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A Critical Review of The Thursday Murder Club: Moral Ambiguity and Propaganda

After enjoying a sushi dinner with my cousin, I found myself wide awake and browsing Netflix for something to watch. At the top of the list was The Thursday Murder Club, a made-for-TV murder mystery featuring a stellar cast: Helen Mirren as Elizabeth Best, Pierce Brosnanas Ron Ritchie, Ben Kingsley as Ibrahim Arif, and Celia Imrie as Joyce Meadowcroft. With such talent, I expected an entertaining whodunit. The premise—a group of senior citizens in a retirement home investigating unsolved murders—seemed promising, so I gave it a try. While the film was engaging and the acting lighthearted, its underlying messages and false premises left me deeply troubled.

A Flawed Premise: Misrepresenting Justice

The story begins with a cold case from 50 years ago: the murder of a young woman, with the prime suspect—her boyfriend—allegedly let off by police because he was a “good old boy.” This setup immediately struck me as implausible. Historically, murder was treated with utmost seriousness, and it’s unlikely that authorities would dismiss such a case so casually. The film’s narrative suggests that systemic corruption, particularly among white Western males, allowed the suspect to evade justice. This feels like a heavy-handed attempt to portray traditional societal structures as inherently flawed, a trope that oversimplifies complex issues and paints an unfair picture.

Elizabeth Best, the club’s leader and a retired MI6 agent, learns about this case from a dying friend in hospice, a former policewoman named Penny Grey, who witnessed the boyfriend’s escape from justice. This subplot sets the stage for the film’s troubling moral ambiguity, which I’ll address later.

A Series of Murders and Questionable Motives

The second murder involves a gangster-like figure, Bobby Tanner, who supposedly protects the Coopers Chase retirement home from being sold. After a public argument with his business partner, Ian Ventham, becomes the obvious suspect in Bobby’s eventual death. Ian, a real estate developer, plans to sell the property, including a cemetery, displacing the seniors. In a bizarre scene, Ian sends an employee—a Polish immigrant gravedigger named Bogdan Jankowski—to begin excavating graves alone, while he confronts a crowd of protesting seniors, including Elizabeth, Ron, Ibrahim, and Joyce. Elizabeth engages Bogdan in a sympathetic conversation, portraying him as a decent person trapped by his illegal status and inability to visit his mother in Poland. This moment feels like a deliberate attempt to contrast the “virtuous” outsider with the supposedly corrupt locals.

The third murder is Ian Ventham himself, who dies under mysterious circumstances. The plot thickens as Elizabeth’s husband, Stephen Best, who suffers from memory issues, pieces together clues and accuses Bogdan of Bobby Tanner’s death. Additionally, a subplot involves Ron Ritchie’s son, Jason Ritchie, who is jailed as a suspect in Ian’s murder. When Ron presses Jason to reveal his whereabouts during the crime, Jason admits to an extramarital affair with Ian’s wife, Gemma Ventham. Shockingly, Ron accepts this revelation without judgment, as if infidelity is a norm to be overlooked. This scene further underscores the film’s failure to hold characters accountable for morally questionable actions, instead normalizing behavior that disregards personal responsibility.

A Disturbing Moral Framework

The film resolves the murders in reverse order, unveiling a narrative that justifies wrongdoing under the guise of moral necessity. Bogdan, we learn, killed Bobby Tanner accidentally during a confrontation over his withheld passport. The film presents this act as understandable, implying that Bobby’s criminal behavior excuses the killing. However, this ignores the fact that Bogdan could have sought legal recourse to resolve his situation. By framing the manslaughter as a tragic necessity, the writers push the idea that illegal actions are justified if committed by a “good” person.

The earlier murders are even more troubling. The cold-case killer, buried in the cemetery, was murdered years ago by Penny Grey, the hospice-bound policewoman, who took justice into her own hands. To protect her legacy, her husband, John Grey, poisons Ian Ventham. Elizabeth, aware of these crimes, chooses not to report them. Instead, she allows John to euthanize Penny and take his own life, presenting these acts as compassionate. This resolution glorifies vigilantism, euthanasia, and suicide, suggesting that such actions are acceptable if motivated by personal loyalty or perceived justice.

