Safe Haven

 As many know, this was actually a film for TV, based on a stage play by Levinson and Link. If memory serves, the character of Lt. Columbo originated in 1962, and he was not played by Peter Falk. Columbo was played by Bert Freed. What we know as the TV series began airing in 1971, and the final episode of “classic” Columbo aired in 1978. You may have heard that ABC aired many “new” Columbo films starting in 1989, and the last aired in 2003. I have seen just a few of these, and I think they are fine, but the general consensus is that the classic ones provided the audience for the new ones. This makes sense; Columbo is on a short list of the most beloved characters in American TV and feature films. Anyway, this very first story centers around a psychiatrist “Ray Flemming” (Gene Barry) who viciously strangles his wife “Carol” (Nina Foch) because he’s been adulterous, she demanded that he stop or face divorce, and he refused. He’s also having one of his affairs with a very ill patient ...

 It’s a modern hymn written by Stuart Townsend. As a Catholic and a theologian, I feel compelled to change one line in the first stanza/verse: “The Father turns His face away.” That’s heresy. Otherwise, it’s a great hymn, much better than a lot of things that are sung at Holy Mass/Divine Liturgy. Oh, I change the line to, “I cannot turn my face away.” As difficult to see “The wages of sin is death” at the Cross, we shouldn’t want to look away. And if we’re not looking away, how much more should the Father not look away! This is the true Son with whom He is well pleased, the Son to whom he commands us to listen. We cannot eliminate the penal and substitutionary aspects completely, nor should we want to, but so-called penal substitutionary atonement seriously misunderstands sacrifice in service to the Calvinism at its root. Let’s talk about 2 Corinthians 5:21. This verse is offered by Reformed as an argument for “double imputation,” the idea that Christ takes the penalty for sin, bot...

 What if second-wave feminism and after just reduces down to abortion, and a bunch of unhappy people? What if you were an activist for most of 92 years, and nearly everything for which you advocated was bad? What would you do, if your life was a waste? Lord, have mercy! Ezekiel 33:11.

 A woman advocating for abortion is like actually installing a screen door on a submarine. Abortion is literally anti-woman. This makes a certain sense if you think about it. A lot of people doing it are pretending they don’t know what a woman even is. Olivia Rodrigo is a pop star, if you don’t know. She’s a walking, flouncing performative contradiction, if you ask me, because her appeal is largely based in creating the desire in men to copulate with her. Let me know when “Let’s have sex and then kill the baby!” starts making sense. Meanwhile, Rodrigo spearheaded an abortion-celebrating music festival. Nothing says “girl power” like murdering all the girls.

 If a person tries to enter the US more than once, that illegal entry becomes a felony. Even taking into account “felony creep,” we don’t have to allow felons to stay here. I think Stephen Miller is a web troll with political power. I think Donald Trump’s entire political career is at best, a waste. Even adding in the Republican conflation of crime with immigration, the Democrats pretend that Donald Trump is essentially the only criminal. And I do mean only. Some may forget “Defund The Police” but I don’t.

 It always had a deep resonance for me, because the Huxtables were an intact family with generations of that fidelity and love. And yes, it’s TV, and human beings are sinners, but it wouldn’t resonate if it were completely unrealistic. Bill Cosby’s own sins have damaged the images he left us, these symbols that the whole cast created together. But there must be a thirst for virtue. Pretended goodness will appeal, but we all thirst for it, because we keep gravitating toward it, even in our stories.

 Fair warning: Tom Segura is a crude comedian, and he uses words I don’t even use in a flare of some passion. Nevertheless, I find him really funny. I think most people know who Joe Rogan is, but if not, he hosts the most popular podcast in the world. He’s also a commentator for the Ultimate Fighting Championship, UFC for short, which is the top level of mixed martial arts (MMA for short). It’s probably risen to prominence because of corruption in boxing. I digress. Tom Segura has a funny bit about the difference between watching his own sons, versus the two girls his cousin has. At the time, both sets of kids were the same age, 6 and 3. He says in part: “(OMG), what did I do wrong, to not get girls?…They’re like, ‘Hello, Uncle Tommy.’ And I say, ‘Hello to you.’…I could go in that room an hour later and they’re like [impersonation of little girls coloring and smiling]…My boys aren’t like that…real “he/hims”, if you know what I’m saying. Don’t worry, we asked them. [Segura kind of s...

