Danger in Removing Meaning

Andrew always tells me to check the garbage disposal before I turn it on. But, there is no way I am sticking my hand into that dark, dark hole to touch that putrid, rotting mess. Since I always do the dishes, I know that nothing is down there anyway. But, we had a guest visiting, who very kindly helped with the dishes. Unfortunatley, I was not able to keep track of things going in and out of the sink. When I went to wash up some dishes, the sink would not drain and I turned on the garbage disposal. I demolished the lid to a very expensive teapot (when I say expensive, I mean EXPENSIVE. It’s probably the most expensive teapot you can get that you would used everyday). To put it kindly, Andrew was very grumpy with me.

We have been looking for a replacement lid, which with expensive teapots is very hard to find. Anyhow, this weekend we went to a store looking for the replacement and Andrew inquired about the total cost of the teapot. When he heard of the total cost, he was grumpy all over again. I asked, “Are you upset with me allover again?” He said,
“A little. But, that’s all right. It’s just stuff!”

Mostly, I agree with this analysis of the situation. It does help our mental status to think of it this way. But, this mindset can be very harmful when taken too far (See Lancelot, Walker Percy).

Life’s Essentials:
Possessions are just stuff
Food is just sustenance
Shelter is just protection
Clothing is just coverings
Transportation is just a way to get there on time

But, with the human quotient these things are meaningful in everyway. Humans are meaningful in everyway.

Possessions – can be gifts from a loved one representing that person’s love; or it can represent something you did, or somewhere you went, a time that changed who you are; they show your personality—outward representations of who you are on the inside. They can define you, or control you. When they are lost, broken, stolen it can hurt you, because it is meaningful to you. They represent you, but they are not you.

Like our teapot, which we are trying to repair—it was a wedding gift from my grandmother. So, to us it represents so much. It represents our marriage union. It represents family and cross-generational bond. It represents all the years of sacrifice and hardship my grandmother went through to one day be able to bestow this memento of her love on her granddaughter. It represents all those good, relaxing times Andrew and I spent together sipping tea and enjoying each other. It represents the warmth and love of marriage, family and our lives. It is not JUST stuff. It’s meaningful.

Food – It keeps us alive, and it can kill us. That is meaningful enough. But, food can represent times you enjoyed family and friends. It can change your mood. It can change your health. It can change who you are. You can learn from food. It can be beautiful. Indeed, it can bring you closer to God. Thanking God for your sustenance. Opening yourself to God’s beauty and grace in all things. This line of thought carries through to clothing, shelter and all that STUFF that carries us away.

We must be careful to keep the meaning of the stuff, but to not be carried away with it. Our marriage is what it is with or with out the teapot. We will still drink tea and enjoy each other without the teapot. I know that my grandmother cares about me, even if she had not given us the teapot. But, it is a meaningful representation of love. It is a helpful reminder every time we use it. It is a sign.

All this stuff signals to us the meaning in humanity.

"I'm Keepin' My Baby!"

“Mama Don't Preach: Thoughts on Respecting Parenthood Decisions,”


http://dir.salon.com/story/mwt/feature/2003/05/07/breeding_reiter/index1.html?pn=1
What a poorly written, poorly argued article by Amy Reiter. I honestly cannot believe that this was published. Yesterday morning this article was featured on MSN.com. I did a little searching and was surprised to find that this article was originally published fours years ago. It is obvious that it was pushed forward because it is a controversial topic and because the article itself was extremely offensive. The gist of her article was to say that parenthood is not all that it is cracked up to be. Therefore, society should not pass judgement or put pressure on those who choose not to have children.

On her claims about the changing body: I have got news for you lady, your body was going to change any way. Funny thing, as you age your body sags, aches and changes into one that is horrifically unrecognizable—childfree you might be saved a few stretch marks. In fact, for women who do not have children they are at much greater risk for deadly, debilitating, painful diseases than childbirth will ever cause. Most can be avoided simply by doing what nature intended—have a child. Diseases that include, endomitriosis, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, cervical cancer (a whole host of female reproductive and endocrine diseases). Since your body is going to age anyway, you might as well have a loving, life-long companion, a bundle of joy, to comfort and care for you despite that your body is decaying.


