Rock of Faith in the Dark!

The band I used to be in practiced despite a power outage!

And here we were for a Christmas show in 2018.

Pax et bonum

Will Smith and Myth

Will Smith

played a hero in many a cinematic myth.

Alas, his image took a hit

with his reaction of Chris Rock's wit.

Pax et bonum

Let it snow ...

We’ve had a small late March snowstorm the last day or so. In Western New York, this is not unusual. I’ve experienced April snow here. 

There was enough snow I had to do a little shoveling of the driveway. 

I like shoveling snow. It’s a physical activity, albeit, a short-lived one. But it makes me feel …  virtuous. And there’s a sense of accomplishment as I clear a path for the cars. And it gives me time to think, to pray, to mull over my latest writing project.

When the snowfall is heavier, as it was earlier this year, (See picture above) I’ve even had to get out the  small electric snowblower my daughters kindly gave me one Christmas. I like to shovel, but I’m not a masochist.

My wife, however, frets any time I go out to clear snow off the driveway. She is certain I will at some point have a heart attack and drop dead. Shovel in hand. She keeps bringing up the idea of hiring someone to plow.

When she brings this up, I usually respond I don’t want to hire a plowing service. And if I do drop dead, it’s actually one of the ways I wouldn’t mind going into the great beyond. It would be sudden; no lingering. 

Another way I wouldn’t mind going is mowing the lawn. It’s also an activity I enjoy for many of the same reasons I enjoy shoveling the driveway. And it’s another activity my wife frets about and repeatedly calls for hiring an outsider to battle the grass.

So far, I’ve held off giving in to her.

There’s also a romantic side to me, so if I had to go I wouldn’t mind if it was in some heroic way. I’m too old to be a soldier, a police officer, or a firefighter, so I wouldn’t go into the heavenly realms doing my job. But dying while saving someone during some kind of disaster - natural or man-made - would be a fine way to step into the light.

Another romantic way to go would be as a martyr. Yes, that might be slow and/or painful, but dying for my faith in such a way would make up for some (too many) sins in my past, and would (I hope) punch my ticket into heaven. 

I’ve joked that when my time comes, family members should just drive me deep into the Canadian woods, open the car door, and let me out to sit under a tree to welcome Brother Death. Of course, the fact that I might also have to deal with Brother Bear or Brother Wolf makes me reject this option.

What I would not like is a slow, lingering slide into that good night. I’ve watched too many loved ones suffer in that way. My father, who in his youth had been a star athlete and even a heavyweight boxer, suffered a massive stroke and spent his last 13 years gradually losing his abilities to walk and to take care of himself. He ended up in a nursing home. He was aware of his decline, and it deeply troubled him.

That’s not for me.

Just give me a shovel and let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

Pax et bonum

Saint Ludovico of Casoria

Saint Ludovico of Casoria

Born in Casoria, near Naples, Arcangelo Palmentieri was a cabinet-maker before entering the Friars Minor in 1832, taking the name Ludovico. After his ordination five years later, he taught chemistry, physics, and mathematics to younger members of his province for several years.

In 1847, he had a mystical experience which he later described as a cleansing. After that, he dedicated his life to the poor and the infirm, establishing a dispensary for the poor, two schools for African children, an institute for the children of nobility, as well as an institution for orphans, the deaf, and the speechless, and other institutes for the blind, elderly, and for travelers. In addition to an infirmary for friars of his province, he began charitable institutes in Naples, Florence, and Assisi. He once said, “Christ’s love has wounded my heart.” This love prompted him to great acts of charity.

To help continue these works of mercy, in 1859 he established the Gray Brothers, a religious community composed of men who formerly belonged to the Secular Franciscan Order. Three years later, he founded the Gray Sisters of St. Elizabeth for the same purpose.

Toward the beginning of his final, nine-year illness, Ludovico wrote a spiritual testament which described faith as “light in the darkness, help in sickness, blessing in tribulations, paradise in the crucifixion, and life amid death.” The local work for his beatification began within five months of Ludovico’s death. He was beatified in 1993 and canonized in 2014.

- from Franciscan Media

Pax et bonum

Roots: New Family Line

Alanson Strong (1811-97)

A friend who does genealogies did a quick one for me last year. He admitted that time it might not be accurate, but a full one would cost a lot of time and money.

I was pleased with his results, which traced my family line back to Elder John Strong, with a couple of hints about his father and grandfather back in England.. 

