The American Dreamer

“… I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; ‘and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together ‘…

“With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

“And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:

‘My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.

Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,

From every mountainside, let freedom ring!’

“And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.

Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.

Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.

Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that:

Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.

From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

“And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

‘Free at last! Free at last!

Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!’” M.L.K. (+ April 4, 1968)

Saint Paul the Apostle Parish and School Teaching Endless Love

Great educational institutions like Saint Paul the Apostle Parish School encourage children to learn in a wide variety of ways. Last Friday evening's Sandwich Builders touched all the senses as families made 824 lunch packs for the poor and homeless. Take in the atmosphere and photos as everyone experiences endless love through touching, tasting, doing, feeling, seeing, experiencing, hearing, laughing and giving.

Coming on Tuesday, Saturday's outreach photos.
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A Purist

In regards to Savings Wretches Like You and Me, (See Part I & II, Monday, January 7 -Tuesday January 8, 2008) KMHD writes ... "I agree with MD. We have no right to change the language to suit our own likes and dislikes. John Newton used the word "wretch" because he truly felt he was one. I am a purist when it comes to language and hate to see words in the English language morph into words that mean the total opposite. History and language go together. If we change the language to suit our needs, we change history and lose the truth."
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The Weight of my Wretchedness by Sor Juana Ines De LA Cruz

The more grace prompts me to move up to the heavenly sphere, the more the weight of my wretchedness casts me into the depths.

Virtue and custom struggle in the heart, and the heart is in agony while they do combat.

And however strong virtue be, I fear it may be vanquished, since custom is very great, and virtue is very green.

The intellect is clouded in dark confusion. Who can light the way if reason itself is blind?

I am my executioner. And myself''s own prison. Who saw that sin and suffering are one and the same?

I am reluctant to do that thing I most desire to do; and for this reluctance suffer penalty.

I love God and sense myself in God, but my very will makes what is comfort, a cross, what is haven, a storm.

Suffer, then, since God commands, but let it be such, that my sins bring suffering not my suffering sin.

Sor Juana Ines De LA Cruz (+1695) was a Mexican nun and poet, dramatist and spiritual writer.

Riches to Rags

In the 1980s, authors Waterman and Peters set out to discover success in American business. They asked the question in their book In Search of Excellence, “Is anyone doing it right and are they doing it right here in America?” Today, we ask the same question, but with a new twist, “Are any Americans following the Lord in His call to serve the poor and are they doing it right now?” A resounding yes! Sister Antonia Brenner rocks.

Sister Antonia Brenner (photo) was born into an Irish-Catholic family and was baptized Mary Clarke. She was raised in the exclusive community of Beverly Hills, California. Her father was a very successful businessman and provided well for his family. After twenty-five years of marriage and after most of her seven children were out of the house, her life drastically changed. In a period of just a few years she found herself divorced as well as house and possessions sold. She began to serve full time the prisoners at La Mesa penitentiary in Tijuana, Mexico. A place where the most notorious and hardened criminals are housed.

At the La Mesa penitentiary, she lives in a 10’ x 10’ concrete room with a cot as her bed, and with a Bible and Spanish dictionary nearby. Prisoners know that daily roll call is not complete until she shows up in the line right along side them. Mother Antonia provides not only spiritual guidance to the guards and inmates, but she also helps with basic material comforts for prisoners such as blankets, toiletries and medicines.

After over three decades of service, Mother Antonia Brenner calls Tijuana her home. She condemns crime, but loves the sinners and the victims. Her love and guidance for the poor and the forgotten have made a difference at the prison and as a result many who were imprisoned there have sought a better life.

Do you know of anyone that's doing it right? Share your thoughts!
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Ruthlessly Hawked

NEWS: AFP writer Justin Cole reported yesterday that US mortgage lenders targeted minorities and people with low incomes in recent years as the "best candidates" for subprime home loans, with devastating economic consequences, a report claimed Tuesday. The report by the United for a Fair Economy (UFE) advocacy group said subprime mortgages, home loans issued to Americans with scant finances, were "ruthlessly hawked" and that a "solid majority of subprime loan recipients were people of color."

The report's authors said many blacks and poor Americans were deliberately targeted by lenders marketing a range of money-making home loans that were sometimes confusing for borrowers to understand.

"Hungry for new and different products, the financial services industry added features to these loans -- exploding adjustable rates, balloon payments, penalties for early re-payment -- that hobbled their recipients financially and made it unlikely that they would be able, after a brief honeymoon period, to repay the loans at all," the report said.

COMMENTARY: The social injustice of the poor in cases such as this is not the fact that there are poor or weak people in the world. Those we will always have with us as Jesus said. But, it is the reality that in our society we actually treat badly the humble, the weak and some of the most honest persons among us.

