Jim Mahoney's Blog - Sacred to Etc.

In the Pandemic, even the Holy Family seems confused by the calendar - November 30, 2020

Most people have observed that they have a difficulty remembering what day it is in this pandemic. It seems even more so in terms of months, the actual date, and weekends are often hard to differentiate from weekdays. Before I retired from my two jobs, it was hard at times to separate the seven days of the week. Now, after retirement, I find it more difficult. But many who are still working (outside the home,) have mentioned the same thing. Let's face it - we are all working wherever we might be.

Yesterday, I burst out laughing - this has not happened very much lately. I drove past the the Madison train station and saw in the distance a nativity scene on the front side of the station on ground level. It made me smile, but as I got closer, I just smiled.  All the important people were there as I drove up: the three kings were easily identifiable, the angels, the shepherds, Mary, Joseph, and then as I drove closer, I smiled with a brief feeling of relief. There was Jesus laying in the manger, surrounded by all the other major figures in the Nativity Scene.  At least for this Nativity scene, Christmas came early this year - on November 30 instead of December 25.  While a Nativity, a public one no less, chose to have everyone present on the first day of Advent, I don't know. I am sure this will have the purists enraged, apopletic, and whatever other feelings are appropriate for one to express. Not even thinking of the reaction of atheistics, agnostics, vegans (oops, that just slipped out), and anyone else who finds merit in making a fuss over such things.

We've been through a living hell during the last few years - and especially in 2020. The pandemic continues to kill us and minimally could have been lessened with wise thoughtful leadership. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we focused on the things that are significant - things like encouraging family, friends, and even strangers who are getting tired of following the recommendations on masks and social distancing. 

Jesus, Mary, Joseph, Melchior, Balthazar,  Patrick (all right, I grudgingly concede that St. Patrick was not in the original sitting for the Nativity in the first century) thanks for giving us a chance to smile, to be a little lighter in the heaviest of times. Let's support, encourage, and cajole each other to continue doing everything possible to resist the coronavirus. 

Deep down, I don't care who has their nativity scene all set up with all the characters in it. Whenever I see it, I smile. I also don't mind seeing Santa join them if he is feeling isolated during these times. Let's take seriously the things that are serious - and the rest = have fun, smile, and most importantly, Survive. God bless you, one and all!

 

 

One Thought during the Thanksgiving Day Parade - and one profound thought for dinner - November 26 1/2, 2020

 

The Parade: I usually don't watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade - but this year, I was determined to watch for kinds of reasons.  They did a wonderful job in producing the parade under such restrictive barriers for dealing with the pandemic. I was fine with that. But then they announced the various special guests, musical groups, and celebrities who would be featured in the parade. I listened to the list of performers, saw some of their photographs - and realized to my intense consternation that i did not recognize most of the names. I at least knew Dolly Parton, SpongeBob, Snoopy, and Santa Claus. But the other people, not so much. That was depressing. I am getting older. Not good. I need someone to blame.

Thanksgiving Dinner: Ok, we've spent the last four years tiptoeing into and away from political conversations, not wanting to say much lest it instantly offend, friends became estranged, all kinds of problems arose, almost without warning, we became accustomed to chaos, but not really - isn't it time to try to move past the chaos, the intolerance, the, shall we saw, the things that are just not true? Don't we all deserve this? I think so, but what to do?

While I was thinking about this issue which hits people on all sides of the political spectrum, I read the blog of Maria Shriver. She included some advice from Nedra Glover Tawwab, a therapist with expertise in boundaries.  I found Tawwab's suggestions to be practical, applicable, and hopefully a way to work through the patterns of conflict that have occured in so many families over the past few years:

"If you’re feeling anxious about the holidays, setting boundaries can help, even over Zoom:

1. In your home, you can choose the discussion topics.
2. Keep it simple. If someone says something offensive, you can always say, “I don’t like that.”
3. Try to stay calm. Don’t yell.
4. Remember: It can be hard to advocate for ourselves, but it’s often exactly what we need to be healthier people."

Tawwab makes the wise point that boundaries need to be set, not only for others, but also for ourselves.

I'm going to try. I'm sick of the conflict. How about you?

Have to stop typing. The musical group, the Gogo Dolls are ready to sing. I have never heard of them. Sigh.

DId I mention, "Happy Thanksgiving" to all of you.