Turns out, it was not accurate. It took a wrong turn with Alanson Strong’s father. I was able to find what seems to be the right stream. And I was able to extend it back into the Middle Ages and to France!

Here is the new family tree - just for the father/son stream, and not including all the branches.

Everett Leroy Strong - my father May 26, 1932 – March 7, 2010

Roy Everett Strong July 21, 1901 – Walton, Delaware NY – August 15, 1995

Robert J. Strong April 1875 – New York – September 13, 1901

John A. Strong October 2, 1855 – Franklin, Delaware NY - 1931

Timothy Strong 1773–18 December 1847 - Otsego NY 

Asher Strong December 1741 - Northampton, Massachusetts - December 6, 1813 

Deacon Seth Strong Sr. April 4, 1716 - Northampton, Massachusetts -  1790/92

Jerijah Strong - December 12, 1665 -Northampton, Massachusetts - April 24, 1754 

“Elder” John Strong, About 1610 – Taunton, Somerset, England – April 14, 1699   

John Strong - 1585 - Chard, Somerset, England - 1612

George Strong - 1556 Chard, Somerset, England - 20 May 1635

John Strong - 1520 - Chard, Somersetshire, England - 29 November 1580

Robert Strange - 1479 - Pakenham, Suffolk, England - about 1556

Sir Henry Beaumont Le Strange -  1432 - Hunstanton, Norfolk, England - 25 Nov 1485 

John Le Strange - 1387 - Hunstanton, Norfolk, England - 26 October 1436

Sir John le Strange VIII - 1350 - 5 May 1417  

Hamon le Strange II - Abt 1315 Hunstanton, Norfolk, England - 1368

Hamon le Strange - abt 1283 - Hunstanton, Norfolk, England - November 1317

John le Strange 1st Baron Strange of Knokyn - 1254 - Ellesmere, Shropshire, England -  8 August 1309

John Strange 1st Lord Strange of Knockin - Abt 1232 - Knockin, Shropshire, England -  26 February 1276

John le Strange III - 1200 - Cheswardine, Shropshire, England - 26 March 1269

John le Strange II -  Abt 1155 - Cheswardine, Shropshire, England - 20 January 1234

John Le Strange - 1132 - Cheswardine, Shropshire, England - 29 September 1178

Roland le Strange - abt 1096 - Dol-de-Bretagne, Saint-Malo, Îlle-et-Vilaine, Bretagne, France - abt 1153 (Cheswardine, Shropshire, England)

Guy le Strange - 1048 - Bretagne, France - 1105 (London, London, Middlesex, England)

I found a few details about some of these forefathers.

Guy le Strange was born in 1048, in Brittany, France. He had at least 8 sons and 2 daughters with Mellette Peverel. He died in 1105, in London, Middlesex, England, at the age of 57, and was buried in London, Middlesex, England.

When Roland le Strange was born about 1096, in Dol-de-Bretagne, Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany, France, his father, Guy le Strange, was 48 and his mother, Mellette Peverel, was 19. He married Matilda Maud de Hustranton about 1120, in Cheswardine, Shropshire, England, United Kingdom. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 2 daughters. He died about 1153, in Cheswardine, Shropshire, England, at the age of 57.

When John Le Strange was born in 1132, in Cheswardine, Shropshire, England, his father, Roald Le Strange, was 36 and his mother, Matilda Maud de Hustranton, was 32. He married Hawise Senlis in 1167, in Cheswardine, Shropshire, England. They were the parents of at least 7 sons and 3 daughters. He died before 29 September 1178, at the age of 46.

When John le Strange II was born about 1155, in Cheswardine, Shropshire, England, United Kingdom, his father, John Le Strange, was 23 and his mother, Hawise Senlis, was 9. He married Amicia d'Aubeney in 1193, in Cheswardine, Shropshire, England. They were the parents of at least 2 sons and 2 daughters. He died before 20 January 1234, in Knockin in Oswestry, Shropshire, England, United Kingdom, at the age of 79.

When John le Strange III was born in 1200, in Cheswardine, Shropshire, England, his father, John le Strange II, was 45 and his mother, Amicia d'Aubeney, was 28. He married Lucy de Tregoz. They were the parents of at least 5 sons and 3 daughters. He registered for military service in 1214. In 1236, at the age of 45, his occupation is listed as sheriff of salopshire and stafford in Staffordshire, England. He died on 26 March 1269, in Warwickshire, England, at the age of 69.

