Posts

Showing posts with the label social justice

Advent and Being Prepared

Image
Today's the start of this year's Advent cycle, leading up to another Christmas. With my culture's annual focus on flying reindeer, decorated trees, and overflow crowds in Bethlehem, this verse from today's Gospel reading might sound odd: " 25 Therefore, stay awake! For you do not know on which day your Lord will come." ( Matthew 24:42 ) We know when Jesus came, and where. That happened about two thousand years ago, near the east end of the Mediterranean. Advent is the season when we look back at our Lord's first arrival. That's important. It's also when we look ahead, to the day when the Son of man returns. That's important, too. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Saint Teresa of Calcutta Through the Lens of a Friend

Image
The Power of Images To Change Lives Marie Constantin, the photographer and author of  Finding Calcutta: Memoirs of a Photographer ,  understands   images have power, more power than words alone to impact lives. It was an image in a documentary film that turned Constantin’s life completely around in the early 1990’s. She was a young journalist, completely focused on establishing her career and partying with friends when an image of Mother Teresa holding a starving person flashed across the t.v. screen with the words, “God didn’t do this; we do it because we do not share what we have”.  Suddenly tears streamed down Constantin’s face. The very next day she found herself washing dishes in a soup kitchen run by Mother Teresa’s nuns in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. It was one photo of Mother Teresa on t.v. which catapulted her into volunteering with the sisters and opened the door to her calling, her vocation. continue reading

Authority, Superstition, Progress

Image
(From Diliff, via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.) Authority, superstition, and misapplied technophilia (it's a real word ) rate at least one post each: but that'll wait until another day. Days. This time I'll take a quick look at all three, and then say why I don't believe in Progress with a capital P — and don't yearn for the 'good old days.' More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

"Wait For It"

Image
(From Radomir Vrbovsky, via Wikipedia, used w/o permission.) (دروازه ایشتار, Ishtar Gate, eighth gate of Babylon's inner city: a reconstruction using original bricks in the Pergamonmuseum , Berlin, Deutschland.) Prophets had their bad days, too — like Habakkuk, from today's first reading ( Habakkuk 1:2 - 3 , 2:2 - 4 ): " 1 How long, O LORD? I cry for help but you do not listen! I cry out to you, 'Violence!' but you do not intervene. "Why do you let me see ruin; why must I look at misery? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and clamorous discord. "Then the LORD answered me and said: Write down the vision Clearly upon the tablets, so that one can read it readily. "For the vision still has its time, presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint; If it delays, wait for it, it will surely come, it will not be late." ( Habakkuk 1:2 - 3 , 2:2 - 3 ) This was about 26 centuries back, and not a good era in our Lord

Amos and Social Justice

Image
I think social justice is a good idea. I'd better explain that. I think acting as if people matter is a good idea: all people, not just the 'right' ones. I'll be talking about "the poor of the land," private property, the universal destination of goods, and a job that's not even close to being done. There's nothing wrong with prosperity, by itself. As 1 Timothy 6:10 and Hebrews 13:5 say, it's love of money that gets us in trouble. Some Saints, like Francis 1 and Claire , both of Assisi, were poor. Others, like Elizabeth of Hungary and Sir Thomas More , were anything but.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

"Amoris Laetitia" — or — Don't Panic

Image
(From Elia Kazan, via Petrusbarbygere/Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.) (Screenshot from a " Panic in the Streets " trailer. ( Elia Kazan , 1950)) Actually, "Amoris Laetitia" means " The Joy of Love ." Pope Francis signed "Amoris Laetitia," about 58,000 words about love in the family, March 19. The apostolic exhortation was released Friday. So far, I've heard an imaginative summary on radio news, read a few dramatic headlines, and one or two online remarks about it that make sense. The latter generally boil down to 'I haven't studied it yet, so I don't know what it says.' That's pretty much where I'm at, but that won't stop me from talking — briefly, for me — about what I have read. So far, I've finished the introduction, glanced at the index, and am working my way through the first chapter.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Defensive Architecture and Tobit

