"No man is to be put to death this day, for today the LORD has saved Israel."
-1 Samuel 11:13
Everyday God saves us from something, whether we realize it or not. Without the protection of his angels we couldn't survive the unfounded hate leveled against us. That's why it's easy for me to be against the death penalty, despite the satisfaction that families of victims think they will find in the death of the perpetrator. The killer of three Pittsburgh policemen is on trial now with the jury deciding between death or life in prison.
I think it would actually be in the defendant’s favor to make jail less hospitable because as unfair as letting him live may seem to those that lost a loved one, it seems even more unfair that he gets more meals than my students get, cable (which I don’t have), exercise equipment (which I don’t have), and porn (which I don’t think anyone should have). I would like to see convicts be given a simple cell with access to books, including books on tape for those that are illiterate, if they wish to better themselves. Anything deemed lewd, like porn, can be eliminated. No TV. No exercise equipment. Low calorie meals, since they won’t be burning as much.
I realize this wouldn’t deter crime because criminals are usually too impulsive to care about things like that. Since the criminals have already taken away so much from the innocent public, it seems fair that taxes provide them with the bare minimum rather than making cuts to other programs like Pennsylvania is doing. Pennsylvania has about 46,000 inmates and each costs $32,000/year. That’s about $1.5 billion dollars. There has to be room in that budget to make cuts if cuts are needed.
Since school has ended, I have had trouble finding time to do everything I used to, so things like checking email and blogging regularly have gone by the wayside because they were less important than other things like attending to my wife and kids. I had set a deadline to finish the first draft of my book and that is done. Now I just have to meet the next deadline(s) I set for myself.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Saturday, June 18, 2011
Semantics
"Does God belong to Jews alone? Does he not belong to Gentiles, too? Yes, also to Gentiles, for God is one and will justify the circumcised on the basis of faith and the uncircumcised through faith."
-Romans 3:29-30
This is just further evidence that God doesn't necessarily belong to one religion. Of course, that doesn't mean that everyone gets in to heaven, but he judges everyone appropriately.
-Romans 3:29-30
This is just further evidence that God doesn't necessarily belong to one religion. Of course, that doesn't mean that everyone gets in to heaven, but he judges everyone appropriately.
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Rotten Catholics
For, as it is written, "Because of you the name of God is reviled among the Gentiles."
-Romans 2:24
In my research, I have compared the Catholic faith to other denominations and religions enough to my satisfaction. The Catholic faith, as defined by the Catechism, seems irrefutable to an open and critical mind compared to the arguments in favor of any of the other denominations or religions. The reason people still try to refute the Catholic faith is because of "Catholics." Some are simply unknowledgeable about the Cathloic faith. Others consciously reject certain beliefs while retaining the title "Catholic." Still others are knowledgeable, but cause the Church to be criticized unfairly because of their personal sins. All Catholics, including the Pope, sin like all people do, but that doesn't mean they approve of those sins or that the Catholic Church approves of those sins. Many reading this are already Catholic, some may even by familiar with the Catechism, but either way, the Catechism is the best place to get the facts on the Catholic faith to support or refute an argument concerning the Catholic faith. Some congregations had set out to read the writings of the fathers of the church, which constitute the foundation of the Catechism, with the intention of illustrating why Catholics are so wrong. Once they got into the readings, the Holy Spirit guided them to the truth and entire congregations joined the Catholic Church. Wherever you are in your journey, I hope you are getting more than this simple blog provides because there's a wealth of information that the Holy Spirit can use to bring you closer to God.
-Romans 2:24
In my research, I have compared the Catholic faith to other denominations and religions enough to my satisfaction. The Catholic faith, as defined by the Catechism, seems irrefutable to an open and critical mind compared to the arguments in favor of any of the other denominations or religions. The reason people still try to refute the Catholic faith is because of "Catholics." Some are simply unknowledgeable about the Cathloic faith. Others consciously reject certain beliefs while retaining the title "Catholic." Still others are knowledgeable, but cause the Church to be criticized unfairly because of their personal sins. All Catholics, including the Pope, sin like all people do, but that doesn't mean they approve of those sins or that the Catholic Church approves of those sins. Many reading this are already Catholic, some may even by familiar with the Catechism, but either way, the Catechism is the best place to get the facts on the Catholic faith to support or refute an argument concerning the Catholic faith. Some congregations had set out to read the writings of the fathers of the church, which constitute the foundation of the Catechism, with the intention of illustrating why Catholics are so wrong. Once they got into the readings, the Holy Spirit guided them to the truth and entire congregations joined the Catholic Church. Wherever you are in your journey, I hope you are getting more than this simple blog provides because there's a wealth of information that the Holy Spirit can use to bring you closer to God.
