Masked Marauders

As the morning sun appears over the hills,
a young fawn drifts away from the herd,
grazing further to the edge of the forest.

The wolf pack strategically positions,
assessing vulnerability, surrounding 
the doe grazing and foraging along
the grass, clover, and delicate blooms.

The wolves close in coordinated attack,
pounce, fangs exposed, they bite,
dig in, tear, pulling and ripping at
the throat, the head, face, and heart.

The herd falls in paralyzed powerlessness.
like the masked ICE agents swooping in
droves, to purge unsuspecting undesirables,
like teenagers going to volleyball practice.

Marcelo just turned 18, with dreams,
plans, and a promising future in the
United States of America.

or not.

Marcelo Gomes da Silva, center, speaks to journalists after being released from detention on bond in Burlington, Massachusetts, on Thursday. To his right, Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts listens. 

Rodrique Ngowi/AP

Can You Spare a Coin

 

Lectio:        Acts 3:1-10

Peter and John were going up to the temple area
for the three o’clock hour of prayer.
And a man crippled from birth was carried
and placed at the gate of the temple called “the Beautiful Gate”
every day to beg for alms from the people who entered the temple.
When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple,
he asked for alms.
But Peter looked intently at him, as did John,
and said, “Look at us.”
He paid attention to them, expecting to receive something from them.
Peter said, “I have neither silver nor gold,
but what I do have I give you:
in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazorean, rise and walk.”
Then Peter took him by the right hand and raised him up,
and immediately his feet and ankles grew strong.
He leaped up, stood, and walked around,
and went into the temple with them,
walking and jumping and praising God.
When all the people saw the man walking and praising God,
they recognized him as the one who used to sit begging
at the Beautiful Gate of the temple,
and they were filled with amazement and astonishment
at what had happened to him.

Studium:

Note that Peter is going to pray.  He is a good Jew.  He is with John--the oldest and the youngest apostles.  They are not solitary; they are friendly and going to community prayer.  Like Jesus, Peter pays attention to the undesirables.  Peter refers to Jesus, pointing that they are poor, but be-cause of Jesus, he can help the crippled man.  The man is open to Peter's teaching. Such is the Kingdom of God

Meditatio:

When I ask God for something, sometimes I don't get it.  I don't get what I want, I may get what I need. Whatever, I should "walk and jump and praise God."

Oratio:

Lord, thank You for Your love, Your care.  I need to realize that You know best.

Contemplatio:

Thank You, Jesus, for loving me.

Resolutio:

Every day I need to remember to praise God.

Life After the Concentration Camp

 At first I thought Grace in the Wilderness, After the Liberation 1945-1948, by Aranka Siegal, was a memoir.  At times, I couldn't figure out what person the book was speaking in. Eventually, I googled the title and deduced that this is a historical fiction novel.it the library book sale.  There were 10 copies of it.  Maybe a book club read it.  The story is about a teenage girl, so maybe a high school class read it.  I bought them all, thinking that I'll give them to my book club.

It is a fairly easy read, for us, but I don't think it would be for teenagers.  Like I said, I wasn't sure who was narrating the story.  Also, there are so many characters, the reader surely who have to write down a list of who's who.  As for emotional impact however, this book can be heart wrenching, at times.  It is an excellent view of life after living through Nazi prison camp.

As a history teacher, I would recommend this book.  As an English teacher, I don't think so.  As a social studies teacher, I would recommend it.  As an adult reader, I would recommend it.  Three out of four is good.

Retroactive Prayer

 What do you think?  I'm defining retroactive prayer as praying for things that have happened in the past.  I am not thinking about changing history, that's done.  I'm thinking of changing what happened to people.

For example, you have cancer, or were fired, or a beloved died, etc. traumatic tragedy that befell you. The event is de facto.  However, praying does have the ability to change attitudes and not only the person praying, but others, as well. Doctors say that patients have healed faster than expected.  You aren't as devasted and are handling things better than expected.  

Time changes the way people look at events.  People mature.  Perhaps prayer did work.

We Catholics pray for our deceased to be in eternal peace.  Doesn't God's power reach where it wills.  

"Nothing can hinder the Lord," and "All things are possible with God." (1 Samuel 14:6, Mark 10:27)

Exploitation

 When does commenting and discussing become exploitation?  I posit that it's when someone makes money off of it.  

Think of the upcoming canonization of Carlo Acutis.  Currently, he's popular and there's much ado about him.  He was a religious teen who loved God and understood computers.  He made a web site organizing the Eucharistic miracles up to his time until he died of cancer at the age of fifteen.

 We need role models, especially the young people, but is he being exploited?

Even the nay sayers who look to rain on people's parades are publishing articles criticizing Carlo Acutis.  Worse, are people selling souvenirs of the teen!

I rest my case.

The Truth Comes Out

 Have you ever wished that you had another chance in life?  The major character in The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife does just that.  The author, Anna Johnston has written a funny, heartwarming story.  Everyone will like it.

It begins with Frederick being homeless and coming across a nursing home's outing.  He finds a man dead in his wheelchair.  Fred starts to push him back to the group but trips and falls.  Bernard falls out of wheelchair and into the river and is gone.  Fred is unconscious.  Coincidentally, the two men look alike.  The nursing home staff thinks Fred is Bernard.  He tries to correct their mistake, but no one listens because Bernard had dementia.  Eventually Fred gives up and accepts the fact that he is Bernard--especially when he finds out that Bernard had money.

The new Bernard is an improvement from the real one.  He is kinder, helpful, and very considerate.  He makes life pleasant for everyone, even the nursing home's staff.  Best of all, he reconciles the estrangement between Bernard and his daughter.  

The reader falls in love with this Bernard, too.  However, the truth comes out and read about it yourself. Reconciliation is sweet.

The Schwertler Anabaptists

 The Burning by Linda Castillo taught me about the Amish, specifically a couple of different kinds of Amish.  The groups are under the Anabaptist umbrella.  Then there's the Amish and Mennonites and Hutterites.  There are some Hutterites that are called the Schwertler Anabaptists.  This is the group that Sheriff Kate Burkholder has to deal with. 

An excommunicated Amish man is found burned at the stake.  Specifically, he is found to have been burned alive, like the martyrs described in the book the Martyrs' Mirror.  Kate, in trying to solve the crime has a hard time getting information.  The Amish are a closed mouth group.  They don't talk about each other, even to Kate, who was brought up Amish.  

Once it is found that the victim died according to a ritual, she looks into the different Anabaptists' groups and learns about the Schwertlers.  The Anabaptists are pacifists, but a group of Hutterites believe in taking justice into their own hands.

Schwertler Anabaptists, like Balthasar Hubmaier, believed in the legitimacy of government and the use of force for just causes, distinguishing them from the more pacifist Stäbler Anabaptists. They supported the idea that Christians could take up arms if ordered by the government to defend the innocent and uphold justice.

AI can be helpful. 

 Kate confronts the group and is almost martyred, herself.  I am leaving a lot out.  Believe me.  You must read the story.  The book is plot driven and fast paced.  Kate survives by the skin of her teeth.  She must because Police Chief Kate Burkholder is a series by Linda Castillo and The Burning is # 16. It stands alone however, because this is the first book I've read, in the series.  I certainly will be reading more.