Plans and New Perspectives

 I wasn't planning on writing again this soon this week, but there are some things I want to talk about.  As I am writing this, fortunately I have a good and open CWSP day today - this is the day the kids I specifically teach go to their work-study assignments for the day, and it provides a good break for the teachers to focus on lesson plans (provided administration doesn't choke us with covering other classes and endless meetings - those are the bane of teachers' existences here).  I am doing that, as I do have some grading to catch up on as well as a departmental meeting to plan for next week given I am essentially the acting department chair now here.  I am still praying for a new chapter though - getting out of this particular school now is a goal, as I am missing the area I used to live and I also just need a lot less stress in my life.  In God's timing, that will come though.  However, in the interim, I wanted to just talk about a few things that are coming up soon, as some important developments have happened for me personally.

I mentioned a good friend of mine, Stephen Missick, who has sort of given me a much-needed boot in the jaxie to revisit an old passion I had and in doing so I am formulating a project I want to work on.  Stephen and I both have worked with and advocated for the same people - indigenous Middle Eastern Christian communities - for the better of 40 years now, and in doing so I have gained a sort of unique perspective on things regarding them, how I relate to these communities, and also how to integrate them into other aspects of my own life.  The discovery in my own family tree a few years back of Armenian ancestors has also given me more of a connection with them too, and when I discovered that I was ecstatic.  Unfortunately, in the past 20 or so years life happened, and I had moved away from my earlier enthusiasm of this topic and it got a bit stale for me - not because of the people mind you, but simply because everything else seemed to take priority over it.  I still advocated where I could, and I also have never wavered in my convictions, but it was just not something that was front-and-center in my life for a long time.  I think the defining moment of that was in 1996, when after a trip to California where I had some speaking engagements and a radio interview on KBES, the Assyrian station in Ceres, CA, that is operated by my good friend Dr. Sargon Dadesho, I was hit with what was perhaps the biggest crisis and shift in my life I had experienced up to that point.  During that year, we were the victims of a scam artist who really inflicted some damage on us and almost cost me my marriage then, and I was also on the cusp of finishing college and earning my Bachelor's (which I did in April of that year), and it really sent my life into a talespin at the time - in the years following, I settled into a rather routine life that had very little change until COVID hit in 2020, and then I had to more or less start my life from scratch at that point too.   However, unlike the 1996 crisis, the challenges I faced in 2024-25 forced me to reflect somewhat on my past and I began to slowly awaken to some old convictions I had left dormant for many years, and one of those was thanks to my friend Stephen Missick.  Stephen is a guy I have talked about previously, as we seemed to share parallel paths in our work with Assyrians and others over the years.  Unlike my dormancy though, Stephen has been very busy and productive, authoring several books on the topic as well as taking advantage of the opportunities social media opened up, such as a YouTube podcast.  In recent months, he has been particularly active, and this is what challenged me - that was the proverbial "boot in the jaxie" I was talking about.  As I watched Stephen's podcast and also acquired a couple of his newest books, I began to think more about my own sentiments in this regard:  what am I doing?  A part of me was envious that Stephen was doing everything I always wanted to do, but in a good way - he has done some amazing work, and he has been busy despite a lot of personal things he too is facing.   And, over the past week, that got me thinking - how do I share my own perspectives on this topic?  And, that is where it hit me - maybe I should write a book on my own unique perspective with these communities, and perhaps in doing so I can also make some sort of impact.  And, that began a plan. 

I am no stranger to writing books - I have four of them I have written and published now, as well as my dissertation for my Ph.D., and therefore I have the procedure down to writing a book well.  However, writing a book, especially one as detailed as this topic, is not an overnight thing - a lot of research goes into an endeavor like that, as well as organizing thoughts into something coherent that flows.  Additionally, I don't want to necessarily travel a well-worn trail - Stephen, as well as people like Ron Susek and my dear friend John Booko, have already tackled some aspects of that topic and I want to make something unique that doesn't essentially piggyback or cosign on them.  In other words, it has to be something unique to my own experience too, while still maintaining a level of academic clarity.  Additionally, I want to do something other authors who addressed this have not done - I am coming at it from a more traditional Catholic anagogical perspective, given the aforementioned authors are Evangelical Protestants for the most part and thus I would agree with them on much of it, but I also see a couple of interesting details which would set what I would be doing apart too.  I am going to address those particulars briefly now, as they intersect with other areas of study I have done.

The one area of unique perspective I wanted to utilize in my own work on this topic is the field of eschatology.  This can be one of those hot-potato areas of discussion, as there are perhaps as many views on the last things as there are species of insects in the world, and to tackle this aspect is not only integral, but it takes the navigation of a seasoned sailor at times to chart those turbulent waters.  Being I am a former Pentecostal myself, I am also a former premillennialist who had some dispensationalist inclinations - it was a long and painful process to move past all that in all honesty, and it took me several years even into my Catholic faith to sort stuff out.  However, I could never be a preterist or a cessationist either, and while I am now nominally what is called an Augustinian amillennialist, I am still very futurist in the way I see prophecy and eschatology.  Fortunately, a valuable resource came across my path some years ago that was authored by a capable Catholic theologian (and also now a friend) named Desmond Birch, and it is a lengthy but very resource-rich book entitled Trial, Tribulation, and Triumph, which I think he published in the late 1990s.  When reading Desmond's book, a lot of things started to make more sense than they used to, as it turns out that much of traditional Catholic eschatology was also futurist in scope - there are things he directly references in there about what is called the Great Catholic Monarch, the eventual dissolution of Islam and mass conversions of Muslims to Christ, the foretold conversion of the majority of Jews to Christ, and a new "Era of Peace" that would be instituted for a season where one last epoch of grace would be extended before the eventual rise of the Antichrist and the Second Coming happened.  While technically being both from an Augustinian amillennial position as well as futurist, the sources noted in Desmond's book struck me with my own personal revelation - it wasn't that millennialism is necessarily wrong, but perhaps the dispensationalists and premillennialists had it inverted from its actual order.  If you read the scenario Desmond documents, what many Evangelicals call the Millennium is in reality the same thing as the "Age of Peace," the only real difference is that the latter both precedes the Second Coming, and also it may or may not be an actual one thousand years - it could only be one generation for all we know.  When I started putting that together with some other long-held convictions I had - the "Three Nations" prophecy of Isaiah 19:23-25, for instance, as well as the role of nations such as Ethiopia - they began to make more sense in lieu of the Catholic model than they ever did in a dispensationalist context.  When I actually embark on the book project, I want to delve into that more, because I believe it will cause the pieces of a very complex puzzle to fall into place better.  Having discussed some of this personally with Desmond himself via email, he found my conclusions somewhat intriguing, although he may not agree with my total conclusive views on some of my observations, and that is OK as well.  I will not, nor can I, be completely dogmatic on all this - it is the best scenario I see playing out, but maybe I could be wrong as well.  However, whether it is in relation to specifics of eschatology or not, there is one important fact about this I want to briefly discuss now.

