9/11 Memorial
What was I doing on 9/11? It doesn’t matter. Many, many others were dying. Let’s take a moment to pray for those who lost their lives, for their families who miss them and for those who survived.
Thursday, September 11th, 2008
Archive for the ‘news’ Category
The Gospel for 9/11
As I watch the news coverage today of the memorial events and repeats of the footage of this day seven years ago, I get angry. I admit that for a while my heart fills with rage. I feel the need for revenge. For this reason I am so glad that Father Seraphim Beshoner posted an interesting Tweet this morning.
on the anniversary of the 9/11 tragedy, wondering if today’s Gospel takes on special meaning
Let’s go ahead and take a look at this scripture.
27 “But I say to you that hear, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you.
29 To him who strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from him who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt.
30 Give to every one who begs from you; and of him who takes away your goods do not ask them again.
31 And as you wish that men would do to you, do so to them.
32 “If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
33 And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.
34 And if you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again.
35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the selfish.
36 Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
37 “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;
38 give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For the measure you give will be the measure you get back.”
(Saint Luke 6:27-38 – RSV-CE)
Thank you father for giving me perspective!
Now don’t get me wrong, I do not believe we are to turn our backs on our enemies to make it easier for them to shoot us. We should never forget what happened seven years ago. I do however think we as a nation need to pursue our national security with right intentions that don’t include hatred or revenge. I also feel we as individuals need to be more loving of our enemies. We always talk about how powerful prayer is. Let’s apply that to our enemies and see how powerful it can be. Let’s put our prayers where our mouth is. I think we’ll be surprised. So let’s forgive for our enemies, pray for our enemies. Let’s pray for peace, not only in the world but also in the hearts of anyone that are filled with anger, hatred and revenge.
Thursday, September 11th, 2008
What does “ordain” mean? Well the BBC doesn’t have the correct answer.
Just a clue to the BBC, only deacons, priests and bishops are “ordained” in the Catholic Church. In this article, they clearly say that Blessed Alphonsa of Kerala was “ordained”. But what happens when a religious brother or sister becomes such is not referred to as “ordained”, but rather as taking a “profession of vows”.
She persisted with her religious vocation despite serious health problems, and in 1928, she was ordained, taking the name Sister Alphonsa.
[From BBC NEWS | South Asia | Vatican to canonise Indian woman]
Now while I am sure that no one from the BBC would stoop so low as to use the Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, the Oxford dictionary requires an account to look up words. So I’ll use MW instead. They define “ordain” as:
1: to invest officially (as by the laying on of hands) with ministerial or priestly authority
[From ordain - Definition from the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary]
Other wise this was great article, until it got an agenda.
Indian Christians have been accused by hardline Hindu nationalists of “forced conversions” – especially among low-caste and tribal peoples.
They are also accused of making conversion to Christianity a condition for receiving treatment at medical centres they run.
[From BBC NEWS | South Asia | Vatican to canonise Indian woman]
UM…OK….While I don’t know if this may or may not be happening, I’m not sure what it has to do with the subject of this story. And, if it is happening, it is deplorable and what Christ wanted out of us. Our Blessed Lord offered the woman at the well the water of life before she converted, not after.
Wednesday, March 5th, 2008
The assassination of Bhutto
Not since the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand has a single volley of gunshots so threatened world peace. If Pakistan falls into civil war, what happens to their nuclear arsenal? What will countries like India, Russia and the NATO countries do to ensure those nukes don’t fall into the wrong hands? This could get very ugly, very fast. Let’s pray that cooler heads prevail this time.
Thursday, December 27th, 2007
Dumb lawsuit of the day?
I must have missed this in my last visit to the greeting card section at Wal-Mart. Maybe that’s because it’s on the way to the aisle where they keep the gourmet chocolate. Who knows. Anyway, it seem that Hallmark has a new line of card that parody the celebrity of certain famous people, including Paris Hilton. Well, I guess Paris wasn’t too happy about a greeting card with her image on it. I think her image has been in a lot more places, but whatever.
According to the lawsuit filed Thursday, the card is titled “Paris’s First Day as a Waitress” and shows a photo of Hilton’s face on a cartoon of a waitress serving a plate of food to a patron. In a dialogue bubble she says, “Don’t touch that, it’s hot.” The customer cartoon asks, “What’s hot?” She answers, “That’s hot.”
