On Sun, Oct 11, 2009 at 1:37 PM, wrote:

All -

I am probably missing some people on this email. If you notice someone missing from it that should be included, please feel free to forward it at your discretion.

I want to first mention that of course James's passing is a big shock. A man such as James taken at such a young age (I think 40 is now the "new 30") is a real tragedy. And the fact that he leaves behind 3 kids and a young wife behind only compounds the heavy heart.

As you all know, I met James in 7th grade while attending a most awful private school. James had been expelled the year before I arrived, but eventually the Powers That Be showed some clemency. For my part, it was my first and only year there. And, as you can imagine, James and I, though if memory serves did not get along at our first meeting, eventually came to see one another as remarkably similar for being so very different from one another. Specifically in the following sense: we both hated authority.

Now, one can downplay the significance of what that means/meant. One can chalk it up to rebellion of youth. But that would be to simplify it and miss the point entirely.

If you notice the people on this list - you may see a pattern emerge. James respected most those that would not be cowed. He saw it as more than a simple personality trait. He saw it as a sign of spiritual maturity. Because the Spirit cannot be squashed unless the individual permits it to be. And because he knew very well that what we all really desire most in this life is something that is in very short supply: namely, as a friend of mine reminded me this morning, Peace.

In James's view of the mechanics of the cosmos, and more specifically, the actuality of the Human Person, we souls chose to be manifest on this plane of existence. And, in his view, we souls chose to enter into this awful physical realm in order to have an opportunity to break free of this physical and metaphysical plane. In his view, what we can observe with our limited senses (the 5 senses we learn about in school), we are given to certain perceptions about the cosmos that are absolutely illusory.

For him, existing as both physical and spiritual being was a bummer. In his view the physical was nothing but a cell within which the soul was imprisoned. This does NOT mean he didn't enjoy his existence here. He took pleasure in all of the little and big miracles of this life experience - just like the rest of us. But he DID believe that his mission here on earth was to evolve in such a way as to be permitted to escape the confines of the physical. Yes - he believed in reincarnation. And, no, he was not real eager to spend more lifetimes in what he saw as the great wheel than he had to. So, for him, it made sense that he needed to spend as much time working on the Spiritual aspect of self as was possible.

James did not believe that the Spirit could/would end up in hell - as we typically envision it. But he DID believe in a Creator God. He was NOT a polytheist. But he also did NOT believe that he had found one religious tradition that adequately represented God Creator. In this sense he was very much Buddhist: once we try to describe the Cosmic Oneness (God), we are further from understanding the actuality of God that before we set out to explain God. This does NOT mean he thought we could not sharpen our insights about what/who/why/how of the Creator God and Creator God's Creation - the Cosmos. Far from it: he spent his life trying to peek behind the curtain, so sure was he that there were glimpses of the Divine to be discerned.

It is important for me to communicate this to you. For a couple of reasons.

1) James has either broken free of this plane or not - if you tend to agree with his view of the Cosmos.
2) If you see the Cosmos through the prism of Christianity, on the other hand, I am encouraged that James has met his reward. He really did believe that the Christ was a Bridge. He really did believe that if you walked the path of Christ, you would find God. What he disagreed with was what he saw as the bastardization of the Christ Story - the manipulation of it throughout history for political gain. If you know me at all, you would see this as a major divergence in belief between James and myself. And there were plenty of these.
3) If you do not believe in existence after death - then James is gone. Both physically and Spiritually. And none of this matters. For you, I would suggest that you reconsider.
4) James LOVED to talk about the Cosmos - all of it - and the economy of souls! He loved it because for him nothing raised to the same level of worthiness - he was always ready to share his ideas with others and to hear theirs. To exchange insights.

So, this is his gift to you and very much to me.

Always ask questions
Ask follow-up questions
Read, study
Contemplate
Pray
Meditate
Introspect
Visualize
Realize

REBEL - DO NOT BELIEVE WHAT THE THEM TELL YOU - DO NOT BELIEVE THE SLOGANS - DO NOT BELIEVE THE CHOICES YOU ARE PRESENTED WITH - ALWAYS ASSUME THERE IS MORE THAN YOU ARE SENSING - NEVER, EVER CAPITULATE OR ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE INTIMIDATED. FIGHT LIKE A MOTHER FUCKER.

MANIFEST the person - SPIRIT - you are called to be.

The rest, James would tell you - the physical, material - is, was, and ever will be "complete fucking bullshit." - A distraction.

And most of all - he would implore you, in a war-like manner, to LOVE and PEACE of your fellow... to the best of your ability.

Please join me in a song of prayer for his rapid passage and celebration of the wonderful soul we, his beloved friends, had the gift of knowing.

