To Those Who Put Their Lives at Risk for Liberty

Thank You

Tucson, AZ.  Here is a link to a story in the Online Magazine of Michael Yon, an American reporter who is with the American Forces in Afghanistan currently.  He was a Special Forces member in his own days of service.

He reported on the Airlift of a Canadian soldier wounded seriously by an IED on Valentine's Day here.

The parents of this young soldier wrote to Mr. Yon, and he published their letter yesterday here.

The letter said:

Dear Michael Yon,
Today we were sent your story of February 14, 2010. The “unknown” Canadian is our son Danny.  He is a 23-year-old soldier from Vancouver, Canada.
Your photographs were extraordinary and have impacted so many people here in Canada. There has been an outpouring of affection for the Americans who helped Danny in his moment of need.  For that, we thank you for recording these acts of kindness into history.
Danny's injuries were the result of an explosion on February 12, 2010. Four Canadian soldiers were injured and tragically one Canadian soldier was killed.  Within 20 minutes of the explosion, Danny was airlifted by helicopter to Kandahar.  Upon arrival he received emergency surgery that saved his life and prepared him for the flight to Bagram that you were on. After landing in Bagram, Danny was again airlifted by a US transport aircraft to the US Army run Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany.  There he underwent additional surgery that closed up his wounds.  Once stabilized, the Canadian government dispatched a Challenger jet to bring him home. This afternoon in Vancouver, the shrapnel that did all the damage to him was finally removed.  Danny is now recovering in hospital.
This was Danny's second tour of duty in Afghanistan and his platoon on this tour has had heavy causalities and injuries.  Physically, Danny will overcome his injuries. He also has the support of his family, his friends and his community to deal with the emotional side of this war.  Our hearts go out to those families who have had the loss of a soldier or who have had to deal with greater injuries.
Danny and his whole family are very grateful, and are actually overwhelmed, by the support he received while in US care. The Canadian military have also been wonderful.  It is our intention to personally thank everyone who worked so hard to save Danny's life. We have already made contact with Major Deborah "Lucy" Lehker to thank her.
Sincerely,
Jim & Holly

Whatever we might think of the correctness of a military strategy or mission that is ongoing, our sons and daughters, brothers and sisters, fathers and mothers who serve in the military have taken up the responsibility to serve their country and its leaders who have sent them to do their job.

"Theirs is not to reason why. Theirs is but to do and die."  They have all put their money where their mouth is.

On Friday of last week, I had coffee after church services with my friend Master Sergeant Fernando Cuevas, who had just conducted the Communion Service at Our Lady of Fatima Parish, here in Tucson.  As he was on his way to work, he was dressed in his fatigues that had his stripes on the sleeve, his name tag above his left breast, and United States Air Force over his heart.  Because of the significance of the work that his unit does here in America, he has never been to Afghanistan, or Iraq, but he serves with distinction here.

The men and women of the US Armed Forces, and those of the Canadian Armed Forces are heroes, and we, my fellow Canadians owe them respect for their service.  We Canadians are dependent on the work of the military personnel of both nations for the security that we enjoy in our country.

I appreciate how Canadians line Highway 401when a deceased military service person's body is repatriated to Canada.  It is a great sign of respect for one who has died for our country.

How about if we take it upon ourselves to show veterans and those still in active service that cross our paths that we appreciate their efforts on our behalf?  I am sure that a simple thank you will suffice, but any gesture that your heart leads you to will be appreciated by these heroes.

To Master Sergeant Fernando Cuevas of the Arizona National Guard, to Major Christopher Hartline of the United States Army, and to my friend Joshua's son Keith, who is in the United States Air Force, as a Canadian I say "Thank You", for the work that you do to make the world a safer place.  May God Bless You and Keep You and all your brothers and sisters in service in both of our great nations.

The Our Father

Prayers of the Rosary

OK,so the Our Father is a prayer of more than the Rosary, but it is foundational to the Rosary as well.  Most people are familiar with this prayer, but here are the words:

Our Father, Who art in heaven,
Hallowed be Thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come.
Thy Will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. Amen.

This is the prayer that Jesus gave us, and He said "This is how you pray:" in Matthew Chapter 6, and then followed with this beautiful prayer.  So, if the Son of God says This is how you pray, then it seems appropriate to pray this way, and that there must be real meat in this prayer.

As Jesus gave us this prayer, and He is the Son of the Father of the prayer, then the depth of His relationship with His Father must be evident and their unity must be as well.  Further the prayer must be much deeper than our frail human minds can totally grasp. So, a lifetime of meditation might not be sufficient to plumb its depths, because no matter how deep we dig, we are the clay and He is the potter.

But let us look at this beautiful prayer and see if scratching the surface gives us any insights.

We know that God the Father is the Father of Jesus, but Jesus told us to pray "Our Father".  How easily we gloss over this call to relationship.  I had a great earthly father, and I loved him, and knew that he loved me.  But, he was just a type of Our Father, and can't hold a candle to Our heavenly Father.  Imagine what the best father in the world, the king of Father's Day would be like.  Multiply that by a million, and you have not yet scratched the surface of Our Father, the father of everyone.

OK, but He's in heaven like "who art in heaven."  But Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is at hand.  I don't begin to grasp where heaven is, or even if heaven is a where.  But if it is at hand, it must be close by.  Then again Jesus told us in John 14:23 that He and the Father would dwell with us if we follow the commandments.  That's got to make the kingdom of heaven pretty close.

And what does "Hallowed be Thy Name" mean.  We probably have heard the kid version of the prayer where the child says "Harold be Thy Name".  Well hallowed is a little deeper than a human name.  It means made or set apart as holy, respected or honoured greatly, revered.  So, the greatness of Our Father is brought out in this phrase.

Let me split the next bit up a bit: "Thy kingdom come. . . on earth as it is in heaven,"  and "Thy will be done . . . on earth as it is in heaven."  Why did Jesus link the coming of the kingdom and the Father's will being done together?  If God's people do His will, then the kingdom of heaven which is at hand will then be in hand.  Easy words to say; not so easy to do.

"Thy will be done".  Jesus used those same words in the Garden of Gethsemane, and then his tears fell like drops of blood.  Then, he suffered and died an ignominious death on a Cross to set us free from sin and death.  How's that for Thy will being done?  We are not all called to die on a cross, but we are all called to die daily to the sinful tendencies and temptations that come our way, and we are all called to see Jesus in our brothers and sisters, and to know that all mankind are our brothers and sisters.

"Give us this day our daily bread."  Daily bread may not include that shiny Porsche, Gucci bag, Expensive motor home, or other bauble.  It means only what we need for today, not what we want for our ongoing perceived security.  If we have more than we need for today, we are called to be stewards of it, and to share it with our brothers and sisters, as our formed conscience guides us, and as we see needs in front of our faces.  It is not sufficient to say to the beggar: "I'll pray for you.  Have a nice day." 

