Spirituality for Everyday Life

I was going to continue my analysis of Catholic eschatology this week, but decided to change my mind. Last week I talked about Hell and logically following that would be a discussion of Purgatory, but there is something new in my spiritual life that I’d like to talk about. After seeing an interview on the Colbert Report about a month ago, I asked for this author’s book for my birthday and my parents got it for me. The book is titled The Jesuit Guide to (Almost) Everything by James Martin, S.J., and it is a discussion of Ignatian Spirituality and how it can be applied to almost anything in life. The S.J. after the author’s name stands for Society of Jesus which is formal name of the brotherhood of the Jesuits. After only reading this book for a week I have already had two distinct positive spiritual events. One happened just a few nights ago while during contemplative prayer I realized how involved in my life God really is and how much more involved in the life of God that I need to be. It was a deeply moving moment laying there in my bed trying to go to sleep late in the night (more like early in the morning). I felt supercharged and highly in tune with my surroundings. I was moved to tears, crying quietly through closed eyes as a smile spread across my face. It was like the first time I realized that God loved me so many years ago as a child. My adult sized spiritual cup, which had been suffering from a lack of filling over the past year or two, was suddenly overflowing. I slept more sound that night than I had in months and over the past few nights since then, have not had the same trouble falling asleep as I had before. My life, my days, have been happier, more peaceful, and more focused than at any other point in my life to this date. After that experience, I felt that I had to share my new found knowledge and understanding with you.

Ignatian spirituality is spirituality for everyday life. It insists that God is present in our world and active in our lives. It is a pathway to deeper prayer, good decisions guided by keen discernment, and an active life of service to others. Like all Catholic spirituality, Ignatian spirituality is based on the Catholic faith and the gospels. It draws most specially from St. Ignatius' "Spiritual Exercises", whose purpose is "to conquer oneself and to regulate one's life in such a way that no decision is made under the influence of any inordinate attachment." In other words, the Exercises are intended, in Ignatius' view, to give the exercitant (the person undertaking them) a greater degree of freedom from his or her own likes, dislikes, comforts, wants, needs, drives, appetites and passions that they may choose based solely on what they discern God's will is for them. In the words of former Jesuit Superior General, Peter Hans Kolvenbach, the Exercises try to "unite two apparently incompatible realities: exercises and spiritual." It invites to "unlimited generosity" in contemplating God, yet going down to the level of many details.

Ignatian spirituality can be described as an active attentiveness united with a prompt responsiveness to God, who is ever active in people's lives. Though it includes many forms of prayer, discernment, and apostolic service, it is the interior dispositions of attentiveness and responsiveness that are ultimately crucial. The result is that Ignatian spirituality has a remarkable 'nowness,' both in its attentiveness to God and in its desire to respond to what God is asking of the person now. The Ignatian ideal has the following characteristics:

God's greater glory: St Ignatius of Loyola stressed that "Man is created to praise, reverence, and serve God Our Lord and by this means to save his soul." Ignatius declares: "The goal of our life is to live with God forever. God, who loves us, gave us life. Our own response of love allows God's life to flow into us without limit. Our only desire and our one choice should be this: I want and I choose what better leads to the deepening of God's life in me."

Union with Jesus: Ignatius emphasized an ardent love for the Savior. In his Exercises, he devoted the last weeks to the contemplation of Jesus: from infancy and public ministry, to his passion and lastly his risen life. There is a great emphasis on the emotions in Ignatius' methods, and a call for the person to be very sensitive to the emotional movements that shape them.

Self-awareness: Ignatius recommends the twice-daily examen (examination). This is a guided method of prayerfully reviewing the events of the day, to awaken one's inner sensitivity to one's own actions, desires, and spiritual state, through each moment reviewed. The goals are to see where God is challenging the person to change and to growth, where God is calling the person to deeper reflection, and to where sinful or imperfect attitudes or blind spots are found.

Spiritual direction: Meditation and contemplation are best guided, Ignatius says, by an experienced person. Jesuits, and those following Ignatian spirituality, meet with their spiritual director on a regular basis (weekly or monthly) to discuss the fruits of their prayer life and be offered guidance. Ignatius sees the director as someone who can rein in impulsiveness or excesses, goad the complacent, and keep people honest with themselves.

Effective love: The founder of the Society of Jesus put effective love (love shown in deeds) above affective love (love based on nice feelings). True and perfect love demands sacrifice, the abandonment of tastes and personal preferences, and the perfect renunciation of self.

Detachment: Where St. Francis of Assisi's concept of poverty emphasized the spiritual benefits of simplicity and dependency, Ignatius emphasized detachment, or "indifference." For Ignatius, whether one was rich or poor, healthy or sick, in an assignment one enjoyed or one didn't, was comfortable in a culture or not, etc., should be a matter of spiritual indifference…a modern phrasing might put it as serene acceptance.

Prayers, efforts at self-conquest, and reflection: Jesuits stress the need to take time to reflect and to pray because prayer is at the foundation of Jesus’ life. Prayer, in Ignatian spirituality, does not dispense from "helping oneself", a phrase frequently used by Ignatius. Thus, he also speaks of mortification and of amendment.