 I feared this loss for some time now, because the stroke which limited his capacities was 14 years ago. I'm going to keep this brief. One thing we owe as a debt to every British subject and resident of the Commonwealth realms is the preservation of our English language, and how this heritage is the root of some of the greatest human stories ever told. Between the King James Bible and William Shakespeare, every entertainer who keeps our language and our greatest playwright's work alive is worth honoring. On the stage, Curry was a three-time Tony Award nominee, and a Laurence Olivier Award nominee for his turn as The Pirate King in the West End production of The Pirates of Penzance (1982). He was also a mainstay of American film and television. He stars in the film adaptation of Tom Clancy's The Hunt For Red October (1990) and acted in numerous films for children, starring in Home Alone 2, and FernGully, to take two examples. From what I could see, he was prolific as a perfo...

 If you’re not fortunate enough to leave the Earth way too soon—as I said, Billy Joel’s famous song isn’t totally wrong—you’re probably going to be around awhile. Besides your family, friends, and helping anyone else who needs help along the way, there will be some times of boredom, or slowness, or something. We watch sports, and TV shows and plays, etc. because as the comedian Tom Papa noted about marriage and its lulls and frustrations, “You’re here because you think, ‘Let’s have someone else talk for an hour.’” Celebrities of all kinds, if you think about it, are people that are uniquely gifted in one or a few things, in such a way that a bunch of people want to experience them do the thing they are good at, and are willing to pay for it. I hereby redact any forthcoming rant about the fundamental disorder of modern market economics. In any case, I promise not to canonize every celebrity who dies, if you can just let people enjoy things, and let any good words about people, provi...

 Some time ago, 60 Minutes had a reel from a story they did that you could see on Facebook. A young couple got married when the woman was 21. He was young, too. I think they had children. The husband was in a motorcycle accident; traumatic brain injury, the whole thing. He’s not even mentally the same person, and I guess they couldn’t have sexual intercourse. She found another man, got “married,” and in their alleged compassion, have become caregivers to this husband, as he’s now also in a wheelchair. Assuming he wasn’t impotent, lady, you’re still married, and you’re committing adultery on the regular. He didn’t die; he’s sick, as per the traditional vows. And maybe I say this with more passion as a wheelchair user myself, but this is wrong. 

 I am not currently employed in education, and maybe I didn’t log enough time (2.5 years) to have a valid opinion.  That said, I understood that a principal who oversaw a great deal of staff turnover would no longer be a principal.  Now, I know that there are bad executives all over the world. There is injustice all over the world. But should there be? Then again, I doubt anyone with any sense would say that Chesterfield County School District in South Carolina is competently run.

 I didn’t like the argument published at The Gospel Coalition (think Presbyterians and Calvinistic Baptists) some years back that we should judge the morality of homosexuality by a gag reflex. If that person had same-sex attraction, he wouldn’t gag. Personally, other than possibly being covered in my own waste, I am not grossed out by the very idea. It’s not a principled argument. I gag at mushrooms and peaches; other than saying that I won’t and can’t eat them, I would be a fool trying to argue that they are immoral because I can’t eat them. I just have to say that I know something about disordered inclinations and I have plenty of failures with respect to my own principles. Therefore, homosexuality and other errors don’t induce in me a sort of patronizing pity, something unimaginable and tragic. I’m not a priest, thank God. But I do love the people, like a priest should, like Jesus the great High Priest does. A person doesn’t have to believe me, but my horse isn’t very high. I do...

 I love Richard Marx, man. He’s written some great songs. Love songs. Story songs. Tons of songs. But I was listening to “Endless Summer Nights” just now, and I realized that he’s three wives past the woman he wrote this song about. Lionel Richie is another favorite songwriter of mine. Maybe the greatest love songs I know about. I don’t even want to elaborate on his personal life. Eric Benet. Kenny Lattimore. Babyface. Train wrecks. Suffice to say, I don’t think these people know anything about true love. I’ll be the judgy one, I guess. Maybe the most enduring love is beyond words.

 The best thing I can say is that her music was in my ears when I was small. I can’t remember a time in my life when I didn’t have some idea who she was. I was a little bit worried about this outcome when I saw a reel from her a few weeks ago, letting her fans know that she’d been in the hospital. Not to worry, she said. But then again, she definitely seemed like the sort of person who would look Death straight in the face and say, “I ain’t scared of you!” A couple years ago, I think there was a fuss about possibly removing an Andrew Jackson statue in Tennessee. I definitely thought, “Give Dolly a statue.” I think maybe they did. 400 years from now, nobody would dare protest. Dare to think how beloved someone would have to be, to be immortalized with a statue today, and not a peep of protest would be heard. Others will mention all her charitable works, and that is right and good. But I think a lot of people can say that her efforts in this regard fit with who she seemed to be, and ...

