Love to the end

This is my homily for yesterday, Good Friday.  The Good Friday readings are here.  

Btw, the incident about the Virginia family I describe in the homily, I first learned about on the old dotCommonweal blog - it was something Fr. Joe Komonchak had posted about.  It came to mind when I was sweating out the composition of this homily, and I was able to find news stories about the incident on Google.  (I am fairly sure that Christian preaching existed prior to the advent of Google, but I don't know how preachers possibly could have done it.  Perhaps their homilies were considerably shorter, back in those ancient times.)

Here is the homily:

Holy Week Musings

Our parish had their Holy Thursday Mass last night.  We had Communion under both kinds for the first time since 2019.  We had done it seldom prior to that; only on Holy Thursday and for weddings (just the bride and groom). And then 2020 was Covid, which continued into 2021 and beyond.  I think it was a good Mass, I was one of the EMHCs for the cup, which always makes me nervous, because I am afraid I will spill the Precious Blood.  But I didn't.  The priest encouraged everyone who wanted to, to receive from the cup, and more than half of them did.  I heard a lot of positive comments. Maybe now we can do it more often.  The other two parishes in town have it at least once a month. Supposedly we're all under the same management now.

Holy Thursday is a not a holy day of obligation, but the church was pretty much full.  The people in attendance were there because they wanted to be, which is a good sign. It was solemn but also joyful. We had incense, which I like, but it was way too much, the Cloud of Unknowing.  Yes, you can overdo a good thing.

Today is Good Friday, which I always have trouble getting a proper attitude for.  I guess finding it uncomfortable and disturbing is the way it's supposed to be. But I'm always glad when it's over.

A One State Solution?

An idea floating around, or maybe it's just a thought experiment, is the idea of a one-state solution for the Israelis and Palestinians. I came across an interesting article this morning:

A One-State Solution Could Transform the World - CounterPunch.org

"Probably fewer ideas are treated with more contempt in today’s world than . . .  a one-state solution for Palestine and Israel, with,.... every resident equally valued, equally free. My reply to the cynics is this: We will not enter the future with closed minds. We will not find security — we will not evolve — if we choose to remain subservient to linear, us-vs.-them thinking."

Quick thought on a Trump candidate succession plan

As both major parties are fielding presidential candidates who already exceed the expected life span for American males, it doesn't seem blameworthy for a voter to wonder what happens when a candidate dies.  This Vox article from 2020 tries to explore the permutations, of which there are several (e.g. what if the candidate dies before the election but after ballots are printed; what if s/he dies after the election but before the electoral college voting; and so on).  The short answer seems to be: most likely, the vice presidential candidate would become the presidential candidate.

But in case Donald Trump dies before or immediately after the November election (not that I wish such a thing to happen - truly), I don't assume that his VP pick, whoever that will be, would emerge as the successor candidate.  Allowing the VP to ascend to the top of the ticket would be the old way of doing party business.  The new, Donald Trump way is: the party does whatever Donald Trump or his organization wants the party to do.  I think it's quite possible that the new GOP would find a way to announce that Donald Trump Jr. is its new standard bearer.   

The Technological Evolution of the Music Industry in Recent Decades

 Statista provides not only a link to its charts, but also allows you to imbed the chart in your post, as I am doing today. Once simply switches into HTML, at the extreme left of your post options, then paste the code that they give you and then switch back to normal posting, and their chart appears in the post as below.

 You will find more infographics at Statista

Election report: yesterday's desultory Illinois primary

The Illinois primary election took place yesterday.  I served as an election judge in our local precinct.   I'd like to share an observation regarding people's passion - or lack thereof.

Obesity in USA and around world

 
STATISTA is a Swedish firm that claims it is empowering people with data, insights and facts across 170 industries and 150+ countries.

At a hefty price of $199 month, billed annually which sounds like you have to have a yearly subscription. A starter account gets:

Immediate access to 1m+ statistics

Download as XLS, PNG, PDF & PPT

Complete source information including background details

If that does not get you enough there is a personal account for $549, again billed annually which give you access to all reports.

HOWEVER, they do have a Basic Account for FREE. I started mine on February 26th. You get a daily email with some starter statistics; usually a very brief article not larger than our posts with a graphic. 

March 4 World Obesity Day Infographics

The Deer's Cry

Happy St. Patrick's Day!  

Since it falls on a Sunday, liturgically speaking, the 5th Sunday of Lent takes precedence.  But whether you're Irish, or just Irish for a day, we remember St. Patrick today.

I have always liked the Prayer of St. Patrick, sometimes called the Lorica.  It may or may not have actually been composed by St. Patrick (most likely not) but is attributed to him. Another name given to it is The Deer's Cry.  I wondered why it would be called that, and it turns out that it is based on a story about St. Patrick The Lorica of St. Patrick (ancienttexts.org:

Total Solar Eclipse near me

I might be able to make a five hour drive to see the 8 April total solar eclipse. It will go through Erie PA, ROchester NY, and Burlington VT. The HoJo motel in Erie will rent the night of 7 April for $800. If it rains,you're sunk. There are other options I'm considering like going to some version of Possum S**t, Ohio. Right now,seeing an eclipse is the only thing on my bucket list. Next US eclipse, I'll be 95 if I make it and who knows what shape. Otherwise,I'd have to spend a fortune to go somewhere else on Earth. Wish me luck.

God, mighty and merciful

This is my homily for today, the 4th Sunday in Lent, Cycle B.  Please note: for parishes with OCIA candidates, this is a Scrutiny Sunday, and the readings for Cycle A may be used.  For those parishes, today's Gospel reading would be the story of the man born blind.  But our parish, even though we have a pretty big OCIA group this year, is using the appointed readings for Cycle B this year.  So the readings upon which this homily is based are here.

Cardinal Schönborn: German Synodal Path must avoid schism

In an interview earlier this year with the theological website COMMUNIO, Cardinal Christoph Schönborn of Vienna was candid in warning that German bishops are at risk of leading their people into schism with Rome.

Religious freedom under fire at the border

There was a good article yesterday on the America Media site by Kevin Clarke about the targeting of Catholic Charities ministry to migrants by Texas Attorney General, Ken Paxton. 

Catholic charities and religious freedom are under fire at the border | America Magazine

Paxton has sued an El Paso shelter, Annunciation House, which is run by Catholic Charities, and has been in existence for over 20 years. 

From the article: