Of course I'm not happy, she said to me,
but I've got a degree in psychology so at
least I can explain why.
From StoryPeople.
Of course I'm not happy, she said to me,
but I've got a degree in psychology so at
least I can explain why.
That’s not to say there is no fiscal mission in the right’s agenda, both nationally and locally — only that the mission has nothing to do with deficit reduction. The real goal is to reward the G.O.P.’s wealthiest patrons by crippling what remains of organized labor, by wrecking the government agencies charged with regulating and policing corporations, and, as always, by rewarding the wealthiest with more tax breaks. The bankrupt moral equation codified in the Bush era — that tax cuts tilted to the highest bracket were a higher priority even than paying for two wars — is now a given. The once-bedrock American values of shared sacrifice and equal economic opportunity have been overrun.
It would be a mistake to think that this fight is solely about the right of public employees to collectively bargain. As important as that issue is, it’s just one skirmish in what’s shaping up as a long, bitter campaign to keep ordinary workers, whether union members or not, from being completely overwhelmed by the forces of unrestrained greed in this society.
The predators at the top, billionaires and millionaires, are pitting ordinary workers against one another. So we’re left with the bizarre situation of unionized workers with a pension being resented by nonunion workers without one. The swells are in the background, having a good laugh.
I asked Lynda Hiller if she felt generally optimistic or pessimistic. She was quiet for a moment, then said: “I don’t think things are going to get any better. I think we’re going to hit rock bottom. The big shots are in charge, and they just don’t give a darn about the little person.”
Tomorrow I go in for a kidney biopsy. It's strictly out-patient, so I will be spending the next 2 days at home recovering. "Frightened" is too strong a word (open heart surgery is frightening and this isn't even in the same ball park), but I am a little anxious about it, both the procedure and the results. The doctor is very optimistic that whatever ails my kidneys can be cured easily with medication.
My poor little organs have worked round the clock without a break for 53 years. Small wonder that they might get a little cranky.
I'll see y'all in a couple of days.
O God, the strength of the weak and the comfort of sufferers: Mercifully accept our prayers, and grant to your servant Doug the help of your power, that his sickness may be turned into health and our sorrow turned into joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
I still can't explain my first communion. It made no sense. I was in tears and physically unbalanced. I felt as if I had just stepped off a curb or been knocked over, painlessly, from behind. The disconnect between what I thought was happening - eating a piece of bread, what I heard someone else say was happening - the piece of bread was the "body" of "Christ," a patently untrue or at best metaphorical statement; and what I knew was happening - God, named "Christ" or "Jesus" was real, and in my mouth - utterly short-circuited my ability to do anything but cry.Sara's conversion upon receiving communion and her continuing desire to live her life as a follower of Jesus made perfect sense to me, because the Eucharist is life-giving and life-sustaining for me. Not only that, her story pretty much convinced me that we'd take the better part by having no restrictions on who can receive communion. After all, it is Our Lord's body and blood, not ours, and what right have we to withhold Jesus' body and blood from anyone?
....
Yet that impossible word, "Jesus," lodged in me like a crumb. I said it over and over to myself, as if repetition would help me understand. I had no idea what it meant; I didn't know what to do with it. But it was realer than any thought of mine, or even any subjective emotion: It was as real as the actual taste of the bread and the wine. And the word was indisputably in my body now, as if I'd swallowed a radioactive pellet that would outlive my own flesh.
What does it mean to be a Jesus freak? Or, more to the point, what would it mean to live as if you - and everyone around you - were Jesus, and filled with his power? To just take his teachings literally, go out the front door of your home, and act on them?And then Sara tells her story of trying to follow Jesus - her story of taking Jesus' words in the Gospel seriously. She tells of feeding, healing, forgiving, and raising the dead. And her stories are surprising. Jesus sends unlikely souls to join Sara and the members of the community at St. Gregory to do the work. The people who need help are sometimes demanding, dirty, smelly, not nice, drunk, high. They come at inconvenient times, wanting the impossible, but somehow needs are met, although quite often in an untidy way.
It's actually pretty straightforward, Jesus says. Heal the sick. Cast out demons. Cleanse the lepers. You give them something to eat. You have the authority to forgive sins. Raise the dead.
