Living beyond our Means

Posted on by Fr. Peter
There are many theories out there about how we ended up in the economic situation that we are in. This is a very bad situation and it has affected many people and it is looking like it is going to get worse before it gets better. Now I am not an economist but I too have a theory of how we got into this mess and I can sum it up with one word, GREED!
Americans have been living beyond their means for a long time now and I will call it what it is, sinful. We need to be good stewards of the gifts that God has given us and that does not include getting into more debt then we can handle. Yes the mortgage crisis lead to part of this but no one forced your hand to sign the loan application. As I wrote yesterday we need to start taking personal responsibility for our actions and that would include getting into debt. Americans today have more personal debt than any other time in history. By the way I am including myself in this as well.
During this past election cycle here in Massachusetts there was a statewide question on the ballot to roll back the state sales tax from 6.25% to 3%. Thankfully the question did not pass. If it had it was estimated that the Town of Southbridge would loose approximately $9.5 million in state aid. Okay my question is this, why is the Town of Southbridge, or any Town for that matter, relying on aid from the state? It was reported in today’s Boston Globe that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts stands to loose money in Federal aid in the coming years as well. I ask the same question, why are we relying on Federal Aid? We are living beyond our means.
I believe is local control and that problems should be solved at the lowest possible level. With this in mind, when the Town starts the budget process it should not include any possible funding from any other source other than the revenue that the Town brings in, if we cannot live on that then we are living beyond our means. I, like most of you, get a paycheck each week. That is all the money I have for the week and when it runs out, it is gone. I cannot look to anyone else for money to get me over the hump; government should be run the same way.
Governments at all levels gather funds through taxes, property tax, meals tax, sales tax, income tax and the like. Each level of Government should exist on what funds are gathered at that level if not then cuts will need to be made. I realize this is pie in the sky but I believe if we want to get back on track we need to do this.
There has been much discussion the last few days about taxes and tax cuts. The highest earners in the country pay the least amount of taxes, so the argument goes. Taxes are never fair and taxes are a necessary part of life. I support a flat tax with no deductions for anyone, this way everyone pays their fair share. Just for example let us say the income tax rate is 15%. At the end of the year you would pay 15% of your income in taxes regardless of how much you make. No deductions for anything. I floated this idea on Facebook the other day and someone said that churches and other charities would stop getting money. Well I do not want people donating to my church because of the tax break; I want people giving to my church because they have an obligation to give money to the church. A Biblical obligation!
National debt is the highest it has ever been. Massachusetts is facing a $2 billion budget deficit and it is projected to get worse. We need to start living within our means, it will be difficult at the start, and of course I am not saying we should do this over night it needs to be phased in. That was my objection to the tax roll back question that it was too much too fast.
We need, at a personal level, to be good stewards of all that we have. We should not be living beyond our means, we should avoid personal debt at all reasonable costs, and we should pay down all credit cards and avoid using them to live on. We should look at streamlining our lives and consolidating things. Begin saving money and spending less. And we need to remember to be attentive to our spiritual disciplines of prayer, fasting, worship, tithing and serving. We need to live a more simple life and get back to basics and stop living beyond our means.

Personal Responsibility

Posted on by Fr. Peter
I was going to write this during the election and then I got so frustrated with politics that I changed my mind.  Now that we are past it all I thought about it again and I will share some thoughts.
What has happened to personal responsibility?  Remember the woman who sued McDonald’s after being burned with “Hot” coffee?  Now we have a caution statement on the cup.  If you kid fails a class in school we sue the school.  We like to blame the court system and lawyers for this but I blame us!  It is hard to find a person who is willing to take personal responsibility for their actions it is always someone else fault.
Back to politics.  President Obama has said many times that it is the fault of the previous administration that we find ourselves in this position.  Republicans blame Democrats and vice versa no on is above the frey on this one.  Maybe it was the fault of the previous administration, but at 12:01pm on January 20th it became your problem.  The Buck stops with you Mr. President and no one else.  Republicans have taken control of the House of Representative, great don’t blame, do!  “We the People” are in this together.  We were there when things were good, and we were there when things have gone bad.  Stop the blame and get the job done.
During the campaign politicians would blame the other guy, it’s his fault, he did this, he did not do that.  I have a crazy idea for campaigns in the future.  You are not allowed to mention the guy your are running against!  Tell me what you are going to do to fix the problem, don’t tell me what the other guy is not going to do, let him tell me that.
In another time and in another life people used to admit when they made a mistake, they took their lumps, and they moved on.  I think of Richard Nixon.  Okay it took some time to get him to admit what he did, but he maned up, took the bullet and resigned.  Fast forward to Bill Clinton.  Now we can argue about what he did but for now run with me on this.  He had sex outside of marriage, okay bad, sinful, but not earth shattering it happens all the time.  This is not to excuse the behavior just to illustrate a point.  Rather then saying, yup I did it, he says, “it depends on what your definition of is, is”  WHAT?  Man up and take your lumps.  She did not seduce you unless you were willing to be seduced, it take two to tango regardless of the fact you say you did not have sex with her, she was having sex with you!
I believe personal responsibility is a virtue and is something that we need to strive for.  Admitting we have made a mistake is a difficult thing for people to do but we need to get back to taking responsibility.  The only one responsible for your actions is YOU!  We need to hold people accountable for their actions and we need to hold ourselves accountable for our actions.  We are responsible and no one else.  Man up and take responsibility.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEOGJJ7UKFM?fs=1]

