In her 1984 classic song, Tina Turner asked, "What's love got to do with it?  What's love, but a second hand emotion?"

In all honesty, I wasn't much of a fan of the song but it came to mind lately, as I reflected on a good friend, whose nearly 20-year-marriage is coming to an end after his wife left a note stating, "I don't love you anymore," in contrast with my brother, who, following the footsteps of George Clooney, is finally taking the plunge into respectability, while still in his 40's and before needing Celebrex to keep his body in motion, announced he is getting married next year.

If you think about it, there's a profound truth and wisdom in the Turner song.

A popular Gatorade commercial in the 90's highlighted NBA legend Michael Jordan, as a catchy song played in the background, while images interlaced of Jordan and kids frolicking on a basketball court, that said, "Like Mike.  If I could be like Mike. I want to be like Mike."

Well, my seven-year-old son has never seen that commercial and doesn't even know who Michael Jordan is (Sad, isn't it?).

“There are 10,000 times 10,000 roads down which you may travel during life. But at the end of all of these roads, you will see one or the other of two faces: the merciful face of Christ or the miserable face of Satan.”

-- Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen, priest, author and one of the first and greatest televangelists in U.S. history.  Sheen hosted a prime time television show called, Life is Worth Living in the 1950's and The Fulton Sheen Program in the 1960's.

It is commonly suggested within Christian circles that the Devil will not attack humanity with horns, a pitchfork and flames burning within and around him (outside of Tim Curry in the Hollywood flop, Legend).  Instead, he attacks in the temptations we are prone to covet and in the subtleties and distractions that keep our focus away from God and on the mundane and quotidian. 

C.S.

We live extremely busy lives.  In fact, too busy if you ask me!

In my case, the last several months have been a blur.  I was promoted to a new role at work, and while I'm still doing most of the things I was already doing, since July of last year, I've gotten more piled on my plate.  Let's just say, at times, I feel like Wonder Mike from The Sugarhill Gang's Rapper's Delight.  And, so I digress.

In the midst of the Civil War, in 1863, as the nation was enveloped in grief, division and despair, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of Thanksgiving. 

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies.

On my way home from work one night this week, I call home and my seven-year-old son answers the phone.  After a short greeting, we have this exchange.

"What are you doing, buddy?"  

"Playing on the computer."

"Mommy let you play on the computer again?" I ask. 

"Yep."

"Mommy let's you play on the computer a lot doesn't she?"

"Yes.  She's a LETer."

"A what?"

"A LET-er," he said slowly.

"The true center of Rembrandt's painting (Return of the Prodigal Son) is the hands of the father... gradually over the years, I have come to know those hands.  They have held me from the hour of my conception, they welcomed me at my birth, held me close to my mother's breast, fed me, and kept me warm.  They have protected me in times of danger and consoled me in times of grief.  They have waved me good-bye and always welcomed me back.  Those hands are God's hands.

Shock, anxiety, fear and confusion were only part of the whirlwind of emotions racing through Fox News anchor Bret Baier as he ran alongside doctors and nurses, holding his wife Amy's hand, while she was being rushed down the hallway on a gurney at the emergency room of the Children's National Medical Center in Washington, DC.
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A pair of American priests have become a You Tube sensation, after their tap/Irish dance-off in Rome, earlier this year was captured on video and posted by EWTN's Joan Lewis.  

Rev. David Rider, 29, of Hyde Park, New York, and Rev. John Gibson, 28, of Milwaukee, were in seminary, studying to become priests at the time, and took the stage to entertain the crowd at a fundraising dinner for the North American College, an American seminary, just a stone's throw away from the Vatican.
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Welcome to Living the Faith on a High Wire...
Welcome to Living the Faith on a High Wire...
This blog is basically what the title suggests, my attempts at living the Catholic faith to the best of my abilities.
I write about my struggles as a husband, father, son, brother and Christian man.
From a faith standpoint, I also write about my observations, interests, videos, and things that catch my attention, as well as, celebrities that are trying to live their religious beliefs in the public eye.
I refer to it as life on a high wire because those of us who are trying to live our faith in today's culture are are walking a fine line over a precipice between two worlds; what our faith teaches and we know in our hearts and what the society accepts and expects us to accept.
God, religion and Christianity, especially Catholicism, have been under constant attack and this is my small way of fighting back.
I often use humor and poke fun at myself but am also serious when I have to be.
I'm not an expert or pretend to be. I'm just a lay Catholic who is living and learning, as I go, like many others.
So, feel free to browse, get to know me better and, if you feel compelled, leave a comment...

About Me
About Me
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Born in Oriente, Cuba, raised in Hialeah, Fl and graduated from The U. I’m a husband, father, son and older brother. I was a lapsed Catholic for most of my life until attending a men’s spiritual retreat in April 2006, which totally changed my perspective on life. That weekend, the emptiness I had always tried to fill with the things our culture promises will make us happy (wealth, pleasure, power and honor; St. Thomas Aquinas’ 4 substitutes for God), was filled with the love of God. I have been passionately studying my faith and, hopefully, drawing closer to God ever since. Now, I see my purpose in life is to become a saint and to lead my wife and kids to heaven. It’s not easy! I am no expert by any means. I'm just learning and trying to live my faith to the best of my abilities.
Blog Archive
Blog Archive
Books I Have Recently Read...
Books I Have Recently Read...
  • Long Shot by Mike Piazza with Lonnie Wheeler
  • The Protestant's Dilemma by Devin Rose
  • Jacob's Ladder; 10 Steps to Truth by Peter Kreeft
  • Absolute Relativism: The New Dictatorship and What to do About it by Chris Stefanick
  • Special Heart: A Journey of Faith, Hope, Courage and Love by Bret Baier
  • The Church and New Media by Brandon Vogt
  • The Exorcist by William Peter Blatty
  • Confessions of a Mega Church Pastor by Allen Hunt
  • The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
  • Be A Man! Becoming The Man God Created You to Be by Fr. Larry Richards
  • Render Unto Caesar: Serving the Nation by Living Our Catholic Beliefs in Political Life by Charles J. Chaput
  • Raising Good Kids Back to Family Basics by Ray Guarendi
  • The Seven Storey Mountain by Thomas Merton
  • The Return of the Prodigal Son: A Story of Homecoming by Henri J. M. Nouwen
  • How Firm a Foundation by Marcus Grodi
  • First Comes Love: Finding Your Family in the Church and the Trinity by Scott Hahn
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