A request

I ask all of my readers to pray for me, through the intercession of our Blessed Mother, by means of the Angelus, which is our traditio this week, albeit a day early, as I am departing tomorrow, that what I have to say to my sisters and brothers, my fellow celini, in Seattle this weekend will be beneficial and effacacious for them, for me, for the Movement, the furthering of the charism in which share, the one given by God to Luigi Giussani, which is always at the service of the church. Also, I humbly implore your prayers for my lovely and very pregnant wife, who is not due for another few weeks, that all be well the two days I am gone. Please pray, too, for our CL community here in SLC, our little School of Community. I also want to invite those in my vicinity who might be interested to come to see on Wednesday evening, at the Cathedral, at 6:30 PM. Finally, please pray in the same way for my brother deacons here in the Diocese of Salt Lake City who will be on retreat this weekend with Bishop Wester as their retreat master.

I request your prayers to commence at 6:00 PM this evening and carry over to 6:00 AM, Noon, and 6:00 PM tomorrow. Please continue the cycle at least through Saturday, though that is what we should be doing everyday, except during Easter, during which time we pray the Regina Coeli instead of the Angelus. I don't make such a specific request in order to give anybody a complex that leads to spiritual neurosis. Please, do not be neurotic about it! If you miss a time, when you realize you missed it, just pray then and get back on track! In this way the practice can be microcosm of our lives with God. I'll spare you the Footprints in the Sand quote, but you know what I mean. God is good because Deus caritas est and I am grateful that you would spend time praying for me anytime!

Angelus

The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary:
And she conceived of the Holy Spirit.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of
our death. Amen.

Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of
our death. Amen.

And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of
our death. Amen.
Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray:

Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord.

Amen.

The Angelus reminds us of the fact of the Incarnation. It is no myth, no fanciful story, but a fact that determines the world. This is articulated beautifully by His Excellency, the Most Rev. Filippo Santoro, Bishop of Petrópolis, Brazil, in an intervention at the Synod of Bishops, which is convened now in Rome and discussing sacred scripture and for which I give a deep diaconal bow to Fred who brought this to my attention, writing over on Is It Possible?:

"The Word of God is a fact: it is the person of Jesus Christ whom the Apostles met as he walked along the shore of the Sea of Galilee and whom the Church proclaims as one who can be met today in the paths of our life.

"There is a challenge that this announcement has to overcome; the challenge is above all anthropological. And that is does this fact show it is able to overcome space and time as something that does not fade away, that does not wear out and answers the desires of a man’s heart in a unique and singular way. Experience shows that things sparkle then fade with time: the Ancient Greek poet Mimnermus said 'like the leaves that germinate spring' and along with him Arnault, Leopardi and the literature of all times. The ego also fades and what fascinated us loses its value with time, it is consumed or it no longer attracts us. The big question, which cannot be denied even by contemporary culture, is: does something exist that can fully realizes the needs of our hearts and that lasts in time, forever."

To which the answer is YES, a million times YES, the one who did not deem equality with God something to be held onto- Jesus the Christ, born of the Virgin Mary!

What happens when reason is divorced from faith

Angelo Matera, writing over on Godspy, contributes another deeply insightful article, Alan Greenspan, Ayn Rand, and the Libertarian God that Failed. A deep diaconal bow to Sharon over at Clarity Daily for bringing this to my attention. Matera cites a New York Times article The Reckoning: Taking a Hard Look at the Greenspan Legacy, by Peter Goodman, which I also recommend. I like Matera's article because he cuts right to the chase:

"I’d always wondered how a rigid anti-government libertarian ideologue like Greenspan—an Ayn Rand disciple, no less—managed to get appointed to the most powerful economic post in the world. If he had been running the Food and Drug Administration, he would have been exposed within a few months, as soon as the first deaths caused by lax food inspection started happening. But the byzantine complexities of global finance, and the fact that Ponzi Schemes can run for a long time before collapsing, meant Greenspan could reign for twenty years before the effects of his blindness would be seen in today’s financial meltdown."

In a spirit of bi-partisan fairness, Greenspan hornswoggled (I've been waiting to use that word for a long time) Democrats and Republicans, presidents, senators, and members of the House.

