A Book That Should Never Be In Circulation

There is one fictional book that may still be believed as true, and it led to another misery of fiction written by Dan Brown. I speaking of Holy Blood and the Holy Grail. I recall the first time I heard of this book. My roommate and friend was reading it thinking it to be true. It was the rage within my friend group but only a few took it seriously. Sadly, this friend of mine likely still believes it to be true today and he’s teaching as some college likely misguiding students to this day. My experience of this book was different than his.

At first glance, you are amazed at what is said to be true. It captivated me so much after reading it that I spent time trying to figure everything out. When you are introduced to something that not just flips what you know and understand but entirely destroys it you are in shock at first, but if you just keep calm you begin to see flaws and issues with what has surprised you. This book never was able to influence me even with the limited knowledge I had then. This was a time when I was told much of what I knew about early Christianity was at best hearsay and nothing could be verified. In fact, I recall being told by those with PhDs that what we knew of the first century to the fifth century was little and the evidence wasn’t there. The fact is these “experts” were not knowledgable in the subject and had an agenda for misinforming students. To make things clear, they never discussed this book.

What I found the book to be was fanciful and unrelated to what we really know of early Christianity and Jesus. This book is a pseudo-history at best and a potentially great fictional novel but not one with historical meaning or significance. The authors afterall were not historians and really did not research from what I could find or remember. They actually bought into Pierre Plantard’s charade and wrote a book. The idea of “you can’t make this up” is out of the window as Pierre did make it up. The fictional idea of the Merovingian line descended from Jesus and Mary Magdalene. is so outrageous as there is nothing other than the fiction Pierre created that could ever lead you this that conclusion. That book created a lot of nonsense for a time and now we have trash like Dan Brown’s book.

Do I recommend the book? No. It is entirely a waste of time even for fiction. There is a shame on you to the authors of the book unless they knowlingly wrote this fiction for profit. If they thought there was any truth to this then we have three stooges. They could have spent time researching real history and the documents to show how much of a stretch this story really is to suggest it is real. Thankfully, I borrowed the book and was aware enough to question much and look into it further when people were telling me the story was true. There is one lesson I have learned from this book and that is to question the veracity of what you read and are told even if they claim to be an expert.

And now you know the rest of the story

There is one area of reading that I enjoy gravitating to and that would be light reading where I can read a good story without spending much time on it. I consider it a break from reading. When I read a lot of heavy duty books and articles I get tired which is one reason why having a Scotch and reading that material puts me to sleep faster than counting sheep. I could read lightweight fluff called journalism, but sometimes I am not just into someone’s fictionalized version of real events. Then there is Paul Harvey. I’ve enjoyed listening to him when he was on the radio.

Back in the days when bookstores were a real thing, you know, those brick and mortar places that resided within large buildings called malls. I would walk around scanning books titles to see if something would catch my attention. That is when I encountered this tiny paperback that had Paul Harvey’s face on the cover, and I purchased it. Upon reading this book, I would buy others that I found and would spend a few hours reading the book. I do not recall how many there were, but I likely purchased all of them.

These short books were the written stories of what Paul told over the radio. If I recall correctly, the end of each story ended with, “And now you know the rest of the story.” His stories were snippets of true events such as a baboon that worked on a railroad by assisting the railway signalman who was disabled. The baboon, Jack, was eventually paid by the railroad and it was noted he never made a mistake. It was stories like these that entertained your when you were driving and listening to the radio or when, like me, you’re at home and need a break from it all.

Paul Harvey’s stories are the original YouTube videos we watch today. I’d say TikTok but the content on that is for the stupid and gullible. On YouTube, you no longer need imagination to see the even as the author of the video has recreated the event for you to see and oftentimes an incorrect visual of the event. Paul Harvey was an original and still worth listening to and even on YouTube today. In fact, if you’re interesting here is a link for you to listen to him on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jnPE8u5ONls.

Nothing has changed if you think about it. We do the same thing as our ancestors have done but only in a different format. You had the jester if you will at one time and then the printed word which moved to radio then television and now the internet with YouTube and other similar formats. The only thing that has changed is how we receive. That Boomer people keep making fun of may be worth listening to afterall. They experienced the same but in a different format.

