SAINT WALPURGA (aka "Walburga") AN EXAMPLE FOR MODERN WOMEN

 

Saint Walpurga (Walburga)

(born about 710, died 25 Feb, 777-779)

Although I had never heard of today's saint when I began to study her, I already felt a strong pull toward her and I wondered why. Firstly, I am descended from and fond of many saints of this approximate era and locale (Middle Ages in the British Isles), and her name sounded familiar to me, but I have just discovered that she is considered to be the patron saint of female writers!

Walpurga, who is now typically referred to as "Walburga" in the west, was a very well educated woman of 8th Century Wessex, who is the first female published writer, thus her patronage of female writers.

It is likely I am related to her, as I am descended from King Ingeld of Wessex, (my 39th great grandfather) who died in Canterbury, Kent, England in about 718, approximately 8 years after Walburga's birth. He was not her father, however, because all the records indicate that she was the daughter of someone called "Richard the Pilgrim," who is referred to as an "underking," and her mother Wuna of Wessex. Family history prior to Walburga's parents is lost in the mists of time, but we know that there were likely dense relationship connections in that area of the country, with many folks related to one another, especially since the nobility marries amongst themselves. I have many ancestors and cousins in Wessex during the years when the area around "Dumnonia," (approximately relating to modern-day Devon), was first becoming part of Anglo Saxon England. These centuries from about 600 a.d. to 1300 a.d. are my favorite in the history of my ancestors, and I am frequently rooting around in the historical records, looking for my "royal rellies."

(Of course we have to keep in mind that, when you go that far back in time, the records are never perfect. Names and dates can fluctuate, but the places in which these people lived their lives are rather more set, as even today we have corroborating places of pilgrimage, with old castle ruins, holy wells, and other sorts of geographic place markers. There are written records, especially with regard to the exploits of kings. One has to piece it all together to figure it out for individual persons.)

Considering the early era and obscure parentage, I was fascinated to see how much information there is on this saint in the internet records. There are a large number of paintings of her, quite a few merchants selling her holy medals and statues, and a few books (mostly of prayers and novenas.)

All of this has aroused a determination to learn as much as I can about this saint and to include her in my prayers to the saints, at the very least to mention her among them, especially because I am a writer and I have suffered terribly with writer's block for the last 20 years. I am looking for inspiration to get my books finished before I die, and I am already 70 years old, so I do not have much time left!

It will take me some time to get up to speed with all the information that is known about her, so I will do the best I can with what I can immediately absorb, and then will return later to add more. 

Something we should know about her, which I think has some implications for our modern life, is that Walpurga's father was both royal and extremely pious. This is a recurring theme that I find in the Middle Ages which appeals to me greatly.

Walburga's Father

Richard the Pilgrim

One sees these people, draped in ermine and being treated like little demi-Gods but instead of arrogant and haughty people, the kings and queens are often extremely religious, modest, and HUMBLE. Under those sumptuous clothings, some of them were wearing hair shirts as a penance. 

This saintly quality was frequently transmitted to their children, and there are entire families of saints (such as in today's case) which I find quite inspiring. Another example would be Saint Therese of Lisieux, though she is more contemporary.

It would be so easy for these kings and queens to just kick back and let everyone serve them, eat all kinds of glorious food while the serfs eke by and practically starve on rough fare. But that is not the case with many of the royal saints of the Middle Ages who were passionately religious.

It is quite a different family arrangement than what we often find today. I can't tell you how many times I have heard people say that they don't want to interfere with their childrens' freedom to pick their own religion. Their excuse for not taking them to church or giving them ANY religious instruction at all is so that they will not violate their right to freedom of choice, which is ridiculous, when you think about it. Obviously, the parents themselves are not usually going to church so they have no religious instruction to give. Their decision to "let the children decide for themselves" is apparently a smokescreen to disguise their own limitations.

.

Walburga's parents transmitted to her and her brothers a remarkable level of piety and dedication to the faith. It demonstrates the beauty of and possibilities for families to become instruments of holiness.  

Looking at this issue from a personal perspective, I will tell you that I did not come from a religious family. I really wish I had, because it took me decades to get to where I am today, and I feel sad when I contemplate how much better I could have behaved with this gift of life that God gave me, if I'd had the blessing of a family that was interested in God. But my family was entirely unlike the ideal. Even my beloved Grammy, though a good woman, eschewed religion. She DID say that "all you need is the Golden Rule," which I believe originally came from the Bible, but I never saw her read the Bible, and don't know that she even HAD one, and she definitely did not go to church.

