Non-country fan rediscovers legend Lyle Lovett

Published in Cumberland Times-News Tuesday, June 17, 2014.

Sorting through my old LPs recently, I came upon Lyle Lovett’s Pontiac, copyrighted 1987. It’s probably one of the last albums I bought; my stereo died in the years shortly thereafter. I never replaced it, or my albums with CDs, figuring someday I might buy a record player, if it could sound good enough to do the recordings justice.

So I forgot about Lyle Lovett. I never heard him on the radio or saw him on TV, after the PBS program that spurred me to special order his album so many years ago.

I am not a country music fan, and so I was surprised to learn, as I probed the depths of YouTube, that Lyle Lovett is a country music legend. I never would have classified him country. Some sort of jazz, gospel, soul,bluegrass fusion, maybe: A folk-type unique.

That high-rise hair-do. The sharp-dresser suits. The stunning,chiseled good looks. Such an easy way on an acoustic guitar. Effortless precision. And the voice, shimmering, crystalline, gravely when right, always spot on.

I’ve listened to about all YouTube has to offer on the topic of Lyle Lovett, including a Diane Sawyer interview with his spouse of 21 months, Julia Roberts --who, Sawyer comments, said her heart stopped when he walked into a room.

Where was I in 1993? I don’t remember hearing of that marriage, broken, according to Internet reports, by career demands, though they reportedly remained friends. Roberts re-married in 2002; Lovett remains engaged (since 2003) to his former personal assistant, whom he apparently has known for16 years.

Mr. Lovett lives where his family always has, since immigrating from Germany in the 1840s, where he grew up, where his mother and her six siblings grew up, in the house his grandfather built in 1911, in a community called Klein (named for his mother’s father’s grandfather), outside Houston, in north Harris County, Texas. He is a lifelong member of Trinity Lutheran Church and attended the parish school through eighth grade. (His hometown minister helped with the ceremony when he and Roberts married in a Lutheran church in Indiana.)

In a Q TV interview, Mr. Lovett says that because he is “a make-it-up-as-you-go singer-songwriter,” as opposed to an in-demand studio musician, he has the freedom to live on the family ranch. He says his grandparents’ house is “just through the pasture,” next to his mom, who is his next-door neighbor (his dad died in 1999); his uncle is on the other side.

Never knowing what he wanted to do, Mr. Lovett says his career developed with people encouraging him at each step to go to the next. His first booking was a coffeehouse while a journalism and German student at Texas A&M.

He’s earned four Grammys, the Americana Music Association’s inaugural Trailblazer Award, been Texas’official musician, inducted into the Texas Songwriters’ Hall of Fame, and fulfilled his commitment to Curb Records, who signed him in 1985, with ReleaseMe in 2012.

Some of Mr. Lovett’s lyrics are “just silliness,” as he puts it, but all are poetry. His tunes are engaging and beautiful, but not memorable. I wish they were. I’d like to get a Lyle Lovett tune stuck in my head all day. As it is, I have to go to YouTube, and, well, that view is just fine.

The chiseled good looks are still there, refined with rugged lines and less-wild hair. He’s on tour now and will be at Wolf Trap on Aug. 22. That would be a show to see, even for a non-country fan like me.

Is Dick Cheney's backstory anything like mine?

Published in Cumberland Times-News Friday, November 15, 2013.

"Like Mr. Cheney’s, my story, and survival, is very much about the intertwining of technology, timing and expertise – and my unshakable gratitude for God’s blessings. Sadly, my story also features 20-plus years of turbulence with dozens of doctors who wouldn’t face facts about my situation..."

 

Watching former Vice President Dick Cheney’s Oct. 20 “60 Minutes” interview with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, I thought, “He’s a daring man, to publish a book about his heart struggles. After all, who will read it?”

In 2006, after my second heart surgery to correct birth defects and their effects, my home health care team told me I should write a book. “Who would want to read my story?” I replied. “No one wants to hear it!”

Mine is a fascinating story, though -- to me, and my cardiologist, and a few other inquisitive folks. Interestingly, Mr. Cheney’s cardiologist and mine are colleagues. Maybe he’ll read the book. I don’t plan to.

As my cardiologist could attest, I’ve endured sufficient drama, and trauma, in my lifetime. Two difficult heart surgeries, three catheterizations, a dozen-plus other surgical procedures; an artificial aortic valve, chronic atrial fibrillation; 10 pacemaker implants, an infected pacer (and plastic surgery to remove a baseball-sized keloid and close the wound), two malfunctioning pacers, two recalled, one broken lead (that was an emergency!), one fractured lead; 10 years managing congestive heart failure -- prior to the last heart surgery, which left me with profound vision loss as a complication; near death several times: I’ve experienced just about all there is, short of a heart attack, which I hope I never do!

Like Mr. Cheney’s, my story, and survival, is very much about the intertwining of technology, timing and expertise – and my unshakable gratitude for God’s blessings.

Sadly, my story also features 20-plus years of turbulence with dozens of doctors who wouldn’t face facts about my situation and were uncooperative, disrespectful at best, manipulative, deceitful and abusive at worst. Surely, Mr. Cheney experienced this phenomenon. He didn’t mention it in the interview, but at times, Dr. Gupta showed himself to be incredulous, combative.

In the late 1980s and early ‘90s, when my pacemakers malfunctioned (the leads were “improperly implanted”), my then-cardiologist expressed his concern for my symptoms as, “You’re crazy.” And there was the endocrinologist who said she didn’t need to know about my heart condition, because “that all happened before I knew you.”

Then came the dentist who wanted me to stop taking Coumadin five days prior to a routine cleaning. My current cardiologist, and the ADA, said, “No!” And my cardiologist’s response to the dermatologist who, in spite of my high risk for infection, insisted on treating my acne with daily antibiotics: “Out of the question.” That dispute got me barred from the practice!

Then there was the family doctor who swore he knew nothing about hearts, as he proceeded to commiserate with pharmacy staff to rewrite my cardiologist’s Lasix prescription for the generic, which didn’t work for me – because the pharmacy didn’t want to stock Lasix. That trick elicited a firestorm from me, which got me barred from his practice!

The dishonesty, denial and betrayal became overwhelming, and eventually, anxiety built into a breakdown, with PTSD. Enter the inept shrink who misdiagnosed me manic-depressive!

The correct diagnosis came seven years later from a competent and compassionate psychologist in Gaithersburg. With my capable cardiologist, he made two doctors I trusted by that time; well, three, including my dermatologist, who practices in Winchester.

She never balked or blinked at my heart history. Neither has my current internist, who is in Cumberland. He put me at ease in our first visit four years ago when he told me, “I’ll respect your specialists.”

