Safe Haven

Ah, the life of a writer. On the other hand, if I'm gonna make a go at this writer thing, maybe I should go outside sometimes. [That would require you to put on a clean shirt.--ed.] And various other things. [Like stop listening to Audrey Assad for 5 seconds.--ed.] I know; it's out of control. We're all so lucky I can't find any of my portable music players right now. [For being tech-aware, (if not savvy) you sure are stodgy.--ed.] Thank you. I delight in being behind the times, because the times suck. Jesus would be behind the times, too, but he's always making himself present in His merciful love everywhere. [Ahem.--ed.] Fine, it's not an altar. Julia Roberts got left at the table. It's not an altar call; it's a table call. Jesus told us to leave our gifts at the table. Right. Maybe instead of making such an unnecessary and unwarranted fuss about the Mass as a sacrifice, you might explore how it could be one, given that Christ's sacrifice on the Cr

This is that . Maybe people retreat to numbers, and drums, and feelings because they don't have anything else left. "Church" is what you make it if she doesn't have you. I can appreciate the confessionalists, and their zealous quest for the truth, but if the individual retains final interpretive authority over what the Scriptures say, then every ecclesial mechanism of authority imposed externally is only provisional, insofar as that community agrees its authority is not finally binding. In other words, if they embrace Sola Scriptura, they're finished. Done. Down a pit of irrecoverable subjectivism. More than that, divine truth and your ecclesiology collapse down the same hole. On the other hand, merely claiming your community has a charism of infallibility is much different than having it. But let's just say for sure we can rule out the Reformation-produced communities. I only know two left, (not having fundamentally changed the way truth is discerned or foun

All I can do is mock, seriously. I lack the patience to deal with these people . Forgive me, Lord, for any lack of charity I have shown today. Amen.

Welcome to the program, everyone. I'll bet Rush Limbaugh says that a lot. I don't know; I'm not a loyal listener. My friend Deb thinks I'd do a great radio show. It would be fun. I think I have the voice...to be left alone. To write books. A voice for books, yes. I got the giggles the other week at Mass, and there was no stopping it. I felt awful, and yet, amused, of course. The key to making others laugh is being able to make yourself laugh. If you think it's funny, well, you might be a sociopath, but odds are good other ordinary people will, too. Those times when we are glad no one can read our thoughts, aside from the evil things, a lot of the stuff is really funny. I think anxiety in the end is the inability to laugh. [I dunno; that anxious lady we know laughs a ton.--ed.] She doesn't laugh at life; she laughs at her escapes from it. Life is absurd as we find it often. Laughing or crying are often good choices. Drugs are not. Doctors can and should help man