The next sentence is connective " And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us."  If we have more than our daily bread and fail to share it, then we trespass against our brother, and if our brother does not share from his abundance with us, then he has trespassed against us.  But Jesus calls us not to be harsh even in this.  Rather he calls us to forgive our brother who has hurt us by his action or his inaction, and not to judge him, so that then we may be forgiven for our own sins against him or others.    The human condition is that of a sinaholic.  We are addicted to sinning, all of us.  Our holiness and call to holiness can never make us truly and totally holy as Our Father is.  Hence the call to forgiveness, so that we too can be forgiven.

Ah, and the penultimate statement: "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."God does not lead us into temptation, so it seems odd that we would pray that He not do what He does not do.  But, we need to be reminded that God does not lead us into temptation, that it is the desires of our body, and our imperfect hearts that lead us into temptation.  But, what He does do is "deliver us from evil."  The problem with delivering us from evil, is that we miss most of the times that He does it, and so we are ingrates, thanking Him periodically for something that has caught our eye, while missing so many of the big ones that He does in his majesty and power.

And then the prayer concludes with "Amen."  It is so. I believe.  There is nothing more to say.

We say this wonderful prayer 6 times in the rosary, once at the beginning, and to commence each decade.  It is a constant reminder that God the Father is the center of the universe.

Only In God

John Michael Talbot

Only in God is my strength and my salvation.  Let the words wash over you as he sings.

A Thought on Slowing the Growth of Pornography in Our Society

Abortion is the Fruit of the Seeds of the Sexualization of Society

In Humanae Vitae, then Pope Paul VI predicted several things that would befall our society as we became transfixed by sex into people who think, not with the brain above our shoulders, but the smaller one that we hide in our jeans.

Fellow Catholic blogger Jennifer Hartline recently wrote a piece at Catholic Online in December 2009, called poignantly "It is Time for a Real Sexual ‘Counter-Revolution’ " that gave some insights into Humane Vitae in today's society, and what we can do to change.

She said:

Unless we give sexual intercourse its due reverence, we’ll never give human life its due reverence. The two can never be separated, as Pope Paul VI tried to tell the world in his prophetic encyclical, Humanae Vitae. If we don’t regard all life as sacred – and thus the creative act of sex—then we will always find ways to rationalize and justify the murder of a child as a “right.” 

She concluded with the following:

It’s time for a radical revolution of responsibility; a revolution of reverence for sex and reverence for life.It is time for a sexual counter-revolution which liberates men and women, honors marriage and reaffirms the beauty and dignity of human love in the Divine Plan. 

Previously, I had written about Humane Vitae in a blog post on Contraception here, and described what Pope Paul VI had prophesied about our society if we did not heed the words of his encyclical letter:

The Pope was calling for the faithful to eschew the use of artificial means of birth regulation. In his document, he made 4 predictions or prophesies about what would happen if birth control became habitual among mankind.

He first predicted a rise in marital infidelity and moral decline. Bingo on that one. Anyone want to disagree?

Second, he predicted lost respect for women. Our culture does not respect the gifts that women have as women, but values them more as sexual objects. Watch any TV last night?

Next, he predicted abuse of power. The power over reproduction is a heady power. With it you can rule nations. China has abused reproductive power significantly, and the abuses of family planning in third world countries, in the name of helping them are legendary.

Finally, he predicted that mankind would think he had unlimited dominion over his own body. We see sterilization, wide use of body disfigurement, test tube babies, and stem cell research requiring the fertilization of eggs, essentially killing pre-born infants, among other things.

But, our society remains sexually obsessed, and any of us who have either always known that this is wrong, or who have come to the light bulb moment through a latter day gift of wisdom, see our own children being deluded by this perversion into sexual lives that do not honour the God we seek to serve.  What is worse still for many of us, is that they are following in footsteps we made long ago.

I, for one, cannot change what I have done in my life, but I can change how I speak about it, and use my own sinfulness to warn people away from the things that dulled me to my own gift of sexuality, the gift that produced the children that I love dearly and the gift that I share with my beloved wife.

So, count me in to Jennifer Hartline's Sexual ‘Counter-Revolution’.  Vive la Revolucion.

Here is my first target.  The thing that dulls our minds most to the sexualizing of our society is the growth of the pornography industry.  It is apparently a $13 billion industry, which on its own is bad enough, but what is even worse is the free porn that is available throughout the internet.  I just googled one common sexual practice and found that there were 29,400,000 search results for it, 7,160,000 Image results, and 90,600 Video results.  Frankly, I find this shocking, and also very graphic, and also easily tempting.

I don't think that we can stop what is out there from being out there, but I think we can impact what is available to our homes.  We can put filters on our computers, which protects us and our kids when they are home.  But the world out there is not so protective, and also very inviting.

Here is my thought on how to make a difference here.  The free porn that is available takes up bandwidth on your service providers network, yet produces no revenue for the Service provider, beyond the normal monthly fee that they charge people who just do their email and periodic surfing.  So, heavy users like the porn down loaders are in effect raising the cost of internet service for us all.  The service providers have the ability to monitor what is downloaded to your computer, and consequently, the ability to filter it as well. 

If we were to successfully petition our service providers to restrict the down loads of all pornographic material to only those customers who paid a separate fee to them for the "privilege of down loading porn", then the service providers would have a new source of revenue, we would all have faster connections, since the traffic on the internet from those casual sex surfers would decline, and we would have put a bite into the sex industry.

Does anybody out there think this is a good idea?  If it is a good idea, is it a practical idea?

Holy is His Name

John Michael Talbot

My Dear Wife has been a fan of John Michael Talbot and his music as long as I have known her.  This song is the Magnificat, spoken by Our Blessed Mother, Mary, when the angel appeared to her, and she said YES to God.

We too are all called to say YES to God on our lives.

Listen to the words that JMT speaks in the middle of the song.

Why The Peaceful Majority Is Irrelevant

By Paul E. Marek

H/t Norm Sutherland

This article was written to try and help people avoid repeating history over and over again.

Paul E. Marek is a second-generation Canadian, whose grandparents fled Czechoslovakia just prior to the Nazi takeover. He wrote the following article in February of 2006.  it is a critique not of radical Muslim, but of the peace loving Muslims, who refuse to reign it in.

In its simplest terms, what follows is an expansion of the George Santayana quote, "Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it."

I used to know a man whose family were German aristocracy prior to World War Two. They owned a number of large industries and estates. I asked him how many German people were true Nazis, and the answer he gave has stuck with me and guided my attitude toward fanaticism ever since.

“Very few people were true Nazis” he said, “but, many enjoyed the return of German pride, and many more were too busy to care. I was one of those who just thought the Nazis were a bunch of fools. So, the majority just sat back and let it all happen. Then, before we knew it, they owned us, and we had lost control, and the end of the world had come. My family lost everything. I ended up in a concentration camp and the Allies destroyed my factories.”

