After much thought, the three of us regularly contributing toward this blog have decided to bring it to a close.  The needs of our clients, the burden on our hearts for serving the poor, and our obligations toward family are a few of the factors bearing on this decision.  Simply put, God is calling us elsewhere.

We cannot fully express our thanks to you, our readers, for your input, encouragement, and patience with us.

While Pro Deo is ending as a group effort, there will be a successor blog.  The feature “A Lawyer’s Prayers” is being expanded by Anna Waldherr into a blog by the same name. The new blog (currently under construction) will be located at http://www.alawyersprayers.com. We hope you, too, will make the transition. At her new blog, A Lawyer’s Prayers, Anna will be discussing religion, politics, and social justice issues from a Christian perspective.

Some of you may know that Anna has a second blog titled A Voice Reclaimed http://www.avoicereclaimed.com. As an abuse survivor, herself, Anna focuses on abuse-related topics on this blog.

Thank you for spending time with us.  May God keep you in His care ’til our paths cross again.

Blessings,

Ted Oswald, Esq.

Daniel Colbert, Esq.

Anna Waldherr, Esq. (Ret.)

]]> http://prodeolaw.com/2013/05/29/a-note-of-thanks-a-sad-farewell-and-a-new-start/feed/ 1 awaldherr http://prodeolaw.com/2013/05/29/a-lawyers-prayers-service/ http://prodeolaw.com/2013/05/29/a-lawyers-prayers-service/#comments Wed, 29 May 2013 13:59:13 +0000 Anna Waldherr http://prodeolaw.com/?p=2106 Continue reading →]]> US Navy Mechanic Airman and Machinist’s Mate at work on a Seahawk Helicopter

We are surrounded by those rendering service. Mechanics, cleaning women, deli clerks, tow truck operators, building superintendents. The list is endless. Often times these people are “invisible” to us. Yet they personify grace.

CS Lewis wrote in Christian Reflections:  “Most men must glorify God by doing to His glory something which is not per se an act of glorifying but which becomes so by being offered…The work of the charwoman and the work of the poet become spiritual in the same way and on the same condition.”

” ‘Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased! I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He will declare justice…’ ” ( Matt. 12: 8).

Lord Jesus, teach us to be servants, as You were a Servant. Teach us to recognize and appreciate the service of others.

We offer You our work this day. May it be pleasing in Your sight.

Amen

The nightingale is a migratory songbird native to Europe and Southwest Asia. Not a beautiful bird, the nightingale is brown above and light below, with a reddish tail. Despite its drab appearance, the nightingale sings liltingly, day and night. The bird’s ancient name derives, in fact, from the Anglo-Saxon for “night songstress”.

It is actually the male bird that sings. Not to be outdone, nightingales sing more loudly in urban environments, presumably to offset competing noise.

Nightingales have inspired poets, musicians, and sweethearts since time immemorial. Milton wrote of the nightingale in Paradise Lost, Book III, at lines 38-39:  “…as the wakeful Bird Sings darkling, and in shadiest Covert hid Tunes her nocturnal Note.”

The website http://www.nightingale-song.com claims to “translate” words into birdsong. Accurate or not, the result is lovely.

“The Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me — a prayer to the God of my life” (Ps. 42: 8).

Father, we seek You out as deep calls unto deep. Our hearts were made to long for You. Yet when the waves roll over us, we fear at times we are lost.

Forgive our lack of faith, Father. How can we doubt when You sent us Your Son?

Your mercies are unending. Your beauty surrounds us. We will hope in You and praise Your name…as does the humble nightingale.

Amen

St. Francis of Assisi, Church of St. Mary’s Halstock (Photo by Sarah Smith)

“…Be praised, my Lord, through all Your creatures, especially through my lord Brother Sun, who brings the day…

Be praised, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars; in the heavens You have made them, precious and beautiful.

Be praised, my Lord, through Brothers Wind and Air, and clouds and storms, and all the weather, through which You give Your creatures sustenance.

Be praised, My Lord, through Sister Water…precious, and pure.

