Then you won’t mind a short break from it. This will help. I promise.
Listen to Fr. John Oliver’s encouraging (and humbling) message:
Courtesy: Ancient Faith Radio – Hearts & Minds Podcast
Continue reading “Havin’ a Bad Day?”
Category: Life
September 11th
I attended this year’s 9/11 Memorial as a volunteer member of Naperville’s Emergency Management Agency. The event was a moving show of patriotism, civic pride, and gratitude toward those who serve, sometimes at the cost of their lives. What makes someone ignore that powerful sense of self-preservation to rush to aid of others? I don’t know, but thank the good Lord there are such men and women among us.
Of those in attendance at this year’s memorial were Naperville natives, Dr. Tom Shanower, brother of Cmdr. Daniel Shanower, who lost his life at the Pentagon, and after whom our memorial is named, along with their mother Pat. The takeaway quote for the entire event comes from Mrs. Shanower. When asked what she hopes for future generations, she said:
Continue reading “September 11th”
Election Special
Welp, here we go: the home stretch.
I’ve avoided politics here, and for good reason, but this year’s presidential election is unprecedented in its crapulence. Therefore, let me leave you with this bit of insightful political analysis by one of my favorite authors, the late Douglas Adams.
In So Long, and Thanks for All the Fish, a giant robot lands on earth and asks to be taken “to your lizard.” When Arthur Dent questions his friend Ford Prefect about this strange request, Ford explains that the robot comes from an ancient democracy.
“You mean it comes from a world of lizards?”
“No, nothing so simple. Nothing like so straightforward. On its world, the people are people. The leaders are lizards. The people hate the lizards and the lizards rule the people.”
“Odd,” said Arthur, “I thought you said it was a democracy.”
“I did,” said Ford. “It is.”
“So,” said Arthur hoping he wasn’t sounding ridiculously obtuse, “why don’t the people get rid of the lizards?”
“It honestly doesn’t occur to them,” said Ford. “They’ve all got the vote, so they all pretty much assume that the government they’ve voted in more or less approximates to the government they want.”
“You mean they actually vote for the lizards?”
“Oh yes,” said Ford with a shrug. “of course.”
“But,” said Arthur, going for the big one again, “why?”
“Because if they didn’t vote for a lizard,” said Ford, “the wrong lizard might get in. Got any gin?”
Yep. That pretty much sums where we’re at.
In the words of John “Bluto” Blutarsky, “My advice to you, is to start drinking heavily.”
Heartbroken
My little furry friend is sick. I’ve done my best to take care of her but unfortunately, some of the treatments are scary and painful for her. Now she hides from me. She runs when I try to pet her. It breaks my heart.
Amidst the tears welling in my eyes this morning, I heard God’s gentle voice saying, “Now you know how I feel.”
When we are hurt, because of sin, sickness, personal calamity, how do we react? I know what I do. I hide. I’m too ashamed, too guilt-ridden, too despondent to run to God for healing and comfort.
If I feel sick to my stomach with worry. I feel pain over the pain in my little friend’s eyes. How must God feel when He sees his children broken and sad, or dying inside because of their sin and afflictions.
All I want to do is put her on my lap and stroke her fur but she won’t let me.
…how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. Luke 13:34
He waits patiently, arms open wide, eyes full of tears. Don’t run from the One who wants to heal you and lavish you with His love.
Susan M. Williams, R.I.P.
FOB Jack, and his two children Rob and Katie, lost the love of their lives to cancer this past week.
I could spill galaxies of electrons here about how special Susie is, and how much she will be missed, but nothing I could say will do justice to her memory.
When all is said and done, her greatest legacy is the family she’s left behind: Two fine children and a gallant husband. I’m sure they would agree with me when I say, they are who they are because of her.
Godspeed Susie! Pray for us!
Look What I Found!
The other day while I was cleaning my sock drawer, I found this dusty old blog. Thought I’d take it out and see if it still worked.
Well, first it needed a new battery—ya know, one of those little, round watch batteries that look like spare change? So I go to the store, and they have fifty different kinds all with teensy little letters that I can’t read, even with my glasses. So after squinting at a few, I bought one that seemed right. It’s working now but who knows for how long.
Anyhoo, how ya doin’?
Say, didya see Bruce—I ain’t gonna call him Caitlyn—Jenner’s cover-photo for Vanity Fair?
Was a magazine ever more appropriately titled?
!!Trigger Warning!! The following contains explicit anti-transgender views. A special room with soft couch and soothing, waterfall sounds has been provided for your safety.
See, it’s girls, boys. Sorry, there’s no such thing as “cis,” except in the imagination of radical LGBT activists.
[Moderator’s Note: Please indicate agreement with Jazz Hands, disagreement with Down-twinkles so as not to cause anxiety on the part of the blogger or other audience members.]
Call me a hater if you like (you’d be wrong), but it seems very few people are willing to speak about things like this for fear of being branded a homophobe. While there are many people who have same-sex attraction for many and complicated reasons, this is something else altogether.
It’s a narcissistic effort to invert nature for the purpose of saying, “Pay attention to me! Please!”
I’m sorry for the evident turbulence afflicting MISTER Jenner’s soul, but this is what happens when we toss off as irrelevant the natural law built into our species by God, preferring our own ideas about how things “should be.” And let’s be honest, do you know anyone, yourself included, that you’d trust running the universe?
Made in the image and likeness of God, whether we like it or not, there are some things that we just can’t change no matter how far or how fast we run from them. The great struggle of life is coming to know oneself and how we relate to our Creator.
We, as lumps of clay, cannot say to the potter, “Why have you made me thus?” It is a question springing from fear and distrust. A question that assumes God has no great interest in us, or what we will become; that when it comes right down to it, He doesn’t give a happy rat’s ass about us anyway.
But thank that same God who, despite our calumnies against Him, never rejects us. Even when we go off the deep end.
Seems like a good place to sign off. The b ttery is alm st dea
Fr. Thomas Hopko, R.I.P.
In honor of his passing, here is Father Tom’s talk, “The Mystery of the Cross.”
Bon voyage Fr. Tom, and thank you!
Pray for us.
Hello Kitty
As a convert to the cat-loving faith, I have come to appreciate the many-faceted and wholly fascinating qualities of felis catus. Domestic cats are tremendously adaptable and expertly manipulative creatures who can simultaneously infuriate and soothe the human soul.
But damn. There’s a limit, no?
I don’t know what the deal is with Japan, but it seems they have yet another island completely overrun by small, furry critters.
Continue reading “Hello Kitty”