My mother LOATHED Catholics because, oddly enough, my grandmother sent her to Catholic school. I suppose the nuns were mean to her. That is a mystery for which I will never have an answer.  You see? The Catholic Church has been on the outskirts of my family all the time.

For much of my adult life, I struggled between the beliefs under which I had been raised, and a nagging sense that there was something better, finer, higher.... something holy. I investigated many religions. I was on the Scientology flagship when I was 19. I studied Buddhism in my 20's. I was a nun in a Hindu convent in my 30's and then, finally, when I read about the Catholic mystics while a hindu nun in that convent, I finally realized what I needed. Even then, it took a number of years before I was able to join the Catholic Church which is, itself, the topic of another entire book. 

As usual, I have digressed! I just wanted to give you all an idea of the contrast between a family raised with God, and one raised with immorality and selfishness.

We do not often see the combination of piety and power in the kings of today. On this topic, I am going to mention something that is political in nature, and I ask your forgiveness for doing so. I am sure you have noticed that I mostly do not discuss politics in my blog. I have more to give in the sphere of holy things than politics But just now, recent government actions are intersecting with spiritual and moral expectations of our leaders. We need them to be of the highest moral character in order for each to be an effective leader. But the current office holder falls so short of requirements that it is frightening many of us.

FAKE MAGAZINE COVER CREATED BY

THE TRUMP WHITE HOUSE AND

SHARED ON HIS OFFICIAL WHITE HOUSE

"X" ACCOUNT

Donald Trump has just taken his second bite of the apple and is president AGAIN. He has recently posted on his social media platform a painting of a fake "Time" Magazine cover, depicting himself wearing a crown. Underneath the picture is a paean to himself, after which he writes, "Long live the King!" It is terrifying because he is acting like a brutal, dictatorial king, breaking many laws, violating the Constitution of our country, and hurting a lot of people with mass firings, mass deportations, and cruel language that disparages various categories of human beings. He has a tremendous amount of power, and with it he is punching down on those weaker than himself. 

His right hand man, an unelected immigrant from South Africa, (Elon Musk) has been tasked with the job of destroying many of the agencies of our government. As is typical of this administration, Trump says they are doing one thing, i.e., "getting rid of waste, fraud and abuse," but they are actually doing something more sinister. The courts are trying to stop him, but he is simply ignoring the judgments and proceeding with what he wants to do.  He verbally CLAIMS that he is complying but thereafter continues on as he was going, simply ignoring the judges' rulings. It is maddening.

For instance, we were initially told that Musk and a small band of teenagers and college dropouts were conducting "audits," but they immediately started to destroy agencies that Trump does not like, starting with USAID that delivers foreign aid to starving people throughout the world. Aside from the obvious horror we feel at the idea of innocent people dying in the Sudan due to famine, for instance, the loss of our reputation around the world will most certainly have colossal ramifications.

The battalion of college kids spent only ONE WEEKEND sending emails to employees of USAID, firing people and furloughing others. Obviously, the agency CANNOT function, so all the food that we were trying to get to the people starving in Sudan and other places is, instead, sitting in warehouses or rotting in stalled transport.

Two days is not enough time to conduct an audit of my own personal finances, what to speak of an agency with world-wide operations. Neither Musk nor his band of college students has the education or experience to conduct an actual "audit" which would take months or years when conducted by professionals. Our aid to the poorest of the poor throughout the world has been kneecapped.

The people who have been fired are not surgically targeted. Musk and his teen crew simply chose the easiest people to get rid of, and then they bragged about how much money they saved because of firing them. The approach of these people is overwhelmingly transactional in nature, completely ignoring the humanity affected.

In addition, the operation is being done in a sloppy manner. They have been wrong about the nature of the contracts, the exact amounts of the required payments,  and have misunderstood reports and spreadsheet. Most unfortunate is that they appear to have failed to prepare themselves by getting information and instructions from those for whom these areas are familiar.

It appears they have no idea what they are doing, and while they may save money on salaries, they are disabling the primary functions of these agencies.