Ill let you know when plans are ironed out.

Enoch_Root

Person with kids,a beautiful wife, a job. Catholic of the Latin Rite.

Website - More Posts

The famous author, James A. Mitchner, in “The Fires of Spring” announced authoritatively:

“For this is the journey that men make: to find themselves. If they fail in this, it doesn’t matter what else they find.

Money, position, fame, many loves, revenge, are all of little consequence. And when the tickets are collected at the end of the ride they are tossed in a bin marked FAILURE.

But if a man happens to find himself – if he knows what he can do; the limits of his courage, the position from which he will no longer retreat… the secret reservoirs of his determination, the extent of his dedication, the depth of his feeling for beauty, his modest and unpostured goals – then he has found a mansion which he can inhabit with dignity all the days of his life.”

Inspirational, striking words; but allow me a few criticisms.

One does not just “happen” to find the code of conduct chronicled. Mitchner does not tell the reader how to achieve these virtuous characteristics.

Fortunately for you, beloved grandchildren, Grandpa will explain what tools and resources are at hand to build your Mansion.

Of course the most essential is the Foundation: hence the name, and in life the Foundation is Moral Truth. The Truth is essential to all Human endeavors. First, you must find it. Then, you must defend it and be faithful to it.

Let’s start our search with “Natural Law”, a concept that spans from the ancient Greek philisophies, honored by the Church, acknowledged by the founder of the Republic. Philosophers recognized that things of nature had characteristics that were inherent, essential to their function and could not be removed (ie. water freezes and boils at fixed temperatures). Humans also have rights and moral knowledge. These were listed in the Declaration of Independence as unalienable; “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness”.

According to Catholic teachings, you are created “in the image and likeness” of God and since God is Pure Love and All Good, He has engraved this knowledge on your heart and conscience.

The other unalienable rights, “Freedom and Pursuit of Happiness” (ie. private possession are to be “ordered” (ie. dependent on Tuth)). Blessed John Paul II states “Authentic, ordered freedom is ordered to truth”. (Veritas Splendor Enciclical) Truth is ONE, what is philosophical and theologically true will not conflict with schientific truth. Truth is now a matter of consensus; Truth is Truth even if no one believes it; and false is false even if everyone believes it to be true. It’s not enough to have a hunch or possible, probable, or even beyond a reasonable doubt. You must have certitude: Truth is unchanging.

So, starting with Natural Law, add Reason and Scripture, the inspired word of God indirectly given through Prophets and directly through Jesus who is Truth. Reason validates the Ten Commandments but accepting the Truth of the Beatitudes because of their paradoxical confrontation of worldly values requires the final Finishing Fool: Wisdom. The Sapiential Books (Books of Wisdom) of the Bible proclaim “Fear of the Lord is the first step to Wisdom”; God’s plan of conduct that allows us to “live life more abundantly”. Fear does not mean “subservient slave-like fear” but a healthy awareness of God’s awesome power as manifested all around us and how inconsequential we would be except for His magnificent, majestic, unending, unconditional Love.

This will not only lead you to the Mansion portrayed by Mitchner, but to one that will reduce it to a birdhouse or a toy in a box of Cracker Jack.

We hope you will understand we write of these things not only out of our love for you, but also as a responsibility as stated in Psalm 78.

3 What we have heard and know;

things our ancestors have recounted to us.

4 We do not keep them from our children;

we recount them to the next generation,

The praiseworthy deeds of the LORD and his strength,

the wonders that he performed

5 God made a decree in Jacob,

established a law in Israel:

Which he commanded our ancestors,

they were to teach their children;

6 That the next generation might come to know,

children yet to be born.

In turn they were to recount them to their children,

Enoch_Root

Person with kids,a beautiful wife, a job. Catholic of the Latin Rite.

Website - More Posts

Essay by Daniel P Collins, Sr. - Naples, Florida

My dad was a fireman in downtown Chicago for forty-three years. His rise from fireman to Division Marshall over the politicians determined obstructions was aided by the prayers of his favorite charity; The Little Sisters of the Poor. Sister Bertha and Sister Brigid would show up on pay day and dad would "encourage" all to contribute.

On a freezing Winter day, the nuns came in and Dad told them to warm their feet at the glowing pot belly iron furnace. When they put their feet out to warm their toes, Dad noticed each had large holes in the soles of their shoes. He called his Jewish friend Harry Gold... "Harry, I've got two nuns over here with holes in their shoes. If I buy one pair, will you pick up the other?"

"Bring them over, Chief", said Harry the shoemaker.

