Installation Homily

(I still may make some changes, and I'm sure I'll ad lib a bit, but here is the basic text of my homily for today's installation Mass)

Bishop Cruz, Bishop Marconi, my brother Salesians and the community of St. Anthony’s Church. 

My sisters and brothers, we live in uncertain times, to be sure.  The economic downturn of the last few years has shaken our trust in the private and public institutions that we have always relied on to assure our financial stability.  The ongoing threat of terrorism, while maybe not the overwhelming preoccupation it was a few years ago, is still real, as we have been reminded over the last few days by the various stories of plots by those who seek to do our country harm.  In two days our nation holds elections that have been both highly anticipated and controversial, with rampant speculation over what changes the results will bring.

We have also seen changes on the local level.  St. Anthony’s School, which educated generations of our children here in the Berg has become Our Lady of Guadalupe Academy, a cosponsored school.  In the past year we suffered the loss of Mr. Al Raggani who for years assisted our pastors in the administration of parish resources.  We come together today to celebrate a change of pastorship.  Certainly a joyful time, but one that brings a degree of uncertainty.  The one benefit we have in holding this instillation now, after I’ve been here for a few months, is that we’ve already begun to get to know each other.  It’s not easy stepping in after someone as well loved as Fr. Pat Diver, and I am grateful for his support and we are all blessed by his presence today.  In truth I can say that you have all made me feel at home already.

In these months, talking with many of you, especially the long time parishioners of St. Anthony’s, I’ve heard a great deal about the changes to the neighborhood of Peterstown.  While your love for the Berg is unshakable, many wonder about what the future of both the community and the parish will bring.  None of us can tell the future, least of all me.  But in listening to the Word of God this morning we can hear the Lord speaking to us, telling us not to worry about things we cannot control, but rather to focus ourselves on the high calling we have received as disciples of Christ Jesus.

In the second reading from the Second Letter of St. Paul to the Thessalonians, the Church of Thessalonica  has been shaken by the false preaching of those who say that the Second Coming of Christ is just around the corner.  This worry over the end of the world distracts the Christian community from doing God’s will in the here and now.  Paul tries to convince them that such worrying is useless, and in the end counter productive.  As Jesus tells us in the Gospels, no one knows the time or the hour of his return in glory.  It is for us to be always ready for this event by avoiding sin and being faithful to our baptismal call to holiness, so that the day of his eventual return doesn’t catch us off guard like a thief in the night. 

St. Paul is telling us, just as assuredly as he was the Thessalonians, not to worry about things that we have no control over.  Do not be disturbed by rumor or gossip.  Don’t let headlines distract you, don’t let change shake you.  You have received a calling greater than you can imagine, the call to glorify God by the holiness of your lives.  It’s this that you need to be concerned with, and nothing else.

For ourselves we can add to that list of distractions anxiety caused by change.  We here at St. Anthony’s we have a great heritage.  We think of the Salesians who served here over the years; Fr. Mani, Fr. Zuliani, Br. Jerry Harasym, Fr. John Mazziello and Fr. John Murphy, whose pioneering ministry among the Hispanic community in Elizabeth influenced so many, including our own Bishop Cruz, just to name a few of the dedicated sons of Don Bosco that have served here.  We have a great past that we cherish and inspires us.  It’s tempting to see things changing around us and become anxious about it.  When we are use to things being done in a certain way we can become resistant to altering the routine.  If the changes are radical enough it can seem like the world is ending.  We can be preoccupied with the challenges before us and become discouraged.  But St. Paul is reminding us not to be anxious, but focused; focused on the call to holiness we received at baptism.

But what exactly is this call I’m talking about, what does it mean?  If we turn our attention to the Gospel reading from Luke we will get an idea.