In another instance, when they sent out emails firing the people who kept watch over our stockpile of nuclear weapons, they had to walk it back but did not know how to contact those recently fired people whose business email accounts had been cancelled.

Trump is resolutely remaking the government in his image.  The House, Senate and Supreme Court are all "in his pocket" and getting him to obey the laws has been impossible. One judge issued an order and two weeks later had to issue the same order again, admonishing Trump to follow his order. But instead of doing so, he continues on with the plan.

Before taking office, Trump said he knew nothing about Project 2025. After the election, he is following it exactly. The government is being transformed into an American oligarchy, and it is terrifying.

. Even before he was elected, the GOP was heeding his orders, in some cases blocking measures that would solve problems that they complain about all the time just to avoid the solution being effected during someone else's administration. This man will not tolerate anyone else being given credit for anything good, unless Trump himself is dispensing those laudatory comments in a condescending way that imputes the original agency to himself and his orders and directions.

He has become increasingly rude, demanding and dictatorial. He threatens to hurt anyone who does not behave as he likes. He is continually issuing illegal and unconstitutional orders. In a recent public meeting, he asked one Governor if she was going to "comply" and she clearly said she would comply with "all laws and the Constitution," and he told her that she BETTER comply with what he wanted or her state will get NO Federal funding. This is how he talks. He says the silent parts out loud. 

Recently, in keeping with his habit of rudely and aggressively talking down to reporters, he has decided to abolish the First Amendment by limiting the journalists who cover him to an exclusive list of his choosing. Their journalistic credentials are limited, to say the least. In a hundred years, we have never seen this. But we have seen it in other countries. 

Historically, the famous Hitler did this in Germany. Currently, the countries that behave this way are Russia, North Korea, Burma, Turkmenistan, Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Eritreya, Cuba, Uzbekistan, Syria and Belarus. There may be more. Dictators always suppress the free press as one of the first things they do to keep a country under their heel. Notice that the above list is composed of countries that are not known for being wealthy and successful. Dictatorships are not healthy governments, yet the egomaniacal personalities cannot give them up. They are obsessed with power.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

The Republicans in charge of the other branches of government are thrilled. They sit back and watch while the president destroys one agency after another, apparently not caring about the human costs. They can clearly see that the Constitution is being violated but as long as it is being violated to benefit them, they do not make a move to stop the speeding train.

Today the House of Representatives passed a resolution that will give the rich more tax breaks and will pay for it by robbing the poor. They are expressly after Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security. The poor will lose medical care, food and housing. Old people will be thrown out of nursing homes. Many of us will end up in the street, homeless. 

None of this comports with the Christian faith to which he pretends to belong. They justify this cruelty by saying that charity is the job of the church. So they think it is alright to actively hurt the poor. A tiny little handful of men at the top of the ladder own more wealth than the entire bottom half. This disparity of income, caused by the suppression of wages and the negligible tax payments of the wealthy, causes terrible poverty.

The work of the people at the bottom of the pyramid creates the value in a company, which is monetized and shoved up the ladder to the corporate overlords.

Elon Musk and others in the right wing call poor people "the parasite class," when it is he and Trump and others like them that CAUSE the poverty to begin with. 

I worked for decades and put money into Social Security. I do not feel much like a "parasite."

To be clear, my entire income is Social Security, with the exception of some television residuals from work I did 40 some odd years ago. I am on a Medicaid waiver because of my disabilities. It is possible that I will lose most of my medical care and benefits if this bill is enacted into law.

The depraved and foul behavior of Trump and many of his Republican enablers is completely unlike the holy families that we are discussing in this blog post.

In one, now famous, interview, Trump was asked if he had ever ask for forgiveness from God and he said he had not because he does not need it.

This is not a humble king who is self-effacing, polite, generous to the poor, obedient to The Church and The Faith. Trump is a vile dictator who cares about nothing but his own extravagant ego and his pleasures.

While Musk has been savaging our government agencies, Trump has been playing golf. In less than a month in office, Trump's golf habit has cost the American people more than 10 MILLION DOLLARS. Our wealthy overseers only care about money being "wasted" on the poor but they zealously guard the income streams leading to their enjoyments.

Nero fiddled while Rome burned. 

A distressingly large group of generic Christians and even Catholics constantly make excuses for him, despite the growing list of examples of his complete moral bankruptcy. I can't write about all of it or else I will be here all night.

