of the time, I was alone.

Were you there?

That was the case almost all day. Few people had signed up to hold vigil.

Most of the day, no prayers.

Were you there?

I said a rosary. Waved to people who honked or gave me a thumbs up or a peace sign. Including a couple of police officers. Said a few words to people walking by.

Remembered to smile.

Were you there?

Wondered why so few people had signed up to pray.

The diocese did send out the information to all parishes. Many parishes ran announcements.

Were you there?

At my own parish, we had a table display set up. Two of us stood there after all the Masses one weekend. Father announced the campaign a couple of times, at Masses and in the bulletin. He even ran a lengthy article on the front of the bulletin.

As far as I know, only two of us from the parish responded. Perhaps a few more did.

But there are lots of gaps in the prayer list.

Were you there?

Maybe some people are afraid.

Maybe some were nervous about the threatening rain.

Maybe some are too busy trying to survive.

Maybe some don't want to face the guilt of their own involvement with abortions.

Maybe some are too busy with their own agendas and causes.

Maybe some don't care.

Were you there?

Mary of Focus Pregnancy Center arrived. She stood with me for a while, holding a sign, waving, talking to people, chatting with me.

After a while, I helped her unload some supplies and baby items from her car. To help the women in troubled pregnancies. To provide them with an alternative to the death Planned Parenthood offers.

Then I went home.

I know I shouldn't focus on what others are or are not doing. But I'm human and sinful myself.

At least I know for an hour and a half, someone was at Planned Parenthood praying for life.

Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

He's crucified every day in places like Planned Parenthood.

Pax et bonum

Stand Out for Life (10/24/20)

About 40 of us gathered for the latest Stand Out for Life of October 24 - despite the cold and the Covid.

Prayers and songs and witnessing. 

Love will end abortion!

Pax et bonum

Writing - Researching

I've been working on my Santa "novel" - compiling pieces i'd written before, and now revising and working them together.

I did send out a Christmas-related short story - but it got rejected. Looking for other outlets, but at least i do have a story to send out this year. I've begun compiling all the Christmas as stories there are five of them - and more than a dozen Christmas poems I've written over the years with hopes of turning them into a small collection for possible publication as a book. I'm also in the process of converting one of the stories into a short play. I don't know if I will submit that somewhere, or just add it to the collection.

I also submitted some clerihews to a magazine. The editor got back and they are under consideration.

And I'm doing some of the background reading about bees and honey for the mystery story idea I had. Fascinating topic.

So I'm keeping busy with writing.

Scribble, scribble. 

Pax et bonum

Biden listens to the music

Joe Biden

lingers in his basement listening to Haydn. But he's been seen in many a horror feature in supporting roles as yet another swamp creature.

Pax et bonum

Father Ed Meeks Preaches Boldly on Biden and 2020

Pax et bonum

The Death Penalty - Fratelli tutti (Pope Francis)

In his new encyclical, Pope Francis addresses the death penalty. I have been an opponent of the death penalty my entire adult life. - 

The death penalty

263. There is yet another way to eliminate others, one aimed not at countries but at individuals. It is the death penalty. Saint John Paul II stated clearly and firmly that the death penalty is inadequate from a moral standpoint and no longer necessary from that of penal justice.[246] There can be no stepping back from this position. Today we state clearly that “the death penalty is inadmissible”[247] and the Church is firmly committed to calling for its abolition worldwide.[248]

264. In the New Testament, while individuals are asked not to take justice into their own hands (cf. Rom 12:17.19), there is also a recognition of the need for authorities to impose penalties on evildoers (cf. Rom 13:4; 1 Pet 2:14). Indeed, “civic life, structured around an organized community, needs rules of coexistence, the wilful violation of which demands appropriate redress”.[249] This means that legitimate public authority can and must “inflict punishments according to the seriousness of the crimes”[250] and that judicial power be guaranteed a “necessary independence in the realm of law”.[251]

265. From the earliest centuries of the Church, some were clearly opposed to capital punishment. Lactantius, for example, held that “there ought to be no exception at all; that it is always unlawful to put a man to death”.[252] Pope Nicholas I urged that efforts be made “to free from the punishment of death not only each of the innocent, but all the guilty as well”.[253] During the trial of the murderers of two priests, Saint Augustine asked the judge not to take the life of the assassins with this argument: “We do not object to your depriving these wicked men of the freedom to commit further crimes. Our desire is rather that justice be satisfied without the taking of their lives or the maiming of their bodies in any part. And, at the same time, that by the coercive measures provided by the law, they be turned from their irrational fury to the calmness of men of sound mind, and from their evil deeds to some useful employment. This too is considered a condemnation, but who does not see that, when savage violence is restrained and remedies meant to produce repentance are provided, it should be considered a benefit rather than a mere punitive measure… Do not let the atrocity of their sins feed a desire for vengeance, but desire instead to heal the wounds which those deeds have inflicted on their souls”.[254]

266. Fear and resentment can easily lead to viewing punishment in a vindictive and even cruel way, rather than as part of a process of healing and reintegration into society. Nowadays, “in some political sectors and certain media, public and private violence and revenge are incited, not only against those responsible for committing crimes, but also against those suspected, whether proven or not, of breaking the law… There is at times a tendency to deliberately fabricate enemies: stereotyped figures who represent all the characteristics that society perceives or interprets as threatening. The mechanisms that form these images are the same that allowed the spread of racist ideas in their time”.[255] This has made all the more dangerous the growing practice in some countries of resorting to preventive custody, imprisonment without trial and especially the death penalty.

