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Friday, January 27, 2012

Pacem In Terris


"But first We must speak of man's rights. Man has the right to live. He has the right to bodily integrity and to the means necessary for the proper development of life, particularly food, clothing, shelter, medical care, rest, and, finally, the necessary social services. In consequence, he has the right to be looked after in the event of ill health; disability stemming from his work; widowhood; old age; enforced unemployment; or whenever through no fault of his own he is deprived of the means of livelihood."



The encyclical, Pacem in Terris, on Establishing Universal Peace in Truth, Justice, Charity, and Liberty, by Pope John XXIII, 11 April, 1963, speaks of technological society and how we must harness it for our own benefit.  He pinpoints the disunity among men and nations and the order which must be restored.

Regarding man's moral and cultural rights, he said:   "Moreover, man has a natural right to be respected. He has a right to his good name. He has a right to freedom in investigating the truth, and—within the limits of the moral order and the common good—to freedom of speech and publication, and to freedom to pursue whatever profession he may choose. He has the right, also, to be accurately informed about public events."  

This is the beginning of a right order among men;  we must recognize that:  "Any well-regulated and productive association of men in society demands the acceptance of one fundamental principle: that each individual man is truly a person. His is a nature, that is, endowed with intelligence and free will. As such he has rights and duties, which together flow as a direct consequence from his nature. These rights and duties are universal and inviolable, and therefore altogether inalienable."

Find the entire encyclical here









Thursday, January 26, 2012

St. Patrick's Breastplate


It is said that in the Fifth century A.D. Saint Patrick came to the Hill of Slane early in his attempt to convert pagan Ireland to the light of christianity. On the eve of the Christian feast of Easter, 433 A.D. which appropriately coincides with the pagan feast of Beltane and the spring equinox, St. Patrick lit a bonfire upon the Hill of Slane. The law in force at the time was no fire should lit in the in the vicinity when a great festival fire blazed at the Royal seat of power on the visibly nearby Hill of Tara.

The King rode off in a war chariot with his retinue to arrest the mystery rebel. As the kings horses thundered up the Hill Patrick calmed his few disciples and immediately set to eloquence. Patrick's gift of eloquence went to high gear and somehow--some say through an earthquake, others by holding up a shamrock--he convinced the King of his earnest intent and belief in the power of the Holy Trinity. It was a power that Patrick thought would be useful to the King who could only wish that his own soldiers could wield the kind of bravery through deep conviction that Patrick displayed. The King took Patrick and his disciples prisoner and they were marched by to the Hill of Tara, chanting prayers. By morning light, Patrick and his men were spared and allowed to preach Christianity to the pagan army.

Hey, Blue Lady


Hey, blue lady,
 depressed and fighting.
 hanging on. hang on.
without manipulation
without threats.
you were known while still in your mother's womb.
wonderfully made.

 fix it your way.
no more old games
with fear
intimidation
loathing.

imitate your mother in heaven.
she tells you:  Do whatever He tells you.
she penetrates the level of justice in God 
to
a more profound level of mercy.



read the wedding at Cana, take two and call me in the morning.
+JMJ+



Tuesday, January 24, 2012

World Communications Day 2012


the following is Vatican Radio's report on the theme for World Communications Day, 2012.  The theme is:
Silence and Word:  Path of Evangelization

On Tuesday morning Pope Benedict XVI released his annual message for World Communications Day which falls on May 20.

The theme chosen this year is “Silence and Word: Path of Evangelization” and Benedict explains, “it concerns the relationship between silence and word: two aspects of communication which need to be kept in balance, to alternate and to be integrated with one another if authentic dialogue and deep closeness between people are to be achieved.”

And he observes that it is often in silence that we observe the most authentic communication taking place between people who are in love with gestures, facial expressions and body language.

In a time when messages and information are plentiful – the Pope says - silence becomes essential if we are to distinguish what is important from what is insignificant or secondary. 

And the Pope reflects on the process of communication which nowadays is largely fuelled by questions in search of answers. 

He mentions the role of search engines, social networks and the internet and pointed out that people today are frequently bombarded with answers to questions they have never asked and to needs of which they were unaware. 

“If we are to recognize and focus upon the truly important questions” – Benedict says – “then silence is a precious commodity that enables us to exercise proper discernment in the face of the surcharge of stimuli and data that we receive”.

And he says that amid the complexity and diversity of the world of communications many find themselves confronted with the ultimate questions of human existence: Who am I? What can I know? What ought I to do? What may I hope? 

It is important – the Pope explains - to affirm those who ask these questions, and to open up the possibility of a profound dialogue, by means of words and interchange, but also through the call to silent reflection, something that is often more eloquent than a hasty answer and permits seekers to reach into the depths of their being and open themselves to the path towards knowledge that God has inscribed in human hearts”.

Men and women – he says - cannot rest content with a superficial and unquestioning exchange of skeptical opinions and experiences of life. We are all in search of truth and we share this profound yearning today more than ever.

