Life in prison without parole. With this sentence the murder trial of Kermit Gosnell has come to an end. Yet another horrific, unmentionable injustice has been addressed by our nation’s legal system. The murder of infants had tipped the golden scales of justice, but with the piercing percussion of a swift gavel strike, the balance was restored. Next case. Could it be that justice is so easy?

The joyous clash of tambourines and the rollicking reels of pipes and strings were punctuated with exultant shouts as the Ark of the Covenant was led into Jerusalem. At the head of the ecstatic procession, clothed only with a linen apron, King David danced exposed before God and man. For a moment, the ancient joy was found once more upon the earth. The son of him who hid from his Creator once more danced naked in His sight.

The final burn of rocket-grade kerosene ended in an abrupt and ominous silence. Hurtling through the empyrean void in his titanium telephone booth of a spacecraft, fifty-one years ago today, John Glenn reached orbital altitude, 125 vertical miles above the nearest living soul. He was the first American in orbit, gazing upon the earth from a vantage point previously reserved to gods and Russians. In a capsule called Friendship, he was alone—the crackling voice on his radio transmitter his only connection to the unseen human multitude far below.

Alienation, nervous excitement, homesick melancholy, wonder, anxiety, isolation—the experience of culture shock is nothing if not complex. The lone tourist, the exchange student, the refugee, and the immigrant are the most susceptible, but perhaps you feel a tinge of it yourself right now. Are you home?

The two women gazed at each other through the pane of bulletproof glass: one the Secretary of State of the most powerful nation on Earth, the other the maternal emissary of Earth’s Creator. Madam Secretary stood dressed in a smart red power suit; La Guadalupana was miraculously emblazoned on a humble peasant’s tilma. Unfortunately, their visit had to be short: Madam Secretary had an award banquet to attend in honor of her protection of abortion rights. She could not dawdle with the Virgin who had converted an Aztec nation to end child sacrifice. So she laid the pro-forma flowers at the foot of the tilma and, as if to encapsulate the irony of the encounter, she turned to the rector of the Basilica and asked the good monsignor to tell her who painted such a beautiful image.

Thank you to all who made the All Saints Vigil such a wonderful event!

Resplendent in majesty, unrivaled in excellence, the angel Lucifer reflected the glory of God more than any other creature. But for all his power and glory, the most noble of angels was like the lowliest wretch of a man in one respect: he did not enjoy perfect beatitude—he could not see God as He is in Himself. For this, he was as powerless as a worm, as helpless as a babe. The gift of divine intimacy could not be demanded, but only received with the loving submission of living faith. Refusing such submission, Lucifer grasped for the gift and spurned the giver. He desired to be like God, obtaining happiness by his own power, and in rejecting Love’s offer, he bent his will into the terrifying contours that spell eternal darkness.

You are invited to celebrate the inauguration of the Year of Faith announced by the Holy Father by joining the Dominican Friars in praying a Holy Hour at the Dominican House of Studies on Thursday, October 11th. We hope you will share our prayer intention “to contribute to a renewed conversion to the Lord Jesus and to the rediscovery of faith, so that the members of the Church will be credible and joy-filled witnesses to the Risen Lord in the world of today—capable of leading those many people who are seeking it to the ‘door of faith.’” Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament will begin at 7:30 p.m. During the Holy Hour, the prior of our community, Fr. Ken Letoile, O.P., will preach about the Year of Faith, and priests will be available to hear confessions. We will pray Compline at the end of the Holy Hour which will close with Benediction at 8:30 p.m. Then join us for a light reception to celebrate the beginning of this new time of grace.

The party banners back in storage, the arena floors swept clean of confetti, tears wiped from cheeks, voices hoarse from enthusiastic cries of affirmation, hopes rekindled, bonds of solidarity solidified, party identities intensified—yes, the Republican and Democratic Conventions have finally come to a close. The party members have emerged with a renewed sense of pride, hope, and purpose. They have seen their candidate transfigured in the glow of flat-screen plasma, and now, as they descend the mountain, their eyes slowly adjust to the dim light of the apathetic masses.

And did those feet in ancient time
Walk upon England’s mountains green?
And was the holy Lamb of God
On England’s pleasant pastures seen?

And did the Countenance Divine
Shine forth upon our clouded hills?
And was Jerusalem builded here
Among these dark Satanic Mills?. . .

So sang the Dockhead Choir in a beautiful performance of England’s unofficial national anthem Jerusalem to open the 2012 Olympic Games.