Silent Servants...

Silent Servants...

... of the Used, Abused, and Utterly Screwed Up.

A Secular Franciscan looks at the world...
with a more jaundiced eye than ever...
and lots of ellipses for you to fill in the missing text...
(with thanks to Thomas S. Klise for the title)



Showing posts with label illness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label illness. Show all posts

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Tuesday, October 02, 2012

My apologies

I'd like to take a moment to apologize to my small group of readers. I've been feeling quite ill lately which meant a much-diminished number of posts. Then about a month ago I was diagnosed with a particular type of cancer that I've been spending all my time dealing with, making various arrangements, etc., so posting ended rather abruptly. My apologies. I've now had two surgeries and a chemo treatment, and, if all goes well, I'll be posting again in the near future, God willing.

If you're the praying type, a word of support to the Almighty Father and Creator and His Son, Jesus, would be really appreciated. Thanks so much.

As Arnold put it so well, "I'll be back."


Thursday, August 16, 2012

I don't wish him or anyone ill...


...but he was the one who has claimed that he's the 'new' Christ who has come to complete the work that Jesus didn't finish. His claim was that he was the new messiah.

Founder of Unification Church hospitalized with pneumonia

If he doesn't survive this then, should we expect to see him resurrected? Or just what part of Jesus' work wasn't done? How has he completed it? There sure are a lot of questions...


Friday, June 01, 2012

Please say a prayer,



if you're of that ilk, for one of our dear family cats, Melbourne.

Mel started showing signs of being unwell yesterday, and has continued, and gotten worse, since then. He's not eating or drinking and he makes little squeeking pain noises when he's picked up (if you know cats or dogs, you're familiar with the sounds they make when they have internal pain and they're picked up).

Mel has had a bit of a harder life for a home-kept cat. Before we became his staff he lived a bit rough as a tiny kitten, and then when he took us on he injured a rear leg somehow and has suffered on-going pain issues with it. It's been years with that now, and we've always wished we could do something about that for him.

Anyway, we're hoping and praying that it isn't his time to shuffle off into another one of his nine lives, so please say a prayer to the Creator of cats (and everything else around us including us) that the trouble will be easily cured...

(And say a quick prayer, too, for the dog who came into the vets while we were there who had had one of his rear paws run over by a car. It looked awful, but he was being far more stoic and dignified than I would be in the same situation. He was a beautiful dog, silently suffering from a really ugly looking injury...)


Tuesday, May 01, 2012

Goodbye, little Avery,

and Godspeed. Rest comfortably in God's arms until you can see your Mommy and Daddy again.

Baby Avery, whose parents created 'bucket list,' dies

God bless them, too, and everyone who loved you.

Here's her blog:

Avery Lynn Canahuati


Thursday, April 26, 2012

A really touching article




and a serious prayer need.

Communion on Chemo: I’m still one of those strangers praying for others.

Ashley may not be able to pray for herself, but, as she tells, she has often prayed for many others, and many people, I'm sure, are praying for her. Please offer a prayer to the Lord of life for Ashley...





Tuesday, March 27, 2012

A story about awareness



which might just include an angel...

Message from an angel

There are lots of things to consider, but I think angels are more active in our world than we think (And I'm not one of those angel folk who believe in them but can't seem to believe in God somehow. I do try to keep angels in their proper place in my mind and beliefs).

I mean, what more likely a place to see an angel but in a hospital?




Thursday, March 22, 2012

A 2-in-one special





I've got a terrible cold, so I'm sorry that I won't be blogging today. Or yesterday. But that was, this is. Still...






Despite my cold, my fanboy tendencies force me to wish a Happy Birthday today to one of the big ones, or perhaps the biggest one, in fanboy fandom,

William Shatner

He's 81 today. In Earth years, by our current standards. Can someone convert that to a star date?

Mr. Shatner, a Canadian, has always been quite comfortable with his talents and quick to poke fun at himself. Which makes him a very special sort of celebrity...



Thursday, March 01, 2012

Fr. Ron gets personal



Finding gratitude through my illness

He also includes a terrific poem by John Updike on the subject.

God bless him and keep him healthy. The world needs more intelligent, thoughtful, kind and inspiring people like him...


Thursday, December 29, 2011

Class Warfare



Fuck Your Prayer, Show Me Solidarity

She's angry. Angry for good, legitimate reasons. She is consumed by the injustice that swallows her and her anger is directed toward the 'justice' proposed by certain liberal Evangelicals. But she has very, very good points. I have felt anger toward some of these people for years. The situation really is class warfare. It is all around us. Our society is built upon the model (and I was just being criticized for not acknowledging that belief just the other night!).