267. Here I would stress that “it is impossible to imagine that states today have no other means than capital punishment to protect the lives of other people from the unjust aggressor”. Particularly serious in this regard are so-called extrajudicial or extralegal executions, which are “homicides deliberately committed by certain states and by their agents, often passed off as clashes with criminals or presented as the unintended consequences of the reasonable, necessary and proportionate use of force in applying the law”.[256]

268. “The arguments against the death penalty are numerous and well-known. The Church has rightly called attention to several of these, such as the possibility of judicial error and the use made of such punishment by totalitarian and dictatorial regimes as a means of suppressing political dissidence or persecuting religious and cultural minorities, all victims whom the legislation of those regimes consider ‘delinquents’. All Christians and people of good will are today called to work not only for the abolition of the death penalty, legal or illegal, in all its forms, but also to work for the improvement of prison conditions, out of respect for the human dignity of persons deprived of their freedom. I would link this to life imprisonment… A life sentence is a secret death penalty”.[257]

269. Let us keep in mind that “not even a murderer loses his personal dignity, and God himself pledges to guarantee this”.[258] The firm rejection of the death penalty shows to what extent it is possible to recognize the inalienable dignity of every human being and to accept that he or she has a place in this universe. If I do not deny that dignity to the worst of criminals, I will not deny it to anyone. I will give everyone the possibility of sharing this planet with me, despite all our differences.

270. I ask Christians who remain hesitant on this point, and those tempted to yield to violence in any form, to keep in mind the words of the book of Isaiah: “They shall beat their swords into plowshares” (2:4). For us, this prophecy took flesh in Christ Jesus who, seeing a disciple tempted to violence, said firmly: “Put your sword back into its place; for all who take the sword will perish by the sword” (Mt 26:52). These words echoed the ancient warning: “I will require a reckoning for human life. Whoever sheds the blood of a man, by man shall his blood be shed” (Gen 9:5-6). Jesus’ reaction, which sprang from his heart, bridges the gap of the centuries and reaches the present as an enduring appeal.- Fratelli Tutti - Pope Francis

Pax et bonum

That Santa Story

I started compiling some of the material I've written for my Santa "book."

I've gotten sections totaling more that 22,000 words so far - and I've only started! A couple of separate stories - and the story of how he met Mrs. Claus.

As I said, there's easily as much material for this book as there is for the "Swedenborg" novel.

I'll keep compiling.

Ho! Ho! Ho!

Pax et bonum

Rod Dreher's Latest: A Must Read

I just finished Rod Dreher's Live Not By Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents. 

I can't recommend it enough.

Dreher interviewed a number of people who had survived Communist repression  and their children. The stories were chilling - indeed, some of the stories of actual mistreatment and torture were really uncomfortable to read. They provide some guidance about how to face such repression in the future.

Dreher's point is that what those people experienced under "hard totalitarianism" may not be what we will experience here, but he warned that there is a "soft totalitarianism" that is affecting us, and will likely get worse. While people may not be arrested, tortured and killed, they may face social ostracism, loss of jobs or promotions, and possible fines/legal issues. 

My one quibble is that unlike his previous book, The Benedict Option, Dreher didn't provide enough stories of how we as Christians are currently fighting this soft totalitarianism. Yes, the examples of what the Communist repression survivors did do provide guidance and role models. Still, another chapter about how people are currently fighting soft totalitarianism in West would have been good. As a result of that lack, the view of the book is a perhaps darker, more pessimistic than it could have been.

But as I said, it's a quibble. This is an important book that I think all people of faith should read.

Pax et bonum

Swedenborg Pause?

Now that I have the full edited text of what I've written so far in the "Swedenborg" novel - some 40,000 words' worth - posted on this blog, I've reached the point I did when I paused in my writing of it several years ago.

The novel deals with some dark things, and even though I've now removed some of the dark elements, it still troubles me. As I noted, I started it when I was a reader (and writer) of horror fiction, but that was years ago. I've pretty much stopped reading such fiction - I have no desire to darken my soul. And even though I've tried to "baptize" the story, parts of it still trouble me. Indeed, at least one of the incidents recounted in the story actually happened to me. it was a serious temptation at that time, and only by the grace of God was I able to resist it. It still haunts me. I feel uncomfortable recounting it. 

And though I am a person of faith, there are weaknesses in my character that are subject to temptations.

What to do?

I want to focus on what is more spiritually nourishing, and, given my own weakness, I want to avoid things that could draw me to darker things.

I think I'm going to pause for now.

