Love!

Last week I talked about why I don't try to be someone I'm not: more specifically, why I don't insist that God equip me with what's trending in charisms. Also spirit-filled administrators and loose cannons. (January 24, 2016)

That Sunday's second Scripture reading got me started: 1 Corinthians 12:12-30. Today's second reading, 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13, picks up on the next verse:

"Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts...."
(1 Corinthians 12:31)

I could stop there, and claim that everybody should start clamoring for "the greatest spiritual gifts."

I've talked about cherry picking before. It's a bad idea. (March 15, 2015; February 8, 2015)

As usual, the first few words aren't the whole story:

"Strive eagerly for the greatest spiritual gifts. But I shall show you a still more excellent way.

"¹ If I speak in human and angelic tongues ² but do not have love, I am a resounding gong or a clashing cymbal.

"And if I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge; if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing.

"If I give away everything I own, and if I hand my body over so that I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing."
(1 Corinthians 12:31-3)

There's a lot more along those lines.

What is "Love?"

1 Corinthians 13:4-6 give a quick overview of love:

• Love is
  • Patient
  • Kind
• Love is not
  • Jealous
  • Pompous
  • Inflated
  • Rude
  • Self-serving
  • Quick-tempered

Finally, love doesn't brood over injury — and celebrates truth, not wrongdoing.

I checked the Catechism's glossary for a definition of "love," and got this:

"Love: See Charity."
(Glossary, L, Catechism of the Catholic Church)

Another click of the mouse, and I saw this:

"CHARITY: The theological virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God (1822)."
(Charity, Glossary, Catechism)

"...Love One Another"

Love and charity, in the Catholic sense, aren't just feelings. We're supposed to act as if love and charity make a difference.

Doing what's right is easier when emotions are in sync with our reason — but we're supposed to think. Like I keep saying, "...conscience is a law of the mind...." (Catechism, 1762-1775, 1776)

Saint Jerome says that when John the Apostle was very old and weak, he'd be carried out to meet people. Then he shared what he'd learned while at the side of Jesus:

" 'My dear children, love one another.' When his auditors, wearied with hearing constantly the same thing, asked him why he always repeated the same words, he replied, 'Because it is the precept of the Lord, and if you comply with it, you do enough': an answer, says St. Jerome, worthy the great St. John, the favourite disciple of Christ"
("St John, Apostle and Evagelist," EWTN [emphasis mine])

Every profound insight, all the knowledge learned at the side of the Second Parson of the Trinity were, at their core: "My dear children, love one another."

That's why, for two millennia, the Catholic Church has been passing on the same message:

• 'Love God, love your neighbor'
  (Matthew 22:36-40, Mark 12:28-31)
• Everybody is our neighbor
  (Matthew 5:43-44, Mark 12:28-31, Luke 10:25-30; Catechism, 1825)

The way I see it, Luke 6:31, "do to others as you would have them do to you," is how I'll act if I take Jesus seriously: which I do. (October 18, 2015)

Not a Poached Egg

Jesus the Nazorean claimed to be God: "...before Abraham came to be, I AM." (John 8:58)

I've got options: I can believe that Jesus is a lunatic, a liar, or the great I AM. As C. S. Lewis pointed out, I can't assume that Jesus is just another wise teacher:

"...A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic — on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg — or else he would be the Devil of Hell...."
(C. S. Lewis, "Mere Christianity," via Wikipedia)

I'm quite sure that Jesus isn't crazy, or a liar: mainly because our Lord was tortured, executed — and then stopped being dead:

"And it happened that, while he was with them at table, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them."

"With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him, but he vanished from their sight."
(Luke 24:30-31)

"While they were still incredulous for joy and were amazed, he asked them, 'Have you anything here to eat?'

"They gave him a piece of baked fish;

"he took it and ate it in front of them."
(Luke 24:41-43)

"Now a week later his disciples were again inside and Thomas was with them. Jesus came, although the doors were locked, and stood in their midst and said, 'Peace be with you.'

"Then he said to Thomas, 'Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side, and do not be unbelieving, but believe.' "
(John 20:26-27)

Small wonder that each of the surviving Apostles, except John, were killed because they wouldn't stop acting as if Jesus matters. John most likely died, an old man, in Ephesus.

Best - News - Ever

(From NASA/ISS, used w/o permission.)

Matthew 25:35-46 says that feeding the hungry, welcoming strangers, visiting folks in prison, and other practical expressions of charity, are a good idea: putting it mildly. (November 17, 2016)

Over the last two millennia, some of us have acted as if loving God, loving our neighbor, and seeing everyone as our neighbor, matter. Mother Teresa of Calcutta is a recent high-profile example.

Some of us haven't. (September 14, 2014)

Helping individuals and building a better world is important. (November 22, 2015; July 5, 2015)

So is sharing the best news humanity's ever had: God loves us, and wants to adopt us. All of us. (John 3:17; Romans 8:15; Ephesians 1:3-5; Catechism, 1-3, 52, 1825)

"For God so loved the world that he gave ⁷ his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.

"For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn ⁸ the world, but that the world might be saved through him."
(John 3:16-17)

That, and a list of vaguely-related posts, seems like a good place to stop writing today:

• "Defensive Architecture and Tobit"
  (January 17, 2016)
  Particularly
  • Faith, Works, and All That
  • "Dignity of the Human Person"
• "Mercy!"
  (December 13, 2015)
  Particularly
  • Catholic, καθολικός, Universal: Really!
  • "...The Forgiveness of God Cannot be Denied...."
• "Evil is Not Good"
  (December 6, 2015)
  Particularly
  • Jiminy Cricket and "a Law of the Mind"
  • Think!
• "Life, Death, and Love"
  (November 1, 2015)
  Particularly
  • Memento Mori and Carpe Diem
  • Moderation
  • Life, Death, and Beyond
• "Hate People? Not an Option"
  (September 6, 2015)
  Particularly
  • Love: NO EXCEPTIONS
  • Faith, Works, and Bad Ideas
  • Sin and Forgiveness

Defensive Architecture and Tobit

I'm in the lower half of America's economic ladder, but I've never been homeless. That's just as well, since I've spent the bulk of my life in Minnesota and North Dakota. Winters get cold up here.

