Venezuela: A "Splendid Little War"? Or Something Else..?

"I desire to see America fashioned into the greatest nation in the world, greatest not so much by virtue of her area and wealth as by her freedom and glory."

There's a quotation for you. It might seem fitting as a cheer for the latest expansionist foray of the current MAGA regime (until recently the "no-more-foreign-wars" people). But this statement wasn't made by any of the present rulers of the United States, even though it wants to associate "America" with "greatness," and aspires to "America" becoming "the greatest nation in the world."

Every red-blooded patriotic American wants that. Right?

Nevertheless, these words were not written by MAGA or by any previous political party or movement or any citizen in the history of the United States.

In fact, these words are a translation. From Spanish.

And they were written by a man named Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar Palacios Ponte y Blanco, a native of Venezuela and champion of Venezuelan independence and of Latin America as a whole (which is what he meant by "America").

Behind the "iconic" figure of Simon Bolivar as The Liberator, or "the George Washington" of Hispanic America, there stands a complex political and personal figure — a reformer, a democrat, an idealist, and (when he deemed it necessary) a dictator: a man of the Enlightenment, a Freemason and a "bad Catholic" who received the last sacraments before his death and who — more often than not — favored the presence of the Catholic faith in the lives of the Hispanic people.

Simon Bolivar lived a brief stormy life, full of military and political activity, founding states in South America, fleeing failed states and refounding others, fighting wars, writing constitutions, dreaming of a future federated republic encompassing all of (Hispanic) America, and searching for practical government policies to bring it about.

The Latin American political landscape remains tumultuous and complicated to this day, so that it's not surprising that Bolivar is claimed as the inspiration of everyone from Hugo Chavez and the criminally corrupt Chavista regime (that was not overthrown in last weekend's "military operation" in Caracas) to once-again slighted opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and Edmundo Gonzalez — her candidate who won the 2024 presidential election only to have it shamelessly stolen by Maduro and the Chavista gang.

Details, details... Of course, the whole project is a violation of international law. But — Pish-Posh! — who's gonna stop us? Maduro really is a "bad guy" who was destroying his own  country and much else besides. Now, the United States regime is going to "run" Venezuela, with the cooperation of the Chavistas, who presumably will keep the natives under the heels of their boots while we "drill-baby-drill" in the world's largest oil reserves. But assurances have been given that Venezuela will be rebuilt, reorganized, reformed, and restored as a thriving democracy... after an "undetermined period" of Yankee tutelage.

The United States is back in the business of "nation-building," in a place it knows nothing about, with no idea of the needs of the people, the terrain of their land, or their own proud history.

Simon Bolivar must be turning over in his grave.

How will it all unfold? Who knows? One thing is sure: Anglo-America has plunged into a full-on, long term engagement with Hispanic America. So much for building walls. Might something good come out of this? Perhaps — after more violence and painful lessons learned and humble conversion of many hearts — it will be changed into a genuine collaboration, the beginning of a new experience of solidarity that this hemisphere so desperately needs.

Christmas Week… Epiphany Week!!

As the lovely Christmas Season continues, let’s have a peek at some decorations:

This is ME at Sixty-Three

I’m 63 years old on this day. And I don’t have much to say. Instead two pictures I present here. And I thank God for every moment, every day, every year.

Happy New Year and Merry Christmas Season

Happy New Year 2026! 

And Merry Christmas Day Eight, the Octave of Christmas Week, dedicated to Mary the Mother of Jesus, the Theotokos, the Ever-Virgin Mother of God, Mother of the Word who became flesh in her womb, whose birth we continue to celebrate. 

"Every day can be the beginning of a new life, thanks to God’s generous love, his mercy and the response of our freedom. It is beautiful to view the coming year in this way: as an open journey to be discovered. Indeed, through grace, we can venture forth on this journey with confidence – free and bearers of freedom, forgiven and bringers of forgiveness, trusting in the closeness and goodness of the Lord who accompanies us always….

"As we set out toward the new and unique days that await us, let us ask the Lord to help us experience at every moment, around us and upon us, the warmth of his fatherly embrace and the light of his benevolent gaze. In this way, we may better understand and keep constantly in mind who we are and towards what marvelous destiny we are heading" (Pope Leo XIV).