The lackluster debate

It's not often that I agree with Matt Drudge, but last night's debate was boring. This is probably good news for Sen. Obama's campaign because the town hall-style format does not play to his strength. At least Sen. McCain reclaimed Never again! by applying it once again to genocide, not applying it, as did his running mate, to the Wall Street credit meltdown. He also seemed somewhat affable, even towards Sen. Obama, who he clearly dislikes, perhaps even more than he dislikes Gov. Romney

I found the idea, floated by McCain, referring to the plan set forth by economist Glenn Hubbard, Dean of the Columbia University Business School, and former chairman of the President's Council of Economic advisers during the first two years of the current administration, interesting. The plan is to have the government actually buy mortgages and renegotiate the terms with homeowners. Such a plan would have been cheaper and would have dealt directly with the problem that caused the meltdown. You can get a sketch of the Hubbard Plan, which is far superior to the Paulson Plan, over on the blog Caveat Bettor, entitled Glenn Hubbard's $340 billion rescue alternative.

It is bizarre that McCain would now express support for this plan, first made public before the Paulson bailout was passed, which bailout he supported. We've committed $700 billion, that is a done deal. I do not get why do we need two solutions to one problem, especially at the additional cost of $340 billion. Decisiveness is a key to good leadership. Once you pick a plan, you're stuck with it. So, choose wisely, but only after looking at alternatives. You can't govern using 20/20 hindsight. You can learn from past mistakes, but you cannot undo what you have done.

Lighten up Francis- Now over to CATHOLIC AND ENJOYING IT, but not before a deep diaconal bow to my friend Alex.

An exceptionally painful encounter

I have a lot of pastoral encounters. It is normally prudent not to write about them. A week ago last Sunday, after the 6:00 PM Mass, my third of the day, as I was preaching that weekend, I was going into the rectory of the Cathedral, feeling relieved that I was done for the day, when a woman said- "Deacon, deacon, wait a minute". So, I stopped, holding the door as she motioned with her hand to somebody I could not see. A second later a very young woman, holding a baby seat turned the corner. The older woman asked, "Do you have a minute?" I answered that I did. They followed me into the dining room. I was still vested in alb, stole, and dalmatic, all indicative of my sacramental office of service.

As we sat down, I removed the blanket that covered the baby seat, to see a very little, brand new, baby boy. I was asked to give little Anthony, who was a month old, a blessing, which I gladly did. The young mother was an eighteen year-old, very innocent-looking, Native American woman. She did not speak except to give me her son's name and answer yes, no, or I don't know to some questions I asked. I found out from the older women that they were both living at a local homeless shelter. The older woman worked and paid all of her money to send her two school-age sons to a local Catholic school. She had befriended the young woman because the young mother and her son appeared so vulnerable and alone. They had come to Mass, even though the young mother is not Catholic.

We had a discussion about some things and they were off. They were so thankful to me for simply imparting my blessing, which, at least to them, was Christ's blessing, but I felt powerless and useless. I walked them to the door, bid them farewell, urging the young woman to keep an appointment. I removed my vestments feeling emotionally paralyzed. I walked up the stairs, entered the hallway that leads to my office, and there became overwhelmed. Due to some issues I have, my emotional responses are almost always delayed. For example, when a very close friend died after high school I had no emotional reaction until months after his death, when I was in the vicinity of where he had worked and thought about dropping by see him. Only then did I realize I would never see him again. Finally, I grieved for him sitting on a bench in a mall. So, without thinking, or having time to get a grip, I felt tears streaming down my face and found myself on my knees. It became clear to me in that moment that I had just had an encounter, an exceptional encounter. Nonetheless, there was nothing romantic or sweet about it. I was scared for Anthony and for his young mother, terrified for them. I am still. I have thought about them everyday. I have not seen them since. I also think of her older companion, who had adopted this young woman, looked after her, brought her to Mass, to Jesus, as a refuge. There is nothing supernatural here, it is all existential, experiential, which makes it real in a way I would prefer it not to be.

Needed: Leadership, or a good film

Wise words from a wise woman, Anne Applebaum, writing in the Washington Post about Palin's Imaginary Washington. By her reckoning, as a native Washingtonian, "small-town Republicans have figured among the most powerful and most prominent Washington politicians for much of the past decade". What has been the result of this?

"Washington, however stuffy it may once have been, is no longer in need of 'a little bit of reality from Wasilla Main Street.' Washington is in need of expertise, management experience, long-term thinking and more political courage -- from wherever in the country it happens to come. More to the point, Washington needs people who think like national politicians and not like spokesmen for the local business executives who fill their reelection coffers and the local party hacks who plan their campaigns. Let's be frank: The 'bailout' bill was passed last week not because members of Congress decided it would work but because it was stuffed with the pork, perks and tax breaks without which no piece of legislation, however important to the nation as a whole, can now pass. Maybe it's unfair to call that 'small-town' thinking, but it sure is small-minded. And small-mindedness, not snobbery, is the dominant mind-set of 21st-century Washington."