In order to have an orthodox, sound faith as a Christian, it is important to understand things in perspective.  For our faith to make sense, there are three components we must get right on a basic level that is universally accepted by all orthodox Christians of different traditions.  The first is the beginning - while God has no source, it is understood that he is the source of all that is in the universe, and thus our faith must start with the presupposition that God is Creator, and as confessed every Sunday Mass in the Creed, "I believe in God the Father, creator of heaven and earth, and all that is visible and invisible."  The second is the ending, and this means that God's plan is restorative for both humanity and the universe in general - "He shall come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom shall have no end," as well as one of the last parts of the Creed which states "I believe the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come."  These two bookends of our faith must be affirmed in order for the middle to make sense, and what is the middle?  The middle is not an event, but a person, Jesus Christ - his redemptive act for our sins is what makes the beginning and the end make sense, and we have to get all three truths right in order for it to be orthodox.  This means that Jesus Christ came as God the Son in the form of a man, that he suffered, died, was buried, and on the third day resurrected and then ascended to the Father.  This aspect is what is known as Christocentricity, and it is integral to Christian faith.  If we get the beginning wrong then, it means that special creation didn't happen, and thus no point in belief.  If we get the ending wrong, then it means no hope for transformation.  And, if we diminish the middle, then the whole scaffold of faith collapses.  So, on a fundamental level our faith should look like this - God is the source of all things, and because of sin, the universe was corrupted.  Christ though came to restore, and the ultimate act of that restoration is his return.  What prologues that return are four things though, called the "Four Last Things" in classic Catholic eschatology - death, judgment, heaven, and hell.  There are more things that could be said too, as soteriology also plays a big part in classic eschatology, and again it all points back to Christ.  However, what I want to do in the book I want to write is somehow attach this to the restoration of the Assyrian and Coptic nations, as well as the conversion of the majority of Israel to the truth of Christ's redemption.  And, that leads me to a couple of affirmative observations I wanted to note.

None of the prophecies of the Bible are "secret knowledge" at all, and we don't have to resort to esoteric means of understanding these things.  Rather, sometimes the answer is so plain that it would bite us if it was a snake, and perhaps we choose not to see it due to its actual simplicity.  Many "mystery cults" claim "special revelation" about things, and to be honest some of what they teach is so outlandish that it makes a person wonder how on earth people could be so dumb as to follow it.  This was true from the earliest days of the Church even, when perhaps the earliest heresy of them all, gnosticism, was a problem.  Gnostics have this supposed "secret knowledge," but they also decry matter as evil while saying all "good" is spiritual.  This is nothing new, and the same garbage is being recycled even today in both religious and secular settings.  As an example of the latter, look at the concept of transgenderism - it is gnostic at its root because it denies physical reality in order to foster the illusion of a "hidden true self" that is different from the outward, and thus it is delusional.   In religious circles, you see this as well in some hyper-charismatic circles, where that annoying phrase "in the natural" is applied to anything they disagree with (despite the fact that many of their preachers are so greedy that they don't have a problem with real money - they try to "confess" it into existence all the time).  This is why with the more legalistic Evangelical, Fundamentalist, and Pentecostal groups, this false legalism of "modest dress" is enforced because it is a way of trying to slap God in the face for the beauty of his actual creation - imperfect it may be, but God still created the physical world around us, and when we call "evil" what he proclaimed as good, it is frankly insulting to God.  I will say that I believe a lot of people who do this are doing so in ignorance, but still, it not only sounds stupid but it also could be inherently dangerous if it is taken to its full extreme.  This is why it's integral we are careful with what we say. 

This is a fundamental concept that at the outset may seem a bit odd regarding a book about the modern Assyrians and Copts, but I went down that rabbit trail to say this - much of the information I would be sharing is not a huge secret, and you don't have to gain "special knowledge" to understand it either - all it takes is some diligent study to read what is already there, and then use the brain God gave you to come to your own conclusions.  That is essentially what I did - no mystery to it, and it also was not the easiest thing to do either as I had to revise a lot of my own long-held beliefs on things and that can be painful to do.  But, sometimes the things that make the most sense are not hidden, but rather are right in front of our face if we care to pay attention to them.  This is true of passages like Isaiah 19:23-25, but it is also true of more systematic theological concepts such as eschatology.  Perhaps what is needed is actually less mysticism and more common sense, and then you would see it fall into place.  And, we also cannot be completely dogmatic about the minors either, as they are subject to revision too as we learn more.  Keeping that in mind is what I want to do if I tackle a book project like that. 

