Obama names MLB commissioner Bud Selig Secretary of State

OK, so maybe not, but it would be an improvement, despite how much Selig makes me want me to beat my head against the wall.

Happy April Fools Day, everyone, and more importantly, Happy Opening Day.  GO ROCKIES!

Giving Up

Here we are on Holy Thursday 2013, as Lent draws to a close, I reflect on what I gave up this year.

What did I give up you might ask?

This year, I didn't give up anything in particular as much as I just gave up.  Instead of sitting there telling God what I want to give up, I did something that I probably should have done a long time ago and actually listened instead.

Doing this, I think I grew more in faith this year.  I felt that instead of merely saying I would have more faith, I actually lived it.  When one says "let go and let God", how many are actually able to do it?  I found myself purging myself of things that really just didn't matter.  For instance, I had to let go of a beautiful house over this Lent because, as beautiful as it is, it wasn't worth what I was paying for it in rent.  And taxes.  And the dwelling insurance for the landlords.  And the repairs.  

Yes, this was the worst lease I've ever signed in my life.  I'm happy to be relieved of it.

But equally as important, I knew that even facing this beast finally during this Lent, I was bestowed another gift that was something I thirsted for for literally years:  God restored my faith in my fellow man.

I saw people offering help, even bending over backwards to make sure that I was alright.  It was humbling, but not in a bad way by any means.  Everyone wants to serve someone else.  "Oh sure, I'd love to come down to the food pantry and give my time" is the general attitude, but how many people actually want to be served themselves?  We think of Jesus humbling himself to wash the feet of the apostles and in turn, allowing the apostles to feel that sense of humility themselves; that sometimes, they too, need to be taken care of and served.

I've learned this lesson in the past, but apparently God had a reason for me to experience it again.  Maybe I'm supposed to teach my girlfriend this lesson.  And this time, it really sunk in with me.  The one thing I do know is that I won't have to worry about having a roof over my head, food on the table, and enough money coming in to take care of my obligations.  

And really, what more can I ask for?

An Open Letter to Black Metal

Dear Black Metal,

We're taking our Petrine Cross back.  It's not yours.  It was a symbol of St. Peter long before you decided to usurp it.  You can keep your pentagrams and whatnot, but the upside down cross is, in fact, ours.

Sincerely,
The Catholic Church

The Season of AdLent?

This is the picture outside the house today.  Holy Week.  It looks more like the week before Christmas, doesn't it?

We've all heard the term "Chreaster" before, referring to those who only go to Church on Christmas and Easter, but seeing that Lent this year is looking more and more like Advent, I'm going to coin the new term "AdLent".

I guess we celebrate AdLent by watching "The Rise of the Guardians"?

No (unless you really want to), but it's worth noting that both Advent and Lent are, in fact, very similar in that both are the times that we wait for Jesus; during Advent, anticipating his first coming, and during Lent, anticipating his second.  Both seasons should be time of prayer and penance.  That's one reason why the liturgical colors were changed (in many dioceses) from blue to purple during Advent.

Maybe this weather is a reminder of the similarities between the two liturgical seasons.

Maybe it's also a reminder not to put faith for an early spring in a rodent.

Katholicus - Die Fighting

This is my friend Adam Miller's band.  Give it a listen!  Good stuff on a lot of different levels!

Black or White

"And that brings me to a second reason for my name. Francis of Assisi tells us we should work to build peace. But there is no true peace without truth! There cannot be true peace if everyone is his own criterion, if everyone can always claim exclusively his own rights, without at the same time caring for the good of others, of everyone, on the basis of the nature that unites every human being on this earth.” - Pope Francis to the Vatican Diplomatic Corps, March 22, 2013

Pope Francis seems to be picking up where Benedict left off on moral relativism.  I like in particular the part where Francis says "There cannot be true peace if everyone is his own criterion, if everyone can always claim exclusively his own rights."  This to me is saying basically what Benedict said before becoming pope, which was simply this:  The Truth is not determined by a majority vote.  In other words, your opinion isn't in line with what we know as the Truth, then it's probably wrong. 

That's one of the reasons why the ABC report about Francis giving the thumbs up to civil unions as a cardinal doesn't make sense, as it contradicts what he said to the Diplomatic Corps today, and also what he said in his first papal homily about you're either serving God, or your serving Satan.  The ABC report doesn't seem to mesh with what we've seen from Pope Francis thus far, as it suggests that then-Cardinal Bergoglio said that there could be some gray area (the place where a lot of the seeds of moral relativism seem to fall and sprout) in between what is defined as a marriage and a civil union.  With Francis, everything seems to be either black or white without any room for gray.  And yet, he does so while still considering every angle and aspect of an issue.  Showing someone love and compassion is not the same as giving ascent to their actions.  

