Homer

A few years ago I was at dinner with two of my sons at a college president's house. The college president and I were discussing our educational journey. I made the comment that my sons in their homeschool curriculum were reading all these books (giving examples of the entire Bible, Homer's Odyssey, etc) which I wanted to read but never had-my education was lacking.

 

One son looked at me incredulously - "You haven't read everything you make us read?"

 

Well as time goes on, I am trying to catch up.

 

This week I have started Homer's Odyssey. I read something today from Anthony Esolen:

 

"Homer is relevant to me because Homer is relevant to man."



So I read what is relevant to man. So far, good!

Oremus pro invicem!

A Bit of Sanity in an Insane World

Ah, but isn't it so true:

No, we do not need the state to compel us to do what comes naturally. But the state can compel us to do, under sufferance, what does not come naturally, or what is downright unnatural. (Anthony Esolen - complete article here.)

Of course this is what is happening.

Unfortunately not all of our pastors are supporting, guiding, and shepherding the lay faithful in what is natural and what is divinely commanded (such as the sanctity and nature - i.e. indissolvability- of marriage.)

 

I have not been paying to much attention to what is going on in the world. For example I didn't see about the bombings in NY and NJ til this morning.

 

And, I have suddenly realized I need to get an absentee ballot for the November election - no time to vote on Tuesdays with my teaching schedule. Oh yeah, who's running again? That's right, it is Darrell Castle (Constitution Party) vs. Michael Maturen (American Solidarity Party )

.

And the letter to the Argentinian bishops? Well I discuss that briefly above.

 

I catch snippets of all these things (terrorism, elections, Church doings) but my life is filled with wife, children and family right now - when I am not working.

 

I went to a Opus Dei-style evening of recollection last week and was again reminded how much MORE time I need to spend in prayer.

 

That being said....

 

Oremus pro invicem!

The surprising fate of Kershaw, SC

Kershaw is a small town (although with a population 6.58x greater than Bethune) about 19 miles up the road from us. It is a non-assuming town. We sometimes get pizza from Gus' (which is closed on Sunday - Greek).

 

So the other day I was driving some young and basically uncatechized children. After breaking up a fight between K- and G-, I mentioned that the reward for being good when we die is Heaven, living with God.

 

And young K- responded with the question: "Where do you go if you are not good?"

 

Before I had a chance to respond, young G-, chimed in: "To Kershaw, K-, to Kershaw!"

It was all I could do, to stay on the road!

Oremus pro invicem!

The nature of parenthood

Two articles on parenthood worth reading appear on Public Discourse this week. These are not “how to” articles, but discussions about the nature of biological and adoptive parenthood by Christopher O. Tollefsen. 

The two things (which are probably obvious to those not so dull-headed as I) that I pulled away as intriguing points to ponder further can be summed up, or at least introduced, in these short excerpts.

On biological parenthood:

The nontrivial sense of irreplaceable love is the sort we associate with personal relationships: if Smith is my friend, then Smith’s love and friendship are irreplaceable to me. There are goods for me that Smith’s friendship provides that no other friendship can provide, and there are times when it is specifically Smith’s friendship that I need and desire.

Moschella (This is a discussion of her new book: To Whom Do Children Belong? Parental Rights, Civic Education, and Children's Autonomy - JC) grounds the obligations of biological parents to their children in the special personal relationship that being a biological parent generates. Specifically, biological parenting inevitably brings with it the relationship of being biologically responsible for another’s existence, and being biologically implicated in another’s identity. And these in turn make it the case that there are goods that only biological parents can provide: the good of being loved by one who is biologically responsible for one’s existence, and the good of being loved and raised by one who is uniquely and closely related to one’s identity. Children raised by their biological parents, for example, can see in their parents’ lives examples both good and bad of how traits to which they may be disposed can, should, or should not be allowed to grow and develop.

On adoptive parenthood: 

It can be tempting to extend this description (i.e. a fertility problem –JC) of what is happening to the absence of children itself: that is seen as a problem, indeed, the problem, to be rectified by taking appropriate steps. That attitude can lead to the use of various assisted reproductive technologies that seek to make a child, thereby fixing what is wrong.

And it could equally lead to adoption of a child. Let’s call that adoption out of need. The couple has a problem: they need a child, and adoption is one way to fix the problem at hand. But spouses should not adopt from what they do not have, but from what they do: an abundance of spousal love that seeks to be creative and life-giving. We could call that adoption-out-of-abundance. (my emphasis – JC)

Read both articles for a more complete fleshing-out of these and some other ideas.

Oremus pro invicem! (on the nativity of our Lady)

Farenheit 451

Just finished reading it upon the recommendation of one of my children.

 

Never too much a fan of science fiction (although I did try. In graduate school I lived in a family's attic. There was a bookcase full of science fiction. Over two years I read most, maybe 75-100 books, most of it science fiction. I confirmed without a doubt-not much of a fan.)

 

F-451 is not so much science fiction as a cautionary tale, like 1984 and Brave New World. (I read one of the latter, maybe both. I just can't remember which one.)

 

I had never read Ray Bradbury before (I don't think). I wouldn't say it great literature, but an engaging story. I wasn't crazy about F-451 as I thought the ending was pretty vague and not too satisfying in any particular way (endings are important to me). However, I did enjoy reading it, and was glad it did.

 

It is funny how today in some sense mindless social media curbs ones time and appetite from literature. The schools (we are having some experience with public schools now - but that is a different story) have joined the electronic revolution and even when books are read and assigned, the selections are not classic, but tend to be depressing studies of teenage tragedy. (And we wonder why teenagers are in crisis? This is all we give them to read.)

So in many senses, the first stage of F-451 is actually taking place. Colleges and Universities no longer want to educate the mind and create creative independent thinkers. Great literature almost seems banned from most levels of our education system.

 

Schools and Colleges are at the service of both social, politically correct agenda, and big business. Turn us out politically correct (and amoral) but submissive workers-no independent thinkers, please.

The great works are not read and explored except for at a few colleges.

Oremus pro invicem!

 

Missing in action - the holiday/Holy Day

The irony of Labor Day just past has been gnawing at me. As I understand it, Labor Day was achieved by the labor movement to celebrate the achievements of the American worker. Part of the motivation was to make the American worker appreciated in order to push for higher wages and better working conditions.

However, we recall that at that time, (early 20^th century) the target for this holiday were some of the lowest paid workers who were pushing the industrial machine.

Now many of our manufacturing jobs have been shipped overseas.

Today the lowest paid American workers are in service and retail jobs … and they don’t get a holiday on Labor Day.

In the drive to make more and more money, we have lost the meaning of holidays.

Holidays have become opportunities for business to make more money, not to relax and enjoy our family, not to appreciate our country and our heritage, and most definitely not to worship our God.

Especially as Catholics, how many of our Holy Days have been moved to Sundays so we can celebrate with the Holy Sacrifice?

I listened to a talk the other day about how St. John Paul II viewed keeping Sunday holy as a key component of "the new evangelization" - a sign to the culture. But to be a sign, we need to actually practice this gift from God.

Oremus pro invicem!