Drop The Judgmental Mask

Matthew’s gospel quotes Jesus as saying, “Stop judging, that you may not be judged.” While you have to make some judgments every day, Jesus forbids judging

Count To Ten… Blessings

During those dark moments in your life when you are sure God has forsaken you, follow this simple practice endorsed by Jesus:

Respond To Your Deepest Calling

The birth of Saint John the Baptist, c.1680, by Luca Giordano (1634-1705), oil on canvas, from the Collection of Count von Bruhl, Dresden

Today is the Solemnity of the Nativity of Saint John the Baptist. The name John is derived from Hebrew, and broadly means “God’s gift.” Such was John the Baptist. John received

Heartfelt Communication

When a businessman turned 40, he began to realize he wasn’t really a self-made man, and he sought out his third-grade teacher to

Loss Can Lead To Gain

Saint Paulinus of Nola (ca. 354-431) was praised by such well-known contemporaries as Saints Augustine, Jerome, Melania, Martin, Gregory the Great, and Ambrose. Born near Bordeaux, he was the son of the Roman prefect of Gaul, who had extensive property in both Gaul and Italy. Paulinus became a distinguished lawyer, held several public offices in the Roman Empire, and is considered one of the most important Christian Latin poets of his time. With his Spanish wife, Therasia, he retired at an early age to a life of cultured leisure. As the wealthy and privileged son of the Roman prefect of Gaul, Paulinus and Therasia moved to her estate in Spain. They seemed to have it all. After many childless years, they had a son who died a week after birth. That loss changed them profoundly, and was

Bloom Where You Are Planted

The Vocation of Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, c.1650, by Guercino (1591–1666)

Today marks the summer solstice. It’s an appropriate moment to honor Saint Aloysius Gonzaga (1568-91), who barely reached the summer of his life. Aloysius was born into a noble family and thereby was entitled to many great things. He chose

Grace really is amazing

Saint Thomas Aquinas wrote: “Grace builds upon our nature and does not destroy it.” It’s a way of saying God works through our human nature but also that we need the gift of God’s power — grace — to

Journey Inward To The Center Of Your Heart

Saint Romuald (c. 951-1027) was a man on a mission. As a young man, having been compelled to witness Sergius his father duel with a relative in an argument over property in which he killed his adversary, he entered a Benedictine monastery at Classe, Italy to do 40 days penance for him – to atone for the murder his father committed – which resulted in his own vocation to religion as a Benedictine monk. His father, who also later became a monk, contemplated leaving his monastic order, but was dissuaded by Romauld. Throughout his monastic life, Romauld continuously sought simplicity, which motivated him for 30 years to

Embody Your Faith

The addition of today’s feast – the Feast of Corpus Christi, sometimes also called Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ – to the church calendar was primarily the result of the work of 13th-century Augustinian nun Saint Juliana of Liège, Apostle of the Blessed Sacrament. During her time working in her convent’s hospital nursing the sick, she reported having numerous visions of the full moon crossed with

Be Generous

Catholic Relief Services was founded in 1943 by the U.S. Catholic bishops, and offers emergency assistance where it’s most needed throughout the world. They work with organizations around the world to help poor and vulnerable people overcome emergencies, earn a living through agriculture and access affordable health care. One way in which we all can atone for some of the missteps we’ve made along the way is to give generously to those in need – that is, after we’ve reconciled with those we have hurt, whenever possible. CRS reaches more than 60 million people in 94 countries and territories in Africa, the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. So make your amends, and then consider supporting CRS, which is the second largest distributor of U.S. government relief food in the world. For additional information, see CRS.org.

Love And Respect

The concept or idea of the passing away of Heaven and Earth is not necessarily the literal end of the universe. Instead, Heaven and Earth were radically changed with Jesus’ death and Resurrection. The old order was transcended by love. Anyone who hears

Get To It!

You never see a statue of Saint Anthony of Padua that depicts him being short and fat, but that he was. Perhaps we could all expect a makeover if we were canonized! But when folks looked at Anthony, they saw in him a radiant holiness that made some drop to their knees. He sought to reform the morality of his era by combating the vices associated with avarice, luxury, and tyranny – which we also see in our modern era. Through his magnetic personality and preaching, criminals and heretics alike were attracted to conversion, and many miracles were witnessed, and documented – famously including that of a horse which fasted three days by refusing the oats placed before him, until

Fear Not, Jesus Is Near

Pope John Paul II called Jesus the “Good Samaritan of the human family.” Jesus comes among us as a stranger yet proves Himself to be our best friend in time of need. He dares to come close to us in situations where even those around us

In Defense of Photographer Tyler Shields and Comedienne Kathy Griffin

Much Ado About Nothing?

“Judith with the Head of Holofernes,” by Cristofano Allori, c.1613

Photographer Tyler Shields‘ recent depiction of comedienne Kathy Griffin holding an effigy of Donald Trump’s decapitated head is nothing new in artistic circles, neither is it new among political practitioners, or religious adherents.

“Judith Beheading Holofernes,” by Caravaggio, c.1598-1599

Caravaggio painted “Judith beheading Holoferenes” c.1600.

Cristofano Allori, completed “Judith with the Head of Holofernes” c.1613.

Artemisia Gentileschi, c.1614–18 similarly depicted that scene in “Judith slaying Holofernes.”

Lucas Cranach the Elder completed “Judith with the Head

“Judith,” by Franz Stuck, 1928

of Holofernes” in 1530.

The so-called “outrage” is focused upon the female model Kathy Griffin, not the male creator artist and photographer Tyler Shields.

“Judith with the Head of Holofernes,” by Lucas Cranach the Elder, c.1530

Why?

Men have always been fearful of powerful women. And Tyler Shields’ photograph is nothing new under the sun.