I am, however, a recovering English teacher; and I like to verify my assumptions about what words mean. Here's part of my country's definition of "homeless." There will not be a test on this:

• "...the terms 'homeless', 'homeless individual', and 'homeless person' means— 
  • "(1) an individual or family who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence;
  • "(2) an individual or family with a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings, including a car, park, abandoned building, bus or train station, airport, or camping ground;..."
  (Title 42 › Chapter 119 › Subchapter I › § 11302 - General definition of homeless individual, via Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law Library)

I had to read "primary nighttime residence ... camping ground" twice before I realized that most folks who sleep on "camping grounds" are there for a vacation: and have a "primary nighttime residence" elsewhere.

Folks become homeless for many reasons. Some lost their jobs, others were evicted — because they or their landlord couldn't pay rent or keep up mortgage payments. Sometimes war or natural disaster forces folks to leave their homes - - - - -.

It's a long list, and includes substance abuse and being crippled in body or mind.

Some folks end up on the street because of 'weak moral character,'¹ some were just in the wrong place at the wrong time when life happened. Either way — I'll get back to that.

Places to Sleep

(From Getty Images, via CityMetric, used w/o permission.)

"How 'defensive architecture' is designing the homeless out of our cities"
Rowland Atkinson, Aidan While; CityMetric (January 4, 2016)

"On any one night in London, there around 700 people sleeping in the city’s streets. Rough sleeping is a risky decision – and almost always the choice of the most desperate. Yet the response of the state – and our society – is surprisingly hostile.

"Rough sleeping – and homelessness more generally – are on the rise. But austerity measures have made things worse, by cutting funds to vital support services. On top of this, rough sleepers have good reason to fear abusive behaviour from passers-by. Shockingly, this has even included physical attacks, resulting in documented deaths.

"But beyond the discomfort, the abuse and the absence of social support, there is another factor making life even more difficult for those sleeping on the streets. The very shape of our cities has started to reflect our hostility toward the homeless, in the form of design elements that prevent them from seeking refuge in public spaces. This phenomenon is known as 'defensive architecture'....."

I'm not sure what the authors meant by "London." A bit over 7,000 folks live in the City of London. About 8,500,689 lived in Greater London in 2014 — which doesn't tell me whether it's one of out ten Londoners sleep on the streets, or one in a thousand.

My guess is that they meant Greater London. One in ten residents on the street seems like a high percentage.

The good news in that CityMetric article, as I see it, is that some municipalities changed laws and regulations in an effort to protect folks at the low end. Some property owners are helping, too:

"Manchester United stars Neville and Giggs tell hotel squatters: stay for winter"
theguardian.com (October 18, 2015)

"When Manchester United footballers Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs got planning permission to turn the historic Manchester stock exchange into a boutique hotel ... they envisaged opening it up to an exclusive and moneyed clientele. Instead, a group of homeless people with little or no money have moved in – with Neville's blessing. Gary Neville’s kind gesture on squatting highlights growing rage over housing

"The hotel, which is undergoing extensive renovations before opening its doors to paying guests, was occupied on Sunday by a group of squatters and housing activists called the Manchester Angels. Instead of the usual response of property owners – rushing to court to obtain an order to get the uninvited new incumbents evicted – the famous ex-footballers who own the building have told them they can stay, not just for a few days, but throughout the coldest months of the winter...."

Faith, Works, and All That

So, why should I care? Short answer: I'm a Christian, and take my faith seriously.

Like it says in Tobit 4:7: "...Do not turn your face away from any of the poor, and God's face will not be turned away from you."

Feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and burying the dead, are "corporal works of mercy." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2447)

Thinking nice thoughts is nice: but we're supposed to do something about what we believe.

"⁶ What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?

"If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day,

"and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,' but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it?"
(James 2:15-16)

I'm not wracked with guilt and shame because some property owners discourage homeless folks from sleeping on their stoops.

Participation in social life and working for the common good is important. So is taking part in public life as far as possible. (Catechism, 1897-1917, particularly 1913-1914).

I'm not opening a boutique hotel in Manchester, and don't determine zoning regulation for the City of London. But I can write about what's happening, and "...promote institutions that improve the conditions of human life...." (Catechism, 1916)

At the moment, that's about the extent of my 'as far as possible' response.

As a Catholic, I'm inclined to look at Catholic outfits first, like Caritas in England and Wales Network (CSAN), "the official agency of the Catholic Bishops' Conference of England and Wales for domestic social action."

It looks like they're doing a good job, but I recommend checking out any charity before donating. (March 17, 2011)

"Dignity of the Human Person"

I think I understand the feelings of property owners and others who act against folks who are not friends, clients, or customers.

However, I realize that folks who are at the bottom of the social ladder are people, too.

Living much of my life with undiagnosed neurological glitches helps, and that's another topic. (February 8, 2015; December 14, 2014)

I take our Lord seriously, so I figure I should love God, love my neighbor, see everybody as my neighbor, and treat others as I want them to treat me. (Matthew 5:43-44, 7:12, 22:36-40, Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31 10:25-27, 29-37; Catechism, 1789)

Earning money and buying property is "legitimate for guaranteeing the freedom and dignity of persons" — and lets property owners help others, which is also important. (Catechism, 2401-2414)

The "dignity of the human person" is vital. Each of us is made in the image of God, but we're not identical. We're supposed to have different abilities and needs. We're also supposed to look out for each other. (Catechism, 1929, 1934-1938)

Acting like loving my neighbor, and recognizing the dignity of everyone? That's not easy. But like I said, it's important:

