Thursday

Slow Thursday

There's now an iPhone app for confession. I might download it, but iPieta has pretty much everything I need, plus I've added a lot of Catholic material to my iPhone notepad. The whole iPhone/iPad revolution is a great way to stay focused. I carry around a list of reminders that I look at every day (in theory at least). I used to keep a small backpack of materials in my car at all times, but not anymore. My iPhone has an assortment of books and notes and it fits in my pocket. If you're thinking about getting a smart phone, consider this a spiritual endorsement. It has pitfalls (it's a tremendous temptation to distraction), but overall, I think its technological spiritual benefits greatly exceed the temptations. * * * * * * * Leno: "President Obama urged private businesses to hire more workers. He didn't realize that only the government hires more people than it needs." * * * * * * * Really? Georgetown has better things to do than bring people closer to God: “'Our job as educators and as priests is not to bring God to people, or even to bring people to God. God's already there and the people are already there. Our job, our way, of living out our educational vocation is to ask the right questions, and to help young people ask those questions,'” says Fr. Ryan Maher, S.J., Georgetown's associate dean and director of Catholic studies." I like to think those things aren't inconsistent. Of course, if he's focusing on vocation, I can appreciate that he's saying that their job as educators isn't to bring students closer to God. But if he's talking about their general purpose in life and overall responsibility to students? It bothers me. Georgetown in general seems too focused on detaching itself from God . . . or at least the "Catholic version" of Him. * * * * * * * A joke my priest told: A man is at a cocktail party. An angel appears and reveals to the crowd that the man had recently risked his life to save a little girl. The angel announced to the man in front of everybody: "You may choose one: Greatest wisdom, greatest wealth, or greatest fame." The man thought for a minute and then chose wisdom. The angel said, "Done," then disappeared. All the party guests gathered around and saw a warm glow develop around him. They waited silently and just watched him, sensing that he was pondering something great. After a minute he pronounced, "I should have taken the money."