Propaganda and the Culture of Death

The film’s climax, marked by a soliloquy from Ibrahim Arif, reinforces its troubling message: killing is justifiable if the end goal feels righteous. This aligns disturbingly with the notion that “the ends justify the means,” a philosophy that undermines the sanctity of human life. The portrayal of euthanasia and suicide as noble acts is particularly egregious. Penny Grey, though unresponsive, may still have had moments of consciousness or the potential to awaken. John’s decision to end her life robs her of that possibility and any chance to reckon with her past actions. His subsequent suicide is framed as a tragic but acceptable escape from accountability, further eroding moral boundaries. Similarly, the casual acceptance of Jason’s affair as a mere alibi, rather than a breach of trust, reflects the film’s broader tendency to excuse actions devoid of responsibility.

The Thursday Murder Club uses its charming cast and lighthearted tone to mask a narrative that normalizes morally reprehensible actions. By presenting murder, vigilantism, euthanasia, suicide, and infidelity as justified or inconsequential, it subtly promotes a “culture of death” that devalues human life. This is not an isolated issue; many modern films casually depict violence and moral ambiguity without regard for the consequences. While the acting and pacing made the movie watchable, its underlying propaganda left me questioning whether our society has become too desensitized to such messages.

Conclusion

The Thursday Murder Club could have been a fun murder mystery, but its flawed premises and moral justifications overshadow its entertainment value. The film’s attempt to glorify illegal and immoral acts under the guise of compassion is deeply concerning. As viewers, we must question narratives that erode the value of human life and promote a worldview where the ends justify any means. This movie, sadly, is a missed opportunity to tell a story that respects both justice and humanity.

The Gift of Life: Lessons from the Parable of the Talents

The Parable of the Talents says it all.

I am almost never surprised at how dim-witted I am at times. I hear something over and over again, yet I don’t understand all the nuances and meanings. Maybe I am not slow; perhaps it is the human part of maturing. It takes a significant amount of time to remove the noise of the world from your life to focus on the truth of our reality.

I go to Mass on a nearly daily basis. I hear and read the daily readings. One particular reading that struck me recently, though it has always been meaningful to me, was the parable of the talents. Why is it that at this particular time in my life I find it has deeper meaning?

It is and will always be difficult for us to quiet our minds during prayer or for any other reason. Our minds are always racing to the next thing. So, sitting in the pews, listening to the word of God each day, helps me center my life and soul to try to do His will. Though I often fail, this is always my goal.

It hit me during the reading of this parable: it is not just about the talents, but about us in our entirety. Each individual human being has been given the gift of life. With that gift, we have been given a certain set of skills and abilities to create for the betterment of life, not only for ourselves but for those around us. We do not exist solely for our own purpose; that is what the devil sows, leading to discontent and misery. In saying this, I am trying to clarify that we must always do good for our neighbor and also care for what God has given us, to nurture and grow in and for the world.

In the commandment to love your neighbor lies the most important key to finding happiness and joy in this life. Why is it that the two first and most important commandments also point to the exact same thing?

The first commandment, love the Lord your God above everyone and everything, is so simple, yet most people can’t grasp its meaning. This command helps us order ourselves correctly. We didn’t create ourselves, and we cannot create life. We didn’t create the gifts we have. In fact, we are merely receivers of all these gifts, and because of this, we need to approach all things with humility, always acknowledging that we are merely stewards.

It is much like when we get a new car: we drive it and care for it. We may even love it in the sense marveling at this creation that others were able to produce. But we don’t run around acting like we created the car or that we are better than those who created it because we added a more expensive set of tires or a better sound system. The reality is the vehicle is a gift, and of course, we can improve it if we have been given the gifts and ability to do so. But we are never truly the originators, the foundation; we are merely stewards.

Sadly, rejecting the gifts we’ve been given distorts reality. Our self-centered society, envious of creation, often denies our true nature and purpose. This rejection of what is good and beautiful, favoring destruction over creation, is the essence of horror. It’s why so many people suffer from sadness, depression, and emptiness, trapped in a void where nothing fulfills its purpose, leading to a deep sense of despair. Some even harm their own bodies, turning what may begin as adornment into excessive defacement, such as through extreme tattooing, thus dishonoring the gift of their physical form.

We must accept the gifts we have been given in all their simplicity. These are our unique and truly individual talents. Accepting the responsibility of stewardship means not only caring for our own talents and gifts but also caring for those of our neighbors. It has become clear to me in my maturing that our lives are finite. We have all been given a canvas on which we can create a beautiful painting of our lives. Yes, we will make mistakes, and there will be struggles, but you can paint beautifully with crooked lines when you do it with goodwill and love for others. The vision and goal are to create something beautiful with the talents you have been given.