On the physical act of giving birth: She discussed a few women who had complications. Yes, giving birth can be dangerous. That is why you do it at a hospital. Some of today's birth complications are avoidable. Caesarean birth numbers are way up. Part of this is in preparing your body and mind for childbirth with exercises, which have been proven to help. Part of this is because more people are choosing to wait way past their childbearing prime, which 16-27 years of age. But, also many women are opting for labor inductions, which increases your chances of Caesarean birth by fifty percent. Although, when it comes down to it a lot of complications cannot be avoided, but with modern medicine they do not have to be permanent like the urination problem that was discussed in the article.


On her claims about social life: Your social life is not over, only changed. Moms enjoy meeting with other moms and talking about family life. I don’t know about you, but I do not know too many people who are obsessed with being able to go out for a drink, or a ballet whenever they will. It is not as though that never happens anymore when you are a parent. It just takes planning—getting a baby sitter. But, I am sorry you, Amy, were inconvenienced by your child.


On career: Women used to stay home and for good reason. This society has become very unfriendly to the natural composition of family. In the past, all women were home, at least sometime in their lives, with the kids. Women had a natural sorority with other mothers—they had strong friendships, sharing child care and mothering tips.


While I think it is good for women to go out and seek the careers they desire, for many, there is an equal desire to have a family at the same time. It is difficult to juggle both, but a vast majority of women in America do it. In Australia, they make provisions for mothers with careers. There is extended maternity leave and parttime hours for mom’s with young children. Australia recognizes that the children will eventually go to school and will not always need around the clock care.


On her claims about selfishness: Face it. It is selfish to not want to have children because it might inconvenience you; because, you might have to think about someone other than yourself; because, you have to make sacrifices; because, you cannot do as you please whenever you want; because, you might have to share you money with another person. These are all very selfish unChristian views. I do not care if you are not Christian. Regardless of creed we are a caring, charitable society.


On her claims that you won’t be lonely: You will be lonely. Maybe for most of your life you can fill your days with work and friends. But, the fact is that most of your friends will start families and will not have time to keep you company. They will want to spend time with other families. Even if you maintain friendships with other childless people, will those people care for you and visit you in your old age, when you are unable to do as much as you used to?


It is also interesting the people choosing to not have children are some of the smartest, goodlooking, well-educated, well-mannered, wealthy people. With so many good attributes you would think you would want to pass those along not only to another person, but all of culture and society benefits from such people.


People who marry and choose not to have children are missing out. They miss out on making their mark on the future. Progeny carry not only your genetic makeup, but also your ideas, things you taught them, family tradtions. You will carryon in them. The Biblical Jews often tried to have as many children as possible, because that is the only way they believed they would live on forever.


The facts are that there are so many GOOD reasons to have children and sooner rahter than later. That is why so many people “preach” as the author would say. And all the author, Amy Reiter, could offer was a few flimsy, self-centered arguments (I mean whines). I do not mean to judge those who for some reason or another have found themselves waiting to have children. It is not always ideal, but it is important to someday have kids; and the earlier better.

To make a long story short, I think you, Amy, are in a small minority. And just because all your friends agree with you does not mean you are right. Most people become friends with people who will agree with them, that is why they are friends.


It is important to not judge your friends for not having kids. There maybe a deeper problem physically or mentally. Or, also because people make mistakes and it is not your place to tell them they have made a mistake. You can encourage them to choose better. But, I do not think it is okay to tell people it is okay not to have children so that you can have all the shoes, vacations and party nights that they desire. That’s empty. In the time those things will become void of meaning.

The reason you are here reading this is because our ancestors procreated. Remember that for our ancestors not having children was not an option. Not just because they did not have birth control (there are recorded ancient birth controls), but also because we need our offspring to survive as individuals and as a culture, society, race.

Dying You Destroyed Our Death; Rising You Restored Our Life

Adam, may His eternal light shine upon you.

Do You Believe in Signals and What Does That Mean?

today between five and six in the afternoon,
when Andrew asked me for my hand—

then I was thinking about signals that could not connect.
It was a thought about Andrew and myself.
And I felt how difficult it is to live.
That night was terribly hard for me,
though it was a truly glorious mountain night,
and full of nature’s secrets.
Everything around seemed
So very necessary
And so in harmony with the world’s totality,
only man was off balance and lost.
Perhaps not every human being,
But I know for certain that I was.
So today, when Andrew asked,
“Would you like to become my life’s companion?”
after ten minutes I answered, “Yes,”
and after a while I asked him if he believed in signals.

Quote from The Jeweller’s Shop
By Karol Wojtyla

Having Character

"Success is in the way you walk the paths
of life each and every day,

It’s in the little things you do
and in the things you say,

It’s not in reaching heights or fame,
It’s not in reaching goals that all men
seek to claim.

