Author Archives: Jen

About Jen

Jen isn't quite sure when she lost her mind, but it is probably documented here on Meditatio. She blogs because the world needs her snark at all hours of the night... and she probably can't sleep anyway.

Catching Up: It’s June???? Edition

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I can’t believe it’s June…

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[+] Decent pajama bottoms. These are completely rock my world. They’re short enough for me (5’1″ish with a freakishly low inseam, and they make me feel cute. I’d live in them if I could.

[+] Yarn goodness. My evening wind down activity has been crocheting things for different people and causes. I get yarn from Herrschers.Com or I check Amazon for some. I’ve put together a baby blanket and several prayer shawls with a few shawls waiting to be edged and two baby blankets in process.

[+] End of an Era. My priest had his last Sunday on the 8th. He was with us starting in January 2019, which means he got to go through the pandemic with us. His last service was a bilingual one with one of the diocesan staff present, his kids there (who all live far away, Aztec dancers doing the prelude and postlude, and a massive potluck with tamales, mole, a bunch of Oaxacan cuisine I can’t remember, and the standard white American potluck foods.

Habemus Papa

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I didn’t read any of the “Who Will Be the Next Pope” articles because the Holy Spirit moves in mysterious ways, and being on those lists isn’t a guarantee. (Case-in-point: JPII wasn’t on any of those going into the conclave that elected him.) I tuned into the procession into the Sistine Chapel yesterday when an Orthodox Jewish friend clued me into it happening. I’ve got to say that it was something interesting to listen to while cat-napping. Beautiful chant and fun to listen to cardinals making the oath on the Gospel book in Latin. Cardinals Dolan and Cupich apparently speak Latin with a flat Midwestern accent, which sounded very different than cardinals who spoke Romance languages sounded.

So am I happy with the selection of Prevost? VERY! My prayers for the new Pope were “someone more similar to Pope Francis” and “NOT RAYMOND BURKE”. I got both wishes. 🙂 All I knew going into this was that Prevost existed, and everything I read about him only made me happier. He speaks multiple languages, has spent time in the Global South, is very justice-oriented, etc.

I know there are some who are going to claim that I like him because of his criticism of Trump and Vance, and that’s not true. The Pope’s criticism of them is expected… because all of his criticism is based on their actions and words being against the words of Jesus in the Gospels. Still, I was way too amused when I saw this on Facebook:

(I do enjoy a good trolling after all.)

in any case, I’m super happy for my Catholic friends. The Holy Spirit came through clutch today, and you seem to have a good leader. 🙂

Pope Francis

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AP News: Pope Francis dies at 88

Into your hands, O merciful Savior, we commend your servant, Francis. Acknowledge, we humbly beseech you, a sheep of your own fold, a lamb of your own flock, a sinner of your own redeeming. Receive him into the arms of your mercy, into the blessed rest of everlasting peace, and into the glorious company of the saints in light. Amen.

Slava Ukraini!

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I can’t stand Mike Pence or many of his positions. He is, however, a man with a spine as he demonstrated on January 6, 2021 when he refused to bow to Donald Trump’s order not to certify the election.

He posted this on the third anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Mike Pence standing up for Ukraine.

I bring this up because of the utter dumpster fire of a meeting that happened in the Oval Office today. Donald Trump, JD Vance, and their minions expected Volodymyr Zelenskyy to grovel and thank them for the Russia-centric peace deal Trump “negotiated”. They had a rude awakening when Zelenskyy actually advocated for his country and refused to engage in their screaming match. Both Trump and Vance looked utterly foolish and they berated him. I think the most telling thing was Vance scolding him for not saying “thank you” once during the meeting for the mediocre deal they thought he should accept.

