CMO 50: Happy New Year (2022)

 Hello Journal:

Note: I meant to post this on Sunday, Dec. 3, 2022.

As of this writing, the world has ushered in a new year and I have entered the tri-mester or perhaps twilight of my life. I recently celebrated the 60th season of my life journey.

What does that mean to me?

On one hand I am fearful. Why? Because I am one foot closer to the grave and God's judgment.

On the other hand, I am grateful. I have lived a life to an age many others did not reach. It is for them that I bow my head in prayer and gratitude.

I pray the Lord will bless me with good health in the hope that I can, through my work, bring the face of Christ to my neighbors and to a world who has temporarily fallen asleep on the Lord, replacing Him with superheroes, adventures, and do as you please living.

While it is not okay, I can sort of understand how we arrived here. I am just not eloquent enough to convey what I think I understand.

This is not a knock against me so please don't get in an uproar, but, I truly am not the brightest crayon in the box. However, praise God, I do get by save by His grace and the Holy Spirit.

Speaking of the Holy Spirit, I believe I have been invited to make 2022 a year of prayer, reflection, and metanoia.

What is metanoia? According to Wikipedia.org, "Metanoia is used to refer to the change of mind which is brought about in repentance. Repentance is necessary and valuable because it brings about change of mind or metanoia. This change of mind will make the changed person hate sin and love God. The two terms (repentance and metanoia) are often used interchaneably."

That will be my prayer for the new year, that the grace of Christ will reach the hearts of men and women the world over, especially in specific countries, including America that will lead to a metanoia experience for those souls.

Do I truly believe this can occur? Yes, I do. Why? Because I trust in the intercession of the mother of my Lord and the saints. More importantly, I trust Jesus.

As for the remainder of the year I plan to be In His Service. Those are the initials we see above Jesus on the Crucifix. Credit to Dr. David Anders of Called To Communion (ewtn.com) for opening my eyes to using the acronym in that way, IHS: In His Service. 

According to Dr. Dave, IHS represent the first three (3) letters of Jesus' name. 

This will be year of prayer, learning, and developing my relationship with the Lord through His Mother, the Church, and the beautiful souls I am privileged to share my journey with.

Sunday, Jan. 2, 2021

I had a blessed Sunday.

I went to 9:00 AM Mass at St. Thomas More. Fr. Leo, the newly ordained young priest from Mexico, officiated the liturgy. Deacon Gus assisted. I had an opportunity to go to confession with Fr. Leo before Mass began, but let me tell you, it felt like an ice box in confessional (smile). I am happy to report that situation has been remedied.

Following Mass, I fellowshipped with members of the English community over coffee and donuts. 

After arriving home, I enjoyed a nice meal at the Cracker Barrel restaurant with Monsieur Man. He ordered breakfast. I decided on the Grilled Maple Chicken with Bacon and a double serving of mashed potatoes, no gravy. Don't let the grilled chicken fool you, I didn't eat healthy.

"DING!" Accountability Bulletin: I should have had plain coffee rather than the caramel latte with whipped cream; one serving of mashed potatoes instead of two. My second side item should have been the baby carrots instead. Noted. Will remember for next time.

The remainder of the day was spent watching television We started by watching the replay of the Oklahoma State vs Notre Dame Playstation Fiesta Bowl which was played on Saturday, Jan. 1 at State Farm stadium in Glendale, Arizona. The Cowboys came back from a 21-point deficit to defeat Notre Dame, 37-35.

Following the game we watched a National Geographic series with Will Smith. We also watched an episode of Svengoolie who featured The Creature from 20,000 Fathoms (1953). That was followed up by one episode of The Goldbergs before calling it a day. It was a wonderful second day of the new year spent with the Lord, friends, and family.

Twitter Bans Congresswoman

I learned Saturday and saw again on a Catholic news feed (The Loop) Monday morning that Twitter has permanently banned Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's Twitter account (see below).

The social media platform Twitter permanently banned Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-GA, for “repeated violations of our COVID-19 misinformation policy,” a Twitter spokesperson stated. Greene responded via her Telegram account and said Twitter was “an enemy to America” that “can't handle the truth.”

I only have this thought, "While this is unfortunate and does need to be addressed, it is the "temporary" mindset of the culture today--the "cancel" culture. I say "temporary" because my faith and trust is in Jesus Christ. He will have the final word. Therefore, I will not attack Twitter for their action. Instead, I will pray the Lord's Will over the situation and surrender the situation and Twitter policy to Him."

 God Bless.