Success is being big of heart,

clean, and broad of mind.
Success is being faithful

to your friends, and the stranger, kind.

Success is in your teammates, your family,
and what they learn from you,
Success is having character in everything you do."

-Grant Teaff, Coaching in the Classroom

Standing in the Long Line

When I was growing up my mom always said, “Someday when we’re rich…” As a child I believed that someday we would be rich, or we would “get ahead.” I believed it like a child believes in the Tooth Fairy, or Santa Claus. But, it took me a bit longer to let go of this fantasy.
One day when I was still a teenager, maybe seventeen, my mom and I were standing in a long line at the airport waiting to check in to our flight. It was one of those pull your hair out, drive you mad, long lines. We began to get a little impatient and kept watching First Class passengers check in at the short line, which was not even a line, because they did not have to wait. My mother unhappily started in, “Won’t it be nice when we’re rich someday and we fly first class.” I turned to her and said,

“No, Mom, I have accepted the fact that I will always be standing in the long line. And I am okay with that.” It was at that moment, at seventeen years old, standing in a painfully long line, that I realized, since most of us will always be standing in the long line, I had to accept this fact, not let it frustrate me, get me down, and have patience with life; or I could let it swallow my good nature; or I could deceive myself by saying, “Someday…”


Being self-deceived is never okay. Acceptance and patience with your “lot in life” is key. I know why people do bad things. They are not at peace with the woes and struggles of life—they cannot accept that struggle is a part of life. The old adage, “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade,” is foolish. That assumes that life also handed you sugar and the other tools to make the best of the situation. Sometimes you just get lemons. So, perhaps it is best to learn to eat the lemons just as they are, bitter and all. Let that experience make you stronger and more patient with life. Perhaps one can even learn to admire the taste. You will not be eating lemons every moment of life. It will help you to appreciate the “sweetness” of life and so much more. And if life never hands you sweetness, at least you have become accustomed the taste of lemons.

This may seem like an awful way to look at life—to never hope for more; to not hope for the very best out of life; the pick yourself up by your own bootstraps American attitude. But, I have learned that very few people stand in the short line. That's why it is so short. If my parents, after fifty years, are not standing in the short line, I too will probably not be standing in the short line at that age. It makes life all the more intolerable to long for something that will never be—It is tragic to fail to appreciate what you have been given—always waiting and hoping for more.

The point I am trying to make with long lines and lemons metaphor is this: There is humility and character building in these experiences. I have learned that I do not need to stand in the short line to be happy. When enduring tragedy, hardship, strife, I know that the pain will not last. The taste of it is not so bitter to me. When I say my prayers at night, I do not hope to someday be rich, but count the tiniest blessings in my gratitude and praise. I am thankful I had food today and that I could pay my bills. I am grateful I have a safe, comfortable place to live. My joy overflows to kiss my husband each day and watch our infant son grow into a beautiful person.

And should I find myself in a situation like Job, in which this life of exile has left me with little more than a scrap of cloth to hide my shame, I shall bow even lower to the Lord God. I shall cling greater to every prayer and join every liturgy. Because, when this life cannot even offer me lemons, I still have my place in the universe granted to me by the Creator. That place is my own personal “short line.”

Flesh of My Flesh

Andrew never did write the companion blog to mine entitled, Seedlings of Hope. I just wanted to include what he told me that I found so profound and wanted to have recorded forever.

He explained to me that having child was quite a revelation, because he realized that when God created us in his own image, procreating offspring is part of God’s image. God gave us the ability to also procreate in our own image—a child of our own--a person in our own image. In having a child of our own we are fulfilling the potential God instilled in us. We become closer to God in this act. It helps us to understand better about God’s love for us, because we can relate it to our own love for our procreation.

This revelation is a rich one. I could probably go on and on about this. But, all that is important is that the ability to procreate is a great gift. It is a gift highly revered throughout the ages and we should remember that it is something to revere and not take for granted.

Confessions of Tedium and Strife

I guess I have been busy lately, but I would not say with anything particularly important. I have had a little bit of frustration recently with our family finances and with my work. I feel so ADD. I cannot keep focused and I think it has a lot to do with work right now.

The story about work – About eight weeks ago our receptionist got a divorce and decided to move back to Indiana where her family lives. Ever since then another secretary and I have been covering receptionist duties along with our regular work. That means answering phones, making coffee, taking care of faxes among other things. It is very hard to get work done when answering the phone every few minutes, which is why it is the receptionist’s job and not mine.