When John Strange 1st Lord Strange of Knockin was born about 1232, in Knockin in Oswestry, Shropshire, England, United Kingdom, his father, John le Strange III, was 32 and his mother, Lucy de Tregoz, was 30. He married Joan de Somery about 1252, in Ellesmere, Shropshire, England, United Kingdom. They were the parents of at least 1 son and 1 daughter. He died on 26 February 1276, in Knockin in Oswestry, Shropshire, England, at the age of 44.

When John le Strange 1st Baron Strange of Knokyn was born in 1254, in Ellesmere, Shropshire, England, his father, John Strange 1st Lord Strange of Knockin, was 22 and his mother, Joan de Somery, was 21. He married Alianore de Montz about 1274, in England. He died on 8 August 1309, in Walton, Warwickshire, England, at the age of 55, and was buried in Shropshire, England.

When Hamon le Strange I was born about 1283, in Hunstanton, Norfolk, England, his father, John le Strange 1st Baron Strange of Knokyn, was 29 and his mother, Maud d'Eiville de Walton, was 32. He married Margaret de Vernon about 1315. They were the parents of at least 1 son. He died in November 1317, in his hometown, at the age of 34.

When Hamon le Strange II was born about 1315, in Hunstanton, Norfolk, England, United Kingdom, his father, Hamon le Strange I, was 32 and his mother, Margaret de Vernon, was 18. He married Catherine Camoys in 1346. They were the parents of at least 1 son. He died in 1368, in his hometown, at the age of 53.

When Sir John le Strange VIII was born in 1350, in Norfolk, England, United Kingdom, his father, Hamon le Strange II, was 35 and his mother, Catherine Camoys, was 13. He married Eleanor Walkefore in 1386, in Norfolk, England, United Kingdom. They were the parents of at least 7 sons. He died on 5 May 1417, in Hunstanton, Norfolk, England, United Kingdom, at the age of 67.

When John Le Strange was born in 1387, in Hunstanton, Norfolk, England, United Kingdom, his father, Sir John le Strange VIII, was 37 and his mother, Eleanor Walkefore, was 38. He married Lady Alice Beaumont in 1411, in Hunstanton, Norfolk, England, United Kingdom. They were the parents of at least 7 sons and 1 daughter. He died on 26 October 1436, in his hometown, at the age of 49.

When Sir Henry Beaumont Le Strange was born in 1432, in Hunstanton, Norfolk, England, United Kingdom, his father, John Le Strange, was 45 and his mother, Lady Alice Beaumont, was 42. He married Catherine Drury in 1466, in Norfolk, England, United Kingdom. They were the parents of at least 6 sons and 4 daughters. He died on 25 November 1485, in his hometown, at the age of 53, and was buried in King's Lynn, Norfolk, England, United Kingdom. 

When John Strong was born about 1520, in Chard, Somerset, England, United Kingdom, his father, Robert Strange, was 41 and his mother, Agness Boyngton, was 30. He married Agnes Whitman in 1540, in Chard, Somerset, England, United Kingdom. They were the parents of at least 6 sons and 4 daughters. He died on 29 November 1580, in England, United Kingdom, at the age of 60, and was buried in Mells, Somerset, England.

When George Strong was born in 1556, in Chard, Somerset, England, his father, John Strong, was 36 and his mother, Agnes Whitman, was 37. He married Elizabeth Ann Bond about 1578, in Somerset, England. They were the parents of at least 6 sons. His occupation is listed as tailor in Chard, Somerset, England. He died on 20 May 1635, in his hometown, at the age of 79.

When John Strong Sr. was born about 1585, in Chard, Somerset, England, his father, George Strong, was 29 and his mother, Elizabeth Ann Bond, was 25. He married Mrs John Strong in 1609, in Chard, Somerset, England. They were the parents of at least 1 son and 1 daughter. He died in July 1612, in his hometown, at the age of 27, and was buried in Chard, Somerset, England.

When Elder John Strong was born about 1610, in Chard, Somerset, England, United Kingdom, his father, John Strong Sr., was 25 and his mother, Mrs John Strong, was 25. He married Margerie Deane on 15 December 1630, in South Chard, Somerset, England. They were the parents of at least 1 son. He lived in Northampton, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America in 1659. He died on 14 April 1699, in Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America, at the age of 89, and was buried in Bridge Street Cemetery, Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America.

