Catholic Transcript Online

"The Time Travel Society will hold its annual meeting three years ago." This anachronistic bit of humor may be viewed as a tribute to H. G. Wells’s fabled time machine. Nevertheless, we do possess a technology that has much in common with time travel. It is the modern television set, partnered, as it is, with the handheld remote that can carry us, at the touch of a button, from one age to another. Television has converted time into space, an accomplishment that would have delighted Albert Einstein.

The center of the Sistine Chapel depicts an image that has been overused to the point of becoming a cliché. Nonetheless, its meaning is still worth revisiting, for it encapsulates the central drama between God and man. An energetic God-the-Creator thrusts his hand toward a reclining Adam. His intended beneficiary, however, recoils. His hand droops. His body language spells "retreat." Simply stated, he does not stretch.

According to a Jewish proverb, "God could not be everywhere, so he made mothers." This is a fine, enduring sentiment. I do think, however, that by reversing the statement, we come closer to the truth: "God could be everywhere and proved it by creating mothers." This image is consistent with the American novelist William Makepeace Thackeray’s comment that "‘Mother’ is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children."

For the ancient Greeks, as well as the great medieval thinkers, politics is a continuation of ethics. The ethical behavior of individuals flows naturally and beneficially into the common good of society. Edmund Burke put it nicely when he remarked, "The principles of true politics are those of morality enlarged."

I was the subject of a radio interview emanating from Louisville, Ky., recently. The purpose of the interview was to shed some light on why there has been a resurgence of interest, even among Catholics, in the philosophy of Ayn Rand.

I am the proud possessor of a Bob Feller autographed baseball card. On reflection, however, my pride should be tempered for two reasons. According to certain knowledgeable collectors, there are more of his cards around sporting his signature than not. Mr. Feller has been most obliging at innumerable card shows. At 92 years young, he has more post-induction years behind him than any other living Hall of Famer.

I usually do not put much stock in the message that falls to the table when I crack open my Chinese fortune cookie. I fully expect it to be positive, reassuring, and designed not to interfere with my digestion. Nonetheless, my most recent experience with an Oriental confectionary was a deviation from the norm and much more philosophical than usual. It read: “To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target.”