Occasional reflections on religion, culture, politics, and anything else that comes into my mind...
LEGAL MARIJUANA IS RUINING
A ONCE-CHARMING COMMUNITY
There have been some startling developments in the world during my two-week sojourn in Colorado.
Kim Jung Un has started playing his predictable games over the Trump summit. America opened a new embassy in Jerusalem, with predictable backlash from Hamas and other Arab extremists. And Mother Nature showed how unpredictable she can be by launching her volcanic re-conquest of Hawaii (of the “Big Island,” at any rate).
REPOSTING A “EULOGY” TO MY WIFE
WHILE SHE’S STILL AROUND TO ENJOY IT
(I offered the reflection below to mark Kathy’s 65th birthday. These thoughts are as applicable five years later, on the occasion of another milestone for her.)
My wife’s favorite scripture reading is the parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32). Kathy always says that the experiences in her life make her able to identify with all three characters in the story — the son, the father, the brother — and she wants the passage read at her funeral.
I’ve promised her that, should she precede me in death, I’ll make sure her wish is fulfilled. But I’ve also insisted that I’ll read the famous Woman of Valor passage from Proverbs 31.*
“When one finds a worthy wife, her value is far beyond pearls.” (In some translations it’s “rubies,” but why split scriptural hairs?)
One of the good things about funerals is that people’s virtues get spoken of in public. But then, that’s also one of the bad things; how unfortunate that we don’t often give voice to those virtues while the person we’re honoring is alive and on hand to hear our reflections. Everyone could use a little praise now and then.
A CUDDLY NEW PLUSH TOY
MARKS TRUMP’S SUCCESS
Forget the ongoing pointless and contrived Mueller investigation.
Forget the Democrats’ empty threats of impeachment.
Forget all that fake news and the incessant carping from your liberal friends and coworkers.
Forget Stormy Daniels.
Instead, be assured, my friends, that Donald Trump has truly established himself as President of the United States.
How do I know this?
Because American business — the ultimate reflector of public sentiment — has said it is so.
Presenting: Trumpy Bear, a cuddly teddy complete with blond comb-over and comfy American flag lap robe.
TIME FOR STRONG ACTION
ON PROTECTING FREE SPEECH
College commencement season is at hand.
That’s the time of year when conceited actors, overpaid sports stars, and self-righteous leftist icons offer words of encouragement to young people who are about to discover that the world isn’t like those warped descriptions they’ve been hearing for the past four years.
This exercise in emotional uplift is especially challenging when messages must be couched in terms that avoid giving offense to even the most contrived identity group, and can’t carry the least suggestion that our nation and way of life hold any hope for progress, equity, or civic virtue.
Commencement season focuses my mind on a particular source of impatience with the Trump Administration.
REEXAMINING WHY
JESUS WAS CRUCIFIED
Why Jesus had to die on the cross is a question that becomes a major stumbling block for many people when they first consider the Christian story in a serious way.
It doesn’t seem to make sense that someone who touched people’s lives for the better, as Jesus clearly did (physically, morally, spiritually), should have been seen as a threat.
What could possibly have made anybody wish to harm him — much less put him to such a grizzly, tortuous death?
My novel, MY BROTHER’S KEEPER, attempts to answer that question in an engaging fictional narrative. But back in 2013, when I launched this blog, my first post was an essay that addressed the issue of Jesus’ execution.
That piece was republished by the online journal, American Thinker, and I have reposted it at Eastertime in succeeding years.
My approach is not theological. I don’t go into the salvific power of Christ’s death and resurrection. Rather, I examine the social, economic and political circumstances surrounding Jesus’ mission (as I do in the novel as well).
Since, 2,000 years later, much confusion and misunderstanding remain, it’s timely to examine the question once again…
JESUS’ FOSTER FATHER AS
A TIMELESS ROLE MODEL
The earthy father of Jesus receives official honor twice during the liturgical year.
March 19 has been his feast day since, as they say, “time immemorial.” And in 1955 Pope Pius XII designated May 1 as the special feast of “St. Joseph the Worker,” highlighting Joseph’s worldly vocation as a carpenter or builder (tekton in Greek).
The pope’s intention was to provide a Christian alternative to May Day labor celebrations being promoted worldwide by the Soviet Union and the Communist Internationale. His idea caught on, and that feast is now celebrated by workers throughout the Catholic world.
