Edward J. Pluchar - The Blogsplitter

Some may not know that I’ve taken a job with the Knights of Columbus, selling life insurance.  That would mean ignoring the really long post a couple of days ago, but I can understand that.

Part of the mission of the Knights is to support widows and orphans, and one really great example of this happened shortly after 9/11.  Within days, and before anyone else, the Knights offered $3,000 checks to the families of every police officer or firefighter who died in the disaster.  There were no other qualifications, no strings attached, and no burden of paperwork.

There’s a video made about that offering, called “The Hero’s Fund,” which is basically to inform other Knights about this otherwise unpublicized fund.  “Here’s what we’re doing with your money,” sort of thing.

A picture from the video looked like this, but it’s not the same one.  The picture I’m referring to was taken in a stairwell, as people filed down the stairs to evacuate the building.  A firefighter in full gear was running up the stairs past them.  A few of the civilians watched the grim-faced man as he went.

Their faces said everything about duty, sacrifice, honor.  You don’t get to see subtle expressions of awe every day.

That man may have been a jerk in some ways, maybe he failed more often than he liked, or maybe he was just ordinary, even in his own eyes.

One day in his life, people looked at him and thought (without quite finding the words), “There goes Nobility of spirit.  Honor incarnate walked by, this close to me.”

It would have been for some of those people, I’m sure, a religious experience.

http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/new.php?n=16165

I don’t understand how anyone can be an abortion “absolutist” in this sense.  You want to be such an absolutist that you’ll deny legislation to support pregnant women, and warn women about the negative consequences of abortion?

Please tell me on what basis you take this stance.

A few days ago I toyed around with Google Earth for the first time.

Privacy issues and all other considerations aside - what a breathtaking program!

I did the obligatory search for my home, which looks like I expected.  It was cool to roll the mouse over my property and find the elevation at any point (2214 by the house, about 100 feet higher up the hill).

Then I thought, “I could look at the Rockies.”  So I did.

Magnificent.  Even there on a screen, the way the mountains could appear in 3D, the way I could compare heights in just moments (much taller than my hill!), and…what’s this?  I can adjust my viewing angle so that I’m parallel to the Earth, then grab and pull the landscape in any direction, as though flying across counties, states…

I was flying East across the United States, and a child-like eagerness for the ocean arose in me.  Flying, across the plains, through the Appalachian Mountains, to the coast and - the ocean broke onto the screen, and I had the chills.  I soared over the ocean for nearly a minute, then pulled back into space, to see where I was - up near the Arctic.

I could go to the Himalayan Mountains.

As much as a thing like Google Earth can be, it was truly thrilling to see the world this way.  I plan to keep touring every once in a while.  Much cheaper and easier than the airlines.

“God the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of his Son, has reconciled the world to himself and sent the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.“

I mentioned Feminists for Life in a previous post, and for more information you can visit feministsforlife.com

We received some literature a few weeks ago, and I’ve been reading as time becomes available.  I do the bulk of my casual reading during meals, but reading about abortion isn’t a great seasoning for scrambled eggs (see post about Steak Seasoning!), so you can find one of the magazines in our bathroom, and the other in our pile of papers to be sorted.  I was sorting papers and so spent some time reading the one magazine today.

The main takeaway, for me, is how firmly established the pro-life position is (or at least seems to be) in feminist history (”herstory,” if you want to amend the language).  A few sample quotes are:

Elizabeth Cady Stanton - Classified abortion as a form of “infanticide” and said, “There must be a remedy even for such a crying evil as this.  But where shall it be found, at least where begin, if not in the complete enfranchisement and elevation of women?”

Susan B. Anthony - “Guilty?  Yes.  No matter what the motive, love of ease, or a desire to save from suffering the unborn innocent, the woman is awfully guilty who commits the deed.  It will burden her conscience in life, it will burden her soul in death; but oh, thrice guilty is he who…drove her to the desperation which impelled her to the crime!”

Victoria Woodhull (First female presidential candidate) - “The rights of children as individuals begin while yet they remain the fetus.”  And…”Every woman knows that if she were free, she would never bear an unwished-for child, nor think of murdering one before its birth.”

The Susan B. Anthony quote I find especially poignant, because it refers to my gender.  However, I’ve never, as far as I’m aware, been an active abuser or oppressor of any woman, so for most of my life I would not have accepted that guilt being laid at my feet.  That’s other people, other men.

I did experience the guilt as a member of the male gender, though, but not in the proper way.  Previously, I have restrained myself from pushing the pro-life message, from challenging anyone pro-choice, because I would never be in a position to consider an abortion (for myself), and therefore how could I seek rights over someone else’s body?  Moreover, men are often accomplices to, or principal causes of, the crime, and in a general way my identity as a man trapped me in this collective guilt.  I had no one to appeal to.

Now I do, as referenced above, and furthermore the “guilt” can be more properly assigned - I am guilty in as far as I am complacent with the circumstances that lead women to have an abortion.  But at least I’m not guilty for believing that the fetus is properly defined (in Latin, I learned) as a “young one,” and that such a one deserves to live.

Today’s Gospel.

I love this reading.  It would make my top ten list of historical events I would like to have witnessed.

The theme of divine restraint, even divine shrewdness, is thoroughly captivating.  I’m fascinated by the inversion of values, the question of which it is really more impressive for Jesus to do:  To forgive sins or to heal a paralytic?

And He does both.

This is “Mr. Chi City” again, previously posted on my blog under, “Oh yeah - Ninja made a pizza!”

But this video is really something.  Watch it.

22: The LORD said to Moses, 23: “Say to Aaron and his sons, Thus you shall bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them, 24: The LORD bless you and keep you: 25: The LORD make his face to shine upon you, and be gracious to you: 26: The LORD lift up his countenance upon you, and give you peace. 27: “So shall they put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.”

I had the privilege of reading this passage yesterday at Mass.  It brought me joy.

On Facebook, I was invited to join a group (Citizens against FOCA), so I checked it out.  While there, I found an intriguing link.

http://www.feministsforlife.org/

I’m not sure I can give a proper explanation without writing at length.  Be gracious with me, then, when I tell you that I teared up with joy when the site came up.

I’m that kind of feminist.