This inaugurated a bi-weekly tradition. The nuns would visit the firehouse, Dad would ask what happened to their new shoes. The nuns would reveal they had given the new shoes to "someone who needed them more". Dad and Harry would split the cost. And Harry never hesitated.

Do I think this son of Jacob "has a place in Heaven? You bet. I think he's a "shoe-in"!

Enoch_Root

Person with kids,a beautiful wife, a job. Catholic of the Latin Rite.

Website - More Posts

In terms of end of year tidings, one is relieved to have Christmas in the rear-view mirror. One looks forward, mostly, to a new chapter. It is a very pagan way to go. Out with the old and in with the new. XTC has a great song to this effect.

Fire they cried
So evil must die
And yields are good
So men pull back hoods and smile
The scapegoat blood spilled
Spittled and grilled
it crackled and spat
And children grew fat
on the meat
Change must be earnt
Sacrificial bonfire
must burn
Burn up the old Ring in the new
Assembled on high
Silhouette against the sky
The smoke prayed and pranced
And sparks did their dance
in the wind
Shadows wore thin
with less and less skin
And the clothes that were draped
Was all that told man from ape
Change must be earnt
Sacrificial bonfire must reign
Reign over good
Banish the bad

It is interesting to note that Christmas itself, to the Christian, marks the very point in history when Mankind's bondage was in jeopardy of being remanded. If you will, it is the point in history where the Scapegoat is introduce to the storyline.

We wait for Good Friday to spill the Blood of the Lamb, of course, but the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies is nigh. Predestined history unfurls from this point at a relatively rapid pace. All Systems of Men are put to shame in the ensuing times.

This Singular Cosmic Shift - the Birth of the Christchild - the Advent of Emmanuel - God Among Us... culminates in the Greatest Event the world has ever witnessed; whereby God reconciles His Creation to Himself through the Paschal Sacrifice of Himself on our behalf to Himself for expiation of all Sin past, present, and future.

This is a really, really big deal.

What the Great Pagan Philosophers discerned without the Light of the Holy Spirit - and what was known to the Jews through revelation and guarded so jealously - was confirmed. From there, Pagans and Jews alike were presented with another amazing Gift - the first being Redemption - for the taking.

That second gift is the Gift of Hope.

It seems to me that the idea that we exist and then do not exist is so much crap. That we exist and then seize to exist is goofy. How were the Pagan Scholars of Note able to divine an afterlife without the Holy Light of Grace? They did so using Reason as their guide. It is no different today. But that we had only Reason as our guide - without the Advent of the Lamb of God - and possessed the same towering intellect as the Greats - would we not come to the same conclusion? Yet, we have the extra benefit of an Singular Occurrence that they did not. So, perhaps our rather smallish abilities are brought on par with those who fumbled in the dark and arrived at the conclusion that Man is so distinct, so Unique, so Superior in species, that the natural ends of squirrels and birds is not equivalent to what awaits the Human Being.

Right now, many of our cyber-family, our modern-day neighbors, are suffering terribly. On the threshold of Death itself.

There is no need to name them, as most of you know in your hearts who these Souls are.

In the New Year, we are likely to lose some of them from this physical world.

We have Hope. Let us pray that all of these - those who will find physical health again and those that will be liberated from this physical reality - are buoyed in the knowledge that there is so much more behind the veil that awaits them.

Paradise awaits those who desire it with a contrite heart - and burn with Hope in anticipation of the Eternal Vision of God's Face for Eternity.

The body will fail. But we are free. Free to pray for the Souls at Death's Doorstep. Free to pray that our neighbors suffer with purpose and realize the benefits to be had as they pick up their cross and follow the Christ to Calvary - and ultimately Golgotha. Free to pray that they demonstrate Fortitude in their sufferings and grow ever closer to the Christ by mimicking his trials.

Let us pray for these, our brothers and sisters. Let us pray for those Dearly Departed in Purgatory and those Militant who are set to join them this year.

May God bless them and keep them and have Mercy on them today, tomorrow, and for all Eternity.

May they in turn pray for each of us from On High in our hour of need.

Happy New Year. God Speed, Faithful Pilgrims.

Enoch_Root

Person with kids,a beautiful wife, a job. Catholic of the Latin Rite.

Website - More Posts

This past year I have been pondering the age old question, "why do bad things happen to good people?". All who have seriously studied have reasoned the answer is to be found in the "spiritus" (spiritual) aspect of man ("the soul") rather than the profain ("material") aspect. A course on the Sapiential Books of the Bible (ie. Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon...) given by Father Joseph Korterski, S.J., of Georgetown was informative and all pointed to the love and fear of God as the beginning of wisdom. Fear in not the fear of a slave, but an acknowledgement of the enormous discrepancy between God's omnipotence and our total dependency. Wisdom "resplendent" comes with "solicitude" to Job: God has reasons but has no responsibility to explain himself.

