Some thoughts on marriage and culture which need more editting

An avid hiker and adventurer decides to hike the 2,200 mile Appalachian Trail from Springer Mountain, GA to Mount Katahdin, ME. This is not a journey for the faint of heart. There are many days of fatigue, sore muscles, blisters, rain, and cold. There are also moments and days of breathtaking beauty, accomplishment, excitement and ultimately triumph at the end of the trail. The excitement is sustained because of the goal and the commitment to the goal. This excitement is sustained through the fatigue and the rain and the cold. And note, the excitement comes not just at the triumph at the end, but also before and during the journey.

There are certain things you can’t measure based on any given instant in time. Happiness (or excitement) in marriage is such a thing. Yet present culture only measures the instant, as in, instant gratification. (You can't compare marriage to a long hike, but the analogy has some merit.)

For example, I heard a promo for a radio show a few months ago which promised to discuss why the rate of infidelity in marriage increases the longer couples are together. The stated premise of the radio guest was that a marriage cannot sustain excitement as the marriage progresses in time.

Mostly what we read about infidelity concentrates on the means and opportunity. Unfortunately, the means and opportunities have become more frequent and advanced with technology and culture.

But regardless of the means and opportunity, this doesn’t address the question of marriage. We can’t sustain happiness or excitement in marriage if we don’t understand what marriage is and what the purpose and ends of marriage are.  Of course these things are exactly what our present culture is confused about and struggling with.

Pope Pius XI, in his encyclical Casti Connubii wrote about marriage: Thus amongst the blessings of marriage, the child holds the first place. And: The second blessing of matrimony which We said was mentioned by St. Augustine, is the blessing of conjugal honor which consists in the mutual fidelity of the spouses in fulfilling the marriage contract, so that what belongs to one of the parties by reason of this contract sanctioned by divine law, may not be denied to him or permitted to any third person…

The Church teaches marriage has a procreative and unitive purpose as described as blessings by Pope Pius XI above.

Our present culture believes that everything boils down to sex. And I guess if that were true (or held to be true), most marriages would be doomed. The fact is, that marriage has a unitive purpose which is not all about sex, and a procreative purpose, which is also not all about sex.

One of Dietrich Von Hildebrand's theses in his book on marriage (Marriage - the mystery of Faithful Love [Sophia Institute Press]) is that the primary end of marriage is procreation, but the primary meaning of is love. But what is love?

Love is an act of the will-desiring the good for the object of our love. It is obvious from this definition that love does not have a time period. For if one desires the good for another, does one desire this good only for two years, or fifteen years? When you fall in love, do you put this time limit on how long you will love? Do our marriage vows have a time limit? What do the vows mean if they have a time limit? The answers to these questions, whether they concern love for a spouse, a child, or a friend demonstrate the willful aspect of love and the nonsense of the phrase “I have fallen out of love.”

Marital love has a special character in that it imitates God’s creative love. God’s love is so great He wants to share His life, so He creates Man. Man and woman love each other so much that they want to share their lives, so they procreate. But just as God’s love doesn’t end in the act of creating man, man and wife’s love can’t end in the marital act. God nurtures and cares for his creation. Man and wife must nurture and care for their creation. Caring for their creation involves both nurturing their offspring and, importantly, each other. Note that love again does not have limits and is not stingy, something to be kept between one or two people. By nature love shares and multiplies.

So what about this excitement! If the goal of the family is to journey together to Heaven, than the journey is one of both fatigue in daily tasks and tribulations, but also excitement at the daily fatigue and tribulations. The journey also has moments of intense beauty and enjoyment. There are always new challenges, some of them painful, but with perseverance for the goal, God helps us melt these challenges. Gold is purified by fire, the gold we seek with excitement

So what of the spouse seeks excitement elsewhere? He or she is doomed to failure because the excitement they really seek is not momentary-but that is all they get, a moment. Thus they will go on seeking, but never finding. Our hearts are truly restless until they rest in our Lord.

I end with words from Humanae Vitae:

Then, this love is total, that is to say, it is a very special form of personal friendship, in which husband and wife generously share everything, without undue reservations or selfish calculations. Whoever truly loves his marriage partner loves not only for what he receives, but for the partner's self, rejoicing that he can enrich his partner with the gift of himself.

Again, this love is faithful and exclusive until death. Thus in fact do bride and groom conceive it to be on the day when they freely and in full awareness assume the duty of the marriage bond. A fidelity, this, which can sometimes be difficult, but is always possible, always noble and meritorious, as no one can deny. The example of so many married persons down through the centuries shows, not only that fidelity is according to the nature of marriage, but also that it is a source of profound and lasting happiness.

 

Oremus pro invicem!

 

Received and Reading ...

Anthony Esolen seems to be everywhere. I read him at Crisis, see him in the Magnificat, and now am reading this wonderful book Mrs. Curley got me for Christmas. I will write more about is once I am further in. (I am still reading the Thomas More book, but I can handle both!)

Merry Christmas!

Oremus pro invicem!

Another book purchased and being read about Thomas More, by Peter Berglar (Scepter). I have read many books about More (notably, somehow I have missed Ackroyd's rendition.) So far so good. My favorites are by James Monti (Ignatius) and Gerard Wegemer (Scepter).

I finished Warren Carroll's final volume in his history of Christendom series a couple weeks ago. It took a year, but that was because it was interrupted by other book several times.

 

Oremus pro invicem!

Started the week on December 8th at St. Ann's in Charlotte at a traditional Latin Mass. It was beautiful; a wonderful way to celebrate this great feast of our Lady. My son Matthew and I ended the week going to an Opus Dei men's evening of recollection, again in Charlotte, this time at St. Matthew's. If only every week could have such bookends!

Oremus pro invicem!

Many Republicans want to claim the mantle of Ronald Reagan, but few are qualified. These Republicans are usually hawks (always seeing use of the armed forces as the solution to foreign policy crises). But Reagan was no hawk. Sure he built up the armed forces capability, and he sent an occupying force to Lebanon (disastrously), and he raided Granada, but the greatest foreign policy conflict of his presidency was won without a shot fired by the US armed forces.

Let us look at some instances. First consider “star wars”, the program Reagan championed, intended to prevent Soviet warheads from reaching our shores. The Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) was criticized from the beginning as being unrealistic and even unscientific. Without going into the merits of SDI and the success of some of the program (or failures), look at the rationale. Our foreign policy to prevent nuclear war had been mutually assured destruction (MAD) for many years; that is, that because both sides could destroy the other, neither the US nor the Soviet Union would dare launch a nuclear attack. I’ll bet most of us know of games of “chicken” which have gone bad. MAD was another game of “chicken” waiting to blow up. Reagan recognized this and thought there must be a better way, a defensive way while other avenues were pursued.

Reagan partnered with Saint Pope John Paul II, English Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, and others to bring down the Soviet Empire peacefully, through moral and economic pressure.

