MEDITATION FOR LENT - THE PURPOSE OF LIFE

Carmelite nun, praying in her cell

When I was young and writing for television, I used to see a lot of movies. It was part of the job to stay abreast of what was being made, and it was a good method of keeping the writing chops honed. I used to love French films because they didn't usually have a convenient sweet ending that tied up all the loose ends. The boy didn't always get the girl. The business venture did not always work out. Sometimes the hero ended up poor and disheveled at the fag end of his life. Most of the actors and actresses also looked like real people, rather than genetic marvels. The films were, in my estimation, more real, more authentic, than American films and television.

For the most part, we have a formula for American films in which there is usually a feel good "happy ending." There are a few remarkable exceptions to this rule, such as THELMA AND LOUISE and GRAN TORINO, both of which are examples of really fine films that have a considerable edge to them. Even at that, however, the protagonists in both these films "win" in the end, leaving us with a  satisfying feeling, albeit tinged with a bit of sadness. Bittersweet.

The American formula for films and television reflects the American ideal of the "right" to pursue happiness. It is what our country was founded upon. While happiness is a good thing, it is a pathetic goal, when you think about it. There is nothing grand in it. On the face of it, it is a narcissistic goal, but it is a goal that many people I've encountered in life have swallowed.

When I was in the Hindu convent, the purpose of life was to get oneself to a state of "realization of God." Taking anyone else along with you wasn't a focus and, although the occasional feeding of the poor was practiced, the goal was a solitary one. It was selfish at its heart, and this is what disenchanted me about the Vedanta philosophy, in the end.

A Mormon relative once said to me that "the purpose of life is to have as many fun experiences as possible," to which I replied that the purpose of life is get yourself, your family and your neighbor to heaven. It just popped out of my mouth, but I now realize that this is the profound difference between Catholicism and many other religions and philosophies.

The Catholic faith is like those French films I enjoyed when young. It is real. It is authentic. It doesn't promote the rainbows and bubble gum Jesus to whom so many people cling. It doesn't promise a happy life or wealth or "prosperity" because Jesus didn't promise those things. He promised the cross and the sword. Later, we enjoy the bliss of living with our heavenly father for eternity, provided that we follow his commandments, especially the two that he most emphasized.

"Jesus said unto him, thou shalt love the Lord thy

God, with all they heart, and with all thy soul, and

with all thy mind. This is the first and great

commandment. And the second is like unto it,

Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On

these two commandments hang all the law and

the prophets."

~ Matthew 22:37-40 ~

These greatest of commandments points away from oneself and toward God and neighbor, going so far as to decree that we love our neighbor as much as we love ourselves. In an era when conservative Catholics are promoting the idea that we all have the right to pursue success but the poor do not have the right to live as well as others, it is clear that we have lost our way, but what can I do about that, aside from mentioning it in my blog?

My meditation for this Lent will concentrate on what Jesus said are the two most important commandments. I plan to put this scripture passage before my eyes every day during the lectio divina portion of my prayers, and I will endeavor to listen to what the Lord has to say to me about these greatest of all commandments and how I may better practice them in my life.

What will YOU do for lent?

Silver Rose Parnell
Copyright (c) 2017
All rights reserved.

CHECKING OUT FOR LENT

This year, I would like to try to withdraw a bit for Lent. Recent news has had me jangled, alarmed and shouting warnings from the rooftops. Now it is time to cuddle up with God and see if I can purify and calm myself. It may be more difficult this year, with all the giant machinery tearing up the roads outside my window, but I will just have to regard it as another penance.

Friends are giving up various things for Lent. One friend tells me she is giving up desert. Another is giving up music in the car, which is interesting because, for me, music in the car would be torture. It is too much stimulation for an activity that, for me, requires all my concentration.

Catholics are actually required to do specific things during Lent, unless they are under age 14 or are sick with something that will be affected adversely by fasting. There is an upper age limit also. I think it is 62, but I am not sure. I AM one of those people that fall into the illness category. I'm also too poor to have much control over what kind of food comes into the house, but I will do my best to get as close as possible to the rules.

Those wishing to refresh themselves on the rules, can read this handy ARTICLE.

One thing we are told to do is pray more. I plan to do that. Consequently, another reason not to write my blog during the Lenten fast. Instead of blabbing, I am going to spend time listening...to the Lord.

Lent doesn't start until March 1st, but I want to get ready for it: stock the pantry with the appropriate foods, find my Lenten reading materials, etc.

I hope you have a beautiful and fruitful Lent.

God bless us all.

Silver Rose Parnell
Copyright (c) 2017

GOD BRINGS ALL THINGS TO THE GOOD FOR THOSE THAT BELIEVE

About halfway through the month, I typically run low on food. There are things to eat in the cupboard, but I have to be creative sometimes, and I often have to eat things I'm not particularly keen to have at that moment. I liken it to a type of perpetual fasting and, in that light, it becomes a blessing. Fasting as a method of sacrificing the ego, its will, and its constant need to be fed, enables one to grow closer to God. It has been continually advocated in the Judeo Christian world, as well as in other religions, for thousands of years. God brings all things to the good for those that believe - even when something looks bad at the outset  - even when something is uncomfortable or downright painful.

Tonight I was pondering dinner, when I noticed that I have a lot of half-and-half leftover, as I have reduced my consumption of tea over the last few months. Calculating that the half-and-half was going to go bad before I could use it all if I only used it for tea, I realized that I also had the other items necessary to make alfredo sauce with chopped walnuts. Sunday dinner was delicious. Another thing brought to the good that, on the outset, appeared to be somewhat sad.

If I stop to complain about whatever is going wrong, I may miss the good that the Lord wants to bring out of it and into my life. If I look at the deceptively empty refrigerator and become focused on THAT, it may never occur to me to become creative and make a masterpiece.

The last five years or so have been rough and getting rougher. Someone had me written out of my father's will after he got Alzheimer's. My father died, my uncle died, my son died, my dog died, my cat died. My relationship to the church I loved was destroyed by a callow young priest who ridiculed my weight in front of a group of people, pantomiming how funny it would be if he couldn't pull me out of a chair because my bottom is so big. He disparaged my disability status. He went on to harass me every time he got me alone, and I had to leave the church - the only Byzantine Church in New Mexico. My health has gotten worse and my illnesses have multiplied. Among other things, I am going blind, very slowly, from macular degeneration. My inability to find an appropriate place to live has been documented in other blog posts.

When I became disabled, friends of many years dropped me immediately. The few family who had the resources to help me picked a fight or found some bogus "reason" to be angry with me, giving themselves an excuse not to behave like the Christians they claim to be. They say that family is all one can count on, but but some families are not good. Some families hate God and goodness, living only for their own comfort.

It may never become apparent to me exactly what sort of good the Lord plans to bring out of all this pain. The good may not be realized during my lifetime. It may never make sense to me. It may never make sense to you, but sometime before my story comes to a close, I need to send out a reassuring message, and that is simply this: The Lord is bringing all these things to the good - for me and for others.

This is the blessing of living the Catholic faith, being a member of the church founded by Jesus - even if some of the priests are horridly broken and cruel people - even though I cannot get anyone from the bishop's office to return my phone calls about my vocation - even though our dear Papa is sometimes hard to understand - even though family and friends have left me twisting, by myself, at the end of a short rope - even though I have been suffering continuous pain FOR YEARS. I am being blessed.

Some people mistakenly believe that if we live the Christian faith well, Jesus will reward us with a comfortable life. That is not what he promised. This is what He said:

"Do not think that I came to send peace upon earth:

I came not to send peace, but the sword.

For I came to set a man at variance against his father,

and the daughter against her mother,

and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.

And a man's enemies are they of his own household.

He that loveth father or mother more than me, 

is not worthy of me;

and he that loveth son or daughter more than me,

is not worthy of me.

And he that taketh not up his cross, and followeth

me, is not worthy of me."

Matthew 10: 34-38

Christianity is the hardest gig you will ever do. It isn't rainbows, lollipops and unicorns, as some people believe. It isn't warm and cuddly. It isn't about prosperity. It is the sword and the cross, just as Jesus promised.

May we all be blessed.

Silver Rose Parnell

Copyright (c) 2017

All rights reserved.

DONALD TRUMP DISMANTLES GOVERNMENT AND THE PLANET WHILE HIS FANS CHEER

Donald Trump (AFP Photo/Rhona Wise )

Scott Pruitt, who disputes the reality of climate change, despite the science that says otherwise, and in contradiction to the majority of the scientific community; who has spent many years of his career fighting the EPA and its regulations that are necessary to the preservation of clean water and air and life on earth as we know it, has been picked by Donald Trump to head that very same agency.