[Image: Coptic Ethiopian icon of the Nativity]

A "New Reality" at the Center of Human Life

It's interesting to read from old journals I kept intermittently over the years. I have some reflections I wrote in a notebook thirty-five years ago, on December 28, 1990, marking the Feast of the Holy Innocents. The little children killed by Herod in his ruthless attempt to destroy the 'newborn King' in Bethlehem are each and all honored as martyrs and saints in the Church.

Life changes, technologies change, aspirations and disappointments change, nations and governments change. I have certainly changed in so many ways.

Still, my faith remains the same. What I referred to as "the new reality in our midst" in 1990 remains "new" now, at the end of the year 2025. Jesus Christ uniting Himself with us and redeeming us places Him always "at the center of human life."

When we celebrate these feasts each year, we remember and experience afresh the "new reality" of Christ who has come to dwell with us and who renews all things.

From December 28, 1990:

"These martyrs did not preach. Unlike Stephen two days ago they did not see visions. They were simply there. They were victims to man's hatred and fear of God's coming. But God has come, and man's indiscriminate rage against Him cannot conquer Him: rather, in some mysterious way even it becomes the 'stuff' - the material - for something new. God's victorious coming is made manifest by the fact that these unconscious victims of slaughter are real witnesses. The event of their deaths occurs for the sake of the new reality in our midst, and shares in that reality and in the glory it establishes at the center of human life."

Jesus Comes to Save Sinners

Mercy is an incredible thing.

During Christmas we remember Jesus coming among us. He comes for the poor, and for the Gentiles, and for Israel - for the whole world. He comes to seek out and save what is lost. He comes for sinners.

Jesus loves those whom we would regard as the worst sinners, the people we would consider disgusting. He has not given up on them. He loves them, He goes out in search of them, He gives Himself completely for them.

He wants sinners. He wants the most awful people, the disgraceful people, the people we don't want anything to do with. He wants to change their hearts by His grace, to bring them to repentance and conversion, to heal them, to forgive them, and to enable them to love Him. He wants them to be with Him forever. His heart burns with love for them: the ones we think of as gross, horrible people; the ones we would consider irretrievably lost.

He seeks them - indeed, He seeks each and every one of us - with a love beyond anything we could imagine or measure.

This should be a cause for great hope. For who among us looks in the mirror and sees a face with no cause for shame? We are all sinners. But the hope of the world is our hope. Jesus wants to awaken in us and draw forth from our hearts a true sorrow for our sins, and then He wants to fill our hearts with His love and transform us and make us beautiful.

On the Cross, in the Church, in the sacraments, and in these beautiful days of Christmas that we celebrate, He shows how He has given Himself to us, and how He longs for us.

He wants us to pray and to open our hearts to Him in trust. We must pray, "Lord, make me the person You will me to be. Shape me, change me, lead me. I believe in Your love for me. I trust in You."

Merry Christmas 2025

Merry Christmas to everyone, from all of us! All the "kids" (and grandkids) are here today. [This picture is a clearer version of the family photo I previously shared on my blog from Catie's baptism in October.]🎄⭐☺️

Christ is born! Come let us adore Him! ⭐ #MerryChristmas #ChristmasDayOne

Janaro Girls are Having Fun! (and some "news")

Presenting the Janaro Girls, the next generation!

Eileen "arranged" the three granddaughters on our couch and took a bunch of pictures while attempting to get all of them to smile at the same time. It was an impossible task, but they did their best.

Catie, of course, doesn't know what's going on. At three months old, she can be put in a sitting position and "leaned" next to four-year-old Maria. When she's not crying or sleeping, Catie pretty much has this face. Actually, she will smile in more personal interactions. She has little dimples and is positively "snuggly." Maria is "composed" and knows her role, although sometimes she looks a little restless and distracted, as if she just wants to get this photo session done. Anna, who just turned two, is the "wild card" here. She is happy to "ham things up" (as the pictures show).

These kiddos just brighten up the whole house whenever they come over. It's wonderful! Otherwise, things are pretty quiet, but sometimes I appreciate that too. My mind feels like it needs "more rest" these days. Quiet is good.

