Act of Contrition

O my God, I am heartily sorry for
 having offended thee, and I detest
 all my sins, because of your just
 punishments, but most of all because
 they offend you, my Lord, who are
 all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve, with the help of
 thy grace, to sin no more and to
 avoid the near occasion of sin amen.  

I used to utter this prayer just before I exited the small-enclosed booth called the confessional after  taking the sacrament of penance or reconciliation as it is referred to now in modern times. The act of penance was the admission of the sins I had committed  (both Mortal and Venial) to my parish priest.  The opening line went something like this: Bless me Father for I have sinned, it has been 6 weeks since my last confession. Anything longer made me feel uncomfortable as if I was living a graceful life, which I surely was not.  

At first I was able to rattle off the venial sins, which I used as filler to help masquerade the more egregious ones like missing church, lying or the ultimate sin having impure thoughts. It was a relief that my father confessor never pressed me for more detail on those mental excursions and for that I was grateful. Usually those prurient cognitions paled by comparison to the adult sins of sex I would be guilty of in my 20s and 30s.  

The fine or penance was usually a rosary of 10 Hail Mary’s topped off by the Lord’s Prayer or the Our Father. And as the priest made the sign of the cross from behind the grilled partition I knew that the sacrament was coming to a close and as he whispered his blessings he told me to say the Act of Contrition and I was dismissed.  Taking the sacrament penance gave me the gift of a clean soul and I could therefore receive communion the next day and receive a double helping of Sanctifying Grace. Sanctifying Grace? That can be another story for Jack Briant Reporter.  

Live and Let Live

A phrase with origins from the first World War (1914-18) wherein a temporary truce was upheld by both sides as sort of time out when the opposing forces were engaged in trench warfare. Although these respites from pitched battle were tenuous and subject to ending unexpectedly when someone got trigger happy and wouldn’t give temporary peace a chance.  A cultural definition for the present day has us living the life we choose and allowing others to do the same.  Live and let live a phrase that has been forgotten in large part due to the over dramatization of personal events by the media. One can hardly live a life or their own choosing especially when it doesn’t align with the court of public opinion.  

Live and let live means that even if we don’t agree with how others conduct their affairs that we give them the benefit of not trying to do their thinking for them. If they  don’t ask us for  our advice  we should not  offer ours. A parallel might be that since there is no one correct religion, ethnicity or political party nor is there one set of rules for the course we take in life. We all end up in one place more or less and how we get there is our own affair.  

The Epidemic

This has been stirring in me for quite some time and last night as I moved through the chaotic mass of humanity after my friends Triathlon I noticed one prevailing thing: Virtually every soul I laid eyes on had a cell phone in their hand. Now a phone is something you answer when it rings but that was then and this is now.  And even if the primary reason for possessing a portable phone was to give us the convenience to be instantly in touch with friends and loved ones, now even that notion is passé.  We carry these electronic brains as if it was part of one of our appendages. And what is the one thing we are afraid of losing after our wallet? Our cell phone has not only become a necessity but also a crutch and a device we have become co-dependent on.  

Now I don’t want to go astray about what I wanted to say here but the codependence has some dire consequences. We are all aware of sending our SMS messages when we are driving causes accidents but it seems that the laws against them have not kept people from continuing this dangerous practice. And to find people crossing the street or even walking indoors has not caused any hospitals stays that I am aware of but we continue to perambulate without looking where we are going trusting that our feet just know where to go.  

Now back to my real intention for this scribe.  I wanted to touch on being hooked on the activity of how much we look at our phones and ask 4 questions that I found in my CASAC* studies.

1. How many minutes or hours do we spend looking at our phone to answer a text message, check our email or any other extracurricular activity we are engaged in that signals our attention?  

2. Have you ever thought that maybe you should cut down on the amount of time you spend with your eyes on that small screen?

3. Have you ever been late to work or a social engagement because you were so mesmerized in seeing what was appearing instantaneously on your screen. 

4. What kind of psychological damage have you created by paying more attention to your iPhone than you do with your spouse or children?

If we were to take a look at the first question I don’t think anyone could actually give a realistic number to the time we spend looking at our phone. This includes the time wasted when there is nothing to see. In other words since the last time we checked two minutes ago nothing new has arrived from the universal mind to our address. 

Has it ever crossed your mind that you’d like to just cut down a bit on this activity? Like instead of stroking the “slide to unlock” key every five minutes change that to say every 30 minutes? It might be one way to curtail time spent. Or how about something more radical; shutting the phone off for periods of time like when you’re in a meeting or at mealtime for example or when you’re spending time with someone because it's just rude.  Let’s face it do you need an up to the minute report on what most times is no more than a message or an email that does not require immediate attention?  The rippling effects of being present than being in cyber space just might make your social or home life a hell of a lot more enjoyable. 

What about being late to the next thing we had on our schedule that actually requires our physical body? How many instances are we pressed for time and we continue with answering a text when it just can wait. The immediate gratification factor that we try to sate can cause us driving too fast for an example to what might be more important.  

And as I touched on earlier, how much damage do we do to the relationships that matter most devoting wasted time to those that are quite frankly just mental masturbation?  Is it really worth it? Most of us would say in hindsight that it isn’t. I have a friend that tells me she leaves her phone at home when she’s out with her family and doesn’t check her email for days at a time. At last check she has 25 years of blissful marriage, four well adjusted children and still watches the news to get the information she might really need. 

Is it an epidemic? Is that hyperbole? I don’t know but maybe its time we need to set boundaries. Everyone knows we need to do that with people now maybe its time to make ones with our cell phone.    

*CASAC: Certified Alcohol and Substance Abuse Counselor. 

99 Sikhs and Me

My friend Jesse who I met at an athletic club we both belong to about 2 years ago has become one of my (at the risk of seeming maudlin) very dear friends.  He has shown me what true humility is because for Jesse   it’s all about the work ethic not the rewards. 

Several weeks ago Jesse sent me one of those e invitations to be part of a holy ceremony called the Kirtan to be held at his home. Instruments accompany the Kirtan described as a call and response chanting devotional tradition.  When I walked in he politely asked me to remove my shoes, which I did dutifully, and then my friend fitted me with a ceremonial orange turban as custom calls for all men to have their heads covered. 

Inside of an hour my friend’s home was filled with Sikhs, the women in decorative saris and the men in kurta pajamas. My eyes casually looked around for another Anglo American but there were none in sight. I soon realized it was 99 Sikhs and me.  More about that later.  I could not begin to describe the ceremony but the music resonated from deep inside me and I found myself meditating about my family those departed and those still on this earth.  

  I for my part just sat on the floor and tried not to fidget too much as most the congregation was able to sit in the lotus position for the full two hours.  People would get up in no particular order and move about some with hands pressed together giving Namaste homage to the Guru and still others chanting to words and music which are the sacred hymns from the Guru Granth Sahib.  The Sikhs give great value to this type of singing and the Kirtan is the Sikhs way of keeping their souls afloat in the darkest of times. 

As I alluded to earlier it would seem that my friend by either happenstance or design invited his one Anglo friend Jack and as the evening descended it occurred to me what honor Jesse had bestowed on me. He as is his wont would not place much emphasis on this fact but it was for me something that this Catholic boy will never forget. Namaste my friend.