Devotion to the Sacred Heart, the Eucharist, and Our Lady: The Society of Jesus has a relationship with the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary in a commitment to spread the devotion to the Sacred Heart. The Jesuits particularly promoted this devotion to emphasize the compassion and overwhelming love of Christ for people. St. Ignatius counseled people to receive the Eucharist more often, and from the order's earliest days the Jesuits were promoters of "frequent communion". It should be noted that it was the custom for many Catholics at this time to receive Holy Communion perhaps once or twice a year, out of what Catholic theologians considered an exaggerated respect for the sacrament; Ignatius and others advocated receiving the sacrament at least monthly, emphasizing Holy Communion not as reward but as spiritual food. Ignatius made his initial commitment to a new way of life by leaving his soldier's weapons (and symbolically, his old values) on an altar before an image of the Christ child seated on the lap of Our Lady of Montserrat. The Jesuits were long promoters of the Sodality of Our Lady, which they used to encourage frequent attendance at Mass, reception of communion, daily recitation of the Rosary, and attendance at retreats in the Ignatian tradition of the Spiritual Exercises.

Zeal for souls: The purpose of the Order, says the Summary of the Constitutions, is "not only to apply one's self to one's own salvation and to perfection with the help of divine grace but to employ all one's strength, for the salvation and perfection of one's neighbor."

Finding God in All Things: The vision that Ignatius places at the beginning of the Exercises keeps sight of the Creator and the creature, the One and the other swept along in the same movement of love. In it, God offers himself to humankind in an absolute way through the Son, and humankind responds in an absolute way by a total self-donation. There is no longer sacred or profane, natural or supernatural, mortification or prayer—because it is one and the same Spirit who brings it about that the Christian will "love God in all things—and all things in God."

Examen of Consciousness: The Examen of Consciousness is a simple prayer directed toward developing a spiritual sensitivity to the special ways God approaches, invites, and calls. Ignatius recommends that the examen be done at least twice, and suggests five points of prayer, however, the person feels free to structure the Examen in a way that is most helpful to them. The basic rule is: Go wherever God draws you. It focuses on one's consciousness of God, not necessarily one's conscience regarding sins and mistakes.

Service and humility: Ignatius emphasized the active expression of God's love in life and the need to be self-forgetful in humility. Jesuit educational institutions often adopt mottoes and mission statements that include the idea of making students "men for others", and the like. Jesuit missions have generally included medical clinics, schools and agricultural development projects as ways to serve the poor or needy while preaching the Gospel.

I am slowly beginning my journey into Ignatian spirituality through reading this book and practicing what I learn through my study. I have already begun to change my life through the use of Ignatian forms of prayer. This may not be the path for everyone and I am by no means recommending you run out and try to reform your spirituality. And this is certainly not my announcement of joining the Jesuits. This is just information, which you can take or leave of your own choosing. But know that if you feel like you haven’t been on any path or that the path you are on isn’t taking you where you thought you’d go, then perhaps a little contemplative prayer and discernment would do you good. It has helped me and I have only just begun.

Mother's Day

I’ve talked about my mother before in this blog. I’ve talked about my sister before in this blog. And I’m sure I have mentioned my grandmother at least a couple of times in my life of blogging. These women all have something in common. They are mothers and they are important to me. So, considering today is Mother’s Day, I decided I would add a special entry into the mix. This is my special Mother’s Day blog and it goes out to all the mothers I know out there and all the mothers of the people I know out there. This is for the mothers who are still raising their children and the mothers whose children have left the nest. This is for the mothers who have passed and the soon to be mothers. For everyone who is a mother either by nature or by the goodness and love of their own heart. Being a mother is a blessing and we are all blessed by our mothers. Indeed the Lord Jesus Christ loved his mother dearly and she loved him completely. So for all the mothers out there…Happy Mother’s Day…

A TRIBUTE TO MOTHER
"Strength and honor are her clothing;
She shall rejoice in time to come.
She opens her mouth with wisdom,
And on her tongue is the law of kindness.
She watches over the ways of her household,
And does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children rise up and call her blessed;
Her husband also, and he praises her:
"Many daughters have done well,
But you excell them all."
Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,
But a woman who fears the Lord,
She shall be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands,
And let her own works praise her in the gates.
Proverbs 31:25~31

Baseball's Unwritten Code

Since I’ve been sans classes for the past few days I have been living my life revolving around the Rangers schedule. Baseball, to me, is the best part of summer. I played when I was a kid and had to give it up due to my increasing bad eyesight. But, I still enjoy throwing the ball around with my friends or going to the batting cages. There’s something about swinging a bat that takes frustration out…releases the bad energy and what not. Well, as I have been absorbed in the television coverage of my favorite team, I’ve been learning some of the quirks about the game. This education is enhanced by the baseball book I got for my birthday to the point where I am fixated on learning more about the game. And if you have ever played or know someone who played, this game has a lot of ins and outs that many normal people aren’t aware of. For example, last month A's pitcher Dallas Braden(jackass) called out Alex Rodriguez(bigger jackass) for cutting across the pitcher’s mound. Unbeknownst to most of the country, this was an infringement of baseball's Code that had lain mostly dormant in recent memory.

