Vote for Joe

I gave a couple talks at the Masses at St. Charles Borromeo Church in Picayune, Mississippi this past Sunday. I commended this church for their large display of small white crosses out front, signifying the graves of the unborn. I also said that in Nazi Germany on Sunday mornings just like this, the Christians would hear the trains heading for the concentration camps, children screaming, parents wailing. The response in many of the churches? They would turn the organ music up and “sing a little louder.” I continued that in America another (metaphoric) train is coming down the track, everyday — carrying some 4,000 little unborn babies. We know. Just like the Christians in Nazi Germany knew. And I said, just like the Christians in Nazi Germary, our response is, for the most part, to (metaphorically): “sing a little louder.” That is, we are so caught up in work, in hobbies, in entertainment… that we are continually looking the other way. I told the congregation that until we collectively, and continually, pray and fast against this, fill the streets with constant protest, flood the newspapers with letters to the editors, and flood our legislators with letters and calls, continually fundraise and volunteer with crisis pregnancy centers… the trains will keep coming down the track. That simple, and horrendously tragic. Note: Future generations will look at us the same way we now look at the many Christians in Nazi Germany who did practically nothing — but sing a little louder. I ended the talk by saying it’s time to turn the Super Bowl off (this was Super Bowl Sunday), pick up our cross and do something for Life this night. And I ended by saying that I wholeheartedly hoped the talk: would “ruin” everyone’s Super Bowl. Interestingly, this was met with applause. Note 2: Fr. Mike Snyder said during his homily today that we are to unite our suffering with Christ’s to bring grace for others [and good causes]. I couldn’t help but think how much more we could suffer in our own American lifestyles to bring grace in averting the suffering of a little baby who is killed and dismembered in the womb.

Was interviewed by Paul South, the managing editor of the Mississippi Press newspaper. At one point he asked me my take on the American people in general after all my traveling. I said it was my opinion many Americans have a “myopic” view of the world. That is, we are so focused on ourselves we don’t ‘see’ tumble down shacks with corrugated tin roofs and open sewage lines spilling into the streets of the Third World. I said the FEMA trailers here would be considered “mansions” there. And I called on some along the Gulf Coast to consider buying the FEMA trailers from the government (which are being offered at a reduced rate), taking them to higher ground and taking the savings from not building another home — and sending that money to the Third World. [What a social justice witness that would be to the rest of the country.]… I also said to Mr. South that we were adamantly pro-Life and we “win” the Election every time our message inspires someone to keep their baby or someone else to help at a crisis pregnancy center, or… And, yes, maybe one day one of these children would make it to the White House themselves. “But it’s even more important for them to just make it: to life.” Note: After the interview, we headed west along Rte. 90 viewing more Hurricane Katrina devestation through Biloxi and Gulf Port. And like in Pascagoula, it was mind boggling destruction. One of the eeriest scenes was in Gulf Port amidst a decimated section of businesses along either side of Rte. 90 along the beach. The buildings had been totally blown away for about a half mile with just remnants of part of a McDonald’s arch, half of a Huddle House Restaurant sign, the rest just scattered debris. In the midst — and totally intact — was a Lamar billboard with a close-up of the face of an old man giving a rather pronounced “rasberry (thumbs in his ears, tongue way out).” The caption read: “Say This To Your Competition!”

