Well, all those Republican First/Catholic Second folks that hate the fact that a Democrat is in the White House are really squirming now. They came up with many sound bites against health care reform. One of the authoritative entities they leaned on to back up their sound bites was the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. By God, if the Bishops were against it, they had to be, too! NO OBAMA CARE! Of course, most of these folks ignored the part of the USCCB statements that clearly expressed a need for comprehensive health care reform.
Well, now the Republican First/Catholic Second folks are stuck - a recent post on the blog, PewSitter indicates this.. The Bishops must be off their rockers by expressing opposition to Arizona's new law against immigrants. According to the Republican First/Catholic Second folks, these dirty Mexicans come across the border to steal our jobs, take our women and fill up our prisons. Thank God that the Bishops see the situation just a bit differently.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
The Irony Of It All
A couple of weeks ago, I made mention of my attempt to complete an Iron Man competition over the span of a month. Thus, I would run 25 miles, bike 112 miles and swim 2.4 miles of the course of a month. The event began at my health club on April 15th. About 10 minutes ago, a completed a 14 mile bike ride that put me "over the top". Since April 15, I have run about 26 miles (actually, I did a very light jog, as a bum knee keeps me from running), biked about 113 miles and swam about 2.5 miles. I accomplished this majestic feat in two weeks and quicker than did any of the other 29 event participants (the swim portion appears to have done most of them in, but they still have time).
Sunday, April 25, 2010
One More Season?
This morning, my wife and I were ready to put our beloved canine companion to sleep. Given the prognosis we received yesterday from the vet, things looked very grim. Earlier this afternoon, I left a message at the animal hospital that, if our dog's condition didn't drmatically improve, we would come in to do what had to be done ASAP.
Just after I left that message, the phone rang and, from caller ID, we knew it was th animal hospital. It appears that our dog has a condition in addition to chronic kidney disease. This additional condition is known as Brett Favre-itis. To the surprise of everyone, our dog responded quite well to fluid treatments. Yes, his kidneys are still failing and remain a concern. However, with a special diet and some medications, he should be OK for the foreseeable future. He comes back home on Monday morning.
My wife and I have never gone from such a deep depression to incredible joy in such a short period of time. We know we may still face the time when we have to make a difficult decision about our beloved dog, but this weekend helped to prepare us for when that time comes. It has also convinced us that we should not rule out the possibility of bringing another dog into the family (yes, a two-dog family). We came close to doing that several months ago, but the breeder found a good family to match with the dog. However, we have been made aware of another dog - the same breed as our dog - that may be looking for a good home. This dog has been pushed hard to be a show dog, but doesn't seem to have what it takes to succeed in that arena. However, he likely has plenty to offer a family that is looking to bring a dog into their home. Because he is a bit older (7 months), he will be more difficult to place than a puppy.
To prove that I am not kidding about Brett Favre-itis and that our dog (left) could easily get along with another dog (notice the wagging tails), check out this photo:
Just after I left that message, the phone rang and, from caller ID, we knew it was th animal hospital. It appears that our dog has a condition in addition to chronic kidney disease. This additional condition is known as Brett Favre-itis. To the surprise of everyone, our dog responded quite well to fluid treatments. Yes, his kidneys are still failing and remain a concern. However, with a special diet and some medications, he should be OK for the foreseeable future. He comes back home on Monday morning.
My wife and I have never gone from such a deep depression to incredible joy in such a short period of time. We know we may still face the time when we have to make a difficult decision about our beloved dog, but this weekend helped to prepare us for when that time comes. It has also convinced us that we should not rule out the possibility of bringing another dog into the family (yes, a two-dog family). We came close to doing that several months ago, but the breeder found a good family to match with the dog. However, we have been made aware of another dog - the same breed as our dog - that may be looking for a good home. This dog has been pushed hard to be a show dog, but doesn't seem to have what it takes to succeed in that arena. However, he likely has plenty to offer a family that is looking to bring a dog into their home. Because he is a bit older (7 months), he will be more difficult to place than a puppy.