I’ve assembled an ideal team, but finding them took decades of perseverance and hard work. I wonder if that is Mr. Cheney’s backstory. That I’d be interested to read.

Religious freedom events oppose HHS mandate

Published in Cumberland Times-News Wednesday, June 5, 2013.

"Whereas tyrannical maneuvers that incriminate news reporters for investigating the government, or harass taxpayers for disagreeing with the president’s policies, or cover up officials’ refusals to aid our compatriots in distress effectively compromise citizens’ livelihoods and lives, the HHS mandate endangers our immortal souls."

With public attention focused on recent Obama administration scandals, the controversy over religious freedom – ignited last year by the coercive Health and Human Services contraceptives mandate -- smolders relatively unnoticed.

Unless overturned, the HHS mandate goes into effect Aug. 1. A Health Conscience Rights Act would amend the Affordable Care Act to remedy the situation, but H.R. 940 hasn’t gotten air.

“Many religious employers, businesses operated by people of faith, and individuals will be forced to violate their religious principles to comply with the new healthcare law,” writes Baltimore Archbishop William E. Lori, chair of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty, in a May 21 email to the faithful.

A direct assault on the Catholic Church and all believers in life, the HHS mandate denies First Amendment guarantees of freedom of speech and religious practice by forcing people of conscience – against their teachings and God’s will -- to participate in health insurance plans that provide contraceptive services.

Whereas tyrannical maneuvers that incriminate news reporters for investigating the government, or harass taxpayers for disagreeing with the president’s policies, or cover up officials’ refusals to aid our compatriots in distress effectively compromise citizens’ livelihoods and lives, the HHS mandate endangers our immortal souls.

On April 8, Archbishop Lori thanked and commended litigants -- Catholic dioceses, Catholic and other religious non-profit organizations, and conscionable for-profit companies -- in dozens of lawsuits filed nationwide against the mandate.

In his statement, Bishop Lori quotes Cardinal Timothy Dolan, USCCB president, in his praise for business owners fighting in the courts: Dolan calls their actions “a source of encouragement, particularly because of their high rate of success in obtaining early injunctions to block the mandate.”

To further opposition to the HHS mandate, and to call attention to other increasingly egregious infringements on religious liberty in America, the USCCB will stage its second Fortnight for Freedom June 21 to July 4.

Bishop Lori calls Catholics and other faithful “to pray, study, and prayerfully act” in support of religious freedom.

H.R. 940, introduced March 4 by Rep. Diane Black (R-TN-6) and in committee since March 8, would give individuals and employers the right to decline insurance coverage that contradicts their moral or religious beliefs.

The National Committee for a Human Life Amendment provides an easy format for sending an email to our representatives and the House Speaker in support of H.R. 940. Find it at http://www.votervoice.net/NCHLA/Campaigns/30688/Respond.

On a regional scale, the second Religious Freedom Walk June 9-16 will be eight days and 100 miles of camaraderie, penance and solidarity from St. Peter Catholic Church in Hancock to the National Shrine Basilica in Washington, D.C.

Along the route, the group (24 walked last year) will do education and public service outreaches; and this year, they will gather supporters’ signatures onto event t-shirts for presenting to Senators Mikulski and Cardin, and Representative Delaney.

Walkers may join start to finish, or anywhere along the way. Volunteers help in other ways, as well, and donations assist the St. Vincent de Paul Society of Baltimore and the Interfaith Service Coalition in Hancock.

For more information about the Religious Freedom Walk, call Father Jack Lombardi, director, at 301-678-6339. Video form last year’s walk can be seen at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBNKdPFsQW0.

Religious freedom is moral freedom. Our founders, having fled tyranny, guaranteed it first in the Bill of Rights. The right – indeed, obligation -- to object to oppression is fundamental to our fair and just system of laws. Without it, we are subjects. With it, we can move mountains.

Can Judeo-Christian tradition guide, or survive?

Published in Cumberland Times-News Monday, Nov. 19, 2012.

"Not structured to “evolve” with the times, Judeo-Christian values reflect nature’s and God’s truths, eternal and unchanging points of reference that our founders firmly fixed  into the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, to anchor our government and civil society in inherent freedoms, and to provide us the courage to defend them – on our soil, and around the globe."

With the rise of socialist and neo-communist ideals in the WhiteHouse and emboldened atheism in our state houses, along with federal mandatesthat violate religious freedoms and a Democratic party that denies God and compromisesIsrael, we can hardly recognize traditional Judeo-Christian principles of liberty and justice, and civility, in America today. Indeed, we might wonder if they are tattered beyond repair.

Politicians and citizens who hold these traditions dear take a special beating. Consider former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat and a man of God.

Presenting party platform amendments for a voice vote at the 2012 Democratic National Convention, Strickland professed, “As an ordained United Methodist minister, I am here to attest and affirm that our faith and belief in God is central to the American story and informs the values we’ve expressed in our party's platform.” 

That sounds great, and may have held true in Strickland’s time; but on Sept. 5, 2012, the party base did not back him up. A large constituency loudly shouted “NO” to proposals to reinsert the name of God, and to proclaim Jerusalem the capital of Israel.

Convention chair Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and Strickland looked baffled and abandoned before bright lights, the nation staring.

The scene, viewable on YouTube, is comical, and pathetic, as Villaraigosa searches for someone to guide him. He calls for the vote a second time, and then a third. Finally, he rules that the ayes are a two-thirds majority. Anyone watching knows the vote was a draw, at best.

In hindsight, we might wonder: Were Strickland and Villaraigosa truly naive about their party’s sentiments? Or did they know, but figure that the base would go along with the president, who requested the hasty platform changes in response to public pressure? Or could Strickland have been sincere? As an ordained minister, despite his party’s current bent, might he still view the world through Judeo-Christian lenses?

Smeared by feminists, homosexuals and atheists in an Obama-influenced culture war, Judeo-Christian traditions, and anyone who holds to them, get pushed to the sidelines, or under the bus, in the progressive political fray.

Not structured to “evolve” with the times, Judeo-Christian values reflect nature’s and God’s truths, eternal and unchanging points of reference that our founders firmly fixed  into the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution, to anchor our government and civil society in inherent freedoms, and to provide us the courage to defend them – on our soil, and around the globe.

“Judeo-Christian values have a foundational role in America,” writes Ronald R. Cherry in a Sept. 15, 2007 AmericanThinker column.

Cherry quotes from the Declaration of Independence those self-evident truths “endowed by their Creator” that he calls “the seed of American Social Justice.”

