Life happens; God is near.

“Jesus loves me, how do I know? Because my oil cap tells me so.”

Well, those might not be the exact lyrics of the Sunday school song, but that’s how I’m singing it this week. The difference between a grade-school ditty and a man’s life comes down to experience.

One of the characteristics that Catholicism shares with our progenitor in Judaism is a practical earthiness, a visceral experience, a faith rooted in the created yet elevated all the way to the foot of the Throne of Heaven. Grace builds on nature, it does not pass it by. By the same token, we apprehend the realities of our soul through the window of our bodily senses.

It could happen at any moment; any time could be the last, when we’re called to lay our lives down and stand before the Father.

Our eyes met over the fender as he suddenly appeared from behind the semi, merging into my lane; I knew one of us was going down.

There was a screech of brakes, an oath of surprise and anger, and a loud crunch of heavy metal meeting asphalt. The guy laid his motorcycle down right in front of my car’s wheels and himself with it.

I thought: Oh, no, this is it! Someone’s gonna die!

More Joe Six-Pack Answers of the Faith: short, sweet, and to the point.

There never seems to be enough time; I’ve been working long hours with nothing left over at the end of the day. So lots of things have gotten short shrift the last few weeks. All the more reason to have a ready defense and explanation for the Faith especially for those too busy to listen. With that, I give you some more Joe Six-Pack Answers: short, sweet, and to the point.

Joe Six-Pack answers to Catholic Questions are a powerful brew.

The Catholic faith is beautiful, intelligent, deep, nuanced, and mysterious. We’ve got thousands of years of thinking, writing, reflecting, and praying to choose from for both Testaments. It is a glorious story of Love of our Creator for His beloved — a searing, passionate romance.

All of which makes it really hard to explain in 30 seconds.

Looks like Semonyx is back in the news regarding their testing of artificial flavors on cells from aborted fetuses.

I wrote about Senomyx three weeks ago: the world yawned;

Children of God for Life wrote about it, and something happened:

Campbell Soup has ended its relationship with Senomyx.

We’ve heard it before in many forms. It’s the little things that count. Good things come in small packages. It’s the attention to detail. He who is faithful in small things will be faithful in greater. St. Therese of Lisieux became a saint by the little way. Blessed Mother Theresa said “[D]o small things with great love”.

One of my favorite Lenten meditations is the guy at the home improvement store who said, “We’ve got some great fertilizer for less over here”. Wait — what??

Taming the Lunchroom Barbarians

They pour over the rise in a ragged line, eyes glazed and staring off into the middle distance. As they advance, various articles fall from their hands and backs; shoes, packs, jackets, papers, and unidentifiable plastic bits clog up the pathway, only to be trampled unseen by those following close behind. A low and insistent moan issues from their mouths and the atmosphere becomes dangerously charged. Half a dozen of them break off from the horde and fling open the door of a small unassuming dwelling, trammeling the stairs, and swarming the inhabitants.

The Lunchroom Barbarians are home and they are hungry. [...]

Are there ethical concerns over artificial flavorings made from body parts?

For those of you who will remember, the iconic film Soylent Green depicted a dystopian future in which all the food supplies have been exhausted by overpopulation and people are dependent on protein bars handed out by the government in order to stay alive. The secret origins of Soylent Green are revealed at the climax to be made from the only remaining source: It’s people! — in a word, cannibalism.

Ever since then, Soylent Green has become a byword to describe the unthinkable thrust upon the unsuspecting.

One of the biggest driving forces behind the abortion business is money. Abortion is big business. Body parts can and are being sold to medical researchers, pharmaceutical companies, cosmetics companies, IVF labs, and a growing list of customers that may surprise you (there’s gotta be some kind of regulations, right?).

So when I became aware of the current controversy regarding a food flavoring biotech company called Senomyx using cells from aborted fetuses, I began to get that sinking feeling. Are they putting Soylent Green in our food as “artificial flavors” ?

Introducing Dab, the latest nodling!
SO … I’ve been off the grid for a few weeks now. I hadn’t realized how much blogging is a force of habit, that once broken, is really hard to start up again.

I feel rusty. Or maybe that’s tired. Maybe it’s the baby waking us up every couple of hours (feels like minutes) in the night. He’s a cutie and make no mistake (said the proud papa). [...]

Is deception OK in the cause of good? Discussing the case of Live Action.
When is being right actually wrong, and can we be wrong to be right? If you’re confused, you’re not alone. It’s just flat out hard to tell which end is up in this complicated world of ours. Even theologians get it wrong sometimes, and that’s their full time job. Fortunately, we have the Commandments, the Catechism, and the constant teaching of the Magisterium to help us find the “straight and narrow path” that leads to life. (cf. Matthew 7:13-14)

Some friends and I were discussing the recent videos made by Lila Rose and her group Live Action which uncover Planned Parenthood’s failure to report illegal sex trafficking of minors, among other things. [...]