In my quest, probably as a result of my limitations, two sources provide greater satisfaction. One is a poem I will attach. The other four words from a Third Century theologian. Irenaeus's concept of the redemptive tutelage of suffering. Meditating on suffering as a tutor or a teacher that promotes redemption brings insight.

Suffering requires an increase in faith and hope; promotes virtues of Patience, Perseverance, Humility and above all Love... "The fulfillment of the Law." Seen in this dimension suffering is the reason itself.

The poem "The Silversmith" makes this point in a more artistic way.

[poem to be inserted here]

related post at Johanna Hopes place

Enoch_Root

Person with kids,a beautiful wife, a job. Catholic of the Latin Rite.

Website - More Posts

Then they sent some of the Pharisees and Herodians to Him in order to trap Him in a statement.  They came and said to Him, “Teacher, we know that You are truthful and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any, but teach the way of God in truth. Is it lawful to pay a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?  “Shall we pay or shall we not pay?” But He, knowing their hypocrisy, said to them, “Why are you testing Me? Bring Me a denarius to look at.”  They brought one. And He said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” And they said to Him, “Caesar’s.” And Jesus said to them, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And they were amazed at Him.

I tell you that this lesson is a great one. As with all of the Lord's Teachings, each time one reads it, one walks away with deeper understanding. And, per usual, what appears obvious is of tertiary importance. There is a lesson here about our responsibility to our earthly rulers - that is, civic obligations.  But, and call me dense if this is obvious to you, an epiphany occurred to this Pilgrim a couple years back upon a casual reading of this passage (which i had read numerous times previously).

Turning it upside-down like this is also interesting…

Recognizing their craftiness he said to them, “Show me [your soul]; whose image and [likeness] does it bear?” They replied, “God’s.”
So he said to them, “Then repay to [God] what belongs to [God] and to [Ceasar] what belongs to [Ceasar].”

What we glimpse here is an invitation to proper orientation of one's heart, mind, and soul. It is as if the Christ is telling us we will travel from pocket to pocket without rest until we are returned to the Treasury of our Creator.

One may say that today's pagans are throwbacks to a time before the Good News. But I say they are not. Pagans of yesteryear were necessarily blind. But they were not devoid of desire to seek and find. The Platonists, as St. Augustine attests, employing Reason and deduction alone, came to the conclusion that a Creator-God exists. A Single, Omniscient God. This previous to the Word becoming flesh. Previous to the Word. Previous to the New Covenant.

But today's Pagans (in the West) persist in spite of Logos... I often get the sense they do so precisely out of contempt.

Which begs several questions...

Why the contempt? To this I say that it is my experience that today's consumer - today's alt-lifestyler - is more appreciative of those things that appear "exotic" and abnormal to things they deem "mainstream". As a teenager I was also attracted to this Punk Rock sentimentality. And even to this day I have such tendencies. This rebelliousness is a human condition it seems. However, over time I have learned that Punk Rock culture has nothing of value (on its surface) to to offer those seeking a deeper connection with God. Punk Rock died with the popularization of the Sex Pistols in the United States. Sure, there was a hearty Punk Rock Scene in the States through the tail end of the Eighties. I know this because I was there and saw it with my own eyes. But it was already dying by that time and to a degree that one could sense it.

There is good reason for this. Punk Rock did not translate well outside of its specific conditions from whence it sprang. It could only exist for so long outside of its original context. Without its stimulus, without its purpose, it simply had no food... no reason for being.

The theme of teenage angst is ubiquitous. Through all ages and in all cultures. Punk Rock was simply an interesting twist on an old theme. But it had all of the right aspects of an easily consumable commodity. All of the sex appeal to make a marketer's wet dream come true. That is, I get why it became commercialized - and when it did Punk Rock stopped being Punk Rock and instead became punk rock - a wisp of its former self. Nevertheless, it is revisited (some say re-discovered) from time-to-time in forms that critics seem to love but those of us who experience it one-generation out from the early days here in the States cannot recognize at all.

What's the point? The point is that paganism of today smacks of the Punk Rock/punk rock phenom. Especially in the West, where New Agers and all manner of tribalism is enjoying great success - thanks to people like Oprah Winfrey and James Arthur Ray. The appeal of rebellion is ubiquitous to the teenager and to be expected as he/she "discovers him/herself". But this sort of cheap rebellion is unattractive among the middle-aged... at best, it is unattractive... at worst it is juvenile.