In The Book of Judith

How Christian Theology Says “It’s Not My Fault”

Judeo-Christian theology, and other religions, often refer to an event characterized and monikered as “The Fall,” in which the initial human subjects reportedly disobeyed their Creator (most often portrayed as the woman being gullible, simple-minded, weak, first at fault, and therefore ultimately responsible), and then were expelled from their idyllic, Paradise-like existence.

As the storylines go, their “disobedience” by

A Short, Post Saint Patrick’s Day Lesson

If you’ve ever heard any Xian pop songs, you may have heard the line “I don’t believe in luck, I believe in Jesus.” Or, maybe you’ve heard someone say something like, “I’m not lucky, I’m blessed.” The idea is that, for the Christian, luck has no role in their life. Simply put, that’s not only bad theology, it’s contrary to Scripture itself.

“I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the

In Response to John Goodwin’s FaceBook Post

A man named John Goodwin made a public post on FaceBook, which also included a link to an OpEd published in the Washington Post on November 9, 2016, which was written by Charles Camosy (PhD, University of Notre Dame), and entitled “Trump won because college-educated Americans are out of touch.” Dr. Camosy is an Associate Professor of Theological and Social Ethics at Fordham University, and the author of a book entitled “Beyond the Abortion Wars: A Way Forward for A New Generation.”

Mr. Goodwin’s FaceBook profile is sufficiently ambiguous of himself, though in his public post which is time & date-stamped 9:45AM, November 10, 2016, and ostensibly geolocated from Washington, D.C., he wrote of himself that, “I haven’t posted about the election mostly because 1) I do this for a living and most of you don’t,” which would lead one to suppose that at some level, he works in or with public policy, or more likely, with politicians.

I do not.

However, suffice it to say, that for many, many, many years, I have remained immensely interested in public policy, though I do not now, nor have I ever made my living from it, or influencing, or attempting to influence others in elected office.

In other words, I have taken the high road.

Mr. Goodwin’s public post to FaceBook is linked herein, as is the article upon which he expounded.

https://www.facebook.com/goody37/posts/10154328123133884

In order to fully understand the matter of discussion herein, I encourage the reader to fully read this item following herein, as well as Mr. Goodwin’s post, and the OpEd upon which he opined

I have responded to Mr. Goodwin’s post as follows:
His words appear italicized, and in “quotation marks.”
My commentary follows immediately after.

“…not everyone lives in big cities.”
• That is correct. The United States Census Bureau says that 80.7% of American reside in urban areas. In fact, they report that “the population density in cities is more than 46 times higher than the territory outside of cities.” So that leaves a whopping 19.3% in rural areas.

“I didn’t grow up with money.”
• Money had been invented by the time I was born. But seriously, someone votes for Donald Trump as if the wealthy are advocates for the impoverished or even the average American? C’mon. Mr. Born-With-A-Silver-Spoon-In-His-Mouth? Really?

“…not everyone went to elite colleges.”
• According to the United States Census Bureau, “in 2015, almost 9 out of 10 adults (88 percent) had at least a high school diploma or GED, while nearly 1 in 3 adults (33 percent) held a bachelor’s or higher degree.” I’m in the 33%. So I’m an elite. Thanks!

“You think they (people who eat at

#Abortion Is A #Religious Matter

Your remark “in God we trust” has validated what I wrote, which is that “Abortion is a religious matter. It is NOT one for the government.”

On a strictly PERSONAL RELIGIOUS level, I oppose abortion. And yet, as a strictly legal, Constitutional matter, I acknowledge that our United States Supreme Court has decided that we the people have the FREEDOM to make deeply personal decisions for ourselves, WITHOUT governmental interference.

Imagine, if you can, if the government told you that you must have a tubal ligation, or that you must have a hysterectomy… or, for a man, that he must have a vasectomy, or an orchidectomy (surgical removal of the testicles) so that they could no longer reproduce. Would you like that? Would you think that would be good? What if your neighbor could

Meteorology, Mama & Baby -or- How I Was Befriended By Luck

It was Easter Sunday, 2010, and unknown to me, dumb luck had befriended me.

Pure dumb luck.

Even scientists believe in it.

In 1996, Duncan C. Blanchard, a meteorological researcher then affiliated with the State University of New York at Albany, authored a scientific paper entitled “Serendipity, Scientific Discovery, and Project Cirrus” published in the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society in which he cited Project Cirrus (1947-52), a period and project of research from which “many serendipitous discoveries and inventions were made, opening up areas of research still being pursued today.”

Blanchard’s work was cited a decade later in 2006 by David M. Schultz, who was then affiliated with the Cooperative Institute for Mesoscale Meteorological Studies, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, and the NOAA/National Severe Storms Laboratory, Norman, Oklahoma in a research paper entitled The Mysteries of Mammatus Clouds: Observations and Formation Mechanisms. In it he wrote that what little we know about mammatus clouds was, because of their nature, “obtained largely through serendipitous opportunities.”

In other words, what little we know about the clouds (so named after human breasts because of their appearance), has been obtained by pure dumb luck – although, being prepared, and being in the right place at the right time does account for something.

In conversation recently with a dear, and longtime friend, I shared about

Beans So Bad Even My Dog Won’t Eat ‘Em

Dogs’ll eat anything.

Well, almost anything.

Yeah, they were are that bad!

You know beans’ve gotta’ be REALLY bad when even a 4-day hungry dawg won’t eat ’em!

Or, any food.

You KNOW food is genuinely bad when even a hungry dog won’t eat it!

It’s summertime, and truth be told, folks and critters don’t do much eating.

‘Cept for bears. Bears chow down during summer. They eat up, meat up, and sleep it all off over winter.

But this was the case with