I have other things to work on. One of them is the Santa "novel" I wrote some elements of years ago. That is more in keeping with my current state. Those elements amount to easily as many words as this novel. And there is the "bee" mystery novel I started collecting notes for.

I am more inclined to YA and children's literature. That seems to be more where i need to focus - for my own good, and for the good of others. 

Pax et bonum

 

Joe Biden and Communion

Joe Biden has been described as a "devout Catholic" - and he certainly regularly says he is a practicing  Catholic.

But given his stance on issues like abortion, homosexual marriage, embryonic stem cell research, and more, some have called into question his standing as a Catholic. I certainly have.

Although Church leaders are often loathe to say things that might shake things up, some clergy have spoken out about Biden over the years. Several have said he should not receive Communion until he repents.

2020 - Cardinal Raymond Burke: Joe Biden "is not a Catholic in good standing and he should not approach to receive Holy Communion."

2020 - Bishop Richard Stika, the Bishop of Knoxville, Tennessee, said, “[I] don't understand how Mr. Biden can claim to be a good and faithful Catholic as he denies so much of Church teaching, especially on the absolute child abuse and human rights violations of the most innocent, the not yet born. And he also praises his sidekick who has shown time and time again in senate hearings that she is an anti-Catholic bigot.” 

2020 - Fr. Kevin Cusick, the Pastor of Saint Francis de Sales Catholic Church, in Benedict, Maryland, wrote, “Joe Biden is not a practicing Catholic. And practicing Catholics cannot vote for Biden for president in good conscience."

2019 – Father Robert Morey of St. Anthony's Parish in Florence, South Carolina, refused Joe Biden Communion.

2012 - Bishop Michael Sheridan of the Diocese of Colorado Springs warned then-Vice President Joe Biden “ought not to be receiving Communion.”

2008 - Bishop Joseph Francis Martino of Joe Biden’s hometown of Scranton, Pennsylvania, told Biden he could not receive Communion.

The Code of Canon Law stipulates that Holy Communion should not be given to those “who obstinately persist in manifest grave sin.”

In a 2004 memorandum to U.S.Bishops, then-Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI), at the time the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, pointed out that obstinately pro-abortion Catholic politicians, after being duly instructed and warned, should be denied Communion. That clearly seems to have been the case with Biden. 

Critics argue that Communion should not be weaponized or used as a punishment. But that shows a clear misunderstanding about what Communion is.

Pope Benedict's 2004 memorandum notes: "This decision, properly speaking, is not a sanction or a penalty. Nor is the minister of Holy Communion passing judgment on the person’s subjective guilt, but rather is reacting to the person’s public unworthiness to receive Holy Communion due to an objective situation of sin."  

Here's an analogy: If a person has a serious medical problem, and a doctor prescribes a medicine to help, but one that might be unpleasant, or even painful in some way, do we say the doctor has weaponized the medicine, or is punishing the patient? Of course not.

Communion is a Sacrament of healing - yes - but one must be ready for that healing. It is a Sacrament of unity - we are one body - but if a person has taken a position in stark contrast to a significant Catholic teaching, that person is not in union with fellow Catholics.

Similar prohibitions have been issued about other politicians ho identify as Catholic but who hold pro-choice positions, including Nancy Pelosi, Dick Durban, and John Kerry.

The goal is to get them to see the error of their ways and to repent.

We must pray this will happen with Biden and the others.

Pax et bonum

Ruby (recovered photograph)

Miss you girl.

Pax et bonum

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (Bradley)

I continue with my plunge into mystery stories (though I am reading other books as well, of course).

The latest mystery is The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley. 

What a delightful find.

The protagonist is precocious 11-year-old girl, Flavia de Luce. She is perhaps a bit to a precocious, but she is still an enjoyable character. She certainly held my interest. 

The plot is clever (though there are some implausible details). The pace is great. The historical details - the book is set in post-World War II Great Britain - ring true. Even the chemistry details seem plausible (though, admittedly, I'm not a chemist, so I don't know enough to know if some of them are wrong). 

I did figure out the killer part way through the book, but there were still some nice twists involving this perpetrator.

I enjoyed the book, and when I finished it I wondered if it was part of a series. I checked and discovered it indeed is.

I would read more of those books, though not immediately. As I mentioned, Flavia is a bit too precocious, and I think I'd tire of her quickly. 

I recommend this book.   

Now, back to Rod Dreher's latest look at America (Live Not by Lies: A Manual for Christian Dissidents) 

Pax et bonum

The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (Christie)

It had been a while since I read anything by Agatha Christie, but feeling in a mystery mood, and knowing her reputation, I decided to read one of her most highly regraded books, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.

I'm glad I did.

The book shows why she is considered one of the greatest mystery writers of all time. The characters are interesting. The writing is clear. The pace is good. The little twists are integrated well. The clues are there - and usually I figure out who the killer is in most mysteries long before the end - but she kept me guessing until the last few chapters.

Bravo.

I will definitely read more by her. If you like good mysteries, I highly recommend this book.

Pax et bonum