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSDAXGXGiEw?fs=1]

Veterans Day

Posted on by Fr. Peter
In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
–Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae (1872-1918).

55 Maxims for Christian Living

Posted on by Fr. Peter

by Fr. Thomas Hopko
1. Be always with Christ.
2. Pray as you can, not as you want.
3. Have a keepable rule of prayer that you do by discipline.
4. Say the Lord’s Prayer several times a day.
5. Have a short prayer that you constantly repeat when your mind is not occupied with other things.
6. Make some prostrations when you pray.
7. Eat good foods in moderation.
8. Keep the Church’s fasting rules.
9. Spend some time in silence every day.
10. Do acts of mercy in secret.
11. Go to liturgical services regularly
12. Go to confession and communion regularly.
13. Do not engage intrusive thoughts and feelings. Cut them off at the start.
14. Reveal all your thoughts and feelings regularly to a trusted person.
15. Read the scriptures regularly.
16. Read good books a little at a time.
17. Cultivate communion with the saints.
18. Be an ordinary person.
19. Be polite with everyone.
20. Maintain cleanliness and order in your home.
21. Have a healthy, wholesome hobby.
22. Exercise regularly.
23. Live a day, and a part of a day, at a time.
24. Be totally honest, first of all, with yourself.
25. Be faithful in little things.
26. Do your work, and then forget it.
27. Do the most difficult and painful things first.
28. Face reality.
29. Be grateful in all things.
30. Be cheerful.
31. Be simple, hidden, quiet and small.
32. Never bring attention to yourself.
33. Listen when people talk to you.
34. Be awake and be attentive.
35. Think and talk about things no more than necessary.
36. When we speak, speak simply, clearly, firmly and directly.
37. Flee imagination, analysis, figuring things out.
38. Flee carnal, sexual things at their first appearance.
39. Don’t complain, mumble, murmur or whine.
40. Don’t compare yourself with anyone.
41. Don’t seek or expect praise or pity from anyone.
42. We don’t judge anyone for anything.
43. Don’t try to convince anyone of anything.
44. Don’t defend or justify yourself.
45. Be defined and bound by God alone.
46. Accept criticism gratefully but test it critically.
47. Give advice to others only when asked or obligated to do so.
48. Do nothing for anyone that they can and should do for themselves.
49. Have a daily schedule of activities, avoiding whim and caprice.
50. Be merciful with yourself and with others.
51. Have no expectations except to be fiercely tempted to your last breath.
52. Focus exclusively on God and light, not on sin and darkness.
53. Endure the trial of yourself and your own faults and sins peacefully, serenely, because you know that God’s mercy is greater than your wretchedness.
54. When we fall, get up immediately and start over.
55. Get help when you need it, without fear and without shame.

h/t Close to Home

Post in Draft

Posted on by Fr. Peter
As you have noticed I have removed the previous post from the blog, after much thought and reading of peoples comments, so I can clarify my position a little bit more.  It was not an easy decision as I have never removed a post before, and I really hate to do it.  My goal here is to have a discussion around issues, and academic theological discussion of the issues and that only works is the speaker in clear in their thoughts.
I clearly have offended some of you and I am sorry for that but as a priest I see my job as moving us to discussion and not away from it.  We should be able to have discussions about issues for clarification, we may not always agree but I strive to respect all opinions here as I request that my opinions are respected, we do not have to agree but we need to respect each other as Christians.

The post is not gone just on hiatus for a bit whilst I think about it more.

