The Arrow's Path

Aye, but we live in turbulent times.  There is really no other way of saying it: turbulent .   I have to admit I have watched with a great deal of sadness, and, frankly, anger over the last few weeks with America's foray into invading (bombing?) Iran. I don't even know what you call this latest series of strikes on Iran. The sad thing is that I do not think anyone else does either exactly.  I try not to get into politics too much on this blog because politics makes otherwise rational people go crazy. That is pretty much across the political spectrum these days: Right, Left, Center, whatever. People have all kinds of excuses. They blame Trump. They blame "libtards" (I really hate that term). They blame Socialism. They blame Capitalism. They blame any one or any thing really, except themselves of course.  More's the pity. If 'all politics is local,' as the aphorism goes, the most local one can go is to one's own self and behavior. Everyone in this world ...

     The readings for this Sunday of Lent invite us to reflect on how God sees and how we are called to see. Again and again in these scriptures, the contrast appears between human sight and God’s deeper vision. We tend to judge by appearances, reputation, status, or outward success. God, however, looks beyond what is visible on the surface and sees the heart. During Lent, the Church asks us to slow down and examine how we view ourselves, others, and even God. Are we seeing with faith, or are we still looking only with human eyes? The season of Lent becomes a time when Christ gradually heals our vision, helping us move from spiritual blindness toward the light of truth.      In 1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a, we witness the anointing of David as king. God instructs Samuel not to judge by outward appearances, for "the Lord sees not as man sees; man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." This passage reminds us that while we may be q...

I spent a good period of time the last few years discerning a regular place to do some volunteer. I had tried a few different options since Covid in 2020, ranging from taking on a case with CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocate office) to attempting to go back into student mentoring with teammates.org . I found it was a real struggle to find something that I found meaningful and were interested in having me work for them. One would think good volunteers are hard to come by, but I approached several grounds over the last few years, and either I wasn't all that interested in committing or they were not all that interested in committing to me.  The journey was all really a bit bizarre. I had really hoped to find some meaningful ministry in or through the Church again. For whatever reason, it has become clear that my current Diocese and Parish really are not all that serious about using my skills and training for any productive purpose other than occasional menial tasks. That is a lo...

This is an interview with a guy I follow on social media that is an excellent saddle maker. His wisdom in how to do leather working and starting a small trade business...this is truly a wealth of information. 

I have been a classic Star Trek fan for most of my life. My all time favorite show to this day is Star Trek: The Next Generation. I still will turn on reruns of that show and nap to it on a Sunday afternoon. Enterprise and Deep Space Nine are also excellent spin offs to the franchise. I never was a huge fan of Voyager, as it was the place the bad '90s Trek writing often end to languish and die. However, credit where credit is due: when Voyager was good, it was very good indeed, but when it was bad, it was horrid.  The last of the good Star Trek pretty much went out with Star Trek: Enterprise . I really liked that incarnation, but there was a lot of hating on it at the time. It only ran 4 seasons, which was a shame. That show did start slow, but the last few seasons, the writing was really stellar. It was airing at the height of 9/11, so it really had an interesting take on terrorism and the inherent need for many at that time for revenge/justice.   I think Ente...

I received another jolly good question:  Talk to me about the sin of presumption. Isn't there presumption involved in all sins? Since you're always planning to go to confession, unless you're really just planning to completely abandon God. My response: The sin of presumption is a concept in Catholic moral theology having to do with presuming we are forgiven, even if we have no intention of repenting or doing anything to merit God's forgiveness. Another way of looking at it is that this type of sin is the ultimate form of spiritual entitlement: I am entitled to God's forgiveness and grace even if I completely blow off everything that God expects of me to be worthy of that forgiveness.   For instance, I just presume God will forgive me for embezzling money, not going to Mass, and all these bad things I know to be wrong. I intentionally continue to do them, presuming God is just an old powder puff who will not hold me accountable or judge me. This is prec...