To prove that I am not kidding about Brett Favre-itis and that our dog (left) could easily get along with another dog (notice the wagging tails), check out this photo:
Saturday, April 24, 2010
That Dreaded Day Is Near
The millions of readers of this blog know that I make regular reference to events I experience with my canine companion. His name is Archie. As I write this, Archie is in an animal hospital. While he looks fine and is in no pain, his kidneys are barely functioning and it appears that the situation will not improve much. He will reamin in the hospital for a couple more days to see if fluid therapy might help stablize things. Even if there is improvement, it will only be temporary. However, he may improve enough to come home for some final events - a final walk in the park, a final night sleeping on his favorite bed, etc.
Obviously, my wife and I will have to put Archie to sleep sometime in the not-too-distant future. This is no easy thing to do. My wife and I just celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary. Two months after our wedding, Archie joined our family as a puppy. The three of us have been through many experiences together. Given the inevitable loss, it seems that a perfect three-legged stool is now a terribly out-of-balance two legged stool.
Obviously, my wife and I will have to put Archie to sleep sometime in the not-too-distant future. This is no easy thing to do. My wife and I just celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary. Two months after our wedding, Archie joined our family as a puppy. The three of us have been through many experiences together. Given the inevitable loss, it seems that a perfect three-legged stool is now a terribly out-of-balance two legged stool.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
A True Tea Party
...or make that "tree" party. After a work meeting, I had the opportunity to stop home for a walking lunch with my beloved canine companion. We happened upon three deer friends enjoying the shade of a tree. Sure seems much more peaceful and useful than the tea parties I have been hearing about recently.
Monday, April 19, 2010
The Fall Guy
Earlier today, there were reports in the German media that the former Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Munich anbd Freising claims that he was forced to publicly accept responsibility for reassigning a priest with abuse allegations in 1980. That priest went on to abuse children after being reassigned. The Archbishop at the time was Joseph Ratzinger, the current Pope Benedict XVI.
Obviously, the more media outlets will pick up on this and claim the the former Vicar General's recent statement is proof that Pope Benedict was directly involved in sheltering a priest that was known to sexually abuse children and that the Pope used his influence to get the former Vicar General to take the fall.
We do not really know the details about the priest in question. It could very well be that then-Archbishop Ratzinger was not actively involved in the reassignment of this priest. The Archdiocese of Munich and Freising is a pretty large archdiocese.
Having been involved in politics for many years, I would suggest the follwing likely scenario. Then-Archbishop Ratzinger was not actively involved in the reassignment of his priests. In most dioceses, the Vicar General does have primary responsibility for coordinating priest assignments. Yes, the Bishop may sign off on the assignments. However, that is more a formality than anything else. The fact that Archbishop Ratzinger might have signed off on an assignment does not mean he was activley involved in the assignment.
As one might expect, the Vatican communications machine might be a bit jittery these days. My guess would be that a few mid-level "Vaticancrats", in a panic and without the knowledge of Pope Benedict, took action to make sure that there would be no evidence of a direct link (a link that likely never existed) to this priest being reassigned and the current Pope. Thus, to be safe, they made sure that the former Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, was commanded to "take one for the team" by publicly stating that the reassignment of the priest in question was his responsibility completely and that then-Archbishop Ratzinger was in no way involved, accept for possibly signing off on a list of assignments that include the assignement of the priest in question (and there is no evidence that even that happened). My guess would be that the situation described by the former Vicar General was accurate. However, now that there may be evidence of pressure on the former Vicar General, we will have a circus main event for a few more days.
Obviously, the more media outlets will pick up on this and claim the the former Vicar General's recent statement is proof that Pope Benedict was directly involved in sheltering a priest that was known to sexually abuse children and that the Pope used his influence to get the former Vicar General to take the fall.
We do not really know the details about the priest in question. It could very well be that then-Archbishop Ratzinger was not actively involved in the reassignment of this priest. The Archdiocese of Munich and Freising is a pretty large archdiocese.