• "(Not) 'Going Native' "
  (August 30, 2015)
  Particularly
  • Love and the Status Quo
  • Crime and/or Evil
  • Moving Forward
• "Angst, Hope, and Building a Better World"
  (July 5, 2015)
  Particularly
  • Doomsday Predictions and Fashionable Melancholia
  • Love and Responsibilities
  • Looking Ahead
• "Beaver Cleaver and the Common Good"
  (May 3, 2015)
  Particularly
  • The Universal Destination of Goods
  • Shoes and Carnegie Libraries
  • Humanity's Troubles
  • Practical Justice and Charity
  • "Keep Warm, and Eat Well"
• " 'Metropolis,' Plus 120 Years"
  Apathetic Lemming of the North (November 21, 2014)
  Particularly
  • "...The Whole World Would Contribute...."
  • "Sitting Rooms" and a Zigzag Outer Wall
• "Caesar, Civilization, Dealing With Change — and Building a Better World"
  (August 31, 2014)
  Particularly
  • Fear, Flappers, and Europe Flambé
  • It's the End of Civilization as We Know It: And About Time!
  • The Code of Hammurabi, Plus 3,700 years: Looking at the Big Picture

---

¹ It has been many years since I heard "of weak moral character" used to describe someone. I don't particularly like the term, since it was often used in a patronizing or condescending way.

A tip of the hat to Brian Matheny, on Google Plus, for pointing out the sensitive nature of that term.

My intent, as I recall, writing 'weak moral character,' was to refer to the attitude of folks with jobs, position, and a place to sleep, toward those who do not. Re-reading this later (Monday, January 18, 2016), I realize that I failed in that effort.

To clarify: I think some folks really are 'lazy bums' who are unwilling, not unable, to support themselves or seek the help they need.

I am also quite sure that many are in the position I have been in: willing to work, looking for work, and unable to find employment.

I avoided homelessness thanks in part to what my culture calls "good luck." I am hardly in a position to cast aspersions on those who, through no fault of their own, end up homeless.

Then there's the notion that folks with psychiatric disorders are 'of weak moral character.' I'm not likely to say that, since I'm one of 'those people:'

• "Suicide: No Future in It"
  (August 22, 2015)
  Particularly
  • Despair, No: Prayer, Yes
• " 'Months of Misery' and Job's Friends"
  (February 8, 2015)
  Particularly
  • Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries: With Pits
  • Depression and Death
  • Praise the Lord and Pass the Prescriptions
• "Suicide, Sin, and Dealing with Depression"
  (December 14, 2014)

Kathmandu, Barpak, Pokhara: Neighbors in Need

UPDATE (April 12, 2015 2:54 p.m. UTC/GMT)

Another, new, earthquake in Nepal: this time near Mount Everest/Sagarmāthā/Chomolungma.

"Nepal earthquake: Dozens die in new tremor near Everest

"At least 37 people have been killed and more than 1,000 injured, officials say. At least 17 have also died in India.

"The latest earthquake hit near the town of Namche Bazaar and sent thousands of panicked residents on to the streets on the capital, Kathmandu.

"It had a magnitude of 7.3, compared with the 7.8 of the 25 April quake.

"The latest tremor was also felt in northern India and Bangladesh. It was centred about 76km (47 miles) east of Kathmandu, in a rural area close to the Chinese border...."
(BBC News)

The rest of this post is from Sunday, April 11, 2015.

---

The odds are that you hadn't heard of Barpak, between Kathmandu and Pokhara, before the April 25, 2015. The earthquake that day left fewer than 10 of 1,200 homes in Barpak standing.

Survivors in Nepal are getting help from many outfits, including Catholic Relief Services. I'll get back to that.


(From Reuters, via BBC News, used w/o permission.)
("Residents of Bhaktapur carry their belongs through the rubble of destroyed houses"
(BBC News))

Last week's 'Sunday' post ended with this:

"⁶ What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?

"If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day,

"and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,' but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it?"
(James 2:15-16)

Knowing what's right is one thing. Believing it's important is another: so is acting like it matters.

"So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

"Indeed someone might say, 'You have faith and I have works.' Demonstrate your faith to me without works, and I will demonstrate my faith to you from my works.

"You believe that God is one. You do well. Even the demons believe that and tremble."
(James 2:17-19)

The letter gets a bit intense after that.

Matthew 25:34-46 makes it clear that caring for folks in need is important. It's a matter of respect: for people and for "the transcendent dignity of man." (Catechism, 1929-1933)

That reminds me of neighbors and the chap who asked "who is my neighbor?" (Luke 10:29)

The 'Good Samaritan' story in Luke 10:30-37 doesn't, I think, have quite the punch it did two millennia back.

These days, it'd be like telling a story in a redneck bar — where a coal miner, poor farmer, and truck driver wouldn't help the accident victim: but an east Asian immigrant did. I've said that before. (October 26, 2014)

Nepal: A Quick Introduction

(From Hilmi Hacaloğlu, Voice of America; via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.)
("Nepal Army and Turkish disaster relief aid workers working together"
(Wikipedia))

Folks have been living in Nepal's Kathmandu Valley for upwards of 11,000 years.

Siddhārtha Gautama was born there, most likely two dozen or so centuries back. He's the sage whose teachings started Buddhism. Details of Gautama's life are known from an oral tradition first written down in 29 BC, and that's another topic.

Prithvi Narayan Shah conquered; or unified, depending on one's viewpoint; the Khatmandu Valley around 1769. His dynasty ended in 2008, when a probable murder-suicide survivor was evicted. The folks in Nepal today call it a republic, and that's yet another topic.

Folks in Nepal could be worse off. They had no schools, hospitals, roads, telecommunications, electric power, or industry in 1951: but today the average literacy rate is around 65.9%.

On the other hand, Nepal is #145 on the Human Development Index's 187 countries.

The good news is that there's an international effort under way to help survivors of the April 25, 2015, earthquake.

Thousands Dead, Hard Times Ahead

(AFP, Getty, EPA, via BBC News; used w/o permission.)
("Dharahara tower, Kathmandu: 27 October 1998 and 26 April 2015"
(BBC News))

The earthquake killed more than 8,000 of Nepal's 30,000,000 people: maybe over 10,000. Happily, quite a few folks in rural Nepal were at work outside when it hit.

Their troubles won't be going away any time soon. For one thing, there's a chance they won't get enough crops planted before monsoon season. ("In Nepal, senior UN official warns 'clock is ticking' for earthquake relief efforts," UN News Centre (May 4, 2015))

No pressure, but you might consider donating to CRS. They're helping folks in Nepal, and 92 other countries, including the ones I picked for this list:

• Catholic Relief Services
  (crs.org)
  • Where We Serve
    • Bolivia
    • Indonesia
    • Nepal
    • Sudan

CRS will help anyone who is in need:

"...As a part of the Universal Church, we work with local Catholic institutions around the world. As a Catholic agency that provides assistance to people in need in 93 countries without regard to race, religion or nationality, we also participate in humanitarian initiatives undertaken by a range of groups, including governments, other faith communities and secular institutions...."
(About Catholic Relief Services, crs.org)

"Universal?" "Catholic" is English for catholicus; a Latin word we get from katholikos, καθολικός, which is Greek for "universal." (September 7, 2014)

The phrase "social justice" doesn't appear (prudently, I think) on Catholic Relief Services' Guiding Principles page: but they do talk about the "option for the poor" and "solidarity." My guess is that a sufficiently-brittle conservative could assume that they're leftists.

On the other hand, they say that we're "created in the image of God, all human life is sacred and possesses a dignity that comes directly from our creation" — so a knee-jerk liberal might assume that they're they're right-wing religious fanatics.

Catholic Relief Services is an American member of Caritas Internationalis: a Catholic organization that's working to build a "civilization of love." I don't see a problem with their goals: ending poverty, promoting justice, and restoring dignity.

But, as I've said before, I'm not conservative or liberal: I'm Catholic. (November 3, 2008)

Dharahara Tower, Faith, and Politics

The Dharahara tower looked like an Islamic minaret topped by a statue of Shiva, a Hindu deity.

It was a military watchtower, and served as a tourist attraction until last month. 180 folks were in or near it when it collapsed: all dead. I've talked about divine retribution, the tower of Siloam, and getting a grip, before. (March 15, 2011)

Nepali religious beliefs are mostly Hindu:

• 80.7% Hindu
• 10.3% Buddhist
• 4.6% Muslim
• 3.7% Folk
• 1% Christian
• 1% Other
  (Pew Research, via Wikipedia)

Interestingly, the "secular state" currently running Nepal put one of their folks in charge of the (Hindu) Pashupatinath Temple in 2009.

After legal wrangles and remarkably little bloodshed, they let a qualified Bhatta priest have the job.

I gather that Hindus and Buddhists in Nepal don't see themselves as following two different religions: thanks to the country's history and culture. The national bosses are — yet again another topic.

Neighbors in Nepal

(From Google, BBC News, used w/o permission.)

Parishes in our area are doing a second collection for CRS Nepal on the third weekend of this month.

There aren't many places farther from my home in Minnesota than Nepal, so why should I care what happens there?

The reason is simple. They're neighbors.

I'm expected to love God, love my neighbors, treat others as I'd like to be treated: and see everyone as my neighbor. (Matthew 5:43-44, 7:12, 22:36-40, Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31 10:25-27, 29-37; Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1789)

That's fine, but in my language "love" means quite a few things. Someone can say "I love my brother; I love my wife; I love my friends, and I love my kids."

Unless something's seriously wrong, that's four different sorts of affection: what the ancient Greeks called agápe, éros, philia, and storge.

Making things more complicated, "I love food" expresses yet another emotional attachment: and if I keep writing about love, language, and linguini, this post won't be done in time.

If I love God the way I should, charity will follow.

"CHARITY: The theological virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake, and our neighbor as ourselves for the love of God (1822)."
(Catechism, Glossary)

Charity is one of the three theological virtues: along with faith and hope. Loving myself makes sense because God loves me. Loving neighbors makes sense, too — for the same reason. (Catechism, 1813, 1822-1828)

And that's still more topics.

More about love and neighbors:

• "Beaver Cleaver and the Common Good"
  (May 3, 2015)
  Particularly
  • The Universal Destination of Goods
  • Shoes and Carnegie Libraries
  • "Keep Warm, and Eat Well"
• "Boko Haram: Slavery, Death, and Love"
  (January 18, 2015)
  Particularly
  • Love and Conscience
• "Neighbors, Love, and Upping the Ante"
  (October 26, 2014)
  Particularly
  • Basic Principles - - -
  • - - - and the Long Haul
• "Charity, Nuns, and an Overloaded Helicopter"
  (April 28, 2011)
• "Caritas in Veritate: Charity, Justice, and the Common Good"
  (January 24, 2010)

Beaver Cleaver and the Common Good

I grew up in the 'good old days,' when many Americans enjoyed the seemingly-secure middle class lives of the Cleavers and Andersons.

Some parents, mine included, remembered that there's more to life than wealth: so I never considered running away to a commune.

But I understood why some folks my age, and a bit older, decided that buying stuff you don't need with money you don't have to impress people you don't like — made no sense at all.

I didn't have the horror that some older folks had for places like Drop City. It seemed to me that 'those crazy kids,' with their 'un-American' talk about peace, love, and brotherhood, had decided to take at least some of my Lord's values seriously.

That was a sharp contrast with venom-spewing radio preachers who hated commies, Catholicism, and rock music — which helped me learn to love rock 'n roll, eventually led me to become a Catholic, and that's another topic.

The Universal Destination of Goods

Disaffected youth of the '60s weren't the the first to try communal living:

"All who believed were together and had all things in common;

"they would sell their property and possessions and divide them among all according to each one's need."
(Acts 2:44-45)

My faith doesn't demand that I forsake worldly goods and live apart. But there's a long tradition of monks and hermits who took that path. The vowed, folks in religious orders, are part of the hierarchy: one of three kinds of vocation. (December 11, 2011)

Most of us are part of the lay faithful: folks who "...participate in their own way in the priestly, prophetic, and kingly functions of Christ...." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, Glossary)

For us, ownership of private property should be part of our life. (Catechism, 2211)

Private property is a good idea: it helps maintain our freedom and dignity, and gives a measure of security. But the right to private ownership isn't absolute.

That's because this world is God's gift to humanity. (Genesis 1:27-31)

It's for all of us: not just whoever has the biggest club, or owns the most corporate stock. "The universal destination of goods" is what we call the idea that God trusted humanity with stewardship of this world's resources: for our reasoned use. (Catechism, 2401-2406)

Divvying up those resources gives each of us a particular job: managing what we have, to use for ourselves and others. That's where justice and charity come in — or should. Differences in abilities and wealth aren't the problem: misusing these differences is. (Catechism, 1937-1938, 2402-2406)

Shoes and Carnegie Libraries

Sometimes folks with immense wealth don't do their job.

The shoe collection of Imelda Marcos may be an example of that. Or maybe not. Manufacturing and storing some 3,000 pairs of shoes provided employment for some folks: and helped stock two museums. Look me up after the Last Judgement, and we can see how that balances out.

The 2,509 Carnegie libraries, on the other hand, are almost certainly a good use of wealth. One of them is on Main Street in my small town: yet more topics.

Andrew Carnegie became a good sort of troublemaker, eventually giving away about 90% of his fortune and upsetting a few apple carts. Joggling them, anyway.

More recently, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation became the largest private foundation in the world. Bigger isn't necessarily better: but I don't see a problem with goals like saving lives and narrowing the gap between rich and poor.

Humanity's Troubles

America wasn't the only place with troubles in the '60s - - -

"...social unrest has gradually spread throughout the world. The acute restlessness engulfing the poorer classes in countries that are now being industrialized has spread to other regions where agriculture is the mainstay of the economy. The farmer is painfully aware of his 'wretched lot.'(9)

"Then there are the flagrant inequalities not merely in the enjoyment of possessions, but even more in the exercise of power. In certain regions a privileged minority enjoys the refinements of life, while the rest of the inhabitants, impoverished and disunited, 'are deprived of almost all possibility of acting on their own initiative and responsibility, and often subsist in living and working conditions unworthy of the human person.'(10)..."
("Populorum Progressio," Pope Paul VI (March 26, 1967))

- - - and humanity's troubles didn't start in the 20th century.

Leo XIII's "Rerum Novarum" of 1891, Saint Augustine of Hippo's "City of God," and Sirach 4:1 addressed social and economic ills.

Today's world isn't perfect, either. Unreasonable, unjust, inequalities in wealth and power still exist. That's wrong.

If I thought "Happy Days" America was the perfect society, I'd be trying to drag the world back to that era. Nostalgia is fine, but my memory's too good — the 'good old days' weren't. (August 29, 2014)

Practical Justice and Charity

Exodus 20:15 and Deuteronomy 5:19 say "You shall not steal."

The seventh commandment applies practical justice and charity to ownership. Letting someone who earned the 'fruits of labor' keep it is reasonable. (Catechism, 2450-2453)

It's part of natural law that's reflected in the Code  of Hammurabi, Minnesota Statutes, and every other legitimate legal system.

Sometimes we need to share, though.

Food, shelter, clothing are immediate, essential needs — during Minnesota winters, anyway. I couldn't fault someone for breaking into a shed to survive a blizzard, even if they "stole" fuel to run a portable heater. (Catechism, 2408)

Taking essentials to stay alive, squaring accounts later — if possible — is okay.

On the other hand, I wouldn't be allowed to steal my neighbor's new television: even if laws allowed it. (Catechism, 2409)

"Legal" and "right" should mean about the same thing, but sadly that's not always the case.

"Keep Warm, and Eat Well"

Our job, part of it, is building a better world. (Catechism, 1928-1942, 2419-2442)

The basics are simple: love God, love my neighbors, see everyone as my neighbor, and treat others as I'd like to be treated. (Matthew 5:43-44, 7:12, 22:36-40, Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31 10:25-27, 29-37; Catechism, 1789)

Living as if that's true, and important: that's hard. So is changing a society's cherished traditions, when they don't conform to those basic principles.

Matthew 25:34-46 make it clear that caring for the poor should be a very high priority. Defining poverty isn't necessarily easy, though.

Some folks in America are in genuine need. Others — well, my household has been at or near the 'poverty' threshold quite a few times, but we've never had to miss a meal.

We've always been "rich," by one standard. We've had a roof over our heads and more than enough food to last the day.

Not everyone has been so blessed.

I'm convinced that nobody should lack the essentials: food, clothing, shelter, medical care. What's essential and what's not depends on when, where, and how folks live. (Catechism, 2208, 2408, 2524)

There is no one 'correct' culture. We're not all alike: and that's how it's supposed to be. There are, however, guidelines that apply to everyone, no matter where or when we live. (Catechism, 1901, 1915, 1928-1948, 1957)

Then there's knowing what's right, and acting as if it matters.

"⁶ What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him?

"If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day,

"and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,' but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it?"
(James 2:15-16)

And that's yet again another topic.