As we pick up the story this morning, Jesus is in the midst of his journey to Jerusalem.  We have been walking with him for several months now by way of the Sunday readings.  As soon as Peter made his profession of faith in Jesus as the Messiah of God in Luke chapter 9, our Divine Lord, resolutely determined as the scripture puts it, begins his journey to the Holy City to fulfill the mission given him by His Heavenly Father.  Along the way he heals, preaches, expels demons and reminds his followers of the cross that awaits him in Jerusalem.

At the heart of Jesus’ mission is the call to repentance and the gathering of God’s people into one community.  Three weeks ago we heard to story of the ten lepers being healed.  Let us recall that the one who returned to give thanks to Jesus was a Samaritan; an outsider, one who was not a member of the chosen people.  Here, as in other parts of the scripture, Christ is letting his followers know that God’s promise is not confined to one nation.  It is a universal call, and all people of all nations and languages are to be gathered into His fold.  They are to abandon their limited vision and open their hearts to the great plan God has in store for them and the world.

Today we hear about Jesus passing through Jericho, continuing his journey to Jerusalem.  There is a large crowd gathered, like in every other town he’s visited.  Among the multitudes is a man named Zacchaeus, a member of the house of Israel, but like the leper from a few weeks ago, an outsider nonetheless.  He is a tax collector, someone who works for the Roman occupiers and a makes a profit by extorting his own people.  Luke tells us he is “short of stature,” and so climbs a tree to get a better look at Jesus, whom he was “seeking to see.”  Considering how he made his money it’s not too hard to imagine that he retreated to the tree tops because he would not have been welcome on the street, among the people of Jericho.  But he comes anyway because something in his heart tells him that he’s been living the wrong way.  But he dares not come close, maybe out of practicality, maybe out of fear.  So he climbs the sycamore tree simply hoping to catch a glimpse of this Jesus who he had undoubtedly heard so much about.  

But beyond his expectations Jesus stops looks up and calls Zacchaeus down.  Christ will stay with him today.  This tax collector, a social leper in the eyes of his neighbors, too is a Son of Abraham and needs to take his place once again among the people of God.  For his part Zaccheaus is resolved to reform his life, paying back four times over those he has extorted, the Roman penalty for such a crime, as well as giving half his possessions to the poor.  While the crowd has a hard time accepting this, Jesus doesn’t back down.  Salvation has come to Zacchaeus’ house  because the Messiah came to seek and to save what was lost.  He came to gather all people into His Father’s community, gentiles like the Samaritan leper, as well as this lost sheep of the House of Israel.

As a parish our call, our mission if you will, is the same as our Divine Savior’s.  Our call is to be a sign of God’s Kingdom here in Peterstown.  It is a universal Kingdom that welcomes those who are lost, on the outside, and invites them back.  We invite them  back to be reconciled with Christ and His Church through the Sacrament of Penance.  We invite them, as our Lord did with Zacchaeus, to listen to their hearts that are telling them that the passing pleasures of this world will never satisfy, but only leave us hungry for something more.  We need to be the messengers that that “Something More” is communion with Jesus Christ through his community.

It is a community that doesn’t make distinctions, but welcomes people from all places and tongues because they too are children of the Church.  We understand that we are all united by the same Blood, the Blood of the Lamb that was shed for us on the cross.  We share the same waters of baptism that free us from sin and join us to Christ’s Body, the Church.  We share the same Eucharist, the memorial of Christ’s passion, death, and Resurrection.  The Eucharist that is his very presence with us and unites us in charity here on earth and is a foretaste of the heavenly banquet we will all share.

My sisters and brothers, we do live in a time of change, but we are not fearful or anxious.  We indeed have a great heritage.  But we are brave and forward looking.  We don’t seek to recreate the past but to build for the future.  We don’t look back at the good old days in order to bemoan the present.  We see the reality of our neighborhood as it is.  We see the needs of the young people on our streets now.  We see our community as it is, not how we may wish it was, and we know that it is Christ Jesus who is our strength.  It is Christ who is our light.  It is Christ who is our rock.   If we are true to the call He has given us, no challenge will be too great and no obstacle to difficult to overcome.  If we remember that Jesus Christ is our unity there will be no change too radical to distract us.

