Safe Haven

Armies of mystics could get lost in the spiritual metaphor of a blind man receiving sight from Jesus. I tend to see all of it in terms of God's gradually unfolding plan of covenant love. It goes together, of course. The better disposed we are toward God, the more we can participate, and help others to participate, in the plan of redemption and salvation. I have always loved the creative tension of knowing that the other blind man (from John 9) didn't do anything personally to "deserve" the misfortune, and yet, we know that original sin is ultimately the cause of this, and other miseries. There is no way that I am fully entering in to the mystery of that covenant love in Christ, but it unlocks the secret of suffering. No earthly misfortune can touch the glory we are to see in Christ! If faith gives you the eyes to see that, just take a moment to reflect on that. My friend Jason Mraz (OK, I met him one time) sings in his first hit "The Remedy (I Won't Wor...

I won't say I was completely distracted during Mass, but I think I'll be working this one off. I had a fleeting moment of intense joy, thinking about Pope Gregory VII, and Jesus. Maybe we won't know that we are saints until the testing comes. And during the Angelus, I was keenly desirous of Our Lady's intercession. That is as good a time as any, I suppose. If my days are filled with these pleasant mercies, I won't protest.

I think it's fair to spend time on verses 52-58 when reading John 6, especially when faced with doubt about our Eucharistic faith. Yet let us never forget that we are dealing with Jesus. There is nothing contradictory about adoring Him in the Eucharist, and believing totally that He's our Savior, who died for us, and rose again to bring us to the Father. To whom else shall we go? I don't understand "cultural" Catholicism. I suppose I don't understand the nominal practice of any religion. Religion pertains to the most important questions a person will ever ask. Do people just think "church" is the time a couple times a year when we wear nice clothes and try not to smile? Am I the only person who thinks that's weird and stupid? I would rather watch the Packers, and I don't even like the Packers. If this is all true, though, everything changes. We start worrying less about impressing, and more about imploring mercy.

Are the sacraments necessary for salvation? The Catechism says yes.  St. Thomas (or in this case, one of his students) agrees . It seems to me that the first two objections encapsulate what would become the Protestant objections to the sacramental system. The first objection is that receiving the sacraments requires bodily effort, and we know that striving profits little. The Thomist says that would be true on the natural level, but not the supernatural level. The second objection is that the grace from the Passion is sufficient in an unmediated way. That is, "Why have this other thing as necessary, when the most important thing has already been done?" The Thomist says that man needs the grace that the sacraments offer.  (We'll just call the writer "The Thomist.") The Thomist says that sacraments are spiritual, in their signification, and in their causality. (Reply to Objection 1.) It seems clear that one could consider them useful but not necessary if the...

Sorry to disappoint some of you. There is no meaning behind the word "conservative" any more. Better said, there are no concrete solutions behind it. We have been defined by what--or whom--we hate. And the party of Abraham Lincoln is lining up behind an intellectual midget, and worse, the most morally vacuous and repugnant person I have seen in my entire life. Absolutely, Hillary is better, for what that's worth, and it's not much. Nevertheless, it must be said. A few judges people like--even ones I'd like--are not going to make me forget what's happened here. Hillary Clinton belongs in federal prison, and she's still the better choice. That's what you did, angry white men. That's what you did, and I won't let you off the hook for it. Don't talk to me about abortion. If you're not out there on the sidewalks and in the pregnancy resource centers, (or some equivalent level of engagement) you don't get to tell me about the duty to ho...

I am a total bro. By that I mean that in some ways, I am a stereotype: I love sports, I love Tom Cruise, (especially between the years of 1986-1992) and I don't need an invitation to eat steak. And I guess that the very idea of sports, and men talking about it, is upsetting to some people. They could after all be talking about whatever is in The Atlantic, or on NPR right now. Non-bros satirize things; they talk ironically; they drink craft beer. I drink Budweiser, for 2 reasons: I don't like taste explorations in food or drink, and the Busch family owned the Cardinals for who knows how long. Done, and done. Sure, I'm deeper than that. I'm actually curious about what's in The Atlantic right now. With regard to sports, though, it's pretty simple: Men want to feel useful, connected, and alive. The next time you are tempted to dismiss 2 guys talking about sports, don't. Aside from the ways the sport accomplishes those three things in its limited way, realize w...

I was in a discussion today, and somebody basically made a meme--and it was for humor's sake--of that moment from Dead Poets' Society, after the boys stand on the desk and begin to recite the famous poem. Keating looks, and pauses, before saying, "thank you, boys," and departing. Anyway, it got everyone sort of wistful for Robin Williams, even though its usage had nothing whatsoever to do with him, or the film. I realized that for me personally, he impacted me several times, and in several ways, and I had not acknowledged it or realized it until he died. Let's give ourselves a break on self-condemnation for so-called "celebrity worship," because for many of these people, to continue working and entertaining is their way of serving, and for us to continue watching is the way we thank them. No one plans on dying, for the most part, and we never think that perhaps the time to say thanks is growing short. That's how death is. Family, friends, neighbors...

It's my reality. It's also a good tune from the short-lived indie Christian supergroup, Kerosene Halo. [And honestly, that is one of the best band names ever.--ed.] I agree. But I'm getting more comfortable just walking around the neighborhood without fear of getting lost. In daily life, and in matters spiritual, this makes a big difference. When we know we are safe and loved, we grow bold; we find ourselves and our place. It is true that human experience is only an analogy to life with God. Analogies break down. But we wouldn't and couldn't use them at all, unless they were true.

I used to get mad when political liberals accused conservatives of bigotry and racism. I felt something  very close to rage when I read books in college littered with that accusation. We Republicans have a narrative as equally compelling to us as that of any Democrat's. We deplore bigotry in all its forms. Still, the beginning of the fight against "political correctness" was actually about masking political arguments as factual ones, and using whatever power that was available to silence dissenting views offered in good faith and goodwill. Now, some vociferous non-progressives--for they do not appear to be conserving anything--deplore "political correctness" as anything that does not confirm them in whatever they happen to already believe. Ignorance masquerades as courageous free thought, for those who lack the character and humility to tell the difference. Let me "tell it like it is," in the form of a question: Have we as conservatives been reflex...

On the one hand, I really appreciate being able to share experiences with people whose disability is similar to my own. I appreciate also many friends who advocate for persons with disabilities, and where our interests intersect, I'm happy to help. Bottom line here, though: A beautiful woman is a beautiful woman. We're pretty much the same here, dudes. You could say that having a disability, and knowing others who may share common experiences creates a culture. Well and good. But it isn't an impenetrable barrier to me. For others with other characteristics, culture plays a bigger role in that decision-making process. But my role in the disability culture is not such that I need a woman to share that part of my life in common. I worry about how my limitations will affect me as a faithful Catholic father, more than anything. And we all must consider whether we have been given the grace to fulfill that vocation. At bottom, I'm just a guy. "Is she faithful?...

It begins with the theoretical: knowledge is a common good, so the wide dissemination of that knowledge is in the purview of the civil authority. That purview or jurisdiction is by no means exclusive, or even primary, but it's real. Therefore, it is not an injustice per se to make the dissemination and acquisition of true knowledge a matter of public concern. Of course, the problem increasingly is that the public schools are teaching a defective morality or anthropology to the students they serve. That is, from my perspective as a Catholic, the problem is ethical and moral, not ideological. Or, I might say, political, except where those areas by necessity intersect. There are some people who argue that non-public school options are more successful or efficient, and it's at that point that we need a definition of terms, because "efficiency" (or success) can be understood in purely economic or technocratic terms. If so, that paradigm is as much contrary to Christian...

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...