Reagan was patient. He wasn’t concerned about his legacy-that the Cold War would end during his presidency. He was content that the Iron Curtain would crumble someday, even on someone else’s watch.

Today’s politicians and so-called statesman should learn some lessons as we throw ourselves into more and more armed conflicts around the world which spawn even more conflicts. Just because we have the biggest and best fighting force in the world, not all the battles and wars can be won with them. (I recall what Saint Pope John Paul II said about war always being “a defeat for humanity”, and “Peace is not just the absence of war. Like a cathedral, peace must be constructed patiently and with unshakable faith.”

How many of our foreign military interventions in the past 20 years have built peace?

The anti-Federalists warned us over 200 years ago that a strong central government with a standing army was more likely to fight wars to settle disputes than any other way. Our history has borne this out repeatedly, and especially in the last 20+ years.
I am not strictly a pacifist; I believe there are times a country and a people must go to war. But I also believe fervently that often we use our armed forces simply because we have them. (I am not implying that we use them to justify large defense budgets, but perhaps the case could be made ….) It seems to me that our government (both the Administration and Congress for many years) lacks creativity in foreign policy.

As a nation and as a people, we suffer.

Oremus pro invicem!

Judicial Tyranny!

South Carolina Amendment 1 of 2006 amended the South Carolina Constitution to make it unconstitutional for the US state to recognize or perform same-sex marriages or civil unions. The referendum was approved by 78% of voters.

 

Who and by what corrupted authority does the judiciary to strike down the just will of the people!

 

We need to stand up for our rights! All across this nation courts manned by just a few (who are beholden to special interests and political favors) are once again changing the laws voted upon and written by great majorities of the people.

 

Freedom is being lost daily. Laws are being made for and by the rich and powerful special interests who only have their own interests and those of greed and power at heart.

 

Beware fellow travelers. The days are numbered....

 

Oremus pro invicem!

Crowders Mountain, NC

Matthew, Thomas, and I just got back tonight from an excursion to Crowder's Mountain State Park in NC. We had last been there in April 2007 (see the report here ).

I should have read about our previous trip before heading out yesterday. The firewood at the park was still unseasoned and hard to burn, and once again we forgot salt.

It was a great trip. We hiked into the campground (about 1 mile from the park office) around 4:00 PM. We cooked some pork plate steaks wrapped in aluminum foil on the coals, rounding the meal out with brown beans.

This morning we took the 2 mile hike to the King's Pinnacle. It was strenuous for this old man who is out of shape! I note though that the hike took the same amount time as it did 7 years ago (when I also complained I was out of shape.)

It is good to home and warm (It rained most of the night and was very cold this morning.)

Oremus pro invicem!

Yesterday (I seldom blog on the weekends) was the 15th anniversary of my father's death - Eternal Rest give to him, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon him!

Today you can find fishing stories-originally told in some form here (years ago) at  Those Catholic Men.

Oremus pro invicem!

The Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple:

They searched for Him for three days. (For 3 days His body lay in the tomb.)

The Christ-child knows His true Father in Heaven, yet He remains subject to Mary and Joseph.

The Fourth Commandment of God: Honor your father and mother.

Parents (me!) honor your children; Teach them the way of the Lord. Do not nag them lest they loose heart! (St. Paul)

Honor your God!

O Mary, bring the peace of the Holy Family to our home.

All Saints Day

So we travelled to Columbia for All Saints Day Mass at St. Joseph Catholic Church. While some of Columbia was being snowed on, we got rained on while participating in the last day of a 40 days for life prayer vigil. We don't get much chance to pray outside of abortion clinics as there are none close to us (Thanks be to God!).

 

It was cold. I recall way back in the 70's when Ellen McCormick of NY was running in the Democratic Presidential primary on a pro-life ticket. We (my siblings and I) were volunteered to hold her signs at the polling place. It was February and it was cooooooold and snowing. I think I was partnered with my sister Judy. I recall my hands freezing, but we had a good time. And of course I was disappointed when she didn't win.

Here's another installment of a rosary meditation.

The Presentation of our Lord in the Temple:

Mary's joy, that has lived from the Angel's first visit through the birth of her Son, has a shadow of sorrow cast today. She is told a sword of pain and sorrow will pierce her heart as she will watch the suffering of her Divine Son.

Again the Cross. Most of us are born to live, but her Son is born to die on the Cross.

Can I accept God's will when it is not pleasant, or do I abandon my prayer when I am not consoled?

Go to the Mother of Sorrows and ask for strength.

Mary, my mother, pray for my perseverance.

Oremus pro invicem!

All Saints Day!!!!!

It is one thing to abrogate the obligation for a Holy Day of Obligation for certain reasons. It is another to move the Holy Day to a Sunday so that all can celebrate it. And while I might not agree with either of these options in general, what is happening this year is an outrage.

 

So the Holy Day obligation, All Saints Day, is abrogated because it falls on a Saturday. However, just because the obligation is gone doesn't mean the Holy Day is eliminated! Try to find a Saturday morning Mass this year in order to celebrate the Solemnity. We finally found one over 60 miles away-but the only reason they are having Mass is that it is 1st Saturday-laudable in itself, but it should be because of All Saints Day.

 

And to take the cake, this past Sunday at Mass they had a 2nd collection for All Saints Day (because there would be no Mass on All Saints Day to take up the collection.) So what exactly is the collection for?

 

I could make more comments, but I think the facts speak for themselves!

 

Oremus pro invicem!

My youngest daughter claims that the 3 most exciting material things are, "horses, guns and IV's".

Now to another rosary meditation;

The Nativity:

Joy to the world! The Savior is born!

The King is born alone in a stable, and He will die among thieves. But today is for joy.

God's love for us does not stop even to give us His only Son. God had asked Abraham for his only son as a test, but did not take him.

God gives Christ to us freely. We know how we treated this gift 2000 years ago. What about today? Do I give back what I have been given? How do I treat the gift of the Holy Eucharist?

Mother of our Savior, take us to your Son to worship and adore Him.

More Rosary

Since the beginning of September we have processed 6 hogs, the latest being this morning. Only 1/2 of them being our own. We know how to do it, so we help out friends when we can. But boy, I think we are a little tried of doing pigs, especially in this warmer weather.

But onto the next mystery of the rosary:

The Visitation

Mary is not pretentious or proud. Immediately after being told that she will be the mother of the Messiah, she goes to assist and to serve her cousin who is pregnant with John the Baptist.

The Mother of God serves. Her Son, the Divine Son, serves also-even unto death on a cross.

How do I serve? Does my position of authority at home and at work make me a servant or a tyrant?

O Mother of my Savior, help me to serve God and those in need for love of Him.

Oremus pro invicem!

The Holy Rosary-Meditations

Several years ago (more than 10) I used to pray the rosary on my commute home from work in the car. Distraction was king.