“Gay” as a word was coined by early activists and advocates for homosexuality. As you might know, the word already meant “happy,” “pleasant,” associated with warm feelings. It was a good choice for the goal. Let’s stop for a moment, and talk about the word “homosexual.” You can use it as an adjective, as a description of an orientation perhaps, but even now, it sounds a little dehumanizing as a noun. I’ve seen old documentaries and propaganda films, and using it as a noun sort of “others” people; it defines them by what they do. I’m naturally obsessed with words and their definitions. “Gay person” is clunky, and drenched in false sentimentality, but the phrase is intentional in that way. Smart people know that the very basis for human rights is the definition of personhood. Someone is hoping that the resonance of the second word in the phrase overrides any possible objections to the first. That’s why it works. It’s almost impossible to separate the dignity of a person from the quality ...

 Activism run amok creates in-group jargon, especially when it loses contact with reality. We’ll just do a little verbal exercise: “gay person.” Most people think they know what it means, probably because they haven’t thought about it too much. It could mean: 1. A person who engages in homosexual sexual activity; 2. A person who experiences sexual attraction to persons of the same sex; Or even: 3. A person advocating for the full normalization of homosexuality (and other activities) and possibly the eradication of the traditional family. He or she could be a part of (1), (2), both, or none. Some of the extremists have helped us out in a sense, by asserting things like, “Declaring the labels is a political act.” Well, not a surprise. Revolutionary and destructive activism doesn’t want debate and discussion; those people want power. If sentiment works—liberal white women, for example—they’ll use that. And for this power game, your uncle or cousin who generally doesn’t want to demand ...

 I don’t even generalize to “disabled people” like that. Our experiences are too varied. If some group of people want to advocate for something, presumably they have all agreed on what that thing is. Actual politics is about solving a specific problem or problems. Even to say “the civil rights movement” isn’t specific enough; we’re talking about legal rights of Black Americans to exercise rights enshrined in the Constitution. The nonviolent protests led by Dr. King and others were about the social acceptance of those rights exercised. Thurgood Marshall and others had won lots of legal victories against legal segregation, but if someone is legitimately afraid to exercise those rights by the threat or exercise of violence, those rights don’t exist in reality. It was the violence by segregationist forces exposed to the nation that compelled the federal government to act to enforce civil rights law in the South. It was nonviolence that revealed who the true Christians were, if I may sa...

 I was in Colorado in the summer of 2017, because my friends Greg and Cally were getting married in the mountains. I know it was 2017, because it was not long after I’d returned home from the hospital after being hit by a car on Easter Friday. If memory serves, it was also two visible solar eclipses ago, here in North America. Because I sat on Cally’s parents’ driveway to observe it. Later, I was at Red Rocks Amphitheater, in the museum. We couldn’t go into the theater, because hip-hop country (still an odd subgenre, in my mind) star Sam Hunt was doing a sound check for his performance there later that evening. He got himself off my Bad List when I saw him much later in St. Louis. Anyway, if you go into the museum, you’ll see clips of performances from Red Rocks over the years. And I saw the clip of Lyle Lovett singing the song which is the title of this post. I probably watched it 6 or 7 times in a row. It felt like the greatest song I’d ever heard. As a rule, I don’t like “indie”...

 Federer worked insanely hard. I’ve seen tape of workouts and practices. But in addition to being incredibly talented by a preternatural gift, he worked on his anticipation. It’s verifiable that he ran a shorter distance on court during a match than his opponents. On the one hand, a tennis player playing into his or her 40s was bound to happen, with a general awareness of nutrition and training improving and being utilized by most players. A tragedy involving the death of a beloved coach was the catalyst for the development of Federer’s famous emotional control. If you don’t waste energy with emotional outbursts, you have a great chance to win at the highest level. In fact, despite the fact that Novak Djokovic seems to be fueled by antipathy—for his own play, or a hostile crowd’s antipathy for him—Djokovic is actually a master at controlling his emotions on the court. (His infamous ejection from the US Open for whacking a ball that struck a ball person was a momentary lapse. Though...

 I love the old TV series "Columbo." There was a TV movie that aired all the way back in 1968, "Prescription For Murder," that essentially served as a pilot for the regular series that most people are familiar with however, from 1971 to 1978. Other Columbo TV films actually aired less frequently from 1989 to 2003. The great Peter Falk actually wanted to appear in one more Columbo film in 2009, when he began to exhibit signs of dementia before his death. Falk did other things, but like Gregory Peck who starred as Atticus Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird, you might want to escape an iconic character, but at some point, that isn't any actor's decision. In the great comedy drama The Princess Bride, Peter Falk appears as The Grandfather in the little frame scenes that lead to the story. He's absolutely doing his Lt. Columbo. I don't know anyone who was disappointed in that casting. Columbo isn't saintly in a sort of untouchable way like Atticus Finch, b...

