Week Fourteen

"But I think diseases have no eyes. They pick with a dizzy finger anyone, just anyone." (The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros, 59)

The House on Mango Street pulled on my heartstrings from page one. And it never let up. Page after page, my heart ached for Esperanza and her situation. That's why I chose this quote to discuss this week. In my interpretation of this text, I feel that "diseases" can be replaced with "trials." Surely Esperanza knows what it's like to face trials that were not of her own choosing. And why does she have to face these trials, such as living in a house she hates, being surrounded by people who she can't help or change, and being abused by those she thought she could trust?

Because trials have no eyes. Sometimes our trials come from poor choices we make. But most times, they come unexpectedly and unwelcome. A family from my ward back home just lost their father and their brother in an airplane accident. Why does this family have to go through that trial? It's not because of something they did or didn't do. It's just part of the human experience. As hard as it is to think about, trials are for our good. Without these experiences, we would not have a chance to grow and become refined. 

Check out this video. Your trials might not be the same, but I'm going to assume that you can relate in some way to this situation.

I honestly have no idea what it's like to be an immigrant or part of that kind of community, like in The House on Mango Street. I don't know what trials people like Esperanza have to go through on a daily basis. But I have trials of my own- and you have trials of your own- and we're all just trying to get through it together. Maybe the really hard trial you're having right now will one day help you to relate to someone better in the future.

We just have to trust the Lord. He knows what He's doing.

Week Twelve

"'Is that how long eternity is?' Agnes asked bravely. 'Is that how long the souls have to burn?'

'No,' Father Byrnes said softly, and we looked to him for help, but instead he finished by saying, 'when the little bird has moved that mountain of sand across the ocean, that is only the first day of eternity!'"(Bless Me, Ultima, Rudolfo Anaya, 202.)

The context of this quote is that the Priest is trying to explain eternal suffering in Purgatory to Antonio and his friends. He uses the analogy of a small bird moving a mountain of sand, one piece at a time. Although it is a fitting analogy, the Priest is using scare tactics to frighten the children from making mistakes that could lead them to Purgatory.

How else do people use scare tactics to promote reform? 

Politicians are notorious for using intimidation to dissuade people from following their opponents. More often than not, a political ad is usually composed of misrepresentations. For example, this attack ad about women's rights sheds a frightfully bad light on President Obama. Although there is truth in this video, there is also more there that is not being acknowledged.

For the Catholics in Bless Me, Ultima, God seems to be like a politician in this regard. God is not merciful. He is not kind. He is not gracious. He punishes those that need to be punished. His purpose is to be intimidating to keep His people righteous. He makes it clear that, if you choose to follow his opponent, you'll end up suffering in Purgatory for eternity. And quite frankly, this scare tactic is effective. Fear is a great motivator.

Although the Priest has good intentions- he wants the children to stay righteous- creating fear is not always helpful.

But there is hope. For the people in Bless Me, Ultima, this hope comes from Mary. She is the merciful protector that will ultimately prevent us from suffering. This would also be like the kind politician that simply states his agenda and moves on without attacking his opponents. (Okay, there aren't actually any American politicians like that. Let's pretend.)

Ultimately, we just have to remember to hope.

Week Eight

"The Library is not infinite." (Library of Babel, Jorge Luis Borges, 79)

Wait, does he mean the HBLL? 

Perhaps not...

By the end of the first page of Library of Babel, I already felt like I was trapped here:

Which naturally made me think of this:

Tangents aside, I want to address infinity. In the first line of this short story, Borges informs the reader that "Library" equals "universe." By the transitive property, then, we could also say, "The universe is not infinite."

I wholeheartedly disagree. It isn't just because I'm a Mormon. Science tells us that there's a vast world out there. Scientists may not use the term infinite, but they know on some level that quantifying the universe is a daunting, if not impossible task. A couple of years ago, astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson gave a forum address at BYU. He interwove faith and science and humor and humility. He is brilliant. Watch this video, and I imagine you'll understand.

We are in the universe and the universe is in us. The same elements that comprise my skin, my hair, my brain are the same elements that comprise the night sky, the stars, the planets. Now, I'm not a scientist, so I don't know if we are actually made up of the same elements. (I wish I had a fact-checker to look these things up for me.) But I appreciate the principle behind it: my eyes, hair, skin is made up of particles. The sun, moon, stars are also made up of particles. We are all connected and everything is infinite. 

I think of infinity and eternity often, as it is something that I simply don't understand. I like boundaries and limits. I get that because my brain is finite. But no beginning, no end? That is beyond me. I'm glad that I know that one day I can understand. Until then, I will just appreciate