 

I decided to write out for myself some simple meditations for each mystery so I had something to grasp while I fought the distractions.

 

Over the next several days/weeks I will reproduce those scribbles here, one mystery at a time. They are nothing special, but they helped me then (and now) to focus on the mystery at hand.

 

 (I have nothing for the Luminous mysteries as these predate that time.) So here is the first.

 

1. The Annunciation 

 

Fiat - Be it done unto me according to thy word!

 

Total self-giving and commitment from a 14 year-old Jewish girl.

 

How is my commitment? To my marriage? To my children? To giving my time in prayer and works to God?

 

Can I commit my love and all of myself to God?

 

O Mary, conceived without sin, help me to accept God's will in my life and dedicate myself to Him.

 

Oremus pro invicem!

Holy Matrimony

We are (and have been) in a crisis concerning marriage for many years, but the crisis is peaking. Yet at this critical time some bishops are seriously considering weakening the sacrament and institution of marriage in the Holy Catholic Church instead of standing firm and proclaiming the beautiful truth about faithful marriage.

Recall that only ONE bishop in all of Catholic England would stand for Truth in the time of Henry VIII. Do we have any courageous bishops today?

1. There is no mercy without Truth! Mercy is given to those who are sorrowful, not those who  persisting in sinful living.

2. There has been a proposal that divorced and remarried couples could come and be blessed at Mass instead of receiving Holy Communion. I wonder; my catechism said if you are not in the state of grace (and are in fact persisting in mortal sin), such a blessing has no efficacy.

3. Instead of making the obtainment of annulments easier (as some are proposing-further weakening the sacrament), why isn't the proposal made that uncatechized and/or immature couples would not be allowed to be married .... and then make a major and continuing effort to catechize the faithful on marriage.

4. Admittedly there are those whose spouse had abandoned them and their children. While no one wants another to suffer, we must realize suffering joined with Christ brings salvation. Yet some bishops would deny the innocent spouse the opportunity to further sanctify their life and join their suffering with that of our Lord, offering all for the offending spouse. This may be hard, but our Lord was clear that all of us must take up our cross. No cross - no crown!

5. The proposals which are being floated and discussed will make troubled marriages collapse all the sooner because their will be little incentive not to seek an easy annulment or 'regularize' a second marriage.

6. I just don't understand why the Church would help the forces of the evil one further destroy the domestic church. This is big and could rend the Church apart.

There is suffering; there is injustice; there is struggle. But if you believe in the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, you must believe His promises. His promises involve the cross. His teachings are not always easy, but if we have faith and follow Christ, true, lasting joy will be ours.

We bring people to the fullness of Communion by giving everything we have and teaching the Truth-with gentleness and understanding (if not for the grace of God, there go I), not by making excuses and diluting the Truth.  Only the Truth will set us free.

Oremus pro invicem!

Busy week. We finally got all the peanuts harvest and put into "trees". Of course the first bunch is already dry and ready to separate the peanuts from the hay. But it will have to wait.

The sorghum was suddenly ready. I didn't think we had enough to bring to the farmer up the road to press, (drought, then tons of rain, then drought again, didn't produce the big stocks. For a while I thought we had lost the crop) so I looked for an alternative way to get a little syrup out of our best stocks.

What we did is take our best sorghum stocks and chop them up. We boiled the stocks in water to boil the syrup out. Then we removed the stocks and boiled the syrup down like one normally does. So far it is working well, but we have a ways to go.

Also getting everything in shape for our annual fall square dance, complete with pig roast. Our pig has been getting plenty of milk and should be great by the time its ready to harvest.

Oremus pro invicem!

The Daughters of St. Paul have a new digital magazine (I think the first issue was in August). They contacted me to write an article for the latest issue. Check out the whole magazine here.

Oremus pro invicem!

Sam and her pigs

This is what she has been doing all day!

So, what did I do? Did the front and rear brakes on the mini-van after a 30 mile trip to get a T47 socket-who would've thought? Anyway, brakes got finished just at the downpour started.

Oremus pro invicem!

Update: It looks like Sam (Samantha) had at least 14 piglets last night. Once again she's done a great job.

New pigs coming as I write. It doesn't seem she wants us to watch. I stay out there watching and watching ..... nothing. I turn my back for 1 minute and out pops another one.

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I haven't lost any weight in 3 or 4 years. However, in the last 40 days or so Mrs. Curley has lost some 20 pounds. She's worked hard and looks really healthy.

 

In the past 40 days or so, 3 people have commented to me that it looks like I have lost weight; no one has made the same comment to Mrs. Curley.

 

I guess she just continues to make me look good!

 

 

Oremus pro invicem

I mentioned below that I have been listening to Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle. I am just about finished, and glad that I am. It is not that I don't share her concern and even beliefs about the folly both personally and nationally of having the food we consume travel an average of 1500 miles before it hits our plates. I do. Besides the destruction of the small family farm, the subsidies provided to big business which deceives us into believing we are buying cheap food, etc., etc., - small farm animals and vegetable do taste better.

So what's my beef? I don't worship food-but I am beginning to suspect that the author of Animal, Vegetable, Miracle does.

Sure, I think our way of life on the homestead leads to a great quality of life-working together and eating fabulous meals together. But it is the together and together with God that is the emphasis. The food just helps the celebration-it isn't the celebration itself.

So, I guess I am glad I have listened to the book. I did learn a few things about asparagus, for instance. But I am glad it will be over by the time I get back to the homestead today.

Oremus pro invicem!

From a letter

This is from a letter I received today:

You all remain in my prayers always. I like to think that every time we receive the Eucharist, there is something like a lifeline connecting all Catholics together; almost like looking at the same stars at night. You are far away from each other, but somehow by such a seemingly simple act, you suddenly traverse distance. It actually goes deeper than that, though. Just as the stars we see are the same as the ones gazed upon by the pagan Romans, the Eucharist is the same has been received by Christians for over 2000 years. Thus we mystically traverse both distance AND time, the two barriers to fallen man.  

 

I was waiting for an overdue paycheck in the mail-but received this treasure instead.

 

Oremus pro invicem!

So what do you think this is?

If you said honey, you'd barely be right and mostly wrong. If you read the fine print, this product is 90% corn syrup blended with honey for flavor. (I am surprised there is any honey!)

 

The honey bear package with the prominent HONEY in red should constitute deceptive packaging and advertising. But big business and big Ag must have its way. Regulate the little guy out of business and then deceive the public into thinking they are buying healthy products.

Now who does the government serve? Big business!

Oremus pro invicem!

A comment in the post below reminded me of the following piece which was published on www.catholiclane.com a few years ago. Being lazy, I repost it instead of writing something original.

The text is below with the original link being: Original Article .

