Those who know me well have heard me rant and rave about the loss of  manufacturing jobs in the United States. As the years flow on, this sad state of affairs is going to hurt our economy more and more.  Not everyone has the aptitude to be a technology worker.  Manufacturing jobs provided good income, security and pride of workmanship to generations of Americans.  No more.

In my view, there are two primary drivers for this. On one hand you have consumers who want to pay the absolutely lowest price for every durable good purchase. Most other aspects such as quality, convenience, support of the local community fall a distant second in consideration. Shame on us.  I am willing to pay a little extra for an equivalent domestic product of equal or better quality.

I delivered this homily in my home parish, St. Luke the Evangelist on June 21, 2009 for the 12th Sunday of Ordinary Time, Year B. Scripture readings were:

First Reading   Job 38:1,8-11

Psalm  Psalm 107:23-24,25-26,28-29,30-31

Second Reading  2 Corinthians 5:14-17

Gospel  Mark 4:35-41

Almost all of us have had storms in our lives that caused us to fear.  Some of are literal storms, like Katrina.  More often, our storms are events that seem like they are going to destroy us.

With the upcoming playoff season and Super Bowl, professional football fans might have forgotten that the 2011 NFL season may be canceled due to financial disputes between owners and the National Football League Players Association.

If, the details of the issues may seem complicated, please allow me to simplify the issues for you.  Issue number one is MONEY.  Issue number two is MONEY. All of the issues are about  money.

I delivered this homily the weekend of October 10 / 11 2009 at my home parish of St. Luke the Evangelist in Slidell LA,.  This is the  28th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year B.  The Mass readings were:

Wis 7:7-11

Heb 4:12-13

Mk 10:17-30

One dollar and eighty-seven cents. That was all. And sixty cents of it was in pennies.  Those are the opening lines of the short story “ A Gift of the Magi” by the author O. Henry.

This homily was delivered at my home parish, St. Luke the Evangelist  for the 16th Sunday of Ordinary Time in July 2009.  The scripture readings for the day were:

1st reading: Jer 23:1-6

Responsorial Psalm :Ps 23:1-3, 3-4, 5, 6

2nd Reading: Eph 2:13-18

Gospel: Mk 6:30-34

On the morning of September 11, 2001, I was sitting in the waiting room of a doctor’s office watching the CBS morning news. Suddenly, a special report broke in and began showing the World Trade Center in flames.

The following is an interesting perspective on economics by Kevin E. Schmiesing

In the 2004 independent hit film, Napoleon Dynamite, the title character expresses his opinion in absolute terms: “This is pretty much the worst video ever made.” His brother, Kip, replies with incisive logic, “Like anyone can even know that.” In an age of government aggrandizement and intellectual vanity, Kip’s words could become a useful slogan.

The stimulus bill of 2009 is Exhibit A.
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A LIttle About Deacon Paul
A LIttle About Deacon Paul
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Slidell, Louisiana, United States
I am a Permanent Deacon of the Archdiocese of New Orleans with a ministry of charity to inner city youth at Cafe Reconcile.
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