The Teacher and The Student

Last night, I attended the annual awards banquet of a county disability advocacy association. One of the award recipients was a local college professor. This man recently retired from teaching after many decades. He had to retire due to health reasons. His health is frail and he uses a wheelchair. He received an award for developing a program that makes it possible for people with developmental disabilities to attend the college with the goal that they will graduate. Several people with developmental disabilities have received degrees thanks to the program developed by this professor.

Near the end of his acceptance speech, the professor mentioned that one of the things he is doing in retirement is studying Spanish. When he mentioned this, a young man with Down Syndrome came up and hugged the professor. The professor mentioned that this young man was a student of his and that this young man now serves as the professor's Spanish teacher! The young man that gave a short speech, in Spanish, about how great this professor is (I sat next to a person that is fluent in Spanish).

Every teacher is a student and every student is a teacher.

Don't Do What I Say

For the past several months, I have been reading through the Bible using lectio divina. Lectio divina is a form of prayer in which a person makes a commitment to read a book of the Bible very slowly in an effort to really ensure that the words and meaning "sink in". I read just a paragraph or two each day. It sometimes takes me 30 minutes. I read it. I think about it. I read the notes for the related verses (I have a study Bible). I read it again. I think about it.

This morning, I read a passage from Matthew where Jesus tells the parable about a father that asks one son to go and spend the day working in the vineyard. This son says he will work, but does not go and work. The same father asks another son to spend the day working in the vineyard. This son says he won't go work, but he eventually goes and works the day in the vineyard. Jesus then asks, "Which of the sons did the will of the father?" The listeners answer, "The latter son."

Shortly after reading this, I heard a news report on the radio stating that President Obama recently implemented a committee with the goal of reducing the number of abortions, especially abortions where the mother is a teenager. In a press conference related to this committee, President Obama further stated that the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) is not a priority of his Presidency.

Think about the passage from Matthew. Let's say that Barack Obama and George W. Bush are the two sons. Which of these sons did and/or is doing the will of the father?

Earth Day

To celebrate Earth Day, I took a an empty juice box and water bottle, placed them in a disposable diaper with some batteries, and threw this non-recyclable "stew" in the water retention pond across the street.

Actually, I didn't do that. However, that is how I have reponded to people that asked what I did for Earth Day. I live in a community with many radical and active environmentalists. They would like to shoot people that do not recycle everything - really. As a result, the community is perceived as consisting of people that are pro-environment and people that are anti-environment.

Like many people, I probably fit somewhere between the two extremes. I do think it is important to remember that the planet is not ours. We are living on it rent-free. We can chose to be terrible tenants and abuse our enviromnent with no concern for the future or we can choose to be good stewards and recognize our duty to use our natural resources as efficiently as possible.

A Much-Needed Sense of Detachment

Last evening, while enjoying the spring part of the day, I put some weed killer on our lawn and the lawns of both next-door neighbors. There were numerous people out and about in the neighborhood, many of them walking dogs. I noticed one dog walker was talking on her cell-phone while walking by. About 30 minutes later, she and her dog passed by on their return route. The woman was talking on her cell-phone. Was she talking to the same person? Why does she feel the need to talk on her cell-phone while walking her dog? Is she afraid being forced to think about things in her life(this is often a result of confronting silence)?

Do we always need the radio or TV on while at home or in the car? Try a few minutes of silence and see what happens.

The Fours Seasons Summarized

This morning, I took the dog out for his regular walk in the park. There was snow on the ground....on April 21. When we came back home, the daffodils in our front yard were billiant, as was the singing of many birds keeping an eye on the nearby bird feeder.

After preparing for work, I put on my winter jacket. After stepping into the garage, I noticed that the temperature had climbed and a lighter jacket would suffice. When I left the office for an afternoon meeting, the temperature was near 70 degrees and I had to "ditch" the jacket.

Only in the midwest can one enjoy all four seasons in one day.

The Decade of Love

No, it wasn't the 60s or the 70s. On April 17, 1999, my wife and I were married. Since that date, we have both changed jobs more than once, we added a dog to our family, we mourned the death of my father, we dealt with a traumatic injury to my mother-in-law, etc. We have been through much.

When I first heard ABBA sing "Waterloo" in 1975, I knew I was in love. Nearly 30 years later, my love for ABBA continues to grow. The same holds true for my lovely wife. I love her more today than I did ten years ago and my love for her continues to grow.

We celebrated by having the same special dinner that we had on our wedding day - take out Chinese (from the very same restaurant at the same location as a decade ago).

212 Degrees of Singing

Yes, everyone else has commented on the phenomenon of Susan Boyle. I'll set the table: a dowdy 47-year old spinster shows up on the United Kingdom's version of "American Idol". Don't judge a book by its cover.

After a fair amount of searching, I found an embedded video of her appearance that allows me to post it directly to this blog. Here it is:

Captain Courageous

Sully is yesterdays news. Sure, he safely landed a jet full of people in the Hudson River.

