The Way

The other day, I had the opportunity to watch The Way. The glorious thing about half-days at work with dentist appointments is that you end up having some time to watch Catholic movies! :-D lol

The Way is about a father losing his son who was on a pilgrimage on El Camino de Santiago ("the way of St. James"), which is an 800km path beginning in France and ending in Spain where St. James is buried.

Because of the death of his son and learning more about El Camino, the father is motivated to complete the pilgrimage. Along the way (pun intended), he meets and travels with other pilgrims who are on El Camino for their own motivations.

While not as full of action and drama as For Greater Glory, which I saw last weekend, I thought that The Way was good. It showcases many of the sites along El Camino and the journey from town to town that the pilgrims have to make. And I think it also does a good job of developing the theme of the universality of the Church and her knack for drawing in outsiders as you see the characters develop in the movie.

Though it is a good story, probably the one take away from The Way is that it really makes me want to go on that pilgrimage myself!

So, I've added that to my bucket list.

Anyway, I recommend it!  The movie!...I'll get back to you on if I recommend going on the pilgrimage after I have first-hand experience. ;-)

Faith. Hope. Charity. Buen Camino.
- JD

Viva Cristo Rey

Last weekend I had the spur of the moment opportunity to go watch For Greater Glory. My friends and I caught a last showing of the movie that required us to drive like 30 miles from where we were at.

I had heard great things about the movie when it first came out, but due to my schedule, it's been really hard to go watch it with fellow Catholics.

But! By God's will and my sense of adventure, I was able to see it! Missed the first ten minutes but that's okay!

I don't want to give the details of the story away...but man. What a great movie. After watching it, I have a better idea of the sort of things that Catholics in Mexico had to deal with in the early 1900s. Quite honestly, it is terrible that their own government would actively persecute Catholics and prevent them from exercising their religious liberty...to the point of outright killing them.

Given the current social, political, and religious climate that we're in right n now, the release of this movie could not have been more timely. While I don't expect the United States to sink low enough to start killing us for being Catholic, our government sure is making it difficult for us to exercise our beliefs freely by forcing us to go against our conscience.

I won't spend the time commenting on all that in this blog post and besides, I think you can find more eloquent and compelling commentary elsewhere.

But, I just to have to say... For Greater Glory inspires me. Am I willing to stand up for religious freedom, even staring death in the face if necessary? My answer approaches "yes." But I'm discerning the best approach.

There are reasons why there are a good handful of Cristeros who are on the road to be canonized or have been canonized already. For Greater Glory highlights some of them, especially in the credits.

I think every Catholic should watch For Greater Glory. Do we ask ourselves enough the question: what is the price of freedom?

Either way...

It's a good movie.  We have a legit cause to fight for.

Now is an exciting time to be Catholic. :-)

Faith. Hope. Charity. Religious liberty.
- JD

Seeking Truth

The other morning, I was walking through the parking lot from my car to the

entrance of my work. I noticed that the birds were out and about, probably
because of worms and it being early in the morning...Just a guess.

While walking, I heard one bird singing and chirping in particular. I
often play "Guess the Type of Bird That's Singing" whenever I hear birds,
and I couldn't quite locate or identify the bird singing loudly. I ran
through my mind a list of local Texas birds that I've seen but wasn't
sure. I thought it was some bird like those brown and sleek ones that tend
to get bullied by the black ones that like to puff up and chase other birds
(...maybe I don't know all my bird species by name...), but then I finally
saw the bird making all the noise.

A mockingbird. Whose dominion was an electric pole at the time.

Then I verified that it really was a mockingbird because the mockingbird
proceeded to go through its repertoire of bird songs and rhythms. Only
mockingbirds can do so. The bird also flew up for a bit then landed back
down, but I clearly saw the distinctive white markings on its wings.
Mockingbirds are cool birds,and I like mockingbirds, because they are the
mix stations of the birdsong world, especially here in Texas.

But my life is Catholic, and what the heaven does an observance of a bird
singing have anything to do with "seeking truth," as this blog post is so
named. Well, let me tell you! ;-)

Lately, I've been reflecting on finding truth in the world. I think what
sparked my thoughts on seeking truth was my Facebook News Feed. Perhaps
I'm Facebook friends with impassioned individuals who are quick to post
things regarding various hot and viral topics in the political, social, and
moral spheres. And that's fine. Freedom of speech, right? Cool. Ease of
sharing through social media? Sure.

The News Feed is a great way to find out what's going on in the world or to
know what people care about enough to share with others. And that's pretty
cool. Mark Zuckerberg might be on to something. And you know, the same
goes for me too. I also post things about what's going on and post stuff
that I care about, as well. Inevitably, not everyone is of the same
opinion on certain things. And with our nation approaching an election and
the American Catholic Church at the forefront for several issues, things
are becoming more and more polarized and heated, especially online.

With that said, there are so many voices online.  It's hard to discern who speaks truth regarding touchy issues.  And there's always that personal bias of "I'll only post things that are in line with my opinion of something."  Since it's so easy to share and comment on things online, the Internets is a very noisy place.  Kind of like the parking lot of my work early in the morning with all the birds singing.

With all the "he said/she said"s floating around online, I have to cautiously be wary of what I read online and realize that it may not not necessarily be representative of the fullness of truth.  There's a lot of bias out there.  And the Catholic Church has many enemies and dissenters online.  Not only that, I shouldn't be quick on my trigger finger and share something without being prepared for the repercussions or consequences that may arise from posting something on a touchy subject.  I know that all too well (but that's another blog post...).

So, praise God I'm human.  As a human, there's the innate desire to know and to seek Truth because ultimately Truth leads us to God or, at the very least, to have greater understanding of the world around us.  But the world can be a twisted place and the beauty of Truth is often obscured or diminished.

With all the half-truths, partial-truths, and non-truths out there...it becomes almost refreshing to finally get the full story or full truth on something.

I'm beginning to be a little more critical of mainstream media as well...Did you know that this past January's March for Life in Washington DC was barely covered, if at all, by any major news outlet?  Did you know that no major media outlet is covering how a growing number of United States Catholic Church institutions are suing the United States government because of the HHS Mandate and the infringement of religious liberty?...but yet the media jumps all over such stories as the Pope's butler leaking documents, the ongoing sex abuse cover up trial in Philadelphia, and other stories from a perspective that paints the Church in a bad light...when really, there's more to it all than how the media explains it.

Praise God I'm Catholic.  Because as a Catholic...I know that the fullness of truth exists out there.  Not just theological truths, but worldly truths as well.  Truth cannot contradict truth. And as a Catholic...actually, not just as a Catholic...but as a human being...there's the desire to seek the truth.

And you know...sometimes to know what it is I'm looking for requires just a closer look.  And I have to be willing to seek it.

...yes...it is, in fact, a mockingbird.
-JD