But who is the real champion of the poor and who uses them for his advantage? It is not he who kills the goose the lays the golden eggs by over-regulating the financial industry to the point that capital investment dries up and wilts the source of a dignified livelihood. It is not he who oppresses the rich in the name of justice for justice is not brought about by injustice.
For as the Lord Jesus states, “The poor will always be around.” And people like Judas will continue to feign concern to help themselves instead. The test on whether a person is truly concerned to help the poor is through the integrity of his character. It he has lied to the people before, then the chances of him lying now is quite likely.
Did Ben Benanke’s tactics avert the recurrence of a debilitating depression or did he simply delay it’s onslaught? This video suggests imply that the economic stimulus had the same effect as a shot of morphine that numbed the pain without healing the cause. Worse, it has turned us into a junkie needing fixes until we OD or hit rock bottom.
Perhaps there is a quick rehab and will get us back on our feet sooner – like a new mix of fiscal and monetary policies or a new global approach that makes markets more efficient than ever. Until that’s found, the only way out is the old fashioned cold-turkey and pick-ourselves-up-by-the-boot-straps approach.
It starts with the humbling acceptance of the truth that we messed up followed by embracing those old school values and boring life styles that values temperance over excess, patience over instant gratification, thrift over living large, saving over borrowing and discipline over letting go.
To go beyond the mundane, this renewed way of living is the classic spirituality of sacrifice, the way of the cross. The virtue of humility disposes us to be patient and put up with doing without or with less. It makes us temperate in living within or even beneath our means. Discipline is fortitude or the strength to say no or go, without fear of hardship and deprivation. This is the old school of asceticism; this is why people voluntarily take the vow of poverty. And after being mortified and purified, one enters into mysticism where sacrifice is no longer an uncomfortable state. Rather, it becomes transforming as a seed dies to sprout into a plant that will produce fruit. Or we join the Lord Jesus in His “kenosis” where He suffered and died to bring us eternal life.
I know that The Biggest Loser is not the height of TV excellence, but I was watching it a couple days ago (Jan 5). While it won’t win any TV awards and there is a sense in which the misery of others is exploited as entertainment, there is also an element that is good and inspiring. I have not found many shows where I genuinely find myself rooting for everyone to do well. There is a little bit of motivational help too as I look to shed a bit of weight this year as well.
The Biggest Loser itself is not what I want to blog about, it is Pillsbury. In the middle of the show Pillsbury had an ad for cinnamon rolls. What kind of company places ads for cinnamon roles on a show that is about losing weight? Who do they think is watching the show? Given that most of the ads are about weight loss and exercise, one understands that the audience is largely people who need to lose weight. One of the show’s trainers mentioned how all of the contestants are fans of past seasons.
If that is the case, and let’s not pretend that Pillsbury doesn’t know it, how can they ethically advertise a products that are designed to tempt those who least need that? They can’t. It is like putting Vegas casino ads in at a gambler recovery meeting, or offering cigarettes to someone trying to quit smoking. What is wrong with these people? It is not the ads themselves, but the placement in an inappropriate place that makes it unethical. The lack of ethical consideration takes two parties here.
Chatting with a former pupil, I learned that he was living a life of quiet desperation. He lost his family and is feeling like a robot who mechanically does nothing of consequence day after day.
To help, I searched the web and tried to recall what I’ve learned about work but all those were about how things should be. But most workers have little or no control over that. So I thought of my own reasons and ways.
First I think of why I work. A picture of my 4 little kids and wife can make anything bearable.
Finally and most importantly, I make my work a prayer, an act of worship and adoration by offering it to God. I pray a morning offering to start my day and short prayers during breaks like, “Lord I offer this to you.” And I know that I am like a monk who is constantly praying and in the process, doing the greatest thing that a man can do.
Source http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16PaWJvngBE or click here
Video description: 3 of the old parents were proud of their children’s careers. However, these children did not have time for their parents. “They were very busy” each said. The last woman did not talk much of her son. Her son was not a high flyer like the others. But her son has time for his mother. The other 3 women were in awe. They would prefer that their children spend time with them.
My mom took my name, Timothy Daniel, from the bible. She chose my name at a time in her life where, as she tells me, she wasn’t even going to church, much less picking up a bible. But for some reason, when she was trying to decide on my name, she picked it up. It is that reason that St. Paul’s letters to Timothy have always held a special place in my heart. Every time I read them I am affected by them in some way. They seem relevant to my life. It’s been a while since I read those letters to Timothy, so I picked my bible up today and began reading Paul’s 1st Letter to Timothy. And, again, I was moved by what I read.