I recall that when I began this blog almost 15 years ago this house was a very noisy house. Five kids living at home with us in this little place. Jojo was the same age as Maria back then. She and her siblings were the "stars of the blog" in those days.

We are looking forward to everyone coming over for Christmas dinner this year (it's gonna be a crowded table🙂). But, of course, the "kids" are all grown up! Jojo is still at home and finishing high school. The others are living their grown-up lives, so I think I should let them tell their own stories. Still, we're a close family and we see them often, and certain events must be noted (portions of this blog serve as a kind of "family chronicle"). Grandchildren continue to move our story into the future, while our (former) kids still have important milestones like graduations, engagements, marriages... engagements...

Remember Teresa Janaro? Of course. The girl I used to say was "only-the-size-of-an-extra-large-pizza"? You have heard much about her over the years. She's 23 years old now, and this past Thanksgiving she got engaged! Will, her fiance, has already appeared in our more recent family pictures, so this is not exactly a surprise. He's a great guy, and I'm looking forward to having another son-in-law. The wedding will be in June 2026. I'll get to be "father of the bride" once again, which is a happy task. You can be sure there will be stories and pictures.

"Let the Earth Be Opened"

Fourth Sunday of Advent.

The days are full of signs. We have struggled through this long night. We have crept along our ways, blind, hoping for some small light, never dreaming that there might be a sun that even now is lifting the darkness from the edge of the sky. A slow brightening, wherein things begin to take shape and faces begin to appear.

The light is coming, the unimagined Dawn.

"The Radiance of Your Glory"

Collect for December 19th. This prayer is very beautiful.

Christmas is almost here!

We Are Not Alone

Pope Leo encourages us to hope for "beautiful and joyful" events to happen to us in the approaching Christmas season, because we are not alone. Jesus walks with us, and his Spirit is at work in us and among us.

"We know that even in the face of the greatest challenges, we are not alone: the Lord is near, he walks with us, and with him at our side, something beautiful and joyful will always happen" (Pope Leo XIV).

Rejoice! And Trust in the Lord.

#GaudeteSunday, the Third Sunday of Advent, is here already. Today we cry out, “Rejoice! The Lord is near.” 

Rejoice! Even if you don't "feel" it. There is a joy "deep-down" within us — greater than our sorrows and pain — that sustains us when we adhere to Jesus Christ. He accompanies us with His love, which is transforming our lives and giving meaning and value to everything in them. 

Every frustration, every pain, every sadness, every suffering, loneliness, weakness, or limitation is "already" being changed into a path to joy by Christ who renews all things. 

Trust in the Lord!

The Virgin of Guadalupe "in Her Own Words"

On this great Feast Day, I want to present two excerpts from the original account of the events of December 9-12, 1531, as dictated by Saint Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin in the language of the Nahua peoples and recorded by an indigenous Mexican, Antonio Valeriano. These are Mary's words to Saint Juan Diego and to all of us, and they are an important complement to the singular icon that accompanies them.

The translation is by Father Martinus Cawley, O.C.S.O., a lifelong scholar of Nahuatl and native Mexican texts, above all the critical edition of Antonio Valeriano's original account, known as the Nican Mopohua. Father Cawley endeavored to render into English the poetic cadence of the text, which corresponds to the rich aesthetic quality of the image.

To communicate herself and her Son, Mary entered a particular place, time, and culture. In the same way, she desires to dwell in a particular way with each one of us, in our families, our homes, and our communities.

In her company, we always find her Son and our Brother, Jesus. And through her we learn how much Jesus wants to stay with us.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The words of Our Lady of Guadalupe to Saint Juan Diego

(as presented in the Nican Mopohua):

"Do know this, do be assured of it in your heart,

My Littlest One,

that I Myself, I am the Entirely and Ever Virgin, Saint Mary,

Mother of the True Divinity, of God Himself.

Because of Him, Life goes on, Creation goes on;

His are all things afar, His are all things near at hand,

things above in the Heavens, things here below on the Earth.

"How truly I wish it, how greatly I desire it,

that here they should erect Me My Temple!

Here would I show forth, here would I lift up to view,

here would I make a gift

of all My Fondness for My Dear Ones,

all My Regard for My Needy Ones,

My Willingness to Aid them,

My Readiness to Protect them.