Then there are the things that regularly distract me from getting stuff done. Like transcription, every time the big boss, the executive, has to write a letter he dictates it onto a recorder. Then I have to transcribe it. He does this almost everyday he is in the office (three or four days a week). I have to drop everything right then and transcribe, because he usually needs it right then. And it’s not always mere transcribing. He’s an old Texan so he has all these old sayings like, “Too much sugar for a nickel.” That does not sound professional and sometimes he does not make any sense to me and I have to divine what he means and then change it. And then he comes back and tells me what I have written is, “Too much sugar for a nickel.”

Other things that distract me: Three times a day I stop and for 15-20 mins. I make a little “mommy made snack” for Alexander. I try to do work during that time as well, but I would say about half the time I cannot. Every morning I check my work email and my personal email. The personal email always gets me distracted. Or I will just go to check out the headlines on the internet, just to make sure nothing big has happened that I should know about. For example, in my profession, it is important to know that Coach Bo Schembechler passed away. Although, it is not my job to know that information. But, sometimes when I go to check the headlines I find myself reading the entertainment gossip, or surfing the internet. Sometimes, I am tired and zoned out from working fulltime, being a wife and mother and breastfeeding.

So here are some tips that will hopefully get me back on track.

Tip # 1 – If your work requires a lot of interruptions you are probably not going to get much done, i.e. being someone else’s secretary you are probably going to be interrupted a lot.

Tip # 2 – Write stuff down and finish what you are doing before you move onto the next thing. And if you cannot finish it, write it down to finish it later.

Tip # 3 – If you need to get stuff done, do not open the internet.

Tip # 4 – Try to take minimal breaks including bathroom breaks. I say this as I have just downed an 8 oz. cup of tea, a 16.9 oz. bottle of flavored water and a 6 oz cup of coffee, all before 10:00 a.m., which has led to four trips to the restroom within the hour. Why I thought that was a good idea, I cannot tell you.

Tip #5 – Don’t sweat the small stuff. If it’s been done wrong and you have to do it again, just do it and do it right. It’s more professional. Being professional, though stuffy, boring, and stressful, is the right thing to do. You have to have a little pride in the work that you do, whether you like doing it or not.

The story about the finances – Well, it’s a pretty simple story. Andrew gets paid a stipend during the school year, but he does not receive anything in the summer. We have taken on quite a few extra expenses since Alexander’s birth: Alexander’s health insurance, a second car payment and insurance for that car, daycare, and diapers. Andrew has not had much luck with getting a job and it’s been a bit frustrating. Now the money is running out and it’s time to figure out how to pay for things. We are taking Alexander out of the daycare. This should mostly cure our problem until the fall. Andrew’s job is 4 a.m. – 8 a.m., so it does not overlap with my job and he can watch Alexander. I think Alexander likes the routine he has at daycare and the opportunity to play with other kids. So, it will be a little bit of an adjustment for both Alexander and Andrew. Then we will need daycare again in the fall. That’s the stressful part. His place probably will not be open at the daycare in the fall and we have to find another place for him. It keeps me up at night, but I am sure things will work out for the best. I am just going to have faith.

Seedlings of Hope

Yesterday Andrew and I enjoyed a day of family togetherness. It was a cool rainy day. We all slept in a little bit. As usual, Alexander and I got up first and did our normal diaper, nebulizer, breakfast routine. Knowing Andrew would be very sleepy I put on a pot of coffee and Alexander played a little bit. As I was waiting for the coffee to brew I looked out on the back porch. It looked and sounded very tropical rainforest with the large trees hanging over our porch and the rain coming down so heavily. I became very happy. It reminded me of Washington, or Australia. I especially liked that it was not blistering hot Texas weather. It was a good day to sit on the porch. So, I woke up Andrew and told him that there was coffee and he had to come drink it on the porch. Andrew did not hesitate. He got up and poured himself a cup of coffee and joined us on the porch. We each read our books, sipped our coffee, or played with toys, respectively. We sat for a long while enjoying the gentle, peaceful, uninterrupted sounds of rain pattering to the earth. Then Alexander became hungry and sleepy with great urgency as he let me know. So, I nursed him there on the porch and he fell asleep in my arms. After a short while the coffee had created in me my own sense of urgency. So, I went inside and put the Alexander down in his crib. He napped for two hours. This gave Andrew and I time to just sit back relax and talk. We talked about how much we liked being parents and getting to know Alexander. We have had such a life fulfilling experience with Alexander. We think he has a good personality.

