Beginning. End. Middle.

Recently Mrs. James and I were honored to be the Godparents to a darling baby boy. This is our seventh (shared) Godchild. At the same time as he was receiving this amazing sacrament, an elderly friend was joyfully commending her spirit into God's hands. My wife attended the funeral Mass a few days later. She said it was one of the most beautiful and joy filled Masses she had ever attended. And here we stand in the middle. This is our faith. I am glad to be a Catholic. To have the sacraments which bring me into right relationship with God in the way that he chose. This through no merit of my own but by His sheer generosity.

http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p2s2c1a1.htm Baptism.
http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p2s2c2a5.htm Viaticum.

Delayed Luggage Equipaje regrazado

Fortunately we were somewhat prepared. We have enough clothes for one may be two days and we are hoping to see our luggage on Lunes /Monday. HAving fun. It is warm.

The Nest

Our nest is far from empty. Many, who are just a little older than I, are going through the empty nest phase. Our experience will be of missing one child at a time as each moves into adulthood.

As I reflect on my oldest doing just that and anticipate for the others, I realize this is a very hard time for everyone. For the child, they are leaving behind not just their parents and siblings, but many friends and also their familiar environment. It is a big change. This quite apart from the fact that the college work and adult world are harder.

For their siblings, there is a whole new orientation of the family. The younger siblings will have a relationship with the oldest only in as much as we (and he) foster it.

From the parents view, there are many feelings. There is undoubtedly pride and admiration for the child. There is quite a feeling of helplessness. I would want to do anything for any of them. But I know that for them to do their best they need me to get out of the way. I am now able to focus on my other kids in a way I have never been able to. (The oldest I think always takes an inordinate amount of our attention as WE are learning on them.) My thoughts and prayers have always been as evenly divided as I can manage. Now, I am able to pray better for Jim, because I cannot bring my thoughts to him so immediately. My prayers for all my kids are more focused as I anticipate their goals and challenges.

Empty nesters always mention that now most of their attention is on each other. This could be good or bad depending on how well they cultivated their relationship prior. For us, we appreciate how short our time with each child is, and also how much longer we have to go. Perhaps we will have less empty nest time, all the more reason to continue to nuture our strong relationship.

I was most surprised by two things as we began this transition. Noone talks about how to maintian and build strong relationships between siblings. People don't talk as much about the first bird out of the nest as they do about the empty nest.

Ipod reaches 6000 songs.

Song number six thousand is a beatles cover in spanish. Celia Cruz doing Obla Di Obla Do. I have to go through the songs at some point and get rid of useless duplicates and songs that happened on to my ipod by osmosis.

Long time no post

yeah it HAS been awhile. I am thinking I will post occassionally but not at the previous pace.

In defense of . . .

Certainty. By Charles Krauthammer.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/printout/0,8816,1066928,00.html
Always worth the read.

Back page of Newsweek, piling on? Last week George Will, now Anna Quindlen (surely more expected) attacking certainty. http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7935070/site/newsweek/
Check out this quote. "The intolerant, the monomaniacal, the zealots driven by religious certainty engineered the worst attack on American soil, and the result has been intolerance, monomania and zealotry driven by religious certainty." Did she just conflate flying airplanes into buildings with nominating John Bolton to head the U.N.? pretty much.

I definitely think there is a meme of "doubt" (or "certainty is bad") out there.

Certitude and certainty

Often conflated. Certitude commonly refers to the attitude or state of mind, while certainty is correlative to the truth, the "condition of the evidence of a proposition." (As the Catholic Encyclopedia says.) Oliver Wendell Holmes said wisely, "Certitude is not the test of certainty. We have been cock sure of many things that are not so." That is not to say that certitude is always an improper state of mind. If something is clearly true, is beyond doubt, then certitude is the appropriate response.

More from the Catholic Encyclopedia: "The proper test of truth is evidence, whether the evidence of a truth in itself or by participation in the evidence of some other truth from which it is proved. Many truths, indeed, have to be accepted on authority; but then it has to be made evident that such authority is legitimate, is capable of knowing the truth, and is qualified to teach in the particular department in which it is accepted. Many truths which are at first accepted on authority may afterwards be made evident to the reason of the disciple. Such in fact is the ordinary way in which learning and science are acquired."

(worth reading the whole article here:) http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03539b.htm


Certaintists need to address these arguments:
1. Certitude is dangerous for the world. As stated by Bertrand Russell "The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts."
2. Certainty is science, nothing more or less. (there is no moral certainty.)
3. There may be truth and thus certainty, but our ability to be certain (certitude) is impossible. Therefore, anyone who claims certitude is deluded.