The Areopagus 5-6-08
posted by Phil Lawson
5-6-08
Mother’s Day is this Sunday. Take a look at the story below.
From “Mom’s choice on work” -by Karen Heller of the Philadelphia Inquirer as reprinted in the 4-22-07 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
“Motherhood is forever but not for every minute. Bennettts{Leslie Bennetts author of the new book “The Feminine Mistake”] identifies the ’15-year paradigm,’ the demanding aspect of mothering that spans a short period compared with decades in the workforce and longer life expectancies….Bennetts quotes economist Heidi Hartmann as saying that ‘unless you are the mother of an Einstein or a Madame Curie, which most of us are not, your own work, if it is significant, is probably more important than raising your kids.’”
Now, if you didn’t appreciate your mother before, perhaps you can be grateful she’s not like the economist described above? Thankfully, I don’t think I know any Mom’s who would ascribe to such a utilitarian and materialistic worldview.
Phil’s Tidbits:
Think about it…..
“According to most philosophers, God in making the world enslaved it. According to Christianity, in making the world he set it free. God had written not so much a poem, but rather a play; a play he had planned as perfect, but which necessarily had been left to human actors and stage managers, who have since made a great mess of it.” -G.K. Chesteron, Orthodoxy
A Day in the Life of Pope Benedict via YoutTube. It’s in German, but quite worth it for the video footage.
Cardinal Lopez Trujillo recently passed away. He was known as a brave defender of the family and human dignity.
Benedict XVI recalled one of Cardinal López Trujillo's writings in which he prayed, "I very much believe in the value of this decisive fight for the Church and for humanity and I ask the Lord to give me strength so that I am neither lazy nor cowardly."
http://www.ewtn.com/news/index.asp
Considering the “heady” nature of the above selections, here’s a bit of humor to wrap up this week’s edition:
On the first day, God created the dog and said:
'Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years.'
The dog said: 'That's a long time to be barking. How about only ten years
and I'll give you back the other ten?'
So God agreed.
On the second day, God created the monkey and said:
'Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I'll give you a twenty-year life span.'
The monkey said: 'Monkey tricks for twenty years? That's a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the Dog did?'
And God agreed.
On the third day, God created the cow and said:
'You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under
the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer's family. For this, I will give you a life span of sixty years.'
The cow said: 'That's kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty
years. How about twenty and I'll give back the other forty?'
And God agreed again.
On the fourth day, God created man and said:
'Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. For this, I'll give you twenty
years.'
But man said: 'Only twenty years? Could you possibly give me my twenty, the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?'
'Okay,' said God, 'You asked for it.'
So that is why for our first twenty years we eat, sleep, play and enjoy
ourselves. For the next forty years we slave in the sun to support our
family. For the next ten years we do monkey tricks to entertain the
grandchildren. And for the last ten years we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone.
Life has now been explained to you.
There is no need to thank me for this valuable information. I'm doing it as a public service.
God bless you!
Phil Lawson
For the latest info on St. Peter’s, check out the parish website: www.saintpetercatholic.com (You can also find old editions of the Areopagus here)
The Areopagus is a regular email for adults that includes various reflections, tidbits, news and events. Hope you find it fruitful!
If you would like to be added to this list, send an email to lawsphil@gmail.com
On the other hand, if you would like to be removed, send an email to the same address indicating that.
Mother’s Day is this Sunday. Take a look at the story below.
From “Mom’s choice on work” -by Karen Heller of the Philadelphia Inquirer as reprinted in the 4-22-07 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
“Motherhood is forever but not for every minute. Bennettts{Leslie Bennetts author of the new book “The Feminine Mistake”] identifies the ’15-year paradigm,’ the demanding aspect of mothering that spans a short period compared with decades in the workforce and longer life expectancies….Bennetts quotes economist Heidi Hartmann as saying that ‘unless you are the mother of an Einstein or a Madame Curie, which most of us are not, your own work, if it is significant, is probably more important than raising your kids.’”
Now, if you didn’t appreciate your mother before, perhaps you can be grateful she’s not like the economist described above? Thankfully, I don’t think I know any Mom’s who would ascribe to such a utilitarian and materialistic worldview.
Phil’s Tidbits:
Think about it…..
“According to most philosophers, God in making the world enslaved it. According to Christianity, in making the world he set it free. God had written not so much a poem, but rather a play; a play he had planned as perfect, but which necessarily had been left to human actors and stage managers, who have since made a great mess of it.” -G.K. Chesteron, Orthodoxy
A Day in the Life of Pope Benedict via YoutTube. It’s in German, but quite worth it for the video footage.
Cardinal Lopez Trujillo recently passed away. He was known as a brave defender of the family and human dignity.
Benedict XVI recalled one of Cardinal López Trujillo's writings in which he prayed, "I very much believe in the value of this decisive fight for the Church and for humanity and I ask the Lord to give me strength so that I am neither lazy nor cowardly."
http://www.ewtn.com/news/index.asp
Considering the “heady” nature of the above selections, here’s a bit of humor to wrap up this week’s edition:
On the first day, God created the dog and said:
'Sit all day by the door of your house and bark at anyone who comes in or walks past. For this, I will give you a life span of twenty years.'
The dog said: 'That's a long time to be barking. How about only ten years
and I'll give you back the other ten?'
So God agreed.
On the second day, God created the monkey and said:
'Entertain people, do tricks, and make them laugh. For this, I'll give you a twenty-year life span.'
The monkey said: 'Monkey tricks for twenty years? That's a pretty long time to perform. How about I give you back ten like the Dog did?'
And God agreed.
On the third day, God created the cow and said:
'You must go into the field with the farmer all day long and suffer under
the sun, have calves and give milk to support the farmer's family. For this, I will give you a life span of sixty years.'
The cow said: 'That's kind of a tough life you want me to live for sixty
years. How about twenty and I'll give back the other forty?'
And God agreed again.
On the fourth day, God created man and said:
'Eat, sleep, play, marry and enjoy your life. For this, I'll give you twenty
years.'
But man said: 'Only twenty years? Could you possibly give me my twenty, the forty the cow gave back, the ten the monkey gave back, and the ten the dog gave back; that makes eighty, okay?'
'Okay,' said God, 'You asked for it.'
So that is why for our first twenty years we eat, sleep, play and enjoy
ourselves. For the next forty years we slave in the sun to support our
family. For the next ten years we do monkey tricks to entertain the
grandchildren. And for the last ten years we sit on the front porch and bark at everyone.
Life has now been explained to you.
There is no need to thank me for this valuable information. I'm doing it as a public service.
God bless you!
Phil Lawson
For the latest info on St. Peter’s, check out the parish website: www.saintpetercatholic.com (You can also find old editions of the Areopagus here)
The Areopagus is a regular email for adults that includes various reflections, tidbits, news and events. Hope you find it fruitful!
If you would like to be added to this list, send an email to lawsphil@gmail.com
On the other hand, if you would like to be removed, send an email to the same address indicating that.
Labels: Areopagus Catholic Newsletter
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