tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56945482823725906942024-03-23T12:33:11.827-05:00Phoenix Minstrel's Reflection Poolthe Phoenixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05660186448561949243noreply@blogger.comBlogger218125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5694548282372590694.post-46020406257206283982024-03-23T12:32:00.000-05:002024-03-23T12:32:34.777-05:00The 'Post'/Making the Rough Places Plain: A Prayer for Holy Week<p> <span style="font-family: verdana;">Lord Jesus,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I thank You for the moments of inspiration that come to me when it seems I need it most. Thank You for life itself, even as challenging as it is, for...well, it should be obvious, correct?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I thank You for those saints, visionaries, and fathers of your Church, and for the rich symbolism found in our sacred rituals and Tradition. Without this, we would find ourselves foundering worse than we already are.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">In Your inexhaustible mercy and superabundant love You have given us the opportunity to walk in Your footsteps. For some that might mean a geographic pilgrimage to the places in which You lived and ministered long ago. For most of us, including me, it means stepping outside of our box in space and time to unite with You through the insight given to us through Your Holy Spirit.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">In this last week before Easter is observed, I pray that I (and many others) cheer and shout for joy as you make Your humble but still royal entry into the Holy City.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">May we eat at Your table, partaking in the bread and wine that has become Your Body and Blood, Your Soul and Divinity.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">May we follow you into our chapels, our Garden of Gethsemani, to pray, keep watch, and learn and understand the way of suffering You take in our stead.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">May we understand that the stark emptiness of our church altars represent the humiliation You endured - and continue to endure - as You are stripped of Your royal dignity, and are scourged and beaten mercilessly.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">May we discover in our reading of the accounts of Your Passion and Death that we, too, are confused and afraid. Some of us still turn away from the repulsive thoughts of the senseless actions of others - especially when it happens in the name of your Father in Heaven. May we find ourselves in that place and time when it was asked in the midst of a mob, <i>Which 'son of a father' do you want released to you? </i>That we, too, in our weaknesses so far removed from the actual event, cry out for Your crucifixion.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">May we understand that your words, <i>Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do,</i> should in and of themselves have been sufficient for our ultimate salvation; but in the end, it would not satisfy our bloodlust.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">May we have the courage to remain at the foot of Your Cross, alongside the Apostle John, and the Virgin Mary, your - and now our - Mother.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">May we dutifully and lovingly pause at Your tomb, intended for someone else but would never be used for its original purpose.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">May we keep vigil in the most profound way, recalling the history of our salvation and recognize Your rising as the Light of all lights.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">May we courageously. yet humbly, witness and proclaim that You are risen and among us still.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">May we keep all of this in our hearts as the celebration of the Week That Changed the World ends and life returns to 'normal'...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">No - May You light the way to establish or renew or make of our lives a new and different sense of what is 'normal.' That is what You did everything for. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">May the holy angels bring this prayer before You, Lord Jesus; Who lives and reigns together with the Father and the Holy Spirit - one God, forever and ever. Amen.<br /></span></p>the Phoenixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05660186448561949243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5694548282372590694.post-29046212477433001132023-10-29T16:12:00.000-05:002023-10-29T16:12:00.289-05:00The Saturday Morning Post: Requiem Eternam MMXXIII<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b> Welcome, God and All...</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">It's been some time since I allowed myself the opportunity to post a reflection. Enough has been going on, and it's getting harder to make postings quickly. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Today, though, we once more approach the day of All Hallows; that time in the Church year when we reflect on our own mortality by recalling all who have died. It has become an annual tradition of mine to borrow from the Wikipedian almanac and offer a partial listing of the famous and infamous who were summoned into eternal life over the last twelve months. When I last checked, my name wasn't on the list...but you never know. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><u>October (25 – 31) 2022 </u></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">25 - Jules Bass, 87, animator and television producer (<i>Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty the Snowman, The Last Unicorn</i>) (b. 1935) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">28 - Jerry Lee Lewis, 87, singer, ("Great Balls of Fire", "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On", "High School Confidential") (b. 1935) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">31 – Peter J. Rooney, 72, American Roman Catholic deacon, cancer (b. 1950) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><u>November 2022</u> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">1 - Takeoff, 28, rapper (Migos) (b. 1994) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">5 - Aaron Carter, 34, singer ("Crush on You", "Aaron's Party (Come Get It)", "Leave It Up to Me") (b. 1987) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">9 - Fred Hickman, 66, broadcaster (CNN, ESPN, Black News Channel), Emmy winner (2004) (b. 1956) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">11 - Gallagher, 76, comedian (b. 1946) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">16 - Robert Clary, 96, French-born actor (<i>Hogan's Heroes, Days of Our Lives, The Bold and the Beautiful</i>) (b. 1926) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">25 - Irene Cara, 63, singer ("Flashdance... What a Feeling") and actress (<i>Sparkle, Fame</i>), Oscar winner (1983) (b. 1959) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">26 - Paul J. Swain, 79, Roman Catholic prelate, bishop of Sioux Falls (2006–2019) (b. 1943) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><u>December 2022 </u></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">1 - Gaylord Perry, 84, Hall of Fame baseball player (San Francisco Giants, Cleveland Indians, San Diego Padres) (b. 1938) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">4 - Bob McGrath, 90, actor (Sesame Street) (b. 1932) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">5 - Kirstie Alley, 71, actress (<i>Cheers, Veronica's Closet, Look Who's Talking</i>) (b. 1951) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">14 - John Hughes, 92, British-born journalist (<i>The Christian Science Monitor, Deseret News</i>), Pulitzer Prize winner (1967) (b. 1930) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">20 - Franco Harris, 72, Hall of Fame football player (Pittsburgh Steelers, Seattle Seahawks) (b. 1950) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">31 - Anita Pointer, 74, singer (The Pointer Sisters) (b. 1948) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><u>2023 </u></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><u>January </u></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">7 - Adam Rich, 54, actor (<i>Eight Is Enough, Dungeons & Dragons, The Devil and Max Devlin</i>) (b. 1968) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">9 - Les Brown Jr., 82, musician, actor and producer (b. 1940) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">12 - Lisa Marie Presley, 54, singer-songwriter ("Lights Out"), and daughter of Elvis Presley (b. 1968) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">13 - Robbie Knievel, 60, daredevil and stuntman (b. 1962) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">15 - Ted Savage, 86, baseball player (St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers) (b. 1936) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">16 - Frank Thomas, 93, baseball player (New York Mets, Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Phillies) (b. 1929) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">18 - David Crosby, 81, Hall of Fame singer (The Byrds, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young) and songwriter ("Almost Cut My Hair") (b. 1941) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">25 - Cindy Williams, 75, actress (<i>Happy Days, Laverne & Shirley, American Graffiti</i>) (b. 1947) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">31 - Lou Campanelli, 84, basketball coach (James Madison Dukes, California Golden Bears) (b. 1938) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><u>February</u> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">8 - Burt Bacharach, 94, Hall of Fame composer ("Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head", "Walk On By", "Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)"), six-time Grammy winner (b. 1928) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">13 - Huey "Piano" Smith, 89, R&B pianist and songwriter ("Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu") (b. 1934) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">15 - David Oreck, 99, entrepreneur (b. 1923) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">15 - Raquel Welch, 82, actress (<i>One Million Years B.C., The Three Musketeers, Fantastic Voyage</i>) (b. 1940) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">16 - Tim McCarver, 81, baseball player (St. Louis Cardinals, Philadelphia Phillies) and broadcaster (Fox Sports) (b. 1941) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><u>March</u> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">4 - Robert Haimer, 69, musician (Barnes & Barnes) and songwriter ("Fish Heads") (b. 1954) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">7 - Tom Love, 85, entrepreneur, founder of Love's (b. 1937) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">9 - Robert Blake, 89, actor (<i>Baretta, In Cold Blood, Electra Glide in Blue, Lost Highway</i>) (b. 1933) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">10 - Jesús Alou, 80, Dominican baseball player (San Francisco Giants, Houston Astros, Oakland Athletics) (b. 1942) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">10 - Napoleon XIV, 84, singer ("They're Coming to Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!") (b. 1938) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">11 - Bud Grant, 95, basketball player (Minneapolis Lakers), Hall of Fame football player (Winnipeg Blue Bombers) and coach (Minnesota Vikings) (b. 1927) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">13 - Jim Gordon, 77, musician (Derek and the Dominos), songwriter ("Layla") and convicted murderer (b. 1945) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">13 - Eric Lloyd Wright, 93, architect (b. 1929) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">21 - Willis Reed, 80, Hall of Fame basketball player (New York Knicks) and coach (New Jersey Nets), NBA champion (1970, 1973) (b. 1942) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">22 - Len Goodman, 78, English ballroom dancer, television presenter, and coach (<i>Strictly Come Dancing, Dancing with the Stars</i>), bone cancer (b. 1944) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">23 - Darcelle XV, 92, drag queen (b. 1930) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">30 - Mark Russell, 90, political satirist and comedian (b. 1932) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><u>April</u> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">10 - Al Jaffee, 102, cartoonist (<i>Mad, Trump, Humbug</i>) (b. 1921) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">19 - Otis Redding III, 59, singer (The Reddings) (b. 1963) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">27 - Jerry Springer, 79, television host (<i>The Jerry Springer Show</i>) and politician, mayor of Cincinnati (1977–1978) (b. 1944) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><u>May</u> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">6 - Vida Blue, 73, baseball player (Oakland Athletics, San Francisco Giants, Kansas City Royals), three-time World Series champion (1972, 1973, 1974) (b. 1949) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">9 - Edward Cullen, 90, Roman Catholic prelate, bishop of Allentown (1998–2009) and auxiliary bishop of Philadelphia (1994–1998) (b. 1933) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">11 - Joe A. Garcia, 70, indigenous political activist and musician, president of the National Congress of American Indians (2006–2009) (b. 1952) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">21 - Ed Ames, 95, singer (Ames Brothers) and actor (<i>Daniel Boone</i>) (b. 1927) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">22 - Peggy Lee Leather, 64, professional wrestler (WWF, NWA) (b. 1959) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">22 - James Lewis, 63, singer (Trans-Siberian Orchestra) (b. 1959) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">24 - George Maharis, 94, actor (<i>Route 66, The Most Deadly Game, Fantasy Island</i>) (b. 1928) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">24 - Tina Turner, 83, American-born Swiss singer ("River Deep – Mountain High", "A Fool in Love") and actress (<i>Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome</i>), eight-time Grammy winner (b. 1939) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><u>June</u> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">3 - Michael Sheehan, 83, Roman Catholic prelate, bishop of Lubbock (1983–1993) and archbishop of Santa Fe (1993–2015) (b. 1939) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">4 - George Winston, 73, pianist (<i>December, Summer, Forest</i>), Grammy winner (1996) (b. 1949) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">7 - The Iron Sheik, 81, Iranian-born Hall of Fame professional wrestler (AWA, WWF) (b. 1942) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">8 - Pat Robertson, 93, media mogul, religious broadcaster, chairman of the Christian Broadcasting Network and presidential candidate (1988) (b. 1930) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">10 - Ted Kaczynski, 81, mathematician and domestic terrorist (<i>Unabomber Manifesto</i>) (b. 1942) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">12 - Treat Williams, 71, actor (<i>Hair, Everwood, Once Upon a Time in America, Chicago Fire</i>) (b. 1951) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">26 - Dick Biondi, 90, disc jockey (b. 1932) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">29 - Alan Arkin, 89, actor (<i>The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming, Edward Scissorhands, Little Miss Sunshine</i>), Oscar winner (2006) (b. 1934) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">29 - Don Kennedy, 93, radio broadcaster (WPIC, NBC Radio, WWPW), television personality (WSB-TV), and voice actor (<i>Space Ghost Coast to Coast</i>) (b. 1930) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><u>July </u></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">2 - Joseph John Gerry, 94, Roman Catholic prelate, bishop of Portland (1989–2004) and auxiliary bishop of Manchester (1986–1989) (b. 1928) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">3 - Vince Tobin, 79, football coach (Arizona Cardinals) (b. 1943) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">6 - Peter Nero, 89, pianist and conductor (Philly Pops), Grammy winner (1962, 1963) (b. 1934) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">15 - William O'Malley, 91, Roman Catholic priest and actor (<i>The Exorcist</i>) (b. 1931) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">21 - Tony Bennett, 96, jazz and traditional pop singer ("I Left My Heart in San Francisco", "Rags to Riches", "Because of You") (b. 1926) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">25 - Rocky Wirtz, 70, businessman, owner of the Chicago Blackhawks (since 2007) and president of Wirtz Corporation (since 2007) (b. 1952) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">26 - Randy Meisner, 77, Hall of Fame musician (Eagles, Poco) and songwriter ("Take It to the Limit"), Grammy winner (1976, 1978) (b. 1946) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">30 - Paul Reubens, 70, actor (<i>Pee-wee's Big Adventure, Pee-wee's Playhouse, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Blow</i>) (b. 1952) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><u>August </u></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">7 - DJ Casper, 58, DJ and songwriter ("Cha Cha Slide") (b. 1965) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">22 - Vaccine, 43, musician and record producer (b. 1979) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">23 - Terry Funk, 79, Hall of Fame professional wrestler (NWA, WWF) and actor (Paradise Alley, Over the Top, Road House) (b. 1944) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">24 - Bray Wyatt, 36, professional wrestler (WWE) (b. 1987) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">26 - Tony Roberts, 94, sportscaster (Notre Dame Fighting Irish football) (b. 1928) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">27 - Joe the Plumber, 49, conservative activist and commentator (b. 1973) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><u>September </u></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">1 - Jimmy Buffett, 76, singer-songwriter ("Margaritaville", "Come Monday", "Cheeseburger in Paradise") and businessman, founder of <i>Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville</i> (b. 1946) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">4 - Gary Wright, 80, singer-songwriter ("Dream Weaver", "Love Is Alive") and musician (Spooky Tooth) (b. 1943) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">26 - Brooks Robinson, 86, Hall of Fame baseball player (Baltimore Orioles), World Series champion (1966, 1970) (b. 1937) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">29 - Dianne Feinstein, 90, politician, member of the U.S. Senate (since 1992), mayor of San Francisco (1978–1988) and president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors (1978) (b. 1933) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><u>October </u>(through 10/28) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">5 - Dick Butkus, 80, Hall of Fame football player (Chicago Bears) and actor (<i>Hang Time, Johnny Dangerously</i>) (b. 1942) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">7 – The 14 Israeli nationals killed by the Palestinian Islamist militant group Hamas </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">14 - Piper Laurie, 91, American actress (<i>Carrie, The Hustler, Children of a Lesser God</i>), Emmy winner (1987) (b. 1932) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">14 - Wadea Al-Fayoume, 6, American child, stabbed at his home in Plainfield Township, Illinois, in a retaliatory hate crime stemming from the Hamas attack on the 7th (b. 2017) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">15 - Suzanne Somers, 76, American actress (<i>Three's Company, Step by Step, She's the Sheriff</i>), breast cancer (b. 1946) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">23 - Harry Porterfield, 95, American newscaster (WBBM-TV, WLS-TV) (b. 1928) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">24 - Richard Roundtree, 81, American actor (<i>Shaft, Se7en, Speed Racer</i>), pancreatic cancer (b. 1942) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">26 - Richard Moll, 80, American actor (<i>Night Court, House, Batman: The Animated Series</i>) (b. 1943) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">28 - Matthew Perry, 54, American-Canadian actor (<i>Friends, The Whole Nine Yards, Fallout: New Vegas</i>) (b. 1969) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">28 – Steven Zeier, ~72, American high school educator, stroke </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">...and all victims of violence throughout the world. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls, and the souls of all the faithful departed, through Your mercy, O God, rest in peace.</i> </span></p>the Phoenixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05660186448561949243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5694548282372590694.post-17242329800493793502022-10-25T13:30:00.002-05:002022-10-28T13:17:15.692-05:00The Saturday Morning Post: Requiem Eternam MMXXII<h2 style="text-align: left;"> <span style="font-family: arial;">Welcome, God and All...</span></h2><div><span style="font-family: arial;">It's been some time since I allowed myself the opportunity to post a reflection. Enough has been going on, and it's getting harder to make postings quickly. I promise more on that in the near future. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">Today, though, we once more approach the day of All Hallows; that time in the Church year when we reflect on our own mortality by recalling all who have died. It has become an annual tradition of mine to borrow from the Wikipedian almanac and offer a partial listing of the famous and infamous who were summoned into eternal life over the last twelve months. When I last checked, my name wasn't on the list...but you never know...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><i><u>2021</u></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><i>November</i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">November 7 – Dean Stockwell, American actor (b. 1936)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">November 11 - F. W. de Klerk, 7th and last State President of South Africa and Nobel laureate (b. 1936)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">November 26 – Stephen Sondheim, American composer and lyricist (b. 1930)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><i>December</i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">December 10 – Michael Nesmith, American musician and television personality (b. 1942)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">December 11 - Anne Rice, American author (b. 1941)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">December 26 - Desmond Tutu, South African Anglican archbishop, activist and Nobel laureate (b. 1931)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">December 31 – Betty White, American actress (b. 1922)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><i><u>2022</u></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><i>January</i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">January 2 - Richard Leakey, Kenyan paleoanthropologist and conservationist (b. 1944)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">January 6 - Peter Bogdanovich, American film director (b. 1939)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">January 6 - Sidney Poitier, Bahamian-American actor, activist and ambassador (b. 1927)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">January 20 - Meat Loaf, American singer and actor (b. 1947)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><i>February</i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">February 7 – Douglas Trumbull, American film director, special effects supervisor and inventor (b. 1942)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">February 10 - Duvall Hecht, American rower, publisher and Olympic champion (b. 1930)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">February 12 – Ivan Reitman, Czechoslovak-born Canadian film director and producer (b. 1946)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><i>March</i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">March 13 – William Hurt, American actor (b. 1950)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">March 23 – Madeleine Albright, Czechoslovak-born American politician (b. 1937)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">March 25 – Taylor Hawkins, American musician (b. 1972)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><i>April</i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">April 9 – Jack Higgins, English author (b. 1929)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">April 18 – Sir Harrison Birtwistle, English composer (b. 1934)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">April 26 – Klaus Schulze, German composer and musician (b. 1947)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><i>May</i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div>May 17 – Vangelis, Greek composer and musician (b. 1943)</div><div>May 26 - Alan White, English drummer and songwriter (b. 1949)</div></span><div><span style="font-family: arial;">May 27 – Angelo Sodano, 54th Secretary of State of the Holy See (b. 1927)</span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><i>June</i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">June 6 – Valery Ryumin, Soviet cosmonaut (b. 1939)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">June 14 – A. B. Yehoshua, Israeli novelist, essayist and playwright (b. 1936)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">June 27 – Leonardo Del Vecchio, Italian businessman (b. 1935)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><b><i>July</i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">July 8 - Shinzo Abe, 57th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1954)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">July 8 - Luis Echeverría, 57th President of Mexico (b. 1922)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><div>July 29 – Juris Hartmanis, Latvian-born American computer scientist (b. 1928)</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>August</i></b></div><div>August 8 – Dame Olivia Newton-John, Australian singer and actress (b. 1948)</div><div>August 12 – Wolfgang Petersen, German film director and producer (b. 1941)</div><div>August 30 - Mikhail Gorbachev, 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union and Nobel Peace Prize recipient (b. 1931)</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>September</i></b></div><div>September 8 – Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms (b. 1926)</div><div>September 15 – Saul Kripke, American philosopher and logician (b. 1940)</div><div>September 28 – Coolio, American rapper and actor (b. 1963)</div><div><br /></div><div><b><i>October</i></b></div><div>(through October 25)</div><div>October 4 – Loretta Lynn, American country singer and songwriter (b. 1932)</div><div>October 11 – Dame Angela Lansbury, Irish-British American actress and singer (b. 1925)</div><div>October 24 – Ash Carter, American politician (b. 1954)</div><div>October 28 - Jerry Lee Lewis, <span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">87, American </span><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_and_Roll_Hall_of_Fame" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #3366cc; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Rock and Roll Hall of Fame">Hall of Fame</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"> singer ("</span><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Balls_of_Fire" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #3366cc; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Great Balls of Fire">Great Balls of Fire</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">", "</span><a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whole_Lotta_Shakin%27_Going_On" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #3366cc; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On">Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">", "</span><a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_School_Confidential_(Jerry_Lee_Lewis_song)" style="background: none rgb(255, 255, 255); border: 0px; color: #3366cc; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; font-stretch: inherit; font-variant-east-asian: inherit; font-variant-numeric: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration-line: none; vertical-align: baseline;" title="High School Confidential (Jerry Lee Lewis song)">High School Confidential</a><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;">") (b.1935)</span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: white; color: #202122; font-family: -apple-system, BlinkMacSystemFont, "Segoe UI", Roboto, Lato, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px;"><br /></span></div><div>In addition, we remember the many unnamed who died from natural disasters and pandemic illness. We also remember all who died due to acts of violence all over the world, especially in the war between Ukraine and Russia.