It was only one of a litany of unwritten rules that covers major leaguers' actions, designed essentially to preserve a baseline level of respect between competitors. They constitute the moral fabric of the game. The best known of these rules tells players not to steal a base when their team holds a big lead in the late innings of a game. Others include barring overt displays of exuberance in all but the most extreme circumstances; the hitter who watches his own home runs is the most egregious of violators in this category. Many fans have heard of these rules in one way or another [Alex Rodriguez(even bigger jackass) himself was unaware of one]. Some sections of the Code, however, fly under the radar (even for baseball insiders, to judge by the number of people within the game who had never heard the rule about restraint from crossing the pitcher's mound). So, without further delay, here are 10 of baseball's more obscure unwritten rules:

1. Don't swing at the first pitch after back-to-back home runs
This is a matter of courtesy, respect for a pitcher who is clearly struggling, offering just a sliver of daylight with which to regain his senses. When Yankees rookie Chase Wright gave up back-to-back-to-back-to-back homers against Boston in 2007, the guys who hit numbers three and four, Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek, each watched a pitch before taking a cut.

2. Don't work the count when your team is up or down by a lot
This is true for both pitchers and hitters. Nobody wants to see the fifth guy on a bullpen's depth chart nibbling on the corners in the late innings of a blowout. Similarly, hitters are expected to swing at anything close. It's an effort to quickly and efficiently end a lopsided contest.

3. When hit by a pitch, don't rub the mark.
This one is all about intimidation or lack thereof. It's a hitter's way of telling the pitcher that his best shot…intentional or otherwise…didn't hurt. Pete Rose made a point of sprinting to first base after being hit, to ensure that he stripped all satisfaction from the pitcher. Lou Brock was the only hitter Sandy Koufax ever threw at intentionally, and despite the fact that his shoulder was fractured by the pitch, forcing him from the game, never once did he rub the spot.

4. Don't stand on the dirt cutout at home plate while a pitcher is warming up
Just as Braden(pansy) dismissed A-Rod's(douche) attempt to enter his sacred space, the area around the plate is meant only for the hitter, and then only when it's time for him to hit. Should a pitcher be getting loose before an at-bat, it's strictly off-limits. "I stay as far away from the cutout as I can when the pitcher is warming up," said Ken Griffey Jr. "If they could, they should put the on-deck circle in left field to make me happy. I don't want anything to do with messing with the pitcher when he's getting ready."

5. Don't walk in front of a catcher or umpire when getting into batter's box
This is respect, pure and simple. If the line from your dugout to the batter's box takes you between the pitcher and the catcher, walk around. Like the A-Rod(douchebag) incident, you'll likely never hear about this one until a player is called out for brazenly violating it.

6. Don't help the opposition make a play (bracing them from falling into the dugout, etc.)
In 1998, Dodgers left fielder Matt Luke braced Arizona's Andy Fox as the third baseman staggered into the Los Angeles dugout while chasing a pop fly. He knew the Code, but he had also been Fox's roommate in multiple levels of the Yankees' minor-league system, and was so tight with him that Fox had served as an usher in his wedding. Even then, he had his limits. "I waited until he made the play," said Luke in the Riverside Press Enterprise. "I wanted to prevent an injury. We're competing out there, and not for one second do I want to help the opposition."

7. Relievers take it easy when facing other relievers
The caveat to this piece of the Code is that for the most part, relievers don't step to the plate in close games, which gives their counterparts on the opposing team some leeway in their approach. "You'd probably give them all fastballs," said Dave LaRoche. "It was just a professional courtesy type of thing. Here it is…I'll give you a chance to hit it if you can."

8. Follow the umpire's Code when addressing them on the field.
This is a book in itself. How one talks to umpires goes a long way toward getting favorable calls, or at least not getting thrown out of a game. ("That call was horsesh*t" is generally acceptable; "You're horsesh*t" is never acceptable.) Some savvy teams go so far as to post headshots and bios in the clubhouse for the umps working that day's game, so that players can butter them up a bit.

9. Pitchers stay in the dugout at least until the end of the inning in which they get pulled
This is purely about respect for one's teammates. "I know you're having a tough day, but give your teammates the respect to stay out here until the end of the inning," said Sean Casey. "You don't want to show that you think the game's already lost."

10. Pitchers never show up their fielders
This doesn't happen frequently, but when it does, players notice. One pitcher who made a habit of excessive body language on the mound was Gaylord Perry, who would put his hands on his hips and stare down fielders who made errors behind him. Perry, however, was occasionally able to find his fielders innocent of wrongdoing. Once, after shortstop Todd Cruz fielded a grounder and air-mailed the ball into the stands, Perry withheld judgment. "Too much stuff on the ball," he said after the game.

