Watery Ascent

I once knew a boy
Raised to fail

His efforts were fruitless
His obedience
Toothless

Away he wanted to sail

I once knew a girl
Raised to rebel

Her efforts were focused
Her obedience
Hocus pocus

So much she wanted to yell

They learned from each other
The boy and the girl
Effort is the seed of love
And obedience a healing Dove

Neither has failed
Neither yelled
Neither rebelled
Neither sailed

Nor have they abandoned the ride

Together they hold on
She for her husband
Together they grow
And he for his bride

-Dominic Tramontana

I am torn

I haven’t posted in a while and yet there’s been much to post about. So, I thought I’d give a couple brief thoughts.

I am thrilled that we have elected an African American as President of the United States. A mere 30-40 years ago, the south still had many states with segregated drinking fountains and bathrooms. Indeed, Rosa Parks died only four years ago. And certainly, racism is still very much alive today. The fact that we now have an African American president is a sign of true reform of race relations in this country. I am proud to be an American.

I am worried that we have elected a pro-abortionist to the most powerful position in the world. President Obama has got so many qualities I admire in a leader, but sadly he is simply wrong on the most important issues. I continue to pray for his conversion.

I was glad to see President Obama reverse some of the Bush polices which stripped people of human dignity, namely torture.

I am fearful that President Obama is going to role back Bush’s most important polices. I am afraid he will be removing the bans on funding for fetal stem cell research and abortions around the world.

I am torn between hope and fear.

Neither Conservative nor Liberal

The Distributist Review has completed a great interview with Thomas Storck. The following passage from the interview illuminates a concept I have previously struggled putting into words myself, but has just now inspired me to write this post.

“The Catholic Church, of course, in her social doctrine has always linked positions in such a way that she is neither conservative nor liberal. She might seem very conservative on some issues and very liberal on others. But that’s because the Church is consistent and her social morality flows logically out of her doctrine about man and society…

When you look at some of the examples which are often taken as representing either right or left, you see big contradictions with our understanding of those terms…All these conflicting views cannot be placed on a simple left/right spectrum.” -Thomas Storck

I’ve been accused by some of my liberal friends as being too conservative. And I’ve been called too liberal by my conservative friends. Democrats assume I vote along with them. And Republicans assume I vote along with them.

When I came back to the Church, I was confused. I grew up in a blue collar union family. They truly cared about the little guy. And they truly hated big companies. As a teenager I met a different kind of liberal. They believed in diversity and art and freedom. I love all of these people and I learned much from them and I was certainly encouraged by them. But I didn’t always see eye to eye with everyone.

When I became a successful twenty something, I met new friends. Almost all of them were strict conservatives. And certainly all were Republican. They taught me how to be successful through their tremendous leadership and by believing in me. And I love all of them as well. But again I didn’t always see eye to eye with them.

Whether it was the liberalism of my teenage years or the conservatism of my twenties, I fully embraced the respective causes. I hugged trees. And I called for government reform. I defended civil rights. And I spoke out against abortion.

I embraced the blue and the red at various points in my life, but I never felt fully at home in either. And that, I now know, is because my home was in both while not being in either. My home was not the Republican Party or the Democratic Party. My home was in the Catholic Church.

I believe in responsible stewardship of God’s creations and I don’t believe in the death penalty. But not because I’m liberal or Democrat.

I believe in protecting the unborn and I don’t believe in gay marriage. But not because I’m conservative or Republican.

No. Now when people ask me whether I’m Democrat or Republican (as if those are the only two choices), I quickly reply, “I’m Catholic.”

Dean Koontz is a Catholic convert

I’ve never read any of Dean Koontz’s books, but my wife is a huge fan of his, so I am familiar with some of his work. My wife has been telling me for years that I would enjoy his books, but for whatever reason I’ve never gotten around to reading any.

Anyways, I was pleasantly surprised to stumble upon this interview Beliefnet did with Dean Koontz. The interview explores such topics as his conversion to Catholicism, the loss of loved ones, and his use of spiritual themes in his books.

The whole interview makes for interesting reading, but here is just one of the questions from the interview, which I found particularly interesting.

What’s your least favorite thing about being a Catholic?

How Vatican II threw away so much tradition. It’s only beginning to come back. The Latin Mass and all of that was a great loss, something that is embraced and promoted for hundreds upon hundreds of years and then disappears overnight in an attempt to satisfy an urge toward trendiness. It was a great loss to the church, and I think it still is.

You can read the full interview over at Beliefnet: Dean Koontz: Angels, Demons, and Our Mysterious World.