</div><div><br /></div><div>May all the faithful departed now rest forever in the arms of our loving Savior; and. through your superabundant mercy, O God, rest in peace.</div><div><br /></div><div>Until we meet again, may the same God be with you...</div><div><b>+the Phoenix</b></div></span></div>the Phoenixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05660186448561949243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5694548282372590694.post-69127007371035305942022-04-20T13:55:00.001-05:002022-04-20T14:29:55.682-05:00The "Post" - A Week That Changed the World; But NOT ‘THE’ Week<p> <span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>updated from the archives of </i>The Saturday Morning Post</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">April 20, 2022</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>Welcome, God and All...</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Easter should be a time where joy abounds unabated. Nature is resplendent in color as winter’s icy grip is finally released. The inner peace we so long for is within our reach…right?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">If only we could let go of what still anchors us! The beauty and message of this most sacred day should lift us skyward like helium-filled balloons, and we should rejoice in the brilliance of light that surrounds us!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But…we just can’t forget.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Remember back in December, when we were all reading or watching one version or another of Charles Dickens’ <i>A Christmas Carol</i>? Jacob Marley’s ghost, laden down with chains? I remember reflecting that I myself had developed a set of ‘ponderous chains’ in a moment of self-deprecating humor. Lent provided the opportunity to look at the symbolic chains you and I bear. I discovered things I didn’t like to see; I’m taking a reasonable guess you probably did, too. We’ve had a chance to work on those these last six weeks. We should rejoice in any progress we might be making. And we should continue working to make ourselves better persons, and the world around us a better place.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">However, King David, the writer of Psalm 51 (and others), acknowledged that we have a way of reminding ourselves of the nastier stuff we’ve done or failed to do, and that knowledge is a temptation that flaunts itself in the face of the unbounded joy we should be celebrating:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">---Twenty-eight years ago, Easter came and went, and my colleagues in formation for the diaconate were thrown back unceremoniously into a type of Lent as a new bishop was named for my diocese, with the possibility that our ordination would be put off - or canceled altogether. Happily, that didn’t happen.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">---The following year (1995), Easter came and went, and in that week, the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was bombed by a domestic terrorist. I had been offered the opportunity to preach the following weekend on the story of ‘Doubting’ Thomas the apostle. Instead, I felt I had to shift my focus on the reminder that events like this one call us to ask once again, <i>why does an all-loving God allow these to happen?</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">---Four years later (1999), Easter had already passed at the end of March. I was living unhappily with the decision to forfeit active ministry after exhausting the futile attempt to find a solution to make everyone else happy, even if it meant I might not be. But I was slapped out of that on this very date twenty years ago, when the Columbine High School incident took place. And every year since then, we have been reminded - with alarming frequency - that there is no truly safe haven in this world.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">---It was eight years ago today - in 2014 it was Easter Sunday - that was the last time I could speak with my beloved Diane. It’s like I had appeared at the threshold of the gates of Hell itself. I had already been out of work three weeks; Diane would leave this world eleven days later, and my mother followed her twenty-eight hours after that.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">---And we got six-plus inches of snow on an April Sunday in 2019, enough to cancel a thousand flights at Chicago’s O’Hare airport - and I had a near miss or two driving in it because at first we were of the mindset that ‘the Lord giveth and (so) the Lord taketh away’. And He did, twenty-four hours later.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">---And I wept the following Monday afternoon, as I watched in shock and horror, the fire that was consuming the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, France. And I prayed that God would let me perish the thought that this might not have happened accidentally. I am angered that this tragedy, too, has become part of the arsenal of thoughtlessness that divides us. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">---And if that were not enough, there's the COVID pandemic that shut out public celebration of the Lord's Resurrection in 2020 and still had some limitations on it in 2021; and its specter still hangs over us in 2022 as <i>any </i>gathering in large numbers threatens a surge of the latest variant - as well as arguments to the point of violence regarding vaccines and the use of face masks. My son and I have also had health scares thus far in 2022. While not COVID related, they must be dealt with. I just can't keep living 'on the edge', as it were.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">---On top of this, there's the current state of affairs in the geopolitical arena, marked by the invasion of the Ukraine by Russia, and the global economic chaos that this and the pandemic has brought on (and exacerbated by the present administration - but that's another story for another time). </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The devil is still surely at work in the world. Working harder than ever, to keep us anchored and mired in our waywardness, our false sense of privilege; that we would redefine just what human rights are and aren’t, in seemingly direct defiance of God’s plan.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But I still found the opportunity to dwell on THE Week that truly Changed the World. On it I have pinned my hopes, my ultimate dreams. From the events of that one week that secular timelords would rather I forget, in lieu of all the links of chain I bear from the history I list above - as well as that I haven’t listed - that’s where God continually invests in His creation - you, and me. Had it not happened, had Jesus not come to Earth to give of himself, I don’t know where I would be. Perhaps I would not be at all. Maybe God would have had enough, and this world destroyed by being sucked into the Sun, or blasted into pieces by a comet. Perhaps we would be annihilated by aliens who are better disciples than we are; being led to their ‘promised land.’ Or maybe he would have let us destroy ourselves…</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But we were never meant to walk this road alone…</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">No, THIS is the Day that the Lord has made. And not only today, but every day of the past and every day that is yet to come. Think about that on Monday, when the routine will start over. Are we dreading another day of this, or that, or are we rejoicing that we’ve yet one more chance to give honor and glory to God in even the smallest of ways? Because those small acts have the potential to move mountains, and call upon the Holy Spirit to renew the face of the earth. And it needs renewing, I think we can agree on that. The Savior of the World did not do everything he did - including the brutal and senseless suffering he endured - in vain. No way! Jesus broke the prison bars of spiritual death, and has opened Paradise to all who believe.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">God my Father, please accept as the offering most pleasing to you, the sacrifice of Jesus, your Son. May the legacy he left here continue to shine brightly and dispel the darkness in our minds and hearts! And may we find our way through Him, the Morning Star that never sets, to rejoice and proclaim, now and forevermore that Christ is Risen; and sheds his peaceful light on all humanity.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Until we meet again, live in the knowledge that the Risen Lord is with you, loves you, and would do this for you even if you were the only person left on Earth. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Peace and Blessings,</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b>+the Phoenix</b></span></p>the Phoenixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05660186448561949243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5694548282372590694.post-87868990251025147612022-01-29T10:52:00.000-06:002022-01-29T10:52:58.106-06:00The Saturday Morning Post: A Week at 'Club Med'<p> <span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">January 29, 2022</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>Welcome, God and All...</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">We are 1/12th into 2022. If the rest of the year plays out anything like the last month has, I will be looking at having a direct line to Jesus intalled in my house and my car.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I had a minor fender-bender with an overhead garage door at a local car wash. I hadn't even had the car a month, and hadn't made the first payment yet. It's covered, and the repairs will be made - but not until March, because that's how backed up the body shop is. And no, nobody was hurt. I'm truly thanjkful for that.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">In the meantime, at home my son was developing congestion in his chest. Figuring it was a cold, I went about treating it as such with over the counter medication. But it wasn't getting any better. Later that week, when we headed to a local indoor track to do several laps walking, he started to complain about having to do the walking. I told him that we were not out to set any records, just to finish the course. My son is special needs and has some trouble being accurate and truthful over situations. Finally, we cut the walking short and headed home. Almost immediately, his mood improved, leading me to think he was simply acting up; only the congestion was still there. I needed to observe more to determine what to do next.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">At the beginning of the following week, still not seeing any improvement in the congestion or his breathing, I called his PCP. Maybe they could prescribe something stronger to knock out the congestion. Instead, I was told to take my son to the emergency room at the hospital. With the latest COVID-19 variant on the loose, nobody wanted to take any chances. And thus began the odyssey that still isn't quite over, but has definitely proven that I make a lousy medical professional.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">My son was looked at and tested and diagnosed within the first three hours of our arrival at the hospital. He was tested for COVID (current protocls mandate it); that test was negative. Other tests indicated a cloudy lung; that and his labored breathing rendered a diagnosis of pneumonia. Because of the labored breathing, it was decided to admit him. He was put on oxygen and antibiotics...and, twelve hours after arriving at the ER, was put in a hospital room.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">COVID protocols are prohibiting outside visitors. While I understood this, as being developmentally disabled it would be very difficult for my son to be left alone to deal with his illness. Other patients were having to share updates on their own illnesses with spouses or family over the phone. It seems miraculous in itself that I would be able to stay with my son while he was hospitalized. However, I would sacrifice my freedom to do nearly anything, I could not leave his room. Anything I might need or want from the outside - my razor, cell phone chargers, extra clothes - were delivered to the hospital's main door by my sister, where a nurse or an aide would retrieve it and bring it to our room. They were always kind about it; but I knew it was an imposition that with each passing day made me wonder how I was going to get bills paid and conduct what little business I might have. It was a sacrifice I had to make, an act of love and mercy I would offer to the Lord. I felt like Saint Paul and Saint Thomas More, who were imprisoned for doing what they had to do. While I was definitely treated better than the two saints, I wondered how long this would play out. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">While the nurses and hospital staff were as accommodating as they could be, I knew their work load was strained. The hospital was at 75% capacity. The ICU was completely full. In the days before we went in, the ER was triaging incoming patients in hallways, according to a patient who had come in the week before us. Nurses' assignments were shifted to alleviate bottlenecks elsewhere in the hospital. Doctors, on the other hand, gave the appearance of Pontius Pilate.In the six days my son was hospitalized, the amount of time there was actually a doctor in the room with us was less than thirty minutes. Yeah, being a respiratory case they want to minimize physical contact; and given the marvels of the electronic age, chart progress can be monitored remotely. I know the doctors were not without compassion, but it's hard to see it when you don't see them.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">A moment of spontaneous humor came early, whiile in the ER. It's hard to draw blood from him; a trait he got from his mother's side of the family. At one point there were four nurses in the room; one was using a ultrasound in order to find a vein to tap. I made the comment that my son was going to extremes to meet girls. That drew laughter; relief at a time when we didn't know much.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I continued to reflect that I had voluntarily become a 'prisoner' for my son. It came to me that Jesus, the Son of God, by the will of His Heavenly Father, accepted confinement in a human body for thirty-three years; knowing the outcome was going to be...well, messy. Messy enough that He even petitioned his Father to stop what was coming. But He stopped short, saying "not My will, but Yours be done." Throughout his entire life, all He knew - all He did was out of compassion and love. Ultimately I hunkered down for the duration of the storm out of a fragment of that sense of compassion. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I asked for prayers and received them. I sent updates every morning and would pray the Rosary. My son gifted me with watching morning Mass on EWTN (the channel is in the hospital's TV feed). I did some spiritual research and discovered that St. Bernardine of Siena is the patron saint of respiratory patients. I found an intercessory prayer and prayed it. I noted that his progress sped up after making that prayer.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">We have been home nearly a week, and we will turn the page into the next phase of this odyssey. There will be follow-up visits with his PCP. He's still using the oxygen, so we will have to determine how long that will continue. He has sleep apnea, something I sort of knew but now I know must be dealt with. It's a miracle in itself that i'm managing all this. But by God's grace there is a pathway, and for as long a He wills it, we will walk it together, coupled with the prayers of the many with whom we interact.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Until we meet again, may God be with you - and may God have mercy on us all...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>+the Phoenix</b></span></p>the Phoenixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05660186448561949243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5694548282372590694.post-28385914061200836962021-12-18T08:33:00.000-06:002021-12-18T08:33:44.609-06:00The Saturday Morning Post: Quite Contrary, Virgin Mary<p> <span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>Welcome, God and All...</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">In my most recent post, i pondered: </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><i>If you'd told a peasant teenager 2000+ years ago that she would be more a source of misunderstanding and division to Christians, would she still say 'yes' to God?</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><i>Mary, if you knew that your baby boy would one day save the nation, </i>would you still...?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Wait a minute.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">There are some things that Mary absolutely knew ahead of their time. When the Archangel Gabriel announces that Mary is to be the mother of Jesus, he clearly states that "great will be his dignity, and he will be called Son of the Most High" (Luke 1:32ab). Further, when the infant Jesus is first brought to the Temple, Simeon prophecies that "this child is destined for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be contradicted (and you yourself a sword will pierce) so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed" (Luke 2:34bc-35).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">As also stated in my previous post, I've been watching the internet sensation <i>The Chosen. </i>Of great interest is how the character of Mother Mary (as opposed to Mary Magdalene) is portrayed. I am rediscovering something I set aside many years ago but is staring me (and many Catholics) in the face. You see, many of the doctrinal differences between Catholics and other Christian denominations is wrapped up in Mariology. The latter group looks at Mary being just another ordinary (and peasant) Jewish girl/woman who had an extraordinary part in salvation history; and that the birth of Jesus was not unlike any other birth in that era. Mary, already stressed out at the circumstances of having to deliver her child far from home and under far from ideal circumstances, would have experienced labor pains and would have had to clean the baby immediately after birth. And a significant number of Catholics would probably agree. But early Church fathers state that in order to preserve Mary's virginity, the holy infant miraculously emerged from her womb, with no labor pains or other discomforts of childbirth.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Trying to wrap my arms around this has not been easy. Simeon's prophecy indicated that she would know sorrow. She surely must have suffered emotional pain watching her Son dying an excruciatingly painful death. There is no reason to believe otherwise. Surely someone who suffered this kind of trauma could endure pain associated with childbirth.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Infallible teaching of the Catholic magisterium is rare. The top two are related to Mary. In 1870, Pope Pius IX proclaimed the dogma surrounding Mary's immaculate Conception. She was spared the stain of original sin so that she would be a proper vessel to bear the Christ child. Pius IX wrote, <i>“From the very beginning, </i></span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large; font-style: italic;">and before time began, the eternal Father chose and prepared for </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large; font-style: italic;">his only-begotten Son a Mother in whom the Son of God would </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large; font-style: italic;">become incarnate and from whom, in the blessed fullness of time, </span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><i>he would be born into this world."</i> The second infallible teaching came eighty years later, when Pope Pius XII proclaimed the dogma of the Assumption of Mary into heaven, body and soul.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">It's a good thing I'm not afraid to bring up this conundrum, especially among men who are taking steps to broaden their sense of spirituality. In the course of a few brief discussions, I came to understand a new (to me) phrase. I almost want to avoid using it, because it has negative implications in today's 'cancel' culture. (Indeed, statues of Mary have been vandalized; the most recent happening at the National Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC. It is now that I can truly understand "atrocities" committed against the Virgin Mary and Jesus.)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">The Blessed Virgin Mary was <i>singularly privileged</i> by God. One should easily see this, for when the archangel Gabriel greets her, she is called "favored" (Luke 1:28). When she visits her cousin Elizabeth, she acknowledges that "all generations will call me blessed; the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name" (1:48b-49).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Saint Bonaventure (1221-74) listed seven privileges of the Virgin Mary which can be read <a href="https://www.thecatholictreasurechest.com/privil.htm">here.</a> It's an excellent summation of how we should view the woman who followed the Lord's calling for her life. Centuries removed from this kind of teaching, I'm willing to bet that many average Catholics don't know all these particulars; or if they do, they misinterpret Mary's place in salvation history and attribute 'goddess' status to her. The Catholic Church points out that she is not, but it's not too difficult to take all that she has been to a higher level. And thus lies the source of debate - often heated - over a very special yet, to all outside appearances, otherwise ordinary young woman.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Mary was truly filled with the Holy Spirit, and the effects of this continue to this day. Otherwise, she could not have appeared in Lourdes, Fatima, Guadalupe, or any of the other places that have experienced Our Lady's presence. It's one of the deeper mysteries of Christianity, or so I've been told. Mary has received <i>grace upon grace. </i>Somehow, it's much easier for me to understand this complexity than to make sense of the intricate electronic systems and programming in my SUV.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Of course Mary knew. She pondered and treasured all of this and kept it - for all eternity - in her heart. Mary, Mary, how contrary we are. Pray for us, O holy Mother of God; that we may be worthy of the promises of Christ.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Until we meet again, May the Lord bless you and keep you...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>+the Phoenix</b></span></p>the Phoenixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05660186448561949243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5694548282372590694.post-51566876145544604222021-12-11T09:20:00.007-06:002021-12-12T18:49:31.903-06:00The Saturday Morning Post: The Fine Line Between Evangelization and Marketing<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">December 11, 2021</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>Welcome, God and All...</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">About nine months ago - during Lent - I wrote that I had found something different that was occupying my time. A different look at the ministry of Jesus; how he found those who would follow him closely as his disciples and ultimately, as his apostles.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><i>Get used to different, </i>he said to Simon Peter. That was never explicitly recorded in the Gospels. It didn't have to be; it was certainly implied in every parable and miracle. And in the process, this different take begged us all to dig deeper and see what an authentic Jesus might look like and how he might interact, thus bringing clarity and a better understanding of those words first passed on orally, then through several linguistic translations and finally into our current (and evolving) style of speech and mannerism.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Such has been the impact of Dallas Jenkins' inspired <i>magnum opus, </i>or great work, thus far: <i>The Chosen.</i> From the moment I watched that first episode about Mary Magdalene's backstory and her emotional and spiritual healing by Jesus, I knew I was hooked. I have watched all sixteen episodes multiple times and desperately want more, even as I know the general outline and outcome which must happen in order for the series' continuity and portrayal of Jesus and his contemporaries to be, in Jenkins' own words (and he says many at every opportunity), <i>authentic.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><i>The Chosen</i> has received a lot of 'thumbs up' references from people in Church circles. Bishop Robert Barron (auxiliary) of Los Angeles has taken part in discussion roundtables with Jenkins and other religious leaders representing a cross-section of Judeo-Christianity. They're all appreciative of what they've seen thus far and are eagerly yet patiently awaiting more.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">For me, the show has led to co-hosting a local discussion group. We ran through the first season in September and October, and will do the same for season two in January and February. As a Catholic minister, there are some specific challenges that have to be considered.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">While receiving good publicity from many Catholic leaders in the United States, <i>The Chosen </i>has not been officially endorsed by the Church. Nor can it be. While the backstories have done much to create what authentic 1st Century history might look like, those can't be authenticated by either native historical sources or in the Gospels. Thus, we must consider them, even as realistic as they might be, as works of fiction. It's not unusual; stories like <i>Ben Hur</i> and the storyline of the motion picture <i>Risen</i> have a basis in historical fact but are not true stories in themselves.