A new video has surfaced on the eve of the sixth anniversary of the 9/11 terror attack. Call me skeptical and cynical, but I think it’s more than coincidence whenever the Bush Administration has some agenda to promote that Osama bin Laden appears out of almost nowhere. Continue reading “Convenient fraud”
Powerful
I owe Paula for this video clip. It’s powerful and needs no further introduction.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SvPjdEOKsVY]
Never too much
I’ve been listening to music on my IPod all summer. An IPod has really revolutionized music for me. My new PT Cruiser has an audio jack that lets me play music whenever I’m in the car. Tonight my wife and I drove to Fredonia, New York to have dinner with our son and daughter. Continue reading “Never too much”
Why we fight
Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is humanity hanging on a cross of iron. ~Dwight D. Eisenhower, speech, American Society of Newspaper Editors, 16 April 1953
Verse of the day
For he did not remember to show kindness, but pursued the poor and needy and the brokenhearted to their death. He loved to curse; let curses come on him. He did not like blessing; may it be far from him. He clothed himself with cursing as his coat, may it soak into his body like water, like oil into his bones.
– Psalms 109:16-18
Maybe there is payback for neglecting the needy. I believe that there is a yin and yang. There is a balance in the universe.
Deep peace
Thank you to all the people who prayed for our daughter. She seems to be progressing well. Her fever broke over twenty-four hours ago and her leg looks much better. The redness and swelling are subsiding. Dara is hoping to return to her normal life soon. I know that your prayers really helped her and I’m deeply moved by the number of visitors to this site who not only viewed the request but also left a comment. In all the writing I’ve done this simple request for prayer elicited the greatest response. Continue reading “Deep peace”
Christian of the 21st century
“The Christian of the future will be a mystic or he will not exist at all.”–Karl Rahner.
Fr. Bob Struzynski, OFM told me that a couple of years ago during one of my visits to Mt. Irenaeus. It resonated for me then and continues to more and more each day and week. I am drawn more and more to the mystical Christ. I always was. There was always something much deeper than words for me. Continue reading “Christian of the 21st century”
Samba pa ti
I’ve been listening to music that was produced in the 1960’s and 1970’s lately. This renewed fascination has been fueled by many of the wonderful videos at Youtube. Carlos Santana was one of the great guitarists that came out of that era. His music always had an ethereal quality. He continues to delight today. Here’s a nice rendition of Samba Pa Ti which means “Samba for you.” I think it came from the Abraxas album. The Abraxas album was released in September 1970.
[youtube=http://youtube.com/watch?v=ACdwCIld3kE]
Do not resist an evildoer
You have heard that it was said, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” But I say to you, do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your cloak as well; and if anyone forces you to go one mile, go also the second mile. Give to everyone who begs from you, and do not refuse anyone who wants to borrow from you.- Matthew 5:38-42
That quote came in today’s Verse and Voice from Sojourners. I’ve thought of it often and pondered it alot. Gandhi was one of the people who got it. Western Christians talk about Jesus and in the United States there are many who balk at this. Just try not resisting an evil person and see what happens. You’ll be amazed.
Thoughts on the 1960’s and now
In reading the comments on the feed at Lifehack.org that I wrote about yesterday I’m struck by the tone of some of the comments. Life is not as some would have us believe an us vs. them. It’s not conservative vs. liberal. Life is very nuanced. Life in the 1960’s that’s drawn the ire of some conservatives was very unsettling. It was a time of flux much like today. There were wonderful things that happened like Martin Luther King, the Civil Rights movement, the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the 1964 Worlds Fair, Neil Armstrong walking on the moon. There were terrible things that happened like the little girls getting killed in the 16th Street Baptist church bombing, the Kennedy assasinations, the Martin Luther King assasination and the Vietnam war. Continue reading “Thoughts on the 1960’s and now”