Still Running Off at the Keyboard

CANCER JOURNAL

I'm sort of bummed by yesterday's recommendations. Been reading about the meds and the biopsy on the web, and can't find anything positive.

In short, I have no stomach for blogging this morning, so I'm going to pass. Right now the whole religion thing seems incredibly irrelevant.

CONFIRMATION

Seldom do I find confirmation of my opinions about Rome and the papacy. This time there would seem to be an exception.

Read John Allen's letter to Obama, and then read the comments. Commenters know 70 bishops and who knows how many faithful priests have been betrayed by this latest papal action and they are gleeful about it, even calling for the removal of those 70 bishops who stood up for the teachings of the Church. The papal congratulation has played directly into the hands of liberal Catholics, and they are making the most of it now that they have turned out to be the winners the pope is suddenly so eager to work with.

And now, in true papal vein, I should add "Praise God!", but I think I'll pass. Is it any wonder why Catholics are fleeing the Church when getting knifed in the back as the 70 bishops have been knifed by the response of the pope to their faithful stance? This is what the laity has been enduring for decades, but who expected the bishops who were faithful to the papal line to get it as well?

THE POPE'S CONGRATULATIONS

I understand that this is the way politics is played. I understand that the loser is supposed to congratulate the winner in civil society. I understand that prayers offered for someone do not mean agreement with the person. I understand the value of keeping communication open.

At least my head understands these things. But my heart still feels betrayed by the words of the Pope, and it is certainly not the first time I have felt so betrayed. My heart says that if the man is worthy of calling down God's blessing upon him, that he was worthy of voting for. But, of course, a week ago he was not thought to be worthy of voting for, though I don't recall ever reading that Benedict said that he wasn't. Now he is the object of the Supreme Pontiff's congratulations and a message that calls him "a choice that unites".

How does one read such a statement? Are we now to be "united" with the Obama pro-abortion platform? Surely not, but that is what the words imply.

This is why I hate politics so much. The sand constantly shifts. There seems to be no commitment to truth but a large one to expediency and peace at any cost. And yet we see that a commitment to truth is what Benedict constantly preaches. With politics, I can never get it quite right. And now with religion, as it becomes an ever more prominent political issue, is starting to fall within the same category of confusion.

It is relatively easy to consign politics to irrelevancy. It becomes ever more easy to do this with religion as well when words like these come from the Pope. I feel as though it is necessary to stick my finger in the Vatican air every morning before blogging, to see which way the papal wind blows today. For a pope who vehemently opposes relativism, he sets some strange examples.

CANCER JOURNAL - Latest Scan Results

Got the results this morning. The cancer has once again disappeared from my breasts and lymph nodes. The bones, though, continue to look "funny" according to the oncologist. She says they have looked "funny" on every scan, and the "humor" has not increased any, which is good. The only way to know for sure is a bone biopsy, which I've refused so far because of my horrid experience with the breast biopsy. But in any case she is proposing I start taking an IV drug, Zometa, to address it. One side effect of Zometa is a slightly increased risk for blood clots. The other is flu-like symptoms. She also proposed starting on Taxol, as a hormone suppressant, which causes hair loss in 5% of patients. Since I seem to be sensitive to all of the cancer drugs, I presume I'll be in the 5%. In any case I have a month-long reprieve to get some energy back before starting on this next round, so I'm trying not to think about it now.

CATHOLIC VOICES SPEAK ABOUT THE ELECTION

Matt Abbott's column contains the post-election comments of a number of prominent Catholics and a closing reflection from an anonymous Catholic who forecasts the road that lies ahead. Sobering stuff.

A DAY OF CONTRASTS

I woke up yesterday morning at 1:30 and couldn't get back to sleep. After tossing and turning for a while, I got up and switched on the TV for election results, only to be greeted by the scene of Obama and family delivering an acceptance speech--the scene captured at LifeSiteNews.

I tend to tune into non-verbal messages, and the non-verbals here screamed. Given that clothing has been making political statements ever since someone discovered the power tie, let's take a look at the statements made visually.