When Jerijah Strong was born on 12 December 1665, in Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America, his father, Elder John Strong, was 55 and his mother, Abigail Ford, was 46. He married Thankful Stebbins on 18 July 1700, in Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America. They were the parents of at least 5 sons and 2 daughters. He died on 24 April 1754, in his hometown, at the age of 88, and was buried in Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America.

When Deacon Seth Strong Sr was born on 4 April 1716, in Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America, his father, Jerijah Strong, was 50 and his mother, Thankful Stebbins, was 37. He married Lois Strong about 1740, in Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America. They were the parents of at least 6 sons and 3 daughters. He lived in New Marlborough, Berkshire, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America in 1752 and Egremont, Berkshire, Massachusetts, United States in 1769. He died after 1790, in Great Barrington, Berkshire, Massachusetts, United States, at the age of 75.

When Asher Strong was born on 2 December 1741, in Northampton, Hampshire, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America, his father, Deacon Seth Strong Sr, was 25 and his mother, Lois Strong, was 20. He married Parnelle Goodrich about 1770, in Massachusetts, United States. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 3 daughters. He lived in Otsego, New York, United States in 1790 and Otsego, Otsego, New York, United States in 1800. He died on 6 December 1813, in Owasco, Owasco, Cayuga, New York, United States, at the age of 72.

When Timothy Strong was born about 1773, in Otsego, New York, United States, his father, Asher Strong, was 32 and his mother, Parnelle Goodrich, was 21. He married Wealthy Badger about 1798, in Owasco, Owasco, Cayuga, New York, United States. They were the parents of at least 3 sons and 3 daughters. He lived in Auburn, Cayuga, New York, United States in 1830 and Summerhill, Cayuga, New York, United States in 1840. He died on 18 December 1847, in Sterling, Cayuga, New York, United States, at the age of 74.

When Alanson Strong was born on 5 April 1811, in Owasco, Owasco, Cayuga, New York, United States, his father, Timothy Strong, was 38 and his mother, Wealthy Badger, was 31. He married Eliza Johnson on 14 October 1830. They were the parents of at least 4 sons and 2 daughters. He lived in New York, United States in 1870. He died on 11 February 1897, in Franklin, Otsego, New York, United States, at the age of 85, and was buried in Franklin, Otsego, New York, United States.

When John Alfred Strong was born on 2 October 1855, in Franklin, Otsego, New York, United States, his father, Alanson Strong, was 44 and his mother, Eliza Johnson, was 43. He had at least 1 daughter with Mary M Strong. He lived in New York, United States in 1870 and Walton, Walton, Delaware, New York, United States in 1920.

Pax et bonum

More Family Roots Information

A search by a friend - 

I am reasonably sure that Robert J. Strong is your great grandfather, based on the documentary evidence. Attached you will find the marriage record for son Roy, in which he names his parents. 

Also attached is his draft record, which states he was born in Walton (Delaware County). These are attached to the Ancestry tree I shared with you. The 1900 US census (not attached) lists Robert and Althea Strong living in Walton. Roy was born the following year (1901) and his dad died the same year (1901). 

There is a clear connection between Robert and Alanson, though, as you can see in the 1892 NY state census, also attached. Check the second column, Alanson is there with his son John, John's wife Mary and son Robert.

Pax et bonum

Biden lied - again

At the NATO press conference today, Joe Biden talked about Donald Trump

“I wasn’t gonna run again, and I mean that sincerely,” said Mr Biden, who before 2020 had made two failed attempts at the presidency.

What motivated him, he said, were the scenes from 2017 Charlottesville rally, an alt-right protest that he evoked during the Q&A portion of the summit, which he found had a haunting resemblance to Nazi Germany.

“I saw those folks … carrying torches and carrying Nazi banners, literally singing the same vile rhyme that they used in Germany in the early 30s.”

He then went on to address his 2020 opponent’s response to the riot, which left one woman dead, and, in a similar fashion to the German reporter, answered without ever actually saying Mr Trump’s name.

“When the gentleman you mentioned was asked what he thought,” Mr Biden began, “he said they were very good people on both sides.”

Biden distorted what Trump said. Trump clearly condemned the the racists and theri violence.

In distorting, Biden lied - again.

