please pardon my brief absence from posting. between moving apartments and work, things have been a touch more hectic.
i wish i had something of interest concerning my life to share with you, but alas... pizazz is far and few between these days.
in other news of interest, my parish's Archbishop will be arriving this weekend for his Visitation trip. i'm extraordinarily excited to meet him; and i am so probably because i've never even met anyone 'higher up' than a priest.
of your charity, pray for the 21 South Korean hostages being held by the Taliban. also, mention the two, including the group's leader, that have already been executed. the Taliban demands that certain rebel leaders be released; after each deadline passes and until that demand is met, they have promised to execute one more hostage until they are all gone. the South Korean church group went to Afghanistan to provide volunteer medical aid.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
Saturday, July 21, 2007
i want
...to move far away from where i am.
...to wake up in the morning and not curse.
...to be completely independent of everything and everyone.
...to live in the woods for two years and learn how be content.
...to abandon empty hopes and relinquish foolish dreams.
...to be myself.
who is keeping me from accomplishing these:
Albert Levi Crump
...to wake up in the morning and not curse.
...to be completely independent of everything and everyone.
...to live in the woods for two years and learn how be content.
...to abandon empty hopes and relinquish foolish dreams.
...to be myself.
who is keeping me from accomplishing these:
Albert Levi Crump
Sunday, July 15, 2007
self-commentary
What's money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do.- Bob Dylan
i am not doing what i want to do. but change will come in time...
Sunday, July 08, 2007
an admittance
a few years ago, i received a book from my then-best friend. it even had a nice little note in the front of it; written by him to me. in the inscription, the reason i had received this book was listed: because the main character of the book reminded him of me.
upon leaving school for my Christmas break, i immediately began to read the book and finished it within one sitting. he was spot-on. the main character was rather like me. i would tell you more, but i would rather you read the book.
after reading the book and realizing how well this friend saw me... i struggled with how i felt about it. i was content, yet uneasy; breathed a sigh of relief and gasped a breath of anxiety.
barely a year later, the friendship ended.
The Giver by Lois Lowry.
not sure why i am writing on this. it has been on my mind a lot lately.
upon leaving school for my Christmas break, i immediately began to read the book and finished it within one sitting. he was spot-on. the main character was rather like me. i would tell you more, but i would rather you read the book.
after reading the book and realizing how well this friend saw me... i struggled with how i felt about it. i was content, yet uneasy; breathed a sigh of relief and gasped a breath of anxiety.
barely a year later, the friendship ended.
"His mind reeled. Now, empowered to ask questions of utmost rudeness — and promised answers — he could, conceivably, ... ask someone, ... : 'Do you lie?'
But he would have no way of knowing if the answer he received were true."
The Giver by Lois Lowry.
not sure why i am writing on this. it has been on my mind a lot lately.
Sunday, July 01, 2007
Franz Kafka
one of my favorite short story writers is, obviously, Franz Kafka. while he is best known for "The Metamorphosis" -- an excellent read -- i rather enjoy his other, lesser-known stories. one in particular has been sticking out in my mind: "An Old Leaf."
in this two-and-a-half page saga we learn of a land that is being tormented and oppressed by "nomads" who turn the small, feudal town surrounding the Emperor's castle from a "peaceful square" into a "veritable sty." as the story develops, we find that the nomads virtually hold the town ransom against itself... forcing capitulation from the townsfolk, namely the artisans. the cobbler, who happens to be our story-teller, tells that it is impossible to speak or reason with the nomads who care little to learn the language of the town which they are literally destroying.
the end of the story shows the Emperor making a rather rare, albeit submissive, appearance in a window of his outer wall to see what these nomads are doing to his town. the townspeople, seeing his acquiescence, conclude that in light of their lord's inability -- or, perhaps, unwillingness -- the responsibility of saving their town falls into their hands:
misunderstandings - whatever their form take - can keep us from getting rid of the things that are killing us. this morning at Mass, one of the passages was from St Paul's letter to the church in Galatia. St Paul tells us that we have been made free in Christ... furthermore, that we are not to submit ourselves to the yoke [or burden] of slavery ever again. many of us are like the townspeople in Franz Kafka's story. many of us, like the cobbler, submit ourselves not only the rule of these nomads but to the idea we are no longer free. however, there is one grave and liberating difference in our story from Kafka's...
our Lord came to our town.
in this two-and-a-half page saga we learn of a land that is being tormented and oppressed by "nomads" who turn the small, feudal town surrounding the Emperor's castle from a "peaceful square" into a "veritable sty." as the story develops, we find that the nomads virtually hold the town ransom against itself... forcing capitulation from the townsfolk, namely the artisans. the cobbler, who happens to be our story-teller, tells that it is impossible to speak or reason with the nomads who care little to learn the language of the town which they are literally destroying.
the end of the story shows the Emperor making a rather rare, albeit submissive, appearance in a window of his outer wall to see what these nomads are doing to his town. the townspeople, seeing his acquiescence, conclude that in light of their lord's inability -- or, perhaps, unwillingness -- the responsibility of saving their town falls into their hands:
"The salvation of our fatherland is left to us craftsmen and tradespeople, but we are not equal to such a task, nor indeed have we ever claimed to be capable of it. This is a misunderstanding, and it is proving the ruin of us."
misunderstandings - whatever their form take - can keep us from getting rid of the things that are killing us. this morning at Mass, one of the passages was from St Paul's letter to the church in Galatia. St Paul tells us that we have been made free in Christ... furthermore, that we are not to submit ourselves to the yoke [or burden] of slavery ever again. many of us are like the townspeople in Franz Kafka's story. many of us, like the cobbler, submit ourselves not only the rule of these nomads but to the idea we are no longer free. however, there is one grave and liberating difference in our story from Kafka's...
our Lord came to our town.
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