The Pagans of the past were living in comparative darkness. Unless they bumped into someone like a wandering Jew named Enoch Root for example and had some long and very involved conversation with him. The Stoics and Platonists came out from the darkness by adhering to the only Light that existed - that of Reason - that inherent Likeness and Knowledge instilled in each of us.

Find me a Stoic. Find me a Platonist.

But pagans are everywhere today. Intrigued by the rebellion and angst - which again I can appreciate very well - the pagans of today even have the audacity to claim "newness" - New Age. As if there are any heresies that have not been conceived of, argued over, combated, and in the end dismissed  since the time of the Christ.

Paganism is now paganism. An interesting little, exotic temper tantrum. For a Juvenile to be expected... in an adult perplexing and unbecoming. Exotic is relative to Era. As I have said before: if it is mysticism you are after... or something truly exotic and foreign... one must study and comprehend. One must open the Third Eye and petition for deep understanding. The Word is Radical. The Word is Punk Rock. The Word is Rebellion. The Word is the New Age. Despite who lays claim to it, professes it, loves it, hates it, denies it.

It just Is.

Ascending the bluff is simple. Ascending the Mountain: now there is a real, worthwhile challenge.

Enoch_Root

Person with kids,a beautiful wife, a job. Catholic of the Latin Rite.

Website - More Posts

Father John Corapi, for those who may not know him, was/is a very significant talent. He had/has all of the right skills and has had a terrific impact on the Spiritual Lives of many of us Catholic Pilgrims. He was/is an impressive orator, possesses an incredible mind and is an impressive theologian.

But perhaps the most impressive aspect of Father John Corapi was that he appeared a modern day St. Augustine of Hippo. One who knew sin and all of her empty promises. One who lived like a pagan and bathed in the false pleasures of our present temporal station until his Conversion. Nothing remarkable about his temptations: drugs and women. It's an old story indeed.

But Father John represented to many of us more than just a man we could relate to. Here was a man who had his moment in the garden. A man pursued by the "Hounds of Heaven". A man whose Monica was, as it were, the Virgin Herself.

What this means is that in Father John, we saw a man who appeared to have done what Christ implores all of us to do: namely, turn away from sin and embrace our Cross(es) and slog on the Pilgrim's Road for the Christ.

That is, in Father John we saw ourselves (only better). We saw someone living the faith. We saw someone unashamed to achieve to the Higher Self through a fiery devotion to Our Lord. We saw a man of love, peace, fortitude, courage, charity... a man of God. We saw our potential.

Today marks an incredibly sad day for the Church, in that...

"Father John Corapi’s religious order has found him guilty of substance abuse, sexual activity and violating his promise of poverty. A July 5 press release from the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT) said that while Fr. Corapi was involved in public ministry he had “sexual relations and years of cohabitation with a woman known to him, when the relationship began, as a prostitute.” MORE

I, along with perhaps millions of the Faithful are heartbroken.

In perusing the comments to this story on FB, we see mostly disbelief and resigned sadness. One could even say mourning for this man.

But we also see the typical bashing we have grown to expect. Of those voices, we see the juvenile tauntings  and cries of "hypocrite".

I have treated at length on this topic here before. Only last Ash Wednesday I posted this here on the topic of our claim as Hypocrite:

I will say it again for the benefit of all of my brothers and sisters in Christ. We are necessarily Hypocrites! We are to be Fools for Christ! The bar is necessarily high… and perfection will not be ours on this Pilgrim’s Road. We will necessarily fall short. End up in the woods. We will be lured away from the path. We will fall in the mud, beaten and bloodied. We will be left for dead. We will be surprised when a strange Samaritan (of all things) picks us up and delivers us from our doom.  We are in fact, all of us, in a distant country. We are, in fact, all of us, spending our inheritance on whores. During Lent, we are reminded to identify our faults, our imperfections, our rebellions, our sins, our darkened minds, our injured and hardened hearts… and to orient ourselves toward the Father’s Estate.

The story of Fr. John Corapi is nothing new. In fact, it is as old as the Faith. As old as the Church. We should not be stunned by stories such as these. From the beginning of Christ's Church here on Earth, Judas has been with us. St. Paul himself warns us against the spirit of Judas. St. Augustine, St. Catherine of Sienna, St. Faustina, JPII - all of these and all men and women religious worth their salt have warned, have lamented, and continue to draw our attentions to corruption in the Church... and yes, even Fr. Corapi, has spoken at great length about the dangers of concupiscence. In fact, they each struggled, as we are called to do, to sublimate our lower passions.

As I have postulated for years here on POWIP, there is a Judas Ratio.

The Judas Ratio can be thought to be the 8% (1/12) of any demographic segment (whether professional or otherwise) that can be expected to be complete scoundrels.