We are told again and again by “experts” and “talking heads” that Islam is the religion of peace, and that the vast majority of Muslims just want to live in peace. Although this unquantified assertion may be true, it is entirely irrelevant. It is meaningless fluff, meant to make us feel better, and meant to somehow diminish the specter of fanatics rampaging across the globe in the name of Islam. The fact is, that the fanatics rule Islam at this moment in history. It is the fanatics who march. It is the fanatics who wage any one of 50 shooting wars world wide. It is the fanatics who systematically slaughter Christian or tribal groups throughout Africa and are gradually taking over the entire continent in an Islamic wave. It is the fanatics who bomb, behead, murder, or honor kill. It is the fanatics who take over mosque after mosque. It is the fanatics who zealously spread the stoning and hanging of rape victims and homosexuals. The hard quantifiable fact is, that the “peaceful majority” is the “silent majority” and it is cowed and extraneous.

Communist Russia was comprised of Russians who just wanted to live in peace, yet the Russian Communists were responsible for the murder of about 20 million people. The peaceful majority were irrelevant. China’s huge population was peaceful as well, but Chinese Communists managed to kill a staggering 70 million people. The Average Japanese individual prior to World War 2 was not a war mongering sadist. Yet, Japan murdered and slaughtered its way across South East Asia in an orgy of Killing that included the systematic killing of 12 million Chinese civilians; most killed by sword, shovel, and bayonet. And, who can forget Rwanda, which collapsed into butchery. Could it not be said that the majority of Rwandans were “peace loving”.

History lessons are often incredibly simple and blunt, yet for all our powers of reason we often miss the most basic and uncomplicated of points. Peace-loving Muslims have been made irrelevant by the fanatics. Peace-loving Muslims have been made irrelevant by their silence. Peace-loving Muslims will become our enemy if they don’t speak up, because like my friend from Germany, they will awake one day and find that the fanatics own them, and the end of their world will have begun. Peace-loving Germans, Japanese, Chinese, Russians, Rwandans, Bosnians, Afghans, Iraqis, Palestinians, Somalis, Nigerians, Algerians, and many others, have died because the peaceful majority did not speak up until it was too late. As for us who watch it all unfold, we must pay attention to the only group that counts; the fanatics who threaten our way of life.

Is anybody listening out there?

What Mr. Marek wrote is not politically correct, though historically accurate.  Which is more important, to know and act upon the truth, or to pretend to say all the right things for the time?  Bravo Mr. Marek.

Convergence of Rubber and Road

A Copy of the Most Recent Post at Fr. Tim Moyle's Blog

Father Tim Moyle, of the Where the Rubber Hits the Road blog, and I have met in the blogosphere this past year, and I respect his wisdom and faith.  He has allowed some people who are in serious opposition to our shared Catholic beliefs to provide stinging comments to issues he has raised, and has handled their objections and criticisms with aplomb. 

When I spoke with our mutual friend Father Michael Prieur of St. Peter's Seminary, one of his old professors and mentors, and a mentor to me, he mentioned to me that Father Tim was called Tur (Moyle) in his seminary days, largely for his enthusiasm on the seminary hockey rink.

But I find no Tur-Moyle in his writing, merely an enthusiasm for his faith, and a desire to seek and find the truth and to share it with others.

I had suggested after a round of criticism from 2 particular commenters that he should dust his sandles off and move on down the road, kicking them and their abrasive commentary to the road.  He told me gently, but firmly that the would not do that, and I now agree with him, that his approach is the best one. 

This dialogue below between himself and Cristina Alarcon, who writes periodically for Holy Post at the National Post  pretty much sums up a mutual position that I support whole heartedly

Cristina Alarcon, a remarkable person of faith and intellect, offers the following as her contribution to the ongoing debate about the appropriateness of what we discuss, as well as modeling how we can do so in charity and truth.

I offer my response below her text.

Thanks Cristina!!!

Fr. Tim

-------------------------------------------------------------------
Interesting thread! If you don’t mind, I would like to gently point out something to those who have been critical of your choice of posts on this blog.
I am referring here to your concluding words after posting “Church Teaching on Homosexuality: Wisdom or Bigotry?”

Here are your own words:

“These conclusions are hardly considered "correct" or proper in today's marriage debates. Is it possible that "common knowledge" on this question, just like the public consensus regarding of the safety of children with priests, has turned against the proponents of the gay rights movement?”

The remarks above can hardly be considered to be a threat, or to provoke hatred, or to be close-minded. In fact, quite the opposite. They unjudgmentally invite us to share our thoughts.

The sense I get is that some posters are terribly bothered by this approach.

I would like to suggest that perhaps the problem they face in these discussions is the blindness engendered by political correctness. Most of us are so afraid of saying something that could potentially be perceived as bigoted, that a paralysis sets in which readily hinders any further discussion that may bring new insights into a specific field.

At the risk of sounding preachy, may I point out that truth liberates, whereas falsehood enslaves. There is a common truth within every human being, what is referred in tradition as the “nature” of man. This truth needs to be apprehended and discovered, but it cannot be imposed.

If the ideas a poster is promoting correspond to the true nature of man, regardless of peer reviewed research and statistics, both of which can be readily manipulated, then the test will be that these ideas will have withstood and will continue to withstand the test of time and of culture. If on the other hand the ideas are detrimental to the good of man and of society, then eventually this will become palpably obvious, and the ideas will eventually die out of their own accord.
Love and truth must go hand in hand. The mere possibility that some ideas are needing to be “imposed” by force upon individuals or upon society as a whole, is a sure sign that those very ideas may not be strong enough in and of themselves to be convincing, nor true to the goodness they purport to contain.

-------------------------------------------------

Cristina: Thank you. JPII repeated many times that it is the role of the church to "propose, never impose" its beliefs, morality or world vision.

In this I believe, everyone can agree.

Where we seem to run into conflict is when the Church publicly campaigns for this same vision as a model for how to order our society - protect life, creation and ensure that we are granted the absolute freedom of belief as we do. This carries with it the concomitant right to argue and vote our beliefs into law if we are able to convince the majority of our fellow citizens of the wisdom we propose.

I truly have come to believe that this is what in means to be created in the image and likeness of God. It is our essential freedom of will - the right to choose good or evil. This is the one gift that was not lost to sin. Genesis tells us that this was the gift that polluted by our desire to KNOW all that is good or evil - thereby negating our ability to choose (all things in nature being oriented to what is true, good and beautiful - to know absolute truth would deny us the choice to do otherwise. God's primordial gift, imprinted into our heart and soul must be respected lest God stand in opposition to his very nature.  We would then no longer be free, but marionettes controlled by God. Thus, if God grants us this absolute right, then we must offer it to all we meet.

As I previously wrote: we can choose to follow the teachings of Christ and his Church, and receive our reward in the life to come. Others are free to walk their own path. If we are right, and come our day of judgment we will receive our reward but God will not impose his will on everyone and bring them into the new creation. He will respect the choices of those, who with their lives, chose to walk away from him in life. He will not force them to live in His presence in the next.

Ergo, God sends no one to hell, but simply respects the free will of those who exercised their desire to remain separated from Him.

It's the old position of Blaise Pascal: If God exists, he had every thing to gain by following the prescripts of his Church. If God does not exist, he had nothing to lose. He chose to walk the path of hope.

I'm just trying to do the same.

Fr. Tim  

Now That I've Held Him in my Arms

Michael Card

Simeon knew that he had met the Messiah in this little child, God made man.  Simeon speaks a truth, that now that he has seen and held the Messiah in his hands he can die in peace - his life can come to an end. 