World Series Game 2

I've been working on the sermon for Sunday, and I need to distract my self a little at this point, so I'll turn to last nights game.

Once again your intrepid reporter had to use creative measures to circumvent the Fox / Cablevision black out up here (Thank you Applebee's for having Direct TV).  As a side note, I'm really not sure who's right or wrong on this one, and I'm at a point where I just don't care anymore.  There has to be a better way of resolving this than punishing the people.

So I picked up the game in the 7th inning, and as I'm driving along Route 9 it was still a tight contest.  By the time I walked between the car and the restaurant the whole thing had unravelled quicker than Charlie Sheen at the Plaza.  The Texas relievers couldn't find the plate with a G.P.S., then once they recalculated the light hitting Giants started playing T-Ball with them.  Now they decide to fall apart? They couldn't have done it last round against the Yankees?

 ***

The ratings are down again for the Series, which comes as no surprise.  There's a debate over how the 3 million households blocked from getting Fox in New York/New Jersey/ Philadelphia have impacted the numbers.

The Yankee haters in the media like ESPN's Jim Caple go on and on about how it's good for the game that new teams get into the Fall Classic, which in one sense is true.  But numbers don't lie; unless New York, Boston, St. Louis and maybe Atlanta are in the mix somehow, people outside the participating cities don't watch.  Only geeks like me will sneak out of the house to catch a couple of innings between two teams they care little about just because they love baseball. I mean the game was beaten in the ratings by a new sitcom featuring William Shatner, who long ago gave up acting for self parody.  I shutter to think about what happens Sunday when they go up against the NFL.  Roger Goodell isn't givin' em' a pass like he did last year.  No, my friends, this week it's Steelers vs Saints, and I can hear Faith Hill warming up her vocal cords already.  I'd be shocked if Bud Selig watched the Series over that match up.   We'll find out what America's Past Time is for real once the overnight's come out Monday.

Random Notes

*We broke 1,000 page views all time this week (1,114, since July to be exact). A relatively small number, to be sure, but we're also up a hundred plus views this month over last.  I owe a lot of the recent bump to Padre Steve posting me on Da Mihi Animas last Saturday.  A big thanks to him for the shout out.

*In spite of the Fox / Cablevision World Series black out here in the Metro Area I was able to catch a couple of innings the game last night.  I've always been amazed at the "too much rest" excuse when a pitcher gets knocked around after a long layoff.  It happens a lot, so there must be something to it.  But I also think it's hard for any pitcher, even Cliff Lee, to pitch lights out every time out.  Your due for a clunker eventually.  The Giants were able to convert patience and working the count into hits like the Yankees didn't.  New York made Lee throw pitches, they just were never able to take advantage of it.  San Fran was also able to knock him out in the fifth, before he usually catches his "second wind."

*Speaking of Lee, I love the way he and his agent are down playing the way some rowdy Yankee fans treated his wife during the ALCS.  If it was my wife getting beer thrown on her and taunted I'm not sure I'd be taking it in stride the way he is.  Oh, the filthy lucre makes cowards of us all.

*This will be my last post for a few days.  I'm being installed as pastor on Sunday, and there are a lot of details to attend to.  But I do plan on posting my sermon on Sunday morning.

Preaching is a spoken art form, and I usually don't write homilies out, even in Spanish.  The Holy Spirit never stops inspiring, even in mid sermon, so He shouldn't be stifled by a script. But I don't want the nerves of the moment to distract from the message. So, until them, pray for me, I'll be praying for you!

Bulletin Letter for Sunday, October 31

After a long wait the day of my formal installation as your pastor has arrived.  It is with deep humility that I celebrate this day with you all. It would be a mistake to think that today is about me though. We have a great parish community here in the Berg, and it’s a day to celebrate St. Anthony’s; to remember the past and work together to build a solid future.

