Here's my November article for Fe Fuerza Vida...

Totus Tuus

It’s our natural reaction to give thanks for the good present in our lives…I mean unless you’re some kind of jerk.  Seriously though, being thankful is a key part of human happiness.  Gratitude is the recognition of our dependence on God and the humility to admit it.  In this country we have so much we take for granted that other people around the world literally die because they lack.  America’s poverty is not a material poverty, but a spiritual poverty.  As Mother Teresa once said, “In the developed countries there is a poverty of intimacy, a poverty of spirit, of loneliness, of lack of love.  There is no greater sickness in the world than that one.” 

This poverty of spirit starts in the home.  If everyone were to take care of his or her own family this world would be a beautiful place.  Unfortunately that’s not the case and we just have deal with whatever situation we are born into.  If our families are in overall good shape, we give thanks.  If they are not, we give thanks for what we have and avoid playing the role of a victim.  We must not let our hurt hold us down; rather we should wear it as a badge of courage for what we have survived and know that God loves us in our brokenness. 

There is a dual aspect to thanksgiving.  In the act of being thankful we see all the good present in our lives and the misery present in the lives of others.  We can’t be good Christians unless we are mindful of both.  Thanksgiving is not only a reminder of the good in our lives, but also a call to action.  Jesus calls us to hold those who are down and out close to our hearts.  He wants to work through us for them.  Jesus associates himself so much with the poor and miserable that he says, “What you have done to the least of my brothers, you have done to me.”  If that doesn’t scare you, I don’t know what will.  It scares me everyday.

What can we do then?  What concrete steps can we take?  It can be as simple as buying a homeless man a slice of pizza the next time he asks for money on the street instead of just throwing a dollar at him or trying to not look him in the eye.  It can be as simple as going out of your way to somebody at school you really don’t know who lost a loved one or just somebody at school who is a little “weird”.  Maybe God wants you to do more then this still.  In order to listen we must first get out of ourselves instead of living behind the walls we put up to keep the misery around us out.   

Lions, and tigers, and axe-murders...oh my

Here's my article for this month's issue of Fe Fuerza Vida.

I must confess that I’m not the biggest fan of horror movies and I never was.  Many of my friends have always been fanatics, but it just never appealed to me.  They tend to all seem so cliché and I feel that most of them share the same plot.  There’s an inescapable situation, maniacal murder(s), inevitable sex scene that has nothing to do with the plot, blood, gore, and an ending that is confusing and doesn’t really conclude anything.

I think the last horror movie I saw was “The Purge”, if you didn’t see it, don’t, you didn’t miss much.  The context of the movie is that for one 12-hour period every year, emergency services and law are suspended and people run wild taking revenge or just killing for the sake of killing.  The reason in the movie for this purge was the idea that since people are “violent and evil” by nature (which we’re not), these 12-hours serve as a healthy release for tension allowing for society to flourish for the other 364 days out of the year in a crime free country.  Whatever.

This idea of killing out of boredom as seen in “The Purge” may seem to exist only in Hollywood, at least I thought so, but I was disturbed when I heard a story on the news in late August.  Three black teenagers shot an Australian man who was just jogging on the side of the road in Oklahoma.  Do you remember this?  Look it up.  When one of the teenagers was asked why they shot the man, he responded, “We were bored and didn’t have anything to do, so we decided to kill somebody.”  I can’t help thinking that movies, TV and video games, which equate the destruction of human life to entertainment, do not in some way contribute to the all too common tragic shootings we see in this country today.  I think not only of this incident in Oklahoma, but especially the Newtown school shooting and the shooting in the movie theater last year in Colorado.

We have to realize as a society that what we feed our minds does affect us, even if only sub-consciously.  Entertainment should try to elevate man’s mind, not bring it down.  We should always try to fill our minds with what is good, true and beautiful.  That is what we are meant for and it is only there that we will find happiness and cultivate a culture of life.

Kudos to the guy who did this...

NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) -

A billboard in downtown Nashville has many people talking. It's only three words, but the message aims to make a strong point meant to cut down on pornography and sex trafficking.

Check out the video: http://www.wsmv.com/story/23595032/billboard-sparks-

Courtesy of: http://www.wsmv.com/story/23595032/billboard-sparks-conversation-above-nashville-adult-store

Hands

After a long, dormant slumber, I thought I might revive my old blog and share some things I have written.  Why not, right?  I've been asked to write for the past some odd months in a Spanish Catholic newspaper on Long Island (its a long story, but no its not in Spanish and I don't speak Spanish that well) so I thought of maybe sharing some of things I write for them here as well.  Kill two birds with one stone, you know?

Anyways, this is something I wrote back around the springtime to submit to an elderly priest who was trying to put a book together.  The book was supposed to consist of reflections given by seminarians on the priesthood, but it seems it may have been a project that never got off the ground.  Anyways he liked it so I hope you do too.  

 The priesthood is both enticing and overwhelming.  Sometimes I stop in certain moments and think about my hands.  I think about what they have done, both good and bad.  I think about the work I have used them for.  I think about the hands of people I have met throughout my whole life, people I have long known and those whom I have only met in passing.  Then I think about the hands of the priest, whose hands lift up broken humanity to God with the very hands of Jesus.  The same hands that lift Jesus in the Eucharist to the Father in the Mass.  The same hands that absolve and reconcile all things to Him.  I think of hands that help, hands that heal, hands meant for all God’s people. 

Peace and good,

Mike

He did not say...

Pope Francis with a crying baby

The Origins of Planned Parenthood

Why I don't care you're gay Jason Collins....