Ben Carson, a surgeon with no administrative experience, no government experience, and no applicable education, has been tagged to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development. His ideology is hostile to the poor, whose interests he is supposed to serve in his capacity as head of this department.

Betsy de Vos was made the Secretary of Education. She is a billionaire heiress with no experience in education whatsoever, who has spent tremendous amounts of money in an effort to abolish the public school system and turn it into a voucher system for privately owned schools. Betsy herself has never attended a public school, and neither have her children. She is an elder in the "Christian Reformed Church" which holds a Calvinist theology.

The most alarming appointment, Chief political strategist Steve Bannon, has declared himself a Leninist. Of his political viewpoint, Bannon once said:

"Lenin wanted to destroy the state, and that's my goal too. I want to bring

 everything crashing down and destroy all of today's establishment."

 ~ Steve Bannon  (SEE: THIS ARTICLE)

These are but A FEW of the incredible collection of billionaires Trump has begun to collect around himself; billionaires who are the opposite of the common man that voted him into office, and whose interests are the opposite of the common man. 

When you add up the fact that Trump's nominations, in the main, are people who have a long term antagonism toward the mission of the departments which Trump wants them to head, with the fact that Trump's primary political strategist is a Leninist who wants to tear down the government, and the added fact that they are all billionaires, all of us should be very very worried.

What will be left when Trump and his billionaire cronies destroy American democracy? Think about Cuba, where everyone is poor except the dictator and his cronies.

Trump's representatives have already begun to speak as if he is a dictator. 

“Our opponents, the media and the whole world 

will soon see, as we begin to take further actions, 

that the powers of the president to protect our 

country are very substantial and will not be questioned,” 

~ Stephen Miller, Trump's Senior Policy Director

It has become apparent, through comments made by Trump and his surrogates, that he is either ignorant of or dismissive of our government's system of checks and balances and he intends to behave as a king or dictator, rather than a part of a system into which he has been inserted.

God save us all.

Silver Rose Parnell

Copyright (c) 2017

All rights reserved.

THERE IS NO CASTE SYSTEM IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

I am blessed to have some extremely pious, devoted and intelligent Catholic friends. One of them is Mary Hammond, whose recent Facebook post clearly articulates the Truth of a truly pro-life point of view that I have been trying to write but which has eluded me.

With her permission, I am copying her words here. Thank you, Mary, for letting me do this, and thank you for your heart-felt words.

Who Is Worthy?

When last October, Fr. Pavone answered my objection to Donald Trump's anti refugee and anti immigration stance with his view that American babies dying in American clinics should come before Syrian babies dying from bombings or drownings because abortion of the most vulnerable was the greatest evil, he unwittingly defined my entire objection to his brand of "pro life" and opened a new avenue for pro euthanasia advocates to follow.

Why? Because he created a "class" of persons set apart from the rest.

The Church does tell us we need to defend those who are most vulnerable, or the weakest. But in her wisdom she did not create classes of these and rank them for us. What does the Church say?

"CC 2274 Since it must be treated from conception as a person, the embryo must be defended in its integrity, cared for, and healed, as far as possible, like any other human being."

Father Pavone and "the old guard pro life" have most of the sentence correct. It's that sticky last part he eliminates from the discussion: "like any other human being".

One of the concerns of anti euthanasia activists is that euthanasia will be used to clear out, if you will, those persons defined on a secular basis of being no longer able to contribute meaningfully to society. Which really means nothing more than they will not be working and paying taxes.

But secular aside, Catholics should be more concerned with the creation of classes in society by some pro life activists - the reason being is God does no such thing.

It is theologically incorrect to state that unborn children being aborted in America are deserving of more help and attention than unborn children being bombed or starved in Syria because abortion in the womb is worse than being bombed in the womb. Does God make these distinctions? No. Does the Church really, actually, make that distinction? No. Father Pavone makes that distinction and he is wrong.

And his view can also over take the anti euthanasia movement if supporters of Pavone's peculiar theology apply it to euthanasia.

God is not petty. He does not operate on some weird value system making one unborn child more deserving of help than another unborn child based on which type of unjust death they are dying.
One wonders if, in the March For Life, mothers holding signs really believe their born children are not as worthy of life defense as the unborn child. When pregnant, do mothers view their older children as less deserving of assistance than the child they are carrying?

Are older people with cancer more deserving of life defense than the 40 year old in a serious car accident and on life support? Secularists would say no. The 40 yr old might recover and go back to work. What would the old guard pro lifer say?

If we logically follow Fr. Pavone's thinking we can say Jesus was most deserving of love, care and attention before he was born and it was all downhill from there- He was no longer worthy of our attention.

His importance, His value, if you will, lessened when He reached an age where He could heal people and multiply loaves and fishes by Himself. Presumably Fr. Pavone would have found Christ adequately vulnerable and worthy of his attention when Christ was dying on the Cross. We won't know of course until he decides to comment fully on end of life issues.
But does God really think this way? I think we would be hard pressed to find any Christian faith of any denomination, much less the Catholic faith, who has such an insulting view of God or accuses God of such minimalist care.

Copyright (c) 2017 by Mary Hammond
Copied here with permission.

THE BOOGEY MAN RETURNS

I know, as I write this, that my friends are going to give me a hard time for taking the dog out late at night for his doggy business, but I inadvertently took a super long nap this afternoon and evening, and the dog had not been out for a really long time. At 2:00 a.m., when I awoke, the pooch was doing the pee pee dance.

Sure enough, as soon as I snuck back toward my apartment from a quick trip to the back yard, I was approached by the same guy that I posted about on Sunday (see previous post!)

I raised my heavy wooden walking stick and raised it, yelling, "I don't know you! Get away from me."

Just like Sunday, he circled around and back, swearing at me, then he disappeared into an adjoining hallway of the apartment complex, which clued me into my suspicion that he had taken up residence in one of the building. Earlier this week, my neighbor told me that some of the homeless have been sleeping on the upper floors, surprising neighbors when they came home late or left for work in the morning.

His walk toward me, into the hallway, had been purposeful, and I think he had probably been heading back to the electrical outlet, not realizing that our maintenance man had plated over it this week.

Ironically, the little dog I got as a service dog and watch dog didn't even bark ONCE while I was yelling at the Intruder. Boo Boo just stood there. Some watch dog. As I explained to everyone before getting a service dog, my doctor felt I needed to get a large dog, for safety's sake and to help me get off the floor when I fall. Also, if the dog has to go outside at a weird time of day or night, or if there is someone unsavory waiting for me in the hallway, a large dog would be intimidating. I couldn't afford to buy one myself, no one was giving away hypoallergenic large dogs, and I was unable to raise enough money to purchase one. My little dog will bark if someone knocks on my door, and that is helpful. Plus, he's the cutest, most loving little dog in the world. There's that! He is a permanent part of the household, but I will need to add a large dog as a seeing eye dog in the years to come.

When I became disabled about 14 years ago, I looked upon it as a blessing from God. Although I was not able to hold down a regular job, I imagined I could lead a quiet life of prayer and meditation, devoted to the Lord, something I had wanted to do since leaving the Hindu convent to become Catholic in my late 30's.

My health and finances became worse and worse, however, and I have not been able to find a quiet place to lay my head. When I first moved into this low-income apartment complex, I was charmed by it, and had high hopes, but the management has gradually stripped away all the trees and greenery, while the number of noisy maintenance projects has increased. It got into a fight with the Mid Rio Grande Conservancy District, which then ripped out all the old trees that flanked the back side of the apartment complex that had helped to shelter us from wind and wanderers. This property is wide open to intruders, extremely noisy, and stuck in an isolated, crime ridden, unsafe area. It is a grave comment on the lack of compassion that Americans have, in general, about the poor and especially the disabled poor. Vulnerable populations need to live in safer, more protective environments, not neighborhoods where there are more criminals.

My doctor tells me I have developed a heart murmur, which doesn't surprise me, considering the stress I've been under. He is sending me for an EKG and an ultrasound of my heart in the near future. I'm waiting for a call from the hospital clinic. At the same time, I've been referred for genetic testing to pin down my illness and get a diagnosis. We think it may be Ehlers-Danlos, but we are not sure.

All of this seems like a great distraction to my deep desire for union with the Lord, but the words of the Hindu swami keep coming back to me. He would say, "Your whole life is your spiritual life." These words echo the sentiments of many Catholic saints and have given me solace, as well as a guide to handling this chaotic life that is the opposite of what I'd hoped for.

