Making The Rough Places Plain: You've Got "Knee" Mail

a reflection from the archives of The Saturday Morning Post 

February 20, 2016 

Good Morning, God and All...

You've probably seen the phrase "God accepts Knee Mail." A roundabout, techie-type reference to reverent, personal prayer - and one which seems to pop-up on social media with greater frequency...that is, if you've 'liked' pages with quasi-religious and/or quasi-patriotic content. You see, in order to give you the best 'experience' online, the folks behind Facebook and Twitter and the rest work tireless hours developing and tweaking code to provide you with nearly all the content you want to see with just the right amount of advertising, regardless of relevance, that pays for your experience.

Did you know Pope Francis was within 100 feet of the US border last week? Probably. Most of it would have escaped observation. On Wednesday he concluded his trip to Mexico with an outdoor Mass in Ciudad Juarez, just over the border from El Paso, Texas. A contingent of American Catholics, not to be denied a chance to get close to His Holiness, watched from behind the border fence and via theater-screen TV.

The pope spoke to the Mexican people present - and those who watched from elsewhere - about several issues, issues he's spoken on elsewhere in the world; topics much aligned with turning toward God and seeking his mercy and forgiveness. He visited a prison and blessed crippled children. At the border in Ciudad Juarez, he brought up migration. It would be expected because it is something locals know a lot about; but migration and refugees are also issues elsewhere in the world right now. Of course, being a particularly frequent topic of conversation in that locale, the pope's remarks were certainly a considerable topic for conversation and discussion. That enough would have kept the pundits busy.

However, once Francis and his press entourage were on the plane back to Rome, there was the inevitable opportunity for candid remarks. Indeed, I believe this sort of conversation is exactly what Jesus would do with his apostles after any sort of public interaction. The subject having been brought up because of immigration, Francis was asked for his thoughts about the situation here in the US, and about candidate Donald Trump's pledge to build an $8 billion wall to close off our southern border. The pope remarked, "A person who only thinks about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian." That brought about comments from the Trump campaign that Francis was being manipulated by the Mexican government. I note that Francis also spoke about unfair labor practices and the prison system, as well as immigration while in Mexico. Reading the transcripts of the homilies and addresses given by the pope, I don't see where the Mexican government was shown in a privileged light. If anything, he challenged Church and State authority as well as individuals; exactly what Jesus would do.

What takes the cake, though, is this response from The Donald himself:

"No leader, especially a religious leader, should have the right to question another man's religion or faith."

I don't know about you, but this absurd statement flies in the face of religious liberty concerns every bit as much as what progressive liberal Democrats have been doing for years. If I understand this in the proper context, Mr. Trump would not be friends with Saint Paul...or either of his 2 Corinthians or 2 Thessalonians. And he would have a hard time with Jesus...a very hard time, indeed; for the Gospels are filled with references of the Lord's questioning the faith of many, especially the Pharisees, the leadership among the Jewish people who also exerted as much authority and oppression in the name of God and the faith as their Roman occupiers would allow. I know some of you will make the jump to labeling Jesus as a 'socialist'; but he didn't fill that description any more than 'liberal', 'Democrat', 'conservative', 'Republican', or even 'evangelical Christian'.

We DO have the right to question principles of all kinds; even those steeped in religion or faith. But we must do that by determining and questioning our own principles first. We must also realize that we're called to grow in faith. It's not possible to determine our own faithfulness, let alone the faithfulness of others, without constant connectivity to the source of our faith. That leads me back to where I started this reflection. As busy as we are, as confounding as our political processes have become; it is time to put ourselves in touch with the Truth. Whatever your spiritual practices are, I hope the next time you see a reminder to pray for our nation, or to get yourself in touch with God, that you will 'take a knee' and give Him a minute or two of precious time.

Until we meet again, may God be with you...and may God have mercy on us all.... +the Phoenix

The Saturday Morning Post: Blame The Groundhog

 February 20, 2021

 Good Morning, God and All…

It was only a month ago that the 46^th POTUS was inaugurated. It’s been just eighteen days since America’s penultimate rodent after Mickey Mouse, Punxutawney Phil, allegedly saw his shadow and predicted six more weeks of winter. He had to have seen a shadow from artificial lighting, because it was snowing in northwest Pennsylvania that morning…and it doesn’t seem to have stopped since. Nearly everywhere in the USA, and all the way through Texas and into Mexico, it’s been cold and icy and snowy.