We are all called hold the Messiah in our hearts, so that we can have the peace He brought to us, and which Simeon saw, when He was but a baby.

But, this time you have to go to this link to hear the song.

What Does An Ordinary Hero Do For Kicks?

Judge Joe Donohue Heads to the Arctic

H/t Norm Sutherland

The Honourable Mr. Justice Joseph M. W. Donohue is a judge of the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario, in the South West Region of the Province.  Here come da Judge, this time for a one week volunteer stint in the Arctic, not your fun in the sun capital during the winter time.

The Sarnia Observer notes the following:

Joseph Donohue won't be using his free time to visit a palm-treed beach this winter.
 

"I've been out shopping for all my cold weather equipment," said the Superior Court Justice, who leaves Sunday for Nunavut where he'll serve as a deputy judge for a week.
 

"I'm calling it my island vacation in the winter," he said. "My all expenses-paid trip to Nunavut, to work."

Donohue will join a "court team" that includes legal-aid lawyers and prosecutors.

"They have a contingent of judges who will travel there from time to time," Donohue explained. "They needed a judge so I volunteered to help out."

Judges who travel to the Arctic preside over everything imaginable -- and quickly, he said.

"Everything on the docket at once. It all has to be wrapped up because a judge may not be back there for six months."

The experience is expected to be a far cry from the proceedings of Ontario courtrooms.

"Everything is kind of rough," he said. "There's no real courthouses there. You have to use whatever community hall is available.

"And all the proceedings will be interpreted," he added, noting the languages spoken include Inuktitut, Inuinnaqtun, English and French.

"I will have village elders sitting beside me to advise me," he said.

Donohue said crime statistics in Nunavut are about twice as high as those in Ontario, with substance abuse and spousal abuse rampant.
 

Though the territory has just 30,000 inhabitants, there are currently 11 murder and nine attempted murder trials pending.
 

"If we had that same ratio in Lambton County, we'd have 80 pending charges of that sort," he said.
 

"The conditions are very harsh there," he added, noting rising unemployment and poverty. "They don't have the same opportunities we do."
 

Donohue will be stationed in Rankin Inlet, an Inuit hamlet high on the northwest shore of Hudson Bay.
 

He's already heard the stories from a handful of judges who have made the trip. One described a minus-50 degree windchill, and another who was actually stranded in a blizzard for six days.
 

"I hear there's more polar bears there than people," the judge said with a laugh. "I hope I only meet the people."
 

But he's already talking about return trips.
 

"I hope it will be an eye-opener for me," he said. "And I'm sure if it works out, they'll need me for years to come."

Another lawyer who has known him for almost 40 years had these things to say about him:

I have known Joe Donohue for almost forty years. . . .  He is a great guy, and he should do famously Up North.  I have appeared before him in Chambers, and . . . I . . .  remember being impressed by (his) equanimity.  I asked him once how he managed to appear at all times to be at peace with himself and the world; he just patted the breast pocket of his shirt, and said "This is the answer".  He pulled out a well-worn copy of The New Testament and just smiled.
I just realized the above notes about Joe sound like a eulogy;  I didn't mean that.  But I do admire the man and his life-work.  He will be applying high moral values in his decisions Up North, and will certainly be listening to the elders beside him.  He has no false pride. 

If you want to be an Ordinary Hero, you don't have to go to such extremes.  Heroism is not temperature controlled.  It is about blooming where you are planted, or in this case temporarily transplanted.

Yesterday I was an Ass

Maybe Not So Much Today

Yesterday, My Dear Wife shared with me a complaint that she had about something I had been doing for quite some time, that she felt was not honouring to her.  She was bang on, by the way, and I was saddened that something I was doing unknowingly, was hurting her.  It is not what I want to be doing in my life.  I truly love her very deeply.  I did apologize, but not clearly, and not without reservations.  Consequently, the day got worse and worse, and I confess to you dear readers, that I did less as the day continued to honour her, and make it better.  We did not go to bed happy, to say the least.

During the night, I awoke to revelation from the Lord about what I had been doing.  Over the last few months, I think my writing has been pretty good, and the Lord has allowed me to see things clearly from time to time for others, and I was a BIT full of myself.  Along the way, I started to forget where all the inspiration came from.  Also, recently, some areas of temptation in my thought life had been occurring, and I was aware of it happening, and did not put an end to it, but in fact went along with it.  So, what I was operating in was pride, spiritual pride.  In that pride, I had hurt the woman that I share my life with, and the one person I know on earth, who when she speaks to me, speaks truth from God's lips to her ears, to her mouth to my ears.  This particular time I had only listened half heartedly BECAUSE . . . because my pride was hurt.

The last part of the revelation that came was the need to get myself to Confession, and to do that to go and see Father Clement Agamba, way up the road in north Pima County at St. Elisabeth Ann Seton Parish.  Father Clement is a priest from Ghana, who had been at Our Lady of Fatima, when we were there last year, but was moved when we were back in Canada.  His holiness and reverence for Our Lord had been inspirational to us, and I had gone to him previously for the Sacrament of Reconciliation.

I got up early, and quietly left for Church, not at Our Lady of Fatima, a few minutes away, as I usually do, but at St. Elisabeth Ann Seton, 30 minutes away.  When I arrived, I marveled at this beautiful Church and facilities, and followed some of the parishioners into a lovely side chapel, where they were praying the rosary.  I joined them, and then they left the chapel, and I followed them again.  They entered the main church, which had a few hundred people in it preparing for mass.  The large numbers were attributable to the Parish lenten mission that was starting today, and to the attendance thereat by the youth of the parochial school attached to the Church.  I had had no knowledge of this prior to coming.  The priest, who was going to preach the mission, was saying mass before commencing, and I thought that I would not then have an opportunity to see Father Agamba, but remained in place.

The mission theme is "Forgiveness is the Best Revenge", and the priest gave a homily about Peter, as today is the Feast of the Chair of Peter, and his disobedience, followed by Jesus making him the head of the Church, not because he was perfect, but because there were, and are, none who are perfect.  Today, particularly I can relate to that.  So, I was thinking that maybe I just needed to know that for today, and would have to go to Confession some other time.

But, I persevered, and after mass did not stay for the mission, but went to the church offices. It was about 9:30, and the receptionist was on the phone with someone, so I stood and waited while she spoke with a person who needed her attention.  As she was about to hang up the phone and as I was about to ask her if Father Agamba was in or expected soon, I turned to see him come in the door. 

He remembered me from OLF, and invited me into his office.  He has nice digs there, and we spoke briefly, catching up on the last year.  Then, he graciously took the time out of his day to hear my Confession.  It is a wonderful experience to confess to a priest with a heart like his.  He is definitely an alter christus. 

After Confession, I left and made my way back to our motor home, and to My Dear Wife, with a well softened heart, and a shriven conscience.   There I asked her to forgive me for my sinfulness towards her, and graciously she did.

I have some things that I need to work on to better honour this dear woman that I love, and I also have a need to be more mindful of the temptations that come my way, and of my ability through the grace of the confessional to resist.

