Violence Begets Violence

Whoever thinks that ISIL can be bombed out of existence should think again. [1]  They seem to be a collection of fighting units that are not just cruel but also intelligent, well-armed and well-organized.  Apparently, there are many capable community organizers who have the power to bring death and destruction to the defenseless.  Until all those who are and will be a part of ISIL are stopped, no mission has been accomplished and no one can claim victory.  Anyone who thinks stopping terrorism is easy is naive.  The bombings in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Libya have proven to be useless.  People have re-grouped and have become much better fighters and adversaries.

Christ was not wrong when He said to love one's enemies [2] for only love can tame the human heart and extinguish the passion for vengeance. [3], [4]


[1] http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/09/27/us-mideast-crisis-idUSKCN0HM06920140927
[2] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+5:43-48
[3] One might ask how can one love an enemy who hates one's beliefs, one's freedoms, one's lifestyle?  In order to answer this question, one must examine one's beliefs, one's freedoms and one's lifestyle and ask: are they in comport with the way Jesus believes, with the way Jesus is free (from the propensity to sin) and with the lifestyle Jesus had chosen to lead?  One might contend that the enemy's laws are inhumane and uncivilized, but just how civilized and humane are the laws of wealthy nations?  Consider the decadence, the abuses, the social diseases, the abortions, the death penalty, the wars, the incessant consumption of natural resources and so on.  The Gospel of Matthew below concludes my point:

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?  How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.  See https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+7:3-5

[4] Here is a homily by Fr. Emmanuel Taylor, O.P. on August 31, 2014, that I came across today (September 28, 2014) that ties in to this entry.  Take a listen:  2014-08-31-StDominics-Homily.mp3 (the relevant part begins at approximately 6:43).

Childhood Lost

In my entry three days ago, I posted this photograph of Syrian refugees [1]:

For some reason, one of the children, perhaps an orphan, stood out and I am not able to erase his image from my mind.  The expression on his face is still speaking to me, and to the world.  I cropped the photograph so he is now front and center:

This child is alone.  He does not know what will happen to him and he does not know what to do.  He does not know if anyone will take care of him or even care if he is thirsty or not, hungry or not, in pain or not, sick or not, dies nor not.  A stranger in a strange land, this child is too young to have skills to survive with ease in surroundings where only the fittest of those with skills will survive.  Nobody is going to care about him when there are over a million other refugees who have to take care of themselves first.

Do you know how heavy his young heart is?  Do you know that he is afraid, that he is worried, that he is sobbing inside and cannot stop, that he misses his mother and father and the rest of his family, that he desperate, and wishes to feel safe, be comforted and feel loved?

Can you see in his eyes that he is reaching out to anyone in the world who will give him a hug, to reassure him that everything will be fine and that he need not be afraid?

Will he ever be able to laugh again with spontaneity, as children normally do?  Will he ever be able to trust people again?  Will he ever be happy again?

Mother Mary, You are the Mother of all, this child needs you just as I need you.  Love him as you have loved me.  I share in a small way his fears and his sorrows but he does not partake in any of my comforts.  Pray that he may endure with fortitude the pains of Your suffering Son and be lifted to Heaven to rejoice in the glory of the resurrected Christ.  Let his heart not be hardened by his sufferings, but grant him the capacity to forgive me for not doing all I can, as well as those responsible for his plight. Amen.



[1] http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/09/1409021-syria--turkey-refugees-islamic-state-pictures-photography/

"The Ugly Truth" -- A Fiction?

Answers.com explains that "[t]he 'ugly truth' is a reality that is [distasteful] or painful to accept, but because it is known to be true, one must accept it."  Since truth follows every person, albeit it is at times denied, its ugliness remains and is a reflection of man's nature which is Sin.  Sins of pride and greed are in the heart of every seeker of power.  There are no exceptions.  The benevolent dictator is a myth.