Congregating with Jon Stewart Leibowitz

Posted on by Fr. Peter
By Terry Mattingly

In the beginning, there was the multimedia superstar Glenn Beck summoning his Tea Party congregation to a faith-friendly “Restoring Honor” rally on the National Mall.

And behold, two postmodern prophets witnessed this media storm and decided that it was good. In response, Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert of Comedy Central organized their pre-election “Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear.”
Colbert, a progressive Catholic Sunday school teacher who pretends to be a right-wing blowhard, provided the fake “fear” factor. In his upside-down catechism, preaching “fear” became the same thing as advocating that nonpartisan virtue — “hope.”
The prophet of sanity was Jon Stewart. With his snarky call for rationality and civility, the Daily Show anchor implied that his critics were preaching insanity, irrationality and incivility. And, for once, he didn’t season his satire with ironic shots at his own Jewish roots.
Truth is, Stewart has become a hero for many Jews and a controversial figure for others, noted Jane Eisner, editor of The Jewish Daily Forward. Nevertheless, Stewart — originally Jon Stewart Leibowitz — has once again been named to the “Forward 50,” the newspaper’s list of those who made a “significant impact on the Jewish story in the past year.”
“This is very impressionistic,” she said. “We try to identify people who are acting in ways that impact the Jewish community. … We are looking for people who are acting in ways that really show the impact of their Jewish values, whether we’re talking about Judaism as a faith or a culture.”
However, many Jews have “real questions about how Jewishly Stewart acts.” Nevertheless, said Eisner, “if we can translate this into Jewish terms, he keeps showing us that he knows his stuff, even as he makes fun of the fine details of Jewish life.”
As his Forward 50 mini-biography notes: “A Democrat in the White House has hardly tempered the irreverent and distinctly Jewish voice of the liberal-leaning fake news anchor. … Stewart is quick to play the Jewish card, drop a Zabar’s reference or cozy up to bubbes and zaydes at the 92nd Street Y.”
That’s one side of this identity question. However, the Hollywood Jew weblog noted: “For some Jews it’s perplexing that Jon Stewart, an American Jewish icon, isn’t religious. How could the Jew who makes Jewish ‘cool’ be so indifferent to Judaism? … Buried beneath the laughter from his jokes … is a deep and hidden disappointment that he isn’t really doing what we’re doing.” This is, after all, a man who flaunts his bacon-cheeseburgers on Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar.
Nevertheless, with his edgy sermons about skepticism and reason, Stewart dwells comfortably with other Jewish progressives who see themselves as heirs of the Enlightenment — standing against blind faith and ancient traditions. The assumption for many on the Jewish left, said Eisner, is that there is always “something worrisome about people who take their faith really seriously.”
These religious tensions were visible on the National Mall during the Stewart-Colbert rally. While organizers insisted their event was non-partisan, and pled with participants to temper their words and deeds, the crowd included flocks of people who clearly were there to mock the views of religious and secular conservatives.
Consider, for example, the inevitable Hitler signs.
When announcing his rally, Stewart said he planned to distribute signs that were both civil and witty. One sign, for example, would say: “I Disagree With You, But I’m Pretty Sure You’re Not Hitler.”
Many got the message, but some didn’t. Someone produced signs containing images of prominent conservatives — with Hitler mustaches — and the headline, “Afraid yet?” Beck, Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh made the sign, along with Rep. John Boehner of Ohio, almost certainly the next Speaker of the House, and Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia, the likely House majority leader.
Cantor is Jewish and, like Stewart, made the Forward 50 list for 2010.
Stewart remained silent. Still, as his rally ended, the funny man soberly admitted that he could not control “what people think this was.”
“I can only tell you my intentions,” he said. “This was not a rally to ridicule people of faith, or people of activism, or to look down our noses at the heartland, or passionate argument, or to suggest that times are not difficult, and that we have nothing to fear. They are, and we do.
“But we live now in hard times — not the end times.”

Editorial ~ Court should nullify Arizona immigration law

Posted on by Fr. Peter

By Laura Sanchez, November 4, 2010

As an immigration attorney and a first-generation Mexican-American, I want the appeals court to overturn Arizona’s SB 1070 law.