Cherry figures that happiness is equivalent to creativity, and that the founders expanded their vision of freedom in the Constitution “through reason and common sense, unencumbered by the dysfunctional religious and secular traditions and laws of Old Europe.” 

Well today, what’s old is new again. Dysfunctional religious and secular ideas – the Marxist “social justice” agenda of liberation theologythat stirs class warfare; the neo-communist “separation of church and state” agenda of atheism that shuns God; and the administration’s despotic laws that require the faithful to commit deadly sin -- characterize Obama’s rule.

History shows that creativity becomes diabolical under the destructive specter of spite and godlessness. Reason and common sense are not driving forces in totalitarian ideologies. Without God as its guide, government is a tyrant, and the governed are fools.

The founders had been there and known that. Must we learn it for ourselves?

Democratic Party faithful...to whom?

Published in Cumberland Times-News Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012.

"The founders’ intent was not to remove faith from the hearts and actions of our public servants. What a cold, bold, capricious, remorseless arena society will be, if the atheists – and Democrats – have their way."

In a “revealing moment,” as Mike Huckabee calls it, in his Sept. 8 television program, the nation witnessed the Democratic Party faithful, gathered at their national convention, object to reinstating the tern “God-given,” and inserting a declaration that Jerusalem is Israel’s capital, into their party platform.

Ben Shapiro at Breitbart (Sept. 5) calls ramming the verbiage through -- after its absence was criticized -- “a political move designed to prevent disillusioned Jewish voters from leaving the (party) in droves.” Smart Jews, though, Shapiro says, “(will) realize that the base of the Democratic Party simply does not support Israel.”

Vote replays indicate, too, that the Democratic base does not support God. One YouTube commenter cites Matthew 26:34 to put into context the three votes led by convention chair, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa: “Truly, I tell you, this very night…you will deny me three times.”

Seems Villaraigosa may know how Pilate, and Christ’s faithful, felt: Dismayed, at the least. Will the condemning Dems react to their deceit the way Peter did, and repent? Or will they go the route of Judas, and self-destruct?

Or will they take the audacious high road of Pilate, and shrug the ugly scenario off as someone else’s problem?

Former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, platform committee chair, who introduced the amendments, told the Toledo Blade (Sept. 6) that President Obama requested the hasty changes. “I was happy to do it,” says Strickland, an ordained minister.

How telling, that this president would entangle one of God’s faithful to represent his fellowmen in their bold betrayal of the Creator and His holy city, before an incredulous nation – indeed, world -- and then blithely bound forward with no signs of remorse.

We, the masses, are a bunch of chumps, left to wonder: Can this president be re-elected the same way? “NO,” we will shout, to the proposition to re-seat Obama. Yet somehow, will he win by a declared majority?

Atheists seem suddenly emboldened. On the same day as the vote, the Baltimore Sun reported that “secular-minded Marylanders” are organizing a Secular Coalition for America chapter, to lobby this spring in Annapolis (as they will in other capital cities across the nation) “for strong separation of church and state.”

Having intimate knowledge of religious persecution -- the reason the Pilgrims braved the seas to come to our shores -- the Founding Fathers provided that our government should not encroach upon citizens’ religious freedoms of conscience, instruction, culture, life.

The founders’ intent was not to remove faith from the hearts and actions of our public servants. What a cold, bold, capricious, remorseless arena society will be, if the atheists – and Democrats – have their way.

Government will be god, and we its servants. A new communism, ushered in by a misguided electorate, dawns on that horizon where Obama points.

As Michael Dresser notes in his Sun article, “Annapolis has a long history of lobbying by religious groups,” Catholic, Jewish, Muslim. “If the secular coalition is successful, (then) the non-religious would have their own presence in the General Assembly.”

At least one professed atheist serves now in the state senate, Jamin Raskin, D-Montgomery. Dresser, the Sun’s State House correspondent, wrote me in an e-mail, “There are probably several, but politicians who are atheists tend not to advertise it.” Why not?

Presenting his Democratic platform committee’s amendments, Gov. Strickland professes, “As an ordained United Methodist Minister, I am here to attest and affirm that our faith and belief in God is central to the American story and informs the values we’ve expressed in our party's platform.” 

For whom does Strickland speak? Would he know?

The choice is stark: Democracy or serfdom

Published in Cumberland Times-News Friday, August 21, 2012.

"Let’s face it: The White experience in America – that of the Mayflower Descendants, the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution, descendants of European farmers who settled the frontier and Jewish and Christian immigrants who filled the cities and fueled the Industrial Revolution -- is fundamentally different from that of the African-American, or modern-day Latino or Asian immigrant."

Who would destroy our country? Why?

We who cherish America as the grand experiment in democracy, with lofty ideals to which others aspire, hold our heads in confoundedness: Why do our own brethren set out to destroy this country?

What is their thinking? Can we halt their rapid dismantling of America’s foundation?

Do these people have no connection to our ancestors’ struggles?  Is there no one in their families who witnessed the Pilgrims’ courageous voyage to seek religious freedom; their crash landing at Clark’s Island in winter 1620; their Mayflower Compact, necessary for survival; their thanksgiving to God for his protection and beneficence?

Can they claim no ancestors among the colonists who objected to tyrannical rule, who heroically proclaimed a Declaration of Independence, and then took up arms to fight, and win against all odds, in a risky Revolutionary War?

Did no one in their families side with the Feds or Rebs in their passionate disagreements over slavery and states’ rights that tore the country apart before making us one, joined then in reconstruction and resurrection?

 Did none of their fathers or grandfathers, sons or daughters, serve our country in Europe, Korea, Vietnam, or any of the various recent arenas, to fight against Marxist, Communist and Islamist totalitarianism and tyrannical oppression?

Were none of their ancestors among the hopeful immigrants who came here in centuries past to find freedom and opportunity, and to build a community, an identity, a country?

Either they must have no connection, or no knowledge of it; or they disdain ours.

Let’s face it: The White experience in America – that of the Mayflower Descendants, the Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution, descendants of European farmers who settled the frontier and Jewish and Christian immigrants who filled the cities and fueled the Industrial Revolution -- is fundamentally different from that of the African-American, or modern-day Latino or Asian immigrant.

While we reflect on a bold and inspired heritage steeped in independence and self-reliance, they see their own ancestors having suffered inexorable pain and brutal injustices. Our America has been a land of parallel universes.

Unhealed wounds of slavery and yet-vivid images of Jim Crow fuel disillusionment with our founders’ Judeo-Christian ideals for law and justice; and progressive thinkers disagree with beliefs that our blessings come from God and not from government.

