Final thoughts on the House of Martha thread.

This is just sort of housekeeping for my brain so I don’t have to store these thoughts there any longer. And since the original thread on Nathan’s blog is now archived with comments closed, I’ll just finish off here.

1. There is nothing wrong with the nuns doing the humble art of houskeeping at the House of Martha, particularly for the cardinals. It is part of what Jesus himself told us to do in humility. I think housekeeping is a lost art anyway and if these sisters can do it with cheerfulness, graciousness and hospitality, I think we can learn from them. Jesus would be pleased.

2. The House of Martha cost $20 million to build. Later I blogged about how more than half of that was a donation from a Pittsburgh native! So the church’s real part was around $8 million. Interestingly I was watching ER last night, and they were discussing adding a wing to the hospital for $150 million and no one batted an eye. As an individual, anything over $100,000 seems like a lot of money to me but in the world it seems commercial construction in the millions is par for the course.

3. Dafur. Someone mentioned Dafur in the Sudan, presumably as an example of poor people that could use $20 million dollars. I think it’s a simplistic view. Many times relief goes to a place and gets confiscated or wasted by the authorities in chart. Sudan isn’t even letting people in to the country to help without great hardship. That said, the number one relief agency in the world is the Catholic Church.

4. Someone said I equated Dafur with Ohio. Well not exactly. (and this is a perfect example why you should never swing at the strawman arguments that come up in a discussion.) I believe I was asked if I knew what it was like to see violence and poverty. I have no idea what it is like in Dafur other than what I see in the media. I do know what it feels like in the inner city to know sex offenders live in the area, to see police chase a suspect down the middle of your street, to see a mob gather and move en mass in the neighborhood. What I was trying to articulate, is that I understand fear of and in my surroundings. I think that can be a universal experience.

5. Mercedes. While I find it amusing that the LA Times commented on the cardinals using Mercedes for transport, I think this point reminds us that not everything is as it seems from our own viewpoint. Yes, in Ohio (and apparently LA) Mercedes are elite. In Europe, especially in transportation, it’s not a big deal. When we read these types of articles I think we need to check our facts a little more before we decide to take a swipe at the church.

Whew… off my chest… much better!

Please browse my Amazon sales and eBay items!