Dear Friends,

Our dear friend norma loquendi says that the term “toxic asset” is an oxymoron that you can bank on! It is amazing at what speed we distort the meaning of words or just outright change the definition of a word to make it seem like it is something it is not. George Orwell would be proud. My favorite current obfuscation is “pre-embryo”. It is a nonsensical and non-scientific redefining of the meaning of embryo to describe an embryo that is not yet implanted in a womb but is rather in a Petri dish. Of course, no matter where the embryo is it is still an embryo.

Dear Friends,

In recent years Alcohol producers have tried to market themselves as socially responsible. That’s why you frequently will see attached to beer commercials the slogan: “Drink Responsibly” or “Don’t Drink and Drive”. Does it work? Well yes but not in the way you think. Alcohol producers spend a lot of money on advertising and they don’t do it as a shot in the dark or with their fingers crossed hoping it has an effect. They carefully and meticulously measure the impact of their marketing strategies. What they find when they run those “Drink Responsibly” ads is that alcohol sales actually increase. What a fantastic cover: make yourself look socially responsible and increase your sales. Brilliant.

Dear Friends,

We celebrate this week St. Valentines Day and as anyone who has been married for a long time knows, love, real love is much more than romance. Still romance is important and must be kept alive and that’s why having a day to just be romantic is important. Unfortunately for those whose married love is waning a heart shaped box of chocolates or a dozen roses won’t change things much. Married love requires much more.

Dear Friends,

Years ago, a news station did a real hit job on a friend of mine that affected his business for the worse. They had cleverly edited some video to make it sound like he was sayings things he never said. I went and spoke to the News Producer and she admitted they had edited the video to have my friend say things he never actually said. When I asked her how she could justify doing that, she simply said, “well even though he never said those things, he is the type of person who probably would say such things”.

Dear Friends,

When the MLK Holiday comes around I always like to read Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. It always blows me away. It is one of the greatest speeches in American history, right up there with Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address. The part of the speech that struck me this year was this:

Dear Friends,

Some years ago, on a trip to Asia, I visited the beautiful country of Cambodia. One of the things you see is that the population is very young and one of the things you don't see are lots of elderly people. And there is a reason for that: the Khmer Rouge killed off millions of fellow Cambodians, most of them adults and the elderly. And one of the things you are bound to see in Cambodia are the Killing Fields.

Dear Friends,

On January 20, our Bishop turns 75. As required by Canon Law, bishops and pastors are required to submit their resignations upon reaching their 75th birthday. So, Bishop Olmsted will submit his letter to Pope Francis. Now the Holy Father can accept the letter, wait awhile or ask him to stay on for a bit longer. Though it seems to be the practice of Pope Francis to accept episcopal resignations within a month or so of their submittal. Which means, at least when I look into my crystal ball, we will probably have a new Bishop sometime around Easter.

Dear Friends,

This year another March for Life will take place in Washington, DC and many more around the country. The annual March takes place on Jan. 21, the anniversary of the US Supreme Court’s decision in Roe v. Wade, legalizing abortion in all 50 states. But this may be the last March for Life protesting Roe depending on how the Court rules on a case it heard in December regarding abortion and the right of the states to regulate it. If the Court overrules Roe, it would not outlaw abortion but restore the status quo pre-Roe, which allows the states to legalize or not and put restrictions on abortion.

Dear Friends,

Soon it will be the year that was. But was it a year to remember, or your favorite year? Was it the Best Year Ever, maybe a Year in the Life of a Fool? Or was it more the Days of Wine and Roses or a time we'd rather forget? However, those 525,600 minutes of those 365 days or those 31,536,000 seconds of the 52 weeks of 2021 passed by I hope you can find many reasons for gratitude and thankfulness.

Dear Friends,

One of the less sentimental Christmas songs is “I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day”. The song is based on a poem written by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow on Christmas Day in 1863. His wife had died in a fire two years earlier and his son was a young Lieutenant serving in the Union Army and was badly injured in a battle. Added to this the nation was being torn asunder by civil war so you can understand the pensive and heavy feeling that this song brings with it:

Dear Friends,

A while back I went with the Preschoolers on a field trip to a farm. We went into the barn where Betsy the cow stared at us and we at her. Then she decided it was time to take her morning constitutional. Out it came like an open fire hydrant. As we all got sprayed with what remained of Betsy’s breakfast, the girls screamed, “eeeeeewe” and the boys all smiled and said, “cooooool”. At that moment, I was more in agreement with the girls. So, when you think of the stable in Bethlehem where Jesus was birthed, remember it was, well a barn for animals.

Dear Friends,

The joy of giving comes into focus this time of year. We all get to be Santa if we want. We do that because we have been blessed and in turn seek to bless others. The essence of our Stewardship is to “return to the Lord with increase”. So, here are some ways this Christmas you can leverage your resources for the sake of the Kingdom.

Dear Friends,

It’s been ten years since we have been using the 3rd edition of the Roman Missal for the celebration of Mass. It was the first Sunday of Advent 2011 that we were introduced to “consubstantial”, “And with Your Spirit” and lots of other linguistic changes. Most of us have probably forgotten the discomfort of adapting to changes in the Liturgy but every now and then, I admit I unconsciously revert back to a phrase here or there.