Andrew and I were discussing all these facts and I suddenly exclaimed that I do not understand people who do not want a family, or are hesitant about starting a family—have standoffish opinions about having children. Recently, I had a conversation with a couple who were not sure they were ready to start a family. Not that they did not want children, they just had the attitude tht most young married couples have these days. They wanted to spend a few years married, work a little on their careers, make sure they had enough money and so on. One major thing in their minds was that they could not see themselves as parents yet. These are all very common notions amongst newly married couples today. As opposed to sixty years ago when young married couples could not wait to have children and tried very hard to do so.

Initially, Andrew and I thought it would be best to wait to have children until he was finished with his PhD. I mean graduate students are not known for having the resources to support a family. But, we also did not want to wait too long. I think that many people would say that we have started a family too soon. But, that is what people also said about us getting married right out of college—too young, too soon. But, how can they know when it is the right time for us? I cannot think of a more natural and coherent progression of our lives. Andrew and I are very fortunate to be two very practical people. We were not caught up in a purely physical relationship nor were we struck dumb by fanciful idealistic views of each other and our relationship. Therefore, it was quite natural for us to grow up, become friends, leave our families and naturally assimilate into our own family.

At some point in the first year of our marriage, as our love for one another grew, our fears of having a child before we were capable of caring for one disappeared. Of course, not knowing what to expect, there was a little trepidation. However, now that we are amidst diapers and high chairs, we can honestly say that the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.

In our conversation yesterday, Andrew began telling me that in having a child he realized that it is the most important thing you can do (I hope that Andrew will take a little time explaining this in the blog as he did to me yesterday). It is more important than your career or school. It is the greatest thing to be able to procreate, to love someone, to love someone who is of your flesh and of your spouses flesh—forever united, and to teach the young, to have a special bond, to change and add to the world with your offspring, and to do it now rather than later. If you wait until later, you may never get the chance. The sooner you add to your family the more time you will have to spend with them. So, again, I do not understand those who do not want children and, or want to wait to have them.

Needless to say, we had great day being a family yesterday.

The First Form of Character Building

Dear Sisters,

In light of recent emails from mothers seeming to need support, for that is what La Leche League is—support, I offer these profound words that I came across recently. After reading this I certainly felt affirmed as mother.

“In May 1995, Pope John Paul II encouraged breastfeeding in comments to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. He noted, ‘two major benefits to the child: protection against disease and proper nourishment.’ Then he added: “In addition to these immunological and nutritional effects, this natural way of feeding can create a bond of love and security between mother and child, and enable the child to assert its PRESENCE AS A PERSON through interaction with the mother.”

Pope Pius XII believed that character building started at the breast.

So you see, my friends, as mothers, we have a trying road to travel, but we are already giving our children everything thing that is needed by virtue of the womanly art of breastfeeding.

I am a working mother and, as many of the working mothers can sympathize, there is a great deal of guilt not rearing your child yourself at home. However, we who have chosen to breastfeed in these modern times of excessive use of formula will find that we are giving our children a great deal more nurturing than we can ever know.

I hope all who take the time to read this will step back and not sweat the small stuff, but take pleasure and pride in this art we have mastered. I hope this helps you all in some small way.

Respectfully,
Renee
PAX

The Matrix, The End of the World & Faith

“Ever since Plato's Allegory of the Cave, people have sensed that odd things go on at the archetype level of consciousness.” http://urbansurvival.com/simplebots.htm. (you must check out this site).

Okay you can call me crazy, call me a conspiracy theorist, or call me gullible, but whatever I am I found this fascinating and a little bit terrifying.

Did you know that the History Channel shows their most titillating programming from 10pm – 6am? I started watching the History Channel quite frequently during the middle of the night feedings when Alexander was first born. That aside, last night I watched a program called “Doomsday: December 21, 2012.” Yeah, that’s right a mere five years away. So, initially this scared me quite a bit. It was like watching a scary movie right before bedtime. This program looked at prophecies throughout history AND A PRESENT DAY PROPHET that point to the date December 21, 2012.

The modern prophet is the one that I found most appealing and convincing. This prophet is a computer program. The program was initially designed to predict stock market happenings. The way it works is it scans the whole of the internet picking up phrases here and there to collect data on the global collective consciousness. It scans the whole world wide web and every language. It is heavily based on the way we use language and what we are thinking. Then it uses what we are thinking to make market predictions.