Doing this book means also a radical re-thinking of passages in Scripture like Ezekiel 38-39 as well, given that many dispensationalists wrongly believe this is in reference to Russia - I came to see many years ago that Russia just does not fit the narrative there, and when you see what conclusions I come to, it makes more sense.  I think instead of constantly vilifying Russia, maybe we need to see the enemy in plain sight in the region, and in all honesty Turkey fits this more than Russia ever did.  I plan on devoting a whole chapter just to that.  Also, what about the role of radical Islamic extremism?  There are things I have seen over the years that suggest that radical Islamism will be a factor in future events, but also a diminishing one.  I know that back during the Iraq wars for instance it was very popular to associate a future Antichrist with an enigmatic figure in Islamic literature called the Mahdi - the Mahdi is seen by extremists as the ultimate Islamic ruler and warlord, and apparently to them he is so powerful that even Jesus will acknowledge him (which is nonsense, but you see where this can go, right?).  My distant cousin Perry Stone as a matter of fact wrote a whole book on that topic, and while the information is compelling, there is no indication that a future Antichrist will be a radical Muslim caliph.  On the contrary, in reading the Catholic visionaries on the topic, Islam will go into decline and many of them will convert en masse to the Church.  With the recent events that happened in Iran, many are starting to examine this topic closer.  That too may require a chapter of its own as well. 

Any rate, those are just some ideas I am floating around, and I actually have a phone call with Stephen tonight and we are going to bounce ideas off each other.  Thanks for joining me today, and will see you next time.  

Biding Time in the Hospital

 Today, I am at Medstar Good Samaritan Hospital in Baltimore, where my ex-spouse and best friend Barbara is having a kidney biopsy done.  I am sitting in the waiting room here at the hospital, as it will be a while before she is out, and after grading a few papers for my students and taking care of some other business, I thought I would utilize the time with a bit of writing today.  The last time I recall being in a hospital waiting room was also for Barbara a few years back, when I was in the waiting room at the hospital in Waynesboro, PA, when she had cataract surgery.  Barbara has had some serious health issues the past few years, and your prayers for her are greatly appreciated.  Anyway, I just had a few observations on some random topics I thought I would share while I wait. 

I am still watching what is happening with Iran, and while it is not official that the corrupt and oppressive Ayatollah regime has fallen yet, I am hopeful as are thousands of Persians throughout the world.  The crown prince, Reza Pahlavi, who is the son of the deposed Shah, has been gathering a great deal of support.  While a co-teacher of mine at the school who is also Persian feels somewhat pessimistic about the Crown Prince, noting that his political experience may lack a bit, I hastened to remind her that the Crown Prince is an intelligent man who knows his limitations, and if he were to take back the throne I would be confident that he would surround himself with capable people who would help him.  So, I have no worries or pretensions about the issue.  Also, it must be noted that a monarchy is not subject to the same rule as a republican government - while a politically capable monarch is a great benefit, it is not a necessity.  The day-to-day affairs of the political apparatus of a government is generally not micromanaged by a monarch anyway in many cases, as in most cases a prime minister or a vizier of some sort handles the administrative duties of state.  The key to Crown Prince Reza's success is choosing a capable deputy to work with him, and if he does that he is guaranteed to have a successful reign.  The same idea is also true in a republican system as well, such as the United States, where the President is not expected to be an expert on everything - that is what he has the cabinet for.  If more people were at least schooled in this fundamental detail of governance, it would also make our voting and electoral processes a more efficient system.  

At this point, the campaign in Iran is still happening, and I don't think it will be truly over until all of the Islamic Republic regime is dealt with and deposed from power.  Whether or not the Iranian people will ultimately welcome the Crown Prince back remains to be seen, as they could opt for something.  

A bit ago, Barbara came out of her procedure - she is a bit groggy but otherwise doing OK.  So, for now I will go but will come back soon.  Thanks for visiting. 

Iran, and More Thoughts on The Unknown Frontiers We Face

 As I write this, it is Saturday, February 28, 2026.  Something very important happened today, in that an evil dictator in Iran was sent to his eternal fate in hell where he belongs.  What this means for Iran remains to be seen - the Crown Prince, Reza Pahlavi, would be welcomed back with open arms by thousands of grateful Persians, and in my opinion he should be.  I would not be a good Monarchist if I didn't support the Shah being restored and Persia being restored as well.  The Persians are good people, and they deserve a new beginning, a good new beginning.  Yet, even in the West, you have idiot leftists who are lamenting the fall of a dictator again - what is with these morons anyway??  I am not going to get into that right now, but I will say that I am feeling the winds of change coming, and while they are exciting it is also marked with much uncertainty as well.  This is why I am using this discussion today to tie two things together which are intrinsically related and similar. 

I am old enough to remember when the Shah was overthrown in Iran - I was 9 years old, and the story broke on the news at my grandmother's house in Augusta, WV.  And, it was not good then either - the resulting chaos led to a number of American diplomats being held hostage by the psychopath Khomeini after he gained power, and only the election of President Reagan got them released because Carter had no spine then.  This was perhaps one of the biggest news stories during 1979, when I was on the cusp of celebrating my 10th birthday just after our nation decided Carter's wussiness would not cut it and elected Reagan.  And, ironically, the spread of militant Islamic terrorism was rapid, often funded oddly with monies from the USSR and other Soviet Bloc nations. When Communism finally fell officially in 1989 (I was graduating high school then, and recall that too - I remember the Berlin Wall coming down as well as the courageous stand Chinese students made against the Red Army in Tianamen Square in Beijing then - it was unfortunately replaced with radical Islamism, in both its Shia and Sunni forms.  The regime in Iran funded a lot of that garbage, and it is what destabilized Lebanon and other places in the Middle East.  My good friend Stephen Missick has predicted in his YouTube broadcasts that the fall of Iran will be the decline of Islam in the world, and I am praying he is right.  However, other voices - including the moderate Imam Tawhidi, who I believe to be very insightful on this - are saying that the shift in terrorist activity will move from the Middle East (the Muslim Brotherhood, which is perhaps the mother group of all militant Islamist groups like Al Qaeda and ISIS, is actually banned in nations like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE) to Europe and the US, given there are higher immigration levels of Muslims into the West now.  I would take a middle position between these and say that both are possible at the same time, and if that is the case, we may actually have some rough waters to navigate ahead.  Although I don't have the time to get into it here, I can say that there are some prophecies and other things that saints and visionaries have had over the years - both Catholic and Orthodox - that foresee a mass conversion of Muslims to the truth of Jesus Christ, and given there are more Muslims who are seeing visions of Christ throughout the Middle East and North Africa, that too is a possibility.  There is a lot yet to be determined though, and it is as if we are taking a forested road and are uncertain of what's ahead because we cannot see through the trees.  And, that is a good place for my bridge in thought at this point. 