I think of the great men who came before me; Fr. Dominic Battistello, Fr. A.J. Lewis, Fr. August Bosio, Fr. Alvin Manni, Fr. Joe Maffei, Fr. Vince Zuliani, Fr. Don Delaney and, of course Fr. Pat Diver (and this is only a partial list of our previous pastors!).  I also am reminded of Fr. John Murphy, still so deeply loved, who pioneered the mission among the Hispanic community here in Peterstown. When I contemplate these men of God who dedicated their lives to the Salesian mission here at St. Anthony’s it reminds me that I’m truly standing on the shoulders of giants.  It’s like something Ronald Reagan said about the presidency; no one owns the office but is its protector, insuring that the past is respected and that the future is provided for.  Then, when his time of service comes to an end, he hands the burdens of responsibility on to another.  I am but a part of that line of service that will continue long after my time here ends.

This is also a day to celebrate St. Anthony’s.  Yes we remember the past, but we must believe that the best days of our parish lie ahead of us.  Our future will not be secured by trying to recreate the past, instead we need to look at the reality of the Berg as it is now and respond to the present reality with courage and faith.  This can only happen if we all work together with one, single minded goal; the spread of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

In today’s Gospel reading from St. Luke Jesus calls Zacchaeus to turn from a life of sin to full communion with the faith community.  Zacchaeus had this desire in his heart already, but needed the invitation for the Lord to come down from the tree and repent.  How many in our neighborhood, especially young people, are living without Christ in their lives, but have the desire for something more burning in their hearts?  Maybe all they need is the invitation from us to return to the fold.  May we be that welcoming community in the name of the Lord.

It is in this spirit that I formally assume the responsibility of being your pastor.  My goal is to build on the foundations made before me, and to also look ahead to the growth of our community into the future.  This is not something I can do alone.  I will need the help of the entire St. Anthony’s community.  In the end, it’s your parish, and I know that with the grace of God greater things than we can possibly imagine are possible. 

Two Witnesses for the Eucharist

 (This is my letter from last week's bulletin that I forgot to post)

In the month of October we celebrate two feast days that point us to the importance of the Eucharist in the life of the Church.  On the 17^th we celebrated the memorial of St. Ignatius of Antioch, and on the 19^thwas the feast of the North American Martyrs.

Ignatius was the bishop Antioch, in modern day Turkey, who was arrested and sent to Rome to suffer martyrdom around the year 110 AD.  Rather than taking a direct rout to Italy, the ship carrying him sailed close to shore and made many stops along the way.  This was not so unusual, since sea travel was dangerous and hugging the coast was the norm, but that he was greeted by so many while at port was a bit out of the ordinary.  While these friends could have secured his freedom by way of bribes, he begged them not to interfere with what he saw as his mission to witness to Christ with is life.  He also wrote numerous letters to the various Christian communities.  In them he urged unity with their local bishops, especially in the celebration of the Eucharist.  He stressed that the Eucharist is the “flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ,” and that the faithful should avoid teachers who taught otherwise.

St. Isaac Jogues (1607-1646) was a French Jesuit who went to North America as a missionary to spread the Gospel to the indigenous peoples of what is today northern New York State and Canada.  He is remembered along with eight others who gave their lives to spread the Good News in the New World.  He was captured by a band of Iroquois Indians, and during his captivity was viciously tortured.  His captors may not have known much about the Faith, but they knew enough about the Mass to bite off several of St. Isaac’s fingers.  At that time a priest could only hold the consecrated host with his thumb and index finger, and with out then he was not allowed to offer the Mass.  Eventually St. Isaac escaped, with the help of some Protestant merchants, and returned to Europe.  Pope Urban VII granted St. Isaac permission to offer the Eucharist in spite of his injuries because “it would be unjust that a martyr of Christ should not drink the Blood of Christ.”  Isaac returned to North America and suffered martyrdom a short time later.  He went to his death with strong faith in the Gospel he preached and the sacraments that he celebrated and suffered so greatly for.