In other news, Dave Flitton figured out to leave comments on my blog.  It was, in fact, a problem with his Chair to Keyboard interface.

The Dave Flitton Filter

For some unbeknownst reason, my buddy Dave Flitton, the founder of Catholic Metal and the guitarist for the Catholic rock band Critical Mass, can't seem to post any comments here on my blog.  Catholic rocker Craig Moran doesn't seem to have a problem.

Does anybody have any insight for Dave?

Is the Illuminati behind this?  Or worse, the RIAA?

Or is it something less ominous, such as the Chair to Keyboard Interface on Dave's end?

Or is it just a bug that Blogger has that causes Dave Flitton in particular not to be able to leave any comments?  Or would some, for instance perhaps his Critical Mass pal Dave Wang, view that not so much as a bug but more as a feature?

As we diligently work to sort this out, why not check out the latest Catholic Metal comp, "Praising Him Loudly 2".  I hope to be on the third one.

First of all...

Thanks to everyone who visited my introduction page, and especially to my Catholic Metal brethren who not only approved of the overall look of things, but even critiqued the logo.  Michael Brumley from Cradle Catholic is going to work on a Petrine cross that looks a little more ornate...and Metal, so thanks, Mike!

Second of all, Pope Francis.  It's like, I felt a connection with Pope Benedict XVI, since I am of German extraction and I felt like the pope was chosen from my people.  Blessed John Paul II I had a connection with, since there is a large Polish population in Chicago and northwest Indiana, where I grew up.  I feel a different connection with Pope Francis, especially his work with the poor.  Being poor myself, I feel a solidarity with this man that was different than I felt with the his previous two predecessors.  I feel like he's poor with me, and when I have trouble dealing with being poor (because let's face it, it's difficult), I see a hope in him that suggests things are going to get better.

Of course, then we start hearing "Is Francis liberal?  Is he conservative?"  He's Catholic, folks.  We can't put political labels on someone of ecclesiastical nature.  Of course, people do it, and if they start to pigeon hole him into one label or another, they're going to be very disappointed.  He's already got radical Traditionalists annoyed (He actually implemented Summorum Pontificum in his archdiocese 48 hours after Benedict released it, so this is a little perplexing to me), he's already got the progressives upset because he won't bend on Church moral teaching.  I'm sure that in the political arena, he'll probably draw the ire of liberals and conservatives in some way, shape or form.

My kind of guy.

It Is Now Time

It is now time.

Time for what, you might ask?  Well, time for me to get back into the blogsphere.  I'm Chuck Abraham, also known by Metal alias as Charles von Hapsburg the Prussian.  Why do I need another name?  I'm a Catholic Heavy Metal musician.  In fact, there's a whole bunch of us who hang out over at the Catholic Metal website (Oh...I just noticed the forum is back up!  Yay!  Thanks Dave!).  I play guitar and have a thing for Fender Stratocasters, although I do have a bass for recording, along with drum machine software.  My goal, at some point, is to actually get some music recorded.

I'm also a journalist and a write for a newspaper based in northwest Pennsylvania.  I cover local news and events for the borough in which I live and the surrounding areas.  In such a small town of 3,300 people, jobs are a little hard to come by, and since I'd worked in television operations for seventeen years prior to moving to Pennsylvania, and there aren't any television stations here (quite yet), the paper seemed like a great opportunity.  Since I'm freelance, I can also freelance for other papers and would love to write for some Catholic papers.

I have four children back in Indiana, and I don't get to see them very often because we don't have a lot of money to go back and forth.  I miss them.  I'm working on changing this so I can go back and see them, and bring them out here to visit too.  Yes, they do all have their own guitars already.  

So the next obvious question:  Why in God's Holy Name is there an upside down cross in my logo?  Well, that IS the Cross of St. Peter.  According to Early Church father Origen, St Peter was crucified upside down because he felt he wasn't worthy to be crucified the same way that Jesus was.  No, it's not proof that the Catholic Church is the Church of Satan, or evil, or whatever.  Have to admit, though, it does get people's attention.

In any case, I look forward to blogging again.  God Bless.