As much as possible, I pray always. All my actions are dedicated to the Lord, and I keep a running dialog with Him, Our Blessed Mother, the saints and the angels. I may have pictured myself sitting serenely on my recliner in front of my shrine, chanting the Little Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary, various rosaries, special prayers and chaplets, but the reality is something else entirely. Simple care of the body and the house require much more time and effort than an ordinary person. My schedule is not my own and cannot be geared to the typical monastic routine, because of the nurses and caretakers that are coming to care for me, the maintenance crew that seems to have an unending "to do" list, the needs of the dog and his frequent walkies, and my doctor appointments.

Accepting the will of God is essential, so I have traded in the dreams of what I'd hoped my monastic life would look like, with the reality of what it must be.

In order to obtain needed medical equipment and supplies while finding an affordable house that accommodates my physical needs, I will make an effort to create more income, with my writing, religious paintings and crocheted lace projects. Fund raising will also be necessary, as my income producing abilities are very limited.

The details of the equipment needed and the donation options will be dealt with in my next blog post. As usual, the donation button on the upper right hand side of the column to the right is still working!

What I do not need is advice. If you are not able to help financially, please just pray for a happy outcome, a new residence that suits me, and the cure of my many illnesses (if God so wills it.)

In the meantime, God bless you!

Silver Rose

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE HERMIT

Things are looking more and more bleak, and I am beginning to understand the loss of heart, faith and hope among the poor.

Today, I woke from a nap to see a strange man staring at me through my window while fondling himself with a red bandana. I freaked out, of course, jumped up from my chair and did my best to wake myself up as soon as possible. I had the typical vertigo that I get when I awake, and it took a few minutes to get my bearings and try to decide what to do. My PTSD adrenaline kicked in automatically. I was spinning around the apartment.

Eventually, I heard a voice outside my door. I opened it to find the transient leaning against the opposite wall where there was an open electrical outlet. (The painters had been using it for their multiple electrical machineries and didn't bother to reinstall the locking cap.) He was talking on his cell phone while he continued to steal the electricity from the building.

The man was about 5 feet 10 inches tall, red haired, highly freckled. He was carrying a big black backpack that was wide open and revealed what appeared very much to be a policeman's baton. You can do a lot of damage with one of those.

My automatic reaction was to yell at him and tell him to get lost. What I didn't know is that he'd been there long enough to defecate ON THE SIDEWALK near my window.

I was flabbergasted, and running hot on adrenaline. I'd called a neighbor with whom I'm friendly. She's older than I am and a little more beaten up, but I wanted some company while I walked the dog. It was time for him to do his business and I didn't feel safe in the parking lot yet.

My neighbor didn't like it that I was upset and reeling from the experience, and she attempted to calm me down by telling me to calm down, which never works,of course. I don't know why people do that. Even though it is natural to be upset about something so bizarre happening to a person, they tell you relax, even though it is stupid and impossible. Perhaps the upset makes them nervous or uncomfortable. They can't themselves remain calm in the presence of someone who has been severely jangled.

There are some circumstances under which being calm is NOT the answer. Generally, I am calm, and I enjoy it, but when transients are violating your dignity through a plate glass window and depositing feces on the sidewalk before casually stealing electricity, being calm would be rather odd, in my mind.

I had to call the maintenance man, completely oblivious that it is super bowl Sunday and that he was most certainly watching the game. He did come out during half time, and I think he is a real brick for doing it. He cleaned up the feces from the sidewalk outside my window while the police office talked to me about what had happened.

We were promised that the police would keep an eye on us tonight, with the hope that the locking plate for the electrical outlet would be fixed ASAP.

This has happened before. Whenever the plate over the electrical outlet goes missing, word gets around the homeless population and there ensues a constant stream of transients outside my door, bellowing their odd personal business into their cell phones while the cell phone charges at the same time.

I told the police officer that I understand that most of these homeless people just CANT live like the rest of us do. If you put them into an apartment, they wouldn't know how to live there. Camping out in the Bosque is preferable to some people, even in the biting cold of winter. I crochet hats for them and give them to the Joy Junction people who send their van out on the cold nights to pick up the willing homeless and take them to their facility. They give the hats to the ones who refuse to go, the ones they leave behind. It isn't just poverty that keeps them in the street or in the Bosque. It's temperament and/or insanity. I understand. I am unusual, in my own way, and, although I have no problem living indoors, I have other problems with some parts of civilization with which most people have no problem coping. Perhaps coping isn't the word, really, because for most people these things are not problems at all.

For the last three years I have been trying to find another place to live, someplace near friends who have middle class lives, near middle class grocery stores. They have comfortable old houses, with landscaping of varying pleasantness. Nothing too fancy. I like it there, in the middle of the road of life. I don't crave excitement, but rather ordinariness and calm.

These friends, with their large families and regular church attendance and duties, are special to me. They are kind to me, and loving. They have been trying to get me to live closer to them so they can help me easier, but finding something suitable and affordable has proven to be impossible, so far. After 3 years, they won't say they would give up. They are sturdier stock than that! They won't give up, but I think they may also be losing hope.

All of the affordable housing is located outside the magical realm of the nice middle class neighborhoods and grocery stores. Every single one is in an awful part of town, on a busy main street. Nothing is available in any residential neighborhood. It is almost as if it was PLANNED that way...a plan to keep the poor away from anything pretty, good, nice or decent.

I wonder if the city planners, when they think of poor people, imagine people like the man who left excrement on my sidewalk. When people talk about what to do about the poor, is it them that they think of? In reality, poor people are mostly elderly and disabled. The homeless, in reality, take up less than 1% of the poor, but they are so visible and their behavior so memorable that they overshadow the rest of us - those who know how to keep an apartment and pay our bills.

If I was a saint, I wouldn't be so distraught. I would not concern myself with my comfort. I would simply feel sorry for the man who is so broken that he would do the things he did tonight outside my window. In reality, I feel trapped and sorrowful, stuck in an ugly life that has room for these kind of atrocities. I feel incapable of wanting to rise to sainthood. I don't even WANT to be comfortable with what has happened here tonight. Not a shred of my being is interested in self-abnegation.

I think about Mother Theresa and the hardships she CHOSE. I wish I was a better person. I don't know whether or not to pray for the courage to remain here, happily, without complaint...or run screaming to some other town or state or SOMEWHERE, anywhere but here, where the stains of that man still mar the sidewalk.

It is a sad night, my friends. Please pray for the little Hermit, that I may become better than I am.

God bless us all.

Silver Rose

PATTERNS OF NATURE INFORM THE MIND

"Mystic River"

Copyright Silver Rose Parnell

Abstract patterns give the impression of river.

I woke this morning wondering what fresh hell would assault me when I checked into the news, as I am wont to do these days. I admit I HAVE been worried about our country since Donald Trump took the throne.

First up was the propaganda show put on by Trump's propaganda machine, carefully scripted and dripping with inappropriate superlatives in a concert of hyperbole known as the "Press Briefing." Sean Spicer read from his daily tribute to The Dear Leader, extolling his virtues, where even Trump's incredible faux pas and failures are couched in self-congratulatory terms.

If I wrote about every occasion upon which Trump threatened our national safety, reputation or security, I would spend my entire day writing political blogs, and that isn't my role in life. Nor is it even my genre, as a writer. As a religious woman, matters of state do not typically take any space in my mind, except where I feel that religious freedoms may be at stake, and this is where I feel Donald Trump may do us the most harm, which is why I write about him on occasion.

As is customary with these so-called "press briefings," Spicer has very little definitive information in answer to any of the questions asked by the press. He dances around all the topics like an aged ballerina. It is obvious from his verbal Swan Lake that he has not been given permission to convey any information that is not contained in the highly scripted Ode to the Toad.

This is the pattern of the joke known as "The Press Briefing": Spicer reads the Ode, the contents of which convey the uneven input of the Greek Chorus that has combed through it, overseen by Trump, who has thrown clunky, brash superlatives into the mix, like flat notes inserted into an overwhelmingly loud and brassy piece of performance art. The entire tone of the opus is false, where all of Trump's failures and missteps are characterized as grand successes, such as the recent debacle in Yemen in which lives were lost. Trump, through the mouth of Spicer, insists that it was a "success" (because everything he does is a success in his own eyes and anyone who disagrees is invited to leave or is summarily fired.)

The Press tries to get detail from Spicer, who has OBVIOUSLY been put under some kind of gag order by Trump. Trump issues the "truth of the day" and that's it. That's all you get. Even when the topic of RELIGIOUS FREEDOMS was batted around,  Spicer was obviously trying not to say anything that would get him in trouble on either side.

In this morning's briefing we learned, in general terms that Trump is in favor of religious people being able to adhere to their religion without interference from the government, but Spicer couldn't commit to what that meant exactly. He can only deal with general theory because his boss hasn't prepared any specifics or his boss doesn't want anyone to be prepared for the specifics when he writes one of his flood of executive orders that he's been printing up like playbills for the show that is Trump.