As I have progressed in my life, I have noticed that the more I do for others, the more I am able to grow and improve as a person. I hold nothing back from anyone. I share all of my knowledge and teach the next generation, not solely in my areas of expertise but, more importantly, through the application of my talents to help others grow. I look at the world as God’s vineyard, and I am but one of many persons tending to creation. The others alongside me will learn and grow with my help. I must decrease as they increase, and so is life.

Hence, the parable of the talents is all about what I have shared here. It is about you and me. It is not about making money or having successes. It is about helping to expand creation through the gifts the good Lord has given us. Loving, caring, and sharing with humility are the seeds of our participation in creation.

Gospel of Matthew, chapter 25, 14-30

The Parable of the Talents.

c “It will be as when a man who was going on a journey* called in his servants and entrusted his possessions to them.

To one he gave five talents;* to another, two; to a third, one—to each according to his ability. Then he went away. Immediately

the one who received five talents went and traded with them, and made another five.

Likewise, the one who received two made another two.

* But the man who received one went off and dug a hole in the ground and buried his master’s money.

After a long time the master of those servants came back and settled accounts with them.

The one who had received five talents came forward bringing the additional five.* He said, ‘Master, you gave me five talents. See, I have made five more.’

d His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’

[Then] the one who had received two talents also came forward and said, ‘Master, you gave me two talents. See, I have made two more.’

His master said to him, ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant. Since you were faithful in small matters, I will give you great responsibilities. Come, share your master’s joy.’

Then the one who had received the one talent came forward and said, ‘Master, I knew you were a demanding person, harvesting where you did not plant and gathering where you did not scatter;

so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the ground. Here it is back.’

His master said to him in reply, ‘You wicked, lazy servant!* So you knew that I harvest where I did not plant and gather where I did not scatter?

Should you not then have put my money in the bank so that I could have got it back with interest on my return?

Now then! Take the talent from him and give it to the one with ten.

* e For to everyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

* And throw this useless servant into the darkness outside, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.’

In Memory of My Mom

My mother, Virginia, was unconventional. She began her journey as a mother and launched her career in translation and interpreting successfully, while already having six children. To top it off, she got her high school and college diplomas during the same time period. She did have a great head start from the excellent education she received at St. George in Havana, Cuba, where she gained her strong prowess in the English language.

But what drove her to excellence was her joy for life. She knew that life is the greatest gift one has. She received from our grandmother, Concha, an understanding of how precious life is, as her mother wanted so much to have a child and took the risk of her life to bring a baby into the world. That baby was my Mami. This was something indelibly impressed upon her mind and soul.

She knew her mother had wanted to have many children but could not. But her extended family was large, and she quickly became close to her two cousins, Albertico and Bebo. To us, her children, they were our uncles. Whenever they came by, you could always see the joy in my mother’s face. She knew the happiness of family, and that is why she was determined to have a large one.

She got what she wanted and both the fun and the headaches that came with it. I remember my mother typing a book report for my brother Javier in high school in the morning before the bus came! Or when she made me and Javier walk to our high school in the snow because we purposely missed the bus. She was also always there for all of us with our illnesses, taking us to the doctor and making sure we got better and the right care. She read up on everything, and this was before the internet; she spent hours at the library doing research. Often, she knew more than the doctors about what ailed us!

She also had her very private side that only family knew: that she was deeply religious. She had a deep devotion to St. Jude Thaddeus and our holy mother, Mary. I know this because, having spent much time living at my mom’s house, as my wife and I jokingly called “Our Weekend Residence,” I was able to actually get to know her so much better.

She would say prayers every morning, thanking God for the gift of another day and the lack of pain she had from her various cancers. In the evening, she would pray to God, often asking help from the saints, for forgiveness for her sins and for one more day to enjoy the gift that is life itself.

She confided in me that it hurt her deeply, the mistakes she had made in handling certain family matters that later caused problems. She felt she tried her best to make things right and had decided this was of considerable concern, so she added it to her daily prayers. She had great hope that the love of Jesus Christ would come down on the hearts of those affected and heal all wounds.

My mom was a wonderful person; she had great loves, great friends, a huge and happy family. She traveled the world and loved her career, living this earthly life to the fullest. “No one is good but God alone,” as Jesus said, and my mom knew it, and we all should accept this truth that few of us are saints.

