Listen to this inspiring talk by Bishop Fulton J. Sheen about the importance of adoration.
Of all the superhero movies that have been released by Marvel and DC comics, Batman is my least favorite, primarily because of the dark and diabolical nature of the villains. Despite my dislike of the Batman movies, I still watch them. In the last Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises, the villain, Bane, delivers a crippling blow to Batman’s back. He then escorts Batman to an underground prison. The only way out of the prison is through a tower-like tunnel that is carved out of rock.
Earlier this month, I had a conversation with a judge who recently retired after serving as a state court judge for more than 20 years. For the purpose of this article, I’m going to call him “John.” John is in his early 60s, and during our conversation he asked me how many grandchildren I have. I told him that after adding three new grandsons last month, my wife and I have 10 grandchildren.
During the 1990s, one area of my law practice that did very well was collections. At its peak, my law firm was filing several hundred small claims cases per year to collect money that was owed to our clients. Many of our clients included doctors (past due medical bills), grocery stores (bad checks), video rental stores (late charges and failure to return videos), and landlords (past-due rent).
I want to share with you a very powerful technique for changing the way you respond to offensive or critical comments. This technique has the potential of turning what is usually a very painful and unpleasant experience into an opportunity for personal growth and wisdom.
I recently stumbled across an old article that Fr. John Hardon had given to me more than 20 years ago. The title of the article was “Writing and the Spiritual Life.” He gave the article to me after telling me that I had an obligation to influence other Catholics through the written word. After rereading the article, I decided to republish it here so you could also benefit from Fr. Hardon’s wisdom. Here’s the article:
During the spring semester of my senior year of high school, I had a communications class with a teacher who was in her mid-50s. One of my classmates was a good friend of mine whose father was a doctor. On the last day of class, the teacher asked each of the students what their goals were for the future.
There is a political storm brewing in Washington, D.C., that will eventually turn into a destructive hurricane. While various multinational corporations, in conjunction with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, are pushing for a change in our laws to allow foreigners to bypass our current federal immigration system, the typical American taxpayer is outraged by the prospect of millions of additional foreigners being allowed to come into our country. Despite federal prohibitions, many of these foreigners will also be allowed to receive free food stamps, medical care, and a publicly funded education.
Last month, a 22-year-old man scheduled an appointment with my office to discuss the possibility of filing a bankruptcy. For the purpose of this article, I’m going to call him “Jim.” When Jim and I met, he explained to me that he had been terminated from his job earlier in the year and was drowning in debt. He told me that he currently lives with his girlfriend in the basement of her parents’ home.
You may have heard about the incident a couple of weeks ago (October 22) in Ottawa, Canada, when a Canadian soldier was gunned down by a homegrown terrorist, Michael Zehaf-Bibeau. The soldier’s name was Corporal Nathan Cirillo, and at the time of the incident he was on duty as a ceremonial guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the Canadian National War Memorial.