Safe Haven

I stopped by I almost knocked. It would not have been welcome, And I know that. For all I know You'll be happier Never to see my face Or hear my voice Again. I just wanted to see That you're OK Even if you couldn't care less That I wanted to know. My friends know That I'd rather die Than hurt them, And that was true then. I keep saying it again Because it matters. As bad as I feel I can't feel that. And what is it? The conviction that I never Called you friend Nor deserved it. "It just happens," They say. No, it doesn't; It's a decision. I'm still so sorry But I will not accept The hardness of your heart Which was there long before me. In this world or the next You will look me in the eyes And tell me why You deny mercy. Have you learned nothing Of what He taught us? What will be your answer When He knocks?

Because I am a faithful Catholic, unflinchingly loyal to the Magisterium and what she teaches, if there is some blatant inconsistency with Catholic Social Teaching and some political belief of mine, I definitely want to know about it, so I can correct it. Moreover, if I can re-phrase something to avoid giving the impression that I am ignoring some aspect of it or willing to, I'm happy to do it. I'm speaking as a guy who, if given the opportunity, would relish the chance to run for an office in the future. You have no idea. I have no idea if the Ryan Plan is a good idea. I've only glanced at a few articles about what it contains in bare outline. But what I have heard about it is at least worth consideration (I think). If you hang around free-marketeers long enough, you hear interesting things about what's possible, what we could try, that hasn't gotten a fair shake because of caricatures of markets or economics that especially as Christians we just accept because w...

Dear Lee Ann Rimes , At the risk of sounding like the Church Lady, I'd probably be anxious too, if I was married, had an affair, "fell in love," 'married' that guy, (who did the same thing to his wife) and just generally made a mess of things. If God--who I'd be willing to bet you've met before --was trying to tell you something, what would He say? He did say, "I hate divorce." Please think about it. There is always forgiveness, but the thing about it is, we can never enjoy it without change. We can't do the same things we know are wrong and expect to be happy. Regards, Jason

I've become aware today that it's Captain Jack's birthday. I'm too in awe of him to add him as a Facebook friend, to be perfectly frank. He's probably the best teacher I've ever had, and I've had a lot of them. More than that, he leaves one thinking, "I want to be like that guy." I have fantasies of being at the forefront of a conspiracy to convert him and have him teach in several Catholic institutions. Wouldn't the squishiness of American Catholicism drop by a factor of five instantaneously? Yes, from one guy. He's Scott Hahn on steroids. Of course, the Politiburo--er, I mean, the CDF--will have to encourage the good doctor to align his scriptural views to that of Mother Church, but I am certain this could be done. If you've never had Captain Jack as a teacher, you wouldn't get it. But I do. So does Confirmation Sponsor Guy. If there were any good reason to stay Reformed, it would be to remain in the same ecclesiastical struct...

I haven't watched the Republican National Convention yet; I don't really want to. I've made my election prediction; anything else would just clutter it up with emotional baggage. Nate Silver of the NYT may be a statistical genius, but he's smoking crack on this election. Romney is winning, I'm telling you. Silver has to make it look good for the liberals who read the Times, but this thing is over. Do you realize that all the structural advantages were in Obama's favor last time? Anti-incumbent sentiment? Check. Once-in-a-generation candidate? Check. Nominating contest that divided the losing party? Check. (AKA, The Base Hates McCain) McCain would have had to cure cancer to win that election, AND financial crisis. Yes, they were comically inept, and McCain is an erratic, hotheaded putz. But all that means is that an almost certain loss turned into a trouncing. Anyway, all the advantages are in favor of Romney this time. The only thing that could stop him was ...

Alright, we need to talk about sex. No, really. I'm one of those people with a physical disability, as I may have mentioned. Everything is pretty much the same, except that I need lots of help with everyday things. And I use a wheelchair. I'm pretty sure people are a little nervous about lots of things they want to ask. I don't really notice, well, until I do. So let me be frank: there are plenty of things I can't do, but intercourse is not one of those things. If you are a beautiful woman, there is a 99.7% percent chance I will notice. I'm like every other guy on this planet. Sure, I'm a Catholic and a good one, so that changes the purpose and the manner by which I seek that companionship, but I do seek it. And I make no apologies for that. I don't really care if that makes you uncomfortable. You'd do the same thing if you were me. It might make you feel better if I were asexual and OK with that, but I'm not. Catholicism adds another wrinkle for...

I was away for a couple days at my grad school classes. Glad to see you're stopping by. If you're feeling frisky, leave a comment. Your insights often provide fodder for my ridiculously interesting posts. [Which means the fodder goes nowhere.--ed.] Bah! Anyway, I'm thrilled to be taking Christian Anthropology, Prophets, and Catholic Spirituality. For the class on the prophets, sue me, I'll be comparing it to Captain Jack. Well, my teacher is possibly funnier than Captain Jack, (and he used "cranium" in a weird way) but they'd get along great. Well, except that rant about how we're not "people of the Book." On the other hand still, we're going to know the Scriptures as well as anybody. End of story. After all, it's our Bible. It was great to see Confirmation Sponsor Guy and family at that party. "Incorrigible Papist" is also a correct designation. We were officially there to say goodbye and good luck to Jeff Ryan, who is ta...