The excuse I hear most often is that King David was also a sinful man and God thought HE was ok, which is a ridiculous comparison.

There is a HUGE difference between a man who believes in the commandments of Christ and tries his best to meet them but fails - and the man who asserts the OPPOSITE values to those of Christ and succeeds in his efforts to achieve those evil ends. The first man is a fallible human being, and the second man is in league with Satan.

At any rate, we all have a choice, regardless of our family background and advantages or lack thereof. Today's saint followed in the footsteps of her sainted father and she actually accomplished a lot in her lifetime.

The last time she saw her father, she was but 11 years old. I imagine her waving fondly goodbye to her father and two brothers as they rode off on a pilgrimage, leaving her behind with the Abbess of a double monastery. Her father died while on pilgrimage, a year after he left, and Walburga remained in the monastery, becoming a nun, and spending 26 years with those holy women, becoming extremely well educated in the process.

She helped her brothers Willibald and Winibald to evangelize the pagan Germans, along with boniface, who was her uncle. One brother died, and she took over his monastery. Then the other died and she took over his as well.

She was an extremely gifted and pious woman who led both men and women in religious life, worked as an evangelist, wrote books about the holy souls of her two brothers, and is credited with a number of miracles.

I have a lot of reading left to do about this really interesting saint, and I will come back later, God willing, to add to this.

I pray for you all, as I hope you pray for me.

Silver Rose

Post Script: Please remember that all my writing is protected by legal copyright and none of it may be reproduced anywhere else for any reason without my specific written permission. Just because you can see it here on the internet does not mean you have any right to use it.

SAINT MILBURGA - MY FIFTH COUSIN

 

Saint Milburgh (Milburga) 

Abbess of Wenlock

my 5th cousin 37 times removed

February 23rd is the feast day for this ancient cousin of mine. She was one of the three sainted daughters of King Merewalh (Merewald) of Mercia and Saint Domne Eafe, aka Ermenburga (Abbess of Minster-in-Thanet, in Kent, England.) 

Milburga, today's saint, became the object of a certain Prince's desire, and he was adamant he would marry her, no matter the cost. He tried to force her to acquiesce to his intentions so that she ran from him and escaped across a swollen river that, when he tried to ford it, suddenly became so much more engorged that it was no longer passable, obviously an intervention of the Lord, as He had other plans for her.

There is an alternate story that he chased her for two days and that, finally, she collapsed against a stone and was found by some local villagers who attempted to revive her but were unable to do so without providing her with some water. There is some idea of bathing her also, and I don't know why. Perhaps her fall had cut her skin and the blood needed to be washed off.

In any case, the princess's horse pawed the stone and a spring miraculously sprung up in response. It still may be seen today, in Shropshire, "the Holy Well of St. Milburgh."

Milburga's parents were part of a famously devout family of nobles. Her father Merewahl and her uncle Wulfhere had endowed a Benedictine monastery "Much Wenlock") and it was there to which she fled, establishing a Benedictine community in Wenlock, Shropshire, England. She began her novitiate training under a French nun, and as she had been educated in France, the language difference was not a problem, and she herself became the Abbess before long.

When reading about these ancient saints whose families were part of the nobility, to one degree or another, and especially the saints whose parents were actually kings and queens, I find it of note that these saints are often said to have been modest and humble, and Milburga was one of these.

It seems to me that, in order for the power of The Lord to flow through them, these saints had to have been humble and open to that power, rather than imagining that the power originated within themselves. Arrogance blocks the power of God within a person    .

In addition to her humble character, Milburga was also gifted with the ability to heal, and especially to restore sight to the blind, which is helpful to me, as I am blind in one eye and going blind in the other, and today I am going to meditate on my good cousin and ask her if she would intercede for me so that I retain what vision I have, AT LEAST, and even have the vision restored in the one blind eye also, if it be the will of God. I hope you will join me in that prayer.

Also among Milbuga's spiritual gifts was a mystical communion with and influence over the natural world in her orbit. She is particularly associated with birds, as she got them to do her bidding when it came to the protection of the crops, in particular, and also with an unexpected growth of barley, which amazed them all.

At least one writer assumes that this saint has taken the place of a former grain goddess, but I am not sure about that. It seems to be very popular these days to take the shine off the saints by discounting their individuality and claiming they are merely stand-ins or replacements for a previously worshipped goddess of some particular place.

