Safe Haven

We had to go early, if we wanted Confession. I feel compelled to say once again that this is the most misunderstood aspect in the life of the Church by outsiders. It is quite simply the second-greatest gift that Christ can give, after Himself. I have no idea how theologically accurate that is, but it's true. You'll hear people say, "Why do you have to confess to a priest? Why not go straight to God?" If you will forgive me, you do not know what you are asking. And to be honest, I won't give it back. It is a faithful testimony of God's love in the world that He has left to men His power to forgive sins. With apologies, I scarcely need a reminder of God's saving acts in history, as much as I need him to act here and now. To know that I, even I, am the subject of his loving concern is worth more than all the tent-meetings you care to imagine. So I prayed a decade of the Rosary, as the priest asked me to do. The penance isn't typically as onerous as pe...

In the course of the post-concert festivities, one of our group briefly told us about this happening to someone she knows. I was, and remain, so mad. I understand that it's more common than we realize, and that it's an opportunity to practice forgiveness in a huge way. And given how much the Lord has forgiven me, I don't suppose I can stand in judgment. BUT...all I could think was, I will cut you. First off, no one on this planet has had a more difficult time waiting on the Lord as a single person. Seriously, I don't want to hear it. I've got you beat. I'm sorry. No one is less inclined to this time of testing than me. So there's a special wrath that a single person feels at stories like this that I don't think can be replicated. I lament pretty much every day, wondering if there's someone out there for me, and this dude found his someone, and cast her aside? I cried a little. I don't even know this woman, and I still cried. I'm not going...

She held us like putty in her hands. When someone really has a special gift, when a musician has some offering to make, the best thing she can do is invite you along. And that's what she did. There's a magic that happens when you trust a musician; there's a special friendship between audience and performer where it doesn't matter what they sing and play; you'll go with them, and them with you. It's more than being a fan, but it's not less than that. It was mostly new material, but the thing is, it didn't feel like new material. It felt like we knew this, like we understood where it came from. It was a very intimate setting, no band, no guests, no big production. It was Audrey, a piano, and us, her new friends. And I think I understand that you have to earn the right to ask the audience to sing with you. She earned it. And the thing we sang was off-the-cuff, she said. We sang: "Lord, I need You/Oh, I need You/Every hour, I need You/My one defense...

Heresy. Actual heresy. In First Things. We are doomed! [But Leithart writes there often.--ed.] That was rude. [You were thinking it.--ed.] Fine. And just to be clear, I do not believe--nor am I permitted to, I don't think--that the creation account is a myth.

My favorite songwriter, and a legend. Thanks for asking. He wrote this song. And this one.  And this one.  You can hear him singing the background vocals pretty clearly. I don't know what to tell you. I daydream about writing a pop song half as magnetic as he's done routinely. His own albums blow me away. "For The Cool In You" is the perfect R&B/pop album. And that came in 1993, after the LP "Tender Lover" made him a star. Have you heard this one ? And cue the wedding standard. That last one was from 1996, off the album "The Day." It's incredible. The whole bloody thing. And then he got bored, and did a Christmas album, which gave us this. If that doesn't end up in a sappy picture slideshow of my life, someone's in trouble. That's all I'm saying. If you put out a greatest hits collection a mere 14 years after your debut as a solo artist, and it gets criticized for being incomplete, you've done very well indeed. ...

It's just too hard. It is not triumphalism, but rather, profound respect which leads me to make a conscious choice to avoid the occasion. I know enough theology to carry some semblance of sympathy for almost every non-Catholic Christian position you can name. I love so many hundreds of people in other communities, it seems as though my heart would burst if it were not kindled with divine Love, like the bush that was not consumed. It was that Love which drew me gradually toward the Church, toward a peace I could not begin to fathom. No sexual attraction could touch this. No charm can replace it. I won't date you because I love you too much to lie to you. Holy Mother Church always teaches with truth and love, by virtue of her special gifts, despite the failure of her children. Chief among them is me. That said, when she hits back, she hits back hard. You don't get back up again, theologically speaking. But her love is like a good jab that blinds to the overhand right behind...