In her last hours on her deathbed, she frequently raised her hand and made the sign of the cross, blessing herself. Then, I am told by Rebecca and Donna that she said in her last hour of life, as if to someone, “I know, I am sorry.” This to me is a sign of her humility and love. And there is no greater gift that she could have given me than this example of loving repentance as she was dying. I pray that we can all come to the humility of asking forgiveness and granting it, which is the Christian way.

For this reason, I ask everyone to always remember her in your prayers, and when she gets into heaven, she will remember us as well.

A Mother’s Heart

When times are tough

And you are alone

Your mother’s heart

Will be your home

When life is bright

And you wish to share

Your mother’s eyes

Will still be there

When seasons change

And the wind blows high

You’ll hear her laughter

Floating nigh

When the Lord calls you

To leave this land

It’s your mom

Who’ll be there

To take your hand

A Mother’s Heart

I have written this simple poem in memory of my mother who passed Friday, May 30 of 2025. I hope you enjoy it.

When times are tough

And you are alone

Your mother’s heart

Will be your home

When life is bright

And you wish to share

Your mother’s eyes

Will still be there

When seasons change

And the wind blows high

You’ll hear her laughter

Floating nigh

When the Lord calls you

To leave this land

It’s your mom

Who’ll be there

To take your hand

Legacy

Busy work,

Demands of Time

Delusions of purpose

Lacks all rhyme

Death’s door

Is always near

Many say

A thing to fear

Work and play

Life’s diversions

Play a small part

In the heart’s true conversion

Giving and caring

All for others

The tool for growth

As known by mothers

Then only key

for eternal life

That brings forth

The one true light

The light that

Touches all around

Creates true love

That will abound

When death and decay

The body sees

Those left behind

Life’s lights are still seen

When death and decay

The body sees

Those left behind

Life’s lights are still seen

Don’t fret

On the world’s

Demands infernal

Only your love

Will last

Which is eternal

The End of Slavery in the USA June 19th, 1865 

A Long-Fought Cause Finally Accomplished 

The education of our children is of the utmost importance. It becomes even more so when the topic is a moral one. That is why the history of crimes against humanity has to be made clear.

Slavery, an institution that has records of its existence as far back as 3500 BC in Mesopotamia and is mentioned directly in the Book of Hammurabi in 1750 BC is one dark side of mankind that still exists to this day. 

For this note’s purposes, I will reflect on more recent history.

In the year 1435 AD Pope Eugene the IV wrote a papal bull condemning slavery, in no uncertain terms, when he learned of the enslavement of the black people in the Canary Islands. He wrote the following argument as it pertained to the Christian Faithful and their responsibilities before God. 

“They have deprived the natives of their property or turned it to their own use, and have subjected some of the inhabitants of said islands to perpetual slavery (<subdiderunt perpetuae servituti>), sold them to other persons and committed other various illicit and evil deeds against them…. Therefore We … exhort, through the sprinkling of the Blood of Jesus Christ shed for their sins, one and all, temporal princes, lords, captains, armed men, barons, soldiers, nobles, communities and all others of every kind among the Christian faithful of whatever state, grade or condition, that they themselves desist from the aforementioned deeds, cause those subject to them to desist from them, and restrain them rigorously. And no less do We order and command all and each of the faithful of each sex that, within the space of fifteen days of the publication of these letters in the place where they live, that they restore to their pristine liberty all and each person of either sex who were once residents of said Canary Islands … who have been made subject to slavery (<servituti subicere>). These people are to be totally and perpetually free and are to be let go without the exaction or reception of any money.” 

Then again in 1537 Pope Paul III wrote another letter against its practice in learning of the enslavement of the Native Americans “The Sublime God”. Which is a strongly worded document against slavery and specifically defending Native Americans as right free human beings. Two other bulls would be published to implement the teaching of this letter, one to impose penalties on those who fail to abide by the teaching against slavery, and a second to specify the sacramental consequences of the teaching that the Indians are true men. 

Therefore, it is no surprise that George Washington in the year 1799, the first president of the United States of America, a right, just and learned man would in his last will grant freedom to his slaves upon his death. But it is sad that a man with a justly formed conscious such as he had, did not have the will strong enough to free his slaves while he lived. He was a southerner, and going against the will of society was surely a big deterrent at the time. 