Marxist and neo-communist ideas of “social justice” and “fair share” have taken center stage at the White House and gained momentum among the masses, especially “alienated youths,” who American Thinker columnist James Lewis says (Oct. 9, 2007)  “are always the easiest targets for any totalitarian creed.”

 “The Neocommies,” Lewis writes, “are part more of a movement than a conspiracy.”

He goes on, “Democrats (have become) more totalitarian in spirit and practice (since)  the first wave of the New Left started its takeover of the Party in the 1970s and 80s.” These Democrats, Lewis says, “will tell you they are patriotic Americans, which is very true, if you adopt their belief that America must be subjected to a Leftist regime for its own good. ...

“The (ideological) goal,” says Lewis, “is to create Paradise on Earth by overthrowing democratic capitalism. The real goal is to enable the rise of a new ruling class with huge power over ordinary people.”

The choice in November is stark: Democracy, with its individual freedoms and prosperity, or socialism, serfdom and poverty.

Americans are at a juncture. We can revere our God-fearing ancestors and continue their unique, hard-won Judeo-Christian system of law and justice that has served exceptionally well for almost 240 years. Or we can discard all that, and embrace Marxist rule.

The majority will decide.

Debate goes beyond socialism to liberty

Published in Cumberland Time-News Thursday, June 14, 2012.

"Our founders established for us, as Jesus taught, that no ruler, nor president, has supreme authority to coerce God-fearing citizens to obey the state, and morally perish."

While folks debate Barack Obama’s socialist leanings regarding, for instance, his manipulating from the White House such industries as finance, health and energy, one thing is certain: He shared Marxist ideologies with Jeremiah Wright, a fervent liberation theologian, and his beliefs clash head-on with the Catholic Church.

Liberation theology twists Christianity to devalue Jesus’ divine nature and his salvific mission and, instead, emphasize his human persona in order to glorify and justify social redemption.

An errant offshoot of Catholicism, liberation theology espouses that Jesus promotes liberation from economic and political injustices imposed on the downtrodden by their oppressors, rather than urging personal redemption from sins of immorality.

Romans and Jews made the same mistake in Jesus’ day. Fear of Jesus’ influence as a revolutionary led to his death, though he claimed no intent to be an earthly king and told Pilate (John 18:36), “My kingdom is not of this world.”

Jesus taught, rather, that each of us, made in the image of God, is inherently dignified and uniquely responsible for our own conduct in the material world -- and our own fate in eternity.

Liberation theology seems to drive President Obama in his cries about the rich “paying their fair share” and his desire to “spread the wealth around.” It could be the force behind his trumped-up class warfare and claims of a war on women.

Our deliverer-president, in fact, in his Obamacare mandate, is waging war on the Catholic Church, and on religion in general; it violates the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, as well as Jesus’ command that we should give to the state what is the state’s, and to God what is God’s (Mark12:17).

Our founders established for us, as Jesus taught, that no ruler, nor president, has supreme authority to coerce God-fearing citizens to obey the state, and morally perish.

 Speaking of the church’s response to the Department of Health and Human Services’ order to provide employees insurance coverage for contraceptives, sterilization and abortifacients, New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan, president of the U.S.Conference of Catholic Bishops, said on May 21 that church leaders have no choice now but to sue.

“We have tried negotiation with the Administration and legislation with the Congress -- and will keep at it -- but there’s still no fix,” many media quote Dolan. “Time is running out, and our valuable ministries and fundamental rights hang in the balance, so we have to resort to the courts now.”

The Archdiocese of New York is one of 43 plaintiffs -- Catholic dioceses, schools, hospitals, social service agencies and other institutions, Catholic News Agency clarifies -- who filed suit in 12 federal district courts across the country.

CNA reports that “states, colleges, private employers and organizations throughout the U.S.” previously filed at least 11 lawsuits against the mandate.

If the Supreme Court decides this month to strike the mandate, then the lawsuits could be moot. In the meantime, they illustrate “a compelling display of the unity of the Church in defense of religious liberty,” Dolan observes – a cause that spawned our nation’s founding and should unify all Americans.

How ironic that Father John Jenkins -- Notre Dame president who infamously awarded President Obama an honorary degree, despite opposition from bishops and faithful across the country who object to Obama’s advancement of abortion -- proclaims in the May 21 Washington Post, “This filing is about the freedom of a religious organization to live its mission, and its significance goes well beyond any debate about contraceptives.”

Indeed, the debate goes to the heart of the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness in America.

President presents tough ethics issue

Published in Cumberland Times-News Thursday, April 5, 2012.

"The direction of our secular society today, especially under President Obama’s federally mandated complicity, seems to be to prepare our youths for unfettered, no-fault sex, and then communally to prevent or dispose of the consequences -- unwanted pregnancies."

Reading Charles Haynes’ column about the Character Education Partnership (March 31 Times-News), I thought, “How wonderful,” that Mr. Sandy McDonnell saw and addressed the need; how sad, too, though, that secular scholars should be expected (and entrusted) to teach ethics and virtues – training traditionally instilled in faith-filled homes and communities in our not-so-long-ago God-fearing nation.

Are public school teachers qualified, and whose standards would they follow, to consider such concepts as “conscience” and “discernment,” basic to ethics and virtues, and often confused today with “license” and “self-fulfillment?”

Not self-serving, discernment enables us to judge wisely what is true and just, particularly in complicated situations. Not self-gratifying, conscience empowers us to follow God’s will, rather than our own, or that of others. Intricately intertwined, conscience builds discernment, while discernment leads to conscionable actions.

In today’s muddled secular society, would public school teachers embrace truth, or desire to seek it, with enough expertise to teach it? Likely, some -- in keeping with current progressive trends -- might thumb their noses at truth, mock it, and teach narcissism, skepticism and antagonism, instead.

For example: In March 2008, then-Senator Obama, speaking of contraceptives, said of the future for his six- and nine-year-old daughters, “if they make a mistake, I don’t want them punished with a baby.” Then last month, in the context of his administration’s assault on religious liberty and conscience rights, President Obama referred to his two young daughters to imply they inspire him in his desire to mandate free contraceptives and abortifacients.

What confounding testimony for our nation’s youths – to educate them to think like victims that consequences of mistakes are punishments, rather than responsibilities, and then to provide “safety” for their sexual encounters at the expense of everyone else in the country, against the consciences and better judgments of most.

Public schools used to integrate domestic skills courses into curricula, to prepare young men and women for home and family life. Most youths came to school already trained in conscience and discernment, and practical matters, by their parents, pastors and neighbors; there was no need to teach ethics or virtues – or sex.