 And I use “artists” broadly, like “creatives.” I think it’s the liturgy and the missionary impulse. In ancient and medieval Europe, the life of the parish was the life of the town. There is a clear rejection of three-dimensional religious art in Eastern Christianity, both among those who accept the Bishop of Rome’s universal jurisdiction, and those who do not. Nevertheless, the entire field of sacred art and architecture is rooted in the liturgies and theology of the apostolic Churches all over the world. In many respects, apostolic Christianity in the strictest sense succeeds where its liturgies are celebrated, notwithstanding scores of people who are adherents, but wouldn’t know Jesus from a hole in the ground. That is, Divine Liturgy/Holy Mass is the fruit of the missionary impulse. To say this is unpopular today, to say the least. That impulse is colonization and domination, in the minds of some. I have no desire to coerce anyone, but “Lord” in Latin is “Dominus.” I would add ...

 I was going to say, “not in that liberal white woman way.” Offense not necessarily intended, but not absolutely prohibited, either. On the other hand, even if the acronym and the description for “Affluent White Female Urban Liberal” describes a real thing, it’s a bit mean to go around yelling, “You’re the stereotypical AWFUL!” I digress. I love Ted Lasso. I love that it’s funny, but it has heart. Pathos. But I don’t “need” Ted Lasso. I’m gonna make my best effort not to buy any Ted Lasso merchandise. Have I been tempted to buy the coffee mug with a Venn diagram explaining the Roy Kent fan chant on it? (IYKYK) Yep. But I won’t. (Roy was written to have once been one of the best defenders/defensive midfielders in the relatively short history of the English Premier League.) I enjoyed seeing Brett Goldstein on Sesame Street. He seems like a genuinely sweet man (which is why only he could play Roy Kent). But having him sorta in character as Roy, AND making the letter of the day be “F” ...

 This will be heartfelt, emotional, and potentially embarrassing. Offer it up, Bryan! [The Catholic version of, “Suck it up, buttercup”!—ed.] When I first met this poor guy, he was picking me up for an Association of Hebrew Catholics lecture, the subject of which was justification and the Council of Trent. Even in 2009, I needed answers. The Reformation was unviable in my mind, even if another solution wasn’t readily apparent. By the way, many Catholics who convert from Protestant communities could tell a story like that, but you’re in a tricky place if you’re feeling and thinking that way whilst training to be a Reformed pastor. Fortuitously, Bryan once was doing the same thing for the same reason at the same institution. The ride/drive was perilous, I’ll say that. And Bryan made the “mistake” of asking me why I haven’t or wouldn’t become Catholic. I had two reasons: justification and Mary. Mother Mary. You know, Mary of All The Things. She just apparently shows up places, obvious...

 I love Linda Cohn. She's one of the reasons that ESPN isn't total garbage, even though they have been firing the people who made it great for about 20 years. Anyway, she says Caitlin Clark should be the MVP in the WNBA this year. She in general points out that it's not a stats award; it's about who is the most valuable to her team. In principle, I absolutely agree. But Wilson is like Tim Duncan. The whole Aces program turns on the axis of her leadership. Coach Hammon knows this, because she was there. Gregg Popovich isn't some strategic genius; he had the players good enough to win, but he inspired those players to work together, and in the latter days, to follow Timmy's lead. I look at the Aces roster, and I think, "This team is legit loaded." (Ditto the Fever and the Minnesota Lynx, especially.) But seriously: would the Aces roster be so deep if A'ja wasn't there? Not just her stats, which are distinctly better than Caitlin's. But every ...

 But the worst people think they are the best people. Dunning-Kruger works for ethics, too. I still say that making your own meaning is exhausting. That’s why all those existentialists killed themselves. It seems to me that we discover meaning in a similar way that we discover how the water cycle works, or why our sky is often blue during the day. Follow the science! Can I throw the punch and say that right now, the people who say this the loudest don’t actually do it? We know those people who are a “good person” because they tell us all the time. Let’s stop joking, and make the point: Most people would canonize themselves saints. Most people are quicker to see faults in others than in themselves, myself included. I can sympathize with the idea that a church is supposed to be more like a hospital than a country club. Jesus said the sick need a doctor more than the healthy do. That’s common sense. I just find it odd and sad that the heuristic for good and bad for so many people is w...

