Daily Prayers by – MJO

 My Morning Offering: Be Still, Be Calm, Be at Peace

> Father, guide me in all that I think, say, and do this day.  My special intentions are for my health; the health and protection of Sharon, my children: Shawn, James, and Megan, and my seven Grandchildren, Family Members, and Friends who have passed away.

> I ask that you forgive my transgressions today and those I have committed in the past. Help me not to use your name in vain today.   

> Provide me with the grace to live for others and not myself.  To do at least one good deed today.

> I pray too, for the Holy Father’s intention this month: We pray for Christian families around the world; may they embody and experience unconditional love and advance in holiness in their daily lives.

A Prayer for Our Country and the World

 > God, watch over all of us.  Help us to respect one another: of all races, creeds, colors, genders, sexual orientations, and all your earthly creations.  

 > May You give us the grace to live in full fellowship with our brothers and sisters of other religions, (especially in the middle east) and that we take the time to remember each other in prayer. 

> Please protect, and help us respect all people of color, indigenous people, and all minorities in our country.  Guide us to end racism, and bring us together to live harmoniously.  Guide us in ending all the gun violence in our country, especially gun violence with children!

> Help us to end this pandemic, keep our children safe, all the unvaccinated in our country and other countries, and those currently suffering from the virus.  

> Keep President Biden safe, and healthy and watch over him to make wise choices and decisions.  Help all politicians fighting for justice to stay strong and win over those who want to govern unjustly. Guide the Supreme Court in deciding, judicially, wisely, and in a non-partisan manner. 

>  Continue to Guide our judicial leaders to bring those guilty of criminal political activities, injustices, and all obstreperous Republicans to justice.  Thank you for helping to bring those already guilty to justice.

We Pray for the People of Ukraine

> God, we pray so fervently for the people of Ukraine & Nicaragua.  They need your protection now more than ever. We ask that the people of these countries may be safe, and secure and that they would know not only peace on earth but your true and unwavering peace. Help our country and the NATO nations to stand against Russia & Dictatorships.

Saint Bonaventure – Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit

> Lord Jesus, as God’s Spirit came down and rested upon you, may the same Spirit rest upon me, bestowing his seven gifts of wisdom, understanding, counsel, courage, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord

A Prayer for Healthy Eating 

> Continue to guide me through my health journey. Thank you for Your help yesterday in meeting my past challenges, providing me with the strength today to reach my goals by eating healthy. Please guide my eating choices, so that I may enjoy all foods for the betterment of my health.

Thoughts from Ken Follett’s, A Column of Fire

After witnessing an inquisition-type torture followed by burning alive of a man considered by the “establishment” as a heretic, a character in the book says the following:

Ken Follett, A Column of Fire, pg. 200
“My mother said something that I have remembered all the subsequent years: ‘When a man is certain that he knows God’s will, and is resolved to do it regardless of the cost, he is the most dangerous person in the world.’”

The quote inspired reflections about how that observation plays out in the way POTUS handles COVID-19
It seems to be about how seeking/considering God’s will (admittedly there is a definite mystery about how clearly humans can discern God’s will since we human creatures do not have the creative boundless perspective of the Deity), resonates, or doesn’t when it is laid against the pursuit of individual interests. Although we may not clearly understand God’s will, we are able to discern the personality traits of his most valued creation  man. The American Psychiatric Association has categorized numerous dangerous personality disorders: narcissistic personality, emotionally unstable, paranoid personality, and predator personality. Unfortunately, the current president of the United States manifests most of the characteristics of these personality disorders: self-importance, self-interest, power-grasping, blame-casting, name-labeling, unrepentant lying, and alibiing to mention just a few. His disorder leads him to believe the following “I must be doing something right, after all, I was elected.” His belief and his disorders have enabled him to become the most dangerous person in the world. His alternative views of truth, the common good, and ethical decision making are surreal; better said they are perverse… solidifying his position as the most dangerous person in the world.

However, all that being stated, we the people, the media, the Republican Party share some if not all the responsibility for this man becoming the most dangerous person in the world. It’s best stated by those that adhere to the ‘bumper sticker’ philosophy of: “Let Trump be Trump.” By letting him be Trump, all of these entities essentially handed over their power to him. There is an old psychology adage that states, people behave the way they do because people let them. If the people weren’t so anxious for a quick fix to the problems in Washington; if the media had held Trump responsible for his statements/tweets from the beginning; and if the Republican Party weren’t so concerned with power, perhaps Trump would not have become the most dangerous man in the world.

How do we rectify this situation? One way to rectify this situation is by taking responsibility for our actions, by speaking up, standing up, and demanding that the people, the media, and politicians hold him and all leaders accountable. God’s Will always will remain a mystery to us, but I believe He wants us to use the gifts, talents, and charisms given to each of us to stand up to dangerous personalities and people. We have become a complacent nation and people, if it does not impact us directly then it’s not our problem. COVID-19 has changed that axiom, it affects us all…it is a matter of life or death; regardless of what the most dangerous man in the world says.

Secondly, we can further rectify this situation now and in the future by practicing the values that all major faiths adhere to decency, civility, ethics, and morality. Ted Koppel, broadcast journalist articulated this clearly: “We need to aspire to decency. Practice civility toward one another. Admire and emulate ethical behavior wherever you find it. Apply a rigid standard of morality to your lives; and if, periodically, you fail ¬ as you surely will ¬ adjust your lives, not the standards.”
Perhaps it is best to keep in mind, that we are in charge of our destinies, navigating to and through our destinies by using the gifts provided to us by God. The powers of dangerous men or personalities are only as strong as we permit them to be. Pope Francis stated eloquently: “Each of us has a vision of good and of evil. We have to encourage people to move towards what they think is good… Everyone has his own idea of good and evil and must choose to follow the good and fight evil as he conceives them. That would be enough to make the world a better place.”