I'm waiting for Santa in the parade:

 

 

 

 

  

 

Four Days of Gratitude - Day Four - Thanksgiving is Here - November 26, 2020

Thanksgiving, our National Day of Gratitude, has arrived. This year, it comes with extraordinary feelings of relief. We need time to feel gratitude. We need some signs that things may be all right. I see some signs that this may be true. By this time next year, we may have a vaccine. We may be closer to gaining control of the virus. Possibly even our economy. All of these are reasons to give us a smidgen of hope. We can use it. We can breath a small sigh of relief this year.

I truly love Thanksgiving. I have mentioned this before. I genuinely enjoy (even though I'm shy) getting together with some close friends. Most of my family have gone home to God. I do have cousins who I have grown to love being with over the past few years. This year, it is not a good idea. I love to go to malls - which is where I relax. (I'm odd.) I'm not going to a mall the day after Thanksgiving this  year. A friend  called me on this precipitous decision - since it goes against everything that I have been encouraging others to follow, i.e., social distancing etc. It took two minutes of sustained thought and I waved the white flag. I ain't going to the mall this Friday. Sigh.

I will spend special time on Thanksgiving praying in gratitude to all the blessings I have received in my life. I go back to the religious idea that none of us deserves these gifts from God. But God freely given them to us. So be it. Thank you, God. Let me not forget to pray with gratitude, for family, extraordinary friends, and even the other friends! I'm grateful for the golden retrievers in my life. I have so many things for which I'm grateful.A huge source of gratitude is the decades that I have spent at Corpus Christi. It made possible having thousands of friends (and I'm shy.) It is interesting that sometimes I am in a foul mood and just do not feel grateful for anything. I have to consciously get back on track - and sometimes it takes a while. I guess that I'm human (sigh - go figure)

The Peanuts kids would have some problems at times with Thanksgiving, They're only human - or whatever cartoon characters actually are. I'm convinced Snoopy is human. Don't even try to convince me otherwise.)

I hope that you had a good, even great, Thanksgiving. May our hurting world begin to heal. May all our sick begin to heal. May we all get better.

Look at how the Peanuts kids behave without adult supervision. God love them.

 

 

Four Days of Gratitude - Day Three - Parents and Teachers - November 25, 2020

We should be grateful to parents and teachers. Imagine the craziness they have had to encounter since the pandemic began. Students are used to going to school and attending classes. Now they have had to switch often to at home learning by video. Then they go back to school. Then back to video. The above picture shows what students may be like going back and forth to two totally different types of learning. When the students were not in their classrooms and had to study from home, parents were expected to supervise and help them - while the parents were also still supposed to earn a living and continue with their jobs outside the home. Here is a picture of a familly attempting to deal with all this back and forth:

 

Ok, I hope you can smile at these drawings and not have them send you into paroxysms of depression. (I love to use the word paroxysms, I truly do not know its precise meaning, but it certainly makes me seem intelligent.)

Here's the point: think how difficult the pandemic has been for teachers and parents. We do not hear a lot about them complaining, but they must be stressed to the maximum boundaries. We know that essential workers and first responders just keep going even though they are exhausted. Teachers and parents do the same.

Join with me in praying prayers of gratitude for parents and teachers. I know that I could not do what they are doing. But I have limits/ Doing this day in and day out. There is heroism and goodness.  Just another group of unsung heroes. How fortunate we are to have them with us. How fortunate for children to have these parents and teachers who care even when the world around them is nuts.

Can't they hurry up the vaccines - safely? Please, for everyone's sake.

 

 

 

 

Not part of my four day series on gratitude - but too fascinating not to highlight - November 24 1/2, 2012

 

 

Yesterday, Pope Francis met with five NBA players and officials of the NBA to discuss the players' efforts to increase recognition of social justice and fairness for all in our society.  It is not the usual entourage that meets with the pope. It may have been the pope's biggest thrill since he met with me last Thanksgiving. (Well, if it was not his biggest thrill, it certainly made my list.)

 

 

 

Four Days of Gratitude - Day Two - Those on the Front Line, including the Essential Workers- November 24, 2020

We never really used the phrase "First Responders" very much in the past. Now when you hear those words, you knew exactly who we're talking about. Who could not be grateful for those in our armed forces, our police, emergency workers, fire fighters, doctors, nurses, technicians, health workers, food preparers, and so many others. We all rely on these people. We may take them for granted. They help make possible so many good and necessary things in this troubled times, and in every time. We cannot forget those working to bring us towards health and safety and healthy vaccines. 