Having been involved in politics for many years, I would suggest the follwing likely scenario. Then-Archbishop Ratzinger was not actively involved in the reassignment of his priests. In most dioceses, the Vicar General does have primary responsibility for coordinating priest assignments. Yes, the Bishop may sign off on the assignments. However, that is more a formality than anything else. The fact that Archbishop Ratzinger might have signed off on an assignment does not mean he was activley involved in the assignment.
As one might expect, the Vatican communications machine might be a bit jittery these days. My guess would be that a few mid-level "Vaticancrats", in a panic and without the knowledge of Pope Benedict, took action to make sure that there would be no evidence of a direct link (a link that likely never existed) to this priest being reassigned and the current Pope. Thus, to be safe, they made sure that the former Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising, was commanded to "take one for the team" by publicly stating that the reassignment of the priest in question was his responsibility completely and that then-Archbishop Ratzinger was in no way involved, accept for possibly signing off on a list of assignments that include the assignement of the priest in question (and there is no evidence that even that happened). My guess would be that the situation described by the former Vicar General was accurate. However, now that there may be evidence of pressure on the former Vicar General, we will have a circus main event for a few more days.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
On This Very Day
On this very date in 1930, my mother was born. This is the her first birthday to be celebrated after the successful completion of her earthly journey.
On this very date in 1999, the mighty Packers of Green Bay selected Antuan Edwards in the first round of the NFL draft. Oh yes, that reminds me...on that same day in 1999, yours truly was united in Holy Matrimony to a wonderful woman whose only possible flaw may be judging suitors.
On this very date in 1999, the mighty Packers of Green Bay selected Antuan Edwards in the first round of the NFL draft. Oh yes, that reminds me...on that same day in 1999, yours truly was united in Holy Matrimony to a wonderful woman whose only possible flaw may be judging suitors.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Ferrous Bueller's Day Off
In a raging fit of who-knows-what, I signed up to run 26.2 miles..........and to bike 116 miles..........and to swim 2.4 miles. Yes, I signed up for an Iron Man challenge at my health club. That is the bad news. The good news is that I have a month to complete all three phases. I completed this same challenge a few years ago in just 4 days. I was the first person (out of about 30 that signed up) to finish. My body is still recovering from that experience. I am now much more mature. My plan it to complete this year's challenge in about 20 visits to the health club. I'll do a little running, biking and swiming just about every day for the next month. This will be an exercise (pun intended) in discipline. I'll keep you posted.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Not So Fast
When I visited a permanent diaconate formation weekend this past weekend, the formation director reminded all of the deacon aspirants/candidates that it will not be easy being an ordained representative of the Church, especially given the recent priest abuse scandals. Little did I know that I would be tested on this so soon.
I provided keyboard accomaniment at two Masses at our parish on Sunday. After the 10:30 am Mass, I got into a discussion of Church issues with one of the choir members. He made somewhat of a passing remark about the "Nazi Pope". I had to gently stop him before he went on and remind him that being German is not the same as espousing Nazi beliefs. I have had several unfortunate experiences where people have suggested that, as a person of German heritage, I must have some affinity for Nazism. Has Pope Benedict made some mistakes and committed sins? Of course - he is human. However, he and his family, like me and my family, continue to have nothing but disdain for Nazism. Like Pope Benedict's father, my grandfather physically moved his family to get away from the growing influence of Nazism in Germany in the 20s and 30s.
While I have come to expect to read about Pope Benedict being a Nazi in many media outlets, I would prefer to not come to the point where I expect to hear it from people that just participated in the Mass.
I provided keyboard accomaniment at two Masses at our parish on Sunday. After the 10:30 am Mass, I got into a discussion of Church issues with one of the choir members. He made somewhat of a passing remark about the "Nazi Pope". I had to gently stop him before he went on and remind him that being German is not the same as espousing Nazi beliefs. I have had several unfortunate experiences where people have suggested that, as a person of German heritage, I must have some affinity for Nazism. Has Pope Benedict made some mistakes and committed sins? Of course - he is human. However, he and his family, like me and my family, continue to have nothing but disdain for Nazism. Like Pope Benedict's father, my grandfather physically moved his family to get away from the growing influence of Nazism in Germany in the 20s and 30s.