Movies I watch each election year:

The Candidate
Power
Bob Roberts
Citizen Ruth
Primary Colors

On Deep Furrows Fred reviews what is perhaps my all-time favorite film, Wim Wenders' Wings of Desire.

An invitation

Charles Peguy

I posted today over at Cahiers Peguy: the drama of Christian humanism, which, due to Sharon's wonderful diligence and insight, we're using to more clearly engage the charism of CL, which is nothing other than the charism given to our dear Don Gius, which we have all received and accepted, by responding to the invitation to "Come to see," with politics and culture. Trust me, it is no echo chamber, but, as the headers says, quoting Peguy, it is "a friendship and a city and a perfectly free association of men [and women] who all believe in something".

So, I invite you to read my post, Inherent complexity defies reduction, which is a response to another post, along with all the other faithful perspectives, including Sr. Edith's insightful Faithful Citizenship and the Common Good, also posted yesterday.

Scary thought: she is us

UPDATE III: Tom Friedman weighs in with Palin's Kind of Patriotism, in which he writes: "Whether or not I agree with John McCain, he is of presidential timber. But putting the country in the position where a total novice like Sarah Palin could be asked to steer us through possibly the most serious economic crisis of our lives is flat out reckless. It is the opposite of conservative.

"And please don’t tell me she will hire smart advisers. What happens when her two smartest advisers disagree?"

UPDATE II: Roger Cohen writes in Kiplin' vs Palin: "'One thing that Americans do at this time, also, though, is let’s commit ourselves just everyday American people, Joe Six Pack, hockey moms across the nation, I think we need to band together and say ‘Never Again.’ Never will we be exploited and taken advantage of again by those managing our money and loaning us these dollars.'

"Huh?

"I’m sorry, Governor Palin, words matter. Life has its solemn lessons. 'Never Again' is a hallowed phrase. It’s applicable not to the loss of a mortgage, but to the Holocaust and genocide.

"According verbal equivalency to a $60,000 loan and six million murdered Jews, or 800,000 slaughtered Rwandans, is grotesque. Perhaps Palin didn’t mean it, but that’s no less serious. The world’s gravity escapes her."

UPDATE I- political rant III: I really don't think Sarah Palin means it when she says, as she did in Florida today, regarding Barack Obama's membership in his congregation in Chicago: "I don't know why that association isn't discussed more, because those were appalling things that that pastor had said about our great country." This is an open invitation to "discuss more" her religious affiliations and practice, which are far more extensive than that of Sen. Obama. She cannot truly welcome such scrutiny, unless she really is that naïve. I find the things said and done at her Assemblies of God church in Wasilla far more disturbing than anything the admittedly bombastic Rev. Wright, from whom Sen. Obama has clearly and publicly, if painfully, distanced himself, even going so far as cancelling his membership at Trinity, said. I mean, does Jesus really want that pipeline and was it God's will to launch a pre-emptive, largely unjustifed war with Iraq? Let's also look at Palin's political associations, namely her involvement, as well as that of her husband, Todd, in the Alaskan Independence Party, which supports secession from "our great country". I don't think even Rev. Wright went that far! I guess desperation brings out the negative.

A local business owner here in Salt Lake, Daniel Patterson, wrote an editorial that appeared in today's Salt Lake Tribune. In it he captures the reality of the Palin phenomenon better than anyone else I've heard or read. In his article, What's a voter to make of Sarah Palin?, he observes:

"The problem isn't Sarah Palin the candidate. The problem is the American culture that has unknowingly embraced 'Palin-ness' for decades, only to discover now in the 11th hour the high price of our collective incompetence. We've charmed, pushed, and leapfrogged our way into houses we couldn't afford and investments we couldn't make good on. We've supported wars in countries we didn't understand for reasons that we never bothered to question.
"For us to now deny Palin the chance to stand alongside the president is, in fact, to acknowledge all the things that we as an American people weren't ready for, weren't qualified for and had no business getting involved with in the first place. She is us".

He is correct to assert that we "are facing unprecedented payback on literally every front imaginable. From housing to credit, we've failed to manage ourselves on just about every level possible". To wit: "geographical proximity to Russia doesn't equal foreign policy readiness any more than being sequestered and prepped by strategists and campaign aides prepares you to lead a country during one of the most volatile periods in the nation's history". Indeed, the mortgage on the White House "is far beyond Gov. Palin's means".

But she's good on abortion! Given what is at stake that kind of simplistic reasoning does not suffice.