I spent a quiet Saturday relaxing in all honesty - my work has been more stressful lately, and I also am a bit discontented about living in Baltimore right now - so I basically just had a day watching YouTube videos in between doing my Saturday chores (which consist of cleaning cat litterboxes and doing my laundry).  On YouTube at times, you can stumble across things by accident that get your attention, and today I came across a channel that features narrated stories about young people who inadvertently stumble across a change in circumstance.  In many of the stories, the person is about 18, and due to the tragedy of losing a parent or grandparent when very young, they were forced into foster care and then kicked out by the system on their 18th birthday.  The young person is somewhat scarred by the experience - the lives they spent in either foster care, a group home, or being raised by indifferent step-parents were not pleasant - and upon being released from either the group home or evicted from the foster care they have stayed, they are then contacted by an attorney of their late parent or grandparent who informs them that something was left to them but they have to travel a distance to claim it.  Once they get to the destination, they discover a run-down house, a cave, or some other less-than-ideal structure and are doubting anything about it or are disappointed, but then a letter, a box, or something else is discovered that reveals a family secret that changes their lives.  The stories themselves are quite riveting, and it is easy to get caught up in them.  Watching those got me thinking about something called the "unknown frontier," and I want to share some insights about my own experience of this from a couple of years ago.  I haven't shared details about a lot of this to anyone aside from those who are closest to me, but watching these today got me reflecting upon that and I wanted to now share what happened in recent years. 

Up until about 2019, my world was pretty predictable and had been much the same for a good 25 or more years.  But then 2020 dawned, and first COVID hit - that changed a lot of things.   During the COVID period (early into it actually) Barbara and I separated, and a year later we officially divorced.  That was something that rocked my world in all honesty, as I had to basically rethink everything in my life for the first time ever, and at that point I had also just turned 50 years old.  Not long after Barbara and I separated in June 2020, in July my father passed away.  Despite not being as close to Dad in recent years (we had a heated disagreement in 2006 and thus our relationship was not the best) I was frankly surprised that he had left me a small inheritance, as well as the lady who executed his estate, a sweet woman named Susan, making sure to send me all of Dad's important documents, pictures and other things (for about a year, I had gotten over 21 boxes of things from her of Dad's).  Thankfully, during COVID I also was eligible for a very nice pandemic stimulus in my unemployment benefits, being I was laid off from what would be my last administrative job in May 2020.  The financial help from all of that was a blessing for about 2 years, but then things got more complicated - in March 2022, I lost Mom, and then things got really rough.  Also it was during that time I was getting financial aid for my doctoral work from school, so that helped out too, but I would be in the final stages of my doctorate starting in 2023.  It started to be a real struggle to pay rent during this time, and it would culminate in what was essentially an eviction in October 2024, ironically one month after my doctorate was conferred.  However, God was in that, and I landed my first teaching job at a Jesuit high school in Baltimore not long after.  But, the time between being forced out of our home in Hagerstown (where I also lost a lot as a result) and starting work was about 1 month, and that was a rough month and would be aptly described as an "unknown frontier."   For 12 days, I lived in a hotel room, and it was a constant struggle to try to scrape funds together to stay in that hotel, but thanks to some good people and two good churches, I had my needs miraculously met.  When I finally got the job offer and a contract, the next phase came, which was finding a house in Baltimore near to the school, and I found where I am sitting at now.  At this point, Barbara and I had parted ways, and she was living in a similar situation in Rockville, sharing a place with 5 men, and she was miserable.  It was a scary time for both of us.  But, thankfully things would start to change, and I wanted to go into that a little now. 

Despite the fact Barbara and I did divorce, we still remained good friends, and perhaps had one of the most peaceful divorces anyone ever had.  Because of that, we stayed connected, and in time the place I lived at here had a change in housemates - the earlier housemate who lived here, Joel, found a new place and his room opened up.  Barbara needed a place, so I was able to get that for her and she now lives here.  We still look out for each other, and although we are divorced, we are basically the only family we have.  Now, don't get me wrong - there is no real chance we will ever be remarried to each other again, as I am actually seeing someone now myself and Barbara is looking for her own soulmate, but we will always be close.  And, despite having a decent-paying job and being able to stabilize my finances, there still is no permanency here, even with work, as I want to work in a school that is actually a little more solidly Catholic (this one I am at now lacks a lot, in all honesty, but I built experience so that is a blessing).  So, the "unknown frontier" still looms before us. 

One thing that has been a defining point in my life over years is the fact I have had to face a lot of adversities, and I have overcome all of them.  In hearing these YouTube stories, I understand what they are saying because I experienced it several times myself.  The last time prior to my current situation was in 1992, when I had the California experience - I went out there on a bus, no money, and it was a disaster basically but God helped me through it.  I was much like many of these young people who are giving these first-person accounts in these videos then.  The facing of a new chapter and staring out at that "unknown frontier" generates a lot of feelings - fear, excitement, resolve, etc.  And, you feel them all at once.  In those times, I feel like country singer Reba McIntyre's song "I'm a Survivor" is talking about me - I am not a fan of her music, but this was the theme song of her sitcom Reba which is how I know it.  At this point in my life - I am 56 now - I am not sure I can start completely over again, but I feel I was forced to at this point and now decisions lay before me.  At this time, I have roughly 6 other schools (all Catholic) who expressed an interest in me, as I am at the point I cannot really predict how much more I can endure the political liberalism, the craziness of the city, and a workplace where I don't feel like I am really heard as much (this, despite the fact I am now acting department chair there).  So, the "unknown frontier" still looms ahead, just as it did the day we were forced to move out of our place in Hagerstown.  I had the feeling that my current work position was only for a season, and there are some things I will discuss at some point that talk about what that season is all about as it bears elaboration as well.  I am on a dirt road at this point, staring into a thick forest and my path is not in clear vision.  I pray that this will change soon, and perhaps it will.  