The passage that struck me today is from the 4th chapter of that first letter:
Avoid profane and silly myths. Train yourself for devotion, for, while physical training is of limited value, devotion is valuable in every respect, since it holds a promise of life both for the present and for the future. (1 Tim 4:7-8)
After I read that passage, I started reflecting on what devotion means and how I can train myself for it.
There are, in actuality, several ways we need to show devotion in our lives, each of them important. The first way we show devotion is in our work–our jobs and our schooling. We show this devotion by doing our jobs to the best of our abilities and making the best of all situations we encounter in our work, whether good or bad.
The second form of devotion that we need to show is with our children, if blessed to have them. We need to be a committed and devoted parents. We need to make ourselves available to them when they need us.
One of my favorite prayers is this Prayer to St. Joseph. In that prayer are the words:
“obtain for me the grace . . . to work, above all, with purity of intention and unselfishness, having unceasingly before my eyes death and the account I shall have to render of time lost, talents unused, good not done, and vail complacency in success, so baneful to the work of God.”
Imagine if we used our time with these thoughts in mind, with our eyes fixed on the account we will have to render to our Lord and how we will have to explain idleness and sloth.
John Henry Newman quotes Ecclesiastes in his homily, “The Lapse of Time,” thus: ”Whatever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, wither thou goest.” Ecc. 9:10
Newman goes on to say that the greatest work we have to do, the work ”which will outlive all other works, and for which alone we really are placed here below [is] the salvation of our souls.”
Rather than paying lip service to this truth, Newman exhorts his listeners to ”think[ ] over it steadily and seriously, [so that] we may possibly, through God’s grace, gain some deep conviction of it.”
Without keeping death and our eternal end in mind, we more easily allow for idle pursuits to consume us and waste our time.
“Memento mori” says the monk, “Remember death.” How can we do this better as Catholic dads with all the other concerns of life around us?
Kids have many influences in their lives that often steer them off course from Christ. Many of their responses in life’s situations will feel natural to them yet will leave them empty and alone. Dads, though, have a unique opportunity to model Christ’s example to their children even when no one else will.
If there are any Catholic Dads in or near Orange County CA in job transition. Or if you know of any Catholics (dads, moms or otherwise) in job transition and are in the OC area, Catholics @ Work OC is sponsoring a series Job Transition Workshops titled:
Spirituality & Confidence A Half-Day Workshop Retreat for Those in Job Transition
The next one is Friday, June 12, 2009, 9AM – 1 PM St. Timothy Catholic Church – parish hall 29102 Crown Valley Pkwy Laguna Niguel, CA 92677 $20, bring sack lunch & drink
Walk up registration will start at 8:30 am
These events will be repeated on July 10, and August 21 at different parishes. Catholics@ Work OC has already put two of these events together, and are continuing given the demand.
As dads, providers, and parents I think we’ve always struggled to do our part. But being a superhero father comes harder these days as the economy shrinks and many of our waistlines continue to expand. (For those of you who’ve seen it, the opening scene from “The Incredibles” is apropos.)
I think we’ve all faced the clear, but not sad reality that we’re not superheroes. Of course, that doesn’t mean we’re total saps either. Believing otherwise really brings down the physical and moral energy we need to help ourselves and our families. The economy is one thing, how we respond and what we do is another.
Having refused the “can’t do” attitude that I know will only feed a “can’t do” reality, I’ve decided to tackle the economy and my waistline. I’m sharing this with you guys because I think we share some of the same motivations—to be healthy enough to care for our families, able enough to provide for them and “there” enough to give them what they need. Like me, you probably wonder how you can do all these things.
The answer for me came in the form of a business proposal. I was skeptical at first because it was a home-fitness company called Beachbody which I had never heard of. Their most popular program was something called “P90X.” I’d never heard of that either. But the man who told me about it was a member of the corporate team and a highly trusted friend.
His name is Kevin and he’s one of those increasingly rare Catholics who pays his allegiances to the Bishop of Rome. As a principal, he had given my wife her first job as a Catholic school teacher. He’s the kind of person who
I know that 
Newman goes on to say that the greatest work we have to do, the work ”which will outlive all other works, and for which alone we really are placed here below [is] the salvation of our souls.”
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