Two Babies

A worried woman went to her gynecologist and said: 'Doctor, I have a serious problem and desperately need your help! My baby is not even 1 yr. old and I'm pregnant again. I don't want kids so close together.'

So the doctor said: 'Okay, and what do you want me to do?'

She said: 'I want you to end my pregnancy, and I'm counting on your help with this.'

The doctor thought for a little, and after some silence he said to the lady: 'I think I have a better solution for your problem. It's less dangerous for you too.'

She smiled, thinking that the doctor was going to accept her request.

Then he continued: 'You see, in order for you not to have to take care of two babies at the same time, let's kill the one in your arms. This way, you could rest some before the other one is born. If we're going to kill one of them, it doesn't matter which one it is. There would be no risk for your body if you chose the one in your arms.'

The lady was horrified and said: 'No, doctor! How terrible! It's a crime to kill a child!'

'I agree', the doctor replied. 'But you seemed to be okay with it, so I thought maybe that was the best solution.' The doctor smiled, realizing that he had made his point. He convinced the mom that there is no difference in killing a child that's already been born and one that's still in the womb. The crime is the same!

(Sounds somewhat like the wisdom of Solomon; remember the suggestion of cutting the baby in half? This really makes the point! If more doctors presented this option, there would be less killings of precious little helpless children.)


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Things Fall Apart

"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold” is from Yeats's poem "The Second Coming". Fifty years after Chinua Achebe wrote this deceptively simple Nigerian tragedy, Things Fall Apart has never been out of print. It's hailed as Africa's best known work of literature and I can easily see why.

At the heart of the story is a strong man, Okonkwo, with an overwhelming need to prove himself--to himself and his tribe; he must overcome the bad reputation of his drunkard ne'er-do-well father. Although Okonkwo can easily defeat enemies he can wrestle, chop or kill; his stubborn pride and anger collide with and fail to overcome those aspects of life which he cannot so readily tackle: providence, family and tribal laws.

So much of the appeal of Things -- for me at least -- is watching Okonkwo encounter a traditional village. I was fascinated (and repulsed) by its customs, mores, and overall precarious harmony. The appropriateness of the title is in the extreme delicacy of that tribal balance which is rocked to the core by the arrival of the English missionaries. All that was as Okonkwo understood the world to be, changes with the introduction of Christianity and Western civilization. It is both a clash of one individual against his own society and a foreign power, as well as the collision of two diametrically opposed cultures. You don't often find so much carefully-contained conflict in a book of this size. Truly incredible!

Chinua Achebe wrote this masterpiece before most of the African nations had declared their independence. Since that time, the Dark Continent has been washed in rivers of blood. One wonders when, and prays for an end to, all the suffering. Such a sacred place and beautiful people; in many ways so like the Garden of Eden. Long live Africa!

Thanks to Ginnie from Goodreads for this link from The Economist about A Golden Jubilee of Things Fall Apart.

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Pathways of Trust

Pathways of Trust is the name of an incredible book but it's also a metaphor for our spiritual journey.

As I thought about where I am on my figurative journey, I began to wonder if that's at least one reason why we as Catholics participate in Eucharistic Processions. Recently I've been following Pete Caccavari's awesome blog, The Food Which Endures, entirely devoted to the Holy Eucharist, where he's been discussing post-by-post how he's been led along this Pathway of Trust toward Eucharistic Adoration and Procession.

All of this seems to be exactly what the Holy Father was talking about on World Communications Day, when he spoke on how the internet can promote the search for truth.

Pathways of Trust has taught me more about my spiritual blind spot, failure to trust in the Lord, than I ever knew I didn't know. From the opening page, Pathways awakens in the reader the awareness of the primacy and centrality of trust in relationship with God through simple, everyday examples, quotes, and amusing vignettes.