In the case of both these saints we see a great love of Christ, and a great love of the Sacrament of unity that is Christ’s Body and Blood.  Sts Ignatius and Isaac died centuries apart and in vastly different places.  But both died believing the same thing: That Christ is truly present in the Eucharist to unite us and help us grow in charity, and that this gift needs to be spread.  Let us renew our love of this sacrament and faith in Our Lord’s True Presence in it.

The Beatles, the Rolling Stones and the Spirit of the 1960's

In my last post on the legacy of  the Beatles I wrote about how they were true revolutionaries in a more profound way than many of their contemporaries, and one contemporary in particular.  The Rolling Stones are usually held up as the "bad boys" of Rock, contrasted with the Beatles as our lovable Mop Tops. The Stones' reputation wasn't unearned, to be sure, but the wrap on them is that this was an image carefully engineered by their first manager Andrew Loog Oldham.  Bill Wyman, their former bassist and diarist who kept a detailed journal of the band's exploits for decades, has contested that their image was real, but exploited by their handlers in a way the group itself didn't necessarily like.

Though this proposed dualism between the two bands has become a cliche, it doesn't change the fact that there is truth contained in it.  In a bigger sense The Beatles and Stones can be seen as both ends of a struggle to find the true meaning of the late Sixties.  The pop music of the day reflects the dualism embodied by the two groups.  There is Utopian optimism in songs like "The Age of Aquarius/ Let the Sun Shine In" by The 5th Dimension and Friend and Lover's "Reach Out in the Darkness," but also discontent reflected in Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth," Barry McGuire's "Eve of Destruction," and just about anything by The Doors.  Donovan's "Hurdy Gurdy Man" represents a strange hybrid of hippie idealism in its lyrics but an ominous, spooky quality to it's arrangement that points to something darker just beneath the surface (the song was used to masterful effect in David Fincher's movie "Zodiac" a few years ago).

There is a romanticism associated with the age that endures that wasn't lost on the people living through it.  Jim Morrison predicted that in decades to follow the late 60's would be seen in the same romantic light as the French Revolution period.  What has indeed endured in the popular mind is the idealized image of flowers in your hair, free love and anti-war protests.  But read Hunter Thompson's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," written in 1971, and we can see that there is already a sense that the 60's generation failed. What struck me reading the book was that Thompson, who from our vantage point almost 40 years later is right in the middle of it all, seems to write of the period as if it was some long gone era.  The Who's LP "Who's Next" from the same year also points to a lost idealism in the two anthemic numbers that bookend the album.  David Bowie's "All the Young Dudes," made famous by Mott the Hoople in 1972, states:

And my brother's back at home
With his Beatles and his Stones
We never got it off on that revolution stuff 
What a drag, too many snags

Why the pessimism? The spirit of the youth movement of the late 60's was rebellion, in the sense of reexamining the values and mores that held sway and setting about to change them.  We can look at the Civil Rights Movement as effecting a positive change in that era, but the rebellion extended to every aspect of life.  Mixed up with all this is the Sexual Revolution and the rise of a drug culture that thought it could bring spiritual enlightenment through chemical means.  All this was part of a rebellion against the status quo.  But who is the master of rebellion?  It is Lucifer, of course.

I'm not suggesting that all revolution is the product of the Evil One, but its undeniable that there was a flirtation with the dark side, if you will, especially by the Rolling Stones, during this era.  I am not one who believes that Mick Jagger sold his soul for Rock and Roll.  Like I wrote above, the Stone's image was carefully crafted, and I have no problem believing that it was all a part of the act.  But when we play with these forces, even cynically, bad things happen.  It is often pointed out by those who try to deny the satanic connection with the Stones that when Meredith Hunter, an 18 year old concert goer, was murdered at the infamous Altamont free concert the song being played was "Under My Thumb," not "Sympathy for the Devil," as legend has it. This is true but it misses the point (not that I think "Under My Thumb" has such great karma attached to it either).  As Stephen Davis' bio of the band states, 1969 was a "witchy time," with tarot readings and seances being in vogue.  How deep the Stones or anyone in the counter culture were involved in such occult activities is open to debate.  But once that door is opened, even a little, it becomes hard to close.  What ever positive changes were being fought for were undermined by the presence of the "smoke of Satan," to borrow a phrase form Paul VI.  It was this connection with the forces of darkness that ultimately undid the 60's dream.