Unjust business practices that prevent families from keeping their homes contribute greatly to the problem of homelessness. The prophet Amos describes the evil this way … “You trample on the poor and force him to give you grain… You oppress the righteous and take bribes and you deprive the poor of justice in the courts. Therefore the prudent man keeps quiet in such times, for the times are evil.” (Amos 5:10-13).
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More on the Internet:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080115/ts_alt_afp/uspropertyfinanceminority

Changing Wretch-filled Lyrics

Regarding changing hymn lyrics to conform to our modern culture of self-esteem and the post, Question? (see Wednesday, January 9, 2008) M.D. comments ... "That's a difficult question, which should not be answered without some thoughtful consideration of the hymn's author and its theology. The lyrics of that hymn are somewhat of an autobiography, since John Newton was truly a moral "wretch," having been involved in the slave trade and indirectly responsible for the misery and death of thousands of souls. John Newton sang of the amazing unmerited favor that effected his own redemption and moral transformation.

"Changing his lyrics to correspond to our modern spiritual understanding of ourselves would be analogous to rewriting the Old Testament to have the Hebrews come into Canaan by peaceful persuasion and not by warfare. No matter how discordant the Hebrew conquest of Canaan is with the understanding we have about God from Jesus, we really don't have the spiritual or intellectual right to change the scriptures to suit our own theology. The scripture is what it is, and the same can be said for John Newton's hymn.Moreover, the theology of John Newton is really not far from the mark in reference to all of us.

"Certainly, none of us has been involved in the culture of slave trade. But, we have allowed ourselves to be carried by the culture of ruthless capitalism, or totalitarian socialism, or chauvinistic Americanism, chauvinistic Catholicism, chauvinistic Protestantism, chauvinistic Judaism, chauvinistic feminism, pagan environmentalism, etc. Each of us has fallen under the condemnation that comes from living under those cultural "powers and principalities" that stand against God's own rule or Kingdom. Each of us, therefore, is a slave to some "ism" or other and a "wretch" in his or her own way. We all stand condemned and in need of moral transformation, or redemption, just like John Newton."
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Looking for God?

Many say, "there is no God." Yet others say, "where is He?" But God is revealing Himself to us constantly, just not in the ways that we would like to believe. The prophet Isaiah in chapter 57 tells us that God lives in three places:

1. "On high I dwell ..." (just look into the night sky or Google Images "galaxies")
2. "And in holiness ..." (check out people like Mother Teresa and the lives of the saints)
3. "And with the crushed and the dejected in spirit ..." (photo, see Gregory living behind the Valero gas station at Alameda and 5th in Los Angeles or see a prisoner - a widow - the abandoned.)

Isaiah continues ... "To revive the spirits of the dejected, to revive the hearts of the crushed. I saw their ways, but I heal them and lead them; I will give comfort to them and to those who mourn for them." Isaiah 57:15-18

So, God is not elusive after all as some may think. We have immediate places in our world that we can go to see Him. Why not check God out in all three places and see Him in full Force?
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Hell is "No Exit"

The problem of moral evil (when bad things happen because of human actions) has been a long-standing philosophical debate. Responding to "Hell is Others?" (see Saturday, January 5, 2008) Anonymous said... "From what I remember from Existentialist studies, Jean Paul Sartre actually said "hell is other people," meaning that others make our lives a living hell. The reference is from the play "No Exit." I personally believe that Sartre is right. Hell is other people. People can make our lives a living hell. I don't believe it has anything to do with being self-centered or with the sins that you've mentioned. It has more to do with how people treat us."

In response, another Anonymous said... "Most of Sartre's plays are richly symbolic and serve as a means of conveying his philosophy. The best-known, Huis-clos (No Exit), contains the famous line in French, 'L'enfer, c'est les autres.' Literally in English it translates as 'Hell is others' or 'The hell is the others.' However, it is usually translated with the implied meaning, 'Hell is other people'."

Concern for the Wealthy

In reference to Saving Wretches Like You and Me (See Part I & II, Monday, January 7 -Tuesday January 8, 2008) M.R. expresses his concern for the wealthy and encourages compassion for them as well as the poor... "I know already that the poor will inherit the earth and that many of them, while lacking faith in men, keep their faith in God. But often times, there are also the rich who lack in spirit. Christ says it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of heaven. Yes, I think that may have to do with the pressures of the material world and what wealth brings to the rich person in the form of responsibility. There is a great need to minister also to the rich. Of course, my feeling is that, by ministering to the rich (spiritually), we can meet the material needs of the poor."