A Reflection on Killing and Mercy

“When Stacy announced this symposium on Mercy and Killing, two words sprang immediately to mind: Capital Punishment. Perhaps it’s the years I spent as an anti-death penalty activist, or time talking with families of victims and condemned alike, but these two words, Mercy and Killing, are to my mind, inexorably linked to capital punishment.”

In a recent commentary, writer Sarah Babbs offered a reflection on a presentation made by a mother whose daughter was murdered.

To access her complete post, please visit:

Ignitum Today: What Mercy Looks Like (30 APR 12)

Reflection Starter from Voltaire

“No snowflake in an avalanche ever feels responsible.” - Voltaire

National Building Safety Month

May is National Building Safety Month. An initiative of the International Code Council Foundation, Building Safety Month was first observed in 1980 in response to a series of tragedies that could have been prevented through the existence and enforcement of safety codes.

This year’s observance includes foci on specific weekly themes: Energy and Green Building, Disaster Safety and Mitigation, Fire Safety and Awareness, and Backyard Safety.

For more information about National Building Safety Month, please visit:

International Code Council Foundation: Building Safety Month 2012

Federal Alliance for Safe Homes

Presidential Proclamation: National Building Safety Month

Background information:

International Code Council Foundation

Note: Mike Holmes, host of the television show Holmes on Homes, has been named 2012 Honorary Ambassador for National Building Safety Month.

Additional background information:

The Holmes Group

Home & Garden Television: Holmes on Homes

Thank You, Lord

Thank you, Lord, for the beauty and stability of the various types of stone.

Tim Busch of Living the Faith at Work

“When Catholic businessman Tim Busch read the article “Catholics and the Next America” by Archbishop Charles Chaput, he was inspired. Busch is the founder of the Napa Institute — a new organization that aims to equip Catholic leaders to advance the Catholic faith in today’s secular society.”

In a  recent National Catholic Register interview, Tim Busch, of Trinitas Winery, spoke about living one’s Catholic faith in a work environment.

To access this National Catholic Register report, please visit:

National Catholic Register: Equipping Catholic Leaders (2 MAY 12)

Background information:

Napa Institute

Reflection Starter from Chuck Colson

“We must be the same person in private and in public. Only the Christian worldview gives us the basis for this kind of integrity.” – Chuck Colson

Air Quality Awareness Week

This week, the week of 30 April-4 May, is being observed as Air Quality Awareness Week. This year’s theme is “Be Air Aware.”

For more information about Air Quality Awareness Week, please visit:

EPA: Air Quality Awareness Week

CDC: Air Quality Awareness Week — April 30–May 4, 2012

NWS: Air Quality Awareness Week

Background information:

AIRNow: Air Quality Index (AQI) - A Guide to Air Quality and Your Health

AIRNow: You Can Help Keep the Air Cleaner -- Every Day!

For more information about the current and forecast air quality in New England, please visit:

EPA: New England Air Quality Index

EPA: Connecticut Air Quality

EPA: Maine Air Quality

EPA: Massachusetts Air Quality

EPA: New Hampshire Air Quality

EPA: Rhode Island Air Quality

EPA: Vermont Air Quality

Holy Father's Prayer Intentions for May

Pope Benedict's prayer intentions for May are:

General Intention: That initiatives which defend and uphold the role of the family may be promoted within society.

Missionary Intention: That Mary, Queen of the World and Star of Evangelization, may accompany all missionaries in proclaiming her Son Jesus.

Saint Joseph the Worker

Today the Church celebrates Saint Joseph under the title of Saint Joseph the Worker – as I have noted previously, one of my favorite observances of the Church year. It is special to me because it underlines in a real way that when a person does his/her work, he/she is continuing God’s work of creation and ministering to His people.

“Whatever your task, work heartily, as serving the Lord and not men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward; you are serving the Lord Christ.”- Colossians 3:23-24

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Prayer for the Spirit of Work (source unknown):
     God our Father, Creator and Ruler of the universe, in every age you call us to use and develop our gifts for the good of others. With St. Joseph as our guide, help us to do the work you have asked and come to the rewards you have promised. Please grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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A good reflection on the feast of Joseph the Worker is by Deacon Keith Fournier (of the Diocese of Richmond, Virginia). This reflection also includes thoughts from Pope John Paul II’s “Gospel of Work” and some thoughts from Pope Benedict XVI’s “Caritas in veritate”. (Deacon Fournier is, among other attributes, a graduate of the Franciscan University of Steubenville, a lawyer, and the founder of Catholic Way and Common Good.)

To read Deacon Fournier’s reflection, visit:

Deacon Keith Fournier Reflection: Feast of St Joseph the Worker: Affirming the Dignity of All Work (30 APR 12)

For further reflection:

Pope John Paul II’s Encyclical on Human Work, promulgated 14 September 1981:

Pope John Paul II: “Laborem exercens” (on Human Work)

Pope Benedict XVI’s Encyclical, “Charity in truth”, promulgated 29 June 2009:

Pope Benedict XVI: “Caritas in veritate” (Charity in truth)

Pope John Paul II: “A Scriptural Vision of Work” (This is chapter 4 of The Good Stewards: Practical Applications of the Papal Social Vision of Work, by Michael Naughton (published by University Press of America in 1992.)

John Paul II: A Scriptural Vision of Work

P.S. There is a shrine dedicated to Saint Joseph the Worker in Lowell, Massachusetts. Its web site may be visited here:

St. Joseph the Worker Shrine, Lowell, MA

Thank You, Lord

Thank you, Lord, for the many ways in which You continue Your work of creation through the work You call us to do.

Fr. Dwight Longenecker on Authentic Evangelization

“I can remember the Evangelical preachers of my youth railing against the purveyors of something they disparagingly called ‘the social gospel’. The ‘social gospel’ was the liberal form of Christianity that had substituted the ‘old, old story’ of mankind’s sin and Christ's sacrificial redemption for a mixture of trendy causes, political activism and ministry to the poor. As far as they were concerned, a missionary’s work , whether at home or abroad, was to preach the gospel. All that nonsense about building hospitals and schools and soup kitchens was just ‘the liberals watering down the faith yet again’.

In a recent commentary, Father Dwight Longenecker (parish priest at Our Lady of the Rosary Parish, Greenville, SC) reflected on the importance of balance in proclaiming the Gospel message and on the opportunities that are opening up for evangelists through a variety of different media.

To access Fr. Longenecker’s complete post, please visit:

Catholic Online: The Old, Old, Story (30 APR 12)

Background information:

Dwight Longenecker - Catholic priest and author

Reflection Starter from Robert Louis Stevenson

“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.” – Robert Louis Stevenson