From the New York Post 

Former US Attorney General Bill Barr on Monday accused President Biden of having “lied to the American people” during a presidential debate when he called The Post’s exposure of his son Hunter Biden’s emails “a Russian plant.”

During an appearance on Fox News, Barr said, “I was very disturbed during the debate when candidate Biden lied to the American people about the laptop.”

“He’s squarely confronted with the laptop, and he suggested that it was Russian disinformation and pointed to the letter written by some intelligence people that was baseless — which he knew was a lie,” Barr said. 

Others - 

The executive director of the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pa., is contesting President Biden’s claim that he visited the synagogue after a white supremacist shot and killed eleven worshippers in October 2018.

Biden claimed to have visited the synagogue in the wake of the attack during a Thursday Zoom call marking the Jewish High Holidays.

“I remember spending time at the — you know, going to the — you know, the Tree of Life Synagogue, speaking with the — just — it just is amazing these things are happening — happening in America,” Biden said, according to a White House transcript of the call sent to reporters.

Barb Feige, who became executive director of the synagogue in 2019, told the New York Post that Biden has not visited since the attack took place. The White House claimed on Friday that Biden referred to a phone call with the rabbi of the Tree of Life Synagogue in 2019, in a statement to CNN.

The Washington Post awarded President Biden its harshest fact-check rating of "Four Pinocchios" over his false claim this week that he was "arrested" for the first time as a teenager while attending a civil rights protest in Delaware.

In a Thursday piece headlined, "Biden claims yet another arrest for which there’s little evidence," Glenn Kessler, The Post's resident fact-checker, wrote that Biden was "not always a reliable source" when it came to his "exaggerated" stories, and that too many elements of his claim didn't add up.

Pax et bonum

Clan MacMillan

Clan MacMillan

Gaelic Name: MacGhilleMhaolain

Crest: A dexter and a sinister hand issuing from a Wreath grasping and brandishing aloft a two-handed sword, Proper

Motto: Misesris Succerere Disco (I learn to succour the unfortunate)

Origin of Name: Gaelic, Son of the bald or tonsured one

Badge: Holly

Lands: Lochaber, Argyll, and Galloway

Clan Chief: George MacMillan of MacMillan

Pax et bonum

She's not a biologist

Pax et bonum

Cornholed

While flipping the channels one day I happened on a sports network featuring a cornhole tournament.

Cornhole is a word that always implied something vulgar or obscene to me, yet here they were playing a game bearing that name. What’s next, a game called upchuck?

Anyway, the point of the game is to toss small bean bags at an inclined wooden platform with a hole in it and to try to get the bags into the hole. I understand the bags used to be filled with dried corn - hence the name. If they painted a face on the board and the hole was the mouth, could you call it pie hole?

Now I can imagine bored young men in the nineteenth century playing this sort of game in farm country. I suspect some drinking may have been involved. Or maybe some entrepreneur coming up with this as a parlor game. But when did this become a television-worthy event? With associations, teams, and prizes no less?

I suddenly thought back to when I was in high school. During lunch breaks, a few of us, bored, came up with a game involving a tennis ball and a classroom wastebasket. We’d find an empty room, put the wastebasket on top of something - the teacher’s desk, a stool, a bookcase - and from various locations in the classroom try to toss the tennis ball into it.

We called it “Trashketball.”

We later drifted away from the game. It helped that a teacher found out we’d been playing in his room and he asked us to stop.

Our game was a silly one - as silly in some ways as cornhole. But the world is full of strange games. Lawn mower racing, for example. Or cheese rolling. Or toe wrestling. As a person of Scottish descent, I have to own tossing the caber - basically heaving a telephone pole. I suspect that one, like so many other games, began as a way to show off for the guys, and perhaps to impress some young ladies.

And I suspect in all of these competitions some drinking may have been involved.

Cornhole made it on television in part because there are now channels totally devoted to sports, and they have to fill their schedules and generate advertising income. There are all sorts of sports showing up that used to be just activities people did to fill time and hone skills - ax throwing, rock paper scissors, and even stone skipping.

It’s a situation similar to one faced by all those cable news channels that have to fill their schedules with programming. In the past, some of the talking heads they hired might just have been the loud-mouthed guys who pontificated in bars or the passionate women who voiced their views with the neighbors over coffee. And sometimes their opinions make as much sense as tossing bean bags. Or telephone poles.