Of course, each truth has its degree of ugliness.  One may not know the truth before it happens, or even as it is happening, but it is plain for all to recognize with hindsight.  The state of the world today, with regional wars, terrorist acts and refugees on the run are evidence of extreme ugliness.  The ugliness of these events did not arise out of random and fortuitous occurrences: it is the product of certain truths that would be flatly denied by the instigators if they were ever questioned by a tribunal, but before God they will be shown the ugliness of their work that has caused all pains of conflict in the world.  These instigators are excellent organizers.  They grouped together communities of people, conspired with them and solicited accessories who received laundered money for doing their dirty work. Their goal is to dominate the world when nobody before them had been able to do.  They are cunning and calculating, insidious and ruthless megalomaniacs.  They are collectively the picture of Sin.  They are the greedy seekers of power. 

So far, they have failed, and in the process opened up a can of worms they are unable to catch and contain. Bombing is not going to work.  Look what good it did in Iraq and in Afghanistan, and now watch what good will come out of the bombing of Syria.

Who the main megalomaniac culprits behind this mess are is anybody's guess because circumstantial evidence needed to prove anything to any degree of certainty is incomplete.  To be sure, there are a lot of moving pieces spanning almost the entire globe.  However, the modus operandus at the beginning is not new.  It is based on organizing people who are the resourceless, ignorant and envious, then turning them into revolutionaries, similar to the way Mao organized his Red Guards. [1]  The big difference is Mao and the Red Guards were within the Iron Wall of China.  The revolutionary, regime-changing games the instigators started in were in relatively poor and incendiary countries around the world.

Now, they have lost control.  The world is a far more dangerous place today than just four years ago, before the Arabs had their first political "Spring Festival" accompanied by political fireworks.  Unlike the annual Chinese Spring Festival with its traditional fireworks, the Arab political "fireworks" did not ward off evil.  They were brought in by Evil and has spawned more evil.  Satan must be happy.  Its slaves around the world are all doing so well with the cancer of greed and power overtaking their God-given souls.  So sad.

I hope the unfolding ugly truth is pure fiction and so is the hurtling of humanity toward World War III.

May the Lord keep those who seek His protection be loved, and remain safe.  And may the prayers of the rosary go out to all of God's children who seek peace. Amen.



[1] http://www.morningsun.org/living/redguards/redguards.html

A Bit Of Levity - Almost A Miracle

Below are photographs of UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and UN Messenger of Peace Leonardo DiCaprio [1], [2]:

Leonardo DiCaprio's transformation from Caucasian to almost Asian is nearly miraculous.  From a distance, he looks like he could be Ban Ki-Moon's son.  DiCaprio is 39, Moon is 70, per a Google search.  Had Leonardo put on some make-up, dyed his eyebrows, lashes, beard and hair black, and worn dark brown contact lenses, he would be nearly indistinguishable if he were surrounded by a large group Asians.  Perhaps his next movie role could be  Laozi (Lau Tzu) or Kong Fuzi (Confucius).

Their wisdom, memorialized on bamboo slips more or less half a century before Christ, shows that they were not far apart from God Who made them.  Laozi said, "He who defends with love will be secure; Heaven will save him, and protect him with love."  Kong Fuzi said, "Humility is the solid foundation of all virtues."  If all Chinese, Buddhist and non-Buddhist, Christian and non-Christian, Muslim and non-Muslim, religious and non-religious alike live by these words of wisdom from their forefathers, they would be close to God.  Sadly, many do not.  Money has become their idol and greed their hobby.  Far from their minds and hearts are these other words from Laozi: "Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you."  And "There is no calamity greater than lavish desires.  There is no greater guilt than discontent.  And there is no greater disaster than greed."