Randians Left and Right are Wrong by Jim Curley

 

There was a piece on National Public Radio (NPR) a week or so ago charting the influence of novelist/philosopher Ayn Rand in today’s politics, specifically in economic policy touted by certain Republicans in Congress.  Ayn Rand was a proponent of “objectivism,” that is quoting from the NPR piece:

 

It is, she says, a system of morality “not based on faith” or emotion, “but on reason.”

 

Rand wholly rejected religion. She called it a weakness, even a parasite — one that convinces people their purpose is to work for the betterment of others. In fact, she says, for man, the truth is just the opposite.

 

“His highest moral purpose is the achievement of his own happiness,” she says.

 

“One of the principal achievements of this country in the past 20 years, particularly — I think most people agree — is the gradual growth of social, protective legislation, based on the principle that we are our brothers’ keepers.”

 

“I feel that it is terrible that you see destruction all around you, and that you are moving toward disaster until and unless all those welfare state conceptions have been reversed and rejected,” Rand answers.

 

“I am opposed to all forms of control. I am for an absolute, laissez-faire, free, unregulated economy.”

 

NPR proposes that Ayn Rand’s influence is strong on Capital Hill today among Republicans.  NPR quotes Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-SC) (my Rep) who has read her books “6 or 8 times,” Allen West (R-FL), Speaker John Boehner, Paul Ryan (R-WI), and Steve King (R-IA) who either give favorable reviews of A. Rand or who seem to speak her message.

 

There is no doubt that Republicans often decry the Welfare State and numerous regulations.  And true, some Republican Congressmen have been enthusiastic about Ayn Rand’s philosophy.  This is troubling, especially when practicing Catholics show their enthusiasm without some caveat on her general philosophy.

 

I would also venture that while in general conservatives do decry entitlement programs and the “regulation state”, that doesn’t necessarily mean they are all Ayn Rand enthusiasts.  One can certainly stand for smaller government and subsidiarity principles without agreeing that man’s highest moral purpose is achieving his own happiness.  Further, I would argue that most Republicans only differ in their preference in size of government and regulation by a matter of degree from Democrats.  We don’t see many radical proposals on the size of government and regulations gaining traction even when Republicans hold the majority; mostly we see skirmishes on the edges.

 

But this isn’t by far the whole story.  There seems to be many on the Left in Congress who subscribe to Ayn Rand’s objectivism on social issues in a much more committed way.  The push for the homosexual agenda, abortion, and contraception by the Left is based on the flawed philosophy of pleasure without responsibility, which is very close to Ayn Rand’s “highest moral purpose”.

 

It seems Ayn Rand’s objectivism has influenced both sides of the aisle in government and in the general populace, and most dangerously in the social issue sphere.  We are constantly bombarded by the message that the purpose of life is simply a hedonistic pursuit of our own happiness, and some of us have bought it.

 

Man’s highest purpose is to know, love, and serve God.  This is the only philosophy that will make man happy.  It is a philosophy of being our brother’s keeper in a personal way.  It is a philosophy of self-sacrifice which paradoxically makes man happy.  Only when we seek the happiness of others do we ourselves have peaceful joy.

 

We are our brother’s keeper.  The government’s attempt to preempt our personal role as our brother’s keeper has unfortunately been accepted by many.  When, as a society, we let the government do our charity, we rob ourselves individually and as a society of the opportunity and obligation of doing God’s work.  Peter Maurin of the Catholic Worker Movement decried this trend of letting government do our charity.  In a conversation with Stanley Vishnewsi on their first meeting, Peter Maurin said:

 

The purpose of the Catholic Worker is to create a society where it will, be easier for men to be good. A society where each person will consider himself to be his brother’s keeper. A society where each one will try to serve and to be the least. God wants us to be our brother’s keeper. He wants us to feed the hungry at a personal sacrifice. He wants us to clothe the naked at a personal sacrifice. He wants us to shelter the homeless. To serve man for God’s sake, that is what God wants us to do! (from Wings of the Dawn by Stanley Vishnewsi and reprinted in The Catholic Worker, May 1976-The Catholic Worker Movement website at www.catholicworker.org)

 

It would seem to me that Congress and the American people would do well to think about Peter Maurin’s words rather than Ayn Rand’s.

Reading/listening.

Once a week I travel to a client's facility about 70 miles away. This fall I am also teaching a course at a technical college about 60 miles away. While I am news junkie, I finally got sick of it and started getting audio books from the library for my treks.

Actually, the trend started during Lent when I gave up listening to the news on the radio. During that time I listened to CD's on spiritual topics.

Then on two long car trips to New Hampshire and Virginia this spring, I got audio books (one with my son-so we listened to one of my all-time favorites: Treasure Island. It was good to 'read' it again after some many decades.)

More recently I have listened to 2 Louis L'Amour novels about Barnabas Sacket, the patriarch of his Sacket novels.

I wish I could find Allen Eckert books (The Frontiersmen and Court-martial of Daniel Boone) audio, but am settling for actually reading them.

Just now I am listening to Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver. Some good information so far, but she is a bit preachy and probably not a great choice for younger ears as she seems to linger on comparisons between human and plant reproduction quite a bit, I think for humor value-they are only functionally related.

I really need to add in some good spiritual audio here. I listened to Chesterton's Everlasting Man on tape on a long trip many years ago.

What I have found is that when listening to the news, my mind wanders and I sometimes ponder many things. When listening to a book, I tend to stay focussed on the book. My imagination is more static. Sometimes that is good, sometimes bad.

Oremus pro invicem!

multiplication of pumpkins

On this feast of the Holy Name of Mary - Oremus pro invicem!

Short Takes

This Sunday's homily was one which should have been heard by some of our bishops!  I know they heard the Gospel on the duty for fraternal correction, but I do hope they put it into practice more than they have.

 

Of course, this is always the temptation-to hear the Gospel (and homily) and apply it to someone else instead of yourself!

 

The two previous Sundays (at 2 different parishes) I heard in both homilies a variation "Pray for what God wants to give you, instead of what you think you need." This is something I need to hear almost every day!

********************************** 

 

If I were to take the picture of the pumpkins around the woodstove which appears below, today, it would show 9 pumpkins. There are plenty more to pick in the coming days, but not as many as I hoped for.

 

Summer garden is about done except for the okra, a few eggplants, and a Jalapeno pepper plant. Am trying to get the fall garden in.

 

It looks like the peanuts will ready sooner than expected. I pulled a few plants over the weekend and they look pretty ready. We have about an acre of peanuts. With the downpour of rain yesterday and today, I probably need to get the peanuts out of the ground sooner rather than later so that I don't have them rotting in the ground.

 

Finally, for a while I thought we wouldn't get any syrup from our small sorghum crop. The weather has been spotty with drought conditions for a few weeks followed by deluge, then drought again. But it looks like the sorghum will produce something. I should have a few weeks before harvest.