Its been all over the news in the past 24 hours or so that NBA player Jason Collins has 'come out of the closet' and announced to the world that he is gay.  Its funny timing that this announcement has come just after the release of the movie 42  about Jackie Robinson, who broke the color barrier in sports and now Jason Collins is being credited with breaking the gay barrier in sports.  A major difference between Jackie and Jason is that Jackie didn't have to announce to anyone that he was black in a time of great adversity and Jackie didn't have the support of the President and media.  Jackie had to fight obstinate racism in a time when segregation was the 'norm' and African Americans were deemed second class citizens.  

What made Jackie Robinson truly great and legendary is the fact that he overcame this adversity.  Jason Collins is not overcoming any adversity.  The very next day after his announcement, the President of the United States of America gave him a personal phone call telling him that he was so proud of him for his courage.


Courage is reserved for those individuals who fight against the odds and overcome adversity.  Courage is reserved for those who risk something very dear to themselves, knowing full well that the possibility of failure is real.  This possibility does not exist in today's world for those who label themselves as gay and wish to live the gay lifestyle.  Society says tolerance towards all ideas and complete intolerance to individuals  who disagree with someone else's ideas.  In the name of tolerance, tolerance is being abolished.  

This possibility of failure does not exist for Jason Collins, who came out of the closet now when the gay lifestyle is being promoted in politics and media like it never has before.  People with same-sex attraction should be treated with  respect and dignity as any human being should.  This does not mean however that the lifestyle often associated with same-sex attraction should be promoted as a equal alternative.  

Courage is not gained by a millionaire celebrity athlete making an announcement to ESPN in an interview.  Courage is not gained when opposition is lacking.  Courage is not needed when the leader of the free world is on your side.  Courage is needed if you choose to identify yourself with who you are as a person, rather than just your sexual attractions.

Pax et bonum, 
Mike


Here's a look at real courage...
http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/courage-continues-mission-of-its-founder-father-harvey/

The Butterfly Circus

"This video will change your life"....worth a watch

From the father of a victim of Columbine 12 years later...

 

Guess our national leaders didn't expect this. On Thursday, Darrell Scott, the father of Rachel Scott, a victim of the Columbine High School shootings in Littleton, Colorado, was invited to address the House Judiciary Committee's subcommittee. What he said to our national leaders during this special session of Congress was painfully truthful.

They were not prepared for what he was to say, nor was it received well. It needs to be heard by every parent, every teacher, every politician, every sociologist, every psychologist, and every so-called expert! These courageous words spoken by Darrell Scott are powerful, penetrating, and deeply personal. There is no doubt that God sent this man as a voice crying in the wilderness. The following is a portion of the transcript:

"Since the dawn of creation there has been both good & evil in the hearts of men and women. We all contain the seeds of kindness or the seeds of violence. The death of my wonderful daughter, Rachel Joy Scott, and the deaths of that heroic teacher, and the other eleven children who died must not be in vain. Their blood cries out for answers.

"The first recorded act of violence was when Cain slew his brother Abel out in the field. The villain was not the club he used.. Neither was it the NCA, the National Club Association. The true killer was Cain, and the reason for the murder could only be found in Cain's heart.

"In the days that followed the Columbine tragedy, I was amazed at how quickly fingers began to be pointed at groups such as the NRA. I am not a member of the NRA. I am not a hunter. I do not even own a gun. I am not here to represent or defend the NRA - because I don't believe that they are responsible for my daughter's death. Therefore I do not believe that they need to be defended. If I believed they had anything to do with Rachel's murder I would be their strongest opponent.

I am here today to declare that Columbine was not just a tragedy -- it was a spiritual event that should be forcing us to look at where the real blame lies! Much of the blame lies here in this room. Much of the blame lies behind the pointing fingers of the accusers themselves. I wrote a poem just four nights ago that expresses my feelings best.

Your laws ignore our deepest needs,

Your words are empty air.

You've stripped away our heritage,

You've outlawed simple prayer.

Now gunshots fill our classrooms,

And precious children die.

You seek for answers everywhere,

And ask the question "Why?"

You regulate restrictive laws,

Through legislative creed.

And yet you fail to understand,

That God is what we need!

"Men and women are three-part beings. We all consist of body, mind, and spirit. When we refuse to acknowledge a third part of our make-up, we create a void that allows evil, prejudice, and hatred to rush in and wreak havoc. Spiritual presences were present within our educational systems for most of our nation's history. Many of our major colleges began as theological seminaries. This is a historical fact.

What has happened to us as a nation? We have refused to honor God, and in so doing, we open the doors to hatred and violence. And when something as terrible as Columbine's tragedy occurs -- politicians immediately look for a scapegoat such as the NRA. They immediately seek to pass more restrictive laws that contribute to erode away our personal and private liberties. We do not need more restrictive laws.

Eric and Dylan would not have been stopped by metal detectors. No amount of gun laws can stop someone who spends months planning this type of massacre. The real villain lies within our own hearts.

"As my son Craig lay under that table in the school library and saw his two friends murdered before his very eyes, he did not hesitate to pray in school. I defy any law or politician to deny him that right! I challenge every young person in America , and around the world, to realize that on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School prayer was brought back to our schools. Do not let the many prayers offered by those students be in vain. Dare to move into the new millennium with a sacred disregard for legislation that violates your God-given right to communicate with Him.

To those of you who would point your finger at the NRA -- I give to you a sincere challenge.. Dare to examine your own heart before casting the first stone!

My daughter's death will not be in vain! The young people of this country will not allow that to happen!"

- Darrell Scott

Do what the mainstream media did not - - let the nation hear this man's speech.