What a Strange Two Weeks

We lost Annette and Roger...then Jonathan died and my heart just cracked.  He was one of my favorite comedians, a like minded and similarly afflicted person and someone who made me smile simply by thinking of his name.

Then my cousin Natalie showed up with husband Gordon in tow and the fun began.  We put our sadness behind us and it was party time...ok, so our idea of party is going to the gym and then Marshall's for new khakis so Gordon will be allowed into the country club for dinner but by golly we had a good time.  We were all set for an afternoon that meant may a movie or two and the news came in on the Marathon Bombings.

My heart cracked a little more. 

The 8 year old boy who was killed had just received his First Holy Communion the year before and by all accounts his family was a strong, Catholic group full of love and light.  I will never understand such a tragedy and why anyone would think this kind of destruction would help them achieve their political goals.  I will never, ever get it.  You can try to explain it to me.  You can tell me how bad the US is, how Obama is worse than Bush because of his drone policies, that it is all the fault of Muslims or Conservative Christian Wackos, or Left Wing Commie Wackos, or disgruntled members of the Mickey Mouse Club.  Only one thing makes sense:

Concupiscence.

We allow sin to enter into the world with every nasty act, every time we turn deliberately from God and His Church, every time we turn our backs on The Eucharist and pretend it is something it is not just so we can feel politically groovy and correct.  Every time we hold a grudge against family members, sure they did things against our wishes without taking the time to ask ourselves why they would take that action in the first place (it hurt my pride to accept the fact that certain actions taken by my mother 25 years ago to keep me away from her assets and her stuff were perfectly justified in light of what I was doing at the time.  It would be pretty stupid of me to be mad at her for doing that today - even if I have changed, for God's Sake it was MY craziness that caused the actions in the first place, right?) we light the fuse on another bomb somewhere in the world.  Whenever we withhold forgiveness, refuse to stand up and be a leader for those younger than us, pretend that somehow we are better than those around us because we make it to Mass every Sunday   - all of this helps put more ball bearings and nails into the pressure cooker set to go off at the next public gathering.

Despite the sadness we felt Natalie, Gordon and I went for a day trip to Yosemite and walked to the Lower Falls through a light snow fall.  We had dinner at the Country Club (and they let Gordon in - he was wearing the khakis).  We laughed and smiled and had a good time.

Our hearts are with those in Boston, with the wounded and the dead.

Eternal Rest grant unto them, O Lord......