 

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Now really finally, I have a couple new links on the sidebar. Good friend has moved to Chile and reports his adventures (Our Chilean Adventure). Also, Those Catholic Men is a new site (disclaimer, sometimes they carry my writing) with some good articles for men.

 

Oremus pro invicem!

So here it is on my 22nd wedding anniversary and what am I doing? Killing a hog!  I married well!

Oremus pro invicem!

Pumpkins and Peppers

Picked our first pumpkins today. We have a bunch, and some are huge. However I am fearful about them making it. This year we had no squash bugs on our zucchini, but it looks like they've found the pumpkins at this late date. I am hoping for the best.

Anyhow, pictured below are 3 pumpkins we picked today. These are the baking kind. We do have a patch of the "jack-o-lantern kind also, but we mostly planted these from last years' seeds. I believe the largest would weigh between 30 and 40 pounds. There are some even larger ones out there-some so large I can hardly believe it.

We like pumpkins, not just for ourselves, but the seeds are a great natural wormer for livestock and the pumpkin itself is highly enjoyed by the pigs.

Also in the picture note the drying cayenne peppers strung on the stove pipe. We had a bumper crop and probably won't even plant them again for a couple years. After dry, we grind the peppers and store them to add to sausage, etc.

On this feast of the Queenship of Mary - Oremus pro invicem!

Canoeing down the Lynches River

Update: We actually took only one picture on this trip as we were too busy working the river. However, here is the picture. It is Nick preparing supper riverside. (Its not that great, taken with my stupid-phone.)

My oldest son, Nick bought a used aluminum canoe this summer. He went 43 miles down the Wateree River with Connor in about 10 hours (overnight trip). He went 45 miles down the Congaree River with Matthew in about the same time. It took Nick and I 8 hours to go 15.5 miles down the Lynches River-and it didn't take so long because I am now an "old man". Basically we encountered 20-25 if not more log jam blockages like the one pictured below (not our picture).

 

We got on the river at Highway 15 landing at about 6:00 PM on Thursday night. We paddled for about 2 hours and then found a campsite for the night. It is lucky we didn't move on, it was probably the best looking campsite we encountered the entire trip. I hadn't been on a river in almost 30 years, but there are some things you never forget how to do. I manned the back of the canoe and Nick was the lookout. The log jams came immediately. We either had to lift the canoe over, portage, or do gymnastics with the canoe and our bodies to get by these obstacles.

 

In days gone by, cotton was floated down the Lynches River to Charleston (via the Great Pee ). I have to imagine that they must have had river clearing crews keeping the Lynches clear. Nothing like this today. I wonder how much SCDNR would pay me to go down the Lynches with a chainsaw and cut channels.

 

So we camped for the night riverside. Nick cooked us a rice, cheese and sausage meal. Very tasty and filling. The student became the teacher. Nick made all the decisions on the trip and made the calls on how to get around the jams. (I did veto one of his ideas once when there was a clearly better option.)

 

On day two, early out, I saw a head or eyes moving perpendicular to the river. Once we got close, the gator dove to the depths. The river level varied from over 6 feet to less than a foot. Certainly if the river had been 8 inches higher, some of the log jams could have been passed easily. On the other hand, a few would have been more difficult, if not impossible, to navigate under with higher water.

 

There were times we had to go to the left bank to avoid a tree and then immediately go to the right bank to avoid the next obstacle, in a matter of feet. A few times we went under a log and had to lay flat to get under. Once when we were stuck on a log, Nick was under some branches. He cried "wasp!" and dove into the water. I asked him why he dove out of the boat just because of one wasp. He told me there were many! He had swatted at the wasp right under its nest in the branches and 10 or more attacked him. When I saw the nest (being still in the boat) I told him to drag me out of there!

 

Earlier we had just gotten around an obstacle where the current was pretty strong and we got slammed into another jam. It knocked me right out of the canoe, with Nick to follow. The canoe filled with water. We managed to get the canoe over to a small sand bar in the middle of the river and empty the water. It was actually refreshing. In fact the most boring part of the trip was toward the end when we actually had some 15 minute stretches with no obstacles.

 

By the time we hit the boat landing at 401, my back and bad shoulder were on the way out-me being an old man.

 

The whole time on the river we only saw 1 other person-a man by the river bank-probably on his own property. We saw (and in fact followed down the river) 4 of what appeared to be snowy egrets. Nick saw a bald eagle, but I missed it. No snakes, no wild boar, and just the one gater-and oh yes, wasps!

 

I am so glad Nick bought this canoe. The trip was fun and very challenging-a great way to end Nick's summer as he goes back to Wyoming Catholic next week.

 

Oremus pro invicem!

I mentioned a few post down about the fabulous cantaloupes we've been blessed with this year. Just to give you an idea:

And they are all sweet.

Oremus pro invicem!

Warren Carroll noted in The Crisis of Christendom that a major peace (essentially 100 years of peace in Europe) ensued after the Napoleonic Wars. However the peace was not all it seemed. While major powers did not engage in war, revolution (and its accompanying violence) was rife throughout Europe.

I am wondering if we are seeing the same thing today. The 20th century was a century of war, including the proxy wars of the Cold War. Now, the major powers are not at war, but we see a multitude of civil wars throughout the Middle East and now in Ukraine.

During the 100 years’ peace mentioned above it seems that realignment of governance and ideology within European countries set the stage and the enemies for the violent 20th century. I sense that the ideological and governance realignment going on in regions of the world today is setting the stage for major wars in our future.

It is tragically sad to note that the periods of so-called peace are no less violent than the periods of major wars.

Oremus pro invicem!

I mentioned below I have been reading Chesterton's America. The editor, Mr. Bennett, has done a very interesting thing. While Cecil Chesterton's text forms the backbone of the book, he brings in commentary on each period of history from other Distributists' writings; for example, we find passages from G.K. Chesterston, Hillare Belloc, Herbert Agar, and other intertwined with the main text.

 

It is interesting to read an outside view (an English view at that) of American history. I have read several things already which we never heard in school. Just to name three: That New England relied heavily on slave trade for their economy at least until the mid-to-late 1700's. Related, that the view in the South that the African slaves were somehow sub-human was not introduced and not widely held until into the 19th century. And thirdly, the whole "No taxation without

representation" rationale for the American Rebellion was somewhat of a sham. In fact some 80% of British subjects were taxed without representation at the time. The matter was more complicated ....

 

But MOST surprising to me is that fact that I am reading Cecil and GK side-by-side and finding I like reading Cecil more than GK. Who would have thought?

 

Oremus pro invicem!

I am still working on Chesterton's America (see post below) however in the mean time I read and finished The Virginian. I am surprised I never read it before. I was inspired to read it by #2 son and #2 daughter who both read it recently. Glad I did. Those who have read it may appreciate my comment to #2 son after I finished reading it: "I almost missed the gunfight, it being so subtle." (Supposedly it is the first gunfight written in a fictional western.)