"For truly I Myself,

I am your Compassionate Mother,

yours, for you yourself,

for everybody here in the Land,

for each and all together,

for all others too, for all Folk of every kind,

who do but cherish Me,

who do but raise their voices to Me,

who do but seek Me,

who do but raise their trust to Me.

"For here I shall listen to their groanings, to their saddenings;

here shall I make well and heal up

their each and every kind of disappointment,

of exhausting pangs, of bitter aching pain."

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

"Do listen,

do be assured of it in your heart, My Littlest One, 

that nothing at all should alarm you, should trouble you, 

nor in any way disturb your countenance, your heart.

"And do not be afraid of this Pestilence,

nor of any other pestilence, 

or any rasping hardship.

"For am I not here, I, Your Mother? 

Are you not in the Cool of My Shadow?

in the Breeziness of My Shade? 

Is it not I that am your Source of Contentment?

Are you not cradled in My Mantle?

cuddled in the Crossing of My Arms? 

Is there anything else for you to need?

"Nothing else, though, should trouble you,

should disquiet you."

Juan Diego, Mother Mary, and God’s Merciful Love

Today is the Feast of Saint Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, patron of indigenous peoples, instrument and messenger of the Mother of God, the merciful Mother of every human person and all peoples. Here Mary shows and offers her love (which draws its strength entirely from the redeeming grace of her Son Jesus) to the whole world at the dawn of the first global epoch. It was a time full of sorrows and wars and terrible injustices, but also of new opportunities for witness to the Gospel and for mutual service in fraternal love and communion. 

And, in a special way, this great and enduring sign — given in Mexico City in 1531, before there were any borders — also remains among us who dwell in “this land,” as an “icon” of God’s merciful love for all the peoples of “America,” North, Central, and South. 

#OurLadyOfGuadalupe #SaintJuanDiego

Mary, Conceived Without Sin

Happy Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception … and the beginning of the beautiful “Days of Mary” that light up every Advent Season. Here are Saints Joachim and Anna, parents of Mary according to ancient Christian tradition, who were “there” (and did their part) in the events that led up to Mary’s being conceived without original sin. The Byzantine icon represents the Eastern churches’ celebration (tomorrow) of “The Conception [of Mary, in the womb of] Saint Anne.” The miracle was Mary’s being preserved from the “inheritance” of the sin of Adam and Eve (which otherwise marks every human being from the moment they are generated with a “fallen human nature”) by virtue of God’s foreknowledge of the redeeming merits of her Son. Thus, the grace of salvation “begins” with Jesus’s mother, like the first light in the morning sky before the dawn. 

Tomorrow (in the Western Church) is the feast of the humble man who was entrusted 1500 years later with an utterly unique “sign” of Mary’s unconditional maternal love for every human being - the poor indigenous Mexica peasant who I believe to be among the greatest of all the saints: Saint Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin. His tilma still bears today the astonishing, scientifically inexplicable image of “Our Lady of Guadalupe.” Friday, December 12 is the celebration of Nuestra Señora who gave us her image on that day in 1531, and who remains “present” in her “house,” the basilica on Tepeyac hill in Mexico City (virtually the center of the “American continent”). She heals the wounds of all her sons and daughters. She is a sign of unity, solidarity, and hope.

Happy Saint Nicholas Day!

Happy Saint Nicholas Day! 

“O Father and Pontiff [Bishop] Nicholas, the holiness of your life was set before your flock as a rule of faith, and example of meekness and a teaching of temperance; wherefore you acquired greatness through humility and spiritual wealth through poverty. Pray to Christ God that He may save our souls” (Troparion of the Feast of Saint Nicholas, Byzantine Liturgy).

The Commitment to Peace

Pope Leo speaks about the strength that comes from a genuine commitment to PEACE. 

He is not naive. He knows that true peace is difficult, and that authentic dialogue requires patience and the persistent search for lines of communication where mutual trust can be fostered. He knows that self-defense against aggression may be legitimate and necessary, but that it is also fraught with physical and moral perils and the danger of uncontrolled escalation. Legitimate self-defense only underscores the need to bring about a just and lasting peace.

