Bill Kassel's Blog

A Medal for My Book

August 8, 2019 By Bill Kassel 2 Comments

MY NOVEL ABOUT JESUS’ FAMILY
RECOGNIZED BY INDIE BOOK AWARDS

I’m honored to receive the medal shown at left for MY BROTHER’S KEEPER.

It indicates that my novel about the family of Jesus was listed as a finalist in the Religious Fiction competition held by the Next Generation Indie Book Awards, the largest not-for-profit awards program for independent authors and publishers.

Please let me express my sincerest thanks to the judges — many of whom are distinguished figures in the publishing industry — for their acknowledgment of my book’s unconventional retelling of the Christian story.

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Corporate Censorship II

August 4, 2019 By Bill Kassel 6 Comments

A REPLY TO SOME ARGUMENTS
IN DEFENSE OF AMAZON.COM

(This essay refers to my last post, below. If you haven’t read that, scroll down and give it a look, then come back to these current observations.)

My last post elicited several comments in defense of Amazon.com’s right to refuse carrying products its managers deemed objectionable — specifically, books by the late Catholic psychotherapist, Dr. Joseph Nicolosi.

A reader named Eric suggested…

Corporate Censorship

July 29, 2019 By Bill Kassel 3 Comments

BIG MEDIA APPROVES
THE BANNING OF BOOKS

Some years back, a reader complained that Christians were always whining about being discriminated against and having their views marginalized. “You’re the largest religious group in the country,” she wrote “Nobody’s persecuting you.”

It was a sentiment that shimmered with ignorance. But it could perhaps be explained by how hard press outlets were working to obscure the many ways traditional religious ideas are systematically excluded from public discussion. At that time, suggesting people of faith weren’t able to express their opinions freely would have brought derision from across the media spectrum.

These days, making any sort of moral pronouncement that reflects a traditional faith perspective is very likely to get you called a bigot, a Nazi, a purveyor of hate — or worse. It can also get you banned from Facebook and other online platforms.

And it’s become harder to cover up that reality.

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Following the Right Map

July 1, 2019 By Bill Kassel 3 Comments

THE NATION’S FOUNDERS
GAVE US GOOD DIRECTIONS

The following reflection is adapted from an essay I posted on this blog for Independence Day 2014…

One summer during college I worked for the Bucks County Historical Tourist Commission. My job was to drive around eastern Pennsylvania and nearby portions of New Jersey, stocking the map racks of gas stations, restaurants, motels, and other tourist haunts with copies of “Highways of History,” a large, folded map highlighting places of historical and cultural interest in Bucks County.

My favorite place to drop them off happened also to be the best-known site on the map: Washington Crossing. This was the riverfront location from which George Washington launched his fabled Christmas-night foray across the ice-bound Delaware to attack Trenton and Princeton, turning the tide of the Revolutionary War.

The focus of Washington Crossing Historic Park (located about 30 miles northeast of Philadelphia) was the Visitors Center. This modest structure contained a museum, the requisite gift shop, and a small auditorium where tourists could view the famous painting, “Washington Crossing the Delaware.”

To Whom Shall We Go?

June 16, 2019 By Bill Kassel 11 Comments

WHAT’S THE ALTERNATIVE
TO OUR TROUBLED CHURCH?

The scandals and turmoil that continue to rock the Catholic Church put believers in a position not unlike circumstances described in the Gospel of John (sixth chapter).

In that account, many of Jesus’ followers have turned away, unable to accept his description of himself as the bread of life and the idea that they must somehow eat of his flesh.

The Lord asks the apostle Peter if he intends to leave as well. Somewhat perplexedly Peter replies…

“To whom shall we go, Lord? You have the words of eternal life.”

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The Temptation to Change

June 9, 2019 By Bill Kassel 3 Comments

LORD’S PRAYER IS PERFECTLY CLEAR
WHEN IT’S READ MEANINGFULLY

It seems changing that line in the “Our Father” about leading us into temptation proved too tempting to Vatican linguists.

As reported by the online news service, uCatholic, in Italy…

“The Lord’s Prayer will change from ‘and lead us not into temptation’ to ‘do not let us fall into temptation.’”

This reflects offhand remarks by Pope Francis two years ago in which the Holy Father observed that the famous passage was inaccurate. The move is also the product of…

“a 16 year undertaking with aims to ‘contribute to the renewal of the ecclesial community in the wake of the liturgical reform.’

“Bishops and experts worked on improving the text from a theological, pastoral and stylistic point of view, as well as on fine-tuning the presentation of the Missal.”

For now the change applies to dioceses in Italy. Will it go worldwide? Time will tell.

I Post, Therefore I Am

May 10, 2019 By Bill Kassel 4 Comments

WE MUST FLING WIDE
THE ONLINE GATES

An item posted recently on Facebook recalled that in October of 1982 a joint House and Senate resolution acknowledged that Holy Scripture, as “the Word of God,” is “the rock on which our Republic rests,” and declared that 1983 would be celebrated as the “Year of the Bible.”

Almost four decades later — after countless debates over religious symbols in public spaces, a near-complete cleansing of faith from public education, and relentless efforts to force church-related institutions to adapt their policies and procedures to some highly questionable secular legal standards — it’s hard to imagine such a robust governmental salute to our nation’s spiritual roots.

The Catholic Current

April 27, 2019 By Bill Kassel 2 Comments

LISTEN TO MY INTERVIEW
WITH FR. ROBERT McTEIGUE

During Holy Week I was honored to be a guest on “The Catholic Current,” a weekly conversation program hosted by Jesuit Priest, Fr. Robert McTeigue, S.J., Ph.D.

The subject of our talk was my novel about the family of Jesus, “My Brother’s Keeper.” Fr. Robert posed the question: “Would you try to save Christ from His cross?” — since my book is about the efforts of James, whom the Bible describes as “the brother of the Lord,” to do just that.

“The Catholic Current” is heard on stations around the country, and is also available online. Check it out when you have the chance…

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A Remembrance

April 17, 2019 By Bill Kassel 1 Comment

MY SONG ABOUT
THE LAST SUPPER

The first of my original song lyrics I posted after starting this blog focused on a key event of the Easter Triduum: the Last Supper. (I have reposted it in years since.)

The song was bit of conjecture about what one of the apostles (perhaps John?) might have thought looking back from a few years after. I wrote it as an Easter meditation piece, and have performed it many times at Holy Thursday services.

Give the lyrics a read, and have a blessed Easter…

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Vice to Virtue

April 11, 2019 By Bill Kassel 8 Comments

GAY MAYOR PETE BUTTIGIEG CAN’T
AVOID JUDEO-CHRISTIAN MORALITY

As the old saying goes…

“Hypocrisy is the tribute which vice pays to virtue.”

That maxim — credited to 17th-Century French essayist Francois Duc De La Rochefoucaul — came to mind when I read that South Bend Mayor and would-be presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg had cited Donald Trump’s sexual history as a put-down of both the President and his supporters.

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