My Slow Takes (Vol. 94)

1. From Rev. Joe McCloskey, SJ at Your Daily Tripod.

““We must obey God rather than men” is what we must say to those who are trying to get us to forget what it means to be a Catholic. We preach Christ by our respect for life. We stand up for the sanctity of the Sacrament of Marriage even when people are trying to take God out of marriage. Christ in the Sacrament of Marriage is the union of the man and the women. The child that can be born to them is the completion of the mystery of true love. How we stand up for what God has sanctified becomes the way we feed the flock of Christ that is our Church. There are commandments of God that are the truth of what happiness is all about and we live obedience to God’s commandments as the way we preach with our lives. There is no greater love than to give our lives for the sake of another and how we protect the sanctity of life becomes the way we feed the sheep of Christ.”

2. Deacon Steve gave a beautiful Homily last Sunday. He talked about the use of the word love in Sunday’s Gospel, John 21:1-19. Jesus asks Peter, three times if he loves him. Peter’s answer is yes. However, Jesus was using the Greek definition of love, agape. A love that is unconditional, selfless and sacrificial. Johns' reply used the Greek definition, phileo. A love that is more brotherly, showing affection and warmth towards another. Two types of love where there should just be one. Our love, for Jesus and others, should be unconditional, selfless and sacrificial. Something that Deacon Steve has reminded me to work on.

3. Dempsey Morgan, a Tuskegee airman died April 11, 2013, in Roanoke, Virginia. An American hero from a background where heroes were not expected. He earned the Distinguished Flying Cross for a mission he flew over Greece in 1944. Read the article by Matt Chittum of “The Roanoke Times.”

4. Spring is here and I’m enjoying the warm weather and our small Dogwood tree in our front yard.

Our young tree before the mulch.

5. There were two major catastrophes this week. One in Boston, Massachusetts and one in West, Texas. We pray for the survivors, family and friends and for the souls those who are now with our Father.

6. The weather has been warm and dry so Dee and I were able to get some weeding finished by Wednesday. On Thursday we bought some mulch and the yard looks great.

7. Tuesday, April 16, 2013 was the anniversary of the Battle of Culloden. There is an article on Major Gillies MacBean, at “Defending the Legacy.” He was one of the heroic Jacobites who fought and died there.

Battle of Culloden by Mark Churms.

Read other "Takes" at Camp Patton.