We are called to be peacemakers, to work and pray for peace, to continue to hope for peace.

"The commitment and love for peace know no fear in the face of apparent defeat, are not daunted by disappointment, but look ahead, welcoming and embracing all situations with hope" (Pope Leo XIV).

Saint Francis Xavier, East Asia, and the "Catholicity" of Christ

December 3: The incredible SAINT FRANCIS XAVIER, missionary to East Asia. To his intercession (among others) I entrust my ongoing and increasingly difficult work of studying and "listening to" the great historic civilization of China and the drama and difficulty of its recent past and present reality. Today's Saint began to build a "Great Bridge" to facilitate an encounter with the peoples beyond the "Great Wall", and his confreres - Ruggieri, Ricci, Trigault, Valignano, et. al. along with their Chinese collaborators Li Zhizao, Xu Guangqi, Yang Tingjun, Candida Xu, and many others - continued a remarkable, profoundly human, mutually enriching dialogue of cultures within the missionaries' witness to Christ and the free response of Chinese converts. This permitted the Gospel to take root and flourish in an "organic" Chinese inculturation wherein all that was true and beautiful in China's great wisdom tradition opened itself to the West and showed new facets of the "Catholicity" of Christ's Church. Tragically, misunderstandings and, eventually, the greedy abuses of colonial domination by Western nations obscured this evangelical and cultural work (though not entirely — the Catholic faith remained through the centuries and has endured many trials).

But Francis Xavier was no seeker of earthly power or riches; he was a man on fire with the love of God, with a passion to witness to Jesus through all the world. He preached in India, was the first Catholic missionary in Japan, and longed to reach China - where he finally died of an illness (having reached the limits of human endurance) on an island seven miles from the coast of the southern province of Guangdong. The ardor of his missionary heart brought a great many people to Christ, shined the light of the Gospel explicitly in nations where it had never shone before, and planted seeds - many of which have yet to grow, blossom, and bear fruit. But they will…

Welcome to Advent 2025

This Advent, let us remember that Jesus is with us, that He loves us, and that He is the Lord of history.

The 1700-Year-Old Legacy of the First Council of Nicaea

Pope Leo XIV, Bartholomew (Orthodox Patriarch of Constantinople), and other leaders of Catholic and other ancient churches met together in Turkiye in recent days to mark the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council of Nicaea.

The Council was — a remains today — a great source and hope for the unity of all Christians. In the Creed that clarifies the truth revealed by Christ and handed on by the Scriptures and the Apostolic Tradition, we profess our common faith in the Person of Jesus Christ, consubstantial with the Father in His Divinity, who assumed our humanity and entered history for our salvation.

The Example of Dorothy Day

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has honored the 45th anniversary of the death of Dorothy Day in this Instagram post. They exhort us to follow her example. She loved and served the poor and recognized the ineradicable dignity of every human person. She also saw prophetically and spoke boldly about problems in the United States of America that many of her fellow Catholics were blind to in her time.

Encouraged by Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV, the U.S. bishops recently spoke firmly for the humanity of immigrants facing this regime’s cruel and chaotic mass deportation policy. Perhaps we are all beginning to appreciate the need to see our own country as Jesus sees us, with great mercy (for he knows our weakness) but also with ardor for suffering persons we would rather ignore — poor persons whose needs we can only see if we break free of our comforts in order to accompany them and share their sufferings.

Happy Thanksgiving 2025

What a year it has been! Now it's the Thanksgiving Holiday in the United States, and we find that gratitude endures even through the troubles and anxieties, the twists and turns, the joys and struggles of our personal and social lives. 

We are reminded more clearly and urgently of the One who gives us everything, in Whom we hope for the fulfillment of everything. This is a hope that does not disappoint; it is sustained by the faith and love that give us a “taste,” already, of the fulfillment we seek and the life we share with the One who has loved us first.

Holidays at my age are like points of "intersection" between memories of the past and hopes for the future that constitute the present moment as a celebration of life, of the remarkable history of my family, in which I have participated and within which I continue to be called to offer what has been given to me. It is a history enfolded within a greater history which is being directed mysteriously by the One who knows each one of us, who has called us to exist and live in relation to one another, and who walks with us as our companion. He gives us the strength of hope even in the darkest moments, and He reminds us of the Origin and Destiny of every joy, every moment of light, every beautiful memory.