This point acknowledges the fact that mankind already knew that slavery was unjust and should be abolished. In fact, by the early 1800s a term Southern Democrat came into existence referring to those in the south of the nation that did not agree with the abolishment of slavery. 

The Catholic Bishops in the country did not particularly come out against slavery. But just like the crime of abortion (infanticide), which is currently widely accepted in these United States, the bishops of the USA succumb to the social and political elites and are unwilling to risk it all to vocalize the truth taught by the Church. Abortion unjustly dehumanizes a human baby for the sole purpose of its destruction because of many issues other than self-preservation.  

Again, the bishops playing politics as a religious minority in the population did not strongly oppose this evil. Rome then continued to press the issue, building upon letters of the previous popes Gregory XIV (1591) and Urban VIII (1639) and in 1839, Pope Gregory the XVI wrote the following. 

“We, by apostolic authority, warn and strongly exhort in the Lord faithful Christians of every condition that no one in the future dare to bother unjustly, despoil of their possessions, or reduce to slavery (<in servitutem redigere>) Indians, Blacks or other such peoples.” 

Then it all came to a head with the Civil War which began in 1861 and lasted five years. The death toll was astronomical. The total death toll was 618,222 men, of which 360,222 were the Union Soldiers who fought for the freedom of the slaves. This represented 3.34% of the population and would be the equivalent of 11 million people (about twice the population of Arizona) in our country dying today for a just cause. Let us not ever forget the bloodshed given by honest freedom loving men to right this wrong. 

June 19th in the year 1865 is the day that the State of Texas declared the official emancipation of the slaves and from there is derived the contraction and term currently being used for this holiday “Juneteenth”, even though the president of the United States of America, Abraham Lincoln had already declared slavery illegal in the Emancipation proclamation of January 1, 1863.  

Because of this newfound freedom the Catholic Church had its first black priest in the United States of America, Venerable Augustus Tolton, who had been born into slavery. It was no easy task for this young catholic to become a priest and he had to travel to Rome to get an education due to the racism he still faced in the country. He was the founder of the first black parish in Chicago Illinois. 

Sadly, in the professionally researched book Grant by Ron Chernow, we learn true freedom had to be continually fought for as the Southern Democrats still retained power and imposed cruel and unjust punishment on the black people that opposed them. This would continue up into the 1960s. It is terribly sad that a country born out of a fight for freedom would itself have this dark stain on its history. 

Growing up in the USA as a Cuban Immigrant I faced only minor racism and always felt compassion for the blacks that had it worse. As the years went on, here in the northeast of the country I believed relations had improved and in fact in the 1990s when Los Angeles had its riots due to the Rodney King incident, I recall everyone in NYC took the following day off knowing full well that there would be no riots here. In fact, I would say racism was at its lowest until President Obama in my estimation promoted racial division. 

Sadly, we are still fighting racism. But now we are also fighting modern slavery. Let us all on this day remember those who in the past gave their lives so that others can live in freedom and pray for those in the battle against human trafficking and all evils that beset mankind. 

I will end this with a prayer. 

Dear Lord Father in Heaven, 

May You open the eyes and hearts of all the people on this earth to know that the only way to happiness is by loving your neighbor as yourself. Only by giving of ourselves by showing kindness, love and respect will the world become a better and happier place for all peoples of any color or origin.  Please give us all the grace to make it so.

I ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen. 

Pornography is Mainstream

How the movie “Poor Things” spells out the end of the current civilization.

Recently I read someone write the claim that the movie Poor Things does not fall into the category of pornography. I was shocked, and I had to look up the definition:

pornography

noun

por·​nog·​ra·​phy pȯr-ˈnä-grə-fē 

1: the depiction of erotic behavior (as in pictures or writing) intended to cause sexual excitement.

2: material (such as books or a photograph) that depicts erotic behavior and is intended to cause sexual excitement.

3: the depiction of acts in a sensational manner so as to arouse a quick intense emotional reaction.

My wife and I went to see this movie when it first came out believing it was a science fiction movie. At first, it followed a bizarre dystopian story much like Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Unfortunately for us, it would not be too long into the film that it became nothing more than an excuse to legitimatize pornography.

As a human being growing up in the USA and having unfortunately been subject to many oversexualized movie scenes throughout my lifetime, I never expected to be insulted at this level. But even worse than the fact, basis Merriam-Webster’s definition, that this movie is just a high budget Pornography. Are its sick and twisted themes.

It’s interesting to note that much of the movie was filmed in black and white. This is for theatrical effect I am sure, but it gets at what it is about. It is simply a movie lacking light. It is one of the darkest, most evil sinister movies I have ever seen.

A woman, who kills herself is revived and given a baby’s brain. She is a child in an adult body and then becomes obsessed with pleasuring herself and then later with intercourse. She sees her body as a pleasure center and then as a utility for making money after she disposes all her and her lover’s assets on the poor. The only higher human function she has the whole movie. She is supposed to be the protagonist.

Incidentally, the actress who played the woman Emma Stone, did do a fantastic job of it, but she also sold her soul and respectability. I, for one, will never go to see another film in which she may appear because of her lack of judgement in accepting this role. I cannot imagine the shame her parents must have knowing that their daughter is now known for a role in the first mainstream pornography movie studio film. The first of many, is at least this is what the dark forces within Hollywood I am sure are hoping for.

Then the rest of the characters are all shallow with no depth and all the lowest comprehensible level of human life that can exist. Her initial lover, if you want to call it that, is obsessed with the woman for her beauty, her future boyfriend an assistant of her creator, care’s her for the same reason but in a servile position to her, almost in a form of worship. Then comes the husband of the woman who killed herself, he claims her and is obviously a horrible evil person. The cause of the original woman’s suicide.

She needs to get her freedom, so she kills the man and transfer his brain to that of a fowl. This is supposed to be justice in this dark film. But in truth, it is Par for the course. It is the perversion and the twisting of the natural order of human life to all evil. There is no birth, no joy in nature, only darkness. There are absolutely no redeeming qualities to the story of this movie.

In this film not one male character has any depth or moral compass, including that of the woman’s creator. Neither do any of the women though they are portrayed as heroines in a brutally male world.

The cinematography was excellent, and the production was of the highest quality. The dystopian world where this story is created is strange and interesting. I wish that the money spent was used to create a film of beauty that would uplift this world and not the highest quality pornography ever produced in Hollywood.

This film’s acceptance is a very sad commentary on our society. I fear the end of the western civilization which has seen the greatest prosperity and peace ever, particularly in the United States of America is nearing its end. As selfishness and perversity pervade a society it only spells out impending destruction from the same hands.

I saw this movie in December 2023 and was hoping I would not have to spend any time thinking about this offensive film again. After it won several Academy Awards, I felt I had to get the truth out, at least to my small audience.

Family Man

A Country Song in My Mind

I literally woke up with this song on my mind. Now I got to get someone to put this to music.

Refrain

Family Man

I’m getting close to home,

I don’t want to be late.

I pray to the Lord Jesus

I get home by eight.

My five little children

I’m missing so much.

But most of all,

I miss my wife’s sweet touch.

It’s been a few weeks.

I’ve been on the road.

Crossing these highways

With a massive load.

It’s the nasty weather,

That makes me recall,

My Lord’s got this,

I ain’t in control

Refrain

At the truck stop

Feeling lonely and strange

Eating my beans

Playing with the food on my plate

A nice little woman

Comes by and says to me hey,

I make the cross on my heart

And tell her about my girl Kate.

Refrain

Well, Kate’s, sweet and strong.

And loves me so much.

She wants to have babies,

Because it’s God’s sweet touch

That brings us both closer,

To the eternal one

Plus, the act of creation,

Sure is fun!

 Refrain

I get some time,

Between the long trips

We thank the Lord,

For all our great gifts.

Our home, our food

And the holiday trips

I say my prayers,

In my room all alone.

It’s Kate and the kids

That bring me all my joy.

I could’ve been a rock star.

That ain’t no matter

‘Cause I’d rather have this.

Refrain

All Creation is Shouting for Joy!

Revelations from Nature

I went for a nice long walk in Echo Lake Park in Mountainside, NJ. It was an atypical Sunday in February. It was not below freezing and with the sun it actually was quite comfortable. I had my binoculars with me, as any avid birder would on any walk. The day was bountiful with birds. I spotted over twenty species, which is a huge accomplishment in the winter.

Then I strolled over to the connecting Lenape Park. On the path that leads to the pond there used to be a garden nursery. Sadly, as the community progressed things changed and the property was sold. Now there is what appears to be a massive luxury apartment building complex under construction. To be fair, they are close enough to the park where they will surely be required to plant trees and shrubbery to keep with the setting and this will create homes for the wildlife that as of this time have been displaced.  Hence, it was not as lovely as usual but will be once again.

