Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Brief Hiatus

I am sure the hiatus has not been brief to those who follow, but I have been finishing my Political Science degree through Kaplan University. The Good News: I have made the Deans List every term I have studied. Woot! Validation that I am not a dolt... well, I always knew I was not, but it is so easy to fall into negative thinking. So, I will accept my supporters encouragement that I am no stooge and continue to believe that we can make this world the better place we all desire!

My project in a much beloved class, Composition II, will be putting all we have learned in Comp I into practical action in our chosen professions or way to express our chosen vocations with respect to our studies. I feel that Poly Sci is perfect for "rebels" like me who desire to preserve Natural Law, the Sacrament of Marriage and the support of the contemporary family, regardless of its shape. Don't get me wrong, I AM VERY PRO NATURAL LAW AND WILL DO ALL I CAN TO ENCOURAGE IT FOR THE PROTECTION OF CHILDREN, THE INNOCENTS. THOSE IN NEED OF ALL OF OUR SUPPORT IN THIS CULTURE OF DEATH.

Pray for Sr Kateri as she professes her vows of the evangelical counsels and seals her commitment to the betterment of all who desire!

For my class project, we will be creating our website to ask the Holy Spirit to bring us more vocations. Please all, OSMM or supporters or just friends, pray for us. I do believe our website is of the utmost importance. GOD BLESS YOU ALL.

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Guest Blog January

The Oblate Sisters of St Mary Magdalene and The Oblate Brothers of St Andre will be honoring us this year with their contributions, expressing how they live the charism of OSMM or OBA in their own Milieu. January is the month for Sr. Kateri to share. Pray for her in thanksgiving for this shared blessing.

Ballistic boors, berated boys and badly behaved barriers

There’s no telling how long they had been there when I came around the corner. I was pretty frazzled myself as I was running late to my appointment because I hadn’t been alert to the train schedule changes due to the now far-too-frequent track work but I knew I had to do something. I stayed back a moment to assess the situation. A young boy, about seven years old, was on one side of the mechanical gate and his father was on the other. The boy was frantic as his father literally screamed and cursed at him to insert his ticket correctly and join him so they could resume their journey. The poor boy kept trying to get the ticket reader to accept his little red piece of paper, but the machine was being persnickety and refused to cooperate no matter how desperate the boy or his father was. The ears for which the boy’s pain-filled pleas of, “I’m trying, Daddy, I’m trying!” were intended were fully deaf to them; apparently, I was the only one who was affected by his disturbing distress. By now, the father was bellowing curse words and yelling, “You are definitely your mother’s son” while waving his arms like a madman as though that would somehow intimidate the machine into simply allowing the child through. I thought those words would be my cue. I planned to walk up and exclaim, “And I’m sure his mother thinks he’s a handsome son indeed” then trying to calm the ballistic father down before the situation got even more out of hand than it was already. Such a compliment wouldn’t be much of a stretch. He was a cute little fellow indeed, well groomed and neatly tucked into a crisp clean coat, hopefully by someone very unlike the man now abusing him. I wanted to rush up and wrap my arms around him to insulate him from the cold, vicious words that stung our combined ears, but I knew that might make the situation worse for him after I left, so another strategy was needed to protect him from the horrible storm taking place in the train station on that beautiful, sunny day.

I considered using the gate furthest from the malignant man to get to the other side of the gates then trying to help the boy insert his ticket, but I worried that the ticket might have been rendered useless from his repeated attempts to force it into the tiny slot. My sole fellow train traveler had just used that furthest portal to conveniently escape the situation, quickly slipping out the door as soon as he obtained access to the other side rather than taking a few seconds to intervene from the safety of the other side of the gates. Now, I was left with the raging maniac, who continued to get more and more worked up and abusive despite my presence as a witness to his unacceptable behavior. By now, he was calling his son horribly hurtful names while striking the ticket mechanism repeatedly. Oddly enough, I was not the only witness to this deranged behavior. Beside the father stood another man-- perhaps a friend or relative of the father’s, maybe even the boy’s uncle. He did not actively participate in the abuse, but his silence echoed through the train station, a speechless endorsement of the father’s damaging actions. I’m surprised the man didn’t suggest that one of them take the boy’s ticket and try to insert it themselves given that they could reach the ticket reader over the gate if they tried. Instead, the father seemed to prefer terrorizing the trembling boy (and machine) into submission.

I finally built up the courage to step into the fray and approached the gate where the maligning man was continuing to scream at and scare his scarred son. I took out my monthly train pass and tapped it on the gate release mechanism, which promptly opened the gate. The moment was actually somewhat bittersweet—though the gate had been the cause of great emotional abuse, it may have actually served to protect the boy from physical abuse. Now that protective barrier had vanished and though he had been rather desperate to get through, the boy understandably paused, perhaps in surprise because he hadn’t inserted his ticket and yet the previously unyielding gate had somehow magically parted. I then motioned to him to enter, gently coaxing, “Come on through.” That was all he needed to hear-- he rushed through to where his father had demanded him to be. I then slid to the other side before the gate closed, locking me in the station. I naively expected the abuse to stop once the boy was no longer on the other side of the gate that had so aggravated his father, but the tyrant continued to badger the boy about his inability to make the gate open on his own and his other perceived faults. I then told the father that sometimes tickets fail to function due to faulty magnetic strips and that his son’s ticket probably fell into that category. I also told them to make sure the boy exited the gate with one of them when they got where they were going because he had entered on my pass so his ticket would not work at their destination. I hoped that would end the trouble as now he had a plausible explanation for the troublesome ticket not working. But, as I walked away, I heard the boy’s abuse continue, as it had likely done long before the unyielding gate had ever served as a pretext for his father’s misplaced rage. I do not know his name, but I shall pray for that little tussled blond boy, wrapping him up in the warmth of the Lord’s love where his own father’s is sometimes absent. Wherever you are, little one, someone will remember you and children like you in prayer. …

O Jesus, I pray that victims of abuse and mistreatment may be healed by your infinite goodness and compassion to the afflicted. Restore their mental and physical and spiritual health, and renew their strength and their courage so that they may lead full lives serving you on earth. I pray that all victims of crime and family abuse may be bathed in the healing light of your infinite love, especially vulnerable children who cannot protect themselves from their abusers or understand why they are being targeted.

Friday, January 20, 2012

The Apple Argument

This essay first appeared in the December 2000 issue of Crisis Magazine. Peter Kreeft supplies us with an argument against abortion that even the hardest, pro-abortion heart will have a difficult time defending.

http://www.crisismagazine.com/2012/the-apple-argument-against-abortion-3

In addition, here is a reply to the latest "Why I Hate Religion, But I Love Jesus" video that went viral. Not bad... actually, VERY GOOD.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ru_tC4

It's nice to blog when others present your thoughts so well :)