As for me, I will keep my books and enjoy the internet for what knowledge it provides. I no longer have the Paul Harvey books, but I still hear the stories repeated years later by those introducing the same stories. Their videos are just not as good as relaxing and reading a book. And no, I am not going to do the obvious ending.

¡Viva Cristo Rey!

I have a joy of reading about saints and their accomplishments and why they entered the religious orders. The first was Padre Pio and it was by mere happenstance where my wife mentioned American Army Airforce officers discussing Padre Pio affecting bombing missions over Italy. Skeptical, I dug into researching this and I did find a British document mentioning a flying priest discouraging American bombers from dropping bombs. Today’s book is Blessed Miguel Pro: 20th Century Mexican Martyr, by Ann Ball.

The author Ann Ball is a Roman Catholic who has written several book on Catholic saints. She is a former school teacher and was an owner of a private security contracting firm in Houston, Texas. Sadly, she passed away in 2008. The book I am writing about was one of her best selling books and was published in 1996 by TAN Books and Publishers. The publisher provides me with what I should expect.

Do not expect a scholarly book as there are no references or any research documentation, and it isn’t dry at all. You are not going to find any sources which is rather sad for me, though it doesn’t make this story untrue. There are 30 pages of images in this 119 page book. While the book lacks sources we do get a hint of where Ann may have gotten some of her material from the acknowledgements. The book itself is an easy read and one that fits well for younger adults. It is not complex and difficult to follow but the opposite. Ann weaves a story that lacks the hitting of an academic writing where you are faced with the data. Her book is more of an amalgamation of stories told by those who knew Miguel or knew stories about him.

If there is one thing anyone should gleen from this book is that Catholicism from its inception has suffered continual terrible persecution. Blessed Miguel Pro lived during a tulmultuous time in Mexico during the Mexican Revolution where priests and other religious were unmercifully murdered by revolutionaries. In fact, the 1917 Constitution of Mexico suppressed the Catholic Church which lasted until 1998 when some of the restrictions placed upon the Church were removed. This type of persecution is not uncommon as we can read how the Bolsheviks massacred priest after priest even when there was no reason to. We can jump to China where Catholicism was attacked and in one story a church was ransacked, the priest imprisoned in a room, and the Holy Eucharist was thrown on the ground. A young faithful Chinese girl would sneak out at each night on her belly and consume as many of the Eucharist she could until she was finally caught and brutally murdered. Japan had its period where Catholicism was persecuted and Samurai who were Catholic had to hide their religious belief. There is England and its destruction of the Catholic Church where many faithful Catholics suffered at the hand of the monarchy. The list goes on. Interestingly, the Catholic Church never died out but came back. Yes, one can look back on the apostles who were executed for their belief to what we see today. This book is a reminder of how close this type of persecution happened to the United Staes and there is no safe state for anyone.

As for Blessed Miguel, the book focuses on her positive attitude and faithfulness and his ministry to the Mexicans until his brutal murder by those whose hatred overwhelmed any appreciation of life. We must be left with the question of “why is the Catholic Church hated to the point of blindless murder without compassion?” What evil compels us to kill others? In the end, Blessed Miguel Pro was victor and his last words still ring today, “¡Viva Cristo Rey!”

There have been a number of books that have had me reflect on the world and how I live my life. Though this book isn’t some great scholarly creation, it has made me think about socialism, communism, hatred, and how we love to justify our ideology. Regardless of your religious conviction or even political leaning this book should be read to make you think about your anger, hatred, violence, and the lies you tell yourself. We are all flawed and when think the taking of any human life no matter how small is justified then we need to know we are lying to ourselves and have become the willing partner of the evil that revels in this horror.

The book lacks the depth due to Ann’s style of writing and goal. Missing is the background that surrounds Blessed Miguel that would provide us with not only depth but an understanding of how tragic his murder was and how evil in thoughts and ideology people can be toward what they do not agree with. The takeaway is how people can do such evil deeds while thinking their self-righteous beliefs are pure and good. For a great analogy, read The Lord of the Rings and learn how Gandalf or even Galadriel viewed the one ring if they possessed it.

