SALUTE GOD! » Faith http://salutegod.com Acknowledge the presence of your God! Mon, 06 Sep 2010 17:30:00 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 First Communion Cutie http://salutegod.com/first-communion-cutie.html http://salutegod.com/first-communion-cutie.html#comments Fri, 07 May 2010 11:59:31 +0000 admin http://fd7afdafaac9406785fb95b64fd45a20 Darling and dapper, this beatific, bow-tied boy is getting ready to receive his first communion.

HudsonHeights-Reverance.jpg

Photo: Shared by Beliefnet reader Hudson_Heights

]]> Darling and dapper, this beatific, bow-tied boy is getting ready to receive his first communion.

HudsonHeights-Reverance.jpg

Photo: Shared by Beliefnet reader Hudson_Heights

]]> http://salutegod.com/first-communion-cutie.html/feed 0 “There’s Never Enough Morphine” http://salutegod.com/theres-never-enough-morphine.html http://salutegod.com/theres-never-enough-morphine.html#comments Thu, 04 Mar 2010 09:17:33 +0000 admin http://c5803517fda64edc8e5ebee4c78fc589 if you could only see how hard it is for my sister to breathe now... . If you could only imagine the pain and suffering that lies ahead for her, whether or not she beats this thing. If you could only imagine how much this thing grieves her family. If you knew what we were going through, you would make heroic efforts to put those cigarettes down! Yes, Ruthie was never a smoker, but she still got lung cancer. Still, there's no denying that your risk of lung cancer is vastly greater if you do smoke. There is no pleasure in it that's worth the agony of what my sister and her family are enduring. Chemo starts today, by the way. And by the way.2, John Zmirak got the terrible news over the weekend that yet another of his family members has a very serious form of cancer. His mother and father both died from cancer, and it was a grim way to go. He writes of his relative's news:
Grieved as I felt for her, I watched with self-disgust as my concerns quickly turned inward. My mind leaped in just a few minutes from the prospect of her suffering to blankly selfish thoughts: "That makes four out of four of my closest genetic connections, stricken with one variety or another. One beat it, but two are dead." Which tells me not just that someday I'm going to die, but very likely how I'll die: Slowly, over months, just like my mother and father did, surrounded by people feeding me false hopes and applesauce, while a TV flickers and the pain gets every single day more crushing, more soul-extinguishing. Because what I've learned from watching cancer is, There's Never Enough Morphine. For one thing, doctors can't give you enough to ease the pain that comes at the end, hemmed in as they are by fear of lawsuits by -- get ready -- patients who miraculously recover and then sue their doctors for getting them addicted to painkillers. Yes, there really are people out there who respond to beating "terminal cancer" by doing this, with the outcome that thousands of patients like my mother end up screaming through some of their final days -- until at last the doctors see that there's no danger of recovery, and they open the floodgates of opiates, which typically (and mercifully) slows down breathing, sometimes stops it. Some persnickety ethicists out there complain that this amounts to euthanasia. I'd like a few moments alone with them in a cancer ward, with a bag of surgical instruments. I could teach them the redemptive value of suffering.
As John, a Catholic, goes on to say, we Christians believe that suffering is redemptive, though we who profess that view should spend some time with those in terrible pain before we so glibly assert the truth of that statement. John is struggling with theodicy here -- that is, the explanation for why an all-good and all-powerful God allows pain, suffering and evil in the world. In the end, I don't think anything a theologian has to tell me will suffice. Only an act of will -- faith -- that tells me what is happening to my sister, what happens to all who suffer, and what will happen to me one day, some way, will not be in vain. What else is there? As John puts it so well, "My intellect points me to the crucifix to show me that our way is not only better, but it is Good. As I am learning, that makes it no less terrible." Let us pray for each other, and help bear each other's sufferings. The journey is long, the burden is great. UPDATE: A reader writes to caution that what John Zmirak witnessed in his mother's grim cancer death is not necessarily how it is for everyone. He writes:
I saw my mom, and one of my best friends die of cancer, ovarian and pancreatic. It wasn't pretty, but neither of them 'screamed at the end.' My mom's oncologist told her, when she said she was anxious about pain, 'We won't let that happen.' I think most doctors will risk the lawsuit, especially if the family is supportive. My mom's certainly did.
That's a comfort. Also, in the comboxes Thomas Tucker, who is an oncologist, says there are plenty of doctors who will make sure a suffering patient is not in a lot of pain in their final days. ]]> if you could only see how hard it is for my sister to breathe now... . If you could only imagine the pain and suffering that lies ahead for her, whether or not she beats this thing. If you could only imagine how much this thing grieves her family. If you knew what we were going through, you would make heroic efforts to put those cigarettes down! Yes, Ruthie was never a smoker, but she still got lung cancer. Still, there's no denying that your risk of lung cancer is vastly greater if you do smoke. There is no pleasure in it that's worth the agony of what my sister and her family are enduring. Chemo starts today, by the way. And by the way.2, John Zmirak got the terrible news over the weekend that yet another of his family members has a very serious form of cancer. His mother and father both died from cancer, and it was a grim way to go. He writes of his relative's news:
Grieved as I felt for her, I watched with self-disgust as my concerns quickly turned inward. My mind leaped in just a few minutes from the prospect of her suffering to blankly selfish thoughts: "That makes four out of four of my closest genetic connections, stricken with one variety or another. One beat it, but two are dead." Which tells me not just that someday I'm going to die, but very likely how I'll die: Slowly, over months, just like my mother and father did, surrounded by people feeding me false hopes and applesauce, while a TV flickers and the pain gets every single day more crushing, more soul-extinguishing. Because what I've learned from watching cancer is, There's Never Enough Morphine. For one thing, doctors can't give you enough to ease the pain that comes at the end, hemmed in as they are by fear of lawsuits by -- get ready -- patients who miraculously recover and then sue their doctors for getting them addicted to painkillers. Yes, there really are people out there who respond to beating "terminal cancer" by doing this, with the outcome that thousands of patients like my mother end up screaming through some of their final days -- until at last the doctors see that there's no danger of recovery, and they open the floodgates of opiates, which typically (and mercifully) slows down breathing, sometimes stops it. Some persnickety ethicists out there complain that this amounts to euthanasia. I'd like a few moments alone with them in a cancer ward, with a bag of surgical instruments. I could teach them the redemptive value of suffering.
As John, a Catholic, goes on to say, we Christians believe that suffering is redemptive, though we who profess that view should spend some time with those in terrible pain before we so glibly assert the truth of that statement. John is struggling with theodicy here -- that is, the explanation for why an all-good and all-powerful God allows pain, suffering and evil in the world. In the end, I don't think anything a theologian has to tell me will suffice. Only an act of will -- faith -- that tells me what is happening to my sister, what happens to all who suffer, and what will happen to me one day, some way, will not be in vain. What else is there? As John puts it so well, "My intellect points me to the crucifix to show me that our way is not only better, but it is Good. As I am learning, that makes it no less terrible." Let us pray for each other, and help bear each other's sufferings. The journey is long, the burden is great. UPDATE: A reader writes to caution that what John Zmirak witnessed in his mother's grim cancer death is not necessarily how it is for everyone. He writes:
I saw my mom, and one of my best friends die of cancer, ovarian and pancreatic. It wasn't pretty, but neither of them 'screamed at the end.' My mom's oncologist told her, when she said she was anxious about pain, 'We won't let that happen.' I think most doctors will risk the lawsuit, especially if the family is supportive. My mom's certainly did.
That's a comfort. Also, in the comboxes Thomas Tucker, who is an oncologist, says there are plenty of doctors who will make sure a suffering patient is not in a lot of pain in their final days. ]]> http://salutegod.com/theres-never-enough-morphine.html/feed 0 What happens to a child of your faith if they suddenly decide they do not wish to follow your faith? http://salutegod.com/what-happens-to-a-child-of-your-faith-if-they-suddenly-decide-they-do-not-wish-to-follow-your-faith.html http://salutegod.com/what-happens-to-a-child-of-your-faith-if-they-suddenly-decide-they-do-not-wish-to-follow-your-faith.html#comments Sat, 20 Feb 2010 23:01:53 +0000 admin http://salutegod.com/what-happens-to-a-child-of-your-faith-if-they-suddenly-decide-they-do-not-wish-to-follow-your-faith.html
Ave Maria asked:




]]> http://salutegod.com/what-happens-to-a-child-of-your-faith-if-they-suddenly-decide-they-do-not-wish-to-follow-your-faith.html/feed 0 A Moveable Feast, Without Dessert http://salutegod.com/a-moveable-feast-without-dessert.html http://salutegod.com/a-moveable-feast-without-dessert.html#comments Tue, 16 Feb 2010 11:12:45 +0000 admin http://5ecee14eee934b6f890a77fb96d6f5f9
I'll be observing Lent this year. I observe Lent most years - the exceptions being those years in which I have been mad at God (another topic entirely) and/or have been feeling wholly agnostic and/or defiant of the Catholic Church - and this year, especially, it's something that I must do, as committed as I am this year to fully embracing matters of faith and reflecting upon same. I have, in the past, given up meat or coffee or Diet Coke. This year, I'm going to give up chocolate, and it's not going to be easy, not only because I love chocolate, which I do, but because chocolate is a crutch for me: it is the thing that fills in for Ativan or liquor when I'm feeling anxious, the little pick-me-up that keeps me from drinking 16 cups of coffee in a day, the lovely, sweet creamy source of solace when I'm feeling sad. I will miss it terribly.

The only question now is, since it is Fat Tuesday, the day when we're allowed to yuck it up and indulge in advance of giving up such lovely things as chocolate, is whether I buy myself an entire chocolate cake, or one of those big red velvet box of Valentine's bon bons that will for sure be on sale, and eat it all myself, perhaps while watching Lost.

I'm certainly tempted. That's part of the point, right?
 
]]>
I'll be observing Lent this year. I observe Lent most years - the exceptions being those years in which I have been mad at God (another topic entirely) and/or have been feeling wholly agnostic and/or defiant of the Catholic Church - and this year, especially, it's something that I must do, as committed as I am this year to fully embracing matters of faith and reflecting upon same. I have, in the past, given up meat or coffee or Diet Coke. This year, I'm going to give up chocolate, and it's not going to be easy, not only because I love chocolate, which I do, but because chocolate is a crutch for me: it is the thing that fills in for Ativan or liquor when I'm feeling anxious, the little pick-me-up that keeps me from drinking 16 cups of coffee in a day, the lovely, sweet creamy source of solace when I'm feeling sad. I will miss it terribly.

The only question now is, since it is Fat Tuesday, the day when we're allowed to yuck it up and indulge in advance of giving up such lovely things as chocolate, is whether I buy myself an entire chocolate cake, or one of those big red velvet box of Valentine's bon bons that will for sure be on sale, and eat it all myself, perhaps while watching Lost.

I'm certainly tempted. That's part of the point, right?
 
]]> http://salutegod.com/a-moveable-feast-without-dessert.html/feed 0 Patience, Tolerance and Lent: Giving Up the Right to be Right http://salutegod.com/patience-tolerance-and-lent-giving-up-the-right-to-be-right.html http://salutegod.com/patience-tolerance-and-lent-giving-up-the-right-to-be-right.html#comments Mon, 15 Feb 2010 11:34:31 +0000 admin http://b7a5e07a6b9c4a8b9e67a2fcd5b2cc97 So last year was the first time I tried to practice lent. I wish I could say it was a wonderful and spiritually enlightening experience, but I have to admit that I failed not once, but twice to stick to a 40 day focus on lenten sacrifice. I don't belong to a faith community that "requires" or "expects" me to give anything up for lent, so the implications of my dropping the lenten ball are few. I might have even given up on the notion if it were not for a conversation over Sunday dinner this past week that led to an idea. While creative ways to fast for lent have become increasingly common, Martin and I have agreed to try something that has us both curious and more than a little trepidatious.   