You can do this. Satan would like nothing more than for you to turn inward on yourself. Word by word, you conquer. Power through the frustration. Make each sentence a prayer. You are approaching your destiny. Thank Him for this life. Let the song in your heart play all day. No one can take your joy, but you can give it away if you forget. You are great. There is no one like you. You were made unique for a unique thing. You are not alone. You have done more than you think. You are more loved than you realize. Embrace who you are, and seek grace to be better.

Scripture according to whom? Who decides what Scripture says? Until you say who the Church is, and what standard they are going to use, you're wasting everyone's time. But in fairness, I don't think you can do this in a principled way, anyway. At least you're starting to bite the bullet by admitting the Councils have no authority in themselves. Same problem as before.

There was a meme about successful people versus losers today on the interwebs. A "meme" is one of those pithy pictures with a thought-provoking, snarky, or otherwise hilarious caption made to make a point. Anyway, it said that people who watch TV and fail to keep daily journals were losers. [What if you kept a daily journal about watching TV?--ed.] That's what I was thinking. In any case, it got me thinking: Have you ever noticed that people always say they don't like "bumper-sticker" politics? First of all, you're lying. You don't like the other side's bumper stickers. I know I don't. And let's cut the mess: There are "sides" in politics, just like in every discussion. And there's nothing wrong with this, inherently. But I think disenchantment comes when we use the same words, but mean different things. We get really hostile with politicians who willfully equivocate for political advantage. But I think it's fractious ...

His mercy is new every morning. Don't stop writing. Don't stop praying. Do your best to forgive. Sing a little song. Maybe even write one. Take the risk of being too sentimental. Take a moment or ten to think of the Cross. Thank the Lord for your friends. Remember your father. Remember how you are him in all the ways that are good. There is no harm at all in trying to live today to make him proud of you. Dad's just a little picture of the Father. He'd shake his head, ashamed of himself, but everyone falls short. Call your brother. You haven't talked in a while. Save him time by looking at the game recap. But if he wants to talk about it, let him. Baseball is not trivial; baseball is a part of our past, a reminder of all that once was good, and could be again. Don't forget to eat. And for Pete's sake, drink some water! Shave the beard. Don't be afraid to embarrass yourself. No one will ever say, "He loved me too much."

I have no idea if Glenn Beck advances the national conversation in a meaningful way. I only saw one show on TV, his very first. So honest, I really don't know. And frankly, I liked it. There was a guy who had written a book about the European fascist roots of contemporary progressivism. It was one of those "I need to read that" moments, but never wrote down the title. Anyway, I'm at least aware enough to notice that progressives dislike most, if not all, conservative radio hosts. But frankly, that doesn't tell us much, given the fact that most progressives defend the constitutionally, morally, and logically indefensible in deeply personal, hostile ways. I can say with a clear conscience that I have never been personally angry at an opposing politician like they have. Mitt Romney is one of the kindest, most personally generous, and intelligent men to ever run for president. Ever. And I don't even like his policies, generally. But you saw what they did to him....

5 Thoughts For Today 5. Dude, this Tradition stuff is deep. Yours truly is routinely reduced to a quivering pile of, "What does that mean?" I'm told this is perfectly normal. 4. Catholic apologist: A unique evangelist whose principal task is exhorting sinners, non-Christians, non-Catholics, and whoever else to join the supernatural society of the Catholic Church, despite the fact that her principal mysteries reduce the most brilliant men to stammering fools. This is good, they tell us. 3. Catholic Church: The only place where the French lead the battle, and no one laughs. 2. Catholic Church: We worship our food. No, really. 1. Catholic Church: Where "It's a mystery!" means, "I don't know" and "I do know" at the same time.

The light is low As it was that sleepless morning But this light is not the Sun It is my soul. That gray was the gray of hope A train rushing toward the station Toward family, joy, and laughter This is a fog. I do not want to hear it What was once a song to me Fills me with bitterness And stilted prayers. Keep your blessing Keep your comfort Do not answer When you are not asked. I shed tears for death For friends departed And hopes dashed But not for the truth. I will do no penance now Not to please you To bring myself low To make you happy. I am who I was then Exactly the same I hope one day your happy lies Will be lost in the mists.

