Ecce Homo

How far from the Animal is Man,

• and how close?

He walks, he talks, he sits on command.
A thin veneer of civility...

• scratch the surface and see him implode.

Yet how noble?

• A hair's breadth from exalted orations.
• A hair's breadth from depraved ravings.

Wrestling with God while angels and demons whisper at his shoulders.
Running before he can walk,

• it is a wonder he stands at all.

How sad is a life wasted?
How beautiful is a life well spent?

See him chip and shatter.
See him weather storms.

Behold the Man.

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit

It's that time again, when young men and women prepare to have their baptisms confirmed, when the Holy Spirit is asked to descend upon them as He did the Apostles at the first Pentecost.

This year I was asked to give a talk to some of our confirmation students about how the Holy Spirit has acted in my life. What follows is what I prepared for them. When I speak, I do not follow my text exactly, I give room for the promptings of the Holy Spirit, and so this is different from the talks I gave, just as each of the talks were different from each other. Hopefully this will still speak to you in some way.

The Gifts of the Holy Spirit are these:

• Wisdom
• Understanding
• Knowledge
• Counsel
• Fortitude
• Reverence (Piety)
• Fear of the Lord

We are asked time and again if we have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, usually by a Protestant who is attempting to evangelize. It is an important question! But have you ever been asked if you have a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit?

Consider yourself asked. Do you have a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit? If not, why not?

Musings on Life

At the end of this week in which we commemorate the 42^nd anniversary of the dubious Roe v. Wade decision, I have had some musings about abortion and the efforts we undertake to eradicate it. This is a little like a quick takes, but I'm too much of a non-conformist to do it on the right day, in the right number, or in some clever deviation from the norms. Sorry.

Awaiting

Come, save us in the
Valley of the Shadow of Death,
For though I fear no evil,
it hurts.

Come, to save my heart from the shadow;
Dispel the dark clouds of night.
Be my morning star,
My rising Son,
My Prince of Peace.

Be my comfort

• my refuge,
• • my solace.

Be my savior, my deliverer.

Love me, teach me to love you,
and turn even this to the good,
For Your Name's sake.

Be Thou God With Me.

Accepting the Kingdom

"That Jesus blood?"

"Yes honey."

"You drink him blood?"

"Yes honey."

"That 'sgusting! Ew!!"

This day I am thankful for...

This Thanksgiving, my son Gabriel should have been 10 weeks old.

Instead, this Thanksgiving was the 3 week anniversary of his death.

November 6^th, 2014, we woke up to get ready for our day, and Gabriel didn't. There is an abyss waiting for me in that moment, waiting to swallow me.

Fortunately, this guy's watching over his daddy. Maybe it's just me, but that looks like a guy who gets his way. "Really, dad? Despair? You know where I am!"

I know son. Doesn't make me miss you less.

A Day In the Tomb

What is there today for us but sorrow? The one we have loved is dead, and with Him our hope.

Today is Mary's day. Her Son was just murdered. The body she made for the Son of God in the secret depths of her womb is now lying in a tomb. The blood that flowed through her veins and into her baby boy is now poured out upon the ground. Her body, her blood, her heart pierced by a sword of sorrow as His was pierced by a spear.