The View Up Here

Today the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of All Souls, when we remember our ancestors and all loved ones who have passed away. Not only do we remember them, we pray for them. Many other Christian churches do not pray for the dead, so what's up, Cat'lics?  Check out Fr. Mike Schmitz's explanation, then I'll add some thoughts: Yesterday, we celebrated the Feast of All Saints, when we take time to rejoice in the great "cloud of witnesses" who have gone before, leaving us examples of living discipleship, often with great teachings and music. These saints are now in heaven, praying for us. So everyone's praying for everyone. We're all connected through and in the Body of Christ. Just as we ask for prayer from each other, we ask the saints to pray for us. Another point that Fr. Mike references is that we should NOT EVER try to talk to the dead. That is a big no-no.  Consider this: 1. We are called to trust implicitly in God's mercy and love...

Is mercy really for EVERYONE?  The recent kurfluffle over the Pope's meeting with Kim Davis has demonstrated to me that despite claims of being tolerant and open-minded, some of us are only willing to display mercy to those who are in alignment with our views.  First of all, if you're not up on this issue,  read this clarification on what actually did and did not take place. Also, feast your eyes on this gem of an article  by Robert David Sullivan for America Magazine that warns us of more of this kind of incendiary and wildly inaccurate reporting in presidential campaign coverage to come. Oh, yay. If you don't feel like reading all that, here are a few salient points: The Pope met with dozens of people in what amounted to an assembly line-type of visit, including Kim Davis. Davis described her 15 minutes with the Pope as a private meeting. It was not.  The Pope DID have an audience with an old friend of his, who happens to be gay...