Be praised, my Lord, through Brother Fire, through whom You brighten the night…”

Excerpt from Canticle of the Sun by St. Francis of Assisi

St. Francis of Assisi, that most humble of men, was born into comfort. The son of a well-to-do merchant, Francis might have led a life of ease. His father feared Francis would squander his life on self-indulgence. Instead, Francis founded an Order of monks sworn to abject poverty. He died without worldly goods, bearing the stigmata of Christ, and radiant with joy.

But we are not all born to be friars. How then are we to find our way in the world?  How can we distinguish God’s call on our lives from personal ambition or – worse yet – restlessness because the going has gotten rough or the task assigned us has become stale? What do we do when confronted by that inevitable fork in the road?

There is no formula for holiness…or happiness, for that matter. We are bound to wrestle with God as Jacob did. The limitations of this earthly world dictate as much, since we are meant for another. Between our present location and that ultimate destination lies the road we travel, the life we choose – pitfalls, failures, triumphs, and all.    

If we are to live for Christ, we must first know who He is and what He wants from us. The Lord, Himself, told us that He is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14: 6). He said that the greatest commandment is to love God with our whole heart, soul, and mind; that the second is to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matt. 22: 37-40). 

So Christians are to love…even their enemies (Matt. 5: 44). 

That sounds deceptively simple. How does it look in action? How can we best exemplify Christ to others? Certainly not by false piety or an air of self-righteousness. Those masks will be burned off by the first real trial we face. 

Francis understood that, at its core, the Christian life is simple. Not necessarily easy, but simple.  We are to love, whenever and wherever we are, with every fiber in us. Rightly impressed as we may be at the relinquishment of material things for love of God, God asks even more of us than abject poverty. He wants every aspect of our being. 

Oh, some of us may be called to mission fields in far off places. The majority though will serve where they are – despite boredom and grief, doubts and fears. They will weep with friends who have lost homes to disaster, children to illness or accident. They will pray for the aspirations of beloved sons and daughters, for addicts and prisoners, for the homeless and hopeless. In small ways and large, they will share their time and talents, their resources, insights, and compassion.

Christ is the way. And the way is not constrained to foreign shores. It can be found in Red Cross shelters, soup kitchens, and legal aid clinics, at PTA meetings and garage sales, in rural communities and inner cities. It runs through every human heart, connecting them all.

Like the sun and the rain, the moon and the stars – each of us different, yet the same – we raise our voices in praise to our Maker.

It is our mother’s face we seek out. Hers is the approval for which we first yearn. She is the source of our sustenance – both physical and emotional. Not only does she feed, burp, and change us. She bathes, powders, dresses, soothes, tickles, carries, and cuddles us.

She sings us lullabies. She reads to us. She ties our shoes, then teaches us how. She tells us why the sky is blue. She sacrifices for us, and keeps us from harm.

In this relationship, we can see reflected our relationship with God. He is our Maker, the source of our physical and spiritual sustenance. We long for Him, even when we do not have words. We experience Him through the love of others. When their love falters or fails, we see Him less clearly. Yet He is aware of our every need…and sacrificed Himself, to save us from sin.

“…Your face, Lord, I will seek” (Ps. 27: 8).

Lord Jesus, we seek Your face – the face that was spat upon for our sakes, the face the angels adore.

Drawn by Your love, we seek to spend time in Your presence, but the press of life draws us away. Make Yourself known to us, Lord. Reveal Yourself in those we meet this day. Teach us to focus on You, despite the world’s distractions.

Help us to see Your face.

Amen

Miners at Virginia-Pocahontas Coal Mine

Coal mines have been active in Pennsylvania since the late 1700s. Despite advances, coal mining remains enormously dangerous work. The ravages of Black Lung Disease persist, as does the struggle for occupational benefits.

Though surface mining has increasingly become the trend, we remain the voice for such people – those daily giving up their lives for others, but unable to defend themselves.

What a great privilege God has afforded us as lawyers…and what a great responsibility!

“As for the earth, from it comes bread, but underneath it is turned up as by fire; its stones are the source of sapphires, and it contains gold dust” (Job 28: 5-6).

