Safe Haven

Though I support the right of people to bear arms, and sometimes in lethal self-defense, it seems to me that these bills are a grave mistake. The reason to require a permit to carry a concealed weapon is that legitimate concerns of public safety with respect to training and mental health are addressed by such requirements. The individual right to bear arms, properly understood, is in the service of public safety; that is, the common good. I do not believe that Missouri has become appreciably more dangerous than it was last week. These changes are unnecessary at best. If we forget that individual rights are meant to serve the good of all, we will do foolish things like this.

Sometimes, it's possible to take things for granted. We say, "State of grace! Wooo!" and move on. Yet none of that is our doing. There is grace and mercy raining down on us always. I am not one of those heroic people (yet) who cries out to God and the saints in moments of great temptation. But I realized that good moments can be a time of thanksgiving to God, and asking for more mercy. Being a saint is not about living some absurdly unreal life; it begins by recognizing every moment as a gift of God. Help me to be more thankful, O God.

If you do not have an intuitive grasp for baseball, then numbers and statisticts don't mean anything to you, so it's hard to communicate just how good Albert Pujols is and was. I'll do my best, and it seems only right to do it now. The Cardinals are in California to play the Angels, and their old friend, Pujols. You may have heard of Mark McGwire. He was the first person to break the single-season home run record set by Roger Maris in 1961. If he had not dishonered himself and the game by using steroids, he'd be a Hall of Famer. 583 home runs, including of course the 70 he hit in the single season of 1998. Hold that thought. I used to tell people that Tony Gwynn was the greatest hitter I ever watched. He was the last hitter to seriously flirt with a .400 batting average, which hasn't been done since 1941. Tony was a black Stan Musial, in the sense that he was the perfect ambassador for the game. Always played fair, always had fun, he would never bring shame on h...

God is pretty mysterious, but you'd have to say the Holy Spirit is the most mysterious. He is called the "Comforter" by Jesus, but He also convicts the world in regard to sin and righteousness. He blows where he wills. He changes the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. Whenever I have wanted to understand the Scriptures, I have always implored the Holy Spirit. Nevertheless, we have a great gift in the Magisterium, who gives the final, definitive interpretation of any matter touching or morals, when necessary. Of course, the infallibility of the Church under certain circumstances is a work of the Holy Spirit. Every time you are moved to pray, (authentically) that is a grace of the Holy Spirit. Every time any true supernatural good work is done, it's the Holy Spirit. One of the deep realities of the new covenant in the blood of Christ is that people are united in the Body of Christ by the Holy Spirit. We can't say enough, and that makes sense, fo...

If you want to attract a good man, ladies, please remember this: don't make any man feel small in public, especially if he's the one you want. It seems to me that many women today have this completely backwards. They will pour themselves out in private, saying the deepest things on their hearts, but in public, they'll carve that man to shreds, and even seem to enjoy it. I definitely won't tell you that most men are worthy of this kind of deference. And you might be dating an egomaniac, or even a sociopath. I'm not here to fix the world's problems. I do know that a girl who acts like some man would be hopeless without her--in a normal situation with a great guy--deserves to be without him. If he's a genuinely good man, he knows he'd be lost without her. But he needs that same woman to avoid telling the world about it. When a great man reaches the heights of his accomplishments, professionally and otherwise, does he not publicly praise her? Does he not s...

I said more than a year ago that I would not support the Republican nominee if that nominee is Donald Trump. I said it would mean there is nothing good in the party of Lincoln. I reaffirm that today. And no boogeyman of Hillary Clinton will dissuade me. The things that are problematic about her are true of most Democrats, globally speaking. I don't care that much, or better said, I don't like to be told when to be angry, and with whom. My life experience now is among minorities, the poor, and the disabled. Trump is the opposite of solidarity with those people. I want to live in an America where those people still matter. Your bank account doesn't make you a winner or loser, your character does. It's true that "conservative" could mean many different things, from many different vantage points. I do absolutely know it doesn't mean this. What good is it, if a man gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? I won't. Not today, not ever.

I saw two of my favorite priests today. One has endured the great suffering of an unimaginable calumny, and the other is a noted spiritual director, barely older than me. The first man never let me forget the love of God, in those tough days of the second year of being reconciled to the Church. He asked me if I was still praying for him, and it was a true John the Baptist moment. The second is terribly fond of me, and I would be tempted to dismiss that, but he's so holy that I have to question whether he knows something I don't. He talked during the homily about seeing with the eyes of Jesus. It lifts me to consider that he's on to something. Christ has something special for each of us, no matter how much we hate ourselves. I could almost hear the Father's laughter, as he led me to the Sacrament of Penance yesterday. Let His love swallow up your unworthiness. Our sin is no less real, but grace lets us see the depth of mercy. And the bottom will not be reached.

