This isn’t a shock to anyone: I’m not perfect. We can confidently say that nobody is perfect (well…there are two technicalities, Jesus and His Mother Mary, but they are special cases that emphasize the point). This means that the information with which we perceive the world is limited. Even if the information itself is clear, our perceptions may be distorted due to physical, mental, moral, or spiritual handicaps. To borrow an analogy: it doesn’t matter how strong the signal is if the antenna is bad.

Yes, it’s been a few days. Because the Lenten practices are not observed on Sundays or solemnities, I figured it would be alright if I skipped posting for the Solemnity of St. Joseph. I was also ill over the same time, so I was grateful for the additional rest.

This is a bit of a difficult topic, especially considering the current climate to claim injustices and violated rights for everything imaginable. Yet it seems as though every time we manage to get one solution settled in place the solution is then claimed to be part of the problem and additional work (and additional money) is required to set it right.

“What was his crime?”
A smooth and quiet tone
of one who was bred fine
yet chills to the bone.

“An insurrectionist, who styles himself a king.”
That small smile that freezes blood
thinking further torments that would bring
the prisoner’s cries in a flood.

“A king you say? He who drips with gore?”
His smile broadens to a mirthless chuckle,
“Go find a robe and scepter”
He carefully wraps his knuckles.

This will probably come across as morbid, but it’s true:

Everybody dies.

E_dit_: If materialism is true or if God is only immanent then this is true.

Another day, another insurrection
They always crop up around this time
This one even got the High Priest’s attention
That Galilean? Oh, this is prime.

He came marchin’ in with great fanfare;
Got too big for his britches.
Strip him to his underwear.
When we’re done he’ll need more than stitches!

All right boys, let’s get to it.
chain him to the pillar there.
Which tool to use from our kit?
such fun to have, so sad to share.

This question came from a coworker when I laid out my approach to the world. As I saw it, there were four interdependent areas that I operated in: Faith, family, community, and career. My goal was to ensure that I fulfilled my duties in each, and allow each to inform the others. His question completely threw me, as it wasn’t something that initially made sense. He then explained that these were all things “outside” of me and he was wondering if I had set time aside for myself. (It’s been a while, so I might be getting this wrong). I’ve spent a few years thinking about it and came to the following conclusion: Everything that I have is a gift. I have no right to “me” time. I’ve been given a stewardship, and woe is me if it is not in order when the Lord comes. Thankfully, I’m not seeking to do this on my own (honestly, I can’t) for He has provided for everything. I pray that when my time comes, I can say like St. Paul, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me”.

The rising darkness calmed the chaos
That filled the streets of Zion town
The insects chirruped ‘round us
as we walked toward higher ground.
Desirous to see the flood of Jewish pilgrims
arriving from all around.

A cry cuts the quiet night.
“Abba!”
“Let this cup pass!”

Peering ‘round an olive tree
We struggle in twilight to see
a man in throes of agony.
like one cast out by the tide
fearful of the sea.

Thanks to the generosity of my employer, I picked up a brand new laptop and am in the process of getting it ready to use for work. Since it had been a while since I had set one up, I dusted off an old script and spent some time getting it up-t0-date.

As an experiment during the development process, I switched from my usual Vagrant setup to using Quickemu for testing. The entire process was incredibly painless, and I’m now wondering if I should up-end my normal development process to use Quickemu.

I want to expand a bit on the final statements that I made on Trust and Truth. One of the difficulties with having an external source of truth is that it must be independently verifiable, that it must be consistent, and that, as human language and society changes, it must find new ways of expressing the same truths. Giving that role to a Person, even if that Person is God Himself, requires either that He speaks the truth directly to every person, or that He works through other people to communicate that truth. I happen to think that He does a bit of both.

This is going to be short, since I need to be up very early tomorrow.

For International Woman’s day, I would like to recognize a woman who is truly international: Mary, the Mother of God. She has appeared on all continents, except Antarctica, and has always sought to bring unity all peoples by directing them to her Son. An incomplete list worth looking up.

• Our Lady of Akita
• Our Lady of Guadalupe
• Our Lady of Kibeho
• Our Lady of Lourdes
• Our Lady of Fatima
• Our Lady of Velankanni
• Our Lady of The good event
• Our Lady of Knock
• Our Lady of Cuapa