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Another challenge is unique to modern times: commercialization. Licensing and Marketing. <i>The Chosen </i>is what it is. Jenkins and others involved with the show's development want to keep bringing it to wider and wider audiences, and that in itself takes a great deal of creativity. Advertising, if you will, through providing messaging and branding through apparel, books, accessories, and sales of the program on recorded home media. I get easily caught up in the concept of being an ambassador for Christ in the form of a walking billboard; but not so good at living out the Gospels in the humble manner Jesus did. This in turn reminds me of the one scene in the Gospels where Jesus appears to 'lose his cool' and proceeds to throw out the merchants and moneychangers doing business just inside the Temple walls. I am very curious over how the creative staff will deal with that should it make its way into the screenplay.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">There's a third challenge, and it has already sparked discussion and debate - sometimes heated. The challenge reminds me that all viewpoints (including my own as a Catholic) are missing something big. It's so big that it will take another reflection to address it as I should. That means I'll have another post, in the very near future, to put what I know together with what I've learned so far and try to make authentic sense of it. If you'd told a peasant teenager 2000+ years ago that she would be more a source of misunderstanding and division to Christians, would she still say 'yes' to God?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I attended the theatrical release of <i>The Chosen's </i>Christmas special episode, <i>The Messengers</i> this past week. It was my first venture into a theater building in two years; since before the COVID pandemic. I was indeed impressed; but not initially. I do not doubt the faith and desire of those who professionally praise the Lord through their musical ability; after all, that is a lot of what I do. But it was hard to get through the first fifteen minutes of several songs by different artists that (to me, anyway) sounded very much the same. One group, apparently identifying with the 25-and-under set, showed up in designer ripped-up jeans. They seemed to have missed the part of the psalms that tell us to worship the Lord "in holy attire". Or they thought that the word 'holy' was misspelled. But the show definitely got better as it rolled along. And...no, I'm not going to tell you what happened. You must know? Go and see. It came in at #4 at the box office last weekend, and its nine-day run (so far) is the largest gross receipt of any event in Fathom Events' history. Is Jesus happy about this? I hope so. But for those who can't get to a theater, it's been promised to be available to watch - for free - beginning tomorrow evening (December 12). </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;">Until we meet again, may the God of peace be with you...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>+the Phoenix</b></span></p>the Phoenixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05660186448561949243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5694548282372590694.post-73839504959559490192021-12-09T08:11:00.000-06:002021-12-09T08:11:44.067-06:00The Saturday Morning Post: Nuttier Than A Fruitcake<p> <span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><i>from the archives</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">December 8, 2018</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>Welcome, God and All...</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">In some ways this Advent season began by living up to its predecessors. The ghosts of Christmases Past were serving up the same pablum again with runs of TV movies that started before Halloween, reminders of “Black Friday” specials that ran from the beginning of November through last weekend, and the same old tunes on the radio that have little if anything to do with the anticipated coming of Christ. On the plus side, there had not much beyond the usual social debate over whether to greet others with ‘Merry Christmas’ or ‘Happy Holidays’, and - so far - there have been no reports of vandalism or thefts at Nativity scenes being put up wherever the bold and the brave are doing so.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I wish I could tell you that this was good news…but this season’s war against Christmas (and by extension, each other) has moved into previously uncharted waters.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">-- A contestant family from New Jersey in the 2017 season of ABC’s <i>Great Christmas Light Fight</i> is being fined $3000 per day that the lights are on this season, because of the lack of crowd control. Neighbors insist that the family pay for such control, so any potential emergency might be handled in a proper and organized manner. The family can’t afford this, but rather than shut it down they’ve taken their light fight to court, on First Amendment grounds.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">-- A Virginia school district has banned the singing of any holiday music mentioning the name of Jesus - which, if taken to the logical extreme, would ban any song with the word “Christmas” in it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">-- A radio station in Cleveland started the most recent nationwide social debate by banning from its holiday playlist the song “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” after receiving numerous complaints that the duet sang blissfully about sexual predators and date rape. This last one spawned an avalanche of additional comments about pulling <i>Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer</i> off TV because Mrs. Claus promotes obesity, Santa and other reindeer are bullies, and cries of discrimination because the ‘misfit’ elf Hermie can’t fulfill his dream of becoming a dentist.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">--In my home state of Illinois, the holiday display at the state capitol includes a statue belonging to a satanic cult. Now <i>that’s </i>diversity for you!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">It brings to mind other things that we should do away with, maybe just out of spite. Who would like to stop hearing <i>Deck The Halls</i> and <i>Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas</i> because each has a ‘gay’ reference? Or Eartha Kitt's classic 1953 holiday hit <i>Santa Baby</i>, covered in 1987 by Madonna, where the venerable Mr. Claus is seen as a ‘sugar daddy’? Not to mention the growing list of seasonal music that <i>I</i> really dislike!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">And what about that fruitcake? Seems it’s been taking criticism on the chin for a long time.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Yeah, I’m pretty much convinced that the war against Christmas picked its first battle and won its first victory in modern times by humiliating the fruitcake. My dear departed grandmother would buy one the size of a Bundt cake from Walgreen’s every year and made sure we got it. Now you’re lucky to find one the size of a stick of butter.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">The strategy has changed. We’ve grown tired of ‘keeping Christ in Christmas’. The political winds aren’t blowing as strong in that direction this year. Advertisers seem to have backed off the gas pedal a bit; maybe the midterm elections and that we had a full week in November after Thanksgiving have something to do with it; possibly the failure of Sears/Kmart and ToysRUs, coupled with more online shopping is changing the playing field. But the strategy has definitely changed, as one by one, two by three, and 4 for $5, our traditions are being ripped apart.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Traditions (small t) are what we think of when it comes to major events like my concatenated “Hanulfestimazaa.” Should my Jewish friends stop celebrating Hanukkah because the lit menorah is a potential fire hazard? Or because spinning the dreidl is not unlike shooting craps? Should we abandon celebrating the Winter Solstice because it happens to be cloudy on December 21? Or give up on Santa Claus because he can’t give us the gifts we really want? <i>Where’s that fruitcake when you need it???</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I’ve barely touched on the Tradition (big and small T) associated with Jesus’ birth. These bear great importance. Lose these, and it’s as if Jesus never came to earth. But the distracting traditions I mention (and a bunch I don’t simply out of time/space consideration) should not be overlooked. They help set a mood…and maybe, if they’re approached with true love and devotion, and prayer, can help light the way toward understanding just one of the reasons “Christ’s Mass” is recognized as one of the biggest events of this or any year.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">I know it’s not easy…but please try to overlook the social debate right now. It’s too emotional, and really does threaten to do the one thing the Grinch couldn’t do. Enjoy what you can, when you can, for as long as you can. The pent-up stress of holiday preparation disappears in the smile of a child’s face. Remember that when it’s all over that it’s here and beginning and thriving because “God loved the world so much, that he gave us His only Son, that whoever believes in him might have eternal life” (John 3:16). Otherwise, we may find ourselves with nothing left but an aluminum pole, a long list of grievances, and a closet filled with ugly sweaters.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Until we meet again, may God and God's peace be with you...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>+the Phoenix</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>the Phoenixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05660186448561949243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5694548282372590694.post-84964832859472932742021-10-30T09:28:00.000-05:002021-10-30T09:28:12.882-05:00The Saturday Morning Post: Requiem Eternam MMXXI<p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b>Welcome, God and All...</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Once again, the calendar dutifully reminds us of that time when we should remember the <i>hallowed</i> - those who have been called from this world and have experienced, even if only but a moment, the face of God Almighty. It does us well to recall them. Catholics also believe that through our prayers, we can aid in their total liberation from the perils of this world so <a href="https://youtu.be/vziyIo20Im0">that their eternal freedom in the risen Christ is assured.</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">The COVID-19 worldwide pandemic continued to wreak havoc in 2021, claiming thousands upon thousands of lives. Since the beginning a year-and-a-half ago, the number of deaths is over 745,000 in the United States alone. We pray for them all, and that the hand of God may put an end to this brazen and indiscriminate killer. We pray also for those souls who never got to see the light of an earthen day; these, too, defy our ability to number but assuredly rest in the loving arms of God.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">The names below, far from an exhaustive list, run across the spectrum of human life. May eternal rest be theirs. May their souls, as well as the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God rest in peace.</span></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><u>2020</u></b></span></p><p><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_31" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="October 31">October 31</a> - </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Connery" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Sean Connery">Sean Connery</a><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">, Scottish actor (b.</span><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1930" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1930">1930</a><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">)</span></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_31" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large; text-decoration-line: none;" title="October 31">October 31</a> - <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MF_Doom" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large; text-decoration-line: none;" title="MF Doom">MF Doom</a><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">, British-American rapper (b.</span><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1971" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1971">1971</a><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">)</span></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_8" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large; text-decoration-line: none;" title="November 8">November 8</a><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"> </span><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">–</span><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Trebek" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Alex Trebek">Alex Trebek</a><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">, Canadian-American game show host (b.</span><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1940" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1940">1940</a><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">)</span></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">November 14 - </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hasan_Muratovi%C4%87" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Hasan Muratović">Hasan Muratović</a><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">, 4th</span><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chairman_of_the_Council_of_Ministers_of_Bosnia_and_Herzegovina" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Chairman of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina">Prime Minister of Bosnia and Herzegovina</a><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"> </span><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">(b.</span><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1940" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1940">1940</a><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">)</span></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_18" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large; text-decoration-line: none;" title="November 18">November 18</a><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"> </span><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">–</span><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Umar_Ghalib" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Umar Ghalib">Umar Ghalib</a><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">, 7th</span><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"> </span><a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_Somalia" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Prime Minister of Somalia">Prime Minister of Somalia</a><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"> </span><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">(b.</span><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1930" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1930">1930</a><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">)</span></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">November 22 - </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sidi_Ould_Cheikh_Abdallahi" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi">Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi</a><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">, 7th</span><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"> </span><a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heads_of_state_of_Mauritania" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Heads of state of Mauritania">President of Mauritania</a><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"> </span><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">(b.</span><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1938" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1938">1938</a><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">)</span></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">November 26 - </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sadiq_al-Mahdi" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Sadiq al-Mahdi">Sadiq al-Mahdi</a><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">, 7th</span><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_heads_of_government_of_Sudan" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large; text-decoration-line: none;" title="List of heads of government of Sudan">Prime Minister of Sudan</a><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"> </span><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">(b.</span><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1935" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1935">1935</a><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">)</span></span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">November 26 - </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tevita_Momoedonu" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Tevita Momoedonu">Tevita Momoedonu</a><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">, 5th</span><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_Fiji" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Prime Minister of Fiji">Prime Minister of Fiji</a><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"> </span><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">(b.</span><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;"> </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1946" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; font-size: large; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1946">1946</a><span face="sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">)</span></span></span></p><div><div><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_7" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="December 7">December 7</a><span face="sans-serif"> – </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Yeager" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Chuck Yeager">Chuck Yeager</a><span face="sans-serif">, American Air Force officer and test pilot (b. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1923" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1923">1923</a><span face="sans-serif">)</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><span face="sans-serif">December 12 - </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charley_Pride" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Charley Pride">Charley Pride</a><span face="sans-serif">, American singer, musician, and guitarist (b. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1934" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1934">1934</a><span face="sans-serif">)</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_25" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="December 25">December 25</a><span face="sans-serif"> – </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K._C._Jones" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="K. C. Jones">K. C. Jones</a><span face="sans-serif">, American basketball player and coach (b. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1932" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1932">1932</a><span face="sans-serif">)</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><span face="sans-serif">December 26 - </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brodie_Lee" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Brodie Lee">Brodie Lee</a><span face="sans-serif">, American professional wrestler and actor (b. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1979" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1979">1979</a><span face="sans-serif">)</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/December_29" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="December 29">December 29</a><span face="sans-serif"> – </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Cardin" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Pierre Cardin">Pierre Cardin</a><span face="sans-serif">, Italian-born French fashion designer (b. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1922" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1922">1922</a><span face="sans-serif">)</span></span></div><div><span style="color: white; font-size: medium;"><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: black;"><b><u>2021</u></b></span></span></div><div><span style="color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: black;"><b><u><br /></u></b></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_16" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="January 16">January 16</a><span face="sans-serif"> – </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phil_Spector" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Phil Spector">Phil Spector</a><span face="sans-serif">, American record producer and convicted murderer (b. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1939" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1939">1939</a><span face="sans-serif">)</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/January_22" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="January 22">January 22</a><span face="sans-serif"> – </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hank_Aaron" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Hank Aaron">Hank Aaron</a><span face="sans-serif">, American baseball player (b. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1934" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1934">1934</a><span face="sans-serif">)</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><span face="sans-serif">January 23 - </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hal_Holbrook" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Hal Holbrook">Hal Holbrook</a><span face="sans-serif">, American actor (b. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1925" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1925">1925</a><span face="sans-serif">)</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><span face="sans-serif"><span style="white-space: nowrap;">January 23 - </span></span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_King" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Larry King">Larry King</a><span face="sans-serif">, American talk show host (b. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1933" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1933">1933</a><span face="sans-serif">)</span></span></div><div><span style="color: white; font-size: medium;"><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: black;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><span face="sans-serif">February 5 - </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Plummer" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Christopher Plummer">Christopher Plummer</a><span face="sans-serif">, Canadian actor (b. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1929" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1929">1929</a><span face="sans-serif">)</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><span face="sans-serif">February 8 - </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Wilson_(singer)" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Mary Wilson (singer)">Mary Wilson</a><span face="sans-serif">, American singer (b. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1944" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1944">1944</a><span face="sans-serif">)</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_10" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="February 10">February 10</a><span face="sans-serif"> – </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Flynt" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Larry Flynt">Larry Flynt</a><span face="sans-serif">, American porn publisher (b. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1942" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1942">1942</a><span face="sans-serif">)</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/February_17" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="February 17">February 17</a><span face="sans-serif"> – </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rush_Limbaugh" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Rush Limbaugh">Rush Limbaugh</a><span face="sans-serif">, American radio personality (b. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1951" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1951">1951</a><span face="sans-serif">)</span></span></div><div><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_6" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="March 6">March 6</a><span face="sans-serif"> – </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Ottens" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Lou Ottens">Lou Ottens</a><span face="sans-serif">, Dutch inventor of the cassette tape (b. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1926" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1926">1926</a><span face="sans-serif">)</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_23" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="March 23">March 23</a><span face="sans-serif"> – </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Segal" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="George Segal">George Segal</a><span face="sans-serif">, American actor (b. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1934" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1934">1934</a><span face="sans-serif">)</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/March_24" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="March 24">March 24</a><span face="sans-serif"> – </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_Walter" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Jessica Walter">Jessica Walter</a><span face="sans-serif">, American actress (b. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1941" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1941">1941</a><span face="sans-serif">)</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><span face="sans-serif">March 25 - </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beverly_Cleary" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Beverly Cleary">Beverly Cleary</a><span face="sans-serif">, American author (b. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1916" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1916">1916</a><span face="sans-serif">)</span></span></div><div><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_6" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="April 6">April 6</a><span face="sans-serif"> – </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_K%C3%BCng" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Hans Küng">Hans Küng</a><span face="sans-serif">, Swiss Catholic priest, theologian and author (b. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1928" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1928">1928</a><span face="sans-serif">)</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><span face="sans-serif" style="white-space: nowrap;">April 9 - </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DMX" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="DMX">DMX</a><span face="sans-serif">, Americ</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">a</span><span face="sans-serif">n rapper, songwriter and actor (b. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1970" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1970">1970</a><span face="sans-serif">)</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><span face="sans-serif">April 9 - </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Philip,_Duke_of_Edinburgh" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh">Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh</a><span style="font-family: arial;">; husband of Queen Elizabeth II</span><span face="sans-serif"> (b. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1921" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1921">1921</a><span face="sans-serif">)</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><span face="sans-serif">April 14 - </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernie_Madoff" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Bernie Madoff">Bernie Madoff</a><span face="sans-serif">, American investment advisor, financier and convicted fraudster (b. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1938" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1938">1938</a><span face="sans-serif">)</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><span face="sans-serif">April 28 - </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Collins_(astronaut)" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Michael Collins (astronaut)">Michael Collins</a><span face="sans-serif">, American astronaut (b. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1930" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1930">1930</a><span face="sans-serif">)</span></span></div><div><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_1" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="May 1">May 1</a><span face="sans-serif"> – </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympia_Dukakis" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Olympia Dukakis">Olympia Dukakis</a><span face="sans-serif">, American actress (b. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1931" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1931">1931</a><span face="sans-serif">)</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_2" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="May 2">May 2</a><span face="sans-serif"> – </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Unser" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Bobby Unser">Bobby Unser</a><span face="sans-serif">, American </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Motorsports_Hall_of_Fame" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="International Motorsports Hall of Fame">Hall of Fame</a><span face="sans-serif"> racing driver (b. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1934" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1934">1934</a><span face="sans-serif">)</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_3" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="May 3">May 3</a><span face="sans-serif"> – </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lloyd_Price" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Lloyd Price">Lloyd Price</a><span face="sans-serif">, American singer-songwriter and businessman (b. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1933" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1933">1933</a><span face="sans-serif">)</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><span face="sans-serif">May 18 - </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Grodin" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Charles Grodin">Charles Grodin</a><span face="sans-serif">, American actor and comedian (b. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1935" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1935">1935</a><span face="sans-serif">)</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><span face="sans-serif">May 23 - </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Carle" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Eric Carle">Eric Carle</a><span face="sans-serif">, American children's writer and illustrator (b. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1929" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1929">1929</a><span face="sans-serif">)</span></span></div><div><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_13" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="June 13">June 13</a><span face="sans-serif"> – </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ned_Beatty" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Ned Beatty">Ned Beatty</a><span face="sans-serif">, American actor (b. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1937" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1937">1937</a><span face="sans-serif">)</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_23" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="June 23">June 23</a><span face="sans-serif"> – </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McAfee" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="John McAfee">John McAfee</a><span face="sans-serif">, English-born American computer programmer and businessman (b. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1945" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1945">1945</a><span face="sans-serif">)</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/June_29" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="June 29">June 29</a><span face="sans-serif"> – </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Rumsfeld" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Donald Rumsfeld">Donald Rumsfeld</a><span face="sans-serif">, American politician and government official (b. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1932" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1932">1932</a><span face="sans-serif">)</span></span></div><div><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><span face="sans-serif">July 5 - </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Donner" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Richard Donner">Richard Donner</a><span face="sans-serif">, American film director (b. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1930" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1930">1930</a><span face="sans-serif">)</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><span face="sans-serif">July 23 - </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Weinberg" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Steven Weinberg">Steven Weinberg</a><span face="sans-serif">, American Nobel theoretical physicist (b. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1933" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1933">1933</a><span face="sans-serif">)</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><span face="sans-serif">July 26 - </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joey_Jordison" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Joey Jordison">Joey Jordison</a><span face="sans-serif">, American drummer (b. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1975" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1975">1975</a><span face="sans-serif">)</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><span face="sans-serif">July 28 - </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dusty_Hill" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Dusty Hill">Dusty Hill</a><span face="sans-serif">, American musician and singer-songwriter (b. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1949" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1949">1949</a><span face="sans-serif">)</span></span></div><div><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><span face="sans-serif">August 13 - </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carolyn_S._Shoemaker" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Carolyn S. Shoemaker">Carolyn S. Shoemaker</a><span face="sans-serif">, American astronomer (b. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1929" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1929">1929</a><span face="sans-serif">)</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><span face="sans-serif">August 21 - </span><a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Everly" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Don Everly">Don Everly</a><span face="sans-serif">, American musician (b. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1937" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1937">1937</a><span face="sans-serif">)</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><span face="sans-serif">August 24 - </span><a class="mw-redirect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Everly" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Don Everly">Don Everly</a><span face="sans-serif">, American musician (b. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1937" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1937">1937</a><span face="sans-serif">)</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><span face="sans-serif">August 29 - </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ed_Asner" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Ed Asner">Ed Asner</a><span face="sans-serif">, American actor (b. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1929" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1929">1929</a><span face="sans-serif">)</span></span></div><div><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_2" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="September 2">September 2</a><span face="sans-serif"> – </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikis_Theodorakis" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Mikis Theodorakis">Mikis Theodorakis</a><span face="sans-serif">, Greek composer and politician (b. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1925" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1925">1925</a><span face="sans-serif">)</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_20" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="September 20">September 20</a><span face="sans-serif"> – </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jan_Jindra" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Jan Jindra">Jan Jindra</a><span face="sans-serif">, Czech rower and Olympic champion (b. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1932" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1932">1932</a><span face="sans-serif">)</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_26" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="September 26">September 26</a><span face="sans-serif"> – </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Lancaster" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Alan Lancaster">Alan Lancaster</a><span face="sans-serif">, English musician (b. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1949" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1949">1949</a><span face="sans-serif">)</span></span></div><div><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><span face="sans-serif">October 18 - </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colin_Powell" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Colin Powell">Colin Powell</a><span face="sans-serif">, American politician, diplomat and general (b. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1937" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1937">1937</a><span face="sans-serif">)</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-size: medium;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/October_19" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="October 19">October 19</a><span face="sans-serif"> – </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_Bricusse" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="Leslie Bricusse">Leslie Bricusse</a><span face="sans-serif">, British composer, lyricist and playwright (b. </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1931" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-image: none; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: sans-serif; text-decoration-line: none;" title="1931">1931</a><span face="sans-serif">)</span></span></div><div><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: black; font-size: 14px;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span face="sans-serif" style="background-color: black; font-size: 14px;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">Until we meet again, may God be with you - and may God have mercy on us all...</span></span></div><div><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>+the Phoenix</b></span></span></div>the Phoenixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05660186448561949243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5694548282372590694.post-90362370070548875592021-09-03T19:57:00.001-05:002021-09-04T10:01:36.864-05:00The Saturday Morning Post: Choice Words <p><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span class="TextRun SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">September 4, 2021</span><span class="EOP SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></p><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW108336831" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW108336831 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{610b98b0-f49e-49e1-8612-4bcf6095e362}{95}" paraid="12307769" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span class="TextRun SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW108336831 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW108336831 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW108336831 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{610b98b0-f49e-49e1-8612-4bcf6095e362}{106}" paraid="1043321698" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span class="TextRun SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW108336831 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Welcome, God and All...</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW108336831 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW108336831 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{8ef02abc-c359-400b-a96e-e8ef13e148ff}{42}" paraid="1292563823" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span class="TextRun SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">It’s been a long time since last writing. Too long. Annoying little things like tingling hands and seeing what I'm typing have slowed me down. Oh, and content – yes, coming up with a fresh angle on content has not been easy, making the temptation to avoid writing hard to resist. </span><span class="TextRun SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Mea culpa.</span><span class="TextRun SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> I also felt I needed to spend a little more quality time with my son. I’ve taken to put his exercise routine at a different hour of the day so I can participate; he is more likely to do them that way. Previously I had them scheduled early in the morning when I was engaged in </span><span class="TextRun SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">spiritual </span><span class="TextRun SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">exercises, which I must do first; otherwise to me the day seems fated to go in a poor direction. Again, </span><span class="TextRun SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2 SCXW108336831 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-image: var(--urlSpellingErrorV2,url("data:image/svg+xml;base64,PD94bWwgdmVyc2lvbj0iMS4wIiBlbmNvZGluZz0iVVRGLTgiPz4KPHN2ZyB3aWR0aD0iNXB4IiBoZWlnaHQ9IjRweCIgdmlld0JveD0iMCAwIDUgNCIgdmVyc2lvbj0iMS4xIiB4bWxucz0iaHR0cDovL3d3dy53My5vcmcvMjAwMC9zdmciIHhtbG5zOnhsaW5rPSJodHRwOi8vd3d3LnczLm9yZy8xOTk5L3hsaW5rIj4KICAgIDwhLS0gR2VuZXJhdG9yOiBTa2V0Y2ggNTYuMiAoODE2NzIpIC0gaHR0cHM6Ly9za2V0Y2guY29tIC0tPgogICAgPHRpdGxlPnNwZWxsaW5nX3NxdWlnZ2xlPC90aXRsZT4KICAgIDxkZXNjPkNyZWF0ZWQgd2l0aCBTa2V0Y2guPC9kZXNjPgogICAgPGcgaWQ9IkZsYWdzIiBzdHJva2U9Im5vbmUiIHN0cm9rZS13aWR0aD0iMSIgZmlsbD0ibm9uZSIgZmlsbC1ydWxlPSJldmVub2RkIj4KICAgICAgICA8ZyB0cmFuc2Zvcm09InRyYW5zbGF0ZSgtMTAxMC4wMDAwMDAsIC0yOTYuMDAwMDAwKSIgaWQ9InNwZWxsaW5nX3NxdWlnZ2xlIj4KICAgICAgICAgICAgPGcgdHJhbnNmb3JtPSJ0cmFuc2xhdGUoMTAxMC4wMDAwMDAsIDI5Ni4wMDAwMDApIj4KICAgICAgICAgICAgICAgIDxwYXRoIGQ9Ik0wLDMgQzEuMjUsMyAxLjI1LDEgMi41LDEgQzMuNzUsMSAzLjc1LDMgNSwzIiBpZD0iUGF0aCIgc3Ryb2tlPSIjRUIwMDAwIiBzdHJva2Utd2lkdGg9IjEiPjwvcGF0aD4KICAgICAgICAgICAgICAgIDxyZWN0IGlkPSJSZWN0YW5nbGUiIHg9IjAiIHk9IjAiIHdpZHRoPSI1IiBoZWlnaHQ9IjQiPjwvcmVjdD4KICAgICAgICAgICAgPC9nPgogICAgICAgIDwvZz4KICAgIDwvZz4KPC9zdmc+")); background-position: 0% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">mea</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW108336831 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> culpa.</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW108336831 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW108336831 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{172938eb-2580-423a-bf06-a1a727b0fbfe}{18}" paraid="1366204671" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="TextRun SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW108336831 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{172938eb-2580-423a-bf06-a1a727b0fbfe}{18}" paraid="1366204671" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span class="TextRun SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">I’ve had a few prompts come to me over my absence from writing. Some of them come at a time when I can’t stop what I’m doing to put down the basic thought. And then it’s gone, almost as fast as it came. This last week, a couple of ideas came up and they haven’t been lost in the shuffle. That’s a good thing. I also took some opportunity to review some of my past reflections. A few were forgettable. There were a couple, though that resounded and were just as important now as they were then. And then that small, still voice whispered to me, reminding me what this was all about and not to pass it off lightly. I’m probably taking more time expressing these last two paragraphs than the reflection material. I’m like that. <i>Mea maxima culpa. </i>So let me set this aside and put on the table a couple of thoughts strong enough not to leave my head.</span><span class="EOP SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW108336831 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW108336831 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{fe28c5c2-bcdb-40fc-92d9-8a53e924f75b}{20}" paraid="1957799116" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="TextRun SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW108336831 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{fe28c5c2-bcdb-40fc-92d9-8a53e924f75b}{20}" paraid="1957799116" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span class="TextRun SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Quizzes. They’ve been around forever – or all my life and longer. They’re all over the Internet now, running the spectrum from trivial time-wasters to test preparation, and all the ramifications that come with it. The multiple-choice quiz is very popular. Depending on the number of choices and knowledge of the subject, a person can have as great as a 50-50 chance of pulling the correct answer out of the corners of the mind (or out of thin air, whichever is closer). Sometimes a question has more than one correct answer in the list of choices. Other times, to throw us off a list of choices is given that has no correct answer. What you might see then is something like this:</span><span class="EOP SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="ListContainerWrapper SCXW108336831 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><ol class="NumberListStyle4 SCXW108336831 BCX8" role="list" start="1" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; cursor: text; list-style-type: upper-alpha; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"><li aria-setsize="-1" class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-aria-level="1" data-aria-posinset="1" data-font="Calibri" data-leveltext="%1." data-listid="2" role="listitem" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; display: block; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px 0px 0px 24px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW108336831 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{5a06dab8-ebde-4690-bbdd-64c88865b56c}{228}" paraid="27572681" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span class="TextRun SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"> </span><span class="EOP SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"134233279":true,"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></p></li></ol></div><div class="ListContainerWrapper SCXW108336831 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><ol class="NumberListStyle4 SCXW108336831 BCX8" role="list" start="2" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; cursor: text; list-style-type: upper-alpha; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"><li aria-setsize="-1" class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-aria-level="1" data-aria-posinset="2" data-font="Calibri" data-leveltext="%1." data-listid="2" role="listitem" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; display: block; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px 0px 0px 24px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW108336831 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{ae49d437-990b-4e8e-a487-43d9181e20f7}{35}" paraid="825867992" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="TextRun SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="color: white;">A. </span></span></p></li><li aria-setsize="-1" class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-aria-level="1" data-aria-posinset="2" data-font="Calibri" data-leveltext="%1." data-listid="2" role="listitem" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; display: block; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px 0px 0px 24px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW108336831 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{ae49d437-990b-4e8e-a487-43d9181e20f7}{35}" paraid="825867992" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="TextRun SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="color: white;">B. </span></span></p></li><li aria-setsize="-1" class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-aria-level="1" data-aria-posinset="2" data-font="Calibri" data-leveltext="%1." data-listid="2" role="listitem" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; display: block; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px 0px 0px 24px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW108336831 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{ae49d437-990b-4e8e-a487-43d9181e20f7}{35}" paraid="825867992" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span class="TextRun SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">C. A and B</span><span class="EOP SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"134233279":true,"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></p></li></ol></div><div class="ListContainerWrapper SCXW108336831 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><ol class="NumberListStyle4 SCXW108336831 BCX8" role="list" start="4" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; cursor: text; list-style-type: upper-alpha; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"><li aria-setsize="-1" class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-aria-level="1" data-aria-posinset="4" data-font="Calibri" data-leveltext="%1." data-listid="2" role="listitem" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; display: block; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px 0px 0px 24px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW108336831 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{ae49d437-990b-4e8e-a487-43d9181e20f7}{139}" paraid="903522300" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span class="TextRun SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">D. All of the above</span><span class="EOP SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"134233279":true,"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></p></li></ol></div><div class="ListContainerWrapper SCXW108336831 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><ol class="NumberListStyle4 SCXW108336831 BCX8" role="list" start="5" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; cursor: text; list-style-type: upper-alpha; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"><li aria-setsize="-1" class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-aria-level="1" data-aria-posinset="5" data-font="Calibri" data-leveltext="%1." data-listid="2" role="listitem" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; display: block; font-family: Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; margin: 0px 0px 0px 24px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW108336831 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{e8d0fba7-1666-49df-9f76-34b19f748c0c}{53}" paraid="642513401" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span class="TextRun SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">E. None of the above</span><span class="EOP SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"134233279":true,"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></p></li></ol></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW108336831" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW108336831 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{e8d0fba7-1666-49df-9f76-34b19f748c0c}{188}" paraid="1162915010" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span class="TextRun SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">I was reminded recently that life is a series of choices. God’s gift of free will, for the most part, gives you and I the choice of how we acknowledge the presence of God among us, and how we shall follow His precepts and obey his commandments. Sometimes there’s a real clear choice. Other times, two or more choices carry equal weight and deserve to be chosen together (as indicated by C and D above). Lately, though, I sense an almost overwhelming movement of rejection of choice, or the choice of ‘none of the above.’</span><span class="EOP SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW108336831 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW108336831 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{94379393-1c63-44aa-b0ac-46b92e591de1}{199}" paraid="116663105" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="TextRun SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW108336831 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW108336831 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{94379393-1c63-44aa-b0ac-46b92e591de1}{199}" paraid="116663105" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span class="TextRun SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW108336831 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">This rejection of choosing correctly manifests itself in the New Testament. Jesus relates the parable of the three servants charged with managing a sum of money. Two invest their portion and double their investment; the third buries his share in the ground, presumably for safe-keeping, a fatal mistake. In the book of </span><span class="NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2 GrammarErrorHighlight SCXW108336831 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-image: var(--urlContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2,url("data:image/svg+xml;base64,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")); background-position: 0% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">Revelation</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW108336831 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> the church at Laodicea (3:14-16ff) this is seen as being neither warm nor cold, but bland and indifferent. The Lord’s reaction is to spit them out of his mouth.