Is it worth reading? Yes. It is excellent light reading you can easily finish in a day unlike the book I am currently trying to finish. The biggest downside for me is wanting to know more about Miguel. I wanted depth. If you’re religious you’ll see this as inspirational. If you’re not, then you should see how man’s ideology helps bring out the evil within man. If you get none of that out if it then I am going on the assumption you just blew through the short book without placing any thought to the events within the book.

Live Life

There is a story about a person that passed away and their desk at the company she worked for was cleared out within a week. They had unused PTO days, 401K that will never be used by this person as well as a pension that the person was earning, and sick time untaken. A person describing this person says, “Live life!!” What is living life?

This person can easily be me. I have right now some unused PTO, a 401K, and even a pension. My sick time is actually never taken by me. If I die this moment I’ll never use any of it. Am I the sucker and did I just not live life? Think about your situation right now and ask yourself are you living life? If you’re like many especially the young you may be thinking, “No, I am not living life.” In fact, you could be realizing that you should just scrap the future for the now. There is one thing to remember. Each one of us is living life whether we understand it or not.

Yes, I work a job I am tired of. Yes, in order to increase my 401K I have done without. Yes, the adventures I’ve always wanted never happened and will likely never happen. Would I change my situation knowing what I know now, and have I actually lived life?

There are plenty of poor decisions made that I would change. Most of these are financial from eating out at McDonald’s some 30 years ago to buying that had to have item that no longer is necessary. Was buying that overpriced beer worth the moment I enjoyed it? Was buying that overpriced food worth it? I wasted a lot of money on pleasure and worse yet, momentary pleasure. Those decisions I truly regret. I would have saved a lot of money and could have used that money for more worthwhile activities. These decisions alone affected the paths I’ve chosen.

What about the paths not chosen? Well, I didn’t visit my parents as often as I could for I placed my sons as priority. Looking back now, I do miss my parents and wish I could’ve spent more time. Furthermore, had I not wasted the money I could have done more with my parents instead of relying on a unreliable car. I could have been more mature in Boston when visiting my sister and not gone home early because of a temper tantrum I threw while arguing with my wife. Then there was the trip to Arizona with my friends for a college football game that I declined. Why? I didn’t want to spend the money, and I had a beautiful wife I wanted to be with. Yes, there are the activities I didn’t do because I was busy saving in my 401K and saving for a house and then paying extra on my mortgage. Yep, I threw away many years of my youth not doing activities that I could have done had I just spent the money. There was a cruise that my wife and I discussed. Then there was a trip to Europe or should I say multiple opportunities for visiting Europe. I could have gone on expensive hunting and fishing trips. There is so much I could have done had I not started saving 10% for my 401K or paying extra on my mortgage. Heck, had I not put my family first I could have done a lot of fun stuff. Am I feeling any regrets?

Why would I? When I graduated from college I met my wife and we had children. That was a conscious decision that has brought me much joy. So, no, I do not regret my decision. Had I gone on the trips that I see people do I would not be where I am today. I would have had “worldly” experiences, but there is one thing I would recognize at 40. When you hit 40 you realize you are tiring. At 50, you know you’re done. My goal, one that I realized when I was young, is to retire early. That means before 67. Am I alone? Hell no! Every person my age or around my age is experiencing exactly what I feel. They are tired. They are done. The energy isn’t there like when we were 20 and 30. There is a large number of us trying to figure out how to retire early, and those that aren’t retiring are at the point that if any work stress hits them they can say, “screw it. I retire now.” That is powerful! Better yet, the more years you work at the same place the more time you get and these people are living the life the young want and the individual describing the person at the begin of this story. I have hiked Glacier National Parkt, Zion, Bryce Canyon, Catoctin, the AT, Acadia, the UP in Michigan, and a number of other places. Here is something for you young single folk that want to “live life” – it is hell of a lot more fun with children. My sons are older and now I have a team to do things with. When they were younger they provided no only frustrations but large moments of laughter and fun. They beat any bff or whatever when on trips. There are no huge issues about what to do or who is paying for what.