I have discovered over the last few years, that if I go for Reconciliation regularly, that my strength to resist temptation is greater, and the longer I am between Reconciliations, the weaker is my resolve to avoid temptation and sin.

What a blessing it is to be able to receive the graces of this wonderful sacrament, and to be reconciled to God so that we can be reconciled with our fellow man.

Signs of the Times

These Signs Appeared on Churches in the UK

H/t My Dear Wife and Her Friend Shirley

A Heart Touching Teacher Story

Not True, But Filled with Truth

H/t Norm Sutherland

This story was written as fiction in 1976 by Elizabeth Silance Ballard and published in Home Life magazine.  That is fiction does not make it any less true in the sense that this story is played out in part daily in many of the classrooms of North America, where caring teachers do their best to open the minds and hearts of their students.  You can also watch a movie version of this story here at makeadifference.com.

As she stood in front of her 5th grade class on the very first day of school she told the children an untruth. Like most teachers, she looked at her students and said that she loved them all the same. However, that was
impossible, because there in the front row, slumped in his seat, was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard. 

Mrs. Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed that he did not play well with the other children, that his clothes were messy and that he constantly needed a bath. In addition, Teddy could be unpleasant. It got to the point where Mrs. Thompson would actually take delight in marking his papers with a broad red pen, making bold X's and then putting a big 'F' at the top of his papers. 

At the school where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to review each child's past records and she put Teddy's off until last. However, when she reviewed his file, she was in for a surprise. 

Teddy's first grade teacher wrote, 'Teddy is a bright child with a ready laugh. He does his work neatly and has good manners... he is a joy to be around..' 

His second grade teacher wrote, 'Teddy is an excellent student, well liked by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle.' 

His third grade teacher wrote, 'His mother's death has been hard on him. He tries to do his best, but his father doesn't show much interest, and his home life will soon affect him if some steps aren't taken.' 

Teddy's fourth grade teacher wrote, 'Teddy is withdrawn and doesn't show much interest in school. He doesn't have many friends and he sometimes sleeps in class.' 

By now, Mrs. Thompson realized the problem and she was ashamed of herself.  She felt even worse when her students brought her Christmas presents, wrapped in beautiful ribbons and bright paper, except for Teddy's. His present was clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper that he got from a grocery bag. Mrs. Thompson took pains to open it in the middle of the other presents. Some of the children started to laugh when she found a rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing, and a bottle that was one-quarter
full of perfume. But she stifled the children's laughter when she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on, and dabbing some of the perfume on her wrist. Teddy Stoddard stayed after school that day just long enough to say, 'Mrs. Thompson, today you smelled just like my Mom used to.' 

After the children left, she cried for at least an hour. On that very day, she quit teaching reading, writing and arithmetic. Instead, she began to teach children. Mrs. Thompson paid particular attention to Teddy. As she
worked with him, his mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him, the faster he responded. By the end of the year, Teddy had become one of the smartest children in the class and, despite her lie that she would love all the children the same, Teddy became one of her 'teacher's pets..' 

A year later, she found a note under her door, from Teddy, telling her that she was the best teacher he ever had in his whole life. 

Six years went by before she got another note from Teddy. He then wrote that he had finished high school, third in his class, and she was still the best teacher he ever had in life. 

Four years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had been tough at times, he'd stayed in school, had stuck with it, and would soon graduate from college with the highest of honours. He assured Mrs.
Thompson that she was still the best and favourite teacher he had ever had in his whole life. 

Then four more years passed and yet another letter came. This time he explained that after he got his bachelor's degree, he decided to go a little further. The letter explained that she was still the best and favourite
teacher he ever had. But now his name was a little longer.... The letter was signed, Theodore F. Stoddard, MD. 

The story does not end there. You see, there was yet another letter that spring. Teddy said he had met this girl and was going to be married. He explained that his father had died a couple of years ago and he was
wondering if Mrs. Thompson might agree to sit at the wedding in the place that was usually reserved for the mother of the groom. Of course, Mrs. Thompson did. And guess what? She wore that bracelet, the one with several rhinestones missing. Moreover, she made sure she was wearing the perfume that Teddy remembered his mother wearing on their last Christmas together. 

They hugged each other, and Dr. Stoddard whispered in Mrs. Thompson's ear, Thank you Mrs. Thompson for believing in me. Thank you so much for making me feel important and showing me that I could make a difference.' 

Mrs.. Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back. She said, 'Teddy, you have it all wrong. You were the one who taught me that I could make a difference. I didn't know how to teach until I met you.'

Love Crucified Arose

Michael Card

Michael Card has a gift for making the mysteries of Faith in Jesus Christ come alive through music.  If not comprehensible, they are believable.

This Lent, will you believe?

To The Mystery

Michael Card

Will we fall down on our knees to the Creator and Saviour of the World, or will we continue to pay homage to the things of this world?

Ordinary Heroes

Catholic Online Again

With the assistance of my friend, blogger and writer Jennifer Hartline, another of my pieces on Ordinary Heroes of the Faith has made it onto Catholic Online.

I have been blessed to come to understand that there are many people we meet in our day to day lives who are signs of the Faith to us, if we just quiet ourselves down and listen to what they bring.

Normal everyday men and women who are concerned with putting food on the table, clothing their families, giving them right guidance, loving God and their neighbor.

If you really look hard, you might find an Ordinary Hero, whose example can be a lamp on your own path of salvation.

TUCSON, AZ. (Catholic Online) -  In the world in which we live, particularly here in North America, we have become enamored with heroes.  One dictionary definition of a hero is:  "A person noted for feats of courage or nobility of purpose, especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life."

But, the modern day hero in our North American culture has been diminished to someone we look up to mainly for their wealth and/or fame.  Today's heroes typically consist of star athletes, film and television stars, and musicians.  When one of our heroes scores the Super Bowl winning touchdown, leads his team to the Stanley Cup or Olympic Gold, or wins an Academy or Grammy award, we rejoice and celebrate along with someone we don't even know. 

The media may even trumpet our sports heroes as showing great courage in playing a game, you know the star player, injured along the way, who comes back to lead his team in the final contest, as though that were a meaningful act of courage.

When one of our heroes falls out of grace, such as the most famous golfer in the world did recently, we lose a bit of our way too.  These heroes are all larger than life, and thrust into our daily paths with great frequency.  We have become vicariously invested in them and their success.

Though some folks are inspired to grow in the areas that they have become famous for, these heroes are by and large a distraction from real life, and one can easily question whether they really are worthy of being thought of as heroes.

For those of us who are committed to Christianity, we have a hero, well the ultimate 'Superhero' really, who outshines all others, Jesus Christ. "No one has greater love than this, to lay down one's life for one's friends." (John 15:13 NAB).  That verse pretty well sums up the real definition of a hero.   But, for us earth bound folks, it is hard to picture how we can emulate God made man on a day by day basis, now over 2,000 years later.