 I'm gonna start this in a weird place, but I don't like Foreigner that much. I've heard "I Want To Know What Love Is" probably 200 times in my life, and that's enough. I'm sorry. And the thing is, I don't inherently mind power ballads [You love power ballads, you mawkish clown.--ed.] or songs with slow verses and bold choruses. It's just this song. Frankly, every time I hear it though, I think, "How many out of wedlock conceptions happened with this song in the background?" There's a beautiful song written by Todd Rundgren that is the title of this post. It was the final track on the Oops! Wrong Planet LP from 1977 from his band Utopia. It got even more popular when it was recorded by England Dan (Dan Seals) and John Ford Coley in 1979. I don't know if Todd Rundgren identified as a Christian when he wrote it--I wasn't there--and I don't know if he does now, but that's a gospel song. In fact, Dan Seals said he "go...

 I had probably heard "I Won't Hold You Back" as a kid, a little kid. Probably my mom or one of my stand-in "parents" had the TOTO IV LP. It was everywhere. I found the LP in my stepdad Bill's stuff in the early to mid-2000s. Well, I don't know if Timothy Schmit of the Eagles is a tenor; I don't know music like a musician does. But he sure sounds like he's in the Steve Perry range on "I Won't Hold You Back" and Perry has been called a tenor. Do you think the Eagles ever did the song in concert because Timothy recorded it with Toto? For funsies? Vince Gill, who's with the Eagles now, could definitely sing the part. Speaking of Vince Gill, he sings so high that I don't know what a "falsetto" even means for him. You're not really exceeding range, if you just live there.  Anyway, it's a bloody great song.

 I can recall taking a canon law class for my Masters degree in Theological Studies (Ave Maria University’s Institute For Pastoral Theology). It was a lot of case studies of people doing less-than-ideal things, and us figuring out which part of canon law would apply. I had a great instructor who made canon law fun, which is an odd sentence to write. Moral theology inevitably is a part of those discussions. The study basically of what to do or not to do in particular situations, and also oftentimes the analysis of how morally culpable a person is or is not, based upon their knowledge and actions, is another aspect of moral theology. Professor Benedict Nguyen is a great teacher, and a great mind in the Catholic Church today. We got to talking in class, and analyzing a difficult situation, he brought this out as a principle: “When in doubt, do not act.” We weren’t talking about a more obvious situation where failing to act is a sin of omission. We weren’t dealing with anything that is...

 I started to see a reel posted by a friend that was created by a working-class white guy. Credit to him for that, at least. Most spokespeople for Democrats are pathetic classist snobs. Uber-rich old money educrats who are so disconnected from ordinary people that a fake rich plutocrat got to play Donnie Populist all the way to the White House. Twice. Can you seriously believe it? The alleged party of racial minorities, the vulnerable, and the forgotten is actually the party of neo-Marxist pseudo-intellectual Mad Libs, outmaneuvered by a vulgar reality star, who drove a garbage truck and did a shift at McDonald’s. In a very profound way, Donald Trump is the antithesis of everything the Republican Party I had known stood for. The Cold War had continued the bipartisan consensus that won the Second World War. The Democrats got off-track when they let the Marxism and fascism we defeated gain a foothold in their ranks. It wasn’t economic Marxism, at least by the late 1960s. It was revol...

 She made 61 percent of her shots last night. For reference, anything at or very close to 50 percent is excellent, for men or women. Caitlin and her fans have surely been disconcerted that her shooting percentage has been low, especially from 3-point range, so a game like this, combined with others recently, has to feel good, especially when the Fever are winning games. Caitlin is famous for her facility for three point shooting, so you really want those shots and others to go in. Shots in the normal run of play while the clock is moving are called “field goals” if they go in, and field goal attempts in general. Shooting percentage is just the fraction of shots made by shots taken. The stats geniuses across many sports have been developing advanced stats that help them understand why games turn, or to explain why one player impacts a game more than another player. Competitive sports is just a giant math problem, from one angle, and that is personally terrifying to me. On the other ...

 I had a buddy in seminary who said that stand-up comedians were the secular preachers. Huge fans of particular comedians are like parishioners. Watch Josh Johnson. His control of pace is incredible. You don’t want to give up, even as you know he’s dripping out words like it’s his sermon, and you’ll have midday dinner when he’s ready to sit down. Pauses are punchlines, but punchlines are still punchlines. If you’re getting laughs at every part of a sentence, you’ve got them. If you don’t have to finish a sentence to get a laugh, they’re finding the punchline for themselves. Observational comedy is most analogous to preaching, especially in applying some premise to a particular situation. A preacher draws his audience in by painting a picture, then using a surprise twist—maybe even a joke—to make a point. The parables of Jesus are perhaps the most unique in recorded human history. (I’ll not waste time proving the point that they belong to the real Jesus of Nazareth; suffice to say t...

