Steven, first i would like to say that I really appreciate the fact that you have no paywall. in fact, that was one of the reasons I subscribed! It seems to me that many substacks have important messages to put out - and the responses, ideas and encouragements that readers can come up with are being lost because of paywalls. I don't have much money to subscribe, or even time to read, so I have to choose my subs. carefully. To find someone who is prepared to just give it all away is a blessing - I hope more writers follow your good example!
I am not a Christian in any traditional sense, I believe in Christ, I think he existed and his ethical teachings are good for any faith. I also believe he was the Son of God - whatever "God" is - and that we are ALL children of God, touched by the light in some degree or other. "The "Christianity" that is taught by many MAGA preachers would have disgusted Christ - I don't think he would have allowed them space in the temple. When you think that the original Pilgrims came to this country so that they could practise their faith in freedom, one can only conclude that MAGA doesn't spend too much time studying history - or the New Testament. I find it deeply sad, and ironic, that a sect who scream so loudly about "Christian Values!" are the very ones that are driving people away from Christ.
I cannot tell you how sad it made me to read that you are now afraid to go into church. I would suggest that maybe you could find a Quaker meeting house? I know you are Catholic, but God's love is everywhere, and very often I've found a real feeling of his presence in such places. It's often the most obscure and unadorned places that He can be felt. I have spent a lot of time in Italy, and while was amazed by St. Peters, and the Church of St. Francis in Assisi , it was in the crypt of tiny 1,000 year old church in a small village that I felt God's love most. And last week I attended a happy funeral for a 100 year old lady who had been a regular worshipper at another ancient church in an English village, capable of holding 50 people at most, hung about with spring flowers. We stood in the graveyard and sang as she was lowered, and all of us felt blessed for having known her - and for having the church as her final resting place.
Faith is often described as a belief in things you cannot see or prove. I think it is a belief in things you can feel - and there are most definitely places where the presence of great good can be felt. I hope you can find somewhere like that in your life - even if it is only under the branches of some great old tree - which is how the "church" in ALL it's aspects, appears to me. Just unfortunate that some branches appear to be rotten.
Go Gigantes! Best ballpark in the country. Sit in the upper deck, down the right field line on a gorgeous San Francisco day with the boats in the bay and the sun shining on the hills across the water. Then the Giants win and you hear Tony Bennett’s classic wafting through the park. Giants since 1958, when my parents took me to a game and another the following year—quite possibly Willie McCovey’s first game because I know Robin Roberts pitched for the Phillies and the home team won. Dad was stationed at Castle AFB and we lived in Atwater. Fast forward 30 years and I was taking my youngest son to Candlestick and then Pac Bell. Love baseball. ⚾️ Played in adult recreational leagues for 20 years in the Fresno area.
Steven, first i would like to say that I really appreciate the fact that you have no paywall. in fact, that was one of the reasons I subscribed! It seems to me that many substacks have important messages to put out - and the responses, ideas and encouragements that readers can come up with are being lost because of paywalls. I don't have much money to subscribe, or even time to read, so I have to choose my subs. carefully. To find someone who is prepared to just give it all away is a blessing - I hope more writers follow your good example!
I am not a Christian in any traditional sense, I believe in Christ, I think he existed and his ethical teachings are good for any faith. I also believe he was the Son of God - whatever "God" is - and that we are ALL children of God, touched by the light in some degree or other. "The "Christianity" that is taught by many MAGA preachers would have disgusted Christ - I don't think he would have allowed them space in the temple. When you think that the original Pilgrims came to this country so that they could practise their faith in freedom, one can only conclude that MAGA doesn't spend too much time studying history - or the New Testament. I find it deeply sad, and ironic, that a sect who scream so loudly about "Christian Values!" are the very ones that are driving people away from Christ.
I cannot tell you how sad it made me to read that you are now afraid to go into church. I would suggest that maybe you could find a Quaker meeting house? I know you are Catholic, but God's love is everywhere, and very often I've found a real feeling of his presence in such places. It's often the most obscure and unadorned places that He can be felt. I have spent a lot of time in Italy, and while was amazed by St. Peters, and the Church of St. Francis in Assisi , it was in the crypt of tiny 1,000 year old church in a small village that I felt God's love most. And last week I attended a happy funeral for a 100 year old lady who had been a regular worshipper at another ancient church in an English village, capable of holding 50 people at most, hung about with spring flowers. We stood in the graveyard and sang as she was lowered, and all of us felt blessed for having known her - and for having the church as her final resting place.
Faith is often described as a belief in things you cannot see or prove. I think it is a belief in things you can feel - and there are most definitely places where the presence of great good can be felt. I hope you can find somewhere like that in your life - even if it is only under the branches of some great old tree - which is how the "church" in ALL it's aspects, appears to me. Just unfortunate that some branches appear to be rotten.
You are a joy to read, Steve.
Go Gigantes! Best ballpark in the country. Sit in the upper deck, down the right field line on a gorgeous San Francisco day with the boats in the bay and the sun shining on the hills across the water. Then the Giants win and you hear Tony Bennett’s classic wafting through the park. Giants since 1958, when my parents took me to a game and another the following year—quite possibly Willie McCovey’s first game because I know Robin Roberts pitched for the Phillies and the home team won. Dad was stationed at Castle AFB and we lived in Atwater. Fast forward 30 years and I was taking my youngest son to Candlestick and then Pac Bell. Love baseball. ⚾️ Played in adult recreational leagues for 20 years in the Fresno area.
The bleakness of the challenges that beset us, make it imperative that we take an active approach in the Preservation of Liberty and Justice for all!
Many thanks for your candour.
The personal is political, and we are not passive observers.