Anti-Abortion doesn't necessarily mean Prolife

In reading the newsletter from the Lay Dominicans in the Western Province, Truth be Told, I read an article that jump started my brain into thinking.  Mar-April, Issue 15, Truth be Told, their Promoter of Peace, Justice, and the Care of Creation, Mr. John Keenan, OP, wrote “Are you Prolife or Are You Anti-Abortion,” p. 11.  It rang very true to me.  I see too many so called Pro-Life people who can’t see out of the womb. 

Mr. Keenan’s theme was a social justice concern to help the babies born in poverty, the services that special needs children require, and a general call for the quality of life after birth.  Here! Here!  I agree.  But Mr. Keenan didn’t mention my pet apostolate: capital punishment, and the preservation of human dignity to those in prison. 

Oh, that…….

Yeah.   If John Keenan was saddened by the lack of concern for the poor and hungry, he’d be devastated by the sentiments of the public toward prisoners.  According to some people, prisoners live in luxury hotels and nothing can convince them otherwise.  Capital punishment should be enforced to save the tax payers money; after all, an “eye for an eye.”  Actually, these sentiments are so ignorant of facts, and so blatantly an exhibition of bigotry, that they’re not even worthy to be considered.

Can’t people see how arbitrary the death penalty is performed?  Capital punishment is too selective and capricious to be just.  Compare the number of blacks to the number of whites, who are subjected to the death penalty.  Just look at the legal representation the poor receive.  If you have the money to pay a good lawyer, you're treated much better.  Capital punishment certainly isn’t a deterrent. 

If you’re prolife, you’re for all the issues that make life livable.  Choose life!

I’m going to end quoting the Keenan’s words:

… the taking of innocent life is universally wrong and violates fundamental justice.  It violate the natural law to which all human law is subject with no exception.  The Faithful that are prolife should be consistent in their own lives.  They should protect not only the innocent but stand up for the poor, the disenfranchised, and those who cannot speak for themselves. In other words, Christians must practice the Gospel.

Psalm 34

Because of everything:  the world: Japan, Middle East, the Church, illness, poverty, situation at work, situations in Chapter, situations in life....I feel a great need to pray Psalm 34.  O Lord, hear my prayer.

Glorify the Lord with me,
   let us together extol His name.
I sought the Lord, and He answered me
   and delivered me from all my fears.

Look to Him that you may be radiant with joy,
   and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the Lord heard,
   and from all their distress He saved him.

The Lord has eyes for the just,
   and ears for their cry.
The Lord confronts the evildoers,
   to destroy remembrance of them from the earth.

When the just cry out, the Lord hears them,
   and from all their distress He rescues them.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted;
   and those who are crushed in spirit He saves.

Prayer for the People of Japan

Our Father, Who sees everything,
You are all just and merciful.
Your Kingdom is not here, of
that we are reminded everywhere.
Help us to do Your Will.
Give us the means to help our
sisters & brothers who are
devastated by earthquake,tsunami,
and potential nuclear disaster.
They are suffering and in despair.
Have mercy on us  all, Lord.
We pray and adore You, through
the intercession of Our Lady
of Akita, Alphonsus Navarrete,
Alexius Sanbashi, and all the holy
martyrs of Japan, pray for us.
                            Amen
Our help is the name of the Lord,
the maker of heaven and earth.

Bake Sale Time

St. Mary's Women's Club is having it's bake sale this week end.  Since there's no call for my specialty--boiled water, I thought I would bake brownies.

Mind you, I'm not making these from scratch, they're mixes from a box.  Brownies are difficult for me because I never can tell when they're done.  The recipe will even say that.  You can't tell if the brownies are done, like you can cake.  You guess.

But I'm smarter than that.  I'm making two batches, and keeping one in longer than the other.

Same brand, same stuff, same pan, but not the same time.  I figure I have a 50/50 chance of one of the batches coming out perfectly.

The first batch was too soft in the center.  The other batch was too hard around the edges.  You think this is a bad thing.  On the contrary, I took the edge brownies from the first batch, and the center brownies from the second batch, and made one decent batch of brownies.

I told you I was smart.

Catholic Calendar

The address to view each day is www.xt3.com 

A Lector's Dream

Lent is a Lector's dream.  The voice modulation proclaiming the messages is so variable that Lectors can be as dramatic as they feel comfortable.  This week, the First Sunday of Lent, Year A, is a good example.  I'm reading the first Reading.  It's the story of the first temptation in the Garden of Eden.

I've decided that my approach would be to tell the story as if to people who have never heard the story.  Imagine their surprise to learn that God has made a living being.
...blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being.    Wowza, huh?

I've also decided to portray Eve as naive.  And the serpent is sly, sneaky, and scheming.  My voice proclaiming the serpent will emphasize this interpretation (of a slippery, slimy, scumbag.)

It is important, though, to let the people know that the climax is that then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized that they were naked...


Think what this statement means.  "...their eyes were opened..."  Everything has changed.  This was the moment of no turning back.   This was the end.

I'll have them weeping in the aisles.

Changing Tone

How do I change my tone?  That's my Lenten sacrifice, or rather, what I'm working on.  All my friends are teasing me now because they know I'm trying to watch my tone.  Now I can't say anything without them announcing "You've got that tone."  "There's that tone, again."  "Tone."  "Tone!"  "Tone!!!"

It's the office joke.  Well, at least it keeps me aware.  But how does one change their tone.  I googled it.  I found pages of how to change the tone on my cell phone and blackberry.  I did come across the idea that tone is the same as attitude.  So then I googled how to change my attitude.  I came across the site, A Daring Adventure by blogger Tim Brownson, a Life Coach.  

I didn't know whether I was reading irony, on not.

• This guy has been put here to teach me patience
• I am so happy to be alive when so many people are dead and some of them have been dead for decade’s even centuries. That’s really tough
• Great, I have chance to read one of these highly informative and caring tabloid newspapers

But when I stopped laughing, I did pick up some tips.  I've got to stop and think and not express my first thoughts.  I can't help the thoughts, but I can keep my mouth shut.  (Sometimes.)  (Maybe.)  (I'll try.)

It's like changing Maxine's tone.