As a footnote, the only major musical artist of that time who never seemed to buy into the Utopianism was Bob Dylan.  He never put out a psychedelic album, as did so may of his contemporaries, and always maintained an ambivalence, some would say pessimism, about the world and it's future.  After 1966 he retreated, still putting out albums, but not touring or making public appearances.  In a way you could say he sat out the revolution that he helped start.  In the end, he was probably the wisest one of them all.

30th Sunday in Ordinary Time, C

The Pharisee took up his position and spoke this prayer to himself--Luke 18:11

This week's reading from Luke gives us this famous story of the Pharisee and the tax collector, contrasting one's pride with the other's humility.  Going against type the publicly religious man is the "villain," while the public sinner is the sympathetic character. Jesus is forever turning things on their head, challenging people's perceptions of reality.  Tax collectors were hated, not simply because people didn't like paying taxes (of course they didn't, human nature never changes), but because the taxmen worked for Rome, their foreign occupiers, and were often exploitative, collecting more than the prescribed levy through coercive methods.  It's not that Jesus is glorifying sin and injustice, but rather pointing out for us the nature of true repentance and religious devotion.

The Pharisee is shown taking his place in the temple.  It's business as usual for him, in a way.  This might be a routine he follows every week, or maybe even everyday.  He scrupulously recounts all his good deeds; he fasts and even pays tithes.  These are good and noble things for sure, but why does  he do them?  Are they for God or have these, and the other religious observances of his life, become a habit he does for their own sake?  We are all called to a life of virtue, where doing the right thing becomes so ingrained that it's second nature to us (in other words doing good becomes a habit).  But true virtue leads us outward, to worship and give praise to God and help others in His name.  In the case of this Pharisee Jesus tells us that he prays "to himself."  He is not acknowledging the power of God in his life, but is caught up with his own actions.  Consciously or, I would more likely suspect, subconsciously the Pharisee thinks he's saving himself, rather than God giving him the grace of fidelity.

If we look at today's second reading from St. Paul's Letter to Timothy (4:6-8, 16-18) it would be tempting to think that he is falling into the same trap as our friend the Pharisee.  He's talking about how he's finished the race and is awaiting the crown of glory that God, the just Judge, will surly give him.  Isn't he being a bit presumptuous? Paul, never one for false modesty, crows a bit because he knows that it was God's grace that made all his successes possible.  It was God who stood by him through the tough times.   When all his friends abandoned him, it was the Almighty who rescued him from the "lion's mouth."  God did this so that he could complete his mission to preach the Good News to the Gentiles.  His time was coming to an end, he could see that, but it did not trouble him because he had been faithful to his mission.  Paul lived, not for himself, but for the Gospel of Christ and it's spread.  For this he he could rest assured of a place in the heavenly kingdom.

Our other friend from the parable, the tax collector, knows that he has been on the wrong path.  He examines his actions and beats his breast, a traditional sign of repentance, going home justified.  Now the real work begins, because repentance means a turning back to God and leaving the old life behind.  The mistake many in the contemporary world make is thinking that God's forgiveness comes with no expectations.  He will forgive us no matter how many times we fall, but he also wants to see the fruits of repentance lived out in our lives, to go and sin no more.  He even tells one man he cures to stop sinning "so that nothing worse may happen to you." (Jn 5:14) Don Bosco used to say that going to confession would only have long lasting benefits if penitents made a firm resolution to put aside the sins that repeatedly plagued them.  The tax collector goes home justified because with God's grace he is ready to make the changes necessary that will lead to eternal life.