As I reached the pond, there were two county police officers in their cruiser, I assume taking a break. Reaching the edge of the pond itself another birder came up and greeted me. He had all the gear including an expensive camera with a telephoto lens. I had done the photography thing for a few years but tired of it interfering with my appreciation of nature. Anyway, he told me he had been watching a Pileated Woodpecker over at yonder tree. He also told me of teenagers dumping the picknick tables into the pond. He decided to go to speak with the police about the issue while I went to explore the trees and hopefully see the same woodpecker.

Looking up at two trees, not sure which was the one he had been directing me to. I noticed the birds had gotten eerily quiet; I could only hear bird song in the distance. To my amazement, I spotted a Red-Tailed Hawk up on the top of a tree eating its prey. I couldn’t make out whether it was eating a small bird or a mouse. Either way it was having its fill, and I had now had an exceptionally wonderful experience on this walk.

I was due home to bring my wife, breakfast and then get ready to get to church in time. I quickly left the pond and informed the birder-photographer who was more excited about my find than he had appeared to be of the woodpecker and went running to try to get a picture, he was very grateful.

Some people do not understand this hobby and I guess people may have different reasons for doing it. But my reason is quite simple and after leaving Lenape Park while headed back to my car that was parked at Echo Lake it just jumped out of my mouth as if all the years of birding culminated to this point. I began to sing at the top of my lungs, if my wife was with me, she would have turned all different colors, but when I am alone and at my age, I share my joy. I don’t get embarrassed easily. So, this is what I sang:

The heavens are telling the glory of God,
And all creation is shouting for joy!
Come, dance in the forest, come, play in the field,
And sing, sing to the glory of the Lord!

Having known these words for much of my life. I have sung it; I have read it from the original prayer, and I have studied its inspiration. Canticle of the Sun was written in Italian by St. Francis of Assisi in 1225. Incidentally, I took his name for my confirmation at the age of 14, and I wear a medal of St. Francis always. He has been an inspiration for me all my life. His humility and love have always drawn me close to him. I always thought I understood him but until recently it truly did not click in my simple mind.

Yes, I understood his love for the Lord and all His creation. I know as most people do and some don’t want to admit that there is a Creator. I personally am not surprised that He would want to look in on us and that He loves us. But I didn’t understand though simple, it didn’t hit me until that day and then it would be several weeks later that I have been given the true understanding to express it.

As Ash Wednesday came and the Lenten season was once again upon us, I decided to reread the ever-perennial Book of Job. A book from the Old Testament that in a certain way delves into trying to understand human suffering, sacrifice and our relationship with our Lord. This time I concurrently read the book “On Job” by Gene Fendt that was released this year. I found it incredibly helpful to meditate and pray with.

This is a immensely deep topic. Volumes of books have been written by theologians, philosophers and thinkers. People with greater skill and study than I will ever have. Yet, we have all been given the same gift and this is what is most important.

Job in his infinite wisdom never denies the Lord. He does not understand why he suffers and groans at the suffering, but Satan could not break him. Because he knew with deep understanding and acceptance that all he is and all we have is given to us by the Lord our God. How can we, which are only part of His creation, think or believe that we can understand all things. It is a farce for us to act as we do. “The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD!”

Even the greatest scientists in the world have found that intelligent design can be the only thing that can explain creation. This is why all life is precious. We create, but we are limited. Only our Lord God has created all things, and He is always calling us home. As Gene Fendt states in his book “The world is groaning and cries out for its recreation. Only that will answer: all things must be made new again.” This making new again can only done with and through the creator.

So many fall for the lies of the evil one. Anyone who denies creation and nature in an attempt to bend it to their will only make a mockery of themselves and ultimately destroy themselves. We should always work in concert with nature not against it. Then we truly participate in the natural order. I pray for those that deny nature and its order to come back to the reality that their true longing is to be with the Creator God. Sadly, they fall for lies when all around them is beauty and the truth is in our face, if only, we should all open our eyes. As a Christian and from my own natural observance I know that my redeemer lives that I may rise again.

It is God calling us, everything in nature is shouting to us; “Hear me and follow me for I AM the LORD your God.” With humility and this understanding, I know I must accept all burdens that come my way and I must face them always realizing that everything belongs to the Lord for the rain falls on the Good and the Bad and I must always do all things with Love for others.