</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW108336831 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW108336831 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{e9cb0c5c-f9ee-4693-9413-45458210051b}{92}" paraid="925427687" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="TextRun SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW108336831 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW108336831 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{e9cb0c5c-f9ee-4693-9413-45458210051b}{92}" paraid="925427687" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span class="TextRun SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW108336831 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">That could be us. For a long </span><span class="NormalTextRun ContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2 SCXW108336831 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-image: var(--urlContextualSpellingAndGrammarErrorV2,url("data:image/svg+xml;base64,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")); background-position: 0% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">time</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW108336831 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> it seems we have been moving away from Christ. In our present time, there is movement; but the trend still appears to be moving in the wrong direction. Cancel culture would just love to live in a false utopia where there is no religion, no faith in God, literally ‘none of the above’ that would benefit us and lift us out of the pit of eternal despair we are so close to. That’s why prayer is so important; why spiritual exercise is just as important (and sometimes as demanding) as physical exercise. If we have any hope of turning the tide, we must put God first and turn to Him.</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW108336831 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW108336831 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{0bbf6dcd-e212-4423-b29f-d909fbaf295a}{24}" paraid="946566662" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="TextRun SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW108336831 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: black; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW108336831 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{0bbf6dcd-e212-4423-b29f-d909fbaf295a}{24}" paraid="946566662" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span class="TextRun SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW108336831 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">My other </span><span class="NormalTextRun SpellingErrorV2 SCXW108336831 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-image: var(--urlSpellingErrorV2,url("data:image/svg+xml;base64,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")); background-position: 0% 100%; background-repeat: repeat-x; border-bottom: 1px solid transparent; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;">‘cause</span><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW108336831 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> for pause’ came on the heels of prayer.</span></span><span class="EOP SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW108336831 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW108336831 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{088dfa9b-fea1-47ca-87cf-e90b21541722}{179}" paraid="354800771" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="TextRun SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW108336831 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{088dfa9b-fea1-47ca-87cf-e90b21541722}{179}" paraid="354800771" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span class="TextRun SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">As children we’re taught to ask politely for anything from special treats to help with homework. We have special words that reflect that politeness and respect: “Please” and “Thanks”. Scripture is all over the thanksgiving part, and we do need to work on that. Yet as I go through the treasury of prayers at my disposal, I haven’t found any recently – not one – that petitions God using the word “please” in the context we use to ask our parents or friends or spouses to grant favors or offer help. I know that there has to be some use of that word in prayer somewhere – novena prayers come to mind – but I don’t see the word “please” in the major prayers of the Church or in the liturgy.</span><span class="EOP SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr SCXW108336831 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW108336831 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{bd181d47-a482-4232-b38e-eac5f928ec15}{236}" paraid="1425545398" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="TextRun SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: black; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW108336831 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{bd181d47-a482-4232-b38e-eac5f928ec15}{236}" paraid="1425545398" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span class="TextRun SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-US" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-US">Is our corporate prayer sincere? If we’re making faces with the big, longing and loving (?!) eyes and saying “please” and “thanks” when we want an ice cream cone, should we not approach Our Lord and Our Lady with the same childlike demeanor? Could it be that God would turn the state of things around in less than a heartbeat if we’d just say “please” when we pray? I’m beginning to think it would make a huge difference, when we consider our choices and our choice words.</span><span class="EOP SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW108336831 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{bd181d47-a482-4232-b38e-eac5f928ec15}{236}" paraid="1425545398" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-kerning: none; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span class="EOP SCXW108336831 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: black; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 19.425px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"><span style="color: white;"><br /></span></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW108336831 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{bd181d47-a482-4232-b38e-eac5f928ec15}{236}" paraid="1425545398" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: black; font-size: 14.6667px;">Until we meet again, may God be with you - and may God have mercy on us all...</span></span></p><p class="Paragraph SCXW108336831 BCX8" lang="EN-US" paraeid="{bd181d47-a482-4232-b38e-eac5f928ec15}{236}" paraid="1425545398" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-US"><span face="Calibri, Calibri_EmbeddedFont, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="color: white;"><span style="background-color: black; font-size: 14.6667px;"><b>+the Phoenix</b></span></span></p></div>the Phoenixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05660186448561949243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5694548282372590694.post-90033586204065726742021-05-29T07:35:00.001-05:002021-05-29T07:44:24.267-05:00The Saturday Morning Post: "What We Have Here Is a Failure to Communicate"<p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">May 29, 2021</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><b>Welcome, God and All...</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">This well-known quote (well, to my generation, anyway) from the 1967 motion picture <i>Cool Hand Luke</i> has been on my mind lately. It seems to particularly apply to one of the dearest things in my life, Holy Mother Church. You'd think by now I'd just chalk it up as 'one of <i>those</i> things' and bear it among some of the crosses in life I should quietly bear. I have...but I also have something of a sense that this contributes to the problem.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The sense of a lack of communication runs through the entire spectrum. That is, it's in nearly everything the Church touches. If your experience is different, you have my attention. Someday you'll have to tell me how it's working for you. As a minister, it can be frustrating at times.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I know that local parishes have to deal regularly with the irregularity of deaths within the congregational family. Parish funeral planners have a very short timeframe in which to contact ministers and to meet representatives of the deceased's family to select hymns and scripture readings for the funeral Mass. On some occasions we get to the afternoon before the Mass before we know what has been chosen. I'll cut the planner(s) a little slack because they're dealing with grieving family members who are possibly in a state of shock and confusion about the whole process and the many details those grieving family members have to arrange including the funeral Mass. That's par for the course, but communication issues run deeper than that.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Annually, the parish staff has to plan for the seasons of Advent/Christmas and Lent/Easter; and for the celebrations of First Holy Communion, and the celebration of the Sacrament of Confirmation, when the diocesan Bishop (or his designate) visits the parish. I wonder how much and how early priority is given to arranging all of the details. With the sacred days of the Pascal Triduum it's particularly tricky. Will new converts be received into the Church? How is the order of service properly executed? Who takes responsibility for having the right people or objects in the right place at the right time? How much time do they need in understanding their role(s) so that the liturgy runs smoothly?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Now lay the effects of the pandemic on top of this. It seems that the decision to shut down in mid-March last year was made quickly, but how well was that decision made and how well was it communicated? Now that it appears we have survived the worst of it, how well is the message of <i>okay, it's time to come back now</i> being conveyed? What remains different? What precautions should remain in place for those yet unvaccinated, especially children? Or those immuno-compromised? Will they get the wrong message when their diocesan bishop ends the dispensation from required attendance at Sunday Mass?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">But hang on, dear reader. The real issue runs deeper than this.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Our Church is meant to run with solidarity. The bishops act in collegiality and communion with each other and with the Pope. If you've happened to follow anything coming out of the Church these days, you will note that there's not a lot of unity. German bishops want to allow same-sex marriage (or at least to bless their secular union). There are groups lobbying for married and even female clergy. And when we start dealing with the Church's hot-button issues - abortion, euthanasia, immigration, religious liberty, environmental stewardship - Pope Francis says one thing, some bishops and priests say another, and many try to avoid saying anything at all.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">In just the last week or so, Fr. Michael Pfleger was cleared of abuse charges and will return to his pastorate at St. Sabina Church in Chicago. Those charges were reported in January, so it seems that this was resolved quickly when compared to Australia's Cardinal Pell or America's Theodore McCarrick. Pfleger's case got a lot of attention here in Chicago because of the unique position he's held for nearly the entire length of his priestly ministry - as a white priest and activist in an African-American parish.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Meanwhile, a conservative priest and pastor in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, has been ordered to resign by his diocesan bishop. Fr. James Altman has been quite vocal about how liberal thought and policy are destroying the Church and the fabric of society. Fr. Altman has gone on record against receiving the COVID vaccines. (They have only been approved for emergency use; thus they are considered experimental and anyone taking them is acting as a 'guinea pig'.) He has also gone on record saying that one "cannot be a Democrat and Catholic" - which makes sense, considering the over-the-top political agenda the current administration and Congress are pushing. Compare this to Jesuit priest Fr. James Martin, who is pushing for acceptance of the LBGTQI+ lifestyle as well as gender identity? I don't hear of any superior in the Church suggesting <i>he </i>resign.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Why is it only four of the approximately 300 bishops of the United States made a public point about the promotion of morally obtuse policy by Catholic politicians, particularly President Biden and House Speaker Pelosi? Didn't our Lord Jesus Christ command that they should speak boldly? Do they fear that what happened to John the Baptizer (<i>The Chosen's </i>"Creepy John") could happen to them? In spite of Jesus' frequent reminders of "Be Not Afraid"? (By the way, the call to speak boldly in defense of the Gospel is something <i>all</i> Catholics are enjoined to do.)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">So, when all is said and done...and I know the teachings of the Church we honor this weekend and next are difficult to explain; that we give ourselves to ONE God in THREE distinct 'Persons'; and that Catholics believe on faith that the full, True, and Real Presence of Jesus Christ - Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity - exists in the form of the consecrated unleavened bread and wine. But if we are having this much trouble communicating - if the message isn't strong and clear about what I've written in the last six paragraphs - how can we come to believe in what this last paragraph (and don't forget the commands to "Love one another" and to evangelize) contains???</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">And...lest I forget...how well do we listen???</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Discuss...and, until we meet again, may God be with you - and may God have mercy on us all...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><b>+the Phoenix</b></span></p>the Phoenixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05660186448561949243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5694548282372590694.post-34579761167177870412021-05-22T09:07:00.000-05:002021-05-22T09:07:08.826-05:00The Saturday Morning Post: "We Will Abandon It All..."<p> <span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: x-small;">May 22, 2021</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><b>Welcome, God and All...</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">A couple of days ago, I participated in the funeral Mass of a longtime ministry colleague and friend. He and I spent five years together preparing for service. Since we were practically neighbors at the time (living two blocks apart), we traveled together to our formation classes and retreats. This allowed for the two (or three) gathered in the name of the Lord, and His silent inspiration allowed the two of us to engage in the lively art of conversation while we shared this part of our life pilgrimage; not unlike the two disciples on the road to Emmaus (Luke 24).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I recall as if it were only a short time ago that my friend said that he felt his journey toward God was as if he were alone on a small boat with no oars or sail, taken by the winds and waves of the Holy Spirit to wherever he was being led. I was reminded of that in an episode of <i>The Chosen,</i> where Peter first encounters Jesus on the fishing boat - although there were sails and oars on it, the waters were very still, the winds were calm.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I still look back on diaconal formation and see myself and my colleagues channeling the fabled Three (times four) Musketeers. <i>All for one and one for all. </i>We would go out and transform the world by being deacons and beacons of light. We were prepared to say yes to God for anything. We were cautioned that it wouldn't be easy, but with Jesus in our corner, that didn't seem to be a great concern. We would learn otherwise quickly.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">My story is detailed throughout this blog. I didn't readily consider my young family, and I certainly did not know then that I would be blessed (and I do consider myself blessed) with a son with developmental disabilities. My friend, along with most of the rest of my colleagues, were all older and their children out on their own. Still, both of us were burdened almost out of the starting gate by receiving new pastors who didn't necessarily see themselves parceling out pastoral-based ministry on subordinates. My friend managed to reach the diocesan office for clergy and religious and got himself reassigned until that pastor himself was reassigned a few years later. Me? No such luck - but looking back now, I came to realize that the path on which I now traveled in my pilgrimage was meant for me.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Not long after my son and I moved back to our old stomping grounds, there was a gathering at my old home parish that I attended. It so happened that three deacons (all named Bob) were there for the festivities, and we all gathered with the pastor as an unintended photo op. The elder among us had laid a nephew to rest some years ago. They had both just 'retired' from active ministry as health concerns prevented keeping what could easily have been (as I learn from other 'brothers' in ministry) a very busy schedule. I recall saying that one never fully retires from ordained ministry. I meant that, since there is always the burden of the ministry of prayer. And not unlike swimming against the current, I took to posting meditations and reflections such as the one you are now reading.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">In spite of obstacles, I have been kept busy. Just when life seems to be stalling, God provides. While cautious, opportunities seem to find me, and I find myself accepting the call to serve. At home, I am finding answers to perhaps my biggest challenge; that is, being diaconal to my developmentally challenged son. How it is best to seemingly over-promote encouragement when he remembers to do the simple things many parents would ordinarily take for granted. To guide him, like the Good Shepherd, when he needs direction. To participate in all things in a spirit of cooperation; to prioritize challenges and ultimately release frustration privately in prayer. To allow God to utilize me or set me aside, as <i>He </i>wills. This latter can best be summarized this way: <i>Expect nothing, but prepare for anything.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I missed my friend long ago, when our paths diverged from the common road on which we traveled. I miss him more today, as I know is now among the growing list of people for whom I pray that God has already taken into Paradise. The good news for today is that we recognized that we learned much from each other. This helped us both to grow and mature in faith. It's one of the most important things a person must do with the life and graces God gives him...her...and you...and me.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Until we meet again, may God be with you...and may God pour out his Spirit of mercy on us all...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><b>+the Phoenix</b></span></p>the Phoenixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05660186448561949243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5694548282372590694.post-8630782549776758192021-05-13T13:05:00.005-05:002021-05-13T13:12:16.879-05:00Making The Rough Places Plain: A Public Display of Affection<p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><i>a reflection from my archives</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">May 13, 2021 (original date May 13, 2015)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The Memorial of Our Lady of Fatima</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Welcome, God and All...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">For seven years now, when I enter cyberspace (and in particular, Facebook) each morning one of the first things I do is to acknowledge God's presence. After all, aren't we as Christians supposed to believe and acknowledge that He is everywhere? On some days, I have something on my mind that's come directly from the spirit within me. Those I consider 'original'. Other days, I look to other sources for inspiration. They can be graphics shared by others, Bible verses, even music clips from You Tube. These are prefaced with a simple "Good Morning, God..." and I am then about other tasks. This is not a unique thing - I mean, I am not the only holy fool who throws thoughts, sentiments, and devotion into something short enough to satisfy Twitter (even though I do not use that particular service) and share it across a social media website. Some days I may see a handful of 'likes' and even a comment or two. It's nice to know others are reading these, but I'm not doing this for personal praise or attention. Other days go by with no reaction at all. I'm not a celebrity, world or local leader; and everyone I know has busy lives to live.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">So I was a little surprised to see a comment with a question mark after a post one morning in which I shared a verse from Saint Paul; specifically Romans 15:4, in which he states that everything written in the past (here he's talking about the Old Testament and other related texts) was done to teach us in the present, and that through strength and encouragement taught in these words, we might have hope. Hope is something I want to bank as much as possible. In 2014, I lost my main source of employment, my wife, and my mother; all in the span of five weeks. I became a widower at 59 years of age, caring for an autistic adult son; without a lot in the way of tangible resources to sustain us for the long haul.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">The question: Why do I talk to God via social media? Why not do this in private prayer?</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">It is a good question. After all, in Matthew 6:6 Jesus teaches that when we pray, we should "go to our inner room, close the door, and pray to our Father in secret." This in turn is followed by Jesus giving us His own words - the Lord's Prayer. Yet in the previous chapter, Jesus also says that we are the 'light of the world' and that nobody lights a lamp and puts it under a bushel basket, but rather on a lampstand where its light shines for everyone (cf. Matt 5:14-15). Honestly, this means there is space for both intimate dialogue with God and public displays of affection. Several feeds to which I subscribe like to quote Matthew 10:32-33. Those two verses exhort us to acknowledge Jesus Christ before others; denying Him before others will result in being denied before God. This flows further from verse 27 of the same chapter; what Jesus says in private, proclaim in public. This is my public proclamation.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">I started posting these prayers daily initially as a form of spiritual therapy. Because of my losses, I had to hold on to hope. Hope that I could overcome grief. Hope that I could discern where God is leading me next, and the tremendous changes I am undergoing. Hope that I will not lose sight of what is truly important. Hope that I will allow God to lift me and my son up to the next level. All this in a world where self-centered indifference to God has become very much apparent. Once I started I knew I didn't want to stop. It came to me that, while sorting out what I should do next, I should take up the vocation of prayer, public as well as private. The pay is lousy but the benefits are out of this world!</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">I'm no scholar; no expert on coping with grief. I won't win any literary awards and I'm certainly not vying for the Nobel Peace Prize. Still, I will offer praise to God daily, in a modest public display of affection. Whenever I see a 'like' or comment, I lift up those friends in prayer as well. I don't have to know anything else. You see, I firmly believe that there's nobody - absolutely nobody - that isn't in need of prayer for someone or something. We're supposed to love our enemies and pray for our persecutors. As 'light of the world' we're called to be light-bearers, witnesses alive by and for the mercy and love of Christ. No doubt there will be great temptation and pressure to do otherwise. But if that tide can be withstood, even turned, so that more are earnest in prayer and publicly united in Christ, the foundation laid by Jesus is built up and the fog we walk in clears, the crooked ways are made straight, and the rough places made plain.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">(c) 2015 Robert P. Balsamo</span></p>the Phoenixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05660186448561949243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5694548282372590694.post-24519561533729853362021-04-21T13:53:00.001-05:002021-04-21T13:53:08.189-05:00Making The Rough Places Plain: There's Truth in Reality<p> <span style="font-family: Calibri;">A reflection from the archives of <i>The Saturday Morning Post</i>, April 21, 2018</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">April 21, 2021</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Greetings, God and All...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Three years ago, before there was even a hint that face covering use would become a way of life and there weren't social guides and other sorts of gatekeepers at the doors of the church, mosque, or synagogue of your choice, I had the inspiration to reflect on just how far the faith had made effective use of social media in the mission of evangelization. Even as I was preparing to relocate my son and myself to new and yet familiar surroundings, little did I know then...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Back in my early days, the days before hundreds of television channels via cable and internet streams, the local channels offered programs of a religious genre. The Lutheran Church offered <i>The Lutheran Hour</i> and <i>Davey and Goliath.</i> The Jewish community aired a program for children called <i>The Magic Door.</i> Catholics were treated to <i>Life Is Worth Living,</i> presented by the great orator of the 1950s and 1960s, Bishop Fulton J. Sheen. Little by little, broadcast regulations changed and these programs were replaced by news programs, extended versions of <i>Meet The Press </i>and similar “panel discussion” programs. Religious programming might have died altogether were it not for people who would finance the evangelical Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN), the (Catholic) Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) and shows by a growing number of non-denominational “televangelists” including Creflo A. Dollar, Reverend Ike, and more recently, Joel Osteen.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: x-large;">EWTN began on a wing and a prayer in 1981. Broadcasting only a few hours a day at first, from the very beginning daily Mass was presented. Locally in Chicago, “Mass For Shut-Ins” was aired on Sunday mornings. It’s bounced across several channels over the years and had a name change, but to this day those who search for it can still find it. In the age of live video streaming over the Internet, it is now possible not only to watch EWTN’s broadcasts, but local churches are presenting their services to the citizens of cyberspace as well. Two of my friends’ churches, as well as the Catholic community at the Marytown shrine in Libertyville, Illinois, are able to be viewed with just a few mouse clicks.