Where the Rubber Hits the Road

I like this column from Msgr. Charles Pope of the Washington DC Diocese. I've often remarked that God continues to speak to us in many ways, continually calling us to live better lives and remind us of his gifts to us. The fact that Msgr. Pope was able to see this ad as such a communication speaks well to his 'spiritual radar'! After all... our faith is the best 'insurance' any of us can have as we face the bumps and scrapes of our daily lives. It's a natural analogy. Well done Msgr. Pope! “Hey Darkside, Get Off the Car.” What a State Farm Commericial Has to Say About God and Spirituality | Archdiocese of Washington

NOTE: The statement “10% of the Protestant ministers have been found guilty of pedophilia” has no basis in fact! In his original speech Mr. Miller cites a July/August 2002 Sojourners article by Rose Marie Berger in which she misinterprets statements from Penn. State Prof. Philip Jenkins regarding sexual abuse by Protestant ministers. In the original article Berger writes… “Philip Jenkins concludes in his book “Pedophiles and Priests” that while 1.7 percent of Catholic clergy have been found guilty of pedophilia (specifically of boys), 10 percent of Protestant ministers have been found guilty of pedophilia.” (This quote is used in Miller’s speech) To which Philip Jenkins responds (Sept/Oct 2002)… “I regret to say that the statement is baloney. I never said it, and it’s not true!… Every time this ten percent statement appears attributed to me, I try to debunk it, but these things have a life of their own. I have no idea what the actual proportion of pedophile pro...

This one really makes you stop and think. God's grace is truly unmerited. God's Grace It is a shame but this message is very true. Hope you are all as blessed as I was by this story. I wonder how many people will delete this without reading it because of the title. There once was a man named George Thomas, pastor in a small New England town. One Easter Sunday morning he came to the Church carrying a rusty, bent, old bird cage, and set it by the pulpit. Eyebrows were raised and, as if in response, Pastor Thomas began to speak.... "I was walking through town yesterday when I saw a young boy coming toward me swinging this bird cage. On the bottom of the cage were three little wild birds, shivering with cold and fright. I stopped the lad and asked, "What do you have there, son?" "Just some old birds," came the reply. "What are you going to do with them?" I asked. "Take 'em home and have fun with 'em," he answered. ...

Like most of my fellow priests, most Mondays are spent recovering from the frenetic activities of parish weekend life. I am among those who are fortunate to be able to spend my Monday's (at least those not lost to funerals or other parochial needs) at a cottage along side the Ottawa River that I have been slowly paying for (and continually renovating) over the past 20 years. The photo's below are different views from its cosy confines. They are for me a small foretaste of what I pray paradise must be like. Granted the view is not quite to warm and inviting during the cold weather such as this winter is offering, but even the desolate beauty of the ice and snow covered ground warms the soul of this Canadian priest. Besides, if I were to apply to the environment the religious maxim of "when in desolation, remember consolation" these photo's help me to live again the memories of warmer times spent with friends and family -  a fun thing to do anytime! Just though ...

I should not have been surprised. Yet, as I stood outside this morning, cleaning up from the mess that the black bear made in my back yard as he munched through the pumpkins left out beside the compost (who knew bears held pumpkin seeds to be a delicacy) I was stunned to see that interplay of light, shade and fog that created long, spectacular rays of light that radiated out over the town: rays that resembled a beatific embrace which seemed to offer a divine blessing our small village. I could not help but be moved to spontaneous prayer of praise as I beheld the glory of that moment. Even my annoyance with the mess left by that the bear faded into nothingness in my consciousness. Further reflection led me to ask myself whether or not other people experienced these same manifestations of God in creation in their daily lives. This epiphany seems all the more appropriate for me today as I will be heading out after my last mass today on a 26 hour round trip journey by car to pick up ...

On the heels of my post about Roy Payne, Canadian musician, I stumbled across an interesting article on the First Things blog about the music of Bob Dylan. What caught my eye was not any particular element of Joe Carter's excellent post, but rather the fact that his offering had engendered 34 comments on the first day that it was posted. What is it about the power of music that it will elicit such a reaction? Folks say that they can hear the voice of Christ in the words of Roy's song, yet they would be hard pressed to find His presence when they meet him in the flesh. Posts of any number of thought provoking ideas will perhaps inspire a few comments on the First Things site, but introduce the question of understanding a musicians muse and the comments come piling in. I guess it's just one of those little life mysteries for people of faith to ponder. The link to the First Things post can be found in the "reference articles" box on the left of the blog pa...

I have been fortunate to come to know personally the writer and performer of this song. His name is Roy Payne. To say that Roy has has lived life "in extremus" would be kind. Any polish or veneer that once adorned his countenance has long since been burned off by the trials of life; some of his own making, others by the trials of fate. Yet having visited the joys of fame during the '70's on the country music scene, he has also lived that sad state of life memorialized in those ballad and songs of woe. I am also privileged to be able to talk with him about how it is that he continues to experience (if not always heed...) the gentle touch of God in places we would not always think to look: like "Drinking Beer with Jesus". Without a doubt, we hear inspiration and authenticity in the lyric of a song offered with a raspy voice bespeaks years and years of smoky bars and hard living. Whether the muse for this work be divine or not, Jesus was certainly there...