Every day, I see families torn apart by the most minor legal infractions.
When a broken taillight is used as a reason to stop and deport an individual, then something is seriously wrong with our law enforcement priorities, our laws and even our morals.
The Arizona law would make life all the more miserable for immigrants from Mexico. It would require law enforcement officers to question anyone they believe to be suspicious looking.
On Nov. 1, the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral arguments on this law. The court’s decision will send a strong signal not just to Arizona, but also to the 13 other states that are now considering similar laws.
Arizona’s law reminds me of Operation Wetback, when, after the Great Depression, the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service expedited the deportation of 80,000 “Mexican-looking” Americans, including many Latinos born in the United States and Native Americans.
We Latinos must beware: Laws that aim to deport the undocumented may jeopardize the civil rights of all Latinos.
In the wake of SB 1070, other states are attempting to pass similar or more extreme laws at an alarming rate.
Republican state Rep. Randy Terrill, who co-authored Oklahoma’s 2007 immigration bill that was later ruled unconstitutional, has promised to pursue an even stricter second one he calls “Arizona-plus.”
Arizona’s Republican state Sen. Russell Pearce recently announced that state legislators would propose a bill to deny U.S. citizenship to children born of undocumented immigrants.
In the current anti-immigrant climate, even President Obama — who during his race for the presidency co-opted the United Farm Workers’ slogan “Yes We Can!” — has turned his back on us. His administration has deported more immigrants than any other since Operation Wetback.
We need comprehensive immigration reform, and we need our elected officials to make it happen.
If they don’t, our judicial branch must uphold the Constitution and throw out these anti-immigration laws that violate the Fourteenth Amendment’s due process and equal protection clauses.
In the wake of the election results, that may be all we can hope for in the short term.
Laura Sanchez is a staff attorney for the Central American Resource Center (CARECEN) in San Francisco. She can be reached at pmproj@progressive.org.

Published on Progressive Media Project (http://progressivemediaproject.org)

Obey the Rules

Posted on by Fr. Peter

When one takes a job at a company you are told the rules up front, perhaps in your contract, and there is an expectation that you will obey these rules or face the consequences of breaking them.  There have been some examples this past week of what happens when one breaks the rules.

The first one is a religious one, and I wrote about there here and here and not to dwell on it, when the bishop makes a rule, right or wrong, its the rule and we clergy have to obey what he says.  We can appeal his decision to the next higher authority in our particular church but his rule is his rule.  Regardless of what some comenters on these pages say, the bishop is the authentic interpreter of the Holy Canons.  I am not a fully versed in the canons of our church, and I think you would be hard pressed to find someone who it otherwise Holy Cross Seminary would not be having such a hard time replacing their long time professor who wishes to retire.  With that said, I do not believe there is a specific canon that says a priest should wear a cassock or for that matter have a beard.  That is what we call tradition, and I know we say our traditions never change, the fact is they do.  Our Theology does not change but our traditions do otherwise we would all be speaking Greek in our Orthodox Churches.



Keith Olberman

The other example is a political one.  MSNBC host Keith Olbermann was suspended on Friday for a violation of NBC News rules.  NBC, that parent company of MSNBC, has a rule that their on air hosts and news personnel cannot contribute to political candidates unless they get previous permission from management and then the donation is disclosed.  This is not, as some people have tried to claim, and infringement on free speech because when you are an on air personality for an network they own your speech, and Mr. Olbermann was aware of this rule when he signed his contract.

I commend NBC News for not only having this rule but holding their on air folks to a high standard.  now MSNBC is, and Keith Olbermann surely is, a liberal voice just as Fox News is the Conservative voice.  I have no problem with their view points but I think when you contribute to candidates and help them raise money by either donating yourself or headlining fundraisers your claim of fair and balanced goes out the window.  Hey, be who you are and be proud of it, no problem, everyone knows that Fox News is the mouth piece of the Republican Party and I am okay with that, just be who you are.

The bottom line in both of these stories is you break the rules you suffer the consequences.  This has nothing to do with the actions of management, either bishop or boss, because they are upholding their rules and that is their job, the employee or priests job is to obey those rules, if you don’t like the rules don’t take the job.



Monk Picture

Posted on by Fr. Peter
A very devout Orthodox person left a comment on the posting about the priest being dismissed by +Philip.  The picture on the header of this blog is an old one and I do need to have it replaced, but I have had other things to do.  Just so he will not have to disrespect me any longer and say I look ridiculous, I have posted a rather new picture of me below.  This one is from July and taken at our Romanian Orthodox Cathedral in Chicago.  I find it very interesting that people who talk about how we need to abide by the canons of the church like to ignore some of them themselves like the one about respect for the clergy.  I don’t take it personal none of us are perfect, although some of us think we are.
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