So, the Pope points out that attention should be paid to the various types of websites, applications and social networks as well as making space for silence and occasions for prayer, meditation or sharing of the word of God.

And pointing out that the God of biblical revelation speaks also without words, we in turn discover in silence the possibility of speaking with God and about God. 

In speaking of God’s grandeur, our language will always prove inadequate and must make space for silent contemplation. And silent contemplation, he says, immerses us in the source of that Love who directs us towards our neighbours so that we may feel their suffering and offer them the light of Christ, his message of life and his saving gift of the fullness of love.

And speaking of the fundamental question of the meaning of human existence, the Pope says it finds in the mystery of Christ an answer capable of bringing peace to the restless human heart.

The Church’s mission springs from this mystery- he says - and it is this mystery which impels Christians to become heralds of hope and salvation, witnesses of that love which promotes human dignity and builds justice and peace. 

In conclusion Pope Benedict says “learning to communicate is learning to listen and contemplate as well as speak. This – he points out - is especially important for those engaged in the task of evangelization”.

Sunday, January 22, 2012

The Audience


it has been strongly suggested that i focus.
i should "know" my audience.
fine.
as "we" say.
this is for my depressed friends, of course.
and my children and grandchildren.
in the end it will be for them to decide
if i am stark, raving lunatic,
raving lunatic, or
merely ranting.

Friday, January 20, 2012

The Hypocrites are us


Yes, kids, the topic this week over yonder in Facebookville is this one. Sigh.  "We" do our best to explain the Catholic response to riches and poverty, but in the end we all are hypocrites.

Often, um, VeryOften, I am the one with the "hypocrite present" light flashing above my head (as an alert for the aliens, you know).  The grace of Almighty God always sends something or someone around to remind me of "what I already know".  I know it's not just the Church Militant which aids me but the entire Church:  Militant, Suffering, Triumphant.


Even though you see something very bad about your neighbor, don't jump immediately to conclusions, but rather make excuses for him interiorly.  Excuse his intention, if you cannot excuse his action.  Think that he may have acted out of ignorance, or by surprise, or accidentally.  If the thing is so blatant that it cannot be denied, even so, believe it to be so, and say inwardly:  the temptation must have been very strong.
-St. Bernard, Sermon on the Canticle of Canticles, 40


Do nothing from selfishness or conceit, but in humility count others better than yourselves.
-Philippians 2:3

So, next time you see me in Facebookville and I'm flying my freakFlag a little too high, remind me of what I already know, please.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Internet Dogs


i am wondering why complete strangers think they have the liberty to speak such cruel words in response to a blog such as this one.  
yesterday i wrote about my adoption and received more than a few nasty comments. only one was
 g-rated enough to post.
makes me want to be more myself
in real life.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Peacenik

the politics is killing me.
years ago i realized 
i am partyless.
today i decided
i am now a Peacenik.

i will still vote.
(((under duress)))


Monday, January 16, 2012

U.S. Adoption: Anti-Catholicism and Eugenics


Sister Irene Fitzgibbons, New York Foundling Hospital

I like to pretend that it would be no problem for me to live and survive in a little house on the prairie.  I fancy myself as one who can whip up gravy from nothing and keep that fire stoked like any-ole-man could.  I have heroines from our early American days including Laura Ingalls Wilder and Sister Irene, seen in this photograph.  In 1869, Sister Irene rented a house,  put a white wicker cradle outside the door and waited to take in unwanted babies.  The first month she had 45 abandoned children.

By 1879, Sister Irene and a Protestant minister (with anti-Catholic motives) helped relocate thousands of orphans via the "Orphan Train", where children were transported from New York City to parts west.  These children were not adopted but were indentured...servants like those adopted in ancient Rome, India and China.  President Theodore Roosevelt stepped in to declare, in 1909, that "the nuclear family represented the highest and finest product of civilization and is best able to serve as primary caretaker for the abandoned and orphaned."  Still there were fears.  Fears about the genetic quality of illegitimate and indigent children (((and the Catholic faith))) were common as eugenics was popular during this "Progressive" time in the United States.  (((This attitude changed only when the US population was forced to reject Hitler's own eugenic policies.)))  

The new idea for adoption laws included strict consideration of what was in the "best interests of the child", and even stricter still, the secrecy clause.  The fears here were again poverty and Catholicism. Would poor, trashy, criminal, Catholics,  come to reclaim their children from their adoptive homes?  Thanks to the Horrible War,  the years between 1945 and 1970 were fast-rising adoption years.  The stigma lessened more and more until the Great Adoption Peak in 1970.  (((of course the decline was rapid and permanent thanks to the Birth Control Pill and Abortion on Demand.)))