(This post was written in collaboration with a friend who sent me the quote as well as the premise for the main musings of this writing.)

With Great Sadness:

I look upon our American political system today with great sadness. The two-party system seems so divided that working together is nearly impossible. The Republicans have replaced integrity, honesty, truth, and trust with devoted loyalty to a demigod — Donald J. Trump. In the three and half years that Trump has been president, he has destroyed our traditional forms of this Republic with his ruthless disregard for the law, and the valued standards that have stood for our Democracy for more than 200 years. Today, we the people of an obligation to stand and fight against this demigod by voting in November of 2020 against him and all his followers, to restore our nation and standing in the world. This responsibility belongs to each and every voter to stand and deliver.

Thinking the Past, Serving the Future

Members of many Native American cultures embody a seven-generation rule, recognizing their lives have been affected by the seven generations proceeding them and will affect the next seven generations following them. Thus, they live with gratitude for the past and obligation for the future. To that end, an impeachment process is not just about the person, but it goes beyond that…it is about the Constitution; the principles on which American was founded; the standards and norms that have guided the American experiment of Democracy for more than 200 years.

I Have Only Just A Minute, by Dr. Benjamin E. Mays

This poem was delivered by Representative, Elijah Cummings’ powerful first House floor speech, 1996

I have only just a minute,
Only sixty seconds in it.
Forced upon me, can’t refuse it.
Didn’t seek it, didn’t choose it.
But it’s up to me
to use it.
I must suffer if I lose it.
Give account if I abuse it.
Just a tiny little minute,
but eternity is in it.

Public Opinion

One of the greatest problems in today’s modern world is how we see things happening around us.  Walter Lippman best stated this observation more than 100 years ago:

“For the most part we do not first see, and then define, we define first and then see. In the great blooming, buzzing confusion of the outer world we pick out what our culture has already defined for us, and we tend to perceive that which we have picked out in the form stereotyped for us by our culture.” ― Walter Lippmann, Public Opinion

The Funny Thing About Corruption

“When your hands have been dirty for so long that no one tells you to wash them, you start thinking you’re Superman. No one can touch you. You’re above it, beyond it, you’re invincible. There are plenty of corrupt old-timers that have that aura about them. But it’s the hubris that always brings them down.” – Reed Coleman Ferrel from the book: Redemption Street

There are plenty of corrupt politicians and other people with power that have that aura about them. The funny thing about corruption is that history tells us the aura has a way of catching up with their “so-called” invincibility. “Everything we do changes us. Some things more than others.” – Reed Coleman Ferrel from the book: Redemption Street

It is indeed, the Best of Times and the Worst of Times:

Day-after-day, I watch and listen to the news about our dysfunctional government. The President, and his minions, as well as the Senate Majority leader continually disregard procedures, standards, and laws of our land without any accountability or consequences. I fear our democracy is in real jeopardy. To that end, the Trumpites (not traditional conservatives) don’t seem to care, because they are concern about three things: the moment; getting re-elected; and controlling power. Our country has become so polarized and tribal one cannot have a rational conversation about most topics especially: gun laws, immigration, or abortion. Most Americans are too self-absorbed (because for many people it is the best of times) to bother to stop, look and listen, and when they do, they make decisions and draw conclusions based on half-truths and false information. When ultimately all of our rights are lost and our democracy crumbles, they’ll cry why didn’t anybody do anything about this? What they don’t realize is we are the anybody, we have the power to do something now, by voting in people who will represent all Americans, and the Common Good, not self-interested, self-serving, people (men & women) in positions of abusing power. We have the power to truly make it the Best of Times…

The Library Early in the Morning

There is something mystical, maybe even spiritual about sitting in the library early in the morning. By early, I mean, before 8 am. The sun has just peaked up through the clouds and as I sit at the circulation desk, I can hear the stillness; the only sounds are the distant sounds of the birds chirping through the propped-open front door. In this calmness, I am surrounded by thousands of volumes, containing millions of pieces of information and ideas; surrounded by the knowledge of mankind. I am awe-struck by the notion that I have been entrusted as the steward of all this information in all of its forms. For me, the mystical or spiritual element is that all this information will somehow flow into me through some sort of intellectual osmosis. Unfortunately, that won’t happen. I am snapped back to reality, knowing if I want all that information, and the ideas, I will just have to read all those volumes.

Articulating and Living the Scriptures:

Congressman Joseph Kennedy III response to Speaker of the House, Paul Ryan addressing the House of Representatives, Wednesday, March 8, 2017:

“I was struck last night by a comment that I heard made by Speaker Ryan, where he called this repeal bill ‘an act of mercy.’ With all due respect to our speaker, he and I must have read different Scripture…The one I read calls on us to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to shelter the homeless, and to comfort the sick. It reminds us that we are judged not by how we treat the powerful, but by how we care for the least among us. There is no mercy in a system that makes health care a luxury. There is no mercy in a country that turns their back on those most in need of protection: the elderly, the poor, the sick, and the suffering. There is no mercy in a cold shoulder to the mentally ill. This is not an act of mercy. It is an act of malice.”