They discovered it was coming up with more than market predictions. Supposedly it predicted the 9/11 attacks, the New York blackouts, the Tsunami that wiped out 300,000 people, and hurricane Katrina among other things. All of these things are definitely things that would have an impact on the stock market, therefore it would be relevant that the program would be looking for this. This program supposedly has a couple more future predications such as a small, but significant nuclear war in late 2008 or early 2009; and also it predicts a doomsday coming on the above date. By writing this and blogging it I am probably adding to the conspiracy generated by this computer program, but keep reading.

The following website explains a little bit about this project http://urbansurvival.com/simplebots.htm. The link points to a Princeton study, “Radin's work demonstrates that people are physically able to perceive 6-seconds into the future.” The theory of the project is that humans do have the ability to react and perceive the future, however we are unable to understand what is going on at the time. This program collects all the data in our linguistic shifts and interprets it into an event—the future event is something we already can perceive on a subconscious level but do not understand it, because it is in our subconscious. The author of this article points out that even the prediction output by this program is almost incomprehensible prior to the actual event. But, they have attempted to decipher it.

A lot of this makes sense to me. Let’s take the prediction of the nuclear war in late 2008 or early 2009. I can understand this prediction. In the past year several nations such as Iran and North Korea have stepped up and talked about their intentions with nuclear arms. These reports have been in the news and hence on the internet. Then people discuss it on the net, perhaps blog it; it’s on peoples minds. Then those who have the nuclear arms see how it has stirred people on the net and they get encouraged and enlivened. It’s a vicious cycle. It is kind of like school shootings. A school shooting occurs and there are almost always copy cats. Or, did you ever notice the most ominous of events occur around April 20^th? It’s because people know that on that date another event occurred and it encourages their manic thoughts. Not to mention, that we have known a long time, ever since we began the nuclear arms race and the cold war, that it is only a matter of time before this type of event happens.

Finally, why December 21, 2012? On that date the Moon, Earth, Sun and center of the galaxy, a black hole, align. Scientists think there is a possibility that the Earth’s polarity will shift when this occurs. When the polarity shifts, it will cause the mantle of the Earth to shift causing earth quakes, volcanic eruptions, ice caps melting, flooding, etc. And to life on earth it probably means quite a bit of death.

Do I believe it? It’s plausible. It’s frightening. At first I thought to have to live through this, or to die in a doomsday event is a very menacing thought. But it was late at night when I was watching this television program and I was halfway in the dream world. This morning when I woke up I saw that the world is exactly as it should be and doomsday 2012 is probably not how it is going to happen for us.

As a Catholic, I was raised to live everyday as though it were my last. I realize that today, this moment, more than any other in my life I need to be in Grace with God. It is this time that I need to hold truest to my faith. And the same is true for the next moment I live. I have learned to have faith in God’s Providence and His plan for me. Wherever life leads me and whatever happens to me it is all due to Father, Son and Holy Ghost. There is something more at work here than randomness and illogical impulse. Perhaps, that is why this machine can predict what will happen, because it is all laid out for us, or perhaps that is why this machine is wrong. But, whether true or not there is nothing we can do to stop it. So let us do what we can, which is pray for our souls.

Sin Stock – Where Do You Put Your Money?

Wow! Profiting from Virtue ->follow this link: http://www.byzcath.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=783&Itemid=49

This is a most fascinating article on ethical investing. I urge you to check it out. To summarize: It discusses investors who put their money on stocks that promote or practice good moral values. It is a new trend. But, if you are a serious investor and are in the business of making money, companies with a good ethical record are not the way to do it. “Sin Stocks” are what make the most money. The companies that have practice bad ethics, promote sinful activities, use immoral tactics, those are the ones making money.

At first I thought, oh yes, this is very logical. I have heard the advertising saying, “Sex sells.” I have heard the broadcast news saying, “If it bleeds, it leads.” These are the things that get consumer attention. But, then I began to think. There is nothing logical about heeding and falling to our animalistic urges. It is one thing to say that I am not going to invest in or buy products that contradict my Christian values. It is quite another to cogitate why.

For one thing, as a human, it is beneath me to fall prey to such temptations of my animal spirit—the urgings of evolution gone by. As humans it is our great gift to be able to discern—to make choices against our animal nature—in other words, our great gift is free will. Free will is something that is beyond animal nature. It is an attribute of humanity in which we can choose against the animal within for a higher cause—the “right” cause. And it IS our DUTY to choose rightly. We are the stewards of this planet.

