All in

This is my homily for today, the 26th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Cycle B.  The readings for today are here.  I just want to say a quick word of thanks to Gene Palumbo, who has gone way out of his way to give me at least some very rudimentary knowledge of El Salvador, its awful civil war and the martyrs it created - and then also provided some fact-checking and editorial corrections to the homily text.  I apologize to Gene and to all of you if I've made any factual errors in what follows.

Finding Peace Through Nature

The current issue of the St. Anthony Messenger, which I subscribe to, had an article entitled Nature's Cathedrals, by Barbara Hughes.  It spoke to me as an antidote to the current toxic overload of dysfunctional politics, be it on the national scene, or ecclesial. Unfortunately it is behind a pay wall, and I can't link to it. But I will quote from the relevant parts:

Another Vigano letter

Archbishop Vigano fired another shot across Pope Francis's bow yesterday, releasing another letter with one or two new details and some additional charges.  Rod Dreher has provided the text in English.  This letter is considerably shorter than the first one, but if you don't want to read the whole thing, Crux highlights the parts sure to stir controversy.   Among them:

Ragnarok

Yesterday's Judiciary Committee hearing was Wagnerian in length and intensity--I watched it gavel-to-gavel--and the ending was similar: Ragnarok, or the twilight of American political culture.

American political culture has been in decline for decades. I watched the Anita Hill hearings, at which senators were merely disdainful or dismissive about nuisance comments made by Clarence Thomas to female co-workers. Yesterday's hearing was a display of unbridled rage at one woman, Sen. Diane Feinstein, and complete disregard for the testimony of a sexual assault victim, Dr. Christine Blasey Ford.

Sen. Jeff Flake's one-minute call for a return to civility seemed almost laughable in the midst of yesterday's awfulness. And it rings hollow given Flake's support for Kavanaugh. UPDATE: Flake called for a one-week delay for an FBI investigation, which seems to be where things are going, though Trump will have to order the investigation, so who knows?

Ten things that made me ashamed of American politics at yesterday's hearing:

Kavanaugh predictions, prognostications, and observations

Kavanaugh/Ford hearings will be covered live at 10 a.m. tomorrow on PBS. Assuming you're not totally burned out by all this stuff, where will you be watching?

Anybody want to make predictions about what will transpire as the Judiciary Committee questions Ford and Kavanaugh?

Anybody want to comment on the proceedings in real time? Feel free to do it here.

If it's another really nice fall day, I'm not sure if I'll be in front of the tube or sitting in my lawn chair watching the squirrels. Or maybe I'll find it streaming online and watch it on my tablet in my lawn chair with the squirrels doing commentary.

So far, Jeff Flake (R-Arizona) had the pithiest comment on this whole debacle:

Up or down, yes or no, however this vote goes, I am confident in saying that it will forever be steeped in doubt. This doubt is the only thing of which I am confident in this process.

His speech in the Senate is worth reading.

Are you a Democratic Socialist? Is Francis? Are Catholics?

I'm a sucker for quizzes like this one, even if they have nothing to do with politics, religion or Catholic Social Teaching.  But this one, as it happens, does.  My conclusion is that Catholic Social Teaching is the Democratic Socialist platform.  What do you think?

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/09/22/us/politics/what-is-democratic-socialism.html?em_pos=small&emc=edit_up_20180924&nl=upshot&nl_art=3&nlid=87407961emc%3Dedit_up_20180924&ref=headline&te=1

Upside down car

Sorry about the poor quality of that picture.  I took it with my cell phone a few minutes ago.  It's late on Sunday evening.  I was sitting at my computer here in my home office at about 11:15 pm when I heard a series of loud thumps and smacks outside.