Kitten Kaboodle

Why, oh why, do people dump poor defenseless animals? I found a kitten, skinny and sickly (she's now recovering nicely) but oh, it makes me see RED when people toss out a baby creature as though it's trash. She's really a sweet kitty and so far even Boxer hasn't been aggressive towards her (and he normally hates cats). She's now calling the spare bedroom home (I still can't trust Boxer to be around her without supervision). I'm trying to find a home for her but even the cat lovers I know say they already have too many cats. She's quiet and likes to cuddle in your lap. i just can't imagine why somebody dumped her. So say a prayer to St. Francis that I find a good home for her--I don't know how much longer Boxer will tolerate a cat in his home. But maybe he'll surprise me--an old dog CAN learn new tricks.

What is a mystic

I've been hearing a lot these days, at least in Catholic circles, about Christian mystics. these are simply people who are in touch with the mysteries of life in a way that few are. Julian of Norwich was a mystic, as was Hildegaard of Bingen. Not surprisingly, both lived in the middle ages. Both were Catholic and held in high regard. Mysticism seems to be making a comeback in the Catholic church, perhaps in response to some mostly fundamentalist churches which claim to have an answer for everything. Frankly, God is too big and too vast for us to ever fully comprehend. that's why I go with the way of the mystics. Life should be a mystery, or where's the joy in living? If you have an answer for everything, what a dull life you must live. to live with mystery is to live with joy, to be open to holiness. Who can explain the mystery of how gravity hold everything in the universe together? Who can explain how birds navigate their way from the Arctic to the South Pole? A life without mystery would be dull and uneventful. So embrace mystery-it's the path to holiness.

Who are you?

What is the basis of human nature? Are we little more than highly intelligent primates, at the mercy of our genes and environment? Are we sinners in need of saving by a God given to such whims as destroying the Earth by a flood? Or are we really capable of transcending both these views and becoming the people that we are meant to be? Maybe we don't have the power to do it on our own, but with the help of those around us, and something called grace, I believe it's not only possible, but necessary if we are to survive as a species.
I recall the story about a tribe in Africa (can't remember the name) and how, when someone does something "bad", instead of punishing that person, each member of the tribe tells one good thing (and it has to be true) about the "bad" person to that person until he/she remembers who he/she is. So maybe that is the basis of all our problems--we've forgotten who we are.
War is not natural to human beings. People have to be taught to be soldiers, to kill, to blindly follow orders. Likewise, people have to be taught kindness, compassion, to put others' needs ahead of their own. It's like the story of the two wolves--a young Native American boy says to his uncle: "Sometimes I feel like there are two wolves inside me and they are fighting. One is good and one is bad. How do I know which one will win?" To which his wise uncle replied: "It depends on which one you feed".
Which wolf are you feeding?

Remembering a friend

Yes, I know it's been a while since I've posted. the reason being that I've been mourning the loss of a friend and counselor whose life was taken by some gunmen who didn't know him and may have been corrupted by officials in Guatemala to silence him. the friend to which I refer is Father Larry Rosebaugh, OMI, aka "Lorenzo". I've attend two memorials (one informal, the other a mass) for him and still can't make sense of it. Here was a man who spent his whole life as a priest being an advocate for the poor, even living with them, sleeping with them, eating with them, in the streets of Brazil; who was imprisoned in the US for his non-violent protests against the Vietnam War and the terrorist-training School of the Americas; who lived humbly, simply, never owned a car; who radiated Christ's joy and compassion to all who knew him. He was planning on "retiring" at the end of this year and returning to the US. Whatever the motive behind the gunmen's actions, we'll probably never know for sure. Only that he is now with Jesus in the "eternal Sturgis of tomorrow" (his own words) passing "the angels on their Harleys" . yes, he had quite a sense of humor and zest for life. His joy is now complete, but we'll have to wait a while longer to experience that joy. Heaven is richer, and the world a bit poorer, but all who knew him will keep alive that determination and will to live according to one's convictions. He was closer to being a saint that anyone I've ever met. No, he was a saint--and I'm grateful for having known him. i only hope that I can somehow live up to the standards he set--there's so much more to this life than we can possibly ever grasp.