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: x-large;">I am a big fan of this accessibility to what I’ll call ‘virtual’ church. For those with limited mobility, this brings the Church home and gives people the opportunity to hear God’s word preached and to pray (often in real time) with a community of faith. It is a boon to the sick and homebound. For me, it is an invitation to create a better prayer environment at home by opening a ‘window’ to an active house of prayer or dedicated chapel for devotion. I use this environment to pray the Divine Office (Liturgy of the Hours) along with audio podcasts of the texts. The devotions of the Rosary and Chaplet of Divine Mercy and much more can be found through YouTube, along with beautiful representation of sacred art from paintings to stained glass windows and accompanied by classical sacred music.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: x-large;">My introduction to this online presence came from my late wife, Diane. She came across several devotional websites while researching curriculum for Nick, recipes, handicraft projects, and her own personal studies. I was indeed grateful for her legwork which indicated that some devoted people were indeed making use of modern technology as a resource for anyone able to access it. I continue to look for these and other sites and the treasures they might offer. I’m truly thankful to have this at my disposal.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: x-large;">For all its good and its potential outreach to anyone almost anywhere, however, it should not be considered a sole substitute for active participation in worship or liturgy for anyone apart from those confined for serious reasons. Take enough of the congregation out of the pews of churches, and the virtual outlets will dry up and wither away. Virtual church puts ultimate control of attention to content in the hands of the user. Even in my own experience, there are times where the distractions of time and place take me away from the extended sanctuary I have opened. There is also the danger of turning off preaching that is unsettling or doesn’t line up with an under-formed personal sense of spirituality, even when the source material is as good as it possibly gets.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: x-large;">This takes on another dimension when you consider receiving the sacraments. There’s no way to receive Holy Communion through a TV or computer screen, regardless of denomination. With the Catholic teaching of the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharistic elements of bread and wine, the graces we seek through reception of this sacrament just aren’t accessible through a virtual environment.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: x-large;">It is important, therefore, to keep in mind an understanding to have a virtual presence available to those who truly need it and can benefit by it. This presence is of great help to sustain us throughout the week when our schedules are full; reminding us that God works 24/7 and that at any given time or place, we can interact with Him. Relying on virtual presence alone, though, leaves us still hungry for the sacred food and drink which sustains us on our pilgrimage to eternal life; and the companionship of other disciples and believers along the way.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: x-large;">---</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: x-large;">...How prophetic those words became, so it seems. I was more than willing and eager to participate in the establishing the virtual Church environment, going online months before churches would reopen, with capacity restraints and sanitary guidelines and social guides to oversee it all.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Has it been effective, even as a stop-gap measure?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">That's hard to say. I don't have access to the numbers, and they vary from place to place. What I do know, and didn't think of three years ago, is that there's always a cost involved.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The cost, in terms of number of people, is probably negligible. Church attendance, already in a declining slope before the pandemic, has continued to decline, judging by the numbers of users watching services through online livestream. There's a financial cost as well; domains such as YouTube and Facebook are looking to how many users access livestream sites. If a consistent average isn't met over time, content providers (churches, etc.) will have a harder time getting content up and running. Then there's the equipment needed, anywhere from recording on a cell phone to the more sophisticated TV-quality audio-visual equipment and editing software. Plus, any copyrighted content must be properly licensed for broadcast, whether over-the-air or livestream.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">For all that, I believe that if it connects one person to a continual nurturing and awareness of the spirit within, it's worth the cost. In practical terms, however, being able to sustain that is a difficult decision; one that few congregations can genuinely afford while at the same time make the push to get people to return to in-person worship.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Both of the Catholic congregations in which I had worked to provide online access recently stopped doing so. Numbers were flat; costs to livestream would increase; and the copyright license was up for renewal. I can't get upset over the decisions made, especially since most are in agreement that this was supposed to be a temporary solution due to the effects of the COVID pandemic...along with the points covered in the reflection I wrote three years ago.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Other congregations and dioceses continue to offer livestream and see it as an important tool to remain connected, especially to the most vulnerable and the homebound, as well as those who are possibly watching these programs in slots other than real-time. In a media market such as mine in metropolitan Chicago, there are several sources that have been established for a while and these are most likely to remain. Other newcomers to social media may retain an online presence because they see value in it that makes its expense an investment. My prayer is that we are not cutting off access prematurely, as variants to COVID and the uncertainty of many regarding the infection rate and the effectiveness of the vaccines - not to mention the politicization of the pandemic and the response to it - add to the division within our country and our congregations. If the Good Shepherd would leave 99 faithful in His lush pastures to find one lost sheep, then we must take this to heart and continue to show places where access remains to those who seek it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Until we meet again, may the God of mercy be with you...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><b>+the Phoenix</b></span></p>the Phoenixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05660186448561949243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5694548282372590694.post-44366057900847816562021-04-01T15:21:00.000-05:002021-04-01T15:21:04.475-05:00Making The Rough Places Plain: Reboot, Refresh, or Restore?<p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: x-small;">April 1, 2021</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><i>Stay here and keep watch with me; the hour has come</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><i>Stay here and keep watch with me; watch and pray...</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">(<i>cf.</i> Matthew 26:36 ff.)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><i>"It starts." </i>(Rafiki, <i>The Lion King</i>)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><b>Welcome, God and All...</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">As spring's coming has breathed some new life into Planet Mother Earth, and the pace of vaccination for COVID-19 has stepped up, we have come upon the sacred days of the Passover and its twin, the Triduum (three days) of the Lord's Passion, Death and Resurrection.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I'm hearing something of a relative paradox. Here in my corner of the Kingdom on Earth, churches are reopening; some for the first time in a year. And their leaders are worried, because the metrics on which they decided they could safely reopen - their open window of opportunity - could just as easily slam shut as those metrics are again trending in the wrong direction.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">If I understand correctly, two main reasons for this latest disturbing concern stem from <i>a)</i> under thirty-somethings throwing caution to the wind and heading to the Florida and Texas (and probably California) beaches to 'celebrate' winter's end; coupled with <i>b) </i>the aforementioned and half of the rest of us ignoring the mandates to wear face masks and stay six feet away from each other. This issue especially is controversial and has been from the beginning as many do not believe the mandates are needed - and where they are in place, don't have any legal standing behind them.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">In short, we are battling ourselves and have yet to understand that as much as this virus mutates, so we must also change our behavior - radically, so it seems - to even stand a chance of containing it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I also learned this week (it's amazing that these studies and poll results are so perfectly timed) that a Gallup poll has indicated that less than half of the American populace have membership in a church. This is not related to COVID-19; the trend has been heading downward for a long time now. Nearly 75 years ago that number was somewhere around 75 percent. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">To hear that actual attendance is trending upward at the moment understates the facts that in January attendance was awfully low in those places that were open, and of course zero in churches, mosques, and synagogues that weren't. Plus, I must remember that we're under capacity restrictions. The Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in our nation's capital has a seating capacity of ten thousand people; yet they're only allowed to admit 250 at present for any given service. One of my spiritual "brothers" recently made the observation that 90 percent of attendees at Mass lately have grey hair. (And the other ten percent have no hair, so I observe.)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Still, it is good to be able to start - somewhere - and I am thankful to God to be allowed the privilege, as it were, to do this year what I could not last year; even if it's only a fraction of what I was doing two years ago in any single place. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I must also confess something. As a church musician whose livelihood was affected for a time by the onset of the pandemic, I looked wherever I could to stay active. It stems from part of my life's story, detailed elsewhere in these pages, as to the how and why I became a "wandering minstrel" for Christ. The long and the short of it is (and timing is indeed a blessing considered here) that God has granted me the grace to sing his praises in multiple congregations once more. With the continuing approach to using cyberspace and broadcast communication, the effort continues to reach out to many who might not hear the word of God or the prayerful inspiration of the ministers involved.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">In my youth I fantasized that I would one day be recognized on public media like TV and radio. I realize that God allowed this into my life in His own way. I have stumbled through this many times. I am thankful that He, the risen Jesus, still raises me up.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Know that the resurrected Lord is still in control here. I don't think I need to go back and recap the story today. I'm not sure there are many people with the patience to listen, even though they should. Go and worship Him with all your being. Attend a service at a house of worship if you can and are able. Take advantage of opportunities that are provided by the media, even if they're not widely publicized (as in ask, and you shall receive). Make a joyful noise unto the Lord. Make it loud enough for all around to hear. We can - with God's help - reverse the disturbing trends that plague our time, by turning to the One who turned the world upside down, yet still holds it - lovingly - in His hands.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Until we meet again, know that the risen Lord died for you so that he could be with you...and pray that He continues to have mercy on us all...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><b>+the Phoenix</b></span></p>the Phoenixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05660186448561949243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5694548282372590694.post-28067699107815317872021-03-20T11:58:00.005-05:002021-05-13T13:16:02.997-05:00The Saturday Morning Post: Spring Has Sprung<p> <span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: x-small;">March 20, 2021</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Good Morning, God and All...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Spring Fever. March Madness. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">All of us have experienced our own version of these.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">It was one year ago that we came to a new experience; one that we didn't want or ask for. We're still living that, now amplified by reminders that winter's back has been (for the most part) broken. Aren't we looking for <i>any </i>reason to break the chains under which we have been burdened for...forever, it seems?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I confess I haven't written in a couple of weeks. While I was indeed recovering from an infected fingernail, that is something of an excuse. I have been running dry in the reflection department. That's easy when the cycle of events continues to remind me of...(how can I best state it?)...<i>"the waywardness that is ours". </i>as the Church states so eloquently in one of her many prayers.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">In a recent reflection I wrote that often Lent calls us to 'make room' for our spiritual life to grow. Much like spring cleaning, when we're able to open the windows and let fresher air in, so also it is a time to do the same thing in a spiritual sense. I might not necessarily appreciate the process when it happens, but in the end I experience the blessings that come with it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Rather than writing, I have been reading. Facebook has been pleased to remind me of the reflections I posted there from years past, and also of the time before FB when I posted regularly here. Yes, I unwittingly wrote them so that I would remember to read them when God felt I needed to, because in my feeble mind His holy Word simply wouldn't be enough. Not every one is a diamond in the rough, but none of them have ever been removed from my repository in cyberspace. I'm thankful it's still there, uncensored by anyone - especially me.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I have also been watching, looking for something refreshing as opposed to the airing of "classic" TV or the less satisfying current offerings on the tube. I found <i>The Chosen. </i>I don't know how I managed to miss it last year; maybe I was drowning in the sorrow that churches around the world had closed their doors to prevent spread of the pandemic - which was supposed to help 'flatten the curve in two weeks'. Needless to say that didn't work.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I found what so far has made Lent for me. The first season of eight shows is available to watch for free online. A second season will begin on Easter Sunday. Financial support to produce and air the program was done through crowdfunding. Millions have viewed the first season and are anticipating the show's return.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I am thankful for the opportunity to have seen this so far. More than a generic run through the Gospels or in a musical setting where the nuances can interfere with the storytelling, <i>The Chosen</i> appeals to me as a character study of the people who are part of the story. I won't go into great detail here - you really should see it for yourself. As with any retelling or reimagining of the Gospels, the producers have taken dramatic liberties in suggesting some of the characters' backstories and dialogue. All I can say to that is that nothing I've seen would have been impossible. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I have been praying that hearts would be unlocked. Change is always difficult, especially when we are forced into it (as it seems we nearly always are). In the heat of the moment, frustration that undesired things are happening - or that desired things aren't happening fast enough - is all too common. But when I set the moment aside, giving it to God, I realize I am still His. I forget my troubles - including my place in the hymn I might be singing at the time.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The arrival of Spring is one big reminder that the glorious splendor of Easter is near. I don't intend to let it pass by, like I had to one year ago. I pray you take care, and recall the ultimate act of love for all of us...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">...Until we meet again, may God be with us; and have mercy on us...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><b>+the Phoenix</b></span></p>the Phoenixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05660186448561949243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5694548282372590694.post-40871309723317666322021-03-06T11:08:00.001-06:002021-03-06T11:08:27.565-06:00The Saturday Morning Post: Courtly Zeal for a Nearly Empty House Still Consumes Me<p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">March 6, 2021</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><b>Good Morning, God and All...</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><i>Zeal for your house will consume me </i>(John 2:17; <i>cf. </i>Psalm 69:10).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><i>Better one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere </i>(Psalm 84:11).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Nearly a year has passed since the COVID-19 pandemic sent many of us into a sort of exile.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">(Note: I'm largely avoiding the politicizing of the issue. At the moment what matters most to me is how it has shaped our relationship with God. I promise to be brief, even to the point of leaving thoughts incomplete as I'm still dealing with the aftereffects of an injury to one of my fingers, the tip of which is still a bit tender.)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">From March until July last year, the House of God was <i>off limits.</i> The Church (at least in the US) closed their doors and the 'celebration' of Mass limited to broadcast and streaming media. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I wrote back in 2009 about the passage from Saint John's Gospel referenced above; where Jesus displays (righteous) anger over, as he puts it, turning the House of God into a marketplace - or at the very least, putting the atmosphere of said marketplace ahead of a place of prayer and worship. Oddly, I mentioned that the Church of today did not discourage passersby the opportunity to enter and pray. I want to believe that there are still churches that are allowing this, given capacity and other restrictions still in place here and around the world.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I wrote back then about a sense of a museum-like atmosphere in our church buildings. You know, look but don't touch; don't stray from your group; refrain from excessive talking. If anything, the pandemic has added to this atmosphere. Face coverings keep us from singing and some from even saying "amen" to the prayers of the Mass. Capacity limits and the necessity of social distancing leaves us with hastily taped-up signs and roped-off seating. And that's once you get in. Sadly, many churches have locked their doors other than for scheduled services. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Still, I was thankful when Catholic churches in my area were able to reopen. Other denominations chose to remain closed, relying strictly on live-streaming or parking lot worship from the (in)convenience of your automobile; even during the bitter cold of the winter now turning to spring. How those two verses from the Psalms, echoed by Jesus, have come to mean to me!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">There's a popular Catholic hymn whose verses are drawn from four verses of the book of the Old Testament prophet Hosea. Its refrain still echoes today God's longing to reach out to us: <i>Long have I waited for your coming home to me and living deeply our new life.</i> What does this mean today, when access to God's 'home' is still restricted? And for some, decided against because of fears stemming from the pandemic? Well, let's start with God's longing for you, for me, for us. Shouldn't that open and deepen in us a longing for God? How is that longing to be satisfied if we make excuses and not efforts? How do we expect to be consumed by a loving God when we come up with any number of reasons to avoid going to Him, even in private prayer at home or wherever you are?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">A year ago, we were suddenly cut off from God, here in the (supposed) "land of the living." This year, we are able - in reduced numbers - to offer our praise, air our concerns, and be fed by His Word on His 'turf.' But just as important, we are offered ways to bring God's home into ours. I pray that many who are sitting on the fence do this in spite of the many temptations that would draw us away. Who knows? Could it make for overflowing houses of worship when people finally determine it's safe to remove the signs, and the tape, and the ropes off the pews?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">(I got a second wind...and I had actually wanted to offer a reflection on the next part last week but it would have taken forever to type it out one-handed. However, it dovetails in nicely here.)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">To help satiate (at least for a time) this longing for God usually involves altering one or more patterns of our behavior, or habits. This is the longer and more accurate definition of self-sacrifice, or "giving up something" as a Lenten offering. I suggest giving some thought to the suggestions I offer below.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><i>Make a realistic goal, and what steps to take to accomplish it.</i> It's comparable to making New Year's resolutions, but on a spiritual level. Realize that it's an ongoing commitment. One should not abstain from sweets with the goal of losing ten pounds only to binge eat after Easter and put on fifteen. Now this doesn't mean you can't reward yourself - after all, as I've pointed out before, Sundays are always observed as reminders of the glorious resurrection of Christ and do not count as part of Lent's "forty" days. God rested on the Sabbath - and so should you. But if you're able, maintaining your commitment each and every day is possible by God's abundant grace.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><i>It's not a competition.</i> Don't try to do one big thing when a few smaller things can be more beneficial to others as well as yourself. There's always the annual running gag about Lenten give-ups, and trust me, the best ones have already been taken. As we've endured some difficult weather systems over the last few weeks, a few have suggested giving up winter for Lent. (Really, that will happen anyway and it's not under our direct control when.) Pope Benedict XVI made near the top of the list when he gave up (resigned) his office in 2013. Then there are those bent on giving up Lent as if it weren't there. Or worse - simply giving up. They need our prayers and ultimately encouragement to take up the mantle of making room for Christ in our hearts and homes. The biggest give-up? That is to what our Lenten journey ultimately leads us - Jesus giving up his life on the Holy Cross for our sake.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><i>It's never too late to start - </i>but one should start somewhere. Don't be afraid to ask for help and keep asking. Jesus has promised that you will receive help along the way.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Until we meet again, may God be with you...and may God have mercy on us all...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><b>+the Phoenix</b></span></p>the Phoenixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05660186448561949243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5694548282372590694.post-55619672197426173612021-02-20T11:38:00.000-06:002021-02-20T11:38:21.080-06:00Making The Rough Places Plain: You've Got "Knee" Mail<p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">a reflection from the archives of <i>The Saturday Morning Post </i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">February 20, 2016</span> </p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;"><b>Good Morning, God and All...</b></span></p><p dir="auto" style="animation-name: none !important; background-color: #242526; color: #e4e6eb; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; letter-spacing: -0.41px; line-height: 24px; margin: 16px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; transition-property: none !important; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="animation-name: none !important; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none !important;">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.</span></p><p style="animation-name: none !important; background-color: #242526; color: #e4e6eb; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; letter-spacing: -0.41px; line-height: 24px; margin: 16px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; transition-property: none !important; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.41px;">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.</span></p><p style="animation-name: none !important; background-color: #242526; color: #e4e6eb; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; letter-spacing: -0.41px; line-height: 24px; margin: 16px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; transition-property: none !important; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.41px;">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.</span></p><p style="animation-name: none !important; background-color: #242526; color: #e4e6eb; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; letter-spacing: -0.41px; line-height: 24px; margin: 16px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; transition-property: none !important; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.41px;">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.