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Expectations
"For when the Gentiles who do not have the law by nature observe the prescriptions of the law, they are a law for themselves even though they do not have the law. They show that the demands of the law are written in their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even defend them on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge people's hidden works through Christ Jesus."
-Romans 2:14-16
In discussing different groups of people like we did in yesterday's post, a subject that often comes up is who gets into the heaven and how. I understand in the past some Catholics believed only Catholics got into heaven. Today, that's not the case, but other denominations still believe they are the only ones that get in (and Catholics especially would not). We will be judged by our works and by the gifts we have been given, so since not everyone has been given the same gifts of faith, not everyone will be judged the same way, but everyone will be judged fairly. In the parable of the coins, the man given more had more expected from him and the the second man had less expected from him. Both of these men doubled what was given to them and were equally rewarded even though the one who had more made more and the one who had less made less. Likewise, Catholics who have been given the gift of faith are expected to live up to certain expectations like attending Mass on Sundays and other Holy Days of obligation, but there are other more general expectations of all human beings written on our hearts whether we ever heard of Jesus or not. Even unschooled barbarians had been known to hide to avoid being caught stealing. No one taught them it was wrong to steal, but they still knew it deep down. There are a lot of good people who have not been given the gift of Catholic faith that I wouldn't be surprised to see in heaven and there are a number of rotten people that call themselves Catholic that I wouldn't be surprised to never see again if I make it to heaven.
-Romans 2:14-16
In discussing different groups of people like we did in yesterday's post, a subject that often comes up is who gets into the heaven and how. I understand in the past some Catholics believed only Catholics got into heaven. Today, that's not the case, but other denominations still believe they are the only ones that get in (and Catholics especially would not). We will be judged by our works and by the gifts we have been given, so since not everyone has been given the same gifts of faith, not everyone will be judged the same way, but everyone will be judged fairly. In the parable of the coins, the man given more had more expected from him and the the second man had less expected from him. Both of these men doubled what was given to them and were equally rewarded even though the one who had more made more and the one who had less made less. Likewise, Catholics who have been given the gift of faith are expected to live up to certain expectations like attending Mass on Sundays and other Holy Days of obligation, but there are other more general expectations of all human beings written on our hearts whether we ever heard of Jesus or not. Even unschooled barbarians had been known to hide to avoid being caught stealing. No one taught them it was wrong to steal, but they still knew it deep down. There are a lot of good people who have not been given the gift of Catholic faith that I wouldn't be surprised to see in heaven and there are a number of rotten people that call themselves Catholic that I wouldn't be surprised to never see again if I make it to heaven.
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Happy 8th Anniversary
"Therefore, God handed them over to degrading passions. Their females exchanged natural relations for unnatural, and the males likewise gave up natural relations with females and burned with lust for one another. Males did shameful things with males and thus received in their own persons the due penalty for their perversity."
-Romans 1:26-27
I understand comedian Tracy Morgan is taking a lot of heat for offending the gay and lesbian community with a stand-up routine, so perhaps this post can add to that conversation. I haven't gotten the details of what he said exactly, but it seems like it was more ugly and violent than funny. Although I believe we shouldn't condone homosexual acts, we definitely shouldn't promote violence against any group of people. That's as bad as those misguided pro-life supporters than kill abortion clinic doctors. It's another example of hate the sin, but love the sinner. Being gay, something you can't choose, isn't any more sinful than lust in heterosexuals. I'm celebrating my 8th wedding anniversary with Nancy today, but I suppose it's okay to acknowledge that I still notice good-looking women. I went to mass at Fr. Dan's parish this morning and he acknowledged as much in one of his talks (another couple was celebrating their 25th anniversary), but emphasizes that married people choose to remain faithful to their spouse just like he chooses to remain faithful to his spouse, God, by remaining celibate, just as all single people are encouraged to remain celibate unless they later choose to marry, no matter what their sexual orientation may be.
