Pornchai Moontri: The Duty of a Knight - To Dream the Impossible Dream
Gordon MacRae Fr. Gordon J. MacRae Gordon MacRae Fr. Gordon J. MacRae

Pornchai Moontri: The Duty of a Knight - To Dream the Impossible Dream

. . . Editor's Note: The following is a guest post written by Pornchai Moontri. . . . I was a teenager when I went to prison. Over the years, I was sent back to solitary confinement over and over, for up to three-and-a-half years at a time, because I was so hostile. The longer I was there each time, the more inhuman I felt and became. Living for years on end in solitary confinement joined with the guilt I felt for the life I took during a struggle when I was 18 years old. So I just gave up on myself as a human being. I sank to the very bottom of the prison I was in, and stayed there. Then in the spring of 2005, after almost 14 years in and out of solitary confinement, I was told that I was to be shipped to another prison in another state. I sat for 10 months alone in my cell wondering about whatever hell was coming next, and I told myself I didn't care what comes next. Then one day, guards in riot gear came and chained me up. . . .

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Bitter Herbs Before the Exodus: Skooter Changes Course for Lent
Gordon MacRae Fr. Gordon J. MacRae Gordon MacRae Fr. Gordon J. MacRae

Bitter Herbs Before the Exodus: Skooter Changes Course for Lent

. . . I received some snail mail recently from Liz Feuerborn who frequently comments on my posts at These Stone Walls. At the very end of her letter was a scribbled P.S.: "You haven't mentioned Skooter in awhile. Is he okay?" Several other readers have also asked about Skooter in their recent comments, and it's odd that his name should come up right now. It's odd because on the day I received Liz's letter, I had just spent an hour outside in the freezing cold prison yard talking with Skooter. The short answer to Liz's question is “No," Skooter is not okay, but I'm pretty sure he will be. . . .

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Michelangelo and the Hand of God: Scandal at the Vatican Revisited
Gordon MacRae Fr. Gordon J. MacRae Gordon MacRae Fr. Gordon J. MacRae

Michelangelo and the Hand of God: Scandal at the Vatican Revisited

. . . Dante’s description of “The Dark Wood of Error” captures well the Catholic scandals that are fodder for the media today. Having lived in the shadow of accusation and scandal for so many years, I can only agree with Dante Alighieri (1265 – 1321): “I never saw so drear, so rank, so arduous a wilderness!” But the Church isn’t seeing any of this wilderness of scandal for the first time. I invite you to revisit “Michelangelo and the Hand of God: Scandal at the Vatican” for an injection of hope that, like Dante’s Dark Wood will all come to good if surrendered to sanctifying grace. . . .

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