Because Trump behaves so inappropriately and has become a laughing stock with the majority of Americans and the rest of the world, Spicer's announcement this morning about religious freedoms is painful to hear. If the press secretary of a man with gravitas were saying the same things, it would be of great benefit to those of us who are pro-life and do not wish to be forced to participate in any activity that even whispers the name of abortion. None of us wants federal money going to Planned Parenthood. We do not want little family businesses bankrupted because their religious sentiments prevent them from baking cakes for weddings of same sex couples. People voted for Trump SOLELY because they hoped he would reverse Roe v. Wade by a well placed Supreme Court placement or two or three.

If Trump was a serious diplomat, a skilled and elegant leader, aware of the nuances of politics and people, his support of religious freedom would have some weight. He would be able to change the flow of culture that is careening close to the edge of outright public persecution of Christians, but since he is such an incredible boob, it is harmful to the cause to be affiliated with him. Everything he does is wacky, uninformed, boorish, impolite and just plain primitive.

Sometime in the future, when Trump is out of office, everything he does will be reversed, just as he is now trying to reverse everything that Obama did, and our country is going to have to figure out how to prevent someone like this from grabbing power ever again. We are going to have to rebuild our democracy, after he and Steve Bannon are through tearing it down.

When Trump was first elected, I worried a lot about how his behavior would affect America's relationships with our allies and our enemies alike, but I now realize that our allies have leaders who are more intelligent, skilled, nuanced and educated than Trump. Foreign leaders in the developed world see him for who he is, and they also see us for who WE are. They know that Trump lost the popular vote by close to 3 million people. They have seen the videos of mass marches and demonstrations against him in cities all over the U.S. They know that "America" is not behind Trump, but these leaders also see diplomatic affairs through the lens of history, where patterns of behavior are crucial to the apprehension of future events.

Trump is not the first fatally flawed egomaniac to take control of a country, suppress freedom of speech and produce masses of propaganda to disguise what is really going on. Autocrats throughout history have picked out a vulnerable population to blame for everything that is wrong in the country. With the Nazis, it was the Jews. With Trump it is the "illegals." It is typical for this type of leader to move their family into the seat of power, giving the closest jobs to those to whom they are related. Trump is not the first man to fire anyone who dares refuse to do something illegal to satisfy the monarch. Nor is he the first to make wild, impossible promises like Trump's promise to improve services and create more jobs while cutting costs at the same time. Hitler's promises of wealth and plenty upon the removal of the Jews was a similar promise. PATTERNS. Patterns (history) count.

Autocrats like Trump commonly use force, bullying, intimidation and personal humiliation as primary tools to accomplish his real purpose. Look to his Leninist, white supremacist sidekick, Steve Bannon, for clues to Trump's real agenda. Trump is out to dismantle our brand of democracy and create something else. He just hasn't told us about it. You can read about it, though, in the Breitbart editorials.

World leaders see Trump for who he is, which is why the Australian Prime Minister didn't mention Trump's boorish rudeness during their telephone call. When asked about it by the press, he only said, with a slight smile playing on his lips, that the deal between America and Australia (with regard to some refugees who have been stuck on some islands outside Australia for a few years) is still in place. Later, he expressed regret that there was a leak of his telephone conversation with the president.

Leaders of foreign countries can see the patterns of Trump's behavior, patterns to which he seems to be enslaved. In every interaction, no matter who it is, Trump first flatters his target and then he flatters himself a while, at which point, he makes a grab for whatever he wants or makes the self-aggrandizing point he wants to make. If Trump doesn't get what he wants out of the interaction, he goes on the attack and in his most hostile, boorish manner, starts calling his adversary unsavory names and insulting them. Everyone knows this about him. Nervous laughter ensues. No one is going to give a hint that they disagree with him.

He certainly did this with the women he pursued and assaulted. First, he flatters the woman, then he flatters himself, then he makes a grab for what he wants. If rebuffed, he calls her ugly or whatever other vile insult comes into his mind. He did this to at least one of the dozen or so women who came forward to confirm that his bragging about sexual assaults was true. He has no shame, this man. His support of the cause of religious freedom is about as helpful as that of the KKK.

We take our cues of behavior from the patterns of what other people do and say, wear and consume. Our bodies are conformed of patterns of cells. Bees produce wax homes for their queens and their honey using hexagonal patterns that are beautifully laid out. This is a natural gift given by God. Patterns of behavior inform our consciousness and help us decide what is safe, what is good, what is bad.

Criticizing Donald Trump, based on his patterns of behavior, isn't safe. Nervous laughter.

After watching the Press Briefing reality show, I took a look at some film of Trump's meeting today with Harley Davidson motorcycle riders. He stroked them for a short time with a handful of whatever flattery he had in his head at the moment. Then he immediately switched to flattering himself. He talked about his great win of the presidency (which he can't seem to get over and continues to crow about), then made insulting comments about his telephone call with the Australian Prime Minister (which has nothing to do with the Harley Davidson people who were sitting in front of him and which prompted nervous laughter.)

Trump is the original solipsist, except that you may not exist in his consciousness even if you ARE sitting right in front of him. His mind is captured by the latest irritation he experienced and/or the current lie he is trying to promote. I guess he thinks that if he says it enough times to enough people in enough venues it will magically become true.

This is not the man who is going to reinstall God at the head of the government of America. People who think they ARE God never do that. If anything, he will hurt our cause. I am sorry, my dear friends who voted for him, but you will be greatly disappointed when the Trump show is over and the final reviews are in. Abortion will not be abolished because of anything that Trump does. Although a great number of Americans do not believe in abortion, there are far more people who want it to be legal, and that is going to be the overriding consideration of even the most obtuse political hack who isn't saddled with Donald Trump's crippling emotional need for approval.

As far as whether or not our reputation will be lost with leaders of foreign countries,  I suspect that the people who REALLY run the world, the guys who never lose their jobs, the CIA and other intelligence people on the ground, those whose job relies upon anonymity -  THOSE people are far smarter than all of us and are not about to let this child-man throw the world into chaos, if possible. These people have relationships with counterparts in other countries. They are on the job, doing their best to protect us on the ground. I hope they are successful because Trump has threatened to invade Mexico with Troops, break an agreement to house refugees currently housed in Australia, pull the U.S. out of Nato, take military actions against Iran, etc. etc. etc.

The only people who may be moved to action against him would be leaders in countries that are completely disconnected from us. Notice that Trump hasn't said anything about North Korea? If he insults their Dear Leader, who knows what would happen? They don't have the sophistication of the rest of the world, having removed themselves from it. Their leader may not be able to put aside a loss to his honor because of some slight by The Donald. He likely does not have the savvy of the Prime Minister of Australia who clearly knows what he's dealing with.

While hobbling home from my first walk with the dog this morning and thinking about all these things, I happened to notice the beautiful job that is being done on an apartment complex in my neighborhood. The patterns of the work conjure up, in the most abstract manner, the surrounding landscape, and the history of place. I had to stop for a while and just admire the design. The architect had won a very prestigious architectural award for its design many years ago. I hadn't appreciated it before, when someone else had destroyed the design by slapping a few ill-conceived paint colors over the original masterpiece.

The painting isn't finished, but I can already feel the vision of the architect. The pattern of his work clearly evokes the New Mexican vibe. The very top part of the building incorporates the colors of the stormy summer clouds that we love so much in this part of the world. The colors actually made my brain feel good....and I really needed to feel good today.

Please pray for our misguided and childish President, as well as everyone else who has to work with him. Please pray that the Lord illumines Trump and gives him inner guidance that will encourage him to cease this turbulent, disturbing method of doing business.

Please pray for our beautiful world and its stunning symmetry of pattern. Pray that we all experience the teaching that is inherent in our appreciation of the beautiful patterns of the world and let it calm and soothe us, giving us peace within ourselves and in our relationships with everyone else in the world.

Lord save us all.

Silver Rose Parnell

EHLERS-DANLOS SYNDROME - THE CAUSE OF A HUNDRED MYSTERIES - Updated July, 2024)

Silver S. Parnell

2020

Age 66

NO ONE HAS X-RAY VISION

This is one of those posts that I write, not for myself, but for the thousands of people I represent. I hope to encourage people not to judge the sufferings of others by simply looking at the person. No one has x-ray vision. No one can miraculously feel the pain that is being endured by any other person, especially in a world in which people are punished for expressing pain and suffering, and many of us put on a brave face and a smile, just to keep from being criticized harshly.

Just the other day, I  told a neighbor of a difficulty I was having, in response to her question about how I was doing. Instead of being sympathetic and understanding, she got on her soap box and started lecturing me about how I should not feel this pain, how I should pretend I have no suffering, and how I should not tell anyone the truth.