When you receive mercy, you partake in this. There is no substitute. Yet part of the reason the sacraments are efficacious by the very fact of being performed is that we are not always conscious of being flooded with consolations. You really wouldn't want a sacrament to depend on how you felt about it, or about yourself in relation to God. One basic objection to the whole sacramental economy is that one could argue that God has accomplished everything in Christ in such a way that insisting that a sacrament as a sacred sign is necessary for salvation denies the reality of what God does. This objection makes sense to me. In that case, though, it makes more sense to argue that we don't need sacred signs at all. Practically, they can only serve as word-pictures for teaching things about God's deeds, and a person could meditate on those deeds without the signs at all, and most certainly so, with the great gift of the Scriptures. But is it true? Did God actually do things thi...

I was at the Audrey Assad concert/revival meeting in my town this past Friday, and Audrey sang: "You delight in showing mercy/And mercy triumphs over judgment." This prompted a friend to turn to me and ask, "Does it really?" And all I could say was, "yes." It's right there in the book of James, chapter 2, verse 13 . I thought it prudent, rather than doubt the rather frank preaching of countless saints, to explore the possibility that we do not understand mercy, if its triumph is understood in contrast with justice. Indeed, I think that St. James understands judgment there as synonymous with justice. Justice is an obligation. Judgment falls at the failure to uphold what is due in justice. Mercy ameliorates the consequences due to sin. That is, one interesting aspect of mercy is that it acknowledges that sin has taken place. Sin exists. Mercy cannot exist if the real possibility of sin does not exist. Therefore, any indulgence or forbearance that den...

I witnessed the marriage of my friends yesterday, according to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. I have no other comment on that in particular, except to say that I remain less familiar and comfortable with that Form than I'd like to be. A very good man I met invited me to attend that parish more regularly, but I have a special bond with the Cathedral. [If your bond is so special, why don't you register there?--ed.] Why don't you finish RCIA? [Touche.--ed.] As I sat there among many of the most faithful Catholic families in my city, I had the sense of being the bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks. One day, I will be Tony to someone's Maria. On the other hand, holiness has but one end, so I do belong. As with many things in life, the spiritual life is not about where you start, but where you finish. I think the biggest thing that would stick out to you if you were a random postmodern person off the street is how serious we were. You may have rolled your...

I'm still here. I had the thought once the other day that I felt like I was dead, but I realized the opposite is the case. I'm very much alive, in all ways, and this is why the trials of this life hurt so much. If you hurt over things that are wrong, and things that are sad, you're alive. Take encouragement in that, if there is any to be had. I don't know what's ahead, but I'm me, and I'm going to continue being me, insofar as that is good. We're going toward something beloved friends--Someone--and that promise, along with the hope that attends it, is greater than any sorrow.

Sometimes, it seems like all the suffering comes at once. I don't know about you, but I'm not feeling much like a royal priest offering his whole life back to the Father. I'm feeling like I'm being crushed. There are days when your prayers are tears. Words are a luxury befitting happier times. And the worst part is, my health is fine. My circumstances are just fine. No truer thing has ever been written: If you love anyone at all truly, you will suffer. And so I suffer the temptation to condemn myself, because there are much worse things than this. Then I remind myself that I've learned to downplay my feelings improperly my whole life. It is not true or right to pretend that I'm not hurting when I am. Even if the crosses are not all mine, I bear them too, because I love. But I had this high and lofty thought on the way to Mass: if the vale of tears is doing this to me, how great is the joy that awaits us? Can you even imagine? Dear St. Paul, I recall you sa...

I'll just leave you to read it , and think about it. Most of our movies today, though they may not be obvious examples of the subject, come very close to it, even if they are not. I'm not here to piously lecture anyone; the things that get people mixed up in pornography are varied, and it purports to fulfill real human needs, not simply for pleasure, but for connection. It's difficult to connect with real people, and the virtual world never says, "no." You can get help  from my friend Devin Rose, if you need it. It does sadden me that it's so common. If Jesus took on human flesh so that we could have abundant life, how great is that life so many people are missing? On the positive side, what glorious vistas of deep friendship and communion with God and others await us on the other side of this snare? All you saints of God, pray for us!

