Election judge report

 This is part 2 of my report on yesterday's primary election.

Election report - Updated

Update July 2, 2022 9:10 AM CDT: David Brooks wrote a good column which touches on the gubernatorial race I describe below, and puts it into a national context. At the bottom of this post (below the break), I'll include a link to his column and some snippets.

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 Illinois held its primary elections yesterday for both Democrats and Republicans (and other parties, for whatever that's worth; we did get one Libertarian voter in our precinct yesterday).  I worked again as an election judge.  In this post, I'll give a recap of the political outcomes from yesterday. Then in a follow-up post I'll make an observation.

Pope's Message Preserved as "Seed of Hope"

There is an interesting article on the NCR site concerning two topics which interest me, but are seemingly unrelated. Among future food supply in the Arctic, pope's message preserved as 'seed of hope' | Earthbeat | National Catholic Reporter (ncronline.org)

Sisters' Jubilee

Some random thoughts after a few hours with a religious order yesterday.

Dobbs

I guess we could apply the much-used descriptor "historic" to today.  Any thoughts?

My pesky day job keeps interfering with blogging, but if/as I run across interesting thoughts in the media, I'll post them here. 

How many major political parties do we need in the US?

When it comes to the question, "Am I a Democrat or a Republican?" the only answer I can readily choose is, "None of the Above".  I wish there were other choices on offer.

We hunger for something better

This is my homily for yesterday, the The Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, aka Corpus Christi.  Of course, yesterday also was Father's Day, so it was one of those confluence-of-several-events days which, depending on the circumstances, can be a blessing or a curse for a preacher. 

For me, it was more curse this year.  I struggled to find a way to tie the two topics together.  What I'm pasting here is (more or less) what I preached on Sunday morning.  At the Saturday evening mass, I preached an earlier cut, which I found didn't cohere very well.  This one is marginally better, but I still didn't love it.  Almost no feedback from parishioners afterward, which tells me they didn't love it, either.  I'll try to do better next time.  On a day like Father's Day, people don't want deep and challenging; they want light and sentimental. 

At a third mass this weekend, I did something completely different: I called the little children up to the front of the church, had them sit on the sanctuary steps, and did some Q&A with them about Father's Day, the Body of Christ, and whatever else they wanted to talk about.  I'd ask them questions and put a hand-held microphone in front of whomever wanted to answer.  I've done this once before, a number of years ago, at an Easter mass, and a couple of other clergy at our parish over the years have done it occasionally.  I thought it only went ok this time: I had expected many more kids would be at mass with their dads on Father's Day, but I figured out yesterday that Father's Day is pretty low-key around here - quite different than Mother's Day.  However, based on feedback I heard afterwards, the adults loved having the kids take part.  Our priest commented that he hadn't previously seen that many people in our parish smiling during a homily.  And he got pulled out of the sacristy after mass to help a few visitors register for the parish - not sure whether the homily contributed to that or not, but presumably it didn't hurt.  

The readings for yesterday are here.

Changes Coming in How the Pope is Elected?

This article may appear to be behind a paywall.  However when I clicked a "no" to their invitation to be on their e-mail list, I was still given access to the whole article. 

What is most interesting about this article is that making substantial changes to the way of electing the Pope has been considered at the highest levels ever since Vatican II.

Synodality and electing the Bishop of Rome  

Robert Mickens

Gilead, by Marilynn Robinson

I just finished "reading" Marilynne Robinson's novel "Gilead".  I use quotes because I tried Audible to listen to a narration by actor Tim Jerome.  I have to say I liked it especially since the voice I hear in my head when I read is not nearly as dramatic and sonorous.  Perhaps from too much technical reading.  I actually have a paper copy and later started reading along with the narration which seemed to enhance the experience.  Expensive way to go, however. 

It is 1956.  The narrator in the novel is a 76 year old preacher who is slowly dying from a heart ailment.  Except for seminary, he lived his whole life in Gilead, Iowa.  He is writing a posthumous letter to his young boy, a child by a young wife he married late in his life,  to read in the future when he is old enough to understand.  It chronicles the intergenerational tensions and attachments between three generations of preachers and other characters.  His grandfather was a fiery John Brown abolitionist preacher who participated in the Kansas troubles and later served in the Union Army as a chaplain.  The book is filled with theological and philosophical musings underscored with a deep loving wonder at being and life.  Feuerbach, Barth, Augustine, Calvin play their parts.  This was a moving and joyful book.