This is so tedious.

BUT PEOPLE WILL JUDGE

There is much advice from judgmental folk that advocates for putting on a sunny face, but the majority of the Biblical injunctions when dealing with suffering say that we are to be sympathetic, to be loving, to be like Jesus. Jesus said to serve one another. He said to treat one another as we would wish to be treated. The Old Testament advised us to rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those that mourn.

No one wants to be lectured when they are in pain. No one wants or needs advice when we are depressed or hurting, but we live in a judgmental, selfish world. It is SO much easier to criticize the pain of other people than it is to do anything to help alleviate it. 

OLDER THAN I LOOK

I write about my personal experiences so that you all my extrapolate my experiences to include those of millions of American sufferers of a mostly hidden, inherited disease.

My whole adult life, people have been telling me that I look very young for my age. The other day, my bathing assistant reacted with great surprise when I told her my age. Many people would be thrilled with this state of affairs, but looking young for one's age CAN be the sign of a little-known syndrome called Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (named after the researchers who pinned this down. I wish scientists wouldn't do this. It just makes it difficult on all those of us who have to wrap our mouths around the name. Why didn't they call this super bendy disease or circus girl syndrome.)

IDLE CURIOSITY OR IDLE JUDGMENT?

Many people have expressed curiosity about my disability status. I think part of the curiosity (which, in some people, is actually judgmental suspicion in nicer clothes) is that I just don't LOOK like I am disabled. I look great, apart from being fluffier than what is fashionable in this era, but you can't see pain, you can't see fatigue, you can't see the mutated genes or the multiple body parts that are composed of collagen, which is malfunctioning, due to the mutations.

LOTS OF BROKEN BONES

When I was about 9, I was standing in a field, watching some other kids play baseball. I had been standing too long when I started to feel a sudden increase of weakness in my knees and ankles. This wasn't new to me. I'd been dealing with persistent fatigue and loose joints my whole life. Usually, I would sit down at this point, but there was nowhere to go.

Mom, I need to sit down," I said to my mother, tugging on her shirtsleeve. A diffident woman who never liked me much, she just looked at me and made a face. My ankles gave way and I fell to the ground. I broke my elbow that time. In the next few years, I would go on to break the metatarsal bones in my left foot 5 times, wearing a cast on my foot each time. That foot is a different size and width from my other foot today, and because it is longer than the right foot, I have a hammer toe that happened overnight, it seems to me.

I was 13 before I had enough control over my muscles to know how to avoid the fatigue and falling that the bendy tendons, ligaments, and the rest of the connective tissue structures would cause. We were a long time away from learning about this rare condition, and I didn't really put conscious effort into getting control of my body. It is just one of those things that you DO when you inhabit human form. When you're a kid, you learn to ride that thing.

NOT DESTINED FOR THE CATWALK

I am not sure why I ended up being one of the sufferers of EDS and related genetic disorders. I just remember eating the same or less than my sister. She was skinny. I was tubby. It was weird. Losing weight has always been particularly challenging, as I have to practically starve myself to pare down, and the weight comes right back on my frame, with seemingly little effort.

Because of the loose joints, due to overly stretchy and "double" joints, I was never able to wear heels. I was overjoyed when Birkenstocks became popular. They are very expensive, however, and many of the styles do not fit me because of my wide forefoot.

Because of the foot issues, the style of clothing I could wear was dictated by the Birkenstock shoes. I had to be REAL creative about it. Sometimes I could find men's boots that came in wide enough sizes to fit me, so for a long time, I wore pants and cowboy boots or jodhpurs. This suited me fine when I was riding 4 hours a day in boarding school. But I can also remember hand cutting and sewing "maxi dresses" to the floor, made from Indian cotton fabric, printed in paisleys.

The entire trajectory of my life was determined by my wonky feet and my hypermobility spectrum disorder. I couldn't have changed much about it. Thank goodness I had some modesty and preferred to dress with some actual clothes, rather than the sky-high heels and short dresses that became popular at the waning of the hippie era.

SHAKE YOUR TAIL FEATHERS

I began working when I was 11, in 1965, but in my 30's, most of you will remember that I was a religious, where I was a nun, searching for peace, in a Hindu convent (which is where I read about Jesus and became converted to Him!) While cooking one day, I fell right on my tailbone and cracked it but good, smack dab on the hard Mexican tiles. With the already existing scoliosis at the hip, previously broken tailbone, and chronic back trauma, I was in terrible shape. In fact, I had to be scooted around in a wheelchair which, evidently, the other nuns really resented because the head of the convent went to the Swami in charge and told him that I was "faking it," in her words. She knew nothing, of course, and hadn't so much as questioned me or the doctors, nor had she seen the X-rays that clearly showed the multiple issues. I suppose she thought I looked just fine and decided I was "malingering."

In the Catholic faith, gossip is actually a collection of different sins. In these circumstances, it would be considered a "mortal" sin. The Vedantists don't believe in sin, however. Lucky break for those nuns because my name was in their mouths far too often. I used to think I was especially despised by them, and it puzzled me, because I loved them. But, many years later, I now know that women just gossip. Nearly every woman I have ever met has been a gossip - except my friend Jane and a small handful of people who keep their own counsel.

I left that convent, just positive that I was going to find a lovely Catholic community. All I had to do was find a Catholic Church, join the RCIA class, get baptized, and I would be golden.  But people are people everywhere

One of the Ehlers-Danlos websites pointed out this tendency of others to judge harshly those who are afflicted with this syndrome, as looks can be deceiving and some people really DO prefer to judge a book by its cover. Although EDS and related genetic disorders are not curable, I feel wonderful knowing that I am vindicated, after years of people treating me unkindly as a result of this illness.

LOOKING GOOD AND FEELING BAD

The pain of EDS and related genetic disorders, in particular, is far greater than what one would expect upon examination of the x-rays of the osteo-arthritis that shows up rather early in life. That is because only part of the pain is related to the bone-on-bone pain of the arthritis itself. Some of it stems from muscular stress and injury caused by the muscles having to do the work that ligaments and tendons are supposed to be doing. Some of it is caused by the syndrome itself, which is somewhat related to fibromyalgia. There are new studies on the pain aspect of EDS, and more news should be coming up about that aspect fairly soon, I would bet. The related hypermobility spectrum disorder will be affected, as well, I would think.

DEPRESSION

Depression is also one of the symptoms, though it does not appear to be situational, but rather a chemical function arising out of the mutations of the genes that cause this illness.  I read an article recently that was too far above my comprehension. Something about brain chemistry was discussed in relation to the depression. It is not the typical depression, and I think that there may be some specific anti-depressants that would be called for, under these circumstances. FORTUNATELY, I am able to fight the depression with prayer and meditation. It doesn't "fix" it, but I am remarkably cheerful, considering everything I endure.

During the course of my reading about Ehlers-Danlos and related genetic syndromes, I began to learn about the lesser-known presentations in some forms of this disease, I felt like I was making check marks on a looooong list of weird physical symptoms that had hounded me my entire life, starting in early childhood.

DENTAL MALFORMATIONS

A high palate and "crowded teeth" are another common feature of those with EDS, and I have that as well! When I was a child, they wanted to pull 4 teeth to solve the crowding issue.

SIX VERSIONS OF EDS

My doctor and I are still comparing notes between my symptoms and the research. We have not pinned down WHICH version I have, because testing was not available at the time my hypermobility spectrum disorder was diagnosed, but it appears obvious that, of the 6 different types of EDS, I seem to have the most common form of it, the hypermobility type, which is being called hypermobility spectrum disorder at this time. I could also have another version that involves the heart, but funding for the genetic testing was not available when I went to see the specialist for my EDS.  Hypermobility spectrum disorder is "less severe" which probably accounts for the long time in which it has taken for me to be diagnosed. I've always known there was something, in particular, that was wrong with me....something that would explain the physical problems that have caused me such pain and inconvenience my whole life, but I don't think that the doctors have been terribly interested in diagnosing. These days, it seems that medicine has to be fixated on dealing with the symptoms, since insurance companies pressure doctors to handle many more patients than is probably good for us.

Frankly, my diagnosis was fueled entirely by my curiosity and the fact that I am an experienced researcher. I was motivated and just happened to hit upon the right websites. Once my doctor was alerted to my symptoms dating back to childhood, however, he jumped right on board. We are all happy to have an explanation of my complaints.

YOGA MASTER

My experience of EDS was initially "tipped off" by extreme double-jointedness in my whole body. Even though I am in my 60's, I am still really bendy! I can bend over and touch my palms to the floor without bending my knees. Makes for a great showing in a yoga class, but can lead to lots of sprains, strains, falls and breaks, which is what I had my entire life, starting in early childhood.