-Romans 1:26-27
I understand comedian Tracy Morgan is taking a lot of heat for offending the gay and lesbian community with a stand-up routine, so perhaps this post can add to that conversation. I haven't gotten the details of what he said exactly, but it seems like it was more ugly and violent than funny. Although I believe we shouldn't condone homosexual acts, we definitely shouldn't promote violence against any group of people. That's as bad as those misguided pro-life supporters than kill abortion clinic doctors. It's another example of hate the sin, but love the sinner. Being gay, something you can't choose, isn't any more sinful than lust in heterosexuals. I'm celebrating my 8th wedding anniversary with Nancy today, but I suppose it's okay to acknowledge that I still notice good-looking women. I went to mass at Fr. Dan's parish this morning and he acknowledged as much in one of his talks (another couple was celebrating their 25th anniversary), but emphasizes that married people choose to remain faithful to their spouse just like he chooses to remain faithful to his spouse, God, by remaining celibate, just as all single people are encouraged to remain celibate unless they later choose to marry, no matter what their sexual orientation may be.
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Happy Pentecost
"I consider that the sufferings of this present time are as nothing compared with the glory to be revealed for us."
-Romans 8:18
If a thousand years are like a watch in the night, our life is less than a night, so we should be able to put up with anything if we remain focused on splendor that awaits us in the morning (at the end of our lives). With little kids around the house, sometimes both the nights and days seem long. One parent of a two-year-old honestly didn't seem to know how I did it with girls 1, 4, 6, and 31 in my house. First of all, I've gotten used to it, but I got used to it because God gives me everything I need. Before I got married or had any of the kids, I didn't have an accurate picture of what it was going to be like, but when the time came I always felt confident I could handle it. Aside from just surviving, some parents feel having more kids might take away the love and attention they give their other kids, but God seems to give you more love to give away, so no one is losing out on love, although they might not be getting as much inheritance money when it's all said and done. By that time though, the inheritance money won't seem important anyway, because even though thousands of dollars seems like a lot when you are saving your quarters for a new Disney toy, thousands of dollars usually aren't a big deal when inheritances typically come people's way.
-Romans 8:18
If a thousand years are like a watch in the night, our life is less than a night, so we should be able to put up with anything if we remain focused on splendor that awaits us in the morning (at the end of our lives). With little kids around the house, sometimes both the nights and days seem long. One parent of a two-year-old honestly didn't seem to know how I did it with girls 1, 4, 6, and 31 in my house. First of all, I've gotten used to it, but I got used to it because God gives me everything I need. Before I got married or had any of the kids, I didn't have an accurate picture of what it was going to be like, but when the time came I always felt confident I could handle it. Aside from just surviving, some parents feel having more kids might take away the love and attention they give their other kids, but God seems to give you more love to give away, so no one is losing out on love, although they might not be getting as much inheritance money when it's all said and done. By that time though, the inheritance money won't seem important anyway, because even though thousands of dollars seems like a lot when you are saving your quarters for a new Disney toy, thousands of dollars usually aren't a big deal when inheritances typically come people's way.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
Ordination
"Beloved, I hope you are prospering in every respect and are in good health, just as your soul is prospering."
-3 John 2
Online, I just witnessed my father-in-law be ordained deacon in the Diocese of Pittsburgh. There were 43 other men that also put in more than five years of formation to reach this point. It was encouraging to see these men and all of their families and supporters in one place for the 4-hour ceremony. That, by the way, is why I was home watching online and not at the Cathedral with my wife because Claire, Sarah, and Emily do a commendable job at one-hour masses, but quadrupling that seemed unreasonable.
So on this happy occasion, just as these souls are prospering, I hope yours is too, as well as your relationships, finances, health and all other matters important to you because I am confident that your priorities are in the right place and if it's important to you, it's because you responded when God put it in your heart.
I suppose I have always struggled with friendships on some level because I tended to see things from only my perspective and mistakenly thought that everyone saw things the way I did. For example, I remember how mature I was at a certain age and used to assume all of my students of that age were equally responsible. Some were. Some weren't. Likewise, everyone older than myself must be equally responsible. Many are. A few aren't.