The direction of our secular society today, especially under President Obama’s federally mandated complicity, seems to be to prepare our youths for unfettered, no-fault sex, and then communally to prevent or dispose of the consequences -- unwanted pregnancies.

Ethical? Virtuous? No.

Corrupt? Extortionist? Perhaps some students in one of the CEP’s “schools of character” could take on this discussion as an ethics issue.

Much depends on Archbishop Dolan

Published in the Cumberland Times-News Thursday, Feb. 16, 2012.

"The modern problem dates to the 1960s’ spawning of Catholic liberation theology, an errant Marxist view of social justice, and Pope Paul VI’s crackdown on the 'follow your conscience' movement (regarding birth control), in his 1968 encyclical, Humanae Vitae."

My 92-year-old mother asked me, “What is the bottom line in the fracas with the church?”

I explained: To comply with the next ObamaCare mandate, all Catholic entities must buy employee health insurance that provides contraceptives, abortifacients and sterilization.  

This is a direct assault on Catholicism, religious freedom and conscience rights. It forces the church to choose -- obey God, or bow to Obama.

The church may either implement the mandate and violate its essence; or refuse to comply, and go bankrupt paying whopping fines; or shutter all its hospitals, universities, schools, agencies – go out of existence; or go underground, as it has had to do in other countries, at other times, under similar circumstances.

The kick is, the mastermind behind the mandate is Catholic Kathleen Sebelius, who, we might say, was empowered to define its parameters with great assistance from Sister Carol Keehan.

President of the Catholic Health Association, Keehan stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Obama and his allies, to shove ObamaCare down the nation’s collective throat. Now, applauding the president’s recent backpedaling -- which simply makes us all complicit, rather than front-line offenders – Keehan again joins forces to put all Catholics in the distasteful position of having ObamaCare thrust up unsavory parts of our collective anatomy.

Jonathan Last writes in the Feb. 7 Weekly Standard: “most Catholics took the president at his word when he met with Archbishop Timothy Dolan last fall and assured him” the policy was no threat.

“That was their mistake,” Last concludes.

Now Dolan pushes back. But against powerful and deceitful progressives, will he have the doggedness to sustain the fight? Furthermore, can he wield sufficient influence among the masses of Catholic women – who regularly choose contraceptives or sterilization over abstinence or natural family planning, and often opt to abort rather than adopt -- and their commiserating men, to sway public sentiment effectively?

Next, segue to Maryland, where Gov. Martin O’Malley, his District Court judge wife Katie O’Malley, and Del. Heather Mizeur – all Catholics – lead the charge to ram same-sex marriage through our legislature.

Mizeur dismisses the bishops, saying they can preach what they want. She decides how to be a “practicing Catholic;” her faith gives her license to “follow her conscience” -- down the aisle with her female lover.

Katie O’Malley calls House delegates who obey God, rather than bow to her husband, “cowards;” and she agrees with Mizeur and the governor that religion has no place in the public square.

Those who believe that government is not at war with religious institutions and, indeed, every individual of faith, kid themselves.

And leading the charge are progressive Catholics who would destroy civil society and the church, and remake them in their own image -- with Obama all too happy to help.

The modern problem dates to the 1960s’ spawning of Catholic liberation theology, an errant Marxist view of social justice, and Pope Paul VI’s crackdown on the “follow your conscience” movement (regarding birth control), in his 1968 encyclical, Humanae Vitae.

Failing to effect change within the church during Vatican II, progressives advanced their agenda socially and politically, and waited for the next viable opportunity to wrest moral authority from the hierarchy.

Michael Collins of The Annapolis Capital (Feb. 7) calls for the Maryland judiciary to discipline Katie O’Malley, for her “partisan politics” that reveal “animus toward religion in the public square.”

I suggest the church disown both O’Malleys – and all their fellow anti-Catholics – until they might repent and reform.

Much depends on Cardinal-designate Dolan. He is a big man with a booming voice and a hearty laugh. We’ll see what kind of bite he has.

Past Catholic Christmases make rich memories

Published in Cumbelrand Times-News Sunday, December 25, 2011

"The decorations, the music, the crèche, the shoulder-to-shoulder, better-get-there-early, standing-room-only crowd, the unparalleled beauty of Christ’s arrival and His sacrifice – along with anticipating what came after – made this night magical, indeed."

Being part of my mom’s large Catholic family, and spending my first seven grades in Catholic school, I recall vibrantly holy and wholesome past Christmases.

Before Christmas Mass became a children’s Mass (reminiscent of a school pageant), it was reverent, beautiful, solemn, yet celebratory -- the essence, in my memory, of the Catholic celebration of Christ’s birth and ultimate sacrifice.

For the month prior, we prepared in school for the miraculous coming of our infant savior. Besides studying Bible stories and the Baltimore Catechism, and unfolding our Advent calendars, we incorporated the mystery and wonder of Christ’s coming into literary and art projects and mini-dramas.

As Christmas day approached, we spent more time in church for choir practice. Sister Charlotte, the organist, arranged prayers to fit Christmas hymns, which we students carefully and joyfully then sang from our pews in the choir loft at midnight Mass.

Preparations at home began weeks in advance, too. Mom usually made me a new dress; perhaps I’d get a new coat. We’d bake sand tarts and pineapple filled cookies, Santa-shaped sugar-type, and Mom’s caramel-topped applesauce cakes – gifts for the teachers!

My siblings and I looked forward to finding a few surprises the next morning, as we decorated the tree on Christmas Eve and placed the crèche beneath it. Situating the tree in front of the double windows required rearranging living room furniture, adding to the sense of accommodating the Christ child in our home.

Midnight Mass, though, brought the denouement. The decorations, the music, the crèche, the shoulder-to-shoulder, better-get-there-early, standing-room-only crowd, the unparalleled beauty of Christ’s arrival and His sacrifice – along with anticipating what came after – made this night magical, indeed.

The longer-than-usual service ended after 1 a.m. Then everyone in my mother’s family – who traveled from various states, and filled a significant portion of the church pews – gathered once again at her parents’ home for breakfast.

We scrambled dozens of eggs and fried pounds of puddin’ to feed upwards of probably 60, some years. We know the tradition started as early as 1963, because we have group photos that show my right arm in a cast: I broke it on the playground in second grade.

After breakfast, around 4 a.m., we all gathered in my grandparents’ spacious living room. We cousins gave each other our jingle gifts and distributed those from the pile under the tree. Everyone got something from Grandma and Grandpap, and their seven daughters exchanged gifts. The revelry continued until sunup.