Image
I'm in the lower half of America's economic ladder, but I've never been homeless. That's just as well, since I've spent the bulk of my life in Minnesota and North Dakota. Winters get cold up here. I am, however, a recovering English teacher; and I like to verify my assumptions about what words mean. Here's part of my country's definition of "homeless." There will not be a test on this.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Attacks in Paris: People Matter

Image
(From BBC News, used w/o permission.) (" The names of victims have started to emerge. Top left to right: Nohemi Gonzalez, Marie Mosser, Djamila Houd. Middle left to right: Juan Alberto Gonzalez, Guillaume Decherf, Nick Alexander. Bottom left to right: Mathieu Hoche, Thomas Ayed, Valentin Ribet " (BBC News)).... ...Another article tells about efforts to find folks who are still missing: either dead, or hospitalized and not able to say who they are. I'll get back to that.... ...A few names from that BBC News article — "Dado," the nickname of a man killed at the Bataclan. Hugo Sarrade, Cedric Mauduit, Mathieu Hoche, Quentin Boulanger, Guillaume B Decherf, Marie Lausch, Mathias Dymarski, and Lola Salines, had been at the Bataclan, too. No pressure, and this is just a suggestion: but praying for everyone involved couldn't hurt.... More, at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Paris, Evil, and Love

Image
(From Anne Sophie Chaisemartin/AP, via New York Daily News, used w/o permission.) (" Victims of a shooting attack lay on the pavement outside La Belle Equipe restaurant in Paris Friday, Nov. 13, 2015. Well over 100 people were killed in Paris on Friday night in a series of shooting, explosions. " (New York Daily News)) I've read that Friday's attacks in Paris are the fault of right-wing hate-mongers, that America's president is to blame — — — and the American election is still nearly a year off. I am not looking forward to the usual self-serving balderdash.... ...I am pretty sure that Muslims who blame France, America, and Western civilization for their problems are sincere, too. But the grand imam of Al-Azhar called Friday's attack "odious," Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb said it was "heinous," and Saudi King Salman called it "repugnant." 1 ... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

(Not) 'Going Native'

Image
As a Christian, and a Catholic, I should be 'in the world but not of the world.' That idea shows up in John 15:18 - 19 and 17:14 - 16 , and Romans 12:2 . Joining a cloistered outfit like the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance ( Trappists ) is one option: they're part of the Benedictine family, contemplative monks and nuns. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Angst, Hope, and Building a Better World

Image
I've run into — and experienced — many flavors of angst over the decades. Back in my 'good old days,' some folks feared the communist menace, others the population bomb and imminent death of all the ocean's fish. And there's that perennial favorite — the End Times Bible Prophecy. ( June 9, 2012 ; October 3, 2009 ) I take the last things — death, judgment, Heaven and Hell — quite seriously. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1021 - 1022 , 1023 - 1029 , 1033 - 1037 , 1681 - 1683 ) But recognizing that there's a really big closing ceremony for Creation 1.0 coming up — the Last Judgment — doesn't mean I think someone knows more than God the Father. ( Mark 13:32 - 37 ; 1038 - 1041 ) More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Beavers, Floods, and Yet Another Dire Prediction

Image
Beavers are back in England, which is good news or bad news: opinions differ on that point. Quite a few folks died when drains blocked up in Nigeria's capital. Then a gas station exploded. There's more rain in the forecast, so their troubles are far from over. Finally, there's a new doomsday prediction in a brand-new publication. Madagascan lemurs are imperiled: but not, I think, cockroaches, rats — or humans. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Beaver Cleaver and the Common Good

Image
I grew up in the 'good old days,' when many Americans enjoyed the seemingly-secure middle class lives of the Cleavers and Andersons . Some parents, mine included, remembered that there's more to life than wealth: so I never considered running away to a commune . But I understood why some folks my age, and a bit older, decided that buying stuff you don't need with money you don't have to impress people you don't like — made no sense at all.... ...I didn't have the horror that some older folks had for places like Drop City . It seemed to me that 'those crazy kids,' with their 'un-American' talk about peace, love, and brotherhood, had decided to take at least some of my Lord's values seriously.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Climate Change, Science, and the Vatican