Let's say a prayer of gratitude for these people on our front line and all the essential workers, including our mail carriers, and delivery people. It is so easy to take all of these people for granted. I was making a mental list today of the people in occupations that I take for granted. Shame on me. Time to give thanks for all of these people in Thanksgiving Week. God bless them all. Pray for them. Think of them. Our future depends on them. 

Four Days of Gratitude - Day One -The Turkey Is Lost - November 23, 2020

As part of my contribution to civilization, I'm writing the next four posts on Gratitude. I have every confidence that this will change the path of our civilization.

But where to begin? Let's look at this poor lost turkey, wondering what will happen to him. Will Trump respect this important tradition? I am happy to report that he will indeed follow this sacred tradition and pardon the turkey. Mr. Turkey does not have to flee the butcher and hungry diners. 

Well, that settles the stakes for the turkey who gets a presidential pardon. But what about the rest of us (turkeys?) who have been subjected to an election sideshow. I can't help thinking that what has gone on for the last several weeks is profoundly upsetting to the principles upon which our democracy was founded. So many things which have been done make no sense to me - and perhaps also to many of you.

(A slight diversion for the next two paragraphs) We have seen atrocious behavior by persons who are horrible role models of our children. The national political discourse has cheapened the fabric of our national conversations on many occasions. I see some of the arguments being made since the election and just mutter to myself, "is this the best we can do?"  I'm not a lawyer (full disclosure: one of my three original career choices was to be a lawyer. I always wanted to be a trial lawyer and have enjoyed being on the sidelines of the various legal issues that came up in my diocesan job.) Despite no legal credentials whatsoever, I can at least see when people value democratic principles, the rule of law seems to be followed, and the good character of a lawyer is easily seen. Those who mount assaults on our democracy = shall we say, not a fan.

During all the years of seeing a variety of lawyers, I developed a growing respect for our diocesan attorney and the people that he brought in to advise and represent us on tough issues. I was also most impressed with the parishioners I knew who practiced law. Good folks all.  I only came across a few lawyers who, at least to my uneducated mind, were  a disgrace.   

Where the heck am I going in this post? Simple: I want to honor the good lawyers who make a difference. We are a government of laws. We're imperfect - filled with human frailties - but good lawyers, good judges, good citizens keep us rooted in our laws. That is my first Gratitude for this Thanksgiving Week. Thank you to good and great lawyers and judges. We need them now - more than ever, especially to protect our democracy. No need for turkeys.

Snoopy wanted to be a lawyer. Just like me!

 

 

Don't Share the Virus - Use Masks - Don't be a Turkey - The Plan for a healthy Thanksgiving - November 19, 2020

 

Given the horrifying rise in positive cases of the coronavirus, I was happy to see that the Center for Disease Control advised people not to travel on Thanksgiving. I was relieved because I still heard and knew of people who were having guests from other states. There is such a real pull homeward at Thanksgiving. I understand this totally.

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Nothing else comes close. I have celebrated Thanksgiving with the same close friends for over 45 years. It made no sense this year to celebrate Thanksgiving with anyone coming from other areas or states. I had already decided that it would be best to dine in solitary splendor on Thanksgiving. I really hated doing this, but sometimes common sense and scientific wisdom holds the day - as it should. Did I mention that I hated this?

If you are celebrating Thanksgiving with people outside your home, please think it through. It just does not seem to make sense. Most importantly, if you or people in your group are over 60 years of age, then you are in a category of higher risk. Someone can die, maybe you, from this decision.  Is it really worth it?

If you're with people you see all the time, please keep the size of the group small. Wear masks - when eating - practice social distancing. It makes no sense to wear a mask if you don't insist on being at least six feet, if not more, from the other people. A test taken against Covid is not effective if you get contaminated after you took the test.  It is too big a risk. 

Don't be a turkey. Sorry, turkey.

I'll be in line at a store next Wednesday purchasing a vegan Thanksgiving dinner.  I can eat happily knowing that no turkeys or porpoises were injured in the preparation of my dinner. I also will be happier knowing that a lot of people are listening to the words of scientists to not travel on Thanksgiving. It is the right thing to do.

Don't be misled by the scientific advice of anyone who is not  respected scientist. Your life and the lives of those you love may depend on it.

In my particular case, this turkey is happy I'm vegan!

 

Enough: McCarrick and Pope John Paul II and the Unsung Heroes not in this mess- Part III - (Revised) November 18, 2020

(Revised = read over this post many times - and made some changes.)

Sorry to have written about such disgusting things in the last several posts about McCarrick. It was one of the most remarkable times for Catholics in our country - so cannot act like it never happened. I must admit that I often felt unclean - having read about and tersely written about these matters.

The record is quite clear. McCarrick rose up to become a cardinal in the Church only through the support of Pope John Paul II.  The photograph above was taken when John Paul II visited Newark. You can see John Paul II in the pope mobile. McCarrick was standing right behind him. The pope ignored the procedures that were in place to ensure people like McCarrick were never given high office. Many high church leaders had problems with McCarrick. But Pope John Paul II wanted him to rise. So he did. The pope believed those whose opinion agreed with him. You may be interested to know there was rioting in the streets in Krakow in the past few days as people learned what Pope John Paul II had done or, more precisely, had not done to act on cases of priests and bishops accusing of abusing minors. Profoundly sad. I'm not going to get on my soapbox and rant and rave. Their actions did enough of that. It is so easy to just go on a self-righteous rant about these two and others. But, in the words of Dana Garvey imitating George H.W. Bush on Saturday Night Life, "Ain't gonna do it."

What I write now is to balance things out just a little. I never am impressed with writing that goes "on the one hand, on the other hand" - I call that not taking a stand. Bah. But I want to share something that, even in some small ways, moves the energy away from McCarrick and those who enabled him - namely the approximately 96% of priests in this country who never abused a child - who were darn good priests - and who suffered greatly because of McCarrick and those who enabled him. These were the silent heroes of these terrible years in the Church. They were just in the background . Few, if any, received credit for just doing their jobs. The folks who did these bad things destroyed the Church in spirit and also financially due to the staggering cost of settlements.

The 96% of the priests were the silent heroes. Pray for them.

Since I'm on a quiet roll, I want to mention another group of people who were also silent heroes in this whole priest sexual abuse crisis - the nuns. I read extensively and never came across one word from a religious sister putting down the priests and the Church for the sexual abuse crisis. Instead, the nuns kept the church going. They were the models of truth and charity - while being so aware of what bishops and priests had done. If we have a church still alive today in any way, thank the nuns. 

The Vatican during these times launched an investigation against nuns in the United States. It said that the sisters had “certain radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith.” Pope Benedict went along with the complaints he had received from some bishops in the United States and ordered an extensive investigation of nuns in the United States. Once again, the sisters (being far more effective leaders than many bishops) went along quietly with this unjust investigation. When Pope Francis arrived, the investigation was ended with barely a whimper. The sisters won - Go, Sisters.

God love the sisters. God love the priests who continued doing their job. It will take a long time to recover from this mess. We now leave things to Mother Seton, Mother Cabrini, Blessed Michael McGivney and other good people. We need them. Give us better leaders, O Lord. The leaders we have been given - at least those who did not take seriously enough the problem of sexual abuse by priests- not a fan.

 

Father Guido Sarducci

Why use this picture? I was sad - and he always makes me smile. There are worse things in the world. Next post will probably feature golden retrievers or kittens.

 

 

 

Are You Getting Wobbly About the Pandemic? - November 17, 2020

President G.W. Bush and Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher were in a series of intense discussions on what to do about Saddam Hussein.  At one point, said to be in Aspen, Thatcher said to Bush, "This is no time to get wobbly, George."  (Dick Cheney maintains that this never was said. Multiple other sources, including Bush and Thatcher, said that it was. End of story. Fact checking complete. Why bring this up?

I thought of this quote, and especially the word "wobbley" during the last several days.  I fear that a lot of people are starting to go wobbly about the pandemic. We hear of at least two possible vacccines to be available in a matter of several months. They seem effective. But a lot of people are just tired of the pandemic- and perhaps beginning to lose heart. May I respectfully offer a suggestion to anyone reading this post or thinking about giving up essential vigilance which we all need to show. Don't give up. Don't falter. Tell people close to you if you feel you are faltering. Tell your good friends if you need encouragement. We are really all in this together. We have gone so far. Don't lose heart. 