As for other news, former President Donald Trump was acquitted of the impeachment charge of inciting the insurrection of January 6 at the Capitol building that cost five people their lives and scores of injuries to others. The Senate failed to muster the two-thirds majority vote as 43 Republicans voted “not guilty” on the premise that, since Trump was no longer in office, the impeachment trial was unconstitutional. Rush Limbaugh, a long-time and legendary spokesman for conservative ideology, died three days ago after a long battle with cancer. I’m no doctor, but I wonder if his declining health took a sharp turn for the worse as Trump kept pounding his bully pulpit, claiming the 2020 election had been stolen from him, and took an even greater turn after January 6. There were more than a few among the left who could not resist turning to social media with glee when Rush’s passing was announced. Most of the rest of us, hopefully, found a moment to silently pray that the Lord of judgement received his soul with mercy.

It seems important to me to mention that Rush Limbaugh’s death happened on Ash Wednesday. Because it’s tied to Easter and how the date of Resurrection Sunday is determined, what were the odds? What more of a stark reminder, amplified by the words repeated around the world that day, Remember that thou art dust, and unto dust thou shalt return!

If we thought 2020 was a year like none other in recent history, 2021 seems to be continuing in a less than desirable direction. A nation more divided than ever. A world suffering the terrible effects of said division, in America and elsewhere; and a pandemic that defies containment. While secularism can explain, if not rationalize, all that’s going on, I still can’t help thinking that maybe it is the wrath of God that has brought all this upon us. It makes sense. Science agrees that our culture’s carbon and philosophical footprints have led us down this path, and the terrible things we are enduring and suffering are the results of our labors or lack thereof.

Life as we knew it changed once we got into last year’s Lenten season. The realist in me does not see an end to face covering or most of the social restrictions imposed on us before Lent next year, even as vaccines have been developed. Even as President Biden asks for unity, the politics of our present circumstances thrive on division, drawing us away from prayer and discernment on just where our true allegiances belong.

I have gone so far over the course of my life as to immerse my surroundings with those who are like-minded in Christ. I am still a sinner, of that there is no doubt; but how much worse the state of my soul would be without them. We may not agree on everything, but we help keep each other from straying far from the path on which Our Lord travels. That’s especially important right now. In the midst of all our worldly troubles - and there are many - to understand the blessings Lent offers (again, there are many) we should focus on those people and things that keep us close to God.

And so it is with a heart longing and a hunger and thirst to better understand and proclaim that God loves us and longs for us even more than we do for God, I pray that this might be our ‘best Lent ever.’ Indeed, it’s already better than the last one.

Until we meet again, may God be with you - and may God have mercy on us all…

+the Phoenix

Making The Rough Places Plain: Division By Zero

 a reflection from the archives of The Saturday Morning Post

February 18, 2017 

A House Divided

“A house divided against itself cannot stand.” --Abraham Lincoln, from a speech given in Springfield, Illinois on June 16, 1858, that launched his unsuccessful campaign against Stephen A. Douglas for the US Senate

In 1968, the Uniform Monday Holiday Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. It moved the celebrations of Memorial Day and Veterans' Day to a specific Monday. (Veterans' Day was later moved back to its original observance date of November 11). The third Monday of February was to be designated as "Presidents' Day" as it would always fall between the birthdates of quite possibly the two greatest Americans to ever hold the office: George Washington and Abraham Lincoln.

It is one of those holidays that, unless you work for the federal government, the US Postal Service, or banks, you're likely to be working. Depending on the State in which you live, as a student you may or may not observe the holiday. The president of my last employer liked to observe the holiday until the business climate and the weather more or less directed that another day would be better suited to offering employees a holiday.

We might want to consider honoring all the accomplishments of our past presidents on this day. That is, we might but more than likely would not. For nearly all of my life, going all the way back to LBJ, the presidency of the United States has been a contentious office; with the person holding it under nearly constant criticism. And at no time in modern history is that more apparent than with the recent occupant of the White House.

For many years now, by nearly every statistical measurement, we are a divided nation. But does this division run deeper than it appeared in 1940? Or 1930? or 1915? Or 1865? Or 1860? Or 1776, or earlier?

Lincoln's reference to a "house divided" in 1858 had biblical references. In the Gospel of Mark 3:25, Jesus states, "And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand", in response to the scribes' claim that "by the prince of the devils he casts out devils." Also, in the Gospel of Matthew 12:25, (KJV): And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto him, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand. Saint Augustine, in his book Confessions (Book 8, Chapter 8) describes his conversion experience as being "a house divided against itself."

In Thomas Paine's 1776 Common Sense, his description of the composition of Monarchy, "this hath all the distinctions of a house divided against itself . . ." and during the War of 1812, a line appeared in a letter from Abigail Adams to Mercy Otis Warren: "... A house divided upon itself - and upon that foundation do our enemies build their hopes of subduing us." Lincoln himself used the "house divided" phrase in another context in 1843. Division on the issues, is as old as our great nation...a tale as old as time itself.