The Relative Importance/Insignificance of Cinco de Mayo

Cinco de Mayo, or the fifth of May, commemorates the Mexican army's 1862 victory over France at the Battle of Puebla during the French-Mexican War. In the United States, it has taken on significance and commercial value as a celebration of Mexican culture and heritage, particularly in areas with substantial Mexican-American populations. The fifth of May is not Mexican Independence Day, but it should be! And Cinco de Mayo is not an American holiday, but it should be. Mexico declared its independence from mother Spain on midnight, the fifteenth of September, 1810. And it took 11 years before the first Spanish soldiers were told and forced to leave Mexico.

So, why Cinco de Mayo? And why should Americans savor this day as well? Because 4,000 Mexican soldiers smashed the French and traitor Mexican army of 8,000 at Puebla, Mexico, 100 miles east of Mexico City on the morning of May 5, 1862. The French had landed in Mexico (along with Spanish and English troops) five months earlier on the pretext of collecting Mexican debts from the newly elected government of democratic President (and Indian) Benito Juarez. The English and Spanish quickly made deals and left. The French, however, had different ideas. Under Emperor Napoleon III, who detested the United States, the French came to stay. They brought a Hapsburg prince with them to rule the new Mexican empire. Napoleon's French Army had not been defeated in 50 years, and it invaded Mexico with the finest modern equipment and with a newly reconstituted Foreign Legion. The French were not afraid of anyone, especially since the United States was embroiled in its own Civil War.

The French Army left the port of Vera Cruz to attack Mexico City to the west, as the French assumed that the Mexicans would give up should their capital fall to the enemy, as European countries traditionally did. Under the command of Texas-born General Zaragosa, (and the cavalry under the command of Colonel Porfirio Diaz, later to be Mexico's president and dictator), the Mexicans waited. General Zaragosa ordered Colonel Diaz to take his cavalry, the best in the world, out to the French flanks. In response, the French did a most stupid thing; they sent their cavalry off to chase Diaz and his men, who proceeded to butcher them. The remaining French infantrymen charged the Mexican defenders through sloppy mud from a thunderstorm and through hundreds of head of stampeding cattle stirred up by Indians armed only with machetes. When the battle was over, many French were killed or wounded and their cavalry was being chased by Diaz' superb horsemen miles away.

The Mexicans had won a great victory that kept Napoleon III from supplying the confederate rebels for another year, allowing the United States to build the greatest army the world had ever seen. This grand army smashed the Confederates at Gettysburg just 14 months after the battle of Puebla, essentially ending the Civil War. Union forces were then rushed to the Texas/Mexican border under General Phil Sheridan, who made sure that the Mexicans got all the weapons and ammunition they needed to expel the French. American soldiers were discharged with their uniforms and rifles if they promised to join the Mexican Army to fight the French. The American Legion of Honor marched in the Victory Parade in Mexico, City. It might be a historical stretch to credit the survival of the United States to those brave 4,000 Mexicans who faced an army twice as large in 1862. But who knows?

In gratitude, thousands of Mexicans crossed the border after Pearl Harbor to join the U.S. Armed Forces. As recently as the Persian Gulf War, Mexicans flooded American consulates with phone calls, trying to join up and fight another war for America. Mexicans, you see, never forget who their friends are, and neither do Americans. That's why Cinco de Mayo is such a party! A party that celebrates freedom and liberty. There are two ideals which Mexicans and Americans have fought shoulder to shoulder to protect, ever since the 5th of May, 1862.

Cinco de Mayo is not "an obligatory federal holiday" in Mexico, but rather a holiday that can be observed voluntarily. While Cinco de Mayo has limited significance nationwide in Mexico, the date is observed in the United States (also voluntarily)
and other locations around the world as a celebration of Mexican heritage and pride. Cinco de Mayo is not Mexico's Independence Day, which actually is September 16, the most important national patriotic holiday in Mexico. In the United States Cinco de Mayo has taken on significance beyond that in Mexico. The date is perhaps best recognized in the United States as a date to celebrate the culture and experiences of Americans of Mexican ancestry, much as St. Patrick's Day, Oktoberfest, and the Chinese New Year are used to celebrate those of Irish, German, and Chinese ancestry respectively. Similar to those holidays, Cinco de Mayo is observed by many Americans regardless of ethnic origin. Celebrations tend to draw both from traditional Mexican symbols, such as the Virgen de Guadalupe, and from prominent figures of Mexican descent in the United States, including César Chávez. Events tied to Cinco de Mayo also occur outside Mexico and the United States. For example, a sky-diving club near Vancouver, Canada holds a Cinco de Mayo skydiving event. In the Cayman Islands, in the Caribbean, there is an annual Cinco de Mayo air guitar competition. As far away as the island of Malta, in the Mediterranean Sea, revelers are encouraged to drink Mexican beer on May 5.

VIVA EL CINCO DE MAYO!!

What the Hell?

"If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire." - Mark 9:43

God who is infinitely good and very the source of goodness itself, is also and at the same time infinitely just. Nevertheless it may be said that it does not seem fitting that our punishment is for so long since it only took us a few moments to commit? However sin is neither measure by the duration (i.e. it only takes a few seconds to kill someone with yet for this, people are sentence to a life time in prison, that is their whole earthly life!) or by the number of times we commit it, but rather by the degree of the person offended which determines the gravity of the offense. A spiritual adviser and coworker once explained sin in this way to me: if a student takes a knife to school and throws it at a teacher, who is in a position of authority over the student, the punishment may be something like suspension. If the student throws the knife at the principal, who is in a position of authority over the school, the punishment would probably be expulsion. If the student were to throw that same knife at a police officer, who is in a position of authority over the city, the punishment may be imprisonment for a moderate amount of time. And if that student threw the same knife at the President of the United States, who is in authority over the nation, the punishment would be life in prison or even death. You see that as the authority or position of the person being offended gets greater, so does the punishment for that offense. This is simply because the offense is measure by the degree of the person offended. Now when we sin we offend God, who is infinite and so it is only just that the punishment be infinite. Further on the same note, this is the very reason why only Christ could save us and no other, since only He (God) is infinite and yet at the same time He had to be man [the incarnation (John 1) since it was man who committed the offense and thus it was Christ who bound us back to God in fact that is what the very word religion means]. However eternal torment is not only fitting but affirms well the greatness of God who is not only able to destroy the body as any human can do but is also able to send souls to Hell as their eternal punishment for offending an eternal King (Matt 10:28).

It has become a formality that everyone is automatically whisked to heaven. Purgatory is ignored and the chance that a departed soul might be in hell is no longer part of the equation. Only monsters such as Hitler and Stalin could possibly be suffering with the fallen angels. Thanks to ill-educated teachers many people have been convinced that Christ is tolerant of sin, non judgmental, and pluralistic in His view of salvation. People actually believe that Jesus would never allow anyone to be cast down into everlasting torment because He is a God of love. This idea is contrary to the Bible and Church teaching. It is true that Christ loves all of mankind even those in the pit of unquenchable fire. It is also true that He desires all to be saved and to embrace the truth, but the reality is some people because of their pride decide to reject Him and prefer the darkness of sin thus casting themselves into the bowels of hell. "And this is the verdict, that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil" (John 3:19). If people would just open up their Bibles and read, they would discover that the Jesus of the Gospels bears no resemblance to the fabrication created by the "feel good" ministers of our day. Christ forewarns us that there will not be universal salvation of mankind. "The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth" (Matt 13: 41- 42). Christ's teachings are not ambiguous. The rejection of the free gift of salvation offered by Christ through sin or unbelief carries with it a clear a defined outcome.

One needs to understand the magnitude of importance Jesus placed on avoiding damnation. If you were to take a Bible where the words of Christ are highlighted in red, and go through it, one would discover that Jesus spent one third of His ministry on this unpleasant subject. The Catholic Church understanding the significance of this fact has always taught the reality of hell. As a matter of fact, the new Catechism of the Catholic Church states: "The teaching of the Church affirms the existence of hell and its eternity. Immediately after death the souls of those who die in a state of mortal sin descend into hell, where they suffer the punishments of hell, 'eternal fire.' The chief punishment of hell is eternal separation from God, in whom alone man can possess the life and happiness for which he was created and for which he longs" (CCC 1035). Priests, deacons, and religious instructors that are faithful to Christ and the Church unashamedly preach about the doctrine of hell because they love their fellow man as themselves and want everyone to live in God's grace forever. On the other hand, those who remain silent on this subject or deny its existence have instilled a false sense of security and self confidence concerning salvation. This is quite evident in Christians that have foolishly subscribed to the religious concoction that a person cannot sin once they believe in Jesus and even if they would sin, no punishment will be due them because they are already saved. The Bible unquestionably denies this theology. "I am not aware of anything against myself, but I am not thereby acquitted. It is the Lord who judges me" (1 Corinthians 4: 4).

The Church teaches and the bible confirms that Christ will bring the faithful to everlasting life through His instruments of justification and sanctification, the seven sacraments. In baptism, we are born again, cleansed from all sin, and permanently claimed as a child of God. The sacrament of confession is where Christ lovingly waits to forgive the repentant sinner. Confirmation completes the baptismal promises, places an indelible mark upon the soul, and gives one the strength to endure the struggles of this life. Holy Orders are God's unique channel of dispensing His sacraments to the faithful. Marriage builds up the kingdom of God through love and procreation. The Holy Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life. "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day" (John 6:54). The Anointing of the Sick forgives sin, heals the body if it is God's will, and strengthens the soul for the journey home. This is the path of sanctification in the Catholic Church. Those who die in perfect communion with Christ through the sanctifying grace of His sacraments will be given the bliss of seeing God in the face, the beatific vision. People that pass on in a state of grace, but still have temporal punishment to atone for will enter heaven only after they have been cleansed in the fires of purgatory (see next week's blog). All Catholics must never forget that it would be a miracle for any invincible ignorant soul to be saved, because it is impossible to keep the whole moral law without Christ's grace bestowed through His sacraments. "For all have sinned, and do need the glory of God" (Roman 3:23). Therefore the conversion of the world to Jesus and His Church is paramount so all will have a true hope of salvation. Lastly, those who live an unrepentant life of sin and debauchery and the prideful that choose by their own freewill to reject either Christ will not like where they end up. "If anyone remains not in me, he shall be cast forth as a branch, and shall wither, and they shall gather him up, and cast him into the fire, and burned" (John 15: 6).

If a person chooses not to believe in hell, it does not nullify its existence. The denial of this doctrine only calls God a liar and says that the crucifixion was a useless and vain sacrifice. So the next time you are confronted by a person that makes an absurd statement such as, there is no hell or that everyone goes to heaven because God would never allow anyone to suffer eternal damnation. Just read them Christ's own words and watch them squirm. "Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is easy, that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard, that leads to life, and those who find it are few" (Matthew 7:13 -14). If you choose to turn away from God and find your own path in life, you may life well, but you will fall into the torment of Hell after death. Hell in and of itself is the absence of the presence of God. The bible teaches us that the wages of sin is death, not just physical death, but the death of the eternal soul of a person. Every time you sin, you pull yourself further and further for the grace of God. This is of course, an abbreviated, truncated, and paraphrase version of the Church's teaching on Hell. The Church describes Hell as a real place that is as eternal as God, where the damned seek not repentance and suffer true pains. If you long for disconnection of the true happiness God can give, then begin on a path of mortal sin and book your ticket to Hell.

"Do you not know that the unjust will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor boy prostitutes nor sodomites nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor robbers will inherit the kingdom of God." (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)

My birthday facts...

Born on this day…

1245 - King Philip III of France (d. 1285)
1553 - Louise de Lorraine-Vaudémont, queen of France (d. 1601)
1651 - Jean-Baptiste de la Salle, French priest/theorist/saint
1662 - Queen Mary II of England (d. 1694)
1770 - David Thompson, English/Canadian explorer (Columbia River)
1858 - Mary Scott Lord Dimmick Harrison, 1st lady (1889-1893)
1901 - Simon Kuznets, Ukrainian-born economist, Nobel laureate (d. 1985)
1909 - Juliana, Queen of Netherlands (1948-80)
1910 - Al Lewis, actor (Leo-Car 54, Grandpa-Munsters)
1912 - Eve Arden, actress (Connie-Our Miss Brooks)
1917 - Bea Wain, US singer/radio host (Lucky Strike Hit Parade)
1918 - W Donald McNeill, tennis champ (US Open-1940)
1925 - Johnny Horton, American musician (d. 1960)
1926 - Cloris Leachman, actress (Last Picture Show, Phyllis)
1931 - William L [Bill] Clay, (Rep-D-MO, 1969- )
1933 - Willie Nelson, Abbott Texas, country singer (On the Road Again)
1938 - Gary Collins, actor (6th Sense, Home Show)
1939 - Ellen Taafe Zwilich, (1st woman composer Pulitzer 1982)
1943 - Robert L Livingston, (Rep-R-Louisiana, 1977- )
1946 - Donald Schollander, swimmer (Olympic-4 gold-64)
1947 - Robert Scott, (Rep-D-Virginia)
1953 - Merrill Osmond, singer (Osmond Brothers, Donnie & Marie)
1957 - Duane G Carey, major USAF/astronaut
1957 - Aviva Chomsky, American historian, daughter of Noam Chomsky
1959 - Lauren Howe, LPGA golfer
1965 - Adrian Pasdar, actor (C Oliver Resor-Feds, Top Gun)
1973 - Akon, American R&B Singer
1975 - Elliott Sadler, American race car driver
1981 - Emma Pierson, British actress
1982 - Kirsten Dunst, actress (Interview with the Vampire)
1985 - Ashley Alexandra Dupré, American singer and call girl
1988 - Molloko, SD Zoo, 1st Californian condor chick conceived in captivity

On this day in history…

1789: George Washington took office in New York as the first president of the United States.

1803: The United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France.

1812: Louisiana became the 18th state.

1859: The novel "A Tale of Two Cities" by Charles Dickens was first published in serial form in a literary magazine.

1900: Hawaii was organized as a U.S. territory.

1900: Train engineer John Luther "Casey" Jones of the Illinois Central Railroad died in a wreck near Vaughan, Miss., after staying at the controls in an effort to save the passengers. (The event was immortalized in song.)

1926: “Brave Bessie” Coleman of Houston, TX, died when her plane failed to come out of a nosedive. She was the world’s first licensed black pilot.

1939: The New York World's Fair opened.

1945: Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler committed suicide along with his wife of one day, Eva Braun, as Russian troops approached his Berlin bunker.

1970: President Richard Nixon announced the United States was sending troops into Cambodia.

1993: Top-ranked women's tennis player Monica Seles was stabbed in the back by a man who ran onto the court during a match in Hamburg, Germany.

1997: ABC aired the "coming out" episode of the sitcom "Ellen," in which the title character, played by Ellen DeGeneres, admitted she is a lesbian.