One wonders what competition they’ll turn to next to fill sports channel schedules. Tiddlywinks? Twister? Tabletop football?

There's money to be made. Or fifteen minutes of fame. And a few adult beverages consumed. 

Maybe it’s time to bring back Trashketball. 

Pax et bonum

USCCB - Statement Defending Life, Opposing Abortion

WASHINGTON - In anticipation of the Supreme Court of the United States issuing its ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Archbishop José H. Gomez of Los Angeles, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and chairmen of USCCB committees serving women and families issued the following statement:

“Standing with Moms in Need”

“[E]very human life, unique and unrepeatable, has value in and of itself; it is of inestimable value. This must always be proclaimed anew with the courage of the Word and the courage of actions. It calls us to solidarity and fraternal love for the great human family and for each of its members.” –Pope Francis on the 25th Anniversary of Evangelium Vitae (March 25, 2020)

As our nation awaits the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, we join together in prayer and expectant hope that states will again be able to protect women and children from the injustice of abortion. As we affirm the value of every human life, we welcome the possibility of saving countless unborn children as well as sparing women and families the pain of abortion. 

The Catholic Church has a long history of service to those who are most vulnerable and remains the largest private provider of social services in the United States. Through the sacrificial efforts of faithful Catholics, the Church serves millions through diocesan ministries and agencies, Catholic hospitals and healthcare systems, immigration clinics, shelters, and Catholic schools and parishes. From religious communities to pregnancy care centers, from refugee resettlement services to foster care and adoption agencies, and from maternity homes to parish-based ministries, the Church consistently bears witness in word and deed to the beauty and dignity of every human life—including both mother and child. 

As the chairmen of committees serving the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, we proclaim a vision for our society that upholds the truth that every human life is sacred and inviolable—a society in which the legal protection of human life is accompanied by profound care for mothers and their children. We exhort our nation to prioritize the well-being of women, children, and families with both material resources and personal accompaniment so that no woman ever feels forced to choose between her future and the life of her child.

In that effort, we recommit our committees and urge our dioceses, parishes, and Catholic agencies and institutions: 

• To redouble our efforts to accompany women and couples who are facing unexpected or difficult pregnancies, and during the early years of parenthood, offering them loving and compassionate care through initiatives such as Walking with Moms in Need and countless others. 
• To ensure our Catholic parishes are places of welcome for women facing challenging pregnancies or who find it difficult to care for their children after birth, so that any mother needing assistance will receive life-affirming support and be connected to appropriate programs and resources where she can get help. 
• To help Catholics recognize the needs of pregnant and parenting moms in their communities, enabling parishioners to know these mothers, to listen to them, and to help them obtain the necessities of life for themselves and their children. 
• To be witnesses of love and life by expanding and improving the extensive network of comprehensive care including pregnancy help centers, maternity homes, and Catholic health care and social service agencies. 
• To proclaim with a clear and united voice that our society can and must protect and care for both women and their children. 
• To redouble our advocacy for laws that ensure the right to life for unborn children and that no mother or family lacks the basic resources needed to care for their children, regardless of race, age, immigration status, or any other factor.
• To continue to support and advocate for public policies and programs directed toward building up the common good and fostering integral human development, with a special concern for the needs of immigrants and low-income families. 

We are deeply conscious that, after nearly half a century of legalized abortion, more than 65 million children have died from abortion and an untold number of women, men, and families suffer in the aftermath. Recognizing this pain and loss, we also recommit our committees and urge our dioceses, parishes, and Catholic agencies and institutions: 

• To proclaim God’s mercy after abortion and compassionately accompany women and men who are suffering after an abortion. 
• To expand our diocesan abortion healing ministries, most often called Project Rachel Ministry, so that women and men receive forgiveness, healing, and spiritual renewal through Christ’s infinite mercy. 
• To transform our parishes into what Pope Francis calls “islands of mercy in a sea of indifference” by raising Catholic awareness of the great struggle involved in an abortion, and the guilt, pain, and grief that follow. 

In all these ways and more, the Catholic Church witnesses to the sanctity of all human life, from conception to natural death, and works to build a true culture of life in our nation. May a renewed commitment to life overflow into increased protection of unborn children and expanded support for their mothers and families.