Whenever I’m asked about our environmental stance, I always say that we’re actually “left of the Green Party.” That is, we think sound “environmental stewardship” entails caring for the environment God has given us with the utmost respect. [St. Benedict said we should treat the environment the same way we treat the sacred vessels of the altar.] Anyway, in Citronelle, Alabama (pop. 3,720) we met with a couple who are “left of the Green Party” as well. Lisa and Craig Kalloch have established a “permaculture” on their land in the outskirts of Citronelle. (The essence of permaculture is to create as rich an environment as possible, allowing nature’s synergy to play a large part.) An example: Craig took us to a compost pile made of sawdust and “human manure” from the couple’s compost toilet. The manure and sawdust go through a two year cycle of composting to make it pathogen free. This compost, Craig explained, is then used in “sheet mulching.” This is a process that enhances the quality of the soil exponentially. A layer of compost is put down on the earth, then a layer of newspaper, then another layer of compost, then a layer of leaves… All this starts to quickly break down. And what’s more, the layering of this new material brings worms and microbes to the surface as well, further breaking everything down and making the soil that much richer. The Kalloch’s then planted an expansive garden in this region… The day we toured the Kalloch’s, there was also three people from Bellingham, Washington. One, Eric Conn, said he had had a business in Bellingham called “Food Not Lawns.” And he would cover existing lawns with sheet mulching (using all kinds of compost, etc.) to reclaim the ‘dead green,’ chemically-treated lawns for rich soil, gardens, and even “perinnial food forest systems.” That is, Conn said they would plant things like fruit trees, then friuty shrubs (blackberries, blueberries…), then patches of medicinal herbs, vegetables, and so on. The land, as a result, becomes so much more “productive and educational,” he added. Note: When you chemically treat grass, it destroys the natural mineral content in the topsoil and the toxic chemicals also leech into the groundwater. Not exactly your: “…treating the environment like the sacred vessels of the alter” orientation. It is our belief how we treat the environment is, indeed, a serious moral issue. Note 2: The threesome from Washington are sailing the country on a “Sustainability Research and Education Project.” From town to town, their boat is open for public tours and they demonstrate: wind powered propulsion, photovoltaic collectors, a solar cooker, solar shower, solar pasteurizer, solar water heater. The boat was built using scrap wood and other recycled material. The trip is 3,500 miles over six months. One of the sailors, Eric Conn, got a degree in “Sustainable Community Design” from Huxley College of the Environment, a branch of Western Washington University. He said he believes strongly we should redesign our communities in America based on the concept of: “The Five-Mile Walk.” That is, within a radius of five miles you should be able to get all the things you need — as was the case in our communities before the advent of the car. [I am just drafting a Transportation position paper that reflects some of this orientation.]

At a Mass in Fairhope, Alabama, a deacon commented on the state of the world by saying: “Madmen are creating (nuclear) weapons to kill us.” Apparently this deacon hasn’t been to Great Falls, Montana, where our own 2,000 nuclear missile silos are. Massive Third World starvation, rampant disease that is killing little children by the scores… and we’re spending billions and billions of dollars on our own ‘weapons of mass destruction.’ Um, spiritually speaking: Who exactly are the ‘madmen’? Note: Outside Little Flower Catholic Church in Mobile, Alabama, is a sign that reads: “There are 5,250 abortions every hour (in the world). If that doesn’t give one tremendous pause…

In Panama City, Florida, I interviewed A. Avdette de la Pointe (who currently has the record for the person with the longest name we’ve interviewed in all our traveling.) Mr. de la Pointe describes himself as a common man “economy hobbyist.” He said he has been studying the economy on his own for years. Mr. de la Pointe said fiscal year 2004 figures in America indicate we amassed a 11.1 trillion dollar debt. He said that would be equivalent to a household making $50,000 in a year — and spending $300,000 in the same year. (This continues to reconfirm my assertion we need someone in D.C. with a calculator that works.) Mr. de la Pointe said the government continues to put more money in circulation to “chase more goods.” However, the big problem is that this is causing more and more inflation. And metaphorically, it’s as if we’re building the economy on a ‘house of cards’ at this point. As the inflation becomes runaway, and the common person isn’t able to buy the basics in food anymore… it can only lead to social unrest and political system failure, Mr. de la Pointe added. Note: The same night I interviewed Mr. de la Pointe, I gave a brief talk to a group at St. Dominic’s Church in Panama City. I said abortion is a modern day Holocaust that won’t change until churches, adoration chapels, etc., are absolutely filled with those praying for it to end. It won’t end until the papers are flooded with letters to the editor and legislators are flooded with letters, period. Protests must increase exponentially. And more comprehensive safety nets need to be built for women in crisis pregnancy. But all this takes a sustained grassroots effort by the Pro-Life masses. Yet sadly, it’s only a few of those who say they are Pro-Life who prioritize these actions on any consistent level.