2001: Chandra Levy, a federal government intern, went missing. Her remains were found more than a year later in a Washington, D.C., park.

2003: Mahmoud Abbas took office as the first Palestinian prime minister. International mediators presented Israeli and Palestinian leaders with a "road map" to peace.

2003: The U.S. Navy withdrew from its disputed Vieques bombing range in Puerto Rico.

2004: Michael Jackson pleaded not guilty in Santa Maria, Calif., to a grand jury indictment that expanded the child molestation case against him. (He was later acquitted.)

2004: Former NBA star Jayson Williams was acquitted of aggravated manslaughter in the shotgun slaying of a limousine driver at his New Jersey mansion, but found guilty of trying to cover up the shooting.

2005: Missing Georgia woman Jennifer Wilbanks turned up in Albuquerque, N.M., originally claiming to have been abducted but then admitting she was a "runaway bride."

2007: A British judge sentenced five al-Qaida-linked men, all British citizens, to life in prison for plotting to attack London targets with bombs.

What Events Happened 1982

U.S.: All time record lows in dozens of cities throughout the Midwestern United States; The largest cash robbery in History occurs in New York when $9,800,000 is stolen from an armored car; The First Issue of USA Today is published; Disney Futuristic Park EPCOT ( Experimental Community Of Tomorrow )is opened; Around 700,000 demonstrators gathered in New York City's Central Park protesting the proliferation of nuclear weapons; Tylenol capsules laced with potassium cyanide kill 7 in Chicago September 29th; Doctors performed the first implant of a permanent artificial heart designed by Robert Jarvik; Severe recession begins in the United States; The world's largest oil rig ( The Ocean Ranger ) sinks in the north Atlantic; The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC is dedicated
Argentina: Argentina invades the Falkland Islands / Maldives on 19th March, and the UK sends the Royal Navy, RAF and the Army and retakes possession of the Falkland Islands during the conflict the Nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror sinks the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano; Argentine Exocet missile sinks HMS Sheffield

UK: HMS Conqueror sinks the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano; The Provisional IRA continues its bombing campaign in London and Mainland Britain; Laker Airways the first of the low cost airlines operating out of the UK Folds; Michael Fagan Brakes into The Queens Bedroom in Buckingham Palace; The Mary Rose, flagship of Henry VIII of England is raised in the Solent on 11th October and taken to Portsmouth Dockyard where it is preserved and on show to the public; Channel 4 is launched in UK
Lebanon: Israeli forces invade Lebanon; Thousands of Palestinian refugees in refugee camps in West Beirut murdered by Lebanese militia

Egypt: Israeli returns Sinai to Egypt

Palestine: Yassar Arafat elected the President of the Palestinian National Council

Canada: The Serial killer Clifford Robert Olson is convicted and given 11 concurrent life sentences for the murder of 11 children in Canada

Russia: Leonid Brezhnev the General Secretary of the Communist Party dies of a heart attack while in office.

Mexico: Earthquake and a volcanic eruption at El Chichon in southern Mexico kill thousands

World: The International Whaling Commission decides to end commercial whaling


Cost of Living 1982
• Average Cost of new house: $82,200.00
• Average Income per year: $21,050.00
• Average Monthly Rent: $320.00
• Cost of a gallon of Gas: 91 cents
• New Car Average price: $7,983.00
• US Postage Stamp: 20 cents

Technological Advancements 1982
• First CD player sold in Japan
• The Weather Channel airs on cable television for the first time
• The Soviet Spaceship Vanera 13 lands on Venus and sends back color Photographs
• 20 million Elm Trees die in the UK through Dutch Elm Disease
• The First Commercial use of Genetic Engineering is Launched when human insulin produced by bacteria is marketed; Times man of The Year is THE COMPUTER

Popular Culture 1982
• Michael Jackson releases his second adult solo album, Thriller
• Graceland the home of Elvis Presley opens to the public
• The screen legend Grace Kelly / Princess Grace of Monaco dies on September 14th in car crash

Popular Films 1982
• E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
• Rocky III
• On Golden Pond
• Porky's
• An Officer and a Gentleman
• The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas
• Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
• Poltergeist
• Annie
• Chariots of Fire
• Gandhi

Popular Musicians 1982
• Human League with " Don't You Want Me "
• Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder with " Ebony and Ivory "
• Olivia Newton-John
• Steve Miller band With " Abracadabra "
• Survivor with " Eye of The Tiger "
• Chicago with " Hard to Say I'm Sorry "
• Lionel Richie

Popular TV Programs 1982
• Magnum, P.I.
• Dynasty
• Falcon Crest
• Hill Street Blues
• Knight Rider

The No Immigration Destination

Forty-nine states in this country are in a tizzy over what the fiftieth did. On Friday, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed the toughest anti-immigration law in the nation, which is set to go into effect by the end of July. The measure has reignited national debate over illegal immigration. Opponents are calling for mass boycotts of Arizona, which seems absurd considering the people of the state didn’t pass that bill, but the government. Boycotting Arizona could put people’s lives at jeopardy due to something they had no part in. President Obama is holding up the law as a prime example of state governments' "irresponsibility" on the issue, but any time a state government passes a law during a Democratic administration they find some way to deride it. And by Arizona passes this law it has therefore spurred federal lawmakers to speed up federal immigration reform, something that should have come about before national healthcare, if you ask me. The president of Mexico is angry, protesters have taken to the streets in many extremes, and critics have denounced the law as a blow to constitutional rights and an invitation to racial profiling. So this prompted me to see what, exactly, all the fuss is about?