[1] http://www.magazinespain.com/dicaprio-con-nueva-imagen-embajador-de-naciones-unidas/
[2] http://www.rappler.com/science-nature/environment/69765-leonardo-dicaprio-climate-change-united-nations

The Mightless Versus The Mighty

The mightless can kill because killing is cheap to do.  The killings ISIS have done are heinous and barbaric. The mighty can kill too, and they can kill more and faster in a single moment that the mightless, and they can kill with sophisticated and expensive weapons.  Such killing are no less heinous and barbaric.  The result is about the same.  People are dead, and over time, more of the same kinds of killings will be repeated and more will be dead. [1]  The never-ending war between Israel and its neighbor is a testament to this fact [2].  The growing war between ISIS with all its cells around the world and the west is not much different.

In a time like this, one would hope for a superhero, a Superman coming alive from the comics but without a double life as Clark Kent for if he did have one, he would most certainly be criticized for wasting time as a bumbling reporter and not saving every single life from every peril around the world.

The invincible human, if one exists, is by definition invincible but invincibility is nothing compared to an ability to convince the conquered to obey him.  By analogy, a powerful one who can and kills all his enemies without being killed is a weak idiot compared to a powerful one who can convince all his enemies to agree with him and do as he directs.  The most powerful, of course, is one who is determined to convince his enemies to love him and one another so he can be at peace.

That "one" of course is Jesus, the Son of God, separate and indivisible from the Father and the Holy Spirit.  He had all the power but never used it to kill.  Instead, He used it to heal.  By His love for all and His death on the cross, plus a few miracles here and there, Jesus had been able to convert people, from non-believers to believers, Jews and Gentiles alike, but not all of them.  He had enemies and He still has them today with the pretenders (hypocrites), secularists and satanists being the most offensive.

One might contend that if the most powerful is unable to subdue all his enemies, then he must not be the most powerful.  This contention was addressed in third paragraph above.  To state it another way, a subdued enemy, obviously by force, is an enemy who is constantly plotting and waiting for vengeance.  That is human nature.  An enemy that has changed his mind to love rather than kill because he is loved, his family is loved, his friends are loved will be a loyal kin.  That also is human nature.

A victor who wants to free himself from the fear of vengeance and an army of bodyguards who surrounds him and his loved ones constantly would want his enemies to be loyal kins, not ones he has to look over his shoulder constantly.

To achieve peace of mind and peace on earth is to follow Christ's lead, the only path to peace among men for the mighty as well as the mightless.


[1] The Japanese have never expressed remorse over their heinous and barbaric acts in Korea and China.  See Kirk Spitzer article in Time magazine dated December 11, 2012, at http://nation.time.com/2012/12/11/why-japan-is-still-not-sorry-enough/.  A confrontation between between Japan and China and Japan and Korea is simmering below the surface.  Both Japan and China are separately wooing India to become its ally based on economic ties (citations omitted).  Japan thinks it has the backing of the United States based on a treaty but it was signed before anyone could foresee China becoming an economic behemoth which it has and the globalization of trade that has tied United States and China together so much so that if China is slain economically, the United States and the world economies could be limping for quite some time.  Nobody in the right mind wants this to happen.  Japan, in truth, is a thankless military liability for the United States.  As both China and South Korea grow in technological advancement, productivity and output, a relatively small Japan could very well become a "has-been" even though it will remain an environmental leader in terms of food consumption by convincing the world to save energy by consuming raw protein (my favorite is hamachi).  If it is successful, the French can eliminate "gastronomie" from their dictionaries and their culture and the Chinese can throw out their woks!  Even as Japan becomes less and less significant relative to China and South Korea combined, it would be, in my opinion, well worth China and Korea to forgive Japan for its past transgressions, however brutal and inhumane, and make Japan a loyal kin rather than an enemy that is looking to attack in some form and at some time, since both new golden newcomers, China and South Korea, may lose their luster at some future point and the world's positive sentiments toward them may revert to Japan, tipping the ever so precarious scale of power back toward it.  Remember that it is humility of Christ that endears one to others while pride and arrogance of the Fallen Angel distances one from them.  Sadly, reality usually tells a different story.  Even if most successes arise from humble beginnings, pride and arrogance are often offspring of successes.  China has come full circle: it was once imperialistic, became overly arrogant to be watchful of its enemies, came under attack, became communistic and poor, and now has grown rich again, possibly but hopefully not proud and arrogant again, to remain on its not-so-merry-go-round.
[2] It is ironic that many of today's innocent non-Jews are victims of the "so-called" Jewish holocaust victims whose indiscriminate killings are no less justified than those killings during the holocaust. 