If you have EDS or hypermobility spectrum disorder, DON'T do yoga!  That's the worst type of exercise you can do. Strength training and aerobics are OK, especially the strength training, because your muscles have to make up for what your tendons can't do.

CLUMSY KID

Children with EDS or hypermobility spectrum disorder are often accused of being "clumsy," and that is because they have not yet developed the motor skills necessary to take over where the tendons and ligaments are loose. Even today, I have to move slowly and do all my physical activities very deliberately, otherwise, I am prone to tripping, falling, dropping things, and breaking many items.

Before I was 5 years old, I remember my parents calling the doctor to come out to the house in the middle of the night because I was having terrible pain in both legs, starting from the hips on down. The doctor diagnosed them as "growing pains," but now I read on various EDS websites that many sufferers of this disease have those awful leg pains as children. The explanation is that the effort needed by the muscles to take over for what the ligaments and tendons are supposed to do causes terrible muscular pains and spasms.

ARTHRITIS AND ALLERGIES

(Asthma and multiple allergies are also common in people with EDS. I remember the doctor coming out to the house for THOSE issues also.)

My tendons, cartilage, ligaments and all the other things that are supposed to hold my joints together are unreliable and let me just fall where I may. I remember once when I was about 10, I was standing in the back yard, just watching other kids playing, when my left ankle gave way and I fell to the ground, breaking my right elbow.

SUPER BENDY DISEASE AND PURPLE VEINS

By the time I was 11, I'd had 5 casts on my left foot, having broken numerous bones from falling as a result of my ankle just giving way. At the same time, I developed severe varicose veins before the age of 13. I have had MANY sprains and strains of my ankles, which is common with EDS and with the hypermobility spectrum disorder.

NARROW HEELS AND FLAT FEET

I've never been able to find shoes with any ease, since I had bunions while still very young, extremely wide feet with narrow heels, and flat feet. The collagen-based structures could not hold my feet together in the way that they do in normal people.

BRUSH YOUR TEETH CAREFULLY

Likewise, nothing could hold my spine in place when I was brushing my teeth too vigorously one morning when I was about 24 years old, and my back went into horrific spasms. I missed at least a week of work and was put on strong muscle relaxers.

I CAN'T STAND THIS JOB

The veins in my leg, in addition to being varicose, also have defective valves that cannot push the blood back up to the heart. Consequently, I've never been able to hold a job that involved any standing. In my early 20's, I got a job at Nordstrom's in a mall in Los Angeles. I was excited about getting a 40% discount off any clothes I would buy, but I only lasted 4 days. My job should not have been physically taxing for a young, thin, and "apparently" healthy woman, but it caused me extreme pain in my legs and hips and, by the end of those 4 days, I became bedridden and stayed there for more than a week!

JUST LIKE MY DAD

One of my legs is longer than the other, not by much, but this was confirmed by more than one chiropractor. My father had the same problem. This brings up the fact that this disease is inherited from one's parent or parents.

BUILT LIKE A SPIDER

Purchasing clothing has always been particularly difficult, especially when trying to buy pants because my extremities are too long for my torso. This is quite common. Usually, the fingers are also very long, but I did not inherit that aspect. I am really tired of my arms popping out of the sleeves of all my shirts and my pants looking like I am going to a flood. In the early 1970's, you used to be able to buy all sorts of slacks and blue jeans that were not hemmed because some women were wearing sky-high platform shoes, I suppose.

Due to a very short torso, not only are the pant legs too short, but the "waist" of all pants rides up to my arm pits...just one of the several reasons that I prefer to wear dresses, rather than pants. "Maxi dresses" are never long enough, though. If they fit in the bodice, they're at least 4 inches too short in the length. This is really inconvenient because I am keen to hide all those ugly varicose and spider veins.

I DON'T SEE WHAT THE PROBLEM IS

When I was 10 years old, I was reading my mother's library of books. My parents never bothered to buy us children's books. I was reading Shakespeare's complete works and Somerset Maugham and O'Henry, but at school I was getting D's. It was decided that my vision was the problem, so my mother took me to the optometrist who asked me, "read the top letter on the eye chart."

I said, "What eye chart?"

It turns out that, due to the fact that the human eye is made almost entirely of collagen, people with EDS are often extremely nearsighted, with multiple astigmatisms, floaters and cataracts. Operating on the cataracts may not be recommended, however, due to poor wound healing. Also, I have macular degeneration, from which I have already become blind in one eye. Without glasses, I am legally blind and have been since a child.

FOUR EYES ARE NOT ENOUGH

I must wear glasses constantly, changing from one version to another, to accommodate different vision issues, depending on whether I am reading, writing, watching television, going outside in the sun. It is extremely important to protect my eyes from all glare and sunshine so I never have to make a decision about whether or not to have surgery on my eyes.

My eyeglasses HAVE to have adjustable nose bridges because, like many EDS sufferers, I have an extremely narrow bridge. For some, their entire nose is quite skinny. I can't take advantage of the low-cost eyeglasses that are advertised on television all the time, as they're all plastic, and even the little eyeglass patches with adhesive on them won't keep the plastic glasses from sliding down to the tip of my nose.

WAKING UP DURING SURGERY

Local anesthesia often doesn't work on people with EDS, something that doesn't surprise me at all, but which surprised the last dentist I saw, many years ago. By the time he finished shooting me with novacaine, the first shot had already worn off. After that experience, I had to get all my work done with a dental surgeon who would put me out.

Last year, I had surgery on one of my fingers. There was a growth that turned out to be benign. The anesthesiologist refused to believe that local anesthesia does not work for me, and dismissed my constant complaints with a paternal, condescending manner. I ended up waking up twice during surgery! The anesthesiologist's resident, not expecting me to wake and see what he was doing, was reading his email on his telephone! I told him, "Hey! I'm awake! Put me back to sleep!"  He did so, without a glance in my direction or an apology.

While the written post-surgery directions told me that I wouldn't have use of my arm until many hours after surgery, my use and function on that arm was completely normal when I woke from surgery (for the last time.) At the time of this surgery, I was unaware of EDS. My negative experiences with this surgery could have been alleviated, had I known.

FACE CREAM NOT NECESSARY

There are some dermatological signs in EDS, and I have very slight presentations in this regard. Soft, velvety skin is one sign. Super stretchy skin is another, which I did not not seem to have when I was younger, but as I edit this blog in 2024, the super-stretchy skin has appeared, especially now that I have lost at least 40 pounds since writing this post.) An odd type of scar formation is present in many, and I have a bit of this, having somewhat delicate skin. I STILL have a scar from a slight injury on my tricycle when I was 5 years old. These scars tend to widen and whiten. They're called cigarette paper scars.

Scoliosis is common in EDS. I have that as well as sciatic issues, which is equally common.

FAINTING SPELLS

A tendency to faint is another symptom, as is fatigue, especially when one adopts a position for too long of a time. Like sharks, we must keep moving.

For the last month, I have been suffering from incessant vertigo, dizziness, a feeling of faintness, fatigue and sleepiness. This is why the nurses have been coming to care for me, as well as an attendant, who helps me bathe. Some day soon, I hope to have a housekeeper who may cook, clean and take me on errands. AFFORDING it may be an issue, though I am pleading for assistance through Medicare. We shall see what they say. (UPDATE: 2024 - I was approved for a Medicaid waiver for the aged and disabled. So far, they have provided me with an electric wheelchair and a part-time attendant.)

A scooter is also a piece of equipment that I will be needing immediately, as is a large bendable bed for the bendy hermit. Though Medicare MAY pay for portions of these items, I will need to pay portions of it. (UPDATE, 2024: I am now in an electric wheelchair any time I have to walk more than a few feet.)

MOVE TO ANOTHER LOCATION IS URGENTLY NECESSARY

I also need to move to a hermitage that addresses my physical and spiritual needs, ESPECIALLY since my current Landlord is hostile toward the disabled and has given me a terrible time with regard to reasonable accommodations that I need in order to function. (UPDATE, 2024: Managers keep telling me that "it isn't fair" for me to have anything that other residents do not have, completely ignoring fair housing regulations. At this time they are removing my parking from in front of my garage to give it to able-bodied construction workers for their convenient parking.)

Anyone able to help financially, please click on the DONATION button on the top, right-hand side of this blog.

HOME SWEET HOME

All others, I beg for your prayers. Please ask for a small house with its own fenced yard for the service dog, very close to the church which our Lord wishes me to attend; a car with a lift meant for the transport of my electric wheelchair; new eyeglasses; and dental work.

The three sets of eyeglasses that I need will cost half a month's income. Obviously, this is beyond my capacity.