While I have come to expect to read about Pope Benedict being a Nazi in many media outlets, I would prefer to not come to the point where I expect to hear it from people that just participated in the Mass.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Running on Fumes
I have to learn how to say "no". The music director at my parish took a well-deserved vacation after Holy Week. She had asked if I could fill in for her at the Masses this weekend. Even though I knew I would be out of town and tired, I agreed to fill in at the two Sunday Masses.
Not having the talent to sit down and play a piece of piano or organ music, I have to spend a fair amount of time practicing. I arrived home from an out of town event late last night, spent four hours practicing, slept for four hours and then got up to go to church. Even though I was tired and would have loved to have gotten in much more practice, the music was just fine at the two Masses.
Even though I was running on fumes, I was able to "wow the crowd" in an appropriate way and at an appropriate time. The final hymn at both Masses was "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore You" (based on the famous tune, Ode To Joy, by Beethoven). Knowing that the people at this church have not heard an organ "opened up" for nearly a year, I improvised a very joyful postlude based on that final hymn. About half of the people in the pews stuck around to listen. Of those that did, half suck around because they wanted to listen and they other half were likely in shock. I would not have been able to play this improvisation if it were not for the gift of crossing paths with an excellent organist, teacher and friend many years ago. This good man and priest remains an excellent organist, teacher and friend to this day.
Not having the talent to sit down and play a piece of piano or organ music, I have to spend a fair amount of time practicing. I arrived home from an out of town event late last night, spent four hours practicing, slept for four hours and then got up to go to church. Even though I was tired and would have loved to have gotten in much more practice, the music was just fine at the two Masses.
Even though I was running on fumes, I was able to "wow the crowd" in an appropriate way and at an appropriate time. The final hymn at both Masses was "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore You" (based on the famous tune, Ode To Joy, by Beethoven). Knowing that the people at this church have not heard an organ "opened up" for nearly a year, I improvised a very joyful postlude based on that final hymn. About half of the people in the pews stuck around to listen. Of those that did, half suck around because they wanted to listen and they other half were likely in shock. I would not have been able to play this improvisation if it were not for the gift of crossing paths with an excellent organist, teacher and friend many years ago. This good man and priest remains an excellent organist, teacher and friend to this day.
Saturday, April 10, 2010
They Haven't Said Yes and They Haven't Said No
I just returned from spending last evening and all of today participating in a permanent diaconate formation program in a neighboring diocese. God bless my wife for her willingness to spend most of a weekend in a monastery that is over two hours from our home. She is not the one sensing a call, but she is supporting me as I discern.
The millions of readers of this blog know that I have been discerning a vocation to the permanent diaconate in a diocese that does not have a permanent diaconate formation program. However, there is hope. The leaders of my diocese are aware of my discernment and knew of my plans to attend the formation weekend.
There is much to "soak in" from the experience of this weekend. I may now be "falling through the cracks" in a positive way. The formation director in the neighboring diocese spent a fair amount of time discussing details of formation with my wife and me. He knows that my bishop must still authorize me to apply for formation in another diocese. The formation director seems to think that such authorization will be forthcoming. After learning that I have had a fair amount of theological education, the formation director also suggested that, if I am allowed to apply for formation and am accepted, I not follow the normal track for academic formation. He thinks I should consider pursuing an MA in Theology and is willing to incorporate that into my formation. I would take all of the same courses as other deacon aspirants/candidates. However, my academic formation would focus on courses that I would take online and I would not be required to do the assignments related to the regular formation program academic courses.
So, maybe this will finally happen. Several leaders of the national deacon community have mentioned that my discernment may be "one for the record books" due to the length and many twists and turns the journey has taken.