How Long Must The World Tolerate This?

Photographs by John Stanmeyer for National Geographic in an article dated September 21, 2014 [1]:

The look of desperation in the faces of adult refugees, of fear and sadness in the faces of their children, revealing the weight of their concern, and their nearly unbearable levels of stress from worrying about what would become of their lives now that they have fled their homes in Syria, a country where they had lived with relative peace and stability under the rule of President Assad, will be one of many images those in power who advocated for and facilitated a regime change in Syria will face before their final judgment.  Will they be forgiven so they can enjoy an eternity of bliss in Heaven alongside these and other similarly situated refugees, young, middle-aged and old whose lives they have directly or indirectly terminated, both literally and figuratively?  Based on what will they be forgiven?  God's unconditional love for their arrogance, their zeal for power, their ignorance, their so-called self-righteousness?  Can God forgive anyone who uses or abuses his life to do the work of Satan who feels no remorse, who does not ask his neighbors (all those who are suffering because of his decisions and actions and/or inactions) and Christ (for torturing Him again) for forgiveness?  And all a sitting president thinks he can do to remediate his prior wrongs is to drop more bombs, kill more people, create more refugees and torture Christ more and longer?  How many more leaders of this kind will people elect and re-elect?  How many more people who aspire to having a seat at the pinnacles of power are slaves of Satan?  Are all political aspirants (defined broadly and inclusive of those in the hierarchy of each and every  religious organization) slaves of Satan?  I can only shudder at the thought.

My advice to those who are in any way responsible for this unfolding human tragedy is to repent, and seek forgiveness from over a million refugees [2] by allaying their fears and anxieties, and by offering them safety, a place and resources to rebuild their lives, not by further aggression fueled by blind arrogance, thereby reinvigorating the cycle of vengeance, resulting in more suffering, more deaths and more destruction. 

Seeking forgiveness and repentance are not likely going to happen any time soon, at least not according to my expectations.  Meanwhile, I urge all to pray for those who are suffering, and  for those among us who are weak against the temptations of Satan, especially those in positions of power who reject or merely pay lip-service to God and care less about the lessons of Jesus and the meaning of the crucifixion of Christ on the cross of salvation so that they may wake up quickly from their Satanic spell, repent and follow God.


[1] http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/09/1409021-syria--turkey-refugees-islamic-state-pictures-photography/
[2] "Turkey has received more than 1.2 million Syrian refugees since the beginning of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, which erupted in spring 2011 and quickly morphed into a vicious civil war that spawned multiple extremist groups, including the Islamic State."  Ibid.

Is Snowden A Saint Or A Demon?

He needs no introduction.  Both a saint and a demon, Edward Snowden is 31 years old [1].  He has received gifts of exceptional brilliance, articulacy, courage and pretty teeth that give him his boyish smile.  Gifts such as these come with concurrent burdens and two of Mr. Snowden's biggest are making people around the world aware that their expectation of privacy has been taken away and urging the world community to restore it.  Whether Mr. Snowden is deemed a saint or a demon would depend on which side one is on, the freedom lovers' or the freedom takers'.

A fortuitous finding of an article on Catholic Online reporting on a system that can record every telephone call in an entire nation is surprising [2].  Why would a Catholic website report on a subject that has nothing to do with Christianity?  Would TED not be an appropriate, if not the ideal forum to address such topics?  I believe it is and it had done so [3].

On second thought, perhaps it is possible that the expectation of privacy and the lack of it have origins in the Garden of Eden and therefore they are appropriate topics for a Catholic website.