Returning home on Christmas day, we opened the gifts under our own tree: Usually a book (most memorably, The Yearling), a board game (Scrabble), clothes (a nightgown and underwear), perhaps a doll (Shirley Temple), or candy (Life Savers book). Then we’d read, play, or sleep.

Twenty-five years or so have passed since our last Christmas gathering at Grandma’s house, but Mom’s sister Frances keeps a holiday tradition going. This year, we'll gather after the New Year at her farmhouse in Salisbury, Pa.

Sadly, most in the younger generations don’t practice the faith, and those who do might need to travel a distance to experience a traditional, beautiful and reverent Catholic Christmas Mass. Staged to accommodate children -- or to appeal to the child within – most Christmas Masses today emote and entertain, rather than inspire and elevate.

At this time of year, I am grateful to my parents (my father converted from the Episcopal Church), Mom’s parents and their parents, and the priests and nuns of my youth, for making my Catholic upbringing real, and my Christmas memories rich.

Will U.S. refine Chinese cure for blindness?

Published in Cumberland Times-News Wednesday, November 23, 2011.

"In this new biomedical race for breakthrough cures, I hope researchers in our country...will follow Hu’s lead to utilize cord blood or adult stem cells, rather than those from embryos. True hope, for any stem cell cure, lies in ethical harvesting."

An ophthalmologist told me recently that scientific advancements might repair damaged optic nerves. “Hopefully,” he said, “you and I will live to see the day.”

That was the first time, since my vision loss April 17, 2006, I had heard of such possibilities. Optic nerve damage is irreversible, I’d been told.

Mine is a complication of heart surgery -- my second to correct birth defects, and their effects. My surgeon blames the 10 minutes, in a 10-hour operation, he needed to repair my aortic aneurism.

Vision experts say even momentary loss of blood flow to optic nerves results in blindness. Perhaps miraculously, I have a bit of residual vision in my left eye, enough to permit me to read, with magnification, and to help me figure out my surroundings.

Since seventh grade, I’ve been nearsighted; and for several decades, I’d been legally blind, though prescription glasses corrected by astigmatism to 20/20.

Perhaps being blind, without my glasses, all those years helped me to accept the permanent state; or perhaps it was because the blindness seemed minor, compared to other difficulties my recovery presented; or perhaps it was my abiding faith in God’s will. Regardless, gratefully, I embraced the challenge with remarkable grace.

Now I read online in the 2011 “Research Story” of Dr. Dong Feng Chen of the Schepens Eye Research Institute, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School: “we hope that functional restoration of sight after optic nerve injury may become possible in the near future, first in mice and then in people.”

That is exciting news, but the U.S. has some catching up to do with China. In the eastern city of Hangzhou, as reported March 18, 2008 by National Public Radio, 600 foreigners and 2,300 Chinese already had received cord blood stem cell therapy at Beike Biotechnology, run by 40-something Dr. Sean Hu. Seventy percent, Hu claims, improved.

A researcher in Los Angeles calls Hu’s therapies “extreme nonsense,” NPR reports, but a doctor at University of Florida “concluded that (Hu’s) stem-cell therapy was the only clinical explanation for (his six-year-old patient’s) improvement.” The girl went from no light perception to recognizing large letters.

According to the current National Institutes of Health Plan for Eye and Vision Research section on Low Vision and Blindness Rehabilitation, “Visual impairment is included among the 10 most prevalent causes of disability in the United States.”

Besides optic neuropathies, other causes for low vision and blindness considered in the NIH report are retinal, corneal and lens diseases, cataracts, glaucoma, strabismis, amblyoopia, myopia, and other disorders of the ocular muscles.

Dr. Hu’s therapies cost hopeful patients tens of thousands of dollars, and seem to apply to infants and children. Experts do not understand how his therapy works, and they have no knowledge of long-term effects or risks.

In this new biomedical race for breakthrough cures, I hope researchers in our country will refine Hu’s technique, to understand the full treatment dynamic, and that they will follow Hu’s lead to utilize cord blood or adult stem cells, rather than those from embryos. True hope, for any stem cell cure, lies in ethical harvesting.

Vision loss changes life, but life is about change. I am thankful that I traveled and participated fully in community when I could, and enjoyed beauty when I saw it clearly. I have all those experiences to draw upon.

Now, in a narrow, grey-veiled, hazy montage, where people and obstacles materialize suddenly, like specters -- fuzzy-figured and featureless -- I ambulate in the dim glow of a nightlight. But I still love life, and I don’t fear death: Great gifts from God.

Compassion is genuine activism for the poor

Published in Cumberland Times-News Wednesday, October 19, 2011.

"Christ tells of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37), who showers mercy on one victimized by thievery and lawlessness. The Samaritan shares his wealth to help, directly where the need is. This genuine activism springs from heartfelt concern and charity."

My Sept. 29 letter (‘Hey, lady! Can you spare me a penny?’) suggests, tongue-in-cheek, that Bill O’Reilly and the president should try panhandling, to test reasonableness of a one percent national sales tax. In response, Adam Robinette (“Just what is an ‘eccentricity,’ anyway?” Oct. 6) defends lifestyles of the homeless and insists that we all should freely hand our cash over to beggars to spend as they wish.

I relate examples of two real panhandlers to illustrate that we should be wary of folks who appeal to our sympathies with intent to part us from our hard-earned cash, and then spend it in questionable ways.

Mr. Robinette points out that beggars threaten us less than armed robbers do. I believe, in the cases of O’Reilly’s suggested tax and the president’s socialistic jobs bill, any initiative to persuade hard-working Americans to forfeit more cash to fund expansive government spending is tantamount to robbery.

Mr. Robinette says Christians should not judge – particularly when giving to beggars for needs unknown.

Jesus does tell us, “Judge not” (Matthew 7:1), in the context that we should not condemn others (as Mr. Robinette does Christians), because we always have work to do on our own souls.

Jesus also advises us to be “wise as serpents” (Matthew 10:16) and discern foes who would deceive and entangle us in ungodliness (Matthew 10:17).

Christians should give alms, discretely and heroically, as the poor widow does (Mark 12:41-44); but as Mr. Robinette admits, money in their hands does not empower beggars to improve their lot. In fact, I believe it can promote disordered lifestyles and, therefore, is not a kindhearted gift.

Similarly, socialism – blatant in the president’s proposal to tax the rich to aid the poor -- is not Christ-like.

Christ brings us God’s help, particularly in hardship (Romans 5:1-11). God’s heavenly aid comforts, guides and provides for us, according to our needs (Matthew 6:25-34); of course, we must do our part to help ourselves.

Socialism presumes we are helpless, and hopeless. It forcibly takes from one and hands to others. It is thievery and lawlessness.