I must admit that I have been losing heart lately. I feel less inclined to follow the restrictions and just want to give up. I'm tired of all this. I'm at a low resistance time in my life. I need to be bolstered up. I need to know that this is no time to go wobbly. Ain't easy. Help me. I'll pray for you. Pray for me - and everyone who might be going wobbly.

 

Do You Care about McCarrick? - Part II - November 16, 2020

Yesterday's post was somewhat dispassionate.  Some strong words were written, but in the midst of a more objective reporting.  I did mention the word "angry" - just once.  I was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the McCarrick Report = and the repetition of the things he said and did. I was overwhelmed by reading about the inability of church leaders to act and be motivated by doing what is right. Imagine how the whole sordid mess of sexual abuse by priests would have been handled if mothers and fathers of children and youth had been in the room when these things were being investigated. Imagine if the parents of McCarrick's victims had been in the room? Imagine. Imagine. Imagine.

Parents could have saved the Church if they had a voice. Mothers, especially, could have saved the Church if they had a voice. Tonight, this whole thing makes me angry - and so sad.

My close friend, Andrew Greeley, was one of the few who blew the whistle publicly in the media and called the question on how the Church was handling the awful problem of sexual abuse by priests.  He was often attacked by bishops and priests.  Andy was right. The others were self-serving.  I remember him saying to me a number of times. "Jim, where is the outrage on the part of the bishops? on the part of the priests?"  He was so right. If people had listened, so many things could have been different. This whole crisis of sexual abuse by priests could have been largely, but not completely, overcome.

On this, as on so many other areas, Andy was right. God love him. God be good to him. Pray for all those who were abused by priests, by anyone. It was and is wrong, a clear sign of evil.

Our leaders went astray. Their actions betrayed children. We need to return to the beginnings and get back to the one who founded our Church.

 

 

Do You Care about the McCarrick Report? November 15, 2020

On November 10, 2020, the Vatican released this document:

REPORT ON THE HOLY SEE’S INSTITUTIONAL
KNOWLEDGE AND DECISION-MAKING RELATED TO
FORMER CARDINAL
THEODORE EDGAR MCCARRICK
(1930 TO 2017)
Prepared by the Secretariat of State of the Holy See
Vatican City State
10 November 2020

It was released in at least 7 languages. The English language version was 461 pages. 1410 footnotes.  It may be the most remarkable document I have ever seen come from the Vatican= in any era.  High church officials were interviewed thoroughly. Files were compared with the interviews. The writing was actually understandable, clear, and easy to read. The footnotes were worth reading - and, in fact, you cannot get the full understanding unless you read the footnotes. The document did not fudge the truth.

The events that ultimately caused the document to be necessary were disgusting, embarrassing, disheartening, and should make anyone who cares about the Church simply angry. I was in a three day meeting with 25 law enforcement officers when it came out. This meeting was not related to the report. I did spend two days during the meeting quietly wading through the document. The document began with an eight-page summary - not a bad idea. Most church documents are mindnumbingly boring and lack coherence.  (I know mindnumbingly is not a word, but you get what i'm trying to write here.)  

I'm not going to go through the document to give you highlights. That has already been done by good journalists: John Allen of CruxNow, the folks at the New York Times, America Magazine, and others.  Rocco Palmo, the gifted editor of whispers in the loggia, has not yet published his own critique. He will be on point, will connect all the dots, be clear, be ticked off, and show a love of the Church unmatched by most who write about the Church. There, I've reviewed Rocco's critique and it is not even online yet. Read it as soon as it is online.

There were certain sycophants who always hovered in the world of John Paul II.  Never a fan of these people. Even less so after reading this report.

John Paul II's reputation will not be enhanced by reading this report. His recognition of his sainthood was rushed through. Should never do that in our complicated world. There is a huge difference at times between very holy people and their ability to know when some people are not telling them the truth.  Benedict tried to do the right thing, but wisely retired when he saw that he could not do what had to be done.  Francis came across pretty well - even when some have tried to begin new conspiracy theories. Some don't understand the difference between the Church and American politics. 

One of the genuine heroes was John Cardinal O'Connor of New York. What a good man. What a courageous man.