We can find our real Hero, Jesus Christ in others.  In its immense wisdom, the Catholic Church has given us the saints, people of virtue, who have lived and in many cases died for the faith, to be heroes of the faith for us as well, to be examples of Jesus in the here and now.  But, there too, is a difficult challenge for us earth bound folks, in this day and age. 

Most of those heroes are from a different here and now than we are.  As well, our knowledge of them is mostly about their exploits for the propagation of the faith, and not about how they went about their daily lives, about their fears, sorrows and joys, trials and tribulations. Though it is true that they model the faith for us, there are things about them that are so much larger than life as we understand it, that following in their footsteps seems beyond our capabilities.

So, I concluded that we need not just to look to Jesus and the saints for guidance in our daily walk of faith, but must find Ordinary Heroes, men and women who choose to live the faith in their daily trials and tribulations, the ones who live out the words of the gospels. 

These Ordinary Heroes are normal everyday men and women, who are concerned with putting food on the table, clothing their families, giving them right guidance, loving God and their neighbor, all in a world that grows more hostile day by day to the faith of our fathers, and those who walk in it. 

They, or their spouse or kids get sick; they lose their jobs.  They, like us, are tossed by the storms of daily life.  But, in them we also see people who have ridden out those storms, and when it looked like they should call it a day, stepped up to the challenge in faith, and saw it through.

If we look to their lives, and let their perseverance in times of trial, and their determination to take opportunities seriously to live and share their faith, I believe that we too can become examples to those who look to us.  We can make tough choices because we see them do so, and we can grow in love and service to our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.

As I spoke about this with My Dear Wife, she reminded me of a story that Father Tom Lever gave us in a homily at St. Michael's Parish in London, Ontario many years ago.  It went like this.

A man was walking between two towns, and stopped along his way to converse with a farmer who was in his field by the roadside.  The man had left the first town to move to the second town, and asked the farmer this question: "What are the people like in the town I am going to?"  The farmer replied with another question: "What were they like in the town you just left?" The man replied that they were kind and gentle, and that he had really hated to leave the first town.  The farmer then told him that he would find the people in his new town to be just the same.

As it happened, another man came down the same road a short while later, having left the first town to go to work and live in the second town.  He too asked the farmer: "What are the people like in the town I am going to?"  The farmer replied yet again with his own question: "What were they like in the town you just left?"  The man replied that they were mean spirited and unkind, and that he could hardly wait to get out of the first town.  The farmer then told him that he would find the people in his new town to be just the same.

Finding Ordinary Heroes in our day to day lives is not about their aptitude, but about our attitude.

-----
Michael Brandon is a Canadian Catholic, born, raised, abandoned, returned.  He is married to the earthly love of his life, and has begun writing about the even deeper Love of his life this past year.

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Deacon Keith Fournier asks that you join with us and help in this vital mission by sending this article to your family, friends, and neighbors and adding our link (www.catholic.org) to your own website, blog or social network. Let us broadcast, we are PROUD TO BE CATHOLIC!

The New Colossus

Emma Lazarus


Dear Readers:

Tucson, AZ.  Although I am a Canadian born and raised, I have many fond memories of time spent in the United States of America.  I love this country, and what it stands for.  I am here now.  I have written previously about the Declaration of Independence, the single most important document ever promulgated in North America, certainly in my own opinion.

But today, I came across another significant document, a poem really that typifies America for me.  America is nothing, if not a home for the lost and forsaken, and Canada is too.  However, here in America are symbols of that vocation.  One of great significance is the Statue of Liberty.

Lady Liberty, from her dedication in October 1886, has stood watch over the entrance to New York Harbour, and has greeted many immigrants to this country.  In 1903 the poem Emma Lazarus wrote for her, called "The New Colossus" was engraved on a bronze plaque and mounted inside the statue and reads:

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "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!"

This poem speaks of America, as the Mother of Exiles, inviting people of good will in search of freedom to come here and partake of the freedom it offers, the freedom of the Declaration of Independence.  However, like in Canada, politically minded individuals are frittering away the freedoms that early Americans fought to preserve, as though denying the existence of the symbols of that hard won freedom, and the mantle that came with it.

Using the banner of political correctness, where the truth is obscured by the need to not offend people, where political affiliation and the lust for political power takes precedence over the need to do right by people, legislators and members of the judiciary in this land are allowing more than a million unborn children to be murdered in the womb each year, shedding innocent blood in the name of CHOICE, without responsibility for choices already made.

I am unable to point a finger and say that we in Canada do it better.  We do not, and have no excuse for our own perfidy. We slaughter many unborn each year in our land as well.  I make no excuse for us, but suggest that this great land, the United States of America, has many signs in front of the eyes of its people that remind Americans of what they are to stand for, in this time, as in any time.

And the world, including Canada your neighbour to the north, is watching and hoping to see you take back up the mantle upon which you were created as a nation.

I call all my American friends and readers to remind yourselves of the Pledge of Allegiance that you have said so many times in your lives:

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. 

Are you "One Nation Under God", with liberty and justice for all, or is it all a lie?

Opinion: Health Care Bill Lives: Obama Prepared to Pass by 'Reconciliation'?

Jennifer Hartline is not an Alarmist

As a Canadian, I find it hard to believe the lengths that politicians in this country can go to, to make things into legislation.  The particular trick being used here, if this is the case, and it looks like it, I noticed last year on another issue.  If the President of the USA is able to attach an unwanted Health Care Bill to a budget bill to "sneak" it through, that is a serious attack against the will of the American people.

A great President of this Republic, maybe you remember him, Abraham Lincoln, spoke the Gettysburg Address on November 19, 1863, about 4 months after many fine American men had perished in one of the most memorable battles of the American Civil War.  He said the following, here quoted from Abraham Lincoln online:

Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.

Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battle-field of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.

But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow -- this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain -- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.

It seems as Mrs. Hartline opines at Catholic Online, and as reproduced below, that not all men are created equal.  There is the concept of equality, and then there is political EQUALITY, where the big dog wins, at whatever cost to the rest of the people of the Republic.

Chevrolet advertises itself as the Heartbeat of America.  On the contrary, the Mothers of America, like Jennifer Hartline are its heartbeat.  The President has an agenda, and that is incompatible with a Heartbeat.  But the real heartbeat I hear, is the sound of the tiny hearts, about 4,000 a day in America, almost 50,000,000 US pre-born infants to date, who are silenced on this earth, but beat along with hearts of all other aborted babies who live in heaven with Our Father, and who joins his heart to these little martyrs for the Truth.

"Love does not take offense," it is true, but love does not sit idly by while the lives of others are destroyed for an Agenda.  Please read the article below, and if it is within your power to do something about it, then act boldly and quickly.

Steps are being taken to avoid a Republican filibuster by attaching Obama's health care bill to a budget bill, passing it by 'reconciliation.'

If President Obama has taught us anything, it's that he has audacity. It's just not hope he's selling.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Catholic Online) - Have we gotten comfortable with the notion that the health care bill was dead?  I've listened for weeks to those who have been giving the legislation its eulogy.  It seems such reports have been greatly exaggerated.  We should not be surprised.  If President Obama has taught us anything, it's that he has audacity.  It's just not hope he's selling.