I am living life! It may not be what I dreamed of, but as an experienced person on this planet, NO ONE lives the life the fantasize about. It all comes home to roost at some point. So, it is better to plan for it and accomodate it instead of living life first and regretting it later. Did that person that die not get to enjoy the fruits of their labor? Yes, but death calls for you at any point in life. In fact, many of you do not realize that you may have been within seconds of death in your past. We can only play the hand we are dealt and cannot worry about the other players.

When it comes to living life you are doing it even if you choose to sit idly in a chair. What you consider living life is really pleasure except life include pain and that is when you say you are not living life. If there is advice to be given it would be enjoy what you are doing now. If you don’t enjoy it determine if it is necessary or not. If not, drop it. If it then plan ways to remove it. Remove the idea of pleasure from your life or you’ll spend too much time focusing on what pleases you which in the end leaves you unfulfilled. You do not live life while you’re young. Only the foolish do that. Life begins at conception and ends in this world at death, so plan for the longhaul and recognize that the life we are given may be short but we won’t ever know. They say appreciate the small things, but I say appreciate every experience even the mundane. Finally, if you see a career, importance, wealth, and pleasure as important then I say I feel sorry for you as you have just let life pass you by.

Catholic Saints: St Moses the Black

In this month of February, I find there are some instances or people that are most appropriate for Black History Month and today’s individual fits well. Now, this person was not born in the Americas nor did he ever lives in the Americas but his journey of life should be an example of how we carry on. He was a person who life started rough and the constant struggles he endured gives example of how we all are on a similar path even if we began life differently.

Moses, born around the year 330, was an Ethiopian living in Egypt as a slave. While working for at an Egyptian official’s house he was accused of stealing and having a vicious nature as well as accused of committing murder that he was banished or dismissed by his master. Free from this, Moses joined a group of brigands and continued the life of robberies and murders. It was said that to go along with his evil character he also possessed great physical strength which helped him become the leader of the group. It is likely that they just didn’t elect him but more likely he took power because of his attributes. He and his gang terrorized the Nile Valley that they roamed.

His change of heart began when he took refuge in the monastery of Petra in the Skete desert, located near Alexandria, while fleeing from authorities after one robbery. It was here that Moses began his arduous journey of changing his life. While there Moses was impressed with their dedication and the peace and contentment they possessed. This lifestyle of the monks influenced Moses enough to give up his old way of life and become a monk. He was said to have wept and beged to be admitted as one of the brethern, but the skeptism the monks had about Moses sincerity of being repetent kept him from being a member. Finally, after his incessant nonstop asking to be a member he was accepted.

As with all of us, old habits are hard to break and this would be the case with Moses. He was obedient to the head of the monastery as well as the brethern and was continually showing tears over his past sinful life. Moses became frustrated with his inability to be perfect in monastic life, and it took St. Isadore, the abbot of the monastery, to help Moses. Taking Moses to the roof in order to watch first rays of dawn come up and the new day began when Isidore said, “Only slowly do the rays of the sun drive away the night and usher in a new day and, thus, only slowly does one become a perfect contemplative.” Moses would continue to need assistance by the abbot who instructed him and helped to strengthen his resolve.

Moses grew in spirit and one story was when a fellow brother had committed a fault and a council was held. Moses refused to attend, but they waited for him to arrive anyway. Finally, Moses decided to attend the meeting but first filled a leaking jug with water (depending on the version told it may have been a basked and sand) and walked to the meeting as the contents spilled out of the container. When asked why he was doing this Moses responded, “My sins run out behind me and I do not see them, but today i am coming to judge the errors of another.” The brother was forgiven.

Moses would spend time as a hermit and eventually become a spiritual leader of a colony of hermits. By age 75 Moses was far different from his days as a leader of brigands. He had been ordained a priest, was a spiritual leader of a colony of hermits, and had finally conquered his passions. At this point in his life, marauding Berbers came to descend upon the hermits and murder all of them. The brothers wished to defend themselves but Moses forbade this and asked them to flee to safety instead of fighting. Moses and seven others stayed behind. The Berbers would kill six of the monks as one hid and finally they killed Moses who never raised his hand in anger and died a martyr.