I include here a picture of some very delicious apple pie. We have pumpkin pie on Thanksgiving, but we also have apple pie. This continues a family tradition: my father loved apple pie. He didn't care much for pumpkin pie, but he was always ready for a fresh baked apple pie - on Thanksgiving or any other day. Dad, we will always love you, and we are grateful for you!

I miss my Dad and my Mom, and my grandparents and the relatives who filled the table of my childhood. May the Lord grant them eternal rest and unfading joy.

Vietnamese Catholics: The Story of John Nguyen Huu Cau

Yesterday (November 24th) we celebrated the 117 Martyrs of Vietnam canonized by John Paul II in 1988, who died during numerous persecutions (mostly in the 19th century) and who in a sense “represent” over 100,000 martyrs of this period. Many Vietnamese Catholics continued to give powerful witness to their faith during the tumultuous years of the 20th century and right up to the present day. Here I would like to present the story of one such witness — John Nguyen Huu Cau —who encountered Jesus Christ and converted while imprisoned under the Communist regime, and who continued to suffer many years thereafter, sustained by his newfound Catholic faith:

On March 22, 2014, a Vietnamese political prisoner was finally released after 37 years of enduring the horrors of the Communist prison system. He was almost 70 years old, nearly blind and deaf and afflicted in many other ways because of the brutal treatment by which his captors had sought to erase his humanity.

But Nguyen Huu Cau was not bitter. On the contrary: in spite of the years of injustice inflicted upon him, he said that he had learned to love and forgive his enemies. Amidst the inhumanity of labor camps and prison, Cau had discovered the truth about humanity: Jesus Christ. The story of his conversion is truly remarkable.

When the long war in Vietnam ended in a Communist victory in April 1975, Nguyen Huu Cau—an officer in the South Vietnamese (anti-Communist) army—was captured and sent to a labor camp for five years of "re-education." Nevertheless, Cau already had a considerable education of his own in music and literature. After his release from the camp in 1980, he continued to write songs and poetry, and he maintained a deep love for his country and a passion for justice.

When Cau saw the corrupt and criminal actions of the Communist Party in his home province, he protested. In particular, he denounced two officials for specific crimes. Cau sought to bring these men to justice, but instead he himself was put on trial and charged with undermining the government. He insisted that he was innocent, but the courts were as corrupt as the officials they were protecting, and they convicted Cau in 1983 and sentenced him to death (later commuted to life imprisonment).

Cau was subjected to long periods of solitary confinement and other specially brutal measures because he continued to protest his own innocence and denounce other injustices in the prison system. He refused to apply for a "pardon," or special amnesty, or anything that would imply his acceptance of the guilty verdict. Over time his integrity as a prisoner of conscience became known to international human rights groups.

What remained secret was the source of Cau’s strength and long endurance in these trials. The first years were desperate. Even as he considered suicide, however, he began to learn the ways of the Catholic prisoners who were sustained by love for Jesus and devotion to the Virgin Mary. One of these was Jesuit Father Joseph Nguyen Cong Doan, who instructed Cau. He was struck by Cau’s progress in faith and prayer after the latter claimed that Mary had saved him from suicide. Cau began spending entire days praying the rosary and the stations of the cross. From his chains Cau marked off 50 links and used them as his rosary. And while he persevered in seeking justice, his anger and frustration were slowly replaced by love of God and love for his brothers and sisters, his fellow prisoners, even his persecutors. Fr Doan secretly baptized him at Easter 1986.

For 28 more years, John Nguyen Huu Cau prayed. Finally—broken in health but not in spirit, released for pity’s sake in 2014 with his innocent plea uncompromised—he attended Mass for the first time in his life, received the Eucharist, and told his story to the Catholic community of Saigon and the whole world.

Christina Grimmie Gave Us Great Music, and So Much More

Saturday was the Feast of Saint Cecilia🎶, and I expressed gratitude for all the musicians who have accompanied me on my life's journey. But I have one more thing to say. I want to single out in particular the amazing young woman whose voice and luminous compassion still bring healing and consolation to my soul even now, nearly ten years after her utterly tragic death.