 

Garden update: Harvested the first corn from our last plot of sweet corn. I think we will have another picking. Green beans have been coming on. Tomatoes increasing by the day. Zucchini still coming (first year with no squash bug damage-could it be the winter lasting so long?). Okra and peppers doing well too. I think the sweet sorghum has been saved by our last rain. I was worried we were losing it even though it is supposed to be pretty drought resistant. Our acre of peanuts looks good, but we need to keep up with the pigs weeds better. They have been especially prolific this year.

 

A friend of ours saved some cantaloupe seeds from his dad's garden in Nebraska 30 odd years ago. Last year he planted them and 5 plants came up and fruited with some of the sweetest cantaloupe I have ever tasted. My friend gave us one of these treasured cantaloupes. I saved these seeds and planted them this spring. We harvested the first ones this week. Boy are they good. The best I have ever tasted. Guaranteed we are saving more seeds!

 

Great to have (almost) everyone home this summer. But summer is short and many are going their own ways in mid-July and August.

 

Oremus pro invicem!

My son wrote this song for me for my 50th birthday. I told him he should have played it after I died so that he would be the one crying instead of me.

 

 

 

Oremus pro invicem!

Chesterton's America

Got this book in the mail today. I was inspired by this review by my favorite editor.

 

 

Can't wait to get started ... and by the way the Chesterton in the title is not GK, but his brother Cecil.

 

On another note, we picked 9 gallons of blueberries today in Chesterfield. These should last us a little while.

Oremus pro invicem!

Corn & Rain

The annual precipitation in Bethune, SC is quoted (and has been quoted to me) at 45 inches per year. First, that measurement is actually for Bishopville, SC-which 19 miles south of here, and Bishopville always gets more than us. But you can't tell some people some things.

 

Typically, we watch rain clouds pass over our fields, cross the road and let go over the Lynches river about 1/2 mile away.

 

That being said, we finally got some rain today. It has been quite a while. Our cantaloupe was just about burned up. We have already lost our first two plantings of sweet corn. Actually, we picked enough small ears today between showers for one meal! One meal, I am grateful for.

 

We have one small patch left of sweet corn, with the rain today, may still have a chance to make.

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Yesterday, the AC was in trouble at the house. We called our regular AC tech and they sent someone down. The tech checked a few things and then disappeared under the house. 45 minutes later he was still under there. My youngest son checked on him and came back chuckling: "He's asleep!" But Mrs. Curley wasn't so sure. She called me (I was working off homestead yesterday) and I told her if he wouldn't wake up, she needed to call 911 (it has been in the low 100's all week.)

 

He wouldn't respond so she called 911. 911 told Mrs. Curley to have someone pull him out from under the house. Number 2 son showed up and proceeded to do so .... This woke him up! I guess he was alright after all.

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We've been out of pork for a while (Mrs. Curley cooked it all secretly for my 50th birthday party.) So Friday night we put down a 275 pound pig and butchered it (starting at 6:00AM) Saturday morning. Even though it was hot, we got both chores done in record time (slaughter and evisceration in 75-80 minutes; butchering in an hour flat.)

This should last us until cooler weather.

************************

The world seems pretty crazy these days. May the Lord have mercy on us!

Oremus pro invicem!

The   Deliberate Agrarian writes a few days ago in an essay commenting on the saying "Freedom isn't free":

If our military, under the direction of whoever directs them (ostensibly, the President), were defending the personal freedoms of Americans, through various military actions all over the world, especially in recent years, then why am I less free that I’ve ever been?

 I find myself asking the same question.

Oremus pro invicem!

With 1/2 my siblings

As mentioned a few posts ago, we had a great time over here on my 50th celebration. Amazingly 6 of us (out of 12) were able to be here. It was great to see so many friends and family. Here's the group shot of us siblings.

 

I am so blessed to have such family and friends.

 

 

It struck me that this picture has some Catholic features: We have a picture of the Sacred Heart, a Crucifix, the Angelus, an icon of St. Stanislaus Koska, a nun, a beer, and (in the background) a baby!

 



Oremus pro invicem!

 

Planting and Marriage (?)

Finished planting the sweet sorghum today. Working on keeping the acre of peanuts hoed.

 

My zucchini plants are big and beautiful-but no flowers. Can't figure that one out. The ground is rich, but no livestock has been on it for a year.

 

Good to have the boys home from college for the summer even if we don't see them much because of their jobs. We joke that they seem like they lost some smarts in the past year-but in reality I am impressed by their confidence and knowledge. (Thanks Wyoming Catholic & College of St. Mary Magdalen - NH).

 

********

Recently I finished reading (again) Dietrich Von Hildebrand's book on marriage (Marriage - the mystery of Faithful Love [Sophia Institute Press]). One of the theses: the primary end of marriage is procreation, but the primary meaning of is love.

 

Some consequences to this; one of which, interestingly enough, (this book originally published in 1929 in Germany) gives a concise but powerful reason for one to understand why homosexual marriage is impossible. Here's some excerpts from this section (Note, it is not all about sex and biology, but more about the spirit):

 

The special character of conjugal love is, furthermore, marked by the fact that this love can only come into being, between men and women and not between persons of the same sex, as is the case with friendship, parental love, or filial love.

 

It would be quite wrong, however, to reduce this characteristic to the sexual sphere and to say that conjugal love is just friendship plus sexual relations, presupposing a difference of sex. It would be incredibly superficial to consider as a mere biological difference the distinction between man and woman, which really shows us two complementary types of the spiritual person of the human species.

 

Certainly, man and woman have ultimately but one task, "to be reborn in Christ," and to glorify God by their sanctity. Yet man and woman represent two different types of mankind, both having their respective significance according to the divine plan, and their special value quite apart from their procreative function. .......

 

... At any rate, for the human species this difference represents two manifestations of. the person, analogous - if this comparison be admissible - to the various religious orders, which although they are identical in their aim, represent different ways in the imitation of Christ. These two types, man and woman, have a unique capacity for complementing each other. Their meaning for one another is something quite unique. They are made one for the other in a special way, and they can, purely as spiritual persons, form a unity in which they reciprocally complement one another. Marital love - involving the gift of one's own person, whose decisive character is that the partners form a couple, an I-thou communion, in which the whole personality of the beloved is grasped mysteriously as a unity in spite of all outer obstacles - can exist only between two types of the spiritual person, the male and the female, as only between them can this complementary character be found.

 

Oremus pro invicem!

I turned 50 this year and we had a small family party back in April. I had been teasing Lori a bit these past few months as she had surprised me with parties on my 30th and my 40th birthday, but I knew she wasn't in the position to do anything for my 50th. Little did I know she was planning again.

 

Last Saturday I was greeted by many family and friends who had found their way to Bethune-some for the first time. I was overwhelmed.

