Pearls Before Swine

Gay marriage is a hot political issue today. This means that across the country (and the world), conversations are happening between Catholics and non-Catholics, and among Catholics themselves, regarding this issue. If you consider yourself an orthodox Christian, you must face the fact that you will likely be given the opportunity to speak about this issue with someone who disagrees, Catholic or otherwise.

How will you respond when that time comes? Will you murmur an assent and nod slowly? Will you wishy-washily answer "I don't know..." and trail off in mock-indecision? Or perhaps you will respond with that time-honored tagline of truth-skirting talk—"Hmm."

The question you have to ask yourself is this: are you willing to sacrifice an institution in order to avoid an awkward conversation? The fact is, society is changed from the ground up. No matter what the media says, no matter what TV and radio pump into our ears, the unassailable fact remains that "We the People" decide society's direction, and word of mouth is still the strongest form of media there is. If we remain silent while ideas we disagree with are assumed and accepted, while ramps to Hell are exalted as stairways to Heaven, then we will be spectators to the continued downward trudge of society—with only our timidity to blame.

It is our challenge to never remain silent in the face of what is wrong. And free speech will be the freedom that delivers us from moral turmoil, if only we are willing to use it. Speak up, everybody! Don't budge!

Clarity

Hello,

A question to throw out over the cyber-waves (or whatever they're called) today: what could you do to make your life more honest and open? Clarity is something we're called to strive for, but none of us achieves it perfectly. Nonetheless, the whole point of striving is to work toward that elusive perfection, in hopes that one day--with a lot of help from our Father--we will achieve it.

So what can be done? Today, my life taught me something simple yet beautiful about clarity:

Be ready to face anyone, at any moment. If you find yourself purposely avoiding someone, you need to stop and fix things.

The fact is, if we are living a genuine and righteous life, we should be able to face anyone, anytime, about anything. So if you're running from someone or something, stop in your tracks, figure out what's wrong, and be prepared to face them about it. If you don't, you're only running from the truth--and that never ends well.

Keep fighting the good fight!
Respectfully,
Joezilla

An Amateur's Allegory

Imagine for a moment that you have never seen a day. You’ve seen many nights, and have grown up and lived your life under that starred navy, but you’ve never been blinded by light—there just isn’t that much to go around. You were raised to stay in well-lit areas, and to look to light as a guide. Roads and neighborhood paths are lit by lamps, as are the rooms of a house. The light is what keeps you from falling over everything, including yourself.

What kind of life might be lived in these circumstances? You can probably imagine the consequences of avoiding the light: bruises, broken bones, perhaps even a premature death. It is hard, though, to understand the purpose of following the light. In this strange scenario we have imagined, in which the sun has somehow hidden itself from the eyes of man, one wonders: why follow the light at all? We’re doomed to a life of darkness no matter what, so why not throw caution to the wind, and go where we wish, doing what we want, come what may?

Well, allow us to add one more detail to this scenario which answers all of our questions. Suppose that it is possible, if one follows the light throughout the whole dark passage of life, to reach daylight. Can you imagine what it might feel like, after a lifetime of fumbling through the darkest nights in pursuit of faintest lights, to turn the corner one day and see the billowing shades of purple on the horizon? Can you imagine the glory of that first sunrise, as the real source and model of our light rises to a crowning height in the heavens? Here is a reality that you could never have guessed at, but have reached by placing trust in what was told to you: follow the lights! Here, you would realize as you covered your eyes with an eternal sort of satisfaction, is what every one of those lights in my life pointed to. This is that greater reality which I knew, since gazing upon the lights of my youth, existed somewhere, invisible yet present. Even when the lights of the night burned dim and threatened to fade away, I know now that He was watching, He was there, and even then He was guiding me to Him, to here, to now, to this perfect place, beyond anything I could have fathomed.

Indeed, one can find glimmers of truth in the simplest aspects of creation. Remember to follow those lights in your life.