Freedom cannot be separated from responsibility. This is an eternal truth that transcends culture, race, geo-politics, and religion.
I understood this once again as I watched the crisis unfolding in Libya; from the protesters risking their lives in the streets of Tripoli, to the Libyan pilots refusing to follow orders to bomb their own people, to the Libyan Ambassador to the United Nations denouncing the madman who has held Libya captive for far too long.
To be fully human, to choose life, we must recognize that we are free. And that in our freedom we must be able to respond well....to respond in ways that support the dignity and worth of self and others.
The protesters, the pilots, and the ambassador are heroic examples, no doubt. I am inspired by them, I celebrate them, and I pray for them. But the greatest revolutions, the most profound battles, are not captured on television.
The virtuous life, the life grounded in freedom and responsibility, is won or lost in a thousand little "wars" every day. In the home and at work, in the classroom and on the playground, in emails and in texts; we are free to choose truth or lies, kindness or callousness, generosity or selfishness...peace or violence. And our consciences tell us that we must answer, sooner or later, for the choices we make.
God help those who struggle tonight in the Middle East, and God help the rest of us as well.
.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
In Memoriam: Dr. Bernard Nathanson
Dr. Bernard Nathanson passed away today at the age of 84 after a long battle with cancer. His life was an amazing story of mercy and redemption.
Nathanson headed the largest abortion clinic in New York City, and admitted that he was personally responsible for over 70,000 abortions (including one on his wife). However,enough encounters of photo-images of abortions eventually led to a dramatic conversion to the pro-life movement, while still an atheist.
The rest of his life Dr. Nathanson worked tirelessly to inform people of what they were actually choosing with abortion, writing and speaking extensively, as well as producing The Silent Scream and later The Eclipse of Reason. In 1995, he became a Catholic-Christian.
Requiescat in pace, Dr. Nathanson.
Nathanson headed the largest abortion clinic in New York City, and admitted that he was personally responsible for over 70,000 abortions (including one on his wife). However,enough encounters of photo-images of abortions eventually led to a dramatic conversion to the pro-life movement, while still an atheist.
The rest of his life Dr. Nathanson worked tirelessly to inform people of what they were actually choosing with abortion, writing and speaking extensively, as well as producing The Silent Scream and later The Eclipse of Reason. In 1995, he became a Catholic-Christian.
Requiescat in pace, Dr. Nathanson.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
Men being men
"The crisis of the Modern age is the crisis of fatherhood."
-Benedict XVI
All men are called to be fathers. For some, this will include a biological process, but the virtue of fatherhood is so much more than that. All men are called to be fathers. Oh, would this world be a better place if that truth was understood.
Being a father is not simply a state one finds one's self in...at least it shouldn't be for long. Fatherhood is a way of being in the world; a personal and existential commitment to the future. It is about being generous with one's time and experience, and teaching with words, but also by example. Fatherhood asks one to sacrifice for the good, to protect innocence, to respond proactively to the emotional and spiritual needs of others, and to care deeply about life.
Fatherhood is essential to becoming a real man.
Today I had the opportunity to speak on the topic of Fatherhood at a men's conference. The participants were there not because it was court-ordered, or work-ordered. There was no immediate gratification or external benefit, and on a cold, rainy Saturday it wasn't even convenient.
These men were there because they wanted to be better men, plain and simple. They wanted to be better equipped to love, and guide, and encourage others...and they understood deeply that the young are our hope, and that every child matters.
I think these men are heroes.
-Benedict XVI
All men are called to be fathers. For some, this will include a biological process, but the virtue of fatherhood is so much more than that. All men are called to be fathers. Oh, would this world be a better place if that truth was understood.
Being a father is not simply a state one finds one's self in...at least it shouldn't be for long. Fatherhood is a way of being in the world; a personal and existential commitment to the future. It is about being generous with one's time and experience, and teaching with words, but also by example. Fatherhood asks one to sacrifice for the good, to protect innocence, to respond proactively to the emotional and spiritual needs of others, and to care deeply about life.
Fatherhood is essential to becoming a real man.
Today I had the opportunity to speak on the topic of Fatherhood at a men's conference. The participants were there not because it was court-ordered, or work-ordered. There was no immediate gratification or external benefit, and on a cold, rainy Saturday it wasn't even convenient.
These men were there because they wanted to be better men, plain and simple. They wanted to be better equipped to love, and guide, and encourage others...and they understood deeply that the young are our hope, and that every child matters.
I think these men are heroes.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
What is love?
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails..."
-St. Paul, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Happy Valentine's Day to you all!
-St. Paul, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Happy Valentine's Day to you all!
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
In the beginning....
"If you would understand anything, observe its beginning and its development."
-Aristotle
I didn't think the assignment was going to be very difficult. "Tell me about your family history. Where were your ancestors from, where did they settle when they first arrived in America, and what did they do for a living." Basic information, straightforward, easily shared, right? Wrong.
A disturbing number of students couldn't even tell me much about their grandparents' pasts, let alone foremothers and forefathers from three or four generations back. "We don't really talk about the past." "How would I know?" "What does that have to do with me?"
It got me wondering how many of today’s teenagers are a-historical: unaware and/or unconcerned about their roots, their family histories. And what the cost is.
“If you would understand anything, observe its beginning and its development.”
We cannot know ourselves, understand ourselves, simply by looking at ourselves. This is simplistic at best, and runs the real risk of feeding a culture that is already startlingly shallow and narcissistic.
Knowing the stories of those who came before us…appreciating the sacrifice, the courage, and the perseverance of our ancestors…is a crucial part of knowing our own stories. A generation that is not meaningfully rooted in its history, and grateful for a foundation to build on, cannot grow to full maturity.
-Aristotle
I didn't think the assignment was going to be very difficult. "Tell me about your family history. Where were your ancestors from, where did they settle when they first arrived in America, and what did they do for a living." Basic information, straightforward, easily shared, right? Wrong.
A disturbing number of students couldn't even tell me much about their grandparents' pasts, let alone foremothers and forefathers from three or four generations back. "We don't really talk about the past." "How would I know?" "What does that have to do with me?"
It got me wondering how many of today’s teenagers are a-historical: unaware and/or unconcerned about their roots, their family histories. And what the cost is.
“If you would understand anything, observe its beginning and its development.”
We cannot know ourselves, understand ourselves, simply by looking at ourselves. This is simplistic at best, and runs the real risk of feeding a culture that is already startlingly shallow and narcissistic.
Knowing the stories of those who came before us…appreciating the sacrifice, the courage, and the perseverance of our ancestors…is a crucial part of knowing our own stories. A generation that is not meaningfully rooted in its history, and grateful for a foundation to build on, cannot grow to full maturity.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Sit down and listen!
"Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak; courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen."
-Winston Churchill
In our own efforts to be seen, to be heard, to be right, what are we not hearing?Because of fear, or pride, or impatience, or all of the above, what are we missing? What do we NEED to hear from our spouse, our parent, or our child...from our friend or our "foe"?
True communication is about talking AND listening, and it is the key to intimacy.
And if, as the experts say, 75% of communication is non-verbal, are we attending to more than just words?
Have the courage to sit down, to be still, and to seek understanding before agreement.
-Winston Churchill
In our own efforts to be seen, to be heard, to be right, what are we not hearing?Because of fear, or pride, or impatience, or all of the above, what are we missing? What do we NEED to hear from our spouse, our parent, or our child...from our friend or our "foe"?
True communication is about talking AND listening, and it is the key to intimacy.
And if, as the experts say, 75% of communication is non-verbal, are we attending to more than just words?
Have the courage to sit down, to be still, and to seek understanding before agreement.
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