We quickly tired of Sully. Our new hero is Capt. Richard Phillips. After being held hostage by Somali pirates for several days, Capt. Phillips escaped after Navy SEALS shot his three captors to death at the same moment.

For the past several days, all of the news has been about Capt. Phillips. The United States has vowed to deal with piracy in the waters off Somalia. As posted in this very blog many months ago, piracy has been a major issue. Of course, U.S. media didn't pick up on this since it didn't seem to impact U.S. citizens. Not until a U.S. resident was held hostage did we even care about piracy of Somalia.

Don't get me wrong. I am very happy that Captain Phillips is now safe. However, there are several hundred people from various ships being held by Somali pirates. Since they are not U.S. citizens, it obviously doesn't seem to matter to most of us. Each one of the people currently being held captive by the pirates is a son/daughter and/or brother/sister and/or husband/wife and/or father/mother. We should care about them. We should also care about the Somali pirates that feel they have no alternative for survival other than engaging in piracy. They are also somebody's family members.

Sun Shrine

Earlier today, my work to me to the western part of Wisconsin. I took the opportunity to visit the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe near La Crosse. The shrine church was completed last year and dedicated on January 31 of this year. Visit the shrine website at: http://www.guadalupeshrine.org/Home/Home.asp.

Easy Ed

Maybe impending retirement is tougher than I think it is. This weekend, Cardinal Edward Egan of New York was admitted to the hospital with severe stomach pain. During examinations, it was discovered that he was in need of a pacemaker.

It is too early to tell whether of not Cardinal Egan will be able to participate in Holy Week activities for the Archdiocese of New York. Also, just three days after Easter, Archbishop Timothy Dolan takes over the helm of New York from Cardinal Egan.

I feel badly for His Eminence. I often listen to daily Mass from St, Patrick's Cathedral in New York while eating my breakfast of Captain Crunch with Crunchberries cereal. He presides on most Fridays and on other special occasions. I know he was really looking forard to Holy Week and welcoming Archbishop Dolan next week. I hope he will be able to participate in some manner in Holy Week activities and the installation of Archbishop Dolan as his successor.

Looking Forward to Retirement

Retirement. I look forward to it. For me, unfortunately, it is several decades away. Given the economy, it may very well be a lifetime away.

However, for a few Church leaders in the United States, it is at hand or just a few years away. In New York, things are changing with the transition from Cardinal Edward Egan to Archbishop Timothy Dolan. Within three years, there will be similar transtions in Los Angeles, Chicago and Philadelphia, Cardinals Roger Mahony (LA), Francis George (Chi) and Justin Rigali (Phil) will all turn 75, the mandatory retirment age for bishops, within three years. While these bishops will be required to submit letters of retirement to the Pope, His Holiness does not have to accept them right away. In fact, Cardinal Egan of New York submitted his request over two years ago and it was not accepted until a few weeks ago. However, it is quite likely that the face of the leadership of the Catholic Church in the United States will be quite different 5 years from now. Look for Archbishop Dolan to be a key figure, as will as Cardinal Daniel DiNardo of Galveston-Houston.

Change is good. If we are not changing, we are not living.

The Face of Things To Come

Earlier today, I relented and set up a Facebook account. This may very well be my first foray into technology that I do not understand. The reason I opened the account is because I have a niece that is studying in New Zealand. I discovered that she is on Facebook and concluded that the easiest way to get in contact with her was by means of Facebook.

Within a couple of minutes of setting up my Facebook account and asking my niece for permission to be added as one of her Facebook "friends", I had a reply from her. We exchanged quite a few Facebook communications. I must be getting older since I posted a message to her in an area that wasn't meant for messages. My niece kidded me about that - sort of like how I kidded my parents when they could not figure out how to use the remote for the VCR. In spite of my gaffe, my journey into the world of Facebook has been pleasant due to the ease of making contact with my niece.

Shooting the Messenger

Somebody has to pay for the recent Vatican public relations debacles. That somebody may very well end up being Vatican spokesman Frederico Lombardi, S.J.. While he did not make the decision about remitting the excommunications of the four Society of St. Pius X bishops, he did "package" the issues to present to the outside world. While the Pope made "off the cuff" comments about condoms on His trip to Africa, Lombardi was responsible for clarifying those remarks to the media. He did not develop the messages, but he was the messenger. And he soon may be looking for other work.

Lombardi has served as head of Vatican Radio for several years. When Joaquin Navarro-Walls (a psychiatrist by training) retired a couple of years ago after nearly thirty years of serving as the Pope's spokesman, Lombardi took on the added responsibilities.

Lombardi is in a "no win" situation. The missteps were not his, but he had to deal with the reactions. Since he is a Jesuit, many conservative prelates suspected that Lombardi may have developed a plan to sabotage the Pope through public relations strategies.

Let's see where the dust settles on this one. Poor Father Lombardi. Even after putting lipstick on it, a pig is still a pig.