Abortion was a hot topic during the election, particularly to Catholics. Look at the first family-elect's color choice. Red and black. Red is the primary color for the non-verbal conveyance of immorality. Black is the color choice of death. So what do we have? A woman in a black and red dress which looks like an old-fashioned brick oven heated red hot. An oven with a baby inside? Well, the placement of the red does suggest womb, and the red splash on top highlights breasts. If that doesn't convey illicit passion and burning baby to you, you need to look again.

Next we have two children dressed in black and red. The older girl in red is approaching sexual maturity. Upon seeing that red dress, I immediately recalled her father's statement read somewhere that "If my daughter makes a mistake, I wouldn't want her to be punished with a baby." The younger girl, closer to the age of a baby, is dressed in the color of death--as in death-wish?, I couldn't help but wonder. Topping off the image is the man who was the most pro-abortion senator according to some, waving in glee that his message has taken control. At 1:30 in the morning this image made me shudder and guaranteed that I would get no more sleep.

I spent the day cleaning up dead flowers in the garden, hoping that physical activity would insure I wouldn't have another sleepless night, and getting my mind off this screaming image of the presidency. It mostly worked. This morning the image merely whimpers in resignation over what has been lost.

There was another reason I needed to change gears. Yesterday my kidlet successfully defended her doctoral dissertation in the afternoon. I needed to be ready to celebrate, and I was by the time 6 p.m. rolled around and the champaign (sp?) was uncorked. We've all waited a long long time to call her "Doctor" and we did it often and with great delight. The road to the Phd is a long and winding one, with many pitfalls along the way. Only a person with great determination and stamina can reach the end. There were many occasions for throwing in the towel, but somehow she managed to get through them.

This is the kid who, at age 4, couldn't memorize "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer," and at age 5 chose to gallop in kindergarten instead of skipping, because she loved horses, though her kindergarten teacher didn't want one in the classroom. This is the kid who, in first grade, answered all of the problems on the math test with 0 so she could be first on the magic carpet. This is the kid who was falling farther and farther behind in third grade, until I decided she would have to repeat the grade if she wasn't going to fail the game of life. My request that she do so put her automatically into the LD program where a miracle occurred. She discovered how to learn, and then there was no stopping her.

This was the high school Sophomore who announced one night at dinner, "Chemistry is my passion." She is still passionate about it and will be putting that passion to work in research at the Cleveland Clinic starting in December. Last night was one of life's grandest celebrations.

A QUESTION FOR YOU

Given that racism can be either white or black, does the Obama presidency represent a victory over racism or total immersion in it given that 95% of black Americans voted for him?

THERE IS NO HOPE LEFT BUT PRAYER...

Act of Consecration to Our Blessed Mother

Most Holy Trinity: Our Father in Heaven, who chose Mary as the fairest of your daughters; Holy Spirit, who chose Mary as your spouse; God the Son, who chose Mary as your Mother; in union with Mary, we adore your majesty and acknowledge your supreme, eternal dominion and authority.

Most Holy Trinity, we put the United States of America into the hands of Mary Immaculate in order that she may present the country to you. Through her we wish to thank you for the great resources of this land and for the freedom which has been its heritage. Through the intercession of Mary, have mercy on the Catholic Church in America. Grant us peace. Have mercy on our President and on all the officers of our government. Grant us a fruitful economy born of justice and charity. Have mercy on capital and industry and labor. Protect the family life of the nation. Guard the innocence of our children. Grant the precious gift of many religious vocations. Through the intercession of our Mother, have mercy on the sick, the poor, the tempted, sinners – on all who are in need.

Mary, Immaculate Virgin, our Mother, Patroness of our land, we praise you and honor you and give ourselves to you. Protect us from every harm. Pray for us, that acting always according to your will and the Will of your Divine Son, we may live and die pleasing to God.

POINT BLANK DIRECTIVES

Did anyone speak forcefully about not voting for an abortion candidate at your Mass this weekend?