This is a turning point for me, and for you and for all consumers. The idea of sin stock made me uncomfortable. I thought, I would not put my money into sin. But, I am sure I already do daily. It is the little things I chose. It is important to not merely consume because it is what our animal urges tell us to do. We should not invest in “sin stock,” watch morally reprehensible television (I guess my television programming is going to have to change) or partake in any activity against virtue. Do not claim that these sin stocks are what make the world go round. That excuse is not good enough for humanity. Use your free will to determine and choose what is virtuous. It is our great gift to be able to do so!

Put your money where your mouth/heart is. Be responsible for how you consume and spend. Maybe you will not make it rich investing in the virtuous stocks. But, that is not what Christ taught anyway. Choose virtuous business, etc., because it is the right thing to do and perhaps it will make an impact on tomorrow. Rome was not built in a day. It was built one brick at a time.

And whatever you do not be fooled by the almighty dollar.

Mother's Day

Does it get any better than this?

A Busy Weekend...But When is it Not

On Saturday we went to the wedding of David and Katie Ramsey. I think they did a wonderful job on their wedding. It was an outdoor wedding, which Andrew touts is very pagan. It is certainly not for us, especially since we had a very ceremonious 1h45 long wedding with a lot of long standing Christian tradition. Theirs was, I think a Baptist wedding. We have never been to one of those. We have been to a couple non-denominational Christian and few Catholic weddings. Despite the heat and a few bug bites, I thought the outdoor wedding underneath the trees made a beautiful setting. It was small and intimate, and there are a couple good stories to tell.

The groom, David, cried all through his vows and Katie just smiled. You could just hear in his voice that he thought he was the luckiest guy in the world to be marrying her. He obviously loves her very deeply. I will certainly be praying that this is a happy and holy marriage.

But, the big story is when the bride almost lost her dress. They were going to drive Katie from the location where she was getting dressed to the area of the wedding. They loaded her up on the vehicle (it was like a John Deer Gator – Kind of like a golf cart) and as one of the groomsmen said he could see this was going to be bad. Her gorgeous white dress flowed off the sides of the vehicle and as it started to moved the dress was caught under the wheel and tore the back half off. The groomsman went sprinting across the property to her location to her aid, but as he put it, not that he could do anything. Then the mother of the bride followed suit of the groomsman. It is quite something to watch a finely dressed fifty year old woman go sprinting across a field. Luckily the bride’s maids, and that is what they are there for, not just to look pretty, worked magic safety pinning that dress back to exactly the way it looked before the mishap. The wedding went on and no one was the wiser about the dress.

The Power of Divinity

I think many Americans share my experience of hearing the same New Testament stories over and over. We have heard them so many times that we start to lose the sense of what miraculous events these are. They have become well-known fairy tales, tales of magic, tales of a very good and noble man. However, if the New Testament does not make you quiver, shutter, tremble, feel humble, enlighten you every time you read it, then it might be prudent to ask how TRUE do you think they are?

Yesterday I read this passage:

As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." Having said these things, he spat on the ground and made mud with the saliva. Then he anointed the man's eyes with the mud and said to him, "Go, wash in the pool of Siloam" (which means Sent). So he went and washed and came back seeing. (John 9:1-7 ESV)

As horrible as it is to admit, I found this passage very mundane, but why? I have never seen such a miracle, but I am sure that this is an act that the Lord, Creator, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, could perform.

One thing is that I have read this one and heard it many times. Someone comes to Jesus with a problem. He teaches them all a lesson and then solves their problem. Oftentimes it is in an unexpected way, a humble way, or he uses divine powers. Ooo, that’s some magic trick, Jesus. (I’m going to be struck down right now. Keep going maybe I will redeem myself.)

Another thing, even when I was a child, I thought it illogical that this man’s malady would be caused by sin. I would hate to think that if I had cancer, or woke up blind that the cause was my sins, or someone else’s. Where did those people get that? I would think that we would all be crippled in many ways if we shared the sins of our fathers and were crippled each time we sinned personally.

Oh, how wrong I am to initially think very little of this passage. I especially thought very little of it because, plain and simple, I have heard it before—I was desensitized to its meaning. I saw this passage on www.byzcath.org and it was followed by this teaching:

St. Ambrose of Milan teaches that the blind man touched by Jesus received more then just his sight. In one instant we see both the power of his divinity and the strength of his holiness. As the divine light, he touched this man and enlightened him. As priest, by an action symbolizing baptism he wrought in him his work of redemption. The only reason for his mixing clay with the saliva and smearing it on the eyes of the blind man was to remind you that he who restored the man to health by anointing his eyes with clay is the very one who fashioned the first man out of clay, and that this clay that is our flesh can receive the light of eternal life through the sacrament of baptism.