</span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.41px;"> </span></p><p dir="auto" style="animation-name: none !important; background-color: #242526; color: #e4e6eb; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; letter-spacing: -0.41px; line-height: 24px; margin: 16px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; transition-property: none !important; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="animation-name: none !important; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none !important;">What takes the cake, though, is this response from The Donald himself:</span></p><p style="animation-name: none !important; background-color: #242526; color: #e4e6eb; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; letter-spacing: -0.41px; line-height: 24px; margin: 16px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; transition-property: none !important; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.41px;"><i>"No leader, especially a religious leader, should have the right to question another man's religion or faith."</i></span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.41px;"> </span></p><p dir="auto" style="animation-name: none !important; background-color: #242526; color: #e4e6eb; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; letter-spacing: -0.41px; line-height: 24px; margin: 16px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; transition-property: none !important; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="animation-name: none !important; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none !important;">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'.</span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.41px;"> </span></p><p dir="auto" style="animation-name: none !important; background-color: #242526; color: #e4e6eb; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; letter-spacing: -0.41px; line-height: 24px; margin: 16px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; transition-property: none !important; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="animation-name: none !important; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none !important;">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.</span></p><p dir="auto" style="animation-name: none !important; background-color: #242526; color: #e4e6eb; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; letter-spacing: -0.41px; line-height: 24px; margin: 16px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; transition-property: none !important; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="animation-name: none !important; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none !important;">Until we meet again, may God be with you...and may God have mercy on us all.... <b>+the Phoenix</b></span></p>the Phoenixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05660186448561949243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5694548282372590694.post-84687972079630725662021-02-20T09:35:00.010-06:002021-02-20T09:35:58.643-06:00The Saturday Morning Post: Blame The Groundhog<p><span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-family: Calibri;">February 20, 2021</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Times New Roman'; mso-fareast-font-family: SimSun; mso-spacerun: 'yes';"> </span><b><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Good Morning, God and All…</span></b></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It was only a month ago that the 46</span><sup><span style="font-family: Calibri; vertical-align: super;">th</span></sup><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> 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.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">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.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">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, </span><i><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Remember that thou art dust, and unto dust thou shalt return!</span></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">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.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">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 </span><i><span style="font-family: Calibri;">next </span></i><span style="font-family: Calibri;">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.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">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.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">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.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: x-large;">Until we meet again, may God be with you - and may God have mercy on us all…</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">+the Phoenix</span></span></b></p>the Phoenixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05660186448561949243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5694548282372590694.post-47887541075081747812021-02-18T07:37:00.002-06:002021-02-18T07:37:57.123-06:00Making The Rough Places Plain: Division By Zero<p> a reflection from the archives of <i>The Saturday Morning Post</i></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">February 18, 2017</span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"> </span></p><p dir="auto" style="animation-name: none !important; background-color: #242526; color: #e4e6eb; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; letter-spacing: -0.41px; line-height: 24px; margin: 16px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; transition-property: none !important; white-space: pre-wrap;"><u style="animation-name: none !important; transition-property: none !important;"><span style="animation-name: none !important; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none !important;">A House Divided </span></u></p><p style="animation-name: none !important; background-color: #242526; color: #e4e6eb; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; letter-spacing: -0.41px; line-height: 24px; margin: 16px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; transition-property: none !important; white-space: pre-wrap;"> </p><p dir="auto" style="animation-name: none !important; background-color: #242526; color: #e4e6eb; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; letter-spacing: -0.41px; line-height: 24px; margin: 16px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; transition-property: none !important; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="animation-name: none !important; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none !important;">“A house divided against itself cannot stand.” </span><i style="animation-name: none !important; transition-property: none !important;">--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</i></p><p style="animation-name: none !important; background-color: #242526; color: #e4e6eb; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; letter-spacing: -0.41px; line-height: 24px; margin: 16px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; transition-property: none !important; white-space: pre-wrap;"> <span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.41px;">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.</span></p><p style="animation-name: none !important; background-color: #242526; color: #e4e6eb; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; letter-spacing: -0.41px; line-height: 24px; margin: 16px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; transition-property: none !important; white-space: pre-wrap;"> <span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.41px;">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.</span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.41px;"> </span></p><p dir="auto" style="animation-name: none !important; background-color: #242526; color: #e4e6eb; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; letter-spacing: -0.41px; line-height: 24px; margin: 16px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; transition-property: none !important; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="animation-name: none !important; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none !important;">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.</span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.41px;"> </span></p><p dir="auto" style="animation-name: none !important; background-color: #242526; color: #e4e6eb; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; letter-spacing: -0.41px; line-height: 24px; margin: 16px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; transition-property: none !important; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="animation-name: none !important; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none !important;">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? </span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.41px;"> </span></p><p dir="auto" style="animation-name: none !important; background-color: #242526; color: #e4e6eb; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; letter-spacing: -0.41px; line-height: 24px; margin: 16px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; transition-property: none !important; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="animation-name: none !important; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none !important;">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 </span><i style="animation-name: none !important; transition-property: none !important;">Confessions</i><span style="animation-name: none !important; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none !important;"> (Book 8, Chapter 8) describes his conversion experience as being "a house divided against itself."</span></p><p style="animation-name: none !important; background-color: #242526; color: #e4e6eb; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; letter-spacing: -0.41px; line-height: 24px; margin: 16px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; transition-property: none !important; white-space: pre-wrap;"> <span style="animation-name: none !important; font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.41px; transition-property: none !important;">In Thomas Paine's 1776 </span><i style="animation-name: none !important; letter-spacing: -0.41px; transition-property: none !important;">Common Sense</i><span style="animation-name: none !important; font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.41px; transition-property: none !important;">, 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.</span></p><p style="animation-name: none !important; background-color: #242526; color: #e4e6eb; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; letter-spacing: -0.41px; line-height: 24px; margin: 16px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; transition-property: none !important; white-space: pre-wrap;"> <span style="animation-name: none !important; font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.41px; transition-property: none !important;">Now, reconsider this: in last week's Message, I wrote:</span><i style="animation-name: none !important; letter-spacing: -0.41px; transition-property: none !important;"> "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><span style="animation-name: none !important; font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.41px; transition-property: none !important;"> 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.</span></p><p style="animation-name: none !important; background-color: #242526; color: #e4e6eb; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; letter-spacing: -0.41px; line-height: 24px; margin: 16px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; transition-property: none !important; white-space: pre-wrap;"> <span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.41px;">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.</span></p><p style="animation-name: none !important; background-color: #242526; color: #e4e6eb; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; letter-spacing: -0.41px; line-height: 24px; margin: 16px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; transition-property: none !important; white-space: pre-wrap;"> <span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.41px;">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.</span></p><p style="animation-name: none !important; background-color: #242526; color: #e4e6eb; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; letter-spacing: -0.41px; line-height: 24px; margin: 16px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; transition-property: none !important; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="animation-name: none !important; font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.41px; transition-property: none !important;">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 </span><i style="animation-name: none !important; letter-spacing: -0.41px; transition-property: none !important;">Don Quixote's</i><span style="animation-name: none !important; font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.41px; transition-property: none !important;"> 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.</span></p><p style="animation-name: none !important; background-color: #242526; color: #e4e6eb; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; letter-spacing: -0.41px; line-height: 24px; margin: 16px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; transition-property: none !important; white-space: pre-wrap;"> <span style="font-family: inherit; letter-spacing: -0.41px;">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.</span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.41px;"> </span></p><p dir="auto" style="animation-name: none !important; background-color: #242526; color: #e4e6eb; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; letter-spacing: -0.41px; line-height: 24px; margin: 16px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; transition-property: none !important; white-space: pre-wrap;"><span style="animation-name: none !important; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none !important;">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.</span></p>the Phoenixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05660186448561949243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5694548282372590694.post-39620350588157314212021-02-06T08:57:00.004-06:002021-02-06T08:57:42.007-06:00The Saturday Morning Post: This One's About Me<p>February 6, 2021</p><p> <span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Good Morning, God and All...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">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.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">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.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">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?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">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.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">See that negative attitude creeping in? I apologize for burdening you with it, even as it's the tip of a </span><i style="font-family: Calibri;">Titanic-</i><span style="font-family: Calibri;">wrecking iceberg if I were to continue down that path. Let me concentrate on what should be my mantra:</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Thankful that I rise each morning as a gift from God</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">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.</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Thankful that I am still able to share my abilities, and the occasional knowledge that it does make a difference</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Thankful that while dodging several 'bullets' I have not contracted Covid-19!</span></li><li><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">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.</span></li></ul><div><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">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.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">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.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">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. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Until we meet again, may God be with us...and may God have mercy on us all...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">+the Phoenix</span></div><p></p>the Phoenixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05660186448561949243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5694548282372590694.post-66757358492105492132021-02-05T18:19:00.003-06:002021-12-09T11:39:55.958-06:00The Saturday Morning Post: If There's A Bright Spot in the Universe, Our Nation's Capital is the Place it's Farthest From<p> <span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Good Morning, God and All...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">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. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">The darkness that accompanies the season is not only external. It's internal, too.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">As if on cue, on Friday - the 48th anniversary of the US Supreme Court ruling in <i>Roe v. Wade</i> - 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.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">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. </span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">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. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It therefore becomes the burden of future generations to correct the mistakes of the past.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">There were hopes that through attrition and new appointments to the high court that a reversal of <i>Roe v. Wade</i> 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.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">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. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">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?</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">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.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">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.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">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.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p>the Phoenixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05660186448561949243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5694548282372590694.post-57442170813170215592021-01-20T13:29:00.005-06:002021-01-20T13:31:52.759-06:00Making The Rough Places Plain: A Political Carol<p> <span style="font-family: Calibri;">a reflection from the archives of <i>The Saturday Morning Post</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri;">January 20, 2018</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><b><u>The Ghosts of Politicians Past, Present, and Yet to Come</u></b></span></p><p style="animation-name: none; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; letter-spacing: -0.41px; line-height: 24px; margin: 16px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; transition-property: none;"><span style="animation-name: none; background-color: black; color: white; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none;">The US Constitution provides for the dates on which newly elected federal legislators take an oath and begin their work in their respective office of government. The 20th Amendment, adopted on January 23, 1932, set the date of January 3 for members of Congress, and January 20 for the President and Vice-President. </span></p><p style="animation-name: none; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; letter-spacing: -0.41px; line-height: 24px; margin: 16px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; transition-property: none;"><span style="animation-name: none; background-color: black; color: white; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none;">Politics has always been at odds with Christian discipleship. Most likely it’s because the human will is at odds with the divine will, and has been since…well, forever. The history of the kings of Israel and Judah reveal that there’s a baseline sense of spirituality and morality that many struggled to reach and others tried to redefine.</span></p><p style="animation-name: none; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; letter-spacing: -0.41px; line-height: 24px; margin: 16px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; transition-property: none;"><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="animation-name: none; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none;">Indeed, the earliest verses in the Bible deal with just that. Adam and Eve’s overwhelming desire for knowledge and the power that is associated with it becomes oppressive and tyrannical. Cain murders his brother Abel in jealousy over his perception of God’s pleasure with their sacrifices. Things become so evil in God’s sight that he floods the known world; sparing Noah, his family, and all the animals he can cram into the ark. Not too many generations later, Sodom and Gomorrah are set ablaze because somehow, wanton abandonment of God somehow seems worse than before the Flood. Even the two greatest of Israel's kings, David and Solomon, succumbed to the pitfalls often associated with privileged power. </span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.41px;">Jesus was utterly rejected and abandoned by the very people he had come to show the depth and power of divine truth and love.</span><span style="letter-spacing: -0.41px;"> </span></span></span></p><p style="animation-name: none; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; letter-spacing: -0.41px; line-height: 24px; margin: 16px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; transition-property: none;"><span style="animation-name: none; background-color: black; color: white; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none;">In the 88 years since the passage of the 20th Amendment, the people of the United States saw their nation reach a sense of maturity. Its borders stretched across a continent and beyond. It took upon itself the burden of recovery from the Great Depression, fought to assist Europe and defend the principles of freedom during World War II. We seemed to be invincible, and began acting like we knew it.</span></p><p style="animation-name: none; font-family: "Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 17px; letter-spacing: -0.41px; line-height: 24px; margin: 16px 0px 0px; padding: 0px; transition-property: none;"><span style="animation-name: none; background-color: black; color: white; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none;">Then we saw the consequences. Vietnam. Afghanistan, first as an ally and then as an adversary. Most, if not all of the Middle East…and in a big way not to protect people’s lives, but the crude oil sitting beneath the land, needed to maintain our automobiles and machinery.</span></p><p><span style="background-color: black;"><span style="color: white;"><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 17px; letter-spacing: -0.41px;"><span style="animation-name: none; font-family: Calibri; transition-property: none;">An article I read written eight years ago placed blame for the state of the nation on about 570 people: the 535 members of Congress, the nine Supreme Court justices, the President and Vice President and their inner circle of advisers (the Cabinet). These are our elected representatives and their appointees. They have redefined when life begins and what constitutes the structure of the family. They have gone back and forth on issues ranging from how and what we teach our children</span><span style="animation-name: none; font-family: inherit; transition-property: none;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 17px; letter-spacing: -0.41px;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">to stewardship of our natural resources and the ecology. And we, as a nation, let them.</span></span></span></span></p><p><span style="letter-spacing: -0.41px;"><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium;">None of this seems to fit with Saint Paul’s declaration that as Christians we belong to Christ and our lives are not our own, but his. There are several lines of morality that have been crossed and more are challenged every day. Did we not understand lessons from history, biblical as well as recent? And in the struggles that deeply define a nation divided we are becoming less civil and dignified, and increasingly vulgar and obscene.</span></span></p><p><span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Calibri;"><span face=""Segoe UI Historic", "Segoe UI", Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif" style="font-size: 17px; letter-spacing: -0.41px;">Ash Wednesday is less than a month away. We should start now to understand our role in making intolerance the practice of the land while preaching a false sense of tolerance. We should prepare ourselves for a repentance steeped in humility, that we might return to God with hearts truly longing for him…some for the first time. Otherwise, we will be haunted by the ghosts of the politics we embrace for generations to come.</span><span style="font-size: 17px; letter-spacing: -0.41px;"> </span></span></p>the Phoenixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05660186448561949243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5694548282372590694.post-90402819544515590702021-01-16T10:35:00.000-06:002021-01-16T10:35:30.602-06:00The Saturday Morning Post: The President Won't Read the Writing on the Wall, So Maybe I Should Stop Writing It<p> <span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">January 16, 2021</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Good Morning, God and All...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">And maybe I should leave it at that. After all, it seems that <i>good morning</i> is the best thing that can be said lately. Even that simple greeting does not appear to last long amid the distraction of the day's headlines.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I am torn; at a loss, wondering if there is any resiliency and decency left in my country. And while I know that by God's grace these still exist, I have trouble seeing it. This, with the loss of family over the last few years, and the restrictions brought on by age and the coronavirus pandemic, leaves me - and I'm sure many of you - alone and depressed, to the point where it's easy to think God has abandoned us, even though He has not.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Okay, the title is more than a little self-promoting. I've been writing personal reflections for the better part of two decades. I've had the opportunity to reread some of them, and I'm still satisfied with them. Has it made any difference, though? Would the world be better or worse if I had not written them? Would I promote God or myself if I posted these things where <i>anybody</i> could read them? Or would I get caught up in the current culture and get shut down simply because I don't believe the same way many others do?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Our Lord Jesus Christ (he's not just mine, but is there for everyone) chose his inner circle; his twelve apostles (his Cabinet, if you will) without qualification or experience. One day he stands up in the Temple as Nazareth's native son and, reading from Isaiah, declares that <i>he</i> has been anointed with the Spirit of God to proclaim freedom, liberation, and healing; bringing a time of God's favor. And to make absolutely clear, he says that he fulfills that ancient passage that very day in their very presence. Do you remember what happened next? He's run out of town, nearly being tossed off a cliff. But his time of total fulfillment not having yet come, he continues in his mission and purpose.