Catholics call that aspect of God which is the source of truth and knowledge the Holy Spirit.  To distort the truth about anyone, as the Washington Post and the New York Times have been doing for the past four years, is the kind of offense that calls for repercussions, and those two newspapers are paying in a decrease in readership.  Truth is something godly, and bias and lies are ungodly.

A newspaper is one of the essentials of self-government, for people need a basis on which to base actions and attitudes.  Like any government entity, they need reliable information, based on the truth.  If a newspaper can’t sustain that requirement, it is as good as failed.  The travel section will not be enough to support it.

I am sure there are many young reporters who want to write the unvarnished truth, and are not permitted by the ownership of the newspaper.  This unfortunate situation is a corruption of the ideals of good journalism, and degrades the status of the dedicated journalist.

Don’t.  Wait.  Experience has shown that it is a temporary urge if the mind is open to other thoughts.  It is a most ungrateful action, for the Creator has gloried in your thoughts and creativeness. You originated from nothingness, and now are something remarkable.

Get help.  You’re not going to beat this devil alone.  Help may be psychiatric, or even amateur, but that situation needs help.  Sylvia Plath, the poet, with a   creative mind, couldn’t do it alone.  We are here to help one another, or to get help when needed.

All that exists, the birds, the seagulls, the squirrels, even the cockroaches, are a symphony of praise to the Creator, and although He may take his time (Rome wasn’t built in a day or a week), you are in for something good.  Yes, I got that from the New Testament.  Read something.  Even Tolstoy. But get involved with life.

I think that I have been allowed to go into old age that I might be able to sympathize with and appreciate weakness, and to do the same with helplessness.

When I was young and strong and competent I had little sympathy in me, but the good Lord did not want that kind of person in heaven.  The rewards of this life go to those who have suffered and given.

That is what’s difficult and hard to put up with.  Heaven is a prize, and that means it has to be won, right?  No, it’s already been won by Jesus, and we attain it through love.

But what love is there in my disdaining view of weakness and helplessness?  That is why I still have to learn to sympathize and appreciate.  After all, I want all kinds of friends in eternity.

What a Child Can Do

Back in 1943, I led a decade of the rosary for peace over public radio (WJZ), sponsored by Our Lady Queen of Martyrs parish in Forest Hills.  Our prayers were heard by God a year later on VE day.  I said it in German, because as a recent immigrant from Switzerland, my Swiss-German was the closest to the original among the school children.

Only a year?  True, some prayers are answered almost instantly, but this involved many hundred thousands of minds.  I’m glad I was part of the results.

Failure is something we try to avoid.  So before starting a new project, the New Testament (Christ) advises you to consider your resources and those of your opponent personified (the devil).  Do I have the perseverance?  Do I have the knowledge?  Do I have the strength, the skill?  Can I withstand the criticism?  Or as Donald Trump might have asked, do I have the judgment?

Of course you have to expect some failure in life.  Sometimes it takes a lifetime to recover.  But if you sowed good seed, and helped people, I think it was worth it. In the heavenly kingdom, which begins here, intentions count, besides the results.  You wanted to be a Christian, a Catholic, so appraise the opposition.  You know where to get help, and auxiliary forces sometimes win the battle.

Yes, parts of this life are a battle, at least that’s what the Swiss in me, which comes from a long past warrior tradition, says.  Sit up, there!  The vanguard is calling!  Sound the drum!  Unfurl the banners.  Hold the halberd tight!