Today I was talking with a friend from our former Catholic church that was closed in the North Central Area. For the last four or five years she has been in serious pain. Four operations, a few procedures and many pain and regular doctors she has not found relief. As we talked about the terrible pain she suffers she mentioned how important her faith in God is. Pain and suffering, like poverty, turns people toward faith and hope in God.

Some would negate how pain and poverty turn one to God. However, as someone who understand how faith and hope in God sustains a person in pain and poverty I understand.

The Republicans and Democrats in their convention taught how everyone can work hard and lift him or herself. Perhaps this was true and may be for the ‘middle class’ they talk about. But those in pain and poverty understand that is now how things work. Opportunity might have been available for all Americans in the past but it is not now.

Another thing both Republicans and Democrats do that bothers me is equate justice with punishment and death. Tonight the Democrats make a big thing of Osama Bin Laden assassination as justice. The Republicans do the same thing, as well as ordinary people do, calling justice, punishment or death. This is not what I was taught in my 13 years of Catholic education as ‘justice’. Justice was more associated with mercy not vengeance.

My friend thanked me for my concern for her today. I told her I was doing it because God had given her so many blessings and I was just trying to share in them. Blessed are those who suffer!

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