A tragic sense of life ...

So often lately, I'm overcome with the sheer oppressive weight of the news in this country, the world, and the Church. Especially world news lately has me feeling nostalgic for the innocent days of my childhood following the Second World War when my parents brought me from China and Japan to visit my relatives in the United States. I can remember visiting my uncles and aunts on farms in Iowa and ranches in Idaho. What a different world it was. Our president was Dwight D. Isenhower. Gas prices were around 22 cents a gallon. Strangers greeted one another on the sidewalk in towns. I discovered Five and Ten Cent stores, covered dish church dinners, and banana pudding. There was a sense of hopefulness in the country. All that's water under the bridge now. Gone. T

The Brave New World we live in? Obama? Abortion as "health care"? Same-sex so-called "marriage"? The loss of the U.S. border with Mexico? Syrian Middle Eastern Christians beheaded or crucified? The plight of Chaldean Christians in Iraq? Troubles in the Ukraine? Relations with Russia? Israel, Palestine, and Iran? The silent apostasy of western Christians? Not so comfortable. Yet as my spiritual director used to tell me, it's such times as these that offer opportunities for growth in clarity and sanctity.

Memento mori. Oremus et pro invicem.