The Hungry and Thirsty will be Satisfied

Lent will begin on February 18th this year. Hunger and thirst are spread all over the world. Our fasting, in its various forms, is a small gesture of solidarity with the poor, and we can offer it as such, in union with Jesus.

We also have an opportunity to remember the "hunger and thirst" of our hearts as we travel through the journey of this life. None of us are free of this tremendous need, which we try to repress, but which inevitably rises up and penetrates our awareness. Sometimes it strikes us as a deep sorrow, a sense of powerlessness, desperation, and failure. But if we turn to the Lord, our hunger and thirst are transformed into prayer, in hope that He will fill us. Indeed, He will pour out His mercy on us in greater abundance.

And we will learn to be merciful to one another.

Hong Kong’s Jimmy Lai Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison

It is no surprise that Jimmy Lai’s show trial in Hong Kong ended with his receiving the maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

But this doesn't make it any less heartbreaking. 

At age 78, and with his health worn down severely by the past six years he has already spent in jail for a previous “crime” against the Chinese Communist Party/State, Jimmy Lai is not likely to live long enough to see freedom again in his own beloved city.

I have few words to add to what I have written before about Jimmy Lai (see HERE and HERE), and about the Hong Kong Democracy Movement’s long, brave, persistent, but finally smothered public protest campaign (2014-2020) against the tightening grip of the CCP. 

Instead, I worked for some time crafting this digital image (above) that attempts to visualize (and in some way evoke the “tangible” dimension of) the suffering of the Catholic convert and former-opposition-newspaper-publisher in his prison cell.

This is what happens to human persons under regimes that grasp power for its own sake, or seek to justify the abuse of power for the sake of its alleged “efficiency.”

I don’t believe that this is the “end” of Hong Kong’s (or for that matter China’s) struggle for freedom and human dignity. The events of the past decade — like those at Tiananmen Square in 1989 — may be "erased" from the CCP's official story of modern China. But the Chinese people have long memories. We can only hope that these events are seeds of the new directions that China will discover and take up in the future.

Remember Jimmy Lai and pray for him.

Lourdes, Illness, and Joy

Today is the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, and the "World Day of Prayer for the Sick." Thanks to everyone who has prayed for me in my struggles with illness and disability over the past twenty+ YEARS(!)... 

It is often hard and frustrating, but I have also been drawn closer to the mysterious yet apparently "ordinary" joy of daily life, and the hope for life's true and ultimate fulfillment that renews and humbles my heart again and again, far beyond anything I "deserve" or could generate from within my self or from my own ideas. It is the gift and promise of a fulfillment that, even now, begins and grows and proves itself greater than my afflictions and sorrows, my forgetfulness and my sins. I am deeply grateful. Please keep praying for me.

Today "is a beautiful day that reminds us of the closeness of Mary, our mother, who always accompanies us and teaches us so much: the meaning of suffering, love, and the surrender of our lives into the hands of the Lord" (Pope Leo XIV).

Christina Grimmie: Love is a Risk Worth Taking

Remembering Christina Grimmie: Nine years and eight months since she was taken from this world. Yet now — more than ever — we need to be inspired by her great life, her amazing music, and her openness, kindness, and respect for every human person she encountered. 

Christina generated an atmosphere of welcome and encouragement around herself that touched millions of people all over the world through her pioneering YouTube videos and her live performances, after which she greeted everyone who wanted to meet her with an open heart and open arms. 

Today, in a world dominated more and more by fear and danger, we remember how Christina lived "with love." She knew that love is a risk, that it inevitably renders us vulnerable in front of the "other," but she believed it was a risk worth taking because she lived within the embrace of a Love who had given everything for her. Within that embrace, she found the strength to love her family, her friends, her "frands," and those she was meeting for the first time. She welcomed strangers with open arms right up until the last moment of her life. 

We need to seek some measure of Christina's courage — her attention to the beauty and inherent dignity of every human person created in the image of God — as the deep clouds of obscurity, darkness, and violence grow more ominous all around us. When we remember Christina, hope is stirred within us that even the most terrible violence cannot be the "last word" in human existence. Love is stronger. Love will not be swallowed by forgetfulness. Love endures forever.

"Shelter the Oppressed and the Homeless..."

The first reading from the Liturgy for February 8th, the Fifth Sunday in Ordinary Time:

"Thus says the Lord:

Share your bread with the hungry,

shelter the oppressed and the homeless;

clothe the naked when you see them,

and do not turn your back on your own.

Then your light shall break forth like the dawn,

and your wound shall quickly be healed;

your vindication shall go before you,

and the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.

Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer,

you shall cry for help, and he will say: Here I am!

If you remove from your midst

oppression, false accusation and malicious speech;

if you bestow your bread on the hungry

and satisfy the afflicted;

then light shall rise for you in the darkness,

and the gloom shall become for you like midday."

~Isaiah 58:7-10

The Martyrs of Nagasaki

Today we honor the TWENTY SIX MARTYRS OF NAGASAKI, JAPAN. They too obeyed Christ rather than the rulers of this world. Young Paul Miki died praying for his persecutors.

"My religion teaches me to pardon my enemies and all who have offended me. I do gladly pardon the Emperor and all who have sought my death. I beg them to seek baptism and be Christians themselves" (Saint Paul Miki, as he was crucified along with 25 others in Nagasaki, Japan, February 5, 1597).

Saint Agatha, Virgin and Martyr

February 5 is observed on the liturgical calendars of Eastern and Western churches as the feast of Saint Agatha of Catania (who was tortured and martyred c. 250). She was another courageous young woman who gave her life for Jesus Christ.