Pathways has a smaller subtitle: 101 Shortcuts to Holiness. Don't let that put you off. If you're like me, you don't believe in gimmicks or "shortcuts" when it comes to matters of spirituality, 'it is a narrow gate and a hard road that leads to life, and only a few find it.' (Matt 7:14) So please don't think this is one of those books that purports to have all the answers served up on a silver platter. It doesn't. Pathways is simply divided into One Hundred and One chapters with each individual chapter entitled, "SOMETHING and Trust"; they aren't 'shortcuts' so much as convenient topical subdivisions.

I wanted to race through this book at times, but I forced myself to just read one of the chapters each day . . . or sometimes two or three. It begins with, "Holiness and Trust" and then there is a section on, "Belief and Trust" and "Anxiety and Trust", etc. So step-by-step, it teaches you what Trust is and how it pertains to your relationship to yourself, God, and others.

Here are some of my favorite quotes:

'Here is something to really worry about: If you are worried for five minutes, then for those five minutes you are not fully in God's Will.' p. 23

'Self is a kind of disease that we must strive to control throughout our lifetime... Self-discipline has three distinct connotations: the first is the notion of self-punishment... The second connotation sees self-discipline as a corrective process to strengthen and mold the individual to fit into some required social or cultural pattern... The third connotation is the only one that makes self-discipline a virtue: it is a quality by which the individual cultivates certain ethical and moral standards of conduct that he or she is prepared to to adhere to unflinchingly, in all circumstances, regardless of any foreseen or unforeseen painful consequences.' p. 31

'One of God's purposes in increasing our trials is to sensitize us to people we never would have been able to relate to otherwise.' p. 42

'...the sublimated form of faith called trust is neither faith in my faith, nor faith in my prayer, but a trustful faith in a trustworthy and faithful God who will never forsake me.' p. 48

'In relying more on the God of consolations than on the consolations of God, trust seeks the Giver more ardently than it seeks his gifts.' p. 61

Countless Scripture passages litter the pages reminding the reader over and over that God is not only the one true Hope, the source of all Life, Peace, Love and Joy, but we can only trust in Him. And paradoxically, it is only in trusting in Him to provide that initial trust, we can even begin the process. God is faithful.

Most highly recommended! Thanks Wanda for leading me to this wonderful book. And I must also mention that Father John H. Hampsch, C.M.F. has written another book, The Healing Power of the Eucharist, which I'm told is every bit as good as Pathways and hope to read and review here very soon.



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Government 101

This is definitely one for all students and Americans to see and remember!

It simplifies things so everyone can understand it.

Sooo many times I have heard people, including teachers, mistakenly say that we live in a Democracy!! Not so!!

All Americans should see this video. Pay particular attention to the end on the fall of the Roman Empire and why it fell. Does it sound familiar?

Please pass it around. Thanks.

What type of government do you want..........?

Check out, Just Wild Video

(Compliments of The Eagle's View!)

What the FOCA?! Day of Action

Crude title, yes I know. But what's more to the point is the reality of abortion and the facts behind the so-called Freedom Of Choice Act, more properly understood as the Fulfillment of Chaos Act. FOCA will not bring 'freedom' to women, but will unleash chaos upon this country. Get the facts--ALL of them! Then understand true Horror!

Alas! I had the You Tube here until I started messing around with template! Oh well, live and learn! Anyway, here's the link to the info which is more important anyway!

Abuse of Language, Abuse of Power

In Abuse of Language, Abuse of Power Joseph Pieper begins building his case against sophistry by showing what Plato most deplored about the sophists of his day: their wealth (no surprise) and physical beauty and how the former is gained through the corruption of the latter as well as the manipulation of language. Pieper includes quotes from Hegel and Nietzsche -- both separated from the Father of Philosophy by more than a millennium -- which assure us of the pervasive continuity of sophistry from then until now, as if we needed any.

'Human words and language accomplish a two-fold purpose... First, words convey reality. We speak in order to name and identify something that is real, to identify it for someone, of course--and this brings us to the second aspect in question, the interpersonal character of human speech.'