At any rate, I wanted to just share that tonight, as it was on my mind and my viewing of these stories on YouTube today sort of inspired it.  Thanks for allowing me to share, and will see you next visit. 

Reflections on the Week

 As I am writing this today, we have a half-day at work due to the fact they are having a party for the kids downstairs in a couple of hours.  The students I teach - 11th graders - are out today due to what is known as an asynchronous day; that means they do classwork from home, which sounds better in theory than it does in practice, as many of these students are not thinking of schoolwork when they are at home.  However, that goes in line with a lot of inconsistency I am noting in many areas of life these days, and to be honest I am sort of over it all.  If you have ever been in the mindset of pining for a change, then you will know how I feel.  I work in a big city, and in a school with a demographic of students who are noted to have some problems due to the cultural context many of them come from.  To me, it is like a foreign country sometimes, and I long for the simplicity of my "mountain home" back in WV or even western Maryland.  In all honesty, something is currently in the works with that too, but I won't get into that at this point until later. 

This is also the first full week of Lent, and given it is Friday, it means abstinence from meat and other things.  The real test of Lent often comes during lunchtime, and today I decided to go and pick up something from the local Royal Farms store just a block away from the school.  While there, I briefly thought of getting a piece of fried chicken for lunch.  If you are familiar with Maryland, Royal Farms is a convenience store noted for its delicious fried chicken (although it had competition in Hagerstown with AC&T there, who had equally good yardbirds).  It is a spiritual test during the Lenten season to walk into those stores because the aroma of that frying chicken is addictive.  In most cases, on seasons where I can eat fried chicken, I generally pick up mine out of the cooler case as it is cheaper, but I do occasionally treat myself to the fresh product too.  Today, in a temporary lapse of memory, I almost succumbed to the temptation, but then quickly snapped out of it settling instead for a delicious soft pretzel to hold me over until dinner tonight.  It was quick thinking on my part, and thus maybe I saved my immortal soul?  I don't think personally that God throws a person into hell for eating a chicken leg on a Lenten Friday, especially if it is a legitimate case of forgetfulness.  However, I also have an example to model for my students of solid Catholic practical faith, and thus it was important to stick to my convictions on that.  Fried chicken on Friday in Lent reminded me of an important lesson Our Lord emulates for us too, and I want to go into that a bit as a sort of lesson. 

In the Church calendar, Lent marks the 40 days before Easter, and it has Biblical antecedents.  For one, the wandering of the Israelites in the desert for 40 years.  Then, there is Jesus's own wilderness experience in the desert for 40 days, in which he was tempted by Satan three times and easily rebuffed Satan by just quoting the Word at him - that is oftentimes all we need to do too in order to overcome. Lent commemorates more of the latter, and it is a good discipline for Christians to practice Lenten fasting and abstinence because it reminds us who the focus of our faith should be.  That is why, as good as that piece of moist, crispy fried chicken smells, we will survive if we don't have it for a short season.  And, lest you think Catholics are strict about this, you should be Eastern Orthodox - their Lenten fasts are much more strict than most Roman Catholics observe (although some TLM Catholics come close).  Let me educate you about that for a minute.

In the Church calendars of both East and West, there is generally a countdown to lent covering the first three Sundays - in the West these are Septuagesima, Sextagessima, and Quinquagesima Sundays (meaning, in Latin, the 7th, 6th, and 5th Sundays before Easter).  In the East it is a little different, as on the 6th Sunday is called Meatfare, meaning the last Sunday before Lent one can eat meat, and the following Sunday is Cheesefare, which is the last Sunday before abstaining from dairy products.  In the East as well, there is a strict form of fasting called xerophagy, in which essentially one can only eat nuts as well as raw fruits and vegetables.  That austere diet is to remind us of the hardships of life and how to overcome them without giving into temptations.  In a way though, it is also a good health plan as well if one has the discipline to do it.  However, eating twigs and berries every day for the rest of one's life is not the healthiest either, as it does tend to make one deficient in nutrients too.  I never had the discipline to follow a xerophagic fast, but all respect to those who do successfully do it. 

The other aspect of fasting is that it is an act of worship too - there is a Christocentric dimension to this as well, especially in the view Isaiah had of the eagle, ox, lion and ram.  The ox in particular is seen as a symbol of longsuffering, and the bearing of the yoke by the ox patiently represents how compared to what Christ suffered for us, "our yoke is easy and our burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30).  Giving up a few culinary indulgences, in other words, is mild compared to what Christ did for us, and therefore while it is not salvific to share in Christ's sufferings literally, it does provide a valuable lesson for us in that we can endure a little suffering if it helps our spiritual growth.  That is what the spirit of Lent is all about - not being exactly like Christ in what we experience, but to be able to say "OK, let me put aside those things which distract me so I can hear God better."  Every Catholic religious tradition - from the austere Benedictine hermits to the liberal Jesuit clerics - have an aspect of that as part of their religious practices.  Therefore, it is considered beneficial, but not mandatory in a great extent, to experience a bit of deprivation to aid in growth.  

Ultimately, the manure of adversity - and let's face it, adversity is not pleasant for anyone! - is the fertile nourishment for our spiritual development.  It has been said that in order for a seed to sprout and become a mighty tree, the seed has to die, and although we obviously cannot feel what a seed feels, we relate to the fact that often it is hard to let go of those things (the seed coat) that hinder us the most.  It also represents a dichotomy between how we view the concept of freedom vs. what God intends.  I went over this the other day in my Morality class at school with my students, and part of their lesson had to do with impediments to freedom - there were five listed, and they are as follows:

1. Habit - repeated bad habits, which can also in some cases lead to unhealthy addictions and thus a form of idolatry.

2. Duress - Being forced to do something through fear and/or panic.

3. Inordinate Attachments - having an unhealthy attachment to things, particularly money or some other tangible possessions (this also breaks the commandment against idolatry).

4. Inadvertence - Not paying attention despite warnings

5. Ignorance - Not knowing the right way to conduct oneself.  The idea of "willful ignorance" has another name - stupidity.

Freedom can also be external or internal, and each has its own challenges. For internal freedoms we often struggle with unnatural addictions, fears that restrict our potential, and other things.  External struggles include tyranny, poverty, and slavery.  This is also why the twin concepts of justice and faith need to work together.  You cannot have one without the other, and here is why:

Justice without faith - leads to tyranny.

Faith without justice - leads to legalism.

There are many left-of-center people today who like to shout the word "justice" like a mantra, but they do so without understanding what it truly is.   They like targeting things like ICE, but then they conveniently ignore real injustice such as what is happening to the people of Iran right now.  It's inconsistent and not true justice because they only accept things that support their own narrative and ignore other things (this happens with the Right as well as the Left too).  As this relates to Lent, there is something that needs to happen - inner conversion.  Convert the soul, and then you transform the society around you.  True justice is rooted ultimately in authentic faith, and that in turn is nourished by the grace we receive that ultimately transforms us, and then as we are transformed it then impacts our world because we are better people for the experience.  Lent is a way to remind us of that, and also a time to seek conversion of our souls and hearts.  Many "social justice warriors," even when cloaked in religious language as our campus minister at the school I work with often is, miss this by infinity.  That then leads to further complications later on, because someone who has a skewered view of "justice" will only support the concept when it lines up with their narrative of history and life.  And thus the fundamental problem.

The bottom line is that as Catholics, our first and foremost priority in any vocation we have is the salvation of souls.  If we prioritize that, then the rest falls into place easily.  Justice therefore is not something that should be theorized and sloganed, but rather is instinctual to the person who has their faith where it should be.  And that, my friends, is my Lenten reflection today.  See you next time. 

Snow Day and Thoughts on Home Invasion (On a National Scale)

 Today I am unexpectedly home, as an intense northeastern storm has closed schools here in town, but I don't mind snow days.  Let me give you a little secret about snow days - teachers look forward to those too as much as students do.  Especially in the school where I teach, which has its own unique challenges.  We didn't get a lot of snow - there is a light ground cover, and it is not near as big as the last snow we had a few weeks ago, so by the end of this week it will probably be melted away.  I am thinking that this will be our last major snow of the year for this winter, as soon we will be into March and that means it will be Spring soon.  Winter, like everything else in life, can be a mixed blessing - we are usually excited about the first snow, and we like days off from work or school, but it soon wears out its welcome and you begin to look forward to more agreeable seasonal temperatures as the seasons change.  That is where I am right now.  So, given this will likely be the last snow day of the academic year here, I thought I would use it to catch up on some things and to address an issue I wanted to tackle, as now I have a good point of reference to do so. 

The issue is immigration, and let me start out with a scenario.  Imagine you are still living at home with your parents.  Life is good, you have your own room and can lead a decent life.  But, one day there is a knock on the door, and some kid just sort of invites himself into your home.  Your parents are too weak to do anything about it, so they just let this guy (or gal) come on in and set up housekeeping.  In time, you start seeing your privileges decrease - your parents force you to move out of your room to give it - and all your stuff - to this stranger, and you are forced to live in the basement.  Then, all of a sudden, your own dad says you have to now pay rent or get out, and you get a job paying under what you deserve to meet that expectation.  By this point, the stranger is enjoying all the things you had although he has no birthright to them, nor does he have any sanction, and you have been reduced to being the stranger in your own house.  How would you react to that?  You would rightly not be too happy about it would you?  Now, let me tell you that this is actually happening, but on a bigger scale, and then let's see if your reaction would be the same.

Illegal immigration has been a pivotal issue in the past few years, as leftist Democrats have literally flooded the border with questionable people who often turn out to be human traffickers, drug runners, gang members, and even dangerous terrorists.  They are not only here illegally, but are more than likely convicted criminals in their countries of origin too.  But, in the name of "justice," they are allowed in, and in many cases subsidized with your tax dollars in the form of welfare benefits, no-cost housing, and other perks that most Americans will never see yet we are paying for.  The Democrats have in essence become the deadbeat parents, and you have become the dispossessed birthright biological offspring who now is forced to defer to invaders who take your stuff and force you to live in a way that is substandard.  When I look at Baltimore, for instance, I see homeless veterans sleeping under bridges, I see urban blight caused by neglect, and then I hear of illegals getting $5000 debit cards while our citizens struggle.  This is unacceptable, and that is what necessitated ICE to do what it has to do, often opposed by organized (and Soros-funded) protests by individuals who have no moral compass.  None of this is true justice, despite what the propaganda says, and it must end.  That is why illegal immigration must be opposed, and I now want to make two qualifying points regarding it.

Imagine trying to do in another nation what illegals do here.  If they were to illegally enter a nation like North Korea, they would be shot.  If they entered Iran, they would likely lose a body part thanks in part to the draconian totalitarianism of the ayatollahs (whom I believe will soon thankfully be overthrown).  Yet, in America, unprincipled leftists reward these criminals.  Many of these people despise you as an American, and would kill you as quick as they look at you, yet here they are.  While many people focus on Latin American countries like El Salvador and Mexico as the source of this problem, in recent years we have also seen an uptick in Islamic illegal immigration (note Minneapolis and the Somali issue there for instance) as well as actual subversives posing as "immigrants" from China and elsewhere coming into our country and posing a real risk to national security.  These are often not families either, as in general refugee status is something different and no decent human being would have an issue aiding actual refugees.  Often, these individuals are working-age males, many of whom are either with dangerous gangs like MS-13 or with Islamic terrorist networks like ISIS in some capacity.  They are not here to seek a better life, in other words - they are here to take advantage of a weak system that enables them.  That being said, here is my second point, and then I want to suggest a solution.

What we are talking about here is not vulnerable families who are actually escaping oppression and want a better life - in many cases, those types of individuals do seek legal means to make that happen, and even if they are not credentialed yet, they are more than willing to obey the law of the land and go through the proper channels.  Also, no one questions legal immigration either - many of us welcome legal expats who do want to contribute to our society and often those people are an asset.  They too seek legal means to come here and thus are not an issue.  Refugees and legal immigrants should be welcomed and shown compassion, and there are actually things in place to help them acclimate to life in our nation.  The key though is legal entry into our country, and that is what we are seeing as the core issue.  That being said, let me now address ICE, as well as offering some good advice for the actual immigrant who has come to our shores with honest intent.

Years ago, when I was in my Class D (unarmed) security course for a job I had been offered in Florida, I had the privilege of being taught by two local sheriff's deputies.  Both of these men incorporated a lot of their law enforcement experience into our training too, and they shared some valuable insights that I think warrant mentioning here.  One of the deputies was talking about traffic violations, and he said something to me that was profound in its rational conclusions as well as also being something that puts minds to ease.  I am sure if you have driven on highways that on occasion a cop will be driving either beside you or behind you, and it seems to be natural to be paranoid.  We often are under the impression that cops are just running every license plate they see, and they are meeting quotas, etc.  In reality, ticket quotas don't exist, as legally they really can't, so put that myth to permanent rest first.  Secondly, in 99.9% of the cases you see a cop immediately behind you, he is not going to be worried about you as he probably is doing something else that prioritizes his time.  A cop will not randomly stop you, in other words, unless you give them a reason to do so.  And, if they were running tags through a computer like we seem to think they do, there would be an uptick in traffic accidents involving police vehicles because the cop would not be watching the road.  It is perhaps time we put aside this paranoid nonsense that the local deputy is somehow some Orwellian "Big Brother" and use a bit of common sense.  And, here is the real kicker - the same thing that is true about a traffic cop is also true of an ICE agent.  Some of the most bizarre and wild tales about ICE I hear even at my workplace is that they are circling around like buzzards eyeing a gut wagon and that at any moment they are going to swoop down and arrest someone just because they say Buenos Dias instead of "good morning."  Even the president of the school I teach at was floating these conspiracies last year, and I thought it was rather irresponsible of him doing that.  So, let's dispel that now - like the traffic cops, ICE agents are generally not going to be paying attention to someone unless they are doing something that warrants that attention.  It would not be legal for them to just randomly detain people for nothing, so if you don't want to capture ICE's attention, don't do things that attract it!  This is one of those big "DUHHH!!" moments that our society seems to need more of, and hopefully in the long term common sense will win out.  So, what do we do about illegals?  Let's talk about that. 

If there is someone here in the US illegally, and you know who they are, there are things we should as good Catholic Christians do.  First, you treat them with dignity that is due to all human beings as a person being created in God's image and thus warranting of respect as a fellow human being.  Secondly, if you know they are here illegally, don't report them necessarily to the local ICE agent - that may not even be necessary.  Instead, gauge their reasons for being here, and if it is something that is legitimate, encourage them to seek legal recourse to stay here.  Often, there are resources available to aid in helping people get either permanent residency or ultimately citizenship, and many of those resources are often available either pro bono or at a minimal cost which a good sponsoring organization - like say a church - will cover for them.   Often too, if the person demonstrates a legitimate reason for being here, the authorities will work with them if they really want help, and there will be no deportation or arrests of these individuals.  That is why, even in the classes I teach where I have a significant percentage of kids who are of Latino heritage and some do have parents who are not citizens, I try to help by pointing people in the right direction.  If they really have a good reason to be here, they will not have issues following the law either, and thus no problems.  This is the balance of using common sense when dealing with things in the confines of the law but also respecting dignity of personhood.  It is compassion but also encourages a legal solution.  However, it is too common-sense for leftist agitators, and it is that group that creates more difficulties by acting like jackasses.  In other words, there is always a better way if we just take the time to look for it. 

I know what I have said here is probably a "hot take" on this issue, but I am hoping it is also a common-sense solution that does not entail assaulting Federal law enforcement officers and doing stupid protests that really don't give a damn about illegals - these "protesters" are often political agitators, and what they want is control of everything so they can reshape it in their own warped utopian image (we all saw how that worked out - the USSR and Nazi Germany don't exist now because they tried that and failed, and the Islamic extremists in Iran are about to learn that the hard way soon as well).  It is time we bring a level of common sense back to political discourse, and if we do, we may find out that solutions may be simpler than we think.  Thanks for letting me share, and will see you next time. 

Dealing With Fake Conservatives

 Recently, a friend of mine named Stephen Missick started talking about some weird things that former Fox News superstar Tucker Carlson has been doing.  What Stephen says is right too - Tucker is essentially a Muslim without saying he's one, and he is also extremely antisemitic as well.   However, he is not the only one - a major reason for the rise of Obama and Biden has been due to faux conservatives such as Candace Owens, Marjorie Taylor-Greene, and others.  But, this weird brand of conservatism has been around for a while, and I will explain why. 

About 15 years ago, Tucker's predecessor, Bill O'Reilly, got my attention in a negative way when he started disparaging Appalachian people, and he was joined by Pat Robertson in doing so - I wrote about that too, and in all honesty it is one reason why I refuse to vote Republican (the other is the Establishment hacks like the Bushes and impotent loudmouths like Joni Ernst).  It has caused people to rethink what it means to be "conservative," and the result was Trump - Trump was perhaps the best thing to happen to the American Right because it is making people put their money where their mouth is, and Trump was not historically what you would call a mainstream conservative either.  In all honesty, conservatism needed a rebrand, and thankfully due to Trump that has happened.  And, in the process it exposed the fakes and frauds in the movement we would be better off without. 

Tucker's recent embrace of Islam (probably due to his being bankrolled by Qatari money) comes as no surprise.  While in the past I had liked some of Tucker's stuff, at the root of his whole persona was this arrogant, entitled, and frankly elitist attitude that honestly I tolerated but never really appreciated.  Unlike some true elites like William F. Buckley and Pat Buchanan, Tucker was often a person who came across as snarky, entitled, and things he said with his mouth never quite reached his eyes - and as St. Ephrem taught, the eyes are the window to the soul.  Therefore, while I tolerated listening to Tucker and took his attitude with a proverbial grain of salt, in all honesty I never really trusted him.  And, now I see my suspicions may have had merit.   And then there is Candace Owens - Candace at one time was good too, but now I am starting to think that her enemy Kim Klacik here in Baltimore was right about her.  Ever since Candace had her blowup with Ben Shapiro on The Daily Wire, she has been coming more and more unhinged to the point she is a liability to the conservative movement.  She claims, for instance, to have converted to the Catholic faith, yet she is also engaged in some rather esoteric practices too that make her look more like a Theosophist than they do a traditional Catholic.  And that leads to a final thought I have on this.

