Wonder of Wonders

Satan was the most celebrated of Alpine guides, when he took Jesus to the top of an exceeding high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the earth. But the joy of Satan in standing on a peak is not a joy of largeness, but a joy in beholding smallness, in the fact that all men look like insects at his feet. It is from the valley that things look large; it is from the level that things look high; I am a child of the level and have no need of that celebrated Alpine guide. I will life up my eyes to the hills from whence cometh my help; but I will not life up my carcass to the hills, unless it is absolutely necessary. Everything is in an attitude of mind; and at this moment I am in a comfortable attitude. I will sit still and let the marvels and the adventures settle on my like flies. T...here are plenty of them, I assure you. The world will never starve for want of wonders; but only for want of wonder.
~Tremendous Trifles, G.K.

Fraternal Correction

fraternal correction: what it is and what it is not.

All good Christians have an obligation to Christian charity, to "love one another as Christ has loved us." The most important fact of this love is that we do whatever is beneficial to the salvation of the one who is loved. If I love someone and he is blindfolded walking towards a fire pit, am I not guilty of murder if I simply let him just walk into the fire and be burnt? If I did not correct him from his deathly path, he would have been lost, or at least quite badly injured. Christian charity therefore charges us to admonish the sinner, that is to guide one's brother in charity out of dire straights.

However, this virtue like others can be abused and become a vice. There are many folks who go around correcting everyone because they see it as their duty. These misguided but (hopefully) well intentioned individuals purport to be doing an act of charity, acting out of concern for another's spiritual well being, or "instructing the ignorant" when they are really judging, nagging, or simply picking on others. Fraternal charity is a virtue only when it is exactly that: charity. At times it is compulsory, that is we must say something or risk sinning. However, there are criteria to be met in order to make it compulsory, and if any particular criterion is not met correction is not compulsory and may even be inadavisable.

1) The delinquency to be corrected is a serious matter
That is, it must be something dealing with grievous sin or harm
2) There is no reason to believe that the sinner will adequately correct himself.
That is, if he doesn't know it is wrong and he will not figure it out for himself, then we bring it to his attention. If he realizes that it is wrong and is sorry, we don't rub their face in it and lecture them on it.
3) There is a well founded expectation that the advice/correction will be headed.
If we will be ignored there is no reason to offer correction that we know will not be headed. Furthermore, if the correction will cause scandal or increased or just make things worse for them we don't do it.
-we don't have coercive power
4) there is no one else present who can do it (i.e. the preist or someone in authority) I have to do it or it won't be done. Also, make sure that you protect the person's reputation and keep it private. Also, you must be qualified
5) there is no special trouble or disadvantage to the correction. we do not need to inconvenience ourselves greatly in order to get the correction around.

Makes sense to me, huh?

The delight of a child

These inventive sibs put hollow ice cubes on a stick and thereby invented a happy little snack for themselves.

"Til the Last Shot's Fired"

(One of the most touching songs I've ever heard)

I was there in the winter of '64
When we camped in the ice at Nashville's doors
Three hundred miles our trail had led
We barely had time to bury our dead
When the Yankees charged and the colors fell
Overton hill was a living hell
When we called retreat it was almost dark
I died with a grapeshot in my heart

Say a prayer for peace
For every fallen son
Set my spirit free
Let me lay down my gun
Sweet mother Mary I'm so tired
But I can't come home 'til
the last shot's fired

In June of 1944
I waited in the blood of Omaha's shores
Twenty-one and scared to death
My heart poundin' in my chest
I almost made the first seawall
When my friends turned and saw me fall
I still smell the smoke, I can taste the mud
As I lay there dying from a loss of blood

I'm in the fields of Vietnam,
The mountains of Afghanistan
And I'm still hopin', waitin', prayin'
I did not die in vain

Say a prayer for peace (for peace)
For our daughters and our sons
Set our spirits free (set us free)
Let us lay down our guns
Sweet mother Mary, we're so tired
But we can't come home (No
we can't come home)