Her heroic sacrifice and her total gift of herself to Jesus have been celebrated since ancient times. She is one of the patron saints of Sicily. Since Sicily was at that time a Greek island, Agatha is an important figure in the Eastern tradition. On this day, the Byzantine liturgy honors her with many beautiful prayers such as this one:

You were a fragrant flower of virginity and an undefiled bride of the Lifegiver; you desired the Source of all good and excelled in martyrdom. O glorious Agatha, intercede by your holy prayers for those who lovingly honor your contest.

Agatha and countless others who followed her example of courage down through the ages bring to mind the words of Saint Paul: "I even consider everything as a loss because of the supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have the loss of all things and I consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ,...to know him and the power of his resurrection and the sharing of his sufferings by being conformed to his death" (Philippians 3:8,10).

Even today, Catania celebrates Saint Agatha with a three day festival, including a procession of her remains through the city streets accompanied by crowds of hundreds of thousands of people. It is one of the largest "religious festivals" in the world.

What ancient personage has such a vital connection to real people today? This is not a celebration for Julius Caesar or some great philosopher or politician or king or movie star from the past. This is the celebration of a teenage girl who gave her life for Jesus Christ nearly 1,800 years ago!

Today, Saint Agatha is still remembered and honored with love by countless people, and she is a friend to their hearts. Real people have had real relationships with this person through the ages. They have looked to her example, confided in her, asked for her help. This is not superstition. This is the reality of the Church, the communion of saints. This communion of persons with God and with one another in Jesus Christ cannot be broken by the power and the violence of this world. They couldn't destroy it in the year 250. Long after the powers that raged against her have been forgotten, Agatha still lives! They can't destroy it in 2026. They will never destroy it.

Violence is only for a time. Love never ends.

“Winter Olympics in Virginia?” and Other Stories

The Winter Olympics begin this weekend. 

I was starting to think we could have the Olympics here in the neo-arctic region of Virginia. 

I can’t remember when I last saw so much frost and snow staying on the ground for so long — not melting at all, but just heaped on the roadsides by plows and just sitting around in lumps that get frozen solid from day after day of temperatures nowhere near the freezing point.

But… we are now enjoying “warmer” temperatures the past few days. A very slow thaw has begun. The snow rocks are receding and getting slushy during the day, which means they absorb more of oil-and-gas wastage left by passing cars. I remember this from my days growing up in Pittsburgh (which gets its winter weather off Lake Erie, and therefore has a lot more snow).

So we can’t have Winter Olympics here. The is one “sport” that (we hope) is starting up again: old-man-JJ’s-“three-legged”-walks around the neighborhood. It’s not really a spectator sport, however.

Anyway, it’s warmer here than Ukraine, where civilian infrastructure continues to get bombed by the Russians even as the Putin regime and the U.S. regime pretend to be working on a “peace deal.” Millions of Ukrainians have no heat, and it’s not getting warmer for them.

It’s also cold in Minnesota, and the snow has been mixed with blood. The regime and its undocumented-immigrant-hunting National Police fail to convince or inspire respect (to say the least). It’s sorrowful and deplorable. The United States and the whole world are changing. Instability is becoming a habit. Hearts are growing colder.

On the other hand, things may suddenly get very hot in the Persian Gulf, where U.S. warships are part of a “gunboat diplomacy” ploy that was supposed to be about the victims of recent Iranian protests but now seems to be about Iran’s nuclear program (the one that we were told was “liquidated” by last June’s bombing raids). Ever since we said “Happy New Year” the U.S. military has been active from Venezuela to Greenland (at least as leverage in verbal jostling, though we don’t know how close to execution any plans may have been) and now to Iran. So far it’s just incompetent and dangerous political actors with their threats, bluffs, and grandiose posturing. And, perhaps, lots of tech and construction contracts and money-making wheeling and dealing going on? Someone must be cashing in on the chaos. It’s all reckless and pathetic, which only makes it more dangerous.

I would prefer not to write about these things, but they weigh upon me, my compatriots, and people all the over the world. We have no idea what terrors, what madness might be unleashed by the war our foolish leaders are rushing toward, the war we are all calling down on our heads by our sins. 

Lord, have mercy on us, spare us from the horrors of war, convert our hearts to you. Have mercy on us!

The Presentation: Forty Days Already

HAPPY FEAST OF THE PRESENTATION OF JESUS IN THE TEMPLE. 

It has now been 40 days since Christmas, when we celebrated the birth of Jesus, the Word made flesh who has come to dwell with us, to reveal the glory of God and the immeasurable depths of His love for us. 

Today Jesus is brought to the Temple in Jerusalem by Mary and Joseph in accordance with the Mosaic Law. Here He is revealed to the faithful of the Old Covenant who have ardently awaited His coming. By the grace of the Holy Spirit, there are a few who recognize the baby Jesus as the Messiah in this joyful “epiphany,” as Simeon testifies: “My eyes have seen the salvation which You have prepared in the sight of all nations. A light of revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of Your people Israel” (Luke 2:30-32).

Then “Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother,

‘Behold, this child is destined

for the fall and rise of many in Israel,

and to be a sign that will be contradicted

—and you yourself a sword will pierce—

so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed’”

(Luke 2:34-35).

[Detail from Giotto, 14th. century.]

How Do We Stay Warm in this FREEZING COLD?!!

It’s cold, cold, cold, cold, COLD, COLD!!!!

Staying warm means staying indoors, and finding cozy places. The grandchildren know how to stay warm, so here are some of my most recent pictures. Catie is snuggled into her baby seat with blankets and a cap. Anna and Maria sneak into Papa’s chair with their books. And, at the bottom, Papa and Anna — she’s getting so big!