reflection -- 24 Oct 2015

The GospelAcclamation from today's Mass caught my attention today:

I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked man, says the Lord, but rather in his conversion that he may live.

 I remember this from the prologue to the Rule of St Benedict,
which I first read about 25 years ago.


It is completely upsidedown from the usual perspective.  I can't tell you how many times I've heard people talk about God as though he were a policeman.  For the phrase "God is watching you,"  they seem to think that He's looking for an opportunity to send us to Hell.

It's as though they thought God was saying "Aha!  I've caught you now.  Now you're going to Hell."

But that is the complete opposite of the situation.

Cardinal Dolan from the Synod

I recently read a couple of Cardinal Dolan's blog posts from the synod on the family.  He is the archbishop of New York.

In the first one he remarks on one theme from the Synod: inclusion.

He writes:

A very refreshing consistent theme of the synod has been inclusion.  The church, our spiritual family, welcomes everyone, especially those who may feel excluded.

Reflection -- Gospel Reading 17 Oct 2015

The readings from today's Mass include:

Everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

When they take you before synagogues and before rulers and authorities, do not worry about how or what your defense will be or about what you are to say.  For the Holy Spirit will teach you at that moment what you should say.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church discusses "blaspheming the Holy Spirit" in paragraph 1864:

1864 "Whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin."¹³⁶ There are no limits to the mercy of God, but anyone who deliberately refuses to accept his mercy by repenting, rejects the forgiveness of his sins and the salvation offered by the Holy Spirit.¹³⁷ Such hardness of heart can lead to final impenitence and eternal loss.

Let us always be willing to repent of the evil we have done, clinging to the Cross of Christ, and changing immorality into Immortality.

Poem: Autumn Leaves

The following poem I wrote for my sister's birthday 21 years ago:

                        Autumn Leaves

                        Autumn Leaves have filled the hills

                           With amber, gold, and red

                        Biting breeze nips noses still

                           And blows hair 'bout your head

                        Pumpkins, cornstalks, chilling rain

                           Leaves tumble to the ground

                        Falls upon us once again

                           Each steps a crunching sound

                        Scamp'ring squirr'ls cavort aloft

                           October's in the air

                        Fallen leaves crunch, oh so good

                           But cling within your hair

                        A country walk's a lovely date

                           For couples who have style

                        Across the fields, or by the lake

                           Just walk ... and talk awhile.





American Principles project and Obergefell

The American Principles Project  has published a Statement regarding the recent Supreme Court Decision Obergefell.  It is signed by a number of noted individuals from a wide range of Universities and Law Schools. 

After noting four (4) clear results of Obergefell that stand out, they say:

Any decision that brings about such evils would be questionable. One lacking anything remotely resembling a warrant in the text, logic, structure, or original understanding of the Constitution must be judged anti-constitutional and illegitimate. Obergefell should be declared to be such, and treated as such, by the other branches of government and by citizens of the United States.

That is a very sharp statement.  They then cite Madison and Lincoln, and declare that Obergefell cannot be taken to have settled the law of the United States.

They then call upon office holders to refuse to accept it as binding precedent, and other specific legal actions.

Robert Barron, Pope Francis and Divine Mercy

Bishop Robert Barron writes at The National Catholic Register (and also at RealClearReligion) about Pope Francis and his perception by the American Media.

He takes issue with their impression that Francis is a revolutionary change from his predecessors. He writes:

Often, I heard words such as "revolutionary" and "game-changing" in regard to Pope Francis, and one commentator sighed that she couldn't imagine going back to the Church as it was before the current pontiff. 

Robert Barron, Harvard and Assited Suicide in CA

At Real Clear Religion, Bishop Robert Barron writes concerning two recent developments in the news. 

The first is the statistic about the religious background of incoming freshmen at Harvard.  The second is the passage of legislation permitting assisted suicide in California.  He writes:

Though it might seem strange to suggest as much, I believe that the make-up of the Harvard freshman class and the passing of the suicide law are related.