In flurry of activity, President Trump issued an executive order entitled “Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into the United States” (you can read the full text here). The key points of the Executive Order are:
- 90-day ban on entry into the US from Iraq, Iran, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Somalia and Sudan
- 120-day suspension of the refugee resettlement program
- Indefinite suspension of the arrival of Syrian refugees
- 64% decrease for refugees admitted into the US in 2017
- Prioritization of refugees who are religious minorities suffering religious persecution
- Mandated review of stricter vetting procedures for refugees and immigrants.
The Vatican archives are far from being an amusement park for conspiracy theorists. In fact, they might be quite boring for the general audience: nothing too scandalous, noting too secret. Actually, the aura that covers the Archivum Secretum Apostolicum Vaticanum — that’s its official full name — might only be due to a mistranslation from the original Latin: “secretum,” far from being translated as “secret,” simply means “personal.” Whomever has ever had a secretaire (a secretary desk, an escritoire, hopefully a Chippendale) might probably get a hint of what’s at stake here: the Vatican “Secret Archive” is a collection of personal documents, mainly private letters, chronicles and historical records of past popes. Sorry to burst your bubble, Dan Brown & Co. 
Martin Scorsese’s “Silence” tells the story of Portuguese Jesuit missionaries in 17th century Japan. Although the film is based on a fictional novel by the Japanese author Shusaku Endo, many of the events and people depicted in “Silence” are real.
This weekend, our parish is hosting Fr. Kevin Mullen, OFM, the Provincial Minister of 
Lemony Snicket’s “A Series of Unfortunate Events” is a series of 13 children’s novels noted for their modern gothic tone, dark humor, and quirky story telling. Probably an acquired taste for lots of folks, but then the books have sold more than 65 million copies. Somebody’s reading them. Partly drawn from the series, Lemony Snicket (real name Daniel Handler) has compiled a post-modern book of wisdom and wit – a post-modern Benjamin Franklin of a sort. 
I like trivia games. Not too esoteric or arcane, but still a bit challenging. A friend of mine knows music. Not my specialty. Because of life on a submarine, time in Kenya, and formation time as a friar and priest, I have large gaps in my musical knowledge and exposure. I do alright in history, swimming, and (likely no surprise here) the Bible. 
On Monday, we as a nation will celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. I thought it would be good that we, again, listen to the words of Dr. King from his “Letter from a Birmingham Jail.” This excerpt, found in the later part of that marvelous and challenging letter, asks a simple but profound question: “What kind of people worship here?” Are we a people of the Gospel that comforts the afflicted? Are we a Gospel people who stand with those on the margins? Are we a full Gospel people? 
This Sunday’s Gospel (John 1:29-34) speaks of the Baptism of the Lord, yet that was celebrated this past Monday. Some of the more observant among you might be thinking “Isn’t the Baptism of the Lord a Sunday celebration?” Most years it is, unless Epiphany falls on January 7 th or 8 th which it did this year. In such cases, the Baptism of the Lord celebration falls on Monday. Not sure what to make of that, but there it is. It made we wonder why the Baptism of the Lord is so connected to the Epiphany. 
The Netflix series “Black Mirror” (which is a digital age Twilight Zone and not exactly my cup of tea) had one episode I found endlessly fascinating, terrifying, and a bit like a train wreck: you want to look away, but just can’t. “Nosedive” is an episode in which the character Lacie lives in a version of America where every tiny interaction is ranked on an app. Everyone has contact lenses/retinal implants that are synced to the app. The moment you see someone, their ranking is displayed, and a whole society has morphed into a pastel-colored nightmare of aggressive cheeriness, as citizens attempt to out-nice each other and bump up their ratings. Everything is connected to your rating: if you are in the 4.5- to-5-star level, the world is open to you: lower mortgages, club memberships, airline reservations, and more. If your rating tanks, so does your life. It takes a nosedive into a world with no access, no privilege, no nothing. Thanks be to God we don’t live in such a world! 
Here is the 
friarmusings 