Obama-Romney Race Split

Incumbent Presidential candidate Barack Obama launched an email blast that opened with:

Listen, this race is tied.

What we do over the next 22 days will determine not just the next four years, but what this country looks like for decades to come.

Challenging Presidential candidate Mitt Romney's supporters received an email tonight from Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) that began with this:

Friends,

My dad used to tell me, “In this country, you will be able to accomplish all the things we never could.” He and my mom emigrated from Cuba to America to give us a better life.

They believed in American exceptionalism, the promise of America.

America was founded on the principle that every person has God-given rights; power belongs to the people; and government exists to protect our rights. We shouldn’t be trapped by the circumstances of our birth -- we should be free to go as far as our talents and work can take us.

In America, we’re united not by a common race or ethnicity -- but by common values. This election’s about preserving those values and applying the founding principles to solve the challenges of our time.

It's a choice about what kind of country we want to leave our children. Let’s choose more freedom instead of more government. Let’s choose Mitt Romney and the Republican team to lead our nation back to prosperity.

Now if that does not speak volumes about the commitments of each candidate...

Let us see how the town hall debate goes tomorrow night!


Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca

Updates

It has been a month since my last post! How the time has flown.

I am now in the midst of midterm season, with an exam each week for four weeks: Patristics, Old Testament, Synoptic Gospels, and Fundamental Theology. This is a phenomenon I did not experience in college, when several classes had multiple midterms, which meant that my exam schedule was basically the first and last few weeks exam-free, and the middle just full of all kinds of exams - having a well-defined "it's midterms" season is a bit new, but so far, I like it.

We took a hike for Columbus Day - up Mt. Wachusett here in central Massachusetts - followed by dinner at Josh's parents' home in Holden. Their hospitality is always appreciated and ever so generous.

We also had a much-needed day of recollection on the feast of the Archangels; Fr. Peter Grover presented the corresponding accounts of the healing of a blind man on the road to Jericho in the three Synoptic Gospels, beginning with Mark's. He noted the significant differences and then showed us the basics of praying with scripture and what kinds of questions we could ask of the text to guide our meditation. Today's second reading, from the letter to the Hebrews, reminds us of how useful this can be: "The word of God is living and effective, ... penetrating even between the soul and spirit."

Last night I gave a ferverino (short sermon) on today's Gospel reading; I focused on the theme of giving everything up, of giving ourselves over to the Lord when he calls us, joining ourselves to His Body and then receiving new brothers (fellow seminarians) and mother (Mary) as we begin this journey of formation in community with one another. I also invited my First Theology class over from St. John's Seminary and about a third of them were able to spend the evening with us. Being from a small congregation and the only one in my First Theology class there, it is good for the other men to see where and how we live, to have a fuller understanding of the community within which they are studying and what each of us bring to that community. Conversation often turns to family as we spend time together at the seminary, similar to college students asking each other what their major is or where they went to high school or grew up, and for me, part of my family situation is this religious family of which I am now a part.

I am glad to see Boston cooling off at this time of year - hopefully we will have a properly-snowy New England winter! The trees are changing colors and some have shed most of their leaves. The overnight low came down to 35 a couple days ago, and the squirrels are getting ready for winter.

I also began my pastoral service, along with Matthew, a Boston seminarian who just joined my class at St. John's. We work on Friday afternoons/evenings at Sacred Heart parish in East Boston (very close to the airport). So far, we have made communion calls to the homebound, assisted at a wake service, and helped with a baptism preparation class. And we have eaten what was set before us every time we went out there. I guess that's to be expected in an Italian parish! The parish also has a substantial Vietnamese community, which I have yet to experience, but I thought it incredibly providential that I was placed in a parish of very similar ethnic composition as my own background!

Time to return to the race! We have been following the presidential/vice-presidential race and debates here, as well as participating in events in observance of the Year of Faith - hopefully more on these themes soon!


Love the Immaculata!
Mariam cogita, Mariam invoca