Stories of this saint have a magical and gracious quality. Of course the most dramatic miracle is that she was known to levitate. She is not the only saint I've read about who levitates and I used to wonder what is the benefit of such a thing, but then I realized I was being too mundane and practical. Sometimes holy people have characteristics that are a side effect of their holiness. They live on a different plane than you and I, and not everything they do can be comprehended fully.

It is told that one morning she overslept and when she startled awake, the sun was shining upon her, and her veil slipped, but it remained suspended in mid-air, shining in the morning sunbeam, until she roused herself well enough to take it in hand and affix it back on her hair properly. It was as if the natural world waited on her needs.

She is credited with the design of gardens and the treatment of the locals with herbal remedies, going out frequently about the countryside. She was not one of those cloistered nuns who remained enrapt in prayer all day, but instead was an active and vigorous part of her world, which was a countryside teeming with life. The country folk were lucky to have her attention and ministrations. If only we had such people among us now, it would be grand, wouldn't it?

The year of her death is reported variously. I have it notated as 727 in my genealogy file. 

Milburga's tomb at Much Wenlock attracted devotees until about 874 when the Great Heathen Army of the Danes invaded Mercia.

Ruins of Wenlock Priory

The location of her tomb was forgotten and lost in time, after the Danish invasion, but when the Cluniac monks re-founded the monastery in 1079, her tomb was discovered. When opened once more, it is said that it emitted a beautiful floral fragrance, reminiscent of Milburga's enchanted gardens.

Church of St. Mary and Milburga

There is a new church built at Much Wenlock, and Milburga's well welcomes visitors to this day.

The Holy Well of Saint Milburgh

In one of the articles I read about this magical cousin of mine, one of the authors reminds me of something I have talked about before, which is that it was common for women of the nobility to retire to religious life after their turn as regal wives and mothers. When their children are grown and have left the nest, it was common for the women to turn to God. This was the venue in which Milburga was born and it was what she saw. She herself did not marry, and this is also a life path that was common among women who had no desire for family and were able to escape it. I think it is too bad that this habit has fallen by the wayside, for the most part.

These days, women often find themselves alone in their later years. We outlive our husbands by at least a decade. Some folks are alone because they are disabled, such as I am. Doing as I did and embracing the limitations of circumstances in order to devote oneself to God is a wonderful vocation. I hope some day The Church realizes how valuable a path this can be. Some day I foresee an organization of lay contemplatives composed of such people.

Silver Rose 

Silver Cottage Hermitage

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GOD MUST LOVE VARIETY BECAUSE HE CREATED SO MUCH OF IT!

 

Today's post is a bit of a Sunday ramble, but I think it holds up, at the end.

Every Christian knows that one of the basic understandings of our faith is that God created each of us in His likeness and image.

"And God created man to his own image: 

to the image of God he created him: male 

and female he created them." Gen 1:27

 

What I find very interesting is that, while we are all created in God's image, none of us is much like any other! Even twins have physical differences, what to speak of the vast psychological differences of each person.

I find this fascinating. What could it mean about God's motives, or is God Himself intrinsically one and a variety? Father, son and Holy Spirit and SO much more?

I am not a theologian, and can't tell you the answer, but I suspect even the theologians probably do not really know. It is likely one of those delicious Catholic "mysteries." Even our greatest minds cannot know much about God's intentions, in particular. We only really know what God Himself has told us about His reasons. There isn't a lot of that. Instead, we have to trust that everything He created is "very good" and behave accordingly.

"And God saw all the things that He

had made, and they were very good."

Gen. 1:31

The fact that God created us in freedom, especially in our freedom of choice, is a concomitant factor of our diverse natures. I imagine that God did not want to create slaves that would love Him and engage with Him out of pre-programed, forced duty. 

Whatever his reasons, He obviously intended to create each one of us as a unique individual, like no other. There must be something intrinsically "very good" about this plenteous expression of diversity, otherwise the Lord would not have done it. And each of us is beautiful in His sight, I am sure of it. He would not create anyone who is not basically "good" in their natures. But that "free choice" I mentioned determines what we do with it.

Whether or not we glorify God by the free exercise of our decisions is another matter entirely, as the history books are full of tales of the mistakes of others who have gone before us, so we can't say that everything every human does is good. That is another topic, separate from the innate goodness of variety.