 

I have much to be thankful for. But more importantly I still have time in my life to work on being a better husband, father, brother, uncle, and friend.

 

Oremus pro invicem! 

They don't make them like they used to ....

This light was installed in my parents house when the house was built in 1963. It has the original light bulb (for years we have wondered how we would change the bulb as it is in the entrance-way in a split ranch. We have speculated we would either have to go into the attic or rent scaffolding. In any event, after 51 years (albeit it is no longer used everyday anymore) the same bulb still works after 51 years!

This is hard to explain, to say the least.

Oremus pro invicem!

Haven't had rain in days, but .... 100% chance predicted for Thursday.

My two boys are home from college. They both are taking a week off before going to work, so I figure they want to spend a week working around here. This morning the peanut acres (or 2) plowing was finished. (I did take my hand at the plow last week, but too many bodies now.) We need to harrow the field before planting, but I hope the peanuts will be in the ground within a week.

The boys have been moving manure the past few weeks. We saved a bunch for the sweet sorghum plot. I think we only have one more truckload (pick-up) to move. We will plant the sorghum the first week in June.

Brocolli and green peas and radishes are finished. Romaine is still in. Planting okra today or tomorrow.

Got some chicks this weekend. They are about 2 weeks old. Instead of building a brooder (it has been a while since we needed one) we are just keeping them inside at night for a couple weeks. Plan to finish (refurbish) the chicken coop tomorrow.

Good to have the boys back.

I keep trying to pray the prayer I heard a talk about during Lent: Dear Lord, I pray only for what You want to give me-namely Yourself. (But there are so many other things I want-and as I realize this, I realize once again that I am a poor sinner!)

Oremus pro invicem!

Reid Buckley, RIP

Reid Buckley died earlier this week. I suppose you can read tributes to him on the National Review blog and other places. He lived in Camden, SC which is 20+ miles down the road from us.

I had 3 encounters with Mr. Buckley. A great friend had given me his book "An American Family". After reading it, I was compelled to write Reid Buckley a short note. He wrote back, very graciously.

Some months later (probably recounted in this blogs archives) at our feed store in Bethune I met Reid Buckley. It could only be him. I stepped out of character (being naturally shy) and asked. (It was.) I introduced myself and my daughter and noted I had read his book. He immediately remembered my letter and we talked for just a few minutes.

It must have been a year or may be two later that I again encountered Reid Buckley at the same feed store. I greeted him and he responded "Have you done anything good today?" We chatted a bit. He clearly remembered me.

In looking at my archives here, I find a piece I quoted from him, close to my heart, which I reproduce below. May his soul and all the souls of the faithful departed rest in peace! Amen.

When last did you hear a conservative spokesman deplore yet another six-lane highway, yet another fast-food alley, yet another graceless subdivision, yet another Super Wal-Mart or Lowe’s that sucks the life out of small village businesses, yet one more onslaught against neighborhood and nature that is masked under the name of progress? Unless it is a bridge in Alaska from nowhere to nowhere, you will not hear the deepest red-dyed congressman denounce the progressive uglification of our natural inheritance, as though beauty is of no concern. Have you flown recently from Newport News to Boston at 25,000 feet on a clear day and gazed down upon the horror of American civilization? What man hath wrought! What we have done to this beautiful land? Dear God, forgive us! But when last did you hear a conservative oppose a new mall because it is ugly, an affront to the eye, accustoming thousands of human beings to dehumanizing blows against the aesthetic sense until it is benumbed? The good, the true, and the beautiful are inseparably joined. One cannot damage one without doing harm to the others. Those who fail to comprehend this are morally in error on the dialectical front, though they may be personally virtuous.

.... Where are our Friedrich Hayeks of The Road to Serfdom, our Eric Voegelins of The New Science of Politics, our Russell Kirks of The Conservative Mind? Where is our philosopher? Meantime, on the practical front, what can conservatives do? The very first thing is to dissociate from the Republican Party, which has become an albatross around the neck of integrity.

2 years ago I planted corn in early February. Last year it was March 15th. This year we put our first corn in on April 3rd. We plan to plant some more this week.

Just got back from a trip to the College of St. Mary Magdalen in NH. Son number 2 was in a Shakespeare production: Much Ado About Nothing. They did a great job.

In my travels I was able to finish Evangelii Gaudium. Here is a great passage from the end of the Apostolic Exhortation:

286. Mary was able to turn a stable into a home for Jesus, with poor swaddling clothes and an abundance of love. She is the handmaid of the Father who sings his praises. She is the friend who is ever concerned that wine not be lacking in our lives. She is the woman whose heart was pierced by a sword and who understands all our pain. As mother of all, she is a sign of hope for peoples suffering the birth pangs of justice. She is the missionary who draws near to us and accompanies us throughout life, opening our hearts to faith by her maternal love. As a true mother, she walks at our side, she shares our struggles and she constantly surrounds us with God’s love. Through her many titles, often linked to her shrines, Mary shares the history of each people which has received the Gospel and she becomes a part of their historic identity.

/

Finally, an article on our sorghum effort last year will be appearing in the May/June issue of BackHome Magazine. Look for it!

Oremus pro invicem!

Learned from listening ...

When we ask of God, we need to tell him only our problem ... not our proposed solution.

Oremus pro invicem!

March is here. Lent is here. And winter persists. Two years ago my corn had been in the ground for over a month. Last year my corn was just planted at this time. But this year, I haven't even finished putting in broccoli, peas, and lettuce. I can't even think about corn. I thought I had two years worth of wood stored up, with the woodstove season starting in October and still going strong, we barely have enough left for this year. And I have to get cutting and splitting or I will be doing it over the heat of the summer!So this year in the evenings of Lent we will be finishing "The Family That Overtook Christ", about St. Bernard of Clairveaux and his family. We had started it a couple years ago and got through at least 1/2 the family. (Bernard's family) Time to finish it up.  I will also be (finally) reading Pope Francis' Apostolic Exhortation "The Joy of Evangelization".We finally put down our boar of 7 years this past weekend. He was a good boar; gave us a lot of great litters. Now he will live on in sausage! Our new boar fathered his first litter a couple weeks ago, and it was a good one. Good for him, too bad for Tarzan.Okay, time to read and pray. Oremus pro invicem!

A day in the life

Up and start fire in wood stove.


Coffee with Mrs. Curley and morning chores.


Breakfast and readings of the day.


Client work until noon with an occasional Math problem for one of the kids thrown in.


Noon - Angelus and lunch.


Coffee with Mrs. Curley.


Rosary (we are currently using St. Josemaria Escriva's book on the Rosary to help meditation)


Till garden area for the first time this spring.


Children finish school and they start trimming muscadine vines. I notice our surplus chickens are gathering in the newly tilled garden. We catch and process 4 chickens.


Shower, eat, teach Faith Formation at parish.


Get home, talk on phone with great friend in Chile.
Intercessions and Night Prayer.