Now, reconsider this: in last week's Message, I wrote: "Whenever we take time out of our busy lives to consider the plight and needs of another or others, we are doing what God has called us to do." I wrote this in the context of assisting my brother while he was in the hospital, or getting a fellow musician who doesn't drive to make it easier getting to his next appointment. But over the week I also came to realize that it's another point of motivation for the organizers who asked immigrants to stay home from work and school last Thursday. It's also a motivator for protestors to gather to demonstrate in their support for a cause.

Christians are called to spread the faith. It's always been that way. But because Christianity is also divided, the message delivered can have strings or stigma, real or imagined, attached to it. When we fell in love with the automobile, those little roadside signs with verses like "the wages of sin is death" popped up alongside the weeds. Those have disappeared, replaced with fewer and further between billboards with more imaginative (and sometimes controversial) messages to consider.

I write here and in my daily "Good Morning, God" messages because of the call to spread the faith. It serves a dual purpose, of course. It started as a vehicle to let friends and family know I'm still alive, kicking, and coping with the status quo. It then evolved into both the occupation or vocation of prayer that we're all called to express, as well as a response to the call to express the faith, and (hopefully) spread it. It's not unlike the parable Jesus tells about the sower and his seed. Some falls where there's a lot of uncaring traffic; it's trampled and nothing grows from it. Some falls where there is already thick growth. It starts to sprout but is quickly choked by everything else there demanding nurturing, and only the strongest survive. But there is some seed that will get to fertile ground and will grow and exceed expectations. That's what I humbly attempt to do.

Conversation can always take turns based on the things we do and experience. My dear wife Diane had a sharp mind but was confounded at times by mathematics. She claimed that mathematics was not an exact science whenever she reached a stumbling point. When I attempted to help her by pointing out an error she didn't see, she would counter that math could not be an exact science because it could not define division by zero. I might have countered today with a discussion of black holes, anti-matter, and other sorts of things that stirs the pot in the scientific community, but are to the rest of us paper tigers, or Don Quixote's windmills. I bring this up because to a growing number of people, the Truth and the Faith has become an unexplainable thing, as impossible to define as division by zero, as useless to them as screen doors on a submarine.

Yes, there are cracks and fissures, flaws and faults in everything we touch. The 'cracks in the stained glass' are being exploited and cause many to abandon the faith. Yet in those moments when we see the brokenness, we are closest to seeing Jesus. I know that is hard to believe, especially until you have a direct and personal experience in brokenness (sometimes more than one). Conversion begins and change takes place when we recognize Christ in the cracks. He sends the Holy Spirit in renewal. Renewal incorporates restoring what is usable and discarding what is not. Cracks and fissures may redevelop over time, and renewal will be called upon again.

The liturgical calendar has brought us once more to the season of Lent. It's the time set aside to look for Christ in the cracks in the stained glass. In doing so, may we persevere to the end seeking the greater truth, the truth that sets us free from division and truly builds and connects us.

The Saturday Morning Post: This One's About Me

February 6, 2021

 Good Morning, God and All...

A couple of weeks ago, I abandoned the format I've used for years in compiling these posts. I had come to the realization that what I was doing was stuffing something inside a trivia sandwich. I had begun to borrow reflections from the past and repost them as they still have relevancy. Of course they would, since at that time I was writing from a perspective of the Catholic Church's three-year cycle of Bible readings. What was relevant then is still relevant today, but I had a recent reality check.

Many of my reflections are based on my experiences in homiletics, which are supposed to be generic in nature, so as not to preach errantly on the teachings of the Church, or suggest personal experience that could be questioned by others. They should not be too short, but should avoid being too long lest we stretch ourselves beyond the attention span of the intended audience.

Lately I have observed that I'm developing a negative attitude in my interpersonal conversations. Basically, I have been caught up in what others also do: bark about having to restrict myself, having to wear a face mask whenever I am out of the house and trying to observe those 'one way' aisles at Walmart when it seems nobody else is doing so, not having much else to be able to do, the sorry state of our country and its politics. I'm the one who is supposed to stay hopeful, because God is in charge and will deliver me (and you) from all this evil. That's one of the things we pray for, isn't it? Yet doesn't it seem that things just keep getting worse and not better? Is anyone else being tempted to say 'why bother' because on the surface it would appear God has turned a deaf ear on the prayer Jesus gave posterity to pray?

Add to this that my body does not want to work the way it used to. I am having neuropathy issues in my old age. It's hard to move with the ease I once took for granted. My fingers are tingling as I type. If I have to sit on the floor to do a minor repair or clean-up, I have to stop and think over how to get up. It would take me a long time to shovel snow. It takes long enough as is to clear it from my car.