There is no cure for Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome or the related syndromes, but pain and other issues may be addressed. I have faith in your prayers.

Anyone wishing to gather more information about Ehlers-Danlos, please refer to THE EHLERS-DANLOS SOCIETY

God bless us all.

Silver Rose

(c) Copyright 2017

All rights reserved.

THOMAS AQUINAS AND DONALD TRUMP

Saint Thomas Aquinas

Doctor of the Church

Angelic Doctor

Feast day: January 28

I have been wondering whether or not all the demonstrating and the marches and the loud outrage against the new president of the United States is a healthy thing. He won the election, and, regardless of whatever help he got from a politically motivated head of the FBI and computer hacking done by Russia, aren't we supposed to just be gracious and give him a chance?

Today is the feast day of Saint Thomas Aquinas, who said:

"To bear with patience wrongs done to oneself is a mark of perfection, but to bear with patience wrongs done to someone else is a mark of imperfection and even of actual sin."

Is it our place to "forgive" Donald Trump for sexually assaulting women and bragging about it on audio tape? Are we then to forgive him (or, worse yet, believe him) when he trashes the characters and reputations of the women when they come forward to confirm that yes, indeed, he DID do these things that he bragged about? There is at least one woman brave enough to follow through with a lawsuit against him. I don't know if the other dozen or so women who came forward to confirm Trump's own words will likewise sue, or if his new, even MORE powerful position has scared them off.

Are we supposed to "give him a chance" when he lies continually, both during his campaign and after his ascension to office? What about those tax returns? While making a grab for the nomination, he promised that, if nominated, he would release his tax returns. Now, he is actually elected to office and refuses to release them. Is an unrepentant liar supposed to get wholesale forgiveness?

Is it our job to forgive him for insulting the Mexican people who have come to our country by calling them criminals and rapists? Can any of us speak on behalf of the Mexican people?

What about the hypocrisy of Donald Trump smearing President Obama because of his use of executive orders while in office and then issuing a flurry of them IN HIS FIRST WEEK himself? The insults to our previous President remain unvindicated. The Republicans had announced that their sole aim was to prevent Barack Obama from having a second term, and they refused to pass any bill he presented. He HAD to issue executive orders to get anything done while in office. Trump has a Republican House and Senate, yet bypasses the legitimate, customary procedures, a mechanism that leaves a lot of detritus behind, since Trump doesn't bother to work out the details of what will happen as a result of his sweeping declarations.

The press, called "the fourth estate", has also been vilified by Trump and his people. Trump calls the press vile names and accuses them of lying; his press secretary attempts to force "alternate facts" down their throats during his bizarre and abrupt first meeting; and Steve Bannon, alt right scion and fake fact purveyor, flatly tells them to "shut up and listen for a while." Are we to endure this horrifying suppression of the First Amendment, the diminution of a press that represents the people of America in its attempt to get questions answered by our First Servant who is acting like the master of the house? Do we just sit back and watch while representatives of the press are called names in public venues? Who decided that it was within our rights to "forgive" Donald Trump for his boorish and crude treatment of people who are trying to gather the facts for US?

Can we, in good conscience, ignore Donald Trump's insults to our American Democratic system and all of the people who have pledged to maintain the integrity of the voting system? He lies and says there are 3 to 5 MILLION people who have voted illegally and refuses to provide a shred of proof, while every reputable source of information on this topic says that it is simply not true, and not even partially true. The years of education and experience that each of these experts has dedicated to this topic have been dismissed and discounted, simply brushed aside because the new president has such a grotesque ego that he can't stand the idea that he lost the popular vote by almost 3 million people.

The ego of the man is so perverse and has such a grip on his psyche that he is more than willing to hurt anyone he has to hurt in order to spread a lie that strokes that hungry ego.

These people, organizations and institutes of higher learning are being trashed, their valuable input dismissed, their reputations and characters just SHREDDED. Should we sit idly by and let these lies continue, unabated, without comment? Shall we sit and watch while all these people are humiliated?

What about the refugees and legitimate travelers from Muslim countries that have been stuck in an American airport for hours this morning, and the others that were preparing to come here, legally, and suddenly have lost all hope?

Again, I must repeat: WHAT ABOUT THE REFUGEES? There are legitimate refugees that are in desperate circumstances, fleeing from repressive regimes and ISIS?

What about the little girls who have been stolen from their parents, raped, and forced to convert to Islam and marry old men? Shall we sit here serenely, knowing that she cannot escape that old husband and his gropings? Her hopes dashed, she must endure the daily assault. Every day that Donald Trump prohibits refugees from taking refuge here in America, is another day of violence, death, beheadings and rapes of innocent people.

How many other desperate schemes of escape from the mayhem in Syria are in process but cannot proceed because Donald Trump, in the fashion of the new dictator, has summarily prohibited anyone from coming here?

Donald Trump is an arrogant, lying hammer, and all people in his path are nails. He is destroying America's reputation and he is HURTING PEOPLE.

We SHOULD be mad. We should be FURIOUS.

I am sick, disabled, poor and isolated - par for the course for the little hermit - but YOU are not! I pray that you will rise up and make your voice heard. Do not let this evil continue unabated. PUSH BACK against the evil. SPEAK TRUTH TO POWER.

Silver Rose Parnell

P.S.  I am working on transforming my Facebook page to one of inspiration. For the most part, I am publishing (1) Saint of the day; (2) Saint's quote of the day; (3) Bible readings (mass readings) for the day; (4) pictures of saints; (5) "Three Good Things of the Day"; (6) Artistic, creative and crafts posts; and (7) News items from reliable sources. Please join me there! Here is the FACEBOOK LINK TO MY PAGE

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A CONSERVATIVE CATHOLIC

Lying has always been considered horribly sinful, in Old Testament and in New. We are not supposed to give false witness against our neighbor, but fellow Catholics do this all the time, while defending this vehemently. They're very confused.

It is very disturbing that the man elected to the highest office in the land is an inveterate, continual and bald-faced liar and many  Catholics defend his lies, without even bothering to try and ascertain the Truth. I find it shocking, especially since most Catholics that I know who voted for him only did so because there is a chance he will reverse Roe v. Wade with his choices for Supreme Court Justices. I doubt that will happen, but I certainly understand why some would take a chance on him, hoping that he WOULD follow through.

My problem is that I am a convert and I learned my religion at the knee of the desert fathers and mothers, the mystics and saints of the church. I read myself into the church, while the flesh-and-blood church bears little resemblance to the early church, or even to the present-day convents. The mother superior of a Carmelite convent warned me that I would have a hard time adjusting to parish life, having spent a lot of time in a Hindu convent and being accustomed to the mystical contemplative life.

Oh, how I wish I could hide in some out-of-the-way skete, but I'm physically not able. I NEED the world and its medicines, wheelchairs and scooters, but coming into contact with the sickness of our church has made me want to cry for IT much more than I would ever cry for myself.

WHERE is the Catholic faith I read about in the Hindu convent? Where is the faith for which I left my monastic life behind?

Another thing I see, almost daily, is that many Catholics are confused about politics. They imagine that there is such a thing as a "liberal" Catholic or a "conservative" Catholic when, in fact, there is no such thing. "Liberal" and "Conservative" are POLITICAL terms that have nothing whatsoever to do with Catholicism, which is not a political party. Why don't people know this? It is confusing to me.

Someone actually wrote me today and told me (on Facebook) that being a liberal is sinful! The fact of the matter is that there are aspects of each political orientation that are sinful and neither one is better than the other. It shocked me, though, that someone actually thinks such a confused thought, conflating religion with politics.

If politics was the solution to the world's ills, Jesus would have come as an earthly king, instead of a poor dirty kid, born in a stable and held in the animal's feeding trough. His whole life, he worked with his adopted father, Joseph, in hands-on physical labor.

The liberal ideology wants to allow mothers to kill their babies with abortion. Conservative ideology kills the poor, the sick and the old by removing government programs that help them. Liberals kill them fast and young. Conservatives kill them old and slow. Each is bad.  In fact, the liberals don't FORCE anyone to have an abortion, whereas the conservatives DO force economic policies that kill vulnerable populations, so perhaps it is the conservatives that are the sinful ones. What about THAT? 

Conservative economic policies benefit the rich and squash the poor, creating the perfect environment for lots of abortions because babies are expensive. Conservatives don't like to pay for other people's babies. They don't want to pay to abort them, and they don't want to pay to raise them. Conservatives do not like babies unless their parents are wealthy and never need help. This is why the conservatives don't follow through with promises to make abortion illegal again. They don't want to pay for other people's babies.