I had previously read a collection of essays, "Absence of Mind". by Robinson on mind and consciousness.  She can express very much with a single sentence.  I don't know how to explain it but it's like high density thought.  Are any of you folks familiar with her?   

The new marriage prep initiative

 The Pope is apparently concerned about a too high divorce rate among couples married in the church.

https://www.ncronline.org/news/vatican/vatican-releases-suggestions-lengthier-revamped-marriage-preparation

But I suspect he is not looking at the data, at least the data in the US. I imagine the divorce rate varies rather significantly in various parts of the world.  In the US, the studies show a very strong correlation between age at marriage + education completed at the time of marriage and the success or failure of the marriage.  Massachusetts consistently ranks #1 or close to it in the percentage of people who complete high school, and the percentage of population who hold college and advanced degrees. The average age at marriage is well above some of the other states - in the late 20s to early 30s.  The divorce rate in Massachusetts is the lowest in the nation - it is also the most secular state, with the lowest percentage of people attending church or identified as religious. The highest rates of divorce are found in the conservative christian bible belt states, and a couple of other (red) states, like Nevada.  Many people marry at young ages there, and fewer complete post-high school education, or even high school itself.   

Francis' conversation with Jesuit Editors

 Francis tends to be very blunt when talking with fellow Jesuits:

Pope Francis in Conversation with the Editors of European Jesuit Journals

On the mission of Jesuit publications:

The Society of Jesus should not be interested in communicating abstract ideas. It is interested, instead, in communicating human experience through ideas and reasoning, through experience. Ideas are to be discussed. Discussion is a good thing, but for me it is not enough. It is human reality that is to be discerned. Discernment is what really counts. The mission of a Jesuit publication cannot be only to discuss, but it must be above all able to help discernment that leads to action.

When you enter the world of ideas alone and move away from reality you end up with what is ridiculous. Ideas are discussed, reality is discerned. Discernment is the charism of the Society. In my opinion, it is the first charism of the Society and it is what the Society must continue to focus on, including in its cultural journals. They must be helpful and promote discernment.

Powerless

...in which the author's poor coping skills manage to transform a brief power outage into a family crisis.

Residing happily behind a wall of ignorance

No matter how well-produced the January 6th hearings are, if the only people who watch them are those who are already convinced that Trump is unworthy to be president, then the Congressional initiative will have failed.

Angels

 There is a good article on the America site by Fr. Jim McDermott, S.J. on angels :  People don’t become angels when they die. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t watching over us. | America Magazine

"Believe it or not, trying to write about angels is actually pretty hard. Most images we have of them—naked babies with wings; dudes with fire swords; a shirtless Patrick Swayze—come not from Scripture but from pop culture across centuries. Take one of the most popular stories about angels, the war in heaven and Satan’s fall. The Book of Revelation in the New Testament describes a war kind of like that, but the description is just three verses long, and it is actually a depiction of a final good-versus-evil war in heaven to come, not a past event. Meanwhile the story of Lucifer’s fall that we all think of probably comes mostly from John Milton’s 1667 epic poem “Paradise Lost.”

Is Francis Planning to Resign? Soon? UPDATED

 A papal death or resignation (and election of a new pope) are big news.  In the case of Francis, his opposition would like to keep his mortality in front of us, to remind us that everything may change, and to discourage bishops, priests and laity from allying themselves with Francis

Pope Francis Fuels New Speculation On Future Of Pontificate

Recent decisions and increased mobility issues are fueling rumors that he might be planning to step down.

UPDATED. Two comments by Francis indicate that he does not see his inability to walk as an impediment.  First, he noted that before Vatican II Popes were carried around on a portable throne. Then he said" To govern requires a mind, not legs!"

My Analysis

Diana Butler Bass - All people ARE God’s people.

Diana Butler Bass on churches and an open table.

https://dianabutlerbass.substack.com/p/sunday-musings-e21?utm_source=email&s=r

"This week, I got in a bit of trouble for a tweet:

ALL PEOPLE ARE GOD’S PEOPLE

The tweet was occasioned by a resolution facing the Episcopal Church at its upcoming national meeting. At issue is the question of open communion (or open table), whether the meal of sharing bread and wine is for only baptized Christians or for anyone wishing to participate. A group of theologians wrote a letter on the question that included this line: “Holy Eucharist is therefore not intended for ‘all people’ without exception, but is rather for ‘God’s people.’”