Is a friend indeed, as the old saying goes. To be honest, I never really understood the expression I think because the word order is strange to our modern English ears. We hear the first part, “a friend in need,” and our brain starts thinking of a friend with a particular need to be met. The reality is, however, that the original sense referred to a friend in your hour of need. Makes more sense that way, doesn’t it? A friend who appears in your hour of need is a true friend. It’s kind of like “you can’t have your cake and eat it too.” Clearly you can do both. But when you hear the expression worded, thus, “you cannot both have your cake and eat it. (at the same time),” it makes infinitely more sense sense, and is a perfect example of the principle of non-contradiction.
Tonight I had a need, and a true friend appeared to help me. Another friend of mine had gifted me a brand new smoker grill. It is the kind that uses pellets as a heat source. Unfortunately, as he moved the grill across the country on the back of his pick up truck, the metal lid to the pellet hopper blew off somewhere on I 40. “ it won’t be a problem,” he insisted. And normally it wouldn’t have been except for the 4 inches of rain that fell in my backyard over the past few days. When he gave me the grill, he was kind enough to leave the hopper filled with pellets. I was smart enough to buy the actual cover for the entire unit. Nonetheless, those covers are not waterproof, and it turns out that grilling pellets expand in water and clog the auger.
So, on my first use, I discovered that I could not use the grill and was about to give up until a dear friend showed up. Over the course of two hours, he and I but mostly he completely disassembled the grill and unclogged the auger.
The end result is what you see below.
It’s got a mustard coat, hence the yellow.
That, my friends, is 15 pounds of Texas brisket. And if all goes well, she will be perfectly cooked by midday Monday.
Remember in your prayers today to give thanks not only for this friend of mine, but for all of the true friends, God places in your life.
We can have a spirited discussion until the cows come home about the antipapacy. You can tell me that Fwanciss is definitely pope and I can tell you that you’re wrong. Then you could tell me all of your reasons and I can handily refute them with the truth.
So you see, dialog is possible!
Unfortunately, I occasionally run into someone who simply makes no sense at all. Such a man is not willing to journey with me, nor to accompany me with the truth.
Yesterday I heard of a young man who actually argued with a friend of mine that Fwanciss is DEFINITELY DEFINITELY pope because – wait for it – a layman does not have any authority to decide such matters.
I laughed and laughed at the absurdity. Mind you this same man refused the jab (as he should have) on the basis of it not being safe, this despite himself not being in the medical or scientific fields. And apparently Our Lord’s admonition to John’s disciples in Luke 7:22 – the admonition to use your brain – means little to him.
Today started out with a bizarre text that stated that the local Carmel (which serves as an alternate TLM location for my parish) is henceforth closing off public access to the daily Mass indefinitely due to a “security threat”. No other details were given.
Later in the evening another post circulated. This one was from one of our auxiliary bishops. It states that parishes of the diocese had recently seen a “security threat” only this one stated that a man of middle eastern descent had been impersonating a priest to gain access to non-public areas of parishes.
What in the hell is going on here?
If you’ve been following this blog you can pretty much figure out where I’m talking about. If not, it doesn’t matter. It could be any of our parishes.
Be vigilant.
Protect yourselves.
Men, especially, protect your wives and children.
STAY CONFESSED.
Lord Jesus, crucified for love of me an ungrateful sinner, have mercy upon us all!
Folks, I got off all that social media nonsense a while ago. Sorry but I'm not on Twitbook, Facepalm, YouHu, WingWang or any of the others. Maybe an event will happen to make me change my mind like Peter and Paul coming down with flaming swords and commanding it be so. Until then, read the blog and if you feel a comment is in order or you feel like sharing a tip or suggestion for a topic, email me at harvey@harveymillican.com.
Harvey Millican's Blog: Musings of a Trad Dad 