A related, but more mundane example about how diversity is essential to even the health of our bodies: 

I recently consulted my doctor about some dietary changes, and she talked about older patients needing much more protein (because of reduced ability to digest, as one ages), as well as the necessity for variety of animal protein sources. She told me about how animal protein is better than plant protein because it is "complete" in amino acids, for one thing. The multiplicity of available vitamins, minerals, and whatnot in our food sources are another indication of the need for and goodness of variety that our bodies express.

Given all the variety I've discussed, I am naturally wondering how we are "made in the likeness and image of God." I strongly suspect that we are "like" Him in our spiritual souls, our heart of hearts.

A deceptively mundane example: I really love watching wholesome family dramas in which the members are expressing love and affection for one another, within the context of the ups and downs of life. I rarely watch television, but occasionally, on Sunday, I will watch PBS. Today there is a marathon of "Call the Midwife," one of my favorite television series.

I find it very interesting that, although I was raised without parental love and was, in fact, emotionally brutalized by a sick and self-absorbed mother and an opportunistic and sociopathic sibling, I enjoy watching the family-oriented television dramas very much, and I easily understand the love and caring, the values and higher aspirations of human love.

You'd think I would be unable to understand any sort of love at all, given how I was raised, but instead, I feel tremendous affection and empathy for the human race altogether. I have no trouble loving people, no matter how odd, obstreperous, or difficult to get along with. I can't even work up animosity for the folks who treat me badly. I want the best for everyone. It isn't that I do not notice the cruelty. I do what I can to protect myself. I know that being loving and kind will not prevent them from mistreating me again, so I am careful to guard against future abuse, but it just isn't in me to join them in the dark place in which they live.

Everything depends on that free will and what we choose. Will we be true to God's most wonderful gift of our creation? THIS place of love that resides within us all is where we are most like The Lord. This is where we are made in His likeness and image. But, at the same time, we must choose to be faithful to it.

My family was anti-religious and, particularly, anti-Catholic. My mother had gone to Catholic school, and the nuns had been mean to her, I am told. From the time I was a young child, then throughout my 20's and 30's, I was on a journey in search of God, studying various religions, and even joining a Hindu-based convent for some time, but this search culminated in a radical conversion to Catholicism that began when I read the Catholic mystics while a nun in the Hindu convent. Gradually, gradually, I turned to the Catholic values and religion. From one choice to another, I learned of the faith, followed it, committed to it. It hasn't been easy, and there are no earthly rewards for adhering to the faith. In fact, it is usually a painful cross, but once I understood the stakes, I was "all in."

I am particularly focused on the topic of diversity today, thanks to the toxic public comments of the vulgar convicted felon that currently resides in the White House. Before allowing the families time to grieve, and without reference to any facts whatsoever, he is blaming Diversity, Equity and Inclusion hiring practices for a recent mid-air collision that killed many people.

"D.E.I." is the shorthand he uses for his idea that women, minorities and the disabled are being given jobs for which they are not qualified, and this idea is just another lie he is passing off - like all his other misogynistic, racist and ableist prejudices.

The D.E.I. programs were created because minorities, women, the disabled and the otherwise different were being denied the opportunity to COMPETE for jobs and housing.

The preference is for white males, and there is a descending order of prejudice below that.

People of color were mostly denied access to the higher paying jobs and/or were underpaid in comparison to white people occupying the same or similar jobs.

Qualified women were denied access because of their sex. Many times, women were rebuffed because they were not sexually attractive to the men who run every corporation and business. Countless numbers of women have been fired for not agreeing to sexual relations with their bosses. I myself was pushed out of more than one job for this very reason. Once I was pushed out of a secretarial job for gaining weight.

Disabled people were being denied jobs and housing because of their disabilities. Most work facilities were built or occupied buildings which did not allow for wheelchair access, for instance.

In short: Perfectly qualified individuals were being denied access to the same field of competition. The purpose of the D.E.I. programs is to make sure that qualified individuals are competing on an equal playing field.

These D.E.I. programs were NOT created to give UNqualified people preference over qualified persons. Anyone who says otherwise is misinformed or blatantly lying.

In addition to the sexual harassment I experienced in some of my clerical jobs, I witnessed people of color being actively discriminated against in housing.