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Over the course of many weeks, I would prepare each week's <i>Post </i>by compiling the historical data - the almanac - first. Rarely would I write the reflection first. I would wait and see if anything from the almanac, or the upcoming Sunday readings, would inspire me. Right now they do not. What it does now is show me, while the messages are still timely and will always be because they're of God speaking to me, how much farther we have drifted away from them, even as I've tried to share them.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">I have all but given up. For all the typing I do on the computer, I never took a typing or keyboarding course in school. I don't have to hunt and peck, and I can use both hands. As I grow older, though, the sensation in those hands make the typing effort more difficult, the errors a bit more frequent, the patience strained, and the temptation to abandon the whole thing, greater. But I cannot. I still have the ability to reach out to people about the one thing that matters; our life in eternity with Christ. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Maybe now isn't the time to remember the "good old days", if indeed any of them were more important than the here and now; or to speak of a future fraught with deeper gloom or peril that we're not prepared to endure. Maybe it's not in anyone's best interests to fill your head with factoids and figures that, along with the requisite cash, get you that fresh cup of coffee or ice cold beverage; and try to slip a few inspirational points past you while doing so.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">For now and the foreseeable future, the Message needs to stand on its own merit and not as filling in some sort of trivial sandwich. If you join me in this endeavor, I will pray that, by the grace of God, you will not be disappointed.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;">Until we meet again, may God be with you - and may God have mercy on us all...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: large;"><b>+the Phoenix</b></span></p>the Phoenixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05660186448561949243noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5694548282372590694.post-38230488984707499132021-01-09T09:01:00.001-06:002021-01-09T09:01:22.931-06:00The Saturday Morning Post: The Party’s Over<p><span style="font-size: large;"> <span style="font-family: Calibri;">January 9, 2021</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Good Morning, God and All! </span></b><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I absolutely must stop pulling these “all-night” sessions…</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">By The Numbers:</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s the ninth day of the year, with 356 days remaining.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri; font-size: x-large;">Days ‘til Inauguration Day: </span><b style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">11</span></b></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Start Your Day With A Song:</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://youtu.be/QoQZ0qmf-mk"><b><i><u><span class="15" style="font-family: Calibri;">The Party's Over</span></u></i></b></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> (1966) Willie Nelson</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Saint Adrian of Canterbury, Pray For Us!</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Adrian, also spelled Hadrian (born before 637, died 710), was a North African scholar in Anglo-Saxon England and the abbot of Saint Peter's and Saint Paul's in Canterbury. He was a noted teacher and commentator of the Bible.[1] Adrian was born between 630 and 637. According to Bede, he was a Berber native of North Africa, and abbot of a monastery near Naples, called Monasterium Niridanum (perhaps a mistake for Nisidanum, as being situated on the island of Nisida).</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">He was twice offered the vacant archbishopric of Canterbury, by Pope Vitalian, but modestly declined the appointment. He first recommended that it should be given to Andrew, a monk belonging to a neighbouring monastery, who also declined on the plea of advanced years. Then, when the offer was again made to Adrian, he introduced to the pontiff his friend Theodore of Tarsus, who then chanced to be at Rome, and who consented to undertake the charge. Vitalian, however, stipulated that Adrian should accompany the new archbishop to Britain. He gave as his reasons that Adrian, having twice before made a journey into Gaul, knew the road and the mode of traveling.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The two set out from Rome on 27 May 668, and proceeding by sea to Marseille, crossed the country to Arles, where they remained with John, the archbishop, till they got passports from Ebroin, who ruled that part of Gaul as Mayor of the Palace, for the minor king Clotaire III. Having then made their way together to the north of France, they parted company, and went severally to reside for the winter, Theodore with Agilbert, bishop of Paris, Adrian first with Emmon, bishop of Sens, and afterwards with Faro, bishop of Meaux. Theodore, being sent for in the following spring by King Ecgberht of Kent, was allowed to take his departure, and he reached England at the end of May 669; but Adrian was detained by order of Ebroin, who is said to have suspected him of being an emissary of the Greek emperor sent to stir up troubles against the kingdom of the Franks.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">At length, however, the tyrant became convinced that there was no ground for this notion, and Adrian was permitted to proceed to England, where, immediately on his arrival, he was made abbot of the monastery of Saints Peter and Paul (afterwards called Saint Augustine's) at Canterbury, an appointment which was in conformity with instructions given by the pope to Theodore. Such is the account given in the Ecclesiastical History (iv. 1.). Adrian was known to be a man learned in the Bible, as well as in Greek and Latin, and an excellent administrator. Under his direction the abbey came to have substantial, far-reaching influence.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Adrian, long surviving his friend the archbishop, is said to have lived for 39 years after he came to England, continuing till his death to preside over the monastery at Canterbury. He died in 709 and was buried in his monastery. He came to regarded as a saint and his relics were re-deposited in the new monastery on 9 January 1091, which is now his feast day. (Source: Wikipedia)</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s REALLY Over (the Message):</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Last Wednesday was the traditional date of the celebration of Epiphany, the revelation of Jesus’ divinity to humanity, the emergence of the Light of the world.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">But America plunged further into darkness; and it was no surprise.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I was at no loss for words for a reflection for the week's </span><i><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Post</span></i><span style="font-family: Calibri;">. Especially after Wednesday. The problem is, there is not one good thing that I can write. Not one. The Good News is tossed aside like fast food wrappers. And no matter how hard I try, I can't exonerate the POTUS nor separate him from the storming of the Capitol building. I cannot be objective about it.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I have suggested in past musings (if not having said so directly) that the US of A has this nasty tendency to reveal a callous disregard for law. Not just man-made law</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> and authority</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">; God's commandments and the entire scope of unwritten moral law. Think about it.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">While there is always hope, it is fleeting; and without God, it is empty. Hearts can be changed, but only if we focus on that and not on some unfounded charges by someone who cannot accept losing. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Whatever might happen between now and January 20 notwithstanding, on that day Donald Trump is essentially a man without a country. Many lawsuits await him the moment he becomes a private citizen, and any support he might have enjoyed goes out the door at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue with him. </span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">But We the People are not innocent bystanders in all of this. Unless we look to God for repentance, inspiration. and the resolve to be merciful and just and determined in our actions, things will be no better, no matter which political party is governing the nation.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Memorable Moments:</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/681" title="681"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">681</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> – </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelfth_Council_of_Toledo" title="Twelfth Council of Toledo"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Twelfth Council of Toledo</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">: King </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erwig" title="Erwig"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Erwig</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> of the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visigoths" title="Visigoths"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Visigoths</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> initiates a council in which he implements diverse measures against the Jews in Spain.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1349" title="1349"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1349</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> – The Jewish population of </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basel" title="Basel"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Basel</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, believed by the residents to be the cause of the ongoing </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Death" title="Black Death"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Black Death</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, is </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basel_massacre" title="Basel massacre"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">rounded up and incinerated</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1431" title="1431"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1431</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> – The trial of </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_of_Arc" title="Joan of Arc"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Joan of Arc</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> begins in </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rouen" title="Rouen"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Rouen</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1787" title="1787"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1787</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> – The nationally-known image of the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Nazarene" title="Black Nazarene"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Black Nazarene</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> in the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philippines" title="Philippines"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Philippines</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> was transferred from what is now </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rizal_Park" title="Rizal Park"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Rizal Park</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> to its present shrine in the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minor_basilica" title="Minor basilica"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">minor basilica</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> of </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quiapo_Church" title="Quiapo Church"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Quiapo Church</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">. This is annually commemorated through its Traslación (solemn transfer) in the streets of </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manila" title="Manila"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Manila</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> and is attended by millions of devotees.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1788" title="1788"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1788</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> – </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Connecticut" title="Connecticut"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Connecticut</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> becomes the fifth state to ratify the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Constitution" title="United States Constitution"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">United States Constitution</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1861" title="1861"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1861</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> – </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War" title="American Civil War"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">American Civil War</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">: "</span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star_of_the_West" title="Star of the West"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Star of the West</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">" incident occurs near </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charleston,_South_Carolina" title="Charleston, South Carolina"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Charleston, South Carolina</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1861 – </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mississippi" title="Mississippi"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Mississippi</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> becomes the second state to secede from the Union before the outbreak of the American Civil War.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1914" title="1914"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1914</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> – The </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phi_Beta_Sigma" title="Phi Beta Sigma"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Phi Beta Sigma</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> fraternity is founded by African-American students at </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Howard_University" title="Howard University"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Howard University</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> in Washington D.C., United States.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1918" title="1918"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1918</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> – </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Bear_Valley" title="Battle of Bear Valley"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Battle of Bear Valley</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">: The last battle of the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Indian_Wars" title="American Indian Wars"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">American Indian Wars</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007" title="2007"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2007</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> – </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_Inc." title="Apple Inc."><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Apple</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> CEO </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Jobs" title="Steve Jobs"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Steve Jobs</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> introduces the original </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPhone" title="IPhone"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">iPhone</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> at a Macworld keynote in </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Francisco" title="San Francisco"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">San Francisco</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015" title="2015"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">2015</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> – The perpetrators of the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Hebdo_shooting" title="Charlie Hebdo shooting"><i><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Charlie Hebdo</span></i><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> shooting</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> in </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paris" title="Paris"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Paris</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> two days earlier are both killed after a hostage situation; a </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porte_de_Vincennes_siege" title="Porte de Vincennes siege"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">second hostage situation</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, related to the </span><i><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Charlie Hebdo</span></i><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> shooting, occurs at a Jewish market in </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vincennes" title="Vincennes"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Vincennes</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">.</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Happy Birthday!!!</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1554" title="1554"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1554</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> – </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope_Gregory_XV" title="Pope Gregory XV"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Pope Gregory XV</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> (d. 1623)</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1859" title="1859"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1859</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> – </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrie_Chapman_Catt" title="Carrie Chapman Catt"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Carrie Chapman Catt</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, American activist, founded the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/League_of_Women_Voters" title="League of Women Voters"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">League of Women Voters</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> and </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Alliance_of_Women" title="International Alliance of Women"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">International Alliance of Women</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> (d. 1947)</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1870" title="1870"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1870</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> – </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Strauss_(engineer)" title="Joseph Strauss (engineer)"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Joseph Strauss</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, American engineer, co-designed the </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Gate_Bridge" title="Golden Gate Bridge"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Golden Gate Bridge</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> (d. 1938)</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1902 – </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Josemar%C3%ADa_Escriv%C3%A1" title="Josemaría Escrivá"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Josemaría Escrivá</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, Spanish priest and saint, founded </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opus_Dei" title="Opus Dei"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Opus Dei</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> (d. 1975)</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1913" title="1913"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1913</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> – </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Nixon" title="Richard Nixon"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Richard Nixon</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, American commander, lawyer, and politician, 37th </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_United_States" title="President of the United States"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">President of the United States</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> (d. 1994)</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1934" title="1934"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1934</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> – </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bart_Starr" title="Bart Starr"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Bart Starr</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, American football player and coach (d. 2019)</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1935" title="1935"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1935</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> – </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Denver" title="Bob Denver"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Bob Denver</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, American actor (d. 2005)</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1935 – </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dick_Enberg" title="Dick Enberg"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Dick Enberg</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, American sportscaster (d. 2017)</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1941" title="1941"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1941</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> – </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joan_Baez" title="Joan Baez"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Joan Baez</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, American singer-songwriter, guitarist and activist</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1944 – </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jimmy_Page" title="Jimmy Page"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Jimmy Page</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1948" title="1948"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1948</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> – </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Cowsill" title="Bill Cowsill"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Bill Cowsill</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2006)</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1951" title="1951"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1951</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> – </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_Gayle" title="Crystal Gayle"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Crystal Gayle</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, American singer-songwriter and producer</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1967 – </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Matthews" title="Dave Matthews"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Dave Matthews</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, South African-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1973" title="1973"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1973</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> – </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Paul" title="Sean Paul"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Sean Paul</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, Jamaican rapper, singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, and actor</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We Remember:</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/710" title="710"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">710</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> – </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adrian_of_Canterbury" title="Adrian of Canterbury"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Adrian of Canterbury</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, abbot and </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scholarly_method" title="Scholarly method"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">scholar</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1987" title="1987"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1987</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> – </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Lake_(actor)" title="Arthur Lake (actor)"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Arthur Lake</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, American actor (b. 1905)</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">1997 – </span><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesse_White_(actor)" title="Jesse White (actor)"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Jesse White</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">, American actor (b. 1917)</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">…ALL victims of the COVID-19 pandemic to date</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">…ALL victims of violence anywhere in the world, and especially in our nation</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><u><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Parting Words:</span></u></b><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: Calibri;">So we wait in silent treason until reason is restored…and we await the season of the Word of the Lord…we await the season of the Word of the Lord.</span></i><i><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We wait…we wait for the Word of…the…Lord…</span></i><i><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">--Leonard Bernstein (1918-90), from </span><a href="https://youtu.be/Zn4XW4UqfTA"><b><i><u><span class="15" style="font-family: Calibri;">“Mass”</span></u></i></b></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> (1971)</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Until we meet again, may God be with you - and may God have mercy on us all…</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-size: large;">+the Phoenix</span></span></b></p>the Phoenixhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05660186448561949243noreply@blogger.com0