This awareness has helped, of course, but has also shed light on how much more I don't know about people. Looking back at my school days, I never did anything to create enemies, thinking that I was friends with all the people I got along with, whereas we were probably just acquantances that shared similar interests. I never recall doing something to be friends with someone else. I became friends with someone else because they were doing something I liked.
It wasn't selfish in the sense that it took something away from someone else. My sense of justice was out of proportion to my sense of mercy. Aside from standing up for myself, I started standing up for my friends or my sisters' friends because I could. I could have also turned the other cheek or some other alternative. My actions are explainable, even understandable, but not excusable.
So now with this lack of experience and an awareness that I am not as adept socially as others, I am beginning to feel a need to nurture friendships and not just avoid creating enemies (like doing good works and not just avoid sin). So let's say I want to be friends with someone at work. I ventured into the teacher's lounge one day and a conversation surrounding the Bachelorette. I like the people, but had nothing to add to the conversation. The guys, don't eat in the teacher's lounge, they take their food to another teacher's room and talk sports. Now I used to enjoy playing sports, but I don't follow them now and the conversation is rarely about the 1990 Pittsburgh Pirates, so again I have nothing to offer.
I like talking about faith. I invited everyone in my building to morning prayer with me. No one accepted. However, one guy did invite me to a weekly Men's faith-sharing group, which was and is great, but it's once a week and covers topics that aren't going to come up when you pass in the halls or sit down for lunch.
So I'm not into what they're into and they're not into what I'm into. I have connected with a couple of teachers that can follow my line of thinking when we are talking about education, which is great while it lasts, but I feel a little uncomfortable hanging out with them socially when they invite me to go Segwaying with them or something. We're all married, half of them have kids, half don't, but they all do a lot more outings without kids and Nancy and I like to do most of our outings with the kids. We might go to Idlewild or the zoo with some of them this summer, two places fun for kids and animal lovers without kids. This is as close to a middle ground as I have found in quite some time.
If you have been able to follow this line of thinking that started with an ordination and ended with Idlewild and the zoo as a social compromise, I suspect you are among a very select few. I already feel better having written this, as if someone's listening, even though I know no one has yet because I haven't hit the publish button. Perhaps, articulating it for my own good helps me know that God is listening and helping my soul prosper just as he has blessed my marriage, health, and even finances in the sense that we are happy with what we have.
-3 John 2
Online, I just witnessed my father-in-law be ordained deacon in the Diocese of Pittsburgh. There were 43 other men that also put in more than five years of formation to reach this point. It was encouraging to see these men and all of their families and supporters in one place for the 4-hour ceremony. That, by the way, is why I was home watching online and not at the Cathedral with my wife because Claire, Sarah, and Emily do a commendable job at one-hour masses, but quadrupling that seemed unreasonable.
So on this happy occasion, just as these souls are prospering, I hope yours is too, as well as your relationships, finances, health and all other matters important to you because I am confident that your priorities are in the right place and if it's important to you, it's because you responded when God put it in your heart.
I suppose I have always struggled with friendships on some level because I tended to see things from only my perspective and mistakenly thought that everyone saw things the way I did. For example, I remember how mature I was at a certain age and used to assume all of my students of that age were equally responsible. Some were. Some weren't. Likewise, everyone older than myself must be equally responsible. Many are. A few aren't.
This awareness has helped, of course, but has also shed light on how much more I don't know about people. Looking back at my school days, I never did anything to create enemies, thinking that I was friends with all the people I got along with, whereas we were probably just acquantances that shared similar interests. I never recall doing something to be friends with someone else. I became friends with someone else because they were doing something I liked.
It wasn't selfish in the sense that it took something away from someone else. My sense of justice was out of proportion to my sense of mercy. Aside from standing up for myself, I started standing up for my friends or my sisters' friends because I could. I could have also turned the other cheek or some other alternative. My actions are explainable, even understandable, but not excusable.
So now with this lack of experience and an awareness that I am not as adept socially as others, I am beginning to feel a need to nurture friendships and not just avoid creating enemies (like doing good works and not just avoid sin). So let's say I want to be friends with someone at work. I ventured into the teacher's lounge one day and a conversation surrounding the Bachelorette. I like the people, but had nothing to add to the conversation. The guys, don't eat in the teacher's lounge, they take their food to another teacher's room and talk sports. Now I used to enjoy playing sports, but I don't follow them now and the conversation is rarely about the 1990 Pittsburgh Pirates, so again I have nothing to offer.