Honestly, I don't have anything to say. My prayers are with the dead and injured, as well as their families. Various whispers of reports seem to indicate that it was a terror attack, but precisely by whom is unclear. I had seen somewhere that a 20-year-old Saudi had been apprehended, but I never saw that anywhere else. I hope you are safe if you live nearby. Cherish the small moments, and seek the good, because we cannot take moments for granted. Certainly not when evil people take already fragile life by force. Lord, have mercy!

We live on a knife's edge oftentimes. The secret of the Christian life is that I'm not at all strong, and neither are you. We could smack around the Reformed all day long for their contention that the absolute necessity of grace implies soteriological monergism, (one of the biggest, unnecessary jumps in theology) but let's definitely recall that Jesus said, "Apart from me, you can do nothing." Prayer is the means of co-operation with God. We will NOT be holy if we do not pray. It is also the means of communion with God, which is synonymous with holiness. God is holiness. It is that quality of otherness in which all other things find their intended ends. Say what you will about the Protestant theologian Karl Barth; he was (unless he was the greatest liar I have ever seen) a man of prayer. That's why God is merciful: He's not into knee-capping those who seek Him with everything they have. Prayer is a communion of Love. Therefore, I was more right than I ...

Derek wrote a post about a question he asked Tim Keller, and it led to this from Rachel Held Evans. You all probably know that RHE riles me up. You end up some kind of "liberal" if you listen to her. But on the good side, she does help us find the limits of hermeneutics under the oppressive regime of Sola Scriptura. See, I believe RHE doesn't identify as a theological progressive. That's true. But for one, there is no way to know where you are in relation to some "center" if there isn't one. I digress. But I read Derek's post and Keller's general comments in a different way: through the lens of virtue and vice. If you sin gravely (like say, sexual sin) and you repeat it, it gets harder and harder to think and act in the right way. You need a lot more grace to get back going straight. And that, I think, is the context which would lead Dr. Keller to ask a young person "Who are you sleeping with?" Augustine's a rather excellent e...

5 Trek-Inspired Thoughts 5. Just what do they put in those Class VIII probes to make them capable of travelling at Warp 9, hundreds of times the speed of light? 4. Why would you attempt to study anything while moving that fast, anyway? 3. This is the first time--but definitely not the last--when Worf will have some kind of romantic relationship with a mixed-race character. Paging Spike Lee! 2. K'Ehleyr doesn't seem to like herself much. 1. Nothing like putting your life at risk to blow off steam. (sarcasm)

5 Trek-Inspired Thoughts 5. Dude, there is no Fountain of Youth. 4. I find it amusing that Admiral Mark Jameson's earlier actions were so scorned. He'd be called a realist in foreign policy today. 3. Why would you need to be young for that mission? 2. Karnas forgives quickly. All you have to do is die. 1. Ron Paul wrote the Prime Directive, clearly.

5 Trek-Inspired Thoughts 5. An advanced civilization would totally walk around immodestly. (not) 4. Pantheism totally makes sense. Humans would totally embrace old, discredited religions in the future. (sarcasm) 3. Why is Counselor Troi so...unchaste? 2. Actually, the arranged marriage was the most normal part of the whole thing. 1. I would totally live among deadly lepers and forsake my obligations for a frizzy-haired hippie. (not)

Ahem . I don't even think that Obama is particularly unlikable as a guy, although I can sympathize with those who can no longer stomach his rank incuriousness and arrogance. But it's time to just say it: He doesn't believe in liberty. I am not one of those people who thinks he was born in a foreign country. I don't get angry when I see his face, although I mourn. It's just the plain fact that he doesn't recognize a difference between the State and everything else. He does not hold esteem for spheres of life that he cannot control or use. That's the only conclusion that fits all the data. This is why the HHS mandate happened. This is why the health-care law is written the way it is, either to destroy the private market or to make it small enough to be bought off. It's cool to be pro-gay sex these days, but he doesn't do it to seem open-minded. He does it because statists of a certain stripe know that families, communities, and churches are impossi...