Suppose circumstances forced you into a situation where your character were revealed. For some people, it's acute physical danger to someone else. There is no time to consider carefully. You are either the person needed in that moment, or you're not. It need not be so extreme, however. We all potentially face little tests like this every day. (So long as we are granted another day to live, there is still time to become what we are not, if we fall short.) The movies have it backwards, though. It's not the decidedly evil man who turns to good in the crucial moment who should be most celebrated. It's the man who's steady as a rock, who goes on doing the right things that he's always done, who should be. Heroism in anything takes practice. If your whole life were distilled into one moment, what would it say about you?

We keep a closer watch on our lives as Catholics, because the possibility of mortal sin is real. But have you thought about this, that on an ordinary day in a state of grace, (if there is anything ordinary about friendship with God) the Father adores you? The Father loves you as He loves the Son: infinitely. And actually, He loves us this way all the time, but when we are mixed up in grave sins, we don't realize it, or care. God is always giving us grace to come back if we get in a jam, though. It's an extension of that infinite love, and in that species, we call it mercy. True mercy never denies truth, but it reaches down, it dignifies, it inspires us to truly experience all that God has for us. The glorious freedom of the children of God.

If you think about "church people," you can think of several kinds you don't like. Nobody wants to be that kind of Christian: the judgy one, the flaky one, whatever. We also have cottage industries of people trying to be the "cool" Christian, or the "relevant" church. Guess what, kids? You're just somebody else's version of church people. He enters in. "I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through me." We've got to reckon with this. You have no reason to go to church unless you believe this, unless you realize that this fact impacts the way you live, or the way you will live. Who is Jesus Christ? This is the most important question you will ever ask. If you want to explore that question, then you have a reason to be a church person. It doesn't matter where on the journey you are. If you're exploring, just starting out, or you've been exploring the mystery your whole life, ...

This is worth a read. Tiger Woods is the greatest golfer I ever saw. What's it worth, really? And that is true. I would rather have my wife and my children. This sunset could have gone better. It hurts me to think of it. I can remember seeing things that will never be seen again on a golf course. It's not a debatable point; this was Nicklaus reincarnated. The best you can do is use this amazing ability to do some real good for others who aren't so lucky. But a game can't fix the holes in ourselves. Money, power, fame, physical ability, all powerless against the demons of a purposeless life. I thought of it today, that forgiveness is the currency of Heaven, for those of us here. Every problem in the world is either forgiveness needed, or forgiveness denied, and often both. People aren't that complicated, really, but they are dangerous. Lord, have mercy!

Yes. Absolutely. Jeb Bush is a statesman next to Trump or Cruz. Marco? Same. I would have no qualms about legitimacy, myself. But then, I don't believe in democracy. The wisdom of giving a voice to "the people" is predicated on the people being wise, moral, et cetera. That's all breaking down. Pick someone else. Do it soon. I won't rally to the buffoon. So you decide how much you love Hillary Clinton, because I will never vote for Donald Trump.

It's a buzzword, at this point. But really, what does it mean? The Greek word means, "good news." The human context that forms the biblical use of this word is that of a herald, announcing the reign and arrival of a triumphant king. If you weren't on board when the herald came, you'd better leave the realm with haste. So, in the Christian context, an "evangelizer" announces the good news of the reign of King Jesus, and warns of his imminent return. The Church says we need a new evangelization. Why? I think it's fair to say that many members of the Church are not ready and waiting for Jesus to return. Here in America, how many people do you meet who start off the story of their faith journey with, "I was raised Catholic, but..."? "I know the Church would say I shouldn't do this or that, but..." "I'm a bad Catholic, but..." I have a feeling that a great number of people wouldn't be as casual if they h...

Granted, there is nothing really wrong with me. I would not expect to die today. Or tomorrow. Or the day following. But who does? Unless you are one of those people who knows what is going to kill you, because it's a diagnosis you can't escape, most of us will be surprised. I've decided I don't care that much. Don't get me wrong. I'm enjoying myself, generally speaking. I'm not planning a trip to Sheol this week. But my life has a pattern. It has a purpose. The animating purpose of my life is Christ, and him crucified. If everything that means is true, death has already lost. Seriously. Have you stopped to think about this? I was waiting for Entrepreneur Bob after Mass yesterday. Actually, me and another guy. He was taking a long time. Not just a moment or two. We sat there maybe 15 minutes. I said to the other guy without thinking, "Maybe he died in the church." "Don't say that!" "Why not? To die right after Holy Commu...