 If you ever watched the NBA from 1984-1998, this will make more sense. That’s the Jordan Era. I don’t intend to say that Caitlin is Michael Jordan in every respect, but she’s the player that is taking the WNBA from a marketing perspective to a similar place as Jordan did. He became literally the worldwide icon of the game. His popularity didn’t diminish other great players; it brought the overall talent into sharp relief. Like Clark now, no one would have said Jordan was the best in the league in 1984, or even 1987. But the fans saw what they saw, and “voted” with their dollars and attendance and TV viewership. She absolutely has the ability to be a multiple time MVP, scoring champion, league champion, and assist leader. How is she not like Jordan? Right now, I don’t see Caitlin being the best offensive and defensive player at the same time, as Jordan was. Or as the great A’ja Wilson is right now. I hope she proves me wrong. But like Jordan in 1997, Caitlin is good for 20 every ni...

 I know young people and everyone else for that matter just (apparently) has sex whenever they feel like it. Christians fornicate and cohabitate worse than the heathen these days. I also definitely recognize that mistakes and “accidents” happen. If I didn’t believe in forgiveness, I would be by definition the stupidest disciple of Jesus who ever existed. A disciple knows first above everything and everyone that his debt with God is bigger than anyone else’s. He extends mercy to other sinners because he believes he is the chief of sinners. All that said… How in the Sam Hill are you gonna make a baby, and then decide—while your age starts with a “1” or barely a “2”—that this isn’t going to work out, and you’ll go find someone else to have sex with? This serial monogamy stuff is just nuts, man. There are things even more nuts, but I cannot fathom a more painful question for a child, and from a child, than, “How come Daddy isn’t here with us?” Or worse, “Who is my Daddy?” Believe me, n...

 I saw something mean on the Twitter. Someone I follow said something like, “Protestants claim to know the Bible, but they just use it how they want.” Let me stop you right there. Most Protestants do absolutely know the Bible (as they have received it) better than most Catholics. That’s just true. I was there, and I’m telling you, it’s true. Unless we can cheat and use Scott and Kimberly Hahn’s kids, we’d get murdered in “sword drills” by some 16-year-old on a break from Baptist summer camp. Look, I am not saying it’s rightly interpreted all the time. I’d still be part of the Reformation if I believed that. But I can absolutely promise you: you don’t want to pick this fight. I was received into the Catholic Church at Easter when I was 31 years old. I’m 46 now. It might have been the happiest day of my life. But I will tell you that drinking deeply of the philosophical tradition and the Sacred Tradition, I started to get sad, because the Scriptural citations didn’t come quite as eas...

 The official terms liturgically are that bishops, priests, and deacons are the “ordinary ministers of Holy Communion.” Anyone else who helps in this way or in any other way is an extraordinary minister. Respectfully, in an ideal scenario, you wouldn’t be there. So please do it reverently and efficiently by all means. But ideally, the faithful shouldn’t notice you. It is also the case that people with bad motives and the ignorant use the provisions and permissions for less-than-ideal situations to introduce their wrong ideas into the liturgy. More than a few people need to hear, “Hey friend. You could literally go to Hell for stuff like that.” “Active participation” does not mean, “As many of us as possible need to do stuff in the liturgy.” It means that we know the significance of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. We are trying to be prayerfully aware of what the priest is doing, and to offer our own selves as distinct sacrifices to God. This is where the “and yours” in the vernacul...

 I don’t do it. I have a disability. Nobody should want to drop a consecrated Host, but if you know that you’re more likely to drop one than almost everyone else, just receive on the tongue. I don’t think that kneeling and receiving on the tongue is necessarily better, except to say that altering a body posture can alter a heart posture. In the main, that’s why we do it. To be somewhat funny about it, I would absolutely rather lick or bite the finger of a minister of Holy Communion than drop the Blessed Sacrament on the floor. Don’t worry about it, though; if Jesus were mostly ashamed of us, he wouldn’t show up at all. I started reading some lay “trad” essay on Substack about how it’s somehow wrong to receive in the hand, and I stopped. Just precious self-important nonsense, as usual. Please feel free to lick your hand, if you do happen to receive in the hand, and you suspect there might be a crumb. Our Lord shouldn’t be left like a hobo, after all. We do seem to spend a good deal ...