I'm thankful and happy to say that the pastor did at the Mass I attended, and there was also a Right to Life flyer in the pews. He noted that his statement was not a political statement, but rather it was a statement of the moral teaching of the Catholic faith that it is a sin to vote for a candidate who supports abortion when there is a candidate also running who does not support abortion. He also noted that certain other churches are welcome to make direct political statements in favor of political candidates without consequence, but the Catholic Church would immediately be singled out for doing so.

Nevertheless, knowing that Obama is rabidly pro-abortion, there was no doubt what he meant when he stated the Catholic moral teaching. Voting for Obama is a mortal sin that will condemn your soul to hell. It's that simple.

FROM THE EMAILBOX

Spirit & Life®
"The words I spoke to you are spirit and life." (Jn 6:63)

Human Life International e-Newsletter
Volume 03, Number 40 | Friday, October 31, 2008
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www.hli.org

Commending the Bishops

Faithful Catholics in the US have been both stunned and gratified by the recent show of episcopal strength in dealing with the heretical nonsense of "Catholics" in public life who clearly misrepresent the Church's teaching on vital issues. To date, more than fifty bishops have spoken out about this kind of misconduct or issued guidelines about voting at this critical juncture in our nation's history. The trend is truly heartening. Let's pray that it continues! Much more could be done, of course, but I am grateful that more bishops are standing up to strengthen and protect the faith of millions. Many have been longing for this show of valor from our fathers in the faith - and yes, they are our spiritual fathers. When they are strong, we are strong; and when they are weak - the flock is ravaged by wolves.

A few bishops deserve special mention. A good example is Bishop Jaime Soto of Sacramento, CA, who stood up before the misnamed "Catholic Gay and Lesbian" conference last month and proclaimed the Church's natural law teaching that homosexual acts are mortal sins. A whole group walked out of his speech in protest, and he was reviled afterward for daring to present Catholic teaching to them. The organizer of the conference actually apologized to the attendees for the talk! Bishop Soto made no apologies though. Likewise, San Diego Auxiliary, Bishop Salvatore Cordileone, has been the strongest champion of the legal effort to define marriage as between one man and one woman to combat the radical homosexual lobby in California.

Nor can we fail to mention the strong pro-life stances of Archbishops Burke (now in Rome) and Chaput (Denver) as well as Bishops Vasa (Baker, OR), Farrell and Vann (Dallas, TX), Martino (Scranton, PA) and Mallooly (Wilmington, DE) who are representatives of a group of other bishops who have made their voices heard forcefully on the Catholic voting issue.

It is not just in the US, however, where bishops have been applying their authority in an astonishing fashion. Here are just a few more of the good things happening around the world in the episcopal college:

The Bishops of Canada issued a statement criticizing the bestowing of Canada's highest honor, the Order of Canada, on extreme abortionist Henry Morganthaler as if he were an example of all that makes Canada proud. Cardinal Turcotte of Montreal actually returned his own Order of Canada medal as a sign of protest to this mockery;

John Cardinal Njue of Nairobi, Kenya recently issued a marvelous, hard-hitting pastoral letter to his Archdiocese concerning the efforts to legalize abortion in that pivotal African country which to date has been such a stronghold against the culture of death;

The Philippines Episcopal Conference came out forcefully against the US- and UN-inspired Reproductive Health Bill which attempted to legalize every form of perversion on that Catholic populace; the bill was subsequently defeated but the bishops know that theirs is a regular battle in which they must engage for the souls of their people.

Thankfully, there are many more examples of episcopal courage that we could add to the reflections but suffice it to say that there seems to be a new wind blowing through the College of Bishops all around the world these days. Perhaps that wind is originating from Bavaria, but whatever its origin, let us continue to pray for our bishops and priests who are always on the firing line between the culture of life and the culture of death. We also need to thank them personally when they speak out in order to encourage them to do even more! Now that the example has been set, let us hope that other bishops and priests will have the audacity of our hope in Christ to go out and do the same!

Sincerely Yours in Christ,

Rev. Thomas J. Euteneuer,
President, Human Life International