Zelenskyy is, like Trump and Vance, not a career politician. He had an entertainment career before becoming the leader of Ukraine, much like Trump did. However, he has stepped up and put his country first consistently over the last three years. Trump has never served anyone other than himself and his own interests. Zelenskyy has more support in his country than Trump will ever hope to enjoy in this country because Zelenskyy truly puts the Ukrainian people first instead of bowing to dictators like the ones Trump counts as friends.

Let me make my position clear.

Slava Ukraini!

I Can’t Believe This Even Has to Be Explained

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KOMO News: Ohio veteran calls for change after being denied heart transplant over vaccine refusal

I’ve also been hearing about how a relative of JD Vance is being denied a heart transplant over the same issue. Thee comment section for the KOMO News piece on Facebook is full of people who are completely clueless about why the hospital can (and should) do this, so I thought I’d explain this on here in case anyone is completely ignorant about why this is is absolutely fair and has nothing to do with politics.

When you receive a transplanted organ, you are on immunosuppression medication for the rest of your life to keep your body from rejecting the organ. This means that you are at an increased risk of dying from what might seem like a minor infection. As a result, transplant centers want to make sure that those receiving the organs are aware of the need to do some basic things like VACCINATE THEMSELVES to protect themselves and the organ that, in most cases, required someone’s death in order for it to be available for transplantation. This means that you must agree to be fully vaccinated to be put on the transplant registry at your transplant center, and for pretty much every transplant center, that means receiving the COVID vaccine. (I thought it was specifically a UNOS policy, but apparently, it’s up to every transplant center.) The COVID vaccine isn’t experimental, and the only excuse for not receiving it is if it’s going to put you into anaphylaxis. (I know of exactly one case where that has happened, and it was my former work wife Kim.)

This is likened to someone having to promise to avoid alcohol to receive a liver transplant. COVID is going to kill you if you’re immunosuppressed in order to receive your donated organ, so why wouldn’t you do your due diligence and be vaccinated? This isn’t complicated. The gentleman in Ohio isn’t willing to do what is required to receive a heart transplant, so his transplant center is refusing to put him on the list.

I had someone reply to me on Facebook and ask if I would take such a hard line if it was my loved one who was involved. My answer: “100% YES.” I would absolutely call out a family member in this case because their ignorance would be preventing them from receiving life-saving surgery. Granted, I only have one family member who refuses to be vaccinated (and I haven’t seen them since before pandemic started because of this), so this is unlikely, but I would absolutely remain in the stance that it’s the hospital’s decision and they should vaccinate themselves.

On Love…

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This became kind of a tradition in 2012, and I think posting it yearly came out of a conversation with my friend Mandi. In any case, here are some words on love from 1 Corinthians 13 in the NRSV version of the Bible.

If I speak in the tongues of mortals and of angels, but do not have love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know only in part, and we prophesy only in part; but when the complete comes, the partial will come to an end. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became an adult, I put an end to childish ways. For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. And now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; and the greatest of these is love.

Catching Up: Bleh Edition

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I was hoping to post more often this year, but January was “one of those months”.

[+] Sick. I got a sinus infection early in the month, and then Daniel very politely shared his virus with me, which has been causing bad asthma exacerbation. What is even more fun is that they can’t do a lot for me because I can’t have oral steroids like Prednisone or Decadron. I’ve had to reschedule doctor’s appointments, miss the People’s March, and basically put my life on hold while I bond with my inhaler and nebulizer.

[+] The Felon of the United States (FOTUS). I expected Trump’s annexation of the Oval Office to be an utter dumpster fire, and I have not been disappointed. Thankfully, our former Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who is now the governor, spent last year with his staff going over every part of Project 2025 and have filings drafted for every contingency. His successor as Attorney General, Nick Brown, has scored a point against the Trump administration on his first filing, which was the lawsuit that caused a federal judge in Seattle to put a moratorium on ending birthright citizenship. Judge Coughener (who is a Reagan appointee, by the way, in case anyone wants to complain about liberal judges) was pretty irritated that he had to rule on something so clear cut. Here’s hoping for more victories against Trump and his minions!