More thinking has led me to conclude that it is not only possible but also natural for Adam and Eve to have hoped that God would not find out that they had eaten the Forbidden Apple.  Their hope is equivalent to an expectation of privacy.  Their expectation was not fulfilled since God is omniscient.

Nothing escapes God--God knows everything.  It is therefore ironic that Adam and Eve, who expected privacy, had eaten the Forbidden Apple in order that they could be just like God and know everything, and in the process destroyed the very expectation of privacy they desired.

Millennia later, descendants of Adam and Eve in certain organizations are still trying to be  God.  They want to be omniscient and omnipotent.  For these people, Edward Snowden is a demon for he is standing in their way, thwarting their plan to obtain the knowledge they want and the power they crave.  For those who wish to live like God rather than be  God, Edward Snowden is a saint for he is thinking of ways to give everyone a respectable degree of privacy, just as God has complete privacy over certain knowledge that is to be respected, that earthlings do not know and need not know and that would be harmful for them to know.



[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Snowden
[2] http://www.catholic.org/news/politics/story.php?id=54610  Mute the speakers after clicking on the link.  The advertisements are annoying.
[3] http://www.ted.com/talks/edward_snowden_here_s_how_we_take_back_the_internet/transcript?language=en

Psalm 117 - Laudate Domimum

This entry repeats a previous with a relatively new music video upload (January 2014) and a different citation for the words.

The words [1]:  

1 Laudate Dominum omnes gentes laudate eum omnes populi 1 O praise the Lord, all ye nations: praise him, all ye people. 2 Quoniam confirmata est super nos misericordia eius et veritas Domini manet in saeculum 2 For his mercy is confirmed upon us: and the truth of the Lord remaineth for ever.

The music:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKiwVVWXPtI [2], [3], [4]



[1] http://medievalist.net/psalmstxt/ps116.htm
[2] A 2008 performance by Genia Kühmeier with the Vienna Philharmonic under the direction of Karel Mark Chichon together with the Vienna Boys' Choir.
[3] For some reason, it is necessary to maximize the volume on both the laptop and Youtube to reach normal listening levels on this upload.
[4] One person commented on a performance by Lucia Popp: "A fine performance by Lucia, though the chorus hammers some of the notes too hard for my taste. Too bad Kühmeier's performance got deleted from YT recently. Now that was something truly special."  Luckily, someone else with a standard Youtube license replaced the deleted upload.  It is worth a listen.

Perfect Contrition

"'Perfect contrition. Sorrow for sin arising from perfect love. In perfect contrition the sinner detests sin more than any other evil, because it offends God, who is supremely good and deserving of all human love. Its motive is founded on God's own goodness and not merely his goodness to the sinner or to humanity. This motive, and not the intensity of the act, less still the feelings experienced, is what essentially constitutes perfect sorrow.'" [1]

In other words, contrition is not about seeking God's forgiveness of one's trespasses, seeking the forgiveness from those whom one has trespassed or fearing an eternity in Hell, but rather having regret and feeling pain and sorrow by continuing to sin and in the process offending Christ Who died for our sins by re-opening the wounds around His head punctured by the crown of thorns and all over His body torn apart by sharp metal hooks when He was scourged at the pillar, in his hands and feet by nails pounded into them and at the side pierced by a sword.  Knowing that one's sinful conduct is hurting Christ Who yearns always for one's love is the first step toward contrition.  Feeling regret, having pain and sorrow from seeing Christ suffer again because of one's sinful and hurtful conduct is the second.  Resolving not to sin again and praying for assistance to carry out such a resolve is the final step and perfects it. 


[1] http://www.ewtn.com/vexperts/showmessage_print.asp?number=370862

The Community Of Aramaic Speakers

The city of Ma'loula is ensconced in the mountains of Syria.  The people who lived there peacefully spoke the language of Jesus, Aramaic.  A BBC video on Youtube is a good introduction [1] even though I disagree with the reporter's conclusion that the Aramaic language might not have a future in Ma'loula.

