Love your insights. I like Bing Cosby's idea. Night time trying to fall asleep is the worst time for worry! I have struggled with real in my life. This year the Lord has worked on it a lot with me. You have some pretty interesting thoughts about the Reformation.

@Alyce-Kay Ruckelshaus: Interesting... or heretical? I hope I didn't offend you.

@dtwalsh: No! Not offensive at all. And you took a risk in saying what you did, which is admirable. (And it wouldn't have been the end of the world if it offended me. I do recognize that I'm not always right.) (Well, sometimes.) I've struggled quite a bit with this in becoming Catholic. I think I told you my degree is in theology, but I might not have mentioned that my personal emphases were Old Testament and the Reformation. Martin Luther has been my hero for most of my life. When I decided to become Catholic, it was because of the Eucharist, John 6, and I could see that this was really where I would find truth. I believe that I need to align my beliefs with the Church's teachings and not the other way around. But at my age, that hasn't been easy! I struggled with the Catholic view that I kept hearing that Luther was just a "disgruntled monk." Seriously??? I do think he was right about most if not all his complaints against the church at that time, and he didn't set out to create a schism. His thought was to reform from within. I really wanted to hear the Catholic side, but couldn't get anyone to take me seriously and help me understand why they hated him so much. And the language barrier is huge. Catholics and Protestants use many of the same words, but they mean different things. Anyway, finally, reading some of the history, I learned that there were others besides Luther who saw these wrongs in the Church, but they didn't complain or start a crusade. They simply prayed and worked on their own personal piety. And ... the Catholic Reformation came about. They trusted God to purify His Church. And He did! What a concept! "The gates of Hell will not prevail against it." I have mentally learned a lot from that (and oh, it just makes my soul jump with joy), but I'm having a hard time allowing it to make changes in my life. As an American, as a Protestant, as a young woman growing up in the 60s and 70s, chafing at the extremely conservative Christian constraints, feeling like I was born on the wrong side of the Jewish prayer ("Thank You for not creating me a Gentile, a dog, or a woman"), my personality/nature is to stand up and protest, right? If I see something wrong, stand up against it, change churches, etc. But what I saw in those people who just prayed and worked on their own personal piety broke me: Humility, patience, submission. Not the kind of submission I'd been taught as a Mennonite woman that basically meant I was someone's chattel, but this incredibly dignified and God-trusting submission of Our Lady's fiat. It comes from a confidence in God -- which He's trying to build in me, but you know, I don't have the most submissive nature, so I think He might be finding it a bit of a challenge. (Okay, wow, talk about over-sharing. I had a professor in college who told me that brevity is not my strong point.) So anyway, back to your remark. What was "interesting" to me, and fairly remarkable, was hearing a Catholic actually sound like you might have some respect for Luther, which I do think he deserves. (Bishop Barron also has that ability to see some good in Luther.) I don't think it's as black and white as we generally want to make it. You seem to have the ability to acknowledge that there can be nuances. And that, my friend, is QUITE interesting in this day and age! In a positive way.

@Alyce-Kay Ruckelshaus: I have a confession to make. I am little more than a single finger typist

@dtwalsh: Please excuse my last comment, Alyce-Kay, although is a nearly true, but closer to two fingers. I will continue in the next comment.

Apparently, typographical errors abound when my fervor has been aroused5. Please look for my next comment. I will explain why5. Sorry for this apparent silliness1.

@dtwalsh: Confession is my second favorite sacrament5. And since confession ends in mercy, I suppose i should be merciful even if you can type with two fingers5 and not just one9.

@dtwalsh: PS - That indicates my former location, not my current one, but it still works.