The concept originated with my father, Dan Sr., who postulated the thought to explain the “radical priests” during the pedophilia outing that occurred some years back. He said something along these lines: “If the Master Himself had one among his group who would sell Him and his own soul for a bag of cash, isn’t it likely the rest of us will have to suffer the same?” That goes for the Church, our schools, our bureaucrats, our politicians, our businesses (managers and employees alike), our neighbors, our family members, et cetera.

I think there is something to this Judas Ratio business. It may be that some of the 8% are never found out, while others are eventually dis-covered. But, nonetheless, I think it holds.

Let us Hypocrites acknowledge it and be on guard - vigilant. Will we deny Him like Peter? Yes. Will we condemn Him as Pilate? Yes. Will we betray Him with a Kiss? Yes. And in fact, we have done this and more to the Eternally crucified Christ.

This is why we Christians commemorate this Day and are called to contemplate not only The Death of Our Lord – in all of its very human ugliness – but also embrace our guilt in the astroturfing of the Christ. Who put Him to death? Why, we did. Each and every one of us. We betray Him, accuse Him, arrest Him, flog Him, spit upon Him, and yes, we nail Him to the Cross each and every day. We are Judas, Peter, Pilate, all of us. And if we are Blessed, we are the thief who asks the Godman to be remembered. We are the Roman Guard whose spirit is quaked and recognizes that Jesus was/is “truly the Son of God.” MORE

Let us pray that Father John petitions for Mercy and Forgiveness and Healing. Let us pray he does not, in fact, become a charismatic for the Forces of Evil... but instead embraces his Cross and makes his way to Calvary... in Faith, becoming a Saint as he is called to be (as we all are).

Let him comply, knuckle-down, and give up his rebellious spirit...

Petition St. Michael to come to his aid. Petition the Virgin to comfort him. Petition God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit to rush to his aid.

May he be healed. And should he be, perhaps I will celebrate him even more for overcoming his depravity appropriately... that is kneeling at the foot of the most holy and bloody Cross.

Father John Corapi is all of us... hypocrite, sinner, diseased... he is all of us and we are him.

I beg for your prayers! For Fr John, for me, for you, for all of us Judases, Pilates, Pharisees...

None of us is worthy. None of us.

Father John has made significant contributions to the Kingdom, the City of God. Now perhaps God has greater things in store for him. Perhaps like watching PJII persevere while his body betrayed him... perhaps we will witness a human get back on the Pilgrim's Road. Bloodied, beaten... but determined.

God help us all.

Enoch_Root

Person with kids,a beautiful wife, a job. Catholic of the Latin Rite.

Website - More Posts

James Shore & Co-Traveler Cody Jones

Today marks the day that James Shore's widow and beloved mother of James's three surviving children takes the stand in Arizona. For the jury, this will be the first time they learn that James Shore has a widow... that he was the father of three young children. It will be the first time they see the actual aftermath of the crimes perpetrated by James A Ray.

As relates to the process, James A Ray, now a convicted felon with three counts of Negligent Homicide on this dossier, faces upwards of 11.5 years for his crimes. He could, theoretically, receive probation. Or, alternatively, the judge could allow him to serve his debt concurrently. This brings us to the crux of the matter.

It is very difficult for me not to want to see the murderer James Arthur Ray serve the maximum the law allows. It is very difficult for me not to wish him a very brutish cell mate with a penchant for pretty boys with manicured fingernails.

To be honest, I still contemplate the ways in which years from now I might find the aged perpetrator alone in an alley. Very difficult not to fantasize of cornering him, presenting a devious smile, recalling my dear and beloved friend James, and sticking him like a pig while growling, only to steal away unnoticed from the scene.

But justice is not, alas, mine to mete out. Thankfully so. I am not very merciful.

On the matter of Justice, I am conflicted.

As a Christian Man, I am to forgive. I am to love my enemies. This is no small challenge for me. As you can tell, my base self senses that there is a debt to be paid. There is an account to be reconciled. My base humanness tells me that no judge, no jury, no time in prison can balance the scale or exact reparation to those who loved James. That is, my lower self shakes when I contemplate inaction. To the degree I feel near compelled to settle the score to my satisfaction. I can tell you this: without my fear of the Lord, James Arthur Ray would already be dead. And this is no boast. I know myself. I am, without Christ, the Celt who gets naked and paints himself blue, hollers some strange battle-cry and without hesitation throws himself at the enemy. I am that man. I am that man without my fear of the Lord.

This is a curious irony: this man, James Arthur Ray, owes his very life to the Lord Jesus Christ because of the Lord's stranglehold on my heart and passions. Yet, this very same man, James Arthur Ray led many away from the Master and into great error. You may think I boast, but I tell you I do not. As James is my witness, I do not boast, so dark is my soul without Him.