I hate the secrecy clause the most.  My dear adopted dad was born before the clause.  He had the golden ticket to find his mother.  He never did and regretted it.  I am the Adopted in Secret Generation.  Now, most may choose Open or Closed Adoption.  What about those of us who dwell in between?  Some states have changed their laws about unsealing adoption records.  In the state of my birth, Michigan, I may submit my name as wishing to be contacted if anyone is searching for me but that is all I get.  Oh. Except for the letter.  I requested non-identifying information on my birth mother and natural father.  I was hoping for medical information.  All I got was a very long letter, the contents of which was a very sorrowful soap opera-type story.  Yay for me.  Yet another reason for sarcasm. (((Oh, and no one IS looking for me.)))

So, while Sister Irene is my hero, in my opinion the adoption laws in our country are horrible.  What began well has ended badly.  I don't wonder why there are a disproportionate number of adoptees my age who are in therapy.  Perhaps I'll include my own messed up adoption on my list for my shrink.  Wait! I forgot I dumped him for not liking me defining my own crazy.  For sure I will finally blog one day about Being Adopted.  (((Waiting for more sarcasm and irony to invade the topic.))) 

Saturday, January 7, 2012

Taking Control is Allowed?

I really don't like satan's box much less its keyboard.  I learned how to type in 1974 on a manual typewriter. We learned and practiced our exercises to music.  The old lady teacher was WayCool.  I was stoned at every class and can still type 92 words-per-TheMinute (no errors).  I am full of errors on this keyboard, both typo and idiocy-o errors.  Lately I have shed tears on my keyboard...I just don't like it.  I recently asked someone over at Facebookville how to make the sign of the cross (+) to look like his (which I cannot demonstrate here).  After a few tries (((control, alt, zero, one, three...control alt))) and seeing a few show-offs successfully post the said cross, it was determined that I was impotent because I was a Mac.  Sigh.

As usual, I took control of the most recent failure and accepted with joy my little plus sign.  Along the way, since accepting the "disorder", I have played my own little musical exercises.  I play music as loud as my apartment neighbors will tolerate, and ponder the ways I may control my thoughts, ideas, words, and sprialdowns.  Sometimes it works.  What hurts is when you are in success-mode and are feeling fine, then suddenly (and it seems out of nowhere) the very loved ones who wish you well and are pleased to see you out and about, demand (or make you feel like it's a demand) that you raise your own bar up a notch?  You know...you've taken a walk, now let's start jogging.  I am lucky to make it to just that place under the normal line,  the jogging may never happen in my world, again.  (((was skater not jogger anyway)  

This is where the sweet and beautiful control factor comes in and thanks to many folks who are wiser than I, I have learned that I am allowed to define my own crazy, take control of my "peaceful world", and press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.  (Philippians 3:14)

Thursday, January 5, 2012

Facebookville, the Sequel. the Contradiction.


'Tis a separate universe over there in Facebookville.  The last time I realized this in the profound way in which I did these last few weeks, was when I wrote this - well, I wrote the title.  In one day such irony took over my thoughts and invaded the pictures in my brain.  It did feel like my brain was slowly oozing out of my ears.

This lovely and beautiful, kind and gracious Christmas season has left me out of breath and bewildered.
My invisible friends over There have sent me or wished me multitudes of Christmas blessings!  Fabulous, indeed.  I also have received about half of that number rude, perverted, satanic, romantic, ignorant, perverted private and public greetings. (((did i say perverted?)))  I got Snarky, now and then.  I don't care. no. mo.

I am who I am and know it well. I die daily!  First letter to the Corinthians, Chapter 15: 31 +
Our rich United States of America (and preborn infant killing country) has forgotten her prayer:


Now I lay me
down to sleep.
I pray the Lord,
my soul to keep.
If I should die
before I wake.
I pray the Lord
my soul
to 
take

We are so sure of our existence, apart from Almighty God, that we do not pray the prayer of deathSleep.  Life must end for this day and, God willing, He grants us breath, we awake from the tomb of sleep, and begin again.  Hopefully with a Morning Offering, Act of Faith, Act of Hope, and Act of Love.  With our "priorities" out of order, we are free to awaken day after day the same. Another day to be rude, arrogant, romantic, perverted, prideful, judgmental, ignorant, blahblahblah...with invisible friends who may or may not be who they say they are. We are all friends. (((we are laffin)))  

The beautiful song of the peaceful death. Dying daily.  with Christ Jesus before our eyes.


((('tis funny. I had picket signs with Paul Hill (here) for a Pearl Jam concert.)))

Breathing! and wishing you and your loved ones a very hopeful and peaceful New Year! 

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Happy New Year - the Year of the Lord 2012


It is the year 2012!  Here, at my local 7-Eleven, there is one stand-alone display near the front of the store with EVERYTHING one might need to survive the mean streets of my quaint, little, Annapolis.  I did become ill.

Our Lady of the Predicament, pray for us.  
Happy New Year And a Blessed Solemnity of Mary, the Mother of God! +