Image
The 'Vatican science academy' is in the news again: this time because they've said we should use our brains. The topic was climate change, which tends to stir up sound and fury more than rational discourse. Meanwhile, one scientist implied a link between our "carbon dioxide crisis" and a lot of dead critters, some 201,000,000 years back. More to the point, I think, the team he was on has added a few more pieces to the puzzle of what caused the Triassic-Jurassic extinction event. More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Death? Been There, Done That

Image
(From Piero della Francesca, via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.) ('Dead? I was, but now I'm better.' No, our Lord didn't say that: not in so many words.( John 20:26 - 27 )) I haven't died, not yet: and I'm still working on the 'dying to myself' that doesn't mean pretending that I'm garbage — and that's another topic. Topics. ( November 27, 2011 ; March 3, 2009 ) Our Lord: That's another matter. About two millennia back, Jesus was tortured, executed, and buried: but I'm getting ahead of the story.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Boko Haram: Slavery, Death, and Love

Image
Muslims are still upset about those 'Mohammed' cartoons in Charlie Hebdo. That, I think, is understandable. Being upset is not an excuse for killing folks, though. ( January 11, 2015 ) I'm upset when my faith gets described as 'worshiping a cookie.' I was angry about a college professor's photo of a consecrated Host, a page from the Quran, and another book's page: treated as garbage. For that matter, I felt disgust when a preacher burned the Quran. ( July 20, 2012 ; April 1, 2011 ; March 5, 2010 ) Some of that comes from spending my youth in the '60s. When I became a Catholic, however, seeing humanity as one big family was no longer an optional: it's a requirement.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Holy Family, Not '50s Family

Image
This morning's readings — Sirach 3:2 - 6 , 12 - 14 ; Genesis 15:1 - 6 , 21:1 - 3 ; Colossians 3:12 - 21 or Hebrews 11:8 , 11 - 12 , 17 - 19 ; and Luke 2:22 - 40 — have one thing in common: marriage and family. That figures, since this is Holy Family Sunday. Taking a cue from our Lord, Catholics see family as a big deal. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1601 - 1658 , particularly 1655 ; 2210 ) That's not the same as holding up Happy Days or All In the Family as an ideal toward which all must strive. So why is this in one of today's readings? 8 Wives, be subordinate to your husbands, as is proper in the Lord." ( Colossians 3:18 ) More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Neighbors, Love, and Upping the Ante

Image
When a scholar of the law asked Jesus for the greatest Commandment, my Lord gave two.... ...The Samaritan: An Unexpected 'Good Guy' After two millennia, the shock of a Samaritan being the 'good guy' in this sort of story has worn off. Jews and Samaritans did not get along: at all. These days, it'd be like telling a story in a redneck bar: where a coal miner, poor farmer, and truck driver wouldn't help the accident victim: but an east Asian immigrant did.... ...Okay: I've had a cup of coffee, walked around a bit, and calmed down. Let's see, where was I? The greatest Commandment, the good Samaritan. Right. The rules are simple, but not easy.... ...I'd like to end world hunger, establish a lasting peace, and cure the common cold. That's not gonna happen. For starters, I don't have the connections or power to get any of that done. Besides, things take time.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Ebola: Scary, and Beatable

Image
This year's Ebola outbreak has killed thousand of folks in West Africa: and one in the United States. By any reasonable standard, it's a very serious health problem.... ...As I've said before, being healthy is okay. ( June 13, 2014 ) Not being healthy is okay, too: but I'm expected to take care of my health: within reason.... More at A Catholic Citizen in America .

Reforming the World — We Must Try

Image
'Kids these days! Nobody takes responsibility! Back in my day, nobody tried blaming the other guy!' I've been hearing variations on that complaint for more than a half-century now. I started wondering if it was true in my teens. By now, I'm pretty sure that it's not: partly because now I remember the 'good old days:' and like I've said before, they weren't. One of 'Those Crazy Kids:' Five Decades Later I was one of "those kids" in the late '60s and early '70s. Some of us were lazy bums, and others were only too eager to blame our parents, the government, or anyone else, for our problems. But others were "irresponsible" only in the sense that we wouldn't accept the status quo. That attitude didn't appeal to folks who believed in buying stuff they didn't need, with money they didn't have, to impress people they didn't like. We thought we could reform the world: and certain that we