Are not those very Romans, who were spared by the barbarians through their respect for Christ, become enemies to the name of Christ? The reliquaries of the martyrs and the churches of the apostles bear witness to this; for in the sack of the city they were open sanctuary for all who fled to them, whether Christian or Pagan. To their very threshold the blood-thirsty enemy raged; there his murderous fury owned a limit. Thither did such of the enemy as had any pity convey those to whom they had given quarter, lest any less mercifully disposed might fall upon them. And, indeed, when even those murderers who everywhere else showed themselves pitiless came to those spots where that was forbidden which the license of war permitted in every other place, their furious rage for slaughter was bridled, and their eagerness to take prisoners was quenched. Thus escaped multitudes who now reproach the Christian religion, and impute to Christ the ills that have befallen their city; but the preservation of their own life—a boon which they owe to the respect entertained for Christ by the barbarians—they attribute not to our Christ, but to their own good luck. They ought rather, had they any right perceptions, to attribute the severities and hardships inflicted by their enemies, to that divine providence which is wont to reform the depraved manners of men by chastisement, and which exercises with similar afflictions the righteous and praiseworthy,—either translating them, when they have passed through the trial, to a better world, or detaining them still on earth for ulterior purposes. And they ought to attribute it to the spirit of these Christian times, that, contrary to the custom of war, these bloodthirsty barbarians spared them, and spared them for Christ’s sake, whether this mercy was actually shown in promiscuous places, or in those places specially dedicated to Christ’s name, and of which the very largest were selected as sanctuaries, that full scope might thus be given to the expansive compassion which desired that a large multitude might find shelter there. Therefore ought they to give God thanks, and with sincere confession flee for refuge to His name, that so they may escape the punishment of eternal fire—they who with lying lips took upon them this name, that they might escape the punishment of present destruction.

For of those whom you see insolently and shamelessly insulting the servants of Christ, there are numbers who would not have escaped that destruction and slaughter had they not pretended that they themselves were Christ’s servants. Yet now, in ungrateful pride and most impious madness, and at the risk of being punished in everlasting darkness, they perversely oppose that name under which they fraudulently protected themselves for the sake of enjoying the light of this brief life. (St. Augustine of Hippo, City of God)

As a Christian Man, I am called to pray for James Arthur Ray's conversion. To pray that his soul attain to the promises of Christ. I am not quite there as of yet. Not near. I cannot tell you how troubled I am about it. I did not want this conflict. Nor did I want to contemplate these things. Instead I want to go to a local Greek eatery with James (which he loved to do) and watch him order his gyro-styled omelets. But I cannot do this silly thing any more. Instead I am called to forgive! And not only forgive, but pray for James Ray's hideous soul? God, that is impossible! What you ask is impossible for me! I do not want James Ray to know you, Lord. He doesn't deserve to host you Lord! These are the thoughts that occur to me. And I don't like them. They point to how damaged I am in spirit.

Alas, the disposition of James Arthur Ray's soul... is my concern. As is yours dear reader. He is my neighbor, though I despise him! And only through our neighbors do we demonstrate the depth of our love of the Lord. It is truly impossible! I didn't ask for this. None of us did. But it is here.

Bittersweet describes this debacle perfectly. No verdict will bring our beloved brother James back to life in this dimension. No amount of time served in prison will bring him back.

On the score of temporal debt owed... to James's surviving family... to his friends who tear up at the longing for his company... to those who never met him... to the world: 3 years, 7 years, 11.5 years - does it matter? In the end, does it matter? I think so. Humanity is due some repayment for the loss of such a beautiful person. How much? I do not know. "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." (Mark 12:17). Perhaps that is the point. In Babylon, there is nothing but "confusion".

Perhaps the only clarity to be found, my brothers and sisters, is when we ascend the Cross ever higher, up and away from the dirt beneath our feet. Perhaps we really ought "allow the dead to bury their own dead." (Matthew 8:22).

God, you are great. Help me to love my neighbor whom I abhor. I trust in you.

My friends: I am a poor soul. Pray for me. I want no part of this world. Yet I toil here. I claim to be a pilgrim soul... a citizen of the City of God... but my passions banish me to the City of Men. Pray for me. Pray for James. Pray for Alyssa and the children. And, yes... pray for the conversion of the soul of James Arthur Ray.

God help me. God have mercy on us.

Shore Children Education Fund

Please make checks payable to:  Shore Children Education Fund

Shore Children Education Fund
c/o Schmidt & Bartelt Funeral Home
10121 W. North Ave.
Wauwatosa, WI 53266

------ more God-bothery Stuff Below: why we suffer --------

Wh[y], then, have the Christians suffered in that calamitous period, which would not profit every one who duly and faithfully considered the following circumstances? ...

