Mary van Balen

I've been thinking of Dad all day. He died in September, 2011. This would have been his 95th birthday. I thought of him as I washed my face and noticed the diamond engagement ring he gave to my mother sparkling on my finger. (It's difficult to think of Dad without thinking about Mom, too.) How many times its brilliance reminds me of the example they were of what St. Paul said in today's reading: The entire law is fulfilled in this one thing...Love your neighbor as yourself. Mom and Dad were good at that.

Parents are a child's first experience of the world. Of love. If one is blessed. And I was. I have lots of memories of Dad. I remember crying and being sick when he had to leave for a week when I was young and he traveled a lot for his job. Mom said neighbors commented that they knew Dad was home when they looked in the windows and could see little legs dangling as Dad carried his young children, one by one around the house.

Two things I remember about Dad these days, as I plug away at finishing a book and the website and marketing tasks that ago along with it. The first is his unwavering support and confidence in his kids (and grandkids). Once, Dad and I were working in his basement shop. He was stretching fabric over a wooden board for one of my high school art projects. I wanted to paint a picture of a pregnant Mary and a young Joseph for a contest. We talked as we worked, and I told him my dream: I wanted to write a book someday.  Read More 

The Supreme Court's ruling that DOMA is unconstitutional is a victory for equality in our country. When two people commit themselves to a lifelong relationship (That's the hope, anyway, for straight and gay couples), they should enjoy the same protections and support whether the union is between a man and a woman, two women, or two men. SCOTUS has ruled to do otherwise is unconstitutional. Still, most states do not recognize same-sex marriages. There is still work to do.

While striking down DOMA and passing on Proposition 8 is hopeful, it is not the whole story of this court's week of rulings. As Michelangelo Signorile wrote in the first paragraph of his Huffington Post blog, The Death of DOMA and the Transformation of America on Gay Marriage, the same court gutted the Voting Rights Act, removing federal oversight of changes in voting practices in states with a history of obstructing minorities right to vote. Read More 

Exultation is the going
Of an inland soul to sea,
Past the houses—past the headlands—
Into deep Eternity—

Bred as we, among the mountains,
Can the sailor understand
The divine intoxication
Of the first league out from land?
Emily Dickinson


With the surf pounding beside us, my daughter and I walked the beach this afternoon. My lungs appreciate deep breaths of salty sea air. My heart and soul appreciate the gift of the sea. Emily Dickinson had it right. For this inland soul anyway, going to the ocean is cause for deep joy.

I remember the first time I experienced the ocean. I had finished freshman year at college. My parents, my sister, brother, and I took a trip to the East Coast. Though Mother's family was from Massachusetts, we had never been. I'm not sure what beach we visited first, but I will never forget the moment. Sounds of pounding waves were the first hint of the immensity of what lay ahead. Then, walking beyond the dunes, I saw it. I was overwhelmed with its beauty. Its energy and power. Surely, this was holy ground.

I have never recovered.  Read More 

As of June 14, 2013, the Social Security Administration made changing one's gender in his or her social security records easier to do. Proof of surgical procedures that bring the body into alignment with a person's gender identity is no longer required. This is good news for transsexuals who seek to make gender designations in official records and on identity cards, driver's licenses, and passports reflect their gender identity.

Body alignment surgery is expensive, and many transsexuals must save for years before having it done. Some, for various reasons, may opt not to have the surgery. In the past, that often meant having the wrong gender indicated in records and carrying cards that "outed them" at times and in situations not of their choice.

As Mara Keisling of The National Center for Transgender Equality states, ""Most people may not see this as a big deal, but transgender people know that this seemingly small technical change will protect their privacy and give them more control over their own lives."

See more about the change on the NCTE website.
 Read More 

This article on the Huff Post caught my attention. Employment Non-Discrimination Act 2013:The 'T' in LGBT Protections.As I mentioned in an earlier post, the Employment Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) has be introduced into the congress...again. In its earlier forms, ENDA did not include transgendered people in its protection. Why? As Rep. Barney Frank was quoted in the above article: "There is more resistance to protection for people who are transgender than for people who are gay, lesbian and bisexual," Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) said in a statement at the time. "This is not a good fact, but ignoring bad facts is a bad way to get legislation passed."

The 2013 bill includes transgendered people. As you can see from the graphic, only sixteen states provide employment protection for transgendered people. It is time to contact your Senators and Congressmen and express support for the inclusive bill.

No one should fear for his or her job because he or she is transgendered. Or gay or lesbian or Bi-sexual. This is an issue of discrimination and of justice. Click on the article or on the link below the graphic to learn more. Read More 

I was a young teenager when civil rights leader, Medgar Evers, was assassinated, shot in the back, while returning home from a community meeting. Fifty years ago, today. His widow, Myrlye Evers-Williams, reflected on the event saying, "We are cursed as human beings with this element that's called hatred, prejudice and racism," said Evers-Williams, now 80. "But it is my belief that, as it was Medgar's, that there is something good and decent in each and every one of us, and we have to call on that, and we have to find a way to work together."( "Quoted in June 11, 2013 AP article")

Today is also the birthday of Anne Frank, famous for her diary, discovered and published after she died in a Nazi concentration camp after surviving for two years in hiding along with members of her family during Nazi occupation of Amsterdam during WWII.

Both Evers and Frank believed that, as Anne Frank wrote, "In spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart...I see the world gradually being turned into a wilderness...and yet if I look up into the heavens I think that is will all come right..."

A call to faith. A call to action. A call to work each in our own way, for the common good. Read More 

Originally published in The Catholic Times

Pope Francis’ homily on Wednesday, May 22, received lots of press, mainly around his comments about redemption: “The Lord has redeemed all of us, all of us, with the blood of Christ. All of us, not just Catholics. Everyone!” he declared. “‘Father, the atheists?’ Even the atheists. Everyone! And this blood makes us children of God of the first class! We are created children in the likeness of God and the blood of Christ has redeemed us all!”

He continued: “And we all have a duty to do good. And this commandment for everyone to do good, I think, is a beautiful path towards peace. If we, each doing our own part, if we do good to others, if we meet there, doing good, and we go slowly, gently, little by little, we will make that culture of encounter: we need that so much…”

Lost in the media flurry about whether or not atheists can be saved (or, even non-Catholics, according to some pundits) was Pope Francis’ comment about a “culture of encounter.” What does that look like? Read More