I mean, of course, Christina Grimmie.

She was a singer of astonishing power, precision, range, and depth of feeling. She played the piano beautifully and wrote her own songs as well as composing her own wonderful arrangements of covers from the early 2010s. Christina gave us great music. But she also gave us so much more.

Her pioneering work with YouTube and her overall-social-media-engagement had a profound impact on her own peers and people of all ages who “followed” her. Years before the internet was flooded by “influencers,” Christina certainly had a real influence on the lives of thousands of people all over the world (among her three million YouTube subscribers). She has convinced me that contemporary communications technologies can be used to mediate the loving "presence" of a person and a true "encounter" that awakens something new in the human hearts of those who "meet her" through the screen. It’s not easy, but clearly it’s possible because Christina did it — without tricks, without egoism, with a joyful, honest, humble presentation of her magnificent music that was seemingly organically integrated with the whole of her gentle-yet-magnanimous person. I think she had a gift — a rare gift — for giving herself in this way, through media.

It's easy to miss this unique quality she had, but I think that in her life it was a vocation sustained by God's grace. Whether it was on YouTube, live streaming, Twitter, in her recorded music, in her own concerts, or in the amazing live television performances in 2014 on "The Voice," Christina "shook" people with her music, but also with her simple but profound humanity, with her extraordinary-ordinary way of living in accord with reality, with her openness and readiness to give her great talent and herself. She not only "broke the fourth wall" (as they say in audiovisual media), she made it disappear. Then, after her own live concerts, she wanted to meet everyone face-to-face, to greet them with a hug and an open ear to listen to their troubles and aspirations. Christina was deeply committed to open meet-and-greets after her shows and was willing to take as much time as was necessary to attend to every person.

Of course, this made her extremely vulnerable, but ultimately she chose to take that risk, knowing that love sometimes provokes rejection, hatred, and violence. But she offered herself with love, to "frands" all over the world who came to her concerts, to new people, to troubled souls, to children — and, finally, to a person who was hiding two fully loaded Glock 9mm pistols under his jacket. She was so full of music and song and a "great love" that gave itself away to the end, who died doing what she had done so many times after her concerts: welcoming a stranger with open arms.... 

In this she was truly heroic — and though most of us are not called to take these particular risks, we do recognize in her a humanity that resonates with our own experience, but also a humanity that is "different" — a humanity that overcomes fear, that breaks down limits, that goes beyond itself. Because of this, her death was more than a tragedy; rather it continues to witness to the fact that death does not have "the last word." Love has the last word. And Christina’s heroism continues to strike our hearts, moving us to grow, to desire more, to persevere in difficulties, and to become — slowly but steadily — a little less afraid. 

I am uniquely grateful for the life and witness of Christina Victoria Grimmie (1994-2016).💚🎶 She sang, she loved greatly, and she didn't hide the reason why she did it all, the One to whom she belonged.

Jesus Christ Our King

Our Lord, our Savior, our King: Jesus Christ.

#ChristTheKing #FeastDay

Ukraine’s Sorrows Past and Present

HOLODOMOR REMEMBRANCE DAY 2025. 

In 1932-33, some five million Ukrainians were starved to death by an artificial famine engineered by Stalin’s genocidal policies. This is the “Holodomor,” the “murder by hunger” that Ukrainians remember and mourn annually on the fourth Saturday in November.

Today, the imperialism of Stalin’s successor drives a relentless invasion that began in 2022 with the expressed aim of eliminating the national identity of the Ukrainian people. Now we see vulgar, small-minded men from the West trying to “make a deal” that would reward the naked aggression of a war criminal. I have no answers, only sorrow. 

And, of course, prayer for the victims of the past and the present, and hope for a future in which courage and honor might prevail for a just and lasting peace. I hope and pray for a truly free Ukraine 🇺🇦, and also for the end of Putinism and the realization of “the beautiful Russia” envisioned and proposed by the great Alexei Navalny — who was murdered in a Russian prison camp in 2024, but who speaks more clearly than ever to Russia, to the world, and to history in his beautiful memoir and “prison diaries” published this year.

