It might not be as heart-wrenching as I imagine leaving her at school for the first time will be next year, but dropping off my oldest daughter at the airport for her first trip to New York City alone was a bit of a dress rehearsal from an emotional standpoint (to put it in theater terms since that was the reason for her school trip!).

Granted, for me, that's not saying much since I'm the guy who choked up recently during an introduction speech with the new company president of affiliate news - which actually prompted a round of applause from many of the managers sitting around the conference table - and the same guy who tears up at weddings, watching Father of the Bride, sappy TV commercials or listening to The Christmas Shoes by NewSong on the car radio.
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“All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end... This is the motive of every action of every man, even of those who hang themselves...

By now, most people have heard or read about the 18-months grand jury investigation in Pennsylvania that uncovered seventy years of sexual abuse of minors by Catholic priests in six different diocese, dating back to the 1940's.

The investigation revealed that over 300 priests, many of whom have since died or retired, and more than a thousand victims, although the numbers could be higher with unreported cases, were involved.  For those that haven't, you can read the disheartening report here.

There are few baseball players that I learned to admire more after their careers were over than during.  Former Kansas City Royals' great Mike Sweeney is one of those players.

Not to say that his 16-year MLB career did not stand out in it of itself, with a .297 lifetime batting average, 215 home runs and 909 runs batted in, but the way he has carried his life during and after his playing days stand out even more.

In my last blog, on my kids and the gender divide, I wrote about the growing antagonistic male-female relationship being championed by some feminists and social groups and how, using the media and Hollywood, the "gender war" is chipping away at the moral fabric of our society by deteriorating masculinity, to the point of irrelevance. 

Well, I came across a video commentary by Bishop Robert Barron recently on the Homer Simpsonization of men in the culture, where he makes a similar observation.

While getting a haircut a few weeks ago, I overheard one of the hairdressers tell another, "Men are all the same.  They treat you well in front of your face but you never know what they're doing behind your back.  That's why I don't care about any man.

"When sex is treated lightly, as a means of pleasure... it takes on the quality of the demonic, and to descend into this blackness is to have a foretaste of hell...

The man was visibly angry.  You could see it in his demeanor and his challenging tone towards the priest.

"What you're saying is that if someone wants to get married and agrees with their partner to avoid having children then they can't get married in the Catholic Church?"

The priest looked stoically at the man, searching for the correct words to avoid fanning the flames but conscious that other men were listening.

My 13-year-old daughter gets home from dance one night this week and says, "Dad, I need to record you on video for a project I have for school.  You need to tell me in ten seconds what it means to be a Christian."

"Excuse me?" I gasped, almost spilling my wine on the couch.  C'mon!  I was comfortable with a glass of Pinot Noir in my hand, my feet up, after a long day at work, and settling in to watch the Mets' game.

I was beginning to wonder. Did she change her routine?  Did she move away?  Did something happen to her?  Or worse, did she die?  If so, did she have family to mourn her?  What about her dog?

For six months, I had been running into her (pun intended) every morning on my 3-mile jog around the golf course.

She was hard to miss; an elderly woman, probably in her mid-80's, with a crooked leg, a cane in her left hand and her dog on a leash in the other.
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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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