I live in the same world, and hold very similar, though not quite as extreme, debt. I am ill, but to this point not quite ill enough to lose my livelihood. I am older, and therefore not as bitter about lost opportunity, lost hopes and a lost future. I am not as angry. I fully expect to lose everything before the end of my life, and I expect to live in poverty. I don't know the form it will take, but when illness strikes (as the author has so capably noted) the ability to fight back is taken away. Our society needs to put this wrong right. And it won't, because our society is controlled by the elite, by those with wealth. My country is on the path away from possible just resolution of ills to a model based on the U.S. model, which panders to the wealthy and elite as if they have done something special and important. Apparently,we are supposed to love the wealthy simply because they do what we haven't been able to do - make money. And we're expected to die and get out of the way so they can make more...


Thursday, December 22, 2011

Despite the source of this report


who doesn't feel just a little bit less secure because of it?

Lab-Created Bird Flu Virus Poses Massive Threat

'The best laid schemes of mice and men...' and all that. It sure makes me wonder what the '...gang aft agley' part of this will ultimately be...

"Say, Bill. Let's create an easily transmitted, airborne, unstoppable and incurable deadly virus that is easily spread and may accidentally get into the wild, for the sake of science. Just because we can. What could possible go wrong?"

You heard it here first. (And perhaps last?)


Wednesday, November 30, 2011

As long as


they keep him locked up forever no matter what they decide.

Norway massacre: Breivik declared insane

I do have sympathy for the position of the opposition member who thinks that he must have been sane to prepare the attack so well and for so long. Given the death toll, there has to be an element of punishment along with rehabilitation...



Monday, November 28, 2011

Of course, this in no way


disposes of the reality of miraculous healings...

Faith Healing For Skeptics: How the Expectant Brain Relieves Pain

It does explain, partly, how we are created to deal with some medical issues on our own, naturally...



Monday, November 21, 2011

Nobody in management,

and very few regular workers, ever pay attention to these reports...

Sitting in Office All Day Can Cause Breast, Colon Cancer?


Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Yes, I suppose they are,


particularly with all the new MPs in Quebec who need to be brought along.

NDP rattled by Layton's cancer diagnosis

But, the truth is, the concern now should be for Jack Layton and his health, and I'm certainly offering my prayers for him and would encourage you all to pray for him as well. The country, no matter how much the Conservatives try to dismantly it, will continue in some form or other, so we need to worry about the person. Please pray form Mr. Layton. He's been a good politician and a caring and concerned Canadian. Lord, please restore his health and bless him in whatever way you choose to do so...


Friday, July 15, 2011

I didn't even know


that a vaccine existed and was approved in the U.S..

Drive to Stem Shingles Meets Few Expectations

I make note of this only because I have had Shingles and I am part of the 50 percent of people who found the pain excruciating. And this is coming from someone with experience in dealing with pain and lives with chronic pain every day of their life. I wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy. I think I still have some post-Shingles neuralgia, but with all the rest of the issues I deal with, who cares what I attribute the pain to?


Thursday, June 23, 2011

This really is 'a very big deal'


Hepatitis C: Incivek found to cure most patients

How long this will last as a cure isn't known. The biggest thing that science has learned is that they're always one step behind nature. This is great news for those currently infected, though...



Friday, June 03, 2011

Unknown bugs


E. Coli Strain Was Previously Unknown, Official Says

Are these things mutating in nature on their own or...dun-ta-dun-dun...coming from some biological research lab? Whichever it is, we're pretty much likely to be responsible ourselves...



 

Thursday, June 02, 2011

I just read this yesterday


in the daily newspaper.

WHO: Cell phone use can increase possible cancer risk

The people most at risk of getting their brains cooked are the young people who have their cell phones almost permanently attached to their ears. Some major cell phone manufacturers have suggested, in a rather insane guideline, that people should "keep their device away from their body". Sure. Turn your cell phone volume up full and hold it at arm's length. That won't cause any problems at all for those around you...


Monday, May 30, 2011

So prevalent now


E.coli cucumber scare: Germany seeks source of outbreak

"Germans have been warned not to eat cucumbers until tests identify the source of a deadly E.coli outbreak which local officials say has killed 13 people."
At one time the greatest fear regarding E.Coli was that underdone hamburger at the family BBQ. Now it is showing up in foods that we never considered a risk before, and it is killing people. Such a change...