Music Day!

November 22nd is the feast of Saint Cecilia, the patron saint of music. Many countries throughout the world celebrate Music Day on this day.

I have been listening to much music recently, including some of the music that made an impact on my life many years ago. I need to write more about those distant days, and the stories of my youth that become so vivid when I hear their music. I remain a musician myself, even though arthritis has made it hard for me to play my cello or my guitars.

Also, as I have mentioned before, I have a kind of personal “Apostolate of Prayer” for musicians and artists in general, as well as certain particular (and in some cases peculiar) artists who have come along more recently. I know (to some extent by personal experience) that they have many sufferings that are difficult to articulate in general terms. Being creative is in itself a distinctive strain on poor human beings who are moved to express a beauty (however humble) that is greater than themselves.

God bless all our musicians, and all the quirky creative people who share their gifts and the fruits of their vision and labor with us.

We Do Not Realize That We Are Poor

"You say, 'I am rich and affluent and have no need of anything,' and yet do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked" (Revelation 3:17).

Does Life Betray Us? Does it End in Frustration?

This human life: full of joy and adventure and promise; full of so many reasons to be grateful.

But nothing is ever enough.

If we engage them only within the limits of this world, all the aspirations and achievements and beautiful things of life eventually fall short; they pass with time even as we continue to endure, unfulfilled. They open our hearts, but if we try to hold on to them, we are left with only the wounds of dissatisfaction. Sometimes life itself just seems to betray us, and our hopes are frustrated by external afflictions. Or we might have years of vigor to pursue a satisfying life, but eventually our spirits grow weary of the continual disappointment.

We might become tired, cynical, or bitter as we get older. Or we might shrink our hearts and cover our secret despair with the mask of resignation. Eventually, we realize that all we have to look forward to is death.

If it all seems unbearable, that's because it is unbearable.

The only hope we have is to call upon the Lord. We must really call upon Him, with faith. Too often when we approach prayer, what we're really looking for is an escape from our suffering. But harsh realities cannot be dismissed by "religious talk." Theology is not enough. Superficial pious sentiments are not enough.

The brokenness and frustration remain. The wounds remain and grow worse. It is here -- where we really hurt, where we really experience our infirmity, our need -- that we must turn to the Lord and call upon Him.

There is nowhere else to go, nowhere else to bring these burdens, this life, this cry of the heart. And yet the Mystery for whom we long meets us in the midst of our cries.

Jesus is the God who has already come to be with us, and who waits for us in our sufferings.

Only Jesus can carry this kind of pain, this pain that challenges my identity, that reaches all the way to me as a person. This is human suffering, and only He knows it all the way through. He is the True Man, who has united Himself to every human being. He is also the True God, the only begotten Son of the Father, who alone knows the depths of every person because He is the Source who whispers each person into being, and the Way, the Truth, the Life who calls each one to their destiny. The Word became flesh, and made our sufferings His own on the Cross, joining them to His victory, which is the revelation, the giving, the pouring out of God's love.

This Love is the secret of all the beauty and goodness and all the promises and yearnings that awaken our hearts, only to increase our thirst. But Love has come into the world to be with us, so that we will never give up, so that we will persevere, holding on to Him, recognizing that everything belongs to Him.

This is the hope that changes and transforms life, that saves us. Where else can any of us go? We have to go to Him, and give ourselves to Him who is the Origin and Sustenance and Fulfillment of all things.

"The Church is Humanity Made True..."

"Christ makes himself known, makes himself accessible, and gives us his Spirit in the Church through the sacred scriptures, the sacraments, apostolic succession, but above all his Spirit meets us and invades our lives through the entire life of the Church. The Church is the universe touched, enlivened, and possessed by Christ through his Spirit. That is, the Church is humanity made true, unified by the presence of Christ through the re-creative energy of the mysterious Spirit of Pentecost." 

~Luigi Giussani

Autumn in the Land of Our Dreams

The colors of this Fall 2025 came briefly and now most of them are gone, thanks to the winds and the rain and the frost of ever-longer nights.

I have continued to digitally sculpt my Autumn photos, and I have more to add to the "Gallery." Some of these are "variations on a theme," as you might notice: