S&F-Happy Birthday to the Church

Today is Pentecost Sunday.  This is the day we celebrate the Holy Spirit coming down on the Disciples, giving them the power to start the Church.

In the 2000 years since then the Church has grown from a few hundred people to 1.4 billion.

In the early days of the Church in the Acts of the Apostles this is addressed.  One of the Jewish Leaders, a wise and respected member of the Sanhedrin, Gameliel, cautioned the Jewish leaders how they should treat the followers of Jesus.  He said that if Jesus's teachings were of a human origin, his followers will go away and it will destroy itself.  However, if this movement was from God, it cannot be stopped and the Jewish leaders might find themselves fighting against God.

Gameliel was truly wise.  The Catholic Church has grown.  Its membership has exploded all over the world.  If it was not God's Church that wouldn't have happened.  The Catholic Church is the true Church, started today with the Baptism in the Holy Spirit of 11 men, a Baptism we 1.4 million Catholics share.   

 

6/7/25-How We Deal with Suicide

Cindy told me Thursday is the 1 year anniversary of our first appointment with my oncologist.  That means it has been one year since our lives have been turned upside-down.  I have been reflecting on that year and there will be a post soon talking about my feelings, but this post is about something else that hit me this week, how our culture deals with death, specifically people who take their own lives.

I don't intend for this post to be another old man rant about today's culture, nor do I want it to be a post about my religious beliefs, but I am sure there will be some bits here where those things will come up.

Early this week, I was doing my daily time on YouTube, and I saw a CBS News story on a woman who has ALS.  The video chronicled her last 24 hours before she was prescribed a cocktail that would put her to sleep and give her a "peaceful and dignified" death.  It used the term MAID.  I had never heard that term before, but it stands for "Medical Aid In Dying" and is legal in about 10 states, with more coming soon according to the news story.

Later this week, I was reading Google News and saw a story about a person I knew of from TV that had died.  He was my age so I was curious what had happened to him.  The article said he had "Lost his battle with depression."  That confused me and I asked my family what that meant. I pretty much knew the answer, but I like to get a take from my family on questions of morality since they come from other backgrounds, ages and philosophies.  I just didn't see how a death certificate could list "depression" as a cause of death.  They all confirmed that he probably took his own life, but saying it that he lost a battle with depression is the accepted way of saying that so the article won't be flagged and can remain monetized.

Death is a part of life.  Its time we as a culture accept that.  Coming up with flowery terms to describe it doesn't change that everyone will face it someday.  Getting a doctor to give you a poison drink is euthanasia.  Losing a battle with depression is suicide.  Watching a YouTube video saying someone had chosen to "Self-delete" doesn't change what happened.

If we, as a culture, can't deal with death, specifically self-inflicted death, how are we ever going to help those who need it?  There seems to be a large number of people, based on polls, that are suicidal or looking for ways to die.  We need to let these people know that sometimes things might be bad, but there are people out there to help if they need it.  And hiding suicide under a different name doesn't do that.

I look at death not as a period, but a comma.  It is not the end of my life, but, because of my faith, the beginning of a new chapter.  But that doesn't mean I want this part of by journey to end.  I do remember a moment when my doctor talked about the option of physician assisted suicide.  California is one of the states where it is legal.  At that point we were thinking I had months to live.  I shut that conversation down quickly.  I am not one who is willing to think about ending my life before it is truly time.  That is God's will, not mine.

I am not judging those people who choose to end their own life.  Life is hard.  And some people think they need a way out.  I feel genuinely bad for them.  I just wish we could deal better with it as a culture.  If we call it what it is, suicide, rather than belittling it with other politically correct terms, maybe it will be harder for them to follow through.  We need to encourage them to get the help they need to deal with their demons.  Not hide behind language.

6/5/25-The Animaniacs

I just was reviewing some of my recent posts and realized that a lot of them have been downers.  I'm depressing myself reading them.  Hopefully this will be a more positive post.

Back in my early Navy days when I was in Nuclear Power School in Orlando the days were pretty long.  We had to be up early for breakfast and had morning military responsibilities.  The longest day part of the day was class.  We were basically in the classroom from 8am to 3pm.  The evenings were consumed by studying time back in the classroom (much of the stuff we learned was classified and couldn't be taken out of the class).  Most people had required study hours that they had to check in with the watch to get signed off.  Things like 15/5, meaning 15 extra hours a week spread out over at least 5 days was not unusual.  All that lead to a lot of time in the classroom.

It was definitely important to find somethings to do outside to distract yourself from the constant studying.  For me that was every weekday getting out of class and rushing straight back to my room to watch the WB Television station.  I watched the adventures of Babs and Buster Bunny in the Tiny Toons Adventures, but the real highlight was Animaniacs at 4:30.

The Animaniacs was a cartoon based on the fact that in the 1930's, looking for new new characters, the WB animators came up with the Warner Brothers and their Warner Sister-Yakko, Wakko and Dot.  They were so crazy they were locked into the studio Water Tower, never to be heard from again, until they escaped.  They basically ran amuck causing mischief all over the studio and greater Los Angeles.

They sung songs about history (Ballad of Magellan) and geography (50 States and their Capitals).  They met historical figures like Albert Einstein or made fun of Saddam Hussein.  They drove their psychiatrist to pull out his own hair.

Some of their gags don't meet the modern standard for political correctness, and that showed when they tried to reboot that show in the 2010's.  It just lacked the edginess of the original.

It was a welcome distraction from the stress of learning nuclear theory, thermodynamics and chemistry.  Especially knowing that after my hour of peace I'd get dinner and back to the classroom.

Most importantly when Cindy found out she had married a 22 year old who scheduled his day around watching a cartoon she didn't realize her mistake and leave me.

S&F-Prayer of the Week: The Our Father

 

I'm going to start spending my Wednesday posts focusing on a particular prayer and what it means to me.  There is no better prayer to start with than the prayer that when asked in Luke 11 to teach them to pray Jesus told them.

The Our Father

Our Father, who art in heaven,

hallowed be thy name;

thy kingdom come;

thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread;

and forgive us our trespasses

as we forgive those who trespass

against us;

and lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

Amen

There is so much in this prayer.  In its simplicity it contains all we need to do to be close to God.  It seems like every time I reflect on it I see something I didn't before.

Today I am focusing on the line asking for God's forgiveness, while we will try to forgive those who have wronged us.  

Even the best of us on Earth are sinners.   St. Mother Theresa and Pope St. John Paul II realized they needed to ask for God's forgiveness often.  Dare I say none of us are as Holy as them.  We all have wronged God and need his grace.

But we also need to realize that part of getting God's grace is to give others grace.  Sometimes we need to turn the other cheek to whose who wrong us.  We have been asked by Jesus to love our neighbor as yourself.  And you can't have love without forgiveness.

I know I struggle daily living these statements.  But by accepting my faults and receiving the sacrament of Reconciliation I will try to receive his grace for my shortcomings and by giving my life to Jesus's will he will help me pass that grace onto others.

6/3/25-Entertain vs Preach

For someone with a blog that is littered with posts proclaiming his faith in God this post might seem a little hypocritical.  But here I go anyway.

In 2008 I saw Ironman.  My kids and I spent the next 10 years looking for the next chapter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe story.  We were even able to get Cindy invested in 2012 when she saw the Avengers.  We would go as a family to the theater see each movie.  We weren't the only ones who did this.  Based on the billions the movies made millions of people wanted to see what was going to happen next.  Not all the movies were great, but it seemed like the MCU could do no wrong.

Something happened shortly after the climax on Avengers: Endgame in 2019.  The MCU lost its way.  While the movies were making billions then, Disney celebrates a $300 million box office now.  They have projects coming out soon in Ironheart (Disney+) and The Fantastic Four in the movies.  And largely no one cares.  What happened?

I know the pandemic came at an unfortunate time but its been years since then and the MCU can't get back the momentum it once had.  I submit that the MCU forgot what made it successful-good, entertaining stories.  They, like a lot of the entertainment industry, have turned to virtue signaling and preaching.

It's not just Marvel.  Star Wars, which once was an unstoppable force (pun intended) is nothing compared to what it once was and is hit and miss at best.  I used to look forward to watching Doctor Who every Saturday night and it got ratings in the 10 million range.  Now it gets 10% of that and is facing cancelation.  Star Trek tried to introduce in the modern values only to be lambasted by forcing Discovery on the fans.

Sports faces the same issues.  ESPN is a shell of what it once was.  The NBA has lost a lot of the growth that Magic Johnson and Michal Jordan led it to.  The WNBA has never made money.  Even though it finally has a star it can build around in Catlin Clark still has its stars fighting her choosing to focus on her race instead of embracing her and allowing her popularity to make them all money.

People turn to entertainment industries like TV, movies and sports to be distracted from the stresses of the world.  A movie was a couple hours where you could leave the negativity behind you at the door and just concentrate on the having a good time.  Watching sports was a time to celebrate the athletic ability of exceptional people doing things we normal people could never do.  

Why do these entertainment giants not to listen to their fans and concentrate on entertaining?  In their hubris, they feel like they are superior to us and they should push their political or social opinions on us.  What they do not realize is that just because you are Disney or LeBron James you are not superior.  You might have a entertainment empire or great basketball skills, but that does not make your opinions special.  Until they get that message and go back to listening to their fandoms and go back to being entertainers we will continue to look elsewhere with our views and our money.  

S&F-Visitation and Ascension

This weekend is a dichotomy in the Catholic Church.  We get to celebrate two feast days.  Today is the feast of the Visitation and tomorrow we get to celebrate the Ascension.

In the Visitation we see the first time Jesus was recognized even though he was still in Mary's womb.  On Mary's arrival to see her cousin Elizabeth, she is celebrated as the Mother of the Lord.  Elizabeth's own unborn child "Leaps for joy" in the presence of the forthcoming savior.  It is the first time Jesus was recognized on Earth.

Although the actual feast is on Thursday, in order to allow everyone to celebrate, we observe the Ascension of Jesus into Heaven on Sunday.  In the presence of his followers Jesus was taken to be with the Father.  This was the last time he was recognized on Earth.

I think this weekend is like the bookends of Jesus's time as a man.  In his 33 years on Earth as a man he was able to change the world.  His time here continues to effect us 2000 years later.  He did have the advantage of being both divine and man, but who says we can't have an effect to the world as we know it today.

To quote Jesus himself:

"Go and teach all nations, says the Lord;

I am with you always, until the end of the world." -Mt 28

None of us is going to have the influence of Jesus, but we are called to proclaim the Gospel.  I think if we do with confidence Jesus will take care of the rest.

5/31/25-Losing a Friend

Although I have a great support group in my family in dealing with cancer, sometimes you need to talk to someone who is in the fight rather than a support person.

Some cancers like breast cancer have countless support groups subdivided by age, gender, severity, ethnicity, etc.  In my case, I haven't really found anything like that.

This week I was talking to someone at work who is fighting brain cancer.  He was a little down because while he also doesn't have a support group, he found someone online who was documenting his fight on Instagram that he was following.  That person recently passed away, and my friend felt like he had lost part of his support system even though he never had met this individual.

I emphasized with him.  I too loosely follow a person on YouTube who was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2021.  His videos were inspiring and positive.  I recently got far enough into his videos to see the end for him was coming and he finally passed away last summer.

He seemed a lot like me.  He was very fit.  He ignored his symptoms too long.  He was always looking for other holistic ways to treat his cancer and the side effects.  Familiar.

When the cancer finally took over his downfall was quick.  In just a couple of months he went from out exercising, experiencing life to bedridden and weak.  Its kinda scary seeing what might be your own future right there on YouTube.

I never met Dr. Dan Brockmann.  But I think we could have been friends, especially since we both were fighting and enemy that we never saw coming.  He lost his battle, and eventually I'll lose as well.  Hopefully, when my time comes I'll face my mortality with as much grace as he did.