My German Shepherd

Prayer is not something accessory,
it is not “optional,”
but rather a question of life or death.

Only one who prays,
that is,
who entrusts himself to God with filial love,
can enter into eternal life,
which is God himself.

Pope Benedict XVI (March 3, 2007)

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What A Wonderful World

'Love is patient, love is kind. It is not jealous, (love) is not pompous, it is not inflated, it is not rude, it does not seek its own interests, it is not quick-tempered, it does not brood over injury, it does not rejoice over wrongdoing but rejoices with the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.' (1 Corinthians
Chapter 13)

NY SINCERITY TEST

A family in New York is fighting for the rights of parents to opt their children out of vaccines.

by Pete Chagnon - OneNewsNow - 2/11/2009 6:00:00 AM

'Ron and Rita Palma of Bayport, New York, have been fighting for the right to opt their children out of the vaccines that public schools require children have before attending school. Parents are allowed to opt out of the medical requirement if they cite objections on religious grounds. The Palmas did so, citing their Catholic faith as a reason, but they were met with resistance from the Bayport-Blue Point Union Free School District. Rita Palma explains.

"I handed in my letter, handed in my application, and they called me in and insisted that I come in for a face-to-face interview," she shares. "Now I know other people in the community who have gone through this, so I talked to some lawyers. I knew that they [school officials] were within their legal boundaries, and I really didn't think that it was going to be all that much of a problem. You know, my feelings were true, my beliefs fit squarely with the law -- so I complied."

But Palma says she and her husband were grilled for two hours by the school's attorney, David Cohen. She refers to the session as a "sincerity interview." Following is an excerpt from that meeting:

Cohen: "If you believe God is on your side, does that mean he's not on the side or can he be on the side of somebody who believes in immunization?"

Rita: "Mr. Cohen, I wouldn't know. I know my deepest, most spiritual beliefs. I don't know the belief system of others and..."

Ron: "And nor do we control God."

Rita: "Yeah."

Cohen: "Okay."

Rita: "I wouldn't know."

Rita says the attorney concluded that her beliefs were not "sincere" enough and decided to deny her vaccine waiver. She is now taking her fight to the New York State Capitol.

In an interview with OneNewsNow, Rita Palma claims David Cohen, the school's attorney, tried to intimidate her in the questioning process.

"He has been named in enough publications where I'm sure he has experienced some pressure -- and some not-so-nice pressure -- from other sources criticizing his actions," she says. "My assemblywomen actually wrote a letter to my school district...criticizing their actions."

Rita is currently working with state lawmakers to pass New York Bill A00883, which would amend existing law to ban so-called "religious sincerity tests."

"Rather than appeal this decision, the route that I chose to take is to change the law," says Rita. "[I hope] to really compel school districts to accept the [opt-out] letter at face value, and make it illegal for school districts to close the door and ask you what your belief system is all about."

Rita is also working to help pass New York Bill A00880, a bill that would make medical waivers accepted at face value. According to Rita, she handed the school a medical waiver from her doctor that would exempt her son from vaccines, but the school rejected that as well.

OneNewsNow asked Rita if she had considered private school or home school. She replied that her children really like their current teachers, and apart from the vaccine issue they have no complaints. Rita also explains that private school would put undue financial pressure on the family; but if they do decide to switch schools, she wants the choice to be hers -- and not something the public school forces them to do because of the vaccine issue.

Rita operates the website MyKidsMyChoice.com, which assists parents who also wish to opt out of childhood vaccines.'

Is this the United States of America?

Descent Into Hell

One part horror, one part salvation and the rest the possibility for either, Descent Into Hell isn't all as ominous as the title sounds. Yes, there is at least one character who allows delusion to sweep away reason and reality. The reader watches in fearful fascination as the deadly descent begins and progresses.

This was my first ever book by Charles Williams, a friend of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis and a member of the famous Inklings, the literary pub group they belonged to. How I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall at those meetings! I can just imagine Williams reading this book to his compatriots. No blood and gore thriller produced today, no matter how fiendish, can surpass the reality of an individual succumbing to evil without a fight; it is chilling.

If the book were only about darkness, however, I don't think I could have finished it. Instead, there is a parallel story about another character who is also haunted, disappointed and apparently even more justified in following a path of descent, who does not. Descent contains many beautiful passages, hidden or double meanings, places where you want to pause and reflect on the author's full intention. It is a book worth reading slowly. Williams believed that everything which happens has an underlying spiritual meaning. It was the spiritual side of things he was interested in--the physical world was -- is -- clothing so-to-speak to dress what is really happening. That belief is not too far from Lewis' own Shadowlands concept. Again, just imagine the great conversations they had!

Read Descent Into Hell but plan to take your time with it. It can be confusing in places. I admit that I did not understand all of it. I'd love to find a William's expert somewhere who could go over the book with me because there are confusing bits here and there. Check out "Lonely...I'm Mr. Lonely" by Roger R. at The Inklings for an excellent review of Descent. I wish I'd had it while I was still trying to read the book the first time, although I definitely plan to read it again and -- God willing -- I want to read the rest of his books too.

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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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