I like talking about faith. I invited everyone in my building to morning prayer with me. No one accepted. However, one guy did invite me to a weekly Men's faith-sharing group, which was and is great, but it's once a week and covers topics that aren't going to come up when you pass in the halls or sit down for lunch.
So I'm not into what they're into and they're not into what I'm into. I have connected with a couple of teachers that can follow my line of thinking when we are talking about education, which is great while it lasts, but I feel a little uncomfortable hanging out with them socially when they invite me to go Segwaying with them or something. We're all married, half of them have kids, half don't, but they all do a lot more outings without kids and Nancy and I like to do most of our outings with the kids. We might go to Idlewild or the zoo with some of them this summer, two places fun for kids and animal lovers without kids. This is as close to a middle ground as I have found in quite some time.
If you have been able to follow this line of thinking that started with an ordination and ended with Idlewild and the zoo as a social compromise, I suspect you are among a very select few. I already feel better having written this, as if someone's listening, even though I know no one has yet because I haven't hit the publish button. Perhaps, articulating it for my own good helps me know that God is listening and helping my soul prosper just as he has blessed my marriage, health, and even finances in the sense that we are happy with what we have.
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Always ask for help
“In this way we know that we love the children of God when we love God and obey his commandments.”
-1 John 5:2
God will judge us by our actions. If you say you believe that Jesus is God, your actions should support that. The devil knows Jesus is God, but refuses to obey God’s commandments and suffers the consequences of his free will. Our free will should have us ask God for the strength to follow his commandments because our will isn’t strong enough to resist the Devil without his help. So it’s demonstrating our trust in Jesus by always praying to him for his help, whether those prayers are in words, thoughts, or deeds.
Tuesday, June 7, 2011
You can hate
"If anyone says, "I love God," but hates his brother, he is a liar; for whoever does not love a brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen."
-1 John 4:20
With this in mind, a number of what-if questions come to mind, especially if brother is interpreted as neighbor is in the Good Samaritan parable meaning all people. What about those people that hate God? You can still love the sinner and hate the sin.
-1 John 4:20
With this in mind, a number of what-if questions come to mind, especially if brother is interpreted as neighbor is in the Good Samaritan parable meaning all people. What about those people that hate God? You can still love the sinner and hate the sin.
Monday, June 6, 2011
All you need
"Whoever is without love does not know God, for God is love."
-1 John 4:8
If God is all you need...all you need is love...da - da da da da. I believe that's my first Beatles reference. Fr. Matt always jokes with my parish when he begins with the phrase, "There was a great theologian..." because the message usually come from someone like Van Halen like it did this past weekend. Nevertheless, if a simple Beatles jingle can help you to remember to love a little more, their work and/or my work is done.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Critical Thinkers
"And he gave some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the extent of the full stature of Christ, so that we may no longer be infants, tossed by waves and swept along by every wind of teaching arising from human trickery, from their cunning in the interests of deceitful scheming."
-Ephesians 4:11-14
One way public school teachers can best minister is to teach their students to be critical thinkers. Everyone is inundated with advertisements or propaganda, which can consist of all sorts of human trickery. Critical thinkers will less likely be decieved and will often come to believe, if they aren't believers already. Studying the life of Jesus, for example, has to lead one to conclude he was God or a fraud. An objective look at the evidence we have available would lead most to conclude he was God, with or without the help of the gift of faith from the Holy Spirit (not that faith, no matter how it is attained, can ever really be separated from the Holy Spirit).
-Ephesians 4:11-14
One way public school teachers can best minister is to teach their students to be critical thinkers. Everyone is inundated with advertisements or propaganda, which can consist of all sorts of human trickery. Critical thinkers will less likely be decieved and will often come to believe, if they aren't believers already. Studying the life of Jesus, for example, has to lead one to conclude he was God or a fraud. An objective look at the evidence we have available would lead most to conclude he was God, with or without the help of the gift of faith from the Holy Spirit (not that faith, no matter how it is attained, can ever really be separated from the Holy Spirit).
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