He has invited Republicans to a televised summit next week, in a move that now sure smells like a set-up.  He already appears to have his back-up plan ready to go.  Namely, a recrafted legislation that combines the House and the Senate bills into one which he will attach to a budget bill and pass by reconciliation, completely avoiding a Republican filibuster.  That's right – he is reportedly prepared to piggyback a monstrously expensive and unwanted health care bill onto a budget bill and pass it by force.

Administration officials have said President Obama's new proposal will be posted online by Monday morning.  Ahead of his meeting with Republicans on February 25.  Seems like his mind is made up already.

Then he can claim that the Republicans didn't offer anything of substance, they weren't willing to talk or negotiate, they are the party of "No" and there was no alternative but to go around them in order to "get this done for the American people."  He can say he tried, and the opposition gave him no choice.

An ironic phrase considering that "no choice" is what the rest of us will get when it comes to paying for this terrible bill.  "No choice" is what we'll get regarding our tax dollars being used to pay for the murder of our nation's youngest citizens.

It's unknown at this point what this new bill being created will specify regarding abortion funding, but we have a wealth of evidence behind us to say with great certainty that Obama will not give in and adopt the Stupak amendment.  He sold himself to the abortion lobby a long time ago, and he knows he will not be given a pass if he allows this "victory" for abortion "rights" to slip away.

We have every reason to expect that the Senate language concerning abortion is what will be present in this final, new legislation; language that allows tax dollars to be used for abortion on demand all over the country.  Obama has left no doubt that he will not let silly little things like babies get in the way of doing what he wants.  He seems to not even care that the majority of Americans don't want his version of health care reform.  He hears no one but himself and his pro-abortion donors to whom he is beholden.

Let's not be caught unaware.  President Obama does not govern openly or honestly; he dictates in the shadows and mandates. 

It's time once again to write your Representatives in Washington.  Call their offices, send emails, send letters, and call again.  We've been at this "near finish line" place before many times, and each time it is critical that we act and speak out against the abortion mandate that this administration wants to impose on all Americans. 

Until Congress and President Obama can present a health care reform bill that actually protects human life at all ages and stages, does not use taxpayer dollars to pay for the killing of the preborn, and does not drive our nation into such unimaginable debt that our great-great grandchildren will still be paying the bill, we must oppose their plans and demand they listen to those they are supposed to serve.

You can reach your Representatives by going to www.stoptheabortionmandate.com/representatives
And www.stoptheabortionmandate.com/senators

Keep this fervently in your prayers.  Fast and pray that this anti-life legislation does not prevail.  It's the final stretch (again).  Let us finish the race.
 - - -
Jennifer Hartline is a lifelong Catholic, Army wife and mother of four precious children. (One in heaven.)  She is a contributing writer for Catholic Online on topics of Catholic faith, family, Life, and politics.  She is also a serious chocoholic.  Visit her online at My Chocolate Heart.

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Deacon Keith Fournier asks that you join with us and help in this vital mission by sending this article to your family, friends, and neighbors and adding our link (www.catholic.org) to your own website, blog or social network. Let us broadcast, we are PROUD TO BE CATHOLIC!

Guidance

G u i Dance

A friend, Norm Sutherland, sent this along to me yesterday.  It was worthy of him sending to me, and worthy of being read and meditated on.

Dancing With God When I meditated on the word  Guidance, I kept seeing "dance" at the end of the word. I remember reading that doing God's will is a lot like dancing. When two people try to lead, nothing feels right. The movement doesn't flow with the music, and everything is quite uncomfortable and jerky. When one person realizes that, and lets the other lead, both bodies begin to flow with the music. One gives gentle cues, perhaps with a nudge to the back or by pressing Lightly in one direction or another. It's as if two become one body, moving beautifully. The dance takes surrender, willingness, and attentiveness from one person and gentle guidance and skill from the other. My eyes drew back to the word  Guidance. When I saw "G": I thought of God, followed by "u" and "i". "God, "u" and "i" dance." God, you, and I dance. As I lowered my head, I became willing to trust that I would get guidance about my life. Once again, I became willing to let God lead. My prayer for you today is that God's blessings and mercies are upon you on this day and everyday. May you abide in God, as God abides in you. Dance together with God, trusting God to lead and to guide you through each season of your life. Amen to that.  I guess this is the heavenly version of Dancing with the Stars

Known By the Scars/Crown Him

Michael Card - 2 for 1

Here are two of the concluding songs of Michael Card's trilogy album "The Life."  It's great to listen to these songs, but I urge you to pop over to Amazon or your favourite Christian music store and get the whole album.  It will bless you as it has me.

Encountering ´Ordinary Heroes´ in Our Life

My First Published Column in Catholic Online

This column that I wrote recently and submitted to Catholic Online through my friend Jennifer Hartline appeared this morning here.  I have been working on a concept of Ordinary Heroes to explain the folks that I come across in my daily life that influence my faith in Our Saviour.

It is very easy to miss the Ordinary Heroes that come across our path.  But, with patience and an open heart you can know they are there.

(Pictured: The Saints who beckon us all to holiness in the ordinary things of our daily lives and in every vocation and state in life) 'I started seeing lay heroes as I went about my daily business, and I will write about them and their stories of simple heroism.' - Michael Brandon

TUCSON, AZ. (Catholic Online) - In communicating about the Ordinary Heroes that come across our paths, I use the term "encounter", and similar words.  I use that term intentionally, and not the more familiar word "meet".  Encountering is far more complex an activity than just meeting someone; one cannot only meet an Ordinary Hero. One must encounter them to appreciate who they are. 

Our ability to encounter others is dependent on the answer to this particular question: "Do I need to be right or am I prepared to learn the truth?"  For most of my life, I was more interested in being right than in finding out the truth, not particularly because I was evil, but because I was wounded by the world we live in, and was protective of my beliefs.  My self confidence depended on me being right, since it was so low.  To risk any further damage to it was beyond my capabilities of thought.  I had built protective walls around myself that rather than providing the protection that I desired, provided barriers to the truth, to things that would have freed me from myself and my past.

But then, because of a car crash I was in over 6 years ago, I was forced into a time of introspection, and truth seeking, which has now become my goal in life.  I lost my ability to work for a living, and also to follow one of my passions, making music on piano and synthesizer.  But by the grace of God and with the assistance of people God put into my path, I developed a curiosity about things, including my attitude towards them.  When I am curious about things I come across, I am not invested in what I need them to be.  They are able to just "be". 

Consequently, I am free to encounter and accept the things and people that I meet, with a curiosity as to how I might grow personally from such an encounter.  This kind of freedom from the baggage of our own past lives, gives us the eyesight to see at least some of the Ordinary Heroes who come across our paths on a daily basis.

You rarely meet an Ordinary Hero and immediately realize their heroism.  You must accept them as they are, and probe to understand what animates them and motivates their behaviors.  As my curiosity has grown, and my protective walls have fallen, I have had the opportunity to meet the most delightful people I have ever come across.  I frankly had no idea they were even there, let alone what they were all about.

As I write this, I am reminded of a vision that I had many years ago.  From time to time, Our Precious Lord allows me to see things graphically to help me to comprehend them better.

