Thoughts on writing, living, and believing…
Not about publishing, but about reading. To be fair, this isn’t so much of a dissent as it is a caution.
Albert Einstein was, by all accounts, a voracious reader. And not just mathematics and physics, but also philosophy, theology, biology, the Bible, and other subjects.
[Side note: as a Jew, he was very impressed with Jesus, but we’ll save that one for another day.]
Anyway, I heard this quote yesterday:
Continue reading “Another Dissenting Opinion?”
After being humiliated in prime time the last three Saturdays, it was good to have one of my teams show up in a meaningful game before a national audience. Last night’s thumping of the hated Cowpokes, made me feel a little better…for now. You see, I used to be a rabid, unhinged football (and basketball) fan, especially on Saturdays…
Hey! Stop laughing!
Father Abbot went off the rails a bit yesterday. To my admittedly fat ears, his homily didn’t really tie the readings together very well, which is unusual for him. So what were the readings you ask? The readings for the 26th Sunday in Ordinary time were from Numbers: 11:25-29, James 5:1-6 and the Gospel was taken from the 9th chapter of St. Mark, verses 38-43, 45, and 47-48. The psalm was 19.
Go ahead and read them, I’ll wait…
…so, you got it? Good.
After some pretty pedestrian…no, amateurish…no, crummy football on Saturday afternoon, Michigan State’s head coach, Mark Dantonio was not pleased. His team won, but only in spite of themselves. For those of you who aren’t familiar with his personality, he is notoriously taciturn—at least in front of the press and public, but behind his serious, businesslike façade lays a very passionate man. During the postgame press conference, Coach Dantonio gave brusquely pointed answers to the admittedly dumb questions he was asked. This was in stark contrast to his usual “glass half-full” coach-speak laden spin.
At one point, clearly fed up with all and sundry, he rattled off about five one-word answers followed by “Next question!” This concluded the abbreviated press conference. Needless to say, there has been quite a bit of comment about his behavior because Coach Dantonio rarely betrays any sign of emotion on the football field or off. One thing is for sure: I’m very glad I wasn’t in that locker room after the game and even gladder still I won’t be at practice today.
Now, before I get to my point—which I assure you, will be hidden in the post somewhere…eventually—let me tell you a personal story:
Continue reading “Next Question!”
I had a philosophical conversation with a friend recently about the shape of the multiverse, Schrödinger’s cat’s veterinarian, and other weighty topics. Ok, maybe not the first two.
The conversation was mainly about the seeming unfairness of life (and I think by inference, the unfairness of God), that some people are born into this world with so many things going against them, that they have no shot at success or happiness. There’s a few things here to dissect. The first is that yes, life is seemingly unfair, but it is fair in that it is unfair to everybody, one way or another—wait for it. The second is that God, by implication, is also unfair, even though He causes the sun to shine on the wicked and the righteous alike, and the third thing is, of course, how one measures success and happiness, a concept so objective that it precludes qualification for every person.
Continue reading “Nature, Nurture & Responsibility”
Tomorrow marks the beginning of the college football season—for us Spartans at least—a time of great excitement, pageantry, and yes, even life lessons, as Guest Blogger Jack W. pointed out in his piece The Great Metaphor.
I have written in this space about the scandal at Penn State and hoped not to have to write about another low point in college sports. Alas, yesterday’s comments by Allan Pinkett, former All-American at Notre Dame, sadly compel comment.
Now before any of you Golden Domer’s go nuts, I will admit that his comments do not even remotely approach the level of scandal at PSU, so calm down. But I do hope you take a moment to reflect on what his comments say about college football, college athletics, and more importantly, what they say about Notre Dame and what she stands for.
Continue reading “The University of Notre Dame”
I enter into my heart to find you,
But I can’t see you.
Instead I see bars on the windows,
Casting long shadows across the floor.
You promised you would be here.
You told me that if I opened the door,
You would enter and sup with me.
It wasn’t always like this;
When did you leave?
When did I enter this prison?
The one I carry in my breast.
No, I never entered willingly;
I built it around myself.
Will you come again and open the door?
I tried real hard to just shut up and look away, but I can’t—some of you will not be surprised. I am about to tick off a whole bunch of family, friends, neighbors, and fellow Roman Catholics.
According to a recent article in the Wall Street Journal,
…a group of fellow Catholics from his home state of Wisconsin, including some Franciscan Friars are calling for the vice presidential hopeful’s “conversion.” The group launched a website, PrayforPaulsChangeofHeart.org, that asks visitors to
“Please pray for Paul Ryan, a devout Catholic, to have a change of heart on the federal budget.” It includes a special Rosary prayer to St. Paul, “the great convert,” to bring about a transformation in the anti-deficit Republican.
For the record, I am a parishioner of SS Peter & Paul Catholic Church in Naperville, Illinois, a Benedictine Oblate, and a Knight of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, so you could say I am also a practicing Roman Catholic. With all due respect to my brothers and sisters in Christ, you are dead wrong.
Continue reading “Watch Me Commit Professional Suicide”