Inspired by a conversation about practicing what our faith preaches regarding bearing with one another and forgiving grievances in love, Martin and I plan to spend the next 40 days doing our best to forgo our right to be right. In a nutshell, that means being completely patient and tolerant with one another...even when one of us pushes a button, uses an abrupt or annoying tone of voice or touches on a pet peeve. 

Damn, this is going to be hard...

Not sure where this will take us or how long we'll be able to stick with it, but just deciding to take the step has already begun to show us how frequently we a) point out each others' shortcomings and b) get defensive when our shortcomings are pointed out. In fact, for the past few days we've been laughing together as the situations come up saying, "get it all out now, only x-number of days 'till lent."

It is not lost on us that this may be opening a Pandora's box. Then again, if we can't practice unconditional (and genuine) love and tolerance in our own home, how can we expect to do it with friends, neighbors and enemies? This little lenten experiment may have a lot to teach us. This should be interesting...

 

]]> So last year was the first time I tried to practice lent. I wish I could say it was a wonderful and spiritually enlightening experience, but I have to admit that I failed not once, but twice to stick to a 40 day focus on lenten sacrifice. I don't belong to a faith community that "requires" or "expects" me to give anything up for lent, so the implications of my dropping the lenten ball are few. I might have even given up on the notion if it were not for a conversation over Sunday dinner this past week that led to an idea. While creative ways to fast for lent have become increasingly common, Martin and I have agreed to try something that has us both curious and more than a little trepidatious.   

Inspired by a conversation about practicing what our faith preaches regarding bearing with one another and forgiving grievances in love, Martin and I plan to spend the next 40 days doing our best to forgo our right to be right. In a nutshell, that means being completely patient and tolerant with one another...even when one of us pushes a button, uses an abrupt or annoying tone of voice or touches on a pet peeve. 

Damn, this is going to be hard...

Not sure where this will take us or how long we'll be able to stick with it, but just deciding to take the step has already begun to show us how frequently we a) point out each others' shortcomings and b) get defensive when our shortcomings are pointed out. In fact, for the past few days we've been laughing together as the situations come up saying, "get it all out now, only x-number of days 'till lent."

It is not lost on us that this may be opening a Pandora's box. Then again, if we can't practice unconditional (and genuine) love and tolerance in our own home, how can we expect to do it with friends, neighbors and enemies? This little lenten experiment may have a lot to teach us. This should be interesting...

 

]]> http://salutegod.com/patience-tolerance-and-lent-giving-up-the-right-to-be-right.html/feed 0 Any person of faith, do you have a logical argument as to why your religion is right and the others are wrong? http://salutegod.com/any-person-of-faith-do-you-have-a-logical-argument-as-to-why-your-religion-is-right-and-the-others-are-wrong.html http://salutegod.com/any-person-of-faith-do-you-have-a-logical-argument-as-to-why-your-religion-is-right-and-the-others-are-wrong.html#comments Thu, 04 Feb 2010 03:03:16 +0000 admin http://salutegod.com/any-person-of-faith-do-you-have-a-logical-argument-as-to-why-your-religion-is-right-and-the-others-are-wrong.html
13Fst asked:




]]> http://salutegod.com/any-person-of-faith-do-you-have-a-logical-argument-as-to-why-your-religion-is-right-and-the-others-are-wrong.html/feed 0 Faith? http://salutegod.com/faith.html http://salutegod.com/faith.html#comments Mon, 25 Jan 2010 05:00:45 +0000 admin http://salutegod.com/faith.html
inyourfaceprod asked:




]]> http://salutegod.com/faith.html/feed 0 How important is faith to life or to giving life purpose, direction and meaning? http://salutegod.com/how-important-is-faith-to-life-or-to-giving-life-purpose-direction-and-meaning.html http://salutegod.com/how-important-is-faith-to-life-or-to-giving-life-purpose-direction-and-meaning.html#comments Sun, 24 Jan 2010 13:41:20 +0000 admin http://salutegod.com/how-important-is-faith-to-life-or-to-giving-life-purpose-direction-and-meaning.html
Bijo asked:




]]> http://salutegod.com/how-important-is-faith-to-life-or-to-giving-life-purpose-direction-and-meaning.html/feed 0