Sunday, May 31, 2009

Wouldn't It Be Wonderful


Wouldn’t it be wonderful if on the front page of every newspaper, headlines about inspiring articles could be seen? Instead there is a collection of articles about death, murder, rape, war atrocities, cyberwarfare, and identity politics.

Judge Sonia Sotomayer is the current political bellwether. Her judicial opinions are being pulled apart and dissected which such an angry fervor, that to the casual observer it might appear that Judge Sotomayer has created the worse crime against mankind.

Just one day, all the intense money making needs to stop. Just one day, all the stories about corporate and personal greed need to stop.

Is it possible that people become what they are exposed to?

What would the world be like if love, mercy, and forgiveness were the main themes? What would the world be like if peace and human dignity were respected?

Isn’t it time that we evaluate our lives and our impact on others? Are we making the best choices for our lives? Are we living lives of love and sacrifice? Are we offering hope and charity to our neighbors?

These questions are always with me. As I learn more about Catholic social teachings, the questions increase. I am happy that these questions are within me. I am happy when new questions appear.

There will always be sadness in life. There will always be poverty and suffering. There will always be a need for prayer and penance.

To love unconditionally is difficult. Yet, that is what we are asked to do by God. There are days when I feel that I have the right mixture of innocence, hope, and faith to share unconditional love with the entire world. There are also days when I don’t.

And on this Sunday morning, before I prepare to go Mass, my mind wanders across the minefield of headlines about world events and celebrity misadventures and I decide what matters to me. I am continuing a very personal journey. A journey of faith.

The headlines can wait until tomorrow.



Friday, May 29, 2009

A Road Trip

Life is a collection of accidents and almost accidents. Life is a conversation overheard. Life is a dream repeated and remembered.

For me one of the things which holds my life together is my faith, my belief in God.


Each day I acknowledge my flaws, my weaknesses and ask for God’s grace and help. At least once a day I pray for a “clean heart” for myself and others. And I remember other prayers, other voices asking God for guidance.

My plan was for the first blog entry appear sometime on Wednesday. But on Wednesday I took an impromptu road trip to West Virginia. That morning I decided to use road signs as a clever way to discuss faith and religion. I was happy with the plan.

Since I was the passenger, I debated bringing my laptop but decided that was a little silly. Instead I brought a steno pad, an ink pen, two cameras and a copy of the Magnificat. I did not have a plan on how I was going to use any of these items but I knew that I would.

I used the pen and steno pad within the first five minutes. I was going to write down every road sign that I passed. I was surprised by the purple ink which appeared on the paper as I wrote my first words. Only ten words were written before the pen and steno pad were put away.

And then I explained my plan. The car drove through North West Washington, past many two story houses with impressive stone and brick facades, past many trees, graceful and protective, with green leaves more vibrant against the overcast sky, past women pushing perambulators on the sidewalks. I saw this and more. There was too much to write down, too much to try to capture with words.

Here was life. Here was hope. I could see it.

Since we were leaving the Washington metropolitan area, I asked if we could stop at a bank because I needed additional money. While I was at the automatic teller machine, the Magnificat was skimmed by my friend Natalie. When I returned to the car, she flipped a couple pages and asked me to read a passage.

It was the Twenty-Third Psalm. It was a responsorial. I glanced at it once. Then, as we drove on the freeway, I began to read the Twenty-Third Psalm.

In my heart there was an instant of pure joy and hope as the words were repeated and loved ones remembered.