St. Joseph plays a prominent role in my novel about the family of Jesus, MY BROTHER’S KEEPER. And on the first Father’s Day after the book’s publication Nancy Hastings of the Gatehouse Media Group did a brief feature article highlighting the unique challenges faced by St. Joseph, as I sketched them in my novel.
It’s only right St. Joseph is honored as a model of the fatherly virtues.
Those virtues are under stress these days. Much of the crime, violence, extremism and sexual perversion we see around us can be attributed to the collapse of fatherhood that’s evident throughout large portions of our society (and those of other nations as well).
Appealing to St. Joseph as an intercessor in this difficult period would be most appropriate. And if you don’t accept the Catholic notion of saints interceding on our behalf, then merely try invoking the name of Joseph in the prayers you address directly to God. Either way, I believe Joseph is a powerful helper standing by — and an example for all men with children to raise, young lives to mold.
So to mark the Feast of St. Joseph — and even though it’s not Father’s Day — here’s Nancy’s article…
NEW DATE FOR BOOK FAIR
SATURDAY, MARCH 17
It’s often said that God laughs at the elaborate plans we make. If that’s true, He must have had Himself quite a good chuckle when a veritable blizzard wiped out the Catholic Authors of Michigan mini-book fair which had originally been set for February 10.
But perhaps God also blesses those things that amuse Him, because the rescheduled event — now set for Saturday, March 17 — is going to be even bigger than the affair first planned.
EWTN personality Teresa Tomeo is still headlining this gathering of Michigan-based Catholic authors (among whom, I humbly remind you, is moi, Bill Kassel, yours truly). But some other fine writers have been added.
Here’s the current line-up…
WHO CAN SPEAK SENSIBLY
ABOUT SCHOOLS & GUNS?
I have never been comfortable with involving kids in political campaigns or politically tinged causes.
No doubt, the presence of apple-cheeked toddlers or clean-scrubbed, wholesome looking young people can add a certain moral luster — rather like when a candidate trots out the wife and kiddies for a campaign ad. Such gestures purport to show concern for the future and commitment to what’s best for those we love.
But whether it’s baby strollers at a protest outside a local abortion mill, or the spooky video that appeared early in Obama’s first term showing cute little black kids marching and chanting to demonstrate their pride in the new President, there’s always an element of exploitation.
This element is clearly on display in the “children’s crusade” that has emerged from the horrific school shooting in Parkland, Florida.
THE RAMPAGE BY NIKOLAS CRUZ
RAISES AN URGENT QUESTION
The February 14th attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School far exceeds the carnage of that 1929 hit job in which seven mobsters were gunned down amid a Chicago turf war.
So I assume it’s the horror of 17 dead bodies — most of them teenagers — plus numerous blood-soaked survivors keeping this appalling incident in Florida from being widely labeled as the “St. Valentine’s Day Massacre.”
But if such a designation seems too flip for the seriousness of this tragedy, there’s been no restraint in hyping last Wednesday’s murderous rampage into a demand for gun control, as well as, predictably, a criticism of Donald Trump.
IT’S GOOD TO REMIND OURSELVES
OF OUR FLAWS AND FAILINGS
Ash Wednesday kicks off Lent this week. Perhaps some thoughts I posted back in 2014 (and then reposted last year) might still be of interest…
____________
I have to confess that there are certain Catholic pious practices I don’t entirely get.
It probably reflects the fact that I’m an adult convert and wasn’t raised in the Church — or that I’ve made less progress on my spiritual journey than I like to assume.
One of the things I don’t get is fasting.
As I understand it, the Church advocates self-denial as a way of detaching ourselves from fleshly preoccupations. Yet I’m never more preoccupied with concerns of the flesh (that is to say, eating) than when I deny myself food.
CATHOLIC MINI BOOK FAIR TO
FEATURE MICHIGAN AUTHORS
Are you within driving distance of Jackson, Michigan?
If so, plan on attending Catholic Authors of Michigan, a mini book fair sponsored by Good Shepherd Catholic Radio, on Saturday, February 10, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
EWTN personality Teresa Tomeo will headline a group of four Michigan-based Catholic authors (among whom, I humbly submit, is moi, Bill Kassel, yours truly).
Also participating are Catholic apologist Gary Michuta, and Islam expert Dr. Brian Bradford.
We’ll all be on hand to discuss and sign our books — which will be on sale at the event and make perfect selections for deepening your faith understanding this Lent.