Format Change

Rather than having long periods of time where I do not post on my blog, I have decided to write shorter, brief posts on a more regular basis.  These may be random thoughts or comments similar to a tweet, but will be my own material, rather than posts which I found from other sources to share.

Hot Dogs

Recap from the 4th of July weekend:  I ate 4 hot dogs, or 68 less than Joey Chestnut!

Really puts things in perspective!

Encore

Morning has broken, like the first morning

Blackbird has spoken, like the first bird

Praise for the singing, praise for the morning

Praise for the springing fresh from the word

—Eleanor Farjean

Ever since I first read G. K. Chesterton’s work, Orthodoxy, I have been intrigued by the notion that God is still creating the world and everything in it. Chesterton proposed that just as a child delights in seeing a thing done again and again, so God delights in the “monotony” and repetition of creation every day. “It is possible that God says every morning, ‘Do it again’ to the sun; and every evening, ‘Do it again’ to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that ‘Do it again’ to the moon. It may not be automatic necessity that makes all daisies alike; it may be that God makes every daisy separately, but has never got tired of making them…The repetition in Nature may not be a mere recurrence; it may be a theatrical ENCORE!” 

Is it possible, then, that every new emergence—every blade of grass, every butterfly, every billowing cloud—is a new and special creation invented out of God’s wisdom, excitement and artistry. He paints each pansy as it emerges in the spring, he colors every leaf in the fall. He ponders every act of creation, shouts “Encore!” and the whole business begins all over again, the business of creation that began “in the beginning,” and is still going on to this day.

David Roper

An Ignatian 4th of July

On the Statue of Liberty we read

"Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"[1]

As we celebrate our nation's foundation, we might recall that first principle and foundation at the basis of our annual experiences of the Spiritual Exercises at White House.

Ignatius invites us, Christ challenges us, to acknowledge our true interdependence upon God and on each other,

to grow each year in the true freedom of service as persons for others, as a nation for others.

He invites us to pledge our allegiance to our crucified God, growing out of our preoccupations with riches, honor, pride,

to follow him in the humility, shame, humiliation

of his wondrous, compassionate love.

Our true liberty is freedom from inordinate attachments, freedom for unconditional love, especially of Gods' poor, huddled masses.

God's true fireworks are not just a one day spectacle in the sky and loud booms in our ears.

Rather, our mandate from the Spiritual Exercises is to go and set the world on fire, with Ignatius' "suscipe" prayer "take and receive" as our pledge of allegiance.

Edward B. "Ted" Arroyo, SJ

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[1] Excerpt from The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus

A Prayer for Deployed Soldiers

Heavenly Father,
inspire those who are overseas for the cause of peace.Send your Son, Jesus Christ, as the Prince of Peace.
Bless the men and women of our military
who respond to the needs of peacekeeping.
Keep them safe from harm.
Let them be models of discipline and courage,
and bring them home safely to their loved ones.
We ask this in your name.Amen.

—from God and Country: Reflections for Catholics in the Military

Memorial Day weekend

Memorial Day has gone from a single day holiday to really a weekend holiday.  Special events and activities are spread throughout the long weekend instead of being crammed into the day on Monday. This gives people more time to enjoy more than one event and perhaps have a more relaxing weekend, if that's possible.  There is still a strange juxtaposition of thanking all those servicemen and women who have died to keep this country free and using the holiday weekend to promote the sales of cars and mattresses and other items.  In the last few years I have noticed some retail outlets closing on Memorial Day to let there employees have a day off to be with their friends and family.  I think this is a good thing.  Major league baseball has special uniforms and hats that their players wear to honor those who died while serving in the five branches of military.  While Memorial Day weekend is for many the unofficial beginning of summer, it is important to remember those that did give their life so that we may have the freedom to do the things we do in this great country of ours!

For information on the history of Memorial Day, check out: US Memorial Day

Mother's Day

The fact that there is a Mother's Day holiday is a sad fact of reality for most men, including me.  We too often fail to recognize the women in our lives, especially those who happen to be mothers, that they are appreciated and loved, so we need a special day on the calendar to make sure we do this at least once a year.  Men tend to think that they are doing a good job at this when really they are not, or they think that they can do it later.  When you are married, you have two women to think about on Mother's Day.  There is of course, your own mother, who gave birth to you.  If she is alive, it is important to let her know that she is loved and remembered on this day.  After all, she brought you up the best way she knew how, and helped to make you into the person you have become today.  In most cases, she probably did a lot more than you realized to make your life happy.  There were lots of sacrifices that she made for you over the course of your childhood.  Then there is the mother of your children.  Obviously, you might have a better idea of the things that she does on a daily basis to take care of your children and manage the house, but there are still things that go unnoticed.  She too, probably makes many sacrifices throughout the year, to meet the needs of your family without regards to her own wants and desires.  There is really no way that we can sum all of this up in a card or with a bouquet of flowers and some candy.  Hopefully, a hug and a kiss will go a long way in letting these important women know that they are truly loved and cherished and we would be in big trouble if they were suddenly removed from our lives.  Let's try to recognize the mothers in our lives more than just once a year!