St. Moses lived a life like all of us. One of struggles with our passions for sin or doing wrong. Much like we should do, he overcame these passions through his own severe discipline to conquer his sins. He would be remember for being a man that became humble and very helpful to his brothers especially those who were older and needed assistance. Everyone can learn from St. Moses whether you are Catholic, religious, black, or whatever else. If we can only accomplish a fraction of what he did we not only make a difference with ourselves but the world.

If you’re Catholic then I leave you a final tidbit, a prayer. (You do not have to be Catholic to recite the prayer.)
O God, we rejoice in Your forgiving love. Through the intercession of Your Martyr St Moses the Black, grant that we may always have the grace to turn to You in time of difficulty and temptation, assured as we are of Your constancy in our regard. This we ask through Christ our Lord, Amen.

My Distaste For Black History Month

February is the time of year where I dread watching the news or even reading any news or just about any periodical. I am tired of Black History Month. I do not want to hear another word about it. It is like watching the Kansas City Chiefs play football and all you hear and see is Taylor Swift. Now black history isn’t what I am tired of and hate. It is the singular focus it relies on.

When February 1 rolls around, all I hear is black history concerning slavery and oppression. Every day of February. All people interviewed only discuss slavery or some form of oppression. I am simply tired of the slavery rhetoric and propaganda thrown out like vomit from a drunk whose consumed not only too much alcohol but copious amounts of food. That is what I identify this history as. It is a very limited history and doesn’t cover the important history of blacks and their accomplishments. For once, drop slavery and everything about how oppressed blacks are.

Introduce positive elements and leave slavery and oppression out for a few years. We have George Washington Carver, a brilliant agricultural scientist, who was college educated and fought discrimination to succeed using his abilities and not handed everything. This man is worth studying and modeling your life off of. Talk about him for a month. There are plenty of others, too.

There is Booker T. Washington who advised several presidents. Why not cover W.E.B. Du Bois who co-founded the NAACP. We have countless entertainers such as the lovely and very talented Josephine Baker. One could learn about Paul Laurence Dunbar, a poet. How many have heard of Phillis Wheatley? There was Mother Mary Elizabeth Lange, a black Catholic nun who founded the first black religios congregation in Baltimore. She founded the Oblate Sisters of Providence. How wonderful! Speaking of nuns, we have Sister Wilhelmina Lancaster for people to learn about and celebrate! There are so many people to learn about and celebrate. There is much to learn about those who invented items such as Sarah Boone or Mary Van Brittan or even Alexander Miles.

There is no need to fall back on slavery and make it less about black history and more about a racial divide. Yes, we can learn much about how the Jim Crow Laws are what held back blacks but what is better is when you show those who overcame these obstacles. For one February I would love the local news to ignore slavery, plantations, riots, and other oppressive issues and focus on the positive of black culture and thos who made a difference. We do not need to be told the tired and now truth stretched accounts of slavery and what blacks endured. Yes, we can’t forget Emmett Till or the Tulsa race massacre, but we can place this aside and build a positive feeling, view, and future.

What should also be included are the people and events where blacks and other people of different skin color and beliefs have worked together to accomplish goals. There is no need for the divisive nature that others that you see in the media or social media who are more racist than anything as they spread their lies and deception. Sadly, many of these people are in the academic world or are listened to with serious intent when their only driving force is to create division for their gain. These are black people who incite hatred or even white people who deny thus incited anger. We should not be hearing about black students feeling empowered after visiting a plantation even though they are fed information portrayed as fact but is in all reality on a fraction of the truth, thus giving these students the incorrect understanding. They should feel empowered learning about those who pushed forward humans in science, religion, entertainment, and peace.

Every year I see Black History Month arrive and every year I can’t wait until the month ends as the bulk of what we see is negativism that creates hatred and divsion. How many times do we have to hear about the same negative incident that is told in a different way? Maybe you’re lucky and you do get the history I believe should be told, but from what I’ve seen and read this just is not the case as people like Ibram Kendi are allowed to push ideological narrative that are in my opinion damaging, racist, and inflammatory. Look for those willing to unite much like those famous people who should be actively studied in February like Frederick Douglass. So much positive can be gained if we only focus on what is pushing us forward in a positive manner.