Compassion, on the other hand, in its urge to redeem, exemplifies true love. Christ tells of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37), who showers mercy on one victimized by thievery and lawlessness. The Samaritan shares his wealth to help, directly where the need is. This genuine activism springs from heartfelt concern and charity.

Moreover, through Christ’s apostle Paul, we see that community flourishes when we contribute our God given skills for the common good (1 Corinthians 12:3-14, 20, 27) and when we lovingly share resources -- wisely, as needed, and all for the glory of God (Acts 4:32-37). This is no testament to socialism (or communism), but an example of a generous, faith-filled community.

Jesus required his followers to sell their possessions and give to the poor (Matthew 19:21), not as a command to sustain the poor, but to teach his disciples to shed attachments that would detract from their devotion to his ministry: Exhorting sinners to repent, reform and return to God.

Many religious communities today rely on contributions from benefactors, and require members to embrace poverty. Worldly orthodox Christians, though, as opposed to Christian (or atheist) socialists, believe we each own our earnings, the fruits of our labors, and -- other than taxes levied to build a stable, secure and prosperous nation -- we hold the right to determine how to save, spend or share our resources.

Neither Mr. Robinette, nor the president, has authority to tell us how to help the poor, who will always be with us (Mark 14:7).

About John Mattingly of Mount Savage, Maryland

This information clarifies the identify of John Mattingly of Mount Savage, Maryland as he is referenced in History of St. Patrick Catholic Church in Mount Savage, Maryland, compiled by Nancy E. Thoerig and published by the church in 2004.

Lannie Dietle and Michael McKenzie report in their book In Search of the Turkey Foot Road, edited by Nancy E. Thoerig and a 2011 publication of the Mount Savage Historical Society, "Although we are not students of Mattingly genealogy, it seems likely that the John Mattingly who is cited on page 48 of the 1909 "The Catholic red book of Western Maryland" as being the first Catholic settler in the area at the time of the French and Indian War may not be the same John Mattingly who married Onea Arnold in 1797, and may not be the same John Mattingly who patented lots 3373 and 3374 (the present-day Amanda Paul farm) in 1819."

Dietle and McKenzie expound, "Although Mattingly genealogy is peripheral to this study, we note that Thomas A. Stobie of Overland Park Kansas has written on his genealogy website that John Mattingly, born
1773, was the husband of Onea Honor (Arnold) Mattingly who died in 1823, and was the son of Henry Mattingly, born 1751. According to the 1787 Deakins‘ list, a Henry Mattingly owned lots 3366 and 3367, which were along the present-day Bald Knob Road.

"Barry Thoerig reports that a William R. Mattingly had at one time posted information on the RootsWeb website that indicated that John Mattingly was born June 1, 1773 in Allegany County Maryland, and was married to Onea Honor Arnold who was born March 3, 1776 in the same county. William R. Mattingly also reported that John and Onea had a son Sylvester born on December 17, 1817. (The Maryland Historical Trust Inventory of Historic Properties) indicates that Francis and Sylvester Mattingly inherited the present-day Amanda Paul farm from John Mattingly in 1845, and then Sylvester bought out Francis on September 26, 1846. This information on Sylvester Mattingly indicates that William R. Mattingly was researching the same John Mattingly who once owned the present-day Amanda Paul farm. Sylvester and his wife Ellen are buried in the Saint Patrick‘s Catholic Church Cemetery."

The Turkey Foot Road followed, generally, present-day Maryland State Route 36 from the Narrows in Cumberland to Barrelville, and then through Arnold's Settlement (early Mount Savage), on its way from Fort Cumberland to present-day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvannia, and on to Pickawillany  (present-day Piqua, Ohio).

'Hey, lady! Can you spare me a penny?'

Published in Cumberland Times-News Thursday, September 29, 2011.

"If Bill O’Reilly’s idea of a one percent federal retail tax should materialize, then I would see my investments working for the government and not for me."

In the past couple weeks, after finishing our grocery shopping, my brother, sister-in-law and I – exiting the plaza -- have observed a panhandler with a sign that reads “Jobless. Broke. Hungry.”

I always feel compassion, and a sense of “but for the grace of God, there go I,” along with a smattering of skepticism, when I see someone homeless.

My sister-in-law suggested we give the fellow a granola bar she handily retrieved from the car console, “since he says he’s hungry.” My brother reckoned, though, the beggar would prefer cash.

We ultimately decided against any gift. After all, I said, there are places where he could receive food; and we agreed that likely, judging from his plentiful tattoos, he would squander cash.

I recalled the time I encountered a vagrant outside McDonald’s in Sharpsburg. “Lady, can you spare me some change?” he asked. “No,” I replied, “but come inside, and I’ll buy your breakfast.” “Oh, no,” he said. “I don’t eat here.” (Doubtful, then, I thought, he’d buy food with cash.) “Sorry. I can’t help you,” I told him.

My brother, sister-in-law and I postulated that if this beggar had saved the money he spent on eccentricities, he might have that cash, with interest now, for necessities. Of course, it is possible he changed his ways some time ago and simply has hit hard times. Without family or assistance, many more likely would be on the streets today.

Times are exceedingly tough. We all feel the crunch of stagnant or shrinking incomes, escalating expenses, diminishing returns on investments, and frozen or dwindling savings. We all have to make less do more; austerity is the new norm.

“Suze Orman says,” I quoted to my brother and sister-in-law, “saving has to be more fun than spending.” For me, it is. I buy items on sale and use coupons. If it’s not a deal, then there is no deal.

I did make a few bad spending decisions, one wrong investment turn in my younger days, but I don’t expect any more of those.

I never could afford eccentricities; I always had a hefty monthly health insurance bill that still keeps me strapped. But praise God I’ve had health insurance all these years; without it, I’d be poor, possibly homeless.

Suze says health insurance is a must, to build security, along with investing in stocks. Now, that’s where I get nervous. Investing in a mutual fund, with a financial adviser, is what I consider my past wrong turn. I lost too much. Now my certificates of deposit earn a paltry penny (and less) on the dollar.

If Bill O’Reilly’s idea of a one percent federal retail tax should materialize, then I would see my investments working for the government and not for me.

Suze says if we choose solid stocks that pay dividends, then we can earn up to five percent and keep ahead of inflation – if we invest half our holdings for at least a decade, that is!

I’ve done some courageous things, mostly because I’ve had to; but I could never be that brave.

I might continue to consider, and then re-consider, putting a thousand dollars into a dividend fund, but I won’t make any hasty moves. One percent assured in the bank helps to pay my health insurance.