 Too bloody right, I watched The Lion King again the other day. It truly is a great film. Did you know that it’s made 979 million dollars? They made it for 45 million dollars in 1994. That’s a blockbuster, folks. Oddly enough, it did the most business outside North America. Different things struck me this time. Mufasa said, “Being brave doesn’t mean you go looking for trouble.” Indeed, bravery in the cause of wickedness or pride is a waste. Mufasa speaking to Simba from Heaven got me pretty good. I don’t think I’ve gotten emotional at that part before. I used to feel Simba’s ache as Mufasa receded; that longing I understand. However, this time it was, “You are my son, and the one true king” which landed a hard punch against me. Indeed, I spoke the line out loud, though I was alone. It was emotional. Ancestor worship isn’t totally wrong; as it is written, “Honor your father and your mother.” On the other hand, there’s nothing inherently praiseworthy about merely having lived and die...

 I was on a rant the other day about how the TV drama The West Wing was liberal fantasy, and how even Martin Sheen couldn’t play a believable Catholic president, because no one who was meaningfully Catholic—even with buffet tendencies—would go into an Episcopal cathedral (not even the National Cathedral) to contest with God over the death of Mrs. Landingham.  We just wouldn’t. Sorry. There’s probably a Catholic chapel at least within a couple miles, and maybe better. Technically, Martin Sheen was born during World War II, so he’s the Silent Generation. But The West Wing is Boomer fantasy liberalism. Notice how often the characters in that administration win the arguments with just their sheer conviction. The music swells, and whoever they were arguing with just slinks away. It’s actually embarrassing. I’ll just say it: you kinda have to be liberal to like the show. Not even the adorable Emily Procter playing a Republican could save the show. She might actually be conservative ...

 I don’t mind it. I’m not even rebellious enough to destroy a wave as it comes around. I will say that most people can’t do the wave and maintain focus on the game, which baseball assuredly deserves. In my long familiarity with my beloved St. Louis Cardinals, the outbreak of The Wave usually indicated that the game was delayed, or boring. We’re not The Best Fans In Baseball (TM). Sorry. But St. Louis has a pretty big metro area. The Cardinals will never be in financial trouble, unless they get taken over by a series of fools. Moreover, the hardcore, well, core of the fan base IS extremely knowledgeable. Objectively, we can say that the floor for the attendance of the Cardinals is probably 25,000 a game. It’s the most decorated franchise in the National League, and probably the Dodgers and the Yankees could credibly claim to have more haters. And we absolutely deserve that. We’ve won a lot. Like, a lot. They’ve spent the last few years being average or bad, and I’ve felt genuine sym...

 The Lion King. (1994) The Hunt For Red October. (1990) Field Of Dreams (1989). They are great films, but there are specific reasons why these three are the ones that mean the most to me. The Lion King reminds me of my father. When I think of my father, I think of Mufasa. I also think of Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch, but Atticus is impossible to live up to. Like Bluey’s Dad.  But the parallels to Mufasa deepen. Mufasa dies suddenly, and it’s something that defines Simba for the rest of the film. When Simba finally triumphs, he does so by finding himself, and thereby honoring his father. His wandering was Simba trying to ignore his father and his father’s death. It’s more than just the sadness of the death; it’s what the death means, and what Simba does in response. The Hunt For Red October is pretty much my foreign policy and my patriotism distilled into a movie. Communism sucks, and despite herself, the United States of America remains the hope of the world. The book had to ...

 I don’t know anything about psychology, and obviously he does. I think I have dropped enough similar bombs on the far Left that I don’t need to become a poster boy for the Right like he did, or at least I felt he did. Probably from his perspective, he sees and saw his field in general being used for the destruction of self-efficacy, especially among men. I can appreciate that. He said something a few months back in a video that sticks with me as a teacher: The biggest thing a teacher does is set the inspirational frame for learning. I think he’s right. I think what I can do better is draw direct connections with the content knowledge and our near-inevitable bond as learners together. (That is, some of my friends have said that I am especially skilled at creating bonds of friendship with kids; I don’t think so. I just think a lot of people don’t feel seen, especially as they grow up. Try a little, you end up with strong loyalty.) If you don’t know something, you can find it out. Bu...

 I know Scott Stapp and those guys were trying to beat the Christian allegations, but especially the period from 1997-2001, why try? It’s a hard rock trip through the Psalms. As for music critics, what do they know? I always do reparations for “the words” in “My Own Prison”—I’m definitely a Christian, after all—but I have seen some things, man. Imperfect but real spirituality resonates more with me than a lot of “church people.” Moreover, every genre of music deserves stuff that’s radio-friendly. Make what you want, but if you try to tell me that you’re a musician and that you wouldn’t trade places with Taylor Swift in half a second, I’ll call you a liar. Besides The Joshua Tree, if it’s not a Creed record, give me the Make Believe LP from Weezer. It’s Eastern, but get over it. We can and will “baptize” anything. If I’m completely honest, “Christian” music usually isn’t good because I just don’t believe what they’re selling. Pathos and ethos, man. How many of those CCM bands had pe...