The suit says Hilton owns the trademark “That’s hot,” which was registered on Feb. 13, 2007.
First of all, how can she register “That’s hot” as a trademark? I mean c’mon! Plus we get this little snippet which describes the complaints in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit claims commercial appropriation of identity, invasion of privacy, misappropriation of publicity, false representation that Hilton endorses the product, and infringement of a federally registered trademark. The damages would be based on profits from the $2.49 cards, said Hilton attorney Brent Blakely.
Invasion of privacy? In the way she has lived her life and allowed people into her most intimate moments, does she really have any “privacy” left? Besides, I don’t really understand how this is an invasion privacy. Of course I’m not a lawyer….
Yahoo also has a copy of the card you can view it here.
Now my question is doesn’t this really count as parody? I’d love to hear some input on what you think.
Monday, September 10th, 2007
Police arrest concert goers for enjoying “satanic” music….
Iran arrested more than 200 music fans at an underground rock concert that one official called a “satanic” gathering and authorities accused the youths of breaking Islamic law.
A witness said Sunday that police raided the concert as it was ending late Wednesday near the town of Karaj, some 30 miles west of the capital.
Technorati Tags: music, news, politics, freedom, religion, rock
Thursday, August 9th, 2007
Raleigh? That sounds like something that would happen in Frayser.
Instead of “man bites dog”, it’s “dog shoot man”.
Police say King George, a 150-pound Great Dane, accidentally knocked a .22-caliber pistol off his owner’s end table around 2:30 a.m. Wednesday. The gun went off, hitting his 21-year-old owner in the back, MyFOXMemphis.com reports.
OK…Reality just warped into something I can’t begin to describe.
Not only that, but Frayser has a Wikipedia entry.
Wednesday, August 8th, 2007
Baby Sitter Charged With Pimping Girl
What kind of world are we living in?
A baby sitter accused of allowing a man to have sex with a 12-year-old girl in her care for money was charged with pimping, police said.
What really bothers me about this story (other than the fact it happened in the first place) is the lack of charges against the babysitter. Is “contributing to the delinquency of a minor” enough for what took place? This little girls care was entrusted to the babysitter. She abused that and used the little girl to make money. Shouldn’t some sort of child endangerment or abuse charge be in order. I look at the difference in bonds set between the molester and the “pimp” and I think how can that be. I think they should be closer to the same. Don’t get me wrong here either. I am not saying the guys is being punished too much either. I think whatever punishment he gets, is probably not enough. I just think the babysitter needs to be held a little more responsible for this crime.
Tuesday, July 31st, 2007
All us boys loved you as Winnie…
Now this one at least respects as the woman you’ve become Danica!
“When girls see the antics of Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan, they think that being fun and glamorous also means being dumb and irresponsible,” the 32-year-old McKellar told Newsweek for editions to hit newsstands Monday.
“But I want to show them that being smart is cool,” she said. “Being good at math is cool. And not only that, it can help them get what they want out of life.”
To me it’s really refreshing to see her out there trying to be a positive role model. Trying hell, she’s doing it. I really wish she got more press over this. Unfortunately, a story about “some math geek” probably won’t be top on the list of the CNN’s and FoxNews’ of the world. It’s shame.
Technorati Tags: news, winniecooper, rant, tv, wonderyears
Monday, July 30th, 2007
Yes, I am evil. I drink bottled water
Everyone lately it seems is down on bottled water. They complain that the plastic bottles are bad for the environment. I’ve heard many arguments against drinking bottled water. Some of them I agree with. One I don’t is that bottled water is no more or less healthy than drinking tap water. Then I read this today.
Unsafe levels of toxic chlorine pollutants were found in 40 percent of the District of Columbia tap water samples tested during a spring chlorine surge, according to a study released Thursday.
Obviously the folks that compare bottled water to tap water have also never tried the water in Austin. I travel a lot and usually use bottled water on the road. Even if the local water doesn’t upset my stomach, it could have local allergens I might not be able to fight off quickly.
I just found it interesting that there seems to me to have been a recent uproar over bottled water, then this news story came out. Timing is everything….
Thursday, July 19th, 2007
-
Subscribe