A way to avoid these things happening again came in a recent document called Vos Estis = which recommended neighboring bishops investigate a bishop accused of these types of misdeeds. Well, that ship has sailed. Wipe that document off the books. You simply cannot investigate yourself. It has no credibility.

We are a church of sinners. A lot of mistakes were made in our church. Surely the publication of this report will be a time of score-settling. My suggestion: the ones who are settling scores seem to be easily recognizable in Jesus' words about "brood of vipers."

We live on a hurting planet. We pray to a hurting Jesus. Lent, the season to root out evil, came early this year for the Church. Sigh.

Indeed, Jesus wept:

 

 

 

 

Did you know that today is World Kindness Day? - November 13, 2020

Today is World Kindness Day.  My hunch is that few of us knew about this. I certainly did not. As I thought about it during a time when I was not rushing (less frequent than I thought) I just sto9od still and thought about kindness.  In some ways, I tried to operationalize kindness. For example, I seldom wanted to see a person in a job, leading a parish or office, unless they were kind. I am fortunate to be in a line of work where you can encounter lots of really kind people. In fact, this statement is so true that people who are not unkind really stand out from the others. That is a good thing.

I do know that I instinctively resist being around unkind people. I have worked with a few - and must admit that I do not miss these people in the slightest now that I am fully retired. I find them disgraceful, especially in the priesthood.

While kindness can be a rational choice, it often is simply a automatic response to a particular situation. I do hope that my interactions fall more into being kind than anything else.

This past month, I received an extraordinarily unexpected and touching expression of congratulations from a person whose name is known to many in my line of work. This person is one of the most intriguing and influential people in the universal Church. He not only wrote an email, but also recorded a video as well. (While speaking on the video, he thoughtfully wore a Cubs hat!) I now would add to that the fact that this person, not a wimp, is also one of the kindest influential people I know in the Church.  When I think about this person, I smile - which is a very welcome thing to do when I may be scowling. (Have been doing a lot of that these past few weeks.) While I know the impact that this person's gesture had on me, it started me thinking: do I do the extra mile to be kind - or do I do the minimal kind thing while moving on to the next thing. It has given me a lot to think about. 

I started looking at myself. I have been so busy for decades - was there enough or even any time spend on being more than routinely kind. Something to review about the past - and to think about for the future.

So- think about being kind. Don't be like me - and just be routinely kind. Go out of your way  - take the extra mile to touch someone's heart. It lasts even longer than an emailed card!

Snoopy is just about always kind. I'm jealous - since he seems able to do this without thinking.

 

 

Being a Good Sport - November 13, 2020

For reasons that escape me (not totally true!), I have been thinking lately about the quality of sportsmanship - specifically how much I admire those who are good sports. I have never cared fort those who are not good sports. I have never cared for bullies. I have never cared for people who misuse their positions. I am appalled when public figures do this. I believe that, at least in the past, we could look to many public figures to give a good example to children. 

Being a good sport corresponds to our country's essential views about fair play.  People of good will value this. When I see world leaders, even national leaders, show honor and principles, it is a great day for our world and nation. When they do not this, well, you do the math.

A picture is worth  thousand words. Why not? Do you like good sports? Do you cringe when you see those who are not good sports?  Role models, public figures can be wonderful models of good sportsmanship and good conduct for our children and youth.  Here are two of my favorite good sports at the end of a very difficult political race, namely George W. Bush and Al Gore.  Their political campaigns were fought hard, even with rancor, but at the end, they approached each other showing that they could be good sports. It was not an easy election. To this day, some have doubts about the outcome, but they placed the country first.

In the words of Al Gore, “partisan rancor must now be put aside.”

I like Charlie Brown. I like good sports. 

 

 

•  

Our Need: A Continuous Prayer for Peace and Unity - November 6, 2020

It is fascinating to observe that the emotional reactions felt on one side of the election returns is a mirror image of the emotional reactions on the other side of the election returns. The emotions, the rage, the belief (based actually on little or nothing) that votes were stolen had clearly affected people's lives over the past three and a half years. I go back to the hopes held for the Obama administration that possibly electing a black president could help to ease the seemingly intractable problem of racism in our nation. That barely moved the needle. It did make me despondent that such hurtful divisions could not be healed. It's a reasonable statement to see that things did not improve since the last election in 2016.