In this particular vision, I was trapped in a one room jail cell in the middle of a field.  It had one barred window to look out of, and through it I could see the green fields in front of me, and in the background a forest; but I was in jail and could not get out.  In a moment, I saw the walls crumble down, and the roof disappear, and suddenly I could see not only the view from the window, but an even broader perspective.  In the distance, I saw My Dear Wife, and our Parish Priest.  End of story?  Not so much.  In the vision, I was paralyzed by fear.  I had always lived in the jail cell of my vision, so when the walls and roof came down, I had nowhere to hide, and I was afraid.  I just stood there trembling. 

Since that time, I have grown much in my faith, in no small measure because of the wonderful love of my favorite Ordinary Hero, My Dear Wife.  I have been greatly and exclusively loved by a member of God´s creation, and savoring and building on that love has lifted me up greatly.  Her beautiful and simple faith inspires me to be all that I can be. 

My wife has always accepted me, even though much of my behavior towards her was not really acceptable.  She prayed for me, and she could see that there was more to me than the wounded man she had married.  So often, she told me there was more out there for me; that God had much more in store for me.  I have long since accepted having a personal relationship with Jesus, but though I had accepted him in one sense, I was stubbornly holding on to my old thoughts and behaviors.  But, My Dear Wife would have none of that, and prayed for me to change my ways.  In the mean time, she continued to accept me, though she prudently put up boundaries in our relationship. 

I worked hard to be who I thought she wanted me to be.  That was of no real use, since it wasn´t me.  I then tried to do it on my own.  Finally, I was able to submit myself more deeply to doing God´s will in my life, in no small measure because of her prayer support.  I started to see myself as a unique creation of God´s and of inestimable worth, and so I needed to act

that way.

Then, along the way, I realized that this precious woman I had married was a gift of God to me, and I started to really treat her as the precious Child of God that she was.  When I started to see her for whom she was in Christ, then it helped me even more to see myself as worthy.  Then it all started to fall into place.

She had been there, being Jesus for me all along.  Now, not only was she Jesus for me, but suddenly so was everybody else.  When you see Jesus in people, no matter their circumstances, your perspectives change.  Then you see heroes, Everyday Heroes.

So, I started seeing lay heroes as I went about my daily business, and I will write about them and their stories of simple heroism.

Along the way, I have also had the distinct pleasure and honor of getting to know many priests, who I have encountered since that time.  I met priests before, but have since looked at their hearts as they have shared them with me.  I have come to have such a respect for our faithful priests, and their role as alter Christus for us.

I discovered a funny thing.  The Ordinary Heroes were there all along, ready to share of them-selves, if only I was able to listen.   I have never been hard of hearing in my life time, but I have been hard of listening.  I was always too busy planning and plotting what I was going to say in response to what was hitting my ears, to pay it the heed it so richly deserved.  So often, I missed the opportunity to be astounded, to be enriched, to be graced by the well thought out words of another who had crossed my path.

Follow along with me as I present you some of the Ordinary Heroes that I encounter.  But, more than that see them yourselves in the people that you get to know.

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Michael Brandon is a Canadian Catholic, born, raised, abandoned, returned.  He is married to the earthly love of his life, and has begun writing about the even deeper Love of his life this past year. 

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New Findings Cast Increasing Doubt on Schiavo’s Death

From Bobby Schindler - Brother to Terry Schiavo

Terri Schiavo and her mother

This article appeared in CNS NEWS yesterday.

During my family's battle to save my sister Terri Schiavo from death by dehydration, a tremendous amount of debate raged over whether or not she was in what the medical profession refers to as a persistent vegetative state (PVS).

Indeed, the PVS diagnosis was used as one of the deciding factors in whether my sister should live or die. It was the core catalyst in the court ordering the removal of Terri’s food and water.

When Terri’s husband first petitioned the circuit courts to remove her sustenance, my family was naive about PVS and what the diagnosis actually meant, and could not believe a court would ever order her food and water withdrawn. As the battle over my sister’s life progressed, however, we learned – the hard way.

The more anecdotal testimony we heard about the diagnosis of PVS, the more my family was convinced that Terri simply didn’t fit the profile and was never PVS. We also suspected such a diagnosis (typically made at the bedside) was seriously flawed.

This became very obvious by the way Terri interacted with my mother, not to mention the videos which clearly showed that Terri was able to track objects and follow simple commands.

I was oftentimes rather astonished at the number of different and opposing conclusions I heard from neurologists, physicians, speech therapists and so many other medical professionals who tried to determine whether or not Terri was in a PVS.

This is why a recent study published by the New England Journal of Medicine, regarding findings of awareness in patients previously diagnosed in a PVS, may be one of the most important to date.

Terri Schiavo

The Journal’s report, released on Feb. 3, revealed that some patients who were believed to be in a PVS were actually able to understand and communicate. Through the use of functional magnetic resonance scanning (fMRI), researchers in the United Kingdom estimated that a percentage of those patients suffering from profound brain injuries possessed the capacity to comprehend and communicate in limited ways.

Though the results of this study may bring new hope to patients with severe brain injuries, the latest findings also suggest that the PVS diagnosis may be more flawed than previously believed. Already, documented research has brought into question the veracity of the PVS diagnosis. The New England Journal of Medicine’s February report may be something of a call to action.

Indeed, it is bittersweet for my family when we read such findings that question the PVS diagnosis. It exonerated the courageous individuals who placed their careers and reputations on the line to voice opposition to my sister’s court-ordered dehydration.

The doctors and neurologists who examined Terri and evidence presented in the legal battle have often been dismissed as “quacks” for suggesting Terri may have been aware, cognizant and functional. For them, such new findings must weigh particularly heavy on their hearts.

Despite the New England Journal of Medicine’s report, most in the mainstream media obstinately refused to admit that Terri’s death was a mistake.

Perhaps that is because they have a stake in the story: Throughout the legal battle, most of the media repeatedly ignored or glossed over the dozens of affidavits from some of the most prominent neurologists and medical professionals in the nation, stating Terri may have been misdiagnosed.

Many pleaded for the judge, George Geer, to permit similar new brain scanning technology to better determine Terri’s true neurological condition. They, along with my family, were inexplicably refused.

As we saw in Terri’s life and death, what these laws have created is a hostile and often fatal set of circumstances for non-dying patients who live with profound brain injuries and cognitive disabilities – based on tragically suspect diagnoses.

It is utterly vital for disability rights and pro-life advocates to lead the charge that demands our legislators enact appropriate laws to protect the life and liberty interests of vulnerable persons.

It is also because of the results of this latest study and the traditionally high failure rate in the PVS diagnosis that we need to stop using it as a guideline to kill those in these so-called PVS conditions.

There are many in the legal and medical profession who choose not to see what we saw in Terri’s behaviors and what these imaging studies reveal about the human brain. It is incumbent upon all of us to ensure that the lives of vulnerable people are not needlessly ended by flawed diagnostic practices, careless legislation or the idea that a person with a disability must prove themselves worthy of life’s most ordinary needs: food and water.