Thank you, St. Francis and St. Job, for giving me the words I need to express the revelation given to me that day in the park and most importantly thank you my Lord and God Jesus Christ for your love always. I am but nothing in this world and humbly I beg you to have mercy on my sins and those of the whole world.

With that said, I will continue to sing! Sing to the glory of the Lord!

The World Full of Lost Souls

Finding the True Shepherd

It is truly perplexing how mankind is always lost. It seems you can give a person a map and he will turn it upside. You can show him joy and he will turn it to sadness. You can give him peace and he will ruin it with violence and greed. One interesting thing is people comment on it like it is a sport.

Ultimately, you can always tell the fruits of one’s work or action by the results it brings forth. But for some reason mankind sees the results of certain actions and continues to persist with the actions that they know will perpetuate negative results.

Somehow people are still falling for the same tired lies. Marxism and all its forms will bring nothing but destruction. It has been tried and tested, has failed miserably. It’s evangelist falls back over and over again on its most popular myth, “It hasn’t really been tried”. The list goes on and on of where it has been tried, and how it always converts into the same gutter trap, a form of dictatorship and enslavement of the masses in all its many forms. The constant propaganda being fed to the populace that a government will solve their problems is a lie that destroys all hope, joy, and purpose in life.

Now they want to destroy the United States of America. Sadly, these people with their complete lack of morality will likely succeed. They have taken a bite of the apple and though the fruit is bitter they will engage believing that mankind can create heaven on earth or nirvana, whichever you prefer. They believe anarchy and violence towards our system of government will somehow liberate them. When studying history, it is easily revealed that their socialist end goal will bring injustice, poverty, and misery.

The USA was not perfect by any means. But in the last ten years it has become a much more imperfect place and has fallen to become a world full of lies in which the new order is attempting to control the people. The push is for more legalized drugs and the acceptance of all forms of sexual perversions as a right above all things decent. I believe the main reason for this is the lack of respect for human life.

When a people do not believe life has any value and it is cheap, it will act that way. This is why our leaders are leading us into wars and creating scenarios for more. That is why our government wants us, the taxpayers, to fund the destruction of human beings in the womb. That is why our government is pushing for the destruction of children’s bodies for the Frankenstein like experimentation on our young, knowing full well, that unlike God, humans can no more change the natural born sex of a person than we can create new worlds.

Does any of that sound to you like people we want running our government? Do you feel the desire to raise the flag in your house when you hear of these horrors and for some reason feel an inability to stop it? I know I don’t. If I raise the flag, it is in remembering the USA of the past, not the present with all its globalist, socialist anarchistic schemes.

All is not lost because there is but one truth and how I pray that people would search in their hearts and know it.  How do you know as a people, that you leadership cares or has love for you? Iti is simple, by their actions.

Below is Excerpt from Jesus of Nazareth by Pope Benedict XVI;

“In the same way, the “sheep”, who after all are people created by God, images of God, do not belong to the shepherd as if they were things-though that is what the thief, and robber thinks when he takes possession of them. Herein lies the distinction between, the owner, the true shepherd, and the robber, for ideologues and the dictators, human beings are merely a thing that they possess. For the true Shepherd, however, they are free in relation to truth and love; the Shepherd proves that they belong to him, precisely by knowing and loving them, by wishing them to be in the freedom of truth. They belong to him through oneness of “knowing,” through the communion in the truth that the Shepherd himself is. This is why he does not use them, but gives his life for them. Just as Logos and Incarnation, Logos and passion belong together, so too knowing and self-giving are ultimately one.”

The lies we are now seeing constantly propagated through the mainstream media, by our politicians who believe themselves above us when they are beholden to us, and other nefarious global entities such as the United Nations, the World Economic Forum, and the World Health Organization do nothing more than bring despair to our society.

Human life is the highest and most sacred creature on the planet. We need to know that each individual has value, and we need to protect the individual as a special autonomous person and not a vassal of any government. Once people are affirmed in their value to society, then they will have an open heart to embrace the truth.

The truth can be found in Jesus Christ and when people can put aside all prejudices and open their hearts, they will find it irresistible to follow for he is the true Shepherd who cares for us. Not Karl Marx.

John 8:31-32

Jesus then said to those Jews who believed in him, “If you remain in my word, you will truly be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.