Endorsement

The almighty State

Loves power, not you or yours

Vote accordingly

The Carousel of Violence

round and round

death for death for death

stand with Love

Tribal Politics

Howling mobs

Drunk on righteous rage

Sowing seeds

American Idolatry

Guns and abortion

Our two-headed Golden Calf

Washed in filth and tears

Us

Brutal and

Beautiful are we

God's glory

The Rat Race

We scurry like ants

Building palaces of smoke

Morning dew glistens

Volksjustice

Fickle is the mob

One day, you're holding the noose

The next, it holds you

For wrath has no friends

Only bodies for the pyre

Wake up! And choose Love

Civilization

Arrogant monkeys

In party hats waving sticks

Beware the Landlord

The Enablers

Save us, O Smart Ones

Take charge of our hopes and fears

And so the world turns

Scapegoats

Them: Source of Our Pain

Deserving of Our Contempt

Behold, a mirror

Elections

"Vote for me!", they shriek

Our hungry, hungry hippos

Mountains see and sing

Past & Present

Yesterday

and today,

how should we judge?

Eyes locked in

upon sin

or grace?

We are creatures of both,

for better

and worse.

So let us remember the bad,

but raise a glass

to the good.

These prophets of wokism

who defenestrate

with glee,

Can turn heroes

into villains

'til the cows come home.

But they cannot alter

your relationship

to we,

For you are

forever and always

our sibling.

Control

Each time

I proclaim

myself

Master of my destiny,

Ruler of my universe,

You just laugh,

and laugh,

and laugh.

O vexatious Truth of truths,

O unwelcome Reality of realities,

bend me to Your will.

Might's Folly

Light of Light rising
Dragging us down to Darkness
Fragrant blossoms sing

O blessed Dead
of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,
forgive us,
pray for us.

E Pluribus Unum

Out of many, one. We Americans are called to be a sacred people, a manifestation of the family to which all humans belong. A heavy cross, for sure, but ours nonetheless.

I understand that it is hard to recognize such duty in the midst of these days of rage. We seem hell-bent on dividing one another into two camps: the children of light on one side, and the children of darkness on the other; or vice versa, depending on your point of view. In such an atmosphere, hatred and vengeance can feel righteous. But it is precisely now, when we appear most divided, that we must return to our sacred task. The truest way we can honor George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and all of their companions is to actively strive to become the people our Parent is calling us to be.

Let us begin by recalling the admonition of our Brother: love your enemies. Listen to the voices with whom you most differ; not just with your ears, but with your heart; and not to change your mind, but to understand the soul of that other. Why does he think this? Why does she feel that? The goal here is not to appreciate their perspective, but to genuinely see life through their eyes. It is about moving from enmity to sympathy to empathy, then allowing that vision to carry you onward to friendship and family.

This path, however, will not eradicate injustice. As long as we are human, our lusts and fears will spawn viruses of the heart and soul. And as long as our skin comes in a variety of shades, racism will be among them. We can never remove the viruses completely, but we can alleviate their symptoms. And to do that, we must come to know one another as friends, as family. Siblings can fight viciously, but they also have a way to navigate out of conflict, because the bonds of family cannot be permanently severed.

Now, nowhere in this post have I mentioned the state, for this is not their project. Human institutions will always be corrupt and abusive, for they cannot escape the arrogance and greed of their builders and keepers. Friendship can mitigate such failures, more soundly than the reforms or rebellions of the smart people and their smart ideas, but nothing can eliminate them. We are forever sinful and fallible, as are the works of our hands.

Fortunately, our cross does not belong to that category. Will you help carry it? If so, then let this be our cause: to see the other, every other, not as a threat, but as a sibling whose story we have yet to learn. An impossible task, for sure, but do not allow reality to hinder the attempt. This is about family, after all. And you never quit on family.

The Great Game

Biden or Trump. For the next six months, a cacophony of voices will loudly demand that we pick one, while ominously predicting chaos and tribulation should the wrong man be elected. Such cheerleaders are fools, who have far too much confidence in the efficacy of smart people and smart ideas. And we shall become even bigger fools, if we choose to drink the Kool-Aid they are selling.

Once upon a time, our Brother counseled us to "repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God." These words are a reminder that our leaders are not divine, the state is not a source of grace, and both are players in a contest of power, not love. Sometimes the competition brings nice toys to the people, and sometimes it leaves them with a stocking full of coal. Politics is a useful tool for building human fiefdoms, but a piss-poor one when it comes to living in the kingdom.

Be that as it may, it is our civic duty to participate in the game. So let us perform the task wisely, refusing to turn it into something greater than it actually is. If you trust Biden or Trump to advance the common good, give him your support. If someone else, someone guaranteed to lose, has earned your respect, do not be afraid to vote your conscience. Always remember, the kingdom is here and now: yesterday, today, and tomorrow. And nothing that happens in November can alter that reality.

The Fourth Revelation

Once again, our Parent chose to speak to me during a lightning storm far from home. This time I was on a pilgrimage to Nauvoo, Illinois, final resting place of the Prophet Joseph Smith. Whatever the merits of the Book of Mormon itself, I am certain that he spoke with and for God, and I have become very fond of him. I had been stuck in the mud for quite some time. I could feel our Parent's words within me, but not the path to release them. I heard Joseph's voice in my head, calling me to visit, assuring me that all would be revealed. So I went, and my brother was proved right.

The words that God shared with me, under the title "The Fourth Revelation", have been published on the "Book of We Are" website. It is an open letter "To the Princes and Powers of this world. And to the People who enable their rule." It asks us to take a brutally honest look at the world we have created, and then challenges us to choose better, for our family. I hope you read it. And I really hope you share it.

So why create a new blog to make this announcement? I have been asking our Parent that question for some time now. And the answer I keep hearing is that their revelation is not wedded to the liturgical calendar, so neither should be my writing. They have things they want me to say that are bigger than Catholicism and Christianity. So I need a venue appropriate for such expressions. I have no idea where this project will go, but I trust God to guide me, with some help from Joseph and his fellow saints.

"Let us begin, brothers, to serve the Lord God – for up until now, we have done little or nothing." ~ Francis of Assisi