Check on Sow ready to farrow and watch the process. 14 piglets!


Bed after midnight-tired, but satisfying day.

Oremus pro invicem!

All I'm goin' say is (and I am not explaining it): We were here first!

Oremus pro invicem!

update on snow

So as the snow finished at 5:00PM, we had about 6 inches.


This morning? It is snowing again; 2-3 inches expected before turning to wintry mix and eventually ice.


In our 18+ years in SC (plus my 4 in college a decade earlier) I have never seen it snow on top of snow.

Oremus pro invicem!

Our third snow this winter! I remember 2 years ago my corn was already in the ground by this time (but truly that was an exception to the rule.) We already have 4-5 inches on the ground here in Bethune.

I have a sow due to farrow this weekend. With a ice predicted and continuing horrible conditions, no doubt she will pick sometime in the next two days to have piglets.

But we are warm. The predictions of power outages won't bother us. We are stacked high with wood and candles are at the ready.(I have been trying to put a picture up, but blogger won't cooperate. )

Oremus pro invicem!

Animals

Here's something interesting to read at Public Discourse: Our Obligations to Animals. The quote which caught my eye?

Now farms are, in origin at least, an extension of the home. That means that the so-called family farm, even if quite large, should express and body forth the character of the household. But as I have noted: we do not like to live in filth, ugliness, stink, or decay; to which we should add, in light of undercover videos of pig factories, casual brutality and violence. Our farms should express who we are, and that ought to mean that they express goodness.

 

That, I believe, is entirely compatible with killing and eating the non-human animals on a farm and making those animals available to others to eat. I have participated in the killing and eating of pigs on a friend’s farm. That farm is the embodiment of my friend’s and his family’s very Christian life: the pigs are well treated; their slaughter is preceded by a prayer; and the entire family works together to make sure that the pig’s life and death is for the sake of the family’s common good.

 

I am always interested in pigs raised on a family homestead, and Dr. Tollefsen's writings are always worth reading.

 

Oremus pro invicem!

Melkite Divine Liturgy

Wow! Sunday for the first time I attended a Melkite Divine Liturgy. I have to say I have never experienced the Divine Liturgy like this. I am still struggling to put into words what and how it was different as it is the same sacrifice with some very similar prayers. The Liturgy seemed to flow easily and more logically than I have experienced with either the Novus Ordo or the Extraordinary form.

Now I am certainly not ready to apply to change rites, but I am yearning to attend another Melkite Divine Liturgy like nothing before. Not kneeling and not genuflecting was hard. Doing a little research into the rite over the past days has made me understand the rite is not just the Liturgy and there are many things which culturally I would have to figure out-after all I have been Roman for 49 years.

I am not sure if after one experience I can communicate what I found at Our Lady of the Cedars which I haven’t found anywhere else. Perhaps the presence of God was more profound or visible. Perhaps the community of worshipers (including the priest and deacon) seemed to be both more casual (no, casual is not the right word- perhaps humble) and intense at the same time.

For the Melkites, this was not the first Sunday of Advent. The Gospel was about the blind man trying to reach Jesus over the objections of the crowd. One part of the homily struck me: the deacon told us that in contrast to the crowd which tried to prevent the blind man from reaching Jesus, the Church’s mission (and thus ours) is to help “the blind” reach Jesus. It seemed to me that the Melkite Divine Liturgy was trying to help this blind man (me) reach Jesus this past Sunday.

Oremus pro invicem!

Where I expound upon my economic persuasion and suggest an alternative to the current injustice: here.

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A couple weeks ago we had a boys weekend on the homestead for young men in grades 5-8. The boys learned something about caring for livestock, milking cows, planting, tilling, etc. We also did some praying and played some games, had a campfire. I think it was a successful weekend and enjoyable.

 

I received a note from one of the boys this week. One comment that stuck out:

 

"My favorite thing to do was the tracking game. I also like riding the pony and milking the cow. Digging up artichokes and shoveling manure wasn't as fun, though it still was fun."

 

Sounds like a farmer in the making-although I have to admit, we are all about manure around here.

 

Oremus pro invicem!

Plow and Mourn - Matt Curley

Original song and lyrics by my son Matthew. Brothers Nick and Connor assist with background.

Son Matthew has caught some little bug this week so I have been doing some milking. Milking the cow is really something you either want to do every day or not at all because you use muscles not ordinarily employed in normal activity.

This morning at the end of the milking, I was putting the cover on the milk pail, but the pail was still under Mabel's udder. The cover (sort of like a plastic shower cap) must of crinkled and scared Mabel. (Matthew tells me he moves the bucket out from under her before he covers it.)

Well, Mabel moved one hoof into the milk pail and the other onto my ankle, pinning it sideways on the ground.

I thought it was broken. (This is an ankle which has been broken to various degrees twice before.) After keeping it up for a couple hours and alternating hot and cold, I am not sure if it is broken after all, but I can't really put any weight on it.

On the bright side, I do love carrying a cane. I guess being laid up, I will have to do some more writing ...

Oremus pro invicem!

Next ...

installment at CatholicLane.com. Here's the link: http://catholiclane.com/the-ways-of-god-for-fathers-foreknowledge/

Just wondering if anyone else noticed ...

I am no fan of the Affordable Health Care Act, however I gotta call things as I see them.

 

Everyone is in an outrage because Obama promised that if you liked your plan you can keep it, but now millions of Americans who liked their plan can't because of the Obamacare requirements.

 

I can understand the outrage on the part of the populace.

 

I cannot understand the outrage from Congress. Congress wrote and passed the law. Obama only signed it. Sure, Obama was the mover of the legislation, but once again we have Congress passing laws that they don't even know what they say.

 

Unbelievable!

Next installment: http://catholiclane.com/the-ways-of-god-for-fathers-delighting-in-goodness/

Baseball

I guess it is appropriate that I read the Grisham novel Calico Joe during the baseball playoff season. I used to love watching baseball on TV, listening on the radio, and especially going to watch the minor league team in Columbia, SC when they had one. Pretty good book, made better by references to players from the early 70's when I was collecting cards.

I didn't watch any of the World Series even though I am from Boston originally. I am guess I am glad Boston won, but I have no connection, know none of the players and have become pretty ambivalent.

 

In any event, we don't get TV reception, satellite or cable. Regardless, I stopped watching pro sports on TV years ago when the ads became so offensive-especially advertising prime time shows.

 

I was too young to remember the 1967 Series between Boston and St. Louis, but I wasn't too young to remember people talking about it in the next few years. I had a Bob Gibson card and two Lou Brock cards. Lou Brock became my favorite player over the years. And though I seldom saw him play, being in an American League town, I checked the box scores everyday to see how he did. But the baseball cards I really wanted but never got were Yaz and Jim Lonborg. Oh well.

 

Oremus pro invicem!