More than 40 years ago, when I was apartment shopping in Los Angeles, I was standing in front of an apartment complex, talking to the landlord, when two young black women approached us. It was immediately apparent that they were already very upset, and they proceeded to yell at the landlord because she had told them just the day before that the apartment was already rented but, just as they suspected, she continued to show it to other people - to white people.

The apartment manager seemed stunned. It was an unexpected confrontation and she clearly did not know what to say. Clearly, the accusations were true, as was apparent by the "the look" that the landlord gave me. Clearly, she was expecting that this pretty young white girl standing in front of her would be sympathetic to her racism. But she was very wrong. 

As for the two young black women, what could they do but make their charges and then walk away? I noticed, as they turned their backs and made their way down the sidewalk, that they were dressed as well as I was, well-groomed and shod. But they were black and, upon meeting them the day before, the landlord, seeing that they were not white, told them the apartment was rented in order to get rid of them.

Without missing a beat, I gave the landlord a "piece of my mind," and told her that I would not want to rent an apartment from someone who had racist housing policies.

Then I ran toward the two young women, who were walking away from us, and I tried to talk to them, to reassure them that I would NOT cooperate with this travesty, that not everyone was in agreement about this toxic social ill, but they were so angry, they assumed that I had gone ahead and rented the apartment out from under them, and accused me of it. 

I tried, and failed, to get them to listen to me and understand that I had rejected the apartment. I imagine that lifelong suppression of their dreams and basic survival had given them assumptions about ALL white people so that they were unable to perceive a "friendly" when they ran across one. So both "sides" are prejudiced against the other - something that would, at least in part, be rectified by rubbing elbows with one another on a job site, office, or apartment complex.

They turned their backs on me, and walked away. This is a perfect example of why we need D.E.I. policies, in order to counteract racism, sexism and ableism.

D.E.I. policies are those policies that ENSURE that the best qualified person is hired, no matter their race, gender or disability. Donald Trump has turned this reality on its head. Right now, he is in the middle of a wholesale firing of expert government workers so that he can replace them with know-nothing, incompetent, disqualified lackies whose only qualification is that they are devoted to HIM. But he blames D.E.I. policies for everything bad that happens in government.

Trump and his movement is the worst thing that has happened in government in a long time because he deliberately exaggerates the animosities between different groups of people, using dishonesty as his primary tool to separate people from one another. 

While he is encouraging people to face off against one another, Trump is making diabolical changes to our government, using illegal methods. There are such a flurry of Executive Orders that I imagine he is intentionally flooding the zone to cause further confusion. What do we fight first?

"You are of your father the devil, and

 your will is to do your father's desires. 

He was a murderer from the beginning, 

and has nothing to do with the truth, 

because there is no truth in him. When 

he lies, he speaks according to his own 

nature, for he is a liar and the father of 

lies." John 8:44

Photograph by "Z"

on Unsplash

Does this mean that Trump and his minions are NOT "made in the likeness and image of God," since he uses Satanic methods and has values that are the antithesis of Christ's specific commandments?

No. What it means is that he chose the way of lies and this free choice deformed his nature. He isn't the first corrupt leader to claim to be an adherent to Christianity so that he could bamboozle the public. Claiming to be Christian but behaving otherwise is a path with a terrible price.

Christ's parable about the tares being sowed among the wheat is instructional on this topic.

24. Another parable He put forth to them, saying: 

“The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed 

good seed in his field; 25. but while men slept, his 

enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and 

went his way. 26. But when the grain had sprouted 

and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 

27. So the servants of the owner came and said to 

him, “Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? 

How then does it have tares?

28. He said to them, “An enemy has done this. The 

servants said to him, “Do you want us then to go and 

gather them up? 29. But he said to them, ‘No, lest while 

you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with 

them. 30. Let both grow together until the harvest, and 

at the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First 

gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn 

them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”

Matthew 13:24-30

Obviously, people who claim to be Christian but whose choices and behavior are not in concert with Christ's commandments are the tares among the wheat. The "enemy" that planted the tares is Satan.

One thing I LOVE about Catholicism is that there is always time for the repentant to come to Christ, confess their sins, and be forgiven, in a very definitive fashion, until the time runs out. But Hell is not empty, unless you think Christ is a liar.

"Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ 

will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who 

does the will of My Father who is in heaven 

will enter." Matthew 7:21

Clearly, the free choice to follow the will of God the Father, to the extent He has made his will known to us, is crucial to whether or not we go to live with Him in Heaven when we die. 