Most Reverend José H. Gomez
Archbishop of Los Angeles
President, U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

Most Reverend Thomas A. Daly
Bishop of Spokane
Chairman, Committee on Catholic Education

Most Reverend Robert P. Reed
Auxiliary Bishop of Boston
Chairman, Committee on Communications

Most Reverend Andrew H. Cozzens
Bishop of Crookston
Chairman, Committee on Evangelization and Catechesis

Most Reverend Paul S. Coakley
Archbishop of Oklahoma City
Chairman, Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development

Most Reverend David J. Malloy
Bishop of Rockford
Chairman, Committee on International Justice and Peace

Most Reverend Salvatore J. Cordileone
Archbishop of San Francisco
Chairman, Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth

Most Reverend Mario E. Dorsonville-Rodriguez
Auxiliary Bishop of Washington
Chairman, Committee on Migration

Most Reverend William E. Lori
Archbishop of Baltimore
Chairman, Committee on Pro-Life Activities

Pax et bonum

Just a Schlep

I like to cook. I always have. Even as a child, I was always concocting something to eat.

But I’ve always tended to cook outside the box. Back in those aforementioned childhood days, I’d combine peanut butter, marshmallow fluff, and sweet breakfast cereal to make a sandwich. Yes, I did - and do - have a sweet tooth.

As a teen, you might have seen me with a salami, sliced pepperoni, Slim Jim, cheese sandwich, with a side of corn chips. That was, of course, before I adopted a more vegetarian diet in college.

And even when I followed recipes, I’d add my own spin. Once on a high school retreat several of us teen boys went into the retreat house kitchen late one night and found a box of chocolate chip cookie mix. We measured everything correctly according to the directions, but then I suggested we make just one giant cookie rather than the dozens of them. Several of the girls came into the kitchen when we pulled our cookie out of the oven. They were aghast. They chided us for not making all the regular-sized cookies for which the recipe called, but when it came to breaking off and eating chunks from the cookie they readily and happily joined us.

When in college, I lived on my own, and I had little money for dining out, so I had to cook all my meals. One of my staples involved macaroni and cheese - those were the days you could get four boxes for a dollar. Except I never ate it plain. I’d fry some onions, garlic, peppers, peanuts, carrots - whatever I had at hand - and mix it in.

I called it my Macaroni and Cheese Schlep.

Yes, I know “schlep” means to haul or carry, especially something heavy or awkward; a tedious or difficult journey; or an inept or stupid person. None of those definitions fit my culinary concoction, though the last definition does seem right for me.

But I liked the sound of the word, so that’s what I used for my little dish. I’m a poet who plays with words, after all. And I began using "schlep" for other creations as well.

I regularly went off recipe, added ingredients of my own liking, or combined recipes for different preparations that normally would not be combined.  

Some of my efforts were really not so odd - though I did not know it at the time. For example, instead of spaghetti sauce, I regularly added to plain spaghetti peas, cherry tomatoes, and various fried ingredients such as onions, peppers, garlic, spinach, chard, shrimp, and so on. My wife later told me that Italian cuisine often called for mixing spaghetti with vegetables.

When I met my wife, she liked my cooking, and my title for my appetizing inventions. Recently, she has begun jokingly suggesting we create our own podcast or YouTube videos about creative cooking, calling it something like “Savory Schleps” or “Schlepping with Lee.”

Probably not. But you never know ...

The other night, I combined a couple of recipes to make a treat. I used elements of a recipe for rice lentil balls with some from a recipe for vegetarian haggis to make rice/lentil/oatmeal biscuits.

My wife looked at them with apprehension when I took them out of the oven. But she later went back for seconds, and declared that I had to make them again.

Music to this schlep’s ears.

Pax et bonum

Harris Talks About Time

Deep thoughts from Kamala Harris.

Pax et bonum

Saint Salvator of Horta

Saint Salvator of Horta

A reputation for holiness does have some drawbacks. Public recognition can be a nuisance at times—as the confreres of Salvator found out.

Salvator was born during Spain’s Golden Age. Art, politics, and wealth were flourishing. So was religion. Ignatius of Loyola founded the Society of Jesus in 1540.

Salvator’s parents were poor. At the age of 21, he entered the Franciscans as a brother and was soon known for his asceticism, humility, and simplicity. As cook, porter, and later the official beggar for the friars in Tortosa, he became well known for his charity. He healed the sick with the Sign of the Cross. When crowds of sick people began coming to the friary to see Salvator, the friars transferred him to Horta. Again, the sick flocked to ask his intercession; one person estimated that 2,000 people a week came to see Salvator. He told them to examine their consciences, go to confession, and to receive Holy Communion worthily. He refused to pray for those who would not receive those sacraments.