Oh, Lord, how great are Your works in all the earth!

Give strength to those who labor with their hands. Give courage to us, that we may speak out for all those without a voice.

Amen

Reims Cathedral, Photo By Josep Grin, Lohen11 (Catalan Wikipedia) [CC-BY-SA-2.5 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.5) via Wikimedia Commons

Using little more than a set of compasses, a T-square, and a rope marked off at regular intervals, medieval masons crafted masterpieces in stone – places of worship filled with light. The construction of Gothic cathedrals began with the laying of a cornerstone. Completion of these soaring structures could, however, take hundreds of years.

A master mason coordinated not only the work of other masons and mortar makers, but roofers, scaffolders, plasterers, painters, plumbers, stained glass craftsmen, sculptors, woodcarvers, and laborers.

At a time when higher mathematics was largely unknown in Europe, masons (responsible for actually laying the stone) combined the modern roles of architect, engineer, builder, designer, and craftsman. With little or no formal education, stonecutters shared tips with one another, learning through trial and error. Maker’s marks can still be seen on the stone in some locations.

Many Gothic cathedrals stand to this day, attesting both to the faith and skill of their builders. But the real monuments were – as they are today – the lives of the men and women who worshiped in them. God wants our stony and battered hearts. He has set His mark upon them for all to see.

“The stone which the builders rejected has become the cornerstone” (Ps. 118: 22).

Lord Jesus, You are the Stone the builders rejected, and our Cornerstone. You are the Rock upon which we build our lives. Help us to make You central to all our endeavors, that they may rest on a firm foundation. We place our faith in You.

Amen

April 22, 1930

This morning I started out fresh, by finding a rich experience of God in the sunrise. Then I tried to let Him control my hands while I was shaving and dressing and eating breakfast. Now I am trying to let God control my hands as I pound the typewriter keys. There is nothing that we can do excepting to throw ourselves open to God. There is, there must be, so much more in Him than He can give us. It ought to be tremendously helpful to be able to acquire the habit of reaching out strongly after God’s thoughts, and to ask, “God, what have you to put into my mind now if only I can be large enough?” That waiting, eager attitude ought to give God the chance He needs.

Oh, this thing of keeping in constant touch with God, making Him the object of my thought and the companion of my conversations, is the most amazing thing I ever ran across. It is working. I cannot do it even half a day—not yet, but I believe I shall be doing it some day for the entire day. It is a matter of acquiring a new habit of thought. Now I like God’s presence so much that when for a half hour or so He slips out of mind—as He does many times a day, I feel as though I had deserted Him, and as though I had lost something very precious in my life.

More excerpts of Laubach’s journals are available at Interacting With Jesus.

Renewal is the name for a role-playing game, a rock band, an album, a song, a movie, a type of parliamentary procedure, a magazine, and a brand of rechargeable alkaline batteries, among other things. Urban renewal relates to the redevelopment of inner cities. Renewal theory is a branch of probability theory, the mathematical analysis of random acts. Renewal Judaism is a spiritual movement incorporating aspects of Hasidism including music, mysticism, and meditation into modern Judaism.

Within Christianity, the term “renewal” has two distinct meanings.

Traditionally, renewal has been used as a synonym for sanctification, the process by which we are transformed into the image of Christ.

Recently, renewal has been used to designate the emerging church. Justifiable criticism is directed at the institutional church, and legitimate concern expressed for outreach. However, the exchange of essential elements of Christian belief for mere popularity is not revival. Inclusiveness is no substitute for salvation – no matter how attractive the label.

“…[D]o not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day” (2 Cor. 4: 16).

Lord Jesus, we see the evil in the world and are discouraged by it. We confront the ignorance of the world but are, at times, overwhelmed. Beset from all sides, we struggle with conflicting demands on our time, with rejection and our own shortcomings, with the illness of loved ones, with financial worries, with loss.

Knowing the pain You endured for our sakes, we turn to You for comfort in affliction. Remind us that we are delivered to death not pointlessly, but that Your life may be manifest to the world. Remind us that through suffering we are being transformed.