Jesus clearly tells us that prejudice and discrimination are the opposite of his most important commandments: 

36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment

 in the Law?”

37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with 

all your heart and with all your soul and with all 

your mind.’[a] 38 This is the first and greatest 

commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love 

your neighbor as yourself.’[b] 40 All the Law and 

the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Matthew 22:36-40

God has commanded us to love one another as we love ourselves. We cannot be selfish and at the same time be obedient to what God has asked of us.

If we are really Christians, we want the best for our neighbor, in equal measure to what we want for ourselves. Prejudice is obviously, blatantly inconsistent with this commandment.

The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs are meant to fight the prejudice that is abhorred by God.

There is nothing wrong with refining the program, better tuning it to its mission, but the wholesale destruction of it, without anything to replace its mission, is diabolical. Satan loves to see this chaos.

If God wanted to make SURE that all his people ended up in Heaven, He could have MADE us adhere to His two most important commandments, which would make prejudice and discrimination impossible, but He would have had to give up on the idea of being surrounded by his loving creation. Love, in order to BE love, has to be a gift given freely.

By trashing a program that works to demonstrate our love of neighbor, Trump is demonstrating values that are the opposite of Christian values.

By claiming widespread corruption in these agencies, without any proof, and destroying them without any due process or replacement of services, the current administration is demonstrating hostility toward the American people who are not part of the 1% of Americans who are rich white men and their families.

MOST of us, in one way or another, will suffer greatly by the elimination of services, just as we have suffered over the last 5 or 6 DECADES, as the wealth of our country has gradually been shuttled up to the top 1% of Americans. If you take a look at this chart, you can see that, since 1970, wages have stagnated, rising only 25% in actual money, but when compared to the increase in living expenses, have not increased AT ALL. CEOs of corporations, and corporate profits, however, have soared over those same 5 decades.

The above chart shows the years

1970 through 2005

In addition to the D.E.I. programs, this administration, using an unelected shadow government of gullible teenagers and young men barely out of college, led by an unelected immigrant billionaire (Elon Musk) are being given top secret information, as well as the private financial information of all Americans in an assault on the Treasury Department.

I pray today that Trump and the members of his unelected shadow government become real Christians, that they fall in love with God, fear His might and His reprisals and acknowledge His sovereignty, repent of all their lies and scams, confess all their evil intentions and that they choose to be obedient to the commandments of The Lord - before it is too late.

I pray that GOD take pity on the people who claim to be Christian but who are confused, who follow the lies of the enemy, thinking they are doing a blessed thing when they are actually trodding the road to Hell. May they be saved from their selfish orientation and illuminated with God's Truth and Love.

I pray that GOD take pity on the folks who claim to be Christian, but who know they are scammers trying to bamboozle honest people. May the fear of God be instilled in them so that they repent of their sin and turn their faces to The Lord.

We are all in need of God's pity, my friends, and here is my prayer of the daily recognition of it. I wrote it for myself and it has no imprimatur, but it can be an example for something that you pray for yourself.

My daily prayer of submission

Please Lord Christ, help me to perfectly follow 

each one of your commandments. 

My will is to be more faithful to Thee in every way. 

I pray that you help me do everything in exactly the 

manner and with the attitude that is Thy 

most perfect wish for me. 

Please, Lord, take from me every erroneous idea 

that I may hold, and replace it with the pure beauty 

of Thy ultimate Truth.

I know, Lord, how very easy it is to put a step wrong 

and start to follow the road to perdition, so I offer to 

Thee the ultimate sacrifice - that of my free will. Take 

all of it Lord, and replace it with your holy will.

Please, Lord, save me from every evil inclination. 

I submit myself to Thee.

Amen

Please, friends, join me in the prayers for the Trump Administration and also participate in some kind of prayer of sacrifice of our own will and replacement of it with His. Do we trust Him enough to abandon our selfishness and residual evil inclinations while we take the yoke of His will onto our shoulders?

I have the conviction that it will help us to order our behavior more perfectly toward the Lord's commandments, in order to find ourselves bathed in the light of the beatific vision when our time here on earth is done.

I pray for you, that The Lord enlightens you and helps you follow His holy road. Please also pray for me.

God bless us all.

Silver Rose