Perhaps Bill O’Reilly, and the president, would do well to panhandle for pennies and see how many they could collect. My guess is even a one percent tax would be too much for most.

My best life lesson I learned in the garden

Published in Cumberland Times-News Wednesday, August 31, 2011.

"The image of that scene remains in my mind’s eye; and even now, I feel the shift in my thinking that took place at that moment: The overwhelmed child grew a step toward becoming the industrious adult."

In my youth, my parents planted a bountiful vegetable garden. It stretched the 120-foot width of our lower lot, and about a third of the depth. A narrow path on either side bordered our neighbors’ yards and gardens, and across the bottom were woods.

Otherwise in that lot, across the road from our front porch, were a red raspberry patch, two Concord grape arbors, a half-dozen sour cherry trees, three German Prune plum trees, a red currant bush, a Yellow Transparent apple tree, a Winter Banana apple tree, a McIntosh graft on an otherwise generic apple tree, another sprawling apple tree that served best to support my suspended wooden swing, two Chinese chestnut trees, and a black walnut tree. The blossoms in spring were spectacular.

Later, my parents planted two Bartlett pear trees. The pears are delicious. The cherry trees broke to smithereens in an ice storm many winters back. The grape arbors, too, came down decades ago. The chestnuts are beautiful trees, though the fruits are wormy. The McIntosh graft is dead. The swing and its tree are long gone. The banana apple provides good shade now for the nearest neighbor, and fodder for the deer.

As my older siblings moved out, and we no longer needed it, my father seeded the garden in clover -- beloved by groundhogs (who always were troublesome in the garden). The lot serves now as a front yard for my 91-year-old mother and me.

In my younger days, we kept busy spring, summer and fall -- planting, weeding, picking, cleaning, seeding, canning and freezing. We had two sets of shelves in the basement, each four feet wide and six feet tall, spaced to fit quart jars. By summer’s end, we filled them with colorful gems of cherry, raspberry and currant preserves, grape juice and jelly, pitted plums and cherries, tomatoes, green beans, beets, pickles and relish, apple butter and applesauce, and peaches we bought by the bushel from a storehouse in Pinto, Maryland.

In addition to beef bought from my mother’s parents, who raised Black Angus and Charolais, our double chest freezer filled with bags of corn, peas and walnuts. The cabbage, potatoes, lettuce, green peppers, peanuts, onions and yellow squash we used during the season.

I learned my best life lesson from Mom in our garden.

The rows seemed to me, as a youngster, to stretch to infinity; and eyeing the length of the garden from my crouched position weeding, I lamented the magnitude of the job.

“Don’t look at what you’ve got yet to do,” my mother said. “Look at what you’ve gotten done. And keep weeding!”

The image of that scene remains in my mind’s eye; and even now, I feel the shift in my thinking that took place at that moment: The overwhelmed child grew a step toward becoming the industrious adult.

Still, when jobs are big, I draw on Mom’s wisdom at that moment in the garden. Big jobs require time and persistence. The long view comes into focus with completion of each task along the way. Looking back regularly, to appreciate accomplishments, provides motivation and direction. Then, when the job is complete, the satisfaction that comes with hard work and beautiful results makes the investment and diligence worthwhile.

And, in the end, life is like that.

What I learned in the garden that day is, rather than grumble when faced with a big job, or a small task – or life’s challenges -- I praise God for the place, the time, and the ability to do it. And I thank Him for the garden, the lesson, and Mom.

Catholic lifestyle is countercultural today

Published in Cumberland Times-News Tuesday, July 12, 2011.

"Faith, after all, is a way of life. Church is our springboard into the mystery of God, where we strive to live by His commands and prepare to return to Him in eternity."

Today’s American lifestyle differs drastically from what it was decades ago.

For example, in contrast to the current focus on self-fulfillment and pursuit of all things pleasurable, my parents grew up on hard work, frugality and faith, and so did I.

In my youth, school was my job; I followed the rules and did my best. Weekdays had no room for diversions, and the Saturday (and summer day) rule was no television or playmates before noon.

Work around the house or in the yard and garden took precedence over entertainments, and expenditures on extravagances or pipe dreams were out of the question. Cooking, sewing, piano practice, and reading were encouraged. (My dad and brother did the manly tasks.)

Saturday evenings brought a good scrubbing, and then Mom cleaned and filed my fingernails and gave them a coat of clear polish. Next morning, we dressed in our finest, with hat and white gloves: Sunday was church day.

As I matured and internalized my parents’ training, the habit I valued most was Mass on Sundays and holy days. I never missed, even during times when I strayed in other ways. I credit that faith training with grounding my decisions and helping me discern best paths in my life’s directions – and empowering me to embrace my greatest trials fearlessly.

Faith, after all, is a way of life. Church is our springboard into the mystery of God, where we strive to live by His commands and prepare to return to Him in eternity.

For Christians, adhering to God means embracing Christ’s cross and hoping to share in His resurrection. Jesus says (Mt. 11:28-30): “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me.... For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

“How can life’s burden be easy?” I asked my 91-year-old mother recently, as we read that verse in our evening prayers. Mom answered, “When you do the right thing, it is easy.”

What I learned, growing up Catholic, to be the right thing is countercultural today. Society has turned upside-down.

About seven years ago, confounded by chaos at work, and distressed with intrusions on my peace, I set out to re-connect with the basic tenets of my faith and to expand my understanding, to find other serious Catholics, and to gain a mature contemporary perspective on this beautiful, ancient and complex faith tradition.

While visiting the Grotto of Lourdes in Emmitsburg one day in June 2004, I found a flyer at the back of the glass chapel announcing a weekend retreat at Mount St. Mary’s seminary hosted by (then grotto chaplain) Father Jack Lombardi. The topic was virtues and disciplined desires.

I signed up, and since have been among the hundred or so who regularly attend Father Jack’s weekend retreats. To me, he is a prophet, straightforwardly proclaiming the truths and beauty of the Catholic faith and lifestyle. (Father Jack served at St. Patrick in Cumberland in the early 1990s. He presently is administrator at St. Peter Catholic Church in Hancock and St. Patrick mission in Little Orleans.)

Now, in his first book, “Finding Life’s Balance,” Father Jack (ordained 1988, Archdiocese of Baltimore) shares his own experiences, in the context of Scripture and Catholic orthodoxy, to journey with readers to discover the harmony that an authentic Catholic lifestyle provides in a topsy-turvy world. He calls that place “the ‘radical middle’ between extremes.”

I edited his book, available on CD. For more information, write me at P.O. Box 541, Mount Savage, MD 21545.