Above all, remind us of Your love, Lord. May we, like Paul, declare that we are hard-pressed, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed for we are renewed by You daily.

Amen

“Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, ‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?’ Jesus said to him, ‘ “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets’ ” (Matt. 22: 35-40).

In the aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombings, a Philadelphia trial dealing with the murder of live infants at an abortion clinic has not gotten much press.

Dr. Kermit Gosnell is, among other things, accused of having routinely aborted babies far beyond Pennsylvania’s 24 week abortion limit, and having killed seven infants who survived abortion. Experts have estimated the gestational age of one such infant as nearly 30 weeks (full term being 40 weeks). Kareema Cross, the key prosecution witness against Gosnell, testified to seeing more than ten babies breathing post-abortion.

It should hardly surprise us that there was little effort made to distinguish between aborted fetuses and live infants. In reality, there is little difference. Not because a live infant should be as readily disposed of as the fetus it was moments before, but because the fetus and infant are essentially one and the same [1]. Their primary distinction lies in the intention of the mother.

Meanwhile, the mother may be living in poverty or be victimized herself. Human trafficking — sexual and labor — is all too common in the 21st Century and not confined to distant shores. Research shows that one in every three runaway children is approached by a pimp, madam, or other trafficking promoter within 48 hours of leaving home. Tragically, the average age of entry by sex workers into the trade is 12 to 14 years. Victims are more vulnerable, if they have experienced child abuse and/or domestic violence.

Terrorism, abortion, and human trafficking hold up a mirror to our society we might prefer not to examine. Terrorism, thankfully rare, reflects a total disregard for the lives of others. Abortion, that most personal of decisions, is an imperfect solution to a problem as old as mankind, i.e. unwanted children. Human trafficking, while reprehensible, is tolerable to us so long as its participants are nameless.

What does all this say about us? Clearly, we do not value life as much as we might claim. It is easier to close our eyes to certain behavior, and pretend it does not exist, than do something about it.

Attorneys are especially culpable. We are uniquely empowered and uniquely equipped to voice the needs of those who would otherwise go unheard. Moreover, as Christians, we are expressly charged to love our neighbor.  Complacency will not suffice.  Literally and figuratively, we should be running toward the explosions wherever they occur.

Disclaimer

Any views expressed are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Pro Deo or its other contributors.

—–

[1] While this is not the norm, advances in medicine have made it possible to salvage some premature infants even below the abortion limit, if sufficient resources are committed to the task.

The statistics relating to recidivism are mind numbing:

• In 2011, the Pew Center on the States reported the overall recidivism rate[i] in the United States to be 40% three years after release. The Department of Justice’s Bureau of Statistics in 2002 had reported a rate of 51.1%.
• Department of Justice figures suggest that, within three years of release, approximately 2.5% of rapists will commit another rape; 1% of murderers will kill again[ii].  Compare this with a 1995 study by Quincy, Rice & Harris which placed the long-term reconviction rate of rapists at 23%.
• Recidivism among child molesters has been estimated as 20%[iii]. However, a 1993 study by Hansen, Steffy & Guathier indicated that 42% of sexual predators are reconvicted for sexual crimes, violent crimes or both[iv]. Many victims do not report sexually based crimes, and not all such crimes brought to the attention of police are solved. Consequently, re-arrest and reconviction data for sexually based crimes greatly underestimates re-offense.

How can anyone not be repelled by these figures and the behavior they reflect? How can mercy toward criminals be reconciled with justice for victims? Yet Christians are asked to put their feelings aside, and trust that God will do the impossible.  As He has done for us.

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink…” (Rom. 12: 20; Prov. 25: 21).

Lord Jesus, You teach us to return good for evil, to love even our enemies and those who would spitefully use us. This lesson is contrary to our nature. Our first instinct is to strike out, especially when loved ones have been harmed.  How are we to overcome our inclinations?

Help us remember that love is stronger than hate. Help us believe that You will render justice – in this world or the next – even if we cannot. Extend Your grace to us, Lord, that we may extend Your mercy to others.