Some of my take on justice, charity, and all that:

• "Climate Change, Science, and the Vatican"
  (May 1, 2015)
  Particularly
  • Individuals and the Common Good
• "Holy Family, Not '50s Family"
  (December 28, 2014)
  Particularly
  • Family and Freedom
  • Looking Ahead
• "Morality isn't Just About 'Morality' "
  (September 7, 2014)
  Particularly
  • New Rules, Unchanging Principles, and Twitter
  • Diversity, Dance, and a Distant Dream
• "Getting a Grip About Politics and Principles"
  (June 18, 2013)
  Particularly
  • Remembering 'the Good Old Days'
  • Laying Foundations For Generations to Come
• "Life, Death, Theft, and Catholic Teaching: Who Said This Was Easy?"
  (January 23, 2010)
  Particularly
  • Stealing is Wrong: Right
  • I'm Expected to Not Steal: I'm Also Expected to Not Let My Family Die

Background:

• "Populorum Progressio"
  Encyclical of Pope Paul VI on the Development of Peoples (March 26, 1967)
  (From w2.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_26031967_populorum.html (May 1, 2015))
• "Quadragesimo Anno"
  Encyclical of Pope Pius XI on Reconstruction of the Social Order (May 15, 1931)
  (From w2.vatican.va/content/pius-xi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-xi_enc_19310515_quadragesimo-anno.html (May 2, 2015))
• "Rerum Novarum"
  Encyclical of Pope Leo XIII on Capital and Labor (May 15, 1891)
  (From w2.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_15051891_rerum-novarum.html (May 2, 2015))

Following my Lord to the End of the Universe: And Beyond

(From Dosso Dossi, via Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.)
("The Ascension," by Dosso Dossi/Giovanni di Niccolò de Luteri.)

This is one of my favorite bits of the Bible:

"⁸ The eleven ⁹ disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them.

"¹⁰ When they saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted.

"¹¹ Then Jesus approached and said to them, 'All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

"Go, therefore, ¹² and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit,

"teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. ¹³ And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age."
(Matthew 28:16-20)

So, for slightly different reasons, is this:

"When they had gathered together they asked him, 'Lord, are you at this time going ⁴ to restore the kingdom to Israel?'

"⁵ He answered them, 'It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority.

"⁶ But you will receive power when the holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.'

"When he had said this, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him from their sight.

"While they were looking intently at the sky as he was going, suddenly two men dressed in white garments stood beside them.

"They said, 'Men of Galilee, why are you standing there looking at the sky? This Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven will return in the same way as you have seen him going into heaven.' "
(Acts 1:6-11)

Acts 1:11 reminds me of stories where, after the general's address, a sergeant says 'you heard the orders: Move out.'

Can't say that I blame the "Men of Galilee" for just standing there. They'd gotten orders from the Son of God, and seen my Lord get airlifted back to headquarters. That was a lot to absorb, all at once.

Standing Orders and Human Nature

Two millennia later, the standing orders outlined at the end of Matthew are still in effect.

I'm as sure as I can be, that 'making disciples of all nations' doesn't involve what Charlemagne did, and that's another topic. (May 18, 2014)

I don't think folks have changed all that much since the days of the Apostles. Despite what we're told in Mark 13:32 and 1 Thessalonians 5:1 about my Lord's return, every few years someone comes up with a new 'End Times Bible Prophecy.' More topics. (June 14, 2011)

I take what I read in Revelation 19:11-13 seriously. I'm also quite certain that I don't know more than Jesus — and that Revelation wasn't written by an American. Then there's John 12:15. Yet again more topics.

Comics, Talents, and Getting a Grip

Back in the '60s, Robert L. Short's "The Gospel According to Peanuts" included a comic strip in which the kids see Snoopy, shivering in the snow. They tell him "Be of good cheer, Snoopy." "Yes, be of good cheer." Then they walk away.

There's more to faith than just talk: or should be.

We're supposed to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and care for folks who are ill or in prison. Matthew 25:14-46 makes it clear that where we spend eternity depends on how well we carry out these basic acts of charity.

I could decide that, since I can't feed everyone who is hungry, end world poverty, and visit every one of the 7,000,000,000 or so folks alive who are ill or in prison: I'm doomed to eternal torment. That, in my considered opinion, would be silly.

The parable about talents in Matthew 25 makes the point that we're expected to use what we've got. It also, I think, tells us that we don't all have the same share of the world's goods. I think God is smart enough to know what I can, and can't, do.

We're supposed to take care of each other, and that's still more topics. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1928-1942, 2401-2407)

Works of Love

But aren't we supposed to be making disciples of all nations? How can we do that if we spend time helping the poor?

Maybe that's a silly question. Or maybe not. I've run into folks who get upset because 'nobody cares,' and that's — what else? — another topic.

I don't see making disciples, helping the poor, and all the rest, as either/or situations. Anyway, I think most folks are more impressed by what they see others doing, than what they say.

"...Works of love directed to one's neighbour are the most perfect external manifestation of the interior grace of the Spirit...."
("Evangelii Gaudium," p. 32, Pope Francis (2013))

I don't help the poor in Calcutta, work in a prison ministry, or volunteer at a soup kitchen. Those are all good ideas, but I'm pretty sure that we're not all supposed to love and serve God the same way. 1 Corinthians 12 and all that.

I'm pretty good at research and writing: no bragging there, it's part of the package God gave me. Putting these posts together seems like a good use for those skills.

So, until God pushes me into something else, I'll soldier on: sharing my delight in the beauty and order of this universe, and the unfolding wonders that God provides.

One way or another, I plan to keep learning how to know, love, and serve God for the rest of my life. After that, I hope that I'll be with my Lord after the closing ceremony we call the Last Judgment. (Catechism, 668-679, 1020-1050, 1720-1724)

"The heavens declare the glory of God..."

(From ESO/T. Preibisch, via IMAX and Wikimedia Commons, used w/o permission.)
(The Eta Carina Nebula.)

We've learned quite a bit about the universe in the two-dozen-plus centuries since Deuteronomy was written. But I'm not concerned about our knowing 'too much.'

If anything, being aware of the scale of this creation enhances its value as an example of the Creator's glory:

"¹ Think! The heavens, even the highest heavens, belong to the LORD, your God, as well as the earth and everything on it."
(Deuteronomy 10:14)

---

"When I see your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and stars that you set in place -

"⁴ What are humans that you are mindful of them, mere mortals that you care for them?

