Author: Steve

The one whom Thou lovest is strayed.
I have lost Thee.
I cannot find Thee.
Find me.
Seek me.
I cannot find Thee.
I have lost my way.
Thou art the Way.
Find me, or I am utterly lost.
Thou lovest me.
I do not know if I love Thee;
but I know Thou lovest me.
I do not plead my love, but Thine.
I do not plead my strength, but Thine.
I do not plead my deed, but Thine.
The one whom Thou lovest is sick.
I dare not say:
The one who loves Thee is sick.
My sickness is that I do not love Thee.
That is the source of my sickness which is approaching death.
I am sinking.
Raise me.
Come to me upon the waters.
Lord Jesus, “the one whom Thou lovest is sick.”
-Father Vincent McNabb OP

Many thanks to Gerard Serafin for posting this on his LiveJournal.

A draconian potty break policy for the line workers of a national institution, the Jim Beam bourbon distillery.

Workers on the bottling line are fuming about being limited to four breaks per 8 1/2-hour shift, only one of which can be unscheduled. Extra trips to the bathroom can result in reprimands. Workers with six violations can be fired.
The United Food and Commercial Workers local said some of the 100 affected employees have urinated on themselves because they were afraid to leave the line.

Creating an environment in which employees must wear adult diapers in case they detonate between scheduled bathroom times is bad for morale. You don’t have to be a captian of industry to know that. People like Larry Ellison and Bill Gates know the way to get ahead is to treat your customers as though they were wearing adult diapers. That’s the key to success. But I digress. Maybe I’ll give Gentleman Jim a call and find out why he would rather have his people sully their britches than be happy bottling that tasty bourboun. I’ll keep you posted.

Brought to you by Jeff Miller. You can operate heavy machinery or drive a school bus while playing. Fun for the whole Catholic family! Good one, Jeff!

I am the first to admit I am not schooled in philosophy, theology, and Church history. That is why I am considering going back to school. I had the occasion today to sit in on some classes at a fine institution a little north and west of here. The lecture topic in one of the classes was how Vatican II responded to atheistic philosophies that led to some of the greatest atrocities of the 20th century, and to a large extent are entrenched in the world to this day. I’ve heard plenty of people say the church needed an “update” or “to get with the times.” No one ever stated that Vatican II occurred so that the Church could examine its mission in the modern world and respond to the threats that grew out of those atheistic philosophies like communism, secular humanism, etc. When you look at Vatican II in that manner it is a lot different than “we get to have Mass in English.”

This crucial context is missing from most discussion of with dissenting Catholics on a topic such as abortion. The culture of death has grown out of atheistic and humanistic philosophies, the same evil ideas that gave rise to Nazism and Communism. As a result people are treated as objects – the effect is dehumanizing – exactly the opposite of what Neitsche and Marx had in mind. Maybe that’s just too deep for the average Jane or Joe. It doesn’t take much brain power to appreciate the Church’s roll in fighting this evil, you just have to see that it is evil and not progress.

In fact the idea of the inevitability of human progress – our race skulking towards utopia – is totally wiped out when looking at history. Modern humanism promised total freedom, nothing less than the complete liberation of man. That is what John Paul II has called the “Anti-word,” a pseudo religion of atheism. It’s obviously given rise to evil and suffering on a global scale. Uncountable lives and souls have been lost as a result. I can’t speak definitively with respect to souls being lost, of course.

This is Dr. Steven J. Hatfill, a “person of interest” according to the feds on the case of last year’s anthrax mailings. He’s filed an ethics complaint against the DOJ. “My life is being destroyed by arrogant government bureaucrats who are pedaling groundless innuendo and half-information,” Hatfill said. I didn’t form an opinion about this until I found out who Hatfill’s lawyer is. It’s Victor Glasberg, a fine attorney who represented me in a civil case last year. The “121” on the door is Vic’s office on South Columbus Street in Alexandria. He normally works as a plaintiff’s lawyer and does very little defense work. I was the plaintiff in our case. Having worked with him I have a unique perspective – I know he only represents the good guys. He’s done a tremendous number of civil rights cases and cases involving employment law. He’s a great lawyer and a great man. His politics were another matter entirely – he had letters of recognition from the ACLU framed around his office – but that wasn’t why I choose him. He was absolutely fearless when it came to standing up to a big company for me. He was amazing in the courtroom as well – not flamboyant or artificial, but methodical, ethical and unrelenting. We went to trial last year after having won five of five pre-trial motions that were filed against us – a record for him in almost 30 years of practice. We expected to beat the daylights out of the opposition at trial. Alas, I lost the case at trial and spent a good while picking up the pieces. Regardless, you and I both know I was right. Actually you’re going to have to take my word on that. You have to admit I had some big ones to take on a multi-billion dollar company for trying to weasel out of a contract with me. I hope Mr. Hatfill fairs better than I did. I know the good guys don’t always win. Absent any other facts or details of the case, I think the man is innocent.