The public attention given to Salvator was relentless. The crowds would sometimes tear off pieces of his habit as relics. Two years before his death, Salvator was moved again, this time to Cagliari on the island of Sardinia. He died at Cagliari saying, “Into your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit.” He was canonized in 1938. The liturgical feast of Saint Salvator of Horta is celebrated on March 18.

- From Franciscan Media

Pax et bonum

Blessed John of Parma

Blessed John of Parma

The seventh general minister of the Franciscan Order, John was known for his attempts to bring back the earlier spirit of the Order after the death of Saint Francis of Assisi. 

He was born in Parma, Italy, in 1209. It was when he was a young philosophy professor known for his piety and learning that God called him to bid good-bye to the world he was used to and enter the new world of the Franciscan Order. After his profession, John was sent to Paris to complete his theological studies. Ordained to the priesthood, he was appointed to teach theology at Bologna, then Naples, and finally Rome.

In 1245, Pope Innocent IV called a general council in the city of Lyons, France. Crescentius, the Franciscan minister general at the time, was ailing and unable to attend. In his place he sent Friar John, who made a deep impression on the Church leaders gathered there. Two years later, when the same pope presided at the election of a minister general of the Franciscans, he remembered Friar John well and held him up as the man best qualified for the office.

And so in 1247, John of Parma was elected to be minister general. The surviving disciples of St. Francis rejoiced in his election, expecting a return to the spirit of poverty and humility of the early days of the Order. And they were not disappointed. As general of the Order, John traveled on foot, accompanied by one or two companions, to practically all of the Franciscan convents in existence. Sometimes he would arrive and not be recognized, remaining there for a number of days to test the true spirit of the brothers.

The pope called on John to serve as legate to Constantinople, where he was most successful in winning back the schismatic Greeks. Upon his return, he asked that someone else take his place to govern the Order. At John’s urging, Saint Bonaventure was chosen to succeed him. John took up a life of prayer in the hermitage at Greccio.

Many years later, John learned that the Greeks who had been reconciled with the Church for a time, had relapsed into schism. Though 80 years old by then, John received permission from Pope Nicholas IV to return to the East in an effort to restore unity once again. On his way, John fell sick and died. He was beatified in 1781. The liturgical feast of Blessed John of Parma is celebrated on March 20.

- From Franciscan Media

Pax et bonum

More Pro-choice Obscenity

at Planned Parenthood

our waves and smiles draw fingers

who’s more violent? 

One of the frequent responses to pro-lifers waving and smiling is the finger.

The pictures above were from last summer, but this morning we received similar "digital" responses.

I've noticed that the majority of the bird flippers are young and white. An occasional older white person with give us the finger, and last summer some young Asian women did so, but we have never received this response form anyone who is Black or Hispanic.

Besides being obscene and crude, the gesture is violent and hateful in nature.

But we pro-lifers continue to wave and smile and witness to love.

Pax et bonum

FYI (re: Hunter Biden)

Pax et bonum

The Golden Thread by Louis de Wohl

Just finished another Louis de Wohl book. This one was about St. Ignatius Loyola - The Golden Thread.

As is usual with de Wohl, the side characters play prominent roles, and the saint is important, but not necessarily the lone or main focus. That's fine; the side story, often involving a romance, hold one's attention, and the saint information gets dealt with in a more realistic manner, and not in a hagiographic way. The other characters and their reactions serve as filters.

I enjoyed it, as I have the other books by him I've read. And I look forward to reading more of his books.

Pax et bonum

My Mouth! My Mouth!

Plans to self-publish hit  roadblock.

I'd been having issues with my mouth - jaw pain.

But it turns out that's not all.

The specialist did a complete set of ex-rays, and found all sorts of infection issues. This may result in several teeth being pulled, posts being put in, partials, etc.

In other words, thousands of dollars worth of work.

Or face losing a lot more teeth.

Sigh.

There goes that extra money for now!

Pax et bonum

Fantasy Baseball

I used to play Fantasy Baseball - but stopped six years ago. I think it was because they changed the format and I didn't like the new format.

Anyway, I decided to try again.

I have two teams:

Geneva Spiders

Holy Rollers.

Let's see how they do.

Pax et bonum