Spring break begins today at 3:35p. Praise God! My students are ancy, exhausted and euphoric on the edge of a week free of school; they remind me of little children who are so tired that they’re hyper.
 
Second hour, the class finished their assignment early and earned free time. Beloved free time! And, during their free time, they totally exhibited the complementarity described by Pope John Paul II. It was uncanny how clearly they behaved! more…

 
Our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, recently fielded questions from some of the priests in Rome, and the third question was about Perpetual Adoration. I thought his response was very inspiring:
 
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My sister was in Burma (Myanmar) for some time, and she sent us amazing pictures. The country has many spectacular Buddhist temples and much natural beauty, not to mention the good people created by God who live there.
 
I learned that Burma was under an isolationistic form of socialism for decades (1960s to 1980s) and is still under an oppressive regime. This picture that my sister sent me conjured up images of Orwell’s “1984″ in my mind. It makes me realize that much of the world is still so twisted in systemic ways that institutionalize sin and evil and are antithetical to the truth of God in how he created human beings:
 

 
My sister insightfully noted that this sign is in English for a reason. When people are deceived into expelling God from their hearts and their nation and elevate “the State” above all other considerations, major evil is being done. This sign reminds me so strongly of “1984″ and in particular the Thought Police in that book that it is scary. Just what are “negative views” and what is considered “progress of the Nation”?
 
The only thing I found humorous about this was their use of the word “stooges”, which always conjures up images of The Three Stooges in my mind.

 
Here are some pictures from my trip this past weekend to visit Katie and her family in New Mexico.
 
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I have not seen the movie “V” for Vendetta, but I have read two reviews on it, one by Steven Greydanus of decentfilms.com, and the other by Harry Forbes, the official movie reviewer for the United State Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
 
Interestingly, if I had just read Forbes’ USCCB review, I would have considered going to see the movie, as it sounds interesting and not that objectionable in content:

Director James McTeigue…has crafted a reasonably intelligent political allegory, the usual improbabilities aside, with emphasis on character development, ideas, and even a bit of romance, not mindless violence. The vigilante exploits are handled with relative restraint given the genre

 
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This post is just an excuse to put up a picture of my beloved girlfriend that her sister took of us over the weekend.
 

 
A cousin of mine sends me an email with the Gospel reading everyday and a reflection. Today’s gospel (John 4, 43-54) talked about Jesus going back to Galilee and healing the son of a royal official who “believed in the word of Jesus.” The reflection pointed out that there are many Christians that believe in Jesus, they believe he was real and maybe even the son of God, the Messiah. But sadly, they don’t believe Jesus. They don’t believe his words, especially the inconvenient ones about not divorcing, helping the poor, etc.
 
Wow, I just posted two days in a row. That’s enough for me.

 
My brother’s wife Veronica gave birth to a healthy boy Friday morning at 12:30 AM. Check out the pictures here.

 
“I’m ’round the corner from anything that’s real,
crossing the threshold of hope…”
–Modified U2’s “One Step Closer”
 
My mom gave me JPII’s “Crossing the Threshold of Hope” for Christmas, and though I’m only about a third of the way done with it, I am already planning on buying multiple copies of it to give to my atheist, agnostic, and Protestant friends.
 
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John Paul II speaks about the nature of paternity in a husband and father and maternity in a wife and mother, and of the special challenge that paternity brings with it:
 

Physically, a woman becomes a mother thanks to a man, while paternity in its psychological and spiritual aspects is the effect on a man’s interior life of a woman’s maternity.

 
I had to re-read that sentence about four times before I understood what he was saying, but now that I understand, it makes perfect sense. So what is the challenge of being a father?
 
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