 The Spotify algorithm knows me well. 1980s and 1990s pop and R&B. It was a time when pop and adult contemporary were the same songs. Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis made their bones in this time, somehow making a mark as songwriters and producers contemporaneously with the legendary Babyface. (Kenneth Edmonds) Jam and Lewis introduced the music world to Janet Jackson principally, though that is in no way exhaustive of their contributions. They wrote and produced the ballad “Let’s Wait Awhile” from the 1986 LP Control. It concerns a young woman telling her boyfriend that she isn’t ready to have sex. Now, the younger sister of Michael Jackson was only 20 years old in 1986. Doubtless many of her fans were younger. The question is, why? What are we waiting for? A lot of scary red pill types go on and on about not wanting a woman who’s “ran through,” but what’s the point? 20 is too young, but 22 would be fine? The Christian ethic is direct: the permission for sex for both men and women...

 I’m not a conspiracy theorist by any stretch. I thought and think that COVID-19 was deadly and dangerous. I wore a mask the whole time, and got the vaccine as soon as I was permitted to. I’ve received three doses so far. All that said, I have no need to put my spikes in the ground to defend Anthony Fauci. In fact, I have known a few people who got MPH degrees to wonder if the whole racket is in creatively lying to the “ignorant” public for ideological purposes. High US officials knew the Chinese were literally making bio weapons at the Wuhan lab. We funded it. It was not a bat or a pangolin or anything at a wet market. If that right-wing nutjob Jon Stewart (sarcasm) can joke about it on late-night TV, it ain’t the fever swamp, my friends. And look, I started fights on social media trying to get friends and loved ones to get vaccinated. Basic math said the older you get, the less likely you were to bounce back unaided. That’s still true. It’s not in the news, but it could still kil...

 Obviously, I didn’t know Glen. But I knew his work, especially “Once” and the music associated with the film. It’s legitimately a great film, and the song “Falling Slowly” won an Academy Award. Marketa Irglova played a fellow musician who agrees to help him make an album. There is some romantic tension in the film, though Irglova’s character was married. It was a real Kris Kristofferson-Barbra Streisand situation, and the actor-musicians actually were dating during the making of the film. It’s a good enough story to have spawned a Broadway musical, and if you’re not aware, that’s a compliment from me. Hansard really did play his guitar on the street for money, and even after “Once” he wasn’t likely to be the opening act on the Eras Tour. He loved music, and he loved to play it for people. With the Lord’s permission, I would like to say that auto accidents and plane crashes are stupid. Actually, I can think of a few other ways of dying that seem senseless. Suffice to say that he’s ...

 I suppose that a person who is not an adherent of Christianity would be literally ignorant of certain details, but does any American who lives in Kentucky of all places really not understand why Christians would be sad if you said you’re not a Christian and you don’t want to attend their church? [People are idiots, and some people on social media pretend to be idiots for money.—ed.] Fair enough. Being Catholic is somewhat easier, in the sense that we don’t anxiously worry about the souls of those practicing other faiths, because God doesn’t condemn ignorance and can lead them to His Son via his own workings. That said, if a Muslim walked straight up to me and demanded to know about Jesus, I won’t miss that hanging curve. Some crazy fundamentalist wandered into our parish one night before Saturday Vigil Mass, and tried to preach us out of the Catholic Church. I was almost sad that the usher dragged him out. Dude, you’re standing in front of your Beloved right now. Your Savior is ri...

 Did I watch it a fair amount? Sure. Did I laugh sometimes? Absolutely. And he's not without his charms. Our ages are close enough that we lean into pop culture similarly. I've never met anyone who dislikes The Lord of The Rings book trilogy. His wife is more interesting than he is. But let's cut the crap: the show was too political and too liberal to have and keep a big audience. He got his start in Jon Stewart's satirical orbit, and his rise may have sown the seeds of his own destruction. Of all the really strong criticisms you can make of Donald Trump, I guess I never have hated him enough to be sad that Colbert's show was ending. The Left thinks its satire reflects reality, and that's exactly why they keep losing. To paraphrase James Carville, you can't beat someone you don't take seriously. Political satire has a long tradition in our country, but the secret sauce of political comedy gold is that (almost) everyone has to laugh. We've hit a point...