If we want to continue the momentum that Trump's Presidency has created for American conservatism, then we have to "cull the herd" of those individuals who do more harm than good.  During the Obama years and Biden's term in office, people like Tucker, Owens, and Marjorie Taylor Greene liked making a lot of noise, but they never accomplished a damn thing - if anything, they looked kind of stupid in some cases.  And, with all of this "wokeness," the COVID situation, and other things, the American people are not in a mood to play games - they want restoration, they want a stable and safe environment to live life, and they don't want to be threatened by foreign ideologies like radical Islam or even the radical leftism that is reminiscent not only of the Bolsheviks but of the early Nazis too.  We want a return to normalcy, where one is not punished by using the "wrong pronoun" and we don't have to worry about some mentally-ill Antifa thug assaulting us when we go to a bagel shop or something.   In short, enough is enough, and normal people are starting to regain their voices.  As that is happening, this weird thing is happening in the polarities of the American political spectrum too - the so-called "right wing" loudmouths are starting to sound more like their left-wing counterparts, and it seems both are hell-bent on the destruction of civility and normalcy.  This is why we don't need Tucker Carlson in our movement - let his Muslim Brotherhood buddies have him, and when he leaves eventually to get his dream home in Qatar, may the door not hit him where the good Lord split him.  We will do much better without the likes of him. 

That was my other rant for this week, so I will see you next time. 

Random Observations

 I had not planned on writing a lot today, as honestly I am not sure where to start.  There are many, many things that could be discussed, and I think where we will start is with our Vice President, J.D. Vance, and his visit to Armenia.  There are some takeaways that need to be noted, and so I wanted to share those.

Honestly, I have not had many complaints with Donald Trump's second term in office, nor have I really had any issues with Vance as VP.  For one thing, I relate to Vance a lot, as we come from very similar backgrounds - to me, Hillbilly Elegy is almost like a mirror of my own experiences growing up in a poor Appalachian home.  And, overall, this administration has been a breath of fresh air, as I truly see some progress being made in many areas.  Would I vote for Vance if he ran?  More than likely, yes.  However, Vance is a human being just like us all, and obviously he is not perfect - I don't think he would honestly claim to be either.  One area I noted I would have serious issue with him is his trip to Armenia this last week.

I listen to the Armenian-American community, and when they see something that upsets them, I share that with them.  The one big weakness I see in Trump's administration is this pro-Turkish, pro-Azerbaijan lobbying that is driving potential Armenian-American votes away.  Vance had a chance to rectify that with this visit, and he failed to take advantage of that opportunity.  Instead of advocating for the autonomy of Artsakh for instance, Vance ignored the issue.  Also, he did not show any interest in helping Armenian political prisoners be released, including the Archbishops who are being held in Baku.  This is very bad on his part, and I would venture to say it is probably due to Trump having this alliance with Dr. Oz in the US - Dr. Oz is, by all evidence, a Turkish agent, and this was demonstrated by his attack a few weeks ago on Armenian-Americans in Los Angeles, equating them with the Somalis in Minnesota.  Armenians are already starting to move away from the Republican vote - the issue of their homeland is fundamental, and although I am only partially Armenian myself and more American, the Armenian community could turn this into a single-issue vote during elections.  I don't think that should happen, because the Democrats are no friends of Christian Armenians, nor of Christianity in general, and despite the stupid move of some Republicans to ignore Armenian issues, Trump and Vance are still the best hope for American freedom right now.  This is why as dear and near to heart as the Armenian issues are, I have to also vote based on the bigger picture - the US is at stake, and our freedoms and security are at risk from crazy radicals in the Democratic Party, as well as from Establishment hacks in both parties who have not done a thing for this country.  But, I also do not want to see Armenian votes sacrificed just to boost the egos of Turkish foreign agents like Dr. Oz.   So, this will need to be sorted out in some fashion. 

Another item that is more personal is my current situation - Barbara has had to go into the hospital this week to be treated for a complication rooted in both her diabetic condition as well as some kidney issues, and she has been in there since Monday.  Despite being divorced now, Barbara and I are still good friends and closer than blood siblings, and I do care about her well-being.  While it looks like she may be released tomorrow, she still needs lots of prayers.  I will update her situation more next week.

Also, as the snow starts to dissipate outside and the weather warms up (we are expecting 40s today, which is better than the sub-zero windchill we had over the weekend), several things are coming to mind that need to be thought of as well.  For instance, it is approaching mid-February fast, and that means that soon we will be into the Lenten season as well as Easter coming.  That too means that the school year here will be moving faster - I am so ready to be over this school year in all honesty, as the principal is a tinpot dictator, and some of the students just need to be smacked into oblivion due to their stinking attitudes and inability to follow basic rules (like keeping cellphones put away during class and not talking).  I had an issue with a particular student yesterday - I will call him Chaz to protect his identity - who got very lippy and aggressive in class, and I had to write him up.  The thing about this particular school is that it has the potential to be better, but the powers-that-be could honestly care less - they seem to be more interested in nice numbers than they are academic stability.  I have been shopping around for other opportunities, and although I have no solid offers yet, I am ready to jump on one if I should receive a good bite.  At present, I am waiting to hear back from a wonderful school in Virginia that I would love to be part of, as it is what a Catholic school should be.  I had a good initial interview a few weeks back with the principal, and now am just waiting.  Also, in all honesty, I hate this city - it is dirty, politically suspect, and just too much like a foreign country to me.  If a door could open to get out of here, I would gladly seize the opportunity.  Please keep me in your prayers. 

Thank you for allowing me to share these brief thoughts today, and will see you again soon.