The answer is not to think that our religious observances are useless.  Going to Mass on Sundays, observing holy days of obligation, going to confession regularly, being faithful to the Lenten abstinence and fasts, among other things, is the way we show our love for God in concrete ways.  But the key is to remember why we do them.  They help us to put God at the center of our lives and should point us outward to love our neighbor. They are also meant to remind us of our dependence on God as the giver of all good  things, the things we truly need to make us happy.  Our life in the Church is meant to remind us that it is the Lord who stands by us always, raises us up when we fall, and will give us that imperishable crown of victory when the race of life is faithfully completed.

ALCS Postmortum

When the Yankees got past the Twins I wrote that the New York press was too enthusiastic and needed to relax a bit.  I thought the Yankees could win the pennant, but that they are no juggernaut.  September was too much of a black hole that their late summer swoon should be forgotten simply because they mugged the hapless Twins in the first round.

Well, they certainly did show that going 12-14 the last month of the season was no fluke.  But lets be honest, they didn't lose, Texas won.  They were simply the better team.  They did everything the Yankees didn't;  their starters pitched effectively and, except for game one, so did their bullpen.   They hit in the clutch, taking advantage offensively when they had the chances. 

Outside of Kerry Wood and Mo the New York bullpen was simply atrocious.  Again last night they couldn't hold the Rangers close.  The hitting was simply nonexistent.

I think the Yankee season came down to a decision made last winter; not resigning Johnny Damon.  He was a spark that they didn't have, not only in the playoffs but during the season as well.  He was never really replaced in the lineup, with the number 2 hole serving as a revolving door most of the year between Granderson, Swisher and Nick Johnson (remember him?).  Swisher had a good season, but he's better used down the lineup.  And I like Granderson, I think he will be good in the long term, but the Jeter - Damon combo at the top of the order offered a dynamism that I really still think had some juice left.  With Brett Gardner at the bottom of the lineup it was like having three lead off men once the game got going.  It added a dimention that made the Yankees more than just a power threat.  And Yeah, Damon's swing is tailor made for the New Stadium.

Even with Damon the Yankees still might have lost (Johnny doesn't pitch, the last I heard).  But maybe Texas wouldn't have made it look quite so easy.

So Congratulations, Texas Rangers and good luck against whoever you end up meeting from the Senior Circuit.

Juan Williams Larry Flynt and Free Speech

Back in college, last century, a guy in our dorm had a poster in his room with pictures of the four great dictators of the twentieth century, and a slogan on the bottom about how they outlawed free speech, and we better watch out because it's happening again (I went looking for it on the internet, to get the exact quote, but couldn't find it).  When I looked at the fine print I saw that it was put out by one of the major porn producers at the time. I think it was Penthouse Magazine, whose founder Bob Guccione died yesterday, but it was so long ago I can't remember for sure.  My young mind knew instinctively that there was something wrongheaded about the connection being made, but wasn't sure how to express my objection effectively.


Years later, after I made my first profession of vows and was back teaching at Salesian, we had to go up to Stepinac High School for an in service day, and one of the speakers was a priest talking about Christian citizenship. He made the statement that as a priest he believed that pornography was gravely sinful, but as an American and teacher of civics he opposed any censorship, even the banning of pornography, as a violation of the first amendment.  He said this with a straight face and with total sincerity, and the first word that came to my mind was "pinhead."  I think the word was actually a little stronger, and I might have uttered it under my breath, but I've already been accused of being "too graphic" in this space, so I won't push it by writing what I really said.

Yesterday Juan Williams was fired from his gig at NPR for making comments deemed inappropriate about his gut reaction to seeing someone dressed in Muslim garb at an airport (let's just say it doesn't make him feel warm and reassured).  He went to great lengths to say that we shouldn't discriminate against an entire group for the actions of a few.  He was commenting on a visceral response he had to a particular situation in light of world events over the last nine years.  He wasn't advocating public policy based on his feelings, and if anything was urging caution in making rash judgments about people.  But he was also saying that we need to have common sense in how we approach the War on Terror (are we still allowed to use that term?), and those who have publicly stated their intentions to destroy the United States and the West in general.