Blow me away, St. Ambrose! This short passage was so rich I probably could not handle it. How could I have forgotten that this is not a silly fairy tale, or a mundane act from a man that can cure anyone He touches? No, this was pure Act, pure Good, pure Truth, an act of Divinity being imparted on a man who, sin or no sin, suffered in this world of exile, in which we are not yet saved from sin.

Constantly, Jesus Christ redeems us sinners. He redeemed this man and reminded us of many other things (1) We are created by Him (it can be so easy to forget that in the workings of daily life) (2) We can receive eternal life (3) We must live a sacramental life passed down to us from Christ himself through his own ministry, which was given to the Apostles. Lastly, we are redeemed daily through the Sacrament of the Eucharist.

Amen.

Happy Birthday

Today is a particularly difficult and emotional day. It is what would have been, my brother, Adam’s 21st birthday. I would have taken him out for a Guinness. Well, he would have been away at school, so in reality, I would have called him to wish him a happy day, and then I would have called him the next day to hear all the dirty details of this significant birthday. Which, I imagine, would not have been so dirty, but more like, “We went to this pub and I met some girls, and then when I got really toasted and I sang every Irish ballad and drinking song I know. And have you heard of an Irish Car Bomb?!...One of the girls I met gave me her number. She goes to Catholic U. I think I am going to call her.” And that is what I am going tell myself he did.

I feel that I have been able to grieve properly. By that I mean I have been going through the healthy psychological process that helps one to move on. But, it has not been a year yet since the day he died and I expect there will be days like this. I do not want to even think what my parents are going through right now.

Psychological processes aside, I cannot imagine what the despair in the loss of a loved one would be like without faith. Yes, I am sure that for any normal individual one will recover from the loss whether there is belief in God, faith and hope. But, what a miserable time it would be. It was hard enough being faced by the death of my brother. It was great comfort to hear the priests say, “Life has not ended, only changed.” Knowing what a good person Adam was, I do not think that he was out of grace with God. I truly believe that God gave him a chance to prepare himself for coming into the light. I truly believe that when I say prayers that they are heard by a saint in heaven. Knowing that he is with our Creator, who created us out of His Love is a tremendous comfort. I learned that it is in our suffering that we are closest to God.

All year long I have been thinking about “A Grief Observed” by C.S. Lewis. (The best novelists are those who can observe life and translate it into words.) He described grief so well and how one might feel toward God and faith in this situation. I do not have a copy of this book at hand, so I cannot include any specific quotes. But, he described how when his wife died, he could not remember what she looked like accurately, because he had seen her so many times from so many angles that it was now all a blur--a combination of it all dancing in his head. The best way he could remember her was in a picture--still, from one angle--and that made him angriest of all. That is not the way he wanted to remember her.

Similarly to C.S. Lewis' experience: On the way home from Adam’s funeral, on the plane, I sat clutching a little white Bible with name monogrammed in silver on the cover, and in it I had stuffed several eulogies people in my family had written, the programs from the funeral, a prayer card that had Adam’s birth-death and a quote (Wisdom 1-6 & 9), a print out of eight of Adam’s poems, and a few pictures. Andrew and I had been doing Sodoku puzzles. We had finished one and were taking a break. I set the Bible down on the tray in front of me and a few things fell out. I could hardly bear to look at them. I was so mad at the sight and I began to crumble inside. I panicked and thought, “This is all I have left of him! These little scraps of paper, this is all I have to hold on to! I have my memories, but those fade and change. These are the only material things I have!” It was quite a moment of terror in my heart, the same as the Sunday morning my mother called and said, “Adam is missing.”

“Only the good die young.” That is so true. Adam was so amazing. He accomplished so much and had some very deep thoughts to pass along to us all. He was destined to be a great poet and a great diplomat. I am so grateful he took the time to write down his thoughts. He had such a unique and beautiful way of thinking. He is greatly missed.

Happy Birthday Adam!

This is the First Post

Testing, testing, 1,2,3, is this thing working?

I chose this font, because it's called Trebuchet and that reminds me of the amazing, medieval weapon that flings rottening animal heads at castles. Yay, for medieval life.

Now for more important things, which is that I promise I will try my best to post important things from now on--or things of interest.