... If any one forbears to reprove and find fault with those who are doing wrong, because he seeks a more seasonable opportunity, or because he fears they may be made worse by his rebuke, or that other weak persons may be disheartened from endeavoring to lead a good and pious life, and may be driven from the faith; this man’s omission seems to be occasioned not by covetousness, but by a charitable consideration. But what is blame-worthy is, that they who themselves revolt from the conduct of the wicked, and live in quite another fashion, yet spare those faults in other men which they ought to reprehend and wean them from; and spare them because they fear to give offence, lest they should injure their interests in those things which good men may innocently and legitimately use,—though they use them more greedily than becomes persons who are strangers in this world, and profess the hope of a heavenly country. For not only the weaker brethren who enjoy married life, and have children (or desire to have them), and own houses and establishments, whom the apostle addresses in the churches, warning and instructing them how they should live, both the wives with their husbands, and the husbands with their wives, the children with their parents, and parents with their children, and servants with their masters, and masters with their servants,—not only do these weaker brethren gladly obtain and grudgingly lose many earthly and temporal things on account of which they dare not offend men whose polluted and wicked life greatly displeases them; but those also who live at a higher level, who are not entangled in the meshes of married life, but use meagre food and raiment, do often take thought of their own safety and good name, and abstain from finding fault with the wicked, because they fear their wiles and violence. And although they do not fear them to such an extent as to be drawn to the commission of like iniquities, nay, not by any threats or violence soever; yet those very deeds which they refuse to share in the commission of they often decline to find fault with, when possibly they might by finding fault prevent their commission. They abstain from interference, because they fear that, if it fail of good effect, their own safety or reputation may be damaged or destroyed; not because they see that their preservation and good name are needful, that they may be able to influence those who need their instruction, but rather because they weakly relish the flattery and respect of men, and fear the judgments of the people, and the pain or death of the body; that is to say, their non-intervention is the result of selfishness, and not of love.

Accordingly this seems to me to be one principal reason why the good are chastised along with the wicked, when God is pleased to visit with temporal punishments the profligate manners of a community. They are punished together, not because they have spent an equally corrupt life, but because the good as well as the wicked, though not equally with them, love this present life; while they ought to hold it cheap, that the wicked, being admonished and reformed by their example, might lay hold of life eternal. And if they will not be the companions of the good in seeking life everlasting, they should be loved as enemies, and be dealt with patiently. For so long as they live, it remains uncertain whether they may not come to a better mind. These selfish persons have more cause to fear than those to whom it was said through the prophet, “He is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.”  For watchmen or overseers of the people are appointed in churches, that they may unsparingly rebuke sin. Nor is that man guiltless of the sin we speak of, who, though he be not a watchman, yet sees in the conduct of those with whom the relationships of this life bring him into contact, many things that should be blamed, and yet overlooks them, fearing to give offence, and lose such worldly blessings as may legitimately be desired, but which he too eagerly grasps. Then, lastly, there is another reason why the good are afflicted with temporal calamities—the reason which Job’s case exemplifies: that the human spirit may be proved, and that it may be manifested with what fortitude of pious trust, and with how unmercenary a love, it cleaves to God.  (City of God, Book 1, Chapter 9)

-------

Enoch_Root

Person with kids,a beautiful wife, a job. Catholic of the Latin Rite.

Website - More Posts

Let's overwhelm him with our strangerly love and petitions to our Creator.

Enoch_Root

Person with kids,a beautiful wife, a job. Catholic of the Latin Rite.

Website - More Posts

As Dan reminded me yesterday in the thread asking for prayers for BJ Texeira, Patty Ann, a member of "The Hostages" family and longtime doyenne of the internet, was herself still struggling with a life threatening surgical complication and in dire need of our prayers as well.

Alas, I heard this morning that she passed away during the night.  As far as I know, in her last moments she was awake and being comforted by a friend who read her the 23rd psalm.  She has gone to be with the Lord, His will be done...

Pray for the loved ones she leaves here on Earth. May God grant them His mercy, strength, comfort, and peace in their time of grief. And may He reassure them that in the fullness of time, they too will join Him and their beloved Patty Ann in Your kingdom, where all will be together forever.

Patty Ann was a lovely woman who was always witty, cheerful, and kind. And she will surely be missed. I can't help but get the feeling that, if at all possible, heaven will be a little brighter today because she's joined it's ranks.

Godspeed Patty Ann.

Dan's comment:

Thanks to Ace for the kind remembrance and the link.

Rocketman