The millions of readers of this blog know that I have been discerning a vocation to the permanent diaconate in a diocese that does not have a permanent diaconate formation program. However, there is hope. The leaders of my diocese are aware of my discernment and knew of my plans to attend the formation weekend.
There is much to "soak in" from the experience of this weekend. I may now be "falling through the cracks" in a positive way. The formation director in the neighboring diocese spent a fair amount of time discussing details of formation with my wife and me. He knows that my bishop must still authorize me to apply for formation in another diocese. The formation director seems to think that such authorization will be forthcoming. After learning that I have had a fair amount of theological education, the formation director also suggested that, if I am allowed to apply for formation and am accepted, I not follow the normal track for academic formation. He thinks I should consider pursuing an MA in Theology and is willing to incorporate that into my formation. I would take all of the same courses as other deacon aspirants/candidates. However, my academic formation would focus on courses that I would take online and I would not be required to do the assignments related to the regular formation program academic courses.
So, maybe this will finally happen. Several leaders of the national deacon community have mentioned that my discernment may be "one for the record books" due to the length and many twists and turns the journey has taken.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Victory
Last night, I was at a local watering hole until well past the time when my car should have turned into a pumpkin. I attended the victory party for several local polictical candidates. While I am a political junkie, I am not a partisan junkie. I was very interested in a couple of the races. My neighbor is one of the two city council representatives for our region. When we had serious flooding issues that included raw sewage in the street and some of our basements, he never bothered to even respond to requests for assistance. So, I had no problem putting up a sign for his opponent in our yard - knowing that our neighbor would have to see it every day. Well, the challenger beat my incumbent neighbor.
The other race in which I was interested was for our county supervisor. The incumbent wasn't running again. I got to know one of the challengers. While we differ significantly in political philosophy, he is a good guy and I felt he would represent our area well. He has served on our city council and has always been very active in our community. Everyone except him was confident that he would win. He looked very nervous when he arrived at the party. When returns from three of the four wards in his district showed him well ahead, he still thought he would lose since his opponent lived in the ward that had yet to report results. People at the party were doing other things when my pal got a call. He went off to the side so that he could hear the caller report that he had more votes than his opponent in the final ward. With that, he shouted, somewhat surprisingly, "I won!". It was a good night.
However, only 8% of eligible voters turned out. What would Jesus do? He would vote and encourage others to vote. "Give to Ceasar that which belongs to Ceasar".
The other race in which I was interested was for our county supervisor. The incumbent wasn't running again. I got to know one of the challengers. While we differ significantly in political philosophy, he is a good guy and I felt he would represent our area well. He has served on our city council and has always been very active in our community. Everyone except him was confident that he would win. He looked very nervous when he arrived at the party. When returns from three of the four wards in his district showed him well ahead, he still thought he would lose since his opponent lived in the ward that had yet to report results. People at the party were doing other things when my pal got a call. He went off to the side so that he could hear the caller report that he had more votes than his opponent in the final ward. With that, he shouted, somewhat surprisingly, "I won!". It was a good night.
However, only 8% of eligible voters turned out. What would Jesus do? He would vote and encourage others to vote. "Give to Ceasar that which belongs to Ceasar".
Friday, April 2, 2010
Coming In Like A Lion
We are enjoying very nice weather in our region. The normal high temperature is 50 degrees. A couple of days ago, we hit 81 degrees. This has been a wonderful time to enjoy the outdoors. While doing so this morning, I came across a lone lovely yellow flower in the park across the street. Its bright beauty caught my eye. Yes, I found the first dandelion of the year. Continuing my walk after seeing the lovely sight, I could not help but think that dandelions have an undeserved negative reputation. Sure, they are weeds. However, as weeds go, they look pretty good. If they weren't weeds, people would be planting them all over the place. And really, what harm do they do? Unless surrounded by weak growth, dandelions can't really take over any space. Nevertheless, we spend large sums of money and effort trying to eradicate these lovely yellow flowers.
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