Safe Haven

It's simple, really: the modern progressive notions about the human person--abortion, euthanasia, marriage, alternative sexualities, and countless related issues. This radical and false individualism undermines not only the common good, but the State's authority for defending the common good. Everything must be re-thought, examined along the lines of humanity's purpose, and final end.

I have received this question recently, as well as pondered it myself. As you know, I'm not terribly thrilled about the ascendancy of Donald Trump, nor of what he represents: the politics of grievance, of reaction, anger, and division. No need to recount all that here. On the other hand, this is a temporary condition, or so we hope. Why would I change my opinions in that event? Well, I wouldn't. But indeed I have re-thought a few things. I still retain a basic philosophical orientation that limits government in accord with federalism, which in its most perfect form is equivalent to the Catholic concept of subsidiarity. However, in contemporary politics, the notion of limiting government for the sake of individuals and what they can accomplish has been lost. In its place is almost an anti-government dogma, that admits of no distinction between unnecessary or unwise, and unlawful. People have mistaken individualism for individual liberty; some have made a virtue of selfishn...

After not finding them for nearly an hour. Bob Denver ("Gilligan") died, as well as Debbie Reynolds, (Singing In The Rain) mourning her daughter Carrie Fisher who died, as I'm sure you heard. Every day is a mix of triumph and tragedy, with mostly tragedy, or so it seems. But I found my keys. I told a friend yesterday that the transient pleasures of this life will never be enough, and that's surely true, no? We're crying more as a culture, because we can't hide the emptiness anymore. It might be mawkish and shallow, but it's a start. And I found my keys. My favorite coat now is a gift from a friend, and it belonged to his cousin, who died suddenly. I only know of him from a few stories. There is likely nothing I could say to understand what he was like. How do you summarize a life? But I bet he'd be glad I found my keys. And of course it's a metaphor; you really shouldn't leave home without your keys. You can't have thieves break...

I do suppose there is something to be said for celebrity worship being the tendency of a decadent and dying society. You'll get no shortage of pieces making that point, and there's truth there. But before we choke on our moralistic alleged detachment, we may consider a few things. These are real people, actually made and loved by God. No matter what they've done, it's still true. The flip side of worship is actually envy. People seem to think that because they have money and fame, we are entitled to say whatever we like, to mock and demean them for things we don't like. There must be a great love of money or self, in order to accept this. In another way, we overlook the possibility technology affords to expand friendship. I never met Dale Earnhardt or Robin Williams. But their talent and nearness through the gift of technology creates a bond of friendship, however small, that requires acknowledgment. I recall that Dr. Alan Noble wrote about the difficulty many...

I'm probably not anywhere close to the biggest George Michael fan, but his music was in my ears when I started to listen to music. I have appreciated so many songs, and some especially so, that I do feel I have lost a friend. I will never forget seeing the footage of him standing next to Elton John and I think Sting, as they sang "The Lord Is My Shepherd" at the funeral for Diana, Princess of Wales. As incongruous as it may have seemed to see two of Britain's gay icons in that moment, it was far from unwelcome. What can I say? I really believe I could see underneath all the burdens weighing him down. His troubles aren't hard to find. But I wish we'd met. He'd have at least one person who didn't want anything from him. It does console me to hear the stories of his great but unheralded generosity, whether a college student who got a tip worth thousands of dollars to pay a debt, or kids with cancer. I know natural virtue is just that, but who knows?...

One of the grave things about the state of our discourse is a high amount of reactivity and emotivism. By the two terms I mean a high likelihood of emotional decisions. Very few people are deciding issues or voting choices via a reasoning process. Another description could be used: tribalism. In my opinion, most of what is described as being "un-PC" or "telling it like it is" is really just confirming already-held beliefs, and the fallacy of "poisoning the well." If you can convince yourself that the other side isn't worth hearing out--say for example, posting the sarcastic hashtag "#tolerance" alongside articles of progressives being unreasonable--you don't have to make an argument that holds any water. The cycle continues. Something big is lost, in the rush to win the argument that is not an argument: the space to hear each other. If you have an argument for the minimum wage, or nuclear disarmament, I definitely want to hear it, eve...

Most people who get upset about wars on Christmas and such don't really fully celebrate Christmas. Christmas itself lasts 8 days, and the season lasts until Epiphany (typically January 6). Also, if you don't actually attend Mass on Christmas, you haven't really kept Christ in Christmas, at least not fully. I guess I could get upset that a bunch of secular types want us all to say "Happy Holidays" instead. But the thing is, "Holidays" is short for, "holy days," and I can think of nothing better than sanctifying particular days to annoy those stodgy, heretical Puritans. Yes, I went there. You'll live. If I'm being completely honest, I don't really mind other people's religious holidays, either, unless they happen to celebrate by doing evil. To actually believe in Jesus, and to further believe that our world should be different because of Him is so radical that it seems pointless to fret that some greater past has been lost. To...