Amen

The battle between good and evil is fought on many fronts. It can involve the pain threshold of fetuses in the womb, or the purchase by thirteen year old girls of the “morning after” pill without knowledge of their parents. It can involve the shooting deaths of innocent children in a quiet New England town.

Monday that battle involved the Boston marathon.

We may find words difficult to come by, in the face of yet another scene of carnage, yet more lives impacted or lost. We may be saddened and discouraged. But we must not grow weary. We must not allow others to define our course of action. We must not abandon hope that good will prevail. That is what our adversaries want.

The battle lines are not always clearly drawn. On Monday, however, they were.

We must have the courage to engage in a struggles as old as time, on whatever battlefield we may find ourselves.  Whether the battle rages on the streets or in the courts, the war was won for us on Calvary.  Let us, therefore, “run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Heb. 12: 1), for in Jesus Christ, the Author and Finisher of our Faith (Heb. 12: 2), we can securely place our trust.

Attorneys are assumed to be immune to anxiety.This is a myth.Like the rest of mankind, we are subject to generalized anxiety, post traumatic stress disorder, social anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, phobias, and panic.Take your pick.

Attorneys are obliged to disqualify themselves from a case, if their illness would negatively impact performance on behalf of a client.Pride may interfere with this decision.Anxiety is frequently kept under wraps by attorneys.We strive to present an aura of strength, whatever the cost.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Ps. 139: 23-24).

Heavenly Father, You know our fears and failures.Protect our clients against us.Support us in our weakness.Lead us in the paths of righteousness, that we may glorify Your name, and come home to You at last.

Amen

“Blossoming Almond Tree” by Vincent van Gogh

“I said to the almond tree, ‘Sister, speak to me of God.’  And the almond tree blossomed.”

 —Nikos Kazantzakis, Report to Greco

The almond tree, a relative of the peach, is native to the Levant, but has been cultivated as far north as Iceland. It was among the first trees domesticated, thought to have sprouted initially on pre-historic garbage heaps. Domesticated almonds were in use by the Bronze Age (3300-2000 BC).  They were found amid other treasures in the pharaoh, Tutankhamen’s tomb.

Almond blossoms have been said to symbolize hope, perseverance, and justice, among other things. For the Israelites, they signified watchfulness, specifically God’s vigilance on their behalf.  The Hebrew word “almond” and the phrase, “I am ready” (or “I am watching”) sound similar. The almond, also, flowers in early Spring.

It was for these reasons that God instructed the Israelites to make a golden lampstand shaped like an almond tree, for the sanctuary (Ex. 25: 31-40). Three branches were to extend from each side, decorated with flowers in the form of almond blossoms and buds. The Jewish menorah (a candelabra with seven branches) was the result.

The staff Moses’ brother, Aaron, carried was made of almond wood, as well. The same staff bloomed and brought forth almonds over night, in validation of Aaron’s claim to the priesthood (Num. 17).

The Book of Revelation describes Christ as surrounded by seven golden lampstands, thus, portraying His central relationship to the seven churches (Rev. 1: 12-13, 20). He is, in effect, the stem of a greater lampstand (a reference, also, to the vine and branches symbolism at John 15: 1-7).

Christians, too, are urged to remain watchful (1 Thess. 5: 6). We are to be spiritually aware of God, the needs of the kingdom, and God’s purpose for our lives.

“…[T]he word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘Jeremiah, what do you see?’ And I said, ‘I see the branch of an almond tree.’ Then the Lord said to me, ‘You have seen well, for I am ready to perform My word’ ” (Jer. 1: 11).

Lord God, You made this astounding world, and watch over it with the care of a loving gardener.  The peach and the almond flower as they should. Yet we, Your children, destroy the garden.  Without thought, as if it were ours.

Daily there is violence. Daily immorality increases. None can argue, but that pruning is warranted.

Exercise mercy, for the sake of Your Son, Jesus. Stay Your hand of judgment, and remind us instead of another tree, the one on which He died for us. We ask this in His holy name.

Amen

“Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men.

But the angel answered and said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and indeed He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him. Behold, I have told you.”

So they went out quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to bring His disciples word” (Matt. 28: 1-8).