Safe Haven

5 Spiritual Nuggets Of Wisdom From British Soul Singer James Morrison 5. "This is precious love, precious love/No, I can't get enough." 4. "Like holy water/Washin' over me/You make it real for me." 3. "You always give me somewhere/Somewhere I can run." 2. "If you're here with me/I know which way to turn." 1. "If your sky is fallin'/Just take my hand and hold it/You don't have to be alone, alone/Yeah, I won't let you go." There is more than a haphazard connection between God's covenant love for His people, and marital and sexual intimacy. Paging St. Paul! (Ephesians 5:25-27) So if we want to raise a fuss about liturgy because a certain form does not conform to the rubrics in Vatican II, or that it clouds the purpose for which we have come (musically or otherwise), I'm cool with that, to a point. But let's seriously not say we shouldn't do it a certain way because it's "emotiona...

5 NCAA Tournament Thoughts 5. Am I a bad alumnus to pick Mizzou to lose next round? 4. No matter their struggles, look out for any team coached by Tom Izzo. (Michigan State) 3. Have you noticed? Butler and Gonzaga are expected to win now. The only thing between "mid-major" schools and the big boys is a couple of deep tournament runs. 2. Good guard play. [Drops mic, leaves] 1. On the women's side, the great shadow of Pat Summitt hangs over everything. God, bless the greatest basketball coach I ever saw. Amen.

...as I think this: "[W]hen it is not possible to overturn or completely abrogate a pro-abortion law, an elected official, whose absolute personal opposition to procured abortion was well known, could licitly support proposals aimed at limiting the harm done by such a law and at lessening its negative consequences at the level of general opinion and public morality. This does not in fact represent an illicit cooperation with an unjust law, but rather a legitimate and proper attempt to limit its evil aspects [no. 73]." Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/blog/jimmy-akin/pope-francis-on-homosexual-unions/#ixzz2O8oFaP64  could easily apply to Paul Ryan's abortion position (and "compromise") as a candidate in 2012. We're waiting for your apology to Ryan and his supporters. Yes, I'm serious.

Especially with regard to political opinions, I am not especially known for speaking temperately. I'm not ashamed to call myself an ideologue, but I will steadfastly protest the notion that I am reflexively partisan, or noxiously so. To me, the only thing worse than a person who believes that his opponents have nothing interesting to say, is another type of person who lacks the energy and enthusiasm to debate and dialogue, and instead says, "Can't we all just get along?" Have I ever lost my cool in a discussion? Of course I have. But I come with the fundamental conviction that whoever I'm talking to is telling me the truth about what he believes, and I also believe that we share some common core of values or convictions that could form the basis of some agreement, even if we actualize that in very different ways. What frustrates people like me in politics is when a particular opinion or policy choice that differs from someone else's is used as a reason to dism...

I went through my daily ritual of seeing what Alan Noble and the other fine folks at Christ and Pop Culture have written. I'm not kidding, I love it. I love it even when they annoy me with their Protestantism (granted, easy to do) and their politics, although if you figure out what it is, let me know. I'd describe it as "annoyingly moderate," but I repeat myself. Anyway, this Derek Rishmawy dude is worth reading all the time. I think I stopped by his blog once and thought, "Whoa, he's way smarter than me." I hate it when that happens, but it happens a lot. I digress. Derek wrote a piece about Rob "Love Wins" Bell and his new book. I mean, it's clear to me that he's not commending the book to his core team, but goodness, I hope if I ever write dangerous books advocating universalism and complete capitulation to prevailing cultural opinion, I get "savaged" like this. Ahem. [You're too passionate and volatile to write lik...

Awhile back, I wrote this . I still think it. I'm a far cry from a peacenik spitter, but you'd think we all were, the way some people react when you bring this up. We have not been a nation characterized by peace in my entire lifetime, and the brief calm before the storms of war is not peace. Peace is a steadfast resolution to avoid military intervention in all but the most extreme circumstances, and a principled articulation of the terms of international cooperation, and the explicit terms under which the normal state of comity will be breached. Does anyone know? And are we really going to say that to demand this is beyond the pale, because Pvt. Johnny from down the street is a helluva guy? And again, I'm not saying he's not. I'm just saying the personal bravery, patriotism, and selflessness of our personnel has very little to do with the moral correctness or the prudence of the political decision to send them into the theaters where that fortitude is displayed. ...

5 Thoughts For Today 5. To quote the great American philosopher MC Hammer, "We need to pray just to make it today." 4. Dear Blogger, I hate that you are now spell-checking me as I type. Don't suck the fun out of JK being JK. 3. I will finish this paper today. 2. No, seriously. 1. When Henry Rollins starts making sense, our culture really is in the toilet. (No offense, Henry.) Rape is rape, but we do need to have lots of conversations about causes. We really do. Just sayin'.

I have a "virtual" friend; her name is Nicole. I'm not sure even how we are connected. If I should know, I don't remember. I blame Confirmation Sponsor Guy, and his merry band of...whatever they are. And I blame another friend, whom I shall christen "Lake McWheels," and trust he is not offended. Catholics find each other, and we don't even care how random it is. I digress. What I mean to say is that Nicole here is a wise lady, and a darn good writer. God must be at work, and Mrs. DeMille must be pretty close to Him, (or at least on the way) because I'm pretty sure I'd not be handling her crosses as well as she does. That will embarrass her, and she will deny it. I say, "Humor me, lady. They tell me they're glad I get out at all." Sidebar: I usually take that stuff in stride, but I sense that some people aren't just uncomfortable; they don't respect me, and this is a way to do that while appearing kind. Moving on. Well,...

My fantasy team looks like this: Starting Pitchers: Adam Wainwright David Price Roy Halladay R.A. Dickey Tim Hudson Shelby Miller Closers: Mariano Rivera Fernando Rodney Rafael Soriano Jim Johnson Line-Up: C: Joe Mauer 1B: Albert Pujols 2B: Aaron Hill 3B: Kevin Youkilis SS: Derek Jeter 2B/SS: Neil Walker 1B/3B: Adam Laroche OF: Jason Kubel OF: Chris Davis OF: Corey Hart OF: Garrett Jones OF: Ryan Ludwick Bench: Adam Dunn (1B) A. J. Pierzynski (C) [Joe Mauer insurance] Tyler Colvin (OF) I think I can win with these guys. I always draft starting pitchers very early; you'd think they would try to stop me. I also picked the closers early, to make sure I got who I wanted. The outfield suffered the cost of this, but again, I think I can get enough out of them. There are injury/age concerns all over, but "Jason Wins!" upside.