Due to the abuse of power by a handful of powerful but ignorant and arrogant people who wanted Assad out of Syria, by introducing Arab Spring into that country, Ma'loula is now in ruins [2].  Islamic extremists had recently forced Aramaic speakers in Ma'loula to convert to Islam as their only alternative to staying alive [3].  Whoever decided to order military action against the regime of Assad in Syria would probably rot in Hell, joining those who ordered military action against Saddam Hussein in Iraq.

The turmoil in the Mideast is going to spread beyond the region, as if it has not already, as Satan laughs out loud in Hell.  Could this possibly be an image [4], [5], [6], [7], [8] of one of Satan's best slaves [9] or was it just a coincidence or a cruel joke? 



[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=foZJYDNUbm8
[2] http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/security/2014/05/syria-maaloula-damage-christian-sites.html#
[3] http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/09/syria-islamists-maaloula-threat-religious-coexistence.html#
[4] http://www.westernjournalism.com/drudge-report-finds-something-devilish-obamas-appearance-wednesday-night/
[5] http://www.nowtheendbegins.com/blog/?p=24907
[6] http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/warren-cool-president-obama-tells-nation-
isis-defeated-article-1.1935776
[7] http://www.businessinsider.com/obams-speech-isis-full-text-video-2014-9
[8] http://www.nationalreview.com/article/387677/obamas-isis-speech-tom-rogan
[9] A best slave of Satan paves the way for other slaves of Satan to do the torturous and barbaric work such as water boarding, eye-gouging and decapitation.

Wealth - A Visual

What does wealth look like?  Think of something amorphous, like an amoeba, that has 7-meter/23-feet pythons [1] protruding from its body.  Here is a SEM (scanning electron micrograph) of an amoeba [2] that looks something like the imaginary wealth monster:

With each tentacle being a snake that constricts around its prey and asphyxiates it, the wealth monster engulfs the person who is responsible for his own wealth, or that of another as a fiduciary with scruples, and becomes the prey that is being suffocated by each python's intense pressure coiled around him.  Every python-tentacle represents an asset that needs to be protected from all sorts of economic risks and legal contingencies and within the bounds of the law, from every kind of taxation that can vary with the person or persons and entity or entities owning it depending on how many countries have jurisdiction over both the owners and the asset itself.

To free oneself from the choking pressure of wealth and its preservation is to step away, but stepping away from wealth may not be so easy especially if one's responsibility is to preserve the assets to serve those who have no money and no power, so they may have some semblance of life deserving of its basic dignities they otherwise would not have, being robbed clean by the relentless exploitations by a globalized economy blinded by greedy ambitions that serve those well-educated, well-heeled and well-connected, leaving many of the humble and non-combative, the shy and vulnerable behind, the very people whom God has entrusted to those who are more capable and more fortunate to provide assistance, encouragement and love.


[1] http://www.ehow.com/list_6152033_characteristics-python-snake_.html
[2] http://fineartamerica.com/featured/amoeba-sem-steve-gschmeissner.html

Running In Circles

Olympic runners, skaters and cyclists compete to see who is the fastest by going round and round.  Like the athletes, the human race also goes round and round the wheel of life to get ahead in successive generations.  The earth may be round, but God does not intend for people to run in circles.  However, run around they do but most do not actually arrive.  The destination is Heaven on earth.  How many people can say that they are living life on earth as it is in Heaven? [1]


[1] Even though nobody has ever lived in Heaven or in Hell, on certain occasions, English-speaking people have described life as "a living hell" and have wished or threatened to make somebody's life "a living hell" on the one hand, and have said, "I feel like I'm in heaven" on the other.  These sayings exist because all people, English-speaking or otherwise, "know" deep down in their hearts what Heaven can be like and what is Hell.

The Infidels

Merriam-Webster defines infidel as "a person who does not believe in a religion that someone regards as the true religion" and continues to define it further as "one who is not a Christian or who opposes Christianity," [1] which is ironic since the Muslim extremists are the ones who are calling non-Muslims infidels.  Two other dictionaries concur.