We are then led to look at lies, the crafting of well-reasoned arguments and whether the author is seeking to convey the truth or deceive his audience. When such is the case, 'from that moment on (the author/artist) no longer considers the other as partner, as equal. In fact, he no longer respects the other as a human person.' Plato, through Socrates, calls this "flattery". Pieper says this 'becomes a speech without a partner, since there is no true other; such speech, in contradiction to the nature of language, intends not to communicate but to manipulate.'

The rest of the essay goes on to examine the loss of character in our language through slogans, advertising, propaganda, and mass media--just different forms of deceptive trickery and mental bondage.

Plato's three statements about the necessity of truth to the health of human society are summarized and as true today as ever: 1.) the good of man and meaningful human existence consists in perceiving, as much as possible, things as they really are; 2.) all men are nurtured by the truth; 3.) the natural habitat of the truth is found in interpersonal communication.

Pieper calls for 'an area of truth, a sheltered space for the autonomous study of reality, where it is possible, without restrictions, to examine, investigate, discuss, and express what is true about anything--a space, then explicitly protected against all potential special interests and invading influences, where hidden agendas have no place, be they collective or private, political, economic, or ideological.' His mentor, Plato, would no doubt agree with this necessity, recognize the description of his own Academie and be proud. Who indeed would disagree? And yet, where can such a place be found? Thankfully for this booklady at least, such a sanctuary still exists in my own home.

Profound essay! Never more relevant than it is today.

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Love Is God

Today as I was watching the Inauguration and listening to the various talking heads I couldn't help but think how grateful I am that I am a Catholic and that my faith is in God, the God Who is Love, described in brief by Our Holy Father in the Encyclical, Deus Caritas Est.

So many people across our country are putting all their hopes today in a man, a man who has just taken on a very powerful position at the head of the largest free republic on earth. Nevertheless, he is just a man, a human being, and not God. His position merits our respect and we certainly want and need to pray for him as our president, but he is not God. And if he fails or makes a mistake, our world will not end. Our faith is in the One Who will never disappoint, hurt or abandon us.

I was also thinking about BEGINNINGS. Not only do we have a new president but Benedict's Book Club is beginning a new year with a new book, or rather, an Encyclical, a Papal Letter.

Our Pope chose to lead off his papacy with this Encyclical on Love. Love. God is Love . . . Even though he knew that love is an overused, misused, misunderstood word, still he braved the potential risk, the ridicule, and the certain misinterpretations to bring us a basic truth about God which we need to hear: God is Love. PBXVI's was another 'voice crying in the wilderness', only this time 'the wilderness' is our own modern culture of media, Internet, i-pods, cell phones, instant communication and gratification.

And what about love? Do we know what that is? If we don't understand what "love" is, then we're a little like the blind person being told the sky is blue. He can't fathom "sky" and has never seen a color; the description is worthless.

Many of us can't define "love" but we know it when we give it or receive it. The Holy Father identifies the different types of "love" in Section 2 and then goes on to say: 'Amid this multiplicity of meanings, however, one in particular stands out: love between man and woman, where body and soul are inseparably joined and human beings glimpse an apparently irresistible promise of happiness. This would seem to be the very epitome of love; all other kinds of love immediately seem to fade in comparison. So we need to ask: are all these forms of love basically one, so that love, in its many and varied manifestations, is ultimately a single reality, or are we merely using the same word to designate totally different realities?

That last question is one worth pondering!

Also, I don't know if anyone noticed the mention that "love" got in the "Praise Song", the Inaugural Poem today?

Here's the link for the entire poem, but here are the verses just about love:

"Some live by "Love thy neighbor as thy self."

Others by first do no harm, or take no more than you need.

What if the mightiest word is love, love beyond marital, filial, national. Love that casts a widening pool of light. Love with no need to preempt grievance."

It sounds to me as if the poet is in search of the same path that our Encyclical already clearly lights.

God bless our new president and America!

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