The law requires police to ask for immigration papers from anyone whom they have a "reasonable suspicion" might be in the country illegally. Law-enforcement officials are also empowered to detain anyone they hold in such suspicion. It's also a state crime under the new law for immigrants to be found without immigration papers; individual citizens, meanwhile, can file suit against state agencies that fail to enforce the law. Police can detain and demand papers from anyone they have "lawful contact" with, but since the law defines illegal immigrants as trespassing when in any part of the United States, this gives the police the freedom to question people who are otherwise not breaking the law or engaging in suspicious activity. Those found to be in the state illegally can be thrown in jail for six months and fined $2,500, a harsher penalty than the federal punishment of deportation.

The argument is that this is a license for law enforcement to start profiling. Since roughly 30 percent of Arizona is Hispanic and about 80 percent of illegal immigrants are also Hispanic, critics say the law basically mandates that police engage in racial profiling (apprehending people based on their appearance rather than on any evidence that they may be in violation of the law). After she signed the bill into law, the state's Republican governor discounted this view, saying that she had worked hard to amend the bill with language to prevent enforcement from "solely considering race, color, or national origin in implementing the requirements of this section." Critics have countered that the bill doesn't say what might be grounds for detention apart from race, color, or national origin. Marco Rubio, a Republican Senate candidate in Florida, said that requiring people to carry documentation is "not really something that Americans are comfortable with, the notion of a police state." Call me extreme, but I’ve carried documentation of my citizen since my fifteenth birthday, when I got my first job. I’ve never felt part of a police state, but I have nothing to fear.

Governor Brewer has sought to allay many such qualms by signing an executive order for law-enforcement officers to receive special training in the new law's implementation. Part of that training, she assured her constituents, will be a primer in what constitutes "reasonable suspicion." Brewer said in the statement, "As committed as I am to protecting our state from crime associated with illegal immigration, I am EQUALLY committed to holding law enforcement accountable should this statute ever be misused to violate an individual's rights.” Other supporters of the law see no cause to soften any of its strictures. State Sen. Russell Pearce, who authored the bill, told CNN that with its passage, "we're going to take the handcuffs off law enforcement, we're gonna put them on the bad guy. 'Illegal' is not a race, it's a crime."

Though a Rasmussen poll says 60 percent of Americans favor provisions like those in the Arizona law, the measure has sparked passionate opposition and debate. This is where I really missed having my friend Fernando in town. Not only is he Hispanic, but he loves to boycott stuff. Detractors of the new law are already planning to hit Arizona where it hurts most: the state's coffers. The city of San Francisco submitted a resolution today calling for residents to cut all business ties with Arizona. Democratic Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva of Arizona is calling for a boycott of all conventions in Arizona, a striking stand for a lawmaker to take in his home state. The board of governors of the American Immigration Lawyers Association has canceled its convention in Scottsdale. It's far too early to forecast what the impact of a national boycott might be on Arizona's tourist economy. But there is a recent precedent: In 1992, the state caved on its refusal to acknowledge Martin Luther King Day as a holiday after boycotts that culminated in the loss of a lucrative deal to host Super Bowl XXVII in Phoenix. But when you take actions like these, you are not only taking money away from the state, but also from its residents who survive on such money. So I ask, if this law is passed by the few who represent the state, then why boycott the entire state?

To quote Meghan McCain, “I think unless you are from a border state and have actually seen firsthand the effects illegal immigrants have on your community, you can't truly appreciate the complexities of the problem and how it should be litigated.” I’m not necessarily a fan of this law, despite some of the things I might have said today. Simply put, I think it is a bad law that is missing the bigger picture of what is really going on with illegal immigration. The concept that a law-enforcement official can stop an individual when “reasonable suspicion exists that a person is an alien, who is unlawfully present in the United States” is essentially a license to pull someone over for being Hispanic. But I also understand why this law came into existence in the first place. Due to the continued failure of the federal government to secure Arizona’s borders, all US borders in fact, along with the rampant drug smuggling that has gotten increasingly worse over the years, emotions have been running high. Thus far, I think that both Arizona legislation and the national media have done a poor job articulating the real problems with illegal immigration. And like all things in this country, partisan politics is getting in the way of actually solving the problem in an effective manner. When a flawed law is magnified through the prism of extreme partisan politics, it only looks worse. With President Obama calling the law “misguided” and the mainstream media painting Arizona out to be a rogue state, all it does is make people go to greater lengths to defend their position. And this is only the beginning…