Catholics who identify primarily as Republicans and/or conservative dislike paying for other people's babies so much that they sometimes forget the church's longstanding proscription against contraception and end up "disagreeing with the church" about it. They want the poor people to have access to contraception so they don't have to pay for the babies of the poor. Artificial contraception is not pro-life and cannot be condoned in a faithful Catholic life. It is "inherently evil," according to Holy Mother Church.

According to the Catechism, a man having a vasectomy is as sinful as a woman having an abortion. Having a vasectomy is "intrinsically evil" and must never be done, "no matter how good the reason." How many people KNOW this?  How many Catholics are using vasectomies and other forms of artificial contraception, on the one hand, and loudly decrying abortion on the other?  A man cannot serve two masters. You are either pro-life or you are not. You can't cut it in half and say it is alright to frustrate God's generative power on the one hand, but not on the other. Are you open to life or not?

Every single time a program comes on the air, whether the television of the radio, and it's about "pro life," the only thing discussed is abortion. What a sad state of affairs. It seems that only the unborn are alive, in the minds of some people.

Republicans, in fact, do not want the government to help ANYONE who is vulnerable: the sick, the disabled, the poor. They do not want any social programs. They talk about "free markets" and "choices," but the poor, disabled and elderly do not HAVE any choices. They don't have enough money to have choices, especially if Social Security and Medicare are turned into voucher programs that we have to use to purchase needed services from for-profit businesses instead of not-for-profit Medicare? How is that going to work, exactly?

So - back to the man who called me sinful because he imagined that I am one of them damn lubruls. The arrogance of certain conservatives who impugn the character of people whose economic policies run more toward the liberal side, is a terrible sin in itself. Arrogance is pride, and pride goeth before a fall.

In matter of fact, I am neither liberal nor conservative. I am CATHOLIC. I am pro-life. I am against abortion. I am in favor of social programs. You cannot pin me down to any political orientation because I am not a political animal. I am CATHOLIC. Neither Democrat nor Republican will satisfy my yearning for a world in which life is honored, celebrated, supported and held up to God with a grateful HUZZAH!

I pray that all my Catholic brothers and sisters will actually study their faith and stop reading the twisted opinions of priests and others who've become obsessed with abortion and Republican trickle-down economics that has NEVER worked. There is more than one way to kill a person, and abortion is just one. It's a terrible thing. I wish it was illegal, but being pro-life requires more of me than simply being against abortion. LIFE is an enormous topic.

Being PRO-LIFE means being PRO-PLANET and environmentally savvy and caring. It means taking care of animals properly. It means caring about my neighbor to the extent that I want him to live as well as I do. Being PRO-LIFE means being PRO-CREATION, and using the creative gifts that God has showered upon me, especially in a spirit of worship of Him. PRO-LIFE is making chaplets for my friends who pray in front of the abortion clinics. PRO-LIFE is making hats for the homeless who refuse to shelter under a roof, even during the coldest nigiht. PRO-LIFE is feeding a hungry guy - even one who reeks of alcohol. PRO-LIFE is guarding our food supply from dangerous chemicals and crazy DNA experiments (like putting fish genes into tomatoes so they don't freeze). Being PRO-LIFE means protecting the water supply for all peoples and demonstrating against the fracking pipeline that risks the safety of the water of the indigenous peoples. Being PRO-LIFE means being AGAINST CAPITAL PUNISHMENT unless there is absolutely no other way to protect society against a violent predator. Being PRO-LIFE means treating domestic and wild animals with kindness AND RESPECT . 

I'd also like to see the wages increased so that families can afford to have as many children as they want, and mothers can afford to stay home and raise them. THIS is pro-life also. Wages have been kept artificially low for more than 40 years now. When I was working, I saw my income go DOWN over the years, while my responsibilities and my bills increased. Now, wage reform, in addition to being a LIBERAL economic idea is ALSO a PRO-LIFE idea. Am I sinful for being in favor of this liberal idea that I believe will result in fewer abortions and more big families? Nope. HUGE topic.  HUGE.

Poor medical care kills the poor, who die at least 10 years sooner than wealthy people. Why is no one up in arms about that?  I will answer that. Because some Catholics have conflated Catholicism with Republicanism. Republicans hate social programs and, especially these days, want to privatize everything so that everyone has to fight for every ounce of life. Survival of the fittest, is what it boils down to.

In an economic system in which only the strongest survive, the old, the sick and the disabled are naturally the losers and die off. Jesus would never approve of this.

Every time we get into a dialog about social programs, the know-nothings pipe up and equate social programs with socialism and claim that the liberals, and therefore the Democrats, are socialists. It's another LIE. Social programs have the SAME relation to socialism as Social programs has to ice cream socials. Socialism is characterized by the OWNERSHIP OF ALL BUSINESS BY THE GOVERNMENT.  Social programs are common to MANY different types of government that have nothing to do with socialism. (If you didn't learn this in High School, folks, Google is your friend. Hell...break out the dictionary,, for cryin' out loud.)

The real problem we have is that our social programs come nowhere near supplying the needs of the poor, 97% of which are not able bodied and cannot work. All of Donald Trumps blabber about jobs is not going to help the 47 million people in our country who are poverty stricken and living on entitlement programs. Notice...they are STILL poor, even though they've put money into the program their whole lives.

The reason why the social programs do not supply all our needs is that the rich do not pay their fair share. The normal wage earner pays up to 17% of their salaries into the Social Security fund, whereas the rich people pay less than a fraction of 1% because of the CAP on contributions into the fund. Social Security contributions stops for every cent a person earns over $116,000.00 a year! This robs the fund of MILLIONS of dollars of income and is THE reason why we are running a little shy of funds...in addition to the fact that both Democrats and Republicans have stolen money from the fund every year.

If the social programs were run in the same way as they are run in other countries, there would be no problem. America is the only civilized country that doesn't take care of its poor. Now isn't that revolting? The reason why is that the Republicans put up a fuss every time the democrats try to take care of the poor, every time they try to raise the minimum wage, every time they try to pass a bill that helps the sick, the disabled and the elderly.

Isn't it more Christian to take care of the population of a country, to clothe the naked, feed the hungry and visit the prisoner? How can Catholics ally themselves with a party or an ideology that doesn't believe in doing what Jesus asked of us.

It is a cop-out to claim that "Jesus never said you had to force someone to help the poor."  Well, He also didn't say we should force people to pay taxes.  Oh, wait...never mind. He DID say to pay to Cesar what is Cesar's.

The Republican party is the enemy of the poor, the sick, the elderly and the disabled, but that Catholic man called me "sinful" because I have liberal economic ideas? Isn't that backwards and upside down?

The happiest countries in the world, self reported, are places like Denmark, where the taxes are high, and the social programs are adequate to care for the population. It would seem that we do not care about our people at all, in comparison to these countries. CLEARLY, having social programs WORKS for these countries, whereas trickle-down theories have never worked in any ANY countries. The money doesn't trickle down. It stays on the top, with the fat cats. Trickle-down theory is what dictators use.

So, our social programs do not work very well, due to the selfishness of the wealthy and those people who identify as conservatives, above and beyond whatever devotion they claim for Christianity, but there are some conservatives who are sincerely Catholic who recognize the defects in our current system and who step forward to fill in the gaps to the best of their abillities.

I know several of these saintly people, and it is because of them that I am alive.  They identify as conservatives, including the economic orientations, for the most part, but they step in and help the poor who have fallen through the cracks...like me.

They buy me organic food because I'm allergic to pesticides and pesticides give me asthma attacks. They've bought me computers, such as the laptop I am currently using, and even my service dog owes his life to one such earth-bound angel. These are Catholics who walk the talk and who come forward with kindness and generosity in the face of social programs that do not provide life-supporting funds. Not everyone is as lucky as I have been. 

These are the only conditions under which Republican economic ideas can begin to work, and that is if every Republican were to take on one person such as myself who has fallen through the cracks. There are 47 million of us. Can we depend upon the Republicans to come forward and take care of all of us? 97% of us are elderly, disabled, children, or the working poor.

In my mind, allowing for social programs is far more reliable when dealing with the number of poor people we currently have in this country, Trickle down economics has never worked. It is a theory that HAS FAILED but to which many are devoted. 

Does this mean I am "sinful" because I do not believe in this conservative theory? Obvious not.

I would like to ask my Christian brothers and sister to STOP identifying as liberals or conservatives, democrats or republicans, and begin to really identify as CATHOLIC people...because you cannot identify as both. You cannot serve two masters. Either you are Catholic, and you support all Catholic theology, or you are a liberal or a conservative and you only support SOME of the Catholic faith.

Secondly, you need to stop identifying OTHER people as either liberals or conservatives because it's a lie for many of us.

Silver Rose