Most Christians know so much more about the faith than I do. They grew up in Sunday School; they know their church history and creeds by heart; some have even been to seminary and can read the Gospel in Greek. But when I tell them I met the risen Jesus in actual food, they often pull back a bit, as if I'd declared I saw the Virgin Mary on a tortilla. (Which, by the way, would make me very happy.) And when I tell them that Jesus said we can go ahead and heal the sick, that we don't have to wait for authorization from our bishops to raise the dead, they look worried.Crazy, isn't it?
....
I do mean it. I still can't fully explain who the Boyfriend [Jesus] is, but I see him at work everywhere, still breathing in all kinds of people: poor men, crazy women, middle-class retired couples, little kids. They're feeding, healing, forgiving, raising the dead.
The formulas of religion may be so over familiar that many believers have a hard time acting as if this most surprising narrative is true. They may doubt themselves and not understand why Jesus trusts us to do his work. They may be sick to death of the institution, tired of propping up a dysfunctional church, and trying to coast by without caring too much. They may, like me, be anxious because there's no way to be Jesus on your own private terms: you have to jump in and do it alongside your Boyfriend's other lovers.If my writing here seems a bit muddled, then it's because I'm feeling my way and not very sure of myself. Both of Sara's books gave me much to think about and much to pray about, and I'm still processing her ideas and words. What I hope I have done for at least a few of you is piqued your interest enough that you will want to read the books.
Most gracious God, we give you thanks for your tender love in sending Jesus Christ to come among us, to be born of a human mother, and to make the way of the cross to be the way of life. By the power of the Holy Spirit, pour out the abundance of your blessing upon IT and BP. Defend them from every enemy. Lead them into peace. Let their love for each other be a seal upon their hearts, a mantle about their shoulders, and a crown upon their foreheads.
Bless them in their work and in their companionship; in their sleeping and in their waking; in their joys and in their sorrows; in their life and in their death. Finally, in your mercy, bring them to that table where your saints feast forever in your heavenly home; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever.
Life here
I'd like to give you some idea of what it is like here in the Capitol. It really is an incredible thing going on here. I remember last Thursday, when we thought there would be a Senate vote, people were packed in the Rotunda and in the Gallery outside the Senate. I was tweeting when someone tweeted it is so hot and water would be nice. Well it didn't take long and the water did appear.
That seemed to be the beginning of how this thing has been happening. When there is a need, it is met. Just a few days ago when pizza came in from Ian's it was put on a bench on the first floor of the rotunda. Now just a few days later a whole area has developed on the second floor to take care of people's needs. It is a no photo area so sorry I have no pics.
At one end of the hall begins the food. Before you do anything though you are told to use hand sanitizer provided in big bottles. There is bread and bagels and candy to name few items. There is water and coffee and soda. You move further down and there will be pizza or pasta or whatever has come in from one of Madison's fine and supportive establishments, paid for by you great people of the country and world. At the end of the hall is a First Aid/Nurses Station. In the middle of the hall is another hall running perpendicular which is a closed off hallway called the Family Space where parents and children can go.
This past week we have also seen democracy at work in Wisconsin as thousands gathered in Madison in response to the Governor’s Budget Bill. Regardless of our individual positions on the bill before the Legislature and what steps are necessary to build a stronger and better Wisconsin, I believe we can all agree that our baptismal vow to “respect the dignity of every human being” is not served by a majority simply pushing through legislation because they have the votes necessary to do so. As Christians, it is our duty and call to make sure that everyone has a place at the table and every voice has the opportunity to be heard. Respecting the dignity of every human being requires taking the time to have honest and faithful conversation that respects the rights and freedoms of all.
We also are called to speak on behalf of the sick, the poor, the elderly, orphans, widows, and all those who live in the margins of our society. Matthew in his Gospel reminds us that in serving these we are serving the Lord Jesus himself. It would be a sin to balance our state budget on the backs of those who have the least.
The U.S. Catholic bishops on Thursday (Feb. 24) threw their moral weight behind the pro-union protesters in Wisconsin, saying the rights of workers do not abate in difficult economic times.
"The debates over worker representation and collective bargaining are not simply matters of ideology or power," said Bishop Stephen Blaire of Stockton, Calif., chairman of the U.S. bishops' committee on domestic justice, "but involve principles of justice, participation and how workers can have a voice in the workplace and economy."