I go back to the strains that political differences have caused among so many families, friends, and co-workers. Families (wisely) have to prepare for any family gatherings by ensuring that the participants must respect their wish that politics will not be brought up. It has been (yes, right word for me) to see that people of good will cannot suspend political differences to have thoughtful conversations. Oh, a few people can speak calmly and discuss the issues - but, based on my anecdotal experiences with lots of people, these people are few and far between.

Vitriol, making things up, massive character assassinations, misusing data, simply stated, "I'm not a fan." I wish these things could end - but how?????

For now, we need political leaders on both sides to work for healing, for solutions that show a concern for our nation, and our belief in the best democratic principles - but how????

We all wear different hats. Usually, they do not all fit well - but we wear them nonetheless.

Have you been praying every single day for unity and healing in our country? I've been praying for that intention since the last election. We all need to keep it up.

One of the best things to help (if only ourselves) is the Prayer of Saint Francis. (A Slight Digression - Most scholars believe that Saint Francis did not write the Prayer of Saint Francis. I hope that this does shake your faith in God or Saint Francis or me. In all probability, this prayer appeared in print in the early 20th century. Some scholars believe that the prayer was given its title by Cardinal Spellman, the Archbishop of New York. Who knows?  The point is that, during the past century or so, this prayer has seemed to sum up and make clear the impact of Saint Francis and the power of his gentle message for all of our lives.  It is worth knowing. It is worth celebrating. It is worth singing.)

The simple sentence from the prayer, Make me an instrument of your peace, tells us what we are to do - what we should pray for. We need to do this.

i always go back to the words of President Kennedy in his Inaugural Address, ""Here on earth God's work must clearly be our own." Not a bad thought, and even a daily challenge for  the non-partisan as well as partisans.

 

 

Prayer of Abraham Lincoln for Healing after an Election - November 4, 2020

Familiar words in this prayer of Abraham Lincoln at a time when an election meant a new beginning for the country. He could easily have been writing about this week.

“With malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation’s wounds…to achieve lasting peace among all nations.”

Prayer of Archbishop John Carroll for the Inauguration of George Washington - November 3, 2020

 

(It is customary to pray this prayer at important moments in our country's history)

We pray you, O God of might, wisdom, and justice,
through whom authority is rightly administered,
laws are enacted, and judgment decreed,
assist with your Holy Spirit of counsel and fortitude
the President of these United States,
that his administration may be conducted in righteousness,
and be eminently useful to your people, over whom he presides;
by encouraging due respect for virtue and religion;
by a faithful execution of the laws in justice and mercy;
and by restraining vice and immorality.
 
Let the light of your divine wisdom direct
the deliberations of Congress,
and shine forth in all the proceedings and laws
framed for our rule and government,
so that they may tend to the preservation of peace,
the promotion of national happiness,
the increase of industry, sobriety, and useful knowledge;
and may perpetuate to us the blessing of equal liberty.
 
We pray for the governor of this state,
for the members of the assembly,
for all judges, magistrates, and other officers
who are appointed to guard our political welfare,
that they may be enabled, by your powerful protection,
to discharge the duties of their respective stations
with honesty and ability.
 
We recommend likewise, to your unbounded mercy,
all our fellow citizens throughout the United States,
that we may be blessed in the knowledge
and sanctified in the observance of your most holy law;
that we may be preserved in union,
and in that peace which the world cannot give;
and after enjoying the blessings of this life,
be admitted to those which are eternal.
Grant this, we beseech you, O Lord of mercy,
through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.  Amen.

Prayer of George Washington for an Election - November 2, 2020

 

Today’s prayer was adapted from George Washington’s Circular Letter to the States, written on June 8, 1783 at Newburgh, New York.

Almighty GOD; we make our earnest prayer that Thou wilt keep the United States in Thy holy protection, that thou wilt incline the hearts of citizens to cultivate a spirit of subordination and obedience to government; and entertain a brotherly affection and love for one another and for their fellow citizens of the United States of America at large. And finally that Thou wilt most graciously be pleased to dispose us all to do justice, to love mercy and to demean ourselves with that charity, humility and pacific temper of mind which were the characteristics of The Divine Author of our blessed religion, and without whose example in these things we can never hope to be a happy nation. Grant our supplication, we beseech thee, through Jesus Christ Our Lord.

Amen.

 

 

 

