Personal Musings

Still having computer problems, and have reached the point where I am going to run out to the computer store and replace my PC. I'd rather replace it that delete the entire hard drive to rework my Windows program. Seems I picked up a trojan virus in Explorer and my McAfee program can't delete it or isolate it and so as this virus wormed it's way through my browser I eventually reached the point where I couldn't even access the internet.

My trials and tribulations with my lap top have been hysterical. I have been using an ergonomic keyoard on my PC which for technical reasons I can't connect to my laptop and still be on the internet. The USB ports are too close together. In the meantime I have been making mistakes with the laptop keyboard by the millions. I've managed to delete three posts on the NCR so far this morning by accidently hitting the back button. Even though I've done it already on this post, Blogger auto saves every 10 seconds or so. It's funny how one can get habituated to using something and then be completely worthless when one doesn't have that something anymore. I'll muddle through for today and hopefully tomorrow things will return to normal.

I don't know if I've written this before, but I've been given an advanced copy of Rosemary Radford Ruether's latest book for review. It's entitled Catholicism Does Not Equal The Vatican. It's described as a manifesto for progressive Catholics and that it surely is. I've always appreciated the preciseness of Rosemary's writing and this book is no exception. I was reading a few really powerful passages to my daughter last night and she was suitabely impressed, now wanting to read it after I'm through with it. That was exciting for me as my daughter had intended to double major in theology and theatre, but dropped the theology major as one professor after another left her Catholic college for the mandatum free pastures of protestant schools. This brain drain is one of the points Rosemary articulates in her book and something she herself just recently experienced with the University of San Diego.

I sat back last night and it struck me that being given this book to review at this time was truly a gift of the Spirit. To be honest, like some of the frequent commentors on this site, I was running out of gas with battling for the progressive view in the Church. I decided I would take all these computer problems as a sign I needed a break. The break has given me the time to read both Rosemary's book and Anne Rice's books and I can feel the batteries recharging. The Good News of Jesus Christ is the most important spiritual contribution God has given the West, and something the Institutional Church is corrupting almost beyond recognition for their own self preservation. This is a battle worth staying in, even if it's outcome is beyond my own life--if only for the really brilliant kids in the generations following me.

So I'll put the old PC on a shelf in a closet, and someday my daughter will find it, and being the curious kid she is, she will be compelled to see just what is was her mother was about in these last six years. I hope she realizes I wasn't just about computer games.