See that negative attitude creeping in? I apologize for burdening you with it, even as it's the tip of a Titanic-wrecking iceberg if I were to continue down that path. Let me concentrate on what should be my mantra:

• Thankful that I rise each morning as a gift from God
• Thankful that I have family, friends, and colleagues who are generally concerned for my well being - and thankful that I am concerned for them. That is 'love' in its most basic form.
• Thankful that I am still able to share my abilities, and the occasional knowledge that it does make a difference
• Thankful that while dodging several 'bullets' I have not contracted Covid-19!
• That after many years, I have started and ended each day with the Lord. Each morning I look for words of divine wisdom to share. Each evening I acknowledge the blessings of the day, and the grace to meet its many challenges.

I firmly believe that hearts can be changed. Otherwise, the Ninevites would have totally ignored Jonah, and Ebenezer Scrooge would have died the miserly curmudgeon Charles Dickens sought to write about in one of his greatest short stories. Saul would not have his conversion experience on the Damascus road, and Paul would not have established the many Christian communities outside Judea.

Despite what happens in the world on a daily basis, I remind myself that eternal life is not going to resemble anything I've brought up. It will be either profound joy in the presence of God, or everlasting abandonment, grief, and regret. That fate is up to me. I must pray for redemption and mercy over my own sense of justice and judgement which belong to God alone.

With Lent only ten days away (did it ever really end from last year?) maybe it's time to put some of that thought into action. Just making things in the space and time God gives me a bit brighter will be a good start. 

Until we meet again, may God be with us...and may God have mercy on us all...

+the Phoenix

The Saturday Morning Post: If There's A Bright Spot in the Universe, Our Nation's Capital is the Place it's Farthest From

 Good Morning, God and All...

While the sun shines brightly on this Saturday in Chicagoland, the coldest temperatures since Christmas and the threat of a snowstorm in the next couple of days remind me that it's winter outside. The darkness that accompanies the season is not only external. It's internal, too.

As if on cue, on Friday - the 48th anniversary of the US Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade - President Biden promulgated executive orders once again supporting his political party's definition of life, denying that life begins in the womb, not at the moment when birth takes place.

In 1973 there was a great deal of argument in the legal and scientific communities over defining when life begins. Science was divided. Religious congregations in the US, reflecting progressivism at the time, were also divided on the issue. While the Catholic Church has always defined the beginning of human life at the point of conception, many priests and bishops were silent on the subject. Christian denominations outside Catholicism leaned toward childbirth as the defining moment. Over the years, the gruesome statistic evolved: some sixty million souls were denied their chance at life; they were considered unwanted. After nearly five decades, science and faith were beginning to find their conscience and their voice. 

However, the damage - in the legal terms of our flawed humanity - was already done. Once the judicial system has made its pronouncement, and the longer it remains in place, the line is drawn in the dust and reversing course becomes very difficult. Nobody in high office, whether it be congressional, executive, or judicial, wants to go on record admitting any decision they've made is wrong. It therefore becomes the burden of future generations to correct the mistakes of the past.

There were hopes that through attrition and new appointments to the high court that a reversal of Roe v. Wade could come about through new litigation. Former President Trump had delivered on one very important campaign promise, appointing many judges and three Supreme Court Justices who would take a more reserved and conservative approach to the cases brought before them. These new appointees would examine law and the Constitution under a narrower perspective; the viewpoint they believed the Founding Fathers took in the vast undertaking of framing the basis of our nation's laws.

Unfortunately, in the very short time the Supreme Court has supposedly been perceived as conservative, there have been some surprises in what cases the Court has agreed to hear, and in what decisions lower courts and judges have made. These judicial appointments appear to be what I'll call 'constitutionalists'. They have managed to separate what is morally proper from what is legally acceptable by their definition in established case law. What happens now is anyone's guess. With Congress and the Biden administration both pushing the envelope on the issue, will the badly defined concept of "reproductive rights" become part of the written code of law?

This is not the only moral question looming heavily our beloved country. Catholic pastors and bishops are still divided as to how large an issue this is. Sadly, some of the more vocal members of the clergy are trying to water down or ignore the issue, citing social issues of climate change, income inequality, capital punishment, and the rights to freedom of religious expression and speech granted in the First Amendment - not to mention the quagmire surrounding the Second Amendment.

If We The People have learned anything in these last several years, it's hopefully that we must take part in the process of seeing that our laws are just, fair, and observed. We must not allow unconstrained action on the part of our duly elected officials, no matter how their promises or overt intentions appear to us. Nor can we rely on media reports their activity or speculates on it.

Hearts can be changed, but only if we are united in our resolve to change our own waywardness and return to God and His plan for us.