"⁵ Yet you have made them little less than a god, crowned them with glory and honor."
(Psalms 8:4-6)

---

"The heavens declare the glory of God; the sky proclaims its builder's craft."
(Psalms 19:2)

I think it's also prudent to remember that the universe, vast and astounding as it is, is a temporary affair:

"Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away."
(Mark 13:31)

---

"Then the sky was divided ¹³ like a torn scroll curling up, and every mountain and island was moved from its place."
(Revelation 6:14)

---

"¹ Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. The former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. ²"
(Revelation 21:1)

There's more, there always seems to be more. It's like the Gospel of John says:

"There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written."
(John 21:25)

More:

• "Evangelii Gaudium" ("The Joy of the Gospel")
  Pope Francis (November 24, 2013)
  (From w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium.html (December 1, 2013))

Related posts:

• Our mission
  • "Made in the Image of God: Great Power, Great Responsibilities"
    (May 18, 2014)
  • "It's the End of Civilization as We Know It: And About Time, Too"
    (February 9, 2014)
  • " 'When Fishermen Fish' "
    (January 26, 2014)
  • "Standing Orders and Spider-Man"
    (June 30, 2013)
  • " Hope, Joy, and Working for a Better World"
    (September 13, 2011)
• The big picture
  • "Time, Decisions, and a Sense of Scale"
    (September 28, 2013)
  • "Seeking Truth, Accepting Vastness"
    (April 2, 2013)
  • "Two Thousand Years of the Great Commission, and Some Guy With a Blog"
    (August 25, 2011)
  • "Apocalypse Whenever"
    (June 14, 2011)
  • "Last Judgment: Attendance Mandatory"
    (May 21, 2011)

Holiday Specials, Luke 10:37, and Making a Difference

It's the season for sappy sentiment, frenzied shopping, and tacky gifts.

This is also the time of year when holiday specials extol the virtues of being nice to each other and giving gifts. That's not quite 'the true meaning of Christmas,' but they're right: sort of.

Reciprocity

The idea that how we treat others will affect how they treat us is ancient, and shared by many cultures. It's in the Code of Hammurabi and Exodus 20:12; and wisdom from Pittacus of Mytilene, Confucious, and Mozi.

Jesus outlined the principle of reciprocity in Matthew and Luke. We've been calling it the Golden Rule at least since the 18th century:

"⁶ 'Do to others whatever you would have them do to you. This is the law and the prophets."
(Matthew 7:12)

"Do to others as you would have them do to you."
(Luke 6:31)

Love, Law, and the Golden Rule.

"Law" and "love" sometimes seem incompatible in today's America. I think that comes partly from a control freak version of "law," loudly endorsed by the establishment of the day.

Some Americans yearn for a return to those 'good old days.' I don't. I remember the 'Happy Days' era wouldn't want to go back, even if we could: which we can't, and that's another topic. Topics.

When someone asked Jesus for the greatest commandment of the law, my Lord said: love God, love your neighbor. He went on to say:

"²⁴ The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.' "
(Matthew 22:40)

On top of that, we're supposed to see everyone as our neighbor. (Matthew 5:43-44, 22:36-40; Mark 12:29-31; Luke 10:25-27, Luke 10:29-37; Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1822, 1825)

Since the Golden Rule "is the law and the prophets," thinking that there's a connection between God's version of love and law probably isn't too much of a stretch.

Making a Difference: Or Trying

What Jesus said about the good Samaritan in Luke 10:30-37 makes it obvious that my love for neighbors can't be safely abstract. I'm expected to actually do something about it.

Does that mean I'm personally responsible for ending world hunger, finding a cure for cancer, and uniting the world in brotherly love? I certainly hope not. I'm just one man, living near the center of the North American continent, with limited resources.

I could throw up my hands and despair: but that's a bad idea, and against the rules. So is presumption, and that's yet another topic. (Catechism, 2091)

Doing nothing isn't an option, either. What I can do — I'll get back to that.

Faith and Balance

After the good Samaritan, Luke shows us two sisters. (Luke 10:38-42)

One of them, Martha, was "burdened with much serving." The other, Mary, did nothing but listen to Jesus.

There's more going on here than a frazzled hostess asking for help, as the footnotes point out:

"The story of Martha and Mary further illustrates the importance of hearing the words of the teacher and the concern with women in Luke....

"... it is remarkable for first-century Palestinian Judaism that a woman would assume the posture of a disciple at the master's feet (see also ⇒ Luke 8:35; ⇒ Acts 22:3), and it reveals a characteristic attitude of Jesus toward women in this gospel (see ⇒ Luke 8:2-3)."
(Footnotes 13, 14, Luke 10, New American Bible.)

I've heard the story of Martha and Mary used an example of how we shouldn't get distracted by everyday concerns. I'll go along with that, but Jesus didn't tell Martha she was wrong. He said "...Mary has chosen the better part...." (Luke 10:42)

Maybe the idea is that we need a balance. James 2:14-19 makes it pretty clear that faith without works is "dead."

Doing Our Job: Two Millennia And Counting

Getting back to what I can do about ending world hunger, curing cancer, and achieving a lasting peace — realistically, not much.

But I can make a small difference. My wife and I support carefully-chosen charities. She occasionally volunteers for parish functions, and I do what I can for the local Knights of Columbus. What I write may do some good, too.

We're working on a job that started about two thousand years ago:

"¹¹ Then Jesus approached and said to them, 'All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

"Go, therefore, ¹² and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit,

"teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. ¹³ And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.' "
(Matthew 28:18-20)

As I've said before, part of our job is making the world a better place. (Catechism 1928-1942)

It's slow work, and sometimes frustrating. But my guess is that we have a lot of time to work with: and will need every millennia of it.