So that's been happening. It's mostly in my ears now. I can hear two things: Jack, and Squat. I had an antibiotic, but I had some unfortunate and inopportune side effects, [Are side effects ever opportune?--ed.] so I stopped. Yes, I know that's bad. But some effects are merely unpleasant; others, in context, prevent you from doing anything. In other news, "Mittens" didn't get the Secretary of State job; it's probably for the best, sir. At least you won't be tainted. Too harsh? I think not. But who knows? Everything may work out. The lesson for the week is this: peace at the cost of the truth is not peace at all.

This is the entire theme of the Bible. There are others, of course, but this is the heart. God is  steadfast love. There are many people who worry that talking about how God is Love waters down religion. I suppose that is a valid concern. But when we realize that we have not attained what we hope for, then we know the cost of failing to tell the truth about sin. Sin keeps us from loving communion with God forever. That's what we hope for. If we don't tell someone about something that is holding them back from the greatest gift they could ever receive, do we really love them? I think some people have a vision of what they want the Church to be and do, so they listen to people who "tell it like it is" and they try to start a culture war in the Church; who said what to whom, who's "soft," "faithful," et cetera. In short, a huge waste of time. There appears to be others who personally get stuck where they are. They might even make a to-do about...

Covenant theology is the study of how God has chosen to relate to humanity, both before our fall, and after. God makes covenants--sacred binding agreements detailing what God promises to do, and what promises He expects his people to keep. Through all the history of salvation in the Old Testament, it has not been a story of success on our part at all. But God has chosen to renew those covenants throughout the story, forgiving and blessing His people continually, and repeating the promise of a Savior and King who would finally deliver them from sin, once for all. There are two major bookends to the story of Israel in the Old Testament: the Exodus from Egypt, and the Babylonian Exile. The first showed God's power of deliverance, and the second showed the wages of Israel's breaking of the covenant. In short, death. The context of the New Testament when you start is God's people in exile, waiting for deliverance. That's why in one place it says a holy person was "w...

I was watching Rachael Ray this morning. She's a celebrity chef. She still cooks on her show, but you can tell she is trying to branch out. Anyway, she had a financial planner on to give advice. The planner asked an audience member she was helping about expenses. The young woman offered that she was engaged. As the planner began describing one of her savings plans, she said, "You can keep this in your room, you and your fiancé." An innocuous comment about a money jar got me thinking. I live in a subculture where unmarried people don't live together. They don't have sex, unless they mess up. Think about this for a second: it's not even about mercy and compassion; people like you and me mess up all the time. But the whole point of naming sin is to say that sin is part of a culture, a way of being, that we don't want. If you are one of those people who fears being "judgmental," ask yourself if you are witness to a behavior that you would accept ...

I learned long ago that you had better bring the goods, if you are going to argue with Bryan Cross. Actually, I hope he has a good spiritual director, because I just assume I'm wrong, at this point, and it may not help in his cultivation of the virtue of humility! In general though, have you noticed how little actual argument is in the public square? Once you realize it, that data point may be distressing. I believe that our lack of reason is the presenting problem in public discourse. One could argue that the common good is the beating heart of the social doctrine. Any philosophy which denies that the common good even exists is incompatible with the Catholic social doctrine. It doesn't help some people to tell them the Church is our mother, because they don't listen to their mothers, anyway. They react as though the Church said, "I don't want you hanging around with Tommy Pandolfo from down the street! He's always in trouble!" "OK, Ma! I'...

Father was late. After we pray the Angelus, we have five minutes before Mass actually starts. The silence grew. I thought back to last year, when we had a priest who didn't come at all. We ended up having a Communion service that day. If you believe that they're the same, you are mistaken. When we heard that it was an emergency call at the hospital, well, that's the life of a Catholic priest. Could have been Last Rites; could've been anything. No one seemed to mind. When he said, "Francis, our Pope" during the prayers, I was overcome with a great affection for the Holy Father. It's not the first time. I doubt it'll be the last. It is an affection deeper than the news cycle; I have never felt such an affection for the President of the United States, for example. Unless and until you live within the household of the Catholic Church, you can't understand. It's the feast day of St. Rose Philippine Duchesne. She must pray for me a lot, because...