What do these things have to do with each other?  My personal anecdotes illustrate a mentality, pushed heavily by the purveyors smut, that an attack against one form of "free expression" is an attack against all free speech and thus a danger to our constitutional rights.  So we must tolerate, even celebrate, pornography as being as all American as the Federalist Papers.  This was illustrated by the film The People vs. Larry Flynt, where the titular hero is held up as a poster boy for the first amendment. And, you know, we should all be grateful, really, for Larry's fight, (or so the argument goes) because he's kept free speech free for all of us.  Oh, yeah? Tell that to Juan Williams.

No one can argue with a straight face, like my "pinhead" brother in the clergy tried that day, that the protection of pornography as "speech" in the constitutional sense has led to greater freedom of political expression.  When Juan Williams, a liberal commentator, a champion of civil rights who has written volumes on the topic, a minority himself (and I openly admit, a person I hardly ever agree with) is fired for being a bigot for essentially saying the same thing Jesse Jackson did in a different context years ago, we have reached a dangerous place in the life of our Republic.  Political correctness, a product of Marxist philosophy, a revolutionary philosophy, has gone from being an annoyance to being a danger to our future.  As I wrote to a friend of mine today on Facebook, this is is like the old adage from the Reign of Terror in 1793 that the revolution is devouring her own children.  But now, because our culture has passively accepted these bizarre standards of propriety, it's putting all of us in danger of being swallowed up.

Pornographers cynically use the constitution to protect their ability to make a ton of money in an exploitative, dehumanizing industry.  It is an opiate that distorts the mind and eventually perverts the users vision of reality. Studies are indeed showing that it is as addictive as a narcotic and destructive to relationships.  It is more available now that it has ever been in the history of human civilization.  Yet are we really more free?  Are people really able to express themselves more openly and debate issues without fear of retribution because they can access "adult entertainment" from any laptop?  Or have we become drugged into accepting a standard that will eventually destroy us?

ALCS So Far

The Yankees managed to stay alive for a game six, and my only hope is that this just isn't the last gasp before expiring.  Teams have a way of winning that game five when down 3-1, but it usually ends up just prolonging the agony.  If they can at least force a game 7, it'll make the heartburn worth it.  Of course you have the '58 Yankees and the '79 Pirates who were able to come all the way back.  It's  possible, for sure, but rare.

How do the Yankees do it? Well, Phil Hughes needs to be more consistent.  Since he's pitching on regular rest we won't have to hear the "he's too rested" excuse.  They need to hit in the clutch, take advantage of the opportunities they get. The bullpen can't throw batting practice, turning close games into blowouts the way they did in games 3 and 4.  If they get behind, they have to keep it close.

I don't want to get too far ahead of my self, but if they do get to a game 7, they have to jump on Lee when he shows weakness.  And, contrary to what Mike Francesa said on his show Tuesday, the Yankees were swinging at pitches out of the strike zone, and he was vulnerable at points during the game.  I agree, after the 6th inning it was over; he has the rep of getting stronger as the game goes on and Monday this was the case.  Francesa was at the game, and I saw it on TV, and I understand that it's hard to judge balls and strikes based on the camera angles, but a ball in the dirt is a ball in the dirt, and they were swinging at those.  TV doesn't distort the sight lines that much. That's not a knock on Lee.  The way I look at it he was using his brains as much as his arm Monday. A good pitcher gets in the opponent's head and confuses him to the point he'll swing at pitches he might not otherwise, especially if the pitcher has good movement the way Lee does. But if he keeps going deep into counts again they have to make him pay for it before he gets to that magic point of no return, around the 7th inning.

Of course, we need to play Game 6 first.  So, Friday, here we come.