Related posts:

• "Golgotha, Rome, and Words that Mean Something"
  (April 28, 2013)
• "'Arrogant Scoundrels,' 'People Who Care,' and Me"
  (March 10, 2013)
• "Prayer, Technology, and Looking Ahead"
  (February 24, 2013)
• "Street Performers and Making Progress"
  (May 6, 2012)
  Particularly
  • Prostitution and Slavery: Ancient Traditions, but Wrong
• "Hope, Joy, and Working for a Better World"
  (September 13, 2011)

Getting a Grip About Unpleasant Realities

A 'reform school' in Florida finally closed in 2011. Survivors say it that kids were physically and sexually abused there, but it can't have been all that bad.

In a century of operation, only two adults and 96 kids are buried in marked graves on the school grounds: that we know of, anyway.

Dead and Ignored: Until Now

Some folks in Florida are digging up the bodies, trying to identify the people buried there. Maybe we can learn who they were, how they died, and maybe return the bodies to their families for a more conventional burial or cremation.

I think that's a good idea. Kids in reform schools are people, and may have families who a rip about them. That might be why they're in a reform school.

Identifying the bodies so that they can be returned to those families makes sense: to me.

Not everybody sees it that way. Some folks are afraid that they'll make less money if what other people did in a previous century gets reviewed.

Death, Justice, and "Negative Publicity"

They may be right. I don't have a problem with folks wanting to make money. I wouldn't mind doing that myself. I do, however, have a problem with trying to keep anonymous crime victims from receiving at least a measure of posthumous justice - to make a few extra bucks.

'Pillars of the community' like that are part of the reason that I never tried - or wanted - to be 'successful' in the conventional sense.

Here's part of what got me started on this topic:


(from Reuters, via FoxNews.com, used w/o permission)
"White metal crosses mark graves at the cemetery of the former Arthur G. Dozier School for Boys in Marianna, Florida. (Reuters)"

"...Sid Riley, the managing editor of the weekly Jackson County Times, wrote to state officials in July, calling the plans a 'terrible project.'

" 'We have an active industrial development program and a tourist development program here. If they proceed with this terrible project, our community will be exposed to over a year of negative publicity, 'Riley wrote...

""...Jackson County Commissioner Jeremy Branch said the project would continue to blemish the county and Marianna, where the school is located. He said he was confused as to what the exhumation of the bodies would discover.

" 'Are we trying to determine if bad things happened 100 years ago in America?' Branch said. 'We know bad things happened in America.'..."
(FoxNews.com)

Make-Believe Virtue?

I sympathize, a little, with folks who fear "negative publicity." It's possible that Jackson County's industrial and tourist development programs will have to deal with unpleasant realities.

But, obvious as this may seem, reality is real. I think dealing with it makes more sense than trying to live in a make-believe world.

On the other hand, maybe Deadwood South Dakota would be more prosperous if city leaders had re-named it 'Happy Grove,' and made an effort to cover up Deadwood's colorful past. Or maybe not:

• City of Deadwood
  www.cityofdeadwood.com

Dead Babies in Central Minnesota

Acknowledging Jackson County's unpleasant past, identifying the anonymous dead, and telling families where their sons are buried, is a good idea.

The 'dark past' of my adopted home town isn't quite the same as Jackson County's. Our abandoned cemetery holds the unmarked graves of quite a few babies and a maybe some young mothers. Folks with the local Knights of Columbus council are reconstructing burial records, and maintaining the cemetery.

As far as I know, there wasn't abuse involved in those deaths. Not at the institution where they died, anyway.

At the time, a few generations back, unwed mothers were pariahs. Those with wealthy parents might get sent abroad and later repackaged as virgins suitable for marriage to some promising young man from another 'good' family. The rest had very few options other than suicide or descent to the bottom of society's ladder.

The state of Minnesota ran a few places where young women who were pregnant but not married could go to have their babies without being molested. Giving birth wasn't an entirely easy or safe process. Sometimes the baby died, sometimes both mother and baby didn't survive.

One of these 'schools' was the Sauk Centre Home School for Girls, on the north side of town. When one of the inmates died, locals buried them in a place called Brookdale Cemetery. We think somewhere between one and three adults are buried there, and maybe 20 babies.

"...The reformatory school for girls opened in 1911. Pregnant girls were often brought in by train so they could give birth at the reformatory with the agreement that the baby would become property of the state and then put up for adoption...."
(Bryan Zollman, Sauk Centre Herald (June 19, 2013))

Someone charitably described record keeping from the Home School as "fairly poor." Figuring out who is buried at Brookdale, or even how many graves we have, is hard: when the State of Minnesota cut funding for that 'home school,' they also removed the grave markers.

Giving credit where credit is due, though: the state government at least allowed locals to bury the kids; and isn't trying to stop volunteers from maintaining the cemetery.

Dealing With Death and Life

Don't expect a rant about God killing wretched sinners, by the way. Two of our six children died before birth, we nearly lost my wife with the last one, but I'm pretty sure that God didn't kill those kids to 'get even' with me.

I'm Catholic. We've got more sense than that:

• "Original Sin and the Unfairness of Gravity"
  (July 11, 2012)
• "Baptism of Desire: Or, Two Thousand Years of Not Knowing Everything"
  (May 3, 2010)

We're expected to feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, clothe the naked, visit the sick and imprisoned, help the poor: and bury the dead. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2447)

It's 'the right thing to do,' and personally important in the long run. (Matthew 25:31-46)

Related posts:

• " 'Love Thy Neighbor:' Putting Faith Into Practice"
  (February 5, 2012)
• "South Sudan, the Táin Bó Cúalnge, and Working for a Better World"
  (January 6, 2012)
• "Faith, Works, and Spirituality for Dummkopfs"
  (October 5, 2011)
• "Clark Veterans Cemetery, Angeles City, Philippines: What's the Big Deal?"
  (July 3, 2011)
• "Rambling on About Death, Resurrection, Burial and Cremation"
  (September 25, 2009)
  Particularly
  • Cremation: Not Recommended, but Allowed

In the news:

• "Bodies to be exhumed from notorious Florida reform school for boys"
  FoxNews.com (August 7, 2013)

This post might look familiar, if you know me on Google Plus. It's based very closely on something I wrote there earlier today.