Why does the story of the creation of humanity happen twice? Well, I mentioned that one of the purposes in these early chapters is to distinguish God from His creation. The language of chapter 1 has been called, "elevated prose." It's not poetry, but it isn't historical narrative, either. Moses uses "elohim" as the word for God early on, a singular object with a plural ending. To add to the intrigue, 1:26 says, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness..." You can bet the Church fathers didn't miss that one! They said it was our first hints of the Blessed Trinity. After we read about the creation of Adam and Eve in chapter 2, the word for God changes, from "elohim" to "YHWH". We'll just call this "the Name." When Moses asks God what His name is, God says the Name. Why the change? I think one excellent reason is that "elohim" emphasizes God as the Lord of all creation, while "YHWH" em...

I've got a good friend who watches The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. You may recall that he took over for David Letterman as the host. Colbert (pronounced like 'cole-BEAR') got his way to fame as a "correspondent" on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. All these people are liberals. Fair enough. I still think Jimmy Fallon (The Tonight Show) is the best late-night host. Jimmy doesn't need famous people to make his show work. He's funny, he's got musical talent, and he has this gift for nurturing nostalgia without sacrificing "cool" that people my age and slightly older (he's 40) seem to want. Actually, I think he makes famous people feel normal, and normal people feel famous. I digress. But I've watched a lot of Colbert lately, and I must admit that his monologue the night after the election was great. I understand how liberals feel this time. I don't share this disdain conservatives have right now for ordinary liberals who are ...

61 years ago today, Darla Dee Thompson was born. Because of this, you are reading this post, and this blog in general. I won't belabor things with details I don't remember, but I don't know a tougher, more sacrificial person, besides Our Lord. (And Our Lady) That's pretty good company. You become aware that nothing lasts forever on this side of Heaven, and tragedy will teach you even faster to say what needs saying, so here it is: I love you, Mom. Anything good in me is a gift that is partly yours. Thanks for teaching me that serving others and sharing life with them is how to truly live. Here's hoping we get a little break from tough times, so we can appreciate everything.

As I read Genesis 1-3, there are 3 main things that stick out: Firstly, God alone is Creator, and He is distinct from that which he has created. It was a point of emphasis for Moses, (and the Lord God) because he knew that the surrounding cultures worshiped "gods" in such a way that creation and deity weren't so distinct. Secondly, that mankind and creation were both created good, and in some sense, both remain good. Thirdly, it is proper to worship God, and now, living with the reality of sin, both original and personal, we know that forgiveness must be part of the story, our journey back to life with God. Let me talk about these in reverse order. Adam and Eve both worshiped God before the Fall. It will always be right to do so, and we know this because our pictures of Heaven from later in the Scriptures tell us this. After our first parents sinned, the Scriptures here say they heard the Lord walking in the garden and hid themselves! We have to be careful here, because...

I want to move on from politics. I really do. We'll see if it happens. I still hold the same views about Trump, Trumpism, and the GOP. (I hold none in high esteem, in case you hadn't noticed.) Perhaps I should have joined the Democrats the night of the Ohio primary; I would love to hear how I'm actually responsible for the deaths of little children, simply because I want nothing to do with the president-elect. The whole matter does prove one thing: A sizable chunk of the American people don't care what the Left thinks about anything. I'm in this weird place where I agree with pretty much every criticism of Trump from Clinton and the Democrats, but I don't want to live in the world that they imagine. I don't want to live in the world that they imagine. So we'll be living in it anyway, since Trump is pretty much them. He's a product of the culture the libertines created. You didn't actually believe anything he said, did you? That's nice...

I have taken my title from Will Smith's remake of "Just The Two Of Us." This particular version has Will Smith encouraging his oldest son Tre, and giving him advice. This song gets me every time. But that's not why we are here. The full quote is, "And you can cry/Ain't no shame in it." Why are we mocking people upset about the election? I'm upset about the election. I had no overly fond preference for either one, yet even so... Have you ever poured your heart into something, with everything you are, and it fails? It's tough. That doesn't even cover it. But that's what people are feeling, at least part of it. You could say that people shouldn't put so much of themselves into a finite thing, but for one, that's easy for some of you to say, and we forget in our cynicism that politics is actually important. I will thank God if the new president is not an unmitigated disaster. I also won't be either surprised or sad if he ...

I heard this 80's tune last night. I still like it, if you will forgive me, but it does go on about a minute too long. The eighties, when any lyrical absurdity is forgivable, as long as you have a synthesizer. Synth covers a multitude of sins. But the thing I love about the '80s that no one gets anymore is, even the most ridiculous songs had a sheen, a chorus, something to say, "You'll tell everyone you hate this song, but you are lying." So here you go . It's OK, you don't have to thank me. [We could get the Schmitz family to do an '80s album, and call it, "Schmitz Schmaltz"! Genius!--ed.] Oh, dear.