Dictionary.com defines infidel as follows:

Religion.

1. a person who does not accept a particular faith, especially Christianity.
2. (in Christian use) an unbeliever, especially a Muslim.
3. (in Muslim use) a person who does not accept the Islamic faith; kaffir. [2]

The first definition of infidel given by The Free Dictionary by Farlex is "[a]n unbeliever with respect to a particular religion, especially Christianity or Islam." [3]

If Muslims are infidels according to Christians and Christians are infidels according to Muslims, then the two sides will theoretically never see eye to eye but that is not true.  In Iraq, before Saddam Hussein was killed, and in Syria, before the Arab Spring, Christians and Muslims were living in peace.  Unfortunately, certain powerful, zealous leaders acted without knowledge [4] and wisdom and made a mess, bringing death and suffering to God's children to the delight of Satan.

They are the true infidels, religious hypocrites who practice religion for show, religion hijackers who pay lip-service to religion, unbelievers in God who do not act in accordance with the Will of God, power-hungry Satanites who are pawns of Satan, disasters of the human race who will bring disaster to the human race.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

[1] http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/infidel
[2] http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/infidel
[3] http://www.thefreedictionary.com/infidel
[4] "Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the government's purposes are beneficent. Men born to freedom are naturally alert to repel invasion of their liberty by evil-minded rulers. The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding." (Emphasis original.)  See http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Louis_Brandeis under "Judicial opinions" and scroll down.

Recognize This Face?

See http://www.thecatholictravelguide.com/ManopelloItalyVeronicasVeil.html

Annoying Little Games

I thought I had reached a point where my life is sufficiently lived in solitude, even when I am in the midst of others, that people would know not approach me and play their little annoying games, but on occasion they do.  Some of these people can be tenacious, mistaking my kindness and courtesy for meekness.  They cannot be more wrong for I, too, am man, who wears Adam's permanent badge of Sin.  However well-concealed it might be, its ugliness is percolating just below the surface.  The rest of me is only a façade.  Those who desire a degree closeness eventually realize that I am not available to cater to their needs, seeing that I would walk away and concentrate on matters other than their advances, but some just do not get it and approach repeatedly.  Both men and women have done this.  Just recently a woman whose actions so irritated me that I lost my patience and my manners.  I conducted myself rudely to convey to her non-verbally [1] but clearly that she had lost my respect and that she did not interest me in the least.  Her boyfriend whom I have known for years is an acquaintance of mine.  A saint would most certainly have exited the situation with tact when so confronted.  I am not a saint and do not know the proper etiquette.  If anyone knows, please share your knowledge.  I am here to learn.


[1] I did not use words for words will only lead to more words, a defect that is well-proven by this blog.

What Is Success?

For some people [1], success means having a job that makes good money, a spacious home in a safe neighborhood, a car or two, a nice family.  For a handful of others, it means making an extraordinary amount of money, having multiple multimillion dollar homes, expensive cars, private jets, being recognized, having power.  None of this "success" Jesus wanted, even when Satan was willing to give Him "all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor" if Jesus would do only two simple things that do not even break a sweat: bow down and worship Satan. [2]

What success meant to the Son of God, the new Adam, was the rejection of Satan and all  of Its temptations.  Success was complete when Jesus died sinless on the cross to save the sinful.  Man, the descendant of the original Adam, believes that success is complete when he is on top, ruling over "all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor." [3]  He works to achieve this success not by his own demise but by the demise of all who oppose him. [4]

Man cannot be more wrong in defining his success, which is why loving unconditionally and being loved unconditionally are never mentioned as part of a success story, even when being loved unconditionally is what man desires most for himself and loving unconditionally is what God desires most from man.



[1] People referred to in this entry are regular people, not saints.
[2] https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew+4:1-11
[3] Ibid.
[4] This applies on the battlefield, in the marketplace and on the political front.